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sga_flashficThis broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
by dracostella
PG
Ronon, McKay
Angst
Uncle Ronon! UNCLE RONON! Are you paying attention? You need to pay attention! Teacher Jaqul said that our history is the only way we can make sure that the cullings won't interrupt our culture.
The carvings were blue and silver, like the way the name at the museum in Kalros had been written. Ronon had taken Kalen and Quran there during his last Solstice leave. Kalen had wanted to look at their new collection of tapestries. Quran just wanted to sit on Ronon's shoulders.
Ronon placed his hand on the stone and waited for a heartbeat for McKay to tell him to not touch it. When no reproach came, Ronon let his hand run along the carvings, feeling the rough texture beneath his fingertips.
"Can you read any of it?" McKay asked.
"These," Ronon said, pointing to the rows of writing that he remembered from their trip to the museum. "These are numbers. They mark dates from the second kingdom."
"How long ago was that?"
"One thousand two hundred rotations around our sun."
Look, Uncle Ronon, Kalen had said pointing to the display behind the force field. The two looks just like our two! But look at the five, see how the five looks like seven? Teacher Jaqul says that our number seven used to be five, but King Nubia from the third kingdom wanted to create his own number so he created six. And then Senator Kal of the first republic added another six, and then...
"Dr. McKay, there's another energy burst," Collins, one of the two marines with them said.
"I'll be right there!" McKay yelled back but he didn't move away from Ronon's side. "Does any of this say what's producing the energy bursts?"
"I can't read most of it," Ronon said.
"Okay then," McKay said, still not moving away. "I'll be over there taking more readings. Call me if you recognize anything else."
Uncle Ronon! UNCLE RONON! Are you paying attention? You need to pay attention! Teacher Jaqul said that our history is the only way we can make sure that the cullings won't interrupt our culture.
Ronon had yawned and ruffled Kalen's hair.
I'm hungry Uncle Ronon, Quran had said and buried her head in Ronon's hair. Can we go home yet?
"Look, we can't go back just yet, Elizabeth. I haven't been able to get a clearly enough reading to locate the source the energy bursts yet, but Ronon has been able to read some of the writings," McKay said. He had walked a distance away from Ronon, but Ronon could still hear the words clearly. "It's definitely Satedan."
He could not hear what Dr. Weir said in response but after a moment McKay said, "Yes, yes, fine. I'm sending you all the images I have of the writing. I know this is your area. Oh, and tell Sheppard to save me some of the nuts he sold himself for on P3X-120."
When McKay finished his conversation with Dr. Weir, he shouted to Collins and Malone to set up camp, then he came to Ronon's side again.
"Anything else look familiar?" McKay asked, standing close enough to Ronon that Ronon could smell the exotic fruit concoction that McKay wore on all offworld missions.
"I did not study ancient language," Ronon said. Kalen was to take ancient languages next year.
Ronon had not taken Kalen's hand during the entire trip to the museum. He was too old for it. But Kalen had grabbed Ronon's hand and pulled him to a display of a battered tapestry.
It's a poem, Kalen said. It says, 'they disappeared beside' burnt bits, burnt bits, 'now we run' big gaping hole, burnt bits, 'throughout these plastered maps'. Mom says it's sad. I think it's too bad all those parts were burnt because it could have been a happy poem. Anyway, I'm not actually reading all of it because my ancient language is not very good, but I memorized it when we studied it in class last year. I won't be taking ancient languages until secondary school.
Ronon had not realized that he was shaking until McKay came closer and clasped his arm.
"Are you okay?" McKay asked.
Ronon did not trust himself to answer so he kept his mouth closed and waited for McKay fill the air with a barrage of questions and words tumbling over each other. But McKay was strangely quiet after his initial question.
After a moment McKay finally said, "Look, I don't do what Sheppard... or Elizabeth's... thing... the thing that they do. But if you want to go back right now, I'll get Malone to fly you back to the gate. Teyla should be back from her trip to the mainland by now."
"I'm fine," Ronon said, and McKay immediately released his arm and backed away. Ronon realized, belatedly, that the words came out harsher than he intended. "I just need some food."
"Okay," McKay said. Then he started to ruffle through his pack. "Do you want Meatloaf or Turkey in Gravy?"
"Meatloaf," Ronon answered even though he could not remember what either one was.
McKay tossed him a MRE as McKay also opened one for himself. The MRE tasted like the stale technology of a faraway planet.
Ilia had baked them hafa bread when they came back home. Ronon never told her, but Ilia made the bread better than their mother. Ilia had always been a more patient cook than their mother, though she was just as strict with her children. She made Kalen put away all the copies he had made at the museum before she allowed him at her table.
She did make an exception to the no conversation at the dinner table rule that one time. Kalen was so excited about all the artifacts he had seen at the museum that Ilia let him tell her about it before the last of the utensils had been taken away from the table.
Her table cloth had been bright blue and stainless beneath the fine pottery dishes.
"So, umm, where have you seen this writing before?" McKay asked, taking Ronon away from his paling memories.
"In a museum in Kalros," Ronon said, keeping his eyes focused on the carvings.
"Do you remember the stargate address?" McKay asked, moving closer to Ronon again. The man had no instincts at all. "Maybe someone there can help us with--"
"Kalros was a city on Sateda," Ronon said. "My sister and her children lived there. It was the first city that the Wraith destroyed."
McKay made a choking sound and Ronon did not turn to him. "I'm sorry." Then McKay moved away shouting more order to Collins and Malone setting up camp.
Ronon did not see McKay again until he was already lying in his sleeping bag in his tent. McKay unzipped the tent and squeezed inside carrying his own sleeping bag.
"Look, these are all two person tents, and Collins refuses to set up another one for me," McKay said as Ronon rolled over to give McKay room to put down his sleeping bag. "I'll shut up. I do know how to shut up. I don't usually do it when someone tells me to shut up because they usually do it for stupid reasons, but I-- okay, shutting up now."
Then McKay crawled over Ronon and squeezed into his sleeping bag.
Ronon said nothing. The smell of the exotic fruit was almost overwhelming.
"My sister and her daughter lives in San Diego," McKay broke his promise minutes later. "I saw them the last time I was on Earth. I hadn't seen her for four years before that. I didn't even know she moved to the United States. That's the country that Colonel Sheppard is from."
Ronon did not make any sound. He wondered if McKay would be quiet if he thought Ronon was asleep, but he did not think so.
He was right.
"My sister owns an used bookstore and she makes wood cabinets for rich people who have nothing better to do with their money," McKay said. "My niece though--Savannah is in grade six and she's taking advanced calculus classes. And God... she's something else. She has at least four boys eating out of her hand."
Ronon closed his eyes.
"Jeannie thinks Savannah is too smart for her own good, and she worries a lot. I mean, if you think I worry a lot you should have seen Jeannie when Savannah was five minutes past her curfew. I had to calm her down before Savannah got home. I never thought I'd be the cool uncle," McKay kept on talking and Ronon let his voice wash over him. "I gave her a laptop before I left. She gave me a bracelet that she made. It's purple. I hate purple, but I didn't tell her that. It said Uncle Rodney on it."
Ronon fell asleep to McKay's words.
He woke up to McKay's soft snoring against his neck in the middle of the night. The scientist had rolled on to his side and buried his face in Ronon's hair. Ronon could feel the wet warm exhalations against the back of his neck.
Ronon breathed out slowly. He had not had such intimacy with another person in more than seven years. When he shared sleeping arrangements with Teyla and Sheppard, each soldier's instinct had been too sharp to allow such closeness, even in sleep.
Counting McKay's breaths, Ronon fell asleep again.
When he woke the second time, McKay was getting up and trying to be quiet, but Ronon felt him tumble around in his sleeping bag. By the time McKay left the tent, Ronon was wide awake. He stared at the fabric at the top of the tent and let himself be still.
Quran's ceiling had reflective stars made from koicite crystals. Jeuls had put them up two days before he died. Jeuls had given up on convincing Kalen to be an astronomer, and focused on shaping Quran instead.
Uncle Ronon? Kalen had called out from the doorway.
What it is? Ronon had asked as he sat up from Quran's ridiculously large bed. Quran had always slept with Ilia when Ronon came so that Ronon got her bed.
Is it true? Are they coming? Kalen had asked, his eyes big and reflective in the darkness.
Ronon closed his eyes.
"Wake up!" McKay's head was back in the tent, his eyes large and blue. "I think I got a definite read on the source of the energy readings."
Ronon got up from his sleeping bag and followed McKay outside.
McKay talked as they walked but mostly to himself. The two marines walked behind Ronon and McKay and they stayed silent. Ronon wondered if Sheppard had chosen the two of them to accompany McKay on this mission because of their silence.
Around them, the forest was green and sparse. It would provide very little shelter and protection if they were to be attacked.
An attack is coming, Ilia had said when she was making tea. Her long fingers were curled around the handle of the iron kettle.
Ronon had not denied the accusation. He was not surprised that Ilia knew. Jeuls had been the one who discovered their approach. He had reported in before the Wraith killed him. The official report had said that Jeuls' research vessel had suffered a malfunction and exploded. But Kal had shown him Jeuls' last transmission. He had heard Jeuls' screams.
"We are here," McKay said, stopping abruptly. "It's subterranean." McKay swung around with his computer pad. "Look for some sort of a covering or opening for an underground structure."
"Here," Collins said. "I think I found something."
Ronon walked Collin's position and looked at what the young marine pointed to. There was a metal sheet peaking out from some overgrown plants. There were more ancient Satedan writing in red and gold.
"Don't touch it," Ronon said. "I know what this is."
Do you know what this is? Ilia had asked Ronon, holding up a bright red capsule that must have been issued to Jeuls before his last mission.
Yes. Ronon had said. He had refused it himself when he was offered. He would fight, no matter the consequence.
Jeuls didn't take it with him, Ilia said. I wish he did. I wish he had learned how to use a weapon.
There had been no inflection in Ilia's voice and Ronon knew in an instant that she too had heard Jeuls' last transmission. She could not have been given access, so she must have hacked into the system. Ilia had always been extraordinarily intelligent.
He made his own choices, Ronon finally said.
"It's a self destruct energy weapon," Ronon said. "I do not know how it works, but it was used twice on Sateda in our history."
"What?" McKay's eyes widened. "Do you think it's still working?"
"After the self destruct happens, all the energy that was not released during the initial burst is released slowly over time," Ronon said. This, this he did study himself. "The technology to create the self destruct energy weapon was lost in my time."
McKay walked closer to the metal sheet. "If I take a look at it maybe I can reverse engineer it. Something like that could be really helpful. It's been over a thousand years and there is still energy left."
"No," Ronon said and grabbed McKay's outreaching hand. "The technology is designed to destroy itself so there would be nothing for the Wraith to find. The rest of it is nothing but an containment field."
McKay opened his mouth, but then he closed it again. After a moment, he asked, "Was this in the museum too?"
"No. I can read the writing on the metal," Ronon said. "That word has not changed through the years."
"What does it say?"
"It says, choice," Ronon said.
If the time comes, I will not make the same choices as Jeuls or you Ronon. And I will be the one to make those choices for my children.
***
AN: Title taken from T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men
The Satedan poem in the middle of the story is written by the surrealisme automatique poetry generator
by dracostella
PG
Ronon, McKay
Angst
Uncle Ronon! UNCLE RONON! Are you paying attention? You need to pay attention! Teacher Jaqul said that our history is the only way we can make sure that the cullings won't interrupt our culture.
The carvings were blue and silver, like the way the name at the museum in Kalros had been written. Ronon had taken Kalen and Quran there during his last Solstice leave. Kalen had wanted to look at their new collection of tapestries. Quran just wanted to sit on Ronon's shoulders.
Ronon placed his hand on the stone and waited for a heartbeat for McKay to tell him to not touch it. When no reproach came, Ronon let his hand run along the carvings, feeling the rough texture beneath his fingertips.
"Can you read any of it?" McKay asked.
"These," Ronon said, pointing to the rows of writing that he remembered from their trip to the museum. "These are numbers. They mark dates from the second kingdom."
"How long ago was that?"
"One thousand two hundred rotations around our sun."
Look, Uncle Ronon, Kalen had said pointing to the display behind the force field. The two looks just like our two! But look at the five, see how the five looks like seven? Teacher Jaqul says that our number seven used to be five, but King Nubia from the third kingdom wanted to create his own number so he created six. And then Senator Kal of the first republic added another six, and then...
"Dr. McKay, there's another energy burst," Collins, one of the two marines with them said.
"I'll be right there!" McKay yelled back but he didn't move away from Ronon's side. "Does any of this say what's producing the energy bursts?"
"I can't read most of it," Ronon said.
"Okay then," McKay said, still not moving away. "I'll be over there taking more readings. Call me if you recognize anything else."
Uncle Ronon! UNCLE RONON! Are you paying attention? You need to pay attention! Teacher Jaqul said that our history is the only way we can make sure that the cullings won't interrupt our culture.
Ronon had yawned and ruffled Kalen's hair.
I'm hungry Uncle Ronon, Quran had said and buried her head in Ronon's hair. Can we go home yet?
"Look, we can't go back just yet, Elizabeth. I haven't been able to get a clearly enough reading to locate the source the energy bursts yet, but Ronon has been able to read some of the writings," McKay said. He had walked a distance away from Ronon, but Ronon could still hear the words clearly. "It's definitely Satedan."
He could not hear what Dr. Weir said in response but after a moment McKay said, "Yes, yes, fine. I'm sending you all the images I have of the writing. I know this is your area. Oh, and tell Sheppard to save me some of the nuts he sold himself for on P3X-120."
When McKay finished his conversation with Dr. Weir, he shouted to Collins and Malone to set up camp, then he came to Ronon's side again.
"Anything else look familiar?" McKay asked, standing close enough to Ronon that Ronon could smell the exotic fruit concoction that McKay wore on all offworld missions.
"I did not study ancient language," Ronon said. Kalen was to take ancient languages next year.
Ronon had not taken Kalen's hand during the entire trip to the museum. He was too old for it. But Kalen had grabbed Ronon's hand and pulled him to a display of a battered tapestry.
It's a poem, Kalen said. It says, 'they disappeared beside' burnt bits, burnt bits, 'now we run' big gaping hole, burnt bits, 'throughout these plastered maps'. Mom says it's sad. I think it's too bad all those parts were burnt because it could have been a happy poem. Anyway, I'm not actually reading all of it because my ancient language is not very good, but I memorized it when we studied it in class last year. I won't be taking ancient languages until secondary school.
Ronon had not realized that he was shaking until McKay came closer and clasped his arm.
"Are you okay?" McKay asked.
Ronon did not trust himself to answer so he kept his mouth closed and waited for McKay fill the air with a barrage of questions and words tumbling over each other. But McKay was strangely quiet after his initial question.
After a moment McKay finally said, "Look, I don't do what Sheppard... or Elizabeth's... thing... the thing that they do. But if you want to go back right now, I'll get Malone to fly you back to the gate. Teyla should be back from her trip to the mainland by now."
"I'm fine," Ronon said, and McKay immediately released his arm and backed away. Ronon realized, belatedly, that the words came out harsher than he intended. "I just need some food."
"Okay," McKay said. Then he started to ruffle through his pack. "Do you want Meatloaf or Turkey in Gravy?"
"Meatloaf," Ronon answered even though he could not remember what either one was.
McKay tossed him a MRE as McKay also opened one for himself. The MRE tasted like the stale technology of a faraway planet.
Ilia had baked them hafa bread when they came back home. Ronon never told her, but Ilia made the bread better than their mother. Ilia had always been a more patient cook than their mother, though she was just as strict with her children. She made Kalen put away all the copies he had made at the museum before she allowed him at her table.
She did make an exception to the no conversation at the dinner table rule that one time. Kalen was so excited about all the artifacts he had seen at the museum that Ilia let him tell her about it before the last of the utensils had been taken away from the table.
Her table cloth had been bright blue and stainless beneath the fine pottery dishes.
"So, umm, where have you seen this writing before?" McKay asked, taking Ronon away from his paling memories.
"In a museum in Kalros," Ronon said, keeping his eyes focused on the carvings.
"Do you remember the stargate address?" McKay asked, moving closer to Ronon again. The man had no instincts at all. "Maybe someone there can help us with--"
"Kalros was a city on Sateda," Ronon said. "My sister and her children lived there. It was the first city that the Wraith destroyed."
McKay made a choking sound and Ronon did not turn to him. "I'm sorry." Then McKay moved away shouting more order to Collins and Malone setting up camp.
Ronon did not see McKay again until he was already lying in his sleeping bag in his tent. McKay unzipped the tent and squeezed inside carrying his own sleeping bag.
"Look, these are all two person tents, and Collins refuses to set up another one for me," McKay said as Ronon rolled over to give McKay room to put down his sleeping bag. "I'll shut up. I do know how to shut up. I don't usually do it when someone tells me to shut up because they usually do it for stupid reasons, but I-- okay, shutting up now."
Then McKay crawled over Ronon and squeezed into his sleeping bag.
Ronon said nothing. The smell of the exotic fruit was almost overwhelming.
"My sister and her daughter lives in San Diego," McKay broke his promise minutes later. "I saw them the last time I was on Earth. I hadn't seen her for four years before that. I didn't even know she moved to the United States. That's the country that Colonel Sheppard is from."
Ronon did not make any sound. He wondered if McKay would be quiet if he thought Ronon was asleep, but he did not think so.
He was right.
"My sister owns an used bookstore and she makes wood cabinets for rich people who have nothing better to do with their money," McKay said. "My niece though--Savannah is in grade six and she's taking advanced calculus classes. And God... she's something else. She has at least four boys eating out of her hand."
Ronon closed his eyes.
"Jeannie thinks Savannah is too smart for her own good, and she worries a lot. I mean, if you think I worry a lot you should have seen Jeannie when Savannah was five minutes past her curfew. I had to calm her down before Savannah got home. I never thought I'd be the cool uncle," McKay kept on talking and Ronon let his voice wash over him. "I gave her a laptop before I left. She gave me a bracelet that she made. It's purple. I hate purple, but I didn't tell her that. It said Uncle Rodney on it."
Ronon fell asleep to McKay's words.
He woke up to McKay's soft snoring against his neck in the middle of the night. The scientist had rolled on to his side and buried his face in Ronon's hair. Ronon could feel the wet warm exhalations against the back of his neck.
Ronon breathed out slowly. He had not had such intimacy with another person in more than seven years. When he shared sleeping arrangements with Teyla and Sheppard, each soldier's instinct had been too sharp to allow such closeness, even in sleep.
Counting McKay's breaths, Ronon fell asleep again.
When he woke the second time, McKay was getting up and trying to be quiet, but Ronon felt him tumble around in his sleeping bag. By the time McKay left the tent, Ronon was wide awake. He stared at the fabric at the top of the tent and let himself be still.
Quran's ceiling had reflective stars made from koicite crystals. Jeuls had put them up two days before he died. Jeuls had given up on convincing Kalen to be an astronomer, and focused on shaping Quran instead.
Uncle Ronon? Kalen had called out from the doorway.
What it is? Ronon had asked as he sat up from Quran's ridiculously large bed. Quran had always slept with Ilia when Ronon came so that Ronon got her bed.
Is it true? Are they coming? Kalen had asked, his eyes big and reflective in the darkness.
Ronon closed his eyes.
"Wake up!" McKay's head was back in the tent, his eyes large and blue. "I think I got a definite read on the source of the energy readings."
Ronon got up from his sleeping bag and followed McKay outside.
McKay talked as they walked but mostly to himself. The two marines walked behind Ronon and McKay and they stayed silent. Ronon wondered if Sheppard had chosen the two of them to accompany McKay on this mission because of their silence.
Around them, the forest was green and sparse. It would provide very little shelter and protection if they were to be attacked.
An attack is coming, Ilia had said when she was making tea. Her long fingers were curled around the handle of the iron kettle.
Ronon had not denied the accusation. He was not surprised that Ilia knew. Jeuls had been the one who discovered their approach. He had reported in before the Wraith killed him. The official report had said that Jeuls' research vessel had suffered a malfunction and exploded. But Kal had shown him Jeuls' last transmission. He had heard Jeuls' screams.
"We are here," McKay said, stopping abruptly. "It's subterranean." McKay swung around with his computer pad. "Look for some sort of a covering or opening for an underground structure."
"Here," Collins said. "I think I found something."
Ronon walked Collin's position and looked at what the young marine pointed to. There was a metal sheet peaking out from some overgrown plants. There were more ancient Satedan writing in red and gold.
"Don't touch it," Ronon said. "I know what this is."
Do you know what this is? Ilia had asked Ronon, holding up a bright red capsule that must have been issued to Jeuls before his last mission.
Yes. Ronon had said. He had refused it himself when he was offered. He would fight, no matter the consequence.
Jeuls didn't take it with him, Ilia said. I wish he did. I wish he had learned how to use a weapon.
There had been no inflection in Ilia's voice and Ronon knew in an instant that she too had heard Jeuls' last transmission. She could not have been given access, so she must have hacked into the system. Ilia had always been extraordinarily intelligent.
He made his own choices, Ronon finally said.
"It's a self destruct energy weapon," Ronon said. "I do not know how it works, but it was used twice on Sateda in our history."
"What?" McKay's eyes widened. "Do you think it's still working?"
"After the self destruct happens, all the energy that was not released during the initial burst is released slowly over time," Ronon said. This, this he did study himself. "The technology to create the self destruct energy weapon was lost in my time."
McKay walked closer to the metal sheet. "If I take a look at it maybe I can reverse engineer it. Something like that could be really helpful. It's been over a thousand years and there is still energy left."
"No," Ronon said and grabbed McKay's outreaching hand. "The technology is designed to destroy itself so there would be nothing for the Wraith to find. The rest of it is nothing but an containment field."
McKay opened his mouth, but then he closed it again. After a moment, he asked, "Was this in the museum too?"
"No. I can read the writing on the metal," Ronon said. "That word has not changed through the years."
"What does it say?"
"It says, choice," Ronon said.
If the time comes, I will not make the same choices as Jeuls or you Ronon. And I will be the one to make those choices for my children.
***
AN: Title taken from T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men
The Satedan poem in the middle of the story is written by the surrealisme automatique poetry generator
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Date: 2006-01-23 04:18 am (UTC)