A/N: Content WARNINGS for this chapter- nothing that bumps up the rating but some mild depiction of illness (seizure, nausea) towards the end. Skip if it makes you uncomfortable.
Onwards!
All ten of them were in a shuttlecraft of some kind. The two SG-1s sat up front, with Colonel Carter flying the shuttle. MacGyver and Dalton were in a separate room in the back.
Jack watched as they slowly approached what he assumed was Earth. Which posed an interesting question.
"Why don't we just gate down to Earth?" He asked.
"We can't. The gate's not set up to randomly receive travelers anymore. It runs on a schedule. We have to land on Ibcan, and then we can catch the next trip back to Earth." Colonel Carter said.
"So... why are we landing on Earth?"
"That's not Earth." Daniel said. "That's Ibcan." Jack looked out the window. "Oh."
o-O-o-O-o
"Why did you decide to make the Stargate public?" Daniel asked, settling into his chair.
"We had a partial security breach." Colonel Carter said. "Rumors went wild about the 'secret government program sending people to the stars'. We realized that we couldn't keep the whole thing under wraps any longer, and the government "admitted" that they'd been building a device that would make interstellar travel possible."
"So then what? You just threw the whole thing wide open?" O'Neill said.
"No. Well, sort of. I had to pretend to work on the project for months so the public didn't think I was some kind of miracle worker, and then ask me to do the impossible later on. In the process of moving and reactivating the gate though, I was able to actually make some upgrades. Travel is much smoother now. Small children travel to Loania every day."
"Uh, which one is Loania again?"
"The planet where adults go to their occupations and where children go to school." Teal'c said.
"Okay, so once you got the gate working, did it take long for people to warm up to the idea?"
"Yes. About half the population still won't come anywhere near it, even though it's been in use for nearly five years. They think it causes all sorts of health problems, and poses a danger to mankind. There's a lot of conspiracy theories." She grinned. "Some of them are even true ."
"So, how does this thing work?" Daniel asked.
"Uh, it's a stable wormhole like usual, but I think you mean logistics wise." She smiled at him and continued. "It's kind of like a bus schedule. One hour on, one hour off. We used to rotate equally between the three worlds but realized that, for example, more people go to Nadilia in the evening than at five in the morning. We're constantly adjusting the schedule to keep up with the demand."
"Doesn't the gate shut off after-" Major Carter started.
"I made some upgrades, remember?" She grinned. "I just got it up to under three hours."
"I thought you said that was impossible." Daniel cut in.
"That was before we moved it out of the mountain."
"Wait, so you're saying..." Major Carter sat forward, eyes wide.
"Yep. Apparently the whole 'twenty stories underground' thing isn't good for wormholes. The amount of time a gate can remain open seems to depend on the individual gates. Whichever one closes first dictates when the other one closes."
"Pretty much every other gate we saw was in an open field of some kind." Daniel added. "I'll believe that."
"What about internationally?" O'Neill asked, leaving the unspoken question hanging. What does Russia think about this?
"The cover story is, our Stargate here is the only one in existence." She said, O'Neill and Daniel nodded. Russia wasn't willing to cough up their gate. Then again, the US still had one for interplanetary military use as well.
"What happens when a civilian walks through the gate and turns around to look at the one they just came through? Then what?" O'Neill asked.
"Oh. Well, I suppose I should have said the only gate on Earth. According to the cover story, a team of scientists were able to create the three other gates quicker than it took to make the original one."
"Annndd, how did they get there?" O'Neill asked.
"Several teams of scientists and engineers traveled on a one-way trip out to terraform the three closest planets to us. It took almost a year to reach the destinations, and then each team built their gate and then came back to Earth."
"So what really happened?" Daniel asked.
"Pretty much the same thing. Of course, all the planets were habitable and had their own Stargate already. We actually did travel to one of the planets, using the X-304, just to test that technology."
"The what?" Major Carter said.
"The Arcadian." An awkward pause. "Nothing?"
"You mean the Prometheus?" Major Carter tried.
"The Prometheus had one and only one mission. We, uh, still had some kinks to work out."
"It blew up?" O'Neill asked, reading between the lines.
"Yeah." Colonel Carter said with a tight smile. "Thankfully the two people onboard survived. We, uh, got the opportunity to test that safety feature."
Daniel spoke next. "Can the individual gates connect to each other? Or only to Earth?"
"Only to Earth. Some higher-up decided that all travel should pass through Earth every time."
"But the gates are capable of that right? It's just the programming you put in place that stops them?"
"Yes." Colonel Carter verified. "They're each fully functioning in that respect."
"Why don't we use the gate on Nadalia for this energy burst? Or Ibcan? Do they have the same problems as the one at the SGB?" Daniel asked.
"Basically yes." Major Carter explained. "All four of those gates have the same defect. We think it's caused by extreme cold. The SGB's gate was frozen in the arctic, and the ones on Ibcan, Nadaila, and Loraina have all been through an ice age on their respective planets."
"And, since the Earth gate was found in Egypt, it's the only one that's uneffected."
"But Earth went through an ice age too," The other Daniel pointed out.
"Yes, but this confirms the theory that the gate was brought to Earth after that happened."
Everyone nodded.
o-O-o-O-o
"So Mac, whaddya think is goin' on here?" Jack Dalton asked from his seat on the shuttlecraft.
It had been increasingly difficult to keep Jack in the dark about the whole Stargate program. He had slowly figured out bits and pieces, and knew that they had accidentally traveled to an alternate reality, which explained the effects on his body, that the fact that there were now two SG-1s.
However, both the SG-1s had decided to make sure that Dalton continued to know little, and try to prevent MacGyver from discovering any more about the Stargate program. It was their hope that the two unwilling travelers could be returned back into a semi-normal life after their experience. If necessary, they would explore the possibility of tampering with their memories.
"I'm not sure, Jack. They've been just as secretive towards me." MacGyver said.
It wasn't completely a lie. MacGyver had been told the same cover story that was sold to the public. Not that he believed it for one second. He'd overheard parts of SG-1s conversation a moment earlier anyways. He was starting to get a bigger picture of what exactly was going on here.
"I think they're hidin' something Mac. You know me and those military types. Always up to somethin' fishy."
MacGyver scoffed. "You're one to talk. You do realize I was military, right?"
"Well, yeah. But you know what I mean Mac. They're up to no good!"
"They're on a mission, Jack. They have to be secretive. It's part of the job description, we just have to trust-"
"Mac?"
MacGyver turned sharply at the urgent tone in Jack's voice.
"Jack?" He took a few steps towards Jack, who had turned a strange grayish-white color.
"You okay?"
"Uh- uhm... I-I don't feel so g-good," He slumped over to one side.
MacGyver was on his feet and kneeling in front of Jack in an instant. He gripped his forearms tightly. "What's wrong? Headache? Nausea?"
"Um,"
Jack didn't have any time to answer before he fell to the floor, his limbs convulsing violently. It appeared as if there were two blurry copies of his body, strobing back and forth as he spasmed.
MacGyver took a step back, unsure of what to do. He could treat a bullet wound with ease, set a bone, and even deal with a regular old seizure, but this was something else entirely. It scared him.
"Daniel! Carter!" He shouted over his shoulder.
Both Daniel's and Major Carter appeared in seconds beside him, the O'Neill's and Teal'c's not far behind.
Major Carter took one look at what was happening and knelt beside Dalton.
"There's not much I can do." She explained as she waited for the attack to pass. The others, seeing that the situation was being handled, filed back into their seats in front of the shuttle.
After another thirty seconds or so, Dalton's body merged back into one and he lay bonelessly on the floor.
"Jack? Can you hear me?" Carter rubbed his upper arm. He didn't move.
MacGyver helped Carter roll him onto his side.
"It's pretty much like the end of a regular seizure from this point onwards," Carter said, adjusting Dalton's arm so it lay more comfortably across his body.
"Okay. I've got him." MacGyver smiled.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Who's flying this thing?" He asked, suddenly realizing he was looking at the pilot.
"The other Carter. I'll stay here for a little while. Just to make sure he's going to be okay."
"Fine with me," MacGyver said, settling in next to Dalton on the floor.
"Any other symptoms that come with one of these... attacks?"
"Once he comes around it's usually confusion, dizziness, nausea. That kind of stuff. It'll pass in about fifteen minutes."
A comfortable silence settled in the small space. Carter kept her hand on Dalton's pulse, carefully monitoring him for any signs of waking. After about two minutes, he started to move sluggishly.
"Easy," They both urged as he tried to sit up. MacGyver placed his hands firmly on Dalton's shoulders to keep him from moving around.
"You need to keep still," Carter said, resting a hand on his back. "You had another attack. How're you feeling?"
Dalton laid back on the floor, the small amount of energy required to move clearly exerting him.
"Uh, not..." He swallowed. "so great, actually."
"Okay. Just take some nice deep breaths. You'll feel better in a minute."
"Unggh..." He groaned.
Carter smiled at MacGyver before turning back to Dalton. "It's normal. Just try to keep your head still. That'll keep the dizziness from making you sick."
They both kept a careful eye on him for the next several minutes, until he was ready to sit up. They helped him to the closest seat, where he promptly fell asleep.
MacGyver turned to Carter. "I'll watch him. I promise to get you at the first sign of something wrong. Get back to your team."
She smiled. "All right. If you're sure...?"
"Yes! Go."
He watched as she returned to the front, closing the partition behind her. To rejoin her team. It had been a long time since MacGyver had missed being part of a group.
He was sure that he'd passed that phase, but now he was doubting again.
Being a part of a team was something he'd sworn he'd never do again, but it was suddenly starting to look better and better.