The first thing Daniel noticed when he opened his eyes was that he wasn't in his office at the SGC anymore. Blinking, he looked around in curiosity. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone. The rest of SG-1, the original SG-1, was with him. "Okay, how is this possible?" He's the first one to speak.
Jack, who was looking the most bewildered of the group, turned towards the very familiar voice of his best friend, Daniel Jackson. "Daniel?" His voice conveyed his confusion. "How'd...? Where...?" He took a moment to survey his surroundings. "This looks eerily familiar." He mumbled and looked down. What he saw caused him to quickly move away from the chair-like device he had been reclining on. "Daniel, why does this look familiar?" He took to his role as leader of SG-1 like he had never left.
"Maybe because it is, Jack?" Daniel followed Jack's example and moved away from his own chair-like device. "From what I've been able to see, it would appear that we are on P7J-989." Seeing Jack's blank look he started to explain. "The planet where the Keeper imprisoned us, using these devices, for a short period of time." He motioned towards the devices in question. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I know what planet P7J-989er is, Daniel." Jack snapped in irritation. "I remember...leaving a three hour meeting with the President. I was on my way home then I woke up here. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, if that is what your asking." He turned towards his friend and froze. "I thought you said that you hated long hair and that Hathor had actually did you a favor by cutting it? I recall a very, lengthy, passionate speech about why keeping it cut military length wasn't your way of trying to fit in." He raised an eyebrow and waited for Daniel's explanation.
"The General has a point, Daniel." Samantha Carter chimed in as she joined the two guys. Her eyes were glued on Daniel's new, or rather old, hair cut. "Sir, I saw Daniel no more than an hour ago at a briefing and he didn't look like that." She jumped to Daniel's defense while focusing her attention on Jack.
Reaching up, Daniel ran his hand through his shaggy hair while he glared at Jack. "I do keep my hair short, Jack. I've found that it's easier to maintain. I have no idea how it got this long again." He sighed. "Besides, we have a bigger question to answer here. Like how we got here?"
"Daniel Jackson is correct, O'Neill." Teal'c had finally joined the group. "I also wish to know how we came to be on this planet."
"Alright. Alright." Jack clapped his hands together. "Let's split up and search the area. Maybe one of the residents can tell us what's going on."
Daniel cleared his throat. "Eh, Jack, I think you should see this." He was standing, a few feet away from the group, beside one of the other devices.
Jack sighed. "What now, Daniel?" He stepped towards Daniel then stopped. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is." His eyes were glued to chair-like device.
"It's a resident." Daniel observed. "And she still appears to be in suspended animation." His eyes traced the many tubes that was connecting the woman to the chair.
"They all do, sir." Sam noted after surveying the area around them.
"I told you not to tell me that, Carter!" Jack exclaimed.
"Why would they place themselves back into the machines knowing that their world is now habitable?" Teal'c questioned.
Daniel began to move around the area inside the dome. "I don't think they did, Teal'c. Look around you, does anything look different to you?"
Teal'c took a moment to look observe his surroundings. "It does not." He concluded.
"My point exactly!" Daniel waved his arms around. "Nothing has changed! There is no evidence that these people have ever left this dome! Do you see where I'm heading with this?"
Sam tilted her head to the side in contemplation. Within seconds realization filled her blue eyes. "You're suggesting that we never left. The Keeper somehow tricked us into believing that we had so we'd continue to supply his residents with new experiences without disrupting the balance of things."
"Whoa, wait a minute. Never left?" Jack looked between the two scientist. "That's impossible. We checked to make sure we were really out. And you assured me that we were." He pointed at Sam.
"Think about it, Jack. If the Keeper was desperate enough don't you think he would have gone to any lengths to make us believe that we were out?" Daniel asked.
"He lead us to believe we had found an exit from the virtual world that lead to his residents leaving as well. It was all an elaborate act." Sam felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"So how do we know that we are really out this time? That this isn't part of the act?" Jack inquired, seriously.
Sam looked around then focused on her, former, CO. "I think we are, sir. Something must have disrupted the power flow to our devices and some sort of failsafe booted us out. They must be designed to disconnect the occupant if something goes wrong." She theorized. "If you think about it, any race this advanced would have had to built a way out just in case something went wrong."
Daniel, who had moved back to his device, kicked it then looked at Sam. "Well, it hasn't sucked me back in so I think you're on to something. Our chair's aren't humming like the others." He bent to look closer. "These chairs were created by the Keeper for us so that means they weren't ordinally part of the system. Their power consumption must have been massive. So maybe the power system couldn't handle the extra drain and it just kicked us out?" He moved around the device and stopped. 'Um, guys? How are we going to get home?" It just occurred to him that they were, basically, stranded on an alien planet.
Jack gave Daniel a look that said Duh. "The Stargate?" He felt the need to point out the obvious.
"I know that!" Daniel huffed. "But we have no idea how long we've been gone. Or if our GDO code is still active." Now he pointed out the obvious. "Can anyone remember the GDO code from eight years ago?" He questioned.
"You're right." Sam said to Daniel. "To us eight years have passed but there is no way of knowing how long we've really been plugged in. It could have been hours, days, weeks, or even years for all we know." She pulled up the sleeve of her coat and eyed the long, silver, device strapped to her arm. "I don't remember the code. There has been so many since then...eh...now..." She shook her head at the absurdity of the situation.
"I, too, am unable to recall the GDO code from this mission." Teal'c added.
"For crying out loud!" Jack reached up and removed his hat out of frustration. "So you're telling me that we're stuck here?"
Sam nodded. "That's exactly what we're saying, sir."
"I can't believe that the past eight years haven't really happened. It all felt so real. I mean, who's mind thought up Vala?!" Daniel glared at Jack since they were the only two that the machines worked on. Teal'c and Sam could experience things but the experiences and memories were drawn from himself and Jack. "It's a little discontenting to know that I have eight years of false memories."
"I agree." Sam mumbled as she, unconsciously, moved closer to Daniel.
Jack glared right back at Daniel. "Teal'c and I are going to do a little recon on the outside. I want you two to search this dome and see if you can find anything of use. Or maybe the Keeper so I can shoot him." Jack grumbled as he put his hat back on and tightened his grip on his gun. He then lead Teal'c out of the structure and into the bright sun light.
Daniel sighed. "This is weird even by our standards." He glanced at Sam. "How long do you think we've been here?"
Sam moved to the chair that she previously occupied and kneeled down, searching for the control panel she knew to be there. "I really have no idea. Suspended animation is tricky when it comes to time. If created right, an occupant can survive for hundreds of years without feeling the effects of time. So there's no way to tell for sure how much time has passed without looking at a calender of some sort."
"That's what I was afraid of." Again, Daniel ran his hand through his shaggy hair. "It's hard to believe that the past eight years didn't happen. I mean...nothing we've accomplished really happened." He shook his head. "It's all a little overwhelming."
Looking up from the control panel, Sam gave Daniel an understanding look. "I agree but I guess we have to take things one step at a time. Think of it this way. We defeated the Goa'uld once so it can be done. And the Ori...we don't even know if they really exist." She glanced down at what she was doing then sat back on her heels. "This is useless. The chairs are dead." She stood up, with a hand from Daniel, and brushed the seat of her pants off. "Come on, let's check the place out and see if we can find the Keeper."
Daniel nodded. "So Jack can shoot him?" He asked with a small smile.
Sam raised an eyebrow. Of course not. First we'll get some answers then let the General shoot him."
"You do know that he isn't a General, don't you? He's still Colonel Jack O'Neill and you're still just a Captain."
"Thanks for reminding me, Daniel." Sam rolled her eyes and bumped into him, playfully. The past eight years may have been false but the bond between the team, especially the two of them, wasn't.