Chapter 27
Before anyone could respond to her statement, the door banged open and a guard stormed in, proving her right.
-A welcome gift from my most high lord.
The guard chucked a bundle to Jack, who began rifling through it.
-Is this all? I was expecting something a little more sophisticated.
You know, some flowers in a nice vase, a statue, a picture to put on
the wall, a lamp, some cupcakes with a nice handwritten note.or maybe
a watch. Your underlings broke mine in our little skirmish earlier.
The least you could do is replace it.
The guard took a step toward Jack; obviously meaning to silence him, when Katie's sneezing became severe. The guard pulled back in surprise.
-Fools. I don't know why my master doesn't kill you now.
With that he turned on his heal and fled. Jack hollered after him.
-Does this mean I don't get a new watch?!
But the door had already crashed close behind him. The instant the guard was gone Katie stopped sneezing and breathed a sigh of relief. Jack smiled slightly.
-It's so hard to get good help these days.
Sam rolled her eyes and turned to Katie.
-So, what's up with your allergies?
-Well, um, it's kinda complicated.
-You're allergic to snakes as in Goa'ulds?
Katie sighed.
-Kinda.
-Then why aren't you allergic to Selmak, or Teal'c's symbiant for that matter?
-Exactly.
-What?!
Katie moaned slightly. She had told this story way too often in her short life.
-They never figured out exactly how or why it works. We first
discovered it when I was about 14. I was on the base when some Tok'ra
came through to discuss a new treaty. I started sneezing up a storm,
and to make a long story short it was discovered that one of the
Tok'ra was a spy for one of the minor system lords.
Jonas looked at her, a strange look in his eye.
-So, to put it simply, you're allergic to bad symbiants.
-Doesn't make any sense does it?
He shook his head.
-No, it doesn't.
-Hold on a second.
They turned to look at Sam.
-Teal'c's symbiant is bad.
Jack sighed in confusion.
-Huh?
Sam smiled and tried to explain.
-Selmak is good, but if given the chance to mature, Teal'c's symbiant
would be just as evil as our captors. There is no difference between
the guard and Teal'c.
-That is not true.
Selmak's deep voice spoke confidently.
-That guard still serves his false god, Teal'c does not.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
-You are suggesting that somehow she can tell where a Jaffa's loyalties lie?
-The evidence does seem to lead to that conclusion.
-Such knowledge would be very valuable to our cause.
-Yes, if we could isolate what it is that makes her sneeze.
Katie threw up her hands in protest.
-Don't even think about it. Dr. Fraser and her team of specialists
ran every known possible test plus some. They spent a year and a half
trying to figure it out and never did. So, they gave up and made sure
I joined the Stargate program, so they could make use of my 'gift',
which was practically a given any way since both of my pare.uh, since
my dad was in command of SG-1.
Jack glared at her near slip up and Katie once more reminded herself that she had to be very careful about what she said. She wasn't prepared for Sam to find out just yet, and frankly neither was Jack.
Jacob cleared his throat.
-So, uh, if you don't mind me asking.who was the Tok'ra spy?
Katie quickly ran through the possible ramifications of Jacob having such knowledge and decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell him. As she recalled, the spy had killed several of the Tok'ra, although at the time they had thought it an accident.
-Her name was Keili.
Jacob's brow furrowed thoughtfully.
-There's no Tok'ra by that name.
-Yet.
-Point. Well, I'll log that away for some uh, later time. Although, it
would help immensely if I had some sort of time frame to work with. I
mean, how long is it gonna be before this Keili show up?
Katie pondered quietly.
-Well, near as I can figure, for some reason or another my universe
was about 11 years ahead of this one. Which means that you'll run into
Keili in about three years.
-That's a long time.
-Yeah, it is. But, not as long as it could be, as long as it is for
other things.
Katie's voice dropped off as she was once more haunted by horrifying memories. She resolved that no matter how long it took, she would make things right, in this universe at least...
All was quiet for a moment, as they tried to contemplate what she meant. Jonas broke the silence.
-Katie, is it possible that you've just traveled back in time rather
than to an alternate universe?
-Uh, no.
-Why not?
-Well, um, there are some big differences that couldn't be explained
just by time travel.
-Such as?
-Um, like the fact that in my universe Sam was a doctor, not a Major.
Jonas nodded.
-Yeah, that is kinda a big difference.
-Yeah.
Katie looked over to see if Sam had made any connection, but she didn't show any sign of knowing. Jacob on the other hand, made eye contact with her and mouthed the question, 'my granddaughter?' She nodded slightly, and held back tears. It was good to have Jacob know. After a moment, they broke eye contact, and Jacob turned to Jack.
-So, Jack, all this talk of time travel and alternate universes has
worked me up quite an appetite. Is there anything good in the sack?
Jack sighed and once more rummaged though the bag.
-Well, let's see. We've got some stale bread, some funky looking fruit
and some sort of beef jerky like entity. And of course, a thermos of
water. I wonder if this stuff is edible or not?
-Toss me the jerky and we'll find out.
Jack did so, and Jacob bit into the jerky.
-Mmm. This brings back memories. They must have raided a supply depot.
Jack started eating the bread and felt his tension melt away.
-Colonel?
He turned to Sam and tossed the fruit to her.
-Uh, thanks. Um, Colonel?
-Yeah?
-I don't think we should eat it.
Before anyone could respond to her statement, the door banged open and a guard stormed in, proving her right.
-A welcome gift from my most high lord.
The guard chucked a bundle to Jack, who began rifling through it.
-Is this all? I was expecting something a little more sophisticated.
You know, some flowers in a nice vase, a statue, a picture to put on
the wall, a lamp, some cupcakes with a nice handwritten note.or maybe
a watch. Your underlings broke mine in our little skirmish earlier.
The least you could do is replace it.
The guard took a step toward Jack; obviously meaning to silence him, when Katie's sneezing became severe. The guard pulled back in surprise.
-Fools. I don't know why my master doesn't kill you now.
With that he turned on his heal and fled. Jack hollered after him.
-Does this mean I don't get a new watch?!
But the door had already crashed close behind him. The instant the guard was gone Katie stopped sneezing and breathed a sigh of relief. Jack smiled slightly.
-It's so hard to get good help these days.
Sam rolled her eyes and turned to Katie.
-So, what's up with your allergies?
-Well, um, it's kinda complicated.
-You're allergic to snakes as in Goa'ulds?
Katie sighed.
-Kinda.
-Then why aren't you allergic to Selmak, or Teal'c's symbiant for that matter?
-Exactly.
-What?!
Katie moaned slightly. She had told this story way too often in her short life.
-They never figured out exactly how or why it works. We first
discovered it when I was about 14. I was on the base when some Tok'ra
came through to discuss a new treaty. I started sneezing up a storm,
and to make a long story short it was discovered that one of the
Tok'ra was a spy for one of the minor system lords.
Jonas looked at her, a strange look in his eye.
-So, to put it simply, you're allergic to bad symbiants.
-Doesn't make any sense does it?
He shook his head.
-No, it doesn't.
-Hold on a second.
They turned to look at Sam.
-Teal'c's symbiant is bad.
Jack sighed in confusion.
-Huh?
Sam smiled and tried to explain.
-Selmak is good, but if given the chance to mature, Teal'c's symbiant
would be just as evil as our captors. There is no difference between
the guard and Teal'c.
-That is not true.
Selmak's deep voice spoke confidently.
-That guard still serves his false god, Teal'c does not.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
-You are suggesting that somehow she can tell where a Jaffa's loyalties lie?
-The evidence does seem to lead to that conclusion.
-Such knowledge would be very valuable to our cause.
-Yes, if we could isolate what it is that makes her sneeze.
Katie threw up her hands in protest.
-Don't even think about it. Dr. Fraser and her team of specialists
ran every known possible test plus some. They spent a year and a half
trying to figure it out and never did. So, they gave up and made sure
I joined the Stargate program, so they could make use of my 'gift',
which was practically a given any way since both of my pare.uh, since
my dad was in command of SG-1.
Jack glared at her near slip up and Katie once more reminded herself that she had to be very careful about what she said. She wasn't prepared for Sam to find out just yet, and frankly neither was Jack.
Jacob cleared his throat.
-So, uh, if you don't mind me asking.who was the Tok'ra spy?
Katie quickly ran through the possible ramifications of Jacob having such knowledge and decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell him. As she recalled, the spy had killed several of the Tok'ra, although at the time they had thought it an accident.
-Her name was Keili.
Jacob's brow furrowed thoughtfully.
-There's no Tok'ra by that name.
-Yet.
-Point. Well, I'll log that away for some uh, later time. Although, it
would help immensely if I had some sort of time frame to work with. I
mean, how long is it gonna be before this Keili show up?
Katie pondered quietly.
-Well, near as I can figure, for some reason or another my universe
was about 11 years ahead of this one. Which means that you'll run into
Keili in about three years.
-That's a long time.
-Yeah, it is. But, not as long as it could be, as long as it is for
other things.
Katie's voice dropped off as she was once more haunted by horrifying memories. She resolved that no matter how long it took, she would make things right, in this universe at least...
All was quiet for a moment, as they tried to contemplate what she meant. Jonas broke the silence.
-Katie, is it possible that you've just traveled back in time rather
than to an alternate universe?
-Uh, no.
-Why not?
-Well, um, there are some big differences that couldn't be explained
just by time travel.
-Such as?
-Um, like the fact that in my universe Sam was a doctor, not a Major.
Jonas nodded.
-Yeah, that is kinda a big difference.
-Yeah.
Katie looked over to see if Sam had made any connection, but she didn't show any sign of knowing. Jacob on the other hand, made eye contact with her and mouthed the question, 'my granddaughter?' She nodded slightly, and held back tears. It was good to have Jacob know. After a moment, they broke eye contact, and Jacob turned to Jack.
-So, Jack, all this talk of time travel and alternate universes has
worked me up quite an appetite. Is there anything good in the sack?
Jack sighed and once more rummaged though the bag.
-Well, let's see. We've got some stale bread, some funky looking fruit
and some sort of beef jerky like entity. And of course, a thermos of
water. I wonder if this stuff is edible or not?
-Toss me the jerky and we'll find out.
Jack did so, and Jacob bit into the jerky.
-Mmm. This brings back memories. They must have raided a supply depot.
Jack started eating the bread and felt his tension melt away.
-Colonel?
He turned to Sam and tossed the fruit to her.
-Uh, thanks. Um, Colonel?
-Yeah?
-I don't think we should eat it.
