marbleglove (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marbleglove) wrote2010-02-10 06:58 pm
marbleglove) wrote2010-02-10 06:58 pm
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Plot-bunny: Highlander / Stargate (2 of 3)
When I wrote A Square Peg in a Round Hole, I had a whole set of ideas for how to get Methos in contact with the SGC crew. At request, I’m posting what ideas I had at the time that I didn’t go forward with. Of them all, this was the closest second. I almost went with it a number of times and it wound up being more random chance than any particular reason that I went with Square Peg instead. .
The second of three Methos/Stargate plot-bunnies:
The bar was closed to the public but full of Watchers. They were all trading stories and just generally debreifing each other as they did every couple of weeks. When you had a secret life it was important to find some time to speak freely.
When teh phone rang, Joe Dawson, bar owner and area supervisor, delegated the task of answering it to one of his subordinates both in watcher training and in bar tending. He didn’t even think much of it until the young watcher put his hand over the mouthpiece and called out, “Guys? It’s someone calling for Methos.”
Dead silence.
Joe gave an agonized look at Adam Pierson whom he alone, of all the watchers, knew to be both immortal and that most elusive of the immortals, Methos. But everyone was looking around, confused and worried. Was Methos here? Did someone know they were watchers? Were they in danger? What should they do?
Finally Adam stood up. “Unless someone here is going to admit to being immortal, being my immortal...?” He paused and looked at each person in turn, studying them for some sign. “I’m going to answer and see what I can learn.”
There were nods of comprehension and approval and a few mouthed “good idea”s but everyone sat silent as he took the phone. “Yes?”
The Watchers watched and listened, straining to hear every word.
----------------
The Watchers milled around the bar quietly unhappy. The fact that Adam Pierson was fluent in multiple otherwise-dead languages had never before been so frustrating. Only two watchers, who had had previous assignments in Egypt, stayed still and focused near the bar, trying to understand a language that was like and yet unlike that which they knew.
But everyone perked up again when ADam spoek loudly in English. “If you harm him in any way before I get there I will personally skin you alive with a red hot spoon!”
The Watchers were pretty evenly split between looking appalled at the normally mild and gentle researcher’s threat and looking greatly impressed by it.
The phone back in its cradle, Adam slumped on a stool with his head in his hands. One of the more impatient of the Watchers finally said, “Well?”
Adam’s eyes were tired and his smile weak. “False alarm as far as Methos goes. A contact of mine wanted to get through to me without giving away my name. He doesn’t know who or what Methos is, just that its a word I keep track of, that I would respond to. He’s been arrested by the US military and is slated for execution.”
“I’m sorry, Adam.”
“Harsh.”
“But due process!”
“Who was your contact?”
“Why does a researcher have a contact?”
The responses came more or less at the same time, but the last one had a few of them puzzled. Active watchers might have “contacts” to get them past security checkpoints or into places they couldn’t get on their own but researchers stayed in libraries, right? Occasionally traveled to see the sights but not following dangerous individuals.
“Black market antique rings and tomb raiders. Smuggling weapons on the side. Occasional forgery.”
Adam rubbed his eyes again and they all remembered that it was late at night (or early in the morning, as the case may be) and they'd all been drinking. “The military was almost certainly monitoring that line so the security of this bar has been compromised. I’m sorry, Joe.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not the first time I’ve been investigated and I doubt it’ll be the last.”
“Be careful. That goes for all of you. Something screwy is going on. He had some of the best security I’ve seen but they caught him anyway. And they were just waiting to shoot.”
“Uh-huh,” Joe agreed warily. “And what about you?”
“The name Methos is used in a mysterious situation... I’ll investigate it, of course,” Adam spoke in mock surprise.
“You said it had nothing to do with Methos.”
“Yeah. But it does have to do with my friends and its still a mysterious situation.”
----------------
The SGC agents looked up from Daniels translation of what their most recent prisoner had said on the phone before they had managed to subdue him.
“Seriously?”
“That’s the translation.” Daniel shrugged with some bemusement of his own. “That’s what was said.”
“He is a goa’uld, isn’t he?” Jack asked.
It was a serious question. Sure, their prisoner had the goa’uld voice and the flashing eyes, but still… “the host called his dad?”
-------------------
The plot is that Methos had a son some two or three thousand years ago. He did not want him to die. And he was friends with a goa’uld. So for the last couple of thousand of years Methos has had a friend and a son who are immortal but not part of The Game. He loves having an immortal family and now someone is threatening that.
The second of three Methos/Stargate plot-bunnies:
The bar was closed to the public but full of Watchers. They were all trading stories and just generally debreifing each other as they did every couple of weeks. When you had a secret life it was important to find some time to speak freely.
When teh phone rang, Joe Dawson, bar owner and area supervisor, delegated the task of answering it to one of his subordinates both in watcher training and in bar tending. He didn’t even think much of it until the young watcher put his hand over the mouthpiece and called out, “Guys? It’s someone calling for Methos.”
Dead silence.
Joe gave an agonized look at Adam Pierson whom he alone, of all the watchers, knew to be both immortal and that most elusive of the immortals, Methos. But everyone was looking around, confused and worried. Was Methos here? Did someone know they were watchers? Were they in danger? What should they do?
Finally Adam stood up. “Unless someone here is going to admit to being immortal, being my immortal...?” He paused and looked at each person in turn, studying them for some sign. “I’m going to answer and see what I can learn.”
There were nods of comprehension and approval and a few mouthed “good idea”s but everyone sat silent as he took the phone. “Yes?”
The Watchers watched and listened, straining to hear every word.
----------------
The Watchers milled around the bar quietly unhappy. The fact that Adam Pierson was fluent in multiple otherwise-dead languages had never before been so frustrating. Only two watchers, who had had previous assignments in Egypt, stayed still and focused near the bar, trying to understand a language that was like and yet unlike that which they knew.
But everyone perked up again when ADam spoek loudly in English. “If you harm him in any way before I get there I will personally skin you alive with a red hot spoon!”
The Watchers were pretty evenly split between looking appalled at the normally mild and gentle researcher’s threat and looking greatly impressed by it.
The phone back in its cradle, Adam slumped on a stool with his head in his hands. One of the more impatient of the Watchers finally said, “Well?”
Adam’s eyes were tired and his smile weak. “False alarm as far as Methos goes. A contact of mine wanted to get through to me without giving away my name. He doesn’t know who or what Methos is, just that its a word I keep track of, that I would respond to. He’s been arrested by the US military and is slated for execution.”
“I’m sorry, Adam.”
“Harsh.”
“But due process!”
“Who was your contact?”
“Why does a researcher have a contact?”
The responses came more or less at the same time, but the last one had a few of them puzzled. Active watchers might have “contacts” to get them past security checkpoints or into places they couldn’t get on their own but researchers stayed in libraries, right? Occasionally traveled to see the sights but not following dangerous individuals.
“Black market antique rings and tomb raiders. Smuggling weapons on the side. Occasional forgery.”
Adam rubbed his eyes again and they all remembered that it was late at night (or early in the morning, as the case may be) and they'd all been drinking. “The military was almost certainly monitoring that line so the security of this bar has been compromised. I’m sorry, Joe.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not the first time I’ve been investigated and I doubt it’ll be the last.”
“Be careful. That goes for all of you. Something screwy is going on. He had some of the best security I’ve seen but they caught him anyway. And they were just waiting to shoot.”
“Uh-huh,” Joe agreed warily. “And what about you?”
“The name Methos is used in a mysterious situation... I’ll investigate it, of course,” Adam spoke in mock surprise.
“You said it had nothing to do with Methos.”
“Yeah. But it does have to do with my friends and its still a mysterious situation.”
----------------
The SGC agents looked up from Daniels translation of what their most recent prisoner had said on the phone before they had managed to subdue him.
“Seriously?”
“That’s the translation.” Daniel shrugged with some bemusement of his own. “That’s what was said.”
“He is a goa’uld, isn’t he?” Jack asked.
It was a serious question. Sure, their prisoner had the goa’uld voice and the flashing eyes, but still… “the host called his dad?”
-------------------
The plot is that Methos had a son some two or three thousand years ago. He did not want him to die. And he was friends with a goa’uld. So for the last couple of thousand of years Methos has had a friend and a son who are immortal but not part of The Game. He loves having an immortal family and now someone is threatening that.
Re: Oh I do wish you would write this one
When things are slow at the SGC, they might try to do in-depth studies of the ship. Maybe the sources of the quotes have significance. For example, what does it mean when 3 quotes in a row are from movies/tv shows where a natural disaster destroys life as we know it? How about if the same actor is in all 3 sources?
Meanwhile, the Mafia family is now trying to get someone into the SGC/Russian program/NID to keep an eye on the situation for the future. They'd like to know about any future threats to Earth and any other attempts to grab the Gs.
Re: Oh I do wish you would write this one
I think you're quite right about Daniel. The journals aren't quick translations or of immediate military value (other than occasionally being graduate work in military strategy) so he doesn't work on them as his primary task. But during breaks or when he wants to relax after dinner, he'll settle back with a beer and a journal.
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and I just have the image of the ship being programed for dna recognition of Methos and of his Son's line everyone else gets to be insulted a la Marauder's Map... but very creatively!
Daniel would love to work on the journal's... until they get a message saying they can get the stargate back... if they delive all of Methos journals in their possesion and those with the Watcher's
otherwise no more stargate for the SGC
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That would be a tough call, especially since the Watchers might think that Methos's journals are more important to history. The SGC would probably just decide to scan all of the journals into their computers first. Which is a big problem when they turn over the journals, and then the virus Methos left in their computers or one of the insider Mafia people erases all of their scans and translations of the journals.
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By the NID so the sgc thinks they are the one who took them
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and making small conspiracy aditions to the emails the guy eschanges with the other agencies...
the illuminati likely have a blast feeding the theories online
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and many other gems of urban legends, when he asks his girlfriend about it she just srugs and says that the sense of humour runs in the family as much as anything else... and what use is it to be powerful and influential if you can use it for fun?
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well, so far no horrible facts, but Ana of Russia seems to have been a member of the family:
http://www.cracked.com/article/18351_6-rulers-who-abused-their-power-in-hilariously-insane-ways/
Anna I of Russia (1639-1740) was either the meanest bitch in history or one of its greatest pranksters. Or both.
This story tells you just about everything you need to know about a woman who both had absolute power and was batshit insane: She once found out a nobleman had committed the offense of marrying a Catholic. In response she forced him to marry an old hag, then after the wedding ceremony dressed them up as clowns, paraded them through the streets with farm animals, stripped them naked and made them sleep in a palace made of ice. This was in Russia in the middle of winter, where taking a piss means you instantly have an icicle jammed up your urethra.
Her reign was one of terror, both in the general sense (she started that "secret police" thing in Russia) and in the humiliating sense. Anyone who even mildly upset her knew they were either in for a cruel mocking, or a horrific death (which we suppose she thought was all part of the joke). Overcook her food? To the gallows! Speaking against her? Off with your tongue! Political opponents and general asshats alike had made her endless hit-list.
When she wasn't ordering random murder, she would randomly command a person to stand in a corner and impersonate a chicken or dog or cat; anything that she liked, really. Horrible? Yes. But which of us can say we wouldn't do exactly the same if given absolute power? We at Cracked salute her, out of fear and admiration.
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And Methos is getting progressively more annoyed with this whole technology thing. Because being the height of technology was pretty sweet when it meant having a steel sword rather than an iron one, but it gets more and more difficult to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to computer tech. So he tried really hard to write a virus to wipe out all the information, but the SGC has all of these safeguards on their computer so the wipe doesn't work, just makes them more paranoid. And somehow the journals get out and saved to the public internet. Now they're everywhere, including yahoo/google news. Everyone thinks it's a hoax, of course, but such a brilliantly done hoax that must have taken dozens of researchers years to put together. So now there's this whole search to figure out who the hoaxers are.
Methos finally throws up his hands, admits defeat, figures at least he doesn't have to worry about losing his journals anymore, and sits back to watch the fall out, which is hilarious: various people proving and disproving the information in the journals, various people trying to claim credit for writing the journals, the Watchers and the SGC trying to suppress the whole thing, and the situation becoming so convoluted that there's no way to trace any of it back to Adam Pierson.
Re: Oh I do wish you would write this one
(Anonymous) 2010-03-04 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)and leaves random notes in watchers journals about how or why would
Methos write down anything about Aristotle's fashion mistakes
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The people in the know laugh their ass off about that. Methos wonders if he'll ever be able to live this down. (The answer is: no.)
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Methos, just goes fuck it... I am going back to italy where they treat me awesomely (which of course makes everyone think that something is going to happen to the vatican library...
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but when pressed he can adimit that maybe when he had been with roling stones some ideas about glam rock could have possibly maybe have come from him... though the memories of those years are hazier than the pre-horsemen ones...
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Methos suddenly has a lot more people who are after him, not for power, but for libel.
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others from more recent times are wondering if they had ever met Methos, and who was he... more importantly had he written down anything really embarassing
loads of fake journals start to show up online and quite a few blogs/ mocking posts such as
The Very Secret Diary of Methos: Today was not a good day, still not King of Beer, am working to declare water unsafe to drink so can have beer all day long with no snide looks.
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The real Methos knocks his head against the table repeatedly. He just knows his friends are going to watch those and mock him forever after.
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