Sentinels and Stranger Things
The 5th story in the Sentinel.com Series
Yes, I know, I’m sorry. This story took much longer to complete than I anticipated. It begins immediately after the 4th story, “Sentinel Links” and thus makes reference to 9-11. It is also a crossover with Stargate SG1. I don’t think I made reference to it in the last story, but for those who really need to know, in the SG1 world, this story takes place after the episode called “2001.” Other than that, I can’t promise any continuity with the Stargate universe<G>, although I have a few ideas for events in the future.
I’d like to thank everyone who has sent me feedback on this series. I’m glad you are enjoying it. I hope you like this latest addition.
I also want to thank Cheryl for being my most wonderful beta, not to mention cousin <G>. As usual your editing has helped tighten up sections that didn’t flow the way I wanted them to. Thanks!
Warnings: Some bad language.
Disclaimers: Nobody belongs to me. Jim, Jack, Blair, Daniel… nobody… It’s very sad.
**************************************
The
military transport plane landed and a car picked the three men up. They rode
silently for some time. But it couldn't last.
"So,"
Blair Sandburg said, breaking the tense silence, "do we get to make a
phone call?"
Colonel
Jack O'Neill raised an eyebrow. "Who do you want to call?"
"A
friend," Blair stated defensively, "just to let someone know we
haven't dropped off the face of the earth."
"Yet,"
Jack mumbled under his breath, earning a suspicious glare from Jim Ellison. Oh, forgot, Sentinel, good ears.
O'Neill cleared his throat. "Of course you can call your friend, Sandburg.
Just don't tell them where you are for now."
"And
exactly where are we?" Blair asked.
Jack
rolled his eyes. "
Jim
put a restraining hand on his Guide's arm and Blair sat back in his seat with a
huff.
Silence
regained its foothold in the vehicle.
~~~~~~
About
half an hour later Jim squirmed and turned from gazing out the window to look
at O'Neill. "How much further to your base?" he asked tightly.
Blair's
eyes snapped to his friend. He could see little lines of tension around Jim's
eyes and mouth. "Jim?" he asked softly, putting a hand on his
Sentinel's arm.
Ellison
relaxed marginally but shook his head and gave Sandburg a look that he knew
said, "Not here."
O'Neill
took in the exchange and Ellison's behavior. He looked around and realized
where they were. "We're close, maybe a couple of miles." Jack
grinned. "Almost there kids."
Blair
rolled his eyes. It was bad enough for Simon and Jim to call him kid, but this
Air Force colonel?
The
car rolled to a stop several minutes later in front of a gate that led into the
side of a mountain. "
"Among
other things,” Jack said as the car was waved through and pulled in to a
parking spot just outside the giant door. “Home, sweet, home,"
"Better
not be," Sandburg groused under his breath.
Jim
gave him a tight grin and rubbed down the hairs on the back of his neck.
"What do you have in there?" he snapped.
Jack
regarded the Sentinel thoughtfully. "Let's go inside, get you settled for
a bit and I'll see what my CO has heard from the President. Then…" he
shrugged.
Ellison
nodded distractedly. There was something… not normal… in the mountain. They
followed O'Neill in, received guest passes good for the first four levels only,
and were shown the way to a cafeteria and then to a room on the second level with
two double beds.
"You're
free to move around the top four levels," Jack instructed. "But
please don't try to leave the base. I'll be back for you ASAP. Okay?"
Blair
glanced at Jim who nodded his affirmative and O'Neill left them alone.
"What's
going on, Jim?" Blair asked, practically pouncing on his friend as soon as
O'Neill left.
Jim
closed his eyes and rolled his head slowly, trying to release the tension in
his neck. "I don't know, Chief. I felt… something before we got to the
base. It's… louder now."
Eyebrows
rose. "Louder?"
Ellison
sighed. "More… I can feel it… more… damn, Blair. I don't know how to
describe it." He rubbed one hand briskly over his other forearm. "I
feel it 'in' me, under my skin. It's making my hair stand up for goodness
sake," he held his arms up so Blair could see.
Sandburg's
eyes narrowed in thought. "Is it painful?" he asked concerned.
"No.
Just… persistent." A violent shiver ran up Jim's back.
"Can
you isolate the feeling Jim? Block it out?" Blair recommended, stepping
closer to his Sentinel and putting a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"I
don't know Chief," Jim admitted.
"Let's
try," Blair suggested guiding his friend to sit on one of the beds.
"Close your eyes and locate the feeling…."
~~~~~~~~
SGC Level 27
General Hammond's office
"I
spoke to the President late last night,"
Jack
picked it up. "And?"
"He
wants us to give them a full disclosure," the general replied doubtfully.
"How well do you know this man Ellison?"
O'Neill
sat back in his chair. "We shared a brief assignment together a few years
back. He was tough, but fair with his men. Honest and… loyal." He
shrugged. "Of course that was over a decade ago. Things can change."
Jack
raised one eyebrow briefly. "Well, their term is 'Sentinel.' Watchman is
just from the movie. I don't know what to tell you General, he has those
abilities. At least the little that they were able to demonstrate to me seemed
real. From what I understand, Ellison needs Sandburg's help when he uses his
senses. It's more a trust thing than an inability to function. The Sentinel
needs to know someone's got his six." O'Neill tilted his head ruefully.
"Ellison trusts Sandburg to do it."
"How
soon…" a knock at the door interrupted
"General,"
Sergeant Wiley said. "We've finally heard back from all of the off world
teams except SG1. Should have everyone home within a few hours."
"Good,"
"Yes,
sir. Anything else sir?" the sergeant asked.
"When
Dr. Jackson gets back, please have him set up for a… Stargate 101
lecture,"
Jack
snorted. The sergeant smiled. "Yes, sir," he said then left the room.
"Daniel
will love this," O'Neill smirked.
"Good,"
General Hammond said. "I want SG1 to brief Sandburg and Ellison. All of
you."
"General…"
"Jack,"
O'Neill
nodded. "Yes, sir."
~~~~~~~~~
Blair
watched Jim closely. Good, almost there I
think. He'd helped his friend slip into a meditative state and together
they'd figured out a way for the Sentinel to 'dial down' the odd feeling. Now
Jim was trying to adjust to the new 'normal' settings for this environment.
Suddenly
Ellison stiffened, his eyes popped open and he took a sharp breath.
"Chief!" he cried out as he grabbed his head and tried to curl in on
himself.
"Jim!"
Blair jumped up and pulled Jim back into a sitting position then held the
Sentinel close. He could feel the tremors that wracked Jim's body.
"Easy," he whispered. "Focus on turning all the dials down to
one, Jim. One at a time," Blair continued his monologue, grateful that Jim
was so used to listening to him by now that the Sentinel responded to his Guide
almost automatically, especially in times of extreme stress.
"Listen
to my voice, Jim, touch first, dial it down." Blair felt Jim gradually
relax against him. "Good, now hearing, bring the dial to one, you'll still
be able to hear me, but everything else will be tuned out. That's it, big guy.
You can do it."
After
several minutes Jim managed to set all of his dials on one and Blair had him
stretched out in a semi-zone on the bed. The Guide rose quietly. "Rest
here Jim. I'm going to go talk to O'Neill. Just relax, I'll be back."
As
much as he hated to leave Jim alone after an attack on his senses like that,
Blair had to find out what had caused the problem. And he only knew of one
person to ask. He stalked down the corridor looking for someone to take him to
O'Neill.
Army gray. Bleh! Why do the
armed forces insist on gray walls in their installations? Haven't they ever
seen the studies on how color can influence performance? He made it all the way to
the fourth level without seeing any military types, only civilian personnel. Geesh. When you actually want a military
presence they’re not to be found. Only civilian scientist types. Guess they’re
all attached to NORAD. Ah ha! "Excuse me," Blair said,
stepping right in front of an oncoming soldier. "I need to see Colonel
Jack O'Neill and I need to see him right now," Blair said, his tone
leaving no room for discussion.
The
soldier looked down at Blair and started to say something then blinked as
Sandburg continued to stare at him. "Um…" the soldier said sagely.
Blair
raised his eyebrows, inviting the man to continue.
"I
can page him for you," he finished hopefully.
Sandburg
nodded. "Fine, let's go." He followed the man through the corridors
until they reached a security desk in front of an elevator. Blair stood back
while ‘his’ soldier talked to the two at the desk and then one of them spoke to
someone on the phone. Finally his soldier came back over to give him the news.
“I’m
sorry, sir,” the man said, not the least bit apologetic. “Colonel O’Neill has
been delayed. If you’d like to wait in your room for him, I’ll be happy to
escort you back upstairs.”
Happy my ass. Blair fumed. “No thanks.
I’ll wait right here for the colonel.” What
in the world is going on here? Delayed? That sounds like militarese for
something dire. All right, fine. I can play the waiting game for a little
while. But I’ll be damned if I’m gonna wait in my room like a good little boy.
Blair looked around for a chair, not seeing one he backed up to the closest
wall and sat down on the floor as he smiled falsely up at the soldier. “You can
run along now. I’m sure those two can keep an eye on me.”
The
soldier’s jaw clenched. He glanced over at the desk and received two matching
smirks from the men there. He exhaled through his nose, then gave Blair a nod
and a tight smile before he resumed his duties.
Blair
sat on the floor pretending to ignore the whispering guards. He leaned his head
back against the wall and listened.
“So
what’s holding O’Neill up anyway?” Soldier Number One asked softly.
“Some
sort of emergency with his team,” Number Two answered, glancing over at the
long haired man on the floor. “Who do you think he is?” he asked with a nod
toward Sandburg.
“Dunno.
I hear the colonel brought in two non-coms this morning. Has something to do
with the terrorist activities topside.”
“Think
we should let him just sit there?” Number Two asked.
“I
doubt O’Neill would have let them have free run if they were a danger to
security. Even just the upper floors,” Number One replied.
Number
Two grunted affirmatively.
Blair
suppressed a smirk. He may not be a Sentinel, but there were other ways to
overhear conversations. This hallway was wonderfully acoustic and silent to
boot. Just by making himself appear non-threatening, the two men had quickly
discounted his presence. Now Blair had another question to add to his list.
What kind of emergency can you have inside a mountain?
~~~~~~~
O’Neill
waited for the elevator. He figured it was time to check on their guests. SG1
wasn’t due to check in for another half an hour and they’d been unable to reach
them between other teams returning home. The doors opened and he entered the
car. Just as they started to close, the claxon went off announcing an unscheduled
wormhole. O’Neill slipped back out the elevator doors just before they finished
closing and raced to the control room.
General
Hammond was already there when Jack arrived.
“It’s
SG1’s iris code, sir,” Sgt. Davis said.
“Open
the iris,”
The
metallic flower opened to expose the shimmering blue of the wormhole. Scant
seconds later, a body plunged through, landing hard on the ramp.
“Close…
iris,” Daniel gasped, rolling a few times before he came to a sprawled stop. An energy bolt followed him through the wormhole
causing personnel to duck and dive for cover.
O’Neill
and several medics ran to
Jack
knelt beside Daniel as the medics checked him out. “Where are Carter and
Teal’c?” he demanded. “What happened?”
Daniel
grasped weakly for Jack’s hand. Blood flowed freely from a cut above his eye
and had soaked a makeshift bandage on his right leg. “…ambush…” he managed to
whisper. O’Neill caught Daniel’s hand in his as the younger man lost
consciousness.
“We
need to move him to the infirmary now, sir,” one of the medics stated firmly.
O’Neill
released Daniel’s hand and helped load him onto the gurney. He stood back and
raised his eyes to meet the general’s concerned frown. “I thought this was a
simple meet and greet,” he almost accused.
“It
was,”
“Permission
to mount a rescue mission, sir,” O’Neill requested.
“Yes,
sir,” O’Neill replied sourly. He knew
Several
minutes later the gate opened and the MALP was sent through. They started to
receive telemetry. Several dozen warriors stood around the gate with weapons aimed
at the machine and the open gate.
One
man wearing elaborate blue body paint and a feathered headdress stepped
forward, leveling a staff weapon at the MALP as he spoke. “Do not come here
again. We will worship no other god than Huitzilopochtli.” He then fired the
weapon and the screen went dead.
Jack
frowned. “Try and contact Carter or Teal’c on their radios.”
“Close
it down,” Jack ordered, glaring at the gate.
“Sir?”
“Shut
it down. Dial back in an hour and try to contact them again,” the colonel growled
as he stalked off, intent on seeing how Daniel was doing.
~~~~
Dr.
Janet Frasier glanced up as Colonel O’Neill entered the infirmary under full
steam. “He’ll be all right, Colonel. But he is unconscious at the moment.”
Jack
came to a stop beside the doctor and stared down at his young friend. “What are
his injuries?”
“Some
sort of energy weapon injury to his leg and a gash to his head. Blood loss,
shock and concussion,” Janet summed up.
“But
he’ll be okay,” Jack clarified.
“Yes,”
Janet replied.
The
intercom crackled to life. “Colonel O’Neill, please report to Level Four.
Colonel O’Neill, please report to Level Four.”
O’Neill
looked up and sighed. “Damn. Look, Doc, I’ve got to go upstairs for a bit. Call
me if anything changes, okay?”
“Don’t
worry, I will. But Daniel will be fine, Jack,” Janet assured.
“Thanks,”
Jack nodded, not quite managing a smile.
~~~~~~~~
Blair
paced the floor. He could tell he was making the soldiers nervous, but he
didn’t care anymore. What the hell is taking
so long? He glanced at his guards again. “Why is it taking him so long to
get here?”
“I
don’t know, sir,” Number One answered.
“You
wouldn’t tell me even if you did know would you?” Blair glared up at the man. Where do they find these guys?
“Not
unless you have the right clearance, sir,” the soldier said, trying not to
squirm under the glare.
“Hmmph,”
Blair huffed and continued his pacing. He stopped and faced the desk again.
Both of the soldiers were standing now, a sign that they did indeed feel
threatened by the Shaman. “Page him again,” he demanded.
“Sir,”
Number Two tried to placate, “when he’s available, he’ll be here. Paging him
again will only make him angry.”
“Well,”
Blair replied sarcastically as the elevator doors opened, “we certainly
wouldn’t want to do that, now would we?”
O’Neill
stepped out and took in the defensive stance of his soldiers and the antagonism
rolling off of Sandburg. “Wouldn’t want to do what, kiddies? I thought we were
all going to play nice together,” he said, hoping to diffuse the situation
before his own patience wore out.
Sandburg
strode over to O’Neill and glared up at him. “Just what the hell do you have on
this base, Colonel?”
Jack
raised his eyebrows. “That’s a need to know, son. And you didn’t need to know.”
“The
hell I didn’t.” Blair spat back. “Anything that affects the well-being of my
partner falls into my need to know category. And something in this mountain is
playing havoc with Jim’s senses. Therefore, I need to know! And I am not your
son!” Blair insisted, so intent on finding a solution to Jim’s problem that he
actually poked the colonel on the chest with his finger, twice.
O’Neill
scowled, subconsciously noting that the two guards had each backed up a step.
“I don’t know who you think you are, Sandburg, but here in this facility you
are nothing but a guest. And guests don’t get to demand anything.” Jack moved
into Sandburg’s personal space and put his own finger on the younger man’s
chest. “And they don’t get to poke colonel’s either.”
Sandburg
seemed to swell with anger. “I don’t consider us guests here, Colonel,” he
snarled. “We are here under protest and to me that makes us prisoners. So
unless you start telling me what I want to hear, you’d better be prepared to
have your ass sued for false imprisonment.”
O’Neill
backed up a step. Calm down, Jack. It’s
not his fault Daniel’s injured and Sam and Teal’c are missing. He glanced
at the two guards. “
Blair’s
anger suddenly left him as fear rushed in to take its place. “You can’t do
that! Jim needs me!” Sandburg grabbed O’Neill by the arm and spun him around.
“Just tell me what’s going on. I need to know to help Jim.”
Jack
shook the younger man off and snarled, “I have more important things to worry
about than your friend’s damned sensibilities.”
“You
son of a bitch!” Blair snarled back, shoving the colonel hard enough to push
him back several steps. “We didn’t want to come here. You have no right to hold
us and expose us to heaven only knows what… Radiation? Poison?”
O’Neill
grabbed Sandburg by his shirt and shoved him back against the wall. “I have the
right to do whatever the hell I want when my team is in danger. You hear me?!”
“Danger?”
Blair shouted, seemingly unafraid of the larger man. “What kind of fucking
emergency can you possibly have in a mountain?”
Jack
gave Sandburg another little push as the younger man suddenly turned his head
to look down the hall, apparently losing interest in their conversation.
“Listen to me you little punk…”
That
was as far as he got.
Ellison
grabbed O’Neill with a growl and spun him around so fast that the colonel
couldn’t keep his balance. Jack didn’t quite make it to the floor though,
because Jim already had a hold of his shirt. Jack suddenly found himself pinned
to the wall staring into steely blue eyes.
For
a split second, shocked silence filled the corridor. Then everyone was moving,
well everyone but Ellison and O’Neill.
The
two guards moved to pull Jim off the colonel only to be attacked from behind by
Blair.
“Don’t
touch him!” Sandburg shouted as he pulled and pushed to keep the guards away
from Jim.
The
soldiers decided to subdue this menace first and let the colonel worry about
the taller, silent one. Finally they each had one of Sandburg’s arms twisted
behind his back.
O’Neill
was still trying to loosen the Sentinel’s grip, but had only managed to get the
grip on his shirt tightened to the point of choking himself. “Sandburg…” he
gasped, “Call him off!”
Blair
stopped struggling with the guards and saw that the colonel was in real danger.
“Jim,” he said, trying to project calm. He shrugged his shoulders, but the grip
the guards had on him didn’t lessen. “Tell them to let me go,” he requested.
O’Neill
managed a nod. God this man is strong.
Blair
stumbled a step when he was released and shook his arms as he approached the
Sentinel. “Okay, Jim. Time to put the colonel down now. Come on, buddy. I’m
safe,” Blair said so softly that only O’Neill could hear him. Blair put both
hands on Jim’s arm. “Enough, Jim. Come back now,” he demanded in that same soft
commanding voice.
O’Neill
watched with no little wonder as the steely blue eyes suddenly became more
human and he found himself face to face with Jim Ellison. Ellison blinked twice
then backed off a couple of steps as he let go of Jack’s shirt.
“Chief?”
Ellison said, more than a little confused by the situation.
“Sorry,
Jim,” Sandburg replied, reaching out to put his hand on the Sentinel’s
shoulder. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m sorry. How are you doing?”
“It’s
better now,” Jim admitted.
“You
mind explaining what the hell just happened?” O’Neill demanded, having regained
his composure.
Ellison
and Sandburg turned hard glares on the colonel, each for their own reason.
“Only
if you tell me what you have down there,” Blair countered.
O’Neill
sighed. He stalked over to the desk and pulled out a log book. He tossed it at
soldier Number One. “Sign them in. Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg. Full access.”
O’Neill ignored the confused stares that the guards gave him as he reached into
the drawer again and pulled out two passes. He flipped one at Ellison and the
other at Sandburg. “Don’t take all day,” he muttered, then turned to call the
elevator.
Jim
and Blair exchanged a confused glance then moved forward to sign the log book.
Number One and Number Two kept as much distance between themselves and the
visitors as possible. The Sentinel and Guide boarded the elevator and as the
doors closed Jim heard one of the soldiers say, “Better O’Neill than us.” The
Sentinel chuckled ignoring O’Neill’s raised eyebrows. Jim slung a companionable
arm over Sandburg’s shoulder.
~~~~~
They
exited the elevator on the 27th level and were met by another
officer.
“Colonel,”
the man said, “General Hammond needs to see you in the conference room.”
“Thanks,
Walter,” O’Neill replied. “Come with me,” he advised the men with him.
Blair
mimicked the colonel silently behind his back causing Jim to grin. O’Neill had
really pissed Sandburg off.
They
entered a conference room with a large window that overlooked another room a
floor below. Blair angled off toward the window and saw a large metal ring
standing at the top of a ramp. He glanced back at Jim, but any further thoughts
were interrupted by the other man in the room.
“Welcome
to Stargate Command, Dr. Sandburg, Colonel Ellison. I’m General Hammond. Please
have a seat and I’ll try to answer your questions.” The general motioned for
them to take a seat, then sat down himself.
“It’s
just mister,” Jim said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. He and Blair remained
standing.
“What?!”
Blair exploded. “No way! We’ll fight this!” he threatened, placing his hands on
the table and leaning toward
Jim
dropped his hand onto Blair’s shoulder and gently pulled him back from the
table. “Chief…”
Blair
swung around. “No,” he said, his voice commanding obedience. “You are not going
to be at the beck and call of the military.” He faced
“I’m
not your son,” Blair continued, still in Guide mode. “Call…”
“Blair,”
Jim interrupted. “Let’s hear what they have to say,” he said softly, soothing
his partner with a squeeze to his shoulder. “Sit.”
Blair
glared at the general and tossed a glare at O’Neill for good measure before he
plopped into one of the chairs around the table. The others sat with a bit more
decorum.
“He
told us some fairy tale about aliens building the pyramids,” Blair responded
vehemently. He wasn’t ready to forgive and forget.
“What
you see below is the stargate. It is a piece of alien technology that was left
on Earth thousands of years ago by a race we know as the Ancients. The stargate
opens a wormhole between Earth and other planets that also have stargates.”
Jim
and Blair stared at the general for a long moment then exchanged a look before
they both started to chuckle.
“The
total disruption of life as we know it. That’s good. Is that another way of
saying the end of the world?” Blair asked sarcastically. “I guess, in
comparison, our little secret is pretty insignificant, huh?”
O’Neill
shot to his feet and slammed his hands on the table as he leaned across it and
into Sandburg’s space. “It’s the goddamned truth, son! And I’m sick and tired
of coddling you and your Sentinel
when my people may be out there dying!”
“Colonel!”
O’Neill
straightened. “I’m going to check on Daniel,” he stated, facing
“Let
me know when he comes to, Jack,”
“Sir,”
O’Neill replied, not even glancing at the stunned Sentinel and Guide as he
left.
Jim
leaned forward to rest his arms on the table. “Sir, even with everything we
deal with on a daily basis, this sounds farfetched. Aliens, other worlds, worm
holes…”
“I
know,”
Red
lights and a loud claxon went off. “Off world activation. Repeat, off world
activation,” a voice announced over the intercom.
Jim
and Blair watched as the large metal ring suddenly came to life. Portions of
the ring lit up with a red light and then the open center began to fill with swirling
color.
“Chief?”
Jim exclaimed softly as he staggered back. He recognized the feelings that had
sent his senses spiraling earlier.
“Easy,
Jim,” Blair said, moving to support his friend. “Remember the exercise we did
before. Filter out the sensations that are causing you trouble.”
General
Hammond watched with concern as Sandburg seemed to help his partner through
some sort of crisis. The gate shut down and Ellison appeared to regain his
equilibrium.
“You
okay, Jim?” Blair asked, guiding Jim toward a chair.
“Yeah.
That was what I sensed before,” the Sentinel said staring at the window. He
looked up at the general for confirmation. “The gate opened? That was the worm hole
you talked about?”
Ellison
swallowed hard then took a deep breath to shake the last of the feelings caused
by the stargate. “First I heard it. A high pitched noise that threatened to
pierce my skull. The sound changed pitch and frequency, oscillating all over
the place. I was able to dampen that, but then I felt a vibration, vibrations,
the same as the sounds, differing in length and intensity… They seemed to cut
right through me.” He stopped and looked up at Blair and the general.
“You
got a handle on it pretty quickly though, right Jim?” Blair asked hopefully.
“Yeah
Chief, but it was still unnerving at first.”
“But…
you could handle it?”
Something
in his eyes made Jim suspicious. His own eyes narrowed. “Handle it, as in going
through the gate, sir?” he asked warily.
Sandburg
met
“You
could feel what he was going through?”
Blair
shook his head. “Not the way you mean. The connection is more subtle than that,
usually. But the need to protect our partner is…” he trailed off at a loss to
explain.
“I
think what Blair is trying to say, sir is that you don’t want to get in the way
of a Sentinel trying to protect his Guide, or a Guide trying to help his
Sentinel. It’s not healthy and tends to make us cranky,” Jim explained with a
wry grin.
“What
about my status, sir?” Jim asked reminding the general that he was now speaking
to an army colonel.
“I
believe the President felt it necessary to give you access to the SGC and
sufficient rank to deflect certain parties’… shall we say… inappropriate curiosity?
This is the fastest way to cut through the red tape if we need to send you
through the gate and protect you from those organizations that might take an
unhealthy interest in your abilities.”
“Sandburg
isn’t military,” Jim argued. “And I won’t be going anywhere without him.”
“
“Yes,”
“You
know him, Chief?” Jim asked.
“Only
by reputation,” Blair said meeting Jim’s gaze. “I’ve read a few of his papers.”
He looked back at the general. “You knew his theories were true and recruited him,”
he stated.
“Sure,”
Blair replied amiably, then frowned, “but what about Colonel O’Neill?”
“I’ll
talk to Jack,”
Jim
snorted and Blair smiled his acknowledgement.
“Come
with me, gentlemen,”
They
came to a halt beside the sergeant that had met them when they exited the
elevator earlier.
“Sergeant,
any luck?”
“No,
sir. We may need to send through another MALP or a UAV to boost the signal.”
Walter
quickly hid his surprise. “Yes sir.”
*******
After
the technical explanation, Walter moved them all back up to the conference
room. With refreshments brought in by an airman and a few photo files to give
visual aide to his lecture, Walter filled the two men in on the comings and
goings at Stargate Command.
Jim
and Blair both asked questions at various points. Ellison’s questions were
usually more about weapons or strategy while Sandburg focused on the cultures
they’d encountered.
As
the meeting wound down, Blair leaned forward and pinned Walter with concerned
blue eyes. “Can you tell us what happened to O’Neill’s team?”
Walter
frowned. The general had said full access. Sandburg was an anthropologist, and
with everyone else scrambling around because of the temporary reassignments,
maybe he could help until
“Do
you always send such small teams out to investigate a new planet, let alone a
partial team?” Jim asked, uncertain of the wisdom behind that.
“Well,
in this case, because we had prior knowledge of the indigenous peoples, we felt
safe in sending SG1, even without Colonel O’Neill. And, yes, four-man teams
have been found to be the most… efficient use of man-power for first contact
situations, much like a fireteam in a typical squad,” Walter explained.
“Anything more may seem a threat and less doesn’t give them very good odds if
they do run into trouble. All of the team members have a variety of experience
from first aid to piloting skills.
Take
SG1 for instance. Colonel O’Neill is in command. He has over twenty years of
active service to fall back on. He’s a pilot and has more first hand knowledge
about Stargate travel than anyone else on Earth.
Captain
Carter is also Air Force and has degrees in computer science and astrophysics.
Her experience with alien technology has been instrumental in saving SG1 and
even more dramatically, the entire world, more than a few times,”
“Dr.
Jackson is the resident expert in Egyptology and discovered how to work the
Stargate. He’s a linguist and archeologist with extensive knowledge of many of
the cultures we’ve run into out there.
Finally
there’s Teal’c. Once the First Prime to Apophis, his training as a
“Wait
a minute,” Jim interrupted. “You said the
Walter
met Ellison’s gaze with a firm glare. “Teal’c has proven himself a loyal ally
to the people of Earth many times. And you’d do well not to question that
loyalty, especially in front of O’Neill or the rest of SG1.”
Jim
regarded the sergeant for a moment then nodded. “Just wanted to make sure I had
the facts straight.”
“Tell
us what happened with SG1,” Blair encouraged.
“We’re
not really sure. Dr. Jackson came back through the gate around the time we
expected them to check in. He was alone and injured. A bolt from an energy
weapon followed him through the worm hole.
“So
we don’t know what happened to the rest of SG1,” Jim stated quietly.
Walter
shook his head.
“Can
we see the tape?” Blair asked.
Jim
and Walter both looked at Blair in surprise.
“What?
It can’t hurt for us to look, can it?” Sandburg replied.
They
made their way back to the lower floor where Walter set up the video from the
MALP’s aborted visit.
The
screen on the monitor played static for a second and then the picture cleared
up. Several dozen warriors stood around the gate with some sort of weapons
aimed at the camera and the open gate.
One
man wearing elaborate blue body paint and a feathered headdress stepped
forward, leveling his weapon at the MALP as he spoke. “Do not come here again.
We will worship no other god than Huitzilopochtli.” He then fired the weapon
and the screen went dead.
“Can
you back it up and freeze on the warrior?” Blair asked thoughtfully. Walter
nodded and complied.
“Aren’t
those the staff weapons you said the
“Yes,
but our initial survey of the planet didn’t show any signs of current Goa’uld
activity.”
“Looks
like a sign to me,” Jim mumbled. He looked at Blair who was examining the man
on the screen very closely. “Whatcha got, Chief?”
“He
said Huitzilopochtli,” Blair replied, his attention not wavering from the
screen. “And these decorations,” he pointed to the feathered headdress, “are
very similar to ones used by the Aztecs.”
“You
think these people are descended from the Aztecs?” Jim asked.
Blair
shrugged. “From what Walter’s told us, the Goa’uld took humans to many
different planets as slaves. In most of the examples he’s given, the people on
any one planet had evolved from one old Earth culture. Maybe Huitzilopochtli
was also a Goa’uld,” Blair surmised.
Walter
interrupted. “We should talk to General Hammond about this.”
******
Walter
led the way back up to the conference room. “Wait here. I’ll get the general
and see if Colonel O’Neill is available.” He stopped just before reaching the
door. “Are you hungry? I just realized how late it is.”
Jim
and Blair nodded.
Walter
shook his head. “I apologize. It’s been a bit crazy around here. I’ll have
something brought in for you.”
“Thanks,”
Blair said, falling slowly into a chair. He looked across at Jim who stood
staring thoughtfully through the window at the stargate. “Not exactly what we
expected, eh?”
Jim
turned and joined Blair at the table. “What? You mean the visit with the
President? Or the terrorist attack on our country? Or the fact that our
military makes regular trips to other planets and saves our asses from aliens
once a week?”
Blair
grinned. “Yeah. That just about covers it.”
Jim
chuckled and ran a hand over his face. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“I don’t know, Chief. We had enough on our plates just dealing with our little
problem. What are we supposed to do about this?” he asked with a wave of his
hand.
Blair
sighed, his eyes staring unfocused at the tabletop. His mind had been going in
a hundred different directions since they left
Jim
grinned. “I recognize that look, Chief. What’s the plan?”
“Not
so much a plan, Jim, as a bit of wisdom. We can only do so much and at the
moment our only option appears to be helping out here. So… we do what we can to
wrap this up as quickly as possible so we can go home and deal with our own
crisis.”
Ellison
grunted, but didn’t get a chance to comment as Walter, General Hammond and
another man entered. The third man was pushing a cart that Jim could tell
carried their dinner.
“I
understand you may have some information for me,”
Jim
and Blair followed the general’s lead while Walter just nursed a cup of coffee.
“I’ve
already eaten,” he replied to Blair’s questioning glance.
Once
they were all seated, Walter briefed
“Teal’c?”
Jim asked.
“Yes.
“That’s
where I come in,” Blair said quietly.
“Convenient
timing, eh?”
Blair
snorted, but returned the grin. The grin turned to a thoughtful frown. “I
wonder if any of this might relate to Sentinels.” He looked at Jim, eyes wide.
“If the pyramids in
“I
don’t know, Chief,” Jim interrupted. “Can you really see an ego like the ones
Walter has described allowing someone else to help them? They might be able to
use the senses of the host, but they’d still need the Guide. My bet is that the
Goa’uld may have tried using Sentinels as hosts, but probably found it wasn’t
worth the hassle.”
Blair’s
eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He noticed the worried looks on the general’s and
Walter’s faces, but Jim had a point. He chuckled. “You’re right, Jim. It’s hard
enough to deal with an ornery Sentinel if you are a Guide, but to try and
control one without a Guide…” Blair ducked the hand that swiped at the back of
his head.
“I’m
glad you find this all so amusing,”
Jim
faced the general. “Not at all, sir,” he said seriously. “It just seems
unlikely that the Goa’uld found Sentinels to be good hosts, otherwise I’m sure
you would have run into one or more of them by now.”
“On
the other hand,” Blair continued, frowning once again. “It might explain why
Sentinels have been so rare in the recent past.”
“What
do you mean?” Walter asked.
“Well,
if the Goa’uld did discover Sentinels, and this is all just conjecture, mind
you. I’ve seen nothing that indicates…”
“Yes,
yes,”
Blair
worried his lower lip for a moment. “The Goa’uld may have tried to use
Sentinels as hosts. When they discovered that they couldn’t, they may have
tried to eradicate them. We know Sentinels can feel the stargate open. It only
stands to reason they can detect a Goa’uld or
Blair
shrugged, but did not disagree.
Colonel
O’Neill entered the room with a quick nod and small smile. He piled some food
onto a plate and took a seat beside the general.
“I
assume Dr. Jackson is doing better,”
O’Neill
nodded as he chewed. He swallowed. “Woke up a few minutes ago. He’s pretty sure
Teal’c and Sam are okay. Danny was just coming back to give an update and get
permission to stay on 994 a while when he was ambushed by an unknown party.”
“Was
he able to describe them?”
“Yeah.
It was the group we saw through the MALP.”
“Dr.
Sandburg has identified them as possible descendants of the Aztec. We might be
looking at another population relocated by a Goa’uld,”
“You’ll
have to ask Doc Frasier,” Jack shrugged. “I’m sure Daniel will be willing to
talk.” He looked at Jim and Blair. “Am I to assume you’ve decided to believe?”
he asked, tamping down his usual sarcasm though it still came through strong
enough to earn him a frown from Hammond.
Jim
and Blair exchanged a quick glance then Jim nodded. “We’d like to help you get
the rest of your team back.”
Blair
pushed his empty plate to one side. “I, um… I’d like to apologize for flying
off the handle earlier, Colonel.” He didn’t offer any explanations.
Jack
sat back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “Accepted… if you accept my
apology,” he said, his mouth twitching into a small, wry grin. “I think we can
blame it on the stress of the last few days.”
Blair
snorted softly, but returned the smile. “Walter said that originally the
Aztuans met up with an SG team on another planet. Would you have a report from
that team?”
Blair
ran both hands through his hair smoothing it down in an unconscious habit that
told Jim the gears were turning. “I’m curious about what they were told… Maybe
the Aztuans gave them information that could help us figure out what’s going on
here.”
The
General looked at Walter who nodded and stood. “I’ll go get a copy.”
~~~~~
O’Neill
and Hammond entered the infirmary.
Dr.
Frasier left Daniel’s bedside and met them halfway. “He’s doing well, but don’t
stay too long, he’s still weak and needs to rest.”
Both
men nodded then went to see Daniel.
“Hey,
Daniel,” Jack said gently. “How ya feeling?”
Daniel
squirmed a bit trying to squish the pillows behind his back into a more
comfortable position. “I’m fine, Jack, General. What’s going on? Did you get in
touch with Sam and Teal’c? Did you find out who shot me?”
General
Hammond shook his head. “We haven’t been able to contact Captain Carter or
Teal’c. Can you tell me what happened?”
Daniel
frowned. “I came back to the gate to make a report and request more time. The
Aztuans seemed eager to trade and we were discussing what they had to offer and
what they might want in return.” He paused to make sure he had events in the
right order and then continued. “When I got to the gate, a group of men…
warriors I guess, surrounded me. They were dressed differently from the people
at the settlement. One of the men wore blue body paint, I recognized some of
the symbols as being similar to those of the Aztec, but that’s not really my
area…”
“We
know, Dr. Jackson,”
“They
wanted to know how we found their world. Where we had gotten the designation
for their gate. I told them we found it on another planet,” he said sending a
pleading glance at Jack. “I didn’t think it would cause any problems, since
they already know about gate travel.”
Jack
nodded approvingly and gave Daniel’s arm a squeeze. “Go on.”
Daniel
swallowed and took a deep breath. “I tried to find out who they were, but one
of them hit me,” he fingered the bandage on his forehead. “The leader, the man
in the body paint said something to the one who hit me, I didn’t know the
language, and he backed off, then the leader asked me for the designation of
the planet where we found his world’s gate symbols.” Daniel yawned and shook
his head. “Sorry.”
“That’s
all right, Dr. Jackson,”
“I
lied, told him I didn’t know it. They started to argue amongst themselves and
seemed to forget about me. The man guarding me was more interested in listening
to the argument than watching me. I managed to sucker punch him and ran for the
trees. They fired at me and one of the bolts hit my leg, but I was able to get
away. I hid for a while then went back to the gate. They were guarding it.
I
created a diversion that drew them away from the gate and it gave me just enough
time to dial home. Like I told Jack earlier, I hadn’t seen anyone else dressed
like the men who attacked me. And as far as I know, Sam and Teal’c are still safe
in the settlement.”
Daniel’s
eyebrows rose in surprise. He nodded.
~~~~~
Blair
read the mission report while Colonel O’Neill and General Hammond spoke to
Daniel Jackson in the infirmary. Jim stood behind him reading over his
shoulder.
“Something’s
not right here, Jim,” Blair muttered softly as he perused the file.
“What’s
that, Chief?” Jim frowned not sure what he’d missed.
“I
don’t think…”
O’Neill
poked his head out into the hallway. “Come on in.”
They
entered the room and approached the bed. O’Neill had moved around to the
opposite side.
“Dr.
Daniel Jackson, this is Colonel Jim Ellison and Dr. Blair Sandburg,” Jack
introduced.
The
three men shook hands.
Daniel
frowned thoughtfully. “Sandburg?” His eyebrows rose over wide blue eyes. “The Watchman!
They’re real?” he asked his eyes flicking to Jim and back to Blair.
Jim
grinned at the slightly shocked look on Blair’s face. “Yes,” he answered for
his partner. “Watchmen, or rather Sentinels and their Guides are real. Blair’s
my Guide.”
“Wow,”
Jack
grinned briefly then gently tapped Daniel on the head. “Can we get back to the
problem at hand, Daniel? Carter and Teal’c?”
“Oh,
yeah, of course,” Daniel said pushing his glasses up with one finger. “But like
I told you before, Jack, as far as I know they were both safe in the city.”
“Dr.
Jackson…” Blair started.
“Call
me Daniel.”
“Okay
then, it’s Blair and Jim,” Blair replied before continuing. “This mission
report from SG11, they were the first to meet the Aztuans and set up this meet
you and SG1 went on… but the team’s description of the Aztuans doesn’t sound
anything like the people we saw on the MALP tape. Did you see anyone dressed
like that before the ambush?”
Daniel
shook his head. “No. I’ve been trying to recall… but I didn’t see anyone
dressed like the men who attacked me at the gate.”
“What
about religious leaders? Did any of them mention Huitzilopochtli?”
“Yes,
we did meet a few of their religious leaders, but they were dressed in similar
fashion to the rest of the citizens, barring the symbols of office.” Daniel
frowned. “They did say that cults worshipping the old gods still exist, but I
got the impression they are considered insignificant and fairly harmless.”
“How
so?” Blair asked.
“Well,
most of the population follows a belief system closer to that of the tribes of
“Why
would they claim to be worshipping Huizi… Huti… ” Jack faltered over the name
and shrugged as he gave up.
“Maybe
they thought we would be frightened by him or the thought that Huitzilopochtli
might be around,” Blair offered.
“How
do you do that?” Jack mumbled, annoyed by his inability to pronounce the Gou’ald’s
name.
Jim
grinned and asked, “So who would want to keep us from interacting with the
inhabitants? And why?”
All
eyes focused on Daniel. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Everyone we met seemed
excited at the chance to trade. Of course, we have dealt with situations where
we’ve only been introduced to one half of the society before.” He shared a
knowing look with Jack.
Jack
sighed. “Great. Do we have any way of finding out if this Huziwhatsit…”
“Huitzilopochtli,”
Blair and Daniel said together.
Jack
just waved his hand dismissingly. “Whatever… Do we know for sure he was a
Goa’uld?”
“Teal’c
is our usual source for that sort of information.” Daniel frowned. “Blair, do
you know of any stories about the Aztecs and Huitzilopochtli that might
indicate he was a Goa’uld?”
Blair
stared off at nothing for a moment as he tried to recall what he knew about the
Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli. “There were quite a few gods that the people of
that time and region of
“One
legend says that Coatlicue, the goddess of the earth also known as the Lady of
the Skirt of Snakes, gave birth to the moon and stars who became jealous of
their brother, Huitzilopochtli before he was even born. During his birth
Huitzilopochtli used the serpent of fire and the sun’s rays to defeat his
siblings.” Blair stopped and looked up at Daniel. “I’ve never seen a really
good answer for what the serpent of fire was supposed to be, but I suppose it
could refer to those snake pistols…”
“Zats,”
Jack supplied.
“Right,
zat guns,” Blair shrugged. “The serpent and bird imagery are always associated
with him. According to record, Cortez started his conquests in the early
1500’s, within twenty years, over ninety-five percent of
“Nineteen
million?” Jim repeated. “That’s unbelievable.”
“Well,”
Blair said, “it’s an estimate based on the extrapolated population of
“Sounds
to me like Huziwhatsit…” Jack started.
Daniel
put his hand on Blair’s arm and shook his head. “Don’t bother,” he said softly.
Jack
continued blithely on, “could be a Goa’uld. That Lady of the Snake Skirt
certainly sounds like what Hathor did when she tried to take over the SGC.”
Daniel
and Hammond nodded and couldn’t quite suppress a shudder at the memory of
Hathor’s time on the base.
“Must
be quite a story,” Jim murmured.
“Time
for stories later,” Jack said looking at his watch. “When is the next contact
scheduled?”
Blair
looked at his watch. “Walter dialed 994 about forty-five minutes ago, but
wasn’t able to establish contact.”
Jack
looked at General Hammond. “I’m going back down to the gate room for the next
dial-out.”
“I’ll
come with you,” Jim said.
Jack
gave Blair and Daniel a frown. “Sandburg, you stay here with Daniel and do your
anthrogeek thing. We’ll let you know if we reach Carter and Teal’c.”
Blair
and Daniel exchanged a look and mouthed “anthrogeek” to each other then watched
as Jack left the room.
“You’ll
have to forgive Jack,” Daniel sighed. “He’s really a great guy, just a bit
short in the tact department.”
Blair
grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ve already signed a truce. Besides, I live and work
with Jim Ellison. O’Neill’s a bit of a pussy cat in comparison.”
Daniel
laughed. “I don’t believe that.”
“Yeah,
well,” Blair chuckled ruefully, “maybe they’re tied for first in the tough-guy
department, anyway, why don’t you tell me a bit more about the Aztuans.”
Daniel
nodded and waved at Blair to sit down. This was going to take a while.
~~~~~~
O’Neill,
Hammond and Ellison reached the control room just before Walter started the
dial up sequence. Jim braced himself for the expected assault on his senses and
was pleasantly surprised to find that his control held steady. The worm hole
opened and
“Stargate
Command to Captain Carter or Teal’c. Do you read?” He paused and then repeated
the request.
After
the third repetition the radio crackled to life.
“George?
Is that you?” Carter’s voice came over the com.
“Great,”
Sam replied a bit too cheerfully. “Teal’c and I are having a great time. The
hills around the settlement seem to be blocking communications. Did Daniel tell
you we were going to stay longer?”
“Who
ever is with them knows that Daniel was hurt,” Jim said. “I could hear them
telling Captain Carter to ask about him. If we say he’s fine, they’ll know we
suspect something. Are you recording this?”
The
general nodded and turned the mike on. “Samantha, Daniel is going to be all
right, but he was attacked coming back through the gate. Are you and Teal’c
okay?”
“We’re
fine, George.”
“Do
our friends know who might have attacked Daniel?”
A
brief silence followed, then Sam said, “No, they just want to trade with us.”
“Do
you know when you will be finished there?”
“That
sounds great, George, um, it looks like it could take a few days here, though.
Can you hold on a moment?”
“Yes,
of course.”
“There’s
someone else talking in the background,” Jim advised, tilting his head to one
side as he focused on the voice coming through the comm. “Not the one from
before. It’s Teal’c, he says to tell O’Neill that they are captives. The Aztuan
only know one other gate address, the world where SG11 first met them. They
think they can get Carter and himself to divulge more.”
“George?”
Sam said.
“Teotl,
he’s the leader of the community near the gate, requests us to not send anyone
else through until they can determine the nature of the attack on Daniel. He
does not wish anyone else to be injured.”
“I
understand, Samantha. I’d like you and Teal’c to come home now.”
More
silence followed.
Sam
came back on. “Teotl is afraid that the attackers will have watchmen at the
gate. He wants us to stay until it is safe.”
“That’s
good, George. Talk to you then.”
“Yes,
sir.”
“Ellison,
O’Neill, come with me.”
The
three men made their way back to the infirmary.
Daniel
and Blair looked up when they entered.
“That
was fast,” Daniel said.
“We
were able to make contact,” Jack advised. “They’re holding Sam and Teal’c.”
“What?”
Daniel squawked. “What for?”
“They
want gate addresses,”
Jack
pulled up a stool beside Blair’s chair. “The general was able to hint that we
had a way to hear what was going on in the background and Ellison was able to
hear the natives and Teal’c.”
Blair
frowned. “Are you all right, Jim? The gate didn’t bother you?”
Jim
shook his head. “I was prepared for it. It actually went pretty smoothly and I
was able to focus on the background noise from the transmission and hear a few
things of interest, but a lot of it was in a language I don’t know.”
The
phone rang and General Hammond picked it up. “Thanks Sergeant. We’ll be right
down.” He hung up the phone and turned back to the others. “
“I’m
coming, too,” Daniel said, flipping back the sheet covering his legs.
“I
don’t think so, Danny boy,” Jack said, catching his arm. “Doc Frasier would
skin us alive if we let you out of bed just yet.”
“You
need my knowledge of the…”
“I
think Dr. Sandburg,”
“Sir!”
Daniel exclaimed.
“He
does have more experience with this culture than you do, correct?”
Daniel
stared at
“No,
buts, Dr. Jackson. You need to rest. If we need you, we know where to find
you.” General Hammond smiled gently and patted Daniel’s leg. “You’re
performance on this mission has been exceptional, Dr. Jackson. Now let us take
the information you’ve provided and bring the rest of SG-1 home.”
Daniel
frowned, but nodded.
Jim
and Blair nodded.
Blair
gave Daniel a sympathetic smile. “I’ll fill you in on all the details later,”
he promised.
Daniel
watched them leave. “Great,” he mumbled to himself. “A chance to see a real
Watchman in action and I’m stuck in the infirmary.”
~~~~~~
Conference room
Sgt.
Davis waited for the others to take a seat. “I have the video from the UAV’s
aerial surveillance of the area around the gate on PX3-994 and the audio tape
of our contact with Captain Carter. We can use the computer to enhance the
background noises and hopefully hear what the Aztuans are saying.”
“No
need for the computer,” Jim said. “I can filter out the conversation. The
problem will be translating it. They weren’t always speaking English.”
General
Hammond nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s listen to the tape first, see what Colonel
Ellison can pick up.”
“I’d
prefer you don’t call me Colonel, General,” Jim frowned. “Jim is fine.”
Jim
nodded and Walter started the tape. Jim listened, his head tilted and his eyes
staring unfocused at the table, then he started to speak. Some of it was
unintelligible, some clearly spoken by Teal’c. When the tape ended, Jim sat
back and took a deep breath which he exhaled slowly.
Blair
looked up from the notes he’d been taking. “You okay, big guy?”
Jim
nodded and sat forward to peek at Blair’s notes. “Don’t tell me you were able
to get all that down.”
Blair
shook his head. “No, but enough to figure out that they are speaking a dialect
of Nahuatl.” Seeing confusion on the other men’s faces, he explained. “It’s the
language used by the Aztecs and variations of it are still spoken by some South
American tribes today. I recognized a few words. I’m no linguist, but with a
little time to study the tape we just made, I can probably translate most of
what was said.”
“Excellent,”
Blair
nodded and looked at Walter. “Is there some place I can do this?”
Walter
nodded, popped the tape out of the machine and led Blair from the room. Jack
started the video.
~~~~~
An
hour later, they were all back in the conference room. Blair had been able to
translate the background conversations, but had only confirmed what they
already knew. Plans to go back to PX3-994 were discussed and things started to
get tense between the two groups once again.
Blair
stood between Jim and Colonel O’Neill. “If you insist on Jim going through to
the Aztuan world, we need to have a test run. There’s no telling what going through
the worm hole will do to Jim’s senses.” He looked past O’Neill to
“We
don’t really have time for a side trip,” Jack said running a hand through his
hair. Unfortunately, he agreed with Sandburg. He faced General Hammond
reluctantly. “We could gate to the Alpha site and back. If we’re lucky and
Ellison can adjust to the trip quickly…” Jack shrugged, “it shouldn’t take
long.”
O’Neill
nodded and headed for the stairs. “Let’s go.” Jim and Blair followed him to the
control room where Jack gave the officer on duty dialing instructions, then
they all went down to the gate room.
“Okay,
Jim,” Blair coached. “You said you managed the dial up earlier without any
trouble…”
Jim
nodded, already adjusting his dials for the expected onslaught.
“Where
are your dials?”
“Four.”
“You
think three will be low enough for going through the gate?”
Jim
shrugged. “Yeah,” he said, more nervous about this than he wanted to admit. Blair
moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
The
gate opened and Jack headed up the ramp. He stopped in front of the event
horizon and looked back at Jim and Blair. “Coming?”
The
pair took a deep breath in unison and nodded before joining O’Neill.
Jack
smiled. “Relax. It’s a rush,” he said then turned to step into the watery
reflection.
Blair
reached out to touch it and raised an eyebrow as he pulled his hand back. Jim
copied him, his only reaction a slight frown.
“You
ready for this?” Blair asked, glancing at his partner.
“It’s
now or never, Chief,” Jim replied softly.
They
turned together and stepped through the gate.
~~~~~~
Part
4
A
million needles prickled his skin. Or it could have been fingers of the finest
silk. It was a freezing cold and a searing heat. High pitched wails assaulted
his ears, yet sounded like siren song. The darkness enveloped him while
brilliant light blinded his eyes. The stench sent his stomach flipping but
reminded him of the finest perfume. Both sat on his tongue making him gag on
the rich ambrosia.
The
world whizzed by at slow motion and then he stepped out onto the ramp,
breathless as he turned to face the gate. A shiver ran up Jim’s back and he
grinned. The wormhole closed.
“Jim?
Jim! Are you okay?” Blair asked grabbing his arm.
Jim
faced his partner, his grin broadening at the sight of his friend’s slightly
green complexion. He felt invigorated, his pulses throbbed, he could feel the
adrenalin rushing through his body. Jim gave Blair’s hand a brief squeeze. “I’m
fine, Chief.” He looked at O’Neill. “You’re right,” he grinned, “that was quite
a rush.”
“Jim?”
“I’m
fine, Blair. Really. It was… exhilarating. Can we head back now?” Jim asked
eagerly.
O’Neill
chuckled. “Looks like we may have to be careful,” he glanced at Sandburg. “Your
Sentinels may develop an addiction to gate travel.”
Blair
stared in disbelief at O’Neill then looked at Jim. The Sentinel seemed fine,
but he gazed longingly at the gate and seemed a bit flushed. Like he’d just
come of the world’s greatest rollercoaster, or maybe had the most mind blowing
sex ever. Blair grinned at the thought. “Better than sex?” he whispered.
Jim
turned slowly to look at his Guide. He just looked at Blair for a long moment
then suddenly waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Blair chuckled.
“You’re
going to have to give me a detailed description when we have time, Jim,” Blair
teased.
Jim
nodded still reveling in the afterglow.
O’Neill
shook his head. “Come on, kiddies. We still have work to do.”
~~~~~~
Back
at Stargate Command, General Hammond had been conferring with SG3 and had
devised a plan. A second UAV was prepared and ready to go. As soon as contact
was made with Carter and Teal’c the UAV would be sent through the gate
providing a distraction to allow O’Neill, Ellison, Sandburg and SG3 safe
passage onto 994. After that it would be up to the team to make their way to
where Carter and Teal’c were being held and affect their release.
~~~~~~
The
wormhole closed as they raced across the clearing to the cover of the trees. Batson
turned his attention to the UAV remote and sent the bird off on a repetitive,
yet seemingly random pattern that would lead the natives away from the gate and
keep them busy trying to follow the alien machine.
Jim
and Blair knelt off to one side of the group as Jim did a sensory sweep of the
area. “Most of them are following the UAV. One is headed toward the
settlement,” he reported to O’Neill.
O’Neill
nodded. “All right. Let’s head out.”
The
settlement was a good thirty minute hike from the gate. The UAV footage had
given them the basic layout of the town, and Daniel had narrowed down the
possible locations of Teal’c and Carter.
The
team took cover in the forest just outside the settlement. Jack nodded to Jim.
“Can you find them?”
Jim
frowned and looked out at the town. Blair leaned slightly toward his partner
until their shoulders were just touching and said something under his breath.
Jim nodded.
Blair
looked over his shoulder at O’Neill. “We just need a little quiet.”
Jack
nodded and motioned to SG3 for silence. Not that they’d been talking or making
noise, but it gave Jack something to do.
Jim
closed his eyes and tilted his head. He let his hearing range out over one end
of the town. Most of the conversations were in Nahuatl although some of the
people were speaking English. Strange. I
wonder where they would have learned English. I’ll have to ask O’Neill later. He
used Blair’s presence as an anchor, trusting his Guide to keep him from zoning
and continued to search the area. Finally he heard the voices of Captain Carter
and Teal’c.
“They’re
being held toward the center of the village,” Jim said. “I don’t think we can
avoid running into someone along the way, too many people out and about this
time of day.”
“We
can wait ‘til later,” Major Lees suggested, “or pick up some native clothing
for disguises.”
O’Neill
nibbled his lower lip as he considered the options. He looked at Ellison. “How
did they sound?”
“They
sounded fine,” Jim advised. “Heart rates were calm and they were talking about
missing a hockey game?”
Jack
grinned. “Like they really wanted to go anyway.” He sighed. “Batson, Lees,
scout around that way, see if you can ‘borrow’ anything from a laundry line.
Terrance and Dobbs, go that way. Ellison, Sandburg and I will wait here. Be
back in twenty.”
The
members of SG3 nodded and took off on their assigned missions. Jim studied
O’Neill’s profile as the Colonel gazed through the foliage toward the
settlement.
“I
always hated this part,” Jim said. O’Neill cast a raised eyebrow his direction.
“The waiting. Sometimes being in command really sucks.”
Blair
chuckled at Jim’s turn of phrase and saw the smirk of agreement on O’Neill’s
face.
“Yeah,
but there are other times when it pays off,” Jack replied.
Twenty
minutes later they were all dressed in local garb and making their way in small
groups of two or three toward the center of town. Jim, Blair and Jack were in
the lead with Jim tuning into Carter and Teal’c every so often to pin down
their location. Finally he stopped the other two and gave a small nod toward
one of the buildings.
“They’re
in there.”
“How
many others?” Jack asked.
Jim
looked mildly surprised at the question, but concentrated on the building
again. “Four or five in the immediate vicinity, another dozen or so in the rest
of the building. The ones with your people are talking, most of the others are
quiet,” he paused and listened again. “They may be on guard duty or patrolling
the interior. The majority are staying in one place, but there are a few moving
back and forth over the same areas.”
Jack
nodded. The odds were a little uneven for a frontal assault.
Suddenly
the door of the building opened and a single man came out. He looked directly
at Blair and held his arms open in welcome.
“Greetings, Teyacana. You are welcome in our town. Please, come,
bring your tehuicalti and let us be friends,” the man said motioning for them
to join him.
“Tyuhcanuh?” Jack asked,
looking suspiciously at Blair.
Blair shrugged and opened his
mouth to deny knowing what the man said, but then stopped and turned to look at
the man. “I… it means leader or… guide.”
Jim stepped up beside his
partner.
“Tehuicalti, I think that’s
friends or companions,” Blair added. He glanced back at Jack and took his
silence as permission to proceed. Blair walked slowly toward the building with
Jim just behind his right shoulder. “We are here peacefully in search of our
friends, our tehuicalti. I believe they are in this building,” Blair said as he
stopped in front of the man.
“You are correct, young Teyacana,”
the man said. He looked at Jim for a long moment, then back to Blair. “I am
Momach, Teopix of this village.”
“My name is Blair, Guide to
the Sentinel of Cascade,” Blair said indicating Jim with a wave of his hand.
Jim and Jack frowned.
“He is Pepializtli,” Momach
said reverently. “We have been many generations without such a guardian. Your
people are blessed by the gods.”
“Momach,” Blair said, “why
are our people being held against their will?”
The Teopix dropped his gaze
briefly then met Blair’s eyes with regret. “Some of my brothers feel the need
to conquer others as our ancestors did, but we already rule this entire planet
and the one where we first met your people.” Momach sighed. “Teotl is
misguided. He believes your Samantha Carter will give us access to other worlds
through the gate. He does not see the strength of the great mizton in her as I
do.”
“Meezton?” Jack repeated
feeling quite left out. It was almost like having Daniel along.
“Cat,” Blair said
distractedly. “We might be willing to make a deal, but only if you let Samantha
and Teal’c go free. Our people want to trade with yours, but will not be
coerced.”
Momach smiled. “I knew when
the cuetlachtli of the old world came to me in a dream that I would meet a
strong Teyacana. I’m pleased to meet you, Blair.”
“Cute
what?” Jack sighed.
Blair
turned and grinned wolfishly at the Colonel. Jim just rolled his eyes.
******
Blair
reached for his beer and continued with the story. Jim and Jack were in the
living room watching the taped hockey game that the group had missed while on
944. Blair had a captive audience. Teal’c, Sam and Daniel nodded in all the
right places, well, Teal’c didn’t really nod, but Blair could tell he
understood, and they were all fascinated by the tale.
“So,
when I realized that Momach knew Jim was a Sentinel, I decided to use that to
our advantage.”
“But
how did you know?” Sam asked waving a chip loaded with avocado dip in the air.
Blair
shrugged. “It’s just one of those things. A feeling I guess. I’ve learned not
to question them.”
“What
I don’t understand,” Daniel said, “is Momach’s reference to the wolf.”
“Ah,
well, you see, the wolf is my animal spirit,” Blair said. “The Aztuan still had
access to all their old writings and histories from Earth. Mainly the priests
studied them, so Momach knew what a wolf was when he saw it in his vision.”
“The
movie we saw,” Teal’c said, “did not mention spirit animals.”
Blair
shook his head. “No, we thought that might be a case of too much information.
Just like we glossed over the dangers of zoning and extreme sensory overload.
We wanted the people who needed us to figure it out and contact the SGF, but
didn’t want to give others information that could hurt a Sentinel or Guide.”
Sam
nodded. “That makes sense. When are you and Jim heading home?”
“In
a couple more days. Getting around on public transport is still pretty iffy.
General Hammond promised us a ride to Cascade once some of your people return.”
Blair frowned. “I’d rather go to
Blair
and Jim had talked to Simon by phone after returning from 944. Although they
couldn’t tell Simon what exactly had happened, they had wanted to let everyone
know that they were all right. Simon and Percy had been in contact with two SG
pairs that had made it to Felicia before traffic in and out of
Blair
shivered involuntarily and leaned back to look through the door into the living
room. Jim met his eyes and gave him a small smile. Blair returned it and faced
the others.
Sam
patted his hand sympathetically. “I think I may understand a bit of what your
link to Jim is. The Tokra live a true symbiotic relationship. They share each
others thoughts and feelings and yet are two separate individuals. I didn’t
really understand how someone could want to live that way, maybe I still
don’t,” she shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe it’s not the same at all.”
“Jim
and I are linked, as you put it, but we can’t read each others minds. We
sometimes get… very strong feelings when the other is in trouble or have
warning visions or dreams, but we are not symbiotic. A Sentinel can live
without his Guide and vice versa, it just…” he trailed off not knowing what to
say.
Jim stepped up behind him and put his hands on Blair’s shoulders. “It’s a
living hell. And thank God I didn’t have to find out just how long a Sentinel
can live without his Guide.” He squeezed Blair’s shoulders gently but did not
move his hands.
Jack
joined them. “What’d I miss?”
Daniel
and Sam exchanged an amused look while Teal’c simply raised an eyebrow.
“I
was just telling them about our first meeting with Momach,” Blair said with a
grin.
“Ahhh,”
Jack said flopping into a chair beside Teal’c. “So, I don’t suppose we could
convince you two to hang around, help us out a bit?”
“Sorry,
Jack,” Jim replied. “We’ve got too much going on at the Foundation.”
“Yeah,”
Blair agreed. “As founding members and the foremost authorities, in the Western
world,” he added with a grin, “on Sentinels and Guides, we sorta need to be
there.”
“Yeah,
well, it was just a thought,” Jack sighed. “It was very cool to see you at
work, Jim. I was just thinking how nice it would be to have a Sentinel or two
at Stargate Command.”
“Well…”
Blair drawled, “We could keep an eye out for just the right pair.” He shrugged.
“We never can tell who’s going to walk in the door.”
Jack
grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me.” He held up his beer. “To new friends.”
The
others lifted their bottles and clinked them together. “To new friends,” they
repeated.
“And
new frontiers,” Blair added slyly.
Jack
and Jim groaned while Sam and Daniel laughed. Teal’c watched knowing they were
sharing some strange Tauri joke. He sighed and Jack laughed as he slapped
Teal’c on the back.
“Don’t
worry, Teal’c, we’ll introduce you to Captain Kirk soon.”
“Will
this Captain Kirk be joining us at the SGC?”
The
Tauri started to laugh again, leaving the poor
The
end… for now.
Feedback
is greatly appreciated. Judy
NOTES:
I used information from the following sites for the ‘facts’
about the Aztecs. Some have been skewed a bit to fit my needs for the story.
References:
Aztec LANGUAGE
http://www.mrs.umn.edu/academic/history/Nahuatl/florent.txt
For Aztec information - Aztec Article
http://www.ltcconline.net/barclay/courses/SPA_101/aztecs_101.htm