[Stargate: Fiction] "That Time the Natives Tried to Sacrifice Them to Their Fire Goddess" [G]
Title: Five Times SG-22 Didn’t Get Thrown into a Naquadah Mine #4 (Or, That Time the Natives Tried to Sacrifice Them to Their Fire Goddess)
Prompt: writerverse challenge #3, prompt #11 ‘five four times #4’
Word Count: 1,080
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1 ( SG-22, original characters)
Pairings (if any): none
Warnings: none
Summary: The members of SG-22 run into a little problem off-world.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_bookclub
That Time the Natives Tried to Sacrifice Them to Their Fire Goddess
Sociologist Dr. Levi Flannigan hurried to keep up with the rest of his team as they strode across the grassy fields of PX-8817. It was a bright, sunny day, with a gentle breeze, and they were on their way to see the local magistrate for a follow-up meeting after SG-15 had visited this world.
The natives- Elomans, they called themselves, and their world was Eloma- had an agrarian culture, and grew a type of grain that the scientists at the SGC thought might be interesting. Once SG-15 had determined that the planet was safe and that the people not under the rule of any Goa’uld, they’d passed the second-contact mission to SG-22.
It was a nice planet, almost tropical, and the small group of people who appeared from the other side of the meadow, dressed in brightly-colored sarong-like outfits, were all smiling.
“Hello,” said Gryffydd, when they stopped a few feet apart.
“Hello!” replied the lead native, an older man dressed entirely in blue. “Welcome, new friends from Earth. I am Hanali, headman of this city.”
“Captain Gryffydd, leader of SG-22. The rest of my team, Lieutenant Tobias, Gunny Vicks and Dr. Flannigan.”
He nodded. “My daughters, Mailenna and Nolli.”
“Ladies,” Gryffydd greeted, with a nod to each young woman.
Hanali smiled. “You are most welcome, captain. Our city is this way, if you will follow me…”
They fell into step with the headman’s family, and Levi found himself beside Mailenna, who looked to be the elder of the two sisters.
“I am glad your captain is a woman,” she said, suddenly. At Levi’s surprised look, she added, “I am to be headwoman in my father’s place, and it is good to know that your world acknowledges women leaders.”
“Oh, of course,” he told her. “It hasn’t always, I mean. But nowadays, women can do just about anything.”
They approached the city, a sprawling
“Something smells good,” said Vicks. “Any chance we can stay for lunch?”
Nolli, the younger sister, smiled at him. “A meal is always shared with new friends,” she said.
“That is a very good custom,” said Gryffydd. As they walked through the city gates, she reached up and pulled off her helmet.
The headman and his daughters all froze. “Hair of fire!” Nolli cried.
Levi frowned at her, then at the three of them, then passed them at the people gathering in the square- all with varying shades of dark hair.
“Sorry,” said Gryffydd. “Should I- Do women of age here cover their hair?”
It was a strange question, Levi thought, until he remembered that before Gryffydd had joined the SGC, she’d done several tours in the Middle East. “No, Gryff,” he said. “This culture is more closely related to the Polynesian than to any-”
“Hair of fire,” Hanali breathed. “After all this time. We had thought… Captain, would you mind accompanying my daughters to the, ah, women’s quarters? There is something you need to-”
There was a sudden commotion, and everything moved too fast for Levi to really follow. There were weapons involved, shooting down awnings on top of the armor-clad guards who appeared suddenly. Vicks grabbed hold of his elbow, and they were running, through the city gate and into the woods.
Levi managed to keep pace, as the three men followed Gryffydd through the trees. She had an uncanny ability for finding her way through wooded areas- not that she’d know where she was, then, or even how to get back where she’d started, but she always found the clearest path, even at a dead run.
“Okay,” Levi wheezed, when they finally stopped running. “What just happened?”
“Two words for you,” said Vicks. “Volcano cult.”
“Um, what?”
“You didn’t see the armed guards?” asked Tobias. “The ones who were following the headman’s orders to grab Gryff and have her prepared as an offering to the goddess of the fire mountain?”
Levi shook his head.
“We have got to work on your focus, buddy,” Vicks muttered.
“How about now?” said Gryffydd, sharply. “We’re cut off from the ‘gate and grossly outnumbered. But, on the upside, we have all our gear, so if we can manage to get back to the ‘gate, we can get through.”
Tobias nodded. “But how?”
“Sir?” said Vicks, smiling slightly. “I think I know. How can we keep them from wanting to sacrifice you to their goddess?”
“If I’m not here?” she suggested.
“If she’s already dead,” said Levi.
“No,” said Vicks, pointing at one, then the other, “and no. Did any of you happen to see that mosaic right when we entered town?”
Gryffydd’s expression lit up. “The one with the redhead? The volcano goddess?”
“Bingo,” said the Marine. “They can’t sacrifice you to the goddess if you are the goddess.”
She grinned. “Jason Vicks, you’re a genius.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Except, did you happen to notice what she was wearing?”
Gryffydd’s expression clouded over. “Oh, you are not telling me- No, I know, it’s the only way. But why do I always end up the one in my skivvies?”
“Would it help if I said you looked best in your underwear?” Levi offered.
“A little,” she admitted. “Okay, boys, I’m going to need a grass skirt and- wait a minute. Weren’t there men in that mosaic? Shirtless ones wearing foliage?”
Vicks winced. “I was hoping you hadn’t seen that, sir.”
She scowled. “Shirts off, boys. Fair is fair.”
*
“SG-22 is now half an hour late for their check-in,” reported the sergeant on duty in the ‘Gate Room.
Hammond sighed. “Give them a little longer, sergeant. We don’t know that they haven’t been sent to another naquadah mine.”
“Yes, sir- Sir! Unscheduled off-world activation!” The alarm blared softly, but stopped when he added, “Receiving SG-22’s IDC.”
“Open the iris,” Hammond ordered.
The metal slid aside, and four figures strode down the ramp. The general blinked. That wasn’t- that was. SG-22 were streaked with dark mud, up their bare hands and feet. Gryffydd’s hair was wild around her shoulders, not its usual pinned-up braid, and all four of them wore what looked like large leaves fashioned into skirts.
“Hey, sir!” Gryffydd called up to him. “Think we can have a minute to clean up before we debrief?”
Hammond worked hard to hide his smile. “One hour, captain.”
“Yes, sir. And, sir? Is there any regulation against impersonating a goddess?”
“One hour,” he repeated. At least the debriefing wouldn’t be dull.
THE END
Current Mood:
clean
Prompt: writerverse challenge #3, prompt #11 ‘five four times #4’
Word Count: 1,080
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1 ( SG-22, original characters)
Pairings (if any): none
Warnings: none
Summary: The members of SG-22 run into a little problem off-world.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_bookclub
That Time the Natives Tried to Sacrifice Them to Their Fire Goddess
Sociologist Dr. Levi Flannigan hurried to keep up with the rest of his team as they strode across the grassy fields of PX-8817. It was a bright, sunny day, with a gentle breeze, and they were on their way to see the local magistrate for a follow-up meeting after SG-15 had visited this world.
The natives- Elomans, they called themselves, and their world was Eloma- had an agrarian culture, and grew a type of grain that the scientists at the SGC thought might be interesting. Once SG-15 had determined that the planet was safe and that the people not under the rule of any Goa’uld, they’d passed the second-contact mission to SG-22.
It was a nice planet, almost tropical, and the small group of people who appeared from the other side of the meadow, dressed in brightly-colored sarong-like outfits, were all smiling.
“Hello,” said Gryffydd, when they stopped a few feet apart.
“Hello!” replied the lead native, an older man dressed entirely in blue. “Welcome, new friends from Earth. I am Hanali, headman of this city.”
“Captain Gryffydd, leader of SG-22. The rest of my team, Lieutenant Tobias, Gunny Vicks and Dr. Flannigan.”
He nodded. “My daughters, Mailenna and Nolli.”
“Ladies,” Gryffydd greeted, with a nod to each young woman.
Hanali smiled. “You are most welcome, captain. Our city is this way, if you will follow me…”
They fell into step with the headman’s family, and Levi found himself beside Mailenna, who looked to be the elder of the two sisters.
“I am glad your captain is a woman,” she said, suddenly. At Levi’s surprised look, she added, “I am to be headwoman in my father’s place, and it is good to know that your world acknowledges women leaders.”
“Oh, of course,” he told her. “It hasn’t always, I mean. But nowadays, women can do just about anything.”
They approached the city, a sprawling
“Something smells good,” said Vicks. “Any chance we can stay for lunch?”
Nolli, the younger sister, smiled at him. “A meal is always shared with new friends,” she said.
“That is a very good custom,” said Gryffydd. As they walked through the city gates, she reached up and pulled off her helmet.
The headman and his daughters all froze. “Hair of fire!” Nolli cried.
Levi frowned at her, then at the three of them, then passed them at the people gathering in the square- all with varying shades of dark hair.
“Sorry,” said Gryffydd. “Should I- Do women of age here cover their hair?”
It was a strange question, Levi thought, until he remembered that before Gryffydd had joined the SGC, she’d done several tours in the Middle East. “No, Gryff,” he said. “This culture is more closely related to the Polynesian than to any-”
“Hair of fire,” Hanali breathed. “After all this time. We had thought… Captain, would you mind accompanying my daughters to the, ah, women’s quarters? There is something you need to-”
There was a sudden commotion, and everything moved too fast for Levi to really follow. There were weapons involved, shooting down awnings on top of the armor-clad guards who appeared suddenly. Vicks grabbed hold of his elbow, and they were running, through the city gate and into the woods.
Levi managed to keep pace, as the three men followed Gryffydd through the trees. She had an uncanny ability for finding her way through wooded areas- not that she’d know where she was, then, or even how to get back where she’d started, but she always found the clearest path, even at a dead run.
“Okay,” Levi wheezed, when they finally stopped running. “What just happened?”
“Two words for you,” said Vicks. “Volcano cult.”
“Um, what?”
“You didn’t see the armed guards?” asked Tobias. “The ones who were following the headman’s orders to grab Gryff and have her prepared as an offering to the goddess of the fire mountain?”
Levi shook his head.
“We have got to work on your focus, buddy,” Vicks muttered.
“How about now?” said Gryffydd, sharply. “We’re cut off from the ‘gate and grossly outnumbered. But, on the upside, we have all our gear, so if we can manage to get back to the ‘gate, we can get through.”
Tobias nodded. “But how?”
“Sir?” said Vicks, smiling slightly. “I think I know. How can we keep them from wanting to sacrifice you to their goddess?”
“If I’m not here?” she suggested.
“If she’s already dead,” said Levi.
“No,” said Vicks, pointing at one, then the other, “and no. Did any of you happen to see that mosaic right when we entered town?”
Gryffydd’s expression lit up. “The one with the redhead? The volcano goddess?”
“Bingo,” said the Marine. “They can’t sacrifice you to the goddess if you are the goddess.”
She grinned. “Jason Vicks, you’re a genius.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Except, did you happen to notice what she was wearing?”
Gryffydd’s expression clouded over. “Oh, you are not telling me- No, I know, it’s the only way. But why do I always end up the one in my skivvies?”
“Would it help if I said you looked best in your underwear?” Levi offered.
“A little,” she admitted. “Okay, boys, I’m going to need a grass skirt and- wait a minute. Weren’t there men in that mosaic? Shirtless ones wearing foliage?”
Vicks winced. “I was hoping you hadn’t seen that, sir.”
She scowled. “Shirts off, boys. Fair is fair.”
*
“SG-22 is now half an hour late for their check-in,” reported the sergeant on duty in the ‘Gate Room.
Hammond sighed. “Give them a little longer, sergeant. We don’t know that they haven’t been sent to another naquadah mine.”
“Yes, sir- Sir! Unscheduled off-world activation!” The alarm blared softly, but stopped when he added, “Receiving SG-22’s IDC.”
“Open the iris,” Hammond ordered.
The metal slid aside, and four figures strode down the ramp. The general blinked. That wasn’t- that was. SG-22 were streaked with dark mud, up their bare hands and feet. Gryffydd’s hair was wild around her shoulders, not its usual pinned-up braid, and all four of them wore what looked like large leaves fashioned into skirts.
“Hey, sir!” Gryffydd called up to him. “Think we can have a minute to clean up before we debrief?”
Hammond worked hard to hide his smile. “One hour, captain.”
“Yes, sir. And, sir? Is there any regulation against impersonating a goddess?”
“One hour,” he repeated. At least the debriefing wouldn’t be dull.
THE END
Current Mood:
clean