"Clear as Crystal (if you're Daniel, which we're not)" by Lokei
Title: Clear As Crystal (If you’re Daniel, which we’re not)
Author: lokei
Word count: 1,086
Rating/Warning: Gen, PG, Daniel Jackson & Robert Rothman friendship, Rothman & Nyan friendship
Spoilers: assumes background knowledge up through S3: The Crystal Skull
Prompt: Prompt: 151. Nyan and Robert Rothman. Scenes together during Crystal Skull.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Robert scowled at the skull on the table. The gloomy sergeant’s prediction that he was about to be fired was rattling around in his brain and making focusing on the problem of Daniel’s disappearance difficult to say the least. He let his head drop to his hands.
“Not going well?” a cheerful voice piped in from the doorway and Robert looked up to see the round face he’d been introduced to a few weeks ago, someone or other who’d been playing Daniel’s research assistant.
“I am Nyan,” the other added with a smile. “We have met in Daniel’s office a few times?”
“If you say so,” Robert shrugged. “I’m not-“
“Good at people. Doctor Jackson did mention that. I don’t mind.”
Robert could practically hear Daniel’s laughter over his shoulder.
He operates on alien etiquette and you prefer fossils to face time. Give it a chance and you two will probably get along brilliantly.
Robert blinked and decided that he should stop putting off going to see the base doctor when all this craziness was resolved-clearly his allergy meds needed adjustment. Hallucinating his friend’s voice was not in the list of side effects, but who really knew with these things?
“They are saying Daniel has disappeared,” Nyan ventured as he stepped in to the room. “Is it true?”
“He’s gone missing, all right,” Robert frowned. Daniel did have a habit of doing that sort of thing, even before he got mixed up in this military and alien nonsense. “But they’re also saying this thing is what caused it, and that’s plainly ridiculous.”
Daniel’s voice in his head sighed. Really, Robert. Couldn’t you at least try to be open-minded? I know I said ‘skeptical’ before, but we should be past that now.
Nyan took a few steps closer. “Did Teal’c say so?”
“They all say so.” Robert shoved at his glasses and wished for an aspirin. “I don’t know how Daniel can stand being on that team. They’re all insane. And they have no regard for procedure, either. It’s all ‘look at this and fix it,’ sure, but it’s not as if they give me any context or site images or anything to work with beyond a very shiny paperweight!”
Nyan’s soft “Teal’c doesn’t exaggerate,” overlapped with Daniel’s chuckle.
They’re not insane. Well, no more than I am, and I suppose that’s crazy enough according to you. The lack of regard for the proper practice of archaeology does get old, though, I’ll give you that.
Robert sighed. He supposed an alien archaeologist was better than no one at all, and he could use all the help he could get. Daniel’s help would have been ideal, but of course if he were here, they wouldn’t be in this mess anyway. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen anything like this?”
Nyan closed the rest of the gap between him and the table and twisted his fingers before shaking his head. “I am sorry. We have no such artifacts on Bedrosia. I have never heard of such a thing being found by the Optricans either, I fear.”
He rounded the table so that he was standing next to Robert. “May I?”
Robert shrugged as Daniel’s spectral voice advised caution. “Might as well. I’m not getting anywhere. If there’s anywhere to get.”
Nyan picked up the skull, frowning at it as he tipped it from side to side. “It is a remarkable work of art,” he offered. “The polish must be quite fine to remove all trace of tool work. But I must confess I cannot understand how it could be a transporter.”
“Well, Daniel apparently believed it.”
Nyan considered that, looking at each of the eye sockets before placing the skull back on its plinth. “Maybe that is how it works?”
“Belief?” Robert scoffed. “Sure, and did I tell you about my garden full of magic beans?”
Nyan smiled reflexively, aware he had provoked some kind of sarcasm, but continued undeterred. “The force of belief is a powerful thing.”
He has a point, Daniel’s voice murmured. Invalid in this case, since I didn’t believe Nick’s story about it being a transporter, but there’s something to be said for being open to possibilities. Remind me when we’ve fixed this to tell you about this planet we went to recently called Kheb.
Robert was starting to think there was more going on here than medication-induced auditory hallucinations. Probably stress and sleep deprivation were involved, and possibly the lack of sunlight. He should go find his vitamin D supplements when he next went to get coffee.
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Daniel’s power of belief has always been impressive,” he admitted grudgingly. “It’s part of why it’s addicting working with him. Not always easy or fun, but compelling.” Robert felt himself smiling a little.
“I was glad when he called up to recruit me to this place. I like to see him thumbing his nose at all those folks who thought he was a crackpot.”
Right now I’d like it if you could just see me, Daniel’s voice was amused, though it’s nice to know you didn’t agree to come work with me again just because I make better coffee than you do.
“Then perhaps we just need to believe that we will get him back,” Nyan tipped his head to one side. “Perhaps with your magic beans?”
Despite himself, Robert laughed. The Daniel-hallucination was right, he could get to like this guy.
“Right.” He sat up and put his hands on either side of the skull, pushing himself out of the chair. “Magic beans. That is the Daniel Jackson way. We’ll start with stories, then, see what we can find about skulls or crystals, anything tied to radiation or inexplicable transport.”
“I will see what I can find in his office,” Nyan offered. “I could bring the resources back here?”
They both looked at the skull grinning innocuously on the table top and frowned simultaneously.
“Or I could meet you in the cafeteria?” Nyan amended, and Robert nodded. He could stop by his own desk and pick up those vitamins on the way.
Get any of your imminent Reuben sandwich on my books, Robert, and I will haunt you *forever,* Daniel grumbled as Nyan left. There was a pause as Robert looked at the skull one last time from the doorway. As he turned to leave, he could have sworn he heard a very quiet
Thanks for not giving up on me, old friend.
Author: lokei
Word count: 1,086
Rating/Warning: Gen, PG, Daniel Jackson & Robert Rothman friendship, Rothman & Nyan friendship
Spoilers: assumes background knowledge up through S3: The Crystal Skull
Prompt: Prompt: 151. Nyan and Robert Rothman. Scenes together during Crystal Skull.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Robert scowled at the skull on the table. The gloomy sergeant’s prediction that he was about to be fired was rattling around in his brain and making focusing on the problem of Daniel’s disappearance difficult to say the least. He let his head drop to his hands.
“Not going well?” a cheerful voice piped in from the doorway and Robert looked up to see the round face he’d been introduced to a few weeks ago, someone or other who’d been playing Daniel’s research assistant.
“I am Nyan,” the other added with a smile. “We have met in Daniel’s office a few times?”
“If you say so,” Robert shrugged. “I’m not-“
“Good at people. Doctor Jackson did mention that. I don’t mind.”
Robert could practically hear Daniel’s laughter over his shoulder.
He operates on alien etiquette and you prefer fossils to face time. Give it a chance and you two will probably get along brilliantly.
Robert blinked and decided that he should stop putting off going to see the base doctor when all this craziness was resolved-clearly his allergy meds needed adjustment. Hallucinating his friend’s voice was not in the list of side effects, but who really knew with these things?
“They are saying Daniel has disappeared,” Nyan ventured as he stepped in to the room. “Is it true?”
“He’s gone missing, all right,” Robert frowned. Daniel did have a habit of doing that sort of thing, even before he got mixed up in this military and alien nonsense. “But they’re also saying this thing is what caused it, and that’s plainly ridiculous.”
Daniel’s voice in his head sighed. Really, Robert. Couldn’t you at least try to be open-minded? I know I said ‘skeptical’ before, but we should be past that now.
Nyan took a few steps closer. “Did Teal’c say so?”
“They all say so.” Robert shoved at his glasses and wished for an aspirin. “I don’t know how Daniel can stand being on that team. They’re all insane. And they have no regard for procedure, either. It’s all ‘look at this and fix it,’ sure, but it’s not as if they give me any context or site images or anything to work with beyond a very shiny paperweight!”
Nyan’s soft “Teal’c doesn’t exaggerate,” overlapped with Daniel’s chuckle.
They’re not insane. Well, no more than I am, and I suppose that’s crazy enough according to you. The lack of regard for the proper practice of archaeology does get old, though, I’ll give you that.
Robert sighed. He supposed an alien archaeologist was better than no one at all, and he could use all the help he could get. Daniel’s help would have been ideal, but of course if he were here, they wouldn’t be in this mess anyway. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen anything like this?”
Nyan closed the rest of the gap between him and the table and twisted his fingers before shaking his head. “I am sorry. We have no such artifacts on Bedrosia. I have never heard of such a thing being found by the Optricans either, I fear.”
He rounded the table so that he was standing next to Robert. “May I?”
Robert shrugged as Daniel’s spectral voice advised caution. “Might as well. I’m not getting anywhere. If there’s anywhere to get.”
Nyan picked up the skull, frowning at it as he tipped it from side to side. “It is a remarkable work of art,” he offered. “The polish must be quite fine to remove all trace of tool work. But I must confess I cannot understand how it could be a transporter.”
“Well, Daniel apparently believed it.”
Nyan considered that, looking at each of the eye sockets before placing the skull back on its plinth. “Maybe that is how it works?”
“Belief?” Robert scoffed. “Sure, and did I tell you about my garden full of magic beans?”
Nyan smiled reflexively, aware he had provoked some kind of sarcasm, but continued undeterred. “The force of belief is a powerful thing.”
He has a point, Daniel’s voice murmured. Invalid in this case, since I didn’t believe Nick’s story about it being a transporter, but there’s something to be said for being open to possibilities. Remind me when we’ve fixed this to tell you about this planet we went to recently called Kheb.
Robert was starting to think there was more going on here than medication-induced auditory hallucinations. Probably stress and sleep deprivation were involved, and possibly the lack of sunlight. He should go find his vitamin D supplements when he next went to get coffee.
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Daniel’s power of belief has always been impressive,” he admitted grudgingly. “It’s part of why it’s addicting working with him. Not always easy or fun, but compelling.” Robert felt himself smiling a little.
“I was glad when he called up to recruit me to this place. I like to see him thumbing his nose at all those folks who thought he was a crackpot.”
Right now I’d like it if you could just see me, Daniel’s voice was amused, though it’s nice to know you didn’t agree to come work with me again just because I make better coffee than you do.
“Then perhaps we just need to believe that we will get him back,” Nyan tipped his head to one side. “Perhaps with your magic beans?”
Despite himself, Robert laughed. The Daniel-hallucination was right, he could get to like this guy.
“Right.” He sat up and put his hands on either side of the skull, pushing himself out of the chair. “Magic beans. That is the Daniel Jackson way. We’ll start with stories, then, see what we can find about skulls or crystals, anything tied to radiation or inexplicable transport.”
“I will see what I can find in his office,” Nyan offered. “I could bring the resources back here?”
They both looked at the skull grinning innocuously on the table top and frowned simultaneously.
“Or I could meet you in the cafeteria?” Nyan amended, and Robert nodded. He could stop by his own desk and pick up those vitamins on the way.
Get any of your imminent Reuben sandwich on my books, Robert, and I will haunt you *forever,* Daniel grumbled as Nyan left. There was a pause as Robert looked at the skull one last time from the doorway. As he turned to leave, he could have sworn he heard a very quiet
Thanks for not giving up on me, old friend.