“General Hammond?” Lt. Brooks poked his head through the archway.
George waved him in. “Report?”
“Major Davis radioed, sir.” The airman pushed back his hood and wiped stray snow off his watch cap. “He’s just rendezvoused with the SEALS over at Marble Point.”
“Notify me the moment their chopper lands topside.”
“Yes, sir.” The airman hurried off.
George ran a hand over his eyes, fighting off fatigue that wouldn’t end soon. In the past half hour, he’d provided Ambassador Zhu with as much detail as he dare regarding the Huang and Lord Yu. But he hadn’t told her everything. Not yet.
Zhu’s focus stayed fixed on her daughter’s comatose form. “Please,” she said as the airman left, “finish your story, General Hammond.”
Now came the kicker.
“We have evidence to suggest Huang was cloned from one of Yu’s original Dragon Guards,” George said. “A direct descendent of Sun Tzu, I believe.”
Zhu whirled toward him, her eyes widened in obvious disbelief.
“Lord Yu obtained the cloning technology from the ruins of an Ancient city,” George explained. “The SGC’s chief medical officer at the time was able to confirm that Huang’s DNA contained unusual traits. Traits not seen for over 4,000 years.”
Zhu chewed at her thumb as George detailed Lord Yu’s odd revelations to Daniel Jackson. He found the nervous habit telling. While she’d exhibited genuine surprise at his revelation, there was something else going on in that mind of hers, something that may or may not have a direct relation to their current predicament.
“And the U.S. decided to keep this information from China because…?” She dropped her hand to her side. “Don’t bother. The lack of trust between our two nations takes on many shapes, this being only one example.”
“It goes both ways, Ambassador. We’d no idea that Huang had fathered a child.”
Zhu shook her head. “A descendent of Sun Tzu. A viable, healthy clone. If this is the reason why Weiyan was always such a sickly child — ”
“General Hammond!” Ambassador Duebel raced in. Not for the first time today, George wished Lt. Simmons could be in two places at once — helping evacuation efforts, and here, running interference with fifth wheel ambassadors who should have been long gone.
The Swiss ambassador came to a halt beside Zhu. “Any change?”
She snorted. “In a manner of speaking.”
Duebel glanced at George. “I don’t understand. The force field’s still in place.”
“Why haven’t you evacuated yet, Ambassador? Where’s Juarez?”
“He left. My God, it’s cold in here.” Duebel yanked his parka zipper up. “We were boarding the helicopter when a radio report came in… Ushuaia, Argentina suffered a powerful quake twenty minutes ago.”
“Casualties?” George said a silent prayer.
“Several hundred wounded. No fatalities yet,” Duebel replied. “General, this will only get worse.”
“The Navy SEAL munitions team should be here shortly.” He glanced at his watch. “Sunrise is in fifteen hours. In the meantime, I’ve given Dr. Lee the next twelve hours to find a way through that force field so we can retrieve our people. Once those twelve hours are up, the outpost will be destroyed as promised.”
“Uh, General?” Lee hurried over. “If we know Weiyan’s father could shut the device down, shouldn’t we consider bringing him here? Four-thousand year-old genetics should be strong enough to — ”
“A 4,000 year-old what?” Duebel asked loudly.
“Ambassador, keep your voice down, please.” George shot Lee a silent warning. There was need to know and then there was need to not know. By now, the scientist should comprehend the difference.
“Sorry,” Lee said more softly, “but Huang’s ATA genetics could possibly shut down the drift device, and the force field. Then we won’t have to blow up the outpost.”
“Quing?” Duebel knelt down beside Zhu. “What does your ex-husband have to do with all this?”
“You’ll have to ask the general,” said Zhu, shifting her position with her legs tucked underneath.
George appreciated her discretion, but facts were facts. He urged Lee to get back to his work and then returned his attention to the ambassadors. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow an enemy spy access to this facility. We have no idea if he — ”
“Now wait just a moment.” Duebel shot up and glared right at him. “If Ambassador Huang — ”
“Former Ambassador,” George retorted. “As a member of the Security Council, you’ve read the official report. Huang’s actions almost killed SG-1.”
“And look at them now.” Duebel flung a hand toward the hole. “Are you Americans so prideful that you’re willing to punish the entire continent — possibly the world — just because an accused spy caught you with your… Oh, what’s the American expression?”
“Caught with your pants down,” Zhu muttered.
“Exactly.”
“It’s far more complicated than that,” George explained.
Duebel crossed his arms. “If Huang’s ATA genetics are even remotely as powerful as his daughter’s, we need him here. Now.”
Jack took one look at Teal’c’s ashen face and knew exactly what he had to do. He grabbed Weiyan’s arm and pulled her up from Teal’c’s side. “Let’s go have a nice little chat, shall we?
“I have done nothing wrong!”
“Yeah, yeah. You keep saying that.” He mentally put a lid on any sympathy he might feel for the girl; he’d spent his life perfecting the act of being a bastard when needed.
That didn’t make what he had to do next any easier.
Teal’c raised an eyebrow, but Jack gave him a short shake of his head. Stay out of this.
He dragged Weiyan a few feet closer to the building. No earth-shattering quakes started up, so that was a good start. He waved his lighter at Weiyan. “You’re Chinese. You must know the Art of War inside and out.”
“Sun Tzu?” Lifting her eyes, Weiyan mirrored Teal’c’s eyebrow acrobatics. “Of course. It was my father’s wish that I memorize his work.”
Clink. Jack flipped the lighter open. “Yeah, I’ll bet. How does the one part of old Tzu’s writings go? Something about bait and lures?”
Snap. He flipped the lighter shut. “I’m a fishing fan.”
“Ah…” She closed her eyes and recited, “’Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him.’” Her eyes opened again and cocked her head. “There’s another passage, General. One that speaks of pretending to be weak so that your enemy might grow arrogant.”
“Been there, done that.” Jack deliberately crossed his arms, the lighter still in one hand. “I gotta wonder… Your father nearly got us killed last year. By your own admission, you weren’t even healthy enough to join the trainee program. And yet, somehow, you cleared the IOA’s vetting process.”
Weiyan’s mouth shut tight. Not exactly what he expected.
He pushed it to the next level. “Now, I’m not that keen on the IOA. Frankly, there are times I think they’re not much better than the Goa’uld, what with all their power-mongering, but those folks don’t just let anyone in. Trust me, I know.”
“I — I…”
“Go ahead,” he said with as much patience as he could muster. “I’m all ears.”
She bit her lip.
Clink. Jack flipped open the lighter again. “Well?”
“You will not yell and make the ground tremble?”
Snap. “Try me.”
“My mother… She is Quing Zhu.” She gulped. “She pre-approved my application for the trainee program.”
“The Chinese ambassador?” Jack whistled. “Did she know about Huang’s little affiliation with the Goa’uld?”
An itty-bitty trembler rumbled beneath his boots. A warning. Or in his case, progress.
“Answer the question, Weiyan.” Jack threw back his shoulders, putting on the best mean-old brigadier general persona he could drum up. “Did your mother know or not?”
Weiyan nervously wet her lips. “I do not think so.”
Jack went in for the kill. “But if Huang’s name was on your application as next of kin — ”
“My father’s a good man,” she muttered. “His reasons for doing what he did must have served some great purpose.”
“Give me a break.”
The ground shook. Harder this time. Louder.
“Jack, calm down!”
Apparently, not loud enough. Jack raised a hand, warning Daniel not to come any closer. The rumbling kept up. Carter hurried over to Teal’c and helped him to his feet.
Jack got in Weiyan’s face. “So your mother snuck you in the backdoor. Faked your medical records — ”
“Hemophilia is manageable.”
“Your mom must’ve thought you’d be the prize student.” He stared her down. “Was she gunning for you to be first in line to operate the weapons platform?”
“My mother thought I would fail!”
A loud crash. Jack didn’t have to look to know the phantom Stargate had tumbled downward, all thirty-two tons demolishing the cliff. Still, there were no cracks in the ground around them. Jack opened his mouth, ready to push harder. An arm yanked him backwards.
Daniel stepped between them. “Stop it. Both of you!”
Weiyan turned away, her shoulders shaking.
“Back off, Daniel!” Jack shouted over the rumbling war of rock and dirt. “You certainly did fail, didn’t you, Weiyan? When you sat in that chair, Ambassador Zhu — if that’s really her name — shouted her lungs out at you, and bam! Those ATA genes spiked into overdrive.”
“Enough!” Weiyan whirled toward him. “You have no right to treat me this way.”
Boom. The ground shook. Hard. Jack managed to stay on his feet, but Weiyan stumbled forward. He stopped her fall and…
The rumbling stopped.
“Sir, we’ve got company.” Carter nodded toward the building. A curtain of golden-white light streamed downward, washing out their view of the brick building. The curtain oscillated, forming three, then four glowing ribbons.
Jack pulled Weiyan upright. “You’re right,” he told her. No one should treat you like that.”
“But — ”
“I needed to get that thing’s attention.” He jerked his chin toward the building. “Nice backbone you’re growing there, by the way.”
“I have always had a backbone, General O’Neill.”
“Having one and using it are two different things.” He turned toward Daniel. “Let’s see if Teal’c’s up for a hike.”
Daniel frowned. “You could’ve told me what you were planning.”
“I wasn’t sure it would work.”
The ribbons contracted, losing their gold tint. Four white-hot ribbons merged into a solid pillar. A handful of glistening tendrils unfurled. It was a familiar image. One Jack had seen too often for one lifetime.
“Jack, if that’s an ascended Ancient — ”
“If it is, it can kiss my ass. Daniel, Carter, get Teal’c over here. Carry him if you have to!”
With Teal’c’s arm slung across their shoulders, the two managed to half-drag, half-carry him over. As they reached Jack, the ascended being solidified into a hooded human shape dressed in a long, flowing white robe.
“You able to walk?” Jack asked Teal’c. His face was grayer than the SGC’s walls.
“I will try, O’Neill.”
Weiyan threw a supporting arm around Teal’c’s torso. “You must not try, you must do!”
Teal’c managed a weak smile. Then he broke down coughing.
“Yeah, you’re not going anywhere.” Jack gestured for him to sit down. Teal’c complied, too readily which scared the crap out of Jack.
The ascended being — or whatever the hell was dicking with them — waved in their direction. “Look, I get that this could be some glowy Ascended what — ”
“It could be Oma,” Daniel said with far too much reverence for Jack’s taste.
“Oma?” Weiyan bent down beside Teal’c.
“She is an ascended being,” Teal’c explained between gasps. “A former Ancient.”
Weiyan glanced up at Carter. “Did they not build the Antarctica chair?”
“Amongst other things,” Carter replied with a bare sliver of a smile. “General, I recommend caution.”
“No fooling.” Jack eyed the alien. A breeze had kicked up. A light one, but enough to send the ascended being’s robes flapping behind it. At least it had stopped waving.
Teal’c’s breath grew more ragged. Jack considered marching right up to the alien and punching its lights out, but something told him that wouldn’t be such a hot idea.
“I don’t know about the rest of you,” he said, turning back to the others, “but I’m getting pretty tired of being treated like a toy.”
“Daniel, you knew Oma better than anyone.” Carter tilted her head. “Would she really treat us like this?”
“Sam, I barely remember talking to her before I — ”
“Died?” Jack offered.
Daniel shrugged. “She’s always been fairly gentle. Helpful even.”
“Tell that to the Jaffa she burnt to a crisp on Kheb.”
“She was protecting Shifu,” Daniel whispered. “This is… Different. I’m not sure how, but it is.”
Teal’c started up another coughing fit.
“I don’t care what’s going on, Daniel, I’ve had enough.” Jack raised a hand to the side of his mouth and shouted, “No more games! You wanna talk? Then get your butt over here!”
The buzzing came back, softer this time. He ignored it.
“Careful, Jack, don’t — ”
He shot Daniel a glare. “I’m not letting that thing kill Teal’c off.” He turned back toward the alien, the buzzing intensified. Pressure crowded his eardrums.
The alien disappeared.
He shook his head. Tried to shake off the buzzing. “We’re not moving!”
The breeze shifted to a full-on gust. A dry, bitter cold reminder of what they’d left behind in Antarctica. “Anyone feel that?”
Carter opened her mouth to speak, but Jack never heard her. Something slammed against his back. He stumbled and the wind seized him as if he was nothing more than a ragdoll. A sharp tug and he felt himself yanked forward.
Twisting sideways, he tried to squirm out of its grip. No luck. Dust and wind blew across his face. He glanced sideways, but all he could see was the dusty terrain speed by. The only upside was that he had company. Carter, Daniel, Teal’c, and even Weiyan were just as locked up as he was by whatever had them in its clutches. The distant horizon became even more distant as they were pulled forward.
Ignoring the wind’s sting in his eyes and face, Jack refocused on the building up ahead. It was moving, too. Coming closer. A wave of vertigo hit him. If the yanking around didn’t stop soon, he’d be a pancake in need of scraping off the building’s walls. He threw up his arms, braced for impact.
The walls blurred. Jack squeezed his eyes shut, ready for what could only come next.
He jolted to a stop. Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the warm air. The second thing was the blue light licking against bricked walls. They were inside a chamber of sorts, and though Jack couldn’t see the ceiling, he was pretty damn sure they were inside that damned building.
The third thing, and probably the most important, was the hesitant smile of someone he never expected to meet again.
“It is good to see you, O’Neill.” The robed alien pulled down his hood.
He looked exactly like Skaara.
Which was too good to be true.
George’s latest argument with Ambassador Duebel was stopped short by the arrival of Major Davis and two Navy SEALS. The men wore bright orange coveralls and jackets with Byrd Station patches on their left sleeves. Blue wool watch caps affixed with the traditional eagle and trident logo of the Navy SEALS covered their heads. They each carried a yard-wide chrome-and-black box stamped with the recognizable ‘explosives’ label. Colonel Ken Ferguson brought up the rear. George awarded Davis a grateful smile. “Glad you could make it. First time at the outpost? “
“Wish the circumstances were different, sir.” Davis quickly introduced the SEALS — Lieutenants Kalsner and Mason. “With your permission, they should start laying charges — ”
“Just one moment!” Zhu pointed at the chair. “If there’s any chance my daughter can be saved by using Huang’s — ”
“Huang the spy?” Davis asked. “General, what’s going on?”
“Have the SEALS lay their charges around the platform, Major,” George ordered. “I’ll be with you in moment.”
“Yes, sir.” Davis led the SEALS over to the other side of the platform. They put down their kits and flipped open the latches. Ferguson stood back, taking it all in.
George returned his attention to the ambassadors, his voice low. “Bringing Huang here is not going to happen.”
“Because he claims to be a spy for the Goa’uld?” Duebel asked.
“Yes.” George nodded. “And because sunrise happens just shortly after noon tomorrow. That’s less than fourteen hours from now. There simply isn’t enough time to retrieve him from Beijing. Do you understand?”
His lips pressed together, Duebel spun around and joined Zhu by the hole. He crouched down and took her hand.
“My last words,” Zhu whispered. “They were — ”
“Shhhh,” Duebel said reassuringly.
George bowed his head, striving to fight back the remorse nipping at his heels. Though he’d bought Lee added time, George harbored doubts that the scientist could find a solution.
“General Hammond, we found something.” Major Davis dashed around the hole, holding up a glass tube.
“That’s Teal’c’s tretonin,” Dr. Lee said. “It must have fallen out of his pocket when the floor collapsed.”
Davis handed the tube over to George. The force field’s shimmering light reflected against the purple liquid inside. If Lee did succeed, Teal’c would need a dose immediately.
George thanked Davis. “Nice work out there today, Major.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I trust McMurdo Sound is still in one piece?”
“Mostly, sir.” Davis smiled. “When the 302s jumped into hyperspace, the ice broke up a bit.”
“I suppose NSF Director Edmunds must be a little unhappy.”
Davis glanced toward Ferguson. “Sir, in the grand scheme of things, I doubt that’s high on Dr. Edmunds’s list of concerns.”
“In the meantime,” George waved Teal’c’s tretonin injector, “I’ll ask Lt. Simmons to hold onto this. If we’re lucky, Teal’c will need it as soon as we pry him out of that thing.”
Lee stared at the injector. “Lt. Simmons, sir?”
“Yes, that’s right.” George turned back to the major. “And Davis? Ask the lieutenant to arrange for the ambassadors’ immediate evacuation.”
Davis’ eyes narrowed. “Graham Simmons?”
“He’s out by the com center. Probably trying to round up another pot of coffee if I know him.”
Davis and Lee exchanged glances.
“Is there a problem?” George asked.
Lee scratched his head. “Lts. Gerling and Brooks are the only airmen who’ve been in the chamber since the accident.”
George spun toward Davis. “Simmons has been here the whole time.”
“Sir, I just talked with Graham Simmons a few days ago. He’s in Colorado Springs at the SGC.”
Ascension was one thing. Being human, another.
Daniel knew that and still he stared at Skaara, unsure of what to do, or even what to say. It was impossible to deny the wide gulf between them.
Even if his former brother-in-law didn’t look a bit different since —
“Since my death?” Skaara asked warmly.
Daniel winced. “More like before my own…death.” He’d forgotten how perceptive Ascended Beings could be. Oma had certainly been that way.
It wasn’t as if ascension had changed Skaara’s appearance. Not by any means. He still wore the same long plaited black hair, olive fatigues, and cut-off chainmail vest taken from Ra’s Jaffa. A loose bleached-white Abydonian-style robe hung from his shoulders, made all the whiter by the room’s pervasive blue glow.
If it was a room. A blue mist hovered just below where the ceiling should be, obscuring Daniel’s view. He shuddered. The room, or chamber — he wasn’t quite sure which — was a good fifty degrees colder than outside. Though the ambient light had turned the bricks a mottled blue, he assumed they were inside the same building they’d seen outside. The same building that housed whatever had killed Lord Yu’s original Dragon Guard.
Near the wall stood a row of squared columns, their bases wrapped with trellised panels reminiscent of the Ancient outpost on Earth. A glance over his shoulder told him he wouldn’t be able to see further into the chamber. It was too dark.
As he turned back toward Skaara, Jack whispered, “This has gotta be some elaborate trick.”
“No tricks.” Skaara stepped toward them. “I promise.”
“I don’t know, Skaara.” Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. “Planting your old Zippo…”
Skaara held out the lighter. “You mean this, O’Neill?”
“Ah, yeah. That.” Jack’s hands dropped to his sides. “See, I could’ve sworn I’d left it back at the SGC. In my locker.”
The lighter disappeared. “Place and time have meaning only when the heart requires.”
“You’ve been spending time with Oma,” Daniel remarked.
“Before, after, during.” Skaara shrugged. “Though the current carries the stream one way, the skilled oarsman can travel in both directions.”
“Of course,” Sam said. “Time wouldn’t have any meaning if you’re ascended, would it?”
“Carter?”
Sam turned toward Jack. “Quantum mechanics, sir. Theorists believe time is an artificial construct. Like Skaara said, the past, present and future can all — ”
“Okay,” Jack waved her off. “I get it.”
Skaara cocked his head. “Are you not happy to see me, O’Neill?”
“Sure.” Jack frowned. “I thought you ascended beings weren’t supposed to interfere with us lowly folks.”
Skaara matched Jack frown for frown. “I saw no other way.”
“If you say so.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow at Jack. While Abydos’s destruction had been a painful discovery for Daniel upon his return to humanity, he’d known it had hit Jack just as hard. He wouldn’t talk about it, though, no matter how much Daniel tried.
He understood why. Jack had grown close to Skaara during the very first Abydos mission nine years ago. That closeness had only deepened during the Stargate Program’s early years. Whenever SG-1 visited, Jack went out of his way to bring something for Skaara, be it worn-out fatigues, comic books, even a baseball.
And fuel for Jack’s old Zippo. Skaara would hurriedly fill his precious lighter and then ignite the fire for their evening meal of roasted lizard and yefetta flatbread.
Those memories made Daniel smile. That is, until he remembered their current predicament. “Skaara, what’s this about? Why — ?”
“Carter, check on Teal’c,” Jack ordered.
Daniel mentally kicked himself as he joined Sam in hurrying to Teal’c’s side. Daniel had been so surprised by Skaara’s appearance that he’d forgotten about everything else. Teal’c lay sprawled across the floor, a marble surface laced with thousands of thin silver lines etched into the stone. Weiyan crouched by his side, holding his hand. Kneeling down, Sam pressed two fingers against Teal’c’s neck.
Skaara glided up beside Daniel and gazed down on the two. “Helping those in need is not an evil act.”
He exchanged glances with Skaara. “You mean me.”
Skaara bowed his head. “Though the Caledonians were blind, you are not, Daniel. None of you are. That is why I am here.”
“Will he live?” asked Weiyan, her eyes darting back and forth between Teal’c and Skaara. She seemed fine. Actually, better than fine. She’d somehow managed to neatly pull back her disheveled hair, color had reappeared on her cheeks, and even the bloodstain on her shirt had disappeared.
“Pulse is erratic.” Sam palmed Teal’c’s forehead. “He’s running a low-grade fever as best I can tell.”
Teal’c’s eyes fluttered open.
Relieved, Daniel refocused on Skaara. “Can you tell us — ?”
“Careful,” Sam warned. “The general’s right. We can’t be sure that really is Skaara, ascended or not.”
“Have we ascended?” Teal’c murmured. As Weiyan helped push him up to a sitting position, Jack bent down and clasped the Jaffa’s shoulder.
“No, Teal’c.” Skaara knelt beside him. “You are still very much alive.” Though Skaara’s voice sounded as light and friendly as ever, his face was solemn.
Jack dropped down on Teal’c’s other side, the stress line between his eyes deepening.
Jack’s stern visage. Skaara’s grim frown. If anyone had told Daniel their reunion would be so dour, he’d have sworn they didn’t known what they were talking about.
A convulsion hit Teal’c, reminding Daniel that this wasn’t really a time for happy reunions.
Jack pressed Teal’c’s shoulders back as the Jaffa’s body shook. “If you really were Skaara, you’d help him!”
Sam stood up. “He needs tretonin.”
“Then we must hurry.” Skaara flattened his hand against Teal’c’s chest.
A white glow blossomed across Teal’c’s chest. He gasped as the glow intensified, arching his back in another convulsion. Weiyan echoed his gasp with one of her own.
The glow dissipated and Teal’c sank back to the floor. His eyes closed, his breathing steadied.
Daniel sighed in relief. “He’s going to be all right now, isn’t he?”
“For a while.” Skaara gave him a tentative smile. “As Colonel Carter said, Teal’c needs tretonin.”
“For a while?” Jack rocked back on his heels and stared at Skaara. “I thought you said time didn’t matter.”
“To someone ascended, no.” Skaara dropped his hand away from Teal’c’s chest. “I am sorry, O’Neill. This was the only way to safely get your attention.”
Jack climbed to his feet. “So says the ascended, all powerful, all knowing wizard.”
Weiyan joined him. “Ascended?”
Sam explained. “It means transcending to a higher plane of existence. Most of the Ancients — the people who built the Antarctica chair and the Stargates are — ”
“Not everyone who ascended was once an Ancient, Colonel Carter.” Skaara returned Weiyan’s gaze a moment longer and then rose with a grace beyond his young age.
Or what had been his age when he’d been alive.
Skaara stretched out his arms. “It is good to see all of you again.”
“All of us… Do you know me?” Weiyan asked.
Skaara’s smile broadened. “I know your father.”
Taken aback, Daniel glanced at Weiyan. Her lips had formed a mute O. He couldn’t blame her.
“Look, Skaara.” Jack took a wary step closer. “I’m sorry if I’m having trouble believing you, but just what the hell is going on? And just how the hell do you know a Goa’uld spy?”
Skaara tilted his head. “I called to you, O’Neill.”
“I guess I wasn’t listening.”
“Back up,” Daniel said. “You knew Ambassador Huang?”
Anguish darkened Skaara’s face. “By a confluence of circumstances which are deeply regretted.”
“Circumstances which might kill Teal’c, you mean.”
“Jack.”
“No, Daniel.” Jack spun toward him. “That man was working for those slimy, snakeheaded Goa’uld.”
Skaara wrung his hands. “O’Neill, you must understand. Huang did not see Lord Yu as a demon. His loyalty was pure.”
“Nope,” Jack said. “Still not buying it.”
“Sir, what about the earthquakes?” Sam offered. “When we first met Oma Desala on Kheb, she demonstrated the ability to pretty much affect all the elements.”
Daniel turned back toward Skaara. “Were the earthquakes your way of getting our attention?”
Skaara’s smile faded. “No. The environment caused the earthquakes, or rather, you did, O’Neill. You and Weiyan both inherited that ability. She awoke the device, but its function is fueled by your combined presence.”
“The ATA gene.” Sam chewed her lip in thought.
“Carter?”
“Sir, this entire ‘environment’ could be constructed of Ancient technology. It’s possibly why you spoke in Ancient.”
Skaara nodded. “I did call out to you, O’Neill.”
“The buzzing?” Jack asked.
As Skaara gave Jack an apologetic shrug, Daniel reviewed what their ascended friend had just shared. Environment. Did that mean they weren’t really here? Wherever ‘here’ is?
Or was ‘here’ on some ascended plain? Daniel mulled that possibility over. After everything they’d seen, all the random clues, was it possible that ‘here’ didn’t even exist?
“Why the reruns?” Jack asked. “You know Huang so I have to assume Yu and his merry band of Dragon Guards has something to do with all this.”
Skaara nodded. “It was important you understood Huang’s origins… And how his devotion to Lord Yu resulted in the Goa’uld’s testing all of you when you rescued Daniel.”
“Why couldn’t you just tell us?”
“It is complicated. Daniel,” pleaded Skaara, “surely you must understand. Some part of you must remember.”
Not for the first time, Daniel wished he could. But for all his efforts, the only thing he’d managed to dredge up was a memory of seeing Bra’tac and Rya’c imprisoned. That small memory had made a difference, but there was so much more he could do. If he could only remember.
“Non-interference,” Sam said. “Orlin was punished by the other Ascendeds when he tried to help the Velonians.”
“We’re not the Velonians, and we haven’t asked you,” Jack stabbed a finger toward Skaara, “to build us a weapon. Instead, we’ve been treated like rats in a maze.”
“But you are using a weapon, O’Neill. One that has saved your planet from Anubis, but could now rip it apart if you do not take the necessary steps to stop it.”
Everyone spoke at once. Sam wanted to know how to shut off the weapon. Weiyan wanted to know about Anubis. Jack insisted Skaara send them back to Earth immediately.
Everyone except Daniel.
Something Skaara had said nagged at him. Something about safely getting their attention.
That’s when it hit him. Skaara’s very existence could be in jeopardy. “The weapons chair. If that’s what this is about, if Oma knows you’re here, she could — ”
Out of nowhere, Skaara’s robes flapped outward as if a wind had blown through the chamber. He turned and pointed toward the room’s darkened interior. “Who do you think sent me?”
A warm breeze blew across Daniel’s face and he knew. “Oma.”
The room lit up in a blaze of blue light.
Sam squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden brightness of the room. Her eyes adjusted, she opened them, and saw that the room was in fact a cavernous chamber reminiscent of the Antarctic outpost. Soft blue globes stuck out from trellised screens arranged along the walls. Squared-off columns surrounded a central platform — just like on Earth — but with one difference, the silver lines she’d noticed earlier in the floor also ran up the columns.
Squinting, she realized there were other differences, too. The central octagonal platform was much wider than the ones she’d seen at both Proclurash and on Earth. At least a good car-length in diameter and almost three, maybe four feet tall. Something else was missing, too.
“Where’s the chair?” the general asked.
“This room served another purpose.” Skaara gestured toward the platform. “Not as a weapon, but as a salvation.”
“Will it save Earth?” Sam asked. “That’s why we’re here, right?”
“All in time, Colonel Carter.”
Time. That had to have been the third, maybe fourth instance of Skaara bringing up the subject.
“Skaara, if Earth’s in trouble…”
“Daniel. I promise, once you have seen and heard what has come before, you will be ready to face what comes next.” Skaara headed toward the platform.
General O’Neill hesitated, glancing down at Teal’c. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face, but he wasn’t shaking like earlier. Whether it was a lack of tretonin or something else, Teal’c needed medical attention. Soon.
Weiyan sank down beside him. “I will stay with him, General.”
“Thanks,” the general mumbled. He exchanged glances with Sam, the corners of his mouth twitching.
“Sir, you heard Skaara. Teal’c will be all right.”
“Yeah, for the moment.” He jerked his chin toward the platform. “Carter, you think you can figure out what that thing is all about and get us out of here?”
“Possibly, sir.”
“Good. Whatever Skaara meant about Earth being ripped apart… Maybe he thinks we have time, but I’ve had enough of the waiting game.”
“Yes, sir.” That made two of them. “Though, it would be easier if I had equipment to — ”
“Eyes and ears, Colonel. That’s your equipment.” He grimaced. “And that brain of yours.” With a swagger she knew the general wasn’t feeling, he headed toward the platform.
With a nod from Weiyan, Sam joined the others. Curiosity mixed with wariness as she approached the octagonal platform. Shorter trellised panels lined its sides, each one back-lit by a soft blue glow. A plastic-like translucent substance covered the top, oscillating between phosphorescent blue and pale yellow. Dead center, a red control crystal jutted upwards, its base as wide as a basketball, its point honed to a viciously sharp point extending at least a foot in length.
“That’s different.” She pointed at two empty silver brackets on either side of the crystal. The right bracket was lined in blue, the left in white.
“Different, how?” Daniel asked.
“I’ve never seen this configuration before in Ancient technology.” She turned toward Skaara. “That’s what this is, right? We were in Antarctica one moment and now… Now we’re where? I mean, I know we’re inside the building on P3Y-702 — ”
“In a sense. Before your letters and numbers, the System Lord Yu named the planet Kunlun.” Skaara waved a hand over the platform. The air rippled, darkened, as if its mass was undergoing some sort of metamorphosis. “You’ve seen some images, now I will show you others.”
The area above the platform coalesced, forming a miniature model of the Ancient city they’d found earlier. Complete with a central spire.
“Elysium Pedion,” Daniel said.
“Elysium was the sister city of Vis Uban. The planet upon which Oma returned you to your former life, Daniel.” Skaara cupped his palms over the virtual city and then pushed outward.
The spire rushed toward them. Its walls thinned and then disappeared, the view plummeting down through floors past various laboratory-like rooms.
“Vis Uban was the last city of the Ancients,” Skaara said, “but Elysium had become home to many of their people’s greatest scientists.”
One floor showed Ancients working busily at pedestals not unlike the time-loop device on P4X-639. Another showed two men monitoring a polygonal vat, the viscous liquid inside churning like molten glass.
Sam gestured toward the image. “Is that how the Ancients made control crystals?”
“Many variations of crystals were made for many purposes.”
The image tunneled downward until it stopped in the very room they were in, platform and all, with one difference.
Three crystals extended from the top. The traditional red control crystal nestled between a shorter indigo blue crystal and a flat, solid white one. The three crystals were connected by a series of transparent boards covered in thin lines — almost like circuit boards.
A glint of light beneath the crystals caught Sam’s attention. She looked down through the platform’s translucent top. Deep inside the base spun an incandescent sphere, the center white-hot. Pockets of gas rippled across its surface. She’d seen something similar once before. “Sir, look familiar?”
General O’Neill leaned in. After a moment, he shrugged. “Looks like a miniature sun to me. Wait a minute…” The general’s head shot up. “Carter, am I nuts or does that look exactly like that photo-tonic thing Yu used to power his force field and clone his guards?”
“Photonic energy. Yes, sir. It’s very similar to the Ancient technology we found in Yu’s fortress. We didn’t see anything like this on Vis Uban, but — ”
“Lord Yu’s acquisition of Ancient technology is only part of our problem,” Skaara said. “The recent accident which brought you here has triggered far worse difficulties.”
“Difficulties?” the general echoed.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Our problem?”
“These same mechanisms created the Ancient plague. On Vis Uban and Elysium Pedion.”
The general yanked Daniel away from the pedestal. “Jack, what are you doing?”
“Saving your butt, Daniel. Thanks to thawing out an Ancient, the rest of us had the plague. Some of us got cured. Others — meaning me — got a snake in their head. Trust me, you don’t want a piece of this.”
“O’Neill, it is not real,” Skaara said. “Even if it was, the crystal which caused the plague is long gone. The Ancients destroyed all the duplicating crystals when the plague began.”
“All except the one Yu got ahold of.” The general let go of Daniel. “So, not real? Okay, then why the show?”
“Wait a moment,” Sam said. “What do you mean by duplicating?”
“You would call it DNA replication.”
“Or cloning?” Daniel asked. “Like Lord Yu’s Dragon Guards?”
“All powered by photonic energy.” Skaara waved a hand over the platform. The circuit boards disappeared along with the blue and white crystals. Only the red crystal was left. “Three of these platforms were built. As time went on, each was modified for a different purpose. The two on Elysium and Vis Uban were meant for genetic formations.”
“Uh, excuse me.” General O’Neill raised his hand. “Does any of this have anything to do with Earth?”
“More than you can imagine. The crystal was installed in a device deep within Earth’s outpost for geological transformations.”
A sphere rose above the crystal, its blues and whites coalescing into the recognizable from of Earth. Or rather, Earth hundreds of millions of years ago when there had been a single land mass. A singular super continent.
“Pangaea,” Daniel said. “But that was long before the Ancients lived on Earth, wasn’t it?”
“Even then,” Skaara said, “they anticipated that they might, someday, wish to colonize your homeworld.”
A white-gold light flashed toward the southern tip. The super continent broke up, its individual landmasses drifting apart.
Sam reeled in astonishment. “The Ancients terra-formed Earth?”
“Carter?”
“I always thought continental drift was a natural part of our planet’s development.” She spun toward Skaara. “Is that what you meant by Earth ripping apart? We’ve somehow re-activated the outpost’s terra-forming device. Can’t we just shut if off by pulling the right crystal.”
“It is more complex than that, Colonel Carter.” Skaara pointed at the empty white bracket. “On Elysium, this crystal was used to generate photonic energy. Lord Yu took this crystal, as well as the encoding boards.”
“The photon emitter and cloning technology. What about the red one?”
“The control crystal serves as a filter,” Skaara said. “It can be turned on or off and uses the sun to extract photonic energy. That energy can then be sent into the Earth’s crust to make mountains, oceans — ”
The general whistled. “And rip the planet apart.”
Skaara sighed. “If switched to its on position, yes, and while you have nothing to fear here on this plane…,” he ran his hand through the platform, “the device on Earth is very real.”
Sam copied Skaara’s actions. Her hand went right through, as if nothing was there. She should be relieved, but she wasn’t. Not if Earth was in trouble.
“Oma’s methods of teaching take many forms,” Skaara said.
Daniel frowned. “Oma isn’t really here, is she?”
“No. But you must understand that ‘here’ is not where you believe it to be.”
General O’Neill took a turn waving his hand through the platform. “If this control crystal got switched on back on Earth, how do we shut it off?”
“You are still on Earth, O’Neill.” Skaara waved a hand over the platform. The air rippled, revealing five silhouettes stretched out across the countertop. The forms coalesced and the silhouettes became the bodies of five people.
Five very recognizable people.
Sam stared at her semi-transparent body sprawled across the platform’s other edge. Her left arm covered Teal’c’s waist, her right rested on Daniel’s feet. The three of them — or rather, their bodies — formed a semi-circle around two other bodies, those of General O’Neill and Weiyan.
Daniel gasped. “When the outpost’s floor collapsed — ”
“Would someone please explain what’s going on here?”
“My God, Jack. Look.” Daniel pointed toward the platform. The bodies had solidified, and in Weiyan’s case, a charred black version of the control crystal protruded from her stomach.
Daniel glanced over his shoulder toward Weiyan and Teal’c who still sat on the floor by the wall. He looked back at Skaara. “If we aren’t — ”
“Dead, Daniel.” The anger in Jack’s face stilled. “The word is dead.”
“You remain very much alive.” Skaara turned his gaze toward Weiyan.
“What about her?” Sam whispered.
Skaara dropped his gaze. “Her father’s journey brought her to you, and now he must join you in saving Earth.”
“Huang help us,” the general sputtered. “Are you nuts?”
“What is happening?” Weiyan jumped up and ran over. Sam grabbed her before she could get too close.
“Uh, Jack?” Daniel pointed toward the ceiling. In unison, everyone gazed upward.
A ragged hole appeared in the ceiling above them. General Hammond peered down from its edge.