TWO DANIELS IN THE SGC

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Daniel* tore out of the Gate Room like a fox with a goose on his tail. Smack bang, oh Pandemonium. "Oh Sergeant Siler."

"Gee sorry about that Doctor Jackson*. You we're going a little fast there Sir."

"Urgent! Urgent. Control Room!" Daniel* was beside himself with anxiety and nerves and a thorough streak of panic. He was still clutching the tube containing the StarGate addresses. "Control Room!"

"Sure Doctor Jackson* you go right on up. I'll get these for you."

Daniel's* books were Strewn across the Gate Room corridor.

"Sergeant, but quick though, please."

"Right behind you Doctor Jackson*."

Daniel* bounded frantically into the Control Room and hid himself from incoming travellers behind the standalone system terminal at the end of the Dialling Console. He could see out, but hopefully, they couldn't see him. He spoke to the Duty Operator.

"Sergeant wheres Sergeant Davies?"

"Sir hes up stairs in the General's office."

"Sergeant?"

"Sir."

"Sergeant look at me when I'm talking to you. Over here."

"Oh I'm very sorry Doctor Jackson*, can I help you Sir."

"Yes."

"Doctor Jackson* heres all your books."

"Thanks Sergeant. Can you just wait there, right there, just a minute please." Daniel* was on the opposite side of the Control Room to Sergeant Siler.

"Sure Doctor*."

"Now as I was saying, yes. When is.. ..when will you be dialling out? When.. ..how long do we have to wait before the next dial out. Em Sergeant Davies told me it would be two minutes, that was already three minutes ago.. ..could you give me a time?"

"Em yes Sir, actually Sergeant Davies was correct. We had scheduled a dial out sequence but the incoming wormhole took priority before we obtained full lock."

"A time Sergeant?"

"Err yes Sir, I just.."

"Sergeant?"

"Yes Sir, its just that I have to close the Iris Sir."

Though he'd only ever seen it on rare visits to the barbers, Daniel* recognised the back of his other self's head as he made his way out of the Gate Room, presumably going to his office, or somewhere.

"The Iris. Yes you do. You do have to do that Sergeant. Em right then, okay, well thanks.. ..thanks for that. Em right, super, okay, thank you."

Daniel* wobbled towards Sergeant Siler. "Okay Sergeant, err yeah. Could you just give me a hand with these back into the Gate Room and em, that'd be great, that's great, thank you."

"Yeah sure Doctor Jackson*. By the way if you want me to get you a set of overalls its no trouble. You're out in the field establishing perimeters aren't you. They'd just stop your good clothes from getting spoilt."

"Thanks very much Sergeant, I've actually got a pair in my office but I thought I'd not bother today, thanks."

"Okay, heres your books, are you taking them with you?"

"Em not sure.. ..just doing a bit of re-filing."

"Okay then, see you later."

"Thanks Sergeant Siler, its been great to see you."

"Gee thanks Doctor Jackson*. Pleasure to help, bye."

Bye Sergeant, all the best, it would be really great to see you again, who knows. Oh he never told me how long it would be. Come on, come on. Hurry up!! Please!

"Hold that please, just hold on a minute, Thanks. Twenty please. Oh actually on second thoughts can you make that three, erm yeah, its probably best to get this sorted out first. Yeah sorry about that, could you make it three, level three, thanks.

Up on the third floor, a place he hadn't been before, Daniel thought the requisition admin was taking an excessive amount of time.

"Em cuse me Lieutenant, excuse me, how long will this take? Its just that I need to get back, we're actually waiting on the parts and I've got erm, theres Units in the field who can't do any work until they get these parts."

"Yes Doctor Jackson, I understand that, the request has been processed. Somebody needs to go down to Special Stores and physically obtain the parts you've requested."

"Okay so how long are we looking at?"

"Well if they've gone down in.. ..they can't be more than another ten or fifteen minutes. They'll be back as soon as they can Doctor. I'd just hang on if I was you."

"Okay Lieutenant, thanks."

Both Daniels were waiting. Whilst one Daniel was waiting on the third level of The SGC the other Daniel* was waiting on the twenty-eighth level.

Both Daniels were waiting for safety. The impatient one, safety bearing sensor gismos. The petrified one, his own.

Both Daniels would hopefully soon be travelling. One in a lift the other in a wormhole.

Seven men from Logistics walked into the Gate Room and began to assemble. Oh such a lucky number.. ..seven, seven go to heaven. Oh calm down, take it easy! Act normal! Mix in Jack* said. Hiding will get me noticed he said. I think he was right. I'm hiding myself here but everybody keeps saying hello to me. The men started arranging the construction materials. Ah Logistics, great. We're on our way.

"Dialling Chevron One!"

It was the Deputy Operator. Please keep dialling.

" ..Chevron Six locked!"

Don't stop now. I looked busy. He'll be back soon. I wonder where he went. My office probably.

Whuuu'schhh!

Sounds different I grant you, probably the resonance of the absorbed dampened echo.

Oh salvation! Take it easy now, steady on. Almost over. Act normal! You put your left leg in. Your left leg out. In out, in out. You shake it all about.. ..oou, oh I can't move. I can't move!

"Doctor Jackson*, are you coming back with us?"

Those Logistics people, they were so damn nice, so logistical.. ..logical.

"Sir would you like a hand with those?"

"What?"

"I'll get those Sir."

"Oh."

Daniel* dropped his load. The Logistics Officer made tidy work of it. Harnessing the out of control volume into a small neat and tidy pile. How do they do that.

"After you Sir."

"What?"

"After you Doctor Jackson."

Go on.. ..go on! Don't look down. You can do it. Easy.. ..right?

"Thank you."

Ahoy there. Coming through, move out, make way, let me at it. The Horizon was clear but he still couldn't move. His legs were stuck on the ground.

"Doctor Jackson* Sir?"

The Logistics Officer touched Daniel's* arm. Oh there we go. Into gear. Forward thrust. Easy.. ..right!

"Thank you."

Move it Daniel*. He didn't look down. He didn't look back. Take care General, hope to see you, really do. The embarkation grid ramp had never before felt so bumpy. Clutching tightly to the poster tube containing the StarGate addresses, he touched down in the one-dimensional field of the Event Horizon, for a de-constitutional occurrence. He was off. Although he hadn't been calm and collected, he was by now most certainly M C squared.

This doesn't seem right. I can't put my finger on it. Something's different. Daniel knew there was something out of place, but in an office that size and with that many things, it was going to take him more than a fleeting glance to realise that some things were actually missing. Some of his favourite books.. ..gone, re-filed as in D for Daniel* and O for other.

Daniel grabbed the small carton of coffee roast and his night vision goggles and headed back down to level twenty-eight.

Instead of going into the Gate Room he went straight up into the Control Room. "Hey Sergeant its very busy down there, you're not on your own are you?"

"No Doctor Jackson, I've just sent my Deputy to round up all of today's figures, I don't envy him that one."

"Yeah there must be stacks of it."

"They've been in conference over the numbers all afternoon. Are you ready to leave Doctor Jackson?"

"Yeah, I am. I've just popped up to see how we're doing. When the err, next dial out is scheduled. Major Pierce and his group are waiting on this little box of technical wonders."

"At the moment Doctor we're looking at approximately twenty minutes. So you can either go and come back or you can stay, its up to you but twenty minutes passes fairly quickly round here."

"Ah thats not to bad, its not to long. Twenty minutes, it's a lot quicker than being stuck up on the third floor."

"Oh, t zone?"

"Whats that?"

"Twilight Doctor Jackson, twilight."

"Ha, you've been there."

"Not when I can help it."

"Okay Sergeant Davies, thanks, I'll sit it out in the Gate Room. See whats going on down there. Bye, see you."

"See you Doctor Jackson."

Daniel had been stuck down in the administration halls, the bureaucratic gymnasium par excellence up on the third floor, for at least forty minutes. He had requested and they delivered, a tiny little stressed plastic box. He had been expecting his requisition to be delivered on a luggage cart or a friendly F.R.E.D.

It was no bigger than a snuff-box, and it was sealed. He didn't bother to open it because he would not be able to verify that the contents were in actual fact the correct parts. After all, he had been of a mind that he was collecting some giant honking box full of technical who knows. Out in the field he was actually studying the compound's environment and not paying attention to the works order. The General wanted a survey from him.

As Daniel left the Control Room and downed the steps to the Gate Room corridor he almost knocked into Sergeant Siler.

"Ah hi there Doctor Jackson. I thought you'd left already."

"No I missed it. I missed the last dial out. Erm Sergeant Davies is talking about twenty minutes so its not to bad."

"No, that will be gone in no time. Nice to see that you managed to get your overalls Doctor Jackson. Its best to wear them when working out in the field."

"Yeah, yeah you're right there Sergeant. Stops you from getting mucky. Okay see you."

"See you Doctor Jackson."

"Yeah see you Sergeant."

Daniel went into the Gate Room. It was really busy. There were quite a number of teams off world at the Beta Site. There was a drive on to get the Site fully operational and secure. There'd even been talk of a flight engineering fabrications unit being set up in the south west outer sector of the Beta Site. Daniel had seen no evidence of that to date, but it was supposed to be in the pipeline. The Beta Site really was taking shape nicely.

"Ah Doctor Jackson helloow, you're still here. Nice to see you've managed to find yourself a set of overalls."

"Oh yes General. Erm yeah, they come in handy for working in the fields,"

"They certainly do. The rest of SG-1 will be back shortly. I thought they'd already returned but turns out they sent the captured lotar through ahead of themselves."

"Yeah I saw him being taken to the infirmary, hes out cold. I wonder if they're coming back before I leave. Mind you if I leave before they come back, I'll see them on the other side won't I."

"That you will Doctor Jackson. And when can I expect you back here with us?"

"Well Sir, erm, the engineers have estimated that its going to take another two days. Em we're going to be working late this evening so I'm hoping two days at the latest."

"Right oh Doctor Jackson. So we'll look forward to having you here back at the base two days from now."

"Yes General. I might be back before that anyway, just to pick a few things up from level three."

"Ah, Level three, you've been there?"

"Yes today, for the very first time. Have you been up there General?"

"Not me son." The General cracked open a champagne smile.

"Look after yourself Doctor Jackson and we'll have you back here in a day or two."

"Thanks General, I'll see you when I get back."

General Hammond marched out of the Gate Room flanked by Personal Aides and DC attachés. It was a very crucial time for The SGC and taking precedence was the StarGate diagnostics and analyses.

The future of the StarGate's current systems software programs were significantly intricately related to the diagnostic and analysis results produced from these twice yearly Gate audits.

Daniel sat down on some packing crates facing the StarGate. It wouldn't be long now. Eight or nine minutes must have already passed. He was thankful of the rest. The sooner he got back to the Beta Site the sooner they could carry on with the works order.

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© Richard Dean Anderson all rights reserved June 2006