Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Getaway Vehicle
"You think it'll last forever, the people and cars and concrete, but it won't. Then one day it's all gone. Even the sky."
The Doctor – Episode#2: End of the World
Rose Tyler watched with cautious interest as the green machines called Cylons (friendly version) continued to target the 'other' Cylon fleet (not so friendly version) with their own weapon, easily dispatching the ships with a single shot each.
Try as she might, Rose couldn't believe that she was in the middle of a galactic war. Just a couple of weeks before this, she was stuck in a boring, dead-end department store job with no real future. That, however, all changed one night when the shop mannequins came to life and, oh, yes, they tried to kill her. As she ran for her life, that's when she ran into the Doctor, who had saved her. Later, he explained that the mannequins were really a race of plastic beings called Autons, that they wanted the planet Earth for themselves, and he was trying to stop them. Somewhere in all of this, Rose had learned that he was from another planet, too. After the room had stopped spinning from information overload, Rose had decided to help the Doctor and save her planet. Together, they had succeeded and had been a team ever since.
Occasionally, Rose still had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming all the wonders she had seen. Take right now, for instance, here she was, out in space, on some unknown planet, surrounded by aliens and robots and… Americans?
Rose watched the one called O'Neill, who was definitely not the smiling type, probably because he had so much on his mind. He was speaking into his radio when he suddenly called out to the people surrounding him. "Listen up, campers! Starbuck just reported that an army of Cylons is gathering outside and once they have sufficient numbers, they'll probably try to push their way in."
"How many Cylons?" a Luxan asked.
"Only a few at the moment, but more are showing up by the second, so we have two choices. We can try to hold here and hope that Cain and the fleet can send down reinforcements fast enough, or we can try to escape."
"Exactly how can we escape," the same Luxan demanded. "Even if we could, why abandon this base and its technology? Imagine the power of this weapon at our command…"
"Imagine the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans sharing the same interests," O'Neill countered. "We'd be at each other's throats for the sole ownership of this place. If that happened, we'd be doing the Cylons' work for them. The best option for everyone would be to get rid of this weapon so no one has it."
The Luxan looked like he was going to protest, but he didn't. "You look like a Peacekeeper," he observed, scrutinizing O'Neill. "But your words are not. I hope that we won't live to regret it, throwing this base away. Now, how are we going to escape?"
"I believe this gentleman can provide a ride for us," O'Neill said, looking over to the Doctor. "Can you get all of us back to Cain's fleet?"
"That I can, but why limit yourself to a tiny hop," the Doctor offered. "I can take you anywhere you'd like in a blink… Well, almost a blink of an eye."
O'Neill paused, not sure if he could believe what he'd heard. "It's that fast?"
Teal'c was by his side, stating softly, "O'Neill, if we can get Carter back to the Tok'ra in time, they might be able to do something for her."
"Do what, Teal'c?" a frustrated O'Neill asked. "There's only one thing that can help her and…" Sudden hope filled his eyes. "You don't think the Tok'ra would have one?"
"The Tok'ra did say they captured much Goa'uld equipment," Teal'c reminded his friend. "It is possible they possess one as we speak."
O'Neill was doubtful, not wishing to get his hopes up. "But the Tok'ra know how dangerous using those things are."
Teal'c nodded in agreement. "Indeed, but then there is an old Earth saying, 'save it for a rainy day'."
O'Neill didn't need any further convincing and turned to face the Doctor again. "I'm going to give you a set of co-ordinates. I want you to take us there, no if's, why's or but's."
"Just tell me when," the Doctor replied with an ever-cheerful smile.
O'Neill felt better; they had a chance to save Sam. If that TARDIS thingy is as fast as the Doctor claims it to be and if the Tok'ra had that important piece of Goa'uld technology and if they could get her to it in time… Okay, one step at a time, O'Neill thought, trying to keep a level head. Getting back to the business at hand, he said, "Colonel Green." Having gotten the colonel's attention, O'Neill said as he turned to leave, "I need you and Lt. Hailey to set up the package."
"You got it, Colonel." Green and Hailey began to remove their backpacks and place them on the floor to open them.
A curious Rose watched O'Neill exit the room. "Where is he going?"
Next to her a solemn Teal'c answered, "He's going to retrieve our fallen friend."
x-o-x
O'Neill quickened his pace as he hurried down the long corridor. As he did, he radioed Starbuck. "Starbuck, pull your team back with us in the command centre. We're bugging out."
"Say that again," a confused Starbuck replied. "We're bugging out?"
"We're leaving," O'Neill explained. "Don't ask how, I'll fill you in when you get here. O'Neill out."
Rounding the corner, there she was, just where he had left her. Nearby and still keeping guard was the young Luxan.
"We're leaving," O'Neill said to him before looking down at the body of Samantha Carter. "All of us."
"Where are we going?" Jothee asked.
Slinging his rifle across his back, he bent down and gently lifted her into his arms. "Just trust me when I say, we're going home."
Jothee quietly followed the Human as he carried the Tok'ra back to the command centre. Once there, Jothee stopped at the sight before him. There was a strange wooden booth in the back of the room and he watched as Luxans, Jaffa, Humans and Cylons filed in through its narrow doors. But it was far too small to possibly hold all of them. Apparently, though, it did, as more people continued to disappear inside.
Not far away, Colonel Green and Lt. Hailey were busy assembling the 'package', a naquadah bomb. The upright, cylinder-shaped bomb was no bigger than a DRD, but it had the power (or so he had been told) to leave a sizable crater where they were standing.
From behind, Starbuck, Boomer, and a dozen Colonial warriors came rushing in. "I hope your escape plan is sound, because we've got a couple hundred Cylons right behind us," Starbuck advised.
"Get inside that booth," O'Neill said, gesturing his head towards the TARDIS. "That's our ride out of here."
Starbuck and the rest of them all stared at the device in utter disbelief. "All of us in that tiny thing? And I hate to tell you this, but our transportation looks like its made out of wood."
"Don't let the looks fool you and the interior is nice and roomy, so just trust me and get inside."
The Colonial warriors started towards the TARDIS, but Starbuck and Boomer stopped when they got closer to O'Neill and got a look at Carter.
"How badly is she hurt?" A concerned Starbuck asked, not knowing her true condition.
"I'm hoping for the best," was O'Neill's only answer. "Get into the box."
"Colonel O'Neill," Green called out as he and Hailey put the finishing touches on the newly assembled bomb. "We're all set, but how much time should we put on the clock?"
"Make it thirty seconds," O'Neill said. "Anymore than that, the Cylons might be able to shut it down."
x-o-x
The gold Cylon in command led his forces deeper into the base, but so far the enemy was nowhere to be found. They must be preparing to make their stand in the control room just up ahead, hoping that they would be less likely to damage the control centre, but that assumption would be proven wrong.
The Cylon forces approached the main door, which had been blasted open, but there was still no sign of the enemy yet. In fact, they weren't detecting any lifesigns at all, except for perhaps two or more in the room closest to their current position.
Marching in force, the Cylons charged into the control room only to find two Humans standing in the doorway of some strangely designed wooden booth, a flashing light on top.
"Surrender, Humans," the gold Cylon ordered.
Green smiled at the gathering army of Cylons before looking at Hailey, standing just behind him. "Lieutenant, would you be so kind as to give the Cylons our answer?"
"Gladly, Colonel," Hailey replied as she held up a small remote device and pressed the final arming sequence. The naquadah bomb placed on the floor a mere ten feet from them hummed to life, starting its fatal countdown, as Hailey pocketed the remote and waved at the Cylons. "Good bye!"
The Cylons immediately detected the bomb as it was activated and responded by firing on the Humans and the strange wooden booth, but their shots failed to reach them. Some sort of energy field surrounded them and stopped their shots.
Hailey stepped inside the TARDIS, but Green lingered outside for a moment longer, staring at the Cylons as they continued to fire ineffectively against them. "When you reach that big metal scrap heap in the sky," he said, "say hi to my old toaster for me!"
Hurrying inside after Hailey, Green shut the door to the TARDIS. "Time to go!"
The interior of the TARDIS was indeed a spacious chamber when compared to its tiny outside appearance. The inside layout looked very organic in construction with a central control hub. Just then, the chamber was rather crowded with a hundred Luxans, Jaffa, Humans and Cylons filling it.
Manning the central control hub, the Doctor was in the process of powering up the TARDIS. The entire chamber shuddered with energy and lights, which grew in intensity. The sound the TARDIS made from its power core was like a grinding heartbeat as it built with more and more power.
Moving quickly, Hailey side stepped around the towering aliens and robots to reach the Doctor's side. She peered at her own watch, saying rather urgently, "I hate to rush you, but we have less than nine seconds left before that bomb outside goes. I thought this thing was fast?"
Hunched over a control panel, the Doctor gave her a polite grin before looking across the control hub at Rose Tyler. "Shall we?"
Rose smiled. "Lets, Doctor."
The Doctor threw a single lever and in an instant, Hailey felt a strange but brief sensation of vertigo. They were moving, very fast!
x-o-x
Sheba's squadron, backed by several Luxan fighters, closed on the planet in a desperate attempt to contact their surface team. Their part of the mission was a success - the Cylon defence fleet was completely destroyed and the Darakan system was theirs. Now their fleet had to secure the planet and that base. There were still many Cylon ground forces down there and if they weren't quick, O'Neill and the others wouldn't survive long.
"Silver Spars," Sheba called out over the comm. "We're about to enter the upper atmosphere, hold tight and be ready…"
She saw a flash on the surface below, exactly where the Cylon base was, and her heart skipped a beat. Her orbit was close enough to make out surface details, in particular the growing mushroom cloud erupting higher into the atmosphere.
"Lords of Kobol…" Sheba whispered a silent prayer as she slumped back into her seat. Something must have gone terribly wrong. She was so shocked at the possible loss of her friends on the planet that she barely heard D'Argo's voice calling to her over the comm. "Sheba! There's an object leaving the planet's surface, coming directly out of the explosion!"
Looking down at her scanner, she saw that D'Argo was right. An object was coming straight up at them at a fantastic velocity. Instantly, she thought it was a missile, but her scanner quickly ruled that out and gave a detailed profile of the approaching object.
She stared at the image for a longest moment on her screen in disbelief. "What the frack?"
It was an oversized flying box! It even had what appeared to be tiny windows and doors… She was even receiving a radio signal from it!
"This is Colonel O'Neill, can anyone hear this transmission?"
This was too weird, Sheba considered before calling out to her squadron and allied fighters. "Everyone, hold your fire! Colonel O'Neill, this is Captain Sheba of Silver Spar squadron, I read you."
"Sheba," O'Neill's voice replied happily. "We see you now."
"We?" Sheba questioned as she watched the strange object streak right by her. She quickly flipped her Viper end over end and ignited her engines at full thrust to catch up with it. A moment later, D'Argo's speeding fighter joined her, flanking the other side of the mysterious flying box.
"It's difficult to explain, but we just gained some unexpected help and they offered us a ride out," O'Neill said.
"O'Neill," D'Argo radioed over. "Where is everyone else who was with you?"
"Well," O'Neill started, not sure how to say it. "They're all here, inside this ship."
Both Sheba and D'Argo did a double take. That 'ship' was barely big enough to hold four men, let alone enough room for the entire team they had sent down to that planet.
"Could you please repeat that?" Sheba asked incredulously.
"Yes, I know how that sounds, but believe me, this ship is a lot roomier than you might think."
D'Argo edged his fighter closer to the TARDIS. "That's a ship?"
Sheba shook her head. Nothing was making any sense. She couldn't detect any propulsion system on it and her sensors couldn't penetrate its … wooden exterior, but here it was flying in space.
"Colonel O'Neill, the fleet is just ahead, you can tell the pilot that he can land it on the Pegasus after I alert my father."
"That's not where we're going, Sheba," O'Neill informed. "We're heading back to Katratzi."
"What for?" The Colonial warrior was now growing suspicious.
"No time, we'll you contact once we get there. O'Neill out."
"Colonel O'Neill…" Before Sheba could get another word out, the oddly shaped ship started fading from her sight and from her sensors. A second later, they were completely gone. "…Frack! Now I've seen everything."
x-o-x
"Any news yet?"
Jacob Carter managed a patient smile at the young Nebari still hovering nearby, even as the Tok'ra monitored the sparse tickle of information slowly coming from the battle about Darakan.
"Same as it was ten minutes ago, Chiana. The fleet is still fighting the Cylons," Jacob said. "No word from the surface team yet."
"Maybe you should ask Commander Cain if he has anything yet. Maybe his people are just slow in relaying information…"
Just then, Daniel stepped alongside Chiana, whispering softly, "Maybe we should stop bothering Jacob and let him do his job. As soon as he has word, he'll let us know."
"I can't understand how you two can be so calm?" a restless Chiana protested.
"Believe me, it's not any easier for us. We've just learned to deal with it. Patience, Chiana," Jacob said warmly.
"Patience isn't one of my stronger points," the Nebari confessed, which earned her a sympathetic hug and a kiss to the top of her head from Daniel.
"And still love you for it," he said.
Chiana smiled thinly, feeling a bit better in this waiting game while hoping that their friends were all still safe. It was then that a strange sound started to carry through the bridge. It was like the pulsating of some great, ancient engine.
"I've never heard a Goa'uld ship make that sort of sound," Daniel declared, his arms tightening protectively around Chiana.
"Neither have I," Jacob agreed as he checked the ship's sensors and diagnostic systems. "Whatever it is, it's not coming from the ship. It's… Damn! Something is trying to materialize on the ship."
"Where?" Daniel demanded.
The sound grew louder.
"There!" Chiana shouted, pointing to a corner of the bridge where a strange object began to appear. It had Human scripture written over its double doors and a bright flashing light on top. Other Tok'ra on the bridge scattered for cover or drew their weapons.
With a touch of a button, Jacob instantly summoned six well-armed Tok'ra to the bridge, equipped with zat-guns and staff weapons. They all immediately took up defensive positions, covering the strange object from several directions. Cautiously, with his own zat gun held at the ready, Jacob took a step closer to it, studying the object, and realized that he had seen something like this before. Except it was back in the sixties on Earth when he was stationed in England. It was a Police call box!
"Is this a joke?" the Tok'ra leader muttered to himself.
Then the doors to the call box flew open and Jacob raised his weapon prepared to fire, but froze instead. In the sights of his weapon, Colonel Jack O'Neill cradled the limp body of his daughter, Samantha Carter.
"Oh, God," Jacob whispered. "Jack, what happened?"
For himself, O'Neill was quite shocked to be standing on the bridge of the Tok'ra mothership. This Doctor fellow wasn't kidding about his TARDIS ship's ability to go anywhere in no time. He had taken them straight to the Tok'ra and placed them on the bridge of their flagship in under a minute, which would have taken hours using hyperspace.
"Jacob." O'Neill stepped closer to him. "She needs help, far more than what we can give her on Earth."
O'Neill looked behind and saw Starbuck and Jothee exit the TARDIS. He turned back to Jacoband said cautiously, "I know you might deny it, but please tell me you've got one here."
Jacob touched his daughter's face, and felt the void of life in her body. He didn't hesitate as he answered, "Follow me."
x-o-x
Later, deep down in the secure decks of the Tok'ra mothership, Chiana watched curiously at the strange golden coffin as they placed Carter's body inside. The Nebari was hoping dearly that it would do what O'Neill and the others claimed it could do.
She turned to Daniel, who was right beside her. "And once it opens up, we'll have Sam and Jolinar back, right?"
"She'll be good as new," Daniel assured her.
"Good." Chiana nodded happily, as they continued to wait for the sarcophagus to go through its final process, restoring life to its occupant.
"Daniel," Chiana whispered. "If this thing can heal wounds and give life back to the dead, why the hesitation in using it?"
"The machine becomes addictive if you use it enough times, like a drug After awhile you become dependent on using it and it takes a toll on your judgement. As Jack would say, it'll make you go all 'dark-side'."
Chiana tilted her head as she stared at him. "The side-effects are that bad?"
"That's probably what turned the Goa'uld into what they are," Daniel said before finally admitting, "I used it probably only a dozen times, but the effects it had on me were telling. It gave me near perfect health, but at the same time I became detached from the world around me, even my friends. I actually started to believe that I was better than them, like a god."
"I find that hard to believe." Chiana didn't believe the man she loved was capable of such behavior.
"Believe it," Daniel confessed. "You wouldn't have liked me back then, while I was under its influence."
Not far away, O'Neill, Jacob, and Teal'c also waited for the sarcophagus to finish its job.
"So Jacob," O'Neill said. "Not that I'm not grateful, but why are you keeping one of these things around, if they are dangerous?"
"We captured twelve sarcophagi and destroyed all except for this one," Jacob informed. "We know we can use it once or twice before any ill effects are felt. With careful oversight of its usage, we should avoid any problems. Who knows, maybe we can figure out how to do away with its deadly side effects?"
"But what of our allies?" Teal'c asked. "If they should learn of this device, they would want it, too, for their fallen comrades."
"I'm willing to bet that the Peacekeepers might have captured a couple after their war against the Goa'uld," Jacob observed.
"That's a scary thought." O'Neill shook his head. "As if their leaders weren't problematic enough, a few naps in one of these, we could end up with results that'll make us miss the Goa'uld."
"We must warn them," Teal'c suggested.
"They're smart, in a superior, know-it-all kinda way," O'Neill replied. "Let them find out for themselves." The others remained silent and O'Neill soon noticed the reproving stares that Teal'c and Jacob gave him. "Okay," he relented. "I'll talk to them… Or better yet, I'll let Daniel do the talking. He's got patience in dealing with the difficult types and I'll stand beside him and look official."
A loud metal click gained their attention as the lid to the sarcophagus began to open.
"Think happy thoughts," O'Neill muttered to himself as he and the others stepped closer.
O'Neill resisted rushing over immediately to look inside the sarcophagus and instead allowed Jacob to reach it first. Nearby, Daniel and Chiana maneuvered around to the other side, both anxious. The sarcophagus, despite its power, had limitations, especially when restoring life to a person who had been deceased longer than a certain period of time. It was different with each individual, with no guarantees. O'Neill was concerned it might have taken too long to get her here.
"Sam?" Jacob said hesitantly, waiting desperately for a reply, not quite prepared to look inside.
As they watched and waited, two hands slowly appeared from the opening, reaching out to grab either side of the rim to the sarcophagus and Sam Carter pulled herself up into a sitting position. Her eyes were closed and she rubbed her forehead as if awakened from a long slumber.
"Sam?" Jacob repeated himself again. "Jolinar?"
"We hear you," Sam finally said, and then she looked at all of them. "Now tell me one thing… Did we win?"
The built-up tension gave way to immense relief and Jacob reached over and hugged his daughter. "Hands down. How are you feeling?"
"Never felt better." Sam wrapped her arms about her dad and held him close. After a long moment, they finally released each other and she climbed out of the sarcophagus. After hopping down to the floor, she looked down and noticed the large hole burned in her Tok'ra uniform, exposing her midriff, which was now completely healed. "I thought I felt a slight draft," she joked, patting her stomach.
"Hey, that's the style nowadays," Chiana commented as she and Daniel walked around to meet her.
"Well, some of us tend to be bashful unlike some people I know," Carter answered before the two women embraced warmly.
Letting Chiana go, Carter turned to Daniel, who smiled at her. "Good to have you back, Sam."
"Glad to be back, Daniel." Sam replied happily as the two stepped towards each other and hugged.
Now, she moved to face another dear friend. "Teal'c!" Carter beamed.
"Samantha Carter," the Jaffa warrior said respectfully and with a slight bow, but the Tok'ra wouldn't have that. She marched over to him and gave him a bear hug. At first surprised, Teal'c finally came around and returned the embrace.
Releasing him, Sam now had just one more person to greet in the room and she deliberately saved him for last. "Hi, Jack."
"Sam." O'Neill was greatly relieved at seeing her up and about.
"I think we'll leave you two alone for a moment," Jacob suggested and after another quick good-bye, Daniel, Chiana, and Teal'c left the room. Jacob was the last one to leave, but not before leaving a small kiss on Carter's left cheek, saying, "That was from Selmak, too. We're glad to have you both back."
With that, Jacob followed the others, leaving the two of them alone.
"So what happens now?" Sam asked O'Neill matter-of-factly.
"I'm not sure," O'Neill said with a degree of frustration in his voice. "I want to kiss you, while wishing I could give Jolinar a solid kick in the ass for getting you killed."
"We both got killed, Jack. And I believe Jolinar learned her lesson. She is truly sorry."
"I wish I could believe that."
"Then believe me."
"Alright." O'Neill took her by the shoulders to pull her near. "Now believe this, I don't want to go through that again. This goes to you both, don't be a hero."
"We're at war, Jack. There are no guarantees as to what might happen."
O'Neill reflected for a bit before suggesting. "You can always try to duck and cover when the shooting starts."
"I appreciate your concern, Jack, but I can't run and hide any more than you can."
O'Neill looked at her long moment before suddenly changing topic. "Do you what to see something really cool?"
He was backing off, Carter realized. He was falling into his old habit of using humour in difficult situations to avoid a potential argument between them and she was grateful for it. They'll work this out later.
"Definite cool?" She smiled.
"I want to introduce you to our new friend, the Doctor."
"Doctor?" Carter stared at O'Neill in confusion. "But I feel fine."
tbc...