The Fifth
by Rita Ballantyne

When SG-1 steps over the other side of the gate, they can not see anything else other than forests and a small clearance where the gate stands too. The remains of the prose lie in front of them all over the place, probably the Goa’ulds shot it down.

Carter: So they expect us.

O’Neill: But we expect them too. Let’s go.

Teal’c: And the prose?

O’Neill: We leave it here.

The team goes into the forest. They go for about 15 minutes now, when a bullet lands into a tree just missing Daniel’s nose by 30 centimetres.

O’Neill: Cover!

Everyone jumps behind a smaller hill. About 12 Goa’uld fighter hurry over and the SG-1 starts shooting them down. O’Neill shots at everthing that moves. In a short while all the enemy is lying dead on the ground.

Carter: They got it, right?

Daniel(walks up and down, then stops and says): My God…

Carter: What is it, Daniel?(she steps beside him and fazes out)Jesus Christ…

Daniel: This….this killing all the time……..

O’Neill: (Goes there, then puts his face into his hands) This is because of me, I thought she is the same, that she is a Goa’uld too.

Daniel: Jack, calm down, she is still alive.

O’Neill: She’s alive?!

Carter: Yet….yes. But not for long.

Teal’c: Do we have to take her back to Earth?

O’Neill: Yes, and instantly.

Carter: Direction: the Gate!

A girl of about the age of 16-18 lie below one of the furthest away bushes. Her side was all bloody because of her injury caused by Colonel O’Neil’s gun. He really got her. Her hair was brown, her clothing white. She wore a medal on a chain on her neck, and her face showed the energy of youth.

Nobody expected them back so soon. Especially not General Hammond.

O’Neill: Doctor!

Hammond: Colonel, what happened?

O’Neill: Later Genaral, excuse me!

A few hours later, the girl in the medical room, they had removed the bullet already, but she is still unconscious. The colonel sits by her immediately and keeps squeezing his own hands. Major Carter comes in and puts her hand on his shoulder.

Carter: You should rest.

O’Neill: No. I can’t.

Carter: Your conscience keeps you here, right?

O’Neill: See, she’s still a kid, she can not die!

Carter: What did the doctor say?

O’Neill: That she’ll make it, probably.

Carter: I’ll keep my fingers crossed! (she leaves)

Than, the girl regains consciousness:

Girl: Where am I? (she wants to sit up, but the pain strikes her side) Aauuuch!

O’Neill: Doc! Calm down.

Girl: Where am I and what happened?

Doctor: Don’t move around.

O’Neill: You are on Earth and…………..you got injured. Who are you?

Girl:(smiling) On Earth? My god….

O’Neill: Perhaps you’ve been here before?

Girl: If I’ve been here before? This is where I started off from 5 years ago. We went on holiday to the United States with my family. We were ambushed. They killed my parents, and I run off into a baselike thing. I saw something big, cirle shape, which contained something waterlike. This was my last chance to escape, because I was followed. I jumped in, and since than I wonder around worlds, one after the other, but I couldn’t get back to Earth.

O’Neill: What a surpise…Is this true?

Girl: (almost crying already)Yes.

O’Neill: Just a moment…(goes out to the corridor)Daniel, come on a bit, there is a small problem here…

2 hours later

Hammond: And what’s your name?

Girl: Anne…Anne Collins.

Hammond: Would you mind telling us what you know about the stargate?

Anne: And what happens to me after that?

Daniel: Do you have acquintances, or family?

Anne: I had an uncle, but he only had about 6 month to live when I left. He had cancer. I have no brothers or sisters, my parents are dead, I am all alone.

Everybody was struck by deep surpise.

Anne: So, what happens to me after I tell you what I know?

Hammond: Because you are younger than 18, you will probably…go to an institution.

Daniel: What?!

Anne: Children’s Home? So you shot me, I tell you what I know, then I get institutionalised?

Carter: Are we sure, that is the only alternative?

O’Neill: We can’t do that to her!

Hammond: What do you want?

Anne: I don’t even know myself…Because I don’t have anyone here, and because I probably know more about the worlds of the Stargate, than anyone else here…I’d like to join the SG-1 team.

Everyone’s face showed surpise.

Hammond: Well,…we’ll talk about that later…..anyway, do you wanna help us?

Anne: Yes. I’ll help.

*

Daniel can’t sleep that night. He walks around the corridors, wondering about. When he goes by the medical room, he hears strange noises. He takes off in the direction the noise seems to come from. When he gets there, he is shocked. Anne is crying, moving side to side, but she is not awake. Then, as if feeling that she was being watched, is startled awake and the tears are falling out her eyes like a river.

Daniel: What’s wrong, did you have nightmares?

Anne: No…this is not….

Daniel: Calm down and try to tell me than.

Anne: Every night I have the same dream…always the same…

Daniel: What is that dream?

Anne: My parents dying. I can see as I look back, they get shot, and they just lie there and…I can’t go back. I can hear my fathers’ voice who says: run, run..(she cries out)

Daniel: No, don’t cry…(takes her hand, trying to confort her in that way) try to sleep.

Anne: Ok, I could try, but I don’t think I can manage…

Daniel: Good night !(goes outwards)

Anne: And …Daniel…thanks you.

Daniel:(smiling) For nothing.

2 day later

General Hammond to Anne.

Hammond: I made a decision about the issue you raised the other day.

Anne: (looks at him wondering)

Hammond: You can join SG-1 for the next journey. You help them there with your knowledge, and depending on how you manage, we can judge if you can be a member of the team. Is that ok?

Anne: When do we go?

Hammond: Orders will be given out in an hour and a half.

At the departure

The team stands in front of the gate.

Carter: Are you ready?

Anne: As always before …

And the team steps through the other side.

The team gets into a hall. The walls are full of Egyptian writing. They look for a door, in vain, because they can’t find one. Daniel starts to read the writings from the wall, but he gets only words of no meaning.

O’Neill: Is this place familiar to you?

Anne: I don’t remember being here before…

At this momnet, Anne starts to look for something in her rucksack, and takes out a small book after a while. Its sheets are crunched up from lots of writing and drawings.

Carter: What is this?

Anne: I have all the places I’ve been written down here.

Opens it up, than shuts it carefully, then goes to the wall and strikes her hands over a line of writings. She stops once in a while at some of the signs. The rest looks amazed at what she’s doing. Anne suddenly pulls one, than another sign. In that moment, a door appears out of the wall at the other side and sunshine takes the room over. Everyone is protecting their eyes from the light.

O’Neill: Clever!

Interesting view opens up to the eyes of the team. They are outside, everything is wonderful around them, and far away, they can see a city of an apparently very advanced society. Naturally, they start off in that direction. They are welcome there and as if they are known by them for a long time, they are taken to the leader right away.

Leader: Feel yourself welcomed in the city of knowledge. You are worthy to see it, because you got so far as here.

O’Neill: This is very kind…

Leader: You arrived in the right moment, we have the festivities tomorrow.

Daniel: What festivities?

Leader: Tomorrow, the Goa’ulds will arrive and we will share our techonlogies.

O’Neill: why do you trust us?

Leader: We treat everyone as a guest, whoever arrives.

O’Neill: Then it would be better if we left.

Daniel: General, did you think about what would happen if …

O’Neill: And did you think about what kinda butchery would happen if they found us here?

Carter: Daniel is right, Sir.

O’Neill:Hhhhhhh…….Let is be, you win. (to the leader) Would it be not possible for us to share too?

Leader: For that, we would have to study your world, the level of development.

Daniel: There isn’t enough time before tomorrow.

Leader: Then……

Carter: Isn’t there any other way to…..?

Leader: Well…there is. You should take on 3 challenges, but if you fail…you die.

O’Neill: Aah?

Daniel: We cannot miss this opportunity. No way.

Carter: I’m for. Colonel?

O’Neill: For. Let’s do it.

Leader: We can start right away. Who’s first?

Daniel: I volunteer.

Leader: Come with me.

Leads Daniel into a hall. Says before he leaves:

Leader: The response is a number, which you’ll have to write down in your own language. You have 3 minutes. But if you fail, you die.

Daniel: Yes…..I know.

Daniel is left alone and by the time his eyes get used to the half darkness, half light, he sees the following in the wall ahead:

D

Sn


Daniel: What is this, what could it be…..Sn……D………D….

But than a piece of the floorboards falls down behind Daniel, which scares him to death.

Daniel: With Roman numbers…500…..Sn…..diminutive?

Another floorboard disappears. Daniel get more and more anxious.

Daniel: What could it be? Ja! Chemical formula.But what does this have to do with numbers? And what’s this line ?????? Hmmmm….Possible…yes!

Another big bumm, the only unaffected floorboard is the one he stands on.

Daniel: The majas used this sign for 5. But what could the middle one be? Is it possible that he needs the code number? Carter would know this for certain..Wait a minute…this is it..50..this is it, or I’ll die, for sure…! So 5, 50,500…and…..5000.

The floor starts to shake….and Daniel writes the number on the wall. The door opens and he steps out.

Leader: Congratulations, you passed the first test. Who’s next?

Carter: I’m coming!

She is led into a hall too. There is a small shelf on the wall, 5 little stones on it. Paper next to it. The exercise is written on it, miraculously, in English. Part of the hall is divided in squares.
Precisly 100. On every unit, a number. From 1 to100. The exercise is to get to the door, which is on the other side of the squares. You can not step on all of them, because if you step on the wrong one, you stay here forever. Mayor Carter swallows strongly, then figures out that she can through the stones on the squares to see where she can go. Yes, but there are only 5 stones. She soon figures, it must be a rule about the squares being divided in groups. She throws the
first stome on square nr 2. Nothing happens. Her next choice in nr 6. This one collapses with a huge bump. She drops the third one on the 5. Nothing. She tries to let the forth on the 9, but it lands on the 7, which stays in place. She thinks, what the system might be. 2,5,7…Wait a minute – she shouts - , than drops the last stone on number 3. Nothing. This one is safe too. Than this is the result, they are probably prime numbers.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
11
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32
31
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
50
60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52
51
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69
70
80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72
71
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
90
100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92
91

She steps from on number to the other, but makes a mistake once. She steps on the wrong square and that collapses under her. She doesn’t fall, but her leg gets stuck. She can not take it out. Finally, when she manages it, she looses her equilibrium and she had only so much energy left to jump off the numbered part. She gives in it all she has, and jumps. She catches the door handle and the door opens. Carter was successful too.

Now comes the last, the hardest challenge.Anne is in line to prove herself, after succeeding in convincing the colonel in a long time. But this challenge is different from the previous ones. They can all watch, of course, only from the other side of a glass wall. After Anne went in, they find out what the challenge is. She has to fight with a local champion. He is 2ms tall and very muscly. Anne looks quite small near him.

O’Neill: You must be kidding. I’ll take her out, I’ll fight in her place, I haven’t been in for any of the challenges anyway.

Leader: Not possible.

O’Neill: It is!

Leader: We can not change anything anymore. There are no rules to the fight, and it goes on until one of them dies.

Daniel: Look over there…

Daniel points towards the arena. The fight starts. But….what does Anne do? Kneels down with one leg, holds her medal in her neck with one hand and concentrates in that way. In a short while, she lifts her spare hand, lenghtens it towards the adversary, and suddenly, as if space would’ve rippled, a huge force is loosened, everyone covers their eyes for protection against the huge light. In half a second, the champion lies on the floor. Dead. Annie comes out and skies.

Carter: I can’t say it lasted long.

O’Neill: Why didn’t you tell about this before?

Anne: I didn’t feel I had to.

Daniel: Fantastic! It went too easy.

Leader: From this moment on, the Share Union of the 3 civilisations starts.

O’Neill: But we only wanna share with you alone!

Teal’c: We are not giving technology to the Goa’lds!

Leader: But then you can’t join.

O’Neill: Just a minute! (towards the team)What should it be then?

Carter: We shouldn’t risk it, I think.

Teal’c: But then, let’s go back.

Daniel: No, we can’t do that! There is such an amount of knowledge here, so many answers. We can not leave!

Anne: I suggest that we come back another time.

O’Neill: We stay.

Carter: But Sir!

O’Neill: No arguments, Mayor! But we do not agree with the sharing.

Daniel: Right! How long do we stay?

O’Neill: 24 hours, than back.

Carter: And what about the Goa’ulds?

O’neill: Later, while they are here, we leave.

The next day the whole city was dressed up, they were waiting for the arrival. Fine food, the best drink everywhere, and the best of hospitality.

Teal’c: They arrived.

And right enough! The gate was activated from the other side. The team hides behind a house and watches what happens from there. Huge greeteings. The whole nation celebrates.

O’Neill: Quickly. We can dissolve in the crowd.

They are off, they almost get out the city, when a goa’uld notices the running team. They start running, but the goa’uls get them at the gate.

O’Neill: Daniel, punch in the codes! We’ll cover you. And wild shootings start.

Daniel runs into the hall, Anne kneels down with one leg again, not far from the enemy. She concentrates strongly.

O’Neill: Anne, come back!

The force gets out again and downs the enemy, but not before the colonel gets seriously injured.

Anne: (who is miraculously still in one bit) Jack,noooo!

Daniel: I got it, let’s…..My God, colonel!

Carter: Let’s leave, now!

Anne: We’d better, because they will come to soon.

The team gets back to the base.

Carter: The colonel is hit!!!!

Soon, the colonel is lying in the medical room, unconscious, the doctor, Mayor Carter,Teal’c and Anne next to him.

Anne: It’s my fault. I should’ve not acted like a hero…

Carter: But you saved our lives.

Doctor: Unfortunately…..we can not help him anymore.

Carter:Nooooooooooooooo, he can’t die!

Anne: Maybe……………….. we could do something.

They looked at her curiously. When Anne set down at the bedside, put on hand on the wound of the colonel, holds the medal with the other, and concentrates. Suddenly a huge light appears and everyone is blinded. A few seconds later Anne is lying on the floor, and Jack sits up on the bed.

O’Neill: What happened?

Carter: Colonel!?

Doctor: Unbelievable…..the wound disappeared, it healed completely, he is health.

Teal’c: And Anne?

The doctor bends down, puts his hand to Anne’s neck, checks her pulse, than says quietly:

Doctor: She is dead.

O’Neill: Would anyone explain to me what is going on?

Carter: We don’t really know either, but it is…..is for sure, that Anne saved your life….with the price of her own.

O’Neill: Jesus Christ…

General Hammond and Daniel comes in. They both smile.

Hammond: Thanks to Daniel’s report, Anne can be a member of the………………. team…… What happened?

Carter: (Half crying already) Sir, Anne……….Anne died.

Doctor: We lost her.

Daniel: Died? Nooooo!

Doctor: But the colonel is healthy.

Hammond: But what the hell happened?

Carter: Nothing is for sure, Sir…

O’Neill: But it’s sure, that we will not forget her…

THE END