A/N: I would have updated much earlier.. except I was side-tracked by new episodes of Stargate!Wohoo! I know some people feel.. ambiguous.. or perhaps even downright hatred.. for season 10, but I guess I'm just easily pleased. Or, more likely, I'm such an obsessive Daniel fan that I'd take anything! That said, however, I feel that season 10 is off to a pretty good start and it is my hope to see a season 11. If not, there is always the hope of future movies. Either way, I'm content. If anyone is still reading this, what do you think of season 10 so far?
Anyway, here's an extra long chapter!
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It had been over two weeks since Daniel's disappearance, and as yet they had little to show for their efforts in solving the mystery. Despite misgivings over how such an accident could have occurred, they found no evidence to dispute the fact that it was, in fact, just that: an accident.
The search of Daniel's room at the hotel was a dead end, though they hadn't known what they could possibly hope to find there in the first place. It was fairly late when the team left the accident scene; the summer sun was low on the horizon and dusk was setting in. By the time they concluded their futile search of the room, it was completely dark.
It was at this point that O'Neill decided to send Carter back along with the recovered wreckage so she could begin work on it as soon as possible. He and Teal'c were to stay in pursuit of possible clues from Daniel's peers.
Carter had hesitated before leaving. "You'll let me know if you find anything?"
O'Neill, in response, had raised a brow in mild rebuke, "Carter."
No further words were needed as she realized he would have kept her appraised in any case. She took her leave.
O'Neill and Teal'c proceeded to spend the next two days tracking down and questioning anyone whom Daniel might have worked with, including the expected dinner guests the night before the crash. The scientists and researchers had surprisingly little input for their investigation; apparently all they ever talked about was the work at hand. A few spoke warmly of his character, but noted his distinct lack of interest in sharing his personal life. They attributed it to his single-minded passion for the work.
Of the dinner party, four had worked with Daniel extensively and were part of the group to discover the hidden journals amongst the outdated references. They expressed genuine shock and grief at hearing the news, though they, too, could shed little light on what could have possibly gone wrong.
Grasping at straws, O'Neill ventured, "Those old books you guys found, were they worth anything?"
To which one of them answered, "If you mean commercial value, no. But historically speaking, they're priceless."
Which meant nothing to O'Neill. Nonetheless he made a mental note to have copies of them sent to the SGC, just in case.
"Was his behavior out of the ordinary during his last evening here?" Teal'c asked.
"He seemed a little stressed when we went to pick him up," one of the men volunteered.
"And during the meal?"
"We didn't go. He had some people over and needed to cancel," the only woman of the group said thoughtfully, squinting slightly as if reliving the account. "He seemed a little uncomfortable with them, actually."
O'Neill tensed subtly. "What people?"
A third member of the group, a sandy haired man, said, "Don't know. Never seen them before. We figured they were out of town friends dropping by."
None could describe in any detail the couple they saw through Daniel's doorway. O'Neill considered going back to the room to do a search again, but dismissed the idea almost immediately; they found nothing the first time and undoubtedly the result would be the same if they tried again. Especially as housekeeping had no doubt been through the room already.
At least they could say with certainty that that was the last anyone saw of Daniel.
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With SG-1, minus Daniel, reunited at the mountain complex, General Hammond called them into a briefing for a progress report. They had little to share, except the mysterious people Daniel was seen with the last night before he was due back. Carter and her team found no conclusive evidence that could point to foul play. The general in turn could offer little, the local authorities had closed the case, officially pronouncing it an accident. S&R parties could find no sign of Dr. Jackson and had called off the search. No threats or ransom demands were sent to the SGC and, logically, Hammond could only come to the same conclusion as the police. His instincts, however, believe otherwise.
"What about those people in Daniel's room?" demanded O'Neill.
"We were informed of Daniel Jackson's apparent distress over their presence," Teal'c said.
"Which tells me absolutely nothing," Hammond sighed.
Carter leaned forward, her expression earnest, "Sir, we can't just give up. Daniel has a way of surviving the odds."
"I will continue to look into this from my end," Hammond said, "but officially, there is little you can do at this point."
Hammond turned to face O'Neill before continuing, "I've been instructed to put Dr. Jackson's personal effects in order. SG-1 is to stand down until a replacement fourth can been found."
O'Neill was borderline between disbelief and anger. "You make it sound like they've already made up their minds that Daniel's dead!'
The general's gaze didn't waver when he replied, "They have."
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The Pentagon understood Daniel Jackson's contribution and vital importance to the SGC, but they also recognized the need to continue with the primary mission of the project. While the SGC was slow in getting operations back to normal, by the end of the second week of Daniel's absence, Hammond was under pressure to reinstate SG-1 back to the front line, under the insistence that either he assign a fourth, or they would.
The team had never once been idle in their unofficial investigation, though there were only so many people they could question and the answers all seemed to lead them in circles or to dead ends. O'Neill was furious in being told he was resuming 'gate travel within the next few days.
"Daniel is still out there, sir," O'Neill said tightly.
"It's been two weeks, Jack. What would you have me do?" Hammond said wearily.
"My point exactly! It's only been two weeks."
"Unless you've come up with a lead, for all intents and purposes, Dr. Jackson is gone."
O'Neill gritted his teeth and looked away, making no reply.
"Dr. Griffin from the anthropology department will be joining SG-1 on a trial run to P2X-445. Briefing is at 0800 tomorrow."
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Amery could see from his position in the doorway that the man's full concentration was on the artifact on the table. He took the opportunity to study the seemingly oblivious figure, taking care to remain quiet. Apparently it didn't work.
"Something I can do for you, Mr. Amery?" said the man still hunched over the artifact.
"Must we always be so formal?" he asked smilingly.
The man made no reply but continued to make notes on a small pad next to him.
Amery made his way into the room to stand behind the archaeologist, who continued to ignore his presence.
"Have you made any progress since we last spoke?"
"No. Like I've already told you, the notes left by whoever last studied this was of absolutely no use to me. I'm having to start over from scratch on a script I've never encountered before." He gave a frustrated sigh, throwing his pencil carelessly onto the table.
"I have complete confidence in you, Nathan." Amery put a hand on Nathan's shoulder in what he thought was a friendly, encouraging manner.
Nathan shrugged him off and leaned toward the artifact, effectively putting more distance between the two men. "Thank you. I should probably get back to it."
Amery nodded, a neutral expression on his face as he exited the room.
When Amery was out of sight, Nathan sighed - this time of relief - and slumped back against his chair. He did not understand the animosity he felt toward the other man but all his instinct warned him that he could not be trusted.
Turning back to the problem at hand, Nathan reached out to lightly trace the inscriptions carved on the smooth surface of the tablet. He was not completely truthful about the progress he had made, but the words he managed to translate troubled him. From the few sentences he managed to string together, the writings revealed a machine of destruction and the means of constructing it. However, it was the technical aspects that gave raise to his doubts and initially made him question the accuracy of his translations. After confirming his research, he could only accept that this ancient tablet held the secrets to a certain technology hundreds of years ahead of what was feasible today.
A part of him was strangely unsurprised at this.
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Amery strode into a room only a few doors down from the one containing Nathan and the off-world artifact. The only occupant of the room glanced up briefly from monitoring her patient to acknowledge him.
"I don't think that boy likes me, Emily," Amery said with a wry smile.
"No," was the short reply from the woman.
"Is the treatment still holding?"
"No signs of his original memories are surfacing, for the moment. His behavior has been cooperative and, to a point, almost docile. A little bonus from the device, no doubt." She finally looked up from the screens to focus her attention on her superior.
"You couldn't have made him think he likes me? It'd certainly make our meetings more pleasant."
"I can't alter his perception of character traits. There is nothing I can do to make him more receptive to certain personalities," she said.
Amery raised a brow, wondering if the statement should be taken at face value or if it was meant as a subtle insult. "So I'm just not likeable?"
Emily shrugged, ignoring the question. "I'm surprised that it is working so well, actually. His behavior clearly shows his acceptance of the implanted memories. And as yet no problems have arisen, as they would have by now, going from reports of how it went on the planet," the woman said, almost wonderingly. She looked back down to the screen, watching as Daniel, newly christened Nathan, traced the symbols of the artifact with his fingers.
"Doctor, I never doubted for a moment that you could do it." They watched the screen together, each following their own thoughts stemming from the man on the screen. "As I have no doubt Dr. Jackson will bring me exactly what I want."
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Base personnel had taken special care not to aggravate the members of SG-1, and the safest way to go about that was to avoid them if at all possible. The team took no notice of this.
Jack O'Neill's demeanor could be described as calm, perhaps even indifferent, as they approached the fourth week of Daniel's absence.
Carter's behavior was subdued, quiet. Smiles didn't come as easily to her as they did before.
Teal'c was stoic as ever, with possibly a slight hint of stiffness to his posture that hadn't been there since he first joined SG-1 over four years ago.
Griffin, assigned now to SG-1 after the uneventful trial run three days ago, sat nervously to one side as his fellow teammates ate lunch.
"So, Carter, think we can wrap this up ahead of schedule?" asked O'Neill around a mouthful of spaghetti.
The major cast her CO an apologetic glance, knowing how much he, and herself, wished to get back to Earth and resume their search for their errant friend. "Sorry, sir. The survey area, plus the nature of the tests, require that we follow protocols to the letter. It's not something we can rush through."
O'Neill nodded his understanding and said, "No pressure, Major." He threw what was left of his MRE next to the campfire as he stood up. "Think I'll take a walk."
"I will accompany you," Teal'c said, also getting up.
Griffin and Carter watched the two men go. She sighed through pursed lips as she set aside her meal. "Let's get back to work."
"Of course, Major," Griffin quickly agreed.
Carter glanced over to their new member, a feeling of guilt stealing over her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so abrupt. Are you done with lunch?"
Griffin wanted to say he wasn't hungry. He, like the rest of the team, just wanted to go home. Although for him, it was to get away from the tension his teammates were giving off in almost tangible waves. Instead, he just smiled. "Yeah. Ready to get back at 'em."
As they went about getting their equipment set up, Griffin cleared his throat and said timidly, "Major.."
"Hmm?"
"I know it isn't easy, but don't you think it's about time to move on?"
"I don't know what you mean, Doctor," Carter said, busying herself with bringing a scanner online.
Griffin forged on,"Do you truly believe Dr. Jackson is still alive?"
Carter stopped what she was doing. She seemed to be genuinely thinking over the question in the ensuring silence. Griffin was starting to regret bringing the subject up when she said softly, "No."
There didn't seem to be more that could be said. They went back to work without speaking another word.
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Nathan didn't know how much longer he could stall. Each time he told Amery he hadn't made any headway, the the look he received grew more skeptical.
He had translated over three quarters of the tablet and gleaned the more useful information it had to offer. The more he learned, the more convinced he was that it needed to be destroyed. He had yet to figure out a way to eliminate all traces of the artifact as, despite the worthlessness of the notes left by his predecessor, they were incredibly extensive and included detailed pictures and impressions of the inscriptions itself, filed away somewhere. Everything given to him to work with were copies.
"Nathan, how are you this morning?" Amery said, jolting him from his thoughts.
You mean how's the work coming, Nathan thought, but said instead, "Fine. Thanks."
"And how is the translation? You surely have made some progress by now."
"Um, a little."
"I was under the impression that you're the top in the field when we acquired your assistance." A note of impatience entered his voice.
Nathan, who had been trying to ignore the other man, came suddenly alert. "What?"
Amery's expression was blank as he regard Nathan. "Something the matter?"
"No..." he shook his head, more puzzled than curious at his own reaction.
Not entirely convinced but also not wanting to pursuit it any further, Amery just excused himself, citing a meeting he was late for when moments before he appeared ready to stay indefinitely.
Something Amery said made Nathan realize there was a question he should have asked himself long before now. How did he come to work for a man he distrusts?
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"Something's wrong," Amery said when he found the doctor in her office.
"What is it?" she asked, half raising from her chair.
"I don't know. Maybe it's nothing. But he reacted to something I said."
"Can you be a little bit more specific?" Emily asked.
"No, I'm not sure what happened. He was startled by something I said, apparently." Now that he had a chance to review the scene, it appeared much too trivial to warrant such suspicion.
"I will review the session tapes immediately, but it could be completely unrelated to what you said."
He nodded. "See to it."
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That night Nathan found he couldn't sleep. His mind was swirling with questions stemming from the initial one brought up by a chance remark from Amery. He had answers to none of them.
What had he been doing before he came here? Why had he seen no one else since he came to work for a man he distrusted? What of his family? His past was a hazy fog that he could drege no specific events from.
He got up from his bed and started to pace. His memories seemed to only contain generic versions of a childhood, of growing up and of school. He couldn't name his parents, let alone any friends he might have had. The more he thought about it the more agitated he became.
Where did he attend his graduate studies? Where was he born? When was he born? The only memories he could recall details of begin three weeks ago, the day he started this project. A part of him felt like he had known Amery for years, yet strangely, the first instance he could recall ever speaking to him was the day he was introduced to the tablet.
The door to his room opened, to his surprise, and Amery walked in. A woman in a lab coat trailed a pace behind.
"Nathan, we need you to sit down," the woman said.
"What? What are you doing in here?" he asked in confusion and growing alarm.
"We need to talk," Amery said.
"Yeah, talking is good. I'll stand over here if it's all the same."
"We need you to sit down."
"Who is she?" Nathan asked, changing the subject.
"Emily is a good friend of mine. She just wants to ask you a few questions about the tablet."
"In the middle of the night?"
"You're still awake."
"Not the point."
Emily said tersely, "Please, sit down."
"Actually, I have a few questions of my own."
"Good, let's talk. Sit." Amery's voice was edged with impatience.
Nathan nodded and moved toward a chair next to his desk. He noticed Emily taking something out from the folds of her coat, though he couldn't make out what it was. He took his eyes off of it to look at Amery, whose expression was tense.
Instinct kicked in, as well as logic. This did not bode well for him and he knew he had to get out while he could, before they did whatever it was they came to do.
Amery was seated next to the chair Daniel was moving toward but the woman still stood by the door, which fortunately still stood open. Without missing a beat, he pushed passed Amery with enough force to flip him off the chair. A painful crack and a bellowing curse followed a second later. Emily was unprepared for this sudden sprang of action and he rushed by her with no resistance.
"Dammit!" Amery cursed, whether in response to his getting away or the pain in his back, or both, was not clear. "Go after him!"
The woman looked flustered, gesturing uselessly after Nathan. "He took the sedative from me."
Amery growled out something and pulled his phone out, barking out instructions. After he finished, he glared up at the scientist. "Go. After. Him."
She gaped at him for an instant, then turned, running down the hall.