STARGATE SG-1 - FAMILY TIES
It was one of those crisp October mornings that made you glad to be alive. The sun was shining and a light breeze ruffled the trees around the Cheyenne Mountain complex. Not that Colonel O'Neill or General Hammond were in a position to enjoy it.
Buried deep underground the two officers stared intently at a security monitor.
"What d'ya reckon, General ?" drawled O'Neill, "Nosy journalist ? Conspiracy junkie ? Surprise security raid ?"
"I hope it's not the last one, we'll be crucified." Hammond shook his head in disbelief as the figure they were monitoring passed into the compound hidden on top of an incoming truck.
"I guess we could use a few drills on the checkpoint procedures, right, sir ?"
Hammond frowned, "As soon as possible, Colonel. Right after you invite our mystery guest to sign the visitors book like everyone else."
O'Neill grinned and saluted before heading out. Hammond turned back to the monitors watching the intruder's steady progress on the internal cameras. Whoever it was they certainly had good information, even the authorisation code for the lifts did not faze them. Hammond clicked his tongue in annoyance and made a mental note to have Major Carter change the code. He sighed in relief as he saw O'Neill waiting with a security team outside the lift.
***
The lift doors opened. One of the soldiers smoothly inserted the barrel of his rifle across the doors to prevent them closing.
"Good morning !" said O'Neill breezily, "I'm sure you know the drill." He gestured for the occupant to come out of the lift. The figure raised its arms and stepped out, head down. A soldier stepped forward and frisked the intruder. O'Neill took in the combat fatigues, the cap pulled down low over the intruder's face and especially the two military issue pistols taken from concealed shoulder and ankle holsters.
"So who do we have here ?" O'Neill reached up and tugged the cap away. The woman's dark curly hair tumbled down to her shoulders. She looked up and grinned.
"Good morning to you to. And isn't it a lovely morning ?!"
***
General Hammond watched as SG-2 entered the wormhole and disappeared. A few seconds later the gate deactivated and the iris slid back into place. The General sighed wondering if he would ever lose this feeling - part worry for the team, part hope that they would find something, anything to help in the defence of the Earth and part regret that he was not going with them. He shook the feeling off as Colonel O'Neill entered the control room.
"Got a minute, sir ?" O'Neill jerked his head towards the general's office waving a thin file. General Hammond nodded and crossed into the room. O'Neill followed, closing the door behind him.
Hammond sat at his desk. "So, Colonel, any progress with our guest ?"
"Kinda."
Hammond raised an eyebrow. O'Neill opened the file and passed it over to the general.
"Captain Margaret Weld. Age 37. Parents died in a car crash when she was five, moved around various foster homes, actually stayed put long enough to graduate High School, went off the rails big time and enlisted in the Army on a 308.
Hammond looked up from the file, "Army or jail ?"
O'Neill nodded, "She seems to have taken to army life. She's the first 308 even to be considered for officer, nevermind actually making it. I spoke to her commanding officer, Colonel Wood, he was also her sponsor for West Point. He says she's one of his best officers. As far as he knows she's on annual leave in Hawaii."
"It's some detour to Colorado. Did you tell him where his "best officer" is spending her vacation ?"
O'Neill looked uncomfortable, "No, sir." he paused, "You should see her service record, sir. She's been everywhere - the Gulf, two tours in Kosovo, a tour in Sierra Leone, there's even a brief spell in Special Ops and that is still classified. Two purple hearts and she's up for the Medal of Honour."
Hammond whistled, glancing back at the file, "Why the hell would she jeopardise all that to break into this place ?"
"Her brother. She claims he's stationed here."
"Couldn't she wait until he had leave ?"
"She was concerned that he wasn't allowed to take any leave."
"No leave ? Who's her brother ?"
"She claims that Daniel is." said O'Neill, flatly.
Hammond's eyes widened, "Doctor Jackson ?" he repeated, incredulously. "Impossible !"
O'Neill shrugged, "Not entirely, sir."
Hammond shook his head, "Well, we'll take some convincing."
"Daniel's the one who'll need convincing." O'Neill reminded the general.
***
O'Neill paused outside Jackson's office still gripping the Weld file. He took a deep breath. He was not good at this sort of thing - maybe he should get Carter or Fraizer to break the news. He had just about convinced himself to do just that when the door opened and Daniel Jackson stepped out. Since his nose was buried in a book he did not see O'Neill standing there and he collided with the Colonel.
"Oww !"
"God, Jack, I'm sorry ! What are you doing lurking outside my door anyway ?"
"Why can't you walk around with your eyes open like everyone else ?" snapped O'Neill, rubbing his shin.
Jackson looked hurt, "Hey, I said I'm sorry. Did you want to see me ?"
"No !" O'Neill glanced at the file, "Oh hell, yes."
Jackson blinked, "Which ?"
"Yes, I wanted to see you." The Colonel gestured back into the office, shrugging Jackson stepped back. O'Neill followed and again closed the door behind them.
"So, what's up ?"
O'Neill paused for a second, wondering how to handle this.
"You heard we caught a woman breaking into the base ?"
Jackson nodded, "Yes."
"Well, she came to find her brother. She was concerned that we were keeping him here against his will."
"They must be close if she broke in here."
"Not exactly."
Jackson's eyes filled with puzzlement. "Jack, why are you telling me this ?"
O'Neill sighed, "She claims that you are her brother, Daniel." silently he passed over the file. Jackson reached for it dumbly.
***
He'd been sitting here for hours. Jackson flipped through the file one more time and made a note on his pad. He stared at the dates he'd written down. It was possible. But it couldn't be, not after all this time.
He sighed. Sam had already been down, just "passing by". Janet had been a little less subtle, offering her expertise for any blood tests, even General Hammond had "popped by".
It all came back to the dates. He had once tried to find his natural parents. The Adoption Registry had been very helpful. He'd been devastated when they told him they were dead, wondering if he'd been a jinx. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, "to lose one set of parents may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness."
But the Registry had said nothing about having any siblings. On the other hand - the Registry was obliged to inform the person that someone wanted to get in touch. And at the time Jackson was making his enquiries Weld had been in Special Ops - if even the Airforce did not have access to what she'd been doing, what chance would the Adoption Registry have ?
Abruptly Jackson closed the file and headed out. He had to know, one way or the other.
***
Jackson pushed open the door to the holding cell. He looked over to the cell itself. Weld was sitting on the bench, knees pulled up to her chin. She raised her head as she heard the door and smiled when she saw him. Jackson turned to the two soldiers guarding the door.
"Could you give us a few minutes alone ?"
The soldier stared straight ahead. "Our orders are to stay here, sir."
"Please ?"
The soldier glanced at Jackson, then Weld. "All right, sir. Five minutes and stay away from the bars."
Jackson nodded gratefully as the two soldiers left. Slowly he turned back to face Weld. She had stood up and now stood in the middle of the cell but still well back from the bars, perhaps mindful of the soldier's warning.
Jackson looked at her warily taking in her appearance. Her hair was the same colour as his, but her's was curly where his was straight. Her eyes were the same colour as his, but set slightly deeper in her face. He didn't know what to make of her.
Weld was the first to break the silence, "You've had your hair cut," she smiled, "more military ?"
Jackson found his voice, "I guess." He stopped and cleared his throat. "What makes you think we are related ?" he asked bluntly.
Weld laughed, "I suppose small talk is out of the question, huh ?" She looked around the cell, "I have to say this is not how I imagined our first meeting," she gestured around, "bars did not feature prominently. Not these kind of bars anyway."
Jackson did not share her amusement, he waited silently. Weld shrugged.
"I've been looking for my brother for years." she began. "I tried the Adoption Registry but they weren't any help, so I did it on my own. I went back to my first children's home and got my file. Then I had to track down the home you were sent to as a baby, you were only six months old when our parents died. Then I found the Jacksons, the rest was easy, except actually tracking you down. I got as far as that seminar in New York, then zilch, seemed like you'd disappeared off the face of the planet."
Jackson kept a straight face, "How did you find me here ?"
"A friend. He works at the Pentagon. Your name came up in a report on some top secret project. I couldn't figure out what the Airforce would want with an Egyptologist, so I decided to find out."
"Just like that ?"
"Yeah."
"You took a big risk."
"Not much of a risk. For a top secret base your security is garbage."
Jackson smiled for the first time, "I could hear the general balling out the checkpoint detail all the way from the mess. But I didn't mean that. I meant coming here at all. You've risked your whole career."
Weld turned away and sat down again. "I reckoned it was worth it. If I'm right I won't be worrying about my career and if I'm wrong ..." her voice trailed off.
"If you're wrong ?" prompted Jackson.
Weld gazed at him, "If I'm wrong I'll go back to my unit, assuming your General Hammond doesn't lock me away and throw away the key, and I'll start again. I will of course apologise for disturbing you."
Jackson returned the woman's steady gaze. She could be lying. Well, there was one way to find out. "I can have Doctor Fraizer run some blood tests." he said in a rush.
Hope filled Weld's eyes. "Thank you." she said simply.
Jackson nodded and left the room. Weld sank back on the bench with a deep sigh of relief.
***
The conference room was crowded. Hammond sat at the head of the table a grim look on his face.
"SG-2 are now six hours overdue. They have failed to respond to our radio contacts." the general sighed heavily. "How long before you can have another MALP probe fixed up, Major Carter ?"
"Twenty minutes max, sir."
"Do it. If the probe can find SG-2 we may have to send in another team. Volunteers ?"
All hands were raised. General Hammond nodded. "Thank you. Major Carter see to the probe. We'll need to know what we're up against if we're going back in ..." the general broke off as he saw Doctor Fraizer hovering outside the door. "All right. Dismissed."
The personnel began to leave as Fraizer entered. "Daniel could you wait a minute ?"
Jackson turned round. "The tests ?"
Fraizer nodded. Hammond and SG-1 made for the exits.
"We'll be outside if you need us, Daniel." assured Sam.
"No. It's all right. You can stay. We can all hear it." Daniel sat down rubbing his suddenly itchy palms together. The others turned back and all eyes fixed on Janet Fraizer.
"I won't keep you in suspense, Daniel. I've run the test three times and I can confirm that you and Captain Weld are biologically, brother and sister."
Silence greeted the announcement. Jackson's head dipped and he stared at his hands. Carter was the first to break the silence.
"I guess congratulations are in order ?"
Jackson raised his head and they were all taken aback by the expression of joy on his face.
"Yes, yes they are. I've got a sister." he said the words slowly as if testing them out.
Hammond smiled, "Well, Captain Weld does hold an EO4 security clearance. She can be released into your custody, Doctor Jackson, but keep her away from any restricted areas and do not discuss the project here."
"Yes, sir." Jackson jumped up suddenly full of energy, "I'd better go and tell her."
Hammond nodded, "On you go, Doctor. I'll call down to security and have her released."
"Thanks, General." Jackson bounded away.
Hammond lifted the phone by his hand. "Colonel O'Neill, I can see Doctor Jackson is excited by this development, Weld may be his sister but she could have other reasons for breaking in here. If she so much as looks at a restricted area I want her back in that cell quicker than butter melting on a hot stove. Is that understood ?"
"Understood, General." agreed O'Neill.
"We've all got work to do. Dismissed."
SG-1 filed out.
***
Jackson skidded around the corner and came to a halt outside the holding cell door. He took a moment to compose himself before entering the room. One of the guards was just hanging up the phone. He smiled and took out the keys to the cell. The soldier stepped up and unlocked the door.
Weld looked up unsure, then she saw Jackson's expression, "I was right ?"
"All the way," confirmed Jackson.
Weld closed her eyes, "Oh my god, I was right." she breathed.
Jackson grinned, "Well, are you going to stay in there ?"
Weld's eyes snapped open, "Not on your life !" she grabbed her cap and stepped out of the cell. They stood there a moment longer, almost shy now that there was no barrier between them. Then Weld slowly raised her hand, "Hi, Captain Margaret Weld. My friends call me Maggie."
Jackson shook her hand, "Doctor Daniel Jackson." He pulled her forward and hugged her, "Can your brother call you sis ?"
Weld laughed as she returned the hug, "He can call me whatever he likes."
They broke away and Jackson saw her blinking tears from her eyes. "Are you hungry ?"
"Starving !" declared Weld, trying to make light of the situation. "All this cloak and dagger stuff really works up an appetite."
"Then let's go." The two made their way out and headed for the mess hall, followed at a discreet distance by the two guards.
"Just avoid the meatloaf, okay ?" warned Jackson.
"Oh, I learnt that years ago." returned Weld.
***
Carter looked up as the general entered the control room. "We're ready to go here, sir."
Hammond looked down to where the probe stood waiting. "You have a go, Major."
Carter nodded and began dialling the address. She only got as far as the sixth symbol before the lock disengaged and re-set. "What the ... ?" she tried again with the same result. "Uhh, sir ? We have a problem, the address won't hold. The gate must be in use on the other side."
"That is not good." said Hammond. Carter shook her head. "Close the iris !" barked Hammond. "Keep trying, Major. If you get a lock you have permission to send the probe through."
"Yes, sir."
Hammond stalked away his back stiff.
***
Jackson and Weld sat at one of the tables in the mess hall. Weld plucked the top roll off her burger and fished out the onion and pickle.
"You got something against vegetables ?" asked Jackson taking a bite of his own burger.
"These aren't vegetables," Weld disagreed. "They are an affront against man, and besides they bring me out in a rash."
Jackson grunted, "With me it's hayfever. Pollen, dust, you name it. My eyes start streaming, my nose gets stuffed and you can hear me sneezing a mile off."
Weld laughed, "You win !" finally satisfied with her burger she bit into it.
"I read your file." Jackson admitted.
"Of course. It's all in there, the condensed history of Captain Maggie Weld."
"What about your stint in Special Ops ?"
"Sorry, Daniel, that's classified."
"I shouldn't have asked," said Daniel, apologetically, "I should know better."
Weld waved it away, "I suppose with you working here you'd have a few classified tales to tell, if you could."
Jackson nodded, "Maybe we should stay away from all things military."
"Sure," Weld nodded, "What else do you want to know ?"
Jackson swallowed suddenly nervous, "Do you remember them ? Our parents ?"
Weld smiled sadly, "Not really. I wish I remembered them more. Sometimes I dream about being in Yellowstone Park having a picnic with them, but I'm never sure how much of it is memory and how much is just wishful thinking." She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a faded photograph. She regarded it for a moment and then passed it over.
Jackson took it somewhat fearfully. He was looking at a black and white photo, well worn around the edges. It showed a tall man smiling into the camera. One hand rested on the shoulder of a little girl. She was wearing a checked dress, her hair in bunches. The man's other arm was draped around the shoulders of a woman whose light hair floated in the breeze, caught for all time. The woman was cradling a sleeping baby, holding it up so that the camera could catch its peaceful, contented features. He flipped the photo over and read the faded writing on the back - "Mag's b'day. Yellowstone." He met Weld's eyes.
"Me ? You ? Mom and Dad ?"
Weld nodded. "Keep it." she said.
Jackson shook his head, "Oh no, I couldn't."
"Sure you can. I want you to have it." she said decisively.
Jackson looked down at the photo, a lump forming in his throat. "Thank you." he said quietly.
Weld could see the emotion was about to spill over. "So, how'd you get into Egyptology ?" she asked.
Jackson looked up from the photo, "My dad ..." he looked back at the photo in confusion.
Gently Weld reached for his hand, "It's okay. Doctor Jackson was more your dad than Mike Weld was. The Jacksons are the ones who brought you up as their own, they are the ones who had the chance to see you grow."
"Not very far," said Jackson, bitterly.
Weld was stricken. "Daniel I'm so sorry. I should have thought ..."
Jackson held up his hand to stop her. "I know. I guess I was too young to remember when our real parents died. But I suppose I felt the way you did when the Jacksons died. They were the only parents I ever knew."
Weld nodded understandingly, "And they got you into Egyptology ?"
Jackson visibly pulled himself together, "Yeah. Dad used to tell me stories of Howard Carter discovering Tutankhamen's tomb and Schliemann discovering Troy. I was hooked."
Weld smiled, glad to see that Jackson had used the name "Dad" without wincing. "It must have been fascinating."
"You bet. I'll always be grateful to them."
"I'm sure they'd be very proud of you."
"D'you think ..."
"That the Welds would be proud ?" interrupted Weld. Jackson nodded. "They would have been delighted. I know they would." she confirmed.
"Are you interested in Egyptology ?"
Weld grinned. "I am now ! Why don't you enlighten me ?"
***
O'Neill and Teal'c stood beside Hammond in the control room. Major Carter gestured to the probe sitting uselessly on the ramp.
"General, we've been trying to dial out for the last three hours. The gate has been in use all that time on the other side."
"Meaning ?"
"Meaning either someone is transporting something very big ..."
"Or a lot of something." stated Teal'c. "Such as re-enforcements."
"There was no sign of the Goa'uld when we sent SG-2 through." protested O'Neill.
"Nevertheless, it is possible that SG-2 have unintentionally found them." Teal'c spoke with little emotion, but O'Neill could tell the large Jaafa was as worried as the rest of them.
Hammond's lips faded to a thin line. "We'll give them one more hour. Then I want you to change the codes to the iris."
Carter looked up, shock in her eyes.
"I know, Major." Hammond was more grim than a tax inspector. "Keep SG-2's access code in the system, but no direct access."
Carter gulped and nodded.
***
Weld looked around Jackson's office, eyes wide.
"Good grief ! I had no idea !" She scanned the office in amazement, taking in the shelves of sometimes dusty books and artefacts. "This is incredible !" she picked up a small figurine.
Jackson darted forward and gently lifted it from her. "Careful," he admonished, "some of these items are thousands of years old."
"Sorry." she said as Jackson carefully replaced the figurine.
"Can I ask you something ?" Jackson was hesitant.
"Go ahead."
"Why d'you wait so long to find me ?"
Weld sighed. "Circumstances I guess." She looked at him levelly. "I always knew I had a brother, but for part of my life I could barely look after myself never mind you." She paused and moved over to a stack of shelves apparently studying the book's titles. "When I enlisted in the Army I finally found a home." She straightened and gestured round the room, "I never had some one to inspire me when I was a kid."
She looked over at the silent Jackson, "I've done a lot of things that I'm proud of, Daniel. But I've also done a lot of things that I wish I hadn't. I was afraid that you wouldn't understand."
"But you came here anyway."
Weld nodded. "I was over in the Balkans, peace-keeping." She snorted. "Peace-keeping ! You wouldn't believe what's happening over there, Daniel. We came across a little boy in a bombed out village. He was only seven or eight. He and his sister were separated when the bombing started and he'd stayed to find her."
Weld's voice choked with the remembrance. Jackson hesitated to step towards her.
"We took him with us. We could hardly leave him there," Weld's voice was harsh, "We found his sister along with the rest of the villagers a few miles up the road."
"Was she all right ?"
"Well, I hope she was at peace, if that's what you mean. They were dead, every one of them. The attackers must've opened up on them as they fled."
Weld breathed deeply. "We brought the boy home with us. His name is Stefan. He's at school here now. I guess that's when I really started to look for you. I didn't want to go through life without at least meeting you."
Jackson swallowed, "I can't know what you've been through, but I can guess."
Weld grimaced, "Don't feel sorry for me, Daniel. I may not have chosen this life, but I embraced it. And I wouldn't change it. Except maybe screwing up the courage to meet you sooner."
Both were silent for a moment.
"I wrote you a letter, y'know ?"
Jackson looked up in surprise, "What did it say ?"
"Oh, the usual." said Weld, dryly. "Hi, I'm the sister you never knew about, sorry I haven't been in touch for twenty five years, but I hope you are well. Oh and by the way, you'll only get this if I'm dead, so no hard feelings."
"Was that it ?"
"Oh there was a lot more soul-searching, but that was the gist."
Jackson stepped over to her and tentatively put his arm around her shoulder, "You don't need any letter anymore."
Weld gazed at his face, "You don't know how much that means to me."
Jackson smiled warmly, "Yes I do."
The moment of understanding was broken by an alarm sounding throughout the base.
Jackson and Weld jerked in surprise. "What the hell ... ?"
Jackson moved for the door. "Stay here," he commanded, "and lock the door. I'll find out what's going on. It's probably just a drill ..." he reached the door and looked back.
Weld shooed him forward, "I'll be fine, I can catch up on my reading. Be careful !"
Jackson darted from the room and heard the lock click behind him.
Weld turned the key and stepped back regarding the shelves of academic texts, "I suppose a John Grisham novel is out of the question ?" she muttered.
***
Jackson never made it as far as the embarkation room. Carter and Teal'c intercepted him as he made for the right corridor. They bundled him towards the armoury, with him protesting all the way.
"Wait ! Wait ! What's going on ?" Quickly they reached the armoury. Jackson looked around at the soldiers arming themselves. "What happened ?"
"SG-2 have been compromised," snapped O'Neill, handing out weapons. "They have the control room and the gate room, along with a whole load of slimy snake heads. No offence, Teal'c."
"None taken, O'Neill," said Teal'c laconically, passing out weapons as well.
A dishevelled officer rushed up. He saluted gasping for air, "They've breached "B" section, sir. We have sections "C" through "G" sealed off."
No one noticed Jackson's pallor turn white.
"We have to contain them here." declared Hammond. "Carter, take Teal'c and SG-3, try to shut down the gate, stop them bringing through any more troops. Colonel O'Neill you and I will set the self-destruct."
"Could be tricky, sir. They have the control room and your office."
"And mine !" gasped Jackson.
"I know it's a tragedy losing your collection, Daniel ..."
"No ! You don't understand, I left Maggie in there !"
"I released the captain to your custody, Doctor !" snapped Hammond.
"I didn't know !" pleaded Jackson. "I thought it was a drill !"
O'Neill and Hammond exchanged glances.
"Major Carter, if you haven't heard from Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Jackson or myself within one hour, your orders are to contact Washington and request "Operation Clean Sweep" is that clear ?"
Carter nodded.
"Right ! Move out !" Hammond knew that he should not be elated at the thought of action, but part of him longed to make a difference.
***
Maggie Weld looked up from the dense academic tome she had been looking at as gunfire echoed outside. She shut the book with a snap and slid off the edge of the desk. "Some drill !" she muttered.
Silently Weld edged towards the door and unlocked it. Carefully she pulled it open and checked the corridor.
Two SGC soldiers swept past, their eyes glowing. Weld closed the door quickly, "That's something you don't see every day." she whispered.
She stiffened as she heard footsteps outside. The footsteps stopped outside the door and the door knob rattled. Weld grabbed the only weapon she could find. The door swung open. Weld saw the room light up as the figure fired. Jackson's desk disintegrated in front of her. Weld tried not to gasp at the power of the weapon.
A figure stepped forward. Weld tensed and brought the clay pot down hard on the neck of the intruder. The figure crumpled to the floor. Weld kicked the door shut. She glanced at the shattered remains of the pot, "Sorry, Daniel. I hope it wasn't valuable." Then she cautiously approached the shape on the ground. She reached for the man's eyes and slowly raised the eyelid. "What was that glow ?" she muttered
Suddenly the Goa'uld larva erupted from the soldier. Weld scrambled backwards grabbing the staff weapon. She gave an involuntary cry of disgust as the white worm made its way towards her. More by luck than design, Weld activated the staff weapon and vaporised the creature. Breathing raggedly she crawled towards the fallen soldier.
The soldier's eyes focused solely on her. "Thank you." he whispered. His eyes turned up in their sockets. Weld checked for a pulse, sadly she closed the man's eyes and stood up.
"Jesus, Daniel. What the hell is going on here ?"
Making up her mind Weld hefted the staff weapon and stepped out into the corridor.
***
O'Neill, Hammond and Jackson stealthily moved along the ventilation shaft. O'Neill's radio vibrated. O'Neill clicked open the line.
"We're about to shut down the power, sir." whispered Carter over the comm. "The Goa'uld have been here already. We should be able to disrupt their current wormhole, but they'll still have power, we won't be able to stop them dialling out."
"Is that the best you can do, Major ?"
O'Neill could almost imagine the look on Carter's face as she hissed, "Yes, sir. That's the best I can do !"
"Then do it !" O'Neill clicked the radio off.
***
Weld moved cautiously down the corridor heading for the sounds of gunfire. She ducked into a room as a squad of Jaafa marched past. Weld stared at them, eyes wide. "I always knew there was something fishy about the Airforce. What is this place ? Area 51 ?"
Again she moved out following the fading footsteps. She was about to turn the corner when pulse fire erupted from behind her slamming into the wall. Weld whirled and dropped to her knee. She brought up the staff and fired at the two Jaafa approaching. Her first shot went wide. "This thing has some kick." the thought flicked across her mind as she corrected her aim and laid down a steady fire. The two Jaafa fell.
More Jaafa rounded the corner and Weld could hear running footsteps from the corridor she had been about to enter. "This is getting boring." she thought as she darted across the intersection. She sank down and hugged the wall trying to make herself as small as possible. Weapons fire flew around her and she was forced to bob in and out of her position only firing one shot at a time.
Abruptly the shooting stopped. Weld took her chance and whirled round. Only to find herself staring into the muzzle of a staff weapon. Slowly she looked up into the face of one of SG-2, his eyes glowing with white light. "Oh crap," she whispered. Her staff weapon was taken and she was hauled to her feet. The soldier looked her over.
"My host does not recognise you." he said, his voice vibrating.
Weld tossed her hair, "So we haven't been introduced, get over it." She looked curiously at his eyes, "I've heard of getting a black eye, but never glowing ones. Whose your optician ?"
The soldier turned away gesturing to the Jaafa to bring Weld along.
***
Hammond, O'Neill and Jackson froze as they heard marching footsteps. The three men stared intently through the grills above the corridor.
Beneath them Maggie Weld was marched towards the gate room, still struggling against her captors.
"You do realise I'm not allowed passed this point ? I doubt if you are either." Weld's voice faded as the group turned the corner.
Jackson looked at O'Neill beseechingly.
"Right after we set the self destruct." nodded O'Neill.
Jackson dipped his shaking head, "That's a relief." he whispered sarcastically.
"Daniel ..." O'Neill's voice carried a warning. Jackson nodded. "I know , I know." he muttered.
"Here it is." O'Neill checked out the general's office and quietly raised the grill. Silently he dropped to the floor. Sure he was alone he pulled the couch over for the other two to land on.
Jackson rolled off and straightened, "I don't need a net, Jack." he hissed.
"Well I do !" whispered Hammond, panting as he got to his feet, "I might be getting too old for this."
They crossed over to the self-destruct.
"You know Generals never die, sir, they just ..."
"...Fade away. I know. That does not help, Colonel." Hammond opened the mechanism and inserted his key. He tapped in the commands. O'Neill stretched over and entered his authorisation. "You have thirty minutes. I'll wait here in case the enemy tries to shut it down. But I'll be hoping to shut it down myself. Understood ?"
O'Neill and Jackson nodded. "Good Luck, sir."
"And you." Hammond watched as the two men left the office, then turned back to the clock watching the seconds slipping away.
***
Weld gasped as she beheld the Stargate for the first time. "Well, colour me surprised." Weld looked over at the mail-clad figure standing above the banks of computers. "Nice tux." she sneered.
Anubis, the Goa'uld commander, regarded her furiously. "Restore my door way !" he demanded.
Weld shrugged and sat down at the computer. The only thing she could recognise on the screens was a red-boxed error message. "Did you do this ?" she asked accusingly.
"It would not obey me !" roared Anubis.
"I'm not surprised," commented Weld, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She sat down in front of the monitors. "I mean," she continued, " even a five year old would know not to off-set the phase discriminator against the modular pulse setter." She shook her head, "What you've got here is a severe case of "Rotten Programs." Weld swivelled in her chair, " all you can do is shut down the system and re-boot."
Anubis stepped forward, his hand raised.
Weld raised her arms, " Hey, don't blame me, Tin Can, I'm not the one with no grasp of human engineering ..." she broke off as Jackson and O'Neill were escorted into the control room. Addressing Jackson she said, "I'm guessing these guys aren't local."
The guard behind Jackson and O'Neill spoke urgently in their own language. Anubis frowned.
"Bad news ?" enquired Weld innocently.
"You understand them ?" asked Jackson.
"Daniel, bad news sounds the same in any language."
Anubis grabbed Weld as he heard the sound of gunfire echoing around. "You will restore the path way," he growled. He dragged Weld to her feet and shuffled slowly from the room.
The guards pushed Jackson forward. "Jack ?" he pleaded.
O'Neill's eyes were fixed on Anubis. "Dial it, Daniel." he commanded. O'Neill glanced at the guards, "But slowly." he whispered.
***
Anubis backed towards the Stargate still gripping Weld. He watched as his troops fled through the gate. This was a lesson to him not to underestimate his opposition. If the System Lords ever heard of this disgrace ...!
Anubis's eyes narrowed as he watched O'Neill and Jackson in the control room. Perhaps the venture would not be a total waste ... carefully he drew a bead on O'Neill ...
"Oh no you don't !"
Weld dug her elbow into Anubis's side. The shot went wide as Anubis bellowed in pain. Weld whirled and grabbed at Anubis's zat gun. She fired wildly as Anubis tried to regain control of the weapon.
Roughly Anubis pushed her aside. His troops ran for the wormhole pursued by the SGC personnel. Anubis followed, then saw Jackson and O'Neill enter the room. Determined to record at least some victory he fired at them.
"Daniel !" Weld launched herself between Anubis and Jackson. The alien's shot caught her square in the back. She screamed as the energy bolt hit her and landed in a boneless heap on top of Jackson. Anubis smiled and fired again, hitting Weld a second time, before he stepped into the wormhole.
The gate deactivated and the iris closed.
Jackson struggled under the dead weight of his sister. Desperately he rolled her over onto her back. "Maggie ? Mags ?" he whispered,
Weld's eyelids fluttered. "Daniel ?"
"I'm sorry, oh god, I'm sorry."
For a moment Jackson looked into the deepest, clearest eyes he'd ever seen, "I'm not," whispered Weld, "I found my brother, and he didn't hate me." her voice drifted, " There was so much I wanted to tell you..." her eyes turned up in their sockets.
"No, don't do this to me, Maggie." Desperately Jackson felt for a pulse.
Around them SGC personnel were attending to their wounded and gathering up fallen weapons. Carter moved up to stand beside O'Neill clicking off her radio.
"We've secured the base, sir." she said quietly.
O'Neill did not answer. He saw Fraizer enter the gate room with her medical team. He gestured her over.
Fraizer hurried up and dropped to her knees beside Weld and Jackson. Jackson looked up at the doctor, anguish in his eyes. "She can't be gone. Not now, not like this."
Silently Fraizer pressed her fingers against Weld's neck. Gently she closed Weld's eyes. "I'm sorry, Daniel." she whispered her voice full of compassion.
Jackson gathered the limp body into his arms. Fraizer called over a stretcher. Jackson tenderly laid his sister's body down and took her hand. He held it while the orderlies pushed the stretcher out.
***
It was a good turn out, reckoned O'Neill.
Captain Weld's coffin stood on runners, the wood draped with the Stars and Stripes, her cap and gloves arranged precisely.
O'Neill allowed the words to wash over him...
"Maggie Weld was a fine officer. One of the best. Nothing was too much trouble for her." Colonel Wood paused trying to hold back tears.
"It is perhaps fitting that she died as she lived, putting others before herself." he continued, "And although she herself drowned a child was saved." Wood took a deep breath, "Maggie would never hesitate to do what was right.. We salute you, Captain."
Briskly Wood made the salute, the military mourners followed suit.
Abruptly, too abruptly for Jackson, the salute was broken.
The paraphernalia were gathered by Colonel Wood and the flag was folded. Jackson hung his head as another officer accepted the flag. The mourners began to move away. Jackson stepped away from the protective circle of the SGC personnel, closer to the coffin.
Jackson watched as a young boy stepped up to he coffin and placed a posy of wild flowers on top of it. The boy looked up at him curiously.
"You look like Mags," he stated.
"I hope I do." returned Jackson.
The boy turned tail and headed for an Army officer. The two seemed to speak intently. Then the officer turned back to Jackson.
"Doctor Jackson ?"
Jackson turned around. The officer spoke in a rush, "I didn't know it was you. I mean I didn't know if Maggie found you."
"She found me all right." said Jackson bitterly, "And it killed her."
Stone stepped forward, "Don't blame yourself, Doctor. I know, however she died, she thought she was doing the right thing."
Jackson looked at the officer for the first time, "However she died ... ?" Understanding dawned, "You were the friend in the Pentagon."
"Captain David Stone." he reached into a pocket and withdrew an envelope. "Maggie asked me to give this to her brother. I guess that's you."
Jackson silently accepted the envelope, but made no move to open it. Stone watched him for a few seconds then turned away.
The young boy ran up to him and Stone swept the child into his arms. Stone turned back to Jackson.
"Doctor, you didn't have much of a chance to get to know Maggie, but we all did." Stone indicated the departing crowd, "If there's anything you want to know, give me a call."
Jackson looked up. "Thanks, I will."
Stone nodded and headed away. Jackson felt pressure on his shoulder, "Time to go, Daniel." said O'Neill.
Jackson took a last look at the coffin, then allowed O'Neill to guide him towards the rest of the SGC personnel.
***
Epilogue
Jackson sat in his office, Weld's footlocker open in front of him. He pulled out a velvet lined case containing her medals and rubbed a thumb over the face. Swallowing he pulled out the letter Stone had given him at the funeral. Cautiously he unfolded it ...
"Dear Daniel, " he read, "This is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. I must of started it a hundred times and then torn it up. There's no easy way to tell you that you have a sister whom you've never met, but that's exactly what I'm telling you. You might wonder why it has taken so long for me to find you. Mostly it was fear. A soldier doesn't like to admit to fear, but this one does. I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me, afraid that you wouldn't like me, afraid that you wouldn't want to know. So I put it off and waited and now I may have run out of time. I'm about to go on active duty again and after my last tour I realised that I could not bear the idea of you never knowing who your sister was. Very selfish of me I know. I'm leaving you everything. Everything I found out. I hope you'll see why I'm so sure. We've already missed out on so much, Daniel. Fighting over toys, teasing each other, covering for each other, and now we won't be able to make up for lost time. I pray that I come home safe from this tour, that I find the courage to meet you face to face and most of all I pray that one day you'll be as proud of your sister as she is of you. Have a long and happy life, Daniel Jackson. Your sister, Captain Maggie Weld"
Jackson slowly folded the letter and placed it and the family snapshot in Weld's medal case. Rising he cleared a shelf and put the case on display. He bowed his head and finally allowed the tears to fall.
THE END
Want to know how all that came from one line ?
In the film when Catherine first meets Jackson at the seminar she shows him a photograph of himself and two adults. She asks if they are his parents and he says they are his foster parents. The child in the photo looks about three years old.
In "The Gamekeeper" Jackson relives "his parents'" death again and again. The script implies that this happened when Jackson was aged between six and eight - no mention of any fostering. Maybe it was too complicated to explain the whole foster parents thing - maybe the writers thought no one would notice, Hah ! Nae such luck !
So that was my attempt to marry the two stories together, I'm sure there are plenty of others. And before you mail me with the name of a reliable shrink, I am fully aware of my nit-picking qualities. I can usually keep them under control, this one kind of got away from me a bit.
Hope you enjoyed it regardless.
Cheers !