Stargate SG-1 Ficlet: Not Quite Like Earth
Title: Not Quite Like Earth
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack O’Neill, Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal’c.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 568
Spoilers/Setting: Somewhere around the second half of Season Two.
Summary: This planet might look a lot like earth, but there’s one very noticeable difference.
Written For: Challenge 435: Amnesty 72 at fan_flashworks, using Challenge 302: Gravity.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Stargate SG-1, or the characters.
Most of the planets they travel to through the Stargate are similar to earth. One sun, a breathable atmosphere, water, vegetation, in most cases including trees, more or less in the expected shades of green. Some planets are inhabited, mostly by humans, descendants of those the Goa’uld took from earth to be bred as slaves. Occasionally they come across a humanoid but not exactly human race, like the Nox, but that’s rare.
Sometimes they’ll encounter native wildlife, birds, insects, fish, the odd animal, some of them very odd indeed, but as a rule, such creatures prefer to stay hidden, and who can blame them? Even animals soon learn that what comes through the Stargate isn’t necessarily friendly.
This planet looks similar to the last half-dozen SG-1 has travelled to. The MALP didn’t detect anything harmful in the atmosphere. The air is perhaps a little richer in oxygen than earth, but otherwise, there’s not much to mark it out as an alien world, until they get there.
O’Neill bounds down the steps from the Stargate with an uncharacteristic spring in his step. It’s not intentional, and it takes him by surprise.
“Watch your step!” he says as the rest of the team arrive.
“Why? Oh!” Carter jumps down to join the Colonel and bounces into the air again the moment her feet touch the ground. O’Neill reaches out to steady her as she touches down again, a bit off-balance. “Thank you, Sir. Gravity must be quite a bit less than earth normal.”
“Ya think?”
“How much less?” Daniel goes past in a series of long leaps. “This is fun!”
Teal’c raises an eyebrow and calmly descends the steps, flexing his knees to reduce the risk of unexpected rebound.
“I estimate somewhere between fifty-five and seventy percent of earth normal. I can’t be more accurate than that without running a few tests.”
“How come nobody picked up on this before we came through?” O’Neill is moving around cautiously, not wanting to inadvertently aggravate his bad knee or jar his back. He’d rather not wind up in the infirmary. Again.
“The MALP’s too heavy, Sir; any effect on it would have been negligible.”
“Huh.” O’Neill glances around the clearing. “Daniel! Stop bouncing around like a damn kangaroo and get back here!”
For once Daniel follows orders. Well, he’s still bouncing a bit, it’s almost impossible not to, but at least he rejoins the others, grinning excitedly, the way he usually only does when there are ruins to poke around in.
“Alright, we stick together, and no acrobatics. Last thing we need is someone breaking their leg, or their neck.” O’Neill’s looking directly at Daniel as he says that, and Daniel deflates a little.
“Fine, but you’re taking all the fun out of this.”
“Better that than having you bounce right off the edge of a cliff. Are you going to do as you’re told, or do I need to put you on a leash?”
“Jaaack!”
“No bouncing! I mean it!”
That is, of course, a pointless order; trying not to bounce is far more tiring than walking normally, and they can’t walk normally without bouncing, so here they are, moving across the landscape like a bunch of khaki grasshoppers. Even the packs they’re carrying do little to weigh them down.
Jack smiles slightly as he bounds onto a grassy hummock and off the other side. Daniel’s right, it is kinda fun.
The End
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack O’Neill, Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal’c.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 568
Spoilers/Setting: Somewhere around the second half of Season Two.
Summary: This planet might look a lot like earth, but there’s one very noticeable difference.
Written For: Challenge 435: Amnesty 72 at fan_flashworks, using Challenge 302: Gravity.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Stargate SG-1, or the characters.
Most of the planets they travel to through the Stargate are similar to earth. One sun, a breathable atmosphere, water, vegetation, in most cases including trees, more or less in the expected shades of green. Some planets are inhabited, mostly by humans, descendants of those the Goa’uld took from earth to be bred as slaves. Occasionally they come across a humanoid but not exactly human race, like the Nox, but that’s rare.
Sometimes they’ll encounter native wildlife, birds, insects, fish, the odd animal, some of them very odd indeed, but as a rule, such creatures prefer to stay hidden, and who can blame them? Even animals soon learn that what comes through the Stargate isn’t necessarily friendly.
This planet looks similar to the last half-dozen SG-1 has travelled to. The MALP didn’t detect anything harmful in the atmosphere. The air is perhaps a little richer in oxygen than earth, but otherwise, there’s not much to mark it out as an alien world, until they get there.
O’Neill bounds down the steps from the Stargate with an uncharacteristic spring in his step. It’s not intentional, and it takes him by surprise.
“Watch your step!” he says as the rest of the team arrive.
“Why? Oh!” Carter jumps down to join the Colonel and bounces into the air again the moment her feet touch the ground. O’Neill reaches out to steady her as she touches down again, a bit off-balance. “Thank you, Sir. Gravity must be quite a bit less than earth normal.”
“Ya think?”
“How much less?” Daniel goes past in a series of long leaps. “This is fun!”
Teal’c raises an eyebrow and calmly descends the steps, flexing his knees to reduce the risk of unexpected rebound.
“I estimate somewhere between fifty-five and seventy percent of earth normal. I can’t be more accurate than that without running a few tests.”
“How come nobody picked up on this before we came through?” O’Neill is moving around cautiously, not wanting to inadvertently aggravate his bad knee or jar his back. He’d rather not wind up in the infirmary. Again.
“The MALP’s too heavy, Sir; any effect on it would have been negligible.”
“Huh.” O’Neill glances around the clearing. “Daniel! Stop bouncing around like a damn kangaroo and get back here!”
For once Daniel follows orders. Well, he’s still bouncing a bit, it’s almost impossible not to, but at least he rejoins the others, grinning excitedly, the way he usually only does when there are ruins to poke around in.
“Alright, we stick together, and no acrobatics. Last thing we need is someone breaking their leg, or their neck.” O’Neill’s looking directly at Daniel as he says that, and Daniel deflates a little.
“Fine, but you’re taking all the fun out of this.”
“Better that than having you bounce right off the edge of a cliff. Are you going to do as you’re told, or do I need to put you on a leash?”
“Jaaack!”
“No bouncing! I mean it!”
That is, of course, a pointless order; trying not to bounce is far more tiring than walking normally, and they can’t walk normally without bouncing, so here they are, moving across the landscape like a bunch of khaki grasshoppers. Even the packs they’re carrying do little to weigh them down.
Jack smiles slightly as he bounds onto a grassy hummock and off the other side. Daniel’s right, it is kinda fun.
The End