Mirror, Mirror:
The Butterfly's Wing
By
Denise
Daniel ran down the corridor, his feet slapping the hard concrete floors. His breath rasped painfully in his throat and his heart pounded against his ribs. He heard the heavy footsteps behind him and he cringed, ducking his head down as he skidded around a corner, trying desperately not to lose his balance as he sought to get out of the line of fire.
A brilliant blast of orange exploded off the far wall, little bits of concrete flying through the air. He didn't feel it as some of the fragments scratched his face. Didn't notice the little droplets of blood that welled up. He didn't even notice that his glasses were scratched. None of that was going to matter if he couldn't get away.
He heard the footsteps clanging behind him just as he ducked around another corner, his hand going instinctively towards the pistol at his waist. Without even thinking, he raised and aimed the Beretta, squeezing off four shots into the chest and face of the Jaffa.
The Jaffa fell, a strangled gasp escaping from his ruined lips, blood spraying into the air. Grateful that he was alone, and well aware that he wouldn't be alone for long, Daniel spun on his heel, continuing his dash down the hall.
He heard shouting at his back and knew that the Jaffa had found their friend. Overhead the klaxons blared, screaming out a warning that Daniel figured few were left alive to hear.
The lights flickered and Daniel paused, cursing under his breath. "Damnit," he muttered. They must have reached the main breaker room. If they knew enough to cut the power, they'd cut the phones too.
They needed the phones, they needed to get word out and warn people. Presuming, of course, that the goa'uld were only using the gate to attack. Presuming that there was anyone left out there to warn.
A heavy bulk crashed into Daniel's side and he fell, landing awkwardly on his left hip. Desperately afraid, he raised his Beretta, his finger curling over the trigger. It took him three eternal seconds to realize that he wasn't staring at a Jaffa but Jack, his friend leaning against the wall. "Damnit, Daniel," he growled. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Getting chased by Jaffa. You?" Daniel shot back, breathing heavily. "How bad is it?"
"Bad," Jack confirmed, taking the opportunity to check his ammo and reload his MP-5. "Gateroom's gone, so are all the lower levels. The base is locked down." He looked up and met Daniel's eyes with his own grim gaze. "We got ships in orbit. NORAD tagged at least three before they lost their satellites."
"What are we going to do?"
"I'm gonna hold them off as long as I can," Jack said. "You need to get the hell out of here."
"Jack-"
"Don't," he interrupted. "Hammond's dead, so's Teal'c. I don't know about Carter but...Daniel, someone has to get out of here that knows what's going on. That knows what the goa'uld are and how to fight them. That's you."
"Jack-"
"Daniel. Go," Jack said, his tone and the look on his face stilling Daniel's argument. "Get your ass out of here." He glanced down the hall and looked back to Daniel. "The auto destruct's gonna go in five. Ya gotta get out of here."
"TAU'RI KREE!"
"DANIEL GO!" Jack yelled, looking at him one last time before he pushed off the wall and started down the hall, his weapon gripped tightly in his hands.
Daniel stared after him for a second, memorizing the sight of his friend as he took on the platoon of Jaffa, the sharp report of his weapon echoing off the walls and making it sound like Jack was leading the platoon rather than battling it.
Well aware that, no matter how great a warrior he was, Jack wouldn't last long, Daniel ducked down another corridor, his goal the evacuation shaft that he knew was just around the corner. The head of a staff weapon came into view and Daniel stopped, losing his balance. Desperately pushing himself to his feet, he pushed through a door, not caring what room he was entering, just knowing that he wouldn't survive more than a few minutes in the halls.
He shut the door behind him and stopped, sure that the harsh sound of his breathing would be audible to the Jaffa outside the door. The room was dark and he stood still, afraid that he would make a noise and alert the Jaffa to his presence.
Slowly his eyes adjusted and he stepped forward, recognizing where he was. The store room on level 18, the one they kept the stuff in that they didn't send to Area 51. He searched his memory, desperately trying to remember if there was something here that could help them. Some weapon or device or...His eyes settled on the irregularly shaped form of the quantum mirror. NO. Not that. That wouldn't help them. He didn't need that he needed a gun. A laser, something to help Jack. Something to help Earth. Something...
A deep, low roar rumbled up from the floor. The walls started to shake and rattle. In an instant Daniel knew what it was. Knew it what was happening. Knew that he was dead.
Without even realizing what he was doing, he reached out, his fingers splayed across the smooth, cool surface of the mirror.
/////
"The mining operation on P3R636 is going well," Lieutenant Colonel Albert Samuels briefed his commanding officer. "There was some initial resistance, but once we made an example of Pyrus, his daughter chose to cooperate." He looked up from the sheaf of papers in his hand. "It's estimated that we can clear a ton a week."
"A ton a week?" General Gordon Bauer asked, studying his printed out copy of the report. "There are mines here on Earth that produce that much ore in a minute."
"This mine IS nearly depleted," Samuels said. "That was the reason the Goa'uld abandoned it. Once we're sure the conventional mine is played out, Colonel Edwards is working on a plan to start strip mining on the planet. His geologist is confident that there are more veins of naqahdah there. They're just going to need a more aggressive approach."
"I want a detailed cost analysis before we start moving in the heavy equipment," Bauer said.
"We do need the naqahdah, sir," Samuels reminded, giving Bauer a sharp look.
"I agree. But I see no need to spend millions on equipment if we can't be guaranteed of a decent return on the investment. Right now, with the slave labor from the planet, the overhead is low. But heavy equipment will require trained workers and that costs money."
"Yes, sir," Samuels replied, his tone conciliatory.
"What's the latest on our guest?"
"He's proving difficult," Samuels said. "Unfortunately, Yu's age and experience gives him a particular resistance to our interrogation techniques. He's well aware that we can't kill him. Any injuries that we inflict are quickly healed by his goa'uld. Which also renders inert every chemical encouragement we deliver."
Bauer sighed. "This is not what I wanted to hear."
"I'm well aware of that, sir. Colonel Kennedy is hopeful that some of the devices we recovered from P9R427 can be of use."
"Kennedy's people have been playing with that Machello's stuff for almost a year and still haven't gotten any of it to work," Bauer dismissed.
"I'm aware of that, sir," Samuels said.
"Keep Yu alive," Bauer ordered. "Even if we can't get any decent intel from him, we might be able to trade him for something. How is Seth's interrogation progressing?" he asked, referring to their other goa'uld captive.
"Much the same. He's been on Earth so long that his galactic intel is non-existent. However he has been a bit more forthcoming about explaining goa'uld technology. When he's properly motivated that is," he finished wryly.
"Motivated?"
"After a few hundred years as a cult leader, Seth has developed some rather...eclectic tastes. Very Earth-bound and easy to procure." Bauer nodded. "His food requirements are a bit expensive but doable. They have had a bit more trouble fulfilling his sexual preferences." Bauer shot him a look. "Seth treats females as disposable. On the up side we do seem to finally have a hold over him. I think it's rather ironic that we can't beat, starve or drug him, but he'll do about anything to get his hands on a woman. Fortunately for us, Las Vegas has a near inexhaustible supply of prostitutes that no one will miss."
Bauer nodded, scanning the papers once again. "You're worried about the President, aren't you?" Samuels asked.
"We definitively haven't made enough advances to keep President Kinsey happy. It's been months since we've brought back any reliable technology."
"There are only so many planets out there. Surely the President understands that?"
Bauer shook his head. "What he understands is that we have a race of beings out there that are just waiting to invade us and that we seem unable to gather enough tech to protect ourselves." He sighed. "If we can't turn this around, he'll send in his own people."
"We'll find something. The computer kicks out more addresses each week. Doctor Lee is working on that shield device we recovered from P3X513 and recovery efforts are going well on P363Q1. Once we destroyed those giant bugs, the planet was ours for the picking."
Bauer got to his feet. "It's too slow. It's a matter of time before Nirti, Cronos and Apophis get tired of fighting amongst themselves and come here. We HAVE to be ready."
He stepped out from behind his desk and looked out the window of his office, his eyes settling on the Stargate, just barely visible through the briefing room window. President Kinsey was right, as much as it pained him to admit it. The Stargate was a Pandora's Box of hope and terror, and now that it was opened, it could never be closed.
And since they couldn't close it, they needed to do everything they could to protect Earth. Earth was the priority, just as it always should have been.
"The Orbanian nanites are showing great promise," Samuels said, getting to his feet. "We know that they can absorb and transfer huge quantities of data. All we need to do is find a way adjust it to work better with the human physiology. The last report I received from Nellis said that the Orbanian trials were going well and that they hoped to move onto human subjects within the month."
Gordon nodded, his next words dying unspoken when the quiet of his office was shattered by the blare of the intruder alert klaxon. Abandoning their meeting, Gordon pulled open the door to his office and strode across the empty briefing room, Samuels hard on his heels.
He walked quickly down the stairs, his eyes darting towards the Stargate. The giant stone ring was quiet, the far wall visible through its hollow center. This made no sense, how could there be an intruder alert be triggered when the gate was quiet? Unless there was a ship. But no, he would have been notified via the red phone. "Report!" he barked.
"The alert came from level seventeen," the sergeant reported. "Security teams are on their way."
"Lockdown the base," Bauer ordered. "Did NORAD see anything?"
"Nothing, sir," the sergeant said. "The skies are clear."
The phone rang and Samuels answered it. He listened intently for a few seconds then lowered the phone, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. "Sir, security reports that they've apprehended a single male. He was unarmed and coming out of one of the store rooms."
"Nothing else?"
"No, sir. There's no other disturbance anywhere else."
Bauer sighed, grateful that the crisis appeared to be over, or at least contained. "Maintain the lockdown. Confine the intruder to the brig." He looked at Samuels. "I want him fully interrogated. I need to know how the hell an intruder got this deep into our facility."
"Yes, sir." Samuels turned and left the room, intent on following his orders.
"Tell security that I want a sweep of the base," Bauer ordered. "Level by level, room by room. Chances are this guy is alone but I want to make sure."
"Yes, sir." The sergeant picked up the phone to fulfill Gordon's request and Gordon turned on his heel, retreating back to his office. Hopefully the search would come up empty. And, equally hopefully, this man would turn out to be nothing more than someone with more curiosity than sense, or maybe one of the female personnel sneaking her boyfriend in for a quickie. If it was something simple like that then maybe he could get by without having to report the breach to the president.
/////
"Take it easy," Daniel complained, struggling a bit as the two guards manhandled him into the holding room. They pushed him across the room and guided him to sit down in a rather uncomfortable if sturdy chair. "Hey!" he called out as they turned to leave him. "Are the cuffs necessary?"
He held up his bound hands, grateful that they'd at least bound his hands in the front and not the back. He hated when they were cuffed behind him. It was hell on the shoulders. Predictably, they ignored him and closed the door, leaving him behind.
Alone, and knowing that he wouldn't stay that way for long, Daniel sighed, grateful for the opportunity to gather his thoughts. This had to be an alternate universe; it was the only explanation that made sense.
Despite himself, his mind went back to just a few minutes before. They were dead, they had to be dead. His throat tightened and he swallowed, fighting the tears that pricked at his eyes. He couldn't do this, not now.
If his experience with Jack had taught him nothing else it was that they'd be in soon to interrogate him and he couldn't afford any sign of weakness. He didn't kid himself that he could go back. The mirror would probably work, but he doubted that he had anywhere to go back to. The mirror was probably like the Stargate, buried under tons and tons of rubble.
And if he was stuck here, he'd need to live here. And he'd need to convince this SGC that they needed a Daniel Jackson - presuming that they didn't already have one. If they did then...maybe they'd let him go and he could find somewhere else to live. Pick a new name, he'd have to do that. There couldn't be two Daniel Jacksons in a world, that would draw too much attention.
He'd have to find a new job too. He'd run into too many people he knew in the archaeological field. Maybe plain old teaching. That would be good. It'd be a nice change, something a bit more positive and upbeat. Maybe he could even forget that there were creatures out there that-
The door opened and Daniel jerked his attention away from his own thoughts and to the present. The future could wait. First things first, and first he had to convince them not to shoot him.
A man walked in and Daniel frowned, struggling to recognize him. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" the man asked, standing across the table from Daniel.
Daniel's eyes narrowed in on the nametag on his uniform, the last name giving him all the information he needed. "Major Samuels," he said. "This wasn't quite what I was expecting."
"Actually, it's Lieutenant Colonel, and who the hell are you?" he asked, leaning against one of the chairs.
"Umm, my name is Daniel Jackson and I know what you're going to say," Daniel said, seeing the skeptical look on the man's face. "But I need you to listen to me. It will all make sense in the end."
Samuels shrugged and leaned back. "Ok, I'm listening."
"There's this theory. Every time a person makes a decision there's this alternate reality that splits off. Like, let's say that when you made the decision to join the Air Force, somewhere, sometime there's another Lieutenant Colonel Samuels that didn't join the Air Force. So there's a reality out there where you're a civilian and-"
"What does this have to do with you being in our base?" Samuels interrupted.
"There are devices that allow people to go between dimensions," Daniel said, tamping down his irritation. The theory was hard enough to explain, even harder when the skeptic wouldn't let him finish the story.
"And we have one of those here?" Samuels said, smiling patronizingly.
"Obviously," Daniel said. "Or I wouldn't be here."
"Or, let me run this one past you. One of our female personnel got a little lonely and abused her access - and our trust - to bring you in here for a little...recreation."
"Please." Daniel rolled his eyes. "Two years ago, on a planet called P3R233, did you find a whole room full of things. Stuff you couldn't figure out." Samuels' eyes narrowed, confirming the truth to Daniel. "Now in our universe, we, well I, touched the mirror and I found myself in an alternate universe. This universe was under attack by the goa'uld and I barely managed to get back to my own universe before that Earth was invaded."
"Invaded?" Samuels asked, leaning forward. "How?"
"The usual way the goa'uld attack," Daniel said. "By air and through the gate."
"How did you escape?"
"The goa'uld are only able to sustain a gate for thirty-eight minutes. As soon as the gate closed, we dialed out and I managed to return to P3R233 and get back through the mirror to my own universe."
"Let me see if I get this straight. This is the second time you've been to an alternate universe and the first time your arrival heralded a goa'uld attack?" Samuels asked pointedly.
"Well, yeah but...wait a minute, you're not-" Samuels raised his eyebrows, answering silently. "Look, is Colonel O'Neill here? Or Major Carter or Teal'c?" The door opened and an airman walked in, silently handing Samuels a piece of paper. "If I could just talk to one of them I'm sure we could clear all this-"
"You were on SG-1?" Samuels interrupted.
"Still am. Where are they? Are they on a mission? If I could just talk to Sam, she gets this whole alternate universe stuff and-"
"SG-1 is dead," Samuels interrupted.
"Dead?"
"They're MIA, presumed KIA over a year ago on a mission." Samuels sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Anything else you'd like to ask for?"
Daniel sighed and closed his eyes. He raised his hands and scrubbed them over his face, taking a moment to collect himself. "Ok," he said after a second. "Another difference. That's to be expected. I just wasn't thinking it'd be so big. Umm...Look, I can't prove this to you. I can't prove that there are alternate universes, I can't prove that I am Daniel Jackson and I certainly can't prove that I'm not bringing on a goa'uld attack but-"
"You said you came through a mirror?" Samuels interrupted.
Daniel nodded. "Yeah, that big one in the store room."
"And it leads back to your universe?"
"It does but you don't want to go there. They set off the self-destruct right before I came through. There's nothing left. If I thought there was something left I'd go back. With any luck, the SGC is one giant hole in the ground."
"How many of these alternate universes do you think there are?" Samuels asked, ignoring Daniel's words.
"Thousands, millions maybe. We really don't know."
"And you know how to navigate these universes."
"In theory," Daniel said, struggling to keep up with the abrupt change in Samuels' demeanor. Previously he'd been smug and patronizing. Now he seemed interested, almost eager. "Although we've never considered exploring alternate universes. The danger is too great."
"Danger?"
"Not every universe is a good place. Some are overrun with goa'uld, some are...pick a scenario," Daniel said, looking Samuels in the eyes. "Any scenario, literally. According to Sam, somewhere out there is a universe where Earth still has dinosaurs, or where the goa'uld never left three thousand years ago or where the Bay of Pigs ended quite differently. It's too dangerous to play with."
"I see," Samuels said, getting to his feet. "Well, before I can begin to believe your story I need to verify who you are." He walked to the door and pulled it open. "Take this person to the infirmary. I'm going to call Doctor Frasier and tell her what tests to run," he ordered the airman. He looked Daniel in the eyes. "You will submit to these tests or you will be rendered unconscious for the duration. Presuming that these tests prove that you are who you say you are, we will discuss matters further at that time."
He left the room and Daniel got to his feet, very aware that if he wanted them to believe him he needed to start earning their trust. And he wasn't going to be able to do that if he fought them. Besides, it was kind of stupid to fight folks that were trained to kill you with their bare hands.
Daniel let them lead him out of the holding room and towards the elevators. He played back Samuel's words. SG-1 is dead. He hadn't thought of that. For some reason, it'd never crossed his mind that all his friends would be dead. Not that he'd had much time to think before touching the mirror, but during those few minutes while he waited for the security forces to come and get him, it'd never occurred to him that they'd be dead.
He wanted to know how they died. What close call was too close, where they'd screwed up. At least Janet was still alive. Maybe he could find something out from her.
In a few minutes, they entered the infirmary, a room Daniel was grateful to see looked just like the one from his universe. Janet was standing in one corner, her back to the door and a phone to her ear. "Doc?" one of his escorts said.
Janet turned, nodding her acknowledgement. "Yes, sir. I'll take care of it." She hung up the phone and walked over to Daniel, narrowing her eyes as she got closer. "You cut your hair," she said.
"Yeah, the long hair was a real pain in the ass," Daniel said, heartened a bit by her welcoming demeanor.
"I can imagine." She motioned towards one of the beds. "Over there please." Daniel followed her direction and made his way over to the bed, struggling a bit to hop up with his hands still bound in front of him. "Take off the cuffs, sergeant."
"Ma'am, he's an intruder and-"
"And I can't follow my orders and do a thorough examination with his hands tied," she said. "Take off the cuffs and wait at the door."
The man followed her orders, reaching in his pocket to pull out a key. Daniel held up his hands, grateful when the cuffs fell away. The sergeant retreated and Daniel instinctively rubbed his wrists, seeking to massage the pinched skin.
"Take off your shirt."
Daniel looked up, staring at her. "Excuse me?"
"I need a blood sample. Take off your shirt," Frasier ordered, rolling a small table towards him. Daniel recognized the rubber tourniquet and phlebotomy tools.
"Right," he said, realizing that she needed him to remove his heavy fatigue shirt so that she could get at his bare arm. He unbuttoned it as she pulled on her rubber gloves. "So, umm, been here long?" he asked, holding out his arm. She looked up at him, her gaze skeptical. "I'm just curious. This universe is a bit different from mine."
"I've been stationed at the SGC for two years now," she said softly, expertly swabbing the crook of his elbow.
"That's about the same as my Janet. She transferred here just before we visited P3X797. I think it's safe to say that without her we'd have died several times over." Frasier nodded non-comittaly. "How's Cassie?"
She looked up, frowning. "Who?"
"Umm, Cassandra. She was the sole survivor of P8X987. My Janet adopted her."
"Hanka?" Frasier asked, sliding the needle out of Daniel's arm and placing a cotton ball over the tiny wound.
"Yeah. Nirti poisoned the whole planet. Over 1400 people died, including SG-7. Cassandra was the sole survivor."
Frasier shook her head. "There were no survivors amongst the indigenous personnel. Once we realized that we'd lost the whole team, the planet was abandoned."
"You never looked for survivors?"
"There was nothing but corpses. We didn't even recover SG-7's bodies, the risk of contamination was too great."
"You left her there?" Daniel asked, horrified at the idea. God, they'd left Cassie behind? Trapped on that planet with no one but the bodies of her friends and family around her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. We didn't leave anyone on Hanka. There was no one alive there. We sent a MALP and two UAV's and they didn't pick up a single life sign."
"They didn't look hard enough," Daniel muttered. The ramifications overwhelmed him, the thought of Cassie being left behind to die enough to make him sick. The horrible part was, she could probably survive for a while. She was immune to the disease and there was plenty of food and water. With only one person eating it, Cassie could have survived for months probably. Of course, the food was in the village, which was also where all the bodies were. So she probably faced the choice, stay in her home and with the dead where all the food and shelter was, or she could leave all that and find somewhere better...all alone. All by herself.
"We need to run an MRI," Janet said, breaking into his thoughts. "When you're done with that, I should have the preliminary test results back and we can continue with the physical."
Daniel nodded, clinging to Frasier's calm tone to rein in his own sense of horror. "Fine," he said. He was stuck here and he had to play the game. And the only way to do that was to let them start believing him.
She waved the airmen over. "Take him to the MRI, Sergeant. Doctor Warner knows to expect him." She turned back to Daniel. "I trust you're not going to resist?" Daniel shook his head. "Good. The physical will take longer if I have to patch you up as well."
Daniel slid off the bed and followed the two guards out of the room. He let them lead him to the MRI room, knowing that it probably wouldn't help his case if he let them know that, despite the fact that he was a stranger here, he knew exactly where to go.
/////
"Take him over there," Janet ordered, barely looking up from the man she was working on. She turned her attention back to her patient, deftly tilting his head back to insert the endotrachial tube. "I'm in," she said, stepping back so that Nurse Rush could attach the ambu bag.
"Heartbeat's stabilizing."
"Get him down to x-ray," Janet ordered. "Doctor Macey's going to need a set of chest films before he can operate."
"Yes, ma'am."
The orderlies hurried to carry out her orders while Janet stripped off her gloves, tossing them into the red biohazard container before pulling another pair out of a box and moving onto the next patient. She glanced around the room, trying not to let the sight of a room full of injured people overwhelm her. Every bed was full, some of the injuries were minor, glancing burns or something as simple as cuts and bruises caused by hand-to-hand combat.
But others were much more severe. Captain Epps was already in surgery and it looked like he'd lose his leg, a close and direct blast from a staff weapon having destroyed a huge chunk of it. In fact, if it wasn't for the cauterizing effect of the staff weapon, he'd be dead right now.
"What happened?"
Janet turned, remembering her other medical issue of the day. "Doctor Jackson, I'm sorry I kind of forgot all about you," she apologized.
"I can see why," he said. "It looks like you have your hands full. What happened?"
"SG-3, 5, 6 and 9 were on a mission. It didn't turn out so well," she said. "I'm not going to have time to finish your physical at the moment." She turned to the airmen. "Return Doctor Jackson to his cell. I'll send for him later."
"Yeah, of course," he said. "I understand."
He started to leave the room then stopped, stepping aside as two more guards walked in, escorting another person. "Damnit," Janet muttered. "I didn't send for her," she said, walking forward.
"General Bauer's orders, ma'am," the escort said.
"I thought you said they were dead?" Jackson demanded, moving away from his escorts. He was quickly restrained while the other two escorts blocked Janet's way, standing between her and their charge.
"We don't need her here," Janet said. "Things are under control."
"That's not what the general says, ma'am."
Ignoring the conversation and protests a slim figure moved amongst the beds, her gaze riveted upon the resting figures. Silently, she raised her hand, holding it over Lieutenant Quinn.
"Let me go!" Jackson struggled ineffectually.
"Get him out of here," Janet ordered. "I'll send for him later."
"No! Don't-" The guards dragged Jackson out of the infirmary and Janet turned her attention back to the guards.
"You can wait at the door," she said.
"Ma'am-"
"I can't stop her but I will not have you getting in the way. You will wait outside. It's not like she's going anywhere."
The guard sighed and stared at her for a second, seemingly to contemplate whether or not to challenge her. Finally, he nodded, motioning for his companion to join him outside.
The second they were gone, Janet relaxed slightly, her eyes settling on the woman. The device in her hand snapped off, the golden beam fading. She stood beside the bed for a second, the fingers of her free hand digging into the bedclothes before she took a breath and moved away, making her way over to the next bed.
Janet watched her, knowing that she was witnessing a miracle, and a tragedy all at the same time. And all too aware that she couldn't do a damn thing about it.
/////
Twelve steps. That's how far it was from one side of his cell to the other. Twelve steps. Daniel spun on his heel and paced across the tiny space, the exertion doing little to abate his nervous energy.
The two guards outside the door ignored him, just like they'd done since they'd pushed him into this room over an hour ago. He hated this, hated being in here. He couldn't get the answers he so desperately needed in this room.
Sam. He knew he'd seen her, but she hadn't seem to have recognized him. There was something strange about her too. She seemed not to see much of anything. He was glad to see her alive, incredibly thrilled to find a familiar face. But he still had the feeling that something was wrong. She was using the healing device, which was something he'd only seen his Sam do once, when she'd healed Cronos. He knew that she'd practiced with it a few time, but that she didn't like to use it, didn't like how it made her feel.
He felt a tiny bit of hope too. Just because SG-1 was dead, maybe it wasn't HIS SG-1. Maybe Jack and Teal'c were around here too.
The door opened and Daniel stopped pacing. Guard one walked in and Daniel stood still, stepping back as the man unlocked the door. "What's going on?"
"You're going back to the infirmary," he said, reaching for his waist and the cuffs dangling from his belt.
"I'll behave," Daniel promised, holding up his hands. The guard looked at him skeptically. "I promise."
He nodded and stepped back, obviously willing to let Daniel exit unrestrained but not trusting him enough to get close. Daniel walked out into the hall and made his way towards the infirmary, his two guards trailing him.
The room was quieter now, most of the beds empty and stripped of their used linens. An injured officer lay in one bed, hooked up to monitors and a far bed was shrouded, the privacy curtains drawn. "There you are," Frasier said, stepping out of her office. She pointed towards one of the empty beds. "If you would." Daniel followed her direction, hopping up on one the bed. "I need you to take off your shirt."
"What happened?" he asked, something telling him to keep his voice low. She looked at him. "Samuels told me that SG-1 was dead."
"They are."
Daniel shook his head. "Sam. I saw her. And she most definitely wasn't dead."
"Captain Carter's not on SG-1," she said evenly.
"Well, then-"
"Have you finished the exam yet?"
Colonel Samuels voice cut across the room and Daniel watched Frasier jump, an expression that he could only describe as fear fitting across her face. "We were just starting, sir," she said, glancing at him. "The events of this afternoon put me a bit behind schedule"
"I see," he said, coming to stand at her side. He looked over at the occupied bed. "Why is Captain Miller still here?"
"His condition-"
"His condition should have been taken care of by now."
"There were a lot of wounded, sir," she said, her tone now defensive.
"I didn't come down here for excuses."
"Colonel, with all due respect, she did all she could."
"She didn't do enough. Where is she?"
"Colonel-"
"Captain," he interrupted. "Where is she?"
Frasier looked over towards the shrouded bed and Samuels walked past her. "Sir, she's in no condition to-"
He ignored her and yanked back the curtains, revealing Sam lying on the bed. Daniel joined them, almost drawn to the sight of his friend. She was lying on top of the covers, a blanket drawn over her supine form. She looked familiar but different. Her face was more angular and her hair was longer than he was used to, spilling softly across the pillow. Daniel also thought she looked tired and worn out.
Samuels reached out and shook Sam, doing his best to wake her up. "Colonel!" Frasier protested. "She's not asleep, she's unconscious. You can shake her all week and she won't wake up."
"Would a stimulant work?" he asked.
"No." Frasier crossed her arms across her chest. "It'll be twelve to twenty-four hours before she's awake. No drug I can give her will change that."
Samuels glared at her. "And what am I supposed to tell Captain Miller when he wakes up and wants to know why he's still here?"
"That he's alive and that he's going to stay that way and he'll just have to be a little inconvenienced for the next few days," she said, her tone cold. "She can't help him if she's dead. And if you force her to heal him before she's fully regained her strength, she will die. And that's not going to help the general's casualty figures."
Daniel watched the exchange, the horror of their words sinking in. "That's what she was doing?" he asked, drawing attention to himself. "Healing people?" Samuels turned, obviously forgetting that Daniel had been in the room. "She's a person, not a walking sarcophagus."
"I don't know what universe you came from, Doctor, but here we make full use of all our resources to protect Earth from the goa'uld. And Carter is a rather valuable resource," he said.
"She's a person!" Daniel protested.
Samuels glared at him then turned to Frasier. "The second she's able, I need Walker healed. We have another mission scheduled Friday and we need every able body."
He stalked from the room and Daniel looked after him, waiting until he was gone before turning back to Frasier. "What the hell is going on here?"
"I have a funny feeling that our universes are more different than you think," she said softly.
He waited while she checked Sam's pulse before laying her arm back down on the bed. She fussed with the blankets for a few seconds then motioned for Daniel to follow her. He walked away from the bed and Frasier drew the curtains, again shrouding the bed from the rest of the room.
He returned to his bed and hopped up on it, unbuttoning his shirt like he'd been doing before Samuels had walked into the room. "A little over a year ago, there was a mission to a planet called Nasyia," Frasier said.
Daniel nodded. "We had that too. The goa'uld invaded the planet and we evacuated the people. Sam got blended with a Tok'ra named Jolinar and brought it back to Earth. It took us a couple of days to figure it out. By then the Ashrak knew where she was. It attacked them and killed Jolinar, almost killed Sam too."
Frasier nodded. "That's pretty much what happened here. After the symbiote was killed, Captain Carter had a mental breakdown. After several days with no change in her condition, she was transferred to a care facility."
Daniel shook his head. "That never happened. Sam had...issues. But she snapped out of it. Cassie actually had a lot to do with it."
"Cassie?"
"The girl from Hanka. My Janet adopted her. Cassie and Sam had this connection and...Sam was back on duty in about a month or so."
Frasier looked behind her, as if she was checking for eavesdroppers. "Captain Carter vanished from the care facility about a week after she was admitted. No one had any idea where she was taken to. Three months ago she was transferred back here."
There was something odd in the tone of her voice and Daniel studied her, looking closely, searching her expressions for a clue. "Something happened to her, didn't it?"
"Officially? Nothing."
"Unofficially?"
Frasier paused and Daniel was afraid that he'd pushed too hard. "She doesn't talk," she finally said. "She lives on base in one of the holding cells. They escort her everywhere and...there are times when I wonder just how much she comprehends," she said.
"What do you think?"
"She's not fit for duty, not by a long shot."
"Then why is she here?"
"General Bauer has a rule. The injured only 'count' if they stay the night or are irreparably maimed." She looked him in the eyes, her unspoken message clear.
"He's using Sam to hide how many people he's losing?" he asked, horrified.
She nodded. "What happened to General Hammond?"
"General Hammond died over a year ago. General Bauer is the commander of the base now. Every raid he sends them on is a high risk mission. I know that the only thing Captain Carter does here is heal people. And I know that they're going to keep using her until they kill her."
While she talked, she took his blood pressure and temperature, writing down her findings on a chart. "How do you mean?"
"It takes her longer every time," she said. "And it takes more out of her. It's like every time she heals someone she gives up a piece of her life to do so."
"And eventually she's going to run out of pieces to give away."
Frasier nodded. One of the nurses walked in and handed her a piece of paper. "Thank you." She read it and looked up at Daniel. "Well, I'm sure you're not surprised to discover that, genetically anyway, you are Doctor Daniel Jackson."
"Not really, no."
"I didn't think so. Now that we know that you're not a goa'uld and that you are who you say you are, Colonel Samuels wants to talk to you."
"So, we're done?" he asked. He was expecting a complete physical, but she'd barely gotten beyond the basics.
"Yeah, we're done." She waved the two guards back into the room. "You better not keep the colonel waiting. He's not a patient man."
"Thanks," Daniel said.
/////
Daniel followed his escorts, realizing in just a few minutes that they were leading him down to the briefing room. As he walked, Frasier's words replayed in his brain.
"I know that every raid they go on is a high risk mission. I know that the only thing Captain Carter does here is heal people. And I know that they're going to keep using her until they kill her."
This reality was different from his own, and he had a bad feeling that he was just beginning to find out HOW different. Now that he was looking for it, he noticed a difference in attitudes of the people. Everyone seemed tenser, more on edge than at his SGC. At first, he'd just attributed it to the difference in leadership. He had yet to meet the man, but General Bauer was certainly not General Hammond. The simple fact that Samuels was here spoke volumes. He remembered Jack telling him that the first thing Hammond had done when he'd taken over was to transfer Samuels after discovering that their leadership styles were not going to be a good match.
The high-risk missions also puzzled him. Yes, theoretically every mission the SGC went on was a risk, but General Hammond strongly believed in not risking lives unnecessarily. A trait that Daniel didn't think General Bauer shared.
They arrived in the briefing room and Daniel stopped, frowning at the sight of the mirror standing in the corner of the room. "Ah, Doctor Jackson, so glad you could join us," Samuels said. He walked towards Daniel, an alien device held in his hand. Daniel recognized it as one of the many things he'd seen on P3R233. Things he'd left behind in his reality.
"Colonel Samuels. What's going on?"
"It was time for us to have a little talk," Samuels said, gesturing towards one of the chairs. Daniel took a seat, cautiously looking around. The blast door was closed and the general's office was empty, leaving Daniel alone with Samuels and the two guards, both of which retreated to take up station by the two stairwells leading down to the control room.
Samuels set the item he was holding back on the table and motioned towards the mirror. "This is what you came through, right?" he asked.
"So, you believe me now?"
Samuels shrugged. "Doctor Frasier has verified your identity. Genetically you are Doctor Jackson. Which leaves me two possibilities. Either you're our Daniel Jackson who's somehow found his way back from the alien planet he was lost on, or you're from an alternate reality. Shockingly enough, the latter seems the most likely."
"Where were they lost?" Daniel asked, curious about his alter ego's demise.
"Some mission. They ran afoul of the local authorities and were imprisoned. Or so they say," Samuels said in response to Daniel's harsh look. "We attempted a recovery, it failed, and they were lost. Now, about this mirror," he said, changing subjects quickly. "You said that you'd been to an alternate reality before."
Daniel nodded. "Yeah. I seem to have a knack for it."
"And you were with the team that recovered this device." He motioned towards the mirror.
"Yeah," Daniel said cautiously.
"So, you know how to work it."
"In theory. Why do you need to work it? I can't go back to my own reality, it was over run by goa'uld."
"But there are others," Samuels pressed.
"A near limitless amount," Daniel said slowly. "Every time someone makes a decision another reality is created but---"
"Then this could be Earth's salvation," Samuels interrupted.
"Salvation from what?"
"From the Goa'uld of course." Samuels walked over and stood in front of Daniel. "You see, Doctor Jackson, one of the greatest obstacles of this commands is the primitive state of the races it finds. The ones that are friendly have nothing that will help us protect ourselves and the ones that do have the technology aren't interested in sharing."
"So?" Daniel asked. "We have...had that same issue in my reality."
Samuels smiled. "Which is the beauty of my idea." He motioned at the devices lying on the table. "Which one is the controller for this mirror?"
"Controller?"
"My people have been all over this mirror and they can't get the image in it to change. Doctor Lee's theory is that it has a controller, something that allows you to choose realities. Which one of these devices is it?"
Daniel stared at him, the implications of his words sinking in. "You're going to raid other realities," he said. "Take from them what you couldn't get here."
"I'm doing what I can to rectify an untenable situation."
"You can't do this," Daniel protested.
"I can and I will. Don't worry, Doctor Jackson. I won't ask you to compromise your precious morals, just tell us which of these objects is the controller and my scientists will take it from there."
Daniel leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "No."
"Excuse me?"
Daniel shook his head. "I'm not going to let you destroy other realities like you've destroyed yours."
"It's yours too now," Samuels said, staring at Daniel, his eyes cold and narrow. "Is there a reason you're so reluctant to try and save it?"
"There are better ways to do it than to steal technology from other people!" Daniel said, getting to his feet.
"I don't care about the other people," Samuels said, moving to stand just inches from him. "I care about my planet. Do you?" he asked pointedly.
"What the hell do you mean?"
"You said the last reality you visited was shortly thereafter attacked by the Goa'uld."
"So?"
"I wonder how that attack came to be?"
"The Goa'uld attacked from orbit, executing a plan they'd put into place months before. I arrived just hours before the attack," Daniel said.
"And yet, you survived."
"What the hell are you implying?"
Samuels shrugged. "Just pointing out a coincidence is all," he said smoothly. "Because there's no way you'd be a Goa'uld sympathizer, now is there?"
Daniel stared, astonished by the man's bizarre leap in logic. Just because he wouldn't help, he was working for the enemy? It made absolutely no sense at all..."Unless you're trying to goad me into doing what you want," he said out loud. "Shame me into telling you what you need to know."
"I'm just pointing out a different point of view," Samuels said.
"I'm not going to tell you which of these devices is the controller. I'm not even going to tell you IF you have the controller here. I am not going to let you raid and attack other realities just so that you can steal technology from other races," Daniel said.
"Somehow, I knew you were going to say that," Samuels said. He stepped back and motioned at the guards. "Take him to the holding cell on Level 23. And tell Sergeant Ratner that his assignment is a go." Samuels stared at Daniel and Daniel felt his stomach twist at the determined and cold look in his eyes. "You'll like Ratner," Samuels said. "He learned from the best, and he's very good at his job." The two guards came forth, each grabbing one of Daniel's arms. "The sooner you cooperate, the greater the chances you'll survive the experience," Samuels said, his voice following Daniel down the hall as he was dragged away.
/////
Janet hurried down the corridor, casting a wary eye at the camera in the corner. "Don't worry, doc. Matheson has our six," Siler reassured her.
"I hope so," she muttered, cursing her noisy heels. She knew that it might make her look like a coward, but while a part of her needed to do this, another part was more than a little afraid of the consequences.
"Doc? We can go back," he offered, turning to look at her.
She shook her head, taking a steadying breath. "We have to do this. I just want to make sure I have enough time to get it done."
"And stay off their radar," Siler said.
"Pretty chickenshit huh?"
"Hey, you can't help people if you're in the cell with them." As he talked he led them down a dimly lit hall to the last room. Janet knew that the room was secluded and the reason for that made her sick.
"This is one time that Samuels' paranoia is in our favor," he said, pulling a small ring of keys out of his pocket. "He did away with the key cards in some places so that he wouldn't leave a paper trail."
"Which means we won't leave one either," Janet said, her hand gripping her bag tightly.
Siler nodded, selecting a key and shoving it into the lock. "March is going to page me as soon as they're out of their meeting," he said. Janet knew that they wouldn't have long, maybe an hour before Samuels and Kinsey got out of their meeting. She could only hope that it was enough time.
Siler pushed the door open and she followed him, wrinkling her nose at the smell. The room was mostly empty, a table cluttered with alien artifacts sat against one wall. In the center of the room was a chair and a small table. Janet's gaze skittered across the items on the smaller table, her stomach turning when she saw that most of them were smeared with blood.
Daniel Jackson was slumped in the chair, his arms bound to the arms of the chair while heavy plastic ties secured his ankles to the legs. His head hung over his chest, casting his face into shadow. His t-shirt was torn and ripped and she knew that only the black color of the shirt was disguising the fact that it was stiff and stained with blood.
"Damn," Siler muttered, carefully closing the door. "Is he dead?"
Janet knelt beside Jackson, reaching out to check his pulse. "Not yet," she said, feeling the vein flutter under her fingertips. "I need him out of this chair."
"We don't have time for that."
"Do you want me to help him or not?"
"Can't you do that without us moving him?"
"No." She looked up at him. "I need to examine him and I can't do it with him tied to this chair."
Siler sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small knife. "This is point of no return, doc," he warned. "We undo those ties and they'll know we were here."
"I know," she said, well aware of the line that they were crossing. He shrugged and applied himself to his task, making quick work of the ties. "Lay him down," she ordered as soon as Jackson was free. "Good lord," she muttered as Siler helped her lay Jackson out on the floor, the overhead lighting revealing all his injuries.
His face was battered and bruised, one eye swollen shut. The other cheek was split open, a thick stream of dried blood trailing down his chin and neck. Both wrists were bruised and abraded, from struggling against the restraints she thought.
She pulled the penlight out of her pocket and checked his pupils, relieved to find them responding relatively normally. "No concussion," she said. "Or if he has one, it's a mild one."
"That's good, right?"
"Maybe." Janet pulled up Jackson's t-shirt, gasping softly at the sight of deep bruises marring his chest and abdomen. "It's also the least of our worries."
"Ratner loves his work," Siler muttered while Janet explored Jackson's chest, her fingers finding maybe one broken rib. She moved lower, cursing softly when she encountered a particularly ominous looking bruise. "It's bad, ain't it?"
"I can't patch this up," she said, looking up at Siler. "Not without a couple of hours of surgery."
"Surgery?"
"He's bleeding internally, I'm betting his spleen is ruptured. He's gonna die."
"So maybe we just put him back in the chair and you give him something to hurry it along," Siler suggested.
"You want me to kill him?"
"You said it yourself, he's dying."
"Dying is NOT dead," she said. "What the hell did you think I was going to do when you asked me to help?"
"I dunno, give him a painkiller or something. Help him out a little."
"The only way I can help him out is to operate on him," she said. "Euthanasia is not an option."
"We take him out of here, we'll be the next people in that chair."
Janet stared down at her patient, watching as he stirred slightly, a flicker of pain crossing his face. Siler was right, there was nothing they could do to help him. Not without risking exposing themselves. She couldn't just patch Jackson up. His injuries were beyond patching, in fact, she'd guess that he had just hours to live. And even with surgery, it was very possible that the damage was too great. If his liver was involved then it was possible that there'd be nothing they could do and..."We gotta get him out of here," she said quickly.
"You just said that-"
"I know what I said," she interrupted. "He stays here, he's dead. We're dead. We have to get him off world. It's the only place he'll be safe."
"There's no way we can get him down to the gate room," Siler said. "Hell, we'll be lucky to get him to the infirmary without one of Samuels' spies catching us."
"We're not going to the infirmary. Go upstairs, get Carter down here," she ordered.
Siler stared at her for a second. "Doc, you don't like it when they use Carter like this," he reminded.
"I don't. But she's the only chance we have to save him. Go get her and bring her down here. I also need a change of clothes for him."
Siler paused for a few seconds and Janet was afraid that he'd refuse to help her. He couldn't do that, she couldn't do this without his help. "Ok," he finally said, sighing heavily. "I hope to hell you know what you're doing, doc."
He got to his feet and left the room, carefully checking the hall before he stepped out. Janet waited until he was gone before she sighed, looking down at her patient. "I hope so too," she muttered, reaching into her bag.
/////
Sergeant Dan Siler hurried down the halls, desperately trying to figure out how he could get Carter from her room to the holding cell without alerting any of Samuels' men.
Getting her out of her room wasn't really an issue, his set of master keys would take care of that. But navigating the three levels between her room and Jackson's holding cell was a totally different issue.
There was no way Matheson could disable all the cameras so Dan knew that he'd leave a record of his actions. Even more problematic was all the witnesses. Dan knew the identities of a lot of Samuels' cronies, but not all of them. He figured even if he got Carter to the doc and back to her room without being caught, there was no way he'd do it without it being noticed.
"I hear Acapulco's nice this time of year," he muttered softly, digging the keys out of his pocket. Going AWOL was about the only option he had. He knew, even if he resigned tomorrow, he'd still be hunted down and arrested, likely on charges of treason.
That was the attitude of the government now. Their way or the highway. Anyone that spoke out was quickly discredited, and if that failed, they vanished.
Taking one last glance up and down the hall, Dan shoved the key into the lock and opened the door, quickly entering the room.
It was dark so he reached out flipping on the light switch. The lights blared on and Dan blinked quickly to clear his vision. The room was sparsely furnished, consisting of little more than a cot, table and chair and a small armoire.
A figure was curled up in the bed and she stirred, pushing back the blankets. She blinked, frowning as she looked at him. He knew that she wasn't used to him, Samuels trusted only a few of his men to be her 'handlers'.
"Captain Carter, we need your help," he said, keeping his voice low. She didn't speak but he expected that. According to the rumors, the last time anyone heard her speak was before SG-1's mission to Nasyia over a year ago.
Some suggested that the goa'uld had done something to her and damaged her somehow, but Dan didn't think so. When he looked at Carter, he saw something in her gaze, something lingering and present. It reminded him of a philodendron left in an abandoned office for a few months. There was still a fragment of life and intelligence left even if the rest of it was slowly withering away from neglect.
Not for the first time, he wished that her team was still alive. Colonel O'Neill would never have stood for this. Thinking of Colonel O'Neill reminded Dan of his mission. "Someone is hurt. We need your help," he said.
She nodded and pushed the blanket aside, revealing that she was sleeping in a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt. He stood awkwardly by the door while she slid her feet into a pair of simple tennis shoes and got to her feet. She walked slowly towards him and Dan stared, something seeming odd. "Oh," he said, realizing what was wrong. "Where's the aah, umm, you know." He gestured with his hand and she turned, crossing to the armoire. She pulled open a small drawer and pulled out the healing stone, turning back to face Dan.
"Ok, then, let's go." Dan opened the door, refusing to admit that maybe he was just as bad as Samuels. He led her out into the hall, careful to turn off the light and close the door behind them. Maybe, if he was really, really lucky no one would notice that she was missing for a while.
The stairway was closer than the elevator and he led her into it, reaching out to take her hand to guide her up the stairs. She tried to pull away and he looked over, smiling to reassure her. "It's ok. We're just doing things a little differently this time."
Fortunately, she didn't struggle but tightened her fingers in his and followed him up the stairs. He made his way back to Jackson's cell, encountering no one along the way. He opened the door of the room and pulled Carter in before shutting the door. The doc was just as he'd left her, kneeling at Jackson's side.
The man's shirt was open and it looked like the doc had cut it off. His chest was bruised and sickening splashes of purple and red marred his pale skin. The doc had a needle in her hand and looked to be finishing sewing up a cut over his eye. "Doc?"
"Good," she said, looking up. "I've done what I can." She leaned back on her haunches and waved them forward. "Captain Carter, he's bleeding internally. That's what I need you to fix. Don't worry about the superficial injuries. They'll heal on their own. I just need you to stop the bleeding inside his chest," she instructed.
Carter walked over to them and knelt at Jackson's side. She reached out and touched his face, brushing his lank hair off his forehead. Dan saw her look up at the doc, a question on her face. "He's not your Daniel," Doc said. "He's from an alternate reality. Samuels has...well you can see what he did. We've got to get him out of here before Ratner can finish the job. And to do that, we need you to help him. Can you help him?"
Carter nodded and slid the stone onto her hand, holding it out over Jackson's chest. As Dan watched, the stone sprang to life, a warm orange beam washing over the man's abused skin. Despite himself, Dan stared, watching with morbid fascination as the bruises faded and the bones of his ribs shifted, moving back to where they were supposed to be.
After several minutes, the device turned off and Carter slumped, only the doc's quick actions keeping her from falling on Jackson. Dan lunged forward, supporting some of Carter's weight so that the doc could examine Jackson.
Dan held her close, carefully sliding the stone off her slack hand. "Doc?"
Frasier pulled her stethoscope from around her neck, putting the ends into her ears and listening to Jackson's chest. "His chest is clear," she said, "Heartbeat's strong." As she spoke, Jackson stirred, moaning softly. His eyes opened and he looked up at them.
"You're ok," Frasier reassured him.
"What the hell?" His eyes settled on Carter. "You didn't." He looked at Doc. "You said-
"I know what I said," she interrupted. "But you were dying and I don't have time to crack your chest." She looked up at Dan. "I have a plan."
"Well, that's good, doc. I hope it includes Mexico or some other country without extradition," he said, shifting his hold on Carter a bit as she stirred in his arms.
"I wasn't thinking about another country," she said, helping Jackson sit up. Dan raised his eyebrows, intrigued by the crypticness of his response. "They run tests at night don't they?" she asked. "Working their way through the dialing program and finding planets to send MALPS to."
"Every night but...Doc, what are you thinking of?"
"The one place Samuels can't get his hands on them," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Jackson asked, slowly scrubbing his hands across his face, wincing when his fingers encountered some of the bruises.
"We can't get you off this base. The security's too tight. And even if we did, you'll never be able to hide. Kinsey will just release an APB, labeling you an enemy menace and the whole world will hunt you down. But on the other side of that gate...surely you can find a planet where they can't find you, where you guys can be safe."
Jackson shook his head. "Guys?"
Frasier looked at Dan, her gaze steely and she sighed. "We'll get you to the gate room and to one of the planets. From there, you can go somewhere else. But you have to take her with you."
"Doc?" Dan protested. "She's in no shape to go through the gate. That's presuming we can even get them into the gateroom. There's the control room staff and the security contingent, not to mention the five levels of personnel between here and there."
"Five levels of personnel that are sick and tired of this. That are tired of exploring new planets just to watch them be raided and stripped of all their natural resources."
"They're also afraid of getting on Samuels' bad side and getting 'disappeared' like every one else that's spoken up," Dan said.
"Can you get us through the gate without getting yourselves killed?" Jackson asked. His voice sounded a bit stronger than it had a few minutes before even though he still looked like death warmed over to Dan.
"What about your reality?" Dan asked. "The mirror is just two levels up, I can get you there no problem."
Jackson shook his head. "My reality is gone."
"And you don't have the controller to pick another one," Frasier said.
Jackson turned his head to look at her. "I didn't say that. But Sam...my Sam, had a theory. Something about cascades or something but anyway, the crux of it is that two of the same people can't exist in the same reality at the same time. If your Daniel Jackson is dead, then I can stay here for a while. I don't have that kind of guarantee with another realty and I really don't feel like taking the time to look."
"I know where the tranquilizer darts are," Frasier said slowly, looking at Dan. "The ones we used to subdue Hathor."
"Better than that. We recovered some goa'uld shock grenades last week," Dan said, well aware of the ramifications of what he was agreeing to.
"I've been to about thirty different planets and I know a few dozen from other teams," Jackson said. "I can find us somewhere to stay. Can you arrange some sort of distraction?" Jackson asked.
"Distraction?"
"Something...I dunno, an intruder alert at the surface. Something to get the gate room guards distracted. We can use grenades to take care of the rest. We can dial the gate and be gone in a few minutes."
"You'll take Sam with you?" Frasier asked.
"She's dead weight, doc," Dan said. "There's no way he can be on the run and-"
"She's coming with me," Jackson interrupted. "My Sam would rather die fighting than be used like this. I'm not leaving her behind."
"Ok," Dan said. "This is going to take a little time to set up. We gotta find a place to stash you two."
"We can't take too long," Frasier said. "Bauer's meeting-"
"Half an hour, doc. It'll take me that long to get the grenades."
"In my SGC, there's a storeroom on level 22. No one uses it. They say it's haunted and-"
"So's ours," Frasier interrupted.
"You take them there," Dan instructed. "I'll round up the rest."
"I can get you some food and clothes," Frasier said. "Something to get you started."
Jackson nodded. He slowly got to his feet, not shaking off the Doc's offer of help. Dan watched as he limped over to the table and picked up one device, grasping it tightly.
"This is coming with me," he said, holding out what Dan could only guess was the controller to the mirror. There was a steely look in his eyes that suggested that no one was going to take the item from him. And Dan wouldn't even dream of it. Jackson had more than paid his dues and anyway, if that really was the controller, Dan didn't want Samuels getting it anymore than Jackson did. "Now, can we get the hell out of here. This room is giving me the creeps."
/////
Daniel heard the door shut behind him and he sighed, relaxing in the relative safety of the storeroom. They weren't safe, not by a long shot, but they were a damn sight safer here than in that room.
Memories of the last...however the hell long it'd been, washed over him and he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. "Not now," he muttered. "Not now, not now, not now, not now." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, forcing the memories away. He could deal with them later...much, much later.
Remembering that he wasn't alone, Daniel looked over at his companion, really seeing her for the first time. She looked a lot like his Sam, physically she was almost identical. Her hair was a bit longer and a bit ragged, like it hadn't been given a proper cut for months. Her face was a bit leaner and he thought that he saw tinges of grey at her temples. She was standing on the other side of the store room, her hands clutched close to her side and her eyes riveted on him.
"What the hell did they do to you?" he asked rhetorically, moving towards her.
Predictably, she didn't answer, instead she edged away from him, keeping her distance.
"Yeah, great. You know all the times Jack wanted you to shut up and now you do," he rambled, limping heavily. She might have healed the worst of the damage to his chest, but he still felt like crap. His face was sore, no doubt the result of more than one punch and slap. The side of his face itched and he explored it, his fingers trailing up a streak of dried blood to encounter the familiar prickles of stitches. His head ached, his jaw was sore and he was relatively sure that he had more than a couple loose teeth.
All in all, he felt like crap and wanted nothing more than to just curl up in a corner and sleep for a week or three. But he couldn't do that, not yet. They had to get the hell out of here first.
He slowly explored the storeroom, slightly disappointed to discover that there was little more stored in there than paper and other useless stuff. Belatedly remembering the clothes Siler had given him, Daniel looked around, searching for somewhere to change.
He found nothing, the room was furnished with little more than rows of shelves and cabinets. He turned back to look at Sam, holding the clothes in one hand and the mirror controller in the other. "I'm aah, you mind?" He gestured for her to turn around.
She looked at him, her eyes narrowing a bit, but she didn't move. "Fine," he shrugged, reaching out to set the controller and clothes down on one of the shelves. "You've seen most of it before anyway."
He slowly peeled off his filthy clothes, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He wished for a shower. Well, to be honest, he really wanted a nice long hot bath and some of Janet's special drugs, but he'd settle for a shower, something to get the stink of a day's worth of sweat and blood off his skin.
A flash of movement caught his eyes and he looked up, watching as a bottle of water rolled across the floor to stop at his feet. "Thanks," he said, glancing over at her. He picked up the water and twisted off the lid, taking a deep drink before he moistened his t-shirt and used it as a makeshift washcloth. In a few minutes, he was cleaner than before and redressed in the new clothes.
"Siler should be back in a few minutes," he said as he stashed his clothes behind a box. He knew she wouldn't answer but he felt the need to talk...if for no other reason than to keep his mind off the past several hours. "Then we can see if we can make it down six levels, through armed guards and the titanium iris and find us a nice planet to hide out on. Piece of cake," he quipped, pasting an odd grin on his face.
She didn't respond and Daniel sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "You know, this silent thing is getting old." Daniel heard a sound and looked at the door, staring in horror as the door knob turned. Sam scurried behind one of the shelves, ducking down just as the door opened.
Much to his relief, a familiar face appeared, closing the door behind him. "Siler," Daniel said.
"Jackson." He looked around. "Where is she?"
Daniel pointed at Sam as she peeked out from behind the shelf. "What's the plan?"
"The main blast door is going to malfunction in about ten minutes," he said, glancing at his watch. "Doc's already in the triage room on level 28. At our signal, she's gonna take out the control room-"
"Janet?" Daniel interrupted, picking up the controller.
"It's one of those goa'uld grenades. Even she can handle it," Siler said. "I'll do the same in the gate room. We'll dial out and get you guys through."
Daniel nodded, accepting that there was only so much they could do. "Do you know where SG-1 was lost?" he asked, glancing over as Sam stepped out from behind the shelves, joining them.
"What?"
"What planet were they lost on?"
Siler shook his head. "Umm, it has some funky...Tal, Talcum..."
"Taldor?"
"Yeah, I think that's it," Siler confirmed.
"They could still be alive then," Daniel said.
"You're kidding? It's been over a year."
"If Jack could survive by himself in an Iraqi prison for four months, he can survive in Hedantes for a year," Daniel said. "Especially if he has Teal'c with him."
Siler shook his head. "Whatever," he dismissed. "I think you're a damn fool but I don't have time to argue," he said. "We gotta go, and we gotta go now."
Daniel looked over at Sam, gesturing for her to join them. The three of them cautiously left the store room and made their way down the hall, Daniel and Siler flanking Sam like they were escorting her.
They slipped into one of the back halls, using a maintenance access stairway to climb down to level 28. "Lay low until I give the signal," Siler said, holding up the tranquilizer gun. Daniel nodded and hung back, Sam close but not too close.
"Just stay close to me," Daniel said, glancing at her. "This shouldn't be too tough." He ignored how empty his reassurance sounded. It shouldn't be too tough. Or it could be the toughest battle of their lives. In his SGC he'd know that the guards, while doing their job, would temper than job with rationality. But this SGC bore little resemblance to his and Daniel wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to find out that Samuels and Bauer authorized deadly force.
The thought of being captured made Daniel's stomach churn. He didn't want to go back to that room and literally wanted to die first. And he had a funny feeling that Sam would feel the same.
A few muffled cries filtered down the hall and Daniel felt his adrenaline surge. "Here we go," he said, reaching out to take Sam's hand. Fortunately, she didn't pull away and Daniel led her out into the hall. They crept along the walls, keeping as low of a profile as possible. Just as he reached the side door to the gateroom, it opened and Daniel raised his tranquilizer gun, lowering it quickly when he recognized Doctor Frasier. "Come on," she urged and Daniel hurried forward, pulling Sam behind him.
Half a dozen bodies lay on the floor, all sprawled unconsciously. Daniel heard a clunking sound and looked, catching sight of the gate spinning. He looked up and saw Siler seated in front of one of the consoles, obviously controlling the gate. "This was all I could get," Frasier said, holding out a small satchel. "There's a few days worth of rations and some medical supplies."
Daniel took it, handing it over to Sam before he bent over and relieved one of the guards of his weapons, struggling to roll the man over to grab his extra ammunition and knife. "What about you two?" he asked, standing up as the fourth chevron locked.
"We'll be ok," Frasier said, smiling weakly. "You need to go."
"Where is he sending us?"
"I don't..." she looked up at Siler.
"Broca," Siler said over the speaker. "You can turn a 180 and go somewhere else as soon as you arrive. Which I really suggest you do."
"You should stay away from familiar planets," Frasier said. "Eventually they'll figure it out. And if they don't come looking for you, they will for that." She motioned towards the controller in Daniel's hand.
The seventh chevron locked and the gate whooshed open. "You could come with us," Daniel offered impulsively. "I know of a lot of planets we can hide on."
"Thank you but-" Alarms began to blare and Frasier cut off, looking up. "GO! Now!" she yelled, pushing Daniel towards the gate. He turned and hurried towards the ramp, reaching out to grab Sam's hand and pull her behind him. The pair of them dashed up the ramp and through the Stargate, leaving the SGC behind.
/////
Jack rolled over, cursing under his breath at the thin lumpy mattress. Then again, he was one of three people in the caves that possessed mattresses, so he couldn't complain too loudly. He heard someone else moving around and he resisted the urge to open his eyes.
Their cave was their cave, and none of the other denizens dared to encroach on their space. The sound of a knife scraping on wood drifted through the cave and Jack groaned, rolling to his back. "Damnit, Lorne, can't you give it a break?" he muttered.
"With all due respect, sir. Shut up," Lorne said, his tone belaying his disrespectful words. Jack opened his eyes and glared at the captain before settling back down on the mattress, his arms stretched up and his hands cradling his head. Lorne was a good guy and he'd changed a lot since his first - and only - mission with SG-1. "How many damn chess sets do you have now?" Jack asked, referring to the man's woodcarving hobby.
Fortunately, or not, there was no shortage of material in the caves. Most of the walls were lined with roots and vines, giving Lorne an unending supply of things he could whittle and mess with.
"Five," Lorne answered. "Plus the three checkers sets."
"Why can't you make something useful, like a DHD," Jack groused.
"Find me a power source and I'll make you a DHD," Lorne snapped back, falling into a well established pattern of banter. "Cause, with no batteries, it's kinda useless."
Jack dropped the subject, admitting the truth to himself. As much crap as he gave Lorne about his hobby, he envied him in a way. At least he HAD a hobby, had a way to fill the endless hours.
A distant sound funneled through the corridors and Jack sat up, his senses instantly alert. "It's not time for food," Lorne said needlessly, setting his carvings aside.
"Must be a new prisoner," Jack said, rolling to his feet. He left their grotto, Lorne at his heels and made his way towards the main chamber. Teal'c joined them and the three of them stood there, waiting for the gate to finish dialing.
Around them, Jack sensed the other prisoners gathering around them, all curious as to the new arrivals. Of course, there really wasn't much else to be interested in. Rehabilitating the inmates wasn't high on the Taldor's list of priorities. "We will not benefit from an increase in the population," Teal'c said softly. Jack had to agree with him. In the year he'd been a 'guest' of the Taldor he'd noticed that their food rations didn't increase as the population did. Which meant that more prisoners meant less food, and Jack knew that it would only fuel another uprising.
"Had to happen eventually," Jack said, refusing to let the futility of their situation get to him.
The Stargate opened and Jack straightened up, watching the shimmering event horizon. Two figures stumbled through, their shapes in silhouette until the gate snapped shut, plunging the chamber into darkness. Jack frowned. Something about them was familiar. Despite himself, Jack stepped forward, mentally urging his eyes to adjust quicker.
Discordant whistling started to echo through the chamber and Jack sighed. He'd seen the 'greeting' before, too many times before. The newcomer called out, his voice drowned out by the whistling.
"O'Neill?" Jack ignored Teal'c's questioning word as he stepped forward, drawn to the newcomer. It was stupid of him to go forth. A few of the inmates were like them, basically innocent and 'harmless' but some weren't. Psychosis apparently was a universal affliction and they'd had more than their share of nuts and weirdoes.
"Jack?"
"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" Lorne asked, moving closer to Jack.
The other denizens of the prison started to close in, forcing the two newcomers to close ranks. "Jack!"
"That voice is familiar," Teal'c said.
"It can't be," Jack said, denying the familiarity of the voice.
"They're gonna cream em," Lorne said.
"Not if we can help it," Jack muttered. "Back off!" he yelled, asserting his authority. The other denizens listened to them, even if it was more of a tolerance thing than any real respect. "BACK OFF!" he yelled louder, moving forward, Teal'c and Lorne at his side.
The denizens reluctantly backed off, clearing a path for them to walk through.
"Jack, thank god," the newcomer gasped. "I knew you'd be alive. If anyone could still be alive in here, it'd be you. And Teal'c, it's so good to see you, and...whoever the hell you are."
Jack ignored the man's ramble, his gaze riveted on the man's face. It couldn't be. "Someone tell me that I'm not hallucinating," Jack requested.
"If you perceive that this newcomer bears a resemblance to Daniel Jackson, then you are not hallucinating," Teal'c said.
"Jackson's dead," Lorne said.
"Apparently not," Jack said, finally getting close enough to make out some details. The newcomer not only sounded like Daniel, he looked like him too. And he looked like he'd gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. His face was bruised and battered and Jack could see a neat row of stitches on his forehead. His lip was split and one eye was black and swollen.
"Captain Carter."
Jack turned his attention to the other newcomer and was shocked to find her familiar. "Carter?" It had been more than a year since he'd seen his former second in command but he still recognized her, even if barely. She lurked close to Jackson's side, almost cowering under the scrutiny of the denizens.
"What the hell's going on?" Lorne demanded. "Is this night of the living dead?"
"I don't know," Jack said, turning his attention to the man. "Who are you?"
"Jack, don't you recognize me? I'm Daniel-"
"Ah," Jack interrupted, raising his hand. "Daniel Jackson's dead."
The newcomer raised his eyebrows. "I'm dead?"
Jack looked him from toe to the top of his head. "You look pretty alive to me. Which is odd considering that we buried you eleven months ago."
The newcomer sighed. "Just once," he ranted softly. "Just once I want to find an alternate universe where I'm alive."
"Alternate universe?" Lorne asked.
"That's where I'm from. I'm not your Daniel Jackson and..." He swayed slightly, closing his eyes. Jack watched as what little color the man had in his face drained away.
"Teal'c," Jack said, reaching out to catch Daniel as his knees folded. "Let's continue this somewhere quieter." Teal'c took Daniel's weight from him and Jack looked at Carter, frowning when he saw her just standing there. He made a move towards her but she backed away. "Lorne, get Carter," he ordered. "Let's go back to the grotto. Something tells me that this is going to take a while."
/////
Kevin Lorne followed his companions back to their grotto, his attention torn between the woman he was escorting and the other denizens. Ahead, O'Neill and Teal'c supported Daniel Jackson's - if that's who he really was - weight between them leaving Kevin to take care of the woman and Jackson's sole piece of luggage, a large satchel.
Kevin glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of a couple of the bolder denizens lurking just barely in the shadows. This definitely did not look good. They were too bold for his comfort.
Ever since he'd killed Vishnoor a year ago, O'Neill had earned the position of leader, which meant that Kevin and Teal'c as his friends, were immune from being accosted. But Kevin had a funny idea that that was going to change now.
"Boss, I think we have a problem," he said as soon as they were in the grotto.
"Only one?" O'Neill asked as he and Teal'c lowered Jackson onto O'Neill's pallet.
"The natives are restless," Kevin said, releasing his grip on the woman. She left his side, slowly edging her way towards Jackson. Kevin couldn't help but notice the wariness in her motions. She was acting like she was terrified of them all.
"They'll settle down," O'Neill dismissed.
"I do not believe that your assessment is correct," Teal'c said, staying out of O'Neill's way as he examined Jackson.
"Maybe if it was just him," Kevin said, gesturing towards Jackson. "She's gonna be a problem."
In their year here they'd run across only two female prisoners. One, Linea, had died just hours after their arrival. The second, Zarian, died just last month, a failed pregnancy and no real medical care costing her her life.
"Yeah," O'Neill agreed, looking up at the skittish woman. Zarian had fit right in, her experience as a prostitute giving her a value and place in the prison society. "Carter?" he asked, getting to his feet. "Where the hell have you been and what are you doing here?" As O'Neill talked, Carter moved away from him, slowly backing up until she was pressed against the wall.
"She doesn't talk," a weak voice said. O'Neill turned, making his way back to the pallet and the man lying on it.
Jackson's eyes were open and he was slowly propping himself up, with more than a little assistance from Teal'c. "Then you better fill us in," Jack said, squatting down beside Jackson.
Teal'c scooped up a small bowl of water and handed it to Jackson. The man drank deeply before settling back, thanking Teal'c with a quick smile. "A couple days ago, my SGC was attacked. The gate was breached and I think there were ships in orbit. I stumbled across the quantum mirror and I went through. I wound up in your reality."
"I thought General Hammond got rid of that mirror," Lorne said.
"So did I," Jack said.
"Hammond's not at the SGC anymore," Jackson said.
"What?"
"There's a General Bauer in charge. Samuels is his second."
"When the hell did this happen?" Jack demanded.
Jackson shook his head. "I don't know. All I do know is that the SGC is totally different from what it's supposed to be. They're not exploring, they're raiding, pillaging planets. They're pirates for lack of a better word."
"Did they make you walk the plank?" Jack asked, pointing at Jackson's bruised face.
"It's Samuels' method of 'persuasion' if he's not getting what he wants," Jackson said.
Jack nodded. "How bout her?" He jerked his thumb at Carter who was still lurking in the corner of the grotto.
Jackson shook his head. "I'm not sure. Even Janet didn't know for sure. She disappeared from the hospital she was in and showed up at the SGC a couple of months ago."
"Why?" Kevin asked. "She sure as hell ain't fit for duty." He looked at her, seeing not only the wary look on her face, but her clothing as well. No matter how much the SGC had changed, he didn't think sweatpants and a sweatshirt was proper off-world attire.
"They don't use her for that," Jackson said.
"Use her?"
"She can use goa'uld stuff, namely the healing stone. Bauer uses her to keep his casualty figures down." Jackson's tone was derisive and bitter.
"How can she use that stuff?" Jack asked.
"It is possible that her abilities stem from her possession by the goa'uld," Teal'c said.
"Really?" Kevin asked.
"Every goa'uld has the ability, some possess a greater skill than others."
"Carter's goa'uld is dead," Jack said.
"Captain Carter was the first host that I was aware of to survive the possession," Teal'c said. "Her condition is quite unique. It is possible that the remnants of Jolinar left within Captain Carter's body allow her to control the devices, as it did Kendra."
"Ok," Jack said, pushing his fingers through his hair. "That still doesn't explain how you got here. WHY you got here." He gestured at their surroundings. "This isn't exactly a vacation hot spot."
"We came for you. Or, originally I was going to come for you, but we had to get Sam out of there so...here we are," Jackson said.
"The SGC was so bad you decided to piss off the Taldor and go for life in prison instead?" Kevin asked.
Jackson smiled. "Who said anything about the Taldor?"
"If the Taldor did not send you here, how did you come to be a prisoner?" Teal'c asked.
"My SG-1 ran across this planet a year ago. But Sam was with us and between her and Linea we figured out a way to power the gate and dialed out. I remembered the address from when the Taldor sent us here the first time so I just dialed it direct."
"Which explains this," Kevin said, holding up the bag he'd been exploring while the others talked. "He's got food."
"I have more than food," Jackson said, reaching to the small of his back and pulling out a Beretta.
"Sweet," Jack said, taking the weapon from him.
"Macaroni and cheese," Kevin said, holding up the packet. "He's got macaroni and cheese." Kevin's mouth was watering, the prospect of real food making his stomach churn. He ignored the fact that he considered a MRE to be 'real' food. After a year's worth of porridge and the occasional barbequed rat, he didn't know if he remembered what real, fresh food was.
"You did not journey here merely to deliver supplies or to seek refuge," Teal'c said.
Jackson looked at him, then at Jack. "No one gets left behind," he said softly.
A silence settled over the group and Kevin saw Jack look at Jackson, a bit of respect displacing the skepticism.
"You know," Kevin said, breaking the silence. "We still have a problem." Everyone turned to look at him. "You said that your Sam Carter and Linea figured out how to get the gate to dial."
"Right."
"We have neither of those."
"What?" Jackson asked.
"Linea's dead," Jack said. "Died in a cave-in soon after we were sent here."
"And I think it's safe to say that Carter won't be contributing much," Kevin said.
"Do you remember how they did it?" Jack asked.
"Umm, maybe. Something about a root and one of her things." He looked up and around the room. "This is Linea's room?"
"Yeah, we inherited it."
Jackson nodded. "It was some tay...tam...some root that starts with a T."
"Tao Root," Teal'c said. "Many of the denizens employ it as a food source."
"That sounds right. Something in one of these bottles made it glow. Sam was rambling on about fusion and something. Anyway, it was enough to power the gate."
"You know, it wouldn't take that long to try," Kevin said. "There's only about eighty bottles up there."
"That much Tao Root may be difficult to procure," Teal'c said.
"But not impossible," Kevin said, buying into the plan. It was a long shot to say the least. But it was the best chance they'd ever had to get the hell out of this place.
Jack nodded. "Teal'c, you, Lorne and I will start digging up the root. Jackson, you stay here." He looked over his shoulder. "Keep her in here too." Jackson raised his eyebrows. "Trust me on this. She's gotta stay in here."
"OK," Jackson agreed.
Jack got to his feet and turned to leave the grotto, then turned back. He held out the Beretta, butt first, to Jackson. "Anyone but us tries to come in here, use it. And don't think twice."
/////
Teal'c meditated in his corner of the grotto, his eyes closed but his ears open. He could hear his companions on the other side of the chamber, each busy with their self-appointed tasks. O'Neill and Daniel Jackson were experimenting with Linea's tinctures, applying each one in turn to the bits of the Tao Root, hoping to recreate the reaction that Daniel Jackson said was needed to generate power.
Captain Lorne sat beside Captain Carter and, judging by the steady rasp of a knife against wood, was entertaining her with his woodcarving. As she had been for the past few days, the woman remained silent. She refused to interact with any of them, save Captain Lorne.
Beyond their grotto, Teal'c could hear the sound of an impending confrontation. He was the only one who ventured from the grotto in recent days, save for meal time, and each time he sensed more and more hostility from the denizens. They were often gathered in small groups, discussing and staring at them as the small party made its way to and from the food trough.
There was no such reality as respect in this place, only fear. And while fear could be very powerful, it could also be easily conquered. Lacking a cause to rally them, Teal'c felt that the denizens were using greed - greed and the desire to possess what they did not have.
He knew that O'Neill felt it too. Which was one reason the man was lending his assistance to Daniel Jackson in his task. If they were to make their escape, they needed to do so soon, lest they risk another confrontation with the denizens.
It was a confrontation that, even with the weapons Daniel Jackson brought with him, they would be hard pressed to win.
"Presuming this thing works, any idea where we can go?" O'Neill asked, his voice breaking the quiet of the grotto.
"We gated to P2A509 last time and met up with SG-9, but I'm guessing that's not an option here."
"Why'd you go there?" Lorne asked as Teal'c opened his eyes.
"We needed their GDO to get home."
"GDO's the last thing we need," O'Neill said. Jackson looked at him. "We're not going back to the SGC."
"I wasn't gonna suggest that," Jackson said. "But if the SGC has raided like I think they have, chances are most of the planets I know won't welcome us. Either that or we don't dare go there, not if we want to avoid Bauer's men."
O'Neill looked over at him. "Teal'c? Any ideas?"
"I know of many planets, O'Neill. However, the majority of them are under goa'uld dominion. I do not believe that they will provide an adequate sanctuary."
"How about less long term and more short term," Lorne said. "For the time being, let's just concentrate on getting the hell out of here. We can shop for a new home later."
"Captain Lorne's idea is a most pragmatic one," Teal'c said.
"Cimmeria," Daniel Jackson spoke up. "That should be safe." He looked at them. "Presuming it's the same in your reality as it is in mine."
O'Neill looked at Jackson. "You know the address?" Jackson nodded. "Ok, Cimmeria it is. We'll hole up with Gairwyn for a while, get our feet back under us then decide from there." He looked back at the scattered bits of Tao Root. "Presuming we can get the crap to work."
"It has to be one of these," Jackson said.
"Has to be?"
"Yes, has to be," Jackson insisted. "Look, we were here for hours when she showed Sam and Jack...my Jack, her activators. So it was something she already had. And if she had it in my universe, she probably had, has it in yours. We just need to find it."
O'Neill sighed and got to his feet, stretching. "I need a break. I've been pouring stuff on roots for hours. I'm gonna go take a spin around the tunnels."
"I shall go with you, O'Neill," Teal'c said, getting to his feet. O'Neill looked at him. "Given the current state of unrest, it is best if none of us are alone."
O'Neill shrugged. "Whatever." The two of them left the grotto, easily falling into step with each other.
"You believe his story?" Teal'c asked softly as soon as they were out of earshot of the grotto.
"It seems plausible," O'Neill said with a shrug. "It matches what our Daniel rambled about last year."
"And his supposition that Linea possessed a botanical extract that will alter the structure of the Tao Root?" he pressed.
"His ass is marooned here too. We have about three dozen more bottles to try."
As they walked, Teal'c found his attention torn between the conversation and their surroundings. The tunnels were dim and dank, as often was any subterranean space.
However, Teal'c's sharp eyes detected movement in the shadows. Usually, the other denizens gave them a wide berth, approaching only if they had something to share or to request. This was not the case now. Those that lurked were not the weak but the strong. He and O'Neill were being challenged in a way, tested to see how much leeway the denizens would be given before they struck back.
As with much in life, existence in Hedantes was a matter of balance. Keeping the population within the limits set by the food supply and the habitable space in the tunnels. Too little food and space led to the prisoners eventually uprising and reducing the population by force, or by slightly less violent means, the strong using their strength to prevent the weak from attaining their share and thus perishing.
A surplus of food, while a less violent atmosphere, was an exceedingly rare one, and a state that had been attained only once in their year internment. The arrival of Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter had altered that balance yet again, and Teal'c knew that it was not only a fear of hunger that stirred the denizens. The possession of Captain Carter was a much sought after commodity, and one that the other denizens resented.
"And if the catalyst is not within that three dozen?" Teal'c asked, glaring at Strycks, one of the more bold denizens. Fortunately, the man lowered his gaze and backed down, however not soon enough for Teal'c's preferences.
"We have a problem, don't we?" O'Neill asked softly, his tone rife with meaning.
"Indeed we do, O'Neill," Teal'c agreed, grateful that his leader was now aware of their situation and was not simply referring to the issue of the catalyst. It was only a matter of time before the denizens rebelled and Teal'c feared that even the fire arms provided by Daniel Jackson would not be enough to quell the violence.
/////
Simian crouched in the crevice, his ears tuned to the soft voices in the cavern beyond. He did not understand all of the Terran's words, many of them alien and strange. Cimmeria, labyrinth, GDO, all were strange terms to him. But he did understand the basics of their conversation. They were planning to escape, which was something O'Neill and his companions had not spoken of in many moons.
The new ones had brought many things with them, chief among which was a sustenance that, although alien to him, intrigued him. They had food, something far better than the rations provided by their jailers. They also had a female. And while she was a luxury that Simian himself did not covet, he knew others that did. Others that would be willing to compensate him quite well if he could deliver the female to them.
Hearing O'Neill and the large one leave their grotto, Simian slunk back into the shadows well aware that while his eyesight was non-functioning, theirs worked quite well. He would lose his meager advantage if they knew that he was listening to them.
He heard them walk slowly down the corridor and he froze, holding himself still until their footsteps faded. When he was sure it was safe, he slipped out of the crevice, silently feeling his way back to his corner. Strycks was going to be most interested in this bit of information. Perhaps interested enough to share his food ration.
/////
Daniel dribbled some of the green liquid onto the Tao Root, staring at it for several seconds before sighing and putting the cap back onto the bottle. He got to his feet and put the bottle back on the shelf, careful to set it beside the other rejects.
"Fifty-three bottles of stuff on the wall," Lorne said, his voice pitched to barely be audible over the sound of the small spring.
Daniel shot him a look, half afraid that he'd heard censure in the man's voice. But he saw nothing more than boredom and curiosity. "I wish I'd paid more attention," Daniel said, choosing three more bottles to try. He wasn't going to be able to keep the experiments up forever, they were nearly out of the Tao Root.
"So, you were really here?" Daniel looked at him. "Imprisoned like us?"
Daniel nodded. "Yeah. Took us a couple of days to get out."
"Days?"
Daniel shrugged, feeling a bit guilty that he and his team had attained their freedom in just days while Lorne and his team had been stuck here for over a year. "We were lucky."
"What's it like, back home?" Lorne asked after a few seconds, putting down his wood carving to move closer to Daniel.
"Our realities-"
"Are pretty damn close," Lorne interrupted.
Daniel set down the bottles in his hand and turned to face Lorne. Like Jack and Teal'c, he wore a mish mash of his uniform and what had to be scavenged clothes. He had his boots and pants even though the green material was stained dark brown and black in places.
Daniel could see the remnants of his black t-shirt under a woven vest and jacket. Lorne's dark hair hung loosely around his face, unbound and slightly greasy looking.
Due to a lack of sunlight, Lorne's skin was pale, just like the other inhabitants here and that pallor only served to make his hair and beard seem all that much darker.
"Just tell me...who won the World Series?" Lorne insisted.
"The Red Sox, at least in my universe," Daniel said.
"Get outta here," Lorne said. "The Red Sox?" Daniel nodded. "Damn, ok, so maybe our realities are more different than I think."
Daniel heard a soft rustle and looked over, catching sight of Sam stirring on her pallet. She tended to sleep a lot he'd noticed. Not that there was much else to do. In a way, he didn't mind it. She kinda gave him the creeps, how she'd just stand or sit there, watching them all and not saying a word. The more time he spent in her company, the more he realized that Frasier had been wrong. She was aware. She knew where she was and what she was doing. The real question, to him anyway, was what she was going to do.
"So, this was your first mission?" Daniel asked, seeking to learn a bit more about the man. If things played out how he thought they would, the five of them were going to be spending the next several decades together. The sooner he got to know them, the better.
"Yep, first time lucky I guess," Lorne said.
"Hey, my first time through the gate I got married and ended up spending a year on Abydos," Daniel said, trying to cheer him up. Lorne got a strange look on his face and Daniel's forced smile faded. "Did you aah, was there...you know, was there someone?"
Lorne smiled briefly. "Serious? No. But did you happen to see a nurse when you were there? Her name was Wendy. Lieutenant Wendy Bates."
Daniel shook his head. "I was only there for three days, two of them in a locked room with a charming sociopath named Ratner. I didn't get introduced much," he apologized.
"Oh well, just as well," Lorne said with a shrug.
"Was it serious?"
"A couple cups of coffee serious." He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wonder how things got so screwed up?" he asked.
"I dunno. I know Kinsey being President isn't a good thing."
"He won?"
Daniel nodded. "According to Frasier, after that near miss with Apophis, people were afraid. He campaigned on that fear. He uses it to keep the SGC classified, and uses it to justify invading other worlds, stealing technology from people. As far as he's concerned, Earth is the only planet that matters."
Lorne sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair, ruffling it even more. "I wonder what happened to Hammond? He didn't strike me as the quitting type."
"I killed him."
Daniel turned, for a minute not realizing where the soft whisper had come from. "Sam?"
She was staring at them, her arms wrapped over her stomach. Her eyes darted between them and he could see that she was breathing fast, like she was afraid of their reactions.
"What do you mean, kill him?" Lorne asked.
Sam slowly shook her head, clearly regretting speaking up. "Sam," Daniel said, walking towards her. "It's ok. We're not mad. We won't hurt you. How did you kill Hammond?"
She looked down at her hands, slowly reaching into her pocket to pull out the healing stone. "I couldn't fix him," she said slowly. "He died because I couldn't fix him."
"What happened?" Lorne asked.
"It's my fault if I can't fix them. I have to fix them. If I don't fix them, they die," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Daniel frowned and looked at Lorne, shrugging at the blank look on the man's face. He had no idea what she was talking about. Following an instinct, he stepped forward and gently took the stone from her hands, tucking it into his pocket. "You don't HAVE to do this anymore," he said. "You don't have to fix a damn thing if you don't want to." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the table. "In fact, how about you giving me a hand with this."
"Yeah," Lorne said, joining them. "Let's surprise the crap out of O'Neill and have this thing all figured out by the time he comes back from his walk."
/////
Jack carefully tucked the large chunk of Tao Root just behind the Stargate, nudging it with his foot to keep it out of sight. He looked up and saw Teal'c doing the same. Their task complete, they both made their way down off the dais, rejoining with Lorne who was keeping watch.
"We good to go?" he asked.
Jack nodded. "Should be. We'll do this after the food comes."
"Use the distraction of the denizens eating to complete our task unmolested."
"Yeah," Jack said, giving Teal'c a look.
"It will take several minutes to manually dial the chaappai."
"Presuming those roots have enough juice in them."
"It will and they will," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Let's try a little positive thinking huh?" He leaned against one of the walls, settling in to watch over the cavern. They had decided, once the roots were in place, to stand guard over them just to make sure that some lucky food scavengers didn't stumble across the roots and decide to steal them.
"Teal'c's gonna dial. Lorne, you and I will cover the entrances. T, Daniel and Carter are the first ones through. Lorne and I will bring up the six."
"I should go back to the grotto," Lorne said.
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Stay close to them. And don't let Daniel pack too much. Strykes' men are watching. The last thing we need is a confrontation."
Lorne nodded and retreated back into the caverns. Jack shifted his position, taking up station just outside of the main chamber but still within view of the gate. "Do you believe that we shall encounter resistance?" Teal'c asked, settling down at Jack's side.
"I'll be surprised if we don't," Jack said. "Strykes is paying too much attention."
"It would be best then if I assisted you in insuring out successful escape."
"And we don't know what we're walking into on Cimmeria," Jack said. "Besides, Junior's only got a few more years."
"And if you and Captain Lorne are marooned here again?"
Jack shrugged. "We'll survive." He sighed. "Look, Teal'c, none of us are gonna get left behind." He looked at Teal'c, meeting his eyes. "But if we have a choice between half of us getting out of here and NONE of us getting out of here, I'm taking the half."
"I understand," Teal'c said
Jack leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him. He figured that they had about an hour before the food was delivered and it was an hour that stretched out immeasurably slow. He wanted the time to come, needed, craved the action. But he was also unsure. He felt that a confrontation with the denizens was inevitable, and a year ago he wouldn't have considered the half starved group of miscreants a threat. But a year ago he wasn't a half starved miscreant himself.
"You are pensive," Teal'c said.
"Just doing the math," Jack dismissed. He felt Teal'c look at him. "We should have enough bullets to hold them off, especially since Daniel grabbed that extra clip."
"And then we will have little to defend ourselves with on Cimmeria."
Jack shrugged. "Cimmeria shouldn't be an issue. They might be a little pissed if they know that we dismantled the Hammer. Then again, Gairwyn said that the goa'uld hadn't been there for years."
"It is possible that we will attain our freedom without violence."
Jack shook his head. "I don't think so. Strykes has been spoiling for a fight for weeks. Carter and Daniel just sped things up is all."
"We could offer to liberate others with us," Teal'c suggested.
"No," Jack declared. "Some of these folks don't belong here, I know that. Some are just as innocent as we are. But there's others...hell Strykes has confessed to how many murders?"
"Three I believe."
"Which means he probably killed more than that. I don't agree with what the Taldor did, but we can't go letting murderers running loose. I haven't sunk that low."
"It is most pleasing to see Captain Carter interacting with others," Teal'c said after a few minutes.
"I wouldn't call saying a few words interacting," Jack said. Carter's condition was something else that he bore responsibility for. He never should have left her behind, never should have let them take her off to that hospital.
"I believe that she shall recover, with time," Teal'c proclaimed.
"You just keep up that positive thinking." Jack sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. They snagged in the tangled strands and he cringed. Realistically, his hair wasn't that long, just a couple of inches. But it had literally been decades since he'd had his hair this long. The first thing they were gonna do on Cimmeria was find a pair of scissors.
He glanced over at Teal'c, the man's bald pate gleaming dimly in the soft light of the cavern. At least he had benefited from some of Jackson's smuggled supplies, putting the knife he'd carried to good use. "Ya know, I was just getting used to the fro," Jack said, envying his friend. Hell, if they couldn't find scissors Jack just might follow Teal'c's fashion statement. Bald was a hell of a lot better than the shaggy mess he was currently cursed with.
The Stargate chevron chunked into place and Jack looked up, his senses automatically alert. "Heads up," he said needlessly. He got to his feet and Teal'c did the same. "Go get the others."
Teal'c nodded and retreated down the tunnel, returning to the grotto. Jack stayed where he was and watched the ritual play out before him. Feeding time was the only time in the prison where the denizens worked together. Both of the troughs were too heavy for any single person to handle, which meant that if they didn't work together, they didn't eat. Or they ate what they scraped out of the dirt.
They waited until the gate opened then settled the troughs into place, retreating to a respectful semi circle. The stream of gruel splashed into the troughs as the rest of his team joined him. Jack waited until the gate shut then stepped forward, taking his role as chief distributor. He took his bowl and dished some out to Teal'c, Daniel, Lorne and Sam before stepping back to allow the rest of the denizens to grab their own.
Jack held up his bowl, pretending to eat while he waited for the last denizen to disappear. "Let's go," he said softly, setting his bowl into an alcove. Teal'c and Lorne jogged to the gate, pulling the Tao Root bundles out from behind the gate. They wrapped the tendrils around the gate while Daniel handed Carter a bottle, the two of them making their way to the Tao Roots. They each drizzled the activator on the roots and Jack watched as the jumbled bundle of roots started to glow, power slowly funneling into the Stargate. "Dial it," he ordered, handing Lorne one of the weapons.
The two of them took up position, their backs to the gate and their attention directed down the corridors. He heard the gate spin and the chevrons lock. Jack counted the chunks, each one a mixed blessing. Each chevron that locked was one closer to them getting out, but each sound also increased the chances of one of the denizens getting curious and coming to check it out.
Jack heard the seventh chevron lock and he tensed, glancing over his shoulder to see the gate splash open. "Go," he ordered. "We don't know how long it'll stay open."
"You will not leave us here!"
Jack turned, recognizing the guttural tones of Strycks voice. The burly man was stalking down the tunnel, a handful of his men following him. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Lorne closing ranks, moving to stand at his side.
"O'Neill?"
"Get them out of here!"
Jack slowly backed towards the gate as more and more denizens spilled into the chamber. "Over their heads," Jack said, squeezing the trigger of his weapon. The sharp report of gunshots echoed off the stone walls and some of the denizens fell back, frightened by the unfamiliar sound. "Let's-"
Jack's words died in his throat, replaced by a harsh cry. His leg crumpled and he looked down, barely registering the shape of some sort of shiv sticking out of his thigh. Strycks stalked forward, emboldened by Jack's fall. "You are mine!"
"See, I'm kinda fond of him," Lorne said, grabbing Jack's arm and pulling him to his feet. He dragged Jack towards the gate, squeezing off a few more rounds that kicked up the dirt at Strycks' feet.
Jack felt the edges of the steps at his heels and tried to step up, grunting with the effort. "Damn," Lorne cursed, his weapon clicking emptily.
Strycks' eyes grew wide and he dashed forward, intent upon stopping them now that the bullets were gone. Jack raised his weapon, firing two shots. Strycks stopped, a look of shock passing over his broad face. "Karma's a bitch," Jack muttered, taking a moment to enjoy the satisfaction of the man's death before he felt the chill pull of the wormhole. He fell backwards, well aware that he was in for one hell of a rough landing, and not giving a damn. He'd slide naked down a glacier if it meant that he'd never have to see that hell hole again.
/////
Sam stumbled as she exited the Stargate the bright sunshine temporarily blinding her. She felt Daniel's hand tighten on her arm, pulling her away from the gate. She could only hope that his vision was better than hers, and that there was nothing to trip over.
"Damnit," she heard, just barely audible over a familiar whining sound. Suddenly, Daniel's grip loosened as he shoved her, sending her to her knees. She looked back, blinking to clear her vision. She saw a bright blue beam emanating from the hammer, washing over each of them in turn, settling on Teal'c for a bit longer. "Wait for Jack!" Daniel yelled, tossing his bag towards her. "He'll be here in a second, wait for him!"
The flash brightened and then vanished, taking Daniel and Teal'c with it. A silence settled over the clearing, broken only by the soft gurgling of the Stargate. She felt the dry crackle of grass under her fingers and looked down, clenching her hands. She pulled up a small tuft of it and raised it to her nose, breathing deeply. She'd forgotten what grass smelled like. A soft breeze wafted through the clearing and she looked up, staring at the blue sky and leaf covered trees.
Outside. She was outside. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been outside.
She heard someone else come through the gate and she looked over, realizing just how vulnerable she was. Much to her relief, she watched Jack and Kevin tumble out, rolling down the steps to land in a heap on the grass. The gate snapped shut and she relaxed, thankful that none of the denizens had made it through with them.
"Will you get your elbow out of my kidneys?" Jack complained.
"Fine, next time I'll just leave your ass behind," Kevin said, untangling his limbs from Jack's.
Sam pushed herself to her feet, wincing when she realized that she'd skinned her knees when Daniel had pushed her. She picked up the bag, holding it close as she made her way over to Jack and Kevin.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Damn, he got you good."
"No shit, Sherlock!" The two men were lying on the ground, Kevin crouched over Jack who was lying on his back, his hands reaching for his right leg. As she got closer Sam could see something sticking out of his thigh, the material of his pants shiny and stained dark.
"What should I do?" Kevin asked.
"Pull the damn thing out."
"You're not supposed to just pull it out. What if it hit an artery?"
"Then it hit an artery," Jack said, sitting up. "You leave it in there I'll die of infection in a few weeks. Trust me, bleeding out is better."
"Your choice," Kevin said. He grabbed the shiv carefully and looked at Jack. "You want me to yank it out slow or-"
"Ow!"
"Fast." Kevin held up the blood smeared spear, grinning wryly.
"Bastard."
"Tell me you wouldn't have done it the same." Kevin probed the injury. "No gushing. That's a good sign."
"Just wrap it," Jack ordered. "We need to get our asses out of the open."
Kevin looked up at Sam, holding out one blood smeared hand. "Sam, I need the first aid kit."
She obediently opened the bag, her eyes catching sight of the healing stone. Picking it up, she let the bag drop as she slid the stone onto her hand. He was hurt. She had to fix him. That's what she was supposed to do. She had to fix him or he would die.
"Sam?"
She ignored Kevin and knelt beside Jack.
"Carter, what the hell are you doing?" Sam raised her hand, holding it over Jack's leg.
"No," he said, wrapping his hand around her wrist. Fixated on her task, she tried to pull away, her strength no match for his. "Carter, NO!" He shook her hand, reaching out to take the healing stone away from her. "Hey?" She looked over at him, the compulsion to use the device overwhelming. "It'll heal on its own. Leave it alone." She shook her head.
"Leave it," he repeated.
"I...can't."
"Yes, you can."
"I have to...fix...it."
"Why?" Kevin asked.
"I have to fix it," Sam said, trying to pull her hand out of Jack's grasp.
"Sam?" Kevin grabbed her chin and pulled her gaze away from Jack, forcing her to look at him. "Why do you have to fix it?"
"If I don't, they die," she said. She pulled her head free and looked back at Jack. "You can't die."
"I ain't gonna die from some little stick in the leg," he said. She shook her head. He didn't understand. He had to understand. She had to fix him. He couldn't die. She couldn't let any more die.
"Sam? How do they die?" Kevin asked.
"Lorne?"
"How do they die?" Kevin repeated, ignoring Jack. He took her chin again, turning her head more gently this time. "How, do, they, die?"
"If I can't fix them, they kill them," she whispered.
"Oh my god."
"Carter?" She turned to look at Jack. "Is that what they did to you? To make you use that thing?"
"I fix or they die," she said, the relief at sharing the burden almost overwhelming.
He stared at her for a few seconds before loosening his hold on her wrist. "Not anymore they don't," he said. "Now put that damned thing away and get me the first aid kit."
/////
Daniel groaned as he rolled over, the rough landing on top of his sessions with Ratner leaving his body a mass of bruises. "I must have pissed somebody off in a previous life," he muttered, slowly opening his eyes.
He heard a sound and turned towards it, relieved to see Teal'c lying on the ground next to him. "I'm guessing we're in the right place," he said, pushing himself to a sitting position.
"Indeed," Teal'c said, also sitting up. "We have been transported to the labyrinth."
"You ok?"
"My symbiote is in great pain, however it will survive."
"Good." Daniel got to his feet as Teal'c did the same. As if sensing their movement, a light flickered into life and a tall hirsute figure appeared, clad in leggings and armor.
I am Thor, supreme commander of the Asgard fleet. The high council of Asgard has designated Cimmeria a safe world for developing sentient species, by unanimous decree era 40.73.29. The Goa'uld system lords were so informed. You were warned not to come here, under pain of death. For the crimes against the living host, and all those you have
murdered and enslaved, the sentence is death. This is your prison. Your technology will not function here. There are no luxuries, no worshippers, no slaves to do your bidding...
only basic sustenance and time.
When you tire of this existence, go to the Hall of Mjollnir, and face the Hammer. There is no escape. Only the host can leave this place alive.
Daniel turned to Teal'c. "Guess this part still works too."
Teal'c nodded. "We should leave this place. It will take many hours to rejoin O'Neill and the others."
"Yeah. After you." Daniel gestured towards the only exit he could see, a narrow corridor leading out of the chamber. Teal'c started to walk and Daniel followed him for a moment regretting that he'd given their supplies to Sam. Right now they could really use the flashlight that he had in the bag.
The ceiling was low and irregular, in some areas smooth and finished and in others simple bare rock. The walls were the same way and it made Daniel wonder why it had been built this way. It was almost as though the Asgard couldn't decide if they wanted walls or rocks and compromised, creating a helter skelter format.
Water dripped both from the ceiling and down the walls, creating shallow puddles that they splashed through. The water reminded him of something else he'd forgotten to grab, the canteens. Teal'c's symbiote would protect him if he chose to drink the ground water, but Daniel knew that he wouldn't be so lucky. He remembered the aqueducts that he and Sam walked over to get to the tunnel. He'd just have to wait until then, banking that the fast running water would be a lot safer than the sluggish puddles in the caves.
"So, umm, is this like it was last time?" Daniel asked, feeling the need to talk. In truth, this cave was starting to creep him out and he needed to do something to take his mind off the spookiness of his surroundings.
"It is," Teal'c said, glancing back at Daniel. "However this journey should not be as arduous as the previous one."
"No Unas," Daniel said, remembering Jack's story about their first trip and his own brief glimpse of the monster.
"That is correct. At least, we can hope that the labyrinth is empty."
"Ha, ha," Daniel said, glaring at the Jaffa. "You need to keep working on that humor thing."
Teal'c graced him with the barest grin before turning his attention back to the task at hand. "It took O'Neill and I several hours to navigate the labyrinth last time."
"Yeah, but you know which way to go this time, don't you?"
"Perhaps. We did not take the most direct route."
Daniel fell silent again, content to simply follow Teal'c as he navigated turn after turn in the tunnels. After perhaps half an hour they came upon a shallow pond. The lights from the fixtures shimmered spookily on the walls and ceiling. Daniel felt something crunch under his boots and looked down, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he registered that he'd just stepped on the scattered remnants of a skeleton. "Lovely," he muttered.
"I would not suggest drinking the water," Teal'c warned. "It is likely contaminated."
"Figured that," Daniel replied.
"Do you require a rest?"
Daniel shook his head. "Let's get outside first." In truth, he was worried about Sam. He knew he'd left her their supplies but they didn't know for sure if Jack and Kevin had made it. Worst case scenario, she was out there all alone. "We should have brought Sam with us," he said, voicing his concern.
"I thought that you did not wish to expose her to the rigors of the labyrinth."
"I didn't. But if Jack and Kevin didn't make it, she's out there all by herself."
"I have the utmost confidence in O'Neill and Captain Lorne attaining their freedom." He looked at Daniel. "Their time in Hedantes has given them much motivation."
"I just wish we could have seen them make it is all," Daniel said.
"I understand your concern, yet I believe you underestimate Captain Carter's resilience."
"Teal'c, you've seen her," Daniel protested.
"Indeed I have. And her treatment has left a mark upon both her body and her soul. Yet, if she were not resilient, she would have succumbed to her trials long ago."
Daniel shrugged, not believing Teal'c's assessment but lacking the will to argue. In truth, he wanted to believe that Sam would be ok again. Wanted to hope that, now that she was away from Samuels and Bauer, she could start to recover and heal. He wanted his friend back, a smiling sassy woman with a wicked sense of humor that she hid under her military training.
He ignored the fact that she would never quite be 'his' Sam. His Sam was a world and a reality away and, as much as he didn't want to admit it, probably dead.
"If you are indeed concerned about Captain Carter, perhaps we should apply ourselves to gaining our egress from this place."
"I get it, stop moping and get off my ass," Daniel said, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against.
He followed Teal'c for a couple more hours, silently following him as he maneuvered his way from tunnel to tunnel. The sound of the dripping water started to get on his nerves, only serving to remind him that he was thirsty, a thirst that only increased as he walked.
Just when he was ready to demand a break, Teal'c stopped. "This is the exit."
"Great, so let's go," Daniel said, glancing askance at a jumbled pile of bones. All he could guess was that predators and scavengers had cleaned up the remains of the Unas.
"It has taken us several hours to navigate the labyrinth. Nightfall is likely close at hand. It may be beneficial if we sought shelter here until dawn."
Teal'c's suggestion made sense. They were halfway up a mountain on an alien planet and had to hike an unknown number of miles to try and find Sam and the others. The prudent thing to do would be to wait. Count on Sam to be able to take care of herself for a few more hours. Better yet, trust that Jack and Kevin had made it and were there to take care of her.
"Let's at least go take a look," he said. "See what it's like out there. Get some fresh air, something to drink."
Teal'c nodded and the two of them walked through the Hammer and into the shallow cave that led outside. He stood at the entrance, taking a deep breath and realizing for the first time just how close and stagnant the air in the labyrinth had been.
Teal'c was right, the sun was setting and the air was cooling off. Daniel looked down, his eyes tracing the path down the mountain. It twisted and turned, winding its way down the rocky slope to the valley below.
"It took Sam and I three quarters of a day and half of the next to hike from Kendra's house to here," he said, his mind going back to a simpler time.
"My Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter reported that Kendra took a most circuitous route."
"She did. She also kept waiting for Thor to guide her," Daniel remembered. In hindsight, Sam's frustration had been enjoyable. She didn't often get flustered and short tempered and he'd enjoyed teasing her about it. "We were also hiking uphill," he continued. He glanced over at Teal'c. "But there's still no way we can get all the way down to the valley before sunset." Daniel looked at the sun, hanging a hand's breadth from the horizon. "We're probably pushing our luck finding something to eat, but we can at least get some water and wood and bring it back here. We can be dry and warm even if we're hungry."
"And we shall descend at first light," Teal'c said, agreeing with him.
"Yeah." Daniel clapped Teal'c's shoulder. "I just hope I remember those fire starting lessons from that training class Jack made me take."
/////
Kevin tossed another piece of deadfall onto the fire, taking a second to enjoy the shower of sparks his action caused. He leaned back, resting against a large log and stretched out his legs. On the other side of the fire, O'Neill stirred, restlessly rolling over.
A flash of movement caught his eyes and Kevin looked over, watching as Sam joined him. "You should be asleep," he said softly.
She shook her head as she sat down and pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She hadn't spoken much since their arrival on the planet, trailing quietly behind him and the colonel as the left they clearing by the gate and trekked deeper into the woods.
Aware of the impending nightfall, they didn't explore far, instead looking for shelter for the night. They found it in a shallow overhang beside a large rock face. It took them less than an hour to gather some firewood and water from a nearby stream. Kevin didn't think it was the most comfortable camp he'd ever set up, but it was a far cry from the close and claustrophobic confines of the prison.
"So," he said, feeling the need to fill the silence. "You were here before?"
She nodded. "A year ago," she said after a few minutes. Her voice was still faint and halting, almost timid. They'd all agreed that they weren't going to push her, at least not if they had to. Remarkably, that was one of the few decisions they'd made that required no debate.
"So, are they nice. The people that live here?" She nodded again. "Daniel said they were Norse. Vikings?" She nodded. "Horny hat and all?"
She grinned, shaking her head. "No." She stared at the fire for a few seconds. "They did have axes."
"No hammers?" She shook her head. "Ah, well, I look forward to meeting them."
"They're nice." She glanced over at him. "They have a city, twenty clicks to the north. We could go there."
"Gairwyn lives there?" he asked, remembering the name of the person they'd made contact with before. She shook her head. "How about that Kendra person you mentioned?" She pointed towards the mountains off in the distance. Unless his sense of direction was off, it was the same direction of the Labyrinth. "So, she lives between here and the Labyrinth?" Sam nodded. "Then, maybe in the morning we'll head that way. Check in with her and wait for Daniel and Teal'c to come down." She nodded. "You should get some sleep," he said.
He reached out and laid his arm across her shoulders, gently drawing her close. He was afraid that she'd pull away but was pleased when she settled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.
Warmed not only by the fire but the warmth of the person next to him, Kevin relaxed, barely realizing that for the first time in a year, he didn't miss his home.
/////
Teal'c stepped carefully over the large rock, the short skitter of stones confirming that Daniel Jackson was still behind him. "How much further?" he asked, breathing hard from his exertions.
"Perhaps two more hours," Teal'c said, pausing to survey their location. They had left their refuge at dawn after spending a comfortable, if sparse, night in the cave.
"You don't happen to see a drive thru do you?" Daniel Jackson asked, stopping at Teal'c's side. Fortunately, most of their journey that morning had followed the ancient aqueduct so they had been able to slake their thirsts easily. However, water was no substitute for food.
"Regrettably, I do not," Teal'c said.
"Didn't think so. I'm sorry, Teal'c. I should have grabbed a couple of ration bars. I just wasn't thinking."
"I assure you, we shall not die of starvation in the next few hours," he said. He looked over at Daniel Jackson, noting the fine sheen of sweat on his face. "If you wish, I could attempt to forage for some sustenance. I am familiar with many botanical sources of nutrition."
He paused, as if he was ready to refuse. Teal'c knew that Daniel Jackson harbored very protective feelings about Captain Carter, feelings that Teal'c shared in a way. Perhaps, in hindsight, it would have been best to have kept her in their presence.
"I don't want to lose time looking," he finally said. "But maybe there's something close?"
Teal'c nodded and turned his attention to their immediate surroundings. They were still higher up on the mountain, but low enough that the fauna would be of a greater variety than it was by the cave. He made his way off the trail and into the shadows of the trees with Daniel Jackson following closely behind.
Around him, he could hear the sounds of the fauna of the planet: avians fluttered from branch to branch and rodents scurried in the underbrush. If they'd had weapons and time, he knew that he could obtain a decent enough meal. However, he did not wish to delay them for the hours that it would take to hunt and prepare such a feast. Perhaps tonight or tomorrow, when they were reunited with Captain Carter.
Spying a familiar looking tree, he made his way over to it, relieved to discover that some of its bounty remained. "Matrexa nuts," he said, squatting down to pick up a few of the oblong brown nuts. They were perhaps as thick as his thumb and half as long. "Drey'ac would use these in her baking."
"Really?" Daniel Jackson asked, joining Teal'c in picking up as many of the nuts that they could find. "They have these on Chulak?"
"Indeed. Many plant and animal species are common among the planets."
"That would support the theory that they were all terraformed." Teal'c looked at him, puzzled by the unfamiliar word. "There's a theory we have to explain why so many planets are populated by humans."
"The goa'uld took people from your planet to serve as slaves many millennia ago."
Daniel Jackson nodded. "There's that. But there's also the theory that other races were involved too. That they took not only people but other life forms from Earth. Plants, animals, etc. They used them to seed other planets, to make them as much like home as possible."
"There are legends of other races, far older and more powerful than the goa'uld," Teal'c conceded.
"The Nox, the Furlings, the Ancients," Daniel Jackson listed off.
"Indeed. There is much knowledge that has been lost to the ages." He held up the nut. "These shells are easily broken with the use of two small stones held in ones' hand," he said, returning their attention to the matter at hand.
Daniel Jackson nodded, accepting the rebuke. Once their pockets were full, they abandoned the Matrexa tree and Teal'c moved on, kneeling beside a large fallen log. He picked up a large bell shaped fungus and held it out to Daniel Jackson. "Lakena," he said. "It is an acquired taste, however it will provide sustenance." Daniel Jackson took it from him and Teal'c gathered the other fungi growing on the log.
"Acquired is right," Daniel Jackson said, grimacing as he took a taste of the Lakena.
"This should sustain us until we can reunite with Captain Carter."
Daniel Jackson agreed and they returned to the trail, resuming their trek down the mountain. Their conversation dwindled for several minutes as they applied themselves to their impromptu meal. Teal'c hid a smile when Daniel Jackson silently handed his share of the Lakena to him, settling for the nuts.
"So, aah, you've been to a lot of planets?" Daniel Jackson asked, picking small pieces of the nut meat out of the shell.
"Many," Teal'c confirmed.
"You think any of them would be a good place to live?"
"Many of the planets I am familiar with are under the dominion of Apophis."
"So they wouldn't be good places to go."
"Daniel Jackson, when I explored planets on behalf of Apophis, I explored them to benefit Apophis. Worlds were judged on the basis of their value to Apophis. If a world had value, it was plundered. If not, it was ignored." He turned to look at Daniel Jackson. "If Apophis ignored a world, he ignored it for a reason."
"That makes sense," he said with a shrug.
"There is also something else you must consider, Daniel Jackson. As First Prime of Apophis, I was known and feared throughout his empire. If I remain in your company, I will endanger you."
He shook his head. "We're not going to just abandon you," he said. "We don't have to go to one of Apophis' planets. I might have an idea where the Tok'ra are, we can go to them for help."
Teal'c stopped, reaching out to grab his arm. "You have knowledge of the Tok'ra?"
He nodded. "We're allies with them, in my reality anyway."
"Why would the Tok'ra ally themselves with the Tau'ri?"
"Because of Sam and Jolinar." Teal'c raised his eyebrows, silently urging him to continue. "Jolinar is the name of the symbiote that possessed Sam. She remembered an address and we went there and made contact. Her father is even living with the Tok'ra. He's one of them."
"The Tok'ra are nothing but a myth," Teal'c protested.
"They're real," he insisted. "And they'll help us."
Teal'c stared, wanting to refute his story, yet unable to. The Tok'ra were a myth, but many myths had a basis in reality. "We shall discuss this further when we are reunited with the others," he declared.
"Less talk and more walk," Daniel Jackson agreed, tossing away the last handful of shells. Teal'c was pleased to see him slide the two cracking stones into his pocket, before brushing his hands together to rid them of the last remnants of their meal. "Last one down the mountain is a rotten egg," he said, before enthusiastically striding forward.
Teal'c sighed and shook his head. He could only hope that Daniel Jackson did not suffer a misstep in his enthusiasm. The walk would be a most arduous one if he had to carry the human.
/////
Jack limped into the clearing, his fingers wrapped tightly around the branch he was using as a crutch. Ahead of him, Carter paused, looking around.
"How much further?" Lorne asked softly.
Jack shrugged. "Got me." Lorne frowned. "Last time we went straight from the labyrinth to the gate. Carter and Daniel are the only ones that saw Kendra's place."
"I hope she finds it soon." He motioned towards the sky. "Weather's moving in. I'd really like to be under a roof when it hits."
Jack looked up, frowning when he realized that he'd been so focused on keeping up with them that he hadn't even noticed the gathering clouds. "Carter," Jack called out, waiting until she turned to continue. "Unless you have a tent in that bag of yours, we could really use that cabin."
She looked towards the sky and nodded, acknowledging his warning. "Sir?" Lorne questioned.
"I'm not pushing, I'm urging," Jack said, glaring at the man. "Unless you're up for a romantic stroll in the rain." Lorne glared daggers at him and Jack held up his hand, relenting and silently apologizing. "Why don't you go walk by her, see if you can tweak her memory." Lorne nodded, walking forward. "And tell her that I'm too damn old to bivouac in the rain," he called out louder, pitching his voice so that Sam could hear him.
Once they were ahead of him and talking - or at least it looked like they were talking - Jack let his mask slide, allowing himself to grimace with each lurching step. His leg hurt with every step, the sharp pain feeling like that damn shiv was still stuck in his leg.
He looked ahead, his eyes settling on the large black bag Lorne was carrying for Carter. There were painkillers in that bag. Nice little white pills of relief.
Pills that he couldn't take. No, that was an exaggeration. He COULD take them. He was just trying not to. The medkit that was in there was the standard one given to off-world SG Teams. Which meant that it was designed to deal with minor injuries or to patch someone up until they could get to real medical treatment. It wasn't designed to be the sole source of treatment for an injury. They'd already used up too much of the stuff treating his leg, he wasn't going to deplete their meager medicine supply any more than he had to.
"Colonel!" Jack looked up. "We found it."
Jack followed Lorne's pointing hand and caught a glimpse of a thatched roof between the trees. Jack caught up with them and could see more from their vantage point. Next to the small thatched house was an out building and a lean to, all nestled in a small clearing.
"It looks deserted," Lorne said. "No smoke."
"Let's go find out," Jack said.
The three of them slowly approached the house, Jack's eyes scanning the clearing for any sign of habitation. There were no animals in the pens, which struck him as odd. Farms always had animals, even if it was just chickens.
"That looks like a horse corral," Lorne said.
"Probably," Jack said. "But I'm not seeing any of those either." As Jack got closer, he could see other signs of abandonment, long grass that would normally be mowed, some broken twigs and limbs that he would expect to be cleaned up. "This place has been abandoned for a while," Jack said as Lorne approached the front door. He knocked and then opened it, sticking his head inside.
"Oh yeah," he said, glancing back at them. "You can smell it."
Lorne pushed the door open and Jack followed him and Sam. He was right, the small house smelled like it was abandoned. They walked into the house and Lorne pushed back some shutters, allowing daylight into the building.
Jack found a chair and gratefully sank down on it, watching as Lorne and Sam explored the place, opening windows and lighting some candles. It was nice as small houses went. One wall was dominated by a large, deep fire place with a heavy wooden mantle and cast iron cooking platform. The wall across from the door had two windows with a set of shelves between them that appeared to hold personal effects and the door they'd just walked through was flanked with a pair of windows as well. The wall across from the fire place was lined with shelves and cabinets that Jack guessed served as a larder.
All the furniture appeared to be handmade and consisted of a table with three chairs, two benches and two rocking chairs, one of which Jack was now sitting in. He could see a wooden ladder leading up to a loft that Jack was pretty sure would contain a bed.
"No running water," Lorne said. "But we do have food, and a roof over our heads."
Jack nodded. "Let's claim squatter rights. Lorne, why don't you go get some wood and I'll get a fire started. We also need some water. Carter, you in the mood to see what we can eat?" She nodded. "Ok, let's settle in for the night, kids. Hopefully, Daniel and Teal'c will show up pretty soon."
Jack watched as Lorne left and Carter climbed the ladder to explore the loft. Finally alone, he sank back in the chair and closed his eyes. After a few seconds he opened them and looked at the ceiling, listening as Carter puttered and explored. Something told him that, presuming there was a bed up there, it sure as hell wasn't going to be big enough for five.
/////
Strong hands holding her arms with bruising force. Turning her protests into futile wastes of energy. They dragged her down a sterile grey hall into a sterile grey room, not caring if she could move her feet fast enough to walk on her own.
They dragged her back against the wall, holding her still as more men entered the room, dragging their own victim between them. They threw him down on the ground, one of the goons delivering a petulant kick to the rotund older man. "What the hell is the meaning of this?" he demanded, struggling to his feet, his movement hampered by the cuffs securing his wrists in front of him.
"You've been looking for Captain Carter. Here she is," Samuels said, strolling into the room.
Hammond turned his head, looking at her for the first time. "Captain?" He stepped towards her, his brows knitted with concern. She slunk back, afraid to speak, afraid of what they'd do. Samuels didn't like it when she talked. That was his rule.
Hammond spun back to face Samuels. "What have you done to her? Why isn't she in the hospital?"
"She's receiving the finest care here," Samuels said. "Aren't you Captain Carter?"
Sam looked down, unable to meet his eyes. He didn't like that either. Didn't like it when she looked at him.
"What kind of game are you playing, MAJOR?" Hammond asked, deliberately accentuating the man's rank.
"You'll find that those stars you're so proud of are rather useless here," Samuels said. In a flash, he pulled his sidearm and fired twice, the loud reports echoing painfully off the cement walls.
Sam watched in horror as Hammond stumbled, staring dumbly down at the blossoming blood as it painted his once white shirt a shiny red. Gasping in shock, his knees gave away and he fell hard to the floor, groaning softly.
Samuels stalked past him and grabbed Sam's arm, pulling her from her escorts and pushing her to her knees beside Hammond. "Maybe this will motivate you," he said, tossing the healing stone so that it landed on Hammond's chest.
Sam slowly reached out and picked it up, her hands shaking so hard that she nearly dropped the stone. She couldn't. She'd never been able to make it work. That was why Samuels hated her so much. She could never do what he wanted her to do.
Hearing Hammond's gurgly breathing, she looked down at him, his frightened sad gaze making her sick to her stomach. She slowly shook her head, watching as the blood spread, streaming down his side to pool on the floor. "I can't," she whispered, looking up at Samuels.
"Excuse me?"
"I..." She held up the stone, shaking her head. "I...it won't work."
"That's because you won't make it work."
"No."
"Yes!" he insisted. He grabbed her hair and pushed her head down, forcing her to look at Hammond. The man's face was a sickly grey white and his lips were ringed with blue.
"You did this," Samuels yelled. "You killed him. YOU did this." He pushed her harder, forcing her to lay over the dying man. "His blood is on your hands," he said.
Staring at the dying man in front of her, Sam was barely aware of Samuels and his men retreating from the room, leaving her alone with the corpse of her godfather.
Sam jerked awake, her heart pounding in her chest. She glanced around and remembered where she was. Looking quickly at her companions, she was relieved to find both of them still asleep, Jack sprawled in his rocking chair and Kevin lying across one of the benches.
All three of them were gathered around the fire, soaking up its warmth, replete after a filling if simple meal of a stew, cobbled together from salted meat and some roots they'd found in Kendra's cellar.
Her nerves still jangled from the nightmare, Sam carefully got to her feet, silently cursing the tangling skirts of the dress she was wearing. She padded over to the door, glancing back at her companions before she opened it, wincing when the lock clicked.
Making sure that Jack and Kevin were still asleep, Sam slipped outside pulling the door shut behind her. Alone in the quiet of the night, she leaned against the walls of the house, wrapping her arms across her middle. A shiver raced up her spine and she felt tears prick at her eyes. She could still see it, still see him lying on the floor, silently begging her to help him, to save him.
The only thing he'd ever asked of her and she couldn't do it. She couldn't help him. She was weak, too weak and he'd died because of her. A branch snapped and her eyes shot open, her heart lurching. She scanned the trees at the edge of the clearing, searching for some movement. She heard another sound and she edged towards the door, retreating back inside as quickly and quietly as she could.
Latching the door she hurried over to Kevin, shaking him awake. "Wha-" He blinked sleepily.
"Someone is out there."
Instantly awake, he rolled off the bench, reaching for the gun lying on the table.
"Colonel?" Kevin woke Jack. "We got company."
"What?" Jack asked, pushing himself out of the chair. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. Sam just said that someone's out there."
Jack looked at her and Sam was afraid that he'd discount her report. "With any luck, it's Daniel and Teal'c," he said, lurching over to join Kevin at the door. Sam hung back a bit, aware that Kevin was the only one of them that had a weapon.
"We didn't arrange any sort of code word did we?" Kevin asked.
"Daniel's idea of a code word is Open Sesame," Jack said. Kevin frowned at him. "A trait I'm fairly certain is common across the realities."
"Yeah well, a yard light would do wonders about now," Kevin groused.
"Wait for them to come close," Jack said.
"And if they don't?"
"They will. We're the only thing around. Even if they don't see the windows, they'll smell the fire."
Sam edged towards the window, careful not to stand in front of it. She looked out into the darkness, straining her eyes to see something. For a minute she doubted what she'd heard. Maybe it'd just been an animal, a deer or something moving in the brush. Two figures melted out of the shadows, walking slowly towards the house. "It's them," Kevin said, shoving the handgun into the back of his borrowed trousers before opening the door.
"'Bout time you guys got here," he said.
"Look what the cat dragged in," Jack said.
"I notice how you guys met us half way," Daniel said, staggering a bit as he approached the house.
"We had a little trouble on the way out," Kevin said, moving aside to let Teal'c and Daniel into the small house. "The colonel got caught in the leg."
"Are you ok?" Daniel asked.
"I'll live," Jack dismissed. "How about you two?"
"We are well," Teal'c said, sinking down onto one of the benches.
"Long walk, great scenery. Not one I'm willing to repeat though." Daniel sat down too, sighing as he stretched out his legs. Sam busied herself, retrieving the bucket that held their fresh water. She scooped out two servings, using some drinking horns they'd found on the shelves. Daniel and Teal'c nodded their thanks, drinking deeply while Kevin retrieved the pot of stew they'd left by the fire.
He scooped up two bowls full and set them in front of the two travelers, both of whom started to eat greedily. "Nice clothes, by the way," Daniel said after a few minutes and half a bowl of stew.
Jack shrugged. "Better than what we had."
"We found some homemade soap," Kevin said. "There's a stream about a hundred yards to the east. Cold as hell but it's better than being dirty."
"And a razor too, I see," Daniel observed. During their afternoon, both Jack and Kevin had availed themselves of the meager amenities of the house, basic grooming supplies among them. While they'd splashed around in the creek, Sam had taken advantage of having the house to herself, settling for a sponge bath and change of clothes borrowed from those found upstairs.
Unfortunately, Kendra didn't seem to share Gairwyn's preference for trousers so she'd been limited to the woman's dresses which, even though they were not her style, were much better than the dirty and torn sweats she'd worn for the past few days.
"Lorne can take you there in the morning," Jack said.
Daniel nodded, finishing off the bowl of stew. "What do we do now?"
Jack shrugged. "We can probably hang here for a while. At least until Kendra and her family return to evict us."
Daniel looked at Teal'c. "I don't think that will be happening."
"Why?" Lorne asked.
"On our journey here, we discovered a cemetery," Teal'c said. "One of the graves there was marked with the symbols of Kendra's name."
"She's dead?"
Daniel nodded. "Looks that way."
"Damn," Jack cursed. "I wonder how it happened?"
"There could be any number of disease or accidents," Daniel said. "It's amazingly easy to die."
"Well, if we're gonna be here for a while, we're gonna need some supplies," Jack said, looking around. "Livestock, something more substantial to live on than salted meat and carrots."
"The purchase of such items will require something to barter," Teal'c said.
"Sam said that there was a village about twenty clicks away," Kevin said.
Jack looked at her. "Yeah, there is. We never made it there though."
"It'll be our best source for supplies," Daniel said.
Jack nodded. "There's enough here to tide us over for a few days. We'll rest, chill out. It's gonna be a hell of a long walk." He sighed. "Let's settle in for the night. Tomorrow, Daniel, you and Teal'c can get cleaned up. We'll inventory our supplies, take a look at the outbuildings, see what we need to put on the shopping list."
"And see if there's anything in the barn that we can trade," Lorne said.
"Ok," Jack lurched to his feet, hiding a grimace when he put his weight on his leg. "Let's call lights out, kids. We'll deal with the rest of this in the morning."
/////
"You know, this place is pretty well stocked," Kevin said, looking over his shoulder at Jack. "Plow, hoe, rakes, scythes. All the implements are here for a farm."
Jack nodded. "I'm guessing that flat area down by the creek was the field."
Kevin nodded. "Yeah. It's fallow, but it hasn't been for long. Probably less than a year."
"How do you get that?"
Kevin looked at him. "Huh?"
"How do you know it hasn't been fallow for years?"
"No trees," he said simply. "Any open field is prime space for treelings. I didn't look close, but if there are any baby trees there, they're little ones. Definitely not more than a year old."
Jack nodded. "That makes sense."
"You know, sir, presuming that a tractor is out of the question, I think all we'd need is a horse and some seed and we could be in business."
Jack cocked his head and shot Kevin a look. "You're a farmer?"
Kevin chuckled. "Not quite. But my uncle was. I spent a few summers at his farm. I'm no pro, but I bet I remember enough to fake it."
"Ok. So we'll add that to our shopping list. Which is getting pretty damn long. And we seem to be a bit short of cash."
"Well, there are these," Kevin said, gesturing towards a small pile of tanned furs in the corner. "They gotta be worth something."
"Seed and food stuff, sure. A horse?" Jack asked skeptically.
Kevin shrugged. "We don't have to stay here. We could just get some supplies, rest up for a few months, maybe take a couple trips through the gate to find somewhere else."
In truth, Kevin wasn't sure what he wanted to do. In one way, staying here sounded appealing. Living the simple life, little farming, little hunting. On the other hand, he knew it wasn't nearly as idyllic as it sounded. Survival on a planet stuck in the eighteenth century was more than a full time job. And the house, while a decent shelter, was definitely not meant to shelter five adults.
"Yeah," Jack said distractedly, frowning as he limped towards the door.
"Sir?" Kevin asked, puzzled by Jack's behavior.
"Where the hell is she going?"
Kevin moved to look out the door, following Jack's gaze. He saw Sam making her way up the trail that led deeper into the forest. "Call of nature?"
Jack shook his head. "Wrong way. Come on."
He walked out of the barn, following Sam as she made her way deeper and deeper into the forest. Knowing that they'd probably not get an answer from her, Kevin stayed quiet, dividing his attention between Sam and Jack.
He knew that Daniel and Teal'c were down at the creek cleaning up, so he doubted that she was trying to join them. She walked for quite a ways and Kevin could see that the hike was getting harder for Jack with each step. Just as he was ready to suggest that Jack turn back, the trail opened up into a large clearing. Kevin stopped, raising his eyes to look around. He saw antlers strung up in the trees, some wrapped and adorned with strips of leather and fur. Small rings and mounds of stone delineated each grave, marking it clearly. He saw Sam walk slowly through the cemetery, her hands reaching out to trail her fingers over the tombstones. Some of them were plain, consisting of nothing but what Kevin guessed to be the name of the deceased. Others were decorated, with flowers and other items that looked like personal possessions.
He saw Sam stop by one of the graves. She knelt down beside it and reached out her hand, tracing the name carved into the flat stone. Jack limped past him and made his way over to Sam. Sensing that this was something best left between friends, Kevin hung back, keeping his distance.
/////
Jack knelt beside Sam, grunting when the maneuver pulled on his injury. She ignored him, keeping her gaze riveted on the head stone. "She was a good person," he said.
She kept ignoring him and Jack sighed, closing his eyes for a second. It hadn't escaped his notice that the only person she really talked to was Lorne. Even Daniel and Teal'c were often the recipients of silence and a quickly smothered glare.
"I'm sorry," he said, saying it as much for his benefit as for hers. "I never should have listened to Doc. Never should have let them put you in that place." She still refused to look at him, but he could hear the pace of her breathing change. She might not look at him, but she was hearing him. "I swear to you, if I'd have known, I'd have stormed that place and busted you out myself." She closed her eyes and pulled her arm back towards her, laying her hands in her lap. "I can't change what they did." He reached out and took her hand, wrapping her cold fingers in his. "They will NEVER get their hands on you again. I swear," he said, emphasizing his words with a squeeze. She finally looked over at him, her gaze wary. "I will kill you myself before I let them use you again."
She stared at him for a second and then looked down, nodding slightly. "I'm gonna go back. It'd probably be best if you weren't here alone. Not until we get a better idea of the lay of the land. You care if Lorne stays?"
She shook her head and Jack released her hand, getting to his feet. He limped back towards Lorne, grateful that the man had kept his distance. "I'm gonna go back," Jack said. "Why don't you wait for her?" Kevin raised his eyebrows. "I'm not crazy about anyone being out here alone, especially her."
"Sir?"
"Women's lib is not big on the galactic scale. Used to drive her batty. Anyway, let's not press our luck. Something tells me that this place isn't as abandoned as we think it is."
Kevin nodded, leaning against a tree trunk. "Sir?" he said, straightening back up.
Jack turned to see Sam walking towards them. He caught sight of something in her hands and squinted, waiting until he was closer to know for sure. She met his gaze defiantly, her fingers curling around the ribbon device in her hands.
"Where the hell did she get that?" Kevin asked.
"It was on Kendra's grave," Jack said, recalling seeing the small tray of possessions when he'd talked to Sam.
She stopped and glared, silently challenging him to try and take it from her. Jack shrugged. "Just don't let the locals see you practicing with that thing. We're trying to make a good impression here." She quirked her head and walked past him, sliding the device onto her hand as she walked.
"Colonel?" Lorne asked.
Jack shrugged. "We need weapons." Jack walked past him, following Sam back towards the house.
"Yeah, we do. But I was thinking guns. Rifles. Explosives." Jack grinned, listening to Kevin's rant fade as he left the man behind. Were things perfect? No. But they were definitely looking up.
/////
Daniel walked up the path, shivering slightly when they passed through the shadows. Even though he and Teal'c had hiked a bit downstream and found a nice wide, sun dappled stretch of water, it still didn't change the fact that the water was bone chillingly cold.
He heard a rustle in the underbrush and stopped, looking back at Teal'c. "They are large herbivores," the Jaffa rumbled. "Should we be able to fashion a projectile weapon of some sort, we should be able to hunt one quite easily."
"All we need is a good way to preserve the meat," Daniel said. "Something better than salting it."
"Drey'ac was well versed at drying it," Teal'c said. "She possessed a unique form of spices that was quite good."
"Think you can replicate it?"
"It is possible. I rarely participated in food preparation, however I did often obtain the ingredients at the market."
Daniel nodded. "That'll be good. You know, we could also see if we can smoke it. I wonder if Jack knows how to smoke meat?" Daniel stepped out into the clearing, stopping when he caught sight of the house. "Teal'c, didn't you close the door?"
"I did."
Daniel nodded towards the open front door. "You think Jack and Kevin are done in the barn?"
"I think it is most likely that Captain Carter is attempting to further dispel the air of disuse that pervades that dwelling," Teal'c said, giving him a look.
He walked towards the house, leaving Daniel behind. Daniel shook his head and followed, shifting his dirty clothes from one hand to the other. "Teal'c, you think we could go find some more of those nuts?" he called after him. "They might go good with dinner. I'm not sure about that fungus stuff though, although Jack might like it. He's got this thing for weird stuff on his pizza."
A figure appeared in the doorway and Teal'c stopped in his tracks. Daniel joined him, staring at the person. "Daniel Jackson."
"Yeah?"
"It appears that my assessment was incorrect. Captain Carter is not within the dwelling."
"It happens to the best of us," Daniel said, patting Teal'c's shoulder. "Gairwyn!" he called out, raising his hand to wave.
"Doctor Jackson, Teal'c. Hail!" Gairwyn walked towards them, her cape trailing behind her. She was dressed very similar to the last time they'd met. Light colored leggings tucked into high, soft leather boots and a dark tunic, tied at the waist with a thin leather thong. "I was wondering who was seeking refuge here."
"Yeah, sorry about that. We, aah, we needed shelter and...We found the grave," he said, lowering his voice as she got closer.
"Yes," she nodded. "I did not think that you would ever return. We sent the box through the portal many moons ago."
Daniel looked over to Teal'c and sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "The aah, the SGC is different now. New leader, new rules." He knew that it sounded lame and weak but he didn't know what else to tell her.
"So you did not come in response to our message?" she asked.
"No, we didn't. Why did you send the box?" he asked. "Did Thor come?"
Gairwyn smiled sadly. "I wish that Thor had returned. Perhaps then my family would still be alive." Daniel frowned. "The Etins have returned."
/////
"What happened?" Jack asked as Daniel finished serving Gairwyn a horn of water.
"Many months ago, here was fire in the heavens. Five or six bursts in the sky in a straight line. But no sound. Then we heard an evil thunder and a great metal point came through the clouds..."
"That sounds like a Hatak ship," Daniel said.
"A pyramid ship," Teal'c translated.
Gairwyn nodded. "It landed near our village." She looked down. "Most of them are dead, the rest enslaved."
"How did you escape?" Kevin asked.
"Kendra and I were gathering herbs. We eluded them for quite some time, however, not long enough." She sighed. "They captured her family. She, and they, were killed as an example to any who would resist."
"How come we haven't seen any signs of Jaffa?" Jack asked, not doubting the woman's words, but also feeling the need to confirm them. Even though they'd only been on the planet for a few days, he still had yet to see signs of anything goa'uldish.
"And why didn't they destroy the hammer?" Lorne asked. "I would imagine the hike's a bit of a bitch."
"It is said that Heru'ur wishes to keep this planet a secret. He does not wish for Thor to return, so he has not destroyed the hammer. His men do not use the Portal, they use their ships."
Daniel shrugged. "Makes sense. I mean, for all we know, there's some sort of alarm on it or something."
"So, this is another difference?" Kevin asked.
"What?"
"Cimmeria didn't get invaded in your reality?" he clarified.
"Oh." Daniel looked down. "Actually it did."
Jack raised his eyebrows, surprised at the admission. "It did?"
"Yeah, Heru'ur came, he blasted the Hammer and-"
"Then WHY did you suggest we come here?" Jack demanded, frustrated with the man.
"I forgot," Daniel said sheepishly. "I just...we came, we got rid of the goa'uld, I thought it'd been the same here," he said with a shrug. "I should have realized that it was SG-1 that got rid of Heru'ur, and since SG-1 hasn't been here since..."
"I do not understand. The Etins are here. They have not been, how do you say it, gotten rid of," Gairwyn said, interrupting his ramble.
"It's complicated," Daniel said. "I'm not the Daniel Jackson that you met a couple of years ago. I'm from an alternate reality, a place that's very much like this one, but obviously not exactly alike. If it was exactly alike, then Thor would have already come and-"
"Daniel!"
"Thor?" Gairwyn looked around the table. "You know how to summon Thor?"
Jack looked at Daniel, biting his tongue to avoid reaming him out in front of everyone. "Daniel," he said carefully. "A moment?" Jack got to his feet and limped to the door, opening it to slip outside. He waited until Daniel joined him, then he closed the door, giving them some privacy. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I know how to summon Thor," Daniel said.
"So?"
"So, we can go, get Thor's help and let the Cimmerians get back to their lives."
"Or we can get to the gate, hopefully avoiding any Jaffa patrols and get the hell out of Dodge before we find ourselves in another prison," Jack said.
"Jack, we haven't seen any signs of Jaffa."
"You mean other than the cemetery full of corpses," Jack said.
"We owe it to them. We broke the Hammer to get Teal'c out."
"We?" Jack asked pointedly.
"Yeah, we," Daniel shot back. "I seem to recall you tossing me the staff weapon to disable the Hammer. Despite the fact that it was the only way we knew of to get a goa'uld out of a host. Something I was kind of interested in," he said, letting his annoyance show.
"Teal'c was there. Shau'ri was and IS somewhere out in the expanses of the universe," Jack said, reliving the old argument. "I was not going to let one man die on the basis of a 'what if'."
"And I agree with you. But that still doesn't change that the goa'uld invading this planet is our fault."
"How is it our fault?" Jack asked. "You heard her, they didn't come through the gate, they landed in ships."
"It still doesn't change the fact that I know a way to call Thor. Last time, he came and he fixed things, this time he'll do the same."
"Presuming this isn't another little difference," Jack snapped. "What if there's no Thor?"
"Then I'll have wasted a couple of hours and we'll just make our way to the gate and find somewhere else to live," Daniel said, squaring his jaw. Technically, this Daniel wasn't 'his' Daniel. But the similarities were unmistakable. "Or we'll just apologize to Gairwyn. I'm sure she'll understand why we won't help. It is every man for himself after all."
Jack glared at Daniel. "Dare I remind you that we're not exactly equipped to take on a group of Jaffa?"
"We've done it before."
"What we had before was a team. Not a green captain, a civilian from another universe, me with a hole in my leg and don't even get me started on Carter."
"All of whom probably just heard everything you said," Daniel said, gesturing at the door. "You don't have to go. None of you have to go. I'll get some directions from Gairwyn and I'll go myself. I know all the answers to the riddles. If I'm not back in twenty-four hours, you can bug out."
"Daniel-"
"I'll go with him." Jack turned to see Lorne standing in the doorway, flanked by Carter, Gairwyn and Teal'c. "I may not have much experience going through the gate, but know how to walk in the woods." His tone was even, but Jack could see the hurt in his eyes and knew that Daniel was right, they'd heard every word.
"Given a year long occupation with limited resistance, it is likely that Heru'ur's Jaffa are complacent. We should be able to infiltrate their compound with little difficulty," Teal'c said.
"Infiltrate their compound?" Jack asked. "When the hell did this happen?"
"They have her son," Sam said softly.
Jack raised his eyebrows, looking at Gairwyn. "My family was in the village when the Etins came. My husband and his brothers died sending the box to your world. Gunnar is the last of my kin."
"The five of us can't liberate a whole city," Jack said.
"It's one kid," Lorne said.
"As soon as I get to the Hall of Mjollnir and summon Thor, we won't have to do any liberating," Daniel said. "The Asgard will do it for us."
"I know the place of which you speak," Gairwyn said.
Daniel nodded. "I know. You showed it to me last time." She frowned at him and Daniel turned to face Jack. "I'm going," he declared.
"Me too," Lorne said, stepping out of the doorway to join Daniel.
"I shall accompany Gairwyn back to the village," Teal'c said. Sam moved to join him, her gaze defiant.
Jack stared at them for a few seconds before closing his eyes and sighing. "When the HELL did this become a committee?" he asked, not expecting an answer.
/////
Kevin followed Daniel through the woods, resisting the urge to ask - again - if he actually knew where he was going. They'd been walking for the past day and a half, splitting off from the others early the previous morning.
"Daniel-"
"I know," he said, stopping and turning back to face Kevin. "Look, it was over a year ago and I was following Sam and Gairwyn," he excused.
"I know," Kevin said, aware that his frustration was a bit misplaced. It wasn't like Daniel was deliberately leading him astray. "Let's take five," he said, gesturing towards a fallen log. The pair of sat down, Kevin pulling his canteen from the pack and taking a drink. "Does any of this look familiar?" He asked, handing the canteen to Daniel.
Daniel shook his head, taking the canteen. "Maybe. I think I recognize that tree." He pointed off to the distance.
"The tree?"
"Half of it's dead. That looks familiar."
Kevin nodded. "Does it fit in with Gairwyn's directions?"
"I think so."
Kevin fell silent, taking the canteen back and putting the top back on. He set it at his feet and reached into his pack, pulling out a small bag of jerky. He tore off some of the dried meat and handed it to Daniel who took it gratefully. "All we got to do is get close, right?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, we're looking for a hall. So we just have to find a building and-" Daniel sighed and Kevin stared, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. "We ARE looking for a hall, aren't we?"
"Kinda."
"Kinda?"
"It's not really a building. It's more of a...pillar."
"A pillar?"
Daniel nodded. "About six-seven feet tall. Covered with carvings. Big red stone in the middle."
"A stone?" Kevin asked skeptically, regretting not pressing for more details before agreeing to this trek.
"It's kinda like a front door. You touch the stone and it transports you down into the hall. Then you pass some tests and Thor appears and...the rest is history," he finished, pasting a confident grin on his face.
Kevin chewed on the jerky, staring off into the distance. In one way, their mission had sounded a lot easier than the one undertaken by O'Neill and the others, returning to the village to retrieve Gunnar, but in another, he seriously wondered if they were on little more than a wild goose chase.
Searching for some mythical doorway to make an intergalactic phone call to get alien help? It sounded more like a really bad plot of an equally bad Sci-Fi movie.
"What exactly are these tests..." Kevin's voice trailed off as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He looked around, searching for some sign of danger.
"You know, in hindsight, they're not all that tough but at the time I was really glad that Sam was-"
Listening to his instincts, Kevin reached over and grabbed Daniel, one hand smothering his surprised out cry while the other pushed him to the far side of the log. Kevin used his own body weight to hold Daniel down, the hand over his mouth tightening as the voices grew closer.
Feeling Daniel relax, Kevin looked down and slowly removed his hand as he saw comprehension in Daniel's eyes. They laid there for several minutes, both barely breathing as the voices got closer and closer, then faded.
Hoping that they were far enough away, and intensely curious, Kevin carefully raised his head, peering over the top of the log. He felt Daniel ease himself out from under him and Kevin moved to allow him to sit up. "Were those what I think they were?" Kevin asked, careful to keep his voice low.
Daniel stared at him for a few seconds, frowning furiously. "That's right, first mission," he muttered. "Yeah, those were Jaffa."
"Cheery fellows."
"Oh yeah, they're a real bundle of laughs," Daniel said.
"Ok, so maybe we should lose the chatter and-"
Kevin felt an odd blast of heat blaze by him bare milliseconds before he heard a strange whumping sound. Before he could truly comprehend what had happened, Daniel's fingers dug into his shirt and pulled him forward, barely giving Kevin enough time to snag the pack. They dashed through the woods, zigging and zagging in a pathetic attempt to keep a tree, any tree, between them and the Jaffa. More staff blasts tore past them, scorching the trees that they hit.
His heart pounding in his chest, Kevin tried to run faster, forcing every ounce of strength he possessed into his legs. His eyes barely had time to focus on the various branches and plants they ran around and through as he heard the sounds of pursuit growing closer. Just as he felt Daniel pull him to the left, his eyes caught sight of something and Kevin grabbed for his hand, pulling Daniel to the right.
He skidded to a stop, his feet sliding in the muddy dirt and he fell, pulling Daniel down with him. "This it?"
A staff blast sizzled over his head and Kevin ducked, burying his face in the leaves. Daniel didn't answer him but dove for the obelisk, frantically throwing out his hand and slamming it against the red crystal with bruising force.
Just when he was convinced that they'd made a mistake, a brilliant flash of light washed over them and they were plunged into darkness.
/////
Jack groaned, wincing as he slid off the horse. Gairwyn dismounted behind him, chuckling softly. He looked over and was mildly relieved to see Teal'c and Carter in the same straits.
"Have I ever mentioned that I hate horses," Jack groused, walking slowly in a circle to loosen up his tight muscles.
"Many times, O'Neill," Teal'c said, affecting a tone of long suffering tolerance.
"I am sorry, this is the only form of transportation that we possess," Gairwyn apologized. "A cart or wagon would have taken too long and drawn too much attention."
Jack shook his head, smiling at her. "It's ok," he said, holding up his hand. "It's nothing personal. And you're right, we needed speed."
"How much further must we travel until we reach the village?" Teal'c asked.
"We're here," she said. "This is why we traveled at such a pace. I hoped to arrive here by nightfall."
They'd left Kendra's house at first light after a short hike the day before to a farm five miles down the road to borrow some horses. Fortunately, after Kendra and her family had been killed, Bader took in her live stock, including her draft horse. Which was what Sam and Teal'c had ridden, the sturdy animal up to carrying the bulky burden of a Jaffa and a human while Jack had ridden pillion on Gairwyn's horse.
They'd ridden pretty much non-stop, taking only short breaks for lunch and to answer the call of nature.
"How big is the village?" Jack asked.
"See for yourself," she said, pointing towards a large outcropping just beyond the treeline.
Jack nodded and edged towards it, motioning for Gairwyn to keep low. Fortunately, both Sam and Teal'c did the same, both crawling to the edge. Below Jack could see a large group of dwellings, most no larger than Kendra's, especially along the outskirts. In the center he could see several blocks of stone buildings, a few of which stood a full two stories tall.
There was one wide avenue down the middle of the village and the rest of the roadways looked narrow and twisting, as if they'd originally been nothing more than the space between the homes. A space that grew into roads as the village expanded.
People milled around, mostly women and children from what Jack could see. But he didn't think that there were enough people. Not considering the number of buildings. "The men toil all day in the mines," Gairwyn said. "The healthier women as well. Only those that are old or caring for younglings are exempt."
"And your kid?"
"He stays with my sister. She cares for many children now." Jack frowned. "It used to be that orphans were rare. Now they are all too common," she said sadly.
"And she's not gonna mind us taking only Gunnar?"
"She will not. I only had her care for him while I was gone."
"How shall we attain access to this village?" Teal'c asked.
"You shall not escape notice. The village is too small. I shall go down and retrieve my son."
Jack nodded. He didn't like the idea of putting Gairwyn in danger, but really didn't see another way. She was the only one of them that could make it into the village without being noticed. "OK," he said. "When are you going to go?"
"I shall go now. We will leave the horses where she can find them and borrow two of hers. I will then bring Gunnar here and we can go back to Kendra's to await Thor's arrival."
"We will not be able to travel far in the dark," Teal'c said.
"We will not need to," Gairwyn said. "Many of the Jaffa are afraid of the woods and do not often venture into them. There is a cave a short distance in that direction, we can shelter there for the night and leave at first light. We will not need to travel as quickly on our return."
Jack nodded, refraining from telling her that he personally felt the more distance between them and the village the better. Then again, they wouldn't be accomplishing much if they tripped and broke something in the dark. He watched as Gairwyn took the reins of the two horses and led them down into the village.
Teal'c settled down by one of the trees, closing his eyes as he settled into kelnoreem. Jack watched until Gairwyn entered the village then he crawled back from the edge, finding his own tree trunk to lean against.
"You are eighteen shades of stupid," he muttered under his breath, stretching out his injured leg. While riding was certainly better than walking, his leg still hurt like hell. Given the nature of the puncture wound, he was pretty sure that it was healing poorly, the skin knitting on top while an infection remained within. As soon as they got back he needed to examine it. Maybe even cut it open and make sure that there were no nasty surprises in there.
A pebble skittered against his foot and Jack looked up to see Carter beckoning him. He pushed his own worries to the side and crawled back to the over hang. "What's up?" he whispered.
She pointed down and Jack squinted, wishing that he had his binoculars. There were Jaffa marching through the village, joined by others that were searching the houses. As Jack watched, the villagers were rounded up and pulled from their homes. Some were released, thrown to their knees in the dirt, but most were not.
They were marched to the edge of the village, manacles and chains quickly quelling any resistance. "Gairwyn," Sam whispered. Jack changed his focus and spotted the woman as she was being chained with the rest.
Once the raid was complete, the Jaffa marched their captives out of the village, directing them towards the hatak ship in the distance, parked over what Jack could only guess was the mines.
"One of these days, something is going to go right," he muttered, sincerely hoping that Daniel and Lorne were having better luck.
/////
Daniel stood in the pitch darkness for a few seconds before the total lack of visual cues led to him losing his balance and he fell to the floor. Fortunately for him, he had a soft landing. Unfortunately for Kevin, he was the source of that soft landing.
"God!" Kevin groaned, pushing Daniel off him.
"I'm sorry," Daniel apologized, trying to get away from Kevin without doing him further injury. His fingers encountered the canvas bag and he pulled it to his lap, digging inside for a flashlight.
"That's ok. I wasn't planning to have kids anytime soon," Kevin said. Daniel could hear the rustle of the man sitting up as his fingers curled over the flashlight. He pointed it towards the ceiling and snapped it on, still wincing from the bright light. "Tell me this is normal," Kevin requested, making no move to get up.
"This is what happened last time."
"Cool, so now what?"
As he spoke, a red stone on the far wall flared into life and a familiar - to Daniel anyway - hologram illuminated the room.
I am Thor. You are brave to come before me. However, only the worthy may witness Thor's might.
"What? Do we need credentials?" Kevin asked. "I hate to break it to you but I left my ID in my other pants."
The room began to shake and Daniel stepped back, memories of a year before washing over him. When he opened his eyes, he could see that most of the floor had fallen away, leaving only a narrow beam in the middle. He looked down and, despite knowing that it was all an illusion, felt his stomach drop.
You have shown true selflessness and bravery. Willingness to sacrifice oneself to save another is honorable trait. I salute you.
Remembering that Thor had some way to monitor them, Daniel made a snap decision. He was not going to tell Kevin that it was all a hologram, that one slip did not mean that they'd fall to their deaths. "It's a test," he said, inserting confidence into his voice.
"A test?"
Daniel nodded. "We need to get to the other side."
"Of course we do," Kevin said sarcastically.
"Look, it's not as bad as it looks. I'll even go first."
"Be my guest," Kevin said, making a sweeping gesture with his hand.
Daniel took a deep, steadying breath and moved to the edge of the ledge. He focused on the narrow path before him and stepped out onto it, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. It took him only seconds to make it to the other side and he took a moment, enjoying the sense of accomplishment. He hadn't done this last time. Sam was the only one to make it across.
Daniel turned back to Kevin, waving his arm. "It's not that bad," he said, smiling.
"Aahah. Says the person who's done this before."
"It's just like basic training," Daniel encouraged. "Just without a net."
Kevin glared then nodded skeptically and positioned himself in front of the beam. He stepped out onto it and Daniel watched, carefully holding the flashlight to keep it shining on the narrow beam.
It took Kevin only seconds as well to navigate the beam and soon he stood beside Daniel, his breathing still a bit fast from what Daniel knew to be the adrenaline, not the exertion. "Now what?"
Daniel waited, hoping that in one of them not falling they hadn't messed up the routine. He was rewarded in just a few seconds when the hologram appeared again.
Now you must add wisdom to courage. Solve the riddle of the runes and I will show you my true might
A light flashed from the walls again and Daniel hid a grin. This was going to be easier than he thought.
/////
"You want to do what!" O'Neill demanded, barely remembering to keep his voice down.
"We shall go liberate Gairwyn," Teal'c said.
"You expect the three of us to take on a platoon of Jaffa?" O'Neill asked.
"No," Sam said, her quiet voice silencing his protests more than any amount of yelling.
"We shall waylay one of Heru'ur's Jaffa and I shall adopt his armor. I will then escort Captain Carter to the pens holding the prisoners and we shall liberate Gairwyn and return her here," Teal'c elaborated.
"What's Carter got to do with it? Why can't you just go down and get Gairwyn?"
"A Jaffa removing a slave will be questioned. However one delivering a prisoner will not."
"If it's a slave you need, take me," O'Neill said.
Sam shook her head. "No one will notice a woman," she said. She held up her left arm and O'Neill caught a glimpse of the ribbon weapon wrapped around her wrist. "And I will not be unarmed."
"Captain Carter is correct. A female is beneath the notice of most Jaffa. They will not see her as the threat that they will see a healthy male." Teal'c looked at him. "They are also likely to question how a worker has escaped their notice."
"What about the kid?"
"We shall retrieve the child and the horses. That task will be easier with the Jaffa distracted by the escape of their newly gathered slaves."
"And do I get to do anything in this grand plan of yours?" O'Neill asked.
Teal'c looked to Sam, then back to O'Neill. "We shall depend upon you to provide covering fire should we run into an issue. And if we do not return, then we ask that you find and liberate Gairwyn's son and return with her to Kendra's domicile."
O'Neill sighed and plopped down on a nearby rock, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're gonna do it whether I want you to or not," he said.
Captain Carter looked at him and Teal'c quirked his head, unable to deny the man's words. "We shall make every effort to return by dawn." He walked past O'Neill and saw Captain Carter fall into step behind him. The two of them slowly made their way down the out cropping and towards the slave pens.
Teal'c led her for several minutes, moving further and further into the trees. Once they were a decent distance from the village he motioned for her to seek shelter off the trail. "I shall go on alone." She frowned at him. "It is best if I obtain the armor on my own. I shall return momentarily."
She nodded and Teal'c slipped away, getting closer to the slave pens. He was hoping to find a Jaffa alone, perhaps lulled into a false sense of security by the longevity of their occupation.
It took him only moments to find his prey, a young Jaffa apparently seeking the cover of the woods to relieve himself. He was quickly dispatched and stripped, his body hidden beneath a few boughs of a small tree.
Teal'c returned to where he'd left Captain Carter, belatedly remembering that he had not established a code word with the woman, something to identify himself as friend, not enemy. "Captain Carter?" he called out softly, tensing when a nearby bush rustled.
A familiar pale face appeared and Teal'c relaxed, grateful that she had not come to harm. "The slaves are lightly guarded," he said. "They do not expect a rebellion." She nodded and Teal'c saw uncertainly in her eyes. "I believe that I can complete our plan without your assistance," he offered.
"No," she said softly. "I can do this."
Teal'c nodded. "The best way to explain your late arrival is perhaps the least pleasant. You ran from the culling and I pursued you. To make this subterfuge believable, I will be forced to treat you roughly," he warned.
"I know."
"Very well." He reached down and dug his fingers into the dirt, bringing up a handful. He smeared it on her skirt and arm. She pushed him away and bent down herself, picking up some dirt to smear across her face and into her hair.
After a few seconds she looked up, silently requesting his endorsement. He nodded and grabbed her right arm. "You must keep your other arm hidden," he warned. "You must also maintain your distance from the Jaffa lest they sense the remnants of Jolinar within you." She nodded and Teal'c turned on his heel, dragging her unmercifully through the underbrush.
He did not enjoy abusing his friend in such a manner, however he knew that the success of their mission depended upon no one questioning them. As they got within sight of the pens, Teal'c activated his helmet, shielding his face from view.
Only two sentries were stationed and neither paid them much attention as he dragged Captain Carter to the pen. She struggled convincingly, once even losing her footing and falling to her knees. He ignored her cries and threw her to the ground, delivering a carefully pulled kick that was little more than a tap on her side.
He manipulated the catch on the gate and grabbed the heck of the cape she was wearing, pulling her to her feet and tossing her into the pen. "No one runs from service to their lord," he intoned, pitching his voice so that the two sentries could hear.
Affecting a façade of annoyance, he stalked back towards the encampment, hoping that no one would question his presence. Once he was out of sight of the sentries, he slipped into the trees, lowering the helmet to give himself better vision and hearing.
He silently made his way back to the slave pens, maneuvering himself until he was directly behind the Jaffa that was closest to the pen. Fortunately, neither of them seemed interested in the slaves and Teal'c waited, ready to respond to Captain Carter's sign.
He noticed her moving, making her way over to Gairwyn. She made contact and drew the woman close. They edged towards the gate and Teal'c saw Captain Carter raise her left hand, hesitating only a second before a burst of orange shot from her palm, splintering the gate.
The noise awoke the slaves and they got to their feet, standing as they looked at each other. "Free yourselves!" Gairwyn yelled, waving her arms at her kin. They surged forward and Teal'c stepped from the trees, dispatching the sentry with one shot.
He picked up the man's staff weapon and fired across the clearing, hitting the other sentry in the chest. Hearing the faint cries of alarm from the encampment, Teal'c hurried forward, directing the escapees with simple fear. They ran from him and he shepherded them away from the encampment and towards the village.
As he ran, he tore off pieces of his armor, not only to increase his speed but - hopefully - to prevent one of the villagers from mistaking him for a foe.
They ran into the village and Teal'c veered off, hiding in a small copse of trees. Once there, he hurriedly removed the last of the armor before making his way into the village. If the fates were kind, Captain Carter and Gairwyn would be waiting with horses and child in tow.
The village was oddly quiet and Teal'c altered his pace, slowing to a cautious walk. Perhaps the villagers had abandoned their homes and sought shelter in the woods? It would be a wise thing for them to do since it was inevitable that Heru'ur's Jaffa would seek vengeance upon them.
He stepped around the corner of a dwelling and stopped, staring at the horrific sight before him. The villagers were gathered in a small group, a score of armed Jaffa surrounding them, their staff weapons lowered and primed. In the middle of the Jaffa stood one in golden armor, Captain Carter held in his grasp.
"Who is this that dares to challenge me!" Heru'ur demanded, his fingers digging into Captain Carter's hair. If she answered, Teal'c could not hear it over the smothered cries and mutterings of the captives. Heru'ur threw her roughly to the ground and stepped back, his Jaffa closing ranks. "Kill them all!"
/////
Daniel dragged his finger through the sand, smiling when it suddenly stopped defying gravity and spilled out of the wall, pooling at his feet.
"Cool," Kevin said. "Now what?" Daniel turned, expecting to see Thor appear at any moment. Seconds passed, and then minutes. "I'm guessing this didn't happen last time."
"No. Last time Thor-"
There was a flash of light and a diminutive alien appeared in the corner of the room. "I am the one whom you know as Thor," he said. "I am the supreme commander of the Asgard fleet. In the ten-span since I created this world, you are the first to reach this level of contact. You have finally grown wise enough to see me in my true form."
"Yeah. Umm, hi, Thor. We've never met here, but my name is Daniel Jackson, and this is Kevin Lorne. We're both from Earth and we need your help."
"You are not from Cimmeria?"
"No," Daniel said. "We're from Earth and we sought refuge on this planet, but the goa'uld are here and they're hurting your people."
"Impossible. Cimmeria is a safe world."
"Yeah, umm, that kinda got messed up," Daniel said. "About a year ago we were here...well not quite 'we' but that's another story. Anyway, there was a Jaffa with the group and he was sent to the Hammer and to get him out it was disabled. Which is how come the goa'uld are here now, although they seem to be using ships more than the gate-"
"The Jaffa serve the goa'uld, they deserve their fate."
"Not this Jaffa. He's denounced his god and he helps the humans in their fight for freedom."
"You are of the Tau'ri?"
"Yeah, we are," Daniel answered.
"The Tau'ri once held promise, but now are little better than the goa'uld they once fought," Thor said, his voice rife with condemnation.
"Not all the Tau'ri," Daniel said. "A few very powerful ones, yes. But not all of them."
"They held him captive," Kevin said, finally finding his voice. "Beat the crap out of him. They abandoned us and left us to rot in some place called Hedantes." He stepped forward, moving in front of Daniel. "When we left, the SGC was run by an honorable man named George Hammond. We explored with respect and curiosity. We screwed up, sure, but we didn't mean to. But now apparently the place is run by a bunch of thieves and cowards but there's nothing we can really do about it. We can't go home."
Thor frowned, or at least Daniel thought it was a frown. It was kind of hard to tell. "Look, please, don't let the mistakes the people on our planet have made condemn the people of this planet. Help them, make the goa'uld go away and I promise you we'll leave. We'll go away and never come back."
There was another flash of light and Daniel stumbled, surprised not to find himself back in the forest. "Where are we?" Kevin asked.
"I'm guessing an Asgard ship," Daniel said.
"Is this a good thing?"
Daniel shrugged. "He could have dumped us back in the middle of that Jaffa patrol."
"So, now what do we do?"
Daniel shook his head. "I guess we wait." He looked at Kevin and saw the unease on the man's face. "The Asgard aren't bad aliens," he reassured. "They won't kill us or anything."
"The Asgard in YOUR universe aren't bad," Kevin said. "He sounded a little pissed to me."
"They're not vengeful," Daniel said. There was a slight jolt and another flash and Daniel found himself on what could only be the bridge of the ship. Thor stood behind a console, his spindly arms manipulating tear drop shaped stones across the smooth surface.
"There is indeed a goa'uld presence on Cimmeria," Thor said. "It is easily eradicated."
The view screen flickered to life and Daniel watched in amazement as beam after beam washed over the land, leaving no Jaffa behind. "That's incredible," Kevin said, moving up to stand beside Daniel.
The view changed from the countryside to a village and Daniel stared in horror as he watched a Jaffa throw Sam to the ground. He saw the other Jaffa raise their staff weapons, clearly intending to open fire. "Help them, please." Thor moved the stones and the beam swept over the village, taking the Jaffa with it. "Not that one!" he said, moving forward to point out Teal'c who had just stepped around the corner of a building.
Daniel turned back to look at Thor. "That's our friend. He won't hurt anyone, I promise."
Thor glared slightly but spared Teal'c, instead taking every other Jaffa from the village. Daniel watched him finish scanning the planet, the bright white beams finally fading. "You will identify your companions," Thor instructed.
"What are you going to do?" Kevin asked.
"You already know Teal'c," Daniel said, following his instincts. If Thor wanted them dead, they would be already. "Sam's there, the light haired woman." Daniel saw Sam get to her feet, Gairwyn helping her. "I don't know where Jack...there he is." Daniel watched his friend make his way down the incline, his weapon in his hand.
"Whoa! What the-" Jack exclaimed, staggering as he sought his balance.
"Hi," Daniel said, waving slightly.
"Hi," Jack answered. "Lemme guess, it worked."
"Jack, meet Thor, Thor, this is Jack O'Neill. Captain Carter and Teal'c," Daniel introduced.
Thor nodded a greeting and maneuvered the stones again, this time producing a beam that flowed over each of them in turn. "Hey!" Jack protested. "What the hell was that?"
"I merely wished to ascertain that the information relayed to me is factual," he said.
Jack turned to look at him. "Daniel?"
"Apparently, Earth has developed quite a reputation. And it's not a good one."
"Ah," Jack said. He turned to face Thor. "Look, I don't know what's going on back home. We haven't been there in over a year."
"And you are in the company of a Jaffa and a curiously unblended human." Thor directed his attention towards Sam.
"It wasn't a goa'uld," Daniel said. "The symbiote that took Sam was a Tok'ra. It died saving her life."
"Look, we're just trying to survive here," Jack said. "The only reason we came to Cimmeria is because Daniel knew that it was a safe place. I'm sorry things got messed up here. It wasn't something we meant to do. If you can just let us get to the gate, we'll go. And we won't come back."
"And the people of your planet? You will allow them to continue to steal and destroy?" Thor asked pointedly.
"They took her," Jack said, pointing at Sam. "They held her captive and forced her to use her abilities with that healing thing to cover up the fact that they're getting their own people killed. They beat the crap out of him when he wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know." He pointed at Daniel. "And they left us to rot. Whatever the hell is wrong with my planet, it's big. It's more than the five of us can fix."
"So you will allow the people of your planet to continue to steal from other races?"
"It's not everyone on our planet," Daniel said. "Most of them don't even know that the Stargate exists. It's just a handful of people that are abusing the Stargate for their own gain."
"This is very unfortunate. We had high hopes for the people of your world," Thor said.
"You still could," Daniel said impulsively. "Help us fix things."
"Daniel?" Jack said. "What are you doing?"
"Jack, don't you see? Thor can help us."
"Help us do what? We don't know how far it goes."
"We can find that out." Daniel moved towards Thor, his enthusiasm growing with each step. "We have lie detectors. You have to have them. I know of at least two people in the
SGC that aren't in on the conspiracy, and there have to be more. We can blow the lid off this whole mess."
"And what do you intend to do with the guilty parties?" Teal'c asked.
"Sending them to Hedantes is probably out of the question," Daniel said, having no answer to the question.
"We lock their asses up," Kevin said.
"You are willing to do this?" Thor asked.
Jack stepped forward. "We obviously have no idea what's happened in the past year." He looked around, his eyes passing over each of them. "And I think we'd all like to go home. But if we walk though the gate right now, we'll be dead within a day."
"If you take us to Earth, can you beam out just one person?" Daniel asked.
"What are you thinking of?" Kevin asked.
"Doctor Frasier and Sergeant Siler helped me escape. If we can beam them up here, they can tell us who some of the compromised people are. And who to trust and...we can just start getting names."
"Bauer and Samuels," Sam said, speaking up for the first time. "Ratner, Kelso, Martinez and Wood."
Daniel reached over and squeezed her hand, all too aware of just how she knew who the 'problem children' were.
"Unfortunately my transporter beams are unable to identify one human from another," Thor said.
"Can you deliver us in secret into the facility?" Teal'c asked.
"What's your plan?" Jack asked.
"We are aware of the identities of these individuals. If Thor can provide us with communication devices we can gain custody of these people and notify Thor when he should activate his transporter."
"We could beam right into Bauer's office and grab him," Kevin said. "Same with Samuels."
"Aah, let's just slow down here," Jack said, raising his hand. He turned to look at Thor. "I appreciate everything you've done for us but before we start planning a coup here, I think we need to think about it."
"O'Neill is correct," Teal'c said.
"I shall make quarters available for you on the Beliskner," Thor said. "It will take me several hours to repair the Hammer. Is there anything on Cimmeria that you wish to retrieve?"
Daniel looked around and nodded. "Yeah. We had a bag. It had something in it that we really can't leave down there. It's nothing dangerous," he hurried to reassure after he saw Thor's eyes narrow. "Just something that we need."
Thor nodded. "We shall retrieve the item and depart in a few hours. It will take two days to travel to Earth. I will need your decision before that time."
/////
Jack strolled into the room, his hair still wet from the shower. He had to hand it to the little grey guys, what they lacked in stature and clothing, they made up for in hospitality. He and his people had been given comfortable - if Spartan rooms - consisting of a bed, of a sort, and bathroom facilities.
The food, after a few misunderstandings, was plentiful and edible and Jack gave more than a passing thought to seeing if they could hang out a bit longer, rest and recuperate.
"Jack, we need to talk," Daniel said, barely waiting until he was in the room.
He was seated on a sort of sofa positioned in the middle of the common room they all shared. Their quarters were situated around this common room with a sixth door, Jack guessed, leading out into the corridor.
Jack sighed and sat down, accepting that he couldn't keep avoiding the discussion. Thor's time limit was almost up and Jack knew that the little guy would be demanding an answer pretty soon.
"Well?" he asked, shrugging. "Let's talk."
"Umm, ok." Daniel looked around at the group.
"I think it's less a discussion of what needs to be done once we get there, but whether or not we even try," Jack said, kick starting the conversation.
"We have to try." Daniel insisted.
"Do we?" Jack countered. "Daniel, do you have any idea how long this will take? How deep the conspiracy might go? You said that Kinsey is President and he's pulling the strings. Which means we're not just looking at cleaning out the SGC, it's Washington and the Pentagon too. We're gonna be taking on some very powerful people, ones that obviously don't have much of a compunction about killing the inconvenient."
"Jack, do you have any idea what's at stake here?" Daniel asked.
"The reputation of a planet that left us for dead?"
"We're not just a planet," Daniel said. "In my universe, we visited a planet, P3R272. When we were there, you walked through this beam of light and activated this thing and ended up getting a whole database downloaded into your brain."
"Downloaded?" Jack asked, considering for a second that Thor had been holding out on him and that Daniel had gotten his hands on something about 100 proof.
"It was the term that Sam came up with. Or maybe it was Janet. Anyway, you got this huge info dump but your brain couldn't handle it and you started to have issues," Daniel continued.
Jack looked around the room. "I don't have issues."
Daniel simply grimaced. "You built a device, it allowed us to use the Stargate to dial a planet, not in this galaxy, and you made contact with the Asgard and they fixed you."
"Well, that was nice of them."
"Yes, wasn't it?" Daniel asked rhetorically. "While you were there, they told you something about us being the Fifth Race and that we had potential."
"Potential for what?" Kevin asked.
"They never really went into detail," Daniel said quickly. "My point is, at least according to the Asgard, the human race is special and if we don't do anything to stop Kinsey and his cronies they're going to doom our whole planet."
"Doom is a bit strong," Jack said.
"I do not believe so, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "I have spoken to Daniel Jackson about the differences between our universes. The most pointed of which is that his Earth has several allies, among them the Tok'ra and the Asgard."
"None of which we can count on happening here," Jack said.
"They're killing people," Sam said. Jack looked at her, the pain in her eyes stilling his protest. "They enslave other planets, forcing them to work in mines or to gather things."
She looked at Jack. "They're no better than the goa'uld."
"How?" Jack asked, drawing the conversation back to the root issue. "It's gonna take more than the five of us. Who the hell do we trust?"
"Whoever Kinsey has locked up," Kevin said.
"It's only been a year," Daniel said. "Kinsey can't have replaced everyone. The public will only tolerate so much. If we can get to the SGC, find Doctor Frasier and Sergeant Siler. They can help identify some of the bad guys. If we can use Thor's transporter beam, we can get Bauer and Samuels out of there. Lock them up somewhere until we find out who we can trust."
Jack looked at his team, searching for some sort of dissension or disagreement. Not surprisingly, he saw none. Only a grim determination and acceptance that they were at a crossroads and ready to undertake a mission from which there would be no turning back.
"I never thought I'd be planning a mutiny," he muttered, leaning forward and pushing his fingers through his hair. "We need to talk this over with Thor," he said. "See how far he's willing to go to help us." He looked each of them in the eye. "If all he's gonna do is beam us down and cut us loose, we're not doing it." Slowly, they all nodded, agreeing with his ultimatum.
Now all they had to do was figure out how to infiltrate the SGC and save the planet...without getting killed in the process.
/////
Kevin blinked, the flash of the Asgard transporter catching him off guard even though he knew what to expect. Aiming quickly, he fired his tranquilizer gun, shooting both of the guards working in the security room. "Lock the door," he said to Daniel as he pulled the unconscious man out of the chair and laid him on the floor.
Kevin heard the lock catch as he sat down at the console, scanning the readings.
"How long until shift change?" Daniel asked.
Kevin looked at the clock in the corner of the computer. "Half an hour," he said. "You know, I have no idea what the codes are. I couldn't begin to do much, not without risking messing things up."
"We don't have to," Daniel said. He finished tying up the two men and joined Kevin at the consoles, claiming his own seat. "All we need to do is keep track of who's where and let Jack know."
Kevin nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out the communication device given to him by Thor. It was part of the limited assistance they were getting from the alien. Thor was beaming them in, providing them with communicators and he'd beamed up tranquilizer guns for their use. Anything beyond that, the humans were on their own. "Colonel, security room is secure," he said.
"Understood, beaming in now."
Kevin typed some commands and brought up the control room camera just as the colonel, Sam and Teal'c appeared in the control room. They efficiently disposed of the personnel there, tying them up in the corner of the room. "It's showtime," Daniel said.
/////
Sam stood in the control room, watching as Jack and Teal'c secured the personnel they'd just shot. "Carter. Get on those codes," Jack ordered.
She nodded and sat down at the console, staring at the keyboard for a few seconds. She knew what she had to do, she just wasn't sure if she could do it. What if they'd changed things? Erased things? Altered the codes.
"Hey?" Jack put his hand on her shoulder. "You can do this. Just take your time and get us a list of anyone that Bauer or Samuels have locked up. Or anyone they've vouched for to be transferred here. Give us somewhere to start."
She nodded and took a deep breath, sliding the ribbon weapon off her hand and laying it in her lap. She started to type, the codes and passwords coming back to her as she worked. They'd changed some of them, which was what she'd expected. But not all. She found her way through database after database, concentrating mainly on the people that had been transferred to the base in the past year. "Jack?" she heard Daniel's voice come over the communicator. "Bauer's evidentially an early riser. He's on his way down from the surface."
Sam looked over her shoulder, staring at Jack and Teal'c. They weren't supposed to be here, not yet. Jack glanced at Teal'c and shrugged. "Let him down. We'll be waiting."
He looked over to Sam and smiled at her. "Don't worry about him. Keep up what you're doing." She nodded and turned back, applying herself to her task.
/////
"This should be interesting," Daniel said, glancing over at Kevin.
Kevin shrugged. "Had to happen eventually. It'll be easier if they come to us."
Daniel nodded, well aware that, at this stage at least, their little coup needed to stay confined to the SGC. Right now it'd be far too easy for Kinsey to spin it as them assisting in an alien invasion. "What else do you see?" Daniel asked.
Kevin typed a few commands and different pictures flashed up on the monitor as he switched from camera to camera. Daniel watched image after image, all a snapshot of the base in the early hours of the morning. There wasn't much activity, which seemed a bit odd to Daniel. Sure, Earth time dictated that it was pre-dawn, but time literally was relative and dawn here could be sunset somewhere else. A familiar face caught his eyes and Daniel leaned forward. "Go back," he ordered.
Kevin pushed a couple of buttons and pulled up the camera he'd just passed over. "What do you see?"
"An ally." Daniel pointed at the screen. "Doctor Frasier. She's on our side."
"We'll remember that."
Daniel shook his head. "We need to talk to her. Find out who's on Samuels' side."
Daniel got up from the console and walked over to one of the unconscious men. "What are you going to do?" Kevin asked, getting out of the chair.
"I'm gonna go get her."
"You can't just walk out there."
"You've seen the cameras. No one's here."
"And the day shift starts in less than half an hour," Kevin argued as Daniel unbuttoned the man's shirt.
"Which means the longer you argue with me the later I'll be," Daniel said, unwilling to change his mind. "You gonna help me?"
Kevin sighed and joined Daniel in stripping the man's uniform off. "So were you this big a pain in the ass in your universe?"
/////
Jack crouched under the briefing room table, shifting his weight from one knee to the other, grateful that Thor had healed the wound in his thigh. At least he didn't have to worry about it hindering him in some way.
Footsteps echoed down the hall and Jack glanced over at Teal'c, grateful that the man hadn't chosen to check on the control room first. Jack heard the general unlock the door and he signaled Teal'c. They silently slid out from under the table and split up, each taking a different door. "Morning, General," Jack said cheerfully, aiming the tranquilizer gun directly at the man's chest.
"Who the hell are you?" Bauer demanded, his hand reaching for the red phone.
"Ah, ah, ah."
"That would not be wise," Teal'c said.
Bauer looked at him and frowned. "What's going on?"
"Think HMS Bounty," Jack said. "Step away from the desk."
"Shall I restrain him, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
Jack saw comprehension flash across Bauer's face. "O'Neill? You're Teal'c?" he asked.
"And you're an asshole. Tie him up," Jack said.
"You're dead," Bauer said, not resisting as Teal'c moved to his side and turned him around. "You were lost on that planet and-"
"And we've spent the past YEAR in a fucking hole in the ground because you left us behind!" Jack said, stepping forward and yelling in the man's face. Much to his pleasure, Bauer blanched, his eyes skittering away from Jack's. "Let's get him downstairs where we can keep an eye on him," Jack said.
Jack turned on his heel, stopping dead in his tracks when the sharp report of a gunshot tore through the air.
/////
Sam typed on the keyboard, a smile creeping across her face as she hacked into database after database. She knew it wasn't all the names. It couldn't be all of them. But it was a good start.
They just might be able to do this. For the first time since Daniel and Jack had come up with the idea to clear Earth's name, she actually thought that they might do it. All they had to do was to get this information to a non-compromised person and they'd have to do something. Have to investigate, have to dig deeper.
This couldn't be covered up forever.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Sam's fingers stilled and her stomach twisted as the cool voice cut into her thoughts. "Get away from the console," he ordered.
She obediently dropped her hands into her lap, her fingers encountering the smooth, cool surface of the ribbon weapon lying on her legs.
"I figured you would return eventually." Samuels continued, his voice growing closer.
'His death is your fault!'
"Are you as eager to continue our little sessions as I am?" He stepped closer and Sam could feel the heat of his body on the back of her neck. "It's really too bad you didn't come a day sooner though. Siler really could have used your services. In fact, there are several men who are dead now because you had to go and run away. Desert your post, neglect your duty."
His hand settled on Sam's shoulder and she gasped, a year of fear washing over her.
Heavy hands dragging her from place to place.
A cold, sterile room without even a blanket to shield her from the cold.
Desperate eyes, begging for mercy, watering from pain. Cold fingers digging into her arm, pleading with her to save them. The blood on her skin, blood on her hands. The blood of every failure, every person she let die.
Every person he killed. Every person he would keep killing as long as she let him.
Fear turning into anger she spun in the chair, raising her left hand as she faced him. Without saying a word she poured her grief and rage into the device and threw Samuels across the room, unable to suppress the smile that curled her lips at the sight of hem crashing into a bank of computers, his grunt of pain barely audible over the shower of sparks.
She barely registered the sharp bang of the gun before a heavy force slammed into her back and she knew no more.
/////
Janet pulled the files from the cabinet and shoved them into her bag, sniffing slightly when the tears threatened yet again.
"Damnit," she muttered, hearing the printer signal that it was out of paper. She opened a new ream and filled the drawer, silently urging the machine to move faster. She was running out of time. She needed to get out of here. She had to be setting off alarm after alarm with the files she was accessing and knew that, once Samuels got in and checked the security logs, he'd come and get her.
She had to get this information out of here, find someone who would look at it. Better yet, someone who wouldn't be afraid to talk about it. Talk far and wide and as loud as they could. Maybe if she got enough people talking then Kinsey wouldn't be able to shut them up and make them go away.
She glanced at her watch and realized that she couldn't wait any longer. She pulled the last of the papers off the printer and crammed them into the case, not caring if they got wrinkled or bent.
She hurried out of her office and ran straight into a figure dressed in green. Afraid that she'd been discovered, she pushed him away and turned on her heels. Maybe if she made it to the other entrance she could...Strong arms wrapped around her waist and she cried out, struggling to free herself. No. No. She couldn't let them get her. Couldn't let them-
"Doctor Frasier! Doctor Frasier. It's ok. It's me, Daniel Jackson!"
The familiar voice finally penetrated her terror and Janet relaxed, craning her neck to get a look. "Jackson?"
"Yeah, it's me, I'm back. Don't hurt me, ok?" She nodded and he let her go. She turned around, frowning when she realized that he was wearing a uniform that clearly wasn't his. "What's going on?" he asked. "Why are you so scared?"
"What are you doing here? I thought you were-"
"Yeah, we were," he interrupted. "And it's a very long story. But right now, we need to get you somewhere safe."
She snorted, his words striking her as funny. "Somewhere safe. Happen to have plane tickets to Mexico on you?"
His eyes drifted down and he frowned. "Where are you going with those?" he asked.
"I've got to get out of here. And you shouldn't have come back."
"What happened?" he asked sincerely.
Suddenly too tired to speak, she dug in her satchel and pulled out a file, holding it open for him. "This happened," she said, taking no small measure of satisfaction when he blanched, swallowing convulsively.
"Siler?"
She nodded. "Four days. Ratner worked on him for FOUR days and he still wouldn't talk. They broke his bones, cut him, shocked him...they killed him by inches and he still died protecting me." She looked at him, unashamed of the tears in her eyes. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep on doing this. Someone has to know and-"
"Ssh, ssh," he said, closing the folder and pulling her into a hug. "Someone is gonna know. That's why we're here. We're gonna stop them. We need your help."
She pulled away from him. "What can I do?"
"Just exactly what you're doing." He glanced around. "I have somewhere safe you can hide. Will you come with me?" She nodded and he took her hand in his. "You are not gonna believe who we met."
/////
'SG-9 just returned from Taldor, sir," Samuels briefed him, laying the folder on his desk.
'What did they have to say about SG-1?" Gordon asked, shuffling the papers around.
'They were executed, sir.'
'Executed?'
Samuels nodded. 'One of the more creative uses for the Stargate, sir. They send all their prisoners through the gate to a Mercury type planet.' He sighed. 'At least it was painless, sir. They would have died in an instant.'
The sharp sound of an echoing gunshot tore Gordon from his memories.
"Crap," O'Neill muttered.
"Captain Carter-"
Boot steps pounded up the metal stairs and in just seconds a half dozen SF's had them surrounded.
"You'll never make it out of this mountain," Gordon said, unwilling to have bloodshed on his base. Besides, he would never find out how two dead men got into his office if they were killed.
O'Neill sighed and raised his hands, Teal'c doing the same. "Secure them," Gordon ordered, turning to let Sergeant Markham cut his own bindings. "Bring them with us."
Gordon walked out of his office and across the briefing room towards the staircase. He quickly descended the stairs, shocked at what he saw.
The duty personnel were sitting against the wall in the corner, their hands and feet tied while Sergeant Ratner was helping Samuels to his feet.
Across the room, a woman lay on the floor, a growing pool of blood identifying her as the victim. "What happened here?" Gordon demanded, making his way over to the injured woman.
"She was hacking into the computers," Samuels said. "When I attempted to stop her, she tried to kill me. The Sergeant here saved my life."
Gordon knelt down and checked her pulse, barely able to find it fluttering under his fingers. He couldn't ignore the growing red stain on the back of her dress. "What was she looking in the database for?" he asked, trying to reconcile the idea with the image he had of the woman.
'The damage is quite extensive, sir," Samuels reported. 'The symbiote apparently damaged a significant portion of Captain Carter's brain, including language and comprehension.'
'And there's nothing we can do?'
'I'm afraid it's beyond our abilities to fix.'
"Carter!" O'Neill struggled against his guards, only stopping when one of them punched him in the gut. He fell to his knees, gasping.
Samuels staggered over to join Gordon. He roughly rolled Carter to her front, examining the wound. "At least the brain stem is intact. We'll finally be able to study how the symbiote attaches itself and takes control," he said.
"Captain Carter requires medical attention," Teal'c said.
"Shut up, Jaffa!" Samuels ordered. "You'll be next."
"Oh my god!" Bauer turned, frowning as Doctor Frasier hurried into the room, stopping in her tracks when she caught sight of the situation.
"Doctor, we need you," Bauer said, putting aside his questions for the moment. He was no doctor, but he knew from the amount of blood that she was losing, Carter wouldn't live much longer.
Frasier hurried forward, dropping a satchel of paper as she knelt down. Bauer saw a shadow in the doorway. "Someone's out there," he said, motioning for Markham to check it out. The man did as he was bid and returned in a few seconds, leading another man. "Doctor Jackson," Bauer said, the situation getting more confusing by the second.
"I need a medical team down here, now!" Frasier ordered.
"Doctor, do whatever you need. Markham, lock these three up."
"Yes, sir."
Bauer got to his feet and moved over to the sergeant, lowering his voice. "No one but you and your men have access to them. Am I understood?"
Markham looked over Bauer's shoulder and Bauer saw his eyes settle on Samuels, narrowing slightly. "Yes, sir, and not a problem, sir."
Bauer nodded. "Untie those men and lock this place down. No one gets in or out until I figure out what the hell is going on."
/////
Jack sat in the cell, his back against the wall and his knees drawn up. He watched as Daniel paced, wishing that he had the luxury of such an outlet. "Why won't they tell us something?" Daniel demanded.
"Because we're in the brig," Jack said.
"Refusal to share information is a common interrogation tactic," Teal'c said.
"I don't want information, I just want to know if Sam's alive."
"You wouldn't be worrying if we hadn't have come," Jack couldn't resist saying.
Daniel turned. "Jack, you heard the Asgard-"
"I heard you," Jack interrupted. "If Earth is so damned important to Thor, why the hell isn't he here?"
"I don't know," Daniel confessed. He sank down in one of the chairs, his shoulders slumped. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," he said softly.
"All hope may not be lost," Teal'c said.
Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was cleaner now but he still hadn't been able to get it cut. "If Carter's lucky, she's dead," he said. Daniel looked at him with stricken eyes. "Can you honestly tell me you want her to go back to being their slave?" He stared for a second, then dropped his eyes, shaking his head. "You do whatever you gotta do," Jack said. "You don't owe anyone anything, your only responsibility is to yourself."
"What are you talking about?" Daniel asked.
"O'Neill speaks of the trials you are likely to face in captivity," Teal'c said. He looked at
Jack and Jack knew that the Jaffa was well aware of the limited scope of their future.
They weren't just prisoners, they were inconvenient. They were proof of a conspiracy and would probably not live out the day. "If you want to survive, do whatever you have to. And if you don't...that's no one's business but your own," Jack said evenly.
"If I don't?" Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows.
"There is more than one way to escape captivity, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.
The lock clicked and Jack looked up, not surprised to see Kevin Lorne pushed into the room. He scanned the man, searching for any obvious injury and found none. "Fancy meeting you here," Jack said.
"How far did you make it?" Daniel asked. Their mutual decision had been, if things took a turn to the worst, for each of them to try and escape the SGC and get out, hopefully taking the truth with them and to either survive or to find someone that would believe them.
"They met me at the surface," Kevin said. He held up his hands. "I think I got blisters."
"Did you find out anything about Sam?" Daniel asked.
Kevin shook his head. "I stayed long enough to see them take her to the infirmary." He looked at Jack. "They were moving too fast for it to be good."
Jack nodded, expecting his words. "You did the best you could," he said.
Kevin sighed and nodded and Jack could see that while he'd heard his words, he didn't believe them. "Now what do we do?"
"We wait," Teal'c said.
/////
Gordon slowly flipped through the reports, his heart sinking with each word. "How? How did it get so bad?" he muttered, setting aside one report for another. He read the autopsy report, his experience allowing him to read between the lines. There were, after all, only so many ways that 'tortured to death' could be sugar coated. Especially when the victim wasn't an alien or enemy, he was one of their own.
Gordon wasn't so naïve to think that torture didn't happen. It was a sad fact of life, especially for those for whom life and death was a common part of their jobs. But not to their own. They were never supposed to harm their own.
He looked at the files on his desk and knew that they were but a drop in the bucket. "I've been a fool," he whispered, setting the sickening file to the side.
He'd been too lazy, too lax, too complacent. And he'd given Samuels too much leeway. He couldn't control this. Couldn't fix it. It was too big.
He reached for the telephone and dialed the number of the only person he felt he could trust. The one person that he knew Kinsey hated with a passion.
/////
Hearing the all too familiar recording, Albert Samuels indulged himself in a fit of pique and tossed the receiver into its cradle, not caring that it bounced right out and skittered across his desk.
Sighing at his own lack of self-control, he carefully picked up the receiver and replaced it, settling for staring at the offending bit of plastic. "Whoever the hell heard of locking down communications?" he asked rhetorically, leaning back in his chair.
It'd been six hours now since he'd run across Carter in the control room and not only was the base physically locked down, the computer and telephones were locked out as well, effectively cutting the SGC off from the rest of the world.
A shadow crossed his door and Samuels looked up, motioning for Ratner to join him.
"The prisoners?"
Ratner shook his head, his thick neck making it look like he was shaking his whole upper body. The burly sergeant was built like a boxer, his thick arms and legs speaking of a compact strength. "They won't let me close. Markham's got the whole hall cordoned off."
"And the infirmary?"
"Same way. They got Carter in one of the isolation rooms. No one's allowed in but medical personnel."
Samuels shook his head. "He's been compromised somehow. That's the only explanation."
"How?" Ratner asked. "The President's had him under constant surveillance since he took command."
"We'll figure out the how later. Right now we need to see about getting control of our base back."
The phone rang and Samuels frowned, waiting until the second ring to pick it up. "Samuels? Yes, certainly, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone. "The old man's calling a meeting." He pushed his chair back and got to his feet, motioning for Ratner to join him.
It took them only minutes to make their way down to level twenty-seven. The base was running on a skeleton staff, the night shift pressed into a double duty since their replacements were turned back at the surface.
They walked into the briefing room, Samuels' confident pace slowing as he saw Markham and his team escorting the four male fugitives in as well. "What are these criminals doing out of their cell, Sergeant?" he asked.
"General's orders, Colonel," Markham said, accentuating the ranks.
All five men sat on opposite sides of the table and Ratner took up station behind Samuels. The door to Bauer's office opened and three people walked out, Bauer, Doctor Frasier and a third man that Samuels didn't recognize. "General on deck," Markham said.
Samuels got smartly to his feet while O'Neill, Jackson and Teal'c ignored the order, only Lorne making a half-hearted gesture to stand, before he too remained sitting. "As you were," Bauer said. He gestured for Doctor Frasier to take her seat. "This is General Vidrine," he introduced, deferring to the taller black man.
Samuels frowned. He didn't recognize this man. "If I may, sir, I thought we were on lockdown?" he asked.
"You may not," Vidrine said sharply. Bauer took a seat and Vidrine remained standing. "I am here to announce the temporary cessation of all activities within the SGC. As soon as possible, all off-world teams will be recalled and will be placed on stand down.
Within twenty-four hours, we will be joined by several members of a newly created oversight committee. This committee will be comprised of both civilian and military personnel and will be answerable to the Joint Chiefs of Staff only."
"Sir," Samuels said. "The President-"
"Will be informed of our findings when we are ready to inform him, and not before," Vidrine interrupted. "This command, and everyone in it, is under investigation of charges, not limited to, kidnapping, assault, murder and treason. EVERY member of this command will present him or herself to questioning by this committee. Should evidence be found to support these allegations, appropriate actions will be taken."
"This is preposterous," Samuels declared, shooting to his feet. "The President-"
"The President is the guiltiest of the bunch," Vidrine said. "And you, Colonel, will remain seated." He turned his hawk like gaze to Ratner. "You too, Sergeant. In fact, we have enough preliminary information to confine both of you to the brig. For your own protection, of course. We wouldn't want something to happen to you before the committee has a chance to speak with you."
Markham's team shifted their position, moving to stand behind Samuels and Ratner, effectively boxing them in. "General, we're not the enemy here. Hell, Jackson isn't even from this reality. You can't trust them."
"I think I can trust them a damn sight better than I can trust you," Vidrine said. He turned to look at O'Neill, Teal'c, Lorne and Jackson. "Gentlemen, for the time being you are also confined to quarters, under guard." He turned back to Samuels. "Should anything happen to any of these men, or to Captain Carter, I will hold you personally responsible."
"Sir," Lorne spoke up. "How is Sam?"
Vidrine looked at Frasier, giving her permission to speak. "She's stable for now. The bullet did quite a bit of damage and she lost a lot of blood, but I think she'll pull through."
"We'd like to see her," O'Neill said.
Vidrine nodded. "That can be arranged." He turned to Bauer. "I think these four men can have access to their quarters, the infirmary, the gym and the commissary, under escort of course."
"Yes, sir," Bauer agreed.
"I'm sure you understand that you cannot have contact with the outside world, not until we come up with a good story to explain your sudden resurrections. I apologize for any hardship, however I have enough of a mess to deal with at the present time."
"I think, other than my ex, Lorne is the only one of us that has family," O'Neill said.
"Very well," Vidrine said. "General, you are relieved of command. I'm having a security contingent flown in as we speak. They will take over the security of this facility. As of this moment, every computer, file and record in this facility is off limits to the personnel of this base. Any attempts to destroy evidence will be dealt with most severely."
"Yes, sir," Bauer said. Samuels looked at his former commander, again grateful that the man was a spineless idiot. It wouldn't be too difficult to spin things favorably.
"And General?" Vidrine said. "It takes a true officer to expose the truth, especially when that truth does not show him in a favorable light." He sighed. "This briefing is over. Dismissed."
/////
Daniel walked into the infirmary, nodding at Janet as he made his way to the far bed. That was where she'd put Sam to give her the most privacy and quiet that she could. She was recovering, slowly but surely, although he knew that it'd be several more weeks before she was anything approaching well.
Kevin spent most of his days at her bedside, keeping her entertained and running some interference between her and the other base personnel. Daniel knew that Jack and Teal'c visited too, however both of them had been busy like him, their days filled with near constant debriefings and depositions.
However, they all had a newly made tradition. As soon as Janet said that Sam could have normal food, the four of them hit the commissary and brought their dinner down to eat with Sam.
"You're late," Jack said, moving over to give Daniel room.
"But I come bearing gifts," he said, holding up a small glass of blue Jell-o. He set it down on Sam's tray and took his own chair, balancing his tray on his knees.
"Thank you." She abandoned her partially eaten goulash and picked up the Jell-o, accepting the spoon Kevin handed to her.
"Have they decided what to do with Yu?" Jack asked, shoveling the food into his mouth.
Daniel shook his head. "Not that I've heard. Some of the committee want to let him go. But some of the others are afraid he'll just attack us."
"They locked him up for six months and tortured him. Can't see why he'd be pissed," Jack said.
"Yu is one of the more honorable goa'uld," Teal'c said. "However his treatment does give him just cause to seek vengeance."
"Seth is easy," Daniel said. "He was on Earth for so long, no one out there really cares. And he committed enough atrocities before he was caught that they've got a good case to keep him locked up."
"I still find it rather ironic that it's Samuels' own paperwork that's putting the noose around his neck," Kevin said.
Jack shrugged. "He and Kinsey thought that they'd be held up as heroes. Gotta have that documentation to write your memoirs."
"A lot more people are coming forward," Daniel said. "Especially now that they know that they're going to be listened to and believed."
"Doctor Frasier said that they've subpoenaed a lot of her records," Sam said.
Daniel nodded, glancing over at Jack. They both knew what Sam left unsaid, that not only did Frasier's records deal with the injuries and deaths that Samuels and Bauer covered up, but they also dealt with the treatment of personnel on this base, Sam among them.
"Which pretty much eliminates 'he said/she said'," Kevin said, touching Sam's hand reassuringly. Daniel knew that she was on the list of people to interview, in fact, very much on the top of the list. However, Doctor Frasier insisted that they wait a few more weeks at least.
"Vidrine and I had a little chat today," Jack said, finishing the last of his goulash and setting the tray on the floor. He picked up his glass of iced tea and held it in his hands.
"He's talking about sending a team through the gate."
"For what purpose, O'Neill," Teal'c asked, also setting his tray down.
"I thought gate travel was suspended indefinitely."
"This isn't a normal mission," Jack said. "They want us to get evidence from Kinsey's off world victims." He looked around at the small group. "They've done a LOT of nasty shit
out there."
"How can they be tried for crimes against people that the world doesn't really know exists?" Kevin asked. "Most of the public still thinks that Apophis' attack was a high altitude nuclear missile explosion. If I remember right, Kinsey blamed a half dozen middle eastern countries."
"He still does," Jack said. "Only the Joint Chiefs knows the truth. It doesn't matter if no one knows about the Stargate Program. The crimes against sentience - which is how the lawyers are phrasing it - is gonna be used as leverage. Something to shut down any of his supporters."
"Gathering evidence will not be an easy task," Teal'c said. "The Tau'ri do not possess much credibility with the various alien races they have wronged."
"Didn't say that it'd be easy, just that they want us to do it," Jack said.
"Us?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah," Jack confirmed. "As far as the committee sees it, other than our rather obvious conflict of interest with Bauer and him leaving us behind, we're the only ones in this facility who are not under suspicion."
"Being off world for a year gives you a very good alibi for anything that's happened since then," Daniel said.
"Yep."
"What does he have in mind?" Kevin asked.
"Talking to them, probably videoing testimony. There's a hope that the JCS will authorize some sort of compensation," Jack said. He looked at all of them. "If you guys don't want to go, Vidrine is gonna dig up some people he knows. Folks that have nothing to do with Kinsey, Samuels or even him."
"And if we do go?" Kevin asked.
Jack shrugged. "Well, like Teal'c says, there's a good chance we won't get a warm welcome. Vidrine is working on authorizing some humanitarian aid in place first, soften them up a bit."
"I will assist you, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
Daniel shrugged. "Might as well." He looked around. "Presuming, of course that umm..."
"Being from another universe is a pretty damn good alibi."
They all turned to look at Kevin who shifted uncomfortably. "I aah, I don't know. I was kinda thinking of spending a little time Earth side." Daniel looked over at Jack, smothering a grin as both Sam and Kevin's faces flushed.
"Not all missions end badly," Sam said. "Sometimes they can even be fun."
"Says the person who thought gate diagnostics were fun," Jack teased. He looked at Kevin. "It won't happen for a couple of weeks. It's gonna take them that long to finish deposing the rest of the SGC and the people at Area 51."
They talked for several more minutes, the conversation slowly dwindling as the men noticed that Sam was falling asleep. One by one, they quietly got up and slipped out of the room, taking their dirty dishes with them. "She lasted longer than yesterday," Kevin whispered once they were out in the hall.
"It takes a while," Jack said. "When we got back from the Antarctic I think I slept eighteen hours a day for a while."
They put their dirty trays on a cart in the hall and Jack looked at his watch. "It's almost time for 'The Simpsons'. Daniel, want to join us?"
He shook his head. "I think I'm gonna go hit the gym."
"Suit yourself." The other three walked down the hall and Daniel went the other direction, bypassing the gym. Instead he made his way to his quarters, seeking refuge in the one place he knew he could have some privacy. He plopped down on the bed, sighing as he shut his eyes.
He couldn't believe that it was over. Ok, so over was a bit of an exaggeration. From the looks of things, 'over' was a few years off. But, all in all, their return to Earth and the arrests of Kinsey, Samuels and their cohorts had gone relatively smoothly.
He found it hard to believe that, just a little over a month ago, he'd been in his own universe.
"Hammond's dead, so's Teal'c. I don't know about Carter but...Daniel someone has to get out of here that knows what's going on. That knows what the goa'uld are and how to fight them. That's you."
"Jack-"
"Daniel. Go. Get your ass out of here."
He missed his friends, the fact that he'd spent the last few weeks with other versions of them made his feelings all the more muddled. How could he mourn the deaths of people that he could still talk to?
An odd feeling washed over him and Daniel opened his eyes, frowning for a moment at the bare grey ceiling over his head. A ceiling that looked nothing like the ceiling of his quarters at the SGC. "Thor?" he asked, slowly sitting up.
"Greetings, Daniel Jackson." Thor slowly walked over to him from his place behind a control console.
"We'd thought you'd left."
"I have been monitoring the situation. I wished to observe your planet's reactions to its activities."
"Then it's probably a good thing that you kept a low profile," Daniel said. "They're not too fond of aliens down there."
"That is an expected reaction," Thor said.
Daniel nodded, getting to his feet. He slowly paced around the bridge, taking a moment to look out the view screen. The Beliskner was in a high orbit above Earth, high enough that he could clearly see the curves of both east and west horizons. "You know, " he said, a thought occurring to him. "They have satellites that are supposed to detect things like space ships."
"We have been visiting your planet for many years. We have yet to be detected," Thor said.
"That's aah, interesting," Daniel said, pondering the irony that the only way they'd been able to curb the power Kinsey had assumed using the threat of an alien invasion was with the assistance of an alien...one with technology more advanced than any of them could dream about.
"The Asgard High Council is pleased with the actions your people have taken," Thor said.
"Well, good for them," Daniel said.
"Do you not agree with the actions of your leaders?"
"Of course I do, I just....Sam almost died," he said, broaching the topic that had been
bugging him for the past two weeks.
"Captain Carter's injuries were a unfortunate occurrence."
"Unfortunate?" Daniel asked. "She almost died. Why didn't you help her?"
""As you said, any revelation of our presence would severely undermine your credibility. And, Captain Carter is recovering."
"Yeah but-"
"And she will continue to recover," Thor interrupted. Daniel frowned. "In fact, your physician will describe her recovery as quite miraculous."
"You're helping her," Daniel said, Sam's transition from being at death's door to on the mend in fourteen short days now making sense.
"I am limited in what assistance I can offer since I cannot transport her to my ship, however, her recovery will be a most expeditious one."
"That's good, I guess," Daniel said.
"I wished to speak of another matter," Thor said. He walked back to his console and held something up. Daniel recognized it as the controller to the quantum mirror. "While I have been stationed here, I took the liberty to examine this device." He handed it to Daniel. "I believe that I have discovered the reality that is yours."
Daniel shook his head. "My mirror was destroyed. The self-destruct probably buried it under the mountain."
"On the contrary Daniel Jackson, your mirror still exists."
"How?" Daniel asked. "I remember the explosion."
"I do not know. However, I have matched your cellular resonance to that of the universe programmed into that controller."
Daniel stared at the small device in his hand. He'd been carrying it around for so long, taking it out of the SGC to keep Samuels from accidentally figuring it out. Carried it all over Hedantes and Cimmeria. In fact, the only time he really let it out of his sight, before leaving it up here with Thor for safe-keeping had been when he'd left it in the bag with Sam while he and Teal'c were sent to the labyrinth.
"I can go home?" he asked slowly.
"Indeed you can. You need only use that device to activate the mirror," Thor answered.
"What's there?" Daniel asked. "I mean, when I left the SGC was being invaded. Jack said that there were ships in orbit and..." he sighed. "It was bad."
"I do not know. I am unable to access the mirror without exposing my existence. However, you can use that controller whenever you wish to return to your universe."
"I thought I couldn't ever go back," Daniel said slowly, turning the controller over in his hands. Thor remained silent. "They could still be alive. Teal'c wouldn't be I guess. I remember Jack saying that he was dead. But Sam might be. Maybe they defeated the Goa'uld? Maybe you got there in time." He turned to look at Thor. "There was the treaty. The Asgard had to have helped us."
"I cannot know the details of a treaty that I did not negotiate," Thor said. "I merely wished to return this device to you and to inform you that we shall have no further communications."
"Why not?"
"Your race must again prove itself worthy. This must be done without outside interference."
"But Sam-"
"I will remain to observe," Thor interrupted. "But I will not interfere."
"What if we don't prove ourselves worthy?" Daniel asked.
"I have every confidence that you will. The human race shows great promise, Daniel Jackson. Perhaps, more than you can even imagine."
As he finished speaking, he moved his hand across the control panel and Daniel found himself back in his quarters, the controller still in his grasp.
His knees weak, he sank down on the bed, staring at the controller. He could go home. That was something he'd never even thought was a possibility. But, did he want to go home? Was there even a home left to go back to? Yeah, Thor said the reality was there but...was Earth free or was it some barren wasteland? Or, worse yet was it under the dominion of a goa'uld?
If that was the situation, then he could be walking back into a trap. He could find himself a prisoner again. And he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't concerned about that. The few days he'd spend in Hedantes definitely proved that he wasn't too fond of captivity.
But what if it wasn't that bad? What if they'd won and Earth was free and Jack and Sam thought he was dead? Shouldn't he go back home? Didn't he BELONG back home?
The Daniel Jackson in this universe was dead. Maybe he was supposed to be dead. What if he was screwing things up by staying here? Didn't he belong back in his universe?
But did he have the courage to go back?
Could he face it again? The death and destruction. Picking up the pieces of a shattered world and starting over. He'd started over so many times in his life, after his parents' death, when he 'graduated' from foster care, after going to Abydos, coming back from Abydos...he was tired of starting over.
And he had so much here. Jack and Sam and Teal'c and...they were going to need some help fixing everything that Kinsey and Samuels had messed up. There were a lot of ticked off people out there. And he did have knowledge that they didn't have. He could help them, maybe steer them towards allies.
But what if he messed things up? What if he wasn't meant to be here? He could make things worse. He could lead them to allies that weren't meant to be allies here. He could screw everything up.
He set the controller down and leaned back, propping his back against the wall. He didn't know what to do.
/////
Sam slipped out of the infirmary, stepping to the side to get out of the way of the paint crew. They'd been busy the past month, neatly and liberally coating the walls of the SGC with a fresh layer of nice grey paint.
She used to love the smell of paint. It evoked memories of things being fresh and clean and new. But now all she could think of was what the paint was covering. The freshly patched concrete, the black scorches on the walls, the splattered blood of her friends and comrades.
She made her way to her quarters, operating more from habit than really paying attention. She was tired, more tired than she'd ever been in her life, but she couldn't sleep. No matter how hard she tried, every time she closed her eyes all she could see was the battle and its aftermath.
Airmen solemnly picking up the dead and gently laying them in the thick plastic bags.
Parts and pieces jumbled together, tattered remains of clothing the only way to identify them as friend or foe.
Making the list, ticking off the names.
Piles of little metal tags on the general's desk, his own among them.
Frantic days and long nights, assessing the damage and counting the dead.
It still didn't seem real. Even after all this time, it was like a bad dream, a too-realistic nightmare. It couldn't have happened. It just couldn't be real. She'd turn around a corner and find Teal'c standing there, a calm look on his face but his eyes alight with humor and fun.
Daniel shuffling along, trying to read and walk at the same time and the colonel...the colonel ambling down the hall, his hands stuffed in his pockets, a ready quip on his lips.
She wanted it back, she wanted it all back.
The klaxons blared and she stopped, quickly wiping her face. What the hell was going on? SF's pounded past her and she clumsily stepped to the side, staring as they piled into one of the store rooms.
What the hell kind of threat was in the store room? Someone stealing toilet paper? Surprisingly, she didn't care. She wasn't even curious. She'd just head onto her quarters and read the report in the morning. It probably wasn't anything big. The base was still on a skeleton staff, and likely would remain that way until the folks in Washington decided whether or not to re-open the Stargate.
"Look, I know how this looks. If you'll just listen to me."
She stopped, her hand going out to steady herself. It couldn't be. She was hearing things. Had to be hearing things. Maybe she'd finally cracked up, finally took that last turn around the bend. "Just keep walking," she whispered. "It's not there."
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and took a step forward, her goal solely to make it to her quarters without making a complete and total ass of herself. She couldn't get banned from the base right now. She had to be here, just in case he needed her.
"I have a really good explanat---Sam! Oh my God, Sam!"
She heard a scuffle and started to turn around, her motion interrupted by a pair of hands that pulled her back. She stared in amazement as her eyes registered the person whose hands were currently wrapped around her arms. "I was hoping that you'd made it."
The SF's surrounded him and tried to pull him off her, shouting orders that she simply couldn't make out. "Sam? Sam?"
Unable to speak, she simply stood there, staring at Daniel as the blackness rushed in and her world faded away.
/////
Daniel sat in the uncomfortable chair, his attention torn between the two guards at the door and the person lying in the bed. As if on cue, Sam's eye lids began to flutter and he leaned forward, motioning for Janet to join them. "Hey. Take it slow." She looked at him, then closed her eyes, raising her hand to her face. "You're not seeing things. I'm real," he reassured her.
"If it makes you feel any better, I see him too," Janet said, joining them.
"You're dead," Sam muttered.
"No." Daniel glanced over at Janet. "I was in an alternate universe. I kinda got stuck there."
Sam opened her eyes and looked at Janet, seeking her confirmation. "He's the real Daniel," she said. "I don't have the preliminary DNA results back, and I have no idea what he's been up to for the past month, but physically, he's a perfect match for our Daniel."
Sam slowly pushed herself up, ignoring Daniel's offer of help. "I passed out in the hallway didn't I?" She asked ruefully.
"Pretty much, yeah," Janet said. "And just because I'm in a good mood, I'm gonna bypass my normal lecture on the importance of little things like sleep and food."
"What happened?" Daniel asked, tamping down on his concern for his friend. She looked like crap. In fact, he couldn't think of a time when he'd seen her looking so tired and drawn. She'd scared the hell out of him when she'd passed out. Of course, he probably scared the hell out of the SF's that had taken him into custody. "When I left, we were in the middle of a battle."
Sam sighed. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I ran into Jack. He said that there were ships in orbit and he told me to get to the surface and get out."
Sam nodded. "He wasn't exactly right. The ships weren't IN orbit, but were in the system. They made it as far as Mars before they just turned around and went away."
"He said that the self-destruct was going to go. That's what I thought happened when I went through the mirror, that the base had blown up."
"We don't know exactly what happened. The self-destruct never blew. A couple of Jaffa got there and disarmed it. On the upside, the base was still locked down. It took us a couple of days, but we finally got all the Jaffa."
"Who attacked us?" Daniel asked. "I mean, wasn't the protected planet's treaty supposed to have stopped things like this from happening?"
"Only if the goa'uld belonged to the system lords and felt like following it," Sam said. "At least that's what the Asgard said when we called them. We do think that's why the ships left."
"So, the invasion never happened?"
"Not beyond the SGC," Janet said. "None of the Jaffa ever made it to the surface."
"How bad was it?" Daniel asked.
Janet and Sam looked at each other. "We lost thirty-eight," Janet finally said. "General Hammond, Sergeant Davis and Colonel Makepeace among them."
"All of SG-5 and 9," Sam said.
"Teal'c?" Daniel asked. "I remember Jack saying that-" Both women looked down instead of answering. "He's dead, isn't he?" Daniel asked.
"I'll show him," Sam said. She slowly slid off the bed. Daniel followed her as she led him out of the infirmary and down the hall towards the isolation room. He didn't fail to notice that the SF's stayed with them and figured that the only thing keeping him out of the brig was that he'd scared the crap out of some poor guy who'd been cataloging stuff in the store room when he'd come through the mirror.
"So, aah, if General Hammond is...I mean, umm..."
"His name is General Landry," Sam said, looking over her shoulder at him. "Apparently he's an old friend of General Hammond. He's different but...so far he's ok."
Daniel picked up a tone in her voice and moved closer to her. "Sam? Are you ok?"
She smiled slightly. "It's been a very bad month."
Daniel followed her into the isolation room, grateful that the SF's stayed out in the hall. It was one of the smaller isolation rooms and often served more as a private room for someone in the infirmary.
She led him over to the bed, pausing and turning to look at him. "It's really not as bad as it looks," she said softly.
Daniel joined her, staring in horror at the bandage-wrapped figure in the bed. "Oh my god," he muttered. "What happened?"
"We think it was a grenade," she said, reaching down to take his right hand. Half of his face was covered with thick white bandages and a tube down his throat was helping him breathe. "He lost his eye and there's going to be some really bad scarring," she said. "But Janet doesn't think that there's any brain damage. There were a lot of shrapnel injuries to his chest and..."
She trailed off and Daniel looked down, seeing the injury that she didn't list. His left arm lay on top of the covers, more white gauze hiding what he knew to be the most heartbreaking of injuries. "They tried to save it," Sam said. "But there was just too much damage."
"He's been unconscious since the attack," Janet said, joining them.
"But Teal'c's never been like this for so long," Daniel said.
Janet shook her head. "A few months ago, when you guys were taken by Hathor, Teal'c was injured. He was in a coma for almost three weeks before he woke up."
"But kelnoreem-"
"I think if we can just keep him alive until he's strong enough to kelnoreem, then he'll heal."
Daniel stared at the still figure in the bed, realizing just how much he'd missed in the other universe. "And Jack?" he asked, somehow knowing what the answer would be.
"Four bodies were never recovered," Sam said. "You, Sergeant Miller, Captain Singh and Colonel O'Neill." She reached into her BDU pocket and pulled something out, holding it up in her palm. Daniel recognized a blackened and battered dog tag. "This was all we found."
Daniel stared at the tiny piece of aluminum, its significance sinking in. "He's dead?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. Died a hero."
~Fin~
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Mirror, Mirror: The Butterfly's Wing
by DeniseKapitel Bemerkung:
Season- 3Spoilers -Need, Fair Game, Holiday, Seth, First Commandment, Bane, Learning Curve, TBFTGOG, Singularity, ITLOD, Thor's Hammer, Prisoners
Content Level - OLDER KIDS
Content Warning- Language, torture - not explicit
Summary- Fleeing from a goa'uld attack, Daniel discovers that his sanctuary is hell in disguise.
Kapitel Abschlussbemerkung:
Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Sci-fi and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.Site Navigation
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