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bluflamingo.livejournal.com posting in sg_five_things Jun. 10th, 2009 06:09 pm)Five times John’s men were proud to have him as a CO
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Sunday June 21 (US time, ie one day earlier than usual) is the official due date. If you're posting a response after the unveiling announcement on June 21, please copy the link to your comment, click on the 'set 73' tag, and reply to the post 'Set 73 Responses Unscreened' with the link to your new comment-response. That helps people find and read and comment on responses that weren't there when they cruised through right after the reveal. Pimp the link in your journal, too, if you want to let your flist know you've posted something new.
Participation is open to all. If this is your own prompt, you're free to write to it (please do!). Post your list as a comment to this post, adding additional comments if you exceed the character limit. It's OK to post as Anonymous, then come out later or not as you choose. Responses will be screened until Sunday June 21 (US time, ie one day earlier than usual) to see what people come up with independently. You can still respond to the prompt after the June 21 unveiling.
General info and a place to ask questions: the comm 'welcome' post.
Technical-support questions: tech help.
Suggestions: the suggestion box.
To supply a new prompt: the open call for prompts.
Subject-line spoiler warnings for late-season SGA eps and the SG-1 movies, thanks!
Sunday June 21 (US time, ie one day earlier than usual) is the official due date. If you're posting a response after the unveiling announcement on June 21, please copy the link to your comment, click on the 'set 73' tag, and reply to the post 'Set 73 Responses Unscreened' with the link to your new comment-response. That helps people find and read and comment on responses that weren't there when they cruised through right after the reveal. Pimp the link in your journal, too, if you want to let your flist know you've posted something new.
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Many of them weren't impressed that John inherited the role of CO after Sumner was taken. He had a reputation - someone who couldn't obey orders shouldn't be in a position to be giving them. The fact that his first act as CO was to order a pointless suicide mission was only the icing on the cake. At least he wouldn't be CO for long.
And then the gate activated and their missing men came home.
It was a moment many of them played again in their minds later, when a mission went south, or an order seemed unreasonable, or life in the Pegasus Galaxy was that little bit more insane than usual. Their CO would walk into a Wraith Hive Ship for any one of them, and that knowledge did more to ensure their loyalty than anything else ever could.
2: Under siege
Too many of them had served under the kind of CO who sits behind a desk and gives orders, never risking his own life in the field despite asking his men to do so. Assignments such as those are the ones with the highest transfer rates, and often the highest casualty rates. Atlantis, however, is not one of those assignments.
An awed quiet falls over the marines in the jumper bay as their CO flies off on a suicide run, completely prepared to sacrifice his own life for a chance to save theirs. When the Wraith advance again they are grim, determined.
The least they can do is to ensure that he didn't die for nothing.
3: From a new perspective
Naturally there is tension when a new military contingent is stationed permanently on Atlantis to boost the numbers and replace those they have lost. But there is a lot less tension then there could have been. The new soldiers, fresh from the SGC, fit in and adapt to their new CO remarkably well. After all, most of them served under General O'Neill. Sheppard seems positively sane by comparison.
4: Exiled from home
There's a rumour going around the SGC that Atlantis' command staff have a plan. A statistically improbable number of marines on duty that day suffer from temporary and selective blindness.
They are of course terribly surprised when a Jumper is stolen.
5: In the face of hard choices
Sound carries in the corridors: half of Atlantis hears Sheppard go ballistic at McKay when replicators bring Elizabeth Weir back from the brink of death. Only a small security detail hears the initial refusal earlier, but word travels fast.
It's an easy principle to understand, that personal feelings and friendships must always be secondary to the greater good - especially for those in a command position. But it's a difficult one to follow. And everyone on the base silently asks themselves if they could have made the same decision.
Few come up with satisfactory answers.
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p.s. Jack will get ya. *eg*
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Jack can get whatever he likes *leer*From:
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Best parts:
Their CO would walk into a Wraith Hive Ship for any one of them, and that knowledge did more to ensure their loyalty than anything else ever could.
That's the part of Sheppard's personality I adore. It's what O'Neill too would do. And seeing that in a character is a surefire way to make me a loyal fan of any show.
After all, most of them served under General O'Neill. Sheppard seems positively sane by comparison.
*laughs* Don't know if that says something about O'Neill or Sheppard.
They are of course terribly surprised when a Jumper is stolen.
*This* one I adored. It seems oh so probable with our show, doesn't it? Hmm... wonder if there are any fanfics out there built on that premise...
In short: a wonderful little story that's viable to induce gushing in anyone, apparently :) Also, all of it sounds very much like right out of the show.
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Heh, you've managed to pick out most of my favourite parts. I do love playing with the similarities between John and Jack. And I really hope there are fics based on that premise. That would be awesome.
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I like, that the Marines know that John'll do everything possible and impossible to get them back, that they'll fight for him, that they turn blind for him... :)
Thank you!
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Five times John’s men were proud to have him as a CO
2. When he arranged for Sergeant Lubock, who’d lost his entire team off-world and nearly jumped from one of the city balconies two days later, to go back to Earth and into a couple months medical leave, complete with counseling appointments. It wasn’t so much that he did it as the way he did, so quietly that most people never questioned the medical leave explanation or connected the dots from losing his team to going home. The couple of people who did know agreed that Sheppard was a good guy, doing all that for someone he barely knew.
3. When he was the first person to stand up and say he was in a relationship with another man after DADT was repealed. A few of them agreed that they weren’t sure they needed to know about their CO’s romantic life, a few more exchanged looks of yeah, like that’s a surprise, but everyone agreed that it took guts to do that. Also made it a hell of a lot easier for anyone else who wanted to do the same thing, knowing that Sheppard had just more or less stated that Atlantis would be an environment of complete tolerance.
4. When he got trapped off-world with only Dr McKay for company for three months and didn’t kill him. Not like McKay wasn’t a stand-up guy when it came to saving the city, and clearly the colonel liked him well enough to have kept him on the same team for all those years, but the man took hypochondria and paranoia to the next level and then some. John’s men appreciated the restraint he must have shown for those three months.
5. When General O’Neill came out to Atlantis personally to promote John to full bird colonel. In a way, it wasn’t a big deal, since he had the time in and everyone knew he was the best CO Atlantis could ask for, but enough people knew bits of the colonel’s service history to know it hadn’t always been a sure thing he’d get that far. Also, he’d gone on enough deadly missions over the years that more than one of the people in the audience at his ceremony hadn’t been all that sure he’d *survive* as far as full-bird colonel.
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And #4 is hilarious, and captures the military perspective very well.
Yeah-I imagine them looking at McKay and Sheppard and going 'well, there must be *something* Sheppard likes about him' doubtfully.
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have you ever tried explaining what offside is? It's bloody difficult!
My knowledge of the offside rule is a combination of Bend It Like Beckham (something to do with the sea salt) and Full Monty (something to do with waving your arms around). I suspect I don't exactly have a full understanding of the concept!
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And not killing McKay shows rematkable restraint!
Especially when you're stuck with no-one but him and aren't sure you'll get home. I can see why there are so many stranded first times - it's the best way to shut him up!
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#4 - well, I love the stranded trope, but you've made me realize that every single one I've read has been Jack/Daniel. There must be a TON of Sheppard/McKay ones out there. And maybe it's time for a Cam Mitchell variation.... *kicks plot bunny viciously*
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#4 - well, I love the stranded trope, but you've made me realize that every single one I've read has been Jack/Daniel. There must be a TON of Sheppard/McKay ones out there. And maybe it's time for a Cam Mitchell variation.... *kicks plot bunny viciously*
There's definitely John/Rodney stranded fic (how else would you put up with Rodney?!), and I think there's a Cam/Teal'c one as well.
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#5: Yes, that's how I imagine it will happen. And it's only fitting, after all. :)
(But *scratches head* I have no idea what the deal with Americans and soccer is. From the cracks about it in shows and fanfic, you'd think it to be a complicated science, especially offside. It isn't that difficult to understand. Weird. Canadians seem perfectly all right with it.)
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Five times John's men were proud to have him as a CO (part 1)
Lance Corporal Sam Jacobson is a third-generation Marine. He has service ribbons from Iraq and Afghanistan and a Silver Star for something he doesn’t like to talk about, but all his experience hasn’t prepared him for Atlantis. Stranded in a dead city with water pressing in on all sides and every officer on the wrong side of the Stargate is not a good place to be.
At the end of the day, the city floats peacefully on the surface of a blue, blue ocean, but Colonel Sumner is reduced to memory and a pair of dog tags clutched tightly in Major Sheppard’s fist, and there are ancient life-sucking vampires in the spaces between stars, waiting. Sam can’t really say that things are looking up.
Some of the Marines blame Sheppard, don’t like the way he’s stepping in to take Sumner’s position. Sam sees the brittle weariness in Sheppard’s eyes and doesn’t know what he feels.
About fifteen crises and one Genii invasion later, the men have learned to trust Sheppard, to follow him with their eyes full of awe.
Sam is the same. He would do anything Sheppard asks of him, fight for him, die for him. But the first time he really feels that swell of pride that Sheppard is his CO isn’t when Sheppard proves he can use a sniper rifle without laser sighting or when he blows up a 10,000 year old Wraith. It’s when Sheppard and his team stumble back through the Stargate with twenty five refugees of a culling. Sheppard is lowering a wounded man gently to the gateroom floor, and the blood on his hands is from trying to save someone.
ii.
Sergeant Lisa Emmett loves Atlantis. She loves the wide open ocean and the Ancient database and going off-world. She also loves the hand-to-hand practice sessions Major Sheppard insists on.
Lisa enjoys the looks on the Marine’s faces when she wipes the mat with them. Six months on Atlantis and they still seem honestly surprised that a woman can knock them to the ground, can beat them at anything. She’s waiting for the day when she’ll see respect in their eyes instead of snapping anger or hot embarrassment.
Lisa arrives at the training rooms early for every session. Usually the rooms are empty and she can take a moment to stretch in peace. Today, however, there are sounds coming from the far arena; the hollow thunk produced by the impact of wood on wood. Curious, she creeps silently to the doorway.
Major Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan are facing off, a pair of wooden sticks in each of their hands. As Lisa watches, Sheppard brushes a trail of sweat from his forehead with a wrist and Teyla takes the opening to lunge forward. Sheppard brings the stick in his left hand around just in time to catch the blow from Teyla’s first swing, but her other arm comes around quick as a whip and smacks a stripe across his shoulder. Lisa winces in sympathy. Sheppard twists and strikes out, but Teyla dances around him gracefully and cuts his legs out from under him. He lands on his back with a quiet oof and Lisa watches for the spark of anger in his eyes.
Sheppard laughs, his eyes lit bright with pleasure. “Wait, show me that move again,” he says, taking Teyla’s hand to haul himself up. Teyla’s lips quirk in a smile and Sheppard quickly edits, “Slower.” Teyla laughs too and mimes the move on an invisible opponent.
Lisa has never loved Atlantis more than right this moment, watching Sheppard get beat up by Teyla with a pair of sticks and laugh.
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Five times John's men were proud to have him as a CO (part 2)
Lieutenant Leon Kappel is one of three German soldiers stationed on Atlantis. Atlantis may be an international venture, but the military is overwhelmingly American.
It doesn’t usually bother him. The Marines are well-trained and they perform their duties admirably. And it’s not that they’re hostile, or even unfriendly. It’s just that they have this sense of community that Leon is outside of. Sometimes they look at the flag patch on his left arm, and when they see black, red and yellow instead of red, white and blue, something about them feels far away, dismissive.
Leon shrugs it off. Kein problem.
Still, when his gateteam is assigned to a mission with Colonel Sheppard’s team, it feels like a chance to prove himself. He’s gearing up in the ready-room when Sheppard strolls in, nodding in greeting.
Sheppard has never given Leon the kind of accidental indifference the Marines have. In fact, the colonel has always seemed to watch him more, a touch of worry in his eyes. Leon isn’t sure what to think of that, whether to be defensive or pleased. It depends on motivations that he has not been able to determine.
“You doing okay, Lieutenant?” Sheppard asks casually, and he might mean it any number of ways. Ready for the mission? Liking your posting? Fitting in?
“Yes, sir,” Leon replies, because he is mostly doing okay with all of those things.
Sheppard looks at him carefully, and as he shrugs on his BDU jacket, he very deliberately removes his American flag patch before his Atlantis one.
Leon feels something inside himself warm and salutes, can’t not. Sheppard gives him a crooked smile and salutes back.
iv.
Warrant Officer Christopher Adams works in the control room. It’s a lot of data analysis and hurry-up-and-wait passing the time between Stargate activations, but Chris likes it.
He’s less thrilled with his supervisor, Dr. Waters, who is convinced that the military should stick to shooting guns and leave the ‘real science’ to people who spent ten years in grad school. So Chris is a little viciously pleased when something sparks at Waters’s station and he lets out a curse.
Colonel Sheppard is just coming out of Dr. Weir’s office, and he makes a detour over to see what’s wrong.
“I don’t think I can really explain it to you, colonel,” Waters says condescendingly.
“Naw, that’s okay. I think I get it,” Sheppard replies, gazing at the data on the laptop screen. Waters looks at him doubtfully. “You fried the system because you used a recursive algorithm instead of a deterministic one.” Sheppard gives a smile full of teeth. “You should probably rewire the circuit board and write a new algorithm, shouldn’t you?” he asks, all false charm.
“Y-yes,” Waters squeaks, looking horrified and embarrassed and impressed all at once. Chris beams at Sheppard.
Sheppard shrugs, hidden amusement in his eyes, and strolls away with a loose, easy gait. Chris knows Waters will glare at him and give him night shifts for a month, but he can’t hold in the laugh.
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Leon feels something inside himself warm and salutes, can’t not. Sheppard gives him a crooked smile and salutes back.
*happy sigh* I adore this especially. Yes, yes, not all the military are American! It's an international expedition, and there are military from around the world, as well as scientists. I'm so glad someone remembers them :)
And #4, because yes, the SGC military aren't just grunts with guns. They are smart and capable and have been working with alien technology longer than the Atlantis scientists have. Just because they didn't spend their adult lives in universities doesn't mean they aren't highly intelligent and good at science.
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Five times John's men were proud to have him as a CO (part 3)
Major Evan Lorne has a secret hidey-hole in Atlantis that he likes to escape to when the endless drag of paperwork gets to be too much or Parrish gets it into his head that they should go back to the planet of the human-size Venus Flytraps for “-just one more specimen, Major, please.” It’s a balcony high up in one of the empty buildings lining the West Pier. He likes to watch the sun set, to smear red and gold paint across a clean white canvas and know he’ll never be able to capture the beauty.
Today, the ordinary calm stillness of his sanctuary is cut by the hum of a puddlejumper, but Lorne doesn’t mind. The ship skims gently along the surface of the ocean like a skipping stone before making several smooth flips and shooting off into the horizon.
Lorne can tell it’s Sheppard flying. He’s flown with a lot of pilots, but he can say without reserve that Sheppard is one of the very best. Sheppard flies like the jumper is a piece of himself, like poetry through motion.
Lorne doesn’t think the Marines really understand that. To them a pilot is a pilot is a pilot, although they’d probably be able to see the difference if they ever saw Sheppard flying side by side with an ordinary Air Force pilot. Lorne understands the difference instinctively.
“That was some nice flying today, sir,” Lorne says admiringly over dinner, and Sheppard smiles, bright and solid with joy. Lorne feels it like the press of Sheppard’s hand against his shoulder.
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I like #3 a lot. "We're all in this together."
And #2 says a lot about John. *loves*
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Personally, I especially loved #4. It *so* is something he'd have done deliberately. :)
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WELL DONE!!
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