ANCIENT SNOWFLAKES // SNOWDROP BY schneefink [LFWS #4 WARM UP ROUND]
Title: Ancient Snowflakes
Author: schneefink
Rating: PG
Spoilers: The Siege III
Genre(s): Humor
Character(s): Caldwell, Novak, Hermiod, McKay, Weir, Sheppard
Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of any rights is intended.
Prompt for the Round: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Ancient Snowflakes by schneefink
Steven had seen the schematics, of course, and his first thought had been “it looks like a snowflake”. It´s the city of the Ancients, he told himself, and it could fly (at least according to Colonel Carter´s excited scribbling in the margins). That had to count for something.
And later, when he saw the hive ships´ bombardment dissolve harmlessly on the shield in patterns and shades of red and pink, he was reminded for a split second of a snowglobe he´d had as a kid, snow falling on Washington over and over again.
Afterwards, when the battle was over and they finally had time to breathe again, he had to admit that the Gate room was slightly more impressive than the one in the SGC. Stained glass windows did look better than solid concrete, and even the hallways were more colorful. From the outside, however, the towers were dull metallic and cluttered with strange protrusions that no doubt had important scientific functions. (Maybe weather control. After reading the reports he wasn´t willing to dismiss the possibility.)
But even with the transporters, there was no way a snowflake was the ideal shape for a city, not even an Ancient city with drones and shield and theoretical stardrive. It wasn´t even a beautiful snowflake, dirty grey with those strange asymmetrical piers.
“I agree, sir,” a voice said.
Steven startled and turned away from the window to find Dr. Novak next to him. She was smiling hesitantly and clutched a stack of papers in her hands.
“Um, you wanted to be notified when Hermiod finished repairing life support for the cargo bay, and I was just passing by and saw you and…”
“Thank you, Doctor. Lead the way.”
And that should have been it, except on their third arrival in Atlantis the city´s temperature controls had failed. (Which led to all expedition members wearing as few clothes as they could get away with, and after half an hour in uniform he couldn´t even fault Sheppard for allowing it. He could have done without seeing what Sheppard´s strays considered appropriate clothing, however.)
His mistake was offering help to fix the problem. He should have known that Dr. McKay would take it as a personal insult to his honor, and that Hermiod was at least as arrogant and bad with humans as McKay didn´t help.
So he was already suspicious when Hermiod called him on the radio the next day and asked him to settle a "dispute". Steven turned away from Dr. Weir apologetically and prepared to call a security team - if Hermiod called it a dispute, minor bloodshed was most likely involved. Or, in this particular case, electrocution.
"You!" McKay bellowed in Steven´s ear and he winced. "That... little naked grey alien said you told him that Atlantis would melt in warm weather! Would you deign to inform us how you got this key piece of technical information, Colonel?"
"Doctor Novak assured me that Colonel Caldwell compared the city to a deformed snowflake," Hermiod said without inflection, and damn if the Asgard wouldn´t win against everyone at poker. Steven tried very hard not to start cursing while frantically trying to remember how he might have pissed the Asgard off.
“A snowflake, huh?” Sheppard drawled. Steven wondered if Sheppard was aware of the warning in his eyes. He looked at Dr. Weir and saw a similar expression on her face. Damn open channels.
“I´m sure she misunderstood, Hermiod,” he said as sincerely as he could. McKay hmph´d. Weir smiled, Sheppard patted the wall and if he´d needed anymore proof that they had gone native he had it now.
SNOWDROP BY TO BE REVEALED [LFWS #4 WARM UP ROUND]
Title: Snowdrop
Author: To be revealed
Rating: PG
Spoilers: none
Genre(s): Dark
Character(s): Caldwell, Sheppard
Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of any rights is intended.
Prompt for the Round: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Snowdrop by TO BE REVEALED
“Sir, we´re picking up some signals, but they´re too weak to identify.”
“Get us closer to the surface and try to hail them.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Steven gripped the armrests of his chair, trying to conjure the city through sheer force of will. This was the fifth planet they were searching and they were running out of options and time.
“Atlantis, this is the Daedalus. Do you copy? Atlantis, this is Caldwell from the Daedalus. Do you copy?”
Everyone on the bridge held their breath, or so it seemed. Pause, another minute, then another…
“They´re sending Morse code,” Marks said, smiling broadly in relief, and Steven exhaled.
They sent the supplies first, including the naquadah generator, and when Steven beamed down to the coordinates they´d been given he was afraid for a second that McKay was going to hug him.
“It´s good to see you, Colonel,” Sheppard said, and Steven could only nod and stare. Sheppard looked terrible: he had dark circles under his eyes, a huge scar on his face and an exhausted, hunted look that made him seem ten years older.
Steven tore his gaze away and tried to do a quick headcount. He couldn´t see Woolsey and wondered whether the man was in the infirmary or dead. McKay was there, notably pale but smiling widely, and so was Dr. Zelenka. Other people he didn´t recognize were crowding the room and staring at him in naked hope and relief. Many had tears in their eyes. Their clothing was torn and washed-out; some of them still wore bandages, and he could see at least one person who´d lost an arm. Survivors.
“Colonel,” Sheppard said and gestured to the door. Steven followed wordlessly and paused when they passed a window. He could see the remains of the control tower, broken off a few levels above the ocean, and the ruins of the other spires - some broken off, some with large holes in them, some simply leaning dangerously sidewise. A few walls even had black scorch marks. The only pier he saw was mostly submerged.
“No time to redecorate,” Sheppard said lightly.
“Sheppard,” Steven said sincerely, “it´s the most beautiful thing I´ve ever seen.”
Author: schneefink
Rating: PG
Spoilers: The Siege III
Genre(s): Humor
Character(s): Caldwell, Novak, Hermiod, McKay, Weir, Sheppard
Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of any rights is intended.
Prompt for the Round: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Ancient Snowflakes by schneefink
Steven had seen the schematics, of course, and his first thought had been “it looks like a snowflake”. It´s the city of the Ancients, he told himself, and it could fly (at least according to Colonel Carter´s excited scribbling in the margins). That had to count for something.
And later, when he saw the hive ships´ bombardment dissolve harmlessly on the shield in patterns and shades of red and pink, he was reminded for a split second of a snowglobe he´d had as a kid, snow falling on Washington over and over again.
Afterwards, when the battle was over and they finally had time to breathe again, he had to admit that the Gate room was slightly more impressive than the one in the SGC. Stained glass windows did look better than solid concrete, and even the hallways were more colorful. From the outside, however, the towers were dull metallic and cluttered with strange protrusions that no doubt had important scientific functions. (Maybe weather control. After reading the reports he wasn´t willing to dismiss the possibility.)
But even with the transporters, there was no way a snowflake was the ideal shape for a city, not even an Ancient city with drones and shield and theoretical stardrive. It wasn´t even a beautiful snowflake, dirty grey with those strange asymmetrical piers.
“I agree, sir,” a voice said.
Steven startled and turned away from the window to find Dr. Novak next to him. She was smiling hesitantly and clutched a stack of papers in her hands.
“Um, you wanted to be notified when Hermiod finished repairing life support for the cargo bay, and I was just passing by and saw you and…”
“Thank you, Doctor. Lead the way.”
And that should have been it, except on their third arrival in Atlantis the city´s temperature controls had failed. (Which led to all expedition members wearing as few clothes as they could get away with, and after half an hour in uniform he couldn´t even fault Sheppard for allowing it. He could have done without seeing what Sheppard´s strays considered appropriate clothing, however.)
His mistake was offering help to fix the problem. He should have known that Dr. McKay would take it as a personal insult to his honor, and that Hermiod was at least as arrogant and bad with humans as McKay didn´t help.
So he was already suspicious when Hermiod called him on the radio the next day and asked him to settle a "dispute". Steven turned away from Dr. Weir apologetically and prepared to call a security team - if Hermiod called it a dispute, minor bloodshed was most likely involved. Or, in this particular case, electrocution.
"You!" McKay bellowed in Steven´s ear and he winced. "That... little naked grey alien said you told him that Atlantis would melt in warm weather! Would you deign to inform us how you got this key piece of technical information, Colonel?"
"Doctor Novak assured me that Colonel Caldwell compared the city to a deformed snowflake," Hermiod said without inflection, and damn if the Asgard wouldn´t win against everyone at poker. Steven tried very hard not to start cursing while frantically trying to remember how he might have pissed the Asgard off.
“A snowflake, huh?” Sheppard drawled. Steven wondered if Sheppard was aware of the warning in his eyes. He looked at Dr. Weir and saw a similar expression on her face. Damn open channels.
“I´m sure she misunderstood, Hermiod,” he said as sincerely as he could. McKay hmph´d. Weir smiled, Sheppard patted the wall and if he´d needed anymore proof that they had gone native he had it now.
SNOWDROP BY TO BE REVEALED [LFWS #4 WARM UP ROUND]
Title: Snowdrop
Author: To be revealed
Rating: PG
Spoilers: none
Genre(s): Dark
Character(s): Caldwell, Sheppard
Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of any rights is intended.
Prompt for the Round: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Snowdrop by TO BE REVEALED
“Sir, we´re picking up some signals, but they´re too weak to identify.”
“Get us closer to the surface and try to hail them.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Steven gripped the armrests of his chair, trying to conjure the city through sheer force of will. This was the fifth planet they were searching and they were running out of options and time.
“Atlantis, this is the Daedalus. Do you copy? Atlantis, this is Caldwell from the Daedalus. Do you copy?”
Everyone on the bridge held their breath, or so it seemed. Pause, another minute, then another…
“They´re sending Morse code,” Marks said, smiling broadly in relief, and Steven exhaled.
They sent the supplies first, including the naquadah generator, and when Steven beamed down to the coordinates they´d been given he was afraid for a second that McKay was going to hug him.
“It´s good to see you, Colonel,” Sheppard said, and Steven could only nod and stare. Sheppard looked terrible: he had dark circles under his eyes, a huge scar on his face and an exhausted, hunted look that made him seem ten years older.
Steven tore his gaze away and tried to do a quick headcount. He couldn´t see Woolsey and wondered whether the man was in the infirmary or dead. McKay was there, notably pale but smiling widely, and so was Dr. Zelenka. Other people he didn´t recognize were crowding the room and staring at him in naked hope and relief. Many had tears in their eyes. Their clothing was torn and washed-out; some of them still wore bandages, and he could see at least one person who´d lost an arm. Survivors.
“Colonel,” Sheppard said and gestured to the door. Steven followed wordlessly and paused when they passed a window. He could see the remains of the control tower, broken off a few levels above the ocean, and the ruins of the other spires - some broken off, some with large holes in them, some simply leaning dangerously sidewise. A few walls even had black scorch marks. The only pier he saw was mostly submerged.
“No time to redecorate,” Sheppard said lightly.
“Sheppard,” Steven said sincerely, “it´s the most beautiful thing I´ve ever seen.”