Links
By
Denise
Jack walked through the corridors feeling like he was headed to the executioner. Actually he'd just come from there. And now was the worst part. Not he had to go to his friends and tell them it WAS for real. It was over. The grand adventure had come to an end. Finished, kaput, done, das ende, auf wiedersehen, arreviderci, ciao, sayonara. SG-1 was officially disbanded. Cardinal Richelieu just broke up the four musketeers. Porthos was headed off to join the Jarheads, Aramis was going to be carrying a clipboard more than an MP-5 and D'Artagnan was going back to being a geek. And Athos...well guess it was time for him to retire...again. Third time's supposed to be a charm, or would it be the fourth? Hell, he couldn't remember. All he knew for sure was that it was all going to hell in a handbasket and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
Four years. Four years of blood sweat and tears down the tubes. No more explaining things to Teal'c. No more of Danny's endless lectures or Carter's fourteen syllable babble.
They'd been through so much in the past four years. Lived and died together. Sometimes he swore they each survived just because one of them didn't want to let the other three down. They'd survived FOR each other, because of each other.
And it was all over. His best friends, hell pretty much his only friends and soon he'd be lucky if he ever got to see them.
And worst of all, he was out of options. Wasn't he? He asked himself as he rounded a corner and arrived at the rendezvous.
He paused for a second right outside the threshold. Time to face the music. He took a deep breath and pulled the door open.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So. What'd he say?"
Hearing Daniel's voice Sam looked up from the cabinet top she was studying so intently to meet the rueful gaze of her CO...Make that her former CO, Jack O'Neill.
"Aah...don't let the door hit me on the ass on the way out," he said lamely, massaging the back of his neck with his hand.
"Sir?"
"Basically it's his way or the highway," Jack said quietly, closing the door behind him. "And the subject is closed." True the members of SG-1 were gathered in a quiet little room on Level 17 that no one ever used but there was no such thing as being too careful. "I've been encouraged to take a day or two to consider my options," Jack continued, his voice full of sarcasm. Actually that was a very diplomatic way to repeat Bauer's words. Jack had played the game long enough to know, no matter how much he played along, he'd either find his skills required elsewhere, if Bauer was a nice guy, or be sent on a suicide mission if he was a cold-blooded jerk.
"He can't just get rid of you," Daniel protested.
"Yes he can Daniel," Sam said quietly. She'd been through enough changes of command in her career to know an incoming leader usually thinned out the ranks to ease his own way in. And even she had to admit the colonel was...more than a handful. "The same way you and I are now staying Earth-side and Teal'c's on SG-3. It's his command and General Bauer can run it like he wants," she finished in a resigned voice.
"Run it into the ground more like."
"Daniel face it. It's a miracle we've stayed together this long. By all rights General Hammond should have split us up a couple of years ago," she said with a sigh. Daniel looked at Jack and saw the confirmation in his eyes. Damned military, let's not let what works get in the way of procedure.
"That makes little sense. Why is separating individuals who have worked together for a long duration proper procedure?"
"It's a military thing Teal'c," Jack said, sitting on a bench. "When people work together too long they tend to form attachments to each other that may hinder their ability to do a job," Jack said, parroting regulations.
"Is it not that familiarity which enhances our performance?"
Jack looked at his Jaffa friend and sighed. He was 100 right. It was just too bad the 'higher ups' didn't see it...or maybe they did.
"So what do we do now sir?" Sam asked, still not quite willing to give it all up. There had to be a way out. Where there's a will there's an …or, the colonel had once said.
"You major are going to be a good little astrophysicist and work on Bauer's bomb," Jack held up his hand to still her protest. "Daniel is going to translate his little heart out, Teal'c is going to whip the marines into shape...and I'm going to take some time off."
"Jack?"
"Believe it or not Daniel, I actually have a few friends in high places...that aren't little gray men. I'm going to see if I can get to the bottom of this," Jack said quietly, his mind racing to remember long forgotten names and contacts. Hell, he'd done more than a few favors over the years. It was past time to call a few in. He'd been saving them for a rainy day…well it's raining now.
"Colonel...Sir, that bomb of his..."
"Carter I know. I don't like it either but I need the three of you here to keep an eye on Bauer. I don't think this guy has handled anything more stressful than a lunch at Spago's for a few years. Lord only knows what he'll do." He looked at Sam and knew this bomb project was one puzzle she definitely didn't want to figure out. "Look. Cooperate with him. Don't do anything that'll get you court-martialed. Just...drag your feet a little. Work ten-hour days instead of eighteen. Daniel, translate slowly. Teal'c...just be yourself. Since I'm definitely not on his Christmas list I need you guys here in case I need some backup...or in case he changes the locks while I'm gone," He finished. 'And if this is going where I think it's going, the less involved you guys are, the better.' He looked at the definitely distraught looks of his teammates. "Look guys just...keep him from surrendering to Apophis or trading away the home world. Buy me time to go where the air is rare, pull a few strings and try to keep this all from unraveling."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Here's your Naquadah major," Sgt. Siler said, pushing a cart containing two deceptively small yet incredibly dense silvery squares.
Sam looked up from her computer screen. "SG-3's back?" she asked eagerly, getting to her feet. She'd heard the klaxons sound off a bit ago but couldn't go check it out. The last time she'd appeared un-summoned in the control room, both seeking to satisfy her curiosity and kill a little time, she'd been summarily dressed down by General Bauer. The control room was the heart of this base after all and personnel, especially personnel no longer on field teams popping in whenever they felt like it were detrimental to the smooth running of the facility. In other words, the control room was now an invitation only zone.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"Sergeant? What happened?" Sam asked, feeling her stomach drop at the dour expression on the normally gregarious face of the man.
"We lost Major Wade. He didn't even make it back. Lt. Morrison is in surgery. They're trying to save his leg," he reported sadly.
"Damn," she muttered, falling back in her seat and rubbing her hands over her face.
"Yeah. Forty-eight hours on the job and Bauer's already wracking up quite a death toll."
Sam looked past the Sargent to the open door. "Careful..." she warned.
"Ma'am...he knew. He sent them into the lion's den to get fuel for a bomb we don't even need. The good general should have just shot them himself, it'd have been more merciful."
"Sargent that's enough," Sam ordered, pulling rank in a rare move. "Look. General Bauer...is a little out of practice. Right now the last thing we need is everyone backstabbing him. Right or wrong the mission was his decision. A fully informed decision. If there are any repercussions they'll fall totally on his shoulders. But if we fight him we give him an out. We give him someone to blame," she said meaningfully. Come on Siler, follow along here. Let Bauer screw up. Every time he does it's one more black mark against him. One more chance we stand to get rid of the SOB. She continued more gently. "Could you take this down to the isolab please?"
"Yes major," he said, slightly mollified but still no a happy camper. Then again, there were very few happy campers in the SGC right now.
"Thanks." Sam waited until Siler was gone to bury her face in her hands with a curse, silently mourning the high price for the naquadah. A price General Hammond only would have paid if it had been a matter of life and death for earth. When she'd needed Naquadah for her reactor they'd waited six months for Shyla's people to trade them some. But not this general. Not this time. The stakes had just become life and death. And she had a feeling the worst was yet to come. "Come on colonel…hurry up," she whispered to the empty room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Daniel felt rather than saw the figure enter his lab. He looked up from the maps he was studying to see Teal'c step quietly into the room
"Teal'c. How are you?" Though he too was banned from the control room he'd heard about SG-3's disastrous mission. According to the survivors, if it hadn't have been for the Jaffa, the whole team would have been lost.
"I am well Daniel Jackson," the large man intoned.
"I was sorry to hear about Wade."
"He was a warrior. It is a warrior's lot to die in battle."
"Battle yes. Fool's errand no."
Teal'c paused and looked his friend in the eyes. "True. However, regardless of the reasoning behind the mission, we did as we were charged. What is this?" Teal'c asked, changing the subject and picking up a UAV picture off Daniel's desk.
"They're aerial reconnaissance pictures of Bauer's test site."
"The general wishes to detonate this device on a planet?" Teal'c asked. This was most unusual. The Tau'ri had always had an almost pathological desire to test things theoretically before they tested them in reality. It had puzzled him at first, how they could waste days and weeks building models and simulations of something when a direct physical test could give them the results much, much quicker. However he soon discovered this was yet one more thing that separated the Tau'ri from several 'more advanced' races.
"Yeah," Daniel said, disgust in his voice. "Teal'c...they only went out fifty miles from the gate. FIFTY miles. They could be missing a whole civilization. I mean 2,000 years ago humans were scattered further than fifty miles from Giza. We could be using an inhabited planet as a test site and Bauer doesn't care. All he wants is results. I think he'd detonate the thing in the gateroom if his superiors told him to."
"And this is why you wish to study the photographs?"
"Sam's been trying to drag her feet but the thing was practically built when it got here. Every time she comes up with an excuse he cuts her down. As determined as she is NOT to make it work, he is that it will...with or without her. I'm hoping there's something here. Some reason to postpone the test."
"Surely if there were signs of habitation this world would not be considered."
"There aren't any signs, obvious ones anyway."
"So you are looking for the less than obvious."
Daniel looked at Teal'c. "Yeah."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance then. What is the human saying, four eyes are better than two."
Daniel smiled and handed Teal'c a picture. He opened the drawer and drew out a magnifying glass. The Jaffa sat down and joined his friend, both searching for something…anything that could buy themselves some more time.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Teal'c stood silent as General Bauer apologized to Sam. Even if the woman had been a stranger to him, he would have known her anger was far too great to be assuaged by a few words, no matter how sincere.
He met Daniel's gaze as the major silently gained her feet and left the room. As O'Neill once said 'hell hath no fury like Carter when she's pissed.' While he didn't totally understand the whole statement, he knew enough to be grateful that the carrying of weapons on the base was frowned upon. He feared being armed would sorely try the major's self control.
He saw General Bauer look at them, apparently at a loss as to what to do next. Seeing the man's lost look, and perhaps a bit afraid of being around an angry Air Force major who was trained to kill, Daniel stepped forward. "Uh...General. Since the crisis is over, maybe we should contact the surface. Tell them we're not all doomed." The general accepted the suggestion and reached for the telephone. "If I may suggest," Daniel continued, "Sargent Siler and his crew might want to be the first ones in. They're trained in radiation containment," he said, claiming Sam's deserted chair.
Fully aware that Daniel's much vaunted diplomatic skills would permit him to gently steer the general in the right direction, at least for the time being, Teal'c left the room in search of an angry major.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Having no luck finding her in her lab, he used his sensitive hearing to find his teammate in one of several small gyms that dotted the facility. In hindsight it was a most logical place. Since human anger often manifested itself physically it was not surprising that she would sequester herself where she would do the least damage.
He cautiously approached the doorway, a sense of self-preservation making him peek into the room before entering it totally.
From the multitude of items scattered about the room he guessed some of the woman's fury had already been spent. Either that or the gym had been incredibly busy when it had been abandoned.
She had evidently exhausted her store of projectiles and was now positioned in front of the large punching bag, which she was alternately punching or kicking the unforgiving surface, each blow accompanied by a muttered curse or phrase.
As he stood there he noticed each blow lessening in force. He realized her 'tantrum' was nearing its end.
He strode across the room and silently braced the bag. She was so focused on her task she didn't even notice his presence until she realized the bag was no longer swinging back at her.
She spared him a glance then continued pummeling the bag.
"You are angry," he stated after a series of kicks. She gave him a duplicate of O'Neill's 'ya think' look and delivered a series of back handed punches, her hand slapping against the vinyl. Seeing the reddened flesh on her hand he decided to intervene. There was far too much to be done to have the only person who could orchestrate it in the infirmary.
With speed and deftness he side stepped the bag and gently restrained her wrists, using just enough force to stop her but not enough to bruise her already sore flesh.
"Teal'c," she ground out. "Let me go."
"Not until I know you will not damage yourself further," he replied gently.
"Free country Teal'c. I'll do what I want," she said, trying to pull her wrists free.
"You are too valuable to this facility for me to permit you to continue to act this way."
"Valuable? What? Has Bauer found something ELSE he wants me to destroy? I know, let's build another one. Maybe this time we'll find a world we're certain is inhabited. I'm sure his superiors need to know if the mortality rate is 100. Where could we send it? Oh I know how about Chulak? Nice Goa'uld world. No one will care if we destroy it. And if it has any repercussions...what does it matter? It's light years away. No one will even know it's blown up for a decade or two," she ranted.
Teal'c inwardly cringed at the self-recrimination in her voice. "Enough. It is done."
"No. No it's not done. It's never done. There's never an end. Sticks were too messy so they invented knives. But you get too bloody with knives so let's invent guns so you can kill without staining your clothes. Wait; let's make them bigger and bigger. Find a way to blow things up from miles away. The atomic bomb was great but a nuclear bomb is better. But now we can blow up a whole planet in one fell swoop. Here's efficiency for you, Armageddon in a 200 pound package. It's the end of a world and I made it," she cried, giving her arms a fierce yank and pulling them from his grasp. The sudden movement sent her staggering backwards. She tumbled into a wall and slowly slid down it, ending up sitting on the floor.
He watched her draw up her knees and pull them close, wrapping her arms around her legs.
He knew her anger was now spent and he joined her on the floor.
They sat in silence for several minutes until she spoke up. "I'd give almost anything to go back just an hour or two and undo this. I wish I could have found a way to go slower. To buy more time," she said quietly.
"You delayed as much as possible."
"I could have done more. Called in sick, lost my notes…"
"That would have gained nothing other than earning you General Bauer's ire."
"I could have went over his head…called the Joint Chiefs or something."
"General Bauer stated his orders came from your Joint Chiefs. It would have gained you nothing more than perhaps being removed from the project."
"Maybe that would have been best. It would have bought us some time."
"Unlikely. As Daniel Jackson said, General Bauer was most determined that the test would proceed. He would have found a way with or without your aid."
"Maybe."
"In my time with Apophis I was often instructed to carry out orders I did not like. Many times those orders had serious consequences. I tried to find some good in my actions."
"Like Hanno's father," Sam said quietly, remembering the pain on her friend's face when he related choosing to murder the crippled man so more of his people could have the chance to escape.
"Yes," Teal'c replied quietly. "That weapon is far more powerful than anything the Tau'ri possess. Not even a Hat'ak warship is capable of destroying an entire planet in a single blow. As unpleasant as the circumstances surrounding its creation may be, the day may come when it will be useful to us," he said.
"Useful? Teal'c. I blew up an innocent planet. There were no Goa'uld there. I destroyed whole ecosystem. Everything is gone for the sake of a test."
"It is possible it is not destroyed."
Sam shook her head. "Possible but not likely. Not with an explosion that big. If the blast didn't destroy it the fallout will. The gamma radiation or a good old-fashioned nuclear winter will finish off anything that survived. And who knows how it'll effect the rest of the solar system. Bauer wouldn't even let me look to see if there were other planets. Remember Tollan and Cerita? That bomb could create astronomical anomalies that will throw the whole system out of whack. I mean this little bomb could destroy a whole solar system. Or maybe send asteroids careening off towards other worlds," she said.
"Wielding that much power is indeed a great responsibility," he said wryly, internally shaking his head.
Sam looked at him and snorted, realizing how her words had sounded. My she was getting full of herself. One little bomb and all of a sudden she'd destroyed half the known universe. "I can't change it so I should just get over it."
"That is not what I meant but close. The past is unchangeable, barring temporal anomalies. Regrettable events such as this one are best served by attempting to learn from our mistakes and endeavor not to let them happen again. I am certain the next time you wish for more time to run tests, you will be granted it."
"I really hope you're right Teal'c."
"If you are finished here I believe Daniel Jackson will soon require assistance."
"Daniel? What's he doing?"
"He is attempting to guide General Bauer in directing damage control," Teal'c said with a small smile.
"Daniel is telling the engineers what to do? This I have to see. I mean, no offense to Daniel but it would really suck if the colonel gets General Hammond reinstated and he doesn't have a base to come back to."
"Indeed," Teal'c said, getting to his feet and offering Sam his hand. He saw her wince a bit as he grasped her bruised knuckles. "Perhaps we should detour through the infirmary first."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Did I miss anything?" Jack asked joining the rest of his team at what was unofficially SG-1's table in the commissary.
"Jack, you're back," Daniel said, setting down his glass of juice and not failing to notice his friend was back
In uniform.
"And my front."
"O'Neill, I presume you were successful?" Teal'c asked noting the guardedly pleased look on his commanding officer's face.
Jack nodded. "Yep. The red phone should be ringing right about…now," he said making a show of checking his watch.
"Then it's official?" Sam asked. She'd heard the rumor this morning but hadn't dared try to ask anyone.
"Hammond called me this morning. He's been asked to return, with an apology for the 'misunderstanding'. The change of command should be effective at 0800 tomorrow," Jack reported, fighting the urge to check that the disk was still in his pocket. He hadn't let the little item out of his sight in the past 48 hours. It had meant sleepless nights but he'd be damned if he'd let everything he'd been through all be for nothing.
The first thing he needed to talk to George about was a little off world trip. He knew just the planet to stash the disk on. It sure wasn't safe here. But now that the SGC had the only operational Stargate on Earth, he figured hiding it off world would be the safest place. "So," he continued. "What'd I miss?"
Something had happened while he was gone. If the tense looks on people's faces weren't enough of a clue then the nifty little radiation badge he'd been given at the front gate was a dead giveaway. His three friends silently looked at each other. "Guys?"
"We aah…we sorta blew up a planet," Daniel said grudgingly when neither Sam nor Teal'c would speak up.
Jack stared at them. Ok. Not quite what he was expecting. "Not one we like I hope?"
"The planet was uninhabited O'Neill."
"It had animals."
"And an abandoned Goa'uld mine."
"Which had been deserted for centuries."
"But there was still enough Naquadah in the soil to start the chain reaction."
"Which you tried to tell him."
"Which was exactly what he wanted."
"You don't know that."
"Daniel, it's the NID. The ends justify the means. They knew exactly what would happen. They didn't care."
Jack's eyes bounced between Sam and Daniel feeling distinctly like a spectator at Wimbledon. It was obvious they were rehashing an old argument.
"Aah! OK. That's it. Zip it!" he ordered, waving his hand in the air.
"Jack…"
"Zip!" Jack insisted. "Teal'c. In three sentences or less…What happened?"
Teal'c raised his eyebrow and thought a second. "General Bauer's test site for the bomb was a planet that had animal and plant life. After detonation the wormhole would not disengage permitting excessive levels of gamma radiation into the SGC. However after the thirty-eight minute window expired the wormhole did disengage thus preventing the total irradiation and possible destruction of Earth," he reported, punctuating his words by popping a mini powdered sugar donut into his mouth.
"Oh…Well, as long as it wasn't anything important," Jack quipped, taking a sip of his coffee.
Jack watched the expressions play across his friends' faces and savored each one. Suddenly the shadows he'd operated in didn't seem so dark. The lines he'd crossed weren't quite so thick and the price he'd paid not so high.
True he'd sold a bit of his soul to the devil, but the rest of his soul, the rest of his family was safely back together. And that made it all worth it.
fin