Prometheus Unbound 1/2
Title: Prometheus Unbound
Author: dhamphir
Fandom: SG-1 (AU)
Pairing: Sam/Janet
Rating: PG13
Word count: ~8800
Summary: Sam receives orders transferring her from the SGC to Atlantis. However, things don’t go exactly as planned - someone steals the Prometheus and takes her prisoner.
Spoilers/Timeline: AU. This is a different version of the events of S08E12 Prometheus Unbound.
Disclaimer: SG-1 its characters belong to B.W, J.G. and MGM. No copyright infringement intended, no money be made.
A/N1: Most of the dialogue taken directly from the show. Written for the Spring 2010 Sam and Janet Ficathon.
A/N2: Special thanks to my beta oxfordshoes2.
Prometheus Unbound
“All I need is enough time to collate the data from the field integrity tests. With that information I should be able to synthesize-”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!” the general exclaimed, waving his hands in the air. “All I want to know is if you’ll be able to get the doohickey working.”
Sam grinned in amusement. “Yes, sir. I’ll get it working,” she replied as General O’Neill opened the door to his office.
Both Jack and Sam stopped short at the sight that greeted them. General Hammond smiled at them from Jack’s chair behind his desk.
“General!” O’Neill exclaimed.
“Jack. I let myself in - hope you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely not! Welcome.”
“Thank you.”
“Miss the chair?”
“Actually, I do.”
“Want it back?” Jack offered, only half joking.
“As a matter of fact, I do. My new one just isn’t the same.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant.”
“Colonel Carter - nice to see you again.”
“Likewise,” Sam said with a bright smile. “We miss you around here, sir.” She ignored the look of feigned indignation O’Neill gave her. “So, to what do we owe this pleasure, sir?”
“I came to ask if you’d be interested in joining the mission to Atlantis.”
“You did?” “You did?” O’Neill and Carter asked in unison.
“She’s the most qualified person on this planet, and the mission commander needs someone who understands Ancient technology.”
“With all due respect, sir, I think you should tell the mission commander that I need Carter right here.”
“You just did.”
“I did... I did? You, sir?
“Yes.” Hammond stood up. “Request denied. Colonel Carter, you’re with me.” He looked at Jack with a slightly smug smile. “I’ll have the chair shipped to Washington. You can requisition a new one.”
“I’ll do that, sir.”
“We leave tomorrow,” he told Sam as he moved to the doorway. “Oh, and I’ll be taking Walter, too,” he tossed over his shoulder as he left.
~~~
“What the hell do you mean?” Pete Shanahan demanded.
Sam continued to pack. “Exactly what I said - I’ve been transferred.”
“To another galaxy?!”
“Yes.”
“Sam... Sam!” He waited until she looked at him.
She took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “What?”
“Can’t you tell the general you don’t want to go? I mean, it’s not like he gave you any notice.”
“I do want to go. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”
“What about us?”
“Pete... I’m in the Air Force. You knew something like this could happen, that I could be transferred.”
“To another state, not another galaxy! If you were transferred to another state I could always go with you. I don’t suppose the general will let me go with you to the Pegasus galaxy,” he finished bitterly.
“No.”
“So where does that leave us?”
Sam stopped packing and hesitated. With her head hung she closed her eyes... and came to a long overdue decision. She removed the engagement ring from her finger and gently placed it in Pete’s palm, closing his hand around it. “I’m sorry.”
“Sam-”
“No, Pete. It would have never worked.”
Even though a part of him had sensed the truth of her words, it still hurt. He had truly hoped that by being patient and supportive of Sam’s work that they could make things work. He should have known it wouldn’t have lasted though. Sam’s hesitancy in accepting his proposal and her obvious resistance to moving in together should have been a clue. He couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t lead to regret, so he silently left the bedroom and exited the house. Pausing to look at the house for a couple of moments, Pete got in his car and drove away.
Sam sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh. She’d never meant to hurt him... but if she was honest with herself she knew she shouldn’t have ever accepted his proposal. She agonized over her answer when he’d asked. She finally said yes... because it had been the right thing to do - to get married, settle down, and have a family. At least that’s what she’d told herself.
~~~
Even though Sam had been instrumental in the design and build of the Prometheus, it was something else entirely to be walking its corridors while traveling to a different galaxy. She couldn’t suppress the smile that graced her lips. She rounded a corner and saw General Hammond.
“General!”
“Welcome aboard.”
“Thank you, sir - again,” she replied as they fell in step together.
“My motives were purely selfish, Colonel. We haven’t heard a word from the Atlantis expedition team since they first left. We have no idea what we’re going to find in Pegasus. Your knowledge and expertise will no doubt prove invaluable.”
“General, if you don’t mind my asking...”
“Why am I going?”
“Well, you could’ve chosen anyone to command this mission, sir.”
“You know, I sat back and watched you people go on a lot of adventures over the years.”
“It’s just that I thought that when you were replaced at the SGC, you were sort of bucking for retirement.”
The general smiled. “And then I led Prometheus against Anubis’ fleet.”
“Got your dander up, sir?” she said with an understanding smile.
“That’s why I took the job as Head of Homeworld Security - and then this opportunity came along. Well, the President put me in charge, so I could choose anyone I wanted to lead the mission.”
“So why not choose yourself?”
“Like I said, I sent a lot of people into action over the years. More than a few didn’t come back. I’d like to see this one through personally.”
“We’ve never left anyone behind, sir.”
“And we’re not going to this time.”
They arrived at the conference room. Sam made a last check of her presentation as they waited for the last of the personnel to arrive. Finally, the general gave her a nod, indicating for her to start.
Sam pointed to the data projected on the screen. “The last recorded MALP telemetry from Atlantis indicated an enclosed space with viable life support.” She was interrupted by a woman rushing in to take a seat and hiccupping.
“Stop it!” Novak (according to the name tag on her uniform) muttered to herself.
“Now we’re going on the assumption that the expedition team found the lost city and was able to set up a base of operations there.”
Novak hiccupped again. “Sorry.”
The general turned to Novak. “Dr. Novak?”
“The Asgard hyperdrive is functioning at 100 percent, sir.”
“Thank you.” He looked back at Sam. “Colonel Carter?”
“I’m sorry - what was I saying?”
“Oh, you were assuming the lost city is at the other end of the field trip,” Novak said before hiccupping again. “Please ignore me.”
“It’s hard to,” Sam observed.
“You disagree, Doctor?” Hammond asked.
“Well, as far as we know, the Atlantis team found another outpost like the one on Antarctica. It could be on a moon, or at the bottom of some deep, dark ocean,” she finished with another hiccup.
“Which is why we’re going,” Hammond pointed out. “If they’re trapped and need help-”
“If they’re even alive at all,” Novak said, interrupting the general and hiccupping again.
“As for why they’ve been unable to make contact with Earth, hopefully it’s just a matter of being unable to locate a viable power source,” Sam said, taking back control of the briefing.
“Using information collected from the Ancient outpost on Earth, Colonel Carter and her team have pinpointed our destination in the Pegasus galaxy,” said the general.
Sam’s next words were cut short by Novak once again hiccupping loudly.
“Damn it to hell!” Novak grabbed a glass of water from the table, spun her chair around, leaned forward until her head was below her knees, and noisily slurped water while upside down.
~~~
Novak approached the elevator just as Sam swiped her access card.
“Dr. Novak.”
“Colonel Carter.”
“Sam,” she replied, giving the woman permission to use her first name.
“You can call me Lindsey. Um, sorry for contradicting you in the briefing.”
“Oh, no, don’t be. I mean you were right. The fact that we haven’t heard from the Atlantis expedition since they left is a bad sign,” Sam said as the elevator finally arrived and they both entered.
Novak hiccupped as the doors closed.
“Tried holding your breath?” Sam asked.
“Oh, God! I’ve tried everything!”
“Yeah, it doesn’t work for me either.”
“It’s been like this since I was a kid,” Novak explained as the elevator stopped and they got out. “It comes on when I get scared, but this is the worst it’s been since my PhD presentation. I mean, I don’t really do well in stressful situations. I guess that’s why I turned down going to Atlantis the first time.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re going to be fine. General Hammond says you’re, uh, you’re very good at what you do, so...”
“Oh, thank you!”
An alarm suddenly sounded... and Novak hiccupped.
“What’s that? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Sam answered as she hurried down the corridor.
Novak took a deep breath and held it for several seconds - until she realized she probably ought to report to her station since an alarm was sounding.
~~~
When Sam arrived on the bridge, Colonel Reynolds was standing in front of the main viewscreen and General Hammond was sitting in the command chair. Chief Master Sgt. Walter Harriman in was in the seat to the general’s left.
“We’re picking up what sounds like a distress call,” Hammond said.
“Where are we?” asked Sam.
Walter answered her, “We’re still well inside the Milky Way.”
“Play back the message,” ordered the general.
“Yes, sir.”
Walter played back the recording. A woman’s voice could be heard, but the message was so garbled only a few sporadic words could be understood.
“... require assistance... failed... lost power... stranded...”
“She sounds human,” Sam observed.
“What do you think?”
“Well, sir, as much as I hate to delay this trip, I think we have to check it out.”
“How far away is it?” Hammond asked Walter.
“The message is originating just over 50 light years off our designated route. We could be there in... 20 minutes.”
“Set a course.”
“Yes, sir.”
~~~
When the Prometheus came out of hyperspace they observed two damaged and motionless Goa’uld ships.
“Set shields at maximum; arm weapons,” Hammond ordered.
“Looks like and al’kesh and a cargo ship,” Colonel Reynolds observed.
Walter studied the readouts on his display. “Scans indicate they’ve suffered significant damage. The distress signal is originating from within the al’kesh.”
“A human distress call from a Goa’uld ship - that doesn’t make any sense,” observed the general.
Reynolds nodded. “I agree, sir. It could be a trap.”
Sam chimed in, “I know this looks suspicious, but what if there was an uprising on board one of those ships? There could be human prisoners in need of our help. They, and the ship, could provide some valuable intelligence.”
Hammond nodded in agreement. “Open a channel.”
“Yes, sir,” Walter replied.
“This is General George Hammond of the Earth vessel Prometheus. We’re answering your distress call and standing ready to assist you.”
“We can transport a portable sensor unit on board to determine life support viability,” Walter offered when there was no response.
“General, Colonel Carter is right - an al’kesh is potentially a valuable ship. Even if there are no survivors, we need to determine if it’s space worthy. If it is we should salvage her,” said Reynolds.
Hammond nodded. “Take a team.”
“Yes, sir.”
~~~
On the al’kesh, Reynolds and his team discovered four dead Jaffa. They found no sign of life, but on their way to the bridge they heard the transporter rings activate.
“Prometheus, someone just activated the-”
The transmission was cut off.
“Colonel Reynolds, say again,” said Hammond.
“Sir! Our rings just activated,” reported Walter.
“Security team to level four ring room. Visuals onscreen.”
Walter pulled up the camera in the ring room, but there was nothing but static.
“Seal it off.”
“Controls are not responding, sir.”
Sam took over, trying to get the controls to work.
“Security team, report,” Hammond ordered.
Sam shook her head. “All shipboard communications are down.”
“Initiate emergency lockdown.”
“I can’t sir. I may be able to from the engine room.”
“Go.”
Sam took off with a couple of technicians in tow.
~~~
Sam rounded a corner and barely dove for cover in time when she spotted the Kull warrior at the end of the corridor. The technicians with her weren’t fast enough - the Kull warrior took them out with a zat. Sam stayed hidden until she heard its heavy footsteps lead away. She cautiously peeked around the corner to make sure the way was clear before taking off at a run for the armory. She grabbed one of the modified T.R.E.s she and her father had designed to bring down Kull warriors. She adjusted the chip in it, grabbed some other weapons, and headed off.
Meanwhile, on the al’kesh, the rings they’d been unable to activate suddenly activated. Reynolds and his team were surprised to see several unconscious Prometheus crewman show up.
~~~
General Hammond, Walter, and the rest of the bridge crew stared in horror when the Kull warrior barged in and raised its zat.
~~~
Reynolds and his team had just removed the latest unconscious crewman from the ring platform when it activated once again, depositing General Hammond, Walter, and two other crewman.
“Status,” the general barked as he and Reynolds headed to the bridge. They arrived in time to see the Prometheus power up and fly away. “Can we pursue?”
Reynolds sat in the pilot’s seat and tried to activate the controls. “Engines are offline; controls are unresponsive. The weapons are offline, too, sir. It looks like we’re dead in the water.”
Walter ran onto the bridge. “General! I just did a head count - Colonel Carter is still aboard Prometheus.”
~~~
Sam made her way to the bridge where she found the Kull warrior standing with his back to her. She raised her weapon and fired, with no effect. The super soldier turned around and Sam fired again... still with no effect. The Kull warrior raised its zat.
“Oh, crap!”
~~~
General Hammond walked over to Novak where she was sitting on the deck holding her head.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, I feel like my head’s going to explode. But on the bright side, I think my hiccups are gone!” Of course, as soon as she said that she hiccupped. She rolled her eyes at herself. “What do you need, sir?”
“I need this ship operational - now.”
“Yes, sir.” She got up and scampered off to get to work on the repairs.
Hammond returned to the bridge. Walter was in the pilot’s chair working.
“Near as I can tell, we’re lucky that the life support systems are still working, sir.”
“How much time do you figure we have?”
“That’s hard to say. I’ve got some secondary systems online, including some short range sensors, sir. Scans of the cargo ship indicate that it’s in worse shape than this al’kesh.” Walter paused before making an observation. “Strange, isn’t it, sir?”
“You mean that a Goa’uld super soldier would go to all this trouble to keep us alive?” He nodded. “Yes, it is.”
~~~
When Sam came to she found herself tied to the command chair by nylon zip-ties around her wrists. She struggled despite knowing the zip-ties wouldn’t give. She looked at the back of the Kull warrior where he stood looking at some display screens.
“Hey, how’s it going?” She got no response. “Guess it’s just you and me, huh? It’s a little strange, isn’t it? You see, that weapon I shot you with should have killed you.” Feeling like she was channeling O’Neill, Sam continued to talk despite getting no response. “What’s even stranger is that you guys usually don’t take prisoners, either. I mean, it’s kind of kill first and... No, that’s generally just about it - just the killing. I’m just going to talk to myself here for a while, because you’re not going to talk to me and... Not that you guys are very talkative, but, uh...”
The Kull warrior turned towards Sam and spoke in the resonate tone of a Goa’uld. “You may prove useful.”
“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Where’s everybody else?”
“I transported them onto the al’kesh.”
“Well, you kept the wrong person, because I don’t know anything about the ship.”
The Kull warrior walked towards Sam. “But you are very attractive.”
“What?!”
The Kull warrior moved closer.
The thought of an ugly, slimy Kull warrior touching her was more than Sam could stomach. “Um... you’re not my type.”
“But you are definitely mine.”
The warrior reached up and started to take its helmet off.
“No, don’t! You don’t have to take that off!” She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you... much...”
Sam opened her eyes at the decidedly feminine voice. What she saw was an attractive brunette with chocolate brown eyes and an amused smirk. She looked vaguely familiar, but Sam couldn’t place her. The woman continued to remove the Kull armor, under which she wore a form-fitting, black catsuit. It was only when the woman had removed the bulky armor that Sam noticed the woman was wearing boots with at least four extra inches of sole on them.
The brunette noticed the blonde staring at her boots. “They take a little getting used to, but between the extra thick soles and the lifts I wear inside them, no one would guess I’m only five three,” she said with a smirk. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her short hair. “Alright. I want to send a long range transmission using the communications systems.”
“Sorry, don’t have a clue.”
The woman sauntered over to Sam. “You lie.”
“In general? Uh... no. Yes. Well, I try to be honest, but you know, occasionally a little white one slips out every now and again.” She was obviously still channeling O’Neill.
The brunette slapped Sam.
“Ah! Ow!” She couldn’t believe the woman slapped her.
“Shall I kiss it better?” the woman purred.
“Um, no.” Sam thought she could have sounded a little more convincing. “Just don’t do it again.” Sam mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Apparently, she couldn’t sound more convincing. “Hey, look, even if I knew what it is you wanted me to do, what makes you think I’d tell you? How the hell do you think you can steal a ship when you don’t know how it works?”
“I got the sub-light engines going.”
“Yeah, so you did.”
“You really expect me to believe you don’t know how your own ship works?”
“Look, my name is Sam. I’m just a lab tech.”
The brunette walked over and sat in the adjacent seat, and started trying to activate the controls.
“Have you heard of Earth? The Tau’ri?” Sam continued when she didn’t get a response. “Okay. Well, we were on our way to rescue a few friends who are trapped in-”
“I really don’t care.”
“Look, this really isn’t necessary-”
“Can I have this ship? ‘No.’ Okay; discussion over.” She slammed her fist down on the console, which beeped and displayed a message: Communications System Active. “Oh.” She smiled at Sam. “Here we go.” She pressed a button. “Tenat, this is Janet. If you can hear me, please respond.”
As she paused to allow for a response, Janet didn’t notice that Sam had managed to reach and pick up a piece of metal. She might be able to use it to try to cut through her bindings.
“I’ve managed to procure a vessel bigger and better than what I hoped for. Tenat, if you get this message, I apologize for the delay and will meet you at the designated coordinates in one day. Janet out.” She turned to Sam. “Now, about the hyperdrive.”
~~~
On the al’kesh, Hammond entered the engine room where Dr. Novak and Colonel Reynolds were working on a bank of crystals. “Colonel. Doctor.”
“I’ve re-routed remaining power to shields and life support for the time being, but as far as the engines go...” Novak shrugged.
“The control crystals for both sub-light and hyperdrive engines are totally fried,” Reynolds explained.
Novak nodded. “Looks like they were deliberately sabotaged.”
“Can they be repaired?” the general asked.
“In a word, no. We need new ones.”
“I was thinking about that cargo ship, sir,” Reynolds offered.
“Sgt. Harriman says life support over there is minimal - barely enough to sustain one person for a few moments.”
“And if we don’t get new crystals...” Novak started hiccupping. “Sorry.”
“I’ll go, sir,” Reynolds said with a nod.
“No, I’ll go.”
Reynolds stared at the general in surprise. “Uh, with all due-”
“Colonel, someone took my ship. I want it back,” Hammond declared in a tone that brooked no argument.
~~~
While Janet tried to get the hyperdrive working, Sam continued to try to cut through the binding on her right wrist with the piece of metal.
Janet let out a frustrated growl. “Access is restricted by a code.”
“Yeah? Too bad,” Sam sneered.
The brunette turned and shot the pertinent blonde in the shoulder with a Kull weapon that burned like a staff weapon. Sam cried out in pain and shock.
“That hurt?”
“Yeah!”
Janet showed the blonde the palm of her right hand, showing her a small Goa’uld device attached to her fingers. “I can fix it.”
“I don’t know the code!”
The brunette stood and walked over to Sam. She sat on the blonde’s lap, straddling her thighs. Sam found the brunette’s closeness more than just a little disconcerting. Despite the painful wound, her body was having a... favorable reaction to the brunette.
Janet activated the device on her hand and healed the blonde’s wounded shoulder. “There. Feel better?”
Sam looked at the hole in the sleeve of her t-shirt and took note of the completely healed skin and flesh. She looked at the woman on her lap. “You’re a Goa’uld.”
“No - but I was once a host to one.”
“Which would explain the naquadah in your blood that lets you use Goa’uld technology.”
“And how I can quickly learn to fly this rather primitive ship.”
“Yeah, so primitive one would wonder if it was worth the bother.”
“Well, in this case, it’s the size that matters.” Janet pointedly looked down at Sam’s breasts. “Actually, pretty much in every case,” she said with a decidedly carnal leer as she blatantly ground her hips against the blonde.
Sam’s wide eyes blinked in shock... while every nerve in her body seemed to be connected to her crotch. She was turned on.
Janet leaned in, lightly blew in the blonde’s ear, and then sucked on her earlobe. She grinned when she felt the blonde’s hips jerk in response. “Tell me the code,” Janet whispered before sticking her tongue the blonde’s ear. “Please.”
“I d-don’t... don’t know i-it.”
Janet pulled back. “Fine.” She hopped off of Sam’s lap and walked away, looking over her shoulder just before leaving the bridge.
Sam never felt so confused.
~~~
On the al’kesh Hammond prepared to ring over to the cargo ship, assisted by Walter, Dr. Novak, and Colonel Reynolds.
“How much time will he have?” the colonel asked.
“I’m guessing a few minutes, maybe less,” Walter answered.
“Sir-”
“Not another word, Colonel,” the general snapped. He stepped into the circle. “Do it now.”
Walter activated the rings and sent Hammond to the cargo ship. The general turned on the light attached to his rifle. The air was thin and he was already coughing and struggling to breathe as he headed to the engine room.
“General? General, can you hear me?” Novak called over the radio.
“I’m here in the engine room.”
“Open the third panel down on the center column.”
He did as instructed. “Done.”
“You want the blue one. It should be located at the center of the panel.”
Despite his blurry vision he managed. “Got it.”
“One panel up you should find a clear one.”
He opened the panel. “It’s hard to tell. The light in here’s...” Hammond managed to pull the crystal, but he was about to pass out. “Something’s...”
“General, can you hear me?”
“It’s only been two minutes!” exclaimed Reynolds.
“There was a firefight on board. If the life support is not cycling the air...”
“What?”
“Staff blasts give off carbon dioxide. In a small enclosed space...”
Walter took off running for the ring room.
~~~
General Hammond barely managed to stagger into the ring room. Just he passed out he tossed the crystals into the circle. When the rings activated the crystals were sent back to the al’kesh; fortunately, Reynolds transported to the cargo ship at the same time. He grabbed hold of the unconscious general and pulled him into the circle.
~~~
Part 2