A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. It seems I don't have as much free time as I had anticipated. Never mind. Here's chapter 19. Hopefully 20 will be up shortly, if I can find the time. Please review.
It had been almost seventy-two hours since SG-1 had gone on their unauthorized "mission", and normally this wouldn't have bothered Hammond. SG-1 was lead by a very proud Colonel, and the team were friends who would die for each other without hesitation. But there was a sixth sense inside Hammond telling him that something was wrong, and he couldn't shake it off. On the one hand, he considered SG-1 to be the best team at the SGC, and he had great confidence in their abilities. But on the other hand, there was the very real possibility that they had been captured, and the feeling that the latter was correct would not leave him alone. That same feeling told him that sending any more teams after them would only end in the same result for them, whatever that result may be.
Hammond had sat in his chair behind his desk in his office, counting the hours, frantically awaiting an answer from the Asgard or Tok'ra, both whom he had ordered to be contacted twenty-four hours ago. Neither had yet responded and he was growing impatient, when the gate activation alarms blared around the base. He almost leapt out of his seat, and half ran, half walked to the control room, hoping to see SG-1 emerge through the gate. Failing that, he would settle for one of their allies. Preferably the Asgard, but he doubted it. Their war with the replictors was still going on. He stared out into the gate room, silently praying. The wormhole established, he awaited any sign of movement. After what seemed like forever, a voice broke through his trance. "Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir."
Hammond breathed a sigh of relief, though part of him was still disappointed that they wouldn't be seeing SG-1 just yet. "Defense teams on high alert. Open the iris." Hammond walked quickly down to the gate room, as Jacob Carter emerged from the wormhole and stepped down the ramp. "Defense teams, stand down." Hammond ordered. He walked over to Jacob as the defense teams made their way out of the room. "Good to see you again, Jacob."
"You too, George," Jacob answered, "the message we got was fairly vague. Something about a Goa'uld?" he asked. Hammond gestured for Jacob to follow him through the door.
"I'll explain in my office."
The walk to Hammond's office was a silent one. Both men were unable to speak. Hammond was carefully contemplating what he was going to tell Jacob: what to say, what to leave out. He didn't like keeping secrets from such an old friend, but since the arrival of Selmak three years ago he could no longer trust Jacob like he used to. In a way that upset him, but it also meant that he didn't need to feel guilty about not telling the entire truth.
The two men stepped in and Jacob shut the door behind him. He took the other man's silence as a bad sign. He turned to face Hammond. "What's going on, George?" Hammond hesitated. He was in two minds whether or not to tell Jacob that the last he heard his daughter was host to another Goa'uld: he decided against it. He looked up at Jacob from behind his desk.
"Almost seventy-two hours ago, SG-1 went through the Stargate to what we believe to be a planet with at least one powerful Goa'uld, possibly and probably more. They still haven't returned and my gut is telling me there's something wrong." Jacob met Hammond's eyes.
"Do you have the address of the planet?" he asked, worry evident in his voice that mirrored that that Hammond was feeling. Hammond nodded and stood up, leaving the room. Jacob followed him through to the control room. Hammond pointed at the row of six glyphs on the computer screen.
"This is where they went." He looked sideways at Jacob, searching for any sign that Jacob could help. The other man's face was deadly serious. "What is it?" asked Hammond, his face almost a mirror of Jacob's obvious worry. Jacob bowed his head and Selmak emerged.
"Several Tok'ra operatives have gone missing on this planet. The last official intelligence was that it is one of the many planets controlled by Anubis. To the best of my knowledge there are still two Tok'ra successfully posing as Jaffa servants, but it's been several days since we heard from either. Hopefully it's a good sign and they're avoiding contact to protect their cover. I can't risk contacting them if that is the case. If our intelligence is correct, it is doubtful that SG-1 are still alive."
A twinge of dread rushed through Hammond as he heard. No. He didn't want to believe that. "No," he answered, "I'm not ready to give up on them yet. I have great confidence in SG-1." Selmak nodded.
"I will see what I can do, but I doubt the Tok'ra council will allow our operatives to be jeopardized."
Hammond was angry, but he didn't show it. How many times have SG-1 saved the Tok'ra from annihilation? He had lost count. Too many, and it was high time they paid Earth back. He kept his anger inside as Selmak gave control to Jacob. He was also angry.
"I'm sorry, George. If there were something I could do…" he hesitated, noticing the bitter look on Hammond's face, "I'll see what I can do. There's a possibility we may be able to contact the Tok'ra on this planet, but I can't promise you anything. I'm sorry."
Hammond nodded, not satisfied by any means, but glad that Jacob had come, and understood the human side of the situation better than any of the other Tok'ra he had met. Having Sam as a daughter sure helps, too. Too bad it won't help if she's already dead. Once again, Hammond kept his anger in as he bid farewell to Jacob, silently cursing Selmak and the rest of the Tok'ra, but also hoping they would grant Jacob's request to contact the operatives. That same sixth sense that told him of the danger SG-1 were in was now telling him that they needed to hurry up. He just hoped he was wrong. "I hope to hear from you soon, Jake."
"I'm sorry, George." Jacob answered in a heavy tone as he turned to input the Tok'ra coordinates, and he left the room. Hammond watched him closely as he walked through the gate, silently hoping that he would be able to have some influence in the council. After all, he was the "oldest and wisest" among the Tok'ra. Surely that counts for something?
He could only hope.
A/N: There it is. I promise to try to get 20 up asap. Please review. No point writing if no one's reading or no one likes it. I'll probably be changing my pen name shotly. Not totally sure what to yet, but if you're interested in reading the rest of this story or others, keep an eye out. My ID number is 169119. Thanks. Again, please review!
