On the tenth day of Christmas…
"Easy does it, Major." Sam ordered as the Hammond nosed its way into the golden mist of the nebula.
There was the usual churn of excited butterflies in her tummy, the weight of the lives of her crew on her shoulders and the familiar buzz of adrenaline lighting up her veins as it always did when Sam had something new to explore.
"How are the sensors doing, Lindsay?" Sam asked, throwing her question to the back and the engineering console.
"We've got limited capability, Colonel." Lindsay informed her calmly. Long gone were the days when Lindsay Novak would hiccup her way through crises. "But they're all functional and at full strength."
"Can't we go faster?" asked Vala plaintively, leaning on the back of Marks' chair with a pout.
"No." Sam said firmly.
"But we know the exact coordinates of the Coscoroban satellites." Vala argued.
"Maybe but we don't know if there's anything between here and there." Sam argued.
Teal'c inclined his head. He stood next to Sam's chair like the stalwart sentinel he was. "Indeed."
"You know what this reminds me of?" drawled Cam, hovering to the side of Marks' console and giving away just how much he wished he was the one flying. "Driving in the pitch black in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter. You might know where you're going to but you don't know the road and you're not sure if you're going to end up in a ditch or get surprised by the local wildlife springing out at you."
Vala conceded the debate with a huff and opened her mouth.
"Don't say it!" Daniel folded his arms, his eyes glued to the forward screen. He glanced over his shoulder at Vala briefly. "If you say 'are we there yet' just once I won't be responsible for my actions."
"Well, that has possibilities." Vala noted.
"Isn't this where the parents suggest tipping them out on the side of the road?" Cam asked loudly.
Sam flashed him a quick smile. "Phelps, connect me with the Hammond puddlejumper."
They'd left the survey team on the planet with SG20 at the Stargate and a couple of F302s for good measure. A cloaked puddlejumper remained in orbit to act as a communications relay between the planet and the Hammond. It was likely that communications would be affected by the nebula but Sam was hoping that with some tweaking they could at least do the relay.
"Peartree here, ma'am." The pilot's voice was filled with easy assurance.
"First check-in, Captain." Sam said. "We'll check-in every thirty minutes from here on out."
"Understood, Colonel." Peartree replied. "We'll be waiting for your call. Puddlejumper, out."
It was almost thirty minutes later that they made it to the first set of coordinates.
"External lights on full." Sam ordered. "Full sensor sweep ahead."
The egg shaped satellite rose up on front of them; a smooth oval shape in a pale grey.
"We're reading some kind of power source in the upper part of the, uh, egg, Colonel." Lindsay reported.
"Send usual first contact hails." Sam ordered. They couldn't assume that there was no-one on board.
"Negative response, Colonel." Phelps said. "Even with the addition of the communication Doctor Jackson provided for the Coscorobans."
Sam motioned at Cam. "Looks like you have a go."
SG1 along with Jennifer Hailey filed from the bridge to get ready. Cam had asked Sam to go with them originally and she'd been tempted. But the Hammond was in a nebula blindfolded and with its hands tied behind its back in many ways and her duty was clear. Hailey was her protégé; brilliant in her own way and more than qualified to provide the scientific expertise that SG1 might require in exploring the satellite.
"We're ready for beam out." Cam radioed.
"Maintain radio contact, Cam."
"Roger that." Sam nodded at Phelps.
There was silence for a long moment and Sam felt the catch of her breath in her throat – had something gone wrong?
"We're here." Cam's voice came over the audio channel loudly. "Wherever here is."
"Breathable air." Hailey confirmed.
Sam could imagine them taking off the breathing gear, stowing it away as they regathered themselves ready for exploration.
"OK, so this is creepy." Cam commentated. "Shadowy corridors…minimal lighting."
"There's no markings of any kind." Daniel added. "No directions, nothing but blank walls."
"We're approaching the energy source." Hailey confirmed.
"Bingo!" Cam said and Sam felt a rush of irritation as she waited for him to expand on the finding.
"It's…incredible." Daniel breathed out in wonder.
Sam hit the reply button. "Someone want to tell us exactly what you've found over there?"
"It is a stasis chamber, Colonel Carter, containing many of the beings we know as the Coscorobans." Teal'c replied.
"They really do look like geese." Vala commented.
"I have something! There's one chamber here with ten individuals and from the sign that's been left this is the ruling council." Daniel said.
"They have their own power source separate to the main one the Hammond identified." Hailey confirmed. "We should be able to revive them."
"Do we want to revive them?" Cam asked bluntly.
Sam appreciated the question. She remembered Daniel possessed by the ruler of a people who had essentially done something similar to the Coscorobans and preserved their people in stasis; the leader had been arrogant and self-serving. But it wasn't her call and she could hear Daniel's impassioned argument that it was the right thing to do even as she debated it inwardly.
"Cam?" prompted Sam.
"I guess we're waking them up." Cam stated dryly.
Sam motioned at Phelps. "I'm sending you an extra security team and a medical team to assist." The replacement for Phelps was already radioing the instruction to the infirmary.
The next few hours flew by as the team on the satellite revived the ruling council; five pairs of mated couples, one of whom comprised the lead scientists who had devised the satellites. Eventually, everyone was beamed back aboard the Hammond to discuss the next steps.
M'Rau and Amrak, the lead scientists, were the first to greet Sam as she entered the conference room. The Coscorobans were a tall, graceful people. They had feathers over their skulls and the backs of their hands - potentially elsewhere but the rest of their bodies were covered in a long tunic and pants combination. Their faces were pointy, noses and mouths retaining a hint of the beak their ancestors had no doubt had.
M'Rau's beaky face split open in a wide smile, her grey feathered head inclining. "Colonel. I have waited these long days to meet you."
Sam smiled tentatively and accepted the outstretched feathered hands, clasping them gently in her own. "I'm pleased to meet you too."
"You have an exceptional clutch, Colonel." M'Rau said.
"A clutch being?" questioned Sam curiously.
"Ah, your words…team, family?" M'Rau cocked her head to the side, her black eyes blinking. "It is unclear to us."
"I think both work in this case." Sam said delighted. "Please sit."
"We would like to revive the rest of our people." M'Rau said without preamble. "We have supplies and emergency housing facilities stored on all the satellites. If your ship could tow each to the planet…"
"We'll be happy to help you if we can." Sam confirmed. "We'll need to do the calculations and, forgive me, but do the satellites have their own shield for re-entry or…"
Hailey cleared her throat. "Ma'am, there may be an issue in being able to revive the population and maintain the required power needed for the shields to sustain themselves. During my access to the main computer I noticed that the power units are almost all used. The power requirements to bring the satellite back online are immense."
She slid her computer over to Sam.
Sam's eyes quickly took in the calculations. They had naquadah generators they could use but they'd run out of power before the satellite was fully lit up. Except…
"I think I have an idea." Sam said.
It was late when Sam finally managed to call it a night.
The Hammond was still inside the nebula having checked out the remaining four satellites and determined the power requirements for each. The ten Coscoroban leaders were all delightful and thrilled that they had successfully managed to save their people – and that those that had found them were compassionate and willing to help them. She opened her latest email from Jack sent on via the relay with the puddlejumper.
"Re: Your idea
Carter,
The V'Breeni are delighted to have you use their gift to revive an ancient population of geese folk.
I think they're planning another gift for you.
Maybe this will make the ten geese leaders leap for joy?
Happy Tenth Day!
Always, Jack x"
Sam grinned, opened a new email and tagged on the picture of the ten Coscoroban leaders.
"Jack,
I don't know about the Coscorobans but I definitely feel joyful that for once they're not an alien bad guy.
Wish you were here.
Love, Sam x."