Hammond’s office:
Sam set the project notebook on the desk in front of General Hammond. “We think the virus is ready, sir. Of course, other than computer simulation, there’s no way to test it except on another gate.” she informed him as she sat down in the chair facing him.
“You have a target in mind?”
“P5S-117. It’s one of Ba'al’s principle naquada mining sites. If we can disable their gate we can seriously disrupt his supply network.”
“ How will you know if the test is successful?”
“There’s a Tok’ra operative on the planet that will be able to relay the results through their subspace communication network.”
“Send the virus.”
“Yes sir.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P3L-997:
Daniel Jackson, Sergeant Lewis and Lieutenant Collins had divided the small population of the city into three groups. The first group was mostly small children, babies and their mothers. They would go to the gate first, followed by the second group of the older children and the elderly. The third and final group would follow.
They had contacted Earth during the night in need of help. Their planet was being bombarded with catastrophic weather conditions and they feared that the entire planet would be uninhabitable in less than a week. The seismic disturbances and weather anomalies that were picked up by the MALP confirmed that the inhabitants of the nearby city were in fact in grave danger.
SG-1 had been on downtime when the call for help came through and Daniel had volunteered to go, much to Jack‘s dismay. As far as he knew Jack, Sam and Teal’c were still going stir crazy back at the base. None of the four did ’downtime’ too well.
The city was small as cities go. Large enough to have a basic system of government, but small enough that everyone seemed to know each other. From what Daniel had seen they were a hard working people.
The town elders had met Daniel, Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins when they came through the gate welcoming them. They were extremely grateful to the Tau'ri for arranging to send the entire population through the gate to the Alpha Site temporarily until a suitable planet could be found for them.
Daniel had instructed the elders to have the people meet at an agreed upon time at the town hall. The walk to the Gate was only a few miles. A nice stroll on a ’normal’ day, but made difficult by the downpour of rain that had not slowed since they arrived. And the tremors rumbled through and shook the ground, getting stronger by the hour.
A hush came over the previously noisy meeting hall when the elder, Trindar, brought Daniel and his team in and introduced them. Never very comfortable to be up in front of a group of strangers, Daniel had said what needed said as briefly as possible. The first group would leave in an hour. Long enough for each group to have their names taken by Lt. Collins and Sgt. Lewis so they would be able to keep track of each person so that no one got left behind.
He turned around, almost expecting to see Jack standing there. One thing everyone knew about Jack was his conviction to not leaving anyone behind. He wondered what Jack and Sam and Teal'c were doing back on the base. He knew that Sam had planned on showing her brother and his family around Colorado Springs while they were in for a visit but that they had called her and told her they wouldn't be able to make it. So he figured she was probably holed up in her lab taking something apart.
Now Jack. He was probably driving everyone nuts by now. He wasn't a 'sit around and do nothing', kind of guy. Unless, of course, he was at his cabin sitting on the dock fishing. But Jack would be the first to tell you, that fishing wasn't 'doing nothing'. He'd once heard Jack tell Teal'c that it took a lot of work to relax. Maybe he'd talked Teal'c into going up to the cabin for some fishing. Although he wasn't sure Teal'c would let Jack talk him into doing that again. He had let Jack talk him into going fishing at the lake several years ago when Daniel was in Chicago. But when they had returned he had asked Daniel why O'Neill went to that lake to fish when evidently there were no fish in it to be caught. Guess Teal'c hadn't caught on to that whole " fishing is about more than just fish" theory of Jacks'.
Daniel stood staring out the small window. One of the few that had not been boarded up to protect against the ravaging weather. The sky was dark even though they would have normally had a few hours of daylight left. The rain pounded against the building so hard it made you wonder how it could possibly withstand the beating. A particularly powerful streak of lightning exploded in the sky with such force that the window pane rattled in its frame as it lit up the outside. The buildings had not been damaged by the tremors. Yet anyway. At the moment they were mostly brief and mild, but they knew that could change at any moment. The seismograph on board the MALP was recording all the data from the planet, temperature, wind speed, seismic activity, rainfall, so Sam could study it. He didn’t plan on being around when the weather got as intense as was predicted. They should have all the people relocated within the next few hours so he watched with more curiosity than of dread.
He was still lost in thought, mesmerized by the steady rain, when he felt a tugging on his sleeve. He looked down to see a small boy, his big brown eyes looking fearfully into Daniel’s blue ones.
“ My Daddy said you came to save us,” the small voice said, “are you God?”
Daniel was momentarily both stunned and humbled by the young child’s innocent remark. SG-1 had many times on their travels to other planets been mistaken for gods, but he didn’t think those were the gods this boy was referring to.
“ No, I’m not…….we’re not…..God.. ..or gods.” he said as he knelt down to the boys' level,” We’re just friends who came here to help you and take you somewhere safe.”
The boy smiled, evidently satisfied with the answer to his question. “Then you must be an angel ! “, the little boy grinned as he skipped back to his family.
Daniel stood smiling as he watched the boy with his family as they talked and laughed. The peaceful atmosphere surrounding the people inside was a stark contrast to the fury that was building outside. ‘An angel?’ Daniel thought to himself, Well, we could sure use a few dozen of those tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack and Teal’c had missed a scheduled radio contact so General Hammond had told Sgt. Davis to dial them up. He hadn’t wanted to send them offworld since they were officially on downtime. But they needed someone at the last minute, to negotiate with the rebel Jaffa leaders, and Teal’c had a better chance than most to get both sides talking again. Since he knew the Jaffa better than anyone else on the base,he had let him go. The Jaffa rebellion was important to Teal'c most of all because it was the only way his family and his people would one day be free of the Goa'uld. Colonel O’Neill had volunteered to go even before being asked. I think the Colonel figured what with Daniel off relocating the inhabitants of another planet and Teal’c meeting with rebel Jaffa, that he would go even more stir crazy than he usually got on downtime if he wasn't busy doing something.
“Colonel O’Neill, this is Hammond.”
“ Nice to hear from you, General,” as Jack’s image came through the MALP camera.
“What’s your status, Colonel?”
“Well, this mission was going according to plan, then we hit a little snag.” he paused and then grinned sarcastically, “We can’t dial the gate.”
Sam looked at Felger who had made the computer virus that they had sent to Ba'al’s gate.
“Say again?” Hammond asked.
“We can’t establish an out going wormhole. We’ve tried all kinds of addresses, but ………we just can’t get a lock.”
“Standby Colonel,” Hammond stated and stared at Felger.
“Whoa,whoa,whoa…this is just a coincidence,” Felger told him and Sam. “There’s no way this could have anything to do with my virus.” He smiled at Hammond then looked at Sam ,” Could it?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel had taken the first group to the gate. If not for the sheets of rain they could have seen the path clearly. But as it was, you were lucky to see your hand in front of your face, unless, of course, when the lightning lit up the sky in flashes of blinding light. It had taken them over a half an hour to make the short trek. The well worn path was muddy and water pooled in every dip in the ground. They had had to stop several times to wait for someone who had slipped to get back up and continue. The children were frightened and many of them had cried and whimpered ever since they’d left the warmth and safety of the meeting hall.
They were finally at the Stargate. After he sent the code the first group would go through to the Alpha Site where they were expecting them. Then he would go back to the building to get the second group. The electrical storm had interfered with their radios, so the only way to get word to the next group was to go back to the city and get them.
Daniel walked over to the DHD and started dialing the gate address to the Alpha Site. He punched in the symbols one by one and they lit up,……… all but the last one, then it blinked out completely. He couldn’t understand it. He never misdialed. He started dialing it again. and on the very last chevron it wouldn't lock.
He glanced back to the group waiting in the pounding rain. It was a good thing they couldn’t see the worried look on his face through the downpour. He turned back to the DHD and started dialing Earth. He would have General Hammond contact the Alpha Site and see what the problem was with their gate. But as the chevrons blinked out again his heart sank. What could be wrong? The Alpha Site AND Earths' gates down at the same time ? He turned around again and looked at the trusting faces. He had no choice as he stepped away from the DHD and he motioned for the group to follow him back to the city, his voice lost in the loud pounding rain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the control room:
Sgt. Davis told Hammond that they were receiving an audio transmission from the Tok’ra.
“This is Thelos of the Tok’ra.”
“This is General Hammond of Stargate Command.”
“General, I’m afraid I have to report a series of malfunctions within the gate system.”
Sam and Hammond stared accusingly at Felger.
’’Malfunctions?” Hammond asked.
“Several gates have gone offline…..”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They burst through the doors to the meeting hall, and the once noisy room was silenced as every face turned. As the tired group entered, the others crowded around them asking why they had come back instead of going on to safety. Others hurried to bring towels and blankets, helping to dry and warm their friends and families. Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins had heard the rush of activity and come from the other room to check it out. Seeing that Dr. Jackson and the first group of people had returned, they rushed over to find out what had happened.
" Dr. Jackson. Why are you all back, What happened?" Sgt. Lewis asked.
" Nothing, that's what happened." Daniel replied, frustrated, " I dialed the Alpha Site twice and couldn't get a lock."
Lt. Collins was surprised, " What? Did you contact the SCG to see what's wrong with their gate?"
Daniel looked at him for a moment before answering. " I tried to dial the SGC twice. It wouldn't dial them either." The three exchanged worried glances. None of the possible reasons why they couldn't dial the gates were good ones. But whatever the reason, they could all be in big trouble.
"Then how are we gonna get off this planet?" the Sargeant asked.
Daniel looked away from Sgt. Lewis not knowing what to say. He looked over at the people, the families, the children. The worry and fear he could hear in their voices cut like a knife. How could he explain to them what had happened when he wasn't sure himself? The bottom line was these people needed to leave this place, they depended on him to help them, and he had no idea of what to do next.
The people had finally settled down and Daniel knew he had to tell them something, but even as he jumped up onto the table to get their attention he wasn't sure what to say. After a few moments the room got quieter as they all turned their attention on him.
" I'm sure you're all wondering what happened back at the gate, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure myself. It's possible there could have been a security problem at the SGC on earth and they had to shut down the Alpha Site too or any number of reasons. The one thing I am sure of is that whatever's wrong they will fix it. I know it's crowded and I know it's uncomfortable, but at least you're all safe here for now. We're going to do everything we can to keep you safe, and to get you to a new home. So, ......well......I guess that's all I had to say."
Daniel jumped down and went over to Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins. "Why don't you both go check on the weather situation. See how close the flooding is. We need to know how much longer we can stay here."
"Yes, sir, Dr. Jackson," the Lt. answered, grinning when he saw Daniel raise his brows to the "sir" he liked to tease him about.
Daniel smiled and said, "Get out of here Lieutenant."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hammond entered the lab and stopped just inside the door, “ Major Carter, report.”
“Sir. I’d like to recommend we recall all our off world teams.”
“The mining team from P4F-221 is coming through right now.”
“Tell them to hurry it up sir.”
As Sam explained to General Hammond her theory as to what could be happening to the gate system, Felger nervously grinned.
“Is there any way to stop it ?” Hammond asked.
“There’s no time, sir. If each gate dials two others, the entire network will be affected in…um…less than two hours.” Felger’s assistant added.
“We need to get as many people back as possible, sir.” Sam told him.
Hammond walked out without saying a word.
Felger looked at Sam. “He’s really mad isn’t he?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lt. Collins and Sgt. Lewis had checked out the flood waters and got the dripping raingear off hanging it on the hooks. The river was rising but hadn't overflowed its banks yet so it looked like they were safe for the time being. They would have to keep an eye on it. Daniel was getting ready to go back to the gate to try dialing again when the elder,Trindar, came over to him.
"Have you not been able to open your gate?" he asked.
"I was just getting ready to go back to the stargate and try dialing it again." Daniel told him.
" I'm sure you will do all that you can. We are grateful for the assistance your people have offered us. It is........" Suddenly a crash interupted them and yelling was heard in an adjoining room. Daniel found Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins faces in the crowd and they all went rushing to the disturbance.
Two men were fighting and the crowd looked on trying to stay back from the objects that were being thrown about. Daniel pushed through the people and one of the men landed on the floor at his feet. The man who had knocked him down started to rush toward him again. Daniel knelt down over the injured man on the floor holding his arm out to keep the other one from hurting him further.
The angry man looked from the one lying on the floor up to Daniel, and with his boot kicked Daniel in the ribs knocking him to the floor with thud. The elder, Trindar, rushed in frantically screaming at the crowd. " Stop ! What have you done? " He reached down to Daniel who waved him off. He started to get to his hands and knees just as Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins hurried over to check on Dr. Jackson. The elder raised his arms to get the attention of the crowd, and the room grew silent.
" Today I felt pride in our people as we worked together as one, helping each other get our families and our belongings to this place. You each brought food and we shared all we had with one another. But now I feel shame. Our friends from earth have willingly come here to help us and you do them harm. Our friend from earth steps in to defend one of our own as you stand by and do nothing. We must show the Tau'ri our remorse and our respect." The elder stood in front of Daniel, who had been helped to his feet by Lt. Collins. He then bowed his head and knelt down on one knee in front of Daniel.
Daniel was stunned when he saw the elder kneel in front of him, but that didn't even begin to describe how he felt when one by one all the people in the room lowered their heads and knelt down too. He looked at Lt. Collins and then at Sgt. Lewis and they looked every bit as uncomfortable as he was. He was relieved when they finally started getting up and slowly walking away. It had taken every bit of restraint he had not to pull them to their feet himself. But he didn't want to offend them by appearing to reject their apology.
Daniel started walking toward the door, getting his rain gear on slowly, trying not to pull on his ribs that had been kicked. Sgt. Lewis asked him if he were going somewhere.
" I'm going back to the gate and try dialing out again. Maybe you two had better stay here and keep an eye on things." and Daniel went back out into the storm.
~~~
The rain hadn't let up since they'd arrived at this planet. He wondered if he would ever get dried out once he got back home. He knew the people were just afraid back there. Fear could make a person do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. He trudged on along the path, his boots splashing every step. A loud 'boom' made him jump as the lightning exploded all around him. A flash of light and he could see the gate illuminated just briefly as he made his way over to the DHD. He held the flashlight again while he punched in the symbols for the Alpha Site. Reaching for each symbol pulled on his ribs that were beginning to throb. He was more frustrated than angry when the chevrons wouldn't lock.
He started dialing earth, and as the last chevron blinked out he stood in the darkness staring at the gate as if willing it to open. He had another long walk back to the city only to bring more bad news. When he got back they were going to have to come up with a plan B. Jack was right. When does plan A ever work?
He looked all around him in the distance as the lightning flashed, letting him see bits and pieces of the trees and the mountains .....the mountains? They might have to take the people to higher ground before the flood water reached the city. He'd have to talk to the elder and see if there might be a cave or something there. At least he had something to work on anyway.
He turned around to head back to the city when he heard it. He stopped..... The rain, the thunder and the lightning were so loud he was probably just hearing things.....Then he heard it again and turned around as the Gate was spinning and the chevrons were lighting up and the most beautiful swoosh of blue burst out into the darkness. He stood and stared at it almost not believing what he saw when he heard a voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The control room:
“That’s the last of the miners, sir,” Davis tells Hammond.
“Shut it down.” Hammond said. ”What’s next?”
“P3L-997”
Sam looked worriedly at the now silent gate, “That’s Daniel’s planet ,sir”
“Dial it”
They watched nervously as the chevrons each locked into place.
“ Daniel, can you read me? Come in Daniel..”
“ Sam ! It’s sure good to hear your voice! We couldn't dial the Alpha Site or the SGC and we had to take everyone back to the city and........"
“ Wait, slow down a minute Daniel. The entire gate system is down. What is your status there?”
“Why is the gate system down, Sam ?”
“That’s a long story…uh…what are the conditions there?…Are you safe?”
“ Well, the flood waters are rising but we’re all safe……..for now.”
“ Daniel, you can’t dial out but we can, so we’ll contact you again in four hours.’’
“ Okay Sam. I’ll be back here then. We have the people all together in their meeting hall, but we could get them back here in half an hour if you get the gate working by then.”
“ We’re working on it Daniel. Good Luck.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel went back to the city relieved that he'd heard from Sam. At least now he knew what had happened. Sort of. She didn't exactly go into details, but she seemed to think they could figure it out. He was confident that if anyone could, she could. He was just not so sure whether she could fix it before they ran out of time.
He found Sgt. Lewis and told him about the conversation he'd had with Sam." I saw mountains west of the city, why don't you ask around and see if anyone might know if there are any caves up there we could use, you know, just in case they don't get the gate fixed in time. But first you should go check the flooding again. I have to go back to the Gate in four hours so see if you can get back to me before then, okay?""
Daniel looked around the meeting hall. The mood was light and surprisingly calm, considering that they were all trapped on the planet. He hoped they would be getting them out through the gate but he would feel better if they had a back up plan. I wonder if that's why they call it plan 'B' ? Back-up? He'd have to ask Jack. Not that he wanted anyone else stranded too, but he kind of wished Jack and Sam and Teal'c were here.
They had prepared platters with fruits and breads and cheese. The conversation and laughter flowed through the room and he realized how much he needed to help them no matter what it took.They were a strong resilient people and they were depending on him to lead them to safety. He was glad they had something to distract them from the maelstrom going on outside. He sat off to the side content to watch, sure that he couldn’t have eaten anything anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the control room:
“ I don’t understand it sir, the upload should have worked, Daniel should be able to dial us back now.“ Sam said as she stared nervously at the gate.
Sam waited, each second lasting a lifetime, waiting…hoping, for the gate to activate.
She looked at her watch again and told Sgt. Davis to dial it up.
“ Daniel…come in…this is Sam”
Daniel‘s soaked face appeared on the screen,“Yeah, sorry to rain on your parade, guys, but it didn’t work.”
“It should have worked,” Felger’s told Sam.
“ We tried dialing to the Alpha Site but we couldn’t get a lock,” he had to yell to be heard over the pounding rain, “If you’ve got any more bright ideas, now would be a very good time.” Daniel added.
“What’s your status, Doctor?” Hammond asked.
“The flood waters are rising pretty fast. Seismic activity’s causing a lot of rough waves. We estimate that in 24 hours the entire city will be under water.”
Sam and General Hammond looked at Felger menacingly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Daniel had dialed the SGC and spoken to Sam, she was so sure they had figured out a way to fix the gate. The ten minutes that Sam told him to wait for her to upload the 'fix' and for him to then try dialing again had been the longest ten minutes he'd ever had. And then dialing and seeing the same blinking off of the DHD as before, was disheartening.
Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins had returned shortly before he had to go back to the gate and check in. And their news hadn't been good. Their time was slowly but surely running out. The tremors were increasing and the hail that rained down on him on the way back from the gate had bruised him up pretty good. And, well the rain, it just kept pouring down.
As much as Daniel didn’t want to face it, the time was approaching where they would have to decide if they were going to head for higher ground. In approximately 24 hours the city would be flooded and in eight to ten hours after that the gate would be too. Sgt. Lewis had told him that he had asked around about the possibility of there being any caves in the mountain. Evidently there was a mine that had been closed for several years when its naquada had been depleted that they could hopefully find shelter in. They were still talking to some of the people trying to get a crude map drawn of the location of the mine entrance.
He was supposed to check in again in six hours. If the gate wasn't fixed by then they would have no choice but to abandon the city and take the people to a safer location. They were going to have to prepare for that possibility.
“ Ah, Dr. Jackson, there you are. You were gone so long this time, we were worried.” Trindar told him.“ Did you talk to your people?”
Daniel was dreading this but now had no choice , “Trindar, I’m not sure the gate will be fixed in time. We may have to leave the city and go to higher ground.”
“ I see…...” Trindar said as he looked from Daniel to the many people gathered in the room, “ To the mine ? The one your men were asking about?"
" Yes. They are still talking to some of your people trying to get a map of the location.”
"I may know who might remember where it was. Come with me." Daniel followed the elder as they made their way through the crowd until they had came to a very old wrinkled gentleman.
Trindar spoke to the man. " This is Dr. Jackson, from earth. The people who came from far away to help our people go to another world. The stone circle they travel through is not working and all of us may have to take shelter soon in the mountains. Do you remember the mine west of the city that was closed many years ago?"
The old man thought for a moment and then looked at them, " Yes...the mine.....many died there...."
" Do you remember where the mine is? How to get there? Trindar asked him.
" Not hard to find. Could draw you a map, if you'd like?" the old man replied.
Daniel looked at Trindar relieved. "After he draws the map bring it to me. Then have the people start gathering what they might need if we have to take shelter in the mine. They'll need to bring as much food and provisions as they can carry. I will go back to the Stargate, the stone circle, in a few hours. When I return here we'll need to talk about what we are going to do."
The floor suddenly began to shake violently and one of the windows shattered glass all over the floor as the shrieks and screams filled his ears. Daniel held his arms out trying to keep his balance as the room shook. This was a bad one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hammond's office seven hours later:
This day just keeps getting better and better. The entire gate network out of commission because of them, well not ‘them’…’him’ actually. He didn’t care how smart Dr. Felger was he was going to have to make some decisions about him when this was over.
Twelve teams stranded off world. Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c on a planet that was full of hot tempered Jaffa rebels. Dr. Jackson and his team stranded on a planet that was most likely to be destroyed by the disastrous weather conditions, not counting all the people that were counting on them to relocate them to safety. Now he’s had to send Major Carter and Dr. Felger to Ba'al’s planet with the hope that they can work a miracle and fix this mess.
Dr. Jackson didn’t say a whole lot when he had talked to him a few minutes ago. When he’d told him where Major Carter and Dr. Felger had gated to, and what they were doing, the Doctor had asked him if that was such a good idea. Heck no, it wasn’t a ‘good’ idea at all. Just the only choice they had at this point. General Hammond looked down again at his watch. He hoped to hear from the Major and Dr. Felger soon with good news. Hopefully before he contacted Dr. Jackson in another few hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“ Any word from Sam?" Daniel had to yell louder and speak closer to the MALP to be heard over the relentless rain and the loud explosions of thunder in the background.
“To be honest, we should’ve heard back by now,” Hammond told him.
“Well, we’re going to have to abandon the stargate and move to higher ground.”
“Very well. Good Luck, Doctor Jackson.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The people had been told to hold the hand of at least one person so they could stay together better. They had a long walk ahead of them, made treacherous by the low flooded areas that were hard to see in the darkness, and the slippery mud. The jagged streaks of lightning lit up the ground lighting their way like someone flashing a spotlight off and on.
They had stopped at the stargate on the way out of the city, and Daniel had tried one last time to dial out. General Hammond sounded worried about Sam and Felger, and he had finally told him that Jack and Teal'c were also stranded. They had gone to talk to some rebel Jaffa not too many hours after he had come here. He hated to think about his closest friends all stranded on different planets. Right now though he had to focus on getting these people to safety. Plan B was officially in motion and plan A was silenced, as silent as the cold silent circle.
Sgt. Lewis was taking point with Lt. Collins at their six and Daniel, well, he was a little of everywhere. He felt responsible for their safety and so tried to keep an eye out on as many as possible. The mud was so slippery that some would slip and fall in the darkness but they watched out for one another, helping them up and trudging on.
The open field that stretched out between the stargate and the mountain would be the easiest part. The walk across the field would have been easy under normal conditions, but the days of nonstop rain had saturated the ground to the point that it was like walking on a wet sponge.
~ ~ ~ ~
They had been walking for almost an hour nearing the slope that would lead them up the hill to the mine. “ Help!!……Help me!!!!” a panicky voice pierced the night and Daniel stopped to listen and get a bearing on which direction it was coming from. The pounding of the rain and the rumbling thunder made it difficult to pinpoint. “ Over here!! “ He could now see movement of someone waving their arms in the air frantically, and Daniel ran over to the man, and grabbed the man’s shoulders trying to get his attention.
“ What’s wrong?” Daniel yelled over the pounding rain, looking around trying to see what might have happened.
The man pointed. Daniel had put his glasses away as they were useless in the downpour. He squinted looking in the direction the man had pointed to. Then he saw someone splashing frantically in the small stream that ran along the path which had overflowed. Daniel ran to the edge of the sloping muddy bank and let himself slide down to the water. He was only about 6 or 7 feet from the struggling child, but still not close enough to reach him so he dove into the cold, muddy water and swam over to him. He grabbed the small wet wrist but it jerked and slipped out of his grasp. He reached again, feeling for the arm he knew had been there only a moment before. It was gone.
He took a deep breath and went under the water feeling everywhere for the child. His hands finally touched clothing. Grabbing at the body he then wrapped an arm around them and came up out of the water gasping for breath. He quickly swam to the edge and handed the child to the waiting arms. He pulled himself to the solid ground at the edge of the water and on his hands and knees coughed the water from his lungs. Strong arms reached for him and helped pull him up the rest of the way until he was back on level ground. He heard some one else coughing and he saw the child lying on the ground next to Lt. Collins. He had heard the voices too and ran to check it out. As the lightning flashed and illuminated the night, his eyes met Lt. Collins' and he nodded and smiled. She was going to be fine. The next thing he knew some of the people standing around were patting him on the back and saying things to him that were hard to hear with the noise.
~ ~ ~ ~
The climb up the hill wouldn’t have been nearly as difficult if it hadn't been for the rain making it so slippery. But at least the slope was thick with trees so by holding onto them to keep steady and upright, they finally made it up to the mine entrance. The old boards were kicked off easily and and they slowly made their way into the tunnel. After walking in the nonstop rain for two hours it almost felt strange to be where it was dry and quiet.
Some of the men gathered up some broken wood, leftover from years past, and started a fire. A few lanterns left behind in a storage room were lit. For as many people as were in the tunnel it was surprisingly quiet. Exhausted from the journey most were either already asleep or at least resting. Others were going around seeing to any needs, finding an outlet for their adrenaline that hadn’t as yet subsided from the exertion.
Daniel found Sgt. Lewis and Lt. Collins and they decided to each take turns keeping watch. It had taken awhile but they’d made it. They were safe right now but what about tomorrow? The next day? The next week? If the entire area flooded like they expected it would, they‘d be trapped on the mountain with little or no food and no way off the planet.
He tried to calculate how much time they had until the stargate was flooded. He would make his way back down the mountain to the gate one last time before he gave up on it. He figured it would be another twelve to fourteen hours until the stargate was flooded, so he needed to leave in about five hours. That way, if by chance, the gate was working, he would have time to come back up and let them know so they would be able to get to the gate and send them to the Alpha Site in time.
Sgt. Lewis had insisted on taking the first watch. Daniel had wanted to, partly because he knew he was too keyed up to sleep but the Sargeant wouldn't have it. He was reluctant to let himself go to sleep, because he was afraid he wouldn't wake up in time. He wanted to have plenty of time to get to the gate again. He scooted himself away from the wall he had been leaning against. The rough hard rock wasn’t that comfortable but it was solid enough that he could easily fall asleep if he stayed against it very long. A few feet from the wall, at least he didn’t think he would fall asleep sitting up like that.
The thunderous boom of the lightning as it hit close by lit up the entrance to the tunnel and he looked around at the people he had come to help. He wasn’t going to let them down. He couldn’t. A tapping on his shoulder brought him out of his drifting thoughts, He looked up into the face of the small boy who had come up to him earlier. “Hello….are you okay? ” Daniel asked the sleepy boy as he watched him rub his eyes. The boy didn’t say a word as he lay down beside Daniel and fell fast asleep with his arm across Daniel’s leg. He smiled and patted the boy, ‘We’re going to get you out of here, somehow…you’ll see….”
~ ~ ~ ~
He jerked his head up as he awoke with a start. Evidently you can fall asleep sitting up, he thought, even if only for a minute. He looked at his watch. It was time to head back down to the gate. As soon as he found Sgt. Lewis or Lt. Collins to let them know where he was going. He stood up and thought to try the radio….'it might just work ok in here.’ He thumbed the radio “ Lt. Collins. This is Dr. Jackson can you read me?”
“ Lt. Collins reporting. What’s your status Doctor?”
“ I’m going to head down to the gate and check things out one more time, Lieutenant.”
“ You aren’t going alone, Doctor Jackson. I’ll head for the tunnel entrance and meet you there.”
“ Negative, Lieutenant, I’m going alone.They might need you here.”
“ Going alone is not an option, Doctor. I have orders to bring you back in one piece. An ‘alive’ one piece. Colonel O’Neill would rip my head off if anything happened to you…..On my way to your location, Doctor. Collins, out.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Lt. Collins had volunteered to come on this mission with Doctor Jackson partly because of the stories he’d heard about the ‘civilian’ soldier. Here he was trudging through the forest in the pounding rain with a man who had ‘died’ a little over a year ago. That could be really unnerving if he thought about it too much.
He was beginning to see why Colonel O’Neill was so protective of his archaeologist though. The way he spoke to the elders as well as the children, handing out tasks, what the military calls ‘orders’, in such a way that you felt privileged to be chosen to help. Standing up to that guy just to help a stranger and getting kicked in the ribs for it. and still risking his life for these people. The people trusted him with their lives, and he could now see why. His courage was contagious.
They walked down the slippery mud holding onto trees in silence. Conversation reduced to necessity since it would be impossible to carry on a conversation with the rain pummelling the ground and trees and the thunderous booms as the lightning lit up the sky. They had been walking for about an hour and would be nearing the level ground soon. From the higher ground you could see the stargate in the distance when the lightning would flash and illuminate the sky.
~ ~ ~ ~
They finally reached the stargate. The water all around the gate was already a few inches deep. Daniel and Lt. Collins exchanged worried looks. Evidently the water was rising faster than they'd thought. Daniel stepped up to the DHD as Lt. Collins held the flashlight. He started pressing the symbols...... one, two,……..four…… ’please let it work’……six….. seven. The bright blue swoosh of the wormhole was at beautiful site. Lt. Collins let out a ’whoop and slapped Daniel on the back. Daniel was grinning so hard and his hands trembled with relief. He sent the code and then he heard General Hammond’s.
“ Doctor Jackson, It’s sure good to see that you're all right. We've been trying to contact you for the past half hour. What’s your status?"
“ Well, General, we had to leave the city before it flooded and get to higher ground. Everyone is in an abandoned mine up the mountain west of the gate. They're safe right now but we need to get them to the Alpha Site as soon as possible. The area around the gate is already a few inches deep. “
“ How long will it take for you to get them to the gate, Doctor? “
“ It’s about a two hour walk from here, so by the time we get back to them and then bring them back here, it will be another four hours until we can start sending them through the gate, General.”
“ Very well, We’ll contact the Alpha Site and tell them to expect the arrivals in four hours. Is there anything else you need, Doctor Jackson?”
“ Are Sam, Jack and Teal’c all right ?”
“ Yes, they’re fine, Doctor Jackson.They're expected back on base soon. Good Luck.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel had a feeling that the walk back to the mine wouldn't take nearly as long as it took to get to the gate. Even though he hadn’t slept, or eaten anything but an energy bar since he'd arrived on the planet, he was running on adrenalin now. They just had to get to the mine, bring the people back down to the gate and they’d all be safe.
Even without speaking, Daniel and Lt. Collins knew just what the other one was thinking about. They would both be glad to get off this planet. Dry clothes, warm shower, real food and a nice soft bed. Yes, he figured the walk to the mine would be a piece of cake. He didn't stop grinning for about the first half hour. His boots squished step by step in the spongy ground as they finally got to the tree line that sloped upward.
He had a feeling there was a long story to be be told by Sam about the gate problem. And he was anxious to hear how Teal'c and Jack ended up on that planet when they were supposed to be off for a few days. Maybe they could just go to Jack's and order some food and swap stories and maybe catch a game on TV if there were any on that late. Sounded good.
Ka boom!!!! A jagged streak of lightning flashed and struck the tree Daniel was walking by. As bark flew everywhere, one of the limbs splintered and pulled apart from the tree striking Daniel in the chest knocking him to the ground. His sharp cry of pain was lost in the sound of the crashing thunder and torrential rain. The heavy limb creaked and broke off the rest of the way falling onto his lower legs.
As a horrified Lt. Collins rushed toward Daniel, he lost his footing on the mud covered slope. He scrambled to his feet, picking up the flashlight that had slipped from his grasp. Shining the light in the darkness he called Daniel's name.
“Oh my God…….Doctor Jackson!” he yelled as he saw him lying on his back not moving. He scrambled over to where he lay and pressed his shaking fingers to Daniel's neck. The unrelenting rain made his fingers slippery, but he finally was able to hold his hand still long enough to feel for a pulse. He saw a deep scrape down the side of his face and neck, which was bleeding, but not too badly, he thought. It was hard to tell with the rain washing the blood off as fast as it appeared. He tapped lightly on the other cheek. “ Doctor Jackson! Can you hear me?” Getting no response, he shone the light over the rest of Daniel's body to see where else he was hurt.
The Lieutenant felt along Daniel’s arms trying to feel if there were a break. Then down one leg and then the other reaching on each side of the limb. He tried to pull the limb up but it was too heavy to lift. He shone the light around searching for something to use as leverage to dislodge the limb. Seeing nothing available, he glanced down at the weapon attached to his vest. He unfastened the P-90, hoping it would be sufficient enough to move the limb off Daniel's legs. He removed the clip and tossed it aside. He placed one end of the weapon under the limb, trying to get enough leverage to move it. He gripped the weapon firmly and shoved as hard as he could lifting the limb up and off his legs.
He scooted back to Daniel and aimed the flashlight on him. " Dr. Jackson. Can you hear me? Daniel?" He unzipped the jacket to check for injuries and then pulled the wet t-shirt up to expose his chest. It was already beginning to darken with bruising. He felt along his ribs. He didn't think any were broken but what if he were wrong? He wasn't a doctor. He'd just had the basic field first aid training. He had to get him help soon he knew that much. He heard a moan. Shining the light back at Daniel's face, he leaned over him to try to keep the rain from falling on him so much. " Dr. Jackson?"
Daniel wasn't sure for a few minutes where he was or what had happened. His chest hurt and his face and neck felt like it had been scraped raw. Now a bright light was blinding him. He moaned and tried to turn away from the brightness. He heard someone calling his name. "Wha..... appened?"
"Oh, thank God you're awake", Lt. Collins said with relief. "Lightning struck a tree and you were hit by a falling limb." " I've got to go back to the Stargate and get help."
Daniel knew that if Lt. Collins went all the way back to the gate there might not be enough time to also go up the rest of the way to the mine and get the people.
" No........gotta get....them to the........gate.....................before...floods...........I'm ok....go.....now."
Lt. Collins didn't like at all the thought of leaving Dr. Jackson out here injured and alone." No. I've gotta get you some help. I don't know how badly you're hurt. I have to contact the SGC."
" no time..............go ..get them....to the gate........I'll be here."
"But Dr. Jackson, I don't........"
" ....go.....just go.......ok." Daniel had to convince the Lieutenant to leave him and go get the people before it was too late. If all these people were trapped here because of him, he could never forgive himself.
Lt. Collins hated choices when both choices neither one looked very good. Like now. He knew he needed to get the people started down toward the gate, but he hated having to leave Dr. Jackson here. But it was closer to the mine than back to the gate. He could be up at the mine in maybe a half hour, then let Sgt. Lewis get them out of there while he came back down for the injured man. He didn't like it, but he knew he had to do it.
“ All right, Doctor Jackson. I’ll be back here for you in an hour, hopefully less. I’m afraid to move you by myself. I’ll have help with me and we’ll get you to the gate.“ Lt. Collins looked around at how he could keep the rain from pounding down on Daniel until he got back. He opened his pack and got out his tent, opened it and attached one side of it to a nearby tree and the other side over Daniel and tied it to another tree. He took the extra flashlight from his pack and took Daniel’s hand and firmly placed the light in it so that it angled up. The result was a dim glow in the dryer area under the tent. Lt. Collins, satisfied that he had done all he could for now, leaned down again to Daniel.” I’ll be back soon, Doc,” and he gently patted his arm.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He had fallen asleep .....or maybe passed out…he didn’t know which…it didn’t matter. At least for a little while he wasn’t hurting. But now……now he was hurting. They just had to get those people down to the gate in time. He had been really worried for a bit that the Lieutenant wasn’t going to leave. Good thing it was so dark and so rainy. It had probably kept the Lieutenant from examining him too closely or he would have found out that he had something stabbing into his back. He must have fallen on something, a rock, a stick, he couldn’t tell. He just knew he could feel whatever it was, whenever he moved at all, and it felt like it was deep. It was the only part of his body that was warm……………..
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The people wasted no time getting out of the mine and starting down the mountain. They had just left behind all the things they'd brought with them in the pressing urgency to get to the gate. They hurried, slipping. but holding onto the trees they were able to move swiftly.
Sgt. Lewis was as anxious as Lt. Collins to get back to Doctor Jackson and get him to the SGC as soon as possible. Lt. Collins had been wracked with guilt for having to leave him to come up to the mine, but they all realized that if they didn’t get all of them to the gate soon then nobody would be going home.
“ Over here Sergeant !!” the Lieutenant motioned with his flashlight in the direction where he’d left the Doctor.
Lt. Collins could still see a faint glow from the flashlight he’d left behind as he hurried to the tent. They had quickly put together a makeshift stretcher out of the Sgt. Lewis's tent and two sturdy limbs before they’d left the mine to carry the injured man down to the gate. Sgt. Lewis knelt down beside Daniel and tried to wake him with no luck. The sergeant gently rolled Daniel's body to one side so the stretcher could be placed closer underneath him when he saw something.
“ Stop! Don’t move him yet. I need to check out his back. Hold him on his side so I can see." Lt. Collins supported Daniel's body as Sgt. Lewis bent down lower and shone his flashlight to see Daniel’s back. “ Oh Crap ! He’s got a splintered piece of a limb stuck in his back. He's lost a lot of blood. We're gonna have to strap him to the stretcher on his side.”
The Sergeant dug into his pack and got out the rolls of bandages and told two of the men standing there watching, to help. They carefully laid Daniel on the stretcher, keeping him on his side, then the two men lifted it up so that the Sargeant and Lt. Collins could secure him with the bandaging.
’ You guys ready ? okay, let's get to the gate." Daniel moaned as the movement finally began to wake him. He could feel the hard solid ground below him disappear and then the steady rocking movement as he felt like he was suspended in the air lulled him to the blackness once again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The klaxons sounded and General Hammond rushed to the control room to see who was coming back this time. Major Carter and Felger had only dialed earth long enough to tell them the gate should be working but that they had to stay and put the DHD back together. Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c weren’t back yet either and he hadn’t heard from Dr. Jackson in over an hour.
“ It’s Dr. Jackson’s team, sir.” Sgt. Davis told him.
“Open the iris!” the General ordered and he watched the blue puddle shimmer for what seemed like a full minute until finally two men, one he recognized, and one he didn’t, carrying a stretcher. The water ran off their caps and rain gear all over the ramp.
The General ordered a medical team to the gate room and rushed down the stairs.
" Sgt. Lewis, What happened? ”
“ It’s Doctor Jackson, sir. “
Just then Dr. Frazier rushed in and seeing it was Daniel on the stretcher, glanced up worriedly at the Sergeant and then continued to check his body for injuries.
“Lightning hit a tree right next to Doctor Jackson and a limb knocked him back several yards. His lower legs were trapped beneath the limb for a short time until Lieutenant Collins got it off. His chest is banged up, but I couldn’t tell if he had any internal injuries or not. And……………Doc, he must have landed on something when the limb knocked him down, He’s got something stabbed into his back.”
Janet immediately went to the other side of the stretcher and lifted the plastic rain gear and saw the blood soaked chunk of wood and ordered them to get him to the infirmary stat and to prep the OR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
General Hammond met Major Carter and Felger at the ramp when they came through.
“ Major, Doctor Felger, welcome back.“
“ Sir.”
“ I trust the solution you came up with is of a permanent nature.” The General locked eyes with Felger. The anger still raw from the injuries and chaos that his mistake had caused.
“Oh. yes,” Felger told him, “ not to worry, General. I’ve modified the antiviral specifically to target the altered version of Avenger, But I also added a little patch, just to make sure no one will ever….”
“ The problem is solved, sir.” Sam interrupted, “ Permanently.”
General Hammond was afraid that Major Carter would feel somewhat responsible for the near disasters the virus had caused, but dreaded informing the Colonel of Dr. Jackson's injuries even more. “ Doctor Jackson managed to get the remaining inhabitants of 997 through to the Alpha Site.”
“Good to hear it, sir.”
“What about Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c?” Gen. Hammond was curious as to why they hadn’t come with the Major after they'd managed to get to Ba'al's planet and fight off the Jaffa that were attacking. He'd hoped to inform them at the same time.
“ They found an alternate means of transport. I promised the Colonel I wouldn’t say anything. He wants it to be a surprise.” Sam grinned. Her smile slowly faded as she finally noticed the serious expression on the General’s face. “ Have you heard from the Colonel and Teal’c?” She asked, fearing that they may have run into trouble on their way to the Alpha Site to drop off the alkesh ship.
As General Hammond started to explain to Major Carter, the klaxons sounded once more and as they stepped back Sgt. Davis could be heard on the speaker, “ It’s SG-1 ‘s code from the Alpha Site, General”
They watched as the iris was opened and two figures stepped through the shimmering puddle. Colonel O’Neill strode down the ramp straight to General Hammond. “ How’s Daniel, sir?”
Sam looked from the Colonel to General Hammond completely thrown by what she’d heard, “ What's wrong with Daniel, sir?”
“ We’ll talk on the way to the infirmary, Colonel…Major, Teal'c.”
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Dr. Frazier led them back to the bed that was surrounded by the privacy screen. “ The surgery went well, sir, he’s stable. “
Colonel O'Neill had landed the small ship on the Alpha Site, but as soon as he'd heard about Daniel being injured, had hurried to the gate to get back to the SGC. Lt. Collins had been there helping the refuges get settled when he'd flown in. He just knew something bad had happened to Daniel as soon as Lt. Collins had come up to him. It was written all over his face. The Lieutenant had told Jack that Daniel had walked to the gate several times to check and see if it was working, And had even made the two hour walk back down to the gate again after he had all the people safe in the mine.
The Lieutenant was devastated that he had left Daniel alone, especially when he'd realized how badly he'd been hurt. Daniel had convinced him that he was fine, and hadn’t said a word about the jagged wood that was stabbing into his back.
Sam had gone from the adrenaline rush of the attempted attack by the Jaffa, to the relief of rescue and of fixing the gate system, to the shock of seeing Daniel lying here with his lower leg in a cast and gauze covering the scraped side of his head and neck, just out of surgery. “Is he going to be okay, Janet?”
“ Well, I won’t lie to you. We came close to losing him today. His fractured leg was a clean break and should heal fine. It did take over 25 stitches to take care of the laceration along his neck. But when they brought him in he was in severe shock. He had lost a lot of blood and he was hypothermic from his prolonged exposure in the rain. I’ve already started him on strong antibiotics since he's in danger of getting pneumonia. I don't want to take any chances.
Now, as far as the injury to his back……… Dr. Warner removed a piece of splintered wood from his upper back that was about 4 inches long, 3 of those inches had penetrated into his back. Fortunately. it narrowly missed any major arteries. But I'm amazed he didn't die from the shock alone out there. He was evidently laying on the wet ground with that wound in his back for almost an hour. He’s one lucky man.”
Jack had cringed when Dr. Frazier described what he must have went through. He took hold of the chair and set it beside Daniel’s bed. “ I’m gonna sit with him awhile.”
" I never doubted that you wouldn't Colonel," Dr. Frazier grinned.
“ Very well, we’ll debrief in one hour.” the General said as he made his way out of the room.
Sam felt like her heart was going to shatter right there. If she hadn't gotten so carried away with Felger's supposedly wonderful new weapon. Or if she had only taken more time to analyze the possible ramifications of Felger’s virus on the gate system............. Daniel wouldn’t be lying here now….like this. He could have died on that planet along with a lot of other innocent people. Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c could have been killed trying to rescue her and Felger. All of the possibly tragedies that could have occurred as the result of their little ’experiment’ , and the ones that had……………………………… “ I’m sorry, sir,“ she spoke her voice breaking,“ This is all my fault.” and she rushed out of the room.
Jack rubbed his hand over his face roughly, ‘what a day.’ He’d find Sam later and try to get her to stop beating herself up over this. Actually, maybe he could convince her that she needed to beat up on Felger instead. The truth was, right now as he looked at his friend lying injured, he was still too irritated by Felger’s virus fiasco to try making anybody feel 'better' about what had happened, And what could have happened. He was definitely gonna have to have a little chat with the General about Felger when things calmed down some. That man's dangerous.
But for now he just wanted to be here for Daniel when he woke up. He was going to have to have a talk with him about this whole save the world mission he seems to be on. How could anyone whose been through what this young man has, still be so, so... trusting, optimistic and unselfless ? And how could someone like that want to be friends with a hard-headed smart-mouth Colonel like himself? Thinking about what they could have lost today ............ what ’he’ could have lost........ Jack didn’t even try to wipe away the wetness travelling down his cheeks, He knew full well what it felt like to lose Daniel. He'd lost him for a year when he'd ascended. He didn’t ever want to feel that dark emptiness again. He was still lost in the pain of what might have been when he felt fingers brush his hand.
“ Ja’..k,” Daniel spoke so softly that he could barely make out what he’d said. He stood up and leaned down closer to Daniel.
“Daniel……you awake?”
“ ..am…now…” Daniel replied, his eyes fluttering briefly.
“ Hey…..how ya doin'? “ Jack asked.
Daniel slowly opened his eyes and found Jacks' looking right at him,“ I’m good…..you?”
“ Me? I'm not the one lying in the infirmary after having a tree removed from their back, Daniel. Didn’t we have that little talk about your ‘Superman’ complex?” Jack kidded him.
“ don’t think so, Jack......lost ..memo”, Daniel closed his eyes and grinned.
“ Well, as soon as you're better then, we’ll talk huh? I go to the Alpha Site and they tell me you’ve broken bones and got a tree stuck in your back. You tryin to give me a heart attack or what ?”
“ only broke one….. and not a tree…more like.... a branch,” Daniel chuckled softly. “sorry you worried ‘bout me.”
“ Oh sure. No problem. That’s just part of my daily routine now. You know. Eat breakfast, worry about Daniel. Clean my P-90, and worry about Daniel. Go on a mission, worry double about Daniel. Let you go on mission with another team, worry triple about Daniel. You know. Just part of the job.”
“ ..sounds like you should be good at it by now then, huh Jack?”
“ Never…….Daniel…… I never want to get good at worryin about you, cause then you might REALLY get into trouble."
Dr. Frazier walked in, “ Not gonna let me know our patient was awake, Colonel? “
Looking down at Daniel, Dr. Frazier smiled and spoke, “ How are you feeling, Dr. Jackson?”
“ .. fine, Janet." Daniel replied but had a sneaky thought." ...might wanna check Jack .... thinks he might have some thing wrong .....with his heart..... told me...." Daniel tried but couldn’t keep his face from breaking out in a grin.
Janet looked at Jack, her eyebrows moving up in a questioning look.
Jack looked at Dr. Frazier, then glanced at Daniel who was grinning.
’Colonel O’Neill, report to the briefing room.”
“ Ah....... Gotta run, Late for the briefing, Be back later, Daniel. You and me are gonna have that little talk.” and Jack smiled and rushed out the door as Daniel and Janet looked at each other and broke out laughing.
fin.
Authors notes : Once again my beta, Lenya, has done an outstanding job. We make a great team. I LOVE to write them and she Loves to read and proofread them. I just had to write this missing scene from Avenger 2.0 for Daniel. On the actual episode if I had blinked a few times I would have missed his tiny screen time alltogether. Also I just really needed to know how he was doing on that awful planet.
© September 2003 I don't own Stargate SG-1 or Daniel or Jack or Sam or Teal'c; This was not written for any monetary purpose whatsoever.
Only because I love to write Danny whumped / Jack comforts Danny, stories. No copywrite infringement intended. Story is the property of the author.