Had a few days off so I decided to bust out a couple chapters of this story. Not sure when I'll have that kind of time again but I'm going to try and finish this one by summer's end.
Chapter 20
"Any luck yet?" Cam asked as he walked into Sam's lab.
"Maybe." Sam replied non-committally, glancing up from the computer she and Kierda were hunched over. "We've been poring over the code configuration for the shield protecting Potho's ship and I think I see the problem. There's an entire sequence missing. Without it, we can't hack into the system to get through."
"Okay, what do you need to crack it?"
"That's just it, I don't know." Sam heard the frustration in her voice and didn't even bother to hide it. She couldn't explain it, but she knew they were running out of time.
"What about the intel Vala gave us?" Cam asked, taking a seat on the extra stool. "She said something about a data crystal. What did she whisper to you before we left?"
"She told me to look in the box under her bed." Sam indicated the wooden box sitting on her table. "All I found was jewellery. I even searched for secret compartments but there were none. There's something I'm missing here but I'll be damned if I can figure it out."
"You'll get it, Sam." Cam rested a hand on her shoulder with a reassuring smile. "In the meantime, mind if I take a look through the box?"
"Go ahead, maybe you'll pick up on what I missed." Sam said despairingly, turning back to the console. She glanced over at Kierda who looked even more disheartened than she felt and placed an arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her into a side hug. "We'll figure this out."
Kierda merely gave her an unconvincing smile and shrugged before turning her attention back to their work. Sam sighed, thinking of how much the mannerisms reminded her of Vala. She'd been pleased when Kierda had decided to help her. The girl had an innate understanding of how code worked and she'd been a great help. In fact, she was the reason Sam had noticed the missing sequence. She'd pointed out an inconsistency that Sam had actually missed. They'd been so excited over their discovery but the glee had slowly dwindled as they realised that they couldn't recreate that code without an idea of what it was. For the last hour, Sam had watched Kierda's spirits get lower and lower and she wondered if letting her help had been the right decision. She'd even tried to get Kierda to take a break, but the girl had stubbornly refused. Another trait she shared with her big sister, Sam thought in sad amusement. Her thoughts were cut off suddenly by Cam's excited yelp.
"Hey, I recognise this!" he said, holding up a simple necklace with a copper pendant dangling from the chain.
"You've probably seen Vala wearing it." Sam said, not recognising the piece herself.
"No, no, that's not it." Cam stared at the necklace, studying it carefully then snapped his fingers. "Got it! I saw this at Jacek's when he was on Earth. I remember because it looked out of place and I'd wondered if he'd stolen it."
Sam and Cam looked over at Kierda when they heard a humourless snort emanate from her but the girl remained silent, staring at the trinket.
"You're saying Jacek gave this to Vala?" Sam asked, viewing the contents of the box in a different light. She'd thought the jewellery had simply been pieces Vala had gathered over the years, but now...
"Yeah, and I'm thinking this is what Vala wanted us to find."
"But why? There's nothing special about it. It's just-"
"Oh my gods!" Kierda exclaimed suddenly and stood, calling over her shoulder as she took off out of the lab, "I'll be right back!"
"Ookay, any idea..."
"Nope, not a clue." Sam answered Cam's unfinished question, staring at the doorway in bewilderment. Ten minutes later, she was contemplating going after Kierda when the girl returned, carrying a small box.
"Can I see that?" Kierda asked, placing the box down and indicating the necklace. Cam handed it to her with a shrug and Kierda inserted the pendant into a hole on the side. They heard the distinct click of a lock disengaging.
"It's a key?" Cam wondered aloud. Sam merely shrugged and they both looked to Kierda for an explanation.
"Jacek gave me this box a week before he was...killed. He told me if any thing should happen to him, I was to keep it safe. He wouldn't tell me what was inside, only that he'd made arrangements for me to find the key when the time was right. I'd completely forgotten about it until now." Kierda lifted the lid and they all looked inside.
"That's a..." Cam started.
"Goa'uld data crystal." Sam finished, pulling the device from the box and studying it closely.
"Do you think that's the one Vala was talking about?"
"More than likely. And I'll bet the information we're looking for is on here." Sam said distractedly as she moved to another console.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Let me know what you find." Cam said, realising that Sam had zoned out on him, taking Kierda with her. He grinned, shaking his head as he left. He knew it was only a matter of time before Sam cracked this and he had his team back together.
()()()()
"What have you got, Colonel?" General Landry asked as he took a seat at the briefing room table with SG-1 and Jack.
"Well, Sir, this data crystal contains about 6 terabytes of information concerning the Lucian Alliance." Sam told him, holding up the device. "I was able to isolate the sequence for the shields and, with a few minor adjustments to compensate for-"
"Colonel, please."
"Oh, right. Sorry, Sir. I was able to send the newly configured data to the Odyssey so they'll be able to beam Daniel and Vala off Potho's ship. It may take a bit of time if they have to adjust it on their end, but we should have our people back by the end of the day."
"Very good." the general nodded. "What about the rest of the information on there?"
"There is an amazing amount of intel on this crystal. We have names, locations of kassa fields and naquadah mines, information about the Alliance's fleet...I've only been able to scan a small amount of the information. Jacek must have been at it practically from the moment he left Earth."
"Any idea who he was working for?"
"No, Sir, there's no indication, but with a little more time-"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Colonel." Barrett said as he entered the briefing room. "That crystal is now the property of the NID and the US government."
"Excuse me?" Cam asked, incredulously.
"That crystal belongs to the NID and I am here to collect it. Please hand it over, Colonel Carter."
"Wait." Cam said, holding up a hand and forestalling the exchange. "Are you saying that Vala's father was working for the NID?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Barrett confirmed. "Jacek Mal Doran was recruited shortly after he came to Earth. His objective was to implement himself into the Lucian Alliance and gather intel which he would then hand over to us. Unfortunately, we lost contact with him about a month ago. We sent an agent to investigate but it was too late. He was already dead and the crystal was gone. We'd assumed it had been recovered by the Alliance until we learnt of his daughters."
"You didn't know about the girls either?" Sam asked sceptically.
"Do you really think we would have left them if we'd known?"
"Not if you believed they had the information you wanted." Cam said derisively. "It was your people who tore Vala's house apart, wasn't it?"
"I concede that they could have gone about it differently, but it was necessary-"
"It was "necessary" to displace two young children from a home they were just becoming acclimated to? It was "necessary" to frighten those children for your own gain?" Cam seethed and stood, ready to lunge at this jerk but Sam held him back with a warning hand on his arm.
"He's not worth it, Colonel." Jack told the younger man and Cam finally sat slowly, staring daggers at Barrett. The agent had the grace to squirm a little under the regard.
"Like I said, we may have gone about it differently, but you've seen the crystal. You know what information it contains. The survival of our planet could depend upon this knowledge."
"And the NID is all about altruism." Cam put in sarcastically but was cut off by the twin glares of Landry and Jack.
"Colonel Carter, do we have all of the necessary information to rescue Miss Mal Doran and Dr. Jackson?" Landry asked.
"Yes, Sir, but-"
"Good." Landry once more cut her off and looked at Barrett with a hard glare. "Take the crystal and leave my complex, Agent Barrett."
Barrett opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. Taking the crystal from the now-scowling Sam, he nodded once. "Thank you, General."
"You're welcome. Now get out."
Barrett left without another word and everyone turned to stare at the general.
"Sir, all that intel..." Cam began but Landry raised a hand to stop him. Before he could say anything, though, the klaxons blared an announcement blasted through the corridors.
"Attention all personnel! Breach on level 16. The prisoner has escaped."
Everyone in the room shared a concerned look as they rose and left quickly.
"I warned them that Arton was a wily bugger." Cam said and no one argued.