Sam shot upright in her bed instantly, swallowing dryly, and reaching
for her bottle of water. She found it quickly, and upon flicking on her
lamp, removed the cap, and took a large gulp to moisten her throat.
She looked around in a worried daze. It had all seemed so real... but none of it could be. It was too unbelievable.
She was dead. O'Neill had seen to that. There was no way anyone, not even a Goa'uld, could survive liquid nitrogen.
After another moment of sitting in her bed, she threw off the covers, and stood from the mattress, donning her overshirt and boots quickly. She needed to do some work, or at least get some coffee... to help clear her head.
Walking to the door, and turning off her bedside lamp, she left her room, setting off for the mess hall.
Sam strode through the quiet corridors for what had to be five minutes maximum before entering the large mess hall. Officers and technicians were dotted about here and there, enjoying a late night snack or mug of warm coffee.
Her eyes travelled over to a figure seated alone, a bandage on his left arm. He quietly ate a portion of jello, staring at the dessert as he chewed.
Sam moved to the coffee machine, and poured herself a mug-full. With that, mug in hand, she crossed to Jonas, who seemingly hadn't noticed her approaching.
"Hey, Jonas," she greeted him quietly.
He looked up at her with his dark green eyes, and gave her a wan smile, pensive written all over his face.
"Hi. It's kinda late. Didn't you say you were gonna call it a night?" he pondered, cocking his head to one side ever so slightly in a curious gesture of inquiry.
She seated herself opposite him, and nodded in acknowledgement of his question. "Yeah."
"But..." he knew there was something she wanted to add. He could see it in her expression.
She looked at him quizzically, and almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "I had a nightmare," she confessed.
This instantly had Jonas intrigued, and he set the jello aside, despite its appeal to the Kelownan. He looked at her, his eyes searching hers for answers. She could tell he was dying to know. Jonas was like a magnet for new information. If there was something new to learn, he was there, ready and waiting, eager to soak up all he could.
Reluctantly, she began to digress the details of her nightmare to the alien.
"It was weird. I was just minding my own business," she looked down at her mug, "drinking my coffee..." her gaze floated to him, "and you were there... eating jello." She stared at the dessert.
Jonas sat back, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Okay," he started in a mumbling tone before increasing in volume the more confident he became with his comment, "this is too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"
Sam nodded slowly, taking it all in as it came to her. Jonas had had a point about his encounter with the room filled with spiders, mere hours after dreaming about such an incident.
There had to be something going on here.
"And what happened next?" Jonas asked of her, leaning forward on the table to be nearer to her, so that his voice didn't carry across the entire mess hall to the other occupants. He didn't want them to hear the conversation apparently.
Looking around in concern, she replied slowly and surely, "Hathor appeared... out of nowhere. She came into the room, and started letting off energy blasts."
"Was anyone hurt?" Jonas demanded politely, but desperately, starting to stand from the table. This was a matter of concern to him, whether or not the coincidences were something to truly worry about or not.
Before Sam could reply, the door burst inwards, flying off its hinges, causing Jonas to start violently.
A scream filled the air, and Sam turned in her chair, everything seeming to slow as her eyes met the glowing golden gaze of a red-haired woman, clad in robes, a metal device swirled around her hand, a pulsating orb in the centre of her palm. She smiled wickedly at Sam, raising her hand.
"Jonas!" Sam cried, "Get down!"
The pulse shot across the room, striking Jonas before he could hit the deck, sending him flying back hard into the wall. He fell to the floor unconscious.
Sam ran to him, covering him with her own body as Hathor entered the room, tossing an airman aside like he was nothing more than a pesky insect.
Jonas stirred slightly, but did not awaken.
Good, at least he was alive.
"You're dead," Sam growled at the Goa'uld, even as the eyes glowed gold once again.
Somebody had struck the alarm, and a red light flashed in the room, creating an eerie pulsating atmosphere that made Sam's heart race with fear.
She felt Jonas' pulse, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on Hathor's actions... if this truly was Hathor.
It couldn't be... this had been just how her dream... no, nightmare, had turned out. Except, Jonas had been killed instantly. But the Kelownan was still alive. Sam was grateful for that inconsistency.
The deep voice of Hathor filled the air, and she seemed to purr as she talked, "How can I be dead if I stand before you now? You will pay for what you have done to me... and I will start with him." She looked down with a cold gaze at the prone form of Jonas.
Sam stood, blocking the female Goa'uld from her friend, who laid breathing shallowly on the floor behind her.
"Get away from him. He hasn't done anything to you. If you want revenge, start with me... leave him out of this." She waved a hand in his general direction.
Hathor laughed a deep, throaty laugh, and raised a hand.
Sam closed her eyes, waiting for the searing pain to begin, just as she heard the crashing of booted feet entering the room.
She opened her eyes again, and looked around instantly in every direction.
Hathor was gone.
Jack and Teal'c, along with Hammond and Fraiser ran into the room after the heavily armed officers. They lowered their weapons at Sam's word. She crouched down to Jonas again, who still lay unconscious.
She laid a hand on his back gently, looking up at the others.
They came over to her swiftly, Fraiser kneeling down, even in her skirt. Right now, she did not care for such trivial things... she had a patient.
"Is he alive?" O'Neill asked openly when everyone else remained silent.
"Yes, but I'll need to get him down to the infirmary. What on earth happened here?" Fraiser said, looking Sam in the eye, even as Teal'c moved off to retrieve aid.
Sam shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure." She hesitated, looking her superiors in the eye. Would they think she was crazy? "But Hathor was here, sir."
O'Neill was immediately on the alert. "No... no, no, I killed her. She's dead."
"Well she was here, sir," another hesitation, "just like in my nightmare."
* * *
Awaking with a groan of pain, he opened his eyes to be greeted with Sam's concerned face, sitting by his bedside.
Jonas looked around, on the alert. He, like Sam, had seen the Goa'uld enter the room, and had most definitely felt the blast from the hand device.
"Where is she?" he moaned, rubbing the back of his neck, and sitting up. Three visits to the infirmary within fourty-eight hours... not much of an achievement.
Sam sighed audibly. "She just vanished. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when the cavalry arrived... she was gone."
She didn't seem to go for her own explanation much, and Jonas wasn't surprised. People -least of all Goa'uld- didn't just vanish into thin air.
"That's not possible. I mean, she was real, right?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Maybe we just imagined it."
Jonas tilted his head considerably. "I know I didn't imagine being thrown across the room by her hand device. That was real."
Sam groaned in confusion, letting her head fall to the soft mattress for a moment, before she mumbled, "I have no idea what's going on here."
Jonas pondered this for a moment, before inhaling slowly, and offering, "Maybe it was holotechnology."
Sam looked up then, her gaze meeting his, the two scientists sharing a thought for a brief moment. "Holograms?" She bit her lip gently. "But that still doesn't offer any explanation as to how you were thrown across the room. A real blast would have had to come from somewhere."
"Yeah," Jonas agreed, shifting to make himself less uncomfortable. He settled for lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, "but if it is holograms, and that blast was real, then where did it all come from, and who's controlling it? They would have had to come up with some pretty impressive technology to allow for a projection to release blasts like that." He paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "Aren't Goa'uld hand devices supposed to be a lot more... fatal?"
Sam narrowed a single eye in response, and replied, "Not always. It all depends on the intent of the bearer, but if it had been Hathor, then she really would have intended to kill you, not just knock you out."
Jonas rolled over, placing his hands over his eyes, and rubbing them irritably. "There are too many questions here, and not enough answers to go round."
He looked back over at Sam as she said, "I think we need to go back to that planet, and find out what happened to us before all of this started. It might give us something to work with."
Jonas nodded. "Good idea. That could work."
After receiving approval from Dr. Fraiser to leave the infirmary, Sam and Jonas headed for General Hammond's office.
She looked around in a worried daze. It had all seemed so real... but none of it could be. It was too unbelievable.
She was dead. O'Neill had seen to that. There was no way anyone, not even a Goa'uld, could survive liquid nitrogen.
After another moment of sitting in her bed, she threw off the covers, and stood from the mattress, donning her overshirt and boots quickly. She needed to do some work, or at least get some coffee... to help clear her head.
Walking to the door, and turning off her bedside lamp, she left her room, setting off for the mess hall.
Sam strode through the quiet corridors for what had to be five minutes maximum before entering the large mess hall. Officers and technicians were dotted about here and there, enjoying a late night snack or mug of warm coffee.
Her eyes travelled over to a figure seated alone, a bandage on his left arm. He quietly ate a portion of jello, staring at the dessert as he chewed.
Sam moved to the coffee machine, and poured herself a mug-full. With that, mug in hand, she crossed to Jonas, who seemingly hadn't noticed her approaching.
"Hey, Jonas," she greeted him quietly.
He looked up at her with his dark green eyes, and gave her a wan smile, pensive written all over his face.
"Hi. It's kinda late. Didn't you say you were gonna call it a night?" he pondered, cocking his head to one side ever so slightly in a curious gesture of inquiry.
She seated herself opposite him, and nodded in acknowledgement of his question. "Yeah."
"But..." he knew there was something she wanted to add. He could see it in her expression.
She looked at him quizzically, and almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "I had a nightmare," she confessed.
This instantly had Jonas intrigued, and he set the jello aside, despite its appeal to the Kelownan. He looked at her, his eyes searching hers for answers. She could tell he was dying to know. Jonas was like a magnet for new information. If there was something new to learn, he was there, ready and waiting, eager to soak up all he could.
Reluctantly, she began to digress the details of her nightmare to the alien.
"It was weird. I was just minding my own business," she looked down at her mug, "drinking my coffee..." her gaze floated to him, "and you were there... eating jello." She stared at the dessert.
Jonas sat back, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Okay," he started in a mumbling tone before increasing in volume the more confident he became with his comment, "this is too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"
Sam nodded slowly, taking it all in as it came to her. Jonas had had a point about his encounter with the room filled with spiders, mere hours after dreaming about such an incident.
There had to be something going on here.
"And what happened next?" Jonas asked of her, leaning forward on the table to be nearer to her, so that his voice didn't carry across the entire mess hall to the other occupants. He didn't want them to hear the conversation apparently.
Looking around in concern, she replied slowly and surely, "Hathor appeared... out of nowhere. She came into the room, and started letting off energy blasts."
"Was anyone hurt?" Jonas demanded politely, but desperately, starting to stand from the table. This was a matter of concern to him, whether or not the coincidences were something to truly worry about or not.
Before Sam could reply, the door burst inwards, flying off its hinges, causing Jonas to start violently.
A scream filled the air, and Sam turned in her chair, everything seeming to slow as her eyes met the glowing golden gaze of a red-haired woman, clad in robes, a metal device swirled around her hand, a pulsating orb in the centre of her palm. She smiled wickedly at Sam, raising her hand.
"Jonas!" Sam cried, "Get down!"
The pulse shot across the room, striking Jonas before he could hit the deck, sending him flying back hard into the wall. He fell to the floor unconscious.
Sam ran to him, covering him with her own body as Hathor entered the room, tossing an airman aside like he was nothing more than a pesky insect.
Jonas stirred slightly, but did not awaken.
Good, at least he was alive.
"You're dead," Sam growled at the Goa'uld, even as the eyes glowed gold once again.
Somebody had struck the alarm, and a red light flashed in the room, creating an eerie pulsating atmosphere that made Sam's heart race with fear.
She felt Jonas' pulse, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on Hathor's actions... if this truly was Hathor.
It couldn't be... this had been just how her dream... no, nightmare, had turned out. Except, Jonas had been killed instantly. But the Kelownan was still alive. Sam was grateful for that inconsistency.
The deep voice of Hathor filled the air, and she seemed to purr as she talked, "How can I be dead if I stand before you now? You will pay for what you have done to me... and I will start with him." She looked down with a cold gaze at the prone form of Jonas.
Sam stood, blocking the female Goa'uld from her friend, who laid breathing shallowly on the floor behind her.
"Get away from him. He hasn't done anything to you. If you want revenge, start with me... leave him out of this." She waved a hand in his general direction.
Hathor laughed a deep, throaty laugh, and raised a hand.
Sam closed her eyes, waiting for the searing pain to begin, just as she heard the crashing of booted feet entering the room.
She opened her eyes again, and looked around instantly in every direction.
Hathor was gone.
Jack and Teal'c, along with Hammond and Fraiser ran into the room after the heavily armed officers. They lowered their weapons at Sam's word. She crouched down to Jonas again, who still lay unconscious.
She laid a hand on his back gently, looking up at the others.
They came over to her swiftly, Fraiser kneeling down, even in her skirt. Right now, she did not care for such trivial things... she had a patient.
"Is he alive?" O'Neill asked openly when everyone else remained silent.
"Yes, but I'll need to get him down to the infirmary. What on earth happened here?" Fraiser said, looking Sam in the eye, even as Teal'c moved off to retrieve aid.
Sam shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure." She hesitated, looking her superiors in the eye. Would they think she was crazy? "But Hathor was here, sir."
O'Neill was immediately on the alert. "No... no, no, I killed her. She's dead."
"Well she was here, sir," another hesitation, "just like in my nightmare."
* * *
Awaking with a groan of pain, he opened his eyes to be greeted with Sam's concerned face, sitting by his bedside.
Jonas looked around, on the alert. He, like Sam, had seen the Goa'uld enter the room, and had most definitely felt the blast from the hand device.
"Where is she?" he moaned, rubbing the back of his neck, and sitting up. Three visits to the infirmary within fourty-eight hours... not much of an achievement.
Sam sighed audibly. "She just vanished. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when the cavalry arrived... she was gone."
She didn't seem to go for her own explanation much, and Jonas wasn't surprised. People -least of all Goa'uld- didn't just vanish into thin air.
"That's not possible. I mean, she was real, right?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Maybe we just imagined it."
Jonas tilted his head considerably. "I know I didn't imagine being thrown across the room by her hand device. That was real."
Sam groaned in confusion, letting her head fall to the soft mattress for a moment, before she mumbled, "I have no idea what's going on here."
Jonas pondered this for a moment, before inhaling slowly, and offering, "Maybe it was holotechnology."
Sam looked up then, her gaze meeting his, the two scientists sharing a thought for a brief moment. "Holograms?" She bit her lip gently. "But that still doesn't offer any explanation as to how you were thrown across the room. A real blast would have had to come from somewhere."
"Yeah," Jonas agreed, shifting to make himself less uncomfortable. He settled for lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, "but if it is holograms, and that blast was real, then where did it all come from, and who's controlling it? They would have had to come up with some pretty impressive technology to allow for a projection to release blasts like that." He paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "Aren't Goa'uld hand devices supposed to be a lot more... fatal?"
Sam narrowed a single eye in response, and replied, "Not always. It all depends on the intent of the bearer, but if it had been Hathor, then she really would have intended to kill you, not just knock you out."
Jonas rolled over, placing his hands over his eyes, and rubbing them irritably. "There are too many questions here, and not enough answers to go round."
He looked back over at Sam as she said, "I think we need to go back to that planet, and find out what happened to us before all of this started. It might give us something to work with."
Jonas nodded. "Good idea. That could work."
After receiving approval from Dr. Fraiser to leave the infirmary, Sam and Jonas headed for General Hammond's office.