Name: Better Ways To Self Destruct (aka 'Politics...Oy')
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Summary: Teal'c and Daniel contact the SGC whilst Sam finds herself in the middle of a city without an escort.
Notes: I intended to update faster, but I got sidetracked with another fic (Explicit Orders) and it didn't happen.That's why this section isn't as long as I had originally intended. Hope you all enjoy it, though!
Feedback: Please keep reviewing! I love hearing from you all.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and the characters are the property of MGM. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

-Part 6-
Contact

The sun glimmered high above Daniel and his elderly companion with startling clarity. They had lapsed into a heavy silence, which might have been awkward but for the way Sarai continued to gaze peacefully into the clearing sky. Sitting on a fallen tree trunk, its dying leaves still shaded with a wistful memory of green, Daniel had let his mind wander. Now it was jolted back to their present situation as he heard Teal'c's voice.

"It is I," said the Jaffa through the radio; "Teal'c. I request that you respond immediately, General Hammond."

Sarai turned her head enquiringly at the crackling static that followed. Daniel smiled apologetically for the intrusive noise; then he was distracted by his own relief as he heard George Hammond's voice.

"We read you, Teal'c. What's your situation?"

Teal'c's answer was as calm and as measured as ever. "Firstly, I must warn against sending more personnel through the Stargate to this world. The area around the Stargate is most perilous."

"Copy that, Teal'c," Hammond responded. "What's going on out there? Where's the rest of SG-1?"

"Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have been transported to a location as yet unknown to us. They may well be injured, General Hammond, and have given no response to our attempts at radio communication."

"And Doctor Jackson?"

Now seemed a good time to leap into the conversation. "Here! I'm here!"

"Daniel Jackson is safe," Teal'c offered. Sarai made no effort to hide her amusement.

"Well," said Daniel, unconvinced, "I wouldn't say 'safe' exactly."

General Hammond chose not to follow that up. "Tell me more about the area around the Gate, Teal'c. Could we send a UAV?"

"I believe so," said Teal'c. "However, it must be propelled away from the Stargate as quickly as possible, or the barrier defending this road may engage it in battle."

"I'll keep that in mind," Hammond replied. "Are you certain we can't send a rescue team?"

"That would be most inadvisable, General Hammond. I shall, however, attempt to disable some of the barrier's weaponry to ensure a safe passage for the UAV."

"Thank you, Teal'c. Doctor Jackson?"

"Hm? Er – yes, sir?"

"Have you met any indigenous friendlies that may be willing to launch a search for Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter?"

"Um…" Daniel glanced at Sarai, who gazed back at him placidly. "Kind of."

"Doctor." Hammond's tone demanded a proper response.

"Uh, well, as far as I can tell they're indigenous, and friendly, too, but apparently Jack and Sam have been transported behind old enemy lines. The war ended almost three decades ago with a devastating effect on their culture. There are still taboos about going beyond the battle lines that were drawn."

Hammond considered this. "I see. Well, Doctor, if we can't send reinforcements, you may have to keep trying."

"Yes sir, I plan to."

"We will send the UAV in one hour," the General concluded. "Have that defensive weaponry disabled by then if you can. Over and out."

--------------------------

The city was extensive and teeming with activity. Built on a flattened plain of mountain rock, Sam found herself no nearer to sea-level than she had been on the ridge. Still, there wasn't a lot she could do about that right now, and besides, the surrounding structures were just calling out to be investigated. Many of the buildings were being reconstructed, but of the ones that had been rebuilt, half a dozen looked distinctly like factories. One of them was bound to be manufacturing some intriguing piece of technology. She paused as she cast a glance below.

"Oh, wow."

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

They had come to a halt overlooking the majority of the mountain-side settlement. Gale smiled smugly as Sam moved in awe towards the edge of the raised walkway. The Air Force scientist leaned forward over the railing, craning her neck for a better view. A range of buildings hung resolutely in mid air with absolutely no sign of physical support.

"Are those actually…?"

"Suspended, yes." Gale didn't even attempt to conceal her satisfaction. "The mountain couldn't support much more weight so we built off it, right across the pass!"

"That's incredible," Sam murmured, her sight still fixed on the row of multi-storey buildings. "How do you do it? An anti-gravity field of some kind?"

Gale wasn't listening. "Survived the war, this place," she said, with pride. "The bridge was put out, so what did we do? We invented transportation technology. Now we can zap ourselves from place to place, just like that." She clicked her fingers.

Sam scanned the scene for the remains of a bridge. Her eyes sought out a shelf of rock jutting out further below; and on the face of the opposite mountain, a similar ledge. She couldn't see any sign of buildings, but perhaps the broken bridge led to a concealed part of the settlement.

"We had a similar situation on our world," she told Gale, "when war advanced our science. With us it was medicine instead of technology."

"Well, we invented medicines too," Gale responded in a distinctly defensive tone.

"Of course," Sam replied hastily, "I wasn't suggesting–"

An electronic wailing interrupted her apology. Men and women hurried out of buildings and into others, calling out to each other in the commotion. It wasn't quite panic, just alarm, as if something had happened that none of them had quite been expecting. Without providing any explanation, Gale imposed herself upon the moving crowd of people and began to issue orders. To Sam's amazement, some of those people actually listened to her.

Carter turned to a passing scientist. At least, she presumed he was a scientist, but the lack of white coats in alien societies sometimes made it hard to tell. She caught his arm to halt him; he made an odd little spin on the spot to face her.

"Excuse me…" – Daniel had taught her the value of being polite to alien races – "could you tell me what's going on? Why is there an alarm sounding?"

"The Stargate has activated," he exclaimed with intense excitement. "We could never figure it out yet it's activated twice in the same day! Incredible! Maybe it activates itself! Maybe my theories are correct after all! Fantastic, just brilliant!" And he dashed away again, clutching onto reams of printed paper.

Glancing towards the main body of people, Sam could see that not all of them were quite so thrilled at the Stargate coming to life. Gale continued to bark direction at anxious groups of scientists and restless bands of would-be soldiers. Sam took up her radio.

"Colonel."

"Carter! What's happening out there? This darned siren's gonna make me go deaf if they don't shut it off soon."

"Sir, I think Daniel and Teal'c just dialled home."

"Excellent." There was genuine cheer in Jack's tone and for Sam it was somewhat a relief to hear. "Find out what you can, Major. If there's a chance we can radio the SGC I want to know about it; so go snoop."

"Yes sir, I'll…snoop."

---------------------------------

Teal'c was deep in thought when Daniel and Sarai joined him at the tree line overlooking the road. Sarai congratulated him on his success in activating the Stargate; he inclined his head to her in thanks. Then he voiced what he was thinking.

"We must disable the weapons facility closest the Stargate," he said; "we must enable the UAV to arrive unharmed."

"Okay," said Daniel, "so how do we do that? I mean, if it's heat-seeking we can't use weapons or anything, can we?"

"Daniel is correct," Sarai confirmed. "The barrier was designed to protect again both energy and projectile weapons."

Teal'c's response was decisive: "Then we must find another way."

"That might be easier said than done, Teal'c," Daniel ventured. "Sarai, do you know anything else about this thing?"

"I am afraid I am to be of little help here," Sarai replied regretfully.

"It's okay," Daniel reassured, "you've been a lot of help already."

Teal'c was considering the barrier's defence system. "Its weapons seem to be encased in orbs," he observed.

Daniel followed his gaze. "What for? If they can repel weapons fire, why do they need protection?"

"The cloud renders their sensors useless," Sarai answered, shading her eyes to look up at the engineering of a generation of her people she scarcely remembered. Daniel glanced up to the clear, pale blue expanse above. The smog was but a dark shadow on the horizon. "Just our luck," he muttered.

Teal'c's tactical and determined mind, meanwhile, was still exploring the possibilities that flashed into focus.

"We must conduct a search," he instructed.

"What are we looking for?" asked Daniel.

"We must find an orb that is damaged or broken. It will be vulnerable."

"Uh…yeah, okay." So as Daniel took up his binoculars, Teal'c took off around the tree line in hope of reaching the other bank. Sarai sat herself down with a weary sigh.

"Sarai," Daniel said, turning at the sound, "are you alright?"

She smiled at his gentlemanly concern. "My legs are not as strong as they once were," she said; "and alas, my body is heavier than it once was! It seems that way, at least. No: you carry on, Daniel. We must do as your friend says and find a weakness."

Daniel nodded and turned back towards the barrier, the binoculars pressed to his glasses. "You know, Sam would be fascinated by this. A great big all-in-one defence system that rises out of the ground." He made the gesture with his free hand. "You can't get near it and you can't shoot at it either. What I was wondering, though – perhaps you can tell me – is why there are weapons on both sides – I mean, if it's supposed to be for defending your homeland."

Sarai didn't answer straight away. Instead her gaze travelled from the barrier to the Stargate, then back along the road towards the city. "It was designed for peace." Her words were heavy. "Instead it simply accelerated the onset of war."

She stood with effort and solemnly observed a silence of remembrance, her gaze fixed on the city far along the road. Daniel lowered his binoculars respectfully and stood quietly with her.

A few moments later, Teal'c's voice sounded calmly through the radio. "Daniel Jackson, I believe I have found a suitably damaged orb."

"That's great, Teal'c. Where are you?"

"Observe, Daniel Jackson." A fiery staff blast rose from the opposite bank to mark Teal'c's position and a few minutes later, Sarai and Daniel stood beside Teal'c as he pointed out the broken orb. He turned to Sarai: "Are you aware that this barrier would defend against a weapon that is neither energy nor projectile?"

"If the weapon is without heat, I believe not," Sarai replied. "The sensors are heat-seeking; they take no account of movement, else engineers sent to maintain the barrier would be caught in its destruction."

"Then I may have a solution."

And Teal'c unclipped his SGC standard issue knife.

Daniel marvelled at the simplicity of it. He silently thanked whatever physics meant that things short-circuited, too, because by one simple throw the whole of the end section of the barrier's defence system was disabled.

"Wow, so that's it?" he commented as he watched electricity leap around the metal blade like miniature lighting bolts.

"That is it," Teal'c agreed. "Now we must await General Hammond's deployment of the UAV. Perhaps then we shall locate Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter."

Daniel sure hoped so. For all they knew, Jack and Sam were stranded on a mountain somewhere, maybe blind, maybe brain damaged, maybe both. He watched the knife quiver a moment longer and wished he could do more to ensure his friends' safety.