What Will It Take? Chapter 51: Jointly, a stargate: sg-1 fanfic

"I'm still angry, but I'll get over it," he spoke quietly. A few moments of silence and then, "Of course, all would be forgiven if you could figure out how to get the Simpsons to show on the event horizon..."

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Ch 51: JOINTLY

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They mutually agreed to three days off before they would attempt another experiment with the 'Gate. This time they both wanted the time off. As usual, Jack wanted Sam to rest and recover before another set of sessions with the 'Gate. Sam wanted the time to think about the ramifications of having Jack connected with her. Just as he had struggled to deal with having her in danger, she now struggled to anticipate the new risk and dangers to him.

As with many of their previous days off, they searched for straight, smooth logs that would be of use for the construction of their more permanent shelter. They had planned a floor of split logs so that they would be up and out of the mud. Next would come a simple log-cabin architecture with V-notch joins. Then they would chink (fill in any holes or drafts) with mud... of which they had a seemingly endless supply.

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Sam studied her notes on the laptop screen.

Day 22-23; 64th and 65th DOP (74.7-75.8ED); WK 11 - - - CCR

Day 24; 66th DOP (77ED); end of WK 11; GPU, IRM, OWEH
- - - Sess. 1 and 2 for 7 min 36 sec each.
- - - Sess 3 – at end of session, Jack touched me... and I think we controlled the wormhole for a second before the session ended.

Day 25-27; 67, 68 and 69th DOP (78-80ED); WK 12
- - - CCR, planning and assembling materials for more permanent shelter

Day 28; 70th DOP (81.7ED); WK 12;
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DOP - Days on Planet................................ ED - Earth Days on Planet
GPU – Gate Powered Up.......................... IRM – Inner Ring Moved
WK – week.................................................. OWEH – Orange-White Event Horizon
CCR – camp chores and resting

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Today was the 28th day since she'd first touched the hourglass etching on the 'Gate. She was nervous and concerned about the possible risk or dangers to Jack with what they would try today. She was also excited about the possibilities of what they might be able to accomplish. And, she was looking forward to sharing the experience with him.

Jack was also excited and nervous. He was excited about getting to see what Sam was seeing... and maybe a chance to help. The risk to himself he acknowledged, but that did not garner much of his attention. He was, however, nervous about having both of them in a trance-like state at the same time. With no one to watch for any outside danger or risk. No one to yank them off of the 'Gate if the need arose. He placated himself with the fact that they had encountered few large-scale dangers on this planet. Attack from a fever or a landslide should not be problems that they would have to worry about in a 7 and a half minute time-span in the 'Gate clearing.

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By 1000 hours, they were ready.

Jack started the camera and then stepped over next to Sam. "On my mark," he intoned and she nodded silently, "Three, two, one, mark."

She placed her palm on the hourglass etching and closed her eyes. The familiar sensations washed over her. She felt the 'Gate power up and the vibrations of the inner ring moving. The cold stone quickly warmed gently under her palm and then she saw the blurry images which quickly resolved into the familiar two planes and the just-sprouting wormhole.

He watched her carefully for the full minute that they had prearranged. To give her time to get settled before he attempted to join her.

As the one minute mark passed, he gently laid his hand on her forearm.

And just as four days ago, a mild fizzing similar to electricity fizzed through his body.
Images popped into his mind.
And one image dominated.
An image of a long, glowing thread.

It was slowly weaving and wandering... as if groping blindly for something.

And then he felt her.
She was a sensation of soft warmth in his mind.
She was turning their attention back to the glowing thread.
'The wormhole' popped softly into his mind and he knew that it was from her.

He focused on that slowly twisting white strand.

They pushed it to their right... and it went.
They stretched it... and it stretched.
They pulled it slowly into a lazy corkscrew.

They were directing its movement and direction.

And he saw the two twisting planes gradually fade into the scene. And then he saw the distant field of stars that she had described.

Vertigo washed over him and he could feel her lending him her stability and familiarity with the sensations.

Refocusing on the ever-lengthening wormhole, they directed its movements again, but found that they couldn't force it to touch either of the two twisting planes. The planes and the wormhole appeared to repel each other.

Time lost meaning for the two officers as they stood silently next to the alien 'Gate with the orange-white event horizon.

- - - -

Fatigue washed over both of them as the images faltered and then faded as the connection ended. They both stood unsteadily for a few moments as their minds returned to the reality of the physical world around them.

"Whoa...," Jack muttered and Sam gave him a tired grin.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" she sent back softly as she lowered herself to a sitting position. He shook his head in amazement and opened his mouth, but words failed him and she couldn't stop the face splitting grin that erupted across her face, "Wow! Jack O'Neill is speechless! What I wouldn't give for Ferretti to see that!"

He quirked an eyebrow at her and ignored her jibe, "That was one of the most amazing experiences of my life," he admitted and then continued, "Even if I didn't understand it."

"Join the club," she sent back empathetically.

And that made him smile, "Pretty exclusive club?" as he sat down beside her.

She smiled back, "Oh yeah," and then she focused on him thoughtfully, "What did you see?"

He sighed and let the images play through his mind, "I saw... this glowing white thread...," and she nodded, "And you told me that it was the wormhole...," and she smiled shyly and nodded almost imperceptibly. "Sam, I could feel you... in my mind... like a soft warmth...," his voice was dropping to just above a whisper.

"I could feel you too," she agreed and then her smile grew a little, "but it was more like a gentle fizzing...," and his eyebrows rose at her description and she shrugged apologetically.

"So...there was this white glowing wormy-thing... the wormhole," he corrected and shot her a look to catch her bemusement, "and we sort of...pushed it around a little...?" and she nodded again but did not interrupt his description. "Then those two rippling planes... of light... slowly appeared... sort of faded in," he added and when she didn't object or comment he continued, "Finally, I saw the stars...way off in the distance... between the two moving planes," and the sensations washed over him, "And I got a good case of vertigo," he admitted and she smiled sympathetically. "I could feel you holding on to me... giving me something to hold onto when it felt like everything was sliding and slipping away in three different directions at once."

She shrugged, "I just knew what to expect - although, it still catches me off-guard a couple of times in each session," and her eyes lost focus as she watched the mental images in her memory, "It's more intense than any vertigo I've ever experienced in a jet or the X-302."

He nodded his agreement, "Can't argue with you there."

"So what next?" she gently prompted.

"Next... we focused on directing the wormhole... and we did," he stated and she nodded her silent agreement, "We pushed it in every direction, up, down, right, left, in, out, we stretched it and shortened it... twisted it and straightened it... and we could only push it so close to either of those two rippling planes." He took a breath and then finished with, "And then everything faded when it ended."

"That pretty much jives with what I saw and felt," she agreed. "You didn't see anything that looked like a Stargate did you?" she asked with a sly smile as she asked him the same question that he'd asked her after the end of so many of the previous sessions.

He looked back at ruefully and admitted, "No... didn't see any signposts or directions either."

She nodded and they lapsed into a few moments of silence.

"Your turn," he asked for her experiences.

She shrugged, "Pretty much like all of the other sessions with the exceptions that I could feel you... in my mind," and she tapped the side of her temple and gave him a small smile, "and that we were controlling the wormhole."

Another few moments of silence passed as they each pondered their experiences.

"I think that the two rippling planes might be part of how the direction of the wormhole is controlled," she postulated outloud and then glanced over to gauge his reaction. He lifted his eyebrows, inviting her to continue. "Every time we pushed the wormhole over near either of the planes, we could only get the end of the wormhole so close... and no further... it was as if there was a repulsive field interaction between the plane and the wormhole."

He thought that one over, but couldn't confirm or refute the idea, so he didn't reply. Apparently not bothered by his lack of response, she lapsed off into silent reverie as her mind churned through the scientific possibilities. Consequently, he was surprised when she was the one to break the lengthening silence, "How do you feel?" she asked and he could hear her concern.

"A little tired," he admitted, "But... I'm kinda looking forward to trying it again," and he gave her a slightly sheepish smile as they both remembered his reluctance to let her try again after each successive session.

"Ahhh, the enthusiasm of the new plebe," she assessed with a knowing smile and then her tone turned introspective, "The whole experience is pretty beautiful."

"Yeah, that and getting to have you in my mind," he asserted with a waggle of his eyebrows as he stood up and offered her a hand.

She blushed and ducked her head briefly before looking back up as she took the proffered hand to stand beside him. "I'll get the camera images downloaded so that we can set up for another session," she commented as she moved off to pick up her laptop.

Watching her affectionately, he offered, "I'll take a quick look around and make sure that everything is how we left it," and then he reluctantly pulled his attention from her and directed it to the area around the 'Gate.

- - - - -

They each recorded their observations on their own laptops and then set everything back up for their second attempt of the morning. Once everything was ready to go, they took a half-hour break, complete with a small snack.

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For the second session, as with the first, he joined her after she reached the one minute mark. Again, he felt that sensation like a mild electrical fizzing, but it faded quickly into the soft warmth that he recognized as her presence. The long, glowing thread of the wormhole materialized before him and then the images of the two rippling planes... and finally he could see the distant vista of stars sliding by.

Strong vertigo washed over him and again, she gave him the stability he needed.

They focused on the end of the groping wormhole.
Trying to see where they could get it to go.
Trying to figure out where they were supposed to direct it.

And then something flashed across his vision. Startled and immediately concerned about potential new threats he tried to pull back – and he tried to pull her back with him. She felt his concern and he felt her scientific curiosity. She focused on the view before them and they slowly found a new image... another glowing thread... light blue... and it stretched across their view of the stars in the distance.

The central portion of their view of the distant stars was now holding steady as they watched the glowing ribbon of light blue. And then their view expanded... their two rippling planes appearing to move and bend away from each other. Their white glowing wormhole floundered aimlessly in the larger volume of space.

He felt her focusing on the light blue ribbon. The new object in their experience. And then the view expanded again and the two planes appeared to pull even further away from each other. He could feel her directing the expansion of their view.

And now they could see one end of the light blue ribbon.

Slowly their view focused in on that one end. Again, he could feel her control over the magnification effect... it was as if she'd found the controls on a giant microscope. Zooming in closer and closer, the two rippling planes slowly came back towards each other. Confining their glowing white ribbon to a narrow shifting corridor.

And then the light blue ribbon winked out.

Still focused on where it had ended, however, they directed the end of their white glowing ribbon. He could feel her scientific curiosity and excitement as they aimed the end of their wormhole at a real destination.

He sent her a question and he felt her sigh.
He couldn't help but be amused.
And then he felt her slight annoyance at his amusement... albeit tinged with affection.

She didn't let her focus waver from where the light blue ribbon had ended.

'Just for a second?' he understood her proposal.
'Just for a second,' he acquiesced.

Cautiously they advanced the wormhole towards their goal.
She provided most of the focus, while he watched warily.

Closer, closer... closer...

And then, it connected.

Their glowing white ribbon stretched in a long graceful arc out and down and over to that distance point in space. The rippling of the two planes smoothed out as they too mimicked the long graceful arc of their wormhole.

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TBC

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