Day 8 - Team Transmitter (tag Tara, Jon, McKay)

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

The small group gathered early, collecting food to sustain them for lunch, but prepared to scavenge for their own meals after that. Rose was starting off wearing her backpack, and had a Bamboo walking stick. Her hair was pulled up into a pony tail on top her head, keeping it out of the way. The Backpack held two changes of clothing two blankets wand bottled water. The Doctor carried nothing except what was in the pockets f his ever-present leather jacket. Sayid had one of John Locke’s knives tucked into his belt, and one of the sturdy spears from the found crate ‘just in case’.

Sayid had not understood why he had been asked to join them. He knew that between The Doctor and Doctor McKay his own technical knowledge was limited. But the Doctor insisted he’d be invaluable if they were dealing with older equipment and, The Doctor confided, he was obviously one of the ex-military types. He told the Iranian he wanted someone who could handle themselves, and was an adult, with them. Someone he trusted to help protect the group. Although when he said the group he’d turned to look at Rose. Sayid was not certain if The Doctor was mad or not, the things he had heard whispered round the campfire, but he was capable. And the obvious trust was an honor of its own.

McKay, Jon and Tara rounded out the group heading for the Transmitter. Tara had the map. The Doctor had announced he didn’t need it. Rose complained that such a statement was something only those male statements that tended to get people lost, so Tara had been handed the map to keep them on track, should the Doctor’s ‘excellent sense of direction’ fail them.

They had set off keeping to the shade of the treeline. Besides the shade, the ground was harder there, and easier to walk over. They were not traveling fast, in deference to McKay’s still hurting ribs.

Comments

[McKay] Team Transmitter (tag Tara, Jon, Rose/Doctor)

[lost-mckay.livejournal.com]

"And look where we are now, and where he is." McKay could very well go into a treatise about stagnated worlds where they've plateaued, and humans have continued to learn, to grow, to move, change and even surpass those others. The fact that the astrophysicist has a shot of -understanding- the science behind the time travel speaks volumes. At least in his book.

"Not bad for an 'ape' to be able to understand what they've been doing for 'millions of years', all in... what? A blink of a cosmic eye? Hmmmm?" Clash of the egos. Still, while McKay wasn't necessarily smiling, his tones didn't carry a combative tenor, simply an intellectual challenge, exchange. He's willing to grant the timelord's people millions of years of experience, but the human physicists have done a pretty credible job in playing 'catch-up'.

[Doctor] Team Transmitter (tag Tara, Jon, McKay)

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

“Never said you didn’t have potential.” The Doctor pointed out, “One of the reasons I keep coming back to this little blue planet. You’ve just started to expand, branch out, look beyond your own little selves to what’s really out there. Eventually you’ll spread throughout the universe, exploring, discovering, building…”

“Dancing.” Rose laughed.

“Dancing.” He grinned. “You’re quite the expansive little race. You embrace everything, sometimes when you shouldn’t. If you don’t let greed and jealousy get the best of you, you promise to become one of the dominant species in the universe. So, yeah, you can learn. But you’re still evolving, intellectually if not physically.” He threw himself into the debate with exuberance. His mobile face accentuating his speech, his hands flying.”

“As for where I am now, could be worse. Could be better. At least the scenery’s nice even if the diet could use improving. The neighbors are a bit rowdy though.”

[McKay] Team Transmitter (tag Tara, Jon, Doctor/Rose)

[lost-mckay.livejournal.com]

...Eventually you'll spread throughout the universe, exploring, discovering, building...

Rodney had to snort, the sound of a laugh as he, once again, pulled himself to a stop, his head rolled backwards in an 'oh, come on' gesture. Before he actually said anything, however, he paused, considered, then with a rather dramatic, put-up sigh, took another step forward to begin again. The ache was getting to the point of convincing him he'd never take a full drought of air again.

"I'll grant you that we're still evolving, but the point was, we're not 'apes' anymore than-than-than-- well, I don't know." He withdrew from biology courses in favour for the hard sciences. "But-but-but the point stands that we are pretty advanced for the sliver of time-- and I don't believe I'm having this conversation... Jon... Can you believe I'm having this conversation?-- I was speaking metaphorically."

[Jon] Team Transmitter (tag Tara, McKay, Doctor/Rose)

[sophiedb.livejournal.com]

"Hey, don't bring me into this," Jon replied from the back of the line, annoyed by how close McKay was to spilling the beans. "I'm just glad we haven't blown ourselves up yet. Besides, he's got a time machine that flies through space. We have the shuttle and a few unmanned probes. We don't even come close, right?"

He knew the Doctor could speak Goa'uld and knew something about the Ancients, so chances were that Rose had a clue as well, but as far as he could tell there were still two Earthbound humans in this little group and that was more than enough to put a lid on this conversation. The thought of seeing this TARDIS wasn't bad though - if Rodney could keep his hot little hands off whatever undoubtedly sensitive controls there were inside.

"You want some painkillers? Or to offload some of that junk on your back?" Jon grinned cheekily. "I know how easily you old folks tire."

[McKay] Team Transmitter (tag Tara, Jon, Doctor/Rose)

[lost-mckay.livejournal.com]

"Right." The word was a mumbled response from McKay. He shifted his equipment around once more before giving Jon a good, old-fashioned glare, though it didn't stop him from pausing his travel once again and handing one of his briefcases with potentially useful bits of electronic equipment, a 'home built' circuit tester, and the salvageable tool kit from the aircraft. He held on to his laptop, however.

"I bet you won't see thirty years," McKay grumbled as he continued on his path once more, stumbling over a branch. It took a couple added steps to right himself, his hand going out to catch himself before another complaint came. "It can't possibly be that far. We-we-we've gone... how far? It must have been..." For an astrophysicist, he was a bad judge of physical distance.

[Doctor] Team Transmitter (tag Tara, Jon, McKay)

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

"See that big light in the sky. It's just about overhead. That makes it close to noon." The Doctor pointed up with a grin. He was egging McKay on and it was pretty obvious.

"Good, that means we can stop for lunch." Rose announced.

"It also means we're about half way there, give or take." The Doctor explained.

"We've come about twenty kilometers from the camp." Sayid supplied.

"See, you're doing great." The Doctor grinned at McKay. The more he was involved in arguing, or being indignant, the less he payed attention to his aches and pains.

"Our first night's campfire remains shouldn't be too far from here, then." Rose pointed out as she dug fresh water bottles out, and some slightly bruised fruit. Smoked turtle meat was not a delicacy to be taken along. So it was vegitarian for a few days.

"Right. It'll be a good marker." The Doctor sat down, indian style, on the dirt.

"As for your technology, nope, you haven't come very far on your own yet." The Doctor let that be as much as he was saying, since this lot got all uptight about their secret government agencies. In truth, most of their advances came from using technology not their own. Even their super secret space ships used lots of borrowed technology.

"But Doctor McKay is right. You like us because we have come so far in just the last thirty years. For silly little apes, we've grown quite a bit in such a short spurt." Rose nodded to Doctor McKay.

"That's one of the reasons anyway." He winked at her.