A new story - something I swore I would never, ever do - but heck, I figured I'd give it a try. You'll see where I'm going in a chapter or two!
"You're sure this is where it's supposed to be Major?" he shouted. The heat was intense as the mountain spewed ash over the desolate planet.
"Yes Sir", she shouted back, frantically digging. They'd gotten word from the Tokra that an Ancient device, possibly a weapon, had been buried on planet P2V3X5. They'd been given the general coordinates but, even after hours of searching, they'd been unable to find it.
"Yeah well, I suppose it's too much to ask that a Tokra initiated mission actually goes according to PLAN!" He stomped around, unable to stand still too long as the hot soil burnt his feet, even through his boots. "Five more minutes Major, and then we're outta here."
"But Sir -"
"Nope. No way Carter. That mountain could go at any time and believe me, I don't plan on getting fried to a crisp today. I have much better things I'd like to do – like watch the playoffs!"
She smiled slightly, although she kept on digging. Why was it that Jack made her want to laugh, even when they were in the midst of a crappy mission. She couldn't count the number of times she'd had to bite her lip to keep from giggling, even when they were in danger of losing life or limb.
She couldn't help but agree with the Colonel this time though. This mission was a total screw up – and she was pretty sure they wouldn't find a weapon, or anything else for that matter. The good news was that with the mountain about ready to blow, the area would most likely be covered with lava and ash and no one else would be able to get to it either.
"Okay Major, we're outta here – NOW!" It was only as she looked up that she noticed that things had gone dark and the mountain was sending out even more ash.
"Leave everything", he shouted. "Let's go!" He pulled her to her feet and then took off running to the Gate. It was about a 10 minute journey and the way things looked – it was going to be tight.
Daniel and Teal'c had stayed behind for this mission. It had seemed like a simple retrieval, although Jack should have known better. Both of them had a number of things on their plates and Jack had agreed to let them stay behind. The way things looked, he was glad he had. He and Sam might not make it – at least this way two of their team would survive.
He could see the DHD ahead and sped up, making sure that Carter was close behind. They might just make it!
They'd almost arrived when Jack heard a noise. Glancing back, he saw the top come right off the mountain, and hot steam and lava shoot into the air. The sight was amazing – beautiful – and also deadly.
"Sir!", Sam called. The air had already heated up and it was hard to breath. She watched as Jack began to dial the DHD and prayed they would be in time. She felt herself began to fade as the oxygen in her body was depleted. At the same time, she felt like her mouth and eyes and lungs were on fire.
"Sam", he choked out as he tried to reach the last glyph. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it before the heat grew so intense it literally began to burn the flesh off his bones. He felt his eyes and then his nose and mouth begin to burn up. He could no longer breathe. His last conscious thought was that this was a helluva way to die.
"Did you retrieve them in time?" the soft voice asked.
"No I did not." The voice that answered was filled with regret. "Their bodies were past repair."
"But are they alive?"
"Yes, I have them in stasis."
"Can you heal them?"
"No, as I informed you, their bodies were destroyed. Their skin has literally been seared off. If they were to be brought back they would be blind and would not be able to ingest food, to walk, to speak – in fact, they would be unable to do anything at all. They would need machines to maintain their lives."
"So, it is better for them to die?"
"They are too important - he is too important. They must survive."
"Then what shall we do?"
There was silence – complete and utter silence. Even the sounds of the vessel they were in had stopped.
"We will have to give them new bodies."
"You mean clone them?"
"Yes."
"But I thought he could no longer be cloned?"
"The process must be reversed."
"Their minds are whole?"
"Yes. I was in time to ensure that. As soon as their bodies are ready we will transfer their consciousness. They will not know the difference."
"You will not tell them?"
"No. It is best if he does not know."
"How did this happen?"
"We wanted him to retrieve the Zagat. We sent word through the Tokra where it could be found. We did not realize the planet was unstable until it was too late."
"Is it lost to us then?"
"I do not know. It may already have been moved. I do not believe they were able to find it before the volcano exploded."
"So that's why you need them alive – in case it's still out there."
"Yes! He is the only one who can access it and make it work. For that reason we need him."
"What will you do when the cloning is complete?"
"We will return them to a planet with a gate. They will not know what happened. They will simply return to earth and we will make sure the search continues."
"And what of the Rodari? They will be watching."
"Hopefully they will believe he is dead and we can find the Zagat before they know any differently."
"I believe you are taking many chances."
"Yes, but what other choice do we have?"
Silence again answered him. With a nod he walked over to where two horribly burned and damaged bodies were being kept behind a force field. He watched them for a moment – not concerned with how they looked, or what they'd been through, other than to wish he didn't have to go to all this trouble.
With a sigh he turned and went to a control panel and began to operate it.
"How long will it take?"
"To fully create the clones? It will take at least a week."
"I'll let you get to it then."
"What! We can't just leave them General", Daniel practically yelled at Hammond. "We have to go back and get them. They could be holed up somewhere. You know Jack – he has the lives of a cat!"
"I'm sorry Dr. Jackson. There's no way they can still be alive. According to our instruments, the temperature on the planet reached over 800 degrees celcius. There's no way anything could survive. I doubt if their bodies are even still there."
"No, you can't give up! General, maybe there was something there – a safe place or something. This can't be the end."
"I'm sorry", Hammond repeated. He rubbed his hand over his face, exhausted and sick at heart at the loss of two fine officers and, more importantly, the loss of two friends. They didn't deserve to die this way.
"If it's any consolation, Dr. Lee said it would have been very quick."
"Consolation? There is no consolation General. My best friends are dead – burned to death! God, Jack was right. The Tokra are nothing but trouble! God, whoever decided they were our allies", he said bitterly.
"They are at fault Daniel Jackson", Teal'c said softly. This was the first time he'd spoken and Daniel was almost frightened at the look in his eyes. "They shall pay for what they have done."
"Teal'c, don't you go and do something foolish", Hammond warned. "As far as we know they did this in good faith. It's not their fault a volcano erupted just as the Colonel and Major Carter were there."
"I'm with Teal'c General. I think this is their fault. I'll bet you anything they know something." Daniel ran his fingers through his hair. "Why didn't they take us with them? Maybe there was something we could have done."
"What Doctor? You and Teal'c would simply have perished with them. There was nothing anyone could do."
"No, there never is, is there." He stood and walked to the door. "I guess that's it then. We simply go on and forget them. We leave their bodies behind and just move ahead as if they didn't exist."
"That's not true Dr. Jackson. Of course they'll be missed. Just because we can't go back to the planet doesn't mean we don't care."
"Right!" Daniel shook his head and left, closely followed by Teal'c. Hammond stared after them, worried about what this would mean for these two. He exhaled loudly and sat back down. One thing Dr. Jackson said was true though – life did have to go on. He pulled his files towards him and began to work – maybe he'd forget, just for a moment, the tragedy that had struck the SGC.