Fiction Aberrant: StarGate Atlantis - [SFP #1] How Far He's Come (FIN)

[Curtis Shane]

A run for fast food didn't seem like such a bad idea, Curtis had considered, since he was in a hurry. A lunch break before getting his additional files and materials packed up for interstellar transit was thin perforce. He'd learned this from preparing for a tour of duty at Dakara, that there was so much to get done and so little time. Goa'uld technology was so finicky at times.

He had heading back to Stargate Command at Cheyenne for that matter, having made his road trip to Nebraska to say goodbye to Jesse and Jeff, and let them know that he would be out of contact for a while. His parents had wished him well, and Jeff had insisted on making one of his classic egg salad sandwiches that Curtis had enjoyed back in the days of childhood- but that had been wolfed down during the first stop for gas.

When he entered a local Burger King, the cashier who was taking his order looked familiar, and he seemed to recognize Curtis alright, though Curtis could not place his face oddly enough. Then he caught a muttered whisper of "Nerd-hole." when the cashier thought he wasn't listening and Curtis grinned, despite the comment.

"Is that really a good idea, Barry? If the manager heard you insulting a customer...." Barry Brenton, former high-school bully of Curtis Shane blanched, but his annoyed face still retained a slight arrogance of the jock bully. "Knock it off Shane." Barry snapped, albeit in a low voice. "It's hard getting a job around here as is, please just leave me alone."

The irony that Curtis had used similar words- of that last phrase- in locker rooms did not escape either of them. The fries and Whopper were handed over in paper bags, but Curtis- feeling turnabout to be fair for once, quipped just before he stepped away with his haul: "I understand. I mean the Air Force wants to promote me, the Navy and Army trying to poach me..."

His Whopper would taste extra good today.

**************

Curtis took a moment from the list he was inspecting to make sure the equipment he was bringing alone had all been cleared. Everything, including The Laptop. Or as some snickered, Shane's Little Boy based on the attention he'd bestowed on it. The personal laptop he'd been forced by the SGC to leave with the military at Cheyenne before he'd leave for Atlantis.

Given that the machine had been used in the labs to the point of being heavily upgraded and patched full of Goa'uld technology, the concerns were understood, certainly. Thank goodness it was coming with him now.

"Look at me now," he mentioned to himself. "Curtis' going to another galaxy, gonna study lost alien technology and do it the fun way. Viva La Vida." From a tormented kid in high school, to a respected scientist and techie in the military working with secret knowledge the likes of which geeks would sell their souls for...

"I've made it. Just can't do things by halves down there."