Fic: The Uniform is Not Enough (SGA)

[thefrogg]

Title: The Uniform is Not Enough
Author: thefrogg
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Beta: fluffnutter
Rating: All Ages
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Damnit.
Kink Bingo: Writing on the Body
Series: TUNE!verse

Lorne stared at the ceiling, the purple-blue-black of the Hive bio-technology bleeding together in his mind. Half-shadowed memories of hissed conversations, screaming and fear roiled; he pushed them away, images burning white-hot in rage and determination.

"Are you certain you wish to do this?" Todd asked.

Lorne's grip tightened on the chair, his knuckles turning white. "Yes. The uniform is not enough."

"Your people will not--"

"My people," Lorne interrupted, teeth clenched, "are a handful of mostly catatonic scientists and a dozen soldiers. The rest are in stasis on God knows how many Hive ships and battle cruisers."

Todd did not answer.

"And."

"Your superiors will not allow you to remain here once they find out." Todd reached out, delicately tracing spirals over Lorne's temple with one finger.

Lorne shivered in pleasure at the touch and closed his eyes. "My having a tattoo will be the least of their problems with me staying here."

"Would it not be better then not to have one?"

"Todd." Gold eyes met blue. "You are assuming I have any intention of going back to Earth."

"But you have family there."

"I have a sister and two nephews back on Earth. They know I'm military, and that there's a good chance I won't come home." Lorne swallowed hard, lips thin. "But here? I have over three hundred friends and comrades waiting to be rescued, and as the only ranking officer free to help, I am not about to leave them behind."

"Will they not order you back to Earth?"

"How?" Lorne's voice cracked. "Atlantis is under strict quarantine. That's what got us into this mess. We don't have the means to contact Earth, except for during supply drops, and we're lucky Rodney got even that much information to them. They aren't going to go to the effort of hunting me down."

"And if they find out you are working with the Wraith?" Todd asked.

"I'm not working with the Wraith, I'm working with you."

Todd snorted, lips curling upward.

"Yeah, I know." Lorne laughed bitterly. "But you're a known entity to them." Lorne sighed, breaking eye contact and turning to look at the wall before meeting Todd's gaze again. "Look, I don't know why you bothered to save me, and the others -- that's not a question," he forestalled Todd's explanation. "If half of what I'm suspecting is true, I really don't want to know. You're a lot more pragmatic than any human's going to be comfortable with."

"You and your people have saved my life on more than one occasion, Major Lorne. It is only proper that I return the favor." It was a half-truth, at best, and they both knew it.

"That's not it. We didn't treat you well when you were in Atlantis. Now you're giving us the Gift of Life so we can recover from stasis, conquering Hives that are otherwise useless to you. I'm still trying to figure out your reasoning behind half the things you did before, and now this. You're making me commander of your flagship, Todd, that's not repaying a life-debt. That's something else." Lorne stopped, reached up and hooked his fingers over Todd's wrist, where it still rested next to his face. "That's something I have to be worthy of, and even if they'd follow a human, your troops will not follow a commander without a tattoo."

"They will follow you because I tell them to."

"That might work in the beginning, but eventually they'll have to follow me on their own."

"And the other 'Lanteans?"

"I can handle them. If nothing else, this will just prove how far I'll go to protect them." Todd's wrist felt cool, muscles and tendons giving beneath Lorne's fingers as he dug them into the skin. "I want this, Todd. Besides, Carter and Weir and Sheppard might be able to turn a blind eye to what we were trying to do to your people, but I can't."

"We feed on your kind."

"You're just trying to survive, and you were in balance before we got here and messed everything up. And we've done nothing to actually fix it. Having a tattoo will help show your people I'm serious about this."

"There is nothing I can say to discourage you from this, is there?"

"No, there isn't."

"Very well then." Todd lifted his hand from the chair; Lorne squeezed once, hard, before freeing him.

Lorne sank back in the chair, shutting his eyes as he listened to the soft sounds of Todd gathering tools.

"I have never done this for a human before, and I know of no one who has," Todd said quietly. "I do not know how much this will hurt, but--"

"Don't worry about it," Lorne interrupted, not bothering to open his eyes. Fingers threaded through his hair, cool skin brushing cheek and jaw before the first of many pinpricks made itself known.

~~~the end~~~

Comments

Todd&Lorne

[(Anonymous)]

I love your storys with them together.

Re: Todd&Lorne

[thefrogg.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[creidh.livejournal.com]

Wow.. a human joining a Hive as an officer. I had always assumed it would go the other way. Very interesting!!

[thefrogg.livejournal.com]

Yes, Lorne's going to be a Wraith commander. We'll see how the folks back home react, eventually.

As fluffnutter can attest, I am not one to follow convention. If I've written myself into a corner, she'll give me ideas to get myself out...only to have me go, "Nah, I think I'll do it this way. You know I only pester you so you can tell me what not to do."

::hides::

(Sorry for the belated reply!)

[hive-mind-d86.livejournal.com]

You have quite a major Todd/Lorne kink :) It's a good thing. And that is an interesting idea putting a human in charge of a Hive.......they're not gonna listen to him are they?....Well not until he does something extreme to prove himself anyway. I assume we find out what happened to Atlantis soon....please? Interesting start still waiting for more of Where we Live, still slow going?

[thefrogg.livejournal.com]

I have a huge Todd/Lorne kink. Actually, I have a huge Todd kink, and a huge Lorne kink, and when I put them together, it's like...spontaneous combustion or something.::stare:: Not pretty.

As for listening to Lorne...we'll see.

Next up is the Daedelus' arrival in Pegasus, so yes, you'll find out what happened to Atlantis.

Where We Live is still being worked on. Yes, it's slow going, but that's more due to the fact that I have...a lot of stuff on my drawing board at the moment, and TUNE!verse is at the top, series-wise.

[samara-draven.livejournal.com]

Hello there. Lovely start you've got going here. I like it. It's got plenty of room for an interesting backstory to be written in and a future to be fleshed out a bit more. Added to that is that Todd/Lorne is fast becoming one of my new favorite pairings and I'm listening. Good job!

As to the name of it.... I think your summary for this installment was probably dead on: The Uniform Is Not Enough. It's always those things that come easily and we don't tend to think too much about that prove themselves not only adequate but indeed the most appropriate. If this change in command structure on a wraith ship is going to be a major plot point, if not the plot point and Lorne's struggle to prove himself is at the middle of all this as it seems to be, then I think it's great. That can mean so many things too. Beyond the tattoo, Lorne is trying to prove he's capable of leading and if the story is going to be slash - which I don't know if it is, but I'm just saying - I think for Lorne having the uniform isn't enough. He wants more as much as he wants to be accepted by his new subordinates. You will know when you have the right title but I think The Uniform Is Not Enough makes a fine one.

Just my two cents. When's the next batch coming? I want more. Please?

[thefrogg.livejournal.com]

Well, The Uniform is Not Enough is now the official title of this story. And TUNE!verse is the 'verse name, although fluffnutter thinks it strange that it has nothing to do with music.::laugh::

I have a lot of backstory, and even more future story to be worked on, and yes, it does appear to be growing like OI&E (that is, in bits and pieces and all out of order).

Rank in general (Wraith and human, both military and civilian) is a major major theme in TUNE!verse. It is going to be slash - it may well be already at this point, but I'm not sure. If not, it's going to be SOON.

Thanks for the rec on the title.

Next batch should be coming shortly. It depends on whether I write Caldwell's bit first, or the one-shot story I have stuck in my head at the moment (Also Todd/Lorne, but different universe).

[kiku65.livejournal.com]

Todd/Lorne! My day is good! *glomps*

[thefrogg.livejournal.com]

I have...uh.::counts::

WWL
TUNE!verse
and a one-shot (I hope) that's taken over my brain.

All Todd/Lorne.

More good days coming along.

::hugs::