Well, here's the next chapter. Hopefully better than the last one...:D
Chapter 6: The Dream
The Orb sat on a plain silver table before me, surrounded by people whom I didn't know, yet who were familiar to me.
"Has the information been downloaded into it?" I asked. Once again, my voice was older, more commanding, and I spoke in a different language. But, once again, I could understand every word I said.
"Yes, sir," said one of the people standing beside me. He sounded nervous, like he wasn't used to speaking to me. I wanted to tell him he shouldn't be. "We just need the memories to explain-"
"I will provide those," I said curtly. "What must I do?"
"Touch the Orb, sir," the speaker was a woman. She spoke as if telling something to a small child who kept asking the same question over and over again. "Your memories will go into it."
I reached out, and touched the Orb. The surface warmed beneath my hand, and suddenly, I felt like I was falling forward, into the Orb. For a moment, everything was dark, and then, suddenly, I could see a girl, standing alone in a pool of light, looking confused and scared.
Then I realized I was that girl.
My perspective switched. I was Bridget Darrow again, standing in a room of infinite darkness, with only the two pools of light illuminating myself and the man standing before me. Judging by his graying hair, he was probably in his late forties, tall, gray eyed and dressed in a gray uniform. All in all, he was very…gray. I wondered if the Ancients were colour blind.
"Hello?" I greeted, a little nervously.
"Who are you?" demanded the man. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey," I said defensively. "This is my dream, buddy. I should be the one asking you who you are."
The man drew himself up to his full height. "I am Captain Tavius DeLos, Commander of the Vessel Espereté." He declared.
"Ah," I said, wondering if that was a real word. "Bridget Darrow, currently for hire. Wait," something clicked. "You're the Captain of the ship!"
"Yes," said DeLos.
"The one I'm looking for," I said, feeling excited. "I mean, we're looking for, if Sam can get permission from Hammond-"
"What are you babbling about?" asked the Captain, looking lost.
"Ok," I said. "You guys sent out an Orb, right? Some kind of message, that contained coordinates for the planet your ship was on, right? Well, I'm the one it came to. I'm the one who has all this stuff in my head. That's why I'm seeing you actually." I beamed at him, proud of myself for figuring it all out.
"You…found the Orb?" DeLos asked faintly.
"Well, it came to me, actually," I said. "So, what's the deal, are you guys alive? Do you have information on weapons technology? Can you get this stuff out of my brain?"
"You will have to come to the ship to return to your normal state-" started the Captain.
"I knew it," I said.
"But as to whether or not we're still alive, it depends on how long it has been," he said.
I felt my heart sink. "Oh."
"We were a scientific expedition," explained the Captain. "Explorers, out to find new worlds, discover new beings. We traveled the Universe for twenty years, until this happened."
"What?" I asked.
"We crashed," he said sadly. "Our engines were old, and damaged, and we crashed into a planet. Our engineers were unable to fix the problem. So we sent out the Orb, in hopes it would find someone like you."
"Why didn't you use the Stargate to escape?" I asked.
"The planet was not part of the mainstream," explained the Captain. "We knew there must be a Stargate on it, for it was close to our own planet, but it's location was lost to us. It has been many years since anyone visited this planet, for it is inhospitable."
"Oh," I said. "So, what did you do?"
"We put the crew into hibernation," he said. "Hopefully, you will arrive in time to save us."
"I hope so," I said.
"I do as well," said Captain Tavius DeLos. "Good Luck, Bridget Darrow…"
His voice faded away. I opened my eyes, and blinked. I was lying in my bed, in my quarters. I glanced at the clock. 5:25 in the morning. I groaned and sat up. There was the headache again, the one that always accompanied these little episodes of fun I got. I stumbled out of bed, found the bathroom and splashed water across my face. The headache faded, as it always did, and I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale, and my eyes wide.
Well, at least that dream was more informative. Almost fully awake, and craving caffeine, (You think I had that decaf coffee by choice?) I left the bathroom, and pulled on some green BDU's that I'd been provided with. Apparently, the current military had no fashion sense either.
I planned to go to see Sam to tell her about my dream, and to ask if she'd had any luck with Hammond the day before, but I sidetracked to the commissary by the smell of pancakes. This was fortunate, as the moment I walked in, I spotted the blonde head if Samantha Carter snoring away at a table at the back.
Grinning, I walked over to the counter and collected a plate of pancakes. I made my way to Sam's table, and sat down. I wafted the pancake smell towards her.
"Sam," I said softly. "Samantha…"
Sam sniffed, and opened her eyes. She yawned, and looked longingly at the pancakes.
"Can I have one?" she asked hopefully.
"Get your own, sleepyhead," I shrugged, pouring maple syrup over mine.
Sam sighed. "What time is it?" she asked wearily.
I checked my watch. "Five to six," I answered.
"Great," grumbled Sam, resting her head in her arms, and watching me eat jealously.
"Do you ever go home?" I asked her.
"Yes."
"Right."
"I do!"
"What did General Hammond say about the planet?" I asked her, changing the subject.
"He said he'll consider it," said Sam dully.
"I had a dream," I said.
"Did it involve Daniel in any way? Because if it did, I don't want to hear it."
"No!" I said. "I mean, it was like my visions. Except I talked to someone this time."
I told her about my conversation with Captain DeLos, and what I had learned.
"So, it is possible these people are alive," I said.
"Hmmm," said Sam. She was much more awake now. "Yes. But what you said about inhospitable…"
"What?" I said. "So, it might be a bit boring to look at-"
"The planet we found was forested," said Sam, frowning.
I stared at her. "What?"
"That means that it's either the wrong planet, or a very long time has passed since those people crashed." Sam's brow furrowed deeper. "It's possible we might not find anything, Bridget. You have to think about that."
"We have to try though," I said desperately.
Sam nodded. "I agree with you," she said quickly. "It's just, General Hammond might not."
I shook my head. "He has to," I stood up, and started towards the commissary door.
"Where are you going?" Sam called after me.
"To see General Hammond," I threw over my shoulder.
I heard her chair scraping back and her footsteps as she caught up with me.
"Ok," she said, as we exited into the hallway. "General Hammond hasn't even come in yet."
"Oh," I stopped, and sighed. "Well, when he comes in, I'll go see him."
Sam opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. "Is anything I say going to stop you?" she asked.
I shook my head.
Sam closed her eyes briefly, and threw her hands in the air. "Ok!" she said. "You do what you want, I'm going to go and study the Orb some more."
"We already know what it is!" I called after her retreating back. "It was a message!" I bit my lip. "Now, I'm the message," I muttered.
I started back towards my quarters again, thinking I could read a book or something until General Hammond came in. I said hi to an Airman as I passed him in the hall, and turned a corner-
"Hey-!"
A man dressed in a military uniform put a hand over my mouth and forced me into an empty storeroom. He pushed me roughly up against the wall, and held me there while I struggled. I stopped when I felt the tip of a knife against my throat.
Twice in one week. I was not having a good month.
"Where is it?" he demanded, taking his hand off of my mouth. I recognized the voice immediately; it was the man who'd attacked me in my store.
"You!" I spat. "You blew up my store, you-"
"Shut up!" I felt the knife break through my skin. "I couldn't let them know…all evidence had to be destroyed…"
"So you planted a bomb?!"
"I told you to SHUT UP!" he roared. "Tell me where it is!"
"What?" I asked, rather viciously. What? I don't appreciate being held against the wall by a guy with a knife.
"The Orb!" cried the man. "I know you know where it is. That should have been mine. I tracked it, I went to where I knew it would land…it would have been my proof, proof that I was telling the truth." He looked at me, his eyes sparkling with madness. "Tell me where it is," he whispered.
"I don't know," I said.
He screamed, and let the knife loosen just a tiny bit. I took the moment, and kneed him in the stomach, and started towards the door to make my escape. But he was suddenly in front of me, and he lunged-
And fell forward on his face. I looked up to see Jack O'Neill standing in the hallway with a weird little ray gun that had shot the electricity that had brought the man down.
O'Neill lowered the gun, and stepped over the man, looking concerned.
"Are you ok?" asked O'Neill.
I nodded, and looked at the man.
"Is he dead?" I asked, clutching at O'Neill for support and staring down at my attacker.
"Just unconscious," said O'Neill. "Who is he?"
"The guy from the bookstore," I said.
"Well," said O'Neill. "Either he's really determined to steal your books, or…"
"He wants to kill me," I finished for him.
"I was gonna say he's determined to stalk you," said O'Neill.
"I kind of wish I had an old fashioned stalker," I said, almost wistfully.
"Don't we all?" asked O'Neill. "Come on, let's get the both of you to the infirmary."