Title: Dreams Held Tight
Rating: T
F.Type: Chapter
Summary: Hold those things you most love close... for tomorrow, they may be gone.

Chapter Summary: To keep your eyes only on the present is to die not knowing if there will be tears at your funeral.

No, I'm not. Just giving the muses a break. As it is, they've come up with several other ideas, but I figured you'd like to read the next chapter before the muses took over. ;)


Chapter Three
-Vanishing Act-

The briefing had been the day before; P3X-214 appeared void of intelligent life, but a preliminary reading had shown significant amounts of naquadah. SG-1's purpose was to determine if there was in fact humanoid life and the suitability of developing a mine.

"Chevron 7 locked." Sergeant Walter's voice came over the PA as SG-1 adjusted their gear, watching as the wormhole roared open. Brooks glanced over at Sam, curious when he noticed her unusually large assortment of equipment.

"What are you carrying, Colonel Carter?" She finished buckling a pouch to her leg harness and looked up.

"I'm trying out a new naquadah detector, but I'm not sure if the power pack will hold out long enough for it to get a good reading. Would you like to see it?" Just as he started to blanch (and she to laugh) General Hammond interrupted.

"SG-1, you have a go." They nodded and walked up the ramp, out to a planet in a galaxy far, far away.

"Breet! Breet!" Something vaguely insect-like jumped across the stone steps, startled by their entrance. Daniel crouched down to watch it burrow into the sandy ground.

"Well, at least there's life here." Teal'c was scanning the area, looking intently at the scruffy trees that mingled with open space. Sam was pulling out a set of complicated wires, flicking a quick look at Brooks as she did.

It was a week ago; SG-1 was out on a scouting mission. The had just begun to poke around when Brooks stopped, doing the male equivalent of biting his lip as the rest of SG-1 halted too.

"You're good people; all of you. Colonel O'Neill is too. I met him, once, before he left. I can see why he'd fight Washington to save the Stargate program… you're his family.

"This is something worth fighting for- fighting the right way. No matter what anyone else says." He looked pained and… resigned? "But that's not my point. What I wanted to tell you is that I have… acquaintances who ask me to watch you and report back. And they don't want you to find Jack."

It was nothing more than they already knew.

"Find him. Please. I don't know what they've done with him, but… you are all that really stands between Earth and destruction. And… you're good people."

Teal'c, Daniel and Sam traded glances, silent communication passing by the admitted spy.

Finally, Carter nodded.

"Thank you for telling us."

And that was that.

There. The wormhole had disengaged. She knelt and started to put the sensors in the ground. Daniel, done studying the alien creature, had risen and was now drifting towards Hal, who in turn passed Sam to head towards the trees.

"No sight of habitation, though that's never meant anything…" Their archaeologist mused.

Teal'c stopped before a hissing pool of liquid, raising an eyebrow as the green acid dissolved a tossed stone in seconds.

"ColonelCarter, are you sure that this planet is safe?"

When she didn't reply, they turned around.

The chevrons locked, the Stargate lit up, and-

Sam was gone.

-

"What?!"

Hammond sighed, closing his eyes to avoid the sight of Daniel's outrage-and-without-coffee expression.

"I can't say no to this, Dr. Jackson. It is what the Stargate Program was originally designed to do!"

"But sir, we know from past experience that doing that is almost always-"

"I know, Colonel. However, the President seems to be slightly deaf to my advice on the subject right now. I've managed to convince the NID, who is behind the motion, that taking away each and every piece of alien technology we find is not the best idea, as has been proven before."

"So, what? Are we just going to sit down and let them take whatever they want from anyone?"

"No. You are to use your own judgment in securing alien devices, but without physical results, I cannot guarantee the continued existence of the SGC."

"…there's nothing we can do?"

"Cooperate, Dr. Jackson, and perhaps the President will be willing to listen to me sometime soon. I wish I could change his orders, but I can't."

"The NID is seizing this opportunity to make changes while there is no one in Washington to oppose them, are they not?"

"They are, and the sooner we find General O'Neill, the sooner this madness ends, Teal'c."

"…how's the search going?"

Hammond looked at them carefully, but their faces gave away nothing than the expected emotions: worry, distress, weariness. And just a bit of hope.

"I'm sure you have your own sources, but the official word is 'not good'. He has essentially vanished from the face of the Earth."

"Sir, why didn't you inform the SGC of his disappearance before we returned?"

The General turned to watch the inactive Stargate out the briefing room window, pursing his lips.

"Because strange things have happened, Colonel, in relation to SG-1."

"…and you thought that by returning, we might somehow bring him back?"

"Yes. Now, I need to brief SG-17 on the new standing orders, so you are dismissed."

And the three left the room quietly, the need to find their missing member (because they had never thought of Jack as anything but) hardened into crystal clarity.

Somehow, it had become a simple sentence: 'Find him, or our world falls apart.'

-

"What?!"

Everyone within hearing range of the briefing room winced.

SG-1- what was left of it, anyway- had returned over an hour ago. However General Hammond had been stuck on Level 21 while SG-17 tried to catch a runaway alien (suspiciously fluffy and cute), and therefore not heard the news:

Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter had gone AWOL.

Teal'c had come through the Gate first, face as stony as Mt. Everest, and just as likely to talk. A confused and deeply worried Major Brooks had followed him, obviously thinking about what his 'acquaintances' were going to say about the new development and wondering why Sam had run off. Bringing up the rear of the group had been Daniel, who looked at once upset and angry.

Of course, the rumors had begun flying as soon as the Stargate shut down, but none of them were saying anything.

Well, that was, until the General got hold of them.

"So you are telling me that Lt. Colonel Carter just got up and went through the Stargate?"

"Indeed."

"I don't believe it."

"It is quite true, General Hammond."

"No, I mean- why the hell would she have done something like this?"

Dr. Joel, who had realized they might want the medical side of things, spoke up.

"I don't know what it might have been, sir, but it wasn't something that we could detect. Both her recent physicals and pre-offworld exams gave no indication of a foreign virus or agent in her body. Teal'c, Dr. Jackson and Major Brooks were clean on their post-ops, and the readings from the second MALP say there's nothing on P3X-214 that shouldn't be."

"And you three didn't notice her acting differently, at all?"

"Jack's disappearance hit us all hard, General Hammond, but she seemed fine today. I have no idea why she would have done this."

From the stormy look in his eyes, it was obvious that the SGC commander didn't believe them. At all.

But what could he say? What could be proven? Could he accuse SG-1 of plotting to do- what, exactly? Go AWOL? Desert? Then why hadn't the other three gone too? Being under an unknown and possibly non-existent alien influence?

That's when the NID 'observer' spoke up.

"I suggest that we ask them further questions when we have confirmation that they are telling the truth."

They all glanced at him. He was smiling faintly.

"I believe the Tok'ra device will do nicely."

And at the first sign of the intense hatred the three 'originals' bore him and Major Hal's unease, his smile only grew wider.

-

"General O'Neill's office, Clarissa speaking." A smooth voice that was obviously used to repeating things over and over; Sam grinned a bit as Teal'c tilted his head. He tended to treat someone on the phone like they were actually there; it was a habit of his they hadn't noticed before.

"Clarissa. This is Teal'c of the SGC. Is O'Neill there?"

"Who- oh. Oh!" She sounded surprised. "Ah- yes. Well, no. Actually, he left me a note about what I was supposed to tell you. Hold on."

Daniel looked at Sam with raised eyebrows, openly curious about the secretary's response.

"Here it is. 'In a meeting, so unless it's something that I can blow these idiots up with, call back in an hour.' Oops, that's crossed out- make that 'two days'."

"Thank Clarissa. Let him know we called, oka-"

Before the Colonel could finish, they heard someone come running in and grab the phone from the secretary.

"Look, I just told the Ambassador from France that- ah, Ambassador. Sorry, on the phone- saving the world, you know how it is."

An image of Jack sitting in a chair, waving a hand nonchalantly at a disgruntled politician, fit the conversation very well.

"Yes, yes, of course I'll get back to you- no, I mean it this time- really! Clarissa, make an appointment for tomorrow. I'll have my people talk to your people. Thanks. Yes, have a good day."

Jackson covered a snicker as a relieved sigh echoed through the phone line.

"I hate politics."

"Really, sir? I seem to recall you loving it immensely…."

"They're worse than the damn Goa'uld. These guys are kissing ass one day, and backstabbing bastards the next. That loonybin French ambassador wants- what's that, Clarissa? Oh. Good point. Hold on." There was a click, a pause, and then another click.

"Okay, now that I'm actually in my office- please tell me that you have some good news?"

"Depends on what you mean by good."

"DanielJackson encountered a device which had a similar function to Machello's."

"Wha- oh, the body switching?" Now he sounded interested. Daniel, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at Teal'c.

"Indeed. Only this appeared to switch him into the body of Nurse Richardson."

"…the red-head?"

"Indeed."

"…with Nurse Mary?"

"Yes, sir." While amused, Sam had understood Mary's own confusion and desperation, and silently reminded the other two that it wasn't that funny.

"…did I get sent that report?"

"Sir!"

"Okay, okay. On another subject- are we in danger of dying slash annihilation slash mass invasion anytime soon?"

"We don't have anything planned, sir…"

"See if you can get the Goa'uld to drop by tomorrow, around, say, three-ish. I promised the French Ambassador I'd discuss very dry and boring and non-fish related things with him, for the tenth time this week."

Faintly, in the background:

"And you managed to conveniently avoid them every time, sir."

"Hey, I didn't plan that foothold situation!"

"It was a fish, sir. A goldfish."

"You can never tell!"

Hiding smiles and laughs, his team listened to the friendly banter with relief.

-

"Can he do this?" Daniel asked General Hammond out of the side of his mouth as Teal'c sat in front of the Tok'ra device, face perfectly deadpan.

"I'm afraid so, Dr. Jackson. Were we to refuse, he would tell his… superiors that he was suspicious of alien influence or a foothold situation in the SGC, and then we'd be in even bigger trouble." He looked at the younger man seriously.

"There is no reason for you to avoid undergoing the procedure though, is there?"

Are you lying to me?

And while Daniel knew that the General hoped in that small, small part of him not tied up with being the base commander that SG-1 had a plan up it's collective sleeves, any sign of a plot would be followed with swift justice. Even if he was a civilian and Teal'c an alien.

So it was with a tiny bit of regret that he shook his head.

"No. It's just…"

Not right.

Without answering, Hammond turned his eyes back to the scene below. The NID agent glanced up at him for permission to start; only a token gesture, seeing as the weasel knew he was in full control of the situation.

"Now. For the record. Who are you?"

"I am Teal'c, former Prime of Aphosis, now part of the SGC and SG-1."

Blue.

"Are you aware that your former commander, General Jack O'Neill, disappeared recently?"

"Yes."

"Who do you think was respons-"

"Mr. Kellen." Hammond's voice was like a knife. "Out of line."

"Did you have any knowledge pertaining to Lt. Colonel Carter's disappearance on P3X-214?"

"Since O'Neill's 'disappearance' her behavior has been erratic. I know of no specific cause."

When the agent glanced at the screen, he seemed (not surprisingly) disappointed to find that it was blue.

"Are you in any way involved with an attempt to find General O'Neill?"

"As all of the SGC is, AgentKellen."

Blue.

After a few more minutes, it became obvious that the NID man was going to have more luck drawing blood from a stone than a lie from Teal'c. Daniel wanted to cheer as the Jaffa deftly evaded trick questions with one word answers, knowing that he wasn't lying… exactly.

It was the same for his interview too, and then Hal's; an hour later the interrogator reluctantly let the three of them go.

"You aren't planning on returning them to active duty anytime soon, I assume." It was addressed to General Hammond, and was more an order than a question.

"No; I have technicians working on the DHD as we speak, attempting to determine the address Lt. Colonel Carter dialed when leaving P3X-214. Should they be able to recover it, I'll let you know."

As Daniel and Teal'c made their way towards the cafeteria, Major Brooks having already gone back to his room, the pager Daniel seldom wore vibrated. He paused, frowning as he unclipped it to read the message, and then looked up.

"It's Barrett. He's got the names."

-

The Goa'uld weren't all powerful. That much the Tau'ri had always known.

They didn't have that great of a memory, either. Most of what a Goa'uld 'knew' was stored in the host's brain; should they chose to abandon the body, they simply ripped the knowledge from it and then implanted the memories into the new one. And in order to aid them, they built a machine.

Sam steadied herself against the DHD, taking a precious moment to get her breath back. 3 virtually consecutive trips through a 'Gate tended to disorient the traveler, and she was no exception.

It's purpose was simple: to literally download information from any data source into a host's mind.

And because they were paranoid, it could only be activated by and used on a Goa'uld- or rather, their body.

Which meant that she was the only one who could use it.

Her pack hit the ground with a heavy thud as the Colonel sat on the stone steps, cradling her head in her hands.

The knowledge beat against her mind like a trapped bird, the sound of wings pounding in her ears.

Soon Earth would be an enemy masquerading as a friend.

Those who trusted it had to be warned.

Sam opened her eyes and pulled her hands away, taking a breath of alien air.

It was time to begin, and she had so very little time…

Turning her hands palm up she studied the word written in Sharpie, and, triggered by the keyword, the list of planetary addresses and report summaries scrolled through her mind.

There. That one. Getting up, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, AWOL, picked up her pack and dialed the next 'Gate. It weighed heavily on her back, carefully packed with "pilfered" medical supplies, a scrap force field, enough ammo and food to keep her going until she could barter supplies from the natives, and the hopes and dreams of her teammates; of the SGC.

The wormhole engaged and she walked through, not looking back.

"Surely another word would be suitable, ColonelCarter." Teal'c's gaze had been solemn, and a hint of regret lingered there. She hadn't been able to find the will to smile.

"Trust me. This one is right." So he had given her the Jaffa word for loyalty.

Trac'nor:

Unswerving in allegiance.

Traitor:

Betrayer of trust.

To Be Continued...