Part 3
SAM
It was nothing in particular and lots of little things, but delay after delay kept us from leaving that morning. As we finally shouldered our packs in late morning and walked from the camp, past the waterfall to the open valley, we saw the search party rapidly approaching the camp, Brutus in the lead.
Major Gregory, barely restraining Brutus on a leash, shouted from several yards down slope, "General, Colonel, you're still here."
"Yeah well, best laid plans and all that. You made good time. Hey, Brutus," Jack crankily acknowledged the enthusiastic greeting offered by the young dog, jumping happily up on Jack. Suddenly sensing something irresistibly fascinating in the brush, Brutus jerked his leash out of the major's hand. Jack grabbed for it, just missing the bit of leather as it flew past. "I'll get him," Jack blurted as he whirled to follow the dog into the tall grass.
As I watched my almost fifty-year-old fiancée unreservedly chase a dog through a field, the sight brought several thought to mind. What a big kid. He misses having a dog so much, maybe I should get him one after we're married. Then a chill thought spoiled my enjoyment of the moment. He probably wants to have kids to go with the dog. I suppose we need to have that talk about whether to have children, assuming I can, that is.
The adolescent pair headed back this way as something distracted Brutus again. Suddenly, they froze. I mean really froze. Like the movie was on pause.
"Jack?" All I got in response was a long, drawn-out moan, made faint by the distance between us. "Jack!" I started to run in his direction. "Talk to me, Jack!" I frantically shouted as I raced to his side. Horrified, mouth gaping, I watched as he began to fade.
With a visible effort, he turned his stricken eyes toward me. "Sssaaaaaammm," Jack managed as he and Brutus vanished.
TEAL'C
When General Hammond's emissary reached me in the Land of Light, I had just returned from P3X-888 with a mindless, rapacious serpent to replace Drey'ac's symbiote. In my absence, her symbiote had matured to the point where my son, Rya'c, had to remove and kill it lest it take her as its first host. My wife was so close to death that I had no option but to give her my own symbiote to save her life. The sight of her in such a state made me realize how dear she had become to me.
"Father, you will die without your prim'ta," Rya'c anxiously exclaimed as I removed the creature from my pouch.
"I am aware of the consequences, my son, but your mother's life is too important to me to allow her to die when I might save her. The serpent in the vessel in my pack may be able to replace my prim'ta until another may be procured." I slipped the wriggling beast into my pouch, where it swam frantically for a few minutes in its agitation.
"B-but, Father, to take such a creature as your prim'ta…" Rya'c's expression of disgust and horror at the blasphemy I proposed provoked a snort of amusement from me, a result, no doubt, of my years of close association with the Tau'ri.
"It will serve to keep me alive until another is found. Now, my son, I wish you to…"
"Teal'c, Teal'c, General Hammond needs you right away," shouted Lieutenant Foster as she ran into my home. "You're needed on Eden. Two people have vanished into thin air and one of them is General O'Neill." The young Tau'ri woman grabbed my arm and attempted to drag me with her as she gasped for oxygen.
I assumed my most proper aspect, raising an eyebrow at her presumption. "You will wait until I have assured the welfare of my wife and son. When that is accomplished, I will accompany you to Eden, and not before." She blanched at my words and stammered an apology.
"Rya'c, please stay here with Lieutenant Foster and attend to your mother until her new symbiote heals her. I must speak with Tuplo regarding Drey'ac's care." He attempted to object; however, I turned away, intent on my errand.
Within an hour, I returned, having assured adequate care for my spouse. I allowed the young lieutenant to lead the way as I retreated from my family once again.
DANIEL
I don't think I had ever seen Sam in such a state. Just as Jack began to vanish, she leapt toward him, screaming his name, although I'd never find out if it was to save him or join him. Fortunately for us, he faded and she passed through him to fall on her hands and knees, shuddering with shock. If she'd joined him, the human race as we knew it might never have come about.
On our way down to the colony, Sam spent almost twenty minutes on her radio issuing rapid-fire orders to her admin, from getting us a lab to notifying General Hammond to ordering up more search parties. By the time we reached the base carrying both of the puck-shaped devices, one for each of our missing friends, Teal'c had arrived from the Land of Light. The three of us sequestered ourselves in my assigned lab without even removing our tactical vests. Scientists and technicians passed by the door, peering in through the window in the panel, curious about what miracle SG-1 would pull off this time. Sam was oblivious to her surroundings; her pack lay abandoned between her feet as she perched on one of the lab stools.
I pulled Teal'c aside to ask, "Distract her while I try to decipher some of this text. Maybe it'll tell us something about where Jack went." He nodded curtly and turned to Sam while I listened with half an ear.
"ColonelCarter, Drey'ac, my wife, sends you her best wishes on your joining with O'Neill. She very much looks forward to attending the nuptials." He walked over to stand by her side.
"Uh, thank her for me, Teal'c," she replied absentmindedly. Shaking herself awake, Sam added, "How are Drey'ac and Rya'c?"
"Rya'c is well, although he chaffs against his mother's restrictions and longs to participate in the Jaffa rebellion. Master Bra'tac fills his head with outrageous stories of my exploits and of the rebels."
Sam gave him a watery smile. "And Drey'ac?"
His faint smile faded to an expression of deep concern. "She was quite ill when I left her side."
Sam really looked at him for the first time since we met that day. She placed her hand on his arm in sympathy. "Is there anything we can do to help, Teal'c?"
"I fear not, ColonelCarter, unless you can procure a new symbiote for her. It is a problem that will prove to be quite common among my fellow rebels as our prim'tas mature."
She gasped in shock at his news. "Teal'c, she's dying? You have to go to her."
"She is stable for the moment. My duty is at present here, with you. Rya'c will send word if her state deteriorates." Sam wrapped her arms around his shoulders and they took comfort in each other for a few seconds.
"Have you spoken with Bra'tac recently? How is his quest to gather more Jaffa to the cause going?"
Teal'c again subtly showed distress, "He has been very successful recruiting more warriors. However, this has led to an additional problem since the betrayal of our cause by K'tano. We no longer have a safe haven for Jaffa families and in which to train new warriors."
"Perhaps General Hammond can help you find another world," Sam mumbled, looking thoughtful.
"Perhaps you are right, ColonelCarter."
She briefly looked pensive and then pulled over the lab computer, typing rapidly for a few minutes. Looking up again with a slight smile on her face, Sam abruptly turned to me. "So, now that I've been kept out of your hair for a few minutes, Daniel, what have you found?"
"Not a darn thing, Sam. The script is unknown in any resource I can find. Do you have any idea of how this thing works? Guesses, anything?"
"Not a clue," she said, her face reflecting her frustration. She stood up from the stool and reached to pick up one of the "pucks." Her hands passed over the surface as she examined it carefully. Sam leaned over the lab bench to grab an instrument on the far side, the puck between her torso and the tabletop.
It clicked. Sam gasped. Her eyes grew round and she tried to say something as her head turned toward me in slow motion. Still extended over the table, Sam started to grow … filmy. Teal'c reacted faster than I could, but we both grabbed for her. I'm not sure what our instincts told us we could do, but instead of saving her, we all began to fade. In seconds, I could see through Teal'c to the formula-covered whiteboard behind him.
Then, the pain began. The swirling, disorienting, pain-filled cyclone of energy seemed to pick us up, shake us out and toss the three of us to the ground - hard. The final insult was a zat-like shock that left me dazed and incongruously wondering as I passed out, "Why is the sky purple?"
JACK
God, I hated being zatted! It felt just like a zat bolt. Even more, I hated the sensation of falling, especially without a parachute. When the puke-making spinning stopped, the falling started. Because of the momentum I had still carried from chasing Brutus, I started to tip forward, racing toward the densely leafed crown of a tree about 50 yards below where I materialized out of thin air. My stunned body refused to respond to my mind's desperate pleas to turn over and I continued to fall face first at a maddeningly slow rate. It seemed to me as though my little "trip" had changed the pace of time.
From my left, I heard a whimper-yip and guessed it must have come from Brutus. At least I wasn't alone. Assuming, that is, that we survived the fall.
Suddenly, my perception of time snapped into high gear and the tree below seemed to race toward me. We hit, smaller branches slowing our fall so that, when I smacked my ribs into the larger branch, I only felt agonizing pain. Lucky me.
I couldn't see Brutus as we each plowed a course through the tree, but I heard his yelps of pain as he ricocheted off several limbs. I bounced once off the bough and the ground came up to meet me with a whack that drove all air from my lungs.
After several minutes lying where I'd fallen, gasping for oxygen, I heard Brutus limp over to lick my face. Touched by his concern, I held up a trembling hand to pat his head. "Good boy, Brutus."
I then patted myself down to check for any broken bones or spurting arteries. "So far, so good, Brutus. Only a few bruised ribs," I spoke to him, more for the sound of a human voice than the need to comfort him. I used his closeness to do the same for him. Again, we were lucky. He yipped a couple of times as I touched bruises, but nothing seemed broken. This was one for the record books. In another of his lightning moves, the dog's head turned to my right, his nostrils flared and his lips pulled back in a snarl.
"What is it, boy? What do you smell?" Sitting up after that fall wasn't something I ever want to repeat in my lifetime. Ribs protested as my stomach muscles tensed to pull me up. It reminded me too much of the time my chute failed to open on a jump into enemy territory. At least this time, my leg wasn't broken.
I scanned the area around us for my human companions. There was no one in sight in the broad, summer-dried valley, so difference from the knife thin gorge we had left. Grabbing my radio from its shoulder patch, I tried to contact my party. "Colonel Carter, Captain Fredericks, Major Gregory, this is O'Neill. Over." In return, only static met my call. I checked the battery and antenna for damage, but everything seemed to be in order.
Brutus growled again, facing away from me. I staggered to my feet and limped in the direction of whatever it was that had upset him. We passed through a copse of the same type of tree that saved us. About a quarter mile beyond that sat a small house with a couple of outbuildings, surrounded by a low decorative stone wall. It looked remarkably close to the model Daniel had drawn the day before of his newest pile of rocks, only this place wasn't in the middle of a range of mountains and it was in much better condition. The house stood in a broad valley, miles from the low hills to the west. A fast-flowing stream ran close to the 'gates. Between the wall and our position lay the object of my furry companion's uneasiness.
Draped over a medium-sized, reddish boulder was Ivan, his back obviously broken. I rushed to him, but could see it was far too late to help. The young geologist was dead, probably from the long fall, and the abrupt stop. As I stared at his corpse in shock, he began to fade, until there was no sign of his life or death. Not a drop of blood or strand of hair remained. I reached out an unsteady hand and touched the surface where he'd rested. I noticed, to my great alarm, that my own hand was slightly translucent. Was I about to dissolve, too?
SAM
Luckily we'd only fallen a few feet and lay on the grassy crest of a small hill. With a groan, I sat up and looked around at the city that surrounded the hill. Spotting Teal'c, sitting up to my left, and Daniel, lying to my right, I crawled over to my surrogate brother. Daniel lay gasping for breath, having had his wind knocked out by our sudden contact with the ground.
"You guys okay?" I wheezed, a little winded myself.
"S'alright," Daniel whispered, giving me a watery smile of reassurance.
"Teal'c?" I asked, alarmed at his silence.
"I am injured, ColonelCarter, but it is minor and my symbiote will heal me."
"Tell me," I instructed the Jaffa briskly. As his one-time commander, I still felt responsible for his well-being. Especially since, he was here because of me.
"My wrist is broken. It will heal quickly, but you must bind it for me so it will heal straight," he replied, setting the bone himself with hardly a grimace. This man had once again amazed me with his stoicism and capacity for pain.
I thanked whatever gods looked out for this planet that I still had my utility vest and pack. The side pocket on my pack yielded a splint, dressings and some painkillers. The first two, I used on his arm and then forced the last on him, "I need you alert, Teal'c. You've taken these before with no adverse affects. Please." He gave in with his usual good grace and I smiled my appreciation for his cooperation. By this time, Daniel was standing at the very top of the round knoll, surveying the vast city. I stood and moved to his side in the early morning light. It had been late afternoon on Eden when we left.
"See anything telling us where we might be, Daniel?"
"No, not a thing, Sam. Do you still have the artifact?"
"Sure, it's right over where I hit the ground." My response seemed to reassure him for some unknown reason. "What are you thinking, Daniel?"
"That we've been transported to another part of Eden or, perhaps, another world. Does any of this seem familiar from the satellite scans you've studied, Sam?" He turned to face me, concerned, yet exhilarated. Despite the circumstances, it was good to be working with them again.
"Well, the sky at home sure isn't violet, though that could be caused by a slightly different atmospheric composition and densities scattering light at different frequencies." I stopped my lecture upon seeing a very Jack-like glazed look on Daniel's face. The poor man had gone through too much in the past few minutes for discussions of electromagnetic spectra.
Grinning, I continued, "The trees and grasses seem very like what we've found on Eden. But, then, so do those on most planets we've been to," I answered honestly. I pointed to a small shrub directly down the hill from us. "Although, that bush over there is one I've only seen on Eden. It yields a berry that we've found works quite well as a low viscosity lubricant."
"Okay, one point for and one against this being Eden. What else, Sam?" I slowly turned around in place to scan the vista below us.
"Nothing else seems remotely familiar. The terrain is flat to the horizon, where Eden Base is at the foot of a small range of mountains on the east and at the top of a very high cliff to the west. I can see what looks like a very large lake or small sea at the edge of visibility."
Teal'c spoke up to add, "That river to the south does not flow past Eden Base. Nor is there a space port on Eden." This last was as we saw a fireball race straight up from what we guessed was the southeast. Within seconds, a sonic boom broke over us as the ship disappeared into the sky.
"Hmm, several points for either theory of a different part of Eden or another planet altogether. Not much help, although I think we'd 've noticed a working space port on Eden. Perhaps we should flag down one of those people," Daniel pointed to a group of brightly dressed shapes standing in a small square several hundred feet to our south, "and ask for directions. Um, take me to your leader, so to speak."
I looked to Teal'c for his concurrence and, after receiving it, said, "Okay, you speak to them Daniel. We'll follow your lead for now." I stepped over to where I'd fallen and picked up the artifact, stuffing it in my pack.
DANIEL
Sam was in leader mode again, having gotten past her shock over Jack's abrupt and mysterious vanishing act. I, for one, was very happy about that.
The houses and businesses ringing the miniature plaza ran along familiar lines and configurations, suggesting southern European origins. The people appeared to be human at first glance, but as we got closer, I detected a rainbow colored sheen overlaying the lighter skin tones on their faces and hands. Perhaps they were of reptilian ancestry.
The gathering listened intently to a man standing on the steps leading down from a graceful fountain. He gestured emphatically as he spoke, obviously railing against something because his gestures and expression indicated intense disapproval. I saw similar strong emotions ranging across the faces of the audience members.
We approached the small crowd openly and slowly, not wanting to startle anyone into a rash act. I waited politely for the speaker to finish, trying to place the language he used. It was completely alien to any other speech I'd ever heard or read. When I glanced questioningly in his direction, Teal'c shook his head. Having no other choice than to memorize his speech, I gave it my whole concentration, blocking out all other stimuli.
Before I knew what was happening, Sam and Teal'c grabbed my arms, dragging me away from the gathering into a small side street. "W-what's going on?"
"He apparently didn't like the looks of us, Daniel. Let's get going. The last thing we need at a time like this is an interplanetary incident," Sam ordered.
We ran down the street, keeping a close watch on our back trail. Some members of the crowd rushed around the corner after us, the orator in the lead, but they hadn't spotted us yet. Sam directed us down a small alley and we ducked into a deep archway. I pressed myself back against the wooden door, its shiny metal studs stabbing me in the back, my teammates at my side. I pushed back even further into the shadow of the doorway as one man from the mob walked a short way into the alley, searching for us. My foot must have tripped an opening mechanism because the tall heavy door swung open behind us and we fell in graceless heaps into the chamber on the other side.
I picked myself up and then held my breath as I faced a young human woman brandishing a stave menacingly, seeming ready to bash in my head at the least provocation. She spoke sharply in words that sounded vaguely familiar, if only I could remember from where!
JACK
Not having faded into thin air in the past six hours, I felt slightly better about my situation. However, we had to figure out where we were so we could find a way home. The memory of Sam's face as I disappeared haunted me. I knew getting home to her was my highest priority.
The dog and I'd carefully explored the little villa or farm or whatever it was. The house followed similar construction to that I'd seen during my travels in Spain. Made of dressed and plastered stone, some of it intricately carved and brightly painted. Although, on second glance, some of the paint was peeling and fading. Someone's weekend cabin, I guessed. How I wished I were at mine, with my beautiful Sam at my side.
Brutus had flushed a bird similar to some I'd seen in the river valley west of the base. It rose into the air, squawking and flapping madly, chased by an overjoyed dog playing his favorite game. I called his name sharply and he immediately heeled. His leash in hand, I finished my inspection of the empty home, returning finally to the main room.
Above the mantle, carved into more stone and painted to highlight certain features was a mural or map depicting what I hoped was the area around my location. I dug Sam's digital camera out of my pack where she'd stuffed it this morning, along with some of the MREs and energy bars we'd schlepped up the trail. She'd filled hers and Daniel's with carefully wrapped artifacts after I objected - mostly to tease Daniel - to carrying his "rocks."
I tried the radio again, but got the same response – static. With a fully charged battery at my disposal, I used the flash in the dimly lit room to take a couple of pictures of the map, figuring it might come in handy later. I used up a light stick to inspect the map as closely as possible for familiar landmarks. There wasn't a single thing I recognized on the map, but I had at least found a town that looked like as good of a first objective as possible. Something about the map set my Spidey senses tingling, but I sure couldn't figure out what it was.
The day was waning fast so we made camp in the main room. I gathered wood for a fire, aided by an enthusiastic Brutus, who thought carrying sticks around in his mouth was great fun. I cut and stacked some of the tall grass to make a nest for Brutus and me by the fireplace. My sleeping bag went over the top.
Despite the busy day I'd had, I wasn't too tired to spend time sitting on a stump outside staring at the stars. I searched the heavens for familiar constellations. For maybe an hour, I search in vain. Finally, facing northeast, I glimpsed the group of stars I'd dubbed The Sailboat. The lines were slightly changed, but recognizably the constellation I'd spent many a lonely night staring at before Sam came back into my life. Somehow, it comforted me that I was still on Eden. Based on the location in the night sky of the familiar collection of stars, I guessed the season was late summer instead of the early spring I'd left.
A huge yawn reminded me that I needed to get a good night's sleep. Before I lay down, I gently stretched my aching muscles, knowing they'd be infinitely more painful in the morning after the beating I'd taken that day. Brutus lay down and curled up against my back. His companionship and warmth was my bulwark against the loneliness of this place. Even though it was still early, sleep claimed me within minutes of lying down. My dreams were of Sam, an endless white-sand beach and certain black bikini.
Waking early, as usual, I made short work of breakfast and we were on the trail again before the sun was fully up. After studying the map, I'd decided that following the river would eventually lead me to my first destination, as well as provide food and water. Brutus was a constant source of amusement with his overgrown puppy enthusiasm, but my mind kept running in circles. My location, Ivan's demise and getting back to Sam as soon as possible were endlessly on my mind. As I had since landing here, I continued to try my radio. The answer was always the same – nothing.
A long day's walk brought us to the sprawling village about sundown. We entered through the unguarded 'gates and strode down a main street to what looked like a street market. As people began to notice our presence among them, the unfriendly looks and whispers became an almost palpable wave driving us back. Finally, a man, or alien, whatever, stepped into my path and gabbled something I didn't understand. His face, although a little red from his tirade, seemed to change color subtly as he moved; almost as though rainbow-colored scales covered his skin.
I muttered, "Where's my damned linguist when I need him?" One thing was clear, though. For some reason, they didn't welcome our kind here.
I tried to get my message across to him – that I was lost and just needed help getting home - but he lost patience quickly and practically pushed me back through the 'gates. At a loss where to go next, I stood there for several minutes. Brutus whined all of a sudden, staring behind me.
When I turned, the only person in sight was a small, human-looking woman furtively watching us from a hut outside the town 'gates. She studied me as though she wasn't too sure whether I was worth her time. Seeming to make up her mind, she approached and said something in a language different from what the man who'd run us out of town spoke. Except this time, I could get about five out of every ten words. She spoke the language of the Ancients; the language Teal'c and I learned last year in the time loop.
"You ? not stay ?. The ? of this ? are of the ? of Belezok. Why haven't you ? the others?" she asked obviously annoyed at my presence. Brutus sniffed at the hem of her ankle-length dress and licked her hand in greeting. The woman glanced down at the dog and frowned curiously as though she'd never seen one before.
It took me a minute to form a coherent sentence in the language I hadn't spoken in over a year. "Can you help me, please? I don't know how I got to this world and need help to get home."
My accent or pronunciation must have confused her for a few moments, but light dawned and she spoke more slowly, "Come quickly. I will go with you to the transport cradle. Those of our ? in Vescada City may be able to help you if we can get there safely. Everyone else here has already ?." She thought I was an Ancient. How had I found a world with people, admittedly only a few, who had disappeared from our galactic neighborhood millennia ago? Where the hell was I?
Continued in Part 4