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tamingthemuseTitle: Five Times SGA-1 Tied the Knot
Author: Sunnyd_lite
Prompt: Week 73 Rope
Fandom: SGA Season One
Rating: G – Offworld Missions
Word Count: 1,645
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own these characters either.
A/N: Life kinda threw a curve at me this week, so I grabbed my SAS Survival Guide to try and remember knot names. Hope you enjoy!
Honda Knot
After Teyla outlined what was expected, Sheppard sighed and turned to the other members of his team. "Ford, do you know how to tie a Honda knot? Not a big western fan, so never got the hang of it myself." Why did the worlds with food to trade have the strangest rituals? At least this was more similar to Earth than others, but he didn't recall SG-1 ever having to participate in a rodeo on THEIR missions.
"Civic or Accord?" The seriousness tone of that question was undercut by the wide grin the Lieutenant was wearing.
"Just messing with you, sir. Had me a ten-gallon hat and everything. So you want me to lasso and hog tie that there cowlet?" He grabbed the rope and started manipulating it into shape.
Sheppard waited three, two, and right on schedule McKay exploded.
"Cowlet?" McKay's face went an entertaining pink. "That's it! You are never EVER naming anything again. It's clearly a miniature bovine and I don't know why they waste the effect raising something smaller than a decent sized turkey. That one can only be 20 pounds."
"McKay, think prime riblet."
"Not you too, Major. I'm bringing up the formation of a nomenclature committee at the next Senior Staff meeting."
Letting McKay's babble drift into the background, Sheppard nodded to Ford and watched him chase the animal while dreaming of barbeques.
Sheepshank and Manharness
"I don't understand how too much is a problem." McKay had stepped up on a non-technical matter and Sheppard just stood back to see what would happen. And if he was purposely winding up his scientist, who was to know.
That comment earned him McKay glare number 3, reserved for idiots about to kill themselves and ignorant of that fact.
"Really, Major. Twenty meter cliff, forty meter rope, if any of it slips.."
"Splat?" interrupted Ford in a helpful tone.
"Oh for the love of, YES splat. So, we'll shorten the length also adding strength where it's anchored and rubbing around this tree." He pointed to the large almost-oak with a trunk diameter of over a meter.
"Seems solid enough, but once we're at the bottom who's going to undo it?" Basic logic dictated that they'd need it on the way home, but playing dumb usually unleashed another rant. The mission had been quiet so he figured, why not?
"Unless you've actually grown wings there flyboy, what goes down must come up if we want to get to the Stargate again. And since we're not equipped for repealing, Ford, can you add manharness loops to the remaining rope as I get the sheepshank done?" McKay just started tripling the length then pause. "If you're just going to stand there, Major, mind finding a couple of sturdy sticks to firm this up?"
This unexpected expertise surprised Sheppard. "Were you a Boy Scout? You seem to know your way around a line."
"Sailing: one of the best examples of multiple forces on an object. Plus my parents made me. Hated it, UVs bounce off water and I ended up with a burn the first week. That kept me off the water so they made me learn all the knots. Where are those sticks?"
H'uh. Guess McKay wasn't the only one to underestimate a team member. Sailing, not as fun as flying but definite recreation possibilities on a water planet. "Sure, McKay. Two sticks coming up."
Double Sheet Bend and Double Fisherman's Knot
Another off world mission, another series of tasks before they could trade. He'd have to ask one of the anthropologists if Earth cultures had similar rituals. Somehow they never came up in history class. He's sure he would have remembered things like public kissing or figuring out a maze when cultures met.
He pulled down his sunglasses as Teyla returned with a sack from speaking to the village's chief. "So Teyla, what have we got this time?"
"Please no nudity. This climate is not conducive to short sleeves let alone less," muttered McKay which really wasn't much of a surprise since he'd worn his uniform jacket on what Ford had nicknamed Planet Hawaii.
"It is a challenge involving ropes." She emptied the bag she was carrying to pour a pile of ropes at their feet. "They have supplied us with many pieces and we must ensure the joined result can both reach across the green and will not come undone when pulled on both sides."
"Tug of War? Major, do we have to trade with these people?" McKay whined.
"Easy, McKay," he offered a pained smile to the chief who stood nearby. "Teyla said they have grain. Grain means bread. Bread means…"
"Yes yes, rolls to go with the mini-bovine burgers. Fine. So I'm thinking since it's going to be pulled, double sheet bends." The scientist started to sort tangled items by thickness.
"Actually, sir, if they're the same diameter, double fisherman's knots wouldn't waste as much rope." Ford added, joining McKay in the sorting process.
"I do not know these names, but we too have a number of methods of joining lines. Perhaps they might be of assistance." Teyla reached for two pieces.
"Since you are all so knotty," he paused to take in two glares from the Earth contingent of his team, "I'll just keep an eye on the natives." It was nice to see the team working as a unit. Maybe this mission would go smoothly.
** **
As they were running for the gate, McKay huffed at him, "Why oh why did you think tying a BOW in the middle was a GOOD idea?"
Figure of Eight
In one of their forays around the City, a marina was discovered with a number of sail boats.
"Hey McKay, wanna go sailing?" Between missions and City repairs, Sheppard knew that the scientist hadn't taken any R'n'R in over twenty days. Heightmeyer, backed by Elizabeth, had strongly suggested that this wasn't a good thing. For some reason they thought he was the best one to drag McKay from his lab.
McKay didn't even look up. "Busy here."
"Rooddneeey."
The glare he got was worth it. He now had the Canadian's attention. "Didn't you mention sailing lessons? Show me." The McKay he knew loved showing his knowledge.
"That was almost thirty years ago on a lake, Sheppard. Granted Lake Ontario is one of the Great Lakes, almost an inland sea, but still we were puttering about the harbour and had a crash boat handy. Not the same conditions as here."
"So, you can't show me? At least the set up?"
"It's called rigging and who's to say the Ancients used the same techniques. Heck YOU might be able to think them rigged, why don't you go find out. Shoo some of us have vital work to do."
"McKay, it's called R'n'R."
Rodney snorted at that. "No, it's called a waste of time."
"Elizabeth.." Another glare.
"So this is an ORDER then?"
"And when have you followed orders? No, more like a friendly suggestion."
"Fine. Zorlonka, you have the lab. Don't let them blow anything up." With that he hit a series of keys and shut down the lap top. "Are you coming, Major?"
"H'uh." Rodney had inspected a number of the different boats. "This one is for shallower water, looks a lot like a Sunfish. We need something with at least a dagger board, if not a proper keel."
Finally settling on a ten foot model, he started to look at the various sails and ropes. "This has a simple rigging, but the centerboard should keep it steady in these waters. Could you grab the sheets over there?" McKay turned his attention to attaching the mast to the base of the boat.
"What sheets? I only see ropes."
"So, you've never sailed? The ropes are called sheets."
"Wouldn't it make sense to call the sails, sheets?"
"You're looking for logic from an English activity? They are the people who unleashed cricket on the world."
"Good point." Sheppard gathered the ropes and dumped them at McKay's feet.
"Feed them through the pulleys and secure the end with an eight knot. No use letting the lines run free if you let go. I'll work on hoisting the sail." He turned. "We're not taking her out today, just testing the rigging."
"So next time we'll take her out." He was surprised at how eager he was to try this. Well they might not be puddle jumpers, but it looked like there might be a similar rush.
Rodney just rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sheppard. If everything checks out, and the weather conditions are right, we can take it out. Now get to work."
Unlike McKay, he could follow orders, when he chose to anyway. "Aye, aye Captain," he replied with a grin.
Reef Knot
Things were quiet. Ford had broken an ankle slip-sliding down an embankment on the last mission, so the team was grounded. Sheppard didn't want them to lose momentum so after reviewing, okay writing, the last several mission reports, he'd come up with a team building exercise.
Which was why they were all in mess with a mess of ropes in front of them.
"Thought we should all practice knots, and have Teyla show us what ones the Athosians use."
While there had been some grumbling, mostly McKay, they were all they heads down and hands working swiftly.
"Whatcha got there?" he asked Rodney.
Surprisingly the man didn't have much to say, and stumbled over his words. "Well, as this is a team building exercise, this one only seemed to make sense."
His hands hand moved left over right and over then right over left and under. "A reef knot, when tied correctly it holds solid, pulls tighter under pressure. Kinda..." His voice trailed off.
Sheppard also didn't have the words. At least not right away. "It's a good knot McKay. We should all tie one."
Author: Sunnyd_lite
Prompt: Week 73 Rope
Fandom: SGA Season One
Rating: G – Offworld Missions
Word Count: 1,645
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own these characters either.
A/N: Life kinda threw a curve at me this week, so I grabbed my SAS Survival Guide to try and remember knot names. Hope you enjoy!
Honda Knot
After Teyla outlined what was expected, Sheppard sighed and turned to the other members of his team. "Ford, do you know how to tie a Honda knot? Not a big western fan, so never got the hang of it myself." Why did the worlds with food to trade have the strangest rituals? At least this was more similar to Earth than others, but he didn't recall SG-1 ever having to participate in a rodeo on THEIR missions.
"Civic or Accord?" The seriousness tone of that question was undercut by the wide grin the Lieutenant was wearing.
"Just messing with you, sir. Had me a ten-gallon hat and everything. So you want me to lasso and hog tie that there cowlet?" He grabbed the rope and started manipulating it into shape.
Sheppard waited three, two, and right on schedule McKay exploded.
"Cowlet?" McKay's face went an entertaining pink. "That's it! You are never EVER naming anything again. It's clearly a miniature bovine and I don't know why they waste the effect raising something smaller than a decent sized turkey. That one can only be 20 pounds."
"McKay, think prime riblet."
"Not you too, Major. I'm bringing up the formation of a nomenclature committee at the next Senior Staff meeting."
Letting McKay's babble drift into the background, Sheppard nodded to Ford and watched him chase the animal while dreaming of barbeques.
Sheepshank and Manharness
"I don't understand how too much is a problem." McKay had stepped up on a non-technical matter and Sheppard just stood back to see what would happen. And if he was purposely winding up his scientist, who was to know.
That comment earned him McKay glare number 3, reserved for idiots about to kill themselves and ignorant of that fact.
"Really, Major. Twenty meter cliff, forty meter rope, if any of it slips.."
"Splat?" interrupted Ford in a helpful tone.
"Oh for the love of, YES splat. So, we'll shorten the length also adding strength where it's anchored and rubbing around this tree." He pointed to the large almost-oak with a trunk diameter of over a meter.
"Seems solid enough, but once we're at the bottom who's going to undo it?" Basic logic dictated that they'd need it on the way home, but playing dumb usually unleashed another rant. The mission had been quiet so he figured, why not?
"Unless you've actually grown wings there flyboy, what goes down must come up if we want to get to the Stargate again. And since we're not equipped for repealing, Ford, can you add manharness loops to the remaining rope as I get the sheepshank done?" McKay just started tripling the length then pause. "If you're just going to stand there, Major, mind finding a couple of sturdy sticks to firm this up?"
This unexpected expertise surprised Sheppard. "Were you a Boy Scout? You seem to know your way around a line."
"Sailing: one of the best examples of multiple forces on an object. Plus my parents made me. Hated it, UVs bounce off water and I ended up with a burn the first week. That kept me off the water so they made me learn all the knots. Where are those sticks?"
H'uh. Guess McKay wasn't the only one to underestimate a team member. Sailing, not as fun as flying but definite recreation possibilities on a water planet. "Sure, McKay. Two sticks coming up."
Double Sheet Bend and Double Fisherman's Knot
Another off world mission, another series of tasks before they could trade. He'd have to ask one of the anthropologists if Earth cultures had similar rituals. Somehow they never came up in history class. He's sure he would have remembered things like public kissing or figuring out a maze when cultures met.
He pulled down his sunglasses as Teyla returned with a sack from speaking to the village's chief. "So Teyla, what have we got this time?"
"Please no nudity. This climate is not conducive to short sleeves let alone less," muttered McKay which really wasn't much of a surprise since he'd worn his uniform jacket on what Ford had nicknamed Planet Hawaii.
"It is a challenge involving ropes." She emptied the bag she was carrying to pour a pile of ropes at their feet. "They have supplied us with many pieces and we must ensure the joined result can both reach across the green and will not come undone when pulled on both sides."
"Tug of War? Major, do we have to trade with these people?" McKay whined.
"Easy, McKay," he offered a pained smile to the chief who stood nearby. "Teyla said they have grain. Grain means bread. Bread means…"
"Yes yes, rolls to go with the mini-bovine burgers. Fine. So I'm thinking since it's going to be pulled, double sheet bends." The scientist started to sort tangled items by thickness.
"Actually, sir, if they're the same diameter, double fisherman's knots wouldn't waste as much rope." Ford added, joining McKay in the sorting process.
"I do not know these names, but we too have a number of methods of joining lines. Perhaps they might be of assistance." Teyla reached for two pieces.
"Since you are all so knotty," he paused to take in two glares from the Earth contingent of his team, "I'll just keep an eye on the natives." It was nice to see the team working as a unit. Maybe this mission would go smoothly.
** **
As they were running for the gate, McKay huffed at him, "Why oh why did you think tying a BOW in the middle was a GOOD idea?"
Figure of Eight
In one of their forays around the City, a marina was discovered with a number of sail boats.
"Hey McKay, wanna go sailing?" Between missions and City repairs, Sheppard knew that the scientist hadn't taken any R'n'R in over twenty days. Heightmeyer, backed by Elizabeth, had strongly suggested that this wasn't a good thing. For some reason they thought he was the best one to drag McKay from his lab.
McKay didn't even look up. "Busy here."
"Rooddneeey."
The glare he got was worth it. He now had the Canadian's attention. "Didn't you mention sailing lessons? Show me." The McKay he knew loved showing his knowledge.
"That was almost thirty years ago on a lake, Sheppard. Granted Lake Ontario is one of the Great Lakes, almost an inland sea, but still we were puttering about the harbour and had a crash boat handy. Not the same conditions as here."
"So, you can't show me? At least the set up?"
"It's called rigging and who's to say the Ancients used the same techniques. Heck YOU might be able to think them rigged, why don't you go find out. Shoo some of us have vital work to do."
"McKay, it's called R'n'R."
Rodney snorted at that. "No, it's called a waste of time."
"Elizabeth.." Another glare.
"So this is an ORDER then?"
"And when have you followed orders? No, more like a friendly suggestion."
"Fine. Zorlonka, you have the lab. Don't let them blow anything up." With that he hit a series of keys and shut down the lap top. "Are you coming, Major?"
"H'uh." Rodney had inspected a number of the different boats. "This one is for shallower water, looks a lot like a Sunfish. We need something with at least a dagger board, if not a proper keel."
Finally settling on a ten foot model, he started to look at the various sails and ropes. "This has a simple rigging, but the centerboard should keep it steady in these waters. Could you grab the sheets over there?" McKay turned his attention to attaching the mast to the base of the boat.
"What sheets? I only see ropes."
"So, you've never sailed? The ropes are called sheets."
"Wouldn't it make sense to call the sails, sheets?"
"You're looking for logic from an English activity? They are the people who unleashed cricket on the world."
"Good point." Sheppard gathered the ropes and dumped them at McKay's feet.
"Feed them through the pulleys and secure the end with an eight knot. No use letting the lines run free if you let go. I'll work on hoisting the sail." He turned. "We're not taking her out today, just testing the rigging."
"So next time we'll take her out." He was surprised at how eager he was to try this. Well they might not be puddle jumpers, but it looked like there might be a similar rush.
Rodney just rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sheppard. If everything checks out, and the weather conditions are right, we can take it out. Now get to work."
Unlike McKay, he could follow orders, when he chose to anyway. "Aye, aye Captain," he replied with a grin.
Reef Knot
Things were quiet. Ford had broken an ankle slip-sliding down an embankment on the last mission, so the team was grounded. Sheppard didn't want them to lose momentum so after reviewing, okay writing, the last several mission reports, he'd come up with a team building exercise.
Which was why they were all in mess with a mess of ropes in front of them.
"Thought we should all practice knots, and have Teyla show us what ones the Athosians use."
While there had been some grumbling, mostly McKay, they were all they heads down and hands working swiftly.
"Whatcha got there?" he asked Rodney.
Surprisingly the man didn't have much to say, and stumbled over his words. "Well, as this is a team building exercise, this one only seemed to make sense."
His hands hand moved left over right and over then right over left and under. "A reef knot, when tied correctly it holds solid, pulls tighter under pressure. Kinda..." His voice trailed off.
Sheppard also didn't have the words. At least not right away. "It's a good knot McKay. We should all tie one."
