Part 6: Revelation

My emotions are drained.

All I can do is close my eyes and try to calm the turmoil in my heart. I never knew that an imaginary Jack O'Neill could have such an impact on me. Even when he is not here, he's got a hold on me, so strong that it scares me. What would I do if the real him asked me that question? What would I say?

"Welcome back."

I open my eyes to see three people standing in front of me.

"Why did you do that?" I have no energy to get angry.

Hunsa speaks, "We only showed you what you have in mind."

I have to smile at that. What I have in mind is not necessarily what I want.

"And the purpose of this is ... what?"

"We offered you a bliss and you refused it. Why?"

"A bliss?"

"Yes, Abel's stone can offer you things that you cannot have in reality."

I shake my head, "It's not real."

No matter how my senses kept telling me that he was there, I knew in the back of my head that he was just a ... deception. A fake.

"Who can define real and surreal? It's just a matter of perspective."

"It was a lie ... it's just as simple as that."

"It was not a lie, it was what you wanted. We can make you happy."

Maybe it could make me happy, but deep down I'd know it's not what I really wanted.

"Well ... what I want now is to go home. Look, I don't want to play any games. Just tell me what you want so that I can give it to you and go home."

"I am afraid that it is not possible."

I raise my eyebrow, "Why not?"

"You can not leave Cayan ... ever."

We'll just have to see about that. I wonder if I could make a run through the gate.

"There is no escape from Cayan, Major Carter."

"My friends will make one."

"They may try, but they shall fail."

It's like talking to a wall. I guess they don't know how persistent my friends can be. Daniel and Teal'c won't just leave me behind and the Colonel ... I don't know where he is right now, but he will never let me down.

He will come for me.

I know that for sure.

"They cannot form a connection from your world to here. We blocked the Great Ring."

That should explain why the rescue team is not here yet.

"Okay, you said that you wanted my help. What if I exchange my help for my freedom?"

"I am afraid that it is not possible."

"Why?"

"Please come with us."

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Holy Hannah!

In front of me there is the technology that we've been looking for years, the means to defend ourselves against the Goa'uld. A shield generator that can produce an energy barrier for the whole planet. Tentatively I move towards the generator, my fingers are itching to give it a thorough inspection.

"This is Tamen. Abel created it and it has protected us against the Goa'uld for centuries. " I could hear Hunsa say.

"Yes, I can see it." my eyes are still fixed to the state-of-the-art generator. I wonder how strong the shield is? How complex the design is? How much naquada needed to power the generator? So many questions run through my head.

"You find this fascinating?"

"Oh yeah, it is." I am still in awe of the presence of the machine.

"However, around 287 planet rotations ago it stopped working." Servit explains.

Huh? I turn to face them, "Are you saying that this ... Tamen is broken?"

"No. It just stopped working."

Suddenly it clicked, "It's like the box, isn't it? It just needs a new battery."

"Battery?"

Oops, I forget that they are aliens after all, "I mean new naquada."

Hunsa nods his head, "You are right. The box is the simple version of the Tamen. We used it as a shield when we travel through the Great Ring. It stopped working at the same time as the generator."

The box is a mini portable version of the generator, Abel must've created it at the same time.

"You travel through the Stargate? I thought you unburied the gate 6 months ago."

"We have the shield, we do not need to bury the gate. The Goa'uld could not set a foot in Cayan. Our race is as curious as your race, Major. We are also fascinated with new civilizations that are different from us. "

Servit adds, "We need your help to make it work again."

"Don't you have someone to do that?"

It is Ba'ek who answers, he hadn't said a word before, "None of us have the wisdom on how the Tamen works."

The Cayans only know how to use it, they don't know the science behind it.

"So, you want me to fix it for you?"

"Yes. You managed to make the box work again."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. As I said, you need naquada and I'm not sure if you have a sufficient amount of it."

"We have the naquada."

"You do?"

"Yes, Cayan was once a naquada-rich planet. The Goa'uld took most of it, but we still have some."

I sigh, "Okay. Say that I do fix the Tamen for you ... why can't I go back home after that?"

The three Grands look at each other, like they were having a private conversation inside their own mind. They have psychic abilities after all, it wouldn't surprise me if they could communicate telepathically. And after a while, Servit turns to me and says, "We cannot share this technology with any other race. That is why you have to stay here forever."

***********************

"She refuses to cooperate."

"Maybe we could tell her the truth."

"No, she could use it against us."

"Time is against us."

"She is a compassionate person, she will help us."

"We can not risk it."

"I think that it is time to make the decision."

"I vote 'no'"

"I vote 'yes'"

"I vote 'yes'"

"Then it is settled."

*********************

Larry took a last look at the address on the napkin, satisfied that he found the right door, and he knocked. The door opened and soon he was inside the house.

"Did you bring the payment?" Maybourne went straight to the point.

With a grin, Larry pulled out an envelope from his pocket, "Yes."

Maybourne took it and examined the contents. There were some papers and a disc, he flicked through the papers and loaded the disc into his computer drive. After a while he turned to face Larry, "Kinsey won't be pleased with this."

"So ... do you think that is enough for the information?" Larry asked.

"Not so fast, I need more."

"You will get some more after you tell me where O'Neill is."

Maybourne laughed at that, "Don't take me for a fool. I need more."

Cursing under his breath, Larry pulled another envelope from his jacket's pocket. He should've known that Maybourne was a greedy man with a lot of experience, the type of man that you didn't want to mess with, "Here."

Maybourne found a tape inside the envelope, he looked at Larry questioningly, "What's this?"

"A recording of Kinsey ordering me to take care of O'Neill. You can bring him down based on that alone."

Maybourne took a tape player from his desk and began to listen to the tape. After the tape was finished, he got a smug look on his face, "Okay, this should be enough."

"I gave you what you wanted. Now, tell me where O'Neill is."

"He's in Washington."

"He's here?" Larry was shocked, it never occurred to him that O'Neill would be so stupidly brave to hide in the lion's den. But it had worked, he couldn't find him after all.

"Yes."

"Give me the address."

"I've already given you the address."

"No, you haven't." Larry looked at Maybourne.

"Yes, he has." Suddenly, a figure stepped into the room holding a Zat gun.

"O'Neill."

"That's my name." Jack said casually, but all his other senses were cautioned.

Larry flashed Maybourne a furious glare, "What's the meaning of this?"

"Hey, you wanted to know where Jack is. I only gave you what you wanted." Maybourne grinned.

"You crossed me." Larry snapped.

"No, I didn't."

"Cut the pep talk." Jack said and then turned his attention towards Maybourne, "Maybourne, do we got what we need?"

"Yes," Maybourne waved the paper in front of him, "and a lot more." he pointed at the tape.

"Good." With that Jack fired the Zat once.

Maybourne watched as Larry's body fell to the floor, "Did you really have to do that?"

"No ... but it made me feel better." Jack just shrugged.

"Whatever you say ... what are you going to do about Larry?"

Jack never had a chance to answer the question, his cell phone was vibrating. Only Hammond knew this number and he would only use it if there was an emergency back at the SGC.

"O'Neill"

"Jack, this is Hammond."

"Sir, I've finished my business here." Jack decided to let the General know about the good news.

"Good, do you have what you need?"

"Yes, Sir. And I can tell you that I have Larry here with me."

"Well done, Colonel. When can you get back to the base?"

"I'll be there first thing in the morning. Is there something wrong, General?"

"Jack ... there's something that you might want to know."

Jack could sense hesitation in Hammond's voice and it never was a good sign, "Is everything alright, General?"

"I don't know how to say it, Son. But I think you deserve to know."

Whatever it was, Jack knew that it was bad, "Just tell me, Sir."

"Major Carter was taken as a prisoner off-world."

*********************

to be continued

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