Season 1:
The Shape of Things to Come
They had tried to dial Cuivien three more times before she told them to stop. What was the point? She could put two and two together, and judging by the looks on their faces when she said it, so could they. It had been a week since she'd woken up. Kara had initially been concerned that they were just taking pity on her when they offered to let her stay, but the more time she spent among them the more she realized how genuine they were in the offer.
She wasn't expecting the quality of the room she was given, how large it was. Life on Cuivien was far more spartan, 'for the good of the empire' they said. Something like this would have been considered a waste of space. Not that she was complaining. They had even provided the standard issue clothes for her that everyone here wore, and she was grateful. Her clothes weren't in great shape anymore, so there hadn't been much of a dilemma choosing between the two.
Life on base wasn't hard to adjust to, military life was military life, apparently. Janet had approached her shortly after she had gotten settled, inquiring about her ability. She had wanted to study it, to see if it was something that could be replicated or could improve their medicine. Kara had, of course, agreed; a few needles was nothing compared to what these people were doing for her.
The project quickly expanded. As soon as Janet began a more thorough examination of her blood she saw something that intrigued her. Which led to reexamining the initial samples she had taken from Kara before she woke up. Which led to more samples and more tests. She never explained what it was that intrigued her, just asked some leading questions and said that she had a theory she wanted to test before saying anything more. Kara didn't mind, it gave her an excuse to spend more time with the woman. She could use a friend, especially if she was staying for any period of time, which was looking more and more likely.
Janet had told her it would take time to work out her theory, so they were able to move back toward studying her ability. Truth be told, Kara wasn't exactly sure how it worked either. There had been studies done on it before, but no one had reached a conclusion. Medicine on Cuivien was not nearly as advanced as it was here, for obvious reasons. The base infirmary would have been the most advanced care facility there. If Janet could find an answer it would give her something to return home with at least. If there was still a home to return to.
She wasn't spending all her time in the lab though. She had decided rather early on if she was going to be staying here for any considerable amount of time she should immerse herself in these people. Her afternoons were spent in the lab, when Janet had the time for their project, but her mornings were spent reading. She had approached Daniel on day two requesting recommendations on where to start. He was more than willing, even brought her to his lab to give her what he had on hand.
She had been surprised by how messy it was, but he just moved right to a stack of books buried under some papers to procure what he was looking for. An American history book, he had said, a publishing company had sent it to him to review. Apparently there was another Daniel Jackson somewhere out there who was a doctor of history and he was always getting the guy's mail. She had asked about science as well, to gain a better understanding of where these people were compared to hers. He couldn't help her there, but said that Sam could. So she had set off to find her, but not before Daniel had told her to come by after she finished that book for a new one. So she had thanked him and left.
Carter was just as willing, she hadn't had anything basic, like Daniel, but that was OK. Kara had never been one for chemistry or biology, her position had required more technical knowledge, and Carter had those books in abundance. She had always been a quick study, and quickly finished both books. Going back for more had turned into a conversation, which evolved into spending her mornings in one of their labs, equal parts reading and questions. With Daniel it was answering them, his fascination with cultures, and she was more than willing to answer them. With Carter it was asking them, whatever she was confused about. She never asked them anything about what either of them were working on though. She enjoyed their conversations and didn't want to make it awkward between them if they couldn't talk about their work. Plus she didn't have an airman following her around while she was with them.
On day five Janet had expressed an interest in the differences between their two species, so they moved on to some tests to determine things like physical strength and agility. The Jaffa, she had explained, were stronger than humans. All this, along with her research findings, she had wanted to present to the General and SG-1. If these people found her so fascinating, Kara didn't mind.
When she arrived at Daniel's lab for the day, he looked up and smiled at her, "Good. I was hoping you would come by today," he started. He turned around and began shuffling through some papers, returning with four pages. "We recently returned from a planet that, we believe, used to serve as a meeting place for four different alien races. I was hoping you could look at these and tell me if you recognize the languages," he told her handing over the papers he was holding. A quick glance at the first three was all she needed to know she had never seen them before, it was the fourth that caught her attention. She had seen it before. "This one," she began, turning the page to show him the blocky script on it. "It looks like a dead language that was spoken on Cuivien thousands of years ago. I'm not an expert, but it's remarkably close," she told him. "Can you read it?" he asked. She shook her head at the question, "No one can."
He was about to ask a follow up question, but was interrupted by the ringing from his phone. He answered and gave an affirmative before turning back to her, "They're ready for us in the briefing room." She put the paper she was holding back with the others and followed him out of the room. She was getting accustomed to the facility and was proud of the fact it had been three days since she had gotten lost, but she still let Daniel take the lead.
They quickly arrived at their destination. Walking into the room, she saw they were the last to arrive. Hammond was at the head of the table, O'Neill to his right, Teal'c beside him. Carter and Janet were across from them. Daniel took the open seat beside Teal'c and Kara went around to sit beside Janet. Hammond spoke first, motioning for Janet to begin, "Now that we are all here, let's begin."
"Evolution isn't a perfect process. As a result there are some sections of our DNA that serve no function, and while it varies individual to individual the DNA itself is consistent," she began. "When I started examining Kara's, I noticed something peculiar. We share a large percentage of our DNA, but Kara appears to have very little of this junk DNA. On top of that, I noticed two segments that were radically different from both each other and the rest." The table was quiet for a beat before Hammond asked the question everyone must have been thinking, "What are you saying doctor?"
"Well, from what I gather and what Kara has told me, I believe that at some point in the past portions of her species DNA may have been altered." Questions began flying across her mind immediately. Who could have done such a thing? When? Why? She didn't voice any of them, Janet didn't have the answers any more than she did. The others were looking at her. At some point her mouth had started floundering, she shut it. Then it struck her, "The paper."
"What paper?" O'Neill asked carefully. "Right before we came down. Daniel had just showed me the writing you recovered from the meeting place. Four alien races, and I recognized one of the languages. It hasn't been spoken for thousands of years. We don't know anything about the people who spoke it, just called them the First People. It must have been them," she finished. "One question answered, and a million more pop up," Daniel said. Kara couldn't help but feel the same.
"As fascinating as that is Doctor, what else did you find?" Hammond asked. Kara was initially taken aback by his reaction to the revelation, but this was a military operation. Compartmentalize and move on. She had been captive for too long; she was losing her edge; so she focused and moved on. "I wasn't able to fully determine how her healing ability works," Janet continued.
At least this part Kara already knew. "It is at least partially biological, but I can't explain the how or why of it. My one insight is that when Kara heals, her brain activity spikes; well above any readings ever taken from a human." She admired Janet for taking the initiative, but she had always thought this would be the outcome.
"All Venfiri possess the ability, to one degree or another. And it seems to vary between us. It takes me almost no effort to heal myself, just time; healing others is much more of a challenge. Healing something like a broken bone makes me feel tired and out of breath. My mother was the opposite," Kara reflected with a smile,"She could heal others as easily as I heal myself. She described it as opening a door and the energy would just rush out. I feel like I have to force it," Kara finished.
The others all seemed to be mulling over the information she shared, except Teal'c, he had the same stoic expression as always. If there was some subtlety to it she hadn't noticed yet. She told herself that the opportunity had just not presented itself to speak with him, that she wasn't avoiding him. She may have been avoiding him, but who could blame her.
"The last thing I wanted to mention was her physical strength," Janet said, bringing the others back to the moment. On paper she is no stronger than us. In reality, the human body limits itself. If you used all your strength all the time you would hurt yourself, this is why you hear stories of mothers being able to lift cars to save their children," she explained. "I understand Kara has the same limits, but she is more easily able to ignore them; the benefits of being able to heal yourself immediately."
Hammond nodded at that,"Anything else?" Kara thought for a moment, that was everything she and Janet had examined, and she wasn't ready to tell the others about her other ability. "We are relativity unaffected by extreme temperatures," Kara said with a shrug, the only other thing she could think of. "Alright, if that is all, dismissed," Hammond said.
She was sure Daniel would have more questions for her later, and she would happily answer them, but SG-1 was called away. She didn't know the full details, but it was something to do with Teal'c's son. The team was gone about a day. They were all in good spirits and uninjured when they returned, mission success. She still didn't ask for details.
She continued her routine, and before she realized, another week had passed. She would still stop by the infirmary occasionally to speak with Janet, it was nice to talk with her without the experiments between them. She found herself, again, in Daniel's office when the call came in. She was reading, and heard him answer the phone. "Yes. Yes. I'll be right there," he said into it. "Some colleagues of mine found something interesting in Mexico. They apparently thought of me when they saw it, had it shipped here. Want to come with?" he asked. "What was it?" she asked, following him out.
"An Egyptian sarcophagus found halfway around the world," he answered, leading her down to the gate room. She had learned enough about Earth by now to be familiar with the places he was telling her about, and had to agree with him, it was interesting. Her first thought when she saw it was that it certainly was gaudy. Ten feet long and looked to be made of gold. Daniel wasted no time beginning his examination, studying the hieroglyphs along its top, Carter and Hammond joined them shortly.
It looked familiar, she'd seen this somewhere before. Not this one obviously, but another like it. She reached out and activated the mechanism, causing the lid to split and open. "Oh," he exclaimed, stepping back. "I woke up in one of these once," she explained. She still wasn't exactly sure what it did or why. "I've seen one before too; Ra had one, it could bring people back from the dead. And the interior looks a lot like the chamber we found you in," Daniel told her.
They were interrupted by an airman, "Someone was detained at the surface," she told them. Worse, they knew the Stargate was here. Kara could understand wanting to keep the knowledge of the gate from the general populous, no need for them to constantly worry about attack from above; so she could understand their concern at this fact.
The others left to deal with the situation and Kara found her way to the commissary for lunch. She was told the food here was of a lesser quality than the surface, but she didn't mind it. Once she finished, she made her way to the infirmary. She had just finished helping Janet heal a patient, a member of SG-3 who had twisted his ankle, when Carter walked in.
She seemed concerned about something, and did a quick sweep of the room before voicing it, "Have either of you noticed the men on base acting strangely?" Kara shook her head no, but then she hadn't really interacted with anyone since they had parted earlier in the day. "No I haven't, why? Whats your concern?" Janet asked.
"I Don't know. Ever since that woman was detained it feels like something's off. She claims to be Hathor, and the General just offered to give her a tour of the base," she explained. "Wait, Hathor?" Kara asked, "She was an Egyptian goddess, right?" Janet seemed surprised she knew that, "Yeah. How did you know?"
"Since the Goa'uld took so much inspiration from your world's mythology I thought I should read up on it," Kara answered. "Not a bad idea," Janet told her. "I think she's a Goa'uld. Do you mind if I use your computer?" Carter asked. "No, not at all," Janet replied.
Kara was aware of the internet, but for security reason they hadn't allowed her to use it. She could tell Carter was proficient and it took no time at all to find what she was looking for. It was another few minutes while she read the page before she presented her findings to the room.
"According to this, Hathor was said to have the ability to control men. The way it's described here sounds a lot like what happened in the briefing room. Kara, you said you were in the military; that included combat training, right?" Kara nodded, seeing what Carter was getting at, "I didn't really want to go into the details right after holding a gun to Daniel's head, but I can hold my own. Now, how do we reverse the effect and stop Hathor?" Janet was about to answer, but stopped when two male airman entered. One came to a stop in front of Kara and the other by Carter.
"We have been ordered to escort you to a holding cell on level 26, you need to come with us now," the one by Carter said. She rose to speak with the man, "Who's orders?" she demanded. "General Hammond's," the man said threateningly.
With that, they both raised their weapons. She certainly hadn't been expecting such a show of force. Kara chanced a glance at Carter. The woman didn't look happy. Before Kara looked away Carter met her eye. If she had been Venfiri, Kara knew exactly what that look meant. She hoped it meant the same in humans.
First, her hand came up to redirect the gun barrel, a twist, and the man was over shoulder. A quick drop with a punch to the head stopped him from getting back up. Looking up, she saw Carter was taking her man down as well. "Why would they want to detain us?" Janet asked. She was farther back than she had been before, she must have flinched back during the scuffle.
"Hathor must have more control than I thought. She could have the whole base under her control by now," Carter said, moving to the door. A quick pop out and she was back. "The hallway is clear for now," she said, bending to pick up the downed man's weapon. "Do you know how to use one of these?" she asked Kara. "Give me a once over and I'll be good to go," she answered.
It was a straightforward weapon, an MP5, Carter called it. She had used something similar before. "OK, whats the plan?" she asked once she had a grip on the weapon. "We need to know what Hathor is planning. Assume all the men are hostile. If they are rounding up everyone Hathor can't control, we may be the only ones left who can stop her. We can't shoot our own, but if we see Hathor, lethal force," Carter said. "I'll take point; Janet, you after me. Kara can you watch out six?" When Kara nodded they moved out.
"If they are moving everyone down to level 26, that may be where Hathor is operating," Carter said over her shoulder to them when they stopped at the next intersection. "There's an access shaft this way, we can't risk the elevators or the stairs; hopefully Hathor doesn't know to have it guarded," she said. Verifying the hallways were still empty, they turned left and continued forward.
It was funny, Kara thought to herself, what difference two weeks can make. Here she was, sneaking around again. Before she had been confused and scared, now though, she was prepared, she knew where she was going and what needed to be done. She was back in her element.
She could see the access hatch at the intersection in front of them when the first shot rang out, it went over their heads, into the wall. Carter broke right, turning down the hallway. Kara hadn't been expecting them to open fire like that, they really weren't playing around. "Move!" Carter shouted.
It couldn't have been more than twenty feet past the turn before she pulled up short. Three more men were already in front of them, weapons raised. They were trapped. If they were all taken, what chance did these people have? She couldn't let that happen. She Shifted.
She hadn't told them she could do this for the same reason she hadn't told them what she did for the Defense Force. They had welcomed her with open arms. Sure there had been a guard assigned to her, but she couldn't begrudge them that; plus, it had been helpful for the first few days to have someone following her around who knew their way around the facility. It wasn't worth keeping the secret if these people would suffer for it.
Shifting didn't make her physically disappear. It affected the minds of those around her. Made peoples eyes slide off her, past her, without true comprehension. It gave her the chance to dive through the open door to her left before anyone in the hallway realized she was there. A roll brought her deeper into the room; three steps, sliding under a desk.
There was shouting. The others were being detained. She heard Carter drop her weapon. They were being led away. She held her breath when someone entered the office she was in. They only stayed for a moment. She never saw them, so they couldn't have done a thorough search. Once they were gone she released her breath. Alone, surrounded by the enemy; wasn't the first time she told herself.
She waited in the office for what felt like forever. She couldn't move too quickly; she knew where Carter and Janet were being taken, holding cells on level 26. she knew she couldn't rescue them before they were left there, too many guards. Once they were safely locked away though? Two, maybe three, and the only one in danger would be herself.
That should be long enough, she thought to herself. She peeked out before standing. She still hadn't heard any activity from the hallway, but she still checked before stepping out. Clear. It was only feet back to the hatch, grateful to find it clear as well. The wheel to open the door was easier to spin than she had expected, and was grateful that the hatch didn't squeal when she opened it.
It was well lit, thankfully, with a ladder on the far wall, and a shaft going up and down. She stepped in and started her descent, grateful the MP5 had a sling. She quickly moved down the three levels, to the hatch with 26 painted above it. Any other floor and she would have been groping in the dark, but she was very familiar with level 26. It was primarily living quarters, including hers. It was strange, aside from the living quarters there were some storage rooms, but little else. Why were they being brought here when she knew there actual holding cells somewhere. Could some part of Hammond be resisting?
So, if they were on this level it had to be one of the storage rooms, she reasoned. She knew where the hatch would come out, it took only a moment to recall where the nearest storage room would be. Mental map in place, she slowly opened the hatch.
She emerged into an empty hallway. She didn't know how many people were actually stationed here, but there were enough that she was surprised she made it to the room without seeing anyone. Empty. Another second and she was off to the next. This time she heard movement coming from the hall she needed. Someone was coming.
She pressed her back to the wall at the corner. Two armed men walked past her without speaking and kept going. Once they were past, she chanced a look down the hallway. She was still Shifted, so the chances of detection were much lower, but she was still careful. There was a lone man standing just to the right of the door she was headed for. Kara was wearing the same green pants and jacket that was common on base; If she sprinted at him the chances he would see her were greatly increased, better to slowly approach. He would think her any other member of the base, if he even noticed anything at all.
She walked confidently toward him. She was only a few feet away when a banging on the door caused him to turn left toward it. The perfect opportunity. She slipped her arms around his neck, a sleeper hold. The man reached up to pull her arms away, but quickly lost consciousness. She did her best to keep his head from hitting the ground when he slumped. She was able to use the key ring he had on his belt to open the door, dropping her Shift as she did so.
Carter nearly jumped out at her when the door was open, stopping when she recognized Kara, "Where did you go?" A fair question Kara reasoned, "I still had a trick up my sleeve, I'll tell you all about it once this is over. For now, help me with him," she replied. Kara took the man's arms while Carter took his feet, carrying him into the room. Now that she was inside, she saw that Janet and three other women she didn't know were also here.
"Kara!" Janet exclaimed. Kara nodded hello, then addressed the gathered crowd, "Alright, I've only seen this guy and two others since you got taken. Do you know where everyone else is, or what they're doing?" One of the woman Kara was unfamiliar with spoke,
"When they were bringing me down I heard one of them say they had Teal'c trapped in the gym, on level 21." Was he not affected? "His symbiote must protect him from whatever Hathor uses to control people," Janet said, answering her unasked question.
"When they were bringing us down there was a larger group that separated at level 25," Carter offered. "It could be where Hathor is." It made sense, Kara reasoned. She almost opened her mouth to start issuing orders, but stopped. It wasn't her place. "OK, you three go up, do what you can to get Teal'c out. The rest of us will head to 25," Carter ordered. One of the three checked the hallway before they left. Carter picked up the unconscious mans weapon. "Alright, us now."
She led them to the stairwell. Another quick check and they started up, the same formation as before. She wasn't sure what the plan was once they got there, it would be just as easy for them to get captured as before. Carter was starting to lead them left out the door when she stopped them, "Shhh, hear that?" she asked. There was a squealing, splashing sound coming from a room on their right. "What is that room?" Kara asked. "A locker room." Carter said, trepidation in her voice.
They entered slowly. It looked like any locker room Kara was familiar with, with the exception of the center of the room. O'Neill sat in a large metal tub full of thrashing, bubbling water; full of Goa'uld. "Help me with him," Carter said. She moved to his left, while Kara took his right. It was easy enough to get him out, but he looked to be in bad shape. That was when they both noticed the X pattern cut into his lower stomach.
Janet took the initiative, she reached her hand into O'Neill's new symbiote pouch. Or at least she assumed it was new, based on how the other two reacted. "It's empty," Janet told them, pulling her hand out. "Can you do something?" Carter asked Kara. She reached her hand out, grabbing hold of his arm. She couldn't use her power to determine exactly what was wrong with a person, but she was able to get a more general sense of their health. O'Neill was in a very bad way.
She shook her head, "This is beyond me." Carter hid her dejection well. They stood there in silence for a moment before it came to her, and Carter at the same time, "The sarcophagus!" they both said in tandem. "It could work," Janet said, "we need to hurry; he's lost his immune system." Kara shared a look with Carter, "I'll carry him, it'll be easier for me."
Kara handed her weapon to Janet before picking him up. The trek to the gate room was, thankfully, uneventful. O'Neill was uncomfortably heavy for her, but she managed. The sarcophagus was left open from the morning, and she was able to deposit O'Neill, quickly if not gently, while Carter activated the mechanism.
It was the look on Janet's face that gave them away. She spun her head in time to see two men in the doorway, raising their weapons. Carter was able to duck behind the head of of the sarcophagus, Janet had gone to the far side and only had to duck, Kara was still on the near side; out in the open. She knew she didn't have time to to go around, she would have to go over.
She used her right arm to brace herself as she vaulted over it. The men began firing while she was still moving. The first few rounds went wide, she didn't know exactly how many they fired. She thought she was in the clear when it hit her. Right through her upper arm.
Her arm stopped supporting her, and instead of the graceful landing she had been planning, she fell the remaining distance. She came down hard on her shoulder with a hiss of pain. Janet crawled over trying to help her, "I'll be fine," she told her. They couldn't sit here forever. The men were still firing but all they would have to do is step around it and they would have nowhere to run.
She was still trying to formulate a plan when the lid began to open. O'Neill sat up, right into fire. His instincts must have kicked in, he leapt out, landing beside her. "Cease Fire," a deep voice bellowed from across the room. She chanced a glance over the lid, a woman in a gold dress stood between the men. It must have been Hathor.
Hathor raised her hand and now Kara could tell she had some sort of device on it. O'Neill had peeked over too, and at the sight of the device ducked back down. She assumed that meant it was dangerous and did the same, just in time. An energy blast hit the sarcophagus, it was shoved slightly toward her, and she felt herself thrown slightly in turn.
O'Neill wasted no time, rolling out of cover to open the door close to them before ducking back into cover. It was a rather large door and took a moment to open. She was still using the sarcophagus as cover, and so couldn't see its current state, but she could definitely hear the energy buildup start. They didn't have much time.
They made their break for it before the door was fully open. Kara waited, making sure the others made it through before moving herself. O'Neill was the last one through. It all seemed to happen at once; he hit the button to close the door, tackled her to the ground, all while the sarcophagus exploded behind them.
The door sealed itself, buying them time. They stood quickly, "You're hit," he said to her. "Another few minutes and you won't even be able to tell," she told him. The bleeding had stopped before he had even gotten out of the sarcophagus. "Are you alright, sir?" Carter asked him. "Never better, now armory, let's move."
They didn't have far to go. He led them around the corner and through a door. She recognized the MP5s and the handguns she didn't think to ask the name of, and more along the walls. O'Neill went for a crate against the back wall. He moved it onto one of the two benches that ran the length of the room.
When he popped the lid open she could see that these were different, "Tranquilizers," he explained, picking one out and handing it to Carter. He did the same for Janet. He picked up a third one, but instead of handing it to her he asked, "You good?" She flexed her arm experimentally, it was still sore, but that would only last for another minute or two. "I'm good," she answered, accepting the offered weapon.
"The plan is to draw Hathor out. I'm thinking we destroy that tub, and wait for her to come to us," O'Neill said. "I agree," Carter added. Kara simply nodded. Janet looked a little out of her element, but was handling the weapon competently enough. Another quick explanation about the tranquilizer gun from Carter and they were moving.
They only encountered three men on the way back up to the locker room, a single shot and they went down quick. There were five men in the room, standing in a semi-circle around the tub, which was occupied by Hathor. So much for drawing her out. Kara took the two on the left, the others took the other three, but she wasn't sure who actually made the shots.
Hathor's eyes flashed but she otherwise hadn't reacted, simply stayed sitting in the tub, while the rest circled around her. Carter and Kara switched back to their MP5s, "Get up," O'Neill ordered. When she didn't comply, he fired a dart into her neck. She fell face first into the tub.
Kara flinched back when the tub burst into flames, bringing a hand up to shield her face. She hadn't been expecting such a violent reaction. The others had a similar reflex. She had a moment where she just stood there stunned. The room was filling with smoke, "Get them out of here," O'Neill ordered. And so they began dragging the unconscious men out. Kara was the last one out, and as she was leaving she heard what sounded like something being knocked over in the room.
The smoke was still thick, but she went back in. The fire had gone out already, and she approached the tub. There hadn't been anyone else in here. What could have made the noise? The surface of the tub had stilled. There were many dead symbiotes, but where was Hathor?
Then it dawned on her. The noise. And this room had a second entrance. She couldn't wait for the others, gripping her weapon tight, she set off. But where was she going? Where would the Goa'uld go now that it had lost everything, she asked herself. It had been trapped here for thousands of years. The gate.
She ran all out after Hathor, taking the stairs two at a time. Bursting into the gate room she saw that it was already active, and Hathor was almost to the gate. Hammond and Daniel were in the control room, looking down at them, she could deal with them next. "Stop," she shouted at Hathor. The woman smiled at her and her eyes flashed. Something about it was off, she couldn't articulate what it was, it just felt wrong.
She wasn't sure what someone from SG-1 would have done. This was an enemy combatant who possessed valuable information about this facility, and whatever information she had gathered on the surface. As an Operative of the Oberion Empire, she knew what was expected of her. She brought the weapon up and fired. Her first four shots hit home, the fifth went wide. She hadn't been expecting quite that much recoil.
Hathor fell backwards, through the gate. Not Ideal, but the threat was ended. She turned, expecting to have to deal with Daniel and Hammond, but they were looking around confused. Now that Hathor was gone had her control ended?
It took about a day for normal operations to begin again. They found that those who had been afflicted had no memory of their time under her spell. The group sent for Teal'c had gotten him out, but the four were quickly recaptured, not that it mattered now. The rest of the base personnel had been released as well. Hammond had called a meeting with SG-1 and Kara. She assumed to answer for what she had kept from them.
She was the first to arrive. She took the seat Janet had had in the previous meeting and waited. It felt like forever waiting for the others. Carter arrived next and sat beside Kara. Then Teal'c, O'Neill, Hammond, and finally Daniel. "Now that we are all here, we can begin," Hammond opened. "I would first like to commend Captain Carter and Kara for their actions in saving this facility. And now I understand that there was something you wanted to tell us," he said, addressing Kara.
"After the incident when I woke up, I didn't want to give you any reason not to trust me, so I omitted a few details," she started, aware that all eyes were on her. "I have an ability that my people call the Shift. Less than one in a hundred are born with it. Most people who possess it can use it to blend into a crowd. They can make you initially overlook them, but a double take and it's gone. I have one of the strongest currently serving the Empire. I can go undetected almost anywhere. Unless I do something to get their attention, people only remember a blur the color of my clothing hours later. It is not a socially accepted trait. When you are reported to possess the ability you are moved to an isolated community, I was fourteen when I was moved. You are permitted to attend the Academy, but you are limited in your curriculum, and required to serve in the Defense Force upon graduation. I possess the rank of Operative. It is equivalent to your captain, but reserved for those who can Shift. We do whatever the Empire requires of us. During the rebellions I specialized in long range and infiltration. " she finished, skipping the details that information implied, and awaited the decision that would fall from above.
"I can understand your concern," Hammond told her, "But given recent events, I don't think we have any reason to doubt your intentions." That meant a lot to her. More than she thought it would. She was glad that they had accepted her. On Cuivien when people had learned of her ability they had shunned her. She was relieved it was different here.
The meeting continued for another half hour. Some of it was general housekeeping, but she had recounted what happened in the gate room between her and Hathor. They were proceeding as if Hathor had been killed. A Malp had been sent through to Chulak and verified her body before it had been destroyed, Kara had broached the topic of other sarcophagi but they had no proof to the existence of another.
O'Neill stopped her on the way out once they were dismissed, "I just wanted to say, you keep bringing up that incident in the hallway. No one here holds it against you, and besides, you never even turned the safety off," he said with a smile and stepped past her.
"Wait, what?" she asked, following him out.