darkness challenge: Before Dawn by elvinborn

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

Title: Before Dawn
Author: elvinborn
Gen, vignette

thanks, as always to zeonn for reading it over.




Elizabeth usually enjoyed the small hours of the morning while her people slept. In the absence of their constant motion, she could feel the thrum of the city itself. She liked to sit on the steps of the gate room, let her eyes drift over the symbols on the giant ring, and marvel that this thing could take them to other worlds. Tonight she looked at the gate and willed it to bring her people back home.

Three days. They were three days overdue, and there was very little Elizabeth could do to find out why. Two teams had been sent through to search for her lost people. Two teams had returned without finding the slightest trace of them.

So she waited. Waited for her flagship team to come swaggering out of the puddle pointing fingers at one another to explain their absence, and full of stories of their adventure. Stories that made them look like heroes, when Elizabeth knew that they had been terrified. She waited for some new enemy to call and demand ransom for their lives. Waited for a search team to come home with their dog tags; more casualties of a war they could never win. Waited for the gate to open and bring anything at all that would end this feeling of stagnation, helplessness, and distress.

Elizabeth shifted, seeking a comfortable position on the cold, darkened steps. She ached from days of tension and sleepless nights. Her eyes began, once again, to rove over the symbols of the stargate, and she willed it to action.

Comments

[history-gurl.livejournal.com]

Oh my. Lovely and quiet and desperate. Thank you.

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

thank you
I really appreciate your feedback. nobody's ever thanked me before *blushes*

[history-gurl.livejournal.com]

I think people should be thanked when they give me something special. This was special. Or it might just be very Canadian of me. :)

[fenris_wolf0]

Meep.

A very good look at how a commander must feel waiting for their people to return from dangerous missions. Well done.

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

Thanks!
Weir as leader is a fascinating character.

[barkeep.livejournal.com]

It makes me want to bring Elizabeth a blanket and some soup...

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

and maybe give her a pillow to sit on. and a nice cup of tea

[agentotter.livejournal.com]

Very nice. I especially liked the image of them coming back through the Gate and pointing fingers. Elizabeth isn't actually smiling in this fic, but I can picture what her face would look like if they came back just that way, how she'd be annoyed/amused/relieved all at the same time. So nice to have more Elizabeth fic. :)

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

thank you :)
Elizabeth interests me more than most of the other characters. She's not as self-assured as your average tv show leader-type. (I liked that image too. they're such boys. and Teyla shaking her head at them and looking bewildered)

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

Oh, *nice*. Very tense.

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

A lovely Weir-vignette. Angsty and showing the difficulty of her leadership role.

I liked it very much!

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

Weir's headspace is an interesting place to play. I'm glad you liked it
thank you for commenting!

[nerdinpink.livejournal.com]

Sad and good.

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

thank you :)