Chapter 53

A difficult choice...

Felix gathered all his notes up, got the technician to shut down the computer area where he had been working, and then went down to his room for the night.

He put the notes under a book on the desk, grabbed the book he had been reading the last time he was in the room and tossed it on the bed. Next he stripped and had a quick but relaxing shower and dried off, then dimmed the lights down to barely any light. He lay on the bed and rolled up in his poncho liner, and took up the book and eventually fell asleep reading it.

In the morning he woke early as usual at about 6am, did some callisthenic to burn off the nervous energy he felt before a mission such as this, and then had just a rinse in the shower. He dressed in just the khaki t-shirt, cargo shorts, tan socks, and his very comfortable desert boots for the time, as he didn't see a need to don any Atlantis clothing, especially as the higher-ups wished anonymity and deniability on this one.

He spent the next 15 minutes making sure his Bergen had all the rations broken down that he would need, the articles of clothing he knew he would need with a couple of extras tossed in for good measure.

Next he sat down at the desk, laid out the diagram of the area he had been asked to target and calculated about how much Semtex he would need for that mission aspect, and then added the usual 10% fudge factor just in case.

Once he figured that amount, he went to the room where the tri-wall of gear and ammo was stored, got the amount of Semtex needed, grabbed an extra handful of F4A2 couplers for the 'just in case' and shoved them into a pocket. He found the trip-wire he was looking for and grabbed a small spool of that as well. Once he had everything he figured he would need he went back to his room and distributed the load among the various compartments of the Bergen for ease of carry.

He then stood and went through the mental checklists that he had used for years: ammo — got lots of pain for the mission, water — topped up, food — got enough, shelter — packed, compass — already in the ghillie suit, clothing — yes, and all the little sundry tools of the job that he had acquired over the years were ready to be used as well.

Felix attached the ghillie suit to the outside of his Bergen once the rucksack was strapped closed, and then got Sasha from under the bed and gave her a good going over before placing her on the rucksack.

By then it was nearly the end of breakfast and he hadn't had any food since last night, so he placed his headset in his ear and went to the dining hall.

Once he was there, he grabbed two pieces of bread, toasted them, and grabbed a large coffee and then found a seat. Felix made a point of not making eye contact with anybody in particular, but he could feel a few people looking furtively at him and whispering about him. It didn't bother him, as that had been happening back on Earth as well, so he was used to it and tuned it out. Luckily since Felix didn't really want any company right now there wasn't anyone that was interested in sitting with the 'strange guy over there'.

He took the time to mull over in his mind all the mission variables that still didn't sit right with him, and decided that he would do the usual and play it as it rolled along. Plans always had a habit of not going they way they were originally laid out, and Felix was very good at adapting on the fly when needed.

Once he was finished his light breakfast he took his cup and plate to the drop-off area and then heard in his headset, "Felix? Please report to the control centre."

He responded to Dr. Weir's call, "On the way."

In a couple of minutes he walked up the stairs and saw Dr. Weir talking with Colonel Sheppard and Colonel Caldwell near the gate control desk. He walked up and waited until they were done talking and Dr. Weir said, "Ah, here he is."

Felix replied, "You rang?" in a deep voice.

Colonel Caldwell asked, "How soon can you be ready to depart, Sergeant?"

Felix replied, "5 minutes tops, sir."

The CO of the Daedelus added, "Grab your gear then and meet me back here."

Felix nodded and walked rapidly back to his room, where he encountered Laura Cadman waiting for him just outside his room.

He said, "Hi Leftenant — don't have much time right now," as he waved his hand and entered his room to grab his gear. He stopped when he felt her touch on his arm turning him towards her, which he then faced her and smiled at her concerned face. He asked, "What's wrong?"

She wrapped her arms around Felix and clung to him and said, "I want you to come back this time, and intact — you hear me?" There seemed to be something else on her mind but for whatever reason she didn't say anything to explain why she seemed upset.

Felix raised her face and said, "Hey — I've got someone to look forward to when I get back now, so I have to come back — right?"

She nodded and buried her face into his chest and inhaled his scent so she would remember him when he was off world. Laura said, "Colonel Sheppard won't tell me what the mission is about, so I know that it's dangerous." She looked up at him and said, "You bring your butt back here or I'll hunt your sorry ass wherever you might be."

He sensed how deep her anxiety was and added, "Hey — I always look after myself — I'll be back." He had to almost forcibly push her away and then he said, "Laura — I have to go right now — the Daedelus is waiting on me. I'll be back — okay?" He kissed her fully and left her with a tingling kiss to remember him by. "Got to go."

Felix picked up his Bergen and placed it on the table, leaned Sasha against the desk and placed the removed magazine next to it. He backed into the rucksack and shouldered the load and adjusted it until it was comfortable, then picked up Sasha and slung it over his neck, and then grabbed the magazine. He felt her face one last time and said softly, "Let's go."

They left his room and she stopped short of the stairs going up the control centre and said, "I'll say bye here," and gave him a kiss and a brave smile that barely hid her hurt.

He went up the stairs to the control centre and saw the three leaders still talking, so he removed his rifle and rucksack and placed them on the floor next to him while he waited patiently for the conversation to finish.

When the three leaders finished their conversation, Colonel Caldwell looked at Felix and asked, "You ready Sergeant?" and moved towards Felix's Bergen. He saw the rucksack standing and as he grabbed the handle he asked, "So what all do you carry in this thing, Sergeant?" The Colonel grunted as he barely lifted the Bergen a foot before putting it down and then exclaiming, "My God! What have you got in that thing? That weighs a ton!"

Felix replied casually, "Just mission essentials, sir — that's all," and then swung the Bergen easily onto his shoulders, and took up his big rifle and the magazine.

Dr. Weir hid a smile that was developing.

Felix looked at his bosses and said; "I guess we'll see each other in a week, then."

Sheppard surprised Felix by saying, "Look after yourself out there — we do need you back here, you know."

Colonel Caldwell looked at Felix and asked, "You're going dressed like that?"

Felix chuckled and replied, "Yes sir, I'm going like this because I don't get fully dressed until I need to, so otherwise I sweat my bag off."

Caldwell shook his head and said, "Okay. Daedelus this is Caldwell, 2 to beam up." With that Caldwell and Felix were whisked up to the Daedelus by the Asgard beam directly to the bridge.

As the two materialized on the bridge, Colonel Caldwell immediately went to his command chair and asked for various status reports from various stations.

Felix moved himself out of the way and off to the side against a bulkhead so he wouldn't interfere in any way with the business of the bridge, and removed his Bergen and placed Sasha with it and the magazine.

He saw that he was in space and he wandered slowly to the window to look outside — he looked and saw the planet where the city of Atlantis was located below. Felix stayed there for an unknown time until he heard Colonel Caldwell behind him saying, "I still remember my first time in space to this day."

Felix turned with a big smile on his face as he relished this view and could see why astronauts volunteered to go into space: the view was incredible. He said, "Awesome view, sir — this is worth the trip right here for me."

Caldwell gave a small smile in return and said, "I was going to suggest you take a seat or take hold of something as we will be entering hyperspace in a minute."

Felix nodded his understanding and sat against his rucksack and watched a well-trained bridge crew take the ship out of orbit and then into hyperspace. Felix felt his stomach lurch briefly as they entered hyperspace but then it settled down quickly.

Once the ship settled into hyperspace Colonel Caldwell asked, "Is there anything we can get you, Felix?"

At the mention of his name a couple of heads raised and looked in his direction and the whispering started again, but Felix didn't pay attention to any of it.

Felix replied, "Just where the facilities are and where I can get some water is about all for now, sir."

"How about anything mission related?"

Felix thought for a moment and replied, "Yeah, actually there is something, sir. When we get to where we are going, I assume we hold orbit and you beam me down or something like that — correct?"

Caldwell nodded.

Felix continued; "Then can we cloak like the Jumpers and get a detailed look at the ground before you send me down? I want to check the actual DZ they have designated for me to see if it works or not, because I have a feeling that I will want a different piece of ground to be put down at."

The CO of the Daedelus replied, "We can do some of that, but I don't want to hang around in orbit for very long. This is a Genii occupied planet we are taking you to, and they have picked up scanning technology, so the less time the better."

Felix nodded and said, "All I need is a quick detailed view of the ground in the original area and I'll pick from there, sir."

Caldwell nodded his understanding and then asked, "You want a tour of the ship?"

Felix shook his head and replied, "Shouldn't sir — on the off chance I ever get captured I don't want to be compromising other people because of what I know or have seen. Facilities and water is good sir — thanks for the offer though."

Caldwell again nodded at the logic of the smaller man and said, "Then I'll have someone show you the facilities when you need and have some water bottles sent up — is that okay?"

"Perfect, sir."

For the next couple of hours Felix stayed leaning against his Bergen, reading a book and staying out of the way of the bridge crew. He was amused by the strange looks from people coming onto the bridge and seeing him lying there out of the way, and definitely not in the grey coveralls of the crew.

He had dozed off with his thumb stuck at the page where he nodded off at when he felt somebody approach him and say, "Sir? The Colonel says we are 10 minutes out from the planet."

Felix opened his eyes and placed the bookmark at the page and closed the book and said, "Thanks."

He replaced his book back into an outside pouch in its waterproof bag, and then stood up and started doing a few quick stretches to limber up for the potential hot LZ run as he always referred to. Felix noticed some of the bridge crew watching his every move and chuckled inside but didn't show any egotism towards the crew. As he saw it — the ship was a much bigger target and more vulnerable in his opinion, plus they were his only way out for the moment.

Next he unstrapped his ghillie suit, shook it open and stepped into it, pulling it up and adjusting it as he did. He left the zipper open for the moment, as he knew that he would be warm no matter what he did. Felix then sat down and removed the camouflage cream tubes and started applying his face-paint first — using a mirror for the sides and back, and then did his hands. When he was done he noticed subtly the looks of astonishment at his transformation from human to a bush thing that blended in to the local environment.