I do still live. Sorry for the ridiculous delay. Hopefully this won't be a habit…

Chapter 13: Wolf359-Take 2

"Daniel!" Sam shouted as soon as she saw him on the communicator. The only thing was that Daniel couldn't quite see her. He squinted in the sun and moved the viewscreen onto a rock in the shade. Better, but... not really. He smiled at her when he could barely making out that dark blob that, he supposed, was her head. Then she said, "Thank god you're alright. Where's Jack?"

"Hey," Daniel interrupted. "We're both fine. He's fishing." Daniel looked over his shoulder toward the little pond that Jack had found. "Over there somewhere. What's wrong? What happened?"

"Where are you guys?" Sam asked, effectively ignoring his question.

"Somewhere near the Cardassian border, I think. Why?"

Daniel reached over for the communicators that he and Jack used... some kind of Klingon-design that they had picked up at the equivalent of a junkyard on a moon. It had cost Daniel a gold trinket with Vulcan markings on it, but he ultimately didn't care. If it had been an Earth artifact back home, he would have seen that piece in a museum, would have starved before he sold it. But the galaxy was a scary place outside of the Federation.

Just as he summoned Jack, Sam got a hold of herself. "I've been trying to reach you for a week," she said. "I had to assume the worst—I thought you were dead. Or worse."

"No, we've been fine. I guess we just went through some areas where communicators didn't work." He looked around at the planet they'd been on for the past week and a half. "Maybe it's something in the soil here..." he mused.

"You can't be out there anymore, Daniel," Sam said.

Daniel only half-heard her, but his brain objected before he even figured it out. "What? No." Jack came down a path through the trees right then. "Why do you mean? I'm not going to just stop looking, regardless."

"Why not?" Jack asked. "Not like you've found anything. Except that the Iconians were totally and completely wiped out a couple of centuries ago." When he arrived, he looked at the communicator and shaded his eyes, smiling at Sam sarcastically. "Really interesting stuff. Fascinating, really. I love dirt."

"If you had another option for finding a gateway," Daniel said patronizingly, "then I'd consider that."

"The nearest Federation base, you guys have to go there," Sam ordered. "Right now."

"Wait. Hold on a second," Jack interrupted. "Now what's got you all riled up?"

Sam shook her head, like she didn't want to talk about it. And now Daniel didn't want her to talk about it either. It must have been horrible. Terrifying. Daniel reached for his research. "Alright, we're going then. Where are you? We'll be on our way this afternoon."

Sam sighed again, shook her head again. Daniel stopped. She didn't know what it was she thought was best for them to do. "No..." she said quietly. "I just have to know you're safe, but not at the expense of getting home. Just..." Daniel frowned at the screen, waiting for the truth to come. It would be much easier if she would just tell them what happened. "The Borg. The Borg came. One of their ships against forty of ours. Twenty-one of our ships came back. Over five thousand people were assimilated. Made into Borg. One person was rescued."

"One ship?" Jack shouted.

"Five thousand?" Daniel asked. That was a lot of people. At least the Goa'uld could only take as many as there were of them. The Goa'uld were in large numbers, but they kept their numbers considerably smaller because they considered one another as much of a threat as enemies without. This left them two options: get home quick, or decide that they were staying quick. Because the Borg had to either be dealt with or behind them.

"Yes," Sam answered. "One ship." Then she took a deep breath. "I just had to know you guys were safe, I—my plans didn't work. Not like we'd hoped. The Borg captured and assimilated Captain Picard, so they were prepared for the weapons we were going to be using. They couldn't defend against it, but they were ready to repair the damage."

"So what are we going to do?" Daniel asked. "Whatever we do, we have to decide right now. Are we giving up on getting home? Or are we going to keep trying, Borg or not?"

Jack looked from Daniel to Sam as though confused. "Has the situation really changed?" he wondered. "The Borg are coming. Whoop-de-doo. They have been for—how long have we been puttering around this universe?"

"Jack, it's different!" Sam objected. "They're not just coming anymore. They're here."

"One ship," Jack reminded.

"There are more coming!" Sam said. "Jack! People died! A lot more are going to and I don't think that we can stop it without more resources than we have!"

"Everything has changed," Daniel agreed. "You and I can't be safe on our own out here anymore."

"And Starfleet is no longer interested in committing resources to studying the Iconian gateways," Sam added.

"There, you see?" Jack said, sounding somehow self-satisfied. Daniel squinted up at him in confusion. "Nothing has changed." Daniel watched Jack look between himself and Sam, a pinch in his brow that was either confusion or anger. "Come on, you guys!" Jack said finally. "What is our other option? Wait around for that Q-guy to drop a Stargate in Daniel's lap? I don't think so."

"I don't think he'd do that, anyway…" Daniel nodded, thinking. They really continued to have no choices except to continue doing what they were doing. "Well, what do you suggest we do, then, Sam?"

"One month," Sam said. "One month out there and then we have to figure out something different."

"Why one month? What happens then?" Daniel asked.

"New assignments from Utopia Planetia," Sam answered. "You and Jack can either catch a ride here on one of the ships coming, or I can take a starship closer to you. Splitting up was a bad idea…"

"I could've told you that," Jack muttered.

Daniel laughed, partially in frustration, but mostly from disbelief. "We haven't been wandering around all this time to go back empty-handed. I can't find these things if I'm not looking for them." Before Sam could explain again, Daniel shook his head and interrupted, "No, you're right. You're right. I can just research from Utopia Planetia."

"Hey," Jack spoke up. "Where's Teal'c? Anyone hear from him lately?"

"No…" Sam sighed. "Not for lack of trying."

"I'm sure he's fine," Jack said with a wave of his hand. "What would the Borg want with a backwoods bumpkin planet like Bajor anyway?" Daniel smiled at that—Bajor had a deep and rich culture he would have liked to study more, but since it had nothing to do with Iconia, he had to prioritize. But calling Bajor a backwoods bumpkin planet? Only Jack…

"So we'll meet you at Utopia Planetia," Daniel finished up, more asking than saying. He wasn't sure what they were doing and he wondered if they knew, either.

"Alright," Sam agreed.

"Civilization!" Jack exalted. "No dirt! That good ol' sterile smell of starship-making and scientists working with magnets!"