Round 1 // Challenge 14 - ENTRIES [Last of Round]
Shows: SG-1
Story Title: Tricks of the Trade
Character/Relationships: Vala
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Vala began learning the art of thievery when she was very young. She started with shoplifting and pickpocketing and soon was able to find an easy mark and spot an unguarded shelf with ease. But the net gain was never great. Perhaps enough for a few good meals or a night at an inn if she were lucky.
That was when she began studying locks. It was quite the education.
Men, she later discovered, were a lot like locks. Once picked, the information they gave up could be more valuable than everything in their homes. Of course, that didn't preclude the taking of their homes, money and sometimes even the clothes off their back, but it was the *knowledge* -- blueprints, security codes, schedules and dirt -- that made for the most lucrative of jobs.
And there were just as many types of man as there were locked doors -- each requiring a different method to break.
Some were far too confident for what they actually offered, and a swift kick was all it took. Others required a bit more finesse. A light hand. Gentle nudging. Careful caresses. And some were too stubborn for any of the above, and the only solution was tear off the cover, rip out the wires and do a little rerouting until she had bullied her lock into submission.
And then there was Daniel Jackson. She'd kicked him. She'd charmed him. She'd spirited his consciousness off to another world, bound him to her, and even taken over his body, to no avail.
What she wanted -- what she'd never really wanted before -- he wasn't giving, and Vala had exhausted nearly all of her tricks. There was only one left, but it was one that had been in motion since the moment she met him -- like a program running in the background.
Patience and a hacksaw.
Shows: Stargate SG-1
Story Title: We Interrupt This Transmission
Character/Relationships: Samantha Carter, Rodney McKay, Radek Zelenka, Nicholas Rush, Emmett Young
Rating: PG
Warnings: Set vaguely post-series for SGU
Samantha Carter arrived on the bridge of the Hammond with her hair still down, her jumpsuit obviously just thrown on when she rolled out of bed. Rodney McKay was bent at the waist, typing in a quick command onto the communications console with the index fingers of both hands. Marks was standing off to one side with an irritated twist to his lips and his arms crossed over his chest. "What's the status?"
"It's--" McKay looked up and the words died when he saw her hair.
"Focus, Rodney."
He cleared his throat. "Right. I-it's good to go. We're in position."
Sam took her seat and marveled at the possibility of what they were about to try. A radio signal piggy-backing on a laser, bounced between two stars of a binary system and, hopefully, sent across the galaxies to where a group of SGC personnel had been stranded for the past two years. They were trying to latch onto a signal that Rush had picked up, but optimism was low back at Homeworld Security.
Radek Zelenka arrived on the bridge and adjusted his posture ever-so-slightly when he saw Sam was present. "Ah. Colonel. The, ah, radio relay has been launched, just in case."
"Thank you, Radek. Whenever you're ready, Rodney."
McKay straightened. "I would just like to commemorate this occasion by saying--" Sam shot him a look and he closed his mouth. "Excuse me for having a sense of ceremony." He pressed a single button. "There, happy? The signal is off."
Sam looked through the view screen as if she could see the signal with her naked eye. Radek and McKay were both monitoring the readouts, babbling back and forth in technospeak. Sam was probably the only other person on the bridge who understood what they were saying, one of the reasons her ship had been the one chosen for this mission.
After an interminable time, Radek said something in Czech. "We have a contact."
"Is it Rush's signal?"
"It is possible. I--"
"Who is this?"
Most of the people on the bridge recognized the clipped, accented voice and cheered at the success of the operation. Sam smiled despite the fact Rush was the one scientist who made Rodney McKay seem like a social butterfly by comparison. "Dr. Rush, this is Colonel Samantha Carter of the Hammond. It's very good to hear your voice."
"Colonel Carter?" That voice belonged to Colonel Young. "Damn, it's good to hear your voice. How is this possible?"
"It's a bit complicated to go into at this time. We apologize for breaking in on Dr. Rush's signal, but Drs. McKay and Zelenka thought that using an existing signal would increase our chances of being heard."
She could hear the smile in Young's voice. "Dr. Rush understands your situation entirely, Colonel Carter. Hopefully this message isn't bad news..."
"Quite the opposite, actually. Now that we've established contact, I'm having Dr. Radek Zelenka activate a relay station. Through that we will now be able to contact you, and you can contact Earth, without needing to use the communication stones."
"Well! It will definitely be nice to have more than one person report at once. Am I to understand we can also send encrypted mission reports?"
"It does. I can have Dr. McKay send a databurst now to demonstrate the program."
"Colonel, if I may... would it be possible to have the people here record personal message--"
"We're prepped and ready to receive any messages they'd like to send, Emmett."
McKay muttered, "Some of us have been through this before."
If Young heard McKay, he ignored it. "I'll let them know." He paused and then added, "It's good to hear from you, Colonel. It's not home, but it's another step closer."
"Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the next step. We'll let you prepare your initial messages, and we'll attempt to make contact again in ninety minutes."
"Acknowledged. Talk to you then, Colonel Carter. Young out."
"Hammond out."
McKay leaned back in his seat and smiled proudly. "I would say that went well. Almost like being in the room with them."
"Almost," Sam said softly. "Let me know when we're ready to make contact again. Their loved ones have waited long enough to hear from them."
She looked through the screen again and saw the relay Zelenka had fine-tuned for the purpose of maintaining contact between Destiny and Earth. Hopefully it was just the first step of finally getting their people home.
Story Title: Tricks of the Trade
Character/Relationships: Vala
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Vala began learning the art of thievery when she was very young. She started with shoplifting and pickpocketing and soon was able to find an easy mark and spot an unguarded shelf with ease. But the net gain was never great. Perhaps enough for a few good meals or a night at an inn if she were lucky.
That was when she began studying locks. It was quite the education.
Men, she later discovered, were a lot like locks. Once picked, the information they gave up could be more valuable than everything in their homes. Of course, that didn't preclude the taking of their homes, money and sometimes even the clothes off their back, but it was the *knowledge* -- blueprints, security codes, schedules and dirt -- that made for the most lucrative of jobs.
And there were just as many types of man as there were locked doors -- each requiring a different method to break.
Some were far too confident for what they actually offered, and a swift kick was all it took. Others required a bit more finesse. A light hand. Gentle nudging. Careful caresses. And some were too stubborn for any of the above, and the only solution was tear off the cover, rip out the wires and do a little rerouting until she had bullied her lock into submission.
And then there was Daniel Jackson. She'd kicked him. She'd charmed him. She'd spirited his consciousness off to another world, bound him to her, and even taken over his body, to no avail.
What she wanted -- what she'd never really wanted before -- he wasn't giving, and Vala had exhausted nearly all of her tricks. There was only one left, but it was one that had been in motion since the moment she met him -- like a program running in the background.
Patience and a hacksaw.
Shows: Stargate SG-1
Story Title: We Interrupt This Transmission
Character/Relationships: Samantha Carter, Rodney McKay, Radek Zelenka, Nicholas Rush, Emmett Young
Rating: PG
Warnings: Set vaguely post-series for SGU
Samantha Carter arrived on the bridge of the Hammond with her hair still down, her jumpsuit obviously just thrown on when she rolled out of bed. Rodney McKay was bent at the waist, typing in a quick command onto the communications console with the index fingers of both hands. Marks was standing off to one side with an irritated twist to his lips and his arms crossed over his chest. "What's the status?"
"It's--" McKay looked up and the words died when he saw her hair.
"Focus, Rodney."
He cleared his throat. "Right. I-it's good to go. We're in position."
Sam took her seat and marveled at the possibility of what they were about to try. A radio signal piggy-backing on a laser, bounced between two stars of a binary system and, hopefully, sent across the galaxies to where a group of SGC personnel had been stranded for the past two years. They were trying to latch onto a signal that Rush had picked up, but optimism was low back at Homeworld Security.
Radek Zelenka arrived on the bridge and adjusted his posture ever-so-slightly when he saw Sam was present. "Ah. Colonel. The, ah, radio relay has been launched, just in case."
"Thank you, Radek. Whenever you're ready, Rodney."
McKay straightened. "I would just like to commemorate this occasion by saying--" Sam shot him a look and he closed his mouth. "Excuse me for having a sense of ceremony." He pressed a single button. "There, happy? The signal is off."
Sam looked through the view screen as if she could see the signal with her naked eye. Radek and McKay were both monitoring the readouts, babbling back and forth in technospeak. Sam was probably the only other person on the bridge who understood what they were saying, one of the reasons her ship had been the one chosen for this mission.
After an interminable time, Radek said something in Czech. "We have a contact."
"Is it Rush's signal?"
"It is possible. I--"
"Who is this?"
Most of the people on the bridge recognized the clipped, accented voice and cheered at the success of the operation. Sam smiled despite the fact Rush was the one scientist who made Rodney McKay seem like a social butterfly by comparison. "Dr. Rush, this is Colonel Samantha Carter of the Hammond. It's very good to hear your voice."
"Colonel Carter?" That voice belonged to Colonel Young. "Damn, it's good to hear your voice. How is this possible?"
"It's a bit complicated to go into at this time. We apologize for breaking in on Dr. Rush's signal, but Drs. McKay and Zelenka thought that using an existing signal would increase our chances of being heard."
She could hear the smile in Young's voice. "Dr. Rush understands your situation entirely, Colonel Carter. Hopefully this message isn't bad news..."
"Quite the opposite, actually. Now that we've established contact, I'm having Dr. Radek Zelenka activate a relay station. Through that we will now be able to contact you, and you can contact Earth, without needing to use the communication stones."
"Well! It will definitely be nice to have more than one person report at once. Am I to understand we can also send encrypted mission reports?"
"It does. I can have Dr. McKay send a databurst now to demonstrate the program."
"Colonel, if I may... would it be possible to have the people here record personal message--"
"We're prepped and ready to receive any messages they'd like to send, Emmett."
McKay muttered, "Some of us have been through this before."
If Young heard McKay, he ignored it. "I'll let them know." He paused and then added, "It's good to hear from you, Colonel. It's not home, but it's another step closer."
"Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the next step. We'll let you prepare your initial messages, and we'll attempt to make contact again in ninety minutes."
"Acknowledged. Talk to you then, Colonel Carter. Young out."
"Hammond out."
McKay leaned back in his seat and smiled proudly. "I would say that went well. Almost like being in the room with them."
"Almost," Sam said softly. "Let me know when we're ready to make contact again. Their loved ones have waited long enough to hear from them."
She looked through the screen again and saw the relay Zelenka had fine-tuned for the purpose of maintaining contact between Destiny and Earth. Hopefully it was just the first step of finally getting their people home.