This time there was no hesitation. This time she moved with a purpose. Leaving the sarcophagus behind, she strode down the corridor, head up and shoulders back to maximize her diminutive height.
The tight but supple leather suit conformed to her body's movements, emphasizing the muscles in her thighs. Her boots were low enough to walk quickly; high enough to make her hips sway as she walked. Snug leather across her waist lifted to raise her breasts and display her cleavage. Her arms and shoulders were bare, and the cool air of the corridor caressed her skin.
She felt… new. New and free - freer than ever before.
She turned a corner and faced a door that obediently slid open to welcome her.
Inside was her lab. She moved to the middle table and lifted a heavy smoothly polished stone. She waved the control over its accompanying panel and a hologram sprang to life above her. Data streamed in front of her eyes: equations, lists, diagrams; in a strange language but one which after a few seconds she easily understood.
This was not her work; the person who had begun it was gone, but she was to continue. Her predecessor had been so close - so close only to fail. And she would complete the experiment, claim the glory, and have only done a fraction of the work. Her lips curled in a satisfied smirk. She moved the stone and the data moved faster, skimming through to the last part she'd deciphered.
There were references to a machine, a device that altered the genetic code of a being. However the device had failed, and resulted in the genetic breakdown or mutilation of the subjects of the experiments. Her predecessor had had no compunction in documenting her failures in graphic detail, she was sure she could discover where the device had gone wrong, if only she had it available. Nothing matching the description was in the lab, however. She made a mental note to ask the master when next she saw him.
A small shiver of trepidation went down her spine at that thought. Surely, though, he would be pleased at her initiative. His displeasure seemed to lie mainly in her hesitations. She lifted her head and squared her small shoulders.
He would be there soon. The pattern was always the same. She would wake, and come here to the lab. Her lab, she was supposed to think of it as hers. The master would come to check on her progress, and then would send her for the lessons. And then she would wake up and the pattern would begin again.
She had no idea how many times she'd been through it or what her life had been like before. Occasionally a small tendril of memory would poke through - images of people, places, sounds or smells. Dwelling on them displeased the master, and sent her to the lessons.
She shuddered. Pain was all she remembered from the moments before she woke up. No more. She would do whatever it took to please the master, to remain here and break the pattern.
A swishing sound behind her told her the door to the lab had opened. She waited two seconds, and then turned smoothly, keeping her shoulders back and head high. From her diminutive height, she looked up at the man who had entered. His glittering black eyes searched her questioningly.
She inclined her head in respect, and then lifted it. "Master," she said, meeting his eyes. He smiled.
"How are you progressing?" He nodded toward the holographic images above her table.
"Well, my lord. However, if I might ask?" She waited.
"You may."
She moved the stone and brought up the image of the machine. It hovered above the table, revolving to show all angles. "I would like to examine this machine."
The Master strode around the table and looked back at her through the hologram. "I would like you too as well. Unfortunately it was destroyed, along with most of the laboratory. Everything salvageable you see here," he waved his arm gesturing around the lab. "Those responsible were of course punished." He leaned down so that she could see his face clearly. The black eyes were unforgiving. "The specifications are found in these files, are they not? You can rebuild it."
"Yes my lord," she replied, not at all certain that she could, but understanding that 'no' was the incorrect answer.
He nodded in satisfaction. "I will leave you to your work. The Jaffa will bring you anything you require."
As he strode through the doors, she released the breath she'd been holding. She'd succeeded in breaking the pattern; her life would continue from this point on. She permitted herself a moment of elation before returning again to her work.
One thing at a time.
Cassie took her duffel from Siler and waved as his car peeled away from the curb, the bass beat of his music lingering in the air.
The lights were on in the living room, beckoning warmly, but the car by the front gate was not Sam's little silver sports car but a large dark blue truck.
She hesitated as the front door opened and a decidedly male voice called "Cassie?"
Dragging her duffel behind her up the sidewalk, she squinted at the dimly lit figure in the doorway. The voice wasn't Jack's or Daniel's, definitely not Teal'c…
"Hi, I'm Pete," he reached for her bag with one hand and shook her hand with the other. "Sam's told me lots about you."
Cassie swallowed. "She left out a few details about you." Like that you would be here, she added mentally.
Pete laughed, "better looking than you thought, huh?"
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Um, where is Sam, anyway?" She asked.
"Waiting for me. I'm supposed to meet her in about," Pete glanced at his watch, "ten minutes for dinner. You know your way around the house, right? She left a bunch of stuff in the fridge for you. Hope you don't mind - this is the first Friday night we've had in, well seems like forever." He laughed, not giving Cassie a chance to say whether or not she minded, and grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door.
"Don't wait up," he said with a wink, and pulled the door shut behind him.
Cassie stood in the silent house. A week ago she'd wanted to be quiet and by herself, but now she wanted to talk to some one, and here she was, quiet and alone. Just her luck.
She dragged her bag down the hall to the guest room. The bed was made up with fresh sheets and there was a stack of towels on the dresser. She put her bag on the bed and unzipped it but didn't feel like unpacking. She ran a hand over the flowered blanket, amazed at how girly Sam was in her own space.
Leaving everything as it was she wandered back down the hall to the kitchen. Girly in decorating maybe but gourmet chef Sam was not. Cassie surveyed the frozen dinners and leftover takeout containers and made a face.
Grabbing the phone, she sat at the kitchen table and dialed the direct line for Jack that General Hammond had given her.
"General O'Neill's office," said the person who answered the phone. The voice sounded familiar but it was definitely not Jack.
Cassie put on her best grown-up voice. "This is Cassandra Fraiser. I need to speak to General O'Neill, it's very important."
"I'm sorry, Miss Fraiser," the voice answered primly. "The general is not available."
"Then may I please speak to Daniel Jackson?"
"Doctor Jackson is also unavailable."
Cassie wondered how Sam had managed to get time off while Jack and Daniel were busy, but didn't ask. All the SGC personnel she knew tended to be workaholic as a rule, maybe the better question was what was so special about this Pete guy that made Sam want time off. In the corner of her mind she saw her mom shaking her head at her disappointedly. Snap judgment, Cassandra.
She sighed. "How about Teal'c?"
"One moment."
A few short minutes later the Jaffa's gruff voice came over the phone. "Cassandra?"
"Teal'c!" Suddenly overwhelmed, Cassie burst into tears. "Jack's busy and Sam's out with her boyfriend, and I'm here all alone and I need to talk to somebody."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Teal'c said. "I shall come to get you in approximately one hour."
Teal'c watched as Cassie ravenously devoured French fries and catsup, pushing a few of his own onion rings in her direction as her pile diminished.
"Thanks" Cassie said around her full mouth, taking a large sip of Coke. "And thanks for buying me dinner. I hate airplane food." She swallowed and made a face.
"It is my pleasure, Cassandra," Teal'c said gravely, "I welcome opportunities to experience parts of Tau'ri culture, especially these 'diners'." He looked around the vinyl booths appreciatively.
Cassie laughed, "Jack told me your favorite food is donuts. Want to take me to Krispy Kreme in the morning for breakfast?"
Teal'c inclined his head. "If I am not required at the mountain, then I shall. But do you not have an appointment tomorrow at the Air Force Academy?"
Cassie picked up the last French fry and drew small circles around the plate with the remaining catsup. "I don't want to go to the Air Force Academy, Teal'c. I just used that as an excuse to get out here. I really want to talk to Sam or Jack, but Sam ditched me," her lower lip trembled, "and Jack's busy."
"Colonel Carter did not 'ditch' you," Teal'c reproved gently. "She is merely distracted by her upcoming wedding, something that," he glanced around the booth to be sure they were not overheard, "is difficult to plan when one is constantly going off world. And General O'Neill is involved in very important and complex negotiations, though he did express to me that he would much rather be doing anything with you. I think his exact words were 'even shopping'."
Cassie grinned at the image of Jack with her at the mall. She took another long sip of Coke and leaned back in her booth bench, feeling less sorry for herself. No other girl her age would have the clearance to phone the SGC after all, much less have the resident alien take her to dinner. SG1 really were her family, and she knew she shouldn't be upset that they couldn't drop everything they were doing when she called, especially when they didn't know why she'd called.
As if he'd read her mind, Teal'c leaned forward, folding his hands in front of him on the table. "Why did you wish to speak to O'Neill, Cassandra?"
She took a deep breath. "This is gonna sound crazy."
"I assure you," Teal'c told her, "I have known you long enough to be certain you are not mentally unbalanced."
Cassie smiled, and then sighed. "Okay, here goes. Teal'c, I think Mom is alive."
Teal'c was silent, his face grave, and Cassie waited, half expecting the stages of grief lecture she'd had from both the counselor at school and General Hammond.
"For what reason do you believe this?" He asked.
"This is the crazy part. I keep having this dream." She paused to chew her straw. "I'm on a ship, I think it's Goa'uld. It has to be because there are Jaffa there. Sometimes I hide from them. Sometimes I don't need to because they're marching away from me. I'm running down this hall and at the end I find a room. I go in and there's a woman there with her back to me. She turns around and it's mom. Then I wake up."
"Do you see any symbols on the ship?" Teal'c asked. "Or the foreheads of the Jaffa?"
Cassie nodded. "It's sort of like a moon, on its side, with horns." She squirted a blob of catsup on her plate and drew the symbol for Teal'c.
He frowned.
"What?" Cassie asked. "Is it real? Do you know who it is?"
"I do," he answered.
"Who?" Cassie pressed.
Teal'c frowned harder, obviously uncertain that he should tell her.
"Teal'c, please, tell me. It's my dream," Cassie reminded him.
"The symbol is that of the system lord Ba'al."
"Ba'al," Cassie repeated. "Like the god that couldn't start a fire in Tessa's Sunday school lesson?"
Teal'c nodded. "That is correct."
"Okay, okay," Cassie thought hard. "But I've never heard of him as a Goa'uld. Have I?"
"Most likely not directly. But he is the Goa'uld who held General O'Neill captive two years ago."
"Mom brought me to the infirmary to visit him," Cassie nodded. "She only told me that he'd been sick, but I knew there was much more to it than that."
"Even had you heard Ba'al's name, there is no way that you could have known his symbol," Teal'c agreed. "Which only serves to make your dreams more significant."
"Then you believe me?" Cassie let out a breath that she hadn't known she was holding.
"I believe what you have told me, Cassandra. What it means, I do not know. I have much to think about. Come," he rose and laid a pile of bills on the table. "Tomorrow morning I shall take you to Krispy Kreme for breakfast. Then we will go to the SGC and speak to O'Neill."
"What about his negotiations?" she asked, shrugging on her coat.
The corners of Teal'c's mouth twitched up in an almost frightening grin. "The general could not possibly be expected to commence negotiations without first consuming the proper amount of caffeine."