Laboratory
Unknown Location

Sam groaned softly as she came to, her whole body aching and the smell of singed fabric was hanging in the air. Confused as to what had happened she racked her brain until she remembered something… the storage room at Area 51, oh and the mirror! Before she could even engage her mind her instincts kicked in and she quickly rolled to her side and jumped up. The abrupt change in position made her lightheaded for a moment but she quickly regained her equilibrium and looked around, wondering how far the fire from the explosion had spread. Could it have entered through the mirror like a person or inanimate object can?

Much to her surprise she was no longer in the storage room where she had passed out, Sam realized as she looked around; she was in the lab she had seen in the mirror! The fire seemed to have died out and it was only now that she became aware of her damp clothes and hands. A quick glance at the ceiling confirmed that there was indeed a sprinkler system and thus she deduced something – a smoke detector probably – had triggered it, thereby putting out the fire and causing the puddles on the floor, including the one she had woken up in. There were a few blackened areas on the floor, mostly around the mirror… which was very different from the one she had been looking at back at Area 51!

This one had an almost modern look to it and, after circling it from a safe distance, she noticed the back didn't look rocky at all. It still made her blood hum though, so she figured it also contained large amounts of naquadah although she couldn't say if it was identical to the other mirror unless she got her hands on a UTD to take some measurements. The front of the mirror appeared to have been blackened by the explosion as well but Sam was in no way inclined to wipe it clean to get a closer look at its color and possibly deduce what kind of material it was made from if it wasn't the same rock as the one at Area 51. The mirror's surface was ink black just like the device in the storage room before it had come alive and she wondered how she could activate it to get back home…

A quick yet thorough inspection of the lab didn't turn up a remote control like the one Daniel had described and just standing in front of the mirror hadn't done anything either, except draw her attention to the mess on the floor. It looked like electrical wires before they had been burned and it didn't take Sam long to figure out what they were doing there; someone had MacGyvered an activation button for the mirror. Clearly, it had gone wrong considering the fire originated there – probably an overload seeing as how much power would be needed to create a portal into an alternate reality – unless whoever was behind it had intended for it to be a one-way trip…

Wondering if that was the case she made her way over to the laptop she'd come across earlier and turned it on. As she waited for it to boot up she pulled the desk chair out and took a seat. Her mouth turned dry when she noticed the username in the login box on the screen and after taking a deep breath she hazarded a guess for the password. It didn't surprise her when she succeeded at her first attempt, considering it was exactly the same password she used on her own computers…

What did surprise her was what she found on her alternate's account, which was organized exactly the same as her own. There were designs, photographs, analyses, experiments and reports about all kinds of alien technology, some of which looked familiar to her in some degree while others were completely… well, alien, to her in designs as well as possible origin or culture. There was also a program that accessed the base's CCTV, Sam realized. It was pretty clear her counterpart had used a backdoor to access the surveillance and it made her wonder why. A quick glance at the coding confirmed it was written by the other her, the style exactly the same as her own. Another thing that was obvious as she browsed through the video recordings was that this wasn't the SGC, or whatever this reality's SGC was named; the base had a completely different layout and the external camera views showed alien surroundings, which she assumed meant she was on an off-world base of some kind.

There didn't appear to be any footage of the lab she found herself in and a quick inspection of the room didn't reveal any cameras inside either, meaning Sam still had no idea what had happened for her to end up here. Until she knew what was going on and who or what was responsible for her presence here she couldn't ask for help to get back home, not without endangering her own life; if these people weren't familiar with alternate realities despite the mirror in this lab then they might not believe her story and simply think her counterpart had finally lost it or something and she'd end up in a psychiatric institute – it had happened to Daniel only recently and that had been at the SGC, not the far more dangerous rogue NID.

At least it looked like this laboratory belonged to her counterpart alone, which meant Sam should be able to work without getting interrupted by a colleague unless they needed her help – she just hoped no one would need her alternate's assistance. The fact that the sprinkler system had been activated after the explosion and no one had come running since seemed to indicate either no one had noticed what had happened because of the lack of cameras and oversight, or no one simply cared. Either way, she should probably clean up this mess herself and not wait for support staff to check the damage and whatnot.

There was a small counter with sink at the back of the lab, clearly used by her counterpart to clean equipment and wash her hands before and after certain experiments. In one of the cabinets Sam found a floor cloth and she used it to clean the puddles of water off the floor. She had to go back and forth a few times to wring out and rinse it because of the amount of water that had been sprayed around the lab by the sprinkler system but after ten minutes the floor looked dry and clean again. There were also a few boxes with wipes which she used to clean the surfaces of the workbenches, lab tables and computer equipment. The only thing she didn't touch was the strange-looking mirror through which she had entered this reality, just in case…

During her cleaning she had come across a discarded lab coat, belonging to her alternate according to the name – Dr. Carter – embroidered on the breast pocket. The explosion and subsequent fire had left some soot on the white coat and it looked like the flames had licked at the hem as well, which was probably the source of the singed fabric she'd smelled earlier and why the other Samantha Carter had taken it off; lab coats were fire-retardant but that didn't mean they wouldn't burn eventually.

Sam threw the coat over her desk chair and decided to take another, more leisure look around the lab. A lot of the equipment she had in her own two labs at the SGC was present here as well but there were more items here that seemed to indicate her counterpart spent more time on research and development than she did herself. If the nametag on the lab coat was anything to go by the difference was probably explained by the fact that the other her wasn't military and most likely didn't have to divide her time between fieldwork and lab time. She briefly wondered what could have happened in her alternate's life to cause this fork in the road but quickly dismissed the thought and focused on her surroundings.

There were a few smaller adjoining labs with doors presumably leading to someone else's workspace so Sam quickly backed away to prevent running into someone else. Apparently the smaller rooms with fume hoods, laminar flow cabinets and other expensive equipment were shared with other scientists and from the looks of it there were a few ongoing experiments as well. Nothing that looked familiar to her but then she usually examined alien technology, or doohickeys as Colonel O'Neill preferred to call them, rather than focus on biology or chemistry.

After a more thorough inspection of her counterpart's laboratory Sam peeked out into the corridor, relieved to see it was abandoned for the moment and not occupied by SFs or whatever this reality's form of security forces were. The nameplate on the door confirmed this was indeed her alternate's lab and the accompanying number indicated which level it was on, so Sam quickly made her way back to the computer to access the CCTV of the floor she found herself on. It took a while but eventually she managed to find the recording of her counterpart walking through the corridors and entering her lab. The clock on the wall opposite the workbench showed the same time as Sam's watch, meaning it had been almost nine hours since her doppelganger had started her shift. The quality of the CCTV left something to be desired but as far as Sam could tell her grainy-looking counterpart hadn't left since this morning, unless she had used a different exit – like the mirror.

Since there was no footage of the actual experiment with the mirror and Sam was getting impatient as well as a bit anxious over her whole situation, she started tracking her alternate's movements of that morning and the previous day on the recordings. It took longer than she was comfortable with but it turned out she didn't differ that much from the other Samantha Carter when they were both in scientist mode; the other her had gone straight from what Sam assumed to be her base quarters to the commissary and then to the lab in the mornings and repeated the path in reverse last night.

Sam knew she couldn't hide out here all day and that she would probably be safer in 'her' quarters, so she turned off the laptop and grabbed it. Before leaving the lab she remembered the lab coat with the singed hem and after a brief moment of hesitation she slipped it on; it would be in her best interest to blend in until she knew more. Despite her rumbling stomach she didn't stop by the commissary, fearing she might encounter someone who knew her counterpart and discover she herself was an imposter. The trip to the base quarters seemed to take forever and a couple of times she started doubting whether she'd taken the right turn – it had been difficult to pick out 'landmarks' on the grainy footage as she followed her counterpart's path – or gone into the wrong direction until she recognized something from the CCTV.

Everything was going well until she stepped into the elevator and someone followed in behind her. She quickly pushed the button of the floor she needed and glanced at the man from the corner of her eye. He was unfamiliar to her but was dressed in a similar white coat and carrying a stack of papers.

"Doctor," he said amiably, yet somewhat reserved as he pushed another button.

Sam returned his greeting with a nod of her head and a tight smile, wondering what she was supposed to say. Unfortunately he was on her left and she couldn't see if there was a nametag on his coat's breast pocket. "Hi," she murmured.

He looked at her strangely, which only confused her further. "Why are you wearing that military getup?"

"Oh, well, um…" She glanced down at her BDUs, recalling that her counterpart had appeared to be wearing some sort of pantsuit in the CCTV footage. "There was an accident in my lab." Another look in the man's direction made her realize that while he was mildly interested in her explanation, he didn't really care or show any concern for what might have happened. Perhaps they weren't friends but merely colleagues and he'd started the conversation out of politeness and a way to kill time until they could get off the elevator? "One of my experiments yielded, um, some unexpected results… a small explosion," she said cautiously.

"Ah," he said, nodding in understanding as if these sorts of things happened on a daily basis. Perhaps they did.

"There was a small fire," she continued, indicating the singed hem of her lab coat, "and the subsequent water damage ruined my clothes. Someone was kind enough to lend me these instead."

The other scientist frowned as he took in her appearance again and then he let out a small sigh. "Really? Well, I guess that explains why you're leaving your lab early today," he said, gesturing at the elevator buttons to indicate the one she had pushed.

Sam felt a momentary panic at this and silently berated herself for leaving the safety of said lab, when she had already learned from the CCTV footage that her counterpart had worked until late last night. Her own habits weren't that different but she had hoped no one would know this or at least not question her about it, considering she was leaving at a normal hour for once. "Um, yes. I need to go over my designs again and make some adjustments before I can recalibrate the device. My lab really isn't the right place for that after the sprinkler system went off."

"You better fix it," he said quickly, looking around shiftily as if afraid someone would overhear them. "Your lab, I mean. Before, uh, measures are taken… Oh look, this is my stop," he added, changing the subject as the car came to a halt. "Good luck with your experiment, I hope today's happenings haven't halted your progress and you'll be able to finish it in time."

"Wait!" She called out, wanting to know what he'd meant about her lab.

The black-haired man was already out of the car and looked back over his shoulder, shrugging apologetically at her over his glasses. "Sorry, you're not the only one with a deadline. I'd like to complete my own project in time."

And then he was gone, leaving her to stare at the now closed elevator doors. His words sent her brain in overdrive and she couldn't help but wonder what he'd meant. Was it a warning or was it simply a case of some collegial rivalry? By the time the car stopped at her level she still hadn't come up with an answer but decided she should forget about the curious statement as she had bigger things to worry about, like finding a way home before someone discovered she was an imposter.

Sam cautiously stepped out of the elevator and slowly made her way down the corridor, making sure to keep her gaze aimed at the floor as not to attract any unnecessary attention and keep her face hidden from the security cameras as much as possible. The grainy footage of her counterpart hadn't given her a good look at what the other her looked like but there were bound to be differences, just like the version of her Daniel had met in an alternate reality. Like that one, this reality's Samantha Carter appeared to be a civilian doctor as well and it made Sam wonder if they'd cut their hair or not; for years she'd had long hair but after entering the Academy she had cut it off as it was too time-consuming to braid and pin it up according to regulations every morning.

It was something she would have to look into if she could, otherwise people might get suspicious of her appearance. The colleague from the elevator had noticed her BDUs but he hadn't mentioned anything about her hair, although that could be because her counterpart didn't have long hair, or maybe the man hadn't taken note of it – it wasn't like her teammates ever commented on her different hairstyles, after all. Still, she needed to have an explanation in case someone would ask her about it.

Letting out a deep sigh she turned the corner and took the last few steps to her alternate's base quarters. Sam's breath hitched for a moment when she noticed the card reader, wondering how she was supposed to open it before her free hand found a security pass in the pocket of her lab coat. After casting a glance around the deserted corridor she lifted the pass in shaking hands and swiped it through the reader, breathing a sigh of relief when there was the familiar sound of a door unlocking. She quickly slipped into the room and rested her weight against the door after it fell shut behind her.

Her right hand found the light switch a few inches from the door and flipped it on, revealing the sparsely decorated room's interior to her. On her left was a couch, coffee table and a bookcase, and a small table with two fold-up chairs and a cupboard was on her right. Setting her laptop on the table she took off her lab coat, placed it on the back of a fold-up chair and went over to the door in the opposite dark wall, presuming it led to a sleeping area. To her surprise it was a small bathroom with a shower in the far left corner, a hamper and toilet behind the door and a sink across from it, but there was another door to her right and, opening it, she was looking into a small bedroom. It contained a dresser and a double bed and that was about it… there was barely any room to walk, so cramped was the small space.

It was only now that she realized what she thought had been a darkly painted wall was in fact a dark and heavy curtain, separating the living area from the bedroom. Still, considering this base was obviously not built by humans but aliens and then taken over and modified by the humans in this reality, she was impressed by the size of her alternate's living quarters. Then again if the woman had been confined to base she would obviously need something more than just a lab and a small room with a bed. Of course, it was entirely possible this was some sort of scientific outpost and the assignment here was merely temporary. Sam just had a strange feeling about this place, but it was possible that was down to how she had arrived here…

There were plans for such off-world bases in her own reality but so far they had only established the Alpha Site and that was mostly for evacuation purposes in case Earth was attacked. It was nowhere near as complete as her current surroundings. It was possible the people in this reality had different priorities but why would her counterpart be hiding away here unless Earth had been destroyed…? That thought gave her a moment's pause but she quickly decided that was not an option. It also didn't explain why that other scientist had behaved so oddly, she thought to herself.

Later there would be time to figure out what kind of base this was; right now she needed to find out more about her alternate if she was to replace the woman without anyone noticing. Her first idea had been to look into her personal items but there was a small problem with that, seeing as there hardly were any… No trinkets, knick-knacks, baubles or photographs, much unlike Sam's own home where there were plenty of framed pictures in her living room, although there weren't many other 'homey' items lying around there either. Next up was the dresser, where she found mostly pantsuits folded up neatly and it made her wonder why her counterpart hadn't chosen for a standing closet or something similar to prevent rumpling the outfits instead of making ironing a prerequisite. There really were no BDUs or just casual clothes with the exception of a few skirts, one pair of sweatpants and a workout outfit. No sign of boots or comfortable shoes, just two pairs of heels not all that different from the ones belonging to her dress blues and one pair of sneakers, although they didn't appear to have been used much.

No flannel pajamas, warm sweaters or anything comfortable Sam could find in her own closet at home and even the underwear was different! There was a serious shortage of regular socks and far too many panty hoses, knee-high tights and socks – no doubt to match the pantsuits – in her opinion. No standard issue panties, bras or sport bras either; instead there was a bunch of colorful bras, thongs, panties and hipsters, some with lace and others made of some synthetic fibers or cotton. Some of it was similar to what she had in her own closet at home but since she had been in the Air Force for over a decade now her own collection of civilian clothing – and underwear specifically – wasn't as elaborate or colorful as her counterpart's. It was a small comfort that at least it looked like they had the same size in clothing…

Sighing, Sam let the dresser for what it was and pushed the heavy curtain aside to enter the living area. She made her way over to the bookcase and wasn't surprised to see it filled with a collection of her favorite books but unfortunately there wasn't anything really helpful, like a diary or something, around. Not that she had really expected to find anything here.

That only left the laptop, she decided.

The next few hours she spent going over all kinds of files and even found the schematics of what she thought had been used to activate the mirror. It was quite an ingenious design, if she did say so herself. However, it also became clear to Sam that the necessary materials to rebuild it were scarce and most likely not lying around her lab. It would take weeks if not months to collect everything and that estimate was made with her knowledge of how they operated at the SGC and what kind of things they could obtain in which amounts – she had no idea how long it would take in this reality.

She took a small break and was pleasantly surprised when she found some energy bars, cookies, diet sodas – albeit not cooled – and other edible items in the cupboard. After stilling her grumbling stomach she went back to the laptop and took a look at the intranet. Her counterpart had a lot of outgoing status reports and there was only a handful of requests from colleagues for a second opinion from her – which was far less than she was used to at the SGC – but what really surprised her was who received the reports and sent out new assignments; Colonel H. Maybourne.

Her counterpart was working for Maybourne?!