One of Us - Chapter 3
By CuppaJo
"Welcome back SG-1. We'll debrief at 1400; get cleaned up and report to Dr. Frasier." General Hammond announced to his returning team as they stepped into the gateroom.
Colonel O'Neill nodded in response. He, as well as the rest of the team, was soaked through. The planet they were on seemed to have two seasons - wet and torrential. But, it did have large deposits of naquadah, not to mention platinum. "Hey," Jack thought to himself, "it's better than a bake sale." It did, however, make for some treacherous and exhausting conditions, and his team certainly felt its effects. Daniel was sneezing quite ferociously and Crosby had a large, but not deep, gash on her arm from a minor rockslide.
"Crosby, report to the infirmary and get your arm checked out before you hit the showers. You can get your check-up while you're there."
"Yes, sir." She responded. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have seen her face go slightly pale at the mention of the word infirmary. But no one was paying attention.
The team trudged to the elevators. Crosby looked at them warily SG-1 got on. "You coming, Crosby?" Colonel O'Neill asked her.
"I think I'll take the stairs, thank you, sir." She smiled exhaustedly at him.
The colonel gave her a suspicious look, but replied nonchalantly as the doors closed shut, "Suit yourself." Turning to his 2IC he asked, "anything in her file that mentions claustrophobia?"
"No sir, and I know I've ridden in crowded elevators with her before and she's never seemed to have problems."
"Humph." The colonel responded and stood with his brow creased in thought until they reached their destination.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lt. Crosby stood looking up at the stairs and sighed to herself. "Boy am I whuped." She thought. "I don't know if I'll be able to do this after every mission." She took a deep breath and stepped onto the first step. Then the second, the third, the fourth. She climbed, then she jogged, then she ran up the steps. She passed the floor to the infirmary, running all the way up to level thirteen then back down to the infirmary. She jogged to the door and abruptly slowed as she entered. Dr. Warner was on duty.
"What can I do for you today, Lieutenant?" He asked pleasantly.
"Colonel O'Neill sent me up for my post exam and to have this cut on my arm checked." She replied, keeping the breathlessness out of her voice as much as she could.
"Okay, we can do that." He turned to one of his staff members. "Nurse, please get the lieutenant's vitals while I check on this arm." He turned back to Crosby. "We'll get you out of here in no time. Hop up on the bed."
The nurse went to work checking her blood pressure, temperature, and pulse rate. He also got some vials ready for a blood test. "Blood pressure and pulse are a bit low, but within normal ranges. Temp is 97.9."
"Cold blooded, huh?" Dr. Warner asked her as the nurse left with the blood samples. "The cut looks fine; there's no sign of infection and it's not deep enough to require stitches. Keep it clean and change the bandages twice a day." He continued the exam quickly and, deeming her fit and alien free, released her to the showers just after the rest of SG-1 entered the room.
"Debriefing in half an hour." Col. O'Neill reminded the young woman as she walked past.
"Yes, sir." She responded and she hurried off to the locker room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"How's Crosby working out in the field?" General Hammond asked Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter after he had dismissed the remainder of the team from the debriefing.
"She's a good field officer. She even knocked Daniel out of the way when she noticed the rockslide starting. I wouldn't be surprised to find that she's as attentive as Teal'c when it comes to knowing what's going on around her."
"Major Carter, do you share the colonel's opinion?"
"Yes, General. To be frank, sir, I was a little surprised. I've worked with her in the lab and, although she is a consummate professional and undoubtedly intelligent, she doesn't really stand out. But this week in the field, she just seemed to fit. Her science background was very helpful and she certainly seems to know her way around watch duty. I'd be happy to see her assigned to a permanent field position."
"That's good to hear, Major, as she has, in fact, requested a field assignment. However, there are none open at this time, so until there is, she will remain with SG-1 on a semi-permanent basis. You have a mission in two days."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
SG-1 stepped through the stargate onto PR9-161. "Okay, Carter, take point. T, you got our six. Let's go." Jack ordered before he noticed that one of his team was looking decidedly pale. "Crosby, are you okay?"
A wave of nausea washed over her and she had to swallow before answering. "Yes sir. I suppose I'm still getting used to the effects of gate travel."
"You have yet to experience any such problems before now, Lieutenant Crosby." Teal'c intoned.
"He's right, Jo. Are you sure you're okay."
Lt. Crosby smiled. "I'm fine ma'am."
Jack raised his eyebrows at Daniel, silently telling him to keep an eye on her as they walked. "Okay, campers, let's move out then." They fell into line and began walking to the hills that showed the MALP showed had deposits of Naquadah.
Daniel attempted to engage Crosby in conversation. Her answers to her questions remained terse. She had never been particularly talkative while in the field, but Daniel found her especially reticent on this day. She appeared alert, but acted as though she was in some discomfort.
They reached the site that Daniel believed to be a hangar of sorts. It was a nice change from the usual temple that they explored. Jack thought. Too bad it was empty. He pulled himself away from his thoughts to look over at Crosby. She was still more quiet than usual, but she didn't seem ill anymore. She was busy setting up a tent with Sam. He even caught a smile at something that Sam said. Perhaps it was just gate sickness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Daniel stared intently at the writings on the walls. He'd gone through every human language he could think of without finding any similarities. The only comparison that he had been able to make was to the orthographic system of Ogham, but the morphology and syntax were completely different from any of the Celtic languages that the writing system could represent. He even tried applying the letters to other languages that he knew. He' recently read an article claiming that there was some very old Ogham text found in Virginia. "Perhaps the language was a transplant of one of the Native American languages," he thought digging through his bag in search of a text that might help him.
"Dr. Jackson." Crosby called from the doorway. "Col. O'Neill asked me to tell you to wrap things up. Lunch in 15 minutes."
"Okay, Jo, I'll be right there." Daniel responded without really paying attention.
Crosby wandered in to stand behind where he was sitting on the floor. She stared up at the wall, scanning the writing. After finding the book that he was looking for, he settled back on his haunches to begin checking for similarities. It was only then that he noticed that Crosby was still there. He stared up at her scanning the walls. It looked as though she was reading.
"Jo, can you read this?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"No, of course not." She responded without looking away from the walls.
"Are you sure?" He asked, unconvinced.
"Hm-mmm." She answered non-committally as she stepped toward the wall and ran her fingers over it. The instant she touched it, the words began to glow. She snatched her hand away the same instant that Daniel jumped to his feet.
"What did you do?" He asked as he ran his own fingers over the walls. Nothing happened.
She stared at him blankly. "We should go to lunch." She said as she turned towards the door and walked away.
"Jo, wait!" Daniel called as he chased after her. "Show me what you did." She continued walking briskly away, stopping only when she reached the fire pit where the others were waiting. Daniel called out to her again, stopping when he caught up with her.
"I got him here." Crosby tossed out casually, sitting down next to Carter with a grin. "I'm even early."
Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "I'm impressed, Crosby." He said, watching as Daniel attempted to catch his breath. "You don't get any extra for getting him to exercise." He handed over the ten- dollar bill he had pulled from his wallet.
Daniel glared at Jack and looked at Crosby in disbelief. "He paid you to get me here?"
"Nope. He bet me that I couldn't pull you away from your wall."
"But how did you make the wall glow like that?"
Jo looked at him blankly. "I think you've been breathing stale air too long; I have no idea what you're talking about, um, sir."
Sam stifled a chuckle at Daniel's flabbergasted face, but quickly regained her composure. "What happened in there? What do you mean the wall glowed?"
Daniel sat down heavily. "The letters on the wall, when Crosby here touched it, started to glow."
Crosby stared at him with a confused look on her face.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Do you not agree with this statement, Lieutenant Crosby?"
"No. I just went in and told Dr. Jackson that lunch was ready and we came up here. I didn't even go past the doorway."
Daniel stared at her agape. "You came into the hangar, stood behind me and it looked like you were reading the walls. You walked toward it, touched it and it glowed."
"I didn't." Crosby argued.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up kids. Now something's happening here and I would bet that it has something to do with that hangar thing. Daniel, you said that the writing *glowed* when Crosby touched it? There's no way it was just a trick of the light?"
"No, Jack. I know what I saw." Daniel replied firmly.
"Carter, take Teal'c and see if you can get some energy readings off of the wall or see if there are any electronic or mechanical gizmos that could make the wall glow. Wear gloves if you touch anything; check for any chemicals that might cause a memory lapse. Daniel, Crosby, start packing up. We're going back to the SGC to get you both checked out in the infirmary."
Crosby paled, but nodded her head and began packing. Sam and Teal'c headed toward the building. Noting that Crosby wasn't paying attention to him, Jack silently followed.
Once inside, Jack softly called to Carter and Teal'c. "Well, what do you think?"
"You don't think it's some kind of prank do you, sir?" Carter asked.
"If it is, it'll get her kicked out of the SGC. We don't scrub missions for practical jokes. So, no, I don't think it's a prank."
"Lieutenant Crosby has been acting out of character since we arrived." Teal'c intoned. "It is possible that she is being influenced by something on this world."
"Any chance it's a Goa'uld?"
"I don't see how, sir. She was sitting right next to me a few minutes ago. I didn't sense a Goa'uld presence. So unless it's a Goa'uld without Naquadah in its system, it isn't there."
"Daniel Jackson claimed that Lieutenant Crosby was reading the walls before she touched them. It is possible that it the building itself has some influence over her."
"Did either of you notice Daniel acting strangely at all?"
Carter shook her head as Teal'c replied, "I did not notice anything unusual about Daniel Jackson's behavior."
"Okay, we'll just assume that he's fine for now. Let's keep exposure to anything in this building at a minimum for now. Just take some cursory scans, collect some samples, and look around. We'll send in a science team to check it out in depth when we get back. I'll keep an eye on Daniel and Crosby, and make sure that neither one of them starts doing anything weird. Be prepared to leave in two hours."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jack didn't notice anything weird as they packed up their gear. However, both Crosby and Daniel shot each other bemused glances when the other wasn't looking.
They had packed everything up, but still had about fifteen minutes left of the two-hour deadline he had given in the hangar.
Keeping an eye on Crosby as she fiddled with the FRED Jack pulled Daniel aside to get his opinion on the matter.
"Jack, I don't know what's going on. I know what I saw. I can possibly understand that she didn't see the wall glowing, although I don't know how, but to deny that she even came in the building is beyond me."
Jack held up a placating hand. "I believe you, Daniel. I'm just trying to figure out why. Aside from the problems at the gate when we arrived yesterday, everything was going smoothly. She and Carter were having a grand old time discussing physics theories. She taught Teal'c a new card game. We even talked about fishing."
"She must be under an alien influence then." Daniel quipped.
"Cute." Jack replied. "I just want to make sure I have the whole story. What exactly was she doing when the wall started to glow?"
"I told you Jack, she just ran her hand over some of the writing and it started to glow. It stopped as soon as she took her hand off. She couldn't have touched it for more than a few seconds."
Jack nodded and looked up again to check on Crosby. She was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Crosby, what are you doing in here?" Carter asked, surprised to see the girl.
"I just wanted to let you know that we finished packing and that Col. O'Neill is chomping at the bit to get out of here." Her eyes drifted up to the wall that contained the writing. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she stepped towards it.
"Lieutenant Crosby, stay where you are." Teal'c ordered. He was holding several bags containing the samples that they had taken earlier. Crosby stopped momentarily before bounding forward to press both hands against the wall.
"Crosby!" Sam shouted as the words on the wall began to glow and a pair of claw like objects shot out of the wall clasping around Crosby's wrists. They looked very much like the things that had held Col. O'Neill's head to the Ancient's computer. Except this time, the claws glowed red hot and Crosby screamed out in pain.
Teal'c threw down the bags and grabbed for his staff weapon as Col. O'Neill and Daniel came barreling through the door.
Teal'c took aim and charged the weapon. At the same time, the clasp around Crosby's arms disappeared and she fell to the floor.
Ugly black charred skin covered most of her forearms and her hands. Jack rushed forward and pulled the now unconscious woman away from the wall by her shoulders. Daniel appeared with the first aid kit and handed it over to Sam who quickly began to search for bandages. There was little else she could do for burns this severe while in the field. But having quickly assessed the damage, Sam realized that there was little left to do in the infirmary that wouldn't involve amputation.
Having treated the lieutenant with a shot of morphine and another of antibiotics, Teal'c scooped her up and set out at a run for the gate. The remaining members of SG-1 quickly gathered the samples that they had taken in hopes that they would be of some help and followed as quickly as they could.
By CuppaJo
"Welcome back SG-1. We'll debrief at 1400; get cleaned up and report to Dr. Frasier." General Hammond announced to his returning team as they stepped into the gateroom.
Colonel O'Neill nodded in response. He, as well as the rest of the team, was soaked through. The planet they were on seemed to have two seasons - wet and torrential. But, it did have large deposits of naquadah, not to mention platinum. "Hey," Jack thought to himself, "it's better than a bake sale." It did, however, make for some treacherous and exhausting conditions, and his team certainly felt its effects. Daniel was sneezing quite ferociously and Crosby had a large, but not deep, gash on her arm from a minor rockslide.
"Crosby, report to the infirmary and get your arm checked out before you hit the showers. You can get your check-up while you're there."
"Yes, sir." She responded. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have seen her face go slightly pale at the mention of the word infirmary. But no one was paying attention.
The team trudged to the elevators. Crosby looked at them warily SG-1 got on. "You coming, Crosby?" Colonel O'Neill asked her.
"I think I'll take the stairs, thank you, sir." She smiled exhaustedly at him.
The colonel gave her a suspicious look, but replied nonchalantly as the doors closed shut, "Suit yourself." Turning to his 2IC he asked, "anything in her file that mentions claustrophobia?"
"No sir, and I know I've ridden in crowded elevators with her before and she's never seemed to have problems."
"Humph." The colonel responded and stood with his brow creased in thought until they reached their destination.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lt. Crosby stood looking up at the stairs and sighed to herself. "Boy am I whuped." She thought. "I don't know if I'll be able to do this after every mission." She took a deep breath and stepped onto the first step. Then the second, the third, the fourth. She climbed, then she jogged, then she ran up the steps. She passed the floor to the infirmary, running all the way up to level thirteen then back down to the infirmary. She jogged to the door and abruptly slowed as she entered. Dr. Warner was on duty.
"What can I do for you today, Lieutenant?" He asked pleasantly.
"Colonel O'Neill sent me up for my post exam and to have this cut on my arm checked." She replied, keeping the breathlessness out of her voice as much as she could.
"Okay, we can do that." He turned to one of his staff members. "Nurse, please get the lieutenant's vitals while I check on this arm." He turned back to Crosby. "We'll get you out of here in no time. Hop up on the bed."
The nurse went to work checking her blood pressure, temperature, and pulse rate. He also got some vials ready for a blood test. "Blood pressure and pulse are a bit low, but within normal ranges. Temp is 97.9."
"Cold blooded, huh?" Dr. Warner asked her as the nurse left with the blood samples. "The cut looks fine; there's no sign of infection and it's not deep enough to require stitches. Keep it clean and change the bandages twice a day." He continued the exam quickly and, deeming her fit and alien free, released her to the showers just after the rest of SG-1 entered the room.
"Debriefing in half an hour." Col. O'Neill reminded the young woman as she walked past.
"Yes, sir." She responded and she hurried off to the locker room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"How's Crosby working out in the field?" General Hammond asked Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter after he had dismissed the remainder of the team from the debriefing.
"She's a good field officer. She even knocked Daniel out of the way when she noticed the rockslide starting. I wouldn't be surprised to find that she's as attentive as Teal'c when it comes to knowing what's going on around her."
"Major Carter, do you share the colonel's opinion?"
"Yes, General. To be frank, sir, I was a little surprised. I've worked with her in the lab and, although she is a consummate professional and undoubtedly intelligent, she doesn't really stand out. But this week in the field, she just seemed to fit. Her science background was very helpful and she certainly seems to know her way around watch duty. I'd be happy to see her assigned to a permanent field position."
"That's good to hear, Major, as she has, in fact, requested a field assignment. However, there are none open at this time, so until there is, she will remain with SG-1 on a semi-permanent basis. You have a mission in two days."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
SG-1 stepped through the stargate onto PR9-161. "Okay, Carter, take point. T, you got our six. Let's go." Jack ordered before he noticed that one of his team was looking decidedly pale. "Crosby, are you okay?"
A wave of nausea washed over her and she had to swallow before answering. "Yes sir. I suppose I'm still getting used to the effects of gate travel."
"You have yet to experience any such problems before now, Lieutenant Crosby." Teal'c intoned.
"He's right, Jo. Are you sure you're okay."
Lt. Crosby smiled. "I'm fine ma'am."
Jack raised his eyebrows at Daniel, silently telling him to keep an eye on her as they walked. "Okay, campers, let's move out then." They fell into line and began walking to the hills that showed the MALP showed had deposits of Naquadah.
Daniel attempted to engage Crosby in conversation. Her answers to her questions remained terse. She had never been particularly talkative while in the field, but Daniel found her especially reticent on this day. She appeared alert, but acted as though she was in some discomfort.
They reached the site that Daniel believed to be a hangar of sorts. It was a nice change from the usual temple that they explored. Jack thought. Too bad it was empty. He pulled himself away from his thoughts to look over at Crosby. She was still more quiet than usual, but she didn't seem ill anymore. She was busy setting up a tent with Sam. He even caught a smile at something that Sam said. Perhaps it was just gate sickness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Daniel stared intently at the writings on the walls. He'd gone through every human language he could think of without finding any similarities. The only comparison that he had been able to make was to the orthographic system of Ogham, but the morphology and syntax were completely different from any of the Celtic languages that the writing system could represent. He even tried applying the letters to other languages that he knew. He' recently read an article claiming that there was some very old Ogham text found in Virginia. "Perhaps the language was a transplant of one of the Native American languages," he thought digging through his bag in search of a text that might help him.
"Dr. Jackson." Crosby called from the doorway. "Col. O'Neill asked me to tell you to wrap things up. Lunch in 15 minutes."
"Okay, Jo, I'll be right there." Daniel responded without really paying attention.
Crosby wandered in to stand behind where he was sitting on the floor. She stared up at the wall, scanning the writing. After finding the book that he was looking for, he settled back on his haunches to begin checking for similarities. It was only then that he noticed that Crosby was still there. He stared up at her scanning the walls. It looked as though she was reading.
"Jo, can you read this?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"No, of course not." She responded without looking away from the walls.
"Are you sure?" He asked, unconvinced.
"Hm-mmm." She answered non-committally as she stepped toward the wall and ran her fingers over it. The instant she touched it, the words began to glow. She snatched her hand away the same instant that Daniel jumped to his feet.
"What did you do?" He asked as he ran his own fingers over the walls. Nothing happened.
She stared at him blankly. "We should go to lunch." She said as she turned towards the door and walked away.
"Jo, wait!" Daniel called as he chased after her. "Show me what you did." She continued walking briskly away, stopping only when she reached the fire pit where the others were waiting. Daniel called out to her again, stopping when he caught up with her.
"I got him here." Crosby tossed out casually, sitting down next to Carter with a grin. "I'm even early."
Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "I'm impressed, Crosby." He said, watching as Daniel attempted to catch his breath. "You don't get any extra for getting him to exercise." He handed over the ten- dollar bill he had pulled from his wallet.
Daniel glared at Jack and looked at Crosby in disbelief. "He paid you to get me here?"
"Nope. He bet me that I couldn't pull you away from your wall."
"But how did you make the wall glow like that?"
Jo looked at him blankly. "I think you've been breathing stale air too long; I have no idea what you're talking about, um, sir."
Sam stifled a chuckle at Daniel's flabbergasted face, but quickly regained her composure. "What happened in there? What do you mean the wall glowed?"
Daniel sat down heavily. "The letters on the wall, when Crosby here touched it, started to glow."
Crosby stared at him with a confused look on her face.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Do you not agree with this statement, Lieutenant Crosby?"
"No. I just went in and told Dr. Jackson that lunch was ready and we came up here. I didn't even go past the doorway."
Daniel stared at her agape. "You came into the hangar, stood behind me and it looked like you were reading the walls. You walked toward it, touched it and it glowed."
"I didn't." Crosby argued.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up kids. Now something's happening here and I would bet that it has something to do with that hangar thing. Daniel, you said that the writing *glowed* when Crosby touched it? There's no way it was just a trick of the light?"
"No, Jack. I know what I saw." Daniel replied firmly.
"Carter, take Teal'c and see if you can get some energy readings off of the wall or see if there are any electronic or mechanical gizmos that could make the wall glow. Wear gloves if you touch anything; check for any chemicals that might cause a memory lapse. Daniel, Crosby, start packing up. We're going back to the SGC to get you both checked out in the infirmary."
Crosby paled, but nodded her head and began packing. Sam and Teal'c headed toward the building. Noting that Crosby wasn't paying attention to him, Jack silently followed.
Once inside, Jack softly called to Carter and Teal'c. "Well, what do you think?"
"You don't think it's some kind of prank do you, sir?" Carter asked.
"If it is, it'll get her kicked out of the SGC. We don't scrub missions for practical jokes. So, no, I don't think it's a prank."
"Lieutenant Crosby has been acting out of character since we arrived." Teal'c intoned. "It is possible that she is being influenced by something on this world."
"Any chance it's a Goa'uld?"
"I don't see how, sir. She was sitting right next to me a few minutes ago. I didn't sense a Goa'uld presence. So unless it's a Goa'uld without Naquadah in its system, it isn't there."
"Daniel Jackson claimed that Lieutenant Crosby was reading the walls before she touched them. It is possible that it the building itself has some influence over her."
"Did either of you notice Daniel acting strangely at all?"
Carter shook her head as Teal'c replied, "I did not notice anything unusual about Daniel Jackson's behavior."
"Okay, we'll just assume that he's fine for now. Let's keep exposure to anything in this building at a minimum for now. Just take some cursory scans, collect some samples, and look around. We'll send in a science team to check it out in depth when we get back. I'll keep an eye on Daniel and Crosby, and make sure that neither one of them starts doing anything weird. Be prepared to leave in two hours."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jack didn't notice anything weird as they packed up their gear. However, both Crosby and Daniel shot each other bemused glances when the other wasn't looking.
They had packed everything up, but still had about fifteen minutes left of the two-hour deadline he had given in the hangar.
Keeping an eye on Crosby as she fiddled with the FRED Jack pulled Daniel aside to get his opinion on the matter.
"Jack, I don't know what's going on. I know what I saw. I can possibly understand that she didn't see the wall glowing, although I don't know how, but to deny that she even came in the building is beyond me."
Jack held up a placating hand. "I believe you, Daniel. I'm just trying to figure out why. Aside from the problems at the gate when we arrived yesterday, everything was going smoothly. She and Carter were having a grand old time discussing physics theories. She taught Teal'c a new card game. We even talked about fishing."
"She must be under an alien influence then." Daniel quipped.
"Cute." Jack replied. "I just want to make sure I have the whole story. What exactly was she doing when the wall started to glow?"
"I told you Jack, she just ran her hand over some of the writing and it started to glow. It stopped as soon as she took her hand off. She couldn't have touched it for more than a few seconds."
Jack nodded and looked up again to check on Crosby. She was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Crosby, what are you doing in here?" Carter asked, surprised to see the girl.
"I just wanted to let you know that we finished packing and that Col. O'Neill is chomping at the bit to get out of here." Her eyes drifted up to the wall that contained the writing. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she stepped towards it.
"Lieutenant Crosby, stay where you are." Teal'c ordered. He was holding several bags containing the samples that they had taken earlier. Crosby stopped momentarily before bounding forward to press both hands against the wall.
"Crosby!" Sam shouted as the words on the wall began to glow and a pair of claw like objects shot out of the wall clasping around Crosby's wrists. They looked very much like the things that had held Col. O'Neill's head to the Ancient's computer. Except this time, the claws glowed red hot and Crosby screamed out in pain.
Teal'c threw down the bags and grabbed for his staff weapon as Col. O'Neill and Daniel came barreling through the door.
Teal'c took aim and charged the weapon. At the same time, the clasp around Crosby's arms disappeared and she fell to the floor.
Ugly black charred skin covered most of her forearms and her hands. Jack rushed forward and pulled the now unconscious woman away from the wall by her shoulders. Daniel appeared with the first aid kit and handed it over to Sam who quickly began to search for bandages. There was little else she could do for burns this severe while in the field. But having quickly assessed the damage, Sam realized that there was little left to do in the infirmary that wouldn't involve amputation.
Having treated the lieutenant with a shot of morphine and another of antibiotics, Teal'c scooped her up and set out at a run for the gate. The remaining members of SG-1 quickly gathered the samples that they had taken in hopes that they would be of some help and followed as quickly as they could.