Disclaimer: See Prologue…
A/N: Just a quick reminder, in chapter 8 I mentioned the Earth Space Armada, also known as the ESA, I know it's been a few chapter since then, so I didn't want you guys to be confused when I mentioned the ESA in this chapter. Hey guys, we've got some interesting chapters coming up. I'm coming up to the beginning of the school year, so it's going to be tight, but I will finish before I see the movie...
Last time:
In fact, over the course of 10 days, they traveled to five different planets, met five different guardians of varying ages, searched five different ruins, and found four artifacts…
Chapter 10: A Twist of Fate -
Two weeks after leaving Earth, five days since arriving on this planet, and still SG1 had found nothing that could help them. Leaving McKay inside the main room of the temple, Daniel, Sam and Vala branched out into some of the smaller rooms throughout the gargantuan structure. Even that had happened two days prior.
Daniel took his glasses off and rubbed his tired eyes. "This is pointless." He complained to no one in particular.
"There is another option, Daniel." Jon said from the open doorway.
"No!" Sam replied vehemently. "We have no idea what will happen."
Jon eyed her for a moment. "No. But we do know what will happen if we fail."
Sam looked away in defeat and Daniel nodded resignedly, while Vala looked between the three in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Vala questioned.
"I have to return to Earth for a day or so." Jon replied. "I should be back shortly." He turned to leave.
"Take Teal'c." Daniel said quietly. "You may need him to help you convince Jack."
Jon nodded and headed out.
Λ
"You're back." Hank commented over the radio as the jumper hung suspended in the gateroom. "Where's the rest of SG1?"
"They're still studying the ruins." Jon replied. "Teal'c and I came back to take care of something."
"What?"
"We need some specialized help." Jon hedged. "And the fastest way to get it, is to take the jumper."
"Doctors Jackson and McKay and Colonel Carter aren't enough?"
"No Sir."
Hank sighed at how much like Jack this kid was. "Very well, Lieutenant. But I want a full report when you return."
"Yes Sir."
"Open the missile shaft Sergeant."
Λ
Jon and Teal'c flew south after exiting Cheyenne Mountain and cloaking the ship. They flew for about 15 minutes before Jon began to descend. Locating the house he was looking for, Jon found a grove of trees and parked the jumper.
The two stepped out of the jumper, but not before Jon tossed Teal'c his baseball cap. Not needing to speak, the two stepped out of the trees and moved toward the front door of the house of a close friend.
"Teal…Murray! Jon! What brings you two to Texas?" George Hammond exclaimed in surprise after opening the door to their knock.
"We need your help, General." Jon replied.
"Come in, come in." George ushered. "And it's George, I'm retired." Once the three were seated in the den, George eyed his two visitors. "It must be serious for you to come asking for my help."
"It is indeed George Hammond."
"Gen…George. How much do you know of our current situation?" Jon questioned.
"Enough."
"Do you know about Jack?"
"That he stuck his head in that damn thing again? Yes." George replied.
Jon looked around. "Are we secure?"
"Only in here."
"Jack still has the Ancient knowledge in his head."
"Excuse me?!"
Jon spent the next 20 minutes filling George in on the events since Jack's mission with Lya. Once he was done, silence filled the room.
"There's only one way he'll leave the Sirius." George finally said.
"We know." Jon replied after sharing a look with Teal'c.
"Indeed."
Λ
Knowing the danger of being caught, Jon cloaked the jumper while still in the gateroom, then went through the stargate. Exiting the other side, he proceeded to the last known coordinates of the ESA. When they were still five minutes out, Jon stopped the jumper and changed his radio to the ESA frequency.
"Sirius, this is puddle jumper one, do you copy?"
A couple minutes passed with nothing but static. Just as Jon was about to call again, the radio crackled to life.
"Puddle jumper one, this is the Sirius."
"Is General O'Neill available?"
"Jon, what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be with SG1." Jack growled over the radio.
"I'll explain in full, General. Permission to come aboard?"
"And just how the hell do you plan on doing that?"
"If you send us your exact coordinates, once we are within range, you can extend your cloak over us. Then, theoretically, we should be able to see you and land in the F302 bay."
Silence was the only response to Jon's comment.
"Very well, my science officer seems to think that your idea might work, we're transmitting our coordinates now. O'Neill out."
Once Jon received the coordinates, he moved the jumper into position, avoiding the exact coordinates of all the other ships in the ESA.
"Sirius, this is puddle jumper one, we are in position." Jon replied as he transmitted his exact coordinates to the science officer.
"Our cloak has been extended puddle jumper one, disengage personal cloak and proceed to the F302 bay."
"Understood, puddle jumper one out."
Mere minutes later, Jon had landed the jumper in the F302 bay and was stepping out of the jumper, only to be met by an extremely irate Jack.
"Lieutenant, I believe I ordered you to accompany SG1 and help them with their search."
Jumping to attention, Jon replied, "Sir, yes Sir, you did. But if I may explain myself, Sir…"
"Make it snappy Lieutenant." Jack barked.
"Perhaps this is a conversation better held in private quarters, Jack." George Hammond interrupted as he too stepped out of the jumper, followed closely by Teal'c.
"George, Teal'c." Jack nodded, allowing his voice to cool off. "If you'll follow me…" Turning sharply, he led the others to his onboard office. Once everyone was seated, he continued, "George, you're retired, what brings you to the far reaches of the galaxy?"
"You do Jack." George replied simply.
Jack shot a glance at first Teal'c then at Jon. "Let me guess, SG1 decided to fill you in on the finer details of their mission." Jack addressed Jon.
"Yes." Jon replied shortly.
"And in turn, Jon felt it necessary to inform you, George?"
"Only because he needed my help." George answered.
"Help? For what?"
"Jack, we're getting nowhere. We've spent the last two weeks flying from planet to planet, five in all, and all we've found were coordinates to the other planets. Then we get to the planet where Teal'c and I left the rest of the team, where they've been for six days and still haven't found anything." Jon replied. "I know you requested me specifically because you thought that I could fill in for you if necessary, but I'm afraid that isn't possible in this case."
"What Jon is attempting to say, Jack, is that you are the only one who can successfully complete this mission. Merlin saw fit for you to be the one to download the Ancient knowledge, therefore putting you in the position to be the one to fulfill the quest." George interrupted.
"I can't exactly leave my post here, George." Jack retorted.
"That's where I come in, Jack." George rejoined. "I will be replacing you as captain of the Sirius."
"Of course you will." Jack replied sarcastically. Looking at Jon he shook his head. "This is what I get for having someone else who thinks exactly like I do." He turned to Teal'c. "Let me guess you came as backup in case I needed extra persuasion."
"Indeed."
Λ
Coming out of the stargate at full speed, Jon turned the jumper toward the old ruins where he and Teal'c had left the rest of SG1. Not until he was just outside the temple, did he stop or even slow down. Once he had powered down the jumper, he turned off the cloak and the three occupants of the jumper stepped out and made their way into the temple.
"Colonel Carter, Jonathan O'Neill and I have returned. It would be prudent for you and the rest of the team to meet us in the main room of the temple." Teal'c announced over the radio.
The rest of SG1 came running into the main room and met up with the others where McKay was still studying the walls. Without missing a beat, Jack stepped up to the wall and reached out to touch some of the writing.
"Hey! Don't touch anything!" McKay exclaimed.
Jack merely shot him a dirty look before continuing what he had been doing before. As he placed his fingers on different places around the wall, a light similar to that of the Asgard transporters enveloped him and he disappeared.
"Why do you O'Neills never listen to me?!" McKay demanded angrily. "Who knows what damage he's done to our chances of ever finding the san…" Rodney was cut off by Jack and some other random guy reappearing in a flash of light. "What the…?"
Jack looked around at everyone in confusion. "How long have I been gone?"
"Less than 30 seconds." Jon replied, after checking his watch.
Jack looked at the other man who had come out with him. "But we were in there talking for at least 30 minutes to an hour."
"I believe it is the same technology that made 300 years seem like nothing more than a few days to me." The man replied.
"Who are you?" Rodney demanded in annoyance.
Jack rolled his eyes and glared at McKay. "Manners, McKay." He snapped. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Arthur, king of Camelot, not the one on Earth."
"The one where I almost got my ass whooped by a holographic black knight." Cam grumbled.
"Yeah, that one." Jack returned, not quite able to hide his smirk.
"You know your people are awaiting your return." Daniel commented.
"Yes, I am aware of that fact." Arthur replied. "However, as long as the sword is in the stone, they will not be looking for me."
"About that…" Cam said. "The sword was pulled out by a young girl from your village about a year ago."
"A girl?" Arthur exclaimed in surprise.
Cam nodded. "A good thing too, I was about to be killed by that stupid hologram."
Arthur sighed and looked at Jack, "Then we are running out of time my friend. We must proceed before it is too late to accomplish your quest."
Jack nodded solemnly. "Alright everyone, pack it up, we're headed out of here."
"Where to?" McKay demanded. "We don't have any more clues to follow."
"Ah, but we do."