fic: lower levels three: faces of the enemy - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

skydiver · 21st April 2001, 02:55 PM

Title- Lower Levels 3 : Faces of the Enemy

Author- Denise

E-Mail - skydiver119@hotmail.com

Category- POV

Season- 1 during Enemy Within

Spoilers - Enemy Within

Rating- PG

Content Warning- Nothing really

Summary- Just a continuation of things through Sgt. Walter Davis’ eyes.

Disclaimer- don’t own em, never will, don’t mean to infringe, don’t make a dime…really need a snappier disclaimer…

Lower Levels Three:

Faces of the Enemy

By

Denise

I sit at my console checking the readings. Though to be totally truthful, I only understand part of them…most of them. Oh don’t get me wrong; I know what they’re supposed to say…just not necessarily what they mean. Of course it doesn’t help that I’m still having a tough time reconciling the fact that the equipment I’m working on is the same stuff that sends people to other planets. Cool.

This job seems more like a fantasy movie than a real assignment. I’m sending people to other planets. And they’re coming here. All the refugees are gone now but for a little while this place was literally over run by aliens. And they all looked so human. That was the freaky part. Put them in jeans and a t-shirt and no one would have known they were born under alien suns.

There’s just one left now. The jaffa Teal’c. I know Colonel O’Neill really likes the guy but…there’s just something about him. I don’t know. It’s hard to read that inscrutable face of his.

I hear footsteps and turn to see Captain Carter climbing the short flight of steps up to the control room. With all the steps in this place the ADA would have a field day in here.

The captain is still a bit of an enigma to me. A tech head that likes to blow up stuff with the boys. And I wonder about her. I’ve caught General Hammond giving her some definitely fond looks. Maybe they’ve served together before or something. She seems ok but I’m still trying to figure out all the players here in our little top-secret playground.

Every base I’ve ever been on has had one thing in common. Technically we’re all on the same side but there are more factions and cliques than in any high school in the world.

Half the skill in surviving in the military is knowing whom to trust.

Major Samuels was like that. I’m glad he’s gone. Something about him set me on edge. No matter how I tried I never could get over the feeling that I just couldn’t trust him.

His absence means one less snake in the grass for me to worry about but who really knows how many more there are. I hate it when I feel like people I can’t necessarily trust surround me. The worst part is, you don’t usually suspect them, until it’s too late that is.

From experience I know the best thing for me to do is concentrate on doing my job and let the rest sort itself out. Though it would be nice if there were some convenient color-coding. Trustworthy people can wear blue…we’ll flag the snakes with a big red tag around their necks or something.

"Sergeant," she says as she stops beside me.

"Captain," I acknowledge. "Can I help you ma’am?"

"I have a couple of addresses to try," she says eagerly.

"Aah ma’am…" She can’t mean to send anyone through…can she?

"Not to go there or anything. Not yet anyway," she hurries to reassure. "The dialing program just came up with these two addresses and I want to make sure they work before I get the probes on the ramp." Oh. That makes sense. The general warned me this would happen. I take the slip of paper from her and punch in the symbols. She leans in and looks. "Hey, that’s a good idea."

"What is ma’am?"

"Putting the symbols directly on the keys. Sure beats the heck out of trying to memorize whole addresses."

I shrug. It’s how they were when I got here. We sit there in silence and watch the gate spin. I see her gnawing on her lip. So she’s nervous. Guess I would be too if it was my program that is going to be the basis for all we’re going to do.

I see her let out twin sighs of relief as first one then the other address work.

"Thank you Sergeant," she says getting to her feet and giving me a genuine smile. "I’ll speak to the general about sending probes through," she says eagerly, obviously in a hurry to go report her success.

I understand her enthusiasm. Chances are SG-1 will go to one of these planets. That’s some hefty incentive for doing the job.

As she leaves the control room I feel a twinge of envy. For the first time in years I wish my path had been more suited to combat than administration. To think a gateway to alien planets is just on the other side of that glass…and the chances of me ever going through it are slim to none. I’ve started to catch myself daydreaming about what it’s like. How it would feel to stand on another planet. It’s a fantasy come true. Unfortunately it’s likely to remain a fantasy. It’s taken a week for the captain’s program to come up with two possibilities. And we don’t even know yet if the planets will be suitable to exploration. Even with nine teams, the way things are going they’ll be lucky go off world every couple of months or so. And I sincerely doubt they’ll need a tech to trail along.

Still, to quote my neighbor’s kid…I wanna go.

skydiver · 21st April 2001, 02:56 PM

"Why don’t we get you to the infirmary?" a quiet voice asks. I look away from the morbid scene below to see Captain Carter standing beside me, concern and something else on her face.

"Ma’am?"

"I’m no doctor but I know a broken arm when I see one," she says nodding towards the arm I’m holding cradled in my lap. Oh it’s definitely broken. I heard the bone snap. Actually it was weird. I heard it before I felt it.

"Ma’am…" I start hesitantly. As much as my arm hurts I can’t just abandon my post. What if the goa’uld come knocking again? Someone has to be here to close the iris and set the auto-destruct…or more importantly dis-arm it.

"It’s ok Sergeant," she says, nodding towards the techs drawn to the control room by all the fuss. As if reading her mind one of them steps over, willing to take my place.

And I’m willing to let them. Now that the adrenaline has faded my arm is starting to hurt…bad. Every beat of my heart feels like razor blades through my arm.

I nod and carefully get to my feet hoping I don’t look as shaky as I feel. There is an infirmary just an elevator’s ride away and I’m sure there are some nice drugs there with my name on them.

I slowly make my way down the stairs careful not to jar my arm. The captain follows me. I guess she’s decided I need an escort. Either that or she just wants to get away from the scene in the control room.

I can’t say that I blame her. The tragic image of Major Kawalsky lying there is one that’s going to haunt me for a bit. I’ve never been this close to death before.

Just as we reach the elevator it opens and the medics scurry out pushing a gurney. I bite my tongue to keep from telling them they can slow down. Their patient isn’t going anywhere.

We ride up to level 21 in silence. I can see Captain Carter rubbing the back of her neck. Now I remember. She’s nursing a concussion.

"How did it happen?" I ask quietly, preparing myself for the ‘it’s none of your business’ rebuke.

"Huh?" She looks at me, a small frown on her face.

"Major Kawalsky. When do you thing he was…" I press ahead, and then stop. What is the correct term for having an alien take over your body?

"We think it was on Chulak," she explains. "It’s the only Goa’uld world we’ve been on."

The door opens and we walk down the short hall to the infirmary. She calls a nurse over and points out my injury.

Her self-appointed mission done she turns, presumably to head back to where the action is.

"Captain?" I call out.

She turns. "Sergeant?"

"What was in Major Kawalsky…do you think you’ll run into more of them?"

She gives me a rueful grin. "Probably," she says then turns and leaves the room.

A nurse urges me to lie down, bribing me with a nice shot of morphine before they look into setting my arm. As I stare at the cement ceiling I remember the cold look on Major Kawalsky’s face. How could one tiny being turn such a nice guy into a cold-blooded murderer?

And he managed to hide from us for days before he was discovered. His cruel interior was totally masked by a jovial façade. I’ve been trying to figure out who’s who around here and another variable has just been tossed into the mix. Anyone who goes through that gate could return an enemy. They could be possessed by aliens, forced to turn upon their friends. Sentenced to death or what could be seen as a fate worse than death. And there will be no sign, no convenient label to help us tell good from bad. Talk about not knowing whom to trust.

All of a sudden staying on this side of the gate doesn’t seem so boring after all.

~Fin~

Gemsong · 21st April 2001, 03:47 PM

That was really good.

Great job Sky!!!

peachy · 21st April 2001, 06:58 PM

that was great skydiver, i really enjoyed reading it.
have you anymore in the works?...peachy

skydiver · 21st April 2001, 11:04 PM

actually yeah. #4 is written...#5 is still just a itsy bitssy little plot bunny...

i'll post #4 in a few days...but not until gemmy posts more if invincible...

Gemsong · 21st April 2001, 11:51 PM

<blank look>

Invincible?

jsc · 22nd April 2001, 06:09 PM

Great story, skydiver, I do love your Walter HARRIMAN Davis stories. Keep them coming!:star: :star: :star:

skydiver · 22nd April 2001, 06:52 PM

SORRY GEMMY!!!!

illusions is the right title.
i'm sleep deprived. first we had a tornado friday night(no damage here but the sirens went off at midnight) then my neighbors up the block decided to have a loud party last night...culminating in gunshots...i'm sorry to say the truck is shot...literally(not mine, a neighbors.) anyway, hard to sleep after that.

ok, i'll post lower levels four if and when gemmy gives us more illusions

jsc · 22nd April 2001, 08:04 PM

Sounds as if you lived in the worst part of South Central! Drive by on a harmless TRUCK! Your poor neighbor!

I am very glad the tornado did not come near you! That sounds really frightening... Do you have a storm cellar?
No wonder you are sleep deprived!
Tornados, loud parties, gun shots and Truck drive by shootings!

Gemsong · 22nd April 2001, 11:20 PM

Working on it Sky.

But no fair holding me hostage in this way

I'll fix you. Just you wait.

And this time you don't get a script!!!!:evil: :evil: :evil:

skydiver · 22nd April 2001, 11:38 PM

well assign me to sg-11...i'm screwed.

no pressure gemmy...take as long as you want, muses can't be pushed.

maybe, maybe i'll send you a copy so you don't have to wait. (you realize i have to keep gemmy happy with me or she'll take away my tm jack...and he was just getting the hang of 'it')

it was a first for me jsc...there have been gunshots around just never got to gather with the neighbors and speculate on where the riccochets went before...believe you me, there's a certain neighbor who's going to be feeling mightily unwelcome. don't need this nonsense, there are thousands of other places they can go live. we actually got little kids in the block again...

Gemsong · 22nd April 2001, 11:51 PM

Oy Sky.

I know what that's like.

It's nice not hearing gunshots in my neighborhood anymore.

Okay, Sky, you can keep TM-Jack for now.

You need the comfort.

jsc · 23rd April 2001, 03:15 AM

Sky, the first thing I taught Little Asgard to do was that when he heard gun shots was to duck! Then crawl to an area that had no walls touching the outside. He must have been 3. Age 5 was the insurrection in LA in 92 on April 29th. We were with my parents... my mom had had a stroke but the brothers were home.... It was bizarre... we kept looking for the apartment house we lived in and when we saw it still standing we cheered. After day two we couldn't get them by telephone so Channel 5 in LA was what we watched in San Diego.

In First Grade we had the walk by... That was weird... The guy terrorized for two blocks..... with a magnum 357. He kept reloading. I know I watched as it happened. Every New Year and 4th of July the guns would go off and people would shoot in the air.

To say nothing of the murders that occurred within a four block area of us. Those we only saw the results of and heard but were not in the direct line of fire! Does make a difference.

Then three years ago was the crazy neighbor across the street with the rifle who kept taking pot shots at people who would walk into his yard.... So we moved five miles away up a hill and into a different section of LA. It is a saner neighborhood. At least we don't duck and crawl here! My son can play on the street and not worry about someone shooting him.. day or night. We have the Sherriff and not LAPD.... And the Sherriffs in our neighborhood look like us (and some live here!) not some Orange county reject. Since we moved here the most exciting thing has been the sporting events on TV and the Neighborhood Block Council meetings...as it should be!

I hope that family moves away from you! You don't need junk like that happening around little kids.. or other people for that matter.... but IT really changes the kids and it really traumatizes them. Then the last time with that crazy neighbor...the guys were so excited and hyper that I was worried after I found out no one was hit... Shortly there after we moved.

21st April 2001, 02:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
skydiver Trivia Goddess Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: topeka, ks, usa- 7 1/2 hours due east of Cheyenne Mountain Posts: 2,856	and the rest "Why don’t we get you to the infirmary?" a quiet voice asks. I look away from the morbid scene below to see Captain Carter standing beside me, concern and something else on her face. "Ma’am?" "I’m no doctor but I know a broken arm when I see one," she says nodding towards the arm I’m holding cradled in my lap. Oh it’s definitely broken. I heard the bone snap. Actually it was weird. I heard it before I felt it. "Ma’am…" I start hesitantly. As much as my arm hurts I can’t just abandon my post. What if the goa’uld come knocking again? Someone has to be here to close the iris and set the auto-destruct…or more importantly dis-arm it. "It’s ok Sergeant," she says, nodding towards the techs drawn to the control room by all the fuss. As if reading her mind one of them steps over, willing to take my place. And I’m willing to let them. Now that the adrenaline has faded my arm is starting to hurt…bad. Every beat of my heart feels like razor blades through my arm. I nod and carefully get to my feet hoping I don’t look as shaky as I feel. There is an infirmary just an elevator’s ride away and I’m sure there are some nice drugs there with my name on them. I slowly make my way down the stairs careful not to jar my arm. The captain follows me. I guess she’s decided I need an escort. Either that or she just wants to get away from the scene in the control room. I can’t say that I blame her. The tragic image of Major Kawalsky lying there is one that’s going to haunt me for a bit. I’ve never been this close to death before. Just as we reach the elevator it opens and the medics scurry out pushing a gurney. I bite my tongue to keep from telling them they can slow down. Their patient isn’t going anywhere. We ride up to level 21 in silence. I can see Captain Carter rubbing the back of her neck. Now I remember. She’s nursing a concussion. "How did it happen?" I ask quietly, preparing myself for the ‘it’s none of your business’ rebuke. "Huh?" She looks at me, a small frown on her face. "Major Kawalsky. When do you thing he was…" I press ahead, and then stop. What is the correct term for having an alien take over your body? "We think it was on Chulak," she explains. "It’s the only Goa’uld world we’ve been on." The door opens and we walk down the short hall to the infirmary. She calls a nurse over and points out my injury. Her self-appointed mission done she turns, presumably to head back to where the action is. "Captain?" I call out. She turns. "Sergeant?" "What was in Major Kawalsky…do you think you’ll run into more of them?" She gives me a rueful grin. "Probably," she says then turns and leaves the room. A nurse urges me to lie down, bribing me with a nice shot of morphine before they look into setting my arm. As I stare at the cement ceiling I remember the cold look on Major Kawalsky’s face. How could one tiny being turn such a nice guy into a cold-blooded murderer? And he managed to hide from us for days before he was discovered. His cruel interior was totally masked by a jovial façade. I’ve been trying to figure out who’s who around here and another variable has just been tossed into the mix. Anyone who goes through that gate could return an enemy. They could be possessed by aliens, forced to turn upon their friends. Sentenced to death or what could be seen as a fate worse than death. And there will be no sign, no convenient label to help us tell good from bad. Talk about not knowing whom to trust. All of a sudden staying on this side of the gate doesn’t seem so boring after all. ~Fin~

21st April 2001, 02:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
skydiver Trivia Goddess Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: topeka, ks, usa- 7 1/2 hours due east of Cheyenne Mountain Posts: 2,856	Title- Lower Levels 3 : Faces of the Enemy Author- Denise E-Mail - skydiver119@hotmail.com Category- POV Season- 1 during Enemy Within Spoilers - Enemy Within Rating- PG Content Warning- Nothing really Summary- Just a continuation of things through Sgt. Walter Davis’ eyes. Disclaimer- don’t own em, never will, don’t mean to infringe, don’t make a dime…really need a snappier disclaimer… Lower Levels Three: Faces of the Enemy By Denise I sit at my console checking the readings. Though to be totally truthful, I only understand part of them…most of them. Oh don’t get me wrong; I know what they’re supposed to say…just not necessarily what they mean. Of course it doesn’t help that I’m still having a tough time reconciling the fact that the equipment I’m working on is the same stuff that sends people to other planets. Cool. This job seems more like a fantasy movie than a real assignment. I’m sending people to other planets. And they’re coming here. All the refugees are gone now but for a little while this place was literally over run by aliens. And they all looked so human. That was the freaky part. Put them in jeans and a t-shirt and no one would have known they were born under alien suns. There’s just one left now. The jaffa Teal’c. I know Colonel O’Neill really likes the guy but…there’s just something about him. I don’t know. It’s hard to read that inscrutable face of his. I hear footsteps and turn to see Captain Carter climbing the short flight of steps up to the control room. With all the steps in this place the ADA would have a field day in here. The captain is still a bit of an enigma to me. A tech head that likes to blow up stuff with the boys. And I wonder about her. I’ve caught General Hammond giving her some definitely fond looks. Maybe they’ve served together before or something. She seems ok but I’m still trying to figure out all the players here in our little top-secret playground. Every base I’ve ever been on has had one thing in common. Technically we’re all on the same side but there are more factions and cliques than in any high school in the world. Half the skill in surviving in the military is knowing whom to trust. Major Samuels was like that. I’m glad he’s gone. Something about him set me on edge. No matter how I tried I never could get over the feeling that I just couldn’t trust him. His absence means one less snake in the grass for me to worry about but who really knows how many more there are. I hate it when I feel like people I can’t necessarily trust surround me. The worst part is, you don’t usually suspect them, until it’s too late that is. From experience I know the best thing for me to do is concentrate on doing my job and let the rest sort itself out. Though it would be nice if there were some convenient color-coding. Trustworthy people can wear blue…we’ll flag the snakes with a big red tag around their necks or something. "Sergeant," she says as she stops beside me. "Captain," I acknowledge. "Can I help you ma’am?" "I have a couple of addresses to try," she says eagerly. "Aah ma’am…" She can’t mean to send anyone through…can she? "Not to go there or anything. Not yet anyway," she hurries to reassure. "The dialing program just came up with these two addresses and I want to make sure they work before I get the probes on the ramp." Oh. That makes sense. The general warned me this would happen. I take the slip of paper from her and punch in the symbols. She leans in and looks. "Hey, that’s a good idea." "What is ma’am?" "Putting the symbols directly on the keys. Sure beats the heck out of trying to memorize whole addresses." I shrug. It’s how they were when I got here. We sit there in silence and watch the gate spin. I see her gnawing on her lip. So she’s nervous. Guess I would be too if it was my program that is going to be the basis for all we’re going to do. I see her let out twin sighs of relief as first one then the other address work. "Thank you Sergeant," she says getting to her feet and giving me a genuine smile. "I’ll speak to the general about sending probes through," she says eagerly, obviously in a hurry to go report her success. I understand her enthusiasm. Chances are SG-1 will go to one of these planets. That’s some hefty incentive for doing the job. As she leaves the control room I feel a twinge of envy. For the first time in years I wish my path had been more suited to combat than administration. To think a gateway to alien planets is just on the other side of that glass…and the chances of me ever going through it are slim to none. I’ve started to catch myself daydreaming about what it’s like. How it would feel to stand on another planet. It’s a fantasy come true. Unfortunately it’s likely to remain a fantasy. It’s taken a week for the captain’s program to come up with two possibilities. And we don’t even know yet if the planets will be suitable to exploration. Even with nine teams, the way things are going they’ll be lucky go off world every couple of months or so. And I sincerely doubt they’ll need a tech to trail along. Still, to quote my neighbor’s kid…I wanna go.

21st April 2001, 03:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gemsong The Spawn Queen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Nia'Ladam Posts: 2,379	That was really good. Great job Sky!!!

21st April 2001, 06:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
peachy Daniels Beloved Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: i commute between cheyenne mountain & scotland Posts: 2,952	that was great skydiver, i really enjoyed reading it. have you anymore in the works?...peachy

21st April 2001, 11:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
skydiver Trivia Goddess Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: topeka, ks, usa- 7 1/2 hours due east of Cheyenne Mountain Posts: 2,856	actually yeah. #4 is written...#5 is still just a itsy bitssy little plot bunny... i'll post #4 in a few days...but not until gemmy posts more if invincible...

21st April 2001, 11:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Gemsong The Spawn Queen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Nia'Ladam Posts: 2,379	<blank look> Invincible?

22nd April 2001, 06:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
jsc God Like Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Los Angeles, California,U.S.A. Posts: 4,352	Great story, skydiver, I do love your Walter HARRIMAN Davis stories. Keep them coming!:star: :star: :star:

22nd April 2001, 06:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
skydiver Trivia Goddess Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: topeka, ks, usa- 7 1/2 hours due east of Cheyenne Mountain Posts: 2,856	SORRY GEMMY!!!! illusions is the right title. i'm sleep deprived. first we had a tornado friday night(no damage here but the sirens went off at midnight) then my neighbors up the block decided to have a loud party last night...culminating in gunshots...i'm sorry to say the truck is shot...literally(not mine, a neighbors.) anyway, hard to sleep after that. ok, i'll post lower levels four if and when gemmy gives us more illusions

22nd April 2001, 08:04 PM	#9 (permalink)
jsc God Like Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Los Angeles, California,U.S.A. Posts: 4,352	Sounds as if you lived in the worst part of South Central! Drive by on a harmless TRUCK! Your poor neighbor! I am very glad the tornado did not come near you! That sounds really frightening... Do you have a storm cellar? No wonder you are sleep deprived! Tornados, loud parties, gun shots and Truck drive by shootings!

22nd April 2001, 11:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
Gemsong The Spawn Queen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Nia'Ladam Posts: 2,379	Working on it Sky. But no fair holding me hostage in this way I'll fix you. Just you wait. And this time you don't get a script!!!!:evil: :evil: :evil:

22nd April 2001, 11:38 PM	#11 (permalink)
skydiver Trivia Goddess Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: topeka, ks, usa- 7 1/2 hours due east of Cheyenne Mountain Posts: 2,856	well assign me to sg-11...i'm screwed. no pressure gemmy...take as long as you want, muses can't be pushed. maybe, maybe i'll send you a copy so you don't have to wait. (you realize i have to keep gemmy happy with me or she'll take away my tm jack...and he was just getting the hang of 'it') it was a first for me jsc...there have been gunshots around just never got to gather with the neighbors and speculate on where the riccochets went before...believe you me, there's a certain neighbor who's going to be feeling mightily unwelcome. don't need this nonsense, there are thousands of other places they can go live. we actually got little kids in the block again...

22nd April 2001, 11:51 PM	#12 (permalink)
Gemsong The Spawn Queen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Nia'Ladam Posts: 2,379	Oy Sky. I know what that's like. It's nice not hearing gunshots in my neighborhood anymore. Okay, Sky, you can keep TM-Jack for now. You need the comfort.

23rd April 2001, 03:15 AM	#13 (permalink)
jsc God Like Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Los Angeles, California,U.S.A. Posts: 4,352	Sky, the first thing I taught Little Asgard to do was that when he heard gun shots was to duck! Then crawl to an area that had no walls touching the outside. He must have been 3. Age 5 was the insurrection in LA in 92 on April 29th. We were with my parents... my mom had had a stroke but the brothers were home.... It was bizarre... we kept looking for the apartment house we lived in and when we saw it still standing we cheered. After day two we couldn't get them by telephone so Channel 5 in LA was what we watched in San Diego. In First Grade we had the walk by... That was weird... The guy terrorized for two blocks..... with a magnum 357. He kept reloading. I know I watched as it happened. Every New Year and 4th of July the guns would go off and people would shoot in the air. To say nothing of the murders that occurred within a four block area of us. Those we only saw the results of and heard but were not in the direct line of fire! Does make a difference. Then three years ago was the crazy neighbor across the street with the rifle who kept taking pot shots at people who would walk into his yard.... So we moved five miles away up a hill and into a different section of LA. It is a saner neighborhood. At least we don't duck and crawl here! My son can play on the street and not worry about someone shooting him.. day or night. We have the Sherriff and not LAPD.... And the Sherriffs in our neighborhood look like us (and some live here!) not some Orange county reject. Since we moved here the most exciting thing has been the sporting events on TV and the Neighborhood Block Council meetings...as it should be! I hope that family moves away from you! You don't need junk like that happening around little kids.. or other people for that matter.... but IT really changes the kids and it really traumatizes them. Then the last time with that crazy neighbor...the guys were so excited and hyper that I was worried after I found out no one was hit... Shortly there after we moved.