In a Reverie by cat_77
Title: In a Reverie
Author: cat_77
Genre: Gen
Season/Spoilers: Post Season 4 “Doppelganger”
Rating: PG-13
Length: 1150 words
Synopsis: Rodney gets everything he dreams of. Kind of.
Author's Notes: For the Must Be Dreaming Challenge.
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, people with a lot of money do. I’m just borrowing them to play and making no profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
He must be dreaming. Really, there was no other explanation for it. Not that he minded, not that much anyway. He’d take this dream over reality any day.
They had gated to a strange complex, one of the very few planets in the Pegasus galaxy in which the Stargate was inside a structure of some kind. There was an elaborate metal and stone wall just on the other side of the dais. It was barely far enough away for a MALP to fit through, and he was fairly certain there was no chance of a Wraith dart making it.
The same metal and stone line the walls, the ceilings, and the floors. Intricate designs were woven in shades of blue and gray, some with mathematical precision and others looking like flights of fancy. There were places where the stone shined nearly like glass, ebbing and flowing with lights and shadows. He’d really like to see outside these walls, to see what the planet’s atmosphere is like, what the planet itself looks like, to see if there is any horrific reason that they would hide away like this.
Their guide was rambling on about the beauty of science and how, to their people, the act of learning has become a living thing. That caught Rodney’s attention, and Teyla smiled at his obvious reaction. The Moabian’s ultimate quest was to understand, to know, to create and to make it even better than before. He really thought he could like these people.
There are other reasons to like them, of course. Once they figured out his preferred method of communication, they cut through the crap and broke it down for him. They even used scientific constructs instead of hippy granola euphemisms. It also didn’t hurt that pretty much every single woman he came across was blonde.
It wasn’t quite like that planet where they thought he was a god - and that was still top on his favorite missions list. No, the women here looked kind of like a cross between Sam Carter and Tricia Helfer, only with glasses to show how smart they were. It was probably the only planet he’d come across that had reached this level of optometrics, and he really wasn’t complaining.
A younger girl, about the equivalent of twenty-something in Earth years, was leading them into one of what they called a Study Room. She looked oddly like that Joanie girl from America’s Next Top Model show that he watched with Sheppard and Cadman. Purely for mocking purposes, of course.
Not-Joanie was conferring with Not-Tricia and Not-Sam and they seemed to reach an agreement. Not-Sam moved to a control panel in the center of the room and declared, “You have shown yourselves to be intelligent and capable. We would like to grant you a gift to recognize what we hope will be a fruitful partnership.”
With a bit of dramatic flourish, she pushed a button. From the center of the room rose a small pedestal and on it, shining as if lit by a spotlight in contrast to the floating blues of the smaller glass, was a ZedPM.
“Holy crap!” Rodney exclaimed. He decided then and there that this planet officially made the best missions list, possibly even above the one that thought he was a god.
Teyla cleared her throat and threw an odd look at him. In her very diplomatic way of hers, she said, “What Doctor McKay means to say is that we are very honored by such a gift. Surely it must cost you greatly to part with such an object?”
Part of Rodney’s brain realized she was probably trying to figure out just what it was going to cost them, which was fair. He’d be willing to part with one of his underlings or a Marine or two if the Moabian’s really demanded it, especially if it meant bringing home what looked to be a fairly decently charged ZedPM.
Instead, Not-Tricia shrugged and said, “Really, there is no cost. We’ve got like twelve of them.”
Not-Joanie offered, “Do you need two?”
Rodney felt lightheaded, almost even faint. Everything they needed, right there, in front of him, at no cost.
It was then he noticed the large square of the shimmering bluish glass on the far wall. The colors floated much like the little pieces, only the shadows were coalescing into something more. The shape became clear enough to make out what exactly it was and his eyes grew wide in panic.
That was, of course, when the giant whale burst through the glass and swallowed them whole.
He awoke gasping, feeling three distinct sets of hands on him. He looked around in the flickering firelight to see Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon at his side.
“You okay, buddy?” Sheppard asked, helping him sit up and rubbing his shoulder.
“It was...” he managed to get out. Somehow, speaking about it trivialized it, made it seem less scary and more absurd.
“A nightmare?” Teyla guessed, folding his hands around a warm cup. He raised it to his lips with her assistance, smelling the sweet tea she preferred. He happily drank it down, sighing contentedly as she took the cup back and offered more.
“Was there a whale?” Ronon asked from just to his right.
“What makes you say that?” he hedged.
Ronon smirked, but it was strangely not offensive. “Because, with you, there’s always a whale.”
Rodney nodded; it was true enough. He accepted the second cup of tea from Teyla, apologizing, “Sorry to have woke you.”
Sheppard stood and stretched. “Don’t worry about it,” he assured him. “It’s almost light already, and we’d have to get up soon anyway.”
“The Loarian’s eat an early meal,” Teyla reminded him. It was then he really looked around and remembered where he was: still snuggled in the blankets of a fairly comfortable pallet in the middle of a wooden guest hut in the middle of a mission.
John started pulling gear out of his pack, apparently getting ready for the day. “Yeah, kinda want to talk to the headman again at breakfast, if we get the chance,” he mused.
“Why?” Rodney asked around his mug. The Loarian’s were a rather simple and primitive people with not a whole lot to offer aside from some decent bedding as far as he was concerned.
“He was talking about a place yesterday, another planet that sounded promising. They don’t trade with them much, but are supposed to be technologically relatively advanced,” Sheppard explained without turning around.
That sounded far more interesting than pillows and blankets and definitely got Rodney’s attention. “Really? How so?” he asked setting aside his mug and getting ready to get up.
“Not sure,” Sheppard admitted. “Didn’t get details, only a name. They call themselves the Moabian’s.”
Rodney flopped back down with a groan. He must still be dreaming. Really, there was no other explanation for it. Or at least he really hoped not.
End.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcomed.
Author: cat_77
Genre: Gen
Season/Spoilers: Post Season 4 “Doppelganger”
Rating: PG-13
Length: 1150 words
Synopsis: Rodney gets everything he dreams of. Kind of.
Author's Notes: For the Must Be Dreaming Challenge.
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, people with a lot of money do. I’m just borrowing them to play and making no profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
He must be dreaming. Really, there was no other explanation for it. Not that he minded, not that much anyway. He’d take this dream over reality any day.
They had gated to a strange complex, one of the very few planets in the Pegasus galaxy in which the Stargate was inside a structure of some kind. There was an elaborate metal and stone wall just on the other side of the dais. It was barely far enough away for a MALP to fit through, and he was fairly certain there was no chance of a Wraith dart making it.
The same metal and stone line the walls, the ceilings, and the floors. Intricate designs were woven in shades of blue and gray, some with mathematical precision and others looking like flights of fancy. There were places where the stone shined nearly like glass, ebbing and flowing with lights and shadows. He’d really like to see outside these walls, to see what the planet’s atmosphere is like, what the planet itself looks like, to see if there is any horrific reason that they would hide away like this.
Their guide was rambling on about the beauty of science and how, to their people, the act of learning has become a living thing. That caught Rodney’s attention, and Teyla smiled at his obvious reaction. The Moabian’s ultimate quest was to understand, to know, to create and to make it even better than before. He really thought he could like these people.
There are other reasons to like them, of course. Once they figured out his preferred method of communication, they cut through the crap and broke it down for him. They even used scientific constructs instead of hippy granola euphemisms. It also didn’t hurt that pretty much every single woman he came across was blonde.
It wasn’t quite like that planet where they thought he was a god - and that was still top on his favorite missions list. No, the women here looked kind of like a cross between Sam Carter and Tricia Helfer, only with glasses to show how smart they were. It was probably the only planet he’d come across that had reached this level of optometrics, and he really wasn’t complaining.
A younger girl, about the equivalent of twenty-something in Earth years, was leading them into one of what they called a Study Room. She looked oddly like that Joanie girl from America’s Next Top Model show that he watched with Sheppard and Cadman. Purely for mocking purposes, of course.
Not-Joanie was conferring with Not-Tricia and Not-Sam and they seemed to reach an agreement. Not-Sam moved to a control panel in the center of the room and declared, “You have shown yourselves to be intelligent and capable. We would like to grant you a gift to recognize what we hope will be a fruitful partnership.”
With a bit of dramatic flourish, she pushed a button. From the center of the room rose a small pedestal and on it, shining as if lit by a spotlight in contrast to the floating blues of the smaller glass, was a ZedPM.
“Holy crap!” Rodney exclaimed. He decided then and there that this planet officially made the best missions list, possibly even above the one that thought he was a god.
Teyla cleared her throat and threw an odd look at him. In her very diplomatic way of hers, she said, “What Doctor McKay means to say is that we are very honored by such a gift. Surely it must cost you greatly to part with such an object?”
Part of Rodney’s brain realized she was probably trying to figure out just what it was going to cost them, which was fair. He’d be willing to part with one of his underlings or a Marine or two if the Moabian’s really demanded it, especially if it meant bringing home what looked to be a fairly decently charged ZedPM.
Instead, Not-Tricia shrugged and said, “Really, there is no cost. We’ve got like twelve of them.”
Not-Joanie offered, “Do you need two?”
Rodney felt lightheaded, almost even faint. Everything they needed, right there, in front of him, at no cost.
It was then he noticed the large square of the shimmering bluish glass on the far wall. The colors floated much like the little pieces, only the shadows were coalescing into something more. The shape became clear enough to make out what exactly it was and his eyes grew wide in panic.
That was, of course, when the giant whale burst through the glass and swallowed them whole.
He awoke gasping, feeling three distinct sets of hands on him. He looked around in the flickering firelight to see Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon at his side.
“You okay, buddy?” Sheppard asked, helping him sit up and rubbing his shoulder.
“It was...” he managed to get out. Somehow, speaking about it trivialized it, made it seem less scary and more absurd.
“A nightmare?” Teyla guessed, folding his hands around a warm cup. He raised it to his lips with her assistance, smelling the sweet tea she preferred. He happily drank it down, sighing contentedly as she took the cup back and offered more.
“Was there a whale?” Ronon asked from just to his right.
“What makes you say that?” he hedged.
Ronon smirked, but it was strangely not offensive. “Because, with you, there’s always a whale.”
Rodney nodded; it was true enough. He accepted the second cup of tea from Teyla, apologizing, “Sorry to have woke you.”
Sheppard stood and stretched. “Don’t worry about it,” he assured him. “It’s almost light already, and we’d have to get up soon anyway.”
“The Loarian’s eat an early meal,” Teyla reminded him. It was then he really looked around and remembered where he was: still snuggled in the blankets of a fairly comfortable pallet in the middle of a wooden guest hut in the middle of a mission.
John started pulling gear out of his pack, apparently getting ready for the day. “Yeah, kinda want to talk to the headman again at breakfast, if we get the chance,” he mused.
“Why?” Rodney asked around his mug. The Loarian’s were a rather simple and primitive people with not a whole lot to offer aside from some decent bedding as far as he was concerned.
“He was talking about a place yesterday, another planet that sounded promising. They don’t trade with them much, but are supposed to be technologically relatively advanced,” Sheppard explained without turning around.
That sounded far more interesting than pillows and blankets and definitely got Rodney’s attention. “Really? How so?” he asked setting aside his mug and getting ready to get up.
“Not sure,” Sheppard admitted. “Didn’t get details, only a name. They call themselves the Moabian’s.”
Rodney flopped back down with a groan. He must still be dreaming. Really, there was no other explanation for it. Or at least he really hoped not.
End.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcomed.