"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."
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.
- - -
- - -
Ch 60: FROM TWO TO SIX
- - -
Jack's shoulders slumped and then he turned back to Sam as his mind attempted to assimilate the new information. He blinked and squinted his eyes as he tried to focus, the effects of the last 'Gate session still muddling his thought processes. The others watched him silently for a few moments.
And then the silence was broken as the Stargate powered up.
The four newcomers readied their weapons as Jack looked around for his P90. Teal'c handed it to him without taking his eyes off of the spinning Stargate.
"You guys expecting anyone?" Jack asked as they pulled Sam up against the base of the gate for cover.
"We don't even know where we are," Daniel returned as he took cover while watching the Stargate.
"Oh. Uh…well then, let me welcome you to P8X-539," Jack muttered as he took up a position next to Daniel while still covering Sam.
And then the Stargate suddenly powered off.
They all watched intently.
The seconds ticked away silently.
The five SGC personnel exchanged questioning looks.
And then the Stargate powered up again… but there was no movement. The inner ring strained, but did not move. "I think it's stuck," Lt. Hailey muttered loud enough for those around her to hear.
Suddenly large sparks and crackling snaps and pops filled the air around the naquadah ring. All five dove away from the Stargate, Jack and Daniel pulling Sam with them. Sheltering their faces from the sudden electrical storm behind them, they lay face down on the ground with Sam sandwiched under Jack and Daniel.
The spectacular pyrotechnic display only lasted a little over a minute, but humans experience an odd 'focusing effect' during such moments… where all normal and routine multitasking ceases… and one's entire consciousness is focused on the here and now… feeling and experiencing each millisecond… and this is unusual. Normally, the human mind is thinking about several threads simultaneously… what you're planning for dinner later… what you're going to do over the weekend… judging how well that conversation went yesterday with your coworker… when you plan to get your hair cut… what not to forget at the grocery store… mental reminders to put the wet wash into the dryer… All of this and more wanders in and out of one's consciousness at the same time that life is happening.
But in times of dramatic events, such as an earthquake, or a fire, … or a Stargate short-circuiting… in such times, all facets of the human brain come to bear on the present. And with that much undistracted mental focus, we become conscious of every sense… we experience sound and smell and taste with a vividness that is not approached at any other time in our lives. As a consequence, time seems to slow down. Each second feels like 5 or 10 seconds. Minutes are interminable. We feel so much… so intensely.
Jack pulled himself more completely over Sam. Shielding her from the heat and general cacophony behind him. He felt the contrast between the softness that was her and the gritty hardness of the ground and the prickly needlepoints of the crumpled weeds smashed beneath them. He felt Daniel on the other side, helping him shield her. He felt Lt. Hailey on the other side of him, and realized that the young officer was against his side, the junior officer using her body to at least partially shield her superior officer's.
The intense smell of burnt ozone filled the air as the crackling and snapping behind them continued. Jack held onto Sam, feeling her beneath him, and feeling Daniel and the Lieutenant on either side.
And then, the intensity and ferocity of the electrical storm finally diminished dramatically. Dying down to just some fizzing and small crackling.
Slowly and carefully, five of the six raised their heads and looked around. Jack's eyes met Daniel's and with quick, silent nods, they told each other that they were each basically ok. Both men quickly glanced down at Sam's quiet face and closed eyes, and Jack moved a hand to her neck to feel for a pulse. Daniel waited interminable seconds and then Jack nodded with relief, letting Daniel know that she was still alive.
Both men pushed themselves up a bit and turned to look at the rest of their group. Lt. Hailey was still holding a hand on the General's back and watching the others assessingly. Jack gave her a small reassuring grin and a nod of acknowledgement as his eyes quickly took in Teal'c and Dr. Rider just a few feet beyond the Lieutenant. Teal'c had unsurprisingly shielded Dr. Rider with his body, and the two of them were pushing themselves to sitting positions while looking over at the other four.
"Dr. Rider? Teal'c?" Jack asked.
"Just fine, General… a little bruised and shaken up, but other than that…," Dr. Rider reported while visually inspecting the others for any injuries.
"I too am fine," Teal'c replied with his customary brevity.
Shifting his eyes back to the Lieutenant, "Hailey?" he prompted.
"I'm fine, sir," the young officer replied crisply and he studied her for a moment and then gave her a knowing look for her actions to shield him. "Right," and then he turned back to the archeologist, "Daniel?"
"Just a few more bruises," he replied with a dismissive shrug.
Nodding, Jack took one more look at the only one who couldn't answer any questions, and then joined the others as they stared at the Stargate.
The air was strong with that sharp smell of electrocuted air.
The Stargate was dark and the stone scored and marred with black streaks where the high voltage electricity had crackled and snapped.
As they watched and absorbed the new condition of the Stargate, the background fizzing and crackling quickly died away to a complete silence.
"Wow," Lt. Hailey finally broke the silence with an understated exclamation that conveyed both a comment on what had just happened as well as the longer-term ramifications.
"Wow is right, Lieutenant," Jack muttered softly.
- - - - - - - -
Teal'c, Lt. Hailey and Daniel walked around the Stargate and inspected the damage. Dr. Rider stayed with Jack and monitored Sam.
"So what's the verdict, Lieutenant?" Jack asked Hailey when they returned.
Shaking her head negatively, the young woman replied, "I think the 'Gate is fried, sir."
"Fried?" he questioned with a small smile at the scientist's uncharacteristic use of such a non-technical term.
But she only nodded solemnly, "Yes, sir. I don't think this 'Gate is capable of sending or receiving any wormhole connections. Maybe we could jury-rig something if we had the resources of the SGC at hand… but…," and the young officer's voice trailed off.
"But we don't have the resources of the SGC," Jack completed with understanding and looked at the four new arrivals… who were now apparently stranded here with Sam and himself.
His practical mind kicked into gear and he noted the low levels of light indicating that the day was progressing inexorably into early evening. Out of habit, he glanced at his watch for confirmation and then back at Sam's quiet form. "Allright campers, we'd better get camp set up before dark." With a minimum of direction, they packed up what loose gear was lying around, and with Teal'c carrying Sam, Jack guided them down the path that led to their campsite and shelter.
They quickly tucked Sam into a sleeping bag and periodically monitored her pulse and respiration for any changes. Questions and explanations were put off while they erected tents, set out bedrolls, rekindled the fire and set to cooking an evening meal. Jack ate silently and they did not grill him for information… yet. His mind was still a bit fuzzy from the effects of that last 'Gate session and he had yet to completely comprehend what had happened. He kept looking at the four new arrivals as if they were figments of his imagination.
Sam hadn't stirred. The tent flaps were tied open and Jack sat protectively in the tent's doorway, with one eye on her and the other on the fire and their new companions.
The other four watched him watch her.
"Jack, what happened to you and Sam?" Daniel asked gently while gesturing with his head towards the unconscious woman in the tent. His question was deliberately vague, allowing Jack's answer to range from just the events of today, to the events of the past four months.
Jack nodded vaguely and stared at her silent form, "She's been like this two other times since we've been here… It's almost like a coma… she woke up the first time after just a few hours… but the second time it was three days."
"Three days?" Daniel echoed in amazement.
"Yeah… but that was different than this… that time she'd healed me… this time, she was controlling the 'Gate…, and there was never any bleeding before," he replied absently as he continued staring at her.
The others watched and waited for further explanation, but it quickly became apparent that Jack was not going to synopsize the past four and a half months in the next few minutes. Dragon looked over and caught Jennifer's eyes, "How about if we check the camp alarm system and then check out the local facilities?" she proposed and with a quick assent the two women left the three men of SG-1 with a little privacy.
After a few moments of silence, Daniel asked, "Is she going to be ok?"
Jack shook his head, "I don't know."
After a few more moments of silence, Teal'c stood quietly, "I will patrol the immediate vicinity," and then silently moved off, leaving the two remaining men with their sleeping charge.
- - - - - - - -
"So," Daniel offered non-committally.
"So," Jack returned equally.
"I'm sorry that I didn't know about the Vandi, Jack," Daniel apologized and Jack looked startled.
"That wasn't your fault Daniel," Jack dismissed the younger man's guilt.
"Maybe, maybe not," the archeologist allowed, "But I still feel that those types of things are my responsibility… and I didn't catch it."
Jack sighed, "Daniel none of this was your fault," and he held up a hand to forestall the young man's protestations, "Some of it was simply the price of doing business with an alien culture… and some of it was the effect of an alien narcotic… and some of it was my fault," Jack stated flatly.
"Jack-," Daniel started, but the officer cut him off.
"Daniel, I stole military supplies and equipment, I misused the Stargate, I traveled across the galaxy to abduct a fellow officer and then I stranded the two of us here by shooting the hell out of the DHD," Jack synopsized brutally and Daniel winced.
Jack looked over at the younger man, "So what happened to you and Teal'c? Did you go off and kidnap anyone?" and he employed a deliberately flippant and challenging tone.
Daniel took a deep breath and blew it out slowly while shaking his head negatively, "No… we both just…," and his voice trailed off as his face reddened and he settled for just shrugging his shoulders.
"Right," Jack returned shortly and continued staring at Sam.
- - - -
The four new arrivals were back around the fire again while Jack continued his silent vigil in the tent doorway. Just as Daniel was opening his mouth to ask a question, Jack suddenly stood up and started looking around.
"What are you looking for?" Daniel asked curiously.
"There was a digital camera… and a laptop…," he muttered vaguely as he scanned the items arrayed around the camp.
"They're over here, sir," Lt. Hailey pointed at the equipment just behind her. The laptop and radio were charred and melted, but the camera had survived amazingly unscathed. Sensing the General's unspoken questions, she added, "I had moved the camera over with my gear, but the laptop and radio were still right next to the base of the 'Gate."
He stared at her for a moment, nodded and then rooted through the stacks of supplies under the shelter…. returning a few moments later with another -uncharred- laptop and a small accessories kit. "Everything's backed up," he muttered and then set to booting up the laptop and then the digital camera.
The camera, however, did not work. He sighed audibly and Hailey offered, "Sir, perhaps it's just the batteries," and she deftly popped the batteries out of her camera and swapped them for the ones in his camera.
Now the camera functioned normally, and with a quick nod of thanks to the Lieutenant, he quickly started to download the camera's digital images onto the laptop. When it was finished, he disconnected the camera and then moved back into the tent's open doorway, where he could keep an eye on Sam. Sitting sideways in the tent doorway, he had an easy view of Sam while also catching some firelight for the keyboard. The others watched curiously from around the fire as he set to pecking away on the laptop intently.
Finally, Daniel could take it no longer and he got up and walked over and sat down next to the military officer. "What are you doing?" and he tried to keep his voice casual.
Jack glanced up at him, "Checking out the images of the 'Gate connection," he returned briefly.
Daniel looked askance at his other companions but saw no explanations forthcoming as they all simply shrugged or shook their heads briefly. Turning his attention to the computer monitor, he watched as Jack opened a slide viewing program and loaded the recently downloaded pictures. "I didn't know that you knew how to do that, Jack," Daniel couldn't help needling the older man.
Jack just looked at him sideways, "I've watched Sam do it dozens of times," and he just left his explanation at that as he started stepping through the images.
Daniel watched curiously as he quickly identified the Stargate, and then Sam standing in the bottom corner of the photo. He leaned forward as he realized that she had her hand pressed against the stone base. "Jack, what's she doing?" he couldn't help asking.
"Turning the 'Gate on," the officer replied as if it was obvious.
Daniel raised an eyebrow and glanced at his three other companions… who were each watching the two men intently. Turning back to the images, Daniel next noticed that the 'Gate lit up and as Jack stepped through the sequence, Daniel realized that the inner ring of the 'Gate was moving. Next, a white event horizon snapped into existence. "Whoa…," the archeologist breathed.
Jack glanced over at him again and smirked, "Yeah, I think I said something along those lines the first time I saw it," and then the officer looked up to see three other sets of eyes staring back curiously. Sighing, he glanced back at Sam and then addressed the group, "Come on over here, where you can see," and he waved them over.
Not needing a second invitation, Lt. Hailey and Doctor Rider moved quickly and took up positions where they could see the computer screen. Teal'c quietly placed himself standing to one side and behind the others. "Can you see from there, big guy?" Jack asked before he continued.
"I can," the Jaffa returned soberly.
Jack glanced at Sam again and then turned back to the slide viewing program and started the sequence over for those who'd just joined them.
He quickly stepped through the slides again to the establishment of the event horizon. "Why is it white?" Lt. Hailey asked.
"It's actually slightly orange," Jack corrected. "You just aren't seeing the colors correctly because of your angle to the LCD screen."
They all stared at him.
"What?" and he gave them a look of challenging innocence.
"ColonelCarter's influence is apparent, O'Neill," Teal'c's deep voice reverberated from above them.
"Well, it has been four and half months," Jack muttered and then turned back to the slide show.
"Um, sir?" Lt. Hailey interrupted him.
"Yeah?" he returned.
"Why is it white…and slightly orange?" and she tried her question again.
"Oh. We don't know," he returned with a shrug as he began stepping through the images again. They watched as Jack stepped up alongside Sam and put his hand on her arm.
"What are you doing, Jack?" Daniel asked.
"Hmmm? Oh. It works better with both of us," he gave them another partial answer that simply begged for more questions, but they held their tongues for now.
They watched as the images advanced and the only movement was the turning of the inner 'Gate ring and the flickering of the glowing event horizon.
And then Jack slowed the pace of the advancing slides and he silently pointed at Sam's hand for them. Squinting, their eyes widened when they saw the green glow leaking out from around the edges of her palm.
"What-?" Daniel started to ask, but Jack cut him off with a simple, "Don't know."
Next, he pointed at the event horizon and now they could all see that it was a more sedate pale orange rather than the glowing off-white.
He stepped through the next set of photos until the event horizon flickered and then reestablished in a glowing white. "Just over a minute," he muttered as he checked the time index.
"A minute?" Dragon carefully maintained a conversational tone.
"We would always try for a minute or so… it gave the message enough time to cycle through 4 or 5 times," Jack replied while stepping through the photos again.
"The message?" Lt. Hailey queried.
Jack looked up and studied the curious faces around him and sighed, "Yeah, we set the laptop up with one of the radios, to broadcast a repeating, encrypted message that included our names, the designation of this planet - P8X-539, and the fact that the DHD here didn't work."
"So the SGC may know where we are?" Dragon extrapolated.
"That was probably them trying to connect when the Gate… shorted out," Jennifer mused.
Jack studied the young officer for a moment and then nodded, "No one else has dialed in the entire time we've been here." Jack opened his mouth as if he was going to say more, but then apparently changed his mind and refocused on the images on the computer.
Jack slowed down again as he was advancing the slides. Lines of blue electricity curled around the stone ring and its stone base and the two officers jerked. Jack was thrown backwards, but Sam remained standing, her body shaking with sharp tremors. Jack let out a strangled moan and then began stepping through the pictures again. Next, the event horizon flushed outwards and then settled back down. The blue lines of electricity faded away as the event horizon settled down to a convulsive rippling with a shifting mottled pattern of blues and orange-whites.
"That is how the event horizon appeared when I looked back after our arrival," Teal'c suddenly offered from behind them.
"I didn't see that," Dragon breathed while watching intently.
"Me either," Daniel agreed and Jennifer just nodded without taking her eyes off of the screen.
And then they saw themselves tumble out of the 'Gate and down the steps. "Ouch," Daniel commented and the two women winced at the sharp memories.
But Jack wasn't watching their acrobatics, he was watching Sam. The green glow had engulfed her hand and she was still shaking as if the electric currents were still arcing across the 'Gate.
The event horizon continued to ripple and convulse as the four new arrivals detangled themselves. They saw Teal'c push himself up and look back. And then it snapped off and Jack stopped on that photo, "Twenty-four seconds," he muttered after checking the time index again.
Short, but long enough for their encrypted message to get through.
Advancing to the next few photos, they saw Sam go limp and slump to the ground unconscious.
"Wow," Jennifer finally spoke into the silence.
"Yeah. Wow," Dragon seconded the young officer's comment.
"Jack… you said that Sam's been asleep like this before?" Daniel couldn't help but ask after seeing that series of images.
"Well, she's been asleep like this… unconscious, or whatever this is…," and then he paused for a breath, "But there's never been any bleeding before… and that thing with the 'Gate, that was new… we'd done stuff similar… but that whole blue electrical thing… and the 'Gate connection was different… and, well, nothing's ever come through before… let alone people…," and his voice trailed off.
"So…," Daniel watched Sam with him.
"So I don't know," and they all heard the depth of emotion in his voice.
Silence descended again as they all thought over what they'd seen and what they still didn't know or understand. And to their surprise, he broke the silence, "She said that it was highly unlikely that anything would be able to come through to our planet when we connected… because we were establishing outgoing wormholes…," and then he looked at them almost accusingly, "But you came through," and then his expression relented, "Of course, there was something different about that wormhole… it wasn't the simple pale orange…," and his voice trailed off again as he continued to stare at her silent form.
Daniel watched his long-time friend sympathetically for a few moments and then turned to the quiet group, "How about if we call it a night?" he asked the others.
They each nodded silently and set to policing the camp before settling in for watch or some sack time. The four new arrivals planned to follow their customary four-watch rotation and did not ask Jack to take one.
When Jack sat down next to Sam, Doctor Rider asked the other three to join her for a private discussion on the other side of the fire and out of the General's earshot.
"Um.. I don't want to upset any applecarts here, but should he be sleeping in there with her?" Doctor Rider broached the touchy subject.
Daniel sighed and Teal'c showed no reaction. Jennifer waited and watched.
"I can't believe that Jack would hurt Sam," Daniel voiced with belief.
"He did abduct her and strand her here for four and a half months," Dragon pointed out.
And no one needed to point out the issues with the current sleeping arrangements and military regs.
"The Sandaran Vandi was responsible for GeneralO'Neill's actions four and a half months ago," Teal'c intoned quietly.
"Yes…, but…. are you ok with this?" and she gestured at the two officers in the tent across from them. "You're sure that… this is safe?"
Teal'c's and Daniel's eyes met for a silent conversation that only lasted seconds and then the Jaffa answered, "I am confident that SamanthaCarter will come to no harm from O'Neill; however, whoever is on watch will make frequent checks on her status."
"Uh…does anyone know what he's doing now?" Jennifer asked with trepidation and they all looked over to see Jack kneeling next to Sam with his hand on her chest. Eyebrows shot up and eyes widened as the four teammates tried to figure out a reasonable explanation for what the General was doing.
Dragon took the initiative and strode over to the tent, "Sir, what are you doing?" she asked directly while keeping her tone non-confrontational.
Jack hung his head and sighed in defeat as he sat back, "It didn't work."
"What didn't work, Jack?" Daniel had been right on Dragon's heels.
The officer looked up from staring at Sam and glanced at the four pairs of wary eyes watching him. Sighing again, he offered, "I was trying to heal her… I did it once before," and he winced at their expressions of disbelief and then mused outloud, "But she wasn't in one of these deep sleeps at the time…," and his eyes went back to his study of Sam's face, "It didn't work the last time I tried it when she was sleeping like this…," and his voice trailed off.
"Jack?" Daniel interrupted the officer's ruminations.
"Yeah?" and Jack glanced up and then back down at her sleeping form.
"I think you should bunk with me tonight," Daniel recommended
Jack's head shot up to pin the archeologist's gaze, "Why?" he demanded sharply.
"Jack, we don't understand everything that happened here… tomorrow, hopefully there will be time for you to bring us up to speed… but for right now, it's probably better for everyone if you bunk with me tonight and Dragon and Jennifer will watch Sam," and the archeologist tried to keep his tone reasonable and non-confrontational.
Jack stared at him and then looked at each of the others in turn, "You don't trust me," he accused, but without rancor.
"Jack, we don't know what to think right now-," Daniel started, but Jack interrupted.
"No, you're right Daniel," he said as he made his way out of the tent while dragging a sleeping bag with him. "I stranded the two of us here and now you four are stuck here as well. I took Sam away unconscious and here we are, over four months later, and she's unconscious again," and he gave the archeologist a hard look. "I can understand why you are all confused…"
"Not to mention the weird wormhole connection and the strange references to you and Sam healing each other," Daniel added and then shrugged apologetically.
Jack nodded curtly, "I'll sleep right here, outside the tent. Dr. Rider or Lt. Hailey can bunk with Sam. And you need to check on her every hour or so," he directed.
"Yes sir," Lt. Hailey spoke quietly as she went to fetch her bedroll.
"We'll take care of her, sir," Dr. Rider reassured him.
Jack stared into the tent at Sam's motionless form and then glanced back up, "Make sure that you do," and then he turned his attention to laying his sleeping bag just outside the tent, but where he would not impede the flow of anyone going in or out.
Daniel and Teal'c watched their friend silently for a few moments and then moved off to finish putting things away for the evening.
- - - - - -
No one got much sleep that night.
All four of the newcomers watched Sam for any signs of improvement.
And they watched Jack carefully, wondering what he was going to do next.
Jack was acutely aware of their watchful eyes. He tried to ignore their attentions, but the presence of four more people made him feel crowded.
He was also simply finding it hard to sleep or rest without her next to him.
So he tossed and turned and looked in at her every few minutes.
They all watched his restless actions warily.
Sam was the only one who got any real sleep that night.
- - - -
Jack checked his watch for the hundredth time. 0350. The sun would be up in a few hours, and he found himself thinking clearly for what felt like the first time since that last 'Gate session. The events after that were a series of almost disjointed segments, and he wondered what the other four were thinking of his behavior and lack of explanations.
His eyes roamed over the constellations in the night sky. He found Charlie's softball… significantly higher in the sky at this time of the night. His mind wandered over the events of the past four months and then he thought about what might lay ahead of them now. He picked out a few more constellations, but his eyes kept coming back to Charlie's softball.
And as he stared up at the glittering stars in the inky black sky, his vision suddenly whited-out.
- - -
- - -
TBC
- - -