Follow the Yellow Brick Road
By
Denise
It was the last thing they'd expected to see. Sam was in her lab; she was always in her lab. Even the techs joked that she didn't even have a home, that she just pulled a cot out of a closet somewhere.
Lately she'd developed the habit of turning off the ringer on her phone so no one was too surprised when she didn't answer it.
When she wouldn't answer her page, Jack was more annoyed than angry. After all it wasn't anything important, just a missed lunch date.
He took his time, pausing to turn in a report to the general, then grabbed Teal'c and pried Daniel away from his newest girlfriend, Pandora, an enigma of a rock he'd dragged back from Kansas last week, before going in search of the missing major.
Even when the door to her lab was closed no one was worried. That was another habit she'd started since Martouf and the whole Zatarc mess, going off on her own.
Jack knew exactly why she was doing it. The rumor mill had kicked into high gear after Anise's last visit and the surest way to get it to settle back down was to give it nothing to feed on.
So she'd avoided being alone with any of them. They'd all noticed it, even the delivery guy from Mo's Pizza had noticed the blond chick that ate the Hawaiian half of the pizza hadn't been around lately.
Well it was time for all that to change Jack had decided.
There was nothing going on between the two of them beyond a few run away hormones and an 'oh God I am going to die' adrenaline rush. He knew it. She knew it. Daniel and Teal'c knew it. Heck even Hammond knew it.
So it was time to tell the gossips to take a leap and get back to patching up friendships that had one heck of a rough time lately.
Upon encountering the closed door, Jack merely pulled his card out of his pocket and unlocked it, ignoring the hairs that stood up on the back of his neck. "Carter I don't care if you've cracked that gold into lead puzzle it's lunchtime and Sargent Bertelli isn't going to save me that piece of pumpkin pie forever," he said, striding into the room.
"O'Neill," Teal'c said in a wary voice.
"Jack. Something's wrong," Daniel said at the same time.
Jack heard neither of them. In the same instant that a smell crept into his nostrils his boot stepped in something with a sickening smack.
Knowing what he'd see but not wanting to, he looked down and felt his heart stop. "Oh God!" he exclaimed kneeling by the still figure. "Daniel…"
"Got it," Daniel replied lunging for the phone.
Teal'c knelt by him as Jack pulled open Sam's fatigue shirt looking for the source of all the blood.
Finding a hole that seemed disproportionately small for the size of the puddle he'd stepped in he pressed his hand down like little boy blue trying to stem the flood.
The bit of relief he felt at the faint beating of her heart was tempered by the knowledge that he'd seen men die of less.
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"What the hell happened?" General Hammond demanded, storming into the infirmary.
Jack pulled his gaze from the drawn curtain to his CO. "Someone shot Carter," he reported dully, not quite believing he'd just uttered that particular phrase.
"Colonel?" Hammond asked, shock evident on his features.
"We aah…we were getting Sam. We were going to get some lunch and found…" Daniel paused.
"We discovered Major Carter unconscious in her laboratory," Teal'c reported.
"And no one saw or heard…" George paused as the curtain opened. They watched silently as an orderly rushed past them pushing a gurney. In a matter of seconds Sam was shifted from the bed to the gurney and wheeled out of the room. "Doctor?" Hammond asked Janet, trying no to stare at the bright red blood splatters on her normally pristine lab coat.
"It looks like the bullet missed her lungs which is good. Doctor Warner's scrubbing in right now."
"Will she?" Jack asked.
"I think so colonel. Just be glad you didn't decide to skip lunch. Another half-hour or so and she would have bled to death. Sir?" She turned to George. "I'd like to assist."
"Carry on," George said. She needed no further urging and hurried from the room.
"General. Who would shoot Sam?"
"That is one thing I intend to find out Doctor Jackson. Teal'c, inventory the armory. I want to know who signed out weapons. Doctor Jackson I want every second of security camera footage looked at and Colonel, I want a list of every person on this base in the last six hours," he ordered.
A trio of affirmations followed his request as they turned to leave. "Jack?" he called. Jack turned back to his CO. "Maybe you want to wash your hands?" George suggested.
The colonel stared dumbly at his hands and frowned. They were stiff and sticky with congealing blood. His friend's blood. Blood that just a little while ago and been coursing through her veins, maintaining her life. Now it was lifeless, cold and still. Just like last time. The last time he'd held his hands over a gaping hole and tried to keep it all in.
"Yes sir," he mumbled, walking stupidly towards the sink.
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"Ok people. What have we got?" Hammond demanded of the somber group seated around the table.
"According to Sargent Styles all weapons in the armory are accounted for," Teal'c reported.
Hammond nodded. The answer was one he'd expected. Given the nature of their work, there was no shortage of weapons on the base. "Colonel?"
The general's words pulled Jack's gaze from the empty chair he'd been staring at and directed it back to his CO. "Just going by the duty rosters sir there have been nearly two hundred and fifty people on this base in the last eight hours. That's not counting the ones that are here late or on their own time, security is still working on that list. Frankly sir, the only people above reproach right now are the off-world teams."
George sighed. That was pretty much what he'd suspected also. "See if you can narrow it down a bit colonel. See if anyone had a reason to shoot her." Jack nodded as Daniel came into the room trailed by Major Castleman. "Doctor Jackson?"
"Umm sir, you'll want to see this." He crossed the room and slipped the tape into the machine. "It's from the security camera right outside Sam's lab."
They watched in morbid fascination as a very familiar figure used his pass card to open the door, which closed behind him. A few minutes later he left the room, a pistol clearly visible in his hand, which he shoved into his pocket.
Four shocked faces turned to the fifth who was staring at the image of himself walking calmly out of the camera's range.
"Aah sir?"
General Hammond shook his head; his eyes still riveted on the screen. "I don't care what that video says there's no way in hell I shot Major Carter," he insisted. "I…wouldn't…" he trailed off.
"That is not what the video shows General Hammond," Teal'c stated quietly.
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"Janet, how is she?" Daniel asked, walking into the infirmary with Jack.
She turned, still dressed in her surgical scrubs. "She's going to be fine Daniel. I don't know how but the bullet managed to miss every vital organ. It just nicked the pulmonary artery, that's why she lost so much blood," she explained checking the readings on the machines.
Daniel stepped forward and looked down at his friend. If it weren't for the barely discernable bulk of bandages under the white gown he'd just think she was asleep.
"Give her a few weeks and she'll be fine," Janet reassured. She left Daniel's side and joined Jack. "I understand you're leading the investigation?"
"Yeah. Looks that way," Jack said quietly.
"Then you'll need this." She pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket and handed it to him.
Jack took it and looked at the mangled piece of metal. "That…" he motioned towards Sam.
"Yeah. 9mm is my guess," she confirmed.
"It looks about right," Jack agreed. Given the fact that 9mm pistols were the standard issue sidearm for the SGC he would have been surprised if it had been another caliber. "I'm going to have a couple of SF's stationed down here."
"You think she's still in danger?" Janet asked amazed.
"I think Carter's the only witness," he said. "And someone's tried to kill her once already."
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Half an hour later Jack stood in the general's office, studying the lists. Three hundred. There were nearly three hundred people on the base at the time Carter had been shot. And any one of them could have done it.
He refused to believe the videotape. It just wasn't possible. There was no way in hell George would hurt anyone in his command, much less Carter. Christ she was practically like a daughter to him.
General Hammond had confined himself to quarters. He'd suggested the brig but Jack had insisted the VIP quarters were more than sufficient. Hammond trying to kill one of them was about as likely as him and Carter having wild sex on the briefing room table…or him and Daniel for that matter.
It had to be one of these people. But which one? Who had a motive for murder?
Simmons. Did he still have that crush on her? Would that be reason enough to try to kill her? Or Lieutenant Keller. Rumor had it that she fancied Simmons. Maybe a woman scorned deal.
Then there was Captain Mayer. Last week she had called him on a mistake. It could be a bit of professional jealousy.
He scanned through the list then tossed it aside in disgust. Hell, given the events of the past few weeks he was as much a suspect as anyone.
The phone rang and he picked it up, eager for the distraction. "O'Neill."
"Jack, she's awake," Daniel reported.
"I'm on my way." Jack tossed the phone down and hurried from the room.
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Jack strode into the infirmary nodding at the two guards. Had it really come down to this? Cheyenne Mountain locked down, not to protect the world but to contain an enemy in their midst.
Jack slowed, quieting his footsteps instinctively. What was it about infirmaries and sick friends that made a person want to tiptoe?
Daniel was at Sam's side while Teal'c stood at parade rest at the foot of her bed. Janet hovered, her expression telling Jack that she'd kick them out in an instant.
He met the doctor's gaze and at her nod stepped forward. "Carter?" he called quietly.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Colonel," she whispered hoarsely.
"How do you feel?'
"Dumb question. What happened?"
Jack looked at Daniel who shook his head slightly. "You were in your lab. Somebody shot you. Do you remember anything?"
She frowned, trying to think through the painkillers. She opened her mouth, then shut it, like she didn't want to say anything.
"What?" Jack prodded.
"A goa'uld. His eyes glowed but…he looked like you."
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The airman nodded at the guard who opened the door for him. He walked into the room, careful not to spill anything on the tray. "I brought you something to eat sir," he said, setting the tray down.
"I'm not hungry son," George said staring at the far wall.
"Sir. The cook made this just for you," he cajoled.
"I said I'm not hungry airman."
"General. Sir. With all due respect, you need to eat something…"
"Son," George said, raising his voice.
"Doctor Fraiser's orders sir. She told me to make sure you ate something," he said quietly.
With an annoyed glare George stalked to the table and picked up the glass of iced tea. He drank half of it in two big gulps. "There," he said, slamming the glass down. "Satisfied? Dismissed," he ordered.
"Yes sir," the man said quietly, studying the general closely. He hid a satisfied smile as a puzzled look crossed the older man's face. He turned his back and walked away, smiling broadly as a pained gasp from behind him. Just as his fingers touched the doorknob he heard a heavy thud. "Very satisfied," he whispered quietly leaving the room.
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"She could have been wrong," Daniel suggested, hurrying to keep up with Jack.
"When was the last time Carter was wrong?" Jack asked, swiping his card in the elevator call box.
"Ok. But. Jack you don't have a goa'uld do you?" he asked, pushing the button for level 25.
Jack shot him a dirty look. "Right. That's…that's good actually cause the thought of Jack O'Neill with a snake in his head is actually pretty scary."
"Well thank you Daniel. I'm touched."
"What I mean is the universe can barely handle a human Jack O'Neill. Having one around for centuries just might be too much for it," Daniel said as the elevator stopped and the door opened. "Now a Tok'ra. That would be different…"
"Different? A snake in the head is still a snake in the head," Jack said, returning the salutes of the guards outside the general's room.
"True but. What if you got Anise? That…that would be really weird."
Jack ignored his friend and opened the door. "General. I've got some good news and some damned confusing…General?" he asked, scanning the room.
"Oh my God!"
Jack turned and saw Daniel run across the room. He threw himself to his knees and rolled Hammond to his back. "He's not breathing," the archaeologist reported, tipping the man's head back to clear his airway.
Jack dashed to the door and pulled it open. "Medical emergency!" he yelled. "Get Fraiser down here now!" He yelled, then hurried back to help Daniel.
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Teal'c opened his eyes, a commotion pulling him out of the light state of Kel-no-reem he was in and into full attentiveness. He glanced at Sam who was sleeping peacefully. Certain that she would be all right if left alone for a bit he pushed the curtain aside and stepped out into the main part of the infirmary.
"Give me one amp of bicarb!" He heard Doctor Fraiser order. The flurry of medical staff, one of which was kneeling astride the patient pushing in on his chest concealed the victim's identity.
Seeing Jack and Daniel enter the room he crossed to them. "O'Neill. What has transpired?"
"I think…I think he had a heart attack," Jack answered, his eyes riveted to the scene before him.
He recognized a lot of what Janet was saying and doing. It looked exactly like what they did on TV. Except this was no dummy they were working on. This was his friend, his CO. A mentor and heck sort of a surrogate father.
Teal'c turned to Daniel, a question on his face. "We were going to the general, to tell him about what Sam said. We found him on the floor," Daniel explained.
Teal'c turned back to the drama, a sickening fear welling up in his belly. "General Hammond."
"Charge to 300. CLEAR!"
He cringed as the younger man's body convulsed in response to the electricity sent through it. The defibrillator he remembered from Urgo's visit. Used to shock a heart back into a healthy rhythm.
"Again! Clear!"
This time he saw O'Neill and Daniel flinch as their leader's body jerked.
"How did this happen?"
Jack shrugged. "Stress maybe?"
"Doctor Fraiser pronounced General Hammond in perfect health just last week," Teal'c reported, his status as the base's only full time occupant giving him greater knowledge than most of its inner workings.
"What could cause a perfectly healthy man to fall over with a sudden heart attack?" Daniel asked rhetorically.
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Jack plopped in Hammond's chair and sighed heavily. He couldn't believe it. This whole day had been like a nightmare come true. He looked at his watch. 1600. Just a few hours ago everything had been fine. Carter was puttering in her lab and George, hell George had been sitting in this very chair no doubt grousing about paperwork.
He leaned forward and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out the general's secret bottle of Jack Daniels and splashed two fingers worth into an empty coffee mug.
He took a large drink, accepting the way the liquor burned down his throat. Carter would be fine, he reassured himself. A few weeks of rest and she'd be good as new.
George was another matter. Against all the odds Janet had managed to stabilize him. He was still alive. That was the good news. The bad news was that a heart attack on the record of someone who was due for retirement four years ago did not look good.
A flash of movement caught his eyes. He stared in amazement as the bottle took on a life of its own. It floated off the desk and hung suspended in midair. Jack simply stared as the bottle upended and gurgled as if it was being poured. The bottle righted itself and dropped back on the desk with a small thud.
Instinctively his hand reached for the phone, which slid from his grasp and crashed to the floor.
At that moment the door burst open and Jack dropped to a defensive crouch behind the desk.
"Jack. You're not going to believe this but…" Daniel stopped at the sight of his friend cowering behind the desk.
Jack lunged from behind the desk and dashed through the doorway. He stared frantically both ways down the hall but saw nothing but two confused Lieutenants.
"Jack. What's going on?" Daniel asked slowly, using the same tone of voice Jack had used when Daniel had had his little brush with mental health.
"I…I don't know. What's your news?" he said, changing the subject.
"OK," Daniel said, accepting the change. "I don't know if this is good or bad. It is good but also not so good…"
"Daniel. I swear to god if you don't spit it out…"
"The general's heart attack…it wasn't his fault. Janet found abnormally high potassium levels in his blood."
"So?"
"So they were high enough to stop his heart. Jack, it's not possible for this to occur naturally. Not in a healthy person. Janet says the only way for someone to have this much potassium in his blood is for someone to put it there. This wasn't a heart attack. It was attempted murder."
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Sam slowly woke up, remembering enough of where she was to know an early morning stretch wouldn't be a good idea right now. She took a deep breath and winced a bit at the pain.
"Major Carter?" She opened her eyes to see Teal'c stand up from the chair he was sitting in. "Do you require assistance?" he asked quietly.
"Can I have a drink?" she asked, realizing how thirsty she was.
He obligingly stepped forward and picked up a cup from the bedside table and held it so she could drink through the straw.
She took a couple of sips, enjoying the cool water easing her sore throat. Her eyes caught a movement behind Teal'c. The hairs on her neck stood on end. This was what she'd felt before in her lab. She pulled her head back and raised her hand. "Teal'c…" she whispered meeting his gaze. She saw realization dawn on his face. Before he could react she saw his head jerk to the side and he collapsed to the floor.
Sam frantically scanned the room for an invisible enemy, her right hand feeling for the call button.
"And they think you're so great." She heard as cold hard hands wrapped around her neck.
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The first thing Teal'c was aware of was the smell. Antiseptic. Which meant the infirmary. He opened his eyes. He was on the floor. But that did not make sense, unlike O'Neill; he had never been on the floor of the infirmary.
He heard a slight creaking sound and looked up to see an arm fall limply off the edge of the bed.
Driven by fear he forced himself to his feet and reached out blindly. His searching fingers encountered a form and he tightened his grip, pulling it away from his helpless friend.
"Freak." He heard a surprisingly feminine voice curse as he sent the invisible figure crashing into the wall. He spun, straining his eyes to see something, anything that could tell him where the assailant was. Suddenly something tangled in his legs and he fell backwards, narrowly missing cracking his head open on the table. "The bigger they are." He heard as he watched the curtain wave as the person fled the room.
Realizing a search would be futile he turned his attention back to his friend. A quick check revealed she wasn't breathing. Swiftly he tipped her head back and breathed for her as he'd been taught. After a second breath he was rewarded by a weak cough as she began to breathe on her own.
He held the oxygen mask over her mouth for a few minutes until the dreaded bluish tinge left her lips.
Wondering why the noise had not attracted any attention he walked past the unconscious Hammond, stuck his head out in the hall and was surprised to find the two guards O'Neill had stationed there were gone. Coming to the swift realization that no one could protect his teammate from an invisible assassin he made an easy decision.
He unhooked the IV bag and carefully picked her up. The only way she would be safe was to put her where no one would think to look.
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Ex-Lieutenant Claire Tobias glanced both ways down the hall and after ascertaining that she would be unobserved, slipped into the storeroom. She deactivated the imager and sat on the floor with a sigh of relief. Though the appropriated alien technology was incredibly useful and astonishingly easy to reprogram, it did not mesh well with human physiology. That little tidbit was something Major Carter had left out of her report when she'd used the thing during the alien invasion over a year ago. Unless of course Major Pollyanna thought a little nausea and splitting headache were normal.
'Do not complain. If I was not allowing you your petty revenge, we would already have attained our goal and be well out of here.'
'Gil. Stop complaining and fix my head ok. You wanted me to stir up some trouble here. And that is what I'm doing.'
'What you are doing is risking our objective by letting your personal feelings get in the way. What you will do is go get her so we can leave this place before someone starts to figure things out.'
'Just let me rock the foundations a little more Gil. Let me make things nice and easy for our bosses to step in and take their rightful place,' she reasoned, knowing full well he knew just what their mission objectives were.
'Fine. Now rest and let me fix the damage that Jaffa did.' Claire obediently closed her eyes and let Gil take control.
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Teal'c quietly slipped through the back halls, his ears straining for the slightest sound. For this to work, no one could know where he was going.
He paused at a junction studying the cameras. This had been a game he'd played with the security staff. They'd wager on whether he could get from point A to point B without being seen. They often lost.
He rounded the corner and slipped into the storeroom, his movements slightly hampered by the burden he carried.
In the back of the storeroom he opened another door revealing a tiny, dark room.
He gently laid Sam on the floor then set himself to making it habitable. Fortunately there were mattresses and sleeping bags stored in the outer room.
"Teal'c?" He returned to see her awake and alert, if a bit puzzled as she took in her surroundings. "What's going on?" she asked as he helped her off the floor and onto the makeshift bed.
"Someone tried to kill you again. They were invisible and there is no defense against an invisible foe save preventing her from finding you," he said.
Sam nodded, rubbing her sore throat. "Where am I?"
"Behind a store room on level 22."
"I heard rumors of secret rooms when I transferred here but thought it was just stories. What's your plan?" She asked, shifting a bit to settle herself.
"Since you reported seeing O'Neill shoot you and the cameras recorded General Hammond entering your lab I believe we are dealing with an assailant who can not only mask their presence but change their appearance. Therefore there are few we can trust. I do not believe O'Neill knows this. I had planned to hide you here then inform him of my beliefs."
"Makes sense. He can round everyone up or maybe sweep the base with TERs."
Teal'c nodded. That had been his idea also. "Do you require anything?"
"Actually yeah," Sam said, listing a couple of items.
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"Jack I still don't see…" Daniel said hurrying beside Jack on his way to the infirmary.
"That's the point Daniel. You DIDN'T see," Jack said, forcefully pushing the elevator buttons. He was getting sick and tired of playing catch up in this little game. "Someone was in Hammond's office with me," he explained as the door opened.
"You were alone," Daniel insisted, standing aside so two people could exit, then following his friend into the car.
"No. I wasn't. And before you say it, I'm not drunk, drugged or possessed by aliens. Someone was there. And I'm willing to bet it was the same someone that masqueraded as Hammond and I. And the same someone that tried to kill the Carter."
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. "Oh. Ok," Daniel replied, following him.
Jack took a few steps and stopped in the middle of the hall. "What?"
"What what?"
"I just told you there's an invisible shape shifting assassin running around the place and all you can say is oh?"
"Well. What would YOU say if I told you this?" Daniel asked. Jack thought a moment and frowned. "Exactly," Daniel continued. "Come on," he urged. They walked unchallenged into the infirmary.
"Doc. Where are the guards?" Jack asked.
Janet looked up from the chart she was writing in. "I was just going to call you. They left over an hour ago. I thought you dismissed them," she said, closing it and hanging it on the foot of the bed.
"No. I didn't. They better have a damn good reason. How is he?" Jack asked, motioning at a sleeping Hammond.
"He's fine. It's my other patient that I'm worried about."
"Is Sam ok?" Daniel asked quickly.
"I really hope so," Janet answered, pulling back the curtain to reveal an empty mussed bed.
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Teal'c carefully scanned the corridor as he exited the storeroom. In his years of living at this facility he had never observed anyone using the room but he couldn't be too careful. Especially if this person could indeed appear as anyone.
As he walked down the hall he worked the puzzle over in his head. Major Carter had said her assailant's eyes glowed but Teal'c had not sensed the presence of a symbiote when he had attacked it in the infirmary. But whatever he had tussled with, it had been strong enough to be a goa'uld.
But the language it used was more that of a human than a goa'uld.
Was it possible there was another castaway like Seth? But both Major Carter and Jacob Carter had been able to sense Seth. It made little sense. What goa'uld could be here on earth? How could it gain access to the SGC? And if it was a goa'uld, why had it not taken control of the facility and made its demands?
It almost felt as though they were dealing with a human foe and not an alien one.
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Daniel hurried down the hall, glancing at his watch. He'd promised Jack he'd hurry. He had been right in the middle of arranging to have Pandora carbon dated when the colonel had showed up and dragged him away for lunch. A lunch he'd never eaten he remembered, having spent the last six hours chasing after shape shifting killers.
It just didn't make sense. Why would someone shoot Sam and try to make it look like the general had done it? And then try to kill the general. To cover their tracks? Maybe if the prime suspect were dead then the investigation would stop.
He swiped his card and opened his office door, grateful for a bit of paranoia that had made him lock it in the first place. He crossed to his desk and looked at the sandstone rock, about the size of a large textbook. It looked just like the fossils of the Goa'uld queen that he and Robert had found on P3X888.
But what the heck was she doing in Kansas? On earth for that matter. The Goa'uld were alien invaders that was established. They had come to earth millennia ago and impersonated or maybe even created the various deities of ancient humans.
But Pandora's existence suggested that they had evolved here.
There were no traces of naquadah in the rock, just like the ones on 888. But which came first? Was earth invaded by the original goa'uld or had they fled earth and colonized 888?
It was a question he was hoping the carbon dating could help with.
He took the tiny vial with a sample in it and slipped it into his pocket. "Well Pandora, why don't we put you away?" he asked the rock, crossing the room and unlocking a storage container. Very few people outside of the SGC even knew of her existence, and he wanted to keep it that way for a while longer.
He turned back to get the rock and stopped at the sight of Jack standing over it, his fingers tracing the outline of the fossil almost reverently.
"Aah Jack…I though you were going to go track down a couple of SF's?" Daniel asked, a creepy feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Jack had always refused to even touch Pandora claiming she gave him the creeps.
"What?" Jack looked up, distracted as if he had just realized he wasn't alone.
"The two guards who left the infirmary," Daniel prodded, edging towards the door. "You were mentioning something about flogging," he prompted, eyeing the panic button on the wall.
"Tomorrow after breakfast. Daniel, I need to borrow her," Jack said, picking up the fossil.
"Actually she's got a date with a lab for carbon dating," Daniel replied, abandoning the panic button to step forward to take the fossil from the man.
"It'll just be for a few minutes," Jack argued yanking Pandora back with super human strength.
"No. It won't," Daniel insisted, wrapping his hands around the rock and pulling her back.
"Daniel…"
"Jack, or whoever you are. She stays here," Daniel said, tearing the rock from Jack's grasp and backing off.
'Jack' sighed and his eyes flared with anger. "They told me you'd be the difficult one," a deep resonating voice said.
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"Perfect," Sam whispered, circling the picture in the catalogue. With the wonders of technology she could call the 800 number, use her credit card and have the saddlebags delivered in time for the weekend.
Hearing the door open she slid the catalogue under a file and looked up, frowning a bit at the fatigue clad visitor. She'd have sworn she'd seen white in her peripheral vision.
"Colonel. Did you need something?" He said nothing but scanned the room, as if he wanted to make certain they were alone. "Sir. Is something wrong?"
"Yes. You have my job," the colonel said, pulling a gun out of his pocket. Sam stared in shock, half expecting Daniel to come rushing around the corner laughing at the look on her face. She watched in slow motion as his finger pulled the trigger…the muzzle flash…the tiny projectile…felt the force slam into her chest and knock her down.
Stunned she laid on the floor, seeing the colonel step over her and search the room.
Rough hands gripped her chin, shaking her head. "Where is she?" he asked.
Sam forced open eyes she hadn't realized she'd closed and tried to think. She? What she?
"My Queen. Where is my queen?" he asked harshly, his eyes glowing.
Sam awoke with a jerk, gasping a bit as the sudden movement tugged at her stitches. A queen. That's what it wanted. But they didn't have a…oh yes they did.
She fumbled for the radio Teal'c had left for her to use if she needed anything. "Teal'c…It's after Pandora."
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"Enter."
Teal'c entered the general's office noticing how at ease O'Neill looked behind the desk. He would not be surprised if the colonel inherited the command when General Hammond elected to retire.
"Teal'c. Please tell me you have something to do with Carter going AWOL from the infirmary," Jack said, clearly relieved at the Jaffa's appearance.
"Indeed. There was a second attempt upon Major Carter's life."
"What? Is she ok?" Jack asked, shooting to his feet.
"She is unharmed however due to the nature of the assailant I felt it necessary to guard her safety."
"Nature of her…"
"The assailant was able to cloak herself, thus unable to be discerned by the naked eye."
"Herself?" Jack asked, feeling like he'd just walked in on the middle of a movie.
"It spoke with a female voice," Teal'c reported.
"Something like Nirti and her invisi…thing," Jack concluded, noting the TER Teal'c was carrying.
"That would be…" Teal'c stopped as the radio he was also carrying crackled to life.
"Teal'c. It's after Pandora."
"Major Carter?" Teal'c asked, sharing Jack's puzzled look.
"I just remembered. When it shot me it asked for its queen…"
Jack shot Teal'c a horror filled look. "Daniel just went to his lab."
Both men took off at a run.
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A few moments later they came to a halt outside their friend's office. Jack took a quick peek around the door and felt his stomach clench at the disarray. This wasn't normal Daniel clutter; the place had been trashed.
Jack held back and let Teal'c sweep the room with the TER, hoping the alien device would reveal any shrouded enemies.
At his negative shake they cautiously entered the room. "Daniel?" Jack whispered. They were rewarded by a rustle and a muffled 'here' from under a large bookcase.
"Damn. Teal'c." The Jaffa stepped forward and helped Jack set the bookcase back upright, revealing one archaeologist buried beneath a mound of books and broken artifacts. "Daniel. You ok?" Jack asked as he and Teal'c removed the priceless rubble.
"Ouch. Yeah. At least it didn't have a ribbon device," Daniel muttered, exploring the goose egg on the back of his head. He abruptly looked past Jack at the empty place on the table. "It's got Pandora. Jack you've got to stop her."
"The mountain's locked down. She's not going anywhere," Jack reassured.
Daniel grabbed Jack's arm. "She can look just like you…and believe me, she's determined to get out of here."
Jack and Teal'c shared a look. "Go. I'm fine," Daniel stated.
"Get down to the infirmary," Jack ordered. "Teal'c, you take the gate room, I'm headed up top."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Claire signed the sheet, hoping she could do at least a passable imitation of O'Neill's handwriting. It had been surprisingly easy to convince the guards that the lock down had ended. Of course the fact that she was 'wearing' a colonel's uniform probably had a lot to do with it.
'Calmly. Don't blow it now,' Gil advised, picking up her urge to hurry for the gate.
'I do know what I'm doing,' she responded, annoyed at just how right he was. Despite his confidence she had a funny feeling that her time was running out. She picked up the pace to a brisk walk, grateful for the added strength that Gil gave her. The fossil they carried in a briefcase was more than a little heavy.
She flashed the fake ID at the last guard post and stepped through the chain link fence; glad to see her ride was here.
"HEY!"
She turned back to see Jack running from the tunnel, several guards in tow. She dashed forward and threw the case into the back seat.
"STOP!" he yelled.
Claire hurried to the passenger's side and opened the door. "Come on Jack. You're smarter than that," she yelled over the roof, enjoying the frustrated look on his face. "See ya colonel," she shouted as she jumped in the car, her hand waving out the window as it sped away.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Here," Jack said, handing Sam a cold bottle of Diet Coke. "Doc specifically said no beer with your meds," he said, seeing the look on her face. He then took his seat across the table and picked up another slice of pizza.
Sam shrugged and took a drink then pulled another slice out of the box. They were all at Jack's house, enjoying a quiet evening of pizza and movies. Something they all agreed they hadn't done in far too long.
"When does the general come back?" Daniel asked as he took a big bite.
"His vacation is over next week," Jack said with a conspiratory grin.
"I was under the impression he was at home recovering," Teal'c said, eyeing the pizza with a frown. The allure of this
particular Tau'ri delicacy still escaped him.
"A heart attack would look bad on his record," Sam explained.
"So as far as the powers that be are concerned, he's just taking some well deserved down time," Jack continued, silently thanking Janet for her foresight in 'losing' the original files.
"How about your evil twin?" Daniel asked.
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Both George and I have asked what questions we can but…she's a ghost."
"A ghost who's got the only evidence we have that the goa'uld were here far earlier than first suspected," Sam said.
"Not the only evidence," Daniel said, pulling the vial out of his pocket. "I was going to send this sample off…"
"Why haven't you sent it off already?" Jack asked. It was totally unlike Daniel to hold onto something that important.
"I aah…well I was going to ask if we want to go on with this or just let it drop, considering the trouble she's already caused," he said, referring to Hammond's and Sam's brushes with the grim reaper.
The quartet shared a silent moment. "I say go for it," Sam said.
"I believe the information garnered from such a test would be most beneficial."
"What he said," Jack replied, jerking his thumb at Teal'c. "We've come this far. Might as well go all the way." The rest nodded, acknowledging and accepting the risks.
"Ok. I'll send it off Monday," Daniel answered, slipping it back into his pocket.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A figure slipped silently through the recently excavated ruin paying close attention to its surroundings. As the humans would say, this was a bad neighborhood; Americans being most unwelcome this close to Iraq.
It crossed the ancient room and knelt before the chipped and scarred altar. She opened the case and drew out the fossil, laying it before her on the altar. "My queen Ninhursag, I have returned you home," a resonating voice said. "And I will not rest until we have regained the power we lost to the interlopers. This I, Gilgamesh, pledge to you," she said, drawing a knife and drawing it across her palm. "On my blood I promise you, we will regain all that we have lost."
Fin
For now. Give me a few months though.