A/N: If you haven't read my other fic, Nine Lives, its recommended that you read it, but not necessary to understand this story. You can find Nine Lives posted here under my profile. (It's a really fun story!) But you really only need to understand that in this case, Thor is not the little gray alien (who does still exist), but a beloved small pet of Teal'c. Thor the Hamster is a figment of my own imagination, and to my knowledge, there have never been any references to Teal'c having a pet, let alone a hamster on the show. So it's my one little change in the Stargate Universe. Anyway, Stargate isn't mine, but someone taught them to share, so I'm sharing, and I promise to put them back when I'm done, in more or less the right places. Please enjoy the story, and let me know what you think, should I continue with it? Not sure how it will be received since I'm in a bit of an odd mood, as I sit here not long after a long road trip, with kittens literally swinging from my curtains, munching on fruit loops to distract me from my sore back. So I'm just warning you... the story may be just a little bit... well... odd. 'Nuff said.
Summary: SG-1 is all tied up. But what does a hamster have to do with it all? I guess you can call it a companion piece to Nine Lives. It's not really a sequel or continuation, and it's not necessary to read Nine Lives first. Action/Adventure/Humor.
Special thanks go to SGI-Fanfic for being my crash test dummy, and giving me her opinion on this little bit of oddness. (Iamdragonrider tries to look innocent.)
Chapter 1: Late
Colonel Jack O'Neill was busy checking his gear one last time while waiting for the rest of his team to come to the gate room. Technicians stood by in the control room waiting for the go ahead to start dialing. Next to him, Major Samantha Carter was tightening the straps of her pack, eager to embark on their latest mission. MALP telemetry had revealed large deposits of naquadah not far from the stargate, possibly an old mine.
The entrance of one Doctor Daniel Jackson interrupted Jack's musings, as the younger man rushed into the room, his pack barely containing all the extra books and scrolls he felt he would need on this mission. MALP telemetry had also noted the presence of ruins, and a nearby-inhabited village.
"Sorry I'm late, but I just had to make sure I had packed..." Daniel trailed off as he peered shortsightedly around the room, doing the numbers and coming up short by one. "Uh, where's Teal'c?"
Jack frowned. "I'd hoped he was with you Daniel." It wasn't like the large Jaffa to be late. In fact, Jack couldn't remember a time when the man hadn't been on time. When Teal'c hadn't been in the room waiting for them, Jack had just assumed that Teal'c had likely gone to collect the missing archeologist, who often lost track of time when enthralled in some ancient text.
Thinking along the same lines, Sam Carter was also frowning. "Maybe I should go look for him sir?"
"Agreed, I'll come with you Carter, in case we need to cover more ground. Maybe he just got hung up at supply or something, you know, paperwork." Carter hid a smile at her CO's attempt at humor, and the Colonel continued. "Danny-boy, you stay here, and get your gear together. We'll be right back General!" General Hammond, who was watching his team through the control room window, nodded his permission, and watched as Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter both dropped their packs and headed out of the gate room. It had also not escaped the General's notice that Teal'c had never before been late for a departure.
WheelsGoRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRound
"Teal'c? Hey, Teal'c buddy, c'mon, open up." Colonel Jack O'Neill pounded on the door to the Jaffa's quarters. Major Carter stood nearby, they'd split up and he'd gone to check the commissary and supply while she'd checked the armory. They had both agreed to meet up here. Judging by the muffled noises on the other side of the room, it looked like their missing teammate was inside. Although doing what, it was unclear, but it sounded like he was engaged in a full workout routine on the other side of the door.
When his pounding got no reply, Jack looked over at his second, who just shrugged. Raising his fist to knock again, he was startled when the door was pulled suddenly open. Recovering quickly, Jack shoved the fist that had nearly knocked on the large man's nose into his pocket.
"So, um, Teal'c, buddy, pal... You do know what time it is?" While he spoke, he was unobtrusively trying to peer around the larger man into the room.
"Indeed O'Neill. My apologies. However, a matter of great importance has required my attention." Teal'c moved aside, to allow them to enter his quarters, nodding to Major Carter, who had stopped, staring in open-mouthed amazement at the room, at a loss for words.
The Colonel found his tongue first. "Uh, wow Teal'c, love what you've done to the place." The room was in complete disarray. Unlike the normal military neatness that Teal'c maintained, everything was in disorder. The bed was unmade, bedding strewn about, the mattress over turned. Drawers of clothing were turned out, items and objects moved, the closet open and thoroughly emptied.
Sam blinked, and recovered her composure. "Teal'c, is everything ok?" Her blue eyes were filled with concern as she regarded her long time friend and teammate.
"I am afraid all is not well Major Carter. Thor is missing." In an uncharacteristic display of concern, Teal'c was squeezing his hands together, with a barely perceptible shift from foot to foot that would have gone unnoticed by any but those who knew him best.
"Missing? How?" Sam had turned her gaze towards the large hamster habitat over in the corner, the door to the cage open and the state of the cage indicating that the cage had also been searched.
"Indeed Major Carter. I believe Thor is now capable of opening the door to his domicile. It had been securely latched when I left the room to prepare for the mission. However, when I returned, Thor was no longer inside. I have searched in every possible location, but his current whereabouts elude me." If it had been anyone else, Jack would have just thought they had carelessly left the cage undone. But this was Teal'c, and if Teal'c said he'd locked the cage, then Teal'c had locked the cage. Uncanny little critter probably figured out the lock, he'd heard that some hamsters could do that.
Jack looked again at the large cage on the table. The number of things in it seemed to have grown since the last time he'd looked. There were at least two exercise wheels, several tunnels, caves, and hidey-holes, and a large assortment of toys. Teal'c had only had the small hamster for several months, ever since that fateful trip to the pet store while Carter had been trapped in the body of a cat (which Jack had learned to never speak of again) where the large Jaffa had been smitten with the little rodents.
Jack knew that the small hamster meant a lot to the man, but right now, the Colonel needed Teal'c on the team, watching their six while they went to meet the natives of this latest planet. They didn't know if the natives were friendly or not, so leaving him behind was not an option. Postponing the mission was also out of the question. With all the teams coming and going, there were only narrow windows for departures now, so they either had to leave soon, or would have to postpone their mission at least another day, and they needed the naquadah too badly.
He hated giving the tough orders, but he wasn't completely heartless. "Look, Teal'c, we need to make our window. How about if I have a couple of airmen keep looking for... uh... Thor, while we do this meet and greet. I'm sure he'll turn up, after all, he needs to eat, so he'll have to come back for that right?"
Teal'c was silent as he considered the options. He knew how much he was needed on the mission, and as much as he worried about Thor wandering the halls of the SGC, he knew the little hamster should be relatively safe here, whereas his friends might need him should they find themselves in hostile territory. It took less than a minute to decide.
"I shall be ready momentarily O'Neill, I am gratified for your offer to have personnel attempt to locate Thor while we are absent." Teal'c lifted his pack from the ground, and Jack passed him his staff weapon, which had been leaning in the corner. He called to Carter, who had wandered over to the empty hamster cage, and she responded with a crisp "sir" before following them from the room. They had a wormhole to catch.
WheelsGoRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRound
In the haste to depart, no one had noticed when a small creature, barely larger than a man's fist, slipped along the hallways of the underground mountain, its small nose working inquisitively at the various new smells, whiskers twitching in excitement. Along the wall, and out of sight, it made progress, staying in the shadows and out of the way of the many booted feet. One set of feet was very familiar to its little nose; they had a smell that said they belonged to his favorite person. And where his favorite person was, there was usually food! The little creature followed the feet into a smaller enclosure, startled when the floor moved. Perhaps he was just in a really large cage, and the cage was being moved?
The movement stopped, and his favorite set of feet were moving away again, and the little animal hastened to follow them, skittering through a large opening as the opening started to shrink. Unfortunately, his little brain had a very short attention span and all thoughts of food fled when his eyes latched onto something most glorious on the other side of the large space.
It was a wheel! The biggest, most wondrous, most beautiful exercise wheel that he had ever seen. It was spinning tantalizingly, dominating most of the area, and the little creature lusted after it. He wanted to be inside that wheel, running and running and running.
Cautiously, the little furry being made his way across the large space separating him from his find, when something else caught his attention. A tantalizingly tempting smell, one that drove the thought of the wheel out of his tiny little head, which could usually only hold exactly one thought at a time. Food!
A large, dark, lumpish shape was in front of him, and the sweet smell of nuts and something sugary wafted to him. Up, the little animal climbed, searching for an opening. He found a way inside, and located the sweet treat in no time, making short work of the food. Fastidiously, the little furry animal licked his paws and whiskers clean. Suddenly sleepy, the small creature found something soft nearby and curled into a little ball, soon dreaming about enormous exercise wheels and really big tunnels, not even noticing when the bed he slept in started to move.
WheelsGoRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRound
Colonel Jack O'Neill took one last look at his teammates as the gate spun and locked into place, the wormhole engaging with its usual spectacular Ka-Whoosh! Teal'c now stood, facing the gate, hand on his staff weapon ready to go. Daniel had stowed all his books and notes and was double-checking Carter's pack straps for her. Everyone else squared away, Jack bent to pick up his own pack, noting absently that the flap was loose. Not giving it a second thought, he secured it and slung the pack over his shoulder, giving a quick nod to Carter when she wordlessly moved behind him to help fasten and check the straps for him.
"SG-1, you have a go." Came the familiar command from General Hammond, and Jack tossed off a salute before he motioned his team up the ramp, leading the way, the others falling into place beside him. SG-1 moved as one through the gate, not knowing what sort of adventure might wait for them on the other side.
WheelsGoRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRoundAndRound
A/N: Well... what do you think? Want more?