((Well since was down for server work and I was unable to post chapter 6, I decided to put the ferret in the exercise wheel of my mind and crank out another chapter; thank you for your reviews and I hope you like this one as well.))

((Rated R/PG-13 for a 'naughty' word))

Denver
'Storage Solutions' – 4:26pm

The cab glided to a silent halt before the door to the storage facility. Telling the driver to wait, she opened the door and slipped out. Moving toward the security door, she donned her sunglasses and quickly punched in the security code. The door buzzes and she quickly tugged it open and disappeared inside the large steel building.

Quietly walking down the numbered isles she turns at the fifth row and continues down for another five yards, coming to a stop at storage container #35. Leaning over slightly she clicks the key into the padlock and with a gentle twist is rewarded with a metallic snap as the lock pops open. Quickly unhooking the lock she leans down and tugs the rolling metal door up. The space is small, only five feet by five feet and bare save for the long black case in the middle of the concrete floor. Walking into the stale air of the room she leaned down and silently unhooked latches on the case and tilting the lid open.

Within the plush velvet case rests an elegant gold swept hilt rapier; her fingertips gently trailed over the fine filigree on the basket of the hilt. She closed the lid and secured the latches; grasping the handle, she stood and walked out of the container, the padlock and key left in the middle of the cold floor and the door wide open.

As she exited the building and approached the waiting cab the truck popped open and as the cabby's door opened, obviously about to offer her a hand, she waved him off and placed the long case with care in the back slamming the truck hatch down swiftly. Moving to the back passenger door she climbed in and they drove off.

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Stargate Command
Level 21 Medical Intensive Care Unit – 4:30pm

Jack O'Neill's eyes opened slowly. 'Damn it, I feel like crap. I am way too old for this,' he thought to himself as he turns his head slowly. He recognized the short brown hair of his friend Daniel Jackson next to him; head bowed in concentration as he looks at something below Jack's field of vision… 'Probably some new rock,' Jack thinks absentmindedly.

His attempts at talking come out in a gurgling moan that never the less gets Daniel's attention, the mystery item in his friends hand comes into view as Daniel jumps up quickly and leans down over Jack. 'Ah, that better not be my Game Boy your pawing Space Monkey,' He thinks.

"Don't try to talk, you're on a ventilator." He says to his older friend in a barely contained burst of joy. 'Wow a vent, and here I was wondering what this plastic tube was in my esophagus.' Jack thinks, his tired glare unnoticed as Daniel moves the curtain aside and calls for the Doctor.

Dr. Warner comes into sight and picks up Jack's wrist and takes his pulse. "Glad to see you decided to join us Colonel O'Neill, you gave us quite a scare there for a while." He says with a slight smile. The duty nurse moves towards the other side of the bed, Dr. Warner looks at her saying "I think we can remove the vent on the Colonel now." She nods and raises the level of the bed slightly, as the Doctor removes the oxygen line, "Now Colonel I am going to remove the intubation tube take a deep breath then on three as I remove the tube blow out, ok?" O'Neill nodded slowly and drawing in as deep a breath as he could.

Dr. Warner un-tapes the tube and quickly goes "1…2…Blow," and pulled the pale plastic tube as Jack exhaled roughly. As the tube slipped quickly up and out of his throat, Dr. Warner grabbed an emesis basin held it before the Colonel as he coughed and gagged for several moments.

As Jack got his breathing under control, Dr. Warner pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and listens to the sound of Jack's lungs; nodding as he draped the stethoscope around his neck again he picked up Jack's chart. Taking a pen from his coat pocket he starts making notations as he talks "Your lungs are sounding good all things considered, tomorrow we'll talk about your rehabilitation schedule Colonel O'Neill. Now I want you to take it easy and get some rest," moving off leaving Jack and Daniel alone.

As Daniel moved to reclaim his chair next to Jack's bedside, Jack quietly asked "How's everyone?"

At this Daniel looked decidedly uncomfortable, his focus down on the Game Boy in his hands; its a few moments before he finally speaks "SG-3 and 13 took the worst of it. Bregman and his crew are fine…" Jack could tell by Daniel's posture that he was leaving something out "Who didn't make it, Teal'c… Carter?"

Drawing in a breath Daniel said "No… No, they're alright."

"Daniel!" He said in a soft yet annoyed tone, his patience all but gone from the constant dull pain every breath caused combined with the ever-present ache of his knee.

"Um Janet… she um, she didn't make it Jack." He said in a husky voice, "Um she… when she was stabilizing a member of SG-13 and uh…" he swallowed again "um she was hit by a staff blast and there was nothing we could do, she was…," his voice faltered.

While Daniel talked O'Neill had closed his eyes and swallowed hoping that this was all just a bad dream, he knew it wasn't but still. His mind focused on Cassie and automatically he said "She's on a class trip…asked if she could borrow my binoculars; she should be back on…what day is it?" his mind focused on random thoughts as he silently came to grips with this news.

Before Daniel can speak Jack stated "I'll tell her," in a tone that Daniel knew meant the subject was not open for debate. Nodding quietly Daniel set Jack's Game Boy down on the small bedside table "Here I thought you might…" But he can see that Jack's eyes had closed and his breathing was slow and even. Running a hand through his hand he quietly stood up and walked away, leaving his friend to rest.

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Washington D.C.
Capital Hill -- Office of Senatorial Special Assistant Marcus Grant – 5:00pm

As he sat at his desk reviewing the latest reports from the NID for his boss Senator Kinsey, the silence of the room is broken by a soft chime from his computer. Glancing at the screen he noticed a single message, the subject line only contained the word 'UPDATE'. Turning in his chair to face the computer he clicked on the message and began to read, the message barely one sentence says 'Target Deceased as of 12:00am CST'; a broad malicious smile appeared upon his face. Scrolling down the body of the message he saw the attached grainy digital photo of a dead body, the face prominent and distinctly identifiable as Janet Frasier.

Major Janet Frasier, M.D… but he had known her by a few other names, it had been 60-years since their last encounter but then you never forget the one person responsible for the humiliation of being sent into slavery and chained to an oar for 10 agonizing years.

Finally, he spoke softly to himself as he savored the sight of her nude body on the cold metal slab "Your luck has run out at last and you will be forced to run bitch. And I will make use of your 'death'."

He leaned back sighing as a sense of pure bliss invaded his being at this wonderful event. But he would bide his time, he was after all a patient man; the willingness to wait out an enemy had been drilled into him since he was a small boy.

Oh he knew he would have to inform that ass Kinsey to start the wheels in motion but once the NID was securely in charge of the Stargate he would deal with that useful idiot and the rest of those short sighting fools of the 'committee' that controlled the NID.

They only see the Stargate as a means to exploit new avenues of financial gain, but it was far more then just that. And when General Hammond discovered that there was no body to recover, Kinsey would get an anonymous tip suggesting that a Go'a'uld was on the loose. And Kinsey he would predictably scamper to the Oval Office… and then… then the NID would take charge and as for himself; he would be in position to take the reigns of the committee and with it the Stargate.

"Fortuna caeca est Kallisto, alea iacta est," he said softly.

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(Fortuna caeca est --Fortune is blind)

(Alea iacta est -- The die has been cast)

Review Reply

Cuppajo - Nope no Beta currently this is my first story, sorry bout the tense shifts, In fact I see one sentence that is just totally confusing I will edit it ASAP and I'll keep them to a minimum as the story goes but honestly I type as I speak if it doesn't flow correctly I fix it…In fact I think the problem is that as I write the story is unfolding before my minds eye so in a sense its all 'present tense' to me.

Malaskor - Yes Go'a'uld can't take over a dead body BUT they are devious and thus most would suspect that if she was taken over, the snake was playing dead and thus that would be the only explanation that the SGC can rationalize for the loss of her body - I would dare say that her being an Immy would be dead last on their list, and Go'a'uld also have the ability to increase their hosts natural healing abilities. I try my best to keep 'plot-bunnies' to a minimum.