Author's Note: See, I'm trying to make up for my absence, so I put up 2 chapters this week. Hope you enjoy it!
Jack looked up from the television when the door from the hallway opened. Al, distracted by the handlink, barley noticed Jack's surprised look. Turning off the television, Jack looked at Al.
"Well, look who decided to come back. How's the sideshow going? Did the bearded lady show up yet?
Not in the mood for jokes, Al just looked at his handlink and then back at Jack. "Look, I'm no happier about you being here than you are about being here. We are trying our best to get you back to where you came from, but in the meantime, I would really appreciate it if you could lay off the jokes and maybe help us out. I've received some more information about what is going on, but I need your help to piece together some of it. I know that you are part of some sort of top secret Air Force team, and a Captain Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist, is on your team, and the date is March 15, 1998, but other than that, I don't really know anything."
"Wow, if they're really Goul'd then they should know more than that by now. Even the NID knows more than that. Why don't these people even know their basics?" Hiding the fact that he was surprised at the level of information Al had, Jack smiled and responded. "Sorry, Al was it, I can't confirm nor deny such information. A top secret thing, you understand."
"Would it that we have top secret clearance?"
"Not really, because as far as I'm concerned, I don't even know that you're really human."
Trying to keep Jack talking and happy to return some sarcasm, Al quickly responded. "If I'm not human, then what would I be, Jack? An alien?"
"Crap, I need to learn to just keep my mouth shut sometimes and let things go. Yea, right, like that's gonna happen." Looking at Al again, Jack tried to recover. "I dunno, I was just saying, you know, like an example of how I can't say anything because I don't know what's going on."
Content that Jack had inadvertently given some credence to what information Sam had given him, Al decided that Jack probably would never tell them anything, so he should get back to Sam and see if he needed anything. "Okay, Jack, well, do you need anything before I go? Something to eat? Some more Simpson episodes?
"Yea, I would like to get the hell outta here."
Al smiled at Jack's persistence. In some cases, Jack reminded Al of himself. "Sorry, Jack, no can do."
"Ah well, gotta keep asking though, huh? I could really go for some lunch though. I don't know what time it is, but it feels like I haven't eaten in a long time."
"That can be arranged, just let Beek's staff know what you want and they'll bring it to you."
With that, Al turned and left the room. Jack, trying to concentrate on what was really bothering him, hardly took the time to see if escape was possible. "Okay, My name is Jack. I'm part of a team called SG-1. My teammates are…Daniel…..Daniel what? Okay, Jack, just keep going. Daniel, Carter, and…and…dammit! What have these creeps done to me!"
"So you claim your part of a time travel experiment that "leaps" you from person to person in order to help them somehow make their lives better, and you happened to "leap" into Jack while we were walking in the woods."
Sam looked at Daniel. "Yes, and I have been trying to figure out why I'm here, but the smart Captain figured out I wasn't Jack about oh, say five minutes ago, which doesn't make my task any easier at all."
Carter and Daniel exchanged looks. By this time they both knew their facial expressions so well that they didn't have to say what they were thinking.
"Teal'c, could you please watch the Doctor for a second."
"Indeed, DanielJackson."
With that, Teal'c drew his Zat gun and stood in the middle of the room. Carter and Daniel stepped out of the room and into the empty hallway. With only their flashlights as light, their figures cast ghostly shadows into the darkness. Carter was the first to speak.
"Daniel, I don't know what kind of threat we have here. I haven't sensed a Goul's presence the whole time, and Teal'c hasn't said anything either, so I think we can rule out that factor. He could be a spy for the NID, but I swear there's something odd about all this. He said he had a hologram from the future that visited him, and he tried to prove it to me."
"How did he try to prove his identity?"
Carter was a little embarrassed as to what she was about to say. "Well, I held up fingers behind my back and he was suppose to guess how many. He said his hologram friend could see them and tell him how many he had." She quickly went on to decrease the silliness of her statement. "But Daniel, he was right every time. I don't know if he was reading my mind or if he really did have someone else in the room, one thing's for sure, though, that is not Jack in there."
Daniel paused for a moment to absorb this information and to analyze the situation. "Well, our main problem is getting back to base camp. Once we get there we can take him back with us to SG headquarters and figure it out there, but for now we need to just watch him. Has he been violent in any way?
"No, he hasn't done anything to indicate he's hostile. But there's another thing, Daniel. I know this sounds hard to believe, and trust me, I think his story is pretty unbelievable, but he says his name is Dr. Sam Beckett. And that he's a quantum physicist. Well, I almost remember an essay done by a Dr. Beckett a few years ago. A brilliant work from what I can recall. Now what are the chances that a spy or an alien would know a small detail like that?
Daniel shook his head. "I don't know, Sam, but let's just concentrate on how to get back and we'll figure it out then. Have you had a chance to explore this place yet?"
"Yes, we went right to a room that holds a Stargate, but no DHD and no means to power it. I was just about to take the hallway in the opposite direction when, well, you know."
"Okay, I don't think we need to split up at this point, so I think we should work on translating the hieroglyphs here in this room while Teal'c watches Jack…or whoever."
As Carter and Daniel entered the room, Sam couldn't help himself. "Your very stoic and strong friend here has been just peachy at the whole conversation thing." Again, the uncharacteristic mannerism shocked Sam himself, and he quickly apologized. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from. Sometimes when I leap I take on some of the characteristics of who I have leaped into. Jack isn't really sarcastic, is he?"
Holding back their responses in case Sam was a spy, Daniel and Carter couldn't help but be surprised at his statement. Teal'c, following the examples of his friends, refrained from commenting.
Carter, taking the imitative, looked at Sam. "Okay, Doctor, we need to figure out how to get out of here, so you and Teal'c are going to wait out in the hallway area while Daniel and I decipher the text."
"I think I can help you if you let me. I speak several languages and can read hieroglyphs. Maybe I can help in the translation."
Daniel spoke up. "No, Doctor, it's okay. All we need to do is find the trigger device and we should be right back from where we came from."
Sam, somewhat disappointed that he couldn't help, walked past the members of Sg-1 and went into the hallway area. Teal'c, still holding the Zat gun in his hand, followed. As Daniel and Carter started to work on the translation, Sam slid against the hallway wall and came to rest at the floor. He crossed his legs and sat while Teal'c took up residence at the opposite side of the wall. Looking up at the strong, stoic figure of Teal'c standing in the shadows, Sam was glad that he was not on the opposing side of this imposing person. "I'd hate to meet him in a dark alley."
Fifteen minutes went by, with no sounds except Daniel and Carter moving about in the room, and occasionally comparing notes. Sam started to get hungry, but the sudden bright light in the hallway distracted him from his stomach. As Al walked through the Imaging Chamber door and into the hallway, Teal'c took a quick step back and drew his Zat gun. Sam's happiness to see his best friend was quickly overshadowed by the reaction of Teal'c to Al.