Author's Notes: Language and Violence; ' ' denotes dialogue between Jacob and Selmak; " " denotes speaking dialogue; italics denotes the symbiote is speaking or a phone conversation
minor edit 11/16
"Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolf bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright." – The Wolfman (1941)
2200 HOURS, OCTOBER 21, TEN DAYS UNTIL A FULL MOON
Jacob still thought they were beautiful to look at. Yes, even with the knowledge of what was going on amongst the stars beyond the bright moon, they were still quite beautiful.
'Ah but the view from your world is not nearly as breath taking as from Andora, with it's rings and two moons,' Selmak commented.
'I agree but there's nothing like seeing the familiar star formations in the night sky and knowing you're home.'
The sound of a thick branch cracking distracted Jacob's attention from the stars.
"Sam?" he called quickly dropping his hand to his side hiding the lit cigarette from anyone approaching.
No reply, only the quiet of the wilderness. A gentle breeze rustled the nearby trees.
'Must have been an animal,' Jacob told Selmak as he took a long drag then exhaled the smoke out slowing.
'Why would you think it was Samantha? Feeling guilty about smoking those disgusting nicotine sticks?' she joked at him.
'No. I know George doesn't always listen to my requests when it comes to Sam and her job.'
'You were dying that one time! For what it's worth, he did the right thing! We are in no danger now, so he will not recall her...it would be unnecessary.'
'You're right,' he said exhaling smoke out his nose.
'I still wish you wouldn't smoke those things,' Selmak protested.
'I know. I quit a long time ago but every now and then I crave one.'
'Please stop?' she asked in that soft and affectionate voice of hers.
'Alright,' Jacob sighed, dropping the cigarette and smashing it out with his combat boot. 'I can't resist you when you use that sugar coated voice on me.'
Jacob felt her appreciation instantly through their bond. Usually accompanied by a warm tingly sensation at the back of his neck when she was happy.
'Well, lady, are you rea...'
Another branch snapped. Jacob narrowed his eyes and searched the nearby tree line. Only he couldn't see beyond it, too many dark shadows caused by the moonlight.
'Sel, do you see anything?' he asked hearing something moving...something big.
'No, perhaps we should leave.'
'Scared? It's probably just a deer.'
'Jacob Carter! I have come face to face with the worst atrocities imaginable, one little deer does not fright me!'
'It could be a bear,' he chuckled taking pleasure in ruffling her little flippers.
'Does a bear growl like that?'
'No...Selmak, do you remember me telling you I used to be the fastest kid at the fifty yard dash?'
'Want to see how fast you are now?'
"Oh Shit!" Jacob exclaimed seeing something huge beginning to emerge from the shadows.
Jacob wasn't planning on hanging around long enough to find out what it was. With a little added boost of adrenaline supplied by Selmak, he hightailed out of there. Just one problem, whatever it was, was faster and Jacob didn't get very far before he was tackled from the side.
All the air escaped from his lungs in a big whoosh when he landed hard on the ground. Thanks to Selmak he was able to recover quickly, managing to get on his hands and knees. However, when he tried to crawl away something grabbed his foot yanking him backwards.
Pinned on his back Jacob was at the mercy of the beast. He thrashed violently at the silhouetted figure above him. Hearing his clothing rip and a sudden burning sensation across his chest he fought even harder. The coppery smell of his blood quickly filled the air enticing the creature even more. The pain was increasing and he was having a hard time figuring out if the creature was making the grunting noises or if he was.
In pure desperation, knowing he would last much longer, Jacob managed to grab hold of the thing. The fur was long enough to fill his hand and he tried the hold the creature at bay. A low angry growl sounded with hot breath hitting Jacob's face. Darkness still shrouded its features preventing him from seeing what kind of animal it was. However, he did manage to see the white long fangs just before they streaked down and sank deep into his shoulder.
Jacob involuntarily cried out at the same moment a gunshot echoed through the air. The sharp teeth ripped through his flesh as they jerked away. And suddenly he was free; the creature was lying motionless on the ground beside him.
"GENERAL CARTER!" Jones called from the distance making Jacob act quickly.
Feeling a little woozy Jacob somehow managed to climb to his feet clutching his shoulder. Another shot was sounded. Bark from a nearby tree exploded above his head. Relinquishing control to Selmak, he allowed her to get them out of there, knowing she was stronger even when his body was injured.
Special Forces Airman Thomas Jones, Tommy to his wife and closest friends, stood smiling. It had been a long shift and he still had another hour to go before he would be home with his wife. But that's not why he was smiling.
He was smiling because he actually had a conversation with a General without getting yelled at or ordered around. And it wasn't just any General. It was General Jacob Carter, Earth's liaison to the Tok'ra and a Tok'ra himself. The first time Tommy ever met a Tok'ra.
So, of course Tommy had been extremely nervous when the General first approached him. After all, he is just an Airman, a grunt, assigned to patrol the Southside 'backdoor' to Cheyenne Mountain while the General has the well known reputation for eating Airman for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Only General Carter had quickly put Tommy at ease when he asked for a cigarette. Then he was just a regular guy bumming a smoke from a fellow soldier. He even cracked a joke about the Army that made Tommy laugh so hard he thought he was going to bust his gut.
Tommy had been more than happy to oblige, even letting the General have his lighter. He informed the man where there was a good spot to watch the stars while having a smoke.
But Airman Jones' smile quickly faded the moment he heard the General's cry and the gunshot. He immediately headed for the trail he had pointed out minutes ago.
"GENERAL CARTER!"
There was another shot and Jones picked up his pace. Not far up the trail General Carter came stumbling towards him.
"General...oh my God!" he exclaimed seeing all the blood.
"We must get to the infirmary, now!"
Jones didn't hesitate even when he heard the strange voice emanating from General Carter. First time he ever heard a Tok'ra speak too.
"Blast!" the man cursed to himself when his second shot missed.
His attempt to stay down wind of the creature slowed his progress in tracking it. As a result he had been too late in preventing the attack and was rushed when taking aim hitting only one of two targets. To make matters the second target was surprisingly quick and ducked into the trees for cover, thus escaping before being dealt with.
Pursuit was now impossible. There was another soldier too close for the man to risk exposure. And he wasn't willing to kill an innocent man to achieve his goal of breaking the cycle.
There were other ways. For instance he knew the name of the victim, the next target, General Carter. And he knew that there would not be too many General Carters based at the Cheyenne Mountain military facility. After a phone call he would obtain the necessary information to deal with this General Carter.
For now he had a mess to clean up. Soon there would be more soldiers sent to investigate the area. He was not planning on being around for that.
"Finally!" Janet sighed.
It was just after ten at night. The good doctor had been pulling a double shift and she finally was able to relax. Her intention, to take a twenty-minute catnap in her office before returning to the infirmary. If any emergencies occurred the nurses knew where to find her.
Again she sighed. She stretched out her short legs, relaxing into the couch. With a small smile of contentment she closed her eyes.
"Dr. Fraiser to the infirmary!" sounded over the intercom just moments after she closed her eyes.
With a loud groan she got up. The page came again.
"They had better be near death when I get there!" she snapped yanking her lab coat off the wall hook on the way out the door.
Dr. Fraiser wasn't really hoping the situation was that grim. She always looked on the brighter side of things. But she was actually over due for a caffeine fix and was feeling a little testy. This plus the fact that she was already known for being a firecracker who could easily chew up and spit out Generals when appropriate made her a formidable woman despite her size.
Upon seeing the thickly smeared blood trail into the infirmary, Dr. Fraiser knew this emergency was life threatening. Time to focus that spunky nature of hers to save a life, something she did exceeding well too. Rushing in she found Nurse Jennings assisting two SF soldiers as they lifted a limp body onto a gurney.
"It's General Carter, ma'am!" the nurse informed Fraiser immediately.
"Oh my God! What happened?"
"He was attacked!" Jones blurted out breathlessly while managing to keep his hand on Carter's neck. "He was alone smoking a cigarette! He was gone for only a few minutes!"
Janet was momentarily surprised about Sam's father smoking a cigarette. He didn't seem the type. But then there was a lot about Sam's father Janet didn't know about and Sam wasn't forth coming with any details.
"Relax Airman, let me see that wound," she calmly order him and turned to the nurse. "Get me a hemostat."
Slowly the Airman removed his hand to reveal that the soft skin tissue was torn and the neck artery exposed.
"Get me that hemostat and sutures! Then get a blood transfusion ready! Ok...Airman..."
"Jones, Ma'am."
"Ok, Jones. I need you to keep pressure on artery or he could bleed to death."
"Understood Ma'am."
Janet turned to the other SF who was standing nearby, "Report to the CO on duty! I think General Hammond may also still be here...go!"
Quickly, Janet cut and removed the shredded clothing to reveal the deep lacerations across Carter's chest. There were defensive scratches on his arms. None of the lacerations were too serious but would need to be tended to very soon. Turning her attention to General Carter's neck she noticed what looked like teeth marks in his shoulder near his neck.
"What animal did this?"
"I didn't see what attacked him, ma'am. The symbiote ordered me to bring him to the infirmary."
"I need to repair this artery first before the General bleeds to death. Sam would never forgive me if her father died on my watch."
"Why isn't the symbiote helping?" Jones demanded nervously.
"I'm sure Selmak's doing what he can but sometimes even a symbiote needs a little help," Janet smiled calmly. "Ok, let's get to work then!"
Looking around his office, General Hammond saw that everything was in order so he flicked the light off. Last radio contact with SG-1 was an hour ago. All indications were that they were doing well during their exploration of P3X-49.
The team had been gone for four hours now and were not scheduled to return until 0600 Earth time, at the SGC, which would be an hour from dusk on P3X-49. And normally when teams were gone over night, Hammond was comfortable enough to leave the base in charge of the night commander, in this case it was Colonel McBride.
However, Hammond hadn't left yet because his good friend Jacob Carter arrived half an hour after his daughter's team departed and one week a head of schedule. The two had been talking about the old days over dinner in the commissary for the past couple of hours before Hammond pleaded that he needed to get home and sleep.
And just when Hammond thought it was the end of a good day it turned bad. He had just stepped into the elevator when Colonel McBride called to him.
"What is it Colonel?" he asked hitting the open button on the elevator control panel as the Colonel came running down the tunnel.
"Sir, General Carter was attacked by some kind of animal!"
"What?" Hammond asked immediately exiting the elevator then followed McBride down the tunnel.
"I've sent a unit out to investigate, sir. Airman Jones didn't see what kind of animal it was. Sir..."
"What is it?" he asked when McBride hesitated.
"Sir, the General has lost a lot of blood. Dr. Fraiser's working on him right now."
"How bad is it?"
"I don't know sir. I'm sorry. I know the General is a good friend of yours. I was anxious to know how he was before I informed you of his condition but the Doctor ordered me out of the infirmary saying I was being a nuisance."
"Thank you son but you should know better than to ever get in Dr. Fraiser's way."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
"Why don't you find out if the investigation has turned up anything yet. I'll be in the infirmary."
"Understood, sir!" the Colonel saluted then rushed off.
When Hammond rounded the corner he saw just how bad Jacob had been hurt. The trail of blood led from the southern elevator all the way into the infirmary. A crew had only just arrived to clean it up.
Inside the infirmary Hammond found Dr. Fraiser tending to Jacob while the nurse was tending to a woozy Airman, who quickly straightened up and headed for Hammond. The young man's hands still had blood on them, as did his uniform.
"Sir, I'm sorry sir!" the Airman said standing at attention.
"Relax son."
"Sir, I take full responsibility for General Carter's injuries."
"That won't be necessary Airman," Hammond smiled.
"Sir? But he was out of my sight for a few minutes."
"Airman, if General Carter wanted to be alone then no one on this planet or any other would be able to change his mind. Now, why don't you get cleaned up son and go home."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Jones saluted.
Hammond waited for the Airman to leave before he slowly approached Dr. Fraiser.
"It's alright General," she smiled glancing up. "He's going to be fine. Lost a couple of pints of blood. The transfusion seems to have helped Selmak. He's already taking care of the minor scratches."
"That's good news, doctor," Hammond sighed. "When will Jacob be conscious?"
"Difficult to say, a few minutes, maybe an hour. Depends on how quickly Selmak makes the repairs. I've done all I could do there's no sense in you waiting around until he wakes. Is there a message you want me to leave with General Carter?"
Hammond thought about it for a moment then chuckled before telling the doctor.
Colonel McBride waited as a young Lieutenant was emerging from the trail.
"Anything to report?"
"No, sir. We found where the attack happened but no indications as to what animal did it. There isn't even any footprints to follow."
"That's strange."
"Yes, sir. Perhaps in daylight we can discover more."
"Good idea. In the mean time, no one is to be outside alone...that includes Generals."
"Understood sir."
It had taken a while, but Selmak finally felt Jacob's breathing and heart rate return to a normal state. He was no longer losing blood and Dr. Fraiser's assessment was correct, the transfusion helped tremendously. Healing the injuries would take a few hours, if Jacob remained still.
Her host had a bad habit of being up around too soon after in injury making her job difficult. The other Tok'ra were still having to explain to Jacob why it was important to allow the symbiote to do its job. Selmak knew they were wasting their breath, she had given up long ago explaining it to her host. He knew better, he was just being stubborn.
Yet Jacob was a fighter and wasn't one for lying around doing nothing. Neither was she for that matter. If the injury was so severe Jacob knew to allow Selmak to do her job. He may be stubborn but he wasn't an idiot.
That was her host, Jacob Carter the pain in the ass, smart mouth, and stubborn man who didn't take any crap from anyone, Goa'uld or Tok'ra. Selmak found it rather amusing that the High Council were now eager to send Jacob and her on a mission because of her hosts personality. After their blending the Council were initially reluctant to let their oldest and wisest Tok'ra out of their sight. But Selmak let Jacob shoot his mouth off knowing it would get her out of the tunnels.
The two have had quite a few adventures on their own, both loving every minute of it even if they were running for their lives. Today's adventure was no different than any others. Jacob gets hurt; Selmak heals his injuries, only this time with a little help from Dr. Fraiser. Fraiser's help really wasn't that necessary. In time Selmak could have healed all of Jacob's injuries on her own.
However, she was having trouble identifying the virus in their blood streams. It didn't seem to be harming either of them. In fact, Selmak felt great deciding that maybe it was a new drug Dr. Fraiser came up with to make symbiotes feel good. She would have to ask Dr. Fraiser when they were awake. Or rather, she would have Jacob ask for her since he did most of the talking while on Earth.
Jacob awoke with the familiar scent of crappy commissary coffee filling his nose. Yes it tasted like shit but it was coffee. Maybe after their incident tonight, Selmak would allow him one cup. Doubtful, but he could hope. Opening his eyes, he saw Dr. Fraiser sipping slowly from her cup while looking over his chart.
"Do you take pleasure in tormenting me Doctor?" he asked.
"I'm sorry?"
"The coffee, Selmak won't allow me to drink it."
"Your symbiote won't allow you to drink coffee!" she said trying not to laugh.
"Nope. But that doesn't mean I don't have cravings for it."
"Apparently coffee's not your only craving," she smiled putting the cup down out of his sight. "Does Sam know you smoke?"
"No, I never smoked in front of her or her brother. I actually had quit a long time ago. But every so often I feel the need for a cigarette."
"I suspect you won't be craving one for awhile now."
"I don't know about that! But I might be more selective about where I smoke. And by the way, Selmak say thanks for saving us. With your help, he'll be able to heal my injuries much faster. I thank you too."
'He...why...'
'Calm down Sel! You know I can't go telling everyone you're a girl symbiote! They'll think I'm nuts!'
'You owe me then!'
'Of course...some hot chocolate?'
'I'll get back to you on that one!'
"General?"
"Oh, sorry. Selmak and I were talking. It's still difficult to hold two conversations at once. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it."
Jacob looked down at the bandages across his chest he smiled, "What is it with women Doctors always ripping my shirt off?"
"Watch it General Carter, I have a collection of very big needles and I'm not afraid stick them just to quiet mouthy Generals or Colonels!"
"I only say that because the Doctor who diagnosed my lymphoma made me strip down to my boxers every time I visited her office. Come to think of it, she would always jab me with a big needle too! Right in the ass!"
The doctor laughed uncontrollably. Jacob found her quite pleasant when she laughed. Or maybe it was whatever drugs she was giving him. Either way, he was feeling really good at the moment.
'Jacob, ask her?'
"Did you inject me with any drugs? Selmak wants to know."
"I gave you a tetanus shot for the bite, just in case. Why?"
"Whatever it was, it makes Selmak feel good. And when Selmak feels good, I feel good."
"Do you mind if I check the progress of your injuries?"
"No, I don't mind," he smiled.
Jacob allowed her to check each of his arms. The scratches were completely gone. Then when she gently lifted one of the bandages his muscles retracted and he was trying to suppress a smile.
"General, are you ticklish?"
"No," he lied keeping a straight face.
"Yes, he is Dr. Fraiser," Selmak said after quickly taking over. "Jacob is very t..."
"Don't listen to Selmak Doc!" Jacob interrupted taking control of his body back from Selmak. 'That was dirty, Selmak!'
'That was for earlier...he...hah! I feel you blushing''Quiet!' he snapped sending her a mental glare.
"I think I'll let you both rest now," Dr. Fraiser said trying to suppress a smile. "These are only scratches now."
"It will be a couple of more hours for the rest to heal."
"I'll leave you two alone. Oh, General Hammond said to stay out of trouble...for once in your life or at least until he returns in the morning."
"Me, trouble? What trouble could I possible get in, I'm a teddy bear!" he smiled devilishly.
"I've heard that one before."
"Don't worry doc, Selmak and I will be on our best behavior! Besides, if I start moving around too soon, he gets cranky!"
Janet walked away laughing leaving him alone.
'That's twice in less than five minutes...Jacob!'
'Calm down lady...I'll add marshmallows to the hot chocolate!'
'I like marshmallows.'
'I know.'
"Carl...it's Gabriel."
"Did you get our man?"
"Finally, the bastard had me chasing him all over this bloody country."
"As long as he's been neutralized the Order will be satisfied."
"Not quite yet. We've got a new problem. Seems Larry couldn't resist a little snack a long the way. He infected another just before I extinguished his life."
"Why didn't you..."
"I tried but my aim went array and the victim escaped. But I did manage to get a name...General Carter. I assume his based at Cheyenne Mountain here in Colorado Springs."
"Ok...give me a minute..."
Gabriel glanced in the mirrors as he continued waiting for Carl. Now would not be a good time to be pulled over by the local authorities, not with a corpse covered in the cargo hold of his SUV.
"Ah...here it is. Cheyenne Mountain, is an Airforce facility used for doing research on deep space telemetry radar."
"You're joking!"
"I never joke."
"Well, it's run by the Airforce but they must be doing something top secret with all the Special Forces they have guarding the place. What else do you have?"
"It's run by General George Hammond...let's see his second in command a Colonel Jack O'Neill...hmmm..."
"What?"
"No mention of a General Carter. However, there is a Major Samantha Carter. They could be related."
"Find out."
"Yes...oh...that's odd?"
"What now?"
"Your friend Dr. Daniel Jackson. He is at the facility too."
"Odd indeed. What would the Airforce want with an archeologist? And what does he have to do with deep space telemetry radar?"
"Your intuitions may be right; there may be more going on."
"Right, dig a little deeper see what else you can learn. Find out about Major Carter, see if the General is related. And give me Dr. Jackson address. I shall have to pay him a visit. Oh...and Carl, don't tell the Order anything yet."
"Understood, I'll call you as soon as I have something."
"Thanks."