The General addressed the tech, and eventually the entire group moved away from the bed and was talking quietly, so Sam couldn't hear the conversation. Since nothing interesting was happening, Sam permitted herself to close her eyes and relax, reflecting over the events of the rather unusual and hectic day.
Chapter 15: Respite
It seemed to Sam that she had only just closed her eyes, when she was startled by a light touch on her shoulder. The hand tightened when she jolted, and she heard the Colonel's voice. "Easy."
Realizing she must have fallen asleep, she looked apologetically at her superior who was crouching at her side. "Sorry sir."
But he was shaking his head. "Don't worry about it Carter, I kinda figured you would. You may not have a concussion, but you've been knocked on the head how many times in the past few hours? I would've let you sleep, but I figured you should eat. Here." With that, the Colonel thrust something towards her. He was holding out what looked like a crumbled up piece of a very large power bar, and a small white object. She straightened, looking at him quizzically.
"Sir, what's this?" She took the proffered items and found the white object full of water.
Jack shrugged, sitting down. "I think it's a syringe cap. Daniel managed to show the Doc that we could use some food and water while we wait for them to find a microphone and computer sensitive enough to hear us." He motioned over his shoulder, indicating what was behind him. Sam leaned forward to look around his body and could see Daniel talking animatedly with Teal'c. He was also holding his own syringe cap, and Sam noted that there was now a medicine cup filled with water that had a notch cut in it to allow them to reach inside, and a pile of crumbled pieces of a power bar on a piece of napkin.
Sam turned her attention back to the food in front of her, and curiously looked at the capful of water after taking a quick sip. At their present size, it was as wide as a drinking cup and had a flat bottom, so she was able to sit it down while she worked on the bits of power bar. Next to her, Jack had stretched out with his hands behind his head, leaning against the same oversized tire she leaned on. He remained silent, looking around the room while she applied herself to her meal.
"Sir?" she said when finished.
Jack turned his attention back to her. "Yeah Carter?"
"It's been an interesting trip so far hasn't it?"
He cocked his head slightly, quirking an eyebrow. "That it has."
She only nodded, and finished her water. Crumpling her bit of napkin, she brushed her hands off on her thighs and stood up.
"Going somewhere Carter?" The Colonel remained seated, looking up at her.
"Just want to stretch a little before my butt goes numb, sir." As if proving her statement, she stretched her arms up above her head, the joints giving off a little pop. Feeling more refreshed after her brief nap and meal, Sam decided to stay on her feet. "Going to walk around a little sir, work out the kinks."
"Sure thing Carter. Just don't overdue it. I'll be here, if you need me." Jack pointed at his relaxed posture, and leaned back against the tire, closing his eyes in dismissal.
Sam nodded, even though he couldn't see the motion, and wandered away, stretching out knotted muscles in the process. At the back end of the Hummer, she could see Teal'c in a pose of mediation, and even Daniel had relaxed, laying down on the surface of the bed and looking up at the ceiling. She noted the presence of an SF, standing near the foot of the bed where they all rested. Likely he was there to prevent anyone of making the mistake of sitting on the bed or putting something large and heavy on top of them. Suppressing a shudder, Sam went to check out the damage to the Hummer. Hopefully, though, they wouldn't need to use it to ride in again, since as soon as they could explain what had happened, they could tell someone how to reverse the machine. The sooner she was back at her normal size, the better. Until that moment, Sam needed something to do, so she walked around the remote control vehicle, examining it for damage.
After checking it over inside and out, Sam was satisfied that the only damage were a few cosmetic scratches. Still, the Colonel would be none too pleased, but she thought she'd be able to touch them up. One of the techs that often helped her with the gate repairs had a penchant for building scale models and had a lot of paint. He'd no doubt help her repair the little vehicle, and Jack would never know it had been scratched if he hadn't been there when it had happened.
Voices interrupted her musings and Sam looked up to note the arrival of a new person, this one carrying a lap top computer and a microphone. Carefully, he checked the bed to make sure no miniature people were there, and set the laptop down, plugging the microphone in while the machine booted up. Her teammates all got up from their relaxed positions and came to join her where they could watch.
Before long, the technician had the device ready and indicated that they should try it. Daniel stepped forward and tapped on the microphone, than spoke. "Um, hello." They all winced as a high-pitched squeal emitted from the speakers, and the tech made a hasty adjustment before indicating they should try again. This time, when Daniel spoke, his words were amplified by the computer program, and the General and Doctor Fraiser could hear him just fine.
General Hammond wasted no time in getting down to business. "SG-1, just what the hell happened?"
Jack let Carter and Daniel do most of the talking, since they understood more about the alien device than he did. He shot Carter a look of gratitude when she glossed over how he'd dropped the object, merely stating that it had fallen. Daniel explained his theory about how to reverse the machine, and then they started the narrative of their attempt to use the computer and send an email, and their subsequent escape from Carter's lab. Jack and Teal'c occasionally added details as they explained their narrow escape from the ventilation shafts, their near miss with the floor buffers, and how they came across the remote control vehicle that Carter had rigged to run without the remote. They left out the details of the wild ride Carter had taken them on trying to lose the Marines, but Doctor Fraiser had a pretty good idea what had happened from the part she'd seen.
After the story, Janet quickly asked them if they were ok, Jack answered in the affirmative. "Although," he added, "Carter took a knock to the head what, twice now?" He looked at his teammates for help. "Three times," supplied Teal'c. Sam scowled, looking rather rakish with the various colored bruises across her nose and face.
Janet's eyebrows shot up at that, and Sam hastened to reassure her. "I'm fine Janet, really. The Colonel checked me out. No concussion." Janet's eyebrows only rose further at that, and Sam had a feeling there would be more flashlights in her future.
Assured that SG-1 was relatively unscathed, the General quickly gave orders to have Carter's lab unsealed and power restored. He then sent someone to retrieve the alien device.
Since it would take awhile to get everything coordinated, SG-1 settled down to wait. And wait. And wait some more. Janet and the technician wandered away, and even Hammond grew impatient, finally going to a phone near the entrance to check on what happened to the airman he'd sent to retrieve the alien device. Just as he passed the doorway, green energy enveloped the General and he jolted, before collapsing to the floor. Janet, seeing the General go down moved to press the panic button, when she too was taken down by a burst of green energy that seemed to come out of nowhere. Within moments, everyone in the infirmary who could have summoned an alarm was down.
The four members of SG-1 watched from positions around and under the Hummer, where they'd taken cover the moment the General had fallen, helpless to do anything to aid their comrades.
A/N: Ah! Muse didn't want to end the story just yet. And SG-1 Fanfic has helped me decide to help muse out and continue for a bit more. I hope you weren't ready for it to be done yet either!
