"Kawalski was in trouble. I was about to move when the disturbance Sam and the Abydonians created gave us our window. We got our people and the teenager off the ship and joined the rebellion. We were successful and Ra and his ship were destroyed by the nuke one it left the atmosphere, sir," Jack said as he finished giving his debrief to General West.
West shook his head, "it sounds like you people had quite an adventure. Good work team. Dr. Carter, do you believe you and Dr. Langford would be able to calculate the other addresses based on the information you have?"
Sam nodded, "yes, sir. I'm convinced given some time we could begin generating a few addresses each week."
"Thank you. You are dismissed. I'll get this report to the president and we will speak again."
As they were leaving, Kawalski rubbed his head. "You okay, major?" Jack asked.
"My head is killing me colonel. Ra gave me one heck of a headache."
"Go to the infirmary and get yourself checked out. Can't have you out of commission long."
"Yes, sir." As Kawalski left, Jack looked over at Sam. She was in deep conversation with Dr. Langford. They hadn't really spoken much since their conversation the night before and he missed her already. Waking up with her so far away from him on their bed this morning had been a little painful. Jack might as well admit it, he had it bad. If the government decided to continue to pursue the stargate program, he wanted to be a part of it, so he was going to have to put his desires on the back burner and be professional. Maybe, eventually, she'd at least reconsider their friendship. It wasn't everything he wanted, but maybe it was enough. This woman deserved more than a worn out old soldier anyway.
Jack was working on his report when he heard the klaxons. He ran to the gate room and was shocked to find Kawasaki standing in front of the gate with a blank look on his face. Something wasn't right here. "Kawalski," he said in a commanding tone.
Kawalski shook his head. "What's going on, sir? How did I get here?"
Jack sighed. This wasn't good. "Let's get you to the infirmary, major."
The next few hours were insane. After arriving in the infirmary and bring met by Dr. Warner, Kawalski was immediately put through an MRI. Jack was standing with Dr. Warner when he looked at the resonance images. Even without a medical degree, Jack knew exactly what he was seeing. One of those snake-like things was inside of his friend. It was actually wrapped around the base of his skull and spinal column. "Doctor, I killed one of these on Ra's ship. It was inside the stomach of one of the jaffa. How did it get inside Kawalski?"
"Colonel, there's a mark on the major's back. I saw it when I was examining him. This is really unusual, colonel. I'm not entirely sure how to help him."
As they were speaking, Kawalski sat up on the bed. His eyes flashed. Jack suddenly had a big clue what they were dealing with and he pressed the emergency button before attempting to restrain Kawaski. It took Jack and half a dozen SFs to get him restrained. "You will let me go or die," Kawaski said in a voice that was not his own. "Bow before your god."
"Oh, I don't think so. What are you and where do you get off hijacking my friend's body? Let him go."
"This is my body now. I am your god."
"See, I don't think so. I destroyed Ra. Want to join him or are you going to start talking?" Jack demanded as West, Sam, and Dr. Langford arrived.
"I will avenge my father and destroy your world."
Sam spoke up, "your father? Are you saying Ra had one of you inside of him?"
"We take what we want. We are gods. Have you not heard of the goa'uld? We are your superiors. Bow and show your respect woman, and I may make you my queen. You are a beautiful prize."
"Watch it, buddy. Dr. Carter isn't your prize. She's a respected member of this facility. Show some respect. There will be no bowing from us. Release my friend and we might let you live a few more minutes."
"You will die first then your woman will be mine. I've taken my hosts memories. I will hold her in my arms and take her to my bed by the end of this week just as you did on Abydos." Sam's face was crimson with embarrassment. Jack's was red with anger. As quickly as he spoke the words, Kawasaki regained control. "It happened again, didn't it? What's going on with me? Did that hand device fry something in head?"
Jack answered, "Kawalski, it wasn't the hand device. I don't know how to tell you this but there's a thing inside you, kind of a snake-like thing called a goa'uld. It keeps taking over your body. It says it's Ra's son."
Dr. Warner brought a picture of the MRI to Kawalski. He looked it over and panicked. "You got to get that thing out of me doc."
Dr. Warner replied, "we'll do our best, major. I can't make any guarantees at this time. This is unchartered territory."
Kawalski's eyes flashed again, "soon, I will completely take over this host. You have lost. Nothing of the host remains. Release me now."
"SFs keep an eye on our prisoner. Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Warner, Dr. Langford, and Dr. Carter, let's meet in the briefing room now."
Jack and Sam stayed back a bit from the group. "I'm sorry, Dr. Carter. I'll explain the situation to General West and Dr. Langford. I didn't expect that to come out. Kawalski would never have said a word."
"I understand, colonel. That thing inside of him, the goa'uld, is the enemy, not Major Kawalski." Jack nodded and they entered the briefing room.
"Dr. Warner, can you remove the goa'uld from Major Kawalski?" General west asked once they were all seated.
"To be honest, sir, this is uncharted territory. I may be able to remove it but I can't guarantee I can save Major Kawalski's life. There's also a very high probability he will be a quadriplegic."
"If there is anything you need or anyone you need to assist, just say the word, Dr. Warner. In the meantime, we need to get as much information from this goa'uld as possible. Colonel O'Neill, I want you to interrogate him thoroughly. I'll also question him, and I will get my second in command Colonel Hammond to speak with him as well. The priority is saving our man, but we need to use this opportunity wisely."
"Yes, sir," Jack replied.
"Dr. Warner, you should get back to your patient. I need to speak with the rest of you privately." Dr. Warner quickly left the room, and Jack had a feeling he knew what was coming next. "I'm sorry Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Carter, but I need to ask. Did you engage in inappropriate activity together on this mission?"
Jack looked at Sam then answered for both of them. "Sir, there was a misunderstanding with the locals. They tried to give me a wife," Jack paused. He noticed Catherine's eyes growing wide. "Dr. Carter attempted to handle the situation diplomatically, but the leader, Kasuf misunderstood and though Dr. Carter was my wife. We shared quarters to avoid diplomatic incidents."
"Thank you, colonel. I assure you there will be talk, but I had to ask. I personally have no issue with romance between my military officers and my civilians. It happens quite frequently, but had you engaged in intimate relations off world, I would have to take disciplinary action against Colonel O'Neill. Is there anything you need to add, Dr. Carter?"
"Colonel O'Neill told you the basics of the situation. We felt it was best to go along with the misunderstanding. Nothing happened," Sam said softly, "our relationship is strictly professional."
"Thank you, Dr. Carter. If you and Colonel O'Neil will excuse us, I need to speak with Dr. Langford privately before I speak with the president." As Sam and Jack stood to leave, General West added, "Dr. Carter, it would probably be best if you stayed away from Major Kawalski until after the operation is complete."
"Of course, sir," Sam replied.
Once they were in the hallway, Jack looked at Sam. "Would you like lunch in the commissary? Strictly professionally, of course. If there are any questions you can think of that you'd like me to ask the goa'uld, we could discuss them."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Colonel O'Neill. Let's not give the base grapevine any extra ammunition. If I think of anything important, I'll send you a memo. I'm sure you are more than capable of interrogating him without my input."
Jack nodded and they went their separate ways. This was just great. Thanks to that slimy snake in his best friend's head, Sam would sure enough be avoiding him. It was bad enough that she wanted to keep things strictly business, but now it appeared she didn't want to be seen with him at all. Suddenly not hungry, Jack decided to check in with Dr. Warner. They had to find a way to help Kawalski. That was the priority.
