Star Granger Season 2 - Chapter 5
Thoughts
"speech"
"Goa'uld speech"
SG SG SG SG SG SG SG
December 10th, 1998 –Cheyenne Mountain Colorado
It's just after midnight when we ring down to the NORAD command centre, at the Cheyenne mount. There is a temporary control centre near the entrance and people with fatigues and guns are running around like ants. We are met with pointed guns, then an order to stand down.
Now that makes you feel welcomed.
An air force officer rushes towards us, and salutes. He's dressed to the T in service dress and looks quite out of place among all the gun pointing fatigues. "Major Davis, of the Joint Chief office," he introduces himself. "WIB?" he sounds almost incredulous even asking.
Can't blame him.
"Mostly women and mostly black, yes," Keira answers, in all her goth galore.
"Just got off the phone with the President's office, they told me to expect you early next morning?"
"Agents H, H, K, C, and Sidney" R introduces us. "I am agent Rose Smith. Apparently, the world is at an end, so we rushed. Where is the Port? Dr Carter?" she cuts to the point.
It takes him a moment to understand. "Port?"
"The Astria Porta, if you insist on Latin. The thing that connects us to the black hole?" Keira is less patient still.
"The Stargate is through there," answers a bold man who just arrived. "Thank you for coming so soon. Also, thank you for a few other things, I wonder?"
Stargate?
"General Hammond, sir!" The Davis chap salutes stiffly. R salutes off carelessly too.
"The Port?" she asks.
"Through here," the General says. "I'm going down there myself with orders."
We awkwardly stand in the descending lift.
"No music?" Calvin remarks.
R can't stop herself from chucking.
"Is it you I should thank for our people's lives?"
"Bof," R gives the dear General a perfect French shrug.
Fleur will be so proud!
"We were in the neighbourhood," R adds.
"Well, thank you in any case," the General smiles. "Our people are important to us."
The elevator opens, finally, to more pointed guns, though those are immediately lowered, as soon as the fatigues see the General with us. He leads us to a control room overlooking the Port. It's lit, and rumbling a bit, and covered by what looks like a camera aperture. A group of people are holding a heated discussion in the middle of the room.
"Are you here to rescue us too?" one of them scowls as we walk in.
That O'Neill chap, from Precious.
"Status?" Keira asks Carter.
Carter's eyes widened a little, recognizing our group. She glances at the general for approval and updates us. "The stargate is connected to a planet close to an event horizon of a black hole. Gravity is 7g at the Iris, extending about seven ft into the gate hall, then fading. Apparently, down here we are five hours behind the outside world."
"Make that 18 hours," the General makes himself known. "I have orders from the pentagon to evacuate and destroy the base to contain it."
"The time dilation phenomenon extends in front of the gravity field?" Keira verifies, ignoring the General.
"Listen…" he starts again, but is shushed by R.
"Exactly!" Carter replies. "Against all I know about relativity!"
"We measured 7.2% distortion in the time continuum between NYC and Calcutta before entering. 7.4% here at ground level." Calvin updates. "Can't really measure anything on this level, without being both here and on top at the same time."
Fascinating. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in real life. It's the kind of science one hopes to never experience, in person, in one's lifetime.
I Conjure a black cat and look at it curiously. Harry laughs, without sound, and gives me a pointed hat. I huff and throw it to the corner. Thankfully, we were only seen by that Teal'c person, and he only gives us a stoic stare.
"Lensing effect?" Keira asks.
"I think so, but I can't be certain."
"To be clear," R asks, "The gravity and time distortion are originating from the wormhole, and not the Port itself?"
Carter confirms it.
"We have orders to initiate a self-destruct sequence of the base." General Hammond cut's in. "Experts at the pentagon assured me that this will contain the blast from the destruction of the Stargate, and serve the connection to the black hole."
"Sweet…" O'Neill remarks.
"with all due respect, sir…" Carter starts to reply, but is cut short by Calvin.
"Who's the tosser who came up with that cock-up plan? No don't tell me."
"The source of our problem isn't the Port, but the wormhole. If you implement those 'orders' we will end up with one of two possible outcomes: Either you manage to blow out the Port – Just how much Naquadah is in that thing?" Keira asks, with a level tone.
"Almost 30 ton," I answer.
"In that case, you will find yourself with a crater the size of Colorado, and probably no structure standing from Missouri to Nevada. The climate ramifications will doom womankind."
"Or, the Stargate will stay whole, the Wormhole connected, and the Earth will get sucked through, in about a year's time." Carter adds.
"And we won't have access to the Port, to do anything about it, at that stage." Calvin concludes.
"Listen," O'Neill starts, but he's stopped again by R.
"Shush – let the clever people work," she tells him.
"All right, enough faffing around. Where do you keep your keyboard? Did you try the abort button?"
"Keyboard?" The General asks, pointing at the dialling computer, in front of the Stargate.
"Not a bloody computer keyboard. The round pedestal thing that comes with the Port and used to control it – keyboard?" Calvin sounds frustrated.
"A DHD you mean," O'Neill answers.
"DHD? What's a DHD?" Harry asks.
"Dial Home Device." O'Neill explains.
"What, Like a bloody reverse charge?" Calvin is losing it a bit.
"Easy mate," Harry helps him relax.
"Comes to that, if you don't use your keyboard, how do you operate the Port?"
"In the US, we use computers." O'Neill answers, pointing at the aforementioned computer keyboard.
"It's easier to manage address directories and logs, this way." Carter explains lamely.
Keira looks dejected. "The Port was developed millions of years ago, by civilization light years more advanced than our own, Carter. You're a wise girl – do you really understand the device well enough to replace and reprogram all the protocols and safeties, originally implemented in the keyboard?"
Carter looks well admonished.
"And how do you even power this thing?" R inquires.
"Electricity?"
"Honestly? Have you ever seen one of these Ports connected to the grid? Your Antarctic Port has no electricity, yet it works? Just how much does it cost you to run this place?" R is offloading a little.
"Tell me about it…" General Hammond mumbles.
"It isn't even supposed to work on electricity," R isn't done. "It works on M…" and she stops herself.
"Nice save," Harry smiles at her softly.
"You're right – the contract gives you a warning," she answers.
Carter's interest is peaked, but luckily, there are more pressing issues to solve.
"All right. No keyboard, no abort button, no safety protocols. Just how do we close this thing?" Keira puts them back on the discussion track.
"Talking of Antarctica, maybe we can charge the gate and make the wormhole jump gates, like it had in…"
The discussion turns technical, and I tune it down. I focus on the Port instead. It's clearly Alteran and humming under the pressure. I open my mind for it, to better understand, and winch in pain.
"Harry!"
He's beside me in a second. Teal'c and Sidney also join us in front of the window.
"Reach carefully for the Port?" I ask him. He does so with the same effect as I did. "It's crying in pain." I whisper.
"No, it's calling for help!" Harry softly says. "We need to get closer."
We go down the stairway, and as close as we dare. A wave of my wand lit the Port's power flow. It's almost the opposite from the Arch. Power is appearing at a point in the centre of the Port, jumps to a point at the head of the Port, then circles around. I can still hear it cry out in my mind.
Close! I order it. Disconnect! Rest!
It's all focused at that relay that channels the power from the centre of the Port, to the ring. It wants (for the lack of a better description) to disconnect, but the current holds the relay connected.
"Harry! I'm almost there. See if you can order it closed?"
I can see Harry focuses on the Port. The power flow flickers, and the water effect of the wormhole swirls around and almost, but not quite loses its hold on the ring.
"Are you Nox?" I hear the deep levelled voice of Teal'c
Harry sits on the floor, spent. "Almost!" he says. "Few hours ago, it would probably have been easy."
"Hermione, Harry, what are you doing?" I hear R's voice from the observation balcony.
"Trying to close off the Port?" I state the obvious. "There's a relay, at the top of it, that channels all the power. It is overwhelmed and clogged. We couldn't order it to disconnect."
"Can you insert the Port into one of your chests?" she asks.
"When it's connected and channelling a black hole?" Harry answers incredulously. "We have never tested it. Would the chest hold? Would it block the gravity? The time distortion? If it does, for how long? And where exactly would you put that chest. The only safe place I can think of would be inside an actual black hole, and Merlin only knows what will happen when a black hole will pull itself in, through an extended dimension."
"Right," she says. "Daft question. We're grasping at straws here…"
"Hey!" O'Neill reproaches.
"Any Ideas down there?" she asks.
"It's that bloody relay, up there. If we could open it, or break it, or Vanish it, the Port would disconnect." I send a Reducto curse at it in frustration, but the Magic is pulled towards the centre of the Port.
Why would gravity influence magic flow?"
I try a few more curses, aimed wider, but to no use – the pull is just too much.
"We need to get closer," Harry states.
"You'll be crushed," Keira warns.
"It's gravity. I can fight gravity." He says.
"But not sure you can fight that much gravity, and you most certainly can't both fight gravity and shut the relay down, at the same time!"
Everybody listens to our shouting conversation in silence.
"What are they talking about?" I can hear Carter asking, but no one is answering.
"Right, we need much more power and reach." Harry agrees. "A kingdom for a generator," he adds sarcastically. "New plan?" he starts putting out smoke all around the Port. It takes me a short moment to understand what he's doing and join him.
"What are they doing? Never mind how they are doing it." Carter is asking.
"I reckon they are mapping the gravitation field?" Calvin sounds uncertain.
"Right, look there! Think you can Levitate me up there from above?" I nod guardedly.
It's still too far away!
"I'll be needing a Naquadah rod, or something. About 6-7 feet long."
That makes more sense!
"You can use my staff weapon, Mr. Harry Potter," Teal'c says steadily.
"It'll work," Harry shrugs.
Harry takes out the charge, and removes the head emitter, so he's only left with a Naquadah pole with a butt. I perch myself on the ceiling and levitated him as close to the Port as the gravity bubble allows. He reaches for the Port with the pole, but it's still a bit too far for him to hold the pole against the pull of the wormhole.
"No use," he finally sighs. "I must get even closer. You remember second year?"
I nod guardedly.
I remember too many things about second year.
"We'll do it like Quidditch," He calls and waves his hand towards the back of the room.
"What? No! you're not jumping in!"
People are rushing in but are stopped by the ward he raised.
"Let us in, Harry!" R orders, but he ignores her.
"Not jumping in? Like Quidditch – flying!" He smiles at me and it breaks my heart. "You know – the art of throwing oneself at the ground and miss?"
I levitate him again above the Port and watch him concentrate. People are shouting at us, but I ignore them. I can see the Naquadah pole charging again, and its head glows with a spell I don't recognise. Naquadah turned out to be horrible wand material but can channel magic amazingly with touch. Harry glaring again at the Port, and the power flicker once more, the wormhole almost losing its hold. Then I feel the lightest touch on my mind.
I love you! I think back and let him go.
It feels like ages but is probably taking less than a second. Harry falls a few inches, and immediately is pulled into the Port, his legs pass through a hole in the wormhole's 'event horizon' as Carter calls it. Next his pole hits the top of the Port. A section there vanishes into thin air, leaving behind a cascading failure in the power flow. It discharges as a screen of sparks and hits Harry all over. He screams out in pain, till the inertia throws him at the wall behind the Port – Hard. He then slumps to the floor unconscious.
All around us, time reassess itself, mostly making us all dizzy and disoriented.
First on his feet is that Teal'c. He does have a strong constitution about him. I'm up next – a witch, you know, and find him next to Harry.
"He is not breathing, Hermione Granger."
No, no, no!
CPR was never a thing in magical schools. The old fool would have probably seen it as Necromancy and the darkest of arts. I do my best with what I remember from primary and my parent teachings.
Two breaths, ten chest compressions, and again, and again…
A hand pushes me aside, to see R and Carter take over.
They are much more practiced in this…
"Do you have a Defibrillator here?" R calls out.
O'Neill runs in with the device already in his hand. She tears Harry's shirt off and orders us clear. One shock, more compressions, second shock.
How much time was it, before we got back to our senses?
First indication of something changing is the sight of Harry's famous scar bursting open, oozing pus and other gangrenous fluids.
"Wait!" I call, before R gives Harry a third shock.
Harry suddenly pulls a hissing breath. He then coughs and cries out in pain. He's unconscious again.
Thank heaven.
O'Neill already opened a stretcher beside him. "Let's move him to the infirmary. Janet will be here in minutes, and he'll need the OR quickly."
"R!" I say urgently, catching her attention. "I need him up and back in London, as soon as possible, so I can take him to our hospital!" I stress.
She doesn't get my meaning, at first. "Why? I'm certain they have the best facility here!"
"Our hospital!" I stress again, more forcefully. "I can't even do anything for him myself while they're watching," I whisper to her.
"Right, sorry," she answers, and starts making sure Hurry is moved outside, where Precious can ring us up. It certainly takes some convincing, but only out of good intentions. Ten minutes later we are on our way, promising to be in touch.
December 11th 1998 - St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
Magical hospitals are so quiet.
It was quite a frenzy last night when I broke into the hospital with a broken and unconscious Harry. St. Mungo's isn't use to these kinds of emergencies, unless some stupid wizard finds a sleeping Dragon to tickle. Then there was the fact that the injured party was a wizard of some renown and means. Add the fact that the person who brought him in is the infamous 'Hogwarts Slayer', Mudblood, and that I was not volunteering any information regarding causes for the condition.
The only person notified by me was Sirius. He is Harry's only family, after all. He came rushing in with Remus, who took the time to notify Molly, who made sure the whole world knows.
Sometimes, for just a moment, I can understand the old fool's insistence on handling everything in secret, at the school's infirmary.
Illustrious came this morning with his personal Aurors, to 'make certain that such a pillar of our society is safe, and that the responsible party is punished'.
I would like to see him take a black hole into custody.
At the end, Sirius had to call Amelia, to help him kick Illustrious out, and remind her Aurors about their chain of command. He also kicked Molly out after she was heard explaining to the healers that it 'wasn't safe' to leave me in the room with Harry, when he 'can't protect himself'. It was actually Bill who dragged her away.
I don't remember him ever being so angry.
Fleur is even angrier with me, for not calling on them for help. I promised her details in the office, which keeps me from being turned into a chunk of charcoal.
All this time, Harry twists and moans in his bed, under three doses of Skele-Gro. It's almost done its work by now and Harry is finally resting peacefully.
"Hey beautiful," a soft voice attracts my attention to the person on the bed.
"Harry, you're awake!" I answer tenderly. I really want to hug the stuffing out of him, but then – I will be truly responsible.
"Gah! Can you get me a glass of water dear? I have Skele-Gro aftertaste in my mouth."
I do. Then I kiss him softly. "I was worried for a while." I tell him.
He's glum for a moment, but soon a wicked smile rises on his face. "Hey," he says. "We did it!"
"Yes, you plonker. You kicked black hole arse!" I smile. "Let's not do this again, some day?"
"Just like Quidditch!" he smiles. "R is going to kill me?" he adds more soberly.
"Again," I answer sweetly.
"Right then. Let us get out of this place."
It takes us a couple of hours to get free. Sirius is hugged and reassured and hugged again. He's a big child, but he truly loves Harry as his own, and was worried sick. We'll have Lunch with him this weekend. With a bit of help from Bill, explaining about our Egyptian excavation – Illustrious buys Harry's story about the ramping Sphinx, hook line and sinker. Bill drags his mother home again. The prophet will, sadly, need a new editor. Again also…
December 11th 1998 - Battersea Power Station
"Hey there. Anyone's home?" Harry calls into the hall. Soon heads appear from various door frames, cries of joy are heard, and people are running towards us. Keira is the first one to reach us. She wants a hug, but then hesitates, looking at Harry carefully, not wanting to hurt him. He smiles and opens his arms towards her.
So that's what 'hug the stuffing out' really means!
There are hugs and back slapping all around. Seth holds Harry at arm's length and looks him over. "Are you truly fine?" he asks.
Wasn't there to see Harry hurt.
"I'm fine," Harry smiles softly. "Much better, actually."
"We really need a healer here," Seth mumbles.
"Hey, Where's R?"
"Over the moon," Calvin laughs.
"And back," we hear R's voice from the rings. She walks towards us, all professional in her WIB suit, and looks Harry up and down attentively. "How are you?" She asks softly, as she hugs him too, for maybe a tad longer and harder than usual.
"I'm all right, truly. Better than ever before."
"Good," she says softly, then hits Harry over the head with her notebook. "Never; ever; do; such; a; stupid; thing; again; you; bloody; wanker!" she shouts at him, hitting him again and again.
For a short while Harry can do nothing but complain and whine. "What was that for?" he asks when she's done. "See what you did? Now Hermione will have to kiss it better!"
Giggle.
'Bof' – a French gesture, mostly meaning I'm not sure and mostly, don't care.
Huge shout to flyboy38, my beta, who takes the time to make sure the story is a much better read.
Also to Dalwolf For doing Brit-Picking for, well - you all, and help my British.
Cheers!