Author's Notes: -recap mode- In case you haven't been following:-P, This is post "Four Letter Words Required", in which Sam, thanks to Orlin's help, has discovered a ring device on the island. And also, the losties Jack gets in a few words...
Final Destination
Episode 34: Hosts
By Osiris Ra
"A ring device?" Sam looked at Orlin incredulously. "On an island? On Earth?"
Which was not technically out of the norm, Sam knew, but it surprised her to think there had been ring devices on the island all along. Questions whizzed through her mind at the manic speed of a frieght train. How did they rings get here? Why were the rings here? Who put them here? How did whoever 'they' were gain access to such technology? Only one answer to that, and as Sam contemplated it, she felt the hairs on her neck rise.
But WHY?
Orlin trained his eyes on Sam.
"It's up to you now, Sam. You're the reason we're here."
Sam, who had momentarily forgotten Orlin, stared back. "Reason—what reason? Explain 'the reason' to me, Orlin."
"Sam I can't—"
"No, you're going to!" Sam took a step towards Orlin. "I don't know—maybe you're in my head or whatever, but you're here. And you're here because you know something—you know why this is happening. No--maybe it's the opposite—maybe it's me that knows what's happening...if you're in my head...then that means that in some bizarre way...you're a projection of my subconscious thoughts. But if you're real...then you must know that I already know what's going on here...you're trying to help me access that knowledge, aren't you? Was that you, Orlin? When I saw Daniel and I found that Hatch? And Major Carlilse? Stop the games, Orlin, or whoever the hell you are. What is you want me to do?"
Orlin stared at her solemnly.
"I want you to push the button."
Inexplicably, he vanished.
And so, it seemed, God had spoken. God wanted her to push a button and enter His Rock.
But what was on the other side of that Rock? When she entered that unknown chasm, solitary, would she have to slay Grendal? There always was, it seemed, some other dragon lurking in the ether. Was this quest truley worth it? With any luck, she'd ring into General Hammonds office, where he would reveal in a deadpan manner that everything had been an intricately planned practical joke.
Sam turned and approached the dialing console. Like a dream that she had finally recollected, the glyphs to an address appeared before her eyes and just as quickly, faded away. Tentatively, Sam mashed the buttons.
Footfalls desperately stumbled across rock behind her. Sam turned towards the sound, momentarily forgetting the dialing console. Suddenly, a dusty shock of brown hair emerged over the hill.
Without surprise, Sam observed the man stagger towards the rock. When he finally stopped and looked straight up at her, looking dazed and tired, he did something Sam didn't expect.
He began to laugh.
"Sam! Oh my god, Sam. It's you. It's you." His laughter died slightly, but his grin remained. "It...it is you, isn't it?"
Carter didn't say anything.
"Sam? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Daniel."
Daniel stared strangely. "What are you doing up there?"
Sam raised her shoulders. "Just saving the world, I guess."
"I'm sorry?"
"You know."
And the theme to Wonder Woman began to play in both of their heads for whatever reason.
"What's that?" asked Daniel, deciding that maybe either him or Sam had been in the sun too long and had gotten to the point where they were hearing people say things they weren't really saying.
"Rings, Daniel. Transport rings."
Daniel stared slack-jawed.
"Rings? You're kidding."
"You tell me, Daniel."
"Well--don't just stand there, I want to see this! Help me up there—come on!"
After much effort and jumping, Daniel mantled up onto the ledge and stood, winded, but excited.
"Wow..." he said, looking out at the jungle. "You can see everything up here."
When he turned back, he noticed Sam staring strangely at him.
"What?"
Sam shook her head. "Nothing."
"You sure? Because I'm starting to think that maybe I'm growning another head or nose or really big zit or something."
Sam laughed.
"Have you seen Jack or Teal'c?" asked Daniel slowly.
Sam nodded. "Both, actually. I don't know where they are now."
"Well, why didn't you guys regroup?"
"We couldn't."
"Why."
"We just couldn't, that's all."
"You regroup, you get back to the gate, I don't see what's so hard about that!"
"Can't do that." Said Sam tersely.
"Well Sam, feel free to explain it—"
"—can't right now, Daniel. You coming or what?"
From the moment Daniel had stumbled over the hill, Sam hadn't decided whether he was real or not. Perhaps his currant appearance was another highly realistic, fanciful hallucination, compliments of whatever entity was operating the Island, or, maybe by some miracle of God, he was really there and really ok. Sam had not committed her mind to either one, and instead observed Daniel silently, watching and waiting for him to do something that the Daniel she knew wouldn't do. As he stepped into the ring circle, looking disoriented and confused, Daniel brushed away the unruly strands of dull brown hair from his face and squinted slightly, struggling to focus without his glasses. As she watched him, Sam for the first time felt something she had yet to experience on the island – a faint clutch of hope.
The rings activated. In a flash of light, the two disappeared.
Fingers met against the solid, plastic surface of a keyboard, and together, they made a noise: clickety clack. Clickety clack. Clickety clack. A sound of normalcy in the Computer Room.
For the past 3 days, Jack Sheppard, John Locke, and Mr. Eko had worked in their cubicles, forced into mind-numbing repetition by their captors. They were to work at their computers, timed by one of their overseers, as they inputted various strings of numbers into their computers. This was no mere typing class, this was preparation for something, something for which no margin of error could be accepted.
Jack sat in his room, alone. Each had been assigned a new room, and had not been allowed to talk to each other, except for short intervals during the day. The first time the three had gathered, they had spoken of escape, of friends and of the seeking of answers, but when they had parted, it became clear that escape would not be possible, friends were but memories, and there would be no answers here. The next time they had gathered, they had unenthusiastically spoken again of escape, and theorized over what the Others were training them for. Again, when they parted, thoughts of escape slipped away, and no longer did they want to worry about what the Others had planned.
It had been a tiring 3 days.
The buzzer in his room sounded, signaling incoming ring transport. The ring devices deposited Benjamin Linus, and disappeared as quickly as they had come. Ben approached Jack.
"Afternoon, Jack. I've come to give each of you a little update on matters. I know you've been worried and wondering, but understand everything that is happening, is happening for a reason."
Jack glowered palely at Ben. He despised Benjamin Linus, and his smiling face.
"The good news is, your training is nearly over. It's almost Zero Hour, and I've come to let you know that when Zero Hour comes, your mission with us will be fulfilled, and you will be let go."
"What should I trust anything you say, Ben?"
Ben actually laughed.
"Well, you shouldn't, Jack. And I guess I can't convince you otherwise. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
After a moment, Ben added, "As you requested awhile ago, I've acquired some information on your friends. They're alright."
Jack looked at Ben. It was impossible to read his eyes, because they portrayed little emotion, other than a blank, doll-like joviality.
"It appears they've been having quite an adventure. They've found a boat, and they're living on it, currently, with one of our people, whom they've captured."
"A boat?"
"Yes, a white yacht. Belonged to a couple of outsiders, apparently. My people wouldn't give me any information besides that."
Ben leaned in confidentially, "My guess is, another of their hush-hush projects." He grinned.
"What about—"
"Ana Lucia and Sawyer are fine, they've regrouped with your other friends and the new people. Ana Lucia seems to have gotten herself wounded; they say she'll be fine, though. A little sun and R&R."
Jack glared.
"What do you people want from us? Why are you doing this to us?"
"Patience, Jack, answers will come. Just, not now. Right now, you need to be looking forward to Zero Hour."
Ben returned to the ring circle.
"Zero Hour," Jack said, rising, "what is that, what—what are you people planning? Tell me about Zero Hour!!"
The ring devices blasted up from the floor and devoured the smiling Benjamin Linus in a beam of light. Jack was left standing, bewildered, in his white jumper in his room.
When next Jack, Eko and Locke met, they spoke and debated of Zero Hour.
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"It's almost time," said one of the Executive Technicians to Benjamin Linus, who stood examining a screen filled with an overflow of digits and letters. To the untrained eye, it was a lot of nonsense, but to trained technicians like Benjamin, it made a great deal of sense.
Perhaps, something a casual observer might have immediately noticed and taken as extremely odd, was that part of the information on the screen was written in a foreign language. It was not, however, any language recognizable to the ordinary Earthman. It was, in fact, Goa'uld.
Benjamin's eyes darted efficiently over the script.
"Are we certain that Samantha Carter will be able to carry out the final step?"
The executive nodded. "We've already provided her with the last bot to prepare her. As we speak, she and Dr Jackson are making progress with the device. With both of them working on it, we should have access to the device within 48 hours."
"Excellent." Benjamin folded his arms and studied the screen. Benjamin's joviality disappeared. No longer did he appear to be the calm, pleasant man he had presented himself as before. There was now something distinctly frightening about the mild-mannered Information Technician.
Raising his head slightly, Benjamin watched as the script overflowed down the screen, endlessly scrolling in digits and letters and Goa'uld glyphs.
Ben blinked. His eyes glowed bright yellow.
TO BE CONTINUED