We Can Be Heroes, Just For One Day

by Reefgirl

Written for the Radek Ficathon on lj. Set during The Seige. Radek is having to build nuclear bombs, noone knows this was the reason Radek had to leave Czechoslovakia and it starts to affect him.

Title: We Can Be Heroes, Just For One Day

Genre: Angst (sort of)

Rating: T for safety's sake

Parings: (Not romantically) Radek/OC, Radek/Rodney, Radek/Teyla

Spoilers: The Siege Pt's 1, 2 & 3

Warnings: None at all

Summary: He had left his home so he wouldn't have to build nuclear weapons, now here he was building them to save the lives of the people he considered his family.

Disclaimer: I own none of the Stargate Characters.

Authors Notes: This is my assignment for the fic4radek Community on lj and the prompt was this There was a reason why Radek left communist Czechoslovakia. Memories from that time come back to haunt him. It affects his job, and others notice and try to help.

Do not include: Porn, NC-17. The story is for Roaring Mice. Thanks as usual to Pajus from for the SpellCzeching. The italics represent flashbacks.

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The Wraith were coming to the city and he'd been coerced into helping Rodney complete the nuclear bombs they'd recently got from the Genii, the last thing he wanted to do was build nuclear weapons, he'd left his home and his family to avoid having to dirty his hands with them. Dr Radek Zelenka couldn't remember the last time he slept, he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten either, Rodney had gone to find some extra strength coffee and Radek had taken the opportunity to down tools and rest.

"Zelenka hurry up you should have been ready by now," barked a voice,

"Sorry sir, I'm finished now" replied Private Radek Zelenka as he did up the last buckle on his rucksack, he prayed that Poručík Mera wouldn't notice that his bag was heavier than those of the others that were going the last training exercise before the basic training had finished.

"Come we are waiting for you" said the Poručík, Radek picked up his bag trying not to stagger under the excess weight that would give his plans away. Radek reached for the hand of his friend Alexander and pulled himself into the truck.

"What's the matter, what took you so long?" asked Alexander, Radek shook his head

"Nothing Má druh, nothing at all I was just making sure I had everything I need for the trip," he said cryptically. Alexander nodded; he knew why Radek was so quiet

"So are you looking forward to going to Moscow Zelenka?" said another member of the squad, Radek pasted a smile on his face

"Of course I am, the chance to serve Mother Russia in the field of science is truly an honour" he lied. Radek gripped his bag tighter, 'no-one, not even Alexander, must find out what I'm going to do next' he thought.

"Radek, Radek" Zelenka jerked his head up "you want some of this?" said Rodney McKay as he offered a mug of coffee

"Thank you" replied Radek as he accepted

"You ok?" asked Rodney. Radek sighed

"I was just thinking, I never thought I'd be building nuclear weapons in another galaxy to defend ourselves against vampires" he replied as he swallowed his coffee down. Rodney clapped him on the shoulder

"But this is why we left home isn't it?" he said as he got up

"No, I left my home so I wouldn't have to build these weapons" Radek muttered as he put down his mug and went back to work.

The first mistake he'd made was the day he'd fixed the heating in their barrack room, Poručík Mera had asked who was responsible and he'd owned up immediately as he hadn't wanted to get them all into trouble but all he'd done was nod and congratulate Radek on his ingenuity. After that Radek became the 'Fix it' man in the company and any problems with equipment it was usually Radek who fixed it and it was for that reason that he was now waiting outside the Commandant's office.

"Plukovník Bereva will see you now," said the secretary, Radek entered and saluted

"You wished to see me sir," he said. Bereva returned the salute and turned to introduce the Red Army Officer standing by the window

"This is Major Khrishkin and we have been reviewing your file, you were studying engineering at the University of Prague before you came here?" Bereva said

"Yes sir, I had just finished my first year before I received my notice" Radek replied

"And Poručík Mera has been telling me how you have been repairing some of the faulty equipment and how well you have been doing" Radek looked faintly embarrassed "so Major Khrishkin is here to make you an offer" said Bereva. The Red Army Major took a step forward

"I am here to say that after your basic training is finished you are coming to Moscow to finish your degree at the University and then we are going to transfer you to our nuclear programme. You are a gifted engineer and you will be an asset to us in our fight against the decedent capitalists of the West," replied Khrishkin. Radek was dumbstruck; aware that his mouth was hanging open he pulled his thoughts together

"Erm...thank you Major...I don't know what to say, it will be an honour to serve" he said lamely. Khrishkin clapped Radek on the shoulder,

"Then that is settled, you will transfer to Moscow at the end of your training", he said. Bereva dismissed Radek and he made his way back to his barrack room, he couldn't go to Moscow to build nuclear bombs, the last thing he wanted to do was kill people. He'd been show the films of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at school as Anti American propaganda 'Russia is building these weapons for peaceful purposes, they will never use them against other nations, America will not use it's weapons if they know there is a chance their enemies will respond with the same deadly weapons' the official line had been. Radek had vowed that day he would never be part of a nuclear programme, for anyone.

"Radek what the hell is this" yelled Rodney, Radek's head snapped up at the sound of Rodney's voice and he ran his hand over his face, now was not the time to be dropping off.

"What the hell is what?" he replied

"This" Rodney pointed to the work on the detonator "I've seen better work from a high school junior" ranted McKay

"What is wrong with it?" Radek shouted back. Rodney's face went red

"What's wrong with it!!? What's wrong with it? Look at what you've done you've wired the detonator to the outer casing" Rodney screamed

"No I haven't" snapped Radek. Rodney beckoned him to come over and look, Radek went over and looked at where McKay was pointing and saw that he had indeed wired it up wrong"

"You haven't huh" Rodney replied snidely. Radek sighed

"I made a mistake, I have not slept in forty eight hours, I am not a nuclear engineer and unlike you I am not perfect" he retorted

"With this shoddy work any vibration would have caused the bomb to explode" said Rodney

"Isn't that what you wanted?" yelled Radek

"Not in the jumper bay" said Rodney. Radek bit back a gasp, his tiredness and the memories this day was bringing back had nearly destroyed them all, he threw his spanner at McKay

"I am going to take a break, I need more coffee" he said as he stalked out.

Tonight was the night he was making his escape. He'd been planning this for the last six weeks, ever since his meeting with Plukovník Bereva and Major Khrishkin he'd been planning his escape over the West German border, he knew they had to do a weeks training as border guards in their final weeks of basic training and it gave him the perfect opportunity to leave. It had been the hardest decision he'd ever made but he had no choice if he wanted to avoid going to Russia to make nuclear bombs. He knew his family would understand his decision, his grandparents had been in the Resistance during the Nazi occupation and his parents had been involved in the Prague Spring of 1968 so Resistance was in his blood.

He dressed in his uniform, picked up his pack and went out on his patrol,

"Radek you are defecting" said Alexander. Radek's blood froze

"Yes I am" he replied

"Take me with you" replied Alexander, Radek sighed

"You know I can't Má druh, I have to leave, I can't work for Moscow building bombs, I can't do it and I will not do it" he said. Alexander smiled and patted Radek on the back

"I understand is there anything I can do?" he asked, Radek fished a letter out of his pocket

"Send this to my sister Jana, when they realise I've gone they will be looking at my parent's mail for letters from the West, hopefully they won't bother with letters for a thirteen year old girl" he said as he handed it over

"I will do as you ask" Alexander replied. Radek hugged his friend

"I will get you out, there are organizations in West Germany that help people escape I will contact them and I will send word to you via your sister Martina, we will see each other again I promise" he said. Alexander hugged his friend back and watched him leave for the border fence, he vowed he would do everything he could to make sure his friend succeeded.

Radek jolted awake as he felt a hand on his shoulder, he reached for his gun and pointed it at the other person. Teyla gasped and backed away with her hands raised

"Dr Zelenka do not fire, it is Teyla" she said, Radek dropped the gun

"Bože. Je mi to tak líto, Teylo. Seš v pořádku?" he gasped, Teyla smiled a little

"I am sorry Dr Zelenka I did not understand you" she replied

"I am sorry Teyla, I am so sorry, I...I thought you were going to kill me for trying to escape my home, my mind has been playing tricks on me" Radek babbled. Teyla slowly lower her hands and tapped her earpiece

"Dr McKay can you come to the power room please, I fear there is something very wrong with Dr Zelenka" she said

"I'll be right down" replied McKay.

Rodney McKay entered the power room at a run to find Radek sitting on the floor with his head in his hands; Teyla was next to him offering him some comfort

"Ahem" he said. Teyla got up and crossed over to him "what's going on, you said there's something wrong with him"

"I fear there is something wrong with his mind, he pulled his gun on me thinking I was going to kill him for escaping his home. When I asked him what he meant he just kept saying he had to leave so he wouldn't have to build bombs for the Russians, now I cannot understand him at all, he speaks in his own language" Teyla explained. Rodney decided against bawling Radek out, Teyla would never make something like this up and Radek had been acting strange all day, whatever day this was,

"Radek, what's going on?" he asked

"I left home so I wouldn't have to build nuclear bombs" said Radek in a flat voice

"Dr Zelenka, what do you mean?" asked Teyla

"I had to leave everything because I don't want to kill anyone" Radek rambled. Rodney grabbed Zelenka by the shoulders and shook him

"Radek, Radek snap out of it" said Rodney as Radek started to mumble in Czech, Rodney shook Radek again

"Come on Radek snap out of it, come on stop this" he said. Teyla was about to call for Dr Beckett when Radek looked up

"Rodney, why are we in the power room?" he asked, Rodney let out a breath

"Radek you scared the crap out of me, Teyla found you in here, so you're telling me you can't remember getting here" exclaimed McKay. Radek nodded

"The last thing I remember is leaving the mess hall after having some coffee" he replied, Teyla sat beside him

"Do you not remember drawing your weapon and pointing it at me" Radek's jaw dropped "you also said you thought I wanted to kill you for leaving your home" she said gently. Radek shook his head slowly

"I am sorry Teyla" he said

"Do not be, you were not feeling yourself" she replied

"What is today's date, on Earth?" asked Radek

"It's...ah...April 25th" replied Rodney, Radek sighed and muttered something in Czech

"Huh?" asked Rodney

"Twenty Five years ago today I deserted from the Czechoslovakian Army and crossed the border into West Germany" Zelenka replied, Rodney's jaw dropped and he patted him on the shoulder

"That explains all the leaving home stuff but what has it got to do with building nuclear bombs?" asked Rodney

"When I did my military service, it was back in the days of Soviet occupation" Teyla opened her mouth to say something but Rodney shook his head "I used to fix things, faulty machinery and things that the Red Army had no use for anymore. My commanding officer noticed and looked into my records, he found out that I was studying to be an engineer and said that they were going to send me to Moscow to finish my degree so I could work in their nuclear programme, I couldn't let myself be involved in something like that. I'd seen all the Soviet propaganda stuff as a child and I saw what had happened in Hiroshima, I couldn't do it, I couldn't let people suffer so horribly by my hand so I defected to the West" Radek said softly. Rodney closed his eyes and sighed

"You should have said something" he said

"Would you have listened?" replied Radek, Rodney shook his head

"Probably not" he said.

"I thought I was going mad, all day I have been reliving those final days in Czechoslovakia, it was so real" Radek said

"A mixture of sleep deprivation and you subconsciously knowing it was the anniversary of your leaving" said Rodney gently

"Maybe" said Radek.

"Go back to your room and grab a couple of hours sleep" Radek started to protest "I can get one of the others to help me with the bombs, one of us needs to be in control of their faculties when and if the Wraith get here, when you've had some rest I'll get some" Rodney promised.

"Rodney I'm ok all I need is some stimulants" protested Radek

"Teyla, escort him to his quarters will you" said Rodney, Radek held up his hands

"Ok I am going" he said as he and Teyla left the Power room.

He had been wandering around the West German side of the border for about an hour when he came to a small village, he was looking for someone to help him when he heard a stifled scream, he turned to see a young woman outside what looked like the inn.

"I'm not going to hurt you" he threw his rifle on the ground and kept his hands in front of him "I need you to help me, I have come across the border from Czechoslovakia, I need to find someone who will help me get asylum, do you know what I mean?" he said in broken German. The woman nodded, she beckoned him to follow her and took him to the village Priest. The priest had taken him in and given him sanctuary until they managed to contact the local authorities, they had then taken him to Munich where his application for asylum had been made, he'd got himself a job in one of the beer halls, saving money so he could finish his education. Six months ago he'd managed to contact an organization that was prepared to help him get Alexander out, two days ago he'd received word that Alexander had escaped and was on his way to Munich, life was looking good for everyone.

Three Days Later...

The Wraith were gone, contact with Earth had been re-established after they'd sent a ZPM to them aboard the Daedalus, the senior staff were back on Earth giving their reports of the past year on Atlantis and everything was quiet. Radek was sitting on the balcony of the mess hall with a cup of bona fide, strong Italian coffee and a writing pad in front of him, now that they were in contact, again he was writing to his parents, Jana and Alexander, letting them know he was ok and was coming home soon.

Radek and Alexander got off the train at the Prague terminal and walked down the platform towards the exit

"We are home Má druh, after eight years we are finally home to a free Czechoslovakia" said Alexander

"Yes, yes and how we dreamed of this day, remember" said Radek and Alexander nodded

"Many sacrifices Má druh many, many sacrifices" he said quietly. They reached the doors, pushed through them and stopped dead in amazement at the large group of people waiting at the foot of the steps, three generations of both families had turned out to welcome them home

"This is worth everything we've been through" said Radek with tears in his eyes

"It's good to be home" said Alexander as they ran down the stairs to their families.

"Dr Zelenka?" said a voice; Radek shook himself out of his daydream and smiled at Teyla

"Yes, do you need something?" he asked

"No, everything is fine, may I join you?" she said

"Of course" he replied.

"I have had a meeting with Major Lorne, Sgt Bates replacement, he seems to be good man" she said, Radek smiled

"After Bates, Dracula would be a good man" he replied with a chuckle, Teyla looked confused

"Dracula?" she asked

"I'm sorry, Dracula is a character in a horror story, a Vampire, they live on the blood of humans and they are much like the Wraith but are legend rather than fact" he explained. Teyla grinned

"I'm glad to see you are feeling much better now" she said with a smile

"I am sorry about what happened" he said

"Please, there is no need to keep apologising for your actions, Colonel Sheppard explained to me what sleep deprivation can do to people, I understand it is a form of torture on your world" she said. Radek sighed

"In the less civilized parts of our world yes it is and thank you for being understanding" he replied, Teyla smiled

"I understand that life in your country was not always so pleasant, from what I can understand from your history archives" she said. Radek sighed again

"Things were very different when I was a child" he said sadly. Teyla reached across and squeezed his hand

"Would you tell me about it, one day?" she asked

"I will tell you now if you want" he said, it would be good to tell someone all about his life

"I would like that" she replied as she leaned forward like an eager child waiting for a story

"After World War Two Europe was divided in two, the countries in the West had its own governments and were free; the countries of the East were ruled from the Soviet Union..." Radek began.

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Poručík - Lieutenant

Plukovník - Colonel

Má druh - My friend

Bože. Je mi to tak líto, Teylo. Seš v pořádku - Oh God. I'm so sorry, Teyla. Are you alright.