Dear Readers: I apologize for the long wait. Life has been hectic. But I appreciate your patience and encouragement for me to finish this novella. It's almost complete. The first three chapters have been revised to accommodate improvements in the established plot. I hope you enjoy the rest of this novella.
Jack and Sam hugs,
HailDorothy
CHAPTER FOURSGC: General Landry's office:
When it rains it pours . . . and it wasn't pennies from Heaven. Hank would have given his eyetooth for a miracle. Like Jack he was a man of faith but right now any faith in the Man upstairs stood on shaky ground.
Alien wristbands physiologically coupled Doctor Jackson and Vala Mal Doran. To say that Jackson wasn't thrilled about being hooked up with Vala in any fashion or form was an understatement. The only other worse case scenario Hank could imagine would have been Jack and Vala. Oh yeah, with Carter purposely planted between them - - Hank shook off that nightmarish vision fast.
Anyhow the couple had successfully found the treasures of mythical Avalon and now were unconscious in the infirmary after getting touchy feely with Ancient technology. Less than hour ago Vala almost died. And even if Jackson survived this, he might miss the Daedalus' departure for Atlantis, which was counting down. And still no sign of Doctor McKay. Not to mention, neither Jack nor Sam had returned the messages he'd left on their cell phones, regarding McKay.
Almost midnight, Hank sent Teal'c to Jack's house. His old buddy would be royally pissed if Teal'c walked in on an intimate moment between Jack and Sam. Well, rather Teal'c than some SF.
And now a worried, Colonel Mitchell occupied Hank's opened office doorway. The poor kid. Hank waved him in. The phone rang as Cameron took a seat and tried to act professional cool.
"Landry here."
"It is I, Teal'c."
"Good. What do you have, Teal'c?"
"I fear neither O'Neill nor Samantha occupy their house. Their vehicles are in the garage with their luggage packed and the house doors are locked and dead-bolted from the inside. It would appear they were in bed during their abduction . . ." Teal'c cleared his throat.
Any other time, Hank would have smiled, but Teal'c's grave tone revealed the Jaffa's personal concern.
"General, the interior house lights were in use. O'Neill is very efficient about such things, as is Samantha. Furthermore, their cell phones are on the bedside table."
"Any evidence of a struggle?"
"No."
"Then you believe they were abducted and transported by alien technology?"
"Of that I am certain, General Landry. I would suggest you contact the Asgard, although if they are with Thor, we would have heard by now . . ."
Hank listened further and felt his gut knot up. "Okay, Teal'c, return to base. I'll call the Pentagon, check with NORAD and have Walter send a SOS to the Asgard." He hung up, rubbing the back of his aching neck and stared at the curious Cameron.
"Sir?" the younger officer braved and stepped forward.
Wearily, Hank dropped into his chair. "I haven't slept in thirty hours, Mitchell. First Jackson and Vala Mal Doran become Siamese twins, Doctor Rodney McKay is AWOL and now General O'Neill and Colonel Carter are missing."
"Holy shit!" Cameron gawked. "I mean, that's not good, sir."
"Yeah, welcome to my world, Mitchell. You still sure you want to be apart of this off-the-wall unit?"
"Yes, sir." He looked emphatic.
"So how's Doctor Jackson and Mal Doran?"
"Stable, but we don't know for how long. Doctor Lam's still clueless. Doctor Lee's fiddling with the Ancient communication device and—"
"In other words no progress?"
"No, sir." Mitchell shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. A moment drifted between them. "Sir, do you think, there's a possible connection with the General, Colonel, and McKay's disappearances?"
"Don't know." Hank poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Cameron. "But more than likely."
"Thank you, sir." Cameron accepted the hot drink and took a sip. "Sam and I have been good friends since Academy."
"I know, son."
"I mean really good friends," he said softly and approached Hank's desk with a conspirator's expression.
"Really?" Hank's brows touched. "And that means?"
"Sam and I dated a few times but there was no chemistry. We've stayed friends - - confidants you might say. And along with yourself I am one of the few who know she and General O'Neill are romantically involved."
"I see." Hank stared into his coffee.
"So, I'd like—"
"Before you ask the answer is no, son."
"Sir?"
"You heard me, Mitchell."
"But there's little I can do in the infirmary. I'd like to help find her and General O'Neill."
"That's commendable of you, Colonel, but as head of SG-1 you're needed here with your team."
"Forgive me, sir, but there is no SG-1."
"Not according to General O'Neill."
"Really?" Cameron gawked.
"Yes." They held each other's gaze until Cameron's lips twitched, which caused Hank to smile.
"Dismissed, Colonel."
"Yes, sir." Grinning, Cameron wavered at the doorway then sobered.
"Go to your team, son. I'll keep you apprised." Hank looked up from the red phone he'd brought to his ear.
"Yes, sir. I appreciate that."
Despite their depressive circumstances, Hank heard Mitchell whistle as he headed back to the infirmary and for a moment, Hank smiled.
In A Galaxy Far, Far Away:
"Hi, Sam."
Definitely a Goa'uld speaking to her, Sam recoiled in pain. Her head felt like a jackhammer kissing concrete, the concrete being her head. Still she tried to reach her husband. 'Jack, can you hear me?' Zip. Nada. It seemed as if a telepathic force field separated them.
She jerked upright, no longer in the berth but an open area surrounded by a raised seating area and a blue shimmering wall of light. The cushioned floor beneath her was a wall-to-wall mattress. Bile shot up her throat. No! Not again!
"You remember?" the voice echoed around her. This time it wasn't Goa'uld but alarmingly familiar. Sam shook the absurd thought from her head. Standing unsteadily, she found herself dressed in standard green SG-1 BDU's. How?
"Want you back in regular mode, Major. Oh, I'm sorry, Sam. You were promoted to Lieutenant Colonel after I took that fatal staff weapon blast on—"
"Jaa-net?" Sam forced out with astonishment.
"Hi, Sam." Her hands shoved into the pockets of her lab coat, Janet Fraiser strolled forward from the shadows, her black pumps clicking against the ship's floor. She wore her Air Force Blue's skirt and standard white buttoned down blouse. Her collar length hair was reddish brown with the blonde highlights Sam had given her a few weeks before her death.
Sam shut her eyes in disbelief and then opened them. The petite woman remained in the familiar Fraiser stance smiling at her. Sam knew this couldn't be her Janet. Janet Fraiser had died and was buried in the community cemetery at Colorado Springs and—
"It's really me, Sam." Janet walked up to her. "I've missed you so much." The pretty petite woman tilted her head, her brown eyes full sadness, or so it appeared.
"You're not here. Janet died from a staff weapon wound almost two years ago. You're a figment of my imagination and this nasty headache I've got."
"Don't think so." Janet held up a small gadget, aimed it at the force field. The wall of blue light vanished. "And sorry about the headache. But for your own safety it was necessary to medicate you."
"Whatever." Sam snorted like her better half and worried if Jack was okay. Dear God, she hoped so.
"Sam, I'm very much alive. With no small thanks to the Asgard intervention."
"But your body, we buried you?"
"Nope. Empty casket. Didn't Jack or General Hammond tell you?"
Sam began to shake with anger at the thought Jack would withhold this from her.
"Oh, that's a shame." Janet sighed out with a regretful tone. "I suppose they didn't want to disappoint you, Daniel, and Teal'c if Loki failed. I mean, I'd been dead over forty-eight hours so the chances of my DNA . . . "
"Loki?" Sam swallowed hard.
"Yes. Bless his little gray heart. After the O'Neill clone incident, Loki had been put on probation. In other words, he couldn't play mad scientist. And if Thor had found out that he'd taken my remains, well General O'Neill would be in deep trouble. Well, not that Thor would ever harm him but - -"
"Enough!" Sam shouted in anger and defiance.
"I was simply explaining." Janet shrugged her shoulders in the way she'd done for years.
Sam closed her eyes a moment and stretched her neck. She opened her eyes and asked matter-of-factly, "You're a clone?"
"As much as I hate that word, yes. The molecular structure of my original body had broken down and Loki did what he could. Unfortunately there were a few adjustments needed. But everything appears in working order." She gave herself a look over and smiled riley.
"So why haven't you returned home? Why am I a prisoner on a Goa'uld ship and where's Jack?"
"Jack?" Janet grinned and entered the cushioned circle where Sam stood with her fists clenched at her sides. "Sam, you've no idea how long I've waited to hear you refer to him that way. Gosh, I've missed a lot haven't I? SG-1's disbanded. Jack promoted to Major General in under two years and head of Home World Security. Now there's a huge feat even for him. And you." She gestured, "You've grown your hair out a bit. Bet Jack likes that. And you're literally running Area 51."
Speechless, Sam gaped as Janet ran on like a broken record but accurately sizing up the last eighteen months of being deader than a doorknob, packed on ice, pushing up daisies, six-feet under . . .Whatever. She swore Jack was talking in her head.
"How's Daniel? Gosh, I miss him, Sam. I often think of what we could have had together. But he never looked at me that way, did he?" She looked close to tears.
"Yes he did." Sam found herself sharing. "You just didn't give him a chance."
"You could be right. I ignored his puppy dog looks and turned down his invitations for a real date. If only we'd . . .Oh, how's Teal'c? Still, okay with the Tretion medication? And the Jaffa are now free because of his vigilance and he's part of the Jaffa World Council."
She rattled on, "And my dear daughter, Cassandra. Is she handling things okay? I mean my up and dying wasn't on her agenda. But then it's probably for the best, I mean you and Jack being her real parents—."
"Gotcha!" Sam proudly announced taking a step forward. Trying to get a better look at the woman who claimed to be her deceased best friend and the sister she'd never had. "Janet did not know the truth about Cassandra's birth parents."
"Oh, but I did." Janet reached to touch her, but Sam took a purposeful step back. Janet's pretty face took on an a melancholy expression Sam had often seen in the MO's eyes before. "Remember when we held Nirrti prisoner and blackmailed her to help save Cassandra from the retro virus?"
"Sure." Sam acknowledged.
"Well, after I threatened her with the pistol, just before General Hammond, you and the Colonel arrived, she'd told me the truth. About how she'd experimented on you and Jack to create the perfect Hok Taur. However, she promised that if I let her take Cassandra she'd not harm Cass. Even promised to take me along. Of course, she'd just wanted my knowledge of the Tau'ri's physical anatomy. I knew she lied about guaranteeing our safety."
"You could be making this up?"
"You doubt me. You think I'm Goa'uld?"
"The thought crossed my mind."
"Sam, if I were Goa'uld you'd know it. You'd sense the Naquadrah."
Sam drew a deep sigh of acknowledgement. Janet or whoever she claimed to be was right. Sam sensed no Naquadrah. Not a whiff. But Sam had been fooled before. She recalled the incident two years prior when the Goa'uld took over an entire town. And then there was the Seer Goa'uld who'd invaded the female Kelownan scientist Jonas had fallen in love with. Sam never detected a thing. Sam's instincts were fallible. She reasoned this imposter could be wearing a mimic badge, camouflaging his/her identity. But then the real Janet would have to be alive for that to work. Another thought surfaced.
"Why did you abduct me?"
"So we could talk. See each other." Tears wet Janet's eyes.
Sam inhaled remembering Janet's favorite hair shampoo had been peach scented. Darned if that's not what she smelled. Then again, perhaps she wanted this so much that her subconscious was working overtime. She decided to play along.
"Convinced, Sam?"
"Okay, so you're Doctor Janet Fraiser. But you could have come home, Janet." She cocked her head a bit trying to comprehend. "I mean look how many times, Daniel's died and ascended."
"It's not that easy. First off, I'm not an Ancient. Secondly, I can't go home, yet. I've a promise to keep. Just trust me will you?"
Sam gave her best convincing smile. No way, would she let down her guard and trust her best dead friend.
In A Deep Freezer Nearby:
Jack's head felt like rigged C4, ready to explode. Of course being upside down in a freezer compartment had that affect on one's body. The blood had rushed to his head and not the one he preferred. At least their abductor hadn't switched the freezer on, which meant they wanted him and Rodney thawed, for now.
"Move over, McKay."
"Hey, I'm trying. And did I mention I've got to pee?" He groused and slid an inch in the opposite direction.
"Yes and hold it, wilya?" Jack finally got his numb fingers on the latch—the door opened and they toppled out.
"Hey!" McKay exclaimed while he hit the hard floor. "How'd you—?"
"Shush!" Jack shook the aches from his coiled muscles, yanked McKay back alongside the freezer and then quietly shut the unit's door."
How the heck did they end up on Jacob's scout ship? Hadn't it been shot down four years back? A single wall torch lit the sealed transport room, indicating a Goa'uld possessed the ship.
"How long ya been here?" he stretched his legs and shook them to regain blood flow.
The scientist unclenched his jaw and rested his head against the wall. "Don't know. Until you showed I'd been unconscious. You said it's been five days since you saw me. I've only been awake a few hours and shit! I'm going to miss the flight to Atlantis."
"Ya think?" Jack groused and glanced at his green BDU's and the eagle insignia on his shoulder. Someone either had a warped sense of humor or was out of the loop. Not a star to be had.
"So where we are?" Rodney pulled his knees to his chest.
"A former Tok'ra Tel'tak, but where - - I've got nothing."
"What's an upright freezer doing on a Goa'uld vessel?"
"This was Jacob and Selmak's ship."
"And?" McKay urged with that patronizing voice Jack loathed and ignored.
"Let's do a walk about." He shoved to his feet while his knees and back rebelled. He offered McKay his hand.
"You sure that's a good idea?"
"No, but if you must pee."
"I must." Rodney accepted Jack's grip, came to an unsteady stance and let go as he spotted a small container.
"Yeah I know that feelings. A few years back, I went an entire week without," he shuddered remembering the time Loki had abducted him. A moment later the pungent odor reached his nostrils and he hoped whoever was on the opposite side of the door didn't smell urine.
"What a relief." Rodney let out as he zipped up and turned back to Jack. "Now what?"
"The helm's just outside and probably manned." He stepped into the shadows and felt his way around the familiar room. "Bingo." He lifted the lid to a crate and found it loaded with zats.
"We could probably ring out of here." Rodney indicated the central transport base.
"To where?" Jack asked sarcastically.
"Well, guess that'd be the problem."
"Yes it would." He gingerly handed over one weapon as to not make contact with Rodney's unwashed hands. "I assume you know how to use this."
"I've been on Atlantis for eight months in hair-raising situations you could never fathom - -,"
Jack glared the arrogant man down.
"Then again, I'm sure you've seen it all." Rodney gulped. "And yes, I've become a crack shot."
"Nice." He noted how Rodney now stood in the middle of the transport rings. "So you wanna be the hero or stoolie?"
"Hero of course." He puffed out his chest.
"Great. Yell for attention." Jack pressed back against the wall and aimed his zat at the sealed door.
"Hey, you tricked me!" Rodney bellowed waving his zat like an irate brat.
The door opened to reveal two Jaffa guards with their staff weapons aimed at Rodney. One Jaffa fired the faint but effective warning flare.
Before Rodney injection, Jack fired his zat and the guards toppled in front of them.
"You're an ass, O'Neill." Rodney ranted while Jack hurried and grabbing a Jaffa by the boots started to drag him toward the freezer.
"Ya ever notice how hard it is to find good help nowadays?" Jack indicated the other guard. "Like, give me hand wilya?"
Swearing, Rodney helped disarm the guards and stuff them into the freezer. A few minutes later the men had donned the Jaffa's uniforms. Rodney's was too large and Jack's too small, but they managed and placed the helmets on their heads to conceal their faces.
"Hey what kind of Jaffa are these?" McKay pointed to the jackal-faced mask he wore and then Jack's bird face. "And I thought the Jaffa rebelled and won."
"Dog and bird," said Jack as if that were obvious. He caught the scientist's thin-mouthed scowl. "And yes, most Jaffa no longer serve the Goa'uld. Although, some minor system lordlings still hang about the Milky Way water cooler talking shop. Just haven't seen any misfit Jaffa since Nirrti died." That worried him. Of course Nirrti was dead. He'd watched Woden snap her neck like a twig three years back.
"So's there any chance if we get through this, and I miss my flight you can book me on the next ship to Atlantis? I mean they depend on me and --"
"For cryin' out loud, zip your lips, McKay!" Jack whispered.
"Hey, I was just asking?"
"Ask Landry," he hissed as they left the transport room and stepped into the Ha'tek's helm with Jack taking the lead. "And watch who you're giving the finger too." Another bonus from being an Ancient.
Rodney coughed or was that choked?
Jack inwardly smirked then, "Crap! Whatcha know?" he waved at the helm's transom. "That explains why we didn't feel flight motion."
"We're on a mothership!" Rodney blanched.
"Yep and," then the vessel dropped out of hyperspace. "We're so not in Kansas." Jack shut his eyes until his stomach settled.
"I hate that." McKay muttered, holding his midsection.
"Yeah. C'mon, let's find out who's hosting this reunion and locate Sam."
"You think she's here?" Rodney sounded concerned. No doubt about it, the irritating genius was wacko about his wife. "Yes. Now that we're out of the freezer, I can sense her and--."
Rodney gawked.
Jack back-peddled. "I mean you know that couple's connection thingy."
"No. But if you say so." The scientist didn't seem convinced.
Jack cautiously led them out of the Tel'tak and across the large unmanned landing bay that held two Al'kesh and four death gliders. Whoever ran this shoddy operation was low on manpower, ships and hopefully weapons.
And Eventually:
They made good time. Ten minutes later, they'd not seen one Jaffa let alone Goa'uld.
"I'm hot," Rodney complained. "If I miss my ride to Atlantis someone's head's going to roll. While I take this straight to the head of HWS!"
Jack glanced over his shoulder and displayed his best intimidating glint. "That'd be me, McKay."
"Um, right. Sorry." Rodney gulped.
Holding his tongue, Jack opened his mind searching for Carter.
'Sam, you here?'
'Jack?'
'Yeah, where are you, babe?'
'You wouldn't believe me,' she muttered in his head.
'Try me?'
'On Nirrti's mothership.'
'I figured the ship part. We're here too.'
'We? Cassandra?'
'No. They abducted McKay.'
'Why?' she sounded perplexed.
'Beats me, and he's driving me nuts.'
'Sorry,' she sighed.
'So you alright?'
'For now.'
'What level are you on?'
'Third, I think. In um, the mating chamber.'
'You gotta be kidding?'
'No. And you wouldn't believe who else is here?'
Their connection crackled like a broken phone line.
"Well, well, I wondered how long it'd take you to escape?"
Jack spun around too late. Before the zat's electric shock hit him, he saw Pete Shanahan's grinning face. Crap!