Chapter 2
Hammond
watched this little display by Kinsey and was not impressed at how this man can
be so damn childish. Kinsey sat smug in
his crisp pinstripe suit and matching tie. The soft folds of the navy material contoured his body as it rested in the
soft leather chair. The mans grey hair
was short and proper, a true politician.
And this man, whom Major Carter knows well is sharing the same expression as his peers. His dress uniform was clean to sparkling. His badges and medals gleamed even in the artificial light. His hat was placed with precision on the desk, just to his right but with the peak facing him. He sat up straight, his posture could not have been frowned upon, but this would not help him against these people.
Sam's
flicked a strand of her soft blonde hair from her face and proceeded to wipe
that smug look of the faces of everyone in the room. She bowed her head and proceeded to talk turning the faces of her
superiors to a look of sheer terror.
"I
can now see Samantha does not like you"
Jolinar
spoke much to the pleasure of her team mates. Jack smiled, he never knew his 2IC could act like this. Well he knew she probably wouldn't if that
thing weren't in her head. He would
never be able to get used to that.
Now
Sam spoke up.
"Well
Tim I see you've climbed the ladder"
He
was taken aback by this. He thought
this could never happen. "When you are
infected with a Goa'uld, nothing of the host survives" he said with a dry mouth
The
eyes flashed and Jack knew what was coming next.
"We
are not Goa'uld"
"Didn't
know that was coming" Jack said
"Oh
no" Daniel replied
"With
the Tok'ra, the relationship between host and symbiote is purely symbiotic" Sam
continued, feeling she had said this for the millionth time. She took a step forward and watched as
everyone in the room tensed, their hands grasping the arms of the chairs with
more force than necessary. There were
four seats left, Sam filled one and SG-1 took her lead, flopping softly into the
remaining vacancies.
"How
do we know this?" Kinsey asked defensibly
"You
can only have our word" Jolinar replied
The
tables had turned and Jack was loving it. Sam was obviously relishing the fact that she could spook most of the
Joint Chiefs, and Daniel was trying his best to hold back a smirk as well.
"Colonel
O'Neill we wanted you and your team to be here when we announced this. The past few hours have been spent
deliberating the fate of your team" Kinsey said harshly "This is one step too far, even by your
standards" Jack didn't pay much
attention to the last statement, Kinsey thought Jack's standards were pretty
low anyway.
"Cut
the crap, what do you want"
"We
are replacing Major Carter" four pairs of eyes fired down on Kinsey, looking
for a damn good reason for this "We believe she is too much of a threat to this
nations security for her to be running around with something we can't explain
in her head"
"And
that idiot Harris is going to get my place"
"Yes. He is just as well qualified and fits the
bill perfectly, in my opinion better"
"I'm
sorry Sam, but when it comes down to it, I was and always will be the better"
Harris said, with no sympathy what so ever. The two locked eyes and both minds immediately flicked back.
**********
It was a warm summers day in Washington and the streets were a wash with tourists sight seeing, cooing at the Lincoln Memorial and at the great Washington Monument. Sam was happy where she was, sitting in the shade of a large birch looking over some paper work. The sun beat down on those outside the shade, the heat today was high eighties. Munching on a cafeteria sandwich someone caught her eye. She smiled as she recognised the auburn hair and promptly put down the work. It could wait.
"Sam"
Tim Harris yelled out across the grass
"Hey
Tim how you doing?"
"I'm
fine. Hey have looked over those
equations I gave you"
She
waved the piece of paper she was reading in front of him. "Hey I was thinking about them and I
realised there's something not right. These figures just don't make sense"
"Yeah
I know. To maintain a stable wormhole
like this would require vast amounts of energy which, by these figures, means
you would need every possible amount of energy available on this earth to power
it"
"Well
it wasn't made on this earth"
He
laughed at the joke. He was trying to
stop her pointing out the obvious but it was a habit hard to break. Another thing she did a lot was work. "Hey do you fancy coming over to my place
for a drink while we discuss these numbers"
"Yeah
why not it is work"
"Right
I'll see you at mine around eight"
"Sure"
"I'll
see you later then" He got up and made
his way back over to the large white wash building across the road. Sam leaned back against the tree and tilted
her head in thought. She liked Tim, he
had a good heart but after the incident with Jonus still only a year old, she
knew it would take time to rebuild that kind of a trust in someone.
The
rest of the afternoon was uneventful and the evening passed quickly. Pulling up outside his house, she grabbed
the work from the back seat and paced down the swerving path. Pinging the door bell, he quickly answered
the door with a smile.
"Hey,
come in, you okay?"
"Yeah
thanks" she looked around the house and realised immediately it was the perfect
bachelor pad. The room was obviously
tidied in a hurry and the door to the kitchen was suspiciously closed. Taking a seat on the long sofa she threw the
books and keys on his coffee table, complete with stains.
"Nice
place" she said
He
tried to hide his embarrassment, making Sam giggle harder. He let out a large breath and joined her on
the sofa. The rest of the evening was
spent deliberating over astro-physics and Einstein's laws of relativity.
Most of the evening was a blur, but Sam could remember one thing positively, she had seen his mistake and made it known to him. It was a simple calculating error, that put Sam where she is today.
**********
"No,
you lied to General Edwards when you said you didn't have any help" Sam said
quietly "I solved that equation which earned your promotion"
"You
two are arguing over that" O'Neill questioned
"No
Colonel, it's the fact that he used me to get where he is now"
"No
I didn't, it was a simple mistake which I spotted and dealt with"
"The
fact that I couldn't remember much of that evening works in your favour"
The
two were now arguing oblivious to those around listening intently, waiting for
another reason to shut this project down.
"We
were both in the run for promotion and I won, deal with it"
"No
you got that because of me and you can't accept that"
This
was actually amusing Jack. He had never
seen Sam argue so much over one little point. He was surprised Jolinar had not said anything yet, even Hammond. Jack just sat back in his chair and glanced
across at Daniel. He was just sat there
watching. He just gestured to Jack as
if to say why bother. Settling back
down he listened intently at the argument unfolding.
"Well
you were drunk, of course you wouldn't remember"
"You
got me drunk. How much alcohol did you
have in that place?"
"As
I remember you brought something as well"
"No
I did not" Sam shouted. The argument
was getting a little too hot. It was
going to turn into a fist fight if someone didn't end it. Hammond recognised this and screamed at the
two to stop it. They both reluctantly
went silent and fell into the deep leather.
"Now
you two have finished we can get back to the matter at hand"
"What
will happen to Sam when she's not on the team?" Daniel inquired
"She
will be put into isolation and the thing in her head will be studied" Kinsey
said
"I
will not become a specimen for your scientists" Jolinar said
"Yes
you will"
"If
you do not want to harm the alliance formed between us and the Tok'ra it will
be wise to follow the will of Samantha Carter and Jolinar" Teal'c said bluntly.
"If
you want to stay on this team I would advise you to shut up"
Jack
looked at the senator in sheer amazement. Even the best marines in this place could not take down the big man and
Kinsey was threatening him like he was a small child. Daniel also thought this but was less obvious about it. He emitted a small laugh and proceeded to
ask "How the hell do you intend to do that one?"
Kinsey
was put back. How dare anyone question
him, question his authority. He was
sick and tired of playing mind games with this bunch of children. "Well Dr Jackson you have made up my mind on
something I should have done a long time ago"
Daniel
sat up straight and guilt was written across his face. He said too much and they were going to pay. "Senator I'm sorry…"
"Sorry
is not good enough" he said interrupting the speech "SG-1 has been the thorn in
my side for a very long time and I am going to pull it out" turning to the
General he continued "General Hammond I was given the authority to come here
and do what was best for this complex. I now see that as removing the current SG-1 from the duty roster"
"What?!"
Jack yelled. How the hell can that man
do this. He has no right to tell them
what to do. He was loosing his temper
and he didn't care. If he was to rip
out the throat of that guy here and now it may stem some of it.
"Colonel
O'Neill you are to retire and live out your life away from the military" Kinsey
said calmly, passing sentence on every team member "Dr Jackson you are to go on
an exciting dig in Egypt for two years, Major…" He was interrupted by the
flash. A sinister look spread across
Sam's face and the Tok'ra within her spoke.
"You
dare threaten us, we are more powerful than you can ever dream of becoming"
"And
that is why I have decided to put you and your Jaffa friend into
isolation. Try anything and your family
will feel the consequences"
"You
dare touch them and I swear you will regret it" Sam said quietly, anger flowing
through every vein in her body.
"I
don't think so"
Better
judgement made her give in. She started
rocking back and forth in the chair and glared at Harris as he smiled at
her. She couldn't sit there and be
mocked by an idiot who knows nothing about the project. She got up and looked at her team
mates. Daniel looked like the world had
collapsed in on him, he was obviously blaming himself for this which couldn't
be helped. Jack looked like he was
thinking up another one of his brilliant ideas, although after their encounter
with the Asgard, Sam may have taken that crown. Teal'c just sat there, impassive, how he could do that was beyond
her. Deep inside though he must be
feeling everything she is and more.
She
looked over to Hammond in a vain hope that he would do something,
anything. Looking back, his eyes were
soft and understanding, but they also knew nothing could stop this man. Even the President himself could not stop
this.
Turning
out of the room with disgust, she slammed the door shut as she left. Why, after all this, why did it have to end
like this?
**********
Daniel sat in his lab looking at all the artefacts he had collected with the team. He has been able to study and experience cultures from over a two thousand years ago. He has learnt a new language married a beautiful woman. But now she was dead and all he will be doing for the rest of his life is looking at rocks for the rest of his life. Why did I said that? Why could I not keep my mouth shut?
He was angry with himself. He had made Kinsey say that, and Kinsey always kept his word. He couldn't do this, this was his fault. Grabbing a large Grecian urn they had picked up on a previous mission, he threw it across the room and watched it smash into a thousand tiny fragments on the wall. He stormed out of the lab and right into Teal'c.
He fumbled to put his glasses back on his nose and went on without saying a word. Teal'c looked at the young man and became worried for his well being. Daniel knew that it was not his fault the team were being forced to disband, and yet he still insists on blaming himself. This was one of the many human traits Teal'c could not understand.
Continuing on down the murky grey corridors to his own quarters leisurely, he knew Kinsey would act quickly. Opening the squeaky door, he was met by the soft glow of candlelight. On every surface stood a tall cream candle, and on the floor they formed a soft arch. Sitting on the soft black mat he started to focus, and soon entered Kelno'reem.
**********
Jack sat in his office throwing darts violently at the board across the room, some of them didn't connect with the board properly others did. On the final throw Jack chucked the dart so hard that the shiny metal tip went right through the soft wooden board.
He was bored and angry, never a good combination especially with Jack. Retirement. 'I've already been there and bought the t-shirt, twice. I need to find something to do, Carter she should be around' he thought.
Leaping out of his chair bounded over to the door, for it to be promptly smacked in his face. Letting out a loud cry, he turned away leant on the wall. 'Who the hell is that?'
"Colonel, I'm so sorry are you okay?" Janet Fraiser asked
"Yeah I'm fine doc. What do you want?"
"I need to find Sam"
"I was going to find her myself"
"Well can anyone join in?" A male voice asked. They both looked up to see who it was, Janet didn't recognise him, but Jack did.
"Harris do you have nothing better to do?"
"Well sir, I need to find the Major so she can show me where everything is"
Jack glared at the younger man. He stood upright with his cap placed with precision on his head. The light from the neon strips outside limped past his body to show he was actually well built. He must have been damn good during training. Regaining his balance and composure, he walked over to him and looked him straight in the eyes. They both had the same deep brown eyes which could lock fear into you, but there was something else there in both. "Excuse me, I have to find my friend before she does something she regrets"
Harris moved out of the way slowly and Jack deliberately pushed past, Janet followed quickly, looking at this idiot before catching up to Jack. Janet saw what was in his eyes. She realised what it was as she has seen that look a thousand times before. Pushing this aside she focused on finding Sam.
**********
Hammond sat in his office, pretending to be blissfully unaware of the fact his best officers seem to be running riot around the base. Two large red leather chairs stood in front of the desk and they were occupied by Kinsey and Lieutenant Colonel Bert Samuels, quietly discussing how the new teams will work and who will be doing what.
Hammond was just about ready to put Kinsey in his place, but that would work to the advantage of the senator. Kinsey still had no reason to boot out Hammond, and besides he did a good job. Samuels had been roped in because apparently he was going to get a special command post on this base, monitoring the reports and progress of SG teams. Hammond knew there was no point arguing, this would happen no matter how much protesting there was.
But this happy little conversation was interrupted rudely by the blaring sirens. There was no voice over the loud speaker. Where was Simmons? Getting out of his chair he threw open the door and raced down the stairs to the control room. Several technicians were strewn across the floor and the blast doors were down. Looking at the computer Hammond could see that the Gate had been dialled.
Furiously tapping the keyboards to no avail, he smacked his balm on the desk. Simmons was coming to. Maybe he could give answers.
"Sergeant. What happened?"
"SG-1, they used the zats and dialled out. Locked out the command codes"
"General what the hell is going on?" Kinsey commanded
"I don't know?"
The room went silent and the blast doors slowly opened to reveal and empty gate room. SG-1 had dialled out and they were in more trouble now then they could ever dream of being.
**********