Stargate SG-1: Broken
by mirwalker
This story makes use of characters and locations owned by MGM Studios Inc. It is written simply as a form of entertainment and homage; No profit is made or infringement intended.
NOTES: These events take place late in Stargate SG-1 Season 3 or very early in Season 4. Having completed my latest story (Torchwood: Marathon), I used the momentum to convert this script to prose format.
1. Prologue
As SG-1 stepped across the event horizon, they were met by exactly what the MALP feed had indicated: the Gate emptied into a narrow ravine, just wide enough for the Gate itself, surrounded by steep rock walls on all visible sides. The unmanned vehicle sat just ahead of them; and beyond it, just beyond the reach of the annihilating kawoosh, was the DHD. The space was only large enough for all these elements necessary for receiving, and sending, travelers through the Gate.
"Told ya: dead end," confirmed Carter, moving over to check readings on the MALP.
Never one to be pessimistic, O'Neill pointed out that, "There's always up…"
Jackson and Teal'c glanced up to see that, indeed, they could make out stars in the sky well above the high stone cliffs surrounding them.
Those stars quickly snapped into brighter clarity as the glow of the Gate snapped off; and the foursome was left to ponder the strangely tight environs they'd be sent to investigate. It was rare that an unburied gate seemed positioned to open into an enclosed space; and that odd placement on this next-to-be-explored-world had warranted a live team beyond the MALP.
Thrilled that his team was up in the rotation for such an exciting excursion, O'Neill was about to get the party started, when an altogether new voice called to them from behind the now empty ring of naquadah, "Welcome, newcomers, to Menagerie."
The entire team turned toward the unexpected sound, three with weapons drawn.
Standing just through silent Gate was a young human man, perhaps thirty years old, though his tunic of rags and lean frame suggested he'd led a difficult life. He held a solid wooden staff at his side; and though his eyes were open, he did not react at all to the three bright flashlight beams that converged on him. He cocked his head in response to the team's continued movement and silence; but did not react more noticeably than to continue his greeting, in what sounded to the team's linguist almost like a working class Earth English accent, "Answer me three questions: How are you called? From where do you come? And, What is your nature?"
Jackson whispered to his colleagues, as if to confirm his observation, "He can't see us."
Shaking her own gun-mounted torch side to side, as if to test the hypothesis, Carter wondered, "Maybe he's some kind of hologram?"
"He does appear to be tracking on the sound of our voices," Teal'c pointed out.
Annoyed, O'Neill analyzed the situation at a larger scale. "There's never been anyone behind the Gate before…"
Having taken in all the commentary about him, without any response to him, the stranger reminded them, "I may not see, but I hear well."
Relaxing his trigger finger, their leader shifted his flashlight off the man, to the space behind him. "Well he's inquisitive, whatever he is; and he's between us and the only way out of this box canyon." Of course.
"You will answer me three questions," the man repeated, shifting the grip on his staff to emphasize he should not be further ignored.
"OK, calm down there, kid. We'll answer if you will. I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, from Stargate Command, Earth. And you are…?" he let the question hang.
"I am Britain."
"As in…?" O'Neill pushed.
"I am named for 'Great Britain,' the empire which is my home," the man explained proudly.
The SGC scientist couldn't help but get involved at that intriguing claim. "Your home? Great Britain? As in the United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?"
The man brightened at their apparent recognition, as he seemed to have a happy one of his own. "And beyond, yes! And your accents… You're American! Have you come to liberate us after all this time?"
"Liberate you? From whom?" Carter wondered, even more confused at this revelation.
"Hang on," interrupted Daniel, to continue his line of questioning. "You know about the United States too?"
"Of course," explained Britain, as he lowered his staff and stepped through the ring to join them. "When my grandmum was taken, you had just entered the War." He saddened a little, as he shared, "I am sorry she did not live to see your coming. It has taken you so long to find us."
"Well, you're a long way from home," O'Neill played along, with a roll of his eyes and grimace at not knowing whether or how to pop the guy's bubble. "And it took us a while to get here."
"Britain," Jackson persisted, "how exactly did you get here? And from whom exactly are we liberating you again?"
It was now their greeter who was growing confused at their apparent surprise. "I was born here in Menagerie. My grandmum was taken from her home outside London during the War. She said it was the Ger-men who brought her to join the others here."
"The Germans brought you here?" Three sets of SGC eyebrows shot up.
"Yes. And if you haven't come to free us, then they must have captured you as well," Britain surmised with disappointment. "And so I welcome you again to Menagerie, your new home, for the rest of your lives."
tbc...