| abstract
| - "Common Ground" is the seventh episode of the third season of Stargate: Atlantis.
- Name: Common Ground Run Time: 2:17 Year: 1993
- The usual hustle and bustle of Autobot City is subdued today, possibly due to the latest intrusion from Con forces into the base. The mere fact of that has been rather hush-hush, but it doesn't take a genius to know that the bots are recovering from the incident. Security details go over weaknesses in the defense grid, and sensor sweeps go about the base, ensuring there's no demolitions at work. Which makes whatever focus on the human populace in the area diminished. It would almost be free reign for them, so long as they weren't overtly obnoxious. Lights flicker and sparks fly from the munitions bay as Elita One works on assembling an energon harvester, a frown on her face as she looks over the blueprints. Reidan Wesley comes striding in. He was here for... some reason. He wasnt entirely sure. Perhaps he was lost. He was carrying a hoverboard under one arm as he glanced about, flinching at the bright lights sparkling down off the welder. He pauses, then coughs loudly to get polite attention. Still tinkering with the harvester, she peers into the optical display, then tests a lever. The weapon whirrs up for a moment, then a flash of light sends Elita tumbling backwards with a cry of displeasure. Black smoke billows from her face as she looks around. "Ugh, Primus that was..." She puts a hand before her face, waving it. With a bit of hesitation, she adds, "Well, I am sure my sight will return soon enough..." She turns her head, "Is someone there?" Stepping back from the black smoke, Reidan looked wary a moment, then he offers one of his dashing smiles, before realizing she was unable to see "Oh! Hello! Down here. Its Red Wea... I mean, Reidan Wesley." he states in a clear voice "I hope I'm not interrupting. I was told to come see you about a few matters." Pink Techcar holds out her hand for a moment, "You're not in an exo-suit, are you? Because that means I have to be very careful right now." Slowly the femme commander kneels, "Let me know if I get too close to you." Indeed the hand she sets down to help brace herself does venture rather close, "Reidan is it? I don't believe we've met." She rubs at her optics, "What can I do for you?" She says with a hint of strain. "No I am not. but I'm rather sturdy." he tenses though as she approaches, holding her hand out "... May I pass on the hand ride please? I am a little bit... tender of the stomach. Easily car sick. Just ask Tracks." he explains politely "You are close enough though. I think this is a good talking distance. And no we have not! A pleasure. Reidan Wesley, sometimes called Red, or Red Weasel. EDC head Chef. Ah, I was told to speak to you on two matters: One, if I can light a candle in my room. Its a very sturdy candle but it is... well, rather importnat that it be lit at all times see. " Elita One shakes her head, her optics fizzle for a moment, then relight. "Hand ride?" She looks over at you, her hand on the ground. "Oh...no, that's not what I was doing." She pulls herself in a bit, then regards your words, "Good to meet you then, I am at your service as the humans say." She gets a knee up, then stands again, "A candle? Well, I don't see what harm it could do, but I wouldn't mind knowing why you need permission for it." Elita pulls the harvester off its trifold prop, then sets it down, sitting next to it, "Hope you don't mind if I work on this a bit more, it's a most stubborn design it seems..." "oh! you werent? My apologies ma'am. It seems to be the typical thing to do for Transformers to offer." he apologises back, then his tones go more friendly as he relaxes "Well, a gentleman... mech? Called Red Alert was quite suspicious and muttered something about Arson. In a metal city I am not sure how that is a big concern but I thought I'd have it all on paper. And go right ahead! I do not mind if I can watch. Thank you for understanding as well. Most people are confused about my candle." Elita One tilts her head, "Red Alert was worried? Sounds like this candle you're talking about is quite a firestarter." She sounds more amused than concerned, "Well why don't you tell me of its importance, so we can ensure your needs are met?" She removes the long cylindrical barrel from the weapon, setting it aside before getting into the more intricate and hard-to-recognize pieces, muttering softly about cycling speeds and conservation. Reidan Wesley chortles "Its actually a very slow burn. It will burn constantly for three hundred and sixty five days unless exposed to extreme heat... like a house fire." he admits with some dismay. He watches her work, somewhat fascinated "You can do that while visually impaired? As for the candles' importance, it is how I find my way home. Its a... i guess you can say its religious? So long as it is lit, if something happens to me, I can find my way back to it. But if it is not, then I will be lost." Elita One pauses in her work, then tilts her head to the side for a moment. "A religious...anchor of sorts, like for your spark...er, spirit? Most interesting." E1 glances back to her weapon, "Oddly, this weapon is sort of antithesis to your request, designed to actually pull the energon, the life out of an opposing Cybertronian, and replenish yourself with it." Again she sets aside another piece, with enough large holes in it, it could serve as a kid's playground toy. "I don't see why your candle can't be lit properly as long as the proper precautions are observed. It seems like you've done this several times before, so I'm sure you know what you need to do for it." She adds a moment later, "Interesting belief, I've never really considered such things to be honest, but it makes me wonder." She grabs a hydrospanner, then looks back to you. "What happens after you return to that candle?" "Something like that, yes." agrees Reidan "most people look at me like I am crazy when I speak about it, although to be honest they ALWAYS look at me when I am crazy when I talk about myself." shrug. He peers at the thing now curiously "... That's rather chilling. Like a Vampire machine. And yes, I've done it since I was born on this world." a pause, as he considers "Well, once I am 'home', I can be reborn you could say. I dont remember much of that part of the process. Usually it just draws me back, and I wake up, or if necessary, I just am reborn as a baby." Elita One gestures to the rapidly dismantling weapon, "It is a dark thing yes, but I am trying to learn how to build such things, perhaps even less deadly ones if necessary, but for now, I start with the basics." Her forearm brushes some of the soot from her eyes, "Spots are gone now finally...the energy feed went totally optical, so it was blinding for a bit." She sets aside the last part, leaving it dismantled, much like a motor, "You know, I have some experience with that myself." She gestures to you, "Reformatting, we call it, though perhaps it is still more physical than what you're explaining. I do know the unfamiliarity of being unable to recognize my own face." Reidan Wesley ahhs and nods as he listens to her explanation "Fast recovery. That's good though!" he tilts his head to listen. "Hmm. That is where you are... I am assuming its not like a computer, where you basically wipe everything and install all the programs anew?" Elita One puts her hands on her knees, "Things aren't quite so...." She pauses, seeking the right word, "Computer oriented as you might think. Sure there's energy, power routes, but these things aren't as dissimilar as your blood and vital organs. What happened to me was a long, long time ago. I was shot point blank by Megatron, who had just started his scheme." She adds to explain, "He wanted this warehouse of energon that I worked at, and decided to take it by force. So I fell, I wasn't made of sterner stuff back then. An Autobot genius named Alpha Trion rebuilt me, he took what was left of me, of my spark, and rehoused me." She puts a finger to her cheek in thought, "In truth, I think there's only about five Cybertronians that have experienced such a thing." Reidan Wesley listens intently, and then nods once more "I see. Yes, that does sound somewhat of what I went through." he admits quietly "Cybertronians continue to surprise me with how much they are like every other creature in the universe, you know that? I learn more about you each time." Elita One stifles a laugh, "Well, perhaps its proper we ended up on Earth then, isn't it? We have quite a bit we can relate to each other." She sighs for a moment in thought, "You look fairly young...you've probably grown up knowing about us, haven't you?" "Not just humans but EVERYform of life." he tilts his head, then smiles "Thank you for the compliment. I've known about you since the Ark was discovered in the eighties. I even fought against the Decepticons early on you know." he sighs and glances to his boots, then back up "With assorted levels of success of course. " Elita One shrugs softly, "I've seen a lot of forms of life, and to be fair, we do have some characteristics that fit with most of them. Bilateral symmetry, biped movement. Yet, I've seen quite a few interesting types. The solardirges of Granok Four are more reminiscent of flying nets than anything else. They just swoop around, never touching the ground until they die..." She switches subjects back for a moment, "Had some issues then?" Her voice is softer, as she gingerly asks about the subject. Reidan Wesley wells "Back then we knew VERY little about Transformers, and used standard weapons and methods against the Decepticons. So yes, some issues until we learned more about you - you guys befriending us helped a lot. I wasnt an active combatant unless things REALLYgot hairy. I was on the intel side." he explains "But it still got tense I will admit. Wont be the first, and no doubt, will not be the last." She nods softly, "I...regret how the Autobots from the Ark were forced to meet you, but I am still convinced that our meeting, however it was forced, is a blessing for both our races. The recent altercations with the EDC had given me pause in that. Considering the age of most of the higher brass in the UN, I can see how we were just viewed as horrible creatures, destroying everything, and ruining your way of life." "Indeed. Many my age grew up with such propagandist films as 'Terminator' and War of the Worlds and all that - machines were for the longest time, the 'evil' when we needed something villainous. Even Star trek had the Borg and V'Ger." admits Reidan "However, I am glad you choose not to judge ALL of us by the actions of one. I used to be like Cross - though not with Robots. But I've learned its not so with everyone. Sadly I do not think we will ever really learn. As for meeting... well there are worse ways to meet each other. " he smiles warmly. "Right?" Elita One nods softly, then stands, "That...as we learn again and again, is the only real truth. We can't shoehorn species into any real assigned spots. There's a Quintesson working for the EDC, and just recently, back near Iacon, I ran across a Decepticon Drone who just wanted to interview me..." She gives a wink, "Or so she said." Elita starts bundling up the weapon parts, "You'll have to excuse me for a bit, I've got work to do with Sky Lynx soon, I need to prepare for it. I hope your candle and such will make your stay here more enjoyable." Reidan Wesley smirks "I never got the Decepticons, but then I try to avoid interacting with them. We dont get on." he nods "Thank you very much for everything... oh! One last thing: My hoverboard. Permitted? I have a license..." Elita One laughs softly, "We have humans wearing full environmental exo-suits that are about as effective as a small tank, your hoverboard is acceptable. You might want it checked out though by the repair bay to ensure it is hardened against EMP and the like, there's a lot of potential energy here in the base, and I'd hate for it to break down when you need it." Reidan Wesley smirks, chortling "Just making sure. I only break rules when there's a need for it." he winks at her with a bright smile "But yes, that is good. I'll have them take a looksee. Thank you for everything as well. I'm still working through insurance for my house sadly so hopefully I can get a new one by january."
- The sliders slide into a Kromagg weapons-testing area and Maggie saves the life of the Kromagg commander, Kromanus. While Maggie tries to get the timer back from him, Quinn and Rembrandt discover a Kromagg weapon designed to eradicate humans. Maggie discovers that Kromanus seems to be haunted by a previous failure that wasn't his fault and the Sliders discover that the Kromaggs are building a weapon that renders humans apart atom by atom. At the same time, Kromanus recieves orders to let the Sliders go as the Kromaggs believe that Quinn, who has a tracking device in him, will lead them home. The Sliders escape with the help of a girl named Penny and Quinn tries to adjust the settings on a world-killing version of the weapon before Kromanus catches them. Wanting to fulfil his debt to Maggie and following orders, he returns the timer and prepares to let them go, but is wounded when his sub-commander mutinies and takes over. The sub-commander prepares to use the weapon to kill all humans on that world, but instead all of the humans are fine while the Kromaggs and the weapon are destroyed. Quinn is surprised, revealing that he managed to modify the weapon so humans were unaffected, but was sure Kromanus had seen what he did. Maggie realizes that Kromanus did see, but decided not to say anything so as to die with honor. The Sliders leave, offering Penny to join them, but she refuses as her world is now free and the survivors can rebuild now that the Kromaggs are gone. This article is a stub. You can help the My English Wiki by [ expanding it].
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