A/N: At last! Winter break has arrived! Happy holidays to everyone!

~SGC~SGC~

Teal'c allowed his mind to wander, as he Major Carter and Darrow's voices became background noise. He did not, however, let himself dwell on the possibility that they might not return home. It was far too early to think of things like that. Major Carter and Darrow had only begun brainstorming an hour ago, after Major Carter had scanned Darrow's work.

"Teal'c?" Teal'c turned when he heard his name. It was Yokan speaking. Teal'c raised his eyebrow in question.

Yokan smiled. "You've been here quite a while. You must be bored, listening to nothing but gibberish."

Teal'c tilted his head. "It is not 'gibberish'. It is a scientific discussion."

Yokan grinned. "Well, what I meant was that you must be bored listening to a conversation that only a scientist could understand. Half of what they say is a foreign language, to me."

Teal'c nodded once. "Indeed. It can be most disorienting."

"How would you like to learn more about the Yetri, since you've never heard of us in your reality? I could show you around, if you wanted."

Teal'c considered that. On one hand, he did not wish to leave Major Carter alone with someone that they had barely met, as harmless as the Yetri seemed. On the other hand, it might be useful for Major Carter and himself to know more of the people whose hospitality they had no choice but to accept. He decided that learning more about the Yetri was the wisest course.

"That would be most kind of you."

Yokan smiled again. "All right. I'll show you the baker's shop, first. You must be hungry. We can bring something back for Major Carter and Darrow."

Teal'c followed him, his curiosity taking over.

~SGC~SGC~

Daniel followed Lonyi and Habrin into Lonyi's lab. Daniel was a little unnerved at how dissimilar it was to his own lab. Whereas his was lived-in, Lonyi's was incredibly neat. Everything had its place, everything was labeled, and not a speck of dust marred the clean work surface. He heard Jack grunt behind him, and they exchanged a look of mutual incredulity that any place could be so scrupulously tidy.

Lonyi removed a thick journal from one of his many shelves, and laid it on the table in the center of his lab. He flipped to the page he wanted, and turned the book so that they could see the diagram depicted there.

"This is a scale drawing of the device I was creating. To put it simply, it was created to enable sentient beings, like the Yetri, and the Tayi, to cross into other realities." He paused, apparently so that his words could sink in.

Daniel heard Jack release a gusty sigh, as he pulled out a chair. Daniel flopped into one, as well, and put his head in his hands.

"I lost the device, when I went for a walk. I often do that. I find that the fresh air inspires me. The device was nearly finished. It is quite possible that, if your friends found it and touched it, they have been transported to an alternate universe."

Jack grumbled. "I really, really hate this alternate universe crap."

Daniel nodded, trying to think of useful questions to ask. "Um. Would the device have stayed with them? Could they use it to come back?"

Lonyi shook his head. "I'm sorry. I really don't know. It was only a prototype. It's testing has been very limited. I doubt that they could use it to come back, even if it stayed with them. They cannot read Yetri script, and might end up in yet another reality."

Jack finally looked up. "Could you make another one? One that will stay with the, uh, transportee?"

Lonyi looked confused. "I don't know. I could try. Why?"

Daniel caught on. "So that someone could go to the reality that the original device took them to, and bring them back."

Lonyi now looked alarmed. "Doctor Jackson! Do you know how difficult and dangerous it would be to test? And it would take an incredibly long time to find out which reality the original device took them to."

Jack seemed a little angry. "What choice do we have but to try and figure it out? If you won't help us, at least give us a few hints to take back to SGC scientists so we can figure it out ourselves. I'm getting my people back."

Lonyi looked at his feet. "I never said I wouldn't help you. I will. But it will probably take a long time."

Daniel nodded, trying to placate the scientist. "We understand. We would still like to bring a few SGC scientists in on the project, though. Usually, the more heads thinking, the faster the process goes."

Habrin stepped forward. "That would be fine. I'm sure everyone will be able to work together. Right, Lonyi?" He glanced sharply at the scientist. Lonyi nodded quickly.

Daniel nodded too, though he wasn't so sure. In his experience, people working in the same field usually had difficulty working together.

~SGC~SGC~

"Darrow, look at this. If I'm reading your notes correctly, rearranging some of these components will specify which reality the device will transport someone to. Is that right?" Carter asked.

Darrow peered over her shoulder at the draft paper. "Yes, that's right. What are you thinking of?"

Carter traced a few of the long, thin lines representing wires. "I think that we can figure out which reality they correspond to, with a little tweaking."

Darrow nodded. "I tried to find a way to do that. I came close, but never quite understood how."

Carter pointed to a specific wire. "I think that if we can find a wire to connect this wire to a computer, I can write a program that will actually show us images of the reality we're interested in. How did you get it to record images without actually being there?"

Darrow looked sheepish. "I, uh, never actually intended it to show images. I just wanted to designate each possible reality a number sequence to identify it. So, basically, I don't know how I did it."

Carter smiled, but also looked disappointed. "Well, maybe we can figure it out."

Darrow nodded, then paused. "I just had a thought. The device that transported you here, did it come here with you?"

Carter shook her head. "No. It wasn't in my hand when we arrived here. I wish it had come along. Then we could study it, use it for ideas."

Darrow sighed. "Ah, well. I suppose we can't have everything. Let's see if we can find anything else useful."

~SGC~SGC~

"Are you sure about this, Colonel?" General Hammond asked O'Neill. "We barely know the Yetri. They might not be as friendly as they seem."

O'Neill had checked in with the SGC after making sure it was all right to bring Earth scientists into the project. He and the General were discussing their choices.

"I really don't know, sir, but I think working with them might be our only option, for getting Carter and Teal'c back."

The General sighed. "All right, Colonel. I'll have some of our scientists come to the Yetri world. Hopefully they'll all be able to work together. In the meantime, I want you and Doctor Jackson to learn everything you can about these people. The more we know, the better off we are."

"Yes, sir. We'll do what we can. I plan on getting them back as soon as possible."

"Good, Colonel. And good luck."

"Thank you, sir. O'Neill out."

~SGC~SGC~

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I'll try to make up for it in the next one. Things should actually start happening soon, by the way. Most of my stories start out pretty slow.