Events on the Horizon: A Stargate Sequel

Chapter 30

January 2005
Eleanor

The gate was churning and I felt Daniel's grip on mine. McKay had told us the 7th chevron was refusing to lock, and he had a theory it was because of our tether needing to be closer to the gate. The remote was in my left hand, Daniel in my right, and I felt a heat surge through my palms. I wasn't sure if it was just the fear of what was on the other side, or if it was an actual physical reaction, but my mouth went dry and I felt my knees buckle when the chevron smoothly clanked and the blue pool kawooshed out and snapped back. I heard the echo of McKay's laughter of triumph from the intercom system in the gateroom but it was short lived. The pool was blinking in and out as if it were only projected in front of us.

"Come on back now," Jack called and we both swiftly turned. As we did McKay shouted for us to stop, and over my shoulder I saw with each footstep the wormhole seemed to fade out. I let go of Daniel's hand and walked back, the puddle regaining its composure the closer I went. I dropped the remote softly and took a step backwards. Once again, each footstep caused the swirling blues to gray and fade.

"She has to be by the gate when we send the MALP through." I heard Sam's conflicted voice through the speakers. "She was the last one through it, meaning her tether is stronger."

"But too strong for both." Jack groaned out.

"What about me?" Daniel called back up to them. He walked over to the gate, and I walked back. The wormhole once again broke apart and reformed. "I'd prefer if I were down here instead."

"You come up and we'll see how far you need to be from the gate to keep the connection." McKay instructed. He gave a tight lipped smile in return and slowly walked back testing the distance. Once he was up in the control center the gate seemed to refocus and the blue light was just as strong as any other day's jump. It worked. The only plan that they had been able to come up with was placing the remote on a MALP with a timed C4 pack. When the MALP went through, a few moments would pass and it would explode, ending the connection and bursting the bubble. The gate would snap closed and planets, moons, stars would blink back.

"Are you ready? I can have a MALP and enough C4 here to blow up a timeline in less than 20 minutes." Jack asked out and McKay enthusiastically agreed.

Sam

The anticipation of it all was building through us, as the MALP technician was controlling it below to crawl over the event horizon Eleanor uncomfortably stood a few feet away from her former life. A doorway back to a place she considered a personal hell.

The screen blinked on and there we could see the remnants of an and old gateroom. The uncanny feeling of seeing a parallel room to the one we stood in. The only light coming from the gate projecting a funnel of blue and silver across the space. There was a cloud of dust kicked up and around, an eerie loan chair in the room with a faded paper that read,

Eleanor is in the SGC, if she's not in the gate room, make a noise.

The remnants of her made me turn to Daniel whose jaw was clenched tight. We waited in the stillness of anticipation, waiting for the C4 timer to strike, the MALP still staring at the lone chair in the room. Nothing happened.

"Well now what?" Jack looked over at me and McKay scoffed.

"Clearly this plan was a bust and we only have about what, thirty minutes until the wormhole collapses?"

"We could always just shoot at it? That seems to work." Jack shrugged.

"You military men with your guns all the time," McKay muttered, "guns don't fix problems. Science does. So what now General."