Disclaimer: See Profile Page, where I have posted a whole lot of obligatory legal mumbo jumbo.

Chapter 1

"I have now been officially ordered off the base!"

Samantha Carter picked up her bag and slung it reluctantly over her shoulder. Dressed in a casual jeans and a t-shirt, she turned to her friends, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c, who were standing in the doorway of her lab.

"General Hammond insisted," she complained, "that because I haven't taken a proper vacation in five years, I either take one week now or they start not paying me for seven weeks vacation. Naturally, I'd refuse, but I have to eat." She sighed and tucked a huge astrophysics text book under her arm. Jack looked at it.

"Carter, isn't the point of a vacation not to do any work?" he asked.

Sam rolled her eyes. "So, what. . . I'm just supposed to mooch around for a week?"

"Yes!" he replied, almost seriously.

"Think of it as relaxing, not mooching," contributed Daniel, folding his arms conclusively.

It was Teal'c's turn to add fuel to the fire. "You do indeed deserve a vacation, Major Carter."

Sam grimaced. "Thanks, Teal'c. Well, I guess I'll see you guys next week." She flashed them a quick smile, then, after shifting the astrophysics text book to a more comfortable position under her arm, began her journey to the surface.

"So, Teal'c," Jack said to Teal'c as soon as she was out of earshot, "what are we going to do this week? What's on the mission list?"

"Nothing, I believe. Doctor Fraiser has scheduled a standard medical examination. Also, it is my understanding that General Hammond wants the completed documents of mission recounts handed to him by next Monday."

"Then why did Carter get to go on vacation?"

"Major Carter is indeed the only one who makes the effort to attend meet all deadlines."

Jack frowned and left, mumbling something about "missing the memo".

There was a struggle. The person tried to get free, but the men that held them had muscles like steel. There was no chance of escape. These men were armed with Automatic Pistols, and they knew how to use them. Armed, they were twice as deadly as they were with their bare hands. All with unique styles and strengths, but all were fighting under the same orders: to eliminate those who stood in the way of power, but keeping their names clean. This was usually done by use of hostages. Even the strongest man in the world had people who cared about him, and a person whom he cared about.

One of the men hit their captive over the head with a strong, single gesture. At once, they lay still. Their muffled screams for help could no longer be heard, even if someone was close enough to hear them. As the men tied up the body and threw it into the back of their truck, the leader smiled. Their plan was now in action.

Jack walked into his office, still stiff and in a slightly bad mood from his medical examination. He glanced at his watch. 2112 hours. He wondered if he should pack it in for the night and hit the sack in the SGC's guest quarters. His gaze shifted to the pile of reports to be done, wondering how they might have built up so much. He began to count them, hoping to stall for time before he actually had to do them.

"1, 2, 3. . ."

In the back of his mind, Jack knew that something had changed since he had last been in his office. The papers were about a foot away from where he could've sworn they were before, and the lid of his lap top had been down before he had come, and now it was up.

". . .6, 7, and there's that form thing that Doc Fraiser wanted me to fill out, that memo from Hammond and the stupid letter saying I've won a trip to Antarctica, all expenses paid – I must remember to throw that out at some point."

The telephone rang. Jack unconsciously pushed all the reports he counted off the phone and onto the floor so he could answer. He growled, annoyed, as the papers flew everywhere.

"O'Neill!" he said a little more forcefully than he had intended.

"I have someone here that I think you know." The voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar.

"Who are you?"

"Not important."

"Maybe I put it too nicely. Who the hell are you?"

The person laughed. "Amusing. Now, if you want to see your little friend again, I suggest you fill our requests."

"Wha..? My friend – who?"

"Let me give you a hint. Look in the top draw of your desk." Jack cautiously opened his draw. Inside was a book. A huge astrophysics textbook.

His heart dropped into his stomach.

"No, Carter's on vacation."

Person X laughed again. "Well, she certainly won't be just mooching around anymore, will she?"

Jack didn't say anything, for fear of effectively screwing it up. He didn't know if what this man had said was true.

"What, you still don't believe me?" Person X seemed to be reading his thoughts. "Just look at the book and you'll know I'm telling the truth."

Sound sure of yourself, he told himself before he dared to speak. "There are hundreds of copies of this book."

"But only one can be found in the Stargate facility in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs." X paused. "Now, what would you pay for Carter's release? I'm sure I can think of something. I will call you back at this exact time tomorrow with my requests and they will be filled in 72 hours."

Jack opened his mouth to say something. "And don't think of taking this to your superiors, Colonel O'Neill," said X. "You say a word to anyone, and Carter will die before you can blink. And don't forget . . . I'm watching you."

The line went dead.

That's the end of chapter one. Another coming in a couple of days. And I need a name. Any random name that I could use in this fanfic for the name of the head of the USAF.