Daughter
Chapter 37 – Contact
Crawford and Smith were so annoyed. They'd been outside the salon for longer than Elda told them to wait. The pair of marines from SG-3 was already freshened up and changed into appropriate attire for one of this space station's dance clubs. They just needed her so they could be on their way. They had work to do.
Smith stared down at the vest Elda chose for him. It was dark with white trim. Lots of hidden pockets. Made of some sort of breathable, yet leather-like material. He actually kind of liked it. The pants she got him had wide pockets and a built-in strap to serve as a holster for a blaster. Apparently it was standard for everyone to walk around armed here, even into clubs.
No one had even batted an eye at Elda, who had already been roaming the station with weapons galore. She even seemed to have a new blaster since they last saw her. Smith was meaning to ask where she got it.
Crawford's new outfit was of a similar style, just with different colors. His attire was gray with bright green accents. It suited his tan hair and light skin. Smith figured they could keep these clothes and bring 'em home as souvenirs of their time here. The shopkeeper had given them a bag to hold the other clothes they arrived in.
Elda once explained that it was common for people like her to only have the clothes on their backs. If you wanted to change your clothes, you had to trade them for something new. This space station seemed more like Earth, though, where you could own a few spare outfits. Assuming you had a place to stash them, of course.
Hands in pockets, Crawford blew out a breath of frustration. "Where the hell is she?" he muttered.
"I dunno. But this is taking too long," Smith complained with him. "Does Chelsea take this long?" he asked, referring to his girlfriend back home on Earth.
"Yeah, actually," his friend admitted. "Especially if we're going out partying."
"I don't get it."
The pair turned when the double-doors of the salon opened. Their mouths dropped. Elda stepped out refreshed and in new clothes. She hadn't chosen black leather this time, which is what they got used to seeing her wear offworld. This time it was pure white with red accents. And still pretty damn tight.
Her well-toned abdominal muscles were on display by her sleeveless crop top. Her pants were cargo-style like the boys', but this pair was fitted, flattering, and low around the waist. A matching white jacket hung from her fingers, slung over her shoulder. Her hair had been done up into two buns, with bangs cascading around her face pleasantly. She had make-up on to match how the girls in the photos here looked.
She drew closer to them with a bag in her other hand, supposedly carrying her old clothes and her weapons. Elda seemed self-conscious. Her dark-stained lips were in a little pout.
The boys blinked and shared a glance.
She was smoking hot. No doubt about it.
"What do you guys think?" She seemed unsure of their reactions.
They didn't really answer, swallowing lumps instead.
Elda looked down at herself. Their eyes followed naturally, taking in all her curves. "Is it too much? I only had those advertisements to go on. But now I'm kind of wondering if that was only what the performers wear."
"Uhh…"
"Umm…"
She looked back up to see their flabbergasted faces. She didn't feel reassured. "Maybe I should find something else to wear then." Her head darted toward the shops they had used to find all their clothes.
"Nah, nah."
"You're good, Baby Cakes."
"Really?"
"We kinda gotta go," Smith said, pointing a thumb behind him.
"Pretty sure you'll fit in just fine," Crawford said encouragingly.
Elda quirked a smile, feeling a little bit better. "Okay." She reached into her bag and chose a few weapons to arm herself with. She brought out both of her blasters and hid some knives in choice places on her person. She didn't arm herself with all of what she owned, though. Not enough pockets now. "We need to drop these bags off at the shuttle," she announced. "Should be on the way. Come on."
She began heading in the direction of the nearest lift.
The boys turned to watch her, now getting a perfect view of her backside. They swallowed again.
"Smith."
"Crawford."
"She's too damn hot for her own good."
"I know."
They turned their heads and locked eyes. Crawford declared, "I have a girlfriend." It was his way of reminding himself to behave.
"Yep. You do. I have…" Smith grimaced. "…marks to work."
"Yeah. Yeah, stay focused."
Smith held out a hand to shake with Crawford. "We don't fuck with her."
"We don't fuck with her," Crawford agreed. They shook hands in promise.
Elda noticed they weren't following her and spun around. "Come on!" she urged them.
Her marine friends began moving, trying desperately to keep their eyes focused on anything but her. They settled on maintaining situational awareness as they moved about the station. After dropping off their extra things in the shuttle, which they confirmed had been left alone on the internal dock, the group headed to the entertainment district.
This time the area was bustling with people. The roped off areas were now filled with patrons falling into queues to get into the dance venues. Loud beats emanated from inside. Smith checked the data pad to confirm which club his contact had told him to show up at. "Don't use up all the money," Elda reminded him. He nodded to confirm.
She was holding a second data pad they had since acquired along the way. The trio agreed to split the money across both pads. Smith would need his own bank while he was working his marks. His allocation ended up being equivalent to his earnings from the fight club, minus whatever he had used for meals and clothes. Elda and Crawford would share the other bank so they could simply be in the club for support.
Before they got in line, Elda put a hand on Smith's arm to emphasize her next reminder. She looked him straight in the eyes as she said, "Number one rule: Don't fall for the mark."
"Got it," Smith agreed.
They fell into line and paid their admissions fees to get in. On Elda's instruction, Crawford placed an arm around her shoulders to pretend they were a couple walking in. This would minimize distractions from other single patrons asking either of them to dance or share a drink. They could be left alone to work.
The music was loud and lively. People were already filling the dance floor. A large raised platform sat empty in the middle. There were stairs around its entire perimeter, likely to allow access for performers from any direction. Camera balls floated around in the air, carefully observing the patrons.
Bars were set up along the walls of the huge space. Smith chose a different one than his team to get a drink. The trio had previewed the menu ahead of time so Elda could translate what this station had to offer. She recommend weaker drinks for Smith. They wanted him to stay sober enough to focus. He didn't mind it. He wasn't here to have a good time. He was here to find Reynolds.
Elda ordered drinks for herself and Crawford. They leaned on a railing and drank them slowly, maintaining visual contact with their friend on the other side of the venue. "We could have used our ear pieces for this," Crawford complained. The music was so loud that they could barely hear each other talk. He had to lean in close just to be heard. There was no way for them to monitor how Smith was faring without being right next to him, which wasn't the plan right now.
"I know. We just have to depend on body language for now."
The pair watched as Smith was approached by a woman with dark hair. "Contact," Crawford announced.
"Wow. She's even prettier in person."
"Smith doesn't have a chance."
Elda turned to Crawford worriedly. "You saying he'll get distracted?"
"I'm saying he's out of her league. I bet he won't even make it to first base with her."
"What does that mean?" She sensed this was another one of those Earth sayings that depended on cultural knowledge she didn't possess.
"It means he's gonna have a hard time flirting with her." Crawford studied his buddy's face, who was smiling at the girl. He smirked. "But he sure as hell is gonna try."
Elda looked back to consider Smith carefully. "Let's get closer if we can." Crawford placed an arm around her waist, careful not to touch exposed skin, and moved them toward a railing closer to Smith's position.
They brushed arms with other patrons as they went. The venue was becoming crowded. Elda reached up to speak into his ear. "Watch for wandering hands. We can't let our data pad get stolen." To anyone bothering to watch them, it simply looked like a girl was trying to talk to her date while he kept her close.
Crawford nodded. His eyes darted around at other people. One of his hands dropped toward his vest pocket to pat the data pad inside, making sure it was there. From time to time, Elda would reach over to confirm its presence as well. Their cover as a couple made it easy to justify her frequent checks. They also kept their eyes on Smith as much as possible, eyeing anyone who passed near him suspiciously. The minute it seemed like he was pick-pocketed, Elda planned to go after the thief.
So far, things seemed to be going alright. The pretty girl was smiling as Smith appeared to charm her. They still couldn't hear anything being said, but his teammates figured he must be doing okay. The song changed to a new one with a different beat. People in the club began cheering. Smith appeared to look up at unseen speakers and grinned. He said something to the girl and she tilted her head. The two of them headed to the dancefloor.
"Just like you said," Crawford noted.
"I wonder where the brother is." Elda focused on the people the pretty girl had walked in with, while Crawford kept his eyes on Smith. They all seemed to be wearing outfits similar to the girl's, with slight variations. There was definitely a theme. Maybe it was her crew. She watched for signs that any of her friends could be a potential mark, but wasn't seeing anything interesting about them.
She looked over to Smith now, who seemed to be keeping up just fine with the girl on the floor. Her own foot started tapping with the music unconsciously. It was the sort that simply made you want to start moving. Crawford nodded along to the beat as well. He didn't mind this sort of music. His girlfriend dragged him to clubs a lot. He'd gotten used to it.
The song changed after a few more minutes, giving everyone a chance to breathe. As the music transitioned to something slower, the pretty girl grabbed Smith's hand and led him off the dance floor. Elda and Crawford quirked smiles at each other over this. She led Smith to a new person, a slightly older male with dark hair like them. He was significantly taller than Smith. "Maybe that's the brother," Crawford guessed.
"Probably."
They tried to watch for the male's reaction to their friend as the pretty girl seemed to brush shoulders with him now. Maybe she liked him.
The crowd was growing increasingly dense. As patrons moved about, it was becoming common for some to brush up against them as they stayed in one place along the railing. A few people already appeared inebriated, even though the night was young.
Someone suddenly bumped into Crawford, making him nearly knock over Elda. Their drinks clattered to the floor. Whoever it was quickly walked away. When they righted themselves, Elda's hand immediately felt for the data pad. Crawford's vest pocket was empty. "Shit!"
The pair dashed after the pick-pocket.
Smith's eyes darted toward them briefly then back to the guy he had just been introduced to. He couldn't follow his friends right now. He was in the middle of an impromptu job interview.
Maneuvering through throngs of people, Elda and Crawford kept their eyes on the thief. Elda pointed when it appeared that he was heading for the exit. They agreed to split up to get through the crowd faster. Between the two of them, they were able to maintain visual contact. They couldn't afford to lose the money on that data pad. They still needed to pay for docking fees and meals.
Their chase forced them out of the club. The thief darted through a dark corridor. Elda and Crawford met back up and moved together to go after him. They each drew a blaster, ready to fire if necessary. Elda made sure to choose Jasuf's gift for this.
"Hey!" Crawford called out. "Stop!"
Unsurprisingly, the pick-pocket ignored them as he continued running away. His victims were just barely able to keep up, forcing him to search desperately for a place to hide so he could lose them. They were led further and further into unfamiliar back alleys of the station, presenting a risk that the newcomers would get lost. Elda tried to glance at landmarks along the buildings to keep track of their path.
Soon the thief found a heavy door and pulled it open to disappear inside. "Fuck," Crawford muttered under his breath.
"Go, go!" Elda shouted.
They followed him into a large, sprawling structure, unsure of what it was used for. They didn't have time to examine any signage posted outside. And their missing data pad would have likely identified this place a lot more clearly anyway. A cloudy fog filled the air, obscuring most everything in the space. They could just barely make out the shadow of a retreating figure. A heavy hum filled their ears as they ventured further in with weapons raised. It pulsed painfully in their heads.
"Don't lose him," Crawford ordered.
Elda tried hopping up on a platform to see above the haze. She was starting to get a headache from the noise and smoke in here. She pointed and Crawford ran forward. She jumped down to follow.
Crawford caught up to the thief and took him down. They fell into a heap within the fog, struggling against each other. Elda aimed with her blaster, but couldn't shoot for fear of hitting her friend. Data pads spilled out onto the floor as they punched each other.
Elda scrunched her face; her headache was worsening.
While the fight continued beneath her, her eyes darted across the pads and recognized theirs by its color scheme. She scooped it up and secured it in a cargo pocket of her pants, one hand still aiming a weapon.
The thief was able to push Crawford off of him and hop up to run. He left behind all the data pads he had stolen. Crawford was about to go after him when Elda placed a palm on his heaving chest. "I got ours back," she declared.
Eyes still watching the pick-pocket, Crawford asked, "You sure?"
Elda pulled their data pad out and held it up. It lit up with a familiar display and their names right on top. "I'm sure." She sheathed her blaster and leaned her head on his shoulder. The pain was getting worse. Her hand went up to her forehead.
Crawford patted her back and squat down to collect the rest of the stolen data pads. He stuffed them into his pockets, with intentions of returning them to their owners later. Maybe they would be rewarded for that. Maybe they could make more useful friends that way.
He stood up to help Elda get out of here when movement caught his eye. He did a double-take. Through the hazy fog of this unknown place, he thought he saw someone familiar. But that would have been impossible. Maybe the painful noise in here was making him see things. Now that their chase was over, he was starting to notice his pounding headache.
He grabbed at Elda's elbows to make her come with him. They had to find a way out of here.
But she froze, apparently focused on a sight in the distance.
Crawford's eyes widened, again seeing something he shouldn't be seeing in the opposite direction. They forgot about each other and moved toward what they were looking at as if being summoned.
A voice sounded off in Elda's ears. "Gracie."
Her breaths became ragged. She drew closer to the figure she saw, who seemed to be floating in the haze. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear the fog. But she was surrounded by it. She had no way to push it out of her sight and verify that what she was seeing was real or not.
"Gracie."
Her mouth popped open. That was her mother's voice. The adoptive one. If she could just get close enough to touch her, then she could confirm that this was a hallucination. She could just swing her arms into the air and disperse this insanely accurate image of her mother, with lines on her face and artful streaks of gray in her hair. She even had that little scar along her hairline that the Vala of this timeline lacked.
"Gracie, I've been looking for you. Why did you leave me?" the voice said in a whisper.
"Mom?" she responded weakly. Her face contorted into sadness.
"Why did you leave me?" she repeated. Vala's voice seemed to cry.
"I didn't want to," Elda answered. "I never wanted to let you go."
"Gracie." The voice broke into despair.
Tears flooded Elda's eyes. She tried to get closer to the image, fighting against the pain in her head, but her mother kept changing places in this terrible fog. Her chest heaved as she struggled to reach out to her.
"Elda." A pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders. "Elda!"
It was Smith. Where did he come from? He was staring at her with worry on his face. She looked at him confused. When she glanced back to where she had last seen Vala, her image was gone. The tears streaming down her face made her make-up run. She looked so depressed.
He swore under his breath and quickly pulled her along with him. She didn't fight it as he got her out of the structure they had chased the thief into. Smith gently pushed her against a wall far from the entrance. "Wait here. I gotta go get Crawfy," he ordered. Elda merely nodded and slid down the wall to sit on the ground. She drew her knees up and laid her head and forearms atop them.
She began to sob. Extreme pain continued to pulse heavily in her head. Crying made it worse. Then the pain seemed to make her want to cry more. It was a vicious cycle.
Elda lost track of time, and eventually a heavy figure dropped down next to her against the wall. Crawford's breaths were uneven and heavy. Smith leaned over them both with extreme concern. "Jesus fucking Christ. What happened?"
Neither of them could answer, still struggling against pain and the memories from their traumatic hallucinations.
"Dropping out," Sam announced. The swirling blue of hyperspace dissipated. A field of black with brightly-colored dots now inhabited the view outside of the forward port.
Heads-up displays on both sides of the pilot's console flashed with new information. "Location is confirmed. We are where we are supposed to be," Vala announced in the co-pilot's seat.
"Release the buoy," Sam ordered.
Vala hit commands to bring up the weapons array on screen. Mitchell leaned over her to watch, hands gripping the seat behind her. Teal'c and Daniel hovered behind them, gazing out through the forward port. No one was in mag boots. The gravity-pack of the shuttle seemed to be working as intended.
"Buoy is away," Vala declared. They all saw light briefly reflect off of a metal surface as something floated away outside. Vala had just commanded the ship to harmlessly release what it thought was a warhead. They were nowhere near any stars here. There was little light to shine upon random objects in the vacuum of space so that they would be visible to the naked eye. The team depended on the shuttle's sensors to track the buoy for them.
"Confirm operation," Mitchell commanded.
Vala switched her display to communications and swiped it over to Sam to control.
Sam entered coordinates for Earth. "SGC, this is SG-1 on board our shuttle. Over." She realized as she said it that they had never designated a name for this vessel. Now that two of these ships would potentially be used by the SGC, they would need to differentiate between them. One belonged to Earth while the other belonged to her daughter. Maybe she could get ideas from Colonel Sheppard in Atlantis for names. He seemed to be good at naming things in ways that stuck.
There was a pause. They were so far away that a signal took longer to reach their home base than they were used to.
"SG-1, this is SGC. Five-by-five. What's your status? Over."
"We have deployed the sub-space buoy and are half-way to our destination. Confirmation requested to proceed with the mission as planned. Over."
Another delay. "Proceed, SG-1. Godspeed." The line cut off. Sam hit commands to let communications return to standby mode. Their associated display dropped from her screen.
Mitchell tapped on her shoulder. "Take a break. I'll drive."
Sam didn't argue and unhooked herself from her straps.
Mitchell took her place. "It's warm," he teased about her seat.
She smacked his shoulder. "Shut up."
He just chuckled in response.
Teal'c meanwhile prompted Vala to move so he could take over her co-piloting duties. Everyone here was on the ship's registry as authorized crew, with only Daniel being left out as a possible pilot. No one had a problem with it. It wasn't in his wheel house to fly a ship. The human pilots had given Teal'c an overview of the system, but he seemed to already know what he was doing. They refrained from doing a full tutorial for him, trusting that his personal experience piloting other vessels would be enough.
Teal'c brought up navigation and re-confirmed their course. Mitchell glanced at it and nodded. "Entering hyperspace," the Colonel announced. The ship lurched slightly. Soon the black of space was replaced by swirls of blue.
Vala opened up the storage console and pulled out a piece of fruit to munch on. She sat down casually in the crew compartment with Sam and Daniel. No one bothered to strap into the harnesses, feeling at ease with the stable gravity of the shuttle.
"This ride is a lot smoother than when we were in the future," Daniel commented next to her. He let Vala lean into the crook of his arm.
Sam sat across from them with her own fruit. "Why's that?"
"Gracie and 'Future Vala' had no frills on their shuttle. It was pretty beat up and you could feel it."
Sam frowned at this reminder of how hard her daughter's life must have been growing up. "What about SGC-controlled ships? What were they like?"
"Fancy," he said simply. He shook his head. "You should have seen Jack's face. He was like a kid in a candy store. 'Future Mitchell' had no problem showing off what they had."
The blonde Colonel smiled. "Nerds."
"Yep," Daniel agreed with a laugh.
"You think that tech was Zersha-made?" Vala wondered. "Or do you think the SGC amassed enough resources to build more of their own ships?" Everyone knew the incalculable costs of producing Earth's battlecruisers. It was a wonder they had the ships that they did. There didn't seem to be much wiggle room left in the budget to do more. Every ship they had was precious.
"Ya know," Daniel said thoughtfully, "I'm starting to think that more and more. Maybe we would have run into Zersha on our own at some point and figured out a way to pay them to build a fleet for Earth."
"You think Gracie's arrival from the future accelerated that?" Sam asked.
They all exchanged glances. Vala leaned forward. "If Ishta hadn't ordered her to approach Zersha for a contract when she did, then we wouldn't have made contact with them otherwise."
"And then the other tribe on Tek'ron wouldn't have shown an interest in a contract of their own," Daniel continued. "They sent Gracie right back to Zersha. Then she got her little shuttle by accident. Showed it off."
"One thing leads to another and now here we are, with our own shuttle, too," Sam marveled. "Geez."
Vala leaned back into Daniel again. "You think they knew something in the future? That sending her back would change things?"
"I think it was understood that any of us going back was going to change things. The hope was that it would be for the better."
"But I mean, Gracie, in particular. Her arrival here seems to have caused a lot of things to happen," Vala pointed out. "And she's not even a full-fledged member of the SGC yet. Just imagine what will happen once she is on SG-3."
Daniel and Sam looked at each other. He tilted his head. She sucked in a breath. "I wasn't there with you, Daniel. What do you think?"
He scrunched his face, thinking. "My future counterpart said her tagging along with us was completely her choice. He didn't mind it either way if she chose to say with them or come back with us. But now that I'm thinking back, maybe there was more to it than he let on."
"You said he was nuts," Vala reminded.
"He was."
Sam laughed a little. "I think any of us would have been driven crazy with the way you described that timeline going."
"Clearly. It was Hell. Gracie didn't deserve to stay stuck there. She really is better off with us," Daniel said confidently.
Vala's mouth twitched, wondering just how painful that must have been for her other self to have let the girl go.
Smith stared at his friends through glass, lying down on beds in Aurelia's medical facility. They were both resting peacefully now.
Aurelia placed herself next to him to look in. "It's a good thing you pulled them out of there when you did, Gordon. They were exposed to critical levels of toxic gasses. They had no business being in that facility without breather masks."
He glanced at his new friend next to him, hands in his pockets. They were both still dressed in their party clothes. "Sorry I pulled you away. I saw you were supposed to perform with your crew on the ad. I just didn't know how to help them."
Aurelia briefly placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was already done. It's no problem. This is my main job anyway," she said graciously, gesturing toward her patients.
"So dancing is a side hustle?" he asked, quirking a smile at her.
"It's my hobby. The money we earn from it is just a bonus."
"Your brother must be proud."
"He'd rather I work extra hours here instead. But yeah, he is proud. He used to dance himself."
"Cool."
"Gordon, why were they even in there?" she questioned.
"I think they were chasing a pick-pocket. We don't have a lot of money to get by around here. Pretty sure they didn't want to go back to fight club to get more."
"Yeah. Who would." She glanced at her patients again. "They'll be okay. They just need time to let the gasses get out of their bodies. The negative air in that room will help."
"Aurelia, what did that stuff do to them?" he asked worriedly. "Anything permanent?"
"If they were in there any longer, then yes, it would have been. The gasses in that facility are used by the space station to generate power. Exposure causes hallucinations as a result of brain damage."
"They were both pretty messed up."
"They'll be okay physically. Mentally, though, that might take time. Whatever they each saw was likely traumatic. That's what usually happens. Especially if either of them has been through bad experiences."
Smith swallowed. He had a feeling he knew what bad experiences his buddy Crawford would have had dredged up by this. He could only guess what Elda might have been through. He wasn't really sure he should ask. Maybe he wouldn't.
"Alright. What do we owe you?" He pulled both data pads the team owned out of his pockets.
Aurelia leaned on the glass. "I'll give you a discount. Two-for-one." She held out a palm to receive one data pad so she could extract her payment.
He handed over the one with Elda and Crawford's money on it. "That's really nice of you. What did we do to deserve that? Not that I'm complaining." He smiled.
After she completed her task, she gave him back the pad. "You're cute." She quirked a smile at him.
Smith grinned like an idiot. "Guess I'm lucky, then."
"What did my brother tell you before you ran after your friends?"
"He said to meet him up in the morning. Do a trial."
"You going to take the job if he offers it? Station closes soon." She wanted to know his answer before deciding something. If he was going to stick around, she'd want to see him again. If he was going to leave, she wouldn't bother.
Smith glanced at his friends, reminding himself of why they were really here. None of them planned on being stuck here. They just needed to achieve their objective and go the hell home. "I dunno," he lied. "Depends on what the work and the pay are like." He turned back to Aurelia. "What really happens when the station closes?" he asked curiously.
"All traffic between here and outside space gets suspended. No one in. No one out."
"Why?"
"Because they'll activate dilation. It gives all our manufacturers time to produce orders for their clients outside. That's why my brother could use extra hands. It's always busy at these times, making sure raw goods are brought in and put in the right places before we're cut off."
"Dilation?" His face contorted into confusion.
"Time dilation?" She seemed to say it as if it were a concept everyone should know.
His eyes widened. "What?"
"You've never heard of it?"
He was incredulous. Oh he had heard of it. But every related incident he knew of involving an SG-team sounded bad. Really bad. "Umm, you might need to explain it to me. Maybe what I think I know is wrong."
"When the timers around the station run out, every ship that isn't planning to stay needs to be undocked. Then my dad activates dilation, using the same exact gasses that your friends were exposed to as the power source for it."
"Your dad?"
"He's station master… you didn't know?"
"No!"
"Well, he is. Could have sworn that would have been on my advertisement." She shook her head. Maybe he missed it. Those things always showed a lot of information that was hard to capture in one glance. It was protocol to clearly mark her origins. Being a station master's daughter meant she shouldn't be messed with. It also afforded her little dance crew some extra prestige.
Smith seemed overwhelmed. "How much time passes inside and outside of the bubble?"
Aurelia pulled out her personal data pad. "Let me check. It's different every time. Depends on what the manufacturers want for their production schedules." She clicked around in her device, seeming to dive deep into menus. "Found it. Two months inside. One standard galactic week outside."
Smith's mouth dropped open. "Two months?"
"Yes."
"Two months."
"Yes, that's what I said."
They didn't have enough money to last a whole two months in here. He blinked rapidly, glancing at his friends. "Uhhhhhhh... when can they be back on their feet?"
Aurelia considered them. She glanced at displays on the glass showing vital signs and other measurements related to their medical status. "Few hours at minimum. But it could be longer."
"And how much time until station closes and your dad activates dilation?"
She glanced down at her pad. "A little more than a day left."
The color seemed to drain from his face. They were never going to find Reynolds in time. They weren't going to get off this station in time. Not unless he got more help. And help wasn't coming. The SGC didn't know where they were. With both Elda and Crawford out of commission for the time being, Smith was on his own to find his commanding officer and hope he could get it done before the deadline. He wasn't feeling very optimistic about his odds.
"Gordon, you can still leave before station closure. You have time."
He laughed nervously.
"Contact," Teal'c announced.
"Dammit. Everybody strap in!" Mitchell ordered.
Vala patted Daniel's shoulder to wake him. His eyes popped open, startled. He looked up at her from her lap. "Strap in," she said seriously.
When he sat up, he saw that Sam was already clicking her harness closed. He and Vala immediately followed. Daniel turned his head toward the pilots. "What's happening?"
"We have bogeys incoming," Teal'c explained, eyes never leaving his display.
"Configuration?" Mitchell asked as he eyed the HUD seriously.
"The system is attempting to analyze."
"How much time left before we reach the space station?" Sam called out.
"Eight more hours," Mitchell replied.
"Three Al'kesh," Teal'c declared when the system spit back a response.
"Pirates," Vala muttered.
Sam grimaced. "We can't take three Al'kesh. Teal'c, find us a solar system, an asteroid field, gas cloud… anything we can use to hide."
"I will attempt to do so, ColonelCarter."
"Make it quick, T. They're gaining on us," Mitchell said.
"Asteroid field," he determined. He brought up the necessary course correction for Mitchell to follow.
"Dropping out!" The ship lurched as it ungracefully exited hyperspace in a hurry. Their harnesses prevented anyone from tipping over from the sudden motion. They soon came upon the asteroid field Teal'c had promised. Mitchell maneuvered the ship toward one celestial body and parked on its far side. He immediately powered down their engines. The lights in the cabin dimmed in response.
Everyone held their breaths.
Teal'c maintained passive sensors, which told him the Al'kesh had indeed followed. Mitchell stared as one passed dangerously close. He could tell because the light from a nearby star dimmed briefly.
"Can they see us?" Daniel asked.
"Unlikely," Teal'c reported. "However, if we attempt to power up engines, they will detect us and follow."
"So we wait," Mitchell decided. "Let 'em get bored and go home."
Smith waited until his friends were finally up and about. He didn't want to leave them. And he had no good leads for finding Reynolds. Aurelia gave him an empty bed in the medical facility to try and get some rest. Even though he'd been up for almost 24 hours already, it was hard to get some shut-eye knowing what he now knew. His naps were fitful and restless.
He was beyond relieved when they both woke up. It took them the entire rest of the night. He formally introduced them to Aurelia, and she discharged them with a clean bill of physical health. She did emphasize that they should come right back if their mental states declined in any way.
Now they huddled together just outside the medical facility.
"Guys, we got a problem," Smith announced, looking frazzled.
Elda and Crawford glanced at each other, then turned back to him.
"Station closure means time dilation. If we don't get outta here before times up, we'll be stuck inside for two months with no way out."
Their mouths gaped. "How much time passes on the outside?" Crawford asked.
Elda looked between them. Clearly, they seemed to understand this time dilation concept better than her. Didn't matter that Earth's foremost expert on the topic was her mother. It was a difficult subject for her to wrap her mind around. She lacked the education to properly understand it.
"A week."
"That's it?" Crawford confirmed.
"Yeah."
Crawford looked straight at Elda. "I don't think we can find Reynolds before the timer runs out."
She shook her head negatively. "Smitty, did you get anywhere with Aurelia?"
"I… No. When you guys ran off and then I found you all messed up like that, I just couldn't."
They grimaced. But they didn't seem angry about it. "Hey man," Crawford said, touching his upper arm briefly. "Thanks."
Elda moved in to hug him. "Yeah, thanks."
Smith hugged her back and smacked Crawford's arm simultaneously. "No problem. I can't do this without you. Not sure where to go from here."
Elda drew in a long breath as she thought. "Maybe we should take advantage of this time thing."
"What do you mean?" Smith asked.
"Well, if only a week passes on the outside, then it won't even seem like we're gone that long, right?" She thought of Jasuf and his worry over not hearing from her. Elda understood just how far they were from Tek'ron. A communication signal from her shuttle had no chance of reaching the planet before it degraded on the way. But maybe a single week without contact would be okay. As long as she made it home to him in the end. "Two months gives us plenty of time to do what we need to do here, without rushing and making mistakes."
"What!?"
"Think about it, Smith," Crawford said. "If we leave now without Reynolds, chances go up that they extract info from him and just kill him. But if we stay, we can do this job right. Get him before any of that happens. And if they do manage to extract sensitive information and the station's cut off, it means the intel isn't getting out. We could do something about it while we're here."
"Can't accomplish anything stuck outside for a week," Elda emphasized. "If we leave, it could be a death sentence for Reynolds."
Smith blew out a breath. He stared at the ground, realizing they were right. "See! This is why I need you guys. I didn't think about it like that." He shook his head at himself. His lack of sleep was clouding his judgement.
Crawford smiled at him. "So, are we agreed? We stay?"
"For Reynolds," Smith said.
"For Reynolds," Elda agreed.
"Alright, we can do this," Crawford said encouragingly. "What time are you supposed to meet up with that brother?"
"About an hour from now."
"Have you gotten any rest?" Elda asked with concern.
"Tried to. But not much."
"Crawfy, maybe you should go with him. If we're going to be stuck here for two months, we'll need more money."
He shrugged in agreement. "What about you?"
"I'll see if I can work this acquisition job from other angles while you two keep us funded. Plus, if both of you get hired, then we have double the chances of seeing for ourselves what happens to occupied stasis pods."
"Look for a place for us to stay, while we're busy," Smith suggested.
"Agreed."
They finally made it. After hours of waiting for the Al'kesh to disappear, SG-1 eventually completed its journey to the space station.
Now the control room was sending it a query. "Zersha shuttle, respond."
The members of SG-1 all glanced at each other. They were huddled around the pilot's console, staring up at the sprawling and impressive station. They were surprised that its control room seemed to recognize the make and model of their vessel. "This is a Zersha shuttle, responding," Mitchell answered over the comms.
"Identify yourself and state your intent."
"We are representatives from a planet called Earth. We are here looking for our people."
Vala frowned disapprovingly. "You should have said we were here looking for work, instead."
Mitchell craned his neck to glare at her. "Nothing wrong with telling the truth. We need to stay on this space station's good side. Earth could stand to establish friendly relations with it."
"You implied they could be advanced," Daniel pointed out. "We could use friends like this."
"Earth representatives, be warned. Station closure is imminent. Docks are being shut down as we speak."
They looked at each other curiously. "Space station, please clarify. What do you mean by closure?" Mitchell asked.
"Time dilation will be commenced shortly. We will be out of contact for one standard galactic week. You will be welcome to board the station after that time. Be advised, docking fees will apply. If you do not possess our form of currency, we will accept payment in galactic standard for the first three days. Prolonged visits will require payment in zimas."
"What's a zima?" Sam wondered.
"Don't know," Vala answered, shaking her head.
Mitchell verified with the control room, "So we can't dock and board now?"
"Negative. All unoccupied docks are being closed. We are no longer assigning docks in preparation for station closure. This process cannot be interrupted."
"Shit," Sam muttered.
"Space station, how much time will pass on your side during closure?"
"Two galactic standard months."
"Whoa," Daniel murmured. Teal'c raised a brow.
"Is there any chance we could extract our people now and be on our way?"
"Once again, all docks are unavailable. No one in and out."
"If the Hammond were here, we could have just beamed our people out," Vala complained.
"Gracie doesn't have a subcutaneous transmitter yet," Sam reminded her.
Mitchell continued conversing with the station's control room. "Can we make contact with our people, then?"
"That is allowable. Communication instructions incoming."
The co-pilot's console lit up. Teal'c hit a command to accept an electronic package. The HUD showed a template for them to enter their message and address it properly so that the station could route it to the correct recipient. A timer was attached, counting down until dilation was initiated. They had less than thirty minutes left.
"Sam? You wanna?"
"Yep." Mitchell got up to switch places with her. She swiped the display to her side and began rapidly entering a message into the form.
"Address it to Elda Mal Doran, Sam," Vala suggested. "She owns the shuttle in there. Her dock might be registered in her name."
Her friend nodded.
Daniel cautioned, "That's if they're here. Teal'c, could you scan for other Zersha shuttles or something?"
"I will attempt to do so. These vessels likely have a means of sensing each other." He began to cycle through menus in Goa'uld, looking for the correct command prompt to fulfill his request.
"Maybe another good reason to have bought this thing," Mitchell commented. "Tel'tak wouldn't be able to do that."
Teal'c's console chimed. "I have used Zersha proprietary code to ping other Zersha vessels in the vicinity. There are currently three large vessels and one independent shuttle."
"So they could really be here," Vala surmised. "A shuttle like this is more commonly part of a group inside of a mothership."
"Message away," Sam announced. "Now we hope they get it and can respond before they're cut off."
"We can't afford this," Elda said glumly, looking at a listing on her data pad for an apartment. She swiped. "Or this." They now had a sense of what their income would be. Aurelia's brother had agreed to hire both Smith and Crawford for six hours of labor per day. After their first day of work lifting heavy and bulky objects, the group sent Smith off to the shuttle to get actual rest.
Crawford sat across from her in a restaurant, chowing down on his meal. "Maybe you're filtering for too many features. Simplify it."
Elda tapped around in the pad to do as was suggested. "A basic three-bedroom still costs more than we could expect to make."
"Two-bedroom then. Me and Smith can share a room."
She tried that instead. "Nope. Still too much."
Crawford dropped his utensil. "One-bedroom?"
"Eh. Let's see." She fiddled with the dialog boxes and prompts to adjust her search parameters. She grimaced and held up the data pad for him. She nodded negatively.
"Let me have that," Crawford said, flicking his hand. Elda handed it over then returned to her own meal. Crawford clicked around in it. "Damn. We can only afford a studio."
"What is that?"
"A one-room accommodation with no walls for a bedroom. We can set up multiple places to sleep, but we'd all be roommates."
"Ugh. Well, I guess we have to make it work then." Elda's mouth twisted around uncomfortably. She was going to try her darndest not to tell Jasuf she had to bunk with two men while out on this op. She didn't know what he would do or say about that. Hiding things from Jaffa was her ultimate weakness. Keeping this from him would be one of her greatest challenges.
"Just giving you a heads-up. Smith snores."
"Oh Gods."
"I do, too." Crawford grinned when she scowled.
"I'm sleeping on the shuttle, then."
He laughed now. Then they both looked down when the data pad started buzzing excitedly. A dialog box they had never seen before was clamoring for their attention. "What is that?"
"A message?" Elda found that curious. No one on this station knew who they were. She tapped on the display. Her eyes went wide and she immediately stood up.
Crawford looked up at her in surprise.
"It's SG-1!"
Now he shot up. They both glanced at the timers counting down around the station. There was almost no time left before closure. The pair of them quickly dumped their trays in the designated spot by the trash bin and ran out of the restaurant.
When they reached the shuttle, the hatch automatically opened for them when it sensed their presence. Elda hit the command to close it back up as they boarded.
Smith was already awake and sitting in the co-pilot's seat. He turned to look back at them. "Hey! Look who's calling!"
They rushed to stand behind him and lean over to be seen in the vid-screen. SG-1 was crowded together on the display looking back. Sam and Vala were visibly relieved to see Elda. Vala stared at her clothing. It was different. She'd never seen that outfit before. Crawford and Smith had meanwhile changed back into their Alliance uniforms, sans jackets, as those were better suited for the manual labor they engaged in earlier.
"Are you okay?" the two mothers demanded simultaneously on the line. Mitchell and Daniel chuckled openly at their female companions.
Elda grinned at the screen. "We're okay!" She laughed aloud. "Where are you?"
"We're outside. The space station won't let us in," Sam complained.
"It's about to close, that's why," Elda reported.
"We heard," Mitchell said.
"Wait a minute. What kind of vessel are you on?"
Sam grinned brightly. "A Zersha shuttle just like yours."
Elda's mouth dropped open. "I thought you said you couldn't afford it!"
Vala smirked. "We leaned in on our connections to get this."
"Jasuf helped us out."
The young blonde blinked. "He did?" She began to smile.
Her mothers both nodded excitedly. Clearly, they had a story to tell her. But maybe later, because they were running out of time. Elda leaned down to address Smith. "Did you tell them what's been going on?"
"Yeah. They know why we're here. And that we need to stay."
"SG-3, I don't need to remind you that what you did was way against protocol," Mitchell admonished with warning. "And you, little missy, had us worried sick," he complained, pointing directly at Elda.
The trio on board the station exchanged sorry glances. None were sure how to respond.
"What's your plan?" the male Colonel now asked.
"Sir, we are working on securing accommodations here on the station. Elda assigned Smith two marks to work. And he and I have acquired temporary employment under one of them," Crawford reported.
"Elda… assigned marks?" Mitchell repeated, clearly surprised.
"Yes, sir," the more senior military member among the young trio replied.
Vala bit her lip in amusement. "Who are the targets?"
"Station master's daughter and son," Elda reported.
"Sounds promising," her adoptive mother said with approval. "Smith, first rule: never fall…"
"For a mark," he finished. "Yeah, Elda made that clear."
Vala began to laugh. She seemed proud. Her teammates around her quirked their own smiles.
Crawford felt reassured by their reactions. "We're going to find Colonel Reynolds and bring him home." He tried to sound self-assured in front of the senior members of the SGC.
Sam spoke now. "We have every confidence that you will try your darndest, Corporal. When the time dilation ends, we will be here waiting with the George Hammond. Elda, stay close to the marines so you can be picked up if we need to beam you out."
"We expect to hear from you the minute you can get a message out," Mitchell emphasized.
"Yes, sir," both marines replied automatically.
An alarm sounded across the entire space station. The trio looked up, hearing it through the walls of the shuttle. SG-1, meanwhile, seemed distracted by a corresponding chime on their end.
"Time's up," Mitchell announced. "Godspeed, SG-3. All of you." Their image cut off.
As time dilation was initiated, the young trio saw a weird ripple cross their field of vision. It was over as quickly as it came. Suddenly the shuttle's communications system reported zero signal. They were now effectively isolated.
Outside, SG-1 watched in awe as the entire space station was enveloped in a hazy bubble. It seemed to form an oblong shape around it. Just before dilation, the station sent out a buoy. This independent object was now transmitting a countdown for any vessels within range to know when the station would open back up. It was the only signal the shuttle was receiving. The timer showed one week left as promised.
From within the bubble, they could observe accelerated movement, signifying that time was moving at a different rate inside.
Sam let out a breath and closed her eyes. Daniel dropped a hand on her shoulder in support. "She'll be okay," he said reassuringly.
"By the time they come out, she'll have whipped those boys into shape," Vala said confidently.
"Yeah, they'll be wrapped around her finger so tight they won't know left from right," Mitchell declared.
Everyone laughed.