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crack_van2006-04-04 05:09 pm
briarwood.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-04-04 05:09 pm
Entry tags:
Sleepers by Alli Snow (PG)
Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
allisnow
Author Website: Salmon Czar
Why this must be read: Some readers will view Sleepers as Sam/Jack ship, simply because that's what the author is known for, but it's so very subtle in this story that personally, I class it as gen. And that's the first reason I love it. The second is because season six fic that's faithful to canon is a rare thing in SG-1 fandom, and good season six fic is even rarer. Sleepers is both.
This novel-length story begins shortly after O'Neill's escape from Baal (Abyss). Alli deals realistically with Jack's recovery; he is suffering from post-traumatic stress and trying desperately to hide it from everyone - including himself.
***
[Jack] let her go, vaguely heard her placing a call to the General, but the mention of PTSD made the sterile infirmary feel a little colder than usual. No one had brought it up yet - to him, about him - but he'd consciously been waiting for that shoe to drop. He'd even composed a little speech in his head, a litany of non-symptoms: "No, I haven't had nightmares or flashbacks, I've been sleeping fine, no depression, haven't been more irritable than usual, haven't chopped off anybody's head, and when Jake came to visit Carter last week I didn't fly off the handle at him because he's a Tok'ra and therefore reminded me of Kanan."
Sometimes he was worried merely by how easily he could rattle off that list.
Paranoid. He was being paranoid.
***
On an off-world mission, O'Neill encounters a peculiar alien on a seemingly deserted planet and a Goa'uld device which he somehow activates. There is a mystery about the planet: the man they have found appears to be the sole survivor of a massacre, but if that is the case, why are there no bodies to be found? Nothing quite adds up, none of the usual explanations quite fit the facts. Shortly after their return to Earth O'Neill begins to suffer from frightening hallucinations, which seem to threaten his friends, and Sam in particular.
***
Colonel O'Neill aimed his gun at her and, like a computer program settling over her brain, her training set in. For the moment he wasn't Colonel O'Neill, wasn't a friend, he was just a target with a weapon who wanted to harm her, and without thinking she brought her gun up as well and steadied it with her left hand. Then, because training didn't amount to a hill of beans in a situation like this, her own mind kicked back in, stuttering with shock.
He didn't shoot her. In the dim light she could see his eyes were wild and angry, his arm pointed towards her like an arrow, his grip on the gun strong, his other arm dangling at his side, but he didn't shoot her. Maybe because she hadn't run, or maybe because she was fully prepared to shoot back. Only she wasn't, of course, but maybe he didn't know that. Something was wrong, very wrong, and while it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, this theoretical astrophysicist was at a loss to explain the how or why. What in God's name had possessed him to show up here and stand there, pointing a gun at her?
Possessed...
Oh Lord.
But that couldn't be it. He couldn't be a Goa'uld. There were so many reasons. He'd been checked out by Janet after the mission; she'd seen it herself. And even if Janet had missed something, Sam knew she would have sensed it earlier... or she would be sensing it now. And a Goa'uld wouldn't waste time with her anyway, he'd be doing whatever he felt he had to do to gain power and security on this planet, or he'd be trying to get off Earth to wherever his allies were based. This wasn't the action of a Goa'uld, it was the action of... of a very disturbed man.
All of this, from the time the light was extinguished until the moment the truth dawned on Sam, in three seconds. Four, tops.
Baal. This had something to do with Baal, or Kanan. He was having a flashback; he thought he was back in that fortress and she was the enemy. "Sir, it's me," she said hastily, in her firmest voice, trying to break through whatever delusions might be surrounding him.
They weren't very insulating delusions; he reacted immediately - and vehemently - to the sound of her voice. "Shut up!" he shouted, his voice strange and rough and unnatural, his
eyes glittering darkly in the diffused moonlight.
Obviously he didn't want to hear this, didn't want her to reach him, but she had to, she had to make him listen, make him see. She set her jaw and tried again. "Colonel--"
He yelled over her, his raised arm shaking. "Shut up, you bitch!"
***
The story is fast-paced and tightly plotted, with just the right mix of action, humour and mystery. Most of all Alli writes with almost pitch-perfect characterisation and a clear love for the characters - all of the characters. Jack, Sam and Teal'c are missing Daniel badly, and Alli manages to convey the void in the team without vilifying Jonas. Jonas is still trying to find his place in the team, aware that he needs to earn their trust, and is endearingly surprised when his theory about what is happening to O'Neill is taken seriously. The mystery deepens throughout the story, as slowly the reader begins to understand what is happening to O'Neill, and while the twist in the tale is a little contrived I find the conclusion to all the mystery quite satisfying. It's almost like a missing episode from the season, except the staff writers never wrote anything this well.
At the core of this story is the friendship between Sam and Jack. I am not a Sam/Jack shipper, but this is one of the very few fanfics that can persuade me to accept that there's some potential in their relationship. As Sleepers begins, Sam is doing her best to fill the void left by Daniel, and knows she's not up to it; Jack is terrified that his hallucinations will lead him to harm Sam. What comes across is not romance, but a friendship founded on mutual respect and loyalty: to me this story shows what canon should have been, and the ending is so open to interpretation it should satisfy gen and ship fans alike.
Sleepers
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ:
allisnowAuthor Website: Salmon Czar
Why this must be read: Some readers will view Sleepers as Sam/Jack ship, simply because that's what the author is known for, but it's so very subtle in this story that personally, I class it as gen. And that's the first reason I love it. The second is because season six fic that's faithful to canon is a rare thing in SG-1 fandom, and good season six fic is even rarer. Sleepers is both.
This novel-length story begins shortly after O'Neill's escape from Baal (Abyss). Alli deals realistically with Jack's recovery; he is suffering from post-traumatic stress and trying desperately to hide it from everyone - including himself.
***
[Jack] let her go, vaguely heard her placing a call to the General, but the mention of PTSD made the sterile infirmary feel a little colder than usual. No one had brought it up yet - to him, about him - but he'd consciously been waiting for that shoe to drop. He'd even composed a little speech in his head, a litany of non-symptoms: "No, I haven't had nightmares or flashbacks, I've been sleeping fine, no depression, haven't been more irritable than usual, haven't chopped off anybody's head, and when Jake came to visit Carter last week I didn't fly off the handle at him because he's a Tok'ra and therefore reminded me of Kanan."
Sometimes he was worried merely by how easily he could rattle off that list.
Paranoid. He was being paranoid.
***
On an off-world mission, O'Neill encounters a peculiar alien on a seemingly deserted planet and a Goa'uld device which he somehow activates. There is a mystery about the planet: the man they have found appears to be the sole survivor of a massacre, but if that is the case, why are there no bodies to be found? Nothing quite adds up, none of the usual explanations quite fit the facts. Shortly after their return to Earth O'Neill begins to suffer from frightening hallucinations, which seem to threaten his friends, and Sam in particular.
***
Colonel O'Neill aimed his gun at her and, like a computer program settling over her brain, her training set in. For the moment he wasn't Colonel O'Neill, wasn't a friend, he was just a target with a weapon who wanted to harm her, and without thinking she brought her gun up as well and steadied it with her left hand. Then, because training didn't amount to a hill of beans in a situation like this, her own mind kicked back in, stuttering with shock.
He didn't shoot her. In the dim light she could see his eyes were wild and angry, his arm pointed towards her like an arrow, his grip on the gun strong, his other arm dangling at his side, but he didn't shoot her. Maybe because she hadn't run, or maybe because she was fully prepared to shoot back. Only she wasn't, of course, but maybe he didn't know that. Something was wrong, very wrong, and while it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, this theoretical astrophysicist was at a loss to explain the how or why. What in God's name had possessed him to show up here and stand there, pointing a gun at her?
Possessed...
Oh Lord.
But that couldn't be it. He couldn't be a Goa'uld. There were so many reasons. He'd been checked out by Janet after the mission; she'd seen it herself. And even if Janet had missed something, Sam knew she would have sensed it earlier... or she would be sensing it now. And a Goa'uld wouldn't waste time with her anyway, he'd be doing whatever he felt he had to do to gain power and security on this planet, or he'd be trying to get off Earth to wherever his allies were based. This wasn't the action of a Goa'uld, it was the action of... of a very disturbed man.
All of this, from the time the light was extinguished until the moment the truth dawned on Sam, in three seconds. Four, tops.
Baal. This had something to do with Baal, or Kanan. He was having a flashback; he thought he was back in that fortress and she was the enemy. "Sir, it's me," she said hastily, in her firmest voice, trying to break through whatever delusions might be surrounding him.
They weren't very insulating delusions; he reacted immediately - and vehemently - to the sound of her voice. "Shut up!" he shouted, his voice strange and rough and unnatural, his
eyes glittering darkly in the diffused moonlight.
Obviously he didn't want to hear this, didn't want her to reach him, but she had to, she had to make him listen, make him see. She set her jaw and tried again. "Colonel--"
He yelled over her, his raised arm shaking. "Shut up, you bitch!"
***
The story is fast-paced and tightly plotted, with just the right mix of action, humour and mystery. Most of all Alli writes with almost pitch-perfect characterisation and a clear love for the characters - all of the characters. Jack, Sam and Teal'c are missing Daniel badly, and Alli manages to convey the void in the team without vilifying Jonas. Jonas is still trying to find his place in the team, aware that he needs to earn their trust, and is endearingly surprised when his theory about what is happening to O'Neill is taken seriously. The mystery deepens throughout the story, as slowly the reader begins to understand what is happening to O'Neill, and while the twist in the tale is a little contrived I find the conclusion to all the mystery quite satisfying. It's almost like a missing episode from the season, except the staff writers never wrote anything this well.
At the core of this story is the friendship between Sam and Jack. I am not a Sam/Jack shipper, but this is one of the very few fanfics that can persuade me to accept that there's some potential in their relationship. As Sleepers begins, Sam is doing her best to fill the void left by Daniel, and knows she's not up to it; Jack is terrified that his hallucinations will lead him to harm Sam. What comes across is not romance, but a friendship founded on mutual respect and loyalty: to me this story shows what canon should have been, and the ending is so open to interpretation it should satisfy gen and ship fans alike.
Sleepers