sga_flashfic | Captain Trips Is Not The Name Of An Air Force Officer by Infinimato [Sickness Challenge]

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Captain Trips Is Not The Name Of An Air Force Officer by Infinimato [Sickness Challenge]

Title: Captain Trips Is Not The Name Of An Air Force Officer
Author:

infinimato
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen. Crossover with SG1 & The Stand.
Warnings: AU from Return Pt. 1. Character deaths.
Disclaimer: <#include "std-disclaimer.h">
A/N: For

cesperanza, who loves The Stand more than I do. This may not make complete sense if you haven't read the book or seen the mini-series, but I've tried.
The main thing you need to know: The plague is started by an experiment gone wrong, and it's over 99% fatal. Nobody knows why some people are immune.
Summary: This was it, what was left of the SGC.

Lorne's team had been off-world when the plague started. By the time they knew it was out of control, all off-world teams were being shunted to the Alpha and Beta sites. Unfortunately, it had carried there before they knew how trivially it was transmitted.

Humanity was dying out.

The simple irony was, it wasn't the Ori. The painful irony was, if they hadn't been evicted from Atlantis, they wouldn't have to be on Earth watching coworkers, friends and loved ones die.

General Landry had been one of the first to catch it. The next thing they knew nearly everyone was sick. Even Dr. Lam got it. Colonel Mitchell, acting head of the SGC, locked down the mountain, but it made no difference. Almost everyone got sick, and those who got sick died. Col. Mitchell died in Col. Carter's arms. Lorne wished he hadn't been there to see it.

-

They were sitting in the mess, empty except for them. Colonels Carter and Sheppard, Dr. Beckett, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, Lieutenants Maronni, Johanson, Sullivan and Flaus, Sergeants Scott, Cho and Wu.

This was it, what was left of the SGC.

"Why are we alive?" Daniel asked, and all Lorne could think was, "Why aren't we dead?"

"I don't know, son," Dr. Beckett said, "I wish I knew. Maybe I could have saved the others. I tried... I tried..." Becket looked miserable, like he was about to burst into tears. The dark circles under the eyes full of pain showed how hard he was taking this. Sergeant Cho leaned over and patted his hand, making gentle murmuring noises. "Mother hen," Lorne thought, and realized it was a good thing. Beckett always did take things a bit personally, someone comforting him could only help.

"The gene," said Colonel Carter. Everyone looked up in surprise. Carter had been virtually silent since Mitchell had died, inconsolable in her grief. After watching so many others die, losing Mitchell had seemed to break something within her.

"What, Sam?" Daniel gently asked.

"The ATA gene. That must be it. That must be what's keeping this group alive."

Lorne thought about that with a sense of horror. He know all of the soldiers at the table. Except for Colonel Carter, all had been on Atlantis at one point.

"Then what about you, Daniel, Teal'c?"

Sam was silent for a moment. Then, "Naquadah. I bet it's the naquadah in our blood."

"Sam," Daniel says patiently, "I've never been a host."

"No, but - maybe it's a leftover from being ascended."

How weird was that? Saved by the ATA gene. Lorne couldn't decide if it was a curse or a blessing. He looked around the table. Sheppard looked drawn, pale. They knew Dr. Weir didn't have the gene. Sheppard had told Lorne he'd tried to contact McKay at Area 51 to see if he was ok, but wasn't able to get through.

Suddenly the power went out, then emergency lights kicked on.

"The power grid must be falling apart," Sheppard said grimly. "There aren't enough people left to keep it running." He looked at Carter. "We should make our way to the surface."

"And go where?" she asked, the bitterness in her voice so very harsh.

"Boulder," said Lorne. He wasn't sure why he'd said it out loud.

"Boulder?" Carter said, confused, "Why Boulder?"

Lorne knew this was going to sound weird, but he had to say it. "Look, I know this is gonna sound like I'm ready for the nut house, but, I- I had these dreams. About people. People in Boulder."

Lorne saw Sullivan trade looks with Scott and Wu. They'd been part of a team on Atlantis, and often had spent time together. When they came back to Earth Sheppard and Lorne had both quietly suggested to General Landry that they be separated.

Cho was staring at him intently. "And an old woman?" she asked.

"OK, that's weird," Lorne said, "How did you know that?"

"And she keeps saying, 'You come visit me.'" Cho was almost in a trance. "Mother Abigail. She's so old. And she's surrounded by others. A pregnant woman. A man who can't hear. A child who can't remember. A man who-"

"Cho! Laurel!" Sullivan was nearly shaking her, growling. "Snap out of it."

"Stand down, Lieutenant," Sheppard ordered. His hand reached up to scrub at his face, tired and weary. "She's right. I've had the same dream."

"As have I, Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne," said Teal'c. "In my dreams I have seen the people Sergeant Cho described. And others. There is one man who looks somewhat like Jonas Quinn." Teal'c face twisted into a grimace. "But I do not like the look in his eyes."

Lorne looked at Teal'c and shuddered. Next to him, he felt Sheppard do the same. He wondered if Sheppard also dreamed of the dark man.

Teal'c turned to Carter. "Have you not had this dream, Colonel Carter?"

Carter looked down. "I haven't been able to sleep. Not for more than a little bit, here and there. Not since... since..." She trailed off.

Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath.

"Ok, then. It's settled," Carter said, breaking the tension, "We go to Boulder."

--

The climb to the surface was long and tiring, made worse by the packs they wore and carried. They took with them as little as they could, but the extra weight bore down on them, and the weariness from the past few months took its toll as well. Dr. Beckett insisted that everyone add a bit of medical supplies to their packs. "We don't know what we'll be able to find or when we'll need it," he pointed out, and nobody could argue with that. Although Boulder wasn't that far, for all they knew they'd be traveling on foot. Best to be as prepared as possible.

They made it to the car park, still filled with vehicles. Many were parked haphazardly, as if the driver hadn't cared - or noticed - where the car landed. Some of the cars had corpses in them. The smell was horrific. Lt. Flaus started throwing up. Sgt. Cho ran over to help her.

"Should we try for one of the base trucks?" Lorne asked.

"It's unlikely we can maneuver one through this," Col. Carter replied.

"Let's see what we can find outside," Sheppard agreed.

They moved on.

-

They came to the surface to find it was late afternoon. They had totally lost track of time underground. With everyone dying, time seemed to stop mattering.

The air smelled clean and sweet, doubly so with a breeze blowing. Lorne and the others just stood there for a while, catching their breath. Lorne felt the sun warm on his face and the breeze trying to clear the horrors of the car park from his nose and mind.

The late summer air was soothing, but the nights would still be cool. Carter, Sheppard and Jackson huddled for a bit, then said they'd decided the group would walk as far as possible, then camp for the night. Wordlessly, the others picked up their things and the group headed off.

Lorne wasn't sure exactly where they were when they stopped but they'd found a nice bit of unused area -- wooded, not visible to roads, so they set up a camp and settled in. They were all experienced with this routine, even Dr. Beckett, who had been off-world many times while they were on Atlantis. They set up a watch schedule, not knowing, literally, what in the world was left around them, and went to try to sleep.

-

"Major. Major! Wake up!" came the hissed voice. Lorne opened one eye to see Laurel Cho looking at him.

"Sergeant," Lorne growled, "I don't think I'm on watch yet."

"No, sir, but -- it's Lt. Sullivan. I went to wake him for his watch and -- he's gone, sir."

Lorne jerked himself awake. "Gone?"

"Yes, sir," Cho replied, "I went to look for Wu and Scott to help me search but they're gone, too." Cho looked miserable, as if she had personally misplaced the missing three.

"OK, Cho, take it easy," Lorne said, "Wake the others. We'll set up a search and figure out what's going on."

Over the small campfire they'd been taking the risk of keeping, Lorne and Cho quickly briefed the others on what was going on. Carter asked Lorne and Beckett to check where the three had been sleeping and check the general supplies, then set the others off in a perimeter search of the area.

Twenty minutes later they were back to report. The search group had found nothing certain, although Teal'c thought they might have backtracked their original path into the woods to mask their tracks. Worse, Lorne and Beckett had found that they'd not only taken their own equipment but a sizeable amount of the medical supplies as well. Beckett cursed himself for not keeping a closer eye on them. Sheppard put a hand on his shoulder and gave him what was probably supposed to be a reassuring look. Lorne was sure that Sheppard didn't blame Beckett for anything, and likely blamed himself.

"What now?" Daniel asked. "Do we try to track them down? Bring them back?"

"The question is: do we want to?" Lorne asked.

"Where do you think they've gone?" Cho asked.

There was uncomfortable silence. Lorne suspected they were all thinking the same thing, but it was Sheppard who said the words out loud. "Las Vegas."

-

It took them over three weeks to reach Boulder. They were slowed down by feelings of being watched, and from being unable to sleep well. They were tired and had to stop often. Once they were attacked by a pack of feral dogs and wolves. Flaus's hand was injured, but Dr. Beckett had been able to keep infection from setting in. They counted themselves lucky.

When they got to the Boulder town limits they were astounded at the signs of living people and civilization. They were greeted by a pair of young men who grew excited to learn that they were military, and not just paper-pushers. "It's not the guns, so much," they kept saying, "but we can use any technical expertise we can find."

The young men took them to meet the Free Zone Committee. "They don't see every new group that comes in anymore," the young men told them, "but the word is out to bring in any military folks. And scientists. Are any of you scientists?"

-

As they got out of the van, a large man came running up to them. "Hello!" he called, "I'm Tom Cullen!" He grabbed Lorne's hand and shook it, asking, "Who are you?"

"I'm Major Evan Lorne, US Air Force. Or whatever's left of it," he replied glumly.

"Air Force! Air Force!" the man cried with delight, clapping his hands, and Lorne suddenly realized that Tom must be mentally handicapped. "That means you fly planes! M-O-O-N, that spells plane! Tom Cullen knows that!"

"You sure do, Tom," Lorne said with a grin. Tom's smiling mood was infectious.

A familiar voice came from within the building in front of them, babbling like a brook. "- is them, we'll have even *more* brain power, we should be able to get that power equipment you want up and running before we-"

They were ground to a halt with the sight of Rodney McKay, who was followed by Miko Kusanagi. McKay saw them and yelled, "Oh my God, it is you." Then he promptly passed out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

*g* I love the cross over. It's an interesting fit, using the Ori plague with the Stand. It somehow fits though. Very cool.

Er. It's very explicitly *not* the Ori plague. But I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway :).

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rhianona - 2007-02-09 01:57 (UTC) - Expand

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infinimato.livejournal.com - 2007-02-09 02:12 (UTC) - Expand

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(Anonymous) - 2007-02-09 18:02 (UTC) - Expand

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(Anonymous) - 2007-02-09 17:55 (UTC) - Expand

This is great! I loved The Stand and I love SGA. More, more, please more! Please tell me this is not all there is because this could so be expanded upon. I really love that you had McKay pass out at the end - hysterical.

Please continue this. Thank you.

I'd like to expand on it. It'd require getting at my copy of The Stand and rereading a few parts. Originally I was going to have them finding McKay a little differently, but I couldn't remember a few details (that probably only I'd care about, but whatever (-: ) and I can't get at my copy right now , and .. I'm babbling again.

Anyway. Thanks for commenting, glad you liked it!

Very interesting. Well done. Thanks.

Thank you! and thanks for commenting!

Oh, I loved this! *major Stephen King fan over here* You do an awesome job at getting the "feeling" of the book and integrating it into the SG universe. And I practically squee'd at the end when we find out that Rodney had also survived. (Well, survived to that point anyway ... we all know that making to to the halfway point of the book means absolutely nothing in Stephen King World. *g*)

Wow! thank you! I love The Stand, I think it's probably the best of his books.

Wow. Really, really well done. While I can't *quite* claim the love you can for The Stand, it's always been one of my very favorite novels. I have a soft spot for post-apocolyptic scenarios.

If you've never read Thor's Hammer, I strongly suggest it. A totally different scenario, but another good one.

Thanks so much! I adore it!

Thank you so much. I don't think I've ever written anything post-apocolyptic before.

Did you happen to mean "Lucifer's Hammer"? If so, it's in my pile of "should re-read." I wasn't that fond of it when I first read it, but I like *most* of the other stuff Niven & Pournelle have done (I wasn't fond of Footfall either) so I feel I should give it another shot.

Many people compare "The Stand" to Herbert's "The White Plague" but Herbert makes me snore... what can I say?

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shutthef-up.livejournal.com - 2007-02-09 02:25 (UTC) - Expand

This was totally awesome. I love The Stand, and you fit it into the Stargate universe wonderfully. And I would love to see more. *hint*hint*

Thank you! I may make more. We'll see. :)

Wow, not familiar with The Stand, but that was still very nice! :)

Thank you! I highly recommend it (the book AND the mini-series, which is very true to the book). the book is Lonnnnng but so worth it.

Awesome! Satan is Jonas Quinn? OH WAIT? Corin Nemic was in that movie, he was Harold! //dying//

The only thing I never really understood about those stories was who wants to be in Kansas, I'd rather spend the end of the world in Vegas. Not with Satan though.

Heh. Thanks!

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c-montgomery.livejournal.com - 2007-02-10 00:17 (UTC) - Expand

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porntestpilot.livejournal.com - 2007-02-10 01:01 (UTC) - Expand

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infinimato.livejournal.com - 2007-02-10 01:03 (UTC) - Expand

Oooh, I wanted to do something along these lines when I saw this challenge but definitely don't have the time. I'm glad you wrote it instead! I was worried that Rodney might have ended up in Vegas (remember how Glen said he thought most of the "techies" would wind up there? (my copy of The Stand has broken in half, I've read it so much)), but if he had, there wouldn't be much need to look for weapons, really. Why look when someone can make them?

But yeah, I'm bookmarking this. If you continue it, I'd certainly love to read more.

Thanks! Glen was also a bit of a technophobe, iirc. At least, definitely a luddite. I think Glen's dislike of technology let him translate that into techies == evil people.

That said (ok, I just had a "Ba'al is in Las Vegas with and/or actually is The Walkin' Dude" moment), the idea that they thought techies would be going to LV instead of Boulder would be why the border folk would be keeping an eye out for scientists. The looking out for military was probably Rodney, hoping that SGC people, especially Sheppard & Lorne, would show up.

i loved this and I was so happy to find out McKay survived too. :)

Thanks! He's got the gene, even if it's only through gene-therapy.

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Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.

*whimpers* Holy God. I'm going to end up proposing to SO MANY PEOPLE if this is the kind of stuff this challenge is going to net. *woobles*

LOVE the icon. Glad you liked it. (At least, I assume that's what you mean. :-)

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tzi.livejournal.com - 2007-02-09 22:58 (UTC) - Expand

Oh wow... LOVED the Stand... and am still traumatized by it... read it back in the old days and thought the mini-series did well by it... as I've always been freaked by the post apocalytic premise, I'm glad that (some) of the ATA gene personnel survived to make it to Boulder...

also read the White Plague years ago and while I too thought the book not too good a read, the premise certainly haunted me... and another SciFic story that used the releasing of sterility into the population (as we do to fruit flies) as a prelude to an alien invasion when the last generation of humans finally died off...

Goodness, it's late and I'm rambling, when all I really wanted to say was that I LOVED how you added the SG universe into the Stand... (even though I'm VERY unhappy that Mitchell had to die) and would love to read more of your world building if you chose to write more! because I really did wonder where they'd go with it after the ~Walkin Dude~ and his followers went up in smoke...

Thank you for your rambling :-). I'm also sad Mitchell had to die, but dang it, he didn't have the gene OR naquadah (or be formerly ascended) and I couldn't come up with a way to keep him.

As for what happens after the Walkin' Dude goes up in smoke... I'm starting to think that Ba'al moves in to the power vacuum. Hrm.

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pkbitchgirl.livejournal.com - 2007-02-21 23:01 (UTC) - Expand

I have to admit that I didn't read this since I don't like darker fic, but the idea's a great one. I did catch the last few lines, though, and Lorne with Tom just makes my heart all warm and happy. What a great stand-in he'd make for Nick.

I understand not liking dark fic. I have to be in the right frame of mind to read it. I appreciate you commenting anyway, because I didn't really think through the idea of Lorne becoming Tom's "new" buddy, and I really love the idea. I think I'll keep it. :)

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paradise-city.livejournal.com - 2007-02-09 07:01 (UTC) - Expand

I haven't read The Stand, and I won't get a chance to read the fic for a couple days, but OMG the disclaimer! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Do you know any good "Last good thing written in C was..." jokes?

My html, it is the suck.

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infinimato.livejournal.com - 2007-02-09 16:11 (UTC) - Expand

RODNEY! \o/

ok so I loved The Stand, and I had to read this. the times are a bit off, but OMG I loved this! I made the connection with the gene till I realised that Carter was with them, and I like how you explained them being there. and omg! I kept wondering if the artificial ones will survive (I am so glad Rodney survived!) but Its also cool that some of them left to the dark man, and I saw you intend for more which made me imensly happy, great idea :D:D and I'm rambling but you get teh picture :D totally awesome

the times are a bit off

I assume you're talking about the The Stand parts for which, yeah, (embarrased look), I don't have access to my copy of the book or mini-series right now so I'm running on memory.

Thanks much!

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seratonation.livejournal.com - 2007-02-09 16:16 (UTC) - Expand

The Stand is one of my all time favorite books. I've read it probably twenty or thirty times. And so, I can say, you did it justice here and I'd love to read more of this.

Thank you!

*stupid insane flailing!!!*

M-O-O-N, that spells plane

DIES!

Okay, okay, look, as a stand fanatic, now I want the whole long version of this! (And OF COURSE McKay's with the group that gets the power on in Boulder--he's MADE for that!! *dies of squeeful joy!!!*

WHEEE! nobody's ever flailed over something I've written.

I gotta find my copy of the book (or the miniseries, or both) and check my timelines, but yeah, I can see McKay having been there for long enough to have been there when they got the power back online.

I also need to know if he knew Nick. Hrm....

Man, the comments I'm getting are just SPURRING ideas for this along.

Did McKay have an interesting journey? Area 51 would be quite close to Las Vegas.

We'll have to see :-).

Awesome. AWESOME

I love The Stand. Read a great BtVS crossover with it once.

*pokes* you should continue :D

Thank you so much. I will probably continue at some point :).

This was wonderful. You did a great job of capturing the flavor of both worlds. I love the idea of the SGC group traveling to Boulder and finding Rodney already there! Man, I can see the Trust having a hand in the while plague thing, too. I hope you write more of this.

Thanks! Hmmm, the Trust involved... I like that, too. :)

More? Please? I am a huge Stephen King fangrrl and The Stand is one of my favorites.

I've finally gotten my hands back on my copy of The Stand and I do want to write more. I've already started working on Rodney & Miko's trip.

Thanks for commenting!

Yes, yes, please write the rest of it. What a great start. I've only seen the mini series so that's my reference. BTW, thank goodness Rodney is in Boulder!

(oops, missed this comment, sorry)

Thank you :). I wrote a bit more here (http://infinimato.livejournal.com/24167.html) and I'm planning on more.

So. Very. Awesome.

Thank you so much.

There's a second one here (http://infinimato.livejournal.com/24167.html) and I'm working on a third.

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OMG!

Re: OMG!

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