Seagreen

DVD: The Tournament

2009-12-23T09:43:31Z

The Tournament
(dir: Scott Mann, starring Robert Carlyle, Kelly Hu and Ving Rhames)

If you've not had a chance to catch up with The Tournament, do try. It is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. It reminds me a lot of From Dusk til Dawn (aka the Film of Two Scripts) in its tongue-in-cheek cartoonishness. Warning: it's extremely violent with loads of dismemberment but then, me, barely having blinked through Tarantino's back catalogue, the violence didn't phase me at all.

Robert Carlyle plays a drunken, disallusioned priest in Middlesborough (Scottish accent intact, for those who care about these things). Unfortunately, for Father McAvoy, Middlesborough is the latest venue for 'The Tournament' a seven yearly competition between the world's best assassins. Last assassin standing is the winner. Each assassin has a tracking device inserted into his/her body so they can track each other and the punters who are watching can make bets. Big money exchanges hands. The tracking device is where Father McAvoy comes in, after one of the assassins cuts out his tracking device dropping it into a pot of coffee which the good (but hungover) Father subsequently drinks. McAvoy is 'saved' (so-to-speak) by Lai Lai Zhen, an assassin looking for redemption. Sadly for her, another assassin whose wife Zhen killed is looking for revenge.

I've never seen Robert Carlyle quite so hapless in a film before. He's all 'What am I going to do?' and 'I don't want to die!' It's completely adorkable, of course, and as LadyPredator pointed out, he gets to drive a bus again. Yay for the bus driving Carlyle.

The DVDTown review points out the plot holes (including the major one of if every seven years the 30 top assassins are killed then they must be down to the crappy ones by now) but I didn't really care. It's just a fun, mindless, violent romp that stars Robert Carlyle and that, my friends, is a good thing.

Best line from Father McAvoy: 'I'm taking health advice from a hitman!'

Heh.

Happy Dance: new Robert Carlyle DVDs

2009-12-21T08:36:50Z

Gotta love opening the post office box and finding a little note in there saying I've got a package. Yay! Today it was three Robert Carlyle DVDs: The Tournament (RC as priest!), To End All Wars (with Kiefer!) and Monroe, Class of '76 (Detective RC!). Oh my, what to watch first. And yes, since none of these are available in Australia, they all came from Amazon. Good old Amazon, where would I be without you.

FIC: Postliminium Ch 39

2009-12-20T12:41:24Z

Finally, another chapter of Postliminium. I was starting to get pointed messages about it and my Thoughtcrimes fic, 'The Danger of Human Illusion'. I'd probably get more readers if I posted on the SGA Noticeboard and elsewhere but should I be bothered? The SGA Noticeboard seems mostly slash these days and Postliminium isn't.

Next I have to get back to Freya and Brendan. Human Illusion is another fic that was supposed to be very short. It ain't.

I think I promised someone a Kino Vision, too. I should also do some homework.

LJ not a happening thing and a rant about DVD regions

2009-12-18T11:18:27Z

Well, I've tried a number of times to post The Greater Good here on LJ and I've now given up. Even posting smaller and smaller parts doesn't work. Hiding behind an LJ cut doesn't work. Very, very irritating so I will have to leave it on ff.net for now.

The other thing that's completely shitting me off today is that when a DVD is released anywhere in the world, you'd think it would have all the same content, wouldn't you, so can someone explain to me why we don't have these extras on the Australian release of 24: Redemption?

Special features include:

Extended Edition "Creator's Cut" featuring over ten minutes of never-before-seen footage (not shown in the television broadcast version)
Cast / Crew Commentary
Season 7 Sneak Peek – First 16 minutes of the premiere episode

I've bolded the commentary bit because that's what I really wanted. You know, where Kiefer says nice things about Robert Carlyle. Of course, if certain multinational companies had their way, people in certain regions (i.e. Australia) wouldn't be able to play their region's DVDs at all. I went to price a DVD recorder today. Nice Panasonic, big hard drive, HD fancy thing and when I asked if it was region free (which it bloody well should be), it was like I'd asked for state secrets. Seriously, most people in DVD stores just go, 'Oh, here's the code, off you go' and voila, region free. Not these guys. Needless to say, I'm not going to buy a piece of expensive electrical hardware on the slight off chance that I'll be able to play my multitude of Region 1 and 2 DVDs. No, DVD store people, I'm going to make damn sure I can play them.

It's why I won't get a blu ray player until I can be assured that it's going to be region free. I would like to get SGU on blu ray because it will have extras that the DVD release won't have but I'm not going to fork out my hard-earned to then find that I can't play anything I get from Amazon. The companies seem to think that they'll make more money region coding everything but surely, they'd make more if people were able to buy what they wanted from where they wanted? Makes no sense to me at all not to have everything that's on a region one dvd also on a region four dvd. What's the point?

FIC: The Greater Good

2009-12-15T13:53:08Z

Okay, am having trouble posting my new fic on LJ so I've put it onto ff.net until I can sort out the problems. It's 12.30 am and I've been at this for hours.

Fic: The Greater Good
Fandom: Stargate Universe
Author: EllieV
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Dr. Rush, Lt. Johanson, and others.

Summary: A Sequel to 'Fever' by LadyPredator. After she releases him from the infirmary, Lt Johansen finds that Dr Rush is still very ill.

Note: Don't own SGU; don't want to. All I want for Christmas is Dr Rush.

Note 2: My thanks to LadyPredator for allowing me to write a sequel. It can also be taken as prequel to LadyPredator's 'Living'.

The Greater Good.

DVD: Human Trafficking

2009-12-12T12:24:21Z

Just finished watching Human Trafficking for which Robert Carlyle got nominated for an Emmy in 2006. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Brilliant but god, the subject matter. If anything, it was too polite. Carlyle is simply brilliant as Sergei Karpovich (all ruthless businessman in blond hair and suits), as is Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland. The rest of the cast are also amazing.

Here's the thing, though. Remember how Carlyle said that the SG producers offered him the role of Nicholas Rush because they wanted someone who made the unlikeable likeable? Well, Sergei Karpovich has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. None. Zero. Nada. He's a murdering swine with no ethical or moral basis.

But when he finally got his, why did I feel sorry for him?

Bloody Carlyle.

FIC: Kino Vision Number 7

2009-12-10T23:36:05Z

Don’t own SGU; don’t want to. I’d like Rush for my Secret Santa present, though.

Kino Vision Number 7
By EllieV

The kino hung in the air silently watching Eli. The boy had what he called a notebook. The kino had seen it before. It didn’t belong to Eli; it belonged to Dr Rush.

Eli turned to the kino and said conversationally, “This is Rush’s computer; it isn’t password coded. Man had no idea about security.” Eli’s voice caught on the word ‘had’. He bit his lip and continued, “Or maybe he just didn’t care. His quarters weren’t even locked.”

Eli blinked a lot and reached out for the kino. It resisted moving out of his way, allowing itself to be captured.

“Huh, you’re dented,” he said. He glared into the distance. “Bet that was Greer.”

He flung it back up in the air and gave it a smile, saying, “In the same way that bricks don’t.”

The smile faded immediately.

He said confidingly, “His stuff was trashed already. Someone took his iPod dock. I dunno, do you think someone will wear his clothes?” Eli made a squeamish face. “TJ got as much as she could, she said, so it would be safe—like he’s just going to come back. She wouldn’t tell me what she found; she said it was personal. This wasn’t in his room.” He indicated the computer. “It was in the chair room. He was carrying it when Franklin … when Franklin … He must have left it there when we took Franklin to the infirmary.”

He leaned forward seriously.

“Franklin sent me away to get him a plate of potatoes,” he said. “He was in the chair when I got back. Rush wasn’t there. He came in just after I called for help. You know what he said?”

Eli cocked a quizzical eyebrow at the kino. It didn’t move; it had been there and had recorded everything. It remembered the mix of emotions on Rush’s face: horror, despair, intellectual curiosity.

“Yeah, me either,” Eli said. “It was in some weird language. Not Ancient. I think he was swearing. Maybe it was Scottish or something.” Eli shrugged. “I don’t know anything about him; he doesn’t talk about himself.” He corrected himself again. “Didn’t talk about himself. Greer said he went to Oxford. How would Greer know that? I asked TJ if Rush had a family and she got this weird look on her face but she said she didn’t know.” He rubbed his head and said softly, “I hope he has someone back home to miss him.”

Eli looked tired and depressed but he gestured the kino closer. It didn’t move but its camera zoomed in.

“Remember the air filtration? What he said to Matt? Like he was surprised that Matt thought he wouldn’t try to get us back home,” Eli said. “Look at this.” Eli showed the kino the computer screen. “He’s been working on it for ages. Since we got here from the dates on the files. There’s lots of weird stuff here, like he’s translating math into a language; I don’t understand much of that. And this.” Eli held the computer in front of the kino. “Calculations to harness solar energy for the stargate. He must have started it the first time Destiny recharged.” He glared broodingly at the computer. “I could have helped with the math but he didn’t ask me.” He went to another screen. “He’s been doing the same thing as me. Checking Telford’s stuff. He gets dogs and cats, too. I keep working it but all I get is us exploding.” He put the computer back on the table. “And this is the program Franklin said he was working on. About the chair. Colonel Young said Rush practically forced Franklin into the chair coz he wouldn’t do it himself but he was working on this program. I could have helped with that, too, if he’d asked. He stopped asking.”

He stood abruptly and kicked the bed. He picked up a little computer stick that a lot of the scientists carried around. He went to his own computer and brought up the file that Spencer had recorded. He looked at it and up at the kino.

“Bastards,” he said viciously.

He stared miserably into the kino’s eye.

“I am so screwed,” he said.

FINIS

****

Notes:

I’ve decided to hold off the Park kino vision for a while due to spoilers. I think it would raise a lot of questions that would be unfair to the spoiler phobes to answer.

“In the same way that bricks don’t.” From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The correct quote is ‘The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.’

FIC: Kino Vision Number 7

2009-12-10T23:30:41Z

Don’t own SGU; don’t want to. I’d like Rush for my Secret Santa present, though.

Kino Vision Number 7
By EllieV

The kino hung in the air silently watching Eli. The boy had what he called a notebook. The kino had seen it before. It didn’t belong to Eli; it belonged to Dr Rush.

Eli blinked a lot and reached out for the kino. It resisted moving out of his way, allowing itself to be captured.

“Huh, you’re dented,” he said. He glared into the distance. “Bet that was Greer.”

He flung it back up in the air and gave it a smile, “In the same way that bricks don’t.”

The smile faded immediately.

He leaned forward seriously.

“Franklin sent me away to get him a plate of potatoes,” he said. “He was in the chair when I got back. Rush wasn’t there. He came in just after I called for help. You know what he said?”

Eli looked tired and depressed but he gestured the kino closer. It didn’t move but its camera zoomed in.

“Bastards,” he said viciously.

He stared miserably into the kino’s eye.

“I am so screwed,” he said.

FINIS

****

Notes:

I’ve decided to hold off the Park kino vision for a while due to spoilers. I think it would raise a lot of questions that would be unfair to the spoiler phobes to answer.

“In the same way that bricks don’t.” From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The correct quote is ‘The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.’

FIC: Pariahs

2009-12-09T14:15:11Z

Don't own SGU; don't want to. Except for Dr Rush.

Pariahs
By EllieV

It was the water, of course.

She had asked to go because she wanted to be useful. Colonel Young had said yes but she could tell that Matt, at least, had his doubts. Greer had been as polite as ever but she could tell the rest of the marines and the scientists who were going didn’t think she was up to it. Except for Dr Rush, of course. He’d take no notice of her at all. He barely spoke to anyone these days.

It had simply been a little cloudy. A slight breeze. Then it turned, suddenly ugly. The water dumped down without warning. She froze, her arms stiff by her sides, her hands clenched. She tried not to panic. The whimper she let out couldn’t be heard above the sound of the rain but Matt noticed a few yards on that she wasn’t following. He came back and shouted to be heard.

“Chloe?” He shook her slightly. “Greer says there’s some shelter ahead.”

She couldn’t respond. If she opened her mouth it would be to scream. She tried to blink away the water but just like last time, there was too much of it. If she opened her mouth she would drown.

Lt Johansen sloshed back to them and said, “Chloe should go back to the ship.” Her cap prevented the water from getting too much in her face; Chloe envied her. Matt protested that the shelter Greer had spotted was closer. TJ shook her head, the water flying everywhere. Chloe flinched away and TJ patted her arm. “I’ll go with her,” TJ said. She looked behind Chloe and said, “Dr Rush can take us.”

“I can …” Matt said in objection.

“Dr Rush, will you help us back to Destiny?” TJ called. Matt made a sound of disgust that carried as the wind dropped for a second.

Chloe managed to turn. Rush was behind them standing in the rain, his shaggy hair plastered to his head. The wind had blown it across his face but he’d made no move to brush it away. He stood stiffly, as she had, his arms by his side. His hands weren’t clenched; it was as though he’d tried to but couldn’t. His hands were splayed, the fingers curled just slightly. His face, what she could see of it, was unreadable. His head moved a little, his neck it seemed, unable to bend enough to give a proper nod.

TJ pulled her arm and said, “Come on, Chloe, let’s get you back to Destiny and into something dry.”

Rush led them silently to the gate. He lifted the remote but stared at it as if he had forgotten what to do. TJ took it from his hands and said, the wind sending her words back to Chloe, “Why don’t I do that?”

They stumbled through the gate and Chloe, free of the water, could start to breath again. No longer drowning.

TJ said, “Let’s get you dry, Chloe.” She turned. “You, too, Dr Rush.”

He was already walking away, his head lowered, not looking at the few people in the gateroom. TJ watched him, her face hiding what she was feeling.

The showers, she could pretend at least, weren’t really water and in the warm, comforting air she dried quickly. TJ was waiting for her with a change of clothes and although Chloe protested she was all right, took her along to the infirmary, calmly checking her over.

TJ paused before saying, “Would you like to talk about it?”

The last thing Chloe wanted to do was talk so she shook her head.

“You need to talk to someone, Chloe,” TJ said gently.

“I don’t want to talk to Matt,” Chloe said, her voice rising.

“Okay, okay,” TJ said. “Not Matt.” Chloe could feel her worried gaze so she kept her eyes on her hands instead. “You know you can talk to me.” Chloe nodded. “Even Colonel Young …”

Chloe said abruptly, “Thanks, TJ.” She moderated her tone so she wouldn’t sound ungrateful. “I might get some sleep.”

Colonel Young was out of the question. He’d be sympathetic and kind but he wouldn’t understand. Matt wouldn’t understand either nor would Eli. Most of those on Destiny wouldn’t understand because they hadn’t been there. Everyone had been told, of course, that something had happened. Not what happened, just that something had. Their sympathy went no deeper than the surface. Not wanting to step outside their comfort zones. Not wanting to know.

She went looking for the only person who would understand—the only person who was just like her.

He wasn’t in his usual places: the observation deck, the central console room. The chair room was locked and a guard stood outside. She went to his quarters and knocked. There was no answer. Her hand hesitated over the control and after a couple of minutes she pressed it before her brain said not to. The door slid open; it wasn't locked.

He wasn’t there. The room was neat. His iPod was sitting in its dock; his glasses—fixed now—were on the bed next to his notebook. There was a pile of clothes, the ones he’d been wearing on the planet, stacked on the floor. Still wet. She resisted the urge to look through the room. He wasn’t there so she left.

She found him in the one place she didn’t expect. The shock was followed immediately by a spark of anger. She expected him to say sorry or something similar for being there or for what happened to her father but he didn’t. He simply said very quietly, “I thought you might come here.”

His face was blank but she could see the exhaustion and tension from holding everything behind his mask. He was wearing the desert fatigues they adopted for hotter planets and she realized they didn’t fit him. He wasn’t a big man to start with and he had become even gaunter since the water. He looked so tired. She sat next to him.

“It’s the water,” she whispered.

His hands were folded on his knees and he looked fixedly at them. All he did was nod.

“I’m so tired,” she said close to tears. “I can't sleep most of the time but if I do I wake up and I can't breath because of the water. Like I’m drowning all the time.”

His head turned just slightly to her and his fingers curled just as they had on the planet. She couldn't help herself. She took his hand.

After a moment, his fingers entwined with hers, dry and comforting.

FINIS

SGU Newsletter

2009-12-09T11:58:51Z

Was going to join the SGU Newsletter community so everything would show up on the friends page but it's closed to new members. No explanation as to why but it clearly has members. *shrug* Oh well.

New icon

2009-12-04T10:26:29Z

I've been looking for a nice Rush icon for my LJ and this one came from the fabulous Aleanwen's LJ.

Kino Vision Number 6

2009-11-21T02:04:15Z

I still don't own SGU; I still don't want to but hey, have you seen Dr Rush? He's just luffly.

Kino Vision Number 6
By EllieV

The kino was in the gateroom high above the action. There was a raucous game going on; they called it soccer, except for a couple of people who insisted on calling it football. Some of them got snappy when others touched the ball, saying it was against the rules. Being round itself, the kino decided to stay out of the way in case anyone got ideas. Sgt Greer was acting as the "goalkeeper," dancing around in front of the stargate. Not many goals were scored. The kino didn't know enough about the game to decide whether it was a lack of skill or because Greer threatened anyone who came near his position. Mostly, though, it was fun and happy with lots of laughter.

Dr Rush came into the gateroom. He skirted around the outside to avoid the game but as the ball came flying towards him he stopped, putting out a leg to prevent it from rolling away. Picking up the ball with his foot, he kicked it up slightly and with a slam, booted it towards the stargate. It curved over everyone's heads and sailed past Greer's open mouth through the gate. Rush kept going.

There was silence in the gateroom until Brody said, "I want him on my team."

Scott said, "Not unless I get him first."

When the game broke up, the kino followed some of them back to the mess hall. They sat after grabbing some water and their white gloop.

Camille Wray asked how their soccer game—as she called it—had gone and was promptly informed of Rush's prowess with the football. Brody argued that Rush had to be on his team because it was scientists vs military. Scott argued that he didn't care; he wanted Rush on his team and would draft him into the military if required. Eli suggested a thumb wrestling competition with Rush as the prize. Wray pointed out that perhaps they ought to let Rush decide if he wanted to play soccer at all. Chloe, bored with the football talk, asked they were going to have a "Christmas" party. It seemed to be a continuing conversation. Johansen suggested drawing names out of a hat for what she called a "Secret Santa." Inman wondered if she could work out a turkey flavor for the white gloop and went to talk to Becker about it. Chloe asked Eli if he could put music through the Destiny comms system. Eli said he didn't know but he'd ask Rush.

Greer said, "Rush's got an iPod dock; maybe we could use that."

"Really?" Eli said. "That's kind of weird."

"Why?" asked Johansen. "A couple of people have iPods."

"Yeah, but he's got an iPod dock," said Eli. "Look, we're at Icarus, right? The base gets attacked and we're told to evacuate. Total chaos, yeah? Would you take the time to pack your iPod dock?"

"Wouldn't be my first priority," Johansen admitted.

"Unless," Scott said slowly, "it was already packed."

Chloe said, "What are you saying?"

Everyone got what he was saying but it was Johansen who responded.

"He's saying that Rush knew the base was going to be attacked so he packed early," she said, shaking her head. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"I don't know," Scott admitted.

There was an uncomfortable silence and people avoided each other's gaze.

"What are we going to do?" Eli asked, troubled at the turn the conversation had taken, sorry he'd brought it up. "Like, is anyone going to say something?" His voice had a little squeak in it.

"Well, I don't want to ask him," Johansen said flatly.

Scott lowered his voice. "What about Colonel Young?"

"You mean, tell him?" Johansen asked. She shook her head. "No, no way."

"Why not?" said Greer.

"What would be the point?" Johansen said. "And besides, we need Rush. We'd all be dead several times over if he wasn't here."

"Don't say anything," Wray said, finally joining in. "I'll ask him."

Eli made a face. "Good luck," he said.

The kino followed Wray. This was important. Those stranded on Destiny had wondered how whoever had attacked them knew the base was there. The kino liked Dr Rush. He didn't seem to have any allies and that worried the kino a lot; Rush was the most interesting person on Destiny and more importantly, he cared about the ship. The kino sped up and was hovering anxiously, waiting for Wray outside Rush's quarters.

Wray knocked on the door and called, "Dr Rush? It's Camille Wray. Dr Rush?"

She waited and was about to call again when the door slid open. The room's lights were dim and the kino couldn't make out Rush's face properly.

"Uh, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked him. The kino followed her gaze to the iPod dock. There was soft music playing, a woman singing. It was beautiful. Rush simply raised an eyebrow and nodded. She made a gesture at the room. "Can I come in?"

Rush seemed suspicious but let her in. The kino went in at Wray's feet, trying not to be noticed. Rush became even more wary when she shut the door. The kino lifted carefully and looked around the room. There wasn't much out of the ordinary. Rush's ever present notebook was on the bed. His broken glasses sat on top of a picture the kino had seen him look at before; it was face down. Rush glanced at it.

Wray's opening gambit was, "This is nice."

"Tosca," Rush said. "What do you want, Ms Wray?"

His voice was more curious than hostile but she flushed red anyway. She said, "We're just talking about having a Christmas party and I was wondering if we could borrow your iPod dock."

Rush seemed to relax. He glanced at the dock and gave a shrug that was indifferent to Christmas parties, though he said, "Okay."

"It's funny you brought it," she said.

Rush's face creased, slightly baffled. He said, "Is it?"

"When Icarus was attacked and we had to evacuate, you took the time to pack your iPod dock," she said.

Rush, the kino had observed on more than one occasion, had a very, very big brain and he got what she was suggesting right away.

"I see," he said, his voice instantly poisonous. "This is what's passing for conversation in the mess hall, is it? Were our attackers supposed to scoop me up to safety, iPod dock and all?"

She didn't answer but he read it in her face. He let out a soft, unfunny, short laugh and shook his head in denial, the light falling briefly on his face. Wray saw it at the same time the kino did. Rush's eyes were suspiciously red and there were smears across his face, as if he'd hurriedly wiped away tears before he opened the door. He noticed that she noticed.

"No," Wray said, diplomatically ignoring the signs of his distress. "I don't think you knew anything about our attackers but I do think your iPod dock was already in your bag."

"And why would that be?" he said. The kino searched for a hint of hurt in his voice but all it heard was anger.

"I think you were expecting to go back on the Hammond," she said. Surprise crossed his face. "If we hadn't been attacked, I would have found an email from you tendering your resignation from the Icarus Project. Or maybe you resigned because you thought you were going to get fired."

"What makes you think I care?" Rush said, not denying it.

"I think maybe you care about something," she said surprisingly gently.

His eyes lowered so she couldn't see them and folded his arms.

She nodded to herself. "You had a new iPod dock that you brought from Earth," she said. "You hadn't unpacked your bag yet because the test was run as soon as you arrived. It's obvious really, isn't it, when you think about it. You just hadn't unpacked."

Wray went to the door and left. Rush sat on the bed. He picked up his broken glasses and then the picture they were sitting on. He put the picture away carefully and curled up on the bed, shutting his eyes, his arms wrapped around himself.

The kino, stuck in the room until morning, didn't think Rush slept at all.

FINIS

*****
This one's for Edwina who asked for an upset Rush looking at the photo kino vision. Enjoy.

Dr Park was originally in this but it turned out to be too long so I cut her bit out and will keep it for the next story, so apologies to those who were expecting her in this one. Plus, I should mention, the Park story does contain a little something that may be a spoiler for Rush's back story. It's from the bio that's on various websites/wikis/forums. It's a very tiny thing and I don't explain it at all in the Park story. I will put a warning on it when it's uploaded, just in case, but at this stage I don't know whether it is actually part of his back story or not. Could just be like the original bio that came out for Sheppard in SGA, which turned out to be wrong (father in the military).

Kino Vision Number 5

2009-11-19T13:20:36Z

I still don’t own SGU; I still don’t want to. It’s all of because of Dr Rush’s eyes.

Kino Vision Number 5
By EllieV

Chloe Armstrong marched along the corridor humming. The kino followed her discretely. If she noticed it she would tell Eli and he would recall all the kinos he had previously forgotten. Chloe had been humming a lot of late. The kino had listened in on a conversation she had with herself that she shouldn’t be humming at all; she was stuck on a derelict spaceship out in the far-flung reaches of space and that was no reason to hum. Her father was dead, she told herself as the kino listened; that wasn’t a reason to hum and it wasn't a reason to be happy. On the flipside, the kino said to her silently, she had a ‘boyfriend’, if that’s what he was, and a devoted slave in Eli. The kino preferred Eli to Lt Scott.

Chloe was on her way to meet Eli. She found him and in a stage whisper said, “He’s not here, is he?”

Eli looked up and said, “You’re tiptoeing.” He grinned. “And whispering.”

“Shhhhh,” she said.

Both of them giggled.

Eli said, “What are you worried about?”

“Rush and Colonel Young had another argument this morning,” Chloe said. “In the mess hall—in front of everyone.”

The kino had missed that one and made a note to follow Colonel Young a little more often.

Eli made a face. “What about this time?” he asked.

“I don’t know, some numbers Rush came up with for something,” Chloe shrugged.

“About the inaccessible areas of the ship?” Eli asked, his face arrested.

“Uh yeah, I think so,” Chloe said. “Does it matter? They’re always arguing; Colonel Young should do something about him.”

“They were my numbers,” Eli said, a look of faint worry creasing his brow. “He got me to work those out.”

The kino remembered the conversation. Eli was obstreperous so Rush was short with him and the kino had wondered if Rush was simply tired of doing everything himself. Take the day off, the kino had told him to no avail. Eli worked out the numbers and had flung himself out of the room. Rush had gone over them again and again until he had finally incorporated them into whatever it was he was working on. Eli hadn’t come back for the rest of the day. The kino had hung around Rush so it didn’t know whether Eli had gone off to do something for Young or if he was just in a snit.

The kino watched as Eli flirted clumsily with Chloe. It was painful to watch his crush and Chloe’s indifference, though perhaps indifference was the wrong word; unaware was probably better. The kino decided after getting very bored watching the pair of them to go find either Young or Rush to see what the fallout from the argument was.

It found Rush first. He was sitting on the stairs in the gateroom, notebook in hand, although he wasn’t leafing through or writing in it. He was simply sitting, watching the gate, his face introspective. The look on Rush’s face bothered the kino so it decided to make itself known and zipped a couple of times around his head. Rush scowled at the kino and said incomprehensibly, “Yah daftie mincy heid.”

He got up and the kino followed, dashing around a corner, when Rush glanced back at it. It wanted to see the look on Chloe’s face when Rush turned up but just as he arrived so did Dr Park. The kino liked Dr Park. She was funny and oddly enthusiastic about everything. She held one of the computer things various of the scientists carried around. Rush didn’t; he preferred his notebook.

“Oh, hey Eli, Chloe,” Park said cheerfully. “Dr Rush, could you take a look at this?”

Rush had given an infinitesimal pause when he saw Chloe but otherwise had no reaction. Chloe had looked guilty so the kino wondered what she’d been saying; presumably it was about Rush. He took the computer from Park and clicked through the screens. He held up the computer to Park without saying anything.

She grimaced and said, “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t notice that.”

Rush still didn’t say anything though he raised an eyebrow.

Park said blushing, “So, how about I fix it?”

Rush nodded and handed her back the computer. Park shoved the bulky thing under her arm and went to leave. She paused at the entry and said hopefully, “The rest of it?”

Rush said absently, “Good.”

Park beamed, as if she’d received the best compliment ever and went off with a little skip in her step. Rush was already concentrating on the console as if Park had never been there. He ignored Eli and Chloe who stood awkwardly. Eli cleared his throat.

“Uh,” Eli said. “I hear Colonel Young had a problem with my numbers.”

Rush said, busying himself at the console, “They weren’t a problem.”

“But Chloe said …” Eli began.

“He doesn’t have a problem with the numbers, Eli,” Rush said, putting a stress on ‘numbers’. Eli caught it but Chloe didn’t.

“Maybe if you’d said they were Eli’s numbers instead of claiming the credit yourself,” Chloe put in.

Eli cringed immediately and hissed her name as Rush looked up, staring across the room at her. “I beg your pardon,” he said between his teeth, very icily.

“You didn’t once say that Eli worked out those numbers,” Chloe said, not backing down.

“No,” Rush said, his voice brutally sarcastic. “Perhaps I should have mentioned that yonder golden-haired math boy worked them out but given Colonel Young got into the swing of my daily scolding so very quickly, I didn’t get much of a chance.”

She snapped back, “It’s your fault we’re stuck here.”

“Yes, it is,” Rush said flatly. He stabbed at a button on the console. He wasn’t looking at her now but the kino saw his face and shrank back into the corner.

“And my father’s dead because of you,” she said, her voice hot.

Rush’s finger paused on a button. This time he did stare across at her; his response had no kindness in it at all.

“You know, Miss Armstrong, I’ll take the rap for getting us here in the first place but I don’t remember going to your father and saying, ‘Excuse me, Senator, but we’re all going to die, so would you mind just popping down to the shuttle to sacrifice yourself for us?’ No memory of it at all, so perhaps you could ask around and find out who actually did so we can have ourselves a proper wee lynching,” Rush said, his voice vicious, his accent stronger than usual.

Chloe’s face was white and the kino got that she had been the one to tell her father about the door that wouldn’t shut. Eli got it, too, as did Rush whose lip curled just ever so slightly. She burst into tears and stormed out. Eli followed her, his voice calling, “Chloe? Chloe?” There was a small silence and then Eli said, “Oh shit, man.”

Rush put a shaking hand up to his head.

The kino stayed very still.

FINIS

One for Laheara who wanted Chloe (though perhaps not quite the apology you wanted? :D) and for violetvision78 who asked for Dr Park (who will also be in the next one). Daftie mincy heid means idiotic crazy person.

Kino Vision Number 4

2009-11-17T14:34:49Z

I still don’t own SGU; I still don’t want. It's just that Dr Rush twitches so very nicely.

Kino Vision Number 4
By EllieV

TJ Johansen noticed the kino skimming alongside her and said more than a little wearily, “Eli …”

The kino took off down another corridor; unlike those trapped on Destiny, it knew all the shortcuts. The doors were closed so it waited until she tapped the controls. She went in and the kino followed. It stayed in the shadows as usual. Ahead, the shielded windows kept them safe from space. The light was beautiful.

Nicholas Rush was alone, his normal state of being. He sat, apparently fascinated by the view, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. Johansen paused as she saw him. The kino wasn’t sure if she had come looking for him or not. Rush didn’t turn around, though from the kino’s position it could tell he realized someone was there.

Johansen stepped forward and said, “Hey there.”

Rush stood and said, “Lieutenant.” His voice was courteous. He pronounced “Lieutenant” differently to everyone else. He walked away from her, as if to leave.

“I thought I’d come and watch space for a while,” Johansen said. Her voice, as ever, was friendly and warm. “It’s the colors.”

Rush gave his twitchy, sad smile. He said, “I’ll leave you to it then.”

She said, “You don’t have to go,” and looked as if she was surprised she said it.

“I have work to do,” Rush said. He went to the door.

“Uh, I … wanted to ask you something,” she said quickly, putting a hand out.

Rush stopped. He turned back slowly.

“Yes?” he said, his body language screaming defensiveness.

Johansen gestured at the seat. “Can we?” she asked. Rush didn’t move. “Please?”

Rush sat down. If he sat any further away from Johansen and any closer to the edge of the seat, he’d fall off. His hands were loosely folded in his lap but the kino didn’t take that as a sign of ease.

He said, his voice carefully neutral, “What did you want to ask?”

“Why did you dial the ninth chevron instead of Earth?” she asked.

“I’ve said why,” Rush said. The kino focused on him closely. His hands clenched just ever so slightly at the question and his face went blank, except for a slight tick at the side of his mouth. “In case a blast from the build-up in the Icarus core translated through the gate to Earth.”

“But you could have dialed anywhere else in the Milky Way,” she said.

“Why do you think we came through Destiny’s gate like that? Like we were being flung through even though we just walked,” Rush said. His voice was quietly angry.

“I don’t know,” she said. Her perfect, pretty brow creased.

“We chose Icarus for a reason,” said Rush. “Because of the power requirements needed to dial the ninth chevron.” His voice was as if he was explaining something to a particularly dense student.

“Yeah, so …” Johansen asked, not getting it.

The kino wanted to tell her to think about it. It was only a flying camera ball and it got what Rush was saying.

“All that power and so close to home,” he mused.

“You mean …” Johansen said. She frowned, thinking. “You’re saying it would have blown up any planet we dialed in the Milky Way. And Pegasus?”

He glanced at her.

She said, “Then this the only place where a blast wouldn't destroy whatever was on the other side of the gate? Because of the distance?”

“Or we could have just stepped back through the gate to Earth without a problem,” said Rush. He shrugged. “Without the numbers, there’s no way of telling; I could just be lying, of course.” There was a tinge of self-mockery.

Her eyes were open wide staring at him. He glanced at her and shifted uncomfortably. He stood too quickly and swayed a little. She moved as if to catch him and he stepped away, folding back in on himself. He looked at the view and went to leave.

“Dr Rush?” she said.

Interesting. All of Young’s people called him Rush; it was never Dr Rush. The kino understood the lack of respect that Rush inferred. He paused by the door but didn’t turn around.

“I like being alive,” said Johansen.

Rush’s shoulders hunched, apparently unable even to accept an implied apology. He left.

Johansen sank back down onto the seat and watched the view out of Destiny’s windows. The kino stayed with her.

Finis

This Kino Vision came out of a plot bunny I had when messaging Edwina and from a post I made on GW. Remember how big that kawoosh was? And notice how he deflects every apology or thank you?

Anyone want to pick the next one?

Kino Vision Number 3

2009-11-15T10:05:13Z

I still don't own SGU; I still don't want to. Dr Rush is what I call 'interesting'.

Kino Vision Number 3
By EllieV

The kino hid. It was under a chair in the mess hall, its camera tilted upwards. Next to Dr Rush, Master Sergeant Greer was the most likely to notice it and unlike Rush, Greer wouldn’t just switch it off. Greer was with Colonel Young discussing security. It zoomed in on them.

“And you didn’t search Rush’s quarters,” Young seemed to be repeating.

“No, sir,” Greer said. Young appeared to be thinking but before he said anything else Greer added, “There were other people, too.”

The kino supposed they were talking about the aborted search for stolen rations the dust creatures had interrupted. That was weeks ago.

“Do it,” Young said.

“Only Rush?” Greer asked, as if in doubt. He didn’t normally question Young.

“No, everyone,” Young said. “We’re still too short of food.”

Greer came to semi-attention. “Sir,” he said.

Instead of scooting along the ceiling, the kino hugged the ground, pausing when Greer did. Sooner or later, people would stop noticing the kinos at all but it was still early days. Greer collected another marine and made his way to the crew quarters. He knocked on Rush’s door and slid it open. It wasn’t locked.

The other marine, whose name the kino didn’t know, said unnecessarily, “He’s not here.”

“What are you doing?” a voice demanded.

Franklin.

“Lookin’ for Rush,” Greer said laconically.

Franklin said in irritation, “He’s going to be working, isn’t he.”

“Yeah,” Greer agreed. He turned, considered the empty room, neat with everything in its place, and hit the control switch. The door slid shut.

The kino waited for Rush to come back. It wasn’t until very late, of course, long after the sensible people had gone to bed. The kino turned to watch as he came down the corridor. He was rubbing his eyes, looking tired and worried. The more tired Rush was the less likely he’d notice the kino, so it took the chance and went into his quarters with him. It lifted into a shadowed corner as Rush sat on the bed and rubbed his eyes again. He pulled out his notebook and flicked through it, using his broken glasses to focus on the page.

The kino waited for Greer and it didn’t take long, as if he had been watching either Rush or his quarters. Rush looked up at the door, put his glasses down, then went to open it.

“Sergeant Greer,” Rush said in his soft voice, and then, “Is there something wrong?”

Greer seemed taken back and said, “We’re searching everyone’s quarters.” Rush said nothing. “Uh, for stolen rations.”

“What?” Franklin’s voice demanded from out in the corridor. “I cannot believe this is still going on. You cannot just barge into people’s rooms and tear them apart.”

Greer gave him a fake smile and said, “I might need to check your room again.” He stepped in and flicked the door shut.

Rush moved past the bed and stood against the wall. He hadn’t protested the intrusion. Instead, he opened up his notebook again. The kino understood that sometimes Rush used the notebook as a prop. Greer waited a moment and started lifting the few things around the room. He gave a cursory glance under the mattress. Greer picked up Rush’s broken glasses. He looked like he wanted to say something.

Rush took no notice. The kino considered whether or not he was simply preoccupied or had withdrawn into himself at the invasion of privacy. He seemed to be totally unaware that Greer was glancing at him. Greer wasn’t even pretending to search Rush’s room now. He just stood there with Rush’s glasses in his hand.

Rush drew in a deep breath and let it out in a huff. He was scribbling something down and frowning. He clicked his teeth and said annoyed, “Ah, pish.” He screwed up the page.

“What?” Greer asked, putting down the glasses.

Rush looked up and said, “What?”

“I asked first,” said Greer.

Rush looked oddly confused and said, “What?” again.

Greer said, perhaps with a patience he didn’t feel, “You said pish. What does that mean? Pish.”

“Crap,” said Rush in explanation, rolling the ‘r’. He still looked confused. “It’s when something’s rubbish.”

Greer nodded slowly and drawled with the tiniest of smiles, “I like that.” Rush shrugged. Greer said, “I’ve finished here.”

Rush glanced around the room. Greer had been there only a minute. Greer didn’t say anything else. He gave Rush a surprisingly not unfriendly nod, opened the door, and left. Rush’s attention returned to the notebook. The kino floated out at ground level following Greer and the other marine, who had waited outside.

The marine said, “You find anything?”

“No,” said Greer.

“We should have hid something,” said the marine.

Greer stopped. “I don’t want to hear that again.”

“He got us stuck here,” said the marine.

The kino had heard Greer say the same thing often.

This time, all Greer said with a snort was, “Pish.”

As the marine said, “What?” Greer noticed the kino near his foot.

He kicked it down the corridor.

Finis

****

Thank you to everyone who’s sent me really lovely message about the Kino Vision series. Your reviews are much appreciated. Hopefully, I’ll have the next one up tomorrow or the next day.

Kino Vision Number 2

2009-11-12T04:03:18Z

I still don’t own SGU; I still don’t want to. Dr Rush is simply a very fine playground.

Kino Vision Number 2
By EllieV

The kino slipped into place, high in a corner in what they’d come to call the “mess hall”. They were having their weekly meeting, something that Colonel Young insisted on and Camile Wray organized. The kino wasn’t there for the meeting; the meetings were all the same. They were supposed to be morale boosters but what they had started out as, and remained as, were exercises in blame.

No, the kino was there for the food. It had watched Airman Becker shyly approach Inman to get some variation into their bland diet of white gloop. They had a synthetic flavoring now, though this didn’t seem to improve anyone’s mood. They bitched and went their separate ways. Becker waited until they’d gone and started cleaning up.

He frowned looking around the room. In his hand he held one of their little metal bowls. His hand made counting motions. He turned, putting down the bowl, and lifted up some of the white powder. He poured it into the bowl and measured out the water, mixing it together.

The kino followed Becker through the corridors keeping high above so it wouldn’t be noticed. Becker paused, listening for a moment as if checking something, then he moved forward. Checking to see if he was alone. The kino floated above, settling into place in its usual corner. Becker hovered waiting to see if he’d be noticed. He wasn’t so he cleared his throat.

Nicholas Rush lifted his head and blinked to get Becker into focus. The kino didn't think that anyone was ever really in focus for Dr Rush.

“I brought your rations, sir,” Becker said.

Rush didn’t say anything. His brow creased as if puzzled, as if he didn’t know what Becker was doing there. Becker held out the bowl and when Rush didn’t take it, placed it on the top of the console, backing away. He waited a moment and then turned to leave. The kino didn’t follow Becker; it waited for Rush.

He didn’t pick up the bowl immediately; he looked towards the corridor where Becker had gone. Almost gingerly he picked up the bowl and spooned the gloop into his mouth. It wasn’t much, it never was, so he finished it quickly. Rush looked thoughtful, tapping the spoon against the side of the bowl. He picked up his notebook and pen and put them in his pocket. He took the bowl and walked out.

The kino followed him, careful to scoot along the ceiling. If anyone was going to notice it, Rush would. He went into the mess hall where Becker was still cleaning up.

“It’s banana,” Rush said.

Becker stopped and said in a pleased voice, “Yes, sir. It’s just synthetic, though.”

“It’s good,” Rush said. Becker beamed but Rush still had that odd look of puzzlement on his face. “You don’t have to bring me food, Becker.”

“Would you remember, sir?” Becker asked. “You never did at Icarus; you never ate in the officer’s mess.”

Rush’s face twitched; some information about not eating in the officer’s mess that the kino was missing.

“No, I never ate in the officer’s mess,” he agreed. “Are there any more flavors?”

“Dr Inman’s working on some, sir,” Becker said.

“Don’t do cauliflower,” Rush recommended. He put the bowl down. His voice was quiet. “Thank you, Becker.”

The kino didn’t follow; it watched Becker clean up.

Finis

This is the second in a series of vignettes inspired by the kino webisodes at the MGM website, this one by Kino 13: Variety. Not all of these very short stories will concentrate on Rush. I’ll try to do another tomorrow but an assignment is calling me, sadly.

Kino Vision Number 1

2009-11-11T12:32:15Z

I still don't own SGU; I still don't want to. I just like playing with Dr Rush.

Kino Vision Number 1
By EllieV

The kino sat high above in a corner so no one would notice it. Set to record for playback later on. It was sitting in the most interesting part of the ship. Not even Eli noticed it now even though he was the one who set it there.

It floated, silently watching Nicholas Rush as he sat flicking through screens on the console before him. His shoulders were hunched up around his neck. Every now and again, he pinched his nose and rubbed his eyes.

It hadn’t been a good day, yet another in a long line of not good days. Bad days outweighed the good. It didn’t really matter what the scenario because it always followed the same script: something happened, Young and Rush argued, things got fixed just in time to stop the ship blowing up or similar. The tension ratcheted up because although Rush was invariably right, Young disagreed and Rush was obnoxious.

It was late and sensible people were in bed but Rush wasn’t exactly sensible, although what was most off-putting was more that edge of crazy that he could exude when he got obsessed by something.

“Oh hey,” a voice said. Eli came into range. “You’re still up.”

Rush’s head came up slowly and he looked at Eli as if he didn’t know who he was. After a couple of seconds, he said, “I’m working.”

“You’re always working,” Eli said. “Seriously, man, take a break sometime.”

Rush rubbed his eyes again and ignored the comment. Eli watched him for a moment and shrugged, leaving. Rush’s head turned slightly as if checking that he was alone again. His shoulders hunched back up around his neck. Even so, concentrating as he was, Rush jumped slightly when Eli blundered back in.

“Uh, hey listen,” Eli said hovering. “About today …” Rush said nothing. “Look, about what Chloe said. You know, she didn’t mean it; I mean, I don't know if you ever have lost anyone but just in case, uh, she was just angry, okay.”

Rush said nothing, though he lifted his head a little and glanced at Eli, apparently indifferent to what Chloe said. He kept flicking through screens and the kino had no doubt that he comprehended every one.

“Anyway …” Eli finished awkwardly. “Uh, night.”

“Good night, Eli,” Rush said absently.

He left and Rush paused the screens. His hands came up and covered his eyes and the kino noticed something it hadn’t noticed before.

A wedding ring.

Finis

Note:
This is the first in a series of vignettes, somewhat inspired by the Kino vids on the MGM site. Yes, it's an SF trope to give a machine a POV but that's what tropes are for: to be overused ... :)

The Last Rolo

2009-11-07T01:06:24Z

Disclaimer: Thus far, I’m not that fond of SGU. Thus far, for me, the only sympathetic character is Dr Rush who, aside from the occasional meltdown, is actually rather polite to those who clearly despise him. My liking for Dr Rush is possibly because he’s Robert Carlyle so while I don’t own SGU or its characters, on the upside I don’t especially want to. Carlyle, that’s another matter altogether.

The Last Rolo
(aka Dr Rush Finds a Friend)
By EllieV

Nicholas Rush scowled across the room at the woman perched on the stool. She was behind the other console so he could really only see the top of her head. She had taken no notice of him since Young brought her in. Indeed, she’d barely looked at him then. It was the fact that she was here at all. It was that he didn’t know why she couldn’t work anywhere else.

“This is Dr Welland,” Young had said without preamble. “She’s doing some research.”

He didn’t say what sort of research. He didn’t say why she had to be here rather than anywhere else. He’d introduced her and left. She’d plugged in her notebook, sat on the floor, and said nothing. Ten hours later, she’d unplugged the notebook, got up and left. This had continued for a week. The only change was that on the second day, the stool had made an appearance and occasionally she disappeared late morning for half an hour or so. Not all the time, just every now and again. When she came back, she sat down again, plugged in her notebook, and ignored him. She ignored Eli as well and anyone else who came in. After a while, the only person who seemed to notice she was there was Rush. It was like seeing something just on the horizon. Barely there but noticeable enough to be irritating.

Rush rubbed his eyes. Sure, he’d made progress but not enough and far too slowly. He glanced at his watch. On cue, Dr Welland stood, unplugged her notebook, and picked up her stool. She had taken it away with her each day. Rush knew his people skills weren’t the best but he gave it a try.

He said, “Good night, Dr Welland.”

She said, “Good night, Dr Rush.”

She left and Rush continued working. The next morning she was already there when he arrived.

He said, “Good morning, Dr Welland.”

There was no reply so he said nothing further. It wasn’t until the middle of the day when she stood that he realized she was wearing headphones, plugged into her notebook.

He repeated, “Good morning, Dr Welland.”

“Good morning, Dr Rush,” she said as she moved towards the door.

That was it for another two weeks. Good morning and good night. One night, Rush varied his farewell and said, “Good evening, Dr Welland.”

She said, “Good evening, Dr Rush.”

The following morning, Rush arrived late. He heard voices. Young and Welland. Young seemed to have just arrived.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

She was polite. “Fine, thank you.”

“Are you making progress?” Young asked.

“Yes,” she said.

Young was the chatty sort so he didn’t like closed statements. “What sort of progress?” he persisted.

“Good progress,” she said.

There was a pause then Young said, a note of impatience in his voice, “Could you explain your progress? In detail?”

It was Welland’s turn to pause. “Certainly,” she said. “But I don’t think you dropped by to speak to me about the evolution of Latin verbs.”

“I came to see Rush,” said Young. Rush stiffened. “How are you getting along with him?”

She repeated, “Fine, thank you.”

“He’s not being difficult?” asked Young.

“Certainly not,” Welland said, sounding affronted.

Rush had a sudden vision getting a gold star for his good behavior. Welland reminded him of Margaret Thatcher in Falklands mode. He had a schoolteacher just like her. All thick glasses and battleaxed.

“Rush hasn’t yelled at you once,” said Young skeptically.

She sounded astonished. “Why would Dr Rush yell at me?” There was a slight emphasis, he thought, on “Doctor”, as if she disapproved of Young not using his title. “What a very odd thing to say, Colonel. Perhaps you should simply leave Dr Rush a note if you need to speak to him.” Her tone was dismissive.

Rush faded back into one of Destiny’s darkened alcoves as Young came out looking irritated. He limped away. Rush waited a few minutes then went into the control room. There was no note from Young. Welland was just plugging in her notebook.

She looked up and said, “Good morning, Dr Rush.”

He said, “Good morning, Dr Welland.”

She put on her headphones and sat on her stool. Rush watched her for a moment and went back to work.

At the end of the day he said, “Good night, Dr Welland.”

She replied, “Good night, Dr Rush.”

The next day Rush was interrupted by a steady stream of visitors; Welland ignored them all. Young didn’t come back. Rush didn’t know what he had wanted and he didn’t seek Young out to ask. The next day was quieter and there was something new.

Welland had a flask and a box next to her. A flask. They had water now. Mid-morning she pulled a mug out of the box and undid the flask.

She looked up and said politely, “Would you care for some tea, Dr Rush?”

Tea? She had tea?

Rush said disconcerted, “I’m not fond of black tea.”

She held up a container. “I’m afraid it’s only powdered.”

She had milk. Powdered milk but it was milk.

“Dare I ask if there’s also sugar?” Rush said hopefully.

He could have sworn there was a twinkle behind the thick lenses of her glasses. She did indeed have sugar. Little sachets, as if she’d raided a café. She handed him the cup from the top of the flask and poured the tea. It steamed. Milk, sugar, he was in heaven.

He lowered his voice. “Does anyone else know about this?” he asked.

She sounded affronted. “Certainly not.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” he said, feeling immediately stupid for saying so.

They drank their tea in silence. And so it went on; each mid-morning, they had tea. No conversation, just tea. A greeting, tea, a farewell.

One day he plucked up the courage—as they drank her apparently inexhaustible supply of tea— to ask what Welland was working on. She hesitated, eyeing him thoughtfully.

“I have a theory,” she said. “Perhaps you could assist.”

He was instantly wary of doing anything for Young. “I’ll try,” he said neutrally.

“The language changes,” she said. “Very old and then evolving to the Ancient language we’re used to. New words being introduced, meanings changing. I think Destiny once received updates. I haven’t yet worked out if she still does. It will depend on crossmatching the language from the Atlantis database, which is the most recent we have, to what Destiny uses. The Ancients don’t seem to have been big on dating anything, unfortunately, and I suppose when you’re planning on ascending time becomes a bit meaningless.”

His face darkened as he listened, his mind working overtime. He should have been told this. Young should have told him; so much for being on the same page. He said between his teeth, “This is what you’ve been working on for Colonel Young.”

“Goodness me, no,” she said dismissively. “I simply said I wanted to continue my study of Ancient. I prefer to work quietly. I’d never have got any peace if Colonel Young thought Destiny was receiving updates.”

“You could work from anywhere,” he said.

“People don’t tend to disturb you, Dr Rush,” she said. “You prefer to work alone.” She took a sip of her tea. “I imagine you were a trifle put out when I turned up and for my imposition upon your reputation, I apologize.”

There wasn’t much he could say to that. If he said he wasn’t annoyed, he’d be lying and she’d know it; if he said he was, he’d simply be rude and there was the possibility she’d go and take her research and her tea with her. That was the important bit, he told himself.

He simply said, “Perhaps you could show me what you have so far.”

“Certainly,” she said.

It was in-depth, scientific and extremely well put together. He suggested a couple of avenues she could explore for which she thanked him. He went back to work; she went back to work. At the end of the day, she stood, took off her headphones and unplugged her notebook, picking up her stool and box.

“Good night, Dr Rush,” she said.

“Good night, Dr Welland,” he said.

The next day at morning tea, they briefly discussed her work and he mentioned what he was doing. She asked some questions. He answered them.

Three hours later, Young came by demanding to know why the lights were off in the gateroom.

“I switched them off,” Rush said, surprised. “Colonel, just because Destiny has recharged it doesn’t mean every single light has to be on. The more we conserve power, the longer it lasts. There’s no need for the gateroom to be bathed in light when there’s no one there.”

“You don’t get to decide that, Rush,” Young snapped. “I told you we had to be on the same page; you tell me when you’re doing something.”

“Switching off a light?” Rush asked incredulously.

“I am this close …” Young started to say but Welland interrupted.

“Is this noise necessary, gentlemen?” Welland asked. “I am trying to work and it is difficult to concentrate with all this bellowing.”

She sounded very annoyed. Young hadn’t actually bellowed. It was more of a hiss.

Young said, “I’m sorry, Dr Welland, but all I want …”

“Is for Dr Rush to switch on the lights in the gateroom, yes, I heard,” she interrupted him. “I don’t understand why; it seems quite logical to leave them off. But, if it creates some quiet, by all means, switch them on please, Dr Rush. You’re clearly upset about something, Colonel; perhaps something that happened on your trip to Earth earlier today via the communications stones? I don’t know, but it is unfair to take your upset out on others. Please take your temper elsewhere, sir.”

Young opened his mouth to respond but Welland put her headphones back on. She raised an eyebrow and pointedly nodded towards the doorway. Young looked taken back. He glanced at Rush who pressed the button to switch the lights back on.

“Good luck,” Young muttered. He limped out with a glare at Welland.

Rush paused, watching Welland, who looked up at him. Her eyes widened innocently behind her glasses. He felt his mouth twitch. At the end of the day she stood, taking off her headphones, and unplugging her notebook. She picked up her box of supplies and shifted her stool to behind the console.

“Have a good evening, Dr Welland,” Rush said.

“You, too, Dr Rush,” Welland replied.

When Rush got back to his quarters, he rummaged around in his backpack. He thought he had something, just a little something to repay her for getting rid of Young. He arrived early the next day. Welland arrived around ten minutes later. She frowned at him.

“I hope you weren’t here all night, Dr Rush,” she said reprovingly.

“I left shortly after you, Dr Welland,” he said.

“Good,” she said. She walked around the console and stopped, looking down at her stool. She turned to him and said, “I hope that’s not your last Rolo, Dr Rush.”

It was.

“No,” he denied. He flushed, thoroughly embarrassed.

They had their morning tea in silence.

At the end of the day, he said, “Good evening, Dr Welland.”

She replied, “Good evening, Dr Rush.”

Finis.

*****

Note: The last Rolo may not be familiar to those outside the UK. It’s a long-time ad campaign for Rolos, small caramely filled chocolates, which worked on the idea that if you give someone your last Rolo, you’ve just declared undying love.

New Thoughtcrimes fic

2008-06-15T05:18:40Z

I have a few Thoughtcrimes fic, posted at ff.net

The Danger of Human Illusion

All the Good Stories

2007-04-29T06:08:24Z

If you're here to read All the Good Stories, please start on 15 April.

Feedback is more than welcome. My other stories can be found at fanfiction.net.