Chapter 50
"Colonel!" The general barked once.
Cut in the middle of his sentence Jack turned toward General Hammond.
"But…"
"I won't let Major Carter go on that mission until I'm certain she won't be a problem. You said yourself that the connection was real and problematic."
"I did sir but she's an asset to my team. I've think about it and I can't lose her not on that kind of mission. Beside the Tok'ra…"
"The Tok'ra didn't answer our call and we haven't heard of Jacob. Colonel, understand that I can't risk the life of Major Carter, what if the boy lose it again, what if he turn against you, what will she do?"
"I don't know, but the boy won't turn against us. He lost it because one of his friends was shot. I've never seen a teen with so much control over his self."
"Good for us and good for him but the fact is if he gets scare, Sam will get scare, if he's hurt she will feel the pain. Until we sever this link between them, I cannot let her be in any dangerous situation."
"For god sake, general."
"Colonel, she asked to be left at the base." Hammond said abruptly.
It was like a bomb on Jack but he tried to continue his argumentation.
"You can order her to go"
"I could, but I won't if one of my officer doesn't think she's fit to the mission I give, I'm always listening to their argument, and for that matters, Major Carter's argument where a lot better than yours…"
"Fine, sir. I'll talk to her. If I made her change her mind..."
"If you do, then we'll talk about it."
Hammond looked at O'Neill leaving his office and smiled.
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"Major, are you sure about this?" Clark asked for the second time.
"No but we can't pretend there no connection here." Carter said moving her hand between him and her.
Clark looked at Sam and smiled an odd thought coming to his mind.
"Am I the only one your feeling?"
"I think."
"You think?"
"Well, I don't know, before it was faint sensation in the back of my head. But then we met. I can't describe it."
"When I started to get power, I didn't know what to do and I didn't understand them very well. They were a curse. My father always pushed me to focus them, to get use of my ability."
"Clark, you're talking about super-human power. I'm only a human." Carter said
"It's the same thing. Back in Smallville, Chloe and I are discovering all kind of people with mutation caused by long exposure to meteor rock. SG1 has been traveling to other world maybe you came in contact with something or maybe it's the stargate itself. Maybe you were always aware of other feeling."
"I don't think so. Superpower is for kid dreams." Sam said smiling to Clark.
"Look, you have a scientific mind. Maybe you are rejecting the possibility of superpower because you can't explain it and maybe you subconsciously close your mind to those feeling." Clark said.
Carter was about to answer when she start thinking about it. She wasn't about to accept it for a fact but the possibility was there beside she did had those feeling.
"Supposed, that I have this power. I'm not saying that I believe it but if I have it, what can I do."
Clark gave her a frank smile.
"My father always start by letting me concentrate on how I felt the moment the power arrive. So I guess it's a good way to start. When you sense me, what is the first sign? You don't have to answer me, just think about it."
Carter closed her eye and focus on the different thing that had happen trying to find a correlation between her divers experience.
"I can't see." She said after a while.
"What were you looking for?" Clark asked.
"I'm trying to find a similar event that have happen every time the 'sensing' thing start."
"Maybe you're looking at it the wrong way. You're letting your scientific mind take over. Focus on the sensation, what where you feeling, what where you thinking."
Even thought Sam understood what Clark was saying she wasn't able to focus on it. Jack entered her labs.
"Hello campers. Clark, would you mind if I have a conversation with Carter alone."
"No, I'm going back to the infirmary to see Chloe." Clark said giving a puzzled look to Jack.
Sam looked at him in the eyes and smiled. The boy was glad to go to see Chloe, but he was anguished by the fact that she wouldn't be there for the mission. He broke eye contact and left the labs.
"Carter, are you alright?" Jack asked
"I'm fine, Colonel" She answered
"Good because for a moment you seemed to be lost in your head."
Sam smiled at the colonel.
"I know why you're here sir, and I won't change my mind. Until I can control or severe the link I have with Clark, I'm a liability for the team."
"Ah common Carter, I don't believe that and your way to smart to believe that. Clark lost it because of Sullivan being shot. What is the chance that kind of situation happens again? There's no chance because it will be SG1 and him, no other civilian."
"And what happen if he is hurt and I feel it too. What if I'm permeable to An'hur presence? If Clark is able to influence me, what happen when I met a full grown Kryptonian aware and evil?"
Jack locked is eye in Carter's and saw fear. She was really scared and he could see it in her eyes. She was scared and that scared him. Furiously, Jack left the lab without a word. Carter had looked at her CO, he was furious about the situation, she could tell.
"I got it!" She exclaimed smiling.
She rose to her feet and quickly ran to the infirmary.
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Chloe looked at Clark walking in the infirmary. He looked at her and smiled fondly.
"Hey, how are you?" He said when he reached her.
"Fine, my hearth is still weak. And if I move to fast, it hurt a little. But I'm fine."
Clark and Chloe talked a while until Carter arrive almost running in the infirmary.
"Clark, I did it." She said
Clark looked at her not sure what the major was talking about. Chloe looked at her dumbfounded friend and smile. Carter looked at Clark for a moment without a word then she realized that he was completely lost.
"Clark, I felt the colonel. Not as strong as with you but it was there."
Clark smiled in comprehension.
"Good. Could you do the same, now, here?"
"Wait, wait. I won't be the guinea pig. If you don't mind major, I rather keep my feeling and emotion for myself." Chloe said seriously.
Sam could tell at the moment that Chloe was scare of something. And when Chloe looked at Clark she knew of what. While Clark looked at Chloe, Sam smiled at her.
"Maybe Dr Jackson would be willing to participate in our experience. Or even the colonel. They will be part of the mission and…"
"Clark, I've told you that I won't be part of the mission. Not until I can assure the General that I am fully in control of myself and I'm not sure I like this empathic thing."
"Major, we've encounter many people with strange ability, the only thing you can choose is what you do with them." Chloe said smiling to the major.
"What I mean is that I feel like I'm violating other s mind. If people know about it what do you think will happen?"
"People would get scare, try to avoid you or study you." Clark answered truthfully.
Sam looked at Clark as she began to understand what his parent and he have endured all his life, the tension they have been leaving in.
"God! How did your parent and you do it, Clark?" Sam said almost in a whisper.
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"Unscheduled Offworld Activation" the sergeant called in the microphone while alarm's klaxon started to sound.
The General was in the control room soon after.
"We're receiving the Tok'ra signal." The sergeant said after the computer gave a green flash of recognition.
"Open the Iris." The general said leaving for the embarkation room.
Hammond met with O'Neill as he was going in the gate room.
"Colonel, you'll be please to know that the Tok'ra have answered our call."
O'Neill smiled.
"Hope it's our home Tok'ra." He answered.
To both surprise a tall blonde woman in her mid-twenty entered the room via the gate. She was followed by two men. When she saw both officers, she smiled fondly and walked toward them.
"You must be Hammond and O'Neill of the Tau'ri. I'm extremely please to finally meet you. My name is Janice and you can call my symbiote Gallia."
"It's an honor to meet you but excuse me to sound rude, but we were waiting for someone else." Hammond said with surprise in his face.
"Jacob and Selmak were occupied. So I decided to come to your call. How may the Tok'ra be of assistance to you?" Janice asked.
"That's a nice attitude change." Jack mumble softly to the General.
"Our security protocol requires a basic medical examination but as soon as you're clear, we'll discuss the situation. Please, follow me." The general said.
Janice silently agreed and followed a few step behind with the two men close and to airmen closing the walk. Jack looked at the general.
"Sir, we have guess in the infirmary…"
"Well, colonel, you might want to go ahead and inform our guess that their will be visit shortly in the vicinity."
Jack walked faster than normal and as soon as he turned a corner, he started for a run toward the infirmary.
"You are very organized species. Why does the colonel feel oblige to inform your guess of my presence?" Janice said looking at the colonel disappearing
"Well, we have a human in the base who doesn't know about our allies, she's here to be treated for an injury."
"If you are in possession of a healing device, I would gladly help."
The general looked at the woman with a smile and couldn't keep feeling that there was something odd about this Tok'ra.
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"Janice, I want you to meet Teal'c and Major Samantha Carter. You already met the colonel." Hammond said pointing at the member of SG1.
"It a real pleasure to meet all of you. Major, your father speaks highly of you."
Carter looked around the table unsure how to responds to this Tok'ra. Janice closed her eye for a brief second and let her symbiote take control of her body.
"Forgive my intrusion, but you all seem confused by Janice behavior. Janice is a new host, we've barely merge and she's very eager to learn about other culture. Her curiosity his… Quite intoxicating. My companions are here to watch my action and assure that my blending worked correctly." Gallia said looking at the two men standing near the door.
One of them looked at the woman with a reproachful glare.
"They don't seem to like to be talked about or talk to." Jack said innocently.
"Forgive them, they are not accustom to be out of the base."
"Tell me, why have the Tok'ra send you if your blending is so recent?" Sam asked.
Both men looked at the woman as if challenging her to answer.
"Well, I kind of disregard their order not to interfere with the Tau'ri. From what I've learn so far, your SG-1 team is quite a talked about in the galaxy and I was eager to see them."
Jack looked at the blonde and smiled.
"You know, kill a few Goa'uld, blow up a sun, and suddenly your known all around the galaxy." The colonel said with a smile.
"It was you who actually blow up a sun?" Janice asked.
"It was Carter idea." Jack said.
"Sir!" Carter said looking at him with angry eyes.
"Back to business gentlemen, Janice, you were saying that the Tok'ra didn't want you to come here and there you are. Tell me are you in any danger?" Hammond asked to the woman.
"If you fear that the Tok'ra will come here, no one knows. So there's no chance that…"
Janice was cut by the alarm's klaxon.
"Unscheduled offworld activation"
"I'll be right back. Sg1 stay here with our guess." Hammond said
Hammond quickly walks down to the control room.
"Sir, we are receiving the Tok'ra signal…"
"I'll be damn. Open the Iris. Go to the briefing room and tell the colonel we have Tok'ra guess arriving. Ask him to escort our other guess to private quarter. "
"Yes sir"
Quickly the general walked down to the embarkation room.
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Clark had returned to the infirmary as soon as the Tok'ra had left. When he arrived, Cassie was sitting near Chloe's bed and was talking quite energetically. Not willing to disturb them Clark walk back and collide with Lana.
"I'm sorry, I didn't saw you there." Clark said.
He helped Lana to stand.
"You seem lost, Clark." Lana said while rubbing the lower of her back.
"Too much is happening at the same time." Clark said with a tiny smile.
"Yes, I've heard about Chloe, well she told me. I'm glad you were able to save her. She means a lot to me. She's a very good friend."
"She's mine too, Lana." Clark said
"I know. Clark, look, I thought about the conversation we had. You were right. I mean I was selfish and kind of expect you to always be there."
"Lana, I'm your friend and if you need me, I'll be there faster that you could say it."
"Clark, I want you to be honest with me. Do you love Chloe?" Lana blurted out.
Clark looked at the infirmary where Chloe and Cassie were talking.
"Lana, I don't want to lose her, she's my best friend. We've tried that path and it didn't work, we almost lost our friendship."
"But do you love her?" Lana pressed.
"Why is it so important to you?"
"Clark, stop that. Answer my question. Please!"
"Yes. Lana, yes I love her, like I never thought it would be possible to love but I won't tell her, I won't let my feeling shattered our friendship. I care too much for her for that." Clark said almost angrily.
Lana looked at Clark and smiled to him.
"Clark, think about it, don't' you think you may lose her if you keep pushing her away. You told me that I took you for granted. Then I'll tell you this, you were right, but you're doing the something to Chloe." Lana said then left Clark looking miserable alone in the corridor.
