The End of Ignorance (Earthside Challenge)
Jul. 2nd, 2006 02:21 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
lccb.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sga_flashficTitle: The End of Ignorance
Characters: Lara Ford, with a bit of Sheppard and mentions of Ford
Category: Gen, Futurefic
Rating: PG
Word Count: 516
Spoilers: Mild for Intruder
Summary: The news had been insane all week, like something out of a sci-fi novel.
Notes: I got Lara’s name from the Gateworld transcript of Intruder. Wasn’t planning on writing for this challenge, then this sorta came out of nowhere...
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and its characters are owned by people far more creative and wealthier than I.
The End of Ignorance
Somewhere, on the outer edges of her awareness, Lara Ford Martinson could hear the sizzling on the stove that signaled that the pasta was boiling over.
But her attention was fixed on the television screen.
The news had been insane all week, like something out of a sci-fi novel. Something about aliens that either wanted to take us over or eat us or God knows what. It was all too weird for her to process, and until these aliens were knocking on her doorstep, she was happy to leave it as someone else’s problem to worry about. Hell, it was hardly the first time the government had hid something from the public, though it gave entirely too much credence to any lunatic who had ever claimed “Aliens made me do it.”
But it was still all anyone could talk about, so when she turned on the small TV in her kitchen she was unsurprised that it was still aliens 24/7. Then, as she glanced up from her dinner preparations to see a Pentagon press conference, she froze. Standing next to the Secretary-General-Admiral-whoever at the microphone was a face she knew.
The feeling of recognition hit her with such force that she grabbed the edge of the counter for support. He looked older. His dark hair was graying a bit at the temples, and looked somewhat neater than she remembered it. The expression on his face was the picture of military stoicism, but Lara remembered how troubled it was when he came to visit her all those years ago.
Lara recalled she wasn’t particularly kind to him, then. It was clear he cared about Aiden and was trying to provide what comfort and hope he could, but she was angry and frustrated and unsure of how to deal with the loss of her cousin who maybe wasn’t really gone. They never did get official confirmation one way or the other. By the time her grandparents had passed away, Lara was pretty sure that Aiden was dead, too.
As realization started to sink in, Lara felt as if her world had just tilted sideways. When Aiden went MIA, it was at the height of the War on Terror, and she had just assumed he had been on some secret mission in Iraq or Afghanistan or North Korea. Of course the not-knowing troubled her, but she had made a certain kind of peace with it and never pursued it. It pained her to remember the grief it caused her grandparents, but, it was the path Aiden chose, after all.
Lara barely registered her husband rushing into the room. “Lara, you’re not watching the stove!”
She overheard cursing and clanking – probably James taking the pots off the burners. Then, “Lara, what’s wrong?”
Lara glanced briefly at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “I never...” She turned back to the TV. “He...”
James gently grabbed her shoulders, turning her to him. “Lara, what is it?”
She finally looked into his eyes, full of concern and confusion. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I think I know what happened to Aiden.”
Fin.
Characters: Lara Ford, with a bit of Sheppard and mentions of Ford
Category: Gen, Futurefic
Rating: PG
Word Count: 516
Spoilers: Mild for Intruder
Summary: The news had been insane all week, like something out of a sci-fi novel.
Notes: I got Lara’s name from the Gateworld transcript of Intruder. Wasn’t planning on writing for this challenge, then this sorta came out of nowhere...
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and its characters are owned by people far more creative and wealthier than I.
The End of Ignorance
Somewhere, on the outer edges of her awareness, Lara Ford Martinson could hear the sizzling on the stove that signaled that the pasta was boiling over.
But her attention was fixed on the television screen.
The news had been insane all week, like something out of a sci-fi novel. Something about aliens that either wanted to take us over or eat us or God knows what. It was all too weird for her to process, and until these aliens were knocking on her doorstep, she was happy to leave it as someone else’s problem to worry about. Hell, it was hardly the first time the government had hid something from the public, though it gave entirely too much credence to any lunatic who had ever claimed “Aliens made me do it.”
But it was still all anyone could talk about, so when she turned on the small TV in her kitchen she was unsurprised that it was still aliens 24/7. Then, as she glanced up from her dinner preparations to see a Pentagon press conference, she froze. Standing next to the Secretary-General-Admiral-whoever at the microphone was a face she knew.
The feeling of recognition hit her with such force that she grabbed the edge of the counter for support. He looked older. His dark hair was graying a bit at the temples, and looked somewhat neater than she remembered it. The expression on his face was the picture of military stoicism, but Lara remembered how troubled it was when he came to visit her all those years ago.
Lara recalled she wasn’t particularly kind to him, then. It was clear he cared about Aiden and was trying to provide what comfort and hope he could, but she was angry and frustrated and unsure of how to deal with the loss of her cousin who maybe wasn’t really gone. They never did get official confirmation one way or the other. By the time her grandparents had passed away, Lara was pretty sure that Aiden was dead, too.
As realization started to sink in, Lara felt as if her world had just tilted sideways. When Aiden went MIA, it was at the height of the War on Terror, and she had just assumed he had been on some secret mission in Iraq or Afghanistan or North Korea. Of course the not-knowing troubled her, but she had made a certain kind of peace with it and never pursued it. It pained her to remember the grief it caused her grandparents, but, it was the path Aiden chose, after all.
Lara barely registered her husband rushing into the room. “Lara, you’re not watching the stove!”
She overheard cursing and clanking – probably James taking the pots off the burners. Then, “Lara, what’s wrong?”
Lara glanced briefly at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “I never...” She turned back to the TV. “He...”
James gently grabbed her shoulders, turning her to him. “Lara, what is it?”
She finally looked into his eyes, full of concern and confusion. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I think I know what happened to Aiden.”
Fin.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 07:21 pm (UTC)Wow, powerful last line. Great fic.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 07:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 08:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 09:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 09:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-02 10:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-04 01:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-03 03:39 am (UTC)Beautiful piece of writing.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-04 01:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-03 11:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-04 02:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-05 05:06 pm (UTC)That pushed all the right buttons.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-08 05:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-06 03:25 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-08 05:25 pm (UTC)