Chapter 7: Waking

[Just a note: I will say everyone's first name, last name, and rank when I introduce them. After that, I will call them by one name in the text, but in dialogue, they may be called something different. If you are unsure of who a character is, I am going to put up a list of them. Thanks!

Spyre: FORD IS IN THIS CHAPTER!!!! *goes insane from awesomeness*]

The world was a blinding, dizzying swirl of light. Akire blinked her eyes. Is this the afterlife? She looked around. Doesn't look like it. In fact, it looks kind of like--

"How are you feeling?"

Akire turned her head. A man dressed in a white coat was standing beside her. Akire realized she was lying on a white bed, her body covered by a white blanket. Around her, people carrying cases and equipment seemed to be unpacking. She blinked again, and rubbed her eyes. "I assume I'm not dead?" she asked. Her voice sounded scratchy and distant. She shook her head and looked at the man.

He laughed. "No, you're not, but you had us worried for a while." He looked down at what he was holding in his hand: a large book-sized tablet, then back up again. "I'm Dr. Carson Beckett."

"Akire Zyll Flickerclaw," Akire said. "What's a doctor?" she asked.

"A doctor is...someone who helps others," Beckett said. "I fix broken bones, heal sickness, that kind of stuff."

"A Healer," Akire's violet eyes lit up.

"I guess you could call it that," Beckett smiled.

"By the way, where am I, if I'm not dead?" Akire added. Beckett's smile faded slightly.

"You are in the city of Atlantis. Actually, I was wondering if you could tell us about how you got here. We found you in one of the city's corridors. You were unconscious, vey close to death."

Akire took a deep breath. "I...I came here from a planet called Lewil. My parents dialed the gate and sent me through, to protect me from the Wraith."

"Ah, the Wraith," Beckett said, his face clouding. "We've just met them."

Akire stared at him in disbelief. "You are very lucky. I haven't heard of anyone who didn't know what the Wraith were until recently. Can I ask, what planet are you you from?"

Beckett looked nervous. "The fact is, Akire, we aren't from any planet near here."

"What do you mean?" Akire asked, confused.

"We come from another galaxy, from a planet called Earth. We discovered the dialing address to Atlantis in a pyramid, and we journeyed here through our Stargate."

Akire opened her mouth to ask a question, but she was cut off.

"She's awake?"

Three people entered through the doors of the room: a woman with short, dark red hair, a man with brown hair that looked like he hadn't brushed it in a while, and the youngest, a dark skinned man wearing a blue hat. The woman was the one who had spoken, and she looked at Akire inquisitively.

"Yes, she's awake," Beckett said. "We were just talking about how the Atlantis Expedition got here. Her name is Akire Zyll Flickerclaw."

Akire wanted to say something, but she was too busy studying her new companions.

"Good," said the woman. "Akire, I am Dr. Elizabeth Weir. This is Major John Sheppard," the brown haired man inclined his head, "and Lieutenant Aiden Ford." The other man smiled at Akire, and she couldn't resist grinning back. "It was Lieutenant Ford's team that found you," Weir explained

"Pleased to meet you," she said politely.

"Same," answered Ford. "Glad to see you looking alive."

Akire nodded her head, and then addressed Weir. "But, I still don't understand. How do you not know the Wraith?"

The four exchanged looks. It was Sheppard who spoke. "We just met them today. We were visiting a planet called Athos in order to seek out trading partners when they attacked. We lost one of our men, but we are now taking care of the people of the village we stayed in."

"At least for now," Weir added. "Oh, sorry, I have to take this." She turned away and pressed a button on her headset. Beckett went back to pressing buttons on his tablet.

Sheppard smiled at Akire. "Nice to see you back in good health. Now," he turned to Ford. "I have to go and see if Teyla and her people are okay." He walked away.

Ford pulled up a chair and sat down beside Akire's bed. "Thank you," she said.

"Oh, it was nothing," he said, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Seriously," she said. "If you hadn't rescued me, I would be dead by now."

"Well, when you put it that way..." They both laughed, and there was a silence. "Anyway," Ford said. "When my team and I found you, we also noticed that you had this." He pulled the Book of Tiroulau out of his pack and gave it to Akire. She held it in her hands and looked at it. "Thank you--again," she said. "It seems I am indebted to you and your people. This is the Book of Tiroulau--it has the history of my parent's home planet in it. My mother told me that one day I would give something to the book."

"Well maybe you could write about Atlantis in it," Ford suggested.

Akire looked up. "Yes...I suppose I could..."

She looked down again at the book in her hands, wondering...