Title: From Rising to Siege II
Rating: PG
Category: drabble (drama, angst, humor)
Spoilers: all of season one
Summary: A drabble for each episode of Stargate: Atlantis season one.
Archive: If it wasn't given to you, please ask first.
Disclaimer: If you had yourself a quantum mirror, perhaps you'd find a reality where SG:A belonged to me...alas, this one isn't it.
Notes: This was a personal challenge – in possession of the S1 DVDs and six months of their being my only source of Stargate, I forced myself to ration the episodes out. One part of that system was not being able to watch the next until a drabble had been written for the current episode. Each drabble is independent, using different POVs, different times (mid-ep, post-ep), etc. and all are canon-compliant, by which I mean you'll find no romantic entanglements, AUs, or what have you – I make stuff up, but nothing contradictory. Also, being a perfectionist, each is exactly 100 words. Enjoy!
Rising: On-the-Job Training
"General..."
"We're done talking about his record, Colonel Sumner."
"It's not his record that scares me, sir. It's his rank."
O'Neill quirked an eyebrow. "Rank?"
"We could all die two minutes in, or we could be there the next fifty years. I'll defend my people to my last breath, no regrets, but after that...Sheppard's in command."
"I liked him. He's a damn fine pilot, good instincts, highly intelligent. Unparalleled gene control..."
"Which is great, really, except none of that tells me whether he can do the job. The man barely knows what a Stargate is!"
"He'll learn soon enough."
Hide and Seek: Boys Will be Boys
"Major!"
Sheppard turned back towards the corridor he'd just passed. "You bellowed, Doctor?"
"I wasn't bellowing, I was merely –"
Sheppard waved off the explanation. "What do you need?"
"Dr. Beckett's gene therapy worked. I can use the Ancient tech now."
"I heard. Congratu – " He stopped, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Hold on...I know that face. That's your 'Atlantis has the coolest toys' face."
Rodney smirked and pointed towards his chest which, now that Sheppard was looking, had something small, green, and glowing on it. "Personal shield device."
"How effective?"
Rodney was practically bouncing as his grin turned mischievous. "Let's find out."
38 Minutes: Countdown
She can't believe he did that, that Kavanagh actually...but he did, and it took one and a half minutes, and she wants to scream but she can't, so she doesn't.
Instead she wastes a precious thirty seconds in her office, standing ramrod straight, fists clenched, body shaking with restrained anger: thirty seconds spent on one slow breath, inhalation and exhalation, and the absence of thought. More than she can afford, less than she truly needs.
She strides back to the control room, glancing at her watch though she already knows the time to the second...and they're running out.
Suspicion: Trust is a Fragile Thing
He didn't understand how Dr. Weir could seriously accuse the Athosians. Spying for the Wraith made no sense – what would a spy get out of the deal? A promise he'd be spared?
Humans were food. You don't negotiate with dinner, you eat it.
Generation upon generation of cullings had forged the Athosians into a proud, resilient people, and they would not take kindly to any implication of collaboration.
The Atlantis expedition was new to the Pegasus galaxy, and while both Teyla and her people had so far been generally tolerant of their ignorance, he could only see this ending badly.
Childhood's End: Q&A
I can't stop grinning. Our guides are beyond cute, having lost their awe of us "full-growns" within seconds in favor of the universal constant for kids: asking questions.
They're a lot like the scientists, really.
McKay can roll his eyes and radiate annoyance, but I'd bet my C-4 and stun grenades that this is exactly what the man was like as a child. After all, he's pretty much the same now, it's just, he's gotta ask the questions of himself. God help us all if we ever meet any actual Ancients...we'll see who's "not a quiet person" then.
Poisoning the Well: Paved
Carson paused just before the event horizon. On this side was a people dead and dying, soon halved and then perhaps reduced to nothing at all. On the other was a quiet infirmary, filled with cutting-edge medical equipment, Ancient tech...and doctors who understood research. Procedure. Caution.
Major Sheppard touched his shoulder gently. He wanted to blame the man, give anger focus: he'd got Carson involved in this, after all. But the Major already bore guilt for a wakened Wraith, offering assistance with only the best intentions.
In Pegasus, though, they seemed to pave the same path as on Earth.
Underground: Burden
It's becoming a pattern: in our search for allies – for defense, food, goods, and the ever-elusive ZPM – we remind Sheppard of the weight on his shoulders...
And then we add more.
He didn't wake the Wraith on purpose, but they are awake.
Active.
Hungry.
If the Wraith still slept, the Hoffans would have done more research. The Genii would have improved their weapons.
Maybe none of it would have come to anything, in the end, but Sheppard doesn't seem to acknowledge that. He thinks he has stolen hope, possibilities.
Soon, I fear he'll have convinced himself he's stolen their lives.
Home: If Wishes Were Horses
"So Major, when exactly did you realize things were...amiss?"
McKay's question had been inevitable, ever since not-Hammond's comments followed by his own regarding the "fabricated reality."
"It was during our shopping trip, was it not, Major Sheppard?"
"Before that, actually." It was the briefing. Even then he'd known...something. And while he'd tried not to preen at the General's words in the elevator, to remind himself that things shouldn't have gone quite like that, it had felt good to pretend he'd be forgiven. Thanked. Commended, even. "I knew things were off, I just needed time to figure out how."
The Storm: Blood and Thunder
He wasn't superman, and he wasn't a soldier, either. Save Atlantis from a massive hurricane? Sure, yes, that he could do. Rid aforementioned city of enemy forces and rescue the hostages? More Major Sheppard's area of expertise, really.
He wasn't immune to stupid heroics – take the giant energy cloud as an example – though he tried not to make a habit of it. The knife wound hurt just as much as he thought it would, and he didn't want to give away their plan, but Sheppard couldn't save them all if there wasn't an Atlantis to save, anyway. So he told.
The Eye: Separation Anxiety
"Radio transmission from Atlantis, sir. Major Sheppard."
Bates nodded, tapping his radio. "This is Sgt. Bates."
"I'm told all's well on Manara."
"Yes, sir."
"We had a bit of...added excitement over here, so I want everyone home as soon as the storm passes. Wake all the Marines. Post some at the Gate, the rest on our people, then get the others awake and packed."
"Sir?"
"McKay estimates about two more hours, so we'll check in every thirty minutes."
"Sir, what happened?"
The Major sighed. "A lot. You'll be briefed when you return. Just...just get everyone ready."
"Of course, sir."
The Defiant One: Still Standing
It took a combination of their injuries, exhaustion, the length of the flight home, and their teammates' insistence before Sheppard and McKay consented, grudgingly, to stay the night on the planet.
John let his wounds be tended, gave a terse summary of events, then sent them off to their own jumper after sharing a meal.
He and Rodney huddled in their sleeping bags, sitting back against the benches shoulder to shoulder and speaking quietly before dropping off to sleep.
In the morning they felt...not better, exactly, but a bit less off-balance. Ready to return to Atlantis, alive, minus two.
Hot Zone: Diminishing Returns
"A bit more up-close than your last nuclear explosion, Major?"
"You could say that. Also the first one I've detonated. I hear Doc Beckett's cleared everyone and sent them to bed. Good work."
"Oh yes, fantastic. Getting my staff killed on missions wasn't bad enough, I decided to move on to getting them killed in the relative comfort of our own city."
"Rodney..."
"I know, I know. Not anyone's fault, would have happened anyway, it's just...I've lost seven scientists in a month. Seven. I can't...we can't keep..."
"I know, Rodney. I do. We'll do better."
"We'll have to."
Sanctuary: Certainty
When Chaya had called him on his investigation, he'd had a moment of hand-in-the-cookie-jar panic before his brain kicked in and reminded him that he'd been authorized to do it and wasn't guilty of any wrongdoing.
Next was the don't-know-the-answer-yet, down-to-the-wire panic.
And then...
Then...
It had all come together, all of the little bits and pieces coalesced into a crazy idea that was so obviously right it wasn't really crazy at all.
It hurt so much, knowing that she'd hidden and not helped, that he'd actually wished for a moment to be wrong...but then, of course, he wasn't.
Before I Sleep: Not a Sacrifice but a Gift
She'd done many things she hadn't expected since traveling to the Pegasus galaxy, each day seeming to bring something she hadn't prepared for – that none of them could have.
It had tested her in more ways than one, but with each trial she had the confidence of a person who knows herself and her people – barring a few inevitable surprises – well.
She'd always known Rodney would fight to his last breath, and John, and that she'd do anything in her power to save her expedition team.
Which left her here, on a balcony, casting her own ashes to the wind.
The Brotherhood: Promises Kept
Long after he left, Rodney's words echoed in her head.
We come from a planet called Earth...we only just recently made Atlantis our home.
Even after that she'd held out hope, because the term "recent" was relative, but...only a few short months. Months!
They seemed so self-assured, these new Lanteans, as if they were certain of their claim, as if they had some right to the city of the Ancestors. The Potentia belonged in Atlantis, but only for the city's true people. Until then, the Brotherhood would keep its promise – faithful even ten thousand years more. Faithful forever.
Letters from Pegasus: Secret Keeper
The messages home weren't confessions, and they weren't exactly secrets, either, but they still left Aiden feeling as if he were in possession of forbidden knowledge.
Some of them made him smile and some twisted something deep in his gut, but all of them left him feeling both gifted and burdened.
He shouldn't know these things, these not-quite secrets about his colleagues and friends, but he did. He knew everyone's last words – last words masked as updates and reminders and "I'm fine"...but in their eyes he saw I love you. I'm sorry. Goodbye.
Hope felt that much further away.
The Gift: Hush
Her fingers rest low on her belly, and though she knows it's foolishness she can't help but think of the empty womb within. It's especially useless to think of now, when perhaps none of them will live out the week, but still she does.
Children are a great joy, made greater still by the promise they hold within themselves for the Athosian people's future, and she's always looked towards her time with longing.
Now, instead of seeing her body as protector and provider, leader and woman, she sees burdens, curses, and their most-hated enemy. She will give no child that.
The Siege (part I): Counterpoint
He couldn't make himself walk past the generator room. Something felt off.
The Major might mock his "spidey sense" as paranoia – and in a way it was – but Bates had long ago determined that his role needed to be the suspicious one: withholding trust, looking on the dark side, seeing the possibilities of betrayal and disaster, playing bad cop. Sheppard needed the balance, and while it might not endear him to the Major personally, Bates was determined to be that for him.
This feeling was as much physical as intuitive, though, so he crept into the room with weapon raised.
The Siege (part II): Primary Defense
"Take a few more clips."
"Major, not that I take my continued existence lightly, but don't you think – "
"Ideally you'd have an armed escort, Rodney, but I'm not in charge and Everett's got me busy elsewhere. Go geek out, get the chair running, but don't lose track of your weapons."
"Major – "
"I'm serious. You are your own backup. This means when you get up and move two feet, the P-90 does, too. Arm's reach at all times."
"I'll be fine."
"I know. Shoot for center of mass."
"Oh yeah. Very reassuring, Sheppard."
"You'll be fine."
"We'll see, won't we?"