Disclaimer: As much as I would love to say "I own Stargate SG-1 and all it's subsidiary's", I would be lying. So I won't say it.
Rating: PG – A little bit of swearing.
Spoilers: Torment of Tantalus, Thor's Chariot,
Authors Note: If anyone is still reading at this point, give me some feedback - I'm starving, here......
Unity Chapter 4 - Glynda
Daniel was walking around, mouth agape, speaking softly every now and then to himself. I could see him going for his note-cassette time and time again, to find it missing. I imagined it was like a lost limb to the archaeologist. I have to admit I was missing the P90 big time right about now. I DO NOT like to explore new worlds unarmed. It's unnatural. Carter and Teal'c were spread out around us, checking out side-corridors and our six. In fact, we were pretty much in our normal routine of new world exploration. Except we were in dress uniform, suits for Teal'c and Daniel, and we had no weapons, no survival gear, and no way home unless Thor was willing to lend us his ship and teach us how to fly it. So not like a normal mission after all, actually.
"Sir, Daniel. I think you might want to see this." Carter called from a side corridor. I followed Danny and leant over to have a look.
"Oh, wow." Danny breathed, hands skimming over the display reverently. I grunted.
"Pretty."
"Jack, this is more than pretty. It's a smaller version of the book Dr Littlefield studied." Daniel chided me absently.
"What book?"
"The one we found when we went looking for Dr Earnest Littlefield, Catherine's fiance. Remember?" Carter jogged my memory.
"Ah. Right." I remember. Kind of. Actually, all I really remember of that mission, aside from almost being killed by falling debris, was Carters' voice, as she dodged the naked doctor who was heading towards her for a hug. It could always make me grin. I watched as Daniel turned the pages with the page turning stone, raptly muttering to himself.
"Daniel?" I poked him in the shoulder, and he looked up, eyes a little unfocused. "We're going to keep exploring. You wanna stay here for a while?" Like that was a question. Let me see, his response to that would be one of three. 'Are you kidding?'; 'You have to ask?' Or my favourite, the blank stare. After a few seconds, I realized I was getting the last. Blank stare in my direction.
"You stay here and read your book, Danny-boy. We'll stay within yelling distance." He nodded absently, head back in the yellow block things that were being displayed.
"This way." I decided, continuing to head down the corridor. Carter and Teal'c followed me. It was only about another thirty meters, when the corridor opened up into another large room. This one looked different, though.
"This isn't the same kind of chamber as the last one, sir." Carter stated the obvious.
"Ya think?" I replied, looking around at the mass of colours. There were what looked like cushions and lounges placed all over the room, at different angles. With that, there were a few small, white tables strategically placed here and there.
"It looks like a post-modernistic lounging room on a large scale, O'Neill." Teal'c said from my left.
"Yes, it does, doesn't it? Shall we?" We all went on a minute exploration of the room, testing the softness of the lounges, which were very soft, and the views out of the window-like material in the walls. This was a hell of a place to 'get comfortable'.
"Teal'c, go and let Daniel know where we are, and that we'll be staying right here for a while." Teal'c nodded and left the room, turning back towards Daniel and his book.
"Sir, look." Carter got my attention, pointing at one of the white tables. I walked over and had a look, but what she was pointing at didn't make much sense to me.
"Sir, I think it's a sustenance area."
"A commissary?"
"Yes, sir. Look, I think these patterns here are requests for food." She touched one softly, and there was a chime, followed by a small white light. A small yellow tablet appeared on the table in front of us.
"Food, huh?" I said dryly.
"Well, that is what the Asgard eat, sir. Thor likes these the best." She scanned the rest of the table, then went to another one, looking closely.
"Carter? I really don't feel like eating yellow tablets." I mentioned to her, and got a small smile in reward.
"I know sir. Neither do I. That's why... Here." She pressed another table, and I groaned in delight.
"Oh." Carter sat back in astonishment. "Sir, I think I found our table." She stared at the roasted meat in surprise, then touched another part of the table, then another. Soon, we had a veritable feast before our eyes. Roast meat, vegetables galore, fruits from all corners of the globe, juice and.... Yes, that's beer sitting in that carafe.
"I'll go get Danny and Teal'c." I announced, then jogged back to the enraptured Doctor.
"Danny, Teal'c. We have food. Let's eat."
"But Jack!" Daniel objected, but I shook my head.
"No, Daniel. You can come back and read later. Food first." He grumbled, did his little objection dance, but followed.
The chicken had been de-fleshed. The fresh fruit and vegetables gorged upon. The juice drunken, and the beer half gone. I was now officially full. And impressed. The Asgard knew how to cook.
"That.... Yum." Carter sighed, sitting back.
"I concur, Lieutenant Colonel Carter." Teal'c agreed.
"Teal'c, just call her Carter, would you?" I pleaded with him. He looked back at me, expressionless, then bowed his head. I didn't believe for a minute that he would obey my order, but I had to try.
"You finished, Danny?" I asked him.
"Almost." He replied, scooping out the last of the seeds of the purple thing he was eating.
"I can't believe you eat the seeds of that thing." Who willingly ate seeds?
"Jack, it's passionfruit. You're supposed to eat the seeds." Daniel said patiently.
"It's wrong, Daniel. Seeds are supposed to stay outside the body."
"Yes, Jack." He placated me. Damn placating. How's a body supposed to have a spirited argument when people placate?
"What did you find in the book, Daniel?" Sam changed the subject.
"Well, it's harder to read when it's condensed like that. They make assumptions that I just don't understand, and it makes translating it harder. Of course, without any text books or writing equipment, it's pretty much impossible. But I can try to remember the sequence of the pages, and perhaps the syntax of the atoms, then I may have some hope of translating the text when we get home."
"Did you get all the pages with your camcorder when you were with Earnest?"
"I thought I did, Sam. But I've found at least three that I missed. I know those pages pretty well by now. What they look like, anyway. And I've found three so far that I just don't recognize. It could be that they were added later, or that I just skipped past them. I wish I knew. It could add critical information to the translation."
"Ask Thor." I offered.
"Do you really think that he would tell us the translation of the book? Us?" Daniel's eyebrow's raised past his glasses.
"Well... No. He still thinks we're too young. But you never know unless you try, right?"
"Yes, Jack. Do you mind?" He rose, and I nodded. Like a little boy at Christmas, he jogged out of the room to go and play with his new toy. There are days when Danny reminds me a hell of a lot of Charlie.
"So, what are we to do, while we wait for our host?" I sat back on my cushion, holding my head up with my hands.
"More exploring, sir?"
"As tempting as that sounds, Carter, I don't think so. We have no radio's, no supplies, no weapons. And there is no way we'll be able to drag Daniel away from that book any time soon. I have a feeling we're gonna be stuck here for a while."
"In a normal situation such as this, I would perform Kel'noreem. However, I believe that I can not perform that function for at least another 75 hours."
"All Kel'noo'd out, huh, Teal'c?" I smirked. He bowed his head, then stood up.
"I believe I will see if Dr Jackson requires my assistance. I will stay with him to ensure his safety." With that pointed statement, the big Jaffa left. I was suddenly conscious that Carter and I were alone. A snatch of conversation we'd all had on the way here suddenly replayed itself in my mind.
'So, how long could this journey be taking, Earth wise?' I'd asked her
'Sir, there's just no way of knowing. Not unless we get a point of reference from the stars, so I can calibrate the shift in their position. But even then, we could be so far away the shift could be un-noticable. The only way we'll know is when we get back, and find out how much time has passed.'
'That's not good enough, Carter.'
'I'm sorry, Sir. But that's the way it is.'
The memory gave me an idea.
"Carter, can I ask you a question?"
"No sir, you can't get Fox Sports out here." She replied, tongue in cheek.
"Ha, ha. I was just thinking about the time's we've talked to the Asgard through their talking thing."
"The image projection device, you mean?"
"Yes." At least, I guessed it was. "If, and I mean IF we managed to stumble across one around here somewhere, could you jury-rig it so that we could talk to earth?" I looked at Carter, who was thinking…. Thoughtfully.
"Sir, much as I'd like to say yes, I can't. The devices aren't like a telephone or the Stargate. They're a fixed point of reference, directional. And it works backwards. The protected call the Asgard, not the other way round." Damn. It was a good idea, even if it didn't work, right? I stood up and went over the glass stuff and looked out over the valley in front of me. It was big, sweeping and orange. The plants, the grass. All orange. One of the more colourful worlds we'd visited, for sure.
"But." I heard Carter say out loud.
"But what, Colonel?" I asked in response, turning my back on the orange trees.
"Well, what if I could reverse the call procedure. Sure, we'd still only be able to talk to the protected planet, but I think SG18 is still working with the Cimmerians. At least, they were when we left, a few days ago."
"So?" I walked forward, intent and silent as she thought it through.
"So, I may be able to talk to Major Walker, sir. But first, we need to find a control panel." I thumped her shoulder in silent delight, and trotted out to get Teal'c.
"You stay here, okay, Daniel?" I repeated for the third time.
"I'm not moving, Jack. I promise." He assured me patiently. I may be obsessed, but Daniel had gotten hurt too often for me to take anything easy when it came to his safety. Hammond would personally flay me if I let the man get hurt again. I know, because he promised me he would.
"We'll try not to wander too far from you, but you may need to-"
"Jack!" Daniel cut me off with a snap. "Go, find the control panel. I'll be fine."
"Right. Stay here." I instructed him, then followed Carter and Teal'c down the main corridor.
"What is the object we are looking for likely to look like, Carter?" Teal'c asked. Amazement had both Carter and I frozen in our tracks. Teal'c had called Carter 'Carter'. Not Captain Carter. Not Major Carter or even Colonel Carter. Just …Carter.
"Ah…. Very much like the control panel that Jack used a few years ago, when we first met the Replicators on Thor's ship. It could be hidden, or it could be displayed in a large chamber, like the control deck of the Asgard ships." She told Teal'c, walking around another corner and into a large chamber. Did she just call me Jack? I was distracted briefly, then saw something from the corner of my eye.
"Or it could be this, right here." I smirked.
"Yes. It could be this right here, Sir. More than likely it is this." We all walked forward and Teal'c and I watched as Carter began playing with the Asgard stone-thing that controlled all their information panels.
"Well, Carter?"
"In a second, sir. Just… let me…. There." A beam lit up in the centre of the room, highlighting a lighter circle that was painted onto the floor.
"Right. I'll just go look, shall I?" I asked, then stepped into the light. After a second of spotlight blindness, I saw the chamber in Cimerria that Thor had set up as a congregational meeting place. There was no one in the chamber, but the sun was shining into through the large, stained glass windows. I heard a noise and turned.
"Ah! Good. It's General Jack O'Neill here. Can you please go and get Major Walker of SG18 and bring her here as quickly as possible?" The native Cimmerian blanched slightly when I started talking, but nodded and scampered out of the chamber.
"Walker wasn't there, but someone's gone to get her." I told the other two.
"We heard, sir. We can't see what you're seeing, but we can hear everything." Well that made everything a hell of a lot easier.
"Good." I replied, then started studying the changes the Cimmerian's had made to Thor's Chamber. A few benches around the outside of the chamber, and some pretty paint decorated the floor. Other than that, it was fairly bare. Several minutes later, Walker came running into the chamber, followed by the rest of her team.
"General!" She burst out, stunned. She skidded to a halt, eyes gone wide.
"Hi, Major. How's it going?" I waved at her, grinning.
"You're alive!" Damn. That didn't bode well.
"Sir! General Hammond …… Where are you?" Walker's Captain asked when he saw his CO was speechless.
"We're on the Asgard home world. Thor took us on a little trip."
"The Asgard…. Where the hell is that? Why haven't you contacted us sooner? Does General Hammond know?"
"Major." I stopped her questions. "I have a question, first. How long has it been since we left Earth?"
"How long? Sir, you've been missing for over 6 months!" She sounded exasperated.
"Six months!?" I heard Carter exclaim behind me. I agreed with her.
"Major, we've been traveling for less than a week. We can't have been gone for six months."
"General, the last time any of us saw you was at the briefing of the White House Press six months ago. You all disappeared from the green room minutes later." The Captain, I think his name was Kusleszki, said.
"Damn. Look, I need to talk with General Hammond asap. How long will it take you to get back to the gate, and get him here? We can't communicate any other way right now."
"Ah. Give me half an hour, sir." Walker looked at Kusleszki, and he nodded and ran through the chamber entry, fumbling in his pocket for the GDO as he went.
"Half an hour? But the Gate is miles away."
"A lot has happened in the last six months, sir. We have teleporters now, and installed them on Cimmeria just last week."
"Teleporters?" Carter piped up, and then shoved me out of the highlighted circle.
"You could have asked, Colonel." I grumbled and went over to stand beside Teal'c.
"Glynda? Where did you get the teleporters from?" Carter asked breathlessly. "How do they work? Has David managed to backwards engineer them? Can we make our own? What do they run on?" David? Who the hell was this David guy? I looked at Teal'c in demand, but he just raised an eyebrow in question at my glance, and then ignored me.
"Ease up, Sam." I heard the Major, Glynda, laugh. They were obviously friends. Maybe David was a friend of Glynda's? "We, or rather, SG2, found a civilisation about four months ago, that was about as advanced as ours. They'd managed to control particle manipulation about 80 years ago, and created the tele-porters we use now."
"What did we give in return?" I asked, and Carter repeated it.
"It's wasn't anything too difficult. Their medical advancements weren't as sophisticated as ours. We gave them Penicillin, which didn't grow on their planet, and some of the new pressured hypo's."
"That's it?" Carter exclaimed.
"Pretty much. A few exotic fruits, apples, oranges…" I heard her smile, even from outside the light.
"So, how does it work?" Carter got back to her favourite subject. I tuned out. If it worked, and I didn't get to the other side inside out or back to front, I was happy. Forty minutes later, Carter called me over.
"The Stargate's just been activated again, Sir." She said, stepping out of the ring of light. I stepped back in and turned to watch the chamber entrance. Homer – Sorry, Hammond came trotting in, his face pale and clammy, but I saw a smidgen of hope flickering through the skepticism that laced his features.
"Hey, George." I called, waving at him. He stopped, stared, then walked forward, staring at me in shock.
"My God." He breathed, his face flushing with colour.
"Nope, just me. And Carter, Teal'c and Daniel are around here somewhere, too."
"What the hell happened to you, Jack?" Hammond demanded, looking as though he were torn between knocking me flat and grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me.
"Nothing. Well, not much, anyway. Thor decided that he needed our help in another part of the universe."
"Just what exactly, do you mean, General?" He said in his most reasonable 'I'm running out of patience' tone of voice.
"Thor boosted us from the green room of the White House just after our briefing, sir." I decided to report. "We've been on his ship for the last four days, and he wouldn't let us contact anyone to let you know we were alright. Something about inter-stellar communication and travel distances…. I don't know, ask Carter. Anyway, we arrived on the Asgard home planet and met the Big Wigs, and they all argued about helping us and then we got beamed to Thor's house…. Palace. Honking great big place."
"You're on the Asgard home planet." Hammond repeated the critical part of my report in monotone.
"Yes sir."
"And where is that exactly?"
"We have no idea sir. But it's a long way from home. If you talk to Siler, he can explain the time variance, I'm sure." 'He' being the tech sergeant of the decade, in my mind.
"I can't do that, Jack."
"It's not that hard." I replied sarcastically. "Just go up to Siler and say 'Sergeant. Why would it take four days to travel to the Asgard world, but six months would pass on Earth?'. See, easy."
"Jack, Sergeant Siler died two months ago, on a mission to PX9 840."
"Shit." I closed my eyes, feeling my gut twist. I heard Carter exclaim softly behind me, and sympathised. Siler was a good friend of hers.
"Sorry, General. I had no idea."
"Of course you didn't, Jack. It's alright. It was quick. And we gave him a nice funeral."
"You found the body?" I was surprised. In SGC deaths, the bodies were almost always irretrievable.
"Yes. What do the Asgard want, Jack?" Hammond steered away from the tough subject, back to firmer, more familiar ground.
"We think that Thor and a few others are having problems convincing the rest of the Asgard about how much of a threat the Goa'uld actually are to the rest of the universe. One guy in particular, Loki, is a real nice guy. Have him round to dinner any time. I figure Thor brought us here to convince them the Goa'uld are serious."
"What about the Protected Planets' Treaty that we signed several years ago?"
"I have no idea, but my guess is it was only a few Asgard that uphold that treaty. Thor. Freyr. A few others. Not all of them." I spared a glance outside of the light, to see Teal'c heading out the door, back towards Daniel. Sam motioned with her head, and I nodded in response.
"Sir, we gotta go. But I need to stay in contact with you guys. See if this time distortion thingy is still working. Can you leave someone on Cimmeria for us?"
"Not a problem, Jack. We'll have SG18 stay here until you're ready to come home. Contact every six hours, General."
"Yes, sir." I replied, and stepped out of the light, nodding at Carter to turn it off. She moved the stone, then stood still, head bowed.
"You okay, Sam?" I asked, stepping over to her. She sniffed, then nodded.
"Yes sir. It was just… unexpected news, that's all."
"I know. He was a good man." I shifted, then stepped one step closer, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Colonel. Time to go do our job."
"Sir." She acknowledged, and walked out of the room. I followed, thinking to myself that sometimes military training can help. It was helping Sam right now, letting her squash her grief in duty. I knew – who better? – that the grief would return, but only when the job was done, and everyone was safe. I made a promise to myself to be there to help her through it.