Daniel and O'neil sat in a darkened room staring at the video feed coming from the probe on the other side of the activated Stargate. The probe's camera panned by a battered and rusty metallic wall and several piles of silent machinery and industrial refuse all lit by the pale blue glow of the Stargate 'liquid energy field.'
"We found an intergalactic junkyard?" O'neil ventured.
General West stared at him, but said nothing. Kawalsky hid a smile by pretending to cough softly.
Slowly the camera turned around and focused on a glowing quartz ring. Another Stargate!
"Freeze it," commanded General West.
Kawalsky zoomed in on the image of the Stargate. Daniel leaned in unconsciously to get a better look at the alien device.
"The markings," he cried, "they're different!"
General West smirked, "that's why I wanted you to take a look. The readouts tell us that the atmosphere on the other side is an earth match, and of course we can all see the technology there. We are planning a short boy-scout type mission, nothing fancy. Survey the area inside a quarter mile perimeter, gather information, and bring it back."
"I guess my job will be to decipher the symbols and dial everyone back home, right?"
O'neil glanced up from his seat, "can you do it?"
Daniel glanced back at the image for a moment and considered silently, "Yes, yes I can do it."
"Are you sure?"
Meanwhile Kawalsky fiddled with the camera trying to get a better look at the room when he noticed something moving, he panned towards it and saw a short, robed creature scurrying around in the room, apparently panicked by the blue glowing energy field of the Stargate.
"Positive." Daniel said with more conviction.
"Fine," West nodded, "you're on the team."
O'neil and Kawalsky glanced at one another, alarmed, and then back at the screen. A dozen of the little creatures flooded the bay jabbering and arguing.
"Uh, sir?" Kawalsky said softly.
"Lieutenant Kawalsky, can you not interrupt--" General West turned and stared open mouthed.
Finally one of the little yellow eyed monstrosities pointed a blunderbuss device at the probe and fired a blue electrical discharge. Instantly the video feed cut off.
"Now there's something you don't see everyday," O'neil said sourly.
General West goggled for a moment, "Shut down the gate! I want a security lockdown, now!"
Kawalsky issued the orders through the Tacnet and klaxons began blaring.
"Colonel O'neil, assemble your team, you leave in half an hour. We can't afford to have the other side of the gate compromised!"
"Yes sir!"
Colonel Jack O'neil gathered his equipment in a rush, cursing softly to himself. He rushed out of his quarters and passed a huge metal blast door on his way to the Stargate chamber. He stopped, swiped a card key through a reader on the security door, and waited for the soft 'snickt' of the bolts opening. There, preserved inside was the huge chunk of rock that had originally been found beneath the Stargate over the thousand years ago. The humanoid crushed underneath had become a perfect fossil. Remarkably, the body showed little signs of damage. But it was the weird inhuman skull that drew O'neil's attention. Ever since he had seen it he knew what he would find on the other side of the Stargate, warriors at once so advanced and also so primitive. He walked up to the preserved corpse and looked down at the artificial breathing apparatus, the strange linen robes, long barreled rifle, and curved fighting stick.
"Well fellah, I guess it will be between the two of us then, and to tell you the truth, I don't fucking care which way it goes."
Lt. Ferretti Staggered forward, overwhelmed by the experience of transporting across space and time in an instant.
"What a rush," he breathed.
Colonel O'neil crouched in front of him, instantly in his combat stance after the journey and scanning their surroundings.
The glow from the now activated Stargate spilled out into a dark, foul smelling chamber with a low ceiling and piles of metallic junk scattered around the floor.
The modified EOD bomb detecting robot was nowhere to be found. A wide scuff mark through the oily grime on the floor marked where the machine had been dragged away. It lead directly to large metal ramp that reminded O'neil of being inside an extremely disgusting Hercules C-130 cargo plane.
"We're inside a vehicle," O'neil thought, "just fucking fantastic, this gets better and better!"
"Ok, we've found where those creatures took the probe, but what the hell is this!"
"Cut the chatter," O'neil hissed. Behind him, Jackson banged his shin into something metallic once the Stargte was deactivated behind them and plunged the room into darkness. He yelped aloud and began rubbing his injured appendage.
Lt Kawalsky responded first to Colonel O'neil's disgusted expression, "Porro, pick up the geek and let's get going ok?"
"Sir," Porro replied with a slight Mexican accent, and moved off to secure the scientist.
Brown, the science officer, shot his buddy, Kawalsky, a nasty look that said 'what's that shit about geeks, motherfucker?'
Kawalsky grinned back and gave him the finger.
The six commandoes stared wide eyed into the garage like chamber, weapons out, scanning for any kind of contact.
O'neil silently signaled his team to fan out and utilize their night vision goggles, Reilly and Ferretti already had them on and moved off to the left of the team navigating through piles of garbage. Reilly froze and held up his fist behind him and Ferretti repeated the gesture to the rest of the team.
Various electronic noises sounded and shuffling mechanical devices moved fitfully in the darkness.
"Sir, I've got something," Reilly hissed.
Lt. Ferretti glanced at the man, "what is it?"
"Movement, at two o'clock, three meters,"
The team moved to surround the target with smooth precision, and Ferretti gave Reilly the nod, and he leaned out from behind a pile of junk to get a look at it, and then leaned back.
"What is it?" Ferretti asked quietly.
"Uh, sort of a box with legs," Reilly replied.
"Gonk." Gonk said and trundled around aimlessly.
The team relaxed and came out of their crouches.
"What's a Gonk?" Daniel asked.
Data and Artoo stopped abruptly once they hear Luke's landspeeder approaching fast from behind them.
Artoo bleeped forcefully and moved around Data to continue on down the canyon, alone if he had to.
"Artoo wait for me," Data said and followed after him. Every fifteen minutes or so the android tapped his communicator and asked aloud, "Data to Counselor Troi, come in."
Artoo honked again.
"It is within my programming to carry out my objectives to the best of my ability, and no it is not pointless. I could very well say the same thing about you looking for this General Obi Wan Kenobi person.
A few minutes later Luke and Biggs pulled up in the landspeeder looking angrily at the pair of wayward droids.
Artoo continued for a few more feet before Biggs interposed himself between the droid and its intended path, "whoa there little fellah, you aren't going anywhere now."
Artoo squealed angrily then hooted in resignation.
"Where are you going, do realize how much trouble you twogot me into?" Luke demanded angrily.
"I apologize for any trouble we may have caused sir, but it is vital that information being carried inside R2-D2 get to the rebel alliance as soon as possible," Data explained.
"Yeah, we know, but why didn't you wait for us? I got into a huge fight with Uncle Owen because of you two!"
Data opened his mouth to answer but Luke cut him off with a wave of his hand, "no, no, I've heard just about enough out of you. Let's just go, we can get you to old Ben Kenobi, perhaps he's related to this Obi-Wan guy."
Data stared at Luke.
Biggs smirked at Data's expression, "Guess you left to soon, smart droid, here Luke knows this Obi-Wan's cousin or son or something the whole time and you left without us to wander around out here."
"You do have a point sir, but we have also been using Artoo's sensors to track down the communication device worn by my partner, Lt. Deanna Troi, ships counselor. She is also in this area searching for General Kenobi and so far I have been unable to contact her. We could not wait until the morning to begin our search."
"What the nerf?Is she in trouble?" Luke exclaimed.
"There is no way of telling that sir," Data replied, although she is several hours overdue to contact me.
"Hear that Luke? Another rebel contact, soon we'll have a whole platoon!" Biggs laughed.
Luke chuckled politely, Artoo tootled wistfully at him.
"Ok ok, I'm not mad you two, but just learn to trust us from now on ok?"
"Yes sir," Data said.
"Aright then, we pile in the landspeeder and look for this Lt Troi as she might be in trouble, then we go straight to old Ben once we have her, sound like a plan?" Biggs crossed his arms and stared at Data.
Data glanced back, "that sounds like a reasonable course of action. Sir, may I drive the landspeeder? My reflexes are considerably more attuned than those of a human and I have extensive experience piloting starships. I will be able to cut our search time down considerably."
"Hmph, I'm not such a bad pilot myself," Luke said. "Why, if I hadn't busted up my sky hopper I could show you how to bulls-eye whomp rats down in beggars canyon."
"Another time Luke, let's go! We've got a lady to save."
The four of them clambered aboard the Landspeeder and shot off into the distance surrounded by a cloud of dust.