There had been blissful silence throughout the ship for the past 15 minutes. Xander had been able to withstand Jack's infamous torture of 'Are we there yet?' for almost 45 minutes. If there was any proof needed that he and the other members of SG-1 had the patience of saints; that would be it. The others were also somewhat amused, not to mention awed, that he was actually able to get the Colonel to stop, and remain quiet for an entire 15 minutes.
Of course there is the fact that when Xander had threatened to 'Turn this ship around,' the ship actually began to change vectors while a new course was plotted. That particular course would have brought them back to where they had started.
After that, there had been a silent agreement not to distract Xander from flying them to the nearest Stargate. Jack had decided to silently relax in his co-pilot chair. Teal'c had already opted to sit in the back of the ship after O'Neill's fourth 'Are we there yet?' and had remained back there as silent as ever.
Daniel, on the other hand, was peering closely over Major Carter's shoulder at the display on the Ancient device she was studying. Xander sat in his pilot's seat, with a sense of foreboding doom, simply anticipating the moment that Major Carter would snap.
He shot a quick glance at the Colonel, who looked very comfortable in his chair. Xander had thought he would see Jack preparing for a wince at what he knew would be coming. And there was no doubt about it. The Colonel knew what was about to happen. He just seemed to have accepted the inevitable, and had decided to wait it out instead of ordering Daniel to his seat. It quickly became apparent that he had dealt with similar situations in the past.
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Jack stole a glance at Xander and gave an internal sigh. Even though Xander didn't know it, Jack was trying to use anything possible to keep the kid's mind off of the current situation. Hell, he certainly didn't want the kid to think about, what could be, his permanent situation. He didn't think that having the kid freak out in the middle of space, while in control of an Alien craft, would be in anyone's best interest.
"Daniel!"
Ah, there it was. Xander was shaking his head, sighing at the fact they only had one of those 'Ancient Gameboys.'
Daniel was trying to say his piece when all of the occupants in the front of the craft heard a mechanical noise coming just to Xander's left.
Xander looked at the console that had given him the original device Carter was using. He shook his head. "No Way." The compartment slid open and inside was an identical unit to what Sam was using. "I want my god damned Twinkie!"
Jack gave a quick chuckle as Xander tossed Daniel the new device. "I don't think that's going to happen, kid."
Xander gave him an indignant look.
"There really is no justice in the world."
Both Sam and Jack gave a quick chuckle, unlike Daniel who was now engrossed in his new toy.
Dr. Jackson's eyes lit up in pure delight. He handled the device as though it were the Holy Grail. He was having a slight problem using the mechanical device, as it would not automatically scroll for him as it did for Xander. Who knew what information, what secrets, were being held in this little device? He peered closely at the small display screen. The writing was definitely of The Ancients. He wasn't quite sure of the exact dialect. 'Damn, I wish I had my notes, it's a shame the Goa'uld stole them with the rest of my belongings.' The groan of disappointment Daniel gave was quite a bit louder than he had intended. He looked up to see the other occupants in the front of the ship staring at him.
Daniel had the good grace to look up with a sheepish smile. "Sorry guys."
Jack was waiting for Daniel to inform them of the newest apocalyptic event, but when no response was forthcoming, he simply rolled his eyes and asked, "What is it?"
Daniel shook his head. "It's just a shame. I lost all of my reference material I had on Ancient languages. The pictures we had taken, even the video, were all in my backpack." When he mentioned the video, even Sam's head shot up from where she had refocused on her display. She and Jack made eye contact for a short moment that was disturbed when Xander began to laugh lightly as he got out of his seat. Both she and Jack shared a worried glance.
Xander smiled at the other members of SG-1, including Teal'c, as he had just arrived from the back of the ship. Xander took off Daniel's backpack that he had been wearing since he found it just prior to this rescue. He handed the backpack to Daniel and sat back down.
"Sorry Dr Jackson. I found that right before I met up with you guys." He shrugged apologetically. "With everything that we've gone through, I had completely forgotten that I had put it on."
He may as well have been speaking to himself, as Daniel was far too busy looking through the bag, all the while he was mumbling to himself. "Oh, thank god. Everything is here. I can't believe he had it on him." Without even a thought, he looked up at Xander with a confused expression.
"Hey! When did you get your clothes back?"
Xander gave him a look that was a cross between complete and utter confusion, and one that screamed 'are you nuts?' Jack, on the other hand, just groaned into his palms before turning around and shooting Daniel with a death glare. He so did not want to have to go through any of this right now. But, that didn't seem likely as Xander spoke up.
"What are you talking about?"
Jack groaned inwardly as he thought about the possible ways to handle this. His first thought was to lie to the kid, albeit temporarily. Then tell him the truth once they were on safer ground. He definitely didn't want to start playing 20 questions when he really didn't have any answers to give. But given his current situation, and the person they were dealing with, he figured that lying would just cause more problems, and be more trouble than it was worth. It was at this thought that he noticed the fact that no one was answering Xander's question. He then noticed that the ship was beginning to decelerate as Xander began to look frantically between the other 4 members of SG-1.
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At first Xander had thought it could have been an inappropriately timed joke. That little delusion was quickly washed away when no one answered his question, and beyond that, they all had serious expressions. Well, Teal'c had the stoic expression he always seemed to wear.
When he took in all of the crazy things that had happened from the moment he regained consciousness, from the dagger wound healing, being able to affect, or control, the ribbon device even if he wasn't wearing it, to actually controlling this ship, it was quite understandable that the beginnings of a panic attack arose. Xander brought his gaze to the floor of the ship and tried to stave off any hyperventilating he suddenly felt was needed.
He had to think logically. Sure he had seen, even been part of, weird events as they took place. Enough had happened to him that this shouldn't be anything special, right? Well to him, this was different. There was too much he didn't know. Too many things were happening that should not be happening. And to make matters worse, there was no Scooby gang; no Giles there to rub his glasses while saying something like 'Oh Dear' or 'Dear Lord.' Granted, G-Man was in England at the moment, but that wasn't what was important. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. It was then that he realized what it was that was important. The important thing was that NO ONE WAS ANSWERING HIM!
Whatever calmness he had been able to attain had fled his system. He was about to snap at them when Jack spoke up, bringing Xander back down to a slightly calmer level.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Xander looked at the man. Just by looking at him you could feel the emotion emanating from the man. There was a mixture of curiosity that seemed to be infused with genuine concern. But what Xander was truly grateful for was that there was also a serene calmness coming from the Colonel. It seemed to radiate the fact that no matter what the situation was, he was still the one in control. That was something that Xander greatly needed at the moment.
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The ship had basically come to a standstill as Xander looked down and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and regained eye contact with the Colonel.
"I assume you mean before waking up while being carried by some Jaffa guards?" Seeing Jack nod, he continued. "We were in that cave. Or whatever it really was. The room was dimly lit from the outside. I was being careful, trying to keep away from the walls." He looked directly into the Colonel's eyes. "While I was looking around, a brief and dull light came from somewhere."
Carter gave a polite, feminine cough. Suddenly all attention was on her.
"It came from the circle in the floor you stepped over." She sighed. "I saw it as it was fading. Once it was gone there was a bright flash of light." She looked over towards Colonel O'Neill. "Almost like an Asgard transport beam." She looked back at Xander. "When that light faded you were somehow suspended in the air." She paused briefly. "And you were naked."
Xander's eyes became wide. "Naked?" He looked too each member of SG-1, who were all nodding their heads in agreement. Xander just shook his head and began to blush. He took a few calming breaths, not wanting to fly off the handle and kill everyone because something suddenly went wrong with the ship. He looked out of the front view port and began to get the ship underway once again.
He turned back to his team members. "So, what exactly happened to me while I was suspended in the air?" He shook his head. "Naked."
Jack spoke up before anyone else could. He knew that this conversation could get out of hand really quickly if they were not careful. He knew it was up to him to take control of the situation. "Listen, Xander. Right now we really aren't sure what happened. And given our current situation I really don't want to start to speculate on what 'might' have happened." He sighed and turned his attention back to Sam. "With that being said, Carter, why don't you take over?" They shared another glance and she nodded her head. She had to tell only what she knew, and begin to theorize once they got home. There would be more than enough time to theorize on what exactly happened once they were back on Earth. She sighed to herself, she could do this.
"Well, the machine seemed to have the capability to heal you, as you can tell since you no longer have the wound you received when you were shot by the staff weapon."
At this, Daniel's eyes went a little wider. "Uh, yea…about that…Thanks for saving my life."
Xander just nodded his head with a small smile. That was something that was just part of everyday life. Well, for him it was. He looked back to Carter, waiting for her to continue.
When his eyes fell back to hers, she nodded. "The machine seemed to scan you several times. To what extent, I can't be sure." She looked over to the Colonel. "And like he said, we shouldn't be speculating and giving various scenarios given our current circumstances."
Xander didn't agree. He wanted to know, and he wanted to know right now. But before he could work himself up, he sighed in defeat. It may have not even been a conscious thought, but he would always place the importance of others beyond his wants and desires. He sighed looking down at his hand that was still adorned by the ribbon device.
'Should I tell them what happened after I regained consciousness? Is it wise to tell them about the Jaffa guards I knocked unconscious; or the one that I killed? Do I even mention the wound the dagger made, and that there is no longer any indication that it had been impaled through the front of the same shoulder that had been shot earlier?' He was brought out of his musings by Jack's voice.
"Xander, I promise you we will get to the bottom of this." Jack gave him a familiar lopsided smile. "Sadly, we've been through similar situations, perhaps not the same, but still similar. And we got out of those all right. We'll get through this, and we'll probably have a similar experience again. And again, we'll get past that as well. We're a team, and we take care of our own."
Xander looked down at the device in his hand once again as he contemplated his current situation. He knew that Jack was telling the truth. At least as far as he knew, and perhaps being able to trust these people was a bit of wishful thinking, but he had read some of the mission debriefings. They really had been through similar situations in the past. That was when it hit him. They may not be the Scooby Gang, but they were a team. More than that, they were his team. It had been stated in some of the reports, and especially through word of mouth. SG-1, even most of the SGC, would defy orders if it meant protecting one of their own. At one time SG-1 had defied orders, their end result was destroying two Ha'tak vessels that were about to attack and most likely destroy the Earth. When Jack, Sam, and Daniel had been captured by Hathor, almost every member of the SGC had volunteered to go on a rescue mission. General Hammond hadn't even needed to finish his instructions on how to volunteer for this 'mission.' Every man had taken that one step forward before the sentence had left the General's lips. That's what he wanted. That was what he needed. There would always be people up higher on the chain of command that he wouldn't be able to trust. But he knew that each and every person sitting within this Alien ship was someone he could trust. He nodded his head and looked up with determined eyes.
"When I woke up I managed to knock down two guards. While I was taking in the situation, including my suddenly healed wound, another guard was able to lunge at me with a dagger. Luckily I was able to keep if from being a fatal wound, but he still got me." He pointed to the front of his previously wounded shoulder.
Major Carter hissed at the uniform where it had been sliced open. She quickly made her way to inspect the wound. She gave him a confused look as she parted the seared material, and found only unblemished skin.
He shook his head. "Yea, I know. The wound began to heal itself the moment I pulled the dagger out of my shoulder. It was completely healed before I even left the room." He looked between the other members of SG-1, and then he glanced down at the ribbon device before sighing. Before they could begin to question him, he continued. "I seem to be able to control this thing, but it's more than that." He glanced up and shifted his gaze between Jack and Sam. "Ba'al tried to use this thing on me. But, somehow, I managed to ward it off." He tore his gaze from Sam who was now staring at him with a slight amount of awe, and looked directly into the red gem of the ribbon device. "When he tried to use it again, it became a battle of willpower." He looked back up at her. "I won."
"What happened?"
He looked over to Jack. "Ba'al went flying through the air and collided with the wall. He hit it hard enough that whatever stone they use on those things actually shattered." Xander gave a small smile at defeating his first System Lord for a short moment before becoming somber. "Ba'al survived his collision, and I just took this and left him there." Xander sighed as he reflected on walking away from the System Lord, even though it was still alive. If it had been a vamp, he wouldn't have even hesitated in ending its existence. With that realization his shoulders slumped. "I should have killed the bastard."
Jack looked at the kid's downcast expression for a moment. He wasn't completely sure how to proceed. "You've done a lot in your life. Buy, have you ever assassinated anyone before?"
Xander looked up at the man. There was no coldness, or malice to his voice. He was simply being asked a question. Xander looked at the other members of SG-1 for a brief moment before bringing his gaze back to Jack.
"No. I can't say that I have."
"It's not something you should start thinking about. It's not your job, even if it was a System Lord."
"But he wants to destroy our planet. You know that he wants to torture and kill all of you."
Jack nodded his head. "Yes, and if it's kill or be killed, then I say kill the bastard." But Jack began to shake his head. "But an assassination, it's not your job."
"But…"
There was a new fire burning in Jack's eyes. Just what it was for, no one could say. "No! It's not your job. It's mine!" Jack leaned in until their faces were less than a foot apart. "I'm the one who decided to take such an action. And I will be the one to take it. Do you understand me?" He leaned back in his chair, giving himself and Xander some room.
Xander simply stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Well, after I left him there, and took his Ribbon Device, I met up with you guys, and now we're on this ship." He motioned to the ship surrounding them. "Which, I am somehow controlling." He sighed as he looked at his current teammates. "That's just a recap. I'm sure there were freaky things I'll remember later." Xander turned and stared out the front view port at the monotonous scenery the stars were showing. Normally such a sight would be a marvel to him. However, the fact that he was flying through space was lost on him. All he could think of was how this could happen to him.
A firm grip on his shoulder pulled him back into the worried gazes of his teammates.
Jack gave his newest teammate's shoulder a squeeze. "I can promise you that we won't rest until we have a much better understanding of what happened to you. And what is happening to you." Jack motioned his head towards Sam. "Carter won't rest until she has a valid theory on everything that is happening. And Daniel, well Daniel wouldn't get a moment of shuteye even without your involvement in all this. But your situation definitely puts more of a drive in him to figure this out that much quicker."
Xander tore his gaze from Jack to see a grinning and nodding Sam, over to Daniel, who was nodding his head with quite a bit of enthusiasm. Xander smiled and nodded his gratitude to his new teammates before turning back to the front view port.
There were a couple minutes of silence before Daniel broke it.
"So, just how did he wind up with his clothes back on? I mean, when he hit the ground he was naked. But when we were being escorted out of the cave, he was fully clothed."
Xander stared out into the depths of space. His mind was going a mile a minute. He was sure that there was more to tell about this machine, he certainly didn't remember hitting the ground, or being naked. He would have to have another talk with his teammates when he wasn't flying an alien craft through the coldness and darkness of space. Although, when he thought about his now clothed status, he could only come to one conclusion. And he certainly did not like what that implied.
