Eye of the Storm, Part 2: Language Barrier
“A likely story!” scoffed
Harper. Dylan looked at him, “You can understand what they’re saying?”
Harper looked confused, “Don’t tell me you never learnt English? You speak
Than and Perseid, but not English?”
Dylan shrugged, “Never had to learn. Not that many people still use it.”
Harper smiled smugly, “HA!”
The first stranger looked at them, confused, “Um, can any of you
understand me?” Harper and Rommie looked at him, “Yes!” they replied in
English. The stranger seemed to relax, “Look, we come in peace. We’re from a
planet called Earth.” Harper smiled, still looking down the sights of his
gauss-gun, “I’m from Earth, and most people there speak common. So who are
you, and where are you really from?”
The stranger still seamed confused, “My names Colonel Jack O'Neill,
United States Air Force.” Rommie looked at him, her eyes hard, and “The
United States has not existed for almost 5,000-years”. You might have picked a
better cover story.” O'Neill’s
face fell, “How long did you say?” Harper looked at him, “What are you,
deaf? She said 5,000-years. The United States dissolved after Earth joined the
Commonwealth.”
A blond woman stepped past O'Neill, “What year is this?” Harper smiled, noticing her for the first
time, “C.Y. 10,088.” She seamed confused, “In the Earth calendar?”
Harper did the math's, “Some point in the late 70th century I hazed
a guess.” O'Neill trough his
cap to the floor, “Damn it Carter! I thought you fixed it so this wouldn’t
happen again?” Carter shrugged, “I thought I had. There must have been some
sunspot activity. I don’t know how this could have happened.”
A second man stepped forward, “Hi, look, sometimes the Stargate, this
device we use to travel between worlds, well, it’s affected by sunspots, and
has, in the past, sent us through time. Never this far I admit, but it has
happened. And why is that woman looking at him so strangely?” He asked,
noticing the look on Rommie’s face. Rommie blinked, shaking her head, “I’m
sorry, you look just like someone I once knew.” The man smiled, “Maybe he
was a descendant of mine?” Rommie shook her head, “He was an AI, and
android.”
Carter was amazed, “You have Artificially Intelligent androids?”
Rommie looked at her, “Yes: I’m an AI.” O'Neill was taken aback, “Wow! Never would have guessed!” The forth
stranger nodded, “It is indeed an impressive simulation of a normal human.”
Rommie shot him a hard glance, “I’m a sentient being, and I’ll have you
remember that, especially while you’re on this ship!”
Dylan was stood staring at the apparent conversation going on before
him, “Will someone please tell me what’s going on here? I am the captain and
all!” Andromeda’s holographic form appeared next to him, “They claim to be
explorers from some point in Earth’s history. The leader calls himself Colonel
Jack O'Neill, and the blond woman
seems to be named Carter. As for the one who looks like Gabriel and the tall one
with the golden tattoo on his forehead, they haven’t said.”