A/N: Thanks again for the reviews – they're great. OK, just a warning – this is a Pete chapter. I'm sorry, I don't like the guy either, but it had to be done.


Chapter 11 - MIA

Daniel and Teal'c had been called into an early morning briefing, Saturday morning, to discuss options on what to do for Jack and Sam. As they walked into the briefing room, Daniel noted the odd grouping of people. There were the science guys, Dr. Felger and Dr. Lee. Sergeant Siler was there, as well as the members of SG-2 and Colonel Reynolds. They were also surprised to see General Hammond sitting at the head of the table. "General! It's great to see you again." Daniel immediately went over and shook the General's hand. He felt much better knowing Hammond was involved, since he cared as much about Jack and Sam as Daniel and Teal'c did.

Teal'c held his fist across his chest and bowed slightly to the man he greatly respected and merely said, "GeneralHammond."

"Doctor Jackson, Teal'c, it's good to see the two of you as well. I only wish it were under better circumstances."

"OK people," the General opened the meeting. "Until we bring back General O'Neill or find a replacement, I will be acting commander of this base. We're here to discuss what we've figured out so far relating to what happened to General O'Neill and Colonel Carter, as well as discuss ideas for how to bring them home, if possible."

The meeting seemed to last days in Daniel's mind as Siler and the science guys discussed gate feedback and the sort as they tried to determine if the bomb going off had shut down the gate or if they thought maybe Carter or O'Neill had done it or if it was something else. The military guys discussed options for getting the Prometheus out to the planet or finding another ship to use. Daniel discussed the pictures he had managed to take of the building before he was forced to leave. Unfortunately, although he had been over every frame of every image in minute detail, several times, the only thing that had indicated any goa'uld presence in the building had been the bomb itself. With so little evidence, they could not yet determine who had been behind the bomb. Teal'c discussed the possibility of borrowing a ship from the rebel jaffa.

In the end, it was decided to send SG-2 to Cimmeria to see if they would have better luck trying to contact the Asgard from the Hall of Might. Teal'c and Daniel would track down Bra'tac and try to find a ship they could use to fly to the planet, as well as find out if Bra'tac knew anything about who might be behind what had happened. All teams going off-world would be notified to be on the alert for any Tok'ra operatives, so that they could relay a message to Jacob Carter about his daughter.

As the meeting was coming to a close, Sergeant Harriman quietly knocked on the door and looked at General Hammond. "Sorry for interrupting sir. There's a Peter Shanahan on the phone for you. He says it's 'Urgent'.

Daniel looked at Teal'c. "Oops."

"Doctor Jackson, do you know who this Shanahan person is?" Hammond asked Daniel.

"Yyyeeeaah, he's Sam's fiancé. I guess maybe I should have mentioned something to him about Sam being stuck out of town longer than she had figured to be. Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No, that's quite all right, I'll talk to him. I didn't realize Colonel Carter had gotten engaged."

Hammond turned and went into Jack's office to take the call. Daniel and Teal'c hung around the briefing room, in case they could be of assistance.

"This is Major General Hammond, how can I help you?"

"Hi, yeah, are you the guy in charge there?"

"Yes, I am, and you are?"

"My name is Pete Shanahan, I'm calling about my fiancé, Colonel Samantha Carter. Her brother told me she had been declared missing in action, and I wanted to know what happened to her and why I wasn't notified."

"Well, son, I personally notified Colonel Carter's brother about her status, as he was listed in her file as her next of kin along with her father."

"What? Wait, aren't I listed there, too? What about Cassie? Is she listed, because she knew about it, too. I'm her fiancé, shouldn't I have been told?"

"I'm sorry, but you are not listed at this time."

"Oh, she probably hasn't had a chance to do that yet, you know how busy she gets. Can you tell me what happened? Is she stuck on another planet?"

"I'm sorry, the circumstances surrounding Colonel Carter's current situation are classified and I cannot discuss them with you." Hammond hated this part of the job, not being able to tell loved ones the truth about what had actually happened to people hurt or lost on off-world missions.

"Was she captured? Is she just stuck? Is she in some spaceship somewhere? Is her team with her or is she all alone out there?"

"Son, I'm sorry, I cannot discuss any information pertaining to Colonel Carter's present situation with you."

"Well, what are you doing to bring her back home? She's got wedding arrangements to make."

"Any information regarding any plans we have regarding Colonel Carter is also classified."

"Well, what exactly CAN you tell me?"

"The only public information that I can share with you at this time is that as of approximately 48 hours ago, the US Air Force listed Colonel Carter as Missing in Action, Presumed Dead. I'm sorry, son."

"But, wait, what about that O'Neill character. I must have left 20 messages for him to call me. He knows who I am, why didn't he at least tell me that? Are you the person I complain to about his lack of response?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, I would be. However, General O'Neill is also Missing in Action."

"What? Wait. Is he with Sam? Who else is out there with them? They're not alone together are they? When do you think they'll be back? I need to know what you're doing to find her!"

Hammond was starting to lose patience. Sure, he felt pity for the guy, but at the same time, he just wouldn't take 'classified' as an answer. "I'm sorry, I am not at liberty to discuss that information with you."

"Well, who is? Who's your superior, I want to talk to him right now!"

"I'm sorry, but if you manage to talk to my superior, he will only tell you the same thing, the circumstances around Colonel Carter's status are classified."

"Who's your boss, I want his name and I want to be connected to him right now."

"Son, I report directly to the President of the United States. Feel free to contact him. I'm sure there's a phone number for the White House in the phone book. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do at the moment." And with that Hammond hung up the phone.