"It's not pretty sir." Said Sam turning from the monitor to Jack seated at the briefing room table.
"Just get on with it Carter." He said scrubbing a hand over his face. Daniel had been missing for over 30 hours now and this video was the only clue they had. Sam just nodded and clicked the screen. The room was dark, but the feed soon turned to infrared and in the green a hue a figured could a be seen crouched in the corner. There was a flash and suddenly there was a man in the room his back to the camera.
The Touched went nuts with the light throwing himself at Daniel. He dodged and ducked keeping his arms out in a defensive posture. It was then he noticed his opponent had a weapon, a crudely a fashioned club that he swung randomly. It was hard to block the blows because it was so dark and the light from the corridor was still flashing in his eyes. But luckily Teal'c had taught him few things about fighting blind.
"You must use all your senses DanielJackson you are never blind to an attack even if you can't see it coming." Daniel dodged another blow and backed himself into a wall. He raised his arms to block and felt the club crack across his forearm. It's not broken he thought, dodging another onslaught and rolling passed the creature further into the room. But that really hurt, he panted out of breath but the Touched kept coming, kept swinging at him and kicking him as he stumbled across the floor. The room was small no where to run, to stop catch his breath. Then he saw it, his eyes accustom to the gloom, a knife in the corner, without thinking he grabbed for it reaching out slashing blindly as the touched raised his club once more. The creature backed off his arms taking the bulk of the knife wounds. Then he screamed in fury and pain and Daniel knew what was next and got ready for it. Holding the knife in his good hand he knelt up in a crouch head-down and waited.
Jack gasped when he saw Daniel's position on the video. He knew what it took for his friend to assume that stance to make the conscious choice to…he couldn't even bring himself to think it so he watched. Daniel was still in his crouch and the Touched was advancing on him quickly. The move that Daniel had balked at learning was simple and effective. A strike while the enemy thinks you're in a bad position. He watched Daniel push up as the Touched came within range bringing his knife with him and plunging it into the creature's body. There was a flash of light and the picture went to snow.
After a few seconds the snow flickered and someone's neck came into view the neck backed off to reveal Daniel or rather Jack realized the other Daniel. Major Dan smiled at them on the screen. Sam looked surprised.
"I didn't see this part before."
"Hello, Sammie!" he waved joyfully, "I knew you could do it! There's never been an encryption you couldn't crack. Hello General Jack!" His smile was big and fake. "You know my Jack's still a little pissed that you're a general and he barely made it to colonel. Between you and me, I think I got the short end of the Jacks." He cleared his throat and stood more to attention. "For those of you who don't know, I am Major Dan Jackson-Carter." He saluted and Sam's jaw dropped. "Did I catch you out there Sammie? Or should I say sis? Yes that's right; Jacob and Sylvia Carter adopted one Daniel Jackson shortly after his parents were killed in a museum accident at age 6. Boy, wasn't Dad an asshole? I must say I'm shocked so many of you went military and so few of me did. But anyway I digress, as you saw our Dr Jackson is doing very well I was actually beginning to think that it was dear old Dad's influence that gave me such a taste for blood, but look at that it is genetic just buried inside. Well he is an archeologist I guess we'll just have to do some excavation." Daniel smiled at the camera, "but anyway, I've decided to take advantage of the little Jack swap and give you guys a chance to get him back alive, this is contingent on him staying alive throughout so you'll have to consider if it's worth the effort. Here are the terms: If you fail and he survives, I keep him, if you fail and he dies I'll send you the body, if you succeed and he dies you get the body, and if you succeed and he survives I'll send you whatever's left breathing; deal?" He offered his hand, "good. Here is your first task…." The video faded to snow again but just then there was a flash of light on the table and a package appeared, a note affixed to the top. Jack snatched the note.
"This is a bomb," he read, "anyone leaves the room it goes off. You have two hours."
Major Dan smiled at his monitor; they really must care for him, he thought as he switched the set off. How is that possible?
"Jack," he called knowing the sniveling half-man that wore O'Neill's face was lurking nearby.
"What is it Major?"
"Prepare to return all the subjects we're approaching the time limit and I have to know if he's the one soon." Jack nodded and left without a word. Dan picked his nails absently; rubbing his palms together he fingered small scars down his wrists, thin white lines that bisected the veins impossible to hide unless he wore long sleeves.
"You're one of the lucky ones." Dan smiled faintly as he leaned against the door frame in Daniel's room.
"How so?" asked his doppelganger on the bed sitting up carefully. The painkillers had long since worn off and now his body was a study in aches and pains.
"You got two years longer than I did." Daniel frowned. "The cover-stone fell at age six for me." Daniel closed his eyes in understanding. "I bet you even remember what they were like."
"They were good people," he said quietly, "at least mine were."
"See? All the breaks; more time with them meant that by the time you were in New York, the Carters had already moved."
"Carter? Sam?"
"Ahh, Sammie, my big sister always trying to keep me out of trouble. That worked out so well didn't?"
"Why are you doing this?" Daniel was exhausted; the whole thing was far too much to take in.
"This is just a big game of what if Danny; it's lots of fun…"
"...and totally pointless. Look I don't know which dark corner of our psyche you crawled out from but if we're anything alike you have to have some compassion in there let these others go they're obviously no danger to you."
"That's the problem with you academics, always to fucking self-righteous and self sacrificing. For your information I did release the others."
"You, you did?" Dan smiled.
"They served their purpose."
"What purpose?"
"Doesn't matter, what matters is; are you ready?" Daniel stood up a little impatient.
"What are you," Daniel stopped. "doing?" he was no longer in his cell but outside in the woods.
"Carter any time now." Jack tapped his watch. "Do you know how many meetings I've missed?" She glared at the General from her position atop the table lay supine beside the box.
"It's goa'uld." She said sitting up and laying aside the 'tools' she'd managed to scrape up. The screwdriver and unbent paperclip clattered to the desktop.
"It's what? How can you tell?" As answer Sam carefully peeled back the wrapping to reveal a small gold box covered hieroglyphs. "Great," said Jack "the instructions for turning it off are probably written on the box. Now, where did I put my Egyptian for Dummies?"