"A Rock and A Hard Place" by Tepring aka T'Pring (T)
Rec Category: Sheppard
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Evan Lorne, Elizabeth Weir, OCs
Pairings: none
Categories: gen
Warnings: none
Author on LJ: tepring
Author's Website: none
Link:A Rock and A Hard Place by Tepring
Summary by the author:
John Sheppard is who he is. And that usually gets him in trouble, a mission gone horribly wrong, his team is forced to testify against him, his superiors have given him up for lost ... and where the heck is McKay!
Why This Must Be Read:
Tepring puts John in a practically unsolvable Dilemma and his decision is pure John Sheppard. Which doesn't mean it's objectively the right thing to do. She puts the spotlight on John's most prominent - and all too human - flaw. A thing that's both: his strength, because it's exactly what inspires the fierce loyalty to him, and his weakness, because it can lead him to understandable, but ethically wrong decisions.
In the end, Tepring lets him off the hook by putting in an unexpected twist and while this could be seen as "cheating" it doesn't feel that way to me because it doesn't make him morally innocent all of a sudden. It doesn't take away from the fact that John's decision was questionable at best but serves just as a way to avoid having him sentenced at the end of the story (which would have put the story firmly in AU-land).
It's quite fascinating to see John wrestle with his own decision, knowing it was the wrong thing to do but having been unable to decide different. This story really hit me because yes, we've seen John making this kind of decisions on screen, albeit not quite to this extent in result.
"Do you have any evidence supporting Colonel Sheppard's claim that the planet was abandoned before he returned to search for survivors?"
Sheppard's claim? For the first time that morning, Elizabeth saw John sit back in his chair abruptly and exchange an angry look with the man she knew to be John's legal council.
She frowned, thinking for a moment. "I have only Colonel Sheppard's word - which I trust - that such was the case. Dr. McKay might be able to corroborate that particular point when he returns, Colonel Murgia. He is currently…"
"I have only one more question. Dr. Weir, can you tell me why you did not report this incident to Colonel Sheppard's superiors and to the Military Justice Authorities immediately yourself?" The words were spoken casually, but the implied rebuke was clear.
Elizabeth clenched her jaw and waited several beats before she answered, making certain she could do so confidently and respectfully, "Colonel Sheppard and I had a serious conversation on the matter and I entered a formal reprimand into the mission reports. To be honest, I hadn't decided yet on whether to take the matter further when I received notice that the Justice Division had already become involved-"
"Thank you, Dr. Weir. You may return to your duties if you need to. I imagine Atlantis is a busy post to oversee."
"I imagine Atlantis can survive for one morning without me, Colonel."
"Very well." With that there was a brief pause in the proceedings as Murgia leaned over to initiate a quiet conversation with the other judges, then began shuffling his papers again as he listened to their replies. The room rustled and Elizabeth suddenly heard a hoarse whisper at her ear.
"Where the hell is McKay?" John was leaning towards her slightly, but looked like he didn't want to be seen doing it.
"He's offworld," she replied.
"Doing what?!"
"I don't know exactly. He just said he had to do it before the hearing, and that, well, it might help."
"It would help more for him to be here."
Elizabeth thought she heard a slight edge of panic in John's voice and she desperately wanted to offer him a word of reassurance, but Murgia had stacked his papers again and once again cleared his throat for attention. John shifted restlessly in his seat, and she caught him running his hand through his hair once, then - as if he had only just noticed the gesture himself - he abruptly folded his hands onto the table once more. He was again glaring at Murgia, and Elizabeth could hardly blame him.
Murgia finally looked up, the room fell silent. "The panel would like to hear next the testimony of Teyla Emmagan and Specialist Ronon Dex, members of Colonel Sheppard's 'gate team, and participants on the mission to E4E-C12.
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Evan Lorne, Elizabeth Weir, OCs
Pairings: none
Categories: gen
Warnings: none
Author on LJ: tepring
Author's Website: none
Link:A Rock and A Hard Place by Tepring
Summary by the author:
John Sheppard is who he is. And that usually gets him in trouble, a mission gone horribly wrong, his team is forced to testify against him, his superiors have given him up for lost ... and where the heck is McKay!
Why This Must Be Read:
Tepring puts John in a practically unsolvable Dilemma and his decision is pure John Sheppard. Which doesn't mean it's objectively the right thing to do. She puts the spotlight on John's most prominent - and all too human - flaw. A thing that's both: his strength, because it's exactly what inspires the fierce loyalty to him, and his weakness, because it can lead him to understandable, but ethically wrong decisions.
In the end, Tepring lets him off the hook by putting in an unexpected twist and while this could be seen as "cheating" it doesn't feel that way to me because it doesn't make him morally innocent all of a sudden. It doesn't take away from the fact that John's decision was questionable at best but serves just as a way to avoid having him sentenced at the end of the story (which would have put the story firmly in AU-land).
It's quite fascinating to see John wrestle with his own decision, knowing it was the wrong thing to do but having been unable to decide different. This story really hit me because yes, we've seen John making this kind of decisions on screen, albeit not quite to this extent in result.
"Do you have any evidence supporting Colonel Sheppard's claim that the planet was abandoned before he returned to search for survivors?"
Sheppard's claim? For the first time that morning, Elizabeth saw John sit back in his chair abruptly and exchange an angry look with the man she knew to be John's legal council.
She frowned, thinking for a moment. "I have only Colonel Sheppard's word - which I trust - that such was the case. Dr. McKay might be able to corroborate that particular point when he returns, Colonel Murgia. He is currently…"
"I have only one more question. Dr. Weir, can you tell me why you did not report this incident to Colonel Sheppard's superiors and to the Military Justice Authorities immediately yourself?" The words were spoken casually, but the implied rebuke was clear.
Elizabeth clenched her jaw and waited several beats before she answered, making certain she could do so confidently and respectfully, "Colonel Sheppard and I had a serious conversation on the matter and I entered a formal reprimand into the mission reports. To be honest, I hadn't decided yet on whether to take the matter further when I received notice that the Justice Division had already become involved-"
"Thank you, Dr. Weir. You may return to your duties if you need to. I imagine Atlantis is a busy post to oversee."
"I imagine Atlantis can survive for one morning without me, Colonel."
"Very well." With that there was a brief pause in the proceedings as Murgia leaned over to initiate a quiet conversation with the other judges, then began shuffling his papers again as he listened to their replies. The room rustled and Elizabeth suddenly heard a hoarse whisper at her ear.
"Where the hell is McKay?" John was leaning towards her slightly, but looked like he didn't want to be seen doing it.
"He's offworld," she replied.
"Doing what?!"
"I don't know exactly. He just said he had to do it before the hearing, and that, well, it might help."
"It would help more for him to be here."
Elizabeth thought she heard a slight edge of panic in John's voice and she desperately wanted to offer him a word of reassurance, but Murgia had stacked his papers again and once again cleared his throat for attention. John shifted restlessly in his seat, and she caught him running his hand through his hair once, then - as if he had only just noticed the gesture himself - he abruptly folded his hands onto the table once more. He was again glaring at Murgia, and Elizabeth could hardly blame him.
Murgia finally looked up, the room fell silent. "The panel would like to hear next the testimony of Teyla Emmagan and Specialist Ronon Dex, members of Colonel Sheppard's 'gate team, and participants on the mission to E4E-C12.