10x20 Unending
Transcript may be found here.
Excerpts from the journal of Teal’c son of Ronac
Day 0
There are days when I note how young my companions really are. Cameron Mitchell insists on continually sparring, hour after hour, and talks incessantly of a ‘pool’. It seems he refers not to a body of water, but rather a wager on why the Asgard have called us into the middle of space.
Vala Maldoran plays incessant practical jokes. Fortunately Daniel Jackson seems to be her sole target. She plans to throw him a surprise birthday party today even though I informed her that Daniel Jackson’s birthday is in July and we are currently in the month of March.
I do not expect he will be amused.
Fortunately we arrive at Orilla soon.
*Later*
Thor has arrived on the Odyssey and announced that the genetic experiments designed to keep his race alive have failed. As a result they have decided to pass their technology to the Taur’ii. Although the technological windfall will no doubt be of great use in our fight against the Or’ii, I grieve the loss of the Asgard, particularly Thor. He was a noble and valiant warrior.
There is a hush over Odyssey. Samantha Carter, in particular, seems grieved.
*Later*
We have been attacked.
Three Or’ii mother ships beset us while in orbit above Orilla.
The Asgard are gone, destroying themselves and their planet to prevent their technology falling into enemy hands. However their legacy allowed us to destroy one of the mother ships.
Unfortunately Samantha Carter deduced that the Asgard core allowed the Or’ii to track us. She managed to evacuate the crew, but in order to save us had to isolate us in a time dilation field I do not fully understand.
She seems to think that it might take about three months to free us.
I am discomfited by this.
Cameron Mitchell and Vala Maldoran do not appear pleased.
Day 14
Cameron Mitchell runs a lot.
Daniel Jackson has discovered the Asgard database and seems content enough.
Unfortunately with Daniel Jackson absent so often, Vala Maldoran has decided that I need to be informed of all her conspiracy theories. I try to find refuge in sorting supplies but she seems determined to assist me at all hours.
Samantha Carter gave us a briefing today. The news was not good. She had run several scenarios and none of her projected alternatives could safely find a way to either preserve the ship, or even allow us a way to exit the ship without preserving it.
The only good news was that our food and water supply will not run out as the Asgard technology can be adapted to provide a matter converter.
Frankly, this was a small consolation.
Day 37
Vala Maldoran was using the matter converter this afternoon to make a pair of pink fluffy handcuffs.
I wonder at their purpose. Surely they would be of no use in law enforcement? As there are only the six of us on this ship I suspect another practical joke. I wonder if it is wrong of me to hope that Daniel Jackson will be the target of this one.
Day 59
I found bruises this evening when I bathed. Cameron Mitchell continues to want to spar all the time, when he isn’t constantly running the corridors of the Odyssey. He is angry, although in many ways I do not believe he knows what he is angry at anymore.
Our work outs, which used to be friendly, has taken on a much more violent edge.
My other friends, Daniel Jackson, and Samantha Carter, I have not seen for days. Samantha Carter spends all of her time in her lab. She takes her meals separately, although I do try and visit her. I believe she may be hiding from Cameron Mitchell. The other night I heard strange squeaking sounds coming from within, and she appeared to be cursing. I should probably visit again soon.
Daniel Jackson spends all his time in the Asgard database. Vala Maldoran is making many efforts to draw him out, but she is yet to be successful.
Day 92
Daniel Jackson and Vala Maldoran appear to have finally declared their feelings and commenced an intimate relationship.
I am happy for them, as are the others aboard the Odyssey.
In fact, General Landry pronounced himself relieved.
Day 103
On my visit to Samantha Carter’s lab today I was pleased to discover that Vala Maldoran was there before me. Apparently Vala Maldoran has been helping Samantha Carter with her work on trying to get us off the Odyssey. It appears to be helping in other ways to as Samantha Carter has started taking her meals with us and there has been laughter at the table again.
Cameron Mitchell even made a joke about Superman, a fictional Taur’ii movie franchise that I did not enjoy.
General Landry has been making progress with Cameron Mitchell. Although we still spar, it has lacked its ferocious intensity of late. Cameron Mitchell still runs unceasingly, but he also plays chess with General Landry daily. I think the wisdom of the General is helping Cameron Mitchell come to terms with our imprisonment here until Samantha Carter can find a way for us to leave. I even believe he has been seen helping with the garden that the General has created.
Day 256
This morning I was informed I was a far more welcome sight than the hologram of Thor. Samantha Carter stated that she was regretting it was only made of light as she was inclined to do violence upon its person. I declined to ask how her work was going, I could see it on her face.
She synthesised my tretonin as usual. Tomorrow I will bring her an extra large cup of coffee.
Day 787
It is hard to watch one’s friends grieving and be unable to help them bear the pain.
Day 790
For the first time in many years Cameron Mitchell requested my assistance. He appeared shame faced in my door way in the early hours of the morning. I was performing my kel no reem only, and was not sleeping and was happy to assist.
His quarters were in shambles. He appeared to have torn everything apart.
I helped him set things to right.
He did not want to talk.
I expect we will spar later today.
Day 796
I do not think I wish to keep this journal anymore. There is nothing of import to say.
Day 7281
Today I felt compelled to record in this journal again. My dear friend and companion of these last two decades, General Landry, passed away today.
He was in the company of Samantha Carter.
She is devastated. I think she blames herself, as she has been doing for quite some time for our imprisonment here.
We all five of us left sat and in the cafeteria afterwards. We meant to share our memories, but mostly we sat in silence. There aren’t many unique memories to share. The last twenty years have blended together unendingly in many ways.
Afterwards Samantha Carter told me she meant to take up her research again.
For her sake, I am glad.
Day 18200
This morning Samantha Carter announced that she had managed to solve the problem of reversing time. This meant that she would be able to send us back to the moment we first were trapped in the time dilation bubble. The problem was that she had no power left on the ship after fifty years to enact it.
Cameron Mitchell suggested using the Orii beam weapon that has been our constant companion out the window for the last fifty years.
After some thought Samantha Carter deduced that this could indeed work. However someone would have to remain behind with their memory and age of the last fifty years intact with the program to uncouple the Asgard core and thus save us from the Orii and prevent a repeat of what happened in the first place.
With so many more years left to live than my friends I felt I would be the most logical choice. I worried, however, that I may be caught in the time dilation bubble while my friends died in the explosion. Samantha Carter wisely knew my concerns before I voiced them and reassured me that I too, would die with them if the plan failed.
She placed me in a shield in the cargo hold and my friends said there goodbyes.
Day 0.
Sometimes it seems like a dream watching the ship explode around me, clasping Samantha Carter’s hand, jumping into hyperspace and escaping the Orii.
Sometimes it seems like a dream being trapped on a ship for fifty years.
Both are real.
Whichever is more real, I am not certain.
I stand on the gate ramp with my friends, friends for a decade, friends for five decades.
Friends for always.
Questions
1. How do you feel about the end of the Asgard race?
2. Where the hell are Furlings?
3. How do you feel about the controversial conversation between Vala and Daniel?
4. Why was Vala crying?
5. The use of modern music on stargate? Are we down with that?
6. Montages y/n?
7. WHAT THE HELL WAS WITH THE OLD MAKE UP OMGWTFBBQ?
8. How will you live without SG-1?
9. HOW WILL YOU LIVE WITHOUT REDIAL THE GATE?