"Sam I get it, okay I understand what you're saying, but no is no okay?" Max grunted over her tray of chow hall goodies. She sighed at Carter's wounded expression.
The athletic blond was dressed in the standard SGC utility uniform. Her short hair had been brushed away from her face but was a little overgrown and threatening to run riot. Her face was screwed up in an expression of annoyed determination. She was standing facing Max, her own tray of chow settled before her on the small table.
"Max its unconscionable-"
"No Sam it's not going to happen, neither you nor anyone else is getting near me with a scalpel, I've spent more than my fair share in the infirmary as it is." Max growled her patience wearing thin she sighed and scrubbed her face. Max had hair slightly short than Sam's it was a little too short to complement her high cheekbones, the thick brown mass ended just short of her earlobes. Her jade green eyes were rimmed in exhausted shadows. She was shorter than Sam and had darker coloring, her skin tone was dark enough to look tanned year round. Her natural build was willowy but her constant regimen of athletic combat and cardiovascular improvement had rendered her strong as an ox and built like an athletic adolescent boy. She picked up a fork and started to eat her meal.
Daniel arrived with his own tray and sat down next to Max. He took in the two women's stony expressions and wordlessly picked up his tray to leave.
"Daniel tell her." Sam demanded.
Daniel was a cross between the women, with Sam's height and build and Max's coloring, his eyes rolled to the ceiling as he sighed and prepared to enter the fray.
"Too late." Daniel muttered and sat down again.
"Tell her what?" Daniel asked salting his tasteless chicken and girding himself for a verbal bashing from either side.
"Tell her that we could learn incredible things, like... like the cure for cancer maybe-"
"No Sam." Daniel said putting down the salt and reaching for the Worcestershire. Daniel was a peaceful man but like all peaceful men he knew when to pick up a weapon and fight. Something that had led to his presence on SG-1, this however was not a battle worth picking a weapon for, no matter who he sided with he would be battered.
"But -"
"Sam she said no, Adam said no before he took off and since there aren't any more immortals on base -that we know about- give it up. Besides you have all those scans and tests Frasier did on both of them last year use those." Daniel said attempting to end the conversation and extend an olive branch at the same time.
"There isn't enough data in those tests." Sam groused and gave Daniel a dirty look.
"Sam I love you really, you're great, but knock it off, okay?" Max pleaded she hated upsetting Sam, the scientist cum warrior was the closest thing Max had to a sister but she was not going to allow anyone to lock her up and test her like a lab rat, no matter how well intentioned or honorable the person. Sam frowned and left her meal uneaten and abandoned under the flickering fluorescent lights.
The other two watched her leave wordlessly.
"Thanks Daniel." Max sighed and continued eating.
"For what?" Daniel asked warily.
"Backing me up." Max said around a mouthful.
"Yeah well we'll both be paying for it." Daniel said with a small pained smile.
"Y'think?" Max asked spooning up some green beans. Daniel nodded morosely with a mouthful of pseudo potatoes.
A day later . . . .
"Well it's not like she'll learn anything." Max groused. She and Daniel were heading to the gym, she to practice and he to work out. She banged her practice sword rhythmically against her leg as they walked. The heavy blade was made of wood but the length and grip of it were identical to her usual sword, the one she wore on missions and for the increasingly rare challenge, it was heavier and less accurate which forced her to increase her stamina and aim.
"Why not?" Daniel asked.
"Come on Danny we've been around for like ever you really think none of us have ever done the doctor Jekyll mister Hyde thing?"
"Self experimentation?"
"Yeah plus there was this crazy guy in Seacouver who got his mitts on Mac like fifteen years ago, bad scene. The point is all that shows up in tests are hyperactive cells and regeneration, no cause, no reasoning."
"Well I doubt your crazy guy had access to the equipment and funds we do. Besides that was fifteen years ago and Sam is a genius."
"Yeah- still not gonna happen. Look if I get wounded and bleed and Sam happens to collect some blood she's welcome to it but keep the test tubes and needles away thanks." Max said wryly as they entered the gym.
The gym was the smallest in the mountain. Due to the number of personnel utilizing Cheyenne mountain four gyms had been built. OF them this was the smallest, more geared toward combat practice and weights than anything else. Max moved to the open mats to run through her warm ups and Kata before practicing in earnest. Daniel headed for the free weights and cross training machine, an idea brewing.
As Max wound down her session with some sparring with Teal'c Daniel waited patiently off to the side. Finally his two sweat drenched compatriots called a draw and headed for the benches.
"I have an idea that might make Sam and you happy." Daniel said. Max stared at him warily. Daniel was unarguably a genius and had more than a little talent at diplomacy still she was cautious.
"Hey is it cold suddenly?" Max asked smirking through her caution.
"The nether-world's temperature has not in fact dropped." Teal'c supplied. Max laughed and slugged Teal'c in the shoulder. He inclined his head and slugged her back. She fell off the bench still laughing. Daniel bore it patiently.
"Okay let's hear it Daniel." Max said lying on her back with her legs slung over the seat, she took the opportunity to stretch her lower back.
"Its simple whenever you have a natural injury you let Sam do her thing, take samples, time recovery time, ask questions whatever, but nothing invasive. You don't get jabbed with needles or degraded and she gets what she wants." He said pleased with himself.
"Okay Danny I love you but did you forget about the zillions of tests you lot ran when I first showed up here all gonzo in the head? Why aren't those good enough? She and Frasier ran me through everything they could think of, I don't see why she needs more tests." Max said tiredly.
"Ah, well . . . fine, good point but could you please come to some kind of compromise or détente or something?" There was genuine pleading in his voice. The tension between the two women had done nothing but grow harder and angrier. If it didn't get sorted soon it could ruin the team.
"I'll talk to her okay Danny?" Max agreed. For once she would bend first and admit she was wrong, or at least mistaken, maybe just admit she was stubborn...
She left the gym and headed for her quarters to clean up. She could have her own place off base but didn't care to. She didn't need the privacy and she didn't like the idea of being hard to get a hold of in case of an emergency, plus the entire facility being holy ground was nice.
She entered her still undecorated mini home and started the shower. The only personal touch was a rack of antique and specialized weapons on the only large area of wall space available. The rest was standard issue press board furniture and laundry exchange sheets; even the bathroom fixtures and towels were standard issue.
She finished her shower and got dressed. She still had two hours before their next mission briefing so she headed off to find Sam and try to figure out how she could restore equilibrium to the team before Jack got involved. He generally allowed the individual member's of his little kingdom to fend for themselves and figure out their own little issues but anything that took too long to mend or was a real threat to their Esprit De Corps or cohesion was soundly dealt with. Happily until now such problems had rarely effected the team. With a handful of exceptions.
Sam wasn't in her quarters so Max headed for her lab cursing herself for not heading there first.
Max knocked lightly on the open door and smiled as Sam looked up from her computer screen. Her expression was frustrated and distracted. As she took in Max standing before her, her expression softened a fraction and then darkened.
"Well that's not exactly a hostile look but I've seen friendlier looks on corpses -"
"Sorry Max you surprised me." Sam said distractedly. She didn't want to start haranguing the immortal again but the apparent selfishness of the woman astounded and enraged the scientist. Max could possibly save literally hundreds of lives, her refusal to help further that goal angered Sam.
"Okay Sam we all know I'm not one for subtlety so here's how it is. I don't want to be your guinea pig, not because of you, but because I've all ready done that once, so you tell me in detail why you need more tests from me, why you think they can help or show anything at all different, then I'll consider it." Max said and sat across from her friend.
"Max your system was under enormous stress when those tests were performed -" Sam went on for the next hour and fifteen minutes into excruciating detail. Finally Max held her hands up in a halting gesture.
"Okay, okay, chatty Cathy, I am so, so, so sorry I asked. You can have your tests. Just once, one day, nothing painful, nothing that will keep me from a mission, agreed?" What Max didn't bother to demand was complete secrecy. If other immortals knew that Max was willingly assisting a human in investigating immortality her head wouldn't be worth a cent, if they knew she was willingly helping a member of the military, well there were people who would be willing to take on Cheyenne Mountain to kill her. None of this she shared.
"Max you could be the source of a cure for cancer." Sam said gleefully.
Max made a face and prayed she wasn't making a terrible mistake.
"Yeah whatever, come on I gotta change and unless you want to make it obvious you've been up all night so do you." Max teased her friend. Sam was bad at holding a grudge, particularly an unnecessary one so as far as Max could see all was forgiven.
Max left quickly, brusquely but as soon as she was out of Sam's sight she paused and sagged against the wall briefly, she let out a slow shuddering sigh. She closed her eyes and tried to will away the mental images, the perfect photo images of the infirmary, the flashbacks of pain and madness. She had spent far too much time there, caught in the possessive grip of an insane immortal, a hand maiden to a Goa'uld the bitch had taken Max's sanity. She shook her head willing the memories away, took a deep breath, and straightened up. She smoothed her clothing and started walking again. There was work to do.
Jack remained where he was half standing in the doorway of Sam's lab. He had meant to catch Sam before the briefing but had been too late; instead he had caught Max's brief moment of weakness. He frowned and checked his watch if he was fast and lucky he could catch Max before she got to her quarters. He followed after her, but was caught by Sgt. Siler a moment before reaching Max. The tech sergeant wanted to discuss some technical changes to the gate room that Jack had suggested after the last meddling alien had attempted to take over the building. Jack spoke with Siler for a moment and then headed up to the briefing room.
Daniel and Teal'c were all ready waiting. They were discussing one of Daniel's artifacts intensely. Jack made a face and sat down, he manfully managed to steer the conversation around to the Simpson's much to Daniel's amusement. Finally Sam arrived and uncharacteristically Max was nearly late. The immortal took her seat across from Jack and flashed him a rakish mischievous smile, it was a look she used as armor. Jack returned the smile with a smaller smile of his own. She seemed fine, exchanging insults and greetings with the rest of the team. Jack gave her a studious look which she brushed off. The science geek in charge of the briefing cued up his visuals and the show began.
Jack focused on the briefing it was pretty standard fare. A group of Jaffa had requested assistance in the form of advice and weapons against their local system lord. It was somewhat standard to send the infamous SG-1 complete with Teal'c out on these jaunts. It had the possibility of becoming routine and thus boring the last thing Jack wanted was a complacent team. He was beginning to loathe these missions. Still until some kind of headway was achieved or new intel. surfaced suggesting a better use of the flagship team's skills it was what they had.
After the briefing they had half an hour to gear up, discuss options, and hit the gate room. Jack grabbed Max and pulled her aside.
"Something's up with you - let me finish." He admonished as she moved to argue. His hair had grayed during his stint as commander of SG-1 but there was more iron in his tone. He was one of the few people Max knew who could cow Max into silence with a look. While the two had never physically fought I combat or on the mat during a practice session Max was certain the wiry and innovative officer could beat her to a pulp. Still her obedience had more to do with Jack's knowledge, skills, and the loyalty of his people than his skill at ass-kickery.
"This isn't the time or place but as soon as we hit dirt post mission you're going to hash it out, with me, doc Frasier, or the shrinks, I won't take you on another mission till then, clear?"
"Crystal." Max muttered sourly. He nodded and gestured toward the armory. She finished assembling her kit, taking the time to insure her usual weapon had not been handled after her last practice session, and headed for the gate room.
The trip was as fast and hectic as usual, they arrived on the planet -she couldn't recall the name or index number- and took up positions. They were meant to be met by a team from the Jaffa's settlement but the immediate vicinity was deserted. Max frowned out at the silent landscape. No birds sang, no insects were evident, there weren't even any clouds in the sky.
"Up and at 'em kids, looks like the welcoming party is late." Jack growled and adjusted the strap on his weapon. Teal'c took point, Max and Sam flanked and Jack took the rear. Jack led them away from the gate and down a well worn path, he hoped to meet their welcoming party but kept his weapon ready.
"Hey Max?" Daniel said softly.
"Yes Daniel?" Max replied snarkily.
"Remember that planet with the kids-"
"Who worshiped me when they weren't busy beating me to death?" Max asked shortly she shivered slightly.
"Yeah, sorry it's just, does this seem familiar?"
Max frowned and kept her weapon at her shoulder.
"Max?" Jack called.
"I'm fine Colonel, he's right this place is very similar Sir, perfect fields but no people, nice neat path but again no people, just basically no people. Plus the briefing said these Jaffa had a more advanced society than normal but this looks like it's barely a step above subsistence just like P- whatever were we encountered the Ferals."
"Damnit, Sam do you agree?"
"I'll check for EMF radiation sir but I think Daniel's right."
"Okay back to the gate, we'll go back home dial try to redial the address the Jaffa gave us and see what's to see." Jack said. They about faced and headed back. The gate was just out of their sight past a stretch of thick woods that while not physically blocking their path kept them from a visual.
As they neared the woods there was a soft rustle. The group closed ranks and dropped to one knee in a semi-prone shooting stance. They waited in tense silence as the noise increased, finally a group of children appeared. Feral, ragged, and armed.
"Ahhhh Fuck." Max groaned and chambered a round. The rest of the team grimly followed suit.