Oh-uh.... they are going to get Jack into the gateroom.... how is that going to end? An extra long chapter. Enjoy!
"Uh, hi, Jack how you feeling?" Stupid, real stupid, Daniel thought. Couldn't he come up with something better to say?
"Oh, just peachy, Daniel. Especially for someone who tried to kill his CO. How the hell do you think I am doing?" O'Neill was barely able to contain his anger. He knew his team was trying to support him, but lying strapped to this bed and not able to help with this situation was wearing him down. "I assume my house was checked for evidence. Did they find anything?"
"We found an opened container of aspirin that was laced with a sedative. Do you remember taking any of it?" Carter was trying to piece together what might have transpired. "I'm sorry, Sir, but no other evidence was found to help us determine who is responsible for this…"
The Colonel was deep in thought trying to remember the events of the last week. All he had were jumbled memories. It felt like he was dreaming or sleepwalking. He was unable to grasp onto anything tangible. "Yeah, I seem to remember taking something for a headache. But I don't know …. I can't remember… what day that was." God, why couldn't he remember? What had happened during that time? He was trained to resist mind control, wasn't he?
Daniel was watching his friend closely. He saw the tight closed look that flashed across Jack's face. He knew the man would be blaming himself, even though in his drugged state, Jack was not responsible for his actions. "Jack, you beat it, you fought it and won! Janet will figure out a way to remove that thing and you will be back to being your sarcastic self."
O'Neill gave him a doubtful look and then faced the only female on SG-1. "Carter, have you figured out what triggered this?"
Sam wasn't sure whether to answer this question. Obviously the Colonel had not been resting but had been thinking about the whole situation instead. She knew he was not one to lay back and let someone else take care of a problem. "Sir, I…"
"Yes, Colonel, we think we have……" General Hammond walked into the room and saved Carter from her stammering.
All eyes turned to General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser, who followed close behind him. As he approached the bed they all waited for the reaction from their friend.
"Well, Sir. Since I don't have the urge to shoot you, I guess the Stargate is to blame. Am I right? I remember the Stargate activating and that's when my brain shut down. Although I know it does that a lot." O'Neill was trying to instill a little humor into the grim faces of his friends, but he knew his suspicions were correct.
"Yes, Sir. The Stargate appears to have been the trigger to activate the device in your head," Carter stated with no emotion. She was keeping the turmoil hidden for the moment. Her CO depended on her to come up with a solution to this crisis.
Hammond knew how difficult this would be on O'Neill. His Second hated situations he could not control and this definitely fell into that category. "Colonel, we need to know for a fact that the Stargate was the triggering mechanism. We are planning on placing you near the Gate in order to determine for sure. All precautions will be taken. It will be a controlled situation. Only essential personnel will be present."
O'Neill thought it over for a second. "I'll do it under one condition. If I become a threat to anyone, I don't want you to hesitate to give the order to shoot, Sir. Teal'c, I want you there to make sure I don't harm anybody. There's no need for Daniel or Carter to be in close proximity to me." Jack's brown-eyed stare was leveled towards his CO demanding his full attention. He had to make sure the General understood his wishes. "General?"
"Colonel, you have my word," Hammond pledged. "Teal'c can use his zat if the need arises. We will proceed with this at 0900 tomorrow."
Teal'c stood straight and bowed his head. "I will make sure you cannot harm anyone, O'Neill."
"Doctor Fraiser, will the Colonel be well enough to proceed with this tomorrow?" the General asked.
"Well, his wounds are superficial, but he will be quite sore and stiff, Sir. I can't condone this action, however." Janet looked at the Colonel. She knew how determined he would be to stop this before someone else was injured or possibly killed.
Daniel couldn't believe he was being excluded from this. "Jack, I don't agree, I think Sam and I need to be there. If it doesn't go as planned we might be able to help." The linguist didn't like to stand by and watch his friend from a distance.
"No way, Daniel. I don't want to be responsible for harming either one of you…….." Jack was determined to keep Carter and Daniel as far away from this little experiment as possible. The former Black Ops Officer knew he didn't need a weapon to inflict serious damage or even kill another human being.
"I have to agree with Colonel O'Neill here. Only Teal'c will be present in the Gate room besides the security guards and myself," Hammond decided. "Colonel, get some rest," with these words he ended the conversation and rose, preparing to leave the room.
"Yes, Sir. See you bright and early. Don't forget the party favors," Jack as usual was falling back on humor to lighten the mood.
"Jack, let us help…" Daniel pleaded again.
"Daniel, hold it! This is my decision and it's final! Understood?" God, Jack thought, frustrated by the whole situation. The stubborn man just wouldn't let it go. Why couldn't he see how much danger was involved in this? Seeing the disappointment clearly in the linguist's face he went for another approach. "Look, I really don't need to be concerned about you and Carter. I'm going to have to devote my full attention and energy to fighting this thing. Besides, I know you will be close by to help if necessary."
That seemed to satisfy his friend, Daniel relaxed his stance and his arms fell to his sides. "Of course you're right, Jack. I just don't like this standing around and not being able to help."
"Did you hear that? Daniel admitted that I was right for once! Somebody write this day down!" Jack was grinning despite the serious mess he was in.
Daniel had to smirk. "Well Jack, Janet told us not to upset you. I thought I better agree with you this time even though as usual you are wrong." He made sure to emphasize that last word with a slight snicker.
Teal'c cocked his head and looked at both men. He was enjoying this bantering going on between his two friends. The next morning would be a very different mood for all of them.
"Okay, kids. Let's all try and get some sleep. See you guys in the morning." Jack knew that he was once again the cause of worry and concern for his team. Damn, he was the team leader. His job was to alleviate stress, not to cause it.
O'Neill gave them a nod and a slight grin and tried to relax his muscles. After his friends had exited the room, he exhaled a long breath. How had he managed to get into this mess? He only hoped that Teal'c and the security guards could prevent him from harming Hammond or anyone else. He also knew that even if tomorrow turned out all right he still would have that damn device in his head. Sighing heavily, he tried to find a comfortable position to get some sleep.
At 0900 the next morning, General Hammond had cleared the Gate room of all personnel except for himself, Teal'c and the four security guards he had picked. The SF's were armed with their side-arms, Teal'c being the only one with a zat. The General didn't want to take the risk that his 21C would accidentally be shot twice with a zat. Daniel and Major Carter were in the Control Room to activate the Stargate. The video camera was running to record Colonel O'Neill's reactions. It was Doctor Fraiser's idea; she thought the information could be valuable for further examination of the device. Janet was also present in the Control Room with her special equipment to read O'Neill's vital signs from a distance.
"Major Carter, ask Colonel O'Neill to join us." The General had decided to have the Colonel come in first and then activate the Stargate. Carter had suggested the idea, to determine any reaction to seeing the dormant structure first. They all looked anxiously towards the blast doors as O'Neill entered the room, one hand stuffed deep in his pocket, the other resting in a sling.
"Aaah, the gang's all here. I guess it's time to get this show on the road, huh?" Jack smiled at his CO but General Hammond could see the turmoil in those expressive brown eyes. Since the Colonel didn't seem to react to seeing the Stargate, nor to seeing Hammond, the General decided to continue with the second part of the test.
"Colonel, whenever you are ready. Major Carter is standing by." Hammond wanted his Second to have the choice to start this unpleasant event. That would at least give the man some control over the situation.
"Okay, people, is everybody ready?" Jack looked at the faces surrounding him and received affirmative nods. His gaze settled on Teal'c, demandingly, pleadingly and the big Jaffa nodded his understanding. "Carter, dial it up!"
As the chevrons locked into place O'Neill heard the sounds of a zat gun activating, aimed in his direction. The Stargate turned and turned, then the wormhole established. Jack immediately could hear the voices in his head. He spun around and locked his gaze on the General; his breathing increasing. He tried hard to maintain his control and didn't notice the sweat that was appearing all over his face.
Come on, Jack. Focus. You can do this. Fight this.
Break his neck with your bare hands!
No! You can't!
Kill that man.
Stop it!
O'Neill struggled to free his right arm out of the sling and pressed both hands firmly against his temples. He closed his eyes and shook his head wildly, in an attempt to shake off the battle that was going on inside his head.
Fight this. You must fight this.
Don't hurt anyone…
Kill him, you can do this.
Please, no.
No.
No… no… no.
Everyone present could see the battle going on in the Colonel's mind. He was waging a fight with his own subconscious, trying desperately to overcome the device's effects.
Janet was watching her patient closely. She was concerned how this incident would affect him physically and mentally. They had no idea what damage the foreign object was doing to his body but the monitors showed her a rapidly increasing heartbeat and elevating blood pressure.
Jack was swaying unsteadily on his feet and then he collapsed onto his knees holding his head in his hands. Teal'c immediately rushed to his CO and eased him into a prone position. O'Neill moaned softly and didn't let go of his head, his face and neck covered in sweat, his whole body shuddering.
Fraiser's alarmed voice echoed through the Gate room. "Abort! Now!"
"O'Neill…" Teal'c frowned, deeply worried by the sight of O'Neill. It was apparent that his CO was in excruciating pain. When he got no response, he looked up to the General. "General Hammond, I believe we need Doctor Fraiser's assistance."
The General made his decision quickly. "Shut down the Stargate!" he ordered. He hoped the disengaging wormhole would release the pressure on the Colonel's head. He left the Security Guards on full alert, just in case. He was about to order Doctor Fraiser to come down when the blast doors opened and the small doctor ran through.
Janet rushed forward and knelt beside O'Neill. "Colonel? Can you hear me?" She was already checking his pulse, her touch confirming what the equipment had already told her. His pulse was racing and he was breathing in short, shallow gasps. Next she checked his pupils making sure to keep contact with him at all times. She was worried about his lack of response. He closed his eyes and his face was screwed up from the pain.
She gently touched his head, trying to move the cramped hands that were still cradling it. This time, he did respond, groaning out loud, withdrawing from her touch.
"Damn, damn, damn. It hurts …" Jack was gasping for breath, pain evident in his voice. He moved, turning to crouch on his hands and knees, leaning his head forward on the floor. When it didn't release him from the pain, he hit the floor with one clenched fist before rolling over on his side; his knees bent and he grabbed his head again, moaning deeply.
Two medics dropped by O'Neill's side, a gurney ready. Fraiser nodded at them and they lifted the Colonel onto it. She addressed the General. "Sir, I need to get the Colonel to the infirmary."
Hammond had silently watched the scene in front of him, a worried expression on his face. He was having a hard time fighting off the feeling of guilt, he'd been the one ordering his Second to go through this. He had never expected anything like this; he had thought shutting down the Stargate would have resolved all problems. Quite apparently it had not. Biting his lip he just nodded at his CMO and watched the group heading to the infirmary.
Back in the infirmary, Doctor Fraiser rapidly issued orders to her team. She needed an MRI scan, blood tests. She needed answers, but she knew it would be hard to get them.
Shit, shit, shit.
The Colonel was rolling from one side to the other on the bed, with his knees bent, still holding his head between both hands. Janet firmly grabbed one arm, apologizing for the discomfort and expertly put in an IV-line with a strong pain medication.
"Try to hold still, Colonel, the meds will kick in soon," she softly informed him without releasing his arm and watched how he slowly started to relax as the medication did its job.
He rolled on his back, covering his eyes with his other arm and sighed out loud. "Oh, God…"
"Better now, Sir?"
"Oh, yeah. What was that?"
"I don't know yet, Colonel. I don't know. But we'll figure this out, I promise," she said, patting his arm. "We're going to run some tests, then I need to look at those bullet wounds, they're bleeding again. Afterwards, I want you to rest, okay?"
"Rest… sounds good," he said, his voice soft. He had no energy left to give her as much as a weak smile, then his eyes closed as he drifted away.
Hammond sat behind his desk, absently stirring his already cold coffee. He'd been searching his memory to come up with possible enemies. Who had the reason, the nerve, the knowledge and the opportunity to initiate an action like this?
He couldn't stop the feeling that the device was at least not an Earth technology, so that narrowed the suspects down to the few hundreds of people who in one way or the other had access to the Stargate program.
Although he hoped he was wrong, he just couldn't stop thinking in the direction of the NID. They not only had access to alien technology, they also had connections that went higher than he could even imagine. The second Gate was dismantled as far as he knew, but…
Could he be sure?
He had pissed some people off by shutting down the rogue group that was stealing alien technologies. Colonel O'Neill had had a major role in that as well.
It was the only logical conclusion he could come up with. It was a great opportunity to get even with two people at once by having Jack eliminate him and O'Neill in turn either shot, imprisoned or locked up in the loony bin.
But how? Where had they gotten the device? Who was able to implant a thing like that? How was this going to help him, and O'Neill?
He still had one contact at the NID he trusted completely. He'd saved the man's life twice back in the sixties. Decision made, Hammond grabbed the phone and dialed.
He made sure no one noticed him when he entered Colonel O'Neill's office. He carefully closed the door behind him and sat down behind the Colonel's desk. Grabbing a tissue, he folded it over the telephone before picking it up and dialed a number.
"Yeah," a low, rough voice answered shortly.
"It's me, Sir. It didn't work. He managed to fight it twice."
"Mmm," the voice mumbled, apparently impressed. "He won't the third time, though, or it will kill him."
"They've also discovered that the Stargate sets it off, Sir."
"Yeah, yeah, I counted on that. There's another trigger, however and I doubt that Major Carter has discovered that yet. She's smart, but not that smart…" the voice responded. "Stay low, and see what happens. Don't call me again. We'll talk to each other on our next meeting." With that last remark the voice ended the conversation and broke off the connection.
He slowly put the receiver back on the phone. Other trigger? He didn't know about the second trigger. They had failed to fill him in on that. Not that it mattered. He was on his post and knew what he had to do.
He rose to his feet and swiftly left the Colonel's office.
Sooooo... who is that? And who did he call? And what about that second trigger..... are you curious yet?