Stargate Defense - season two

Chapter Four

Oliver pointed. "There should be a small pond through those trees."

"Good because the Colonel is a lot heavier than he looks," Lee told him with a grunt as she and Van hauled Mal through the trees.

Oliver hurried over to help them drag Mal through the trees and dump him into the water. "Keep his head up."

Lee dropped down to sit and cradled Mal's head. "Now what?"

Van stood. "Now we get out of the water and wait for him to wake up."

Together, they dragged Mal from the water and laid him on the shore.

Lee dropped down beside him with a groan. "Still better than killer squirrels."

Van burst out laughing. "Yes, I'd rather hallucinate an entire conversation with a couple of Ancients than fight giant squirrels."

"All I was doing was trying to activate an Ancient device that turned out to be a sapling." Oliver grinned at him.

"I'd like to call bullshit, you two had very tame visions, I got crazy-ass Nesrin and her army of killers hauling Oliver off," Lee muttered. She looked at Mal. "And apparently the Colonel had his brother stalking him."

"The two of you are soldiers, it kind of makes sense," Van told her.

She sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

Oliver bumped his shoulder into hers. "You're a protector, sis, it's what you do."

She wrapped an arm over his shoulders. "I have to protect my baby brother."

"Your twins," Van pointed out.

"He's younger by two whole minutes."

Oliver sighed. "And she will never let me forget it either."

Mal groaned. "Why does it feel like someone bashed me in the head?"

"You are currently experiencing your crash from being high," Lee told him. "Welcome back, sir."

He sat up slowly and cradled his head in his hands. "What the hell happened?" He scowled and reached for his gun but found it gone.

"I have it," Oliver told him and handed him his P90.

"Where's Elias? We have to get to the Gate."

"Your brother isn't here," Lee said.

"He is, I saw him!" Mal insisted.

"It was the flowers," Oliver explained. "They appear to have some sort of hallucinogenic properties. The pollen seems somewhat persistent as well. I think it likes to cling and linger. When Lee shoved me off a cliff into the water it was washed away and we were fine after a few minutes as the lingering effects wore off."

"It wasn't a cliff, we were barely three meters above the water."

"Then we found Van and threw him into some water."

"And then we went looking for you. Sorry, sir, but I had to Zat you. You were being very difficult." Lee grinned.

"I think perhaps you enjoyed that a little too much," Mal muttered. "We should probably check in with the General, I'm sure we're more than a little overdue."

"Yes, we are." Lee rose and held a hand out to him. He took it and she pulled him up. "It's good to have you back, Colonel."

"It's good to be back. Let's steer clear of the poppy field on the way back, shall we?"

Oliver sighed. "We'll skirt around it but I do want to stop and get a sample to bring back. Who knows what we could do with that pollen. It might have medicinal properties!"

"You sound way too excited about those flowers," Mal grumbled. "Those things could have gotten us killed."

"Anyone want me to remind you that I didn't want to ignore the warning sign beside the Gate," Van told them.

"Not now, Van, please. I still have a headache, you can tell us 'I told you so' later," Mal replied. "Oliver, get us back to the Gate, grab your sample and let's get the hell off this planet."

Oliver took the lead and found the easiest path back to the Gate that would take them around the edge of the field of flowers. They stopped long enough for him to carefully cut several flowers and put them into a sealed container. "Right, that should do it."

"Perfect, let's leave this place before I decide to set fire to this field," Mal grumbled.

They hurried back to the Gate and Van dialed. The moment the Gate connected, Mal radioed in. "This is Colonel Hughes."

"It's good to hear your voice, Colonel, we were beginning to get worried," Sam replied. "What happened?"

"We discovered a field of poppies, General. In a manner of speaking."

"A field of what?" she asked.

"There's a field of flowers here and their pollen has hallucinogenic properties. We didn't know that when we began walking through the field," Oliver replied.

"Is the team all right?"

"Yes, General, SG-1 is safe thanks to Captain Kain," Mal told her. "We're ready to come home, ma'am."

"You have a go, Colonel. The iris has been opened."

"Thank you, General, we'll see you in a few." He looked at Lee. "Heroes first."

Oliver groaned. "You're going to give her a big head if you keep calling her that."

"There is no way my head will ever be bigger than yours, little brother," Lee told him before she stepped through the Gate.

"Sometimes I wish I could trade her in for a different model."

"But then she goes and saves your life?" Van asked.

Oliver nodded. "She makes it damn difficult." He followed her through the Gate.

Van began singing We Are the Champions as he stepped through the Gate.

Mal chuckled, looked back at the field of flowers in the distance and shook his head. He never wanted to experience anything like that ever again. "Need to put up a new goddamn sign in English," he muttered and followed the others through the Gate.