In The Middle
by Play It Grand
Begun: 2/7/05
Completed: 4/13/06
Revamp Completed: 6/3/08
Season 4, after Window of Opportunity
References to: Stargate (The Movie), The Nox, Thor's Hammer, The Torment of Tantalus, Solitudes, There But For The Grace Of God, Holiday, The Fifth Race, Touchstone, Pretence, Tangent, Window of Opportunity
Author's note: This was my very first story idea, but it is my second attempt to write fan fiction. This is also my first adventure or action story. Actually, it's more like a mystery story. The first was strictly a character development thing. The idea came to me while I was desperately trying to get to sleep on a school night. I have no clue where it came from. I just feel lucky that it all came back to me the next morning so I could write up a guideline to work from. It has grown a lot since then. My original idea did not include how to get them out of the trouble I put them in, or the long term consequences.
Please note that "Lauria" is pronounced like "Laureea", and "Xanthus" is pronounced like Zanthus, not X-anthus. Readers who are familiar with Disney's movie, "Escape to Witch Mountain", may recognize the significance of the name "Xanthus" in this story.
Thanks to: Theresa for unknowingly picking the season for me, Laura for giving me inspiration by insisting on being written in as a character and being killed off in some way other than being shot, and a very special thanks to Jenny for once again being my Beta reader, and to Rebecca, my new Beta reader who was kind enough to rip this thing apart for me. Any errors that you find are mine, not their's.
If you want to make a guess at what has happened to the team before they find out, you might want to take a few notes!
Comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated! No, wait, that's an understatement. I live for it!!
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Colonel Jack O'Neill made his way through the halls of the SGC just like he did on any "normal" day on the base, with one tiny exception. There was an extra bounce in his step and he couldn't hide a sly grin of excitement.
As Jack made his way to the control room, Dr. Daniel Jackson joined him, and diagnosed the reason for Jack's enthusiasm in two seconds flat.
"Sam's going to launch a U.A.V., isn't she?"
"Yup," Jack replied, and then doing a slow double-take, looked curiously at his friend. "I just caught Siler wheeling one out of Carter's lab towards the gateroom. How'd you find out?"
"Never mind," Daniel answered dismissively, smiling to himself.
They climbed the short set of steps just in time to see the Stargate's great "Kawoosh!"
"The U.A.V. is ready for launch, sir." Major Samantha Carter sat at one of the computer consoles, prepared to watch the telemetry they were about to receive. She directed her statement to Major General George Hammond, who was standing beside her as Sergeant Siler gave Sam the thumbs up from the gateroom.
"Then you may launch, Major."
Jack moved closer. He just had to have front row seat. Daniel was not too far behind, but he was more interested in the video feed they were about to get than the actual launch itself. Jack just liked to watch the thrusters burst into flame, ever the typical weapon toting air force officer . . . or a fireworks loving kid, depending on how well you knew him.
"Launching U.A.V. in 5…4…3…2…1." With a resounding bang and a fluid whoosh the oversized model plane zipped through the Stargate.
"Have I mentioned how much I love watching that?" Jack asked, beaming.
"Yes, Jack. Many times," Daniel answered sagely, making Carter smile all the more. She reined in her amusement just enough to report the M.A.L.P.'s progress with a straight voice.
"We have incoming telemetry. Directing the flight pattern towards the unidentifiable structure seen by the M.A.L.P. It will be a few minutes before the probe gets a clear view of it. Daniel, you're going to want to see this," she said, making room for the archeologist to see the screen. "Did you look at that video I brought you?"
"What video?" Jack cut in, enthusiasm dampened somewhat over being left out of the loop.
Damn those memos . . .
"We sent a M.A.L.P. to this planet, P5X726, a few hours ago," Sam said patiently. "It's one of the planets that you added to our database when the ancient repository was downloaded into your mind."
"Ah, the memories…and what did our trusty M.A.L.P. find this time?"
The Colonel's sarcasm was far from lost on his team and he knew it, but it was ignored with practiced patience and Carter pressed valiantly on. "There's a small structure about twenty meters from the gate, and what appears to be another much larger one approximately fifteen klicks from the gate in among a series of mountains. We couldn't use the M.A.L.P. to determine what it was, so hopefully the camera I installed on the U.A.V. will give us a good view of it…whatever it is."
"Yes, and hopefully it's something that can help us figure out what the heck the smaller thing is," Daniel added ruefully.
"Do you have any theories on what it could be, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.
"General, think about who you're asking." Jack said, cutting in again. "When does he not have a theory?"
Hammond dismissed the interruption, something he had become very good at during his four years of working with Colonel O'Neill, and turned his attention back to Daniel.
"Well, it could easily be some type of ceremonial place, but I can't determine what for," Daniel said enthusiastically, puzzled but fascinated at the same time. "The fact that the only possible structure is so far away from the gate suggests that whatever culture lives or lived there has little or no use for it or the Stargate. I couldn't see if there are markings on the structure, but if there are I can't make them out from what the M.A.L.P. sent back. We need to go have a closer look, General."
This last statement had a hint of a plea behind it.
Oh boy, Jack thought to himself, another archeol-whatchamacallit field trip…
"Let's see what the U.A.V. shows us first and go from there, shall we?" Hammond replied carefully.
"Coming within range now, sir," Sam piped up. "Wow."
Daniel leaned in for a closer look as Jack and General Hammond watched on separate monitors. The tree-covered mountain range peeled away as the U.A.V. advanced to reveal what was once surely a beautiful stone city, but now was in ruins. Time had been very hard on it. The reddish brown stone-hewn walls were permeated by countless cracks and fissures. Several of the buildings looked as though they had once been composed of several stories that had long since collapsed, making their architectural origins difficult to determine. A least one building looked as though the roof had caved in. Few remained intact. It was a long way from being a city, especially by modern standards, but it was considerably larger than most towns SG-1 had found previously.
"Wow, I think, is the right word, Sam," Daniel said, his crystal blue eyes alight as his glasses reflected the ruins on the monitor. He frowned slightly as he examined the masonry of the buildings more carefully. "This stone is nothing like what that other stone structure is made of. This looks like some sort of red sandstone, but that other thing is black, and from what I could see, completely smooth.
Jack decided to play dense – one of his favorite ways to push Daniel's buttons – and ask blankly, "So?"
Daniel stifled an exasperated sigh, which Jack found quite satisfying, and began a rapid-fire explanation for his benefit. "So that means that those black stones came from somewhere else. Given the proximity to the 'gate it might have even come through that, which means that object and the city could have significant value. We really need to go have a look at this."
"Are there any signs of life in the area, Major?" Hammond asked patiently, turning to Sam.
"Bringing the thermal scanners online now, sir." After a few moments of rapid typing, a red line swept across the monitor as the heat sensors went to work. "There's nothing in the immediate vicinity. I'll set the U.A.V. on a flight pattern over the ruins to do a full sweep, but everything indicates that this place has been abandoned for several decades…maybe more."
"Alright. Let me know the results as soon as the sweep is done." With that, General Hammond climbed the stairs to the briefing room and his office.