Daniel Jackson lay shirtless in his bed. His chest fitfully rose and fell, his head shook from side to side. He moaned at the strange vision he beheld in his mind's eye...
A dark planetoid, a black mote careening around a feeble red star. This star raced at tremendous speeds in it's orbit about the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This region was packed with stars, energetic, violent, no life here. But there was presence.
The terrain here was a no man's land. Few would want to come here. None would want to stay. The violence of the closely packed stars roaring along in their orbits paled next to the black void at the galaxy's center. The stars in this region sped quickly because they had to. Their speed was the only thing that kept them from the ravenous monster at the center of the galaxy. A huge, ancient black hole hunkered down at the galaxy's center. Its ever-present gravity was there for anything that became weak or careless...
No, this was not a place for life. But there was a presence. And as black and bottomless was the gravity well in the galactic center, it was nothing to the Darkness orbiting nearby. It beheld the black hole; every now and then turning it's gaze to the points of light and life outward into the galaxy.
It was patient. It could wait.
"I SEE YOU..."
Daniel sat up, his eyes wide, perspiration glistening in the dim light of his room. His breath eventually returned to normal and he lay back.
But his eyes remained wide open. Sleep would not come again this evening.
Teal'c sat on the bunk in his room, candles lit. His eyes were open, and at the same time, a slight tremor was registered in his demeanor. He then blew out the candles, and his room went dark.
Silence.
That morning, the members of SG-1 gathered in the Stargate Command briefing room. General Hammond was listening to Daniel and Teal'c relate their tales. He looked at each member of the team, getting a read on each member.
Jack O'Neil looked skeptical, but concerned. He clearly wasn't sure about this story, but he was anxious for Daniel.
Daniel Jackson was relating his reseach and his experiences, including what happened last night. He looked like hell. Dark circles under his eyes, his hair slightly mussed up. He was rattled, and suffering from weariness.
General Hammond wasn't sure what to make of Dr. Jackson's story, but he wasn't going to dismiss it out of hand. For when he looked at Teal'c, he saw absolute confirmation in the eyes of the Jaffa warrior, though his face maintained the stern warrior stoicism he usually affected.
He looked over at Major Samantha Carter, to see how she was taking this. She was concerned for Dr. Jackson, for sure. But she was listening closely. She was not inclined to dismiss Daniel, either.
Daniel Jackson finished his tale, sighed and looked down at the notebook in front of him and said, "I know it sounds like a rant, General, but I know what I saw, what I felt..." he trailed off.
He saw Teal'c nodding and asked him for impressions.
"I have seen it, too, General Hammond," Teal'c confirmed. "I do not yet know what it means, but I am certain it would be unwise to ignore it."
General Hammond then looked at Major Carter and said, "What's your impression on that technical data Dr. Jackson gave to you?"
Samantha Carter gathered her thoughts, her eyes earnest, her voice calm, yet with a hint of wonder, and a little eagerness, "The possibilities in those notes are fascinating, and if true...Sir, Daniel is exhausted, but he isn't crazy. And Teal's is seeing the same things. If the System Lords are actively searching for something like this, if they find it..," her voice trailed off.
General Hammond turned to O'Neil, "Colonel?"
"Give the Tok'ra, maybe the Asgard, the Nox a shout out, see what they've got? Never hurts to check in with friends, sir."
Just then, the siren went off.
Down in the control room, the crew on duty was examining their readouts to see what they could see. For an incoming wormhole was forming...