Major Carter had received the message. Holy Hannah. She had to hurry. The hover had arrived at the mountain one half hour ago and some people were getting it ready to gate out at the very moment.
Carter looked at the hover. It was not big, that was why she had picked this particular one. It was developed for rescue operations, so it was perfectly equipped for the job. A small but strong engine would be able to get them to the other side of the water in no time. And according to Major Ferreti's description, that was exactly what they had. No time.
No time at all.
She one more time checked everything and gave her orders.
"Alright, Lieutenant, dial up." She used the intercom to give this order to Lieutenant Graham Simmons in the control room and was rewarded with a thumb up in the air. She turned to the two airmen behind her. "I will step through the wormhole first, and five seconds later, you two will sent the hover. Understood?"
The two airmen nodded and saluted. "Yes Ma'am".
"Chevron four locked," the Lieutenant spoke through the intercom.
At that moment, the General rushed into the gateroom. He was about to ask something, when the Major quickly filled him in.
"The Colonel has a dislocated shoulder. The situation is getting very unstable, so I am moving in with the hover now, Sir."
"Chevron six locked."
"Yes, Major, you do that. Good luck!" the General wasted no more time. He noticed that the seventh chevron was locked. They both saluted. The wormhole established and Major Carter ran towards it. Then she stepped through.
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Daniel and Teal'c were making good progress tying the trees together. Jack was giving his instructions and seemed to have forgotten about his frustration.
They had all agreed in finishing the raft, just in case. When the other two men were busy with the ropes, Jack made himself useful and gathered all their things. He also sipped some more water and wiped his brow. He was so hot. But most of all, he was worried. This place gave him an unnerving feeling. The earthquake had left the island very unstable and he didn't want to think about another aftershock. The sooner they would be on their way, the better.
He looked over his shoulder again. He had witnessed Major Ferreti sending a message through. Now he was waiting impatiently for an incoming wormhole. What took them so long? Yes, finally. There it was! A figure appeared. That must be Carter.
And that was when the ground started shaking again.
"Nooooo!! " Jack yelled. He backed up, afraid another piece of land would disappear in the ocean. Teal'c and Daniel were bracing themselves near the just about finished raft. The Colonel tried to see what was happening to the Stargate and their rescue-party. He saw two figures diving for cover, at least that was what it looked like. And then he saw something being thrown out of the wormhole, smashing into the DHD and ending up in the water.
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Major Sam Carter stepped out the wormhole and hardly had the time to greet Major Ferreti. She immediately felt the trembling of the ground and was being forced down by it roughly. She frantically looked at the Stargate. It was trembling so badly, she thought it would come down on them any minute.
The wormhole was still in tact, however. But it was all too unstable and Carter yelled, "The hover! We have to grab it, if we can!"
Major Ferreti quickly got to his feet and rushed over, trying to keep his balance.
They both reached the gate, but the hover was thrown out too high for them, and too fast, caused by the trembling of the wormhole.
Carter still reached up, but she knew it would make no difference. She followed the hover and in a second, she realised it was gonna hit the DHD. "Nooo!" she yelled, as she tried to reach it, also knowing that there was no way she could stop it.
The hover was smashed against the DHD, thrown to the left by the force of it, landing in the ocean, instead of on land.
Major Ferreti was there in a second, but there was just no way he could reach it, as big waves, created by the aftershock, took the hover away from them faster then he could believe.
And suddenly the trembling of the ground stopped.
The wormhole disappeared after that, leaving the Stargate unstable and still trembling.
Major Carter checked the DHD for visible damage, but couldn't find any. She was still cursing, when Major Ferreti approached her, too shocked to say anything, and also too afraid of what damage would be done to the DHD. He just looked at her questionably.
"Damnit!" was all Carter could say at that moment. She pointed at the DHD now. "That was the hover. I can't tell if the DHD will work, I don't see any damage, but…" she didn't finish her sentence and raised her hands up in the air out of frustration.
They looked around. The island was getting smaller and smaller. Major Ferreti said what she was thinking the same second. "This place is not safe enough to try anymore. I'd say we only get one chance…. " he looked bewildered.
Sam nodded. She ran her hand through her blond hair.
This was really, really bad.
"I am afraid, the Stargate is going to fall down. It is either that, or the DHD will disappear in the ocean. Let's fill in the others." She sighed heavily.
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Teal'c and Daniel got up, after the aftershock faded away. They rushed over to Jack, who was sitting on a fallen tree near the shore. He seemed to be looking at the ocean, but Daniel would have guessed he was not really seeing anything at the moment.
"Jack… you okay?" he asked softly.
"Yes, I'm fine. You two?" Jack looked up at them.
"I'm okay. Teal'c is also fine. What happened?" Daniel remembered the desperate cry.
"I think our rescue-party just got smashed into the ocean…" Jack absently pointed in the direction of the Stargate. At that particular moment, the radio burst into life.
"This is Major Ferreti. Come in please"
Teal'c grabbed it and answered. "We hear you, Major Ferreti. What has transpired?"
"The aftershock hit just as Major Carter was coming through the Stargate with the rescue-hover. It was thrown into the ocean. We lost it. I'm sorry."
They all could hear the frustration in the Major's voice. The Colonel grabbed the radio this time.
"I saw it happen, Major. Are you two alright?" He was worried about their well being.
"Yes. We are fine. But the island is getting very unstable and the hover smashed the DHD. Major Carter can't tell if it is still working. We also believe we can only try it once. The Stargate is in danger of falling down on us, Sir. Any idea's?" It was obvious Major Ferreti was praying for a miracle.
"Well, we managed to make a raft ourselves. But it will take us some time to get there. How long do you think it is safe to wait?" the Colonel was thinking fast for any idea's. It was Daniel however, who suddenly cried out.
"Jack! What if we used the engine of the jetpack on the raft? Then we don't have to row!" he looked anxious at the other two.
This time, Major Carter spoke through the radio.
"Yes, that could work. Good thinking, Daniel! Make sure you tie it up to the raft very tightly. It has a lot of power. And Colonel, please hurry. I have no idea how long we can wait, Sir," she sounded at least a little more hopeful than Ferreti had.
"We're on our way, Major. But don't wait for us any longer than necessary. If it is not safe anymore, I want the two of you to gate out A.S.A.P. That's an order," Jack spoke firmly.
"Yes, Sir," was the short reply.