Email: Lovellama@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jack meets another side of himself.
Codes: SG-1, Hammond, Fraiser, Original Character, others
Genre: Action
A/N: Much much thanks to Cincoflex for all her help and encouragement and inspiration, and to Mara for taming the wild ellipses that (used to) run rampant in this fic.
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Chapter One
"Welcome back, people," General Hammond rumbled as SG-1 trudged down the ramp, their boots clanging on the grating. The security forces arrayed in front of the Gate relaxed slightly.
"Thank you, sir, good to be back," Sam replied wearily, taking off her cap and running a hand through her tousled hair --they were all hot and sweaty after four days on P3K5186. "The tests we ran are only preliminary, of course, but I think --"
"Uh, sir?" Davis's disembodied voice came over the speaker. "We're getting some strange readings from the Stargate, sir."
"Close the iris," Hammond ordered, when suddenly electrical arcs danced over the Gate. The iris spun, stopping and starting as the energy bolts crackled menacingly.
It was halfway shut when --without warning --a figure dove through the event horizon, tumbling heavily down the ramp. Flipping over to her back, she drew two pistols from under a tac vest and fired back through the gate. The intruder slowly stood up, still firing at some unseen enemy as concrete debris came falling through the Gate, not stopping until the iris shut completely and the pistols were out of bullets, the hammers clicking on empty magazines.
Pausing a moment, the intruder spun, dropping to one knee and reaching inside the vest for another gun. The troops moved forward at this new threat and the figure froze, her brown eyes darting around the room.
"Hold your fire!" Pushing his way through the wall of bodies, Hammond hurried up to the woman, who got to her feet in careful, easy motions. She was tall for her sex, and lean, with long, shaggy graying hair that emphasized high cheekbones.
"Sir?" Confusion and concern laced her clear voice as she continued to take in the Gate room. "Where are we?"
Hammond lifted his chin slightly, a stubborn expression crossing his face. "I have questions of my own before we get to yours. Who are you?"
"Yeah," echoed Jack, materializing next to Hammond. The rest of his team fanned out behind him. "Who are you?"
The woman glanced over at Jack, hissing in her breath when, over his shoulder, she saw Teal'c, and her firm mouth drew into a line. Pulling another gun, she rapidly closed the distance between her and the Jaffa. "I left you dying on Tsugas!" Her voice shook with rage but her gun was steady. "How did you get here?"
"Hey! HEY!!" Jack stepped between her and Teal'c, demanding her attention as the already tense soldiers moved in closer, waiting for Hammond's orders. "Easy!!"
A mild look of puzzlement crossed Teal'c's face. "I have never been to this 'Tsugas'."
"Then everyone you and your damned Serpent Guards wiped out there were just in my head? Siler and Kawalsky are alive and well, not buried six feet under Tsugasan soil?"
Sam edged her way in. "If Teal'c says he's never been there, then he hasn't. Why do you think it was him?"
The woman shot a suspicious glance at Sam, then slowly backed up the ramp. A hard look came into her eyes. "I don't know what you people are trying to pull, but I want answers NOW." She kept her pistol trained on Teal'c through Jack. "If I don't get them, I'm finishing what I started."
Daniel frowned. "You wouldn't get two shots off before they would cut you down. Are you really willing to risk that?"
The woman gave a short laugh. "Ohyasureyoubetcha."
Jack blinked in surprise at the familiar phrase. He studied the woman intently as a chill went up his spine.
Daniel threaded his way to the front of the group. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Where the hell am I?"
"You're on Earth."
"No. I just left Earth, using the Gate to get to P3K5186." The whole time she continued to watch Teal'c.
Baffled comprehension dawned on Sam's face; she whispered something to Hammond, who looked perplexed. "Are you sure?" he asked her.
"It's possible," she answered urgently.
"Carter?" Sam's head jerked up at the command tone as the woman addressed her.
"Alright," Daniel jumped in, sensing the tension going up another notch. "You, ah, just left Earth from a Stargate. Maybe it was another Gate, the Russian one?" He looked hopeful.
"Do I look Russian, Daniel?" she responded at the same time Jack said, "Does she look Russian, Daniel?" No one laughed.
"Well," Throwing an apologetic look at Jack, Daniel turned back to the woman. "You seem to know me, Sam, General Hammond, and of course Teal'c. Anyone else you recognize?"
"Everyone. By name or sight. Except him."
"Him?" Daniel glanced back and forth between the woman and Teal'c. She still stared straight at the Jaffa. "You mean Jack?" He pointed toward the Colonel.
"Yeah. Jack. Never seen him before."
Jack looked affronted. "I think I'm insulted. Should I be insulted?"
Sam and the general whispered rapidly together. "Carter!" the woman called out again, a familiar sarcastic edge to her voice. "It seems that once again you've figured out or have a damned good idea what's going on. Care to share it with the rest of the class?"
Glancing over at Hammond and getting a small nod, Sam spoke up. "We think you're from an alternate universe."
Jack interrupted her before she could continue. "In case you haven't noticed, Carter, that's a Gate, not a quantum mirror."
"I know, sir, but we had a kind of … power surge right after we came back from P3K5186. And she was trying to get to P3K5186; maybe somehow the gates crossed at the quantum level." Sam shrugged, turning to the woman. "Did anything unusual happen at your end?"
"Oh yeah," she replied grimly, her eyes still on Teal'c, her arm still holding up the gun. "I detonated the autodestruct right before I gated."
"That's a two ton thermonuclear bomb," Hammond snapped. "You must have been in a desperate situation."
The woman smiled grimly. "Ours is –was --a five ton. And it certainly was desperate."
Teal'c finally moved, handing Daniel his staff weapon and coming to stand in front of the pistol. "If you are truly from an alternate universe then you have ample cause as to hate me. But know that I have renounced the Goa'uld as false gods, and have worked with SG-1 these past six years, fighting to free my people from the yoke of their oppression."
The woman gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment, then slowly lowered her gun. "I believe you." She turned the pistol upside down and held it out to the nearest soldier.
"You are assigned to the Stargate program in your universe?" Teal'c asked her with a formal courtesy, noticing a familiar looking patch on her uniform.
"What's left of it," she said wryly.
"Ah," Daniel got her attention." "You know us, obviously, could you tell us who you are?"
She finally looked away from Teal'c. "O'Neill. Colonel Joanna O'Neill, commander, ST-1."