21
Ultimatum
"We now know why the mission to PX549 went so badly," Major Carter announced, as she fell into step with O'Neill as he traversed a corridor.
"Because Tok'ra intelligence sucks?" Jack suggested. Allies the Tok'ra might be, but the only difference O'Neill could see between them and the Goa'uld was that the Tok'ra weren't openly trying to kill them.
"Actually, it was more of a wrong number," Sam replied. "The intel report was for PX949."
"Just great," O'Neill said in disgust. "Well, it looks like PX949 is going to have to wait, since we seem to have a situation on PX549." A thought struck him. "Did the Tok'ra, by any chance, have anything on PX549?"
Carter shook her head. "Nothing that we haven't already learned from Evree," she answered. "Mainly, what they had to say was that Evree held the planet for a long time, and then Ahriman came and took it from her. But they don't know why either."
O'Neill glanced at his watch. "Well," he remarked. "I don't think we're going to do much of anything about either of them right now." As if in confirmation of the lateness of the hour, Jack was seized by a jaw-cracking yawn.
"See you in the morning, sir," Sam said with a smile.
As the two of them began to part company and make their way to their quarters, the relative stillness was shattered by a bloodcurdling scream.
O'Neill and Carter headed for the source of the disturbance automatically, drawing weapons as they went.
As they rounded a corner, the scream sounded again, and pinpointed the location.
"That's Evree's room, sir," Carter informed him. At the moment the door was blocked by one of the two guards that had been placed there.
"What's going on, soldier?" O'Neill inquired, a bit irritably.
The private snapped to attention. "The key broke off in the lock, sir," he replied.
"Allow me." O'Neill motioned the guard aside, aimed his gun and blew the lock to smithereens.
And still the screaming continued.
A quick glance within showed that Evree was alone, sitting up in bed, eyes wide open, yet sightless, screaming over some terror seen only by her.
"Carter, go get Doc Frasier," O'Neill ordered. "Get her out of bed if you have to."
"Yes, sir." Sam sped on her way without further comment.
Jack holstered his weapon and approached the bed. "Evree?" he said softly. He moved closer, laid a tentative hand on her shoulder.
At O'Neill's touch, Evree went wild, flailing her arms about and screaming even more frantically than before.
Jack dodged one of the flying arms just in time to save himself a great deal of discomfort. Instead of helping, he'd obviously made matters worse. And now, there was no way the doctor would be able to find out what was wrong until Evree was immobilized.
In one quick, economical motion, Jack sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the Goa'uld by the arms, which stopped their aimlessly flailing about, but Evree still writhed within his grasp.
"Evree!" He was shouting now, but she still wasn't waking. And holding her like this put both of his hands out of commission. He changed tactics and wrapped one arm completely around her, pinning her arms even more effectively than before. His free hand now raised to slap her awake when he paused, remembering what she'd been through. If she was having a nightmare about the things Ahriman had done to her, and the smart money said that she was, then slapping her would probably be the worst way to wake her.
At this point in time, Jack decided the best thing he could do would be to sit tight until the doctor arrived. He wrapped his other arm around her, more for convenience sake than anything else, and was startled no end when Evree's screaming ceased as abruptly as it had begun.
O'Neill didn't think it prudent to release his hold on Evree just yet. She might become violent again. Instead, he decided to see if she were awake at last. "Evree?"
Evree woke to an unaccustomed sensation. At first she began to panic because she felt trapped, but then she realized that her bonds were those of warm, human flesh and blood. She had never been held before, and found it to be comforting. Then, a familiar voice murmured her name, and the voice had a question in it. And, it was a voice that she recognized.
"Col. O'Neill?" She wasn't sure that she was ever going to figure him out. He was a complete puzzle to her. At one moment seeming to abhor the very sight of her, and at the next showing solicitude for her well-being.
"Nightmare?" O'Neill asked conversationally. He still hadn't released her, and realized that she was trembling.
"Yes," Evree answered shortly. She did not want to think about the terror that sleep had visited on her. Instead, she decided to ask what was in the forefront of her mind. "Most of the time, you appear to hate me, O'Neill, and yet at others, you put yourself out to give me comfort. Please explain."
Jack finally released her. "Blame it on my gentlemanly instincts," he muttered. He was starting to feel more than a little embarrassed.
"I am not sure that I comprehend 'gentlemanly instincts'," Evree confessed. "But I do know that when you had your arms around me, I felt.., safe." She hadn't intended to say it, it had seemingly come out of her mouth of its own accord. Or perhaps Draylea had given it a little push.
"It could have been anybody," O'Neill mumbled, rising, and devoutly hoping that it was so. The thought of a Goa'uld taking a shine to him was enough to give him nightmares.
Evree realized that she had made him as uncomfortable as she had made herself. "I'm sure it is as you say," she replied. "I am sorry to be such an inconvenience."
"If inconvenient is all you ever manage to be," Jack commented. "Then you'll be way ahead of all the rest of the Goa'uld on points."
Evree tried to puzzle out the meaning of the idiom, but although she gathered that it was something by way of a backhanded compliment, she could get no farther. And before she could work up the nerve to ask for a complete translation, Major Carter returned with Dr. Frasier in tow.
&&&&&&
"I believe that I have pinpointed the planet of origin for the device that was found by the gate," the scientist announced as he entered Ahriman's throne room.
"Where?" demanded Ahriman. He was impatient to deal out some chastisement to those who would dare to pit themselves against a god. And even more so to find Evree.
"Here, Lord." The underling unrolled a star map with gate coordinates marked on it and indicated a planet.
"There?" Ahriman's face suffused with color. He knew of the planet. It was there that the infamous O'Neill hailed. And where, if he was not mistaken, the renegade Jaffa, Teal'c hid. And now they had dared to take that which was his. "Prepare my transport. I will go to the gate to communicate with the Tau'ri."
"Are you sure that this is wise, Lord?" his flunky ventured. "Their weaponry may be fairly crude, but it is effective."
Ahriman gave him a look which said that he had no intention of putting himself in harm's way. "The Tau'ri must be made aware that they have made a grave error in judgment," he growled. "Prepare my transport."
&&&&&&
Evree looked with some trepidation at the breakfast crowd in the mess hall. She was not sure that she was ready to deal with so many people yet, but Dr. Jackson had insisted.
"You can't spend all your time in your room and medical," he had said firmly. "You need to get around a bit. While you can't go out, you can interact with some of the people that you're sharing living space with."
Not being able to come up with an argument against it, Evree had accompanied him without a murmur. But when they arrived, she was faced with a perplexing array of foodstuffs, none of which she was familiar with.
"Tell you what," Daniel suggested. "Why don't you take a seat and I'll bring you something." He scanned the room briefly. "Over there," he said, pointing with his chin, and his hands held a tray. "You can sit there with Jack."
"With who?" Evree began, then saw the spot that Jackson was indicating. "With Col. O'Neill? I don't think he'd care to have me as a companion while he breaks his fast."
"Jack growls," Daniel replied. "Most of the time it doesn't mean anything. It's when he stops growling that you have to worry. Go on, sit down. If he gripes, tell him that I told you to."
"I most certainly will," Evree assured him. She certainly wasn't about to take the blame all to herself, especially when it wasn't her idea.
Jack had his back to the serving line, so he didn't see the Goa'uld approaching him. Therefore, when Evree sat down next to him, his first reaction was to spray his mouthful of coffee all over the table, amongst other things.
Evree looked down at herself with dismay. There were several damp spots on what had been a clean shirt now. While the clothing was not precisely to her taste, it sufficed, and she didn't like the thought of it being soiled.
"Do you think you could give a person a little notice before you scare the crap out of them?" Jack barked.
"Dr. Jackson told me to sit here," Evree said. It might not mean anything, but O'Neill did sound quite fierce, and he was in a position to have power over her well-being.
"I owe you one, Daniel," Jack muttered to himself.
"I am sorry if I startled you, Col. O'Neill," she murmured diffidently. Was this what the rest of her existence was to be? Spending her time in a constant state of apology?
"Yeah, well, no harm done, I guess," Jack replied grudgingly. Wouldn't she even do him the favor of being a typically obnoxious Goa'uld? The cooperative, apologetic demeanor that Evree had displayed so far made it hard for him to hate her the way he felt she deserved, merely for being a Goa'uld.
"Good morning, Jack." Daniel appeared with a laden tray was about to unload it on the table when he noticed the mess. "What happened?"
"You might want to tell your little friend here that it isn't considered polite to sneak up on people," Jack rumbled. He glanced at the coffee-coated table. "You might want to consider sitting elsewhere," he suggested.
"Why don't you join us?" Daniel requested.
"I'm finished," Jack lied, leaving behind a half-full plate. He'd lost his appetite, and wasn't up for polite conversation with a Goa'uld.
"He doesn't like me," Evree stated quietly, getting up and following Daniel to another table.
"It can take a while sometimes," Daniel said. "Jack's a good guy. He just takes a little getting used to."
"Do you really think that I will be allowed to stay here long enough to 'get used to' Col. O'Neill?" Evree asked pointedly. "To be honest, I was a little surprised that you did not immediately begin to experiment on me."
"We don't operate that way," Daniel responded. "The only way that we'd experiment on you would be if your life was in danger and the experimentation was the only way to save it."
"You would do that for an enemy?" Evree asked wonderingly. She had heard many stories about the Tau'ri, but none of them had prepared her for the reality.
"Okay," Daniel said slowly. "So being a Goa'uld technically makes you the enemy. But you personally haven't done anything to us that we know of. We believe in giving a person the benefit of the doubt."
"Does 'we' include Col. O'Neill?" Evree asked wryly. She looked down at the array of food in front of her. "Surely you're not expecting me to eat all this?"
&&&&&&&
"Incoming message via the gate, sir," the technician on duty informed General Hammond.
"Where is the source of the transmission?" Hammond inquired.
The man bent over the read-outs in front of him. "PX549, sir," he told the commanding officer.
Hammond picked up a phone. "Have SG-1 meet me in the control room," he ordered. "And tell them to bring our guest with them."
&&&&&&
"We have opened communications, sire, but so far, the Tau'ri refuse the acknowledge us," another technician on another planet informed Ahriman.
"They will answer," Ahriman answered confidently. "The Tau'ri are an extremely curious race. They are no doubt merely attempting to assess the level of the threat before committing themselves to a course of action."
"Then we wait, Lord?" the underling made so bold as to inquire.
"We wait," Ahriman confirmed. "I doubt very much that we shall have to wait long."
&&&&&&&&
"So, where's the fire?" Jack queried as the SG-1 team entered the control room. "And why is she here?" It took no stretch of the imagination to figure out to whom O'Neill was referring with the pronoun.
"The reason that Evree is here," Hammond replied sternly. "Is that we are being hailed from PX549. Evree might have information that will be useful to us."
"Having information and sharing it are two very different things," Teal'c pointed out. He wasn't as openly hostile as O'Neill, but it went against his grain as well, to trust a Goa'uld.
"I will render whatever aid I can," Evree stated quietly, but there was a panicked look around her eyes that was unmistakable.
Carter patted her hand. "Don't worry, Evree," she said reassuringly. "We aren't going to hand you over to Ahriman."
"That is what he will demand," Evree replied in a small voice. She was feeling more alone than she had since she had arrived at Stargate Command.
"He can demand all he wants," O'Neill said. "I've never been real good at dealing with people who demand things. It tends to make me get very stubborn."
"Open communications," Hammond ordered.
No sooner had the order been obeyed, than a booming Goa'uld voice echoed throughout the chamber. "I would know with whom I speak."
"General Hammond," Hammond replied. "I'm the commanding officer here. Am I speaking to Ahriman?"
"You are," the disembodied voice answered. "I would have you explain your intrusion on my world and subsequent theft of my property."
"We didn't know that it was your world," Hammond hedged, failing to add that if they had felt a need, they wouldn't have cared whose planet it was. "And as for the charge of theft, perhaps you'd be so kind as to tell me what you think was stolen."
"You know very well what was stolen!" Ahriman's voice went up, in tone and volume. "Your people took a Goa'uld from her rightful place. You will return her immediately, and also turn over those responsible for her abduction."
"Since we're speaking plainly," Hammond replied. "Evree wasn't abducted, she came of her own free will. As a matter of fact, she requested asylum. And we have granted it." The last was a tight stretch. Hammond on his own did not have that much authority. But he had set the gears in motion.
"If Evree is not returned to me within three of your days," Ahriman warned. "I will destroy your entire planet. Is she worth the lives of all that dwell on your world to you?"
"End transmission," Hammond whispered to the technician, and waited until he had done so before speaking aloud. "Comments?"
"About what I'd have expected," O'Neill replied lazily. "It isn't the first time that a Goa'uld has threatened to destroy the Earth."
Daniel turned to an ashen-faced Evree. "Do you know if Ahriman has the capability to carry out his threat?" he inquired.
Evree looked about helplessly. It still hadn't entirely sunk in to her that these people meant what they said when they told her that they weren't going to turn her over to Ahriman. "I'm not sure," she mumbled, staring at the floor. "He didn't exactly take me into his confidence. I only know about his plan to ally with Anubis by an overheard remark."
"So we have no way of knowing whether or not Ahriman is bluffing, do we?" Teal'c asked rhetorically. He eyed Evree speculatively. If it were up to him, he would turn her over to the other Goa'uld without the slightest qualm.
"That's something that we need to find out," Sam interjected. "Maybe the Tok'ra would have some information about Ahriman's offensive capability."
"Tok'ra intelligence being so reliable," said Jack sarcastically. His gaze turned to Evree now. "What I'd really like to know is why Ahriman is so hot to get his hands back on you."
Evree shook her head. "I wish that I could tell you, O'Neill," she replied. "But as I said, Ahriman does not confide in me."
"Dr. Jackson," Hammond broke in. "I want you to make Evree your priority as of this moment. I want you to get to know everything about her. Maybe in the course of things, you'll figure out just what makes her so valuable to Ahriman."
"Yes, sir," Daniel answered. He escorted Evree out of the room.
"Major Carter," Hammond went on. "Get in touch with the Tok'ra and get whatever information you can from them about Ahriman."
"I'm on it," Sam assured him.
The General began to leave the room.
"Ah, excuse me, sir," Jack put in. "What exactly are Teal'c and I supposed to do? Cool our heels until there's something to fight?"
Hammond considered. The problem was serious enough to be an all hands assignment. He divided them where he thought their respective talents were best suited. "Teal'c, you assist Major Carter," he decided. "And Jack..,"
O'Neill shook his head in dismay. "Please don't say it, sir," he pleaded with almost no joking about it.
"You're with Dr. Jackson," Hammond finished.
Jack turned back to the other two as the General left. "He said it anyway."