Nightmare

Dr. Daniel Jackson was spending yet another long night at Stargate Command. He sat at his desk surrounded by books and loose paper. A small lamp illuminated the text before Daniel's eyes. His computer's aquarium screensaver cast a calm blue light further brightening the room. He was translating a fascinating ancient Greek tome that carried several interesting references to what Daniel believed to be a ZPM. A find like that would be invaluable given the dire situation of the Atlantis project. Despite his resolve, Daniel's nagging allergies refused to let him work in peace. After the fifth onslaught of sneezing in the span of twenty minutes, Daniel checked if it had been twelve hours since his last dose. He glanced at his watch.

"2 a.m. It's been ten hours—that's more than enough." He pulled out a bottle from his pocket and tapped one of the pills into his hand. He tossed one down his throat and followed it with some water. It always took a good thirty minutes for the drug to work, so Daniel decided to take a short break. He flipped on the TV next to his computer and settled in his chair to take in an episode of History Channel's Ancient Egypt: Secrets Revealed. A pretentious looking British man appeared on the screen walking down a cramped corridor inside of a pyramid.

"I imagine many of you have heard some wild stories about Egypt and its incredible pyramids. Some claim they are the work of alien beings. Others insist they are temples and monuments to Egypt's absolutist kings, the pharaohs. Tonight we will separate fact from fiction and reveal the secrets of these ancient wonders…" The narrative segued into an overly edited theme song. Daniel sank back into the chair and began to doze. The combination of a powerful allergy medication and a none too exciting History Channel program lulled Daniel into a light sleep. A loud knock on the door shook Daniel out of his sleep. It was the ineffable Jack O'Neill.

"Taking a siesta there Danny?" Jack said as he pushed the door open. Daniel sat up in the chair and rubbed his eyes.

"I didn't know napping at 2 a.m. was considered a "siesta" and since when do you work this late?" Daniel asked in a slightly irritated tone.

"2 a.m.? Maybe on Daniel Standard Time," Jack glanced at his watch, "it's 8 a.m." Daniel jumped up.

"It is! I must have fallen asleep."

"I believe I pointed that out already sleeping beauty. I want you in the conference room stat. We have some visitors." Jack walked back out into the hall. Daniel was still a little disoriented from the medication, but something didn't seem right. How could he have fallen asleep for so long? He decided to ignore that question and headed for the conference room; he was curious about the "visitors" Jack had mentioned. He grabbed a notebook from his desk and walked into the corridor.

In the conference room, Daniel took his usual seat next to Sam Carter. Moments later Jack stepped into the room with a slight brunette woman and a strong and soulful looking young woman. Daniel was deeply surprised.

"Dr. Weir! How, when, why--"

"I figured you'd have a question or two," Jack said with a grin, "I'm sure Dr. Weir will explain."

"It's nice to see you all again," Weir said as she nodded to each person in the room, "I'd like to introduce you to Teyla Emmagon. She is the leader of a people from Pegasus known as the Athosians." Teyla bowed her head.

"Nice to meet you." Samantha said with a smile.

"Dr. Wei—"

"Elizabeth." Weir interrupted.

"Elizabeth," Daniel began again and rose form his seat, "what is going on? I thought you were dealing with issues of intergalactic significance in Atlantis?" Elizabeth stepped towards Daniel and clasped her hands behind her back.

"As you know, we have a power crisis in Atlantis. Recently, Dr. Zelenka found a way to harness the geothermal energy surging beneath Atlantis." Weir began to pace. "He had just enough power to allow us, Teyla and myself, through the gate."

"Is everything alright in Atlantis?" Daniel quickly inquired.

"For the moment, yes. We hoped by coming here that we could help alleviate the power crisis in Atlantis." Weir took a seat facing Daniel.

"Yes," Teyla began, "our last communication with SGC informed us that Dr. Jackson was very close to locating another ZPM. Dr. Weir and I believe we can be of some helping in locating that ZPM." Teyla seated herself next to Jack. The whole scenario seemed implausible to Daniel, but he withheld his objections. He didn't remember sending any new information to Atlantis.

"Daniel, I want you to get to work right away on locating that ZPM. We don't want to make these ladies wait." With that, Jack got up form the conference table and headed out of the room.

"I don't mean to be rude, but why would you waste that geothermal energy to come here? We could send the ZPM out to Atlantis--." Daniel's legitimate question was interrupted by an alarm. Sam turned to Daniel. A voice exploded over the intercom:

"Unscheduled off-world activation! Close the iris!--" The gate operator's voice was almost immediately drowned in gunfire.

"We need to get in there now!" Sam yelled. The group headed for the gate-room. Sam radioed the operator.

"What's going on in there! Seal the room!" There was no response. When they reached the observation room, the damage was clear. The gate operator was lying in a pool of his own blood. The guards had all been killed. "Jack!" Sam screamed over the radio, "We need to lock down the complex. There's been a breach of the gate room!" She waited for a response. "Jack!" She waited a few moments. "He's not responding. Daniel, we need to find Jack and Teal'c. We can't let whatever this enemy is out of this base." Daniel nodded.

"Wait. There's an incoming transmission." A shaken Elizabeth noted. Sam flipped a switch. The monitor revealed a disgruntled looking individual with bushy eyebrows. The message was given in a loud and demeaning tone of voice:

"Greetings Maggots! The name is Janus—I'm sure the pleasure is all your's. If you've received this transmission that means my team has taken something very important from you—namely the Ancient time device. Now, I'm a magnanimous guy, so I'm giving you an option. Give me the Atlantis coordinates and I'll give you the time device. You decide which is more important to you. I'm transmitting the coordinates of my location. Be there in 8 hours". The transmission broke off. The group in the gate room shared a collective look of shock.

"We need to find Jack and Teal'c—now." Sam said.

"I think I just found them…" Daniel said as he glanced at the scattered bodies lying in the gate room. The others followed his gaze. Jack and Teal'c were lying on the floor clutching their weapons. Daniel could not believe how quickly things had happened. Something wasn't right and he was determined to find out.

To be continued….