Stargazers Stargaters Parts 6-10
Stargazers Stargaters Parts 6-10
by jane
Summary: Liz Parker and Alex Whitman (from Roswell) are recruited into the SGC.
Category: Crossovers, Drama, Future Story, Mystery, Romance
Crossover: Roswell
Season: Season 2
Pairing: Daniel/Share, Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adult themes, minor language
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 05/24/03
Part 6
Just over a week later, nine scientists, including Liz Parker and Alex Whitman were scheduled to travel to P3X-599. One SG-team of four Marines was to accompany them, along with two Special Forces from a second SG-team, who's other two members were laid up with minor injuries. Once there however, things did not go as smoothly as they had on Liz's first off-world mission. First, one of the Marines was called back because his pregnant wife had gone into labor one month early and they might have to perform a cesarean section on her. The next day, one of the scientists was stung by some alien insect and was rushed back to the Infirmary with a bump on his arm the size of a golf ball. And today, a second Marine had to be sent back after stepping into that planet's equivalent of a rabbit hole, probably breaking his ankle.
"Will they finally send some replacements do you think; let us go on as we are, or recall the whole group of us?" Liz asked Alex, as they sat eating their lunch later that day.
"I don't know, Liz." Alex answered. "I doubt that they will leave things the way they are since they are always so careful to baby-sit us twenty-four hours a day, but I hope they don't call us all back. I guess it will depend on who's available to replace the Marines we've lost." Liz nodded her agreement.
"Hey, the Stargate is activating, maybe they're sending replacements." Liz said as she saw the Marine in charge standing by the DHD, short for Dial-home-device; the alien mechanism for activating the Stargate. It was about three feet high and three feet around, with a circular panel on top, set at about forty-five degrees. Two rings with all the Stargate symbols marked on them circled a large, orange hemisphere.
The Marine received a message through the wormhole and then he ordered his team to stand down from defending the Gate from a possible attack; friendlies were coming through. A moment later, four people stepped through the Gate and then it deactivated itself.
"Hey that's Daniel and Sam!" Liz exclaimed happily.
"And Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c." Alex observed quietly.
"Hey Daniel, Sam." Liz called as her two friends walked over.
"Hey you two, are we being honored with SG-1's protection today? Wow!" Alex grinned.
"You should feel honored, Dr. Whitman." Sam put on her military personae but then broke into a grin.
"So, what are you two working on?" Daniel asked.
"Come on, we'll show you." Liz said and the four of them walked over to where Liz and Alex had been working.
A couple of hours later, O'Neill and Teal'c walked by as they made their rounds of the camp again.
"Hey kids, how's it going?" He called out.
"Fine sir, Alex has done a great job reverse engineering this piece of Goa'uld technology. We'll be able to test it soon. How's everything on your end of things, Colonel?" Sam asked.
"Just peachy, Captain. In fact it's so perfectly quiet here, it's almost boring." O'Neill said.
"Ooh he shouldn't have said that." Liz whispered to Daniel who was working nearby on some artifacts they'd found.
"Nope." Daniel whispered back, but Teal'c, who had been looking around their work area, heard them.
"Why do you say that DoctorParker?" Teal'c asked, curious and Liz looked up, blushing.
"What'd she say, Teal'c?" Jack asked his friend and teammate.
"DoctorParker stated that you should not have said that everything was just peachy, O'Neill. Why? Were you not accurate in your report of the situation?" The large Jaffa asked, confused.
"No, I was accurate, Teal'c. Why don't we ask the good doctor why she said what she did?" O'Neill looked over to Liz, who was still blushing but she turned to face the Colonel.
"I'm sorry, Colonel, I didn't mean anyone to hear me...As to what I said...just call me superstitious or overly cautious. In my experience if someone asks 'what else could go wrong?' they'll soon find out what else could go wrong. So when you told Sam that 'it's so perfectly quiet here, it's almost boring', and sounded as if you wish it weren't so quiet, my...paranoia kicked in." Liz tried to grin engagingly.
"Well, Doctor, maybe you should leave the paranoia to me, okay?" Colonel O'Neill replied.
"Of course, Colonel, it's all yours, with my blessing." Liz grinned again.
But just then, the small radio attached to O'Neill's broad shoulder crackled to life.
"Colonel?" The voice of Sergeant Miller came through loud and clear.
"What is it, Miller?" O'Neill asked.
"Sir, the Stargate just started to dial up an off-world activation, but we're not receiving a message or a GDO." Miller reported. GDO stands for Garage Door Opener and is a signal which tells Command that it is safe to open the iris.
The Stargate was located out in the middle of a large, bare plane. The only cover nearby was a small circle of stone pillars which encircled the stone platform, on which the Gate stood. O'Neill had already devised a plan for just this eventuality.
"Miller, put Lt. Commander Watson on; Watson, position your team on the platform steps, behind the Gate. Carter, Teal'c and I will have the civilians hide behind the pillars, behind your position and then join you. We'll allow our visitors to come through the Gate. Hopefully they won't look behind them and proceed out and away from the Gate. Then we can come up behind them and cut off their escape, while hopefully allowing us to do so."
"Yes, sir. Luckily our campsite is located back behind the Gate. If they don't look back, as Goa'uld usually don't, we're home free." Watson agreed.
"Get to it." Was all O'Neill said as he turned to the others. "Dr. Paraker, get your people into positions behind each of those pillars and stay put; Daniel stay with them. If we can't do the dialing, you come around when it's safe and dial home. We'll try to cover you as we drive our visitors further away from the Stargate."
"Right, Jack." Daniel nodded his understanding.
Liz just nodded before running over to where the other scientists were working.
"Everyone, we have possible unfriendlies coming through the Gate." She called out firmly. "Drop what you're doing and each of you take position behind one of the pillars. Come on, let's GO!" Liz ordered.
Even though she was not the senior scientist in charge of this mission, everyone listened and did what Liz told them to. By the time the Stargate had finished dialing and had been activated, everyone was in position. Daniel, Liz and Alex were behind three of the left most columns, behind the Gate and the other six scientists were hiding behind columns to their right. O'Neill, Teal'c, Sam and the Marines were hidden behind the steps at the back to the Stargate platform.
Everyone's view was blocked until the Stargate shut down, after the visitors arrived. As feared it was a group of Jaffa Serpent Guards, wearing armor and their giant serpent helmets, which looked like some grotesque armored carnival-head. The dozen or so guards formed two lines and started marching away from the Gate.
O'Neill and his team allowed the guards to move beyond the small stone circle before they left the cover of the stone steps behind the Gate. One by one, they stepped up to the stone pillar closest to them and then maneuvered forwards using the pillars in front of the Stargate as cover until all seven of them had taken up their positions in front of the Gate, but hidden from the Jaffa's view by the front most columns.
O'Neill wanted to allow the Jaffa to move as far away from them as possible, but he knew that another group might come through at any minute, so he waited only a few more minutes before calling softly to Daniel through the radio to "dial home".
Daniel moved up from pillar to pillar as Jack and the others had done; Alex and Liz following behind to cover him, whether Colonel O'Neill wanted them to or not. Then Daniel dashed across open ground to the DHD and crouched in front of it. He had touched only three of the seven symbols on the alien device needed to activate the Stargate when the Jaffa heard the inner ring start to turn and the chevrons on the outer ring locking each symbol into place. They turned, saw Daniel crouched down by the dialing device and started running back. Even from that distance, a few of the Jaffa leveled their mighty staff weapons and fired at him, thankfully missing him.
Colonel O'Neill's group peaked around their individual columns and opened fire, aiming back and forth across their field of vision. They saw four or five guards drop to the ground but the rest kept coming and all of them were returning fire. Just as Daniel was reaching to enter the seventh symbol, a blast hit him in the back. He arched up crying out in pain before falling to the ground next to the DHD.
"Daniel!" Alex and Liz yelled together and Alex leapt forward, followed closely by Liz.
Liz crouched down almost behind the device and quickly glanced at her wounded friend as Alex reached up to hit the seventh symbol on the DHD, before ducking down as well.
"Send the GDO-code now, Liz." Alex cried out as another blast came dangerously close to hitting them.
Both Alex and Liz had quite a bit of combat experience from their secret battles against the Skins during their Junior and Senior years in high school, but they had never become used to the violence and danger, the hurt and the pain. As she turned to send the code, which would identify them as friendlies to the SGC, so they could safely pass through the Stargate and not end up flattened against the closed iris, Liz tried to bury her fear and old memories of other fire-fights deep down in the back of her mind. She and Alex had to get Daniel and the other scientists to safety. There was no time to think about anything else. Even so, Liz felt pain start to run up and down her hand and arm and saw electricity start to spark between her fingers. Then the Stargate opened and the great horizontal wave of energy came shooting out of the enormous ring.
"Come on you guys, you can run up behind the Gate and then duck around the sides and dive in." Alex called to the other scientists over their radio. "Come On MOVE!"
Four of the scientists came quickly, peeking out from behind the solid wall of energy and then two by two, they dove through the Stargate. Liz turned back to see where the Jaffa and their protectors were. Her eyes grew round in shock as she saw four still bodies in green fatigues on the ground and only O'Neill, Sam and Teal'c holding off the four remaining Jaffa who had found boulders out in the field to take shelter behind.
"Come On Larry!" Liz heard the voice of Dr. Howard Plum yell and turned to see him all but pulling Dr. Larry Brown by the arm. Larry was obviously terrified of coming out from behind the Stargate.
"Come on Larry, you can do it!" Liz called out encouragement but Larry still hung back.
Alex left his little bit of cover and ran to where the other two men were. Together he and Howard were able to urge Larry around the corner and into the Stargate with his teammate. Alex ducked down as a blast almost hit him but he did not reach the relative safety of the DHD before a second blast found its mark.
"ALEX!" Liz yelled as she saw him fall to the ground face down; she had not seen where the blast had hit him though.
Liz looked wildly around her; Daniel on the ground where he had fallen, the four bodies down by the stone ring, Carter pressing her left hand to her right bicep, her right arm hanging limply as she leaned against her pillar, O'Neill and Teal'c trying to hold off the last three Jaffa as they charged the Stargate; staff weapons firing rapidly and then back to Alex, face down on the ground...and her own arm hurting like hell from the full electrical current which was crackling up and down it and between her fingers. She gave no conscious thought to what she was doing as her arm lifted itself up and she shot her invisible energy blast at the two remaining and charging Jaffa.
"You Snake-Infested Bastards!" Liz yelled as she sent the Jaffa hurtling backwards through the air.
They managed to get back up to their knees and she threw them into the air again, this time towards the boulders behind which they had earlier taken cover. This time the two servants of Apophis did not get up or move at all.
"What the hell was that?" Colonel O'Neill turned to see what was going on behind him. All he saw was tiny Dr. Parker standing stiff and defiant beside the DHD, her still upraised arm crackling with flashes like lightening.
"I saw it all, sir." Sam said while trying to stand. Teal'c came over and helped her. "I was hit and was facing the Stargate and saw Drs. Plum and Brown go through, but then Alex Whitman was hit and Liz saw that I was down...and this energy...seemed to start coursing up and down her arm and then it was as if she threw all that energy at the Jaffa although there was nothing to see..."
"Except the Jaffa flying through the air!" O'Neill exclaimed with great satisfaction, but then his bit-of-a-smile disappeared as he saw Liz drop to her knees while holding onto the DHD to stay partially upright. "Hey Doc!" Jack called out as he ran towards her. He crouched down and took a good look at her. No wounds as far as he could see, but she looked wiped out, totally exhausted. Just then his radio crackled to life.
"Colonel O'Neill the scientific team has reported that you are under attack." General Hammond's voice came through loud and clear. "We have three teams ready, but you will have to disengage the Stargate so that we can redial your planet and send them through; what is your status?"
"Yes sir, we were under fire, but it just ended. We have multiple casualties and need medical assistance ASAP." O'Neill reported to his superior.
"It's on its way, Colonel." The General promised.
O'Neill quickly disengaged the wormhole and then the Stargate started dialing again. A few moments later, the medical team, including Doctor Fraser came barreling through the Gate.
"Colonel, are you alright?" Janet Fraser asked first.
"I'm fine Doctor, but we have four causalities down there and three up here." Jack pointed out the other team and then Alex, Sam and Daniel. Sam and Teal'c were bending over Daniel and Liz had managed to stand up and walk over to Alex. She hesitantly reached out a hand to check for a pulse...and found one.
"Thank God!" She sighed out a prayer. "Alex is alive!" She called out through pale lips in an equally pale face and two of the corpsmen came over with a stretcher.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" They asked and Liz managed to nod before looking over to where Daniel was being carefully placed on a stretcher.
"How's Daniel?" Sam asked.
"He took a hit to his shoulder blade, but I think he'll be okay once we get him back to the Infirmary." Janet told them. 'Okay guys, easy does it through the Gate and then straight to the Infirmary." She instructed.
"Yes ma'am." They said before picking up his stretcher and walking through the Gate. Janet came over to check on Alex.
"Good pulse but a bad staff wound to his shoulder. At least they didn't hit his chest or his neck. Don't worry, Liz, I think he'll be okay too." Janet told her friend.
"I...I want to go with him...but if you need my help here..." Liz stuttered.
"I think you need to go with Alex before you keel over, Liz. Corpsman; a blanket for Dr. Parker and then help her through the Gate and to the Infirmary." Janet ordered.
"Yes ma'am...Here Doctor, let me put this blanket around your shoulders and then we'll get you home, okay? You're going to be just fine." The corpsman said soothingly as he led Liz towards the Stargate with one arm around her slim shoulders. All Liz could do at that point was nod.
Alex was carried through next, Sam was helped through and then the two Marines and two SFs were brought up. One was dead and the other three had sustained serious injuries but Janet thought that they would recover once they came out of surgery. Finally Janet, Teal'c and Jack stepped into the Stargate and traveled home as well. In the next day or two, teams would come back to pick up all of their equipment, but for now that was the least of their concerns.
In the Infirmary, Liz was checked over a little more thoroughly than usual with an MRI as well as blood work and a physical exam. She was then given a mug of sweet tea and a warm blanket for shock and dismissed to base quarters, but she hung around, trying to stay out of the way, while waiting for news of her friends.
"Dr. Parker." Liz turned around to see Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c walking towards her, having come from their own post-mission physicals. "How're you feeling?" Jack asked as he glanced over her. The small hands wrapped around her mug of tea were steady and her color had come back a little, but she still looked whooped.
"I'm okay, Colonel. I'm just waiting for news on Alex, Sam, Daniel and the others." Liz said.
"DoctorJanetFraser indicated that they will all recover once treated, while we were still on the planet." Teal'c stated in his deep voiced, precise way.
"Thanks, Teal'c, but I just need to see them for myself, you know?" Liz asked.
"Indeed. O'Neill and I also wish to see our teammates for ourselves." Teal'c agreed with her as the two men sat down on a bench near her.
"So...Doctor, you want to tell me what happened back there?" Jack asked in a gentle voice, his curiosity showing.
"If my actions are something which I will have to be debriefed about, I'd rather only tell my story once, if you don't mind, Colonel." Liz said tiredly.
"Very well, Doctor." Was all Jack O'Neill said to that.
They waited in silence for over an hour, before Janet Fraser came towards them and they all stood up.
"How are they, Doctor?" Colonel O'Neill asked.
"Everyone will be okay in time. Even though many of the wounds looked bad back on the planet, most of them turned out to be less serious than we had feared." Janet stated. "Alex Whitman has a staff blast to his shoulder, but it did not involve any organs, major vessels, nor did it reach his shoulder joint. I'd like to keep him here overnight, but then he should be able to be released to rest at his home. Much the same can be said for Daniel. He took a blast over his shoulder blade in back, but his spine was unaffected. He does have a bump on his forehead from when he fell, but he does not have a concussion. I'll keep him overnight and then release him. Captain Carter took a hit to her upper arm and there was some damage to her bicep, but it will heal. We're finishing up dressing her wound and then she will be released to rest in base quarters."
Liz let everything float over her head after that, but she did hear enough to know that the one wounded Marine and the two SFs, who had stood in harm's way so that she and her colleagues could escape, would recover after their surgeries and treatments. She was happy about their prognoses, but mourned the one Marine who had been killed, while trying to defend them.
When she came back from her deep thoughts, Liz realized that she had automatically followed Janet, Jack and Teal'c as they went to look in on their friends. Alex was trying to wake up and focused on Liz when she and the other three walked into his curtained cubicle. Liz walked up to the side of his bed and took his right hand, which was untethered by an I.V., in hers and squeezed it even though the arm was in a sling.
"How're you feeling, Alex?" She asked.
"'Kay...you...not...hurt?" Alex's blurry eyes checked out his best friend.
"No I'm okay, just a little shaky." Liz assured him with a smile and Alex managed a half smile before he fell back to sleep.
"Best let him rest." Janet advised and shoed everyone out of the cubicle.
Next they checked on Daniel, who was in much the same shape as Alex, except he was propped up on his side to keep the pressure off the wound on his back.
"J'ck...ev'bdy okay?" Daniel asked. "Where's Sam?"
"Sam is being patched up, she took a hit on her arm, but she's going to be okay. She'll probably come by to see you in a little while." Jack explained to his friend.
He ignored Daniel's first question so that he would not upset the patient with news of the Marine who did not make it and luckily for Jack, Sam showed up right then. Her arm was in a sling as well and she was pale, but she was on her feet and wide awake.
"Sammm." Daniel slurred. "You 'kay?"
"I'll be fine, Daniel, this wasn't much of anything." She lied cheerfully as she came closer. "I hear that you, Alex and I will be the sling brigade for a while though!" Daniel tried to smile at that and then his eyes fastened on Liz and tried to focus.
"Lzzz...wha' you did...I saw...?" He asked, his memory confused.
"I'll explain everything when you're better." Liz promised and Daniel nodded and then he too fell asleep.
"Liz looked worriedly at Janet to see if she had heard what Daniel had said, but she was taking down the readings from the various machines which were monitoring her patient. Sam saw the nervous expression on Liz's face and decided not to mention what she had seen, until later.
"May I sit with Alex for a while, Janet?" Liz asked.
"Liz you're exhausted, you can barely stand. Go upstairs to base quarters and get some sleep." Janet exclaimed, shaking her head.
"Just for a minute...please?" Liz asked.
"Okay, just for a minute." Janet agreed.
"Uh, Janet...may we..." Sam started to ask the same question as Liz had but Dr. Fraser forestalled her with an upraised hand.
"Just for a little while, one at a time." Janet sounded firm, when she knew that she would find one of them asleep in the chair next to Daniel and Liz would probably end up doing the same in her friend's cubicle.
"Thanks Doc." Colonel O'Neill gave her a smile and Teal'c respectfully bowed his head to her. "Carter, why don't you go first while Teal'c and I go get cleaned up?" Jack suggested to his 2IC.
Liz walked back to Alex's bedside and made herself comfortable in the chair and laying her hand on Alex's arm and her head on the back of the chair, promptly fell asleep. Sam watched Daniel until her CO and teammate came back, and then left to sleep in base quarters upstairs. Teal'c stayed for a while with Jack, but then left to also retreat to his quarters, to perform his kel-no-ream meditations. And Jack was asleep in the chair when Janet made her final rounds before going home for the night, herself. All she did for either sleeper was to shake her head in amused understanding of the tight friendships these special people had.
Part 7
"Li-iz, wa-ake u-up!" A familiar voice called to her in a bright, sing-song.
"Nah Al'x my shift doesn't start 'til noon." Liz whined, still mostly asleep.
"Liz you don't work at the CrashDown anymore, remember? You have your Ph.D. and we work at the SGC...hey that rhymes!" Alex said, chuckling at his own wit.
With that, Liz's left eye flew open, looked around and then her right eye opened as well. She looked around some more, saw Alex laying on what could only be a hospital bed and she sat straight up in her chair, remembering everything that had happened the day before.
"Alex! How...how do you feel?" Liz asked, standing up so she could get closer to the bed.
"I'm a little buzzed but otherwise I feel fine...as long as I don't-move-the-arm." Alex stipulated.
"Has Janet been by? What time is it anyway?" Liz asked, looking at her watch. It was eight in the morning and she stretched to get the aches and kinks out of her back.
"Yeah, Janet came by around an hour ago, checked on my dressings, gave me a happy-pill for the pain and warned me that she was going to have you either kicked out or admitted into this grand hotel if you were still asleep when she came back in...well hello again, Doc!" Alex exclaimed when Janet Fraser came into the cubicle.
"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Liz exclaimed with a grin.
"How are you feeling this morning, Liz?" Janet asked checking out her friend's coloring and seeing if there were still any signs of exhaustion. "Your color is much better and it looks like you actually got some sleep in that awful chair. The night nurse said you slept like the dead; hardly moved all night."
"Yeah and I have the aches and pains to prove it." Liz said, eyes twinkling. "How's my friend here?" She asked.
"Much better I think." Janet answered. "Good enough to go home if he isn't left alone for long periods of time and no driving until I say so. Liz would you be willing to keep an eye on Alex and perhaps Daniel too, since you all live in the same building? Otherwise I'd have to keep them here and I think they'd rest and heal better in their own homes."
"Sure, I can do that, Janet; I'd be happy to." Liz agreed.
"Good, I'm going to discharge both of you, but before you leave, General Hammond would like you all to attend the debriefing if you're up to it." Janet said.
"Sure I can go." Alex said and Liz nodded.
"Good, let me get you a wheel chair." Janet said and stopped Alex before he could object. "Just a little precaution, only until you leave the base." She said and Alex nodded. "Corpsman." She called out and an orderly came in pushing a wheelchair.
Alex had been disconnected from the I.V. and monitors and had changed into some sweats, all while Liz was asleep in the chair, so all they had to do now was tie his shoelaces for him and help him into the wheelchair. When the corpsman moved to push Alex out of the cubicle, Liz asked if she could do that. Janet shrugged and said yes. Outside Alex's cubicle they saw Daniel being pushed out of his "bedroom" by Colonel O'Neill and Liz turned the wheelchair towards them.
"Daniel, Sam, how are you two doing? Good morning Colonel, Teal'c." She greeted everyone and Alex waived his good arm and grinned.
"Okay, we aren't exactly the Three Musketeers, but we need a name!" Alex joked looking at Sam and Daniel's arm slings, just like his own.
"How about the Stinging Slingers?" Sam asked...boy those pain pills were making her silly; she thought to herself.
"Well the three of us all have slings, but where does the sting come in?" Daniel asked.
"We could conceal our K-bars in the sling." Sam suggested.
"K-bars? Oh right, those nifty all-purpose, military knives we all carry off-world." Alex remembered. "Yeah, I like that idea. The Stinging Slingers!"
"That's almost as bad as the Kit Shickers, Alex!" Liz giggled and then explained. "That's the name of a country-western band a friend's father plays with; it sounds bad, but it isn't." Everyone nodded and grinned.
"Why don't we start rolling towards the briefing room, before General Hammond sends out a search party for us?" O'Neill suggested and everyone started off; Sam and Teal'c in front; Jack, pushing Daniel's wheelchair went next and Liz, pushing Alex came last. Liz let the others move ahead as she walked more slowly.
"Alex." Liz whispered into her friend's ear. "I have to tell you something about this briefing we're going to, before we get there."
"What, Liz?" Alex whispered back.
"Um...after you and Sam were wounded yesterday, I went a little crazy and um...used my powers to kill the last two Jaffa, who were charging us. I threw them quite a ways until they landed on some boulders."
"Liz!" Alex exclaimed, still whispering.
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, Teal'c, O'Neill and Daniel saw the Jaffa fly through the air and Sam saw how my powers affect me and I think they're going to want an explanation."
"What are you going to tell them?" Alex asked.
"As little as possible; I'm not sure why, but I feel like I still need to protect Max and the others as much as possible. I plan to mention only Max...and Nascedo if necessary. I don't want to bring any of the others into this if I don't have to." Liz explained.
"Understood, and thanks, for trying to protect Isabel this way, but you are going to tell them about my part in this, right?" Alex asked.
"Are you sure, Alex?" Liz asked.
"They know that I'm an old friend of yours, Liz; they're going to wonder about what I know and when I knew it." Alex reasoned.
"Okay, Alex; if you're sure." Liz agreed before she sped up a little so that they would catch up to the others before they reached the briefing room.
When they reached the room two chairs had been removed from around the large table so that Daniel and Alex could be wheeled up to it and everyone else took a seat.
"Good morning people." General Hammond greeted everyone. "Doctors Carter, Whitman, Jackson and Parker, how are you felling this morning?"
"Fine sir." Sam replied.
"Like I got blasted, sir." Alex replied.
"Ditto." Daniel replied.
"I'm fine, thank you, General." Liz said.
General Hammond looked around the table for a moment and then nodded in satisfaction.
"Well, I understand that there was a unique conclusion to yesterday's attack...thanks to you, Dr. Parker." Liz was startled; she had not expected this positive statement from the General. "Colonel O'Neill, could you explain what you saw?" The General asked.
"Yes, sir." Jack replied. "We had allowed the dozen Jaffa to exit the Stargate and to walk out across the plane, away from us. My team and I took up defensive positions behind some stone pillars, between them and our civilian team. Daniel started to dial home, but the hostiles must have heard the Gate activate and came running back. Before Daniel could finish dialing, he was hit. Dr. Whitman ran up and finished dialing and Dr. Parker sent the GDO. We were doing our best to stop the Jaffa from advancing and we'd killed about half of them, but they kept coming. Drs. Whitman and Parker called the other civilians to escape through the Stargate and four of the six did so, but I gather that there was some trouble with one of the scientists who was too frightened to come out from behind the Gate. In urging him to escape with his colleague, Dr. Whitman was shot. Four of my team had been wounded or killed and Captain Carter took a hit to her arm and was trying to remain conscious. Three Jaffa were left and Teal'c and I were trying to take them out, but they were good at dodging, ducking and sprinting towards us. Teal'c managed to shoot one of them and then, the next thing I knew, the last two were flying backwards through the air. When they landed they struggled to get back up, but then the invisible force threw them up into the air again. This time they both landed dead center on two boulders and were killed."
"Did you see what caused this phenomenon, Colonel?" General Hammond asked.
"Not while it was occurring, no sir." Jack answered.
"But I did sir." Sam spoke up.
"Go ahead then, Captain." The General ordered.
"My right arm had been hit and I had pulled back to lean against my pillar, facing the Stargate. While I was trying to keep from blacking out and get my pistol into my left hand, I saw Liz, Dr. Parker looking about her, as if she was dazed. She seemed to be trying to comprehend all the destruction around her; our four team members, Daniel, myself and most recently, Dr. Whitman being shot or killed. Her eyes were enormous in her pail face and then I saw something strange; like lightening flickering up and down her arm and between her fingers. Liz raised her arm into the air before her; let out a loud yell...something like...'You bastards!'...and then it was as if she threw out a great surge of energy, although I didn't see anything, I could almost feel the energy as it flew by me. I heard the Jaffa cry out and looked around my pillar to see them just falling to the ground at least one hundred years beyond the spot, where I had last seen them. As Colonel O'Neill reported, the hostiles tried to stand, but were thrown back a second time, landing against some boulders and were killed. I looked back to Liz and saw the energy fading away from her arm and she looked wiped out, exhausted."
"I see." General Hammond said thoughtfully. "Teal'c do you agree with Colonel O'Neill's and Captain Carter's reports or do you have anything you can add?"
"ColonelO'Neill's report was accurate with what I observed during the battle, yesterday, GeneralHammond. I did not see what was occurring behind me however. I can only add that I have never witnessed such phenomenon before." Teal'c reported in his deep, grave voice.
"Thank you, Teal'c." General Hammond said and Teal'c bowed gravely to his CO. "Oh, Dr. Jackson, were you conscious enough to see anything?" General Hammond asked.
"I wasn't sure if I was conscious, unconscious, or dreaming, but I saw a blurry version of what Sam, Jack and Teal'c saw." Daniel said and then looked at Liz. "Does that lightening stuff hurt you?" Liz nodded.
"It hurts while it's going on, but it doesn't harm me as long as it doesn't last too long." Liz explained.
"Now...Dr. Parker, you know that Colonel O'Neill ordered Dr. Fraser to run some extra medical tests on you, last night." General Hammond said.
"Yes, General, I was well aware of what she was doing and why she was doing it, although I don't think Janet understood the reason for running those tests. Do you plan on informing her...and the rest of the base of everything I tell you during this...briefing, General?" Liz asked.
"What we tell and whom we inform is yet to be determined, Dr. Parker." General Hammond answered and Liz nodded. "As to the tests, I have the results here." He indicated a file in front of him. "They show that there was nothing wrong with you that a meal and some rest wouldn't cure...They also indicate that you are...completely human."
Liz wondered if that last statement were strictly true, but as long as their instruments could not detect anything different about her body, who was she to correct them? Instead she said.
"Of course I am, General."
"Doctor, could you please explain to us how...do you know how it is that you can do what you did yesterday?" General Hammond asked.
"I...think so." Liz nodded.
"Tell us!" Sam asked sitting forward in her chair.
"Okay, this is going to sound bizarre, but here goes...You know how you guys here at the SGC like to joke about the Roswell aliens and about the stuff they have stored in Area 51?...Well, the part about the 1947 crash...is true."
"What? Oh for crying out loud!" Jack O'Neill exclaimed impatiently.
"Hey you asked." Liz said. General Hammond gave Colonel O'Neill a warning glare.
"Please go on, Dr. Parker." He said.
"Okay...Well as you know, Alex and I grew up in Roswell and we heard all the stories about the '47 crash...hey my parents own an alien-themed caf in town called the CrashDown. I never believed those stories or in aliens...except maybe in the purely theoretical sense of life existing on other, far distance planets. But I wasn't above using the hype to bring in better tips when I waitressed in my parent's restaurant." Liz grinned, but then became serious again. "One day when I was sixteen, I was working in the CrashDown when two men came in to eat. After a while though, they started to argue and it turned out that one of them had a gun and he pulled it out and when the two men started to fight over the gun, it went off...and the bullet hit me in the stomach."
"Oh my God, Liz!" Sam exclaimed in horror.
"Yeah, well as I lay there on the floor, bleeding, almost losing consciousness, a boy I knew came up to me and knelt over me. He told me that I had to look into his eyes...and I managed to do that and then he placed his hand over the bullet wound and...and healed me. He told me that I'd be okay and begged me not to tell anyone what he'd done. He grabbed a bottle of ketchup, broke the neck off and poured all that ketchup over the bloodstain on my uniform. He asked me to tell everyone that I'd been scared, almost fainted and broke the bottle of ketchup as I fell down...and that's what I did...I lied to my parents and to the Sheriff and told them all that I was a klutz."
"So was that boy really one of the Roswell aliens? Did his healing you somehow pass on his powers to you? Can you heal people too?" Daniel asked.
"How could he be from the '47 crash, Daniel? That supposedly happened over fifty years ago and this friend of Liz's was her age, right?" Sam asked looking over at her.
Yes, my friend was only my age, but he had been in the '47 crash...but I'm getting ahead of my story. When I finally went up to my room after the shooting, to change clothes, I saw a silver handprint on my stomach where my wound had been. The next day in biology...my friend...let's call him...Max...and I were lab partners and our teacher had us looking at plant cells versus human cells. Max had been chewing on his pencil eraser but when Ms. Harding told us what our project for that day was to be, he asked for a bathroom pass and disappeared...but he left his pencil behind. I took a sample off of his pencil and one from the inside of my own cheek...and they were different. That's when I started to freak out a little." Liz smiled at the memory.
"Understandable." Sam sympathized.
"Anyway, I tracked him down in the music room and made him tell me the truth. He admitted that he was an alien, or 'not of this earth', as he preferred to call it. He told me that he had never told anyone who or what he was, not even his adoptive parents and begged me to keep his secret." Liz said. "Max explained in the days to come that he had emerged from an incubation pod in 1979 as a six year old boy. His adoptive parents found him wandering along the road that night and took him home and eventually adopted him. He didn't know where he was from or why he had been sent here."
"Hadn't some of the other aliens survived the crash? Where were they?" Daniel asked and Liz shrugged.
"We had heard rumors about another alien who was supposedly a murderer. He also left silver handprints on his victims. He was called Nascedo and he didn't show up until the middle of our junior year. He told us that...my friend...must have hatched early because when Nascedo returned to the pod chamber at the expected time, it was empty. Not knowing what his charge looked like, he spent the next years as he had before, running and hiding from the government. But then he believed that enemies of their world were here on Earth and he managed to find Max and tried to protect him. I was developing these powers of mine; and no, I can't heal anything and mostly nothing works unless I'm very worried or very angry. As you saw, I can throw things away from me, but I can't blow anything up or draw anything towards me. I can...I guess you'd call it astral projection. Max was in New York once and I found out that he was in danger, but I had no way to get in touch with him. In my desperation, I was able to send my consciousness to him in New York and warn him. For the last year and a half of high school we had run-ins with Max's enemies as they tried dozens of ways to capture us and/or kill us. They succeeded in killing Nascedo before we won and Max found a way to return to his home. He was urgently needed there. It nearly killed us to admit it, but we agreed that it wouldn't be safe for me to go with him; his world has many enemies. I don't know if he is alive or dead...I haven't heard anything from him since he left." Liz finished sadly.
"Why was your friend...Max...urgently needed on his world, Dr. Parker?" O'Neill asked almost masking his disbelief. "Why was he sent here?"
"Well if you didn't believe the first part, Colonel, you won't believe this..." Liz said. "Nascedo told us that...Max...was to be their future king, once he'd grown up. There was a war on their planet and he was sent here for his own safety. But with everything that went wrong, my friend was not brought up to act like a king...although he was a natural leader; compassionate, strong, highly intelligent...always had a plan." Liz smiled.
"DoctorParker, why do you give the name of one of these aliens, but only give us an alias for your friend?" Teal'c asked.
"I'm sorry Teal'c, I'm just trying to protect him, even though he left Earth eleven years ago...Nascedo is only a name given to the other alien by a Navaho boy who befriended him shortly after the crash; it simply means 'visitor' in Navaho." Liz explained
"Ah I understand. Thank you, DoctorParker." Teal'c replied.
"You're welcome, Teal'c." Liz said. "Anyway to finish off my story we figured that it was because I pretty much...um...died after being shot and my hero brought me back from the dead, that I somehow developed these powers. People he's just healed have never developed them." Liz explained.
"Dr. Whitman, did you know this Max-fellow and who...what he was?" General Hammond asked.
"Yes, General, I knew...uh, Max. Liz tried to keep his secret from me for a while, but one day the two of them were in a car accident and they both were taken to the hospital. Max's blood was drawn and Liz knew that it would have to be replaced by a sample of Human blood...she asked me for help and I...helped. Liz told me Max's secret shortly after that." Alex explained, smiling at his best friend.
"I see." General Hammond said.
"So both of you have fought aliens before; no wonder you were able to act so calmly and quickly, to help your colleagues escape." Colonel O'Neill commented, a little bit of respect in his voice.
"I wasn't calm on the inside, I can assure you, Colonel!" Alex countered, modestly.
"No matter how many aliens I fight, I'll never get used to the destruction, or the fear and pain, Colonel. And I'll never be able to be calm about it either." Liz said.
"A good soldier never does get used to it, Doctor; if you do, you're on your way to being just like your enemy." Jack said and Liz nodded in agreement.
"No wonder your friend and his father, the Sheriff wanted you and Alex to learn how to defend yourselves, if you were helping Max to fight his enemies!" Sam said with new understanding of Liz and Alex's background.
"Mostly we were just lucky; Skins are not easy to kill." Liz said.
"You will have to tell us about these other aliens, sometime, Doctor." O'Neill said.
"Uh, sure, Colonel, but can it wait until Alex, Sam and Daniel have healed some? I don't want to extend the length of this meeting any longer than it needs to be; we should get them home as soon as possible." Liz asked.
"Of course, Doctor." O'Neill said.
"Well...what do you think about all of this, General?" Captain Carter asked to bring the subject back to where it was supposed to be.
"As fantastic as it all sounds...and I'm sure that we haven't even heard a half of the full story...I think I believe what Dr. Parker told us." General Hammond said.
"As do I." Teal'c solemnly intoned.
"So do I, although I'd love to hear more about your time with...Max!" Sam teased Liz.
"Me too." Daniel grinned.
General Hammond looked over to his 2IC.
"What do you think, Colonel?" He asked.
"Ah I don't know what to think about any of it. My gut says it's all a load of crap, but my eyes remind me that I did see Dr. Parker throw two Jaffa around as though they were rag-dolls. For now, I'll say that I believe her stories...but with deep skepticism." Jack said.
"I suppose that's the best we can get from you." The General replied before turning back to Liz. "Well, Doctor, in light of what you've told us, I would like to extend my congratulations and thanks on behalf of the entire SGC for saving SG-1, SG-5 and all of your colleagues." The General stuck out his hand and shook Liz's between both of his.
"Wow, thanks General! I never would have expected so much open-mindedness and support." Liz exclaimed.
"I don't suppose you would, Doctor. But as I hope you've learned, the SGC is different from any other military command." Hammond reminded her.
"Boy is that ever true!" Liz grinned looking around at her friends, who were grinning right back at her.
"This is probably a silly question, Liz, but since your friend was one of the "Roswell-aliens"...was his appearance ever...short and gray?" Sam asked curiously.
"Uh...no, Sam. Max always looked human, but Nascedo's natural form, when he was fighting or defending Max was one of immense light and energy; he only shifted into Human form to keep his identity secret." Liz explained.
"So it seems that the Asguard are the only aliens who actually look like the 'Roswell-grays'." Jack replied with a smirk and everyone grinned, sharing in the joke.
"Yeah, I guess so!" Liz agreed.
"If Liz is through answering questions, I have one for you guys." Alex said.
"Yes, I think Dr. Parker's part of this briefing is complete. What's your question Dr. Whitman?" General Hammond asked.
"Well, it's about the planet we were just on. The pre-mission report said that there was no evidence of the Goa'uld or anyone else having lived there for hundreds of years. Why did the Goa'uld show up now? I mean, do they make a habit of visiting a planet after a long absence?"
"An interesting question, DoctorWhitman." Teal'c replied. "I believe that an enterprising Goa'uld will visit planets belonging to a rival, to determine if he would be successful in claiming it from its current overlord. A Goa'uld will also make inspection tours of planets from which his race or he himself have been banished in the distant past. Apophis did so on a regular basis. He most often sent a group of Jaffa to inspect a planet, but sometimes he would send his queen, or go himself." Alex nodded in understanding.
"So, it's a good thing that we have the iris." He replied.
"It is a very good thing that you have such a device." Teal'c agreed gravely.
"Well...unless there are any further questions..." General Hammond looked around the table. "I think we've kept our injured members long enough. SG-1 and Drs. Parker and Whitman, you are on stand-down for seven days; dismissed everyone." He said and they all got up to leave.
"Okay Daniel and Alex, out to my car; I'm driving you home." Liz ordered. "Sam, do you need a ride or would you like to come with us? I figured we'd make some popcorn and watch some videos if the boys are up to it." Daniel and Alex grinned at the idea.
"No thanks, Liz; I think I just want to go home and crash." Sam smiled.
"I'll take you home, Carter; you shouldn't be driving." Colonel O'Neill said.
"Sir, that's nice of you, thank you." Sam said and Jack waived it aside.
"Okay, I'll call you later Sam and see how you're doing." Daniel called out as the three of them left the conference room.
"Take care you guys." Sam called back.
"So Carter, who were these friends of Dr. Parker's who taught her and Dr. Whitman how to fight and shoot?" Jack O'Neill asked his 2IC, as they left the conference room. He realized that he should have asked this question during the debriefing, but he had lost the opening when he had asked about the Skins instead.
"Liz only told me that her friend was named Kyle and that he was the son of Roswell's Sheriff. They felt that it was important for Liz and Alex to know how to defend themselves, sir."
"And so they probably knew about this Max-guy too, huh?" O'Neill asked.
"It's quite possible, sir." Sam answered.
"I wonder if we should look them up." O'Neill suggested.
"If you want to know more about them, why don't you...or I just ask Liz, sir? And why would we need to know more about them? The Sheriff may be retired and as long as Kyle isn't in the military, or a scientist like his friends, we wouldn't be allowed to bring him into the SGC. Also, sir, the aliens Max and Nascedo have been gone for over ten years, why dredge up old memories?"
"Because they might come back, Captain, or they might have technology that we could use." Jack shot back, but then saw the disappointed look on Sam's lovely face. "Okay, I'll leave it alone...for now, but it would sure be nice to know how they traveled back to their planet and whether they left anything behind."
"I'll ask Liz, sir." Sam promised and her Colonel nodded in satisfaction.
A short time after SG-1's debriefing, Dr. Janet Fraser knocked on the General's office door.
"Doctor, what can I do for you?" Hammond asked.
"Sir, I was wondering if you could explain to me why Colonel O'Neill ordered extra medical tests to be performed on Dr. Parker, yesterday. As her physician and the Chief Medical Officer of this base, I should have been informed of anything which might put the personnel here at risk." Janet said.
"You are correct, Doctor; Colonel O'Neill should have explained the need for extra medical tests to you." General Hammond agreed. "But since he did not, I will. It was feared that, during the battle, Dr. Parker's body was invaded by an immature Goa'uld; from one of the Jaffa warriors...like Major Kowalski was, two years ago. But according to your test results there were no signs of any Goa'uld invasion, or anything else untoward, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct, sir." Janet agreed.
"Good...Was there...anything else about Dr. Parker you wished to say, or to ask me about, Doctor?" General Hammond asked patiently; he did not want the good doctor to think that he was brushing off her concerns.
"No, sir...Thank you." Dr. Fraser said turning to leave.
"Here is Dr. Parker's medical file." The General held out the paperwork. "And I will have a word with Colonel O'Neill about the proper procedure for requesting extra medical tests in the future."
"Thank you, General." Janet said again and left.
'No, Doctor, there isn't anything else about Dr. Parker that you NEED to know.' The General thought to himself, after his office door shut behind Janet.
Neither SG-1, nor General Hammond wanted the vultures in the NID, who would love to get their hands on anything alien and take it apart; be that a piece of technology or a living person, to know anything about Dr. Parker's unusual powers. He had stated in his report to his superiors only that she had helped fight off the last of the Jaffa, at great personal risk to herself. And with the report from Dr. Fraser, stating that there was nothing wrong with Dr. Parker, there would be no reason for the NID to come sniffing around.
Over the next few weeks, everyone healed and came back to work. SG-1 started going on off-world missions again and Liz and Alex were back in their labs, having a great time working themselves into exhaustion. One day soon after that, Liz and Alex were walking down the hall when they were approached by one Marine and two Special Forces.
"Dr. Parker, Dr. Whitman, we've been looking for you." Sergeant Miller said smiling.
"Hey you guys, how're you feeling? We heard that the three of you had been cleared to come back to duty." Liz asked.
"We're doing fine, thanks to you two!" Lt. Commander Watson said.
"Everyone's talking about how you saved us, Dr. Parker...and Dr. Whitman." The second SF, Sergeant Martin exclaimed.
"I...we...didn't do much; it was really SG-1 who..." Liz tried to say, her cheeks blushing.
"Oh no, Colonel O'Neill told us how the last three Jaffa were charging them, getting really close and how they couldn't hit them, no matter how hard they tried...although I guess Teal'c got one of them...and you drew your sidearm and started shooting, killing them both! Boy, I would have loved to see that, a tiny little thing like you, sending them Jaffa to hell." Sergeant Martin exclaimed, shaking his head in wonder, but then he felt an elbow dig into his ribs. "Uh, excuse my French, ma'am."
"Uh, that's alright, Sergeant." Liz was thinking fast. "Boy that Colonel O'Neill does like to tell tall-tales, doesn't he? He's made me sound like Annie Oakley! To tell you the truth; when I saw all of you lying there in the grass and Daniel, Sam and Alex were wounded, I was so scared; I hardly knew what I was doing. I do remember raising my uh, hand-weapon and shooting at the Jaffa, but that was about it. I really wonder if I was the one who actually killed them!" Liz said modestly.
"Well, the Colonel is saying that you did and he usually understates the truth, rather than exaggerating it." Watson countered.
"So before we embarrass you any more than Sergeant Martin already has...we just wanted to find you and thank you personally for saving our lives; we know you're the one who did it!" Sergeant Miller said and the three of them heartily shook Liz's and Alex's hands before walking off.
"Wow, I can't believe the Colonel did that; telling everyone that I "shot" two Jaffa!" Liz said in wonder. "I mean, I've been hearing some whispers and there's been some staring, but no one's actually said anything to me!"
"I guess that's the story he had to put in his official report, to his superiors and he spread the word around the base, to give the story some depth." Alex reasoned. "I think you earned the Colonel's respect, that day!"
"Well, will wonders never cease?" Liz murmured, before the two friends continued on their way.
Liz had returned to her lab only moments before when Sam knocked on her door.
"Hi Sam." Liz said to her friend.
"Hi Liz...do you have a minute?" Sam asked.
"Sure, what's up?" Liz asked and then frowned when Sam closed and locked her lab door.
"Uh, the Colonel had a few more questions about your friend Max...and I promised that I'd ask them for him." Sam answered.
"Oh, what sort of questions?" Liz asked, her arms crossing in front of her chest.
"Please, Liz, don't get upset.' Sam tried to sooth. "You know the need we have, to find anything that could help us fight the Goa'uld. The Colonel was just wondering how they left Earth, since the NID has their ship in Area 51; and whether they might have left any of their technology behind." Liz sighed, but then smiled.
"Max always referred to that ship as a lemon! I hope the NID doesn't try to fix it and make it fly. It will probably only crash again!" Sam chuckled, but then Liz turned serious. "Okay, I'll tell you what I know...I never understood what it was but...in the chamber where Nascedo hid Max's incubation pod, there was also an alien device called the Granolith....but Max only discovered its existence after Nascedo came back to Roswell. It was many things; a giant computer, which held the entire history of Max's people; an amplifier, which greatly increased their powers during battle and in the end...it was a transport, which took Max away from me...it just exploded out of its rocky hiding place and flew off into space. There was nothing left of the pod-chamber after that." Liz said sadly and Sam put her hand out to rest on her friend's shoulder.
"Oh Liz, I'm sorry." Sam said and Liz shook her head and tried to smile.
"It's okay, Sam." Liz assured her friend. "Um...they really didn't have much technology at all; most everything they could do was psi-based. They had some yellow crystals, which could heal and a small orb for communicating, but they took those with them." Liz said truthfully, looking into Sam's eyes as she said it and Sam nodded.
'Uh...the Colonel also wanted to ask about your friend Kyle and his father the Sheriff. Did they know Max too?" Sam asked.
"Yeah they did and they tried to help when they could. Kyle is a mechanic now and owns half a dozen garages in and around Roswell and his father retired last year, but he's still playing with his band, the Kit Shickers! Was there...anything else, Sam?" Liz asked. Sam gazed thoughtfully at Liz.
"No, I don't think so, Liz. I'll pass this information onto the Colonel; I think it'll satisfy his curiosity. Thanks, Liz." Sam smiled as she squeezed her friend's arm briefly and then left.
Liz sat down and thought about what she had just told Sam. Of course she had not mentioned that Max had healed Kyle of a fatal gun shot to the chest and that now Kyle also had powers like Liz did, but which he never used. Although her friend had joked about whether the SGC might need a mechanic, Liz was certain that he would not want to join Stargate Command as a warrior.
"Knock, knock." Alex called out as he came into Liz's office one afternoon, a few days later.
"Hey Alex." Liz said looking up.
"So...I see your name's popped up on the off-world rotation again. Do you want to go?" Alex asked.
Scientists in positions such as Liz's, who did not require off-world locations to try out their experiments, or for whom military personnel, already on site could gather the necessary samples, were entered into a rotation list. That way, all non-essential personnel who wanted to see other planets were given equal chances to do so.
"I've been thinking about that...and even though I understand the risks of off-world travel a whole lot better now...yeah, I think I want to go. Will you be going too?" Liz asked.
"That depends on the planet. If there's any technology to speak of, they'll probably send me. I seem to have a knack for figuring out alien technology." Alex said modestly.
"Of course you can, Alex. You've become the wunderkind of your department." Liz told her friend proudly and Alex blushed.
"I think we could be called to go off-world as soon as the day after tomorrow. Sam was just telling me that the computer just spit out a new address for first-contact. They plan to send the MALP through the Gate tomorrow. Wish I didn't have that department meeting to go to; I'd love to be one of the first people to see a new planet for the first time!" Alex said.
"Yeah, that would be fascinating to see!" Liz agreed. "Too bad I'm giving an in-house seminar tomorrow, or I'd go watch."
"Well maybe this planet will be the one we'll be called to check out in a day or two...Hey you want to rent a video and get some Chinese food tonight?" Alex asked.
"Sure that sound like fun. Do you want to see if Daniel wants to join us?" Liz asked.
"I already spoke to Daniel earlier and he and the rest of SG-1 have plans." Alex replied.
"Oh...well...that just means more spicy Szechwan-chicken for myself then. And Daniel won't be there to hog all of the popcorn!" Liz said brightly.
"There you go!" Alex grinned. "I'll see you later then." Alex said before he went back to work.
"See ya, Alex." Liz called after him.
Part 8
The next morning, Alex and Liz arrived at work together and started discussing the movies that they had rented and watched the night before on the elevator ride down. When they exited the second elevator, they were talking so intently to each other that they almost ran over Daniel.
Hey you two, what are you discussing that's so fascinating?" Daniel asked.
"Oh Alex and I were able to rent "The Matrix" and "October Sky" last night." Liz told him.
"Hey the Matrix is out on video? I'll have to rent it; I loved it in the theater!" Daniel replied. "And October Sky was such a feel-good movie; I loved the music!"
"Yeah, it's a good thing that we watched it after The Matrix; we needed something to wind us down after Keenu Reaves!" Alex laughed.
"Yikes!" Liz exclaimed as she glanced at her watch. "Alex we better get going or we'll be late." Liz grabbed her friend's hand. "See you later, Daniel." She called out and the handsome archeologist waived back.
In the gate room, a short time later, the Stargate was activated and SG-1 watched from the control room as the MALP, a motorized probe about the size of a compact car with a long, slim neck, moved towards the shimmering surface of the event horizon. It stuck out its neck first and then the rest of it was pulled into the worm-hole and disappeared.
"The probe will reach P3X-777 in...ten seconds, sir." The airman at the main computer terminal said.
"Receiving a signal now, sir." Another airman in front of a special monitor called out.
Colonel O'Neill, General Hammond, Captain Carter, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c moved towards him and looked over his shoulder. As the probe craned its neck it showed that the other Gate was located in a large cave, which had a high, vaulted ceiling, but walls which had been smoothed, plastered over and adorned with murals and strange writing.
"Can we get a closer look at the writing on the walls?" Daniel requested.
"Not right now, Daniel." Jack said. "The MALP's sensors are picking up body heat. Have the probe turn towards the cave mouth that we saw a moment ago." He ordered.
"Yes, sir." The airman said, passing the order onto the probe.
"There." Sam pointed towards the screen. "There are a couple heads peaking around the edges of the cave wall. The Stargate's activation must have frightened them away, but now their curiosity is drawing them back. Good thing that it's us and not a squad of Jaffa."
"They seem to be waiting for something or someone; perhaps their leader." Daniel observed as more people gathered at the mouth of the cave but came no further, plus they looked over their shoulders every few moments.
"Their clothing seems to be fairly refined." Daniel continued his observations. "Tunics over slacks or skirts made of a fine, soft-looking cloth; well tailored. Elaborate embroidery on some of the tunics, leather shoes or boots."
"Looks like their leader just arrived." Jack observed as the people converged on a small group of people who had just arrived.
"By their baring, some of them look like warriors or guards, but they are not armed...curious." Teal'c said.
Four people, two men and two women stepped into the cave and the guards ranged themselves behind the four, across the mouth of the cave. Then one of the four walked forward. As he came closer to the probe and further away from the bright sunshine outside, those watching the monitor could make out more details about his appearance. He had shoulder-length, curly, light brown hair and a strong featured, but handsome face. He wore a dark blue, sleeveless tunic over the same colored slacks. A copper embroidered border ran down the left-front of his tunic and he wore a thin, dark blue headband, which was twisted with copper thread, around his head. These small details could be easily seen as he stooped down and looked into the camera lens and then tapped on it with his fingertip.
"Why does everyone do that?" Jack asked more annoyed than curious.
"This man's baring is that of a warrior." Teal'c observed. "Perhaps he is the leader's bodyguard."
"Could be, he certainly has the muscles for it." A female technician, who was also watching the monitor, observed with a sigh.
Meanwhile the man had straightened up and stepped back a little so he could inspect the probe. He circled it and then came back to stand in front of it.
"I think he's trying to read one of the greetings I had printed on the front of the probe." Daniel said as the warrior reached out his hand and ran it over the front surface of the MALP.
All of a sudden, the man stopped reading and cried out. He turned and rushed back to his three companions, speaking quickly in an unfamiliar language and pointing back towards the probe.
"He sounds angry." Sam said.
"I could have sworn he said 'oh shit!'." Jack said.
"I hope he didn't see the Goa'uld writing and thinks that we work for them." Daniel said.
The man was being calmed down by his fellow companions as they discussed something back and forth. Then it seemed as if someone else was being called for and a third man came forward and the discussion continued.
On Antar, Michael Guerin, known by Antarians as Lord Rath, looked over the machine which had come through the Great Ring. 'Some sort of probe?' He wondered as he tapped at what looked to be a camera lens and then circled it. 'Cute, they've named it Fred.' He thought, the significance of an English name not registering at that point. Michael came back around to the front and took a better look, as his friends, Max Evans; known as King Zan, Isabel Evans; known as Princess Valondra and Tess Harding; known as Lady Ava, looked on from a safe distance; Max, ready to put up his shield if the machine turned out to be a weapon. The Antarian guards shifted uneasily while the King's second-in-command, their general, inspected the alien device. Suddenly, Michael swore in English and jogged back to where his friends stood.
"Oh Shit!"
"Rath!" Max exclaimed in Antarian and reproved his 2IC for speaking English, a language they had hardly used in over seven years.
"Zan..." Michael switched to Antarian while he gestured back to the machine. "I think that thing is a probe of some sort and it is not only from Earth..." Isabel and Tess gasped. "It was sent by the United States Air Force!"
"Oh...Man!" Max exclaimed.
"What are we going to do, Zan?" Tess asked, as always.
"You tapped on something that looked like a camera lens, Rath; did you see a speaker anywhere?" Max asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Michael answered. "And there were messages written on the front. One of them was in English, but it looked like they'd written the same message in half-a-dozen other languages."
"Maybe we should have Mergle come and take a look at them, in case there's a language he knows. We don't want to give away the fact that we understand English until we figure out whether or not we can trust those guys..." Max suggested.
"Are you sure we should do that, Zan; make contact with Humans again?" Isabel asked.
"After those...demons...as our guest calls them...those alien warriors came through this ring the other day, maybe we should find out if the Air Force could help us defend ourselves against them...since they seem to know how to use this device..." Max said.
"We defended ourselves just fine, Zan." Michael countered. "We don't need the U.S. Military messing in our affairs."
"Rath...maybe Zan has a point; if we could keep who we are a secret...and we could listen to what they're saying without their knowing that we can understand English, maybe the Air Force could help us." Isabel placed her vote with her brother.
"Zan and Valondra are right." Tess added her vote and Michael sighed.
"Oh...man...alright, let's call in Mergle and see if he can understand any of the other languages on that machine so we don't have to use English..." Michael agreed, their interpreter named Mergle was called for and the five of them moved towards the probe.
"Something's been decided, they're all coming towards the probe now." General Hammond observed.
Beside the warrior, who had inspected the probe first, walked another man about the same age as the first; in his late twenties, early thirties. He had short, dark brown hair with bangs falling over his forehead, a handsome, chiseled face, made up of high cheekbones and a strong jaw.
"Does he get to be the leader because he has the biggest ears?" Jack asked irreverently.
"Oh what gorgeous amber eyes he has!" The technician sighed.
"They certainly look intelligent." Sam agreed.
"Indeed, this man has the confident baring of a leader, but his muscular build would indicate that he can fight as well as lead." Teal'c observed.
"Hubba, hubba; with a magnificent body like he has, I'd follow him anywhere he wanted to lead me!" The technician muttered, but General Hammond heard her anyway.
"Sergeant Matthews, don't you have other duties awaiting you...elsewhere?" The General asked impatiently.
"Yes, sir." The Sergeant said reluctantly before moving off slowly.
The man they believed to be the leader did have what looked to be a leather band, twisted with gold thread, encircling his head; the band peeked out from beneath his bangs. He wore a matching dark brown sleeveless tunic over dark brown slacks and his tunic had gold embroidery running down the front-left side.
Behind the men came two women, both blond. The woman who followed the leader had long, blond hair, flowing out behind her and a queenly figure in dark green tunic and slacks. She had a matching headband too, twisted around by a silver thread and the design on her tunic was in silver as well. The second woman, who walked behind the warrior, was much shorter than the first. She had shoulder-length curly blond hair and wore a light blue outfit and headband, embroidered with, or twisted together with copper, as the warrior's clothing had been.
The extra man, who had been called forward, was quite a bit older, with gray hair and wearing a simple beige tunic and trousers. He was called forward by the leader as all five drew closer to the probe. The greetings written on the front were pointed out to him and he bent over to study them.
"He looks like he's your counterpart, Daniel." Jack noted. "Brought in to help establish communication.
"Yes it seems so." Daniel agreed. "Let's see if they understand any of the languages." Daniel turned on the microphone for the probe and spoke into it clearly and gently; repeating the words printed on the front of the probe. "Hello, we are peaceful travelers who would like to make contact with you. We wish only to share our culture with you and to learn about you and your people."
Daniel repeated this statement in the five other languages listed on the front of the probe. With the last repetition came a response from the older man in that last language.
"They speak the language of the Ancients, my Lord Zan." Daniel translated for is colleagues. "They wish only to make peaceful contact with us."
A disbelieving sound came from the warrior, but was rebuked with a sharp glance from the leader, who then encouraged his linguist to continue and Daniel translated for those in the control room, with him.
"You are from a planet called Earth?"
"Yes we are. My name is Daniel Jackson. I and three of my friends would like to come through the Stargate to visit you. May we come through?" Daniel asked.
The linguist translated Daniel's words to his leader, who was looking thoughtfully at the probe. The warrior and the two women seemed to give their opinions, but stopped when the leader held up a hand to them.
"Daniel Jackson, you and your three friends may come through the Great Ring." The leader said haltingly in the ancient language; he did not speak it as well as his interpreter had.
"Thank you. We will come through in just a moment." Daniel told him and received a grave nod in acceptance.
"Alright SG-1, you have a go." General Hammond gave his okay and the team gathered up their packs, walked up the ramp and stepped through the shimmering surface of the event-horizon.
When they arrived on the other side of the wormhole, SG-1 stepped forward cautiously, keeping their weapons lowered in as much of a non-threatening position as possible. In Teal'c's case, he carried his staff weapon as if it were just a walking-stick. Daniel stepped a little ahead of the others, his sidearm in its holster and his hands held in front of him to show that he was otherwise unarmed.
The four leaders and their translator had moved back some from the Stargate, but the other guard-looking people had moved forward a bit, even though they seemed to be unarmed. As Daniel moved forward so did the translator.
"Hello, I am Daniel Jackson, the one who you spoke to through our probe-device." Daniel spoke in the ancient language, his usual friendly smile on his face. "These are my friends; Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter and Teal'c."
The linguist quietly translated these words to his leaders as Daniel spoke them and then made introductions as well.
"This is our leader, King Zan." He indicated the dark-haired young man. "His second-in-command, Lord Rath." He indicated the long-haired man. "The Princess Valondra." He indicated the taller woman with long, blond hair. "And the Lady Ava." The linguist finished the introductions by indicating the shorter, blond woman. Daniel had been translating for his friends as the linguist spoke.
"May we know your name, sir?" Daniel asked and the linguist looked to his king for instruction. King Zan only smiled and nodded.
"My name is Mergle. I am an historian and linguist of ancient languages."
"As am I." Daniel replied, smiling and Mergle smiled back.
"We welcome you to our planet." King Zan said slowly, speaking the unfamiliar language. "Would you come with us please? There are many things we would like to show you." Daniel translated and they followed behind the four leaders and the guards fell in behind them.
When SG-1 walked outside the cave they realized that it was located up in the hills and below them spread what must have been a magnificent city at one time, but much of it had been destroyed. Daniel could see that a great deal of rebuilding had been done, but there was still much to do. He sped up his steps to catch up with Mergle, but before he was able to ask the questions which were bubbling up in his in his mind, the group reached the transport vehicles waiting for them. Everyone in SG-1 was shocked to see that these vehicles were highly advanced hovercraft.
"If the four of you would join Mergle in this vehicle, we will take you down to our capital." King Zan said and Daniel translated.
The vehicle was comfortable inside but not luxurious or opulent. Daniel explained to his teammates what they were to do and they all got in and took their seats. Mergle got in as well as several of the guards. Once everyone was seated the driver took off, skimming them smoothly and quickly over the ground and down the hill. The large glass windows on the vehicle gave marvelous views of the passing countryside.
"This transport is fantastic!" Daniel spoke to Mergle in their common language.
"You do not have transports such as these on your planet?" Mergle asked.
"Well...not for common, everyday use anyway." Daniel replied.
"These are not for common use either, but King Zan borrowed these few for the short time he needed, to come and greet you." Mergle explained.
"Oh? What is their proper use?" Daniel asked.
"Transporting the injured who need quick, smooth rides to get medical help...for the priority building projects and other emergency uses." Mergle explained.
"Oh...then we are honored to be given a chance to ride in them." Daniel exclaimed and told his teammates what the other man had just said.
"We will need to get out now and walk." Mergle said a few minutes later as the vehicle came to a stop. "King Zan said that these transports should return to their important duties once they brought us down from the hills."
"Of course." Daniel said, passing on the instructions onto the others. Once outside, King Zan thanked each driver before they zipped off, back to their duties.
"You will be able to see our capital better on foot and we do not have far to go." King Zan told Daniel, who translated for the others.
As the group walked down the side walk, they passed many buildings, totally alien in design, but lovely none the less, which showed signs of restorations which had been completed and others on which restoration was still being done. On other plots of land, the old building had been demolished and a new one was being built. Daniel moved up to walk beside Mergle.
"Mergle, what happened here? Did you have an earthquake or something?"
"No Daniel, our world and the other four planets in this region of space have been at war for many years and it was only after the Royal Four returned to us that the war was ended. Now they help us rebuild." Mergle explained.
"The Royal Four; who are they? Oh, you mean King Zan and his...uh...court? They returned? Where were they?" Daniel asked.
"They were sent away just after they were....uh...born, to keep them safe from our enemies so they could grow up and then return to save us...and they did!" Mergle said.
"They look like only young adults now and if they returned several years ago, they could have only been teenagers...and yet they won the war for you?" Daniel asked.
"Yes!" Mergle said with pride. "The Royal Four were so young when they returned to us, but their hiding place was no longer safe; some of our enemies found them there and tried to assassinate them, but they failed and our need for them was so great that the Elders begged them to return...and they did." Mergle said again and then whispered confidentially. "Although, they didn't know much about fighting a war when they first arrived. But our people were so inspired and heartened by their return to us, that they fought all the harder and the Royal Four learned very quickly and led us to victory!"
"Wow...that's really something!" Daniel exclaimed and then dropped back to where Jack, Sam and Teal'c were walking and explained to them what he had just learned.
Before they were able to get into a discussion on the subject, the Royal Four stopped at the door to a building.
"Will you come inside, please? There is something we would like you to see." King Zan spoke to Daniel, who translated for his team.
"Um, sure; lead on." Daniel told the King.
As they entered the building there was nothing about its structure to tell them what it was used for. The halls were wide, but free of any ornament. They made several turns and were led through three doors behore they finally followed the royals into a large room. Their hosts ranged themselves against one wall and indicated that SG-1 should look to the opposite wall. They did and saw...at least a dozen Serpent Guard Jaffa...
Part 9
...being held behind some sort of force-field.
"Oh man! What are they doing here?" Colonel O'Neill yelled as all four of SG-1 brought up their weapons and pointed them at the Jaffa. For their part, as soon as the Jaffa saw SG-1, they started yelling and shaking their weaponless fists at them. Some even threw themselves at the force-field, only to be thrown back onto the ground or into some of their fellow Jaffa.
"A proper reaction to such a dangerous group of soldiers." King Zan said behind them in a satisfied voice. Daniel spun around to face the young king and then translated his words for the other three.
"What the hell does he mean by that, Daniel? What is the meaning of that little test?" O'Neill asked angrily. Daniel translated Jack's questions, a bit more tactfully, to King Zan.
"I will explain everything, but let us go to our home first, where we can be comfortable." King Zan said with a half-smile. "Please come, those men cannot harm you here."
Colonel O'Neill lowered his weapon as Daniel faithfully translated the King's words and then so did Daniel, Sam and Teal'c. This time, as SG-1 followed the Royal Four out of the building, most of the guards remained behind and only a couple followed after them. But before they could leave the jail, Teal'c stopped Daniel to make a request.
"DanielJackson, will you please ask KingZan if I may stay here and speak to these Jaffa? I may be able to determine what their mission was."
"Good idea, Teal'c." O'Neill agreed.
"Thank you, O'Neill." Teal'c replied as Daniel made his request to their host.
"King Zan says that's okay, Teal'c." Daniel said. "Just indicate to the guards when you're done and one of them will bring you to the Royal Palace."
"Very well, DoctorJackson." Teal'c replied and everyone else left.
As they walked along the sidewalk the members of SG-1 noticed people working to reconstruct the buildings or going about other business, but most of them stopped what they were doing as their leaders walked by and they smiled, bowed or even waved happily at their king. No one rushed towards their leaders to greet them, everyone went back to work after they had passed by, but it was obvious that they were greatly respected and even loved and that it was a common occurrence to see the Royal Four walking down the street.
As they neared the largest and the grandest building the team had seen so far on this planet, they were surprised not to be taken inside.
"Uh, Mergle...isn't this building the Royal Palace?" Daniel asked. "If it isn't, I can't wait to see how your people can better the opulence and richness of whatever that building really is."
"It used to be the palace of Khivar, King Zan's mortal enemy and the man who started and kept the war raging for so long all over this region of space. Khivar tore down the beautiful old palace our kings and queens lived in for many generations and built this monstrosity. After Khivar was killed, King Zan refused to move into it and instead turned it into a hospital and orphanage for children. The Royal Four built and share a much smaller manor-house a short ways away." Mergle said proudly.
Daniel pondered what the other man had just said before dropping back to pass on the news to his three friends.
"Wow, that's pretty impressive!" Sam exclaimed and then followed Mergle's finger as he pointed to the side of the hospital.
"The Royal Four personally planned and built that playground for the children and visit them whenever they can." Merge said and Daniel translated.
"That's really a nice playground." O'Neill said sincerely as he thought about how his son, Charlie would have loved playing there with the other kids...if he had lived.
Little Charlie O'Neill had died three years ago, after accidentally shooting himself with Jack's own gun. The Abydos mission and Daniel Jackson were what eventually brought Colonel O'Neill out of the self-destructive depression, brought on by his son's death.
The Royal Four and SG-1 had almost passed by the playground when one little girl spotted them and called out to them.
"The little-one is saying that she does not want to wait until tomorrow, to play with King Zan." Mergle translated to Daniel, who translated to the other three. "The Royal Four wear old clothes and put aside their royal headbands, when they visit the children so that they can just be friends and playmates to the little ones, not their rulers; and King Zan is loved as if he were the children's big brother." Daniel translated Mergle's words for his friends.
King Zan had walked over to speak to the little girl and ended up picking her up as she started to cry when he told her that he could not stop to play just then. But Zan was able to sooth her easily and then hugged her one more time before handing her over to a caregiver. When he walked back to his guests, Zan had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were sad.
"Poor little Sharma, she needed a nap and she misses her mother, who's sick in the adult hospital." Zan explained to Daniel, who then translated his words for the rest of SG-1 "Let's continue on, our home is just a bit further."
The group walked on and soon came to a nice sized house with lovely, if alien flowers growing all around it. They turned onto the front walk and entered through the front door. There was a dining room to the left of the front hall and a living room to the right.
"Please, will you make yourselves comfortable and I will see to refreshments for you." Mergle translated for Lady Ava, who only spoke the planet's native language.
Before their visitors walked into the living room with Rath and Valondra, Zan excused himself as well and quickly walked upstairs. At one particular door he knocked and waited.
"Yes?" The room's occupant called out.
"It's Zan, may I come in?" He asked.
"Of course, My Lord, please come in." The occupant replied. Zan smiled as he opened the door.
"How was your day?" He asked and received a smile in return.
"Very pleasant; I worked in your gardens."
"I noticed; I think our visitors were impressed by all of your hard work too." Zan praised.
"I don't call it work, to be surrounded by such beautiful things. We never had many plants of any kind where I come from." Zan nodded. "Who are your visitors?"
"Four people, who traveled through the Great Ring; they came from a planet called Earth." Zan answered and his companion gasped.
"What...what are the names of these four travelers?"
"Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c." Zan answered, watching his new friend closely.
"Oh..."
"Would you like to come down and meet them?" Zan asked gently.
"No...no thank you, My Lord..."
"All right." Zan agreed, reluctantly. "But if you change your mind, feel free to come down."
"Yes, thank you for all of your kindness, My Lord."
"I've asked you to call me Zan." He said with a chiding smile before he said good-bye and turned to leave the room, but then turned and walked back to whisper something in his guest's ear.
"Are you sure, My...Zan?" The guest asked uncertainly and Zan nodded. "Very well then."
"Thanks." Zan said with a smile and then left the room.
Downstairs, the group went in and sat down in the living room, which had comfort in mind more than richness or opulence. The color scheme might have matched, but the furniture styles did not.
"There has been no time to build anymore than is necessary and that includes finding furnishings for this house." Mergle translated for Princess Valondra as she too only spoke the native tongue. "If we have any energy left to have a celebration, it is kept simple and held at a nearby park."
"Daniel, translate for me would you?" Sam asked. "Princess Valondra, we have seen how much work all of you have already done for your people and your planet. It's amazing that you were able to build yourselves such a pleasant home and furnish it so comfortably as well." Sam assured the younger woman.
Mergle further translated Daniel's words out of the ancient tongue and into their native language. Princess Valondra smiled and blushed. King Zan, who had just returned, said something reassuring to his sister, but Mergle did not translate what he said.
"Mergle." Daniel said softly. "Could you tell me if King Zan and Lady Ava are...um...married...mates? I'm just wondering if he has any children since he was so good at soothing that little girl." King Zan heard Daniel's question and answered for himself.
"No Daniel Jackson, neither Lady Ava, nor the rest of us are married to anyone as yet. We are all a very close unit; very good friends, but between ending the war and rebuilding our planet, there has been no time for...anything else."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Daniel said and Zan waved his thanks away.
Just then, Lady Ava and a housekeeper came in, both carrying trays with a pitcher and glasses on them. Ava murmured a thank you to the woman and she left the room.
"This is a mixture of fruit juices which are very refreshing." Ava told Daniel, through Mergle. "I do not anticipate any ill-effects to your bodies, but if you would like to test the drink for safety?"
"Thank you, Lady Ava, we have rarely had ill-effects from anything we have ingested on the other planets we have traveled to, but those few times have taught us to be careful." Daniel said and Mergle translated for the Lady.
Daniel brought out his small test jar and poured a small amount of the juice into it. He capped it, shook it and waited for a moment.
"It's safe, guys." Daniel told his friends as he smiled and started pouring glasses for all of them.
He took turns handing off the glasses, first to one of his hosts and then to one of his friends, until everyone had a glass. Daniel was the first to sip.
"Mmm, this is good! Reminds me a little of cran-apple; tart and sweet and very refreshing." Daniel spoke in English for the benefit of his friends, but directed his comments to his hostess, who smiled back at him, even though Mergle could not translate the English for her.
A smile and "mmm" was universally understood as meaning good, Daniel had found. Everyone got comfortable.
"I suspect that you have many questions for us?" King Zan asked Daniel directly. His grasp of the ancient language was getting better as he grew used to speaking it. Daniel translated back and forth for his friends.
"Yes we do." Colonel O'Neill got down to business after drinking half of his juice. "Have you had a long history with the Goa'uld and just decided to fight them this time when they came through the Stargate, or what?"
"As far as any of us knew, we had never had contact with these creatures before." Zan answered. "Before the war, no one even knew that the cave existed. It had been completely sealed up and grass and plants had grown over it. We theorized that an explosion of some sort must have opened up a small entrance into the cave and some of our people took shelter in there during the fighting. After the war ended and we had recovered a little, word of a cave with mysterious writing on the walls and a strange object peeking out of the rock filtered through to us. We investigated the cave and opened up some of the entrance; we uncovered the ring and our linguists started to translate the writing.
"Mergle and his team had translated what seemed to be the beginning of the story. It told of an evil and powerful people, who came from the stars. These demons enslaved all of the people and set up the Great Ring to travel back and forth between our home and theirs. That was enough to concern us and we evacuated all of the civilians from the cave and started to cover the ring back up with rock, when the Ring activated and those...creatures came through. They tried to capture some of our people and shot at the rest of us, but we defended ourselves, killing some of them and taking the rest of them captive."
Up in the guest room, the occupant was gazing out of the room's front window when Teal'c and two guards came running up to the house.
'Ah, Teal'c has discovered that I came with the Jaffa; I guess the time for hiding and resting must end.' The guest thought silently and left the room to walk downstairs.
"O'Neill! O'Neill!" Teal'c yelled as he came running into the room in a very uncharacteristic manner. Two guards came to stand beside him.
"Teal'c, what is it?" Jack O'Neill asked, instantly alert and on his feet.
"I was finally able to convince the Jaffa to speak to me and they told me that it was not only they who came through the Chapa'ai." Teal'c had calmed down some and turned towards Daniel before continuing. "Amonette came with them...and she was...killed...during the battle."
"WHAT?" Daniel cried out and lunged to his feet. "Amonette...Sha're...is Dead?" He slumped back into his chair and covered his face with his hands. "No, no, no..." Could be heard coming muffled from behind his fingers for several moments, but he eventually calmed himself just enough so that communication between the parties could continue.
"I...I don't understand...the creature you call Amonette was a Goa'uld, your enemy. Why is Dr. Jackson so upset?" Zan asked very concerned.
"Amonette was the Goa'uld...the snake...but My wife, Sha're was her unwilling host. I...All of us have been searching for her for two years!" Daniel managed to explain to Zan through clenched teeth.
His friends kept worried eyes on him; what would Daniel do now? Finding Sha're had been his obsession for the last two years. In fact, the three members of SG-1 were so focused on him that they did not see Zan's gaze travel to the doorway and a smile appear on his handsome face. He stretched out his arm and his guest came forward, hesitantly.
"Husband." She said softly; Jack, Sam and Teal'c quickly whirled around and their mouths fell open as if they were seeing a ghost. Teal'c did aim his zat-gun at her, but did not shoot. Daniel froze, afraid to turn his head and look at the speaker. "Husband, please...it was only the demon, Amonette who was killed. These good people saved me...so that I could return to you...my Dan'yel." Sha're said in her gentle voice as she came to kneel down in front of her beloved husband. "Please Dan'yel, look at me." She reached out to gently touch his hands, urging him to turn and face her. "I am real...I am free of the demon!"
Daniel looked up into her face. Sha're's long hair was down, curling around her face and shoulders. She wore a long sleeved tunic over a long skirt, both were sand-colored, but the material looked soft and warm and had an intricate design embroidered in a rich brown thread, down the left-front.
"Not a dream? Not a nightmare? You're really here...and...free?" He asked in a voice tinged with fear that this was all a trick or hallucination on his part.
"Not a dream..." Sha're reassured again, running gentle fingers over his brow and down his cheek.
"Teal'c, you can put your weapon away. Sha're is free of the symbiote; we double-checked that nothing was left behind." Zan said and Daniel took great interest in translating while still keeping his stunned gaze on Sha're. Teal'c hesitated only for a moment before putting his zat, a Goa'uld hand-weapon, away.
"King Zan speaks the truth; I cannot sense a Goa'uld within her."
"Neither can I." Sam said.
Since Teal'c carried an immature Goa'uld within his pouch, he could sense them in others. Sam had been a short-time host to a Tok'ra symbiote and although she no longer carried Jolynar, she could also still sense if a Goa'uld was nearby.
"Can you tell us what happened from the beginning?" Daniel requested, still with his love-filled eyes on his beautiful wife as he drew her down to sit beside him in the comfort of his arms. Zan nodded and began, with Daniel translating.
"As I was saying before, Mergle's translations of the cave writings told us that the Great Ring was used by aliens to come to our planet and enslave our people...millennia ago. We immediately evacuated the curious civilians from the cave and had started to bury the Ring again, when it was activated from off-planet. We took up defensive positions, but we were also curious, so when...Amonette and her Jaffa came through, we tried to greet them. A couple of the Jaffa tried to grab some of our people, but when that didn't work, they started firing their weapons at us. I was able to deploy my shield around the whole group of Jaffa, keeping them from escaping and blocking the mouth of the Great Ring so no more Jaffa could come through."
"Wait...you have personal-shield technology that can stand up to staff-blasts?" Jack asked.
"Perhaps we can discuss that at another time." Rath said firmly and Zan nodded before continuing.
"Amonette was safe within her own protective shield and she kept ordering the Jaffa to fire against my shield, but their blasts only ricocheted back onto them. Even though her Jaffa were slowly killing themselves, the Goa'uld ordered them to keep firing."
"She was the one we needed to stop." Rath took up the story. "We hated to see the Jaffa die that way, at her orders. Zan opened up small holes in his shield that we could shoot through. We aimed at that device she had on her hand. The Jaffa moved to block our blasts with their bodies so Ava confused them into believing that the Goa'uld was several yards to the left and they moved aside. Ava kept them thinking that they were protecting their queen while we blasted a hole through her shield. We did not want to kill her, but she was wounded when we broke through and that hand device seemed to feed back on itself and sent a shock through her body. The shield collapsed and Amonette fell to the ground...and then we saw...something weird...a snake-like creature slithered out of Sha're's ear and tried to reach one of the Jaffa, but they were all too far away. Zan dropped his shield, my warriors took custody of the Jaffa and the four of us ran to the woman. We could tell that she was crying out for help and Zan realized that the snake-thing must have been a symbiote, one which had control over its host. We locked up the Jaffa and brought Sha're here where we could scan her and she could be healed." Rath finished the story.
There was silence in the room for a few moments until Daniel spoke.
"I...I can't thank you enough for the risks and care you took to preserve Sha're's life, even before you knew that she was an innocent in all of this...and for trying to save the Jaffa, they are also mind-washed slaves of the Goa'uld."
Zan nodded and smiled as did Rath, Valondra and Ava.
"What did you say, Daniel?" Jack asked.
"I said thank you." Daniel told his friends simply.
"Oh...yeah...of course." Jack said.
"I'd love to be able to see your medical facilities!" Sam exclaimed and Daniel translated to Zan. Sha're had no bruises or marks from her injuries.
"Yeah and maybe someday you'll show us the weapons which were able to break down a Goa'uld shield." Jack said, while Daniel translated for his CO as well.
Rath smirked at that and Zan answered non-commitally.
"Yes, perhaps someday."
The group sat back and made some opening moves towards an agreement between their two planets. They had not been working very long when a man came to the door and urgently motioned to Rath, who got up and went to speak to him. After a moment, Rath drew him forward.
"Tell King Zan what you just told me, Korvoss." Rath ordered and Mergle quietly interpreted for Daniel, who translated for the rest of SG-1.
"Your Highness, Chancellor Larek's Minister of Defense just contacted us. They have sighted a large, unknown ship entering our region of space." Korvoss placed a red sphere, the size of a billiard-ball, onto the middle of the coffee table.
It projected a three-dimensional map of space, up into the air. The map showed five stars positioned in a V-formation, their planets orbiting around them, the moons orbiting each planet and a few space-stations as well. A blue triangle had just entered that region of space, passing between the two suns at the top of the V and was making a bee-line for the planet they were on; Antar, at the apex of the V.
"If that ship is headed here, what will be its ETA?" Zan asked.
"Approximately five hours, Sire." Korvoss said.
"Is there any way to see a close-up of the ship?" Jack asked and Daniel passed his request onto King Zan.
Korvoss touched the red sphere and a clear picture of the alien ship was displayed.
"A Goa'uld mother-ship." Teal'c intoned gravely.
Part 10
"Could you tell us anything about the strengths or weaknesses of this type of craft?" King Zan asked through Daniel.
Teal'c, Jack and Sam told him what they knew about the mother-ship's shield, immense speed, crew compliment, number of fighter-craft and weaponry and what fighting tactics the Jaffa used. They also told Zan about the two times that they had successfully blown up a Goa'uld mother-ship.
"That reminds me, a ship that size might have a Stargate on board, through which the Goa'uld and his crew could travel to your gate or escape through, to another planet, without having to use yours."
"Is it plausible that once this ship has attacked us, it will turn around and attack the other populated planets in this region?" Rath asked.
"Most likely, but the decision to attack further targets would depend on how well they survive this first attack." Teal'c reasoned.
Zan and Rath conferred for a few moments in Antarian and then Zan touched the red sphere and a second light beamed out to envelop him. The images of three men and one woman appeared in front of him and Zan spoke to them, still in Antarian.
"King Zan is communicating with the leaders of the other four worlds in this region." Mergle told Daniel. "He is explaining the situation and requesting their help."
"Unless you have something which can punch through the ship's shield, someone's going to have to get on board and disable it...and maybe plant some explosives too." Colonel O'Neill said through Daniel.
"Could you draw a map for us, of where strategic spots are within the mother-ship, so our warriors will know where to plant explosives?" Rath asked.
"Sure, we can do that." O'Neill agreed.
"O'Neill, should we not accompany the warriors ourselves?" Teal'c asked his CO.
Jack tried to hide his irritation at the former Jaffa, for having suggested such a dangerous mission; especially since SG-1 would be acting on the part of a civilization which seemed well able to defend itself.
"I don't think that General Hammond would give us the go-ahead for such a mission, Teal'c." Jack warned.
"Nor are we asking you to take on such a dangerous mission on our behalf." Zan said, having finished his conference with the other leaders and hearing Mergle's translation. "This isn't your fight." Teal'c, Sam and Daniel looked meaningfully at Jack and the Colonel grimaced.
"Oh for crying out loud! Enough with the "look", guys! King Zan, fighting the Goa'uld is our job; it's what we and the rest of the SGC have pledged ourselves to do...and we'd be honored to help you any way we can...I'll talk General Hammond into it."
Zan's tense shoulders relaxed just a bit.
"Thank you very much, Colonel. I knew I could not...should not ask for such a commitment...a sacrifice on your part, but I am very grateful for your willingness to help us this way..." Zan glanced from Rath to Valondra and then to Ava and raised one eyebrow. Somehow they all knew what he was asking and nodded their agreement.
"...and in thanks for your being so willing to help us..." Zan said in English..."there's something which you should know about us..."
"You...you speak English? All this time...?" Jack exclaimed and the other three looked on, stunned.
"Yes, the four of us and a few others here do speak English." Rath said grudgingly.
"Mergle doesn't, so don't be angry with him; and don't be angry with Sha're either, I asked her to keep our secret." Zan said firmly.
"They were sorry that they could not take my word, when I told them that you are an honorable and brave people, but they needed to meet you for themselves. I am sorry that I lied to you, my husband, but Zan saved my life and they have all been so kind to me; I could not deny their request for secrecy." Sha're told Daniel softly.
"It's okay, Sha're, we understand." Daniel said smiling gently at his wife.
"Our people have peacefully visited your world before, but we have had some...dangerous encounters with your military and government. We were not willing to trust you at face value." Zan said firmly.
"Oh man...if some of your people were caught by our government, I can imagine what they were put through." Sam said understandably. "Some parts of our military are still...unfriendly to those who are different, but the President and the SGC will help and protect your people as much as possible...isn't that right, Colonel?"
"Yes, the Captain is correct; the SGC will help you any way it can." O'Neill replied.
"Thank you, Colonel. That is good to know." Zan said.
"Okay then." Jack said briskly. "There's a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in."
The group quickly discussed what needed to be done; evacuation of civilians, readying of fighter craft, and formation of attack plans. The Colonel traveled back up to the Stargate, to use the MALP's communications equipment and report to General Hammond. While he waited for his orders, Jack showed Rath the transporter rings which were hidden in the floor of the cavern. Five or six people could fit inside these rings, which came up out of the floor to surround you and would then transport whatever was inside them, up to a Goa'uld ship. If the mother-ship were attacked and in danger of being destroyed, an evacuation off of the ship could still be made through these rings, down to the Gate-chamber, through which they could escape to anywhere in the galaxy there was another Gate. Perhaps half an hour after he had reported to his superior, Colonel O'Neill received his orders.
"Colonel, SG-1 has the go-ahead from the President to help those people fight and hopefully destroy the Goa'uld mother-ship and to set up future defenses if necessary." General Hammond said.
"Thank you, General." Jack said.
Back at the SGC, Alex walked down to Liz Parker's lab.
"Hey Liz, Dr. Plum just told me that it doesn't look like we'll be traveling to P3...whatever...after all."
"Oh, why not?" Liz asked looking up from her work and frowning at her friend.
"Since he's the senior scientist here, the General told Dr. Plum that he just received word from SG-1; a Goa'uld mother-ship is on its way to the planet. The President has given them orders to help those people defend themselves." Alex answered.
"Do you think that they might evacuate the people here to Earth?" Liz asked.
"I don't know; sounds like it's a pretty populated planet, they wouldn't all fit down here." Alex reasoned.
"Oh...yeah, you're right. Well...maybe the next planet will be a peaceful one." Liz said hesitantly.
"Sure, or we might be able to go to this one after SG-1 kicks the Goa'uld's butts off that rock!" Alex grinned.
"Well you always hear the news before I do, let me know if you hear any more, will you Alex?" Liz asked.
"Sure thing, I'll see you later." Alex gave her a mock salute before leaving to go back to his work.
Back on Antar, the Royal Four readied their people for battle. Much of the population, especially the young and the old, quickly moved out of the cities and into secure underground shelters, out in the country. But many of the able-bodied citizens, both men and women, volunteered to stay behind and fight the Goa'uld as they had fought Khivar and the Skins, years before, in the Resistance.
Zan tried to make contact with the mother-ship, but was unsuccessful. Chancellor Larek and the leaders of the other planets had many of their ships shadowing the mother-ship as it made its way towards Antar. But even SG-1's knowledge of the Gao'uld and the attempted attack by Amonette a few days before, could not convince Antar's allies to attack the mother-ship unless it made an offensive move first, but they were ready if and when it did.
After all of their preparations, the battle was almost anti-climactic; it was over so quickly. Sha're begged to be allowed to go with Daniel, but in the end, she went to the shelters to help care for the children who loved to hear her sing the songs of her desert-dwelling people...even though they could not understand the words. Just as the pyramid-shaped ship came to a landing on top of the hill, which held the Stargate chamber, SG-1 and four top Antarian warriors, who spoke English, used the transporter rings to get aboard the ship; Sam using Amonett's old hand-device, like a golden glove with a ruby at the center of the palm, to activate them.
It never ceased to amaze the members of SG-1 how easy it was to get aboard any Goa'uld ship. The snake-heads truly believed their own propaganda; that they were invincible gods and that none of their "slaves" would ever dare to move against them. Time and time again, SG-1 found no guards in the Gate-chamber or wherever the transporter-rings deposited them. There were no sensors or cameras to tell the crew that their ship had been invaded by enemies. And the Jaffa-warriors clomp, clomp, clomped their way around the empty halls of the enormous ships, giving SG-1 ample time to hide in one of the many empty rooms, side-hallways or nooks and crannies, built into any Goa'uld architecture. No wonder SG-1 had prices on their heads across the galaxy; they continuously invaded Goa'uld ships and temples, carried out their missions of destruction and got away!
Like the Royal Four, the Antarian warriors who traveled with O'Neill and his team fought as a unit, combining their psi-based powers, both offensive and defensive, to greatly magnify their destructive or protective abilities, much to SG-1's awe-inspired respect. Antarians do not need to carry weapons, they are the weapons. Like SG-1's missions before, the eight of them made their way toward the heart of the ship, to disable the ship's defensive shields. They encountered only a few squads of Jaffa in the hallways and were able to duck into hiding until they passed by. The team planted explosives throughout the ship and snuck into the hanger bay. Sam Carter did receive a small blast to her shoulder from one of the Jaffa pilots before they were able to knock him out along with his fellow pilots and destroy the death-gliders; two-man fighter-craft, which had not yet taken off. After that, the team made its way back to the transporter rings; Jack O'Neill keeping a supporting hand on Carter's good arm, and "ringed home", down to the Stargate Chamber on the planet.
Down on Antar, any Jaffa who traveled through the rings or the Stargate, into the huge cave-chamber were immediately disarmed and captured. Antarian warriors could use their psychic powers to simply make the Goa'uld weapons fly out of their hands. Any Jaffa who tried to fight further were, either hit with an energy surge strong enough to knock them out or, if the Jaffa warrior was especially aggressive, were thrown across the chamber, to hit the stone wall behind them and slump to the floor, unconscious. The Jaffa were then herded or carried out of the chamber and into nearby holding cells.
SG-1 came back through the rings in between Jaffa captures and went to report to King Zan. A hover-craft brought them down from the hill to the Royal Manor where the communications center was located. But the four young royals were not safely inside; they were out in their front garden, firing at death-gliders which flew overhead.
"Oh man, look at that!" Daniel exclaimed, pointing.
Although the four Antarian warriors who had traveled with them to the mother-ship and come safely back, had used some of their psi-based powers, none of them had shown the immense power, the Royal Four was using now. Zan, Rath, Valondra and Ava stood in a circle, hands clasped and eyes closed, but as a death-glider flew nearby, firing at them as it came closer, several huge bursts of white energy shot out from the center of their circle and hurtled their way towards the enemy fighter, striking it dead on and disintegrating it; no burning or destructive debris falling from the sky. As SG-1 had reflexedly ducked beneath enemy fire, they had noticed an energy shield which had covered both them, the royals and their house; protecting them from being hit.
Right after the fighter was destroyed and before SG-1 could say a word, the Manor's front door opened and Sha're and several others came pouring out. The Antarians rushed to their rulers and Sha're ran to her handsome husband.
"Dan'yel, oh Dan'yel! Are you alright, my husband?" She cried as she rushed into his safe, strong arms.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, Shar're but I thought you were safely down in the shelters, helping to take care of the children." Daniel asked, concerned.
"I tried to, my husband." Sha're said softly, lowering her eyes in shame. "But I became so worried and anxious about you, my Dan'yel that I began to upset the children, so Zan brought me back up here. I am sorry that I failed and shamed you."
"Shh, shh; you haven't failed or shamed me, Sweetness." Daniel said soothingly, placing his index finger under her chin, to make Sha're look up at him. "Your anxiety is understandable; after all, you know best what we were up against."
"Thank you my husband." Sha're said formally and then tiptoed up to hug him again. "I am so happy that you are safe!"
Meanwhile, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c brought Captain Carter forward to King Zan.
"Your Highness, Captain Carter's been wounded." O'Neill pointed out a bad burn over her collarbone; she was deadly white, but standing on her own. "We could not make our driver understand that she needs a doctor." He said, frustrated.
"No Colonel, your driver knew exactly what the Captain needed; she needed to be brought to me. Let's take her inside where I can check out her wound." Zan said and Jack put a supporting hand under Sam's elbow before they walked inside.
"You're taking us into the living room?" Daniel asked. "Don't you need a treatment room; medical supplies?"
"No, Dr. Jackson, my brother doesn't need any of those things." Valondra assured them all. "Everything will be just fine."
"Come and sit on the sofa, Captain." Zan led her to a seat and sat closely next to her, but did not touch her. "Captain Carter, you have seen many of the powers, or gifts my people possess; my gift is to heal. It won't hurt and I only need to touch you for a few moments, will you trust me to do this?"
Sam looked around for a moment; to Valondra, Ava and Rath, who were looking down at her with concern and compassion for her, and confidence in their king. She looked back to Zan.
"Yes, I...trust you. What do I do?" Sam asked.
"Just look into my eyes." Zan instructed gently and then brought his hand up to lay it over Sam's burn.
His hand started to glow with a white light and then as he healed her, Zan saw flashes from Sam's past, as he always did whenever he healed someone. Sam as a little girl, running happily towards her father, who was wearing an Air Force dress uniform. Sam proudly graduating from the Air Force Academy. Sam entering a conference room and meeting Colonel Jack O'Neill for the first time; her instant attraction as well as her anger at his dismissal of her as just another scientist; and her wish to make a good impression on this prickly colonel. Sam watching as an older version of her father woke up and seeing his eyes glow like a Goa'uld. Zan could feel the love and the relief that it was a To'kra who had bonded with her father and that the alien symbiote had already cured Jacob Carter of his terminal cancer. Zan, aka Max Evans saw no flashes of Sam's new friends, Liz Parker or Alex Whitman though.
Zan's hand stopped glowing and he pulled it away from Sam's collarbone; only a few moments had passed. Captain Carter registered the absence of any pain and looked down, her hand coming up to pull her shirt collar away from her skin; Zan grimaced a little.
"The silver handprint will disappear in a few days." He assured her.
"You healed it! You actually healed me...with just your touch!" Sam said, wonder in her voice, not caring about the handprint. She looked back up into Zan's gentle amber eyes. "Thank you...so much! I don't know what else to say." But being Sam Carter Ph.D., she quickly thought of something as her curiosity took over. "Can you heal anything? How do you do it? How do you feel afterwards?" Zan raised both of his hands up, palms forward in a gesture of surrender.
"No, I can't heal everything." He said sadly. "I can heal most injuries and some diseases...but the natural aging process and conditions caused by that...systemic disorders, I can't heal. How do I do it? I don't know, I've just always been able to...while I'm healing someone, I'm just concentrating on finding the problem and repairing it...and afterwards...mostly I feel fine, but if it was an extensive healing it is...tiring."
"I bet!" Sam agreed, smiling.
Back to the battle...
It was the death-gliders which were doing the only real damage, but that was little enough because Antarian fighters and their allies from the other planets quickly blew them out of the skies or forced them down. The Antarian version of anti-aircraft guns were highly effective as well, along with other four-square groups who were almost as powerful and far more mobile. While on board the mother-ship, SG-1 had found out that it was indeed Apophis' ship, although they did not see him. With the destruction of his fighters and the "disappearance" of his Jaffa, they were hoping that the Goa'uld himself would make an appearance, but he never did.
Finally, Apophis' First Prime, the head-Jaffa who had replaced Teal'c, was allowed to return to his master, to explain the situation and give him King Zan's terms under which the Goa'uld could surrender. Neither SG-1 nor the Royal Four believed that Apophis would surrender and he did not. Instead, the Goa'uld's ship took off and the Antarians encouraged him to gain altitude by firing at the bottom of his ship; they wanted him to leave the atmosphere before they detonated the explosives, which SG-1 had planted aboard, also their allies' ships were waiting for him out in space where they could fire on the ship as well, without the threat of hitting cities down on Antar. Their plan worked; the ship left the atmosphere, ships from the other four worlds fired on it, damaging it severely since SG-1 had been able to knock out the shields and Sam Carter detonated the C4 explosives on board, destroying the ship but...
"Your Highness, I regret to inform you that a signal, which matches that of our Great Ring when activated, was registered shortly before the ship was destroyed; we believe that Apophis was able to escape, Sire." A warrior informed his king in frustration and Zan sighed.
"Thank you, Shelto; Colonel O'Neill had warned us that this alien is a very slippery character; very good at escaping their best plans to capture him." Zan said.
"Well, we made the bad guys run away, but they may return." Rath said. "Since they have ships, would it be worthwhile burying the Great Ring again?"
"I don't think so, Rath. We need to set up some sort of...doorway...that we could put in front of the opening when we don't want...visitors and remove when we do. I think you mentioned that you have such a device on your Stargate, Colonel O'Neill?" Zan asked.
"Captain Carter is the expert if you want specifics, but yes we do have something we call the iris; like a giant camera shutter, do you know what I mean?" Jack asked and Zan nodded.
"It's made of titanium and closes as soon as the Stargate starts to dial." Sam continued the explanation. "Radio signals can be sent back and forth through the wormhole and when we receive a transmission from one of our teams we open the iris. Otherwise we leave it closed and...I'm sure you can imagine what happens to anything coming through the wormhole..."
"Uh...yeah..." Rath said.
"Ewww!" Valondra cried out and Ava shuddered.
"So we could set up something similar and give a code-word to our friends and allies." Zan said nodding.
"We'll be happy to help you set that up, Your Highness." Sam smiled.
The nine of them; Sha're snuggled into her husband's side, his strong arm around her shoulders, settled into negotiations and arrangements again on a much friendlier and trusting footing. They discussed what to do with the captured Jaffa and the idea of starting an exchange of SGC and Antarian scientists in a few weeks, after Zan and his people had cleaned up the mess of this latest battle. By the time SG-1 said goodnight, a couple of hours later, so that they could go home and report to their superiors, they had agreed to have the To'kra come and pick up the Jaffa, set up a schedule for scientific exchange, especially space technology and given each other a code to proclaim themselves as "friendly travelers".
"I can't thank you all enough for your help today in fighting Apophis." King Zan said as they all stood before the Stargate.
"Hey, your people have some serious fire-power; you would have done fine on your own." O'Neill assured them. "But you're welcome."
"Especially with Sha're to tell us what to expect." Rath said faintly smiling.
"I hope you'll come back and visit us, Sha're; with or without your handsome husband." Valondra whispered sincerely as she and Ave hugged their guest.
"Thank you all for freeing me from the demon, Amonette and for your warm hospitality; I would like to return and visit you again very much." Sha're said as she hugged Rath and Zan as well.
After good-byes and thanks were exchanged, Sam stepped up to the DHD and dialed home.
"We will see you in a few weeks then, at least." Daniel said and waived before they started stepping through the event-horizon; Sha're's hand safely held in his larger one.
TBC
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