I had a wonderful dream.
Pleasant and frightening at the same time.
Pleasant because I felt rested, and I was lying in bed in my quarters on Atlantis. A light breeze through the open window caressed my face and tousled my hair. When I turned my head, instead of the gloomy darkness I usually saw through the window, I could make out the sky, clouds... And sunlight. Though, given what was happening outside the Solar System, it probably has a different name.
But I don't care.
And the dream was pleasant because I wasn't alone in bed.
And that was the strange part of my dream.
Turning my head, I could see a dark-haired stranger lying on her side, her back to me. Her slightly tanned back was flawless, and her chestnut hair cascaded down to her mid-back, spilling onto the white sheets.
I touched her, wanting to know who she was, but the stranger didn't react. She kept sleeping, smiling sweetly in her sleep. Strange, but I couldn't make out her features at all.
But for some reason she seemed familiar. And I didn't feel any threat from her.
That was enough.
Leaning back on the pillow, I stared at the ceiling, peering into the dim light. Funny. If it's daytime outside, who the hell felt the need to turn on the overhead light? Maybe I did. This is my room... Or isn't it?
That's when I started to get uneasy.
Looking around, I concluded that the room wasn't mine at all. Yes, the interior was familiar, similar, but it was almost standard for every room on Atlantis. It could just as easily have been one of hundreds of cabins in that residential tower complex we were using.
Paying attention to details, I realized that despite the outward resemblance, this was definitely not my cabin. That was now obvious. Things weren't in their places, there were a few extra devices on the nightstand, the drinking fountain was located not against the wall, but next to the entrance...
I found my belongings nearby. They were lying in a heap on the chair, along with my weapon, scanner, and some other things I carried.
That was alarming. Because I don't do that. The back of a chair was invented precisely for hanging a jacket and pants on!
All this was making me nervous.
Even more than the disappearance of the stranger from my bed.
Even more than the disappearance of daylight.
I sat up abruptly in bed, looking around.
The dim overhead light cast shadows on the surroundings, but I already felt uneasy. Especially when I heard water splashing behind one of the decorative partitions.
Now there was no doubt — this wasn't my room. My shower was next to the drinking fountain. And melodic sounds in a strange language don't usually come from my shower!
Just as I thought it'd be a good idea to get out of here, or at least use my weapon, both the voice and the sound of water stopped. And I... I was at a loss.
The next moment, the door panel slid into the wall, revealing a standard shower. Very similar to mine, but the shelves under and around the mirror were filled with something that looked like hand grenades and...
Only then did it dawn on me that shower doors don't open by themselves. And no miracle happened this time either.
In the doorway stood a humanoid, wrapped from head to toe in some gray rags. On its head was something like a turban... Very familiar, resembling something from my past life...
Only the face.
Pale, even looking cold skin, with a bluish-green tint; dark, deep-set eyes; very characteristic folds on the cheekbones...
Everything inside me clenched into a tight knot from the feeling of helplessness when the creature turned its attention to me and raised its right hand to shoulder level.
"Well, hello..."
The alien's voice struck my ears at the very moment I slipped out from under the blanket and lunged for my weapon. At the same time, I shouted a warning for anyone who might hear:
"Wraith in the city!"
* * *
"Well, really!" the Wraith squealed. "I've seen a lot, but this...!"
"Hands up!" I shouted, aiming the pulse weapon at the life-eater. "Slowly, damn it!"
"Um..." the creature clearly hadn't expected such agility from me and hesitated. Too bad for him! "Listen, I..."
"On your knees!" I ordered, nodding the weapon slightly downward. "Hands behind your head. And start explaining how you got into the city!"
"Are you out of your...?"
"Shut up! Do what I said, or I'll blow your head off!"
"Fine, fine!" the Wraith raised its hands, put them behind its head, and clasped its fingers. And slowly, without taking its eyes off me, it knelt. "You need to calm down...!"
"I'm as calm as a snake! Now start talking! How did you get into the city?" I repeated my question.
"Through the gate," the Wraith said emphatically. "Like everyone else!"
"Nonsense! We have gate defenses! Try again!"
While talking to the intruder, I was scanning the wall with my eyes for an inconspicuous geometric pattern. If I pressed and turned it, an alarm would sound in the city. But I couldn't find it in this dimness...
"Misha, this isn't funny anymore!" the Wraith shouted in a suspiciously familiar voice.
"Try laughing when I blow your head off! Again, how did you get into the city? How many of you are there? What are you planning?"
"I'm afraid to even think what will happen to the others," the Wraith muttered. Why does she have such a familiar voice?
"Stop! Does she have it?!"
Taking a closer look at the intruder's figure, I realized that, actually, all the primary female sexual characteristics were in place.
"Queen?" I was dumbfounded. "How the hell did you get to the city through the shield? And what the fuck is going on here?"
The only queen who could have reached Atlantis was the Death Queen, sleeping in her ship at the bottom of the Lantean ocean. But she couldn't have penetrated the shields!
Something was going on here... Something completely incomprehensible.
"Misha, enough!" the queen shouted. "If you think you can behave like this after everything, you're wrong! I apologized for the generator! I was just being overly cautious, just in case! But that doesn't give you the right to—"
Generator? What generator? As far as I could remember, there were only two or three generators and...
Oh, motherfucker!
Every generator I could think of right now was connected to one person.
"Chaya?" I was so stunned by what was happening that the strength left my hands and the weapon lowered. "Is that you?"
"Who else could be in this room?" the Proculucian snapped, taking her hands from behind her head. "I hope I can get up now?"
"Yeah, of course..." I said, embarrassed. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me, but... Why do you look like a Wraith?"
The girl tilted her head, as if looking at me from a new angle.
"Put the weapon down, come closer, and say that again," she asked, taking a step toward me.
"I'd rather not," I admitted, figuring that if she rushed around the bed, it'd be better for me to cut across it... The bed! Right! That was the fastest way to escape from here! "What's going on here? Why do you have... that on your face?"
"That?" Chaya repeated in surprise, touching herself. "This is a mask for removing dead skin cells and makeup... Stop! Was it because of this that you thought I was a Wraith?"
Truly — a beauty without makeup is terrifying.
I even shuddered, imagining what might have happened if I hadn't figured it out in time.
"What's going on?" I muttered. "And why am I in this room? And, anyway, what cabin is this?"
"This is my cabin," Chaya replied in an uncompromising tone. "You barged in here about five hours ago."
"What the hell for?"
"How should I know?" the girl threw up her hands. "You were out of your mind, mumbling something about how it was time for me to answer for my transgressions, that all these secrets had gotten on your nerves, and that jokes weren't really my thing, but you'd teach me a couple of tricks..."
I shuddered.
"I don't even want to know what you wanted to teach me."
"And I'll need to somehow forget it," the Proculucian shook her head. "Because I'm certainly not going to put into practice the method of taking off a T-shirt over your shoulder and throwing your underwear with your foot."
M-m-m-m-m-mom...
Looking down, I realized I was standing there with a bare torso. And not just the torso.
Grabbing my jacket, I pressed it to my lower stomach.
"Awkward," I said with a guilty smile.
"And what are you trying to do now?" Chaya asked. I wondered if it was just the mask scrunching up, or was she actually standing there with a raised eyebrow?
"This is called shame," I explained.
"We called that genitals," Sar replied after a moment's thought. "I thought it was the same in your language... However, I won't intrude on another culture."
"And thank you for that," I said gratefully. "Can you... turn around?"
"Why?" the Proculucian was surprised.
"I need to get dressed."
"So get dressed."
"I can't when you're watching. Personal space and all that... And it's not proper for a girl to look at her colleague's genitals."
"That's pretty much what I told you last night, when you decided you were going to sleep in my bed because your room was too far to walk to," Chaya snorted.
"But it's just a little further down the corridor," I frowned.
"That's exactly what I told you," Sar said reproachfully.
"And what did I do?"
"You showed me how you can undress while a match is burning."
"Oh... And where did I get a match?"
"You brought a candle with you. I think from Teyla's cabin."
"And...?"
"And you lit it, put it on the water dispenser," Chaya pointed to the wax drips on the appliance. "And started undressing."
Oh, you furry northern beast... I hadn't been this ashamed since my prom, when my stomach rejected a mix of cheap alcohol and chips. And that girl's dress was terrible. No, I apologized to Marina later, of course, but...
"I'm very sorry. I don't know what came over me..."
"But I do," Chaya extended her index finger and pointed it at an object standing by the wall. "You brought this with you. You said it went down like water, and you'd already had about eight jugs of it, and it was my penalty shot because breaking away from the team was a sin. And that I was guilty anyway, so..."
She fell silent meaningfully. And I looked with a skewed gaze at the three-liter clay jug. I'd bet my life that inside was the same Athosian wine that Teyla had mentioned before... If only I knew what happened after we went to her room and before all this mess in Sar's bedroom with me mistaking her for a Wraith.
Covering my eyes with my hand, I spared myself from the Ancient's judgmental gaze for at least a couple of minutes. And it would have been fine, but...
When I looked at the rumpled bedsheet, remembering that even tossing and turning in my sleep I couldn't have messed it up that much, everything inside me froze again.
I looked at Chaya, then at the bed, then back at Chaya...
The girl peeled the mask off her face — the one that had nearly cost her her life — took the turban made of a gray towel off her head, and wiped the moisture from her face. Looking at her closely, I wanted to scream with rage at myself. How could I mistake a simple bathrobe for Wraith clothing?
"Just say it already," the girl finished with her face and started dabbing at her wet hair, standing in front of another panel on the wall. I didn't even have the strength to be surprised when the false panel slid aside, revealing a full-length mirror. Great! The rooms even have mirrors. Full-length ones, at that!
And I only found out about the shower a couple of weeks ago!
Well, just perfect!
"An apology just won't be enough for what happened," I said, looking at the bed again. "But... If you can forgive me... I'd be very grateful."
"All right," Chaya said with suspicious ease. "You bring me three tons of sand from Lantea-2, and consider yourself forgiven."
Three tons... When the internal volume of a jumper can barely lift one ton. Fifteen hours one way, fifteen hours back, plus digging all of it into containers...
"Fair enough," I said, suppressing my inner indignation. "I have one more question... Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of pig... I enjoyed everything, it's just... You are wonderful, and everything was top-notch... But I have memory problems and—"
"Nothing happened," Chaya sighed, turning to me. Motherfucker, she even has a comb! With a hairdryer function! And I, shit, have to comb my mane with my fingers or a bone comb Teyla gave me? Maybe there's even an electric razor in the rooms? Because I'm not too keen on trimming my stubble with a razor-sharp combat knife from Ermen anymore! "So you don't have to worry."
"Thanks, that's a weight off my mind," I said with relief. Seeing that the girl was looking at me questioningly and with reproach, I held up my hands warningly. "No, I don't mean to offend or anything like that. You are a wonderful girl in every way, with a heart of gold, and your jokes are explosive. But I have a rule — no romances with colleagues and subordinates. It gets in the way of work and all that..."
Chaya gave me a long, appraising look. And it suspiciously traveled up and down me.
Lowering my eyes, I covered myself with my hands.
"I don't think there's anything there I haven't seen," the girl smirked, returning to what she was doing.
"Has anyone ever told you that making fun of people who've put their foot in it is not cool?" I asked, searching for the elements of my clothing with my eyes.
"You have to try really hard to put your foot in your mouth during intimacy," Chaya noted. "That kind of thing either points to a partner's inexperience or excessive arousal. But even so, statistically speaking..."
"For God's sake, can you show at least a little sympathy!" I pleaded, remembering that 'putting your foot in it' also had an anatomical meaning for humans. "I was drunk and I apologized!"
"And does that somehow stop me from bringing up this night for the rest of your life?" Chaya asked innocently.
"I think I'm starting to understand why the other Ascended didn't like you," I muttered, finding my socks. Great, at least there's nothing suspiciously biological on them.
While pulling them on, I realized Chaya was silent. Unusual for her at a moment like this. I thought she wouldn't miss a chance to needle me or something...
Casting a quick glance at the girl, I noticed she was literally frozen in front of the mirror. Her face wore an expression that was hard to describe... Something between panic, fear, disappointment, and universal sorrow. Oops, looks like I touched a nerve with the former Ascended. Although, how would she know what happened on the higher planes of existence?
Seeing that I was watching, the Proculucian went back to combing her hair as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, I won in the category of 'Find the White T-shirt on the White Sheet.' On the third try. Almost there...
"Look on the desk," Sar said in a mentor-like tone, staring straight ahead. In the mirror, of course.
And that's exactly where I found the missing piece of my underwear set. Wrinkled, but clean, they were lying on top of several sheets of paper. Looking closer, I saw they were some vaguely familiar drawings. And yes, it wasn't paper, but more like tracing paper. Incredibly convenient when you're creating blueprints based on cross-sections of an object. But... What does this star-shaped thing remind me of?
I got dressed in complete silence from both of us. Chaya dried her hair, and I got myself sorted out. Almost. My head was still in a whirl and... I don't know why, but the hangover was only hitting me now.
"'I need to figure out what kind of wine this is and why it messes with your head so much,'" I thought, stuffing my carried equipment into my pockets.
"Can you help?" the Ancient addressed me.
She was holding her necklace. Nothing special — just a cord threaded through some shiny pebbles and a rounded shell in the center.
"Yeah, sure," I took the jewelry and felt it was quite heavy. Hm, it had seemed like ordinary hollow costume jewelry. "It'll be easier if you turn around..."
Without a word, Chaya turned her back to me and moved her hair aside. Skin the color of milk chocolate was revealed before my eyes. Touching it as I fastened the necklace, it felt like I was touching velvet... Very soft. But at the same time, it seemed incredibly firm.
And it smelled of an incredible bouquet of aromatic herbs. Interesting, I didn't recall her ever wearing perfume before. Or was it the shampoo? If the latter, I want some too! I'm tired of washing with something like laundry soap that smells like tar!
It took me two tries to get the clasp done. Chaya must have a very developed spatial awareness and nimble fingers to be able to do it herself.
"Thank you," Chaya said quietly, turning to me. "If you've found all your things, I'd like to be alone. I need to work on something."
"Yeah, of course," I nodded, heading for the exit. Passing my hand over the panel, I turned around just as the doors opened.
"And what is that thing in your drawings?" I asked just as Chaya sat down at that very desk. Hm, she hadn't even tried to burn it after my... um, clothing item had been there.
"An old project of mine," she smiled with just her lips. "An interesting idea, but it had a number of critical errors that made it impossible to implement."
"I hope you're not going to build that thing in our city?" I asked, thinking that the phrase 'a number of critical errors' could mean a supernova explosion, the destruction of a star system, a spacetime rupture, and who knows what else. The Ancients never did things by halves when it came to their mistakes.
"No," Chaya assured me. "I'm just restoring the technology and blueprints from memory. It helps take my mind off the daily routine."
"You know, there are other ways to reboot your brain..."
"I know," she said coldly. "But I'm afraid that if I drink as much Athosian moonshine as you did yesterday, throwing underwear with my foot won't even compare to what I'd get up to."
I suddenly felt quite unwell.
"Wait a minute," I said, embarrassed. "Moonshine? Chaya said it was wine..."
"No offense to the Athosians, but there's a difference between the processes of distillation and fermentation," Chaya said. "You didn't really think a society of hunters and gatherers would know about fermentation, did you?"
"I was hoping," I grimaced. "Because a moonshine still is a bit more complicated to invent than crushing berries with your feet and forgetting about them for a while."
"And they also have high-tech lighters, but they use torches and bone needles," Chaya said.
Well... A moonshine still is, in principle, a legacy of another, more developed civilization.
"Just for the record... How uninhibited are you when you're drunk?" I decided to ask in advance. You know, just in case, for future reference.
"Believe me, it's better not to see it," the Proculucian became serious.
"For example... blowing up a planet?" I clarified.
"Or the death of all life on it," Chaya shrugged. "Or a superweapon that destroys organic matter within a galaxy. Or I'll figure out how to use black holes for instantaneous travel. Or I'll kill all the Ascended..."
"Remind me never to pour you a drink," I said, swallowing the lump in my dry throat. My gut told me she wasn't joking. Not this time, definitely.
"I'll write a few warning programs," Chaya said. "They'll activate Atlantis's self-destruct mode every time I'm under the influence."
"I think we'll just rely on your self-discipline," I coughed.
"That seems like a wonderful option to me too," Chaya smiled. "And now, would you please just leave? I'd like to be alone."
"Of course," I took a step back and stepped over the threshold of her cabin. "Of course."
I waved goodbye to the girl, but she had already returned to her drawings the moment I was outside her dwelling.
She's acting strange.
And why are her drawings so familiar to me?