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Title: The Past Always Finds You - Part Two
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kellifer_fic
Characters: Team
Rating: PG13
Note: Prologue - the sga_flashfic entry Minor In Action
Spoilers: None.
*Thanks to my beta superfox*
Link to Part One
Summary: There were stone carvings of Madrag serpents on every corner, including the poor unfortunate headless one that Sheppard had managed to knock off the second time he and Lorne had attempted their roof flying. There had been giant papier-mâché wings involved that time and Lorne breaking his other leg.
…Then…
There was a pier on the end of their property and brightly coloured Rakei fish would come right up to the splintered wood and nibble at it with tiny mouths. Sheppard sat with his feet in the water, feeling the slippery bodies of the fish whip past his toes, occasionally causing the fish to retreat in a flurry of foam and tails when he would lazily drag his feet from left to right.
Lorne sat on the other end with a pole in hand and the fish were studiously avoiding him.
“Early entry?” Lorne asked, his tone neutral but John could tell he was upset.
“Mum says I tested well. Good hand-eye thingie,” Sheppard said, twitching his fingers at eye level.
“But you’re ten,” Lorne grumbled. “They usually only admit fifteen year olds to the Academy.”
“I don’t know,” Sheppard sighed, mystified by the whole situation himself. He had asked his mother just how many people were accepted into the Academy early and what it meant. She’d used the old line, the one he was getting a little tired of.
You’re just…special.
“What do you think it will be like?” Lorne asked, curiosity creeping into his tone and a little wistfulness. He would miss Sheppard but he was also envious. It had been both of them lying on the tiled roof of their Taku watching the great airships pass by overhead. They’d excitedly discussed just what it would be like when they were in the Academy together but nowhere in their planning had they allowed for the possibility that they would be separated.
“I don’t know,” Sheppard said again, shrugging slightly. “I don’t think I’m going to go.” He remembered seeing a small boy on crutches waiting for him, shielding his eyes and watching from below.
“I thought it was all decided,” Lorne said, abandoning any pretence of fishing and turning so he could look at his brother.
“No one actually asked me. They just assume I’ll be going,” John said, clenching his fists. “I’m sure I can wait and take the test again. I wish they’d never come to school.”
“They were looking for someone like you,” Lorne’s eyes were serious as he twisted the fishing pole between his fingers. “I don’t think you can say no.”
“Of course I can,” Sheppard snapped, yanking his feet out of the water and flopping back on the sun-warmed pier, dropping an arm over his eyes. “They can’t make me go.”
“Mum and Dad can,” Lorne said, his voice barely a whisper.
“They won’t.”
“But-“
“They won’t.” Sheppard stood, stepping into his shoes and looking back up at the house. It had always looked like something out of a fairytale to him, rich reds and yellows and sloping tiled roofs that curled up at the corners. There were stone carvings of Madrag serpents on every corner, including the poor unfortunate headless one that Sheppard had managed to knock off the second time he and Lorne had attempted their roof flying. There had been giant papier-mâché wings involved that time and Lorne breaking his other leg.
Lorne’s expression was pinched, like he wasn’t so sure.
…The not too distant Now…
“I’m still not used to someone else being in here,” Elizabeth remarked from the doorway.
Daniel Jackson looked up at her, a smile flooding his features and making him look years younger. He had grey at the temple now and a few more lines, but other than that, he looked exactly the same.
Until he stood.
Elizabeth watched as he levered himself out of the chair and came around to her side of the desk, pulling her in for a quick hug. His right leg was encased in a black and smooth looking brace that the Asgard had provided. Elizabeth knew without the brace, the leg was unusable, ravaged by a virus he had been exposed to on his last offworld mission. With the brace he barely even limped. The Asgard had offered something less obtrusive but he had waved them off, saying that it would be a good reminder if he ever had the notion of going back into the field.
“Is it that time already?” he asked, holding his arm out and indicating the chair opposite the desk. Elizabeth lowered into it, knowing that after three years it shouldn’t still feel odd to be on the other side of the desk.
“Time flies, huh?” she asked wryly, a grin twisting her lips.
“How’s the station?”
“Same. We’re making progress and are at about eighty percent functionality. We’re battle-ready if the need arises.”
“God forbid.” Daniel grimaced and Elizabeth nodded. “Look, do I have to ask you to-“
“Not try and poach Rodney? Nice try but you know I have to ask. We need him.”
“So do we,” Daniel said mildly. “I’m just secure in the knowledge that no matter how nicely you ask, he’s not going to leave here.”
“There’ll come a time…” Elizabeth began but at Daniel’s quick glance, she turned and saw Rodney in the doorway, smirking.
“Fighting over me already?” he asked, fairly bristling with pride.
“You’re going to be impossible now, aren’t you?” Daniel sighed, rubbing his temple. Rodney snorted and entered the room, dropping a quick kiss onto Elizabeth’s forehead. She smiled at him fondly, knowing it was a big thing for him to show affection openly. He couldn’t have done it when she was still Doctor Weir to him, but she was now just Elizabeth and he had relaxed towards her.
“No more than usual,” Rodney sniffed and Elizabeth chuckled. “You wanted to see me?”
Daniel blinked for a second and then reached for a file. “Yes, we’re starting to receive some distress calls from some pretty far out planets. Right towards the edges of Pegasus. They happened overnight and I’d like you to have a look and see if you can pinpoint where they’re coming from and if they’re legit.”
“Distress calls? Radio?” Elizabeth asked and Daniel shook his head, his easy manner of a few minutes ago disappearing.
“No, we’re getting repeated attempts to dial through to us. We haven’t had anything other than these transmissions penetrate but I’m worried that people are going to try to come through, not knowing we have a shield.”
Rodney frowned at the file in his hands. “I don’t think that will happen,” he said, his feet already pointed towards the door like he was itching to get away and get into the problem. “These people transmitting first, tells me they might have some kind of inkling that they can’t just waltz on through. In the last few years we’ve seen a lot of worlds putting in counter-measures.”
“Whatever it is, I’m afraid I’m going to have to veto your scheduled call, just for the time being.”
“What? You can’t do that,” Rodney said, his head snapping up.
Elizabeth sighed heavily. “He’s right Rodney. You need to keep the gate clear while something like this is happening.”
“It’ll take all of five minutes,” Rodney protested.
At that moment, the unscheduled gate activity klaxon sounded and all three made their way out to the balcony overlooking the gate. Daniel looked to the gate technician on duty who swivelled around, looking amazed. “We’re getting voice and video feed this time,” he explained. “Not just the distress beacon.”
“Put it on,” Elizabeth and Daniel said in unison and Elizabeth grinned in apology. She, Daniel and Rodney turned to a view screen behind them and a grainy image appeared, a woman in her forties with a hard-lined face and hair pulled back.
“…only active gate address… refugees…send word to proceed…” The image cut in and out but Elizabeth and Daniel looked at Rodney, who had stepped forward with his face ashen and mouth hanging open.
“Rodney?” Elizabeth leaned forward, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder and he turned, still looking poleaxed.
“Did you see?” he asked, his voice a harsh whisper.
“See? Rodney, what is it?”
The image cut in again and the woman was repeating the request, looking about herself every now and again. She looked to have a patched and dirty uniform on but she was not what had caught Rodney’s eye. He took another step forward and traced fingers over the image of two men standing behind and to her right. They had their heads together and one of them gestured while the other nodded, standing with weight on one hip and a blocky looking weapon held out to the side.
Maybe if they hadn’t been standing together or weren’t in uniform or holding weapons. Maybe if he hadn’t gotten so used to seeing them standing exactly that way over the year they served together. Maybe if the foreground image hadn’t been so frustratingly grainy but the background a little clearer so he’d looked at that instead…
It didn’t matter.
They both glanced up at that second, as if they could feel the press of Rodney’s palm against them, so many light years away. Seeing their faces, years stripped away but still achingly recognisable, Rodney knew.
“It’s Sheppard and Lorne,” he breathed.
Part Three
Author:
kellifer_ficCharacters: Team
Rating: PG13
Note: Prologue - the sga_flashfic entry Minor In Action
Spoilers: None.
*Thanks to my beta superfox*
Link to Part One
Summary: There were stone carvings of Madrag serpents on every corner, including the poor unfortunate headless one that Sheppard had managed to knock off the second time he and Lorne had attempted their roof flying. There had been giant papier-mâché wings involved that time and Lorne breaking his other leg.
There was a pier on the end of their property and brightly coloured Rakei fish would come right up to the splintered wood and nibble at it with tiny mouths. Sheppard sat with his feet in the water, feeling the slippery bodies of the fish whip past his toes, occasionally causing the fish to retreat in a flurry of foam and tails when he would lazily drag his feet from left to right.
Lorne sat on the other end with a pole in hand and the fish were studiously avoiding him.
“Early entry?” Lorne asked, his tone neutral but John could tell he was upset.
“Mum says I tested well. Good hand-eye thingie,” Sheppard said, twitching his fingers at eye level.
“But you’re ten,” Lorne grumbled. “They usually only admit fifteen year olds to the Academy.”
“I don’t know,” Sheppard sighed, mystified by the whole situation himself. He had asked his mother just how many people were accepted into the Academy early and what it meant. She’d used the old line, the one he was getting a little tired of.
You’re just…special.
“What do you think it will be like?” Lorne asked, curiosity creeping into his tone and a little wistfulness. He would miss Sheppard but he was also envious. It had been both of them lying on the tiled roof of their Taku watching the great airships pass by overhead. They’d excitedly discussed just what it would be like when they were in the Academy together but nowhere in their planning had they allowed for the possibility that they would be separated.
“I don’t know,” Sheppard said again, shrugging slightly. “I don’t think I’m going to go.” He remembered seeing a small boy on crutches waiting for him, shielding his eyes and watching from below.
“I thought it was all decided,” Lorne said, abandoning any pretence of fishing and turning so he could look at his brother.
“No one actually asked me. They just assume I’ll be going,” John said, clenching his fists. “I’m sure I can wait and take the test again. I wish they’d never come to school.”
“They were looking for someone like you,” Lorne’s eyes were serious as he twisted the fishing pole between his fingers. “I don’t think you can say no.”
“Of course I can,” Sheppard snapped, yanking his feet out of the water and flopping back on the sun-warmed pier, dropping an arm over his eyes. “They can’t make me go.”
“Mum and Dad can,” Lorne said, his voice barely a whisper.
“They won’t.”
“But-“
“They won’t.” Sheppard stood, stepping into his shoes and looking back up at the house. It had always looked like something out of a fairytale to him, rich reds and yellows and sloping tiled roofs that curled up at the corners. There were stone carvings of Madrag serpents on every corner, including the poor unfortunate headless one that Sheppard had managed to knock off the second time he and Lorne had attempted their roof flying. There had been giant papier-mâché wings involved that time and Lorne breaking his other leg.
Lorne’s expression was pinched, like he wasn’t so sure.
“I’m still not used to someone else being in here,” Elizabeth remarked from the doorway.
Daniel Jackson looked up at her, a smile flooding his features and making him look years younger. He had grey at the temple now and a few more lines, but other than that, he looked exactly the same.
Until he stood.
Elizabeth watched as he levered himself out of the chair and came around to her side of the desk, pulling her in for a quick hug. His right leg was encased in a black and smooth looking brace that the Asgard had provided. Elizabeth knew without the brace, the leg was unusable, ravaged by a virus he had been exposed to on his last offworld mission. With the brace he barely even limped. The Asgard had offered something less obtrusive but he had waved them off, saying that it would be a good reminder if he ever had the notion of going back into the field.
“Is it that time already?” he asked, holding his arm out and indicating the chair opposite the desk. Elizabeth lowered into it, knowing that after three years it shouldn’t still feel odd to be on the other side of the desk.
“Time flies, huh?” she asked wryly, a grin twisting her lips.
“How’s the station?”
“Same. We’re making progress and are at about eighty percent functionality. We’re battle-ready if the need arises.”
“God forbid.” Daniel grimaced and Elizabeth nodded. “Look, do I have to ask you to-“
“Not try and poach Rodney? Nice try but you know I have to ask. We need him.”
“So do we,” Daniel said mildly. “I’m just secure in the knowledge that no matter how nicely you ask, he’s not going to leave here.”
“There’ll come a time…” Elizabeth began but at Daniel’s quick glance, she turned and saw Rodney in the doorway, smirking.
“Fighting over me already?” he asked, fairly bristling with pride.
“You’re going to be impossible now, aren’t you?” Daniel sighed, rubbing his temple. Rodney snorted and entered the room, dropping a quick kiss onto Elizabeth’s forehead. She smiled at him fondly, knowing it was a big thing for him to show affection openly. He couldn’t have done it when she was still Doctor Weir to him, but she was now just Elizabeth and he had relaxed towards her.
“No more than usual,” Rodney sniffed and Elizabeth chuckled. “You wanted to see me?”
Daniel blinked for a second and then reached for a file. “Yes, we’re starting to receive some distress calls from some pretty far out planets. Right towards the edges of Pegasus. They happened overnight and I’d like you to have a look and see if you can pinpoint where they’re coming from and if they’re legit.”
“Distress calls? Radio?” Elizabeth asked and Daniel shook his head, his easy manner of a few minutes ago disappearing.
“No, we’re getting repeated attempts to dial through to us. We haven’t had anything other than these transmissions penetrate but I’m worried that people are going to try to come through, not knowing we have a shield.”
Rodney frowned at the file in his hands. “I don’t think that will happen,” he said, his feet already pointed towards the door like he was itching to get away and get into the problem. “These people transmitting first, tells me they might have some kind of inkling that they can’t just waltz on through. In the last few years we’ve seen a lot of worlds putting in counter-measures.”
“Whatever it is, I’m afraid I’m going to have to veto your scheduled call, just for the time being.”
“What? You can’t do that,” Rodney said, his head snapping up.
Elizabeth sighed heavily. “He’s right Rodney. You need to keep the gate clear while something like this is happening.”
“It’ll take all of five minutes,” Rodney protested.
At that moment, the unscheduled gate activity klaxon sounded and all three made their way out to the balcony overlooking the gate. Daniel looked to the gate technician on duty who swivelled around, looking amazed. “We’re getting voice and video feed this time,” he explained. “Not just the distress beacon.”
“Put it on,” Elizabeth and Daniel said in unison and Elizabeth grinned in apology. She, Daniel and Rodney turned to a view screen behind them and a grainy image appeared, a woman in her forties with a hard-lined face and hair pulled back.
“…only active gate address… refugees…send word to proceed…” The image cut in and out but Elizabeth and Daniel looked at Rodney, who had stepped forward with his face ashen and mouth hanging open.
“Rodney?” Elizabeth leaned forward, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder and he turned, still looking poleaxed.
“Did you see?” he asked, his voice a harsh whisper.
“See? Rodney, what is it?”
The image cut in again and the woman was repeating the request, looking about herself every now and again. She looked to have a patched and dirty uniform on but she was not what had caught Rodney’s eye. He took another step forward and traced fingers over the image of two men standing behind and to her right. They had their heads together and one of them gestured while the other nodded, standing with weight on one hip and a blocky looking weapon held out to the side.
Maybe if they hadn’t been standing together or weren’t in uniform or holding weapons. Maybe if he hadn’t gotten so used to seeing them standing exactly that way over the year they served together. Maybe if the foreground image hadn’t been so frustratingly grainy but the background a little clearer so he’d looked at that instead…
It didn’t matter.
They both glanced up at that second, as if they could feel the press of Rodney’s palm against them, so many light years away. Seeing their faces, years stripped away but still achingly recognisable, Rodney knew.
“It’s Sheppard and Lorne,” he breathed.
Part Three