STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
by fyresong
FEEDBACK: a_sayyar2118@hotmail.com
ARCHIVE: Guide Posts. Cascade Library. Everyone else please ask.
TEASER: Daniel not knowing a language? Teal'c and General Hammond discussing morality?
Detective Ellison kidnaped by Ritu, or is it Tok'ra? Intrigue abounds! Companion, NOT sequel
to COVERT OPERATIONS.
TIME LINE/CATEGORY: Third season Stargate SG-1, after Shades of Grey. Post Sentinel Too
part 2. Alternate Universe or more accurately, veering from cannon. Part 2.5 of a longer series.
Crossover: Stargate SG-1.
RATING: PG-13 More swearing. Some mention of violence, nothing graphic though.
DISCLAIMER: No major plot-lines, characters, setting, or major events alluded to in this story
are mine in any way. Pet Fly, Paramount, and UPN own these guys. Stargate SG-1 and its
characters are the property of StarGate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double
Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. Some of the dialogue is pulled straight from the TV
show for the sake of continuity and is thus logically NOT mine. No money is being made off this
story. Please ask author before reproducing or posing anywhere else.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Everyone in the SenFan universe who asked for the Stargate SG-1
version and back story that goes along with the events in COVERT OPERATIONS. Thanks for
writing to let me know just how welcome I am here and how much they wanted this story to
continue (especially the Pester Queen herself, Lila and her pointy sticks.) Detailed comments
about what you guys liked helped me write this one.
NOTES: This is mostly Stargate centered. It's short. It's supposed to be read along with
COVERT OPERATIONS and before the next major part of the story arc BROKEN SOLDIERS
which I shall post within one or two days. Is it necessary reading to understand the rest of the
series? Well probably yes. There is a lot of exposition that explains the reason behind Jim's
kidnaping. It would be good to read this just for that because we come back to the issues again
later in the series. Would you guys believe that I was only planning to do like two stories in this
plot arc and move on to another I have partially written? Boy am I surprised! This is number two
point five and I've got at least three more in the works. As always all grammar and spelling
mistakes are my own. I'm dyslexic so take pity on me! :( As for canon stuff, I've seen more
Stargate SG-1 episodes than The Sentinel, but I'm still rough in some canon areas. So if I screw
up I apologize ahead of time. The Quechuan and the Inca history stuff was pulled from books
and online sources I skimmed through in desperation. Sorry if I made mistakes there too; I'm an
English major not an anthropologist/linguist! Set Post Sentinel Too part 2. I mixed in Murder
101 for good measure. This is also taking place after Stargate SG-1's Shades of Grey during third
season.
***
All in all, it had been a good mission.
Dr. Daniel Jackson hadn't gotten injured, not so much as a paper cut while practically having
kittens over the temple and people they'd found on PR5-997. Major Samantha Carter had found
tons of interesting things in the atmosphere and soil to keep her busy. And the native populace of
the planet had been wary, vigilant, but tolerant of Teal'c and the disgusting worm he carried in his
stomach.
"Colonel O'Neill," General George Hammond called as he approached the ramp, stopping to
acknowledge the former Jaffa's greeting as he headed for his quarters. "I see you and SG-1 are on
time for a change. No trouble I hope?"
"No sir, remarkably," Jack agreed as he took off his sunglasses and pocketed them. Daniel came
up to stand beside him, practically vibrating, just dying to tell anyone what they had found.
*Steady Danny, this is the military,* Jack thought at him urgently. For once Daniel managed to
hold his tongue and let him as commanding officer give the report.
"The people were . . . friendly, perhaps a little primitive," Jack hemmed, seeing the faint
disappointment masked quickly in the general's eyes. "But they threw off their Goa'uld
conquerors some centuries ago. They haven't suffered Goa'uld invasion in a long time, and are
willing to share their secret of keeping the snake heads away from their lovely hot and humid
jungle."
The light was suddenly on in Hammond's eyes. "Good. I want a complete debriefing outlining
this mission at 1600 today. A defense of Earth against the Goa'uld that does not involve relying
on treaty or on the Asgard would be most welcome," the general replied nodding Carter's way as
the major quickly saluted and made a dash for her lab, unable to wait a moment longer before she
tabulated her results. "I'll see you all in the conference room then."
As soon as Hammond had moved away Daniel could hold himself no longer. "Jack you can
hardly call those people primitive. Their culture was the quintessent example of urban and rural
communities coexisting in harmony. The city dwellers have their buildings and their social life
built directly on that of ancient Inca civilization. The nomadic tribes in the jungle would have
been incorporated into the cities, one would imagine, yet they remain separate. Those tribes
probably have distant cousins in the Quechuan tribes living in the Amazon today. They even have
the same name. Tahuantinsuyu was the Quechuan word for the Inca empire. It means Land of
the Four Quarters. Isn't that amazing? Think of how a historian would feel studying the Inca's as
they must have existed before Spanish conquest, untouched by Europeans. So little of their oral
culture remains since they didn't have a system of writing." Daniel began to dig though his bag
pulling out his notes and tape recorder even as they left the gateroom. "I mean, I have to check,
but I think that the spoken language is exactly the same as one of the Peruvian dialects, very little
shift in sound and vocabulary at all."
"You have to check? Slipping Dr. Jackson?" Jack teased as he slid his keycard into the
appropriate slot and then stepped onto the elevator.
Daniel pushed his glasses back up on his nose with one finger. "Well, I don't know every
language Jack. And South American language families like the Aymara weren't ones a I studied
intensively enough to be fluent."
"So that would explain your sudden switch to sign language off planet?" Jack ribbed his friend
good-naturedly. Sometimes Daniel could be too serious. It was Jack's personal mission in life to
get the guy to unwind and have fun over something other than his precious rocks, show him the
finer things in life, like beer, and hockey.
Daniel colored slightly, remembering the long pantomime sessions that were necessary when
words failed to explain to the Elders of the nomads, and the leaders of the cities what and who
they were.
"Give me a couple of days and I'll be fine," Daniel insisted, slightly annoyed.
"Sure you will," Jack agreed smugly, glad he'd had the chance to ruffle a few of his friend's
feathers. Sometimes when Daniel and Sam went off on some intellectual tangent O'Neill felt
strangely lacking and definitely out of the loop. But then without Daniel they wouldn't have the
Stargate working, and Sam was invaluable on missions.
*The price of command,* he thought to himself as he and Daniel entered the locker room to
change and shower.
***
General Hammond tried not to get cross-eyed watching Daniel wave his hands about and pace as
he went into detail about historical opportunities, ancient temples to various deities, systems of
government, and a multitude of translations. There was no doubt that the Egyptologist with three
different doctorates attached to his name knew his stuff, but was it necessary to *tell* everyone?
The previous commander of this base, General West, has written in his notes that the only reason
he tolerated a scientist like Daniel at all was because of his flightiness. No one that scatterbrained
was a threat to the U.S. military. After meeting with the man himself and overcoming his own
anger at the doctor's AWOL conditions on Abydos, he found that beneath the occasional
absentmindedness and allergies there was a staggering intelligence. Still that wasn't enough to let
a civilian on a team like SG-1. It was in the end the Egyptologist's attitude that finally tipped the
scales. Daniel didn't share his knowledge in hopes of belittling or impressing anyone. Jackson
shared because he thought that everyone in the world found this as fascinating and enchanting as
he did, and even if they didn't, how could they not see how valuable it was to the human race as a
whole? And he didn't contradict military regs for the hell of it; it was only when it interfered with
the high moral principles that Daniel felt that every human being should hold for another. Faced
with that, Hammond found he couldn't argue.
*Not that I'd ever tell the boy,* George thought with an inward smile. Outwardly he sat up and
raised his voice over Daniel's eager explanations.
"Dr. Jackson. In your estimation, do you think that you will be able to communicate our desire to
obtain the Tahuantinsuyu's security measures if SG-1 returned to the planet?"
Daniel shared a quick glance with his teammates. "I believe communicating our wishes won't be
as . . . problematic this time. And given the rate of their development I don't foresee trouble
figuring out how to incorporate it into our own technological base, though Major Carter would
know for sure," he said nodding at Sam.
"Given their state of technological development we shouldn't have any trouble figuring out their
defense system sir. I mean," she added with a little laugh "they haven't even invented the wheel
yet."
"They don't need it," Daniel countered, warming quickly to the subject once again. "They have a
complex system of *chaski* or runners that deliver communications across the entire planet just
like the Inca did on a smaller scale in South America. The Inca Empire was the most culturally
and socio-politically advanced group of tribes in the Americas."
"I'm sure they were Dr. Jackson," the general cut in quickly before he received a blow by blow
lecture of the rise of the Inca Empire. Not that it couldn't be useful but there were more pressing
issues at hand. "I want SG-1 to head back to PR5-997 tomorrow at 0900 and invite the leaders
of the Tahuantinsuyu to send a representative to discuss the sharing of this technology.
Dismissed."
***
SG-1 stumbled out into the hot humid air of PR5-997 and found themselves once again facing the
same two sentries stationed at the gate as last time.
The Tahuantinsuyu warriors greeted them, and escorted them through the jungle much like they
had on their initial visit.
Teal'c had the rear guard, Carter was in flank position just like Jack was. Daniel must have spent
the entire evening immersing himself in their Quechuan dialect because he was in fine form, asking
about the wildlife, their culture, their history, and their personal backgrounds.
The warrior on point merely grunted a few short worded replies; it was his companion who
seemed to spend as much time up trees shadowing the group as she did beside her larger partner
that seemed more than willing to answer all of Daniel's endless supply of questions.
Jack was peering off into the underbrush, sure he'd spotted some animal with large sharp teeth
that would, given odds, bite Daniel if it had the chance, when Daniel tugged on his sleeve. "Jack
you won't believe this. Remember how you wanted to know if they always had people watching
the Stargate?"
"Yeah?" O'Neill replied a little absently.
"Well, they spend their whole lives on the edge of the city, tracking game for their tribe that
camps within a 50 mile radius of the gate, informing the city farmers and the tribal hunters of
weather patterns, and guarding the gate. Their whole lives!" Daniel exclaimed in awe. "Tuya,"
he said pointing to the young woman, "and Killincho, " he continued gesturing towards their
tracker through the jungle "have been out here since they were children! This is their whole
lives!"
"Maybe we should give them an iris or something so that they don't have to sit watching the
gate," Jack said helpfully.
"I think they do more than just watch the gate Jack," Daniel clarified trying not to roll his eyes at
his friend's lack of excitement. "It's a great honor to be chosen to guard the Stargate."
"Well I'm tryin' to be practical here Danny!"
***
They left the jungle and Tuya and Killincho, took the stone road up to the city, (if it had a name
Jack didn't remember it, probably because it was unpronounceable to him) and were taken before
the same man who had met with them when they had first arrived.
He nodded in welcome and then he and Daniel began a rapid-fire conversation. Aside from the
surprise at Jackson's newfound grasp of the dialect, Amaru was unsurprised to see them, and
seemed forthcoming.
Daniel was the one who looked confused.
"What Danny? What?" Jack finally interrupted when the Egyptologist turned towards him.
"They're happy to let us into the temple and share the knowledge left behind when they drove the
Goa'uld out. They just want to know when our Watchman and Guide, as near as I can translate in
this dialect, are coming to get the information."
"Watchman and Guide?" Jack repeated in confusion. "Who the hell would that be?"
"It seems to be a chosen position. Like Tuya and Killincho, they're Watchman and Guide," Daniel
explained.
"You mean they'll only give the knowledge to those who guard a Stargate for a living?" Sam
clarified. "Well that would be us, wouldn't it?"
"Tell him that then," Jack instructed.
Daniel sighed in exasperation. "I *did.* According to Amaru none of us are Watchmen or
woman as the case may be" he corrected quickly, nodding to Carter "or Guides. It's more than
just guarding the gate; the way he describes it is difficult to translate. He keeps saying that a
Watchman can see farther than an eagle, track like a wolf with his nose, hear the wind moving the
clouds in the sky. This Watchman sounds like he's . . . superhuman, or something."
"Or like he's on drugs," Jack interjected sarcastically. "Teal'c, you even heard of this Watchman
Guide thing?"
"I have not," the former Jaffa replied solemnly.
"So we can't check out the temple unless it's our Watchman and Guide who does it?" O'Neill
asked in frustration.
Daniel glanced back at Amaru who nodded once. "They want to help us Jack, they just have very
strict rules about who can and can't enter the temple. This Watchman needs to--" Daniel broke
off, a "eureka" look coming over his features. Jack jumped up and took a step closer. Daniel had
an idea, it could be dangerous, oft times brilliant, but always helpful.
"What Danny? What?" he pressed.
"I think, just maybe he's talking about superior senses, the tribal guardian myth," Dr. Jackson
explained in a slow voice growing faster in wonder. Jack could practically hear the gears at work
in the linguist's mind.
"Okay . . . work with that. What does that mean? We need to find someone with really good
eyesight?" Jack asked moving his hands as if mimicking the thinking process Jackson was
engaged in.
"I read about this a few years ago in an anthropology journal. Some student had researched . . .
Who was it? Right, Richard Burton's work!" Sounding pleased, Daniel began to extrapolate,
words tripping over his tongue as he vocalized his thoughts, hands flying. Jack decided it would
be too cruel to stop him and point out that Richard Burton, one time husband of Elizabeth Taylor,
was not a scientist. "Yeah, yeah I remember. The myth goes that every precivilized tribe had a
Watchman who lived on the boarders of the tribe or village--"
"Like Killincho and Tuya," Jack interjected.
"Yeah, and the Watchman had five sense that were completely heightened. Sir Burton, an English
anthropologist, not the actor Jack," Daniel put in with a smile as if he'd ben reading his friend's
mind. "wrote about it in a book. The paper I read, I think it was a master's thesis. This guy was
looking for a modern day Watchman, but he called it by another name."
"Why cannot we ask Killincho and Tuya to enter the temple and tell us what is inside?" Teal'c
asked. "They both fulfill the requirements."
"I already asked about them," Daniel admitted. "It needs to be someone from our world,
someone who protects our tribe as it were. They would only give the information to their own
tribe, not to outsiders who could potentially attack them or be in competition for resources with
them. Plus I doubt they'd be willing to come to Earth and explain it to us."
"Okay," Jack thought aloud. "Here's the deal campers," he said clapping his hands together.
"We'll say good-bye, promise to come back, go dig up this guy who wrote about them and see if
he's found a Watchman."
"We'll need both," Daniel interrupted. "We'll need both Watchman and Guide."
"Whatever, we'll get both then," Jack waved off the concern. "Make our good-byes Danny."
***
"A Watchman and Guide?" General Hammond asked.
"Well, this student, Blair Sandburg, actually calls them Sentinel and Guide using Burton's words,"
Daniel replied as he swivled slowly from side to side in his chair. He'd been working non-stop
since they'd returned from PR5-997 finding sources on the mythical tribal guardians and even
coffee wasn't keeping him very awake.
"I'll submit your reports through the proper channels," Hammond announced after a pause.
"Good work. If we find what we need we will return, and if not . . . well as Major Carter pointed
out, their level of technology is hardly comparable to that of the Nox or the Tok'ra. Dismissed."
***
Missions came and went, weeks passed and Jack forgot about the planet in face of dozens of
other worlds, other first contact situations. Daniel would bring it up from time to time, an
interesting piece of trivia he couldn't let go of. But life in the SGC returned to what passed for
normal until The Meeting.
"NID DID WHAT?!" Jack yelled before he could help himself.
"They kidnaped a police detective? Out of his own home?" Daniel queried in shock. "But they
can't do that!" He looked to Jack and Carter for answers, for reassurance.
"After all that happened with NID the last time they stole something, I thought they'd been
controlled sir," Jack said in a tightly clenched voice.
General Hammond rubbed his forehead and tried to keep his face impassive. "I've spoken with
the president about this; he doesn't condone their actions, but what's done is done and he feels
that we should use what resources we have to protect this planet, including Detective Ellison if he
is a Sentinel according to the report by Agent Brackett."
"But this is kidnaping!" Daniel protested. "We can't just turn a blind eye to it. This is wrong, as
wrong as stealing technology, but worse! This is a human being!" The linguist stood and stuffed
his hands in his pockets and stared out a window into the gate control room. Behind him Carter
and O'Neill shared a worried glance. They didn't like it either, but they were military and
sometimes rights got stepped on. Sometimes Daniel's beliefs as a civilian conflicted harshly with
military life, but then without Daniel they wouldn't be the best SG team in the program, they
wouldn't even HAVE the program. Sometimes Jackson took things that happened to other
people personally.
That and Daniel's beloved wife Sha'uri had been kidnaped and possessed.
"I was under the impression that citizens of this country had rights that were upheld and protected
by the military and law," Teal'c said darkly into the silence. "If you do not follow your own laws,
why bother to uphold them?"
"These are times of outright warfare between us and the Goa'uld. Even though war is not
declared, they have tried to attack our planet." Hammond explained earnestly. An outraged Jaffa
was not to be ignored. They tended to make radical shifts in alliances towards the "greater good"
swearing vengeance against those he felt were evil and hunting them down and then killing them
regardless of costs or odds. Hammond never wanted to think of a time when Teal'c turned
against them; that day humanity was truly unredeemable. "During wartime sacrifices and hard
decisions have to be made. We don't make the decisions, but as soldiers we are bound to follow
orders."
"And if those orders are wrong?" Daniel demanded harshly.
General Hammond stood, the full force of his command and rank in his bearing. "It is out of my
hands."
Just then Dr. Janet Fraiser came in. "Sorry I'm late sir."
"Your report doctor?" Hammond asked.
Fraiser shot Daniel a concerned glance, but he still stood back to the group. "They placed
Detective Ellison down on Level 23 in a secure cell. As far as I can tell from a complete physical
is that he's alive and is a perfectly ordinary human being. No genetic markers, no enhanced
sensory organs. I don't see how NID could have connected him to this Sandburg's work as a
Sentennial."
"Sentinel," Daniel corrected.
"Is he awake?" the general continued, deciding to let Dr. Jackson be for the moment. The young
man was not going to deal with this rationally. It hit too close to the only home he'd ever had.
"That's the problem," she admitted. "He's been tested pretty invasivly by NID. Whatever they did
must have hurt because there's evidence that he struggled during the procedure. According to the
notes I was given and his current condition, he hasn't been conscious since he was . . . taken sir."
"Any sign of it being drug related?"
"None sir. He's non responsive. His brain function is . . abnormal. He's comatose. I can't explain
it." Janet said shrugging helplessly.
"Keep me informed."
"Wonderful," Daniel said with a humorless chuckle. "We kidnap someone we THINK is a
Sentinel based on one paper I remember and an ex-CIA's report, and now he's in a coma and has
no evidence of the senses we need, and NID totally forgot to pick up a Guide while they were at
it. Cosmic irony at work."
With that the linguist left the room.
Jack met Hammond's eyes. "I'll talk to him sir."
"Very well," the general said with a sigh. He was growing tired of cleaning up after NID's
mistakes. "Dismissed."
***
*Well I'm damn glad someone took this situation into their hands and cleaned it up,* Jack
thought smugly as he sought to get comfortable. His wrists were slightly sore from the handcuffs,
but they'd not been tightened cruelly. Dr. Janet Fraiser sat next to Jeremy Meyers, the Marine
that Blair had clocked. The man was still out.
*Well Jacobs was mad,* Jack reminded himself as he leaned back and slipped his cuffed hands
over his feet, bringing them out from behind his back. *At least he didn't kill anyone. God knows
Blair can be vicious when he really really loses his temper and people he cares about are
threatened.*
"So how do you know him?" Janet said, breaking the silence.
"Know who?" O'Neill looked at her, complete innocence in his expression.
She scowled and sat down next to him on the cot. "The camera is still off."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jack told her sincerely. "It must be the knock on your
head from those faceless, nameless savages that stole what we rightfully kidnaped."
Rolling her eyes and swearing under her breath Fraiser shot him a death glare. "Fine."
"Fine," Jack agreed.
"Good."
"Good."
There was a sudden knock on the door and a voice calling from outside. "Jack? You in there?"
*Daniel. Perfect!* Jack thought with a smile. "Daniel? Help! We've been attacked." he yelled
in his best victim-come-and-get-me-I'm-helpless voice.
"O'Neill?" Teal's voice boomed from outside and then the door was flung open.
"What happened?" Daniel was wide-eyed in curiosity. "I thought you were going down to see
Ellison." The Egyptologist looked around. "Where is he?"
"He's been kidnaped right from under our noses," O'Neill said as Teal'c fiddled with the handcuffs,
and alarms began blaring, and Marines came running in and out of the room yelling.
The grin on Daniel's face grew to exponential size. "Kidnaped, huh? Magical forces at work?"
O'Neill nodded. "Oh yeah! I'm thinking Ritu or Tok'ra."
"A very good explanation O'Neill," Teal'c nodded solemnly as he freed Dr. Fraiser and the
colonel. "I am sure that is exactly what happened."
"Well we better go tell the General," Jack said with a smile.
***
"Tok'ra or Ritu," the general repeated suspiciously.
"That's my guess sir," Jack said.
"It all happened so fast," Janet added.
"You entered the room and were suddenly swept with dizziness and fell unconscious. When you
woke you found Ellison was gone and you had been handcuffed with MP issued handcuffs and
you think it's either Tok'ra or Ritu," Hammond explained yet again, his tone indicating he didn't
buy this story for a second. "Tok'ra or Ritu when we've had the iris closed all day and no gate
travel."
Fraiser fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. Jack shrugged and spread his hands apologetically.
"With those extraterrestrials you never know!"
The general picked up the security report and the report of his colonel and chief medical officer.
"Security shows an outside force putting the cell camera on a feedback loop during the time of the
kidnaping. The only report to go on of our mysterious attackers identity or identities is you. Are
you sure you saw nothing?"
O'Neill and Fraiser nodded in unison. "Absolutely nothing sir."
"No residual dizziness?"
Jack smiled. "Nope."
In the long, uncomfortable silence that followed, Dr. Fraiser stood. "I really should go check on
Meyers sir."
"Carry on."
O'Neill rose from his seat. "Sir? I really need to--"
"Sit down Colonel," Hammond said in his best deadly tone. Jack eased back into his chair, a look
of puzzled bewilderment on his face that would fool anyone if the evidence wasn't so clear. "I've
been looking over Ellison's file. He has many close friends in his police department in Cascade,
many of which with military background."
"What a coincidence sir."
"Yes," Hammond agreed. The general leaned forward on his desk and laced his fingers together.
"I think you're up for some vacation time Colonel. I hear the Pacific Northwest is lovely this time
of year."
"Sounds positively restful sir," Jack said deferentially as he stood once more. "Will that be all
sir?"
George Hammond looked down at his desk and then up at the man who after many years of work
together on this project he respected and liked. "Jack, I don't agree anymore than Dr. Jackson
about what we did to this man, but if former Captain Ellison *wants* to help us, is able to help us,
I will do everything in my power to keep him out of NID and CIA hands. As even an adjunct
member of the Stargate program he is untouchable and protected."
O'Neill nodded, understanding. *It must suck being in a position like that* Jack thought, staring
at the general. *It was bad enough lying to Danny and Carter and Teal'c the last time NID
started poking their noses in our business. Hammond must have his hands full.* "I'll keep that
in mind sir. Thank you."
"Have a good vacation Colonel."
end. Feedback a_sayyar2118@hotmail.com
by fyresong
FEEDBACK: a_sayyar2118@hotmail.com
ARCHIVE: Guide Posts. Cascade Library. Everyone else please ask.
TEASER: Daniel not knowing a language? Teal'c and General Hammond discussing morality?
Detective Ellison kidnaped by Ritu, or is it Tok'ra? Intrigue abounds! Companion, NOT sequel
to COVERT OPERATIONS.
TIME LINE/CATEGORY: Third season Stargate SG-1, after Shades of Grey. Post Sentinel Too
part 2. Alternate Universe or more accurately, veering from cannon. Part 2.5 of a longer series.
Crossover: Stargate SG-1.
RATING: PG-13 More swearing. Some mention of violence, nothing graphic though.
DISCLAIMER: No major plot-lines, characters, setting, or major events alluded to in this story
are mine in any way. Pet Fly, Paramount, and UPN own these guys. Stargate SG-1 and its
characters are the property of StarGate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double
Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. Some of the dialogue is pulled straight from the TV
show for the sake of continuity and is thus logically NOT mine. No money is being made off this
story. Please ask author before reproducing or posing anywhere else.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Everyone in the SenFan universe who asked for the Stargate SG-1
version and back story that goes along with the events in COVERT OPERATIONS. Thanks for
writing to let me know just how welcome I am here and how much they wanted this story to
continue (especially the Pester Queen herself, Lila and her pointy sticks.) Detailed comments
about what you guys liked helped me write this one.
NOTES: This is mostly Stargate centered. It's short. It's supposed to be read along with
COVERT OPERATIONS and before the next major part of the story arc BROKEN SOLDIERS
which I shall post within one or two days. Is it necessary reading to understand the rest of the
series? Well probably yes. There is a lot of exposition that explains the reason behind Jim's
kidnaping. It would be good to read this just for that because we come back to the issues again
later in the series. Would you guys believe that I was only planning to do like two stories in this
plot arc and move on to another I have partially written? Boy am I surprised! This is number two
point five and I've got at least three more in the works. As always all grammar and spelling
mistakes are my own. I'm dyslexic so take pity on me! :( As for canon stuff, I've seen more
Stargate SG-1 episodes than The Sentinel, but I'm still rough in some canon areas. So if I screw
up I apologize ahead of time. The Quechuan and the Inca history stuff was pulled from books
and online sources I skimmed through in desperation. Sorry if I made mistakes there too; I'm an
English major not an anthropologist/linguist! Set Post Sentinel Too part 2. I mixed in Murder
101 for good measure. This is also taking place after Stargate SG-1's Shades of Grey during third
season.
***
All in all, it had been a good mission.
Dr. Daniel Jackson hadn't gotten injured, not so much as a paper cut while practically having
kittens over the temple and people they'd found on PR5-997. Major Samantha Carter had found
tons of interesting things in the atmosphere and soil to keep her busy. And the native populace of
the planet had been wary, vigilant, but tolerant of Teal'c and the disgusting worm he carried in his
stomach.
"Colonel O'Neill," General George Hammond called as he approached the ramp, stopping to
acknowledge the former Jaffa's greeting as he headed for his quarters. "I see you and SG-1 are on
time for a change. No trouble I hope?"
"No sir, remarkably," Jack agreed as he took off his sunglasses and pocketed them. Daniel came
up to stand beside him, practically vibrating, just dying to tell anyone what they had found.
*Steady Danny, this is the military,* Jack thought at him urgently. For once Daniel managed to
hold his tongue and let him as commanding officer give the report.
"The people were . . . friendly, perhaps a little primitive," Jack hemmed, seeing the faint
disappointment masked quickly in the general's eyes. "But they threw off their Goa'uld
conquerors some centuries ago. They haven't suffered Goa'uld invasion in a long time, and are
willing to share their secret of keeping the snake heads away from their lovely hot and humid
jungle."
The light was suddenly on in Hammond's eyes. "Good. I want a complete debriefing outlining
this mission at 1600 today. A defense of Earth against the Goa'uld that does not involve relying
on treaty or on the Asgard would be most welcome," the general replied nodding Carter's way as
the major quickly saluted and made a dash for her lab, unable to wait a moment longer before she
tabulated her results. "I'll see you all in the conference room then."
As soon as Hammond had moved away Daniel could hold himself no longer. "Jack you can
hardly call those people primitive. Their culture was the quintessent example of urban and rural
communities coexisting in harmony. The city dwellers have their buildings and their social life
built directly on that of ancient Inca civilization. The nomadic tribes in the jungle would have
been incorporated into the cities, one would imagine, yet they remain separate. Those tribes
probably have distant cousins in the Quechuan tribes living in the Amazon today. They even have
the same name. Tahuantinsuyu was the Quechuan word for the Inca empire. It means Land of
the Four Quarters. Isn't that amazing? Think of how a historian would feel studying the Inca's as
they must have existed before Spanish conquest, untouched by Europeans. So little of their oral
culture remains since they didn't have a system of writing." Daniel began to dig though his bag
pulling out his notes and tape recorder even as they left the gateroom. "I mean, I have to check,
but I think that the spoken language is exactly the same as one of the Peruvian dialects, very little
shift in sound and vocabulary at all."
"You have to check? Slipping Dr. Jackson?" Jack teased as he slid his keycard into the
appropriate slot and then stepped onto the elevator.
Daniel pushed his glasses back up on his nose with one finger. "Well, I don't know every
language Jack. And South American language families like the Aymara weren't ones a I studied
intensively enough to be fluent."
"So that would explain your sudden switch to sign language off planet?" Jack ribbed his friend
good-naturedly. Sometimes Daniel could be too serious. It was Jack's personal mission in life to
get the guy to unwind and have fun over something other than his precious rocks, show him the
finer things in life, like beer, and hockey.
Daniel colored slightly, remembering the long pantomime sessions that were necessary when
words failed to explain to the Elders of the nomads, and the leaders of the cities what and who
they were.
"Give me a couple of days and I'll be fine," Daniel insisted, slightly annoyed.
"Sure you will," Jack agreed smugly, glad he'd had the chance to ruffle a few of his friend's
feathers. Sometimes when Daniel and Sam went off on some intellectual tangent O'Neill felt
strangely lacking and definitely out of the loop. But then without Daniel they wouldn't have the
Stargate working, and Sam was invaluable on missions.
*The price of command,* he thought to himself as he and Daniel entered the locker room to
change and shower.
***
General Hammond tried not to get cross-eyed watching Daniel wave his hands about and pace as
he went into detail about historical opportunities, ancient temples to various deities, systems of
government, and a multitude of translations. There was no doubt that the Egyptologist with three
different doctorates attached to his name knew his stuff, but was it necessary to *tell* everyone?
The previous commander of this base, General West, has written in his notes that the only reason
he tolerated a scientist like Daniel at all was because of his flightiness. No one that scatterbrained
was a threat to the U.S. military. After meeting with the man himself and overcoming his own
anger at the doctor's AWOL conditions on Abydos, he found that beneath the occasional
absentmindedness and allergies there was a staggering intelligence. Still that wasn't enough to let
a civilian on a team like SG-1. It was in the end the Egyptologist's attitude that finally tipped the
scales. Daniel didn't share his knowledge in hopes of belittling or impressing anyone. Jackson
shared because he thought that everyone in the world found this as fascinating and enchanting as
he did, and even if they didn't, how could they not see how valuable it was to the human race as a
whole? And he didn't contradict military regs for the hell of it; it was only when it interfered with
the high moral principles that Daniel felt that every human being should hold for another. Faced
with that, Hammond found he couldn't argue.
*Not that I'd ever tell the boy,* George thought with an inward smile. Outwardly he sat up and
raised his voice over Daniel's eager explanations.
"Dr. Jackson. In your estimation, do you think that you will be able to communicate our desire to
obtain the Tahuantinsuyu's security measures if SG-1 returned to the planet?"
Daniel shared a quick glance with his teammates. "I believe communicating our wishes won't be
as . . . problematic this time. And given the rate of their development I don't foresee trouble
figuring out how to incorporate it into our own technological base, though Major Carter would
know for sure," he said nodding at Sam.
"Given their state of technological development we shouldn't have any trouble figuring out their
defense system sir. I mean," she added with a little laugh "they haven't even invented the wheel
yet."
"They don't need it," Daniel countered, warming quickly to the subject once again. "They have a
complex system of *chaski* or runners that deliver communications across the entire planet just
like the Inca did on a smaller scale in South America. The Inca Empire was the most culturally
and socio-politically advanced group of tribes in the Americas."
"I'm sure they were Dr. Jackson," the general cut in quickly before he received a blow by blow
lecture of the rise of the Inca Empire. Not that it couldn't be useful but there were more pressing
issues at hand. "I want SG-1 to head back to PR5-997 tomorrow at 0900 and invite the leaders
of the Tahuantinsuyu to send a representative to discuss the sharing of this technology.
Dismissed."
***
SG-1 stumbled out into the hot humid air of PR5-997 and found themselves once again facing the
same two sentries stationed at the gate as last time.
The Tahuantinsuyu warriors greeted them, and escorted them through the jungle much like they
had on their initial visit.
Teal'c had the rear guard, Carter was in flank position just like Jack was. Daniel must have spent
the entire evening immersing himself in their Quechuan dialect because he was in fine form, asking
about the wildlife, their culture, their history, and their personal backgrounds.
The warrior on point merely grunted a few short worded replies; it was his companion who
seemed to spend as much time up trees shadowing the group as she did beside her larger partner
that seemed more than willing to answer all of Daniel's endless supply of questions.
Jack was peering off into the underbrush, sure he'd spotted some animal with large sharp teeth
that would, given odds, bite Daniel if it had the chance, when Daniel tugged on his sleeve. "Jack
you won't believe this. Remember how you wanted to know if they always had people watching
the Stargate?"
"Yeah?" O'Neill replied a little absently.
"Well, they spend their whole lives on the edge of the city, tracking game for their tribe that
camps within a 50 mile radius of the gate, informing the city farmers and the tribal hunters of
weather patterns, and guarding the gate. Their whole lives!" Daniel exclaimed in awe. "Tuya,"
he said pointing to the young woman, "and Killincho, " he continued gesturing towards their
tracker through the jungle "have been out here since they were children! This is their whole
lives!"
"Maybe we should give them an iris or something so that they don't have to sit watching the
gate," Jack said helpfully.
"I think they do more than just watch the gate Jack," Daniel clarified trying not to roll his eyes at
his friend's lack of excitement. "It's a great honor to be chosen to guard the Stargate."
"Well I'm tryin' to be practical here Danny!"
***
They left the jungle and Tuya and Killincho, took the stone road up to the city, (if it had a name
Jack didn't remember it, probably because it was unpronounceable to him) and were taken before
the same man who had met with them when they had first arrived.
He nodded in welcome and then he and Daniel began a rapid-fire conversation. Aside from the
surprise at Jackson's newfound grasp of the dialect, Amaru was unsurprised to see them, and
seemed forthcoming.
Daniel was the one who looked confused.
"What Danny? What?" Jack finally interrupted when the Egyptologist turned towards him.
"They're happy to let us into the temple and share the knowledge left behind when they drove the
Goa'uld out. They just want to know when our Watchman and Guide, as near as I can translate in
this dialect, are coming to get the information."
"Watchman and Guide?" Jack repeated in confusion. "Who the hell would that be?"
"It seems to be a chosen position. Like Tuya and Killincho, they're Watchman and Guide," Daniel
explained.
"You mean they'll only give the knowledge to those who guard a Stargate for a living?" Sam
clarified. "Well that would be us, wouldn't it?"
"Tell him that then," Jack instructed.
Daniel sighed in exasperation. "I *did.* According to Amaru none of us are Watchmen or
woman as the case may be" he corrected quickly, nodding to Carter "or Guides. It's more than
just guarding the gate; the way he describes it is difficult to translate. He keeps saying that a
Watchman can see farther than an eagle, track like a wolf with his nose, hear the wind moving the
clouds in the sky. This Watchman sounds like he's . . . superhuman, or something."
"Or like he's on drugs," Jack interjected sarcastically. "Teal'c, you even heard of this Watchman
Guide thing?"
"I have not," the former Jaffa replied solemnly.
"So we can't check out the temple unless it's our Watchman and Guide who does it?" O'Neill
asked in frustration.
Daniel glanced back at Amaru who nodded once. "They want to help us Jack, they just have very
strict rules about who can and can't enter the temple. This Watchman needs to--" Daniel broke
off, a "eureka" look coming over his features. Jack jumped up and took a step closer. Daniel had
an idea, it could be dangerous, oft times brilliant, but always helpful.
"What Danny? What?" he pressed.
"I think, just maybe he's talking about superior senses, the tribal guardian myth," Dr. Jackson
explained in a slow voice growing faster in wonder. Jack could practically hear the gears at work
in the linguist's mind.
"Okay . . . work with that. What does that mean? We need to find someone with really good
eyesight?" Jack asked moving his hands as if mimicking the thinking process Jackson was
engaged in.
"I read about this a few years ago in an anthropology journal. Some student had researched . . .
Who was it? Right, Richard Burton's work!" Sounding pleased, Daniel began to extrapolate,
words tripping over his tongue as he vocalized his thoughts, hands flying. Jack decided it would
be too cruel to stop him and point out that Richard Burton, one time husband of Elizabeth Taylor,
was not a scientist. "Yeah, yeah I remember. The myth goes that every precivilized tribe had a
Watchman who lived on the boarders of the tribe or village--"
"Like Killincho and Tuya," Jack interjected.
"Yeah, and the Watchman had five sense that were completely heightened. Sir Burton, an English
anthropologist, not the actor Jack," Daniel put in with a smile as if he'd ben reading his friend's
mind. "wrote about it in a book. The paper I read, I think it was a master's thesis. This guy was
looking for a modern day Watchman, but he called it by another name."
"Why cannot we ask Killincho and Tuya to enter the temple and tell us what is inside?" Teal'c
asked. "They both fulfill the requirements."
"I already asked about them," Daniel admitted. "It needs to be someone from our world,
someone who protects our tribe as it were. They would only give the information to their own
tribe, not to outsiders who could potentially attack them or be in competition for resources with
them. Plus I doubt they'd be willing to come to Earth and explain it to us."
"Okay," Jack thought aloud. "Here's the deal campers," he said clapping his hands together.
"We'll say good-bye, promise to come back, go dig up this guy who wrote about them and see if
he's found a Watchman."
"We'll need both," Daniel interrupted. "We'll need both Watchman and Guide."
"Whatever, we'll get both then," Jack waved off the concern. "Make our good-byes Danny."
***
"A Watchman and Guide?" General Hammond asked.
"Well, this student, Blair Sandburg, actually calls them Sentinel and Guide using Burton's words,"
Daniel replied as he swivled slowly from side to side in his chair. He'd been working non-stop
since they'd returned from PR5-997 finding sources on the mythical tribal guardians and even
coffee wasn't keeping him very awake.
"I'll submit your reports through the proper channels," Hammond announced after a pause.
"Good work. If we find what we need we will return, and if not . . . well as Major Carter pointed
out, their level of technology is hardly comparable to that of the Nox or the Tok'ra. Dismissed."
***
Missions came and went, weeks passed and Jack forgot about the planet in face of dozens of
other worlds, other first contact situations. Daniel would bring it up from time to time, an
interesting piece of trivia he couldn't let go of. But life in the SGC returned to what passed for
normal until The Meeting.
"NID DID WHAT?!" Jack yelled before he could help himself.
"They kidnaped a police detective? Out of his own home?" Daniel queried in shock. "But they
can't do that!" He looked to Jack and Carter for answers, for reassurance.
"After all that happened with NID the last time they stole something, I thought they'd been
controlled sir," Jack said in a tightly clenched voice.
General Hammond rubbed his forehead and tried to keep his face impassive. "I've spoken with
the president about this; he doesn't condone their actions, but what's done is done and he feels
that we should use what resources we have to protect this planet, including Detective Ellison if he
is a Sentinel according to the report by Agent Brackett."
"But this is kidnaping!" Daniel protested. "We can't just turn a blind eye to it. This is wrong, as
wrong as stealing technology, but worse! This is a human being!" The linguist stood and stuffed
his hands in his pockets and stared out a window into the gate control room. Behind him Carter
and O'Neill shared a worried glance. They didn't like it either, but they were military and
sometimes rights got stepped on. Sometimes Daniel's beliefs as a civilian conflicted harshly with
military life, but then without Daniel they wouldn't be the best SG team in the program, they
wouldn't even HAVE the program. Sometimes Jackson took things that happened to other
people personally.
That and Daniel's beloved wife Sha'uri had been kidnaped and possessed.
"I was under the impression that citizens of this country had rights that were upheld and protected
by the military and law," Teal'c said darkly into the silence. "If you do not follow your own laws,
why bother to uphold them?"
"These are times of outright warfare between us and the Goa'uld. Even though war is not
declared, they have tried to attack our planet." Hammond explained earnestly. An outraged Jaffa
was not to be ignored. They tended to make radical shifts in alliances towards the "greater good"
swearing vengeance against those he felt were evil and hunting them down and then killing them
regardless of costs or odds. Hammond never wanted to think of a time when Teal'c turned
against them; that day humanity was truly unredeemable. "During wartime sacrifices and hard
decisions have to be made. We don't make the decisions, but as soldiers we are bound to follow
orders."
"And if those orders are wrong?" Daniel demanded harshly.
General Hammond stood, the full force of his command and rank in his bearing. "It is out of my
hands."
Just then Dr. Janet Fraiser came in. "Sorry I'm late sir."
"Your report doctor?" Hammond asked.
Fraiser shot Daniel a concerned glance, but he still stood back to the group. "They placed
Detective Ellison down on Level 23 in a secure cell. As far as I can tell from a complete physical
is that he's alive and is a perfectly ordinary human being. No genetic markers, no enhanced
sensory organs. I don't see how NID could have connected him to this Sandburg's work as a
Sentennial."
"Sentinel," Daniel corrected.
"Is he awake?" the general continued, deciding to let Dr. Jackson be for the moment. The young
man was not going to deal with this rationally. It hit too close to the only home he'd ever had.
"That's the problem," she admitted. "He's been tested pretty invasivly by NID. Whatever they did
must have hurt because there's evidence that he struggled during the procedure. According to the
notes I was given and his current condition, he hasn't been conscious since he was . . . taken sir."
"Any sign of it being drug related?"
"None sir. He's non responsive. His brain function is . . abnormal. He's comatose. I can't explain
it." Janet said shrugging helplessly.
"Keep me informed."
"Wonderful," Daniel said with a humorless chuckle. "We kidnap someone we THINK is a
Sentinel based on one paper I remember and an ex-CIA's report, and now he's in a coma and has
no evidence of the senses we need, and NID totally forgot to pick up a Guide while they were at
it. Cosmic irony at work."
With that the linguist left the room.
Jack met Hammond's eyes. "I'll talk to him sir."
"Very well," the general said with a sigh. He was growing tired of cleaning up after NID's
mistakes. "Dismissed."
***
*Well I'm damn glad someone took this situation into their hands and cleaned it up,* Jack
thought smugly as he sought to get comfortable. His wrists were slightly sore from the handcuffs,
but they'd not been tightened cruelly. Dr. Janet Fraiser sat next to Jeremy Meyers, the Marine
that Blair had clocked. The man was still out.
*Well Jacobs was mad,* Jack reminded himself as he leaned back and slipped his cuffed hands
over his feet, bringing them out from behind his back. *At least he didn't kill anyone. God knows
Blair can be vicious when he really really loses his temper and people he cares about are
threatened.*
"So how do you know him?" Janet said, breaking the silence.
"Know who?" O'Neill looked at her, complete innocence in his expression.
She scowled and sat down next to him on the cot. "The camera is still off."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jack told her sincerely. "It must be the knock on your
head from those faceless, nameless savages that stole what we rightfully kidnaped."
Rolling her eyes and swearing under her breath Fraiser shot him a death glare. "Fine."
"Fine," Jack agreed.
"Good."
"Good."
There was a sudden knock on the door and a voice calling from outside. "Jack? You in there?"
*Daniel. Perfect!* Jack thought with a smile. "Daniel? Help! We've been attacked." he yelled
in his best victim-come-and-get-me-I'm-helpless voice.
"O'Neill?" Teal's voice boomed from outside and then the door was flung open.
"What happened?" Daniel was wide-eyed in curiosity. "I thought you were going down to see
Ellison." The Egyptologist looked around. "Where is he?"
"He's been kidnaped right from under our noses," O'Neill said as Teal'c fiddled with the handcuffs,
and alarms began blaring, and Marines came running in and out of the room yelling.
The grin on Daniel's face grew to exponential size. "Kidnaped, huh? Magical forces at work?"
O'Neill nodded. "Oh yeah! I'm thinking Ritu or Tok'ra."
"A very good explanation O'Neill," Teal'c nodded solemnly as he freed Dr. Fraiser and the
colonel. "I am sure that is exactly what happened."
"Well we better go tell the General," Jack said with a smile.
***
"Tok'ra or Ritu," the general repeated suspiciously.
"That's my guess sir," Jack said.
"It all happened so fast," Janet added.
"You entered the room and were suddenly swept with dizziness and fell unconscious. When you
woke you found Ellison was gone and you had been handcuffed with MP issued handcuffs and
you think it's either Tok'ra or Ritu," Hammond explained yet again, his tone indicating he didn't
buy this story for a second. "Tok'ra or Ritu when we've had the iris closed all day and no gate
travel."
Fraiser fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. Jack shrugged and spread his hands apologetically.
"With those extraterrestrials you never know!"
The general picked up the security report and the report of his colonel and chief medical officer.
"Security shows an outside force putting the cell camera on a feedback loop during the time of the
kidnaping. The only report to go on of our mysterious attackers identity or identities is you. Are
you sure you saw nothing?"
O'Neill and Fraiser nodded in unison. "Absolutely nothing sir."
"No residual dizziness?"
Jack smiled. "Nope."
In the long, uncomfortable silence that followed, Dr. Fraiser stood. "I really should go check on
Meyers sir."
"Carry on."
O'Neill rose from his seat. "Sir? I really need to--"
"Sit down Colonel," Hammond said in his best deadly tone. Jack eased back into his chair, a look
of puzzled bewilderment on his face that would fool anyone if the evidence wasn't so clear. "I've
been looking over Ellison's file. He has many close friends in his police department in Cascade,
many of which with military background."
"What a coincidence sir."
"Yes," Hammond agreed. The general leaned forward on his desk and laced his fingers together.
"I think you're up for some vacation time Colonel. I hear the Pacific Northwest is lovely this time
of year."
"Sounds positively restful sir," Jack said deferentially as he stood once more. "Will that be all
sir?"
George Hammond looked down at his desk and then up at the man who after many years of work
together on this project he respected and liked. "Jack, I don't agree anymore than Dr. Jackson
about what we did to this man, but if former Captain Ellison *wants* to help us, is able to help us,
I will do everything in my power to keep him out of NID and CIA hands. As even an adjunct
member of the Stargate program he is untouchable and protected."
O'Neill nodded, understanding. *It must suck being in a position like that* Jack thought, staring
at the general. *It was bad enough lying to Danny and Carter and Teal'c the last time NID
started poking their noses in our business. Hammond must have his hands full.* "I'll keep that
in mind sir. Thank you."
"Have a good vacation Colonel."
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