Morning rolled around and everyone had prepared to leave for the proxy planet before Destiny, Colonel Albert Reynolds – SG3's CO – had made quick work to try and make sure Rush knew he was in command but Nicholas Rush had never obeyed authority very well. Paul had gathered along side Eli, Vulpine, Rush and his children while SG3 stood with the small science team and Rodney McKay almost as though they'd filtered into two teams. General O'Neill had wished them luck before they'd sailed on through to the proxy planet – it had a ID number but only the SG team and Davis had bothered to learn it, however, Rush, Cressida, Eli and Ez had taken to referring to the planet as 'Niflheim' on account of its constant snow and the mass of frozen over rivers; the name had slowly spread to Paul and eventually Jack as well.
The science team acted as though they were kids in a candy store as soon as they stepped foot on Niflheim, boots digging into the snow. They'd insisted on remaining there to study the planet far longer than the allotted time, they still had to go to Destiny and set to work there. Yes, discovering if Niflheim would remain stable and able to act as a proxy for them but Cress, her brother and father itched for the place they called home.
After God only knew how long of standing there beside the gate making a clacking noise with her tongue while everyone else either guarded the perimeter – kind of pointless considering the Tok'ra had confirmed the planet was uninhabited – while everyone else carried out their experiments, Cress couldn't take it any longer. It was fairly obvious that Rush, Ez and Eli would have rather set to work on Destiny but had found themselves roped in to what the other scientists were doing. The dark-haired teenager made her way over to the DHD and quickly imputed Destiny's dialling code causing all of SC3 to spin around with guns raised.
"What do you think you're doing?" Demanded Captain Hartman, a tall man with mocha skin who thought he was God's gift to the Air Force.
"I'm going to Destiny to make sure it's powered up and return power to the lighting."
Eli, Rush and Ezra all knew that was total crap and she suspected that Colonel Davis did as well but none of them said a word, she'd had enough of listening to McKay and there was actual work she could have been doing.
"Aye, we'll be there in a minute. I'm about done." Said Nicholas as he started to pack away his things, he didn't care one bit about Reynolds complaints that he was in charge.
"Okay. Come on, Davis."
Smiled Cress, she'd seen how bored he was and decided it was only polite to take the Colonel with her as well as Vulpine. Also, if she took the dark-haired Colonel, it would annoy Ezra, she grinned smugly at her brother before she turned to follow her beloved pet and Paul through the shimmering blue pool to Destiny.
The place was wrong. Vulpine started barking almost instantly Cress found herself ill at ease, Davis didn't seem to notice but he'd not spent years on board the ship.
"What is it?" He asked without taking his eyes from the barking Elcress while Cress wet to the terminal on the other side of the gate room.
"The ship is being pulled starboard against the thrusters- oh shit! Shut down the gate now!" She yelled without looking up. Cress slammed a few buttons and the shimmering pool shut off, Paul glanced up as chevrons started to lock – Rush hadn't lied about being right behind them - only to have Cressida rip his side arm from his thigh and start firing into the large metal ring forcing it to silence. Davis ripped the weapon away from her as Vulpine finally stopped barking and aimed it at on instinct; she didn't raise her arms, just calmed Vulpine who didn't take kindly to Paul threatening his mistress.
"Explain!"
That was the first time she'd ever heard Davis sound angry and she quickly realised he had other sides of the one he happily presented to everyone at SGC, in a way it was sort of attractive.
"Alright," she agreed. "but we need to go to the bridge."
Reluctantly Paul nodded and holstered his weapon before following Cress and Vulpine towards the bridge.
XXXX
Thirteen, thirteen times they'd dialled Destiny from Niflheim only for nothing to happen, not even the first chevron would lock.
"Why won't the gate open?" Asked Reynolds as though it was the scientists fault.
"It's not the DHD, it's not that the planet has become unstable." Listed Rush, quietly to himself; a habit he'd actuality picked up from Cressida.
"It's not this gate either, it's trying to engage but can't lock the chevrons." Finished Ezra somewhat sorrowfully.
"So it's Destiny's gate." Said Eli slowly. "What about Cress, Vulpine and Davis?"
"They could be dead."
Announced McKay only for Rush to turn and glare at the man terrifyingly, had he not been more focused on getting the gate open and his daughter back Rush would have launched at Rodney and kept punching until someone managed to rip him away.
"The gate established before, the wormhole was stable for them to go through so whatever is causing this happened after. They are on the other side, their safe." He sounded as though he were trying to convince himself.
"We'll head back to Earth and see what Command thinks we should do." Ordered Reynolds, General O'Neill was not going to be happy.
XXXX
Cress and Paul stood beside Vulpine on the bridge with their heads glued to the main terminal.
"You can't be serious!" Said Davis in disbelief.
"I can and I am. Daddy told everyone that Destiny shouldn't be left unmanned so long."
"But a black hole?"
How many men could say they'd encountered not one but two black holes in their lifetime? He ran a hand through his cropped black hair as he tried to wrap his head around what Cress had just told him.
"Oh God they were right. I am a disaster." Paul muttered to himself.
"What?" Asked Cress with a small smile as she set to work at the terminal.
Davis sighed. "About ten years ago back when I was a Major, the staff at the SGC took to calling me Major 'Disaster' Davis because I only ever showed up from the Pentagon when there was a huge problem. A black hole was actually one of them, that's why you took out the gate right? To stop the gravity affecting Niflheim."
"Check you being all genius, that's exactly why."
"Are we dead?"
"Not yet, Disaster." She grinned.
Paul groaned. "That's going to stick isn't it?"
"Oh hell yeah, just wait 'til I tell my brother." Cress chuckled. "Come on, I need to see the engines."
Colonel Davis followed down the halls away from the bridge until Cress suddenly came to a half and smiled up at him 'want to see something cool?' she'd asked, to which Davis had nodded then followed her in a new direction. They entered the observation deck and the Colonel gasped; stars, a far off nebula, all of it beautiful.
"Very few have ever actually seen this part of space. We're in a new solar system too so we are the only two people who have seen these stars." He thought was something almost poetic about her words. Cress gestured up to the top right corner of the gargantuan window. "You see that black distortion?" Paul nodded. "That's the black hole, it's some serious distance away but we're already caught in its gravity. Can't waste any more time though, need to see those engines."