Fic: Who Wouldn't Want a Light Sabre for Christmas? (Gen, G)
Title: Who Wouldn't Want a Light Sabre for Christmas?
Author: cimera
Recipient: cat_77
Pairing: Gen, mostly…John and Rodney may be making eyes at each other :)
Rating: G
Summary: The team arrives on a new planet, just in time for an exciting contest of manly skills, including tossing coins, taking naps and running from princesses.
*
When the team arrived on C4X-E13 they were greeted by a bored looking young man sitting at a table in the field surrounding the Stargate.
"Sign up's over here," he called to them and waved his hand a bit impatiently when the four of them seemed inclined to just stand and stare.
Rodney looked at John, Ronon looked at John and John looked at Teyla. She seemed to barely resist rolling her eyes, but started walking to the table. John hurried to walk abreast of her, Ronon followed, keeping an eye out for hidden dangers and Rodney pulled out his scanner to consult as he walked.
They reached the table, but before Teyla could begin her 'we're peaceful traders' speech the man thrust a roll of paper and what appeared to be a quill into her hands.
"We need the name of your champion, planet or other territory of origin, what contests he's wanting to fight in and the names of everyone in his party," he intoned, sounding as though he had said the same thing so many times that he wasn't even paying attention.
Teyla took a breath and John could tell she was about to launch into the 'peaceful traders' speech anyway, but now he was intrigued and decided to hurry things along a bit.
"We have no idea what you're talking about," John said, trying for a friendly, but serious, tone. He took off his glasses to look the man in the eye.
"You mean you're not here for the Tournament?"
****
Twenty minutes later John and Ronon were engaged in a Rock, Paper, Scissors battle to determine which of them would represent Atlantis in the Tournament, while Rodney and Teyla looked on, both with their arms crossed and scowls on their faces.
"I think it is ridiculous," Teyla said quietly, "that they do not allow women to participate in their fighting contests."
"Yeah," Rodney said distractedly, and then seemed to recognise an opportunity for his own complaints. "And, this is a huge waste of time. We need to find out if these people have anything useful for trading, like, say, a ZPM and if not, I could get back to my lab where I have lots of important work I could be doing."
Teyla nodded her head, though she knew Rodney needed no encouragement, or even evidence that anyone was listening to him.
"It's so ridiculously juvenile and barbaric," Rodney continued, while John and Ronon switched to arm wrestling on the Tournament sign-up table. "I'd like to see the planet where they have a tournament of science! All the top minds of the galaxy would compete, and when I won there could be a huge feast. Hey, don't you think it's probably almost lunch time?"
Teyla smiled, "I think it's time we did something about those two, or they'll continue challenging each other to tests of manly prowess all day."
Ronon and John now appeared to be engaged in a staring contest and it took Teyla and Rodney several tries to get their attention.
"That one doesn't count," John said quickly. Ronon only raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps you should try something else," Teyla suggested.
"Something that won't take all afternoon," Rodney added.
"What was that thing with the coin you told me about, Colonel?"
****
Of course John had an American quarter, stuck in one of the many pockets of his tac vest. Rodney asked if it was his lucky charm, to which John merely snorted and didn't say anything.
Around this time someone else came through the Stargate, a large, steely-eyed man actually wearing a sword and with him a reedy young man leading what could be considered a horse, if that horse were in disguise as a long-legged cow. The animal had shaggy hair and several pack bags slung over its shoulders.
No words were exchanged, though Teyla managed to convey that the newcomers should feel free to sign in at the table and pay no attention to her annoying friends, as John was demonstrating to Ronon how to flip the coin off his elbow and then catch it, while Rodney was bent over laughing at the number of times John had dropped the coin.
The thinner man did the writing and also handed over some sort of decal which Ambo, the man at the table, tossed into a basket by his feet. Then the two men and the strange animal took off in the direction of some nearby foothills, presumably where the Tournament was.
John and Ronon finally managed to complete a successful coin toss, though, for fairness, Rodney had to do the actual tossing, and John was declared the winner, and therefore champion of Atlantis.
Ronon didn't seem particularly disappointed, though Rodney surmised that with the team's usual track record on new planets there was a good chance they'd all have to do some fighting before long anyway.
John asked Ambo to sign him up for whichever contests required the least specialised equipment, since they didn't have any.
"You realise you've probably just agreed to take part in a spitting contest and or some sort of nude wrestling," Rodney asked snidely while John dug into his pockets again to find his Pegasus arm patch.
Teyla seemed to find this funny, maybe her people actually practised nude wrestling, but John merely smirked. That ridiculously annoying smirk that made Rodney roll his eyes.
When they were done Ambo pointed them in the right direction, and warned them that lodgings would be scarce so they should take what they could get as soon as possible.
****
Even Rodney was impressed by the turreted castle and quaint village they came upon after a short walk.
"Well, I guess if there was going to be a medieval tournament it would have to be here in a medieval castle," Rodney said as they approached a huge set of gates in a wall surrounding the castle.
"I don't know about medieval," Teyla replied, "But this is the nicest castle I've ever seen."
Ronon grunted something that may have been agreement, while John seemed distracted as they passed several men who appeared to be Tournament entrants, all carrying swords.
"I think I need a sword," he told the team.
"You don't need a sword, because you're not doing any sword fighting," Rodney replied,"and what we need is to find a place to stay."
"Rodney is right," Teyla added, "Let's try over there."
John scowled, "You guys just don't want me to have any fun,"
****
They took a tiny room at the first place they could find with one available, mostly because it was the sixth public house they had tried and at each one they were laughed at when they asked about two rooms.
The space wasn't that small really, but it had a low enough ceiling that they were all feeling the need to hunch over a bit. There was a bed, a low wooden table and a stand with a rough hewn pottery jug and bowl.
One of the employees brought them a huge armful of extra bedding while Rodney started listing the reasons why he should have the bed.
"We can take turns," John pronounced.
"Or we can share," Teyla said with a laugh.
Rodney scowled and then insisted that there was no way they were staying in a Monty Python theme park more than one night.
This was followed by John and Rodney attempting to explain Monty Python to Teyla while Ronon settled himself on the bed, which only barely fit him, and looked as though he was taking a nap.
Sometime later the conversation had moved through Indiana Jones and on to Star Wars, and Ronon seemed to be fast asleep, when a great ringing of bells shook through the room. It sounded like the call to something, so they headed outside. There, everyone else seemed to be walking in the same direction, toward the castle proper. Teyla stopped someone to ask for information and they found out that the Tournament was starting.
"I guess we got here just in time," John grinned and put on his sunglasses as they started following the crowd.
At yet another gate they noticed the villagers turning to the left and men with swords going right. This time, for information, they asked a man in a blue and silver tunic who was carrying a pike.
After they confirmed that John was an entrant and that he actually did have three attendants, the guard directed them to a staging area where a pompous man in a feathered hat seemed to be overseeing the logistics of what Rodney estimated to be approximately one hundred contestants.
Teyla noticed that she was the only woman among the attendants and starting handing out her best glare to anyone who got too close to her personal space.
Ronon seemed to notice as well and growled a few times at men who came too close, before Teyla gave him an elbow in the ribs and he toned it down to simply adopting his most threatening demeanour.
Rodney had pulled out his scanner once again and was tapping away at the screen obliviously. John still seemed a bit high on the idea that he was going to fight in a tournament and was smirking at anyone who glanced in his direction. When the pompous man referred to the contestants as knights, John manfully nudged Rodney and said in an excited whisper, "Rodney, we're knights!"
Rodney wasn't listening, or he may have disrupted the entire proceedings to tell John, once again, how ridiculous the entire Tournament, let alone the idea of John as a knight, was.
"The King will be arriving momentarily," the pompous man announced, "so, could all the Knights make their way to the battle field, and the attendants to the gallery until you're needed."
John actually gave a little wave as he headed off with the other 'Knights'. Rodney appeared to be even more preoccupied by his scanner, but followed Teyla when she took his elbow.
The three of them found seats on one of the lower levels of wooden benches surrounding the large oval Tournament field. The hard-packed dirt ground and the low barricade set up around the entire perimeter completed the structure. The Knights were standing in loose rows facing an area where instead of wooden bleachers there was a canopy covering three ornate chairs.
"I'm getting some readings of odd energy spikes," Rodney said. He looked up and only then realised they were actually at the Tournament.
"Perhaps we should investigate further once the Tournament has concluded for the day," Teyla suggested.
"I've seen similar readings in places where there's Ancient tech, of various levels of usefulness," Rodney replied. "Of course, since we've got the all important jousting to look forward to, I guess the science and possible trade will have to wait!"
Teyla just smiled indulgently, but Ronon said, "He might win something."
"Unless it's a ZPM, I think we'd be better off just arranging a meeting with this King, or a trade minister or whoever they have for that sort thing. Who knows, they could be using some pieces of Ancient technology as a sculpture," Rodney answered
Just then there sounded a fanfare of trumpets and a very old man walked onto the battle field. His hair was completely white and he walked slowly and just slightly hunched over. But he was dressed in opulent clothes and wearing a crown. He was followed by several armed guards, and a much younger woman, wearing a beautiful dress and a smaller crown. One of the guards escorted her to the canopied area, where she sat down and promptly looked incredibly bored.
The man, the King, stood beside the man in the feathered hat, who announced that the King would greet all those Knights who were new to the Tournament. The crowd clapped politely at this, it sounded as though this was a tradition they'd been through many times before.
More than half the Knights ambled back to the staging area so that John was left with about twenty other men. They formed a line easily and then filed slowly past the King so he could shake each of their hands.
The guards stayed close by the King's side and Teyla thought it looked as though one of them might be helping the older man to stay standing. "The King seems to be ill," she said quietly.
Not quietly enough, as the woman beside her leaned over slightly to talk to them. "They say his health has been failing since the Court Magician died. There's been no one else born with the gift of magic to take his place, so there's little hope for anyone who's sick, even the King."
Rodney would certainly have said something then, but suddenly there was a great gasp from the crowd and then an excited murmur of chatter swept through the stands. They looked up to see that it was John who had just shaken the King's hand, of course, and the large pendant the King wore around his neck had started glowing.
Perhaps assuming that they might need to make a quick getaway the team were on their feet and making their way to the bottom of the bleachers when they realised the crowd had started clapping and cheering happily. Even the princess looked interested in what was going on.
The King was hugging John and the guards were smiling and clapping each other on the backs.
"Oh, this can't be good," Rodney predicted.
****
So, the recently deceased Court Magician, Burson, had possessed the Ancient gene and apparently used it to do all sorts of great things for his employer, King Aethelwyd.
The King, who wouldn't stop smiling and had actually put his pendant around John's neck, escorted them personally to the Magician's lab, a large room in the stone castle that seemed overflowing with bits of Ancient technology and even a few things that John recognised from the infirmary back home.
With John and Rodney in the room several things started glowing and when the King realised that both John and Rodney were 'gifted' with magic he was overjoyed and started to regale them with all the wonderful benefits of staying to be part of his court.
"Absolutely not," Rodney interrupted, "I'm most definitely not from Connecticut, and neither is he. We're just here for a visit."
And that was the perfect time for Teyla to jump in with the 'we're peaceful traders' speech.
The King seemed unconvinced, but he didn't throw them in a dungeon. Instead he invited them to dinner.
****
"Instead of waiting around to see what fun tactic they're going to use to convince us to stay, we should just leave," was Rodney's opinion.
They had just left the inn where their rented room was, after letting them know they wouldn't be needing it after all, since the King had insisted they stay at the castle.
"I think it would be rude of us to refuse the King's hospitality," Teyla pointed out, "especially if we can come to some sort of trade agreement with him."
"I agree with McKay, we should head back and let a team with no magic users handle it," Ronon added.
"John, what do you think?"
But John wasn't listening. He was too busy casting wistful glances over at the Tournament grounds as they walked by. They could hear the sound of clanking metal and the cheering crowd.
Teyla stopped to talk with him, and out of the corner of his eye, Rodney noticed the princess. She appeared to be following them. Or rather, if Rodney read the familiar look in her eyes correctly, she was following John. She was quite pretty, in that ridiculous princess sort of way, something he knew John had an unfortunate weakness for. Or perhaps it was just alien girls in general. "We really don't need this right now," Rodney mumbled.
"Hey, Colonel," he called over to John, "I was going to wait until Christmas to tell you, but in my spare time I've been working on developing a light sabre, and I've almost got a working prototype." Luckily it was actually true, or Rodney imagined John might be able to tell he was lying.
As it was, John thought about it for a minute, Ronon looked confused since he'd slept through their earlier conversation and Teyla was suspicious and started looking around. Rodney noticed when she spotted the princess as well.
"I suppose it would be safer for us to head back. Not that they've been anything but nice here, even if they won't let 'magicians' fight in the Tournament," John finally said.
"Good, great, let's go!" And Rodney was practically running back out of the village and towards the Stargate.
Rodney and Teyla followed him, but John ran to catch up.
"Rodney, what's the hurry?"
"Actually, if you must know, we've missed lunch."
"I guess that's as good a reason as any, but you know, I don't think they're going to send anyone after us. They're all fighting in the Tournament anyway."
"Which means they're all in one place, and therefore easier to round up into a mob. Besides, I really do just want to have lunch."
"I have no doubt of that. Though, it would have been nice to be in the Tournament."
"Hey, did you hear my idea about a science tournament?"
"No, but what would be the point of competition when you'd just win?"
Rodney looked embarrassed, but John continued as though he hadn't noticed. "Or there could be a light sabre exhibition!"
"Or a light sabre tournament. I almost can't believe I just suggested that."
"Admit it Rodney, you think it would cool to have light sabres. Why else would you have started working on them?"
Rodney glanced at John out of the corner of his eye, "Right, because I think they're cool."
"Exactly, who wouldn't want a light sabre?!"
The End
Author: cimera
Recipient: cat_77
Pairing: Gen, mostly…John and Rodney may be making eyes at each other :)
Rating: G
Summary: The team arrives on a new planet, just in time for an exciting contest of manly skills, including tossing coins, taking naps and running from princesses.
*
When the team arrived on C4X-E13 they were greeted by a bored looking young man sitting at a table in the field surrounding the Stargate.
"Sign up's over here," he called to them and waved his hand a bit impatiently when the four of them seemed inclined to just stand and stare.
Rodney looked at John, Ronon looked at John and John looked at Teyla. She seemed to barely resist rolling her eyes, but started walking to the table. John hurried to walk abreast of her, Ronon followed, keeping an eye out for hidden dangers and Rodney pulled out his scanner to consult as he walked.
They reached the table, but before Teyla could begin her 'we're peaceful traders' speech the man thrust a roll of paper and what appeared to be a quill into her hands.
"We need the name of your champion, planet or other territory of origin, what contests he's wanting to fight in and the names of everyone in his party," he intoned, sounding as though he had said the same thing so many times that he wasn't even paying attention.
Teyla took a breath and John could tell she was about to launch into the 'peaceful traders' speech anyway, but now he was intrigued and decided to hurry things along a bit.
"We have no idea what you're talking about," John said, trying for a friendly, but serious, tone. He took off his glasses to look the man in the eye.
"You mean you're not here for the Tournament?"
****
Twenty minutes later John and Ronon were engaged in a Rock, Paper, Scissors battle to determine which of them would represent Atlantis in the Tournament, while Rodney and Teyla looked on, both with their arms crossed and scowls on their faces.
"I think it is ridiculous," Teyla said quietly, "that they do not allow women to participate in their fighting contests."
"Yeah," Rodney said distractedly, and then seemed to recognise an opportunity for his own complaints. "And, this is a huge waste of time. We need to find out if these people have anything useful for trading, like, say, a ZPM and if not, I could get back to my lab where I have lots of important work I could be doing."
Teyla nodded her head, though she knew Rodney needed no encouragement, or even evidence that anyone was listening to him.
"It's so ridiculously juvenile and barbaric," Rodney continued, while John and Ronon switched to arm wrestling on the Tournament sign-up table. "I'd like to see the planet where they have a tournament of science! All the top minds of the galaxy would compete, and when I won there could be a huge feast. Hey, don't you think it's probably almost lunch time?"
Teyla smiled, "I think it's time we did something about those two, or they'll continue challenging each other to tests of manly prowess all day."
Ronon and John now appeared to be engaged in a staring contest and it took Teyla and Rodney several tries to get their attention.
"That one doesn't count," John said quickly. Ronon only raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps you should try something else," Teyla suggested.
"Something that won't take all afternoon," Rodney added.
"What was that thing with the coin you told me about, Colonel?"
****
Of course John had an American quarter, stuck in one of the many pockets of his tac vest. Rodney asked if it was his lucky charm, to which John merely snorted and didn't say anything.
Around this time someone else came through the Stargate, a large, steely-eyed man actually wearing a sword and with him a reedy young man leading what could be considered a horse, if that horse were in disguise as a long-legged cow. The animal had shaggy hair and several pack bags slung over its shoulders.
No words were exchanged, though Teyla managed to convey that the newcomers should feel free to sign in at the table and pay no attention to her annoying friends, as John was demonstrating to Ronon how to flip the coin off his elbow and then catch it, while Rodney was bent over laughing at the number of times John had dropped the coin.
The thinner man did the writing and also handed over some sort of decal which Ambo, the man at the table, tossed into a basket by his feet. Then the two men and the strange animal took off in the direction of some nearby foothills, presumably where the Tournament was.
John and Ronon finally managed to complete a successful coin toss, though, for fairness, Rodney had to do the actual tossing, and John was declared the winner, and therefore champion of Atlantis.
Ronon didn't seem particularly disappointed, though Rodney surmised that with the team's usual track record on new planets there was a good chance they'd all have to do some fighting before long anyway.
John asked Ambo to sign him up for whichever contests required the least specialised equipment, since they didn't have any.
"You realise you've probably just agreed to take part in a spitting contest and or some sort of nude wrestling," Rodney asked snidely while John dug into his pockets again to find his Pegasus arm patch.
Teyla seemed to find this funny, maybe her people actually practised nude wrestling, but John merely smirked. That ridiculously annoying smirk that made Rodney roll his eyes.
When they were done Ambo pointed them in the right direction, and warned them that lodgings would be scarce so they should take what they could get as soon as possible.
****
Even Rodney was impressed by the turreted castle and quaint village they came upon after a short walk.
"Well, I guess if there was going to be a medieval tournament it would have to be here in a medieval castle," Rodney said as they approached a huge set of gates in a wall surrounding the castle.
"I don't know about medieval," Teyla replied, "But this is the nicest castle I've ever seen."
Ronon grunted something that may have been agreement, while John seemed distracted as they passed several men who appeared to be Tournament entrants, all carrying swords.
"I think I need a sword," he told the team.
"You don't need a sword, because you're not doing any sword fighting," Rodney replied,"and what we need is to find a place to stay."
"Rodney is right," Teyla added, "Let's try over there."
John scowled, "You guys just don't want me to have any fun,"
****
They took a tiny room at the first place they could find with one available, mostly because it was the sixth public house they had tried and at each one they were laughed at when they asked about two rooms.
The space wasn't that small really, but it had a low enough ceiling that they were all feeling the need to hunch over a bit. There was a bed, a low wooden table and a stand with a rough hewn pottery jug and bowl.
One of the employees brought them a huge armful of extra bedding while Rodney started listing the reasons why he should have the bed.
"We can take turns," John pronounced.
"Or we can share," Teyla said with a laugh.
Rodney scowled and then insisted that there was no way they were staying in a Monty Python theme park more than one night.
This was followed by John and Rodney attempting to explain Monty Python to Teyla while Ronon settled himself on the bed, which only barely fit him, and looked as though he was taking a nap.
Sometime later the conversation had moved through Indiana Jones and on to Star Wars, and Ronon seemed to be fast asleep, when a great ringing of bells shook through the room. It sounded like the call to something, so they headed outside. There, everyone else seemed to be walking in the same direction, toward the castle proper. Teyla stopped someone to ask for information and they found out that the Tournament was starting.
"I guess we got here just in time," John grinned and put on his sunglasses as they started following the crowd.
At yet another gate they noticed the villagers turning to the left and men with swords going right. This time, for information, they asked a man in a blue and silver tunic who was carrying a pike.
After they confirmed that John was an entrant and that he actually did have three attendants, the guard directed them to a staging area where a pompous man in a feathered hat seemed to be overseeing the logistics of what Rodney estimated to be approximately one hundred contestants.
Teyla noticed that she was the only woman among the attendants and starting handing out her best glare to anyone who got too close to her personal space.
Ronon seemed to notice as well and growled a few times at men who came too close, before Teyla gave him an elbow in the ribs and he toned it down to simply adopting his most threatening demeanour.
Rodney had pulled out his scanner once again and was tapping away at the screen obliviously. John still seemed a bit high on the idea that he was going to fight in a tournament and was smirking at anyone who glanced in his direction. When the pompous man referred to the contestants as knights, John manfully nudged Rodney and said in an excited whisper, "Rodney, we're knights!"
Rodney wasn't listening, or he may have disrupted the entire proceedings to tell John, once again, how ridiculous the entire Tournament, let alone the idea of John as a knight, was.
"The King will be arriving momentarily," the pompous man announced, "so, could all the Knights make their way to the battle field, and the attendants to the gallery until you're needed."
John actually gave a little wave as he headed off with the other 'Knights'. Rodney appeared to be even more preoccupied by his scanner, but followed Teyla when she took his elbow.
The three of them found seats on one of the lower levels of wooden benches surrounding the large oval Tournament field. The hard-packed dirt ground and the low barricade set up around the entire perimeter completed the structure. The Knights were standing in loose rows facing an area where instead of wooden bleachers there was a canopy covering three ornate chairs.
"I'm getting some readings of odd energy spikes," Rodney said. He looked up and only then realised they were actually at the Tournament.
"Perhaps we should investigate further once the Tournament has concluded for the day," Teyla suggested.
"I've seen similar readings in places where there's Ancient tech, of various levels of usefulness," Rodney replied. "Of course, since we've got the all important jousting to look forward to, I guess the science and possible trade will have to wait!"
Teyla just smiled indulgently, but Ronon said, "He might win something."
"Unless it's a ZPM, I think we'd be better off just arranging a meeting with this King, or a trade minister or whoever they have for that sort thing. Who knows, they could be using some pieces of Ancient technology as a sculpture," Rodney answered
Just then there sounded a fanfare of trumpets and a very old man walked onto the battle field. His hair was completely white and he walked slowly and just slightly hunched over. But he was dressed in opulent clothes and wearing a crown. He was followed by several armed guards, and a much younger woman, wearing a beautiful dress and a smaller crown. One of the guards escorted her to the canopied area, where she sat down and promptly looked incredibly bored.
The man, the King, stood beside the man in the feathered hat, who announced that the King would greet all those Knights who were new to the Tournament. The crowd clapped politely at this, it sounded as though this was a tradition they'd been through many times before.
More than half the Knights ambled back to the staging area so that John was left with about twenty other men. They formed a line easily and then filed slowly past the King so he could shake each of their hands.
The guards stayed close by the King's side and Teyla thought it looked as though one of them might be helping the older man to stay standing. "The King seems to be ill," she said quietly.
Not quietly enough, as the woman beside her leaned over slightly to talk to them. "They say his health has been failing since the Court Magician died. There's been no one else born with the gift of magic to take his place, so there's little hope for anyone who's sick, even the King."
Rodney would certainly have said something then, but suddenly there was a great gasp from the crowd and then an excited murmur of chatter swept through the stands. They looked up to see that it was John who had just shaken the King's hand, of course, and the large pendant the King wore around his neck had started glowing.
Perhaps assuming that they might need to make a quick getaway the team were on their feet and making their way to the bottom of the bleachers when they realised the crowd had started clapping and cheering happily. Even the princess looked interested in what was going on.
The King was hugging John and the guards were smiling and clapping each other on the backs.
"Oh, this can't be good," Rodney predicted.
****
So, the recently deceased Court Magician, Burson, had possessed the Ancient gene and apparently used it to do all sorts of great things for his employer, King Aethelwyd.
The King, who wouldn't stop smiling and had actually put his pendant around John's neck, escorted them personally to the Magician's lab, a large room in the stone castle that seemed overflowing with bits of Ancient technology and even a few things that John recognised from the infirmary back home.
With John and Rodney in the room several things started glowing and when the King realised that both John and Rodney were 'gifted' with magic he was overjoyed and started to regale them with all the wonderful benefits of staying to be part of his court.
"Absolutely not," Rodney interrupted, "I'm most definitely not from Connecticut, and neither is he. We're just here for a visit."
And that was the perfect time for Teyla to jump in with the 'we're peaceful traders' speech.
The King seemed unconvinced, but he didn't throw them in a dungeon. Instead he invited them to dinner.
****
"Instead of waiting around to see what fun tactic they're going to use to convince us to stay, we should just leave," was Rodney's opinion.
They had just left the inn where their rented room was, after letting them know they wouldn't be needing it after all, since the King had insisted they stay at the castle.
"I think it would be rude of us to refuse the King's hospitality," Teyla pointed out, "especially if we can come to some sort of trade agreement with him."
"I agree with McKay, we should head back and let a team with no magic users handle it," Ronon added.
"John, what do you think?"
But John wasn't listening. He was too busy casting wistful glances over at the Tournament grounds as they walked by. They could hear the sound of clanking metal and the cheering crowd.
Teyla stopped to talk with him, and out of the corner of his eye, Rodney noticed the princess. She appeared to be following them. Or rather, if Rodney read the familiar look in her eyes correctly, she was following John. She was quite pretty, in that ridiculous princess sort of way, something he knew John had an unfortunate weakness for. Or perhaps it was just alien girls in general. "We really don't need this right now," Rodney mumbled.
"Hey, Colonel," he called over to John, "I was going to wait until Christmas to tell you, but in my spare time I've been working on developing a light sabre, and I've almost got a working prototype." Luckily it was actually true, or Rodney imagined John might be able to tell he was lying.
As it was, John thought about it for a minute, Ronon looked confused since he'd slept through their earlier conversation and Teyla was suspicious and started looking around. Rodney noticed when she spotted the princess as well.
"I suppose it would be safer for us to head back. Not that they've been anything but nice here, even if they won't let 'magicians' fight in the Tournament," John finally said.
"Good, great, let's go!" And Rodney was practically running back out of the village and towards the Stargate.
Rodney and Teyla followed him, but John ran to catch up.
"Rodney, what's the hurry?"
"Actually, if you must know, we've missed lunch."
"I guess that's as good a reason as any, but you know, I don't think they're going to send anyone after us. They're all fighting in the Tournament anyway."
"Which means they're all in one place, and therefore easier to round up into a mob. Besides, I really do just want to have lunch."
"I have no doubt of that. Though, it would have been nice to be in the Tournament."
"Hey, did you hear my idea about a science tournament?"
"No, but what would be the point of competition when you'd just win?"
Rodney looked embarrassed, but John continued as though he hadn't noticed. "Or there could be a light sabre exhibition!"
"Or a light sabre tournament. I almost can't believe I just suggested that."
"Admit it Rodney, you think it would cool to have light sabres. Why else would you have started working on them?"
Rodney glanced at John out of the corner of his eye, "Right, because I think they're cool."
"Exactly, who wouldn't want a light sabre?!"
The End