Daughter
A/N: Thanks for all of your support for this piece so far. I do appreciate the visits and the reviews. Hope you continue to enjoy and return for more. Please enjoy Ch. 6 below:
Chapter 6 – Escape Velocity
Everyone turned when the door opened with a click. The elder Daniel came in quietly, shutting the door behind him. He paused to scan the room, seeing that everyone was there. "How is everything?"
"We're good," Cameron replied for the group. He stood against one of the few bare walls between bedroom doors.
"Where are we on that thing we talked about?" Daniel asked, looking straight at him.
The other man turned to Gracie, standing awkwardly at the kitchen entrance. Vala stood with her, rubbing her arms. "Well, I think I'll let her tell you."
All eyes now on her, Gracie felt uncomfortable. She felt pressure, but not necessarily from any of them. The pressure was coming from within. There was a nagging sensation. Her insides were unsteady because of the monumental decision she was making. "I think I'm going with them," she said quietly, gesturing at Jack and the younger Daniel seated on the couch. Part of Gracie's mind screamed at her in fury, demanding she choose the easier option to simply stay. It accused her of selfishness.
She stared back at her mother with apology in her expression.
Jack watched her, sensing her extreme apprehension over the decision. He couldn't deny that this is what he wanted her to do all along, ever since Old Man Daniel had posed the question. But he sympathized for her. She was taking a huge step. He'd seen others abandon their past lives for the potential of new and better fortunes. Teal'c and Vala, themselves, were prime examples. He was confident that Gracie could make the best of it, too. Encouragingly, he said, "I'll be right there with you, the whole way." He offered her a soft smile.
"Same here," the younger Daniel agreed. He locked eyes with Vala, not even trying to guess how much this would affect her. "Promise to take care of her."
Vala took in a small breath, mouth parted, but had no words. She closed her eyes briefly, then turned to her daughter. She nodded in agreement with her decision. This simple gesture boosted Gracie's confidence slightly.
"Gracie," the elder Daniel said diplomatically, "I know this is a difficult choice. But it's also very brave of you to take this opportunity."
"Yeah, she's an O'Neill and a Carter. Bravery's in the blood," Cameron complimented. Jack nodded in approval.
Gracie looked between them. After steadying herself with a deep breath, she asked, "What happens now?"
The elder Daniel moved to place himself in front of the wall panel that lit up earlier to call him away. Addressing the whole group, he announced, "Now, we engage in some distraction to get you off the base quickly." He addressed Cameron, "I put in some preliminary orders to start arranging kits for the operation. Inventory is now underway."
"So the team checked back in? Is it what we thought?" Cameron clarified.
"Yes… and it's bad," he said.
"Alright. Inventory might take a few hours, at most."
Daniel explained to the others, "Some allies offworld are dealing with a radiation leak from one of their power generators. We're going to help." The younger Daniel shivered, knowing all too well how painful radiation exposure could be.
Cameron added, "They helped us out when we were in a bind. It's only right that we return the favor."
"We need to evacuate and triage the victims. We also need to help them deal with the leak. Shutting that generator down isn't as simple as flipping a switch."
"Which gives you three the perfect opportunity to get off-base without anyone really noticing," Cameron went on. "We're going to have you pose as some of the techs we're sending over with supplies."
"You can't just fly us right back out the way we came?" Jack asked dubiously.
"Not this time," Daniel declared. He chose not to get into a long explanation about why.
Jack shrugged, accepting this. "What do you need us to do?"
"Keep your heads down. Go along with whatever you're being told to do, up through the point where we rendezvous at a time to be determined and get the Hell outta Dodge," Cameron replied.
Gracie scrunched her face, only barely understanding him. She looked to her mother for guidance. "You get used to it," Vala whispered, knowing exactly what she was going through, not knowing all of his idioms and phrases. "Eventually." She rolled her eyes in Cameron's direction.
"We still need to hammer out more details. Cam? Time to light some fires," Daniel declared, using yet more unfamiliar expressions that Gracie struggled to grasp.
The man he addressed clapped his hands in affirmation. "My specialty. Ass-lighting fires coming up." Now Vala blinked in annoyance at his creative Earth phrasing. Cameron pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on. Straightening out his jacket, he bid the others goodbye for now. "I'll be back with more specifics soon. Jackson, I'll see you out there." He then left.
"The people you're helping, they have no relation to the people who've been after us, right?" Gracie wondered worriedly.
"No, they're different," the older Daniel replied. "They've been free of Goa'uld influence for a very long time." He looked over to his doppelganger and dead best friend on the couch. "We don't expect any of them to recognize you either."
"What about your personnel?" Jack asked.
"The same. Very few people here would have known you, Jack. And of those few, none are onworld right now. Well, except for former members of SG-1."
"And me?" the younger Daniel asked. "Doesn't everybody know me? Err, you?"
The older Daniel grimaced as he looked at him.
"Darling, I'm pretty sure the differences between you are enough at this point," Vala said as gently as possible.
The elder man sighed, tiredly acknowledging just how much he had aged. He tilted his head to her in agreement. "Don't worry," he added, "we plan to make everyone so busy they'll barely have time to do a double-take."
"What about me, Daniel?" Vala queried. "Do I get to see them off?"
He regarded her thoughtfully. If time was about to be reset, he wanted to savor these moments they had left. There was no way he could leave her behind anymore. "Yes," he answered with confidence. "Come with me to Praxeon."
"Praxeon?"
"It's where the device we need to do this is kept."
"Daniel," Jack started simply, "how?" Meaning how did you come across the place? How did you discover the technology? How do you know how to use it? He knew his friend would understand the implication of his single-word question.
The man pursed his lips. "Omeir." Vala took in a sudden breath. "Ba'al's former host."
"Ba'al?" Gracie asked incredulously. She had heard a lot about Ba'al. She knew he was one of the worst Goa'uld that her mother had dealt with.
"What are you saying?" the younger Daniel questioned.
"On a routine encounter with the Tok'ra, I saw Omeir. He sought me out. Wanted to know what happened to Vala." He looked at her pointedly. "He was worried for you."
Vala's mouth dropped. She obviously hadn't been aware.
"Something about his concern made me believe it was genuine. Plus I knew he was being closely monitored by the Tok'ra. He didn't go anywhere or talk to anyone without them. He was basically their prisoner. For some reason, I thought I could confide in him. Sounds crazy, I know," Daniel explained, shaking his head.
"Uhh, yeah. He was Ba'al for God's sake," Jack commented. The younger Daniel widened his eyes in agreement. Gracie looked perturbed.
"So what happened?" Vala urged him to continue.
"Well, it turned out to be a good thing that I told him everything. Because he offered up useful intel from his time on Earth that we later used to help dismantle the Goa'uld network. But more importantly, he told me about Ba'al's scheme to mess with time himself, before he was caught and extracted from Omeir's body."
Jack leaned forward. "What." He felt like he'd have a problem on his hands when he got back.
"He made a time machine."
"He made a time machine?" Vala asked with incredulity.
"Believe it or not, we owe Ba'al for being able to do any of this at all. Omeir heard my fleeting wish to just go back in time and reverse all of this bullshit. And he basically said he could make my dream come true."
"What?" the younger version of him asked, aghast.
"He told me where to find the machine. He even escorted me there to show me how to use it. Of course, this was with a Tok'ra escort of his own. And then, here's the kicker, he re-programmed the thing so that only he and I could activate it. Well, eventually, Cam, too, just in case."
"So, no chance that the Tok'ra would be able to use that thing?" Jack ventured, somewhat suspicious.
"Oh he made damn sure that no one with a symbiote would be able to touch it at all."
"What about a Jaffa still hosting a symbiote in his pouch?" Gracie asked emphatically.
Daniel found himself impressed with her again. "You're just as smart as your mom was," he complimented. "Omeir made it so that the presence of any symbiote, whether embedded in a host or being carried by a Jaffa, would trigger safety measures to prevent the machine's use."
"By now a Jaffa still nursing a symbiote cannot be trusted," Vala added.
"Exactly."
"Praxeon?" his younger self repeated the name.
"Yes. Several hours away from here by ship. Also accesible by stargate."
"So somehow we go there and then backward in time?" Jack clarified.
Daniel nodded.
"Am I going offworld with them?" Vala wondered.
"No, you'll accompany me by ship offworld." He gritted his teeth. "I'll have you pose as one of my assistants. Put you in full gear that will easily obscure your face from the cameras." He pursed his lips, seemingly guilty.
Jack couldn't help but ask. "Why does that seem too easy after all the shit you went through to get us onto this base originally?"
Daniel drew in a breath hesitantly. "Hard to explain."
His dead friend was hardly convinced. Jack gave the older Daniel a look that demanded more information.
He spoke slowly, "I've seemed to only hire female assistants with dark hair. She'll pass easily." He then quickly added, "Especially without Gracie right next to her."
Vala blinked at him and crossed her arms. She raised an eyebrow at him. Jack and the younger Daniel suddenly found themselves uneasy. "Planned or unplanned?" she said dangerously in reference to his hiring practices.
Daniel swallowed. "Maybe both," he said awkwardly.
Gracie cringed, realizing the jealousy that must be bubbling up in her mother. Her eyes flitted between them. "Right then," she cut in, not enjoying the tension, "we have to separate just to move about the base."
Daniel seemed relieved by her observation. "The Goa'uld are used to hunting you as a pair. This would throw them off, if they had anyone watching."
"Whatever happened to safety in numbers," his younger self complained.
Jack shook his head, staring at the elder version of his friend with disapproval. Paranoia oozed out of the man based on his mannerisms and actions. This was a version of him he could definitely do without.
General Mitchell was intimidating. Jack was actually a bit impressed. He listened to him bark orders at the group assembled before the gate. He looked around surreptitiously as Cameron emphasized the need for everyone to do their assigned duties with fidelity and urgency. All others were standing at full attention. The General added that each individual had an important part to play in the bigger picture for the mission. Somehow Jack sensed he was covering for himself, Daniel, and Gracie with that last bit, quietly discouraging anyone from questioning their presence.
"We have support ships from the SGC already en route to the planet," Cameron supplied to all those present. "We may exchange personnel and adjust our operation as the need arises."
Good, Jack thought. It was a good cover.
"Move out!" he ordered forcefully. Small groups began to pass through the event horizon with haste.
Jack glanced askance at Gracie, whose eyes were wide in fright, barely visible underneath a baseball-style green cap. Her hair was pulled back into a bun that peeked out from the back of her hat. They'd dressed her up in a uniform like everyone else here. She blended in nicely. On his other side, Daniel shifted his heavy case from one hand to the other. He'd been given a pair of Cam's aviator shades to ensure that no one got a good look at him. Jack himself had also donned a pair of sunglasses, and apparently, they were his. Old Man Daniel was a bit of a packrat, he realized, especially when it came to his dead self's stuff. Jack wasn't sure if it was age or just his circumstances that had driven the man so crazy.
Soon it was their group's turn to pass through the shimmering gate. Jack reassuringly patted Gracie's free hand, but kept his eyes forward. He allowed the people in front of him to take the lead. He silently caught Cameron's gaze just before they went through the wormhole.
They arrived to organized chaos on the other side. Triage tents were already set up alongside the gate. Medical personnel were busy tending to the injured, Dr. Mitchell among them. She didn't acknowledge their group as they passed, though, being too busy treating someone's radiation burns. Jack, Daniel, and Gracie dutifully carried heavy cases of God-knows-what while they followed their group leader into the sprawling facility nearby.
Once further in, the leader pointed at different places along an inner circular wall for each person to place their cases. Jack briefly overheard something about each pack containing radiation-mitigation equipment, whatever the Hell that meant. As expected, he was separated from Daniel and Gracie. He could feel the anxiety seeping out of his daughter as she was forced to walk further around the curve and out of his sight to place her pack.
Jack knew he needed to work quickly so he could get back to her as soon as possible. If anyone addressed her directly, she wouldn't know what to say. He'd have to cover for her. He hurriedly dropped his case onto the floor against the wall and opened it up. They'd shown him how to do this exactly once, and he carefully tried to repeat that process now. As Jack fiddled with the components of the tech inside the case, he idly wondered at what point the SGC had come up with this stuff in the first place. Or had they acquired it from another planet? He then wondered if he would be alive long enough to learn the answer in his own timeline.
He sure as Hell hoped so.
"Done," he quietly breathed out to himself. Knees aching from squatting just that short amount of time, Jack stood back up. He shook his legs a bit, cursing his creeping arthritis and old age. With what speed he could muster, he ran off in the direction the rest of his group had gone.
As he rounded a corner, Jack let out a breath of relief when he saw Gracie waiting for him. She was nervously looking around and wringing her hands. Careful not to draw extra attention to them as other personnel ran about in a frenzy, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "You good?" She nodded wordlessly. "Okay, let's find our mutual friend," Jack said, deliberately not mentioning the base commander's name aloud.
They found Daniel further along. Everyone made eye contact with each other. Then they began to move as a group, with purpose, back the way they came.
"Hey!" The trio froze. Slowly, Jack turned around to see who was talking. His companions warily copied him. Another member of the SGC approached them. Jack stepped forward naturally in front of the other two. "Which emitters did you place?" the man demanded.
"E5 through 7," Jack answered immediately.
The man looked down at a tablet cradled in his arm. He seemed to nod at something there, tapping at it with a stylus. He waved them along. "Alright, proceed with your next assignment," he ordered, not stopping to verify what they were supposed to do next. General Mitchell had made it abundantly clear that no one had time for that. Everyone had to be on their A-game all on their own.
No one else questioned them further as they exited the facility and headed back toward the gate. It was still active when it came within view. More people were about now, some huddled in groups discussing next steps. Others were hurrying back and forth between supply crates and the medical tents. Above them, an SGC-controlled ship appeared to be landing. Its thrusters blared loudly, obscuring the whine of landing gear as it prepared to make contact with the ground. Another SGC ship gleamed brightly nearby as the light from the red sun glinted across its shiny metal.
From afar, they could see Cameron passing through the gate, flanked by other personnel. An airman of unknown rank immediately ran up to him to provide a sitrep. Jack and his companions paused. They faced each other, pretending to be in deep discussion like others were. But really, they were waiting for the General to address them.
"Dad," Gracie started nervously. "What if he doesn't see us?"
"He will."
Daniel had a good view of Cameron's face from his position. He observed him staring into the medical tents as his subordinate spoke to him. His eyes were searching and finally settled on Carolyn, busy among the other medical personnel. The General turned back to his airman and seemed to rattle off orders. The man hurried along with the other personnel who had escorted him through the gate.
Now alone, Cameron took a good look around at the workers buzzing around the area like bees. He turned his head to squint at the ships he'd ordered here for support. Then his eyes swept over Jack, Daniel, and Gracie. He remained expressionless. Without any sign of acknowledgement, he stepped into the medical tents. Daniel watched as he placed himself near his wife, talking. Carolyn didn't look up from what she was doing but seemed to respond. She nodded.
"Did he see us?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. Come on, let's move a little closer to where we saw Carolyn."
Gracie whipped her head around. She hadn't had a chance to interact with her again. She would have liked to thank her for her kindness or at least say goodbye. Even if it was only for now, considering she'd meet the younger one soon enough. Something akin to regret made her heart ache. She barely knew the woman. But missing the chance to greet her one last time seemed to represent the pain she felt for leaving behind everyone else she knew here.
It was too late now to change her mind. She had committed to this decision and needed to see it through. Gracie had to know what kind of life awaited her in the care of her full family. The life that had been stolen. She silently hoped, but did not dare to ask, that she'd be able to talk to Dr. Mitchell as they approached her position.
"You three!" a voiced called to them. "With me!" Jack's heart jumped momentarily, but it was Cameron summoning them forward.
Jack and Daniel broke out into jogs to comply, with a stunned Gracie following. Cameron began leading them toward one of the ships. Gracie glanced back with disappointment at his wife and the missed opportunity she represented.
The ship they approached was being unloaded. It was decidedly smaller than the troop transport Cameron piloted before. Multiple personnel were relieving the vessel of various boxes and briefcases. Everyone seemed to be grabbing just the thing they wanted and quickly leaving to bring it to wherever it belonged. Gracie was dumbfounded by the sheer number of people Daniel and Cameron employed. She found herself impressed by their effortless coordination. It was a far cry from the few official workplaces she'd had, where no one could be trusted and the boss was always at risk of being killed off. Inevitably and inconveniently, all of them were. It was never her nor her mother's doing.
But here? Gracie could tell these people would die for their commanders. That was just obvious.
When they reached the ramp to enter the back of the vessel, Gracie blinked rapidly at who was standing there. There was her mother, suited up in the same drab green uniform as her, complete with a cap and neat hair bun. She was holding a tablet and seemed to be checking things off as people exited the ship. Vala could have passed for any other member of the SGC. But, Gracie reminded herself, she actually was a member of the SGC.
"Where's Jackson?" Cameron spoke to her coolly.
Vala gestured behind her toward the ship's main compartment. She said nothing further, pretending she didn't see Jack, Daniel, and Gracie. A random airman walked up to her to ask a question. Vala responded to him without hesitation, seeming to know exactly what to say and how to answer. Gracie was perplexed by the ease with which she had donned this confident persona. The man didn't seem to have any clue who she really was. He scuttled off with the last of the ship's cargo.
Vala tapped at the tablet with her stylus a few more times, then turned around. She ventured further into the main compartment, motioning for the General to follow. She led them all to where the elder Daniel was, leaning in close to a pair of pilots in conversation. Jack's nose crinkled. It sounded like he was speaking in Arabic. The group stood in waiting for the base commander to finish. Vala, meanwhile, handed the tablet straight to him. Without looking up, Daniel accepted it. He briefly looked down at it and tapped around on the display while he continued talking.
Eventually, he placed his thumb over a fingerprint reader, apparently approving or acknowledging something there. He handed the tablet back to his "assistant" without any word toward her. Vala turned right around to hand the tablet over to General Mitchell, who proceeded to do the same as Daniel with it. Neither addressed each other nor even made any real eye contact.
Jack and the younger Daniel glanced at each other. Cameron didn't seem to regard this as anything out of the ordinary. And if it was, he wasn't showing it. Soon the other Daniel finished his conversation and addressed Cameron.
"General?"
"We have a problem."
"And what's that?"
"We're missing some of the raw material required to absorb the radiation."
"I thought the Pledians had enough?" Daniel said with incredulity. Whether or not it was genuine was anyone's guess. He then addressed the pilots in what Jack was now certain to be Arabic. One of them tapped at his console to activate a heads-up display. The pilot scrolled through a list and pointed while talking.
Daniel translated their findings. "Our pilots here tell us a couple planets have what we need and are just a few hours away." He looked only at Cameron. "What kind of a timeline are we talking about here?"
"Less than we want. I say, get these boys over to the bigger ship to grab as much as the cargo hold can handle. I'll pilot this ship and get you out of here before we all get irradiated."
"Cam," Daniel seemed to protest.
"My job is to keep you alive, Jackson. Let me do it."
The two of them stared at each other meaningfully. Then Daniel seemed to give the order to the pilots to transfer to the other vessel, as Cameron had suggested. They got up. One of them accepted the tablet from the General, seeming to understand that it belonged elsewhere off the ship. Neither pilot even looked at the companions Cameron had brought aboard. They all watched as the men vacated the vessel, closing the ramp behind them.
"Colonel Burnham," Cameron called to someone unseen on his radio, "see to it that the Tanker is fully unloaded. Our Arabic-speaking counterparts are headed there to take it offworld to get us more anti-radiation rocks. Keep the tablet one of 'em has; it's inventory. Orders from Commander Jackson."
"Yes, sir," came a clipped reply.
"You will be in command on the ground, Colonel. Mitchell out."
His subordinate acknowledged him, then the radio audibly clicked off. Everyone stood silent for a moment, watching each other.
"We good?" the elder Daniel asked.
"We good," Cameron replied.
Vala groaned loudly, pulling off her cap and releasing her hair. She stuffed the crumbled hat into the white-haired Daniel's hands. Then she pushed him over to occupy one of the pilot's seats. Gracie blinked in confusion. Cameron slid into the seat next to her.
"You got this, Princess?"
"Yeah, how hard can it be?"
Cameron merely chuckled, unconcerned that his co-pilot would be someone who'd never flown this exact vessel before. Gracie marveled at the unconditional trust he had with her mother. They began the process of starting up the ship.
"Uhh, question," Jack said, raising a finger into the air. "What the Hell was that?"
"Yeah," the younger Daniel agreed, confusion evident in his tone.
The other Daniel gestured for them to take seats along the walls. Gracie sat on the same side as him while the time travelers sat opposite. "Well, it wasn't a lie. Right?" Daniel looked at the back of Cam's head.
"Right," he answered. The ship broke contact with the ground. "We just conveniently pretended we didn't know we'd need those rocks until now," he added distractedly as the ship rose straight up toward the upper atmosphere.
"Isn't that a little… I don't know, dangerous and irresponsible to have waited?" the younger Daniel questioned. Jack looked back and forth among them. Gracie seemed confused as well.
"Oh don't worry, Jackson. They actually have enough to address the problem for now. No one from our side is in real danger from it… until maybe tomorrow."
"Are you kidding?" the younger Daniel asked.
"Darling," Vala added helpfully, "they have successfully mastered the art of deception via omission. They never said anything that wasn't true. But they also didn't tell the whole truth."
"I'm a master now," Cameron laughed with pride. "Hear that, Jackson?" Vala reached over to pinch his cheek affectionately.
"Yep," the older one replied, watching out the viewport as clouds whizzed by.
"I was talking about the fact that not all your personnel seem to have the same chain of command," Jack clarified his earlier question.
Daniel nodded in better understanding of his query. "The SGC as it exists now is not a full military operation. The General makes recommendations. But I give the final orders."
"Soooo, not all of your staff speaks English?"
"Jack," both Daniels chided simultaneously.
"Don't get me wrong here. I'm all for international cooperation. But isn't having a common language essential for operations?"
"They understand English," the elder Daniel explained patiently. "It's just easier to give orders to them in their native language so there isn't any doubt."
"How many languages do you speak?" Gracie asked, looking up at him in awe from his side.
"Not enough," Daniel complained.
His younger counterpart blinked. Usually his linguistic abilities were lauded as more than adequate for any given situation. He'd have to consider adjusting his ego about that, knowing what he knew now. Daniel thought back to the labels on every door and wall in the Antarctic SGC translated into multiple tongues. It really was international in there.
"So what now?" Gracie queried the group.
"We only have a two-hour ride over to Praxeon. That planet gave us an advantage," Cameron answered.
As he spoke, the ship flew even faster, reaching escape velocity to completely break free of the planet's gravity. The clouds soon receded. Jack saw a field of stars as they exited the upper atmosphere. Gracie absent-mindedly tapped her heels on the deck plating. Then she realized she had no mag boots on, nor had any need of them on a ship like this. The vessel effortlessly maintained its own local gravity within the cabin. She thought she'd need to remind herself of that capability more and more now. The younger Daniel across from her seemed to catch her momentary exasperation but said nothing.
Eventually, Vala sounded off from the co-pilot's seat. "We're clearing the local solar system." The pair at the console seemed to be working harmoniously. If Daniel hadn't known he'd traveled in time, he would have thought this was just any other day watching Vala and Cameron pilot a ship together. From his spot behind them, the only thing to tip off a difference was the light grey streaks they both sported in their hair.
"Hyperspace entry," Cameron announced. The viewport now displayed the familiar swirling blues that denoted their mode of travel. He swiveled around in his chair to face the group. "Time for a wardrobe change, right?"
"Yes," the older Daniel agreed. He leaned down to open a storage compartment underneath his seat. From it, he pulled a duffle bag stuffed with clothes. As Gracie peered into the unzipped bag, she spied her black travel suit on top. Daniel handed it to her. "There's a lavatory over there you can use to change. It's a bit tight," he warned.
"I'll manage," Gracie responded. She readily headed for the small private compartment off to the side of the ship. She was more than happy to get back into familiar gear, even if they weren't letting her bring back her mag boots or most of her weaponry. She was allowed to keep simple weapons and tools that would have been common in the time period she was heading to.
Daniel pulled out more clothing from the duffle bag, handing a set to Jack and then to his younger self. With Vala busy at the pilot console and the remaining people present being just men, the pair simply changed into their old uniforms right where they were. Soon their borrowed clothing was restuffed into the duffle bag. Jack decided to keep his sunglasses as a souvenir and slipped them into one of his flap pockets. It was understood that modern SGC uniforms would be too obviously different from those of their own time. They had a specific story cooked up to explain Gracie's sudden arrival which didn't involve spilling the whole truth. Except for a chosen few, everyone would be led to believe that Jack and Daniel simply got sidetracked and brought home a new friend.
Gracie rejoined them, now clad in her leather suit, complete with its numerous pockets and buckles. She seemed refreshed. The younger Daniel found it oxymoronic that she even breathed easier, despite the tight bodice hugging her body like a corset. His older self handed her another bag stuffed with the items she was allowed to bring along. He watched with interest as she pocketed each one, seeming to know where each tool belonged by rote. She was in for a sustained culture shock when she came to live with them permanently on Earth. Her current attire was more appropriate for Halloween where he was from. Her borrowed uniform joined the others in the bag, which was then returned to its storage space.
With the time they had left, the group reviewed next steps.
"I received a message from Omeir. He'll be there," Daniel declared. "He'll install the extra power packs we need to ensure the facility has what it needs to do what we're asking it to do."
"What about the Tok'ra?" Jack asked.
"They're cutting him some slack these days. He's been allowed to travel without an escort for a few years now. They're still keeping an eye on him but allowing him a longer leash."
"You sure?" Jack's distrust was evident.
"Even if they are there, Jack, we'll have to send them away because the device won't activate in their presence. When they see me and Cam, that'll be enough for them to skedaddle."
"Hope you're right."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'll go down there alone, then call back up with an all-clear."
"Good idea," Jack agreed. Daniel tilted his head to confirm.
"How do we enter the area where the time machine is?" the younger Daniel asked.
"Rings."
Jack, Daniel, and Gracie looked around the ship. There was no ring platform. They turned back to the white-haired commander.
"Don't worry, you'll see."