The world went silent. O'Neill thought of nothing else but the message from his future self, if the note was even legitimate. O'Neill and Carter were led across the hanging bridge and through several halls before entering another room with towering marble pillars and bright floating orbs. Several Morphs dressed ceremoniously with golden sashes lined the walls and at the center of the room was a wooden throne. Agedly slouched on the throne was a Morph with stormy blue eyes. Its cheeks hung like a raggedy beard covering a permanent scowl. It moved painfully slow, facing the prisoners as they were brought before the Elder.
The silver haired Morph bowed and chattered in its tongue. Unexpectedly, the Morph slammed a Jaffa staff into the back of O'Neill and Carter. They dropped to their knees as the bony Elder leaned in closer, too many beads dangling from its neck and the smell of moldy wine permeating its pallid skin. O'Neill lifted his gaze to the Elder whose face shifted disturbingly into a mirror image of his own, only older, sadder. It hissed through a toothless frown, clicking angrily at the General.
The silver haired Morph translated. "You're still alive because the High Lord and spirit of our ancestors, Malkyr, wishes it. He wonders why you've returned. Why, after you escaped with one of our own, you foolishly place your life at risk by coming back? And he wants to know where Gonak is."
Carter looked confusingly at O'Neill but she dared not speak.
"Tell his lordship that I've never been here before. Tell him it was someone who looked like me. But I have nothing to do with the disappearance of his precious Gonad. Tell him if he doesn't let us go there's gonna be trouble. Oh and Frosty, if your lordship refuses, tell him my future self will come back and kick his ass." O'Neill shot Carter an "I'll explain later" look. "Go on, tell him."
Malkyr's face altered back to its original, haggard state. He licked his cracked lips with a purple tongue and reached into the folds of his gown. Pulling out a dagger, he motioned for O'Neill.
"The High Lord understands you. But he does not lower himself to speak your language," the silver haired Morph said.
"What? He wants to kill me?" O'Neill asked. Malkyr swiftly grabbed O'Neill's wrist, faster than was humanly possible. With one quick movement, the Elder cut O'Neill's hand with the dagger and brought a drop of blood to a device on his throne. Several of the orbs above began to spin and hum, creating what appeared to be a solar system. Carter watched fascinated as a hologram of General O'Neill manifested in midair, the planets circling around it. Several images from his life played like a movie, his son's funeral, his first gate mission, being frozen in Ancient stasis while a younger Carter stood by horrified.
"This technology is amazing, sir. Some kind of DNA virtual library," Carter said.
O'Neill wrapped his bleeding hand with a piece of his shirt. "Not now, Carter."
"This proves you are not the one who came before," the silver haired Morph said.
"Splendid. So can we go?" O'Neill asked.
"The High Lord will keep you as prisoners until he decides the best way to sacrifice to the gods."
Malkyr waved a bony hand as O'Neill and Carter were lifted to their feet, and led from the great hall. This time they were alone with the calm silver haired Morph who took them through many twisting passages and down a winding staircase that eventually ended in a vast dimly lit chamber. Prison cells were burrowed in the walls and from what O'Neill could tell they were empty. All except one.
"You called me Vulcan," the silver haired Morph said. "The other you."
"Sounds like me," O'Neill said.
"What's going on?" Carter asked.
Vulcan pointed at the occupied prison cell. "She followed the future you here. She's the reason my people got sick. She's Goa'uld, sent to release a deadly weapon that would destroy us all. We never understood the Goa'uld until you came. We've worshipped them as gods, done their bidding, fallen prey to their endless uses of our bodies. But you told me they're nothing more than aliens with powerful technology, that they can be defeated. For that, I let you go."
O'Neill and Carter stepped closer to the cell. A woman dressed in Egyptian garbs peered back with glowing eyes.
"If you don't let me out of here, I will rip your insides out."
"Is it just me or does she look a lot like our old friend Nirrti?" O'Neill asked. "I thought we saw her die. I thought."
Carter's mind raced. "Sir, it's possible they had a sarcophagus. Maybe there were people still loyal to her. After all, she did give them super-human abilities."
"Just when you think you kill one of them…" O'Neill turned to Vulcan. "A word of advice? She's not a good house pet."
Nirrti slammed against the cell's force field. "Fools! Many will come for me."
"Yeah, yeah. We're all dead, you'll eat our brains, make us slaves." O'Neill looked at Carter. "It seems future me went back in time to…uh…kidnap one of Vulcan's buddies. He…I…left me a note. It's very confusing."
"Can I see it, sir?"
"The note? Um. No. Look, we need to focus on getting out of here. Vulcan, can you help us? Again."
"I will show you a way out. But you're going to have to climb down. If you use transporter rings Malkyr could track your position." Vulcan moved quickly across the chamber, waving for them to follow. "The one who went with the other O'Neill, he was my brother. He wanted more than this life. You said he'd be a help to your SGC. I believed you."
"I believe me too," O'Neill said.
"How is that even possible, sir? I mean time travel. We've done it before, I know. But…"
"Don't ask me, Carter. I've never been the brains of the operation."
Vulcan led them through many dark tunnels, and eventually they found themselves outside on a precarious mountain path. Two crescent moons and thousands of stars sprinkled the night sky.
"Follow this path. When it ends you will have to climb the rest of the way down. You should be able to follow the river back to your base. But I suggest you don't remain on this planet for very long. Once Malkyr realizes you're gone, he will hunt you."
O'Neill clasped the Morph on the shoulder. "What's gonna happen to you?"
"Don't worry. I have a feeling this won't be the last time we meet."
"Thank you," Carter said.
"Hurry, go."
O'Neill and Carter ran for about an hour until the pathway faded into a sheer drop off. Below the sound of water rumbled against rocks. Thick fog clung to the mountain making it difficult to see any footholds.
"Piece of cake. We've done this a hundred times in training," O'Neill said.
"Yes, sir. With rope."
O'Neill looked uneasily at Carter before swinging his legs over the ledge. His wounded hand throbbed with every grasp of rock. The cliff was slick from the river's mists, making their descent slow-going. They seemed to climb for hours in the thick darkness, fatigue weighing heavy on them. Somewhere high above a deep rumbling siren echoed between the mountain peaks, their escape discovered. Carter's foot slipped, sending a cascade of pebbles down on O'Neill. Caught unaware, he lost his footing, and unable to regain it, slipped into the mist.
"Sir!" Carter almost let go herself, hurriedly making her way to the bottom. "Jack! Can you hear me?" Nothing, only the torments of the violent river, and the shrieking siren.
Then a groan. "I'm alright. I'm alright. Sort of."
Relieved, Carter found the forest floor about fifteen feet below, and O'Neill clutching his right ankle. "Is it broken?"
"Maybe. Yes…definitely…yes."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"No time, Carter. Help me up. We need to move. Check your walkie. Can you reach Daniel or Teal'c?"
"There's no signal, sir."
Carter pulled O'Neill to his feet, throwing his arm around her neck. Together they crossed a shallow part of the river and fled into the thick forest. From the position of the brightest star, Carter guessed they were heading east, back to base. O'Neill winced at every step, and he knew he'd be too heavy for Carter to support the entire way. He was pretty sure he'd broken a rib or two as well. Breathing became strenuous. Strange ghostly animal sounds reverberated in the treetops, branches moved, shadows darted across the moonlight. A loud shrill came from behind them, then in front, soon a cacophony of agitated shrieks filled the forest. Something dropped from a tree, blocking their path.
O'Neill prepared to throw himself at their attacker. "Annuk!"
The Morph stood a foot taller, a silver phantom in the moonlight. The young alien reached for Carter and threw her on his back before she could protest. Another Morph dropped from the trees, collected O'Neill, and with inhuman agility, darted away. The two aliens raced through the forest, in and out of groves, under limbs and over thickets, as if it were all a part of them, until they reached an open meadow. O'Neill quickly realized the Morphs had rescued them, and that Malkyr's angry assault was not far behind. Three figures waited in the tall grass. The Morphlin set O'Neill down.
"Man, are we glad to see you guys," Daniel said. "Where'd you go anyway?"
"We're all about to become his highness' royal meal unless we get the hell out of here," O'Neill said.
"Right. Annuk told us there's a small army on its way. He has a plan to distract them," Daniel said. "At least give us time to get to the gate."
Annuk and the other Morphlin slowly took on the forms of O'Neill and Carter. They muttered something indistinguishable before heading back into the forest.
"Don't think I'll ever get used to that," O'Neill said. "I'm gonna need you boys to help me. Can you radio to Alice and tell them to begin evacuations? Carter, lead the way."
Daniel and Teal'c supported O'Neill through the dense jungle, his ankle coursing with pain at every step. Dr. Kresfield nervously brought up the rear. Somewhere far away the alarm still rang from the mountain top and with it the calls of the Irrudak after their prey. After what seemed like hours, the group entered the valley where Alice was in upheaval. Soldiers barked orders back and forth, weapons loaded, any salvageable equipment packed to go. Teams were sprinting to the gate.
"Let's hope our work here is done," Dr. Kresfield said.
O'Neill sighed uneasy and motioned for them to head out to the extraction point. The blue wormhole was a beacon in the darkness, glowing vibrantly as SG teams flooded through back to Earth. O'Neill focused relentlessly on their exit as the pain in his ankle became unbearable. Suddenly, a blast of fire came from the trees, and O'Neill heard a thud behind him.
"The doctor's been hit!" Carter said. Several Morphs pounced from the jungle with Jaffa staffs, pointed ferociously at SG-1. Teal'c pulled out a ZAT and fired at the aliens. Daniel kept moving with O'Neill towards the gate.
"Carter! Move!" O'Neill said.
Carter checked the doctor's pulse, irregular and fading fast. As she grabbed his arm, another blast collided into his chest. "He's gone, sir!" Carter fell back and crawled towards the gate. Teal'c dove out of the range of fire and pulled Carter to her feet. Just then another Morph bolted out of the jungle with alarming speed, firing at and maiming two of the hostile aliens. Vulcan! O'Neill waited until all of his team was through the gate before stepping in. He saluted in gratitude and heard the Morphlin call as he was whisked away.
"Until the day we meet again!"
A week passed, SGC carried on as usual, and O'Neill stared dumbly at the unfinished mission report. He'd taken three days to recoup, propped his casted ankle up, drank beer, watched baseball, and then was officially bored out of his mind. The letter from his future self he would certainly leave out of the report. But he kept it folded up in his pocket, and found that he took it out to read every now and then. With the doctor dead would the disease live on? Would his Carter face the same future? Or now that he knew, could he protect her? All these questions swirled through his mind as Carter stepped into his office. She looked rested, beautiful even, despite her military uniform.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Uh, yeah." O'Neill stood nervously, pretending to look at the mission report.
"How's it going? The report, I mean. Are you going to mention that the other you travelled back in time?"
"Not sure. You know how I am with these things. Gives me a headache. Do you think I should?"
"Well, sir, it could affect the time-space continuum if you do, and then again, if you don't that might affect the time-space continuum." Carter shrugged. "I really don't know. What did the letter say?"
"Oh…a little of this, little of that. Something about me being an idiot." O'Neill smiled. "I think I was right."
Unexpectedly, the intercom boomed with Lt. Shaffer's voice. "Unscheduled off-world activation. General O'Neill report to the gate room."
O'Neill rolled his eyes and motioned for Carter to follow. As they reached the top of the stairs the Lt. turned to them perplexed. "Sir, SG-1's signal is coming through. But you're all here. Should I open the iris?"
O'Neill thought for a moment. "Where's it coming from?"
"No where we've been yet. I can't seem to get a fixed reading," Lt. Shaffer said.
"Open it."
After the longest minute of O'Neill's career, a somewhat familiar alien strode through the wormhole. A Morplin! O'Neill and Carter sprinted down to meet the visitor, weapons in hand. The Morph resembled Vulcan in many ways yet was thinner, younger even with deep blue eyes.
"I am Gonak. Brother to the one you call Vulcan. I'm from the future. What year is this?"
Carter, stunned, forced out the words. "2014."
"Good. General O'Neill needs your help. You two must come with me."
"Wait. Just wait one minute. Carter, can he do this?" O'Neill stared dumfounded at the alien. "Isn't this breaking all kinds of rules?"
"You must come with me. The fate of the universe depends on it," Gonak said.
"Heard that before. It's a little melodramatic don't you think?" O'Neill said.
Gonak titled his head. A glint of human emotion shown in his eye. Affection? "The life of your child depends on it. Yours and Carter's."
Carter gulped. "What?"
The End.