CHAPTER 9
Hammond refused to give Jack any further details into the operation instead opting to give him a dressing down for his actions. A briefing was scheduled for the following day when representatives from Soltaris were scheduled to arrive. Jack was early to the briefing room where Wong, Teal'c, and Major Davis from the Pentagon were already situated. Sam was in Hammond's office talking with him and Catherine until Daniel arrived with Minister Lora, Artmos, and Kashwin.
"Samantha Carter, it is good to see you safe."
"Thank you Kashwin. It's good to see you too."
"Minister Lora, this is General Hammond and Dr. Langford, the leaders of our facility," introduced Daniel.
"Minister, it is an honor. I am glad that you have agreed to meet with us today," greeted Hammond.
"Yes, given the circumstances, I believed that it would be best in order to maintain the integrity of the agreement we had come to with SG-1."
"Let's get started, shall we? I don't think I need to stress upon anyone that the information discussed during this briefing is highly classified and will not leave this room. Is that understood?" he asked scanning the faces at the table. Once satisfied, he gave a nod to Catherine.
"As you have all been informed by now, Sam here has been working undercover in efforts to infiltrate the NID."
"While I was working at Area 51, I started to get a few pieces of technology come across my desk that weren't in any of the mission reports. I still catalogued and even ran some tests on a couple of the items. However, almost all of these items eventually went missing. I reported it to General Matthews and the next thing I know I'm getting a visit from General Hammond."
"We've been suspecting rogue activity within the NID for awhile now but obviously with little proof. I first approached Sam to investigate these events and see if a common link could be determined. There was a Lieutenant Tobias that had been on our radar. Sure enough signs pointed towards her as the culprit. However, she was mostly just a pawn."
"Why not just confront Tobias and have her be your informant? How did Sam get involved in going undercover?" asked Daniel.
"Everything that was said on Sam's first day here was true. The NID had been adamantly vying for more integration in SGC activities and the feeling was that they were close to being successful. So we saw the opportunity to ensure that whoever was the NID representative was not part of the rogue operations," explained Catherine.
"Wouldn't you think that whoever was in charge of the rogue NID would have enough power to put their own person in that position?"
"Exactly, Captain Wong. Which is why we had Dr. Carter make contact with Tobias, expressing the same frustrations with the way the SGC was being run particularly when it came to acquiring advanced technology," answered Hammond.
"And she took the bait. I spent a few months trying to prove myself useful. Turns out I was pretty useful in my position at Area 51."
"We knew we had a foot in when Colonel Maybourne endorsed Dr. Carter for the position at the SGC," continued Davis. "The objective was to locate where they're operating from here on Earth and then hopefully the location of their off world base."
"Since starting here, I've been providing them with a few small things here and there."
"However, there's reason to believe that the NID has some major players in the political scene and with the election this year, they were in position to become even more powerful. So we suddenly had a deadline," Davis explained further.
"I needed something big to offer. Something I could use to get a meeting with someone in the inner circles. That's when I came across a name. Machiavelli. From what I could tell, he was the one giving my handler orders. Our situation with the Soltarans offered the perfect opportunity."
"What if we hadn't met the Soltarans before the election?" asked Daniel again.
"There was a contingency plan."
"Yes, one that I did not approve of," asserted Sam looking back to Catherine.
"What was it?"
"Me," answered Catherine. "We would offer up information for them to use against me and force me to step down. With the speculation that Sam was set up perfectly to succeed me, they would be halfway to running the SGC."
"It's why I was so adamant about getting the device on P5X-224. However, luckily we found the Soltarans."
"Samantha Carter approached me saying that these rogue men and women would come, that they would find a way to steal our technology. She assured us they had no affiliation with the SGC and did not represent the ideals of the majority of the people on your planet. She asked if we would assist in capturing them in order to secure the safety of our planet and yours. I provided her with two cloaking orbs that were equipped with long range trackers as well as the master device."
"I believed that Maybourne would have the orbs transported to the Earth base first before sending either one or both to their off world base. The plan was to hand them over and then track their movements."
"This is the reason you allowed Maybourne to escape with the orbs."
"Precisely Teal'c. Unfortunately, now that my position has been compromised, I believe they suspect our plan. The orbs have been taken to Area 51. Now it's possible they are there waiting to be transported to the Earth base, but more than likely they're just hiding them until they can disable the trackers or locate the master device."
"Where the master device now?" asked Jack speaking for the first time.
"It's hidden. Don't worry," retorted Sam with a quick glare.
"Is it possible for them to do anything with the cloaking orbs?" interjected Wong cutting the tension.
"Theoretically it is possible. However, I asked Kashwin to reprogram them with a very advanced code that should take awhile to crack. We'll be keeping tabs on the orbs for any movement, but with this most recent development, they might just sit on them until they can regroup."
"So the operation was a bust?"
"Not completely," said Davis. "We confirmed that Colonel Maybourne is deeply involved although he is now on the lam and we apprehended the agents that were left at the warehouse. There's still a chance this will lead us to the base here on Earth, but those odds are significantly decreased now that we no longer have Dr. Carter on the inside."
"What does this mean for our relationship with the Soltarans?" Hammond inquired turning towards the Minister.
"Although we are disappointed that the operation did not go as planned, we are still sincerely grateful for you all and your intentions, especially Dr. Carter. If your leaders are still amenable, we have decided that we would like to continue with the exchange of knowledge and technology that was agreed upon. However, we have two requests. First, we want to limit the number of SGC personnel who are sent to Soltaris. Secondly, we wish for the place we send our people to help you implement our technology to be off world, not on Earth."
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
"How about the Gamma Site, sir?" suggested Jack.
"If Catherine thinks that will be a good environment for the necessary experiments, I'll put in the request. Briefing will be at 0800 tomorrow to discuss the finalized details. Dismissed."
Jack was just about to approach Sam to try and reconcile what happened the other night when Hammond spoke again. "Sam, can I see you back in my office for a minute? We still need to finish our earlier conversation." She nodded and followed him shutting the door behind her.
SG-1 gathered the next morning in the briefing room with Colonel Edwards and Colonel Reynolds. Jack was the last to arrive just as General Hammond and Catherine entered.
"Good morning everyone. Take your seats and Catherine will lead us in today's briefing."
"SG teams 1, 11, and 16 will be assigned on this extended assignment. Captain Wong, you will be heading up the engineering group going to Soltaris to help set up the dialing program. Daniel and Teal'c will accompany you in efforts to provide knowledge about the Goa'uld as well as connect with the Soltaran's culture. Colonel Edwards and his team will also be with you. Colonel O'Neill and SG-16 will be at the Gamma Site overseeing the research group consisting of at least seven of our scientists as of right now."
"Excuse me, Catherine, but shouldn't Carter be here?"
"Dr. Carter is no longer with the SGC. She's been reassigned," interjected Hammond.
"What? When? Is this for what happened with Maybourne? Sir, none of that was her fault. She shouldn't have to—"
"It's out of my hands, Colonel," he interrupted putting up his hand to silence Jack. "Catherine, please continue."
"As I was saying, you'll have three days to arrange for everything you'll need. This assignment could last up to three months..."
Jack barely heard a word for the rest of the 45-minute briefing. What he really wanted to do was jump out of his seat and run over to her lab to see if it was true. Of course he couldn't, so he just sat there as guilt and regret washed over him. He thought this assignment would give him the opportunity to make amends, but now he feared the whole situation was completely FUBAR.
Once the briefing was over, Jack abruptly rose from his seat and started out the door towards Sublevel 19. Daniel quickly caught up with him at the elevator.
"Hey Jack, wait!" he shouted as he stuck his arm between the closing doors. "Jack!"
"What do you want, Daniel?"
"She's not there," he sighed knowing where Jack was headed. "She took the day off."
"So you knew?"
"She told me yesterday."
"Why didn't you—"
"Because it wasn't my place to say. Anyways, I just think it might be best if you give her some space."
"Right," he replied with an understanding nod. Yup. Completely FUBAR.
Well O'Neill, you've really done it this time. Jack thought to himself as he took another swig of his beer and stared at his blank TV screen. He had been replaying all the events over and over in his head, from when Cassie found the second phone to Hammond reprimanding him in his office. He kept getting stuck on that night at the warehouse. Something didn't sit right with him besides the obvious. Maybe it was the extreme guilt. Why couldn't he have just minded his own business? Now he's probably ruined her career and made her hate him in the process.
As he allowed himself to wallow just a little, he felt the need for company. Preferably with someone who wasn't completely irritated with him at the moment. He whipped out his phone.
"Did you still want to meet me?"
Sam sat on her couch with a glass of wine and a half empty bottle next to her. She had finally finished unpacking the whole apartment only to have to start packing it back up tomorrow. All because some cocky fly boy couldn't keep his nose out of things.
She was being sent back to the Pentagon, this time to be a liaison between Area 51 and Washington. Uncle George and Catherine tried to spin it as a progression of her career. She appreciated the attempt, but there was no denying that she was going backwards. The SGC was her dream job. She had it; it was right there.
She couldn't help but replay everything over and over in her head. Where did it all go wrong? Her mind kept getting stuck on that night at the warehouse. She had this weird feeling that there was something unresolved about it, like she was missing something. Maybe it was just the fact that it had all led to nothing.
She was thinking how she could really use a friend right about now when she got a notification on her phone. She blinked several times as she read the message to make sure it wasn't an illusion.
"Did you still want to meet me?"
"I would love to meet you."
"When? Where?"