| How It All Started |
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| Ezra looked away from where Cassie and Marissa played among the ruins. Above them he sensed something new coming. His senses weren�t finely tuned enough to give him the ability to know their intentions, but he knew for certain that a ship had come into orbit over the desolated world. He got to his feet and smoothed out the folds of his fine linen tunic. Cassie noticed the movement and paused to look at him. Looking up at the empty sky, she asked, �What�s wrong, Ezra?� Ezra smiled reassuringly at the child and said, �I don�t believe it�s anything to worry yourself over, my dear. In fact it could be the rescue we have so long awaited.� Cassie smiled and pushed her hair away from her face. She knew Ezra could feel things no one else could. He�d warned the captain that something was wrong with the ship. Rather than heeding the warning, the captain had politely informed Ezra that he was only a passenger and couldn�t possibly know there was something wrong, if none of the crew had found something. However, not two days later they had crashed on this world. Few had survived the accident, most of them died not long after from their injuries. Ezra had found Cassie moments before the accident and gotten her to safety. When he�d gone out to help the others, Cassie had been afraid that he wouldn�t return in time. Most of the people he�d attempted to help, however, didn�t believe him any more than the captain had. In the end he�d only been able to convince a couple dozen of the passengers to follow him. Cassie came out of her thoughts and grinned at Ezra. Taking his hand, she said, �Let�s go tell the others.� She and Marissa skipped on ahead, with Ezra trailing in their wake, praying that things would be different this time. ********************************** Chris stared at the view screen as it showed the world below. This was their first mission for the Confederation. The Council had told Travis that they were to go to this world and explore the ruins, in order to find out about the ancient civilization that had lived there. Chris was a little nervous, since the crewmembers were still getting to know each other. He hoped that in the week since they had left Cygma, they knew each other well enough to work as a team. Jack turned to Chris and cleared his throat to get the captain�s attention. With a smile, he said, �Well, there she is. Aurora. According to our Intel, it was a Norabardian settlement. After the invasion, the settlers lost contact with the homeworld and eventually ended up abandoning it.� �So there shouldn�t be anyone down there,� Buck said softly. Chris scowled in concern and shook his head. Turning to Buck, he said, �Not if they abandoned it. We�re here to look into some ruins that they reported when they returned to Norabardal.� Buck looked up and said, �Well, I�m reading several life-forms on the surface.� Jack�s face showed the surprise he felt at the news. Turning first to Chris, then back to Buck, he asked, �What kind of life-forms?� Buck glanced at the readout and replied, �People from the looks of it, humans.� Chris frowned, without taking his eyes away from the view screen and said, �CJ, see if they�ll answer a hale from us.� After a few moments, CJ spoke up, saying, �They don�t seem to be able to, Captain. At least, I�m not getting anything in response.� Chris looked at Jack and said, �Take Daniel, Jim and Blair and go down there.� Jack nodded slightly and said, �I�ll take Josh, too. We might need a diplomat to smooth the way for us if things get sticky down there.� Chris nodded in agreement and Jack left to collect the members of his away team. ********************************** The small away team stepped out of the landing craft and looked around. Jack was the first to speak. He looked at his team and said, �Okay, people, let�s see where these folks are hiding.� Jim looked up and said, �The readings seem to be coming from that direction.� He cocked his head and listened for a few moments; then nodded and added, �I can hear them. It�s definitely coming from that way. Sounds like some kind of fight is going on.� Jack nodded and led the way over the hill toward where the unexpected inhabitants were located. As he got to the top of the hill, he looked out and saw the people. There was a small group of about ten women and children and two men. All the people were dressed in rough clothes, either simple gowns or tunics and pants. Both men had longish hair and rough beards covering their faces. The men were indeed engaged in some kind of fight. Just as the away team crested the hill, the larger of the two got a good hit in on the smaller brown-haired man. He fell heavily and lay sprawled on the ground. He scowled slightly and placed his hand to his bleeding lip. At that moment, the smaller man looked up at the landing party. Green eyes locked with dark ones and a smile broke out on his face. The small man pointed at Jack and his companions and said, �See, Jonah! I told you they would be coming!� As he said the words, everyone present glanced up to where he indicated. Jack noticed that the smaller man wore an expression that could only be described as vindication. How had he known they were coming? Why hadn�t his companions believed him? Jack shook the questions from his mind and said softly, �Okay, Josh. You�re up. Time to make nice with the locals.� Josh smiled briefly and stepped forward. He held his hands out at his sides to show that he meant them no harm and said, �I�m Josh Lyman. This is Jack O�Neill, Daniel Jackson, Blair Sandburg and Jim Ellison. My companions and I are explorers. We were under the impression that no one lived here, but obviously we were wrong.� Meanwhile, the small man had gotten to his feet and brushed his tunic off. He took out a handkerchief, which he held to his lip for a moment. Taking a step forward, he greeted Josh softly, �Good day, Mr. Lyman. I�m Ezra Standish. Your information was quite correct, for what we do here can hardly be called living. We survive; nothing more.� Now that the formalities had been dispensed with, Blair spoke up, �Hi. I was wondering, how�d you get here?� The man who had introduced himself as Ezra started to speak, but his taller companion cut him off, saying, �It was his fault!� Ezra turned to glare at his attacker and said softly, �I warned the captain that there was something wrong with the ship! He chose not to listen to me, that wasn�t my fault. Just as it was not my fault that you chose not to believe me when I told you how to get to safety. Just as it was not my fault that your stubbornness caused the death of your wife.� Jack flinched in sympathy, knowing what was coming because he realized, probably a second before Standish, that the big man had been pushed too far. Just as he�d expected, the larger man launched a roundhouse punch at Standish, however, the smaller man blocked the blow and captured the arm. Before the large man knew what was occurring, he had been shoved to the ground by a man who was at least a head shorter than him. Ezra gave the man a warning look and said softly, �I apologize for my callous words, Mr. Bailey, but my temper got the better of me. I pray you will forgive me, as I have already forgiven you?� Bailey stood up and glowered at the smaller man but said nothing. Ezra turned to Blair and said, �To answer your question, Mr. Sandburg: a ship crashed here approximately 18 months ago. Those you see here are the sole survivors, out of a compliment of two hundred souls.� Blair let out a whistle of astonishment and said, �Man, you folks have been trapped here for a year and a half?� Ezra nodded quietly in response. Daniel glanced at Jack, who shrugged and said, �Jim, if you stay here and look after the kids,� he pointed to Blair and Daniel, and continued, �Josh and I will take these people up to the ship.� Jim nodded and said, �Sure, Jack. Just make sure you come back and get us.� Jack chuckled and teased, �Would I forget my space-monkey?� Daniel rolled his eyes and turned toward the ruins that were not far away. Ezra touched Jack on the arm and asked quietly, �May I ask why they are going to remain here?� Blair smiled and answered, �We came here to study the ruins; you were just a bonus.� Ezra flashed a grin and said, �I would be happy to act as a guide for you, and provide you with what knowledge I have been able to glean about the past inhabitants of this world.� Jim frowned slightly and Blair smiled even more broadly, �He said he�d act as a guide and tell us what he knows about this place.� Jack nodded, �That�ll be fine, leave us more room in the landing craft.� He turned to the rest of the refugees and said, �Let�s go people.� *********************************** Chris looked at the other members of his command crew and frowned as he thought about the situation. He hadn�t expected Jack to return to the ship with a dozen refugees. Well, it was actually only eleven, since one had stayed with the rest of the away team to act as a guide. While they couldn�t leave the people behind on the deserted world, they were mostly women and children, they didn�t have enough extra rooms to support that many people. All the guestrooms on the ship were filled to capacity. The small ship was made to carry forty people, the added refugees left them with a deficit of five people. Chris considered housing them in sickbay, but knew Janet would protest that the space was needed for people who were hurt or sick. Some of the regular crewmembers would have to be forced to share to make more room. Even then they would have trouble finding something for those extra five people to sleep on. Buck spoke up with a possible solution to the problem. �JD can sleep on my couch, Daniel can sleep on Jack�s and Vin can sleep on yours. That�ll give you three more beds.� Chris nodded and Jack spoke up, adding, �Blair can sleep on Jim�s couch. That leaves us wanting only one bed.� Chris smirked, at least the problem was partially solved, but they still needed one more bed and there wasn�t one. Except in sickbay. He turned to Janet and smiled slightly. Before he could say a word, she frowned and said, �Forget it, Chris. I need the space for medical emergencies.� Her tone brooked no argument and Chris nodded silently in defeat. The defeat turned into bitter triumph as Jim entered and informed them softly, �That man, Standish, something�s wrong with him. He collapsed down on the planet. He�s in sickbay now. Mac�s working on him.� ********************************** Ezra heard voices around him, but they seemed far away and he couldn�t understand what they were saying. He realized that he had his eyes closed and forced them open slowly. He glanced around quietly and saw an older woman looking at him. She smiled when she saw that he was awake and came over to the bed. In a soft voice, she said, �Look who�s finally awake.� The other people on the medical team glanced over and a small woman came over to stand at Ezra�s other shoulder. She gently placed a hand on his forehead and said, �I�m Doctor Janet Fraiser. This is Nettie. How do you feel, Mr. Standish?� Ezra pushed her hand away and sat up. Uncertainly, he said, �Better. What-what happened?� Janet frowned slightly. She took Ezra�s wrist and said, �We were hoping you could tell us. We know you fainted but we can�t find anything that could have caused it.� Ezra frowned slightly. He knew exactly why he�d fainted, but he wasn�t sure he should tell them. He had been helping Blair and Daniel at the ruins, using psychometry to read the objects that didn�t have any writing or other clues as to their use or origins. He had been holding back, so that he wasn�t overwhelmed by the impulses from the objects. Unfortunately, between doing that and trying to calm Bailey down earlier and trying to gauge the intentions of the crew of the Lady Luck, he�d overdone. He�d done it before over the past year and a half, and it always resulted in him fainting. He broke out of his reverie and shrugged at Janet. In a soft voice, he said, �I faint sometimes, when I�ve been � been very active.� Janet nodded, �Your vital signs did indicate exhaustion. Do you think you�re up to meeting the captain and the rest of the crew?� Ezra looked down at his lap; then nodded and said, �I believe so, thank you.� Janet smiled and turned to a tall man with dark hair and a full mustache. She nodded and said, �Okay, Mr. Wilmington, you can get Chris. He�s up for company.� Just after Buck left to get the captain, JD peered into sickbay and called over to Janet, �Dr. Fraiser?� She looked over and said, �JD? What can I do for you?� JD came in, with a young girl trailing shyly behind him. She looked to be about eleven years old with straight brownish-red hair and green eyes. JD smiled and pointed at the child, �This is Cassie. She�s one of the people rescued from Aurora. She wanted to know if she could see Mr. Standish.� Janet smiled and said, �Certainly, honey.� She glanced at Ezra and asked, �Are you two related.� Ezra blushed and shook his head. �Her father was the first officer of the ship. I got her to safety, but he was killed in the crash,� he explained softly, adding, �She�s an orphan. I�ve been keeping an eye on her, that�s all.� Janet nodded and Cassie walked over to Ezra and said, �You fainted again.� It was a statement, Janet noted. Obviously Ezra did this often enough that it was commonplace. Ezra nodded silently and Cassie whispered, �You have to be more careful, Ezra.� He looked up at her and smiled. Then, in a soft voice, he replied, �I promise you that I shall exercise more care in the future, my dear. Do you forgive me for frightening you?� Cassie smiled and nodded, then hugged him. Janet smiled, they may not be related, but there was clearly a bond between them. She turned away from her patient and noticed that the captain had entered. She smirked at him and said, �Well, you got your wish, Chris. I want him to spend at least the night here. He should be fine, after a good night�s sleep. He�s completely exhausted.� Chris frowned and said seriously, �This is not what I had in mind when I wanted one of our guests to stay in sickbay.� Without waiting for a response, he crossed over to where Ezra sat on the bed. �I�m Chris Larabee, captain of the Lady Luck. Thank you for helping Dr. Jackson and Mr. Sandburg down on the surface. They said that you gave them invaluable information.� Ezra smiled and replied, �It was the least I could do Captain Larabee. After all, you have extricated us from an otherwise hopeless situation.� Chris nodded and said, �Daniel said that some of the stuff you uncovered was...well, incredible. He said it was almost as though you were there when the ruins were first built.� Ezra blinked in surprise and shrugged. �I have always enjoyed history. I seem to have a knack for piecing things together from a small amount of information,� he explained uncertainly. Chris smiled and came to why he was there. Looking the smaller man directly in the eye, he asked, �Do you have any plans? I expect that most of the people you were with plan on continuing on to your original destination.� Ezra looked down at his hands, clasped in his lap. He took a deep breath and said, �When we first crashed, there was close to thirty survivors. Our first summer on that world, it got unbearably hot. Without any kind of temperature regulation, people started succumbing to the heat.� Chris frowned, wondering where this was going, but didn�t interrupt. Ezra looked up and continued, �People also got sick. Some kind of virus or parasite. My wife was one of the first to � one of the first ones we lost.� He looked up at Chris and shook his head, in a small voice he said, �I haven�t got anywhere to go.� Chris laid a hand on the smaller man�s shoulder and said quietly, �I lost my wife and son a few years ago. It gets � easier with time.� Ezra smiled wanly at the Captain, who added, �What would you say to a position in the crew? I could use a man with your talents.� Ezra looked at him in disbelief and said, �You don�t know me! You can�t possibly know what skills I have.� Chris smiled and corrected, �I know you have amazing skills with observation and investigation, I know you can handle yourself in a fight and I know you can talk your way out of practically any problem. All those skills will come in handy with this crew. What do you say?� Ezra smiled and Chris caught a flash of his gold inlaid tooth. Without hesitation, the southerner asked, �Where do I sign?� |
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