Archiving some Gen Five Things
May. 27th, 2009 07:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidUnder the cut you will find: Five things Daniel would go back in time to fix, if he could; Five odd jobs Jack had as a teenager, and how the experiences came in handy when he was on SG-1; Four ways the team has changed, and one way they haven't; Five ways Oma thought about Descending Daniel; Five times Sam was girly; Five tags Walter uses that aren't exactly military issue (and what he uses them for); Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn't handle these people any more; Five memos Jack never read.
Five things Daniel would go back in time to fix, if he could
1. His parents would live. His childhood would be untouched by tragedy, his youth would be a time of shared accomplishments, and his adulthood would still contain healthy, vital, loving parents.
2. He would save Jack’s son. Charlie should never have died; Jack should never have been scarred so deeply; Sara should never have lost both child and husband. He would restore their family, and their happiness.
3. He would save Sha’re. If he could. But he’s not sure what the right answer is, how to accomplish that. Leaving the Stargate on Abydos buried would accomplish little, since Apophis could still come by ship. He could bring her to Earth. Or never travel through the wormhole to meet her at all. Either decision would establish an alternate universe where things might work out differently for her. She should have had so much more living yet to do.
4. He wouldn’t stay away from Kelowna, but he’d approach it differently. With an entire population at risk, he couldn’t simply avoid the planet altogether just to protect himself. He’d get to that lab right away, and he’d have Sam with him. She’d see the potential dangers and the suicidally inadequate precautions being taken. Together they’d find a way to stop the testing. And Daniel would get back a year of his life and his friends would be spared some grief. Most of his Ascended memories are lost to him, but he remembers their grief as if it had been his own.
5. He would never use the Ancient communication device or allow anyone else to use it. They would never visit the Ori galaxy and draw the Ori’s attention to their own galaxy. Yes, the Ori might still find them one day, but hopefully it would be far enough in the future that it wouldn’t be Daniel’s problem. Sometimes he gets tired of fighting, that’s all.
~~
Five odd jobs Jack had as a teenager, and how the experiences came in handy when he was on SG-1
1. Car wash attendant. He learned the importance of paying attention to the small details, because a few extra minutes time spent and a couple of nice shiny mirrors could get him a good-sized tip. Or save a few lives.
2. Pizza delivery boy. He learned about pre-planning. Know your terrain, plan your route, have more than one back-up plan in place. Beat the clock and get a good-sized tip. Get your people back through the ‘gate before the iris closes forever.
3. Lawn mowing service. Show up on schedule, be polite, do a good job, ask if there’s anything else you can do for the customer. Help move the couch or take the dog for a walk or carry in the groceries. Get a good-sized tip and good word-of-mouth in the neighborhood. Or the galaxy.
4. Paper boy. Be prompt, be efficient. No wasted movements, but it was never a waste to make sure that the newspaper actually landed on the porch instead of in the rose bushes. A direct look into the eyes of a customer who was saying, “I’m low on cash; I’ll get you next week,” when you came around to collect often got you what you were entitled to, and sometimes even a good-sized tip, even if they had to raid Suzie’s/Sonny’s piggy bank. Jack has no problem with shaming or intimidating people into doing what he needs them to do. The mission comes first.
5. Snow shoveling service. Very big in Minnesota. Jack learned the value of teamwork by going into partnership with a younger kid who lived across the street. It’s an older neighborhood that they live in. Only a couple of houses with driveways. Mostly what garages there are detached and set back by the alleyway. The city plows the streets and alleys and whether you’re parked at the curb or in your garage you’re stuck pretty good.
Most folks would just as soon do their own shoveling, health permitting. Minnesotans are tough that way. Just the same, sometimes it seems like every boy in town, and some of the girls, too, are out there ringing doorbells as soon as the snow stops flying. “Shovel your sidewalk?” Jack and Larry have clients. Larry takes the alleys and Jack takes the curbs and the homeowners are out there taking care of the sidewalk, and it’s hard work but it’s kind of fun.
And there’s hot cocoa on offer lots of times, or warm cider maybe, as Jack stands in somebody’s front hallway catching his breath and thawing out his feet, the agreed-upon fee in his pocket and usually a good-sized tip, too. If he looks out the front door he might see Larry moving between houses or going in or out of a front door. Larry’s strong and reliable and good with people, and honest with money. Later they’ll sprawl on his bedroom floor with the client list and a piece of paper and a pencil and they’ll count up the money and divide it up. It’s always a lot more than Jack could’ve earned on his own.
Teamwork. Can’t beat it.
~~
Four ways the team has changed, and one way they haven't
1. They’ve gotten older. Especially Teal’c. And, on rainy mornings when his knees ache, Jack.
2. Personnel have come and gone. Hairstyles, likewise.
3. They’ve faced death too many times to be the same people they once were. Faced it, experienced it, come back from it. They know it’s not normal to be so intimately acquainted with what most people consider to be the last great mystery. They know they’re not normal. They’ve stopped worrying about it. Mostly.
4. Not much surprises them any more. Life used to be full of surprises. Mostly unpleasant ones, sure, but at least it was stimulating. Alternate realities once came as a shock. The Asgard were a myth come to life. Learning about the Ancients was like reading a slowly unfolding story that turned out to have a crappily written ending. They’re still hoping to re-write that, but they won’t be surprised if they fail. Not much surprises them any more.
They still save the planet. That doesn’t change. That never gets old. That keeps them going. When they get tired, when they want to give up, they look at each other and remember who they’re fighting for, and why. Their devotion to duty and to each other will never alter. Not while there’s still breath in their bodies. Not even beyond.
~~
Five ways Oma thought about Descending Daniel
1. She thought about letting him keep the memories from the time before he Ascended, but that would have meant that the last thing he remembered was dying a hideous, painful death. He’d let her down, but she wouldn’t do that to him. Oma isn’t spiteful.
2. She thought about letting him keep the memories from his time as an Ascended being. The Others would hate that. If she could’ve been absolutely certain that they wouldn’t harm Daniel in some way, she might have done it. Oma can be a little spiteful.
3. She thought about being at his side when he awoke, to calm his fears. Finding himself alone, naked, without any memory of who or where he was… she didn’t want Daniel to be frightened. But her presence could only be confusing, and, unless she planned on answering his questions, frustrating. He’d be better off without her. Oma can be wise.
4. She thought about repairing his eyesight. She doesn’t think he would mind. It would have been such a small thing, a lagniappe. But she thinks he really does look better with the glasses. Oma can be shallow.
5. She thought about just giving him back to his friends, but she had to make a show for the Others. Her work was in jeopardy, and she couldn’t just turn her back on all the others who needed her help to Ascend for the sake of one individual. So she decided to Descend him onto a planet where he would be among good people who would take care of him. There were many to choose from. She just happened to choose one that SG-1 was scheduled to visit in the near future. Oma can be sneaky.
~~
Five times Sam was girly
When she shopped in the bazaar on P4Y-225. Silken jewel-toned scarves and jangly bracelets and sweet-smelling bath salts, all available under the terms of the new reciprocal trade agreement, all subject to scrutiny and rejection by the team at the SGC laboratory who would determine whether the fabrics and metals and chemicals could be allowed off base. Sam let herself dream for a while, and then settled for an unscented hand lotion and some clear lip gloss. She could keep those in her lab if they failed to pass the test, and use them on base.
When she met Darimel of the Veriye. Taller than Teal’c, with a voice that resonated somewhere deep in her chest. He had a stern face, but his eyes smiled, at all of them, but, she thought, especially at her. She found herself touching her hair and wetting her lips and looking up at him through her eyelashes. She was still floating on a fluffy pink cloud when General Hammond had to address her three times during the debrief.
When Janet came over and they drank Riesling with Thai take-out and did each other’s nails and watched movies like Thelma and Louise and Fried Green Tomatoes and talked about everything and nothing.
When she played dolls with Cassie. Oh, how they giggled. When Cassie announced that she was too old to play with dolls, Sam said, “Oh, me too!”, and they played for another year and a half.
When she took a quarterly ‘Spa Day’ and let herself be pampered and pummeled and painted and soaked and steamed and spoiled rotten. She’d go home with every skin cell glowing and a bag of goodies clutched in her hand and a curve to her lips that would take at least three days or an imminent Goa’uld invasion to disappear.
~~
Five tags Walter uses that aren't exactly military issue (and what he uses them for.)
Aliens Made Them Do It
Armbands; brainwashing by Apophis; sarcophagus addiction; Ancient database in the brain; Urgo.
Also, CLASSIFIED, which is where Walter hides the really juicy stuff.
Expenditures: Alien, allies
Examples: taking Jacob Carter out for a bang-up steak dinner with all the trimmings; loading Jonas up with a supply of his favorite foodstuffs when he comes by for a visit; paying Sam’s credit card bill after Orlin built a Stargate in her basement.
Expenditures: Alien, other
Examples: outrageous cost of feeding Nerus; costs of housing, feeding and providing medical care to Nirrti, Cronus and Yu; costs of medical care to revive and excessive ammunition to bring down Khalek.
killed in the line of duty, Temporarily
Examples: All of SG-1 save Teal’c on the Nox planet; Colonel O’Neill at the hands of Ba’al, (best estimate as to number of occurrences); Sam zatted twice by Jack while possessed by an alien entity.
Walter thinks that it’s important that people at least receive Purple Hearts for temporarily losing their lives.
MIA, assumed Ascended
There is only one sub-category, of course. And Walter closes his eyes and says a quick prayer every time he uses this tag.
So far, so good.
~~
Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more
General Bauer wanted to quit because he couldn’t handle these people being right. Of course it would have looked pretty bad on his record if he’d quit in the middle of a radioactive crisis brought about by his not listening to ‘these people’, or even in the immediate aftermath, so he decided to suck it up and hang in there. Fortunately for everyone, the decision was taken out of his hands when Hammond was reinstated.
General O’Neill almost quit because he couldn’t handle these people putting their lives on the line, under his orders, while he sat behind a desk and initialed requisitions for toilet paper and Yukon Gold potatoes. He couldn’t handle these people all looking to him for the answers, when half the time he couldn’t understand the question. He couldn’t handle these people having new, shiny, young faces, or faces made prematurely old, like the one he’d begun seeing in the mirror, thin and drawn, eyes full of doubt and anxiety.
General West almost quit because he couldn’t handle scientists any more. Cover stone, hieroglyphs, Giza. He was sick of those words and sick to death of the people who continuously spouted them. Doctor Jackson had nearly been the last straw. But then he’d turned out to be the program’s salvation as well. Except now Jackson was dead on some alien world and the program had crashed to a halt with the destruction of the other Stargate. Now all the General could do was wait to see if Washington considered the program a success or a failure, and whether he would earn another star or be asked to resign his commission. One way or another, he was determined: no more scientists.
General Landry almost quit because he couldn’t handle Walter. What he couldn’t possibly know was that Walter was on the brink of quitting because he couldn’t handle working for a general who wasn’t named Hammond or O’Neill. But once Walter got past that, he became an asset to Landry. Such an enormous asset that it got to the point that Landry secretly resolved that if he ever had to leave this place, he would find a way to take Walter with him. What he couldn’t possibly know was that Walter had plans of his own.
George Hammond almost quit because he couldn’t handle these people dying. Because he couldn’t handle writing letters to their families, couldn’t handle widows and small children, and mothers being brave and fathers breaking down with grief. He’d walk into the Gateroom and think he could still smell the flowers from the last memorial service. But he stayed, because the living still needed him, and maybe the dead hadn’t stopped needing him. He stayed to honor and serve them all.
~~
Five memos Jack never read
The one where Daniel, quite politely, asked him if there was some sort of problem with his reports. Was Jack not receiving them in a timely manner? Some people read more quickly than others. Was the font size troublesome? Eyesight can deteriorate over time, perhaps Jack should have that looked into.
The one where Daniel asked him, none too politely, to at least skim through his reports before they went into a briefing, because he was tired of having to stop in the middle of a sentence, numberless times, to answer Jack’s inane questions that would have been unnecessary if Jack would at the very least bother to skim through his reports; and was that really too much to ask?
The one where Daniel advised him that in future he would be attaching a bullet point summary to each report that he sent to Jack; one using very small words that a child of meager understanding could understand, and if Jack needed help finding such a child to help him interpret these documents Daniel would be more than happy to oblige. Anything for his Commanding Officer. The words ‘commanding officer’ were underlined, italicized and bolded in such a way that even a Commanding Officer of meager understanding would have perceived the sarcasm. If he had bothered to read the memo.
The memo from Sam that contained the information, hidden in extremely formal and round-about terminology, that one of Colonel O’Neill’s team members was a trifle unhappy and that something perhaps needed to be done before said team member… here the language grew so vague that it was unclear exactly what action she was fearing on the part of this unnamed team member.
The memo Teal’c sent was much more to the point:
O’Neill. I believe that your life is in danger.
Jack really, really should have read that one.
(no subject)
Date: May. 28th, 2009 08:08 pm (UTC)Aliens Made Them Do It -- CLASSIFIED, which is where Walter hides the really juicy stuff. Mwahahahahaha!
(no subject)
Date: May. 29th, 2009 02:07 am (UTC)And totally gets off on reading and re-reading the Classifieds. ;-)
This is a case where it is very polite to point! *beams*