This story is meant to coincide with the Stargate #405 episode, "Divide and Conquer." Some of the dialogue was directly taken from the script of that episode. I do not own this dialogue, and I am not trying to pass it off as my own. I am using it only to advance the story. You probably will only understand this story if you are familiar with that episode.
Janet Frasier's Plot
Janet Frasier was frustrated beyond measure. She had spent another tearful counseling session with Sam about how difficult it was to work with Jack. Sam could be tough all day, but she often later confessed her feelings about Jack to Janet, because Janet was her best friend. After hearing too many tearful confessions lately, Janet was beginning to think that were limits to friendship.
Janet was convinced that if Sam and Jack would just talk about their feelings with each other, that they might be able to work out a way to have a relationship, despite the Air Force's frat rules. But neither Jack nor Sam was willing to confess their feelings to each other, because they were both convinced that it would ruin their working relationship. Plus, they were both afraid to admit their feelings, and find out that their feelings were not reciprocated. So Janet, in a moment of desperation, decided to hatch a plot. She walked down the hallway to General Hammond's office.
"General Hammond, sir, I need to send a message to the Tok'ra."
"What's this message about, Dr. Frasier?"
"I would prefer to keep it private, sir."
"Well, usually all our correspondence and messages with other planets is public record, or I should say that it is on record here at the SGC. I'm afraid I cannot let you send a private message. What you say to someone on an alien planet reflects on Earth as a whole, and could affect our diplomatic relations. For that reason, I'm afraid I am going to have to decline your request."
"Please, sir, it's very important."
"No, I cannot let you do that."
"Well, could you at least let someone know that I want to meet with her?"
General Hammond considered.
"All right, but you can only meet with aliens from another planet if the meeting is witnessed by another SGC member."
Janet considered her options. She really had not planned on letting anyone else in on her plot, but she could see that it might be the only way to be get the job done.
"All right, General. I would be willing to have Dr. Jackson meet with us."
"Fine. Who do you want us to send the message to?"
"Freya from the Tok'ra."
"I will do that for you. Dismissed."
"Thank you, General Hammond," said Janet.
Dr. Frasier went down the hallway to the cafeteria. Daniel was eating lunch with Sam, Jack and Teal'c. Janet had really wanted to ask Daniel about her plans in private, but she also wanted to get it done quickly. She had free time that day, since no one was expected back from any missions. She walked up to the table where SG-1 was sitting.
"Daniel, I was wondering if you would eat lunch with me today. I have something to discuss with you."
Jack hooted. Honestly, Janet thought, sometimes Jack could be so unprofessional. This had nothing to do with her having feelings for Daniel. Why did people always think she liked Daniel? She needed him today as a co-conspirator. It was all about the plot today.
"Sure Janet, I would love to eat lunch with you," said Daniel, throwing Jack a glare.
"Excellent," said Janet.
Janet insisted that she and Daniel sit at a table that was all the way across the cafeteria from the rest of SG-1. The two of them had a heart to heart, and by the time they were done, Daniel was laughing and slapping his knee. "I don't honestly care as much as you do about resolving this, Janet, but this sounds like so much fun I cannot resist. Besides, I am also tired of dealing with Jack's feelings about Sam. He never talks about it, but it makes him grumpy. It's about time those two got together somehow."
"Good," said Janet. "Then we proceed as soon as Freya arrives. She told me recently about a theory she has about something called a zatarc. According to her, the Goa'ould can manipulate people's minds and they won't even know their minds have been changed. Then the Goa'ould can use those zatarcs as personal weapons."
Janet continued, "Do you remember how Major Graham went crazy recently when he was visiting the Tok'ra? Freya thinks he was a zatarc. I think we could use her theory to our advantage. Do you think you could rig up a convincing lie detector? It would just have to have a computer and some wires and some straps? It wouldn't have to actually do much of anything. It would just have to look look realistic."
"Well, I'm not an engineer, but I could probably ask Felger to make me something that would look semi-realistic," said Daniel.
"Good," said Janet, and she went off to wait for Freya's arrival.
Freya was delighted by Janet's plot. Despite her serious demeanor, Freya really did have a fun side. Freya told Janet, "I would enjoy this very much. I have participated in several match-makings on my planet. The theory I have about zatarcs that I recently presented to the High Council could definitely be useful here."
"You will probably get a lot of difficulty from Colonel O'Neill," said Janet. "I apologize ahead of time if he causes any trouble."
"Oh do not worry about that," said Freya. "I have my ways of dealing with Colonel O'Neal. I am more worried about Martouf cooperating. He has not been a supporter of my theory, and I don't think we can let him in our our plan. He likes Samanta too much."
"Then we will just have to tell him as little as possible," said Janet, "I will go talk to General Hammond about setting up a meeting, and you can go find Daniel. He should have a "zatarc detector" for you to use."
Janet stopped by to see General Hammond. "I would like to request a meeting with you, SG-1, myself and Freya. She has some important information for us."
"All right, Dr. Frasier," said General Hammond. "Does this have anything to do with your request to talk to her privately?"
"It does, General Hammond, but I would prefer not to say why," said Dr. Frasier, smiling mysteriously.
Freya sat in the briefing room at the SGC. "I would like to talk to you about a new problem that has hit our planet, and possibly yours as well. You saw this strange behavior from Major Graham when he was visiting our planet. We think that Major Graham was a zatarc."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "A what?"
"A zatarc." Said Freya. "People can have their minds altered by the Goa-ould, but not even know that it happened. It could have happened to any of you. Once a person's mind is altered, they can become very dangerous."
As Janet had expected, both Jack and Martouf were difficult about it. Martouf insinuated that Freya's theory was only a theory and nothing else. Jack was just plain difficult, because he hated cooperating with the Tok'ra, and especially Freya. The last time he cooperated with Freya was the disastrous incident with the armbands that almost resulted in him losing Sam forever.
After reassuring Jack and Martouf, Freya said, "I would like to test all the members of your teams that have been off world. Would you agree to that, General Hammond?"
General Hammond looked skeptical. "Will this zatarc detector actually work?" he asked Janet
Janet tried to answer him in a vague way. "It's alien technology. I have no way of knowing." She wanted to keep General Hammond in the dark about their plan, but she also didn't want to deceive him too badly.
"Then we're completely in the hands of the Tok'ra on this one," said General Hammond. "I will agree to the testing."
Janet coached Lt. Astor, one of the members of Graham's team. "When you are hitched up to the zatarc detector, you will be asked to describe your mission to P6Y-325. Describe it just as it happened. Try to look very emotional about the part where you shoot the Jaffa. Freya will declare that you are a zatarc, and that your mind has been altered. Then Freya will suggest an experimental treatment for you. During the treatment, you will pretend to be scared, and then you will pretend that the treatment is extremely painful. You will go nuts and point the unloaded gun at the observation window. I will break the glass at that moment with a small hammer. Everyone will think you shot out the window, because they will all be looking at you at the time of the glass breaking. You need to aim the gun at O'Neill, but then you have to appear to shoot yourself. We will give you an exploding ketchup packet to make it realistic. Do you understand everything?"
"I think so," Said Lt. Astor. "Why am I doing this again?"
Janet laughed, "I can't tell you, but remember, we are paying you very well for your part in this experiment."
Lt. Astor looked skeptical. "You said Colonel O'Neal will be there. How can you be sure he doesn't shoot me? And what about the SF's?"
"I will make sure I replace all the ammunition in their guns with blanks," said Dr. Frasier. "You will be perfectly safe."
The deception went off just as planned. Lt. Astor played her part perfectly. No one even noticed that Janet was the one who broke the window. After all of the drama, Janet wheeled Lt. Astor away to the post-mortem area of the SGC, where she left her with snacks and some entertainment. Dr. Frasier reminded Lt. Astor that she had to lie low until everything was over. Then Dr. Frasier gave Freya the green light to go ahead with testing Jack and Sam.
Freya strapped Jack into the fake Zatarc detector. "Good, Colonel. Now let's move to your mission on PX90757."
Jack, determined to be difficult, said "Drawin' a blank"
Freya sighed, "Your mission was to detroy a new ship being built by Apophis."
Jack said, "You know all about that."
Freya sighed again. Jack could be so infuriating sometimes! She said, "But the device only works if you recapture your exact memory of the events."
Janet and Daniel watched from the observation room as Jack recounted his version of the events that happened with the armbands, and how a force field had prevented him from saving Sam from the Jaffa.
Janet rubbed her hands together and whispered to Daniel. "This is it! He has to tell the truth. I know that mission was a big relationship moment for both of them. He will have to tell us all how he feels about Sam, or he will risk being labeled a zatarc."
But Janet became frustrated as the interrogation went on. Jack just would not talk about his feelings for Sam, no matter how Freya questioned him. Freya turned and looked at the people in the observation room. Janet shook her head. Well, Jack was a loss, but maybe Sam would admit her feelings for Jack.
Next Sam had her turn in the chair.
Freya took her through the whole sequence of events, but Sam turned out to be just as frustrating as Jack. They were certainly good at covering up their feelings.
Freya encouraged Sam, "Are you sure you're telling me everything?"
Sam nodded.
Freya looked back at Janet in the observations room. This was not working out the way they planned.
After the examination, Janet, Freya, and Daniel met out in the hallway.
"What are we going to do?" asked Janet. "They won't admit their feelings at all. I thought this would work."
"I could shock them with electricity," said Freya.
"No," said Daniel, shaking his head at the Tok'ra mentality. "We are trying to do this for their benefit. I don't think we want to do anything that will actually harm them."
"We just need to step up our game," said Janet. "Freya, call them back into the examination room. But this time when you examine them, tell them that they are zatarcs. We will give them some time to stew on that information, and then we will meet back again to finish our plan."
Freya called Sam and Jack back into the examination room and declared them both zatarcs. They were taken away to holding rooms. Janet, Freya and Daniel all met together and planned their next move.
"I have something I would like to do," said Freya.
"Shoot," said Janet.
"I would like to approach Colonel O'Neal with the intention to lo'machen."
"Lo'machen," said Daniel, looking shocked…"That means…"
"Yes," said Freya. "When he refuses me, I will ask him if he is committed to someone else. Maybe I can make him confess his feelings."
"And I will talk to him aftewards," said Daniel.
"If that doesn't work, we will move to plan C," said Dr. Frasier.
"What is Plan C?" asked Daniel.
"Let me tell you," said Dr. Frasier.
Freya went to Jack's room to talk to him. She leaned over and gave him a great big kiss. She was not personally attracted to the man, but she was an excellent actress when she needed to be.
It took Jack a moment to recover his speech.
"Uh…what ya doin?" said Jack.
"I originally came from a planet where the people were not afraid to show their affection for someone. When we wanted to lo'mahcen—"
"Excuse me?" said Jack.
"I believe you call it…"
"…something else."
As the conversation progressed, Freya got to the point of her actions.
"Is there someone else to whom you are loyal?"
Jack spluttered, "Th-th-th-that's not really the point here. Is it?"
Jack banged on the door frantically to get Freya out of the room, and she left extremely frustrated. The man was so impossible! No wonder he and Sam could never manage to get together!
Now it was Daniel's turn to enter Jack's room. He and Janet had agreed that he would try to talk Jack into getting treatment for being a zatarc.
Daniel asked Jack how he was doing.
"She made a pass at me." said Jack.
"Sam?" Daniel asked innocently, trying not to smile.
"Anise, Freya, one of them."
"Really?" said Daniel, hoping he sounded like he had no idea. "Uh…that's odd."
Jack continued, "Apparently the snake likes you."
Daniel squirmed. That made him extremely uncomfortable, whether it was true or not.
In the end, Daniel was not able to get Jack to admit his feelings for Sam, but Jack did agree to go through the zatarc treatment. Daniel knew Jack would do anything for Sam. And wasn't that the point of this whole plot?
Meanwhile, Janet had Sam in the infirmary. She whispered to Freya. "I'm going to pretend to give her a sedative, but I am not going to actually give her anything. Instead, I am giving her something called nor malsa lene."
"What is nor malsa lene?" asked Freya?
"If you pronounce it a different way, it is normal saline," said Dr. Frasier. "I can't ethically give her any medications that she does not medically need. But she has agreed to an IV drip, so I am going to give her regular saline, like we would give to anyone who is receiving an IV, or to someone who was dehydrated. I have learned in the past that Sam is very suggestible, and if she thinks she is receiving a sedative, she will act like she is receiving a sedative. Now you go get Jack, and I will go get Sam."
Freya and some military police led Jack down the hallway, while Daniel made sure that Sam saw them leading Jack away. Jack looked over his shoulder in a very sad way at Sam.
"You have to stop him!" Sam said to Daniel.
"It's his choice," said Daniel.
Dr. Frasier spoke up, "Sam, please. I have to do this."
Sam lay down on the bed.
Janet pretended to give Sam the sedative. Sam immediately succumbed to the suggestion, and became very groggy. Janet looked down at her, now feeling a little bad that she was putting Sam through so much. She had done all this to help Sam, but Janet hadn't really meant for her plot to go this far. Janet started to feel awful about what they were doing. All she had meant to do was get them to confess their feelings under the lie detector. Now she had faked someone's death in front of them, had scared them into thinking they were zatarcs, and was now pretending to sedate Sam. How had it gotten so out of control? Just as Janet was about to tell Sam the truth about everything, Sam started murmuring.
"Janet?" said Sam. "The machine is wrong! You don't understand. We lied. We didn't even know we were lying. Please."
Sam realized that she couldn't let Jack go through with the procedure. She struggled to wake up.
Back in the observation room, Jack was ready to go through with the zatarc procedure. He would do anything for Sam, and this was something he knew he had to do. If they learned something from treating Jack, they might be able to save Sam.
Suddenly Janet was knocking on the observation room window.
"Stop!" she yelled.
Jack looked up at her, as Sam came in to the room.
"Carter, what's up?" asked Jack
"Could we have a moment alone please?" asked Sam.
This is it! thought Dr. Frasier excitedly. She had forgotten that she felt bad about everything. They were going to tell each other their feelings!
Everyone left the room, and Sam turned to Jack.
"Carter, undo this. What's goin' on?" asked Jack.
Sam said, "We're not zatarcs."
"How do you know?" asked Jack.
"The machine thinks that we have false memories, but we don't. We were lying."
"I wasn't lying," said Jack."
"OK. You left something out."
"No, I didn't."
"Sir, when you wouldn't leave me, are you sure there wasn't something else that you're not admitting?"
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Something neither one of us can admit, giving our working relationship, our military ranks…"
"Oh! Oh, that." He looked up at Sam. They both knew their feelings, and now they knew that the other person knew as well.
Carter asked for a retest, and as Janet and Daniel and Freya watched on with glee at the success of their plot, Sam and Jack both admitted that they had feelings for each other, in front of each other and in front of the SG-1 team.
Janet, Daniel and Freya all met in the hallway afterwards to congratulate themselves, Daniel asked, "What now?"
Janet smiled. "We have done our part. It is up to them to decide what happens from here."
The three of them gave each other congratulatory high fives and handshakes. Janet hugged Freya goodbye, and sent her back through the Stargate. The three of them never mentioned what they had done to anyone. Although Janet had some explaining to do about how she managed to bring Lt. Astor "back from the dead."
It took Sam and Jack some time after to work out everything in their relationship, but it was a great comfort to both of them to know that their feelings were reciprocated. Janet Frasier's plot had worked.
