Chapter One: Stranded
...
The kawoosh of an activated Stargate and the slosh were the first sounds to interrupt the morning on the planet Stargate Command had labeled as "P3C-529". Dew still covered the grass and vines crawling about the Stargate's platform. Mist filled the air in the distance as the travelers stepped through the event horizon. To Major Magdalena Jansingh, it felt like a fresh, spring day.
Which might have prompted the sneeze from the person directly behind her. Annoyed by the break in the calm atmosphere, she remarked over her shoulder, "Allergies?"
"Pollen and cats, ma'am," was the response.
She looked over her shoulder at Captain David McBay. "Must be cats," she joked. "I doubt if something like pollen exists on an alien planet."
"Got it, Major," McBay replied, rubbing his eyes. "It'll clear up in a bit."
"Okay, folks," she said as she stepped aside to wave her team past. "Get Fred unpacked; we've got ten hours of work to get done and seven hours to do it."
McBay, with the F.R.E.D. controls in hand, directed the transport towards the vine-ridden Dial Home Device. First Lieutenant Oliver Brandt was close behind, digital camera in hand and already snapping pieces of the environment. Jansingh could hardly blame him; the forest around them was quite picturesque, from the large patches of radiant flowers dotting the ground to the two small moons hovering over the tree line far above. Of course, the fact that he was the team's biologist and environmental surveyor took away from the seeming abandon with which he photographed the environment.
She glanced back at the Stargate when she saw the last member of her team lingering behind. Doctor Jennifer Choi, their tag-along geologist and newbie, stood just outside the Stargate's event horizon with a breathless, deer-in-headlights look. The doctor jumped in surprise when the Stargate cut off. She spun to find more forest sitting where a pool of water and an underground Air Force base had been.
"Doctor Jennifer Choi, Ph.D.," Jansingh said in a lilting tone, parodying how the woman had introduced herself an hour ago. Choi turned back to the rest of the group, and Jansingh beckoned her off the platform with a hand. "You don't want to stand there if someone else comes calling."
"Why not?" she asked.
"You know that 'ka-woosh' thing you saw when they turned the 'Gate on?" McBay said as he hefted a bag onto the ground. He paused his work to get a slow nod out of Choi. "You stand in front of that, the only thing left of you will be your smoking boots."
Choi frowned at him. "Thank you for that imagery, Captain McBay," she replied in a heated tone. "Perhaps you can demonstrate your fifty-one uses of see-four to me later. It must be a blast."
"Both of you, get working," Jansingh snapped as she removed her helmet. Spotting some of her chestnut-brown hair just on the edge of her vision, she brushed her bangs to one side while lamenting not getting a haircut before the mission. Seeing those strands of hair hovering above her brow was going to drive her crazy for the next seven hours.
"I don't believe this."
Of course, her newly assembled team might do the same in the space of a few minutes. Jansingh sighed and glanced over at the F.R.E.D. "What is it, Doctor?"
Choi looked up from examining one of the nylon packs strapped to the top of the transport. "I requested a specific brand of ground-penetrating radar because I know how to use it," she told Jansingh. She pulled out a large, boxy component to show to the major. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
"Target practice?" McBay chimed with a grin on his face. Brandt, standing next to him, exchanged silly looks with him.
Choi glared at McBay for a moment. "Major, I can't do my work if I don't have equipment I can't use. I know what I requested; I was very specific when I filled out that stupid requisition form. What kind of jarhead can't get me what I need?"
Jansingh almost lost her fight against laughter for a moment. She put herself in check before responding, "Doctor, if you gave your requisition form to a jarhead, it probably got sent to the wrong base."
"Wh… what the hell does that mean?"
"Jarheads are the Marine Corps," Brandt chuckled.
"Come on, it can't be that bad," McBay said as he circled the F.R.E.D. Choi stepped aside, and he started searching through the bag. "Got something here." He pulled out a sheet of paper folded up between some of the components of the device.
After reading it, he started laughing. "What?" Jansingh asked. "What is it?"
"Oh, uh," McBay replied, clearing his throat. "Note from the supply sergeant, Major. 'Could not identify requested device; allotted substitute. Please make further requests in clear, printed handwriting.'" Brandt snorted before pretending to be taking more pictures. Jansingh put a hand over her mouth in an attempted to appear annoyed while also covering the grin on her face. McBay handed the paper to Choi, still chuckling.
Choi glanced at the paper. "Are you kidding me?!"
"Doc, we have…" Jansingh paused to pull the Velcro cover off her watch. "… six hours and forty-nine minutes to do our job and go home. Do what you can, and SG-11 will be back later to find something more interesting." Choi grumbled to herself as she started yanking components out of the bag.
"Whoa," Brandt uttered before sighting his camera on the wheels of the M.A.L.P. sitting next to a fallen tree. "This is some incredible vine growth for just two hours."
Jansingh unclipped the P90 from the front of her vest to relieve herself of the weight as she stepped over to Brandt's position. She saw what he meant; vines had sprouted at the base of the M.A.L.P. and had the treads almost completely encased. Other strands had reached around the body of the probe, one particularly ambitious strand reaching the top of the grappler arm. Still, not being a botanist gave her a lack of excitement. "Fascinating," she commented.
"Fred's clear, Major," McBay called to her.
"You have bearing on the UAV?" Jansingh called back, unzipping the front of her vest.
"One sec, Major," he answered.
Clattering sounded from the F.R.E.D.'s position, and Jansingh glanced over her shoulder just as Choi kicked a bag across the ground. "Dammit!" she shouted. Then she started picking up the equipment she dropped.
Jansingh cringed as she turned back to Brandt. "Once we get moving, I'd like you to set up camp and put some soup on," she told him.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered.
"And… see if you can get that crap off the DHD. I'd like some assurance that I can have a warm shower later."
Brandt gave her a thumbs-up. "Got it."
"Found the UAV, ma'am," McBay called back. "About a mile west."
Jansingh walked over to the F.R.E.D. and put her P90 on it. "Choi, make sure you clean up," she said as she removed her vest. "Brandt will keep an eye on you. I don't want either of you wandering from this spot until we get back. Radio us if anything happens." She dropped the vest on the F.R.E.D. and pulled a sling from one of the breast pockets. She sighed as she recalled the extra request that had been made to them. "McBay, we're going to go pick up that stupid UAV. You lead the way."
"Got it, ma'am." McBay picked up the control box and started the F.R.E.D. forward. Jansingh picked up her P90 just before it left her reach. As she fell in behind McBay, she fixed the sling to the weapon and slung it on one shoulder.
They spent a few minutes walking in silence, during which Jansingh had fallen into step beside McBay. The forest floor was not ideal for the transport, and they had to push it over a surfaced tree root once. McBay slowly became agitated with the F.R.E.D. because he had to frequently kick the unit from behind to get it over some small obstacle.
The silence (save the F.R.E.D.'s motor) also started irritating him. Finally, just to start a conversation, he said, "So, I got a question, Major."
"Shoot," Jansingh replied.
"I was reading a few mission reports before we left," he said. "Don't you find it disturbing that the SGC assigned us all to a team that wound up killing itself not too long ago?"
"I read that same report, Captain," she replied. "The last members of SG-14 were programmed by the Goa'uld. Only three of them died, though; as I recall, one of them survived."
"Yeah, probably spending the rest of his days playing with his lips," he replied. He shivered. "That's gotta be scary, having your whole team kill itself off like that."
"Well, from what I understand, Stargate Command wants us working low-priority planets for the time being. They have some new operating policies so no team's exposed to that kind of programming again."
McBay took a moment to think about the situation. "Aren't we… kind of exposed now, Major?"
Jansingh smiled to herself. "We're not in range of any enemy outposts right now. The Goa'uld would have to crash here if they wanted to bother us."
"Got it."
She looked at him after a moment of silence. "You're bored, aren't you, Captain?"
"More than I really care to admit, ma'am. Far be it from me to criticize General Hammond's decisions, but I would rather be using my training right now than hunting down an unmanned aerial vehicle with a dead battery."
"We're assigned first recon missions," she pointed out. "We get to set foot on alien worlds before some of the other teams. But we just formed, so it'll probably take some time before we're working on something a little more exciting."
He glanced backwards. "Is that why we're suddenly working with a biologist and a civilian geologist?"
Jansingh shrugged. "More or less."
"Nothing personal, Major, but I wanted to shoot the last civilian I worked with."
"I know; I read your file. Thank you for just breaking his arm."
McBay kicked the back of the F.R.E.D. to get it out of a hole. "I told that idiot not to touch me. If I'd been a dog, his friends would be calling him 'Lefty' by now."
"If you've got something against working with civilians, you might want to look for a different assignment. Stargate Command is supported by civilian scientists and experts. Not to mention that General Hammond takes requests from the President of the United States."
"And I have no problem with that, ma'am. It's just that… well, why would a first recon team need a geologist?"
"Mineral survey."
McBay double-checked the handheld he was using to track the downed UVA. "Mineral survey?" he asked as he corrected the F.R.E.D.'s course.
"The SGC's hard-pressed to find naquadah resources in environments without a native population. There's a strong belief that planets without a local population might've been resource planets that neither the Ancients nor the Goa'uld got around to mining."
"Got it, Major," he said while pointing at a pile of metal components ahead of them. He set the control box on the transport and followed Jansingh as she rounded to the downed vehicle.
The UAV was a special model unique to the SGC, so unique that only the maintenance techs and the people who worked at NASA really knew its designation. The wings… well, they used to be box-shaped, but this unit had lost one wing and sported a large dent on the leading edge of the remaining wing. The tail had been smashed flat, and the propeller was embedded in a nearby tree. And, similar to the M.A.L.P., the body had been nearly wrapped in vines.
"This stuff's like weeds on steroids," McBay commented as he pulled his survival knife. But, as he leaned down, he paused. "Uh… do you think it's safe to remove it?"
Jansingh caught his point; having only a handful of off-world assignments before being assigned SG-14, the only thing she knew to count on was that the environment occasionally liked to throw curveballs. Knowing that Brandt had probably attempted to clean off the DHD, she stepped back over to the F.R.E.D. and pulled her radio out of her vest pocket. "Lieutenant Brandt?" she asked it.
The radio buzzed back. "Go ahead, Major," Brandt replied.
"This vine stuff growing all over the place," she said. "Is it safe to cut?"
"Oh, yeah, Major," he answered in a dismissive voice. "Perfectly safe. I'd be careful about standing still for too long, though."
Jansingh exchanged a confused look with McBay before he started cutting the UAV loose. "Why?" she asked.
"All that equipment we left on the ground is nearly covered in it," he answered. "I've got our rations out of reach for now, but we could use a table or something."
"Is there anywhere the vines don't grow?"
"The trees," Brandt replied. "That's where I slung our MREs. But this stuff is just all over the place. It's even growing back on the Stargate. Oh, which reminds me. Permission to take a sample back to base?"
Jansingh frowned. "Is that a good idea?"
"I don't see why not," he answered. "Other than just being a pain, they seem to be completely harmless. I think I can find a way to contain one."
She sighed. "Okay, if you can keep one contained for an hour, you can take it back to base. We'll be back in a moment; we've got the UAV."
"Roger."
"Got it free, ma'am," McBay spoke up as he wiped the severed vines off the remains of the UAV. He stowed the knife and lifted the UAV with Jansingh. "How much of this thing do we need?" he grunted as they moved it to the F.R.E.D.
They dropped it onto the transport. "As much of it as we could find," she huffed. She looked around. "And it looks like this might be it." McBay pointed, and she looked up at the propeller. "Yeah, this was all we could find. Let's get back to the 'Gate."
McBay picked the control box up again and kicked at some of the vines attempting to snare the F.R.E.D.'s tires. After some difficulty turning it around, they set out on their way.
They returned to the Stargate in silence. There, they found Choi stabbing at the ground with her survival knife and Brandt stirring a cooking pot he had set up on the M.A.L.P. The DHD had been cleared of the thick vines, but new growth had just started around the base of the device.
"Doctor Choi?" Jansingh asked as McBay parked the F.R.E.D. next to the DHD.
"What is it, Major?" she replied in an irate tone.
"Well, far be it from me to question a geologist's methodology," the major said with a grin slowly changing to laughter, "but what the hell are you doing?"
"I'm trying to find a clean soil sample," she grunted. "These vines are all over the place."
"I told her that she might as well take the sample with the vines," Brandt spoke up. "It's more or less part of the soil anyway."
Choi pointed the knife at him. "Why don't you just shut up and do your job?"
"He is doing his job," Jansingh replied. "Lieutenant, what can you tell us about these vines?"
Brandt looked over his shoulder to frown at her. "Just my observations for now," he answered. "There are only a few plants that respond to tactile contact on Earth, but I've never seen anything actually grow on command just from touching something. Each blade of grass on the ground here is just another seedling for these vines. It looks like anything they come into contact with is a catalyst."
"They're weeds," McBay pointed out. "Just like the stuff every American has to kill in their front yard."
"Hmmm… I wouldn't go that far," Brandt said. "Weeds are usually invasive plants, and these vines look like they've rooted in quite well."
"Lieutenant, I call any plant I don't like a weed," McBay countered as he pulled a bag of equipment out of a growth near the DHD.
Choi sighed. "Finally," she said to herself, holding up a small sample container. "One down, eleven to go." She yanked her sample kit out of the vines around it and stood up. She walked away from the Stargate about twenty feet and dropped to her knees at the base of a tree.
"Can't say I much envy her," McBay commented.
Jansingh nodded in agreement. "Check the perimeter and keep an eye on her," she ordered him.
"Yes, ma'am," McBay replied with a salute.
After McBay walked off, Jansingh stepped up behind Brandt. "Where're our MREs, Lieutenant?"
"Just over there, ma'am," he replied. He pointed to a black bag that was hanging from a low tree branch by its handles. "That's how I found out the vines are sensitive to touch; they haven't tried to reach for the bag."
"Any idea what they feed on?" she asked as she walked to the bag.
"I thought they might've been parasitic at first," he told her. "They're coating this log over here. But all these trees look like they're sporting the spring fashion without any difficulties. I'd have to examine how one regularly grows, but I'd have to say that they're just vines that are really good at converting all the nutrients they take in into what they need to grow. Choi's soil samples might reveal more."
The major stopped at the bag and checked her watch. "We're running a little behind," she said before digging into the bag.
"Well, I can't say much about the wildlife around here," Brandt told her. "Other than some frisky grass, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot. If it quiets down, there's something in the treetops that likes to click really fast. Insects, I guess."
Jansingh frowned as she tore open a package. "I hope your final report is a little more informative than that," she said as she dug out the packet of instant coffee.
"Yes, ma'am." She approached him as he ladled a helping of whatever was in the pot into a tin. He handed it to her, and she tore open the coffee packet and dumped the contents into the tin. "Uh… Major, you know there's soup in there, right?"
"I know," she answered. "That's how I like my soup: caffeinated."
Brandt watched her take a sip before she walked away. Curious, he picked up the coffee packet from his already opened MRE and dumped it into the tin of soup he had set aside for himself. He took a sip, but, unlike the major, he found the taste revolting. Instead of dumping it out, he shrugged and blew on the hot substance.
Jansingh took her tin across the clearing and leaned against the edge of the F.R.E.D. "Have you figured out how you intend to take a vine sample back to the base with us?" she asked.
"A few more observations, and I might have an idea," he answered.
"Make sure you don't dedicate yourself to figuring these things out. You're here mostly to determine if anything on this planet is a danger to future survey groups."
"Yes, ma'am."
McBay stepped across the clearing and up behind Brandt. "Twenty meters all around, and nothing interesting to look at besides the Stargate," he complained loud enough for Jansingh to hear.
"That's it?" Brandt asked as he passed McBay a tin of soup.
"That's it," McBay said before taking a sip. He gave the tin a confused, somewhat cross look before shrugging and taking another sip. "I had more fun punching out the cow who sat on the hood of my car."
Brandt raised an eyebrow at him. "You punched a cow?"
"On my uncle's farm last year," McBay explained with a nod. "I'd just finished getting my Corvette tuned before the holidays, and I was going to show it off to my cousins up north. My Uncle Marv just lets those stupid cows run around all over and one of them decided to use my hood ornament as a butt scratcher. So I socked it."
"Wait a minute, a Corvette?" Jansingh asked. McBay nodded. "What year?"
"Seventy-six."
The major frowned. "Oh, well… that's cute."
McBay picked up on the condescending tone and replied, "Anyway, if there is anything out here, it isn't interested in us."
"What happened to the cow?" Brandt asked.
McBay paused. "What cow?" he asked before taking another sip.
"The cow you punched."
"Oh, her. Not a thing. I, on the other hand, had to go to the emergency room with two broken knuckles. You know all those dead cow skulls you see in the desert? They're a lot harder when those things are alive."
Jansingh shook her head and took another drink. Then she called out to Choi, "Hey, Doc! Soup's on!"
"I'm a little busy right now," Choi called back.
"Come on, Doc," Jansingh told her like a mother gently warning a child. "We won't be eating again for five hours. At least come get an MRE."
"I can survive without it," Choi replied in a hotter tone.
McBay exchanged a humored look with his superior. "Major?" he asked, flexing his free hand.
Jansingh took another sip of her caffeinated creation. "Give it time, Captain," she answered in a calm tone. "Geologists are hard to replace. They don't grow on trees."
"Yes, ma'am," McBay droned in a disappointed tone.
"The UAV found a river not far from the 'Gate before it went down," Brandt pointed out. "We might find something there."
"After everyone eats," Jansingh told him. Then she looked over just as Choi stood up and said in a louder voice, "After everyone eats."
"I heard you, Major," Choi replied, walking back to the group. "I had hoped to avoid eating Army rations."
"We're Air Force," McBay pointed out.
"Everyone in the military eats them," Brandt added as he offered her a tin.
Tucking her sample kit under one arm, Choi took the cup substitute and looked inside it. "No spoon?" she asked. Brandt pulled a plastic spoon from his MRE and offered it to her. With it, she tried a sip. She frowned as one does when realizing that a pet has just pooped on the living room carpet. "What is this stuff? It tastes like grease."
"Can of condensed soup," Brandt replied. Then he peered back into the pot. "I think."
"What flavor?" Jansingh asked.
"Puke?" Choi suggested as she stirred the contents of her tin.
"I thought it was vegetable," McBay commented.
"Really?" Brandt asked. "I thought it tasted like cream of mushroom."
"What does the can say?" Choi asked.
"Chicken," Brandt replied.
The level of disgust displayed by the team fell into the following order from greatest to least: Choi, McBay, Brandt, and Jansingh (who had not shown any response at all). In spite of Brandt's revelation, the team continued their late lunch in relative silence. Once, after the team had quieted down, the forest sounded with the clicking Brandt had described, which resulted in the lieutenant dashing off in one direction. He returned disappointed.
Using the F.R.E.D. (after having to pull vines off the wheels again), they relocated to the river beyond where the UAV had been found. For about three hours, each member of the team spent the time on their assignments. Doctor Choi took various soil and water samples in peace, which included a sample of the shallow riverbed she obtained from McBay after he had tested the depth with one boot. Lieutenant Brandt explored along the river, finding different plant growth which he took samples of. Jansingh had to discourage him from tasting the berries he had found. He had also located some bird life, but Jansingh was unwilling to let him find a place to cross the river. His scientific solution was to throw stones into the trees to flush out the birds so that he could take a picture. Afterward, he considered how he would take a vine sample back to base while he scrubbed the quick-drying bird droppings off his camera and uniform. Captain McBay scouted the area around the river. He brought back one of the clicking things Brandt wanted after he had stepped on it, revealing that, not only had it been an insect making those sounds, but their entrails gave off a very strong stench when exposed to air. Major Jansingh walked around as she oversaw the group and kept lookout over the forest, P90 relaxed against her side. In between watching her team's antics, she continued to keep track of time. When their three hours were up, she ushered them back to the Stargate. Knowing how much time it had taken them to find the river, she had determined the time they needed to be back at the Stargate for disembarkation.
As they approached, McBay commented, "I like a good nine-to-five job."
"I still wish I could've gotten a better shot of one of those birds," Brandt said as he scrubbed at a stubborn spot on the cuff of his BDU.
"I asked if you wanted me to shoot one for you," McBay reminded him, patting the P90 on his chest. Then he laughed, "Of course, I thought you might shoot one for crapping on you."
"I'm trying to avoid doing anything that'll get me pulled from working off-world, sir."
"Captain, dial us home," Jansingh ordered, waving a hand at the DHD.
"Yes, ma'am," McBay replied, leaving the control box with the F.R.E.D. and striding forward. He pulled a piece of paper out of his left glove and started finding symbols on the DHD.
"Hey, Doc, do you have any more of those sample jars?" Brandt asked as he reached into his back pocket. Choi handed him an empty sample container, and he pulled out a mostly used, flattened roll of duct tape. He ripped a long strip off the roll and completely covered the container except for the lid. As McBay continued slowly dialing the Stargate, he pressed the open container into the ground over a few blades of grass. After jiggling the sample, he dug his fingers in the soil around it and picked the container back up with his fingers holding in whatever was packed into the sample. He carefully slipped the lid on over the bottom and pocketed the sample.
McBay finished inputting the address he had been handed in the briefing room (having taken the paper with him instead of memorizing the symbols as he was supposed to do). He pushed down on the DHD's center crystal.
And nothing happened.
The power-down hum the Stargate gave off caught the team's attention. They all looked up at the Ancient device as the lit chevrons remained just as they were with no other activity.
After a moment of silence, Choi asked, "Uh… is… is it supposed to do that?"
"Captain?" Jansingh asked.
"Yes, ma'am," McBay said as he double-checked the lit glyphs on the DHD's surface with the penned symbols on the smuggled sheet of paper.
"The Stargate isn't on."
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, dialing the address again. The team watched as the dialing process turned the chevrons off at once and then switched them back on with each push.
"Why didn't the Stargate turn on?"
McBay touched the central crystal after ensuring he had entered the full address. Again, however, the center of the Stargate remained inactive with the same depressing sound. "Probably the same reason it didn't turn on this time, ma'am," he said.
"This is a problem," Jansingh sighed.
"Yes, ma'am, big problem," McBay replied, triple-checking the symbols as he entered them again.
"Maybe the vines are in the way," Choi suggested, pointing to the growth slowly climbing across the DHD's surface.
"If they were, the DHD wouldn't dial at all," Jansingh replied. She watched for a moment as McBay's third attempt failed as well. "Are you sure you have the right address, Captain?"
"Positive, ma'am," McBay replied, holding the paper over his shoulder for her to see.
"You know that you were supposed to get rid of that, right?" she asked.
"Ma'am, I'm fairly confident that everyone who wants to kill us already has Earth's phone number," he answered in a frustrated tone as he prepared to dial again.
"Hold up, sir," Brandt spoke up. "Major, I think I might know something about this."
"Go ahead," Jansingh told him as McBay turned to look at him.
"Well, when I was first briefed on the Stargate," Brandt explained, "I remember the master sergeant explaining that the network is like a phone system. In order to work right, the 'Gate you're trying to dial has to be inactive. Kind of like when you call someone. You have to wait until they hang up in order to call them."
"Guess the Ancients never thought of 'call waiting'," McBay commented with a smirk.
Jansingh pointed at the Stargate and asked, "Are you saying that this is a busy signal?"
Brandt shrugged. "I guess."
Jansingh frowned and checked her watch. "Okay. We'll give them fifteen minutes before dialing again. Make yourselves comfortable."
In five minutes, the DHD and the Stargate reset themselves. The members of SG-14 sat about the clearing (none of them on the ground) and thought about their problem. It felt like a long fifteen minutes, especially for Jansingh since she kept checking her watch.
"Okay, McBay, dial it again."
"Yes, ma'am." The captain dialed Earth's address once again and touched the center crystal. Just as before, the chevrons remained lit with no other activity. "Uh oh."
"That better be one, damn long phone call," Jansingh seethed. With a sigh, she ordered, "Captain, dial up the Alpha Site."
McBay stared at the DHD for a moment. "Uh… Major?"
"What is it?"
He turned to her with a frown. "They didn't give me the address to the Alpha Site."
Jansingh gave him a blank stare. Then she turned to the other two. "Do either of you have the Alpha Site address?"
Brandt shrugged his shoulders. "They didn't give it to me, ma'am. I barely even know Earth's."
"Doc?"
Choi gave her an irritated look. "Sure. The military trusts me with anything."
Jansingh glared at the ground, realizing that she had been the only one to see the address to the Alpha Site. Unfortunately, she was only familiar with Earth's address from the times that other off-world explorers with her dialed it in front of her. The address for the Alpha Site was only given to SG teams working high-risk missions (like SG-1 or SG-3), whereas it had barely been a casual mention to her. Still, she did not like the idea of being stuck off-world for too long. She stepped over to the DHD, waving McBay away from it. If she was lucky, she could dial the Alpha Site from the brief glance she had at the address.
The DHD looked a little intimidating when one stepped up to it, especially since the Ancient device looked like it required a manual to be translated and dumbed down before it could be used. She took in a deep breath, called up the image of the Alpha Site's address which had been shown to her by one of the Gate technicians, and started pressing symbols. The first two felt right, but after that, her confidence waned. She struggled to remember the rest. As she dialed them in, she found herself hoping more and more that she was right.
She froze after the sixth, realizing something. "Which one's the point of origin?" she asked.
McBay showed her the scrap of paper with Earth's address with his finger pointed to the last symbol. "That one, Major."
She found the missing symbol and pressed on the center crystal. However, the Stargate's chevrons simply blinked out. "That didn't look good," Choi remarked.
"Shit," the Major said to herself. Then, in a louder voice, she told the team, "Disconnected number. I thought I might've known the Alpha Site's address."
McBay shrugged. "You knew more than us, ma'am. What now?"
"Since Earth is the only address we know right now, we'll keep dialing every quarter-hour. Captain, you'll monitor the Stargate for any activity. Lieutenant, Doctor, if there's anything you couldn't get done earlier, you have the time now. Just keep yourselves busy."
Brandt and Choi disappeared back toward the river after the next attempt to dial out failed. McBay, due to his apparent designation as the team's operator, remained with the Stargate with the F.R.E.D. pulled close so that he could use it as a chair. Jansingh, in effort to keep herself busy, scouted the area further away from the Stargate. This unfortunately revealed the confidence she had in returning home, as the excursion took five hours before she returned to the Stargate. When she returned, she had to wake up McBay.
In this manner, an additional seven hours passed beyond their original mission schedule. What was worse, P3C-529 revealed that the first twelve hours of their mission had been the limit of its daylight. By the time Jansingh had decided to recall Brandt and Choi from the river, everyone was stumbling around in the dark with flashlights in hand.
"Okay, one more for the day," Jansingh told McBay as the other two stepped into the clearing. McBay nodded and started dialing the gate with his penlight in his mouth.
"Ow!" Choi shouted. Her light blinded Brandt. "Would you watch your step!"
"What're you talking about?" Brandt replied in an irritated tone. "There's three feet in between us."
"Come on, kids," Jansingh sighed at them. "Don't argue, or you're never going to go to Colorado again."
McBay finished dialing, but the Stargate did not connect. "I don't think we'll be seeing Colorado anytime soon anyway, Major."
Jansingh scanned the clearing with her flashlight. "Okay," she began. "So, it looks like we'll be staying the night here; it's too dark to do anymore work."
"I knew I should've brought my toothbrush," McBay commented, snapping his fingers.
"Lieutenant, would we have any trouble sleeping on the ground?" Jansingh asked.
"Yeah, we would, ma'am," Brandt replied. "I don't know what these vines feed on, but they don't need much in the way of sunlight. Those vines I took as a sample grew out of the container while it was in my pocket."
"Options?" she asked.
"Well…" McBay said, staring up at the tufts of starlight while he tried to recall their supply manifest. "We have rations to last another day here, emergency blankets, extra ammunition, survey equipment, and spare BDUs. And… the survey equipment outnumbers everything else we have."
Brandt glanced over at the trees nearby. "What about rope?" he asked.
"Plenty of rope," McBay replied. "Tough stuff. Why?"
"Where is it?"
"I put it back on the F.R.E.D. here," McBay said as he turned around. The rest of the team looked around at the ground, noticing the lumps of vines which held the rest of their equipment. The only exception hung from a nearby tree. When flashlights focused on him, he turned around and found Jansingh, the closest, giving him an irritated look. "It won't happen again, ma'am."
"What do you have in mind?" Jansingh asked, turning to Brandt.
"Something I picked up back home," he answered as he crossed the clearing. He took the rope McBay offered.
"Survival training?" Jansingh asked.
"Camping, ma'am," Brandt replied as he unbundled the rope. "When we were young, my dad loved to camp. Thing is, we couldn't afford tents beyond what my sisters used, so he would build hammocks using some blankets, rope, and whatever trees happened to be nearby. These vines only go so far up the tree, so we should be able to sleep without being wrapped up in the morning."
Jansingh exchanged looks with McBay. "It's your plan, Lieutenant," she sighed. "Run with it. What do you need?"
"Another hand and more light, ma'am," he said, stepping around the F.R.E.D. on his way to the closest trees. "Oh, and those blankets you mentioned, Captain."
"Doc, you and I'll give him a hand," Jansingh said. "Captain, do we have anything for security?"
McBay shook his head. "No, ma'am. But then, I haven't seen anything around here that could be a threat."
Jansingh gave a disappointed glance. "Well, how about a nightlight, then?"
McBay had to think before pointing to the F.R.E.D. "Will the headlights on him work?"
"Whatever'll give us a clear view of anything that tries to kill us."
"Yes, ma'am."
Jansingh walked over to Brandt's location. Choi stood next to the trunk of one tree holding one end of the rope. The major watched as Brandt appeared to weave the rope between four other trees. "Any other bits of Boy Scout knowledge you've got to share, Lieutenant?" she asked.
"Ma'am, the only thing I learned in the Boy Scouts is how much I hate Boy Scouts," Brandt answered as he wound the rope between the trees to complete an X shape in between each tree. As he returned to the first tree, he paused at the point where Choi held the rope. "Hmm… something's not right here."
"What is it?" Choi asked.
But he frowned as he double-checked his work. "Oh, I get it," he realized as he rounded the tree (and Choi). "There's an even number of spaces."
"So?" the doctor responded.
"We always had an odd number of people sleeping outside," Brandt told her as he wrapped the rope once around each tree. "Dad, me, Luke, Jessie, and Biscuit."
"Biscuit?" Jansingh smiled.
"The dog, ma'am. He was a spitz. Kind of a coward at times, but he loooooved camping. First animal I knew that had a drinking problem."
"Your dog had a drinking problem?" Choi asked with one eyebrow raised.
"My dad eventually switched to cans because Biscuit figured out how to open bottle caps," Brandt laughed as he wandered back to them.
"I knew a guy with a Great Dane that had the same problem," McBay commented as he pulled the lit F.R.E.D. around to cast light on Brandt's work. "If you didn't offer it a beer, it wasn't going to be your friend."
"Are all military personnel fascinated with dogs that drink?" Choi asked, eying Jansingh.
Jansingh smiled and replied in an even tone, "Actually, I keep a T-rex in my yard. Keeps the neighbors' dogs in check."
This revelation stunned Choi for a moment while Brandt and McBay chuckled to themselves. Choi then rolled her eyes. "Everyone's a comedian."
"So, what are we looking at?" McBay asked.
"Hammocks, sir," Brandt told him. "Did you get the blankets?"
McBay picked up one of the nylon bags sitting on the F.R.E.D. "Right here."
"I think I'm following your train of thought, Lieutenant," Jansingh said. "Captain, start laying the blankets on the ropes."
"Just lay them over the ropes, sir," Brandt directed. "I'll be by to secure them."
After tying the rope to itself and checking to see if it was as tight as he needed, he started using his roll of duct tape to secure the blankets to the trees. Then the team settled into the makeshift hammocks.
McBay let out a loud sigh of relief. "This is nice."
"I've had better to sleep in," Choi groaned under her breath.
Brandt, who laid with his head on the other side of the tree from hers, heard her and replied, "Plenty of room on the ground, Doc."
"Don't call me 'Doc'," Choi told him. "I earned my doctorate."
"Shut up, both of you," Jansingh ordered them with a little heat in her tone. "Just rest for now."
"Hey, Major," McBay asked, "do you think Command knows we're still out here?"
"I'm sure they do, Captain. The question is whether or not they're having the same problems we are."
"Any idea what it could be, ma'am?" Brandt asked.
"Any number of problems, Lieutenant, but nothing we're going to know right away. If they don't call up during the night, then we'll try again in the morning."
"And if they don't?" Choi asked.
"Then we just try to hold out. If we have to, we'll move the camp towards the river so we have a fresh water supply. I'm sure some of the vegetation's edible."
"Don't see why not," Brandt said. "Those berries we found should give us something to work with."
"Should we have a watch, Major?" McBay asked.
"The night here lasts seven hours, Captain," Jansingh replied. "But if you're worried, you can stay awake for it."
"Got it, ma'am."
…
The members of SG-14 slept through the night without incident. But when the sun first mounted the treetops…
"Are you kidding me?!"
Choi's shriek roused Jansingh with a grouchy disposition. She sat up, finding that her geologist was using moist towelettes to scrub the jacket sleeve of her BDU.
"Wha's go'n on?" McBay slurred as he attempted to roll out of his hammock.
"What is it, Doc?" Jansingh asked as she slid out of the hammock.
"It's-it's shit!" she shouted. "I'm covered in shit!"
Jansingh examined her own uniform. Because she had been lying on her back, her entire front had been exposed to a midnight toilet run from the local birds. Here and there, hard spots of black and white bird droppings dotted her body. After checking that nothing had landed in her face, she glanced back at the hammock. The droppings vaguely outlined the void where she had slept.
"Aw, cwap," Brandt moaned as he got to his feet. He pulled his small thermos out of his vest and used the water inside to wash his mouth out. "Agh, that's disgusting…"
"Ma'am," McBay spoke up. Jansingh turned to find that he had been pelted more than her. "I think we forgot something."
"Forgot that those self-righteous buzzards might still hold a grudge," Brandt said as he took his vest off. "I say we have pheasant for lunch, ma'am."
"Just take it easy, Lieutenant," Jansingh told him.
"Major, I've got to wash this stuff off my face," Choi groaned.
"Lieutenant, take the doctor down to the river," Jansingh ordered. "Take a few minutes and get back here as soon as possible. As soon as you return, get into the spare fatigues. Captain, dial up the 'Gate; let's see if Earth's open for business yet."
Choi, having taken off her vest and jacket to expose her white t-shirt, crossed the clearing with Brandt behind her while mumbling under her breath, "I hate this place."
However, McBay's first attempt to dial Earth met the same results that the team had seen the day before. After freshening up with clean uniforms and a meal, Jansingh took Brandt to investigate some fruit trees she remembered discovering on her expedition the day before. Choi remained at the Stargate with McBay, where she began surveying the nearby terrain.
The trees Jansingh had found looked like apple trees filled with fat Granny Smiths. However, since neither was tall enough to reach for an apple, Brandt found himself climbing up the tree.
From his position on a branch thick enough to support his weight, he had plucked one apple from the end of another branch above him. He used a pocketknife to carve off a sliver of the apple. "Well," he called down to the major, "it looks like an apple."
"I can see that, Lieutenant," she answered, her tone still hot from the morning's discovery. "I want to know if they are apples."
Brandt smelled the apple. Then he licked the piece that he cut off. "Tastes a little… orange-y. Like there's citric acid in these things. But the interior looks like an apple." He took a bite. "Oh, wow! These are pretty good!"
"I like how scientific you're being about this," Jansingh remarked. "Can I assume that, since you're not falling out of the tree, they're safe to eat?"
"I'd be surprised if they weren't, Major," he replied before stuffing the apple between his teeth. He did not speak for a few moments as he clambered down the trunk.
Jansingh asked him as he hit the ground, "Why do you say that?"
Brandt licked the juice off his lips after taking the apple from his mouth. "Say what?"
"Why would it surprise you if the fruits weren't edible?"
"Oh. Well, Major, the only thing that keeps trees like this in supply is how they reproduce. Insects do a lot of pollination. After the fruit grows, something has to spread the seeds around. Probably what the birds do."
"A niche, right?" Jansingh asked. "Kind of like when I order you to climb up a tree to retrieve an apple without biting into it, and you follow my order?"
"Uh… yes, ma'am," Brandt replied, throwing away the slice of apple before he took another bite.
Jansingh sighed. "Well, do you think it's a via—"
"Major!" their radios suddenly cried out in McBay's voice. "The 'Gate's dialing in!"
Jansingh took her radio into her hand. "You and Choi, get to cover and identify anyone who comes through. We're on our way back."
She started off towards the Stargate in a run with Brandt right behind her. But as she dodged through the trees, another voice buzzed from her radio.
"Sierra-Golf One-Four, this is Sierra-Golf Alpha Site. Please respond."
Jansingh put her arm out to stop Brandt as she pulled the radio closer to her mouth. "Alpha Site, this is Sierra-Golf One-Four, Major Jansingh."
"This is General Anson," the masculine voice replied. "It's good to hear from you, Major. You know that you and your team are overdue for your return to Earth, right?"
"We're aware of that, General," she answered. "We've been dialing Earth for hours now, but the Stargate hasn't connected."
"Then you're having the same problem we are," Anson replied. "You are aware that procedure is to contact the Alpha Site in the event that the SGC can't be reached, right, Major?"
She exchanged a sigh with Brandt. "Yes, sir, but none of my team were given the address to the Alpha Site. I think we may have been overlooked."
"I see," the general said. "We're sending a technician to your location. Accompany him back to the Alpha Site for debriefing as soon as possible."
"Understood, General," she said as she and Brandt started walking again.
"See you soon," the general said. "Alpha Site out."
"Double-time, Lieutenant," she told Brandt. Then she said into her radio, "Captain, get the site packed."
They hustled back to the Stargate just as the technician, a young woman wearing service dress with a sheet of paper in one hand, finished dialing. The Stargate gave its characteristic mechanical groan and kawoosh. McBay, standing next to the technician, brought his wrist up and dialed in the team's code on his G.D.O.
"Glad you people at the Alpha Site were looking for us," Jansingh said, her voice visibly startling the woman in Air Force Blue. "Any word on what's going on back home?"
"Nothing yet, Major," the woman replied. "After the SGC failed to contact us this morning, we spent an hour trying to open a wormhole back to Earth. Afterwards, we started looking for other SG teams still out on assignment. So far, you're the first team we've found."
"Everything's packed, ma'am," McBay told her.
"Move it out, Captain," Jansingh told him, snatching her helmet from the top of the F.R.E.D. "Let's go, folks."