Author's Note: Thanks again to Jezowen and Village Mystic.
Rev 4.9.04
***********************************
CHAPTER 16: CONFRONTATION
Jack stared at the computer screen showing the virus that had shut down the SGC's electricity system, and nearly led to the destruction of the entire base.
"It could be anyone," Sam said. "A NID plant, whoever it is up there that's kicking our satellites' butts, a Goa'uld spy in Dad's group....."
"Let's start by eliminating the obvious," the Colonel cut in. "Davis, who do we have by way of visitors? And anyone recently back from off-world?"
Sergeant Davis pulled out the control room log. "Sir, no teams have returned from off-world in the last 48 hours. Apart from the alpha site delegation in the briefing room, we have two groups of visitors - a team from the Pentagon doing an internal audit of the human resources team up on Level 6, and Lieutenant Adams."
A knock on the door stopped the conversation short. The door opened, and a Lieutenant wearing NORAD insignia entered the control room.
"You again, Simons, " the Colonel said from his chair. "You on elevator duty today?"
"Sir, " he said, nodding to Colonel O'Neill. "Lieutenant Simons reporting. General Hammond asked me to deliver this report to you personally. It's the results of your South African inquiry."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Was the General expecting a reply?"
"No, Sir," Simons responded.
"OK, dismissed then, " Colonel O'Neill said.
As the Lieutenant turned and headed out the door, Jack flicked open the folder and started to read. He hadn't gotten far before he felt his headache intensify.
"Shit," he said, and started leafing through the rest of the papers. "It has to be Adams."
He stood up and started pacing around the room.
"It wasn't just that the Embassy couldn't find his supervisors, " he said. "This report says there's no evidence that they ever existed - in South Africa or anywhere else!"
Jack turned around to face his troops. They looked skeptical. "And it fits. Don't you remember, Ferretti?," he said, appealing to the Major. "When I first found the screensaver Upstairs, and put you on the detail to remove it, he went as white as a sheet."
"That's a bit of a leap, Jack, " Lou replied. "He was in charge of Space Control at the time. Maybe he was just scared he'd get the blame? Just because some embassy jock can't be bothered doing a proper search doesn't mean they don't exist. Besides, he's just a bright young hotshot kid - why would he do it?"
"He's definitely not Goa'uld," Sam put in. "I've sat next to him several times. Although I suppose he could have been brainwashed or drugged or something - a little Nish'ta, and then plant him on us. All the same, he doesn't act oddly. Frankly, he looks and acts exactly like you'd expect of someone straight out of school. And he did write that brilliant paper."
"Yes, well, " said Jack, "that's the problem. The technique I developed based on that paper should have worked. Except that when I tried it with Adams helping, it didn't. Don't you remember Carter - you found that a couple of the data-tracks had been scrambled?"
Carter suddenly became fascinated by the floor. She clearly remembered that part all too vividly - including that she had blamed the Colonel for the mistake.
He moved on hastily. "There's more though. When I tried to backtrack him, I had no luck. His paper is listed on the MIT website, but he isn't. No-one in the physics department has heard of him. Now we find his thesis supervisors don't exist - and the report is pretty thorough."
"Well in that case we had better find him and check him out more closely," Carter said. She turned to face Ferretti. "Has level 19 reported in yet? Someone had better check my lab."
"No, " he replied. "Actually, I was just about to send out a runner. The phones and cameras are still out on half the levels including 19 - we'll probably need to do a manual reset."
"Right, Ferretti," Jack said. "Take a couple of guards and go on up and have a look. I'll get someone else onto the floor-by-floor sweep. And you, Menard," he waved the Lieutenant closer. "I want you to go up to the security room and see if you can find him on the cameras."
Before anyone could move, Sam jumped in. "Sir, one other thing I've just remembered. When Daniel and I bumped into Adams on the bus yesterday, Daniel thought he recognized him. Then he realized it couldn't be the same man, as he was far too young. Maybe he really is a Goa'uld, but is somehow masking the effect?"
"Be careful then, Lou, " Jack replied. "And Carter, get Daniel up here so we can compare notes. His little bunch of rock-lovers and babelfish can do without their babysitter now that the immediate crisis is over."
"Yes, sir," Carter and Ferretti replied, slightly out of time with each other. Ferretti snapped off a salute and headed out of the room.
"In the meantime, Davis, " he said, "Put out an all-points alert for any visitors on the loose. "
******************
"So, General, now that you've heard our sorry little saga, what's going on up there? Any movement from our mystery object?" Jack looked up at the screen in the SGC's control room time to catch the General's grimace.
"Well it would sure help if we could actually find it, son," General Hammond replied from the Command Center. "We've found a few more satellites out of place, so Space Command are guessing that its orbit's gone wild again, but we really don't know. "
"As soon as I can, I'll go and see if I can untangle Adams' results," Jack promised. "In the meantime, how's the solar storm running? Can we get the F302s back up for another look?"
"That's still a no-go at the moment, Jack," the General replied. "With any luck it'll have calmed down enough for us to take another shot at it tomorrow morning, but not much chance before then. I'd like Carter and her team to take a look at the data Teal'c obtained before we try again though."
"Of course, Sir, " Jack replied. "In the meantime, can I have Teal'c back? I really need someone I can rely on to help out down here. I've got Carter tied up going though our computers in case there's anything else buried in them, and Ferretti running security, but we could all really use both some extra help and a break."
"Sorry, Jack, but I can't make exceptions to the quarantine at DEFCON 2 - you know perfectly well that no-one goes in or out of the Mountain. Anyway, I've got the F-302s on standby in case we get any hostile moves. With you out of action, I need Teal'c experience with the pilots."
Jack sagged.
"If you're really desperate, I could send you some of Space Command's alpha shift - they've all been briefed already," the General added.
"No thank you. No offense, but they're all scientists. It would take way too long to get them up to speed to take over Adams' research or to help Carter out. Besides, what I really need is someone to manage the security teams."
"What about Jacob?" the General replied. "He and Bra'tac are probably itching to give a hand."
"Yes, Sir. They were looking pretty pissed at not being involved when I looked in earlier. Unfortunately, they were also all that was holding back civil war breaking out in the briefing room between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa. I'd planned to send the lot of them back asap."
"Couldn't Bra'tac manage them by himself for a while? I got the impression the Tok'ra respect him a lot," General Hammond replied.
"Well, yes, in so far as they respect anyone who is not snaked. But you're right, he can probably keep them in order for a short time at least." And serve him right for his patronizing comments earlier, Jack thought, wondering why he always came off worst in his little exchanges with the old Jaffa.
"Alright, Jack, I'll leave it up to your judgment," the General replied. "Just make sure you take care of yourself, son. You won't be any use to anyone if you collapse again," he added.
Jack tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile. "Yes, Mum, " he replied. "But you don't need to worry. Dr Big-Honking-Needles is even now lurking outside waiting to get me. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know who to blame."
"Is that insubordination I'm hearing there, Colonel?" the General replied, but his eyes were twinkling and he was clearly trying hard to suppress laughter.
"Certainly not, Sir, I'll get right on with it, Sir," Colonel O'Neill said. He made a cutting motion with his hands, and the screen went dead.
Jack turned around to glare at Sgt Davis, who was trying not to giggle.
"Do we have a problem here, Sergeant?" Jack inquired, doing his best senior officer impersonation. "Perhaps the doctor needs to examine you before me?"
Davis struggled desperately for a poker face. "Sir, No problem, Sir" he replied.
Jack let it ride.
*********
Methos entered the archive file room cautiously, but relaxed when he found the room deserted: the file room was not, presumably, an emergency post. He wondered how long it would be clear for. The camera didn't seem to be working, so he should be good for a while at least.
There was no obvious sign of an index or any easy guide as to what was where, except for a lone computer terminal near the front of the room, but it was turned off. He considered trying to access it. On balance, he decided it was too risky: it might alert people that he was here, or even trigger an alarm. He headed straight for the shelves in the hope that he could work out the system.
Ah, bureaucracy, he thought. Even alien invaders liked to keep records of what they did. He started scanning. Fortunately there were clear labels on the shelves. The files seemed to be grouped broadly by subject, with numerical indicators within the broad groupings. As he searched for something more interesting than requisitions and personnel assignments, he couldn't help thinking of the scope this collection of administrative trivia might provide for thesis topics.
Could these files be mined, he wondered, in a hundred, or perhaps a thousand years time for topics such as "Strategy and infiltration: the case of Sol III", "Policy versus implementation: the Goa'uld occupation of Sol III", or perhaps "The Effects of Goa'uld withdrawal and return on the culture of the Tau'ri? He certainly intended to be around to write them.
*********
Jack inhaled the caffeine from the mug of steaming hot coffee in front of him with pleasure, and then gingerly took a sip. For once the espresso tasted as good as it smelt: it was strong, spicy, and sweet. He could almost feel the boost hit his system.
He took a bite of the sandwich that had appeared with the coffee, and swung himself around in a circle in the chair. He could get to enjoy this spot, he thought, as he surveyed the General's desk. He had commandeered the General's office to change in - after all, he couldn't exactly do it in the middle of the control room. More importantly, it was a more private location for Janet's ministrations. And he was, for the moment, the Commander of the SGC.
Of course, that didn't mean that he wasn't above enjoying a momentary respite. He did another spin in the chair while he waited for her to arrive.
Dr Fraiser didn't bother knocking. She stalked into the room, her hands on her hips and a look of steely determination on her face.
"So, SIR," she said. "You escape from my infirmary after being relieved of duty on medical grounds, and then expect me to just give you a quick fix to continue on?" she glared at him fiercely.
"Well actually, yes, Doctor, " he replied. "Unless you'd prefer that Colonel Edwards come back on duty and tried to blow us all up again?"
Jack watched as Janet grimaced. It clearly wasn't an appealing option.
"Look Janet, " he said, "I've already asked General Hammond for a relief, and the only thing he could suggest was bringing down some of the Space Command people, which frankly is just asking for trouble given that our prime suspect as saboteur normally works in Space Control."
"Isn't there anyone else down here who could take over from you, Colonel?" Janet asked in a resigned voice.
"Not really, " he said cheerfully. "Carter's working on the computers. Just want to be sure that we don't have any more problems hidden in our systems. Then I need her to go see if she can sort out the data Adams was working on, and what we got from the F302s. Ferretti's been doing great, but looks like he's going to fall over his feet any moment, and there's no one else with a command rating on duty. I'm going to get Jacob to help out, but he doesn't really know all our protocols and procedures. And we are at DEFCON 2."
"All right, Sir, I'll do what I can to keep you going. But let me warn you that as soon as this is over, you will be in one of my infirmary beds so fast, you won't know what hit you. Nor will you be leaving until I say so. Understood?"
"Agreed, " he replied. "Scout's honor."
Janet shook her head, but ignored the comment. "I really shouldn't be doing this at all given that what you really need is a few more hours sleep."
"And no whining at the size of the needle, " she added.
************
Jacob swiveled around in his chair in the control room as Jack entered the room. He had changed into BDUs, but without any insignia.
"Um, Jack, " Jacob Carter said, "You've definitely got a problem with your Lieutenant Adams."
"What have you found, Jacob?" Jack asked.
Jacob pulled his earpiece out. "Lt Pritchard has just reported finding an SF tied up in a corner of Sam's lab. The SF says Lieutenant Adams called him into the lab. The next thing he remembers is waking up, bound and gagged. Nothing seems to be out of place as far as he could tell, but no Lt Adams to be found."
"Great, " said Jack sarcastically. "Any sign of where he went?"
"I'm afraid so, Jack. He made a little visit to the armory, told the guard he was acting under Ferretti's orders and loaded himself up with a pile of goodies. Unfortunately the camera was out, so we don't know exactly what he took or where he went after he left the armory. He's definitely not on level 19 anymore though."
"Given that the elevators were out, he must have taken the emergency shaft," Jack replied.
"I've got teams out doing a sweep of every level," Jacob said. "And I've put a guard on all the exits, and alerted NORAD, but odds are, he's already out. Anything else you want us to do?"
"Make sure Sam goes up and checks out her lab as soon as she's finished debugging the computers. Other than that, no, just continue the sweep, and get those cameras back online," Jack replied. "Thanks for your help, Jacob, I appreciate it."
He started as noise started coming out of the discarded earpiece. Jacob hastily reinserted it in his ear.
"This the Control Room. Repeat your message please, over " he said.
"We've got him on cameras, um, Sir," said a voice excitedly.
"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. What is his location? Over, " Jacob replied, ignoring the hesitation over whether he merited a 'Sir'.
"Archive room level 24," Lt Menard replied. "The cameras just came back online on that level. He seems to be hunting for something in the files. Over."
Jacob raised an eyebrow at Jack. "Seems your boy hasn't left after all. He's in archives, reading a few files!"
Jacob turned back to his control panel. "All right, Lieutenant, keep watching and report in straightaway if he looks like leaving. Over."
"A paperwork addict!" Jack replied. "Sounds like he could be NID, Daniel's views notwithstanding. I'll take a team and see if we can bring him in," Jack said. "Get Ferretti to join me up there, would you, and make sure everyone else keeps clear until we are in place."
"Sure, Colonel," Jacob replied, and started issuing instructions.
**********
Methos glanced at his watch. He had allowed two hours for his explorations of the archive, but even so, it was taking too long. He decided to skip over the next shelves and try starting at the farthest corner of the room, and work inwards, skimming the shelf titles. The room was awesome, he thought. There had to be over a million files here, some of them dating back to the 1920s, and the rediscovery of the Chappa'ai in Egypt.
He'd already been diverted once, by the wartime files which detailed the Air Force's successful - if somewhat disastrous for the experimenter - attempts to get the Chappa'ai to operate. He hadn't realized that Dr Ernest Littlefield had actually entered the wormhole, and disappeared. A cross-reference to another file suggested that there had been further developments to the story, but he hadn't chased it up.
Methos had also been sorely tempted when he discovered a section on the current reigning system lords - some up-to-date intelligence would be extremely helpful. It was not, however, his prime objective, and the clock was ticking.
Starting at the back proved to be the right move. The first thing he hit was 'mission reports', which sounded promising. He pulled out a couple to come back to. He really needed to locate their liaison records with the Pentagon though, and anywhere else they were dealing with.
Finally, Methos hit pay-dirt. He'd barely started reading though, when he heard the door open.
He ducked behind the shelves in the corner, and held his breath. A team of soldiers entered the room, and did a superficial inspection. Methos watched, on tender-hooks, but they didn't venture near his corner. They did a superficial check of the room, then started fiddling with the camera in the far side of the room. It seemed reluctant to restart.
When they finally finished testing the thing and left, Methos let out a sigh of relief. Glancing again at his watch, he sighed in disappointment, but decided that he was out of time. He grabbed a few files with promising titles and stuffed as many of them as would fit into the backpack he had acquired from the armory, then keeping low, he cautiously moved back towards the door, using the shelves as shields.
He tried to judge the angle of the now-working camera to see if he could find the blind-spots. This was going to be tricky. And he had to move quickly - the time spent waiting for the team restoring the security systems had eaten into his margin for safety. He started working his way forward, ready to run the last few meters to get out of the door ahead of the camera.
*****
Jack relaxed slightly as his little band of fake camera repairers exited the archive room safely. He waited until they rounded the corridor before conducting a hurried conference with the team leader.
"Sir," Sergeant Bollard said. "He was definitely there, hiding behind some shelves. I don't think he cottoned on to us though. Anyway, he certainly knows the camera is working now, Sir."
Jack's eyes glinted with satisfaction as Jacob came onto his radio a moment later, and told him that his prey had crept out the door and was in the corridor heading towards them.
He reviewed his forces - he was covering the emergency shaft himself, with Ferretti at the elevator.
Signaling with his hands, he ordered his men to move in. He waited, ready to back them up if needed.
"Halt and identify yourself," Sergeant Bollard challenged Adams.
Instead of replying, the Lieutenant pulled out a zat and started firing. Bollard went down before he could even bring his weapon up, but Corporal Surma rushed forward, and managed to grab Adams from behind.
Jack couldn't even see the movement, it was so fast. Surma crumpled as he hit the wall, then slid to the floor clearly unconscious. As Jack started to move forward, he pointed his P90 at Adams, and shouted: "Give it up, Adams, you're surrounded. I will shoot if you don't drop your weapon now."
Adams started backing in the opposite direction. Jack watched as Sergeant Elder came around the corridor to try and block him off. Abruptly, Adams changed tactics, and moved straight for Elder, a knife suddenly appearing in his hand. There was a brief struggle.
While it continued, Jack searched for a clear shot, but before he could take it, Adams had disabled the Sergeant, and was holding the knife to his throat.
"Move any closer and I will kill him, " Adams said quickly into the sudden silence.
Jack stared back at him, waiting for his next move.
Jack watched as Adams reached into a pocket, one-handed. A Goa'uld sonic grenade came out.
Jack didn't bother replying. Instead, he switched to his zat, and pulled the lever to stun his opponent. It hit its target, but Adams didn't even look dazed. He pushed the carotid artery in Sergeant Elder's neck, rendering him unconscious, then dropped Elder and the knife to the floor, and started running towards the emergency hatch, and Jack.
As he ran, Jack could see him setting the grenade. Adams bowled the grenade towards him.
Jack whirled out of his path, and managed to get off a series of blasts, disintegrating the grenade before it could go off.
He saw Adams start trying to open the hatch. He looked behind his shoulder for a second, and could obviously see Jack moving back towards him. Adams started reaching for his gun. Before he could fire, Jack got off another shot from his zat, and hit Adams full-on.
For a split second, Jack didn't think even the second, killing shot on the zat was going to work. Then Adams crumpled, and fell to the floor at Jack's feet. He jerked once, then stopped moving.
Jack toggled his radio. "Get a medical team up here, " he said tiredly. "I've got three injured, plus one hostile presumed dead."
Jack prodded the body cautiously, then leaned over to check for a pulse on Adams' neck. As he expected, there was nothing. Two zat shots were inevitably fatal.
He looked down sadly at what had been a promising young man, and wondered how on earth he had been corrupted so early in his career. Then Jack turned away to head back to see how his injured were doing.
Before he took a step though, he heard a loud indrawn breath from behind him. He turned, and saw Adams' eyes roll open and blink, as another breath racked the supposed corpse.
************************************
Do please review and tell me what you liked and didn't....I thrive on feedback!
Rev 4.9.04
***********************************
CHAPTER 16: CONFRONTATION
Jack stared at the computer screen showing the virus that had shut down the SGC's electricity system, and nearly led to the destruction of the entire base.
"It could be anyone," Sam said. "A NID plant, whoever it is up there that's kicking our satellites' butts, a Goa'uld spy in Dad's group....."
"Let's start by eliminating the obvious," the Colonel cut in. "Davis, who do we have by way of visitors? And anyone recently back from off-world?"
Sergeant Davis pulled out the control room log. "Sir, no teams have returned from off-world in the last 48 hours. Apart from the alpha site delegation in the briefing room, we have two groups of visitors - a team from the Pentagon doing an internal audit of the human resources team up on Level 6, and Lieutenant Adams."
A knock on the door stopped the conversation short. The door opened, and a Lieutenant wearing NORAD insignia entered the control room.
"You again, Simons, " the Colonel said from his chair. "You on elevator duty today?"
"Sir, " he said, nodding to Colonel O'Neill. "Lieutenant Simons reporting. General Hammond asked me to deliver this report to you personally. It's the results of your South African inquiry."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Was the General expecting a reply?"
"No, Sir," Simons responded.
"OK, dismissed then, " Colonel O'Neill said.
As the Lieutenant turned and headed out the door, Jack flicked open the folder and started to read. He hadn't gotten far before he felt his headache intensify.
"Shit," he said, and started leafing through the rest of the papers. "It has to be Adams."
He stood up and started pacing around the room.
"It wasn't just that the Embassy couldn't find his supervisors, " he said. "This report says there's no evidence that they ever existed - in South Africa or anywhere else!"
Jack turned around to face his troops. They looked skeptical. "And it fits. Don't you remember, Ferretti?," he said, appealing to the Major. "When I first found the screensaver Upstairs, and put you on the detail to remove it, he went as white as a sheet."
"That's a bit of a leap, Jack, " Lou replied. "He was in charge of Space Control at the time. Maybe he was just scared he'd get the blame? Just because some embassy jock can't be bothered doing a proper search doesn't mean they don't exist. Besides, he's just a bright young hotshot kid - why would he do it?"
"He's definitely not Goa'uld," Sam put in. "I've sat next to him several times. Although I suppose he could have been brainwashed or drugged or something - a little Nish'ta, and then plant him on us. All the same, he doesn't act oddly. Frankly, he looks and acts exactly like you'd expect of someone straight out of school. And he did write that brilliant paper."
"Yes, well, " said Jack, "that's the problem. The technique I developed based on that paper should have worked. Except that when I tried it with Adams helping, it didn't. Don't you remember Carter - you found that a couple of the data-tracks had been scrambled?"
Carter suddenly became fascinated by the floor. She clearly remembered that part all too vividly - including that she had blamed the Colonel for the mistake.
He moved on hastily. "There's more though. When I tried to backtrack him, I had no luck. His paper is listed on the MIT website, but he isn't. No-one in the physics department has heard of him. Now we find his thesis supervisors don't exist - and the report is pretty thorough."
"Well in that case we had better find him and check him out more closely," Carter said. She turned to face Ferretti. "Has level 19 reported in yet? Someone had better check my lab."
"No, " he replied. "Actually, I was just about to send out a runner. The phones and cameras are still out on half the levels including 19 - we'll probably need to do a manual reset."
"Right, Ferretti," Jack said. "Take a couple of guards and go on up and have a look. I'll get someone else onto the floor-by-floor sweep. And you, Menard," he waved the Lieutenant closer. "I want you to go up to the security room and see if you can find him on the cameras."
Before anyone could move, Sam jumped in. "Sir, one other thing I've just remembered. When Daniel and I bumped into Adams on the bus yesterday, Daniel thought he recognized him. Then he realized it couldn't be the same man, as he was far too young. Maybe he really is a Goa'uld, but is somehow masking the effect?"
"Be careful then, Lou, " Jack replied. "And Carter, get Daniel up here so we can compare notes. His little bunch of rock-lovers and babelfish can do without their babysitter now that the immediate crisis is over."
"Yes, sir," Carter and Ferretti replied, slightly out of time with each other. Ferretti snapped off a salute and headed out of the room.
"In the meantime, Davis, " he said, "Put out an all-points alert for any visitors on the loose. "
******************
"So, General, now that you've heard our sorry little saga, what's going on up there? Any movement from our mystery object?" Jack looked up at the screen in the SGC's control room time to catch the General's grimace.
"Well it would sure help if we could actually find it, son," General Hammond replied from the Command Center. "We've found a few more satellites out of place, so Space Command are guessing that its orbit's gone wild again, but we really don't know. "
"As soon as I can, I'll go and see if I can untangle Adams' results," Jack promised. "In the meantime, how's the solar storm running? Can we get the F302s back up for another look?"
"That's still a no-go at the moment, Jack," the General replied. "With any luck it'll have calmed down enough for us to take another shot at it tomorrow morning, but not much chance before then. I'd like Carter and her team to take a look at the data Teal'c obtained before we try again though."
"Of course, Sir, " Jack replied. "In the meantime, can I have Teal'c back? I really need someone I can rely on to help out down here. I've got Carter tied up going though our computers in case there's anything else buried in them, and Ferretti running security, but we could all really use both some extra help and a break."
"Sorry, Jack, but I can't make exceptions to the quarantine at DEFCON 2 - you know perfectly well that no-one goes in or out of the Mountain. Anyway, I've got the F-302s on standby in case we get any hostile moves. With you out of action, I need Teal'c experience with the pilots."
Jack sagged.
"If you're really desperate, I could send you some of Space Command's alpha shift - they've all been briefed already," the General added.
"No thank you. No offense, but they're all scientists. It would take way too long to get them up to speed to take over Adams' research or to help Carter out. Besides, what I really need is someone to manage the security teams."
"What about Jacob?" the General replied. "He and Bra'tac are probably itching to give a hand."
"Yes, Sir. They were looking pretty pissed at not being involved when I looked in earlier. Unfortunately, they were also all that was holding back civil war breaking out in the briefing room between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa. I'd planned to send the lot of them back asap."
"Couldn't Bra'tac manage them by himself for a while? I got the impression the Tok'ra respect him a lot," General Hammond replied.
"Well, yes, in so far as they respect anyone who is not snaked. But you're right, he can probably keep them in order for a short time at least." And serve him right for his patronizing comments earlier, Jack thought, wondering why he always came off worst in his little exchanges with the old Jaffa.
"Alright, Jack, I'll leave it up to your judgment," the General replied. "Just make sure you take care of yourself, son. You won't be any use to anyone if you collapse again," he added.
Jack tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile. "Yes, Mum, " he replied. "But you don't need to worry. Dr Big-Honking-Needles is even now lurking outside waiting to get me. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know who to blame."
"Is that insubordination I'm hearing there, Colonel?" the General replied, but his eyes were twinkling and he was clearly trying hard to suppress laughter.
"Certainly not, Sir, I'll get right on with it, Sir," Colonel O'Neill said. He made a cutting motion with his hands, and the screen went dead.
Jack turned around to glare at Sgt Davis, who was trying not to giggle.
"Do we have a problem here, Sergeant?" Jack inquired, doing his best senior officer impersonation. "Perhaps the doctor needs to examine you before me?"
Davis struggled desperately for a poker face. "Sir, No problem, Sir" he replied.
Jack let it ride.
*********
Methos entered the archive file room cautiously, but relaxed when he found the room deserted: the file room was not, presumably, an emergency post. He wondered how long it would be clear for. The camera didn't seem to be working, so he should be good for a while at least.
There was no obvious sign of an index or any easy guide as to what was where, except for a lone computer terminal near the front of the room, but it was turned off. He considered trying to access it. On balance, he decided it was too risky: it might alert people that he was here, or even trigger an alarm. He headed straight for the shelves in the hope that he could work out the system.
Ah, bureaucracy, he thought. Even alien invaders liked to keep records of what they did. He started scanning. Fortunately there were clear labels on the shelves. The files seemed to be grouped broadly by subject, with numerical indicators within the broad groupings. As he searched for something more interesting than requisitions and personnel assignments, he couldn't help thinking of the scope this collection of administrative trivia might provide for thesis topics.
Could these files be mined, he wondered, in a hundred, or perhaps a thousand years time for topics such as "Strategy and infiltration: the case of Sol III", "Policy versus implementation: the Goa'uld occupation of Sol III", or perhaps "The Effects of Goa'uld withdrawal and return on the culture of the Tau'ri? He certainly intended to be around to write them.
*********
Jack inhaled the caffeine from the mug of steaming hot coffee in front of him with pleasure, and then gingerly took a sip. For once the espresso tasted as good as it smelt: it was strong, spicy, and sweet. He could almost feel the boost hit his system.
He took a bite of the sandwich that had appeared with the coffee, and swung himself around in a circle in the chair. He could get to enjoy this spot, he thought, as he surveyed the General's desk. He had commandeered the General's office to change in - after all, he couldn't exactly do it in the middle of the control room. More importantly, it was a more private location for Janet's ministrations. And he was, for the moment, the Commander of the SGC.
Of course, that didn't mean that he wasn't above enjoying a momentary respite. He did another spin in the chair while he waited for her to arrive.
Dr Fraiser didn't bother knocking. She stalked into the room, her hands on her hips and a look of steely determination on her face.
"So, SIR," she said. "You escape from my infirmary after being relieved of duty on medical grounds, and then expect me to just give you a quick fix to continue on?" she glared at him fiercely.
"Well actually, yes, Doctor, " he replied. "Unless you'd prefer that Colonel Edwards come back on duty and tried to blow us all up again?"
Jack watched as Janet grimaced. It clearly wasn't an appealing option.
"Look Janet, " he said, "I've already asked General Hammond for a relief, and the only thing he could suggest was bringing down some of the Space Command people, which frankly is just asking for trouble given that our prime suspect as saboteur normally works in Space Control."
"Isn't there anyone else down here who could take over from you, Colonel?" Janet asked in a resigned voice.
"Not really, " he said cheerfully. "Carter's working on the computers. Just want to be sure that we don't have any more problems hidden in our systems. Then I need her to go see if she can sort out the data Adams was working on, and what we got from the F302s. Ferretti's been doing great, but looks like he's going to fall over his feet any moment, and there's no one else with a command rating on duty. I'm going to get Jacob to help out, but he doesn't really know all our protocols and procedures. And we are at DEFCON 2."
"All right, Sir, I'll do what I can to keep you going. But let me warn you that as soon as this is over, you will be in one of my infirmary beds so fast, you won't know what hit you. Nor will you be leaving until I say so. Understood?"
"Agreed, " he replied. "Scout's honor."
Janet shook her head, but ignored the comment. "I really shouldn't be doing this at all given that what you really need is a few more hours sleep."
"And no whining at the size of the needle, " she added.
************
Jacob swiveled around in his chair in the control room as Jack entered the room. He had changed into BDUs, but without any insignia.
"Um, Jack, " Jacob Carter said, "You've definitely got a problem with your Lieutenant Adams."
"What have you found, Jacob?" Jack asked.
Jacob pulled his earpiece out. "Lt Pritchard has just reported finding an SF tied up in a corner of Sam's lab. The SF says Lieutenant Adams called him into the lab. The next thing he remembers is waking up, bound and gagged. Nothing seems to be out of place as far as he could tell, but no Lt Adams to be found."
"Great, " said Jack sarcastically. "Any sign of where he went?"
"I'm afraid so, Jack. He made a little visit to the armory, told the guard he was acting under Ferretti's orders and loaded himself up with a pile of goodies. Unfortunately the camera was out, so we don't know exactly what he took or where he went after he left the armory. He's definitely not on level 19 anymore though."
"Given that the elevators were out, he must have taken the emergency shaft," Jack replied.
"I've got teams out doing a sweep of every level," Jacob said. "And I've put a guard on all the exits, and alerted NORAD, but odds are, he's already out. Anything else you want us to do?"
"Make sure Sam goes up and checks out her lab as soon as she's finished debugging the computers. Other than that, no, just continue the sweep, and get those cameras back online," Jack replied. "Thanks for your help, Jacob, I appreciate it."
He started as noise started coming out of the discarded earpiece. Jacob hastily reinserted it in his ear.
"This the Control Room. Repeat your message please, over " he said.
"We've got him on cameras, um, Sir," said a voice excitedly.
"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. What is his location? Over, " Jacob replied, ignoring the hesitation over whether he merited a 'Sir'.
"Archive room level 24," Lt Menard replied. "The cameras just came back online on that level. He seems to be hunting for something in the files. Over."
Jacob raised an eyebrow at Jack. "Seems your boy hasn't left after all. He's in archives, reading a few files!"
Jacob turned back to his control panel. "All right, Lieutenant, keep watching and report in straightaway if he looks like leaving. Over."
"A paperwork addict!" Jack replied. "Sounds like he could be NID, Daniel's views notwithstanding. I'll take a team and see if we can bring him in," Jack said. "Get Ferretti to join me up there, would you, and make sure everyone else keeps clear until we are in place."
"Sure, Colonel," Jacob replied, and started issuing instructions.
**********
Methos glanced at his watch. He had allowed two hours for his explorations of the archive, but even so, it was taking too long. He decided to skip over the next shelves and try starting at the farthest corner of the room, and work inwards, skimming the shelf titles. The room was awesome, he thought. There had to be over a million files here, some of them dating back to the 1920s, and the rediscovery of the Chappa'ai in Egypt.
He'd already been diverted once, by the wartime files which detailed the Air Force's successful - if somewhat disastrous for the experimenter - attempts to get the Chappa'ai to operate. He hadn't realized that Dr Ernest Littlefield had actually entered the wormhole, and disappeared. A cross-reference to another file suggested that there had been further developments to the story, but he hadn't chased it up.
Methos had also been sorely tempted when he discovered a section on the current reigning system lords - some up-to-date intelligence would be extremely helpful. It was not, however, his prime objective, and the clock was ticking.
Starting at the back proved to be the right move. The first thing he hit was 'mission reports', which sounded promising. He pulled out a couple to come back to. He really needed to locate their liaison records with the Pentagon though, and anywhere else they were dealing with.
Finally, Methos hit pay-dirt. He'd barely started reading though, when he heard the door open.
He ducked behind the shelves in the corner, and held his breath. A team of soldiers entered the room, and did a superficial inspection. Methos watched, on tender-hooks, but they didn't venture near his corner. They did a superficial check of the room, then started fiddling with the camera in the far side of the room. It seemed reluctant to restart.
When they finally finished testing the thing and left, Methos let out a sigh of relief. Glancing again at his watch, he sighed in disappointment, but decided that he was out of time. He grabbed a few files with promising titles and stuffed as many of them as would fit into the backpack he had acquired from the armory, then keeping low, he cautiously moved back towards the door, using the shelves as shields.
He tried to judge the angle of the now-working camera to see if he could find the blind-spots. This was going to be tricky. And he had to move quickly - the time spent waiting for the team restoring the security systems had eaten into his margin for safety. He started working his way forward, ready to run the last few meters to get out of the door ahead of the camera.
*****
Jack relaxed slightly as his little band of fake camera repairers exited the archive room safely. He waited until they rounded the corridor before conducting a hurried conference with the team leader.
"Sir," Sergeant Bollard said. "He was definitely there, hiding behind some shelves. I don't think he cottoned on to us though. Anyway, he certainly knows the camera is working now, Sir."
Jack's eyes glinted with satisfaction as Jacob came onto his radio a moment later, and told him that his prey had crept out the door and was in the corridor heading towards them.
He reviewed his forces - he was covering the emergency shaft himself, with Ferretti at the elevator.
Signaling with his hands, he ordered his men to move in. He waited, ready to back them up if needed.
"Halt and identify yourself," Sergeant Bollard challenged Adams.
Instead of replying, the Lieutenant pulled out a zat and started firing. Bollard went down before he could even bring his weapon up, but Corporal Surma rushed forward, and managed to grab Adams from behind.
Jack couldn't even see the movement, it was so fast. Surma crumpled as he hit the wall, then slid to the floor clearly unconscious. As Jack started to move forward, he pointed his P90 at Adams, and shouted: "Give it up, Adams, you're surrounded. I will shoot if you don't drop your weapon now."
Adams started backing in the opposite direction. Jack watched as Sergeant Elder came around the corridor to try and block him off. Abruptly, Adams changed tactics, and moved straight for Elder, a knife suddenly appearing in his hand. There was a brief struggle.
While it continued, Jack searched for a clear shot, but before he could take it, Adams had disabled the Sergeant, and was holding the knife to his throat.
"Move any closer and I will kill him, " Adams said quickly into the sudden silence.
Jack stared back at him, waiting for his next move.
Jack watched as Adams reached into a pocket, one-handed. A Goa'uld sonic grenade came out.
Jack didn't bother replying. Instead, he switched to his zat, and pulled the lever to stun his opponent. It hit its target, but Adams didn't even look dazed. He pushed the carotid artery in Sergeant Elder's neck, rendering him unconscious, then dropped Elder and the knife to the floor, and started running towards the emergency hatch, and Jack.
As he ran, Jack could see him setting the grenade. Adams bowled the grenade towards him.
Jack whirled out of his path, and managed to get off a series of blasts, disintegrating the grenade before it could go off.
He saw Adams start trying to open the hatch. He looked behind his shoulder for a second, and could obviously see Jack moving back towards him. Adams started reaching for his gun. Before he could fire, Jack got off another shot from his zat, and hit Adams full-on.
For a split second, Jack didn't think even the second, killing shot on the zat was going to work. Then Adams crumpled, and fell to the floor at Jack's feet. He jerked once, then stopped moving.
Jack toggled his radio. "Get a medical team up here, " he said tiredly. "I've got three injured, plus one hostile presumed dead."
Jack prodded the body cautiously, then leaned over to check for a pulse on Adams' neck. As he expected, there was nothing. Two zat shots were inevitably fatal.
He looked down sadly at what had been a promising young man, and wondered how on earth he had been corrupted so early in his career. Then Jack turned away to head back to see how his injured were doing.
Before he took a step though, he heard a loud indrawn breath from behind him. He turned, and saw Adams' eyes roll open and blink, as another breath racked the supposed corpse.
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