Powerful Surges
My day started quietly enough. Bacon and eggs in the mess hall, giving me a chance to speak with some of the personnel who had no reason to otherwise cross my path, then back to the office to read their reports before the briefing with SG-2.
I could see them through the door. Despite the assorted scrapes and scratches Ferretti and his team were laughing and joking, clustered around the coffee pot, talking animatedly. At least until I entered the room.
The atmosphere sobered as they registered my presence, quietly moving to the table and waiting until I had seated myself. Lou gave me a smile and I nodded back in return, opening the file I had carried in with me.
The briefing was, well – brief. A minor skirmish with the locals, no real injuries, just enough to get the adrenaline flowing. All in all, a pointless mission. I knew I was frowning as Lou described the fight, his team nodding in agreement, their faces excited at the memory. I held my finger below the bullet point summery attached to the end of the document, noting the cost of a mission with no return whatsoever, and looked up, about to cut him off in full flow.
Then I saw Lou’s new team member, Lieutenant Hong, looking at me. With that look I knew I’d had many times. I had just been able to hide it better.
That look that says, “You haven’t got any idea what we’re talking about or what we go through when we are off world.”
I realised that he was just one of several new, young SGC team members that had only known me as General O’Neill, the pen pusher, the bureaucrat.
I shut the file and smiled at Lou, telling him ‘well done’ and that I was glad they had all made it back in one piece. They left, probably planning a team evening.
I walked to the large window, looking down at the gate. Walking through it already seemed like a distant memory.
“General O’Neill?” My aide stood at the open door. “You have that meeting at Peterson in an hour, sir. Would you like me to bring the papers in here for you to go over?”
I shook my head, mentally sighing, but outwardly showing no sign of my depressing thoughts. “No, I’ll read them in my office.”
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Thirty minutes later I was in the elevator, about to head for the surface and the pleasant prospect of the Quarterly Fiscal Projections.
Joy.
I nodded at the two SFs already there, going home after their shift in the Gateroom. The doors shut. I pressed the button.
And everything went black.
Crap!
Don’t tell me this is the latest manifestation of my totally ridiculous super powers? An ability to short circuit things. That’ll come in handy – not!
Then the alarms started. Flashes of red light showed through the crack between the doors.
The emergency lighting flickered into life and, just for a second, I stood there.
“Give me a boost.” I pointed up at the hatch in the ceiling.
I ignored their incredulous looks and was already up and standing on the top of the car when I realised I should have gotten one of those young men to do this. A hand appeared at the open hatch and I reached down and pulled. The Sergeant appeared, looking rather stunned to find himself standing in an elevator shaft with a general.
“Come on.” I didn’t waste time with explanations. I was already half way up the access ladder to the next level before the Sergeant had pulled his companion up to join him.
I would be damned if I would be stuck in an elevator while my base was on alert.
My knee was protesting loudly by the time we opened the doors and crawled out into the corridor. I rubbed my greasy hands along my trouser legs, a passing wish that it was permissible for a two star general to wear BDUs to a meeting, and headed for the stairs, the SFs following close behind. In a matter of minutes, I was back where I started.
The activity was frantic in the Control Room. Carter was already at one of the computer terminals, tapping at keys at what looked to be the speed of light. Sergeant Davis was seated next to her, adding his keystrokes to the rapid sounds.
“Report.”
Heads turned, and I’m pleased to say that the majority of faces showed relief at the sight of me.
“I thought you had already left the base, sir.” Carter smiled and turned back to the screen. “It appears to be a widespread power failure originating on the surface. We only have limited access to the computers. I’m trying to reboot them now. Fortunately the emergency overrides have taken care of any security issues.”
I looked down at the Gateroom below us and nodded. The iris was safely across the gate.
“Any idea what caused it, Major?”
“No, sir.” Her fingers didn’t pause as she answered. “There has been no communication.”
“Where’s Colonel Harper?”
My aide appeared as if by magic. “He was up on level nine, sir.”
That put him out of the picture. We were cut off from any level above eleven once the emergency procedures came into force. SG-6, SG-11 and SG-16 were all off world, with only SG-11 due back within the next couple of hours.
“Is the gate operational?”
Carter shook her head. “The dialling computer is down. We should be able to dial out once manually if absolutely necessary, but for all intents and purposes I would have to say no, sir.”
She left the rest unsaid, but I knew from the look in her eyes that incoming wormholes were another matter entirely, and without the computer there was no way to identify friend from foe.
I gave orders to keep working on the problem, even though I knew they would, and headed for my office. Within a few minutes most of the team leaders on base had reported in. Apart from the normal problems associated with working in barely enough light to see by, everything was running to plan.
The last to report was Doctor Roberts. There were no patients in the infirmary when the lights went out, but two base personnel had since been admitted with minor injuries. One of the scientists had spilt a chemical on herself when the blackout hit just as she was completing an experiment. The burns were minor and easily treated. The other injury was a twisted ankle, a cook having tripped on some stairs.
“Thank you, Doctor.” I nodded my dismissal, already preparing to return to the Control Room.
“General, I was wondering if I could have a word about another matter?”
He sure picked a great time to want to talk. I was already half way to the door. “Another time, Doctor. At the moment I’m a little busy.” I didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm from my voice.
He followed me, walking just a step behind me. “I can understand that, General, but this is important.”
“Alright, Doctor Roberts.” I lead him over to an unoccupied corner of the room, all the while watching the activity around us. Everything seemed to be under control, so I could afford to give the man some time, even if every instinct was telling me that I didn’t want to be within ten feet of him. “What is it?”
He looked around as if checking that no one was listening, before speaking, his voice low. “Sir, I am concerned about your ability to run the base in this crisis.”
Just what exactly did he mean by that! I hardly saw the man from one day to the next and now he was trying to tell me I wasn’t capable of doing my job. He didn’t give me the chance to speak – hurrying on, his words pouring from his mouth in a way that reminded me of Daniel on a bad day. “You have refused to allow me to examine you, and yet you show every symptom of a stress related condition. As the base CMO, I am able to order you to hand over command to someone else if I feel that your judgement is affected.”
I pushed my hands deeply into my pockets to prevent myself from punching him in the mouth. “What exactly are these symptoms, Doctor?”
He seemed surprised at my calmness. If he could have read my mind, he would have run a mile.
“Well, sir…” He hesitated. “There is the trembling.”
Trembling!
Shit!
I stayed calm.
“I happen to feel the cold a little more than most people, Doctor. I hardly think that constitutes a reason for relieving me of command.” My tone was as icy as my temperature. “Is there anything else? Perhaps something I should take a little more seriously?”
“Given your previous history, there are numerous indicators of stress, sir.”
I cut him short. “Previous history? What previous history?”
His smug face smiled up into mine. “Doctor MacKenzie was kind enough to allow me access to his files.”
This time I did see red.
The lights came on.
It was then that the gate decided to activate. Go figure the chances.
I hurried to the observation window, the doctor forgotten. All eyes were on the spinning ring. There was nothing normal about this. The chevrons weren’t locking into place, the gate was spinning faster and faster.
“Carter?”
“I don’t know, sir!” She was the only person in the room not mesmerised by the sight.
“Christ!” I wasn’t the only one who cried out. The rivets holding the gate in place began to pop out of the metal supporting frame, acting like giant bullets. In the few seconds it took for Davis to lower the blast screen, several had already shattered the glass.
I knew this because I felt the shards ripping past me. There were sounds, frighteningly loud in the confined space, sounds I knew well. The impact of a foreign object on a human body.
The metal clunked down over the window. Behind it, in the Gateroom, I could hear the scream of tortured metal. In the Control Room, I could hear the screams of pain. I uncurled myself from my instinctive crouch beneath the window. The lights seemed horribly bright after so long on emergency lighting, especially when I registered the destruction the rivets had left behind.
One of the technicians was on his back just a few feet to the left of me, blood pouring from a gapping wound in his chest. An airman was clutching his arm, red dripping from the neat hole in his wrist and just about everyone else was covered in small cuts from the glass. I spared a look at Carter, knowing that unless she was badly injured, she would be working to find a solution to the problem with the gate. I just hoped she would find one before it ripped itself from its supports. If the sounds coming from the Gateroom were anything to go by, that moment wouldn’t be long in coming.
Glass dropped from me as I hurried across the room. Doctor Roberts was already kneeing beside the badly injured man, a first aid kit next to him.
“Carter!” I threw out the words in passing.
“I’m working on it, sir.”
“How is he, Doctor?” I knelt on the floor next to them. Devon – that was his name. I was glad I remembered it. His face was pasty white already, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Roberts looked up, and for a moment I saw despair in his eyes. He shook his head.
“Get a medical team down here now!” I heard someone speaking urgently into the phone as I turned back.
Roberts sat back on his heels, and rubbed a bloodstained hand absently across his face, leaving small streaks behind like war paint.
“It’s no good, General. The damage is far too extensive.”
I saw Devon’s eyes flicker open, filled with pain, and reached down to take his hand. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. It didn’t matter, I’d been there myself far too many times not to know what he was trying to ask.
But could I give him an honest answer?
I bent down, careful to avoid the Doctor’s gaze, and spoke firmly. “You’ll be okay, Devon. Don’t worry.”
I tightened my grip on the limp hand, ignoring the man beside me. It was so unfair. Devon was young, with all his life ahead of him. He didn’t deserve to die in such a way.
I lowered my head and shut my eyes, a sudden shiver passing through my body.
Great! Just what I needed to convince Roberts I was in complete command of my faculties.
“General.” I heard Carter’s voice as if from a distance. The cold seemed to be concentrated in my head, making my thoughts frozen and numb. By contrast, my hand was burning.
I opened my eyes and my vision tunnelled down, until all I could see was Devon, staring up at me as if I was all that was holding him safe. His grey blue eyes grew and filled up all the empty space I had left, until I lost myself in the blackness of their pupils.
Far away familiar words intruded, on the edge of my hearing.
“No! Don’t touch him!” Carter was shouting. “Keep back.”
The fire moved up my arm, until it spread into my chest and warmed me. The hand I held gripped harder and I had to make an effort not to cry out, as the numbness in my head left and my brain flared back into life with all the subtlety of a nuclear blast.
I felt myself slipping sideways, and only had time to hope someone was there to catch me before I blacked out completely.
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
“General O’Neill?”
There was something wrong about the voice near my ear. It was male for one thing, and instinctively I knew that wasn’t right. Plus it sounded scared. The Doc never sounded scared.
The Doc.
Crap.
I opened my eyes and found Roberts two inches from my nose.
With a penlight.
Double crap.
I reached up and whacked it away, sitting as I did so. He didn’t need to do that. There was nothing cruvis with me.
Oh Triple Crap!
My mouth opened, then I hesitated and nothing came out. The words were there, but somehow they weren’t being processed properly.
I opened my mouth again and shut it just as quickly. Where was Daniel when I needed him?
Roberts was standing back a little now, staring at me as if I had grown two heads.
Maybe I had.
Nope. A quick touch with my hand confirmed I only had one, albeit a head that was slightly the worse for wear if the ache was anything to go by.
So what the hell was wrong with him?
I twisted, taking in my surroundings. The infirmary. Didn’t see that one coming. Yeah, sure. I was still in my uniform so I couldn’t have been unconscious for too long. Now it was just a case of working out what had happened.
Through the open door, I could see that several of the other beds in the main ward were occupied, and I peered at them, trying to get any clue. Nothing looked too serious. In fact, Devon looked like he was having a nap.
Devon.
The gate!
I leapt to my feet, ignoring hands grabbing at me.
“Jack!” The sound of Daniel’s voice stopped me in my tracks. “Wait.”
What’s going on? What happened with the gate?
That was what I wanted to ask, but all that came out was Ancient.
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Devon came to see me today.
He knocked at my office door, looking nervous, as if he wasn’t sure of his reception. He thanked me. He also admitted that he didn’t really remember much of what happened after the rivet hit him in the chest, just that I had been there. He told me that he felt as if my being there had kept him alive.
He didn’t know the half of it.
I told him to forget it, keeping my words simple, and concentrating as I said each one.
The power cut had been total across three states. Something about a transformer and a lightning strike. Nothing sinister about it.
The gate malfunction was another matter. That was still unexplained. It had shut down soon after my collapse, fortunately without sustaining too much damage. Carter was still running every test she could think of to try and work out the reasons behind what happened. So far, her best guess was that the surge as the power was restored had caused it.
Doctor Roberts and I had had a long and very serious talk, with the help of Daniel’s translations. He had agreed to not speak with Doctor MacKenzie again. My telling him I knew he had information on my background, and suggesting that perhaps he should consider seriously who he would rather have as an enemy, MacKenzie, or myself, had what was, as far as I was concerned, a very positive response. A quick visit from Commander Coates, accompanied by several very sinister looking men in black suits, and the only contact I had had with Roberts since was when I visited the injured personnel in the infirmary. He had avoided me as much as possible.
The other staff in the Control Room were as completely in the dark about what had happened as we all had been during the blackout. Everything had happened so quickly. I knew there were a few strange rumours doing the rounds, but they were mainly concerned with Doctor Robert’s amazing medical skills.
As for me, three days after Jack’s Wonderful Adventure, I was almost back to normal. Or what past for normal with me nowadays. Coates had checked me over, done all those brain scans I had become so use to, and declared me to be no danger to myself or others.
I wasn’t so sure.
There was just one thing Coates didn’t know, and there was no way he, or anyone else outside of my old team and Roberts, was ever going to find out if I could help it. One old, grouchy Jaffa master, and a young gate technician were alive because of me, and that was something I was happy to live with, but I could just imagine how long I would be walking around free if it came out. No. That wasn’t going to happen. As far as Coates was concerned, I had had a brief collapse, possibly because of the power surge. The only result of this had been my trouble with the English language, and a killer headache.
The headache had been debilitating, and for once I had taken the painkillers Coates prescribed. Within an hour of his visit, I had left the infirmary for the privacy of my own quarters, where I could moan to my heart’s content without anyone else hearing. I had been within an inch of calling the Asgard for help when it had left as suddenly as it had begun.
Now I was worried.
I looked down at my hands.
What else was left over from that damn download? Was I meant to just carry on as normal, knowing that I held such power in my hands?
What sort of a regular life would I be able to have?
I left my office, and walked into the Briefing Room, crossing to the window. Below me, the Stargate stood firm in its newly repaired cradle, dominating the vast space. As I watched, it began to turn, chevrons locking into place, as Carter ran through another test. As the blinding blue stream of light rushed its way into the room, I smiled.
What sort of a normal life could I expect even without all this Ancient stuff cluttering up my brain?
I knew the answer to that.
I hadn’t had a normal life for years.
And I didn’t want one.
The End
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