Stargate:Atlantis AU
Jun. 26th, 2008 04:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eliyesThis is just a little ficlet set in an AU I've been toying with for a bit.
"Why are you working on that thing again?" John asked, peering over McKay's shoulder at the partially dismantled life-signs detector that still had a singed mark on the (now removed) casing. He stepped back just before he would have been elbowed for invading the scientist's space. "I thought you had that working already?"
"It's functional, yes," McKay said with an impatient sigh, "but since we look to be depending on these, it's vital that we understand how they work in case they need to be repaired. Also, I had an idea for how to improve the range..." McKay trailed off, already distracted again by the delicate crystal innards of the device.
He couldn't resist a teasing jab. "Always working to improve on what the Ancients did. Careful, McKay; people might think you've got something to prove."
McKay's spine straightened, and John found himself the sole focus of those fabulously blue eyes.
"'I have had something to prove as long as I've had something that needs improvement'," McKay said, and John could tell immediately that it was a quote, but nothing he recognized.
"What's that, some kind of engineer's creed?" As soon as he said it, he knew he'd guessed wrong. Zelenka's head came up, and he heard Coleman snicker behind him -- but even if they hadn't tipped him off, he would have known simply from the way McKay's eyes narrowed, by the sudden, subtle twist of that already crooked mouth into a stranger shape.
"No, Major, it is not. It's from a song called 'Hour Follows Hour'. Perhaps you should ask Dr. Weir about it, since it's one of her favourites." McKay nodded towards the doorway, and John half-turned to look.
"What is?" Elizabeth Weir asked as she walked in, hands clasped behind her back. He'd always suspected she did that in an effort not to reach out and touch any of the interesting little widgets the scientists had spread out through their workspace. You never knew what one might be.
"'We make our own gravity to give weight to things'," Coleman said. "'Then things fall and they break and gravity sings'."
Weir smiled, eyes twinkling as McKay said loftily, "I should have known you'd like that part."
"This seems like an interesting song," Zelenka said. "I have never heard it."
"Me neither," John said, resisting the temptation to lean against McKay's worktable again, since getting smacked (as he would) in front of his boss was -- well, actually not a huge deal, Weir was okay, but there were plenty of other scientists in other parts of this lab. The military personnel would never forgive him if he let the scientists see the head scientist smacking him around.
"It has some very relevant sentiments for this expedition," Weir said, pausing for a moment before quoting, "'First you decide what you've gotta do, then you go out and do it; and maybe the most that we can do is just to see each other through it. Hour follows hour like water in a river, and from one to the next, we don't know what each hour will deliver. We just call it like we see it -- call it out loud as we can -- and then afterwards we call it all water over the dam'."
John was nodding before she was done.
"Too bad it turns into a love song at the end," McKay said acerbically, and Weir laughed.
"Come on, Ronnie, you can't say you were surprised."
McKay tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and set down the partially reconstructed life-signs detector.
"No, I suppose not. So. Lunch?" She clapped her hands together.
Weir gestured towards the door.
"So they tell me. Major, would you care to join us?"
John would have sworn he saw McKay's shoulders stiffen momentarily, and he smiled his most charming smile.
"Thank you, Doctor. I think I would," he drawled, and he could tell by the look Weir gave him that she knew perfectly well that he was mostly saying yes so he'd get to keep teasing McKay.
Yep, it's a partial genderswap. Everyone at the SGC is the same, but Atlantis has Dr. Meredith Rhonda "Ronnie" McKay and (eventually, possibly) Major Evangelina Lorne.
eta: I should have mentioned before! The song is by Ani diFranco. :3
"Why are you working on that thing again?" John asked, peering over McKay's shoulder at the partially dismantled life-signs detector that still had a singed mark on the (now removed) casing. He stepped back just before he would have been elbowed for invading the scientist's space. "I thought you had that working already?"
"It's functional, yes," McKay said with an impatient sigh, "but since we look to be depending on these, it's vital that we understand how they work in case they need to be repaired. Also, I had an idea for how to improve the range..." McKay trailed off, already distracted again by the delicate crystal innards of the device.
He couldn't resist a teasing jab. "Always working to improve on what the Ancients did. Careful, McKay; people might think you've got something to prove."
McKay's spine straightened, and John found himself the sole focus of those fabulously blue eyes.
"'I have had something to prove as long as I've had something that needs improvement'," McKay said, and John could tell immediately that it was a quote, but nothing he recognized.
"What's that, some kind of engineer's creed?" As soon as he said it, he knew he'd guessed wrong. Zelenka's head came up, and he heard Coleman snicker behind him -- but even if they hadn't tipped him off, he would have known simply from the way McKay's eyes narrowed, by the sudden, subtle twist of that already crooked mouth into a stranger shape.
"No, Major, it is not. It's from a song called 'Hour Follows Hour'. Perhaps you should ask Dr. Weir about it, since it's one of her favourites." McKay nodded towards the doorway, and John half-turned to look.
"What is?" Elizabeth Weir asked as she walked in, hands clasped behind her back. He'd always suspected she did that in an effort not to reach out and touch any of the interesting little widgets the scientists had spread out through their workspace. You never knew what one might be.
"'We make our own gravity to give weight to things'," Coleman said. "'Then things fall and they break and gravity sings'."
Weir smiled, eyes twinkling as McKay said loftily, "I should have known you'd like that part."
"This seems like an interesting song," Zelenka said. "I have never heard it."
"Me neither," John said, resisting the temptation to lean against McKay's worktable again, since getting smacked (as he would) in front of his boss was -- well, actually not a huge deal, Weir was okay, but there were plenty of other scientists in other parts of this lab. The military personnel would never forgive him if he let the scientists see the head scientist smacking him around.
"It has some very relevant sentiments for this expedition," Weir said, pausing for a moment before quoting, "'First you decide what you've gotta do, then you go out and do it; and maybe the most that we can do is just to see each other through it. Hour follows hour like water in a river, and from one to the next, we don't know what each hour will deliver. We just call it like we see it -- call it out loud as we can -- and then afterwards we call it all water over the dam'."
John was nodding before she was done.
"Too bad it turns into a love song at the end," McKay said acerbically, and Weir laughed.
"Come on, Ronnie, you can't say you were surprised."
McKay tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and set down the partially reconstructed life-signs detector.
"No, I suppose not. So. Lunch?" She clapped her hands together.
Weir gestured towards the door.
"So they tell me. Major, would you care to join us?"
John would have sworn he saw McKay's shoulders stiffen momentarily, and he smiled his most charming smile.
"Thank you, Doctor. I think I would," he drawled, and he could tell by the look Weir gave him that she knew perfectly well that he was mostly saying yes so he'd get to keep teasing McKay.
Yep, it's a partial genderswap. Everyone at the SGC is the same, but Atlantis has Dr. Meredith Rhonda "Ronnie" McKay and (eventually, possibly) Major Evangelina Lorne.
eta: I should have mentioned before! The song is by Ani diFranco. :3
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-26 02:47 pm (UTC)Ya' GOT me! Mostly because the voices were spot-on; I hadn't a clue until Weir called McKay 'Ronnie', and I'm going, "Wha...?" <g> Very nicely done; I think I'll enjoy this AU when you get it finished.
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I'm brainstorming in your general direction.
Date: 2008-06-26 04:53 pm (UTC)I had to keep this little reveal piece relatively short or things would have gotten unwieldy when I was referring to McKay. I'm pondering the possibilities of rewriting some moments, situations, encounters, etc. from the show with Rhonda here. She acts a lot like her canon counterpart, and some things wouldn't have changed (for example, this McKay would have behaved exactly the same when John had an Iratus bug attached to his neck) but others... This idea started when I got the mental image of a female McKay angrily claiming that Sheppard wouldn't have dismissed her concerns about Chaya if she'd been a man.
She's wrong, but still, I think she'd think it.
Also, I think the Genii would Say Something to John about how he seems to be the only male with a leadership rank in a city run by women, especially if/when his second in command was a woman (Evie Lorne) and Elizabeth was replaced with Sam. *wink* Not that I think that kind of comment would bother John.
And also I made a picture. >.>
Date: 2008-12-07 11:00 pm (UTC)Re: And also I made a picture. >.>
Date: 2008-12-08 01:06 am (UTC)<g> Cool! I'd forgotten about this, and had to re-read again... and ya' got me again. Are you still working on this, or have you hit a snag?
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Re: And also I made a picture. >.>
Date: 2008-12-08 02:04 am (UTC)XD Even with the picture?
I'm sorta working on this -- it's currently very much winging about in my brain -- but I got distracted a while back by stealing the idea of a female Lorne (you may remember this poll (http://eliyes.livejournal.com/226656.html). I'm now considering combining the two AUs, so that Ronnie, Eva, Larry, and Ronon are all in the same universe, genderswapped from canon.
If I did that, John Sheppard would end up on a team with three women. I can sort of feel him campaigning in favour of this in my head. XD
Re: And also I made a picture. >.>
Date: 2008-12-08 04:03 am (UTC)XD Even with the picture?
Ah, but I had to go back and read the story -- for context, you see -- before I looked at the picture. I'm far more word-oriented than picture-oriented. I actually have difficulty reading comic books; I sweep through reading all the text and forget to look at the pictures to get a feel for the 'action'. There's a reason I never vary my icon.
If I did that, John Sheppard would end up on a team with three women. I can sort of feel him campaigning in favour of this in my head.
Sounds good to me, too.
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Nature or nurture?
Date: 2008-12-08 02:23 pm (UTC)I see! That would explain it -- and I'm glad I gotcha again. X3 (I wonder if being oriented more towards text or pictures is something people are born with or if it develops during childhood? As a kid, I read a lot of books, but I also read comics, and I was watching television with subtitles by the time I was 14. Could that have primed me for facility with picture+text information, or would I just not have been as good at it if I wasn't already built to be?)
Sounds good to me, too.
It's amazing what just a few little tweaks can do for a universe -- even if Ronnie is the only gender-reversal in the story, that already means that the three greatest human minds in two galaxies are all women: Ronnie, Sam Carter, and Ronnie's sister Jeannie.
I bet Sam is very smug about that. ;3
Re: Nature or nurture?
Date: 2008-12-08 06:25 pm (UTC)Nature or nurture?
Undoubtedly a bit of both. But weighing heavily on 'nurture', Mom absolutely forbade comic books. I read fluently from about 7 years old, and picture books were 'boring'.
I bet Sam is very smug about that.
I hadn't realized the ramifications. I bet she is, too.
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ramblee, ramble-oh!
Date: 2008-12-08 09:50 pm (UTC)This is interesting to me as an illustration of the differences between generations, and the expectations for them. My readers in school were illustrated all through elementary school, and my French readers continued to be illustrated until grade 10 or so. My teachers thought it was odd that I was reading full-length novels written for adults as early as I was -- in fact, my mother recently revealed to me that my grade five teacher actually sent her a letter telling her she didn't think my reading material was age-appropriate. Mom flamed her crispy in response, so to speak. Something along the lines of 'it's not your business to censor what my child is reading outside of your class materials, I read these books when I was her age and checked them for suitability before letting her have them'.
I must say, Mom was pretty subtle about that last bit. As a kid, I just figured she wanted to see what library books I was getting out of interest, and never once suspected that a 'I've read this one, I don't think you'd like it, it's not very good' might have been anything other than exactly what she said.
Anyway, my parents are fine with my reading comics. My mother liked that they encouraged my to draw as well as write, and my dad read comics when he was a kid (Sergeant Rock and His Howling Commandos, mainly). However, I know that my dad's parents thought comics were a waste of precious money. They just figured that he'd learn for himself that he was sacrificing other things he could have bought. My dad is, if I'm not mistaken, a little younger than yourself (he'll be 52 this coming spring).
I hadn't realized the ramifications. I bet she is, too.
I suppose if we count Daniel Jackson, it becomes less of a coup, but still! A majority. ;D
Re: ramblee, ramble-oh!
Date: 2008-12-09 12:55 am (UTC)Ack! I sort of realized you were younger than I, but not that much. Yes, I'm 56, so my parents reacted much as your dad's parents -- comics were frivolous and a waste of money. That last was probably bigger than I realized at the time; they were raising five kids on a staff sergeant's salary. Books could be borrowed from the library; comics had to be bought.
I remember when pony rides at the spring fair jumped from 10 cents to 25 cents. I was about eight. Dad and I looked at the sign, and Dad said, trying to make a joke of it, "Well, you're getting too big for pony rides, anyway." Even at that age, I knew he meant, "We can't afford it." I don't think we felt poor, but I was aware we had to be very careful with money. (Mom sewed our school dresses, and we all wore hand-me-downs from older cousins.)
So anyway, after the "Dick and Jane" books, I don't remember any illustrated readers. A few pictures in the books, but nothing that kept up with the storyline, or was integral to it.
My mom was a lot less concerned about what I was reading; maybe she figured if I was interested it was 'suitable'. (But, in general, her parenting style was pretty 'hands off'.) OTOH, my selections were Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Bobsey Twins (yikes!), The Black Stallion series, the Jim Kjelgaard books, and any animal story I could get. When I was ten, I ventured up to the adult section but, even then, I read mysteries and science fiction almost exclusively for the next dozen years. Not a lot to worry about there, although Mom doesn't care for sci-fi -- she's convinced it's still all "bug-eyed monsters".
three greatest human minds in two galaxies are all women: Ronnie, Sam Carter, and Ronnie's sister Jeannie. and I suppose if we count Daniel Jackson, it becomes less of a coup, but still! A majority.
True... but Daniel is an archaeologist / anthropologist and a linguist -- IE, the 'soft' sciences. I'm sure Sam, Ronnie, and Jeannie would consider that those don't really 'count'. <g>
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Re: ramblee, ramble-oh!
Date: 2008-12-09 10:44 am (UTC)I seem to have that effect on people -- some of the time. Occasionally I am mistaken for someone much younger than I actually am.
My mom was a lot less concerned about what I was reading; maybe she figured if I was interested it was 'suitable'. (But, in general, her parenting style was pretty 'hands off'.) OTOH, my selections were Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Bobsey Twins (yikes!), The Black Stallion series, the Jim Kjelgaard books, and any animal story I could get. When I was ten, I ventured up to the adult section but, even then, I read mysteries and science fiction almost exclusively for the next dozen years.
When I started complaining two chapters into a Nancy Drew or the like that I could tell how the story would end, that was when I branched out. Although I'd still read the older ones, just because they were usually interesting from a cultural point of view. My mom gave me romance novels; and most they usually involved some kissing. (The first one memorably had two kisses, they were going to get married the day after the book ended, and also had a boa constrictor joining the female lead in the shower (screaming ensued) and a very affectionate cheetah.) I'm pretty sure this was what my teacher was complaining about... I was also reading Star Trek novels by grade four, which is a gateway drug, and I still read a lot of science fiction and fantasy.
Mom doesn't care for sci-fi -- she's convinced it's still all "bug-eyed monsters".
I was raised by Trekkies. *thumbs up*
True... but Daniel is an archaeologist / anthropologist and a linguist -- IE, the 'soft' sciences. I'm sure Sam, Ronnie, and Jeannie would consider that those don't really 'count'.
Possibly not -- but as I am an anthropologist, I feel I should have thought of it. X3
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-07 10:56 pm (UTC)