Teal'c and Jack rode in silence on the short trip from Cheyenne Mountain Air Base to Peterson Air Force Base. When they arrived at Peterson they made their way to a building alongside a strip of administrative offices. The utilitarian nature of the building told no secrets about what was held inside, but Jack knew that concrete and steel and bars offered Mayborne nothing but the illusion of security. If he had to walk through walls to get the information he wanted he would find a way. As they entered the building, two airmen who seemed to be expecting them stopped them.
"Colonel O'Neill, would you please sign in and check your weapon?" Jack swallowed as he thought about the request.
His pause caused Teal'c to turn his head and look at the other man fully. Teal'c knew that his friend was angry, but it would be futile to try and fight this procedure. After a couple of very long seconds Jack unholstered his M9, handed it to the airman, and signed in.
The second airman stood and requested, "Please, Sir, if you would follow me." The three of them walked deeper into the recesses of the building. When they arrived at their destination the airman turned to the colonel and informed him, "I will be outside the door, sir, and you should be aware that surveillance has been disconnected. You may talk freely." Jack suddenly understood that this young man, 'impossibly young', was an SF and had probably been sent by the general to assure that they could talk…and that the colonel didn't kill Mayborne outright. 'Ah, George you know me too well.'
Teal'c and Jack entered the dimly lit room and sat down at the metal table. Presently, Colonel Mayborne was brought into the room wearing beige scrub-like pajamas. He had several days' growth dirtying his face and manacles at wrists and ankles. The long series of chains connecting them encircled his waist. Jack thought the image entirely fitting.
"Thank you for coming," he said as he sat in the chair across from them. The airman escorting him retreated through the door and the three men were alone.
"I'm going to give you one chance to answer this question correctly, Mayborne." Jack's voice was low, dangerous. "Where is Captain Uziel?" His mind simultaneously played the memory of him asking that very same question nearly six months earlier in a deserted hangar on this very same base.
"I don't know where she is, Jack."
"Way wrong answer!" The measured tone gone, Jack sprang from his chair, knocking it over, and was on Mayborne in a flash. He didn't bother to threaten the man or display his intention. He simply decked him as hard as he could, knocking the man to the floor. "What the hell did you do, Harry?!"
"O'Neill!" Teal'c stood, but did not move. He merely wanted to encourage his friend to regain some measure of control before security forces entered the room and stopped them. There was no need to say the words. The simple command in the intonation of his voice was sufficient.
Jack stopped himself from assaulting Mayborne further…for the time being. He walked slowly and deliberately back to his chair, righting it, and seating himself in it. Once he was certain he was not about to be pummeled to death, Mayborne scraped himself off the floor. He raised handcuffed hands as high as his chains would allow and ducked his head to meet them, wiping a trail of blood that was running from the corner of his mouth.
With zero mirth in his eyes or his voice Jack leveled his gaze on the man across the table and quipped through clenched teeth, "You've got some 'splainin' to do."
"I realize we've been here before, Jack. Do I really need to remind you that I not only helped you free Shaboni from her captors, but I procured an antidote to the poison that was killing her?"
"That would be Captain Uziel to you." Jack took serious exception to Mayborne's use of her first name. "You are going to tell me everything I want to know, starting with how the hell you managed to convince her to work for the organization that killed her husband and nearly killed her. You're going to give me the coordinates of the world where you sent her. And then you're going to rot in prison until they come to execute you for treason."
It was nearing 0900 and Jack was already seated in the briefing room outside his CO's office. The rest of his team had yet to arrive. He flipped through the briefing file in front of him for the umpteenth time, not really reading the words. He already had all the words committed to memory. He had prepared the file. But, it was impossible for him to sit still. He had provided a detailed summary of Mayborne's intel, including the gate address for the world where Shaboni had disappeared. It had only taken him an hour to prepare the report. After that he'd tried to settle down and get some sleep, but sleep had been mockingly slow to come. And when it had, his dreams were filled with images of the strange and too-often-missing Shaboni Uziel.
At promptly 0900, the remainder of his team filed into the briefing room. He had the distinct impression the three of them had been together. Breakfast, he realized. On most mornings like this the four of them would have grabbed a quick breakfast in the commissary before their briefing. His stomach remained suspiciously quiet. Perhaps the only part of him that felt quiet.
General Hammond entered the room and the four of them stood. Jack made mental notice, once again, of how far Daniel had come in his respect for military rank and file. For nearly the first full year of his service to the SGC he had neglected to stand when their CO had entered the room. Jack had mentioned it to him a couple of times, but had learned that where Daniel was concerned, repeating himself wasn't necessary. Daniel had almost always heard him the first time, but it was a toss up as to what he would decide to care about.
Daniel caught Jack's approving eyes on him and felt a wall slam into place. He didn't want that appreciative look. He didn't want Jack to look at him at all. It hadn't been that many days ago that a look like that from the older man would have felt good enough to keep him going for days. No food, no sleep, just Jack thinking he'd done something good. God! Why did he long for approval from anyone, much less a character as deeply flawed as Jack O'Neill? His face hardened to icy stone.
They sat down and got to work. "Colonel, if you please?" The general indicated that Jack should disclose what he'd discovered.
"Well, Sir, in their infinite wisdom, the NID once again set their sights on obtaining Captain Uziel. And in their infinite stupidity they went about it by lying, cheating, and stealing." He opened his folder and glanced at his notes, though he didn't actually need to remind himself of anything written there. It was merely a moment to consider how he was going to share what he'd discovered. "Uziel…Shaboni," he interrupted himself, "had been living in Denver since she left the SGC six months ago. Mayborne found her when she applied for a driver's license. Apparently the faction within the NID that decided to set up their off-world base issued a directive that Mayborne was to recruit her and bring her under his command. He claims that it wasn't his idea."
"So how did he manage to convince her to join them? I mean I don't think she ever knew that Mayborne was involved with what happened to her, but she wouldn't even join the SGC when it was offered," Sam interjected.
Jack sighed and closed his folder once again. "He told her that we lied to her about the death of her husband." He waited a moment for that to sink in.
"Of course," Daniel commented.
"Oh, there's more," his voice carried the unmistakable edge of anger as it had the night before. "He claimed that the SGC had relocated all the individuals working on the project off-world. The hook was that if she joined his team she would be able to search for him."
General Hammond spoke up, "What information was he able to give you on how she disappeared?"
"I have the gate address to the world where she went to make contact with an asset they were developing: P6C 868. Apparently this world had been under Goa'uld occupation for many centuries, but it had been several generations since they'd seen their 'Lord." He made air quotes around the last word. "They had begun to experiment with developing their own naquada technologies. Mayborne claims they had discovered some interesting applications because they had help from scientists from outlying worlds. He thinks that during the time she was developing this asset she heard about the scientists and simply took off from there hunting down what might be a lead on her husband. His opinion is that she got herself captured by the local Jaffa."
"If that's true, Colonel, what is the likelihood that she'd still be on that planet?" General Hammond wondered.
"Unknown, Sir. Until we know more about the situation on 868…" his voice trailed off.
"Sir," Carter turned to the general, "SG-5 did a recon and survey mission to 868 a couple of months ago. They didn't report anything remotely similar to Mayborne's claims about the people. Colonel Ricks stated that while there were significant naquada deposits and a relatively advanced people for a Goa'uld occupied world, they didn't think there would be enough local support to overturn the Jaffa still occupying their planet. Their mission report stated that they were only allowed to meet with the local population for about twenty minutes before they were escorted back to the Stargate. They said the people asked us not to return. If Shaboni's team managed to make headway with them there is a chance we might be able to help these people."
"I hear you, Major, but right now it is imperative that we focus on locating and returning Captain Uziel to Earth. I would normally agree with your assessment, but I've got the Secretary of the Air Force breathing down my neck about this woman. I don't know what Mayborne told him that made him believe she was so important, but he has indicated that returning her would be a personal favor to him. As long as this mission doesn't interfere with the security of the SGC and our current mandate, we can't afford to turn down the opportunity to have one of the Joint Chiefs owe us one."
"If I am not mistaken, General Hammond, do not the leaders of this country and, indeed this world 'owe us a great many'?" Teal'c questioned.
"Of course they do, Teal'c," Daniel explained, "But they have very short memories. We are only as important as the last time we saved them."
Carter glanced at him and wondered when Daniel had become so cynical. It wasn't that he couldn't be negative on occasion, but the tone in his voice wasn't negative. It was resigned. He was becoming used to the fact that no matter how many times SG-1 saved Earth, the political powers-that-be would never fully appreciate what it was they did or the sacrifices involved. The notion of Daniel being so flippant about their position unnerved Sam to no end.
His tone had not escaped Jack's notice, either, but all he said was, "We're not saving Earth this time, but we are going to save Shaboni." His words filled the room with a finality that told them all the briefing was basically over, but Teal'c had one more question:
"Major Carter, did SG-5 reveal the Goa'uld responsible for the occupation of this world?"
Sam knew the answer immediately, but made a show of trying to remember, not really wanting to say.
"Major?" Jack knew she was faking it.
She looked at the table briefly then met Teal'c's eyes, "Cronus."