Diplomacy, by Aelfgyfu (PG-13)

[sg1jb]

Show: SG-1

Rec Category: Action/Adventure
Characters: Cameron Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, Original Characters
Categories: GEN; drama, adventure
Warnings: None
Author's Journal: aelfgyfu_mead
Author's Website: [Aelfgyfu on AO3]
Link: Diplomacy

Why This Must Be Read: Admittedly, this story contains more drama than it does action/adventure, but even though it doesn't fit the rec category like a glove, in my mind it is an off-world adventure nonetheless ... so, here you go:

The story is set at a time in Cam Mitchell's tenure when he's still struggling to find his feet in the SGC and hoping to get the band back together. When what was supposed to be a diplomatic visit turns into something more - a fluid and contentious situation in which he readily admits he's in over his head - further complicating the mission for him is not only the unpredictable Vala Mal Doran and the tempestuous relationship between her and Daniel Jackson, but also his own often befuddling attempts to find common ground with Jackson.

Adventure, drama, an interesting off-world culture, terrific original characters (including SG-8), and a wealth of central character interactions - complete with unfailingly in-character and snappy, well-written dialogue - made this, for me, an excellent read.


"You're kidding!" Cameron said. "How is that non-interference?"

"Who said anything about non-interference?" asked Vala. "We do nothing but interfere."

"We?" asked Daniel, furrowing his brow at Vala. "We're just talking. That's what we're here to do. Everything is above board."

"And they told me you weren't naïve anymore!" Cameron smiled at Daniel.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying we're going to change Eirik's mind. It's just a first step." He started back towards the hall for the midday meal.

"Oh yeah?" Cam called after him. "What's the next step?" Daniel kept walking and began conferring with Andrea, who had gone right after him. Mitchell turned to Teal'c. "Can he hear me in that thing?" he asked, waving a gloved hand at his own hood. Teal'c followed Daniel without answering.

Comments

[fignewton]

Aelf's LJ/DW nick is aelfgyfu_mead.

I haven't had the chance to say so, but I have been absolutely loving your recs, both this month and last month. Yes, I have read nearly every one of them already but that is because you obviously have impeccable taste :) and I have had great pleasure in remembering such good fics.

[sg1jb]

Thank you, it's good to hear I'm on the right track with this reccing-thing (which is new to me).

Thank you also for the journal nick ... any chance one of the mods could edit the entry for me, to include it? I tried but it did not work (am not sure of the format I need to use - sorry!).

[fignewton]

I'm afraid (or possibly relieved, heh) that admin privileges do not allow the editing of posts by others. All we can do is add/remove tags.

Here's what you want to do, replacing the square brackets with regular ones:

[b]Author's Journal:[/b]: [user name="aelfgyfu_mead"]

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Thanks for recommending my story!

[sg1jb]

Oh my goodness, you are so very welcome! I absolutely love your work; the clever dialogue, your fully-fleshed out plots, the way you write the characters ... thank you very much for your stories.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

You're quite welcome!