FIC: Some of us are looking at the stars, SGA/Rome Crossover, PG
Title: Some of us are looking at the stars
Fandom: SGA/Rome
Characters: John, Rodney, Titus Pullo
Rating: PG
Summary: John and Rodney travel to Ancient Rome.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Title quote by Oscar Wilde, the bit at the beginning is a direct quote from Rome.
Author’s notes: Written in 2005 for a Christmas Calendar.
Titus Pullo: What are they? Stars?
Lucius Vorenus: Stars? Holes in the celestial spheres. Holes through which the light of the heavens shine.
Titus Pullo: How big are these holes?
Lucius Vorenus: Big. They only seem small to us because they are hundreds of miles away.
Titus Pullo: Big enough for a man to climb through?
Lucius Vorenus: I suppose. A man would never be able to get up there in the first place.
Titus Pullo: I don’t see why not.
Lucius Vorenus: How?
Titus Pullo: He could - hold on to a giant bird.
Lucius Vorenus: (laughs) It doesn’t work like that.
Titus Pullo: Why not?
Lucius Vorenus: It’s philosophy. Hard to explain.
“Ancient Rome?” Rodney followed John outside the puddlejumper and squinted at the silhouette of the city barely visible in the dark.
“Well, at least we now know what the thing does.” John jerked his head in the direction of the ‘jumper they had found in a previously undiscovered bay of the city. Of course he had suggested to take it out for a ride, and of course Rodney had agreed because that seemed to be what he did these days.
“That’s great, Major. Now all I have to do is figure out how exactly it works and fix it, so we can get back to Atlantis rather than, say, get eaten by lions. Or ending up as slaves.” Rodney turned to John, his eyes widening in terror. “Oh god, we’re going to end up as slaves, aren’t we? I’m going to be some rich boy’s teacher while you’re keeping his mother company. Or his father. And then the boy will grow up and you will get old and we’ll end up getting eaten by lions anyway.”
“Calm down, Rodney. We don’t even know if it’s broken yet. For all we know, this really was supposed to happen.” John started circling the ‘jumper. They had landed on a deserted field apparently not too far away from the city. They were pretty exposed, but even though he hadn’t managed to activate the cloak, it looked as if nobody had seen them arrive.
After John had tried to activate the device in the ‘jumper according to Rodney’s instructions - which, to be fair, had mostly consisted of, “Just do what you always do” - there had been a flash of light, and once they could see again they found themselves in Earth’s orbit. Rodney’s initial excitement about where they were had died down pretty quickly once he had realized when they were - 48 B.C.
John had decided that could at least try and catch a glimpse of Rome now that they were already there, and so there they were.
“Right, because sending us 2,000 years back in time makes sense how? And that is not considering the fact that we also got transported through space as well, into another galaxy. If the readings in the ‘jumper are correct, that is.” Rodney went back inside to fetch his laptop.
“Uh, I’m pretty sure they are. And - you think you can get the cloak working any time soon? Because someone’s coming. And he looks kinda Roman.” John returned to the entrance of the ‘jumper, his hand on his Beretta.
“What? How many are there?” Rodney asked even while typing frantically.“Ah, good, that wasn’t so hard. Could you-“
John powered the cloaking device and joined Rodney in the ‘jumper. Only a few moments later, the Roman reached the spot John had been standing.
“Hello?” he called. Rodney looked at John, who put a finger to his mouth and shook his head. His right hand was still on his gun.
“Hello?” The Roman called once more. He took one step in the direction of the ‘jumper. “Where did you go? I saw you - you were coming from the stars, and I just - I wanted to ask you something.”
Rodney frowned and John shrugged. They watched the other man stare blankly at them, dangerously close to the edge of the shield. As he finally turned to leave, John noticed the disappointment on the other man’s face.
“Wait.”
At the sound of John’s voice, the man halted.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Rodney hissed. John simply raised his hand and continued to talk to the Roman.
“Who are you, and what do you want to know?” he asked him.
The other man stood attention. His face was full of wonder. “My name’s Titus Pullo, member of the thirteenth regiment, sir. I mean, er, your highness. I mean - are you gods?”
There was a dangerous glint in Rodney’s eyes, but before he could reply, John continued.
“No, we’re just - ordinary people.”
Titus Pullo frowned. “Ordinary people? But - you came from the stars, didn’t you? And you’re invisible. How is that possible?”
“It’s-“ While John was looking for the right words, Rodney interrupted him.
“We come from a different - well, let’s just say we’re from somewhere else, and where we’re from, even people who aren’t gods can travel to the stars. It’s very complicated and you really wouldn’t understand.”
“How?” Pullo asked. “How do you get to the stars?”
“With the help of an aircraft,” John explained. “It’s like a ship, or like a bird, a sort of - giant mechanical bird.“
“A bird?” Pullo looked into the direction Rodney’s voice had come from.
“You could say that, yes,” Rodney replied.
He smiled. “Good. That’s all I wanted to know. That it’s possible. That the holes are big enough.”
“Actually -“ Rodney started, but John put a hand on his arm. “You’re very right. There are giant holes in the sky and we, only almost-godlike people can get through them with the help of birdlike machines.” He rolled his eyes, but John had put his hand on his arm and his voice wasn’t as scathing as it could have been.
“Will you travel there again?” Titus Pullo glanced upwards at the sky.
“We’ll definitely try, yes. Right, Rodney?”
“Right.”
“Then I wish you a safe journey.” He suddenly looked straight at John and John had to remind himself he couldn't see them.
“Thanks. You too.”
Titus Pullo saluted, a small smile on his face. And then he left without looking back once, walking swiftly in the direction of the city.
“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Rodney said finally. “Now, do you think we can get back home or do you still feel the need to act on your gladiator fetish?”
“Shut up, Rodney.” John sat down in the pilot seat and started up the ‘jumper. As they went into the air, he turned to Rodney and grinned. “Hey, did you see his sword?”
Fandom: SGA/Rome
Characters: John, Rodney, Titus Pullo
Rating: PG
Summary: John and Rodney travel to Ancient Rome.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Title quote by Oscar Wilde, the bit at the beginning is a direct quote from Rome.
Author’s notes: Written in 2005 for a Christmas Calendar.
Titus Pullo: What are they? Stars?
Lucius Vorenus: Stars? Holes in the celestial spheres. Holes through which the light of the heavens shine.
Titus Pullo: How big are these holes?
Lucius Vorenus: Big. They only seem small to us because they are hundreds of miles away.
Titus Pullo: Big enough for a man to climb through?
Lucius Vorenus: I suppose. A man would never be able to get up there in the first place.
Titus Pullo: I don’t see why not.
Lucius Vorenus: How?
Titus Pullo: He could - hold on to a giant bird.
Lucius Vorenus: (laughs) It doesn’t work like that.
Titus Pullo: Why not?
Lucius Vorenus: It’s philosophy. Hard to explain.
“Ancient Rome?” Rodney followed John outside the puddlejumper and squinted at the silhouette of the city barely visible in the dark.
“Well, at least we now know what the thing does.” John jerked his head in the direction of the ‘jumper they had found in a previously undiscovered bay of the city. Of course he had suggested to take it out for a ride, and of course Rodney had agreed because that seemed to be what he did these days.
“That’s great, Major. Now all I have to do is figure out how exactly it works and fix it, so we can get back to Atlantis rather than, say, get eaten by lions. Or ending up as slaves.” Rodney turned to John, his eyes widening in terror. “Oh god, we’re going to end up as slaves, aren’t we? I’m going to be some rich boy’s teacher while you’re keeping his mother company. Or his father. And then the boy will grow up and you will get old and we’ll end up getting eaten by lions anyway.”
“Calm down, Rodney. We don’t even know if it’s broken yet. For all we know, this really was supposed to happen.” John started circling the ‘jumper. They had landed on a deserted field apparently not too far away from the city. They were pretty exposed, but even though he hadn’t managed to activate the cloak, it looked as if nobody had seen them arrive.
After John had tried to activate the device in the ‘jumper according to Rodney’s instructions - which, to be fair, had mostly consisted of, “Just do what you always do” - there had been a flash of light, and once they could see again they found themselves in Earth’s orbit. Rodney’s initial excitement about where they were had died down pretty quickly once he had realized when they were - 48 B.C.
John had decided that could at least try and catch a glimpse of Rome now that they were already there, and so there they were.
“Right, because sending us 2,000 years back in time makes sense how? And that is not considering the fact that we also got transported through space as well, into another galaxy. If the readings in the ‘jumper are correct, that is.” Rodney went back inside to fetch his laptop.
“Uh, I’m pretty sure they are. And - you think you can get the cloak working any time soon? Because someone’s coming. And he looks kinda Roman.” John returned to the entrance of the ‘jumper, his hand on his Beretta.
“What? How many are there?” Rodney asked even while typing frantically.“Ah, good, that wasn’t so hard. Could you-“
John powered the cloaking device and joined Rodney in the ‘jumper. Only a few moments later, the Roman reached the spot John had been standing.
“Hello?” he called. Rodney looked at John, who put a finger to his mouth and shook his head. His right hand was still on his gun.
“Hello?” The Roman called once more. He took one step in the direction of the ‘jumper. “Where did you go? I saw you - you were coming from the stars, and I just - I wanted to ask you something.”
Rodney frowned and John shrugged. They watched the other man stare blankly at them, dangerously close to the edge of the shield. As he finally turned to leave, John noticed the disappointment on the other man’s face.
“Wait.”
At the sound of John’s voice, the man halted.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Rodney hissed. John simply raised his hand and continued to talk to the Roman.
“Who are you, and what do you want to know?” he asked him.
The other man stood attention. His face was full of wonder. “My name’s Titus Pullo, member of the thirteenth regiment, sir. I mean, er, your highness. I mean - are you gods?”
There was a dangerous glint in Rodney’s eyes, but before he could reply, John continued.
“No, we’re just - ordinary people.”
Titus Pullo frowned. “Ordinary people? But - you came from the stars, didn’t you? And you’re invisible. How is that possible?”
“It’s-“ While John was looking for the right words, Rodney interrupted him.
“We come from a different - well, let’s just say we’re from somewhere else, and where we’re from, even people who aren’t gods can travel to the stars. It’s very complicated and you really wouldn’t understand.”
“How?” Pullo asked. “How do you get to the stars?”
“With the help of an aircraft,” John explained. “It’s like a ship, or like a bird, a sort of - giant mechanical bird.“
“A bird?” Pullo looked into the direction Rodney’s voice had come from.
“You could say that, yes,” Rodney replied.
He smiled. “Good. That’s all I wanted to know. That it’s possible. That the holes are big enough.”
“Actually -“ Rodney started, but John put a hand on his arm. “You’re very right. There are giant holes in the sky and we, only almost-godlike people can get through them with the help of birdlike machines.” He rolled his eyes, but John had put his hand on his arm and his voice wasn’t as scathing as it could have been.
“Will you travel there again?” Titus Pullo glanced upwards at the sky.
“We’ll definitely try, yes. Right, Rodney?”
“Right.”
“Then I wish you a safe journey.” He suddenly looked straight at John and John had to remind himself he couldn't see them.
“Thanks. You too.”
Titus Pullo saluted, a small smile on his face. And then he left without looking back once, walking swiftly in the direction of the city.
“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Rodney said finally. “Now, do you think we can get back home or do you still feel the need to act on your gladiator fetish?”
“Shut up, Rodney.” John sat down in the pilot seat and started up the ‘jumper. As they went into the air, he turned to Rodney and grinned. “Hey, did you see his sword?”