Chapter 24 – Reversal

Assembling the collection of metal rods and their hotchpotch variety of subspace multipliers in sequence had been the easy part so far for Sam and Jen, even though it looked like a giant version of a child's metal puzzle to Jack. Easy because they were still outside the main generator building, and so far had escaped the attention of any guards. The two women worked without paying attention to their surroundings, knowing that the others would alert them to any interruptions soon enough.

Since both moons had set early, they had been able to steal in by cutting a hole in the base of the wire fence without being observed in the darkness. The hole was not only big enough to permit their entry, but also gained them the source of conductive material to make sure that when the huge generator started to struggle with the sudden power drain that they would place upon it, the wire would soften and fuse itself both to the electricity distribution circuits and the metal building structures that were the grounding points.

'That's the theory, anyway.' Sam mused as she completed the final joints, looking up to see that Jen had also finished her side of their metallic spider's web. The memory of the first time she had explained her idea of destroying a large generator like this flashed through her mind: of how Jack had murmured "Back EMF overload, eh?" before he quickly tried to put his confused look back into place. She smiled, remembering the slip in his apparent naivety but continued to focus on the job in hand. Their three Andan companions helped them to raise the trellis-like contraption to lean against the wall of the first building outside the main generator hall, below the heavy metal pylons that supported the huge insulators and cables.

On the roof, Jack and Jeff each dangled a hemp rope, waiting for those below to attach the free wire bundles to be hauled up. They started pulling when tugs on the ropes signalled that the attachments had been completed, and soon had the ends of the wires in their hands. So many individual strands of fence wire clumped together made for a considerable weight, and it would take both of them to carry them up the pylon to complete the circuit. This was the riskiest part – avoiding making contact with the overhead power cables while they were still in close proximity to the grounding circuit, and Jack doubted that the thick leather gloves that they wore would make any practical contribution to personal safety if they did touch a live wire.

Carefully they manhandled the ropes and wires into position, and Grogan leaned out as far as he could, throwing the rope cleanly over the power cables first time. Jack climbed round the lattice-work of the pylon to the opposite side, ducking under the huge glass insulator that crackled and hummed alarmingly at such close quarters. Swinging out as far as he dared, he just managed to snag the loose rope end and pull it back in towards him. He then pulled enough rope over the cables so that the free end would reach the ground when he threw it down. In the near-darkness illuminated only by distant lights in the windows of the main building, he saw the upturned faces of his companions and cast the rope down to them. Looking back across the pylon, he signalled to Jeff to start his descent, and checking one more time to ensure that a good pull on the rope would bring the metals into contact, he followed him down, first to the roof and then down the last rope to the ground.

Grogan and his Andan friend Volkar took up the loose end and waited for the others to reach their pre-assigned positions to guard them against the inevitable outcry that would ensue. Seconds passed nervously for both of them, until they heard Jack's voice across the empty ground. At the sound of "Now!" they both ran away from the building on the opposite side to their makeshift apparatus, pulling the rope with them as hard as they could. Their eyes were shut in the expectation of the momentary brightness of the short circuit, while everyone else purposely looked in the opposite direction. Jeff and Volkar felt a slight jerk as the knot attaching the rope to the wires first made contact with the overhead cables, but even though everyone thought they knew what to expect, the sequence and magnitude of events took them by surprise.

As the first metal-to-metal contact was made, a bright shower of yellow- white sparks suddenly showed their surroundings in stark contrast, like a giant flashbulb going off. The rope jerked out of their hands as the metal wires fused onto the power cables and they fell over, rolling forward and trying to run on to join their comrades. But they had hardly taken more than three or four steps when a huge flash burned its way instantaneously from the pylon, followed immediately by a blast wave knocking them over. Heavy chunks of glass showered down from where the insulators had broken apart, several hitting them and causing deep cuts and abrasions. They stumbled around until the other two Andans got up to grab hold of them and guide them to relative safety.

Sam and Jen were anxiously waiting for the sign that would signal the success of their mission, and were rewarded just seconds later when a huge explosion resounded from within the main generator building. They looked up to see panels and windows being blown off, illuminated by a short-lived fireball from inside. As it died away, blackness descended and in the distance, the sky-glow caused by the lights of the capital city Reha suddenly disappeared. Secondary explosions from within the building continued, much lower in volume than the first detonation. Then the shouts of people running around and the unforgettable screams of the injured and dying penetrated as their hearing returned after the ringing in their ears subsided a little.

They quickly retreated to the gap in the fence and ran back towards the nearby woods, half expecting to be discovered at any second, but no challenges came. They came to a rest briefly in a small clearing, where the first priority was to stop the bleeding from the cuts that Jeff and Volkar had sustained. Expertly-applied bandages and a cloth strip for a tourniquet on Jeff's arm took only moments to apply before they were ready to move on. This was the point at which the three Andans would separate and make their own way to re-join their distant comrades, and they exchanged silent hugs and handshakes with the four Tau'ri before quickly vanishing into the night. Jack led his group away, and with much lighter packs progress was easier than their journey here.

They were familiar with this routine now after a raid – travel at night, stay silent, take turns leading, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving until daylight forced them to rest in the best hiding place they could find or improvise. Jen had just started her turn at point after the first thirty minutes' march when a distant noise brought them all to a halt. The shock of familiar but unexpected sounds threw them into confusion, causing Jack to call them together for a whispered conference.

"Ideas?" said Jack curtly.

"That's small arms fire!" exclaimed Jen as they huddled in a thicket. "How come?"

"Probably the Andans using the weapons they imported from Earth last year." Sam added.

"Possibly." replied Jack. "Jeff, how are you holding up? Can you keep going?"

"No worries, Jack." Jeff grunted, ignoring the warm feeling of slow trickles of blood from a couple of his bandages. He'd suffered worse in the past year and wasn't unduly worried. "I'll let you know if I can't keep up."

"All right. Stay close." said Jack as he signalled Jen to take the lead again. "Jeff, you stay in 2 or 3, right?"

"'kay, Jack." he replied, stepping out after Jen.

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Another twenty minutes found them making slow progress through thick, scrubby terrain in a large clearing. Without too much tall tree cover, it was a vulnerable position and Jack hoped to make it across into the forest as quickly as possible. He knew that the occasional low sounds from Jeff meant that he was suffering more than he had let on, but they had no choice but to continue their flight for now.

At the sudden sound of a loudly-shouted challenge, all four dropped to the ground instantaneously and rolled or crawled short distances from their positions, aiming their nine millimetre pistols ahead of them.

"We have you surrounded!" cried a voice. "Stand up and throw down your weapons, or we will fire! We have you fully in view!" Each of the four comrades was surprised to see small red dots of light playing over their arms and the ground in front of them.

Jack immediately recognised their situation for what it was, and cried, "Don't shoot! We're standing up now!", much to the shock of his companions. They heard the rustle of him rising, and the sound of his weapon being discarded into the grass. Slowly, they followed suit.

"Are you from Chicago, soldier?" called Jack.

"What the hell?" they heard in response. "Colonel O'Neill, is that you?" The red dots of the laser target markers playing over each of them wavered but didn't go away. They saw the vague outlines of men surrounding them, with US-style combat helmets just visible against the star-glow.

"On the button, soldier." called Jack. "To whom do I have the honour?"

"Corporal Johanovic, SGC, Sir!" came the reply. After a short hesitation, he continued, "Sir, do not take this personally, but we have orders to detain all persons found in the vicinity of the Reha power plant. I have to take you back to the Prometheus. You and your men must assume the position and be restrained."

"Understood, Corporal." said Jack. "But we have a wounded man here. Please attend to him. You have my word: no tricks from us." He raised his hands in the air and stood still, knowing that the other three would comply as they were all clearly visible in the night-vision goggles that the SGC troops were wearing. The men moved in to secure their hands and frisk them for weapons. As the plastic bands were tightened, torches lit up the captives and Jen was shocked to see the wet red stains over much of Jeff's tunic.

"Corporal!" cried one of the soldiers, this time in an unmistakeable Texan drawl. "It's Carter, Hailey and Grogan!"

"That's *Captain* Hailey to you, soldier!" said Jen. "Cut Lieutenant Grogan and me loose so I can stop the bleeding."

"No, ma'am." he replied. "We have our orders."

"Corporal?" asked Jack gently.

"Sir, no need to worry. The ship will be here momentarily and he can be treated on board."

They stood in a silence interrupted only by the unit leader reporting their capture over his headset and calling for the arrival of the craft. Soon a huge dark shape blotting out some of the stars signalled that the Prometheus was somewhere overhead, and the four prisoners were herded together by their guards. The white light and noises characteristic of a Goa'uld Ring Transporter enveloped them, and they found themselves staring at another set of guns inside the docking bay of the Earth's flagship.

"Well, well, well." drawled a familiar voice. "I didn't realise we were here to collect the trash. Bring them this way."

"Edwards!" exclaimed Jack. "We heard firing in the forest. What happened?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with, O'Neill." replied the Colonel. "Three dead bad guys, is all. One of our men down. Nothing to get steamed up about."

Grogan stiffened and glared at him, in spite of the dizziness he was beginning to experience. Edwards returned his glare, but wasn't expecting the kind of hatred radiating from someone he still remembered as only an inept lieutenant. "They were better men than you'll ever be." said Jeff through clenched teeth.

Edwards reached forward and gripped Grogan's tunic, and guns were raised again as Jeff's three friends reacted sharply.

"What the hell's going on here?" thundered a voice from the doorway. "Colonel! Release that man now. You – get him to the infirmary!" he directed at the nearest soldier.

They looked round to see *Colonel* Paul Davis – evidenced by his insignia – glaring at them, especially at Edwards. "Colonel O'Neill, Major, Captain, Lieutenant: it's good to see you all again, but you understand that we must keep you in custody pending clarification of this situation. We are under orders to assist the Andan government in holding off rebel forces."

"So, Earth changed sides again." said Sam. "When did that happen?"

"I'll be happy to explain later when you've had a chance to clean up and get fed." replied Davis. "For now, you'll forgive me, but it's clear that you've been living like natives for some time now. The atmosphere in here is, shall we say, a little *ripe*." Turning to someone behind him, he continued. "Release them in the empty quarters on 'B' deck, but post guards at the ends of the corridors." Turning back, he said, "I hope you understand, Jack."

"Whatever." Jack replied softly, moving forward to their new 'home'. "Just keep that goon away from us." he added, nodding at Edwards, who stared back his contempt.

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Their Spartan quarters were just as they remembered from the outward journey over eighteen months previously. After taking turns in the only shower cabin – although 'shower' was hardly an adequate description for the standing sponge-baths that were all they could take with the limited water supplies on board, even with the most efficient of recycling systems – they waited until Jeff had returned from the doctor's ministrations before discussing their situation.

"Assume we are being monitored." said Jack, reluctantly taking another forkful of the rations that they had been given. They were sitting on the beds and floor of Jeff and Jen's cabin. He grimaced at what was now for him the strange taste of Earth food. "Did we really eat this much salt, sugar and fat before, or did the SGC buy sole rights to the Atkins Diet?"

"I guess we must have." replied Sam, abandoning the rest of her plateful of brown and green coloured mush. "The soap and deodorant smells strange as well. The herbal tea's good, though."

"What?" said Grogan in surprise, suddenly aware that the other three were suspiciously watching him wolf down the contents of his plate.

"OK, here's the deal." said Jack. "We came out here under General Hammond's orders to assist the Andan rebels. Now the Prometheus is helping the Government again, and we should assume for the time being that we are Prisoners of War, despite the fact that we were still acting under those old orders."

"Which tells us that the NID probably has control of the Stargate Program." added Jen. "Shit!"

"Which in turn tells us that either we'll be handed over to the SHB...." said Sam.

"And we'll be in front of a firing squad by lunchtime." Jen responded.

"Or taken back to Earth to have our 'situation' defined and acted upon." Sam replied.

"Which means Leavenworth, freedom or return to the SHB?" Jen surmised. "Better odds for survival, anyway. Only one in three chance of the firing squad!"

Jack was thinking of a fourth option, and although he was careful not to display any evidence of it, Sam caught the faintest twitch in the corner of his eye and gave him that fleeting glance that communicated that she was on the same wavelength. Fortunately neither Jeff nor Jen were aware of this almost subliminal exchange.

"I trust Davis more than Edwards." said Jack. "Edwards is a small-minded creep who'll manipulate a situation for personal revenge." He felt sure that his words were being listened to elsewhere in the ship and relished the opportunity to dig at his adversary. "Anyway, time enough to get some rest. Coming, Mrs. O'Neill?" he added as he rose stiffly from the floor.

"Yes, dear." she added, rising steadily herself. But the extra care she had started to inadvertently take as a result of her condition sent a female signal to Jen, one that would be recognised only by another woman. She locked eyes momentarily with her junior and in that instant she knew that Jen knew her innermost secret. The faintest shake of Sam's head kept Jen's grin to a brief polite smile, and trust was established without either of the men being aware of it.

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