Chapter Text
The light in Sam's lab flickered briefly as she checked the sensor data on her screen. The Ancient bracelets she had been researching for weeks were a mystery. No human without the Ancient gene could activate them, and even with the gene they were highly unreliable.
The latest simulations indicated that they were connected to space-time itself. Sam had been working on activating the bracelets for weeks, but finding the right power source was proving difficult.
Jack watched her carefully as she completed the final calculations and tweaks.
"Carter, how does this device fit in with those road forks again?"
"You mean the different realities?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."
"Well, it's all based on a theory of quantum mechanics. So far, we assume that these bracelets are a kind of remote control for this Ancient device and it looks like this device forms a kind of tunnel with the help of the bracelets. Each tunnel leads to a different reality and the bracelet could be used to enter these realities or switch back and forth between them."
Sam smiled uncertainly when she saw the confused look on Jack's face.
"Colonel, are you really sure you want to do this?" Sam asked, turning to face him. Jack was leaning casually against the table, but there was a hint of curiosity in his gaze.
“Carter, the only word I just understood was remote control. But, if you ask again, you'll have to find another victim."
Sam suppressed a smirk. "Okay, sir. We don't want to send you through the multiverse, just activate the bracelet. All you have to do is to put it on. I'll then try to activate it with a small burst of energy. If we're lucky, it will do exactly what we want this time." Jack raised an eyebrow.
"What we want?"
"Yeah, it should just light up, well - that's the theory."
Jack sighed and held out his arm. "Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?"
She smiled, fastened the bracelet around his wrist, activated the device, and the next moment the light flickered again - but this time the energy seemed sufficient.
Jack looked at the bracelet while Sam kept an eye on the energy.
Then it actually lit up, as if it was charging with energy.
"Uh, Carter?" Jack sensed something was wrong, and when he touched it with his other hand, a bright light enveloped him and the device, then a hiss, as if air was escaping from a room.
Then he was simply gone.
Silence. Sam blinked. Her heart was racing.
"Colonel O'Neill?" No answer. No sign of him.
The room was empty.
---
Jack plummeted in complete darkness through a feeling of weightlessness. His stomach flipped, and then - a thud. He gasped as he landed hard on a cold floor. Reflexively, he rolled to the side, pulling his arms in front of his face. But there was no further threat.
"Wow...what...what the hell was that?"
He slowly opened his eyes.
"Carter, I told you this w…-"
Neon light flickered above him. It looked like... - No it didn't.
Jack blinked again.
He was lying in the middle on the floor- gray walls, metal doors, the hum of high-powered computers. He was still in the lab. But it looked different.
He was alone.
Jack struggled to his feet, feeling the coldness of the floor in his limbs. The familiar alarm sounded, voices echoed through the corridors, footsteps approached. Jack instinctively retreated into the shadows and watched to see who was coming around the corner.
Jack wasn't sure whether he should hide or simply step forward. Before he could make a decision, he was discovered - several guns were pointed at him.
"Hands up!"
Damn.
Slowly, Jack raised his arms.
"What happened, Sergeant? Why did the alarm go off?"
A man in an Air Force uniform, middle-aged, striking face stepped into the room. Jack knew that voice.
Jacob Carter.
"There must have been a massive energy discharge in this room, sir. When we came in, we discovered someone."
That was somehow wrong.
General Jacob Carter.
Jack froze.
Jacob Carter was a Tok'ra. He shouldn't be here, not in this uniform. That's when he remembered about the fork-thing and the roads, Sam had tried to explain.
He was definitely in the SGC, but probably not in his anymore.
"Who the hell are you?" Jacob asked sharply.
The sergeant stepped aside, exposing Jacob's view of Jack's back.
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Um... Colonel Jack O'Neill?"
Jacob looked at him, shocked and suspicious at the same time. Something in his face changed, as if he was remembering something.
"That's completely impossible," Jacob finally said, reaching for his arm to turn Jack to face him.
"Jack O'Neill is - "
His voice broke off. Jack saw Jacob's jaw tighten. Something inside him fought against what he was seeing.
"I don't know who you are, but you can't be Colonel Jack O'Neill."
Jack swallowed hard.
This was going to be difficult.