Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Angst and fluff coming, so don't be too disheartened by their prior argument. It gets better...promise!
Frustration and jealousy canhave such adevastating and detrimental effect sometimes, but love will find a way. At least it does in my fics!
None but the Brave Deserve the Fair.
By Lingren.
Previously:
"No sir. Analysis shows it to be the Sagan box we left behind with them."
They all looked to each other and sighed in relief, but that still didn't answer the question as to why they were being contacted.
Chapter 3
"Sergeant, dial up PZ5 747," Hammond ordered, overhearing the last part of the conversation when he'd entered the room. "Then send a MALP through."
"Yes sir," Walter replied, his adept fingers already skimming over the keyboard.
"Why do you think they're trying to contact us?" Daniel asked his friends.
Jack shrugged, but it was Sam who answered.
"We won't know that until we can establish actual contact Daniel. It could be for any number of reasons. I just hope it's nothing bad, but according to my geological readings from a couple of weeks ago, there was a possibility for some seismic activity to occur."
"Why didn't you tell us that before?" Jack accused, perturbed that Jumbo World may have suffered an earthquake or worse.
"It was in my report sir," she sighed, knowing darn well that he wouldn't have read more than the basic information and skipped through the rest.
"Major Carter didn't think that there was any immediate danger Colonel," Hammond informed him tolerantly, knowing his subordinate well enough to accept his lapses when it came to reading reports. He could benevolently overlook this as Jack more than made up for this shortcoming in other ways. He was the best 2IC he'd ever had the privilege to work with, a natural born leader, and a popular one too.
By this time the wormhole had established and they turned their attention to the gate room below, watching as the MALP made its slow progress up the ramp to disappear into the shimmering event horizon.
"The MALP should be arriving in 5...4...3...2...1... Receiving MALP telemetry now sirs." They heard Walter intone and all five of them turned back to watch Sam's monitor.
The pictures were messy but Jack recognised Barran, as the man leaned down to peer into the camera, just like Jack had done whilst the alien accompanied him when he had reported in to Hammond when SG-1 was visiting the planet.
Barran was the leader of his people and had become like a personal friend of Jack's over their three week long stay.
"What's up Barran?" Jack asked, getting straight down to business.
"Jack?"
"Yeah it's me. What's happened?"
"It is the time of the great upheaval. The one our ancestors foretold so long ago. The very ground beneath our feet doth shake us so. We have been rained upon for many days and nights now, saturating the ground so that the very foundations of our existence begin to crumble and slide away with the turmoil. Our main concern is the lake among the hills above the town. We have had many landslides and it threatens to release its waters down upon us. We are in urgent need your help my friends. We don't know what to do!"
Jack turned away from the picture of his anxious friend and looked straight into the General's face.
"Sir?"
"What are you proposing Colonel?"
"Sir, I'd like permission for SG-1 to go there and evacuate the people through the gate. We could re-house them on another planet. Somewhere safe from the Goa'uld. Like one of those planets my 'Ancient' brain downloaded that time," he said giving Sam a quick look out of the corner of his eye. "Anything sir. We can't just sit here while they're in danger of being wiped out. That lake is huge General and if and when it goes, they wouldn't stand a snowball in hell's chance."
"Very well Colonel, permission granted. Get your team geared up ready to leave ASAP. I'll have SGs 8 and 11 standing by at the alpha site to receive the refugees. They will supply them with tents and all the equipment necessary for a full scale evacuation. You'll send them there until we can find a suitable planet. Understood Colonel?"
"Yes sir! Thank you sir."
Jack turned back to the microphone again.
"Barren get all your people to the gate. We're comin' through to help you evacuate. See you soon."
"Thanks be to god Jack. May the mighty one protect us all!" he pleaded, looking up at the sky in prayer.
The wormhole shut down at that point and Jack hurried away to get changed, confident that his team were right behind him.
OoOoOoOoO
As soon as Jack stepped from the wormhole it flickered when the ground shook beneath his feet and he worried that it might cut off altogether, leaving him stranded and the others lost somewhere inside the void, as it had done to Teal'c once before. But it stabilized again and the three members of his team stepped from it calmly, unaware of the peril they had been in. Jack sighed in relief and turned to his friend Barran. They gripped each other's forearms as a traditional greeting here on Abbarria.
"Barran!" Jack acknowledged, "Where is everyone?"
He'd expected to see the townsfolk already beginning to crowd around the Gate waiting to be sent through to a safe haven.
"They make haste Jack, but their progress is slow. You must give them more time," Barran protested. "There are many who are old and sick, and the younger ones are slow to realise the dangers."
"Sorry Barran. It's just that we may not have a lot of time, that's just the point!" Jack reasoned, then turned to the others. "Okay kids let's move on to the town and see if we can motivate these people to step on it."
They took off at a trot, Barran running to keep up with Jack's long strides. The town itself wasn't that far from the gate, only about four miles away but Jack knew that for the older residents and the very young it would seem more like ten along the rugged path.
The town was really just a small settlement, and its population was only about 1,500 souls but that was more than enough to get into some semblance of order from the chaos that met them when they arrived there, and it would need a lot of planning in order to re-house them somewhere else.
Another deep rumble was felt and the ground shook their feet from under them. Somewhere through the noise they heard screams and shouting. Picking themselves up from the dirt, when the tremor stopped, Jack and his team took off down the street towards the distressed cries.
Rounding a corner they were confronted by a collapsed house. There were several people already trying to uncover those that were trapped. Jack didn't have to say anything; without further ado his team were right in there helping to retrieve the unfortunate occupants. Jack ordered Barran to arrange for a cart to help transport the injured.
Luckily the houses here were all of the same construction. Built of hand made bricks, and they were only single storey dwellings; their roofs comprised of stout timbers covered in a thatch made from their own equivalent of reeds.
These people had no idea what they were doing, never having faced a major disaster before. Neither had they ever left their homes and weren't quite sure what to do. Jack took full command, and asked Barran to call the townsfolk together so that he could instruct them on what to do.
Leaving Daniel and Teal'c to help at the collapsed house, Jack and Sam helped round up the residents and sent them on their way. Making sure that no-one was getting left behind. The injured folks were finally wheeled away and Daniel and Sam hurried off with them to establish the wormhole to the alpha site and supervise the evacuation from that end.
Barran appeared unexpectedly at Jack's shoulder as he was checking for any stragglers, and was looking very worried.
"Jack. It's the boys!" he said fretfully, wringing his hands with anxiety.
Jack's heart thudded loudly in his chest at the news. He was sure it missed a beat when Barran had uttered those words.
"What about them?" Jack asked, realising he'd not seen any of them at all and was really half afraid of hearing the answer.
"The boys took off to camp three days ago. They have done this many times before and they had always returned safe unto us, again and again. We did not think there was any danger posed this time round, but they should have returned by now. Jessa and Juna and Dorna and Marla are all frantic with worry.
"How many?"
"Five."
"So who exactly are we talking about here?"
"Ashon and Anson, Nerin and Merus..." Barran hesitated, not relishing Jack's reaction when he told him who else was with them.
"And?"
"Little Nemus too," Barran answered nervously as if he was worried that Jack might damage him.
"Nemo?" Jack gasped incredulously. He was worried about the boys as it was, but to then discover that the youngest, his personal favourite character was among the children missing was a big blow. "Isn't he a little too young to go off with the others?" he asked in a chillingly calm voice., and trying to keep a tight rein on his emotions.
"He is not considered too young by our standards Jack. The other boys will take great care of him," Barran explained.
"I don't doubt it, but..." he sighed, lost for words.
Ashon and Anson were ten year old twins who could barely tolerate being apart, if Jack didn't know any better, he could almost believe they were conjoined twins. Nerin and Merus were good friends and slightly older at twelve and thirteen and were considered as young adults within their community. They were good sensible kids, and wouldn't do anything rash.
This planet was a peaceful world where no danger ever threatened; before now that was. But little Nemo, as Jack had nicknamed Nemus, was only four. He knew the older boys were very capable of looking after themselves and Nemo too as it came to that, but with all the tremors and the torrential rain they were encountering, he believed they would be scared stiff, never having experienced anything quite like this before. He had no doubt that Little Nemo would be absolutely terrified. He just hoped that the kids were still alive and holed up somewhere safe.
"Why the hell didn't anyone go looking for them?" Jack snapped, annoyed that no-one seemed to have worried earlier about whether the children were safe or not.
"The rain is nothing new to us Jack," Barran explained, trying to placate him. "We have lived with the rains for many years, but the quaking of the ground is something we are new to. Everyone is afraid, especially with the threat of the lake looming over us."
"Yeah, and I can understand that. But, the kids...they must be terrified," he sighed, thinking hard about how to search for them and get them to the gate.
Jack made his decision before anyone could add to the discussion. He hurried off towards the gate, leaving Teal'c to round up any strays. He wanted to meet up with Sam to enlightened her, and he met her near the gate.
"Carter! Take charge of the evacuation. Get everyone out and then make sure you get the rest of the team and yourself out of here too."
Sam frowned, 'what did he mean?'
"Sir?"
"I'm going after the kids Carter. These people are too afraid to go get them."
"Kids? Where are they?" she asked mystified, suddenly afraid of what he intended.
Barran who had hurried after Jack, then filled her in on what he'd told him earlier.
Now she was desperately afraid for not only the children but for his safety too.
"They're probably holed up in one of those caves below the lake. I'm gonna try and get them to the gate before it goes."
"Sir! You can't. I mean, it's too far and that lake will likely go at any minute."
"I know that! Get Daniel to dial up the Alpha site now, and Teal'c to make sure you evacuate everyone, I don't want anyone getting left behind. I want Daniel to go through to help arrange things on that side."
"But..."
"Those are my orders Damnit!" he snapped. He wasn't really angry with her, just the situation. Time was of the essence and he couldn't spare any just to argue with her.
TBC