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sga_flashficAuthor: Darkrose (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
darkrosetiger)
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Characters: Kolya, McKay, Sheppard
Archive:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
sga_flashfic; all others, please ask.
Rating: PG
Length: ~1,150 words
Summary: Acastus Kolya doesn't believe in ghosts.
Warnings: Mostly-dead character. Spoilers through "The Eye"
Disclaimer: None of these people are mine, and I'm not making any money. OMGMGMDUNSUE!
Notes: Written for the "Folklore and Superstitions" challenge onsga_flashfic.Thanks to telesilla for giving it a read. The title is a line from "Jonas & Ezekiel", by the Indigo Girls.
Thousands of years ago, before the Wraith descended on the Pegasus galaxy like a plague, the ancestors of the Genii believed that the spirits of the dead never truly left the world. If they were buried with honor and their names remembered by their children and their children's children, the spirits would add their strength and wisdom to the Genii, and their descendants would prosper. If the dead were slighted in any way, however, they would haunt the living and, if they could, bring them into death before their proper time. When the Wraith came, there were too many who died aboard the hive ships, their bodies discarded once the Wraith had no more use for them, that the old traditions had to be forgotten, lest the burden of the unquiet dead drive the survivors to madness. Ghosts were a thing of fancy and superstition, and the Genii could no longer afford to keep anything that was not practical.
Acastus Kolya was a practical man. If he was given an order that he did not believe was reasonable, he would voice his objections, but carry out the order as instructed. If it became clear that the goal of a mission was not achievable, then he would attempt to salvage what he could. He did not believe in ghosts or spirits--but that was before he captured Rodney McKay, and before McKay died.
Cowen suggested that perhaps they should return McKay's body to the Atlanteans, but Kolya convinced him otherwise; if the Atlanteans believed him to be alive, then they might be willing to bargain for his release. They kept his body in a cold storage room and waited to hear from Atlantis. Weeks passed, however, and there was nothing, only word from the Manarians that the refugees from the storm had gone, returned to their great city. Kolya was surprised, for he had thought the Atlanteans soft enough to risk everything for the sake of one man...yet they did not come.
The first hints of something very wrong came from the scientists. At first, Kolya dismissed their complaints--items in the labs disappearing and showing up in other areas of the city, lights dimming and brightening outside of the normal cycles of the generators, unseasonable cold that no fire or furnace could dispel--all things that he was confident would a perfectly reasonable explanation when investigated more thoroughly. But when Ladon came to him, shaking visibly, and showed him a pad of equations with a notation in a different hand: "Stupid! This is never going to work--did you get your science degree out of a Pegasus Cracker Jack box?" Kolya felt the first stirrings of an unaccustomed fear.
Still convinced that there had to be a cause other than a vengeful ghost, Kolya decided to spend a day in the labs, to see if the spirit--if that was what it was--would act. For the first two hours of his vigil, nothing unusual happened. But as one of the scientists went to the slate board to write out a calculation, he heard what sounded distinctly like an exasperated sigh. Kolya watched, astonished, as the results of several years' work were erased and new calculations were written in their place.
"I'm not doing this because I like you people," said a disembodied, irritated-sounding voice, "but I know there are kids down here and if you keep acting like radiation poisoning is no big deal, you won't need the Wraith to come because you'll already be dead. There--" A piece of chalk flew across the room and hit Ladon between the eyes."Now, will you try not to be a moron? I know it's hard for you, but you people are kind of working to a deadline, and you don't have time to screw around."
Kolya's knuckles were white where he gripped the edge of a desk. "McKay?"
"No," snapped the voice, "It's Santa Claus. What do you want, Kolya?"
"I'd ask you that. You are..."
"Dead. As the proverbial doornail, and all because you idiots didn't believe me when I told you that citrus could kill me."
Kolya glanced over at Ladon, who shrugged. "We had his food tested for poison after he died, but there was nothing..."
The slow, steady thump sounded like someone banging his head into a wall. "Of course there wasn't. That's why it's called an allergy. This is my punishment for telling Carson that medicine was voodoo, I'm sure of it."
"McKay. What. Do. You. Want?" Kolya said through tightly-clenched teeth.
"I want not to be dead, but failing that, I want to not be stuck around here. Haunting you has been entertaining, but given that I didn't particularly enjoy being here when I was alive, I'd prefer to be wandering--or floating, I suppose--around Atlantis and making sure Zelenka doesn't screw things up too badly." As he spoke, McKay slowly solidified, until Kolya could see him as a transparent but very definitive shape hovering a few inches above the floor and looking annoyed.
"If we send you back..."
"Send my body back, you mean."
"Yes, yes--if we send your body back--you won't disturb our scientists. But..." Kolya leaned forward, "you also won't help us any longer."
"Oh no you don't!" McKay vanished again, and Kolya felt a cold pass through him that was worse than going through the stargate, worse than when Athor dared him to spend midwinter night on Ilyan's Peak. "If you don't send me back," McKay's voice whispered in his ear, "I promise you, I'll make your life a living hell. I can do it--just ask anyone on Atlantis."
"It may take some time," Kolya told him. "The Atlanteans have been staying close to home of late." He reached up and rubbed his ear, which felt like a block of ice.
"Time," McKay said drily, "is one thing I have plenty of."
*****
"For what it's worth, it really was an accident," Rodney said, leaning over the mug of coffee. The steam blended with his ephemeral form, which John found a little disturbing.
"That's not the point. They killed you, Rodney!" He moved the cup. "And you really don't need to incorporate caffeine into your...um...."
"Body? Oh, right; I don't have one, because I'm, you know, dead!" Rodney folded his arms over his chest. "You know, I can't actually drink coffee, or eat or have sex, so I'd appreciate it if you'd allow me the few pleasures that I can still sort-of experience. And going after the Genii because you want revenge is just as stupid an idea as it was ten minutes ago when you first brought it up."
John sighed. "I know, it's just..."
"I'm touched. Really--I mean it." John felt one side of his face go cold as Rodney touched him. "But at least you're not completely deprived of my genius."
darkrosetiger)Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Characters: Kolya, McKay, Sheppard
Archive:
sga_flashfic; all others, please ask.Rating: PG
Length: ~1,150 words
Summary: Acastus Kolya doesn't believe in ghosts.
Warnings: Mostly-dead character. Spoilers through "The Eye"
Disclaimer: None of these people are mine, and I'm not making any money. OMGMGMDUNSUE!
Notes: Written for the "Folklore and Superstitions" challenge on
sga_flashfic.Thanks to telesilla for giving it a read. The title is a line from "Jonas & Ezekiel", by the Indigo Girls.Thousands of years ago, before the Wraith descended on the Pegasus galaxy like a plague, the ancestors of the Genii believed that the spirits of the dead never truly left the world. If they were buried with honor and their names remembered by their children and their children's children, the spirits would add their strength and wisdom to the Genii, and their descendants would prosper. If the dead were slighted in any way, however, they would haunt the living and, if they could, bring them into death before their proper time. When the Wraith came, there were too many who died aboard the hive ships, their bodies discarded once the Wraith had no more use for them, that the old traditions had to be forgotten, lest the burden of the unquiet dead drive the survivors to madness. Ghosts were a thing of fancy and superstition, and the Genii could no longer afford to keep anything that was not practical.
Acastus Kolya was a practical man. If he was given an order that he did not believe was reasonable, he would voice his objections, but carry out the order as instructed. If it became clear that the goal of a mission was not achievable, then he would attempt to salvage what he could. He did not believe in ghosts or spirits--but that was before he captured Rodney McKay, and before McKay died.
Cowen suggested that perhaps they should return McKay's body to the Atlanteans, but Kolya convinced him otherwise; if the Atlanteans believed him to be alive, then they might be willing to bargain for his release. They kept his body in a cold storage room and waited to hear from Atlantis. Weeks passed, however, and there was nothing, only word from the Manarians that the refugees from the storm had gone, returned to their great city. Kolya was surprised, for he had thought the Atlanteans soft enough to risk everything for the sake of one man...yet they did not come.
The first hints of something very wrong came from the scientists. At first, Kolya dismissed their complaints--items in the labs disappearing and showing up in other areas of the city, lights dimming and brightening outside of the normal cycles of the generators, unseasonable cold that no fire or furnace could dispel--all things that he was confident would a perfectly reasonable explanation when investigated more thoroughly. But when Ladon came to him, shaking visibly, and showed him a pad of equations with a notation in a different hand: "Stupid! This is never going to work--did you get your science degree out of a Pegasus Cracker Jack box?" Kolya felt the first stirrings of an unaccustomed fear.
Still convinced that there had to be a cause other than a vengeful ghost, Kolya decided to spend a day in the labs, to see if the spirit--if that was what it was--would act. For the first two hours of his vigil, nothing unusual happened. But as one of the scientists went to the slate board to write out a calculation, he heard what sounded distinctly like an exasperated sigh. Kolya watched, astonished, as the results of several years' work were erased and new calculations were written in their place.
"I'm not doing this because I like you people," said a disembodied, irritated-sounding voice, "but I know there are kids down here and if you keep acting like radiation poisoning is no big deal, you won't need the Wraith to come because you'll already be dead. There--" A piece of chalk flew across the room and hit Ladon between the eyes."Now, will you try not to be a moron? I know it's hard for you, but you people are kind of working to a deadline, and you don't have time to screw around."
Kolya's knuckles were white where he gripped the edge of a desk. "McKay?"
"No," snapped the voice, "It's Santa Claus. What do you want, Kolya?"
"I'd ask you that. You are..."
"Dead. As the proverbial doornail, and all because you idiots didn't believe me when I told you that citrus could kill me."
Kolya glanced over at Ladon, who shrugged. "We had his food tested for poison after he died, but there was nothing..."
The slow, steady thump sounded like someone banging his head into a wall. "Of course there wasn't. That's why it's called an allergy. This is my punishment for telling Carson that medicine was voodoo, I'm sure of it."
"McKay. What. Do. You. Want?" Kolya said through tightly-clenched teeth.
"I want not to be dead, but failing that, I want to not be stuck around here. Haunting you has been entertaining, but given that I didn't particularly enjoy being here when I was alive, I'd prefer to be wandering--or floating, I suppose--around Atlantis and making sure Zelenka doesn't screw things up too badly." As he spoke, McKay slowly solidified, until Kolya could see him as a transparent but very definitive shape hovering a few inches above the floor and looking annoyed.
"If we send you back..."
"Send my body back, you mean."
"Yes, yes--if we send your body back--you won't disturb our scientists. But..." Kolya leaned forward, "you also won't help us any longer."
"Oh no you don't!" McKay vanished again, and Kolya felt a cold pass through him that was worse than going through the stargate, worse than when Athor dared him to spend midwinter night on Ilyan's Peak. "If you don't send me back," McKay's voice whispered in his ear, "I promise you, I'll make your life a living hell. I can do it--just ask anyone on Atlantis."
"It may take some time," Kolya told him. "The Atlanteans have been staying close to home of late." He reached up and rubbed his ear, which felt like a block of ice.
"Time," McKay said drily, "is one thing I have plenty of."
*****
"For what it's worth, it really was an accident," Rodney said, leaning over the mug of coffee. The steam blended with his ephemeral form, which John found a little disturbing.
"That's not the point. They killed you, Rodney!" He moved the cup. "And you really don't need to incorporate caffeine into your...um...."
"Body? Oh, right; I don't have one, because I'm, you know, dead!" Rodney folded his arms over his chest. "You know, I can't actually drink coffee, or eat or have sex, so I'd appreciate it if you'd allow me the few pleasures that I can still sort-of experience. And going after the Genii because you want revenge is just as stupid an idea as it was ten minutes ago when you first brought it up."
John sighed. "I know, it's just..."
"I'm touched. Really--I mean it." John felt one side of his face go cold as Rodney touched him. "But at least you're not completely deprived of my genius."
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-23 05:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-28 02:49 am (UTC)