I'm kind of scared that I'm going to be in trouble after this chapter...
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The room around them shimmered slightly, and then it faded to reveal the small Asgard laboratory below. Jade sat curled up on the floor, clutching Daniel's pistol tightly as she watched Sam and Colonel O'Neill appear suddenly beside her. Sam glanced at the computer panel, but she was unfamiliar with the design, and had no idea how much longer the download would take.
"Hey!" Jack called out sharply, almost stepping off the platform as he attempted to walk towards her. Frustrated, he leaned forward instead. "What do you think you're doing? Whatever you did to Thor's ship, I want you to undo it, and let us back down here. That's an order!"
Jade shook her head, her eyes on the door across the room. "I can't, Dad. You already gave me an order, and I'm following it. I'm so sorry…"
"I don't need you to be sorry," Jack snapped. "I need you alive."
Sam tried another tactic. "Jade, sweetie," she said gently, crouching down to sit at eye level with the frightened girl in front of her. "Why did you send us away? Why can't we stay and help you?"
The computer made a small noise, and Jade spun around to peek at the symbols on the screen, looking discouraged with the results and resuming her defensive position.
"If the research downloads in time, I'll return to the ship, but you're being here isn't going to make a difference. There's no point in risking everyone's life. Besides, I'm better off by myself. They won't attack me if I'm not a threat."
She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself of this, and Jack rubbed his hands over his face in frustration.
"They also eat everything in sight! Didn't your parents teach you anything?"
Jade looked up at the door again, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants and trying to steady her hands. Sam couldn't hear any Replicators yet, but she knew it wouldn't be long.
"Jade," she said, her voice coming out slightly panicked. "You have to let us down!"
She looked up at the Colonel, and she could see the fear and frustration in his eyes. She tried to keep her voice even as she pleaded with Jade.
"This isn't just on your shoulders. Let us help you!" The girl didn't answer, and Sam began feeling desperate.
"Please! We can't just sit here and watch you get killed! You're our daughter…"
Her voice broke and she stood back up, holding one hand over her mouth as she struggled to keep from crying. Jade looked up at her with her bright, shining eyes, and then she swallowed and turned away, speaking in a low voice.
"No, I'm not."
Sam dropped her hand from her face, and she felt Jack stiffen beside her.
"Excuse me?" he said quietly.
The girl continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke.
"I'm not your daughter." She took a deep breath and raised her chin slightly. "I am the reprogrammed genetic reproduction of the DNA of Jack and Samantha O'Neill."
Something lurched in Sam's stomach, and she gripped Jack's sleeve to hold herself up. Her next words came out in a harsh whisper.
"You're a clone?"
Jade flinched at the word, and she swallowed loudly, her chin beginning to tremble.
"Yes."
Jack still hadn't moved, and Sam shook her head numbly.
"I don't understand."
There was a loud clanging noise from somewhere in the hallway, and Jade gripped her pistol, her hands shaking visibly.
"You had to send someone back…someone who didn't exist in this timeline. You had access to the technology from your research on Asgard cloning, and you created me in secret."
"Created you…" Sam repeated the words slowly, staring down at the girl in front of her. Jade blinked her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks as she went on.
"Yes. You genetically engineered me to have an extensive memory and the ability to learn very quickly, and I was taught all I needed to know for this mission."
"Including how to fool us?" Sam asked harshly. She glanced up at the Colonel, feeling nervous at the way he stared down at Jade, no expression on his face.
"It was Dad's idea," Jade answered, sniffing quietly. "He knew…" She stole a glance at Jack, looking pained as she spoke her next words. "He knew it would be easier for you to trust me…if you thought I was your daughter."
Sam shook her head, anger rising in her chest. "So that's why you look like us, and talk like us…you are us."
There were more sounds behind the door, and Jade pressed her back against the wall.
"I was supposed to be, but you couldn't give me all of your memories. It was too complicated with two people. That's why you…engineered me…to learn so fast."
Each word seemed to cause the girl pain, and Sam struggled to make sense of everything going on inside of her. She felt angry, manipulated, and confused, but somehow, the growing mechanical sounds from behind the far wall filled her with a fear that overpowered everything else. She looked up at Jack, but he still stared blankly down at Jade.
"Colonel…"
The door shifted upwards a few inches, and small, metal legs could be seen underneath. Jade shrunk back in terror, beginning to sob quietly.
"Daddy…"
Sam felt terror grip her as she watched Colonel O'Neill back slowly off of the platform next to her, disappearing from view.
"Sir!" she called out, and she started to follow him when Jade let out a small whimper.
"Please don't leave me."
Sam stared down at the small girl curled up on the floor, and tears ran down her cheeks as she backed away.
"Just hold on, sweetie. Hold on."
She stepped off of the platform, and Jade's face faded from view, Daniel's confused expression taking its place.
"Sam, what is going on?"
She turned to see Jack standing expressionless behind her, and she reached out a hand to grip his arm.
"Colonel, it doesn't matter. Please, sir-"
He stepped away from her and turned to face Thor, who was still working with his computer.
"I don't care how you do it," he said sharply. "But I want you to send me down to the surface right now."
Thor blinked his large eyes and nodded. "I have resumed control of the long-range transportation system, which means-"
"Great," Jack cut him off. "Teal'c, Daniel? Let's go."
Thor held up a small, gray finger.
"O'Neill, I will be unable to transport you back to the ship unless you return to the materialization device on the planet. If you are unable to return, you will be stranded, unless you can convince your daughter to relinquish control of the main transporters."
Jack's eyes clouded briefly, and Sam stepped up to him, holding her weapon in front of her.
"I'm coming too, sir."
O'Neill shook his head. "I need you to stay here and work on getting those controls back."
"But, sir-"
"That's an order, Major," he barked, heading for the door with Teal'c and Daniel following close behind. "Get those transport systems back online!"
"Wait!" she called out desperately. Jack paused and turned sharply.
"What?"
Sam tried to sort out the conflicting emotions raging inside of her, but it was just too much. She threw her arms around Jack's neck and hugged him tightly, whispering into his shoulder.
"Please bring her back safe."
Jack wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick squeeze before pulling away.
"We'll be back soon," he said simply, and just like that, they rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.
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Nobody panic. I wrote the story from the beginning to go this way, but it's not as bad as it seems. Just wait...