Planet designated P4M-328, 1100 hours.
It had only been about fifty minutes since SG-1 walked through the Stargate and entered what the MALP images had identified as a tomb. It was only later, once the Stargate was deactivated, did the team discover that they were in a museum exhibit and that the DHD in front of the Stargate was a very well-made replica. And to put the icing on the proverbial cake, there was a party taking place somewhere in the museum.
The intention of the team had been to return to Earth, and then send back another MALP since this was a developed society; which carried a protocol recently developed for First Contact situations. The SGC would speak through the MALP, asking for permission to visit the planet. But all those plans were thrown out the window. All SG-1 could do now was wait for a little more than the requisite six hours before the General dialled in. Only then could the team ask for a Naquada generator and a dialling laptop that would help them dial home.
Back in the exhibit, the team had no more interruptions while Teal'c stood guard at one entrance. He was looking out for any people heading their way. Colonel Mitchell was doing the same thing at the other entrance, the same one the couple from earlier stumbled into the Colonel while the others hid behind the columns. Daniel was sighing as he sat next to Faith and Vala for the past several minutes.
They were doing nothing; and it was driving them crazy. Faith, Daniel, and Vala wanted to leave the exhibit- Daniel wanted to look at the other exhibits while Faith and Vala simply wanted to leave the current area. Vala and Faith wanted to go to the party, but knew that the Colonel was right in saying that since they were wearing uniforms… the two ladies would stick out like a sore thumb in the sea of formal wear.
"We need to get out of here," Faith mumbled while she was leaning on the surface of the pedestal looking up at the ceiling with her hands supporting her head. Vala, who was leaning back on her elbows, turned her head to Faith and nodded her head before turning to Daniel was sitting on a step looking bored. The three of them knew that the hieroglyphics on the columns were no code- they were simply jumbled up.
Whatever meaning those symbols once had were possibly incomprehensible.
"What are the odds that there's a guard somewhere here?" Faith asked. Daniel and Vala turned their heads to stare curiously at the Slayer who looked back at them while lying down on the floor. She noticed the looks she was getting, and sighed before saying, "I mean there's a formal party going on down there, and I'm pretty sure having a formal party in a museum of all places means these are bigwigs."
"Which means there has to be guards, or museum security somewhere," Daniel nodded his head.
"Then I would say we're in luck that no one, other than those two lovebirds from earlier, have found us out," Vala pointed out, "but then again, that could simply mean that security had been assigned to the party, leaving the rest of the museum unguarded."
"Oh no," Faith shook her head, "there's always one security guard out there patrolling the hallways. At least that's what I'd do."
"What are the chances we'll run into one?" asked Daniel.
"Who knows," Faith replied as she sat up before picking up the P90 laying by her side, "but I bet you ten bucks there's at least one patrolling somewhere."
"I'll take that bet," Daniel said.
"Me too," Vala said.
The three of them got up to their feet and walked over to the Colonel who was pacing at one of the entrances before leaning back against the wall. They were going to take turns, switching with the others every hour to guard the entrances- preventing anyone else from coming in.
"Hey," Daniel said as he, Vala, and Faith approached the Colonel who pushed himself of the wall and raised an eyebrow at the three of them, "there's something we haven't talked about yet." Daniel then went on to discuss with the Colonel, as well as Teal'c who walked over, what he had been discussing with Vala and Faith a little earlier. Teal'c turned his head and looked over his shoulder to search the lit hallway for any shadows, indicating the presence of guards or any other lost patrons from the party. Seeing no one, he turned back to the Colonel who was deep in thought and said that Daniel was correct.
"The possibility of armed guards being present are accurate," Teal'c pointed out, "however, I believe the majority of guards would be with the guests. However, there is the slight possibility that the couple from earlier would inform the guards of our presence."
"If they did, I think we'd see someone coming to check us out," the Colonel whispered as he looked down the left hallway, and then back to Daniel.
"There's another thing," Daniel said, and the Colonel nodded his head, "we know the Goa'uld once ruled this planet, which mean that among all the artefacts here there could be something that could power the Stargate."
"Are you sure?" asked Colonel Mitchel.
"We need to check out the exhibits," Daniel urged, "at least the ones that are far away from the party's location," Daniel then turned to Faith and Vala, and then to the Colonel once again, "I could take Faith and Vala with me. Cam, it's better than staying here and fiddling with our thumbs."
"I'll make sure he doesn't get into any trouble," Vala said as she put a hand on Daniel's shoulder. At that, the Colonel titled his head and lifted the corner of his lips while staring at Vala. He then glanced at Faith who placed her hands on both Daniel and Vala's shoulders before saying, "don't worry, I'll make sure the both of them don't get into trouble."
The Colonel then sighed while shaking his head. He knew he was going against protocol with his next decision, but he also knew that Daniel was right. The artefact he and Teal'c had seen in the museum did show that the Goa'uld once ruled this world. And that meant there could be something to power the Stargate, no matter how unlikely. The Colonel then asked Teal'c to manoeuvre the MALP behind one of the pillars so that it couldn't be seen easily. The Jaffa nodded his head and then strode towards the Stargate while the Colonel turned to Vala and told her that they would be exploring the first floor. He then turned to Daniel, "you, Faith, and Teal'c take the second floor."
"And stay away from the party?" Daniel asked.
"Yep," was the reply from the Colonel, "when Teal'c gets back, we'll head out."
"At least we'll be doing something, Cam," Faith said, "better than waiting around."
"No bullets," the Colonel whispered, "only Zats against any potential hostiles."
"Got it," Faith said. And the others nodded their heads while Teal'c strode back saying that the MALP was hidden behind one of the pillars.
"Let's move out then," the Colonel said, hoping that they weren't making a colossal mistake. As they walked out into the hallway, Colonel Mitchell and Vala walked one way while Faith, Daniel and Teal'c went off another way.
Each group hoped that in this museum that seemed to contain mostly Goa'uld artefact, they would be able to find something that resembled a power-source.
Infirmary, SGC, 1320 hours.
"Well, Well, look who's up," a familiar voice said as Willow dug her fork into her plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce; the lunch that Dr. Lam ordered for her earlier. With Siler still asleep in the bed next to Willow, she turned her head after picking up the noodles with her fork and smiled at Colonel Carter as the doors behind her closed. She had her hands in her pockets while walking over to the bed, nodding at Siler who smiled at her before he started to read some of the engineering reports that one of his subordinates brought a few minutes ago.
"Ma'am," Willow said as she put the fork down and a smile appeared on her face upon seeing the blonde woman, "how's the damage?" The Colonel chuckled before saying that she was going to ask Willow if her leg was feeling any better. Willow nodded her head as she stared at the pink cast around her leg after she shoved aside the blanket earlier. Willow then looked up at the Colonel and shrugged her shoulders before saying, "I bet it was Faith who suggested the pink plaster, wasn't she?"
"Oh, yeah," the Colonel chuckled as she placed her hands on the bed's railing while Willow was seated upright, the rear of the bed supporting her back at a near ninety degrees. The Colonel then looked down at the cast, and then back at Willow and chuckled before saying, "you're gonna be up in no time, Willow."
"Did you look up the data from the 'black box' ma'am?" Willow asked as the Colonel pulled up a chair and sat down facing Willow. Colonel Carter nodded her head before saying that the initial data confirms the theory that the power-cell overloaded.
She explained that the overload began when Willow was pushing the Groundhog extremely hard, "I'm guessing that the Groundhog must have taken a lot of knocks during the test. Maybe it was during one of the harder landings that there could have been a power surge from one of the systems, and it fed back to the power cell and started a chain reaction. And then… well.."
"Kablooey?" Willow widened her eyes and waved her hands upwards.
"Yep," the Colonel nodded her head with a chuckle, "lucky you escaped. The shockwave destroyed the Roller MALP prototype, but we did recover the data from its own black box."
"Sweet," Willow said.
"You get some rest, Willow," the Colonel said as she stood up and placed her hand on the redhead's shoulder, "I'm guessing we'll have to make some redesigns to the power core's containment unit and we need to rejig the ejection mechanism for the driver seat."
"And I'll get started on a new design," Willow said nodding her head, "I just need my laptop."
"And that can wait until tomorrow," Colonel Carter said, "Dr. Lam's ordered you on full rest. No work, and no stress. Dawn's in the Mess Hall having lunch with Jon, she was worried when she found out you were in an explosion. She should be…."
"How many times have I told you to be careful," Dawn cried out as she strode in through the infirmary doors with a nervous Jon close behind her. "I….." Dawn stopped talking upon seeing Colonel Carter standing next to Willow, the both of them staring at her with amused expressions on their faces. Dawn then glanced at the surprised look on Siler's face before he went back to staring at the pad in his hand. Jon then walked past Dawn and walked towards Willow, asking to forget what Dawn was about to say.
"We're all glad to see you're okay," Jon said as Dawn frowned at Willow and strode towards her.
"Thanks," Willow said looking at Jon before smiling at Dawn, "yeah, I already said I'm sorry!."
"Huh?" the Colonel said looking at Willow and then at Dawn who narrowed her eyes at Willow. The Colonel then turned Back to Willow who then exclaimed that she won't blow herself up again. It was then the Colonel realized that Willow and Dawn were having a mental conversation.
Willow then sighed as Dawn's expression softened and she reached the side of Willow's bed. The brunette then turned her head towards Colonel Carter, "Dr. Lam found us at the Mess. Told us that Willow woke up." The Colonel nodded her head with a smile before turning back to Willow.
"I should be heading back to my lab," she said gently squeezing Willow's shoulder. Willow nodded at her before thanking her for coming by and keeping her in the loop. The Colonel then turned to Dawn and said, "take it easy on her. She did survive a naquada explosion." Dawn then chuckled as the Colonel patted her shoulder before walking away past Jon.
"I'm heading your way, Colonel," Jon said after he told Dawn that he needed to meet with the rest of his team before attending their briefing for a mission the next day. Jon brushed his fingers on Dawn's arm, the young woman turning around to smile at him, before he and Colonel Carter walked away through the double doors and into the hallway outside. The doors swinging closed again, Dawn turned and sighed at Willow before saying she got a call from Faith that she was involved in an explosion while testing a new weapon.
Dawn frowned before reaching down and holding Willow's hand, "I told you what would happen if you were badly injured, right?"
"Technically I'm already healing," Willow pointed out as Dawn walked closer to the redhead's left arm, "I mean it's not a bad as yesterday, or so I've been told, and… ow!." Willow rubbed her left upper arm with her right hand while pouting at Dawn. The brunette punched Willow's arm before tilting her head with a grin. Willow rubbed her upper arm and watched as Dawn grabbed the railings on her bed with two hands. "Fine, I'll be more carefuller next time."
"Carefuller?" Dawn said with an eyebrow raised while Willow shrugged her shoulder. The brunette then shook her head before she leaned forward and said that she received a call from Buffy the previous day, "to make a long story short? Buffy's pregnant."
"What?" Willow asked as her eyes widened and the sides of her mouth pulled up into a smile, "when? How? I mean when did she know? And is it a boy or a girl, or…."
"Easy, easy," chuckled Dawn, "she and Xander don't want to know. When she called you were out from surgery so…"
"I'll call her," Willow nodded her head before she eyed Dawn, and continued to smile.
"You're gonna be an aunt," Willow whispered as she reached up and placed her hand on top of Dawn's hand.
"Congratulations, Miss Summers," Siler said after he couldn't help but overhear the conversations. Dawn looked up at him and smiled before thanking him. The man then went back to his reports while Dawn looked back down at Willow.
And then sighed as she thought of a possible future. "Willow, have you even wondered what it would be like if we won?"
"What?" Willow exclaimed.
"What if we had won the war against the Wraith?" Dawn said. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like. I mean after getting back my memories, I wonder sometime what kind of lives we would have lead. You and me."
"Sometimes I wonder that too." Willow admitted as she gently squeezed Dawn's hand.
"We could have been each other's witnesses during our weddings, we would have been there when our children were born. And they would have led a peaceful life on Atlantis." Dawn whispered looking at Willow while imagining a wedding that could never be. Willow 'saw' what Dawn was thinking. She could mentally see that Dawn wanted to be united with one of the senior technicians who manned the primary console in Stargate Command. And Willow mentally showed Dawn a vision of what she hoped life would have been like had the Ancients won the war. She showed Dawn a rendition of a possible future where their children, her nephew and nieces, would be playing alongside her own son and daughter.
Coming out of their memories, Willow blinked her eyes and stared at Dawn, "they would have been happy, Dawnie. Atlantis as a home? Oh yeah, they would have been happy." Dawn then grabbed the chair that Colonel Carter had pulled in earlier, and then sat down. The two of them then began reminiscing about their childhoods on Atlantis, and how much they missed Melina and Moros.
Planet designated P4M-328, 1400 hours.
Seriously, it was supposed to be so simple. This mission was supposed to be a piece of cake. But then again, with SG-1 nothing was simple. It was like a curse for SG-1- the simplest of missions would usually turn out to become a dangerous situation.
Well, either that, or the team would find themselves separated and hiding from possible hostile people. Or they would have to avoid people who they didn't want to be involved with until the protocol was followed for First Contact situations. And it was the latter part where both Vala and Colonel Mitchell found themselves in. Until now, they were walking around the museum cautiously while on the lookout for any guards who they would need to avoid.
For the past few hours, they were in the clear. As was the other group of Teal'c, Faith, and Daniel. But the idea to explore the museum's artefacts did bear fruit- Vala and the Colonel came upon a deactivated naquada bomb. Vala was excited as she stared through the glass of the tall shelf staring at the elaborate gold plated shell which was adorned with symbols and drawings. The shell, which looked like a chest containing some kind of a treasure, was placed on a pressure plate which Vala was wondering aloud how to disable. She told the Colonel, who was informing Daniel and the others of their find through the radio, that the cover was locked.
"I have to get through the glass to unlock the cover, and then get to the bomb inside," Vala whispered eyeing the case, "and then we can disable the detonator… yes, I'm making it sound so easy but it is complicated and…"
"Vala," hissed the Colonel as Vala looked back at him with a cheeky smile, "can you disable the detonator?"
"Yes… most likely…" Vala said nodding her head as the Colonel sighed before telling Daniel that even Vala wasn't sure if the detonator could be deactivated. Vala looked away and then stared at the case one more time while mumbling to herself, "I just need to get in and take a look inside."
"How are you getting in?" the Colonel asked as he walked up to Vala's side after Daniel said that he and the others were coming to their current location. The Colonel glanced at Vala who was rubbing her cheek while concentrating on the glass. He saw her eyes shifting around the edges of the glass before she leaned forward and placed her hands onto the surface of the glass looking into the shelf containing the case.
"There's trip sensor all along the edges," Vala said while leaning forward and looking down at the lower inside edge of the glass and then she looked up at another sensor on the interior of the glass. She then stepped back and turned her head towards the Colonel before saying, "the alarm is going to go off if I shatter the glass."
"Don't you have something fancy to… you know… cut the glass?"
"Yes," Vala sarcastically said as she reached into her trouser pockets and turned them inside out, "I should have known that we'd be Gating into a museum. I could have brought my glass cutting equipment with me."
"Sorry," The Colonel put up his hands as Vala turned around and then stared at the number pad on the right side of the shelf, on the wall. She rushed to the panel with the Colonel in tow. Placing her hands on the panel, she brushed her fingers on the surface searching for an opening to pry the panel open so that she could get to the guts inside. Vala hoped that she would be able to disable the alarms in the glass so that she could shatter it, and then take out the bomb to the Stargate, and connect the Naquada power source to the Stargate so that SG-1 could dial home, instead of waiting for the SGC to dial after six hours.
While Vala was brushing her fingers on the edges of the panel, the Colonel placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed as he stared down the hallway. "Shhh," he whispered while Vala was humming a tune before whispering 'ahah' upon locating a latch. "Shh," the Colonel whispered once again while he strained his ears to listen to what he thought was a squeak. Vala looked over her shoulder at the man next to her and whispered that she was done and all she had to do was pull the panel away from its base. "And then…." She said before yelping as the Colonel pulled her away. It was then that she too heard the sound of someone else whistling. The two of them, as they backed away from the case while staring down the hallway, could see a shadow on the far wall coming in from another hallway at the end of the one the two of them were in.
"Here," the Colonel said as he pulled Vala's hand and rushed towards a door they walked past earlier. He opened the door while Vala had her head around the wall as she stared down the hallway. She saw a man in a grey uniform walk in with a radio in one hand, and a flashlight in another before she pulled away and walked over to the Colonel who then pushed her into the small room. He then followed her in, and closed he door behind them slowly.
The door clicked closed before the Colonel went on the radio and told Daniel and the others to sty where they were, "better yet, take cover."
"I think it's a security guard," Vala whispered as the whistling from the guard seemed to get closer and closer to the hallway they were hiding in- the very same other that faced the shelf containing the bomb. And then, suddenly, all the lights shut off.
And then red accented light at the top edge of the walls lit the hallways up in an eerie red colour. Daniel, Faith, and Teal'c were surprised at what just happened while the Colonel and Vala, who had closed the door to the cleaning room behind them, heard the guard on the radio. His voice seemed to be panicked as he spoke into a radio, judging from the sound of static. The man's voice was muffled thanks to the closed door, but Vala and the Colonel manged to catch most of what he said, "I have a panel that's been pried open in section four of the sixth floor. And…"
"We have armed individuals in the lobby and…." The voice of the man on the other side of the radio was replaced by the sound of gunfire as the guard that the Colonel and Vala were taking cover from, rushed past the door behind which Colonel Mitchell and Vala were hiding. "All security personnel, respond… respond!" The guard's voice faded off as he ran to the end of the hallway before making a turn into another hallway towards one of the elevators. At the same time, Daniel and the others were on the first floor, a floor above the lobby when the lights went out, and then the emergency lights came on.
As Daniel reached for his radio to talk to Vala and Colonel Mitchell. But as he was about to talk into the radio, the three of them heard loud gunshots and screams of men and women. They looked at each other before they cautiously strode towards the area where the sounds were coming from.
At the same time, Vala and the Colonel just crept out of the cleaning room and into the hallway when Daniel whispered over the radio that they heard gunshots.
"Damn it," the Colonel whispered before he gave a reply to Daniel, "I want the three of you to check it out. Recon only, is that clear?"
"Yeah," Daniel said as Teal'c and Faith took out their Zats, "how about you?"
"Looks like the power's gone, so hopefully the security system around the exhibits have been deactivated too," the Colonel said as he and Vala walked up to the shelf holding the naquada bomb, "Vala and I are gonna take the bomb with us very, very carefully to the Stargate. We'll hook it up to the Gate. In the meantime, report back whatever you see. And for crying out loud don't get caught."
"Got it," said Daniel.
"Oh, and there's a guard whose heading for the lobby," the Colonel added as Faith and Teal'c looked at Daniel, "he could be heading for some trouble. If you see him, then… well, come up with a plausible excuse of why we're here."
"Got it," Daniel said.
"Recon first," the Colonel reminded them as Vala grabbed a metallic trash can and then swung it at the glass. The glass shattered, shards falling onto the floor as the Colonel finished talking to Daniel over the radio. Vala then turned to Colonel Mitchell with a smile and then said, "I guess the power's really been cut." Vala then turned as she and the Colonel rushed to the exhibit; the both of them then carrying the heavy object in their arms before heading back to the Stargate as quickly, and safely, as possible.
TBC.