Sam had managed to reach two companies with jetpacks. A military helicopter was on it's way to pick four of each up, along with somebody to instruct Teal'c and Major Ferreti. Soon they would be on their way back to Cheyenne Mountain. Teal'c and the Major had already packed their equipment and were ready for their practise.
She had also figured out that a rescue-hover was the best alternative she could think of as a back-up plan. The hover she had picked was not too heavy, would fit through the gate and should be able to cross that ocean in no time. They would need to get lucky for the raft to pass the DHD without destroying it though. She was now making the necessary phone-calls to arrange one being transported to the mountain as well. After that was done, she would get the MALP ready to gate to PX4211 first, to scan the area, just to be sure.
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Daniel was finally done retching. Now that was something he wished he would never ever have to do again. He grabbed a piece of cloth, moved over to the shore, and washed his face. Did that cold water ever feel good. He sighed heavily.
He went back and kneeled beside his friend. Jack was still unconscious and Daniel did not like the paleness of his face. He checked for a pulse. A little fast, but that was to be expected. Daniel inspected the shoulder. It looked better, the misshape was gone. Nice job. Too bad it took him so long to get it done. Jack must really hate him by now.
Now what? Ice. He needed to put ice on it.
Well, Daniel, get a grip, there is no ice around here.
Okay. He grabbed another piece of cloth and wedded it in the cold water. There. That's all he could do. He wrapped it as best as he could around the damaged shoulder. Now he needed a sling. He found something in his backpack he could use. He folded it in a triangle and carefully placed it on Jack's left arm. He tied it around his neck, with the knot on the right shoulder. Nice and steady. That should do it.
When he placed his hand on Jack's forehead, he cursed. A fever. Damn! How was that possible? Wait a minute, the scratch on his side, it was probably getting infected.
Just what they needed.
He checked the bandage. The bleeding had stopped, but he could see the angry red signs of infection. There was nothing more he could do, however. He poured some more antiseptics on the wound and rebound it.
What next? Jack had said something about building a raft. Yes, that's it. They would need a raft to get back to the Stargate.
So don't disappoint him, Daniel, get to work.
He could start by gathering the right wood, that's a good idea. After carefully positioning Jack on his right side again, Daniel started to collect wood he thought they could use.
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The first helicopter arrived at Cheyenne Mountain with 4 rocket belts of the type RB2000. The instructor who came along, immediately began to teach Major Ferreti and Teal'c how to use it. This particular aircraft was indeed powered by a hydrogen peroxide rocket engine. The hydrogen peroxide reacts to samarium nitrate, which creates an extremely high and hot pressure steam to the flight nozzles. The instructor told them the aircraft could fly for 30 seconds at a speed of 60 miles per hour. It is controlled by two hand controls, and both men had no real problem using them. They were impressed by the very loud sound of it, though, and Teal'c was worried about the side effects to the Stargate's stability. He would have to discuss that with Major Carter.
The next helicopter arrived only 20 minutes later. With it an instructor and 4 flying jetpacks, powered by a 2-cylinder engine. This aircraft didn't use steam, it used premium unleaded gasoline instead. It had a maximum speed of 50 miles per hour and could carry 3 gallons of fuel. It was controlled by shifting body weight. It was not difficult to control, but it was heavy to carry, even for someone as strong as Teal'c.
After practising both types of aircrafts, they discussed their experiences with Major Carter. Given the situation on PX4211, they decided it was best to use the flying jetpack with the engine.
Another 20 minutes later, Major Ferreti and Teal'c were ready. The MALP had already been sent through the Stargate and had reported no changes in the situation. After all chevrons were locked, the wormhole established and Major Ferreti, Teal'c and 4 flying jetpacks disappeared.
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Jack woke up with a groan. His shoulder ached unmercifully. What had hit him? Oh, right. Trees. Falling trees. Falling on him. Daniel. Relocating his shoulder. A couple of times. Geez… Did it work? Jack rolled on his back and briefly touched his shoulder with his right hand. Felt alright, so the kid did it! Good job, Danny-boy…
Now he should be able to use his arm within about…. 24 hours. Right. He did not have that long. He sighed heavily. Was he getting too old for this?
Jack sat up and was immediately greeted by a worried Daniel.
"Hey, Jack, how are you feeling?"
"Peachy, Daniel, just peachy." Jack gave him this I-feel-like-shit-but-I'm-not-telling-you look. "You did it, nice job!" he stated, his right hand still on his left shoulder.
"Guess so… " Daniel looked down, ashamed. "Sorry…"
"What for?" Jack looked up, surprised.
"I should have been able to do that at once. It must have hurt, I'm sorry, Jack," Daniel still didn't look up.
"For crying out loud, Danny, look at me! You don't have to be sorry for anything! I'm glad that you did it, I know you are no medic. Besides, the last time a medic relocated my shoulder, it took him four times…."
This time, Daniel looked up, shocked. "You mean this has happened to you before? Oh, my…." He couldn't believe that Jack actually had experienced this before.
"Forget about it, Daniel. Let's worry about other things." Jack got up and looked at the wood Daniel had been collecting. "This is good. We will need a lot of those trees, this size is perfect." Jack put his foot on one of them. "Let's find some more, okay?"
With his right hand, he placed his cap backwards on his head and motioned Daniel to follow him.
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Major Ferreti and Teal'c stepped out of the wormhole. They were barely able to stop the jetpacks from falling into the ocean. They immediately scanned the area around the Stargate.
"The ground is still remaining," Teal'c stated. He figured only small parts of land were lost the last couple of hours. Teal'c grabbed his radio and tried to make contact with Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson. It didn't work. "Their radio does not function. I will use this machine to reach the other side." With that remark he started to get ready. He was able to lift the heavy aircraft on his back by himself and wrapped the jetpack around his waist and secured it.
Major Louis Ferreti took the time to send a message through the wormhole. "No radio contact established. Teal'c will fly over within five minutes. Major Ferreti, out."
Teal'c lifted the second aircraft on the Major's back. The Major carefully wrapped his own jetpack around his waist. After that, he assisted Teal'c in connecting the spare jetpack. Teal'c did the same with him.
"Jetpack correctly secured to the body, check. Fuel handle open, check. The second pack wrapped safely, check. Radio works, check. I think you are all set, Teal'c. Ready to rock'n-roll?"
Teal'c looked at him in surprise, but before he could say anything, the Major added: "fly Teal'c, I meant fly. It was just a matter of speaking".
Teal'c nodded. Of course it was. Those humans were all the same. "I am ready. I suggest you step aside."
"Yes, Teal'c, I will. Good luck!" Major Ferreti put his thumb up in the air and backed away.
Teal'c started the engine. It made a lot of noise and Major Ferreti looked scared at the ground. It was shaking, but everything miraculously stayed in place. He was definitely glad, they decided to use this jetpack. The other one made much more noise and would have been dangerous to use in this situation. The flight nozzles slowly started to turn and were speeding soon. With an enormous sound and a lot off dust under it, Teal'c was lifted straight up. The Major sighed heavily when Teal'c was safely airborne. Now he just had to wait for a radio message from Teal'c. The Major was ready to fly over, too. He followed Teal'c with his eyes and watched him approach the other side.
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All right, all right.... remember this was the very first story I've ever written and I didn't know back then that infections take some time to develop. So, technically, Jack can't have one already. But, I'm not going to re-write this, so just think more time has passed, or maybe it was an alien fast-spreading one, okay?