Ficlet Request: Leitmotif (G)
izhilzha asked for Sam and Teal'c and rock music. The result surprised me, and it's definitely the longest ficlet so far at just under 1,000 words. Hope you like it, Izhilzha! It's set in very early S1, sometime after The Enemy Within. Word count: ~950
Two more to go to finish all the ficlet requests! I hope to have them up on Sunday for Gen Fic Day. Please remember to spread the word to your flists - I would love Gen Fic Day to be even more successful than last time!
Leitmotif
Teal'c walked steadily through the halls of the SGC, following the memorized map in his head. He had no particular destination in mind, but he felt it wise to familiarize himself with the facility. In truth, there was a certain pleasure in the simple ability to roam at will. It was only three days since General Hammond had dismissed his escorts and granted him free passage on the base. Despite the knowledge that he could not yet leave the confines of the SGC to see the rest of the world of the Tau'ri, Teal'c was fiercely satisfied with the trust he had gained thus far.
He paused at the elevators, considering. Their usage smacked of laziness, yet he could not wholly deny his secret delight at the casual use of advanced technology - something that the Goa'uld would deny the humans if they could. When O'Neill had shown him what to wear for their first mission off-world, and a watch had been so casually included among the gear, Teal'c had felt a vindictive pleasure at strapping the proof of Tau'ri defiance to his wrist.
Captain Carter's office was two levels above his current location. Perhaps she would not mind a visit from a fellow team member. He took his prized security pass out of his pocket and swiped it through the reader.
A short time later, he approached Captain Carter's office. The door was open, and bright light spilled into the hallway. He paused at the door, hands clasped loosely behind his back, and waited for her to acknowledge his presence.
She did not seem to realize he was there.
Frowning, he watched her. She was wholly absorbed in her work, but surely she had heard his footsteps? He had thought her to be a warrior, but she seemed too oblivious to her surroundings to have a soldier's true instincts. Did she automatically assume that she was safe, here in the depths of the SGC?
His frown deepened as he studied her bearing. Her concentration was clearly focused on the computer screen, but she did not seem capable of remaining still. Her head nodded regularly, and she frequently tapped her foot. As the minutes passed, he saw her lips move several times, but the soft sound of her voice, rising and fading in a regular cadence, was too faint to discern the words.
It was very strange. On their mission together, he had witnessed Captain Carter remain perfectly still for hours at a time as they spied upon a contingent of stray Jaffa. Why did she behave so differently now?
He was about to move away when she pressed a button on a small machine and rose from her chair. She turned towards the door and started, clearly surprised to see him. Then a smile spread across her face, and she removed a thick band of curved plastic from her hair.
"Hi, Teal'c," she said. "Don't just stand in the doorway. Come in! What can I do for you?"
"I apologize for disturbing you," he began.
"No, no, you didn't bother me." She placed the band of plastic on the table and laughed a little. "I didn't actually hear you at all."
He raised an eyebrow. "Has your hearing been damaged, Captain Carter?"
She looked surprised. "Oh, no!" She pointed at the plastic band. "I was just..."
He tilted his head, waiting politely for her to continue.
"Oh. Of course." She picked up the plastic band again. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. How could you possibly - I was listening to music, Teal'c."
He eyed the plastic band. "That does not seem to be a musical instrument."
"No, they're cordless headphones. They channel previously recorded music from..." She stopped. "Here. Put them on." She held out the band invitingly.
He took them from her dubiously. "How does this work?"
She opened her mouth to explain, then stopped. "Just put them on," she repeated. "Listen first, and then I'll explain."
His eyebrow arched even higher as he fitted the curved band onto his own head. He positioned the rounded ends over his ears, as he had seen Captain Carter wear them.
"I hear nothing," he said.
Captain Carter stepped back to her desk and reached for the small machine next to her computer.
Sound suddenly blasted into Teal'c's eardrums - the heavy beat of drums, the insistent rhythm of a stringed instrument, the lilt of a male singer. Never, in all his hundred years, had he ever heard anything even remotely like it.
Captain Carter laughed aloud at his expression. "Do you like it?" she asked, raising her voice to a near-shout to be heard over the noise.
Teal'c hastily removed the... headphones. "That is Tau'ri music?"
Captain Carter's smile faded a little. "Well, yes. One kind, anyway. There's all sorts, to suit multiple tastes and occasions."
"And this suits your taste?"
Her face was turning slightly pink. "I listen to rock while I'm working sometimes, yes."
He blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend. "A rock makes this music?"
"No, it's called 'rock music,' and -" Captain Carter sighed. "I think Daniel can probably explain better than I could." Looking thoroughly embarrassed now, she reached to take the headphones from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
Ignoring her outstretched hand, he settled the headphones back over his ears and listened again. The words seemed nonsensical, for the most part; perhaps there was some cultural code that was needed to decipher it. But the underlying sense was clear: a fierce joy in life, delight in freedom, defiance against oppression.
He eyed Captain Carter. Slight in frame, frail by Jaffa standards, but possessed with the Tau'ri's determination for independence and spirit.
He took the headphones off again and offered them to her gravely, with the reverence that befitted this tribute to the people whose cause he had joined.
"You are correct, Captain Carter," he told her, inclining his head in a gesture of respect. "It suits you very well indeed."
Two more to go to finish all the ficlet requests! I hope to have them up on Sunday for Gen Fic Day. Please remember to spread the word to your flists - I would love Gen Fic Day to be even more successful than last time!
Leitmotif
Teal'c walked steadily through the halls of the SGC, following the memorized map in his head. He had no particular destination in mind, but he felt it wise to familiarize himself with the facility. In truth, there was a certain pleasure in the simple ability to roam at will. It was only three days since General Hammond had dismissed his escorts and granted him free passage on the base. Despite the knowledge that he could not yet leave the confines of the SGC to see the rest of the world of the Tau'ri, Teal'c was fiercely satisfied with the trust he had gained thus far.
He paused at the elevators, considering. Their usage smacked of laziness, yet he could not wholly deny his secret delight at the casual use of advanced technology - something that the Goa'uld would deny the humans if they could. When O'Neill had shown him what to wear for their first mission off-world, and a watch had been so casually included among the gear, Teal'c had felt a vindictive pleasure at strapping the proof of Tau'ri defiance to his wrist.
Captain Carter's office was two levels above his current location. Perhaps she would not mind a visit from a fellow team member. He took his prized security pass out of his pocket and swiped it through the reader.
A short time later, he approached Captain Carter's office. The door was open, and bright light spilled into the hallway. He paused at the door, hands clasped loosely behind his back, and waited for her to acknowledge his presence.
She did not seem to realize he was there.
Frowning, he watched her. She was wholly absorbed in her work, but surely she had heard his footsteps? He had thought her to be a warrior, but she seemed too oblivious to her surroundings to have a soldier's true instincts. Did she automatically assume that she was safe, here in the depths of the SGC?
His frown deepened as he studied her bearing. Her concentration was clearly focused on the computer screen, but she did not seem capable of remaining still. Her head nodded regularly, and she frequently tapped her foot. As the minutes passed, he saw her lips move several times, but the soft sound of her voice, rising and fading in a regular cadence, was too faint to discern the words.
It was very strange. On their mission together, he had witnessed Captain Carter remain perfectly still for hours at a time as they spied upon a contingent of stray Jaffa. Why did she behave so differently now?
He was about to move away when she pressed a button on a small machine and rose from her chair. She turned towards the door and started, clearly surprised to see him. Then a smile spread across her face, and she removed a thick band of curved plastic from her hair.
"Hi, Teal'c," she said. "Don't just stand in the doorway. Come in! What can I do for you?"
"I apologize for disturbing you," he began.
"No, no, you didn't bother me." She placed the band of plastic on the table and laughed a little. "I didn't actually hear you at all."
He raised an eyebrow. "Has your hearing been damaged, Captain Carter?"
She looked surprised. "Oh, no!" She pointed at the plastic band. "I was just..."
He tilted his head, waiting politely for her to continue.
"Oh. Of course." She picked up the plastic band again. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. How could you possibly - I was listening to music, Teal'c."
He eyed the plastic band. "That does not seem to be a musical instrument."
"No, they're cordless headphones. They channel previously recorded music from..." She stopped. "Here. Put them on." She held out the band invitingly.
He took them from her dubiously. "How does this work?"
She opened her mouth to explain, then stopped. "Just put them on," she repeated. "Listen first, and then I'll explain."
His eyebrow arched even higher as he fitted the curved band onto his own head. He positioned the rounded ends over his ears, as he had seen Captain Carter wear them.
"I hear nothing," he said.
Captain Carter stepped back to her desk and reached for the small machine next to her computer.
Sound suddenly blasted into Teal'c's eardrums - the heavy beat of drums, the insistent rhythm of a stringed instrument, the lilt of a male singer. Never, in all his hundred years, had he ever heard anything even remotely like it.
Captain Carter laughed aloud at his expression. "Do you like it?" she asked, raising her voice to a near-shout to be heard over the noise.
Teal'c hastily removed the... headphones. "That is Tau'ri music?"
Captain Carter's smile faded a little. "Well, yes. One kind, anyway. There's all sorts, to suit multiple tastes and occasions."
"And this suits your taste?"
Her face was turning slightly pink. "I listen to rock while I'm working sometimes, yes."
He blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend. "A rock makes this music?"
"No, it's called 'rock music,' and -" Captain Carter sighed. "I think Daniel can probably explain better than I could." Looking thoroughly embarrassed now, she reached to take the headphones from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
Ignoring her outstretched hand, he settled the headphones back over his ears and listened again. The words seemed nonsensical, for the most part; perhaps there was some cultural code that was needed to decipher it. But the underlying sense was clear: a fierce joy in life, delight in freedom, defiance against oppression.
He eyed Captain Carter. Slight in frame, frail by Jaffa standards, but possessed with the Tau'ri's determination for independence and spirit.
He took the headphones off again and offered them to her gravely, with the reverence that befitted this tribute to the people whose cause he had joined.
"You are correct, Captain Carter," he told her, inclining his head in a gesture of respect. "It suits you very well indeed."