3. Jump Ropes on Destiny
Eli Wallace entered the work room in awe, his gaze going every which way. He was a kid that had dropped out of MIT and was now part of something much larger than he could have ever imagined. At first, he had been beyond excited but, seeing the 23 year old in the corner sketching had scared him. He had heard of the brilliant aid that was “helping” Dr. Rush but to see him in person gave a sudden light to the wariness people had when asked about him.
Demetri looked up from his work once to catch Eli’s gaze. Sharp and cold, Eli actually stumbled back in shock at how much fear just a simple glance up could enforce in a human being. It wasn’t in the least bit human, in Eli’s opinion.
Not even an hour later, they tried Eli’s suggestion with dialing the 9th chevron but it hadn’t worked. Though Demetri said nothing, Eli was sure he was laughing. The young man that many avoided Eli was sure was humored by the simple errors.
Demetri was suppose to take off for home that very same day after dinner, a day Eli wasn’t so sure he was excited or wary for now, but the Lucian Alliance attacked and Eli was fully aware that, even though he had imputed one code, a separate code took its place. Eli had to only glance up to see Demetri on a laptop, looking over systems as the code that now dominated Eli’s scrolled next to the windows open. After just that glimpse of the screen, Eli was positive Demetri had long since seen the errors others had missed.
Demetri had stepped through the Stargate right after Rush, his already packed black sports bag over his shoulder and a box of supplies in either hand. He came flying through only to collide with Rush. Not a word was shared between them as others came through the Stargate and Demetri moved out of the way of the flying objects and bodies heading their way.
Picking up the two items he had grabbed other than his bag, Demetri hauled them off to the side before he stepped out of the room, looking around the hallway before starting down it. Curious and grateful for the lack of yelling the farther he went, Demetri kept a mental map of where he was going. He passed several rooms that looked like crew rooms and had little doubt that there were more. There was a room that looked like a mess hall at one point in his journey as well as an infirmary.
In his wandering, Demetri came across what appeared to be the control interface of the ship they were all on. He dropped his duffle next to the consol on the far side of the room and pressed several buttons before the screen jumped to life. He groaned at seeing the ancient symbols.
Slightly frustrated he was back to this, he started figuring out what worked and what didn’t, completely unaware and yet hyperaware of his surroundings. Pressing a few things, a groan emanated from somewhere in the bowels of the ship. Demetri didn’t even lift his gaze as he heard someone enter.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the Scottish accent snapped.
Demetri pressed another button, bringing up another screen. He was quite pleased to see he had indeed understood the symbols and had brought up a map of the ship. “What I was trained to do. Reading and understanding the ancient language this ship’s systems were built with.”
“And if you keep messing around, you’ll probably end up blowing this ship to pieces.”
Demetri set a sharp, piercing glare onto the scientist as he snapped, “The equation that you had intertwined into that game I had cracked within a week of reading. I hacked into the dialing system using a separate computer months before Wallace even knew about the blasted game itself. When he typed in the equation you told him to, all I had to do was press a button and the code I had completed and perfected was implemented, the same code you had worked so long on.”
Rush went to interrupt him but he held up a hand, barking, “The only reason that planet exploded was because of the attack. I had no time to compensate for the added stress to the planet’s core. And don’t even assume I’ll blow this ship up. I’m not about to destroy something that is keeping us alive. We’re stranded here, remember?”
Clearly startled by the sudden flood of words that had escaped Demetri, Rush just stared at the young man that was still glaring at him. A sudden smile crept onto Rush’s face that had Demetri narrowing his eyes. Not only had the scientist’s features sharpen, but there was a glint in the dark brown eyes that Demetri didn’t like.
“You solved the equation.” Demetri’s expression became one that said you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me clearly only to have Rush laugh, throwing his hands up in either joy or exasperation. Possibly both, Demetri mused as Rush plowed on. “You solved the equation and didn’t even say a word.”
Demetri looked at the consol before him, done pretending that he cared the man was still there. “I’m just a kid.”
Demetri could feel Rush’s gaze on him as he worked, knowing full well the scientist wasn’t daft enough to miss the low blow. He refused to show anything but hostility or a lack there of towards Rush. However, the comment that came as a retort wasn’t one that he had expected.
“You’re not a kid.” Demetri looked up and Rush had the decency to look rather ashamed and flustered as he clarified, “Eli’s a kid. You’re not.”
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Looking back at the screen, he finished before turning it off. “I don’t really care whether you think that or not. Within a week, you won’t even know I’m here.”
He picked up his sports bag and walked down the hallway behind him before Rush could even think of saying something against the same line Demetri had used the first day he had met Rush.
Demetri wanted to be secluded from the masses as much as possible. He eventually found a room out of the way that he knew would not be passed by in the normal flow of day to day traffic he was fully aware the halls would soon gain. The likelihood of someone actually finding his room was minimal. He made a mental note to at least tell the medic. Though he regretted to admit it, someone needed to know.
Pressing the door release, the gears in the door sounded before the hiss of the mechanism retracting the door panels into the wall engaged. Demetri stepped in and slammed his fist down on the door release on the other side. When he was sure the door was fully closed and locked, he finally succumbed to the fear and anxiety of the day, his entire body shaking as adrenaline was allowed to run through his system without blockage. He collapsed to his knees with his back to the door. He hadn’t even moved from when he had closed and locked the door.
Gasping for breath, the tears streamed free as he wrapped his arms around his torso and gripped his shirt, taking in solace from the fact that he wasn’t going to be interrupted. All his walls came crashing down and his emotions quickly inundated him. It was a good two hours before he had actually calmed enough to get up off the floor.
Setting his duffle onto the bed, he opened it to find it still well organized. Unlike those now stranded with him on the ancient ship, he had already been packed to leave. He doubted anyone else was as lucky as he.
A white t-shirt, a grey undershirt, a blue tank, and a grey button up were neatly folded next to the other pair of jeans he owned, a pair of shorts, two extra pairs of boxers, running shoes, and a slate turtleneck with a bag of toiletries stuffed between the two stacks. Two sketchbooks were at the very bottom of the duffle as a laptop and tablet were stuffed between the cloths for padding and protection. Two click eraser and three mechanical pencils were in the side pocket with a good amount of eraser refills and lead with a spare set of headphones. His iPod and camera were also in the side pocket with the external hard drive he had just gotten from his last visit home. It wasn’t much but it was all that he wanted. He didn’t need much of anything else to live.
He found a room that also had a desk against the opposite wall from the bed. He moved his laptop and tablet to the desk before placing a sketchbook on the nightstand. He placed his iPod with the sketchbook before placing the duffle at the end of the bed.
Straightening the dark grey button down under the grey sweater it complimented, he left his room, locking it on his way out. It didn’t take him long before he was regretting leaving his quarters.
He entered the control interface room to find it empty except for one of the scientists he could care less for. It was when he got back to the Gate Room did he yearn for the comfort of the room he had claimed. People were still scared, still panicking, even after so long. However, things had calmed considerably. The gate was active and people were geared to leave. Demetri watched from the shadows of one of the staircases as the group before him stepped through the event horizon. Murmur of what was going on quickly reached his ear, information about ancient CO2 scrubbers and the senator guy sacrificing himself so that a leak could be sealed to prevent atmosphere loss being passed around. Not really caring to hear more from those that were ill informed, he made his way back to the control interface room only to find it now buzzing. Annoyed, he quickly left.
It wasn’t long before he found himself on the observation deck, leaning heavily on the rail before the window. He quickly grew a liking to the room as long as it was empty. The planet was visible off to one side and it looked more like a dusty rock then a planet they needed. His sanctuary, however, was interrupted by Camile Wray entering. He didn’t even wait around to hear a word she had to say. He left without a glance her way.
Bored, Demetri found himself back in the Gate Room at the top of the stairs, finding it rather funny no one walked the gangway that bordered the entire Gate Room on the second level. He sat with his feet handing over the edge, using the bottom rail as a place to rest his chin on his crossed arms. He watched the Stargate and the people below, finding which spots had the best vantage point while being hidden. Eventually, it came down to the corner on the right of the gate and he stayed there long after the team made it back from the desert planet.
Demetri got up and made his way down from the second floor as Rush drank down the water offered. It was rather amusing when Rush croaked out, “I thought you skipped out on us and ran off.”
Demetri didn’t even have to make a remark in return as he gently grabbed the older man’s upper arm and aided him in standing. It was clear to anyone that had been listening and watching that the young man aiding Rush knew much more than he put forth and wasn’t even affected by the remark.
Lt. Tamara “TJ” Johansen, the now head medic, sent all those that had gone to the desert planet to bed rest quickly before she lost what little aid Demetri was giving her by taking responsibility of Rush. As the pair disappeared down the hall, Demetri finally spoke. “Are you going to tell me where your room is or am I dumping you in a broom closet to get heat stroke?”
Mutters here and there directed Demetri to the scientist’s room where Demetri left Rush for the sake of getting the man some more water. When he returned, he wasn’t surprised to see Rush not there. Traveling to the control interface room, Demetri found Rush at a consol and placed the cup near the man’s hand without a sound. When Rush took a sip, Demetri retreated to a corner and sat on the floor.
Things between the scientists didn’t sort out quickly and Demetri was woken twice from dosing by scientists bickering. As Demetri dosed off a third time against the wall, Young entered and banter between him and Rush didn’t end so well. Demetri listened as the topic of dialing back to Earth came to the forefront and the same counter came up. They didn’t have the power to dial home.
Standing, Demetri walked over to the consol Eli was at and motioned for him to move a bit. With a three clicks of three separate buttons and a toggle through screens, Demetri read over what he had found and stated, “Even though I could care less that you two are bantering over something so childish, the facts support Dr. Rush. We don’t have enough power or the controls to get the use of power efficient enough to dial back to Earth.”
Demetri didn’t look up till he had the screen back to where Eli had been, knowing both Colonel and scientist were gawking at him. Once Eli was sitting before his consol, Demetri set his amber gaze on the men, displeased. “People are just going to have to deal with the fact that we can’t go home.”
“Till when?” Young asked.
Demetri shrugged. “A few weeks. Several years. There’s no way of knowing. We have no access to the ship’s systems directly and we have no way of controlling Destiny’s predetermined path.”
“Predetermined. Rush had mentioned that before.”
Demetri rolled his eyes. “We’re on a highway with no exits. Until we gain a Jeep or some off road capabilities, we’re stuck on this highway, able to pull into rest stops but unable to turn around. Someone build this highway before Destiny was sent out. Now all we have to do is figure out how to turn her around.”
Young turned to Rush, who shrugged. “It’s a good analogy of the situation.”
Young nodded. “Figure out what you can. Keep me updated.”
Rush nodded as Young left. As soon as everyone was sure that the Colonel was gone, the scientists swarmed Demetri. All except Rush, who went back to work. Demetri was bombarded with questions and all the young man could do was wait till they calmed. Eli, however, asked the question that had everyone else on their toes.
“How did you find what you were looking for so quickly on the consol?”
Demetri sighed, massaging a temple. “I learned how to read and understand a bit of the language the Ancients used. Dr. Daniel Jackson taught me what he knew both when I was little and when I grew interested. Samantha Carter threw in tidbits whenever she could. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Demetri slipped through the crowd of scientists and headed to his room. He slammed on the door release a bit harder than necessary and the door just couldn’t lock fast enough behind him. And, for the first time in years, Demetri truly felt alone. He felt at home in his room, even with its size. He was really grateful the side of the bed was up against the wall rather than the head of the bed like in the other rooms he had glimpsed into. It made his room seem a bit larger even though it had a desk and was probably one of the smallest, being no more that a 12x12 room.
He stripped to his boxers, folding his clothes neatly before placing them into his sports bag. He was lean and had a bit of muscle even with the minimal amount of exercise he got. As he curled up under the covers on the bed, he wondered briefly if there was anything like a jump rope on Destiny. He wouldn’t mind exercising with a jump rope. Actually, he would prefer it to anything else.
Demetri picked up his iPod and put his headphones in, wondering how he had gotten lucky to have gotten a new set of headphones when he had gotten the external hard drive. His current set of headphones hadn’t blown yet but they were getting close. He made a mental note to keep the iPod in his room as he set the timer and locked the iPod before settling for the night with music playing in his ears.
...last for a while
