Chapter 8: And Away We Go... 
     The sun was brightly shining down on the planet as SG-1 and part of SG-13 stepped out of the wormhole. The light breeze was filled with the fragrant perfumes of a rainforest. The clearing that they emerged into had to have been made by the inhabitants of the planet. It was too geometrical in design to have been a natural clearing. All around them was a forest of trees and mountains towering in the distance.
     "Welcome to P5X-314 campers. It's a land of sunshine, of darkness, and of course my favorite thing, trees. The temperature is a balmy 80 degrees with 95% humidity thus making it too humid for a man but not humid enough for a fish." O'Neill commented as he walked down the stairs to the base of the Stargate, surveying the trees for any signs of danger.
     "Starting perimeter sweep." Isis said as six members of SG-13 fanned out. Isis went straight ahead into the tree line while Parker, Corry, Jen, Franks, and Vansen fanned out in the other directions.
     Quietly traversing the area around her, Isis searched for any signs of recent activity in the area. After thirty minutes, she was satisfied that no one had been through her area in a long time. Carefully placing small explosives in strategic places, she headed back to the Stargate.
     Parker had taken the 2 o'clock route and did his own search. After a while, he found some small animal tracks. Satisfied that his area was clear, he headed back.
     Jen, Franks and Vansen had taken the 4, 6, and 8 o'clock positions, respectively. They too searched and found no signs of anyone coming through the area and returned to the Stargate.
     However, Corry did find something. She found an ancient temple right before she turned to head back to the others.
     "Corry to base. I've found what looks to be like some kind of religious temple or something about three clicks away." She loved the new radio setting. She didn't even need to hold a radio button down. All she had to do was speak and it would transmit. Not always the best way to hold a conversation but handy when your teammates need to know you're in trouble.
     "You're northwest of the gate?" Isis responded.
     "Affirmative. Three clicks north/northwest of the clearing." Approaching the ruins, she checked to make sure that no one was in the area. "Area clear. Request Dr. Jackson be sent here to examine these ruins."
     "SG-1 is on their way. Should rendezvous in twenty mics."
     "Copy that. Corry out." Looking around the area, she kept a careful eye out for any signs of danger. After eighteen minutes had passed, she heard some movement and saw SG-1 approaching. Stepping out of the brush that she had concealed herself in, she waved to them when Dr. Jackson saw her.
     "Daniel, need I remind you to be careful and not touch anything?" Colonel O'Neill emphasized the last three words.
     "I don't think that there's much of anything left to touch sir. The building has pretty much collapsed in on itself and I didn't see anything that posed an obvious danger." Corry answered as they walked into the building.
     "Jack just likes to remind me each and every time I discover something interesting." Daniel told Corry but his eyes never left the walls. "This place must be hundreds of years old. Perhaps even thousands. I wonder what the rest of the building has in it." Daniel's voice became softer as he engulfed himself in the details of the carvings in the walls until he was completely oblivious to the others in the room.
     Corry was walking on the opposite side of the room from SG-1 and stopped to look at a circle that was carved into the floor. "Dr. Jackson, you know why these people would need a circle carved into the floor?"
     "GET OUT OF THE CIRCLE!" Colonel O'Neill shouted as he ran across the room. The last thing they needed was another mind download like he got from the Ancients. As he raced across the room to get her out of the way, a bright light appeared above Corry. Shining down on her, the beam of light split off about a foot above her and shot out into four circles on the walls. These beams then bounced around the room into other, smaller circles. It was one of these smaller circles that O'Neill happened to be in front of just as the beam bounced off of it. Another bright light immediately appeared around him and then shot out towards Corry.
     "COLONEL!" Major Carter yelled. Teal'c put his hand out to stop her from going into the light.
     Suddenly, the light disappeared and both Corry and O'Neill fell to the floor. Carter raced over to him while Daniel checked on Corry.
     "Colonel? Sir? Can you hear me?" She had her hand on his arm and was gently shaking him, trying to get to him to make any kind of acknowledgement. "Colonel O'Neill--can you hear me?" She looked up at Teal'c.
     "I heard you the first time Carter. What the hell just happened?" O'Neill groaned as he tried to sit up.
     "I don't know sir. It appeared that you got caught in one of the beams." She was helping him stand up when another reply rang out.
     "Ya think?" Daniel's shocked expression greeted Corry as she finally opened her eyes. "Daniel--a little help here." Dumbfounded, Daniel helped Corry stand up.
     Daniel walked over to Carter. "What just happened here?" She shrugged her shoulders. For once, the two scientists were completely speechless.
     "What the hell?" Corry was pointing at Jack. Looking at her hands and then the rest of her body, she looked over at Daniel and then collapsed.
     Teal'c checked her vitals. "She is alive. But I do not ever recall seeing such a device as this before." Teal'c looked over at O'Neill, awaiting the order to go back to the Stargate.
     "Okay people, let's carefully get out of here and back to the Stargate. Teal'c--carry Corry out and watch where you walk everyone." O'Neill gave the order and then carefully started walking out of the collapsed building. After exiting the ruins, the group walked over to a tree and Teal'c gently laid Corry down.
     "O'Neill to base camp."
     "Base camp here. Go ahead." Isis' voice came crackling over the radio.
     "We've had a slight accident here." Daniel, Teal'c and Sam just looked at him with disbelief. "We need Vansen to come over here."
     "Roger that. Vansen is on her way." Isis looked up at the retreating image of a running Vansen. "She should be there shortly."
     "Copy that. We'll walk towards you and meet her on the way." O'Neill turned to face Teal'c. "Teal'c--can you carry her for a few minutes and then we'll switch off?" O'Neill saw that he had already picked up Corry. "Alright then, back we go."
     After 12 minutes, Vansen met up with them. "What happened to her?" Vansen asked as Teal'c sat Corry down and she got out her emergency medical kit. Checking her vitals, she listened as SG-1 recounted the story of what happened.
     "So after the bright light vanished, you both collapsed but when she came around she thought she was you Colonel O'Neill?"
     "Yep--in a nut shell, she thought she was me. And then she passed out again."
     "But you never thought that you were her?"
     "Nope."
     "You don't feel funny in any way? Headache? Dizzy? Nausea? Muscle spasms? Chest pain? Anything?" O'Neill kept shaking his head no to each of her questions.
     Corry started to wake up. "Oh man--will somebody shut him up please!" Corry moaned as she slowly sat up. "What the hell happened back there? Vansen? What are you doing here?" Corry had a quizzical look on her face as she stared up into the worried face of her teammate.
     "How do you feel Corry?" Vansen asked.
     "I feel fine now. Maybe a bit light headed but that's it. Why? What happened?" Corry appeared to be normal again.
     "Well, you gave them quite a shock. You walked into a circle and a light beam hit you and Colonel O'Neill and then you passed out. And when you woke up before, apparently you thought you were him." Vansen said as she looked at O'Neill. "And then you passed out again and now I'm here."
     "Well of course I thought I was him, after all that's what the Kray'Mal'Nee chamber is supposed to do." Corry crossed her arms and leaned her back against a tree. Everyone was looking at her like she had just sprouted horns. "What?"
     "Corry?" Vansen asked as she stepped closer and took a good look at her friend.
     "No. I'm not Corry. I'm Austen. But if you want to talk to Corry, I can get her. Or do you want to talk to Jack? Why are you people looking at me like that?" She was starting to get agitated.
     "Austen? Austen who?" Now this was Daniel's territory. There was no one better to placate someone who was irritated and still find out answers.
     "Hello! I'm Austen. I built the damn chamber! Isn't any of this ringing a bell?" Corry replied, snapping out angrily at the strange and yet familiar faces around her.
     "You built the chamber?" Carter was now standing in front of her.
     Corry turned around to face her friend. "I'm sorry Vansen, but Austen is a bit angry at the moment." Corry turned back around and started to head for the Stargate.
     "Who is Austen? I know she said she created the chamber but who exactly is she and what does that chamber do?" Vansen was full of questions. She only hoped that Corry knew enough to give her the answers.
     "I don't know why she built it or what it does." Corry stopped and bent over and grabbed her head. "Will you shut up PLEASE!" Everyone looked at each other and then at the still bent over form of Corry. And just as suddenly, she stood back up and started walking towards base camp.
     "Corry--you okay?" Vansen jogged up beside her with SG-1 close behind them. Corry spun around and faced O'Neill.
     "You just had to stand in the damn circle didn't you? How many times has Daniel talked to you about interfering in these things? You just had to play the fucking hero didn't you?" Snorting, Corry stormed off again.
     All eyes turned to Vansen who was still staring in shock at the retreating form of her roommate. "I don't know what to say Colonel."
     "I say we get her back to Janet and let her do a workup on her." Carter was always good for things like this. She always, well almost always, knew what to do.
     "I agree Major Carter." Teal'c stated as he started following Corry.
     "I think that was you Jack." Daniel said in referencing to the last "person" Corry had spoken as.
     O'Neill was still too dumbstruck to say anything useful so he followed after Teal'c with the rest of the team following him.
     "Sir, I'd like to return to the ruins and..." Carter stopped abruptly when O'Neill suddenly stopped and stared at her.
     "No. I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to go back in there until we know exactly what we're dealing with here Carter. So until we find out a bit more about our new teammate there," O'Neill pointed to Corry, "no one sets foot back inside that building."
     Approaching base camp, everyone was back from their recon missions and was eagerly awaiting the news of what had been found. Storming into the group, Corry looked at everyone. "We're going home campers. So say good-bye to the trees, pack up your stuff and let's get the hell out of here."
     Isis came out from the command tent, not pleased at how she'd just been talked to by a subordinate. "Corry--you want to tell me what's going on before I have you busted down in rank."
     Corry ignored her and walked towards the Stargate and started dialing Earth's address. Isis looked over to the returning group wanting an explanation. "Colonel O'Neill--you care to explain what happened and why Corry is acting like this?"
     "Well...." He didn't know how to tell Isis. He motioned for Carter to explain.
     "Ma'am, it appears that while investigating the ruins--we somehow activated a personality transfer device of some kind." Carter could see Isis' confusion so she started to elaborate. "Corry was standing in a circle when a beam of light surrounded her and another beam hit Colonel O'Neill too. And somehow, the technology has not only transferred a copy of the Colonel's personality to Corry, but also another person who is called Austen. Austen apparently is the one who built it so we're hoping that after Dr. Fraiser has a look at her, we'll be able to..." Carter stopped because she didn't know what else to say.
     Vansen went up to Isis. "Isis--I don't know how it happened but what I do know that as of right now, Corry has got at least three different personalities. One of them being Colonel O'Neill here--which is the one I believe you encountered." Everyone jumped when they heard Corry's voice from behind them.
     "Yes it was Jack." Everyone's eyebrow went up at the use of 'Jack'. "And Austen is the one who built the device. And there is one more in here", she pointed to her head, "who is a bit too shy at the moment to introduce himself to me or to you. I'm sorry Isis, I just can't control who speaks and what they say yet."
     "Corry?" Isis cautiously approached her friend.
     "Yes." A tear slipped down her check. Wiping the tears from her face, she covered her face and everyone noticed a change in her stature take place. Slowly bringing her hands down, she smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any confusion or pain--I thought that they knew what they were doing when they stepped into the circles. I didn't realize that your kind couldn't read our language." Sticking out her hand in a friendly, handshake gesture, "Hello. I'm Austen."
     "Do you serve the Goa'uld?" Teal'c wasn't going to wait any longer for the Tau'ri to get around to asking this question. He knew he couldn't allow Corry to go through to Earth if this new entity served his enemy.
     Turning to look at Teal'c, she respectfully bowed her hand and put her right hand over her heart, her hand making a fist. "No, I do not serve the Goa'uld. My people were a peaceful race. We hadn't known war for many of your", tilting her head to the side as if to call up information from memory, "generations. And then one day, they came. And we didn't have the means to fight them. Many of my people died fighting them."
     "Well campers, let's go home and introduce Doc Fraiser to our new team members." O'Neill turned around and started walking towards the Stargate. He waited till it was just the SG-13 members and stepped through to Earth.
     As Parker, Corry, Jen, and Franks starting stepping through the Gate, Isis stopped Vansen. She disconnected her radio while Vansen disconnected her own. "Vansen, how did the meeting in D.C. go?"
     "You know O'Neill followed me back to my hotel room right?" Vansen sighed.
     "Yeah--I was caught between a rock and hard place. He doesn't trust us yet." Isis noted that Franks had gotten Corry through and Parker and Jen were getting ready to carry the last of the equipment through.
     "He shouldn't trust us. We've been given a special assignment that no one at the SGC can know about." Vansen started walking towards the Stargate.
     "And what assignment would that be." Isis said as she picked up her backpack.
     "We have to catch a dealer. Hosea has come looking for us and someone has tipped him off as to where we can be found." Vansen grimaced.
     "Son of a BITCH! Who the fuck did that?" Isis was beyond angry. Vansen could almost see steam coming out from her ears.
     "Rumor has it that Maybourne did it." Nodding her head towards the gate and stepping through it, she turned to make sure Isis was following her. "We'll get him and Hosea this time. Even if it kills me, I'll rip his head off myself." Isis gave an evil laugh and a second later they walked down the ramp and into the figure of General Hammond.
Another adventure? Or continue this one?