Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Stargate Atlantis, its characters and all related entities are the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions and The SciFi Channel. Story created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made.
AN : Okay… Looooong time no write. Good news: the deadlines are mostly over and dealt with, and better news: I have finally managed to capture a nastily elusive plot bunny! A fair warning: I'm a biomedical scientist, hence I'm more adept at -quoting our favourite astrophysicist- 'voodoo stuff' than at 'exact sciences' ;-) So if the physics in here isn't really accurate, please forgive me (or better yet: point me my mistakes so they can be fixed) and bear in mind that we are in a different galaxy. Who says E equals mc2 holds true for all planets in Pegasus?
My first attempt at a longer story. Let's all cross our fingers…
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The flickering tongues of greedy flames engulfed him, licking longingly at his clothes, tasting his skin with fluttery caresses of pain. The smoke was slowly choking him, both with threatening asphyxiation and with fear as the smell of burning flesh registered sluggishly in his brain. Oh God! He was going to die! This time, no miraculous rescue for him to pull off, no ingenious plan to dazzle his captors, only the rapidly fading spark of a brilliant consciousness…
And as the pain clouded his senses, his mind turned inward, and unbidden, he was trapped in the clutches of memories.
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Pulvis et Umbra
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1.
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"This is good!" Ford said with all the youthful exuberance of a child feasting on chocolate. He munched his way through the fruit happily, and shot a questioning glance at his neighbour. "You not gonna eat this, doc?"
McKay managed to exude utter disdain by merely raising an eyebrow. "Evidently not, Lieutenant."
"Why not? They're delicious!" Ford helped himself to another one from the sulking scientist's plate.
McKay frowned in disgust, his expressive face making it obvious to even their primitive dish mates that he truly despised their food servings.
"Doctor not pleased with food?" The village leader asked stricken in his broken version of English.
"Not pleased? Not pleased! Obviously your society is beyond primitive as …" McKay's further words were unintelligible as they were grumbled from underneath Major Sheppard's strategically placed hand.
"It has nothing to do with you guys. This is great, really, we are very pleased. He just doesn't like fruits that much…" Sheppard smiled his best disarming crooked grin.
"You wouldn't either if you'd look like a puffer fish every time you accidentally swallowed a sip of citrus juice!" McKay mumbled barely audible, cross-eying the offending hand as if he was seriously contemplating to bite it.
Sheppard hastily pulled his at-risk limb away, giving his most obnoxious team member the stern 'we need to be diplomatic or else we'll get our asses kicked' stare, with the implied 'and then you might not be able to get any non-fluid food for a week when recuperating in the infirmary'.
McKay shut his mouth with an audible snap.
Teyla smoothly diverted the topic of conversation to the rich crop and while praising their agricultural capacities, smoothed the ruffled feathers neatly back down.
McKay just sat petulantly staring at his drinking bowl. Just his luck to end up on a planet where citrus fruit consisted a ridiculously dominant portion of the food pyramid.
Suddenly, the earth lurched.
Silverware rattled and tinkled. Ford dropped the fruit he'd been eagerly devouring in surprise and Sheppard's hand instinctively crept towards his P90. The villagers, who had been chattering happily amongst themselves, immediately quietened and quickly left the benches around the party tables to throw themselves down on the mossy grass. The village leader started chanting, and many voices joined in on a haunting, pleading prayer to their Moon goddess for sparing their lives from the wrath of the god of the Underworld.
Sheppard cocked one eyebrow at his team mates. Ford gave him an unsure look, clearly uncomfortable with the villagers's reaction. Teyla looked as stoic as ever, her head tilted slightly as she listened to the chanting. And McKay… Well, McKay surprised him by not responding in any way, be it imparting scientific explanations, freaking out or even ranting at silly voodoo rituals. The scientist was still staring intently at his drinking cup.
"Found the Fountain of Knowledge in there yet, McKay?" Sheppard whispered as he nudged the unresponsive Canadian. McKay huffed and glanced up briefly. "It shouldn't take a genius to realize that thát was just an aftershock to the earthquake we've experienced earlier. Yet, obviously it does…"
He went back to contemplating his drink, tuning out Sheppard's response. The tremors of the earthquake had caused the spoon to fall in, the silver cutlery now completely hidden underneath the murky red fluid that passed for liquor on this world. Rings of waves that had started from the point where it has disappeared slowly expanded concentrically until they were broken by the cup's edge. Like a pebble thrown in a pond. And the waves interfered. Constructive interference…
"Hey!" McKay's shout effectively shut up the praying villagers, and prompted dirty looks to be thrown at him for his blatant disrespect for the godly powers. Ignoring them easily, the scientist snapped his fingers in an impatient command: "Get me a map! Now!"
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