Stargate SG-1 fic: Locked Down

[jennickels]

Another story that was supposed to be short and just got away with me.  Oh well.  For the alphabet soup challenge at stargateland.

W is for weekly lockdown drills that are rarely drills (and sometimes more often than weekly).

Locked Down
by jennickels (aka Jen Connelly)
Stargate SG-1
Cam, Daniel
600 words
rating: G
WARNINGS:

Another day, another lockdown. Just another normal night at the SGC apparently.

don't own... wish I did, but I don't. No infringement intended.

---

There were a few things Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell must have missed in his SGC orientation. If he was honest with himself, some of it was probably covered but he was too busy not paying absolute attention to the video. Completely unintentional, of course. It was just that Jackson tended to get wordy and his voice was on a frequency that Cam's brain naturally tuned out. He noticed that after their first few briefings.


So, he wasn't entirely sure if the blaring alarms going off all hours of the day and night was a normal occurrence around the base. Or if they intended for lockdowns to happen nearly weekly. Sometimes more often.

Outside his quarters, the sirens screeched a high pitched warning. Again. Cam groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow tighter over his head. For a moment he considered buying some ear plugs. A loud banging on his door cut the thought short. He was still pulling on his over shirt when he yanked the door open. Jackson had an irritated sort of look on his face.

"What now?" Cam asked, buttoning his shirt, the door slamming shut behind him.

Jackson shrugged. "I don't know."

They turned towards the elevators as Airmen and Marines in full gear flooded the corridor. Cam hopped out of the way, slamming into the wall. Jackson did the same but with way more grace born from experience. Cam ignored the whisper of jealousy and admiration that tickled his brain.

While they waited for the elevator General Landry's voice boomed from the PA system. "I repeat, this is not a drill."

Jackson rubbed at the bridge of his nose, a sigh escaping. Cam felt his insides twisting into a knot of anticipation. Things were never calm around this place. The adrenaline junkie in him loved the constant action but the little ulcer forming in his stomach wasn't as thrilled.

"What?" he finally asked after Jackson sighed for the third time. The doors opened, Marines pouring out, and they slipped into the empty car.

"Nothing." He checked his watch then leaned against the wall, arms over his chest, eyes closed.

"Don't let the impending end of the world bore you or anything," Cam muttered as he tucked in his shirt.

Jackson popped one eye open, looking him up and down. Then he snorted. "This isn't my first lockdown."

Cam frowned at him. What was that supposed to mean? And was Jackson playing on some kind of superiority complex. He shook the thought away. The archeologist didn't strike him as the kind to lord experience over the new guy.

"This happens a lot?"

Jackson grunted with indifference. "You'd be surprised."

The elevator lurched to a stop just as the alarms silenced. The door slid open to an organized chaos in the hall as military personnel returned to their duty posts.

"What's going on?"

Jackson sighed again. "It's over."

"Already? What happened?"

He shrugged, turning back to the elevator.

"Aren't you even a little curious?"

Jackson leaned back against the far wall. "I'd rather get another hour of sleep." And the doors slid shut.

Cam shook his head. He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to things around here. Three weeks and he'd already lost count of how many times that siren went off. They'd had two lockdown drills and now this "real" lockdown. That lasted all of twenty minutes. He rubbed at his tired eyes, his curiosity warring with his exhaustion. Finally he turned for the control room. Maybe he'd be more jaded like Jackson after nine years but for now he had to know what happened.


EDIT: I just realized how many horrible, horrible spelling mistakes this thing had.  I apologize to all.  Apparently my spellcheck quit on libreoffice when I wrote this and I didn't notice.  Until today when I went to post it to AO3 and saw all the red squiggly lines.  *facepalm*

Comments

[magickmoons.livejournal.com]

I like this! The juxtaposition of been-there/done-that Daniel with eager Cam was very interesting.

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

I like writing stories where Daniel can show his expertise in relation to Gate travel and stuff. He was so out of place when he first started but after 9-10 years he's the pro.

[ami-ven.livejournal.com]

Very nice! Oh, Cam- you'll get used to the all-hours drills/not-drills, don't worry *g*

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

Seriously, how anyone gets any sleep living on base I have no idea. That alarm goes off every time the Gate engages without authorization. Which seems to happen a lot.