I noticed everyone else puts disclaimers in their stories. I guess I should do the same just to make ownership clear.
Stargate, and all characters and technologies from that fiction series are, are the property of their respective owners. I use them without profiting.
The Aians, and all characters and technologies not found in the Stargate fiction series, as of August 6th, 2003, are the property of this author. Any one wishing to borrow them should only do so with my expressed permission. (I have a lot of background information already created for the Aian universe. At some point, I'm likely to place it on my web site.)
Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter stood on the ramp for the stargate. Behind them, its center held the shimmering surface of a wormhole event horizon. Looking up to the control room, General Hammond watched over them. Daniel and Teal'c had already proceeded through with a research team. Jack and Sam had been delayed finishing some reports.
This was going to be a typical camping trip; except a different planet. The stargate was located inside of a temple as is sometimes the case, but the rest of the place was an ocean paradise. Nothing but light woods, gentle breezes, and smooth beaches surrounded the place.
This was all fine since SG-1's last mission. If things weren't so busy, they probably would have gotten a couple weeks of down-time. As it was, they were getting a simple babysitting mission instead.
"Colonel, Major," the General addressed them both, "I'll see you again in three weeks."
Jack nodded in acknowledgment, and turned to enter the stargate.
Stepping through, they were both whisked through at incredible speeds through the stars. Buzzing and hissing was all they could hear through the journey. It all came to a chillingly abrupt stop as they arrived at their destination.
It wasn't what they had expected. The walls were wet and dirty. A brown color not normally seen in a temple, and certainly not the glossy gray walls of where they were supposed to be. The research team was going to study writings found on pillars. All this place had were burning fires, strange equipment, and a ceiling that was making a funny noise.
Jack raised his gun half expecting trouble. "Carter, I don't see a shiny temple with sunny beaches," he slowly looked around the room, noticing everything.
"I don't think this place ever was a temple, sir," she replied while scanning the room with her gun.
Behind them, the wormhole closed with an explosion. They were both thrown across the room and landed in burnt rubble. Chunks of the ceiling started to fall as the entire roof collapsed upon where the wormhole once existed. In its place was a large pile of machinery and pipes hissing gas.
Jack groaned and started pulling himself up from where he lay on his stomach. He reached over to shake Sam by the arm. "Carter, you okay?"
She coughed suddenly while still lying on her back. Pulling her elbows behind her, she managed to prop herself up next to Jack. She looked over to where the explosion had occurred. "I think so, sir. But," coughing again, "that doesn't look like a stargate to me," she tilted her head in the general direction of a burning ruble.
"What's left of it you mean," he corrected her while staring at the same pile.
Jack raised himself into a crouching position and checked his gun. Not finding any damage on it, he scanned the room again. Bits of the ceiling continued to fall in places. "Lets get moving, Major. I don't like the look of this place."
Rolling over into a crouch, she began checking her own equipment. Finding everything fine, she looked over at Jack. He waved his hand towards a wall which had an opening caved in. It would, hopefully, lead them outside and away from the damaged building. Keeping her head down and gun raised, she scrambled over and peeked around the corner of the wall.
Outside was another dozen buildings. The bigger ones looked like they were on fire and had structural damage. Some of the smaller ones didn't appear to have any damage, and a few even looked like dwellings of some kind. There didn't appear to be anyone around.
Sam turned and found Jack right beside her. "I don't see anyone out there. It appears clear."
Jack nodded and peered around her to the outside. A second later he jumped up and sprinted through the opening in the wall.
Sam followed after him as he went to one of the buildings that looked like a dwelling. Ducking beside the door, he pounded on it a few times. Sam took the other side of the door and waited. Jack nodded at her and they both stood up. He kicked into the door hard and it flew open into a single room. Running in he made sure his side was clear while Sam checked the opposite.
The dwelling was empty. Two simple beds were against the far wall, while a wooden table and three chairs took up the remainder of the room. Everything was painted dark and gray, the only color in the room was coming through a window from the setting sun.
"No Goa'uld yet. We're doing great so far," Jack said while snooping around the room. "I was kind of hoping for a nice ocean view though."
Sam went over to the window and looked at their surroundings. It looked about like a desert outside, or heavily traveled at the very least. In the far distance beyond all the buildings she could see the edge of a forest.
What looked like a large missile flew down from the sky like a shooting star. It hit the far side of the building they first arrived in. The explosion was large enough that the ground shook beneath them causing dust to fall from the ceiling.
Jack hopped over to the window just in time to see the huge red fireball. It rose into the sky and joined existing black lines of smoke.
"Well someone, or something, is laying a pretty good siege to this place."
"Good thing we got out of there when we did," replied Sam happily.
More explosions rang out in the far distance. Well beyond anything they could see. Hours went by like that. Occasionally, the dark sky would light up, but overall the barrage seemed to be dying down in their area.
Jack seemed to relax over that time. He even managed to sit in one of the beds and lie back against the wall.
"I still don't see anyone else out there, sir." Sam turned away from the window to face Jack. It was the only window that gave a good view of the grounds. The other window was up high above where Jack now was.
"It would seem we're alone."
Jack didn't respond. He just started fiddling with his gun. "We were supposed to meet up with Daniel, Teal'c, and a bunch of geeks. Instead, we arrive on some unknown world through a device whose remains don't look like any stargate I've ever seen," he paused for effect, "where the hell are we Carter?" He used his most demanding voice.
"Simply put, sir, I don't know." He kept the same look on her that he asked his questions with. The answer she gave didn't satisfy him and she knew it. "Solar flare, gravitational pull, power surge, the list goes on. But, I can't see any of those as being the cause here. Whenever we've arrived at the wrong time or destination before, there had still been a stargate. Maybe not a dial home device, but a 'gate at the very least. I don't think I can come up with a reasonable explanation. Not without getting a good look at the equipment in that building."
Jack huffed over the answer he heard and was expecting. He didn't like it, but that was what they were handed.
"Alright, we'll go back over there at first light," he studied Sam's face for a moment, "get some rest. I'll take the first watch." He got up from the bed and headed over to the table. Pulling out a chair, he placed it facing the door and sat down. He slid back and crossed his legs.
Sam, for her part, just watched. She soon saw that Jack had gotten himself quite comfortable, and decided to get what rest she could before he woke her up.
Taking the bed beside the one Jack had earlier, she found it was about as firm as a rock. Never the less, she managed to get to sleep quickly after what had resulted in a long day.
The Aian Mass Forces' ship Agumon was in high orbit above the planet Ty'Med. The main view screen in primary command showed missiles raining down on the planet from their ship and the two other ships with them. After a few minutes the Agumon ceased its firing while the other ships changed course.
"Sensors indicate all targets hit, ma'am," reported Tactical Chief Milsia from her station.
Commanding Officer Dayniel was working at her console quite contently. She had just sent orders for the two Tagra class destroyers to move on to their next targets. Pushing the console to the side of her seat, she looked up at the view screen.
"Monitor the primary target carefully and report any surface activity," she ordered.
"Aye," replied Milsia as she began typing into her console.
Executive Officer Gunthar was coordinating weapons deployment from his station beside Dayniel's. A beep alerted him of an incoming transmission.
"Captain, the destroyers are reporting that they've begun their barrages on the secondary targets."
"Very well," replied Dayniel, "have we detected any surface activity on the primary?"
"Negative," replied Milsia.
Dayniel nodded her head to herself. Their preemptive strike on the rouge research base was going better than expected. Not only had they arrived without encountering any hostiles, but no one seemed to be coming to rescue the unfortunate people on the surface either. With any luck, the battle group would be on its way back to Aian Federation territory days before they had planned.
Reaching across her arm rest, Dayniel pressed down on one of her intercom buttons. "Chief, have one of your platoons prepare to depart for the surface."
"They'll be ready in twenty minutes, ma'am," came the reply from Ground Chief Vandule over the intercom.
She released the button, and began tapping her fingers impatiently. There wasn't anything else to do but wait until further events unfolded.
"So," Gunthar interrupted her thoughts, "an entire platoon?"
She stopped tapping her arm rest, and gave him a sly smile. "As much fun as you may be having, I'd rather get this over with. Luck is with us, and I don't intend to let it escape."
Lanosa was walking up to the boarding hatch for the drop ship. Her troops were running up past her side to line up before the door. As she reached that door, she spun around to find all six of her troops facing forward and at attention to her left.
She then started to walk back along them for their final gear check. Each member was fully clothed in brown and gray tactical clothing. Black patches of solid armor was stitched in wherever flexibility wasn't a necessity. They all had snub nosed rifles strapped to their chest with one of many accessories bolted to the barrel. Each individual also carried a personal sidearm of some kind either strapped to their back or leg.
"Alright people, lets get bolted in," she yelled over the sound of engines warming up.
She watched briefly as they began filing into their ship. Looking around the hangar, she saw other drop ships being prepared with their respective squads. Their entire platoon was being sent down, so their squad was only assigned to check some of the smaller buildings.
Lanosa followed her last troop into the ship. Sealing the hatch behind her, she could hear the gantry being retracted away for their departure. She took her seat to the side of the egress ramp and started working all the restraints. Lowing her arm to a small panel beside her, she flicked the communication link to flight control. "Drop ship three is prepped for departure."
"Acknowledged, awaiting final drop command," came the reply.
She flicked the link closed. All they had to do now was wait for the Captain to give the launch order. And that wouldn't take very take long.
"Brace for drop," came the voice of Flight Chief Tanita over all the drop ship intercoms.
What little lighting the vessel had went completely dark. Only a hiss could be heard as all the air in the hangar was sucked out. Just as suddenly, all the openings beneath the drop ships slid open, and the ships were pushed out by their thrusters like projectiles in a gun. If the passengers had a window to look out, they would see an entire deck scream by. As it was, they were forced heavily against their restraints to keep from hitting the ceiling.
The planet loomed closer and closer. Thrusters fired wildly as all the ships aligned themselves for their target landing sites. As they began entering the atmosphere, their gray surfaces began to flare up with flames from the heat.
Their high speed trajectory quickly cooled them back down as the flames from the initial entry died. The surface flew at them with the speed to annihilate. Everyone on board was pushed deep into their seats as the main engine fired to slow them just before landing.
A loud boom sounded through the interior as the ground was reached. Instantly sensing it safe, the computer began lowering the egress ramp. All the seat restraints were also unlocked, and Lanosa's squad quickly filed out.
As her squad began taking up defensive positions around the ramp, Lanosa pulled down her combat goggles. They were a standard issue assault model with tactical read out, night vision, heat detection, and all sorts of other information. It was all controlled through a hidden keypad in her rifle's fore grip.
Scanning their surroundings, Lanosa quickly spotted her squad's assignment: a cluster of five small buildings silhouetted against the burning remains of a larger building. No sign of hostile forces could be seen anywhere. Looking up, Lanosa confirmed that only a few stars could be seen. Their drop ship's own trail of exhaust was invisible against the smoke from all the building fires.
"Lets move out. I want absolute silence from here on," she ordered.
The entire squad moved as one. Every member had their rifle raised and ready if anyone tried to stop them. They ran smooth and fast across the distance to the first building. Approaching it, the squad started fanning out and around. Sweeping around the back and sides, they didn't find any doors or windows, so they all continued around and found a single door at the opposite side.
Lanosa began tapping in orders through her keypad. It was completely sealed from sight, but the combat goggles she wore showed every menu and option as she selected them. She had three of her soldiers take up defensive position to their flanks and rear, while the other three prepared to breach the door. Nodding at Thandos, who was point, they shoved through the door like it wasn't even there. Lanosa ran in after them only to find that the room was full of sealed crates. They checked around all the edges to make sure it wasn't a disguise for a hidden room. It wasn't.
The four of them headed back outside to rejoin the others. Searching the two nearby buildings resulted in them being for storage like the first. Their next target, however, registered two heat signatures in her goggles. She had noticed them when they first approached the building cluster. They weren't moving then, and they still weren't moving now.
Approaching the building, it appeared at first to be just like the others, but closer inspection revealed a single ventilation opening on the back wall. It was too high and narrow for them to enter through, which also meant the two occupants couldn't escape this way either. Coming around the sides of the building, they both were void of any windows or doors.
Sitting at the corner farthest the front door, Lanosa began issuing orders through her keypad. She had Thandos proceed around to the other side of the door. Annel and Doaneg went with him. This left Rinay, Stavall, and Janeas to crouch below the window between herself and the door.
One last check through her thermal goggles showed that one of the occupants was apparently laying down, hopefully asleep. The other occupant was sitting in a chair with their legs propped across another chair. They were facing the window, but sideways to the door. If her squad went fast enough, they should be able to muffle that one before the other could awake.
Lanosa hit the keypad button ordering the ambush. Janeas took point, hopping through the window. Thandos charged through the closed door at the same time. In the process of both entries, the door mechanism was busted apart, and Janeas landed on top of the seated occupant shattering both chairs in the process. Rinay was right behind Thandos, as was Doaneg, Stavall, and Annel. They charged at the sleeping being and landed with a crunch as both back legs of the bed buckled and slid them into the wall. Annel waited behind with Thandos who made sure the rest of the room was clear. Lanosa quickly followed finding her plan executed perfectly, and both occupants secured.
Approaching what she hoped was the most aware of the prisoners, Lanosa found that it was a woman. At the moment Janeas was on top of her, gloved hand supporting her wait over the woman's mouth, and her rifle held at the woman's forehead with the other. The woman's arms were flailed out, and her eyes darted around trying to take in what had just happened. Janeas looking up and nodded at Lanosa that she had this one under control.
Turning around, Lanosa found the other prisoner to be a man. Doaneg held both of the man's hands above his head against the wall, while he kept his rifle pointed at his forehead. Stavall had a gloved hand over the man's mouth, while his rifle was shoved in the man's gut. Rinay was standing at the foot of the bed with her rifle now lowered.
"I want both prisoners secured," ordered Lanosa.
Thandos pointed Annel over to help Janeas. She pulled out a short length of tape, and as Janeas removed her hand from the woman's mouth, it was covered securely shut with the tape. Together, they lifted the prisoner up by her arms and tied her hands behind her back with twine. Annel then pushed the woman to face against a wall.
At the same time, Stavall let go of his rifle just long enough to tape their prisoners mouth shut just like the other. Raising his gun against him once again, Doaneg was able to let go of his rifle so he could pull some twine out. Pulling the prisoner up into a seated position, he tied the man's hands behind his back. Stavall placed the man to face the same wall as the woman.
"Annel, Stavall, you cover them," Lanosa ordered pointing her rifle at the prisoners.
They both raised their rifles at the prisoners. If they tried anything, it wouldn't last. Mean while, the other squad members began checking their equipment. They knew they still had one more building to check before waiting for the rest of the platoon to call everything clear.
"Rinay, I want you to take Doaneg and Janeas and check that last building. Thandos, check the door."
They all nodded and began towards the door. Thandos turned and went to the window. Looking around outside, all he could see was the occasional small fire from the larger buildings. He thought he could hear gun fire in the distance though. No where near them, however. Suddenly, just as Rinay's team disappeared out of Thandos' sight and into the last building, the ground rumbled and the sky ignited in light from an explosion.
"One of the other squads found a weapons cache," he heard Lanosa's voice inform him over his shoulder.
He nodded and continued to wait with rifle ready. Moments later he spotted Rinay and the others returning. They jogged back into the building but Thandos could tell from their faces that everything had gone smoothly.
"The other building is like this one only with out occupants," Rinay reported.
Lanosa nodded her head and turned around facing their prisoners. She keyed in her com line with her platoon leader.
"Squad three reporting. Buildings secured, and two prisoners taken. Zero hostilities encountered."
"Understood. Departure in one hour," replied the female voice.
"Alright people. In one hour we have departure. Grab any gear our guests dropped and lets move them out," Lanosa ordered her squad.
Jack looked over at Sam and found her in the same state as himself. Staring right back at him, she had her mouth taped and hands tied. Her eyes told him everything. She was just as confused as him. Either she fell asleep, unlikely given her record, or these people were better than anything he had seen before. Or rather, hadn't seen until they were already captured.
All he could remember was waking up with a rifle shoved in his face. His hands were quickly grabbed by the unknown assailants and, as the bed buckled under the weight, thrown against the wall. He had heard someone speak something, and suddenly they were taping his mouth.
When they had went to tie his hands was when he first saw Sam across the room. Two of the assailants were lifting her up by her arms. Just as she was brought to standing, was when he noticed the two at his sides lifting him up the same way.
Now here they were, forced to face a blank wall while some woman behind them spoke a strange language. Sam was worried that she didn't understand any of it until she realized the woman wasn't speaking to them. She guessed that the woman was their assailant's leader, and was probably issuing orders. Turning her head away from Jack, she caught a glimpse of what looked like people heading away from the window. She recognized one of them as the woman who had jumped through the window to attack her.
Jack started to turn around to get a better look, but was instead shoved against the wall again by what he assumed was a weapon. Apparently, they weren't meant to do anything for a while. Sam heard him get shoved and turned around with a sympathetic look on her face. He raised his eyebrows at her trying to indicate he was out of ideas for the moment. For her part, she just nodded.
The ground rumbled under their feet and they heard the woman's voice again. She almost sounded amicable. Who ever these people were, they ran a pretty tight operation. Not only had they surprised both himself and Sam, Jack thought to himself, but they didn't make any sound. Since he first awoke, the only noises had been the bed breaking, the chairs breaking, and that woman speaking. He couldn't recall hearing anyone else speak, including both Sam and him, and they didn't make any noise walking. What ever kind of organization they were part of, it seemed to have some highly trained units. Unlike most of the Goa'uld.
Just then, Sam and Jack both heard a different voice for the first time. It was another woman. When she had stopped, the apparent leader of the group began to speak. When she had finished talking, Sam could hear the table and beds being moved around the room. She felt someone grab her hands behind her back and pull her away from the wall. Someone else reached forward and pulled Jack away as well. Turned around, Sam found herself being stripped of the rest of her equipment and then pushed towards the door. Outside were three of their assailants, and Jack soon appeared at her side. They were lead together around the building and out across the open night. Sam managed to look behind her and saw not only the two pushing her and Jack along, but also two others.
It didn't take long before Jack and Sam spotted were the party was headed. A ship of some sort was silhouetted in front of them. It was a good size mass, and appeared to have a uniform shape. As they got closer, a ramp could be seen leading to the ship's interior. The party entered the strange vessel and began taking seats along the outer wall. Judging by the size of the room they were in, Sam guessed there weren't any other rooms. As the last of their assailants entered the ship, the entry ramp was closed. Jack and Sam were forced to lie down face first in the middle of the room. Straps of some sort were placed over their backs preventing them from getting back up.
Sam looked around her surroundings and spotted a total of seven people now strapped into their seats. Jack, who lay beside her, also seemed to notice everyone securing themselves. She started to hear a loud rumbling sound as the deck they were on started to shake. Sam's best guess was they were taking off. As if to confirm her theory, she found herself being pushed heavily into the floor by massive G-forces. They were taking off alright, and taking off in a hurry. The acceleration was incredible, and Sam found she had to close her eyes to keep from getting sick.
Sam felt the G-forces subside and opened her eyes to find Jack staring at her. Looking around again, she saw the other passengers were starting to remove some of their gear. Goggles, masks, and other pieces of equipment were removed. Sam counted a total of three men and four women. She new at least one of the women had to be the one in charge, and looking around she saw one of them had a console pulled in front of her.
That must be her, Sam thought to herself, all the others appear to be in regaler seats.
The woman was typing into the console, but stopped when she saw Sam looking at her. She smiled and hit a few more keys before spinning the console to her side. Sam averted her eyes away and looked back at Jack. He was alert, and had apparently watched the exchange between Sam and the other woman.
The humming from the engines died down and was replaced with hissing. The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the ship. The hissing ceased as everything went silent. Without warning, all the lights brightened by just enough to make one advert their eyes if they were staring to much.
Jack watched as a door he hadn't noticed before slid open. He saw a platform, of some kind, extend to meet the ship. The crew of the ship began to file out. Jack thought he heard people talking outside, but before he could identify how many people, he felt two people lift him up by his arms. He hadn't even noticed that the restraints keeping them on the floor had been removed. Looking to his left he saw that they were picking Sam up also.
They were led out of the ship and into a large room. A brief stop on the gantry allowed their captors to speak with some waiting officials. Jack didn't think they looked all that important, but glancing around revealed a huge two story landing area. To both his left and right half a dozen or so ships lined the corridor. Just like the one they had departed, each had a gantry unloading passengers. Looking along the walls didn't reveal anything that looked like a door large enough for the ships. Tilting his head up, no doors could be spotted on the ceiling either, this left him with only one conclusion. He looked over the side of the gantry and saw what looked like a huge seam around their ship.
Must be on board their mother ship, he thought to himself, and the smaller ships must be troop transports.
Sam watched Jack curiously as he seemed to be searching the room with his eyes. He looked over the edge of the gantry, of which Sam wasn't close enough to do. He turned back to Sam with a surprised look, in return she decided to give him a questioning look. Hopefully he had noticed something useful to them. She only wished they would remove the tape from their mouths so she could talk with Jack again.
The people in front of them finished their conversation, and the two were led on. Passing troops and other people in strange uniforms, they arrived at a door. A quick couple of key presses on a console beside it by one of their captors caused the door open. Proceeding through revealed a rather boring hallway. What few people they passed just ignored them.
They arrived at an open set of doors where two women and a man were talking. They wore simpler uniforms than their captors, and each had a pistol of some sort strapped to their leg. One of the women pressed a button on a wall console and a door slid open beside it. Jack and Sam were pushed through. Turning around, Jack found his hands untied and the door already closed behind them.
"Colonel," blurted out Sam as she just removed the tape from her mouth, "where are we?"
Jack reached up and pulled his own tape off. He opened his mouth to start to speak, but stopped instead. He spun around to have a look. The room was a dull gray with a light emanating from the entire ceiling. Two darker gray beds were fixed into the corners of the room. White blankets hung over the sides of each.
"We appear to be in a cell, Carter. On board a mother ship, if I'm not mistaken," he finally replied a bit smugly to her question.
"How do you know, sir. I mean, I haven't seen a single window."
"That room with the troop transports," he explained, "it looked like airlocks were underneath them."
"Oh," she replied while wandering over to a bed.
She sat down on the end of it and checked under it. Nothing but the same dull gray as the walls welcomed her. "None of this looks Goa'uld in origin," she stated.
"Yea I noticed that. These people seem quite professional," he paused, "oh by the way, how the heck did they capture us?"
"I, um, didn't hear anything, all I remember was suddenly finding that one on top of me. I think," she paused, "the first ones jumped through the window I was in front of. The rest flew in through the door."
Jack nodded. That was what he had figured happened when he finally had a look around. It was a rather rude awakening, and one that he didn't appreciate.
"You know, sir. I don't think they realize where we come from."
"Oh sure," he turned around to face her, "I suppose they just stumbled upon us by accident," he paused for effect, "with lightening speed, I might add."
"Actually, I think they were the ones laying siege to that base. They might think we were part of the base's personnel."
Jack just nodded in agreement. They were gagged before they could say a single word, and now they were locked up without anyone else around to hear them.
"Hello," he shouted up at the ceiling hoping for a reply. He waited a few moments, but no one ever answered back.
He spun around acting as if someone might sneak up behind him. "Can anyone hear us? I think this has all been a big misunderstanding. We kind of ended up at that base by accident. We weren't a part of whatever was going on down there."
He started to pace while trying to come up with something else to say. "We're explorers, peaceful ones. We just kind of got stuck down there," he concluded his speech while silently hoping someone heard it besides just Sam.
Not getting any sort of response, Jack walked over and sat on the other bed facing Sam. He patted down his legs trying to remember what equipment they had. Unfortunately, he had been resting and didn't have anything on him. Sighing, he looked over at Sam. "I don't suppose they missed any of your equipment," he questioned her.
She started patting through her uniform. Stopping at a front pocket, she reached in and pulled out a granola bar. Sam held it up for him. "Hungry?"
He shrugged. It wasn't quite what he had hopped for. An escape back home was at the top of his list.
"I'll split it with you," said Jack as he reached across and grabbed the small package. Breaking it in half, he handed one piece, still partially in the wrapper, back to Sam.
Well, he thought to himself, at least we're not going to starve for a little while.
Jack began chewing into his small amount of food. Sam pretended to ignore him by staring at the door while she ate. It was quickly becoming another moment where they wished they could be somewhere else.
The cell was not unfamiliar to Randal. Their had been many occasions where a cell was all he had to call home. The cold dark walls, the ominous lighting, and the black rectangular slabs with bone white coverings. One of the many constants in his life.
Only this time, he had a plan of escape thought out before hand. He knew his employers wouldn't come looking for him if he was captured. They never did. This time he had a small bomb hidden inside his abdomen just before he took the job. Nothing special, but it cost him the last of his currency to have it done properly. But, it had payed off well. This was one prison cell he wasn't going to be in long.
Tearing at his flesh he dug into his stomach. The pain was inscrutable. He clutched at the device and held still. The only thing that kept him from passing out was the speed at which he accomplished his task, and an old scar that had left a numb spot. He gritted his teeth, and gently began to pull his prize free.
It was covered in his blood, but pressing a code into its face revealed a flashing light. He smiled and looked over at the wall in front of the gray and white bed. Gently taking steps forward he managed to ignore the pain and set his bomb down against the foot of the bed and the hideous wall.
Two more taps on the device caused the flashing light to steadily increase. It occurred to him, at this point, that he only had seconds to find cover. He quickly turned and took a much longer step than he should have. He slipped on his own blood and came crashing down on his side.
Cursing, he pushed himself back up, but it was too late.
Jack was laying on his side with his arm propping his head up. He was watching Sam sleep on the bed across from him. She was flat on her back with her arms across her stomach.
We should be relaxing, he thought to himself, we worked too hard evacuating that planet to be stuck as prisoners.
Their last mission had taken quite a toll on SG-1's stamina. The planet had a thirty-one hour day, and the earthquakes had left them all with bags under their eyes. Jack really wished Hammond would have given them leave, but the General insisted that they all get clean air and sand. Jack could only hope that Teal'c and Daniel enjoyed the beaches while they could. By now, Sam and himself had probably been declared missing.
Suddenly, and without warning, the wall behind Sam exploded. It was as if someone had sneaked up behind him and popped a balloon. One moment the room was perfectly surreal, and the next moment his ears were ringing as the thick dust began to settle.
He took in a deep breath and started coughing. Waving a hand in front of his face to clear the air, he looked down across his body and knocked the debris away. "Major?"
He spun up off his bed and nearly fell through the floor as pieces of it crumbled into nothing. Where Sam had once been sleeping was now a floating collection of black and gray rocks. There was no sign of Sam in any of it.
"Sam," exclaimed Jack as he started to panic. He took another step and found it absent of gravity. Looking down, pieces of the floor were floating in place. Jack could see what looked like a hallway below him. Only on the other side of the hole across from him, were people staring back, but they were upside down.
Things really started to get confusing in Jack's mind at this point. It was like looking into a mirror at someone else. Things seemed flipped around, left was right, up was down, but things weren't supposed to float through a mirror like some of the floor chunks were.
Sam's body suddenly floated in front of his eyes. She was still in one piece, although unmoving. Jack quickly dropped to his knees and reached for her. Grabbing onto one of her uniform's shoulders, he pulled her out of the debris and onto the floor beside him.
Jack started to feel her wrist for a pulse when he heard a commotion behind him. Turning his head around he saw the door open completely just as a uniformed figure shot a blinding light at him. Jack's body went numb as he collapsed to beside Sam. Through his blurry vision, he was able to see her once more before everything went black.
Halbrig System Councilor Janaris had been at the Bazec Ship Yards for close to a week. A lot of work was needing his attention there as a Ronyan class Deep Space Cruiser, the third of its kind to be constructed, neared completion. The project was to be the first of many capital ships fully built and stocked at the facility since its inception.
He had just been contemplating how busy his work had been keeping him, and how often his son had nagged him to visit, when a chime alerted him at his desk. "Yes?"
"Incoming text message, do you wish to listen," questioned the disembodied voice of the station computer.
He tried to remember if he had anything scheduled, but couldn't remember. "Proceed."
"From the Halbrig System Council," began the computer, " to Councilor Janaris.
"A recent mission by the Aian Mass Forces has resulted in two unexpected prisoners. Five were taken total, but two of them have been determined as unrecorded humans.
"The mission was conducted in the nearby Solnez system, so as you might expect, the council is curios. No human has ever been recorded as living outside the fringe worlds. You have been selected as the best candidate to head an investigation.
"The AFS Agumon should arrive at the ship yards in one day for resupply. The two humans will be turned over to our custody at that time.
"A researcher by the name of Lindra has been briefed and should arrive shortly before the Agumon. She has extensive knowledge in alien culture, and she is fluent in all the known languages humans speak."
The computer paused as it processed the rest of the data.
"Message complete. Seventeen attachments were included. Would you like to continue through them?"
"No," replied Janaris quite enthusiastically.
With a sigh, he pulled the console on the desk open and skimmed through the attachments. They were generic research material. Probably more useful to this Lindra woman than to himself. He leaned back deep into his chair.
Waking up with a start, Jack found himself lying face down in a soft white bed. He lifted his head, and, as his eyes cleared, he saw a plain white wall.
What the hell, he thought while trying to recall what had happened.
It all came back to him a flash: the strange planet, the holding cell, the explosion, and Sam. He tried desperately to remember. There had been an explosion, and Sam was hurt bad.
Was she dead, he questioned himself, no wait, I felt her pulse.
"She's alive," he spoke out loud.
Jack sat up on the edge of the bed and looked around. What looked like a computer display was mounted into the wall across from him. Two flaming balls were shown on the screen. They looked like they were flying up against a black background with smoke trails behind them. Occasionally, one would fall behind the other, only to catch back up again later.
Glancing around at the other walls, Jack spotted two doors, one to each of his sides. He stood up, and found that his clothes had been replaced with loose fitting tan colored ones. A long sleeve shirt, and pants. The material seemed similar to cotton in texture, but slightly lighter.
Suddenly, the door to his right swished open, but no one came through it. Taking a few cautious steps towards it, Jack spotted Sam on top of what appeared to be a medical bed. Her head was propped up, and a white sheet covered her body. A man and woman stood beside her, while strange machines flashed lights behind her.
"We assure you, he'll be fine. It was only a stun weapon," the woman informed Sam adamantly. "It was decided that all of the prisoners be kept unconscious after the blast occurred."
Sam happened to glance away from the two people she was talking with and noticed Jack standing in the doorway. He was looking quite confused, and perhaps even sick.
"Colonel," she shouted over at him, "you're awake!"
"Yes," he slowly but comely replied.
He walked half way to Sam. The two people with her were just watching him carefully. It made him nervous after all that had happened. He sensed, from the way Sam was acting, that she was feeling a lot better. She also seemed to not be as worried about their situation as he was.
"Have I missed something here?"
"It's alright, sir. They started to doubt our involvement with that base when they discovered we're human," explained Sam, who was a bit upset over the matter.
"And they are," he paused to study her companions, "not Goa'uld?"
"Correct," replied the woman standing by Sam, "we're called Aians."
"And the explosion that nearly killed us," he asked while taking another few steps closer. The room had white walls like the one he awoke in, but this one was much bigger.
"A prisoner in the cell next to yours. He managed to smuggle a bomb on board the ship without detection."
Sam couldn't remember any of it. She had awoken only hours before, and was immediately questioned. It seemed a shock to them to discover humans were among the prisoners taken.
"They noticed a difference in physiology when they were treating my wounds."
"Yes. Colonel O'Neill, my name is Lindra. I was called in to assist with translating," she peered at Jack for a moment.
"And your friend," Jack indicated the man she was with.
"His name is unimportant at this time," Lindra answered. She decided to take this as an opportunity to get back to what her employers wanted. "Lets just say that he's here to observe."
"Observe what," questioned Sam.
"Whether you were part of the research base, or not," replied Lindra.
"We weren't. We arrived there by accident when..."
"That has yet to be proven," Lindra quickly interrupted Sam, "your only evidence so far is that you don't speak Aian, and your technology seems primitive."
Lindra's silent companion whispered something into her ear. It was too quiet for either Jack or Sam to hear.
"If you will excuse us, we'll leave you two alone. Guards have been posted outside the door."
With that, Jack and Sam watched the two quickly walk to a set of double doors. They slid open to reveal a waiting woman who spoke with them in a strange language. Walking on down a hallway to their side enabled the doors to close behind them.
"Not very trusting, are they, Carter?"
"No, sir," she answered, "they started speaking that weird language the moment I awoke, and switched to English when they saw I couldn't understand them."
He began snooping around the different equipment throughout the room. "What did they question you about?"
"What we were doing on the planet. I tried to explain to them about the stargate, but they didn't seem interested."
Jack pulled a nearby stool up beside Sam's bed and sat down. Her bed was located in the middle of the room, while equipment was littered about everywhere else. Computer displays were mounted into the different walls, and they all showed the same fancy emblem that the one in his room had shown.
Sam noticed him watching one of the displays. It was the first time that she had a good look at one. The display seemed odd to her. She briefly wondered if it had a meaning of some kind.
"Are you okay, sir?" Sam decided to return to the situation at hand. "They told me we were kept knocked out for three days."
He turned around and looked at her. "Three days?"
They definitely didn't want another bomb going off, Jack thought to himself. It was hard to imagine being asleep for three days. He didn't feel hungry or anything like he would have expected.
"How are you doing, Carter?" It had only just occurred to him that Sam was still in bed. Had her injuries been that severe? Jack couldn't remember any fires, just lots of smoke, dust, and debris.
"I feel pretty good considering..." She pulled the sheet she was covered in away from her left leg. It revealed a strange looking device whose surface was clear through. A strange liquid sloshed between it and her leg.
"They told me I had some fractured ribs and a broken leg. I can only hope this device is healing the leg," Sam sounded a bit worried.
Being on the SG team that handled the bulk of first contact missions, also meant a lot of things happened to you not typically expected of the other teams. Enough alien technology had messed with Sam alone that Jack thought her fright justified.
"I'm sure you'll be okay," he reassured her, "if they wanted to hurt us, they would have already," he half smiled.
"Thanks," she replied a bit agitated, "next time you get the bunk on the left."
The meeting room had seating for a dozen people. It was typically used by engineers and was sparsely decorated. The walls were white with faint gray station schematics etched through out. A long black table in the middle of the room had twelve brown chairs around it, and two identical chairs sat to either side of the double doors. Research equipment was piled on top of one of those two chairs. It belonged to Lindra, and hadn't been used since she arrived.
"I don't like it. They were probably working with the militants at that base. We've never found any human colonies this far out after all," stated Lindra who stood by the doors.
She couldn't resist the pay for this job, but getting involved with diplomatic matters was something she always tried to avoid. It wasn't unheard of for humans to act as go-betweens for the fringe world cartels. That was where they typically lived, and they had never bothered to venture this far before just to settle a new colony.
"Calm yourself, Lindra," began Janaris, "I've already made some checks. None of our informants in the trade routes that pass by the Solnez system have seen any humans recently. And, for that matter, they were captured on the far side of the base. Away from the known militants."
He leaned back in his chair and watched Lindra start to pace. She seemed to be getting more and more apprehensive with the situation each moment. "After what they have been through, don't you think they would have, at the very least, acknowledged the Aian language?"
Lindra stopped her pacing and brought her hand up to her chin to think. Aian was known by all the fringe worlds. It was what allowed them to keep such close ties to what little business they did with Federation companies.
"That's true," she turned to face Janaris, "but if they didn't work at that base, and they didn't get dropped off by some trader," she paused to remember if she forgot anything. "Where the heck did they come from? They didn't just appear out of some magical cloud!"
A possibility suddenly came to Janaris that he had nearly forgotten. He spun around out of his chair and headed for the door in a hurry. Lindra chased quickly after him.
"Where are we going," she asked, as they proceeded down the hallway outside.
He didn't respond to her question. Instead, he made a turn towards his office. Coming up to the door, he pressed a button and it slid open. They both went inside where he promptly sat at his desk.
"What I'm about to tell you is not to leave this room."
Her eyes perked up. It wasn't like Janaris to become so formal with information.
"It is common history that the humans and our selves are not natives of this universe," he began, "but, what isn't common is that, occasionally links form between our universe and others."
A crossing between universes was no simple matter. It had taken the Aian forerunners countless years just to positively detect the universe they now lived in, and many more years to form the equations necessary for the crossing they undertook. Much of the knowledge, work, and technology had been lost through the ages.
"You're trying to tell me that crossings occur naturally and that most people are none the wiser?"
"They are actually quite rare, and only a few times every five-hundred years or so does someone actually cross through one. The links don't stay open for very long on their own. I've only known of one, within my lifetime, that both allowed a crossing, and remained long enough for a return crossing."
"What happened," she asked with shock in her voice.
Janaris sighed, "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss it in detail," he tapped his fingers on his desk a few times, "I can say that appearing out of thin air is not completely outside the realm of possibility."
He exhaled a reluctant breath. Giving out this kind of information was not something he liked doing. This was one of the best kept secrets of the Aian Federation. Not a small matter when interstellar travel was common place for their citizens.
"The territory surrounding the Solnez system is still unexplored," he paused, but saw that she didn't get his meaning. "The military mission was the first excursion into that area by the Aian Federation. It is entirely possible that universe crossing are a natural occurrence in that area. Stranger things have happened," he finished his speech.
It was a lot for Lindra to comprehend. Typically only matters of military security were kept a secret to the citizens of the Federation. Were universe crossings considered a risk to their defense? A headache was starting to form in her forehead.
The doctor was just finishing the removal of the device that had healed Sam's leg. It was early morning, best Sam could tell, and Jack was still asleep in his connected room. Lindra was present, translating any details the doctor wished to express.
The tray now holding the healing device was placed on a table. The doctor looked over at Lindra and began to speak in her native language. It sounded like a rush of gibberish to Sam. Lindra looked over at her where she still lay in the bed.
"The doctor says everything should be healed now, and that any irritation from the wound would be normal for the next week," she nodded at the doctor who proceeded out of the room.
Lindra turned to head for the door herself when Sam saw a man stop her. Apparently he had entered the room as the doctor was leaving. Sam couldn't remember the door opening any other times. The two people began talking when Sam realized it was the same person from their questioning.
The door leading to where Jack was sleeping suddenly slid open. He proceeded through shortly after and walked over to Sam.
"Mornin' Major," he started as he noticed the healing device had been removed from Sam's leg.
"This is Councilor Janaris," began Lindra as both Jack and Sam turned to listen, "he's decided that you are indeed, not natives of this area."
"It's about time," alleged Jack.
"Please, if you will let me finish," Lindra glared at him. "Today we are going to be traveling to Pondor, the capital planet of the Aian Federation."
"If I may," started Sam.
"Go ahead," replied Lindra.
"We'd really like to find a way, of at least sending a communication, back home. If we could just go back down to that planet you found us on..."
"I'm afraid that won't be a possibility," interrupted Lindra. "You see, the planet they found you on, Ty'Med, is outside the Federation. The military picked you up, and the only possible way they will return you is after a review of the request."
"Then lets have them review our request," declared Jack.
"That will be possible once we reach Pondor."
Janaris spoke something in Aian and gestured towards the door leading out. Sam looked over at Jack.
"I think he wants us to follow him," Sam informed Jack as she moved her legs over the side of the bed. She reached down and rolled her pants back down over where the healing device had been.
As Sam stood up, Jack noticed she wore the same style clothing he had. Standard medical issue apparently. Not much to look at, but he had seen worse.
Janaris headed out the door and down the hallway. Jack and Sam followed him, while Lindra followed behind them all. They kept a brisk pace as they went down the corridors.
They were heading down the final passage to the shuttle when they passed a wall size window. Jack and Sam both stopped in their tracks and nearly caused Lindra to run into them.
"Wow," exclaimed Jack.
The window gave them a beautiful view of the ship yards and the planet it orbited. Dozens of platforms could be clearly seen with a verity of different looking ships under construction. Occasionally a shuttle could be seen flying between the different sites or off into space.
"This is amazing. A construction yard this big must support a fleet to rival the Goa'uld's."
"Maybe we could stick around here a while yet, diplomacy and all, Major," replied Jack enthusiastically.
Janaris broke in with something in his own language. Jack and Sam both looked over their shoulders at him, and than over to Lindra.
"He says that, although the shuttle will wait until our arrival, the ship that will take us to Pondor will not," she translated for them.
"Right, well, lead the way." Jack looked over at Sam who was once again goggling at the sight out the window. "Carter?"
"Coming, sir," she replied hastily. Sam turned around to follow them, but instead found them all staring at her. She blushed slightly as they all finally started their way towards the shuttle once more.
Going through a final set of double doors, they found themselves in front of a gray shuttle. It was similar in general color and texture to a Goa'uld transport. But, the differences were quite dramatic past that. The rear end was more squared off, the roof was flattened rather than pointed, and no windows existed across the front. A vertical fin came from both the back bottom and top, while forty-five degree angled ones went out at a short distance to the vertical ones.
The hangar it was parked in appeared to have a huge closed door behind the shuttle. The floor had a variety of burn marks and scraps leading to smaller, garage size, doors beside the double doors they came through.
A ramp on the side of the shuttle allowed the passengers to climb in. Four chairs lined both sides of the back, while a sealed door led to the front. Jack and Sam took the seats facing each other, while Janaris and Lindra took the others.
A gentle rumbling started as Jack and Sam watched through the window as the shuttle rose and backed through the now open hangar door. A leisurely spin and acceleration forward gave them a view of a light gray ship ruffly eight times taller than the shuttle. It was flattened pear shaped from the lower level they saw it from. Rows of windows could be seen within the curve of its shape, but no where else.
As the shuttle rounded the other side of the ship, it came in and landed in a small opening near the front. A final rumble from the engines gave loose before going quite. Hissing filled the shuttle from outside as Janaris and Lindra rose for the door. It gently lowered to reveal a woman walking into the small hangar. She quickly greeted the two before gesturing for Jack and Sam to follow her.
"This woman is here to show you to your rooms," Lindra informed Jack and Sam as they passed her. "The councilor and I will visit you shortly."
The steward had just left the suite after showing Jack and Sam around. The door from the corridor opened into a large sitting room with a couch, chairs, a small table, and a small bar in the corner. Beyond that, a dining room and kitchen sat at the far corners, separated by counter space and a tiled floor. Doors at opposing ends of the sitting room led to the two bed rooms. They each had a large bed and reading chair with table. Each bedroom also had a door leading to a bathroom.
It reminded Sam of a high-price hotel suite, while Jack thought the steward looked like one from a plane trip he had once.
"I'm thirsty. How about you, Major?"
Jack headed for the kitchen and began looking around. Plenty of glasses sat in shelves, but he couldn't find a tap for water. Sam, meanwhile, walked into the dining room and found a large pitcher of water set on the table with a tray of glasses.
"Sir," she said while holding the pitcher up for him to see.
"Right," he reposed by pointing at the pitcher.
Walking over, he poured himself a glass and took a sip. Sam wasn't that thirsty, and instead began looking at the varies paintings on the walls. They all seemed to show scenery; forests, white topped mountains, green fields with flowers, and ocean beaches.
"You know, I get the impression that these Aians are more advanced than they first appeared."
Jack raised an eyebrow at her.
"Assuming this vessel is civilian in purpose, it seems fancy enough to be compared to a cruise ship back home. And, why else would they have paintings like these unless many of these places still exist. Perhaps even as vacation spots." Sam looked back at the wall full of paintings.
"Getting a lot out of this aren't you, Major? Maybe this ship is what their military leaders travel on, and maybe those pictures are conquered worlds."
Sam looked back at him, not sure if he was joking or serious.
"Not a lot of guards around for a military ship," she stated flatly.
Jack simply toasted his glass of water at her. "And lets hope it stays that way."
Jack and Sam were both relaxing on the couch when a soft chime echoed through their suite. They glanced at each other, and Sam shrugged. Peering around the room, they didn't see any flashing lights or other indication of what the sound meant.
Another chime echoed, and Jack decided to stand up. Walking around the couch, he stood in front of what appeared to be a computer terminal. Unfortunately, the screen was completely blank. Sam watched from her seat, curios as to what was going on.
"Maybe someone's at the door," she finally asked.
Jack turned around and headed in that direction. It didn't open when he arrived at it, so he reached down to the control panel beside it. Pressing the larger of two buttons, the door slid open to reveal Lindra standing there. She took a step in and saw Sam on the couch in the middle of the room.
"Comfortable I see. I was beginning to wonder if you two had left your suite."
"You mean we can leave if we like," spoke up Jack.
"The ship has already begun its journey to Pondor, so yes. You are free to wonder about as you like. But remember; you don't speak Aian, and few here speak English."
She walked over to the computer terminal and pulled a stool over from near the kitchen. Sam proceeded to get up to watch what Lindra was getting ready to do.
"This trip will take some time, so I thought I'd give you access to the computer libraries," Lindra informed them both as they stood behind her.
She tapped the screen causing it to spring to life in a spiral of color. Pulling at the base of the display, it curled forward towards her and its surface changed into what looked like a keyboard. Quickly entering in a series of commands, a menu flashed up on the screen. Another few key strokes and the strange language known as Aian faded away and English appeared instead.
"This is a menu of categories into our basic information system. It's usually used to look up facts on different subjects one is not familiar with. But, in your case, it should provide some answers to the questions I'm sure you have."
"It knows English," questioned Sam.
"Yes, the entire system understands the language. I've already changed that to be the default, so you shouldn't have any difficulties.
"If you will excuse me, I have much work to do before our arrival."
Lindra stood up from the stool and stepped to the side. Sam immediately took her place, enthusiastic to learn about the computer.
"Oh, before I forget," began Lindra as she opened the door, "there should be a verity of food already prepared in the kitchen cabinets." And with that, she left. The door sliding firmly shut behind her.
Jack watched Sam intently for a few minutes before becoming bored. "Nice enough of them to give you a gadget to mess with. Wake me if we get boarded by pirates. I think I'll be taking a nap while you have your fun."
He walked back to the sofa and lay back against its length. It was a rather nice piece of furniture. It reminded him of one at his house. Not to soft and not to lumpy.
"This is interesting," Jack heard Sam say as he closed his eyes, "it says the Aian Federation is comprised of twenty-seven habitable systems. Their military is used to patrol the travel routes between them and the borders with other governments. The space outside of those patrolled areas is open for travel, but considered dangerous. It says few ships prove capable of handling that environment." She turned around to see if Jack was listening. "Sir?"
He didn't respond. He had, in fact, fallen asleep shortly after her third sentence. He was usually interested in information about alien militaries, but the information they had access to was considered public domain. Not something likely to hold any value.
"Figures," Sam said to herself. She had hoped some information about how the Aians did things would keep Jack occupied. Instead, she had once again managed to put him to sleep.