A/N: Ok… I couldn't leave you hanging too long… though you may not thank me when you get to the end of this chapter! Oh, and I loved floopygirl's comment about using the machine for packing, especially since I'll have to be doing that in another few months if my remodeling ever gets done... Watch out, you might see that one again in later chapters! Lol.

His relief was short lived however, when ahead of him, Carter was suddenly torn free from her hold. Despite Daniel's valiant attempt to grab her, nearly losing his own grip, she slipped free, tumbling head over heels with no way to stop herself. Jack watched in shock as Carter was tossed about like a rag doll, at the not so tender mercy of the wind.

Chapter 9: Blowing in the Wind

"Carter!" Jack yelled, the sound being ripped away from his mouth before it could emerge. Helpless, Jack could only watch while Carter scrabbled in front of him for anything to grab onto, only to be jerked into the air and slammed back down onto the hard surface of the shaft. Her fingers slid uselessly along the smooth metal, the force of the air pushing her backwards and towards them, far to their right.

Desperately, Jack started to try to move towards her, knowing he'd not be able to get close enough in time, when Teal'c sprang into action. With inhuman strength and lightning fast reflexes, Teal'c reached out a muscled arm and grabbed a handful of the Major's over shirt as she tumbled by. Her momentum threatened to yank them both away, but somehow Teal'c held on with one hand, slowly pulling the smaller woman close to him, guiding her to the ridge he clung to and going as far as to flatten his body over top of her. An arm now on either side of her with his body shielding her, Teal'c had Carter firmly anchored, and Jack permitted himself to release the breath he had been holding, never loosening his own grip on the metal ridge.

Mere minutes felt like hours to the struggling team, the fury of the artificial wind threatening to snatch them away at any moment. Finally, as suddenly as the air had picked up, it diminished; fading away to the gentle whisper it had been before.

The silence seemed deafening after the intense noise from moments before. A cough and a soft groan broke the quiet, as the teammates released their death grips on their various holds and gratefully went limp. Jack forced weak limbs into action, determined to check on his team. Nearby, Teal'c had already rolled off Carter and was helping the slightly dazed woman to sit up. Daniel had the same idea and was making his way towards them as well. Teal'c had fished Carter's small light out of her pocket and was making good use of it.

She blinked a bit in confusion, looking up at the Colonel when he knelt in front of her. "It's really not a good idea to try flying without a plane yanno. You okay Carter?" He noted a small trickle of blood from her nose, and the way she was holding her left arm across her abdomen.

"S-Sorry sir." She was trembling just slightly, likely the effects of adrenaline. Jack was experiencing the same thing, and he could tell by Daniel's nervous shifting that they were all likely feeling the after shocks of the energy rush. Well, three of them at least. Teal'c seemed as calm and unruffled as usual and reached out a hand to Carter to help steady her, receiving a look of gratitude from the somewhat shaken Major.

"You gonna be alright?" Jack caught her eyes again, studying her face. In addition to the nose bleed there was a small bruise forming on one cheek, and she was still cradling her left arm in her lap while distractedly wiping the blood away with the back of her right hand.

She blinked owlishly at him, and was slightly slower than usual to respond. "Y-yes sir. I'm fine sir."

Jack frowned. "Here, give me that light." Teal'c passed over the flashlight, and Carter flinched as he caught her chin, tipping her face up and shining the light into her eyes. "You know the drill Carter, how many?" He held up several fingers in front of her. She squinted a little, and replied. "Three." He nodded, and grabbed her left arm unexpectedly, making her yelp.

"Fine you said?" he grumbled as he deftly prodded the bones in her arm and wrist joint and instructed her to wiggle her fingers, finally studying her face while he gently flexed her wrist. "It doesn't seem like anything is broken Carter."

"I think it's just a sprain, sir." She winced as his fingers found a particularly sore spot, but otherwise didn't complain.

Finally satisfied that she was likely right, he let go and stood up, watching as she rubbed her injured wrist with her good one. He permitted himself a moment of relief that she hadn't been more seriously injured, treating her in their present state with their current lack of supplies would have been like trying to plug a leaking dike with a finger. Looking down at her, his thoughts turned to their upcoming exit from the ventilation system. "Think you'll be up to the climb down Carter?"

She flexed her fingers experimentally, and finally nodded. "I think so sir, its not bad, and feeling better already. Guess I got lucky. If Teal'c hadn't been there…" She trailed off, not wanting to think about what might have happened if Teal'c hadn't been there. Jack didn't blame her; he didn't much want to think about what might have happened either.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Uh, guys, I'm wondering how long before the air handlers pick up again?"

Jack frowned. "I don't know, but I'd rather not stick around to find out. Everyone else ok? Carter, you good to move out?" She nodded and everyone answered in the affirmative, Teal'c offering Carter a hand up. Without any more discussion they set off towards their goal again, Jack ordering them to move at double time.

About ten minutes later they were at the vent opening, and Teal'c quickly confirmed they were over a corridor. Snatching a quick look for himself, Jack thought the floor looked rather far away. Teal was already securing their makeshift rope to the grate, and lowering it through the hole. There had been more than enough rope to scale the table and shelves, but Jack wondered if there would be enough to reach to the floor. Moments later, he breathed a small sigh of relief when the thread managed to make the distance to the floor. Just barely, but it made it. They might have to jump the last inch or so, but it was close enough.

"Ok kids, the sooner we are out of here and on solid ground the better. I want to be out of here before the air comes on again." Jack wanted to be out of the vent before they turned into miniature kites. "Teal'c, you go first. Carter, I want you going next." He knew that if Carter ran into trouble, Teal'c was likely the only one that would be able to help her and not fall off the rope himself if she fell. "Daniel, once they are nearly down, you start climbing. I'll do the same when you are halfway. A shame we don't have any real climbing gear." Nods and Carter's "Yes sir" followed his orders, and Jack double-checked everyone's harness. Teal'c started to descend, tirelessly climbing down the rope. Jack winced, thinking of all the climbing they'd done already. His arms would be sore for sure. It was too bad none of them had been carrying any ibuprofen.

As soon as Teal'c had a good lead, the Colonel helped Carter get started. She winced a little as she grabbed onto the rope with her injured wrist, but stayed silent. Jack watched her progress worriedly, hoping her wrist would hold up. Teal'c remained close by, but other than being a bit slow, she didn't have any trouble. He waited until they had nearly reached the bottom before getting Daniel going.

Soon, Carter and Teal'c had reached the floor and Daniel was making steady downward progress. Jack shifted from foot to foot, watching, not wanting to start on the rope too close to Daniel. Jack knew if he fell, he could end up taking the archeologist with him if he was too close. Trying to let the other man get as much of a head start as possible, the luxury was abruptly taken from his hands when the air started to grow in force again. Wasting no time, Jack grabbed the rope and started down. Hand over hand; he concentrated only on putting as much distance between him and the vent as possible. He felt the current of air pulling at him even from his place on the rope, trying to pull him upwards towards the intake vent. The rope swayed and Jack prayed that Daniel had made it to safety. He didn't look down, afraid he would lose his grip if he did. His world narrowed to the rope in front of him, so much so that when hands gripped his legs and he ran out of rope he was momentarily startled.

On solid ground, Jack turned a critical eye over his team. Daniel was stretching, trying to shake the kinks out of his shoulders and arms. Jack flexed his own muscles in sympathy. Carter was seated on the floor not very far away, obviously taking a moment to rest. While slightly pale, she seemed ok, just tired. They all were. Well, except for Teal'c. He looked like he was ready to take on a battalion of enemy Jaffa. Single handedly. With no weapons. Did he mention blindfolded?

Burying a bit of envy for his seemingly tireless companion, Jack was sorely tempted to pull up a patch of ground near Carter and take ten, but taking in his surroundings, he knew they needed to get somewhere more protected. "Ok campers, we need to get out of the middle of the hallway, before someone steps on us."

Fortunately, it was late in the evening, and there seemed to be little traffic on this level. Carter levered herself to her own feet, taking several fairly steady steps to Jack's critical eye. She didn't voice a complaint; she was too much of a soldier and would never complain, until she bowled over from sheer exhaustion. At which point she wouldn't be able to complain because she was unconscious, but that was Carter. He wished they had the luxury of stopping, but they couldn't until they found someplace safe.

The Colonel looked around the hallway, trying to get his bearings and decide which direction to take. He had meant what he'd earlier said about finding food and water. The power bars felt like they'd been eaten hours ago, and none of them had had any water recently. An odd deep hum sound was slowly penetrating his thoughts though, making it hard to think. Daniel abruptly tugged on his sleeve. "Uh, Jack," he said, "What's that noise?"

"O'Neill." Teal'c pointed down the hall, where something large and ominous looking was heading their way at a rather fast clip.

"Oh my God." If it was possible, Carter had just gone a shade paler.

"Run!" Jack shouted, grabbing Daniel's arm with one hand and Carter's with the other, feeling Teal'c fall in behind them all. Desperately, the team tried to get out of the way of the rapidly approaching floor buffer.