Team Alphabet Soup
My thanks to the 26 authors who made Team Alphabet Soup a reality: Acarlgeek, Ansostuff, Cleo the Muse, Colej55, Da Angel, Eilidh, Elder Bonnie, Fig Newton, Gategremlyn, Gillian, Grav, Green Grrl, Hummingfly, JD Junkie, Lilyleia, Penknife, Q_d_o_g, Rachel500, Random, Rigel, Samantilles, SG1Danny, Suzannemarie, Traycer, Thothmes, and Wonderland. An extra warm welcome to our first-time contributors: penknife, jd_junkie, da_angel729, elder_bonnie, green_grrl, and sg1danny. We have now had 93 different authors contributing to the various Alphabet Soups, which just goes to show that SG-1 fandom is happily thriving. :)
Enjoy some 36,500 words of teamy goodness! Story lengths range from 100 words to 4,500. Ratings range from G to PG-13. Expect spoilers throughout the entire series, and one futurefic includes references to character deaths.
Story text is as written by the authors, but minor HTML coding has been changed (removal of smart quotes, for example) and scene breaks have been altered to allow for more uniformity in page style.
Shorter ficlets are posted here in full, with links to the author's individual LJ for feeback; due to LJ posting constraints, longer fic is excerpted, with links to the author's journal for the full story. The entire anthology is posted in full, without excerpts, over at Dreamwidth.
Readers are strongly encouraged to follow the links to the authors' individual journals and leave feedback.
A is for Air
by ansostuff
Checking that she indeed was not suffocating and that yes, she had slept with her window open she breathed in more of the stale, dry air and went about her morning business. They were going off-world today. Hopefully the air wouldn't be as hot and stale there. The MALP's censors had shown a desert-like planet with no apparent sign of civilization. A deserted planet was what they were looking for and the UAV had shown no further signs of life further afield. That the planet was a barren wasteland was only to their advantage for this mission.
***
Darn, but it was hot! Jack put on as little clothing as decency allowed for and immediately starting the air conditioning in his truck. If the MALP's findings were true it was even hotter where they were going today. Turning the a/c to its highest setting, Jack drove towards the mountain, enjoying the coolness for as long as it lasted.
***
Teal'c could not sense any change in the air as he exited his private quarters and headed for the locker room. He could however judge by the attire of the arriving personnel what kind of weather it was on top. Most were wearing shorts and t-shirts and many of the women wore cotton dresses. Almost everyone was wearing sandals. Spotting his team-mate coming down the corridor he stopped and let other people pass while he waited.
"Good morning, DanielJackson."
"Morning, Teal'c." Daniel walked in step with Teal'c and drew a deep breath.
Teal'c looked at him expectantly. "What is the purpose of this deep breathing?" he asked, looking closer at DanielJackson. His friend was, as the others, wearing short sleeves and sandals and appeared somewhat hot and bothered. "Is anything amiss? There is no need for worry."
"What?" Daniel frowned. "No, no. It's nothing," Daniel smiled, looked at Teal'c with amusement and started walking towards the locker rooms. "It's just that it's so hot outside that it's difficult to breathe. It almost felt like if I took a deep breath the air scorched my lungs. We really could do with some wind and rain."
Teal'c looked at his friend and nodded, confident that he spoke the truth. DanielJackson did indeed appear to be enjoying himself. This was a good start to the day.
continued
B is for Big Beasts
by samantilles
The call of distress came in as soon as Hammond called out on the radio through the Stargate to SG-6. The crackled signal alluded to some sort of danger, but the message was too distorted to make out anything other than the words "danger", "help", and "beasts". Rising to the call for help, Hammond immediately summoned SG-1, 2, and 8 for backup. Within minutes, the twelve members of the three teams filled the conference room. Daniel and Sam sat at the table, and while the rest stood; Daniel read through SG-6's mission file and Sam ran last minute calculations in one of her mobile devices. Hammond strode into the room, and without sitting, briefed the teams.
"It seems SG-6 is in some sort of trouble. When they didn't check-in as scheduled, we dialed the planet and hailed them. We received a signal, but we were unable to get a clear update on the team. The message indicated that SG-6 is in danger, and that there may be dangerous native wildlife on the prowl. Your mission is to assist in SG-6's safe return to the 'gate." He cast his gaze over each teammember in turn, and added, "People, you move out in five minutes. Dismissed!"
The teams 'gated precisely on schedule and exited the wormhole to a pleasant field. About two to three miles to the right was the edge of the forest, through which the path to the nearest village crossed. The teams neared the tree line when sounds of automatic rifle fire stopped them in their tracks, and at once the three commanders began signaling to each other and setting up a proper defensive position. They moved carefully closer to the tree line when the four members of SG-6 emerged from the shadows in a full run, their weapons held behind them. Major Barnes, the commanding officer of SG-6, upon seeing the rescue teams, began screaming and flailing his hands. "Get out of here! Get back to the 'gate!"
Jack looked at Ferretti, nodding to move the guard back carefully, allowing SG-6 to be folded into the defensive perimeter as they rushed towards the group. Before the lost team made it to the formation, Sam noticed what was giving them chase. "Sir! It looks like wolves!"
"Wolves? Big giant dogs?" Jack pulled out his field glasses to get a better look.
She held up her weapon and peered through the scope. "Definitely wolves, sir."
"Oh, for crying out loud!" With the last member of SG-6 approaching the rescue team, Jack gave the signal to retreat back to the 'gate. Ferretti and SG-2 brought up the rear, retreating backwards, guarding as the large beasts approached at a great speed.
continued
C is for Communication
by sg_wonderland
1- giving or exchanging of information;
Daniel raised his hand hesitantly. "Yes, Dr. Jackson?" Colonel O'Neill indicated he was recognized.
"Is it true they give us pictures of 'our' colonels because everyone looks the same behind a machine gun?"
Sam managed to smother almost the entire laugh; only Daniel could make air quotations sound sarcastic. She dropped her eyes as 'her' colonel stared down the only person in the room he could intimidate. "Daniel...Dr. Jackson..."
"Oh, please, I'm not shouting 'Colonel O'Neill, sir' every time I want your attention. So, Jack," he drawled the name out, "is it true?"
"Okay, Daniel," he drawled right back. "The reason we give you pictures of your colonel is so you can hang them up in your locker...in case you forget who the guy in charge is. When we're in the field, I'm responsible for getting your ass back through the gate unharmed. And that's why I'm in charge."
"But not everyone out there is our enemy." Daniel protested.
"And we can tell that how?" Jack replied coolly. Daniel frowned upon finding he had no answer to that. Jack's voice softened, "Listen, Daniel, I know you don't want to hurt people any more than I do but until we know how to tell friend from foe, we're going through the gate loaded for bear. Every time we go. If it comes down to a choice between some native I don't know and a member of my team, that team member is going to win every time. So if you're determined to be on SG-1 and you're going through the gate, you are going to carry a weapon. You may never have to fire it but you're damned sure going to know how just in case. Fair enough?"
Daniel nodded reluctantly. "Fair enough."
continued
D is for Duct Tape
by sg_fignewton
SG-1 was seated at a table in the commissary when Teal'c produced a roll of duct tape and solemnly pronounced its simple versatility to be one of the Tau'ri's greatest technological triumphs.
Jack spluttered a mouthful of coffee across the table, leaving Daniel blinking indignantly behind spattered glasses and Sam hiding a smile behind a diplomatic hand. "It can't be better than cable," Jack protested as he absently handed Daniel a napkin.
Teal'c was unmoved. "Cable television is a luxury, O'Neill."
"Well, yeah. That's my point!"
Teal'c raised a meaningful eyebrow which clearly stated that Jack was only pretending not to understand what he meant. Jack pointed a menacing finger back at him, daring him to say that out loud. Daniel finished wiping his glasses and nudged Sam, who tipped her head down to hide the broadening grin and muttered under her breath, "Yes, I know."
"I'm not saying duct tape isn't useful," Jack sighed finally, caving into the Eyebrow of Doom. "I've used it often enough. I'm just saying that it's somewhere on my list after air conditioning. And The Simpsons."
"Duct tape should be part of our regular supplies," Teal'c said firmly. "I believe it would be most useful on missions."
"Oh, Jack thinks so, too," Daniel interrupted, his voice bright with false innocence. "That's why he always carries a flattened roll of duct tape in a pocket of his vest."
continued
E is for Extol
Ode to SG-1
by suzannemarie
When General George Hammond died suddenly and unexpectedly, Jack O'Neill took on the task of going through George's desk at the Pentagon. Jack was one of the few people who knew about George's whimsical side, so he was not entirely surprised when he examined the contents of a folder that he found tucked into one of the desk drawers. Inside the folder were tributes--in verse--that George had created for each SG team. Jack smiled nostalgically as he turned over each page. After much thought, Jack decided that each SG team should see what had been written about them.
Like every other team, the members of SG-1 were pleased and touched when they received copies of their tribute.
Teal'c set the words to a traditional tune of Chulak and took to singing it to himself when he thought no one was around to hear him.
Cameron tucked his copy of the poem into his desk at home and referred to it when he had a bad day.
Sam also kept a copy in her desk. Every time the page surfaced it made her smile and remember the General and the bonds that SG-1 shared with each other.
Daniel kept a folded copy of the poem in his wallet. The memories it evoked for him were sometimes bittersweet, but also served as a reminder to reach for the highest goals at all times.
On Langara, Jonas kept a framed copy of the poem in his room. On days when he felt overwhelmed at all that remained to be done to rebuild from the damage of the Ori, he would read the lines and remember that anything was possible.
Vala tucked her copy into her underwear drawer and smiled every time she saw it. She never figured out how to explain to people that even though she was barely acquainted with General Hammond, the moment she read the poem was the moment she truly understood that she was fully part of the team and had found a place where she belonged.
Jack kept a copy of each of the SG team tributes on his desk and referred to them often. They served as a reminder of where he had been, what had been accomplished, and what was at stake for the future.
Shall we sing praises of brave Es Gee One?
Which started with Jack, Teal'c, Daniel, and Sam.
Battles aplenty were lost and were won,
Later came Jonas and Vala and Cam.
Traveling across space and even through time,
To races and worlds malign and benign.
Soldiers, a scholar, a former First Prime,
A scientist, aliens, did combine
To overturn empires, and help free slaves.
The Asgard ordained humans the Fifth Race,
The Goa'uld in contrast considered them knaves,
To protect and defend and act with grace.
SG-1 and friends, for those who keep score,
Beat Goa'uld, Replicators, Ori, and more.
feedback
F is for Family by Firelight
by thothmes
Major Griff glanced out of the corner of his eye at the other campfire. His own team's fire was at his back, and he could hear some low voiced grumbling from his new team. O'Neill had shown a sensitivity that Griff had not hitherto credited him with in choosing to have the two teams camp side-by-side, instead of sharing one big encampment. His Marines were still smarting from the shock of watching SG-1's colonel arrest their own Colonel Makepeace very publicly in the Gateroom. If some of the whispered mutterings he'd caught bits and snatches of were to be believed, his team was more inclined to believe that Makepeace would soon be settling into a long stay at Leavenworth, not because he had been doing some extracurricular espionage and smuggling for the N.I.D., but because O'Neill's Air Force pride had been wounded one too many times by the superior showing of SG-3's marines, and he'd taken out his petty spite on one of the best Marine officers still breathing. This struck Griff as patently ridiculous. O'Neill was a straight shooter, if ever there'd been one. There had been no denying, however, that O'Neill had taken a certain delight in surprising and securing his fellow officer, and Griff's men were young, inclined to be hot-blooded, and exceedingly loyal. The Major hoped that if he allowed them to bleed off some of that misplaced anger and camaraderie as grumbling, they would soon come to see how ill-founded and exaggerated their conspiracy theories were, and get a more realistic view of the situation. If they hadn't gotten it out of their system by the weekend though, he was prepared to take names and knock heads together come Monday morning.
The mission had been a straight forward search for useful technology in a structure that the UAV had spotted some 18 klicks from the gate. SG-3 had been sent along on the theory that if the structure had turned out to be still in Goa'uld possession, then 18 kilometers would have been too far away for SG-1 to summon back-up, should they have needed it. In the event, it turned out that the structure was abandoned, in very poor repair, and apparently stripped of all technology or records that might have been of interest. Between the long hike in, and the avidly bloodthirsty swarms of blackflies that had greeted them and shown no signs of being affected by DEET, with nothing to show for it in the end other than a large collection of itchy red bumps, it was no wonder that Griff's men were inclined to be cranky.
SG-1 had certainly been cranky, Dr. Jackson in particular. The Jaffa had been silent and imperturbable as usual. Major Carter was constrained by military protocol from being too free in her self-expression, although the quality and vehemence of the way she pronounced "Sir" and the frequency with which she used the word was enough to let any experienced commander know that he was not currently in her good books.
continued
G is for General
by randomfreshink
With Jack O'Neill
"I think we're about done here, Colonel."
"Sir, permission to speak freely."
"Denied." George let out a breath, a short one, kept it to a soft exhale. Then he looked up from his papers and at the colonel in front of him, feet spread wide, hands behind his back and still showing more attitude than an officer should afford to his superior. That seemed to be the trouble with O'Neill--he didn't think anyone superior. And he just kept on talking, that Irish streak in him showing a mile wide.
"Sir, I'm not saying he doesn't need training, but we can't--"
"Colonel, is there some part of denied you're not understanding?"
O'Neill stiffened, finally straightened that mouth of his into a line. And George vowed another read of the man's record--he needed to see those good points he was getting along with all the rest he was having to put up with.
George went back to the orders on his desk--the ones he had to follow. "As it happens, Dr. Jackson will be attached to SG-1 as your cultural expert and civilian advisor. This is only until we can identify and staff up military personnel with sufficient background and experience to--"
"God knows how many languages and a year on another planet? That's what you're looking for?"
Looking up, George leveled another stare on O'Neill, and at least the man was smart enough to know when to finally stop talking. George gestured to the door. "I suggest you get started on that training you mentioned. Dismissed."
O'Neill nodded, started for the door, but turned back. "And Teal'c?"
"You're pushing it, Colonel"
"Well that is what Uncle Sam pays me the not so big bucks for...sir." O'Neill fired off a crooked smile, a sloppy salute, and George gave back the latter and not the former. When the man had gone, he reached for his drawer and the aspirin. Have to double the size of that jar. And then he smiled--life had gotten a helluva lot more interesting than it would have been in retirement.
continued
H is for Hell is Other People
by rigel
"So wait, how is it that I owe fourteen dollars and twenty-two cents?" Daniel asked, frowning slightly as he pushed back his glasses.
Jack clicked the pen he was holding and ran a finger down the list of figures. "Well, it worked out that way. There were a few, shall we say, unexpected expenses."
"But I put in at least forty-five for gas yesterday!"
"Do not forget the purchases at the grocery store, Daniel Jackson."
"Good point Teal'c." He rummaged through his knapsack and produced a receipt. "Ninety Four Eighty-Two. Surely I should come out on the plus side?"
"It's already on the list," said Jack, "I have factored it in."
"I'm not sure I trust your math, Jack."
"What are you trying to say?"
"There might be a bit of creative accounting going on there."
"It adds up. See." Jack pointed to a series of circled numbers that each had arrows emanating in several directions on the page, leading to yet more sums and odd looking notations.
"I value my sanity, thank you. Your idea of logic breaks my brain."
"What the hell did we spend Ninety odd dollars on?" Sam pulled up a chair and put her coffee mug down.
"Ummm there was food, chocolate, batteries, something called Magic Fingers..."
"Great investment by the way, T. Our best purchase to date." Jack waved what looked like a disembodied hand around.
"Indeed. It is most effective."
"Do I even want to know?" asked Daniel.
continued
I is for Inventive
by lilyleia78
For the first time in the history of the program, the SGC was in a lockdown completely not of their own making.
"No really, Sir. It's not our fault," Jack assured General Hammond. And it was true for once. It wasn't 'not their fault' because how were they to know invisible aliens had followed them home or who could predict the effects of a black hole on an open stargate? It was really not their fault.
Because it was NORAD's fault.
And since the way out of Stargate Command led through NORAD, they were stuck.
NORAD was on lockdown for reasons they refused to share with the SGC. Technically, Jack suspected that his most junior janitor had the clearance to be privy to NORAD's deepest darkest secrets, but no one who was locked down at NORAD had the clearance to know that they - the SGC - had the clearance. It was all very confusing, but what it boiled down to was that the SGC stayed in the dark about why they weren't allowed to leave the mountain. Jack strongly suspected a mass outbreak of the clap, but...
By some whim of fate, Colonel Jack O'Neill was the ranking officer on base when they became cut off from the surface. He'd immediately contacted his commanding officer. "Want me to go up there and flash around my shiny clearance until someone can tell me what's going on?" he asked with probably more glee than with which Hammond was comfortable.
"No, Colonel, I do not want you to break cover by flashing your security clearance for details. I'll flash my credentials at their superior officers and let you know if you need to be worried." He'd also promptly banned any personnel from going through the gate. The General seemed to think it would be best to keep the back door locked until the front one was secure again. Jack argued furiously against it, but mostly for form's sake. He did actually see the common sense behind Hammond's logic, even before Carter and Daniel nagged him about it. Not that that stopped the nagging.
Which meant that Jack had a base full of nervous civilians and bored Marines left to their own devices for the foreseeable future. Never the best idea. After three hours of lockdown, with the first rumbling of unrest coming from all corners, Daniel decided to appoint Teal'c morale officer for the base.
"Why Teal'c?" Jack asked, not-so-secretly hurt that he hadn't been first choice.
"He has the least amount of responsibility on base," Carter explained reasonably.
"And he's the least likely to accidentally blow us up," Daniel added with all the diplomacy of a truck, earning him glares from Jack and Carter.
"It was one time!" They complained in near-unison.
Teal'c and Daniel shared a grin that Jack decided was just affectionate enough to let them off the hook about it.
continued
J is for Joy to Behold
by sg1danny
Ah, the joy and satisfaction of seeing a well thought out and executed plan come to fruitition. Jack watched from the control room as Ferretti lad the rest SG-2 down the ramp, all of them muddy, heads bowed and soundly beaten.
He looked at his team mates, who were standing with him. Both Carter and Daniel smirked, while Teal'c gave a small bow. Jack smiled and they all watched as SG-2 trudged out of the Gateroom. Yep, good plan, great plan, created from teamwork. All it had taken was a quiet word with Bra'tac and lesson learned, never mess with SG-1.
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K is for Kawoosh
by green_grrl
Jack watched Daniel sketch a large circle in the air with both hands, and pause. The villagers still looked patiently expectant, so Daniel crouched to draw a quick circle in the dirt with two fingers.
Carter whispered, "I hope this works."
"I concur. We have been on this planet long enough."
The big guy was disgruntled, but then none of the team were fans of being kidnapped by a rival village after a perfectly lovely visit at the village by the gate--or as lovely as you could get without a common language.
Jack wasn't too fond of wandering through the woods lost all night after escaping captivity, either. Fortunately they'd at least found this village, which Daniel had determined from their iconogra-whatsit belonged to the friendly faction.
Standing up, Daniel stretched out his hands again and rotated his imaginary circle. "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!"
He leaned over and drew a triangle on the edge of the circle in the dirt. Then he stood up and rotated his circle the other way. "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!"
Jack read the body language of the watching villagers and relaxed minutely. "On the plus side, classic Daniel Jackson charades show."
That got a smile out of Carter. "Always look on the bright side of life, sir."
As Daniel went through the chevrons locking, the village's youngest children began running around, waving their arms in circles, and squealing their own high-pitched "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!" "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!"
Carter tried to hide her smile behind her fist, and even Teal'c looked like the corner of his mouth was tipped up a millimeter. "I must confess, I wish I had witnessed Daniel Jackson's full performance in imitation of a UAV on PJ2-445."
That made Carter break out into a full grin. "The little aliens imitating him were awfully cute."
Jack shook his head. "No, the one you really wish you'd seen was the Chicken Dance on Abydos."
continued
L is for Lessons
by penknife
Sam frowned at the markings on the Goa'uld power converter. At least, she thought it was a power converter. "See, here, 'transforms the voltage'--"
"No," Daniel said. "That's an imperative, see the marker? 'Transform, or convert, the power before you connect.'"
"It doesn't say 'before,'" Sam said. "Or 'you.'"
"They're understood."
Sam pushed her stool back from the lab bench and rubbed her forehead. "Did I mention that I'm no good at learning foreign languages?"
"You're doing fine," Daniel said.
"I took two semesters of German at the Academy because you had to take something. I think I can just about remember how to say 'Hi, my name is Samantha Carter, and I like math.'"
Daniel reached around her for a pen and scribbled something in Goa'uld hieroglyphics on a piece of note paper. He folded it into a tent shape and propped it up on the lab bench behind the device, whatever it actually was.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "What does that say?"
"'Hi, my name is Samantha Carter, and I like math.' Well, more like 'Greetings, I am Samantha Carter, and I find math pleasurable.' But close enough."
Sam smiled despite herself. "Think you could make me some flash cards?"
continued
M is for Memorial
by crazedturkey
There are stories in every family -- tales told every time a subject is raised or an event occurs until you can recite them all by heart.
My teenage children roll their eyes at each recitation I'm sure, because I once did. But I have come to treasure these stories and their connection to my past.
Uncle Teal'c features prominently in many of the legends of my family. He and SG-1 saved my life and raised me as their own. Like him, Earth is my adopted home planet and for that reason we always shared a special bond. I suppose this is why I was asked to speak to you all today, a final honour for my dear friend and mentor.
There are many other dignitaries here today who will speak about Teal'c the leader of the Jaffa nation and his role in the freedom of his people.
It is my role to talk about the man I knew, the wonderful man who has been my surrogate father all of my life.
It is my role, in short, to talk about family legends. To do so I need to talk not about Mum and Dad, Aunt and Uncle but about Jack, Sam, Daniel, Jonas, Cam, Vala and Teal'c. Because one cannot ever talk about one without all of the other.
Teal'c joined SG-1 at the very beginning before the team even existed. The bare bones of the story -- a brave first prime choosing freedom over slavery and defecting to the Taur'i- are quite well documented in the history books. Those history books fail to document the light that lit Uncle Teal'c's eyes when he spoke of seeing those three aliens for the first time and realising, somehow, even then, the impact that they would have upon his life.
continued
N is for Now!
by acarlgeek
Daniel Jackson carefully gripped the girder and shifted to his right to follow the inscribed symbols around to the next side of the hexagonal supporting column. He suppressed a shudder when the new panel turned out to be one of the filigreed ones, 'Not now,' he fiercely told himself, 'It's hard enough keeping everything steady, I don't need to deal with even a minor panic attack.' He locked his gaze and the camera on the filigreed metal immediately before him and tried his best to ignore the crystalline depths visible through the intricately tooled metalwork. He'd learned very quickly that the last thing he wanted to do was to shut his eyes to calm himself while floating in microgravity. That intensified his other senses, which were all screaming to remind him that he was drifting near the middle of an extremely large open space. Not that he was likely to forget how far "down" it appeared to be in every direction around him.
It had all seemed so fascinating and easy while they reviewed the MALP data back at the SGC.
SG-7's scientists had petitioned for the mission as soon as the MALP revealed that S2M 669 was apparently an abandoned space station of enormous proportions. SG-1's Major Sam Carter had trumped their bid by being the first to combine atmospheric jetpack technology successfully with NASA's MMUs to create a maneuvering harness that had enough thrust to work in a breathable atmosphere, yet retained the gentle precision necessary for weightlessness. She and Teal'c had sealed the mission for SG-1 by coming up with a viable plan for getting the MALP back to S2M 669's stargate without the assistance of gravity or even a continuous approach path connected to that 'gate. It wasn't until after SG-1 had secured the assignment that Colonel Jack O'Neill admitted he thought it would be cool to go on a mission where the team floated instead of walking.
To be honest, all of SG-1 had thought it would be cool, until they actually arrived.
continued
O is for Ominous
by grav_ity
This is how Jack knows that Jonas will never be the same.
He watched Daniel on Abydos, both times, and Teal'c when they met another Jaffa. Heck, even Carter was blue around the edges when it came to the Tok'ra. But Jonas is going back to frustration. Unending strife and political machinations. The smile will come with less frequency. The eyes will harden. The glorious fascination with every little thing will fade into cynicism. Jack is not sure how much of that he is responsible for, but it's enough that he wishes he'd been nicer while he had the chance.
This is how Sam knows that Daniel has changed.
He is quicker to snap; less thoughtful about what he says. It's not like the time he was addicted to the sarcophagus. That was cured easily enough. This is different. Deeper. Some darkness that no amount of light can fully restore. He's lost something, had something taken from him by his former peers, and Sam knows that he will never forgive himself for his inability to act. It's not his fault, they all remind him of that, but Sam is starting to understand that that only makes it all the worse.
This is how Teal'c knows that Jack is going to leave.
He stops making jokes about his knees. He stops meeting Teal'c's eyes during briefings when Carter goes on for too long about something both of them pretend not to understand. He stops reminiscing about the good old days over beer and pizza on Friday nights. Teal'c joined the SGC because of what he saw in Jack, but that isn't what keeps him here now. He thought Jack knew it, but he has always been too good at hiding things from his comrades. Now there's nothing left but another good-bye.
continued
P is for Provisions, Predicaments and Pastimes
by hummingfly67
Daniel, Vala and Sam fell first, their combined weight enough to trigger the trap door in the floor.
Before they had regained their feet, having tumbled uncontrollably down a steep stone ramp to land in a heap after a painful drop, Teal'c and Mitchell triggered it a second time. The pair had been following far enough behind them to miss witnessing their predicament and thus avoid the same fate.
Once it had been determined luck had been on their side and no one was injured beyond bumps and bruises, they had set to searching their cramped, stone-walled prison, roughly 12x12 in size. It hadn't taken long to admit there were no avenues of escape, other than their route of entry, approximately 15 feet above them in the dimly revealed ceiling.
Vala's joking suggestion that they attempt a human pyramid of sorts to investigate the trap door led to first her and then Sam being balanced on Teal'c's broad shoulders. In vain, of course, as apparently their luck had ended after no injuries.
"Eerily similar to that room we were stuck in under that Cadbury place, isn't it, Daniel? Do you remember?" Vala remarked after, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as she warily eyed the ceiling.
"I'd rather not," he muttered as he turned back to his task, stubbornly searching the walls again for seams that might indicate a possible exit. "By the way, it was Glastonbury Tor," he corrected in a louder tone. "And don't touch anything!"
"There is absolutely nothing to touch, Daniel," she huffed, and then dropped to the ground with a groan.
A softer grunt followed and he glanced over to see that Sam had taken a seat beside Vala, looking just as disheveled and dispirited.
"Well, this is a fine pickle," Mitchell said low-voiced as he completed yet another slow circuit of the room.
Vala groaned again. "Don't mention food, Cameron! Breakfast was hours ago and I didn't have seconds today." She shot to her feet to stand behind Daniel and began patting at his chest, pressing against his back to reach around him.
"Vala!" he barked, batting her hands away. "What are you doing?"
"You always have provisions," she explained, now trying to get at the side leg pocket of his BDU cargo pants. "I'm hungry."
continued
Q is for Quintessential
by gategremlyn
Daniel coughed to get the attention of the guide sitting at the front desk. She'd finished her peppy little tour, complete with pictures, and was now taking a turn at the information kiosk.
"Yes, sir? Did you have a question about the tour?" She tilted her head and gave him a syrupy sweet smile.
"I hope I'm not bothering you," he said, pulling the brim of his hat down on the odd chance that she'd recognize him, "but I did have a question about something you said in the 'gate, um... embarkation room."
She nodded for him to continue.
"You mentioned that SG-1 wasn't your 'personal favorite' SG team," he mimicked her air quotes with his fingers. "Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Certainly, sir. I'm always glad to help people learn about the original SG teams." She reached behind her for a team photo that Daniel recognized and plunked it down on the counter between them. "Now, sir, I want you to really look at this picture. Really look at it."
Daniel squinted and concentrated. He didn't think the picture was particularly unique. It showed SG-1 in the 'gateroom posing for a picture, not something that happened very often, but nothing remarkable. It could have been after a mission---a successful mission, he guessed, since everybody looked tired, dirty, and cat-in-the-cream pleased with themselves. Sam was a major with a cocky grin and dirt-smudged face. Jack's hair was gray; his sunglasses hung on chord around his neck and he had his P90 tucked in close to his body. His own hair was short underneath the boonie, and he held a camcorder in his hand. Teal'c looked like Teal'c, as regal as only Teal'c could look. So a few years into the program, then.
"What do you see?" The guide's voice startled him. She had leaned in until she her face was next to his.
He straightened up. "Well, I see Jack, Sam, Teal'c--" He covered his mistake with another cough. "I mean I see Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c, the four original members of SG-1."
"Exactly," she said, obviously pleased with his powers of perception.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, really, sir, how could this be the premier team? Look at them."
continued
R is for Rescue
by cleothemuse
"Hold... still... will you?"
"I am... Hey!"
"Yeesh... Get a room, you two."
"Actually, sir, we're trying to get out of one."
"Doesn't look that way to me."
"Bite me."
"Was that an invitation, Daniel?"
"You shall do no such thing, O'Neill."
"Hey!"
Everyone froze, turned, and looked at the incredulous-looking Cam. "What the hell is going on?"
Vala gleefully held up her right hand, which had previously been secured behind her back, shackled around the same pillar as Daniel. "We are rescuing ourselves, Cameron."
The colonel looked pained. "Could we do it a little more quietly?"
continued
S is for Stargate
Gateway to the Stars
by traycer_
The gateway stands on the hill like a sentry, strong and tall, forever watching humanity and wildlife as they come and go. There are many names for this gateway - the stone circle, Chappa'ai, stairway to heaven, Stargate, and yet to the four people running toward it, the gateway represents a haven, a way to safety. It represents home.
There is no shame in retreat, Jack O'Neill thought, as he ordered his troops back to the gate. No shame at all, especially since the enemy outnumbered them four to one. He swore softly when a staff blast barely missed him, but he kept running toward the gate, the humongous beacon of hope that meant only one thing at a time like this... safety.
"Daniel!" he yelled as another blast hit the ground in front of him. "Dial it up!"
Daniel did as he was told, but Jack was more concerned about the artillery heading their way. Something exploded behind him, causing him to duck while he raced onward.
"Daniel!" What the hell was he doing anyway, Jack thought as he swiveled around and dropped to his knees. He aimed the P-90 at the nearest Jaffa, while valiantly listening for the telltale sound of the chevrons locking into place. Nothing. All he heard was the sounds of gun fire and the shouts of the wounded. "Daniel?"
"It's not working, something is wrong with it!"
Oh great. This was all he needed. "Carter!" he shouted. "Go!" He didn't even look to see if she obeyed him, he kept on shooting as he got up and back-pedaled toward the gate. He had faith in her abilities to fix things. If anyone could get that gate started, it was Carter.
He reached the DHD just as Carter stood back from the device, her panicked gaze telling him all he needed to know. Things were never as easy as he'd like.
"I have no idea what's wrong with it," she said, "I'm going to need more time to even diagnose the problem." He nodded at her, even as he sent another volley of ammunition toward the Jaffa who had become brave and were now advancing on to their positions. He knew the odds, and odds were they'd all be dead or taken prisoner within the hour if they hung around to wait for her to figure it out. He kept shooting at his targets, while yelling to his team.
"The caves on the other side of the gate! Go!" Carter nodded and took off, with Daniel hot on her heels. Jack and Teal'c continued to shoot at their enemy for a few moments then both took off at a dead run, stopping every few minutes to return the enemy fire.
continued
T is for Team
by rachel500
5.
'I'm just sayin',' Cam drawled lazily as though SG1 hadn't just stepped out of a wormhole and into an alien market-place. He found his footing on the steps quickly and checked out the immediate area without missing a beat even as he continued talking. 'Now Sam's in Atlantis and it's just the four of us on SG1 again, it would be good not to go tripping over alien bad guys like we did the last time.'
'What do you mean: the last time?' Daniel asked. He caught the back of Vala's vest and tugged her back into formation with the rest of them; away from the shiny sparkle of some stall.
Teal'c absently noticed Vala sticking her tongue out at the archaeologist. 'Perhaps Colonel Mitchell is referring to the mission where we held an off-world museum hostage, Daniel Jackson.'
'No,' Cam corrected calmly, taking a moment to wonder whether the guy proclaiming the end of the world was nigh was a threat or not, 'I was thinking about before the first Supergate and meeting the Ori.'
'Not that I have any intention of tripping over another alien bad guy,' Daniel retorted, 'but you're forgetting one thing.'
Cam shot him a look but bit at the bait Daniel had left verbally dangling anyway. 'What?'
Daniel glanced at Teal'c with amusement.
The Jaffa smiled smugly. 'Were you not the only member of SG1 at the time you mention, Colonel Mitchell?'
Cam's mouth dropped open a little and he snapped it shut. He wagged a finger at them. 'But...'
'We didn't actually officially become SG1 again until Sam was assigned back to the SGC after the Supergate incident.' Daniel continued cheerfully. 'And, of course, Vala only got her badge last year.'
'See, Cameron?' Vala's laugh was breezy. 'You're worrying over nothing. We weren't even SG1 when we happened to meet an incredibly advanced alien race hell-bent on converting this galaxy.' Her eyes lit up at a stall with multi-coloured material two steps from them. 'Of course, now we are SG1, I'm sure nothing can possibly go wrong.'
She darted off leaving her three male companions staring after her with varying expressions of horror - even Teal'c looked perturbed.
'Tell me she did not just say that.' Cam begged.
Daniel sighed. 'Look on the bright side.'
Cam looked at him sceptically.
Daniel offered a half-smile. 'We are SG1 now.'
Cam watched as Daniel and Teal'c walked away to join Vala. 'And that's the bright side?' He called out after them.
continued
U is for Umbrella
by elder_bonnie
"I can't feel my fingers."
"Did I not say, 'hey, that looks like a cold, rainy planet, everyone needs to bring extra gloves?'"
"He is wearing extra gloves, sir."
"Extra waterproof gloves, Carter?"
"I thought they were waterproof..."
"Perhaps the gloves were mislabeled when you purchased them."
"Teal'c, stop helping."
"Jack, knock it off. We're all as cold and wet and frustrated as you, but you don't see us resorting to snippiness."
"I think I have the right to be snippy, Daniel. I'm not the one who misread the alien stick figures."
"Hieroglyphs. And I know I read them right."
"Then why are we stranded four miles from the gate? On a rock? With rising flood waters? I was perfectly happy to stay within shouting distance of the DHD, but someone-"
"Sir, it's not Daniel's fault. I wanted to survey the mineral deposits that the UAV registered this morning."
"Fine. Fine. I'll blame both of you. Teal'c, you're off the hook. Brood with me so I feel more justified."
"Teal'c never stops brooding."
".....true."
"Well these are useless at this point."
"You can't wipe the water off of the lenses?"
"I don't have anything dry to wipe them with."
"I might have some bandaging strips in my pack you could use, you wanna check in there?"
"Sure."
"Would you two stop wriggling? The more I move, the wetter I get."
"Sorry, sir."
"The statistical likelihood of becoming further irriguous by such a slight shift in position than what you have already-"
"Teal'c? You are this close to coming back off the hook."
"Sam!"
"What?"
"You packed an umbrella!"
"...I did?"
"Yes!"
"YES!"
"Hey, what are you-"
"Colonel, wait, the wind-"
*schfoomp*
feedback
V is for Vanish
by da_angel729
Damn it.
I leave to do a quick recon of the area and come back to a crisis.
Just as I enter the room in the temple we're on P4X-825 to study, Daniel and Carter disappear through a hole in the floor.
I wish I could say this surprised me, but I just shake my head and move toward the area of the wall they'd been studying. Even Teal'c looks resigned, with that arch of his eyebrow, as he follows me to the wall.
"DanielJackson and MajorCarter are missing."
"Yeah, Teal'c, thanks," I say, and run my hand over the wall. Nothing. What the hell had Daniel been doing?
"O'Neill."
I turn to see Teal'c, kneeling on the ground. He's holding Daniel's glasses. Great. Now Daniel's blind and they might be injured.
Well, first things first.
"Carter, Daniel, come in."
Nothing. Of course. I wasn't expecting a response, but one can always hope. So I try again, then twice more, and by the time Teal'c opens his mouth, I know what he's going to say.
"Let's look for clues," I suggest before he says anything. Teal'c nods, once, and stands up, carefully putting the glasses in a vest pocket.
Teal'c moves around the room, running his hand along the wall. I walk toward the entrance, eyes scanning the room, willing myself not to panic, and nearly jump when static crackles over my radio.
"Sir, come in."
Carter's voice is so welcome I grin at Teal'c. He just nods his head, a brief look of relief passing over his features.
"Carter! Where the hell are you?"
They are, apparently, in a chamber with no visible way out.
Carter gives me directions to the building they're under and theorises about the radio not working earlier. She's fourteen words into her explanation--seven of which I understand--when Teal'c enters the building in front of me, carefully clearing the room and giving a nod to where I'm hovering in the doorway.
Carter and Daniel are standing, leaning really, against a door that appears crystalline, backs toward us. I can vaguely make out the outline of Daniel's hands gesturing as he explains something.
"You figure a way out yet?"
They both jump, presumably as their radios crackle to life. Now that I can see them--mostly--and they're unharmed, my breathing eases.
"Yes, sir," Carter says, and I can see Daniel's head bobbing up and down in agreement. "We think Teal'c's staff weapon will destroy the crystals."
Teal'c and I look at each other, and before I even give the order, his staff weapon is primed and ready to fire.
"Stand back," I say into my radio.
"Yes, Jack."
Daniel's voice is slightly muffled, but the sarcasm in response to my--admittedly--unnecessary order came through loud and clear. I roll my eyes and move back to the entrance, letting Teal'c have room to fire his staff weapon.
I see Carter pull Daniel away from the door, Daniel still talking. Teal'c fires, and Plan A works. For once.
Carter walks out, clipping her P-90 back to her vest, and thanks Teal'c. Daniel rushes out, nearly trips over the crystals littering the floor, and immediately launches into an explanation.
"Jack, this is amazing! The panel shifted when I translated the line as--"
"Daniel," I cut in. "Are you injured?"
"No, of course not! Just lost my glasses, but you'll never believe--"
"I have them here, DanielJackson," Teal'c says, holding them out, and Daniel blinks at him.
"Thanks, Teal'c," he says, and slips them on.
"Carter, you hurt?"
"No, sir," she says. "Whatever transported us to this room works in a similar manner to the Asgard beaming system. We left one room and appeared in the other."
"Great. Well, kids, let's get out of here before Daniel beams us somewhere we can't escape."
I push Daniel toward the door, ignoring his indignant look, and know Teal'c and Carter are following.
As always.
feedback
W is for Walking
by jd_junkie
By most mission standards, this one was run-of-the-mill.
Average, green-grass blue-sky planet with average expectation of finding useful mineral deposits and cultural offerings, providing average levels of interest to all concerned.
There was a lot to be said for average, Jack mused, wiping the smeary lenses of his sunglasses before putting them on again to shade against the light of PC7-441's sun.
Average meant none of his team was likely to be shot, poisoned, artificially aged or mind-wiped.
Average meant his civilian wouldn't see his Goa'ulded wife killed by a teammate.
Yeah. Average had a lot going for it right now.
From his vantage point of a handily-placed log on the edge of the clearing, Jack watched his team in action. Carter was analyzing soil and rock samples with her mobile lab, muttering quietly to herself as she wrote her findings in a journal that looked a lot like the one Daniel used. Maybe they'd been buying in bulk and using the savings for areas they considered much more important ... like the latest doohickeys for Carter and the latest reference books that did not have the word Budge on the spine for Daniel.
Carter's customary practice was to set up her equipment a distance from where Daniel based himself, offering them both space to work. Today, she was no more than three feet from the stele that Daniel was studying and video recording. Teal'c stood sentinel over both of them, threat-assessing the hell out of the area around them.
They'd closed ranks and, in Jack's judgment, they'd done it unconsciously.
It was only eight days since Sha'uri's death and since Daniel had spent 48 hours in the infirmary recovering from the effects of the ribbon device. Carter had retreated to her lab and worked herself senseless, which was the way she usually coped with emotional upheaval on her part or on the part of anyone close to her, emerging only to take Daniel cookies and books.
And Teal'c ... well, who the hell knew? Jaffa did stoicism like no one else. Teal'c had kept his distance from the team in the days since Sha'uri's death and funeral, and from Daniel in particular. Several times, Jack had seen him eating in the commissary and had joined him unasked. Twice, he'd sparred with him in the gym uninvited. But what was going through his mind Jack could only guess at, since Teal'c wasn't sharing.
So, to see three of them now, working within touching distance, to see Teal'c physically close to Daniel, even as he'd pulled emotionally away, filled Jack with the first fluttering of hope for the future of the unit.
continued
X is for Xenial
by colej55
The members of SG-1 had spent a rather pleasant day thus far. In fact, the only negative Jack complained about was the heat. While Daniel and Sam made nice with the natives, the colonel and Teal'c mostly stayed in the shade under the trees that lined the perimeter of the tribal encampment. Their traditional walk-around proved to be unremarkable. Come to think of it, everything about the day had been unremarkable and Jack was eager to get home in time to catch a little TV, a few beers, and some early Zs.
Given that it was already mid-afternoon and Daniel had been at it for most of the day, the colonel decided that it was time to start pulling him toward the gate. That alone could take hours if he was having a good time. Not that the team's archaeologist was immature, because he most certainly was a dependable, grown up man, but his enthusiasm for the subject of his study sometimes made him petulant and childish when it came time to leave for home. Jack was hoping that he had learned everything there was to know about this apparently very primitive society and that getting him to say goodbye would be easy.
As Jack and Teal'c approached the village, they observed Daniel and Sam watching the tribesmen stacking wood in preparation for building a fire. Evidently a very large fire. The local women were also busy preparing native vegetables and grinding some sort of grain, most likely for making bread.
"So, did you have a good time, kids?"
"Jack!" Daniel whined in response, while Sam smirked from behind him.
The colonel knew that the eminent doctor approached his work very seriously and, although he enjoyed what he did, he was not out to merely have a "good time". Jack had a tremendous amount of respect for the doctor's intellect and valued him as an important team member, but he enjoyed the heck out of goading him from time to time.
Clearing his throat, Daniel started, "This tribe is not unlike those found in West Africa. It would have been a perfect place for the Goa'uld to harvest them from without being seen because the African jungle can be quite dense and sparsely populated. However, from what I can gather, the Goa'uld haven't visited this part of the planet in centuries and the community has enjoyed a quiet existence. There are other tribes within several day's walk, but they evidently don't interact much."
"That's nice, Daniel. And did we learn anything of use?" Jack asked, turning toward the captain.
"Well, sir, this entire area seems to be remarkably similar to West Africa except that my preliminary soil and rock samples were devoid of traces of naquadah or any other valuable mineral. West Africa is rich in bauxite, titanium, gold, and even diamonds, but the ground contents here, as far as I can tell, seem to be entirely mundane. Of course, further study by a geological team might be warranted."
"So, what you're both telling me is that we've spent the day sweltering in this heat just so Daniel could enjoy a sunny afternoon conversing with the natives about loin cloths and such?"
continued
Y is for Yule
by q_d_o_g
The first year was a cautious occasion, everyone still finding their footing around one another. Teal'c was mostly curious about the traditions of 'This Strange Earth Festivity' and Daniel spent most of the night translating Jack's somewhat confusing remarks to the Jaffa, explanations getting increasingly more detailed the more 'Holiday Spirit' he partook in. Sam looked for the most part like she was trying to toe the line between being indignant on Daniels behalf and not laughing too outlandishly at the Colonel's ridiculous made-up mythology of Christmas.
***
The second year all caution was out the window, and she didn't even try to stifle her amusement at her strange teammates. Teal'c decreed that he would prepare a traditional Chulak-ian feast to commemorate the occasion. Jack and Daniel spent most of the evening glued to the Playstation Jack had bought 'for when Cassie came over', stopping briefly when Teal'c announced dinner was served, and again when Sam returned from paying for the pizzas.
***
The third year General Hammond's family went out of town, and he joined them for Christmas, bringing with him a spectacular eggnog recipe. Teal'c wore a paper crown that came out of a bon-bon that Jack delighted in repeating the joke from, in various incarnations, over and over into the night until the General ordered him to stop. Daniel spent the night with a sad smile on his face, his mind on a planet a couple of thousand light-years away. Jacob and Sam stopped by briefly, before they left for San Diego, the excitement over spending the holidays with her long estranged brother's family evident on the young Major's face.
***
The fourth year they were off world over Christmas, hidden underground, with no memory of the tradition they were missing. They thought about celebrating when they got home and realised the date, but before they knew it they were off on another mission, and it didn't seem so important. They eventually exchanged presents over pie in the commissary, 3 months too late and with little fanfare.
***
The fifth year, Cassie, and Janet, insistently invited them all over to join them for the holidays. The Fraiser house was littered with homemade Christmas decorations, tinsel adorning every doorway and banister in sight. Teal'c and Jack got caught under the mistletoe near the staircase, and narrowly avoided an undoubtedly awkward situation by catching a giggling Cassandra and each planting a kiss on her cheek. Daniel spent the evening with his hand attached to his new digital video camera, documenting everything, under the guise of 'learning how to work it', with Carter throwing technical instructions at him, along with occasionally impressed-sounding statements about its specifications no-one else could really translate. By the end of the evening, three quarters of SG1 were asleep by the fire.
continued
Z is for Zeus
by eilidh17
"Whichever way you look at it: a gilded cage is still a gilded cage."
"I'm not asking you to throw yourself at it, Jack, just... touch it."
"And get myself thrown clear across the room again? Are you nuts?"
"Clear across the room would imply that you flew beyond the opposite side of the containment field, which clearly you didn't, and besides, the field flared when you made contact with it so clearly it's reacting to your touch."
"It's a force field, Daniel! Of course it reacted to my touch! Carter, wanna take over here?"
"I think what Daniel means, sir, is that this isn't like other repelling fields we've come into contact with."
"Like Boch?"
"That's one example, yes, or the field the Bedrosians trapped us in. This one..." Sam stepped closer to the barely visible electric field and held her hand out, just shy of touching it. "This one is different."
"How so?"
"Most force fields are designed as barriers to contain or repel specific objects."
Jack shook his still numb hand as a show of support to her theory. "Yeah, got that loud and clear."
"They're not designed to be lethal, though, or it would negate the purpose for having them. Why go to the bother of trapping something or someone, only to have them die the moment they come in contact with the field?"
"My hand doesn't agree with you, Carter."
"It's not dead is it, sir?" she said deadpan.
"Just get to the point."
"My point, is that when you came into direct contact with the field, besides stunning you, which in this case I think is a subconscious reaction to an impending electrical jolt--"
"Are you saying I subconsciously knew to throw myself across the room because I was about to be electrocuted?"
"I'm saying your mind was expecting to be repelled by the field and your body reacted to the contact."
Jack knotted his brow in confusion. "It zapped me, Carter."
"Yes," she agreed, "but your reaction may not have been in direct proportion to the amount of electrical discharge."
"Would you care to test that theory with a practical demonstration?"
"No, sir, but while you were busy being zapped, the field flared. Okay, so that's what generally happens when positive pressure is applied to a force such as this, but it flared for longer than I'd expect. Considerably longer."
"So while I was busy writhing on the floor in agony, you were?"
"Watching the field, sir."
"Right. Gotcha."
continued
Enjoy some 36,500 words of teamy goodness! Story lengths range from 100 words to 4,500. Ratings range from G to PG-13. Expect spoilers throughout the entire series, and one futurefic includes references to character deaths.
Story text is as written by the authors, but minor HTML coding has been changed (removal of smart quotes, for example) and scene breaks have been altered to allow for more uniformity in page style.
Shorter ficlets are posted here in full, with links to the author's individual LJ for feeback; due to LJ posting constraints, longer fic is excerpted, with links to the author's journal for the full story. The entire anthology is posted in full, without excerpts, over at Dreamwidth.
Readers are strongly encouraged to follow the links to the authors' individual journals and leave feedback.
A is for Air
by ansostuff
Checking that she indeed was not suffocating and that yes, she had slept with her window open she breathed in more of the stale, dry air and went about her morning business. They were going off-world today. Hopefully the air wouldn't be as hot and stale there. The MALP's censors had shown a desert-like planet with no apparent sign of civilization. A deserted planet was what they were looking for and the UAV had shown no further signs of life further afield. That the planet was a barren wasteland was only to their advantage for this mission.
***
Darn, but it was hot! Jack put on as little clothing as decency allowed for and immediately starting the air conditioning in his truck. If the MALP's findings were true it was even hotter where they were going today. Turning the a/c to its highest setting, Jack drove towards the mountain, enjoying the coolness for as long as it lasted.
***
Teal'c could not sense any change in the air as he exited his private quarters and headed for the locker room. He could however judge by the attire of the arriving personnel what kind of weather it was on top. Most were wearing shorts and t-shirts and many of the women wore cotton dresses. Almost everyone was wearing sandals. Spotting his team-mate coming down the corridor he stopped and let other people pass while he waited.
"Good morning, DanielJackson."
"Morning, Teal'c." Daniel walked in step with Teal'c and drew a deep breath.
Teal'c looked at him expectantly. "What is the purpose of this deep breathing?" he asked, looking closer at DanielJackson. His friend was, as the others, wearing short sleeves and sandals and appeared somewhat hot and bothered. "Is anything amiss? There is no need for worry."
"What?" Daniel frowned. "No, no. It's nothing," Daniel smiled, looked at Teal'c with amusement and started walking towards the locker rooms. "It's just that it's so hot outside that it's difficult to breathe. It almost felt like if I took a deep breath the air scorched my lungs. We really could do with some wind and rain."
Teal'c looked at his friend and nodded, confident that he spoke the truth. DanielJackson did indeed appear to be enjoying himself. This was a good start to the day.
continued
B is for Big Beasts
by samantilles
The call of distress came in as soon as Hammond called out on the radio through the Stargate to SG-6. The crackled signal alluded to some sort of danger, but the message was too distorted to make out anything other than the words "danger", "help", and "beasts". Rising to the call for help, Hammond immediately summoned SG-1, 2, and 8 for backup. Within minutes, the twelve members of the three teams filled the conference room. Daniel and Sam sat at the table, and while the rest stood; Daniel read through SG-6's mission file and Sam ran last minute calculations in one of her mobile devices. Hammond strode into the room, and without sitting, briefed the teams.
"It seems SG-6 is in some sort of trouble. When they didn't check-in as scheduled, we dialed the planet and hailed them. We received a signal, but we were unable to get a clear update on the team. The message indicated that SG-6 is in danger, and that there may be dangerous native wildlife on the prowl. Your mission is to assist in SG-6's safe return to the 'gate." He cast his gaze over each teammember in turn, and added, "People, you move out in five minutes. Dismissed!"
The teams 'gated precisely on schedule and exited the wormhole to a pleasant field. About two to three miles to the right was the edge of the forest, through which the path to the nearest village crossed. The teams neared the tree line when sounds of automatic rifle fire stopped them in their tracks, and at once the three commanders began signaling to each other and setting up a proper defensive position. They moved carefully closer to the tree line when the four members of SG-6 emerged from the shadows in a full run, their weapons held behind them. Major Barnes, the commanding officer of SG-6, upon seeing the rescue teams, began screaming and flailing his hands. "Get out of here! Get back to the 'gate!"
Jack looked at Ferretti, nodding to move the guard back carefully, allowing SG-6 to be folded into the defensive perimeter as they rushed towards the group. Before the lost team made it to the formation, Sam noticed what was giving them chase. "Sir! It looks like wolves!"
"Wolves? Big giant dogs?" Jack pulled out his field glasses to get a better look.
She held up her weapon and peered through the scope. "Definitely wolves, sir."
"Oh, for crying out loud!" With the last member of SG-6 approaching the rescue team, Jack gave the signal to retreat back to the 'gate. Ferretti and SG-2 brought up the rear, retreating backwards, guarding as the large beasts approached at a great speed.
continued
C is for Communication
by sg_wonderland
1- giving or exchanging of information;
Daniel raised his hand hesitantly. "Yes, Dr. Jackson?" Colonel O'Neill indicated he was recognized.
"Is it true they give us pictures of 'our' colonels because everyone looks the same behind a machine gun?"
Sam managed to smother almost the entire laugh; only Daniel could make air quotations sound sarcastic. She dropped her eyes as 'her' colonel stared down the only person in the room he could intimidate. "Daniel...Dr. Jackson..."
"Oh, please, I'm not shouting 'Colonel O'Neill, sir' every time I want your attention. So, Jack," he drawled the name out, "is it true?"
"Okay, Daniel," he drawled right back. "The reason we give you pictures of your colonel is so you can hang them up in your locker...in case you forget who the guy in charge is. When we're in the field, I'm responsible for getting your ass back through the gate unharmed. And that's why I'm in charge."
"But not everyone out there is our enemy." Daniel protested.
"And we can tell that how?" Jack replied coolly. Daniel frowned upon finding he had no answer to that. Jack's voice softened, "Listen, Daniel, I know you don't want to hurt people any more than I do but until we know how to tell friend from foe, we're going through the gate loaded for bear. Every time we go. If it comes down to a choice between some native I don't know and a member of my team, that team member is going to win every time. So if you're determined to be on SG-1 and you're going through the gate, you are going to carry a weapon. You may never have to fire it but you're damned sure going to know how just in case. Fair enough?"
Daniel nodded reluctantly. "Fair enough."
continued
D is for Duct Tape
by sg_fignewton
SG-1 was seated at a table in the commissary when Teal'c produced a roll of duct tape and solemnly pronounced its simple versatility to be one of the Tau'ri's greatest technological triumphs.
Jack spluttered a mouthful of coffee across the table, leaving Daniel blinking indignantly behind spattered glasses and Sam hiding a smile behind a diplomatic hand. "It can't be better than cable," Jack protested as he absently handed Daniel a napkin.
Teal'c was unmoved. "Cable television is a luxury, O'Neill."
"Well, yeah. That's my point!"
Teal'c raised a meaningful eyebrow which clearly stated that Jack was only pretending not to understand what he meant. Jack pointed a menacing finger back at him, daring him to say that out loud. Daniel finished wiping his glasses and nudged Sam, who tipped her head down to hide the broadening grin and muttered under her breath, "Yes, I know."
"I'm not saying duct tape isn't useful," Jack sighed finally, caving into the Eyebrow of Doom. "I've used it often enough. I'm just saying that it's somewhere on my list after air conditioning. And The Simpsons."
"Duct tape should be part of our regular supplies," Teal'c said firmly. "I believe it would be most useful on missions."
"Oh, Jack thinks so, too," Daniel interrupted, his voice bright with false innocence. "That's why he always carries a flattened roll of duct tape in a pocket of his vest."
continued
E is for Extol
Ode to SG-1
by suzannemarie
When General George Hammond died suddenly and unexpectedly, Jack O'Neill took on the task of going through George's desk at the Pentagon. Jack was one of the few people who knew about George's whimsical side, so he was not entirely surprised when he examined the contents of a folder that he found tucked into one of the desk drawers. Inside the folder were tributes--in verse--that George had created for each SG team. Jack smiled nostalgically as he turned over each page. After much thought, Jack decided that each SG team should see what had been written about them.
Like every other team, the members of SG-1 were pleased and touched when they received copies of their tribute.
Teal'c set the words to a traditional tune of Chulak and took to singing it to himself when he thought no one was around to hear him.
Cameron tucked his copy of the poem into his desk at home and referred to it when he had a bad day.
Sam also kept a copy in her desk. Every time the page surfaced it made her smile and remember the General and the bonds that SG-1 shared with each other.
Daniel kept a folded copy of the poem in his wallet. The memories it evoked for him were sometimes bittersweet, but also served as a reminder to reach for the highest goals at all times.
On Langara, Jonas kept a framed copy of the poem in his room. On days when he felt overwhelmed at all that remained to be done to rebuild from the damage of the Ori, he would read the lines and remember that anything was possible.
Vala tucked her copy into her underwear drawer and smiled every time she saw it. She never figured out how to explain to people that even though she was barely acquainted with General Hammond, the moment she read the poem was the moment she truly understood that she was fully part of the team and had found a place where she belonged.
Jack kept a copy of each of the SG team tributes on his desk and referred to them often. They served as a reminder of where he had been, what had been accomplished, and what was at stake for the future.
Shall we sing praises of brave Es Gee One?
Which started with Jack, Teal'c, Daniel, and Sam.
Battles aplenty were lost and were won,
Later came Jonas and Vala and Cam.
Traveling across space and even through time,
To races and worlds malign and benign.
Soldiers, a scholar, a former First Prime,
A scientist, aliens, did combine
To overturn empires, and help free slaves.
The Asgard ordained humans the Fifth Race,
The Goa'uld in contrast considered them knaves,
To protect and defend and act with grace.
SG-1 and friends, for those who keep score,
Beat Goa'uld, Replicators, Ori, and more.
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F is for Family by Firelight
by thothmes
Major Griff glanced out of the corner of his eye at the other campfire. His own team's fire was at his back, and he could hear some low voiced grumbling from his new team. O'Neill had shown a sensitivity that Griff had not hitherto credited him with in choosing to have the two teams camp side-by-side, instead of sharing one big encampment. His Marines were still smarting from the shock of watching SG-1's colonel arrest their own Colonel Makepeace very publicly in the Gateroom. If some of the whispered mutterings he'd caught bits and snatches of were to be believed, his team was more inclined to believe that Makepeace would soon be settling into a long stay at Leavenworth, not because he had been doing some extracurricular espionage and smuggling for the N.I.D., but because O'Neill's Air Force pride had been wounded one too many times by the superior showing of SG-3's marines, and he'd taken out his petty spite on one of the best Marine officers still breathing. This struck Griff as patently ridiculous. O'Neill was a straight shooter, if ever there'd been one. There had been no denying, however, that O'Neill had taken a certain delight in surprising and securing his fellow officer, and Griff's men were young, inclined to be hot-blooded, and exceedingly loyal. The Major hoped that if he allowed them to bleed off some of that misplaced anger and camaraderie as grumbling, they would soon come to see how ill-founded and exaggerated their conspiracy theories were, and get a more realistic view of the situation. If they hadn't gotten it out of their system by the weekend though, he was prepared to take names and knock heads together come Monday morning.
The mission had been a straight forward search for useful technology in a structure that the UAV had spotted some 18 klicks from the gate. SG-3 had been sent along on the theory that if the structure had turned out to be still in Goa'uld possession, then 18 kilometers would have been too far away for SG-1 to summon back-up, should they have needed it. In the event, it turned out that the structure was abandoned, in very poor repair, and apparently stripped of all technology or records that might have been of interest. Between the long hike in, and the avidly bloodthirsty swarms of blackflies that had greeted them and shown no signs of being affected by DEET, with nothing to show for it in the end other than a large collection of itchy red bumps, it was no wonder that Griff's men were inclined to be cranky.
SG-1 had certainly been cranky, Dr. Jackson in particular. The Jaffa had been silent and imperturbable as usual. Major Carter was constrained by military protocol from being too free in her self-expression, although the quality and vehemence of the way she pronounced "Sir" and the frequency with which she used the word was enough to let any experienced commander know that he was not currently in her good books.
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G is for General
by randomfreshink
With Jack O'Neill
"I think we're about done here, Colonel."
"Sir, permission to speak freely."
"Denied." George let out a breath, a short one, kept it to a soft exhale. Then he looked up from his papers and at the colonel in front of him, feet spread wide, hands behind his back and still showing more attitude than an officer should afford to his superior. That seemed to be the trouble with O'Neill--he didn't think anyone superior. And he just kept on talking, that Irish streak in him showing a mile wide.
"Sir, I'm not saying he doesn't need training, but we can't--"
"Colonel, is there some part of denied you're not understanding?"
O'Neill stiffened, finally straightened that mouth of his into a line. And George vowed another read of the man's record--he needed to see those good points he was getting along with all the rest he was having to put up with.
George went back to the orders on his desk--the ones he had to follow. "As it happens, Dr. Jackson will be attached to SG-1 as your cultural expert and civilian advisor. This is only until we can identify and staff up military personnel with sufficient background and experience to--"
"God knows how many languages and a year on another planet? That's what you're looking for?"
Looking up, George leveled another stare on O'Neill, and at least the man was smart enough to know when to finally stop talking. George gestured to the door. "I suggest you get started on that training you mentioned. Dismissed."
O'Neill nodded, started for the door, but turned back. "And Teal'c?"
"You're pushing it, Colonel"
"Well that is what Uncle Sam pays me the not so big bucks for...sir." O'Neill fired off a crooked smile, a sloppy salute, and George gave back the latter and not the former. When the man had gone, he reached for his drawer and the aspirin. Have to double the size of that jar. And then he smiled--life had gotten a helluva lot more interesting than it would have been in retirement.
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H is for Hell is Other People
by rigel
"So wait, how is it that I owe fourteen dollars and twenty-two cents?" Daniel asked, frowning slightly as he pushed back his glasses.
Jack clicked the pen he was holding and ran a finger down the list of figures. "Well, it worked out that way. There were a few, shall we say, unexpected expenses."
"But I put in at least forty-five for gas yesterday!"
"Do not forget the purchases at the grocery store, Daniel Jackson."
"Good point Teal'c." He rummaged through his knapsack and produced a receipt. "Ninety Four Eighty-Two. Surely I should come out on the plus side?"
"It's already on the list," said Jack, "I have factored it in."
"I'm not sure I trust your math, Jack."
"What are you trying to say?"
"There might be a bit of creative accounting going on there."
"It adds up. See." Jack pointed to a series of circled numbers that each had arrows emanating in several directions on the page, leading to yet more sums and odd looking notations.
"I value my sanity, thank you. Your idea of logic breaks my brain."
"What the hell did we spend Ninety odd dollars on?" Sam pulled up a chair and put her coffee mug down.
"Ummm there was food, chocolate, batteries, something called Magic Fingers..."
"Great investment by the way, T. Our best purchase to date." Jack waved what looked like a disembodied hand around.
"Indeed. It is most effective."
"Do I even want to know?" asked Daniel.
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I is for Inventive
by lilyleia78
For the first time in the history of the program, the SGC was in a lockdown completely not of their own making.
"No really, Sir. It's not our fault," Jack assured General Hammond. And it was true for once. It wasn't 'not their fault' because how were they to know invisible aliens had followed them home or who could predict the effects of a black hole on an open stargate? It was really not their fault.
Because it was NORAD's fault.
And since the way out of Stargate Command led through NORAD, they were stuck.
NORAD was on lockdown for reasons they refused to share with the SGC. Technically, Jack suspected that his most junior janitor had the clearance to be privy to NORAD's deepest darkest secrets, but no one who was locked down at NORAD had the clearance to know that they - the SGC - had the clearance. It was all very confusing, but what it boiled down to was that the SGC stayed in the dark about why they weren't allowed to leave the mountain. Jack strongly suspected a mass outbreak of the clap, but...
By some whim of fate, Colonel Jack O'Neill was the ranking officer on base when they became cut off from the surface. He'd immediately contacted his commanding officer. "Want me to go up there and flash around my shiny clearance until someone can tell me what's going on?" he asked with probably more glee than with which Hammond was comfortable.
"No, Colonel, I do not want you to break cover by flashing your security clearance for details. I'll flash my credentials at their superior officers and let you know if you need to be worried." He'd also promptly banned any personnel from going through the gate. The General seemed to think it would be best to keep the back door locked until the front one was secure again. Jack argued furiously against it, but mostly for form's sake. He did actually see the common sense behind Hammond's logic, even before Carter and Daniel nagged him about it. Not that that stopped the nagging.
Which meant that Jack had a base full of nervous civilians and bored Marines left to their own devices for the foreseeable future. Never the best idea. After three hours of lockdown, with the first rumbling of unrest coming from all corners, Daniel decided to appoint Teal'c morale officer for the base.
"Why Teal'c?" Jack asked, not-so-secretly hurt that he hadn't been first choice.
"He has the least amount of responsibility on base," Carter explained reasonably.
"And he's the least likely to accidentally blow us up," Daniel added with all the diplomacy of a truck, earning him glares from Jack and Carter.
"It was one time!" They complained in near-unison.
Teal'c and Daniel shared a grin that Jack decided was just affectionate enough to let them off the hook about it.
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J is for Joy to Behold
by sg1danny
Ah, the joy and satisfaction of seeing a well thought out and executed plan come to fruitition. Jack watched from the control room as Ferretti lad the rest SG-2 down the ramp, all of them muddy, heads bowed and soundly beaten.
He looked at his team mates, who were standing with him. Both Carter and Daniel smirked, while Teal'c gave a small bow. Jack smiled and they all watched as SG-2 trudged out of the Gateroom. Yep, good plan, great plan, created from teamwork. All it had taken was a quiet word with Bra'tac and lesson learned, never mess with SG-1.
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K is for Kawoosh
by green_grrl
Jack watched Daniel sketch a large circle in the air with both hands, and pause. The villagers still looked patiently expectant, so Daniel crouched to draw a quick circle in the dirt with two fingers.
Carter whispered, "I hope this works."
"I concur. We have been on this planet long enough."
The big guy was disgruntled, but then none of the team were fans of being kidnapped by a rival village after a perfectly lovely visit at the village by the gate--or as lovely as you could get without a common language.
Jack wasn't too fond of wandering through the woods lost all night after escaping captivity, either. Fortunately they'd at least found this village, which Daniel had determined from their iconogra-whatsit belonged to the friendly faction.
Standing up, Daniel stretched out his hands again and rotated his imaginary circle. "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!"
He leaned over and drew a triangle on the edge of the circle in the dirt. Then he stood up and rotated his circle the other way. "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!"
Jack read the body language of the watching villagers and relaxed minutely. "On the plus side, classic Daniel Jackson charades show."
That got a smile out of Carter. "Always look on the bright side of life, sir."
As Daniel went through the chevrons locking, the village's youngest children began running around, waving their arms in circles, and squealing their own high-pitched "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!" "Rrrrrrr ... Chunk!"
Carter tried to hide her smile behind her fist, and even Teal'c looked like the corner of his mouth was tipped up a millimeter. "I must confess, I wish I had witnessed Daniel Jackson's full performance in imitation of a UAV on PJ2-445."
That made Carter break out into a full grin. "The little aliens imitating him were awfully cute."
Jack shook his head. "No, the one you really wish you'd seen was the Chicken Dance on Abydos."
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L is for Lessons
by penknife
Sam frowned at the markings on the Goa'uld power converter. At least, she thought it was a power converter. "See, here, 'transforms the voltage'--"
"No," Daniel said. "That's an imperative, see the marker? 'Transform, or convert, the power before you connect.'"
"It doesn't say 'before,'" Sam said. "Or 'you.'"
"They're understood."
Sam pushed her stool back from the lab bench and rubbed her forehead. "Did I mention that I'm no good at learning foreign languages?"
"You're doing fine," Daniel said.
"I took two semesters of German at the Academy because you had to take something. I think I can just about remember how to say 'Hi, my name is Samantha Carter, and I like math.'"
Daniel reached around her for a pen and scribbled something in Goa'uld hieroglyphics on a piece of note paper. He folded it into a tent shape and propped it up on the lab bench behind the device, whatever it actually was.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "What does that say?"
"'Hi, my name is Samantha Carter, and I like math.' Well, more like 'Greetings, I am Samantha Carter, and I find math pleasurable.' But close enough."
Sam smiled despite herself. "Think you could make me some flash cards?"
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M is for Memorial
by crazedturkey
There are stories in every family -- tales told every time a subject is raised or an event occurs until you can recite them all by heart.
My teenage children roll their eyes at each recitation I'm sure, because I once did. But I have come to treasure these stories and their connection to my past.
Uncle Teal'c features prominently in many of the legends of my family. He and SG-1 saved my life and raised me as their own. Like him, Earth is my adopted home planet and for that reason we always shared a special bond. I suppose this is why I was asked to speak to you all today, a final honour for my dear friend and mentor.
There are many other dignitaries here today who will speak about Teal'c the leader of the Jaffa nation and his role in the freedom of his people.
It is my role to talk about the man I knew, the wonderful man who has been my surrogate father all of my life.
It is my role, in short, to talk about family legends. To do so I need to talk not about Mum and Dad, Aunt and Uncle but about Jack, Sam, Daniel, Jonas, Cam, Vala and Teal'c. Because one cannot ever talk about one without all of the other.
Teal'c joined SG-1 at the very beginning before the team even existed. The bare bones of the story -- a brave first prime choosing freedom over slavery and defecting to the Taur'i- are quite well documented in the history books. Those history books fail to document the light that lit Uncle Teal'c's eyes when he spoke of seeing those three aliens for the first time and realising, somehow, even then, the impact that they would have upon his life.
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N is for Now!
by acarlgeek
Daniel Jackson carefully gripped the girder and shifted to his right to follow the inscribed symbols around to the next side of the hexagonal supporting column. He suppressed a shudder when the new panel turned out to be one of the filigreed ones, 'Not now,' he fiercely told himself, 'It's hard enough keeping everything steady, I don't need to deal with even a minor panic attack.' He locked his gaze and the camera on the filigreed metal immediately before him and tried his best to ignore the crystalline depths visible through the intricately tooled metalwork. He'd learned very quickly that the last thing he wanted to do was to shut his eyes to calm himself while floating in microgravity. That intensified his other senses, which were all screaming to remind him that he was drifting near the middle of an extremely large open space. Not that he was likely to forget how far "down" it appeared to be in every direction around him.
It had all seemed so fascinating and easy while they reviewed the MALP data back at the SGC.
SG-7's scientists had petitioned for the mission as soon as the MALP revealed that S2M 669 was apparently an abandoned space station of enormous proportions. SG-1's Major Sam Carter had trumped their bid by being the first to combine atmospheric jetpack technology successfully with NASA's MMUs to create a maneuvering harness that had enough thrust to work in a breathable atmosphere, yet retained the gentle precision necessary for weightlessness. She and Teal'c had sealed the mission for SG-1 by coming up with a viable plan for getting the MALP back to S2M 669's stargate without the assistance of gravity or even a continuous approach path connected to that 'gate. It wasn't until after SG-1 had secured the assignment that Colonel Jack O'Neill admitted he thought it would be cool to go on a mission where the team floated instead of walking.
To be honest, all of SG-1 had thought it would be cool, until they actually arrived.
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O is for Ominous
by grav_ity
This is how Jack knows that Jonas will never be the same.
He watched Daniel on Abydos, both times, and Teal'c when they met another Jaffa. Heck, even Carter was blue around the edges when it came to the Tok'ra. But Jonas is going back to frustration. Unending strife and political machinations. The smile will come with less frequency. The eyes will harden. The glorious fascination with every little thing will fade into cynicism. Jack is not sure how much of that he is responsible for, but it's enough that he wishes he'd been nicer while he had the chance.
This is how Sam knows that Daniel has changed.
He is quicker to snap; less thoughtful about what he says. It's not like the time he was addicted to the sarcophagus. That was cured easily enough. This is different. Deeper. Some darkness that no amount of light can fully restore. He's lost something, had something taken from him by his former peers, and Sam knows that he will never forgive himself for his inability to act. It's not his fault, they all remind him of that, but Sam is starting to understand that that only makes it all the worse.
This is how Teal'c knows that Jack is going to leave.
He stops making jokes about his knees. He stops meeting Teal'c's eyes during briefings when Carter goes on for too long about something both of them pretend not to understand. He stops reminiscing about the good old days over beer and pizza on Friday nights. Teal'c joined the SGC because of what he saw in Jack, but that isn't what keeps him here now. He thought Jack knew it, but he has always been too good at hiding things from his comrades. Now there's nothing left but another good-bye.
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P is for Provisions, Predicaments and Pastimes
by hummingfly67
Daniel, Vala and Sam fell first, their combined weight enough to trigger the trap door in the floor.
Before they had regained their feet, having tumbled uncontrollably down a steep stone ramp to land in a heap after a painful drop, Teal'c and Mitchell triggered it a second time. The pair had been following far enough behind them to miss witnessing their predicament and thus avoid the same fate.
Once it had been determined luck had been on their side and no one was injured beyond bumps and bruises, they had set to searching their cramped, stone-walled prison, roughly 12x12 in size. It hadn't taken long to admit there were no avenues of escape, other than their route of entry, approximately 15 feet above them in the dimly revealed ceiling.
Vala's joking suggestion that they attempt a human pyramid of sorts to investigate the trap door led to first her and then Sam being balanced on Teal'c's broad shoulders. In vain, of course, as apparently their luck had ended after no injuries.
"Eerily similar to that room we were stuck in under that Cadbury place, isn't it, Daniel? Do you remember?" Vala remarked after, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as she warily eyed the ceiling.
"I'd rather not," he muttered as he turned back to his task, stubbornly searching the walls again for seams that might indicate a possible exit. "By the way, it was Glastonbury Tor," he corrected in a louder tone. "And don't touch anything!"
"There is absolutely nothing to touch, Daniel," she huffed, and then dropped to the ground with a groan.
A softer grunt followed and he glanced over to see that Sam had taken a seat beside Vala, looking just as disheveled and dispirited.
"Well, this is a fine pickle," Mitchell said low-voiced as he completed yet another slow circuit of the room.
Vala groaned again. "Don't mention food, Cameron! Breakfast was hours ago and I didn't have seconds today." She shot to her feet to stand behind Daniel and began patting at his chest, pressing against his back to reach around him.
"Vala!" he barked, batting her hands away. "What are you doing?"
"You always have provisions," she explained, now trying to get at the side leg pocket of his BDU cargo pants. "I'm hungry."
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Q is for Quintessential
by gategremlyn
Daniel coughed to get the attention of the guide sitting at the front desk. She'd finished her peppy little tour, complete with pictures, and was now taking a turn at the information kiosk.
"Yes, sir? Did you have a question about the tour?" She tilted her head and gave him a syrupy sweet smile.
"I hope I'm not bothering you," he said, pulling the brim of his hat down on the odd chance that she'd recognize him, "but I did have a question about something you said in the 'gate, um... embarkation room."
She nodded for him to continue.
"You mentioned that SG-1 wasn't your 'personal favorite' SG team," he mimicked her air quotes with his fingers. "Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Certainly, sir. I'm always glad to help people learn about the original SG teams." She reached behind her for a team photo that Daniel recognized and plunked it down on the counter between them. "Now, sir, I want you to really look at this picture. Really look at it."
Daniel squinted and concentrated. He didn't think the picture was particularly unique. It showed SG-1 in the 'gateroom posing for a picture, not something that happened very often, but nothing remarkable. It could have been after a mission---a successful mission, he guessed, since everybody looked tired, dirty, and cat-in-the-cream pleased with themselves. Sam was a major with a cocky grin and dirt-smudged face. Jack's hair was gray; his sunglasses hung on chord around his neck and he had his P90 tucked in close to his body. His own hair was short underneath the boonie, and he held a camcorder in his hand. Teal'c looked like Teal'c, as regal as only Teal'c could look. So a few years into the program, then.
"What do you see?" The guide's voice startled him. She had leaned in until she her face was next to his.
He straightened up. "Well, I see Jack, Sam, Teal'c--" He covered his mistake with another cough. "I mean I see Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c, the four original members of SG-1."
"Exactly," she said, obviously pleased with his powers of perception.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, really, sir, how could this be the premier team? Look at them."
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R is for Rescue
by cleothemuse
"Hold... still... will you?"
"I am... Hey!"
"Yeesh... Get a room, you two."
"Actually, sir, we're trying to get out of one."
"Doesn't look that way to me."
"Bite me."
"Was that an invitation, Daniel?"
"You shall do no such thing, O'Neill."
"Hey!"
Everyone froze, turned, and looked at the incredulous-looking Cam. "What the hell is going on?"
Vala gleefully held up her right hand, which had previously been secured behind her back, shackled around the same pillar as Daniel. "We are rescuing ourselves, Cameron."
The colonel looked pained. "Could we do it a little more quietly?"
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S is for Stargate
Gateway to the Stars
by traycer_
The gateway stands on the hill like a sentry, strong and tall, forever watching humanity and wildlife as they come and go. There are many names for this gateway - the stone circle, Chappa'ai, stairway to heaven, Stargate, and yet to the four people running toward it, the gateway represents a haven, a way to safety. It represents home.
There is no shame in retreat, Jack O'Neill thought, as he ordered his troops back to the gate. No shame at all, especially since the enemy outnumbered them four to one. He swore softly when a staff blast barely missed him, but he kept running toward the gate, the humongous beacon of hope that meant only one thing at a time like this... safety.
"Daniel!" he yelled as another blast hit the ground in front of him. "Dial it up!"
Daniel did as he was told, but Jack was more concerned about the artillery heading their way. Something exploded behind him, causing him to duck while he raced onward.
"Daniel!" What the hell was he doing anyway, Jack thought as he swiveled around and dropped to his knees. He aimed the P-90 at the nearest Jaffa, while valiantly listening for the telltale sound of the chevrons locking into place. Nothing. All he heard was the sounds of gun fire and the shouts of the wounded. "Daniel?"
"It's not working, something is wrong with it!"
Oh great. This was all he needed. "Carter!" he shouted. "Go!" He didn't even look to see if she obeyed him, he kept on shooting as he got up and back-pedaled toward the gate. He had faith in her abilities to fix things. If anyone could get that gate started, it was Carter.
He reached the DHD just as Carter stood back from the device, her panicked gaze telling him all he needed to know. Things were never as easy as he'd like.
"I have no idea what's wrong with it," she said, "I'm going to need more time to even diagnose the problem." He nodded at her, even as he sent another volley of ammunition toward the Jaffa who had become brave and were now advancing on to their positions. He knew the odds, and odds were they'd all be dead or taken prisoner within the hour if they hung around to wait for her to figure it out. He kept shooting at his targets, while yelling to his team.
"The caves on the other side of the gate! Go!" Carter nodded and took off, with Daniel hot on her heels. Jack and Teal'c continued to shoot at their enemy for a few moments then both took off at a dead run, stopping every few minutes to return the enemy fire.
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T is for Team
by rachel500
5.
'I'm just sayin',' Cam drawled lazily as though SG1 hadn't just stepped out of a wormhole and into an alien market-place. He found his footing on the steps quickly and checked out the immediate area without missing a beat even as he continued talking. 'Now Sam's in Atlantis and it's just the four of us on SG1 again, it would be good not to go tripping over alien bad guys like we did the last time.'
'What do you mean: the last time?' Daniel asked. He caught the back of Vala's vest and tugged her back into formation with the rest of them; away from the shiny sparkle of some stall.
Teal'c absently noticed Vala sticking her tongue out at the archaeologist. 'Perhaps Colonel Mitchell is referring to the mission where we held an off-world museum hostage, Daniel Jackson.'
'No,' Cam corrected calmly, taking a moment to wonder whether the guy proclaiming the end of the world was nigh was a threat or not, 'I was thinking about before the first Supergate and meeting the Ori.'
'Not that I have any intention of tripping over another alien bad guy,' Daniel retorted, 'but you're forgetting one thing.'
Cam shot him a look but bit at the bait Daniel had left verbally dangling anyway. 'What?'
Daniel glanced at Teal'c with amusement.
The Jaffa smiled smugly. 'Were you not the only member of SG1 at the time you mention, Colonel Mitchell?'
Cam's mouth dropped open a little and he snapped it shut. He wagged a finger at them. 'But...'
'We didn't actually officially become SG1 again until Sam was assigned back to the SGC after the Supergate incident.' Daniel continued cheerfully. 'And, of course, Vala only got her badge last year.'
'See, Cameron?' Vala's laugh was breezy. 'You're worrying over nothing. We weren't even SG1 when we happened to meet an incredibly advanced alien race hell-bent on converting this galaxy.' Her eyes lit up at a stall with multi-coloured material two steps from them. 'Of course, now we are SG1, I'm sure nothing can possibly go wrong.'
She darted off leaving her three male companions staring after her with varying expressions of horror - even Teal'c looked perturbed.
'Tell me she did not just say that.' Cam begged.
Daniel sighed. 'Look on the bright side.'
Cam looked at him sceptically.
Daniel offered a half-smile. 'We are SG1 now.'
Cam watched as Daniel and Teal'c walked away to join Vala. 'And that's the bright side?' He called out after them.
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U is for Umbrella
by elder_bonnie
"I can't feel my fingers."
"Did I not say, 'hey, that looks like a cold, rainy planet, everyone needs to bring extra gloves?'"
"He is wearing extra gloves, sir."
"Extra waterproof gloves, Carter?"
"I thought they were waterproof..."
"Perhaps the gloves were mislabeled when you purchased them."
"Teal'c, stop helping."
"Jack, knock it off. We're all as cold and wet and frustrated as you, but you don't see us resorting to snippiness."
"I think I have the right to be snippy, Daniel. I'm not the one who misread the alien stick figures."
"Hieroglyphs. And I know I read them right."
"Then why are we stranded four miles from the gate? On a rock? With rising flood waters? I was perfectly happy to stay within shouting distance of the DHD, but someone-"
"Sir, it's not Daniel's fault. I wanted to survey the mineral deposits that the UAV registered this morning."
"Fine. Fine. I'll blame both of you. Teal'c, you're off the hook. Brood with me so I feel more justified."
"Teal'c never stops brooding."
".....true."
"Well these are useless at this point."
"You can't wipe the water off of the lenses?"
"I don't have anything dry to wipe them with."
"I might have some bandaging strips in my pack you could use, you wanna check in there?"
"Sure."
"Would you two stop wriggling? The more I move, the wetter I get."
"Sorry, sir."
"The statistical likelihood of becoming further irriguous by such a slight shift in position than what you have already-"
"Teal'c? You are this close to coming back off the hook."
"Sam!"
"What?"
"You packed an umbrella!"
"...I did?"
"Yes!"
"YES!"
"Hey, what are you-"
"Colonel, wait, the wind-"
*schfoomp*
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V is for Vanish
by da_angel729
Damn it.
I leave to do a quick recon of the area and come back to a crisis.
Just as I enter the room in the temple we're on P4X-825 to study, Daniel and Carter disappear through a hole in the floor.
I wish I could say this surprised me, but I just shake my head and move toward the area of the wall they'd been studying. Even Teal'c looks resigned, with that arch of his eyebrow, as he follows me to the wall.
"DanielJackson and MajorCarter are missing."
"Yeah, Teal'c, thanks," I say, and run my hand over the wall. Nothing. What the hell had Daniel been doing?
"O'Neill."
I turn to see Teal'c, kneeling on the ground. He's holding Daniel's glasses. Great. Now Daniel's blind and they might be injured.
Well, first things first.
"Carter, Daniel, come in."
Nothing. Of course. I wasn't expecting a response, but one can always hope. So I try again, then twice more, and by the time Teal'c opens his mouth, I know what he's going to say.
"Let's look for clues," I suggest before he says anything. Teal'c nods, once, and stands up, carefully putting the glasses in a vest pocket.
Teal'c moves around the room, running his hand along the wall. I walk toward the entrance, eyes scanning the room, willing myself not to panic, and nearly jump when static crackles over my radio.
"Sir, come in."
Carter's voice is so welcome I grin at Teal'c. He just nods his head, a brief look of relief passing over his features.
"Carter! Where the hell are you?"
They are, apparently, in a chamber with no visible way out.
Carter gives me directions to the building they're under and theorises about the radio not working earlier. She's fourteen words into her explanation--seven of which I understand--when Teal'c enters the building in front of me, carefully clearing the room and giving a nod to where I'm hovering in the doorway.
Carter and Daniel are standing, leaning really, against a door that appears crystalline, backs toward us. I can vaguely make out the outline of Daniel's hands gesturing as he explains something.
"You figure a way out yet?"
They both jump, presumably as their radios crackle to life. Now that I can see them--mostly--and they're unharmed, my breathing eases.
"Yes, sir," Carter says, and I can see Daniel's head bobbing up and down in agreement. "We think Teal'c's staff weapon will destroy the crystals."
Teal'c and I look at each other, and before I even give the order, his staff weapon is primed and ready to fire.
"Stand back," I say into my radio.
"Yes, Jack."
Daniel's voice is slightly muffled, but the sarcasm in response to my--admittedly--unnecessary order came through loud and clear. I roll my eyes and move back to the entrance, letting Teal'c have room to fire his staff weapon.
I see Carter pull Daniel away from the door, Daniel still talking. Teal'c fires, and Plan A works. For once.
Carter walks out, clipping her P-90 back to her vest, and thanks Teal'c. Daniel rushes out, nearly trips over the crystals littering the floor, and immediately launches into an explanation.
"Jack, this is amazing! The panel shifted when I translated the line as--"
"Daniel," I cut in. "Are you injured?"
"No, of course not! Just lost my glasses, but you'll never believe--"
"I have them here, DanielJackson," Teal'c says, holding them out, and Daniel blinks at him.
"Thanks, Teal'c," he says, and slips them on.
"Carter, you hurt?"
"No, sir," she says. "Whatever transported us to this room works in a similar manner to the Asgard beaming system. We left one room and appeared in the other."
"Great. Well, kids, let's get out of here before Daniel beams us somewhere we can't escape."
I push Daniel toward the door, ignoring his indignant look, and know Teal'c and Carter are following.
As always.
feedback
W is for Walking
by jd_junkie
By most mission standards, this one was run-of-the-mill.
Average, green-grass blue-sky planet with average expectation of finding useful mineral deposits and cultural offerings, providing average levels of interest to all concerned.
There was a lot to be said for average, Jack mused, wiping the smeary lenses of his sunglasses before putting them on again to shade against the light of PC7-441's sun.
Average meant none of his team was likely to be shot, poisoned, artificially aged or mind-wiped.
Average meant his civilian wouldn't see his Goa'ulded wife killed by a teammate.
Yeah. Average had a lot going for it right now.
From his vantage point of a handily-placed log on the edge of the clearing, Jack watched his team in action. Carter was analyzing soil and rock samples with her mobile lab, muttering quietly to herself as she wrote her findings in a journal that looked a lot like the one Daniel used. Maybe they'd been buying in bulk and using the savings for areas they considered much more important ... like the latest doohickeys for Carter and the latest reference books that did not have the word Budge on the spine for Daniel.
Carter's customary practice was to set up her equipment a distance from where Daniel based himself, offering them both space to work. Today, she was no more than three feet from the stele that Daniel was studying and video recording. Teal'c stood sentinel over both of them, threat-assessing the hell out of the area around them.
They'd closed ranks and, in Jack's judgment, they'd done it unconsciously.
It was only eight days since Sha'uri's death and since Daniel had spent 48 hours in the infirmary recovering from the effects of the ribbon device. Carter had retreated to her lab and worked herself senseless, which was the way she usually coped with emotional upheaval on her part or on the part of anyone close to her, emerging only to take Daniel cookies and books.
And Teal'c ... well, who the hell knew? Jaffa did stoicism like no one else. Teal'c had kept his distance from the team in the days since Sha'uri's death and funeral, and from Daniel in particular. Several times, Jack had seen him eating in the commissary and had joined him unasked. Twice, he'd sparred with him in the gym uninvited. But what was going through his mind Jack could only guess at, since Teal'c wasn't sharing.
So, to see three of them now, working within touching distance, to see Teal'c physically close to Daniel, even as he'd pulled emotionally away, filled Jack with the first fluttering of hope for the future of the unit.
continued
X is for Xenial
by colej55
The members of SG-1 had spent a rather pleasant day thus far. In fact, the only negative Jack complained about was the heat. While Daniel and Sam made nice with the natives, the colonel and Teal'c mostly stayed in the shade under the trees that lined the perimeter of the tribal encampment. Their traditional walk-around proved to be unremarkable. Come to think of it, everything about the day had been unremarkable and Jack was eager to get home in time to catch a little TV, a few beers, and some early Zs.
Given that it was already mid-afternoon and Daniel had been at it for most of the day, the colonel decided that it was time to start pulling him toward the gate. That alone could take hours if he was having a good time. Not that the team's archaeologist was immature, because he most certainly was a dependable, grown up man, but his enthusiasm for the subject of his study sometimes made him petulant and childish when it came time to leave for home. Jack was hoping that he had learned everything there was to know about this apparently very primitive society and that getting him to say goodbye would be easy.
As Jack and Teal'c approached the village, they observed Daniel and Sam watching the tribesmen stacking wood in preparation for building a fire. Evidently a very large fire. The local women were also busy preparing native vegetables and grinding some sort of grain, most likely for making bread.
"So, did you have a good time, kids?"
"Jack!" Daniel whined in response, while Sam smirked from behind him.
The colonel knew that the eminent doctor approached his work very seriously and, although he enjoyed what he did, he was not out to merely have a "good time". Jack had a tremendous amount of respect for the doctor's intellect and valued him as an important team member, but he enjoyed the heck out of goading him from time to time.
Clearing his throat, Daniel started, "This tribe is not unlike those found in West Africa. It would have been a perfect place for the Goa'uld to harvest them from without being seen because the African jungle can be quite dense and sparsely populated. However, from what I can gather, the Goa'uld haven't visited this part of the planet in centuries and the community has enjoyed a quiet existence. There are other tribes within several day's walk, but they evidently don't interact much."
"That's nice, Daniel. And did we learn anything of use?" Jack asked, turning toward the captain.
"Well, sir, this entire area seems to be remarkably similar to West Africa except that my preliminary soil and rock samples were devoid of traces of naquadah or any other valuable mineral. West Africa is rich in bauxite, titanium, gold, and even diamonds, but the ground contents here, as far as I can tell, seem to be entirely mundane. Of course, further study by a geological team might be warranted."
"So, what you're both telling me is that we've spent the day sweltering in this heat just so Daniel could enjoy a sunny afternoon conversing with the natives about loin cloths and such?"
continued
Y is for Yule
by q_d_o_g
The first year was a cautious occasion, everyone still finding their footing around one another. Teal'c was mostly curious about the traditions of 'This Strange Earth Festivity' and Daniel spent most of the night translating Jack's somewhat confusing remarks to the Jaffa, explanations getting increasingly more detailed the more 'Holiday Spirit' he partook in. Sam looked for the most part like she was trying to toe the line between being indignant on Daniels behalf and not laughing too outlandishly at the Colonel's ridiculous made-up mythology of Christmas.
***
The second year all caution was out the window, and she didn't even try to stifle her amusement at her strange teammates. Teal'c decreed that he would prepare a traditional Chulak-ian feast to commemorate the occasion. Jack and Daniel spent most of the evening glued to the Playstation Jack had bought 'for when Cassie came over', stopping briefly when Teal'c announced dinner was served, and again when Sam returned from paying for the pizzas.
***
The third year General Hammond's family went out of town, and he joined them for Christmas, bringing with him a spectacular eggnog recipe. Teal'c wore a paper crown that came out of a bon-bon that Jack delighted in repeating the joke from, in various incarnations, over and over into the night until the General ordered him to stop. Daniel spent the night with a sad smile on his face, his mind on a planet a couple of thousand light-years away. Jacob and Sam stopped by briefly, before they left for San Diego, the excitement over spending the holidays with her long estranged brother's family evident on the young Major's face.
***
The fourth year they were off world over Christmas, hidden underground, with no memory of the tradition they were missing. They thought about celebrating when they got home and realised the date, but before they knew it they were off on another mission, and it didn't seem so important. They eventually exchanged presents over pie in the commissary, 3 months too late and with little fanfare.
***
The fifth year, Cassie, and Janet, insistently invited them all over to join them for the holidays. The Fraiser house was littered with homemade Christmas decorations, tinsel adorning every doorway and banister in sight. Teal'c and Jack got caught under the mistletoe near the staircase, and narrowly avoided an undoubtedly awkward situation by catching a giggling Cassandra and each planting a kiss on her cheek. Daniel spent the evening with his hand attached to his new digital video camera, documenting everything, under the guise of 'learning how to work it', with Carter throwing technical instructions at him, along with occasionally impressed-sounding statements about its specifications no-one else could really translate. By the end of the evening, three quarters of SG1 were asleep by the fire.
continued
Z is for Zeus
by eilidh17
"Whichever way you look at it: a gilded cage is still a gilded cage."
"I'm not asking you to throw yourself at it, Jack, just... touch it."
"And get myself thrown clear across the room again? Are you nuts?"
"Clear across the room would imply that you flew beyond the opposite side of the containment field, which clearly you didn't, and besides, the field flared when you made contact with it so clearly it's reacting to your touch."
"It's a force field, Daniel! Of course it reacted to my touch! Carter, wanna take over here?"
"I think what Daniel means, sir, is that this isn't like other repelling fields we've come into contact with."
"Like Boch?"
"That's one example, yes, or the field the Bedrosians trapped us in. This one..." Sam stepped closer to the barely visible electric field and held her hand out, just shy of touching it. "This one is different."
"How so?"
"Most force fields are designed as barriers to contain or repel specific objects."
Jack shook his still numb hand as a show of support to her theory. "Yeah, got that loud and clear."
"They're not designed to be lethal, though, or it would negate the purpose for having them. Why go to the bother of trapping something or someone, only to have them die the moment they come in contact with the field?"
"My hand doesn't agree with you, Carter."
"It's not dead is it, sir?" she said deadpan.
"Just get to the point."
"My point, is that when you came into direct contact with the field, besides stunning you, which in this case I think is a subconscious reaction to an impending electrical jolt--"
"Are you saying I subconsciously knew to throw myself across the room because I was about to be electrocuted?"
"I'm saying your mind was expecting to be repelled by the field and your body reacted to the contact."
Jack knotted his brow in confusion. "It zapped me, Carter."
"Yes," she agreed, "but your reaction may not have been in direct proportion to the amount of electrical discharge."
"Would you care to test that theory with a practical demonstration?"
"No, sir, but while you were busy being zapped, the field flared. Okay, so that's what generally happens when positive pressure is applied to a force such as this, but it flared for longer than I'd expect. Considerably longer."
"So while I was busy writhing on the floor in agony, you were?"
"Watching the field, sir."
"Right. Gotcha."
continued