[Updated 24/08/2017]

Chapter Five PANIC

[Meanwhile on the planet]

"Sam! What did you do?" Daniel demanded, as he jogged over to her.

She winced at his tone. "I should know better, but I felt compelled to touch it." She said whilst indicating at the object before her.

"O'Neill portrayed the similar attribute prior to his disappearance." Teal'c replied stoically, reaching her position in accordance with the archaeologist.

"What happened?" Daniel inquired, while peering between his teammates.

"The signal of a power source led me to this dais. Instead, I found a square button of sorts within the platform. Well, you know the rest." Carter gazed at the scanner in her hand, and then back to the dais, her countenance scowling as her mind churned.

"O'Neill was enveloped by what appeared to be a cloak." The Jaffa warrior supplied, thinking it would help the astrophysicist come to some sort of conclusion.

Sam's distant gaze returned to normal as she peered at her two teammates: "We should go after him." She urged.

"Whoa, hang on." Daniel began, cutting short what could be a long rescue discussion. "According to the text, Jack was transported into a virtual world, which, if I understand correctly, was created by his subconscious mind. If one of us follows after him, we will succumb to our own reality not his."

Horror graced Carter's features, her words relaying as such, "Don't tell me it's like the one we experienced in our second year."

"Nah, it's different. Ostensibly, this is according to what your mind conjures. Well, I think it's like that. The dais is dubbed as the pathway to discovery."

"Daniel Jackson, how do you propose we retrieve O'Neill?"

"We don't, Teal'c. Only the occupant can find the way out. Jack's on his own."

"Is that all the writing said?" Sam inquired deflated.

"I still have a few lines left to translate, but, it won't be promising."

"Who creates a device and doesn't add a fail-safe?" She asked stern and accusing. "There has to be another way out."

"For O'Neill's sake let us hope he knows it's a counterfeit world." Teal'c assured in a positive tone.

"I'm confident." Daniel declared boldly, hiding his doubt, while Sam reluctantly followed with, "Me too."

"O'Neill's a resourceful warrior." The Jaffa said with a raised eyebrow.

Eventually, after a brief pause, Daniel placed his hands on his hips, and acknowledged, "Yeah . . . uhm, I think we need to figure it out." His tone relayed misgiving. "This is Jack we're talking about. It may take a while."

"I could . . . take it apart," Sam offered. "Without becoming susceptible to the apparent attraction it projects." Yet at the end, her words softened, as she comprehended the implications.

Teal'c's countenance creased in dislike, whilst indicating at the path. "O'Neill pointed out that this world's climate does not appear to affect the canyon's vegetation as much as those found around the 'Gate."

Carter gazed between the two men, analysing their options, and then issued the following orders: "I will head for the 'Gate and apprise General Hammond of the situation. Teal'c. Daniel. Stay and complete the translations. Upon my return, we'll check it out." She gestured at the surrounding area. "There has to more than this."

"But what if we don't find anything?"

"Daniel . . ." She warned. "We don't leave our people behind. There's always a solution, we just need to find it."

The men gazed at one another as Sam stepped past Daniel, turned to nod her goodbye, and indicated at her radio. "Call me the minute something happens. And by all means, stay away from the dais. We don't want another team member kidnapped."

Carter left them with the translations, and strolled towards where the road inclined up to the plateau. Chin stooped and eyes focussed on her moving boots, her mind drifted to what had occurred during the Colonel's disappearance.

What she had failed to mention, was that something had happened to her as well. She had felt a jab on her finger, but there was no sign of an entry point. Her senses where on high alert to the point where it irritated the heck out of her. Furthermore, a certain weight pressed against her heart, triggering a feeling of urgency, while her stomach mirrored that of a person who was experiencing vertigo.

It was the strangest sensation. She was perfectly fine, having experienced nothing to make her respond in such a manner.

Maybe it's the after effects of the dais – what it had injected into me. Or what it took from me. For the time being, I prefer keeping this information to myself. There's a chance it will fade away and be termed as nothing but a bad experience. If it doesn't subside, I'll let the guys know.

The Colonel comes first, it would then be best if they're rather focussed on his rescue than on a stressed teammate.

Five minutes later, Carter walked up to the DHD and dialled earth's address. Symbol after symbol lit up on the Gate, as the corresponding ones were depressed on the device before her.

A sudden unexpected bout of fear smothered the oxygen from her lungs, and she felt the full force of a panic attack. Going down on one knee, she fought to control her breathing, while convincing her mind that everything was fine. Tears flowed down her cheeks with the effort and she gripped her head in confusion, mind fighting to comprehend what her emotions were doing to her body.

Something had definitely infected her system. She couldn't have switched from fighting fit to nothing but jelly in thirty minutes. The only thing that had transpired was O'Neill's vanishing, which by experience did not affect the team's dynamics any longer.

No, this is the dais' doing, it has to be.

After a minute or so, it subsided and Carter was back to her normal self – a Major and astrophysicist, no longer a terrified rookie, yet a skilled warrior and scientist. She tuned into this bold statement and redialled the Gate, shoving the event aside as if it had not crippled her. She would not permit something so ludicrous to take control of this mission, prevent the team from saving O'Neill.

The familiar blue event horizon sprouted forth in the form of a churning wave, and retracted into a rippling pond. Successful in repressing the occurrence from memory, she waited patiently for Stargate Command to respond to the dial-in.

Sergeant Harriman's voice came through a few seconds later confirming her IDC, and she inhaled deeply calming the torment within. Exhaled evenly, while she did what O'Neill would – she soldiered on, informing General Hammond of their mission status, not mentioning what had happened to her.

The astrophysicist settled within her mind that she would remain steadfast for SG1's sake; she would be Major Samantha Carter, strong and unmoving.