A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. I'm overwhelmed by the positive response to my little story.


Chapter 5 - SGC

Teal'c looked down at the remains of the zat in his hand and then back at gate raising his one eyebrow. He didn't know what could have happened. Had the bomb gone off right after he stepped through the gate? Surely there would have been a shock wave or energy surge on this end if that had been the case.

"Teal'c? What happened? Why did the gate shutdown? Where are Jack and Sam?" Daniel started to get frantic worrying about his friends back on the planet with a bomb and no open wormhole to escape through.

Colonel Reynolds, who had been left in command came into the gate room. "You just left a little while ago. What happened? Where's the rest of your team? Dr. Jackson? Teal'c?"

"They are still on the planet. There was a timed explosive device which ColonelCarter was to try to disable while we were to come back here and hold the stargate open for them. I do not know why the stargate shut down."

Colonel Reynolds briefly looked at the remains of the zat Teal'c was holding. It had a wisp of smoke curling from the edge of it. He called up to the control room, "Dial up P4X-559!"

"ColonelReynolds, if O'Neill and ColonelCarter need to escape, they will not be able to do so if we open a wormhole to their planet from our stargate."

"You're right Teal'c. Belay that last order! How long do you feel we should we wait before we try to establish contact?"

"The timer was set for approximately 25 minutes from now. If they do not return by that time, we should be prepared to send a rescue mission at that time."

Still concerned for his best friends, Daniel's mind was working overtime. "It's possible they shut down the gate on their end. Maybe they were afraid of damage from the bomb coming through to Earth. They might have decided to escape to a different planet, just to be safe."

Knowing that his friends could not have reached the gate so quickly and shut it down to dial another planet, Teal'c did not want to destroy Daniel's hopes. "That is quite possible, DanielJackson. If that is the case, then, we should still expect to hear from them within 30 minutes if they have survived."

Colonel Reynolds made his decision. "OK, we'll wait half an hour. If we don't hear from the General or Colonel by then, we'll dial up the planet. Be prepared to go with the rescue team at that time."


After 30 minutes, Colonel Reynolds, Teal'c and Daniel gathered in the control room. SG-3 and a medical team with two gurneys covered with equipment were waiting in the gate room. There had been no sign of the General or Carter so they asked Sergeant Harriman to dial the gate.

"Chevron 6 engaged... Chevron 7... will not lock. We weren't able to establish a connection, sir."

Daniel looked at Teal'c, deep concern etched into every feature of his face.

"OK Sergeant, it's possible the General was trying to dial us, or had his gate open to a different planet, keep trying every 15 minutes until you get through or until I tell you to stop."

"Yes, sir."

With that Colonel Reynolds nodded at Teal'c and Daniel and went to his office to ponder what they would do if they couldn't get through to P4X-559.