Chapter 44

Jack answered the door, the messenger handed him an electronic pad to sign took it back and handed him a package. Jack thanked him and closed the door. He tore open the package, inside was a strange looking key and a military ID with Vala's picture on it.

"He knows me too well," said Vala looking at the ID with a grin.


Daniel opened his eyes but couldn't move himself he was exhausted.

"You're working too hard," said Janet, now lay beside him.

"Why are you here?" asked Daniel only a little startled.

"You know why if you think about it, you'll understand."

"You're dead," said Daniel.

"Yep."

"But you're not a ghost."

"No."

"I know that you're not ascended."

"That's interesting, but you're right I'm not ascended."

"Oh my head!" cried Daniel rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. "You're me." He groaned.

"Oh no, I'm Janet Frasier, I'm the part of her that you hold onto in your mind from all your memories of her. I'm also a projection from your subconscious. Sometimes you're not listening to your head enough, now that you have more brain power, you brain has the power to make you listen."

"So you're here with a message from my brain?" Daniel stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm just here as an intermediary, I'm only telling you what you already know, but don't want to acknowledge, it's exactly what Janet would have done if she were here."

"Why her? Why did my own mind have to torture me with Janet's image?"

"Because you would have rejected anyone else, and so would the others."

"Others?" Daniel's face blanched. "You've been seen by other people?"

"You have the ability to make people see and hear whatever you want. I've been doing some emotional clean up. You know your friends aren't half as over you and you think they are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you matter to them, as more than the guy who has all the super powers to defeat the Ori. You'd know that if you weren't actively blocking your telepathy, at least from your conscious mind."

"I couldn't handle it all. Thoughts, images, sensations, memories, ideas, and fantasies, all flicking through at once, you can't process it, it's too much."

"Maybe you can't," said Janet looking a little smug.

Daniel blinked, he lay back and thought for a moment.

"It won't work you know," said Janet.

"What won't?"

"This harebrained scheme of yours."

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about this, Daniel, I am you I know what you know. You know this won't work. You should go with the plan you told the others about."

"That's won't work, it's too risky."

"Yes, it will, it has a much better chance of success than the kamikaze run you're planning."

"I'm so tired," Daniel sighed squeezing his eyes shut.

"Yes, I know sweetie, when you and SG-1 have saved the galaxy again you should go on that vacation you've been dreaming about for two years."

Daniel looked up to say something, but Janet was gone.


Sam and Mitchell flew out to Nevada together, Sam was there apparently to retake control over R&D and Mitchell was to be the first to pilot the new X309 prototype stealth fighters, the first small sized spacecraft to integrate some of the Asgard technology into their systems including shields and a cloak.

"What are you going to do when we land?" asked Mitchell.

"I'm going to get stuck into work nothing else to do is there? I had a few projects I was working on at the SGC shipped with us, I'm going to do a quick inventory and get to it," said Sam.

"Aren't you the least bit upset about how this all played out?" asked Mitchell.

"I'm a soldier Cam, I follow orders these are my orders which I intend to follow to the letter," Sam told him through gritted teeth.


A week later, the whole base was in an uproar apparently some highly placed Pentagon official was being sent to do a spot inspection. Sam saw the names on the inspection memo and immediately called Mitchell in the hangar bay.

"Two weeks!" cried Jack, and clearly not for the first time. "Two weeks to maneuver and politic a visit to one of the two places I've got immediately under my command. Who do they think they are?"

"I think one of them was the President," said Vala, sitting across from Jack in the limo.

"Yeah, well…" said Jack pouting, "I'm still pissed, this plan had better work."

"I have faith in Daniel. He'll be there for us when the time comes."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," said Jack.

The limo pulled to a stop and the driver announced their arrival. Jack and Vala climbed out into the heat of the Nevada afternoon. Jack spotted the junior politician sweating in the corner by the entrance to the building.

"General O'Neill it's an honor to meet you and…"

"Valerie," said Vala stepping forward to shake his hand, "Valerie Doran, I'm the General's aid."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Steven Olson I'm the pentagon liaison with Area 51."

"No one cares Steve," said Vala.

"Valerie, be nice," said Jack.

"Colonel Carter will be down directly she's volunteered to give you the tour," said Steve giving Vala his best plastic smile.

"I'll bet she did," said Jack.


Daniel piled up a tray in the cafeteria and moved over to one corner. He projected the impression of a terrible smell in that area and a table cleared immediately. Daniel smiled to himself, if it weren't for the splitting headaches and constant hunger pains, having these super powers might be kind of fun. Of course it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't using the powers constantly, so he wasn't recognized on the base. He congratulated himself once again on how easy it had been to slip into the new Gamma Site; he'd simply followed the supply team through. The cameras in the gate-room saw him, but the distance was too far for them unless they zoomed on each person's face.

Once through, he took a leaf out one Teal'c's sci-fi character's books and figured out how to shift a person's perceptions just slightly, so that rather than having to project a new face to each person Daniel could project the impression that he wasn't really there or that he wasn't really noticeable. Of course, if anyone was really paying attention to the base security cameras he was screwed, but he'd managed to shift their roving arcs so he at least had some privacy while navigating the halls to his private hideaway. He ate quickly checked his watch and stuffed a couple more energy bars into his pockets. A team was due off world for a mineral survey and he needed to go through with them if he was going to get the next phase of the plan under way.


And here's a chapter I prepared earlier...you can follow along at home for the directions after the show.

:D Cynic