Of Falling Rocks and Unlikely Allies
By Rocza
Email: roczadeb@yahoo.com
Story Status: Complete
Sequel Information: None
Series Information: None
Season: 7 (after Death Knell, before Heroes)
Spoilers: 0317 A Hundred Days, 0615 Paradise Lost, 0716 Death Knell
Categories: Action/Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Crossover: None
Pairing: None
Content Level: PG-13
Content Warning: Graphic injuries
Summary: Jack is separated from his team off-world and must survive in a hostile environment. But he isn’t alone for long. He comes into contact with another individual who is lost and struggling to survive.
Archive Permissions: Any who want it are welcome. Just give me credit.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; not me. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement intended. The story is the property of the author and may not be posted without the author’s consent.
Jack-Fic-A-Thon Prompt:
Jack is separated from his team off-world and must survive in a hostile environment in which he encounters another sentient non-humanoid struggling to survive. Jack must handle the first contact all by himself (the non-humanoid does not speak English!) and work toward rescue for both of them. Eventually he finds/is found by his team.
Want - Realistic Jack whumpage/ h-c is a much-appreciated bonus.
Don’t want – ship, Tok'ra, Aris Boch, or Jonas.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
“We are not lost. We are locationally challenged.” John M. Ford
SG-1 exited the wormhole with their usual flair. Colonel O’Neill led the team down the steps and they surveyed the area. After ensuring there was no apparent threat to his team, the Colonel directed Daniel to check the DHD while the others continued to examine the landscape.
Sam grinned when she heard the Colonel finally ask, “Carter? Is this normal? I mean I know that I ‘said’ I was sick of trees, but… really…” She watched him gesture to the surrounding tree-less landscape.
The terrain was quite a sight. The Stargate was placed in the center of a small natural bowl in the landscape. The ground was a dark black color and broken only by a few pale plants that looked like leper spots against the dark ground. In the distance, Jack could just make out the jagged blood red rocks that formed the rim of the bowl.
The whole color scheme was just wrong unless found on a toddler’s toy or at a Goth party. But it made the sky appear a deep blue color, the only normal thing about the planet. The words ‘freakish’ and ‘alien’ came to mind as she took it all in. Yet, at the same time it was a familiar sight, though she couldn’t quite place where.
“Yes, Sir,” she replied.
The Colonel gave her an odd look. He paused at her apparent lack of an explanation, “Ya sure? ‘Cause it sure doesn’t look very normal.”
“Well, Jack, it IS an alien planet,” Daniel piped up, as he checked the DHD, oblivious. Sam turned away to hide her smirk.
“Ha. Ha. Daniel. So, where to, Carter?” Jack asked. He was apparently ready to collect, survey, and shake the dust of this planet off his boots.
“That way, Sir,” she pointed. “If we head out about ½ a mile, we should find the UAV. Then we can make a circuit around the Stargate to cover sampling the soil in all directions. Providing we don’t see anything of interest, I estimate about four hours, tops.”
Sam wasn’t looking forward to spending an extended period of time on this planet either. She had been glad when the aerial survey didn’t show any sign of civilization. It would shorten their stay dramatically. The planet was odd enough without adding aliens in the mix. But this was also her first trip off-world since her close encounter with the super-soldier at the Alpha site… the former Alpha site. Physically she was 100%. But mentally she was still a bit jittery. This trip was General Hammond’s way of settling her nerves. It was supposed to be a nice easy trip.
Sam pointed in the direction of the UAV and took the lead. Daniel followed taking the right side and Colonel O’Neill took up the left. Finally, Teal’c brought up the rear.
Though she didn’t know why, Sam felt oddly comforted by the strange landscape. It felt familiar and comfortable and not at all threatening. It was a few minutes into the hike before she finally realized why.
The last real Carter family vacation, before her mother died, was to Yellowstone National Park. Her father had been stationed at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho. That year, he had decided to do a full two-week camping trip. As they drove to Yellowstone, they stopped to visit the Craters of the Moon National Monument. Sam had never seen anything quite so alien as the vast lava fields that surrounded the park. Her family had spent the day hiking all over the park trails, visiting the various sights, and learning about the unique geology of the place.
That day had been one of the happy highlights in her childhood. She can still remember how excited she was when she found out that the Apollo 14 astronauts had visited the Monument to prepare for their trip to the moon. Her dad had said that since he couldn’t take her to the moon for vacation, this was the next best thing.
But like all of her memories that included her mother, it was tainted with the bittersweet feeling of loss. Not just for her mother, but with the recent separation of the Tok’ra alliance, for her father as well.
A few minutes into the hike, the Colonel caught up to her. “Carter? Are you all right?”
Sam gave him a small, sad smile, “Yes, Sir.”
“Ya sure?”
“Yeah. This place just reminds me of a happier time,” she stated, sadly. Fondly remembering how she and her brother played at aliens among the rough lava rocks.
He frowned at her, “This place? Happier?”
“Yup. You?” she said diverting attention from her memories.
For all that SG-1 was close, they all still firmly placed the past in the past, seldom mentioning family or history. It was habit more than anything else, a habit that they all shared. She trusted these men with her sanity and her life yet didn’t feel comfortable sharing this happy memory. So instead of sharing, she would deflect interest. She was getting good at deflection, though not quite as good as Colonel O’Neill. He was definitely a master at it.
“Well, all I can say is this place reminds me of a bad acid trip,” he gave her a small grin. “But if it makes you happy, by all means, carry on.” He gave her a broad gesture and fell back to pester Daniel some more. She listened as the Colonel complained to Daniel about the weirdness of the place. Her sad smile returned as she continued to relive her own happy memory.
Before long the team had reached the UAV. Teal’c strapped the small aircraft to his pack as Sam quickly took samples of the soil, rocks, and nearby vegetation. She signaled when she was finished and the group moved to the next sample site.
By the time the team had reached the second sampling site, they had relaxed a bit. They had grown used to the odd lava field landscape and they still hadn’t seen any sign of people, alien or otherwise. They had even sighted the occasional twisted pine tree growing in the rocks and a scattering of large rodents living in the rock formations, which had started a lively debate on exactly what to call the creatures.
“But, Jack, they look and behave just like an American Wood Chuck,” Daniel had been the first to fall into the debate.
“No woods, Daniel. But they are black with little white faces, hence, Nun.”
“What about Rock Chuck? They do live in among the rocks,” Daniel pointed out.
“Indeed,” agreed Teal’c, finally sucked into the debate.
“Ack! It’s too plain. Boring. If ya gotta name something, make it snappy,” Jack replied. “Memorable, even.”
“I don’t care, Jack. I’m not calling them Nun Chucks in my report. I’d rather call them boring alien rock rodents,” Daniel finished.
Sam stifled a giggle, as she finished packing away her second set of samples.
“Whoa.”
Sam turned at the Colonel’s quiet comment and found him staring off into the sky. Alarmed, she followed his gaze to find two of the planet’s moons on the rise. One moon was normal and nearly full in the pale light.
However, the second moon caught her full attention. The second moon was obviously in a closer orbit and was visibly breaking up. The normal round shape was smashed and broken as the gravitational forces of the planet, the other moons, and the sun all pulled it different directions. This system’s sun was even illuminating the larger chunks of the moon as they were slowly separating from each other.
“Wow,” she whispered. It was a new sight for the team that had seen so much in this galaxy.
“You can say that again,” the Colonel echoed her.
Turning their attention back to their task, the team started off in the direction of the third sampling site. Before they made another 50 yards, the sky was lit by a meteor shower. They didn’t think too much of it until a small meteor hit the ground not far from their position. And then another. They immediately took shelter next to one of the rock formations. As one, her teammates looked to her.
“Carter, what are we looking at here?”
Like I know what the hell is going on. Time to pull some smart remark right out of my ass...Alright, think damn it!... “I assume the meteors are from the broken moon. I have no idea how long this could go on. But if they are, then I think it could be a regular event. Most of the moon rocks should burn up in the atmosphere, but as we have already seen, some don’t.” Sam was nervous. The last time she had proclaimed a meteor shower safe, the Colonel had been stranded on Edora for over 3 months. She wasn’t willing to make the same mistake again. “I recommend that we head back until it passes.”
“Alright, let’s head for the gate. Nice and easy. Teal’c, I want you to find a route that will stick to the rocks as much as possible,” the Colonel gave out his orders and the rest of the team snapped into action.
However, the meteor shower intensified after a few minutes. More small meteorites began to strike the ground, some quite small. Sam was reminded of dodging bullets and staff blasts.
“That’s it! Drop the gear. Double-time. Let’s go,” the colonel was clearly worried that they wouldn’t make it as well.
Sam dropped her rucksack and helped Daniel drop his. Teal’c waited for the others before he started jogging in the direction of the Stargate, the rest of the team sprinting after him.
When they reached the small bowl holding the Stargate, the Colonel stopped them behind a large grouping of rocks. Except for the DHD, there was no cover leading to the Stargate.
“Damn it!” the Colonel shouted, as he watched small meteorites pepper the bowl randomly. “Alright, here’s the plan. I’ll dial the gate and send the code. Once you hear me give the all clear, I want each of you to sprint to the gate one at a time. I’ll bring up the rear.”
“But, Jack, there’s no shelter out there!” Daniel exclaimed.
“Not true. I’ll take cover behind the DHD,” the Colonel exclaimed. He gave Teal’c a meaningful look then sprinted off for the DHD.
Sam watched, her heart racing, as he ran to the DHD and then quickly dialed. She gave a sigh of relief as he ducked behind the DHD without any near misses, or worse, any hits.
“It’s clear. Carter, go!” the radio squawked.
Sam gave Daniel and Teal’c a small smile as she mentally prepared herself for the last sprint. Then she was off racing the meteors for the safety of the Stargate. She could hear her radio, but not make out the words. Then she was up the steps and with a running leap was sucked into the wormhole.
The shock of gate travel didn’t slow her pace and she burst into the gate room at full tilt. She finished her run down the ramp. Mindful of the danger the small meteorites still posed, she circled around to the side of the Stargate, out of the line of fire, to wait for her teammates. She couldn’t be hit accidentally from this angle. But she refused to leave the gate room until all her teammates were back.
The Colonel must have called ahead, because the gate room was clear of the usual security contingent. But the blast shield was not down. She turned her gaze back to the open Stargate as she anxiously waited for her teammates to come through.
Next, Daniel burst through the gate at a full sprint. He too had jumped just before entering the event horizon and was able to safely land before slowing down on the ramp. He jogged to her side and they waited for their two remaining team mates.
Sam was starting to worry at how long it was taking when Teal’c leapt through the gate followed by two small meteorites. The meteorites smashed through the ramp and hit the ground creating small smoking craters. She met his eyes as he turned.
Teal’c gave her a solid nod as he joined them where they waited...And waited. Sam glanced back up at the control room to see the general staring intently at a monitor as he issued several orders. The control room burst into a flurry of activity. She looked back at the Stargate in horror as the wormhole began to flash and the ring began to spark.
No! Not again. Please, Colonel, come through. Now, damn it!
With one last flash, the wormhole shut down without Colonel O’Neill.
She gave a panicked look to Daniel and Teal’c before facing the control room once more. “General?”
General Hammond turned a grim look to the remaining members of SG-1. “Stand-by people. We need to send you back to get Colonel O’Neill.” He turned and the Stargate started dialing. He finally addressed them again, “The colonel was apparently struck by a meteorite just before Teal’c entered the Stargate. Teal’c, I want you to return and bring him home. Major Carter and Doctor Jackson will wait here for your return.”
“Yes, Sir,” Sam replied, feeling lost. She would have to wait. She hated waiting more than anything else. But she understood the sound reasoning of the order. Teal’c was the fastest and the strongest. Teal’c would bring him home.
“Chevron Five encoded.” She watched the Stargate dial, trying not to think about the Colonel lying unconscious, or worse, in the middle of the deadly meteor shower.
“Chevron Six encoded.” She mentally willed the gate to dial faster.
“Chevron Seven… will not lock.”
No! It had to lock. It worked just fine before. Shock set in as she turned and ran to the control room. She looked up at the general before asking the gate technician to move. She ran a quick diagnostic. No errors. She ran the dialing sequence with the same result. Chevron Seven would not lock.
No. No. NO! Not again. She started to run the full diagnostic, fingers flying on the keyboard. General Hammond’s gentle touch on the shoulder brought her back to herself.
“Major, go clear medical. I’ll have Walter run the program and dial again as soon as it’s complete,” General Hammond gently steered her to her teammates as he spoke.
Sam let them lead her away to Janet’s tender care. Thirty minutes later, she reported to the briefing room where she saw that final footage taken by the MALP and listened to Janet estimate Colonel O’Neill’s chances of survival. Thirty minutes after that the remaining members of SG-1 departed Stargate Command for Nevada.
The Stargate would not lock on the planet. Colonel O’Neill would have to be picked up by ship. Messages had been sent to the Tok’ra and the Asgard asking for assistance in the form of a ship.
In the mean time, Sam was ordered to get the Prometheus’ hyperdrive fully operational. She planned on doing it in record time. Its first mission would be to rescue Colonel O’Neill…or to retrieve his remains. It was her job to see it happen. Teal’c and Daniel were there unofficially as her security and were to look out for her welfare.
The MALP had captured the image of Colonel O’Neill as he had been struck by the meteorite as well as almost a full minute of footage before the wormhole had become unstable and the Stargate had shut down. Doctor Frasier was certain that he could have survived the initial injury. But no one mentioned what could have happened after the Stargate shut down and only General Hammond would ponder the consequences as he stared at the two smoking holes in the gate room floor.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Jack slowly regained consciousness. The wave of pain from his head hit him first. Next, came the nausea. Then, the awareness of sound or, in this case, the lack of sound. Finally, he allowed himself to feel his body, slowly becoming aware of a multitude of aches and pains.
Jack struggled to focus on his surroundings. He needed to be aware of what was going on around him. He couldn’t clearly remember what had happened that had resulted in him lying face down in the dirt. But he knew it couldn’t be good. He needed to know if he was still in danger. He lay perfectly still and tried to recall the recent past. He slowly began to recall the strange black and red landscape, the broken moon, and the deadly meteor shower.
No aliens with guns, just a funky Goth landscape with a busted moon. Jack allowed himself to roll over onto his back. His headache spiked as the back of his head touched the ground. He jerked up and his nausea returned in force.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t a good idea. Move slower.
Jack sat up gingerly and took a good look around him. As his nausea passed, he focused on resisting the urge to touch his head and discover how bad the injury really was. His head was both hurting and numb. He knew from experience that hurting was not good. He just assumed that numb was way worse than hurting.
He was sitting in the dirt behind the DHD. Small smoking craters peppered the area around him. He twisted around gently leaned on the DHD and took his first look at the Stargate.
“Crap!”
A not-so-small meteorite, about 12 inches in diameter, had struck the gate head on between two of the chevron points near the bottom. The finely crafted naquadah ring was dented and charred in that section. It didn’t look broken, but there was really only one way to find out.
Jack took a moment to rest before he slowly pulled himself up using the DHD as a crutch. He walked around the DHD a little unsteady, but slowly improving. The DHD had fared much better than the Stargate. It had also been struck by a small meteorite, but only on the decorative portion near the top. The rock had burned a clean hole through the top and out the back of the DHD. In fact, looking at the angle of the meteorite, Jack figured that the DHD had saved his life by deflecting the meteorite that hit him and absorbing most of its force.
With that realization, Jack raised his hand and gingerly probed the painful area on left side of his head, near the back. He got as far as the burned hair before dropping his hand. He couldn’t risk introducing anything else into the open wound. He had been very, very lucky. A concussion with large burn was a small price to pay for a near miss with a burning mass of rock moving at terminal velocity. Yup, very lucky indeed.
Jack settled his shaky hand back on the DHD and slowly began to dial Earth. Once he completed the sequence, he said a silent prayer, crossed his fingers and pushed the dome to activate the gate. He had never been particularly superstitious, but hey, every bit of luck helped.
Come on, baby. Just one more time…
He was rewarded by the sound of the Stargate dialing and a large chunking noise as the chevrons locked in one at a time. But those welcome sounds were accompanied by a screeching of metal on metal and sparking as the dented portion of the gate ground on itself trying to dial out. Jack flinched as he watched the damaged ring struggle to complete its assigned task. Even the final kawoosh was marred by sparks and electrical discharges and the event horizon sparked and flashed. It had created a wormhole, but it to his very untrained eyes, it didn’t look very stable.
Okay, not so good.
“Stargate Command, this is Colonel O’Neill. Over,” he spoke into his radio. With the wormhole unstable, he couldn’t risk taking it home. There was no telling in what condition, if at all, he would make it back in. Best to make contact and let them know he was okay.
“Colonel… ‘gate Command. We… you… status? Over.” A broken radio signal reached him through the broken Stargate. How ironic.
“The gate is broken. Repeat, the Stargate is broken. Wormhole is unstable. Got knocked on the head. Possible concussion. Other than that I’m good.” Jack noticed the camera on the MALP blinking as it adjusted to view his current position. He straightened and gave it a friendly smile and a wave. “How’s my team?”
“Team… are five… five. Repeat, the rest… SG-1 is… by five.”
“Copy, five by five. What’s my ETA to pick up?”
“Say… ‘gain.”
Trying to decipher the garbled radio signal was getting old real fast, “Repeat, what’s my ETA to pick up?”
“ETA… plus travel… Repeat… is 60 plus… Copy?”
“Copy, 60 plus travel.” Jack sighed and slumped forward on the DHD. He rubbed a tired hand over his face, stopping just before he ran it over the injury. The headache was starting to dominate his thoughts again.
Shaking his head to clear it a bit, he addressed General Hammond again, “Look, General, I doubt that I can get this heap to dial again. Let my team know that I’m counting on them. I’ll be around…”
Jack fought the overwhelming weariness and the rising nausea. He had to complete the message, “Have ‘em zero in on the MALP and the UAV locator beacons… Wherever I hole up, I’ll keep them close by…”
Jack struggled to think past the pain, “I’ll try to dial again, but don’t be surprised if I don’t. The Stargate took a direct hit. I’m lucky I got it to work this time…”
Now he was rambling. Come on Jack, pull it together. “I’ll see ya when I see ya!... Colonel O’Neill out.”
“Cop… zero on… to locate… ‘k care. See…soon… ‘GC, out.” As he deciphered the last of the message, the wormhole disengaged.
Jack slumped over the DHD, tired and in pain. With no one watching him, he could admit that his head hurt like an SOB. He pulled a couple aspirin out of his vest pocket and swallowed them dry. He just hoped it would take the edge off his headache. He had a lot he had to do before he could rest.
“Okay, Jackie-boy, what do you do first?” He eyed the MALP and then the surrounding terrain. “Let’s go get the gear, what do ya say?” He scooped up his hat off the ground behind the DHD, frowning at the char marks near the edge. He stuffed it into his cargo pocket for now. He could put it back on after he had doctored himself, maybe.
Next, he slowly walked over to the MALP and opened the side panel that held the remote controller. He glanced around the bowl around the Stargate and picked a route, in the right direction that the MALP could scale.
“Alright, find the gear. Patch the head. Then look for a good apartment in the area,” Jack spoke aloud. He was already missing his teammates. Being stranded was so much more fun when he had someone to pick on. Maybourne had been a welcome distraction, even if he did have to shoot him in the end. And being hurt and alone really sucked.
Plan in place, Jack focused his complete attention on the first step, moving the MALP in search of the dropped gear. If he kept his focus, he could forget the pain and the weariness. Carefully, he began to maneuver the MALP toward the edge of the bowl, away from the Stargate.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
General Hammond sank back into his chair. He had just finished watching the recording of Colonel O’Neill’s last contact for the third time. This last time he had frozen the video on one of the few clear images that the MALP had sent. Most of the transmission was garbled with static and snow. He had the technicians working on cleaning it up now. But, he had gotten the gist of the message and he had seen the Colonel standing at the DHD. Colonel O’Neill was alive. He had been able to make contact and relay information to Earth.
However, the general’s initial feeling of relief had been replaced with fear and dread as he regarded the stilled image. The Colonel had tried to project health and confidence through the voice transmission. And if that was all that the general had, he might have believed him.
But as he stared at the image in front of him, he saw a different picture. The colonel was struggling to stand upright and was using the DHD for support. He had turned away from the camera and was looking down at the DHD. Clearly visible was the raw bloody cut on the side of his head. The man was obviously tired and hurting, the gash on the side of his head an open testament to just how close they had come to losing him forever. His voice may have been confident, but his shoulders were slumped in pain.
Was this how Jack O’Neill looked when he let his guard down? When no one was around to see just how much it hurt? Or to notice just how tired he really was? The general’s heart went out to the man who was cast off on his own, injured and alone.
“God, Jack, what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time?” he whispered aloud to the quiet room.
General Hammond shook his head to clear his gloomy thoughts. He needed to sound happy and confident for his next call. He was going to inform the rest of SG-1 that their commander was alive and well, or well enough anyway. He picked up the phone and dialed Major Carter’s cell phone. The team should be waiting at the airport by now. Their flight to Nevada would leave within the hour.
He heard it ring twice. “Carter,” was the Major’s only greeting, short and terse with stress. It was so like Jack that it brought a smile to the general’s face.
“Major, I have some good news. Colonel O’Neill is alive and was able to dial home. Unfortunately, it was a bad connection. I’ll forward the audio to you as soon as the tech boys clean it up.” General Hammond would avoid sending the video. His team needed hope.
“Really, Sir? That’s… the best news,” he smiled as he heard the joy in her voice. “Should we come back to the mountain?”
“No. Your mission is still a go. I just thought you would like a bit of good news to speed you on your way.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir. I’ll pass the message on to the guys. Is there anything else, Sir?”
“No, Major. Just bring him home.”
“Excellent. We’ll call on a secure line as soon as we arrive.”
“I’ll look forward to it. Have a good flight.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He heard the phone click off. He regarded the image one more time, “God’s speed, Major.”
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Jack finally spotted their abandoned rucksacks after an hour of trudging beside the MALP. He allowed himself a brief rest as he fought his fatigue. One by one, he pulled the bags into a pile next to the MALP.
Okay, first, I need to doctor up my head.
Jack pulled out his first aid kit and then decided that his shaving mirror would save him from poking at it blind. Next, he laid out his supplies, water, and the mirror and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Once properly setup, he examined the wound closely.
“Ouch!” he said as he got his first good look at the wound.
A two inch long oval cut stretched across the side and back of his head. The gash was shallow but showed areas where the skin was burned raw. It was bleeding, but not as profusely as head wounds normally would, leading him to believe that the meteorite had partially cauterized the wound as it passed. The hair around the gash was completely burnt away, leaving a bald spot around the area, sporting first and second degree burns.
Of course, now that he had seen it, the gash began to throb painfully.
“Damn it! I’m getting to old for this crap, Doc,” Jack stated out loud. Talking to Doctor Frasier seemed help focus his thoughts on the task at hand. It also seemed to ease his loneliness a bit. Jack let her image pull the medical knowledge she had taught him to the forefront of his mind. He really didn’t want to doctor his own wounds all alone on an alien planet.
As if summoned, Doctor Frasier’s image mentally chided him for thinking he was too old, reminding him that he was more fit than most men half his age.
Jack squirted a small glop of sterilizing alcohol gel on the gloves. Then he carefully began to flush the wound with water from his canteen.
“I mean, can you imagine if I needed stitches. So not gonna happen, Doc… You know I don’t like needles… and you don’t want to get me started on sewing.”
Janet had taught them all basic first aid. But she had been particularly adamant about caring for burns. Considering the number of staff wounds she had to treat, he didn’t blame her. She would repeat over and over that once the wound was clean, it had to be kept clean, dry, and when possible, open.
His mental image of her was carefully instructing him even now. It was telling him that while the cut would normally require several stitches to close, the burn meant that it couldn’t be closed. At least, not yet.
Jack decided not to dwell on it for now. His head already hurt. No need to make it worse.
So, he kept up his rambling, one sided conversation, “I will forever be grateful for your deft touch… I never realized that I could do a much worse job… Not worse, really… just… a lot more… painful… Ouch! Damn it!...”
Jack used the water and a sterile gauze pad to clean out the dirt and other foreign bits, carefully trying to avoid breaking any of the blisters on the skin. He had to stop a few times to catch his breath and let his vision return to normal as the pain hit him hard.
“You always make it look so easy… Granted, I’ve never seen… you… fix yourself up. So… I guess I’ll withhold…ah… judgment today…”
Once, clean, he dabbed the area dry and then placed a clean pressure bandage over the entire area. Again listening to Janet’s stern voice, he tied the ends loosely around his head to avoid putting any pressure or friction on the area.
“I’m not a very good doctor, Doc… Not that you aren’t a good teacher…”
When he had finished with his head, he sat down with his back against the MALP, shaking. He watched his trembling hands for a few minutes before they finally steadied. The sharp stabbing pains had finally subsided to a dull aching throb that seemed to encompass his whole skull.
“Yeah, Doc… I know. I should rest and take it easy… What? The rest? Oh, yeah, I should probably do those too…”
Staring at his hands had made him aware of other small scratches and cuts that also needed attention. He carefully stood up and began doctoring the other scratches and cuts on his arms and face. He had ignored them in favor of tending the head wound, but now he needed a distraction from his pain. So he focused his attention to the other minor wounds.
“Crap! Why does this stuff have to sting so much? Let me guess, payback… Ah, finally done.”
Jack leaned on the MALP, his impromptu work table. Once again, he felt an overwhelming need to just sit and rest. He fought it. He had things to do before he could rest. Important things. He popped a few broad spectrum antibiotic pills while he tried to remember just what important things he needed to do.
Crap! He couldn’t remember what they were, but he knew they were important. He slowly put away the first aid kit and finally remembered as he tucked it away in his rucksack.
“Shelter,” he stated. He needed a place to setup camp. “Can’t stay out in the open.”
“Just a little bit further, Jackie-boy… Then you can rest…” he dragged himself over to the rucksacks and one-by-one strapped them to the MALP.
Jack then turned his attention to the landscape. He scanned the areas near by trying to find anything that could serve as shelter. His eyes finally settled on a cluster of boulders not too far from his current position. Squaring his shoulders, he picked up the MALP remote and once again trudged beside the slow machine as he picked his way across the rough terrain.
Once he had maneuvered the MALP as close to the rocks as possible, he had just enough energy to wedge himself between two rocks and the MALP. He set the safety of his P-90 before allowing himself to fall into oblivion.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Week 1 – Well, I decided to take a page out of Danny’s book, literally, and try writing down events as they happen. Sort of. I consider it getting a head start on the post-mission report. See, General, I don’t always procrastinate.
Anyway, first off, Doc, I’m glad to report that my concussion seems to be doing better. It’s a bit early on the burns and the cut, but you’ll be glad to know that Dr. Jack seems to have listened to you properly. At least, there is no sign of infection yet – crosses fingers – So far so good.
I’ve been resting – see, Doc, I can follow some orders – and trying to observe the planet. I’ve found that the meteor showers are a daily event. The second shower occurred about 30 minutes after the broken moon rose over the horizon. The good news is that I just had to stay on the lea side of the rocks. No new damage anyway. I even had some company. A rock chuck decided that I was safer than the rock shower. It was wrong.
Yes, Daniel, you can call them Rock Chucks. Though I still think Nun Chucks is way better.
Anyway, that means that I have to find better shelter. I’m going to head out tomorrow to higher ground to see what I can see.
Jack packed a light rucksack and ate an MRE for breakfast. He knew that he needed the calories for his hike today. If he could get to the top of that hill today, then he might be able to find better shelter before the moon decided to rise later in the day. At least, that was the plan.
Jack found the nearly barren landscape fairly easy to navigate with its unique rock formations making perfect navigation points. His first goal was to find water. He would quickly run dry and he needed a reliable source of water nearby. He was hoping that it was non-toxic, but soon he wouldn’t have much of a choice.
Once he found water, he would need to find reliable shelter and a sustainable food source. Even with all four packs, he didn’t have enough food to last more than a week. It was supposed to be a short mission. Hours, not days. So his team had packed only enough to cover their time off-world plus a few extra meals, just in case.
Jack walked slowly to the visible hill. It looked like a mini-volcano and was devoid of all vegetation. The barren black mass rose a significant distance above the level ground. If there was anything to see, he should be able to spot it from the top.
Jack eyed the mound carefully before he started to climb to the top. He spent the next hour trying to climb to the top without falling or twisting his ankle. The lava rock that formed the mound was nothing more than loose rocks. Sharp, loose, lava rocks. He spent nearly as much time on his hands and knees as he did walking.
But once he reached the top, the view was breath taking. The lava fields that the Stargate were located in were vast and stretched for miles in every direction. But they were frequently broken by small groves of trees and scrub. In the distance, Jack could make out a tree covered mountain range. He also noted a deep ravine not too far away. He could see the tops of trees poking out of it, so it might contain a water source.
“Where there are trees, there must be water…I hope.”
Jack scanned all four directions and found that the mountains beyond the ravine were closer than any other promising shelter. He checked the horizon. No moon yet. Finally, he sat down with this pen and paper out and began to sketch out a rough map of the area. He marked the location of the Stargate and tried to detail the path from his current home in a small cluster of rocks to his future home. He was hoping the ravine had water, but mapped the route to the mountains in case it didn’t.
Once he was finished, he checked his work against his compass. Granted, this wasn’t Earth, but each planet seemed to have a magnetic point that the compass gravitated towards. Jack had gotten into a habit of calling that direction North, regardless of whether it was a pole or not. It made life simpler to navigate by a known system.
He marked magnetic North on his map. In this case, the Stargate and the lava fields were north of the mountains, and the moons rose in the Southwest. Satisfied, he checked the horizon again. Still no moons. So far, so good.
Jack packed up his map and began the careful journey back to his shelter in the rocks. He would start his hike for the mountains tomorrow.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Week 2 – Found a direction. I am making my way to a small mountain range beyond the lava fields. Looks like the vegetation is more plentiful and that means water and food. I hate to get too far from the Stargate, even if it is broken, but it can’t be helped. I have enough water for today and maybe tomorrow if I ration it. I have to find a safe source soon. I had to leave the MALP and most of the equipment behind so I can move faster. It’s just slowing me down too much.
The good news is that there seems to be more animal life on this planet than we first thought. Besides my friend the rock chuck, I have seen a deer-like animal in small herds, several birds, and something that was hunting the rock chuck. It kinda looked like a cross between a cat and a squirrel. I’m still debating a name, but I’m leaning towards ‘squitty.’
Medical update – still no sign of infection. Headache is almost manageable. Keeping up on the antibiotics, just in case. Doc always said that burns were pain. But I didn’t think she meant it quite so literally. Now that the headache is down, the damn burn is killing me. But the blisters seem to be getting smaller. I still don’t know what to do about the cut. I know it will scar, Doc. Can’t be helped. But as long as it doesn’t get infected I’m going to leave it open. You can fix it later. I’m getting as much rest as I can, but realistically, until I setup a permanent camp, I can’t afford to rest as much as you would want. Sorry, Doc.
Jack found that moving the MALP was slow going. He didn’t think that he could afford the time to maneuver the lumbering equipment through the rocky landscape. Last night, he decided to pack a day pack to scout for water sources without the MALP. He was careful to park it safely out of the meteor shower’s path. Now, unhindered, he had to find a water source.
Jack hiked past more of the same rock formations, no longer avoiding the rocky obstacles. He spotted several more of the alien deer and his rock chuck friends. He knew that there had to be water nearby for the animals, but couldn’t seem to find it for himself.
He was at the ravine before he saw the first hints at open water. He carefully climbed down one of the more stable slopes of the ravine, seeking shelter from the daily meteor storm. The ravine was lush with trees and bushes. Apparently, the ravine sheltered them from the meteors so they grew tall and straight. He identified several trees and bushes before the smell of water distracted him. He tracked down to the bottom of the ravine and finally found the small stream, no more that 4 feet across and about 1 foot deep.
Jack collected a canteen of water before heading to the south side of the ravine to shelter from the meteor shower. He settled into a protected corner niche and pulled out the water test kit. It was drinkable, hopefully. He just hoped that it didn’t include too many alien bacteria seeking a human home. Well, he’d have to get used to them eventually. He didn’t have enough iodine pills to last a day. Not to mention that the pills made the water taste horrible. Jack gave the water a sip. It tasted a bit earthy, but hey, it came from a surface stream, so that was to be expected.
Now, if he could find a good sized cave not too far from here, he would be set. Then again, how was he going to get the MALP down the ravine?
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” he said to himself.
After the meteor shower, Jack hiked along the south wall of the ravine looking for suitable shelter. As the sun set, he settled himself in a quiet southern corner of the ravine. He setup his camp and started a small fire to ward off the chilly night air.
Jack was finding the darkness rather lonely. During the day, he could keep busy and his mind would focus on the tasks at hand. When night fell, he had been too tired to do more than fall into an exhausted sleep. His healing body demanding the rest it couldn’t get during the day.
But tonight was different. He knew that he should be tired, but his body was finally getting used to the exhausting work of survival. And tonight he couldn’t seem to calm his thoughts enough to sleep.
Jack sighed and allowed his thoughts to wander. He pulled up some of his happier memories, with his team front and center. It helped that he knew they were okay. They would do what they needed to bring him home. Experience had reinforced that lesson several times. Hell, if they could find him in Ba’al funhouse, this rescue would be a piece of cake.
No, his problem wasn’t a lack of faith. His problem was what to do while he waited. This planet had no people, no diversions, no convenient lakes to fish in, and no one to talk to. It was this last item that was bugging him the most.
It had been a long time since he was completely alone. Someone was always close by. Neighbors, his team, other prisoners, prison guards, even Maybourne. He didn’t usually feel the need to talk to anyone, but their very presence was comforting. He may not say much and definitely nothing deep, but he did interact with others.
And now he missed them. Mostly he missed his team, but Hammond, Walter, even the grumpy guard on the Level 12 security post.
“Man, you’ve changed, Jack… You’ve been alone for a few days and you get all lonely… And what would Daniel have to say about that, do you think? Quote some dead civilization? Try to reason why, or drag out how much you really do care for them?...” Jack smiled as he spoke out loud, breaking the silence around him.
“Drag out my feelings. Definitely!” He chuckled to himself. “What ever happened to your theme song, Jackie-boy?... ‘I am a rock. I am an Island. And a rock feels no pain. And an island never cries.’…”
He stared into the flames of his small campfire, remembering his days in Special Tactics. Before he met Sarah and invited her onto his island… “Long gone, Jackie-boy,” he said sadly. “That song no longer holds any answers.”
He let the Simon and Garfunkel song float through his mind. ‘I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It's laughter and it's loving, I disdain.’
Yup, definitely does NOT apply any more. I like my friends. I cherish their laughter. It absolutely makes my day when I get a little smile out of Teal’c, a muffled snort out of Carter, and a resigned sigh out of Daniel, more so if I can get all three at the same time.
“But, Simon and Garfunkel always did have a song to fit any mood,” he sighed and then began to sing quietly in a mellow tenor while his hands fingered the chords he would play if he had his guitar.
“Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
“In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
“And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
“And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence.”
Jack was sure his team would be shocked to know that he could sing. Let alone, do it well. He had to keep some secrets. His voice and his skill with a guitar were but two small secrets he kept. They were a secret habit that he rarely indulged in.
But tonight, the art of song worked its magic once again. He was comforted by the sound as it echoed off the rock walls around him. He suddenly felt less lonely and just a bit more in touch with his mismatched family back on Earth. ‘Silence like a cancer grows.’ Yes, it does. So, I will not give in to silence. He smiled as he finally settled down to sleep.
“Night guys,” he whispered into the quiet darkness.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Week 2 – update – Found Water! It is basically free from contaminates according to the kit... I hope. Not much choice now. Doesn’t taste too bad and I haven’t gotten sick… yet.
Still looking for a place to stay. The ravine seems pretty sheltered. If I can’t find a decent cave, I may just set up against the south wall. Depends on how today’s little rock storm goes. Yesterday, it seemed to only throw an occasional rock at the northern wall.
Food is going to start being a problem next. I have MRE’s for about three more days. I plan on testing the plant life over the next few days and trying out the local rock chuck. History states that it should taste like chicken. Knowing my luck it will taste more like snake. Not my favorite survival food.
Sorry, Doc. Looks like I didn’t do it right. I told you I’d make a bad doctor. Found the first signs of infection on one of the burn blisters. I doubled the antibiotics. Nothing too serious yet, but my headache is back. Don’t worry. I only plan on finding shelter today. I’ll rest. I promise.
Jack wandered up and down the ravine looking for a decent sized shelter. He hardly noticed when the meteor shower started. Of course, he took shelter when he heard the first of the space rocks smash into the Northern wall of the ravine. But he felt silly for not keeping a closer eye on the sky.
As luck would have it, he nearly fell into the perfect cave. He had been walking along a deer trace when he stumbled. He was able to catch himself from sliding far by falling flat on his butt. The shock of his fall aggravated his headache, making it throb in time with his heartbeat. As he sat there, trying to get the pain back under control, he noticed the cave concealed in the bushes.
“Sweet!”
Jack slowly climbed back to his feet and pushed the bushes aside with his P-90. He stepped inside the entrance and waited for his eyesight to adjust to the dim light. He carefully scanned the area before moving forward. He cleared all the corners, cracks, and even flipped the rocks.
Next, he examined structure of the cave. It wasn’t huge. But there was plenty of room for his gear. It was concealed from casual view, just in case this planet was inhabited after all. It was also defensible with a rock wall that protruded from one side, creating a natural firing position. It also looked stable. All big pluses in Jack’s mind.
“Home Sweet Home,” he stated, before he dropped his rucksack. “Little paint, new carpet, and it’ll be as good as new.” He rested a few minutes before he started to make the cave more livable. After all, he did promise the Doc that he would take it easy.
Jack cleared the rocks out of one sheltered corner and then created a fire ring not too far inside the cave entrance. Next, he headed out into the bushes to collect leaf litter. Pine boughs would be better, but the trees in the ravine were more closely related to the Aspen, than a pine tree. But anything would be better than the dirt and stone floor. Finally, he set out to collect fire wood.
While he was at the stream, taking a break from collecting firewood, he noticed an odd track in the mud. It almost looked like a sandal except for four clawed toe prints at the end. It reminded him of the prints his dog would make, except for the long foot. Odd, but then it would make sense to have at least one large predator in the area. With as much game as he had seen in the ravine, they had to be hunted by something besides the funky cat-squirrel.
Jack gave a tired sigh, “Figures. I can’t get stranded on a nice, safe planet. I always have to pick the hazardous ones.” He picked up his collected wood and turning an alert eye on his surroundings, he returned to the cave.
Later that night, fire brightly burning, he finally allowed himself to rest. He was running a slight fever and his headache was worse. He was feeling miserable and restless and all alone.
Giving in to his need to hear another voice, he decided to sing again. Something a bit more cheerful, if still mellow. He started to hum the melody and then to sing Silent Lucidity to help ease his homesickness. The echo even provided a decent chorus.
He could just imagine Daniel’s reaction. He smiled with that thought and drifted off into a restless sleep.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
From the darkness, she watched the Tar. It appeared to be alone. She had spotted it earlier when she was hunting the gaff and followed it to its den. Its kind had infested the best planets and her people could ill afford to lose even one of their homes to the creatures.
Her first intent had been to kill it. But something stayed her hand as it nested. When it began to sing, she had been entranced. She didn’t know the meaning of its words, but the song was one of lonely hope. Its voice reached out and touched on her loneliness.
She had crashed on this planet a few weeks ago, losing her mate and the rest of her crew. They had been exploring potential new planets. Of the five planets with suitable atmosphere, four had already been infested with Tar. This planet was the fifth. While scanning from orbit, the ship had accidentally navigated into an asteroid field. Their shields had failed and while attempting to land, her mate and the other Mar under her protection had failed to secure themselves for the impending crash. They didn’t live long enough to breath the air of this planet.
But she was Mar and the Mar are strong. Not like the stupid, primitive Tar. The Mar ruled the skies and hunted the land. They were the swift, silent predators of the night. They lived in proper dens, not like this Tar and its pathetic rock home.
Still, she was curious. She had never seen a Tar up close. The Mar avoided contact with the Tar when possible. They were an intelligent animal. And as such, they were given space to grow. However, the Mar had long puzzled how the Tar had traveled to so many worlds, when they were obviously such a primitive race.
She knew that on other planets they had mastered fire and could build dens, much like this Tar. But she had never seen them near anything that could travel through the cold, lifeless void of space.
She crept forward to get a better look at the creature, but hesitated as she reached the bushes outside its den. They would make noise, and she didn’t want to alert it to her presence. Peeking through the leaves, she found that she couldn’t see it. She nodded approvingly. It was smart enough to hide out of sight.
She could watch it later. It seemed to like the daylight. She would be able to see it much clearer from a distance then. But for now, she was hungry and she had a hunt to complete. The gaff would be bedded down in the dark and easy prey.
Silently, she slipped back into the darkness. Her slitted eyes perfect for a nighttime hunt. Her dappled pelt blending in with the dark shadows perfectly.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Week 3 – Found a cave. It’s big enough to be comfortable for the long haul. But the bed leaves a lot to be desired. I would kill for my mattress right now. Okay, so I’m a little grumpy, go figure.
Fever hit me hard. Still a little achy, but it seems to have finally broken. The infected part of the burn looks better. I’m almost out of Earth water. I am using it only for my head now. The stream water isn’t too bad for drinking.
I’ve spent the last few days ‘resting.’ And I feel much better, really.
Today, I plan on trying to get the MALP closer to my new base of operations. I’m not sure that the locator beacon’s signal will make it out of the ravine. So, I’ve decided to park it on the top of the cliff that borders on the ravine. I’ll carry the UAV to the cave. That way, you guys can find the MALP. I’ll leave a note with it to direct you into the ravine. From there you can follow the UAV signal.
Made an interesting discovery the other day. Apparently, there is a large predator in the area. I have only found one track so far, but it is probably about 4 or 5 feet long. I just hope it decides that I don’t look tasty. It would be depressing to survive a burning space rock to get eaten by the local predator.
Jack geared up the next morning with just his vest and weapon. He decided to leave his rucksack in the new cave. But to make sure he didn’t lose his new home, he carved the Earth gate symbol in the tree closest to the entrance. He continued to carve a blaze in trees along the path back to the other side of the ravine and back up to the lava fields.
More than once, he felt eyes on him, but he couldn’t seem to locate their source in the dense foliage. He was almost glad to be back in the open. At least now, he would be able to see whatever was tracking him. Keeping a close eye on his back trail, he hiked back to the MALP, his only stop to seek shelter from the meteor shower. He finally reached the MALP late that afternoon.
Jack was exhausted. He knew that he should have rested more after the fever broke, but he wanted to get all the gear in one place. He could forget how tired he was if he was moving. He would only dwell on it if he stayed in one place. Not to mention the fact that he needed the last of the MRE’s that were stowed on the MALP if he wanted to eat tonight.
He debated for several minutes before deciding to try and push the MALP back towards the ravine. He would stop when it got dark. He wouldn’t be able to go on much further then anyway. Decision made, plan in place, he pulled out the remote and began to maneuver the MALP out into the open.
He had made good progress by the time he settled into a sheltered spot that evening. He had even managed to zat two fat rock chucks without stopping the MALP’s slow progress. He had only meant to hit one, but the other one had been too close. The small creatures were killed by the single charge. Jack was just happy that he could postpone his MRE meal for another day.
Jack had just finished cleaning and skinning one of the creatures and was about to set it over the fire when he heard a loud yelp of pain nearby. He was instantly on alert with his rifle ready. He crept forward and put the small fire to his back. His eyes adjusted to the dark. As he listened, he could hear a large animal growling and struggling a short distance away.
Jack didn’t want to become food, but he did want intel on the large predator that most likely shared his home in the ravine. He circled around the noisy creature until he could see it without risking himself. But he didn’t see what he expected.
He stared in surprise at the creature before him. Definitely not an animal. Definitely not human. The alien was about five feet tall and covered in a short dense fur. It was wearing an abbreviated version of a flight suit with an open chest and a complicated tool belt that seemed to loop over both shoulders and around the creature’s waist. Its face was almost cat-like, with a short muzzle and short sharp fangs. Its ears were on the top of its head, again like a cat. He assumed that they were mobile, because they were currently laid back as the creature growled and hissed at the log that had trapped its foot.
Jack approached slowly trying to make noise. Apparently, it was focused solely on its trapped foot, because it never turned in his direction.
“Um… Hello?” he asked.
The alien whipped around all open hostility with a low throaty growl.
“Easy there… I come in peace and all that... Ah…It looks like you need some help.” He gestured towards the log with his free hand, his other firmly on his P-90 carefully pointing away from the creature.
The alien stopped growling and eyed him warily. He took a small step forward again hand still open and extended.
“Grak nok, Tar,” it spat, flexing its fingers to display sharp retractable claws, but didn’t start growling again.
Jack took that as a good sign. “I got it. Big bad alien will kick my ass.” He figured if it talked, it was fairly intelligent. It should be able to figure out that he wanted to help. “Help?” he asked again.
It continued to stare at him and he returned the stare with one of his own. Finally, it gave a short nod, and gestured to the log, “Kash.”
“Okay,” he said in return. “Let’s see what the problem is.” Jack examined the log and the surrounding rocks. It looked like the alien had slipped off the log when it rolled, neatly trapping its leg. Alone, it didn’t have the leverage to roll the log off.
“Alright,” he said, looking it directly in the eyes. “I have to roll the log away from your leg. Then you pull it free.” It continued to eye him. “Right, you don’t understand a word I’m saying. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get it.” He slowly approached the log and with a silent prayer to not be eaten, released his death grip on his weapon as he grabbed the log and braced his legs.
He gave the alien a closed lip smile, “On three, one, two, three…” He pulled and felt the heavy log move. He grimaced as he felt the weight pull on his achy muscles. He saw the alien wiggle its leg out of its rocky confines. Once it was completely free, Jack released the log. The heavy log thumped back into place, minus its captive.
The alien scurried a few feet away from the log before turning to once again watch him. “Kal,” it stated quietly, no longer displaying open hostility.
This time it was Jack’s turn to watch. The alien didn’t seem to have a weapon, but with those claws, it really didn’t need one. Still, he showed limited trust by not putting his hand back on his P-90, which was harder than he imagined, because he really wanted to hold it ready on target, but Daniel’s voice haunted him.
“You have to show them that you trust them or they will never trust you,” Daniel had argued one night over pizza and beer. They had been discussing Daniel’s approach to the alien people they had encountered. Jack arguing for a show of force, while Daniel argued for the peaceful explorer approach.
“But I don’t trust them, Daniel,” he had retorted.
Daniel had just smiled, “Yeah, but they don’t know that.”
“Okay, Danny boy, now what?” he whispered to himself, while he watched the alien. Introduce yourself.
“Hi!” he said with a wave. “I’m Jack.” The alien looked confused. “Jack,” he repeated tapping himself on the chest. “Jack,” he stated one more time, before the alien finally seemed to comprehend what he was saying.
It pointed to him, “Jak.” Then back at itself, “Kali nost venta Mar.” It cocked its head to one side.
“Kali nose vent amar,” he tried to repeat.
The alien shook its head. Obviously, he butchered it. No surprise there. Then it stated, “Kali.”
“Kali?” Jack asked, hoping he got it right.
This time the alien nodded and gave a toothy smile.
“Kali, nice to meet you,” Jack waved. “Look, I know that you can’t understand me, but I got a nice fire, back over there,” he gestured to his campfire, barely visible in the distance. “You’re more than welcome to join me, providing of course that you don’t eat me. Not so keen on being eaten.” Jack was banking that Kali could easily have killed him already if it had been so inclined. Needless to say, Mother Nature had given its kind more in the natural defense department. So, hoping it was not so inclined, he invited it back to camp. A watched alien never attacks… or some such.
Kali was concentrating on him, trying to understand his meaning. It obviously didn’t get it. Okay, try, try again.
“Kali,” he pointed at the alien. “Comes,” he gestured with a come here hand wave. “With Jack,” he tapped himself on the chest. “Home,” this time he pointed to the fire. “Kali comes home with Jack,” he repeated.
Jack slowly turned back towards the fire and took a step. Once again, he was trusted it to not attack, even though every fiber of his being wanted to turn. He took a few steps before he felt compelled to turn back to see if the alien was following.
Jack finally saw its comprehension. “Kash,” it said, and rose to its feet and slowly limped forward. Jack smiled and waited for it.
Once they reached the campfire, Jack tossed another log into the flames, so he could see the alien more clearly. The more he saw, the more he was reminded of a cat, minus the tail. Kali was obviously intelligent. Not just a smart animal. He both hoped and dreaded that its people were nearby. They might make his stay just a bit easier until his team came to pick him up. Or, they could eat him. Jack wasn’t sure which way he was leaning yet.
“So, Kali, where are you from? Yeah, I know you don’t what I’m saying. But I figure that between the two of us, we’ll be chatting up a storm before long. Well, I will anyway.” As he started talking, Jack picked up the rock chuck he had prepared and set it up on a make shift spit. “You hungry?” he asked. When he received a blank look, he simplified, “Eat?” he gestured with his hand to his mouth.
“Gresh? Kash,” the alien replied, making the same gesture.
“Kash?” Jack repeated. He had heard that word several times. He thought it meant ‘yes.’
“Kash,” Kali replied with its odd smile.
“Kash, okay. Sweet. Now, we’re talking,” Jack pulled out the second rock chuck and held it up for Kali to see, then tossed it over to the alien at its gesture.
Jack watched as the alien pulled out a short knife and deftly cleaned the small animal. However, he had to look away when his new friend began to consume choice organs raw. Soon, he was distracted by his own dinner, but ever watchful of his guest.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Kali ate quickly and neatly. She had been surprised when the Tar appeared out of the dark. She had stalked him all day and only grown more confused. It had wandered out into the wastes with no supplies. Then it had approached a machine that should have been too advanced for its primitive race. But it had demonstrated its knowledge by moving the slow machine back towards its nest.
Finally, it had settled down to rest at sunset. But when she had slipped and gotten trapped under the log, it had appeared. She wasn’t sure how it would react to seeing her. She had thought it would attack or run away, that was why she had threatened it. But instead of being properly afraid, it had offered to help her and then invited her to its temporary nest. It had even given her a proper host offering and then let her eat first, as is a female’s right and duty. Though she had no idea how or when the Tar had caught the paz.
Until now, she didn’t know that a Tar could be so civilized. She had even begun to think of it as a male. It was hard to tell with its garments, but it deferred to her like a male should and she did know that the Tar had male and female.
But what was a male doing out here all alone? Where was his female protector? Surely he wasn’t a loner? He was too well cared for to be a loner. No, he must have recently lost his protector.
In her loneliness, she was half tempted to take the Tar under her protection. It was her duty as a female to care for the males and any other Mar under her protection. Even with her mate and the other Mar dead, she still felt the urge to protect. Perhaps, she could take him under her protection until she found him a better female, a Tar female.
Yes, she would do that. Tar planets were littered with large numbers of Tar. Surely, it wouldn’t be that hard to find a Tar female. It would give her purpose until… until her final hunt.
Kali knew that her people would never come looking for her. Explorer teams went missing all the time. It was a calculated risk that they took so they could be the first to find a new hunting ground, to have their children claim the choicest lands with the richest food. Once her team failed to report on the planet’s viability, the Mar would continue looking for new hunting grounds. Her chances of being found were very small and she had resigned herself to living out her days, childless and alone.
Perhaps that is why she was considering caring for the Tar. Her people always moved in packs, always with a female protector and her mate. She had fought for her position as a pack leader, just as she had fought for her choice of mates. She had always been strong. But she had never really been alone before.
Kali had decided that she didn’t like being alone. Even the company of the Tar was better than being all alone. Yes, she would care for the Tar, Jak. She would find him a strong female. And perhaps the female would allow her to join her pack as well.
Yes, that is a good plan. I will live with the Tar until my final hunt.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
Week 3 – update – Found a new friend. Its name is Kali. It’s that predator I was talking about yesterday. Intelligent. Alien. Alone as far as I can tell. Likes its dinner raw. Yeah, I know. No accounting for taste. Anyway, if this is my last entry in this journal, Kali ate me while I slept. Look for a large cat-like alien. Kali by name.
Anyway, I pulled a log off it and invited it home. Daniel, thanks for the tips. We are starting to communicate. Well, exchanged names and did a lot of gesturing. But I think it’s safe to sleep. Not much choice anyway. I’m trying to play nice in case it has friends. Heck, I’ll be happy if it just doesn’t eat me.
Fever is still gone. Headache is better. Tired, but what else is new.
I’ve got the MALP about half way back to my cave. I’ll set it up on the ridge line before lugging the rucksacks down to the cave. I expect my friend to abandon me either tonight or in the morning. Again, providing it doesn’t eat me.
Jack was half surprised when he woke up in the morning. He knew that he would have to sleep sometime. One man cannot take a 24-hour watch and expect to be effective, especially, an injured and recovering man. So, he was pleasantly surprised to wake up.
However, he was more surprised to find that his guest was still there, and, as the morning wore on, apparently not leaving anytime soon. After the novelty of showing Kali how to maneuver the MALP wore off, Jack checked his map and compass and started off for the ravine once more.
This time, though, he found himself talking to the alien. It appeared to listen closely to his words as if trying to decipher them. So, Jack stopped his rambling one-sided conversations in favor of a name game. He would name an object and Kali would return with a name for the same object in its language. Next they would practice pronunciation until both were satisfied. Then they would pick a new object.
This game distracted Jack enough that the morning flew by. When they stopped to seek shelter from the daily meteor shower, Jack was surprised that he and the alien were actually beginning to communicate. Of course, Daniel would already be discussing theology with the alien. But Jack was pleased with his progress. He was hoping that he could actually talk to Kali’s people when they turned up to find it.
Kali, on the other hand, seemed to just want to learn his language. It would only talk to him using the words it had learned from him. It was already forming simple sentences. But Jack had decided that it was more important to communicate than to insist on communicating in Kali’s language, for now anyway. But Jack knew that he needed to speak Kali’s language if he was going to be able to talk to its people.
After the meteor shower, Kali seemed to want to communicate something, but couldn’t find the words in its limited grasp of English. Through a series of hand gestures and finally acting out, Jack finally voiced the alien’s words.
“Hunt… You want to go hunting. Sure, no problem. I’ll just keep going this way.”
“Hunt… Kash! Kali hunt. Jak… kor tak,” Kali insisted.
“Kor tak… keep going?” Jack pointed to himself and then gestured in the direction they were headed.
“Va! No!... kor tak…” Kali said again this time gesturing its palm flat on the ground. “Kor tak.”
Jack suddenly understood, “Kor tak… stay here?” To illustrate his understanding, he promptly sat on the ground, “kor tak? Stay here.”
“Kash! Kor tak. Shtay here,” Kali jumped excited that it had communicated its message.
Jack stood up, “No... Va… Kali hunt. Jack keeps going.” Without waiting for Kali to understand, Jack started the MALP going towards the ravine. He was hoping to reach the edge well before nightfall and to do that, he needed to keep going.
Behind him he could hear Kali spit out a string of words that he couldn’t understand. However, Jack always knew when someone was cursing at him in any language. Daniel had trained him well. So he turned back.
“Kali, va!” he strained to remember what it had said last night. The threat. “Grak nor, Kali. I’m not an easy kill. I can take care of myself. Go. Hunt. Kash?”
His words seemed to surprise the alien. It may not have understood everything, but his intent was clear. It would not order him around. It was free to come or go, but it could not dictate his movements. He put that understanding in his eyes and stared straight at the alien.
It finally nodded, “Kash.” Kali gave him one last considering look before turning and sprinting off. Watching it spring and leap over rocks and dodge trees, he wasn’t surprised that it considered him ill equipped to survive on his own.
But who needed lightening reactions and razor sharp claws when you had the wits to create weapons to do the job for you. Jack patted his trusty P-90 and once more started the MALP for the ravine.
~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG~~SG
That foolish barbaric male. He dared to defy her orders. Well, it would serve him right to go hungry this night.
Kali flew over the ground, venting her anger. The gaff didn’t stand a chance against her anger once she spotted it. And as she stood over the dead gaff, no… it was called a deer, she began to regret her anger.
The kill was quick, but sloppy. She should know better. She had been a pack leader. Anger had no place on a hunt.
She sighed and picked up the carcass and began the trek back to where she had left Jak and his machine. She should know better. Just because she had adopted Jak into her pack did not mean he would act like a Mar male. It was one reason the Mar avoided the Tar. They were different, unpredictable, smarter than other animals, but totally uncivilized.
But she had begun to like this Tar. Jak was funny when he mispronounced her words. She had not realized how lonely she had been until she had listened to the Tar ramble on in his language. She liked how he would talk to her, even if he knew that she didn’t understand the words. How the simple sound of speech, alien as it was, was enough to break the silence and ease her loneliness.
Jak seemed to know how it helped. Perhaps he was simply speaking to hear his own language, to ease his own loneliness. But regardless of why he did it, it helped her. She was grateful for that.
But his defiance was new and unexpected. When she had claimed him as a part of her pack, she had expected him to follow her orders. A Mar male would know this and comply. A Tar male was even less equipped to defend itself than a Mar. Yet, Jak was confident of his own defense.
Perhaps he didn’t know that she had claimed him as pack. She had said nothing aloud. To a Mar, his invitation to his camp was both his asking for protection and his consent to obey. By staying the night, she had accepted his offer. But what if these things meant something else to a Tar? She would have to think on it.
Once she reached her starting point, she easily tracked Jak to his new position. He had abandoned the machine at the edge of the ravine and climbed down. She could clearly see his tracks into the trees. She knew he was heading for his den, but she followed his trail anyway, deftly dodging obstacles with her heavy burden.
She was so intent on the trail that she was startled when she heard his voice.
“Kali?” he asked. He had a hard look in his eyes. He was playing with his black box again, the one he kept strapped to his chest. She thought that it was some kind of totem. It was large and awkward, but he never let it leave his reach.
“Kash, Jak,” she replied.
He merely nodded a reply and started back up the trail. It was then that she noticed he had increased his load. He picked up two of the large green bags she had seen tied to the malp. Curious, she followed him back to his den.
She approved as he stopped outside the den, removed his burden, and then carefully investigated the cave. Soon, he was back outside and carrying his bags into the cave. He even gave her a ‘come here’ gesture, as if giving her consent to enter.
Yes, she would have to rethink her treatment of this Tar. By Mar custom, he was under her protection, but what was he under Tar custom? The Tar were so alike and yet so different. She would have to meditate on it that evening.
But first she would see to their meal. She neatly cleaned and skinned the gaff-deer. She began to slice the meat into meal sized portions and had set aside a portion for Jak. But when she turned to give it to him, he was gone.
At first, she was alarmed. No male left without alerting the female to his whereabouts. But Jak was not Mar. She reigned in her alarm and immediately set out to find him.
She was surprised that she couldn’t hear him thrashing through the bushes. She was more surprised when she finally found him. He was already on his way back to the den with another green bag on his back. This one had some kind of machine strapped to it.
Relief flowed through her. She almost called out to him, but stopped when she remembered that he was not Mar. He didn’t want her protection the same way a Mar would. She would still protect him, but she would have to be more subtle.
Kali shadowed him back to the cave. He was deft and silent in the woods. Finally, she slipped ahead of him on the trail and into the den. She waited for him at the entrance as he announced himself and deposited his green bag with the others. Then she directed him to his meat.
“Jak, gresh… eat.”
“Kal,” he replied. “Thanks.”
Once again, he charred his meat over the fire. She wrinkled her nose at the smell, but said nothing. Finally, he began rambling in his language. She was beginning to get a feel for the language. Not the words exactly, but for the tone and meter. It flowed almost like a song.
The tongue of the Mar was not so lyrical. It didn’t flow easily from the mouth. It was harsh and abrupt. Only in song did it have a lyrical quality. Yet she missed it. Missed hearing her pack bark at each other. How far had she fallen to seek the company of a Tar?
“Kali,” Jak said to get her attention. Then he asked her something, she didn’t understand, but she didn’t care. He could do what ever he wanted. He would anyway.
“Kash,” she replied, giving him permission, though she didn’t know what it was for.
He gave her a huge smile and began to sing for her in his language. She had thought that listening to him outside the cave was magical, but sitting in the cave she could hear his voice echo off the walls. It almost sounded like the whole pack was together once again. It made her heart swell. She may have lost her pack, but at least she was not alone.
TBC
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Of Falling Rocks and Unlikely Allies
by RoczaStory Bemerkung:
This story was originally published as a part of the Jack-Fic-A-Thon zine on Jackfic.net. Due to JFAT rules, I could not publish it here until now. Below is the original plot bunny submitted to the JFAT contest. I want to thank the person who submitted the prompt for creating a good writing challenge. I loved researching and writing this story. Enjoy!Jack-Fic-A-Thon Prompt:
Jack is separated from his team off-world and must survive in a hostile environment in which he encounters another sentient non-humanoid struggling to survive. Jack must handle the first contact all by himself (the non-humanoid does not speak English!) and work toward rescue for both of them. Eventually he finds/is found by his team.
Want - Realistic Jack whumpage/ h-c is a much-appreciated bonus.
Don’t want – ship, Tok'ra, Aris Boch, or Jonas.
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