AN: The new season of Doctor Who is at doorsteps – August 23rd 2014 (next Saturday) so Whovians get ready.
AN1: I'm sorry for the slow pace of the chapters but exploring the TARDIS takes time and it is a rather big place.
AN2: There are many crossovers that interact with the story, I know. But they all have their purpose.
Sanctuary – for Carter and Mayborne, Andromeda – for Daniel and Teal'c, Farscape – for Mitchell and Vala, McGiver – for O'Neill, hell and the others – well wait and see.
Thank you for the continuing support and keep reviewing!
Disclaimer: The characters of Doctor Who belong to BBC Wales and those of Stargate to MGM but the words are mine.
AU/SG1/DW: The last address of the Stargate opened on a depressing, dim world full with nothing but graves and tombstones where four SG teams already disappeared without a trace. SG1 embarks to find them only to witness the opening of one tomb that holds the greatest of all secrets in the universe.
The Tomb of the Doctor
Chapter 10
Previously:
And she ran, and ran, and ran, left, right; right, right and left, and then she hit the ground as something stood in her way and gave up some angry sounds. She quickly understood she had run into someone and it was not one of the faceless things. She opened her eyes and sought out the person she came into and her mouth remained opened as she stood gaping.
Two meters away from her stood a man who wore dark blue suit and shirt, blue grayish trousers and black shoes. His grayish hair and wrinkled forehead did not subdue or softened the maniacal look in his eyes. He was quickly on his feet and stared at Samantha for one long moment before offering her a hand to stand. She accepted though she made several steps away from this man.
What she found disturbing in this man before her was the eyes. They spoke of experience she had never seen before in anyone. This man had seen much and yet his age…his age, Samantha thought, though he appeared not older than fifty-sixty…oh the eyes said so much more…
Samantha had closed her mouth but now opened to ask the obvious question.
The man just made one step back still staring at her until a devilish/serious smile appeared on his face and he cut the distance between them again.
"Hello!" He said with surprisingly soft voice. "I'm the Doctor!"
"Doctor Who?"
And now:
"Nah, just the Doctor."
Sam's forehead wrinkled. "No one is…."
"I'm." The man interrupted. "It is just the Doctor." He dropped the smile. Every time they would ask the same question. Was it so difficult to believe?
"If you say so," Sam said. She was also a doctor of astrophysics and rightfully wondered what kind of doctor this man was.
The Doctor studied her while circling her. The smile returned on his face.
"Ha, an American, and an US Air Force Colonel, very unusual," He said and continued circling her. "Interesting, you have travelled in time and in parallel universes though the latter is a very bad idea. Every time someone does the dimensional walls suffer and the fabric of reality gets torn and cracks seem all over. I'm too old and tired to close them anymore. Still, you have seen more than you should have given your current level of development. Of course you are not the only ones that do but you Americans have the penchant for causing trouble wherever you go – always with these guns pointing at everything that moves or doesn't whistle the national hymn. Yes, yes, I can see a lot from you…oh and few other galaxies, this is very interesting…"
"Would you stop?" Sam interrupted. The Man shot this tirade in one breath and she barely kept with the insults this man threw at her.
The Doctor eyed her and continued like he had not been interrupted this rudely. "Aliens are not something unusual for you at all." He moved closer to her and sniffed the air around her then moved away and continued. "You inflate my interest, Colonel – Asgard, Nox, Furling, Tollans, ha even them – Wraith, terrible creatures and horrible manners, and elegant Athosians. You do get around. Though I still find it intriguing how you managed to meet so many spread in over three galaxies way outside of your reach…"
"We use the Stargate and have ships capable of interstellar and intergalactic travel…" Sam stopped herself. She had no idea why she told him everything.
"People just do." The Doctor replied to her unasked question."Stargate...hum…stargate…"
"Yes, big round like a pancake with concentric circles inscribed with Alteran star symbols…"
"Alterans…!" The Doctor paused and stood still staring at her. He had heard that name before somewhere or something similar. "They have another name?"
"Yes, we call them the Ancients."
"Ha!" The Doctor exclaimed slapping himself on the forehead. He has heard this name before. It came from River Song; at least when he thought it was her. He could never explain how he always knew about her. But in truth the first time they met was not in the Silent Library, no, it was long ago on Gallifrey.
There the Doctor heard for the time this name – Ancients. At the time he wondered who they were as the Time Lords were the most ancient of ancients with more than a billion years of history.
Alterans…ha, and then he remembered something from his past journeys in the ancients times there were places where the people thought he was the road builder and while he was he always wondered how they came up with that name. Not anymore though, star symbols she said.
"Star symbols, as in space coördinates?"
"Yes,"
"Wormholes,"
"Yes,"
This began explaining a few things for the Doctor. Still the question that haunted the Doctor was not the stargate. But he meeting people was never for any reason. This encounter had its purpose that only the future will tell.
"You lost someone, Colonel?" The Doctor asked. It was obvious to anyone who could see.
"Yes, my friends, my teammates and eight more teams."
"There is a whole bunch of you running around here?"
"Yes, eight teams, each by four,"
"Right," The Doctor thought. Too many of them in here, this was not good.
"But they are lost in each dimension though I guess there are two left and…"
"WHAT?" The Doctor interrupted her. Did she just say lost in eight dimensions? Looking at her the Doctor nodded. Yep, they are. Ah, leave it to Americans to screw the pouch… "Well then let's go find your friends and avoid myself…"
"A...avoid yourself?"
"Ah, sugar, dear, it is complicated."
"I am not a sugar or dear." Sam protested to this man's naming manners. "I do have a name not a title for one."
"There is no need to get snappy with me young lady." The Doctor said. "Now, do you want to find them or not?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well then, give us a hand and let's go."
Sam eyed this odd and obviously insane person but still gave in. There was something irresistible in him that silenced all notions of concern. And thus they ran down the corridor…
Meanwhile, Teal'c opened his eyes and his heart leapt in his throat. He was back on the command deck. It was the same command deck he had been to before. It was where he felt part of a ship, nah, he was the ship. And as soon as he thought of it, he felt all its systems filling his mind.
"Not again," Teal'c thought.
Sadly there was nothing he could do. He thought hard of not being here but it did not work as it did last time. The saddest part was that he did not know why he was here. He did not understand the purpose of being stranded in this universe. All his instincts screamed – leave, Teal'c, leave.
He sensed movement. It came from the corridor leading to the command deck. A tall man in black uniform walked. Instantly he checked the database. The man's name was Dillon Hunt, captain of the Andromeda Ascendant and founder of the new Commonwealth. He was also the man who spent 300 years trapped inside the event horizon of a black hole.
Black hole, Teal'c thought. Could this be the missing link? Black holes were not exactly wormholes but still it was close enough. Or was this one of the things Colonel Carter tried explaining once – parallel universes and how different they can turn out. But he somehow doubted as this ship operated in the future, in the further future from his perspective.
"Hector,"
It was Hunt's voice but Teal'c ignored him. His thoughts raced. He was not Hector, the avatar of this ship, the Resolution of Hector. He was Teal'c of the Jaffa.
"Hector," Captain Hunt repeated. His voice carried authority but it was also soft.
"Captain Dylan Hunt," Teal'c said in his usual way while shooting an eyebrow up.
"Is there something wrong with your auditory processors?"
"My hearing is perfect, Captain Dylan Hunt."
Captain Hunt eyed him and a wrinkle appeared on his forehead. This avatar spoke in a very different way. His collective experiences were not that extensive for him to think, speak and react in this way though his programming was more advanced than that of the Andromeda.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready?" Teal'c eyed him strangely.
"For the integration process," Captain Hunt said. 'What's wrong with this one?' he thought.
Teal'c searched and found it in the database. Today was the inauguration ceremony for this ship. His avatar had to bond with the ship's systems, officially. Well, he supposed he was as ready as anyone could.
"I suppose I am." Teal'c replied.
'Suppose?' Captain Hunt reflected. He had never heard any avatar in his first days speak or react in this way. True, it was a new age but still. This avatar reacted and talked more like a pure-blooded human than an artificially created machine.
Teal'c suddenly wrinkled. His connection with the database was no longer there. It was as though someone had cut the hard-line. His hand had also instinctively reached for his force lance. His finger was on the main button of the seeming harmless metal rod, just 1/3 meters that extended into a two meters long combat weapon.
Teal'c eyed the weapon and using what stayed in his memory about this weapon marveled upon its functionality and design. In some regards it was as functional as a Jaffa staff but in others it was vastly superior.
Captain Hunt backed away and reached for his force lance activating it. He was not sure what went on in this avatar's head and frankly he did not like it.
Teal'c on the other hand enjoyed seeing the force lance activate again. It was some a sight and a weapon he could definitely use back in his time. Of course what he most enjoyed about this weapon was that not everyone could use it. As he understood it, the force lance had curious protection protocol that was not so unlike most of the ancients' technology.
Teal'c had now to return to reality. The reason he took out the force lance was that someone hijacked the database he had access to. It was an avatar as no one else could do it this easily. Seamus Harper, Hunt's chief engineer could as well but he doubted it.
"Captain Dylan Hunt," Teal'c spoke and turned to the captain. "The Resolution of Hector is in danger."
"In danger? How?" Captain Hunt asked ignoring the aspects that bothered him about this avatar's behavior.
"An avatar has taken over."
"You are the avatar of the ship."
"Not anymore. The ship's systems do not answer to my requests."
"What?" Captain Hunt did not know what went on exactly but this sounded not good at all. He took out his communicator and activated it.
"Dylan," Trance's voice suggested she sensed something's wrong.
"What goes on the Resolution of Hector?"
"Does something?"
"I do not know check,"
"Right away,"
Teal'c still pondered the purpose of him being here. There were obvious similarities with his reality but the main reason eluded him. Was he to interfere with the events here or learn from them for some future use or present? He did not know the answer. He would have to wait and see as he felt somehow it was necessary.
General O'Neill could hardly believe his eyes. Inside the ridiculously large room, he and his team stood on a bridge and beside them suspended high up and near there was a star, a sun in its entire splendor and right next to the sun stood a black hole. There was something odd about this duo. They seemed frozen and pulsating at the same time.
General O'Neill shook head. Only in this place would they find such screaming impossibilities stuck one to the other. And then again perhaps the universe knew what it does. As Carter would say or at least he hoped she would – infinite diversity and nothing happens by accident. Still, it made him wonder if they will meet the owner of this crazy place. They could definitely learn a lot.
O'Neill shook off his stupor and motioned his team to move on. Reaching the opposite side they opened the door and ventured through and surprise – more corridors. A smile came to the general's face. This was definitely the most exciting away mission he had been on.
Choosing the path was a purely guessing game but he loved it. And in his choices, on the fourth turn, he bumped into Colonel Mayborne.
"Jack!" Harry Mayborne exclaimed.
"Harry!"
"I'm glad to see you."
"Likewise," O'Neill said and stared at the other team. "You folks seem exhausted. Have you been running?"
"You could say that." Harry Mayborne said. "We had a swim in a boiling hell."
"Oh," O'Neill exclaimed amused. "Well, we just came from…from…" O'Neill scratched his head trying to find the right words.
"Imagine a room and in it, there is a star collapsing in to a black hole." Jonas Quinn came to the general's aid.
"Come again?" Lt Hailey exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know it is difficult." Jonas shrugged.
"Harry did you find someone?" O'Neill asked.
"Yes, for a moment, we bumped into Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson but then we lost them again." Harry replied.
"We have to find something, somewhere that can serve as rally point, something that everyone would see – a control room or the pool."
"Oh, no, Jack, not the pool," Harry shook head in disagreement.
"Harry, we need a rally point. Can you find the way back to the pool?"
"Yes, sir," Lt Hailey promptly answered.
"Good, lead the way Lieutenant,"
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