[Stargate: Drabble] "Arrivals!" [SG-22, G]
Title: Arrivals!
Prompt: writerverse challenge #31 quick fic #10 (‘alien’, ‘mustache’, ‘ice flower’-and maybe ‘telephone’?- and bonus for inanimate object narrator)
Word Count: 634
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1 ( SG-22, original characters)
Pairings: none
Summary: The Guardian of Arrivals and Restrictions watches the arrival of SG-22.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_bookclub
Arrivals!
There was no one living on PX-819. That’s wasn’t to say, of course, that there wasn’t anything non-living there. The creators had named him the Guardian of Arrivals and Restrictions, but the large stone obelisk on a plinth beside the weather-worn buildings had always preferred ‘Gary’.
He knew people had lived there, once, but after all this time- Years? Centuries? Millennia?- he couldn’t quite remember them anymore. Which made Gary’s life rather dull. With no one arriving, he had no one to potentially restrict, and really not much else to do.
Then, suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon, the stargate activated. Arrivals! thought Gary, but it was only a boxy mechanical construct. It didn’t talk or move, just sat by the stone steps taking environmental readings. Boring.
Gary had almost decided to go back into power-saving mode when a new wormhole appeared. This time, four people emerged, all wearing the same green and black uniforms.
“- says there was no movement detected by the MALP,” one was saying, a woman by her voice, having come through the stargate mid-sentence. “So there is no way you can be eaten by anything, Levi.”
The shortest of her companions sneezed loudly. “What about plants, then?” he demanded.
“There is kind of a lot of pollen,” said another man. “But I’ve got some antihistamine tablets in my pack.”
“Really?” said Levi. “Jason, I could kiss you.”
“I wouldn’t,” said the woman. “Not with that thing on your face.”
Jason ran a thumb and forefinger over the neatly-trimmed hair on his upper lip. “You don’t like my ‘stache, sir?”
She snorted. “It’s creepy. Don’t you think it’s creepy, Toby?”
“Absolutely, Gryff,” agreed the third man, not looking up from where he was examining their machine. “We leave him alone for less than a week, and he goes crazy on us.”
“Hey,” Jason protested. “Levi said I looked sharp.”
“No, what I said was-” Levi broke off, sneezing four times in rapid succession. “Jase, you weren’t kidding about those antihistamines, right?”
The two of them stopped, digging through Jason’s pack, while the rest of their team continued on. The man that the other called Toby passed close to Gary’s plinth and, obligingly, he lit it up.
“Gryff!” he called, raising a weapon.
Gary hesitated, waiting. They seemed very much like his creators, like the people he’d been hoping for, but he had to be sure.
Their leader, the woman named Gryff, came over and Gary’s external crystals glowed brighter. He recognized something in her- she was very like his creators!
“Woah,” said Toby, taking a step back. “Gryff?”
She approached cautiously, her own weapon in hand. “I think it’s an automated system,” she said. She reached out and placed her hand against the largest crystal.
Gary felt the warmth of her hand. He decided Gryff and her team were all right, and opened the door.
The looks on their faces were proof enough that he’d chosen right.
“It’s a greenhouse,” breathed Jason, joining them.
They spread out, but kept within sight of each other.
“Well, this explains your sneezing, Levi,” said Gryff. She paused to examine a delicate blue flower that looked like it had been carved from ice, but when her finger brushed the petals, it flexed like any other blossom.
“Does the SGC have any botanists on retainer?” asked Toby. “Because we could use the help.”
“Yeah, but they’re alien flowers,” said Jason. “Would they know anything about these?”
“Probably not,” Gryff agreed. “But I’m sure they’d like to try. C’mon, boys, let’s dial up the SGC and see if they have any scientists we can borrow…”
As they activated the stargate, Gary could barely contain his excitement.
Arrivals!
He thought he’d restrict a couple of them from the building at first, though, just for fun.
THE END
Current Mood:
blah
Prompt: writerverse challenge #31 quick fic #10 (‘alien’, ‘mustache’, ‘ice flower’-and maybe ‘telephone’?- and bonus for inanimate object narrator)
Word Count: 634
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1 ( SG-22, original characters)
Pairings: none
Summary: The Guardian of Arrivals and Restrictions watches the arrival of SG-22.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_bookclub
Arrivals!
There was no one living on PX-819. That’s wasn’t to say, of course, that there wasn’t anything non-living there. The creators had named him the Guardian of Arrivals and Restrictions, but the large stone obelisk on a plinth beside the weather-worn buildings had always preferred ‘Gary’.
He knew people had lived there, once, but after all this time- Years? Centuries? Millennia?- he couldn’t quite remember them anymore. Which made Gary’s life rather dull. With no one arriving, he had no one to potentially restrict, and really not much else to do.
Then, suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon, the stargate activated. Arrivals! thought Gary, but it was only a boxy mechanical construct. It didn’t talk or move, just sat by the stone steps taking environmental readings. Boring.
Gary had almost decided to go back into power-saving mode when a new wormhole appeared. This time, four people emerged, all wearing the same green and black uniforms.
“- says there was no movement detected by the MALP,” one was saying, a woman by her voice, having come through the stargate mid-sentence. “So there is no way you can be eaten by anything, Levi.”
The shortest of her companions sneezed loudly. “What about plants, then?” he demanded.
“There is kind of a lot of pollen,” said another man. “But I’ve got some antihistamine tablets in my pack.”
“Really?” said Levi. “Jason, I could kiss you.”
“I wouldn’t,” said the woman. “Not with that thing on your face.”
Jason ran a thumb and forefinger over the neatly-trimmed hair on his upper lip. “You don’t like my ‘stache, sir?”
She snorted. “It’s creepy. Don’t you think it’s creepy, Toby?”
“Absolutely, Gryff,” agreed the third man, not looking up from where he was examining their machine. “We leave him alone for less than a week, and he goes crazy on us.”
“Hey,” Jason protested. “Levi said I looked sharp.”
“No, what I said was-” Levi broke off, sneezing four times in rapid succession. “Jase, you weren’t kidding about those antihistamines, right?”
The two of them stopped, digging through Jason’s pack, while the rest of their team continued on. The man that the other called Toby passed close to Gary’s plinth and, obligingly, he lit it up.
“Gryff!” he called, raising a weapon.
Gary hesitated, waiting. They seemed very much like his creators, like the people he’d been hoping for, but he had to be sure.
Their leader, the woman named Gryff, came over and Gary’s external crystals glowed brighter. He recognized something in her- she was very like his creators!
“Woah,” said Toby, taking a step back. “Gryff?”
She approached cautiously, her own weapon in hand. “I think it’s an automated system,” she said. She reached out and placed her hand against the largest crystal.
Gary felt the warmth of her hand. He decided Gryff and her team were all right, and opened the door.
The looks on their faces were proof enough that he’d chosen right.
“It’s a greenhouse,” breathed Jason, joining them.
They spread out, but kept within sight of each other.
“Well, this explains your sneezing, Levi,” said Gryff. She paused to examine a delicate blue flower that looked like it had been carved from ice, but when her finger brushed the petals, it flexed like any other blossom.
“Does the SGC have any botanists on retainer?” asked Toby. “Because we could use the help.”
“Yeah, but they’re alien flowers,” said Jason. “Would they know anything about these?”
“Probably not,” Gryff agreed. “But I’m sure they’d like to try. C’mon, boys, let’s dial up the SGC and see if they have any scientists we can borrow…”
As they activated the stargate, Gary could barely contain his excitement.
Arrivals!
He thought he’d restrict a couple of them from the building at first, though, just for fun.
THE END
Current Mood:
blah