Chapter 19. The Summit
"The poison is deadly only to symbiotes." Ren'al told them as they sat around the table in the Tok'ra chamber.
"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Sam asked, frowning.
"More than you know." Her father answered, "There's enough material in that vial to kill every Tok'ra in this base twice over."
"That is why this formula is our most closely guarded secret." Ren'al nodded in agreement.
"And it doesn't kill the host?" Daniel found himself rather sceptical.
Ren'al paused before replying. "Not the chemical itself, but as you know, the dying symbiote releases its own toxin which is just as deadly."
An unpleasant smile twists Daniel's features, and he felt Sam's cool gaze on him.
"Daniel, the human host of a System Lord has been through the sarcophagus countless times." Jacob leant forward, his expression soft and empathetic. "We know the toll that takes, they're hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old. Never mind the psychological damage they suffered; physically, without the Goa'uld sustaining them, they'd die anyway."
"So we're doing them a favour?"
"In many ways, yes."
Daniel sighed and leaned back in his chair, nodding reluctantly. It didn't seem like he had much of a choice.
"How many targets?" Jack asked, the military commander in him interjecting.
"There'll be seven System Lords at the meeting. That's all the major players. If we pull this off, the Goa'uld may never recover."
"What can we do?"
General Carter's gaze flicked to his daughter, taking in her anxious expression. "Wait here. I'll communicate when the mission has been accomplished." He watched her face fall, knowing that she would despair at being forced to be left behind.
Jack also frowned, but said nothing as Jacob and Daniel stood to prepare for departure.
Sam sat, chewing her lip for a few moments, before she finally stood abruptly, interrupting whatever Ren'al had been saying.
"I'm going to...see my father off. Sir." She nodded to the Colonel, who only shrugged at her as she left.
She caught up to them just as they were about to board the Al'Kesh.
"Dad!"
"Sammy?" The two men paused at the foot of the ramp.
"I, uh," She really hadn't thought this far ahead, "I just wanted to say, be careful, okay?"
The old General grinned, chuckling lightly as he wrapped her in a hug. "Don't worry Sam, I will be. And I'll make sure to bring this one back in one piece too." He nodded towards Daniel and pulled away, winking at her as he started up the ramp. Sam frowned; what did that mean? Had he noticed something? Had she given herself away?
He disappeared into the Al'Kesh and she was left alone with Daniel. She shuffled her feet awkwardly. "I… Look out for my dad, okay?" She winced at her own lameness.
Daniel only smiled bemusedly. "I will Sam, don't worry." He turned, heading up the ramp, and panic clawed its way up Sam's throat.
"Daniel, wait!" He glanced back at her, waiting. What was wrong with her? They'd been on plenty of dangerous missions before; hell, she'd been kidnapped by ninjas just last week. Why was she acting like this? She didn't know, all she knew was that the two men she cared for the most were headed off into the heart of danger without her, without any of SG-1 to back them up, and for some reason she couldn't fight the horrible feeling cloying at her gut.
The corners of his lips quirked up in rueful understanding, and Sam wanted nothing more than to run to him, to leap into his arms and kiss him senseless, to wrap herself in his embrace and his warmth and his scent and hold onto him for just a little longer. But she couldn't.
"I know, Sam." He said quietly, his gaze filled with longing. "I'll come back, I promise you." She nodded, backing away as he disappeared into the Al'Kesh and the engines roared to life. She watched as the dome above them opened, and the Al'Kesh shot up into the sky, soaring further and further away until it was but a speck in the clouds. And Sam still watched, even as the dome closed over again, knowing that if anything went wrong, in one fell swoop, she could lose both the men she loved tonight.
O – O – O – O – O
Daniel tilted his head back, his eyes watering as he placed the contact lens over his iris. He always hated these things; just something about having this thing floating around on his eyeball freaked him out.
Daniel blinked rapidly as Jacob entered, desperately fighting the urge to rub his eye.
"So, why do the System Lords need human attendants anyway?"
Jacob donned the gold and black robe of Lord Yu's command, smoothing the silk fabric into place. "Well the Jaffa serve as strictly military function. Besides if the host of a System Lord is ever injured beyond a symbiote's capacity to heal, it can be pretty useful to have a human close at hand."
Daniel picked up the armband that bore Yu's symbol and slid it up his arm. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that."
Jacob hummed in agreement, his eyes raking over the young doctor. "So," he stood at attention, his hands clasped behind his back, "you and my daughter, huh?"
Daniel's head whipped around so fast he heard his neck crack in protest. "Wha-ah, what?"
"Oh, come on Danny, I'm old not blind."
Daniel winced, rubbing at his neck. Had he really been so obvious? "I, ah, it's not…like that."
"If you're about to give me the 'we're just friends' spiel I'll throw you out of this Al'Kesh right now. I know what two people in love look like. Even Selmak agrees."
Daniel couldn't quite meet the older man's eyes. "She's not… I mean, she doesn't...feel that way…" Daniel awkwardly fiddled with his armband for a long moment, before finally raising his gaze. Jacob stood with his arms crossed over his chest, studying him intently. He took a step closer, unfolding his arms to lay a hand on Daniel's shoulder.
"Danny, I may not have always seen eye to eye with my daughter, but I certainly know her well enough to know when she's in love." He clapped the archaeologist on the shoulder, a wry grin pulling at his lips, and went back to piloting the ship, leaving a dumbfounded Daniel to stare after him.