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Chapter 4: Gesture of Good Faith

Sam sat back heavily in her chair, having consigned herself to her lab for hours on end, rubbing her eyes. The naquahdah reactor schematics on the computer screen in front of her just weren't holding her focus. She tried to shrug it aside as lack of sleep and/or coffee, resting her head on one hand. The Innarim technology was proving enigmatic – all of her tests and tweaks with the generator were proving frustrating futile. Sam knew there was no way she could ask Einar to help her. It wasn't just the security risk, either – she found it extremely discomforting to be around the Colonel when she knew it wasn't him talking, but a complete stranger instead.

She looked up and offered a wry smile as Daniel strolled into her lab, book under one arm and carrying two cups of coffee. He handed her one and grabbed a lab stool.

"Thanks," she breathed wearily, sipping the brown liquid.

"Janet moved Jack… Einar into an isolation room; I've just been down there," he stated. "Einar said he's giving up control for now so that Jack will get his body back if he wakes up; kind of a gesture of good faith. Both of them are unconscious at the minute."

"If he wakes up…" Sam echoed impassively.

Daniel sighed and inclined his head: "Janet said she'd give it 24 hours, and then she'd try and wake up Einar's mind again. She's not sure what we're doing after that, but she said she was worried about leaving Jack's body for too long without at least one of their minds in control."

Sam gave no answer, choosing to dejectedly sip more of the coffee. Jack's body… it made it sound like he was actually dead… as if they were discussing his corpse…

"What do you suppose happened to the … uh…" Sam began, trailing off.

"Innarim?" Daniel offered.

She nodded: "When he said if his worst fears have been realised…"

"I did ask him, but he didn't want to talk about it," the archaeologist shrugged helplessly. "I mentioned the Goa'uld – it seemed to hit a nerve, so I'm guessing they killed them off."

No doubt, the pair of them supposed, because they were technologically advanced and thus a threat. Some of her bitterness towards this alien was diffused when she looked at it from his point of view, imagining what it must feel like to be hunted down simply for being alive.

"How are you doing, Sam?" Daniel asked gently. "You look like you could use some rest."

"Yeah, but you know me – I don't like to let an inanimate object get the better of me," Sam gave a small smile as she gestured to the naquahdah reactor.

It was covered in various wires and additional circuits, and Daniel took a moment to take in the chaotic bundle of technology, before turning back to his friend. He shook his head knowingly as he spoke: "It's not just that, though, is it?"

"No," she let out a troubled sigh. "This whole situation doesn't exactly bring back pleasant memories, Daniel."

Not long before, Sam had been possessed and suppressed by the computer entity, and nearly erased by its influence. That along with being temporarily stored in a computer memory mainframe had disoriented her mind for some time. In addition to that, she was still suffering from long term unease from her encounter with Jolinar; even though they had long since discovered the noble intentions and beliefs of the Tok'ra, Sam had never completely shaken off the horror of being taken as a host unwillingly. Her rational side understood why Jolinar had done so – to escape an unpleasant death – but remembering the feeling of having her mind invaded and blended with that of an alien creature, to have watched helplessly as Jolinar pointed a weapon at her CO, kept waking her up in the middle of the night for weeks afterward.

Sam had dealt with such harrowing events in her own silent way, and kept it within the shell of the well-disciplined, reliable air force officer. She buried herself in work and tried to forget, confiding in Janet where necessary. Daniel wondered if she realised she was starting to do things the O'Neill way, retreating behind the tough soldier attitude.

"This can't be easy for you," he commented, squeezing her shoulder. "But remember: you got through things like this yourself, and Jack's a stubborn ass."

Sam smirked, almost reassured.


Ah, so you're conscious at last. I feared you would never awaken.

Jack winced and let out a groan. He forced his eyes open slightly, earning a fuzzy view of the isolation room.

"Whu…" he managed.

Don't try to move just yet, Jack. Take a moment to become orientated – you've been unconscious for several days.

"Who are you?" he grunted.

The title of Colonel was deserving of a level of respect, and Jack knew only a few non-military or superior personnel could actually call him 'Jack' at the SGC. This wake-up call was not putting the speaker on his good side. He opened his eyes further, ignoring the tinge of pain at the back of his vision from the isolation room lighting.

"Where are you?" he pressed, puzzled.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

You wouldn't believe me…

Jack subconsciously began to take stock of himself, to check for injuries as he always did in such situations – he could not rest easy otherwise. His face ached, and his right side tingled, as if the feeling in it was faint. He was suitably surprised when he tried to lift his arms, finding them tied down.

He tested his legs, and they were the same.

He was in restraints. Weakly, Jack struggled against them, not with panic but military control and determination. Yet, he knew there was no point. They had once held down Teal'c – he had next to no chance.

Jack looked up sharply at the sound of tapping footsteps, and blinked blankly at Janet as she walked through the door and stopped short, meeting his confused gaze.

"Doc! What's goin' on?" Jack demanded carefully. "What's with the restraints?"

Janet jumped into action, hurrying to Jack's side: "Colonel?"

"Who were you expecting, Apophis? I know I'm awkward, but is that really reason enough to start tying me down when I'm in here?"

Dr Frasier smiled warmly: "Good to have you back, sir. As for the restraints… this might be hard to believe, but…"

"Uh huh," he urged impatiently.

"How much do you remember from before you woke up, Colonel?"

"We were on that planet, in some kind of alien lab. Carter and Daniel were fascinated as usual," he recounted. "Erm… I leaned against something on the way out… that's where it blacks out."

Janet wrote something down on a medical file uneasily.

"Doc?" Jack probed, frowning.

"You touched some kind of broken wire and received an electric shock, but we think that it also caused an alien entity to be transferred into your body, very similar to the way Major Carter was possessed by the computer entity."

"What!" he exclaimed, tensing up immediately.

Janet sighed nervously, and pulled around a medical computer with his vital signs on it. There were two EEG signals on the monitor, one strong, the other far fainter. Jack's eye widened, déjà vu settling in as he recalled Sam showing the same thing during that troublesome and trying situation. Jack's cynical sense of denial fought to retain control of his tumbling thoughts when that voice interrupted… synchronised with the sudden fluxing of the fainter EEG.

I told you that you wouldn't believe it…


"What's your report, Doctor?" Hammond questioned, seated at the head of the briefing table.

"Well, sir, the good news is that Jack's consciousness is intact," Janet began, passing out the report files to the General and the rest of SG-1. "There is also evidence of mental activity from the Einar entity as well, so I think it's safe to assume they're both… alive, for lack of a better word."

"And the bad news?" Hammond pressed.

"Colonel O'Neill isn't taking the whole situation very well, sir. When I explained to him what happened, he became very agitated and tried to break out of his restraints. I had to give him a sedative to calm him down."

Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes to try and mask his discomfort, and Sam looked down at the table awkwardly. Teal'c made little outward expression.

"O'Neill has made it clear on several occasion his distaste at the idea of sharing his existence with another creature," he stated factually. "Even with the Tok'ra."

"Dr. Frasier, is there any way of removing this alien from the Colonel?" Hammond sighed, skimming over the report once more.

"Unfortunately, sir, this situation is much like that with the entity that transferred itself into Major Carter. We don't have the knowledge or the technology to do that," she admitted forlornly.

"Even if we did," Sam added, "where would we transfer Einar to? The memory mainframe that the first entity built was taken to Area 51 and was likely taken apart for study."

"And even if we built one ourselves, which I'm guessing would take time…" Daniel began.

He looked to Sam, who nodded briefly in confirmation.

"There's no way of knowing if Einar will be willing to cooperate if we try to put him back into a computer. He was trapped in that lab computer for over 200 years," he finished.

General Hammond laced his fingers together and looked down at the papers in front of him as he recalled the previous scenario with a stalemate like this. On their own, there was nothing they could do. However, this entity was not based on technology – by Einar's own admission, he was originally an organic being. At present he was completely dependent on Jack to exist – if it were otherwise, Einar would have attempted to transfer himself into something more permanent while he was still unfettered and in control.

"Since the SGC is not under quarantine this time, we will contact the Tok'ra and the Asgard to ask for their assistance," he concluded. "For now, Doctor, keep and eye on Jack. Dr. Jackson, Major Carter, you both continue looking through what we know about the Innarim. Dismissed."