A/Ramble: VIP tickets to Oz Comic-Con bought and coming in the mail. That is all. *Muffles inner Fan-Girl's psychotic scream* This one is for 'The Enemy Within' (Relax, Kawalsky survives). No girly gossip in this. It just didn't fit. I'll do it next chapter, along with a Homer Simpson tribute to pudding :) Enjoy!

~ 28 ~

1859h,
Friday, 14th June 1996
SGA, Between Level 16 and 17

''This may be a really dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway...'' Jack lifted an eyebrow to Sam, who was still tapping her nails impatiently against the wall of the elevator. ''...How do you order supplies for a base that doesn't exist?''

He let out the breath he'd been holding in since they'd arrived on base. They were both anxious to find out what had gone wrong, but her random question was what they needed to break the overwhelming tension.

''We send our supply request up to NORAD and they send out the orders with theirs. NORAD is enough of a secret that nobody will ask how many people they have on base or what goes on. General Anderson usually takes a lot of the flack when you get a fresh clerk calling to ask about the unusual equipment we keep requesting... He's a little weird, but he has his moments.''

He looked up at the digitised numbers above, warning them that they'd be arriving at the lowest level of the base very soon.

''I need you to head down to the control room; lock out the Iris and the main entries to the Gateroom.'' They came to a stop and the doors opened. Everyone in the hall was either power-walking or jogging; Jack quickly joined the latter down the hall, calling over his shoulder, ''they aren't leaving this base!''

~ SJ ~

"Kawalsky!" Jack saw the Lieutenant Colonel disappear around a corner. Charlie poked his head around the curved wall, scanned the crowed hall for a second and began walking towards Jack, pivoting on his heel to walk in his CO's direction when he met him halfway. "Report."

"Slight altercation in the infirmary, Sir." They edged the walkway when a security team pushed through. "It was Captain Howard…" Howard? He knew that name. Right: she was one that stabbed Sam in the stomach during the incident with the 'Touched' virus. "…who was checking on the alien. Unfortunately, nobody saw what happened, but she took out three SF's and Doctor Warner, and then disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Jack snapped, his eyes blazing at his friend.

"She hasn't left the base, Sir. And the parasite in the alien's stomach is gone. Warner thinks it's somehow controlling her."

"Why hasn't the base been locked down?"

"It was, Sir. We told the gate up top to only allow yourself and Doctor Carter to come down. Now we're on full lockdown. No way in or out until you say so."

Jack abruptly stopped in the middle of the hall, rubbing his brow harshly. "Security teams on all the exits and one at the doors to the Gateroom. Is the alien still conscious?"

"Last I heard, yes Sir." Jack nodded and waved Charlie away with a flick of his wrist. Jack held back the groan he'd wanted to let out since he'd been called in. He planted one hand on his hip, the other still kneading his forehead and sighed deeply.

~ SJ ~

He had to time his movements carefully; chose the right person. He waited, the weaker Tauri legs cramping in the awkward position in the air vent. Two women were in the locker room below, hastily changing into their uniforms. One had long dark hair. Not a good choice. The other had blonde hair; a closer match. Not perfect, but it would have to do.

"Better move fast, Tory, you guys are watching the Gateroom." The brunette tapped the blonde's shoulder as she left the room, now completely dressed.

Even better.

He pushed the small female foot into the side of the vent a little harder, feeling like he was about to slip. Almost there.

The blonde woman grabbed her shirt and began to pull it over head to put it on. Her arms were just within reach; Howard's eyes flashed and the Goa'uld dropped an arm, grabbed Tory's hand and pulled sharply upwards, until he heard the loud crack of bone colliding with cement ceiling.

~ SJ ~

Jack pushed his way through an assemblage of guards around the isolation room containing the alien; he'd been moved from the infirmary after the attack. One of the Airmen swiped his card through the reader, dropping the lock on the door. The Airman pushed it open and stepped aside. Jack didn't hesitate to walk into the darker room, passing two more guards inside the doorway and approaching the bed.

The alien was sweating madly and breathing long, heavy breaths. Jack heedlessly slid his hands into his pockets and took a moment to peruse the obvious ill man.

"I know we've already been through this, but I'm gonna ask you again: who are you?"

Silence. The alien opened his eyes and glanced at Jack, which was more than they'd gotten from him before, but his lips remained sealed.

"Hey, you don't have to give me your life story. How about just a name? We can't keep calling you 'the alien'."

Said alien turned his head away to wipe his damp forehead on the pillow. He turned back and swallowed deeply.

"Lo'Rak."

"See, that wasn't so hard." Lo'Rak glared at Jack darkly. Jack had been on edge all day and this alien wasn't doing anything to alleviate his annoyance. "Hey, considering you were the one that attacked my people, I'd say the fact that you're still alive should mean something to you. You've been going downhill since that snake thing jumped out of your gut; maybe it's time you helped us out."

The alien looked back at the roof and closed his eyes. "Speak."

"You're not like us. What are you?"

"I am Jaffa."

"Good." Jack pulled the chair beside the bed closer and sat down. "Now we're getting somewhere. Why did you attack us?"

"You attacked us!" Lo'Rak snarled, "You invaded my God's territory!"

God? He didn't look like your typical monk. They were exploring a planet that had ruins similar to those found on Abydos. So this guy must be following Egyptian culture.

"Which God? Ra?"

The sickening laugh that escaped Lo'Rak turned Jack's stomach. "Ra was nothing but an insect to be crushed by the one true God: my Lord, Apophis."

Time to change this line of conversation…

"You have absolutely no immune system. That parasite you were harboring compensated for that. Since I'm guessing that thing has somehow taken over one of my people, why doesn't it do that to you?"

"We are bred to serve the Goa'uld."

"The Gold?"

"We carry the larvae form of our God's, protecting them from harm. For this, they keep us strong and heal our wounds from within."

Jack held up a hand, effectively silencing Lo'Rak. "So that thing… needs- what? A host to survive?"

Lo'Rak didn't seem too willing to answer but eventually ground out a response. "Yes."

"Well, right now it's taken one of my nurses as a host. We need to remove it. How do we do that? We can stick it back inside you so you won't die," Jack pointed a finger at the man, "because right now, that's where you're heading."

Lo'Rak pinned him with a deadly stare. "I will die a warrior's death and my master will destroy you…"

"Oh, for crying out lou-"

The blaring klaxons outside and - since he was so over this conversation - Jack flew from the chair and through the exit. The guards stayed by the door, closing it behind him.

'SECURITY TEAMS TO THE GATEROOM!'

~ SJ ~

''I think we should look into a new security measure for the Gate's control system. Encrypting it is one thing, but something like a fingerprints or retina scanner would make it absolutely impossible to-''

BANG! BANG BANG!

The unmistakable sounds of gunshots in the hall just outside the Gateroom silenced the technicians. Sam didn't even think when she grabbed Walter's arm and fled through the door at the back. She just yanked the sleeve of his grey, woolen sweater and practically dragged the shocked man from the room.

Muffled gasps and terrified shrieks stopped her from going any further.

''Open the seal! Now!'' A metallic voice yelled to the remaining technicians.

Sam's chest thudded and she was near hyperventilation, but she clung to Walter and stayed by the door. In part, she did dare risk any noise by trying to continue down the hall; mostly, she didn't want to leave the personnel in the control room when she may be able to help.

One of the technicians must have complied; the next thing she heard was a chair falling over, the distinct grinding of the Iris opening, and, to her horror, the Gate beginning to dial.

'No, no, no, no no... Jack, where are you?' she prayed, clenching her teeth tightly and screwing her eyes shut.

'They aren't leaving this base!'

She had to do it. She had to shut down the Gate and lock the Iris again. God, when would the drama ever end?

~SJ ~

''General! We're locked out!'' Kawalsky sprinted up the hall to catch up to Jack, who'd been on route to the main door to the Gateroom. Jack quickly stopped, ran a hand through his hair and began jogging in the other direction.

''We'll go the back way; come on.''

Only Jack and George had key cards that could override a lockdown. And only that allowed him to move between levels. George wouldn't be far from the lowest level, if he wasn't there already. Therefore, Jack could use his card to get down the Gateroom. The only other way was the Control room. Only Sam knew how to lift the lockdown protocols. Security watching the feeds from the halls had advised him over the Bases intercom system that there was a large group of wounded in the hall outside the control room. Apparently one of the guards near the door opened fire on the security team. Luckily for them, they would all be sporting the latest protective equipment; at close range, they'd be pretty winded and showing some spectacular bruising tomorrow, but alive for the most part.

Jack could only hope Sam was alright. He didn't have long to dwell on the thought as they approached the door that led to the back of the Gateroom and objectivity took over.

~ SJ ~

It all happened within, maybe, fifteen seconds.

Sam poked her head into the control room and rather than seeing the back of half a dozen heads, saw the Gate spinning. The remaining personnel were lying on the ground and giving her the most terrified looks, pleading for guidance. She gestured with her hand for them to stay down.

At first, Howard's sudden turn and the lifting of her rifle towards the bulletproof glass nearly gave Sam a heart attack. It was only then that Jack and Kawalsky used this distraction to pelt around the activating Gate and get a hold on Howard.

"I'm gonna need some help!" Sam yelled to the men and women at her feet as she leant over a keyboard. The technicians scrambled to their chairs, trusting they were safe.

All their mad typing and decryptions were rendered superfluous by the efforts of Jack and Kawalsky; between them, they were able to disarm Howard and pin her to the ground, face-down, with their combined weight. All Sam could do to help them from her position was end the lockdown on the base to allow the security and medical teams to gain entry to the Gateroom. The Gateroom was quickly inundated with personnel, relieving the heroic officers.

And that was all she wrote.

~ SJ ~

0236h,
Saturday, 15th June, 1996
Jack's House

The first thing Sam noticed when she wearily pushed the front door to Jack's house open was the flickering light coming from the living room. The sound had been muted and she wasn't sure Jack was awake when she found him on the floor, propped up against the sofa with a bottle of beer hanging from one hand.

The evening had dragged on spectacularly. It mostly revolved around the heightened security surrounding Howard, the declining state of the alien who she now understood was a Jaffa, and the general reorganization of an extremely frazzled base.

But Sam knew why Jack was sitting in the dark with a beer he probably hadn't actually tasted yet.

They had learned from Doctor Warner that the parasite - the Goa'uld - could not be removed with diplomacy or force. The fact had been also confirmed by the Jaffa, Lo'Rak, who had become quite inclined to chat, even if it had mostly involved the assurances that they would all be in for a dirty, great smiting.

But Sam was sure that it was the fact that Howard was essentially lost to them and deemed another casualty of this conflict they'd found themselves in that had Jack so silent.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Jack turned his head towards her slightly. "No." Sam nodded wearily and began to make her way to the bedroom. "Sam?" She stopped and popped her head through the archway. "Come here."

She didn't need to say anything more when she joined him in the living room, seating herself on the sofa next to his left shoulder. It was easier for him to talk if he wasn't doing it face-to-face. She lovingly began to scratch the bristling hairs on the back of his neck.

"Don't want to… but should."

"She didn't escape. And it's a good thing no one was seriously hurt outside the Gateroom."

"I know," He sighed, leaning forwards briefly to deposit his beer on the table. "But we basically lost Howard. We keep losing people. If we start a war with this race, that Gate is the frontline."

"We knew the dangers of the job when we agreed to be assigned at the Administration…"

"Back when it was all about exploration. The base has a self-destruct; as long as we're making allies and finding technology, the Pentagon wants us to keep the Gate open. But… if these… Goa'uld, knock on our intergalactic front door, I'm not supposed to hesitate in blowing the mountain to bits."

"Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. When it comes down to it, we have to always choose the lesser of two evils… even if it's at a great personal cost."

Jack rolled his head to the left to look her in the eye. He sighed and leaned into her arm, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Yeah. I know."

~ SJ ~

I must thank YesSir for the motivating whacks from her piñata stick. General Anderson is not named after RDA, but a personal friend. Mistakes are solely mine, and I wish my gorgeous beta (who is on hiatus) all the luck in her exams :) Very tempted to write 'Literally.' after 'That's all she wrote'.