Fic rec: Translations and Diplomacy, by Nightspear
night_spear1287 has just posted the epilogue to Diplomacy, the novel-length sequel to Translations.
I can't say this often enough: this is one of the best AUs ever.
Translations starts out a bit slowly, because we need background: the Stargate was opened in '82, by Claire and Mel Jackson. Jack was a member of the team, not the leader. Claire and Mel stayed behind... and when Jack led a team back to Abydos in '97 after Apophis raided the base, he met their 13-year-old son Daniel. By the time we finish chapter two, Daniel, together with Sha'uri and Skaara, have been taken to Chulak; Claire and Mel are dead; and when Sha'uri and Skaara are taken as hosts, Sam and Jack take Daniel back to Earth, where he's stuck until the Abydos Gate will be opened a year later.
For me, that's when the story really starts. Daniel has to adjust to life on a different planet, to Teal'c, to the expectations he meets and the cutural mores he doesn't understand. (On Abydos, he's on the cusp of adulthood; he doesn't understand why the Tau'ri insist on treating him like a kid.) Jack has to struggle between seeing Daniel as a teenager, seeing him as the son of Mel and Claire that he'd pledged to keep safe, not seeing him as a Charlie-substitute, and accepting Daniel's very burning need to do his part in the struggle against the Goa'uld. Add some lovely Sam and Daniel interaction, and fantastic Teal'c and Daniel friendship (Daniel becomes Teal'c's chalti), and I was completely hooked.
Translations ends, more or less, with the AU version of The Serpent's Lair. Diplomacy picks up right where Translations left off, and it's even better. There's less Teal'c and Daniel friendship here, sadly (although the post-Serpent's Song discussion that the two of them share will blow you away), but the Jack and Daniel friendship is simply awesome beyond words. Jack fully accepts Daniel as an equal, not a child - although the scene where he has to teach Daniel how to handle the gun is wrenching - and their back-and-forth banter is a delight. Some elements from S3 work their way into this fic; the storylines do change to reflect a team without Daniel, and an Abydos where Daniel has lost his brother and sister, not his wife.
To me, the best parts of Night Spear's wonderful fic is the repercussions. We get the team's reactions to events, not just events themselves. And Night Spear does a superb job of weaving Daniel into the story without shoehorning him into those parts where he just doesn't fit in this different role.
Have you ever had a fic that you just want to make people sit down and read, just so they can discover how wonderful it is? Translations and Diplomacy are those fics. Do yourself a favor: read Night Spear's incredible AU. You'll fall in love with it, guaranteed.
I can't say this often enough: this is one of the best AUs ever.
Translations starts out a bit slowly, because we need background: the Stargate was opened in '82, by Claire and Mel Jackson. Jack was a member of the team, not the leader. Claire and Mel stayed behind... and when Jack led a team back to Abydos in '97 after Apophis raided the base, he met their 13-year-old son Daniel. By the time we finish chapter two, Daniel, together with Sha'uri and Skaara, have been taken to Chulak; Claire and Mel are dead; and when Sha'uri and Skaara are taken as hosts, Sam and Jack take Daniel back to Earth, where he's stuck until the Abydos Gate will be opened a year later.
For me, that's when the story really starts. Daniel has to adjust to life on a different planet, to Teal'c, to the expectations he meets and the cutural mores he doesn't understand. (On Abydos, he's on the cusp of adulthood; he doesn't understand why the Tau'ri insist on treating him like a kid.) Jack has to struggle between seeing Daniel as a teenager, seeing him as the son of Mel and Claire that he'd pledged to keep safe, not seeing him as a Charlie-substitute, and accepting Daniel's very burning need to do his part in the struggle against the Goa'uld. Add some lovely Sam and Daniel interaction, and fantastic Teal'c and Daniel friendship (Daniel becomes Teal'c's chalti), and I was completely hooked.
Translations ends, more or less, with the AU version of The Serpent's Lair. Diplomacy picks up right where Translations left off, and it's even better. There's less Teal'c and Daniel friendship here, sadly (although the post-Serpent's Song discussion that the two of them share will blow you away), but the Jack and Daniel friendship is simply awesome beyond words. Jack fully accepts Daniel as an equal, not a child - although the scene where he has to teach Daniel how to handle the gun is wrenching - and their back-and-forth banter is a delight. Some elements from S3 work their way into this fic; the storylines do change to reflect a team without Daniel, and an Abydos where Daniel has lost his brother and sister, not his wife.
To me, the best parts of Night Spear's wonderful fic is the repercussions. We get the team's reactions to events, not just events themselves. And Night Spear does a superb job of weaving Daniel into the story without shoehorning him into those parts where he just doesn't fit in this different role.
Have you ever had a fic that you just want to make people sit down and read, just so they can discover how wonderful it is? Translations and Diplomacy are those fics. Do yourself a favor: read Night Spear's incredible AU. You'll fall in love with it, guaranteed.