Section 5: Taxi
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"That's your ship?" O'Neill asked. He and his teammates had once more followed the two aliens through the streets of the city, this time further inward to a bustling spaceport. The ship they were now approaching was silver and, in Jack's opinion, kinda looked like a bug, rounded and squat. But hey, anything was better than pyramids.
Neither D'argo nor Rygel answered his question since it obviously was their ship. All of a sudden, D'argo barked, making Jack start.
"Voice recognition code," said Carter interestedly. "Is it like a password or are the sensors keyed only to your voice and speech patterns?" When D'argo ignored her, Carter just shrugged to Daniel. "Since he used his own language I'd guess that it's tied to his native language. Obviously no one here can reproduce it. There's probably a password though for when he's on his home planet. I wonder how far that is from here." Jack and Teal'c joined her and Daniel as D'argo spoke again and a door opened, a set of step stairs descending to meet them.
"Cool," said O'Neill.
"Sounds like he has a set of vocal commands for different functions," Daniel commented.
"So what that first one was for?" asked Carter curiously.
Ahead of them, Rygel had already disappeared inside. D'argo called for them to hurry up from where he waited by the steps. O'Neill prodded Carter in the ribs to get her walking again toward the ship. She hid it well, but Jack could tell from the gleam in her eyes that she couldn't wait to uncover the secrets of this unknown technology. She was just geeky that way he smiled to himself as he followed his team up the steps. The interior was small, and aside from his people, Rygel, D'argo, and the unconscious white girl, empty. Jack looked around for another door, suspicions prickling the back of his neck.
"Where are your insane friends?" he asked casually. The weight of the gun in his hand all of a sudden felt very reassuring. Not that he thought they'd try anything. Just pull one over on him. And Jack didn't like the thought of that one bit.
"On Moya," said Rygel as if that explained everything, "our ship."
"And this is . . .?" Jack raised his eyebrows. From where he stood, this looked like a ship too.
"*My* ship," D'argo answered. "Don't touch anything."
"Oh. Okay." Jack relaxed slightly, still a little confused.
"It's probably just a shuttle, sir," Carter whispered helpfully into his ear.
"I knew that," he growled back. Carter ignored his glare and moved forward out of the way as D'argo bent to settle the girl on the floor, where apparently the passengers would be sitting too since the only chairs belonged to the pilots.
"You, uh . . ."
"Daniel," the archeologist supplied.
"Yeah. Make sure she doesn't get jostled in the flight," D'argo ordered. "It should be a smooth ride, but just in case - "
D'argo's caution was cut off by an alarm going off and a voice speaking in the language that sounded like the one he had used to open the door. "Frell!!" The giant leapt to his feet, knocked Jack out of the way and rounded on Major Carter. "You stupid woman! I told you not to touch anything!"
"Now wait just a minute!" Jack threw himself between his 2IC and the raging D'argo. No way was he going off on one of his people. Jack met the alien's glare with one of his own, letting D'argo know that if he wanted to yell at her, he would have to go through O'Neill.
"D'argo just fix it before we're all blown to bits!" Rygel snapped, breaking the tension. With an honest to God snarl and shake of his head, D'argo pushed both Jack and Sam toward the back and drew his gun, barking commands. Before Jack could even protest in their defense, a console opened and D'argo inserted his gun like a key. Instantly, the alarm ceased blaring. Complete silence.
"What the hell just happened?!" Jack's voice snapped into the quiet like a whip.
"Your stupid soldier activated the self-destruct sequence!" D'argo snarled back, fire burning in his eyes as he glared at Carter.
"I didn't touch anything!" she protested. "Colonel, I swear, I was only looking."
"Well your 'looking' must have involved your skin because alien DNA is what activates the self-destruct," D'argo shot back. "You can't touch any of the panels in here unless I've spit on you first."
SG-1 stared at him. Jack said the first thing that came to mind. "Eww. That's just gross."
D'argo rubbed a hand over his face, like a tired parent. "Just don't touch anything. And you might want to sit down for takeoff."
Teal'c, Jack, and Sam sat on the floor next to Daniel and the girl. "Please put you seatbacks and tray tables in their - "
"Upright and locked positions," Rygel and D'argo chorused. "Will you just shut up?"
They knew? Jack turned and met his team's equally surprised looks. How could they know? The feeling that something was seriously wrong again wiggled into place at the back of Jack's neck. First, they claimed to have visited Earth, now they *knew* one of the most quoted lines in modern Earth society. But there was no way they could have landed on Earth without the SGC knowing about it. *They* had even said the humans should know about them. Jack could only hope that he hadn't led his team into another trap. He listened with half an ear as Daniel and Carter attempted to ask questions of their alien hosts, but the two, fed up and annoyed, either told them to shut up or ignored them until Sam and Daniel gave up.
With a flick of his head, Jack got their attention. He nodded at their two new friends then at his weapon. Sam and Daniel traded a look then nodded. A glance at Teal'c told Jack all that he needed to know. They would be ready for anything.
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Consciousness fluttered like a butterfly through his head. It was pretty. Lots of colors on a black background. But it was cold. Everything was cold, he realized. John woke. He shivered, the hair on his body rising. "Oh God, not this again," he croaked through dry lips. Slowly, so the light wouldn't hurt too badly, he opened his eyes. Yep, he was naked.
*
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"That's your ship?" O'Neill asked. He and his teammates had once more followed the two aliens through the streets of the city, this time further inward to a bustling spaceport. The ship they were now approaching was silver and, in Jack's opinion, kinda looked like a bug, rounded and squat. But hey, anything was better than pyramids.
Neither D'argo nor Rygel answered his question since it obviously was their ship. All of a sudden, D'argo barked, making Jack start.
"Voice recognition code," said Carter interestedly. "Is it like a password or are the sensors keyed only to your voice and speech patterns?" When D'argo ignored her, Carter just shrugged to Daniel. "Since he used his own language I'd guess that it's tied to his native language. Obviously no one here can reproduce it. There's probably a password though for when he's on his home planet. I wonder how far that is from here." Jack and Teal'c joined her and Daniel as D'argo spoke again and a door opened, a set of step stairs descending to meet them.
"Cool," said O'Neill.
"Sounds like he has a set of vocal commands for different functions," Daniel commented.
"So what that first one was for?" asked Carter curiously.
Ahead of them, Rygel had already disappeared inside. D'argo called for them to hurry up from where he waited by the steps. O'Neill prodded Carter in the ribs to get her walking again toward the ship. She hid it well, but Jack could tell from the gleam in her eyes that she couldn't wait to uncover the secrets of this unknown technology. She was just geeky that way he smiled to himself as he followed his team up the steps. The interior was small, and aside from his people, Rygel, D'argo, and the unconscious white girl, empty. Jack looked around for another door, suspicions prickling the back of his neck.
"Where are your insane friends?" he asked casually. The weight of the gun in his hand all of a sudden felt very reassuring. Not that he thought they'd try anything. Just pull one over on him. And Jack didn't like the thought of that one bit.
"On Moya," said Rygel as if that explained everything, "our ship."
"And this is . . .?" Jack raised his eyebrows. From where he stood, this looked like a ship too.
"*My* ship," D'argo answered. "Don't touch anything."
"Oh. Okay." Jack relaxed slightly, still a little confused.
"It's probably just a shuttle, sir," Carter whispered helpfully into his ear.
"I knew that," he growled back. Carter ignored his glare and moved forward out of the way as D'argo bent to settle the girl on the floor, where apparently the passengers would be sitting too since the only chairs belonged to the pilots.
"You, uh . . ."
"Daniel," the archeologist supplied.
"Yeah. Make sure she doesn't get jostled in the flight," D'argo ordered. "It should be a smooth ride, but just in case - "
D'argo's caution was cut off by an alarm going off and a voice speaking in the language that sounded like the one he had used to open the door. "Frell!!" The giant leapt to his feet, knocked Jack out of the way and rounded on Major Carter. "You stupid woman! I told you not to touch anything!"
"Now wait just a minute!" Jack threw himself between his 2IC and the raging D'argo. No way was he going off on one of his people. Jack met the alien's glare with one of his own, letting D'argo know that if he wanted to yell at her, he would have to go through O'Neill.
"D'argo just fix it before we're all blown to bits!" Rygel snapped, breaking the tension. With an honest to God snarl and shake of his head, D'argo pushed both Jack and Sam toward the back and drew his gun, barking commands. Before Jack could even protest in their defense, a console opened and D'argo inserted his gun like a key. Instantly, the alarm ceased blaring. Complete silence.
"What the hell just happened?!" Jack's voice snapped into the quiet like a whip.
"Your stupid soldier activated the self-destruct sequence!" D'argo snarled back, fire burning in his eyes as he glared at Carter.
"I didn't touch anything!" she protested. "Colonel, I swear, I was only looking."
"Well your 'looking' must have involved your skin because alien DNA is what activates the self-destruct," D'argo shot back. "You can't touch any of the panels in here unless I've spit on you first."
SG-1 stared at him. Jack said the first thing that came to mind. "Eww. That's just gross."
D'argo rubbed a hand over his face, like a tired parent. "Just don't touch anything. And you might want to sit down for takeoff."
Teal'c, Jack, and Sam sat on the floor next to Daniel and the girl. "Please put you seatbacks and tray tables in their - "
"Upright and locked positions," Rygel and D'argo chorused. "Will you just shut up?"
They knew? Jack turned and met his team's equally surprised looks. How could they know? The feeling that something was seriously wrong again wiggled into place at the back of Jack's neck. First, they claimed to have visited Earth, now they *knew* one of the most quoted lines in modern Earth society. But there was no way they could have landed on Earth without the SGC knowing about it. *They* had even said the humans should know about them. Jack could only hope that he hadn't led his team into another trap. He listened with half an ear as Daniel and Carter attempted to ask questions of their alien hosts, but the two, fed up and annoyed, either told them to shut up or ignored them until Sam and Daniel gave up.
With a flick of his head, Jack got their attention. He nodded at their two new friends then at his weapon. Sam and Daniel traded a look then nodded. A glance at Teal'c told Jack all that he needed to know. They would be ready for anything.
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Consciousness fluttered like a butterfly through his head. It was pretty. Lots of colors on a black background. But it was cold. Everything was cold, he realized. John woke. He shivered, the hair on his body rising. "Oh God, not this again," he croaked through dry lips. Slowly, so the light wouldn't hurt too badly, he opened his eyes. Yep, he was naked.
*