Season 1:
The Shape of Things to Come
She awoke on a surface far more comfortable than she was expecting. She knew by now not to open her eyes, it would just let them know she was awake, so instead she listened. There was a rhythmical beeping coming from her right, must be a heart monitor, and a radio was nearby,going on about a thief and a joker. This was wrong. Last time the enemy woke her she came to on a stone slab, to the jab of a pain rod. Then she heard the rustling. Someone else was in the room with her. She gave it another moment, there was more rustling but little else. Consigning herself to the fact she would need to open her eyes to learn anything new, she slowly cracked them.
This was wrong too. She was in a concrete room, on a real bed. Across from her was a bald man in camouflage, he was facing away from her and leaning down to read something off a desk. Her eyes were drawn to his thigh, a pistol! It was different than she was accustomed to, but a pistol none the less. There was a needle in her arm that was connected to a drip bag, and she was wearing a scratchy gown that feel like it didn't completely covered her back. Shockingly she was also not strapped down, though judging by the straps on the sides of her bed it was till on the table.
She would need to act quickly, before the guard noticed her. Quietly pulling the needle out was easy. Sitting up she saw there was a small table by the head of her bed, a metal bedpan sitting atop it. Perfect for what was to come. Again quietly, she swung her feet over the side of the bed, grateful for the socks on her feet, that she now noticed had little grippers on the bottom. Standing, she grabbed the bedpan on the way up. It only took two long strides to get behind the man and swiftly bring the bedpan down on his head as hard as she could.
The guard crumpled at the hit, clearly unconscious. She crouched down next to him and waited a beat. When no other guards rushed the room, she began taking stock of what she had to work with. A quick search revealed a plastic card with a bar-code and the man's picture attached to the guards belt, the gun, and little else. The card must be the key to the metal door barring her exit from the room and the gun would give her a fighting chance against whatever forces the enemy had past the door. One problem down, one to go. Not intending to rush into battle ass cheeks on display, she began searching the cabinets along the walls for more suitable clothes. It was the third cabinet she searched where she found the scrubs. The green set were too big, but the blue set fit perfectly. She donned them in no time at all and moved to the door.
Before swiping the card, she stopped to look in the mirror above the sink in the corner. She looked tired, the bags under her eyes the biggest she'd seen them since she was still a student at the Academy. Aside from that, everything else seemed to still be in place. Pointy ears, check. Pastel blue hair that fell just past her shoulders, check. And the injection site in her arm was already healed, so that was still working as well. Taking a breath to steady herself, she turned back to the door.
She was halfway across the room before it hit her. What if this was all an elaborate trap, or trick, or more advanced form of torture. The pain and tormenting she could take, but this? If this was fake it would somehow be worse. Either way there was nothing she could do about it, so she continued. Swiping the card automatically opened the door, another small worry averted.
The door opened to a concrete hallway, she wasn't sure what she was expecting to see but looking back it should have been this. Left and right were both empty and identical as far as she could see. She chose left. As she continued down the hallway until it ended, passing other closed doors along the way. She was hoping for a sign on the wall, or a giant flashing arrow pointing to a door leading outside, but all she had was 'D-23' painted on the wall. Flipping another coin in her head she set off right.
She got a hundred feet down the hallway when two men in lab coats came out a door in front of her and started her directions. She couldn't hide in the empty hallway, and turning and running back the way she came would only draw their attention. With no other options, she tucked her head down, did her best to conceal the pistol behind her leg, and pressed forward.
As they got closer she could tell they were involved an a conversation of some kind. Good, that would mean they would be less likely to notice her; though now that they were closer she noticed their hair was brown. If everyone here had brown hair it would make blending in that much harder.
"... your right about its properties, it may be connected to the device SG-4 found on P3X-449," one was saying to the other. She had no idea what they meant or who SG-4 was but as they were passing she noticed that they lacked the forehead tattoo that marked soldiers of the enemy. Maybe scientists weren't required to get the mark? But the scientists that tormented her had possessed it, so that couldn't be the case. Another few steps and she was past them.
This hallway brought her to a four way intersection. Seeing no reason to turn she continued straight. That's when she heard the voice behind her, "Didn't we leave you in a bed?" Her blood immediately ran cold, someone must have turned behind her at the intersection. With no other choice, she ran. Another intersection; left, then right, then left again. She passed a few people, another voice shouted for her to stop, but she pressed on.
She knew her luck would eventually run out and she could tell exactly when it had. An alarm had started blaring. The logical part of her brain knew she was doomed, she was in an underground complex of some sort, or a secure concrete building, either way she knew she wasn't going to stumble across an open window. But she couldn't give up. Wouldn't. Another corner and she came to a T intersection with a hallway leading off to her right. Ahead she saw a group of people dressed the same as the bald man running at her with rifles. So right it was.
She didn't make it far before a massive metal door started to move out from the wall a hundred feet in front of her. Trapped. She quashed the panic that began to well up in her, there would be time for it later, but not now. She planned to take a left at an open door that would still be on her side of the massive door, but someone stepped out of it before she had the chance.
He was tall, a little bit taller than her, with floppy brown hair and glasses. He was looking at some papers in his hand, and most importantly, hadn't noticed her yet. With no way out, this would be be her last resort. She was able to grab him before he saw her. With an arm around his neck, she ignored his surprised exclamation, and brought the gun to bear on her pursuers. Taking stock, she saw that they had stopped at the intersection, two men were kneeling at the corners and another two were standing, all leaning out with rifles. There was no way she could take all of them, not like this, even if she could take a few hits before they brought her down. Changing tactics, she pulled the gun back to point at her new hostage, who was gratefully not fighting her.
The panic was rising again, and it was much harder to quash it this time. Her pursuers hadn't made a move yet, and so she wouldn't either. Then it happened, a man with graying hair poked his head around the corner before fully stepping out, pistol aimed at her. When he spoke she recognized his voice as the first man who had recognized her, but she was surprised at what he said, "Daniel." She was taken aback, until the man she was holding responded, "Jack." The first man, Jack she assumed, made a face at Daniel she didn't understand, as if she was witnessing the middle of an ongoing argument and this swung things back in Jack's favor.
She momentarily contemplated saying something, some demand, when she wasn't immediately addressed, but was saved from the decision when he spoke first, "Hey there, nice to see you up and about." Again, she wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't that. She took a moment to respond, what was his game? This had to be a trap, she just couldn't see how, and again, there was no tattoo. There was that panic again. She finally decided on the direct approach. "Let me go and your friend lives. And any more of my people you're holding," she thought to add.
Jack looked like he wanted to respond, but Daniel beat him to it, "Lets not do anything hasty, we can all lower our guns and talk this out." the way he said it made her want to go along with it, if they could all talk this out, reason with them, maybe they would still let her go.
No, it was a trap, it had to be. She couldn't let them get her, she didn't know how much more she could take. Jack must have seen something in her face, because he spoke again, "Whats your name? I'm Jack." That was a fairly innocent question, and the others never bothered to ask her anything, only pain. Without a reason not to, she answered, "Eleskara of Trevel." He nodded his head before speaking again, "Eleskara, mind if I call you Eleskara?" he asked, and then, without waiting for a reply, he continued, "You seem to think you're in a pretty bad place, maybe I can explain our side of things, and poor Daniel here can come out of this in one piece," he said with a reassuring nod, lowering his aim but not dropping it entirely.
That wasn't so unreasonable, she decided. They wanted to talk, and if they had really wanted to they could have taken a shot at her already. They hadn't, and even now a woman with blonde hair had stepped out around the corner without a weapon and, judging by the look on her face, seemed more concerned with Daniel than the fact that Eleskara held a gun. So she nodded.
"We found you on a planet we call P3R-677, alone. We were searching for evidence of Goa'uld activity on the planet and found a lab. Looked abandoned; dust everywhere, half the lights out, that sort of thing," he said, and by the look on the woman's face he rambled like this a lot. "We found you in stasis, another few weeks and the power would've gone. We didn't want to leave you there, so we brought you back with us, to Earth. You've been unconscious for a week and a half; did I miss anything Daniel?" he asked, and Daniel responded, "No. That's about it, maybe 'we come in peace?'" he added.
They had her, it was either the most elaborate setup the enemy could have constructed or they were telling the truth. And she really wanted them to be telling the truth. She didn't know what a Goa'uld was, but that could come later. She had already let go of Daniel and was lowering the gun when he turned the corner. Tall, imposing, and with a shiny gold insignia stamped on his forehead. And just like that, it all fell apart; and this time she couldn't stop the panic. "He's one of them!" she nearly shouted, bringing the gun to bear on him. Before she could pull the trigger Jack, Daniel and the blonde woman, who had still been silent up to this point, all jumped between the two each shouting to wait in their own way. The enemy soldier for his part stopped, but made no move to defend himself, and then spoke,"I once served Apophis, but I can assure you, he is a false god." Jack nodded at that and added, "it's OK, he's with us." She believed them, but found she still hadn't lowered her gun.
Of the three people in front of her, she hadn't expected it to be Daniel who reached out to her. First to help her lower the gun, and then, once it was lowered, he took it, handing it back to Jack. And with that it felt like a dam had broken. She wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision or if she simply collapsed, but she found herself on the floor, and she must have pulled Daniel with her because he was there too, and she finally allowed herself to break down.
She got herself under control quickly, a small victory, and stood back up, wiping her cheeks. "Now that that's settled, how about we get you back to the infirmary before ol' Doc Fraiser sends a search party. And somebody turn that damn alarm off," he shouted nebulously to someone behind him. Eleskara wasn't sure if she was up to speaking yet, and so just nodded. "Alright, and Carter, better let the General know our guest is awake," Jack said. The blonde nodded said "Yes,sir," and left, the others led her back the way she came.
When she reentered the infirmary a brunette woman in a white coat was tending to her former guard, who was now up on his own bed, so she moved to sit on hers. The woman must have just been finishing up, because she moved toward Eleskara almost immediately, "Nice to see you finally awake," she said, with a look toward Jack, who nodded reassuringly at her, "I'm Doctor Fraiser, but you can call me Janet. How do you feel?" she asked. "Fine," Eleskara responded truthfully. Janet just rolled her eyes and looked at Jack, she must get that a lot. "Alright, but I still need to give you a once over," Janet said, moving off to collect what she needed.
"So while we're waiting, tell me, how'd you manage to get the drop on Jennings?" Jack asked, motioning to the unconscious man with his head. "He was looking at something on that desk, with his back to me," she told them. "And the restraints?" he continued. She shrugged before answering, "They weren't on when I woke up." He shook his head at that, "Unbelievable".
Now that she knew these weren't the same people as the enemy, she felt bad for the man on the bed. In the moment she had felt concern for her life, but now? "I can see to him, if you haven't already," she offered to Janet. The doctor seemed confused by her offer, "You didn't break the skin, I'll need to do some scans when he wakes up, but until he then there's not much we can do." Now it was Eleskara's turn to be confused. She had offered to heal the man, but the doctor had responded about further treatment. Did they not possess the same healing ability she did?
She stood, and approached the man. Jack tensed, but quickly relaxed. Reaching out, she grasped the man's forearm and closed her eyes. This always required a lot of concentration for her. Healing others never came naturally to her, the Defense Force could have helped her hone the skill, but it had never felt necessary. Reaching down into herself she felt the healing energy, and forced it to flow up and into Jennings.
It took only a moment. When it was done, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead. "Concussions are tricky, but he should be fine when he wakes up," she told the doctor. "You healed him?" Janet asked, putting down the supplies she had gathered so far and coming to stand beside her, the others had seemed surprised too. She pulled a pen light out of her coat and pulled an eyelid up while shining the light into it. She must have been impressed with what she saw because she turned back to Eleskara and said "Incredible."
She was saved from any further questions when a bald man in dress uniform and the blonde woman from before entered the room. "I understand you had a bit of an exciting awakening, now that that that's out of the way we can get to introductions. I am General George Hammond, I run this facility," he said. "Eleskara of Trevel," she told them again. He smiled at that, "That's a bit of a mouthful, do you have something shorter?" he asked good-naturedly. She paused at that, she was never close enough to anyone to have a nickname outside of what her parents had called her growing up. The blonde must have seen her hesitation, and offered "What about just Kara?" The others turned toward her at that and so she continued "What? I like Supergirl," she said in her defense. Eleskara wasn't sure what that meant, but it seemed to satisfy the others. Though the enemy soldier didn't react either, so it must have been cultural. "Kara works," she said.
"As for the rest of us, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, two L's; that's Captain Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c," Jack, O'Neill she corrected herself, said indicating to the others as he went. "Hi," she said, suddenly awkward. "And sorry about that whole incident in the hallway," she said mostly to Daniel. "I hear the Colonel already told you what happened from our side, I was hoping you might be able to do the same with yours," Hammond said. Kara nodded. She could do that, but after using one of them as a hostage maybe it wasn't the right time for the whole truth.
"I'm from the planet Cuivien. An Operative in the Planetary Defense Force. There were myths and stories on my world about the Ancestral Ring, but no one really believed them. We found it about five years ago, with a list of several addresses. It was moved to the military base in our capital and we managed to start sending teams through the ring almost a year ago. Most of the worlds we visited were uninhabited, but one wasn't. They spoke a language we didn't understand and were immediately hostile. I was on the team that made first contact. We fought our best, but they had some sort of stun weapons that could take you down in a single hit." Kara began.
At the mention of the strange weapon those in the room turned to Teal'c for an explanation, which he provided. "A Zat'nik'tel. A handheld weapon not generally favored by the Jaffa of Chulak." rather than jump back into the story, she asked for clarification, "And you're a Jaffa?" she asked. He bowed his head in response, "And the guys with glowing eyes?" she continued. "A Goa'uld," he replied, and O'Neill jumped in to add "They're snake-like parasites. They Burrow in the back of your neck and take control of you. Causes glowing eyes, deep voice, cliche behavior," he said, trailing off at the end. Janet was also waiting for a break in the story, choosing now to begin her examination, Kara continued anyway.
"They brought us all to a holding cell on one of their ships, and one by one they came and moved us to a different room. I was the last. They brought me to a room full of Jaffa and a Goa'uld. My team was unbound and just standing there, I wasn't sure what was happening. The must have implanted a Goa'uld while I was confused; I felt a sharp pain in my neck and my body stopped responding. I stood up despite myself, but something went wrong. There was a burning in my neck and I collapsed.
"I came to in a new room I hadn't seen before, alone. They left me in there for days, but the guards on the other side of the door were chatty. I don't know all the details, but there was an attack on my homeworld. When they eventually moved me it was to the facility where you must have found me. They left me in a similar cell, coming in to torture me, and take samples. I never found out what they wanted, or why they were studying me." she said, suppressing a shudder.
It was Teal'c who broke the silence, "It is not unheard of for some species to be biologically incompatible with the Goa'uld symbiote. In these cases they are likely to both perish together. The Goa'uld often view such events harshly and retaliate against the species, so as to prevent another failed bonding." Daniel seemed to remember something at that moment and began patting his pockets, looking for something. He produced a notepad and pen, handing them to Kara "Do you remember the Goa'uld's symbol?" he asked in way of an explanation. She did, and drew the symbol for him, a sun inside a starburst.
Daniel took it back when she finished and showed it to Teal'c. "The symbol of Belatucadrus," Teal'c provided. At that all heads turned back to Daniel, who supplied "a minor Celtic deity, often associated with war." And all heads swiveled back to Teal'c, who continued "He was a minor Goa'uld in service to Camulus. He betrayed his master to gain the favor of Cronus, unaware the two had already allied. The alliance hunted him down and he was killed in battle. Belatucadrus has been dead for almost one hundred and fifty years."
No. No no no. It had been months, not a century and a half. It couldn't have been. "How is that possible?" she asked, still stunned at the revelation. This time it was Carter who answered, "The stasis chamber we found you in considerably slowed the aging process, so in theory it is possible." If that was the case then she needed to get back as soon as possible. "I need to get back," and suddenly a new problem occurred to her," I'm not a prisoner, am I?" Hammond's smile reassured her before he answered, "No, you're not a prisoner. I can understand your rush to return, once Dr. Fraiser finishes her her exam we can escort you to the gate room."
"I'm about done here, and from what I can tell she's in almost perfect health," Janet informed them. "Then If that's settled, we can escort you to the gate room now," Hammond offered. "Alright, and you called it a 'gate," do you refer to the Ancestral Ring?" she asked as they started to file out of the room. "The coverstone we found buried with it described it as a Stargate, so gate," Daniel supplied from behind her. "Makes sense," she offered in return.
The walk to the elevators on the floor was short, if only she had gone right from the beginning. There were enough of them to take two elevators down five levels to the gate room. What she hadn't expected was the control room she was led into. It was full of computers that looked to be about the same as what she would see back home, but what she didn't see was the dialing device. Hammond must have seen her looking for it, "We never found the DHD for our Stargate, we had to construct this instead. This is Sergeant Harriman, if you could provide him the address," he said, indicating to a short haired man sitting at the computer.
She moved over to him and pointed out the symbols to the address for home. They should have come up with some sort of naming convention for the symbols, it would have made the whole process so much easier. Once she was done, she took a step back. "Chevron one engaged…" he began, and did the same for the next five. When he got to the seventh symbol, the gate spun to the correct position but instead of opening the wormhole, the lights on the gate winked out. "Chevron seven, will not lock." he finished.
This wasn't necessarily bad she reasoned, any number of things could have prevented the ring from connecting. "Try it again," Hammond ordered. Again the seventh chevron failed to engage. "That sucks," she said flatly.
"We can keep trying, but for now you're more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you like," Hammond offered. She sighed. She had gotten her hopes up on the walk down, but there were definitely worse places to be stuck. And she wasn't being tortured again, so there was that. "Thank you, General," she said. A lot can happen in one hundred and fifty years, maybe the gate had just become incredibly busy, she thought to herself. Deep down she knew the truth.
A/N
By the end of the series there were a billion and one gate teams, but they all had their own specializations and I could never keep track. To simplify it I'm dividing them up. SG will designate an exploration team. The others will be pretty obvious; marine team, science team, diplomatic team, etc.
As for the story, some chapters will be more stand alone; some new material, some episodes revisited but with a twist. I've always been a fan of the episodes where they get stuck somewhere for a prolonged period of time, but they generally get wrapped up pretty quickly in the show so I'm going to explore them more in this fic, be that multi-chapter arcs or by playing with the genre. I don't have a backlog, so I'll be uploading as I go. Hopefully new chapters will go up every four to five days.