Just a note: This is my first attempt at fanfic, and I hope that you enjoy it. Please review, I'd love to hear your feedback.
Sunshine
"Unscheduled offworld activation!" the technician's voice sounded over the PA system. General Landry came down the spiral steps from the briefing room to investigate. Glancing up at the Stargate through the glass of the control room, he noticed something was different.
"Chief Harriman, why isn't the iris closed? We have no idea who might be coming through there!"
Exasperated, Harriman continued to type away at the computer terminal. After a moment, he gave a concerned look up to the General. "I'm sorry, sir, but its not responding. I can't get the iris to close!"
Where is that Carter when you need her? The General mused, glancing over as Dr. Daniel Jackson rushed into the control room.
Catching his breath, Dr. Jackson gave the General a questioning look. "So…what's going on?" Taking a look over at the Stargate, he noticed the decided lack of an iris. "Uhh, why isn't the iris closed?"
Both the General and Harriman exchanged looks, then turned back to Jackson. "It won't close." Landry stated.
"Whaaa…?" Before Jackson could elucidate, the telltale "kawoosh" showed that the gate was active. All eyes turned back to the Stargate, waiting to see what would emerge.
Inside the gateroom, the security team stood ready to take on anything that came through the wormhole. Time seemed to stretch on as nothing occurred. Then finally, a figure stepped out, facing away from them and at the same time a flash of light emerged and struck the small figure. The gate deactivated automatically with a pop.
Before anyone in the control room or gateroom realized it, the bulkhead doors were opening and Dr. Jackson was racing into the gateroom and up the ramp. He managed to catch the collapsing figure before it hit the ground. Looking down, he saw the angelic face of a girl gaze up at him in surprise. Almost immediately, the look of surprise was gone and she reached out her hand and squeezed the arm that enwrapped her. The warm smile that bloomed on her face reminded Daniel of the look one would give a very close friend. Then the bright eyes slowly shut and the face slackened as the girl slipped unconscious.
Snapping out of the daze he found himself in, Daniel looked over his shoulder and called out, "We need a medic up here!" Suddenly, both the gateroom and the control room burst into motion as people got over the shock at what had happened and set into their duties.
Daniel Jackson just sat there, cradling the unconscious girl, glancing down at the large charred and bleeding wound in her stomach, until the medical team arrived to take over.
As she swam in and out of consciousness, she tried to focus on the murmuring, knowing it had something to do with her. She had the vague sensation of activity and movement around her, and every once in a while she felt a hand squeeze her own.
Finally, she could pick out what was being said. She peeked out from beneath her eyelids and tried to settle her vision on the speakers. There was a man facing away from her, sitting in a chair by her bed. Looking beyond him, she saw the person to whom he was addressing, a short woman with brownish black hair and a white coat. In the woman's hand was a clipboard. Deciding she had seen enough, the girl closed her eyes and relaxed back into the darkness, merely listening.
"How is she?" the man asked. She seemed to recognize the voice from somewhere.
"As well as can be expected, I suppose." The woman responded. "She had severe internal hemorrhaging, and it seems like several of her organs were damaged by the energy blast." There was a pause. "She has stabilized, but for now we'll just have to wait and see."
The girl heard a creaking and then a hand grasped hers again. "You can make it through this." The man whispered, his voice again nagging at her memory. Then suddenly, she remembered.
Daniel grasped the unconscious girl's hand, willing her to hear him. "You can make it through this." He whispered to her. He only hoped that he was right.
Suddenly the girl's eyes flew open and she looked right into his eyes, squeezing his hand. There on her face was that same look of shocked recognition he had seen back in the gateroom. Just as quickly as last time, the look was gone as the girl's eyes flicked past him to focus on something over by the door to the infirmary.
He shifted in his seat and followed her gaze, just as Colonel Mitchell and Vala sauntered through the door, Vala grinning at Mitchell as she swung a shopping bag in her hand. Both of them were wearing civilian clothes, Mitchell in jeans and a t-shirt and Vala in her usual predominantly black leather outfit, the only difference being a Colorado Springs t-shirt under her leather jacket and a large amount of colorful beaded necklaces around her neck. They were bickering good-naturedly.
"You would think with all the practice you get out in the galaxy, a little thing like that would have been a piece of cake." Mitchell ragged on Vala.
"Now, that's not very fair. Those water guns were clearly not mounted or pressurized correctly; I'm surprised anyone could have won that game." Vala pouted back.
"So you admit that I do have more skill than you?" Mitchell grinned triumphantly.
Vala opened her mouth to give a scathing response, when she turned and saw Daniel looking at them, a knowing smile on his lips. She decided to cut her losses. "Daniel!" she said, brandishing the shopping bag. "I brought you something!" Rummaging around inside the bag, she continued to speak. "I remembered how much you wanted to go to the carnival, so I thought I'd bring you back a souvenir for your vigil." Out popped a small plush pillow of a sun, right down to the wavy orange trim and the smiling face.
A gasp from the bed turned everyone's attention back to the girl as she stared, transfixed, at the pillow. Slowly the expression changed to a sly grin as the girl rested her head back on her own pillow. The others in the room exchanged confused looks, then Mitchell shrugged.
"Actually, I won it. Vala couldn't seem to get the hang of the aiming on the water gun thingie." He shot her a 'so there' look.
Daniel got up and walked over to grab the plush sun from Vala's outstretched hand before she could come up with an indignant reply. "Thanks." He said, turning the pillow over in his hands.
"So how is she?" Mitchell asked Daniel, Vala stepped closer to hear his response.
"Well, Dr. Lam says she's stabilized but…well why don't you ask her?" He gestured behind him at the completely forgotten doctor. "I just know she's not out of the woods yet." Daniel sighed.
Vala glanced around them curiously, then over to the patient. "I'm sorry; I thought we were in the infirmary. I don't see any woods anywhere."
Mitchell flashed a grin, smothering his laughter. "It's a figure of speech, Vala. Means she's still got a ways to go before she's healthy." He walked over to Dr. Lam and started talking to her.
"Oh…well then. Why didn't you just say so?" Vala glanced accusingly at Daniel. He just shrugged, playing with the wavy fringe of the pillow. Turning around, he saw that the girl was once again gazing longingly at the pillow in his hands.
Sitting back down in the chair next to her bed, Daniel saw the girl searching around the room, until she spotted the battered pack she had come through the gate with sitting on the floor by one of the other beds. She made a feeble gesture toward it and he realized she was trying to point to it.
Getting up, he walked over to the pack, flipping open the satchel style closure. Looking back at the girl in the bed, he saw her nod imperceptibly. Daniel glanced into the opened bag and noticed something vaguely familiar. He pulled it out, turning it this way and that, confirming his suspicion. Glancing back at the girl, he saw her face light up with a smile.
As he walked back over to the bed, bringing the object with him, he marveled at the similarity. It was a plush pillow in the shape of a sun, just like his, right down to the wavy trim and smiling face. The difference was, this pillow had seen quite a bit of use. It was dingy and worn in places, the stitching on the face partially pulled out.
He placed the plush sun on the girl's stomach, and her arms slowly encircled it and squeezed. Her smile turned from him and focused on the pillow as she brought it up to her face and breathed in deeply. Glancing behind him, he noticed that Vala had joined Mitchell and they were both now listening to Dr. Lam. Satisfied, he settled himself in the chair and turned his attention back to the girl.
"Hi, what's your name?" He asked kindly, placing his hand on the girl's arm gently. This time, she didn't jump, but he could feel her tense as she stared down at his hand touching her arm. He slowly removed it and tried again. "My name's—"
"Daniel Jackson" the girl interrupted him, saying this in a quiet voice. She smiled kindly at his shocked expression.
Daniel slumped back in his chair, stunned. Noticing his change in posture, the others glanced over at him.
"What is it, Daniel?" Vala asked, walking over to him.
"She knows my name." He said in a contemplative tone.
"Well, we have been talking to you, saying your name. And she does have ears, you know." Vala sounded a bit patronizing, as if explaining something very simple to a child.
"No…" Daniel mused, one arm across his middle and the other hand fiddling with his bottom lip. "She knew my whole name, first and last. How could she know that?" The whole time, the girl continued to lock eyes with him, giving him an encouraging smile.
Surprised, and trying to cover it, Vala managed to splutter out, "Well, uhh…she" before a commotion by the infirmary door interrupted her. Colonel Samantha Carter strolled in, wearing green BDU's, and surveyed the room. "I just came from the control room; diagnostics haven't shown any malfunctions yet. How's the patient?" she glanced over to Daniel, who was facing her over the chair. He was just about to answer her when he heard a gasp and turned around.
The girl was staring at Carter, now with a hurt shocked look on her face. "No…"she moaned. "I never thought of this, that I..."she cut off as tears started running down her face. She started getting restless and the various monitors and machines started to squawk and beep. Rushing over, Dr. Lam inserted a needle of something into the IV and emptied the contents.
The girl's hand flew out and grabbed on to Daniel's hand, holding on for dear life. He squeezed her hand reassuringly as she slowly relaxed and slipped back into unconsciousness. Looking up, he gave a questioning glance at the doctor.
"I just gave her a sedative to calm her down; her blood pressure was climbing rapidly." Dr. Lam stated matter-of-factly. "She should sleep for another few hours. The General should probably hear about this."
They all exchanged glances, confusion and worry evident on each face.
Sitting in the briefing room, General Landry took in the people arranged around the table. On his left sat Mitchell and Carter; on his right, Dr. Lam, Dr. Jackson, and Vala. Teal'c was offworld, dealing with another problem on the Free Jaffa council. "So what's going on, people?" he asked, opening the floor for anyone to speak.
"Well, sir, the gate's diagnostic systems are showing no bugs or malfunctions. The only thing I can think of is that somehow the iris was prevented from closing from the other side. I mean, we've seen the Asgard do it before, so have the Nox." Carter gave her report, noticing the skeptical looks the others were giving her.
"The Asgard are dead, Colonel Carter, and for all we know, so are the Nox. We haven't heard from them in years. What makes you think they would stop in again?" Glancing over to Dr. Lam, Landry continued. "Carolyn, the girl isn't alien, is she?"
"No, blood samples and preliminary examination shows she does have human DNA and physiology. Although brain scans show she does have a rather high level of brain function." Carolyn Lam responded. "All in all, she seems like a perfectly normal sixteen or seventeen year old girl."
"She's that old?" Daniel asked, surprised. "She seemed a lot younger than that. She just seemed so vulnerable and childlike." He remembered how innocent she had looked and yet how she flinched away from his touch.
The others watched him as his mind wandered off into memories. Finally, Mitchell broke the silence. "So what did she say?"
"Huh, what?" Daniel snapped back into reality. "Oh, well, she knows my name…" Seeing the surprised looks on some of the others' faces, he continued. "I keep getting the impression that she knows me, or at least recognizes me. In the gateroom before she passed out and when she woke up in infirmary. And this might just be trivial, but she has a pillow in the shape of a sun, just like the one that Vala got for me today, only it looks a lot older."
Vala grinned and poked the air in Mitchell's direction, triumphant. He grimaced back.
"A matching sun pillow?" General Landry asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, I know. But I just thought it might be important." The general motioned for Daniel to continue. "Oh, and when Sam came in, she really seemed to recognize her. And she said something….what was it?" Daniel thought for a second. "Oh yeah, she said 'no…I never thought of this, that I…" and then she got really agitated."
"I was forced to sedate her." Dr. Lam finished off.
"Okay, well. Is there anything else someone wants to add to that?" Looking around at all the negatives, General Landry pushed on. "In that case, dismissed." As everyone got up and began to move off to their own tasks, Dr. Jackson approached the general.
"Sir, do you have a moment?"
"Of course, Dr. Jackson. What can I do for you?" The general stopped on his way to his office.
"Sir, I'd like to stay with her. Maybe see if I can get more information from her when she wakes up." Daniel fidgeted with the pen in his hand.
Landry could tell that Jackson had been affected by the girl, and probably wanted to be there for her when she woke up. Not having any problem with the idea, he consented. "Of course, Dr. Jackson. Let me know what you find out."
"Thank you." Daniel said emphatically and then rushed out of the room.
Stepping into the infirmary, Daniel took in the lack of activity and the prone form lying on the solitary bed. Dr. Lam was checking off some things on her clipboard, but when she finished she walked over to him. "How is she?" Daniel asked, realizing he had asked this same question before.
"Not much of a change, Dr. Jackson." Dr. Lam said as she flipped through the sheets on her clipboard. "She's remained unconscious since I administered the sedative, vitals have been stable." Pausing, she glanced up at Daniel, mild concern showing on her face. "Her body is showing signs of strain, though. I'm concerned it might deteriorate into organ failure."
Shocked by the grim news, it took Daniel a moment before he could respond. "You mean after all this she might die anyway?" He received a curt nod from the doctor. "Do you think she'll wake up soon? I really want to ask her some questions." Especially if we only have a short time left. They both acknowledged the unspoken conclusion to his statement.
Dr. Lam shook her head, "I wouldn't count on it, Dr. Jackson. She's very weak and the sedative seems to have had a very strong effect on her. I wouldn't be surprised if she slept through the rest of today." Flipping the papers back down on her clipboard, Dr. Lam deposited it on the nurses' station desk and began to walk out of the infirmary. "Feel free to sit with her a while if you like, the nurses won't be coming in to check her vitals for another hour."
Nodding his thanks to Dr. Lam, Daniel walked past her over to the infirmary bed where the sleeping girl lay. Dragging a chair over, he settled into it. He sat there for a while, staring at her peaceful face. Every once in a while, it was marred by a furrowing of her brows, or a short expression of pain. When this occurred, he would reach out and place her limp hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. This seemed to calm her down.
After several minutes, Daniel began to doze, until he was suddenly drug back from sleep by a small pressure on his hand. Opening his eyes, he saw the girl smiling up at him, her hand still feebly squeezing his own. "I still can't get used to this." She said in a quiet voice he had to lean forward to hear clearly.
"Used to what?" he automatically responded.
The girl's gaze had drifted down to his hand touching hers, but at the sound of his voice her eyes snapped back up to look into his. After thinking for a moment, she seemed to come to a decision. "This…" she said, lifting her hand that was still clasped in his. Noticing Daniel's confused expression; she slowly shook her head and chuckled softly.
"I don't get it." He said, looking back and forth between her hand and her face.
"I know." She simply stated. The subject seemed to be closed.
"Oookay. Let's try something else." Daniel said, trying to get control of the conversation again. "What's your name?" He smiled encouragingly. "We can't just keep calling you 'the patient' or 'the girl'."
"What would you like to call me?" the girl said, her voice getting stronger as time went by.
Her question startled Daniel. He had definitely not expected that. "What do you mean?" He finally managed to sputter.
The girl grinned again. It was beginning to take on an almost Cheshire Cat connotation. "I mean what I said. What would you like to call me?" she watched him curiously, seeming eager to hear what he would decide.
Glancing down at the pillow she still clutched possessively in her arm, and back up to the radiant smile she was giving him, Daniel acted impulsively. "Sunshine." He said, nodding. "I'll call you Sunshine."
He couldn't imagine her face smiling any wider or brighter than it already was, but as he said the name her smile seemed to grow and engulf her pale face. Something in her expression made him think he had made the right choice, and that she had expected him to call her that. No, that didn't make any sense at all.
"Sunshine." She said, seeming to roll the name around in her mouth. "It fits." She flashed a mischievous look at him. "More than you know."
Cryptic, but at least now they were getting somewhere. "Okay, Sunshine. Do you think you could answer some questions for me?" As Daniel asked the question, the girl's face seemed to fall. "Let's start with, how did you get—" he was interrupted as a nurse bustled into the room, picking up the girl's file and approaching the bed.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson. Its time for me to check the patient's vitals. After I'm finished she should really get some rest." She started writing down information on the sheet as she glanced at various monitors around the bed.
"Okay, thank you." Daniel said, then he turned back to Sunshine. "I have to go, but I'll be back after you're rested." He saw the worried look on her face and gave her hand one last reassuring squeeze.
Stepping out of the way of the nurse, Daniel walked toward the door to the infirmary. Getting a bit of rest sounded really good right about now. As the sounds of the nurse fussing with the girl wafted over to him, he heard Sunshine say something in an exasperated tone.
"You know, I would heal a lot faster if you would stop drugging me unconscious!"
Chuckling at her indignation, and also a bit curious about what she said, Daniel left the infirmary and retreated to the spare room he kept on base to get some rest.
Watching Daniel Jackson leave the infirmary, Sunshine heaved a sigh. This nurse wasn't going to do any good, and all she was going to do was knock her out after her tests were finished. "You know, I would heal a lot faster if you would stop drugging me unconscious!" She said with frustration. The nurse just smiled patronizingly and continued with her work. Well it was worth a try.
Trying to calm herself, Sunshine focused her mind on her stomach and concentrated on attempting a bit of mending before the nurse knocked her out again. Just as she began to feel the effects of her self-ministration, she also felt the effects of the sedative the nurse had just added to her IV. She tried vainly to hold on to her concentration as the drug slowly drew her back into unconsciousness.
Daniel had woken several hours later refreshed, somewhat, despite the uncomfortable position he had fallen asleep in. Having attempted to do some spare translations before catching a few Z's, Daniel had ended up falling asleep sitting at the desk in the room he kept on base. Rubbing his stiff neck, he left the room to check in at the infirmary.
As he walked through the door of the infirmary, he noticed the odd position Sunshine's hands were in. She seemed to have made a circle with her fingers over her abdomen, where the energy weapon had hit, and her face had a look of intense concentration on it. Glancing around, he noticed that the nurses were off somewhere, probably counting stock or something. Approaching the bed, Daniel cleared his throat to catch the girl's attention.
Her eyes flew open in surprise and her hands resumed their positions at her side. A guilty look flashed over her face, replaced with a passive happiness at his presence. Settling down it the chair next to her bed, Daniel gave her a quick smile. "So, how goes the healing, despite being 'drugged unconscious'?"
Sunshine gave a shocked look for a moment; she obviously hadn't thought he could hear her from the other side of the infirmary. Her look melted into a smug grin. "Fairly well, thank you. Despite all of your medical personnel's attempts to the contrary."
Pondering what she said, Daniel came to a realization. The pieces were beginning to fit together. "That's what you were doing when I came in, wasn't it?" He shook his head in astonishment. "You were healing yourself. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, Dr. Lam did say that your brain activity was much higher than normal. Are you some type of advanced human or something?"
Sunshine chuckled quietly. "I knew you'd figure it out eventually, Daniel. And I guess you could say I'm an advanced human, or something." She paused. "Let's just say it runs in the family."
Daniel decided he had extended his patience on cryptic to its limit. "Okay, now I really need some answers this time. Are you going to tell me where you've come from, how you got here, what you're doing here….well we'll just start with that." He folded his arms across his chest, waiting for the girl to make some excuse to dodge his questions yet again. Surprisingly, that wasn't to be the case.
"You never told me how much I could say, Daniel. I don't want to change too much." She sighed and shook her head. "Well I guess anything's better than nothing, right?"
Daniel nodded automatically, then went over what she had just said. "I never told you? You don't want to change too much? Okay now I am well and truly intrigued." Sunshine burst out laughing, stopping abruptly and putting her hand to her stomach with a hiss. "You okay?" Daniel asked with concern.
She shot him a scathing look, the first he'd seen from her. "Oh besides the gaping hole in my stomach, yeah I'm peachy. Didn't have much time to heal between bouts of enforced unconsciousness, sorry." Raising his eyebrows, Daniel was surprised at the girl's decidedly earthly style of speech. Noticing his look, Sunshine explained. "Oh, and if you don't like my expressions or humor, that's all your fault. I learned everything I know from you."
"Okay, last time I checked, we haven't met before I caught you in the gateroom." Daniel was beginning to rethink his hopes that the girl would actually answer his questions.
"Oh you hadn't met me, but I most definitely met you." She let him ponder that for a moment, then took a deep breath, wincing a little. "Okay, you've been patient, so I'll go ahead and answer your questions." Pausing, Sunshine glanced at the chair Daniel was sitting in. "You sure you don't want to grab a pillow or a more comfortable chair? This is going to take a while."
Daniel thought about it for a bit, then shook his head. He didn't want to give her any excuse to change her mind. After acknowledging his response, Sunshine barreled into her explanation.
"Okay, first question: where do I come from? Well now that I think of it, they never did tell me what the names of any of the planets were. Let's just say that most recently I've been residing on an unidentified planet in the Ida galaxy." She stopped when she saw the questioning look on Daniel's face.
"The home galaxy of the Asgard? That Ida galaxy?" Sunshine nodded her confirmation. "Oh, good. Just clarifying, carry on." Daniel motioned her to continue with a bemused expression on his face.
"Keep an open mind, Daniel. That's something you always told me. Anyway, where was I?" Before Daniel could say, she regained her momentum. "Oh yes! So that was question one. Question two: how did I get here? Now that's a bit complicated. Obviously through the Stargate, using some extra juice from an Asgard generator and a strategically timed solar flare. Oh, and some help with your iris by the Nox." Seeing Daniel's blank expression, Sunshine sighed. "That's not really helping much is it?"
He numbly shook his head. Some of the things she was mentioning seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't seem to piece them all together. If only Sam were here, she'd probably know exactly what Sunshine was talking about.
"Well I'll get back to that. Final question: what am I doing here?" she smiled broadly. "That's the easiest one. I'm here to stop you from making a disastrous mistake…Wait, how long have I been here?"
"Since you came through the gate?" she nodded. "Uhh…three days?" Daniel said after thinking about it for a while. The girl's face drained of the little color that had crept into it.
"No…we don't have much time. Daniel, I need to tell all of you this, we don't have time for me to tell you and you to repeat it to the others." She began to shift and wrestle with the covers on her bed. "Help me get up; I need you to take me to the briefing room where I can talk to all of you at once."
He placed a firm hand down on Sunshine's restless legs. "Uh-uh. You're staying right here till the doctor clears you." She leaned up and tried to brush his hand away.
"No! Daniel, you don't get it! We don't have time for this!" Ripping sensors and the IV from her arm, Sunshine managed to slip out from under Daniel's hand and right off the bed. She crumpled to a heap on the floor next to it. Beginning to sob, she covered her face. "Help me, Daniel."
Shocked by her outburst, and subsequent collapse, Daniel knelt down next to Sunshine. The way she had asked for his help had sounded different from before. Something in her voice made him think of a prayer, or mantra, a phrase she used frequently. It didn't seem like she was actually addressing him, even though she had said his name. Reaching out, he rested his hand on her back, sighing when she flinched violently. "Its okay," he murmured to her. "I'm right here, I'll help you." He tried to give her his most caring smile as she looked up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
"Daniel?" She sounded surprised to see him, and for a moment he thought maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to take her out of the infirmary. She shouldn't really be roaming around if she was so disoriented. She turned away from him and reached out toward her satchel.
Getting up, he walked over to the pack and brought it back to the girl slumped on the floor next to the bed. She quickly flipped it open and deftly pulled out a very familiar looking folded cloth. She turned back to him, grinning. "You warned me that my clothes would probably not be returned to me after decontamination, so I brought a spare set. Could you…" she made a flicking gesture to show she wanted some privacy.
"Oh, certainly." Daniel moved away and swung the privacy curtain around Sunshine's bed. A few minutes of rustling later, she slowly stepped out from behind the curtain. Now he knew he recognized the clothing. It looked like the outfits the Nox wore. Instead of being a dress, though, Sunshine wore one of the pant sets. Daniel vaguely recalled that she had been similarly dressed when she first came through the Stargate. She started to walk away from the support of the bed frame and was halfway across the infirmary when she began to waver. He rushed over and caught her just in time, again.
"Here, let me help you." He said kindly, wrapping his arm around her waist and helping her walk out of the infirmary. She turned and encircled him with her arms and squeezed him into a hug. He thought he heard her mumble a thank you into his shirt. Then she turned forwards again and they began their slow trek to the briefing room.
Daniel had called ahead to the General's office, letting him know that he needed to get SG-1 into the briefing room for a meeting. Seeing how long it was taking to get down there, Daniel was sure that everyone else would be ready when he got there. He and Sunshine were just going down in the elevator, watching the numbers tick by. She was still leaning on him for support, much more now than before actually. Maybe it was a bad idea to let her come down here. They could have always gotten everyone to meet in the infirmary.
Sunshine turned to look up at him suddenly and reached out, plucking Daniel's glasses off his face. Bringing them down to her eye level, she turned them this way and that, grinning. "Uh, Sunshine….Those are my glasses. Can I have those back?" Daniel reached down to take them.
Continuing to grin, Sunshine held them behind her back while she looked back up at him. She nodded, a satisfied look on her face. "Much better, Daniel. I never did believe you when you said you wore glasses." She brushed her hand across his face. "This is how I remember you."
The awkward moment was cut short as the elevator doors opened up and Sunshine turned to look at the airman standing in the doorway. Using the distraction, Daniel reached around her and snatched his glasses from her hands, placing them back on his face where they belonged. The airman gave them an odd look as Daniel nodded to him, fixing his hold around Sunshine's waist, and helped her walk past him out of the elevator.
A few painstakingly slow minutes later, they both arrived at the briefing room. Glancing in, Daniel saw that they had indeed given SG-1 enough time to assemble. Sam, Mitchell and Vala were already seated at the briefing table. General Landry stepped out of his office and nodded at Daniel before taking his seat. Walking Sunshine over to the empty side of the conference table, Daniel helped her into a seat before collapsing in one next to her.
"So, Dr. Jackson, what was so important that you called us all into an emergency meeting?" General Landry asked, voicing the question they all wished to ask.
Before Daniel could reply, Mitchell spoke up. "Yeah, and what's with the girl? Shouldn't she be in the infirmary or something?" He gestured toward Sunshine, who was looking decidedly pale.
"Well, yes she should. But she was adamant that she be allowed to speak to us all right away." Daniel said apologetically. He glanced over to the girl sitting next to him. She seemed to have given up the battle to sit upright, and had slumped face down over the table, her crossed arms supporting her head. Concerned, he reached out, stopping himself right before touching her shoulder. "Sunshine? Are you okay?" Giving in, he brushed her blonde hair away to get a better look at her face.
"Sunshine?" Vala asked incredulously. The others exchanged curious looks as well.
Daniel glanced up at them, taking in all the strange looks. "Oh, that's her name." he paused, frowning slightly. "Or rather, what I decided to call her. You know, the plush…and the bright smile…I…" he tried to defend himself from the increasingly humorous looks the others were giving him.
"Its both." the mumble came from the girl, still face down on the table.
"What?" everyone asked at once. Daniel didn't understand what she had said, the others couldn't hear it.
Sighing, Sunshine levered her head back up, propping it with her hands. "I said, its both."
"Okay, I'm still confused." Mitchell held up a finger as if to notify every one that yes, he did have a question. "You're saying Sunshine is the name Jackson gave you, okay I get that. And because he called you that, now it's your name?" He glanced around at the others, looking for help. They just shrugged.
Sunshine heaved another sigh. She really wasn't looking too good, hopefully this meeting wouldn't take too long, Daniel thought. She really needed to get back to the infirmary. "Sunshine was already my name. I knew Daniel would call me that, so I didn't feel the need to tell him what my name was." Her voice was getting a bit harried, as if she was really regretting her decision to tell them everything.
"You knew I would call you Sunshine?" Daniel had to ask. He hadn't even known he was going to call her that until he said it.
"It's the same thing you called me before." More confused looks followed. "Look, I'm sure everyone can tell how not good I'm feeling right now. So, can we quit with the twenty questions and let me just tell my story?"
Vala couldn't help herself. "Twenty questions? I think you're exaggerating a bit, we haven't asked that many."
Carter stepped in to save the day. "It's a game people play on Earth. A person thinks of something and the other players get to ask them twenty questions to figure out what they were thinking of. People use the phrase to mean they feel like they are being interrogated or harassed." Vala made an 'O' shape with her mouth.
"But how did she know that?" Vala blurted, pointing over at the severely annoyed Sunshine.
Carter sat back in surprise. "I don't know."
"Can we please get back to the issue at hand here?" General Landry interrupted. "This young lady doesn't seem like she should be out of the infirmary at all, let alone brief us with whatever she came here to do." The others quickly focused their attention back on Sunshine.
"Thank you." Sunshine said with a sigh. "Okay, now this time…please…no interruptions." Everyone else at the table nodded.
"To start with, I am from the year 2064. Ah!" she held up her hand to silence any outbursts. "No interruptions! The Earth, and most if not all inhabited planets within several galaxies, is controlled by an alien race known as the Gekkis. They first made contact with the Tau'ri fifty-six years ago, offering to set up trade relations. Their technology was highly advanced, and the leaders of Earth accepted readily. Not soon afterwards, the Gekkis began to bring ships and 'traders' to Earth. They said the massive fleet was for the Tau'ri's own protection. Then they requested to have full access to the Stargate, to facilitate trade among other planets. Having already proven themselves by freely giving various technological advancements to the Tau'ri, access was readily given.
That's when it all blew up. They started restricting gate travel, and demanding that a Gekkis accompanied every team that went offworld. Now before that happened, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill had taken over the supply run that traveled between Earth and the Atlantis expedition in the Pegasus galaxy. Colonel Samantha Carter had taken over as leader of the Atlantis expedition, and so was stationed there. The Jaffa, Teal'c, had risen to a substantial position in the still young Free Jaffa Nation. He had begun spending the majority of his time offworld. When the lockdown of the Stargate occurred, all three of these people were cut off from Earth." Sunshine paused, leaning back in her chair to catch her breath.
"Wow…" is all Mitchell could say. The others were decidedly less coherent.
Sunshine waved her hand in the air feebly while keeping her eyes tightly shut. "Wait, I'm not finished yet. Just have to catch my breath." Daniel and the others patiently, and not so patiently, waited for her to continue.
"Okay," she sat up again, but her eyes remained shut, though not tightly. "As time went on, the Gekkis slowly took control of the planet's governments. At the SGC, most of the teams had been broken down and separated to be combined with Gekkis 'trading' expeditions. Every planet the Tau'ri had ever visited that had civilization became host to a Gekkis Trade Outpost. Dr. Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran were assigned to the leading Gekkis team, the only team focused on new exploration, in the hopes of finding more 'allies' to add to the growing confederation."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Mitchell broke into her history lesson. "What happened to me?" Looking around at the others he said, "Well, I wanna know!"
Sunshine opened her eyes to look at Mitchell. "And you are…?"
"You know everyone else but you don't know me?" Mitchell was beginning to feel a bit slighted as Sunshine nodded slowly. "Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell…" this elicited a frown from the girl.
"I'm not…Oh, yes. I do remember a passing reference to you Colonel Mitchell. If I remember correctly, Cameron Mitchell was assigned permanently to one of the Gekkis Trade Outposts. After that, I don't know what happened to you, I'm sorry."
Mitchell shrugged, trying to act like it didn't matter. "Okay, well…continue then."
"Now I'm not too sure about these details, they're only conjecture, but it seems that Gen. O'Neill realized something had happened and decided to play it safe and not let the Gekkis know of his presence. Those at the SGC also kept any reference of the Atlantis expedition silent, hoping that the Gekkis wouldn't find out about it and destroy their last hope at getting out of the situation. For three years, O'Neill flew the Daedalus back and forth between Pegasus and Earth, stopping just outside of the range of the fleet guarding the planet. He was probably listening in to radio transmissions, hoping to hear something that would explain what was going on. He would then return to Atlantis to pass on any information he had found. Sometime within the first year of separation, O'Neill and Samantha Carter developed a…relationship. Samantha Carter gave birth to a baby girl almost one year to the day from when the Gekkis arrived." Hearing a strange noise from across the table, Sunshine stopped and looked up.
Carter had an embarrassedly shocked look on her face, Mitchell had been drinking some coffee and the noise had been him trying not to spew liquid onto the table, and Vala was just smirking. Turning, Sunshine took in the suppressed laughter look on Daniel's face. "Well from what I've heard, it wasn't all that surprising a thing to do. I understand that your military disapproves of this, but since they weren't in the same chain of command, and since for all they knew the Earth was lost, I'm sure they thought it only right." Sunshine said almost defensively, daring anyone to prove her wrong.
Still suppressing laughter, Daniel managed to speak. "No, no. We understand completely. Go on." He gestured for her to continue where she had left off. She nodded self-righteously and turned back to the rest of the table to continue.
"After three years had passed, Dr. Jackson and Vala were feeling very constrained by the control that the Gekkis had achieved. They decided something must be done. Knowing what the regular schedule of the Daedalus had previously been, and hoping that General O'Neill had kept to the schedule, they arranged to go offworld to a planet along the flight path of the Daedalus. Once they reached the planet, Vala Mal Doran took the Gekkis exploratory team off into the wilderness, to distract them from what Dr. Jackson was attempting to do.
At the designated time, Daniel Jackson sent out a radio message asking for a response from the Daedalus if it was in range. After a few tries, General O'Neill responded. Daniel Jackson spoke to the General, trying to ascertain how things stood in the Pegasus galaxy and whether there could possibly be any help coming with their predicament. Unfortunately, before more information could be shared, the Gekkis party discovered Dr. Jackson's position and attacked. He was killed from multiple energy weapon blasts. Vala Mal Doran had also been killed when it had been discovered that she had been leading them astray."
The group around the table exchanged shocked and saddened looks. It was disconcerting how impartial the girl seemed, delivering such harsh news without any emotion at all. General Landry mused that she would have been a good soldier. Vala seemed more upset that her lie hadn't worked than that she had died. Mitchell just shook his head. Carter exchanged a look with Daniel; he seemed to be taking all this in stride. But then again, this was Daniel, and he wasn't exactly a newcomer to the concept of death. Realizing how shocking this news must have been to the team, Sunshine slumped in her chair, guilt showing on her face. Daniel turned to her and carefully rested his hand on her shoulder, eliciting only the smallest tensing of her figure. "Its okay, Sunshine. It's not your fault."
She shook her head and forced herself to look over at Colonel Carter, who she had been pointedly avoiding the entire time. "No, but its going to get a lot worse. I didn't realize how hard you all would take this. Its just history to me, something I couldn't change. But now I will change it." She cleared her throat to continue. "These next events are even hazier than those that came before, since the majority of the witnesses did not survive to tell of what happened. Unbeknownst to the late Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran, the Gekkis always sent fleet ships ahead of the exploratory teams, to make the takeover more expedient should it occur. They sent word to their fleet ships of the Tau'ri ship nearby and the ships took chase.
General O'Neill had already started back to Atlantis, not seeing the ships that followed him. He led them back toward the base, only discovering the fleet ships after it was too late. In an attempt to send word to Atlantis before the Gekkis ships arrived, he flew at top speed toward the planet. He barely had time to relay the message that Gekkis ships had found their position before his ship was destroyed. On the surface of the planet, Samantha Carter tried to evacuate as many people offworld through the Stargate before the Gekkis arrived. She was the last to go through as the Gekkis took the Atlantis base. They followed her through the gate to the planet she had escaped to and managed to corner her there. She hid her child in the bushes and tried to get as far away from the child's hiding place before the Gekkis found her. She did not get far." Sunshine faltered to a stop, gazing down at her hands.
Daniel noticed she had started to shake slightly, and moving her hair aside again, he noticed she had begun to cry. Frowning, he tried to piece together what he knew about her. She hadn't seemed to show much emotion at all while describing the deaths of any of the other team members, not even Daniel, and he knew she seemed to care about him greatly. Why would this be much different? It must have something to do with her first reaction to seeing Carter. She had not expected to see Sam there, is what she had said. And wait, how could Sunshine have known Daniel if he had died, obviously many years before she had been born? It seems the more she explained the more confusing things became.
Sunshine shook her head, sniffing and wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to break down like that. I never expected it to be this hard." She said the last part quietly to herself, but Daniel could hear it.
He rubbed her back comfortingly, "It's all right. It's obviously very close to your heart. We understand."
Bolstered somewhat by Daniel's words, Sunshine struggled to get ahold of her emotions, succeeding. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll continue now." She shifted in her chair; Daniel noticed she really was getting worn out. "Like I said, Samantha Carter did not get far. The Gekkis shot her down in sight of the bush where her daughter hid. Fortunately, they had not seen the child and so did not go out searching for her. They left soon afterwards. A bright light appeared by the girl, it seemed to comfort her while she sat alone in the bushes. Some time later the Stargate activated again and a strange group of people approached the child's hiding place.
They were small, pale, with odd spiky long hair that hung down their back. They seemed friendly and went straight to the girl. They picked her up and brought her back through the Stargate to their world. The glowing light followed them. The girl was raised with those people the rest of her days, always moving from planet to planet as each was discovered by the increasingly formidable Gekkis fleet. She stayed with them for fifty-two years." Her tone had changed toward the end of the telling, and Daniel finally realized why.
"She's you, isn't she?" he said, awe very evident in his voice.
"Wait, what?" Mitchell broke in. "This kid is fifty some years old? No that makes no sense at all." He shook his head.
"And all the rest made perfect sense?" Vala quipped back at him. Mitchell looked surprised for a moment then just shrugged.
"Yes." Sunshine said quietly. "I am that girl." She looked pointedly at Sam. "You are my mother, Colonel Carter. That is why I reacted so strangely when we first met. The last time I saw you I was three years old and you were dying right before my eyes." She turned to look at Daniel.
"The white light I saw was you, Daniel. When you died, an ascended being helped you ascend again, and you told the Nox where to find me. You stayed with me the whole time." Her Cheshire Cat smile returned. "I had the best teachers in the universe, the Nox and Daniel Jackson. You warned us every time the Gekkis came close, so we would be gone by the time they reached our planet. Over the years, I traveled through the Pegasus galaxy, then back into the Milky Way galaxy briefly; we even lived in the Ori galaxy for a time, before it was overrun. Our last stop was the Ida galaxy."
"Wait, isn't the Ida galaxy…" Sam said with a frown.
"The Asgard home galaxy, yes." Daniel replied.
"But that still doesn't explain how you got here." General Landry put in, looking over at Sunshine.
"Actually, sir, yes it does." Sam cut in. "Or at least part of it. It was one of the things I was considering to be the cause for the gate malfunction. She says she lived with the Nox, and we know the Nox have the ability to control our gate from their end, including preventing the iris from closing."
"And the time travel thing?" Vala asked, curiously.
"What did you say about how you got here?" Daniel asked Sunshine absently. "Something about an Asgard generator and a solar flare?" She nodded in response.
"That's it, Daniel!" Carter said excitedly.
"What is?" he thought he might have missed something.
"Well, they used the Asgard generator to give more power to their Stargate, allowing them to gate out of the Ida galaxy and into the Milky Way galaxy. Like when O'Neill had the Ancient knowledge and built that generator to do the reverse." Sam was on a roll now. "And the solar flare was used to send the wormhole back in time, they must have had some way of calculating the proper flare needed to travel back the correct amount of time and arrive and the proper destination!"
Sunshine couldn't help but put in a few words. "Helloo! Ascended being and all!" she said, making a point of gesturing in Daniel's direction. He chuckled in spite of himself. If she really was the daughter of O'Neill, she had definitely inherited her father's sense of humor. Although she had commented that he had put in quite a bit as well.
"Like the trip to 1969 you guys took couple years ago." Mitchell snapped his fingers, remembering the file.
"Exactly!" Carter replied. "Although I wouldn't say it was a couple years ago." Mitchell brushed it off.
Daniel had been thinking, and he turned to Sunshine. "But if you were with the Nox, who shot at you when you came through the Stargate?" It seems he had hit exactly the wrong spot. She looked like she was about to cry again.
"It wasn't the Nox, obviously. It was the Gekkis. There was nowhere left for us to run, so we came up with the plan to send me back in time to try to fix all of it. The Nox promised to stall the Gekkis as long as they could while Daniel and I waited for the correct flare to occur." Everyone knew what she meant by 'stall'. "The last thing I remember seeing before going through the gate was the Gekkis breaking through the last of the Nox by the gate, throwing their lifeless bodies all over the place. Daniel turned to me and told me to go through the gate, that he would watch my back." She glanced up at Daniel. "The Nox wouldn't let him fight any of them, so all he could do was stand by and watch as they were all slaughtered. Both he and I saw the weapon blast just as I was stepping through the event horizon."
Seeing the saddened look on Daniel's face, she reached out and touched it. "You did all you could, Daniel. I don't blame you. And neither did the Nox."
"Why do you ascend, Daniel? From what I've heard, you haven't liked it any of the times you've tried it. I would think after the first or second time, you'd just give up. Or maybe you just like the whole glowy thing? Is that it?" Vala said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Daniel smirked, it had worked. The General stood up. "Is there anything else you could tell us about these 'Gekkis'? Such as how we keep them from taking over the planet?" Sunshine thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.
"No, I'm honestly not sure how to keep them from attacking, although I know that by sending them away when they send their delegates you could gain some time to rally against them." She nodded, more sure of herself now. "Yes, they didn't start conquering other planets in this galaxy until after they had the resources of Earth at their disposal. I think that if you deny them these resources, it will take them a lot longer to build up a substantial attack force."
The General nodded. "Well then that settles it; we'll decline their offer when they arrive. By the way, how long from now will that be?"
"Within a day or so, if Daniel remembered correctly." Seeing Daniel's confused expression, she smiled. "Oh, not you. My Daniel."
"Well, then. We have a lot of work to do. Dismissed!" Landry turned to go back into his office and make some phone calls. The others got up and went their own ways, leaving Daniel and Sunshine still sitting in their chairs. Sunshine gazed over the table and out the window at the gateroom.
"So you've been living with the Nox for the past fifty years?" Daniel was still having a hard time on that one.
Sunshine chuckled. "Yes, Daniel. You lived with them too, sort of. You taught me about Earth and TV and history, science, math…everything I could think of. The Nox taught me about nature and happiness. You both help train my special abilities."
"Special abilities?" he thought back to her healing. "What like your ability to heal? How is that again?"
"Well do you remember when the Asgard said that Jack O'Neill was the next step in the evolutionary path for humanity?" Daniel nodded, he hadn't really been sure if the Asgard had been joking or not, but he definitely remembered. "Well I continue on that line, and with training from people who can bring things back from the dead and become invisible, and an ascended being, it wasn't that hard to improve upon it."
Sunshine seemed to think about some fond memory, then smile to herself. "You taught me about enlightenment, hoping to bring me that step closer to ascension. You never gave up on that, no matter how much trouble it caused you. With the help of the Nox, my life was extended quite a bit, through both diet and the healing process. You once compared it to the sarcophagus' ability to heal and extend one's life, but without the bad side effects."
Just one more thing he had to know. "So how did you know I was going to call you Sunshine?"
She couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt. "Because that's what you called me the first time. You never knew what Jack and Sam named me, so you gave me a name after you brought me to the Nox. That's when you gave me that pillow. I wouldn't let it out of my sight for years!" She laughed again at fond memories. "Ooh… but I need some more time to heal; I'm not feeling top of the weather right now."
He got up, "Here let me help you back to the infirmary then." Sunshine brushed away his outstretched arm.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit in here for a while. It's quieter for the healing, and I don't have to worry about nurses sticking me with needles!" They both smiled. Daniel began to walk towards the briefing room door. "I wish I could have seen Jack, though…" Sunshine said quietly.
"You two would have gotten along great." Daniel said with a smile as he left her alone in the room. Only when he was halfway to his office did he realize they had spoken as if the two would never meet.
Sunshine dropped her head back onto the tabletop. That briefing had really taken it out of her. When she and Daniel had been talking over this plan, she hadn't realized how much the story of her life would affect people. Trying to calm herself, she remembered the lessons Daniel and the Nox had taught her about the relaxed mind needed for healing. She had to be ready to help any way she could when the Gekkis arrived.
Suddenly an alarm started to sound, red lights flashing and she heard the dreaded announcement. "Unscheduled offworld activation!" Mustering as much strength as she could, Sunshine got up and made her way down to the gateroom as quickly as possible. She was just exiting the control room when the General arrived and asked the gate technician what was going on. "I'm sorry, sir." The man said in a guilty tone. "The iris is still undergoing tests, its offline for another hour or so."
Even more concerned by the technician's words, Sunshine raced to the door of the gateroom, slipping in behind the security team. She had to be ready to do whatever was necessary, she reminded herself.
Hearing the alarm, Daniel looked up from his reading and a worried thought flashed through his head. Could it be the Gekkis were here already? Well, it wouldn't matter that much, the iris would prevent anyone or anything from getting through.
Wait, the iris! Dropping what he was doing, Daniel raced toward the gateroom. Sam had just told him that they were still doing tests on the iris and its communication with the dialing computers, hoping to figure out just how the Nox were able to control it. With the iris still down, there would be nothing to prevent the Gekkis from marching right into the SGC!
The wormhole opened with a "kawoosh" and everyone tensely waited, hoping beyond hope that they were wrong, and the Gekkis were not coming. But to no avail. Through the wormhole stepped three men, or what at first glance looked like men.
They were vaguely reptilian, with grayish green skin, reptilian eyes, and tails. Not very thick tails, mind you, but they were definitely there. The one in the back spoke, revealing disconcertingly sharp teeth. "Yes, this is the place. Ah! That is her! We must get her!" He pointed through the gateroom at Sunshine, who was standing behind a few security personnel, hoping to be ignored. She did not, however, expect to be recognized.
As the two Gekkis in front advanced down the ramp, the security team pointed their weapons at the aliens, fingers ready on the trigger. The two stopped, hissing in dissatisfaction. The third walked forward, passing the two fearlessly. "You will not get rid of us that easily, Sunshine! We cannot allow you to change the timeline!"
Fearing the Gekkis were about to attack the soldiers, and knowing how dangerous they really were, Sunshine made a quick decision. She stepped forwards, walking to the bottom of the ramp, just out of reach of the one in front. "How do you know about me?" she addressed the Gekkis before her.
"I too, have traveled back, but my mission is to keep the timeline intact. Which means I must stop you from changing it." He quickly reached out his hand, showing a red, gemlike glow emitting from the center.
As quick as thought, Sunshine threw up her hands and scrunched her eyes tightly shut in concentration. Immediately afterwards, a flash of light came out of the Gekkis hand toward her. Before it could hit her, it impacted on…something…in midair and fizzled out.
"Ahh. You think a mere shield can prevent me from attaining my goals? You cannot sustain it forever, and when you tire I will have you." The Gekkis leader said smugly. Sunshine merely shook her head slightly and continued to concentrate.
Up in the control room, Samantha Carter looked on at the drama unfolding in the gateroom. Her own daughter, she still couldn't quite grasp it. And that force shield…it was amazing. Remembering Dr. Lam's comment about advanced brain functions, she realized the girl must be using her mind to manipulate the molecules of air around her.
That's it! Sunshine was somehow slowing down the speed that the air molecules traveled at, causing them to become solid temporarily. That would be an awful lot of molecules to control, and Sam's heart sunk when she thought of it. The girl, no…her daughter, would not be able to keep this up for very long.
It was difficult to maintain, but Sunshine knew she had to keep the shield up long enough for….for what? What could the soldiers do? Shoot the Gekkis obviously, but how many would die before they succeeded in taking down the aliens? Too many. She had to concentrate.
Concentrating was becoming very hard to do. Her wound wasn't even close to being healed, and the effort of maintaining the force shield was sapping the last of her strength. Think; think…what was the last thing that Daniel had said to her? Remind me to feed my fish? Hehe, no. He had said that earlier, when their task still seemed light. No, the last thing he had said to her was…
"Sunshine!"
That voice…she turned, her attention slipped.
Running into the gateroom, the first thing Daniel saw was three strange creatures standing on the ramp facing a girl with her hands flung out in front of her, eyes squeezed shut…
"Sunshine!" he called out, unthinking.
She turned, looking over at him. The Gekkis in front stepped forward and flung his arm out, planting it right above her wound. With a squeeze, Daniel saw sharp claws extend out from the fingertips and bury themselves in Sunshine's torso. He saw the pain flicker across her face just as a bright red flash occurred right where the alien's hand touched her skin.
The blast threw Sunshine back and slammed her into the concrete wall below the control room observation window. She slumped to the floor, not moving. The security team advanced forward, completely blocking the path of the Gekkis, weapons trained on their targets. Daniel ran over to the prone girl.
Leaning down, he saw how severe her wound was. It wasn't much a wound as a hole in her abdomen, leaking her strength and blood out onto the floor. Glancing up at her face, he saw she was looking at him, a weak smile on her face. "Hold on, Sunshine, hold on." He said frantically, not sure what else to do. "You can make it through this!" he added, remembering the last time he said it, ages ago it seemed, in the infirmary.
She seemed to remember as well, reaching out her hand and grasping his own. Nodding she said in barely a whisper, "Don't worry, I'll never forge—" she looked past him, a curious look on her face. "Who are you? Shifu…Skaara?" Daniel gasped. He heard her say one last thing before she slipped away. "I understand."
"I understand."
These two are coming to help me reach my potential, and I realize I'm ready. I know what to do now, and I remember the last thing Daniel said to me before I left.
"Don't forget, Sunshine…for you, the sun never sets."
And he was right.
Her hand slackened in Daniel's grasp, and then it disappeared altogether. A blinding light came up from her body, and he followed its slow and majestic path up through the ceiling of the gateroom and away to some other place. Glancing back down, he saw her clothes still lay there, a large bloodied hole in the abdomen. The red clashed harshly with the white tones of the Nox garment.
She was gone. He got up slowly, then walked over toward the surrounded Gekkis. The leader looked at Daniel with what he could only guess was a smug expression. "Our task is complete. Now we must notify our fleet that your planet is ready to be taken. Our plans have changed, but this will only expedite things." The Gekkis leader turned to face the Stargate, touching a familiar looking object attached to the back of his hand. The Stargate automatically reactivated, the shimmering puddle curving up from the bottom until it covered the circle's span once more. "We must depart."
"NO." A familiar voice rang out from the doorway of the gateroom. Daniel turned in surprise. Standing in the doorway, wearing the same clothes she had worn before, yet looking healthier than he had ever seen her, was Sunshine. "I cannot allow you to send your fleet to conquer this world." She walked forward, moving slowly but inexorably toward the ramp. People shuffled out of her way as she moved.
"You can't stop us." The leader said matter-of-factly. "The other one like you stood by, powerless as we massacred so many. He was not allowed to interfere." The Gekkis must be referring to me, Daniel thought. Or who I could have been.
"Do you want to bet your life on that? I'm not so sure I would risk it if I were you." Sunshine smiled patronizingly. "I don't think you'd get a second chance at life if you died."
Realizing the truth of her words, the Gekkis looked decidedly less sure of themselves. "W-what can we do to prevent this fate?" the leader stammered out in fear.
"I will allow you to leave this planet, on the condition that you warn your fleet that the people of this planet are far too formidable an enemy to conquer just yet. And if any of the Tau'ri find you have enslaved the people of any planet they explore, there will be retribution. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes, yes! We understand!" the Gekkis leader nodded vigorously, nudging the other two to follow suit. They complied.
"Fine, then go. And don't come back." Sunshine pointed a dramatic finger at the Stargate as the three Gekkis turned tail (literally) and ran through the event horizon. The Stargate deactivated with a pop. She turned back to a flabbergasted Daniel and the rest of the SGC present. "Little too dramatic, don't you think?" she asked Daniel with a grin.
He smiled and shook his head, "No, not too dramatic at all." She really was just like Jack. Sunshine smiled her Cheshire Cat smile at him, and walked closer. Reaching out as if to hug him, she stopped. Her gleeful smile slipped away, replaced by a more weary one as her hands fell to her side.
"Yes, this is how I remember it."
With a shake of her head, she turned away and disappeared.
The End