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Watching the two men quietly discussing something, Dr. Brightman thought about the SGC flagship team that was SG-1. General Jack O'Neill and Colonel Sam Carter had now been MIA for almost 4 months. And now the rest of SG-1 was officially on stand-down.
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Ch 59: ORANGE-BLUE
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Dr. Brightman watched SG-1 awaiting their departure for another planet in the months-old search for General O'Neill and Colonel Carter. She scanned the data on the summary sheet before her again. 122 days since the General and Colonel had disappeared. Eighteen days since the last episode of anything resembling RGTS for either Dr. Jackson or Teal'c. Each man had impatiently waited through her mandated week off and then had subsequently gone on two missions through the 'Gate without any apparent deleterious effects or symptoms. Today's mission would be the third mission in ten days as she was restricting them to a minimum of 2 days off between missions. Although the two men were not happy with the restrictions, they did not complain too vociferously as they knew that they were lucky that the SGC was still permitting them to continue the search after so much time had passed without any signs of the missing officers.
Watching from the control room, she heard Sgt. Davis calling out the chevrons.
…
"Chevron 4, engaged."
"Chevron 5, engaged."
"Chevron 6, engaged."
"Chevron 7, engaged… and locked...," and that still-astounding rippling pool flushed outwards and then settled down to an amazingly innocuous-looking rippling puddle of light blue.
The four members of SG-1 looked up at the control room and the new CO, General Parker, leaned over to the microphone, "SG-1, you have a go," and he gave them a small nod and silent wishes for good luck.
Teal'c nodded somberly and Dr. Jackson gave the control room a small wave and then fell into step alongside the Jaffa as they walked up the ramp. Dr. Rider and Lt. Hailey followed a few paces behind the two men.
Dr. Brightman watched as each figure melted into the vertical rippling pool and disappeared from view. The medical doctor stood and watched the placid puddle with ill-concealed fascination. She'd gotten the chance to travel to the Alpha Site on a couple of occasions, but the Stargate was still an almost unbelievable phenomenon to her.
"Outbound travelers in transit," Sgt. Davis quietly reported the routine information.
And then the sedate blue spasmed and roiled as if in full boil.
The doctor's eyes widened as she watched.
"What is going on?" General Parker demanded.
"I don't know, sir," Sgt. Davis returned. "I've never seen readings like this before," the experienced gate technician admitted.
As Brightman watched mesmerized, the shimmering blue was broken by a mottling of rippling orange-white. Bolts of blue electricity curled and snapped around the stone ring as the light show increased.
"Sergeant Davis?" Parker demanded in a tone that now held more awe and uncertainty in it.
"I don't know, sir. I've never seen anything like it," the poor soldier had to repeat his earlier words.
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When Daniel, Teal'c, Dr. Rider and Lt. Hailey had stepped into the wormhole, their trip began as any other normal trip through the interdimensional rollercoaster… with an adrenaline rush from the speed and feeling of movement.
And then there was a… bump…a jolt… and everything snapped… into a new direction… colors shifted crazily… nausea and vertigo assaulted them as they tumbled…
And then they were spit out.
Slamming into suddenly too-solid reality.
Mercilessly yanked into an abruptly appearing gravitational field.
Slamming into solid stone.
Tumbling painfully in a jangling jumble of arms and legs.
Finally, their momentum spent itself against the ground and they lay motionless.
Small movements came first.
And then groans and moans of protest and complaint.
Teal'c pushed himself upright first and quickly attempted to assess the status of both his new surroundings and his companions. He and his teammates were sprawled and strewn down the unforgiving stone steps before an alien Stargate.
"Agh..ooww..," muttered DanielJackson.
The wormhole behind them was a strange mottling of the typical light blue and a strange pale-orange. The Jaffa watched curiously as the bizarre apparition rippled and strained.
"That sucked," came lowly but plainly from LieutenantHailey.
And then the strange event horizon flickered and then snapped off and the 'Gate powered down.
"I have to agree with you on that one," came wearily from DoctorRider.
Except for the four SGC teammembers, the Jaffa did not see any apparent signs of life in the immediate vicinity. Turning his attention back to his companions, he assessed their physical status. All three of them were pushing themselves into sitting positions on the stone steps as they sorted themselves out and began to take stock of their surroundings.
"Dragon, you OK?" Daniel asked with concern.
"Just fine, but I'm going to be stiff and sore tomorrow," the zoologist predicted ruefully.
"Jennifer?" Daniel asked.
"I'm fine too – just a few bumps and bruises, nothing broken," the young officer answered as she looked back at him assessingly. "How about you?"
"The same, nothing's broken, but I'm going to be sore in certain places for at least a week," the archeologist returned knowingly and then turned to the Jaffa, "Teal'c, you ok?"
"I am fine, DanielJackson," Teal'c replied stoically as he stood up cautiously to get a better view of their surroundings.
"So, what happened – and where are we?" Dragon questioned the others.
To which Jennifer added, " 'Cuz this sure ain't the volcanic slopes of P0X-628," and they all scanned the weedy clearing surrounded by trees and forest.
"There's no MALP," Daniel pointed out.
"Think the DHD's under there?" Dragon was pointing at a primitive shelter down in the clearing and a short ways in front of the stone steps.
"It would be in the right location, and I don't see anything else that looks promising," Jennifer replied.
Quietly Teal'c was cataloguing the scene around them as he stepped cautiously up the steps to gain some height and increase his vantage point. He could hear a suspicious clicking and he scanned the area carefully.
And then they heard a low sound and they all readied their weapons as they searched for the source. Daniel watched the Jaffa knowingly and was not surprised to see Teal'c facing with assurance at the side of the steps.
Motioning for the other three to remain where they were, the Jaffa crept forward silently with his staff weapon ready. And then he stopped and froze. Staring at something the others couldn't see.
And then the low sound came again.
And with that the silent Jaffa sprang forward and leaped off the side of the steps.
Without thinking twice, Daniel followed in Teal'c's wake, ready to assist and support with whatever the Jaffa required. The two women stared at each other for a split second and then moved forward more cautiously.
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Jack moaned as he swam back to consciousness. He could feel the solid ground under him and he knew that he was lying prone, but severe dizziness pinned him down. A part of him wondered if this was how Sam had felt when they'd ended those other sessions. Taking slow breaths, he felt the wooziness and nausea begin to dissipate.
Blindly he reached out a feeble hand and groped for her. Not finding her, he tried opening his eyes just a little, and saw her lying motionless a few feet away. Straining, he pulled himself close enough to touch her.
"Smm?" her name came out more of a moan and she didn't stir.
And then something flew into his peripheral vision and he clamped his eyes shut at the nausea that went along with the blurred movement of the visual images.
He could hear something…, "Jack?" he heard his name, and he responded, "Sam?" while trying to see through slitted eyes. But everything kept moving and he clamped his eyes shut again and tried to focus on his breathing.
"Sam?" he heard someone say and his mind tried to process what was going on.
And then hands were on him and he tried to push them away, not understanding.
"Jack?" he heard his name again, and it definitely wasn't her voice. He opened his eyes just a little again and the image of Daniel's face wavered in front of him.
"Daniel?" he got it out weakly and saw a smile split the young man's face.
"Yep, and Teal'c's over there with Sam," Daniel informed him.
Sam. He had to know how she was. "Sam?" he called to her but Daniel shook his head, "She's unconscious, Jack."
The vertigo and its nausea and wooziness were down to almost tolerable levels now and Jack opened his eyes further and got a better look at his young friend… and a woman just behind his right shoulder…she looked familiar… "Rider?" he asked and the civilian zoologist gave him an unabashed grin.
"Yes sir," she replied definitively.
Turning to Sam, he saw Teal'c and… Lt. Hailey?... kneeling on the other side of her. Momentarily ignoring the others, he pulled himself the last few inches over to Sam's side and placed his hand on her neck, feeling for a pulse, "Sam?" he asked while watching for any signs of movement from her.
Her pulse… she had one… and for now that's all he needed to know… he was too exhausted to think much beyond that.
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They all watched as he checked her pulse and then mumbled something incoherent before passing out by her side.
Snapping into action after that, they quickly checked the two officers over for injuries, took their basic vital signs and treated for shock. Teal'c left the two unconscious officers in the charge of Daniel and Dragon while the Jaffa enlisted Lt. Hailey's assistance with a preliminary scouting of the clearing.
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"What is their condition?" the Jaffa inquired when they returned.
"They are both still unconscious," Daniel replied. "Jack has mumbled a few things and moved around a little, although he hasn't woken up again," and then he looked at his other friend, "Sam had a nosebleed…and some bleeding from the ears, but the bleeding appears to have stopped for now. She hasn't shown any signs of waking up yet."
The Jaffa nodded quietly as he and Lt. Hailey assimilated the information.
"What did you find?" Dragon asked curiously.
"Our cursory examination of the area revealed no signs of hostile life," the Jaffa reported.
"And, we have good news and bad news…," Jennifer added. "The good news is that we found the DHD - it is under that covering."
"And the bad news?" Dragon asked with knowing dread.
"And the bad news is that it is badly damaged and doesn't work. I tried it. Nothing happened," the young officer stated with finality.
"That would explain why they didn't come home," Daniel sighed.
"It's obvious that Colonel Carter attempted to fix it – or at least hotwire it," Lt. Hailey supplied and Teal'c nodded his agreement. "And the covering looks like they were trying to protect it from the weather and dirt and animals and such."
"Any chance that you can fix it?" Dragon asked, although she was fairly certain of the answer.
Jennifer shook her head negatively, "I don't see how. If Colonel Carter couldn't fix it, then I wouldn't have a chance at getting it to work."
"So, now we're stranded here too," Dragon stated with an amazing calm, and silence descended over the clearing for a few moments as they all let the ramifications sink in.
"There is also something else to be aware of," Teal'c broke the silence and two sets of eyes looked back quizzically while one set looked down with resignation. "The DHD appears to have been damaged by the projectiles from an automatic weapon such as the Tauri P90."
Both Hailey and Teal'c watched the two scientists as they absorbed the new information and then extrapolated the potential implications.
"So either Jack or Sam …," and Daniel's voice trailed off as they all took in the P90 sitting ready on the ground next to the two unconscious soldiers.
"Yes, it appears most likely that one of them destroyed the DHD," Teal'c confirmed.
Daniel sighed, "This is going to be some story they have to tell us."
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With Daniel and Dragon watching over Jack and Sam, Teal'c directed Lt. Hailey to use her digital camera to photograph everything around the Stargate. The laptop with the radio jury-rigged to it, the digital camera that had been clicking away when they arrived, the condition of the DHD and its shelter, the 'Gate alarm system that they discovered and anything else that she observed.
Teal'c in the meantime, made a more thorough search of the rest of the clearing and its perimeter. He again noted the footpath leading off into the woods, but did not explore further at the moment.
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"Teal'c?" came over his radio.
"Yes, DanielJackson?" he replied.
"Jack's awake," Daniel informed him.
"Understood, I will be there in a few minutes," the Jaffa responded and then headed straight back across the clearing to the side of the 'Gate.
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When he arrived, he found O'Neill struggling to sit up while DanielJackson and DoctorRider attempted to persuade him to stay prone. Lt. Hailey was wisely staying out of the debate and on the other side of ColonelCarter.
"Daniel, I'm just a little tired, now back off," Jack asserted grumpily as he tried to sit up so that he could check on Sam.
The archeologist sighed and reluctantly gave in and leant him a hand sitting up. "Whoa…," Jack muttered as his world wobbled a little.
"Told you to stay lying down," Daniel pointed out archly while Jennifer and Dragon exchanged questioning looks over the two men's behavior. Teal'c observed impassively, but with a reassuring sense of familiarity.
Pointedly ignoring Daniel's offered hand for stability, Jack leaned over Sam and laid a hand on her neck, checking for her pulse again while watching her face intently. "She's been unconscious since we got here, Jack," Daniel supplied softly and Jack glanced at him and then went back to his scrutiny of her.
"We need to get her to the infirmary," Jack stated without taking his eyes off of her.
"Well, that's a little difficult at the moment," Daniel countered.
"Why?" Jack looked at the archeologist.
"Because we're stuck here with you," and the young man shrugged apologetically.
Jack raised an eyebrow, "This… isn't a rescue?" and he looked at each of the four in turn.
"Well, it was supposed to be," Daniel replied unhelpfully.
"Just didn't end up that way," Dragon added and Jack sent her a quizzical look.
"We were searching for you, sir… it's just that we thought we were going to P0X-628," Lt. Hailey offered, and at his blank reaction she added, "Land of volcanoes…," and then her voice trailed off as she saw his still questioning look.
"Teal'c?" he asked, hoping for clarity.
"We were attempting to travel to P0X-628 to search for yourself and ColonelCarter. Something unusual happened to the Stargate connection, however, and we disembarked here," and the other three raised their eyebrows in protest of his terse account that failed to describe their tumultuous trip through the wormhole… or their painful exit.
Jack's brow furrowed and then he asked heavily, "So you don't have a way to get us home?" he asked for confirmation.
"Not at this time," Teal'c replied evenly.
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TBC
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