Zelenka Admiration Society

Stargate Atlantis is property of MGM and its subsidiaries. I am making no profit, simply indulging my sense of fun... Ego and babble come from the Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary (copyright 1984). Ego-babble as defined is something I think John Sheppard would come up with. He's that kinda guy.

ego (e'go, eg'o) n. 1. the thinking, feeling, and acting self that is conscious of itself and aware of its distinction from the objects of its thought and perceptions. ... 3. Informal Self-centeredness; conceit. ( L,I)

babble(bab'el) ... v.t. 4. To utter unintelligibly. 5. To blurt out thoughtlessly ... n. 3. A murmuring or rippling sound. ...(ME babelen; ult. Origin unknown)

ego-babble (eego-baa-bull) n. a combination of Rodney talking about himself and the science he understands. (origin: John Shepherd in fan-fic)

ZAS: The Random Menace

Radek is cooler than Rodney thinks he is... Sheppard frowned at that line on his notepadd. It sounded pretty lame and he didn't dare say it out loud. For all his quirks, he liked the Czech scientist who put up with McKay's constant ego-babble.

Now, there's a good word for Rodney. Ego-babble. Sorta like techno-babble, but not. He scratched his temple, taking a furtive look around the room.

Ronon was busy sharpening one of his blades. He claimed there were only fifty-three, but John knew he was lying.

An Athosian elders committee had Teyla cornered in a deep discussion concerning the upcoming harvest of some tuber that Rodney and Carson...

Carson. Sheppard bit back the grief that attempted to well up. It had been long enough for them to get on with life, but it was those unexpected moments when it could catch you off guard. He forced himself to focus on humor. Tubers? Tubers? We don't need no stinkin' tubers...

Elizabeth had long gone from the room, her duties requiring her to spend even her free time in the office of late.

And thankfully, Rodney was not where to be found. Probably in the his lab, ego-babbling about techno-babble...

Forcing Zelenka to listen, whether he liked it or not. Like Radek would choose to actively listen to Rodney go on and on and on... The thought brought a smirk to his face and he bent over his padd once more.

The man deserved to have someone recognize him, someone anonymous but with good intentions. John nodded to himself, pleased with his efforts. A dark shadow blocked his light, causing him to look up slowly. "Uh-oh."

Ronon's deep rumble came out as a half-chuckle as he read the lines. "It's true. McKay doesn't know Zelenka's value."

"Oh, I think he does. He just won't admit it."

"No." The Satedan shook his head, dreads barely moving with the motion. "McKay won't understand it until Zelenka's gone, like..."

John held up a hand. "Don't."

"Fine, but I'm right." Large shoulders shrugged, used to death and moving on.

The colonel pulled a face, giving in to the logic. "I know."

"When do you plan to do this?" Ronon tapped the notepadd.

John leaned in. "Later tonight, 'round oh-three hundred." A quick glance around the room had him lower his voice even more. "You want in?"

"Oh yeah..."

The mess hall was calm the next morning until Rodney made time to have breakfast. He noticed the snickers first. They stopped when he whipped around to see who was laughing at whom. The stares were next. He couldn't decide if it was because he was just in a good mood and it reflected well amongst his peers, or if he had something in his teeth. He settled at a table and proceeded to eat his breakfast.

"May I join you, Dr. McKay?" Teyla's dulcet tones were a welcome sound in the dull roar of the mess hall.

"Certainly. I mean, if you want to. I seem to have attracted attention this morning and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why?"

The Athosian's gentle grin did nothing to answer his thought. "Maybe you are imagining things, Rodney."

"No, no, I know it's something about me." McKay munched on his muffin, disregarding the crumbs on his mouth.

"Now, Rodney, everything isn't always about you," Sheppard slid into a chair next to him.

"Sure it is. The galaxy would fall apart without me," he gestured wildly. "How many times have I saved it this week?"

Ronon loomed over him. "Twice. I helped."

McKay was undeterred. "Yes, yes, well, I thank you for holding me up while I figured out the complex multi-encrypted algorithms that allowed me to then re-direct, then polarize the directional scope of the inverse ion stream that was boring a hole in our space-time continuum..."

"Ego...bab...ble." John muttered under his breath.

"Um, what? What was that?" Rodney fixed his gaze on Shepherd, missing Ronon's grin.

"I said, spell that in scrabble," came the reply.

"Oh." Deflated, the scientist finished his breakfast, quickly distracted by an equation on his ever-present padd.

"Hey, Radek! Over here," John waved to an empty chair next to Teyla.

The scientist gladly scurried over, his hair in disarray. "Oh, thank you, Col. Sheppard. My alarm..." he trailed off at the look he got from several people two tables over. They waved, giving him a thumbs up. Dumbstruck, he gave a weak wave in return.

"As I was saying, my alarm malfunctioned and the secondary system failed to kick in. I am curious to know why, since everything seems to be working correctly. I ran several scans..." Three tables over, one of the junior archeologists stood, bowing in his general direction, followed by two more people doing the same thing. "Am I missing something?"

"Huh? What? You must have missed something, since I just ran a city-wide diagnostic and the system is up at one hundred percent." Rodney looked up as he took his last bite of ham. "And you're late. Finish up here and get to the lab ASAP. I think I've figured out this spatial dilation wave-fracture equation. Not that you can really help me with it, but every once in a while, you think of something useful."

Zelenka deigned to reply, allowing only one brow in silent response. He watched Rodney go, frowning at his friend's retreating back. Adjusting his glasses, he craned his neck, eyes going wide as he read the message on the back of McKay's jacket.

Radek is a lot cooler than Rodney thinks he is... (ZAS)

The scientist in question looked at the faces around the table, each suspiciously blank.

"Well, I've got to go, too. Those reports don't wait." Sheppard pushed away, giving Zelenka a grin as he departed.

Teyla stood, laying a hand on the Czech's shoulder. "Have a pleasant day, Dr. Zelenka."

That left him face to face with Ronon. He quirked an eyebrow at the big Satedan.

"What?"

"Do you know about that?" He gestured in the direction Rodney had gone.

Ronon stood, a feral smile on his lips. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Radek gulped and looked down at his kolochies, mind running a hundred miles an hour. Someone thinks I'm cool? He smiled at his sausage. Someone thinks I'm cool...

A/N: I have plans for a few more exploits of the ZAS. Anyone else think Radek needs a spotlight? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? And yes, I've corrected the previous mis-spelling of Ronon's name AND Sheppard's. Can't have mini-Sheps running around now, can we?