sg_five_things | Prompt 64.01

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Prompt 64.01

Five times an SGC general almost quit (other than being blackmailed) because s/he just couldn’t handle these people any more

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1. He’s had tough commands, and weird commands, and he expected the SGC to come with copious amounts of both. He’s heard about Ancient devices, people coming back from the dead, people getting cloned, getting de-aged, meeting their doubles, getting stuck in time loops. He figured he was, if not prepared for anything, at least ready for the prospect of anything.

Then he looked back on his first week in command, in which various combinations of two members of the SGC’s premier team, the new guy, and an alien in leather: fought a holographic knight underground, made a race of powerful beings aware of Earth’s existence, came back to life after being burned alive, and then lead a scavenger hunt across the galaxy.

Suddenly, even ‘ready for the prospect of anything’ seemed like a wildly over-optimistic outlook.

*

2. SG-8 is known primarily for being the sane, normal, work-horse team. They may not be flashy, they may not stage daring rescues or bring home exciting toys, but they do the job and their missions never end with Hank having to explain away anything weird to the IOA.

Which is why he’s not especially pleased to be called down to the gate-room and find it filled with small, purple, fuzzy animals. He’s even less pleased to discover that their spit – and oh, do they spit – is an aphrodisiac. Actually, he could even deal with that, except that he has a gate-room full of guards who are now half-naked and frolicking amongst the small, fuzzy, purple animals. And SG-8.

When SG-8, previous most notable mission the time one of them was bitten by an iguana, is involved in alien animal derived sex acts, it’s definitely time to start thinking about retirement.

*

3. Hank has mixed feelings about Atlantis – the city, the existence of the expedition, the people who are out there. But they’re in a whole other galaxy, and content to be a law unto themselves, and he’s got enough to deal with with his own people, so he mostly doesn’t think about them too much.

Until they’re all pouring back into his gate-room, loaded down with bags, looking bewildered, some of them in tears, and probably tracking in muddy footprints to boot, all within 48 hours of someone mentioning they were coming. And they’ll need jobs, and somewhere to live, and chance to sort out all their stuff from the Daedalus, and, sure, they usually get glowing evaluations, but Hank does not need 200 people in his base, however brilliant or genetically enhanced they might be.

Not that he couldn’t handle them of course; it’s what he’s paid for, even if he doesn’t have a lot of marines. But in the two minutes it takes him to get down to the gate-room, Sheppard and Lorne are up on the ramp, directing traffic and giving orders, and people are going, even the scientists. Hank’s never been able to get a scientist to follow orders, not even the ones who are military geeks.

He doesn’t think about quitting – he’s still Sheppard’s superior, whatever anyone else might like to think – but he does think, for a second, that he’s glad he’s the one with the power to send them away.

4. Hank’s used to the idea that gossip gets around a base almost before the event being gossiped about has happened, it’s the nature of life in a small community, and made worse by being in a small, classified community. He’d prefer it not be about him and his daughter and how they’ve mostly patched up their difference since he nearly died from the prior plague, but there it is, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

Within a month, though, he’s heard four different airmen and five different scientists (one of them a woman) wonder about the ethics of asking out Carolyn, as she’s his daughter. He’s also witnessed two different people (one of them, again, a woman) actually ask her out (and seen his daughter accept the woman’s offer, which is something he hadn’t known about her, and is still trying to pretend he doesn’t know while he waits for her to tell him). He’s also heard about one young airman try to follow her into the showers, but that was an official report, made by a very pissed off Colonel Mitchell when he caught the man, which was swiftly followed by the airman getting reassigned to guard the weapons chair in Antarctica.

He hasn’t ever spent this much time worrying about his daughter’s love life, for all that he knows she can take care of herself. That’s not what’s bothering him, though; what’s bothering him is that, every time he hears one of his people wonder if Carolyn would go for it, he wants to haul the person into his office and tell them to stay the hell away from his child, they’re not good enough for her.

He doesn’t think it’s a bad sign that he thinks no-one’s good enough for Carolyn; he’s less sure it’s not a bad sign that he doesn’t think these specific people are good enough for her, not when they’re supposed to be the best and the brightest, and it’s a worry that drives him to seriously consider whether he wouldn’t be better elsewhere.

*

5. SG1 defeat the Ori, the Tok’ra de-snake Ba’al and Atlantis drops in to defeat the Wraith, and life is quiet for, oh, a good two weeks. Then SG-3 stumble upon a race called the Noones, who were exiled from their planet centuries ago by the Tok’ra, who someone accidentally lets slip work with the Tau’ri sometimes, and they’re right back in the middle of a galactic war all over again.

The only person surprised when Hank has a heart attack in the gate room is Hank himself.

He ends up taking a month out on medical leave, leaving Carter, Mitchell and Davies in a kind of triumvirate charge, since all three of them have other duties which can’t be abandoned.

Everyone’s welcoming and happy to see him when he finally goes back. The three of them debrief him about everything (including the defeat of the Noones via Jackson and Teal’c persuading them into a treaty of non-aggression) in mind-numbing detail, and Carter and Davies leave to go back to what they should be doing.

It takes him a week to realize why his workload seems so much lighter than it did before, when he finds Mitchell, Jackson and Teal’c leading the newly formed SG-25 through a pre-mission briefing, Vala sitting with SG-25 because she is, apparently, going along as a kind of mentor. Mitchell starts guiltily when Hank walks in, but the rest of them just look at him, defiant beneath expressions forced into blankness.

“If you want to take over…” Mitchell says hesitantly, and Hank takes a good look at the people lined up behind him.

“No, carry on,” he says, walking out, and goes back to his office to look again at the retirement paperwork. Because he might not be able to call it mutiny, really, but he can sure as hell see that something shifted while he was gone, and he’s not at all convinced he can shift it back again.

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.

What he couldn’t possibly know was that Walter had plans of his own.

Ooh, now I'm really curious...

Hahaha. #2 is hilarious. I always love the possibilities of other gateteams getting into weird trouble too.

#3 is my favorite. I love Sheppard and Lorne being capable and awesome and how they have such a good rapport with the scientists :)

#5 awwwwwwwww, that made me sad

I <3 Hammond so much! Nice 5.

Insightful, all of them. Walter? Plans? Hmmmm... And General Hammond is always a man of honor.

Love it, the whole thing. Esp. John and Lorne just taking charge of their people and being obeyed without question. Beautiful.

Me too!

Oh, Jack. Oh, George. Tug on my heartstrings. ::sigh::

Walter's keeping his plans a secret for now... *g*

George is the greatest.

You think Walter's going to tell me his plans? Nh-uh.

;-)

Walter's playing his cards close to the vest at the moment....

Thank you! George earned all the love we give him. :-)

There are victories, but they come at such a cost, and the man in charge takes the responsibility for both.

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.

That one resonated profoundly, thank you.

Oh, these are great! Jack's reasons, especially are so very in-character, because that's exactly what he would find frustrating. And I love West's determination that there will be no more scientists.

Walter ran the SGC, not the generals.

#5 is sad, but my favourite.

Now I want more stories about the Noones, though!

I'm so glad you liked that part. I tried to find the right words to express what I was feeling. :-)

Jack's frustrations were many - and canon!

For West, it was just one scientist too many.

There's very little doubt about it! *g*

It's interesting, the order you put these in, because to me George is first, last, and always THE General of the SGC.

Thanks!

Turns out SG1 are kind of scary when they get to be in charge for a while...

Esp. John and Lorne just taking charge of their people and being obeyed without question

John and Lorne so have their people wrapped around their little fingers, and probably don't even really realise it.

Thanks!

I always love the possibilities of other gateteams getting into weird trouble too

It can't *all* be happening to SG1 - which is possibly more worrying than thinking that it is.

I simply saved the best for last! And the other four I did in the order that they occurred to me - funny that Landry didn't immediately leap to mind, lol.

3 is brilliant. Landry's gotta know that people follow him out of respect for the chain of command, and not any personal loyalty or magnetism like Sheppard has and Hammond had.

Perfect snippets here, and the Hammond one almost broke my heart.

Thank you very much. :-)

Nice picture of a man who tries his best but just can't win.

And a nice picture of small fuzzy purple animals and the chaos that they bring! LOL

Thanks!

And a nice picture of small fuzzy purple animals and the chaos that they bring!

Rule #1 of the SGC: if it looks small, cute and harmless, avoid it like the plague!

Thanks! I kind of feel for Landry after writing that, with the SGC being full of people who inspire insane levels of loyalty just for being them.

for #3 Until they’re all pouring back into his gate-room, loaded down with bags, looking bewildered, some of them in tears, and probably tracking in muddy footprints to boot,

i like that last part. landry thinking; "we just cleaned in here!"

landry thinking; "we just cleaned in here!"

Yeah - if the entire expedition is going to come back and cause chaos, they could at least do it without making a mess :o)

Oh, gosh, the General Hammond one... *tear*

I know. Me, too. *loves George so much*

Oh, poor Landry. He'll get used to it, though.

Yay Hammond.

Thanks!

I think it's either get used to it or quit, and he doesn't want to give them the satisfaction.

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Prompt 64.01

Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

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Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

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Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times an SGC general almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more

Re: Five times General Landry almost quit because he just couldn’t handle these people any more