Title: Crossing That Fine Line
Author: Anomalie
Summary: The President wants the SGC to set up an off world supply base. General O'Neill accompanies SG1 to meet a Tok'ra operative at the site. A gate malfunction strands O'Neill and Carter on an unknown planet.
Rating: T
Spoilers: AU set in season 8 before Gemini.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, don't own Stargate SG1, I get no profit.
Crossing That Fine Line
(Broken down into chapters)
The President wanted the SGC to set up a supply base to be a stopping off point for SG teams and Tok'ra operatives that needed a safe place to disappear and get supplies. General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and SG3 were to meet with a representative from the Tok'ra there to set up the base.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
General O'Neill and Colonel Carter had just stepped through the gate when the lights on the gate itself dimmed and the worm hole disengaged.
"What just happened?" Daniel asked turning around to face Teal'c; standing on the gate ramp, waiting to disembark.
"I do not know." Teal'c replied.
"The dialing computer is registering some sort of error or malfunction." A voice came over the speakers in the gate room. Daniel and Teal'c turned and headed for the control room.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The gate shut off as soon as Carter and O'Neill stepped through.
"Sir, what just happened?"
"I don't know you're the smart one."
Carter walked over to the DHD while O'Neill provided cover. She put her hand on the symbols. Nothing happened. She took a closer look at the DHD.
"Sir this DHD does not have all of its parts."
"Great. So what are you saying exactly?"
"I am saying that this will definitely be a one way trip if we can't find the parts." She put her hands inside the casing; running her hands along the inside to see what was left. Not much.
"Is there anyway you can rig it to work?" Jack said, eyeing the DHD.
"I don't think so. It is just basically an empty shell. I don't even think there is power to the DHD." Sam said, wiping her hands on her pants.
"But there is power to the gate obviously." Jack said, gesturing to the stargate.
"Yeah, but that doesn't help us. There was power to establish an incoming wormhole, but not an out going one."
"Look around and see if you can find anything. I am going to make a brief sweep of the area."
"Yes sir"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So do we dial up again?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, let's try again, maybe we lost the signal somehow and they are on PHX4173 already." Colonel Reynolds said.
"Airman, dial the gate."
"Yes sir."
The room was filled with a brilliant flash as the worm hole was established.. They watched as the MALP slowly ascended the ramp towards the gate. "Tracking MALP telemetry." Walter said.
Daniel hoped that Jack and Sam had made it through to the other side.
"General O'Neil, Colonel Carter please respond."
No answer was received. The MALP's camera showed no sign of them or anyone else around the gate. The picture was overcast, dark. It was raining.
"This is not good." Daniel said looking at the monitor. "It's raining, maybe they headed for cover."
"Indeed. May we go through the gate and search for them?" Teal'c asked.
"Yes, I will send SG 3 and the remainder of SG 1 to check it out." Reynolds said.
"Thank you" Daniel said heading towards the gate room. Teal'c nodded and followed Daniel. "Daniel Jackson, the supplies that were sent through the gate did not appear to be in close proximity to the gate."
Daniel sighed, "I know Teal'c, and I have a bad feeling about this." Daniel stopped and turned to Teal'c. "I think that we should call Washington, we need General Hammond."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"The gate malfunctioned. Daniel and Teal'c either got sent to where we were supposed to go, or they didn't go anywhere at all." Carter said kicking a rock next to her boot.
Jack looked from the stargate, to the DHD, to Sam. "This is kind of Déjà vu."
"I know" she acknowledged.
"We made it through then, we will make it now." O'Neill thought of their trip to Antarctica through the beta gate. He shivered just thinking about it.
"We know more now, and neither of us is injured this time."
"Yeah, I don't need to add to my list of broken bones."
Carter smiled. The last time the gate malfunctioned like this it sent them hurtling through to the other side.
Jack remembered hitting the cold, very hard ground. He remembered feeling his leg snap and a blow to his ribs and lungs. Carter had had her first try at splinting a broken leg in the field. Although he had rather it had been someone else's leg. She had worked so hard to dig the DHD out of the ice and snow, only to find that they couldn't dial home. Technically because they were home, just not at the right gate. They made it through, even though he was out of commission due to the broken leg. They made it.
"Carter" O'Neill said, bringing Carter back to the present.
"I can't believe the DHD is missing parts." Carter said, running her hand through her hair.
"Yeah, that sucks"
"I hope that Daniel and Teal'c are safe."
"Yeah, well I hope we are safe."
She nodded and scanned the environment. The area around the gate was heavily wooded. The gate was in a clearing. The grass around the gate was fairly tall, and there were no discernable paths around the gate. No sign of civilization. She looked up in the sky; it was clear with very little cloud cover. There were two suns. One sun smaller than the other, but there was two. They were definitely not on earth. O'Neill had tried to contact the SGC, but was unsuccessful.
"Nothing" he said shaking his head. "I had to try one last time; just in case we were on the same planet again." He said smiling.
"Sir look" Carter said as she pointed to the suns. He squinted in the direction she pointed.
"Oh" he said, "Definitely not Kansas."
She smiled.
"The SGC should have known at once that something was wrong."
"Yeah well, let's hope so"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"General Hammond sir, it's good to see you again." Walter said as Hammond had just arrived from Washington.
"Thank you airman. How long since they went through the gate?"
"Twenty four hours, sir"
"No attempts to dial home? What about radio signals?" Hammond asked.
"Nothing sir"
"I don't like that sound of that. Have we dialed up PHX4173?"
"Yes sir, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c and SG 3 went through the gate to search about an hour ago. They are due to check in in a few minutes."
"Good I will contact them myself. Dial it up."
"Yes sir"
The lights on the gate came on as the dialing sequence commenced. A blue flash lit the room as the wormhole was established. "Wormhole established sir"
Hammond leaned over the console and pushed a button. "Dr. Jackson please respond."
The crackle of a radio came over the speaker. "General Hammond is that you?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, Dr Jackson. With General O'Neill missing, they called me in to take temporary command of the SCG."
"Good to have you back general."
"Good to be back, not under these circumstances. Is there any sign of Colonel Carter and General O'Neill?"
"No, we don't think they ever made it here general."
"Where else could they be?"
"That's just it, I don't know general."
Hammond pursed his lips and frowned. "I want you to proceed with the current mission and then return home. We need to get this mess figured out and get our people home. Report back in two hours."
"Okay general"
"Hammond out"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"The terrain and atmosphere are much like earth." Carter said taking readings on samples of the air and soil.
"Looks a bit like home. It's not though, is it?"
"No sir, it is not. But it may be if we can't figure out how to get the DHD working"
O'Neill nodded. "We should find some where to make camp; it looks to get dark soon."
"I agree sir."
They walked for what seemed like miles from the stargate towards the sunset. The terrain was rocky with sparse patches of brown grass scattered around. It was dry, looked like it had not rained in a while. They were probably a good hour and 30 minutes walk from the gate when, they came upon a cave. The cave mouth was facing opposite the sunset. It was on a rocky hill and looked to be fairly large from the outside. They climbed up the hill and shined their flashlights into the cave. It was open in the middle, off to the left of the entrance was a smaller space. To the right, back into the cave was anther smaller 'room'.
They didn't detect any sign of inhabitants. Daniel would have been disappointed. Not even cave paintings.
"It should stay warmer here because the sun is on it all day." O'Neill said, nodding towards the cave.
Carter agreed. "Yes sir, I think this looks like a good spot."
O'Neill nodded. "Let's make camp."
They had left the MALP at the gate, but the FRED carrying the supplies went with them. It was almost completely dark by the time they had reached the cave. They ended up doing most everything by flashlight. They set up a tent and started a fire. They also set up perimeter alarms so that they would have warning of any visitors.
The cave was illuminated by the flickers of the campfire. The ceiling was at least ten feet at the highest point in the middle and went down to around five feet at the sides. The entrance to the cave was barely wide enough to fit the FRED through. Carter was amazed that nothing or no one (she hoped) was living in it.
"Sir, we might as well go through the supplies to see what we can use." Carter said looking over the carefully packed items.
"Yeah, you are right. Let's just lay them all out here on the floor." O'Neil motioned with his hands.
They started unpacking some of the supplies and placing them in piles.
"This one says hairnets." Carter said smiling.
"What is up with that?" Jack said shaking his head.
"I will set in the 'not so important to survival' pile."
"Good plan"
They spent the good part of two hours sorting, organizing and taking inventory of supplies. Carter came up with places to store each item; each had a category in which it could be sorted. Carter, the organization queen.
They put all the supplies in the 'right wing' as O'Neill had called it. Carter argued that it was only right if you were facing the back wall, but not if facing the entrance. "Fine then," he had said, "I will call it the supply wing." She snorted. "Whatever" They parked FRED in front of the entrance to the cave as a makeshift door.
"Well, we have plenty of MREs for the time being."
"And don't forget the hairnets."
She smiled. They had got a lot accomplished. They were very lucky that the supplies had gone through the gate before they had. It would sure make their survival until rescue a lot easier.
"At least we have food, water, and shelter at the moment."
At this point O'Neill was glad that the shelter hadn't come with bats or any other large creepy crawlies. Well, that they could see yet.
"We should probably try to get some sleep." Carter said as she unzipped a sleeping bag.
"You sleep, I stand guard." O'Neill grunted.
Carter laughed, shaking her head. Colonel Caveman would have fit perfectly. Too bad he was a general. "Ah, okay. Wake me in a few hours so I can take over."
He just grunted and smiled.
She climbed into the tent and snuggled into a sleeping bag. She rested her head on a spare blanket, her P90 tucked safely next to her. It had been a long day. She hoped tomorrow she would find a way to get the DHD working. She slowly drifted off to sleep with the sound of the crackling fire.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What if they didn't go to PHX4173 because the gate malfunctioned and the wormhole jumped and lost its lock?" Daniel pondered.
Teal'c and he were in the control room looking through the gate logs.
"This reading shows that there was an energy surge coming through the gate." He paused and adjusted his glasses. "It was raining when we got to PHX4173 right?"
"Indeed"
"Then maybe just after we established a wormhole, the gate was struck by lightening. That could have caused a power surge enough to cause the gate to jump to another destination." Daniel stood up and began to wander around the room.
"Let us hope that the supplies that were sent first are with them" Teal'c said.
"Yeah, that would make things much easier" Daniel paused, "I think we've got something here Teal'c. Let's run it by the General."
"Indeed" Teal'c said with a nod.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx