Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate, I just like to play with them. MGM owns Stargate and all its characters etc etc. I wrote this story for fun, and no money is involved at all.
Summary: An alien device changes one member of SG-1. Litter boxes and scratching posts involved, more would be telling. PG-13 just to be safe because of some naughty words. My bad.
Set somewhere in season 6 ish or thereabouts. Pre Danny's surreal thing. May have some minor spoilers/references to various episodes.
A/N: This is my first published fic ever. I've been sitting on some story ideas for a while, and finally got around to writing one out. Feedback would be appreciated, especially since I'm so new at this I haven't even got a Beta. So be nice to me :oP I hope you enjoy my first attempt, and bear with me for the future chapters. I have the next several roughed out, and the rest drafted, but I want to see what people think of my first few chapters before I finish the story. Thanks in advance for bearing with me, and reading my story.
Nine Lives by iamdragonrider
Chapter 1
A brilliant white flash filled the room, and muffled shouts and cries of surprise, the sounds of flesh hitting the stone floor as some force blew out from the central area of the room.
Silence fell.
A groan sounded breaking the stillness, followed by a stream of mumbled curses. Colonel Jack O'Neill shifted and tried to get his bearings, blinking rapidly trying to clear the bright white afterimage from his eyes so he could see again. Another groan to his right sounded, probably Daniel.
Jack coughed, cleared his throat, and barked out gruffly "What the hell just happened? Daniel? Teal'c? Carter? Everyone OK?"
A rustle of fabric to Jack's right and Daniel replied hoarsely, "I don't know Jack, but my head feels a lot like it does the morning after team night. Last thing I remember was looking at the inscriptions on the wall, and then I was flat on my back and you calling out. Can you see anything Jack?"
Well that wasn't good. He had been hoping he'd been the only one blinded by the flash. "O'Neill" A deep voice rumbled, interrupting his musings. "Teal'c, you ok there buddy?' Jack called.
"My vision is impaired as well O'Neill, but I believe it is returning rapidly. Otherwise I am unharmed. I too am unclear as to what has transpired." replied Teal'c.
Jack squinted, and blinked some more, he was just starting to be able to make out dull shapes in the bright white afterimage. "My sight is getting better, so that makes two of us Teal'c, how about you Danny boy?"
Daniel sighed at Jack's chosen nickname for him, but chose to ignore it, responding would just goad Jack into using it more often. Daniel blinked several times, testing his eyesight and found that he too was starting to see more. "Uh, yah, me too Jack. I can make out dim shapes now." Taking stock of himself he raised himself to a sitting position, than frowned. Something was missing. Or was that somebody? "Sam?" he called to the room, and waited. There was no reply.
"Carter! Report!" Jack bellowed the order into the stillness of the room, his call echoed by a deep "Major Carter?" from Teal'c. Again, silence was the only reply. Jack got to his feet, swaying slightly. "Carter! I swear if you went and touched something..." He let his empty threat trail off as his eyes slowly adjusted, and he scanned the room, looking for some sign of Carter. He could make out a blurry shape to his right, in the direction of Daniel's voice, and another much larger shape beyond Daniel, likely Teal'c. "Can any of you guys see anything? Where was she last at?"
"I recall that Major Carter was examining the device in the center of the room O'Neill" stated Teal'c. "I believe I am strong enough to make my way to her last known location."
"Do it Teal'c, Danny and I will try to make our way to you, keep your head up." O'Neill blinked a few more times, it didn't quite seem so bright anymore, and he was staying on his feet without wobbling too much anymore. He quickly checked to make sure all his weapons were intact, they were. At least that was something positive. He took a few hesitant steps towards the blurry shape he believed was Daniel. When he didn't fall on his face he picked up the pace and was soon at Daniels side. "You ok Daniel?" he asked, helping his younger teammate to his feet. At Daniel's nod, Jack took the archeologist's arm and headed them both towards the center of the room, the large shape was already there, and he could now see more clearly that it was definitely Teal'c.
"O'Neill, I believe I have found Major Carter's clothing and gear. However, Major Carter is absent." Teal'c was looking toward them. Jack and Daniel could now see the large Jaffa's brow creased with concern.
Jack started. Than frowned. "Teal'c, are you telling me that wherever Carter is she isn't wearing any clothes??" A stray thought intruded on Jack's brain that a Carter without clothes on wasn't such a bad thing but he quickly told his brain to shut up. Now was not the time. In fact, never was a good time. He hoped no one else could see the blush creeping of his face. He buried all inappropriate thoughts of his 2IC, and pulled up alongside Teal'c. There was indeed a pile of clothing, including Carter's vest and jacket, on the floor in front of the strange device that Carter had been studying. The device and its energy readings was in fact the main reason for their visit to P3X-whatever. That and the temple walls full of inscriptions not far from the Stargate that had practically made Daniel go into raptures of joy.
Between Carter's wide eyed excitement over the implications of finding an ancient machine still giving off energy readings, and Daniel's eagerness to take a closer look at the writings on the wall, the mission was a definite from the moment those two saw the MALP recordings. Well at least there weren't any trees. Than again, he'd take a planet full of trees over a missing Carter any day.
"Jack," Daniel spoke up, he was now kneeling next to the pile of clothes, and staring, his brow furrowed in puzzlement. "What Daniel?"
"Look at these Jack, I don't think she took them off, or had them taken off..." "What? So? Therefore?" Jack wasn't seeing it.
"Jack, its like she was just, I don't know, transported out of them." Daniel's blue eyes were locked on the articles in question. A frown creased his brow as his mind worked furiously with the puzzle laid out before them.
"Like beam me up Scotty?" Jack wondered if there had been something else in that flash of light, and than he looked closer at the clothing. Carter's stuff was laid out in the shape of his second, as if she had fallen backwards, and was laying flat on her back. One arm of her jacket lay across the stomach, the other up next to where her head should be. Her dog tags lay where they would normally have rested had there been a body inside the clothing. The belt was buckled, holsters and weapons intact and in their proper places. Even the boots were still laced up, and he presumed the socks and her... gulp... underwear... were likely still inside the clothes.
"O'Neill, I agree with Daniel Jackson. Major Carter was separated from her equipment and clothing by some force or technology." rumbled Teal'c. Teal'c was glaring at the pile of clothing and the machine, as if his glare would somehow make the errant Major return to her clothing.
"Yah... Ok, lets fan out in a search pattern..." Jack started, turning away to look at the room, no use staring at a pile of clothes that clearly did not contain one Air Force Major, when Daniel interrupted. "Jack... I think there's something in here!" Jack snapped to attention and spun around, bringing his P-90 up to bear, he heard the sound of Teal'c priming his staff weapon. "Easy there Danny boy."
Daniel stopped, and waited; at Jack's nod he took a deep breath than carefully opened Carter's vest and jacket, moving carefully and slowly. Whatever was inside the clothing was small, and soft... and warm. He got to the t-shirt, and poised, hand ready to pull it out from the pants, and glanced again at Jack. Jack glanced at Teal'c, and seeing the Jaffa was ready he set himself and nodded again at Daniel. "On three Daniel" Daniel nodded, than tensed. Softly Jack whispered, "One.... Two.... THREE!" On three Daniels hand shot out grabbing a handful of black t-shirt pulling if from the pants, and revealing the occupant. Daniel jumped back, Teal'c and O'Neill with their weapons raised and aimed at... a small yellow cat?