Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Stargate.
Author's Note: Unfortunately, this is going to be the last chapter, for real this time. This started out as a one shot, then it was going to be an actual story with a plot where everyone eventually got sick, but it turns out that I don't have nearly enough ideas for that, so it kind of worked out to be more like a ficlet. Sorry to disappoint you, but I decided that it would be much worse to try and keep going when there was nothing really left to say. So, thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy this last chapter.
Chapter 5: Walter
"Dial the gate," Hammond commanded.
"Yes Sir," Sergeant Harriman replied, at least he tried to, because all that actually came out of his mouth was a pathetic crack.
Walter paused with his hands over the keyboard and cleared his throat cautiously. And here he'd been thinking that he'd made it through the sore throat season without actually catching the bug.
"Is there a problem Sergeant?" Hammond asked.
Walter tried to voice his reply at first, but caught himself at the last second and shook his head instead, returning his attention to his task. He was only dialing the gate, after all, he didn't really need to speak.
It wasn't until the gate whirled to life and the first chevron clicked into place that Walter realized there was something very important he was supposed to be doing.
By the time the second chevron was encoded everyone in the control room and half the people in the gate room were staring at him, looking confused.
Walter sat up uncomfortably. This wasn't good at all! What if someone didn't realize the gate was about to activate? Anyone could…
Chevron three encoded.
…anyone could walk up and be enveloped by the vortex. Siler, especially, was…
Chevron four encoded.
…was standing dangerously near the gate, checking a power converter or some such.
Chevron five encoded.
This was getting desperate. Someone had to warn the people down there.
Chevron six encoded!
"Look out!" Walter forced himself to squeak into the microphone.
His ears couldn't have told him what his mouth was trying to say, but the people down in the gate room seemed to have gotten the general idea. The scientists in the room threw themselves to the ground defensively and the airman all pointed their guns at the rotating gate. There was a moment of tense silence as they waited to see what they were looking out for. The final chevron locked and the gate whooshed open anticlimactically.
Walter opened first one eye and then the other. There didn't seem to be any casualties. Instead, a dozen people were glaring up at him from the gate room.
"What's the problem?" Hammond asked.
Walter came back to his senses with a start. "The gate sir," he croaked. "It was turning on."
"Is it an outgoing wormhole?"
"Yes Sir."
"Is that all?" Hammond pressed.
Walter nodded, feeling as though his voice had reached it's finally straw.
Hammond rolled his eyes and leaned over to the microphone. "SG-11, you have a go."
The leader of SG-11 waved up at the control room as he and his team stepped through the Stargate.
When the gate had shut down, Hammond returned his attention to Harriman.
"Sorry, Sir," Walter whispered.
"Get yourself to the infirmary," Hammond ordered.
"Yes Sir." Walter was so eager to leave that he nearly tripped over his chair in his haste.