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A Vision From Next Door

CHAPTER TWELVE

General George Hammond was definitely not a happy camper. He’d been in a foul mood for the past two days since the morning SG-1 had left for their latest mission. Not only was he up to eyeballs with tedious budget meetings, there were problems with work on the Prometheus. The engineers had suddenly been plagued by a series of freak accidents during repairs and progress was slow going.

Then there were the unexpected visits from two of their allies. It was true this was not an uncommon occurrence, however both meetings had left the general feeling like he’d missed an essential briefing. He had no idea what was going on, not a good position to be in for the commander of the most important military base on the planet.

The first visit was from Thor. He’d beamed into the general’s office, perching himself on a chair, looking like a child who’d been sent to the principal’s office.

"Greetings, General Hammond."

"Good morning, Thor." The general put the report he was reading aside. Thor’s visits normally required his full attention. "What can I do for you?"

"I apologize for beaming straight into your office, but I have a private matter I wish to discuss."

For the first time since meeting the little grey alien he seemed unsure of himself. "That’s quite alright. You know you’re welcome to drop by anytime."

Thor began to fidget. Another first, thought Hammond and he began to worry. The Asgard were the most calm species he’d ever met, for Thor to be showing signs of nervousness was not a good sign.

"I have a rather unusual request," he began slowly.

"Okay." Now the general was really getting concerned. Thor never beat around the bush.

"For the past three sleep cycles I have had what would equate to a disturbing dream."

Hammond couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. "I didn’t know you dreamed."

Big black eyes stared back at him. "We don’t. That is what’s so disturbing."

"I don’t understand."

"The ability to dream has been denied to us since we began cloning our bodies," Thor explained. "It was an unexpected side effect from the process of transferring our minds to new bodies."

"And yet now you say you’ve started dreaming again?" The worry the general had was replaced by confusion. "We barely understand our own dreaming process, I’m not sure we’re the right people to be asking for advice."

"I should clarify that it is only myself who has begun dreaming again."

"I still don’t understand why you’ve come to us."

"Each dream that has transpired has involved a single member of the SGC. A female that is connected very closely to SG-1."

"I take it you don’t mean Major Carter."

"No. I have not seen this person before. Is there a new member of SG-1 that I have not yet been introduced to?"

"No. What was she doing in these dreams?"

"She was very curious, like she had not seen a member of the Asgard race before. I concluded that she is a recent addition to your facility."

The general frowned. "But we haven’t had any new personnel for a few months."

"That is most perturbing news." The alien blinked his version of a frown. "I was hoping to speak with her. My colleagues have theorized that as I am the only Asgard to experience these dreams, it is this woman who has projected herself into my subconscious. Our scientists are most interested in how she did this."

"I can let you view pictures of all base personnel if you like," the general offered, already accessing the necessary files on his computer. "Other than that I don’t know how else I can help."

"Thank you." There was a flash of light and a flat, white polished crystal appeared in Thor’s hand. "I can download the information to my ship, and I’ll know in a few moments if the woman does in fact work here." He placed the crystal onto the monitor. A few seconds later it beamed back to his ship and the little grey alien’s shoulders slumped slightly. "Her image could not be found in the files."

"Is there any other information you have about her that may help identify this mystery woman?"

Thor was silent a moment before answering. "Only that she has a very strong connection to SG-1, especially Doctor Jackson."

"It’s possible they met her off world," Hammond speculated, "but there is no mention of any collaboration with any women in their last few mission reports. Most of the societies we deal with are quite backward in respects to the roles women play."

"Can we not ask Doctor Jackson if he has formed a personal relationship with a female recently?" Thor asked.

"Ah…Thor…" Hammond shifted uneasily in his chair. "We don’t normally enquire into the private lives of our personnel."

The little alien blinked blankly at the general. "Why not?"

Hammond was never more aware of how alien the little grey being was sitting in front of him. "Well…because it’s private."

"Ahh…" Thor gave a brief nod. "The human sense of propriety is a concept difficult for us to understand. The Asgard have no need for it. It would be…" he searched for the word. "Indiscreet for you to enquire about Doctor Jackson’s sexual relations."

"Yes. Very indiscreet," he agreed uncomfortably. "We would only ask about such a relationship if it pertains to the work being done at the SGC."

"Could you not ask as a personal favor to me?"

The general considered all that the Asgard had done for the people of Earth and reluctantly nodded. "I’ll ask him when he gets back from his current mission. He and the rest of SG-1 are opening negotiations for naquadah mining rights off-world. I’m expecting them back in two days. Can you wait that long?"

"Yes, I’ll keep my communication systems open until I hear from you. Thank you, General Hammond."

Before he could reply Thor had beamed out of his office. Great! Hammond thought sarcastically. As if I don’t have enough on my plate. Now I have to ask Daniel Jackson if he has gotten lucky lately. Scowling he picked up his discarded report and tried to concentrate on real work.

He’d almost managed to forget about the highly irregular conversation he was going to have with the archaeologist when the klaxons started screeching through the halls.

The general dropped what he was doing and hurried to the control room.

Sergeant Harriman looked up from his post as he entered. "It’s okay, General. We’ve just been contacted by the Nox, they wish to speak to you."

"Open the iris." Not that we need to, Hammond added silently, making his way down to the ’gate room. The Nox had the ability to control the iris at will. When he reached the base of the ramp the familiar figure of Lya was already serenely walking towards him. Do they ever hurry anywhere? he thought absently as he smiled genuinely at the graceful being.

"General Hammond," she bowed her head slightly. "It is good to see you again."

"It’s good to see you too, Lya." He returned the bowed head. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I wish to speak to Daniel Jackson."

"I’m sorry but he’s off-world at the moment."

"And the rest of SG-1?" Her doe eyes were hopeful.

"They’re with him, they’re not due back for two days."

"Including the lady who recently became a member of the team?"

Haven’t I had this conversation once already today? The general frowned in confusion. "There are no new members of SG-1. It’s still Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal’c. What makes you think there is someone else?" He led her into the briefing room, having the sneaking suspicion that this conversation should be held in private.

She sat delicately on one of the chairs. "I have had recurring visions of a young lady with SG-1."

The general recalled his earlier quizzical conversation with Thor. "Would these visions be coming to you in your dreams?"

Lya seemed surprised at the general’s perception. "Yes. How did you know?"

Hammond sighed. "You’re not the first person today to ask to see a non-existent member of SG-1. If I didn’t know you or Thor better I’d say you were playing some sort of practical joke."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Thor of the Asgard?"

He nodded.

"That’s very interesting. You say he also dreamed of this woman?" From Lya’s emphasis the general surmised that she knew of their inability to dream.

He nodded again.

"Her mind must be very powerful to be able to invade both our subconscious." Her voice was thoughtful. "Such strength is unheard of in such a young race." Realizing how her comment must have sounded she immediately apologized. "I meant no offence."

"None taken," Hammond assured her. "You think this woman really exists?"

"Quite sure," the Nox nodded. "Have you been able to identify her?"

"We have no idea who she is. Thor checked all the personnel records and couldn’t find her. Both of you seem to believe that she works directly with SG-1, but like I told Thor, we have had no new personnel for months."

"It is most peculiar," she agreed. "Whoever the lady is, she is very strongly bonded to Daniel."

"Can you explain that?" Hammond asked. "Thor wasn’t very clear. He seemed to think there is a sexual relationship between Doctor Jackson and this mystery woman."

"Oh it is much more than that," Lya smiled. "The Asgard are not an emotional species. They are so concerned with technology, they have forgotten how to feel. The visions I had were brief, but it was all I needed to know that her love for Daniel and his for her far surpass anything you can imagine. I believe you have the saying ‘he died from a broken heart’?"

He nodded.

"Well, if anything should happen to either one of them, the one remaining would shut down, unable to live without the other in their life."

"But Doctor Jackson survived the death of his wife…"

The Nox interrupted, "Daniel’s love for Sha’re was like a grain of sand on a beach. This new love is the whole beach."

The general was floored by the analogy. Have I loved anyone that much? "If Doctor Jackson had a new love interest, the scuttlebutt around the base would have picked up on it. I haven’t heard a thing."

"I sense it is a very recent relationship but, to use another of your human analogies, it was ‘love at first sight’." Lya smiled wistfully. "They are very lucky to have found each other."

"I wish I could find her," the general groused, "I don’t even know who she is and she’s already giving me a headache." Now it was his turn to apologize. "Nothing against you Lya, you’re always welcome here. It’s just a totally bizarre situation."

"I suppose it will all be explained when SG-1 return." Lya rose. "I can wait until then to meet the lady."

Hammond also stood. "I wish I had your patience."

The Nox gave a small smile. "For a race that lives for hundreds of years, what is a couple of days?"

She glided to the ’gate room and the general followed.

"If it’s Doctor Jackson who has this bond, how are the rest of SG-1 connected?" He was trying to make sense of what both Lya and Thor had told him.

Lya tilted her head thinking. "All I know is that through Daniel they too are connected to her, but it is a slightly different bond. More akin to a close working relationship. It is why I assumed she had joined SG-1."

"What exactly was it you wanted to see this woman about?"

"As I mentioned earlier her ability to visit me in my dreams indicates that she has very strong mind control. I thought I could help her develop her ability. There may be other more useful ways for her to exercise her power." Lya waved her hand in front of the Stargate and the blue shimmer of the event horizon immediately appeared. "You will inform me of SG-1’s return?"

"Of course," Hammond agreed.

"Farewell until then." Lya bowed her head and stepped through the ’gate.

The general stood staring at the ’gate long after the wormhole had dissipated, his mind on this mystery woman that everyone seemed to know about except him. He could hear Colonel O’Neill’s voice in his head, 'Did I miss the memo?' What he found intriguing was that the Nox and the Asgard were two of the most technically advanced races in existence, and they both wanted to meet this woman. Who is she? And why hadn’t any of SG-1 mentioned… He thought back to the pre-mission briefing two days ago. He hadn’t been in the best of moods, and now in hindsight the whole team had been giving each other sideways glances as though wanting to get something off their chests. They obviously had decided to wait until he was in a more receptive frame of mind.

"Excuse me, General." Sergeant Siler appeared by his side. "The Prometheus team are waiting in the briefing room."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Hammond headed out of the room pushing the woman from his thoughts and focusing on the meeting ahead. He’d worry about Doctor Jackson’s love interest when things weren’t so hectic.

A A A

Out of the corner of his eye, General Hammond saw his assistant hovering in the doorway. He was under strict instructions that unless the world was coming to an end, (which was entirely possible at the SGC,) there were to be no interruptions. The man usually didn’t have a problem distinguishing what was a real emergency and what wasn’t. The fact that he seemed indecisive now concerned the general. He beckoned him to enter.

He hurried in. "Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt but…"

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, a civilian has been trying to reach you all morning. She seemed calm enough to begin with, but now she’s called four times in the last hour, almost hysterical, demanding to talk to you."

The general frowned. He was interrupting for this?

Seeing the look on his commanding officer’s face the lieutenant gulped. "I know what you’re thinking, but she calls on your private line and she claims she’s got critical information relating to Doctor Jackson and SG-1’s current mission."

"What’s her name?"

"Annika Mur…" the lieutenant broke off staring ahead of him, doing a great impersonation of a stunned mullet.

"Lieutenant?"

The man could only point.

The general followed the dumbstruck lieutenant’s finger and his own voice seized up. Am I hallucinating? One glance at the others sitting around the table told him he was not.

Before him a ghostly image of a red haired young woman clutching a phone receiver paced through the briefing table. The woman seemed oblivious to the gaping men.

A colonel, known for his nerves of steel during combat, knocked his chair over as he sprang away from the table to avoid having the woman walk right through him.

The image flickered for a moment then solidified and the woman yelled, "PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE!"

The tough military men jumped.

It speaks! So it was definitely real…The general waved his hand through the woman…and yet wasn’t real.

"Gentlemen, if you can…ah…excuse me, it seems I have a phone call."

Mutely they nodded.

The general walked as fast as he could without running, (people tended to panic if their Commander and Chief ran through the halls,) to his office and picked up the ringing phone.

"General Hammond speaking."

"Oh, thank the Gods!" It was the same voice as the ghostly image. "General, I’m Annika Murdoch, Daniel’s neighbor, lover, soul mate. I know how crazy this is going to sound but you have to get a message to Jack, I mean Colonel O’Neill. He’s going to be told that Daniel has been killed," her voice cracked slightly before steadying, "killed in an explosion, so there’ll be no body. Tell him not to believe the fat little dwarf. He’s made a deal with Ba’al, whoever that is, to protect his own ass. Ba’al wants Daniel. Wants the information he gained and then forgot when he Ascended. I have no idea what ‘ascended’ in this context means but I’m sure you know. The dwarf has kidnapped Daniel and is holding him in some science lab drugged up. He’s waiting for SG-1 to leave before taking Daniel to Ba’al. But Ba’al doesn’t care what condition Daniel’s in, as long as he’s breathing. General, that little dwarf is torturing Daniel even as we speak. If he’s not rescued soon, besides his massive physical injuries, his mind will be shattered by the drugs, they’re not designed to be used on the Tau’ri, whatever that term means."

She took a deep breath. "Please say you believe me…No, I don’t care if you believe me or not…JUST TELL COLONEL O’NEILL THAT ANNIKA SAID THE LITTLE DWARF IS LYING HIS ASS OFF!"

The general spun around. Her last sentence was yelled directly into his ear not listening into the receiver.

Once again he saw the ghostly image clutching the phone, this time standing in front of his filing cabinet. He was certain that this was the woman Thor and Lya were talking about. One mystery solved, well sort of.

"Wait one moment please," he spoke into the receiver, his eyes never leaving the specter, then called out to his assistant. "Lieutenant, get to the control room and order them to contact Colonel O’Neill urgently."

He watched as the apparition relaxed and leant against something he couldn’t see. He didn’t know what was going on, but his gut told him this woman was telling the truth, that it wasn’t some elaborate prank.

"Can you hear me?" he asked the vision.

"Of course I can hear you, it’s a good connection." The woman’s voice echoed through the phone.

He realized that she had no idea that a projection of herself was standing in his office. Was she also unaware that she had ‘visited’ the Nox and Asgard? "Miss Murdoch, I know this is going to sound strange, but can you turn to your left please?"

He watched the specter frown. "You want me to physically turn around and look out my window? Is the military spying on me?"

"Not exactly. Please just humor me? It’ll take a while to contact Colonel O’Neill, do you have anything else to do at the moment?"

"Daniel didn’t mention that you have a warped sense of humor," she grumbled, however Hammond saw the vision turn.

When she was 'looking' straight at him he said, "Okay, that’s enough. Now can you see me?"

"What are you taking about? Aren’t you in a secret military base underground?" Nonetheless she was obviously scanning her yard for the general.

"Miss Murdoch, I am in a secret military base underground. You on the other hand, have twice made a ghostly appearance in said base, and at this moment I am watching your image in front of me. So I ask again, can you see me?"

Annika was silent for a moment, taking in his words. He knew when realization struck.

"Holy shit! Have I?…I’ve never…"

He saw the image flicker as she closed her eyes and when she opened them again the general couldn’t see quite as much of the filing cabinet behind her.

"I…see you. You’re standing behind your desk." Her tone was wondrous.

He gave a single wave and she weakly waved back.

"I’ve never done this before."

"Care to explain what this is?"

"Astral projection. It’s when your spirit leaves your body, but I’ve never heard of doing it while talking on the phone…what I mean is that most people who can do it have to meditate first or be asleep. And from what they say they’re either all in their bodies or all out, not split in two."

She glanced about her and he knew she was seeing both his office and her home where her body was.

"This being in two places is very disconcerting."

"Can you tell me more about your warning?" The general wanted to keep Annika focused. He recalled what Lya had told him earlier and knew that this entire episode was happening because of the great emotion this woman had for Doctor Jackson.

"I told you all I know. Only half of it makes sense to me. Daniel said he would talk to you about me when he got back from this mission." Her voice trembled then once again steadied. "I’m psychic. I get visions from just about everyone and everything that I touch, but since I’ve met Daniel, my gift has intensified. I’ve started seeing things without touching anything and now I’m having very specific premonitions. Daniel hasn’t really explained anything about his work. I know he, Jack, Sam and Teal’c walk through a stone ring into a puddle of upright water that’s not water, but I don’t know what happens to them after that. I’ve seen people with glowing eyes who look like they’ve stepped from the history books. Daniel dying and turning into some sort of glowing jellyfish and then reappearing with no memory. I even have seen you turn into a monster alien from a nightmare and then explode. I know that these things have happened but I have no context to put them in. They’re just flashes of the past and I hope one day I’ll be allowed to know the truth behind them, but this premonition I had is happening now!"

"Miss Murdoch, I’m sending a car for you. It should be there within half an hour." Now that he’d found the mystery woman he wasn’t letting her get away. The general gestured to the lieutenant to organize the pick up. "By the time you get here, we should have made contact with Colonel O’Neill."

"Thank you," Annika faltered at the courtesy she knew was not offered to just anyone. "I didn’t expect to be able to come to the base. I only needed to get Jack the message."

"Miss Murdoch, it seems redundant to leave you off base when you seem to be able project yourself here anyway," he replied with a hint of a smile. "I prefer to have my conversations with solid people, not projections."

"I’ll be waiting." She hung up the phone and the vision vanished.

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