Chapter 3 guys: Here it is.
Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to make it a long chapter.
Can't promise that the next chapter will be as long, but it should come out sooner... depending on when I start on chapter 4.
Going to work on some of my other stories.
Taking a deep breath of air, Ben breathed a sigh of relief as he walked through the street; his hands stuffed in his jean's pockets, "Thanks for helping me with this, Daniel."
The archaeologist shrugged, "Don't mention it. Your new apartment is right next to mine so it only made sense that I helped you settle in." He paused as a couple of kids passed in front of him, a small smile on his face, "Besides, this now means we can get to know each other better."
Ben nodded, "So... how long have you been working at Cheyenne Mountain?" He didn't want to pry, but he was curious as to why someone like him worked at the mountain.
"Not that long actually," Daniel admitted with a sheepish smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his head, "It's only been about two months since I joined." He and Ben both turned left at a corner, "At times, though, it feels like I've worked there for a lifetime."
Ben grinned, "I can imagine. With everything that goes on there, I can see how you would feel like that." His nose wrinkled in distaste as he passed a smoking hobo, "I guess you have smokers here as well?"
The hobo glared at Ben, unhappy with his comment, "Judgmental little prick. Don't you got anything better to do than judge me?" He waved his bottle of booze at Ben in a threatening gesture... well it would have been threatening if the hobo hadn't been stone drunk.
Ben sweat dropped as he waved his hands in a placating gesture, "Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
"Stupid little shits..." The hobo snorted as he took a sip of his booze, "Can't leave an old man in peace, can they? I'll show them, all of them."
As the man continued to ramble to himself, both Ben and Daniel slowly walked away from the, obviously, crazy man.
Once they were a safe distance away, Ben released a sigh of breath, "Man...that could have gone better."
"Maybe," Daniel agreed, "But it wasn't all your fault. Mostly cause he was drunk, which made him far more agitated than he should have been," Glancing backward, he saw that the hobo had fallen face forward on the ground, "I think we should go before anyone starts asking questions."
"Agreed," Ben started walking faster as he followed Daniel, "How far away are we from the place?"
Daniel looked at the younger man, "Not that far actually. Should be there in about a few seconds," He shook his head ruefully, "We would have been there sooner but I wanted to show you around town, so to speak."
"It's ok." Ben waved of Daniel's explanation, "I would have needed to do this eventually. This is just allowing me to get a head start."
"Glad I could be of help then," Daniel smiled at Ben. He paused as he turned into a small apartment complex, "And... here we are, your new home."
Rolling his eyes, Ben shoved Daniel playfully as he approached the building. Looking around, he noticed that there was a nice garden at the sides of the entrance, giving the entire building a natural look.
The hero whistled softly, "Well, at least it looks nice."
Daniel nodded in agreement as he fished for the key in his pocket, "Yeah, sometimes I just like to come out here and think. It's my way of relaxing after a busy day at work." Finally finding the small key, he put it in the lock and turned. Once he felt the doorknob unlock, he opened the door and held it open for Ben.
"Thanks," Ben said as he walked through the door and into a long hallway, "So is your apartment on this floor or on another?" As he waited for a reply, he noticed that almost all of the doors were brown while the walls themselves were a bright yellow.
"It's on the floor above us," Daniel replied as he checked his mailbox. Pausing, he tossed Ben a small key, "Why don't you go and check out your apartment?"
"I will," Ben replied as he caught the keys in mid-air, "Maybe even check out yours while I'm at it."
Daniel shook his head in the negative, "I wouldn't recommend it. My place is a mess, so it isn't ready for visitors yet. Give me an hour to get it into shape, and then you can come over."
"It's a deal," Ben gave Daniel a half-hearted salute as he walked away.
Ben took a deep breath as he stared at the door in front of him. Somehow, he didn't know how, but Paradox was to blame for this. He wasn't upset; he just found it to be really odd.
B10
A small chuckle escaped his mouth as he unlocked the door with his key. Walking into the room, the first thing he noticed was the white walls that surrounded him, "Well...this isn't depressing."
Tossing the keys onto the table, he allowed himself to rest on the brown couch that faced the sole window in the living room. He could see tons of birds resting on the branches of trees that stood outside his window, all of them chirping a cheerful song as he watched them, "Although this does help make up for it."
As he sat there, all alone in the room, he sighed as he pulled out the small box that Paradox had given him, unsure as to what to do with it, "Why would Paradox give you to me? Just what kind of secrets are you holding, my friend?"
He knew that it was supposed to help him when he was down, but something felt odd about it. It prickled in Ben's mind, though he could not identify what was wrong with it.
As he fiddled with the box, pressing everything that might be a button, he cursed. This was getting him nowhere...and probably for a good reason. Everything that Paradox did, he did with good reason.
As he put the box back in his pocket, he made a silent dedication to trust Paradox; the box would open in its due time.
He sighed as he got off the couch, "Time to fix this place up and make it my new home," He tilted his head to the side so as to get the crick in his neck out, "That's better." Going to the windows, he closed the blinds so that none could see into the room.
Once he was certain of his privacy, he activated the Omnitrix and turned the dial to his fastest alien, "Time to go fast," Slamming down on the faceplate, he could feel the transformation taking place as the familiar green light overtook his vision, "XLR8!"
Omnitrix Database - XLR8 - Kineceleran
XLR8 (pronounced "Accelerate") is the Omnitrix's DNA sample of a Kineceleran from the planet Kinet.
XLR8 can manipulate friction to reach speeds of 500 mph within two seconds and is fast enough to run on water. He can accelerate so quickly that time appears to completely stop to him.
XLR8 also has very high dexterity, being able to type on keyboards or keypads at high speeds. Using this skill, he can input any code to deactivate devices. XLR8 also seem to think, act and react at superhuman speed as well, as he was able to think of a million combinations in a few seconds.
XLR8 can deliver speed-enhanced attacks with rapid successions, such as excessively kicking or stabbing enemies with great speed and strength. XLR8 has quick reflexes, allowing him to dodge attacks with little effort.
XLR8 is capable of creating tornadoes by generating a centripetal vacuum powerful enough to lift a To'kustar, either by running in a circular pattern or spinning at supersonic speeds.
XLR8's scissor-like claws can cut through many materials with relative ease. His tail is prehensile allowing him to grab onto other objects. XLR8 can recover from injuries faster than other species.
Once the green light faded, a blue and black, semi-armored, velociraptor-like alien stood tall in Ben's place, "I haven't used this guy in quite a while...here's hoping I still have the skills to use him effectively."
Using his amazing speed, he zoomed around his place of residence; a black and blue trail following his every movement, as he reorganized everything in the apartment to his liking.
Coming to a slow stop, XLR8 paused as he gazed at the reorganized room. He would need to change the color of the walls to something more preferable, maybe green. Besides that though, everything was to his liking.
Seeing no reason to stay in alien form, he slammed the Omnitrix symbol on his chest and ended the transformation. With another flash of light, he was back to being human, "And I'm done."
He swept a hand through his hair when he heard a knock on the door. That was probably Daniel, "I'm coming."
As he opened the door, he saw Daniel standing there, and Jack to the side with a pack of canned beer in his left hand. He gestured for the both of them to come in, a dumb look on his face, "Not that I'm complaining but what are you doing here, Jack?"
"Well I was going to help you unpack," Jack answered as he entered the room, a grin on his face, "But since it looks like you've got that covered, I guess we could just get to know each other better," He raised the pack of beer into the air and jiggled it a bit, though not so much that it would cause it to fizz when opened.
Ben grinned as he followed Jack into the kitchen, Daniel right behind him, "Thanks. Also, remind me to thank Hammond for getting all this stuff," He gestured to the television and furniture on the other side of the counter, "There is no way I could have afforded this on my own."
"Says the guy who can form pure diamonds with but a thought," Jack rolled his eyes as he put the beer in the fridge, "I'm certain you could buy an entire country for yourself if given the chance."
"I did," Ben stated with a sly grin as he poured himself a cup of water from the sink. He almost laughed at the dumbstruck look on their faces, "Oh don't look at me like that. It was back in my old dimension." That seemed to calm them a bit, though the shock was still there.
Jack was the first to recover, though there was a grin on his face, "Ok, you've got me curious; why would you do something like that?"
The hero fell silent, slightly worrying both Jack and Daniel as he looked at the ceiling, his mind going back to the occasion that had started it all. He looked back at Jack, a neutral look on his face, "Jack, I like you, but there are just some things that I'm not ready to talk about." He took a sip of his water, "I told Sam about the circumstances of my coming here because I was emotionally raw. It had all just happened, hell even I was surprised by my willingness to spill about what happened."
"I understand," Jack nodded; a small frown on his face as he thought about the things in his own life that he didn't want others to know about, "We won't pry into your past. When you're willing, I'm certain you will tell us." He smiled at Ben as he walked to one of the chairs, "Besides, there are other topics we can talk about."
"That's true," Ben mused, a smile on his face as he sat in a recliner chair, "So what do you guys want to know? I'm an open book," He stretched his arms out to indicate just how open he is.
Daniel laughed lightly from the soft couch he sat on, "Well...what did you do for a living?"
Ben grinned; this was going to be good. Sending a smirk at the two men, he crossed his arms behind his head, "I was a plumber."
Jack was mid-sip when he heard that, meaning that the water in his mouth was sprayed out all over the new carpet. Seeing the glare on his host's face, Jack waved his hands in apology, "I'm sorry about that. You just caught me by surprise. You don't seem like the type of person who would clean toilets."
Ben wasn't surprised by that fact, mostly because others reacted the same way whenever he told them. Although, by the looks of it, it seemed that Daniel was far more respectful than Jack was, mostly by not spewing water all over the carpet.
"It's ok," Ben replied, the smile on his face reassuring the men that he wasn't upset, "I can see how you would be confused, but no, I don't clean toilets. The Plumbers, despite their names, are actually an intergalactic peacekeeping force."
"...so you guy are like the UN's peacekeeping forces?" Daniel asked as he adjusted his glasses. He cursed within his mind for not bringing a notebook, but hindsight is twenty-twenty.
Ben hesitated, "Sort of. We were more like space police." He looked at the Omnitrix, memories flashing before his very eyes, "Our duty as Plumbers came with many responsibilities; the foremost being the enforcement of the Galactic Codes of Conduct."
Daniel perked up in interest, "So if someone chose to violate those codes, what would happen?"
Ben sipped some of the water in his cup, his mouth having gone dry, as he looked at Daniel, "It honestly depends on how severe the crime is and what kind of effect it has on others."
"Let's go with the worst case scenario," Jack stated. He wouldn't admit it out loud but this topic was really interesting, "Say somebody like Hitler but on a galaxy-wide scale."
Ben whistled, he hadn't heard that one in a while, "In such a case, we would normally send the person and all of their co-conspirators to the Null Void."
Jack blinked, that sounded creepy enough to scare even the devil, "And the Null Void is?"
"So this is me assuming that you guys have the Superman comics here," Ben started as he tried to think of the best way to describe the horrid dimension, "But the Null Void is a lot like the Phantom Zone. The main difference, though, is that it doesn't strip you of a physical body but instead ebbs away at your life force until your nothing more than a husk of your former self," He paused as he gauged their reactions, "You guys ok?"
"Yeah," Jack waved of Ben's concern, "I just can't think of living in a place like that."
Ben scoffed, "Trust me; you shouldn't even bother trying to imagine it. Just thinking about it can drive most people insane, especially if they have done time there."
"Really?" Daniel asked as he looked at Ben with inquisitive eyes, "That seems kind of far-fetched."
The skepticism he felt was evident to Ben, but the alien hero did not begrudge the archaeologist, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's not true." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, as he stared Daniel dead in the eye, "You need to understand that people will do whatever it takes to avoid going to prison, especially when that prison is something like the Null Void. I've known people, mostly aliens, who have gouged out their own eyes, just for the sake of not having to look at the horrid place."
Seeing the disturbed look on Daniel's face, Jack patted him on the back, "He's right. Desperation drives people to do extreme things, including self-mutilation."
Daniel nodded, it made sense but a part of him found it too hard to accept, "I think I need some water."
"It's a hard truth," Ben admitted as he stood up, "But the sooner you accept it, the better. Trying to fight it will only cause more heartache." He paused, "I speak from experience when I say this...don't deny what you know to be the truth."
Jack nodded, "He's right. I won't bother to sugarcoat it; there will be situations where the truth is too painful to accept." He swallowed the saliva that had formed in his mouth, "What matters is our ability to keep moving forward, to not allow it to weigh us down."
Daniel snorted, although there was a faint smile on his face, "How did our conversation get so depressing all of a sudden?"
"While I don't have the answer to that question," Ben started with a grin as he went to the kitchen, "I do have a solution. You can thank Jack for this one." Opening the fridge, he pulled out four bottles of Budweiser, "I want you guys to meet man's best friend, right after the dog, beer!"
Jack grinned as he was handed a beer, "I was wondering when we were going to open up these bad boys," His grin widened as he pulled the tab on the can, "Nothing like a good old beer to wash away our worries eh?"
Ben rolled his eyes as he handed Daniel a can, "Something like that," He paused as he stared at the can in his hand, before a small chuckle broke out, "A small part of me is glad to be here, you know?"
Jack raised an eyebrow, that was kind of a weird thing to say in his opinion, "But didn't you lose your family when you came here?" He winced in pain when he was jabbed in the side. It didn't take a genius to know that it was Daniel who had done the deed, "What!? I was just asking a question."
Daniel glared at him, his blue eyes indicating his disapproval, "There are certain questions that should not be asked, I thought you knew that?"
"It's ok, Daniel," Ben chuckled as he took a sip of his beer, "I understand what he meant, and I'm not offended at all." He closed his eyes as a small smile came to his lips, "This world, universe, reality, whatever you want to call it, is a new chance at life for me. No one knows who I am, they don't know what I've done, and as such, they don't have expectations for me." He opened back his eyes and stared at Jack's, "I am a no one...and I like it. I've spent so much time in the spotlight, my very actions being judged by others, that this is a well-deserved vacation."
Daniel stared at Ben, a disapproving frown on his face, "You seem to have gotten over your family's death quite easily,"
Ben glared at Daniel, his emerald eyes burning a hole into Daniel's head, "No...I haven't. Despite what you think, I still feel great hatred for the Monster that killed them. It's only been a week since I joined the SGC, but every time I look at myself in the mirror...all I see is a failure. I see a person that was too slow, too weak, and too kindhearted." Ben paused as he tried to regain his breath, "I've made mistakes...mistakes that have cost me. I've learned from them, but what use does it do me to continue wallowing in pity?"
"Oh...I'm sorry," Daniel apologized, his head bowed in shame. He felt like kicking himself in the ass for making such an assumption, "I misjudged...I made a mistake and all I can say is I'm sorry."
Jack sighed, "Let's just forget about this little tidbit and drink our beer in peace. Maybe watch some TV while we're at it?" He silently prayed that Ben accepted the idea.
Ben snorted as he drank some more beer, "Fine."
SGC - The Next Day
Sam smiled as she walked towards the briefing room, amused by the sight in front of her, "Rough night?"
"You could say that," Ben replied, his green eyes covered by shades that he had borrowed from Jack, "You can thank your co-workers for that by the way. They kept me up so late last night that I was only able to get in about three hours of sleep." He paused as he tried to gather his thoughts, "When you see them, tell them both that they are never coming back to my place. I'd do it myself, but I need to get some coffee first and try to look awake."
A small laugh escaped his co-worker's mouth, "I'll be sure to do that."
"Thanks," Ben groaned as he continued walking, "So I remember Jack saying something about a mission. That true?"
"Yeah," Sam nodded, "P3X-8596. We don't know much about it, but the Stargate appears to be in some sort of temple or tomb."
That piqued Ben's interest, "Better hope it's a tomb then, cause if it turns out it's a temple, then we better be prepared to meet people who think we are gods and goddesses" He paused as he opened a door for Sam, "After you, my lady."
Sam rolled her eyes in amusement as she walked through the door, Ben following after her, "Thanks. So what do you suggest then? I mean it's not like we can go and pretend to be divine beings, we'd be discovered faster than the speed of light."
"I'm not suggesting anything of the sort," Ben assured her as they approached the cafeteria, "Well, I mean we could do that but it would require you guys pretending to be slaves and me your evil god." He grinned at her, "Something tells me, though, that you guys would not like that."
"While that would be a sight to see, you are right. Jack would fight you every step of the way, and while it would help sell the image of a slave, it would also probably get him killed." Sam gave him a wry smirk as she poured herself a cup of coffee, "Besides, why do you get to be the god? I'm certain anyone of us could do a pretty good job of it."
"I don't doubt that," Ben replied, "Each of you has skills that border the extraordinary, but what happens when they ask for proof? When they ask to see the impossible? You need someone who can give them the very proof that they desire," Ben frowned at seeing her incredulous look, "I'm not being cocky, I'm just stating the facts. With my aliens, I can manipulate the very ground we stand on, summon plants, breathe fire...the list goes on. Can you say for certain that I wouldn't be the best choice to play a god?"
Sam closed her eyes, a small sigh escaping her mouth, as Ben poured himself a cup of fresh coffee, "Point taken, though I can't imagine Jack being too happy about that." Opening her eyes, she looked at Ben, "I'll talk to the General and see what he thinks about it. If he agrees, we can probably make some sort of plan to implement your idea."
Ben nodded, "Ok then. You go on ahead and do that. I'm going to stay here and drink my coffee. At least then I can pretend that I'm not tired." He proved his point be taking a sip of his steaming hot coffee.
"...You know you got to come with me, right?" Sam asked with a curious look on her face, "To the mission briefing I mean. You're a member of SG-1 now. That means you got to come to the meetings, and yes, I do know you don't like them." Seeing the annoyed look on his face, Sam rolled her eyes, "Don't be a baby. The sooner you go, the sooner it'll be done. "
Ben groaned into his cup, "Fine." He glared at Sam, his hands covering his cup protectively, "But I'm taking this with me."
He didn't bother waiting for her response as he walked out of the cafeteria. He already knew what he had to do. Thanks to his experience in dodging hostile aliens, he was able to get to the briefing room without spilling a drop of his coffee.
Walking in, he noticed that he was the first one there, not including the General. He bowed his head in respect, his hands busy cradling the mug in his hand, "I guess I'm early then?"
Hammond nodded, "Yes, five minutes early to be exact." He rested the pen in his hand on the table, "I'm curious as to why that is." He gestured for Ben to take a seat.
"You can thank Sam for that." He replied with a small grin as he took a seat at the table, "She pointed out that the sooner I was here, the sooner it would be done." He paused to take a sip of his coffee, "Her logic was sound, which isn't that surprising considering I read her file. You've got some truly brilliant minds here, General."
"Thank you," Hammond accepted the compliment with a smile. He paused when he saw the rest of SG-1 enter the room, "I'm glad to see you here, all on time at that." He gave a pointed look to Jack.
"What? I can be on time!" Jack defended himself, his face marred by the sudden pout that formed on it.
Daniel snorted, "Yeah, then Tea'lc isn't a Jaffa." He ignored the glare that Jack sent him as he glanced at said Jaffa, "No offense meant to you."
Teal'c bowed his head in acknowledgment, his eyes closed in contemplation, "None is taken. I too am surprised by Jack's punctuality."
Jack raised his hands into the air, the exasperation he felt was evident, "Traitors...all of you are traitors."
Hammond watched the scene with a fond smile, his eyes gazing at the members of SG1. It was times like this, small and fleeting, that he enjoyed being in command of the SGC. It made him proud to have such fine people under his command.
The general coughed so as to bring back everyone's attention to him, "While I am glad to see you guys bonding, now is not the best time for that. We have a mission briefing to complete," He looked at Sam and gestured for her to start her presentation.
Carter nodded as she stood up next to the projector, her hands filled with all sorts of files, "The planet we are heading towards has been cataloged as P3X-8596. Our initial scans of the planet indicate that it has a breathable atmosphere, though, there is something unusual about it." She pulled out five copies of a page and handed them out.
Ben frowned as he took one of the papers from Sam, "Thanks."
Sam nodded, "It's no problem." Seeing that everyone had a copy, she continued where she left off, "Unlike our own air, there are small metal particles in this planet's air, floating about. As we don't know what they are, we can't be too certain about the effect it will have on our health."
Ben nodded as he read the report, his eyes scanning the picture attached to the copy. While they were small, he was able to make out the mentioned metal particles.
"So?" Jack asked, not really understanding the problem, "Why not just wear a hazmat suit? That should be enough to keep out the pesky metal dots."
"That's what we're thinking as well." Sam nodded in agreement, surprised that her CO actually made a sensible suggestion. "Until we are certain that it will not affect us, we will have to stay in those suits."
Ben frowned as he heard that, "No...I don't think that will help." He paused seeing the strange look on everyone's faces, "Take a closer look at the picture. Doesn't that kind of look like a nanite?"
Sam shook her head in the negative, "We thought the same thing, but they haven't shown any signs of actually being machines. For one thing, they don't give off any energy readings."
Ben tilted his head in thought. That was a very good point, but there was a possible explanation for that as well, "They could just be dormant, or they might need a signal to activate." He rubbed his chin in thought as he looked back at the paper, "I could probably make something that can activate them, that is, if they are machines."
Hammond pursed his lips in thought, before gazing back at Ben, "What happens if they turn out to be machines?"
Ben actually looked hesitant to answer, "Honestly...I'm not certain. They can be programmed to do anything, and from my experience, that does mean anything." He looked at Hammond with a frown, "But it's better we find out what they do now, then have to learn the hard way."
The General nodded, "Very well." He looked at Carter, "Captain, I want you and Ben to find out what those metal particles are and, if they are nanites, how to shut them down." Seeing them nod, he continued, "Does anyone have anything else to add?"
Sam coughed, "Actually, there is something that Ben has brought to my attention." She pulled out another picture and handed it to Hammond, "We won't know until we go through, but it appears that the gate is either in a temple or a tomb."
Hammond nodded, he had already gotten a report on that, "I know that already, so please get to the point, Captain."
"Right," Sam nodded, a small flush of embarrassment evident on her face, "If the gate is inside a temple, then that means that the people view it as being sacred, something that the gods themselves use. That's a problem for us, as we are not deities. If people see us coming through it, they will assume that we have a divine nature."
"How is that a problem?" Jack asked, "I mean that should be to our benefit. If they think we are their gods, then that means we can get information easily out of them."
Ben rolled his eyes, "The problem is when they ask for proof, Jack. None of us, as humans, are capable of doing anything remotely divine." He paused to look at the General, "I don't mean any offense, but we are a fragile race. One well placed punch and you'll be out for the count."
Daniel nodded, while it was brutal, it was honest, "I agree with Ben. Pretending to be a god can only spell out trouble for us in the future. Might I add that we have no way of recreating the abilities that some gods are known for-"
"That's actually not true." Sam interrupted Daniel all of a sudden, "Ben's aliens actually allow him to manipulate certain aspects of the world, a good example being Swampfire. He could manipulate both plant life and fire on such a level that one would think that it was a god doing it."
Hammond raised an eyebrow, curious as to what Sam was getting at, "What are you suggesting?"
Sam took a seat and looked at the General, her eyes locked onto his, "We use Ben's skills to our benefit. When people ask who we are, we say that he is a god, a mighty one even, that is there to free them. If they ask for proof or even laugh, we can have Ben use his powers to silence those doubts. That way, we can go about our business without having to worry about interference from the locals."
Getting up from his seat, the General locked eyes with Ben before gazing back at Sam, "Give me some time to think about it. In the meantime, you know what you have to do. Dismissed!"
SG-1 watched as Hammond retreated to his office, a conflicted look on his face. They all shared a look before going about their own business.
Ben frowned; his green eyes locked on the small petri dish in front of him as he waited in Sam's lab. The good captain was standing next to him, looking through a microscope and making small notes on a piece of paper that was beside her.
Coughing, Ben drew Sam's attention away from the microscope, "So, how do you wanna go about testing the particles?"
"I was thinking about using small surges of electricity to try and activate them," Sam answered with a shrug of her shoulders, "If that doesn't work, then try and find the frequency that they work at and then try and turn them on."
She laughed when she saw Ben's frown turn into a smile, "Looks like someone's excited."
The human from another dimension rolled his eyes, "We both know that you're just as excited, hell, maybe even more so than me."
"Maybe," Sam admitted with a small smile, before an inquisitive frown appeared on her face, "You wouldn't happen to have an alien that can manipulate electricity, would you?" Despite being worded as a question, the both of them knew that it was anything but.
Taking that as his cue, he activated the Omnitrix, "I would suggest you close your eyes, but something tells me that you know that already," He pressed down the popped up core, "BRAINSTORM!"
Omnitrix Database - Brainstorm - Cerebrocrustacean
Cerebrocrustaceans are a crab-like species from the Encephalonus system.
Cerebrocrustaceans have large brains, giving them high intelligence.
Cerebrocrustaceans can solve difficult calculations mentally in a few seconds. They know complex angular physics, can visualize equations, and movement of objects as if they're actually there.
Cerebrocrustaceans can produce and manipulate electricity, in forms that can be put to various uses, including launching electricity, creating protective coatings, creating force fields, by opening the exoskeleton plates on their skull or using their pincers.
Cerebrocrustaceans can use their electrokinesis to telekinetically move objects and they're also capable EM wave readers enabling telereceiving.
Cerebrocrustacean can control machinery and similar objects using their electrokinesis, giving them a form of technokinesis.
Cerebrocrustaceans do not move their mouths as they project their thoughts as sound waves.
In Ben's place now stood an orange crab-like alien, with a massive head. His six legs, three on each side, allowed him to reach Sam's chest in height. Brainstorm's mouth formed into a grin, his pincers clicking together rapidly, "Allow me to gaze at these primitive pieces of technology with my own two eyes."
"Er...ok?" Sam moved to the side so that Brainstorm could use the microscope. She watched as he tried to grasp the scientific tool with his pincers, "Are you ok?"
Brainstorm chuckled, which was strange to Sam considering that he looked like seafood, "If you are inquiring as to my physical health, then you will be satisfied to know that I am physically fit and healthy."
Sam shook her head in disbelief, "If you say so." She watched as Brainstorm opened the plates covering his brain, revealing the electricity coursing through his brain.
"If these microscopic machines truly need electricity to be activated, then this life form will excel at the job." Brainstorm focused on the metal particles, the electricity within his brain building up to a point that he started glowing, "Please step to the side, Captain. I do not wish for you to be shocked by my formidable brain."
"I get it know," Sam realized as she moved behind Brainstorm, "This alien of yours, Ben, makes you so much smarter than you already are...but at the cost of your humility." Her grin was that of a cat that ate the canary.
"No," Brainstorm denied, "I am just your intellectual better." He willed the electricity that he had charged up to go to his pincers, giving them a yellow glow as lightning sparked between them.
Aiming his pincers at the sample, he released the built up lightning at a steady rate. After a few short seconds, he cut off the stream so as not to destroy the particles, "And I'm done." He slammed the Omnitrix symbol on his waist and reverted back to his original form before looking at Sam, "It's your show now."
"Thanks," Sam muttered as she went to the microscope. The microscopic particles looked different now, almost like they were alive, "Looks like you were right, they do appear to be nanites." Sam raised her head to look at her co-worker, "I'm curious...how did you know they were nanites? I mean it seems kind of like a long shot when you consider all the facts."
"Let's just say that I've had bad experiences with them in my own universe. They're such a major part of life on planets there, including my own Earth, that I've come to expect anything small and metal to be nanites." He shook his head ruefully before pointing at the sample, "Are they doing anything?"
"No...they're just kind of sitting there and occasionally hitting each other." Sam stated as she looked through the microscope, "Wait...I think I see something," She turned the dial on the side of the scientific apparatus, "There appear to be small traces of lightning traveling between them."
Ben's eyes widened, "NO! NO! NO!" He rushed to Sam's side and gently pulled the scientific apparatus away from her, as he didn't want to be rude, "Let me see that, please?"
As he looked through the microscope he could see the nanites increasing in speed, constantly hitting each other, with lightning surging between them. He pulled away from the microscope with a sigh, "I was afraid of this." He looked at Sam with a grim look on his face, "It looks like these nanites are transferring knowledge between themselves; adapting to the new circumstances that they have found themselves in." He looked at Sam, "I don't know what you want to do, but you are my superior and as such, I leave the decision to you."
Sam frowned, "Ok...what do you suggest then?" She was curious as to what he thought, mostly because he knew more about nanites than she did.
"Honestly? I don't know." Ben admitted with a frown on his face, "All they're doing is transferring knowledge, and that itself isn't a crime. What matters is their base programming." He looked so frustrated that his face was starting to turn red, "And since they are too small to do any actual tests..."
Realization dawned on Sam's face, "We won't know what their end goal is." She glanced to Ben, "I'll need to inform Hammond before we can take any immediate action."
"Go," Ben nodded, "I'll stay here and keep an eye on them." He watched as she left the room in a hurry, her white lab coat fluttering behind her.
"Sir!" Sam announced urgently as she entered the General's office, "We've managed to turn on the nanites, but they seem to be transferring knowledge between themselves."
Hammond looked up from the paperwork in front of him, his eyes haggard from all the papers he had to sign off on, "Ok...do you know why they're doing that?"
Sam shook her head in the negative, "No, Sir. Since we have no way to test them, considering their size and such, we are in the dark as to what their actual purpose is." She paused as she took a seat, "What do you want us to do with them? If we could learn how they work, then we could possibly have a major advantage against the Goa'uld."
"Yes, I've been thinking along the same line." He looked troubled, "I want you to take those samples back to the planet and see what you can learn. If they are a threat to this base, I want to be the first to know." Hammond gestured for her to leave, "Dismissed, Captain."
Seeing Sam return, Ben smiled, "So...what did Hammond say?" He was curious, mostly because he didn't like the idea of having such small machines around him...they had a habit of getting into his body and doing weird shit to his organs.
"We're to go to the planet and find out whatever we can about the nanites," Sam reported as she removed the sample from under the microscope, "The general wants to know if they are dangerous."
"Got ya," Ben nodded as he got off the stool he was sitting on, "Do you need me for anything else, or should I go and get changed?"
Sam shook her head, waving Ben off, "Go on ahead. I can take care of this myself."
Ben nodded before leaving the room, his hands in his pockets. He grinned when he saw people rush past him, going on about their daily lives and doing their best to play their part in the daily workings of the SGC. It reminded him a lot of the Plumber Headquarters, only without all the aliens walking about. It wasn't long before he saw Teal'c and Jack approach him, frowns on their faces.
"Yo," Ben greeted the older men with a small wave, "Is there a problem, gentlemen?" He could tell that something was bugging them, well mostly Jack, Teal'c was like a stone when it came to expressions.
Jack did a so-so gesture with his left hand, "Not really. We're just looking for Daniel. He should be getting ready now, but apparently, he's still in his office." The irritation he felt was evident, "He's always doing this, hell even Carter isn't as bad as him."
"Well good luck with that," He patted Jack on the shoulder as he passed him, "I'm going to go and change into my uniform. You know where to find me if you need my assistance."
Teal'c nodded his head in thanks, "Indeed." He followed Jack to Daniel's office, not paying the younger man any more attention.
Ben shook his head in amusement as he walked in the opposite direction, towards the changing rooms.
After changing into his standard mission garbs, Ben found himself waiting at the bottom of the ramp leading to the Stargate. His green eyes were locked onto the Stargate, watching as it turned, "You know...there is nothing quite like this back home." He grinned at Daniel, his hands crossed behind his head, "I mean we have teleporters and even a Hyperspace Jump Gate, but this is something else."
"A Hyper-wha now?" Jack asked with a dumb look on his face, his eyes conveying the confusion he felt.
Ben pointed to the Stargate, "It's like the Stargate, only much bigger. Oh, and it works both ways." He paused to look at Sam, "I'm still curious as to how you guys got the air sample here, considering that a wormhole only goes one way."
"Actually...we had someone bring back the MALP once we were certain that there was a working DHD there." Jack answered Ben's question with a cough of embarrassment, "Don't give me that look. Those MALPS happen to cost thousands of dollars. If we can retrieve one, we will."
Ben shook his head in amusement, "If you say so. Next time, though, just have me go. At least I have a higher chance of coming back alive," He raised his Omnitrix in emphasis of his point, "I would hate to see others die when I could have done the same job with a higher chance of success."
"Arrogance is the downfall of many warriors," Teal'c replied with a stoic face.
"Maybe...but what I have isn't arrogance, it's confidence." Ben retorted with a grin on his face, "I know that if I'm not careful, I will die. I've learned what my limitations are, Teal'c, and I do everything I can to avoid straining them. So trust me. That's all I ask for: a little faith."
"Very well." Teal'c inclined his head towards Ben, "For now, though, we must focus on the mission at hand."
The entire team watched as the final chevron was locked in, the familiar blue substance forming within the alien ring.
"You have a go, SG-1. God speed." Hammond announced from the observation deck above them.
Ben gave the general a two fingered salute before he walked through the gate, the rest of the team right behind him.
Planet - P3X-8596 - Planet Argos
As he walked out of the artificial event horizon, Ben squinted his eyes to readjust himself to the faint lighting of the temple/tomb that he was in, "This is the place." He looked to Daniel, "So...is this a temple or a tomb?"
Daniel frowned as he looked at the artistry, "I don't know. But if I had to make a guess...I would assume a temple." He pointed towards the statue, "No one really puts one of those in a tomb, well unless they're an Egyptian." He shrugged sheepishly, "I'm not really an expert on Greek art. If this was Egyptian, then I would have been able to help." He shook his head in amusement, "Looks like I'll need to do some more research into the Greeks."
"Well, what do you know?" Jack asked with exasperation, honestly, he wondered about Daniel's usefulness at times.
"It's early Greek?" Daniel replied with an embarrassed cough, "I don't know...it feels like we stepped into the citadel at Mycenae." He looked at the statue in the middle of the room, "I'm not certain, though, about the marble statue. It's not a god form that I recognize."
Jack blinked, "I thought you said it was Greek?"
"Mycenae is a city in Greece," Daniel answered with a sigh. He didn't even need to look at Jack to know that he wasn't following half of what he had said.
Ben snickered as he held a hand over his mouth. It wouldn't do well for him to be seen laughing at his boss. He paused when his ears picked up the sound of someone panting, "Did you guys hear that?"
"Yeah," Sam nodded as she looked around for the source of the noise. She held her gun close to herself, ready to fire at anything hostile. She blinked when her eyes came into contact with a pair of scared black eyes, "Did you see that?"
"AUGH!" A loud, feminine scream sounded throughout the room.
Ben was the first one to respond. It wasn't in his nature to let someone go on suffering, as he raced to the source of the scream. His eyes widened when he saw a young woman lying on the floor, a man kneeling in front of her, "What's going on!?"
"Pl- please," The man's face was pale and his hands were shaking, "Help us. My wife...she is giving birth and I do not know the birthing mysteries." He looked to Ben with a pleading look as he held his wife's hand, "The nearest village is too far away and the midwife is gone."
Jack looked away from the woman and to Carter, an unspoken message going between them.
Sam frowned at him, "Don't look at me! I don't know what to do." She turned away from her CO, partially insulted that he thought she knew what to do. Just because she was a woman didn't mean she automatically knew how to do this stuff. A snort escaped her nose; the nerve of some people.
Her eyes widened when she saw both Ben and Daniel get on their knees; Daniel next to the woman and Ben in front of her.
"What's your name?" Ben asked as he removed his ballistic vest, his eyes locked onto the woman. He rolled up his sleeves while the woman tried to breathe through the pain.
"Thetys...my lord." The woman replied, her hands red from clutching the sides of her dress, "Please...help me. The pain...it is too much." A scream tore its way through her throat as she felt the young life within her try to come out.
Ben smiled at her so as to calm her anxiousness, "I'll do my best." He looked to Daniel, "I need you to hold her hand. Whatever happens, do not let go." He then glanced at Sam, "I need you at her side as well."
He looked to both Jack and Tea'lc, before glancing back to the man "Can you follow my teammates to another part of the temple? I need absolute concentration for this."
The man nodded as he got off the floor, concern for his wife evident on his face, before following Jack and Tea'lc into another room.
Jack watched as the man, who he now knew went by the name of Alekos, kept on pacing about the temple, out of sight of his wife, "You're going to burn a hole into the ground if you keep on pacing around like that."
Alekos didn't stop. In fact, it appeared that he had increased his pacing. Jack sighed as he looked at Teal'c, "Do I have one of those faces, T? I mean, does it look like I enjoy being ignored? Because if so, I would like to know so that I can get it changed."
"He is merely a concerned husband." Teal'c replied with his usual stoic voice, "I do not begrudge him for it."
Jack snorted at the comment, "Could have fooled me." The comment was meant to be sarcastic, but apparently, Teal'c did not get the memo.
"On the contrary, Colonel O'Neill. I am merely stating a fact," He didn't pay any mind to the look that Jack sent him. Humans were strange like that.
"Where did you learn to do this?" Sam asked with a wince, as Thetys's grip was painfully strong, "If you don't mind me asking that is." She watched as Ben coached Thetys through the process of childbirth. So many questions were building up in her mind, reminding her of the fact that she didn't know a lot about her newest teammate, as she watched him strain to keep the woman calm. She glanced to Daniel and almost burst out laughing when she saw him try not to scream.
Ben frowned as he kept an eye on Thetys's swollen vagina, looking for the signs of a newborn baby about to come out, "Let's just say that some of my aliens happen to be asexual mammals." He looked away from Sam so as to focus on the very pregnant woman in front of him, "Thetys, when I say push, I want you to push." He smiled when he saw her nod weakly, "I promise you, you will get through this."
"I know I'm gonna regret this," Daniel started as he clenched his teeth shut, "But how many times have you done this?" He refused to look at his hand, focusing solely on Thetys's face.
Ben shook his head; he didn't have time for this, "Five times, not including this." He glanced to Thetys and smiled, "Push now!"
"Oh wow, that's actually four times more than me," Daniel muttered to himself, surprised that the slightly younger man had more experience than him in such a delicate matter. He shook his head; this was not the time to be surprised, as he focused his attention back on the pregnant woman.
Sam's own eyes widened when she felt her hand being crushed, a pained yell passing through Thetys's mouth.
Jack winced when he heard a yell come from across the room, "Sounds like they're getting down to the dirty business." He frowned when he saw Alekos get off the floor, "Hey, don't worry about it. It's all part of the procedure." He gestured for him to sit back down.
Alekos hesitated, his very instincts telling him that he needed to be by his wife's side. He shook his head, "How can you expect me to sit here when my son is about to be born into this very world!" He shook his head; it was unthinkable to do such a thing.
"We are not asking you to do anything of the sort," Teal'c shook his head in the negative, "Just allow my teammates to do their job in peace." He smiled at the obviously worried man, "They will do everything in their power to make sure the baby is born safely and with no complications."
With a sigh, Alekos plopped himself back on the floor, his excitement leaving him. He looked to Jack, his frustration evident, "Is it so wrong for me to be worried?" He clenched his hands tightly, "To be there when my son is born?"
"No," Jack replied without hesitation, "It's one of man's greatest pleasures, one that should never be taken away." He paused as he rested his hand on the younger man's shoulder, "But sometimes we cannot help the circumstances of their birth." He smiled at Alekos, "All you can do is stand to the side and pray to whatever god you worship that everything works out in the end."
Alekos nodded, although he wasn't completely in agreement with Jack's statement, "I understand. I just wish that I could do something to actually help her." He shook his head with a mirthless chuckle, before looking both at both Teal'c and Jack, "I want to thank you for helping us. I fear what may have happened if you had not shown up."
Jack opened his mouth to respond but snorted when he saw Daniel approach, "So? What happened?"
"It's a boy," Daniel replied with a small smile, using a small rag that he had carried with himself to clean his hands, "Ben and Sam are both with Thetys making certain that the baby is healthy." He turned towards Alekos, "You can go and see her if you want."
All three men smiled as Alekos rushed to be with his wife, although Teal'c's smile was nothing more than a slightly quirked lip. They followed behind the man, standing a good five feet behind him so that they could talk without being heard.
"So what happened?" Jack asked as he watched the new parents fawn over the bundle of joy that had just arrived in their lives. From what he could tell, which wasn't much, it appeared that the baby boy was wrapped in some sort of black material.
Daniel shook his head in amusement. Jack was going to love this, "Oh nothing much, except for the fact we had nothing to wrap the baby with." He watched with a smirk as Jack looked at him and then at the baby, the process going for a solid ten seconds.
"Er...then what is that?" Jack asked with a dumb look on his face as pointed to the black material wrapped around the baby, "Cause it looks like you found something to use."
Daniel opened his mouth to respond but closed it when he saw both Sam and Ben approach, the latter missing a shirt. He snickered at the dumbfounded look on Jack's face, "Yeah...Ben offered his shirt to Thetys of his own free will."
Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "I'm not even going to ask what made you do that Ben, but please tell me that you at least still have your jacket to cover yourself with!"
Ben nodded with a faint grin on his face, "Yeah. It's in the backpack I came with. I'll go get it." He gave a mock salute to Jack before walking to where he had last rested the bag.
As that was going on, Sam glanced to her superior with a faint blush on her face, "Sorry, Sir. I tried to stop him, but he insisted that the baby be cleaned and kept warm." She paused when she saw Jack raise his hand, "Sir?"
"I don't blame you, Carter." Jack stated with a small sigh as he watched Ben from afar, "I haven't known Ben for long, but from what I have learned, I can already tell that he is a headstrong man." He shook his head in exasperation, "Hell, I doubt even I could have gotten him to keep his shirt on. So don't go beating yourself up." All of a sudden a grin sprouted on his face, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "Besides...it could have been worse. He could have chosen to use his pants instead."
Sam's face burned red in embarrassment, "Sir!" She couldn't believe that her superior would make a joke like that. She clamped her mouth shut when she saw Ben approach, though she glared at Jack, daring him to open his mouth.
Ben blinked, his body now covered by the jacket that came with his uniform, "What did I miss?"
"Nothing of any importance." Jack answered with a small grin as he patted Ben on the back, "You did a good thing, giving your shirt and all that. Next time, though, if you can, give us a bit of warning. Nearly gave poor Carter a heart attack." He winced all of a sudden when Sam jabbed him in the stomach, the action unseen by Ben.
Daniel chuckled when Ben tilted his head in confusion, "Don't worry about it. Jack's just being a jerk, as usual."
"Ah," That made sense to Ben. His green eyes widened in slight happiness when he saw both Thetys and Alekos approach them, the baby held safely in its mother's grasp, "Everything ok?"
Alekos nodded as he smiled at his baby boy, "Yes, and it is all thanks to you." He kissed the top of his child's head and watched as it simply squirmed in its impromptu blanket, "I wish, with your permission, to name the child after you."
Ben's surprise was evident, and the barest hint of misery could be seen, "I'm sorry, but that's not a good idea." He shook his head as he stepped back, "I'm not the person you think I am." He put his hands on both Daniel's and Sam's shoulders, "If you should thank someone, thank them."
"Pathetic. Will you never learn?! You are not to blame for what happened." The voice growled within Ben's head, like a savage beast that lurked in the darkest of corners. It scoffed, "And I thought losing your family was going to be a problem." Pain surged throughout his mind as The Voice roared in anger, "GET OVER IT!"
Teal'c watched with a stoic expression as Ben argued against the young human child being named after him. It...confused him. Was it not a great honor to have a child named after you?
He paused as his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of liquid dripping to the floor. That was oddly strange as he knew that there were no major sources of water that could cause, as the Tau'ri put it, leaking. He closed his eyes as he focused on locating the source of said leak.
His black eyes snapped open as he focused on Ben, to be exact, the blood dripping from his nose. It was small, too small to be seen by the eyes of the Tau'ri, but large enough that a well trained Jaffa could spot it.
"...Benjamin," Teal'c announced as he watched the young man wince, "Are you in need of assistance?" He could tell that the younger man was in pain, no matter how well he hid it.
Ben smiled at him, although it was a bit strained, "I'm fine, Teal'c." He tapped the side of his head as if to emphasize his point, "Just the air pressure." He turned back to the natives of the planet with a small sigh.
The Jaffa's eyes narrowed, he did not believe Ben.
"Dan-el...that will be his first name," Alekos smiled at the team, his eyes lingering on Ben for a few short milliseconds, before finally landing on Sam, "And his middle name shall be Samuel." He smiled as he gently took the baby, Dan-el, from his wife, "After the ones that have birthed him."
Thetys smiled as she started leading the group out of the temple, "Come, we wish to show you the hospitality of our village." If Ben would not allow the child to be named after him, then they would show him, and his team, the highest of honors, "We will not take no for an answer." She silently prayed to Pelops that he would not decline the offer.
"Guys?" Jack asked as he looked at the team, it was his choice but he wanted the team's opinion first, "What do you think?"
Daniel was the first to respond, which didn't surprise anyone, "I say we go. It'll give us more time to learn about their culture." The excitement was evident in his eyes, that and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Jack rolled his eyes; of course he would say that, "Anyone else?" He sighed when Teal'c only shrugged his shoulders, "You really got to speak up more Teal'c. It's unbecoming of a man as big and strong as you."
"Apologies, Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c replied as he bowed his head in apology, "It is not my intention to paint myself in a misleading manner."
Ben rolled his eyes as he glanced at Jack, his hands still clenched tightly from before, "I don't really care. It's your choice in the end." He crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall of the hallway leading out of the temple.
Sam, who was now standing next to Teal'c, frowned at Ben before turning to Jack, "Same here...Sir."
"Guess that settles it then." Jack announced as he clapped his hands together. He turned to Thetys with a grin, "We graciously accept your offer of hospitality."
As Jack, Daniel, and Tea'lc followed the native couple, Sam lagged behind with Ben. She was worried about her team mate, that and they needed to find out more about the nanites, "You ok?"
Ben smiled at her, slightly touched by her concern, "I'm fine, Sam. Like I told Teal'c, it's just the air pressure." He flashed her a grin while also giving her a thumbs up, "I'll be good to go in a few minutes but still, thanks for asking."
"If you say so," Sam looked to where her CO was talking, more like joking, with Daniel, "I'm going to start taking more samples soon so I'd appreciate any help you can offer." She smiled when she saw Ben nod, his help would be invaluable.
It wasn't long before they found themselves in the middle of a village, the sun shining brightly above them. The whole scene was like something out of a dream; a very good one at that.
"It's beautiful," Sam muttered softly as the group approached a fountain that was located in the middle of the village, "The people who live here have their own paradise."
Ben shrugged, "If you say so. I personally give it a four on the awesome scale. I mean I've been to a planet where the ground is made out of diamonds and the sky is red." He paused when he saw Sam frown at him, the envy evident on her face, "This is still nice, though. Nothing quite like it back where I come from." He hastily said, as he didn't want to upset her.
"I'm jealous now," Sam replied as she bit the bottom of her lip. Why did all the cool stuff have to be in another universe/dimension?
Ben laughed lightly, "Don't worry about it. This universe still has its secrets, some that may even beat the wonders of my own." He grinned when he saw her nod, her envy disappearing as determination blossomed on her face, "If anyone can unlock those secrets, it's you."
He paused when he saw the group, slightly ahead of him, sit on the sides of the fountain. He found a spot next to Jack and sat down, "So...what do you guys think of this place?"
Daniel grinned, "It's beautiful...everyone here seems so young and healthy." He smiled as people started approaching them, most smiling and waving at them with joy, "Kind of like a paradise."
Jack snorted, "Yeah, why not. Just give me an apple to eat while you're at it and I'll be satisfied." Something about the people didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was that they were just too beautiful. He shook his head, "It's like they haven't heard of the word ugly."
"Agreed," Teal'c nodded, "They appear to be as healthy as Jaffas." It was honestly strange seeing people that were just as fit as him and not fighting. He even saw some young children playing with each other and just enjoying themselves.
The group, as a whole, watched as Alekos showed the villagers his newborn baby, his pride being evident to everyone.
As the leader of SG-1 watched the scene with a small smile, he noticed a young woman standing next to Thetys tickle Dan-el. He felt his throat go dry. She was beautiful...hauntingly so. He blushed when he saw her wink at him. What a minx!
"I...I think I need some water." Jack stated as he started tugging at the neck of his shirt.
Daniel patted him on the back, his eyes following Jack's gaze, "I'm pretty certain that water is nowhere near close to what you actually want." He paused as a grin appeared on his face, "Can't say I blame you, though."
The group paused when they say the woman approach them, a covered dish in her hands. She smiled at Jack, "Welcome to our village. My name is Kynthia." She bowed her head with a small smile, "Might I have your name?"
Jack smiled as he took off his hat, "Jack O'Neill. Thank you." His heart started beating faster when Kynthia's smile widened. Why!? Why did she have to be so hot!? At this rate, Jack just knew he was going to have a heart attack.
Kynthia's smile turned coy as she removed the cover from the dish in her hands. "Please, try it."
Jack did so, taking one of the biscuits from the platter. His eyes widened as he bit into it. It was delicious. He looked to Daniel with a grin, "You need to try this." He took another bite and swallowed, "This is amazingly good."
"First of all, amazingly good isn't proper grammar," Daniel started with a halfhearted glare, "And second, I think it's meant for just you," To prove his point, Kynthia nodded her head, "See?"
Sam laughed softly, "Face it sir, you've got a fan." She watched from Ben's side as Kynthia walked away from them and to what appeared to be her friends, giggling like a love-struck girl.
"I believe she wants to mate with you, Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c stated as he glanced at Jack. He titled his head when Jack started coughing, the crumbs of the biscuit being spit out as he tried to regain his breath.
Ben released a healthy laugh at seeing the shocked look on Jack's face, "You...you should have seen the look on your face." He wiped a stray tear from his eyes as he calmed down from the sudden bout of laughter.
"Something funny?" Jack asked with a twitching eyebrow. He wasn't against the idea of pushing Ben into the well. In fact, it was a rather enticing idea.
Ben waved Jack's question of, "No. I'm sorry for laughing. It's just that I haven't had a reason to laugh that hard in such a long time." He paused as fond memories resurfaced within his mind, memories that had been buried under much darker ones.
Jack paused as he lowered the hand that he was going to use to slap Ben. He couldn't after hearing Ben's explanation. Why did he have to be such a good guy?
He shook his head as he pat Ben on the shoulder, "Well, hopefully you'll get more reasons to laugh after this. You're part of SG-1 now; that means you've just been adopted into our highly dysfunctional family."
Ben smiled, that sounded nice, "So does that mean I can expect an allowance from you, Dad?" He grinned at the affronted look that Jack adopted.
"I will have you know that I am still quite young, and nowhere near old enough to be your father." Jack stuck his tongue out at Ben. Before he could say anything else, he found himself being dragged away by two young women.
"Sir!?" Sam asked as she stood up, concern visible on her face. Before she could try to reach out to her superior, a few young men and women pushed her back with small smiles.
"It is ok." A young blond man with blue eyes smiled at her, "Kynthia merely wishes to get to know your friend better." He took a seat beside her as more people surrounded the group with food, "Enjoy yourselves and relax. Your friend shall not be harmed, dare I say, he shall leave feeling better than he ever has."
Ben smiled at her, "He's a big boy Sam. I'm certain he can hold himself against a single woman," He paused as another though hit his head, "Well...actually that might not be true. If she decides to use her womanly willies...yes I dare say that Jack will be screwed."
Sam didn't even bother looking at Ben as she shoved him'; what was it with men making such stupid remarks?
She, along with the rest of SG-1, paused what they were doing when they heard percussion instruments suddenly being played.
Kynthia came out wearing a robe of light weight material, her hands grasping the sides so as to give her the image of an angel with wings. There were woman behind her holding up the edges of the robe so that it did not get sullied.
"Ok?" Ben blinked at the strange scene, "I really have a bad inkling as to where this is going." He watched as Kynthia did some intricate dance moves, Jack's eyes never leaving her body. Once she was done with her dance, she took Jack by the hands and led him into the building next to the bench.
They took that as their cue to stop whatever was about to happen. Before they could do anything, though, they saw Alekos approach them with glasses in his hands, "Unto every man the creator gives one hundred blissful days. It is a sin not to celebrate each and every one." He handed both Sam and Ben two glasses, a coy smirk on his face.
Sam scrutinized the glass in her hand, a part of her mind curious as to what material was used to make the fine looking utensil.
"A one hundred day celebration?" Daniel raised an eyebrow at that tidbit of information, "Best brace ourselves then, cause that is going to take quite the while."
Ben snorted as he took a sip of the drink he was offered, "You can say that again."
"Sir?" Sam asked as she stared at her half-naked superior officer, a gob-smacked expression on her face. She could tell that everyone was confused, Jack as well.
"Uh...what happened?" Jack asked as he stared at his teammates, everything was so blurry. He had wrapped a bedsheet around his lower extremities so as to protect his modesty. He winced as he looked at Sam's face; he could tell that she wasn't amused.
Ben frowned as he looked around the room. He could see almost a hundred people lying on the floor, "Something is going on here...we just don't know what." He paused as he saw Jack move to the bed, "You ok?"
"I'm fine," Jack stated with a scowl. He wasn't in the mood for being criticized, "I want to know what happened here." He glanced at the sleeping form of Kynthia, his scowl turning into a frown.
Sam shook her head. She didn't even know what to think about the whole situation, "I've heard of parties ending abruptly...but this is something completely different." She blinked when she saw both Daniel and Ben standing over someone.
Walking over to them, she realized that they were looking at Thetys.
"It's like she's having a nightmare," Ben muttered softly as he gazed at the new mother. He got on his knees and gently put his hand to her head. After waiting a few seconds, he removed his hand with a small sigh, "All signs indicate that she is in a deep state of sleep. Her breath is shallow and her internal temperature isn't anything too dangerous."
Jack highly doubted that, "So what, you're saying that they all decided to fall asleep at the same time?" He snorted as Daniel handed him a goblet filled with some strange drink.
Sam frowned at him, "What about you? How are you feeling?" A part of her was worried that Jack had contracted whatever the natives had.
"Like I told Ben, I am absolutely fine!" He shook his head in exasperation, "Let's just focus on the important matter and figure out if there is anything we can do to help these people."
Sam paused as she saw Jack's face, the emotions held within his eyes was kind of unnerving, "Ok then," She nodded her head as she turned towards Daniel, "What are the chances that it might be something in the food?"
"That might be the case...except we all ate the same thing as them," Daniel replied with a frown as he stroked his chin, "So why aren't we all on the floor?"
Ben chimed in as a thought hit him, "Well what if it has something to do with the nanites we found? I mean they could be responsible for this mass sleep attack, right?"
"That is possible," Sam admitted as she mulled it over in her head, "And the food could have been the catalyst to transfer it into everyone's body."
"But that still doesn't explain why we aren't on the floor and they are. We all ate the same thing, didn't we?" Daniel asked with a frown as he tried to connect all the dots. There was something missing, he just didn't know what.
"Except for the cake," Sam noted, her eyes closed in thought.
Daniel's eyes widened, "Which was only for him." Oh, this was bad, and it would seem that Jack realized it as well.
Jack scowled as he clenched his hands tightly, his eyes locked on Kynthia, "She drugged me." A part of him felt betrayed by the realization, "She drugged me...she drugged me!" He growled as he stood up, his left hand still holding the sheet to cover his privates.
He started to make his way towards the bed, ready to get some answers. Halfway there he suddenly felt the world spin, forcing him to his knees. It was only thanks to Sam's quick reaction speed that his head did not meet the hard floor, instead landing into her lap.
"From now on...we stick to rations," Jack groaned as he fought to try and stay awake. It was not enough, though, as his head fell to the side.
A sigh escaped the captain's mouth as she felt for Jack's heartbeat, "He's all right. Just asleep like everyone else." With a slight grunt, she removed his head from her lap and gently rested it on the floor.
Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration as he took off his glasses, "Just what the hell is going on?"
"That's exactly what I plan on finding out," Sam answered, her eyes set in determination.
The Next Day - Argos
Jack groaned as he stepped into the cool outdoors, his body wracked with a headache. Everything was so blurry and his memory not quite what it was supposed to be, not unlike that of a hangover. There wasn't much that he remembered, but what he did know was that Kynthia had drugged him. That had stuck with him through the night.
He shook his head. Now was not the time for such musings. He could see Sam taking notes on a pad that she had carried in her backpack. Said pack was resting to her side, acting like nothing was wrong.
Jack knew the truth, though. He knew what it had done. How thousands had died under its cruel yoke.
Sam, who had just finished taking her notes, blinked when she saw Jack standing to the side, "You ok, sir?" She wasn't certain...but was he glaring at her backpack?
"Maybe a tiny bit hungover but otherwise ok," Jack coughed into his hand, embarrassed that he got staring at her backpack, "What about you? Getting any answers out of the villagers?" He winced as the sun's bright rays beat down upon his head. The hat he wore didn't do much to protect him from the intense heat.
Sam shook her head in the negative as she followed Jack to the well in the middle of the village, "No...it seems that what happened last night was normal for them." She smiled at the incredulous look on Jack's face, "Yeah, Ben was of the same mind. He and I both think that the nanites have something to do with what happened yesterday."
Jack nodded, "Where is Ben anyhow?" He hadn't seen him since he woke back up, "He with Daniel or something?"
"Yeah, the two of them are in the temple trying to figure out if Pelops might have had anything to do with the whole sleep situation." An irritated look passed Sam's face as she crossed her arms. She had wanted Ben's help, yet Daniel chose to steal him away for his own purposes.
Jack said nothing as he ducked his head into the cool water. He kept his head submerged for a few seconds before pulling it out with a sigh, his hair soaking wet, "Ok then. Let me know if they find out anything." He took a seat on the well's edge and put his sunglasses back on, "Carter...do what you do best and continue asking questions. Take Ben if you need him."
Sam shook her head in frustration when she realized that Jack was not going to help. In fact, it appeared that he was going to take a nap of all things.
Ben frowned as he stood next to Daniel, the latter holding a video camera in his hands, as they looked at the statue in the middle of the temple, "So... I'm assuming that's supposed to be Pelops."
"I think so," Daniel tilted his head in thought, "I'm not certain, but if I remember correctly, Pelops was a son of Tantalus."
A disgusted expression crossed Ben's face, "You mean he's the son of the guy that fed his own children to the gods?" Oh man...that was horrible. He actually felt bad for the guy.
"Basically," Daniel nodded as he looked to Alekos, who was standing to the side, "What can you tell me about Pelops and this temple?"
Alekos smiled at them as he gestured to the statue, "He is the creator, the one who has given us our days." He now turned from the statue and gestured to the temple, "This was his home until he left us and ascended to his divine domain." A proud smile sprouted on his face, "For as long as I can remember, we have looked after the temple in his absence until his return."
"You wouldn't happen to know when that is, would you?" Daniel asked with a hopeful look.
Alekos shook his head in a negative, although there was a smile on his face, "Well that is a mystery, but we do not allow that to distract us. As the Chosen, it is our duty to rejoice and wait for his glorious return."
Teal'c, who had just joined them, blinked, "Why are your people called the Chosen?"
Aleko's smiled as he gestured to a mural behind him, "My ancestors were so beloved by Pelops that he fashioned this garden for us. It is said he chose us and brought us here from beyond the stars."
"From what I understand...that sounds nothing like a Goa'uld." Ben mumbled to Daniel, a little bit freaked out by the obvious adoration that Alekos had for his 'Lord'.
Daniel nodded but chose not to comment. With a smile, he turned to Alekos, "Do you have any writings on your history? Something that I can use to learn about your history?"
The native blinked, "What is 'writings'? I do not know this word."
"Umm..." Daniel looked around trying to find something to help him explain what the word writing actually meant. Finally, after not finding anything truly useful, he pointed to the mural that Alekos had shown them, "Do you have any more of this? Do you know what it is?"
Teal'c frowned, "That is an ancient Goa'uld dialect. One not used anymore." He squinted his eyes as he tried to remember his lessons from when he was a youth, the ones that taught him how to translate such outdated dialects.
Daniel frowned at him, slightly upset that Teal'c had not informed him of the fact, "Why didn't you tell me that?"
"You never asked," Teal'c replied blandly, eliciting a chuckle from Ben.
Ben shook his head in amusement, "You guys are hilarious, you know that?" He smiled as he started to leave the room, "I'm certain you got all of this down, so I'm going to go and look around the rest of the village."
Daniel nodded, though he was a bit miffed by Ben's comment, "Ok, don't get lost."
Down at the Beach, Sam was taking samples of the water. By doing this, she was hoping to find out more about the nanites that the MALP had brought back. She smiled softly as she noticed children playing by the water, giggling as they ran across the sand.
"Come on! I wanna show you something!" The first child shouted with excitement.
The second child, a young girl, frowned as she tried to keep up with her friend, "I'm coming, you meanie."
Ben, who had been watching the scene from afar, grinned as he approached Sam, "What's up?" He could tell that she had been busy since he had last seen her, which was roughly two hours ago, "Discovered anything new?"
"No...although I doubt that would have been the case if you had been helping me," She smiled at him as she stood up, "What about you? Daniel done dragging you all around the village?"
Her only response was a slight chuckle from Ben, his head shaking in the negative, "I doubt it...but I had to get out of his grasp one way or another." His eyes lit up as he took note of the case on the ground, "You still need any help? Cause now would be the best time to ask for it."
"Not really, at least not in this area. I've already gotten what I need from here." Sam shrugged as her hair blew into her face. With a huff and puff, her hair was once again where it belonged, "I'll probably need your help analyzing the samples, but besides that, there's really nothing that I require your assistance with."
Ben nodded as he looked around the beach, idly noting bird like creatures flying in the sky, "Ok...well I guess I'll get going then." As he was about to move away, both he and Sam spotted Thetys approaching them, a young toddler in her arms.
"Good morning," Thetys smiled at the two visitors, "I just wanted to see if you needed anything."
Sam smiled as she approached the new mother, "No, I think we're fine," She paused as she fished something out of her pocket, a small shell, "I found this earlier, and I was thinking that you could give it to Dan-el." She shook it causing a rattle like sound to be heard, "He could use it as a rattle if he wanted."
"Thank you, but you can do so yourself." Thetys gestured to the toddler in her arms, "This is Dan-el."
Sam shook her head, slightly confused by Thetys's comment, "No...I meant the baby." She blinked when she felt Ben rest a hand on her shoulder.
"I think...you might find that children grow up quite fast," He pointed to a familiar triangle mark on the toddler's arm, one that both he and Sam had seen when Thetys had given birth. He looked to Thetys and smiled at her, "If you have the time, I would love it if you could come with us to talk to Jack. I'm certain that he will find this interesting."
The woman simply nodded, slightly confused as to what the problem was. With a flourish, her dress twirling in the wind, she walked to where she had last seen Jack.
"...That is impossible." Sam stated in a blank tone as she followed after Thetys, Ben right beside her. This was almost starting to become too much...almost being the key word.
Ben shrugged his shoulder, "You're telling me?" He looked almost offended by the statement, "I'm a human from another universe that can transform into super powerful aliens. Honestly, this is rather tame in comparison, still strange, but tame none the less."
Sam opened her mouth to retort but closed it when she realized that he had a point. Instead, she chose to raise her hands in mock surrender, "Ok, you sort of have a point." She grinned at him as she quickened her pace, leaving Ben in the dust, "It's almost impossible."
Ben responded as any other male would have; he stuck his tongue out.
"Ok...that's not possible," Jack asked as he stared at the toddler sitting on the edge of the well, squished in between Sam and Thetys. Ben was on the other side of the well, using a pitcher to fetch some water that he could drink.
Thetys tilted her head in confusion, and slight worry, "I do not understand...do your children not change and grow?" If not, then it would appear that they were different in more ways than she had originally thought.
"They do, we do, just not quite like that." Jack shook his head in frustration, while also glancing to Sam for help. He was relieved when he saw Sam nod her head in understanding.
She pointed to a young boy talking to a couple of girls, "Thetys, how old is that boy?"
"Phillippos?" Thetys repeated, not sure as to where the conversation was going, "He is twelve."
Sam blinked; she had not been expecting that. She had thought that the boy, Phillippos, was in his early teens or something like that, "Ok, well he's quite big for a twelve-year-old-"
"Years? What are years?" Thetys asked with an interested look on her face. She had never heard that term before.
Ben grinned at the flustered look on Sam's face; he knew that look all too well. He himself had adopted that same expression whenever he overlooked something so obvious, that it was so stupid, "Ok...a day, for you, is the time it takes for the sun to set from when it had risen in the morning, right?" He looked to Thetys for confirmation. Seeing her nod, he continued, "Take three hundred sixty-five of those days and then you have a year."
Thetys's eyes widened, "But we do not have such a counting of time. Phillippos is only twelve days old!"
"How old are you?" Sam asked in shock. She didn't know what to think, and it appeared that Ben and Jack were the same. The two of them were just staring at each other, blankly and unmoving from their position. She had a feeling as to why with Jack, after all, he had slept with one of Thetys's people. Ben, though, was a mystery.
Thetys frowned at them, "I am twenty-one days old."
Jack swallowed the saliva that had formed in his throat, "And Kynthia?" He was almost too scared to know the answer.
"Thirty-one days," Kynthia replied without a moment's thought.
The world felt like it was going to explode, well at least for Jack that is. He'd had sex with what was essentially a child, a goddam child. He felt like he was going to throw up, "I don't think I feel too well."
"You and me," Ben groaned, his hands over his mouth as he realized what Jack had done, "Jack, do me a favor and never do something like this again!" Oh, God! He could already feel the food he had eaten surging upwards.
While this was going on, Thetys was staring at the two of them, a confused and worried expression on her face. She looked at Sam, who looked just as equally disturbed, "I do not understand...have we done something wrong?"
Honestly, Sam wanted to say yes. She wanted to shout it out to the entire village and let them know that their lifespan was not natural. But she didn't...she knew that it wasn't their fault.
"No. Just a bit surprised," And what a surprise it was. Sam shook her head; things had just gotten a lot more interesting...and maybe far more dangerous.
"I think Pelops brought humans here to be lab rats. From what we've been able to translate so far, he wanted to know how humans evolve, so he shortened the life span to about 1/250th of normal." Daniel announced as he sat on the cold floor of the temple, his eyes gazing at the marble statue.
Ben snorted from where he stood, which was beside the marble imitation of Pelops, "Talk about speeding up the process." A part of him wanted to smash the statue; how could the natives adore someone like Pelops? It made no logical sense...just like Vilgaxia.
Sam ignored Ben's statement, "So what? You're saying he got impatient and decided that he wouldn't wait a hundred thousand years just to see how humans evolved?" Her frustration was evident, something that Ben chose wisely not to comment on, "That he would mess around with the human life span and only have to wait a hundred years instead."
"That is correct," Teal'c nodded his head, "Pelops wanted to determine how humans would evolve and if there was anything he could do to accelerate the process."
'Why am I not surprised?' Ben thought to himself as he watched them converse, 'Dr. Animo, Pelops…they're all the same. They don't care what kind of damage they do, just as long as they get the results they want.' It irked him that there were people like them in the universe.
He clapped his hands all of a sudden, drawing all attention to himself, "Well, I don't know about you...but I think the nanites might have something to do with the rapid aging of the people."
His blond co-worker tilted her head in thought, it was possible. She looked to Daniel and Teal'c, "Guys?"
"It's actually very possible." Daniel admitted as he looked at the papers in his lap, "The tablet didn't reveal that much, mostly because it was an archaic form of the Goa'uld language, one that even Teal'c couldn't translate." He released a nervous laugh as he avoided Sam's gaze, "Though there is something...I think Jack might have the nanites inside him as well."
Sam sighed, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Jack was the only one, out of all of us, to collapse last night." She rested her forehead in her steepled hands.
Jack frowned as he walked through the village, only the fires providing light. He glanced quickly to Daniel, "So, you're telling me that I have these nanites in my body!? Nanites, might I add, that are causing me to fall asleep whenever the sun sets?" Hammond was going to love this.
Sam winced, "Which, we also think are causing you to age rapidly," She pointed to the faint gray hairs that have started to pop up on his head. She took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves.
"Oh! That's just wonderful. So I'll be dying soon, is that right?" Jack raised his hands into the air, his temper finally at its lid. He might not have been a genius like Sam, or even Daniel, but he understood what his second-in-command meant by her comment.
He rubbed his face in frustration, "...Ok. This is what I want you to do. Go back to the SGC and update Hammond of the situation. After that, I want you to work on finding out how to shut the damned things off."
He paused as he felt the world shift around him, the colors he saw shifting from red to blue and so on, "I think it's happening again," He staggered a bit as he tried to find something to rest on.
Ben's eyes widened, his body automatically moving to catch Jack's falling form. With a grunt, his body nearly collapsed under Jack's sudden weight, "What the hell do you eat!? Bricks?"
"I wish," Jack snorted, his body trying to fight the sleepiness he felt, "You know your job, get to it before I..." Jack's voice cut of as he finally succumbed to the tiredness.
With help from the rest of the team, they rested Jack on a vacant blanket that had been left on the ground. Once he was done with his part, Ben wiped his hands clean, "Well, I don't know about you...but I don't plan to let Jack die of old age," He paused as he realized what he had just said, "That came out wrong, didn't it?"
Sam nodded, although there was a faint smile on her face, "Yup, and rather badly, I might add."
"My mouth is going to get me killed one of these days," Ben groaned as he followed after Sam and Daniel, Teal'c right beside him. His only response? A unanimous laugh.
SGC - Lab
"Well you were right," Dr. Janet Fraiser announced as she walked into the lab, a clipboard in her hands, "The nanites do appear to be in both Colonel O'Neill's and the Argosians' blood." She pulled a small CD out of her lab coat pocket and handed it to Sam.
The captain nodded as she took the CD and loaded it into the DVD drive of her computer. To the side, Ben sat on a chair, his legs kicked up as he crossed his hands behind his head, "What about us? We ok?"
Fraiser nodded, "Yeah. There's nothing in either of your bloodstreams that would indicate that you have them." She glanced at the clipboard in her hand, flipping through some of the pages, "Same for Daniel and Teal'c."
Ben frowned at hearing that, it had cemented his fear. He turned to Sam, "I think... the reason that Jack has the nanites, and we don't, is because he was the only one, out of all of us, to have any 'physical' interactions with the native people."
"Heh," Sam snorted in dark amusement, "I always thought that Jack was going to get himself in trouble because of his mouth. Instead, as it turns out, it's his second brain that's the problem." She shook her head; she could chew out Jack later. Instead, she focused on the images that the CD had brought up on her computer screen.
With a cough, Janet approached the desk and pointed to one of the images, "That's the Argosian blood," She then pointed to another image, this one with far more metal particles, "And that is Jack's."
That piqued Ben's interest. He leaned forward so as to get a better look at the digital image, "You wouldn't happen to know why he has so many, would you?"
The doctor shrugged, "I'm not really certain, but it might just be that he's older than the rest of the Argosian people. Maybe it's trying to play catch up. I don't really know."
Sam frowned as she thought over her options. Finally, she glanced to both Janet and Ben, "I'm going to call the General. Ben, can you stay and see what you can find out about the nanites?"
"Yeah, sure thing." Ben nodded as he turned towards Sam. With a quick smile, he shooed her out of the room, "Now leave, I have work to do." Seeing her leave, he turned back to the computer and cracked his knuckles, "Now... just what kind of secrets do you hold?" He paused all of a sudden when he realized something, something that he had overlooked, "Hey...doc?"
Janet blinked as she looked at Ben, "Yes?" She was curious as to what someone like Ben could want.
"I just realized something," He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment; "I don't know how to operate these computers. They're too old for me to actually use them effectively." He was almost too embarrassed to look Janet in the face, but he did.
The doctor rolled her eyes, keeping the amusement she felt contained in her chest. She'd read the report that he had written about his 'home', so it wasn't very surprising to hear that he didn't know how to use such old tech, "Ok...let me take over the computer and you can do the physical work."
Ben nodded, he was ok working with what he knew best and that was using his hands, "Eh, fine by me."
When Sam returned, she was surprised to find a small mechanical insect-like creature on Janet's shoulder. As she approached them, her eyes lit up in excitement when she saw a familiar symbol on its metal chest plate, "Ben?"
The creature flew from Janet's shoulder and to Sam's face, "Aye! Call me Nanomech, though, when I'm in this from." Its wings were fluttering so fast that it made a buzzing sound, "What did General Hammond say?"
Omnitrix Database - Nanomech - Nanochip
Nanomech has the ability to fly. He is very agile, and his wings glow when he is airborne.
Nanomech can reduce his size at will, even to microscopic scales. He can return to his original size, but cannot grow any larger. He can launch green bio-electrical energy from his hands and eye, ranging in forms from beams to orbs.
He also has the ability to adapt to his opponents very fast.
"He wants us to go back to the planet and try to help Jack." Sam replied, her attention still consumed by Ben's new form, "...What about you guys? Find out anything more about the nanites?"
Nanomech nodded its tiny head, "Aye! These nanites are different than the ones collected by the MALP. I have a theory as to why, but I need to find something on the planet before I can confirm it."
"Great," Sam nodded, they were finally getting somewhere, "I'm heading back to the planet now, if you want to join me?"
The tiny mechanical creature shrugged its equally tiny shoulders, "Sweet, guess I can go get my answer now, then." It looked to Janet, "You need anything else, or am I free to go?"
"No, go on ahead." The doctor shook her head, "I'll get to analyzing these new samples, and then get back to the both of you." She got up and left the room, though not before using a finger to pat Nanomech's head.
Nanomech grumbled to itself, not too pleased with being treated like a dog. With a sigh, it slammed the Omnitrix and reverted back to its human form. Ben looked to the door and then back to Sam, "You need anything else, or should we get going?"
"Ah no, just needed you," Sam smiled at him as she walked out of the room, Ben in tow.
Planet - P3X-8596 - Argos
Daniel smiled as he took some notes in his notebook, his mind constantly being amazed by the new things he learned from the natives. His notebook, which had once been completely blank, was almost half way filled with all sorts of information.
He paused in his note taking when he noticed, from the corner of his eyes, the Stargate activating. Well, that and the fact that it was making a lot of noise as the ring of the gate turned in a circular motion.
Getting up, he ran to the door leading to the main chamber of the temple and shouted, "Jack! They're back!"
"I'm coming," A gruff, and strangely enough, old voice shouted. As the owner of the voice walked towards the main room, on the other side, both Ben and Sam were dragging their stuff out of the Stargate.
"And...done!" Ben announced as he allowed himself to rest on the floor, his face set in an annoyed scowl. He looked to Sam, who had just rested her box on the floor, "Couldn't we have just used one of my aliens to carry all this stuff?"
"No," Sam answered plainly as she walked down the steps, "I'm not willing to risk one of your aliens breaking my equipment going through the gate." She paused as she noticed Daniel standing by the door to the temple. She nodded at him, before glancing back to Ben, "Come on. You're helping me set up the equipment."
Both Sam and Ben paused when they heard someone enter the room. Turning to see who it was, both their mouths fell open in shock.
"What?" Jack, an extremely old version of him at least, asked with a deadpan, "Never seen an old man before?" A snort escaped his mouth as he stood before his much younger team.
Sam frowned at him, absentmindedly closing her mouth at the same time, "Sir...we got your blood work back." Her frown deepened as she stared at him, "Ben was right. It's not the food that was the problem...it was the nanites that forced you, and everyone else in the village, to sleep." She gazed at the rest of his body and noted how he seemed to be hunched forward, "Including accelerating the people's growth."
"...How long?" Jack asked after a moment of thought. His teeth were grinding against each other as he clenched his hands shut, "How long do I, and by extension, the rest of the villagers have before we die of old age?"
His only response was a sigh from Ben, "Why do you need to be like that, Jack?" His green eyes were narrowed in frustration as he approached the much 'older' man, "Thinking like that...it's only going to cause more trouble than it's worth." He stretched his hands out as he indicated to the rest of the team, "Do you not trust us? Do you not believe that we can help you? Can it be, have you already lost your fire for living?"
Jack frowned at him, his wrinkled face gaining, even more, wrinkles as he looked at the entire team, "No…you're right. I trust you. I trust you to get me out of this situation and to find a way to shut of these blasted things."
A smile crossed everyone's faces, Jack included.
After a moment of smiling, Daniel broke the silence, "So...now what?" He was curious as to what Ben and Sam's plan was and if there was anything he could do to help.
Ben raised his arm up, the same one with the Omnitrix on it, "Now? Well, now I do my thing and try and give Jack a bit more time." As he searched through the Omnitrix, he couldn't help but think that Jack looked horrible, "He'll need it."
Jack rolled his eyes, "Don't you know that it's rude to insult your elders?" If he had a cane, he would have been slamming it on Ben's head.
"Yeah, but you're not that old...remember?" Ben grinned at Jack, before slamming down the core of the Omnitrix, "CLOCKWORK!"
Omnitrix Database - Clockwork - Chronosapien
Clockwork is the Omnitrix's DNA sample of a Chronosapien from an unknown planet.
Clockwork can slow down time around himself, making it look like to others that Clockwork is moving at very high speeds. By rotating the key on his head, he can create a projection of what happened in the past.
Clockwork can fire green time rays from his hands or chest which have various effects, such as sending people back in time or into a different timeline, aging an object/person to dust, or restoring individuals who have been erased from time.
Because he is as a technological being, it is possible for a Galvanic Mechamorph to merge with Clockwork, enhancing his abilities. When upgraded, Clockwork's time rays become stronger, his speed and stamina increases to superhuman levels, and he gains the ability to morph his hands into drills, as well as shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.
Clockwork also has a degree of enhanced strength as he was able to throw a pipe so hard it became heavily embedded into a wall.
Clockwork was a robot-like alien with skin that is made of copper, with black stripes and a transparent piece of green circular glass on his chest, revealing gears inside of him.
"So, what can this guy do?" Jack asked as he inspected the strange alien before him, "Cause I don't see how a piece of metal is going to help me here... unless you can somehow tell the nanites to turn themselves off?"
"No," Clockwork shook his head in the negative, "I am not capable of such a thing. Instead, I shall freeze you in this frame of time, giving us the time needed to find a solution to your problem."
Jack snorted, "Time, heh, good pun," He shook his head in amusement; truly Ben was a comedy genius, "So what? You're saying you can control time or something like that?"
"Exactly. Time is a strange thing. It is ancient, but, at the same time, young." Clockwork's face was impassive as he started to glow green, the key on his head slowly turning, "Such a young race...but I see what you will become: a protector, a child, a murderer, all these and more. The future is connected, the past is returning."
The glow around his body started traveling towards his hand, seemingly collecting into a simple green orb.
A wary look crossed Jack's face, "Ben? What are you doing?" He didn't like where this was going.
Clockwork ignored the question, focusing on the energy in his hands, "You, you who have lost a child, will be the lynchpin. Your choices affect all of humanity, not just those of Terra."
"Terra?" Daniel blinked, wasn't that one of the ancient names of the Earth? His hand was resting on the handgun that he had clipped to his hip.
"Earth, Terra, it matters not. In the end, all is one." The orb in Clockwork's hands surged towards Jack, "This will not hurt. If anything, this will be like pressing the pause button on a VHR."
The rest of SG-1 watched with baited breath as the orb touched Jack's chest. They trusted Ben, but Clockwork unnerved them. Something about the alien didn't sit right in their guts.
Jack's body seemingly turned grey, a green glow outlining his body.
"It is done. Jack is stuck in that point in time until he is released. For him, no time shall have passed when I do release him." Clockwork announced as he turned towards Sam, his feet making a loud banging sound every time he moved, "Now...what is your next plan of action?"
The blond captain said nothing as she looked at the frozen form of her superior. She didn't know what to think, the fact that Ben had an alien that could control time...it was strange. It went against everything she knew
She looked back to Clockwork, "...I'm going to... I'll just be…" Her head started spinning as she tried to come to terms with what she just saw happen. It was impossible, and yet, she saw it happen before her very own eyes.
Clockwork smiled sympathetically at her as he rested his left hand on her shoulder, "It is strange, true, but do not let that distract you. There are hundreds of people depending on you finding a way to turn off the nanites."
"Of course," Sam shook her head, Clockwork was right. Now wasn't the time to be wondering on what was possible and what was impossible. She looked to Daniel and Teal'c, "Where did you say you found the tablet?"
Daniel pointed to the statue of Pelops, "At the base of the statue. There was some sort of compartment there that it had been resting in."
"Really?" Sam raised an eyebrow in interest, "Ok, show me where this compartment is. There might be some clues as to how to stop the nanites."
Teal'c watched as Daniel led Sam to the location where they found the Goa'uld tablet. While he watched them, his mind was elsewhere. To be exact, it was on Clockwork.
He had seen yet another example of Ben's power. To be able to manipulate time, something that even the Goa'uld feared...it was awe inspiring. He knew that Ben was as mortal as anyone else was, yet he had these powers, powers that even the kindest Goa'uld would kill for.
Had the Goa'uld found him...he didn't even want to think about such a possibility. He paused as he noticed Clockwork move towards Sam and Daniel, his bulky body casting a shadow a few feet ahead of him.
"Have you found anything of interest?" Clockwork asked as he looked down on the two crouching humans.
Sam shook her head in the negative, the smile on her face strained by the annoyance she felt with him, "No, but it would probably help if you weren't blocking the light."
"Oh! Sorry," Clockwork shuffled to the side, his shadow moving out of both her and Daniel's way, "That any better?" If needed, he was ready to change into a different alien, one that could avoid becoming a hindrance to the team.
Sam nodded in thanks as she took a look at the compartment, "So this is where you found the tablet?" She could see what appeared to be circuitry running throughout the insides of the small space.
"Yeah," Daniel nodded, "You see anything?" He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't curious if Sam had found something. He scooted a bit closer so that he could get a better look at the insides of the space where he and Teal'c had found the Goa'uld tablet.
"Maybe...I'm not certain." Sam bit the bottom of her lip as she traced some of the circuit like patterns. She looked to Clockwork, "Ben, you think you can do something about this statue? I want to see what's at the base of it."
Clockwork frowned... that was a big thing that she wanted. On one hand, he was afraid as to what would happen if he strained himself too much, and on the other one, he wanted to help her find a cure to the problem.
In the end, it all came down to one question. Could he live with himself if he allowed Jack and hundreds of others to die when there was something he could have done to help.
Making his decision, he looked back to Sam, "Very well, please step to the side." Once he was certain that they were a safe distance away, he shot a green beam of energy from his hand towards the statue. After a few seconds, he allowed the energy to stop streaming out of his hand.
The team watched as the statue appeared to crumble into dust, the faint wind from outside blowing it away. Clockwork looked at Sam, "Is that what you wanted?"
Sam sweat dropped, that wasn't quite what she had in mind. She looked to the alien, a slight pleading tone in her voice, "Please tell me you can undo what you just did?!" Despite it being worded as a question, both she and Clockwork knew that it was anything but. She sighed in relief when she saw the mechanical alien nod his head.
"Worry not. Just as time marches forward... so can it in reverse." Clockwork stated, the key on his head slowly turning as the glow around him faded, "I can just as easily rebuilt as I have destroyed." He paused as he gazed at what remained of the statue, "Although, you might want me to wait until you've looked at the base, right?"
"Yup," Sam smiled at him, her blue eyes locked onto his green ones. Breaking her gaze from him, she wiped some of the dust away from her clothes as she looked back at what remained of the statue, which was the stand that it had been standing on, "Teal'c?"
Teal'c raised an eyebrow in interest as he approached the group, "Yes, Captain Carter?"
"What exactly is this?" Sam asked as she scrutinized one of the few remaining stones. She could hear a faint sound coming from it, but it kept cutting out, probably because of its advanced age. She handed it to the Jaffa in the hopes that he could explain, "I'm thinking it's a transmitter but I can't be too certain."
As he looked at the object, Teal'c couldn't help but agree, "It appears to be so." He pointed to one of the markings on it, "This appears to be the central node while the rest of the patterns are the 'wires', as your kind would put it." He handed it back to Sam, "Although, old age appears to have damaged it."
"So if we were to fix it, we could turn the nanites of?" Sam asked; hope blooming in her chest as she cradled the transmitter in her hands.
"Essentially, yes." Teal'c replied as he tilted his head in thought, he didn't want to give his team mates false hope, "There is a chance, though, that the transmitter is not the one we need."
Sam shrugged as she placed the object on the ground, "It's a chance I'm willing to take." She looked to Ben as she took a few steps back, "Ben? You think you can de-age this?"
Her only answer was a blast of green energy hitting the transmitter. She watched as the object appeared to become newer, losing some of the rust that had formed on it. Once she was certain he was done, she picked back up the object, "Thanks."
"No problem," Clockwork simply replied, "If you need me to, I can also fuse with the device and manually shut it off."
That stumped Sam as she had not been expecting that, "I thought that form could only control time...or do you mean you would use another alien?" She paused as she stared at the small transmitter, "But if you can, yes please."
Clockwork nodded, before slamming the Omnitrix, "UPGRADE!"
Omnitrix Database - Upgrade - Galvanic Mechamorph
Upgrade is the Omnitrix's DNA sample of a Galvanic Mechamorph from Galvan Prime's moon, Galvan B.
Upgrade is not completely solid, as he can be both liquid and gelatinous. Due to this, he can reshape himself to let projectiles or blows pass through him by creating a hole in his body at will.
Upgrade can use his internal nanotechnology to merge with and possess any technology by encasing himself over it. The size of the device is not significant and he controls it as naturally as he would his own body. When he merges, he upgrades the technology, making the technology he possess far more advanced and futuristic and causing new features to form on it.
Possessing technology allows him to transform it with seemingly no limit, such as merging with a baseball launching machine and turning it into a tripod-like robot that fired a seemingly infinite amount of baseballs, while the moment he un-merged with it, it returned to normal. He can also make his head or his face appear anywhere on the machines he possesses. Occasionally, he can merge with organic beings, as long as there is machinery integrated within them.
Upgrade has displayed the ability to launch a powerful green energy blast from his eye. He can form energy constructs such as an energy spike, though mostly while merged with machinery and upgrading them into weapons. Upgrade has the capability to travel through electrical currents
He can form energy constructs such as an energy spike, though mostly while merged with machinery and upgrading them into weapons. Upgrade has the capability to travel through electrical currents.
Due being made of living metal, Upgrade is able to regenerate himself.
"So? What do you think?" Upgrade asked as he showed off his body, the green circle on his 'face' lighting up every time he spoke. His gelatinous body was black with green stripes that resembled circuitry all over him.
Sam blinked as she poked the new alien, his skin rippling from the contact, "Pretty cool...so I'm assuming this new form isn't completely solid?"
Upgrade nodded his head, a grin on his face, "That's right. This body is made completely out of nanotechnology, which means, I am not constrained to just one shape." He motioned for her to hand over the stone, "It also means that I can merge with all types of technology, and yes, even ones that I have never seen before."
His hand started to morph as it wrapped around the stone, knowledge about its purpose being downloaded into his head. As a mental map of the device started forming in his head, he looked to Teal'c, "I'll give Pelops this; he's one smart cookie."
With a bout of concentration, he started to reprogram the device, ordering it to do the opposite of what it was intended for, "Lucky for us, though, he's never met me before."
The team, minus Jack, watched as pulses of green energy escaped Upgrade's 'hand'. The air seemed to shimmer as the energy washed over them, leaving them feeling slightly cold, like a blanket had just been removed of them.
There was no reason for them to feel such a thing and yet they did.
"That it?" Sam asked once she was was certain that her friend was done. A shiver escaped her mouth as she tried to warm herself up, rubbing her hands together tightly.
Upgrade shook his head in the negative, "No. That was me turning off the nanites that have been watching us." Another wave of energy shot out of his hand, "And that...was me telling the nanites in the Argosian's blood to deactivate themselves."
"Somebody's been watching us this whole time!?" Daniel asked as he instinctively rested his hand on his handgun, worry evident on his face.
"Yes," Upgrade nodded his head as he handed Sam back the transmitter, "The nanites were sending a live feed to Pelops." He smiled at Sam, "I think it was a way for him to keep an eye on the people in case he wasn't here to do so himself."
"Meaning that he saw you use the Omnitrix?" Sam winced; Hammond wasn't going to be pleased about that. She released a sigh, "Ok, go on ahead and release Jack. We can deal with this new problem when we get back.
Upgrade simply nodded his head as he slammed the Omnitrix symbol. A familiar flash of green light blinded the room, "CLOCKWORK!!"
Jack winced as he cracked his back, his bones popping back into place, "God! How long was I asleep for?" He was already feeling his strength come back, despite still looking like a wrinkly prune.
"Well, sir. You weren't actually asleep. The best way to describe is akin to a form of suspended animation." Sam replied hastily, happy to share her knowledge on the subject. She paused when she saw Jack give her 'the look', the same one that said he didn't want such a complicated answer, "Sorry sir. Like Ben said, it's like pressing the pause button on a movie."
Jack nodded as he approached Ben, "Now why couldn't you have just said that?" Sometimes, he felt like slamming his head on a wall every time Sam gave one of her explanations.
Sam ducked her head in apology. She had forgotten that Jack liked simple answers.
As the duo stood by the edge of the village, Jack couldn't help but frown as he saw Kynthia walking among the villagers, her face indicating that she was looking for someone. A sigh escaped his mouth, "I really don't know what to do about her." He glanced to Ben, who was resting against the fountain, "What about you? Any suggestions?"
"No," Ben replied as he fiddled with the Omnitrix, his eyes never leaving it, "But then again, I've never had a one night stand before." He paused as he looked to Jack, his hands still working on the alien watch, "Tell me...do you feel your heart beat faster when you look at Kynthia?"
Jack paused as he thought about Ben's question, despite the irritation he felt. He couldn't help but rest his hand on his chest, right where his heart was, "No...I feel nothing."
A sigh escaped the younger man's mouth, "Then you have your answer." He looked away from Jack as he stared at the sky, "What you had with Kynthia was not love and I'm certain you knew that already." With a pat on Jack's shoulder, he motioned for him to go to Kynthia, "Go talk to her, Jack. Explain to her how you feel and if you're lucky, she won't be too mad."
Grumbling to himself, he hobbled over to Kynthia, leaving Ben and Sam alone.
"So..." Sam started as she looked at what Ben was doing, "Never had a one night stand before?" To be honest, she wasn't surprised. He didn't seem like the type of guy to do something like that. She shook her head in amusement; who ever married him was bound to be a lucky woman.
"Yeah," Ben replied as he started reorganizing the playlists on the Omnitrix, "Wife would have killed me if I did something like that." A fond smile crossed his lips as he remembered his Julie.
Before Sam could ask any more questions, she noticed both Daniel and Teal'c approach them, "You guys ready to go?"
Daniel was the one to respond, "Yeah. The Argosian's have allowed me to take some of their relics for study," The excitement he felt was evident as he raised the bag in his hand into the air, "Can't wait to get back home and get to work on them."
Ben smiled at him, before looked at Teal'c, "What about you, big man? Anything interesting happen?"
"No," Teal'c shook his head in the negative, "Everything has been the same for me."
All four of them stopped when they saw Jack hobble back to them, a bright red mark on his left cheek. Jack looked at Ben with a scowl, "You were wrong," That was all he said to Ben as he passed the team, "Come on. I want to go home and forget this ever happened."
SGC - Briefing Room
As Hammond took a seat at the head of the table, he smiled at SG-1, "I'm glad to see that you were able to find a solution for your problem, Jack." He smiled at the much 'older' man, "Which means you can write your report when we are finished here."
"Yeah...how great," Jack cheered sarcastically, his right hand raised into the air.
Hammond rolled his eyes, "Get over it Jack. It's a part of this job. If you don't like it, then go look for another one." He glanced to Ben and nodded, "We've destroyed the samples like you've asked, though I still don't quite understand the reasoning."
Sam, being one of the few to understand the reasoning, was the first to speak, "Well, according to Ben, the nanites that the MALP brought back were not the same as the ones in Jack's body."
"Really?" That piqued the General's interest. Leaning back into his chair, he gave her the go ahead to continue speaking.
"Yes, sir," She looked at Ben before looking back at Hammond, "One of Ben's aliens can apparently fuse with technology, allowing him to upgrade it years ahead of what it can actually do, which is how he learned that the nanites we brought back are essentially spy cams."
Hammond blinked, not sure how to react to such a thing. After a few minutes, he looked to Ben, "Do you know who was watching?"
"No," Ben replied as he crossed his hands behind his head, "But I have reason to believe that it is Pelops, as he was the one who made them." Seeing Hammond nod, he winced, "Also, Sir, it would mean that he saw me use the Omnitrix."
The good General sighed, why couldn't anything ever be simple? He rested his head in his hands as he motioned for the team to leave, "Dismissed."
Walking out of the room, Ben turned to his team mates, "Well I think that went well," He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I mean it could have gone better, but all things considered, it was the best we could really hope for."
"Ben," Jack started as he walked ahead, "Do me a favor...shut up!" He wasn't too happy with Ben, mostly because the advice he gave resulted in a slap on the face.
A pout formed on Ben's face as he watched Jack leave, "He's not going to hold that over me...is he?" Because if he did, that would suck.
"Don't worry about it," Daniel replied as he patted Benn on the shoulder, "He'll get over it eventually." He waved at Teal'c, Sam and Ben before leaving for his office, "See you guys later."
Scratching his head, he started walking to his own lab, which was really half of Sam's, "If you need me, you know where to find me." He smiled at his team mates, "Cause I've got some cool ideas for weapons that can give us an advantage against the Goa'uld."
Sam's eyes sparkled in excitement, "Sweet." She smiled at Teal'c, "See you later." Quickly catching up to Ben, they started chatting, not seeing the smile on Teal'c's face.
It's done my friends.
I want to thank all my reviewers and everyone that followed and favorited. Everyone that viewed and decided they didn't like the story, eh that's not my problem.
Also, as we can all see, more changes are happening.
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