Ten years of reccing: April 2009-March 2010
Welcome to the fourth installment of my tenth anniversary reccing posts! Follow the tag if you've missed the previous entries.
Once again, I've kept it down (with difficulty) to ten recs for the twelve month period from April 2009-March 2010. There are many wonderful stories, and many authors I don't want to rec twice, so feel free to browse figs_sg1_rec for more!
Singing Down the Moon, by Butterfly. I love Daniel and Teal'c friendship, and this missing scene from Moebius - with "our" Daniel and alt!Teal'c - is beautifully heartbreaking.
from the original rec:
Butterfly lovingly paints a vivid scene from Teal'c's POV, as he asks Daniel, in the aftermath of their victory over Ra, to help him die.
Elegant and elegiac, Teal'c watches Daniel, comparing him with the Daniel he himself killed. He listens to the velvet voice that bespeaks the bright and shining future that neither one will get to enjoy. And he takes comfort in a strength that they both share, in their unwavering convictions.
I love how well Daniel knows this Teal'c, and offers him the right kind of comfort.
"Because of the choices you make, the Jaffa will be free," Daniel Jackson's voice had fallen into a soft rhythm, reminiscent of the soothing croon of a mother's lullaby. Daniel Jackson's hands settled on Teal'c's shoulders, strong and sure. "Rya'c will be free and happy, married to a strong woman worthy of his love."
Teal'c closed his eyes, picturing Rya'c, trying to imagine what mark freedom would leave on his face and failing, as he always did. His son had never known a day free from the Goa'uld, had never known the taste of freedom. Had never known what it was like to breath deeply and know that his life was his own.
"You'll have three friends," Daniel Jackson continued, his voice deepening. "Three friends who will fight by your side against countless enemies."
Teal'c opened his eyes, struck by the soft conviction in Daniel Jackson's voice. His eyes lacked focus and his mouth was curved in a wistful smile. In this moment, Daniel Jackson looked young, like a child who had not yet faced a battle or taken a life. It was regretful that he was to know this Daniel Jackson for such a brief time.
Pearl in the Shell, by Matt. This is absorbing futurefic for Cassie, with a happy ending that takes a little while to get there.
from the original rec:
In the aftermath of Janet's death, Cassie isn't exactly willing to tamely follow the bright and shining path that others have mapped out of her. Stubborn and angry, she goes her own way... until that way proves nearly disastrous. It takes Sam's unquestioning love and support, a quiet and honest conversation with Jack (with Thor for company), and the memory of an exchange with Teal'c to lead Cassie to a new decision and a new vocation. Her final, unexpected choice is a moving tribute to her past, a promise for a better future, and absolutely right.
This Cassie feels very real. The voice is perfect.
I knew, of course, that I could have gone anywhere and done anything. People were constantly telling me that the world was my oyster, although I never really understood what that meant. Daniel tried explaining it to me once, but I got lost in the anthropological meaning of the phrase's origin. Teal'c set me straight, sort of. "It means the world is yours to explore, Cassandra Fraiser." And, while I got that, I still didn't understand the connection to slimy and disgusting shellfish. Perhaps there are some things one non-Earthling should never try to explain to another.
One Dimension Removed, by Tafkar. BECAUSE SHA'RE IS AWESOME, OKAY.
from the original rec:
Instead of "THANKS. SEND MORE" the tissue box reads, "PLEASE. SEND HELP." - because Amaunet came through the Stargate looking for a host for Apophis, and took Daniel. Sha're joins the SGC, and the story twists and turns to reflect her cultural upbringing, her connections with her teammates, and the differences she brings to SG-1.
You will love every bit of this, and one certain chapter will break your heart. This is real, this is powerful, and this is good.
This novel goes dark in places (there's one alternate chapter if you're squeamish like me; heed the warnings) but the characterization is so utterly stunning that it's an absolute joy to read.
Sha're sighed. "Touch is so rare here. On Abydos, we put our arms around each other, we walk holding hands, we - Daniel explained to me this idea of 'personal space,' but I didn't know it would be so hard." She snorted. "He did not tell me about 'sexual harassment' and 'don't ask, don't tell.' It's as if every time you people touch, you expect to fall over each other like beasts in heat. Even you, Sam. Right now you are touching me as if I were unclean. And supposedly my culture is the one that is primitive."
Sam 's hand jerked away from Sha're for a moment, burned by her words. "Hey."
Sha're shook her head, and then rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm. "I am sorry. That was unfair.”
“Yeah, it was,” Sam said.
She shook her head. “Father always said I was as ill-tempered as a lizard with sand in its tail.” She picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and winced.
Stockholm Syndrome, by Annerb. Gleefully adorable Jack and Sam friendship!
from the original rec:
When Jack and Sam are taken captive by the most adorable bad guys ever, keeping a straight face might be the hardest task of all...
Team snark, hilarious imagery, Ferretti cameo, and deft characterization makes this story a real winner!
Read this without grinning. Go on, I dare you!
The kids couldn’t seem to decide what they wanted.
Besides the laughably inadequate handcuffs, they were both tied to chairs, but in a way that would make it easy to just stand up and walk out with the whole thing still attached.
“Worst bad guys ever,” the Colonel complained. “Seriously, these kids need help.”
Sam barely resisted rolling her eyes, and instead quipped, “You volunteering, sir?”
Something lit up in the Colonel’s eyes then that Sam was pretty sure didn’t bode well for any of them. He eyed the back row of kids, the ones who seemed to be getting antsy. “Psst. Kid,” he said. “Come over here.”
She’d just been kidding, for God’s sake. “Sir! What are you doing?”
“Defecting.”
The Other Side of the Time Loop, by Yvi. What a fascinating exploration of what might have happened in the closed time loop in which SG-1 didn't make it back from 1969...
from the original rec:
To quote the original prompt: There must have been a closed time loop when SG-1 ended up stranded in the future, before Cassie and/or Sam somehow got word back to the past to have Cassie waiting at the right moment. What was life like for Cassie in the loop where SG-1 never came back from 1969?
Yvi did a fabulous job of creating an entire alternate reality in which SG-1 never came back. Her world's history is rich, detailed, and realistic: the Jaffa are more wary of the Tau'ri without Teal'c, the Asgard have less to do with them without Jack, and there is little information on the Ancients without Daniel. On the other hand, there are the fascinating twists of this other reality, including Furlings, the program gone public, victory over the Goa'uld, and a certain civilian becoming head of the SGC.
Cassie gets a long, satisfying life, including marriage and a family... and then she knows she's going to live another one, all over again.
I really like the choices Yvi made here of how history changes without the team. It's very well done.
At twenty-two, just days after receiving her Bachelor's degree in Biomedicine, Cassandra went into General Landry's office and asked him for a job. She didn't want to do field work, she wanted to do research on ways to fight the Goa'uld.
The general was reluctant at first, but welcomed her with open arms when she told him of some ideas she had had about Goa'uld physiology and how to block their neurotransmitters so that only the Goa'uld would die and not the host.
She started work exactly ten years after SG1 had last stepped through the gate. There had never been another team designated SG1 afterwards.
Very few of the personnel still knew her. There were a few nurses who had been there when Cassandra had come through the gate, too frightened to really notice them and she remembered Sergeant Siler. But so many had died in those ten years.
So many deaths she never knew about, so many funerals she never attended.
Just a Scientist, by Aurora Novarum. Aurora is a prolific, talented gen author, and it was very hard to choose just one of her stories. I picked this one because it's something she excels at: giving us good quality outside POV of what's happening. In this case, it's Bill Lee's perspective of Evolution.
from the original rec:
This is my personal classic Bill fic, retelling the two-part episode of Evolution from Bill Lee's POV. It's not just what we see on-screen, either; Aurora deftly fleshes out the story with with extra scenes and insight that brings both Bill and the story into vivid, vibrant life. It's always fun to read a good outsider's POV, and Bill is just enough on the inside - and the outside! - to give us the best of both worlds.
Yeah, there was lots of Daniel whump, but Bill didn't have much fun, either. He deserves to have his side of the story told, doesn't he?
"The language is ancient. I don't know what it says." I tell the truth and lie in the same breath. The language is Ancient, but Rafael would not know what that means. The now hysterical side of my brain toys with that idea. Maybe the rebels would think I was nuts and stop torturing me if I told them about the Goa'uld.
"You go to all this trouble to find it, and you don't know what it says? I find that hard to believe."
"It's not b-n seen f-r th--nds of ye--rs." I can barely get the words out between my choked coughs. Rafael waits impatiently until my breathing steadies to a constant wheeze.
"You must have some idea. You must know what the symbols mean."
I shake my head. "I can't read it. I don't know."
"If you don't know..." Rafael looks past me towards the hut where Daniel's held.
"No." My denial is too quick. Daniel can't go through this again.
"I do not believe you. I think you protect your friend."
"We were just the retrieval team," I bluster.
"I think your friend knows. I think he will tell me. He will help me make it work."
"He won't. He doesn't...We won't help you."
"You tell me things to save him. He tells me things to save you. It's all the same. I will find out."
Five People (or Beings) Who Inhabit the SGC, by Holdouttrout. A sweet reminder that there's much more to life at the SGC than just SG-1's antics!
from the original rec:
This charming five things will utterly delight you with its originality, humor, and touch of pathos. Holdouttrout sketches five different people (or beings) who inhabit the SGC, from the woman who phases out of existence intermittently to the alien accidentally caught on base. Some are bittersweet and thoughtful; others are mischieviously hilarious. All of them are wonderfully real, and astonishingly easy to picture as part of the everyday insanity that is life at the SGC!
I love how it comes full-circle, and if nothing else, it will leave you in awe of all the personnel who take these things in stride.
Captain Matt Ellis was assigned to the SGC in 2008. He has been off-world once so far. He hasn't been cleared for active duty since then because technically he's still "affected by the unique conditions of P5S-772, which have altered the chemistry of his epidermis to create a camouflaging effect."
In short, his skin changes color.
The Interview, by SG_Betty. Good outsider POV is always a joy.
from the original rec:
Adrian Sanchez is the most entertaining kind of original character: someone who allows us to see the people we love and know through fresh eyes. You'll be charmed by his confusion and reactions to the situations and the people he meets, and the final line will leave you smiling on his behalf. This is short, sweet, and exactly how I imagine a new civilian at the SGC would discover the amazing new world at his fingertips!
A likable original character and a very plausible scenario, that's for sure!
“Dr. Sanchez?”
Startled, Sanchez banged his head against the wall, and opened his eyes. It was the soldier, sweaty, dirt on his face, and covered with mud. He looked like he’d just come from a battlefield. God knows where he found mud on a base in the middle of a mountain. What did he want? More security checks? Small arms testing? Nothing would surprise him at this point. “Can I help you?” The soldier’s eyebrows went up. He looked like something was funny. Nothing funny here, soldier, just an expert in ancient languages and linguistics going nuts with boredom.
“Well…I hope so.” The soldier reached into a pocket on his pants and pulled out a small stone tablet, still damp with mud. “Can you read this?”
With the Dying, by Dira Sudis.. Another fantastic Daniel with Moebius!Teal'c fic, but this one hurts with honest, painful emotion.
from the original rec:
This short, powerful fic is about both Teal'c and Daniel, facing the emptiness of the future and accepting the price of freedom. Only it's Daniel that's left behind - again - because even if alt-Sam and alt-Jack are still around, they're involved with their own budding relationship, and they won't understand Daniel's grief. Victory or not, Daniel's time in Egypt simply can't have a completely happy ending, and this story is wincingly good.
I always ache for Daniel in Moebius. This story only makes it more intense.
With Ra and his servants all gone, there was no further source of symbiotes to keep Teal'c alive. The nearest source of tretonin was five thousand years into an uncertain future, and the jumper that had brought this Teal'c here was scattered in fragments across half a mile of dunes. Teal'c opened his hand toward the empty sand beyond the village, and Daniel nodded and turned to walk beside him into the dunes.
"This drug, tretonin," Teal'c said, as the sounds of celebration faded behind them.
Daniel pressed his lips together, biting back apologies and excuses. "We only carried a little with us. The supply we brought lasted only a short time, and then Teal'c--" he hesitated, but Teal'c nodded, dismissing the possibility of referent confusion. "He had to take a symbiote again. Jack and I stole it for him."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at that, and it made Daniel's stomach shake. He was half transported back to the time when earning even that much expression from Teal'c had been an accomplishment and half missing his friend--the one who laughed at and with him and said what he thought--with a force that he couldn't control. He regretted drinking anything at all now, no matter how good Sam looked, how good Jack looked, how their eyes slid away from him like he was just another stranger, locking on each other. "A brave feat," Teal'c said.
Daniel nodded, looking away across the sand. "He was my friend," Daniel said steadily. "I would have done anything for him. He would have done as much for me."
The Only Winning Move, by Synecdochic. This is one of my all-time favorite fics. So much fun!
from the original rec:
The Only Winning Move is a no-holds-barred hilarious romp throughout Stargate Command as a training scenario takes place, complete with high-spirited competition, delightful original characters, and delicious hints of entertaining previous scenarios. You will love this for the deft characterization, general intelligence, and the sheer glee with which all SGC personnel take up the challenge and put their own unique spin on the situation. Add in some marvelous teamwork, Daniel at his most wickedly "innocent," and lovely Jack and Daniel friendship, and you'll understand why this fic has already been recced in multiple categories... and deserves to be recced again and again and again!
I have this thing about competence from our heroes, and this one has that in spades!
The mess hall had cherry pie with lunch. Teal'c obtained himself a slice and sat down at his usual table.
"Uh, Master Teal'c?" asked Sergeant Westerman. "Shouldn't we be ... doing something?"
"I am doing something," Teal'c said. "I am eating pie. I suggest that you also acquire some form of sustenance."
"Why's that?" asked Technician Miller.
Teal'c lifted an eyebrow at him. "This is, I believe, your first experience with these games?" he asked. Miller nodded. "Then I will provide you with advice: eat when you can. In the second year of this program, the scenario continued for six days before a final victor was determined."
"Whoa," said Miller.
Westerman perked up. "Hey, wasn't that the year when Dr. Fraiser was the Goa'uld? And was walking around in that gold lamé biki--" He trailed off, noticing the look he was getting.
"Indeed," Teal'c said, and pondered acquiring some ice cream as well.
Yes, I was still writing a lot back then, even if it was all pretty short... 35 stories that clocked in at about 30,000 words. Here are some links to stories I wrote back in 2009:
Line in the Sand. Sha'uri takes the first steps on the road that will lead to Ra's destruction. This ended up a series of sorts, with both prequel and sequel.
Attitude of the Knife. Wonder Twins in classic geek mode. It's irritating when Jack can't tell if they're doing it to be annoying or just because they're geeks.
Taking Tally. SG-1 doesn't always win. It's a good thing they have each other to help pick up the pieces.
I'd love to see more gen recs in the comments, whether they're your own stories or belong to your favorite author!
Once again, I've kept it down (with difficulty) to ten recs for the twelve month period from April 2009-March 2010. There are many wonderful stories, and many authors I don't want to rec twice, so feel free to browse figs_sg1_rec for more!
Singing Down the Moon, by Butterfly. I love Daniel and Teal'c friendship, and this missing scene from Moebius - with "our" Daniel and alt!Teal'c - is beautifully heartbreaking.
from the original rec:
Butterfly lovingly paints a vivid scene from Teal'c's POV, as he asks Daniel, in the aftermath of their victory over Ra, to help him die.
Elegant and elegiac, Teal'c watches Daniel, comparing him with the Daniel he himself killed. He listens to the velvet voice that bespeaks the bright and shining future that neither one will get to enjoy. And he takes comfort in a strength that they both share, in their unwavering convictions.
I love how well Daniel knows this Teal'c, and offers him the right kind of comfort.
"Because of the choices you make, the Jaffa will be free," Daniel Jackson's voice had fallen into a soft rhythm, reminiscent of the soothing croon of a mother's lullaby. Daniel Jackson's hands settled on Teal'c's shoulders, strong and sure. "Rya'c will be free and happy, married to a strong woman worthy of his love."
Teal'c closed his eyes, picturing Rya'c, trying to imagine what mark freedom would leave on his face and failing, as he always did. His son had never known a day free from the Goa'uld, had never known the taste of freedom. Had never known what it was like to breath deeply and know that his life was his own.
"You'll have three friends," Daniel Jackson continued, his voice deepening. "Three friends who will fight by your side against countless enemies."
Teal'c opened his eyes, struck by the soft conviction in Daniel Jackson's voice. His eyes lacked focus and his mouth was curved in a wistful smile. In this moment, Daniel Jackson looked young, like a child who had not yet faced a battle or taken a life. It was regretful that he was to know this Daniel Jackson for such a brief time.
Pearl in the Shell, by Matt. This is absorbing futurefic for Cassie, with a happy ending that takes a little while to get there.
from the original rec:
In the aftermath of Janet's death, Cassie isn't exactly willing to tamely follow the bright and shining path that others have mapped out of her. Stubborn and angry, she goes her own way... until that way proves nearly disastrous. It takes Sam's unquestioning love and support, a quiet and honest conversation with Jack (with Thor for company), and the memory of an exchange with Teal'c to lead Cassie to a new decision and a new vocation. Her final, unexpected choice is a moving tribute to her past, a promise for a better future, and absolutely right.
This Cassie feels very real. The voice is perfect.
I knew, of course, that I could have gone anywhere and done anything. People were constantly telling me that the world was my oyster, although I never really understood what that meant. Daniel tried explaining it to me once, but I got lost in the anthropological meaning of the phrase's origin. Teal'c set me straight, sort of. "It means the world is yours to explore, Cassandra Fraiser." And, while I got that, I still didn't understand the connection to slimy and disgusting shellfish. Perhaps there are some things one non-Earthling should never try to explain to another.
One Dimension Removed, by Tafkar. BECAUSE SHA'RE IS AWESOME, OKAY.
from the original rec:
Instead of "THANKS. SEND MORE" the tissue box reads, "PLEASE. SEND HELP." - because Amaunet came through the Stargate looking for a host for Apophis, and took Daniel. Sha're joins the SGC, and the story twists and turns to reflect her cultural upbringing, her connections with her teammates, and the differences she brings to SG-1.
You will love every bit of this, and one certain chapter will break your heart. This is real, this is powerful, and this is good.
This novel goes dark in places (there's one alternate chapter if you're squeamish like me; heed the warnings) but the characterization is so utterly stunning that it's an absolute joy to read.
Sha're sighed. "Touch is so rare here. On Abydos, we put our arms around each other, we walk holding hands, we - Daniel explained to me this idea of 'personal space,' but I didn't know it would be so hard." She snorted. "He did not tell me about 'sexual harassment' and 'don't ask, don't tell.' It's as if every time you people touch, you expect to fall over each other like beasts in heat. Even you, Sam. Right now you are touching me as if I were unclean. And supposedly my culture is the one that is primitive."
Sam 's hand jerked away from Sha're for a moment, burned by her words. "Hey."
Sha're shook her head, and then rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm. "I am sorry. That was unfair.”
“Yeah, it was,” Sam said.
She shook her head. “Father always said I was as ill-tempered as a lizard with sand in its tail.” She picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and winced.
Stockholm Syndrome, by Annerb. Gleefully adorable Jack and Sam friendship!
from the original rec:
When Jack and Sam are taken captive by the most adorable bad guys ever, keeping a straight face might be the hardest task of all...
Team snark, hilarious imagery, Ferretti cameo, and deft characterization makes this story a real winner!
Read this without grinning. Go on, I dare you!
The kids couldn’t seem to decide what they wanted.
Besides the laughably inadequate handcuffs, they were both tied to chairs, but in a way that would make it easy to just stand up and walk out with the whole thing still attached.
“Worst bad guys ever,” the Colonel complained. “Seriously, these kids need help.”
Sam barely resisted rolling her eyes, and instead quipped, “You volunteering, sir?”
Something lit up in the Colonel’s eyes then that Sam was pretty sure didn’t bode well for any of them. He eyed the back row of kids, the ones who seemed to be getting antsy. “Psst. Kid,” he said. “Come over here.”
She’d just been kidding, for God’s sake. “Sir! What are you doing?”
“Defecting.”
The Other Side of the Time Loop, by Yvi. What a fascinating exploration of what might have happened in the closed time loop in which SG-1 didn't make it back from 1969...
from the original rec:
To quote the original prompt: There must have been a closed time loop when SG-1 ended up stranded in the future, before Cassie and/or Sam somehow got word back to the past to have Cassie waiting at the right moment. What was life like for Cassie in the loop where SG-1 never came back from 1969?
Yvi did a fabulous job of creating an entire alternate reality in which SG-1 never came back. Her world's history is rich, detailed, and realistic: the Jaffa are more wary of the Tau'ri without Teal'c, the Asgard have less to do with them without Jack, and there is little information on the Ancients without Daniel. On the other hand, there are the fascinating twists of this other reality, including Furlings, the program gone public, victory over the Goa'uld, and a certain civilian becoming head of the SGC.
Cassie gets a long, satisfying life, including marriage and a family... and then she knows she's going to live another one, all over again.
I really like the choices Yvi made here of how history changes without the team. It's very well done.
At twenty-two, just days after receiving her Bachelor's degree in Biomedicine, Cassandra went into General Landry's office and asked him for a job. She didn't want to do field work, she wanted to do research on ways to fight the Goa'uld.
The general was reluctant at first, but welcomed her with open arms when she told him of some ideas she had had about Goa'uld physiology and how to block their neurotransmitters so that only the Goa'uld would die and not the host.
She started work exactly ten years after SG1 had last stepped through the gate. There had never been another team designated SG1 afterwards.
Very few of the personnel still knew her. There were a few nurses who had been there when Cassandra had come through the gate, too frightened to really notice them and she remembered Sergeant Siler. But so many had died in those ten years.
So many deaths she never knew about, so many funerals she never attended.
Just a Scientist, by Aurora Novarum. Aurora is a prolific, talented gen author, and it was very hard to choose just one of her stories. I picked this one because it's something she excels at: giving us good quality outside POV of what's happening. In this case, it's Bill Lee's perspective of Evolution.
from the original rec:
This is my personal classic Bill fic, retelling the two-part episode of Evolution from Bill Lee's POV. It's not just what we see on-screen, either; Aurora deftly fleshes out the story with with extra scenes and insight that brings both Bill and the story into vivid, vibrant life. It's always fun to read a good outsider's POV, and Bill is just enough on the inside - and the outside! - to give us the best of both worlds.
Yeah, there was lots of Daniel whump, but Bill didn't have much fun, either. He deserves to have his side of the story told, doesn't he?
"The language is ancient. I don't know what it says." I tell the truth and lie in the same breath. The language is Ancient, but Rafael would not know what that means. The now hysterical side of my brain toys with that idea. Maybe the rebels would think I was nuts and stop torturing me if I told them about the Goa'uld.
"You go to all this trouble to find it, and you don't know what it says? I find that hard to believe."
"It's not b-n seen f-r th--nds of ye--rs." I can barely get the words out between my choked coughs. Rafael waits impatiently until my breathing steadies to a constant wheeze.
"You must have some idea. You must know what the symbols mean."
I shake my head. "I can't read it. I don't know."
"If you don't know..." Rafael looks past me towards the hut where Daniel's held.
"No." My denial is too quick. Daniel can't go through this again.
"I do not believe you. I think you protect your friend."
"We were just the retrieval team," I bluster.
"I think your friend knows. I think he will tell me. He will help me make it work."
"He won't. He doesn't...We won't help you."
"You tell me things to save him. He tells me things to save you. It's all the same. I will find out."
Five People (or Beings) Who Inhabit the SGC, by Holdouttrout. A sweet reminder that there's much more to life at the SGC than just SG-1's antics!
from the original rec:
This charming five things will utterly delight you with its originality, humor, and touch of pathos. Holdouttrout sketches five different people (or beings) who inhabit the SGC, from the woman who phases out of existence intermittently to the alien accidentally caught on base. Some are bittersweet and thoughtful; others are mischieviously hilarious. All of them are wonderfully real, and astonishingly easy to picture as part of the everyday insanity that is life at the SGC!
I love how it comes full-circle, and if nothing else, it will leave you in awe of all the personnel who take these things in stride.
Captain Matt Ellis was assigned to the SGC in 2008. He has been off-world once so far. He hasn't been cleared for active duty since then because technically he's still "affected by the unique conditions of P5S-772, which have altered the chemistry of his epidermis to create a camouflaging effect."
In short, his skin changes color.
The Interview, by SG_Betty. Good outsider POV is always a joy.
from the original rec:
Adrian Sanchez is the most entertaining kind of original character: someone who allows us to see the people we love and know through fresh eyes. You'll be charmed by his confusion and reactions to the situations and the people he meets, and the final line will leave you smiling on his behalf. This is short, sweet, and exactly how I imagine a new civilian at the SGC would discover the amazing new world at his fingertips!
A likable original character and a very plausible scenario, that's for sure!
“Dr. Sanchez?”
Startled, Sanchez banged his head against the wall, and opened his eyes. It was the soldier, sweaty, dirt on his face, and covered with mud. He looked like he’d just come from a battlefield. God knows where he found mud on a base in the middle of a mountain. What did he want? More security checks? Small arms testing? Nothing would surprise him at this point. “Can I help you?” The soldier’s eyebrows went up. He looked like something was funny. Nothing funny here, soldier, just an expert in ancient languages and linguistics going nuts with boredom.
“Well…I hope so.” The soldier reached into a pocket on his pants and pulled out a small stone tablet, still damp with mud. “Can you read this?”
With the Dying, by Dira Sudis.. Another fantastic Daniel with Moebius!Teal'c fic, but this one hurts with honest, painful emotion.
from the original rec:
This short, powerful fic is about both Teal'c and Daniel, facing the emptiness of the future and accepting the price of freedom. Only it's Daniel that's left behind - again - because even if alt-Sam and alt-Jack are still around, they're involved with their own budding relationship, and they won't understand Daniel's grief. Victory or not, Daniel's time in Egypt simply can't have a completely happy ending, and this story is wincingly good.
I always ache for Daniel in Moebius. This story only makes it more intense.
With Ra and his servants all gone, there was no further source of symbiotes to keep Teal'c alive. The nearest source of tretonin was five thousand years into an uncertain future, and the jumper that had brought this Teal'c here was scattered in fragments across half a mile of dunes. Teal'c opened his hand toward the empty sand beyond the village, and Daniel nodded and turned to walk beside him into the dunes.
"This drug, tretonin," Teal'c said, as the sounds of celebration faded behind them.
Daniel pressed his lips together, biting back apologies and excuses. "We only carried a little with us. The supply we brought lasted only a short time, and then Teal'c--" he hesitated, but Teal'c nodded, dismissing the possibility of referent confusion. "He had to take a symbiote again. Jack and I stole it for him."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at that, and it made Daniel's stomach shake. He was half transported back to the time when earning even that much expression from Teal'c had been an accomplishment and half missing his friend--the one who laughed at and with him and said what he thought--with a force that he couldn't control. He regretted drinking anything at all now, no matter how good Sam looked, how good Jack looked, how their eyes slid away from him like he was just another stranger, locking on each other. "A brave feat," Teal'c said.
Daniel nodded, looking away across the sand. "He was my friend," Daniel said steadily. "I would have done anything for him. He would have done as much for me."
The Only Winning Move, by Synecdochic. This is one of my all-time favorite fics. So much fun!
from the original rec:
The Only Winning Move is a no-holds-barred hilarious romp throughout Stargate Command as a training scenario takes place, complete with high-spirited competition, delightful original characters, and delicious hints of entertaining previous scenarios. You will love this for the deft characterization, general intelligence, and the sheer glee with which all SGC personnel take up the challenge and put their own unique spin on the situation. Add in some marvelous teamwork, Daniel at his most wickedly "innocent," and lovely Jack and Daniel friendship, and you'll understand why this fic has already been recced in multiple categories... and deserves to be recced again and again and again!
I have this thing about competence from our heroes, and this one has that in spades!
The mess hall had cherry pie with lunch. Teal'c obtained himself a slice and sat down at his usual table.
"Uh, Master Teal'c?" asked Sergeant Westerman. "Shouldn't we be ... doing something?"
"I am doing something," Teal'c said. "I am eating pie. I suggest that you also acquire some form of sustenance."
"Why's that?" asked Technician Miller.
Teal'c lifted an eyebrow at him. "This is, I believe, your first experience with these games?" he asked. Miller nodded. "Then I will provide you with advice: eat when you can. In the second year of this program, the scenario continued for six days before a final victor was determined."
"Whoa," said Miller.
Westerman perked up. "Hey, wasn't that the year when Dr. Fraiser was the Goa'uld? And was walking around in that gold lamé biki--" He trailed off, noticing the look he was getting.
"Indeed," Teal'c said, and pondered acquiring some ice cream as well.
Yes, I was still writing a lot back then, even if it was all pretty short... 35 stories that clocked in at about 30,000 words. Here are some links to stories I wrote back in 2009:
Line in the Sand. Sha'uri takes the first steps on the road that will lead to Ra's destruction. This ended up a series of sorts, with both prequel and sequel.
Attitude of the Knife. Wonder Twins in classic geek mode. It's irritating when Jack can't tell if they're doing it to be annoying or just because they're geeks.
Taking Tally. SG-1 doesn't always win. It's a good thing they have each other to help pick up the pieces.
I'd love to see more gen recs in the comments, whether they're your own stories or belong to your favorite author!