Chapter 36: Moebius Pt. 2
Danny is quite agitated. He along with Samantha, Dawnie and Elizabeth walk beside George Hammond. "Look, the only reason you have the Stargate is 'cause of us," Danny says.
George Hammond nods, "I'm aware of that."
"I'm a linguist. By all accounts, your team may need one." Danny says.
Samantha nods, "Ahh… what if something goes wrong with the gate on the other end?"
"And we're not letting mom go anywhere without us." Dawnie says.
George Hammond sighs, "None of you have had any military training whatsoever." He looks to Samantha and Danny, "Have either one of you ever even fired a weapon of any kind?"
Elizabeth has a flash of a memory of her holding a tranq gun. She says nothing though.
"Well… unless you count launching a rocket." Samantha says.
George Hammond shakes his head, "Look, I'm sorry." He slides his access card into the elevator call reader. "Your expertise may be needed some time in the future, but for now—"
"Well, can I ask who is going?" Danny asks.
The elevator doors open to reveal O'Neill in civilian clothes. He gives them all a look.
A short time later George Hammond enters the briefing room with O'Neill, Samantha, Danny, Elizabeth and Dawnie trailing behind him.
"I don't understand. What made you change your mind?" Samantha says.
Four Air Force men are seated at the briefing room table, dressed in fatigue uniforms and with their backs to George Hammond and the others.
Kawalsky spins around in his chair. He stands smiling, "Hi, Jack."
"That's 'Colonel', Major." O'Neill says.
Kawalsky smiles, "You're retired."
"I was." O'Neill says somewhat irritated.
"I take it you two know each other." Dawnie says.
O'Neill nods, "Yeah, we served together a long time ago."
"Oh, it wasn't that long ago." Kawalsky says.
George Hammond nods, "Major Kawalsky has been assigned to assemble the team that will go through the Stargate."
"And you knew I couldn't say no if he was involved." O'Neill says.
Kawalsky smiles, "Oh, come on, Colonel. You don't owe me anything. Admit it, you gotta be a little curious. Traveling to a different planet, through a wormhole."
Samantha smiles, "I know I am."
O'Neill gives Samantha a look.
"Sir, with all due respect, what are they still doing here?" Kawalsky asks.
George Hammond frowns, "I'm not sure. Airmen, please escort—"
"Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. We were all on that tape." Danny says.
"That tape had nothing to do with it. Jack O'Neill's one of the best I've ever served with." Kawalsky says.
Samantha nods, "You may not care that this timeline is a direct result of tampering with the past, but you have to acknowledge that the tape said the planet you're going to is enemy territory. An enemy that is way more advanced than us technologically."
"What's your point?" O'Neill asks.
Sam smiles, "You're literally walking into a totally alien situation, outmanned and outgunned."
O'Neill nods, "Do we have a choice?"
Samantha, Danny, Elizabeth and Dawnie exchanged bemused looks as George Hammond and O'Neill look on.
A short time later in the lab O'Neill is looking into the Puddle Jumper from outside the front window. Samantha and Danny join him.
"We've been able to activate everything inside with Buffy. But, according to the tape, you also have the gene that can make this ship fly." Samantha says.
"And travel through time." O'Neill says sarcastically.
Danny nods, "Well, presumably you don't have to do that if you don't want to."
O'Neill walks around to the rear ramp of the ship and enters, Samantha, Danny, Dawnie and Elizabeth following him. He walks forward to the pilot seats and looks around. "What do I do?"
Elizabeth smiles as she sits in the pilot seat, "Watch me." She places her hands on the console and everything powers on.
"How did you do that?" O'Neill asks.
Elizabeth stands up and motions to O'Neill, "Sit down."
O'Neill sits in the seat and slides it forward. Elizabeth sits in the other seat and Danny, Dawnie and Samantha stands beside him. "Now what?"
"You have to focus with your mind." Elizabeth says.
O'Neill moves a control in each hand, but nothing happens.
"Try not to think about the past." Samantha says.
"Or the future." Danny says.
O'Neill nods in a doubtful way then closes his eyes. The console beside him begins to glow and hum.
"Oh, you so have to let us go with you." Danny says.
Samantha nods, "Please."
O'Neill looks between the adults and the teenagers. He can readily tell that Elizabeth has more practice then he has had over the last few days.
Later in the Gate Rom the Puddle Jumper is sitting in front of the Stargate. Kawalsky and his team and O'Neill, Danny, Elizabeth, Dawnie and Samantha are dressed in camouflage uniforms and prepared to embark. Kawalsky and his men are wearing helmets, while Danny, Dawnie, Elizabeth and Samanatha are holding theirs.
"Put those on." Kawalksky says.
They do so but O'Neill puts on a brown baseball-style cap instead.
"How come we have to wear these and you don't?" Danny asks.
O'Neill runs his hands off the end of his cap but doesn't respond.
George Hammond walks into the gate room just then, "Okay, people. Let me remind you: this mission's recon only. Do not engage the enemy. I'm allowing the use of this ship because of the obvious tactical advantage it provides you. Under no circumstances is it to be used to travel through time, understood?"
O'Neill nods, "Yes, sir."
George Hammond shook his head, "Never in my life would I have imagined giving that order." He looks to the Carters and Danny. "Are you absolutely certain about them, Colonel?"
O'Neill looks them over then looks again at Hammond. "No, sir. I do know that Miss O'Neill can operate the ship easier than I can, and we both supposedly have the gene to fly it. And she won't go along without her sister, mother and Dr. Jackson."
George Hammond nods, "Good luck, and godspeed." He walks away.
"All aboard." Kawalsky says.
They all board the ship. Elizabeth and O'Neill sits in the pilot's seat while Danny, Dawnie and Samantha stand behind them. Kawalsky and his team sits in the rear compartment.
"Hey. Watch this." O'Neill yells back to Kawalsky. He looks to Elizabeth, "You're up."
Elizabeth nods and puts her hand on the panel in front of her and everything lights up.
O'Neill turns to Danny, "Oh, by the way, you do have the address to get us back home, correct?"
Danny nods, "Yeah."
Samantha nods as well.
O'Neill smiles, "Good. Dial it up."
Danny steps up to the dialing panel and hits the first symbol. The gate spins in response. The gate continues to spin to subsequent symbols of the address. He pushes the last symbol and the button at the base of the dialing device. The Stargate opens. Everyone is amazed.
"Wow." Danny and Dawnie say.
"Any idea what to expect?" O'Neill asks.
Samantha shakes her head, "Not really. According to the tape, we're going to be de-molecularized, transmitted over two thousand light years through subspace, and then, uh, re-materialized on the other side."
Elizabeth looks back at her mother, "I really didn't need to be reminded about that."
O'Neill nods, "Okay."
McKay comes over the radio, "Gateship One, you're go for launch."
O'Neill is displeased at the name, "Gate Ship?"
Danny makes a flying motion with his hand, "Well, it's a ship, it goes through the gate, so…"
O'Neill nods, "All right."
Elizabeth takes the hand controls. The ship moves quickly into the wormhole and travels through it. The Puddle Jumper comes rushing out of the wormhole and curves upward into the sky, its engine pods extending and activating.
"Well, that was cool." Dawnie said.
O'Neill smiles at Dawnie, "You could say that again."
"I didn't feel anything." Danny says.
"Doesn't even feel like we're pulling any g's." Kawalsky says.
Samantha nods, "This thing must have inertial dampeners."
"See any enemy troops when we came through?" Kawalsky asks.
O'Neill shakes his head, "No, but that doesn't mean we weren't detected."
Elizabeth notices something at the edge of the forest, "Is that a city?"
O'Neill nods, "Set down in those trees."
Elizabeth nods and banks the ship landing it where O'Neill pointed to.
The rear ramp opens. The teams come rushing out, the officers and airmen with weapons at the ready, surveying the area.
Danny leaves the ship, "Wait a minute. I thought the reason why we brought the ship was so that we didn't have to walk."
Samantha shakes her head, "We can't just fly into an alien city. The mission is stealth recon, meaning undetected."
O'Neill shoves his way between them, whispering harshly, "Meaning, shut up!"
Samantha smiles, "Sorry." She turns back to the ship, "Buffy, Dawn stay inside the ship."
"But mom." Elizabeth says.
"But nothing, Elizabeth!" Samantha said.
Kawalsky nods, "Donner, Mansfield, stay with Miss Carter and Miss Carter. Guard the ship. Bosworth, you're with us. C'mon, move out!"
They begin to move away.
"Why'd we have to park so far away?" Danny asks.
Samantha laughs at his question.
Kawalsky and O'Neill walk side by side, Samantha and Danny behind them.
"Seriously, why did we bring them?" Kawalsky asks.
O'Neill shrugs, "Oh, I don't know. I guess I had a gut feeling."
"Like Peru?" Kawalsky asks.
O'Neill nods, "All right, that didn't work out so well."
Kawalsky laughs lightly, "Sierra Leone? Uganda?"
"All right, look. Maybe the better question here is why'd you invite me on this dog and pony?" O'Neill said.
"Well, let's just say I prefer my good instinct over yours." Kawalsky says.
O'Neill nods, "Yeah."
They hear birds chirping and Danny points one out to Samantha. There are other sounds, and O'Neill signals for everyone to stop. He and the other soldiers go to one knee on the ground. Samantha and Danny get the message and join them.
Danny copies O'Neill's hand signals, "What's with the…?"
As they try to assess the situation, there is a beeping sound and then a spherical object lands in front of them. A red light glows on it. It is a Goa'uld stun grenade, and it's clearly ticking.
O'Neill recognizes that it is a bomb of some sort, "Ah, sh—"
The grenade goes off in a blast of white light, leaving all five people unconscious. Jaffa emerge from the forest all around them, pointing their staff weapons at the bodies.
Back at the Puddle Jumper Elizabeth looks around nervously. "I hope they return soon."
Dawnie nods, "I know, Buffy. But you know something this is weirdly familiar. Well not the Stargate but the other stuff."
Elizabeth nods, "I know. I've been having these flashes. Of things I don't think I could have done. In one such flash I was holding a tranquilizer gun, but mom's never let either of us hold a gun."
Dawn nods, "I know what you mean. I've been having flashes also."
In a Prison cell Danny is lying on the floor and awakens, then sits up. The others are awakening on the steps leading to the gridded cell doors.
"Hello? Anybody there?" Danny says as his vision is very blurry but he makes out several people as indistinct shapes.
"We're all here." Samantha says.
Danny nods, "Where are we?"
"It looks like a prison cell." Kawalsky says irritated.
"Anyone seen my glasses?" Danny asks.
Samantha shakes her head, "I think they must have taken them." Her glasses are gone as well.
Danny frowns, "Why would they do that?"
Samantha shrugs. There is a sound of footsteps outside. They all stand as the metal mesh doors open and someone strides in wearing a cloak. His face is revealed: it is Teal'k. "Teal'c."
Danny nods, "From the tape?"
"If you know my name, then you know enough to fear me." Teal'k says.
"Look, I know that this might sound a little crazy, but—" O'Neill says.
"Who are you?" Teal'k asks.
"Hi, uh, uh…" Danny says as he moves forward, bumps into O'Neill and grasps his shoulders, then moves around him to stand in front of Teal'k. O'Neill faintly wipes at his uniform where Danny had touched him. "Uh, we're from the Tau'ri. We call it Earth. You see, we found this tape, um, from the past. You see, apparently, we're," he gestures to the others behind him, "a part of a team." He indicates O'Neill, Samantha, then Teal'k. "Um, the four of us," he indicates Kawalsky and Bosworth, "not the two of them. We're called SG-1. Now, we used this time device to go back in the past, and we screwed up the past and changed the future. See, you're not supposed to be still Apophis' First Prime. The Jaffa are supposed to be free, and we know that you think the Goa'uld are false gods."
Without hesitation, Alternate Teal'k backhands Danny across the face and he falls. Samantha, Kawalsky and Bosworth run to help him.
"That wasn't necessary." O'Neill says.
"Speak of such blasphemy again, and I will kill you where you stand." Teal'k says.
"Look, I know this is a lot to throw at you all at one time, and you gotta put up a little show for the boys here, but the fact is, we know the truth." O'Neill says.
Danny hauls himself up using O'Neill's body and puts his arm around O'Neill's shoulder. "You see, it's all on the tape. Uh, you have to see it. It's, uh, um…" O'Neill brushes Alternate Danny's hand off his shoulder, but Danny remains close and holds O'Neill by his nearer shoulder as he continues speaking. "It's, it's in a… it's in the camera that, um, um, you took from the bag that you took from me. If you bring it to me, I can, I can show you how it works and we can char—
Teal'k grabs Danny by the jacket at the back of his neck and starts marching him up the steps and out of the cell. O'Neill maneuvers out of the way and does not try to stop what is happening.
Danny is scared, after looking back at O'Neill, "—we could, we could go, and see it, over at uh, wherever you wanna go."
The prison door slides closed and the Jaffa leave after Teal'k.
Back at the Puddle Jumper Dawnie paced inside the ship, "How long they been gone?"
"Two hours," Elizabeth said as she stood up and walked to the men standing guard, "How long are we supposed to wait before we check in with General Hammond?"
Mansfield looked at Elizabeth and saw the worry in her eyes. "6 hours. I'm sure they will be back long before then though."
In the prison cell Kawalsky and O'Neill are resting against the wide gridded openings of the cell doors, looking outward. Samantha is behind them.
"It's been over an hour." Samantha said.
"Maybe you shouldn't have said anything." Kawalsky said.
O'Neill nods, "All I said was, 'This is gonna sound a little crazy'."
"While there are obvious similarities, our timeline is different from the one in which Teal'c came to believe that the Goa'uld were false gods." Samantha said.
"Are you saying this guy might not turn?" O'Neill asks.
Samantha grimaces, "It's possible."
"And you're telling me this now?" O'Neill said.
At the sound of someone approaching, Samantha and Bosworth get up from where they are sitting and move to the door. Alternate Teal'k arrives, alone.
"What's goin' on?" O'Neill asks.
Teal'k holds out the video camera from Danny's pack, "Show me."
O'Neill looks surprised, and Samantha steps forward and takes the camera. She opens the viewscreen, starts the playback, and turns it around to show it to Teal'k. The voices and images of the original team are heard and seen.
"Um, Teal'c, you should say something." Daniel says.
Teal'c nods, "The Jaffa are free. False god that he is, Apophis is long dead. A new medicine, tretonin, has liberated us from our dependence upon symbiotes. The Jaffa have risen up as brothers and sisters and defeated the Goa'uld."
Teal'k is completely shocked by what he has seen, "What trickery is this?"
Samantha shakes her head, "It's not a trick."
"You have a son, Rya'c, who is now married and a strong leader among the newly formed Jaffa nation. If all these things have not come to pass, you must believe that the present in which you now live exists only because the past has been mistakenly altered. It must be restored." Teal'c says.
Samantha shuts off the tape playback and closes the camera. Teal'k is speechless with shock. "Please. You have to help us. The reason we came here was to get you so we could go back in time and fix things."
"That's not true. We just wanna get out of here. Now, if you can help us, we'll do our best to help you." O'Neill said.
"I cannot free you." Teal'k says.
"What about our weapons. Our vests. Can you get us those?" O'Neill asks.
Teal'k looks at O'Neill, considering what he has heard.
Sometime later, the gridded doors slide open and two Jaffa drag an unconscious Danny into the room. They leave him on the floor, not gently.
"Easy, easy! Get outta here!" O'Neill says. The Jaffa leave, and the doors slide closed. "Pewter pissants…" He kneels beside Alternate Daniel and places a hand on his chest. "Hey."
Danny grunts as his eyes open, "I didn't tell them anything."
"Good for you! How you feelin'?" O'Neill says.
"Not so good, really." Danny says.
O'Neill nods, "Sorry. Maybe this'll make you feel better." He gestures to Kawalsky and the others where they are standing below, and they rush to a dark, partially hidden corner of the cell. O'Neill pulls Danny to his feet, and he grunts and rubs his back but follows.
Danny sees the others pulling on their vests and readying their weapons. "How'd you…?"
"Teal'c. He brought us the camera; I showed him the tape." Samantha says.
"I don't think he can be trusted." Danny says.
O'Neill nods, "He gave us our weapons back. That's a good start."
"He's gonna meet us on the way back to the ship." Samantha says.
Kawalsky is attaching small blocks of explosives to the smaller rear door of the cell.
O'Neill hands Danny a pistol, "Safety off, point and shoot."
Danny holds the weapon sloppily, nearly pointing it at O'Neill.
O'Neill pushes the gun down, "Not at me."
Bosworth hands a pistol to Samantha.
"I don't really like guns." Samantha says.
"Neither do I. How do you feel about explosives?" O'Neill asks.
Samantha smiles, "Those I like a little better."
Kawalsky finishes setting the explosives, "Cover."
O'Neill gestures to them, "Let's go."
They take cover behind a partial wall. O'Neill nods to Kawalsky, who pushes a button on the electronic remote control. The explosive blows.
They quickly exit and jog along the forest path, O'Neill and Kawalsky in the lead.
"Airmen? This is O'Neill." O'Neill says.
"We were starting to get worried." Mansfield says.
"We're on our way. ETA, ten minutes. Have Miss Carter prepare for immediate evac." O'Neill says.
"Understood," Mansfield says.
They stop and raise their weapons as Alternate Teal'k steps into their path, his staff weapon raised.
"We gotta get goin' here." O'Neill says.
"We got a whole battalion on our ass." Kawalsky says.
Teal'k fires past O'Neill to hit Danny in the chest. He falls to the ground. The others point their weapons at Teal'k but he deactivates his staff and lowers it.
"What the hell was that?" O'Neill asks angrily.
"Shoot him, Jack. Let's shoot him and get the hell out of here." Kawalsky says.
"Why'd you do that?" O'Neill asks.
"He was a Goa'uld. Apophis implanted him with a symbiote in order to gain access to the knowledge in his mind." Teal'k says.
"How do you know?" O'Neill says.
Teal'k nods, "I can sense it. Your friend did not give in to torture."
"He's lying." Kawalsky says.
O'Neill shakes his head, "Why would he lie, Kawalsky?"
"If he wanted us all dead, why aren't we surrounded by Jaffa right now?" Samantha says.
"We will be in a few seconds if we don't get the hell out of here now. And I'm not taking him with us." Kawalsky says.
Teal'k frowns, "Apophis has ordered a fleet of ha'tak vessels to the Tau'ri."
"He's sending ships to Earth?" Samantha asks.
Teal'k nods, "The symbiote implanted within Daniel Jackson was a spy intended to accompany you. Apophis now knows what Daniel Jackson knew. He knows that you came in a ship. He knows that the Tau'ri is a threat."
Samantha's eyes go wide, "Buffy! Dawn!"
"How the hell do we know you're not a spy?" Kawalsky asks.
Danny's right arm suddenly rises, holding the pistol, and he shoots Bosworth twice with it. Then he sits up and shoots at Teal'k, hitting his left arm. O'Neill and Kawalsky turn and shoot Danny with their machine guns, hitting him in the torso many times. He falls back to the ground, his eyes open. His eyes glow briefly, then he closes his eyes, dead.
"His eyes glowed!" Samantha says.
Kawalsky rushes back to check the pulse of Danny and then Bosworth. "He's dead."
A staff blast from the forest hits the tree right next to Kawalsky. Many more blasts start coming in.
"Go! Go!" O'Neill shouts.
The three begin running with O'Neill covering them, firing. They all race through the forest under fire and reach the ship, which is also under fire from a different direction. Mansfied who is guarding the ship is hit as the other keeps firing. Samantha and Teal'k make it onto the ship and are firing their weapons from within it. Donner gets hit and O'Neill moves to replace him and fire in that direction. Kawalsky is firing at an line of advancing Jaffa.
"Kawalsky!" O'Neill shouts.
"Go! Start it up!"
O'Neill runs into the ship and takes the co-pilot seat. "Start it up."
Dawnie hugs Samantha as Elizabeth places her hands on the console.
As Kawalsky turns to run inside, he is hit in the back with two staff blasts.
"Kawalsky's been hit!" Samantha says.
"Go!" Teal'k says.
Elizabeth activates the ship, and the ramp begins to close as Teal'k continues firing through the shrinking opening. Kawalsky lies unmoving on the ground outside. The ship lifts off and speeds away, some small damage from the still-incoming staff blasts showing on its hull.
Samantha appears shell shocked and sinks to the bench in the rear compartment still holding Dawnie close to her.
Teal'k looks at her curiously. "Are you injured?"
Samantha shakes her head, "No. I, I've just never seen anyone killed before. Daniel and Kawalsky…" She notices Teal'k's wound. "Oh my god, you've been shot!"
"It will heal." Teal'k says.
"All right, we've got some problems here." Elizabeth says.
A blast hits the ship and sparks go off inside the cabin.
Two death gliders are pursuing the Puddle Jumper, firing on it maneuvers rapidly.
Samantha pulls away from Dawnie and stands behind Elizabeth. Teal'k stands behind O'Neill.
"Gliders." Teal'k says.
"I can't shake 'em, either." Elizabeth says.
More short circuits and small explosions occur in the cabin.
"The gate will be well guarded." Teal'k says.
"You know something, I don't think we're gonna make it to the gate." O'Neill says.
Samantha looks back at the rear cabin with the time travel device, then looks back at O'Neill. "There is a way out." She looks to Teal'k. "Was there a Stargate on this planet five thousand years ago?"
"I believe so." Teal'k says.
Samantha looks at Elizabeth, who looks doubtful. She nods at her in encouragement.
Elizabeth closes her eyes in concentration. The time device glows.
The Puddle Jumper enters the time distortion field and emerges in the same place, but now at sunset. The ship is still flying above the forest but is not being pursued by gliders.
"I think you did it, sweetie." Samantha says to Buffy.
"What has she done?" Teal'k says.
"I think we just traveled back in time." Dawnie says coming up behind Teal'k. "Right, mom?"
Samantha nods.
"Check it out. Dial Earth." O'Neill says.
Samantha dials the symbols for Earth on the dialing device. The ship enters the Stargate.
On Earth the Stargate is situated near a Great Pyramid and other smaller structures. It is active, and the Puddle Jumper shoots out of it and flies away.
Samantha looks out the viewscreen, "Well, this is definitely ancient Egypt."
"Those ha'tak vessels bore the mark of Ra." Teal'k says.
"He ruled on Earth during this period." Dawnie says.
"It is likely we were detected exiting the chappa'ai." Teal'k says.
"Well, no ships on our tail, but I think we'll skedaddle anyway." O'Neill says.
"You're saying you're on board with trying to fix the past?" Samantha asks.
"Well, we did kinda screw up our timeline, didn't we?" O'Neill says.
"Well, the only way to stop the invasion on Earth is to make sure that it never happens." Elizabeth says.
"Yeah, remind me how we do that, again?" O'Neill asks.
Samantha looks at him but does not offer an answer.
Elizabeth flies away from the Stargate and out in the desert where she lands the Puddle Jumper. O'Neill exits via the rear ramp, followed by Teal'k, Samantha, Elizabeth and Dawnie.
"All right, here's the plan. We make contact with the locals…" O'Neill says.
"And then?" Teal'k asks.
"That's all I got so far." O'Neill says and he walks off, and the others follow.
"Uh, any idea what time it is, exactly?" Samantha asks.
O'Neill looks at his watch, "Three o'clock."
"Uh, sorry, I-I kinda meant what year." Samantha says.
"Well, you and Daniel said there was some kind of a failed rebellion in 2995 B.C." Elizabeth says. "So I thought of that date."
O'Neill looks at Elizabeth in shock, "B.C.?"
"Colonel." Samantha says.
O'Neill smiles, "Kidding. And call me Jack, will ya?"
Samantha nods as they continue walking.
They walk into a village as a young boy runs to his father, screaming words of fear. The father takes the boy in his arms and moves away.
"Hey! It's all right, folks, we come in peace, nothin' to be afraid of." O'Neill says.
"I doubt they speak English." Samantha says.
"I wish Ancient Egyptian had been taught in school. I'm fairly good at language." Dawnie said.
Katep approaches them. "Hello."
"He does." O'Neill says.
Katep nods, "Yes. I am Katep."
O'Neill nods, "I am Jack."
Katep looks at them each in turn, "O'Neill. Colonel Carter, Lieutenant Carter, Dawn Carter and Teal'c."
"How'd you know—" O'Neil says.
"Please come with me. Ra's patrols come through here often. They must not see you," Katep says. He turns to Teal'c "Especially you. Please, come." He jogs away and they follow.
Katep leads them into a large tent made of pieces of fabric. "Please."
"How do you know who we are?" O'Neill asks.
"This is not the first time we have met." Katep says.
"You knew the other SG-1 team." Samantha says.
"And SG-S, yes," Katep says. "Five years ago. You came, you were witness to the death of my brother at the hands of Ra. After you were trapped here, we planned an uprising together."
"So much for causality," Samantha says.
"Ra is still here. We have seen his ship." Teal'k says.
Katep nods, "Our first attempt at gathering forces for the rebellion did not go well. We had to expose ourselves to those who proved still loyal to Ra. You were captured and executed long before the plan could be finished."
"Really? All of us?" O'Neill asks.
Katep nods, "All but three."
A man and two women walks into the tent, their heads are bowed and covered. They stand up straight as they push back the covering. It is Daniel, Faith and Willow. They look at each of them in turn. Samantha smiles at Daniel.
"Well, this can't be a good sign." Daniel says.
"Why's that?" Elizabeth asks.
"Where am I?" Daniel asks.
"Ancient Egypt?" O'Neill says.
Daniel shakes his head, "No, I mean the me from your timeline."
"I killed you," Teal'k says.
"Why?" Daniel asks.
"You were a Goa'uld spy." Teal'k says.
"A good reason." Daniel states matter of factly.
"It was horrible." Samantha says.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Daniel says.
Faith looks to Elizabeth and Dawnie, "Where is your Willow and my double?"
Elizabeth looks at Faith quizzically, "We do not know a Willow. And you do not have a double. We have no older sister."
Faith sighs, "Demons? Hellmouth?"
Dawnie shrugs, "Don't know what you're talking about."
Faith looks to Willow, "How is this possible. That they don't know. I thought mom gave them their memories long before I crossed over."
Willow sighs, "Faith in their reality things may have unfolded differently. The demons may never have tried to invade. So the Hellmouth never opened."
"Why are you here?" Daniel says emphatically.
"Yes. Excellent question." O'Neill says.
"You don't know." Willow says.
O'Neill shakes his head, "Well, I thought I did, there, for a while, and then I realized I… didn't."
"Well, I know why I'm here." Daniel says.
"Good! Let's start there." Elizabeth says.
"We came back in time to get a ZPM." Daniel says.
Samantha nods, "Right! It was buried with the tape. Why is it so important? I think you were about to explain it but the, uh, the batteries on the camera ran out."
"Long story. Why don't you take a seat?" Daniel says.
Samantha, Elizabeth and Dawnie sit on a bench while O'Neill and Teal'k remains standing.
"Basically we got trapped here because," Daniel says as he indicates Samantha, Dawnie and Elizabeth, "you three didn't want to affect the timeline, but ultimately," he indicates O'Neill, Teal'k and Faith, "you three couldn't stand the idea of living out the rest of your lives under Ra's rule without doing anything. We remembered there was a rebellion here on Earth. That's how the gate got buried in the first place. So, we figured what difference does it make if we're involved or not? Unfortunately, we never got a chance to execute the plan."
"We heard." O'Neill said.
Daniel nods, "Yes. We tried to do too much too fast. Since then, Katep and I have been slowly building up an underground movement. I can only assume things don't go well because if you're here, you saw the tape, and the future still needs fixing."
"Somethin' like that." O'Neill says.
Elizabeth nods, "Oh, we didn't just see the tape. We saw the tablet."
"What tablet?" Daniel asks.
"Oh. The one you haven't written yet. And put where the Stargate was supposed to be buried." Samantha says.
"Supposed to be." Willow says.
Samantha nods, "In our timeline, the rebellion that you planned actually works. Ra ends up leaving, and Earth is freed, but, uh, Ra takes the Stargate with him."
"Okay, that's a problem," Faith says.
Samantha nods, "Yes! The gate is never found at Giza, and none of us join the Stargate program. Plus a lot of other things changed apparently. Buffy and Dawn have yet to graduate High School. Neither of them work for the Air Force, neither do I."
Willow nods, "In our timeline, they not only graduated high school, but college as well. Then they joined the SGC as part of the SD."
"Anyways you left a tablet in an obscure Egyptian dialect telling us the date of the rebellion and where to find the second Stargate in Antarctica." Samantha says.
"Good for me. So you're here to make sure Ra doesn't take this Stargate." Daniel says.
"O'Neill smiles, "It's a plan."
Faith looks at Willow who nods, she goes over to her pack and pulls out a small rock. She hands it to Elizabeth, "I know you're not them, but... I carved it just before Daniel sealed up the camera. He said I should have put it in. But I just couldn't it was the only thing I had reminding me of you both."
Elizabeth and Dawnie look at the rock and see chiseled into it: Buffy, Faith and Dawn. Sisters Forever.
"Kind of sappy I know and not like me. But we had just been reunited before the start of the mission" Faith said. "Then to watch you both get killed."
For some reason unknown to Elizabeth and Dawnie they wrap their arms around Faith and hug her.
Samantha smiles at her daughters, watching them embrace the sister they never had.
A young boy rushes in. Daniel bends down and holds him by the shoulders. "Daneel! Daneel! Jaffa!"
Katep frowns, "We must hide."
"Where?" O'Neill asks.
"In here." Katep says as he and the young boy peel back a rug and start digging sand out of the way. They uncover a square slab and pull it away, revealing a vertical shaft with a wooden ladder against one side.
Daniel is the last to descend the ladder, and he uses a torch to illuminate the large store of weapons at one end of the chamber. There are many staff weapons arrayed against the wall, zats piled in a box, and the original SG-1 and SG-S's packs.
"Sweet." O'Neill says.
"We've got secret stores of weapons like this in several positions throughout the region." Daniel says.
"How many troops?" O'Neill asks.
"Uh, a couple of thousand, but that's not really the issue. According to you, my own account of history says we win the revolt." Daniel says.
Elizabeth nods, "We just need to make sure that the gate stays here and gets buried."
"Which means we have to steal it and hide it from Ra," Daniel says.
"But it's out in the open, close to his ship." O'Neill says.
"Holding such a position against a ha'tak would be virtually impossible, even for a short period of time." Teal'k says.
"Also, the gate is kinda heavy," Dawnie says.
Daniel nods, "Well, we also have a ship."
O'Neill gestures with his hands, "Yes, but you see, the ship fits in the gate, not the other way around."
"There has to be a way that we can cable the gate to the ship; fly it out," Samantha says.
O'Neill nods, "Yeah, but we still gotta get close to it without being detected.
Daniel nods, "Well, that's easy. The ship has a cloaking device." The others look at him in shock. "Makes it invisible."
"You're telling me this now?" Elizabeth says.
"I was sure I mentioned it on the tape." Daniel says.
Elizabeth looks to Samantha, "Mom?"
Samantha shakes her head, "No."
"If we were able to time our approach to coordinate with the uprising, we may yet have a chance," Teal'k says.
Samantha nods, "We'll need to test the cloak. We took an awful lot of damage coming out of Chulak."
"Because we didn't know about the damned cloak!" O'Neill says.
Daniel sighs, "I was sure I mentioned it on the tape! Willow?"
Willow shrugs, "Sorry Daniel, I don't remember. That was five years ago."
Dust begins to fall on them as the stone is slid away from the opening above them. Katep looks down on them, "They are gone!"
Elizabeth looks at the stone Faith gave her and then at Faith, "I think you should put this in with the ZPM. They should know."
Faith takes the stone and smiles, "Sure, Buffy."
30 minutes later O'Neill, Elizabeth and Samantha are walking alone.
"You ever wonder what your life's gonna be like in the future?" Samantha asks.
"Won't really be my life, will it." O'Neill says.
Samantha sighs, "No, but still. I mean, I've led such a small and unimportant existence, I can't ever imagine being a hero who saves the planet. Or even having daughters who do it also." She looks to Elizabeth, "Though I have to say I'm proud of you."
"Well, we do have a time machine. We could go check it out." O'Neill says.
Elizabeth smiles.
"No way. We've already screwed up enough. Once we're done with the gate, we need to destroy the ship." Samantha says.
"Seriously?" O'Neill says.
Elizabeth looks to her mother and sees the resolution in her eyes, "Yes."
"You mean we have to stay here?" O'Neill says.
Samantha and Elizabeth nods.
"I wonder if the future me has a boyfriend." Samantha says.
"I'd have to say it would be nice to have a dad." Elizabeth said. "The other me must have led an interesting life. According to Faith she saved the planet on more than one occasion also. On top of that both Dawn and I graduated college at 16 and I was appointed by the President himself to the Air Force as a Lieutenant. Willow says I followed in your footsteps, mom. I got my degree in Astrophysics."
Samantha smiles, "Maybe I shouldn't have held you back when your Principal wanted you and Dawn to skip those grades.
O'Neill, Elizabeth and Samantha enter and move to the front of the ship. Elizabeth sits in the pilot's seat. She taps the console and it power up. "So what do you think I need to do?"
"Um, try thinking 'invisible', sweetie." Samantha says.
Elizabeth nods and puts her hands on the controls. "Okay." She closes her eyes and concentrates.
O'Neill looks at Samantha, "How do we know if it's working?"
Samantha jogs outside to look. The ship is not cloaked. "Nope!"
In the village Daniel, Dawnie, Willow, Faith, Teal'k, and Katep are seated around a table with a stack of maps and battle plans written on parchment.
"Your strategy is good. But it does not work well as a distraction in our plan to steal the chappa'ai." Teal'k says.
Daniel nods, "Wait, we know this plan works. If we alter it…"
"We may fail." Katep says.
Daniel nods, "With this plan, the uprising succeeds, and Ra leaves."
Faith nods, "And Ra takes the Stargate."
Dawnie nods, "If we are to be successful in keeping Ra from taking the Stargate, we must focus the efforts of the rebellion on distracting him from it." They look at her. "Hey no matter what timeline I'm from I still have a genius level IQ."
In the Puddle Jumper Samantha is looking at a compartment of clear, glass-like components. She takes one out and begins testing it using a lighted cable hanging from the ceiling. Elizabeth and O'Neill look on from the front of the ship.
"How's it goin'?" O'Neill asks.
Samantha shakes her head, "I've never seen this kind of technology before."
"Hey, you're supposed to be a genius. That's why I brought you along." O'Neill says.
Elizabeth rolls her eyes, "Mom actually has just a little lower IQ than I do. Dawn and I are genius level. Mom is just slightly below that."
Samantha glares at Elizabeth, "Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth sighs, "Sorry, mom."
Samantha nods, "Anyways I'm working on it. I think the power relay was overloaded. I may be able to reroute the circuit to the control interface…" She notes that O'Neill is staring at her. "What?"
"It's just a little weird hearin' that kind of stuff come out of someone so…" O'Neill says.
Samantha frowns, "So what?"
Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Get a clue, mom. Even I know what he's thinking."
O'Neill nods, "Hot."
"Really?" Samantha asks disbelieving.
O'Neill nods, "Yeah."
"Wow. Um, it's just you… you're not the kind of guy that I usually attract." Samantha says.
O'Neill blinks astonished, "No?"
"No. God. Wow! This is kinda awkward." Samantha says.
"Yeah, it's gettin' there." O'Neill says.
Elizabeth shakes her head, "Do you two want me to go outside? The last thing I want to see is my mom making out."
Samantha looks at Elizabeth thoroughly embarrassed, "I'm kind of attracted to… Daniel."
O'Neill stares at her with a confused look. "What?" He steps closer to her. "Really?"
"Sorry." Samantha says.
O'Neill shakes his head, "No, that's okay, no problem there. It's just, you know… First impressions, I kinda thought he was…" He rotates his hand up and down. Samantha shakes her head and looks at him, completely confused. "Never mind."
Samantha nods. O'Neill puffs out a breath and turns back to the piloting compartment. Samantha goes back to examining the component, grimacing.
Elizabeth sighs and shakes her head, even she could tell that O'Neill and her mom liked each other.
O'Neill exits the Puddle Jumper and lies down on a sand dune very near the ship. Through his binoculars, he sees a patrol of Jaffa approaching. He activates his small radio. "Carter. How's it goin' in there?"
Samanatha and Elizabeth are examining the glass component. Samantha answers the radio, "Uh, I think we're almost there."
"That's good. We're about to have some company." O'Neill says back moments before he re-enters the ship closing the ramp behind him. "We have a patrol on its way here."
Elizabeth stops what she's doing as she takes the pilot seat. "Ok let's see if this works." She activates the ship via the controls and looks around. "Nothin's happening."
Samantha returns to working on the panel above her head.
In the village Teal'k, Faith, Willow, Dawnie, Daniel and Katep are still looking at the battle plans. They hear O'Neill's voice over the radio, "Hey, guys, we got a little problem here."
In the Puddle Jumper Samantha is still working on the panel above her head.
"Carter, forget it. We're just gonna take off." O'Neill says and looks at Elizabeth.
Samantha stops working.
Elizabeth places her hands on the console but nothing happens, "Not going nowhere."
"God! Now that's not workin'!" O'Neill says.
Samantha sighs, "Oh boy!" She goes back to working on the panel components. "Try the cloak now."
Elizabeth closes her eyes and smiles.
"Did it work, sweetie?" Samantha asks.
Elizabeth nods, "I believe so."
Some of the lights go off and there is a sound of something powering down.
Samantha, Elizabeth and O'Neill can see the Jaffa, who can in turn see them through the viewscreen.
"Shak'na kree!" Jaffa says.
"What?" O'Neill asks.
The Jaffa shoots at the viewscreen with his staff weapon. Other Jaffa begin firing.
Sparks fly inside the ship.
O'Neill gets up and pushes Samantha and Elizabeth Alternate Carter toward the rear. "Go, go, go, go!"
O'Neill closes the door between the command area and the time machine/aft compartment. He kneels down with Samantha and Elizabeth behind the time machine as the shooting continues. "Get down! Whoa."
"This could be a problem." Samantha says.
"Ya think, mom?!" Elizabeth says.
Samantha nods, "If they penetrate the hull and hit the engines, the energy blasts could feed back into the power—"
"Carter!" O'Neill says.
"Mom!" Buffy says.
"We could explode!" Samantha says looking to her daughter.
O'Neill looks Samantha for a moment, concerned, as the weapons continue to fire, then activates his radio. "Daniel, Teal'c."
"We're almost there!"
Outside Daniel, Faith, Dawnie, Willow and Teal'k approach the ship and hear the weapons firing. They crouch behind a sand dune and can see the ship under relentless fire.
"Well, this doesn't look good," Daniel says.
"Indeed," Teal'k says.
Willow shakes her head, "Though it is quite ironic. This whole thing started because Sam didn't want to take the Jumper back from a Jaffa patrol."
Inside the damage continues inside the ship, with various sparks and small explosions.
"Look, if we don't make it?" Samantha says as she takes O'Neill's head in both hands and kisses him. After she stops, he looks surprised and then very irritated.
"Wait a minute. You said you liked Daniel," O'Neill says.
Elizabeth rolls her eyes, "Mom, lied."
Samantha nods, "I just wanted to get to know you better. You see, usually I'm a very cautious person and I tend to think things—"
O'Neill looks around briefly and then grabs Samantha's head and kisses her as sparks fly all around the cabin.
Elizabeth rolls her eyes and turns the other way so she doesn't have to see her mother making out.
Outside the Jaffa are still firing at the ship.
"Teal'c I need you to distract them," Willow says. "I'm going to need your help, Dawn. If my suspicions are right it should still be within you."
"What should be," Dawnie asks.
"The Key," Willow says. "I can draw on it's power."
"Jaffa!" Teal'k says as he, Daniel, Faith, Willow and Dawnie walk up to the Jaffa, their weapons lowered. The Jaffa take note of them and stop firing at the ship.
Teal'k drops his staff weapon to the sand, "Hear me! Ra is not a god! You can live free!"
The Jaffa leader points his staff weapon at them. "A'kek, shol'va!"
"Willow, NOW!" Faith said.
Willow grasped Dawn's hand and started chanting rapid fire. There is a sudden flash of light as Katep and many other Egyptian villagers appear suddenly surrounding the Jaffa. The Jaffa leader moves his staff weapon around to point it at Daniel, who raises his rifle in return. Realizing his position is hopeless, the Jaffa leader drops his staff weapon, and the other Jaffa follow suit. The villagers cheer very loudly. Daniel activates his radio. "Sam, Jack. It's all clear. You can come out now."
Back in the present in the Original Reality
The original SG-1's video from their trip into the past is playing on a computer monitor.
Willow says on the video, "Exorere, Flamma Vitae. Prodi ex loco tuo elementorum, in hunc mundum vivorum." A ball of fire appears between the camera and Willow.
"Tell them about the future." Daniel says on the video.
Jack says on the video, "Uh, college football is played on Saturdays, pro on Sundays, and there are no fish in my pond, at all, where I fish."
Faith says on the video, "We also just repelled the demon invasion and closed the Hellmouth."
Jack on the video. looks at Sam and Daniel. "I think that covers it."
Jack, Daniel, Dawn, Sam, and Teal'c are in Daniel's office watching the video. Daniel stops the playback. There is a live ZPM sitting in a box on the table.
"Is that correct?" Sam asks.
"If it is, we don't do anything?" O'Neill asks.
"Apparently nothing we did affected the timeline." Sam says.
"But we didn't do anything," Dawn says.
"Not yet. Apparently we were going to, two weeks from now, but now we don't have to." Sam says.
Jack smiles, "Excellent! That's it! I like it!"
Daniel and Teal'c smile and walk away. Sam reaches to lift the ZPM in its box. "Okay, I'm gonna get this up to the lab for analysis."
Jack grabs the box to stop Sam. "No! I'll take it. There's a whole room full of geeks up there just dyin' to get their hands on this. You've got packin' to do." He picks up the box and walks away with it.
Sam appears slightly miffed but smiles mildly after he leaves. She looks at a box that still remains on the table. She opens it and smiles. She closes the box and takes it down to her lab. "Buffy this is for you."
"What is it mom?" Buffy asks as Sam hands her the box.
"Open it and find out." Sam says as she turns and leaves the room.
Buffy opens the box to find a stone and a letter. She looks at the stone in which is chiseled: Buffy, Faith and Dawn. Sisters Forever.
She then reads the letter.
Buffy,
As I write this I was talked into including the stone with the ZPM. I wasn't going to do it originally because well I wanted something to remember both you and Dawn by. But a good friend said I should send it to you.
I know I don't say it enough and we've had a rocky relationship back in our original reality. But I love you my sister. I want you to look after me, okay. The way an older sister should, even though technically I'm your older sister in this reality
We destroyed the ship that brought us here so I won't be seeing you again, even though you will be seeing me. So this is good bye. I will miss you.
Isabella Faith (Summers) Carter
P.S. Willow says, Hi.
Buffy wipes a tear from her face. She gets up, picking up the stone and walks out of the lab heading in search for Faith.