General Hammond sat in his office behind a desk filled with papers. Ever since the run-in with Senator Kinsey, the reports had to be in triplicate and doubled checked before they could be filed. The General sighed. He hated to do this but it was the only way he could guarantee to keep the funding for this particular project. He was in the process of checking off the latest duty roster for the SGC’s upcoming missions when he became aware of klaxons blaring. Quickly he left his office for the Stargate room.In the embarkation room, the klaxons sounded loudest. General Hammond hurried through to the observation room.
"What is it?" he demanded of the technician as he entered the room.
"Off world activation of the gate, sir. No one's due back through though."
As they watched, armed men and women took up position around the gate, aiming their weapons at the huge freestanding ring that filled the room. The technician glanced at his computer screen.
"Sir, its an incoming message. SG-1's signature. No travellers."
"On speakers, son."
The technician wheeled across to another desk and hit a button. Static filled the room. Then, a voice became clearer.
"This is Dr Daniel Jackson. We're under...Oh God. Jack's hit. I can't get…Oh God no, no, please, I..."
The voice trailed into a scream that ended abruptly. The technician looked up, his face pale, showing the fear that the General could feel in the pit of his stomach.
"That's it sir. The connection has been broken. Wormhole deactivated."
General Hammond stared for a moment at the gate through which the message had been sent. A distress call from the furthest reaches of the Galaxy. He turned to the technician.
"Get me SG-2 in here now, ready to leave in twenty minutes. And alert the medical team that we may have casualties. Now man!"
Activity broke out in organised chaos as the SGC prepared its rescue mission. The General continued staring at the gate. In some ways it was blessing. And in others it was a curse. In this case he hoped that the price would not be the death of the team that had first activated this gate. With a deep sigh, he turned and headed out to brief the team that would be going through the gate next. He wasn’t looking forward to it.
Major Ferretti looked at the Stargate that stood before him, waiting for it to activate. It had only been fifteen minutes since the call had come through that there was a problem on the other side of the gate and that his team was the rescue team. The General had warned them that they had no idea what had happened and had played them the tape recording of the distress call. Ferretti could still hear Jackson’s scream in his head. He shivered slightly and looked back to the gate.
As he watched, the event horizon of the Stargate exploded outwards. Ferretti looked to the rest of his team. Then, taking a deep breath he raised his rifle. The rest of SG-2 followed suit then they disappeared through the shimmering water effect before them.
Ferretti had been unsure what he would see on the other side as he stepped through the gate. There hadn’t been time to send through an MALP, but what Ferretti saw was both familiar and at the same time left a cold ball of fear in his gut.
The Stargate opened into a clearing //No surprise there! he thought// A few feet away stood the Stargate DHD. All as expected. What surprised him were the bodies of SG-1 lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. Ferretti signalled to his people to secure the area and check the bodies. Ferretti moved forward to check the body nearest to him.
Dr Daniel Jackson, SGC's only civilian on a SG team, lay sprawled across the DHD, his arm outstretched supporting his head. Ferretti and another of his team lowered the stricken archaeologist to the floor and Ferretti checked him over for any obvious injuries while his Lt. began to dial home.
"Tell SGC what we found and that we need a med. team here ASAP, Lt." Ferretti said as he found Dr. Jackson's pulse. At least he was alive. He looked up. From where he was he could guess at what had happened.
Upon the return to the gate, SG-1 had come under some kind of attack. From the positions of the bodies, he could see that Colonel Jack O’Neill had been the first to fall. Major Carter, the only woman on SG-1 was close to her commanding officer as if she had gone to assist.
Dr Jackson had made it to the DHD in time to send off the distress call the SGC had recieved. The alien Jaffa, Teal'c, lay directly behind the Doctor. Had he fallen trying to give the civilian the time needed to alert the SGC to their predicament? From the positions of SG-1, it looked like it. However, there were no signs of who or what had attacked them and no obvious injuries. Perhaps the medical team could figure it out.
At that moment, the Stargate reactivated and the medical team emerged. Dr Janet Frasier quickly assessed the situation and dispatched members of her team to the various wounded before dropping down beside Major Ferretti. She began a quick examination, turning Daniel’s head to face her and checking his reflexes with her penlight. Ferretti watched her frown and check his pulse and god-only-knew what else. All he knew was that it couldn’t be good.
Finally the doctor stood and went to the medic by Teal’c. They stood in discussion of several seconds before she returned to stand by Ferretti’s side.
“How are they?” Ferretti asked. He watched several emotions play across her face before she answered.
“Its not looking good, Major. They’re showing signs of hypothermia and reduced reflexes. We need to get them back to the Infirmary as soon as we can. I’ll know more then.”
Ferretti nodded. He moved forward and began to order the withdrawal of both teams and the casualties from P2X351. Finally the Stargate closed leaving no signs of the alien visitors or what happened to them
Dr Janet Frasier walked out of the infirmary, medical records in hand. She headed down the corridor to the debriefing room, going over in her head what she would say to the General. It was two hours since she had arrived back through the Stargate with SG-1, and she still had no idea what had happened. She was hoping someone at the debriefing could give her an idea of where to begin. Finally reaching her destination, she pushed open the door and took her seat at the long table, taking the time to survey the faces of the others in the room.
General Hammond sat at his usual place at the head of the table. His face was set, his expression almost unreadable. To his left sat Major Ferretti. He seemed almost nervous, a frown creasing his forehead. The rest of the faces were the other members of SG-2, staring either at their fingers or out at the huge ring that could clearly be seen through the window behind Janet.
Then the General cleared his throat and all five heads turned to face him.
The General started as soon as Janet found her seat
“Right people. I want to know what happened to SG-1 on P2X351 and I want to know yesterday. What can you tell me? Major?”
Major Ferretti looked up from his hands, choosing his words carefully. He described what he had seen on the planet when SG-2 arrived.
“I’d say it was some kind of attack sir. They obviously didn’t see it coming as Jack was taking the rear and Jackson was on point. Perhaps it was the natives, but we didn’t find any signs to suggest anything out of the ordinary. Perimeter was secured and we saw no signs of any life or an attack, other than SG-1, Sir. We did retrieve Dr. Jackson’s notebooks and camcorder though Sir. We’ve already handed them over to be analysed.”
General Hammond nodded then turned to Janet. She sensed what he was going to ask.
“How are SG-1, Doctor?” Concern sounded in the General’s voice, for just a moment.
“Well, Sir, it’s not looking good so far. They were hypothermic when we found them and unresponsive to light or pain. Since we’ve had them back, SG-1 are still comatose but holding their own. There is however some evidence of brain damage.”
“What kind of damage, Doctor?”
“Well their respiratory efforts and cardiac outputs are a little low, and on the EEG traces there are signs that certain waves are being disrupted but what it means is unclear. We are continuing trying to revive them. Once we’ve done that we’ll have a clearer idea of how to proceed.”
“Very well, Doctor. Keep trying. We’ll notify the next of kin just in case.”
The General sat for a moment, digesting what he had seen and heard.
“Right people, keep working on it. And keep me posted. You have twenty-four hours to find out what happened. After that I have no choice but to call in a team from the SGI.”
Shocked faces stared back at the General.
“But, Sir..”
“I know Major, I don’t like it any more than you do, which is why I’m giving you one day. However after that I have no choice, understood?”
As the team around the table nodded their consent, Janet watched the faces of her colleagues. They were unhappy at the prospect of the special investigative team being bought in. She understood their sentiments. The SGI made Maybourne and his cronies from the NID look like children.
The general also saw the consent.
“Very well, you have twenty-four hours. We'll reconvene here at 06:30. Dismissed.”
Janet headed back to the infirmary, racking her brains as to teh cause of the condition of SG-1. There seemed no logic to what had happened. And now she only had twenty-four hours to find out the answer. She turned and saw Ferretti behind her. He hurried to catch her up.
“How are they really, Doc?” he asked.
“Like I said, Major, it’s really not looking to good. The longer they remain unresponsive, the less the chance of them recovering. I’m sorry.”
Ferretti sighed. “Its okay Doc. Long as you’re honest. I was thinking though. Is it possible it was some kind of energy weapon? Could that be it?”
“It’s possible. It’s certainly nothing that I’ve ever seen before though.”
They reached the infirmary.
“I’ll keep you posted Major. Any more ideas, let me know.”
The Major agreed then went to the locker room. Janet opened the door to the infirmary. She was met by one of the nurses.
Janet, files still in hand, moved into the room where SG-1 were being treated. The four bodies lay on beds, all kinds of medical equipment monitoring every sign of life. Dr Mackenzie was standing next to Doctor Jackson’s bed holding the patient’s chart and reading off one of the monitors that surrounded him. He replaced it at the end of the bed and came over to Janet.
“Well Doctor, I have no idea. Their temperatures are still depressed and brain function is definitely impaired. I see you’ve assigned a team already to their permanent care, including yourself Doctor Frasier. Do you think that is wise?”
“Yes I do. They will need dedicated care if we’re going to figure out what happened, and I think I know their medical histories as well as anyone else. I am also Head of Medicine here and what I say goes. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have patient to tend to.”
Janet moved away from Doctor Mackenzie and picked up Jack’s chart. She waited until she was sure that he had gone before she released the breath that she’d been holding. There was no way that she was going to let Mackenzie care for these people. One, they were her friends, and two, she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him and wouldn’t wish him on her worst enemy. Even the Goa’uld didn’t deserve him.
She looked at Jack’s chart. His temperature was coming up gradually and he was still stable. Hopefully she could get them out of this. His heart rate was increasing slowly which was good. She marked the chart and then left SG-1 in the care of the nursing team while she went to chase up those blood results. She didn’t see Jack’s hand tense as her coat brushed past him.
Eighteen hours later, Janet dropped into her chair in her office and ran a hand through her short brown hair. She was tired, dead on her feet. She'd just spent the last three hours in surgery. Someone from SG-5 had been bought into the infirmary having been hit with a blast from a staff weapon. She'd managed to stabilise him before operating on him to repair the damage. She glanced at her watch, noted the time and hoped she could get a few hours rest before anyone needed her again. She closed her eyes then opened them again in response to a quiet knocking on her door.
"Come in" she said wearily.
The door opened and Daisy, the head nurse, looked around the door.
"I'm sorry to disturb you doctor. I know you probably want some sleep but I thought you should see this. Its SG-1."
Janet got up quickly, feeling more alert as she and the nurse headed for SG-1's private room. When she entered, Janet thought at first that nothing had changed. Then as she moved around the beds she found herself being watched by four pairs of eyes. Or more prescisely, four pairs of eyes stared blankly into space as she moved through their field of vision. Janet stopped beside Daniel's bed and checked his pupils with her penlight. His eyes remained fixed on some invisible point, not responding to the light. She looked up.
"How long have they been like this?" she asked the nurse, pulling Daniel's chart off the end of the bed and examining it closely.
"Not long. They are all the same. They are responding to strong pain but that's about it."
Janet replaced the chart on the end of the bed.
"Okay, take another lot of bloods, hook up an EEG and keep an eye on it, then obs every hour. Let me know if anything else happens, any change in their reponsiveness. I'm going to grab a few hours and then see if I can come up with anything."
She turned and headed out to her office, pondering the change in SG-1's condition. She yawned. Thinking about this now would do no good, Janet realised. She needed sleep if she was going to understand whatever was happening to SG-1. Pulling off her white coat, Janet picked up her bleeper, placed it in her pocket and headed for her quarters. Twenty minutes later, she was dead to the world.
Janet awoke to the sound of an alarm. At first she couldn't place the source of the sound. Then she realised it was her pager. She pulled it off the desk and glanced at the display. Then she jumped to her feet, picked up the phone on the table and dialled the infirmary.
"Dr. Frasier."
"Doctor. We have a problem. Its Colonel O'Neill."
"Call Doctor Warner. I'll be there in five minutes."
She hung up the reciever and headed for the Infirmary. She made it to the 25th level in record time. As she arrived a nurse wheeled the CRASH cart from SG-1's room, followed by Doctor Warner.
"What happened?" Janet demanded of the older man, stopping him in the doorway.
"During the night, the Colonel's vital signs dropped off slightly. Nothing to worry about. Then he went into V-tach. He's stabilised now but I'd like to move him back to the main ward."
Janet nodded as she listened. "How are the rest of SG-1?"
"More responsive. All reflexes are fully restored but the EEG shows major damage to the temporal lobes. All autonomic functions are maintaining though."
Warner moved to show Janet the traces. The brain patterns were definitely altered. Janet sighed. She was in out of her depth. A glance at her watch told her that the twenty-four hours where almost up. She'd have to report to the General soon and tell him that she had no idea what was going on. She made a decision.
"Okay, Move the Colonel back to another room. Have the nurses increase the observations. Then put through a call and find a neurologist. I have a feeling that we might need one. I'll go and tell the General that we need more time."
Warner moved away to carry out the instructions. Janet closed her eyes. "I'm sorry guys," she whispered to the quiet room where the rest of SG-1 lay. "I've got no choice but to call in SGI. I can't figure this out on my own."
She turned on her heel and went to tell the General.
General Hammond sat in the debriefing room waiting for the doctor to join him. Major Ferretti already sat at the table, studying the report folder given him by the electronics department. He'd spent most of the night with them and was now waiting for the doctor to arrive before he gave his report. He also wanted ot know how Jack and the rest of SG-1 were doing. The two men didn't have long to wait. They stood when Janet entered the room and waited for her to get setteled.
"How are SG-1, doctor?" the General asked once she had found her place. "Its not good sir. Jack suffered a near cardiac arrest during the night. I've had to move him to a separate room. The rest of SG-1 are still catatonic and show no signs of reviving."
"Any idea as to the cause of their condition?"
"Not yet, Sir. I'm running more tests now, but the ones I have run so far show..."
Major Ferretti found his attention wandering as the Doctor explained her tests and what they meant. He had no idea what she was talking about but did manage to catch the odd word her and there.
"EEG...abnormal....disturbances to temporal lobe...catatonic...no diagnosis...awaiting the MRI results."
"So you're saying that at the moment you have no idea as to the cause of the condition."
Janet stared at the desk for several seconds before replying.
"No sir. As of yet I'm not sure. I've called for a neurologist but I'm hoping that the electroincs boys can give me an idea of where to start because at the moment I'm playing guessing games."
The General nodded and turned his attention to Ferretti.
"What have your boys come up with, Major?"
"Not much Sir. I'm afraid we've also drawn a blank. All we can tell is that whatever it was, it managed to knock out Dr Jackson's digital camera. All that's left on the disk is snow. Some of the boys are still down there now, trying to clean up the images, but its slow going. Whatever did this is something we've never seen before. Sorry, Doctor. No help from this end. We nave however managed to come up with the most likely sequence of events based on the positions of the bodies and some of the pictures we managed to get off the beginning of the camera."
"But..."
"Well, Sir, its not very useful unless we know what hit them."
The General took a deep breath. This was not going well. His best team was still out of action and there were no clues as to what had happened. He made a decision.
"Very well people. Keep up the good work. However I feel we need some more manpower. I have no choice but to call in SGI. Major, SG-2 can head out as scheduled in the morning."
He looked at the dismayed faces. "I know you aren't happy about SGI being here, but they're the best we have at this kind of thing. And we need to know what we're dealing with. Dismissed."
He watched as the Doctor and Major stood, saluted and then left the debriefing room. Satisfied he was alone, Hammond took several minutes to himself before going to place a very reluctant call to a certain General Harris, head of the SGI.