Revised 10.10.04
CHAPTER NINE: UP AND AWAY
Jack paused outside the guard post for Space Control for a moment before entering, and attempted to regroup. The briefing session had taken a lot out of him.
His face, he knew, looked haggard. There was a limit to the stimulant effects of coffee and chocolate, and he'd reached it. Hell, he even felt old and gray.
Still, it had been worth it, he thought. The command group had come together well. And had left alert and ready to do their jobs, but not unduly alarmed.
Well, better get on with it, he told himself, and plastered a friendly expression onto his face.
As he entered Space Control, there was a little flurry of reaction. Quickly, he waved down the people who had noticed his entrance and were stiffening to attention.
Out of courtesy, he looked around for the alpha shift commander, Lt Commander Doull. She wasn't hard to find – the light-brown working uniform that marking her out as Navy amidst the sea of blue and green made her readily identifiable. Jack signaled her to continue what she was doing, and turned to survey the room, ignoring the creak of his joints as he moved.
As he looked up, he saw that two of the giant overhead screens were still blank. A third tracked the descending orbits of the two errant satellites, HAL III and OSCAR II. The fourth screen just showed a countdown clock, labeled time until shuttle launch.
He watched the count turnover - T minus sixty-two minutes and thirty seconds.
Jack strained to hear the soft audio commentary from Patterson Air Base that he knew was accompanying the ticking counter on the screen, but a healthy buzz of conversation was blotting it out.
Most of the attention in the room, he saw, was on the fifth screen, which showed two projected launch paths. Unfortunately, each of the pathways showed a little shuttle icon intersecting a red triangle with a NORAD catalogue number displayed next to it, identifying the piece of space junk that could get in the way of the flight path.
As Jack watched, the lines representing the projected launch trajectories changed to avoid the space junk, and the small group huddled around the command station let off a little cheer.
Their looks turned to chagrin, though, when another triangle appeared on the screen in the way of one of the flight paths.
The group huddled back down to play with the computer once again.
Methos ignored the buzz of activity going on around him, stared down at his data, and considered how best to play his hand.
So far, it had been relatively easy. His earlier session with Major Carter hadn't been particularly productive. They had discussed what detection equipment the spacecraft should carry and some possible techniques to try with the data. She'd then told him to set up the data runs from OSCAR II and HAL III and see if he could re-analyze it. After that, she'd gone off, leaving him to his own devices.
Mind you, he wasn't complaining about lack of supervision. As he'd told the Colonel, he preferred to work alone - it made it so much easier to cover his tracks.
It was almost like the good old days in the Watchers he reminisced – masquerading as a researcher hunting for the elusive Methos, he had been able to make damn sure no one ever found him.
Now, he could make sure no one ever found his manipulation of the data. It would only take a few more minutes.
"Any progress, Lieutenant?" Major Carter asked.
He almost jumped in his chair in surprise, but caught himself in time, and straightened in his seat instead.
"Relax, Lieutenant," Carter said, sounding faintly amused. "You don't have to get up for me. So have you gotten anything?"
So far, the Major had pleasantly surprised him with her courtesy.
But then, the Goa'uld loved to deceive.
"Not really, Ma'am," he replied, trying not to look nervous. "I've only just pulled the first results of the OSCAR II data off the system."
"Let me take a quick look then," she replied.
He debated what to do, but there was no real choice. He moved to the side so she could see the screen. A look of recognition quickly flitted over her face.
"This is Colonel O'Neill's data isn't it?" She said.
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied.
She muttered something he couldn't quite catch.
He was about to ask her to repeat it when he heard a loud clapping sound. The looked up, to see Colonel O'Neill calling for attention.
Jack winced as a jolt of pain ran up his arms and then through his body.
Next time use your voice to get attention, he told himself, as people started looking up and moving towards him.
Jack eyed Carter.
She didn't look happy.
Never mind, he thought. He had a peace offering in mind that might help improve Carter's mood.
He hoped.
They'd barely talked since she had discovered him in her lab - and he had lost his temper. But maybe this would help.
He really couldn't let Carter join the F-302 crews. Like it or not, she was still his 2IC, and he needed her here, particularly with the General still not back. Besides, the F-302s had their own crews now, fully trained and operational, and ready for just such a mission as this.
Of course, he couldn't blame her for wanting to go anyway. Especially as he HAD sent Teal'c.
No, she couldn't go up with them, but he could give her what he hoped was the next best thing. He really hoped she'd take his offering as an olive branch.
"Everybody who is not alpha shift or SGC, please clear the room," Jack ordered. "You are on rest break until further notice, take advantage of it while you can."
He sat down carefully, determined to rest his weary bones while the crowd sorted itself out.
Until he noticed Lt Adams heading out the door. He looked distinctly happy at the prospect of escape too.
Jack levered himself up again, ignoring the aching pain, and moved over to stop him leaving.
"Not you, Lieutenant, you can stay, " he said, tapping the young man's shoulder. "I need you to keep working on finding what it is that is out there. You can listen to the briefing we're about to have and watch the launch, and then continue with your work as you can."
"Yes Sir," Adams replied, looking less than thrilled.
Maybe Carter had been pushing him too hard, he thought. She certainly had a tendency to be single-minded and demanding of her staff when it came to her work.
All the same, Jack wasn't convinced. Any young officer worth his salt should be pleased to be part of the action, pleased at being noticed by senior officers. If it had been him back in his younger days, he would have been dragging his heels, reluctant to leave the control center and thrilled at the reprieve.
He added the odd reaction to his list of things that didn't quite add up when it came to Adams.
He had nothing concrete, Jack realized. Yet he couldn't suppress the nagging sense of suspicion the young officer engendered in him.
Take the young Lieutenant's preference for working alone, he thought.
But maybe he just didn't want to share the credit, his mind countered. And his concerns about dragging in non-US citizens who lived halfway around the world were halfway plausible.
Well, whether Adams liked it or not Jack planned to add his professors to the team. Major Davis was already chasing down the professors' availability. Jack wasn't expecting an answer for a few hours yet though - it was still very early morning in South Africa.
Maybe his quirks are just the baggage that sometimes goes with genius, Jack reflected. And he had considerable experience - with SG-1 - in putting up with such eccentricities in the interests of getting results. The truth was they needed Adams.
All the same, he really must read the Lieutenant's file and start a proper background check as soon as possible, he resolved.
A few minutes later, a drastically reduced crowd had settled down again, and was looking up at him expectantly.
Jack did his best to look back reassuringly. Well, he thought tiredly, at least he could off load the hard work of running this briefing onto someone else, someone who might even enjoy doing it.
"Okay folks, listen up, he said. He glanced up at the countdown clock. "As you hopefully know, we are now at T minus 60 minutes for an F-302 launch. As per protocol, alpha shift will be running the box. Major Carter here will be launch director, operating out of the SGC."
He saw Carter jerk up from the seat she had been sitting in, and start moving towards him. Her eyes were wide open, her lips compressed. He started worrying. What was her problem now? Hadn't she always wanted to be part of the NASA kind of thing?
"I'd like to do the pre-launch briefing here now, though, and I've got a hook-up with Patterson Air Force Base set up to commence shortly."
He turned to the young USAF Captain seated at the Coms panel. "Captain Winberg, if you would enable the link please."
"Could you hold on that for a moment please, Captain," Carter interjected.
Jack raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, and waved her to move off to the side of the room with him.
"Sir," she said stiffly, as soon as they were out of earshot. "I'm really not qualified to be launch director. Shouldn't someone trained, from Space Control, play that role?"
Oh ho, he thought to himself. Had she taken the time to look up his file?
"Sorry Carter, it has to be someone from the SGC," he replied. "Someone who knows what the F302s can and can't do. I can't do it, not while I'm in command of the whole Mountain. You're it."
Maybe not, he decided as he took in the shocked look she shot him in response to the idea that he could do it.
Her face tightened, but she bit back whatever retort had sprung to her lips.
"Very well, Sir," she replied grimly.
So much for the olive branch, he thought.
"Open the link, Captain," Jack said as they returned to the group. A moment later, the remaining screens activated, and the displays changed.
Jack mentally checked off the five screens. As well as the projected launch path of the F-302s, the countdown clock was now overlaid by a view of Teal'c and the other F-302 crew at Patterson in a small briefing room. On a third screen, he could see the Combined Command Center, the Mountain's nerve center, where he would be operating from shortly. The SGC, currently staffed by Captain Peters, and Space Control, where he was now, made up the rest of the montage.
He turned to Carter, and gestured her to take control of the briefing.
She scowled at him, and started flicking desperately through a pile of briefing papers in front of her. Oops, he thought, should have given her a little more warning rather than just dropping her in it.
As the seconds ticked by on the clock above their heads and the circle of eyes stared at her, he thought about whether and how to step in and rescue her. Fortunately, she found what she was looking for.
"T minus 59 minutes and thirty seconds," the voiceover from the screen said softly.
"All right everybody," Carter said. "We are now at T-59 minutes, thirty seconds, and counting. Weather report please."
She sounded tense, Jack thought. But at least she had started
"The summary report from the weather center is as follows," Lieutenant Griffiths' voice said, coming from the Command Center started coming out from the speakers. "Conditions on the ground are expected to be clear and calm for the next twenty four hours. Solar activity is currently low; however, a large sunspot poses a threat of M class flares, with a probability of 70 in the next 24 hours, and a 30 probability of an X class flare."
"So we have good launch conditions with some risk of solar flare activity that could limit our window up there," Carter responded. "What about space junk?" she went on smoothly.
Jack was relieved to see that she had apparently recovered her professionalism, and was looking more engaged in the process. He wondered if he should attempt to lighten things up a bit. Probably not.
"We have a projected optimal flight path," responded Lt Commander Doull. A wisp of her black hair escaped the twist at the back of her head as she leant over the computer she was standing nearest to. She pushed a button to update the display.
"The main risk is our mystery object," Doull continued, pushing the strand of hair back out of sight. "Major Close is currently hypothesizing its location to be here," she activated a marker on the launch path diagram and looked enquiringly at Carter.
"We haven't made any progress on detecting it yet," Major Carter replied shortly. "Lieutenant Adams is still setting up some computer runs, so we might have something soon, but no guarantees. You need to assume you are going in blind Teal'c, "she added.
Jack winced at her failure to use Teal'c's cover name, but decided it probably didn't matter with this inner circle group. The alpha shift in both Space Ops and the Control Center were fully briefed on the SGC's work. The pilots were SGC. And the SGC people of course knew exactly who Teal'c was.
He looked at the Lieutenant to see if he had noticed, but if he had, Adams wasn't letting on. Jack turned his face back to the screen, to see Teal'c and rest of the F-302 crews nodding in understanding.
"Airspace control report?" Carter continued.
"Colorado Springs and environs has been declared a no-fly zone for the next three hours, except for the General's flight," Lieutenant Griffiths said from the Command Center. "We are currently clear within a 100 mile radius."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Carter responded.
"All right then, any questions anyone?"
A chant of 'No Ma'ams' flashed between the screens and around the room, making it sound like stereo.
"Sir," she said turning to Jack. "Any words you'd like to add?"
Jack pulled himself back to the briefing - for a moment there, his thoughts had started to drift, as exhaustion had crept over him.
"Thank you Major. Look just to say, be careful out there guys. We haven't got a clue what it is we are looking for, and what capabilities it has. At this stage, we really need Intel. Avoid any engagement if you can. Understood?"
Teal'c responded on behalf of the two crews. "Understood O'Neill," he said.
"All right people, you have a go to proceed, at T minus, urh." He glanced up at the clock to confirm the time. "T minus fifty. Everyone, to your posts please."
Jack nodded at Captain Winberg again and the displays dissolved and reformed. The Patterson briefing room was replaced by a view of the two F-302s on their launch pad, with the countdown clock overlaid on the screen, ticking down inexorably towards the launch.
Methos gazed, riveted at the scene as he finally saw the 'spacecraft' they were about to launch. Death gliders!
They were about to launch death gliders.
He had just sat through a seemly perfectly normal seeming Earth style pre-launch briefing. Well almost normal - the pilots for most US Air Force missions didn't have obviously Jaffa-type names like Teal'c. Still, on the surface, it had seemed so normal. Only to find it had all been a prelude to using Goa'uld technology. These people weren't just embedded in Earth's military; they were totally integrated with it.
It was terrifying.
He thought again about what it was that could be up there. From what he'd seen in the data, it was large. Whatever it was, it was hard to see it as a worse threat than the one that was right in front of his nose. And it could, after all, belong to a friend – in fact, right now, that seemed the most likely scenario. He had to make sure that the Goa'uld didn't get to it.
He glanced back at the wannabe goddess Carter. She was huddled together with a small group including Colonel O'Neill and the alpha watch commander, Commander Doull. They seemed to be arguing about something. Again, he thought, thinking of the little contretemps they had all witnessed at the beginning of the briefing.
Except that this time they seemed to be arguing about him, he realized, based on their frequent glances in his direction. Carter, he saw, was waving at the countdown clock, and gesticulating. Methos watched as the little group of senior officers glanced over at him once more, and then split up. Colonel O'Neill left, presumably to head back to the Command Center, while Carter strode towards him.
"Look Lieutenant," she said as she reached him, "I looked at the Colonel's OSCAR data before, and found a few data tracks transposed. I've already rerun the data on my computer downstairs, but haven't had time to take a look at the results. We really need to see if we can find something up there before the launch. It'd be a lot faster if you come down with me, and work in my lab. The Colonel has agreed, provided you have an escort at all times. Is that okay?"
"Certainly, Ma'am, not a problem. I'll just take a copy of the rest of the data," he replied.
Definitely not a problem, he thought to himself elated. Surely, it couldn't be this easy.
"Alright, "she said, "But hurry it up, I have to get to the SGC's Control Room ASAP."
"Yes Ma'am, " he replied, his fingers already flying over the keyboard.
Methos couldn't help feeling high, and hoped it just passed as the level of excitement appropriate for a young Lieutenant being given a special treat. He'd spent days planning out how he was going to get into the SGC. And now he was getting a free ticket. He quickly copied his data, grabbed the data stick, and went over to the Major who was now pacing impatiently near the door.
Sam stalked out of the Space Center fuming. The Colonel had looked as if he could barely stand up through most of the briefing, and obviously wasn't thinking clearly. Well, as clearly as he usually thought anyway, such as that was. It was irresponsible of him to stay on duty in these circumstances.
And to drop her in it like that, making her look like a fool in front of a group of her peers. Well, at least she'd recovered quickly once she had gotten started.
Sam looked around angrily as she headed for the lift to the SGC with Lt Adams in tow. It was a big risk bringing someone uncleared and unbriefed into the SGC. They really couldn't afford to waste any more time though. The fact was that they needed to be able to find whatever it was that was up there, or they could waste hours they didn't have on the search.
And as she had pointed out to the Colonel, she could hardly keep a close eye on the Lieutenant - his most recent orders - if he was in Space Control and she was in the SGC running the launch.
Besides, it was hard to see the Lieutenant as a serious security risk - he was barely 21, and in order to work for NORAD he would already have had to go through a reasonably thorough vetting process. The Colonel had hardly been in a position to take a hard line on this anyway, she reasoned, given that he had let Adams sit through two highly classified briefings. In fact, if anyone was a security risk right now, it was the Colonel himself.
As they reached the guard desk in front of the elevator to the SGC, Sam broke off her thoughts for a moment, in order to focus on sorting out a temporary pass for Adams, and to sign herself and Adams in. As they entered the first elevator, she glanced at the Lieutenant, but he seemed content to stand silently. In fact, from the moment they had approached the desk upstairs, he had been tense and alert, clearly reveling in his chance to see the Mountain's inner secrets.
She let her thoughts coil back to the problem of the Colonel. She tried to set aside her anger at his treatment of her, and assess his state of mind objectively, but it was hard to do. Leaving aside his uncharacteristic behavior that morning, he had looked totally exhausted at both briefings. And this thing of his trying to play at being a scientist was positively scary given the weapons and lives that depended on his judgment.
As she gestured Adams to follow, she moved out of the first elevator, and waited while the guard checked their ID, she tried to decide what to do about him. They entered the second elevator, and started their descent. She still hadn't reached any conclusions when the elevator opened, and Janet stepped in.
"Hi Janet," she said, with a sigh of relief. Janet looked inquiringly at her.
"Umm, Can I introduce you to Lt Michael Adams? The Lieutenant works for NORAD, and is on temporary secondment to a project with me. Lieutenant, this is Dr Janet Fraiser, the SGC's Chief Medical Officer."
"Welcome to the SGC, "Janet replied, "I'm sure you'll find it fascinating working with Sam."
"Yes well actually so far he's been finding it fascinating working with the Colonel," she cut in, "Did you know Jack's currently acting as Command Director for the Mountain?"
"What!" Janet exclaimed. "I haven't cleared him for anything other than light duties. He's still recovering from the effects of that last little, um, adventure," she ranted. "Not to mention the one before that. I've already had him dragged down from NORAD to make him rest once today. Just wait until I get a hold of him, I'll...."
She cut off abruptly, and looked at the Lieutenant. Sam followed her gaze, and glanced sideways at Adams, who was now studiously gazing at the floor, avoiding their gaze. Embarrassed, no doubt, to be hearing such a conversation Sam thought. By mutual unspoken agreement, the two women dropped the subject until they had more privacy.
The doors to the elevator opened, and Sam and the Lieutenant walked out.
"Where are you headed," Janet called out. "I'm supposed to be heading for the Control Room - a group from the alpha site is about to arrive. And I wanted to get a briefing on what's going on upstairs, so I can do whatever is needed to prepare. But you'd better fill me in on the Colonel first."
"I'm headed to the Control Room myself, " Sam replied. "I just need to drop the Lieutenant off in my lab. Come with me and I'll fill you in as we go if you like."
Sam watched as Janet let go of the elevator doors, and followed her into the corridor. They hurried along in a tense silence, until they reached the lab. She opened the door, and waved Lieutenant Adams in.
"Here you go Lieutenant," Carter said. "That's the terminal over there. She pushed a remote to activate a screen. You can keep an eye on the launch preparations from here if you like. I'll get someone down to look after you shortly. If you find anything, or want to watch the launch from a bigger screen once you've set up your data runs, just give the guard a call. I'll get someone to bring you down to the Control Room in time for the launch."
She hurried out, not even waiting for his acknowledgement.
As soon as she got out of the door, Sam started talking as started walking briskly back to the elevators. Janet found herself lagging behind, thinking hard. How out of it could the Colonel be, she wondered.
"Look Janet," Sam called out to her, "I've got to hurry. Jack has made me launch director for this, and we're already at t minus 40 minutes."
As she set off again, Janet raced to keep up with her friend.
"The thing is, I really don't think he's fit for command at the moment. He virtually attacked me this morning, then ran out of the Mountain and stopped me and Daniel following by letting down my tires. He's been acting oddly ever since."
Janet looked at her in disbelief. She was almost running now, desperate to keep up with Sam's long strides.
"By the time we got to his house, he'd taken off," Sam told her. "But he left this pile of books behind - he seems to believe he can just read a few books, and whamo, he's a physicist. Look, Janet, things are pretty serious up there. We've lost two satellites in the last twenty-four hours; we're at DEFCON 3; and we're about to launch the F-302s. Even at his best, Colonel O'Neill is not exactly the first person who comes to mind to have in charge when the problem is essentially a science-based one. And if you haven't actually cleared him, we need to get someone else to take over as fast as possible. "
"All right," Janet replied. "I'd better go and get him pulled out. Could you have Dr Warner paged to look after the visitors for me?"
"Sure, Janet," Sam replied.
Janet hurried off. If the Colonel was as out of it as Sam seemed to think - and given his injuries and the experiences that had led to them, that was only too likely - they could all be in deep trouble.