Chapter 4

It hadn't actually taken too much time to dig Ser out, once Teal'c had identified a fairly safe spot from where to begin. The rubble wall had threatened to shift a few times, and Teal'c had picked up some nasty scrapes on his forearms for his troubles, but nothing that Jr. and some topical ointment couldn't handle. All in all, it had been a successful rescue mission. Daniel had needed some serious calming down when Teal'c brought out Ser, who turned out to be bloodied, bruised, and highly unconscious by the time we managed to retrieve her from the other side of the wall. I kept assuring him that for once, he'd followed the correct procedure in waiting and talking until backup arrived. I figured I should wait until later for our discussion on his choice in lines of questioning during interrogation. While I calmed Daniel down and Teal'c dealt with his wounds, Sam checked our unconscious visitor for broken bones, concealed weaponry, and the tingly traces of Gao'uld influences. Other than an impressive version of a Swiss Army knife on steroids, some picks and brushes, an unusual black tube with finger grooves, and a notebook, she was clean on all counts. She was wearing what looked like standard issue fatigues, but no dogtag, which would have been helpful for identification, of course. There were no obvious blending wounds on her neck or inside her mouth. When we removed her jacket, we saw that she had what looked like an immunisation scar on her right arm, and some impressive white scar patterns on her arms and abdomen, but no visible tattoos. Basically, Ser looked like a typical unremarkable human – short multicoloured hair and big brown eyes that seemed very sensitive to light, but totally responsive. We all agreed that there was something eerily familiar about her, though none of us actually could put our finger on it. She definitely didn't equate to someone from our SGC.

I had started the hike back to the 'gate in order to radio home. Sam's leg had stopped hurting by the time we pulled Ser out of the wall. The puncture wounds had all closed up, and we figured that the doc would be very interested in getting her hands on a few bushels of those yellow berries. Seeing as the plateau we were on was a good five clicks from the 'gate, and the team didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, I decided not to try to move Ser, at least not without a gurney, until after she regained consciousness. I was, however, sure as heck going to call in an update of our situation. I dialled Earth, wondering if I was going to end up escorting a certain doctor back to our makeshift camp by the end of this conversation.

Is there a problem, Col O'Neill? came General Hammond's Texan drawl. SG-1 isn't scheduled to make contact for another 20 hours.
Well sir, we've had some mild excitement here on the planet.
PAUSE
Continue, Colonel.
Carter ran into some trouble with the local wildlife, sir, but we found an indigenous berry which the doc's going to want to examine that fixed her right up. Jack began.
Is she alright, Colonel? Hammond sounded concerned, as he always was for the members of his flagship team. He figured it couldn't be that serious though, as they would have come home or called for help much sooner than this.
Yeah, the berries are working their magic, sir. Actually, we've had another interesting event that I wanted to let you know about.
Yes?
Well sir, the cave system that Daniel was so interested in … by the time he got there, the entrance had caved in.
That's unfortunate, but I'm not understanding why…
Well, apparently the entrance was there when we arrived, at least according to the aerial reconnaissance, but not when he got there. There was, however, someone trapped inside.
 But there weren't supposed to be any humanoid life-forms on the planet!
Oh, but it gets better, sir. Not only did she randomly appear, but Ser seems to know a heck of a lot about us – Earth, the SGC, even us, specifically. She claims to be a member of SG2 … under the command of Lt. Col. Kawalsky. Jack let that one sink in for a minute.
But – how? Lieutenant Kawalsky died four years ago!
Yes, sir, I was there. And to answer your question, we're not quite sure. As far as we can figure, it's a reality shift, like those quantum mirrors, except without a mirror. She said there was a weird storm, and a purple flash, and then she woke up in the rubble, talking to Daniel.
…interesting.
She's unconscious right now. We had to dig her out of the cave the hard way, and it took some time. Carter's given her a once-over, and she's certain that there's no Gao'uld influences at work. She's wearing a pretty standard issue uniform, which doesn't help much.
Do we know her, Colonel?
No, but…
But?
Well, there is something familiar about her sir. None of us could quite put our collective finger on it. She reminds us vaguely of someone … but, we can't figure out who, yet.
Well, bring her back to base, and we'll have the doctor run tests – ah, here she is now.
Hiya Doc.
Hi Colonel. What's this I hear about Sam getting hurt and you finding some wonder fruit for me to look at?
That's not all we have for you to check out, Doc. We found a visitor, and as I was about to tell General Hammond, she has a funky-looking puncture mark on her arm – like an immunisation, but not like one I've seen before. It's in a distinct star pattern.
 Visitor, sir? Um, sirs?
SG-1 has picked up a girl who claims to be SGC, from another reality, apparently.
I don't think it would be a good idea to bring her back here then, sirs.
Care to explain that, doctor?
Has she begun her entropic cascade failure yet, Colonel?
No Doc, but it's only been … maybe 10 hours since Daniel first made contact with her. We don't know if there's an actual quantum mirror around or not, so who knows if the same rules apply. For the moment though, she's still unconscious.
Okay, so we're not sure of how long she's actually been in our reality. We're also not sure of how much physical proximity of the double affects the effect.
She's definitely not one of ours, Doc.
Thank you Colonel, but that hardly means she doesn't exist on our Earth, and I don't want to chance causing a slide if we don't have to – especially if it involves unsuspecting civilians. Until we get a positive family history, I highly recommend keeping her there. Also, we're not sure what immunisations she holds – or what bugs she might be a carrier of, for that matter, that we're not immune to here. The different strains of flu alone…
The doctor raises a valid point. More than one, actually. I don't want to risk exposing the base to any potentially communicable diseases.
So we keep her here, and pick her brain?
That would be an excellent idea, Colonel.
Did you say she was still unconscious, Colonel?
 Yes, ma'am. Although she was pretty feisty when she was talking, so I'm not sure this is exactly a bad thing…
Sir, requesting permission to travel to the planet. I'd like to examine the patient. If she's been unconscious for this long, she may very well have a concussion. I'd also like to check out these berries – they sound like they have great potential for medicinal value...
Agreed, doctor. Go suit up. Colonel, would you be so kind as to wait and escort the doctor to your camp?
But of course! Doc's always a pleasure to have along…
Understood. SGC out.

I waited a good half an hour before the 'gate began to dial again. Instead of Dr. Fraiser, however, the MALP squawked at me.

Colonel O'Neill, are you there? came Gen. Hammond voice.
Yes Sir, just waiting for the good doctor – has there been a hold-up?
You could say that, Colonel. Just before we began to dial out, an emergency off-world activation rang through. SG-8 and 9 been under heavy fire, and brought back quite a few wounded, so the doctor's going to be tied up in surgery for a while. She said she'll 'gate over tomorrow, if you'd be able to meet her.
Of course sir.
Good. Expect her in 24 hours – that'll give her enough time to sign off and get some rest before 'gating through. Oh and Colonel? Should the patient regain consciousness before the doctor arrives, I have no problems with an exchange of information. As we've discovered in the past when people have shifted realities, sometimes it's the little differences that make the biggest impact in our continued survival.
 Exactly what I was thinking sir.
Good luck. SGC out.