Preservation of the Species
Summary: Half the SGC disappears in a strange green light. What happened to them? How do the ones left behind cope with their loss?
Warnings: Language
Content Level: PG-13
Season: Season 10
Spoilers: 1005 Uninvited
Categories: Humor, AU, Mystery
Characters: Jack, Daniel, Sam, Cam, Carolyn, Landry, Teal’c, Vala
Pairing: Jack/Sam, Cam/Carolyn
Archive Perm: The story is the property of the author and may not be posted without the author’s consent. Any who want it are welcome. Just give me credit.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; not me. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement intended.
Author’s Notes: My first story.
Chapter 1: Kidnapped
"Oh, fer crying out loud!"
The secretary smiled at the sound of her grumpy boss General O'Neill. He had been working through the latest mission reports from the SGC. She made a point of clearing his schedule every Monday morning to ensure he could grouse in peace. She also made sure to have a fresh baked chocolate cake handy.
In the last two years, General Jack O'Neill had been a breath of fresh air in DC. During her first few frustrating days as his new secretary, Janelle had been at her wits end on what exactly she was supposed to do for this particular general. Her salvation came in the form of a video tape from the SGC, specially delivered by LtCol. Paul Davis. The note with the video simply stated, "Watch this alone. With love, from the SGC."
In confusion, she watched the video and all was soon revealed. The tape was a series of short interviews and narrated security video footage, gently titled "The Care and Maintenance of General O'Neill." It described how he needed to be walked regularly (or else he would wander off on his own), adequately entertained (Gameboy and yo-yo preferred), and fed properly (cake, pie, and red jello, never blue). The video left her in stitches and gave her a deeper insight into the odd man entrusted into her care.
Speak of the devil, here he came now.
"Mutant alien creatures... AT. MY. CABIN! And can you believe that Hank didn't even call me. You know a quick `Hey Jack, funny thing happened on vacation. A strange mutant alien was killing people. Don't worry. We got it covered. Just thought you would want to know.' But, no! I have to read about it in the weekly report. That is sooo not cool." He made for the chocolate cake and coffee. "I mean....come on....It's my cabin. Only I should enjoy the exciting stuff that goes on there....Humph."
"Yes, General. Should I cancel all your meetings so you can check on the property? I'm sure the President won't mind," she asked sweetly, just as he stuffed more cake in his mount.
"Hurhumph...murrumph." He shook his head and waved his hands in the air, spilling coffee out of his cup, to express his negative response.
"I'll take that as a `no'. Anything else, General?" she asked sweetly.
He sighed and took a drink of coffee. "No thanks. I'll just head back to my cell and turn big piles of paper into little ones." He turned and disappeared in a strange greenish light.
Janelle sat at her desk stunned, "General?" She carefully stood up and scanned her office. "General, this isn't funny. Where are you?" She checked his office even under his desk. "Oh my God!" She jogged back to her desk and grabbed the phone.
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"Gee whiz, Dr. Jackson. How much coffee do you plan on drinking?" Lt Col Cameron Mitchell exclaimed as he took in the sight of Dr. Daniel Jackson with a death grip on the coffee pot and what appeared to be a 72 oz. travel mug. "Hell, I didn't even know they made coffee cups that big."
"Ha. Ha. If I plan on making it through this meeting, I'll have to drink it all." He paused to take a big swig of coffee. "Why did we schedule a briefing at 0600 hrs anyway?" Daniel asked, giving a small contented sigh, as he took another sip of coffee.
"Sam said something about a time difference between here and P2X 823." Lt Col Mitchell responded. "Teal'c. Good morning."
"Good morning, Colonel Mitchell. I believe Colonel Carter was concerned about arriving on the planet before nightfall."
"Splendid." Vala Mal Doran entered the room looking rumpled. "We get there just in time to go back to bed. Excellent plan. When do we leave?"
General Hank Landry and Lt Col Samantha Carter entered from his office together, "Alright people, lets settle down to business. Colonel Carter if you'll start off."
Sam walked up to the screen and clicked to the first slide. "P2X 823 is a typical M-class plan..." She, Daniel, and Cam were enveloped in a green light. General Landry stood up and looked at Teal'c and Vala. The others had vanished. The three of them were alone.
"What the hell?" He strode over to the wall and hit the alarm before grabbing the wall phone.
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"Benny, you have got it bad." His lab partner whispered to him as he took his seat.
Benny sighed, "I know. But what am I supposed to do. Cassandra is way out of my league. I mean, she's smart, funny, beautiful, pre-med..." He sighed again as the object of his obsession sat down in front of him. He was sure he was failing Chemistry 240 because he couldn't concentrate on the professor. Let's face it; in the world of young male hormones, a contest between a boring old sod versus an enchanting young woman was a no brainer.
"But, if I have to flunk out of college... at least I'll enjoy the view."
From the front of the classroom, the professor started class. "Today, we will be discussing the properties of heavy metals. And, no, I do not mean a type of music." As the professor turned on the overhead, a bright green light flashed through the room. Benny blinked and scanned the room. Cassandra Frasier and half the classroom, including the professor, were missing.
"Uh...What the f*** just happened?"
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Several hours later, General Landry had pieced together a slightly clearer picture of what had happened. In addition to SG-1 and General O'Neill, roughly half of the SGC and their families were missing. He had been working with the Colorado Springs Police to identify all the missing family members. Luckily, once he had identified the link to family members, the general was able to run the recall roster and determine who exactly was missing. For once, the Air Force stuck to the truth rather than an elaborate cover story. "We have no idea what is going on or where these people might be." Okay, maybe not the ENTIRE truth, Hank acknowledged. But questions about alien abductions or mysterious weapons were largely ignored.
In each case, when the event was witnessed, the missing members disappeared in a green light. A call was sent to the Asgard, Tok’ra, and the Nox for information on the possible types of technology used. Teal'c and Vala had left a few hours earlier to gather information from the Free Jaffa. Unfortunately, the missing members included all of his best and brightest minds. His ranking scientist was now Dr. Felger. He had to recall Dr. Warner from the Academy Hospital because his entire medical team, including Dr. Carolyn Lam, was among the missing.
The most disturbing part concerned the large number of Academy cadets and college students missing under the same circumstances, in both Colorado Springs and New York City. So far, none had more than incidental contact with anyone in the SGC or their families. Hell, the only reason they knew about the New York students was because Cassandra Frasier was also among the missing. The New York City Police had included her among a list of missing students in the New York Metropolitan area. The same strange green light was sighted engulfing these missing students.
General Landry had recalled all off-world teams and as many key scientists as could be spared from the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma sites. He had left the Atlantis group intact, for now. The SGC barely had enough people to continue a first line of defense against the Ori. So far, the abductions were limited to Earth. Current speculation had a new Ori weapon in orbit around Earth. Personally, Hank didn't think the Ori would be this specific. If they wanted to eliminate the threat Earth represented, they could have just sent a ship to wipe out all resistance. It didn't fit the overall modus operandi of the Ori. Something else was going on. He was sure of it.
Hank sighed and picked up the red phone. "Get me the President, please." He needed to brief what few details he had.
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The first thing Jack became aware of was the light. It was very bright. So bright that it seemed to pierce his brain through his eyelids. Slowly, he became aware of his body. Sarcophagus? Hope not! Was he in the infirmary? No. He was no longer going on missions. So what happened?
Can I open my eyes? Good question. Let's try....Okay, so that is a no. Can I move? He tried moving his arms. Okay, that was a maybe. Does anything hurt?....Yes. BIG headache, general achy feeling. Nothing more specific. He strained his senses and heard strange noises. Wind through the trees? Animals? Nothing familiar. Try the eyes again? Sure...
He finally cracked the eyes and regretted it instantly. Way too bright. Made the headache way worse.
"What `The Hell' just happened?" Jack heard a familiar voice moan out loud somewhere nearby.
"Mitchell, is that you?" Jack asked, cracking his eyes again, braving the light.
"Uh…General O'Neill?" Cam replied. "How did you get here?"
"I don't know. By the way, where exactly is here?" The last thing that Jack remembered clearly was his office in DC.
"Good question. I wish I had an answer, sir." Cam cracked his eyes open to take a look around. "It looks like we are in field ... with lots of other people," Cam risked opening his eyes wider to see that the field was littered with young people. A few looked like children.
"What the hell?" Jack said, as he sat up. Looking around, he took in the appearance of the people surrounding him. Most of the group was wearing uniforms from the SGC, but he didn't recognize any faces. "Oh, crap." He stood up quickly and assumed an air of command. "Mitchell, it looks like most of the folks here are SGC or related. Gather up a security detachment and secure the field." Jack could see several people sitting up and looking around. "Listen up, people." He shouted, catching the attention of those around him. "I need all SGC personnel to rally around that ... blue-ish... tree." He pointed at a vivid blue tree at the edge of the field. "I need everyone else to remain calm and to stay where you are. All Security Forces personnel are to report to Colonel Mitchell, here, to secure the area." Jack turned to Cam and froze. "Mitchell? You...uh...look...different."
Cam had been scanning the surrounding area looking for hostiles, but turned to face the general when he heard his last comment. "Whoa!" Cam jumped back. It sounded like General O'Neill, but the man standing in front of him was... younger.... way younger. He looked about 25, and he was wearing General O'Neill's Dress Blues. "Uh... General? Is that really you?" Cam asked cautiously.
"Of course, its me... I take it I look different too." Jack rubbed his hand over his face "Crap."
Cam laughed, "I'll second that, sir."
All around the field, people were starting to stand up and make their way to the blue tree or over to Cam. Jack headed to the tree to see who had shown up here with him. He scanned the faces around him to see if he recognized anyone. A few of the faces looked familiar, but since all of them looked to be in their twenties, Jack wasn't sure.
Standing under the tree, he ran a hand through his hair. Great. Probably been cloned again. Oh well, at least, I'm not a teenager this time.
He watched as a large group of Security Police gathered around Cam. A few of them were wearing full gear. Weird. The rest of the uniforms and a fair amount of the group in civilian clothes assembled around Jack and the blue tree.
He started addressing them, as the last arrived, "Well, isn't this a fine way to wake up? Since, you probably don't recognize me, I'm General Jack O'Neill ... or maybe his clone... I don't really know yet. We need to organize this group and get to a more secure location. We can assume, we are somewhere off-world." He motioned to the blue tree. "How many of you are on SG teams?"
About 30 hands shot up. "Good. Figure out who’s who and arm up. It looks like some of the SF's came armed. I want 4 teams scouting out a secure location. Avoid contact with the natives for now. The rest of you will help me organize this group. We have to get them up and ready to move as soon as possible. I don't know who dumped us here, but I don't want them to find us if they come back. Who are my ranking officers?"
"Col. Reynolds here, Sir."
"Lt Col Johnson, Sir."
"Col. Thompson from the Marines, Sir."
"Dr. Lam over here, General."
"Maj. Vasquez, SG-5, Sir."
"Lt Col Carter, General." Jack turned in that direction to see her.
"Maj. Pope from the Army, General."
"Maj. Dilecce, Sir"
The officers continued to sound off for a few more minutes. Jack was surprised to find that he recognized most of the names. After a few moments of silence, Jack asked, "What about Dr. Lee? Teal'c? Dr. Jackson? Any other SGC key personnel?"
"I'm here, Jack" the young Daniel waved a hand to catch his attention.
"As am I, General," an awkward youth stepped up in baggy clothes with large glasses on.
"Dr. Lee, I presume." Jack replied, still scanning the area for Teal'c, disappointed.
"Alrighty then. Reynolds and Thompson are my XO's. Col Reynolds, organize the SG teams and report back. I'll be keeping Lt Col Carter and Dr. Jackson here. Col. Thompson, I need to you coordinate the Army and Marine personnel. They will supplement the Security Forces. Dr. Lam, I need to know what medical resources we have. Dr. Lee, I want you to act as a liaison for all the scientists. Daniel, I want you and Carter to get a list of everyone here, what they did on Earth, and any useful skills they may have. Try to keep them calm. Okay kids, time to get to work…Well, go on…shoo!" As Jack shot out the orders, the affected groups subdivided and dispersed to complete their tasks. Soon just Jack, Daniel, and Sam were left under the tree.
"What do you want me to tell them?" Daniel asked quietly.
"The truth, Daniel. We were abducted from our homes and dumped here. We don't know where we are or who did this. But we’re fine, for now, and we intend to stay that way," he paused. "You might want to leave out the part about possibly being clones and stranded on an alien planet. That might seem a bit too far fetched for non-SGC personnel to handle right now. Though they might notice the new younger look we are all sporting."
Sam was staring at him with an odd look.
"What, Carter?"
"Sir, did your clone... I mean the first... Did Jon have just your memories or did he also have your scars?" Sam asked.
Jack gaped at her for a moment, before letting out a huff. "Just a teenaged body and a lifetime of not so good memories, if I remember correctly," he finally replied.
Sam hugged herself as she continued, "Then I don't think we’re clones." She continued to watch him. She pointed to her left eyebrow. Finally, at his confused look, she smiled and said, "You still have your weak spot...Sir."
Understanding dawned and Jack reached up to find his eyebrow scar. He remembered her teasing that the Jaffa all thought it was his weak spot. They always felt the need to hit him right there. Jack smiled, "Well, that is some good news. I always hated the duplicate thing." He flexed his knees and back experimentally, "But I think I could get used to this younger body thing."
"I don't know, Jack." Daniel replied with a smirk. "We could barely take you seriously with all the gray hair. Now..." he gestured at the younger body.
"Oh, fer crying out loud, Daniel. Will you just get to work," Jack smiled and turned over to where Cam was standing with a few of the remaining SF's. "Time to get to work myself," he whispered and made his way over to coordinate defenses. Daniel and Sam wandered over to the first group of civilians.
"Hi. I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson and this is Lt Col Samantha Carter, US Air Force. General O'Neill" Daniel pointed to Jack's retreating figure, "asked us to take down everyone's names and information and to let you know what we think is going on."
One young woman was holding a small child in her arms, with two others sitting close. "I'm Sandra Reynolds. I'm a school teacher. These are Bryson, Shelly, and Derek. What happened to us?"
Sam looked at Daniel and answered, "We don't know exactly what happened, just that a good portion of us work at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. We were abducted and brought here by some unknown group. General O'Neill doesn't want to stick around, in case our abductors come back. He is sending out teams to find some place safe to hide. In the mean time, he wants a list of who was taken." She paused, "Also, we all seem to look years younger than we are."
"Except for the children," Sandra replied.
"Reynolds? Do you know a Col Steven Reynolds?" Daniel asked quickly.
"Yes, he’s my husband. Why?"
"Good. You’ll be glad to know that he is here too. He’s right over there," he pointed to the tight knot of SG team members. "We all look younger than we used to. So you might not recognize him. But, he is here. Right now, he’s busy. But, I know he’ll want to know that you and the kids are safe." Daniel started writing in his journal the names of all the people in the group.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked a quiet man in the back. He had said that he was a farmer from upstate New York. The last thing he remembered was being in class.
"Well, right now, I could use some help getting everyone's names," Daniel offered. The man nodded his reply, glad to have something to do.
"Sandra, would you mind if we sent all the people with children over here?" Sam asked as they stood to leave. "I think the kids would cope better with others to play with."
"Yes, thanks. I think I can keep them entertained until we need to move," Sandra smiled and began to organize the others in her area.
"That went well," Daniel said.
Daniel, Sam and the farmer all moved on to the next group to repeat the process.
“Yeah, only a few hundred more to go,” Sam sighed.
An hour later, Daniel and Sam had visited each small group and taken down all their names. Several of the non-SGC civilians were in shock, while most had settled down after an initial panic attack. Dr. Lam was having the nursing staff sit with the worst of the shock cases. The SGC scientists had started to organize the remaining people into groups in an effort to keep everyone busy until the SG Teams returned with a new location.
Once the initial panic passed, the group settled down to wait for news. Some spent the day collecting fruit from the nearby trees. Others occupied their time by weaving the grass in the field into mats, bowls, and baskets, or teaching others how. The children had been occupied by helping the adults collect grass for weaving. All day, Jack had wandered from group to group reassuring them that `something' was being done. Though he felt that the ‘something’ was woefully inadequate.
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As the sun hung low on the horizon, SG-2 finally came back with a better campsite a few miles away. Jack quickly organized the group march to the new site. Half SG-2 stayed to lead the group back while Jack sent the others with Col. Thompson and half the Security Forces to secure the new site. Thanks to Daniel and Sam, the civilians and remaining SGC personnel were ready to move quickly. What energy the group of abductees had left was expended on the short march. Most of the group had sunk down in exhaustion to sleep around communal campfires. Most not bothering to do more than move the stones out of their chosen beds.
Finally, with the move accomplished and everyone accounted for, Jack sat down wearily on the ground near one of the communal fires. He watched the sleeping forms around him. Sam walked up to him careful not to disturb the other sleepers. "Mind if I join you, Sir?" she whispered quietly.
"Not at all. Have a seat."
Sam smiled, "Daniel has finished compiling the names of all the people here. It looks like about half the SGC was taken, including most of the scientists, SG teams, and base Security Forces personnel." She sighed. "Immediate family members were also taken, including kids." She paused, "I estimate about 200 SGC and family personnel and another 100 non-SGC personnel. We basically have someone from all the specialties. Most of the non-SGC personnel were taken from colleges in Colorado and New York areas, including USAF Academy cadets... and Cassie."
Jack smiled sadly, "Yeah. I saw her earlier, helping out with the kids."
Sam nodded before continuing, "Col. Reynolds has completed his inventory. We have SG teams 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 12 complete. SG-1 is missing Teal'c and Vala. The rest of the SG teams are ... not here. We have a number of M-9's, M-16's and M-203's, but are limited to the rounds the Security Forces were carrying at the time we were taken. We also have a number of knives, about 10 zats, and the 2 TER's from the gate room. No staff weapons, P-90's, grenades, C-4, or other explosives." Sam paused "Not nearly enough, General."
Jack winced. They needed supplies, not just weapons. Jack gave her a tired smile, "How can I be expected to work with no C-4?"
Sam smirked and continued, "The perimeter patrols report no sign of our abductors or a native population, but this planet does have an abundance of animal life. The patrols have mostly stayed close to camp. But, Col Thompson wants to have them range further out once we are better organized to get to know the terrain better."
"Ah…Well, so far so good."
"Sir?"
Jack smiled sadly, "Carter, we’re all alive, in one piece, and working together. At least this adventure is starting out better than most."
"True, Sir. But, I could really do with coffee. I think that Daniel considers the lack of coffee a special form of torture."
Jack chuckled, "He would." Jack casually laid back to watch the stars. "Go to sleep, Carter. I need you sharp tomorrow. G'night."
"Night, Sir."
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"Thank you for responding, Malek." General Landry greeted the Tok’ra on the monitor.
"I just wish I had better news. None of the Tok’ra are aware of a technology that meets your description. We have not heard of any weapon that could be so specialized. The closest we can think of is the Asgard beaming technology, and as you already know it does not have a visible green light signature. We have informed our operatives of the possibility of similar attacks or abductions, and we will let you know if this occurs on another planet. Likewise, if we find a lost group of Tau'ri, we will offer them our assistance in returning home."
"If the Tok’ra come across anything, please let us know." General Landry gave the Tok’ra an empty smile. "Thanks again, Malek. SGC out." He signaled the technician to cut the feed. "Let's hope the Asgard and the Nox have better news. When is Teal'c due back?"
"1800, General" the gate technician responded.
General Landry checked his watch. Not much longer now. "Have him come directly to the briefing room." He turned and strode up the steps to the briefing room.
Lt Col Jefferies from SG-10 was waiting. "Sir?" he asked quietly.
"Did you need something, Colonel?"
"Just checking in before I head out, Sir," the man replied nervously. Landry knew that he was still getting used to his new role as SGC Second-In-Command. A role he was woefully unprepared for.
"There is nothing new to report. Have a good evening, Colonel,” the general replied, dismissing him.
General Landry didn't really like the commander of SG-10. He was an adequate leader of an average mining team. He was competent, but he didn't have that special `something' that distinguishes between a supervisor and a leader. He liked the reason he was now the second ranked officer in the SGC even less.
One week had passed since the mysterious disappearance of over 300 people from the SGC and the surrounding area. One week of fruitless debate and investigation. One week with no suspects or even a possible motivation for the mass disappearance.
All they had were a few commonalities. One, the missing people were mostly tied directly or indirectly to the SGC, but not all. Two, they disappeared in a strange greenish flash of light. Three, they were all VERY good at what they do, at least in Hank's mind. They were the best and the brightest the SGC had to put in defense of the planet. Even the non-SGC personnel were all in the top of their classes. Other than that, they were a cross section of skills, experience, and character traits.
Unfortunately, their removal effectively crippled the SGC and had left the civilian population in an uproar. Hank Landry's own personal theory was that a group of aliens had orchestrated the disappearances. These aliens had found the best way to destroy the Tau'ri threat. By removing the brilliant minds that made the SGC work, they had left Earth open to invasion. Failure by incompetence was a serious possibility. The aliens took only the best leaving the average and marginal people behind.
Normally, the SGC was teeming with excellent leaders and brilliant minds, effectively hiding the average people. Dr. Felger was a good scientist, but compared to Lt Col Carter, he was a bumbling idiot. With the best gone, the average were failing to fill the huge gaps left behind by their friends absence. When combined with the overwhelming expectations already placed on the SGC... the ones left behind found themselves lacking. They felt inadequate. The general included himself in this latter group.
Morale was at an all time low. Replacements were slowly arriving from all over. The Security Forces troops were the first to arrive. The science crew from Area 51 was due in tomorrow. But Hank found himself with a serious lack of experienced people. How could he effectively fight a war against the Ori without his most experienced people? Thank goodness both the Odyssey and the Daedalus were gone on that fateful day. He at least had two battle ready crews and most of his F-302 pilots.
"Not that they will be able to stop an Ori ship should it decide to visit our fair planet. But it is something." General Landry wandered over to the coffee pot and poured a fresh cup.
"Off-world activation." He walked over to the viewing window and watched the activity in the gate room. The iris closed and then re-opened. Vala, Teal'c, and Master Bra’tac emerged from the event horizon as the young Lt Jones instructed them to join the general in the briefing room. They both nodded before looking up to the overlooking window.
"Not good" he whispered to himself. They definitely didn't look happy. They handed over their staff weapons and followed the lieutenant out of the gate room to the briefing room.
"Teal'c, Vala, welcome back. Master Bra’tac." General Landry motioned for the three to sit.
"Tek ma tae, Landry of California," replied Bra’tac.
"The news from the Free Jaffa Nation is not good," Teal'c began. "Several more Jaffa strongholds have fallen to the Ori. Since the fall of Dakkara, many planets are converting to the Ori rather than falling in battle. The remaining High Counsel members cower in their offices and are beginning to speak of capitulation."
Bra’tac continued, "While many of the warriors remain strongly opposed to the Ori, our leaders are failing them with doubts. What remains of the Jaffa fleet has been moved away from the contested planets, leaving them unprotected. The Counsel speaks of a plan to consolidate the ships for some future battle." Bra’tac sounded tired as he continued. "Yet, when pressed the counsel members refuse to discuss this `battle' or their plans for the fleet. Many have even refused to see Teal'c or myself this past day."
Teal'c bowed his head and continued, "Those that did see me were unaware of any new Ori weapon. I explained the odd disappearances among the Tau'ri. None have heard of anything similar being used on any other world. I am afraid that my efforts this past week were fruitless."
"Worse than fruitless, Teal'c, depressingly hopeless," Vala added quietly
"Teal'c, Vala, you did find out that this technology... whatever it is, has not been seen by the Jaffa. So at least we know that much. Unfortunately, the Tok’ra said basically the same thing. I still have hope for the Asgard and the Nox. Hopefully, when they get around to contacting us, they will give us a lead." General Landry frowned at his hands as he contemplated his next question. Finally, he looked up, "Teal'c, would you be willing to command SG-1 until we get our people back?" General Landry studied Teal'c's face as he considered the request.
He continued after a minute of silence. "I need to get teams back into the field. The personnel we have left combined with the 3 off-world bases give us enough experience to field just enough teams to continue gathering intelligence on the Ori. But each of the teams will have inexperienced people assigned. I need your experience. I need you leading SG-1 until the others return."
"So you believe they will return?" Teal'c asked quietly.
"Yes. I do. I don't believe the light was a weapon. I think they were taken. I may not know where or why, but my gut says they are out there. If we can't find them, I am certain that they will find a way home themselves." General Landry stated firmly. I have to believe it or our fight just got much harder.
"Then I will accept your offer of temporary command of SG-1, until Colonel Carter and Colonel Mitchell return." Teal'c graciously bowed his head as he accepted the honor.
The general smiled sadly, "Good. I'll leave you then." He stood and with a quick nod to the group, "Good night, gentlemen, lady." He turned and entered his office.
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Hank felt like he had just fallen asleep. Yet, someone was poking him. "Sir? ... Sir, I need you to wake up...Sir, the Asgard have contacted us... Sir?"
They were persistent. "I'm awake. Just give me a moment." Hank rubbed his eyes firmly. Wait? "Did you say Asgard?" he asked the aide.
"Yes, Sir," came the quick reply.
"Finally." Hank stood up and grabbed his BDU shirt. Since the disappearances, he understood why Jack insisted on wearing the field uniform at the SGC. It was a lot easier to jump from asleep to major crisis in BDU's. He pulled on his boots and headed for the door, not bothering with the laces. The Asgard wouldn't mind. "Where?" he asked the aide.
"The Asgard Thor is in communication with our control room. They are ready to patch through when you arrive."
"Lead on." Hank gestured down the hallway towards the elevators.
Hank arrived at the control room in due time and instructed the technician to patch Commander Thor through.
Thor's expressionless face appeared on the screen, "General Landry. The Asgard have received your request for assistance. How may we help you?"
"Commander Thor. Two weeks ago, approximately 300 of our citizens disappeared from Earth, including roughly half of the SGC. The missing people were engulfed in a green light and vanished. We have not seen or heard from them since. Neither the Tok’ra or the Jaffa have encountered this technology before nor heard rumors of anything similar occurring on other planets. We need your help in identifying the technology used and in recovering our people." Hank stopped. His heart heavy. The Asgard had to know who did this. They just had to.
Commander Thor considered his words and blinked slowly, "I am unfamiliar with anything that could cause this effect." Hank's heart sank. "I will contact the High Counsel and pass on the information to our scientists. Perhaps, they have come across it before. Do you have recordings of the incident?"
"Yes. I also have data records of all transmissions in our near space at the time of the disappearances. While we didn't find anything, perhaps you can. I included a list of the people missing with photos." Hank motioned to the technician. After hitting a few buttons, the technician nodded.
"I have received the data. I will contact you when I have any information." Thor nodded at the general and the transmission faded.
Hank stared at the screen for a few seconds. He shook himself and turned to the technician. "I'll be in my quarters if you need me." Then he turned a left.
--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo--oVo
Teal'c stood at the doorway to General Landry's office. The general was on the phone arguing with someone. Teal'c could tell that the general was most displeased. Finally, the general bowed his head in defeat and quietly said, "I understand... Yes, Sir... Yes, Sir... Today... I understand."
Hank hung up the phone. "Teal'c. Please come in." He sighed, "I've just been ordered to shelf the investigation. Today. The pentagon wants to have permanent replacements for the missing people in place before the next major Ori offensive. I have to declare them all MIA."
Teal'c took the information quietly, as was his way. "General Hammond once told Daniel Jackson and myself that `MIA doesn't mean we stop looking.' I presume you share the sentiment."
Hank smiled sadly, "I do. But, I don't have anywhere to look, or anyone to blame." Hank sat tiredly in his office, soaking up Teal'c's quiet strength. "The Asgard are a wash and the Nox won't answer the phone. This investigation has hit a wall. No leads. My only hope is that our friends can contact us or help themselves out of this mess."
Teal'c rose and bowed his head before turning to leave. "They will return, General Landry. Of this, I am certain" and he walked out of the office.
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PRESERVATION OF THE SPECIES
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Preservation of the Species
by RoczaStory Bemerkung:
Updated and revised. My first story originally posted in Feb 2007Site Navigation
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