Title: The Innarim

Genre: Action/Adventure, slight Sam/Jack (possibly later)

Rating: T

Spoliers: anything from Season 1 - 5

Summary: A mission to a strange alien lab brings about new discoveries, friendships and revelations for SG-1 – all because of a single, frayed wire…

Stargate SG-1, its storylines and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for non-commercial, entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement is intended. Any original characters, locations and plotlines are mine.

Note: this is my first SG-1 fic, so comments or constructive suggestions are welcomed.

Friendly personal request: please avoid mentioning events that occur in Seasons 6 – 8 if you post a review. I have missed a lot of Season 6, most of Season 7 and haven't seen any of Season 8 at all yet.

Chapter 1 – PX3… something or other

"Anything?" O'Neill called out to the darkened room.

SG-1 had been sent on a standard reconnaissance mission to P3X…. something or other - Colonel O'Neill rarely remembered or cared – after the MALP had sent back images of a tree-filled world, uninteresting save for a weathered looking structure not far from the gate. It had not been one of the Abydos cartouche addresses, so there was little chance of Goa'uld activity and Daniel had been practically hopping about on the ramp at the chance of an isolated culture free from the shadow of the snakeheads.

They had traversed several long, dark corridors of the structure before coming across a sealed door. It had not taken long to open with Teal'c to persuade it.

"This building appears to be deserted, O'Neill," Teal'c observed, shouldering his staff weapon. "No-one has been here for some time."

"Well, no taking any chances, T," he replied in the gloom. "Stay sharp."

Jack relaxed his tight grip on his weapon, taking the opportunity to glance at the alien interior his team now occupied. The room was rounded like a cylinder, reaching far above them, the ceiling lost in the blackness. In the centre was a giant shard of irregular crystal that speared towards the shrouded roof, held in place by thick steel-like cables. It pulsed with an icy blue glow, seemingly clinging to life. The room was tinged with its frosty light. There was a hole in the floor where it stretched up from, and he leant on the guard rail surrounding it to peer down, wrapping his fingers around the bar for support. He saw more shadows wreathing the plunge below the crystal, the bottom of that abyss as equally lost as the ceiling.

"Whoa," he breathed to himself, pulling back. "OK, kids? Found anything?"

Carter was busy examining various devices and workbenches built into the single wall circled around them, torch flitting from place to place curiously.

"These look like computers for analysing data, sir," she replied, completely focused. "And it looks like there are a lot of scientific tools here. I think this is some kind of lab, Colonel."

"Then at least one of us feels at home, Major," he joked, smirking.

In the low light, he couldn't see if she appreciated the quip, but she made no reply. Either she was smiling to herself at her CO's sense of humour, or she was masking the irritation at the subtle reminder that she practically lived in her lab back at sub-level 19. He sought out Daniel in the dark, shining his torch at the fourth figure stooping over a control panel littered with lines of alien text.

"Whatcha got there, Daniel?"

Daniel winced momentarily as his eyes adjusted to the extra light from Jack's torch in addition to his own, before answering without even looking up.

"I think this text is a variation of Norse runes," he stated distractedly.

"Perhaps this place was constructed by the Asgard," Teal'c suggested evenly.

"These runes are far too obscure to be Asgard," Daniel stated. "I won't be able to work out what they mean without some kind of reference from back home."

"Take photos," Jack instructed unnecessarily – Daniel had already fished the digital camera out of his rug-sack.

"He's right, sir," Carter added, peering into an uncovered panel of exposed circuits. "This technology doesn't look anything like what we've seen from the Asgard. It looks like a hybrid of a new kind of electronics and Goa'uld technology."

"Goa'uld?" Jack's hand inched over his P90 instinctively.

"I've never seen anything like this, Colonel," Carter began, her voice betraying wonderment. "I don't think the Goa'uld built this either. They use neatly cut crystals; these look like they've been used in their original, uncut form. Not to mention the majority of the system looks like it is based on this other technology rather than the crystals-"

"Agh," Jack barked sharply.

Sam recognised the Colonel's non-sensical interruption as his order to stop talking science at him.

"Sorry, sir," she smirked. "I think whoever designed the technology studied the Goa'uld crystal-based technology and decided not to waste a good idea. They incorporated it into their own systems. I really have to analyse this, sir. This could be big."

"Well, while you've got your head in there, can you figure out how to turn the lights on in here?"

"I think so sir, give me a second…"

The pulse of the giant crystal dominating the room grew stronger, and a dull humming noise permeated the air. Daniel stopped focusing his camera to step back from the towering object nervously. Jack heard a muffled spark, and saw the brief glimmer of icy blue light from inside the panel Sam was working at.

"Carter! Be careful!" he snapped protectively.

"Yes, sir," came her muted response. "This should be it…"

There was another fizzing spark before the humming increased a few notes, and the pulse of the crystal became a continuous, icy glow, interrupted now and then by a slight flicker. The light was stronger and clearer, and the four of them switched off their torches. Sam replaced the cover of the panel and attempted to flatten down her ruffled hair.

"Hey, what are those?" Jack wondered out loud, spying half a dozen glass cylinders on the far side of the wall.

All attached to some kind of computer with a multitude of wires, which in turn trailed a wire that snaked across the floor and fused to the body of the crystal like a vein. Sam joined Jack as he ambled over to them. The glass was frosted over on all of the person-sized containers.

"They look like some kind of stasis cell, sir – they remind me of the ones Hathor put us in, only vertical as if you're meant to stand instead of lying down."

She scrubbed her hand over the surface of the first cell, clearing the frost away.

"No-one home," O'Neill commented as they gazed through the glass.

It was short work to clear the rest. All six cells were empty.

"What do you suppose this was all for?" Jack questioned his second, gesturing to the alien lab around them. "And where did everyone go? This place looks abandoned, not destroyed."

"It appears to be designed for biological study and testing, O'Neill," Teal'c commented in his stoic way. "As for the fate of the scientists, perhaps they were relocated or reassigned. Is it not true that projects can be halted by a government by removing their resources, MajorCarter?"

"Unfortunately, Teal'c, yes," she answered wryly.

Jack got the impression that it had happened to her at least once, before she began working on the Stargate project. Knowing how stubborn she was, Jack could just imagine her arguing the case to whoever dealt with the funding. He shook himself back to reality.

"Well, unless there's something else to do here, we should head back to the gate so Danny can get his books and Carter can rustle up some techno analysing doohickeys," he declared.

As he led the way to the doorway, O'Neill snagged his boot on one of the trailing wires winding across the lab floor. Teetering to a halt, he rested his hand on one of the computer consoles so he could balance properly and free his foot.

As his palm made contact with the surface, a juddering, fiery pain engulfed his arm and etched its way down his entire right side. His body was jolted away and collapsed to the floor as the lab was plunged into complete darkness. He could hear the shouts of surprise from his team as his consciousness deserted him.