Cello Suite No. 1

Cello Suite No. 1

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked, settling himself on the pillows as Ronon stretched out next to Rodney.

“We know that hearing that your sister is missing has been very hard for you. It has been my experience that talking about it, sharing the burden as you would say, makes it easier.” John sighed, nodding as he agreed with Teyla.

“What d'you want to know?” he asked as he laid out on his side like Ronon, getting comfortable.

“Why don't you start with just talking about her. You sister. Tell us what she's like.” Teyla was sitting up straight, her hands resting on her knees as she stared at John calmly. Rodney was leaning back against the wall, watching John, too.

“Ok. Well. She was born when I was three. There were only two of us, our parents had wanted one boy and one girl and they were happy with us. As we grew up, I was always her go to person. Even if she should have gone to our parents to talk about something, she'd always come to me.” he smiled softly.

“Used to drive my mother mad. When Kahlen was old enough for 'the talk,' she told our mom that I had already explained things to her when she was eleven and that she didn't need her to repeat what I had said. Boy, I can still remember the yelling she gave me when she found out I had also explained to Kahlen what she would go through as she matured. Mom didn't think it was my place to but Kahlen was just so curious, and she didn't want to go to our parents about that stuff.” Rodney snorted.

“Oh, I can see it now. You, a fifteen-year-old boy explaining to an eleven-year-old girl the joys of womanhood. I would have paid to see that.” John threw a pillow at Rodney, smacking him right in the face.

“I'll have you know that I was able to explain everything with our stuttering or blushing and I was also able to answer all of her questions intelligently.” Rodney threw the pillow back at John, still snorting.

“Anyway,” John put the pillow under his head, turning on his back, getting comfortable, “When I graduated from the Academy to become a pilot, Kahlen had already decided that she would become a scientist.” John smiled at Rodney. “You'd like her. When she gets riled up, she won't give up her point, especially if she knows she's right and she usually always is.

“She gained honors like they were candy and deiced to become a linguist, too, just to give herself a challenge. She's quite good at it, actually. She excelled in linguistics like she did everything else. By the time she graduated to become a pilot like I did, she was already being offered scholarships to every technical collage and linguistic school around. Mom was hoping that she would take one of the scholarships, instead of becoming a pilot like me.”

“Why wouldn't you mother want Kahlen to become a pilot?” Teyla questioned.

“Well, mom didn't thinks that Kahlen was 'girly' enough, like she always thought her daughter would be. Really, Kahlen only became a pilot because I did. She was always trying to show me her achievements to make me proud of her. Dad was happy, of course, it meant having another pilot in the family.”

John folded his arms beneath his head, staring at the ceiling.

“When Kahlen started learning how to be a pilot, it took only three months before the whole area knew about her. She's a very fast learning, perceptive, inquisitive and very intelligent. She was the Pilots Prodigy, according to the teachers. She excelled at what she applied herself to and after nearly two years, she was able to join me in my last year.

“According to the commanding General, he was pretty sure that Kahlen was the only person so finish so quickly with such high marks. I wasn't surprised – I always knew that with her smarts she wouldn't waste any time doing anything else than what she wanted to do. After we both graduated and became pilots, we were both at it for a year before she went off to continue her scientific stuff along with linguistics. Obviously, she was introduced to the Stargate Program before I was.” John shift slightly, letting out a deep breath.

“I was really proud of her – told her ever chance I could get. I got such a headache when she was able to finally tell me all that she had really been doing with the Stargate Program when I was told about it. She had been working studiously underneath Sam Cater and Daniel Jackson, learning about everything and anything she could soak up from those two. And before you ask, Rodney, no, you never met her before. Sam made her stay away from you because she was sure that an argument between you two would result in physical violence.” Rodney rolled his eyes, not disagreeing with that assessment.

John smiled, a genuine smile, the first he had in days. Teyla smiled, too, while Rodney looked too pleased with himself while Ronon smirked affectionately.

~

“No, here, look-” fingers tapping on the computer screen.

“Yes, I'm not blind, I can see that-” angry, clipped words.

“But don't you think-” hopeful.

“No, I don't. Until the linguists have finished translated the text from that control panel-” a finger was pointed at a piece of machinery in the video Sam managed to tape, “-we won't know what it is or what it does,” resigned.

“D'you think it might be able to tell us where they were sent?” a long, drawn out sigh.

“Maybe,” doubtful.

The two scientists bent diligently to their task, trying to decipher what piece of machinery was what and trying to locate something resembling a control panel or something. They made still images that they sent to the linguists – images of Ancient machinery with lines of Ancient text bordering along the edges of the metal.