"Teyla´s Story" by Emily Ramos

Blue and green crystals flashed with both the precision and varying speeds of an intricate dance. The dazzling light-crystals hovered near the high, painted steel ceiling of the ball room, their sparkles caught and scattered by the currently dormant chandelier hovering in their midst. The walls gave off a phosphorescent shimmer of swirling blues and greens, illuminating the massive chamber with a ghostly, under-water glow.

Against one of these luminous walls leaned an exhausted and slightly irritated young woman. Teyla Wheydon shut her eyes in an attempt to find some peace, or rather patience, before plunging back into the party and the life her socialite parents had arranged. Of course, being the proud parents of a Force Soldier they had every right to the lifestyle they indulged in, and all the attention that went with it.

“Happy birthday, Teyla,” an easily recognizable voice with a Scottish accent whispered from her right. Rather, it was what had been a Scottish accent before Unification, when all other distinction of nationality had been erased. It was amazing that he’d retained an accent, since the World Council had passed the Relocation Act twenty-seven years before. Then again, he had grown up in a “Scottish” Refugee Camp until the Relocation Committee had moved his family to City Alpha.

“Nathaniel,” Teyla breathed without opening her eyes. “My birthday isn’t actually today. I have two days to go.”

“Happy almost birthday, then,” Nathaniel said, a smile creeping into his voice.

Teyla opened her eyes and turned to smile at Nathaniel. “Did my parents honestly invite you to this shindig?”

Nathaniel worked hard to appear offended. “Why wouldn’t they? Don’t they know that I am the best – nay, the only! – choice for their precious daughter?”

“Quiet, Nathaniel!” Teyla hissed.

“Actually no, they didn’t. Your dear brother did. And don’t worry so much, Tey. Your parents left hours ago and nobody else here cares. Trust me, at least half of the people here are in the same situation as us.” Nathaniel sighed. “I don’t see why your parents find me so contemptible, after all they are Force-Loyal and Jonas is a high-ranking Under Officer. What is he now, Blue Rank?”

“Actually he’s Silver. And it isn’t anything about the Force that my parents are unhappy with. It’s the fact that you could die in a battle and leave me all alone. I mean, you did just get promoted to Force Officer Black Rank.”

“Ah, but dearest, I rarely go into battle anymore since – I’m not supposed to talk about that.”

Teyla narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Talk about what?”

“Force business, Teyla. Not allowed to say anything. Come on, let’s enjoy your party.”

Teyla rolled her eyes. “With luck I shall never have to suffer through another. I don’t even know half the people here. More than half! I am so glad that I can finally go off to any City University in the world!”

Nathaniel snorted unhappily. “Forgive me, but I simply must remind you. First of all, you have two more days of being seventeen, and second I think you are forgetting about the one good thing here in City Alpha.”

“Oh, Nathaniel. Now that you’re Black Rank you’ll be shipped off to another City!”

“Maybe. It doesn’t always work like that. In fact, Lord Isaac likes me quite a lot, so I doubt that I’ll be leaving.”

“Right.”

“I’m just glad that Jonas never managed to rope you into joining the Force. Then there would be a legitimate reason for us not to be together.”

Teyla shuddered. “I could never kill anyone.”

“I know. I like that. Then again,” Nathaniel said, a considering look on his gentle face, “I would probably like you even if you were a rampaging murderer. I guess I’d have to see before I could decide.”

Teyla joined him in laughter, but the rapid trill of her silver bracelet prevented her from replying. She scowled, raising her wrist for Nathaniel to see.

“That’s my curfew-warning. I have to wear this dumb thing for two more days and then I am free!”

*

Teyla and Jonas entered the dark house a few minute before the curfew violation would have sounded. Teyla trudged up the stairs, ready for a good night’s sleep.

“Goodnight, Jonas,” Teyla murmured as they reached the top of the curved staircase and turned their separate ways.

“Goodnight to you, little sister.”

As Teyla continued down the hall, a strange sound began to build. She stopped and then turned back towards the staircase. A loud buzz was coming from Jonas’ direction. Teyla ran towards him, fully awake again.

Jonas was shooting back down the hall and towards the staircase, his face twisted with distress.

“What’s going on?” Teyla called as he began racing down the stairs. She was still a few meters away, gripping the railing and leaning over it to see him better. “Jonas!”

“I have to go, Teyla!” Jonas yelled back. “Very important!”

Teyla ran down the steps after him, determined to know what was going on. Lights were flickering on; her parents were up.

“Teyla? Jonas? What is going on?” her father called from the top of the stairs. When neither of the children answered, two more pairs of feet could be heard hurrying to the ground floor.

Jonas had stopped at the front set of old style French doors, his face clearing. Teyla skidded to a stop beside him. Their parents joined them almost instantly after, Nicholas panting slightly and Cordelia taking deep, ragged breaths.

“What’s going on?” Nicholas asked disjointedly.

“Where are you going?” Teyla demanded of her brother, ignoring Nicholas’ question entirely.

“I have to go, Teyla. Mother, Father, I have been called to duty.”

“No!” Teyla cried.

Cordelia clung to her husband’s arm, sadness clouding her face. But Nicholas stood strong and his face was empty of emotion.

“Do you have any idea when you will return?”

“Perhaps when my call is complete. I do not know.”

“Don’t go!” Teyla demanded. “I don’t want you to go!”

“Teyla!” Nicholas snapped. “It does not matter what you want. Jonas is protecting our world. The least you could do is let him go in peace, without making him feel guilty for leaving.”

“But he shouldn’t go! The people that he fights are under the World Council just the same as us! They are just fighting for what they believe!”

“That is treachery spewing from your mouth, child!” Cordelia reprimanded harshly.

“But it isn’t! They are people, same as us!”

“People they may be but they have gone against the World Council. They are our enemies.”

“But that’s not fair! Jonas, tell them!”

“I have to go, Teyla. I have been called.”

Jonas turned away from his family and left the manor, the night’s mist swirling about him as he walked through the dark. Teyla whirled angrily to face her parents.

“How could you just let him go like that?” Teyla demanded.

“He must, TeylaWhey. It is his duty,” Nicholas snapped, anger flaring in his eyes and coloring his cheeks.

Teyla glared at him for a long moment and then ran from the entry hall back up the stairs and to her room.

*

“Call: Nathaniel Beckett.”

“Calling Nathaniel Beckett…Nathaniel Beckett unavailable. Message?”

Teyla sat back against the silky blue pillows. If Nathaniel was unavailable, chances were that he too had been called to duty. So much for the leave time he’d been promised.

“Message?” the Comm prompted.

“No message,” Teyla sighed.

“No message,” the Comm affirmed and then gave the end signal.

Teyla swung her feet from her bed and walked over to the vanity table beside the glass doors that led to the balcony. She sat on the plush chair and looked into the mirror. Never before had she though that her appearance was anything but beautiful, but after a sleepless, worry-filled night she couldn’t find the elegance in her features. Her creamy, light butterscotch skin was flushed, as if her anger from the night had not dissipated. Her short tawny hair, highlighted with the fires of autumn, was tangled, sticking out in odd spikes and her amber eyes had a furious spark igniting from their depths.

Turning away from the mirror, Teyla’s eyes fell on the Comm again. She wanted to call Jonas and leave him a message, but after his angry departure the night before, she doubted any contact would be welcome.

“Calendar: date,” she demanded, turning to the wall. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten, she just wanted to be reassured that her time as a child was almost up. She also wanted to see if anything exciting was going on.

“Date: August first. Tomorrow, eighteenth birthday.”

“Events for August first.”

“No events scheduled. No City events recorded.”

“Off,” Teyla snapped, irritation getting the better of her at last. If there was nothing to do, she would just have to find something. Slowly, Teyla thought of her options. At last she came up with a plan, and one that did not appeal to her at all. “Room, shopping districts: wilderness gear.”

“No Transport.”

With an exasperated sigh, Teyla got up and walked to her dresser. If there was no store listed for wilderness gear, she would just have to find one the Old Style way – on foot.

*

Teyla looked up at the promising store front. It was off the main City Paths, but still kept in pristine condition. The inside however, was dark and gloomy, casting a sense of anxiety on Teyla. With a quick resolution, she pushed open the glass door and entered the dim store.

Nothing came to welcome her and Teyla halted in the door way, waiting for a buzz of welcome or one of the annoying Shop-Drones that resided in all of the City Shops. There was a shuffling from behind a row of shelves and then a young man emerged.

“Oh, hello. I didn’t hear you come in. May I be of service?”

“Yes actually. I need a bag. And some clothes. And boots.”

“A bag, clothes and boots.”

“Yes. And preferably quickly.”

The man glanced down at her silver bracelet. “It’ll just register you at a café, if you’re concerned. This is a protected shop.”

“Oh. Well I wasn’t worried, I just have a time limit.”

“Alright. What kind of bag?”

“The kind they used in the Old Days for trips and such.”

“You mean hiking trips?”

“Sure.”

“I’m afraid we don’t carry that kind of bag. Not since the Atmosphere was poisoned. We do, however, have these.”

The man led Teyla around a row of shelves where piles of duffle bags were heaped.

“Oh. Are they all the same?”

“Other than color and size. So what’s your favorite color?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll just take whatever. I mean, Silver.”

“Silver it is. And how much are you intending to take on this trip of yours?”

“Well, some supplies and clothes, but I guess that’s it.”

“I’d say the larger size. Of course, you may not be able to carry it when it’s full.”

“No, no. I’ll manage.”

“Alright then. And what kind of clothes?”

“Stuff that won’t get in the way and I won’t be too upset about if it tears or something.”

“So basically Old Style clothes.”

“Yeah.”

“Those are in the back. You go pick what you’ll need and I’ll get your supplies together, okay?”

Teyla nodded and then darted off to the back. The room was filled with Old Style clothes on plastic hangers and folded up on metal shelves. Teyla slowly made her way through, finding the size that fit and then grabbing a couple extra of jeans, flannel shirts, and hats. She also grabbed a jacket and a pair of boots. Then, lugging her new wardrobe, she returned to the front.

The man had loaded her duffle bag with the apparently essential supplies of travel, and was waiting patiently. As she stowed her new clothes, he began to speak.

“Alright. There’s an air scrubber in there and also a lot of dehydrated food. You just gotta eat it. There’s also a water purifier because I have a feeling you’ll be needing that.”

“Okay.”

“It’s all real simple stuff to use, tells you exactly what to do. So who’s paying?”

“Nathaniel Becket, Force Officer.” Teyla had decided on her way that this would be the only way of telling him what she was doing.

“Alright. Well, have a fun trip, I guess.”

“Right, will do.”

*

When Teyla arrived back at Wheydon Manor, she found that the Mini-Transports had both been taken out. It was a relief to know that her parents were not home, that she wouldn’t have to sneak her new materials up. Still, she took caution, keeping out of the eye of Recorder Drones and trying not to draw attention by running.

When she reached her room, she pushed the bag full of supplies into her wide closet, pulling some of her less-often worn clothes down and covering it. She couldn’t risk anyone finding it. A few minutes after she had stowed her bag, her Comm sounded.

“Comm, relay.”

“Cordelia Wheydon.”

“Answer.” After a moment the answering tone sounded and Teyla spoke again. “What is it, mother?”

“Hello, dear,” Cordelia said, her warm voice filtering through static. “Your father and I are on our way home. We’re bringing early dinner. Alright?”

“Yes, mother, that’s fine. Where are you?”

“Almost to the Bridge. Did you have fun out shopping today? I hope you didn’t buy too much.”

“I didn’t buy anything, mother. I was more just browsing today. Did you have fun in City Omicron?”

“Just the normal, dear. We’ll be home in a bit.”

“Goodbye. Comm, off.”

*

Teyla waited for her parents in the Entry Hall. She stood there in one of her recently bought dresses, squirming at the feel of the irritating fabric against her skin. Nicholas’ Personal Drone opened the door from the outside and then the pair of middle-aged Wheydon’s entered. Cordelia’s Drone carried several packages, and Cordelia herself carried the dinner.

“Oh Teyla, you didn’t have to dress up just for us!” Cordelia exclaimed with a smile.

“It’s dinner, mother. I am always to dress up for dinner. Or have you forgotten your own rules?”

Cordelia frowned. “Was that my rule? Oh well, doesn’t matter much anymore, since you’re off to one of the Universities.”

“Come on, ladies, the food is getting cold.”

“No it’s not, Nick! The Warmers keep it hot for at least twenty four hours, longer if needed!”

Nicholas looked incredulously at his wife. “I was using an expression. My stomach is empty and my head is pounding.”

Teyla shook her head and followed her parent’s to the dining Hall, where they sat at the small family table. For a while they ate the noodles in silence, but then Teyla pushed her plate aside.

“Father, I do not understand why you let Jonas leave last night.”

Nicholas set his fork down heavily. He looked up at Teyla with fierce, fiery eyes. “We discussed this last night, Telya. Your brother is a member of the Force, he has duties as a soldier.”

“I know that, but don’t you think that perhaps tomorrow could be the most important day of my life?”

“So your birthday is more important than the safety of the world?”

“I’m not saying that! I’m just saying that the Force could spare one soldier for his little sister’s eighteenth birthday!”

“No, Teyla, they cannot! With SuperNova growing increasingly nearer the Cities, every member of the Force is needed. If you were half the person of your brother then you would join the Force!”

Teyla stopped breathing. She glared at her father and then pushed away from the table and ran from the Dining Hall back to her room. She fell onto her bed, her anger draining any other feeling but lethargy. She stared at the ceiling, painted with sparking stars, and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

*

“Alert: five twenty-five am, August second. Alert: five twenty-five am, August second. Alert: five twenty-”

“Alarm off,” Teyla said groggily. She slowly sat up and looked about the room.

Nothing had changed. She felt exactly the same as she had the night before, if a little less angry. Surely something had to change. Something had to be different. She was eighteen now, the mythical age when you became an adult and went to the University, the age when you were free from the tyranny of your parents and nothing had changed?

It seemed impossible to Teyla, and then she realized why. Something had changed. The silver bracelet that had grown as she’d grown, that had been her constant companion since she was eight days old, was gone. Her wrist was free and the bracelet lay unclasped and useless on the pillow where her hand had been all night.

With a cry of triumph, Teyla jumped up and snatched the loop of silver from the bed. She grinned as she tossed it out the window in the customary way, watching it turn to a silvery powder in the pre-dawn haze.

As she turned back to the room, she remembered her plans that were to be carried out. She immediately went to her closet and dug out her new duffle bag. She almost left the room, but then remembered that she should change her clothes, as she was still wearing the formal dress from the night before. She hastily pulled on a pair of the uncomfortable jeans and one of the flannel shirts. She slipped on the boots and then ran back to the door.

As she hurried down the hall, a Drone quietly floated by, no longer concerned about Teyla roaming the halls before six am. Walking to meet her was her father, dressed in his work clothes.

“Happy birthday, Teyla. Where are you off to?”

“Out of the city.”

Nicholas frowned. “Aren’t you at least going to tell your mother goodbye?”

“Yes, I’m headed there.”

“Good, good. Which University are you going to?”

“I’m not going to a University.”

“What? Teyla Wheydon, what could you possibly mean by that? You are packed, you are leaving, which University are you going to?”

“I told you, father, I’m not.”

For a moment Nicholas looked on the verge of absolute rage, and then his face cleared. “You are joining the Force.”

“Wrong.”

“What?”

“I am not going to more school and I am not joining the Force. I am going to the Savage.”

Nicholas went dead white. Then he began to laugh, his color returning. “What a joke! Leading me to believe that you of all people are running off to the Savage! You always were a silly girl. I guess becoming an adult hasn’t changed that in the least!”

Teyla’s face was empty as she watched her father laugh. When he was done speaking she said, with complete sincerity, “I am not joking. I am going to the Savage.”

“No you’re not,” Nicholas replied, still chuckling. When Teyla didn’t reply his laughter stopped and he face his daughter, the angry gleam returning to his eyes. “You are not going to the Savage. I forbid it!”

“You can’t forbid me to do anything anymore.”

“It is against Force Law!”

“Then call Jonas. It would be his duty to stop me, and the only way would be to kill me. So call him. Let’s see if he is that loyal.”

Not waiting for a reply, Teyla stepped around Nicholas and towards the stairs. Nicholas grabbed her arm, holding her tightly.

“You have no authority to stop me any longer, Nicholas!”

“And you will not be killed! If the Force doesn’t kill you SuperNova will! Or that Atmosphere! You will die if you leave the protection of the Cities!”

“Then I will die! Let me go!”

Teyla yanked away from Nicholas, throwing him off balance. As he reached for her again she pushed him away. He stumbled back and fell, tumbling down the marble stairs. Teyla chased him down, fearing that he would curse at her and call the Local Law to charge her with assault.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she knelt beside Nicholas, who lay unmoving.

“Father?” She whispered with a fearful voice. “Are you alright?”

Teyla reached out to feel his pulse, and saw a small pool of blood beneath his head.

“TeylaWhey! What is going on?”

Teyla jumped to her feet at the sound of Cordelia’s voice.

“Why did you push him? Is he hurt?” Cordelia called as she flew down the stairs. She knelt beside her husband for several moments and then raised her head to glare hatefully at her own daughter. “You’ve killed him! Drone, call Local Law!”

Teyla ran for the door.

Teyla exited the house at a dead sprint. The Wheydon Manor was near the edge of the city so she ran directly for the Boundary. She heard the whir of Local Law arriving at the Manor, the hum of their Drones and then the steady buzz of the Boundary and the high-pitched squeal of the Boundary Drones.

At the Boundary, Teyla halted, staggering slightly with her momentum. She looked back towards the City and her Manor and then at the Local Law Drones. Glaring at the world that had kept her trapped in a pretty prison, she stepped backwards into the Savage.

At first, it didn’t seem any different. Then she almost felt the toxins in the air, the murky brown of the sky pressing down at her. She ran from the City, her fear of the Local Law driving her further into the Savage and its gripping snarls. She fought her way through the long, coarse, dark green grass of the fields beyond the City, every step a triumph.

When dusk came, Teyla was far enough from City Alpha that she sat down among the high grasses and opened her back inside was a folded up blanket and right on top of that the air-scrubber. She pulled both out. First, she set up the air-scrubber so that she would not suffocate or be poisoned, and then she curled up beneath the blanket, using her bag as a pillow. In the morning, she would set out to find SuperNova.