Work Text:
Traveling
by Aurora Jade
Gateroom, Stargate Command Center:
Jaynna was a young woman in her twenties with waist length red hair, and the first of the two SGC teams to exit the circle of shimmering water. As usual, the momentum of traveling through the gate forced the person to take a few steps down the metal ramp. She looked around quickly, then walked the rest of the way down and onto the concrete while the rest of her 'team' continued forward as her teachers and their 'SGC team' emerged from the stargate.
"The village inside the mountain." Whispered Jaynna in wonder while nervously fiddling with the flap on her large leather satchel resting against her right hip, the shoulder strap slung at an angle across her chest, which she held tightly with her right hand.
Daniel Jackson followed behind, amused at the young woman's curiousity and excitement at everything around her. Both were so caught up in scrutinizing the gateroom and all the people to the left, or in Daniel's case, watching Jaynna's reactions. Neither noticed that Jaynna's teachers, Witan Botolf and Weardian Marston, were still at the top of the ramp and not standing behind them.
Daniel looked to his left to see what the rest of SG-1 were doing, and quirked an eyebrow as Jack gave a discrete wave to come over. He nodded his head once and turned back to their newest visitor to SGCC. In gaelic he said. "Jaynna, I need you to wait here while I go talk to Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond. They're with the group of people on our left."
"General Hammond. He is the chieftain of Cheyenne Mountain?"
"Yes he is. General Hammond," Daniel pointed out the general standing next to Jack in his dress uniform, "is the one standing next to Colonel O'Neill. In a few minutes we'll come over and formally welcome you and your teachers to the SGC."
"You will be interpretor for your general?"
"No, I'm still your interpretor while you are here. Jack just wants to make sure that I and the rest of the teams are okay before getting started."
"Then... I will wait here, Daniel."
"Good." Smiled Daniel Jackson before he left to go and talk to Jack and General Hammond.
The gateroom vanished, and Jaynna found herself alone standing in a strange tropical forest. A few feet ahead of her, heading off into the jungle was a path. The jungle trail looked like it hadn't been used in awhile. There were small plants growing here and there right on the path, and the larger plants and trees had started to spread their branches across it.
<Skriyea! Skriyeaa!>
Jaynna jerked her head upwards in the direction of the cry, and saw her spirit animal, an Atinnuu. One of the larger birds of prey on her world. Their plummage was blue, white, and on the wingtips surrounding their claw, a nice golden yellow. These large birds were always found in the wild nesting on the sides of cliffs near mountain forests or jungles.
She smiled, her spirit guide was here. The large bird of prey had landed on a branch a few feet down the old trail its head tilted to the side as if asking her 'well?'.
Walking down the path was difficult. Jaynna had to almost constantly push aside branches and leaves as she walked. All she could hear was her own heartbeat, the noise she made from moving through the jungle, and the sounds of her spirit animal flying ahead and teh cry it made whenever it wanted to get her attention.
<Skrriyeaa, skrriyeaaa, skrriyeaa!>
The large hunting bird landed on a statue of a strange land predator sitting on its haunches that was in front of an ancient stone building almost completely covered by tropical plants and vines. She reached out and placed her left hand on the vine covered statue just letting the silence and the sacredness of the place seep into her.
A loud "growl" echoed all around, breaking the silence of the jungle.
Jaynna turned her head, blinking at what she saw slowly come around the corner of the stone building. It was the living animal of the carved statue her hand still rested against and her spirit animal was perching on. Its coat was marked, amazingly, with solid grey rosettes against the rich white fur. Then the animal's head turned, and she was caught by its golden green eyes and the intense emotions within them...
Then jungle and animal vanished, and Jaynna found herself back in the gateroom.
PART 2
//What kind of creature was that?// Jaynna thought. She just couldn't shake from her mind the vision of the strange animal or its intense gaze. Suddenly, she realized that her uncles, witan Botolf and weardian Marston, were still at the top of the ramp. She had seen weardian Marston in a full sensory overload, but to have it happen now on another planet made it frightening. She turned, ready to run back up the ramp, not caring if she was being rude to their hosts, and stumbled backwards in surprise to see her Uncles right in front of her as she blurted out. "Marston, Botolf...!"
"You scared me, father/teacher." Whispered Jaynna as she gave Botolf a fierce hug. Stepping back from her foster father, she looked up at her foster uncle and gave him a mock scowl before hugging him as well. "You too, Uncle/teacher."
"Welcome to Stargate Command Center." said General Hammond after closing the distance between him and their guests. He took a moment to study the woman wearing brown leathers over green cotton clothes, admiring the shirt sleeves intricately embroidered by an even darker shade of green. Giving a respectful nod to Botolf and Marston as a greeting, General Hammond exstended his hand to Jaynna. "I hope your stay here on earth will be interesting and very helpful to both our peoples."
His eyes on the young woman, Daniel Jackson translated what General Hammond had just said into Gaelic for their three visitors.
Jaynna glanced at Daniel Jackson, then down at the hand that General Hammond had extended, and remembered being told that this was called a 'handshake'. Daniel had explained that this was a polite greeting after welcoming someone and introducing yourself. It was also suppose to show friendliness and trust.
She gave a single nod towards General Hammond to show her respect, in Gaelic she said. "I am Jaynna." She shook Hammond's hand, then stepped to the side with a smile. "You have already met Witan Botolf and Weardian Marston."
General Hammond smiled and nodded back. "Yes. It's good to see Witan Botolf and Weardian Marston again."
Reception Area of The Director of Operations Office, Pheonix Foundation, CA:
"Rose, could you tell Pete that I'm here?" Smiled MacGyver as he leaned on the receptionist's counter. "He said it was urgent."
Roseilina Montrose, Rose to friends and family, looked up at her fellow employee and said. "Already done Mr. MacGyver."
"Roseilina..." MacGyver's voice trailed off as he took a deep breath before letting it out in a loud sigh, "Rose. You won't get into trouble if you call me 'MacGyver' while you're working."
"It wouldn't be right for me to call you 'MacGyver' while working, especially as a receptionist behind *this* desk, Mr. MacGyver."
To anyone else observing, the receptionist looked shocked at such a suggestion, but if they were able to get a good look at Mrs. Montrose's face they would have noticed that her eyes expressed laughter instead of offense at MacGyver's statement. In fact, it had become a little game between them over the years of their friendship. The minor dissagreement of her calling him 'Mr. MacGyver' while at work had become a way of them both saying to the other 'hello'.
MacGyver sighed again while shaking his head. He started towards Pete Thorton's office, then stopped, turned around and smiled. "One of these days, Mrs. Montrose, I will get you to call me MacGyver. *Not* Mr. MacGyver."
115 Channel ST #604, Tacoma, Washington:
Loft #604 was silent and in complete darkness. The front door was locked, no lights were on, every electrical gadget turned off or unplugged (except the frigerator). Even the blinds were all drawn, and that included the curtains on both sides of the french doors that led to the balcony. Despite this, the owner found herself able to clearly hear several on-going conversations of some of the tenants currently living in the building.
<Clang! Clang!>
The sound of a heavy wrench being banged against a metal pipe made Ashika Wataru's, current owner and resident of #604, alcohol induced headache return with a vengence. With eyes closed and a soft moan she instinctively put her hands over her ears and lowered her head vainly trying to block out what she was hearing and hopefully make the headache go away again.
<Clang!>
----"Damn pipes.---- <Clang, clang, clang!>
----"Cole, we can call a plumber tomorrow. It's time for bed!"----
Two floors down, in one of the apartments, Ashika's hearing zeroed in on the tail end of another conversation.
----".... not fair!"----
----"Young Lady, it's going to be three weeks if you keep using that tone with me. Now, go to your room."---- The sound of feet stomping and the slam of a bedroom door made Ashika wince.
//The meditation techniques I learned from Grandfather as he tought me our family style of martial arts isn't working anymore. At least when I was drunk, earlier, everything was bearable.//
Half-heartedly, Ashika raised the half empty bottle of scotch and stopped as the mouth of the bottle touched her lips. Slowly she lowered the bottle to look at it intently. Despite the headache she had woke up with a little over an hour ago, passing out drunk had been the only restful sleep she'd had since her senses and life had started going crazy. But getting drunk was a temporary solution and another way to put off actually going through with the decision she'd gradually decided on over the last few days.
"I am *not* crazy! I just don't understand why this is happening to me. But I will find the answers!" She fiercely whispered. It didn't matter that the statement was made in the dark with no one except herself to hear it. Just saying it aloud made Ashika feel at peace and even surer that her choice was the right one.
Without turning on a single light, she got up and walked into the kitchen to put the bottle of scotch in the cubbord above the refrigerator. Going back into the living room Ashika picked up her duffle bag which had been resting on the edge of the coffee table, making sure that the note she'd written earlier was in the middle of the table.
Everything was taken care of. All her monthly bills were either paid off or current, and she had set up a system where those bills would automaticly be paid for for an entire year. Anything longer than that, and she'd need to make different arrangements.
Ashika Wataru left her loft, locking the door behind her. No matter how long it took and even if it ened up killing her, she would only return to Tacoma, Washington when she was no longer a danger to those around her.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"She's outside her building." A strange man said as he carefully put his pocket binoculars on the window sill in front of him. "What do we do now?"
His partner looked up from his small laptop, absently adjusted the communication gear on his head, while sending on the question and other information. A moment later, he was able to answer his partner's question. "We just follow her and keep reporting on her movements. I'll relay to the rest to be ready to move at any time."
"Yes, Sir."
TBC in Part 2
Feedback: Aurora2208@aol.com