Chapter 1

Alternate Earth

Two lone figures made their way across the overgrown yard of the once grand old home. The brick three story home was overgrown with ivy and weeds. The once lavish estate was abandoned long before the invasion. The pair was simply looking for a place to rest. The teenage boy led his female companion into the old house through a back door that was barely hanging on the hinges. His brown eyes scanned the kitchen area. It was relatively untouched. He wore blue jeans with sneakers and a black t-shirt under an old green army field jacket. On top his head was a tan baseball style cap that has seen worse for wear.

His companion was a bit older. She too had short brown hair and brown eyes. She was shorter than he and sporting blue jeans, boots and a red flannel shirt with a brown vest. She sported a tan boonie style hat that hung from a strap behind her head. Both were armed. The boy carried a shotgun while she carried a holstered revolver on her hip.

He stated. "This is good, Jackie."

She agreed. "I think this will do, Charlie." She went to the cupboards. She grinned as she found some cans of food. "Hey! We got dinner tonight. Let's see. Canned peaches, some applause and corned beef hash." She inspected each of the cans to ensure there was no signs of spoilage. "Pretty good shape still."

Charlie agreed. "Looks good." He walked into the next room to inspect the house. "This place looks untouched, Jackie." he called.

She followed him. "Seems it was out of the way enough to no one bothered it and the Ra's army left it alone too." She urged, "Let's check this place out." She looked about. Near the front door was a stack of old mail. She read the name. "Catherine Langford. Must be who lived here."

Charlie started up the stairs. "Careful on the steps. Seem a bit mushy." he warned.

"I am." she stated following him.

The pair arrived on the second floor. They found bedrooms and a bathroom. They then climbed further up the staircase the top floor. Upon stepping inside they found an old library with a large desk. It was dusty and dirty. Sitting beside the desk was a large globe. Behind the desk was a large leaded glass window. A brown leather chair and lamp sat in the far corner by the bookshelf.

"This place is neat." Charlie told her.

They fanned out exploring the old attic. Jackie soon came to the only furniture that was covered. She pulled the dust cloth off to reveal a large mirror. "Hey, Charlie. Check out this weird mirror."

Charlie made his way over. "That is ugly." he found the frame looked odd. He reached up and touched the mirror to examine the strange frame. Then suddenly they were no longer standing in the old library. Instead, they were standing in the dark.

"What the hell?" Jackie asked. She and Charlie both reached for their flashlights.

They shined the light about and found they were in some kind of room, surrounded by wooden crates.

"What happened to the room we were just in?" he asked shining a light about.

"I have no idea." she told him. She found a door. "Let's see where they goes."

The pair made their way to the door. Jackie grasped the door knob and slowly opened it while Charlie held the shotgun ready for a firefight. As she opened the door she found a well lit hallway. She softly spoke. "It's a hallway." She then spied uniform men walking towards them. She quickly closed the door as the men passed.

"Looks like some kind of military base." she spoke.

"Let's go." Charlie urged.

She looked back towards the mirror. She found it looked different than the one they found in the house. "Go where?" she asked him.

"Out there." he insisted. "My dad was military. Maybe we found some survivors."

"Okay." she reluctantly agreed. She opened the door and stepped outside. Charlie stepped outside as well. He slung the shotgun over his shoulder, barrel pointed down. The pair stood looking as out of place as could be.

A man rounded the corner. He wore blue battle dress, sported glasses and brown hair. He noticed the two oddballs. He also recalled the storage room housed the quantum mirror. "Um." he came to a halt before the pair. "Did you two just walk out of that room?"

Jackie nodded. "Yes. We found a mirror. We were in a library and then we were here. Wherever here is."

Daniel barged past her, opened the door and turned on the light. He saw the mirror standing alone in the corner. It was not crated as it should have been. "You came through that mirror?"

Charlie spoke. "Yes! What is this? Narnia?"

"And just who are you two?" he asked the pair.

"I'm Jackie Carter and this is Charlie O'Neill." she replied.

Daniel looked at the teenage boy. He the noted the hat. It looked exactly like Jack's hat. "Who is your father?" he asked the boy.

"My father was Colonel Jonathan O'Neill." he stated. "Just who are you?"

"I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson." he told the pair. "The mirror brought you both here." he noticed the weapons and the ragged clothing. He spied a few cans of food that Jackie held in her left arm. "Is that food?"

She nodded. "Peaches, applesauce and corned beef hash. Is this some kind of military base or something?"

"Yes." he told her. "Why do you have cans of food?"

She snorted. "Well apparently you military guys have some kind of a secret stash. The rest of us are left scrounging."

He held up a hand. "You have no idea what that mirror does, do you?"

"Not a clue." she agreed.

"A shotgun and a revolver?" he asked.

Charlie stated. "Ammo isn't easy to find either."

Daniel sighed and glanced down the hallway. He spied Major Samantha Carter walking towards him. He waved her down. "Sam."

She walked up towards Daniel. She knew the mirror was in the storage room behind him and saw the backs of the two visitors. She spoke, "Daniel. What happened?"

Jackie and Charlie both turned. Charlie had no idea who Sam was. He noted the rank and last name of Carter.

Jackie turned pale as did Sam. She gasped. "Sam!?"

Sam swallowed hard. "Jackie."

Daniel asked. "You know her, Sam?"

She nodded, "She's my cousin. She died when I was sixteen."

"I died." Jackie shook her head. "No…you died. On my birthday. You were sixteen. Least I thought…" she tailed off trying to figure out what jut happened to her and Charlie.

Sam told her. "The mirror in that room is an alien artifact. It the ability to cross universes. I take it you came here through the mirror."

Charlie asked. "What is she talking about, Jackie?"

"Multi universe theory, Charlie." Jackie told him. "The mirror we found sent us to another version of Earth. Are we still on Earth or are we on some top secret space ship?"

"You are in Cheyenne Mountain." Sam told her. She looked at Charlie. "Your name is?"

"Charlie O'Neill!" he stated.

Daniel told her. "Look at the hat."

"What about my hat?" he barked. "It belonged to my dad."

Sam asked him. "What happened to your dad, Charlie?"

"He died fighting off Ra during the invasion." he huffed.

"Okay!" she gave a nod. "Ra did not invade this version of Earth. You are both safe here." She looked the pair over. "We have to secure the weapons and…is that cans of food, Jackie?"

Daniel chimed. "Peaches, applesauce and corned beef hash."

"It's our dinner." Jackie stated.

Sam assured. "We will give you clean clothing and food." she held out her hand, "I think you should give me the guns."

Charlie looked to Jackie for her lead. She unbuckled the holster and handed the revolver to Sam. She nudged Charlie to hand over the shotgun.

Charlie removed the gun by the sling and Daniel gathered it.

Jackie held up the old food. "You want our food too?"

Daniel made a face. "How old is that?"

"About ten years." she told him.

"I think we got something a little fresher." he stated.

In short time Jackie and Charlie were led to interrogation room in the base. The pair were seated at a table together and left alone with a guard standing outside the door.

Charlie looked across the table at his companion. "What happened to us?"

She explained. "The mirror is alien in origin and we are now on another version of Earth where Ra didn't invade."

"I got that part." he stated. "What was all that about you dying and that other lady dying?"

"That's my cousin, Sam. Remember, I told you about her. She died on my birthday. We were returning from a shopping trip at the mall and we were in a car accident. I was driving. We were t-boned on her side. She died at the scene. We were in CAP together. It was my senior year of high school. Sam was so far ahead, she was going to graduate with me. She's two years younger than me. I had such time dealing with it that I dropped out of high school and washed out of CAP. I got a job working at a gas station until Ra decided to invade us. And from what this version of my cousin said, it was me who died in that car accident instead of her. I kind wished it was me to be honest."

Charlie wondered. "What do you think they will do to us?"

"I don't know." she shrugged. "Send us back through that alien mirror I guess. I wonder how come we got invaded and they didn't?"

The boy stated. "If they send us back maybe they can least give is some food and ammo."

"I don't know." she stated unsure.

The door swung open and in walked Sam leading in Colonel Jack O'Neill. Jack stopped and stared at the teenage boy sitting before him. He had to gather himself. "Charlie?"

"Dad!" he gasped. He rose to his feet and then found himself looking upon the face of a man who died years prior. His mind raced. "How?" he asked with tears in his eyes.

Jackie reminded him. "The mirror brought us to a version of Earth where Ra never invaded and your dad never died fighting off an invasion."

Jack placed his arms around the boy. He held onto him tight. He gathered himself. "How old are you?" he asked looking at his son.

"I'm fifteen." he stated.

"I died, huh?" he asked.

"Fighting off Ra." he nodded. "The ships came and you were up in a F-16 and was shot down. Whole Air Force was wiped out."

"That never happened here." he told him. "You died here in an accident. So, you're safe from that cascade thing."

Charlie asked. "What cascade thing?"

"Carter can explain it to you." Jack assured. He was referring to Sam Carter. Charlie looked at Jackie. "What cascade thing?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea."

"I'm the Carter he is referring to, Charlie." Sam informed. "The same matter cannot occupy the same space. Your molecules would break down and you would die. But since there is no other version of you or Jackie here, you both safe from that effect."

Jackie asked. "Does that mean we can stay here?"

Sam nodded a slight grin crept across her face. "Yes."

"You mean no more scrounging for food, no more dodging Ra's troops, no more hiding, no more running, no more bombed out cities, no more disease and destruction?" she asked. It sounded too good to be true.

Sam nodded. "It's ultimately up to you if you want to go back. General Hammond did grant permission for you and Charlie to stay."

Jack stated. "You can stay with me, Charlie. Go back to school. Have a normal life. Your mom knows about the Gate and she will want to see you too."

"I thought it was a mirror." he told him.

Sam asked. "You don't know about the Gate?" She looked to Charlie and then Jackie.

"No," Jackie shook her head. "Ra just showed up one day. Wiped out every military on the face of the planet in days and said he was now our god and we had to worship him. He has ships all over the planet and a huge army. We don't know much about him other than he thinks he's god."

"You and Charlie will be fully debriefed." Sam assured. She then suggested. "How about some clean clothes, a shower and something to eat."

"That sounds good." Jackie agreed.