DISCLAIMER: SG-1 its characters belong to B.W, J.G. and MGM. No copyright infringement intended, no money be made.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written for fluffbingo, prompt: lights, 100prompts, table 1/prompt 13: test, and gen_prompt bingo, prompt: half-life. Thanks to my betas quiethearted and gin_akasarahsmom.
TIMELINE: AU. Takes place in the universe established in The Prophecy, so post Heroes (s07e17-18).
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To dhamphir[at]ymail.com

The Blade
By Dhamphir

 

As Janet walked down the corridor, she heard Kris's voice. "Damn it!"

Stepping into the doorway of Kris's lab, Janet leaned against the jamb. "Having a bad day, honey?" she asked.

Kris looked up from her workbench. "What?"

"I asked if you were having a bad day."

"No. Just having a little trouble getting this to work properly," she replied with a sigh.

Janet walked over and peered at the small contraption, made of metal, wires, and some kind of crystal. "What is it?"

"At the moment, a pile of crap," Kris growled.

Placing a reassuring hand on her wife's back, Janet said, "Hey, you'll get it, honey. I have faith in you."

Kris gave her a tight smile. "Thanks."

"So what is it supposed to be?"

"If I can get it to work, it'll be a defensive weapon that I can use."

Janet raised an eyebrow in question.

"You know I don't like the idea of carrying a firearm. When I agreed to be Earth's Guardian I told Hammond I would always choose the path that leads to the least amount of bloodshed—even for the enemy."

"I remember," she said, nodding.

"This weapon will help me do that if I can get it to work."

"Why didn't you build it before now?"

Kris tapped the crystal. "This. Until we found these morphing crystals on P5X-434 it wasn't possible. I just hope the trinium is sufficient for the casing."

"It's my understanding that trinium is the strongest known alloy."

Kris smiled. "To humans, in this time, anyway." She reached out and took Janet's left hand in hers, running her thumb over Janet's wedding ring. "The ventinium our rings are made out of is stronger than the trinium."

"Oh. What is the casing usually made out of?

"Correnziam. It's a metal alloy made on Areth." Kris continued to work on the inner components of the unassuming item.

"I see. So should you be making this...?"

"Photonic blade. To be completely honest, I am treading a very fine line here since it's an Areth weapon. But I'll build in a failsafe with my mental imprint so that no one else will be able to activate it. It'll just appear to be a small piece of metal."

"What will it do when you get it working?"

Kris gave Janet a genuine smile for the first time since she'd walked in the lab. "I like your confidence that I'll get it working."

Janet returned her smile. "I am confident; I know how determined you can be."

"Thanks. The blade is the Areth version of the Swiss Army knife. It can do multiple things. It can become a shield, a cutting tool, a defensive weapon, even a close combat weapon. All of the Areth Defense Forces carry one. My mother is a Master Blade Instructor."

"And you?"

Kris took a slow, deep breath and let it out. "As a Vor'kesh instructor I had to become proficient with the blade, but I haven't carried a blade in a number of years—not since before Lena and I were married. I'm a little rusty, but all I need is some practice to get back up to spe— Wait a second."

"What?"

Removing the crystal, Kris adjusted something inside the casing, then replaced the crystal. The crystal lit up and there was a momentary hum. "Got it!"

"Now what?"

"Now I test it." Kris closed the casing. Taking the metal rod in her hand Kris stood and closed her eyes. A translucent shield, approximately two feet by three feet, appeared.

"It worked!"

Kris opened her eyes and smiled. "You sound surprised."

"Well, yes and no. I was sure you would get it to work, but I wasn't sure exactly what to expect," Janet explained.

Kris again closed her eyes, and the shield transformed into what looked like an eight-inch glass knife. Once again, she smiled when she opened her eyes.

"Impressive, but that looks rather fragile, honey."

"Fragile? Watch this." Kris brought the blade down on the corner of her work bench, easily slicing off a piece of the metal and wood table.

"Wow. And that's why it's called a blade?"

"No. This is." Kris held the blade out, closed her eyes and for second—only a second—a long, thin cylinder of shimmering light extended from the handle. Just as Kris opened her eyes, though, something loudly popped, the cylinder of light sputtered, throwing off a too-bright spark, then disappeared. The lights in the lab shorted out in the same instant, leaving the room in darkness, the only light coming from the open doorway to the corridor.

"Damn it!" Kris exclaimed. "Are you okay, Janet?" Kris moved to a bank of equipment along one wall and flipped a couple of breakers, bringing the lab lights back on.

"I'm fine. What happened?"

"I don't know." Sitting back down on her stool, Kris opened the metal casing and pulled out a blackened, cracked crystal. She let out a heavy sigh. "So much for my blade. I thought these crystals would work, but they just don't have required half-life."

Slipping her arm around Kris's shoulders, Janet kissed her temple. "I'm sure you'll find a way to make your light saber."

"Photonic bl—Wait. What did you call it?" The confusion on Kris's face was almost enough to make Janet laugh.

"Your blade, even though it was only on for a second, looked just like a light saber. You know—like from Star Wars."

Kris was still confused. "What's star wars?"

Letting a chuckle slip out, Janet explained. "Star Wars is a movie, or rather a series of movies. The main characters use a weapon called a light saber. Come on, honey; call it a day. This will still be here tomorrow. We'll stop at the video store on the way home and we can watch Star Wars tonight."

Kris looked at the charred mess in front of her. "Okay. Watching a movie at home with you is much better than fussing with this mess. Let's go."

They walked out of the lab arm-in-arm, both looking forward to their evening together.

The End

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