Gallagher was home again. Standing in front of the Stargate as the klaxons blared and the wheel spun around to the next symbol, his closest friends standing next to him waiting for the familiar whoosh of the Gate's activation, he knew he made the right choice in coming back here. He was ready and raring to go and all he needed was to have his command back.
Well, you can't have everything, he thought to himself as he straightened his cap and looked down to check his weapon. Seeing the sunglasses hanging on a string around his neck, he grabbed them and put them on. Oh yeah, he was home.
He turned abruptly when he heard Carter gasp. She was staring at him with a look of horror on her face and Daniel stopped what he was doing to stare.
"Jack!" Daniel said.
"Daniel?" Gallagher responded.
"Oh my God," Carter said. "Now you look exactly like him. No, this is not going to work." She looked up at the Control Room and repeated her words, "This is not going to work sir."
Gallagher turned to look over at the General and shrugged his shoulders. He noticed that the three Lieutenants were standing along side the General, apparently to see the real thing.
"It'll work Carter," the General said as he leaned into the microphone. "Trust me on this."
She turned and gave Gallagher a dirty look then went back to her pre-mission check.
"I won't let you down ma'am," Gallagher leaned close to whisper.
Carter looked over at him, the surprise evident in her face before deciding to watch the Stargate spring into life.
"Chevron seven locked!" came the voice over the loud speaker and the Stargate activated with a flash of light.
Oh yeah, Gallagher thought. He was home. Daniel and Teal'c began the descent up the ramp to the Stargate and Gallagher turned toward the General. "Thanks," he said.
"Wish it was me," the General said into the microphone, his eyes reflecting the same emotion Gallagher was experiencing.
The two men stared at each other, neither one missing the implications of the shoe being on the other foot. Gallagher turned and walked up the ramp and straight through the vortex to planet whatever. No fear like the first time, just anxiety and a desire to get out there. Oh yeah, this was what it was all about.
Gallagher stepped out of the Stargate and into what appeared to be a meadow. There were woods on all sides with the Stargate positioned at one end of the grassy land. He held his gun at ready in one hand while he looked around, eyes darting everywhere to determine if there was a threat.
Carter immediately went into action ordering Gallagher and Teal'c to continue working the perimeter while she and Daniel talked with the leaders of the village. Gallagher noticed that there were four men who came out to meet them and his eyes narrowed as one of them seemed to hang back.
Gallagher kept moving, his eyes darting back and forth. Something was tugging at the hairs on the back of his neck and he briefly wondered if it was just nerves or the excitement of his first trip off world in three years.
Never one to ignore his inner warnings, Gallagher tightened his grip on his gun and advanced toward the group while still searching out possible threats. He didn't like this one bit.
Carter was telling the Terrean delegates that SG-1 was here to negotiate a treaty that would benefit everyone and made the introductions. Gallagher hung back, mindful of his station in life, yet ready for any trouble that may arise. He half listened to her speech as he was trying to quell the misgivings and determine what it was that had him spooked.
"Our people are desperate for the medicines the others promised," said the delegate who had initially hung back. "And we are most anxious to get started on the negotiations so that we can start the treatments."
"We brought some along with us to cure some of the worst cases," said Daniel. "It is our hope that we can come up with a reasonable agreement."
"We will," said a different leader of the Terrean group. "I am most confident we will be able to share many technologies and ideas that will entice you to help us with our war with the plague."
"Thank you sir," Carter said. "Shall we get started?"
"Oh yes," said a third delegate. "But first we have prepared a wonderful feast in your honor to celebrate our pending alliance." The man was nearly jumping through hoops, thought Gallagher.
"Thank you Froden," Daniel said. "Lead the way."
The Terreans turned and walked back toward their town with the members of SG-1 following along. Gallagher hung back slightly, still wary of the impending doom he was experiencing and kept looking in every direction. Something was definitely wrong.
They reached the town a few minutes later. Carter was talking with Froden and Gallagher noticed that Teal'c held his staff weapon as if prepared for battle. This didn't surprise Gallagher at all. He and Teal'c had been warriors far too long to not recognize danger when presented with it.
The leaders led the team into a building that housed a huge room that held several tables seeming to be over laden with food. Froden indicated a table at one side of the room which was where they were going to be seated.
Gallagher followed the others and sat down next to Carter, the unease within him building. "Colonel, is it just me or is there something wrong here?" He continued to scan the corners and every cranny he could find in the room.
"It's not just you," Carter said. "Just keep your eyes open and smile. We'll find out soon enough what's going on."
"Are we going to eat this stuff?" Gallagher asked eyeing the food as if it were poisoned. He remembered quite a few times when he'd wished he had never taken a bite of native food.
Carter gave him a slight nod of the head and turned to the shifty delegate whose name turned out to be Toran. "Thank you for this wonderful feast," she said. "We had not expected it and we brought our own supplies. I hope it won't offend you if we decline to eat with you?"
"But all this was prepared especially for this celebration," Toran said, clearly becoming offended. "The women worked hard to get it ready for us. Would you have all their work be in vain?"
"No, of course not," Carter hurried to assure the man. "It's just that we have experienced problems in the past when we ate food that didn't agree with us. We're not used to some of the plants or animals that are native to different planets and we have learned to be extremely careful."
"I see," Toran said with a frown. "The women will be very upset. Perhaps you will find something that you are used to. Please do try to eat something."
Carter sent a pleading look to Daniel, who stepped up to the plate to take his turn at the bat. "Please understand Toran," Daniel began. "We don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, but we really must be careful of what we eat."
"Certainly," Toran spat out. "It is apparent, however, that you will not even try to work with us on this. Will the negotiations go in the same direction?" His voice had risen when he said this and the other delegates came forward to find out what was going on.
"What is the problem, Toran," a third delegate spoke up. "Is there something we should be made aware of?"
"Yes Raeden," Toran said heatedly. "Our guests fear we have poisoned the food. They refuse to eat with us."
"That's not true," Daniel hurried to add. "We are not as well adapted to your planet's food supply as you all are. We've learned this the hard way."
"The food is not dangerous," Raeden said. "Try the letchers, they are absolutely delicious."
"Lechers?" Gallagher asked with a grin. "I'm sure the Colonel's had her share of those."
Carter glared at him before turning to Raeden. "I am sorry if we have insulted you or your friends," she said. "It's just that we have had problems in the past and we are worried about repeating those experiences."
All four men were definitely glaring at their visitors and Gallagher shifted uneasily. This was not going very well.
"Perhaps we could try a little bit Sam, just to see if it agrees with us," Daniel said. "I'm sure we will be alright."
Gallagher looked at the Colonel, begging her with his eyes not to make him do this. The stuff sitting on the table in front of him made his stomach churn just by smell alone.
Daniel grabbed a piece of what looked like bread and handed it to Teal'c who immediately lifted it to his nose to smell it. Carter tentatively reached for a piece of the bread and brought it to her mouth. She looked over at Gallagher and offered it him instead, telling him with her eyes to choke it down if he had to.
"Thank you ma'am," he said lifting the bread as if he were toasting her. He imitated Teal'c by smelling it first, than took a bite. Not bad, he thought and took another bite. He realized he really was hungry. After all, the General ate most of his breakfast.
The leaders seemed satisfied that their hospitality was not being snubbed and they joined in the feast while at the same time telling SG-1 of the wonders of their world. Gallagher paid more attention to his own nagging feeling of gloom than he did with the chatter that was going around him and ate sparingly, refusing to even touch the more disgusting smelling food.
After they ate, they were shown to the rooms where they would be sleeping which were located in the upper floors of the building where they had eaten. They each had a room and Gallagher was pleased to note his was next to Carter's. Hopefully he would be able to hear if there was any trouble in her room.
After stowing his gear in the room he was assigned, Gallagher walked out to find Teal'c waiting on him in the hallway. Carter and Daniel came out a few seconds later and they walked down the hall toward the common room they had eaten in.
"Gallagher, Teal'c, see what you can find out from the villagers while Daniel and I get the negotiations started." Carter said. "I want to get out of here as soon as possible."
"Yes ma'am," Gallagher agreed. That sense of foreboding had gone into hyper drive and he was glad that Carter realized it as well. He followed Teal'c out the door and found himself back in the streets of the town.
The streets were fairly empty as it seemed this was the warmest part of the day. He didn't blame the town's people for wanting to get out of this heat, Gallagher thought as he put his sunglasses on. The place was like an oven!
He and Teal'c walked down the street, glancing at everything and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Well, at least what Gallagher figured was ordinary considering this was a whole different planet than what he was used to. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, however, and his fingers tightened on his gun.
A woman came out of a building that looked like it could have been a store and walked over to them, holding her hands out as if welcoming them. Gallagher stopped dead in his tracks and waited tensely for her to reach them.
"Welcome," she said. "My name is Treya and I am pleased to see you here. We have been told that you bring us medicines in which to cure my children." Gallagher could see the hope shining in her eyes, along with a little pleading and he had the feeling he was being set up again.
She was beautiful, her brown hair hung to her shoulders and he noticed that her eyes were green, almost as green as the meadow they arrived in. "Yes ma'am," he said, dragging his eyes from her to noticed a boy of about 10 standing in the doorway she just came from.
"Please, come in and share a drink with us," the woman pleaded. "I want you to meet the children you will be saving."
"Uh, no, sorry," Gallagher said, bringing himself back to his mission. "My friend and I have some work to do and it's better if we get it done now. Perhaps later?"
"Perhaps," she said, her features turning pensive. Gallagher could see the hurt in her eyes and wanted to kick himself.
"Some other time," Gallagher said as he started to walk away. He turned to glance at Teal'c, who was looking at a building on their left.
"Gallagher," Teal'c said holding his hand up, "that building over there."
Gallagher nodded and started a slow walk to the building Teal'c had indicated. He knew Teal'c was right behind him and they moved as stealthily as they could, hoping to avoid any problems.
The building they approached was standing alone, an alley or walkway on either side of it and the two men split up, each heading toward an alley. Gallagher had his gun in the ready position, walking closer, his senses attuned to the feeling of danger he had been experiencing from the moment he'd stepped foot in the meadow.
He glanced over at Teal'c and noticed that the Jaffa was at the corner of the building, his back to the wall as he twisted to look down the dark alley. Gallagher followed suit on the other side of the building and took his sunglasses off as he glanced down the darkened alley. He saw nothing that could pose as a danger. Knowing this didn't mean a thing, he turned and slowly entered the alley, his gun ready.
He had walked down a few feet when he heard a shout, then the sound of a staff weapon blast and he stopped moving to get his bearings. "Teal'c?" he yelled, hoping to get an affirmative answer. "Everything alright?"
The silence that followed his question caused Gallagher to start moving again and he continued to inch down the alley toward the back of the building. "Teal'c?" he said into his radio. "Come in buddy."
Gallagher heard a sound of a rock hitting the ground as he got closer to the back end of the alley. He slammed his back into the wall, gun ready, and waited, listening as hard as he could to determine what was going on.
He continued moving toward the end of the building, sliding his back along the wall, still listening for any sounds that could give away what was going on. When he reached the end of the wall, he took a chance and poked his head around to see if he could see anything. Nothing. He eased around the corner and moved as quietly as he could toward a figure that was huddled on the ground. He didn't know if it was a body or a pile of rubbish, but he knew better than to rush over to it.
He reached the lump on the ground and realized it was Teal'c, apparently knocked unconscious as Gallagher couldn't find any blood when he felt for a pulse. "Teal'c?" he whispered. Teal'c still didn't answer and Gallagher decided it was time to do a little more scouting. He continued to walk over to the other side of the building and carefully glancing down that alleyway to see if whoever did this to Teal'c was still around. Again, there was nothing that he could see, the alley on this side of the building was much brighter than the one he came down. He ran back over to Teal'c and pushed the button on his radio. "Colonel come in."
"Go ahead," he heard Carter say through the radio.
"Teal'c's down. Nothing serious, just a bump on the head," Gallagher said continuing to look around as he spoke into the radio.
"Everything secure?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am, for the moment."
"Stay with him until he is able to move, than head back here. Run into somebody?"
"Teal'c did. I didn't get a chance to see who it was." Gallagher turned abruptly as he heard a slight sound. "Gallagher out."
"Roger that Gallagher."
He began moving slowly to where he heard the sound and kept his gun handy. He jerked his gun up when someone jumped in front of him. Damn! It was the kid he saw a few minutes ago.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Gallagher asked fighting to calm his heart. The kid damn near scared the life out of him.
The kid just stood there staring at the gun in Gallagher's hand, his eyes wide as he looked down the business end of a P-90.
"What's your name," Gallagher asked lowering the gun slightly, but not letting go of his intention to shoot the eyes out of an enemy should one appear. This kid could be one for all he knew.
The boy didn't answer and Gallagher could see him trembling with fear.
"Look, I'm sorry if I scared you, but you shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that," Gallagher said as he tried to calm the child down.
"I…I…didn't mean to sc..scare you," the boy stuttered, his teeth chattering in his fright. "I'm sorry!"
"It's okay kid," Gallagher soothed. "I just react badly when people come up behind me after my friend is attacked. Come on, tell me why you are back here."
"I just wanted to talk with you and …." The boy's eyes widened as he stared at something behind Gallagher. Gallagher looked back to see Teal'c sitting up holding his head in one hand.
"Teal'c! You okay?" Gallagher asked as he went up to his friend. "What happened?"
"I am not sure O'Neill," Teal'c answered. "I was knocked out from behind after I fired at a man who was throwing rocks at me."
"Rocks?" Gallagher said, not missing the fact that Teal'c had called him O'Neill. He hoped his Jaffa friend wasn't losing it. "Here, take it easy," he said as Teal'c started to rise. "You might have a concussion or something."
"I am well," Teal'c said unconvincingly. "Who is this?"
"This? Oh yeah, the kid showed up after I found you. I was just trying to determine why he was here," Gallagher replied just a little worried about Teal'c. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yes," Teal'c said stubbornly. "Shall we go?"
"Sure, just a minute," Gallagher said. He turned to the boy and started questioning him again, "Do you know what happened here?"
"No," the boy said shaking his head emphatically. "I followed you and then you were going to shoot me." The kid was actually accusing him, Gallagher thought.
"I was not going to shoot you," Gallagher sighed. "I was just trying to defend myself."
"From me?" the kid asked in surprise. "But I don't have a weapon."
"Look, can you just tell me your name and exactly what it is you are doing in this alley?" Gallagher asked. He was starting to get fairly aggravated here.
"Trant," he said. "My name is Trant and I was just coming to see if I could meet you. That's all. I wanted to ask you to give me the medicines now so that my sisters would get well."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have the medicines with me. My other friends do, but I think you will have to wait to see what the leaders of your community say." Gallagher felt like heel, wishing he could help this little boy.
"The leaders," Trant spat out, "don't care about us. They only want to help their own families and the rest of us could rot for all they care!"
"I'm sure that's not true," Gallagher said. "Give them time to work out the treaty and your sisters will be well in no time. You'll see." He really hoped he was telling Trant the truth.
"C'mon. Let's get out of here so that I can find my other friends," Gallagher encouraged. They walked down the alley and into the town, the eyes of both soldiers constantly surveying their surroundings. As soon as they reached the street, Gallagher stopped in surprise as he saw five men watching them. His gun came up, but not fast enough as the men emptied the chambers of their own weapons into the street. Gallagher reacted by grabbing Trant and pushing the boy behind him while in the same movement brought his gun up to return the fire.
"Colonel," Gallagher yelled into his radio while the sound of his gun echoed in his ears.
"Where are you now," the radio spit back at him.
"Outside in the town. There's five of them shooting at us with something that looks like a gun, but its shooting darts," he said as one of the said objects rammed into Teal'c. "Colonel?"
"On our way now Gallagher," Carter said over the shouts in the background.
He didn't bother to respond just kept shooting as they scrambled for cover. Teal'c fell and Gallagher went back to grab him by the arm. "C'mon Teal'c. Move!"
He stumbled as Teal'c fell again and Gallagher turned to shoot more ammo at the men. He saw that three were down already, but the other two apparently had no intentions of stopping. Gallagher took aim, then paused as he saw both men fall to the ground, blood spurting from one of them before he even hit the ground. He looked around to see who had helped him and saw Carter and Daniel get up from their hiding places.
"Teal'c! Gallagher!" Carter said as she came over to determine the damage. Teal'c was lying on his side, holding the dart in the hand that covered his wound while the other hand held his staff weapon ready to fire.
"Colonel Carter, ma'am," Gallagher said struggling to rise to his feet, but not making it off the ground. What the hell? "Thanks for coming to the rescue."
"Stay still Jack," Daniel said. "You've been hit. Stop it I said!"
"Daniel?" Gallagher said. He was totally confused. He'd been hit? It was then he noticed some pain in his back near his shoulder. It really wasn't that bad considering it was just a dart. He tried to reach over his shoulder to pull the dart out, but couldn't make it and was grateful that Daniel took over and helped him.
"They were going to kill us with a dart gun?" Gallagher asked, his head was swimming and he brushed his hands over his eyes to clear them. "How can a little dart kill us?"
He looked over at Teal'c and began to become concerned when his friend just laid there staring at him. "Teal'c?" Gallagher asked as he felt a wave of warmth spread through his limbs and realized he was going to pass out.