Fic:: Coming Into Being
Coming Into Being
by Raven
G, Stargate SG-1, gen, humour
It was a dark and stormy night. Rain fell in torrents and small waves of ebbing water broke against Jack O’Neill’s boots as he squelched into Cheyenne Mountain.
He was still rubbing water out of his hair as he entered the control room, twenty-eight levels below ground. Daniel and Carter were perfectly dry.
“How come you’re not…” Jack began, then stopped. “Oh, for crying out loud. Neither of you went home, did you?”
“Didn’t seem worth it, to be honest,” said Daniel mildly, pointing at the clock. It was almost four o’clock in the morning.
“Not worth sleeping the night before a mission?” Jack growled. “I beg to differ, Dr. Jackson. One hour before we ship out, kids. Jump to it.”
He stomped off, still trailing rainwater. “He’s in a fine mood,” Daniel commented, idly tapping his fingernails against the side of the computer Sam was sitting at.
She looked up. “He’ll cheer up once we get going,” she said. “He generally does.”
Daniel privately doubted that, and felt himself justified when Jack still seemed inclined to sarcasm as the team assembled on the ramp. “Are we all quite ready?” he inquired sweetly. “No-one forgotten anything? No-one needs the bathroom?”
Before anyone could respond, Hammond’s voice blared out from the control room above. “SG-1, you have a go.”
One by one, the team stepped into the event horizon and were sent on the familiar helter-skelter ride across the galaxy.
The Stargate on the far side creaked and lit up. After a second, it disgorged first a plasma wash and then SG-1, who stepped nonchalantly out onto the soil of another world and blinked in the bright light.
The Stargate stood in the midst of a rolling plain. The grass was verdant and soft underfoot, and it seemed to be part of an unbroken, undulating carpet of green, stretching to each horizon. There were coniferous trees dotted here and there and snow-capped mountains in the far distance, clear in the still air. Close to the horizon hung a large purple moon, partially obscured by mists and reflected in the sunshine-glittered waters of a small lake nearby.
“Well,” said Jack after a while. “The MALP, bless it, appears to have taken up mendacity as a sideline.”
Sam blinked at him. “When the MALP came through, it was raining,” she said. “And it was the middle of the night at the time.”
“Which is why we were required to rise so early,” Teal’c said unexpectedly.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Sam replied. “Five am in Colorado is midday here.”
“Let’s take a look around,” Jack said, breaking into what could become a leisurely discussion. Following his lead, SG-1 set off across the grass, following the slightly muddy tracks the MALP had left. The sun shone warmly down and somewhere close by, a bird of some sort began to sing.
Within minutes, Jack was humming a tune under his breath. Sam gave Daniel a triumphant grin and joined in for the chorus.
Six hours later, Sam activated the Stargate again. It took several seconds before her transmission was picked up by Stargate Command. “No sign of habitation,” she reported. “Daniel says he thinks the planet was once colonised by the Ancients, because there is a Stargate here, but there’s no sign of them left.”
“What about the Goa’uld?” It was Hammond’s voice, tinny and slightly distorted over the MALP.
“No sign of them, either. I don’t think they even know this planet exists. Colonel O’Neill’s helping me take soil samples, just in case there is any naquadah, but I doubt it. Teal’c is guarding the perimeter, but frankly I don’t think there’s much to guard against.”
“Understood. Where’s Dr. Jackson?”
“Here,” answered Daniel, standing up. He had been crouched behind the DHD, clutching a piece of paper with what looked like runes on it. “Ah… there are some writings on the DHD, which is unusual… the script indicates the Ancients were here at some point in the past, but it’s an even earlier version of their writing and I’m not making much headway…”
He disappeared out of sight again, apparently distracted by something else.
“Very well, SG-1,” said Hammond after a pause. “Keep us posted. Hammond out.”
The wormhole shut down. Sam glanced up at the Stargate in time to see the plasma dissipate, and something else caught her eye. “Daniel, look.”
Daniel looked. “What?”
“There, on the Stargate.” Sam pointed. “Does that look odd to you?” She was walking across as she said it, standing within the ring of the Stargate and peering at its upper edge.
“It looks like some sort of… something,” Daniel said, joining her in staring upwards.
Sam grinned. “Yeah, it does.” Suddenly realising the inherent danger of standing within the Gate, she jumped to one side. Faced edge-on, the anomaly appeared even more prominent. The surface of the Gate was marked by long, smooth grooves, big enough to accommodate Sam’s fingers and shining as they caught the light. Every so often, Sam thought she saw a flash of colour coming from them - pink, purple or bright white - but the sunlight interfered with her vision and made her uncertain.
From the other side, Daniel called, “I thought all Stargates were the same?”
Sam nodded, then realised he couldn’t see her. “Yeah, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
“Well, apparently not.” Daniel jumped across to the steps leading down from the Stargate. “I think… yes, look here! The grooves lead downwards…”
Sam moved to see what he was talking about. The grooves extended into the top stone step, marking it with the thin scored furrows. She ran a fingertip across it, and then blinked as the length of her finger went straight through the bottom of the channel and touched something below. Something smooth and extremely solid. “Daniel.”
Daniel, more used to digging for things, scrabbled through the dust and sand on the step and felt sticky, wet soil underneath. After a minute, Sam heard his fingernails scratch stone. “Found something,” he muttered. “It might be a cover stone of some sort. There’s definitely something down there.”
“Time to go, people!” called a voice from behind them. Jack and Teal’c were striding up to the DHD. “Hey… what are you doing?”
“Digging, sir,” said Sam, straightening up. “We think we’ve found something buried underneath the Stargate.”
“It’s metal,” said Daniel without looking up. He was still scraping away at the step.
Jack looked wary. “Is it going to explode?”
“I have absolutely no idea.” Daniel was clearly distracted. If he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have said that.
“Ah.” Jack held up a finger. “Stop right there, Daniel.” Without waiting for an answer, he went on, “You’re not digging anything up that might turn out to be dangerous.”
“Jack, you…”
“We’ll come back,” Jack said over him. “Right now we’re overdue.”
Sam took the hint and began slapping the panels on the DHD. Daniel didn’t move for several more seconds, then abruptly realised and got out of the way just before Sam pressed the red crystal.
The MALP struggled over the steps and then plunged through.
SG-1 followed and stepped into the wormhole. They were suspended for a moment on the edge of the event horizon, held stationary for a few extra seconds.
Then they stepped out the other side.
“Oh,” said General George Hammond. Within a fraction of a second, he had yelled, “Med team to the gateroom, stat!” and down on the ramp, Teal’c had assisted the stretcher-bearers with the other three members of SG-1, but the feeling of complete and utter disbelief, so succinctly expressed, still lingered.
><><><><
The stretcher-bearers had soon deposited their burdens in the infirmary, accompanied by Teal’c, the only member of the team capable of standing up. Within seconds, Janet was inspecting the damage. She blinked in surprise at the three unconscious bodies on the beds. “Teal’c!” she called. “What happened? Humans? Aliens?”
“No, Dr. Fraiser,” Teal’c stated. “I believe they are the remaining members of SG-1.”
With a few quick strides, Janet had reached the nearest bed. Its occupant was a sleeping teenage boy. Janet stared. After a moment, the boy’s eyes opened and he stared back.
Janet took a deep breath. “Who are you?”
“Jack O’Neill.” The voice was slurred and sleepy. Janet desperately wanted to ask more questions, but a cursory examination proved the boy was in no immediate medical danger, and she moved on to the next bed.
One of her nurses retreated; apparently, they had been quicker off the mark than she had and had swiftly examined the new arrivals for anything life-threatening. Slightly reassured, she allowed herself a good look at the second patient.
Female, this time, and Janet could clearly see the resemblance in the blonde hair and small, pale face. When those eyes opened, Janet had no doubt they would be blue. Quickly, she estimated the girl’s age as about eight or nine, and moved on to the next bed.
This child was even younger - not more than six, judging by the size of the bump in the blankets. As Janet stood there, he rolled over and opened his eyes. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.
“You’re in the infirmary,” Janet told him. “It’s all right.”
His eyes closed again, but after a moment, a small hand had been flung out from under the covers. Janet held it lightly, marvelling at its size, and sighed. “Teal’c,” she called softly.
“I am here, Dr. Fraiser.” With dignity, Teal’c shook off the nurse attempting to take his temperature and walked across to the doctor.
“What happened?” she asked him again, and then lowered her voice. “Quietly, I don’t want to wake them.” And because she couldn’t help herself, “Are you sure this is SG-1?”
“Extremely sure,” he stated, with characteristic certainty. “Colonel O’Neill had given the order for our return. Major Carter entered the symbols into the Dial-Home Device. When O’Neill, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson entered the Stargate, they were…” He paused.
“Normal?” Janet suggested.
“Indeed.”
“So something happened when they were en route?” Janet wondered out loud. “Why didn’t it affect you, Teal’c?”
“I believe it may have done so, Dr. Fraiser.” He spoke so evenly that it took the doctor a moment to grasp the implications of what he had said.
“Teal’c? Are you saying you’re… younger?”
“I am not certain. However, I feel it is a distinct possibility.”
Having said that, Teal’c allowed the nurse to take his temperature and Janet felt the time had come to be businesslike. “Give all of them a thorough check-up,” she ordered. “MRI, the works.” Seized with a sudden thought, she added, “And get DNA samples from all of them. Have the lab match them up with the samples we already have.”
As the infirmary staff rushed to do her bidding, the general entered silently and watched the frantic activity. “Doctor, the children we saw in the gateroom…”
“Are SG-1, sir,” she finished.
He sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
Janet echoed the sigh. “I’d better get down to work.”
Before she did, she made a phone call. Upon hearing her mother was caught up in some sort of emergency involving SG-1, Cassandra took the news philosophically and arranged to spend the night at a friend’s house. She also took the opportunity to order a pizza. Janet stayed awake, researching, cross-referencing, sending some emails to Chicago, San Diego and New York, and occasionally walking across and staring at the children in frank bemusement
In the morning, she went to see General Hammond. His door was open and he looked up as she strode in with her clipboard. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure they’re SG-1, sir,” she said, jumping straight to the point. “The DNA test results still haven’t come back. They’re short-handed at the lab, so I sent a few emails…”
She laid her clipboard flat on the general’s desk. “I contacted Major Carter’s brother and Colonel O’Neill’s family and arranged for them to send me these.”
Hammond peered over her shoulder to see two photographs, both bearing signs of having been hurriedly scanned in and sent. One showed a teenage boy leaning on his skateboard; the other showed a small girl holding a plastic action figure and standing next to a man whom Hammond recognised as a younger version of Jacob Carter.
“I’ll admit it’s not very scientific, sir,” said Janet after he had had a good look, “but it was the best thing I could think of in the absence of the DNA tests. You can clearly see the resemblance. Frankly, if the children turn out not to be SG-1, I shall be very surprised.”
“And Dr. Jackson?” Hammond asked.
“I wasn’t entirely sure whom to contact for him,” she said honestly. “But on a hunch, I had a look at some back-issues of the New York Times…”
Hammond took the proffered newspaper cutting, and stared at the faint pixellated image of a young woman and a child. It was too blurry for him to say definitively that he recognised the small face, but a resemblance seemed likely enough.
A thought struck him. “What about Teal’c?”
“To be perfectly honest, I’m unsure as to whether or not Teal’c has been affected by whatever-it-is that did this to the other three. He says he may have been, but as he was over a hundred years old to begin with, it’s hard to be absolutely sure. It might be easier if I had a complete medical history for him, but as you know that’s not possible.”
“Is he in the infirmary?”
“No, as I couldn’t actually find anything wrong with him. I’ve sent him to his quarters and he knows not to leave the base.”
“Very well. Have you any idea how this happened? And can we reverse it?”
Janet waited for a moment before gathering her papers together. “There is no documented case of anything like this in Earth’s history, sir,” she said. “Believe me, I looked. I think we need some expert help for this.”
“Agreed. I’ll have the Tok’ra and the Asgard contacted immediately.”
Janet stood up and made for the door, but just as she was leaving, she called back, “General?”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“In contacting the Tok’ra, it might be an idea to make sure Jacob sees to this personally. Sir.”
General Hammond nodded and smiled. “You may well be right.”
She smiled and departed. When she got back to the infirmary, the children were awake.
next
by Raven
G, Stargate SG-1, gen, humour
It was a dark and stormy night. Rain fell in torrents and small waves of ebbing water broke against Jack O’Neill’s boots as he squelched into Cheyenne Mountain.
He was still rubbing water out of his hair as he entered the control room, twenty-eight levels below ground. Daniel and Carter were perfectly dry.
“How come you’re not…” Jack began, then stopped. “Oh, for crying out loud. Neither of you went home, did you?”
“Didn’t seem worth it, to be honest,” said Daniel mildly, pointing at the clock. It was almost four o’clock in the morning.
“Not worth sleeping the night before a mission?” Jack growled. “I beg to differ, Dr. Jackson. One hour before we ship out, kids. Jump to it.”
He stomped off, still trailing rainwater. “He’s in a fine mood,” Daniel commented, idly tapping his fingernails against the side of the computer Sam was sitting at.
She looked up. “He’ll cheer up once we get going,” she said. “He generally does.”
Daniel privately doubted that, and felt himself justified when Jack still seemed inclined to sarcasm as the team assembled on the ramp. “Are we all quite ready?” he inquired sweetly. “No-one forgotten anything? No-one needs the bathroom?”
Before anyone could respond, Hammond’s voice blared out from the control room above. “SG-1, you have a go.”
One by one, the team stepped into the event horizon and were sent on the familiar helter-skelter ride across the galaxy.
The Stargate on the far side creaked and lit up. After a second, it disgorged first a plasma wash and then SG-1, who stepped nonchalantly out onto the soil of another world and blinked in the bright light.
The Stargate stood in the midst of a rolling plain. The grass was verdant and soft underfoot, and it seemed to be part of an unbroken, undulating carpet of green, stretching to each horizon. There were coniferous trees dotted here and there and snow-capped mountains in the far distance, clear in the still air. Close to the horizon hung a large purple moon, partially obscured by mists and reflected in the sunshine-glittered waters of a small lake nearby.
“Well,” said Jack after a while. “The MALP, bless it, appears to have taken up mendacity as a sideline.”
Sam blinked at him. “When the MALP came through, it was raining,” she said. “And it was the middle of the night at the time.”
“Which is why we were required to rise so early,” Teal’c said unexpectedly.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Sam replied. “Five am in Colorado is midday here.”
“Let’s take a look around,” Jack said, breaking into what could become a leisurely discussion. Following his lead, SG-1 set off across the grass, following the slightly muddy tracks the MALP had left. The sun shone warmly down and somewhere close by, a bird of some sort began to sing.
Within minutes, Jack was humming a tune under his breath. Sam gave Daniel a triumphant grin and joined in for the chorus.
Six hours later, Sam activated the Stargate again. It took several seconds before her transmission was picked up by Stargate Command. “No sign of habitation,” she reported. “Daniel says he thinks the planet was once colonised by the Ancients, because there is a Stargate here, but there’s no sign of them left.”
“What about the Goa’uld?” It was Hammond’s voice, tinny and slightly distorted over the MALP.
“No sign of them, either. I don’t think they even know this planet exists. Colonel O’Neill’s helping me take soil samples, just in case there is any naquadah, but I doubt it. Teal’c is guarding the perimeter, but frankly I don’t think there’s much to guard against.”
“Understood. Where’s Dr. Jackson?”
“Here,” answered Daniel, standing up. He had been crouched behind the DHD, clutching a piece of paper with what looked like runes on it. “Ah… there are some writings on the DHD, which is unusual… the script indicates the Ancients were here at some point in the past, but it’s an even earlier version of their writing and I’m not making much headway…”
He disappeared out of sight again, apparently distracted by something else.
“Very well, SG-1,” said Hammond after a pause. “Keep us posted. Hammond out.”
The wormhole shut down. Sam glanced up at the Stargate in time to see the plasma dissipate, and something else caught her eye. “Daniel, look.”
Daniel looked. “What?”
“There, on the Stargate.” Sam pointed. “Does that look odd to you?” She was walking across as she said it, standing within the ring of the Stargate and peering at its upper edge.
“It looks like some sort of… something,” Daniel said, joining her in staring upwards.
Sam grinned. “Yeah, it does.” Suddenly realising the inherent danger of standing within the Gate, she jumped to one side. Faced edge-on, the anomaly appeared even more prominent. The surface of the Gate was marked by long, smooth grooves, big enough to accommodate Sam’s fingers and shining as they caught the light. Every so often, Sam thought she saw a flash of colour coming from them - pink, purple or bright white - but the sunlight interfered with her vision and made her uncertain.
From the other side, Daniel called, “I thought all Stargates were the same?”
Sam nodded, then realised he couldn’t see her. “Yeah, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
“Well, apparently not.” Daniel jumped across to the steps leading down from the Stargate. “I think… yes, look here! The grooves lead downwards…”
Sam moved to see what he was talking about. The grooves extended into the top stone step, marking it with the thin scored furrows. She ran a fingertip across it, and then blinked as the length of her finger went straight through the bottom of the channel and touched something below. Something smooth and extremely solid. “Daniel.”
Daniel, more used to digging for things, scrabbled through the dust and sand on the step and felt sticky, wet soil underneath. After a minute, Sam heard his fingernails scratch stone. “Found something,” he muttered. “It might be a cover stone of some sort. There’s definitely something down there.”
“Time to go, people!” called a voice from behind them. Jack and Teal’c were striding up to the DHD. “Hey… what are you doing?”
“Digging, sir,” said Sam, straightening up. “We think we’ve found something buried underneath the Stargate.”
“It’s metal,” said Daniel without looking up. He was still scraping away at the step.
Jack looked wary. “Is it going to explode?”
“I have absolutely no idea.” Daniel was clearly distracted. If he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have said that.
“Ah.” Jack held up a finger. “Stop right there, Daniel.” Without waiting for an answer, he went on, “You’re not digging anything up that might turn out to be dangerous.”
“Jack, you…”
“We’ll come back,” Jack said over him. “Right now we’re overdue.”
Sam took the hint and began slapping the panels on the DHD. Daniel didn’t move for several more seconds, then abruptly realised and got out of the way just before Sam pressed the red crystal.
The MALP struggled over the steps and then plunged through.
SG-1 followed and stepped into the wormhole. They were suspended for a moment on the edge of the event horizon, held stationary for a few extra seconds.
Then they stepped out the other side.
“Oh,” said General George Hammond. Within a fraction of a second, he had yelled, “Med team to the gateroom, stat!” and down on the ramp, Teal’c had assisted the stretcher-bearers with the other three members of SG-1, but the feeling of complete and utter disbelief, so succinctly expressed, still lingered.
><><><><
The stretcher-bearers had soon deposited their burdens in the infirmary, accompanied by Teal’c, the only member of the team capable of standing up. Within seconds, Janet was inspecting the damage. She blinked in surprise at the three unconscious bodies on the beds. “Teal’c!” she called. “What happened? Humans? Aliens?”
“No, Dr. Fraiser,” Teal’c stated. “I believe they are the remaining members of SG-1.”
With a few quick strides, Janet had reached the nearest bed. Its occupant was a sleeping teenage boy. Janet stared. After a moment, the boy’s eyes opened and he stared back.
Janet took a deep breath. “Who are you?”
“Jack O’Neill.” The voice was slurred and sleepy. Janet desperately wanted to ask more questions, but a cursory examination proved the boy was in no immediate medical danger, and she moved on to the next bed.
One of her nurses retreated; apparently, they had been quicker off the mark than she had and had swiftly examined the new arrivals for anything life-threatening. Slightly reassured, she allowed herself a good look at the second patient.
Female, this time, and Janet could clearly see the resemblance in the blonde hair and small, pale face. When those eyes opened, Janet had no doubt they would be blue. Quickly, she estimated the girl’s age as about eight or nine, and moved on to the next bed.
This child was even younger - not more than six, judging by the size of the bump in the blankets. As Janet stood there, he rolled over and opened his eyes. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.
“You’re in the infirmary,” Janet told him. “It’s all right.”
His eyes closed again, but after a moment, a small hand had been flung out from under the covers. Janet held it lightly, marvelling at its size, and sighed. “Teal’c,” she called softly.
“I am here, Dr. Fraiser.” With dignity, Teal’c shook off the nurse attempting to take his temperature and walked across to the doctor.
“What happened?” she asked him again, and then lowered her voice. “Quietly, I don’t want to wake them.” And because she couldn’t help herself, “Are you sure this is SG-1?”
“Extremely sure,” he stated, with characteristic certainty. “Colonel O’Neill had given the order for our return. Major Carter entered the symbols into the Dial-Home Device. When O’Neill, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson entered the Stargate, they were…” He paused.
“Normal?” Janet suggested.
“Indeed.”
“So something happened when they were en route?” Janet wondered out loud. “Why didn’t it affect you, Teal’c?”
“I believe it may have done so, Dr. Fraiser.” He spoke so evenly that it took the doctor a moment to grasp the implications of what he had said.
“Teal’c? Are you saying you’re… younger?”
“I am not certain. However, I feel it is a distinct possibility.”
Having said that, Teal’c allowed the nurse to take his temperature and Janet felt the time had come to be businesslike. “Give all of them a thorough check-up,” she ordered. “MRI, the works.” Seized with a sudden thought, she added, “And get DNA samples from all of them. Have the lab match them up with the samples we already have.”
As the infirmary staff rushed to do her bidding, the general entered silently and watched the frantic activity. “Doctor, the children we saw in the gateroom…”
“Are SG-1, sir,” she finished.
He sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
Janet echoed the sigh. “I’d better get down to work.”
Before she did, she made a phone call. Upon hearing her mother was caught up in some sort of emergency involving SG-1, Cassandra took the news philosophically and arranged to spend the night at a friend’s house. She also took the opportunity to order a pizza. Janet stayed awake, researching, cross-referencing, sending some emails to Chicago, San Diego and New York, and occasionally walking across and staring at the children in frank bemusement
In the morning, she went to see General Hammond. His door was open and he looked up as she strode in with her clipboard. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure they’re SG-1, sir,” she said, jumping straight to the point. “The DNA test results still haven’t come back. They’re short-handed at the lab, so I sent a few emails…”
She laid her clipboard flat on the general’s desk. “I contacted Major Carter’s brother and Colonel O’Neill’s family and arranged for them to send me these.”
Hammond peered over her shoulder to see two photographs, both bearing signs of having been hurriedly scanned in and sent. One showed a teenage boy leaning on his skateboard; the other showed a small girl holding a plastic action figure and standing next to a man whom Hammond recognised as a younger version of Jacob Carter.
“I’ll admit it’s not very scientific, sir,” said Janet after he had had a good look, “but it was the best thing I could think of in the absence of the DNA tests. You can clearly see the resemblance. Frankly, if the children turn out not to be SG-1, I shall be very surprised.”
“And Dr. Jackson?” Hammond asked.
“I wasn’t entirely sure whom to contact for him,” she said honestly. “But on a hunch, I had a look at some back-issues of the New York Times…”
Hammond took the proffered newspaper cutting, and stared at the faint pixellated image of a young woman and a child. It was too blurry for him to say definitively that he recognised the small face, but a resemblance seemed likely enough.
A thought struck him. “What about Teal’c?”
“To be perfectly honest, I’m unsure as to whether or not Teal’c has been affected by whatever-it-is that did this to the other three. He says he may have been, but as he was over a hundred years old to begin with, it’s hard to be absolutely sure. It might be easier if I had a complete medical history for him, but as you know that’s not possible.”
“Is he in the infirmary?”
“No, as I couldn’t actually find anything wrong with him. I’ve sent him to his quarters and he knows not to leave the base.”
“Very well. Have you any idea how this happened? And can we reverse it?”
Janet waited for a moment before gathering her papers together. “There is no documented case of anything like this in Earth’s history, sir,” she said. “Believe me, I looked. I think we need some expert help for this.”
“Agreed. I’ll have the Tok’ra and the Asgard contacted immediately.”
Janet stood up and made for the door, but just as she was leaving, she called back, “General?”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“In contacting the Tok’ra, it might be an idea to make sure Jacob sees to this personally. Sir.”
General Hammond nodded and smiled. “You may well be right.”
She smiled and departed. When she got back to the infirmary, the children were awake.
next