Author's note: And again, thank you to all readers, followers and reviewers!
This one-shot is a companion piece to 'Proving Ground' and inspired by another fanfiction story I've read a long time ago. Unfortunately, though, I can't remember or find the story or I would give the author proper credit…
Around the regs
Chapter Twenty-five: Genius
"Damn it, Jack, could you not look so… pleased?", Daniel Jackson asked into the momentary silence of the briefing room.
"No can do, Danny-boy.", Jack denied him, drumming his fingers on the briefing table to the sound of the Simpsons theme. He was in a particularly good mood.
"But we're working on a problem here!", Daniel reminded him.
As if he'd forgotten. "I don't see it as a problem.", Jack countered.
"The Colonel is right.", Sam came to his defense. "After all we should be happy that the cadets are doing so well."
"Yeah, yeah…", Daniel grumbled. "They're all good and so on, but we need to come up with some plan for the final test, don't we? Right now the only thing that's keeping us ahead of them is Sam outsmarting them!"
"Oh, c'mon! We're still talking about Academy cadets here!", Jack reminded him.
"Cadets that we're in charge of this time and that have passed all our recent tests!", Daniel shot back.
"Some of them only barely!", Jack opposed.
"But they still passed.", Teal'c concluded, effectively ending the foreboding argument between Jack and Daniel. "From my understanding, what Daniel Jackson is referring to is the fact that each time we are doing the assessment of a group of cadets, a final test under real circumstances here at the Stargate Center is in order, is it not? And I believe this time we lack the reason to put them under the additional stress of having 'almost failed' to enhance the real case scenario."
"That's true.", General Hammond joined the conversation. "And while I'm glad the team is passing all test scenarios gloriously by going by the book, we need more than that for the SGC. Any ideas?"
"Oh come on!", Jack snorted. "An emergency can come up any time 'round here! Surely we won't have any problems making something up?"
"I'm open for any suggestions.", General Hammond smiled mildly at the Colonel.
Jack opened his mouth to say anything, but nothing would come out of it and he looked towards Sam, who sat right beside him. She was gnawing at her lip in deep thought, which so did not help his case in thinking.
Slowly the blonde genius of SG-1 elaborated: "We could just bring them here to simply show them the SGC…", she contemplated. "We could state that they have passed the tests and are given the tour of the base they're going to work at. Then, when they're here, we can create some scenario for their final test…"
"Oh, that's good!", Daniel immediately jumped at the idea. "But this time we would have to do something subtle, almost unnoticeable, so it will become difficult for them!"
"Something like a sneak attack on the base?", Sam instantly understood.
"An infiltration.", Teal'c stated confidently.
"See? I knew we would come up with something.", Jack said pleased.
General Hammond raised a brow at the 'we', but he did not interrupt the geniuses of his best team, while they shot ideas off of each other.
"So an infiltration.", Daniel mulled it over. "By whom?"
"The Goa'uld.", Sam answered without missing a second. "Almost the whole training for the SGC is based on the defense from the Goa'uld. They're the enemy we're attempting to keep at bay."
"Hey! We're doing a damn fine job at that!", Jack threw in, obviously taking affront by Sam's 'attempting'.
However his beautiful 2IC wasn't even acknowledging him, her whole attention was focused on the archaeologist sitting across from her. They seemed to be having quite the fun coming up with this scenario.
"Okay, a Goa'uld.", Daniel agreed. "So, who should be the one, who's betraying us?"
"Of course it would have to be the Colonel!", Sam stated immediately. Jack almost spluttered out loud. He… what!?
"'Scuse me?", he snapped irritated.
Sam turned towards him, her eyes shining with excitement. It was almost enough to make him give in to her anyways. "Sir, you are the one, who spends the most time with the cadets! You are the one they know best from the SGC until now. So with all the possibilities for traitors here, they would suspect you at last!"
That… made sense, he admitted. Even if only inwardly.
"It will make for some very difficult decisions and the dire need for good analyzing skills.", Teal'c acknowledged Sam's suggestion.
"Good. So Jack'll be the bad guy.", Daniel concluded with a satisfied grin.
Jack rolled his eyes at the fun his friend was having at that thought. "But, come on…", he inquired. "Once they see through this – and they probably will – won't this be too easy, compared to what we've done to other teams?"
"We'll have to be very sneaky?", Daniel suggested, but General Hammond shook his head.
"No, the Colonel is right. This would be too easy, once they've come behind this.", the General agreed. "They would only have to disable the Colonel and they'd be done."
"Then how about… two?", Sam asked lowly, biting her lip insecurely.
"Two?", Jack echoed, looking at her confused. Her eyes sought him out in a familiar way that told him she was seeking his approval, but unfortunately he wasn't catching up.
"… Two? Two Goa'uld?", Daniel asked, clearly more able to follow Sam's trail of thoughts.
Sam nodded and when silence spread through the room she began to explain: "I mean it's very rare, because Goa'uld don't work together, since they don't like to share, but we've encountered cases where they did: Isis and Osiris, Ra and Hathor…"
"Actually, that's brilliant!", Jack beamed, stunned by her idea. "No way they'd be expecting that!"
Sam exhaled in relief, when she noticed his approval and he did his best to not notice.
"Okay, two Goa'uld it is then.", General Hammond agreed smiling. "As far as I'm aware we haven't had that scenario yet. It will come entirely unexpected. And I know a certain Pentagon affiliate, who still owes me a bit of money…!"
"So, who's the one who has to put up with Jack as their Goa'uld partner?", Daniel snickered.
Jack smiled devilishly as an idea hit him. Oooh, this was way too good to pass up on! So confidently he stated: "Of course it would have to be Carter!"
"What?!", she cried out shocked and for a moment he was amused that he had managed to shake his steady 2IC.
"Well, going by your logic, you are the one they know best after me!", he explained.
"But, sir! There are better choices than me!", she denied. "General Hammond would be the obvious choice for power and command, or Daniel for knowledge!"
Jack pouted at her. She was ruining his fun! "If we're doing this after the image of Isis and Osiris or who-the-hell-ever, then I want a queen!", he sulked.
Sam lit up like a traffic light, and Daniel broke out laughing.
"Then… then how about Janet? She would be a wiser choice for her medical knowled–", Sam tried anew, but Jack interrupted her immediately.
"And how was I supposed to interact with her without making it seem suspicious?", Jack countered.
Sam worried her lower lip, while thinking. It was true. Janet and the Colonel didn't usually interact outside the infirmary. It would inevitably draw attention to them. So there really was no other choice than her…
"Alright…", she sighed, already knowing that this was a decision that would come to bite her in her six.
"Good! Now that that's cleared, let's work on the details…", the Colonel suggested in high spirits. Oh, this was going to become one test he'd love!
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"… And this is level nineteen, where the technical and scientific labs are placed.", Sam explained, when the elevator came to a halt with the doors dinging open discreetly.
"Do we have to stop here?", Jack asked grouchily, which earned him a chuckle from Lieutenant Andrew Cabot. He was the highest ranking within the academy cadets, and therefor leading their four-man team.
"Yes.", Sam denied the Colonel flatly and exited the elevator. She was followed by the only female member, Sergeant Kailey Whiteley, and the top of the academy's class: Sergeant Ross Parker. Just like Jack and Sam, they all still wore their combat BDUs – minus the weapons they had left with some SF's to bring them to the armory – because they had come straight from a training session, where Jack had decided 'spontaneously' that the cadets were good enough to get the SGC tour already. It had prompted quite the party within the little group, so that they had all missed the Colonel's hidden, evil smile upon thinking what was actually planned for the group…
So now they were at the SGC, making their way through the levels to General Hammond's office to report. Well, that was at least what the rookies thought. Jack watched them silently as they passed him in the elevator, following his 2IC. The last one to emerge before the Colonel was Sergeant Joshua Harcourt, who was almost tripping over his feet, because he kept staring at Sam. But for once the Colonel was not annoyed, no. The thought of what he was going to do to Sam was keeping him in high spirits no matter how much the greenhorn was drooling over his 2IC.
Together the group entered Daniel's lab. The archaeologist seemed deeply emerged in his work, but he looked up when they entered.
"Sam. Jack.", he acknowledged them, before his eyes wandered over to the newbies. His eyes grew astonished and Jack inwardly congratulated the man on his acting skills.
"Oh. They're given the tour already?", Daniel asked with false amazement. "They have to be good!"
Immediately Jack could see the chests of Cabot and Harcourt swell with pride and had to hold back a chuckle. Yup, they were totally falling for it.
Restlessly, Jack began to wander through Daniel's lab, letting his eyes roam the various artefacts displayed, while Sam was explaining a few things to the rookies with Daniel's help.
Jack looked around. Where was it, he wondered, where…? Ah, there! Wandering over he took hold of the fake urn Daniel had created and let it run through his fingers, seemingly inspecting it out of boredom. The archaeologist had really outdone himself, Jack thought. He didn't see any difference to those things they usually brought back from some alien planets. But then again, that had been the aim all along. It should look like an urn brought through the Stargate from another planet, because in their scenario it was supposed to be the container that held the two Goa'uld that would infiltrate the SGC.
Shooting a quick glance at the cadets Sam was keeping entertained, Jack let the pot drop. It shattered on the ground behind a desk with a good, noticeable crash.
"Jack!", Daniel immediately yelled.
"Oops. Sorry!", Jack shot back, while kneeling down, acting as if he wanted to collect the pieces.
Daniel rushed over to him with faked anger. "How many times do I have to tell you not to touch anything in my lab?!"
"Yeah, yeah…", Jack muttered, while still kneeling with his back to the group. He paid special attention to the fact that he had to let two or three seconds pass, before he answered Daniel. After all this was the moment he would become possessed by the Goa'uld and he had to make it so that the rookies could detect it later on. On that note… Jack decided to let an extra second pass, just to make sure. After all, he was supposed to take in two Goa'uld, one of them would possess him and the other one he would transfer to Sam later on. Stealthily, Jack activated the little gadget Sam had invented for these training scenarios that was hidden in his pants' pockets which would make the specifically designed contact lenses in his eyes flash as the tell-tale sign that he had been taken over by a Goa'uld, but he was careful to avoid the button that would make the little microphone hidden under the collar at his neck warp his voice. After all, the cadets shouldn't know by now that he was compromised, they should just be able to detect it afterwards.
Just as they had agreed on, Sam cut in like clockwork, taking the attention away from Jack. "What was it, Daniel?", she asked the archaeologist with professional curiosity, pointing to the shattered pieces on the ground.
Daniel sighed heavily. "An urn we brought back from P4Y-902."
"Have you examined it yet?", Sam asked curiously.
Daniel shook his head. "Didn't have the time."
Jack stood up again, doing his best to look sheepish. "Well, turns out you don't have to, anymore…"
Again Cabot and Harcourt laughed, but Parker looked disappointed over the loss of some interesting/maybe-important artefact.
"Jack…!", Daniel began threateningly and Jack saw his need to get his escape.
"How about we continue our trip?", he suggested before hurrying out of the door. Sam followed him chuckling, and one by one the cadets milled out, leaving behind a fuming Daniel.
Outside, Jack glanced down the loooong hallway full of labs and sighed dramatically, remembering that he had to get Sam to dismiss him, so they could continue on with the charade. Sam raised an eyebrow on him. Really, her acting skills were as good as Daniel's.
Smiling, she faked to take pity on him: "Sir, maybe you should inform General Hammond that we have arrived at the base…?", she suggested.
His face lit up in feigned relief. "Really? I mean… I can do that if you don't need me now."
She shook her head in amusement. "Yes, sir. Just go. How about we meet on level twenty in twenty minutes?"
"Alright.", he complied, before walking away fast.
"He doesn't really like science, does he?", Parker asked, looking back at their Commanding Officer, who couldn't make his escape fast enough.
"No, not really.", Sam agreed, before continuing the tour.
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The alarms went off, before they were able to meet with Colonel O'Neill again. Sam looked around with acted bewilderment, when the sounds suddenly went off over their heads, but while the cadets stopped suddenly, frozen in confusion, to Sam the alarms merely meant they were finally getting serious with the training scenario.
"Major Carter?", Whiteley asked confused, looking around, when the personnel around them suddenly started running around frantically.
Without answering Sam raced for the elevator. For a moment the cadets were stunned, but then training kicked in and they followed the right now highest ranking officer. Milling together in the elevator, Sam brought them down deep within the mountain and then led them to the control room.
"Walter?", she called out the moment the group burst into the control room.
The Chief Master Sergeant was frantically typing away on the keyboards. "I don't know yet.", he answered uncharacteristically.
"The scans?", Sam asked immediately, going over to him to shoot a look on the screens.
The Sergeant shook his head. "Showing nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing wrong with the Stargate, no form of contact from the outside, no malfunction of any technology!"
Sam bit her lip, pretending to be concentrating hard. "So someone has set off the alarms manually!", she concluded. "Run a diagnosis from where!"
Harriman nodded. "But this may take a while."
Sam turned around. "Alright. I'll go inform the General!"
Passing by the stunned cadets once more she waved them to follow her. Rushing up the stairs to the General's office she ordered: "Under all circumstances, stay with me!"
"Yes, ma'am!", Lieutenant Cabot confirmed her order, before asking timidly: "But why…?"
"Just a feeling…", Sam answered, before crossing the briefing room. The door to General Hammond's office was closed and the cadets heard the Major swear slightly under her breath. Without knocking Sam barged into the General's office. All five stopped suddenly in their tracks. The General was slumped over his desk lifelessly, his eyes open, but unseeing.
"Oh my god! Is he…?", Whiteley asked shocked, while Sam stepped forward to examine the General. Her fingers searched for a pulse on his neck, before she shook her head gravely.
"Dead?", Harcourt asked disbelievingly.
"Yes.", Sam said humbly with sad eyes. "Broken neck, I assume."
"How… how is this even possible?", Cabot inquired shaken.
Sam looked up and seemed to think for a minute. In truth she needed a moment to congratulate herself and the SGC on how well the scenario played out. Harriman's panic had been more than convincing and the General was the best living corpse she'd ever seen given that he was still breathing even though he did his best to make it unnoticeable. And she needed to stall for time so that the Colonel could get away without being seen. They needed him to be on the surveillance cameras on his way to the General's office where he had supposedly killed the General to give the rookies at least a hint, but now Sam needed to make sure he had the time to get away or it would be too obvious.
When Sam felt that enough time had passed, she reached for the radio clipped to her protection vest she still wore from the outside training they had done with the cadets before coming back to the SGC.
"Colonel O'Neill, come in!", she called out.
Immediately her radio cracked in response. "Carter! What's going on?", the Colonel asked irked.
Sam pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sir, where are you right now?"
"I was on my way to meet you, when the alarms went off. I'm heading down to the control room right now."
Sam seemed relieved. "Okay. Sir, you need to come to the General's office! We have a situation here!"
"I'll be there in one.", came the immediate reply. And true to his word, only a minute later Jack rushed into the office, pushing his way through the cadets. He only needed one glance at the General and at Sam's sad face.
"Shit!", he cursed.
Sam nodded. "Sir, you're next in command! What do we do?"
Jack faked to think for a second. His eyes wandered back to Sam. "You have an idea, who could have done this?", he inquired.
Sam shrugged, pretending to think it through. "Only wild theories."
"I need to hear them nonetheless!", he decided and motioned for the briefing room. But while Sam and the cadets milled out slowly, Jack stayed back, grabbing onto the red phone sitting on General Hammond's desk. "Harriman!", he called out, after he'd dialed up the control room. "This is Colonel O'Neill. Shut the SGC off! Complete lock-down! No one's coming in, no one's leaving!"
For a moment silence followed and then Jack said lowly: "General Hammond's been killed. I'm in charge now. Whatever is detected is to be reported to me from now on!"
When he was finished, Jack went to join the others in the briefing room, a thoughtful look on his face. Then, settling onto a decision, he turned to Cabot. "Lieutenant! Go and see to it that Harriman's following his orders!"
"Sir?", the Lieutenant asked confused.
Jack just shook his head. "Just making sure.", he explained. "Whoever has killed the General has to be from the base, and I feel better when I know the bastard's unable to get away!"
"Yes, sir!", the Lieutenant snapped to attention, before hurrying away.
"Parker, Harcourt! Get Teal'c and Daniel! Stat! And Whiteley! Inform the infirmary that we need Fraiser!", Jack went on.
All three cadets rushed out to fulfill their tasks, leaving Jack and Sam behind. Both officers took special care in overlooking the General while waiting, neither of them wanting to give the cadets a clue, when they would later decide to go through the surveillance tapes. They just had to wait for Doctor Fraiser to arrive. She would wheel the General out of his office, claiming to do an autopsy on his corpse, but she would just inconspicuously let him slip out somewhere on the way so he could head up to the Pentagon lackeys in the control room on Level sixteen. And later on, Jack already knew, the Doc would state that the General had been strangled to death with brute force. It was part of their scenario.
"So…", Jack said lowly, while turning for Sam. "How do you think we're doing?"
Sam worried her lip again. "Good… So far.", she said shrugging.
Jack couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. He had been expecting this part of the scenario the whole day and couldn't help the excitement that rushed through him.
"You know?", he whispered, while stepping near enough so her hair could tickle his chest. "There was something I was wondering about…"
"What's that, sir?", she asked breathlessly, while looking up at him. She knew what was about to come and he could read the same excitement in her eyes.
He made air quotes, while explaining: "When I'm going to transfer the second Goa'uld from that urn to you…", his smile grew wider. "…I'll do it the Tok'ra way?"
Sam blushed unwillingly, when he referred to the mouth-to-mouth-transfer, but remained composed. "Just as we agreed on.", she murmured back.
He came even closer if that was possible. "Still, there's a fault within your scenario.", he drawled languidly.
She cocked a brow at him. "Really?"
"Yes.", he smirked. "How are the cadets to suspect that I am transferring a Goa'uld to you, and not just makin' out with my hot 2IC?"
Sam opened her mouth to undoubtedly list all the valid reasons why, but Jack took his chance immediately. Using his trained speed he reached forwards, grabbed hold of her jaw with his hands and cupped her cheeks with his fingers. He drew her in to him, his lips unfailingly finding hers. Sam had known he was to do this. It was what they had agreed on in the briefing. Because it was a method that would avoid any transfer wounds that would give them away as Goa'uld instantly. Still, Jack took her by surprise. And Sam wasn't prepared for what it meant. Feeling Jack's lips move against her own was intoxicating and as much as she had gotten ready for this scenario – inwardly steeling herself for what was about to come –, she couldn't help her instinctive reaction. She grabbed onto his shirt, right over his chest, and held him to her, immediately going with the kiss.
And then Jack went waaaay from what they had agreed on! All of a sudden Sam felt his tongue enter her mouth! The fact that she had had her mouth opened when he had descended on her already made for a steamy kiss, but this now? This was on a whole other level!
Sam could feel that they both tried to maintain at least the last bits of professionalism, dimly remembering that the guys from the Pentagon were watching the surveillance tapes as well, but the years of suppressed feelings and emotions were spiraling out of control fast. Sam knew logically what Jack was trying to achieve: he tried to make it more obvious for the cadets to see the transfer of the Goa'uld to her by snaking his tongue in her mouth, but she couldn't help but feel vastly different about this move!
Sam couldn't help the tiny moan that escaped her, when his tongue wound around hers, and her fingers slightly caressing his defined chest through his BDU shirt probably weren't appropriate either. But at hearing her response, Jack almost surged through the roof with excitement. True, he had taken her by surprise with his idea, because he wasn't sure what she would think about having to french kiss her CO, but never in his wildest dreams would he have expected this reaction! It was as unexpected as amazing!
Jack knew he should draw back sometime, but this chance was way too good to pass up!
But hearing the sounds of Cabot returning told him his time was up. He released Sam, and miraculously she remembered to activate the device that would make her eyes flash. Jack held her gaze for a moment, watching her eyes blaze up, not able to wipe the satisfied grin off his face. Oh, he had to thank those cadets for being so good!
And seeing Sam trying to tame down the wild blush on her cheeks, Jack was swearing to himself that, if he had any say in that matter, this was so not the last time they had done this!