gothams3rdrobin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gothams3rdrobin) wrote2006-02-26 02:00 pm
gothams3rdrobin) wrote2006-02-26 02:00 pm
Entry tags:
A WiP fic by me!
Because I really want to finish this, and so it would be nice to get some opinion one way or the other.
Fate's Wide Stargate
A Quantum Leap/Stargate SG-1 Sam&Jack fanfic by Sammi
April 2000 - September 2003
*****
Dr Sam Beckett, MD, multiple PhD, floated through oblivion.
It was at this 'between-leap' period that most of the holes in his magnafoozled brain were filled - albeit temporarily. He let his mind wander through the forgotten details of his life; Samuel John Beckett, born 1952 in Elk Ridge, Indiana, to John and Thelma Beckett. Middle child of three; older brother Tom, a soldier who fought and - did he die? - in Vietnam. No! He didn't - Sam recalled saving him in a previous leap, and smiled at the memory. Younger sister Katie, married, kids, living in Hawaii...
The details rattled on and Sam savored every morsel like a starving man. Then all too soon, came the familiar voice,
"Are you ready, Doctor Beckett?"
There was the familiar rushing sensation, as though his body was moving at g-force, that signaled the start of his next leap.
"Will you let me go home this time?" He asked, knowing it was a futile question.
"Not yet, Doctor Beckett," the disembodied voice sounded almost sad, "You still have work to do. But soon."
"C'mon Danny-boy! Your turn." A man with graying hair and a weathered face older than his years gazed at him, amusement in his chocolate-coloured eyes.
Sam took a deep breath and began assessing the situation. His name was obviously Danny, and it was his turn. But his turn at what? He looked down at his hands, and saw playing cards. Poker? Probably.
A beautiful woman with short blonde hair stifled a yawn, much to the other man's amusement.
"We keeping you up, Carter?" he asked.
He was rewarded with a wicked grin. "Well, Jack, if you guys will ply me with alcohol and then make me sit around playing cards..."
"Would you rather we ply you with alcohol then do something more fun?" Jack retorted, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Depends on your definition of 'fun'" came Carter's retort
"Jeez, guys, get a room!" Sam found himself blurting out. 'Uh oh!' he mentally kicked himself. But the two then surprised him by chuckling.
It was then he noticed the other person in the room; a very tall, muscular man with skin the colour of dark chocolate. He seemed to have a permanent frown on his face, and a gold snake emblem on his forehead. Some portion of his mind analyzed it, and linked it to the Egyptian Serpent God. What was his name again? Adonis? No, that wasn't it...
"Is there a problem, DanielJackson?" the big man asked, in a deep rumbling voice, saying the full name of Sam's current host as if it were a single word.
"Uh, no...Just thinking."
"You okay, Daniel?" asked Carter, her expression concerned. Sam just nodded.
"Well, while Spacemonkey here makes up his mind if he's playing or not, I'm gonna go get another beer." Jack got up. This was obviously his house, "You want one Sam?"
"Sure." both Sam and Carter answered simultaneously. Carter looked at Sam oddly, but Jack was smirking.
"Danny, one sniff of another beer and you'll pass out for a week! You've already had two!"
'Two? That's this man's limit? What a wimp!'
"I'll pass then," he shrugged, nonchalantly.
While Jack was in the kitchen, Sam considered his options with regards to the poker game. He couldn't remember the rules worth a damn, and Al wasn't around to coach him - where was Al, anyway? - so he had no chance. He examined the cards; they looked pretty good, but what did he know?
"So, Daniel, you in or out?" Jack was back. He passed a beer to Carter as he sat back down.
"You know, Jack, I think I'm going to, uh, fold." Sam ventured, "My mind is really elsewhere tonight," 'Hey, no kidding!' "So I think I'll spare my wallet and call it quits."
Jack shrugged, "No sweat. Teal'c?" he looked at the dark giant. So that was his name! An odd one at that.
"I am in." he intoned, impassively.
The game continued for another hour, Sam content to observe and quietly gather information about this group. From the nature of their idle chatter he surmised that they were military - or at least Carter and Jack were. In moments of sarcasm they'd refer to each other as Major and Colonel respectively, and occasionally tried to draw 'Daniel' into the conversation, calling him 'Doctor'. Doctor of what, though?
"Dammit Ziggy, what the hell is your problem?" Admiral Al Calavicci, US Navy (ret.), gnashed angrily on the end of an unlit cigar and gave serious thought to yanking a few vital wires on the insufferable computer his best friend had created, "Do we have any information for Sam or don't we?"
"Our current guest works for the Military, Admiral," the disembodied voice of the super-computer sniffed. If she had a face, Al was certain she'd be pouting, "Most of the available data on him is classified."
Al sighed. Ziggy hated to be denied anything - most of all information.
"So give," he coaxed gently, "What can you tell me?"
"His name, as he has already informed Dr Beeks, is Dr Daniel Jackson. He is an anthropologist, specialising in ancient middle eastern cultures, and has held a civilian post with the United States Airforce for the past three years on 'Project Blue Book'. The project is based at the Cheyenne Mountain complex near Colorado Springs."
"The USAF, huh?" Al grimaced, "So what's 'Project Blue Book'?"
"It's classified, Admiral," Ziggy pouted again, "All I can find out is that it costs approximately eight thousand a year, and Senator Kinsey has tried several times to shut it down. Interestingly, he has backed down each time."
Al frowned at the mention of Kinsey; he'd run into him before, but luckily the man had no links to the Quantum Leap project. He pondered the rest of the information,
"Cheyenne Mountain's where NORAD's based, right?"
"Correct, Admiral."
"They must not like sharing the base with some secret project," Al mused, sympathetic, "Who runs Blue Book?"
"A Major-General George Hammond."
"Sounds vaguely familiar...." Al thought for a moment, then gave up, "Never mind, let's go talk to Dr Jackson."
Inside the waiting room, dressed in Sam's body-length sensor suit, was a man that looked a little like Sam in his own way; he was shorter, but had the same basic build and colouring. His blue eyes sparkled with a similar intelligence and curiosity as Sam's green ones, but showed an odd mixture of grief and naïveté Al was not familiar with. This man, he surmised, had seen many awful things, yet still retained the child-like hope that all would be well.
"Dr Jackson?" he held out his hand, "I'm Admiral Calavicci."
The young man shook the proffered hand and frowned, "Admiral? You aren't airforce?"
Al shook his head, "Retired Naval officer. I was in the Astronaut programme."
Jackson looked visably relieved, "I thought you were NID or something." he admitted, to which Al smiled a negative. "So where am I?" he asked, looking around, "Why am I here?"
"Where you are is classified," Al apologised. Jackson rolled his eyes, "As to why, that's something we figure out as we go along."
Jackson's eyes narrowed, "As you go along? This is a common thing, I take it?"
Al nodded, "Too common. Basically, there is something wrong in your life that our...agent has been sent in to fix."
"Sent in to fix how?" Jackson looked extremely worried, "My life is not the most, uh...conventional, shall we say."
"You work for the Military, that's a given." Al didn't know why, but he felt it was safe to explain to Jackson all about Project Quantum Leap. Not straight off, maybe, but gradually.
"So how does this work?" Jackson wanted to know. Al sighed, 'In for a penny...'
"Basically, he 'becomes' you for however long it takes."
"'Becomes' me? Are we talking possession, here?"
"In a sense," Al nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little mirror, "Here, take a look for yourself."
A multitude of expletives crossed Jackson's mind as he looked in shock at the reflection in Calavicci's mirror. Only Sam Carter's favourite left his lips.
"Holy Hannah!" he exclaimed, "I'm in another man's body?"
"That's right," Calavicci smiled at him in a reassuring manner, "In order for Sam to do his job properly, he has to 'become' the person who's life he's changing."
"Well, at least this time it's someone nearer my own age...." Daniel muttered to himself.
"This time?" questioned the Admiral, "It's happened to you before?"
"Uh...yeah," Daniel mentally kicked himself, realising he had put his foot in it, "And it's a long, classified story." 'See - non-disclosure of information can run two ways Admiral,' he thought, inwardly amused at Calavicci's reluctant acceptance. "His name is Sam? That should make things interesting!"
"How so?"
"One of my team-mates - Major Carter; her name is Sam. I hope he knows my name, or they'll get suspicious...." he paled.
"What?!" demanded Calavicci, sensing trouble,
"If they realise it's not me, they'll think I've been possessed by a Goa'uld, or come from an alternate reality!" Daniel babbled, forgetting who he was talking to.
"Goa'uld? What kind of secret military project is this, Jackson?" Calavicci roared, scared for his friend. Daniel sighed, and, seeing no alternative, began to explain the Stargate project to the retired Naval Admiral.
Fate's Wide Stargate
A Quantum Leap/Stargate SG-1 Sam&Jack fanfic by Sammi
April 2000 - September 2003
*****
Dr Sam Beckett, MD, multiple PhD, floated through oblivion.
It was at this 'between-leap' period that most of the holes in his magnafoozled brain were filled - albeit temporarily. He let his mind wander through the forgotten details of his life; Samuel John Beckett, born 1952 in Elk Ridge, Indiana, to John and Thelma Beckett. Middle child of three; older brother Tom, a soldier who fought and - did he die? - in Vietnam. No! He didn't - Sam recalled saving him in a previous leap, and smiled at the memory. Younger sister Katie, married, kids, living in Hawaii...
The details rattled on and Sam savored every morsel like a starving man. Then all too soon, came the familiar voice,
"Are you ready, Doctor Beckett?"
There was the familiar rushing sensation, as though his body was moving at g-force, that signaled the start of his next leap.
"Will you let me go home this time?" He asked, knowing it was a futile question.
"Not yet, Doctor Beckett," the disembodied voice sounded almost sad, "You still have work to do. But soon."
"C'mon Danny-boy! Your turn." A man with graying hair and a weathered face older than his years gazed at him, amusement in his chocolate-coloured eyes.
Sam took a deep breath and began assessing the situation. His name was obviously Danny, and it was his turn. But his turn at what? He looked down at his hands, and saw playing cards. Poker? Probably.
A beautiful woman with short blonde hair stifled a yawn, much to the other man's amusement.
"We keeping you up, Carter?" he asked.
He was rewarded with a wicked grin. "Well, Jack, if you guys will ply me with alcohol and then make me sit around playing cards..."
"Would you rather we ply you with alcohol then do something more fun?" Jack retorted, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Depends on your definition of 'fun'" came Carter's retort
"Jeez, guys, get a room!" Sam found himself blurting out. 'Uh oh!' he mentally kicked himself. But the two then surprised him by chuckling.
It was then he noticed the other person in the room; a very tall, muscular man with skin the colour of dark chocolate. He seemed to have a permanent frown on his face, and a gold snake emblem on his forehead. Some portion of his mind analyzed it, and linked it to the Egyptian Serpent God. What was his name again? Adonis? No, that wasn't it...
"Is there a problem, DanielJackson?" the big man asked, in a deep rumbling voice, saying the full name of Sam's current host as if it were a single word.
"Uh, no...Just thinking."
"You okay, Daniel?" asked Carter, her expression concerned. Sam just nodded.
"Well, while Spacemonkey here makes up his mind if he's playing or not, I'm gonna go get another beer." Jack got up. This was obviously his house, "You want one Sam?"
"Sure." both Sam and Carter answered simultaneously. Carter looked at Sam oddly, but Jack was smirking.
"Danny, one sniff of another beer and you'll pass out for a week! You've already had two!"
'Two? That's this man's limit? What a wimp!'
"I'll pass then," he shrugged, nonchalantly.
While Jack was in the kitchen, Sam considered his options with regards to the poker game. He couldn't remember the rules worth a damn, and Al wasn't around to coach him - where was Al, anyway? - so he had no chance. He examined the cards; they looked pretty good, but what did he know?
"So, Daniel, you in or out?" Jack was back. He passed a beer to Carter as he sat back down.
"You know, Jack, I think I'm going to, uh, fold." Sam ventured, "My mind is really elsewhere tonight," 'Hey, no kidding!' "So I think I'll spare my wallet and call it quits."
Jack shrugged, "No sweat. Teal'c?" he looked at the dark giant. So that was his name! An odd one at that.
"I am in." he intoned, impassively.
The game continued for another hour, Sam content to observe and quietly gather information about this group. From the nature of their idle chatter he surmised that they were military - or at least Carter and Jack were. In moments of sarcasm they'd refer to each other as Major and Colonel respectively, and occasionally tried to draw 'Daniel' into the conversation, calling him 'Doctor'. Doctor of what, though?
"Dammit Ziggy, what the hell is your problem?" Admiral Al Calavicci, US Navy (ret.), gnashed angrily on the end of an unlit cigar and gave serious thought to yanking a few vital wires on the insufferable computer his best friend had created, "Do we have any information for Sam or don't we?"
"Our current guest works for the Military, Admiral," the disembodied voice of the super-computer sniffed. If she had a face, Al was certain she'd be pouting, "Most of the available data on him is classified."
Al sighed. Ziggy hated to be denied anything - most of all information.
"So give," he coaxed gently, "What can you tell me?"
"His name, as he has already informed Dr Beeks, is Dr Daniel Jackson. He is an anthropologist, specialising in ancient middle eastern cultures, and has held a civilian post with the United States Airforce for the past three years on 'Project Blue Book'. The project is based at the Cheyenne Mountain complex near Colorado Springs."
"The USAF, huh?" Al grimaced, "So what's 'Project Blue Book'?"
"It's classified, Admiral," Ziggy pouted again, "All I can find out is that it costs approximately eight thousand a year, and Senator Kinsey has tried several times to shut it down. Interestingly, he has backed down each time."
Al frowned at the mention of Kinsey; he'd run into him before, but luckily the man had no links to the Quantum Leap project. He pondered the rest of the information,
"Cheyenne Mountain's where NORAD's based, right?"
"Correct, Admiral."
"They must not like sharing the base with some secret project," Al mused, sympathetic, "Who runs Blue Book?"
"A Major-General George Hammond."
"Sounds vaguely familiar...." Al thought for a moment, then gave up, "Never mind, let's go talk to Dr Jackson."
Inside the waiting room, dressed in Sam's body-length sensor suit, was a man that looked a little like Sam in his own way; he was shorter, but had the same basic build and colouring. His blue eyes sparkled with a similar intelligence and curiosity as Sam's green ones, but showed an odd mixture of grief and naïveté Al was not familiar with. This man, he surmised, had seen many awful things, yet still retained the child-like hope that all would be well.
"Dr Jackson?" he held out his hand, "I'm Admiral Calavicci."
The young man shook the proffered hand and frowned, "Admiral? You aren't airforce?"
Al shook his head, "Retired Naval officer. I was in the Astronaut programme."
Jackson looked visably relieved, "I thought you were NID or something." he admitted, to which Al smiled a negative. "So where am I?" he asked, looking around, "Why am I here?"
"Where you are is classified," Al apologised. Jackson rolled his eyes, "As to why, that's something we figure out as we go along."
Jackson's eyes narrowed, "As you go along? This is a common thing, I take it?"
Al nodded, "Too common. Basically, there is something wrong in your life that our...agent has been sent in to fix."
"Sent in to fix how?" Jackson looked extremely worried, "My life is not the most, uh...conventional, shall we say."
"You work for the Military, that's a given." Al didn't know why, but he felt it was safe to explain to Jackson all about Project Quantum Leap. Not straight off, maybe, but gradually.
"So how does this work?" Jackson wanted to know. Al sighed, 'In for a penny...'
"Basically, he 'becomes' you for however long it takes."
"'Becomes' me? Are we talking possession, here?"
"In a sense," Al nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little mirror, "Here, take a look for yourself."
A multitude of expletives crossed Jackson's mind as he looked in shock at the reflection in Calavicci's mirror. Only Sam Carter's favourite left his lips.
"Holy Hannah!" he exclaimed, "I'm in another man's body?"
"That's right," Calavicci smiled at him in a reassuring manner, "In order for Sam to do his job properly, he has to 'become' the person who's life he's changing."
"Well, at least this time it's someone nearer my own age...." Daniel muttered to himself.
"This time?" questioned the Admiral, "It's happened to you before?"
"Uh...yeah," Daniel mentally kicked himself, realising he had put his foot in it, "And it's a long, classified story." 'See - non-disclosure of information can run two ways Admiral,' he thought, inwardly amused at Calavicci's reluctant acceptance. "His name is Sam? That should make things interesting!"
"How so?"
"One of my team-mates - Major Carter; her name is Sam. I hope he knows my name, or they'll get suspicious...." he paled.
"What?!" demanded Calavicci, sensing trouble,
"If they realise it's not me, they'll think I've been possessed by a Goa'uld, or come from an alternate reality!" Daniel babbled, forgetting who he was talking to.
"Goa'uld? What kind of secret military project is this, Jackson?" Calavicci roared, scared for his friend. Daniel sighed, and, seeing no alternative, began to explain the Stargate project to the retired Naval Admiral.
no subject
Jack -never- calls Sam "Sam". It's always Carter. Always. Even in a life-or-death situation, it's always "Carter." ;)
Two? That's this man's limit? What a wimp!'
Who's saying this? It's not clear; and they've all been together long enough at this point they should know Daniel's not much of a drinker.
"All I can find out is that it costs approximately eight thousand a year
Eight thousand what? (FYI, the costs of running a complex like Stargate Command most likely runs into billions of dollars per year; so Project Blue Book would be more likely in the millions.)
"If they realise it's not me, they'll think I've been possessed by a Goa'uld, or come from an alternate reality!" Daniel babbled, forgetting who he was talking to.
It's not babbling if it's only one sentence. ;)
Also, I think Al would ask what the hell a Goa'uld IS first, before getting worried by it. For all he knows it's a boy group from the 60's.
As a general note, it reads pretty well; but it's missing nuances of emotional reaction,description of facial expression... there's a certain lack of emotional reaction and interaction. It reads a little forced when it -is- given. And you don't need to give out everything that they do or say. For instance, the last sentence... Daniel sighed, and, seeing no alternative, began to explain the Stargate project to the retired Naval Admiral tells us what is going to happen. Which is a given. We -know- that's what's going to happen. Instead, try something like, "Daniel sighed. This was going to be a long night."
Basically, instead of "They did this, then they did this and this and this", work on how the characters are feeling and thinking instead of just dishing out exposition. Most of what makes QL great is the humor that comes from the situations Sam finds himself in. Worry about the drama afterwards.
Well, you wanted an opinion. ;)
no subject
Guh....shows how old this peice of crap is. I wouldn't do that these days - at least I hope not. I guess I'm just so used to seeing it in fic that I completely missed seeing it in my own.
*makes mental note to fix that*
I know...I was going for comedy value there. Guess it didn't work! ;-)
It's Sam Beckett's internal monologue - I think I have it in italics on the original file. Guess I'd better fix that too if it's not clear.
I got that figure from somewhere - can't remember what. Point taken though.
*raspberries* ;-)
Yeah...that scene's not one of my strongest, all in all.
That is better *nods*
*whimpers* Never gonna finish this, am I...
*shoots you a deathglare, then loses it and just grins* Thanks, hon - I really do appreciate it.
Think it's worth posting the next part? Once I've spent about a year tinkering with it...