Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter…I think it came out very well. Thanks for the continuing remarks!
General Hammond stood at the entrance to the pyramid, examining SG-1's base camp. The last time he talked with them, he instructed Teal'c to stand down until reinforcements could arrive. It was bad enough that Captain Carter and Colonel O'Neill were missing because of an alien device, but to risk the remainder of SG-1 was unacceptable.
As other SG teams scoured the perimeter of the pyramid and the translation expert worked on the room within the pyramid, General Hammond could not help but feel the same frustration as he felt every time his team was missing. "I told Teal'c to stand down, and it's not like him to disregard an order, unless something threatened his teammates." He knew that if Teal'c thought his friends were in trouble, his ultimate loyalty to his teammates would cause him to act against orders. For being a former Jaffa, Teal'c had proven his loyalty many times over. As the other SG teams called in to report, their findings concluded that no trace of the team was to be found, which led General Hammond to believe the most likely scenario; that Teal'c and Dr. Jackson had gone looking for their teammates on their own. "Knowing them, they'll probably show up on their own too." This thought did little to comfort his fears and frustration as he made his way towards the pyramid room to check on the status of the translation.
As Carter pushed the symbol and jumped into the center of the room, nothing happened. After a few seconds, a sound started to emanate from under the feet of the team. As it grew louder, Carter, recognizing the distinctive sound, knew that something was overloading.
"Jump!" was all that she could yell before the floor beneath them exploded. The huge blast sent Carter, Daniel, and Sam into the air and against the far wall, where they landed in a lifeless pile. Teal'c was thrown through the doorway and into the outer hallway, where he was knocked unconscious. Al rushed towards his friend as thick bluish-black smoke poured from the hole in the floor.
"Sam, oh my God! Sam, can you hear me? Sam, wake up! Sam, you gotta get up!" Kneeling down close to Sam, it was apparent to Al that his friend was knocked out cold. The others in the room didn't look any better, and as the black smoke became thicker, Al became even more worried that it was becoming more of a threat than the initial blast was. "Sam, you gotta get out of here!" Looking around for anything that could be of help, Al saw Teal'c through the increasing smoke lying in the hallway. Keeping himself as calm as possible, he thought through a plan to rescue his friend.
"Gooshie," Al yelled as he stood up and headed towards Teal'c, "Calibrate my signal back to the original setting. Ziggy, focus in on Sam's vital signs and tell me his condition and see if you can get the condition of the others."
Ziggy's cool voice floated through the air. "Dr. Sam Beckett has suffered a concussion and will be unconscious for approximately 9.3 minutes. Dr. Jackson and Captain Carter suffered similar injuries, and Dr. Jackson has also sustained a broken arm. Teal'c…"
At the mention of Teal'c, Ziggy paused for a second.
Happy that his friend and the others weren't going to die from their injuries, but by now almost frantic at the amount of smoke taking over the room, Al's only option was to try and wake up Teal'c in time to get his friend and the others out of that room. "Gooshie, have you recalibrated the signal?" At the pause of Ziggy's report, however, Al paused for a second.
Ziggy resumed her report. "Teal'c has also sustained a minor head injury. Admiral, this individual seems to possess a…creature within him."
Al, although not a genius, was smart enough that, even with the stress of the situation, he realized the significance of Ziggy's statement. "Ziggy, do you mean to tell me that Teal'c has an alien in him, like in the movies or something? Is that the reason he could se me?" Another idea struck him just as the words were coming out of his mouth. "Ziggy, if you have analyzed that much of Teal'c, can you alter the signal in a way that allows him to hear me?"
As Al stood over Teal'c, he looked at the handlink. The calculations spewing from the display were enough to make even Dr. Beckett pause, but they were quickly replaced on the screen by other equations just as elaborate. All Al could do was glance back at the smoke filled room, and even though it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something different. He silently cursed the military for all the top secret activities that prevented Ziggy from knowing about this incident; he cursed Fate or Time of whatever had grabbed Dr. Beckett at that first Leap for taking his friend in the first place, and, even for a microsecond, he cursed Sam for being so kind and dedicated and risking his life for total strangers and putting himself into this situation.
"Admiral, you should be able to communicate with him now."
Al looked back at Teal'c. "Thanks Ziggy." Kneeling beside Teal'c, Al started to shout. "Hey, big guy, wake up! Hey, you, can you hear me? Get up; your friends are in trouble."
As Al looked back at the room to check on the smoke, Teal'c groaned and started to move his body.
"That's it; start moving around. No, you're still not dead, you're still alive and kickin'. Now, see the smoke in that room. Your friends are in that room. If you don't get up right now, though, your friends are going to die. C'mon, get up!"
Teal'c, obviously not feeling his best, managed to turn over his body and half crawl, half lift himself up against the wall. His eyes still pretty much closed, he stumbled across the hallway and grabbed the doorway to steady himself. Al wasn't sure if Teal'c realized what exactly was going on, but he was sure that Teal'c could at least hear him. "Good, now, they are at the end of the room. Hurry, you gotta pull them outta there!"
Teal'c left the doorway and stumbled into the room. By this time, the smoke was so thick that he could barely see his hand in front of his face. As he inhaled the hot smoke, he started to cough. Stepping in front of Teal'c, Al urged him to continue as he guided Teal'c towards the others. As Teal'c reached the other side, the smoke became almost too much for him to bear, and he collapsed on his hands and knees, coughing, next to his friends.
"That's OK, Teal'c, just breath for a minute. Look, the air's better closer to the floor." Wanting to keep him awake and in good spirits, Al tried to keep himself calm while trying to keep Teal'c focused on his task. "Look, you found them, not all you have to do is drag them out into the hallway. It's not far; you can slide them across the floor. Here, lay down in front of them with your back to the hallway, reach out to them, and drag them towards you." Al, afraid that to try to get one person at a time was too much for Teal'c to handle in his condition, sat down next to him and demonstrated what he wanted Teal'c to do. Teal'c, still dazed from the explosion, but a bit more aware of what was going on, managed to grab something of each person; an arm, a vest, a piece of their uniform, and started to pull. At every two feet or so, Teal'c would slide back towards the hallway, then reach out again and drag them with him. With Al urging him on, Teal'c managed to drag the rest of the team out into the hallway, where he collapsed, having no more energy left than the will to breath.
Al, himself exhausted from the emotional strain of the events, fell down next to Sam. "Thanks, Teal'c, you did it." As the team and Al sat there in the dark hallway, the smoke slowly started to dissipate from the room, nothing could be heard except for the breathing of the group. As Al looked over the group lying on the floor, the realization that the outcome of the circumstances could have been a lot worse dawned on him, and he silently thanked whatever power could hear him that everyone survived.
Endnote: I based the concept that Ziggy could analyze the vital signs of others around Sam from the series itself, although I don't think it was used a lot, but enough to be known.