Title: Road of Wisdom
Summary: Sam Carter has always tried to protect her younger brother Daniel from her work at the SGC, but when he's exposed to the jars of Osiris and Isis she has no choice but to involve him with the Stargate, or risk losing him.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Mainly Jack/Daniel, even if it's fairly mild. Sub pairings of Jack/Sam, Pete/Sam and Daniel/Sarah do show up randomly.
Author's Notes: This story begins in Stargate's fourth season, in the episode The Curse, however I reserve the right to change anything to suit my plot. Also, because I'm using a primitive form of Word, scene changes aren't showing up and will therefore be indicated by (Stargate SG-1) which isn't especially imaginative or original, but it suits the purpose. Finally, my greatest apologize for almost giving up hope. It isn't that I'm losing interest with the plot, it's just becoming harder to write, and damnit, Jack just never seems canon enough when I write him. Nonetheless, never fear, we're moving along at a respectable pace.
Author's warnings: Not beta'd
Disclaimer: I'd sell my soul for those rights
Chapter Three: Freedom and Slavery
"This is boring." Colonel Jack O'Neill's eyes crossed as he focused on the pen currently balancing on his nose. His hands came out in a faux attempt to steady his body.
Sam looked up from her laptop across the room, hiding a smile behind her hand. "I know, sir."
As it stood, SG-1 had been held up in the briefing room for nearly a half an hour. Their mission for the day had been reassigned and SG-7 had left the embarkation room for PX4-658 just a while ago. Sam knew if something upset her CO more than anything else it was being denied access to the gate. Jack didn't like feeling restless and neither did the rest of SG-1.
"Remind me what we're waiting for," Jack said, tipping his chair back in an attempt to keep the pen balanced.
"You mean who, sir. Doctor Rothman should be here shortly. His team was in charge of overseeing the two crates of artifacts that came in recently."
"A great reason to miss the mission, if I do say so myself," Said Jack, in his usual sardonic tone.
Lou looked up from the piece of paper in front of him where he had been doodling. "That one from the university?" He paused to set his own pen down. "The one your kid brother had?"
Sam nodded. "Doctor Rothman apparently has found something."
"Of Goa'uld nature?" Teal'c asked.
Sam could hear the colonel talking rather colorfully under his breath as the door to the room flew in and the short doctor stumbled in. General Hammond followed Rothman in, a distasteful look on his face indicating the worst.
Jack let the pen tumble forward off his nose and sat up. "Problem?"
Doctor Rothman dumped an armful of files out on the table and swallowed harshly.
"Doctor Rothman," General Hammond began. "Has found something of great concern."
The doctor took his cue and opened the top file. "The Steward Expedition artifacts," He stumbled, displaying pictures, "Are most certainly Goa'uld. We uncovered dozens of artifacts covered in the writing and of distinct design. The other doctors and I, we suspect these items to be thousands of years older than first imagined, any sort of tests will show it."
"You made the right decision notifying us, Major" General Hammond intercepted. "If these artifacts had been allowed to remain outside of military hands, a severe security breach could have been possible."
Doctor Rothman shuffled his papers around, pulling out a small log sheet. "General, there might be a bigger problem."
Jack raised an eyebrow and in a decidedly intrigued tone said, "Define bigger? Like, 'Oh my God, the Goa'uld are attacking again', or 'the coffee is all gone and the geeks are revolting' bigger? " Jack flung a glossy photo of Goa'uld writing over to Teal'c.
Doctor Rothman adjusted his tie nervously. "There are things missing from the logbook, and there is reason to believe it has been altered. There should be several other artifacts here--"
"Even Goa'uld lose things," Lou said.
Doctor Rothman paled. "Not these things."
Sam frowned and looked down at her copy of the logbook. Easily identified were the original markings and dates of the objects in a fine black ink, but even through the photo copy she could see a different black pen had overridden a few of the marks. Certain descriptions had been blacked out, and while the difference was minimal, it was clear a different black ink had made additions. Lord help her if that was Daniel's hand writing. She didn't recognize it and she couldn't phantom her brother being so deceptive, but that was the only option. Very few others had come in contact with the objects before Doctor Jordan's team and she could think of no one else who would have cause to change anything.
Jack ran a hand over his face. "What?" He glared at Doctor Rothman. "Spit it out."
Doctor Rothman startled. "The jars of Isis and Osiris are missing."
"The Goa'uld would not be so careless," Teal'c said. "Isis and Osiris were imprisoned in such jars and guarded. They would not have been left unattended intentionally.
"Are you saying there are actually Goa'uld in those jars? And they're missing?" Lou reached over to acquire a logbook photo copy of his own. "There are two Goa'uld missing?"
"Sir," Sam spoke softly. "It is completely possible Doctor Jordan and his team are withholding these jars."
Lou settled a hand on Sam's shoulder in support. "They wouldn't know what they had in their possession."
"Nevertheless," General Hammond said.
"Are these things still alive?" Jack wanted to know.
Teal'c nodded. "There is no reason to believe otherwise. Goa'uld history tells of their imprisonment, not death."
"There should be a seal," Doctor Rothman indicated, pointing to a line of Goa'uld writing. "Something keeping them alive and asleep according to the script we've been able to decipher. There was writing on a tablet that indicated these Goa'uld were not to be freed at any time soon. Apparently they are supposed to be serving some sort of punishment."
Jack chuckled. "Snakes in time-out, a revolutionary concept."
General Hammond stood. "The Goa'uld must be found at once. Major, do you have any idea where Doctor Jordan's team might have taken the jars?"
"To Chicago I think, sir, but I doubt they'll keep them there."
"Then get to Chicago, SG-1 and get those jars back." The General ordered. "Do whatever it takes, but try not to cause too much of a scene."
Jack pressed a hand to his chest. "Never."
"Go." The General left with a slight smile on his face, Doctor Rothman trailing after him.
"I can't believe Daniel would do this," Sam said, a hurt look on her face. "He's always been determined to find something new or change current thought, but I never believed for a moment he'd stoop to stealing." She rose from her chair and gathered up the files in front of her.
Lou pushed off from his chair to stand next to the blonde. "Hey, the kid is probably only doing what he thinks is right, or following direction. He isn't in charge, Doctor Jordan is, remember? And none of them know about the Goa'uld. Daniel has no idea the danger he's in. Us going is the safest thing for him."
"I doubt he'll be thrilled to see me," She said. "He's probably convinced I'm behind Charlie going to get those artifacts, and he'd he right." A sudden rush of shame filled her.
Lou gave her a pointed look. "I bet as far as he sees you're just his big sister who's a bit too overprotective. He means well, just like you do, and you just have to set him right."
Sam chuckled. "Without breaching security?"
"So, your brother?" Jack asked as they exited the room. "The one in the picture in your office with the wife?"
"No, sir, that's Mark."
"Daniel's the one covered in dirt," Lou joked from behind them.
"Dirt? I thought your family was well off, Carter."
She smiled at her commanding officer. "Sir, he's an archeologist. He tends to work where a lot of dirt is collected."
"You know, sir," Lou said smartly. "Deserts. Big, hot places where nothing grows and tons of geeks spend months uncovering things buried thousands of years ago. The epitome of fun."
Rounding a corner Sam delivered a quick elbow to Lou's stomach. "I do believe that's how the Stargate was found."
"Wait," Jack caught Sam at the shoulder. "This Doctor Jordan is an archeologist." He watched Sam blink innocently. "Carter, his whole team, they're all archeologists, right?"
"We'll stop by my office, sir," Sam assured him. "I'll let you see a picture."
Jack jiggled a pen between his fingers. "Good, good."
(Stargate SG-1)
At Chicago's finest University Daniel stood hunched over the jar of Isis, holding it with one hand while the scribbled down symbols with his other. It was truly amazing the amount of information he had copied down in the past few hours and how must potential he clearly saw for the future of archeology. He was still quite upset at Doctor Jordan's tactics and his own willingness to go along with it, but he saw no reason not to take advantage of the opportunity that had been presented in front of him.
"How are things going in here?" Doctor Jordan asked, entering the room.
"Checking up on me?" Daniel smiled at him, setting the jar down.
"Just came from Sarah and I'll have you know she's hours ahead of you." The elder man's playful tone did not slip past Daniel.
"She's got Steven to help her," Daniel defended.
Doctor Jordan nodded. "Fair enough."
"So how far are they actually?" Daniel scrubbed at his face, feeling his body weaken. The four hours of sleep he had gotten nearly thirty hours ago hadn't done much, and he could already tell he wouldn't be adding to that total any time soon. With the jars there was simply no time for sleeping, especially if he suspected the Air Force would thoroughly check out the crates they had taken. He wasn't sure why the Air Force wanted the artifacts, but it was badly enough and they'd certainly be checking inventory. "They've found the seal, correct?"
Doctor Rothman looked Daniel's notes over. "Yes. I've asked them not to break it for now and not to attempt to open the jars. We're not sure what's inside and while I'd personally love to find out, I don't want to risk damaging the jars."
"I agree. I'm not convinced we can break the seals without causing some damage, but I'd like to subject the seal to a few more tests. Maybe with the right equipment we can get a look as to what is in here."
"You're doing fine work here," Doctor Jordan complimented. "I'm very proud of you. I know you didn't agree with my decision to bring the jars here."
Daniel pressed a palm to his forehead, feeling the minor headache building. "I'm not defending the Air Force, please understand. I just happen to know for a fact that when the Air Force does something it usual has a purpose. We don't always get that purpose or like it, but it exists. I learned a long time ago that questioning the Air Force is perfectly acceptable, but discrediting them is an entirely different thing. If the Air Force wanted these artifacts there is a real reason. They're going to figure out we took these things and they're going to want them back."
"I see. You think we should move to a new location?"
Raised eyebrows helped add to Daniel's point. "I think if we run, they'll chase us. I don't want to spend the next six months running from something that's going to catch us eventually and then throw us in jail. We should just get as much work done here as fast as we can and turn the artifacts over to the Air Force when they get here. Maybe they won't send us to jail."
Doctor Jordan handed Daniel's note pad over. "Hopeful?"
Daniel curled his fingers around the back of his neck. "In this situation it might help to be a bit more optimistic than pessimistic. Maybe."
The slightly balding man promised, "I'll think it over and leave you to your work, but I'll have you know this isn't the first time I've taken on a military, nor a government. I'm not afraid and I won't be intimidated by their secrets."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Daniel said softly.
Doctor Jordan smiled faintly and patted Daniel on the shoulder. "I'll be in my office if you need me."
"Sure." Daniel inclined his head towards his friend.
When he was alone Daniel leaned against the desk, letting his hands cover his face. He had a really bad feeling about what they were doing. There was this horrible feeling in his stomach that had only grown since he boarded the plane. Something wasn't right and he just couldn't figure it out, while truthfully he was afraid he would. The wasn't any logical reason for the Air Force to want the artifacts and that made him nervous.
He reached over to pick up the jar. Was it dangerous? Was Sam behind wanting confiscate the artifacts or was she unwillingly involved? Whenever Sam did something it was usually for his own good, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
Turning the jar over Daniel caught the symbols written on the bottom of the jar and copied them over to paper. He suspected the writing was some sort of warning, probably from opening the jar. Maybe a curse had been placed on the jar to protect the contents, but the Expedition notes had said nothing about a curse on either the objects or the tomb in which they were found in. Then again, Daniel doubted anyone before him had been able to identify the symbols, and he was barely comprising a list of probable characters in a possible alphabet.
Hours passed before Daniel set his pen down and glanced at the clock. It was just into the evening hours when he paused to breathe easy. He had actually made real progress and he was pleased. New hope flowed through him and he couldn't wait to show Doctor Jordan what he had discovered about the symbols. He wondered briefly if Sarah and Steven had made as much progress as he had.
His head jerked up when he felt eyes on him. Sarah was standing in his doorway.
"Hi," He managed slowly. "Taking a break?
She said nothing as she slipped into the room slowly, first eyeing him and then the jar of Isis.
"Sarah, are you alright? Where's Steven? You can't be done with the jar."
Ice flooded Daniel's body as he watched the woman he considered once to be his lover advance upon him. Her eyes flashed brightly at him and suddenly he was flying backwards, smashing into the hard ground.
He grunted and scrambled backwards, disbelief running through his mind. He was unable to find any words to address the woman in front of him.
"My Queen?" Sarah's voice became deep and angry, unlike anything Daniel had ever heard before.
"What?" He ascended to his feet using a table to help him.
A string of words came from her mouth in which Daniel did not understand.
"You are not Sarah."
Blonde hair shook as a menacing laugh flew from Sarah's mouth.
"Who the hell are you?" Daniel demanded. "What are you?"
Sarah advanced on him and Daniel quickly stepped backwards. In a moment the jar of Isis settled into Sarah's hands and Daniel made no attempt to retrieve it. Even in his confusion he was well aware of the danger of the situation. Sarah had somehow thrown him across the room, and at a height that should not have been possible for her. The force in which he had struck the floor had just been too powerful to originate from her frame.
"Where is Sarah?"
"She is my host," The petit form in front of him offered.
Host? What was that supposed to mean?
"You have not awakened my Queen, slave?" The form that had been Sarah questioned him and in that moment Daniel realized they were equally confused.
"Your Queen?"
"Isis!" Sarah roared.
Daniel blinked. "Isis?" Wait, it couldn't be. "Are you Osiris?" He asked timidly.
Sarah seemed pleased. "You know of me?"
"Osiris, Egyptian God of Resurrection and Vegetation. Judge of the dead. Husband to Isis, reborn from her body, betrayed and slain by Set and First King of Egypt." But he wasn't buying it for a second. He wasn't quite sure what was happen but there was just no logical reason for him to believe Osiris, the myth, was suddenly in his friend's body. It just wasn't possible and he had to be dreaming, thought the fall had rather hurt. God, what if something had been in the jar and it had gotten into Sarah? That was practically the only plausible answer to Sarah's condition. Doctor Jordan had told them not to open the damn jars.
"You are knowledgeable," Sarah--no, Osiris, observed, apprising Daniel. "You know of many things, do you not? My host thinks highly of you."
Daniel nodded slowly. "I'm an archeologist. It's my job to know about the past."
Then suddenly Daniel didn't like the way Osiris was glancing between the jar and him.
"My queen will need a knowledgeable host."
There was a backdoor in the office. Daniel hadn't a clue where it led, but the thing in front of him was talking about hosts. Osiris had said Sarah was his host. If someone wanted him to be a host that probably meant he was about to lose his body. There was something inside of Sarah, something he definitely didn't want in him.
"No, no, no," Daniel said. "I happen to be male. I doubt I'd make a very good queen. Gender makes quite the difference with a queen, right?"
He inched backwards, a little closer to the door each time. He wasn't sure how fast Osiris could move in Sarah's body but the more distance between them the better.
"Gender makes little difference." Osiris looked almost amused which caused Daniel to move faster, regardless of how observant the eyes in front of him were.
"You find yourself a different host."
Moving faster than ever before, Daniel pivoted suddenly and broke into a dead run for the door. He couldn't hear Osiris behind him but he was halfway there and he hadn't been caught yet.
His ankles buckled under him and he went crashing to the floor. It took less than half a second to realize he had gone down not from his own flaw but from a shaking floor. Objects in the room came crashing to the floor as Daniel's ears recognized loud ringing, the result of a large sound echoing through the office and work space. The ringing had originated from a loud explosion, that which had also knocked him to the floor and shattered him with glass when the windows in the room broke.
He twisted around to find Osiris tucked to the side, away from him. There was gleeful surprise on that face and then it morphed into joy that Daniel found sickening.
Smoke flushed into the room, watering his eyes, coming from down the hall. "Doctor Jordan!" His throat felt raw as he realize the blast had to have originated from his mentor's office. It was the only room close enough to have effected his own so violently. Indeed the blast had broken his door open and just through the smoke he could see Doctor Jordan's office burning brightly.
"No!"
He moved to rise when a hand caught the collar of his shirt and he was being dragged towards the back exit.
Daniel was never one for prince charming and happily ever after, but even he could admit when he needed a little heroics. Maybe it would be nice if just once someone came rushing to save him. He even promised to wear the dress if he didn't have to be a host.