Chapter 15 - Stargate

The sun shone high overhead in a cloudless sky and its rays refracted brightly through the clear water. The murkiness caused by the storm surge the day before had settled, and Jack could see easily to the bottom. It was mostly smooth and barren, with small boulders dotting the sea bed but no vegetation or seaweed. He could imagine that with the water removed the ground would be a sloping sandy beach. He tried to spot signs of the roadway Daniel had found, but it all looked the same to him. He lifted his face out of the water and instead fixed his sights on the top of the Stargate as his target.

He stretched out his arms to swim with long strokes and made good time covering half the distance to the submerged gate. It felt good to get his heart pumping, which knocked away the last of his fatigue from his few short hours of sleep. He had not meant to doze off while standing watch overnight, and was annoyed with himself that Daniel had been able to spend time stoking the fire and then leave camp without causing him to wake up. He knew he had good reason to be tired, but to not even be aware of someone moving around their camp? That was just dangerous.

He paused to catch his breath at the halfway point and looked around. A comfortable breeze pushed lightly across the calm sea, serene compared with the stormy darkness the day before. He could see Daniel on the sandy shore, standing right at the water's edge watching him. The land disappeared behind him, with no trees, hills, or mountains to define the otherwise smooth horizon. Even the ridge the archaeologist had pointed out was too low to be seen from this vantage. He and Carter would never have made it back to land, he thought again, feeling a lump settle in his stomach at the thought. He physically shook away the lingering guilt and focused on the shore. He could not make out his friend's features but saw him raise one hand and appear to give a thumbs up. He returned the gesture reassuringly.

As he treaded water, Jack looked toward the Stargate, bobbing well above the ocean surface now. He could not make out the symbols etched on the partially exposed inner ring, but the contours of the outer ring were familiar and comforting.

He resumed his swim and wondered how quickly the gate would be uncovered at the rate the water had receded overnight. His markers near camp measured about six feet apart each hour that he checked them, but that measurement followed along the slope of the beach, not the depth of the water. He also did not know how far below the surface the gate had been to start. The trees down the shore showed a clear high water mark, so that probably gave a better indication of the overnight progress. The reasoning exercise was distracting as he swam, so he suddenly found himself at the Stargate. He gave a mental shrug and dismissed the unresolved question from his mind.

He gripped the outer curve of the structure and appreciated the solid support it offered as he rested to regain his breath. He was not looking forward to the exertion of the return swim. If only he could call up adrenaline on demand. He looked back to shore and could just see Daniel's form. Assuming he was still watching, Jack raised his arm as high as he could reach and waved it slowly. After a moment he saw Daniel do the same, then move to sit on the ground.

Jack turned to study the gate, then pulled himself around to the far side when he realized he had approached it from the rear. He could just make out the topmost symbols on the inner ring, still partially underwater. If the gate stood twenty-one feet tall, then nineteen feet were still submerged.

He wanted to find the DHD and dial out, to know if it would even work. He could not return without at least giving it a try. He thought about what Daniel had said about flooding the SGC, so he considered dialing the Alpha site instead.

"And flood the whole valley over there? That would be dumb," he muttered to himself. He imagined being pulled through the event horizon like being flushed down a toilet. No, the SGC just needed to keep the iris closed and his GDO could send a code for that.

Committed to the plan, he played out the sequence of events in his head. Dive twenty feet, locate the DHD, dial seven symbols, stay clear of the vortex, and send the GDO codes for his identity and then the "comms only" code that would keep the iris closed. He knew he could not do that all in one breath, so he broke up the tasks and readied himself.

On his first dive he managed to miss the DHD by only a few feet. He pulled himself around the pedestal to find it intact. He looked through the pale blue water and saw a MALP sitting off to the side of the Stargate, a positive sign that the SGC had sent it through looking for SG1. And when they found nothing but water, they did not try to retrieve the vehicle. Not such a positive sign. Jack pushed off and rose to the surface.

On his second dive, Jack managed to dial six of the symbols and watched the gate start to spin and light up. He kicked off quickly to replenish his oxygen, and returned to press the last symbol, the only one he did not recognize on the device. He held tightly onto the DHD and counted the seconds until the last chevron locked. The vortex swirled as if mixing with the ocean water, generating a small current, but not the strong draw he feared. He quickly sent the comms-only code with his GDO, followed by his personal ID sequence.

Nothing happened. The event horizon shimmered a deeper blue than the surrounding sea. He stared, not certain what he hoped to see. As he reached the end of his oxygen, he got an idea, but first raced for the surface once again.

He broke the surface gasping for air, feeling light-headed until he took in several long breaths. Wasting no more time, he dove again, this time to the MALP.

He flipped two switches, then grasped the long articulating arm they used to punch buttons on the DHD. He needed it only to steady himself in front of the video camera which he knew was ruggedized against harsh conditions, even submersion. The red LED flashed and he hoped it was transmitting.