Stargazers Stargaters Part 34
Disclaimer: I am using some of the dialogue from the "Stargate" episode "The Curse", which does not belong to me. This story is being written just for fun with no copyright infringement or dishonor intended to anyone.
The Curse, Cured Part 2
After Sarah left the Bean Grinder, Daniel finished his excellent cup of coffee, paid the bill and then left as well. He spent the evening driving around town, remembering the years he had lived in Chicago during college, as well as his years as Dr. Jordon's research assistant. He made a few stops at some of his old haunts but found them changed; or, he wondered was he the one who had changed so much in just three years? But finally he made his way over to his hotel, checked in and collapsed on the bed fully-clothed; it had been a long and emotionally draining day.
At ten o'clock the next morning, Daniel met Sarah at the front door to the building in which Dr. Jordon's office was located and she took him upstairs. As Sarah let them into the room, Daniel looked around; not much had changed. It was a large room; crowded, floor to ceiling bookshelves ran along the wall to his left, Dr. Jordon's desk was still in the corner, next to the windows which stretched across the upper half of the out wall in front of him. And a very large table with three inch raised sides stood in the middle of the floor, covered with Egyptian artifacts of all sorts.
"Wow...all of this stuff is...great." Daniel said looking around. 'Although I've seen better specimens on a dozen different worlds.' He thought to himself.
"Yes, aren't' they great?" Sarah asked happily. "We just received them about a week ago." Her expression saddened. "But he Egyptian government has already made a formal request for their return. We've been working as hard as possible to learn as much as we can before they are taken away."
"These are from the Stewart Expedition?" Daniel asked; he had been looking over the artifacts and recognized a few of them from a few articles he had read over the years.
"Yes...you know the story of course." She said, but continued anyway. "The expedition uncovered all of these in 1913 but it was rumored to be cursed after all of the team members died within a year of the dig. And then the ship which was transporting all of these artifacts to the U.S. sunk off the shore of New Jersey. They only just found the wreck last month and all of these artifacts were still in their shipping crates and were brought to the museum."
"Well, um, if you'd like, I could help you catalogue this stuff." Daniel offered. "I want to stay at least a few more days, until Dr. Jordon's condition is...clearer."
"Sure, we'd love the help." Sarah agreed but she was distracted as she searched for something on the table.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"There's something missing." Sarah said, rechecking everywhere she had already looked.
"You're sure?" Daniel asked.
"Positive; a gold amulet of Osiris...it must be here somewhere..." She muttered but then looked up. "Daniel, I must find it."
"I'll help you." Daniel said starting to search around the room.
Sarah glanced over at Daniel and smiled faintly, even as she continued to search.
"I was sorry that we couldn't have dinner together last night; there's so much time to catch up on." She said and Daniel winced.
There was so little he could tell Sarah about what he had been up to over the past three years...and one important piece of news he should have told her yesterday as soon as they had hugged hello.
Yeah...about that...um, uh, there's something I should have told you yesterday." Daniel said haltingly.
"Oh, what's that?" Sarah asked interested but still distracted.
"I'm um, uh...married." Daniel said out of the blue.
That got Sarah's attention and she stopped what she was doing completely and turned towards Daniel.
"Married?" She cried out.
"Um, uh, yes." Daniel said uncomfortably, but then he gained some strength by remembering how much he loved his wife and grinned. "Her name is Sha're and we've been married for almost three years."
"Almost three...years?" Sarah gasped. "So you knew her before that seminar in L.A?"
"Uh no...we met after I...left..." Daniel said looking down at his shoes.
"But if you've been married for almost three...what was it, a case of love at first sight?" Sarah asked scornfully, unsuccessful at hiding her jealousy.
"Well sort of...you see...her father gave her to me...as a - a gift. But she was gorgeous, sweet and smart and we hit it off almost right away...even before I understood that her tribe considered us husband and wife." Daniel chuckled to himself.
"So where is this wife of yours...still with her...tribe? Does she even speak English?" Sarah asked unkindly.
"Um, uh, yes, Sha're is visiting her father right now; she hasn't been able to return to her home for um...quite some time...and she missed him." Daniel answered as truthfully as he could, but then anger crept into his voice as he answered Sarah's accusation. "And of course Sha're can speak English...I taught her and she picked it up incredibly fast, she's very bright."
"Of course, I'm sure she is." Sarah tried to calm down. "I'm sorry, Daniel; it was just such a shock...you're being married and everything...I had been hoping...that we..." She trailed off, unable to finish what she had been about to say; watching Daniel as his shoulders slumped in embarrassment.
"Uh, no...I'm afraid that couldn't happen again between us, even if Sha're and I...I can't stay here...I only came back because of Dr. Jordon." Daniel explained in his soft, gentle voice.
"Yes...of course." Sarah said forcing a smile. "Well, I can't find the amulet in here. I'm going to go check a few other places..." She looked over at Daniel hesitantly. "If your offer of help still stands..." Daniel nodded. "Why don't you start working on examining these pieces?" She pointed out several. "And I'll be back in just a little bit...uh...you remember that the kitchenette is just down the hall if you want some coffee."
"I remember." Daniel said; he had found a pad of paper and pencil and was already focusing on the first artifact.
"Okay then..." Sarah said but when Daniel did not look up at her, she sighed and left the room.
Some time later, Sarah returned, but Daniel looked up only long enough to see her dejected expression before returning to his work. Sarah found her own pad of paper and began working as well. As they progressed, she showed Daniel how the computer was set up for recording their findings and he nodded, typing away.
"You weren't nearly so adept at using a computer three years ago." Sarah noted.
"Yes...well I've been working with someone who is very adept...as you put it and she's taught me a lot." Daniel said smiling as he remembered Sam showing him the ins and outs of computers.
Sarah opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it, shook her head and went back to work. They spent the day that way; taking notes on an artifact and then recording their findings on the computer and from time to time Daniel walked down to the kitchenette and brought back a cup of coffee for himself and tea for Sarah.
"How is it that you seem to know so much more about all of this stuff than you did three years ago, Daniel?" Sarah asked. "You're even correcting my pronunciation of the Egyptian symbols. How can you be so sure of how they pronounced everything thousands of years ago? No one speaks this anymore."
'Because Sha're and Ska'ra taught me, that's how.' Daniel thought to himself but only smiled benignly up at Sarah.
Sarah, remembering that smile from earlier questions she had asked Daniel...and received no answers to, groaned in exasperation.
"It's like hitting a brick wall with you sometimes, Daniel!" She exclaimed.
'That's what Jack says too.' Daniel thought silently, but went back to work.
Around one o'clock, Stephen came by the office to have lunch with Sarah, but when he saw Daniel he threw the deli sandwiches he had bought them, to Sarah and stomped back out, slamming the door behind him. Daniel was concerned about Stephen's attitude but knew that there was very little he could do to change it and so shrugged and accepted the bag Sarah handed to him and opened it.
"Hey, pastrami; I haven't had any good pastrami in ages!" Daniel exclaimed.
"Yeah, there's nothing like Martinelli's deli." Sarah agreed. "But you should have been able to find some pastrami somewhere. Where have you been for the past three years, under a rock?" Sarah threw back, but Daniel had just taken a huge bite of his sandwich and could only smile around the food in his mouth.
'You're getting close!' He thought to himself. 'But Cheyenne Mountain is a little larger than a rock.'
The two of them made good progress through the afternoon until Sarah had to leave, to teach the one class she had scheduled that day. They said goodbye; Daniel saying that he would work for a little while longer before he went to visit Dr. Jordon and promised to lock up before he did so. Daniel was as good as his word; working for a little over an hour and then he had an idea. Of the places she had checked, Sarah had not mentioned the basement where artifacts were stored and the university museum's Curator worked. He finished the piece he was working on, closed down the computer and locked the door behind him on the way out. He found the Curator in her office and introduced himself. She seemed happy to be pulled away from whatever she had been working on and led him down to the huge storeroom.
"Sorry about the mess, you know how it is, budget-cuts...I'm trying to sort things out, but there's never enough time." The Curator said. She was a short, middle aged black woman who bustled quickly before Daniel's long-legged strides.
"I understand." Daniel said gently.
"Now what was it you were looking for?" She asked.
"Um, uh, an artifact which went missing from the Stewart Expedition." Daniel said.
"The Isis jar." The Curator said, instantly.
Daniel looked with interest at the woman, but then returned to the subject at hand.
"Um, no...an, uh...gold amulet with ebony..." Daniel checked the paperwork he had brought with him. 'Um it was numbered 14C."
"That was sent up to Dr. Jordon with the rest of the artifacts; I can show you the paperwork..." The Curator said efficiently.
"Um, uh, no that won't be necessary." Daniel said believing her but then his curiosity came to the fore. "What's this about an Isis jar?"
"It's over here." The Curator said, heading off down the rows of shelves until she came to the one she needed. "The crate was marked incorrectly; I just found this the other day." She said, unsuccessfully trying to reach for an object on the top shelf.
"Uh, this one?" Daniel asked, pointing to a canopic jar he could easily see from his extra foot of height above the small woman.
"Yeah." The Curator said and Daniel brought it down and looked at it.
The object was a white ceramic bottle, but where the neck should be, a woman's face and head was fashioned on top instead. She had a headdress on, with the representations of the crescent and full moons sticking out on top; the crescent was on its side, cupping the full moon. A wide Egyptian collar circled her neck; covering her shoulders as well and a sash hung down the middle of her robe, which comprised the body of the bottle.
"It has this extra set of markings." The Curator pointed out the symbols which ran along the large collar. "No one's ever seen markings like that, have you?" She asked.
"Actually, I have." Daniel answered and then turned to the woman beside him. "I'm going to need to do a translation." He told her and she nodded in acceptance.
"Alright, if you need me, I'll be in my office cataloguing the Polynesian death-masks." She told him amiably and shuffled off.
Daniel took a closer look at the markings, to make sure that he was not mistaken as to what they were, looked around to make curtain that no one was nearby and then brought out his cell-phone. He pressed the speed-dial for the SGC's base operator and waited for him to come online.
"Yes, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson; I need to speak to General Hammond right away...Hi General...no, I'm still in Chicago...Dr. Jordon's holding on, but no one expects him to survive." Daniel continued briskly, burying his emotions. "General, I'm holding an Egyptian burial jar...and it has an extra set of symbols on it, which no one here has ever seen...yes, I know what they are...they're Goa'uld symbols, General...You'll have the plane prepped and waiting for me? Will you contact Sam on Antar and ask her to return? Thank you, sir. I just want to go check on Dr. Jordon briefly and then I'll be there...thanks again, General." Daniel said and hung up.
Daniel debated whether or not to ask the Curator for permission to take the Isis jar out for "testing". If the artifact was what he feared it was, the museum would never get it back from the Air Force, but on the other hand he did not wish to get the lady who had been so nice and helpful to him, into trouble. So Daniel went to her office and was given permission to take the artifact out after signing the proper forms.
With the Isis jar safely boxed up and hidden away in his carry-on bag, Daniel next quickly drove over to the University Hospital and made his way to David Jordon's ICU room. He was hoping to return to Chicago after taking the Goa'uld artifact to Sam for analysis, but he did not want to take the chance that he would never be able to see his old mentor again without saying goodbye to him. Daniel entered the hospital room and sat down in the chair near the bed. He thought about all of the things Professor Jordon had done for him during his short career and about what was hidden in the bag he carried...Daniel took one of the Professor's cold, limp hands in both of his and looked out the sliding glass door to make sure that no one was nearby before speaking.
"I wish I could tell you about everything I've seen and done in the past three years, Professor." He looked around again and then lowered his voice. "I was right, Dr. Jordon! I found the proof I needed to prove my theory; the pyramids Are thousands of years older than anyone ever believed them to be and they Were used as landing sites for alien space craft! These aliens enslaved the ancient peoples of Earth and took them to other planets to work in their mines...there are thousands...millions of Humans living out there in space; descendants of those ancient cultures. Greek, Babylonian, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic and many others. It's - it's like watching history come alive before my very eyes! But there is a downside...there's a war going on out in space between two alien species; the group which enslaved ancient Humans and another, who have tried to watch over us and protect us...and I've been helping to fight that battle...I've seen so much...done so much!" Daniel petered off, looking around again; all clear. "I'd better go...I found something among the artifacts from the Stewart Expedition...it has to do with what I've been working on these last years and could be very dangerous, so I need to have it analyzed...I...hope to be able to come back and visit you again in a day or so..." Daniel said.
He looked into the old man's eyes again...and saw them flutter weakly open just a little. Dr. Jordon was awake! Daniel stood up and bent over the man in the bed.
"Dr. Jordon?...David?" Daniel asked trying to get a reaction from him and reached out to press the call button for the nurse. "Hang in there...help is coming..."
A male nurse came running into the room.
"He's - he's awake!" Daniel grinned as the nurse checked over his patient.
Dr. Jordon managed to keep his eyes cracked open for a few seconds and then closed them with a sigh and his vital signs dropped a little. The nurse looked up and shook his head sadly.
"I'm sorry, sir; but many patients will come around, be totally lucid for just a short while before...the end." The nurse warned.
"But, but he's still alive right now...right?" Daniel pleaded, glancing between the nurse, Dr. Jordon and all of the monitors which surrounded him.
"Yes, he's still alive, but I can't guarantee...for how much longer." The nurse said.
"I understand." Daniel sighed, biting his lip and wrapping his arms around himself, trying to ease the stress he was feeling. "Listen, I don't want to leave, but I have to, it's very important that I return to my...employer...but I'll be back by tomorrow morning if I can. In the meantime, here's my card with my home, office and cell-phone numbers on it. Will you put them with Dr. Jordon's records and call me if anything else happens?"
"Of course, Dr. Jackson." The nurse said, reading his name off of Daniel's card.
"Thanks." Daniel said before picking up his bag and reluctantly leaving the room.
~*~*~*~
Back on P3X-555; Antar, a soldier came down to the training area from the Stargate chamber up in the hills and brought his superior, Michael Guerin, a note addressed to Major Samantha Carter. The training of Antarian soldiers, Earth's new allies, in Human-type hand-to-hand combat techniques was going well as Michael looked over the group, searching for Sam. Not seeing her, he waited for Ferretti the lead instructor, after O'Neill and Carter, to call for a short break before calling Teal'c over to him.
"Hey Teal'c, where did Jack and Sam disappear to, they were here just a short time ago?" The Antarian general asked the Jaffa.
"They said that they both had other duties to attend to and that they would return here later in the day. Why, has something occurred which they should be appraised of?" Teal'c asked.
"Uh, it looks like General Hammond has sent a note for Sam. I'll go look for her, but if I can't find her, I'll leave it at Beneck's house, where the two of them are staying. Will you tell Sam that, if you see her before I do?" Michael asked.
"Of course, MichaelGuerin." Teal'c agreed with a grave nod of his head.
"Great, see ya later." Michael said before moving off.
Michael checked several different places where he thought he might find Sam Carter, but without any luck, so he headed on over to Beneck's house with the idea of leaving the General's note on the kitchen counter for Sam. Beneck's back door was unlocked and Michael entered the house with relief, figuring that he would find someone at home, to whom he could give the message. But as he stepped into the kitchen, Michael received an eyeful...Sam was sitting up on the kitchen counter and Jack was standing closely in front of her, in between Sam's spread knees and was passionately kissing her arched neck. Jack's arms were encircling Sam's slim waist and his hands had dipped inside the back of her black t-shirt to caress Sam's spine.
"Oh man, you two are getting to be as bad as Daniel and Sha're, or Max and Liz!" Michael exclaimed as he turned his back on the embracing couple. "I thought you told Teal'c that you had other "Official" duties to perform?"
"Uh, well I'm sure we do...and we'll get to them...eventually." Jack said dismissively.
Michael turned around but the other couple had only ceased kissing, their arms still encircled each other.
"Uh huh." Michael said disbelievingly.
"Did you...need something, Michael?" Sam asked.
"Uh, yeah; General Hammond sent you a note." Michael said, handing Sam the message.
"General Hammond wants me to return to the SGC. Daniel found a Goa'uld artifact in Chicago." Sam told Jack.
"Chicago? What's he doing in Chicago, I thought he was supposed to be on Abydos with Sha're?" Jack exclaimed.
"The General said something about Daniel's old college professor dieing...or something." Sam said squinting at the note.
"Oh man...poor Daniel." Jack said sadly. "Well let's go then." Jack said, lifting Sam down from the counter.
"The General only ordered me to return...sir." Sam said, kissing Jack on the cheek to soften her words. "I think it best if only I go back; it might arouse suspicion if you come with me...we knew that this would happen eventually."
"Yeah, I know, but I don't have to like it." Jack muttered, kissing Sam on the lips. "But call me if you need me...my, uh...help, that is."
"Yeah...your help...I'll do that...since I'm needy for you already." Sam said before scampering out of his reach and out the back door.
"Oh man, why'd she have to tell me that?" Jack groused.
"Women can be evil that way." Michael said, thinking of his own fiancée, Maria. "See ya later." He said before following Sam out the back door.
Jack did not respond; his mind occupied with finding ways to survive this first hurdle in his and Sam's new relationship.
~*~*~*~
Back at the SGC, the Stargate opened to allow Sam Carter to come through the worm-hole.
"Welcome back, Major." The General greeted her from the foot of the ramp.
"Thank you, sir." Sam replied. "What's this about Daniel and a Goa'uld artifact, sir?"
"Let's go up to the briefing room and I'll bring you up to speed. How're things going back on Antar?" The General asked as they both walked out of the Gateroom.
On the way, Sam explained the trouble they had been having with training the Anterian soldiers and then gave an edited version of how she and Jack had overcome the problem. No reason to tell Hammond how the two of them had finally admitted their mutual attraction and love for each other, while they demonstrated martial-arts techniques...each of them sweaty...and sexy as all get out. As they entered the briefing room, a sergeant was hanging up the phone.
"Dr. Jackson's on his way down, sir." He said.
"Thank you, Sergeant." General Hammond said, dismissing him with a nod.
"So...what's going on with Daniel?" Sam asked again.
"Just before he and Mrs. Jackson were due to leave for Abydos, Dr. Jackson found out that his old archeology professor...his mentor, had been in an accident and was in critical condition in a Chicago hospital. He was desperate to see Dr. Jordon before it was too late, or...to attend his funeral if he was. Dr. Jackson escorted his wife through the Stargate to Abydos and into the care of her father, Kasuf before returning to the SGC. I had arranged a flight for him and he left as soon as he could. Now...a few hours ago, he called me to tell me that he had found some sort of Egyptian artifact at the University's museum...and it had Goa'uld symbols on it. He's bringing it here and wants you to analyze it for him."
"Of course, sir." Sam agreed understanding. "Hey, Daniel!" She greeted her friend as he entered the room.
"Hey, Sam; General." Daniel greeted them, a brief smile on his face.
"Dr. Jackson, could you please explain in greater detail what exactly is going on here?" Hammond asked.
"Yes, sir." Daniel said as he placed his carry-on upon the table and opened it.
Out of the bag he pulled the box containing the Isis jar and opened it in turn. He then proceeded to explain the use of canopic, or burial jars in ancient Egyptian burial ceremonies wherein the deceased's organs were removed and placed in these jars before the body was mummified. But, Daniel explained the Stewart Expedition had found no sarcophagus...so what was in this jar?
"These Goa'uld symbols say 'Hako Kra Kera'k Shree', which means 'banished to oblivion'...I should have double-checked with Teal'c, but I'm reasonably sure that I'm correct." Daniel explained. "The Egyptian hieroglyphs on the sash identify the jar as belonging to Isis, who was the Egyptian mother-goddess."
"A Goa'uld?" General Hammond asked.
"That's possible, see Isis was a consort of Osiris, supposedly the first Pharaoh of Egypt and according to legend he was placed in a magic box and dropped into the Nile by his brother, Seth." Daniel explained.
"Now there's a name I recognize." General Hammond said remembering SG-1's run-in with the Goa'uld only a few months before.
"The Goa'uld symbols indicate that Isis and Osiris suffered some sort of punishment or...banishment." Daniel continued.
"Where to?" Sam asked.
"I have no idea." Daniel admitted.
"Major, I want the contents analyzed." General Hammond ordered.
"Yes, sir." Sam said.
"Uh, now I'd be careful if I were you. For all we know it could be some sort of Goa'uld booby-trap left behind by Osiris as a means of revenge. Also, it's...it's cursed, so..." Daniel petered off.
"Thanks for the warning, Daniel." Sam said as she picked up the jar and left to take it up to her lab.
"General, there's something else." Daniel said. "The inventory of the Stewart Expedition lists two jars."
"Can you find the other one?" Hammond asked, concerned.
"Well, I can try; I was going to head back to Chicago tonight." Daniel answered. "But before I go...there is one more thing I should tell you..." Daniel admitted. "Um, uh, before I flew back here, I stopped in to see Dr. Jordon. He was much the same; unconscious, barely holding onto life and I...I found myself telling him something about what I've been up to for the last three years. I thought it was safe; he was unconscious, dieing and no one else was nearby, but then...he woke up for a few minutes."
"WHAT?" The General bellowed.
"His eyes opened up; they were perfectly clear and it looked as though he were perfectly conscious, lucid. I...think he may have heard everything I said, General." Daniel said, looking down at his shoes.
"Oh of course he did." Hammond said irritably.
"But, but he lost consciousness just a few minutes later and the nurse I called in said that a lot of terminal patients do that, before...before they...die. Sir, I don't even know if he'll still be alive when I return." Daniel said, all but pleading.
"Very well, Doctor, but Dr. Jordon will need to be watched...I'll make the arrangements." Hammond said grudgingly. "Just don't go telling anyone else our secrets, alright?"
"Yes, sir...um, uh...no, sir...thank you General." Daniel stammered before scurrying out the door.
Daniel returned to Chicago and went to his hotel to crash for a few hours. But then unable to sleep very well with uncomfortable thoughts and memories flying around in his brain and no beloved Sha're to sooth him, Daniel got up out of bed to face the day. It was six-thirty, but the Curator had told him that she usually started work between seven-thirty and eight o'clock, while the building was mostly empty and quiet, so he showered, dressed and had breakfast before driving over to the museum to speak to her.
When Daniel arrived and was let in by the security guard, he found the storeroom in total darkness and the lights did not come on when he flipped the switches by the door a few times. Years ago, Daniel had known that a flashlight was always kept in a toolbox, on the table by the door and by the light coming in from the hallway behind him, could see that the toolbox was still there. He opened it and found the flashlight inside; switched it on and saw that it still shown brightly. Obviously someone kept it filled with fresh batteries for just such an eventuality. Daniel started walking down the aisle trying to remember if he had ever seen the circuit-box down there. Suddenly though, he felt more than saw something or someone dash in front of him.
"Hello? Anyone down here?" He called out, but no one responded.
Daniel figured he had been in one too many old temples and that his imagination was playing tricks on him. He walked on, but then he saw a shadow in front of him again and shown his flashlight in that direction again.
"Stephen!" Daniel exclaimed as the flashlight picked out the form of is old colleague. "What are you doing down here?"
"What are you doing down here?" Stephen asked as well, ignoring Daniel's same question.
"I asked first." Daniel reminded him. 'And why didn't you answer me when I called out?' He thought to himself. 'Funny that Stephen didn't find the flashlight, what did he think he was doing, stumbling around in the dark?'
"I work here, Daniel, which is more than I can say for you." Stephen said and then relented a little. "I was...looking for the circuit breaker."
"Um, uh, yeah...I wanted to speak to the Curator, she told me that she's often in her office by now." Daniel said as both men set off to find the circuit breaker, Daniel in the lead with his flashlight.
"I don't think she's here yet, all of the lights were out when I arrived here." Stephen said. "Why did you want to speak to her?"
"Um, uh, two artifacts are missing from the Stewart Expedition." Daniel answered.
"Nothing's missing form the Expedition." Stephen contradicted.
"An Osiris jar..." Daniel began, but Stephen interrupted him.
"Destroyed in the explosion." He said.
"Really? Oh, uh, what about a gold amulet of Osiris with ebony..." Daniel asked and Stephen interrupted him again, but did not answer his question.
"Daniel, if you're looking to get back together with Sarah that's your business; I really couldn't care less, but I do have a problem with you coming here and involving yourself in my work!" Stephen said angrily. 'And you don't need to know where the amulet is...or what I believe it's used for.' He thought to himself venomously.
"Don't you mean Dr. Jordon's work?" Daniel asked.
"No! My work! Sarah and I are Dr. Jordon's assistants; you haven't been involved since you walked out on him." Stephen all but yelled.
"I didn't walk out on him; I was...trying to protect him." Daniel countered.
"You mean you distanced yourself in order to spare him the embarrassment of being associated with you. Daniel, you really should not have come back." Stephen said.
Daniel did not reply; he found the circuit breaker and switched it back on and the lights overhead flickered to life.
"Look, I don't want to get into this with you right now, but you need my help." Daniel said.
"Why? Do you think there're aliens involved?" Stephen sneered.
Just then, the large freight elevator came to a rest in front of them and both Stephen and Daniel could see the body of the Curator laying there, through the wooden slats which made up the elevator door.
"Oh my God!" Stephen exclaimed before hurrying away. "Gotta call the Police."
The Police came and questioned both men, but Daniel was shocked to hear Stephen trying to shift suspicion onto him.
"He disappeared off the face of the Earth for three years, but he returned in a suspiciously short time after Dr. Jordon's accident...or was it an accident? I'm beginning to wonder...artifacts are missing and a dead body shows up...ask Dr. Jackson where he was last night, why don't you?"
In the end, Daniel was taken to Police headquarters for questioning. He was not arrested but he was given the chance to make one phone call anyway. Instead of calling a lawyer, Daniel called the General and reported this new set of circumstances. General Hammond huffed in irritation, but then assured Daniel that he would "rattle a few cages" and that he would be released as soon as possible. Daniel was taken into an interrogation room and told to sit down at the table in the middle of the floor while two police officers stood facing him from the other side of the table.
"So, Dr. Jackson, what kind of doctor are you anyway?" One cop asked.
"I have a Ph.D. in archeology." Daniel answered readily enough, but did not mention his other two Ph.D.s in anthropology and linguistics; no need to intimidate them with his intellect, as Jack would say.
"And where were you last night from six o'clock in the evening, when the security guard let you out of the building, to seven-thirty this morning, when he let you back in?" Cop-two asked.
"I flew to Colorado Springs last evening and returned several hours later." Daniel answered.
"Why did you fly to Colorado Springs, Doctor?" Cop-one asked.
"I live there." Daniel answered.
"Yeah, but why did you fly there and then return here in time to enter the University Museum, just over twelve hours later?" Cop-two asked.
"There was something I had to do." Daniel answered.
"And what was that important thing you needed to do?" Cop-one asked.
"I...needed to speak to my superior." Daniel answered but winced inside. This situation was spiraling downwards quickly.
"Haven't you ever heard of a telephone, Doctor?" Cop-two asked sarcastically. "Just who is your superior?"
"Major General George Hammond." Daniel said.
"You're in the Army?" Cop-one asked disbelieving.
"Air Force; I'm a civilian consultant." Daniel corrected automatically...man, he had been around Jack too long, he thought.
"What does an archeologist do for the Air Force?" Cop-two asked and Daniel squeezed his eyes shut; they were not going to like his answer.
"That's...classified." Daniel said opening his eyes and looking up at the two officers. Yeah, they were getting angry.
"Classified? What kind of game are you playing here, Jackson? We're talking about a murder here!" Cop-one shot off.
"I realize that and I'm sorry, but what I do for the Air Force is a matter of national security." Daniel said firmly.
"Okay, why don't you tell us what air-base you work at and we'll call that General Hammond ourselves." Cop-two challenged.
"I'm sorry, but where I work is even more highly classified than what I do there. And it wouldn't help you to call General Hammond; he wouldn't tell you anything anyway and once he had your names, you'd be in more trouble than you could believe. That might come to pass anyway, since the General is who I called first thing anyway." Daniel said.
The two police officers hid their worry behind disdain and retreated, telling Daniel that they were going to let him "think things through for a while and get his priorities straight" before he was led back to a holding-cell and pushed inside.
"So, uh, guys, did you ever get around to asking Stephen Raynar where he was last night?" Daniel managed to ask before the cell door was locked and the two officers left him alone.
Daniel was relieved to see that he was not sharing his cell with anyone else and lay down on the thin mattress. 'Hmm, better than anything the Goa'uld provide anyway.' He thought silently as he made himself comfortable; trusting in the General to get him out soon.
Indeed, as soon as General Hammond had hung up his call from Daniel, he picked up the handset to his red phone; his direct link to the White House and the President of the United States. He was put through immediately and explained the situation to his good friend and Commander-in-Chief. The President promised to help and the General hung up.
In the Oval Office, the President thought about Dr. Jackson. They had never met, but he felt as if he knew the brilliant young man anyway. He and the Secretary of Defense pored over every mission report from SG-1 as if they were the best block-buster, action-adventure novels they had ever read...and every word was true. Then a bad memory came to him, he was still kicking himself over allowing Senator Kinsey to talk him into closing down the SGC...and how Daniel Jackson had almost paid the ultimate price to save this country, hell the entire world. If it had not been for there being an alien sarcophagus on board that mother-ship, Dr. Jackson would have died...permanently.
He shook the awful memories away; Daniel Jackson and the rest of SG-1 had saved the world that time and many times since...and Senator Kinsey was out of his hair, having voluntarily (and inexplicably) transferred himself out of his position, overseeing the SGC's budget. The President picked up his phone and asked his secretary to get him the Governor of Illinois. And the phone calls continued; from the President of the United States, to the Governor of Illinois, to the Mayor of Chicago, to the Chief of Police and finally to Captain Miller, head of the precinct in which Daniel was being held. Two hours after the police officers had left Daniel to stew in his cell, Captain Miller called them into his office.
"Men, you're going to have to release Dr. Jackson and I advise you to be very polite to him when you do." Captain Miller told them.
"What? No, sir! Jackson has refused to answer any of the important questions we asked him. You can't believe the classified and matter-of-national-security-crap he tried to throw at us." Cop-one exclaimed.
"Did you even bother to check out his claim of flying to Colorado Springs, yesterday?" The Captain asked the officers.
"What? Cap'n how'd you know that's what he claimed?" Cop-two asked, getting a sinking feeling in his gut.
"I'll take your reply to mean 'no', you did not follow procedure by checking out his story." Miller said as he pulled forward two pieces of paper. "Medical Examiner's preliminary report says that several bricks from the elevator shaft came lose and fell into the freight elevator; he believes that one of them hit the Curator, killing her instantly; it was a freak accident...And that is what I've already told the Press. But here's more, the ME figured the time of death as being between 9 pm and midnight. Dr. Jackson boarded a private Air Force flight at seven thirty last night and returned in the same private Air Force jet early this morning at three." The Captain glanced up at his two officers, face blank and waited for them to respond.
"Where...where did you find that information, Captain? I doubt we could have tracked him down on a private flight even if we had eight hours." Cop-one asked.
"I received a phone call..." Miller glanced at his watch. "...twenty-two minutes ago...from the Chief of Police. He had received a call from the Mayor...who had received a call from the Governor. Care to guess who called him?"
"Jackson said that he did call a General Hamock...Hanlan...or something..." Cop-two mumbled.
"Not even the Joint Chiefs could call up a state's governor and request that a suspect be set free." Miller reminded them sarcastically. "Only the Pres-i-dent can do that!" He barked. "Now, take this paperwork and release Dr. Jackson...right away. And make sure that you're extremely polite to him when you do!"
The two officers released Daniel who only said "thanks" to them as they returned his belongings and left.
"Who'd a thought a geek would have such high-up friends?" Cop-one asked.
"It's like they been saying for years; 'the geeks will inherit the Earth'." Cop-two reminded his partner and they both nodded.
Disclaimer: I am using some of the dialogue from the "Stargate" episode "The Curse", which does not belong to me. This story is being written just for fun with no copyright infringement or dishonor intended to anyone.
The Curse, Cured Part 2
After Sarah left the Bean Grinder, Daniel finished his excellent cup of coffee, paid the bill and then left as well. He spent the evening driving around town, remembering the years he had lived in Chicago during college, as well as his years as Dr. Jordon's research assistant. He made a few stops at some of his old haunts but found them changed; or, he wondered was he the one who had changed so much in just three years? But finally he made his way over to his hotel, checked in and collapsed on the bed fully-clothed; it had been a long and emotionally draining day.
At ten o'clock the next morning, Daniel met Sarah at the front door to the building in which Dr. Jordon's office was located and she took him upstairs. As Sarah let them into the room, Daniel looked around; not much had changed. It was a large room; crowded, floor to ceiling bookshelves ran along the wall to his left, Dr. Jordon's desk was still in the corner, next to the windows which stretched across the upper half of the out wall in front of him. And a very large table with three inch raised sides stood in the middle of the floor, covered with Egyptian artifacts of all sorts.
"Wow...all of this stuff is...great." Daniel said looking around. 'Although I've seen better specimens on a dozen different worlds.' He thought to himself.
"Yes, aren't' they great?" Sarah asked happily. "We just received them about a week ago." Her expression saddened. "But he Egyptian government has already made a formal request for their return. We've been working as hard as possible to learn as much as we can before they are taken away."
"These are from the Stewart Expedition?" Daniel asked; he had been looking over the artifacts and recognized a few of them from a few articles he had read over the years.
"Yes...you know the story of course." She said, but continued anyway. "The expedition uncovered all of these in 1913 but it was rumored to be cursed after all of the team members died within a year of the dig. And then the ship which was transporting all of these artifacts to the U.S. sunk off the shore of New Jersey. They only just found the wreck last month and all of these artifacts were still in their shipping crates and were brought to the museum."
"Well, um, if you'd like, I could help you catalogue this stuff." Daniel offered. "I want to stay at least a few more days, until Dr. Jordon's condition is...clearer."
"Sure, we'd love the help." Sarah agreed but she was distracted as she searched for something on the table.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"There's something missing." Sarah said, rechecking everywhere she had already looked.
"You're sure?" Daniel asked.
"Positive; a gold amulet of Osiris...it must be here somewhere..." She muttered but then looked up. "Daniel, I must find it."
"I'll help you." Daniel said starting to search around the room.
Sarah glanced over at Daniel and smiled faintly, even as she continued to search.
"I was sorry that we couldn't have dinner together last night; there's so much time to catch up on." She said and Daniel winced.
There was so little he could tell Sarah about what he had been up to over the past three years...and one important piece of news he should have told her yesterday as soon as they had hugged hello.
Yeah...about that...um, uh, there's something I should have told you yesterday." Daniel said haltingly.
"Oh, what's that?" Sarah asked interested but still distracted.
"I'm um, uh...married." Daniel said out of the blue.
That got Sarah's attention and she stopped what she was doing completely and turned towards Daniel.
"Married?" She cried out.
"Um, uh, yes." Daniel said uncomfortably, but then he gained some strength by remembering how much he loved his wife and grinned. "Her name is Sha're and we've been married for almost three years."
"Almost three...years?" Sarah gasped. "So you knew her before that seminar in L.A?"
"Uh no...we met after I...left..." Daniel said looking down at his shoes.
"But if you've been married for almost three...what was it, a case of love at first sight?" Sarah asked scornfully, unsuccessful at hiding her jealousy.
"Well sort of...you see...her father gave her to me...as a - a gift. But she was gorgeous, sweet and smart and we hit it off almost right away...even before I understood that her tribe considered us husband and wife." Daniel chuckled to himself.
"So where is this wife of yours...still with her...tribe? Does she even speak English?" Sarah asked unkindly.
"Um, uh, yes, Sha're is visiting her father right now; she hasn't been able to return to her home for um...quite some time...and she missed him." Daniel answered as truthfully as he could, but then anger crept into his voice as he answered Sarah's accusation. "And of course Sha're can speak English...I taught her and she picked it up incredibly fast, she's very bright."
"Of course, I'm sure she is." Sarah tried to calm down. "I'm sorry, Daniel; it was just such a shock...you're being married and everything...I had been hoping...that we..." She trailed off, unable to finish what she had been about to say; watching Daniel as his shoulders slumped in embarrassment.
"Uh, no...I'm afraid that couldn't happen again between us, even if Sha're and I...I can't stay here...I only came back because of Dr. Jordon." Daniel explained in his soft, gentle voice.
"Yes...of course." Sarah said forcing a smile. "Well, I can't find the amulet in here. I'm going to go check a few other places..." She looked over at Daniel hesitantly. "If your offer of help still stands..." Daniel nodded. "Why don't you start working on examining these pieces?" She pointed out several. "And I'll be back in just a little bit...uh...you remember that the kitchenette is just down the hall if you want some coffee."
"I remember." Daniel said; he had found a pad of paper and pencil and was already focusing on the first artifact.
"Okay then..." Sarah said but when Daniel did not look up at her, she sighed and left the room.
Some time later, Sarah returned, but Daniel looked up only long enough to see her dejected expression before returning to his work. Sarah found her own pad of paper and began working as well. As they progressed, she showed Daniel how the computer was set up for recording their findings and he nodded, typing away.
"You weren't nearly so adept at using a computer three years ago." Sarah noted.
"Yes...well I've been working with someone who is very adept...as you put it and she's taught me a lot." Daniel said smiling as he remembered Sam showing him the ins and outs of computers.
Sarah opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it, shook her head and went back to work. They spent the day that way; taking notes on an artifact and then recording their findings on the computer and from time to time Daniel walked down to the kitchenette and brought back a cup of coffee for himself and tea for Sarah.
"How is it that you seem to know so much more about all of this stuff than you did three years ago, Daniel?" Sarah asked. "You're even correcting my pronunciation of the Egyptian symbols. How can you be so sure of how they pronounced everything thousands of years ago? No one speaks this anymore."
'Because Sha're and Ska'ra taught me, that's how.' Daniel thought to himself but only smiled benignly up at Sarah.
Sarah, remembering that smile from earlier questions she had asked Daniel...and received no answers to, groaned in exasperation.
"It's like hitting a brick wall with you sometimes, Daniel!" She exclaimed.
'That's what Jack says too.' Daniel thought silently, but went back to work.
Around one o'clock, Stephen came by the office to have lunch with Sarah, but when he saw Daniel he threw the deli sandwiches he had bought them, to Sarah and stomped back out, slamming the door behind him. Daniel was concerned about Stephen's attitude but knew that there was very little he could do to change it and so shrugged and accepted the bag Sarah handed to him and opened it.
"Hey, pastrami; I haven't had any good pastrami in ages!" Daniel exclaimed.
"Yeah, there's nothing like Martinelli's deli." Sarah agreed. "But you should have been able to find some pastrami somewhere. Where have you been for the past three years, under a rock?" Sarah threw back, but Daniel had just taken a huge bite of his sandwich and could only smile around the food in his mouth.
'You're getting close!' He thought to himself. 'But Cheyenne Mountain is a little larger than a rock.'
The two of them made good progress through the afternoon until Sarah had to leave, to teach the one class she had scheduled that day. They said goodbye; Daniel saying that he would work for a little while longer before he went to visit Dr. Jordon and promised to lock up before he did so. Daniel was as good as his word; working for a little over an hour and then he had an idea. Of the places she had checked, Sarah had not mentioned the basement where artifacts were stored and the university museum's Curator worked. He finished the piece he was working on, closed down the computer and locked the door behind him on the way out. He found the Curator in her office and introduced himself. She seemed happy to be pulled away from whatever she had been working on and led him down to the huge storeroom.
"Sorry about the mess, you know how it is, budget-cuts...I'm trying to sort things out, but there's never enough time." The Curator said. She was a short, middle aged black woman who bustled quickly before Daniel's long-legged strides.
"I understand." Daniel said gently.
"Now what was it you were looking for?" She asked.
"Um, uh, an artifact which went missing from the Stewart Expedition." Daniel said.
"The Isis jar." The Curator said, instantly.
Daniel looked with interest at the woman, but then returned to the subject at hand.
"Um, no...an, uh...gold amulet with ebony..." Daniel checked the paperwork he had brought with him. 'Um it was numbered 14C."
"That was sent up to Dr. Jordon with the rest of the artifacts; I can show you the paperwork..." The Curator said efficiently.
"Um, uh, no that won't be necessary." Daniel said believing her but then his curiosity came to the fore. "What's this about an Isis jar?"
"It's over here." The Curator said, heading off down the rows of shelves until she came to the one she needed. "The crate was marked incorrectly; I just found this the other day." She said, unsuccessfully trying to reach for an object on the top shelf.
"Uh, this one?" Daniel asked, pointing to a canopic jar he could easily see from his extra foot of height above the small woman.
"Yeah." The Curator said and Daniel brought it down and looked at it.
The object was a white ceramic bottle, but where the neck should be, a woman's face and head was fashioned on top instead. She had a headdress on, with the representations of the crescent and full moons sticking out on top; the crescent was on its side, cupping the full moon. A wide Egyptian collar circled her neck; covering her shoulders as well and a sash hung down the middle of her robe, which comprised the body of the bottle.
"It has this extra set of markings." The Curator pointed out the symbols which ran along the large collar. "No one's ever seen markings like that, have you?" She asked.
"Actually, I have." Daniel answered and then turned to the woman beside him. "I'm going to need to do a translation." He told her and she nodded in acceptance.
"Alright, if you need me, I'll be in my office cataloguing the Polynesian death-masks." She told him amiably and shuffled off.
Daniel took a closer look at the markings, to make sure that he was not mistaken as to what they were, looked around to make curtain that no one was nearby and then brought out his cell-phone. He pressed the speed-dial for the SGC's base operator and waited for him to come online.
"Yes, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson; I need to speak to General Hammond right away...Hi General...no, I'm still in Chicago...Dr. Jordon's holding on, but no one expects him to survive." Daniel continued briskly, burying his emotions. "General, I'm holding an Egyptian burial jar...and it has an extra set of symbols on it, which no one here has ever seen...yes, I know what they are...they're Goa'uld symbols, General...You'll have the plane prepped and waiting for me? Will you contact Sam on Antar and ask her to return? Thank you, sir. I just want to go check on Dr. Jordon briefly and then I'll be there...thanks again, General." Daniel said and hung up.
Daniel debated whether or not to ask the Curator for permission to take the Isis jar out for "testing". If the artifact was what he feared it was, the museum would never get it back from the Air Force, but on the other hand he did not wish to get the lady who had been so nice and helpful to him, into trouble. So Daniel went to her office and was given permission to take the artifact out after signing the proper forms.
With the Isis jar safely boxed up and hidden away in his carry-on bag, Daniel next quickly drove over to the University Hospital and made his way to David Jordon's ICU room. He was hoping to return to Chicago after taking the Goa'uld artifact to Sam for analysis, but he did not want to take the chance that he would never be able to see his old mentor again without saying goodbye to him. Daniel entered the hospital room and sat down in the chair near the bed. He thought about all of the things Professor Jordon had done for him during his short career and about what was hidden in the bag he carried...Daniel took one of the Professor's cold, limp hands in both of his and looked out the sliding glass door to make sure that no one was nearby before speaking.
"I wish I could tell you about everything I've seen and done in the past three years, Professor." He looked around again and then lowered his voice. "I was right, Dr. Jordon! I found the proof I needed to prove my theory; the pyramids Are thousands of years older than anyone ever believed them to be and they Were used as landing sites for alien space craft! These aliens enslaved the ancient peoples of Earth and took them to other planets to work in their mines...there are thousands...millions of Humans living out there in space; descendants of those ancient cultures. Greek, Babylonian, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic and many others. It's - it's like watching history come alive before my very eyes! But there is a downside...there's a war going on out in space between two alien species; the group which enslaved ancient Humans and another, who have tried to watch over us and protect us...and I've been helping to fight that battle...I've seen so much...done so much!" Daniel petered off, looking around again; all clear. "I'd better go...I found something among the artifacts from the Stewart Expedition...it has to do with what I've been working on these last years and could be very dangerous, so I need to have it analyzed...I...hope to be able to come back and visit you again in a day or so..." Daniel said.
He looked into the old man's eyes again...and saw them flutter weakly open just a little. Dr. Jordon was awake! Daniel stood up and bent over the man in the bed.
"Dr. Jordon?...David?" Daniel asked trying to get a reaction from him and reached out to press the call button for the nurse. "Hang in there...help is coming..."
A male nurse came running into the room.
"He's - he's awake!" Daniel grinned as the nurse checked over his patient.
Dr. Jordon managed to keep his eyes cracked open for a few seconds and then closed them with a sigh and his vital signs dropped a little. The nurse looked up and shook his head sadly.
"I'm sorry, sir; but many patients will come around, be totally lucid for just a short while before...the end." The nurse warned.
"But, but he's still alive right now...right?" Daniel pleaded, glancing between the nurse, Dr. Jordon and all of the monitors which surrounded him.
"Yes, he's still alive, but I can't guarantee...for how much longer." The nurse said.
"I understand." Daniel sighed, biting his lip and wrapping his arms around himself, trying to ease the stress he was feeling. "Listen, I don't want to leave, but I have to, it's very important that I return to my...employer...but I'll be back by tomorrow morning if I can. In the meantime, here's my card with my home, office and cell-phone numbers on it. Will you put them with Dr. Jordon's records and call me if anything else happens?"
"Of course, Dr. Jackson." The nurse said, reading his name off of Daniel's card.
"Thanks." Daniel said before picking up his bag and reluctantly leaving the room.
~*~*~*~
Back on P3X-555; Antar, a soldier came down to the training area from the Stargate chamber up in the hills and brought his superior, Michael Guerin, a note addressed to Major Samantha Carter. The training of Antarian soldiers, Earth's new allies, in Human-type hand-to-hand combat techniques was going well as Michael looked over the group, searching for Sam. Not seeing her, he waited for Ferretti the lead instructor, after O'Neill and Carter, to call for a short break before calling Teal'c over to him.
"Hey Teal'c, where did Jack and Sam disappear to, they were here just a short time ago?" The Antarian general asked the Jaffa.
"They said that they both had other duties to attend to and that they would return here later in the day. Why, has something occurred which they should be appraised of?" Teal'c asked.
"Uh, it looks like General Hammond has sent a note for Sam. I'll go look for her, but if I can't find her, I'll leave it at Beneck's house, where the two of them are staying. Will you tell Sam that, if you see her before I do?" Michael asked.
"Of course, MichaelGuerin." Teal'c agreed with a grave nod of his head.
"Great, see ya later." Michael said before moving off.
Michael checked several different places where he thought he might find Sam Carter, but without any luck, so he headed on over to Beneck's house with the idea of leaving the General's note on the kitchen counter for Sam. Beneck's back door was unlocked and Michael entered the house with relief, figuring that he would find someone at home, to whom he could give the message. But as he stepped into the kitchen, Michael received an eyeful...Sam was sitting up on the kitchen counter and Jack was standing closely in front of her, in between Sam's spread knees and was passionately kissing her arched neck. Jack's arms were encircling Sam's slim waist and his hands had dipped inside the back of her black t-shirt to caress Sam's spine.
"Oh man, you two are getting to be as bad as Daniel and Sha're, or Max and Liz!" Michael exclaimed as he turned his back on the embracing couple. "I thought you told Teal'c that you had other "Official" duties to perform?"
"Uh, well I'm sure we do...and we'll get to them...eventually." Jack said dismissively.
Michael turned around but the other couple had only ceased kissing, their arms still encircled each other.
"Uh huh." Michael said disbelievingly.
"Did you...need something, Michael?" Sam asked.
"Uh, yeah; General Hammond sent you a note." Michael said, handing Sam the message.
"General Hammond wants me to return to the SGC. Daniel found a Goa'uld artifact in Chicago." Sam told Jack.
"Chicago? What's he doing in Chicago, I thought he was supposed to be on Abydos with Sha're?" Jack exclaimed.
"The General said something about Daniel's old college professor dieing...or something." Sam said squinting at the note.
"Oh man...poor Daniel." Jack said sadly. "Well let's go then." Jack said, lifting Sam down from the counter.
"The General only ordered me to return...sir." Sam said, kissing Jack on the cheek to soften her words. "I think it best if only I go back; it might arouse suspicion if you come with me...we knew that this would happen eventually."
"Yeah, I know, but I don't have to like it." Jack muttered, kissing Sam on the lips. "But call me if you need me...my, uh...help, that is."
"Yeah...your help...I'll do that...since I'm needy for you already." Sam said before scampering out of his reach and out the back door.
"Oh man, why'd she have to tell me that?" Jack groused.
"Women can be evil that way." Michael said, thinking of his own fiancée, Maria. "See ya later." He said before following Sam out the back door.
Jack did not respond; his mind occupied with finding ways to survive this first hurdle in his and Sam's new relationship.
~*~*~*~
Back at the SGC, the Stargate opened to allow Sam Carter to come through the worm-hole.
"Welcome back, Major." The General greeted her from the foot of the ramp.
"Thank you, sir." Sam replied. "What's this about Daniel and a Goa'uld artifact, sir?"
"Let's go up to the briefing room and I'll bring you up to speed. How're things going back on Antar?" The General asked as they both walked out of the Gateroom.
On the way, Sam explained the trouble they had been having with training the Anterian soldiers and then gave an edited version of how she and Jack had overcome the problem. No reason to tell Hammond how the two of them had finally admitted their mutual attraction and love for each other, while they demonstrated martial-arts techniques...each of them sweaty...and sexy as all get out. As they entered the briefing room, a sergeant was hanging up the phone.
"Dr. Jackson's on his way down, sir." He said.
"Thank you, Sergeant." General Hammond said, dismissing him with a nod.
"So...what's going on with Daniel?" Sam asked again.
"Just before he and Mrs. Jackson were due to leave for Abydos, Dr. Jackson found out that his old archeology professor...his mentor, had been in an accident and was in critical condition in a Chicago hospital. He was desperate to see Dr. Jordon before it was too late, or...to attend his funeral if he was. Dr. Jackson escorted his wife through the Stargate to Abydos and into the care of her father, Kasuf before returning to the SGC. I had arranged a flight for him and he left as soon as he could. Now...a few hours ago, he called me to tell me that he had found some sort of Egyptian artifact at the University's museum...and it had Goa'uld symbols on it. He's bringing it here and wants you to analyze it for him."
"Of course, sir." Sam agreed understanding. "Hey, Daniel!" She greeted her friend as he entered the room.
"Hey, Sam; General." Daniel greeted them, a brief smile on his face.
"Dr. Jackson, could you please explain in greater detail what exactly is going on here?" Hammond asked.
"Yes, sir." Daniel said as he placed his carry-on upon the table and opened it.
Out of the bag he pulled the box containing the Isis jar and opened it in turn. He then proceeded to explain the use of canopic, or burial jars in ancient Egyptian burial ceremonies wherein the deceased's organs were removed and placed in these jars before the body was mummified. But, Daniel explained the Stewart Expedition had found no sarcophagus...so what was in this jar?
"These Goa'uld symbols say 'Hako Kra Kera'k Shree', which means 'banished to oblivion'...I should have double-checked with Teal'c, but I'm reasonably sure that I'm correct." Daniel explained. "The Egyptian hieroglyphs on the sash identify the jar as belonging to Isis, who was the Egyptian mother-goddess."
"A Goa'uld?" General Hammond asked.
"That's possible, see Isis was a consort of Osiris, supposedly the first Pharaoh of Egypt and according to legend he was placed in a magic box and dropped into the Nile by his brother, Seth." Daniel explained.
"Now there's a name I recognize." General Hammond said remembering SG-1's run-in with the Goa'uld only a few months before.
"The Goa'uld symbols indicate that Isis and Osiris suffered some sort of punishment or...banishment." Daniel continued.
"Where to?" Sam asked.
"I have no idea." Daniel admitted.
"Major, I want the contents analyzed." General Hammond ordered.
"Yes, sir." Sam said.
"Uh, now I'd be careful if I were you. For all we know it could be some sort of Goa'uld booby-trap left behind by Osiris as a means of revenge. Also, it's...it's cursed, so..." Daniel petered off.
"Thanks for the warning, Daniel." Sam said as she picked up the jar and left to take it up to her lab.
"General, there's something else." Daniel said. "The inventory of the Stewart Expedition lists two jars."
"Can you find the other one?" Hammond asked, concerned.
"Well, I can try; I was going to head back to Chicago tonight." Daniel answered. "But before I go...there is one more thing I should tell you..." Daniel admitted. "Um, uh, before I flew back here, I stopped in to see Dr. Jordon. He was much the same; unconscious, barely holding onto life and I...I found myself telling him something about what I've been up to for the last three years. I thought it was safe; he was unconscious, dieing and no one else was nearby, but then...he woke up for a few minutes."
"WHAT?" The General bellowed.
"His eyes opened up; they were perfectly clear and it looked as though he were perfectly conscious, lucid. I...think he may have heard everything I said, General." Daniel said, looking down at his shoes.
"Oh of course he did." Hammond said irritably.
"But, but he lost consciousness just a few minutes later and the nurse I called in said that a lot of terminal patients do that, before...before they...die. Sir, I don't even know if he'll still be alive when I return." Daniel said, all but pleading.
"Very well, Doctor, but Dr. Jordon will need to be watched...I'll make the arrangements." Hammond said grudgingly. "Just don't go telling anyone else our secrets, alright?"
"Yes, sir...um, uh...no, sir...thank you General." Daniel stammered before scurrying out the door.
Daniel returned to Chicago and went to his hotel to crash for a few hours. But then unable to sleep very well with uncomfortable thoughts and memories flying around in his brain and no beloved Sha're to sooth him, Daniel got up out of bed to face the day. It was six-thirty, but the Curator had told him that she usually started work between seven-thirty and eight o'clock, while the building was mostly empty and quiet, so he showered, dressed and had breakfast before driving over to the museum to speak to her.
When Daniel arrived and was let in by the security guard, he found the storeroom in total darkness and the lights did not come on when he flipped the switches by the door a few times. Years ago, Daniel had known that a flashlight was always kept in a toolbox, on the table by the door and by the light coming in from the hallway behind him, could see that the toolbox was still there. He opened it and found the flashlight inside; switched it on and saw that it still shown brightly. Obviously someone kept it filled with fresh batteries for just such an eventuality. Daniel started walking down the aisle trying to remember if he had ever seen the circuit-box down there. Suddenly though, he felt more than saw something or someone dash in front of him.
"Hello? Anyone down here?" He called out, but no one responded.
Daniel figured he had been in one too many old temples and that his imagination was playing tricks on him. He walked on, but then he saw a shadow in front of him again and shown his flashlight in that direction again.
"Stephen!" Daniel exclaimed as the flashlight picked out the form of is old colleague. "What are you doing down here?"
"What are you doing down here?" Stephen asked as well, ignoring Daniel's same question.
"I asked first." Daniel reminded him. 'And why didn't you answer me when I called out?' He thought to himself. 'Funny that Stephen didn't find the flashlight, what did he think he was doing, stumbling around in the dark?'
"I work here, Daniel, which is more than I can say for you." Stephen said and then relented a little. "I was...looking for the circuit breaker."
"Um, uh, yeah...I wanted to speak to the Curator, she told me that she's often in her office by now." Daniel said as both men set off to find the circuit breaker, Daniel in the lead with his flashlight.
"I don't think she's here yet, all of the lights were out when I arrived here." Stephen said. "Why did you want to speak to her?"
"Um, uh, two artifacts are missing from the Stewart Expedition." Daniel answered.
"Nothing's missing form the Expedition." Stephen contradicted.
"An Osiris jar..." Daniel began, but Stephen interrupted him.
"Destroyed in the explosion." He said.
"Really? Oh, uh, what about a gold amulet of Osiris with ebony..." Daniel asked and Stephen interrupted him again, but did not answer his question.
"Daniel, if you're looking to get back together with Sarah that's your business; I really couldn't care less, but I do have a problem with you coming here and involving yourself in my work!" Stephen said angrily. 'And you don't need to know where the amulet is...or what I believe it's used for.' He thought to himself venomously.
"Don't you mean Dr. Jordon's work?" Daniel asked.
"No! My work! Sarah and I are Dr. Jordon's assistants; you haven't been involved since you walked out on him." Stephen all but yelled.
"I didn't walk out on him; I was...trying to protect him." Daniel countered.
"You mean you distanced yourself in order to spare him the embarrassment of being associated with you. Daniel, you really should not have come back." Stephen said.
Daniel did not reply; he found the circuit breaker and switched it back on and the lights overhead flickered to life.
"Look, I don't want to get into this with you right now, but you need my help." Daniel said.
"Why? Do you think there're aliens involved?" Stephen sneered.
Just then, the large freight elevator came to a rest in front of them and both Stephen and Daniel could see the body of the Curator laying there, through the wooden slats which made up the elevator door.
"Oh my God!" Stephen exclaimed before hurrying away. "Gotta call the Police."
The Police came and questioned both men, but Daniel was shocked to hear Stephen trying to shift suspicion onto him.
"He disappeared off the face of the Earth for three years, but he returned in a suspiciously short time after Dr. Jordon's accident...or was it an accident? I'm beginning to wonder...artifacts are missing and a dead body shows up...ask Dr. Jackson where he was last night, why don't you?"
In the end, Daniel was taken to Police headquarters for questioning. He was not arrested but he was given the chance to make one phone call anyway. Instead of calling a lawyer, Daniel called the General and reported this new set of circumstances. General Hammond huffed in irritation, but then assured Daniel that he would "rattle a few cages" and that he would be released as soon as possible. Daniel was taken into an interrogation room and told to sit down at the table in the middle of the floor while two police officers stood facing him from the other side of the table.
"So, Dr. Jackson, what kind of doctor are you anyway?" One cop asked.
"I have a Ph.D. in archeology." Daniel answered readily enough, but did not mention his other two Ph.D.s in anthropology and linguistics; no need to intimidate them with his intellect, as Jack would say.
"And where were you last night from six o'clock in the evening, when the security guard let you out of the building, to seven-thirty this morning, when he let you back in?" Cop-two asked.
"I flew to Colorado Springs last evening and returned several hours later." Daniel answered.
"Why did you fly to Colorado Springs, Doctor?" Cop-one asked.
"I live there." Daniel answered.
"Yeah, but why did you fly there and then return here in time to enter the University Museum, just over twelve hours later?" Cop-two asked.
"There was something I had to do." Daniel answered.
"And what was that important thing you needed to do?" Cop-one asked.
"I...needed to speak to my superior." Daniel answered but winced inside. This situation was spiraling downwards quickly.
"Haven't you ever heard of a telephone, Doctor?" Cop-two asked sarcastically. "Just who is your superior?"
"Major General George Hammond." Daniel said.
"You're in the Army?" Cop-one asked disbelieving.
"Air Force; I'm a civilian consultant." Daniel corrected automatically...man, he had been around Jack too long, he thought.
"What does an archeologist do for the Air Force?" Cop-two asked and Daniel squeezed his eyes shut; they were not going to like his answer.
"That's...classified." Daniel said opening his eyes and looking up at the two officers. Yeah, they were getting angry.
"Classified? What kind of game are you playing here, Jackson? We're talking about a murder here!" Cop-one shot off.
"I realize that and I'm sorry, but what I do for the Air Force is a matter of national security." Daniel said firmly.
"Okay, why don't you tell us what air-base you work at and we'll call that General Hammond ourselves." Cop-two challenged.
"I'm sorry, but where I work is even more highly classified than what I do there. And it wouldn't help you to call General Hammond; he wouldn't tell you anything anyway and once he had your names, you'd be in more trouble than you could believe. That might come to pass anyway, since the General is who I called first thing anyway." Daniel said.
The two police officers hid their worry behind disdain and retreated, telling Daniel that they were going to let him "think things through for a while and get his priorities straight" before he was led back to a holding-cell and pushed inside.
"So, uh, guys, did you ever get around to asking Stephen Raynar where he was last night?" Daniel managed to ask before the cell door was locked and the two officers left him alone.
Daniel was relieved to see that he was not sharing his cell with anyone else and lay down on the thin mattress. 'Hmm, better than anything the Goa'uld provide anyway.' He thought silently as he made himself comfortable; trusting in the General to get him out soon.
Indeed, as soon as General Hammond had hung up his call from Daniel, he picked up the handset to his red phone; his direct link to the White House and the President of the United States. He was put through immediately and explained the situation to his good friend and Commander-in-Chief. The President promised to help and the General hung up.
In the Oval Office, the President thought about Dr. Jackson. They had never met, but he felt as if he knew the brilliant young man anyway. He and the Secretary of Defense pored over every mission report from SG-1 as if they were the best block-buster, action-adventure novels they had ever read...and every word was true. Then a bad memory came to him, he was still kicking himself over allowing Senator Kinsey to talk him into closing down the SGC...and how Daniel Jackson had almost paid the ultimate price to save this country, hell the entire world. If it had not been for there being an alien sarcophagus on board that mother-ship, Dr. Jackson would have died...permanently.
He shook the awful memories away; Daniel Jackson and the rest of SG-1 had saved the world that time and many times since...and Senator Kinsey was out of his hair, having voluntarily (and inexplicably) transferred himself out of his position, overseeing the SGC's budget. The President picked up his phone and asked his secretary to get him the Governor of Illinois. And the phone calls continued; from the President of the United States, to the Governor of Illinois, to the Mayor of Chicago, to the Chief of Police and finally to Captain Miller, head of the precinct in which Daniel was being held. Two hours after the police officers had left Daniel to stew in his cell, Captain Miller called them into his office.
"Men, you're going to have to release Dr. Jackson and I advise you to be very polite to him when you do." Captain Miller told them.
"What? No, sir! Jackson has refused to answer any of the important questions we asked him. You can't believe the classified and matter-of-national-security-crap he tried to throw at us." Cop-one exclaimed.
"Did you even bother to check out his claim of flying to Colorado Springs, yesterday?" The Captain asked the officers.
"What? Cap'n how'd you know that's what he claimed?" Cop-two asked, getting a sinking feeling in his gut.
"I'll take your reply to mean 'no', you did not follow procedure by checking out his story." Miller said as he pulled forward two pieces of paper. "Medical Examiner's preliminary report says that several bricks from the elevator shaft came lose and fell into the freight elevator; he believes that one of them hit the Curator, killing her instantly; it was a freak accident...And that is what I've already told the Press. But here's more, the ME figured the time of death as being between 9 pm and midnight. Dr. Jackson boarded a private Air Force flight at seven thirty last night and returned in the same private Air Force jet early this morning at three." The Captain glanced up at his two officers, face blank and waited for them to respond.
"Where...where did you find that information, Captain? I doubt we could have tracked him down on a private flight even if we had eight hours." Cop-one asked.
"I received a phone call..." Miller glanced at his watch. "...twenty-two minutes ago...from the Chief of Police. He had received a call from the Mayor...who had received a call from the Governor. Care to guess who called him?"
"Jackson said that he did call a General Hamock...Hanlan...or something..." Cop-two mumbled.
"Not even the Joint Chiefs could call up a state's governor and request that a suspect be set free." Miller reminded them sarcastically. "Only the Pres-i-dent can do that!" He barked. "Now, take this paperwork and release Dr. Jackson...right away. And make sure that you're extremely polite to him when you do!"
The two officers released Daniel who only said "thanks" to them as they returned his belongings and left.
"Who'd a thought a geek would have such high-up friends?" Cop-one asked.
"It's like they been saying for years; 'the geeks will inherit the Earth'." Cop-two reminded his partner and they both nodded.
