“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.”
“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.
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