Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1 or Firefly/Serenity. I receive no monetary compensation for this work.
Author's Note: My first Stargate SG-1 Fanfic. I envision this happening around the time of the fifth season. Yes, this is a cross-over with Firefly/Serenity and the timeline for them is post-movie. I am writing two parallel stories. If you want to find out what happens in the other story line, look for the same story title in the other fandom.
Chapter 1 - The Switch
The stargate stood on a pedestal of stone in the middle of a rocky canyon. A thick layer of dust covered it giving the impression that it had not been used in some time. Not far away stood a circular device that somewhat resembled a flattened, black, lop-sided mushroom. The device had a number of curious looking symbols on it and they circled a large red dome.
Next to the black mushroom device stood what appeared to be a large metallic silver robotic vehicle. The vehicle was tracked and had several devices protruding from it, most notably a large mechanical arm. Curiously, this vehicle did not have a large layer of dust over it like the stargate or the black mushroom thing.
Suddenly, the ring on the stargate began to turn. The ring suddenly stopped as an amber crystal on the stargate illuminated, and then started turning again. This cycle of events continued until seven of the crystals were illuminated and what appeared to be a large pool of water erupted from the center of the stargate. The pool settled into gentle ripples, and after a few moments, four humanoid figures emerged from the vertically held pool. Following their emergence, the stargate shut down of its own accord causing the pool to disappear in a flash of light.
Colonel Jack O'Neill, one of the figures that emerged from the stargate, looked around for a moment as his mouth twisted into an unimpressed smirk. As he continued to survey the area, he said somewhat derisively, "Welcome travelers to P4M-628, land of dirt, rock, and, oh yes, a stargate!"
"And mysterious EM signals," Major Samantha Carter added as she studied her scanner.
"And mysterious EM signals," Colonel O'Neill amended as he approached the Major. "Are those the same mysterious EM signals that the MALP detected?"
"Yes, sir," Major Carter replied briefly looking up at her commanding officer. "They are the same irregular microsecond J-band pulses."
There was a moment of silence while Carter continued to study her scanner as O'Neill stared at her. O'Neill then impatiently asked, "And?"
"And I'm still trying to determine if there's any pattern to the pulses," Carter answered completely oblivious to the Colonel's agitated tone.
"Carter!" O'Neill exclaimed getting the Major's full attention. Then he asked her slowly and deliberately, "Which way?"
"Sorry, sir," Carter apologized before pointing down the canyon. "The signals are strongest in that direction."
"Fine," O'Neill said shaking his head as he turned to the rest of his team. "Teal'C, you and Carter take point and find the source of these signals. Daniel and I will bring up the rear."
"Colonel O'Neill," Teal'C said in a deep, powerful voice.
"Teal'C?" O'Neill asked curiously.
"I believe it would be unwise to leave the gate unguarded."
"C'mon, Teal'C!" O'Neill replied. "You said it yourself, this planet's been a backwater to the System Lords for as long as any of them can remember. I doubt very much that they would decide to come here after all this time."
"I still believe that waiting for the Tok'ra intelligence of this region of Goa'uld space would have been more prudent," Teal'c said dryly.
"And if we had, we wouldn't have come here for months, if at all. You know they've got their own agenda when it comes to us," O'Neill reasoned, but Teal'c simply stared at him in quiet disbelief. In response to Teal'c's withering stare, O'Neill approached his side and quietly said, "Listen Teal'c, Carter's been pushing to check out these signals ever since the MALP got here, and frankly I think we've all been a little stir crazy back at the base. Why don't we just have a little fun with this? I know that may be hard for you, but, I promise, at first sign of trouble, we'll head right back to the gate."
Teal'c simply turned his head and bowed his acceptance to O'Neill's suggestion. He then picked up his staff weapon and walked towards Major Carter. O'Neill repeated as Teal'c passed, "I promise, first sign."
Daniel Jackson approached O'Neill's side while looking around the area with a confused expression on his face. While watching Teal'c and Carter start to walk away, O'Neill asked Daniel, "Find anything?"
"Uhh,…nooo,…," Daniel replied hesitantly as he continued to look around.
O'Neill, hearing Daniel's hesitancy, turned his head, studied his friend's demeanor, and said, "Well, don't look so disappointed. There'll probably be something real important for you to study once we find the source of Carter's signals."
"I guess…," Daniel said still quite hesitant as he started after Carter and Teal'c.
"You guess?" O'Neill asked rhetorically as he followed after Daniel.
Thirty minutes later, all four members of SG-1 were still walking down the canyon with Carter and Teal'c in the lead. In the rear, O'Neill glanced over to Daniel and noticed that he was still looking troubled. Disturbed by his friend's distress, O'Neill called to him, saying, "Daniel!"
"What?" Daniel asked.
"You've got that look," O'Niell commented as he observed Teal'c and Carter slowly moving to one side of the slough.
"What look?" asked Daniel as he swiveled his head to O'Neill.
"That look that says there's something wrong but you're not sure what," O'Neill replied and an awkward silence followed. "So what's bothering you?"
"Well Jack," Daniel said taking a deep breath, "it's just that every planet we've been to has had some kind of related structure near the Stargate. Usually a temple, a road, something. Here we've been walking for a half an hour, and we haven't seen a thing. No structure, no sign of life, nothing to indicate why there should even be a stargate on this planet."
"We've got signals," O'Neill offered.
"That's my point," Daniel said earning a confused look from O'Neill. "What I mean is that the signals indicate that an advanced civilization was here, but all of our aerial reconnaissance of the planet shows it to be completely barren. If it weren't for the stargate and the signals, this planet would be of no interest to anyone. It looks like someone or something went to great lengths to make this planet look uninteresting."
O'Neill paused before asking, "And my question to you is: Why?"
"Well, that's what I'm not so sure about," Daniel answered. "It could be that whatever is being hidden on this planet was of such extreme value to its civilization, that they hid it from some threat in the hopes that they could recover it later."
There was a pause and O'Neill could sense there was something Daniel wasn't telling him. He cocked his head to the side and asked Daniel, "Or?"
Daniel lowered his head and huffed before he continued reluctantly in a much lower tone, "Or it's possible that what ever they hid is so terrible that they did not want it to be found ever again."
"You see, now that's what I like about you," O'Neill responded causing a bewildered look from Daniel. "You're always so up."
"Colonel O'Neill!" Carter called causing both men to look at her. "We've found something."
Looking back at Daniel, O'Neill said, "Guess we get to find out which one of your ideas is right."
Daniel nodded as they walked to where Carter and Teal'c were standing. Teal'c was facing the wall of the canyon and studying it intensely. Carter was standing behind him with her scanner outstretched to the wall. O'Neill asked, "What have you found?"
"There is a door concealed inside the rock," Teal'c answered as he traced what appeared to be cracks in the rock wall.
"The signals seem to be coming from behind it," Carter added as she put her scanner away. "I'd say this is the source, sir."
"Great!" O'Neill said walking up a few steps behind Teal'c. "We have a door. Now how do we open it?"
As if in response, the ground began to tremor. All of the members of SG-1 instinctually drew their weapons and circled up to defend themselves. As the ground continued to tremor, the cracks in the apparent doorway began to widen. Seeing this, Teal'c called out, "O'Neill!"
O'Neill looked at Teal'c and followed the Jaffa's outstretched arm to see the doorway open amid falling dust and rock. The tremors stopped as the rectangular doorway fully formed and revealed a long, dark hallway beyond it. The members of SG-1 relaxed a bit and then cautiously approached the now open door. O'Neill asked, "Does anybody know how that happened?"
"We must have set off some kind of trigger," Carter speculated. "Maybe there are some sensors hidden in the rocks."
"Indeed," Teal'c commented cryptically.
"Well, whatever it is, we're going to need lights in there, so break them out," O'Niell said staring down the pitch-black corridor. Suddenly banks of lights framing the corridor began to illuminate starting just inside the doorway and then continuing sequentially down the passage. Startled, O'Neill took a couple steps back, and then looked questioningly at Carter.
"Must have been triggered when you approached the door, sir," Carter offered as she and O'Neill gave each other sideways glances.
"Must have," O'Neill repeated. Looking at the rest of his team, O'Neill ordered, "Alright let's check it out."
SG-1 entered the corridor in the face of the cliff. They found that it extended for several hundred feet before opening up into a large rectangular room. The room had two rows of four square pillars that ran the length of the room and were offset from the walls by a few feet. O'Neill, Carter, Jackson and Teal'c entered the room and found that the doorway was in the center of one of the long walls. They saw that in the center of the room stood an unusual rectangular table-like device atop some raised steps.
Silently, O'Neill signaled to Carter and Teal'c to search the left side of the room while he and Daniel would search the right. The team fanned out quietly and searched for any possible threats before coming together on the other side of the room.
"Room is secure, sir," Carter declared to O'Neill.
"Very well, did you see anything on your end?" O'Neill asked.
"Well, there is a stone pillar on that end of the room," Carter replied cocking her head over her shoulder. "It appears to have some Ancient writing on it. I'd like to have Daniel check it out. I'd also like to check out the device in the center of the room. It looks similar to the one we encountered on P4X-639."
O'Neill grimaced noticeably at the reminder of the months where he and Teal'c repeated the same day over and over. "Okay, well there seems to be another passage over there. Teal'c and I will check it out while you and Daniel see what you can find out here. Stay in radio contact, let me know the minute you find something. Oh, and if that thing starts shooting out sparks,..."
"Yes, sir?" Carter asked.
"Shoot it!" O'Neill commanded with finality. He then turned quickly and started walking to the opening he had seen earlier. Teal'c bowed slightly to Daniel and Carter before following O'Neill. Carter and Daniel both looked at each other quizzically before moving off to their respective assignments.
"So Teal'c what do you think we'll find?" O'Neill asked as he approached the opening.
"Most likely something of interest," Teal'c replied following O'Neill.
Surprised, O'Neill turned back at the brink of the opening and asked Teal'c, "Really? You think so?"
"Is that not a usual consequence of our off-world missions?" Teal'c asked in reply.
O'Neill smiled and said, "Yes it is. You know, I think Daniel needs to take note of your enthusiasm."
Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow in reply, as O'Neill turned and walked into the opening. Teal'c was about to follow when he saw O'Neill stop short and let out a grunt. "Is there a problem, Colonel O'Niell?"
"Ah, I couldn't see it because of the light. This passage goes a few feet and stops. Looks like whoever was building this didn't get a chance to finish," O'Neill disheartedly said looking at the wall of rock in front of him.
"That is unfortunate," Teal'c commented looking back to Daniel and Carter in the distance.
"Yeah ...," O'Neill said before turning back towards Teal'c standing just outside the doorway. "Well let's see what Carter and Jackson..."
O'Neill was cut off by the sound of a distant roar. Both he and Teal'c looked up in response. After a moment, O'Neill asked, "Did that sound to you like...?"
"A Goa'uld death glider," Teal'c answered with finality.
"Crap!" O'Neill cursed. Suddenly Carter called over his radio.
"Colonel O'Neill!" she said.
"We know," O'Neill replied. "Alright, pack it up kids. We're going home."
Teal'c turned back from the doorway and headed to join Carter and Jackson. O'Neill was about to exit the door way when an energy field flickered on in front of him and shocked him back. He landed hard on his back with a loud grunt. Hearing this Teal'c turned to see O'Niell struggling to get back on his feet. "O'Neill!"
"Some kind of force shield just went up as I tried to leave," O'Neill warned Teal'C as he stood up.
"Stand aside," Teal'c said as he aimed his staff weapon at the doorway. O'Neill wisely complied and Teal'c fired a couple of blasts at the field. Unfortunately the blasts only dissipated against the shield. O'Neill tried to test if the field had weakened at all, but only received a sharp shock through his arm for his efforts.
Suddenly Daniel ran up yelling, "Jack! Jack! You can't be in there!"
"Well, unfortunately, I am!" O'Neill yelled back still grimacing from his shock to his arm.
"You don't understand!" Daniel said impatiently. "The inscriptions on the pillar warn of extreme danger for anyone who steps inside the chamber!"
"Well thanks, Daniel! I was already thinking that I don't want to be in here!" O'Neill replied. "Now can we please start thinking of a way to get me out?"
"Colonel!" Carter yelled over to them from the center of the room.
"We're having a little trouble over here, Carter!" O'Neill yelled back.
Unabated, Carter urgently yelled, "Sir! The device just activated on its own!"
Everyone grew silent at Carter's words and they all suddenly became aware of a low hum that gradually rose in pitch and intensity. As everyone looked around for the source of the noise, O'Neill yelled, "Okay, now I know I don't want to be in here!"
Suddenly a blinding flash of light emanated from inside the chamber. Teal'C, Daniel and Carter all shielded their eyes for a moment before they all chanced a look inside the chamber, unsure of what they would see. Carter ran up yelling, "Colonel!"
She stopped suddenly and raised her weapon as she realized the figure now standing inside the chamber was not Colonel Jack O'Neill. Daniel and Teal'c did the same mostly because the brown haired man in the long brown coat, tan pants and red shirt appeared to be holding a pistol. They all stood in silent bewilderment before Carter asked the man, "Who are you?"
The still stunned man looked back at her and stammered, "Name's Mal. Mal Reynolds."
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