Meeting of the Minds

By: Charlotte Magnus

The Meeting

"We have a report of an alien animal in a warehouse up north" said Hammond. "I'm sending sg-1 to kill it, capture it, whatever you need to do to resolve the situation."

"Yes sir" replied Colonel O'Neill.

"Your plane will ready to leave in one hour. Good luck."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

P-90's fired as an unknown creature flew at them. While it might have been nicked a few times it appeared that the bullets did no substantial damage to it. Colonel O'Neill had several cuts to his arms, neck, and face. Teal'c and Daniel Jackson had similar injuries. Major Carter, on the other hand, had the minor cuts and scrapes with the added gash across her abdomen. The members of sg-1 thought they were done for. The creature flew at them and then fell to the ground after being hit by an energy beam of some kind. It came from behind them and sg-1 immediately turned to face the newcomers with raised weapons.

"I am Doctor Helen Magnus," the leader said as she lowered her weapon. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Quite frankly, we want to know the same thing Dr. Magnus," replied Colonel O'Neill. "I am Colonel O'Neill. That's Major Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c."

"And this is Ashley, Will, and Henry. Before we answer anymore questions I think I should do something to help Major Carter. That is, of course, if you wish my help, Colonel."

"Please, go right ahead Doctor."

Dr. Magnus went straight to work, stopping the bleeding as well as she could. She looked up at Colonel O'Neill and said, "If I am to heal her we must get her back to the Sanctuary. And we must do that soon. We can put her in the van and the rest of your team can follow us."

"Just what is the Sanctuary exactly, Dr. Magnus" replied O'Neill.

"It is the facility that I founded and currently work at to provide protection and safety for the abnormal on this planet. Now please, any other questions you have I can answer after I have saved Major Carter if you are also willing to answer mine. Now can we go and save her?" asked Magnus.

"Let's go then" said O'Neill. They loaded Major Carter into the van, being careful not to harm her further. Then both groups were headed back to the Sanctuary.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sam slowly woke up and found that she was lying on a hospital bed but she didn't recognize the room she in. She obviously wasn't at the SGC but beyond that she knew nothing. She vaguely remembered the events at the warehouse but that didn't really help her determine her location. Just then a gorgeous brunette walked through the door.

'Wow,' thought Sam.

"Oh, good, you're awake. How are you feeling Major Carter?" asked Dr. Magnus.

"Sore and exhausted mostly. Now where the hell am I, who are you, and where is the rest of my team?" demanded Major Carter.

"I am Dr. Helen Magnus and this is the Sanctuary. The members of your team are all resting in the quarters they have been assigned for the duration of your stay. I will go let them know you are awake and then I will explain everything. I know you have questions, and I have a few of my own but I'm sure everything will be answered soon. If you will excuse me, I will go get your friends now." And with that Dr. Magnus turned and walked out the door.

She returned shortly with Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, and Teal'c. Seeing the three of them there and obviously unhurt allowed Major Carter to relax and try getting the answers she wanted.

"Sir," began Carter, "I'm glad to see that you guys are ok, but could you tell me what is going on."

"Carter, we were about to lose everything to that damn creature, whatever the hell it was. You were out cold with a nasty gash in your gut and we thought you were gone. Then Magnus here showed up and stopped the creature, saving us in the process. She insisted on bringing you here so she could save you. I don't know much else besides that because Magnus wanted to wait till you were awake before trying to explain everything. I can tell you that it is amazing place though. I already called Hammond to let him know the situation and I am to report in again after we have all heard what Magnus has to say." As he finished that statement the doors opened and in walked Magnus.

"Now that you are all here I guess it's time for everyone's questions to be answered. This place is the Sanctuary. It is my home and has been for more years than I can count. I founded the Sanctuary network many years ago to offer safety and protection for the abnormals on this planet. We spend most of our time currently fighting the Cabal which seeks to destroy the Sanctuary network and rid the planet of all abnormals. Does that answer your questions for now?"

"That is certainly a start Dr. Magnus," replied Major Carter.

"Please major, call me Helen. Now can you explain what you guys were doing in that warehouse?"

"Helen, please call me Sam. We had a tip of an alien creature and we were sent in to capture it, or kill it, depending on the situation. Until we have orders to the contrary that is all we can tell you at this time." Sam looked at the Colonel and he left to make his call to Hammond. For some reason Sam found herself wanting to trust this woman she had just met and secretly hoped that they would be allowed to tell her everything. For some reason she felt like they might need her in the future.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hammond here."

"General, this woman is Dr. Helen Magnus. She runs the Sanctuary and spends most her time protecting all the aliens she finds on Earth. What do you think?" replied Colonel O'Neill from the other end.

"Jack, let me make a phone call and I will call you back." Hammond hung up the phone and turned to the red phone on the other side of his desk.

"This is General Hammond, get me the President." Several minutes later, Hammond hung up and called Colonel O'Neill back.

"O'Neill."

"Jack, she has clearance. Apparently the President knows the good doctor and you are authorized to tell her everything."

"Yes sir General, although I think I will let Carter do all the talking. She and Magnus seem to be getting along pretty well. I will check in in 24 hrs sir. I thought you might want to send good old doc Frasier over here just in case."

"She will be there in a few hours Colonel. I will talk to you in 24 hours."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Colonel O'Neill walked back into the room and look at Sam.

"Carter, we can tell the Magnus here everything. She has more clearance than we do. Apparently Mr. President is a big fan. Oh, and I took the liberty of having Hammond send Frasier over to look things over, for obvious reasons. I thought I would let you feel Magnus in."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir. Why don't you guys go look around and I will start explaining everything to Helen. That is of course if it's ok that you guys look around," replied Sam looking up at Magnus.

"By all means gentlemen, make yourselves at home" replied Magnus. The guys just turned around and walked out the door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sam and Helen were alone in the infirmary. Sam decided she might as well start explaining everything.

"I am Major Samantha Carter of the U.S. Air force."

"Wait, The Samantha Carter, author of the book on Wormhole Physics?" asked Magnus.

"That would be me, yes."

"Wow" was all that Magnus could say.

"I would first like to thank you Helen for saving me. I hope that I can one day repay the favor. So, I work for a secret branch of the military that uses a piece of alien technology to explore different galaxies, searching for alien technology to help us combat the alien race known as the Goa'uld."

"Ok" was all that Magnus could think to say at the moment.

"We call this technology the Stargate. We explore knew planets and galaxies and try to learn about the races we find. It is all really fascinating. We were at the warehouse because the SGC had been informed of an alien creature and we were sent in to determine the threat and attempt to capture or, if necessary, kill this creature before it became known to the general public."

"The Sanctuary was put in place to protect the abnormals of this planet from humans who would try to kill them. I was there attempting to capture it so that we could study it and gain a larger understanding for that particular creature."

Sam and Helen continued to talk for several hours while the guys found all kinds of things to get into.

Helen decides that since Sam has given her this information that she might as well respond in kind.

"When I was young my father managed to come across pure vampire blood. That was obviously not very abundant. My friends and I injected ourselves with some of the blood and we received powers. Well, actually the blood just enhanced the abnormal abilities we already had. Enhanced minds, teleportation, invisibility, etc."

"What was yours?" Sam asked.

"I got longevity. I am now 157 years old." replied Magnus.

Sam sat in thought for a moment. How sad and lonely life must be for Magnus. She grew to love countless people and she outlived them all and would continue to do so for who knows how long. Then Helen spoke up.

"Why did O'Neill insist that this Doctor Frasier come and check you out?" asked Magnus.

"Several years ago I was temporarily a host to a Tok'ra. This Tok'ra sacrificed herself to save me. When she died she left traces a naquadah in my blood. As a result I have to be given different medications and dosages. Janet is my physician and knows what to do differently. It is just a precaution that the Colonel wanted to take."

"Interesting" replied Magnus. At that moment Frasier walked through the door.

"Hey Sam, how are feeling?" asked Janet Frasier.

"I've been worse Janet. Janet, this is Dr. Helen Magnus. Helen, this is Dr. Janet Frasier, CMO of the SGC."

"It is nice to meet you Dr. Magnus. Thank you for taking good care of Sam," Janet said as she looked Sam over making sure that everything was really ok. All she had to do was adjust a few levels of meds and things were good.

"Please, Dr. Frasier, call me Helen" replied Magnus. "And it really was no trouble at all."

"Well, Helen, just call me Janet."

"Janet, I was just about to let Sam out of here. I don't want her to leave before I am sure she is fully recovered but I don't think she needs to stay in the infirmary. I thought I might give you two a tour of the Sanctuary if you want."

"That would be great Helen. Janet, do agree with Magnus, can I leave?" ask Sam as she looked at Janet.

"I don't see why not Sam just make sure you take it easy." replied Janet. "Let's have that tour then."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The three women spent the next couple of hours walking around the building as Magnus explained all the technology and defenses. She introduced them to some of the abnormals that were currently living there. They met the guys for dinner and then they all headed to their respective rooms for the night so they could process the events of the day.