With the klaxons blaring all around him Daniel ran through the hallways, silently cursing Murphy all the while. Of course President Kinsey would make an unannounced visit to the SGC on this specific day. Of course he would bring his security detail with him. And of course they would notice that a certain special patient was missing from the infirmary. Why wouldn't they? After all, when have things ever gone according to plan when SG-1 is involved?
Slowing at a junction, the archeologist carefully peaked around the corner to see a group of soldiers approaching, weapons drawn & gleaming in the hall's light. For most people in Daniel's situation, it would be a sign to flee in the opposite direction. Unlike most people, Daniel simply stayed put, letting the SFs pass by him harmlessly as they searched the corridors. Once they were out of earshot, the man adjusted the precious cargo on his back and continued on his way to Sam's lab.
At this rate he could-
"Dr. Jackson! Stop or we'll shoot!"
The former member of SG-1 whirled around to see Harry Maybourne and two other black-clad NID goons pointing TERs at him, rendering his cloaking device completely useless.
Screw you, Murphy!
"Drop your zat-gun," Mayborne barked. "Kick it over. Do it slowly!"
"You don't have to do this," Daniel pleaded even as he complied with the demand. "You know it is wrong. Kinsey can't-"
The archeologist never got a chance to finish: as soon as Mayborne grabbed the zat he fired it twice. The two goons crumpled mindlessly to the floor as the electric discharge arched through their bodies.
Jackson's eyebrows climbed to his forehead in surprise. "Wow, I never expected that speech to actually work."
The NID colonel smirked as he holstered his weapon. "Let's just say a certain Jack O'Neill now owes me. Big time. Now, I believe Dr. Carter wanted you to grab this from her office?" Harry pulled a device from his tac-vest and tossed it to Daniel.
Catching it, Jackson examined the key component of their escape plan. An amalgamation of Nox biotech, a portable Goa'uld gate-dialer and the remnants of the device from P3R-233, the contraption wasn't elegant by any means. The iconic red button at the center of the palm-sized DHD was replaced with what looked like sloppily-cut obsidian while twigs & vines jutted out from random spots on the device, giving the whole thing the appearance of a child's arts-&-crafts project.
"You better get a move on," Mayborne emphasized. "I've made sure the gateroom is unguarded… but it won't stay that way for long."
Daniel hesitated. "What about my friends?"
"Safe, Dr. Jackson, safe. They'll contact you again when things are clear on this end." Seeing that the scientist wasn't fully convinced, the NID Colonel gave a rather predatory smile. "Don't worry – my people will make sure they stay alive. Can't cash in on that big favor Jack owes me now if he's dead, can I?"
O-O-O-O-O
"How did he get past security?!" Kinsey raged as he stormed into the control room "And where are the guards?!"
A scrawny political aid materialized out of the sea of NID spies, gate-technicians and Secret Service who were all shouting & trying to find someone to blame. "W-we don't know, sir!" the man replied nervously. "He just appeared from thin air in the middle of the gateroom. The guards were sent up to help with the surface sweep half an hour ago – the nearest ones are 5 minutes away."
"So send someone from here to get him! It's not like he can escape – he can't dial the gate from down there."
A Secret Service agent shook his head. "We tried that, sir. Seems Dr. Jackson booby-trapped the entrance with small, autonomous weapons turrets."
"Tacluchnatagamuntorons!" the aid piped up, happy to show off that he remembered the device's complicated Goa'uld name, though quickly wilting under the glares Kinsey and the agent gave him for that remark.
"We have no choice but to wait for the guards," the serviceman continued. "We don't have the manpower to take these things on alone."
Growling under his breath, Kinsey approached the bulletproof glass to observe the gateroom below. To his great surprise, the archeologist was busy using green vines of all things to attach a strange device to the Stargate. The politician would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if he didn't see the gate start to spin as Daniel activated the contraption.
O-O-O-O-O
"Dr. Jackson!" the intercom crackled through with Kinsey's voice, "What you are doing is treason! Not only against this country, but this whole planet. For the first time the secrets of the Goa'uld – their technology, their tactics, their entire history – are at our fingertips. This is our one and only shot at defeating the System Lords. Are you really going to take it away from us? Are you ready to doom this planet – this whole galaxy – to their reign of terror?"
Daniel only shook his head. "That was an inspiring speech, Mr. President. It really was. Unfortunately for you, I can't let such power fall into your hands. Not that I'd ever allow some NID scientists to try extracting that information in the first place."
"We will find you! Mark my words: if you step through that 'gate there is nowhere in this galaxy where we won't follow you!"
"I know."
The dialer's glass-like gem glowed brilliantly as Daniel touched it. Instantaneously, the 'gate's event horizon sprang into existence without the signature "kawoosh". Wasting no time, the archeologist removed the quantum mirror shard from the portable DHD and plunged through the wormhole without a second thought.
O-O-O-O-O
Emerging on the other side, he noticed the little differences first. The color of the uniforms being slightly off. A concrete 'gate ramp instead of a metal one. A bewildered General Hammond with a full head of hair looking down from the control room.
It took a moment longer to register the big differences. Like the presence of a dozen soldiers all around him responding to an unscheduled gate activation.
Raising his hands in the air slowly, he took the first cautious steps down the ramp. "I'm unarmed. I'm here to-"
"Oi, mate, halt right there! That be far enough, you hear?!" The lead soldier commanded, bringing his rifle to bear. To Daniel's surprise the speaker was non-other than Col. Chekov, though the Union Jack on his uniform sleeve clearly showed he wasn't the Russian military liaison Daniel was familiar with. "Show us wot you be carrying why don't ya?" The Cockney-Chekov gestured at the pack on Daniel's back.
Gasps and shocks rippled throughout the room as the archeologist slowly turned around to reveal the baby carrier strapped to his back and the sleeping child within.
"My name is Dr. Daniel Jackson. I have come here with my son, Shifu, to seek refuge."
O-O-O-O-O
Author's Note: Written for the 2017 Quantum Mirror-themed Stargate Alphabet Soup fic-a-thon. My letter was 'R', so you get 'R stands for Refuge' :)