AU: A freak accident aboard The Odyssey flings Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter back in time further than she expected or thought possible. Will she choose to preserve the original timeline, or will all hell break loose? How will her decisions affect the rest of the team both now and then?
Summary: An unexpected visitor arrives at the off world training base throwing the Colonel a curve ball.
Part 6 of my Lost and Found Universe. A short story explaining the 89 year old Sam Carter from previous stories.
Takes place during 10.22 Unending and 7.13 Grace using Air Dates for the timeline.
Chapter 5: An Unexpected Visitor
Two days later – Training base – Designation unknown – Colonel O'Neill
Taking a deep breath as I rematerialised, the aroma from the orange tree like organisms on this planet reminded me of jasmine. The low hanging moon looked purple in the morning sun, and I smiled remembering the conversation with Carter about how this sun was almost identical to our Sun. An estimated 4.5 billion-year-old yellow dwarf star consisting of hydrogen and helium.
It was one of the many times I let her technobabble go uninterrupted. Mainly because we were the only ones on the planet at the time, preparing for the first wave of supplies. No one else for me to keep up the appearance of not understanding or not liking science talk. That, and secretly I loved listening to her go on and on about her astrophysicy stuff. The passion for her work ignited a fire that shone through her words and those amazing eyes. Much like Sara loved listening to David Attenborough or Sean Connery talk all day, not caring about the topic, so I could do the same with Carter. It was one of the many little things that I allowed myself since touching her and kissing her was off the table. She had worked me out years ago when I rang her to ask clarification on a few points relating to the newly constructed naquadah reactor the day after Merrin returned to Orban.
"Sir?"
"Yes, Carter?"
"Did you just ask me about the decay rate of naquadah and how that would affect the life of a naquadah reactor?" She asked, a smile evident in her words.
"Err… well… no." I responded initially, almost hearing her raise an eyebrow, "OK, yes." I relented, kicking myself for not just figuring it out myself.
"Wow, Sir. I'm impressed." She replied before launching into the explanation, only stopping to ask if I was keeping up with her once the entire time.
I had responded with a cocky remark about coming over so she could explain with fruit. She laughed and followed it up with 'That isn't a good idea'. She had been right, it wasn't a good idea because we both - knew even - then that one thing would have led to another, which would have led to fraternisation. Another cruder joke about explaining that situation with fruit had her laughing harder before she promised that my secret – both of them – were safe with her.
True to her word, she had never ratted me out. It was one of the many reasons why I had grown to love her. It hadn't been love at first sight, at least I didn't think so, but that night after we walked through the Gate to Edora and we looked at each other over the top of Laira's head, I had known. That it was love – for me at least. Then I went and got myself stuck for three months and recruited for a secret mission.
It had taken a few weeks of grovelling to get her to smile again. And smile she did, with her whole face and eyes, showing all her teeth when talk of leptons and neutrinos came up during the briefing about P7X-377, all the while, her left ankle resting on her right knee causing her other bent knee to brush against my elbow when she swung slightly on her chair. It felt almost illicit. I'd spent the whole briefing with my heart beating wildly in my chest, reaching for any and all comments that would make her smile.
God, I wanted her as so much more than just my 2IC.
Closing my eyes, I took a breath. I couldn't think like that. She wanted it left in the room and I owed it to her to keep the promise I made to her, no matter how much it hurt.
We were nearly there. Just one more big bad Goa'uld and one extremely cunning, torturous bastard of a Goa'uld to go. Then I would retire. For good. After which, I would do for real what had only happened once upon a time loop before begging her to marry me. Well, that was the plan anyway.
It was a good plan. I smiled at the thought. I just hoped she'd be on the same page by the time that day came. Considering what we were up against, it could be years.
"Sir!" A young Lieutenant called as I walked towards the recently erected compound. As she come closer, I realised I recognised her.
"Satterfield." I greeted the young woman who'd made an impression during training and landed herself a position on SG-21 for her efforts. "How is it coming along?" I asked, motioning to the hustle and bustle of activity swarming behind her.
"Good, Sir." She smiled and fell into step with me as we walked to the main base. "The main barracks are up; the water pumps are being installed to give us running water. We just took delivery of the final parts for the desalination system. The engineering complement of SG's 11 and 24 are scheduled in four hours to begin commissioning." She rattled off without waiting for me to ask.
"Hot water?"
"Of course, Sir." She replied.
"Yes!" I said, clapping my hands together.
"Don't like cold showers, Sir?" She asked, then looked chagrined at the question she had just asked a superior officer. I had to fight to hold my mirth, mindful that I didn't know whether she had a sense of humour or the ability to laugh off inappropriate comments said in jest. Some women saw the joke for what it was, others were affronted and cried sexual harassment. It was hard to tell, and I was instantly thankful that despite her feminist bravado, Carter did have a sense of humour that bordered on the baldly side.
"Medical?" I queried once I had my inner laughter under control.
"Operational. Doctors Behunin and Green from SG-12 along with a contingent of nurses from SGC are rostered evenly in the event of any incidents or accidents, though with trainees using Intars, we only expect mild injuries, Sir." She informed me.
"Oh, don't be so sure about that Lieutenant. I distinctly remember a training scenario that saw me actually get shot." I reminded her of her own training situation where the bullet missed my vest and grazed my abdomen. I still hadn't let Lieutenant Colonel Sanderson forget about it, nor was I likely too.
"Yes, Sir. I remember." She said with a sly smile. "Don't worry Sir, any major injuries will earn a one way ticket back to Doctor Fraiser."
"Are you laughing at me Lieutenant?" I dead panned. Next to Siler, I was probably the most accident prone soldier on the base, a fact that our resident Napoleonic Power Monger never let me forget.
Her face dropped and she walked a little taller, "No, Sir. Never, Sir. Sorry." She paled, making me grin at her reaction. She smirked and dropped her head.
"When is Burke due to report?" I asked. Despite my initial hesitation about working with the man again, it was apparent within the first few minutes that we still synced together well. Just because he was annoying to the nth degree didn't detract from the fact that he was an exceptional soldier and knew how to get the best out of those under him.
He was as sharp as a tack and a damn fine marksman. Not as good as Carter, but I was hard pressed to find anyone who could outshoot her, me included. The fact that Burke and I both had sniper training spoke yards about Carter's ability behind the trigger. When Hammond approached me asking about Burke's ability to train soldiers in untested environments, I had been truthful, and the General had offered him a position preparing greenhorns for combat at our new off world training facility which was currently under my command until he reported.
"48-hours, Sir." She responded as she opened the door to the main barracks, gesturing for me to enter ahead of her. That was as far as we got. The rushed sound of boots sprinting over gravel caught my attention. No one moved that fast without a reason.
"Colonel O'Neill, Sir!" It was Simmons, on his first off world deployment. Hammond had plans for the young man in one of the diplomatic teams since he had shown a keen interest in the area. That required him to be able to keep his head when faced with unknown or unexpected situations. Communication was key in such a situation. Promoting him and placing him in charge of the communications unit here was a test to see how he dealt with an array of people with differing priorities and backgrounds.
"Yes, Captain." I prompted him to continue.
"Bogey spotted on long range sensors, 9 o'clock." He informed me. Shit. Just what we needed, a potential hostile. Looking toward what we pegged as the 0900 position based on an analogue clock with the Gate being at its center, I knew I wouldn't see anything. Not yet. With average days lasting up to 30 hours and the sun rising and setting at an oblique angle to the planet's horizon, using the whole north, south, east, and west just didn't work.
Besides, compasses only worked reliably on planets with a global magnetic field like Earth. So far, we had only found one planet with a GMF as intense as Earth. I could still remember the beautiful smile and bright eyes of my excited 2IC when she discovered Cimmeria shared that statistic with our home planet. The other issue we had with compasses was the extreme magnetic fields thrown out by Naquadah. Carter had been working on a universal compass that could work with either a GMF or remanent magnetism with little success since we had no idea if her compass was pointing to the magnetic pole or the largest Naquadah mine in the area.
"Any contact?" I asked as we turned and ran toward the comms tent. Keying my radio as I went, I signalled everyone else on base to take cover and prepare to defend if hostile intentions were shown. The flurry of activity halted with everyone taking some sort of defensive position.
"No, Sir. Are you expecting any of our allies?" Simmons asked.
"No. This facility is not common knowledge, Captain." I informed him. Not even everyone at the SGC knew its real purpose as a training installation and a backup evac site should Earth or Alpha become compromised. We hadn't given it a designation since it officially did not exist. The 15 or so people here would likely not rotate back to Earth for a while. "How long before they get here?" I asked the young woman manning the temporary radar system.
"Approximately seven minutes, Sir." She responded succinctly. Just as she finished speaking our long range comms lit up.
"O'Neill." The crackling voice said before the next words disappeared into static. I did not recognise the voice, but whoever it was knew me by name. The static cleared, "…engage, we…" static and white noise, "…ter needs medical att…" more static.
Squinting at the radio, I pieced together what I could with the words we had made out. Engage, needs medical. Attention. Someone needs medical attention. It was a request to not engage the target. Turning to Simmons, I rattled off orders to inform the doctor that we had a potential medical intervention. He left with a harried 'yessir'.
Hitting the button on our long range comms. "This Colonel O'Neill. Identify yourself." I demanded over the lines, hoping to get an answer. The crackling intensified.
"Three minutes, Sir. They have picked up speed."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." I replied, keying the comms again. "Say again. I repeat. Say again." I requested over the waves.
"O'Nei…csk… Minnesota, it… csk… tac. We need… cskcskcsk."
"We lost them, Sir." The young woman confirmed.
"That's OK, Lieutenant." I said with a chuckle. There was no mistaking the term of endearment from Master Bra'tac. The sound of a Tel'tak thundering overhead had everyone else ducking for cover. Everyone except the one who had been forced to watch Top Gun with a certain Jaffa multiple times over the years. He had just buzzed the tower, so to speak. "It's Master Bra'tac and Teal'c." I informed her then left the confines of the tent, radioing the order to stand down just as the ship came into land between the Stargate and the main barracks.
"T, buddy!" I yelled as the large set man walked out greeting me with a solid grip on my arm as always. "Bra'tac. Good to see you."
"And I you, O'Neill of Minnesota." Bra'tac replied offering the same solid greeting.
"Thought you were chasing rebel Jaffa."
"Indeed. Though we experienced an unexpected encounter that necessitated this detour." Teal'c stated in his trademark baritone voice.
"Engine troubles?" I queried, "Ya know, Carter isn't here. She's the best to…"
"It is not engine troubles, O'Neill." He interrupted me, a serious look gracing his face. "May we speak privately?" He asked.
"Sure, T. Sure. This way." I motioned over my shoulder toward the barracks. It was empty at this time of day.
"I shall return to the ship Teal'c." Bra'tac informed his protégé with a tilt of his head. "O'Neill." He nodded at me. I returned a little two-fingered salute and turned knowing Teal'c was following. Once we were inside, I pulled out two chairs and motioned for the big guy to sit. "What's up, T?"
"Are you aware of a Tau'ri spacecraft other than Prometheus?" He asked.
"No. Nothing but ideas, maybe plans." I replied, remembering Carter rattling off about some new designs coming out of Area 51. We had barely launched one tragic Greek story, and now they were talking about another one. I hoped they would give it a better name.
"You will have another."
"We will, and you know this, how?"
"I cannot explain O'Neill. Perhaps you should converse with Samantha Carter."
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen. She's on Prometheus monitoring the testing of the not quite so new hyperdrive." I waved my hand in the air to indicate another place far from here. Though it did not escape my notice that he did not use her rank. It must have been the first time since he arrived from Chu'lak that he had used an address outside of the militaristic confines we lived with.
"I do not speak of Major Carter as you know her, O'Neill." He replied.
"O-K, of whom do you speak?" I asked slowly, not really picking up what he was putting down. I saw her board Prometheus myself once the repairs to the damage caused by those NID bastards had been finished. She hadn't been that excited since the day she first stepped through the Gate.
"The one who travels with us." He replied. Another one? Memories of a long-haired Carter bounded through my mind forcing me to inwardly shake my head lest I allow the memories to take hold. I needed all my faculties to deal with whatever was going on here.
"You have another Major Carter onboard your ship?" I clarified, hoping he would countermand what he had just said.
"Lieutenant Colonel Carter." He answered stoically. I felt my eyes grow wide before I could stop them, but thankfully, T didn't comment on the reaction.
"Colonel? She's a…" I tried not to show the pride on my face. I knew she was destined for leadership. Advancement to Lieutenant Colonel was an achievement that singled her out as being worthy for further promotion opportunities. In the grand scheme of things, not many Majors made Lieutenant Colonel before their military days were done. Only half of my graduating peers made it to Major along with me, a quarter of which managed two more ranks to Colonel. Hell, I reached full bird plus five years and Colonel Cromwell – a veteran Colonel of nearly 15 years in his 35 plus year Air Force career – still hadn't made the cut to go further before giving his life for God and Country.
"She is not of our timeline, O'Neill." Teal'c said, interrupting my thoughts.
"Not of our… is this another way of saying alternate reality?"
"I do not believe so, O'Neill. She cuts herself short whenever mention of the future comes up, it's as if she does not wish to reveal anything." He paused and looked thoughtfully at me. "O'Neill, what does one mean by 'train wreck of a life'?" He asked, his hands lifting to place exaggerated inverted commas around the phrase.
"Ah, well… things not going to plan. Things going badly. Very badly." I offered, shrugging my shoulders in the universal gesture of 'I don't really know how to explain it'.
"Hmm." He made a non-committal noise. Raising my eyebrows, I gestured for him to elaborate on his reason for asking that question with a subtle roll of my hand. He watched me watching him to the point where I could see him formulating an explanation, or maybe another question.
"Out with it, T." I finally prompted him.
"I cannot explain what I saw or what has happened, though she claims to have travelled back in time. She does not know that you are here." He explained. Time traveled? I wasn't aware of any theories where an entire ship could time travel, well none that Carter had willingly subjected me to.
"Where else would I be? She knows… knew I was coming here. It stands to reason that her future self would also know I was here." I replied. Of course, this meant that wherever she was from, she'd be tight lipped about the how and the what time because of the para-whatzit and the dead grandfather thing she went on about last time.
"Her memory is somewhat impaired by age. At first, she believed she was in the year 2007." Teal'c replied. "We provided direction but are still not convinced that she believes us." My mind immediately sprung to an old Cassandra from our 1969 mission, though 2007 was only three years from now, so this Carter probably looked much like she does now, except perhaps a little more confident and with that, sexier and more attractive, and… aw hell… this was going to suck.
"Ah. Well, let's go see our older Carter then." I replied, keeping any evidence of my increased heart rate and stomach full of butterflies off my face.
"You must prepare yourself, O'Neill." He stated, coming to his feet. I was already on mine and halfway to the door by the time he had stood up fully.
Teal'c kept in step with me as we walked the few hundred meters to his ship, stopping only to enter the appropriate combination to open the sliding door. As we stepped inside, I could hear voices. Bra'tac and the other was definitely Carter, though her voice sounded different. As I walked around the corner and into the ring room, I called out.
"Hey Car… whoa!"