So last chapter I mentioned that I was working on the Antartica episode. It was my intent to have a quick blurb chapter on the Cor-Ai and the Tollans. However, as I watched those episodes again I could not pass up a single joke that popped into my head when I saw the snipping back and forth from Jack and Harry when they first meet.
It resulted in me re-writing this chapter a couple of times.
I have read and re-read this so many times now it all blends together, so let me apologize up front if there are any grammar errors.
As always, comments are welcome and appreciated.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Little Seth was now two and half months old. He had yet to sleep through the night, therefore, neither had his exhausted parents. The little ball of energy was capable of melting the hearts of Ericka and Walter while simultaneously making their ears ring and bleed from the shrieks of discomfort and colic.
Walter was secretly relieved to go to work every day.
The blaring of the klaxon with every gate activation, the occasionally weapons fire through the gate chasing a returning SG team from some distant planet, the increasing needs of General Hammond and every other person in the SGC resulting in paperwork and research of this and that, were welcome distractions. Walter was as dedicated a father as ever there was one, the Cassie incident from three weeks ago only cementing his desire to protect and care for his family. Seeing the look on Dr. Frasier's face now when she was asked about the young lady in her care, Walter having pushed the papers to start the process of making it a permanent change for the diminutive doctor, reminding him of how Ericka glowed when asked about Seth.
He was just so tired!
In the last couple of weeks there had been a few issues for the SG teams. SG-3 had been sent to a planet that had looked to be rich in minerals which could have been collected and returned to the SGC for use in the science labs to power technology consistent with Goa'uld level weapons. However it turned out the planet had a very large primate creature which was extremely territorial, SSgt Varga now recovering with a broken leg their proof. SG-4 had come up cold on their two treks through the gate, finding nothing of value on either planet technologically, culturally, or otherwise.
Then there was SG-1. They had gated to a planet which went by the name of Chartago, or to Walter 3P9-104. There Teal'c had been identified as the killer of one of their people when he was still first prime to Apophis. He was put on trial, there called a Cor-Ai. Col O'Neill and Capt Carter had returned to the SGC at one point requesting back-up to force the release of Teal'c. They were denied by General Hammond at the insistence of Air Force "Top Brass" because Teal'c was in effect a War Criminal on that planet. The President even made it clear that a rescue could not be mounted. In the end, the team wound up saving the people from a Goa'uld attack, Teal'c even jumping in front of staff blast to save a villager. Ultimately the villager's, and the man who made the grievance, saw that Teal'c was in fact a good man who had made decisions to save lives both then and now.
Four days later, once Teal'c had recovered, thanks to junior, and was medically cleared for duty, they proceeded to P3X-776. The probe which had been sent through the day before, found the planet to be stable with a temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit. When the team had stepped through however, there was extreme world wide volcanic activity with thick ash clouds covering the sky and ground. The air was toxic, yet the team had managed to find survivors near the gate and were able to save ten people in total. Even now they were recovering under Dr. Frasier's care.
Sitting at his station, Walter was trying to concentrate on the current diagnosis program running, but still overheard the debriefing going on just up the stairs. The people they rescued seemed to be more advanced than Earth, Capt Carter discussing the devices the people had been wearing as powered but without any signs of circuitry the science teams could find. Dr. Jackson had theorized they were a people who had not had the intellectual setback of the dark ages as Earth had, as the group was notified the leader of the rescued was awake and requesting their presence.
Turning his full attention back to the computers, Walter let his mind expand with the thought of where we would be as a people had we not lost the 800 years of advancement. Maybe he would have that jetpack that Saturday morning cartoons had promised when he was a child.
Laughing at himself, Walter annotated the diagnostic readings, all systems and programs within parameters, and handed off his station to SrA Tyler so he could move on to his administrative duties in his office. He saw SG-1 and General Hammond exiting the infirmary, the General agitated and ordering Capt Carter to monitor the planet so he could evict the group out of his base. As she turned away from the General, a "Yes Sir" smartly stated to his request, she almost ran into Walter.
"Sorry," Capt Carter stated, "Actually I could use your help." she finished as she realized it was Walter she had just assaulted.
"Yes Ma'am," Walter said, a questioning look on his face.
"Could you get one of the UAV's sent to the gate room for deployment to P3X-776?"
"Yes Ma'am," he replied. "I will contact MSgt Siler's team. It might take thirty minutes or so for them to get it transported and ready for deployment," he finished recalling he and Siler had discussed the time it would take to move and construct the newly arrived launcher and drone just three days ago.
Giving a big smile, Capt Carter gleefully stated, "Great, thanks" as she continued down the hall towards the control room, one which she knew better than any other person in the facility, likely the planet.
With the new mission, Walter adjusted his original plan of paperwork to contacting Siler for the Captain.
Twenty eight minutes later, Siler's team of three had transported and constructed the launch pad and mini UAV to the gate room. With their initial work complete, Walter watched through the glass of the control room as Capt Carter started to make some adjustments in the nose cone of the UAV. Fifteen minutes later, as she was completing the installation of a heat sensor, Walter saw Dr. Jackson enter and engage the Captain in conversation as she finished her work.
Instead of coming up to the Control room, Capt Carter left the Gate room with Dr. Jackson close behind. A little confused, Walter sat back down at his station and typed away on his keyboard. The computer system needed constant attention, different diagnostic programs and checks to ensure there was never an interruption with its connection to the gate. Looking at the time, Walter started a diagnosis program that would run for three hours in the background checking the power input and output from the super conductors attached to the gate.
Letting the program run its course, he once again flagged over SrA Tyler to his station and headed towards his office to file the reports for the General. An hour later he was back in the Control room, SG-1 all hovering with General Hammond. As Walter took his station, Capt Carter slid over behind him, taking the controls of the UAV for its one way flight into the gate and Tollan.
Once the UAV was underway, Capt Carter began to track its travel through the wormhole and the readings from the planet. The heat ranged from 200 degrees up to 1,500 in the air and 1,700 degrees on the ground.
"Sounds like LA," Col O'Neill commented to the room.
The air was not only hot, but toxic, the gasses and ash making it inhospitable under any condition. Additionally, it seemed the lava was traveling towards the gate and would likely reach it within the next two or three days, burying it forever.
"Well looks like we got some guests for a while," the Colonel stated, not sounding to happy.
It did not take long for SG-1 to depart the Control room, all of them showing signs of frustration. The General had them follow him to the briefing room, assigning them tasks to get the Tollan people comfortable here and to look for a planet the refugees would be acceptable with moving to.
Teal'c and Col O'Neill walked into the gate room and began a quiet discussion between themselves.
"Argos?," Col O'Neill asked with a slightly wistful look in his eye, which Teal'c simply raised an eyebrow and frowned.
"Not that planet that put you on trial. Not the best first impression with those people," The Colonel stated
"Indeed"
"How about the virus planet," Col O'Neill stated. "Lots of land there. I bet these Tollans could even find some way to better use the dark side of the planet."
Teal'c nodded and before the Colonel could even make the request, Walter was dialing out to P3X-797.
Once the gate stabilized, Col O'Neill reached for the base station radio and dialed up the frequency they had assigned to the planets they had become friendly with. While the technology was not something the planetary occupants understood, the instructions of push this button to talk were simple enough that any child could have operated it.
"Greetings," Col O'Neill started, "This is SGC, Col O'Neill, over."
Waiting for a full minute, Col O'Neill began to fidget, the fingers on his free hand drumming on the table from pinky to pointer, rhythmically accentuating the passing time.
As Col O'Neill was about to thumb the mic again a response arrived, the voice a young female, "Yes, hello. Can you hear me? Hello."
Giving the voice a moment, Col O'Neill turned to Teal'c and flippantly stated, "Ya got to take your finger off the mic, for crying out loud." Pressing the button, "This is Col O'Neill. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
"Terell," the voice said, a look passing from Teal'c and Jack as neither of them recognized the name or voice.
"And is your mommy or daddy at home," the Colonel replied.
"No," the voice said sadly, "they passed to the beyond last moon."
Shaking his head at that news, Col O'Neill softened his voice and asked, "Could you please let Tuplo know we would like to have a discussion. If you could dial back to Earth and radio us I would be grateful," Jack said as he dropped the mic and stepped away from the desk.
"O..Of Course," the reply.
Col O'Neill pushed the transmit off button on the desk radio, ending the energy stream keeping the gate open for the radio discussion. Seconds later the gate shutdown.
"Let me know the second they call back," Col O'Neill asked Walter as he stepped towards the doorway. "The very second." he finished over his shoulder, Teal'c nodding to Walter before he too followed the Colonel out of the room.
Twenty minutes later the gate activated, SrA Tyler making the intercom announcement as Walter picked up his phone and dialed all but the last digit for Col O'Neill. Once the gate connected, Walter looked at his screen to see if there was an IDC received. As he looked, the radio sounded off, the voice of Tuplo carrying through the room.
Walter hit the last digit and planned to give it three rings before he would fall back to the intercom system. Col O'Neill answered on the second.
"Col O'Neill"
"Sir, he is on the radio now..."Walter stated before he heard the sound of the Col hanging up. Before he could even place his receiver back on its base, the Colonel could be heard outside the door, yelling for people to get out of the way.
He appeared in the Control room and took the mic in hand, discussing with Tuplo the current situation with their newest acquaintances. It did not take much for Tuplo to agree to taking the ten refugees into his lands, wishing to repay the Tauri in any way he could for their help with the touched sickness which had plagued his people for generations, and cured his daughter and father-in-law.
As Teal'c entered the Control room, the Colonel was quickly finished the discussion with Tuplo, coordinating a time for the leader to enter the SGC to offer his help to the Tollan's and meet their need for a new home. Walter made a note on the gate schedule for 0800 the next day to ensure the other technicians would not be surprised by the gate activation.
As he had entered, he left, the Colonel dashing up the spiral stairs with Teal'c in tow to find the General.
Less than a minute later, the General was loudly telling the SG-1 team the refugees had escaped. Walter called the base Security Forces desk and informed them of the breech as SG-1 dashed towards the elevators. The Desk Sergeant started to review the tapes, looking for the refugees on the cameras to better direct the search team. By the time she started to find the images, not really believing the cameras could all be malfunctioning at the same time, SG-1 and the ground team had found the ten individuals outside, on the mountain's lush forested area near the north side. The Tollans were escorted back into the mountain, the crisis averted for now.
On that note, Walter decided to make a clean break since it was just after five.
Walking into his house, Walter was excited to see that Ericka was napping on the couch and little Seth was asleep in his travel pen beside mom. Slipping quietly down the hall, Walter looked into the kitchen to see if Ericka had started a meal, and see nothing, quickly dashed upstairs to change.
Returning in jeans and a tee-shirt, Walter went into the kitchen to start dinner. Thirty minutes later he had a spaghetti meal prepared. Quietly and gently, Walter woke Ericka for dinner with a kiss to her forehead. As she stirred, he took her hand and escorted her to the table, pulling out and then pushing in her chair for her. Handing her a can of diet soda and a plate of spaghetti, Walter turned to prepare his plate.
This was when Seth decided to wake up angry.
Screaming, Seth demanded immediate attention to which Walter complied. Taking the baby out, holding him up, a smell which now assaulted Walter's nose was enough to result in a regrettable sudden intake of air, filling his lungs, nose and mouth with a smell so pungent he could actually taste it on the edges of his tongue.
With his scant weeks of practice, Walter was able to quickly and efficiently change the offensive diaper, trapping the smell in their recently acquired diaper genie. A shove and twist and the diaper was trapped inside of a plastic bagged tube, making something that would resemble the worst sausage link imaginable.
The child again happy and clean, Walter proceeded back to the table to hold his son and attempt to shovel some food into his mouth. The wiggly worm held securely in his lap with his left hand, the fork not nearly as well in his right, Walter successfully finished half of his plate before a probing groping appendage was able to make him lose his tenuous grip on the fork, the spaghetti laden side falling just enough to drag down his chin and onto chest before he was able to regain control.
This action seemed to fascinate Seth, causing him to begin a baby giggle which transitioned to a full on laugh. The sweet melody singing into Walter's ears as it caused his brain to only register happiness and contentment with the world.
Even Ericka had a smile that seemed to start at her toes and ended with the luminous sparkle in her eyes.
Walter, unable to think of eating anymore, focused his entire being on the bundle on his lap, standing and bouncing with the child to continue the laughter and mirth for Seth for as long as possible. Finally, Ericka took the child, reminding Walter that to feed him while he was happy was the best option they had to getting him to calm down and have a peaceful sleep.
That was the first night that Seth slept through the night.
Walter was back at work in his blues at 0730 the next morning. He had even ridden down in the elevator with Col O'Neill dressed in his blues with tie and jacket for the morning's meet and greet with Tuplo and his delegation from the "land of light".
Before the appointed time, Walter had, as usual, collected the morning report for General Hammond, noting the comment from Security Forces that the tapes and camera's had all seemed to malfunction at the time of the escape of the Tollan refugees. There was also the usual comments from the department heads on their projects and timelines, all of which Walter took a moment to highlight for the General to help him better skim the seven page report before the appointed meeting between Omoc of the Tollan and Tuplo.
Not two minutes after the meeting started, it was over, Tuplo seeming to be distressed by the words and actions of the aloof Omoc. The man had insulted and degraded the emissary with his very first sentence and not backed down until his last syllable. Walter dialed up the address for Tuplo to return home as the Captain assigned as his escort guided them back to the gate.
It was not until later that day that the people of the SGC learned the reason behind Omoc's attitude. His people had shared technology with another planet before, dooming both of them in the process. The people of Sarita had destroyed themselves in a day and through their destruction thrown off the solar alignment of Tollan, ultimately leading to the situation that SG-1 had walked into.
Coincidentally, it was the same time Walter had been able to make some progress on the recordings from the escape the night before.
"General," Walter called as he reached the top step, the General standing in the briefing room looking out at the stargate, "We have made some progress with the recording last night and they are," Walter paused trying to come up with the right word but settled on, "they're just weird sir."
The General directed Walter to get SG-1 so they could look at the data together, not wanting to create the need to do an explanation multiple times. Walter sent out SSgt Westerholm to get the team for the General and went back to computer terminal he had been using to enhance the video.
Ten minutes later, the flagship team and General Hammond were standing behind Walter as he typed away on his keyboard.
"We've managed to augment the surveillance video from the multipurpose room and some of the corridors with computer enhancement. And you're not...," Walter stated as he continued to pull up the enhanced video, "going to believe this."
The group watched as the Tollan's were able to simply walk through the walls, the Colonel stating it was cool, Dr. Jackson on how impossible it was, Capt Carter clarifying only due to "our limited science apparently."
"We have similar video of them passing through an elevator door and a wall on ground level," Walter continued.
"This is knowledge far beyond that of the Goa'uld," Teal'c stated flatly.
"That's exactly what the president and Joint Chiefs want to hear," a new voice added to the conversation, the group turning as a whole to the three newcomers. After a quick and sloppy salute, the new voice added his introduction, "Col Mayborne sir, NID,"
Col O'Neill asked, "Intelligence? What happened to Kennedy?" only to learn from Col Maybourne he had been promoted.
Never one to miss an opportunity to make a snarky comment to a potential adversary, Col O'Neill replied, "Promoted? Talk about failing upwards.," leading to a confrontational back and forth between the two Colonels.
General Hammond, not at all amused by the intrusion of the NID Colonel or his lackeys, demanded to know why he was here. Col Mayborne simply replied, "You didn't get my advance?"
When it was obvious to all that his advance had intentionally been forgotten or lost, the General ordered the entire group up to the briefing room so he could be brought to speed on the NID's intentions inside of his facility. Walter, paying full attention to the meeting behind and above him, was able to overhear that the NID was there to collect the Tollans and extract as much knowledge and technology as possible from them, in so many words.
SG-1 went on the offensive, pointing out human rights that Col Mayborne was looking to circumvent, only to have General Hammond kill the discussion with a simple statement.
"I can't release them to you."
This seemed to confuse Col Mayborne, drawing out the lack of respect he seemed to hold for a superior ranking officer as he questioned, "I beg your pardon?"
The General, standing above the Colonel's obvious distain, again shut him down with a simple statement about Tollans not being cleared from quarantine by Dr. Frasier, and the desire to not spread another disease to the United States and World.
Col Mayborne, his heckles raised, began to dress down the group, thinking he was in a superior position until the General, still keeping his cool, subtly reminded the Colonel who out ranked whom and get a guest quarters for his stay.
Walter immediately got the doctor on the phone to ensure Col Mayborne did not try to go around the General to discover the Tollans had already been cleared. Dr. Frasier understood, and agreed to ignore and avoid the NID personnel, claiming doctor patient confidentiality and a need to clear all information through her commanding officer.
Walter spent the next three hours working with General Hammond. The General continued to call for the President, getting a case of the run arounds, while Walter reached out to other worlds through the stargate, looking for a planet and society which the Tollans would accept. Both of them were hitting a brick wall.
Finally, General Hammond was able to contact the President, locking himself in his office to discuss the issue of the Tollans and Col Mayborne's plan to abscond with them to parts unknown. While he was behind closed doors, the briefing room seemed to fill with first Col Mayborne and his NID shadows, and then SG-1. Walter had brewed a pot of coffee recently, and walking over to get a fresh cup realized that Col Mayborne had just filled his, leaving only a few drops pooled at the base of the pot.
Walter just stared at the back of the man's head as he finished his climb up the stairs back to the briefing room, where he engaged with Dr. Jackson over his expected gains from the Tollan people and Col O'Neill informing the NID Colonel the refugee's would never help.
Only a few minutes later, the General's voice could be heard, informing the team the President agreed with Col Mayborne's requests, and that the Tollan people would be leaving in his custody. SG-1 continued to question Col Mayborne's intent, identifying that the Tollans would be nothing more than forced intellectual labor, which Col Mayborne only replied how their every needs would be met.
"Everything," Col O'Neill replied, "except a life."
Dr. Jackson could be clearly heard angrily stating in the control room, "...I voted for him!"
Walter heard Col Mayborne directing Col O'Neill to have the Tollans ready for transport at 0600 the next day. Already anticipating the need, Walter reached out to the motor pool to get the transport vehicles with Security Forces escorts. Not wanting to help the NID agents, but also not wanting the Tollans to suffer through the travel, Walter did his best to make the plans smooth.
Walter, complete with his work for the devil, turned from his borrowed phone and computer to see Dr. Jackson write down something from the gate computer screen and leave the room. Rolling his chair over, Walter saw the planet designation on the screen, as well as the coordinates used by the computer to assist in the wormhole tracking programs. The address was familiar, but flagged as a dead contact.
Ten minutes later, his desk phone rang, Col O'Neill on the other end.
"I need to speak with the General."
"Sir," Walter replied, "He is still in his office."
"Need to see him outside Sergeant," Col O'Neill replied. "Let's see, ask him to meet me at the topside hatch, West side of motor pool." After a second adding, "Please."
"Can I tell him why?"
"Not really," Col O'Neill replied before the line went dead.
Following the request, Walter went to the General's office and relayed the request from Col O'Neill.
"This is highly irregular," General Hammond stated as he rose from his chair and proceeded to his clandestine meeting.
Walter decided now would be a good time to stretch his legs as he was getting to be very agitated with the whole situation. Walking down the corridors of the SGC, he eventually found himself on 5C, knowing he intended to check in on their guests. As he turned the corner leading to the Multi-Purpose room the Tollans had been assigned to, Walter saw an excited Col Mayborne and a clearly disturbed SSgt Westerholm.
"I want guards posted inside that room to keep an eye on them. None of that Houdini stuff. Keep those people in that room at all times and at all cost," Col Mayborne stated at the Sergeant.
"Yes sir," she replied to him, unclear as to why these people were now such a threat.
Not wanting to be in the same space as the NID Colonel, Walter turned around and started back towards his office. He didn't know how, but he was going to help those people.
On the elevator, Walter stepped in as Dr. Jackson stepped out. The Doctor was clearly in his own head as he did not even make eye contact or any acknowledgments towards Walter or any of the other people he passed as he too turned down the corridor to the Multi-Purpose room.
Walter spent an hour in his office before a sheepish SrA Taylor knocked on his door.
"Who's got the Control room?," Walter asked, seeing the Airman look everywhere except at him. As SrA Taylor didn't answer he added, "Airman!"
"Sir," the Senior Airman began, "Capt Carter kind of kicked us out. She said she wanted to run some tests and simulations and we weren't cleared."
"I see," Walter said, not really seeing why Capt Carter would need or want to do that this late. It was already after 2000 hours and well past time for him to have gone home.
Wanting to see what was going on, Walter walked past the confused Senior Airman and back to his Control room. When he entered, he found both Capt Carter and Dr. Jackson hunched over the dialing computer talking to each other about some Einstein theory and distance. Neither of them looked up as he loudly cleared his throat to announce his presence.
Still being ignored, Walter took a seat at his station, sitting to the right of the Captain.
After a few minutes, Dr. Jackson left the room, leaving Walter and the Captain alone. As if his departure was the catalyst event, the dialing computer began to go haywire.
The gate also began to activate, TSgt Nordow walking in at the same instant. Since Walter was working his computer issue, he waved for the Sergeant to make the announcement as the klaxon alarm began to sound.
General Hammond, flanked by Colonels O'Neill and Mayborne descended the stairs behind him asking what the hell was going on.
"The mainframe is having a nervous breakdown," Walter replied, still trying to determine the cause of the issue. "Oh no the iris is failing," Walter was forced to add, the base now vulnerable with the open and active gate before them.
General Hammond noticed the blast door was down and ordered Walter to get it up so they could see and asses the issue, only to discover that the gate room was full of the Tollans, accompanied by Dr. Jackson and Teal'c.
The sixth Chevron engaged as Col Mayborne yelled at Dr. Jackson, threatening to Courts Martial him for his actions, only to have Col O'Neill remind him Dr. Jackson was not in the military and there wasn't really a civilian law to cover this situation. Col Mayborne continued to threaten the doctor with removal from the program as the gate engaged. The Colonel threatened he would chase down the refugees no matter where they were sent only to be told the SGC was not in control of the gate. Someone was sending for the Tollans and they didn't know who.
They didn't know until a Nox walked through the wormhole, Daniel calling her Lya.
Col Mayborne continued to issue threats, directing the Security Forces Airmen to open fire if the occupants attempted to flee. The guards in the room raised their weapons as directed, but most of them were clearly unsure about acting on the orders.
Lya showed disappointment at the actions, but invited the Tollans to join her. The Tollans slowly moved up the ramp, standing around the Nox, when Col Mayborne yelled, "Stop!" into the intercom. He threatened again to order the guards to open fire if they continued to defy him.
Lya again shook her head in disappointment and the waved her arms out beside her body, her hands meeting above her head as the gate behind her seemed to come alive with the action, the wormhole forming fully stable behind her.
"Come," she stated, the Tollans moving and then disappearing in thin air before the group as ripples formed on the event horizon with each member's passing..
Col Mayborne yelled, "FIRE!" to the guards in the room, their weapons also vanishing away as if they were made of mist.
Lya then backed into the gate and departed from the SGC, Col O'Neill muttered, "God I love those people." before the gate closed.
With her departure, the computers all seemed to return to normal, Col Mayborne leaving the briefing room as SG-1 and Gen Hammond proceeded to the gate room. Walter could hear Col Mayborne yelling at his two shadows, as if the entire event was directly their doing.
Walter could not help but smile.
Unable to leave it alone, Walter went up to the briefing room, offering his services to the NID officers.
"Ohhhh NO," Col Mayborne stated with contempt, "I heard all too well about your help from Col Kennedy! He is still suffering from jet lag thanks to you."
Knowing he was not wanted, Walter turned and descended back to the Control room, the smile on his face uncontainable.