- - -
Author's Note: I've had this chapter ready for days, so I'm really glad that Fanfiction is accepting new uploads and postings!
- - -
- - -
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.
And as he stared up at the glittering stars in the inky black sky, his vision suddenly whited-out.
- - -
Ch 61: ASSISTANCE
- - -
"O'Neill?"
And he was suddenly looking up at a large grey head with large black eyes. "Thor?" he asked incredulously from his prone position on the floor.
"Yes, O'Neill," and the alien's eyes blinked slowly at him.
Sitting up quickly, Jack looked around. He was on an Asgard ship. Dr. Rider and Daniel were both pushing themselves up into sitting positions while Teal'c and Lt. Hailey were already standing.
"Whoa..!" came from Dr. Rider while Lt. Hailey's face morphed into an expression of amazement and excitement. Daniel simply shook his head and looked around while Teal'c looked as if he popped up to Asgard ships every night.
Jack scanned the room quickly once more, "Thor, Sam was on the planet with us."
"Yes, O'Neill. Based on Colonel Carter's bio signs, I transported her directly to a bio pod," the diminutive grey alien replied calmly.
Jack pushed himself to his feet, "Can you heal her?"
"That is unknown at this time. We are currently assessing her status," the Asgard replied.
"Right," and Jack pulled in a breath, "Well, not that I'm not happy to see you, but if you'd point me towards your version of the infirmary, I'd like to see her for myself."
The alien nodded slightly, "As you wish," and simply began walking down a hallway. The others looked at each other and shrugged, and then fell in behind.
"Uh, Thor?" Daniel spoke up.
"Yes, Doctor Jackson?" Thor replied calmly.
"Did the SGC tell you where we were?" the archeologist inquired.
"Yes," the Asgard replied economically.
"They must have received the message," Dr. Rider commented.
Thor nodded at the zoologist, "You are correct, Dr. Rider." and her eyebrows rose at the alien's proper use of her title and name. "Unfortunately, the Tauri Stargate malfunctioned when the SGC attempted to connect with the planet designated in the message. The SGC Stargate is currently offline and undergoing repairs."
On hearing this information, Daniel, Jennifer and Dragon exchanged looks while Jack winced. "The SGC must have experienced a short-circuit and/or feedback event similar to what we saw on the digital images," Jennifer speculated accurately.
"So you came to get us?" Daniel asked.
"Yes," the small grey alien replied briefly.
"Thanks," Dragon sent the Asgard a grateful smile and received a small nod of the head in response.
"Any chance you could pick up our gear?" Daniel asked hopefully.
To which the Asgard nodded slightly again, "We have already beamed up all of your equipment and supplies. They are currently in a storage room."
"Uh, thanks," Daniel answered quietly as they entered another room where the only significant items were a console on a raised dais and one of the Asgard bio-pods. With one unconscious Sam Carter inside.
Thor stepped up onto the dais and began studying and working with the console. Jack stepped over and looked down at her with Daniel and Teal'c just a step behind. Dr. Rider and Lt. Hailey hung back, giving the three men of SG-1 some space.
"O'Neill, Colonel Carter's biosigns are extremely unusual. What can you tell me of how she was injured?" the Asgard inquired.
Jack sighed, "It's a long story… four and a half months long to be exact," he answered.
The Asgard simply blinked slowly in response and waited patiently.
Jack ran a hand through his hair, "Well, the DHD was damaged and wouldn't work, so we were accessing the Stargate through this hour-glass-shaped panel in the platform below the 'Gate… and something went wrong. There was this… green glow around her hand… and the event horizon was this weird mottling of orange-white and blue…and there were these giant sparks curling around the Stargate… Sam and I both got shocked, but she got it worse… I was thrown clear, but she wasn't. The wormhole was apparently connected to the SGC for 24 seconds and then it shut down and Sam collapsed. She had a nosebleed and some bleeding from the ears…and she's been unconscious ever since."
The Asgard waited a few moments before speaking, and then, "You and Samantha Carter operated the Stargate without the use of the standard control interface, what the Tauri call the DHD?"
"Right, the DHD was damaged," Jack repeated.
"Have you ever done this before?" the Asgard inquired.
"We started experimenting with it about 10 weeks ago… but yesterday was the first time that anything came through the wormhole," Jack explained.
"And that anything would be us," and Daniel gestured at the four of them.
The Asgard did not reply immediately and Jack added, "Sam healed me twice and I healed her once….with this weird green glowy thing. The last time that Sam healed me, she was in a deep sleep like this for three days," and then he waited for Thor's reaction.
Without replying, the alien turned his attention back to his console and worked the controls while studying the readouts. Jack turned back to watching Sam… who appeared to be simply asleep inside the alien pod.
"O'Neill, I have not encountered a human with these life sign readings before, nor is there information in our database sufficient to cure Colonel Carter," and with that statement, the mood in the room dropped considerably. "However, based on your description of how you accessed the Stargate, I believe that we should consult the Nox for their expertise and information."
"You think they can help?" Jack asked.
"It is possible," the Asgard replied.
"How long will it take to get there?" Daniel asked.
"Two point six of your Earth-based hours," the alien replied accurately. Dragon and Jennifer exchanged amazed looks while the three men of SG-1 simply nodded.
"How is she in the meantime?" Jack asked softly.
"Colonel Carter is stable at the moment. I can place her in stasis if her condition deteriorates before we reach our destination," Thor replied steadily.
"Right then," Jack replied, "Noxville here we come," he quipped.
No one attempted a rejoinder to that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Muzzy.
Thick.
S l o w.
Just… here.
No direction… no movement.
Just… here.
S l o w.
Thick.
Muzzy.
Not in control… but not quite struggling for control.
She was simply… here.
And then darkness.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
And a little over two and a half hours later, Thor beamed aboard two of the aliens with their distinctive moss-and-twig-like hair that wreathed pleasant and peaceful faces.
"General O'Neill, Doctor Jackson, Teal'c," Anteaus nodded his head slightly in greeting.
"Anteaus, Lya," Jack returned politely, "This is Doctor Rider and Lieutenant Hailey."
"It is a pleasure to meet you Doctor Rider and Lieutenant Hailey," the pleasant-faced alien replied and both the zoologist and the young officer nodded respectfully in return.
Turning back to Jack and Thor, Anteaus spoke, "Thor has described Colonel Carter's condition to us. We would like to examine her, if that is agreeable?"
Jack looked at Thor, who simply nodded slowly and led the group to Sam's biopod. Stepping back up onto the raised dais, the Asgard used the control panel and the transparent pane over Sam's torso slid back into the pod.
Without speaking, Anteaus and Lya moved over to the side of the pod and extended their hands over Sam's chest. Crossing their arms at the wrists, the Nox closed their eyes. The five humans and one Asgard waited silently.
And then the Nox became translucent, and then so did Sam.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She swam back towards awareness.
Again.
And this time, she finally broke through.
She tried to open her eyes… but for some reason couldn't.
She tried to listen for any sounds… but heard nothing.
She tried to speak… but weirdly couldn't make anything happen.
She tried to move… but discovered that she couldn't move… anything.
She couldn't even feel… her body…
Sensory deprivation?
She'd never been in one of those… tanks?
Fear seeped unbidden around the edges of her thoughts.
Where was she?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Their images wavered and then returned to normal.
Anteaus and Lya opened their eyes, but Sam did not.
"Her physical injuries are basically repaired, however we could not reach her mind," Anteaus stated solemnly.
"Her mind?" Daniel asked and the Nox tilted his head slightly.
"We must consult with Thor before we can tell you more," Lya answered softly.
"OK…, then… consult away," Jack invited.
Nodding respectfully to the five humans, the two Nox moved off to confer with the Asgard.
Jack turned his attention back to Sam, while Daniel moved to his side. "So what do you think they accomplished, Daniel?" Jack asked the younger man.
Daniel considered his answer and then offered, "I think that they healed whatever physical damage was caused by that weird electrical discharge that happened right before we came through the wormhole."
Jack nodded, "Whatever was bleeding for example…"
And Daniel nodded in return.
"And what do you think they meant by 'could not reach her mind'?" Jack pursued.
And here the archeologist had to shrug and shake his head negatively, "I'm not sure, Jack," he admitted.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She pushed past the thick muzziness of semi-consciousness and struggled for awareness again. She didn't know how many times she'd repeated this cycle. Unconscious, semi-conscious, aware… unconscious, semi-conscious, unconscious, semi-conscious, unconscious, semi-conscious, aware, unconscious… shuffle and repeat…
She had no concept of time.
Days, weeks, months, years…
…or perhaps it was all just minutes.
This time, however, when she broke through to that state of awareness… this time, she remembered. She remembered the images of the wormhole and the two confining planes. She remembered the second wormhole… the light blue one. She remembered the strong force pulling them towards…
Them…
She remembered…
Them…
She remembered – Him.
Where was he? She reached out for him mentally.
Searching for that familiar and comforting mental fizzing that was him.
But she felt only silence.
She felt only emptiness.
He was not here.
She tried to look for him… for the two planes… for the wormhole…
But she couldn't see anything.
She couldn't control her eyes… she couldn't even feel her eyes.
She strained to hear anything.
But the silence was absolute and complete.
She thought about speaking, but couldn't even command a breath.
She mentally groped for something to center on.
Something to recognize and identify.
But there was nothing but darkness and her own cloudy thoughts.
Sensory deprivation?
Or was this what a coma was like?
Unable to move, feel or interact with anything.
And what had happened to Jack?
She reached out for him mentally again.
Searching for that reassuring fizzing sensation that was so definitively him.
But she felt nothing.
Just dark and quiet… and nothing.
She couldn't reach him, she couldn't find him.
She'd lost him.
He was gone.
She was tiring.
Sinking.
Suddenly the image of a mottled shimmering appeared in her mind.
Reminding her of an event horizon…
… and without her conscious control, she slipped through its wavering surface.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Strident tones accompanied by blinking lights caused a sudden burst of activity. Thor focused on his readouts and controls while the two Nox stepped back over to the side of Sam's biopod. The five humans watched with mounting concern.
"Wha-?" Jack started to ask as he stepped forward, but Teal'c's restraining arm held him back.
"Jack, let them work," Daniel spoke quietly to his friend as they watched the aliens focus on Sam.
Sam's body jerked and convulsed.
Jack reflexively tried to move forward again, but both Daniel and Teal'c held onto him.
- - -
- - -
TBC
- - -