The glare of the sun hit Colonel Jack O'Neill as he stepped through the Stargate. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes, and glanced around. All that could be seen was sand in all directions, more and more sand. Behind him he heard the rest of his team exit the gate. He turned to see Major Sam Carter shielding her eyes as well, with Jonas Quinn standing beside her with his eyes screwed shut. Teal'c was on the other side of Sam looking rather uncomfortable at the amount of glare. Daniel stumbled through, and immediately shielded his eyes as well.
"Well, campers, wouldn't you know, no trees," said Jack, with a wry grin on his face, "can only take so many trees. Though I must say, the sand is a bit overdone."
Sam just grinned, and turned to check Daniel was ok. It was his first mission since SG1 had found him. After several weeks of tests, and physicals, he had finally been given clearance to rejoin SG1. General Hammond had decided to leave Jonas as part of SG1, so for the time being, SG1 had 5 members. Daniel looked up at Sam and smiled, as if to say, *I'm fine, just not used to this anymore.*
"OK, now we are all here, which way Carter?" asked Jack.
"Sir, the MALP indicated something reflecting sunlight about 5 klicks to the north. Um, that's strange, I can't see anything," said Sam.
"Nope, nothing out there. Sure you have the direction right?" asked Jack, grinning at Sam.
"Yes, Sir, it was definitely that way."
"Yes, Colonel, the compass shows north is that way," said Jonas, holding the compass up for Jack to see.
"OK, Carter, how about we move off in that direction, and see what we can see. I don't think there is anything hostile here, but just keep your eyes open, ok, just in case. Jonas in front, with that compass, Teal'c, take our six, Daniel, hang around in the middle, Carter, just float a bit for now."
They moved off to the north, at first setting a good pace, but before long, slowing down, as Daniel was lagging behind. The difficulty of walking on the sand was taking its toll on Daniel, who was thinking he wasn't as fit as he thought. After an hour, Jack called a halt. Daniel sat down on the sand, wiping his sweaty face.
"OK, as good a place as any to rest. Carter, this thing we are looking for should be in sight, right?" asked Jack, as he looked all around them. "All I can see is sand."
"Sir, there is nothing. I don't understand this, Sir, the MALP clearly showed an object, and we should just about be on it."
"I do believe the MALP was incorrect, O'Neill. There is nothing but sand to be seen," said Teal'c.
"I don't think there is anything out here at all. How much further are we going to go, Colonel?" asked Jonas.
"We will go a further 30 minutes, and if we don't see anything, then we will head back to the gate. Right, everyone ready," asked Jack, looking at Daniel, who smiled, and nodded," ok, then, move out, same as before."
They walked the 30 minutes, still finding nothing. Jack stopped, looked around yet again, and said, "OK, that's it, back to the gate, nothing here to see."
"Colonel, we have a problem," said Jonas. "When I turned around just now, the compass stayed on north."
"Jonas, are you saying the compass is broke?" asked Jack, hoping that he was wrong.
"Yes, Colonel, it seems to be pointing at north, no matter which way I turn. See,"Jonas said, as he showed Jack what was happening. "No matter which way we are facing, it is pointing north."
"Ah, Jonas, why didn't you notice this before? Have we been going north or what?" asked Jack.
"Sorry, Colonel, I was looking at the compass, and it was reading north, so I just followed that."
"Well, that didn't work, did it?" asked Jack, throwing his hands up. "By the way, whose idea was it to follow the compass?"
"Actually, Sir, it was mine. The MALP readings showed a magnetic field similar to Earth, so I was sure the compass would work fine. I'm sorry, Sir, I don't understand why it is reading wrong," said Sam, looking over at the compass that Jonas still held.
"OK, well, at least our tracks are still there. Right, lets hotfoot it back to the gate before something else happens," said Jack. "Jonas, you and Carter take the lead, Teal'c, the back. Let's go campers."
They moved out, at a quicker pace, following the line of tracks they had left. After a while the pace was slowed, as it became more obvious that Daniel was having a hard time keeping up. They stopped again to rest, this time Daniel flopped down on the sand, visibly exhausted.
"Ah, Dannyboy, you OK?" asked Jack as he squatted beside Daniel, the concern evident on his face.
"Yeah, Jack, I'm fine, just not used to this anymore. Just give me a minute or two, and we can keep going."
"OK, then, five minutes, and we keep going to the gate. Say, Carter, would have thought the gate would be in sight by now."
"Sir, I don't think we have come far enough yet."
"OK, Carter. Right, everyone, lets get out of here. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this," Jack said, as they moved out again.
After a further 45 minutes Jack called a halt. "OK, Carter, notice something? Our tracks stop here, and well, shouldn't the gate be around here somewhere?"
"Yes, Sir, the gate should be right here. I don't know what has happened, Sir. Following our tracks should have brought us back to the gate," said Sam.
"Well, unless I've gone blind, the gate isn't here. Any suggestions, anyone?" asked Jack, as he scanned the faces of those around him.
"Sorry, Colonel, this is all my fault. I should have taken more notice of the compass," Jonas said, looking like he wished he was somewhere else.
"Jonas, could have happened to anyone, well, probably not me or Carter, or Teal'c for that matter, but, hey, could have happened to Daniel," said Jack with a grin, as he looked at Daniel, who just shrugged.
"O'Neill, I do believe we are lost. The Stargate does appear to have gone, and the tracks we are following have stopped. There appears to be nowhere to go."
"Well, that's the understatement of the year. Carter, any ideas?" asked Jack as he turned to his 2IC. "Any doohickeys or something you can pull out of your pocket, and fix this?"
"Sorry, Sir, I'm not quite that good," replied Sam with a smile on her face. "I would suggest we split up in pairs, and scan the area."
"Good idea, Carter, right, Teal'c, you and Jonas go that way, and Carter and I will go this way. Daniel, stay here, that way we can see you and make sure we will come back in the right direction. Take just essentials with you, leave your packs here for now. Everyone ok with that? Good, lets go then."
Jonas and Teal'c went to the left, with Jonas turning around every few steps to check he could still see Daniel. After a few minutes Teal'c remarked, "JonasQuinn, you do not need to look so often. DanielJackson will not disappear."
"Yeah, Teal'c, I know, but I feel that this is all my fault, and I don't want to make things worse by getting us even more lost."
"JonasQuinn, I do not think that is possible," said Teal'c with a straight face.
"Oh, yes it is Teal'c, imagine if we couldn't find the others again," Jonas shuddered to think of it. "We would just wander around until we died. Not a nice thought."
"JonasQuinn, do not worry. Turn around, and you will see DanielJackson," said Teal'c, as he turned to look at Daniel in the distance.
"Ah, Teal'c, what was that you were saying? Unless I'm very much mistaken, Daniel is not there anymore. I think we should go back, right now."
"I agree, JonasQuinn," replied Teal'c, as they jogged together back along the tracks they had left. Within a matter of minutes they came to the point where the tracks stopped, only to find no sign of anyone else. The packs were still lying where they had been left.
"OK, now what?" Jonas said, "Where is everyone? Look, there are Daniel's tracks going that way, why did he decide to wander off?"
"I do not know, JonasQuinn, but I feel we should follow DanielJackson. He is not himself. I am sure we will find him soon."
Teal'c and Jonas followed Daniel's tracks for several minutes, without seeing any further signs of Daniel apart from the tracks they were following. After a further 15 minutes, they both spotted something in the distance, what looked like a bundle of rags. They looked at each other, and broke into a run, towards what they were both thinking was Daniel. As they got closer, they could make out that the bundle was Daniel, lying on his side, curled up in a ball. Jonas dropped down beside him, and saw he was unconscious. Jonas checked Daniel over, and was relieved to find a pulse, and that he was breathing.
"Teal'c, he's alive, but I can't see why he's unconscious. There are no visible marks, nothing to indicate what has happened to him."
"JonasQuinn, I will carry DanielJackson back to where the tracks end. We must be there for O'Neill and MajorCarter to find us."
"Oh, I agree, Teal'c. Come on, I'll give you a hand, and lets get going back. You know, it seems strange that the Colonel and Sam haven't come looking for Daniel. I hope nothing has happened to them."
"As do I, JonasQuinn, as do I."
Within half an hour they were back at the place where the tracks ended, only to find no sign of Jack or Sam.
"JonasQuinn, we must wait here. DanielJackson needs to be shaded."
"I will set up the tent. Sure hope he wakes up soon, this is starting to get a bit scary."
"I agree, JonasQuinn." Within a few minutes the tent was up, with Daniel placed inside it, still unconscious.
"Now we wait," said Jonas, with a quick look at Teal'c.
"Yes, JonasQuinn, now we wait." The two sat beside each other, and continually scanned the sand for any signs of the others.
In the meantime, Jack and Sam were having problems of their own. They had gone in the opposite direction to Jonas and Teal'c, and every 30 steps Sam would look back at Daniel, who was standing watching them walk away from him.
After a few minutes Sam had looked around, only to discover she could no longer see Daniel. "Sir," she said, "Daniel's gone."
Jack stopped and looked back, "OK, what now? He was supposed to stay put."
"Sir, I think we need to go back," Sam said, knowing that Jack would agree with her.
"Yep, lets go, Carter. I should never have left him alone, after all, he was always the one getting into trouble. Carter, weren't you the one to tell me that was his middle name?"
"Not me, Sir, must have been Janet," replied Sam with a smile on her face. They quickly jogged back to where the tracks stopped. Sam noticed something wasn't right. "Sir, do you see something strange about the tracks?"
Jack looked at the tracks at their feet, and realised what Sam meant. The only tracks to be seen were the ones they had just made, and the ones all five had made on their trek away from the gate, and back to it. The tracks that Jonas and Teal'c had made in the opposite direction weren't there, and where ever Daniel had gone, he had left no tracks either.
"OK, Carter, any bright ideas? It's like we are the only ones here, the other tracks have vanished."
"Sir, I have no idea what is happening. What do you want to do now?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Carter. How about we set up camp here, and wait for a while, then if no one else shows up, decide then."
"Yes, Sir, only problem with that is Jonas has the tent, and I don't see his pack lying around here anywhere."
"In fact, Carter, none of the packs are here. This is getting stranger all the time. Anyway, whose idea was it to send just one tent for 5 of us?"
"Sir, you know this was to be a simple 8 hour mission, so the tent was just as a precaution," Sam said. "Do we stay here, or look around more?"
"Carter, I honestly don't know," said Jack, running his hand through his hair. "We can stay here or we can go wandering. I don't think either is going to acheive much, do you?"
"Sir, I suggest we stay in this area, after all, this is where most of the tracks end, which points to the Stargate being close by."
"OK, Carter, how about we do a sweep of the area, watching each other the whole time, and see if we can find any clues. Make sure your eyes are on me, and I will do the same. That way, hopefully we won't lose each other."
"Sure, Sir, sounds like a good plan," said Sam with a smile, thinking of how easy it was to look at him. *Good, now I have an excuse to watch him,* she thought, *couldn't stand to lose him.*
"OK, Carter, just keep close by, don't want to lose you," said Jack, smiling back, his own thoughts going along the same path as Sam's. *Definitely will watch you, would be lost without you.*
They walked apart about 50 metres, keeping each other in sight, and swept the area for any sign of the others. After 30 minutes, they both came back to the where the tracks stopped.
"You know, Carter, we need to stop meeting like this," Jack said with a grin.
"Very funny, Sir. There is no sign of the Stargate, or any other tracks. It's like we are the only ones here."
"Hey, Carter, maybe this is one of those time shift thingees or something, you know, we are in one time, and the others are in another," Jack said jokingly.
"Actually, Sir, you could be right. The tracks seem to point towards us all being together going away from the Stargate, and back towards it. It's only when we split, that the tracks don't make sense any more. The others could be in a slightly different time to us, which is why we can't see them, or the packs."
"And the gate is another time, that's what you are getting at, isn't it Carter?" asked Jack.
"Yes, Sir, I think that fits what has happened. But, I don't know how to fix it, and get everyone back here, beside the gate. In fact, it seems really strange that the gate is missing, after all, that must have been here for a long time, and it seems unlikely we are that far out of "time" with the gate and the others."
"You know, Carter, I actually understood what you just said, and makes sense to me. Fixing it is gonna be the hard part, when we don't know how it was broken."
As they were standing there looking at each other, each wondering just how to fix something they didn't understand, when they heard the sound of voices arguing. They turned as one to look at the two figures walking towards them.
"Ah, Carter, are they what I think they are?" asked Jack, looking at the pair approaching.
"Yes, Sir, they appear to be dwarfs, no, wait, I think they are leprachauns. See, their hats, and clothes look like all the pictures I've seen of leprachauns."
"Great, just what we need. Don't leprachauns usually cause trouble?"
"Yes, Sir, they are known for that."
"Well, Carter, are you prepared to meet your first leprachaun?" asked Jack jokingly.
Sam didn't get a chance to answer as the first little man came right up to her, and pointed at her, shouting to his companion, "See what I mean? You got it all wrong, again."
"It wasn't me, Paddy, it was you," shouted the other little man back.
"Now, Seamus, why don't you just admit you are wrong?"
"IT.....WASN'T....ME.....!" shouted back Seamus, who by now was turning an interesting shade of red.
"Um, excuse me," Jack interrupted. "Who are you?"
"None of your business," Paddy said to him, turning back to yell at his companion, "IT.....WAS......YOU.....!"
"Ah, sorry to interrupt again, but why are you pointing at Carter?"
Both of the little men stopped their shouting and turned to look at Jack, then they turned to look at each other. Paddy shrugged his shoulders, and Seamus started talking. "Paddy here has stuffed up the time line again."
"No, I have not," yelled Paddy back.
"Yes, you did," shouted Seamus.
"Hey, guys, how about you calm down and tell us what is wrong, something with the time line?" asked Jack.
"Yes, there is a problem with the time line. You were supposed to all stick together. As long as you were together, things were fine. It's only when you split up that the time line was disrupted," explained Seamus.
"How can that be?" asked Sam. "The gate had disappeared before we went in different directions."
"See, I told you it was your fault," said Seamus with a smirk on his face. "You decided to play a trick, and hide the gate."
"Sorry, did you say, hide the gate?" asked Jack. "What sort of trick is that?"
"I thought it was funny at the time," Paddy said. "Obviously, no one else got the joke."
"OK, lets see if I understand all this," Jack said. "Paddy here decided to hide the gate, we came back here to find the gate gone, we split up, and the time line gets disrupted."
Seamus nodded, "That is what has happened."
"OK, guys, how do we fix it then?" Jack asked, trying to be patient, but getting closer to failing with every passing second.
"Ah, that is the problem, we don't know how for sure," Seamus replied.
"Carter, any ideas here?" asked Jack, knowing that he was probably asking the impossible. Then again, the impossible is something that Sam seemed to excell in.
"Sorry, Sir. As far as I can tell, from what these guys have told us, we are in separate time lines because we split up. Now why that happened, is anyone's guess. Could be something about the magnetic field, I just don't know, Sir," Sam said. She turned to look at Paddy and Seamus,"What will happen if you bring the gate back into view?"
The two little men looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders together. If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have been comical. "We don't know," Paddy said. Seamus chimed in, "We hadn't thought of trying that."
"Well, then, how about you do that, and we see what happens." said Jack. "Can't do much more harm, can it?"
"No, Sir, I don't think it can."
Paddy and Seamus shrugged their shoulders again, and looked at each other. Paddy started mumbling a strange language under his breath. Seamus just stood there looking bored.
Suddenly there was a loud clap of thunder, and the gate appeared again in front of them. The DHD was also there, something Jack and Sam were thankful to see.
"Hey, guys, where did you come from?" a voice came from behind them. All four turned to see Jonas and Teal'c standing by the tent, with Daniel still unconscious inside it.
"T, Jonas, are we glad to see you," smiled Jack as he went towards them. His smile faded as he noticed Daniel lying inside the tent. "What's wrong with Danny?"
"O'Neill, we found him like this. We do not know what is wrong. DanielJackson has been unconscious for 3 hours," Teal'c stated.
Sam rushed over and knelt down by Daniel. She ran her hands over him quickly, and stood up again. "I can't see any wounds, or feel any broken bones, Sir. It seems he is in a deep sleep."
Jack turned back to look at Seamus and Paddy, who were doing their best to appear invisible. "OK, guys, what is wrong with him?" Jack asked them.
Paddy spoke, "This must be a side-effect of my little joke. Hasn't happened before, well, actually, only once before."
"So, what is wrong with him?" Jack asked again, his voice revealing how impatient he was getting.
"We aren't sure. We think it can be fixed by taking him through the gate, don't we Paddy," said Seamus.
"Yes, I think that will help him," Paddy said eagerly, trying to make up for the trouble he had caused.
"OK, then, everyone, pack up, and we will all go home," Jack ordered. He turned to look at the two little men, and pointed straight at them. "You two had better hope this works, or I will be back to deal with you," he threatened.
Seamus gulped, "It will work, I am sure now."
"Right, everyone ready? T, you got Daniel? Ok, lets go, before we are the victims of any other jokes," Jack said as the group moved towards the gate.
Paddy and Seamus stood and watched the group, as Sam dialed up home, transmitted the clearance code, and the five went through the gate. The gate shut down with a whoosh. They looked at each other, and shrugged again.
"Now that was interesting," Seamus said.
"Sorry, I won't do that again, I promise," Paddy said, as they walked off into the distance.
Back at the SGC, General Hammond breathed a sigh of relief to see all five of SG1 return. He was immediately concerned to see that Daniel was unconscious, and being carried by Teal'c. "Medical team to gateroom, on the double," he ordered, as he went down to the gateroom.
"Colonel, report," Hammond ordered. "Just what is wrong with Dr Jackson?"
"Ah, Sir, we don't know. Some leprachauns fiddled with the time line, and this happened to Daniel," Jack replied.
"Leprachauns?" asked Hammond.
"You had to be there, Sir. Anyway, they assured us that Daniel would be fine once we took him home."
Just then, Janet arrived in the gateroom, in time to see Daniel stir. She directed Teal'c to lay him on the gurney beside her. Daniel groaned and opened his eyes. "How did I get back here?" he asked, looking around at the gateroom. "The last thing I remember is seeing two little men running away, and chasing them."
"Danny boy, you won't believe us when we tell you," said Jack, relieved to see that Daniel seemed to be fine.
Janet interrupted, "Let's get you to the infirmary, and check you out anyway." She took control of the gurney, and took Daniel out of the gateroom.
"Colonel O'Neill, I want thorough post-mission checks. De-briefing will be at 2000 hours," ordered Hammond as he left the gateroom.
Jack and Sam looked at each other and shrugged, as if to say, who is going to believe us? Sam smiled as Jack grinned back at her. "Hey, Carter, at least we are back home."
"Yes, Sir, though I would love to know what those two did. Guess we will never know."
"No, we will never know, we are NOT going back to that planet," exclaimed Jack. "Don't want a repeat of that."
Sam laughed, and left the gateroom, with Jack following her. Jonas and Teal'c looked at each other, and Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Jonas said, "This is going to be a very interesting de-brief. For once, I can't wait."
Teal'c nodded. "Indeed, JonasQuinn."
They too headed out of the gateroom, glad to be home again.
*********************************
THE END
Story Notes: SPOILERS: None
DISCLAIMER: All the usual stuff. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; etc. etc.This story is for entertainment purposes only, no money exchanged hands, no copyright infringement intended. Previously unrecognised places and characters, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, either living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
AUTHOR NOTES:has Jonas still (don't know why he has to leave :
DISCLAIMER: All the usual stuff. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; etc. etc.This story is for entertainment purposes only, no money exchanged hands, no copyright infringement intended. Previously unrecognised places and characters, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, either living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
AUTHOR NOTES:has Jonas still (don't know why he has to leave :
End Notes: Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as enjoyed writing it..
FEEDBACK: alb.jo.vb@paradise.net.nz
FEEDBACK: alb.jo.vb@paradise.net.nz
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]