Disclaimer: As usual, the characters and settings do not belong to us and we will try to do justice to their creators.
This is my translation of a fanfic written in French with my friend Marion and this is our first stargate fanfic, so please be indulgent…
We are eager for your comments, you can contact us at marion.c@frisoo.freesurf.fr and the_amyrlin_seat@mailcity.com.
A/N: A great thanks to the people who took time to review part 3. As promised, part 4 is posted before the end of the year J. Don't hesitate to tell me how you like the end of the story. Did we manage to keep everyone in character?
The action takes place sometime during season 5 (so Daniel is not « dead » yet).
Chapter 13During that time, on Earth, in the SGC, General Hammond was pacing in the control room. In front of him the sergeant was sitting at the control panel and waiting for his orders. He turned to face his commanding officer.
"Sir, it's been over three hours since we should have heard of them."
"I know sergeant. I know." General Hammond sighed. SG1 was really very late and according to the regulations, their code should have been deactivated three hours before, but he had waited. This was not the first time Colonel O'Neill and his team did not exactly abide by the rules; he was still hoping he would receive a transmission or a signal that could prove SG1 was still alive but the gate remained closed.
"Deactivate SG1's code."
"Wait, Sir, you can't do that! They won't be able to come back! And if they try the iris will stay in place and…" Dr Frasier could not end that sentence, thinking of her friends disintegrated in the vortex of the stargate.
"Doctor, I don't have a choice. I have already waited much longer than I should have. Don't worry, SG1 will find a way home," And he added in a whisper "at least I hope."
He turned back to the sergeant who was still waiting for his orders. "Go ahead."
The sergeant pressed some commands and answered a few seconds later.
"Code deactivated."
At the same time, on Suban, SG1 and their friends were far from these considerations. They had made silence and were looking at Daniel with insistence.
"Explain yourself."
"From here, with so little light, some signs can't be read and the rest of the text becomes understandable." Daniel answered enthusiastically. "Why haven't I thought about this earlier?"
"Daniel! The way out?"
"Oh, yes. So the text isn't very long and according to my knowledge we could translate it with: there is no pyramid."
"How so? There is no pyramid? So were do you think we are?"
"Jack, don't be upset, I am only translating the text," Daniel answered as he stood up.
He was instantly imitated by Hulkin.
"Sorry, but I'm tired to play hide and seek in this damn corridor!"
"What do you think it means?" Selmak asked calmly.
"I don't have a clue, but the answer can't be far. Maybe on one of these columns," Daniel said, pointing to the few columns that surrounded the one he was standing in front of.
They decided to examine the two columns that were the closest and the wall behind them. They formed three teams of two: Selmak and Daniel were to inspect the wall, Garik and Hulkin the column on the left and Kaleb and Nolbe the column on the right.
During that time, Teal'c was standing watch, more cautious than ever with every detail, their previous encounter with the Jaffa had taught them that their precautions were not futile. The Colonel O'Neill sat by Sam and looked at her strap, it was starting to be covered with blood.
"Hold on, we are going home soon."
"I know," Sam said with a tentative smile in response to the attempt at comfort from Jack.
Half an hour later, the teams had not made any obvious progress when Jack asked for news.
"You should think about hurrying," he said to Daniel, looking at Sam.
"I know Jack, but I can assure you that we're doing as fast as we can."
Sam was indeed looking paler and paler by the minute, her strap was by now completely covered in blood and she was having trouble to keep her eyes open.
Daniel was exasperated, he knew the answer was under his nose but he could not see it; the text on the wall bore no reference to the inscription they had translated earlier or to a way out. He turned back to the column and scrutinized the text again to check if they had not missed something important. He sighed and was drawing away when a feature got his attention.
"Jacob, could you come over here please?"
"You have found something?"
"That sign, there, just below the inscription, the one that's almost entirely erased, can you translate it?"
"No, but I don't see it clearly, if I could wipe out some of the dust that covers it…" Speaking of it, he passed his hand over the inscription.
At that moment, the symbols went down inside the stone. The ground started to shake, so did the columns and the walls. A strange sound startled them and made them turn to their right, they noted with surprise that the corridor was no longer a straight line but was making a turn after a few meters.
"The EM fields must be down," Sam commented as she awoke from her torpor.
She was about to go on when she was interrupted by a thunderous noise originating from the ceiling. They raised their heads and noticed the sun making an appearance, the walls disappearing little by little, in a way that reminded them of the Tok'ra galleries.
A few minutes later, the walls and the columns were just above their heads.
"Jack, we should get ready for any eventuality," Jacob warned.
The Colonel O'Neill was helping Sam to stand up and looked at him questioningly.
"We have just freed every single person who was prisoner of the pyramid, friend or foe."
Chapter 14They exchanged worried looks, wondering what was going to happen now, half relieved to be probably able to go home. They looked around. The walls were at that point about fifty centimeters high. The Tok'ra, Teal'c and Daniel formed a circle around Hulkin, Jack and Sam who was supported by her commanding officer, to be prepared for any prospect. All were waiting with some impatience for the walls to end their sliding down, as they could reveal at any moment another group of Jaffas or other enemies. They were on the center of what had been the pyramid. They could now see it had a square base with a 500 meters side. They saw a little farther away the bodies of the Jaffas they had met earlier that day. Nothing was stirring there.
The walls met the ground at last but the floor didn't disappear. They were now standing on a great stone platform. Nothing was moving around them.
"I don't know about you but I look very much forward to go back to Earth and now that's possible, I won't deny myself my wish!" Jack stated as he began to move away.
Sam, who had looked at her GPS, signaled the direction to take. Hulkin stopped them.
"I would like to find the corpses of my companions."
"Hey, I hope you don't intend to bring them back. You can come back later to do that!" Jack groaned after shooting a worried look in the direction of Major Carter.
"I only want to bring back something to prove their deaths. But I would understand if you did not wish to help me…"
"Sir, I'm okay, let's help him…" Sam said in a low voice.
Hulkin searched the surface quickly. After five minutes, he found what he was looking for next to a side of the pyramid. He bent down to his previous travel companions and fetched the medallions each of them was wearing around his neck. They all watched him mourn. At last, he stood up and was ready to leave when something shiny got his attention. He closed up and kneeled to pick up some sort of a tablet which seemed to be made of the same stone as the floor but was very light. Daniel walked to him and looked over his shoulder. After a few minutes reading, he raised his head and looked at the others.
"That's incredible!"
"What now? Do I have to remind you we want to go home?"
"What's written here, it's… it's simply amazing!"
"Are you going to explain yourself or do I have to torture you?"
Daniel had laid the tablet on the ground and pulled out a camera. While he was taking pictures of the artifact under varied angles, Jacob had come to him and was watching what was written.
"You're right, it's simply unbelievable! I didn't see anybody after the pyramid had vanished, did you?"
"Nobody has seen anything, dad. What is this about?"
"Well, it's written: "You have defeated the pyramid that exist and will exist beyond time. Congratulations to you nine. And make sure your people stay friends and continue to fight the Goa'ulds." Next comes the whole text we have tried to translate during our stay here! It's weird, it's like somebody had watched us during our exploration and had engraved that text just for us!"
Sam, who was still leaning on Jack, had a weak movement.
"Oh, Major, don't give up on us! Daniel, I'm sure this is wonderful but I think we really have to go back now. You will have time to translate this in you favorite lab."
Nobody had anything to add and the journey back to the stargate began. Sam was feeling worse and worse and slowed them considerably.
After twenty minutes of walking and since there were a few trees nearby, they decided to halt. Jack and Nolbe took the opportunity to build up a handmade stretch while Jacob and Daniel were watching over the wounded. They were able to resume their course, with Sam saving her breath since she was lying down. An hour later, they were standing in front of the gate.
Hulkin was the first to go home, after goodbyes, address exchanges and promises to see each other again. Daniel was standing by the DHD and was starting to input the coordinates for Earth when Teal'c interrupted him.
"We can't go back like that, Daniel Jackson. We are six hours late…"
SG1 then remembered the warning the General had given them.
"The 24 hours… And I can't see the MALP anymore," Daniel said in a whisper.
"Another mystery," Jack added exasperated.
"You can't come with us but you can stay here while we go and get the Tok'ra code," Selmak proposed.
"Sam may not be able to hold up until your return. You have to take her with you to treat her."
"We can't bring anyone without the agreement of the Tok'ra council, Colonel," Garik explained.
"I don't care what they think! You are going to take the Major with you, treat her and then come back for us! That's the least you can do after what we did for you. And that's your daughter we are speaking of Jacob! You can't leave her in that state!"
"He's right. Let's go!" Jacob said after a few minutes of consideration. He motioned for his two companions to take up the stretch while he was entering the coordinates.
After a last look to the remaining members of SG1, the Tok'ra went through the gate with Sam.
Chapter 15Jack, Daniel and Teal'c watched their friends walk through the gate one by one. The vortex closed a few minutes later and the remaining members of SG1 gathered their belongings and sat on the grass in front of the DHD.
Daniel was still reading the tablet with a fascination that annoyed Colonel O'Neill a great deal and Teal'c was watching Jack's frustration with a knowing smile.
"I don't get what you can find so interesting in that tablet."
"Hum?" Daniel raised his head to look at Jack questioningly.
"Forget it." Jack sighed.
Daniel looked at Teal'c who made a sign to indicate that he did not know what this was about, nodded and went back to his examination of the artifact.
One hour later, the night was beginning to fall and the archeologist took a torch in his pack to continue his reading.
At that moment Jack stood up and let his exasperation explode.
"It's been an hour since they went ! What can they be doing? We are not going to wait for them for days!" he said, not addressing one of his companions.
"I'm sure that Major Carter is all right and that the Tok'ra are taking great care of her, O'Neill."
"Of course, of course." The Colonel sat back and started to look in his pack for something to have for diner.
At the same moment, on the Tok'ra base, Selmak and Garik were bent over a stretch where Sam laid unconscious.
"She has lost a lot of blood."
"I know, but with what we gave her, her bone marrow should be able to regenerate the lost elements quickly."
"The council only allowed us a few hours, time for her to be stable enough to go back to Earth."
"Don't worry, she is robust."
On Suban, the members of SG1 were enjoying a frugal meal composed mostly of vitamin bars the Colonel had managed to find in his pack.
Suddenly, the ring of the stargate started to turn and the chevrons to lock.
Jack and Teal'c stood and took the weapons they had placed not far away.
Daniel followed them a few seconds later, after he had put away the precious tablet. All waited anxiously for the vortex to open and let pass their Tok'ra friends along with Major Carter.
But when the vortex finally opened, Hulkin was the one to walk through the gate.
He was out of breath and was looking behind him as if to be sure nobody had followed him. His clothes were torn and they could see many scratches on his face and arms.
He caught his breath only when the door closed and staggered to his friends.
Daniel approached him worriedly.
"What's going on? We were not to see you before several days, on Earth.
"I know. It's terrible. My world… under siege." He had trouble to enunciate and was making obvious efforts not to fall.
"Sit down. Tell us. Who is attacking you world?"
"The Goa'uld. Everywhere Jaffas are shooting on civilians, explosions can be heard in the streets. More than half of the city is already destroyed," Hulkin answered with emotion.
"But, how is this possible? The Goa'uld had left you world many centuries ago," Daniel asked.
"I don't know. It began several weeks ago. They came through the gate. From what I understood, someone called Baal wants to expand his territory and has declared we owe him allegiance."
"Always the same scenario I can see. We should tell them to renew it from time to time."
"And when you refused, they decided to take your planet by force." Teal'c summarized with sadness.
Hulkin nodded in silence.
"Did anybody see you walk through the door?"
"I'm not sure, I think I saw some Jaffa entering the room where the gate is when I left, but I can't be sure."
"What? You mean a horde of Jaffa may be ready to walk through the gate at this instant to come and get you?
Once more Hulkin nodded in silence.
At that exact moment, the gate was activated. Within a few seconds the vortex opened.
Jack and Teal'c led their friends to the edge of the woods, where the growing shadow would protect them a few moments from unwanted guests. They were ready, staring at the blue surface of the gate.
A sigh of relief was heard when they saw Jacob supporting Sam who looked a lot better.
Jack, Teal'c and Daniel rapidly walked to Major Carter and her father who were waiting in front of the DHD; Hulkin followed them a few meters behind.
When they were assured of the health state of the major, Daniel started to enter Earth coordinates.
"Jack, what's going on?"
"No time to tell. We are going back home. Hulkin you come with us."
The gate opened and Jacob activated the Tok'ra code. Jack and Sam went first, Jacob and Hulkin followed, then Teal'c and Daniel.
Just before he walked through the gate, Daniel gave a last look to the planet, in the shadow of twilight.
To his great surprise, the pyramid was rebuilt.
Chapter 16
"External activation of the gate."
The General arrived at that moment in the control room.
"Are you getting any signal?"
"No… Wait, we are receiving a Tok'ra code, Sir."
"Open the iris," General Hammond said, and he strode to the gate room, closely followed by Janet who had met them.
When Hammond entered, Jack was walking through the gate.
"It's good to be home!"
The others were close behind, Daniel still with his head turned to the sight of the rebuilt pyramid. All the men in the room had lowered their weapons when the first members of SG1 had showed up but several of them pointed them back at Hulkin.
"Lower your weapons, it's just us!"
Seeing the lack of response of the soldiers, the General made a sign witch made them react.
"Glad to see you SG1, Jacob, and…"
"Hulkin, sir. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance."
"You will explain everything in an hour, during debriefing; but for now, just follow Doctor Frasier."
"Excuse me sir, but Hulkin's world is in a bad posture, Baal is trying to take control of his planet and we would like to go and help them."
"You will tell me about that later. I can't send teams without knowing what it is about."
Jack, knowing that nothing he could say would make a difference, turned to Janet.
"I'm sure you missed us… And so did your dear needles!"
"It's true, my infirmary isn't the same without you, Sir!"
Hulkin followed them, so did Jacob who wanted to be sure his daughter was all right.
An hour later, everyone met in the briefing room. Once they were all seated, the General came in.
"Well, I am listening to you. Explain me what cost you more than seven hours of delay."
Jack started but was quickly interrupted by Daniel who wanted to talk about that pyramid, which was extraordinary according to him, where they had entered. Seeing that, if they let him, nothing could prevent him from telling every single details of what they had read on the walls, Sam went back to the explanation. Hulkin was next invited to talk about his planet.
"Our society is probably not as advanced as yours but for 50 years we have been making huge progress. That is what allowed us to understand the functioning of the DHD and to start exploring other worlds. We had found some addresses in the pages of a very old book. Suban was the third planet we visited. I stayed 6 months in that pyramid and I will be eternally grateful that you made possible for me to get out of it alive. When I returned to my planet, I immediately saw something serious had happened. There wasn't anybody around the gate. When I arrived in the city, there was a general panic. I hid inside a house. Between two explosions the owner explained it had been like that for several weeks. It seemed to be about somebody called Baal. I ran to my home but my house had been destroyed. So I decided to go back to Suban, hoping you would still be there and maybe you could help us. I saw your weapons. They seem effective."
The General thought for a moment and turned towards Hulkin.
"I'm sending SG3, SG7 and SG11 to help you. Do you want to accompany them to show them the way?"
"Thank you sir!"
"Excuse me, Sir, but why aren't we allowed to go too?" Sam asked.
"You have just returned from a long mission where you were wounded I seem to recall, Major. I think you need rest."
Half an hour later Hulkin was gone with the three teams. After a good diner all together, each member of SG1 went his way. Teal'c returned to his quarters for a too much delayed Kelno'reem. Sam respected Janet's advice and went to bed without checking on her beloved reactors. Jack decided to have a good night's rest. Daniel walked to his office with the tablet to stock it in view of a future translation.
Two days later, the three teams came back after making Baal's men flee. An agreement of protection was concluded between Earth and Derion, Hulkin's planet.
Sam had gotten back to her reactors and Daniel to his lab so he could finish the translation. When he took the tablet in his hands, the text had disappeared.
The end