We brought in Feretti! Don't you just love him? He should have had bigger roles in the first seasons.... he's great, he knows and respects Jack.... and somehow it's just fun to see him coming to Jack's rescue now and then.
Daniel watched as his best friend slept restlessly. The pain was evident on Jack's face, even in his sleep. The archaeologist let his anger and outrage spill out as he mumbled a barely audible "damn it" while throwing a dinner tray across the infirmary. He couldn't believe how his government could sanction an experiment like this one, on his friend.
Forcing himself to calm down Jackson reminded himself that it wasn't the government who was behind this whole mess, but just some part of the NID. He wished he could do something useful, something to help his friend. He'd contacted the Tollan again just an hour ago with the information Sam had come up with and knew that High Chancellor Travelle would do everything she could, but it still wasn't enough according to Daniel.
They needed something to work on, before this thing killed their friend.
The archaeologist sighed heavily, then looked up to find a pair of dark brown eyes staring intently at him. Wondering how long Jack had been watching him, he quickly regained control over his frustration and moved closer to the bed. "Jack! You're awake! How, what….."
"Daniel, slow down. Will ya? You know my brain is slow at the best of times and we both know this is not one of my better days." The Colonel was trying hard to concentrate. He'd witnessed Daniel's private outburst and knew his friend was upset about the whole situation. It was time to take matters in his own hands and help resolving things. If only his head didn't hurt so badly; he needed to be able to think straight. "Okay, Daniel. Let's try this again. What's going on? I mean beside the obvious of course..."
Daniel stared at Jack, wondering whether it would be a good idea to fill him in. He was worried about his friend, knowing from just looking at him how much effort it took O'Neill to stay awake, talk and hide his pain. On the other hand, Jack had a right to know what was going on and never liked being kept in the dark in the first place. Pulling a chair closer, the linguist sat down. "We've been able to find the mole at the SGC. Captain Leon Williams. Sam, Teal'c and Ferretti have interrogated him and now we know that at least part of the NID is involved. Apparently, they have a technician with enough knowledge to create a prototype of this device, based on information they'd gathered from a Tollan outlaw."
"So, the mole at the SGC was the one who contacted the Tollan off world?" Jack guessed.
"Yes, he was assigned to SG-9. They've been off world a lot lately. At the NID, the name of one Colonel Simmons keeps popping up, but we have no hard evidence he's behind this all. High Chancellor Travelle is trying to find the Tollan scientist as we speak."
Jack pulled a face. "You mean there's nothing else we can do but wait for them to come up with something?"
"Well, Jack," Daniel tried to explain. "We know the scientist's name at the NID, but that's all we have right now. We also have been warned that beside the Stargate, something else can trigger the device, so I'd say it's pretty risky to undertake something. The most urgent thing we need at the moment is for the device either to be removed or to be neutralized."
O'Neill bit on his lip, his face dark and distant. Although he hated to be passive, he had to agree with Daniel that his hands were pretty much tied at the moment. His blood was boiling, however, to go and shake up some people at a certain department. "Simmons, Simmons..." he started, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers. "Where have I heard that name before... Isn't he the one that replaced Maybourne?"
The linguist slowly lifted his shoulders. "I have no idea," he admitted.
"Damn," O'Neill muttered. "I better not touch anything, otherwise I would have started digging in the NID's files myself. See if you or Carter can come up with something about this guy, okay?"
"I will," Daniel promised as he got up, ready to leave. "You just rest, you look like you need it. We'll do everything we can."
"Incoming traveler, incoming traveler..." the familiar voice announced over the intercom, accompanying the sound of the chevrons locking as the gate turned.
General Hammond was in the Control Room in no time, closely followed by Major Carter. "Who is it?" he demanded.
"I'm trying to get a signal, Sir... here it is. It's the Tollan, Sir."
"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, turning around to meet with his guests. "And get me Dr. Jackson. I might need him!"
"Yes, Sir!" the airman behind the control panel responded before pressing the right buttons to activate the intercom. "Dr. Jackson, to the Gate room. Dr. Jackson to the Gate room."
Hammond entered the Gate room with Carter on his heels as five people stepped through the wormhole.
Two Tollan guards were holding one man between them, apparently a prisoner. The others were a widely smiling High Chancellor and one of her bodyguards. Travelle bowed gracefully at General Hammond and Major Carter, then watched over their shoulders as the blast doors opened and Dr. Jackson came running in.
Hammond stepped forward with one outstretched hand. "High Chancellor Travelle," he greeted the Tollan woman.
"General Hammond, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson," Travelle shook the General's hand and nodded at the others. "We have succeeded in tracking down the Tollan scientist. We came here to offer our assistance in removing the device from Colonel O'Neill's head."
Hammond lifted his brows in surprise before nodding. "That is indeed good news. Please follow me to the infirmary where we can discuss this with Colonel O'Neill and his doctor."
The Tollan followed the people from Earth through the corridors of the mountain, heading for the infirmary.
They found Teal'c and two guards posted at the door to the Colonel's room.
General Hammond went inside while the others waited in the corridor. He found Dr. Fraiser just checking Colonel O'Neill's vitals.
"Colonel, Doctor," Hammond said upon entering. "If it suits you, we have some guests who would like to discuss something with us regarding the device." The General worriedly took in the exhausted features of his Second lying in the hospital bed. "Are you up to it, son?"
O'Neill weakly waved him off. "As good as I ever will be with this thing stuck in my brain, Sir."
"I just gave Colonel O'Neill another dose of pain medication, Sir," Fraiser added while pressing the button to lift the head-end of the Colonel's bed so he would be more comfortable. "It will kick in soon. We'll need to talk quickly, before he falls asleep."
"Good. Call in the guests then," Hammond nodded at Fraiser.
The room quickly filled up with SG-1, High Chancellor Travelle, the wanted Tollan scientist and two Tollan guards.
Jack rolled his eyes. "What am I, some new attraction at Universal Studios?"
Travelle just smiled. "Colonel O'Neill. How are you feeling?"
"Why don't I answer that after I've heard what you got to say?" O'Neill responded with a smirk.
"This, Colonel O'Neill," Travelle pointed at the Tollan man guarded by two others. "This is Dr. Travis, the scientist who has developed devices such as the one currently present in your head. He has the knowledge and expertise to remove it. With your permission, we can start the procedure right now."
"What procedure?" Doctor Fraiser demanded immediately.
The Tollan scientist spoke up for the first time. "We will have to remove the device in surgery. I have some equipment with me to dismantle it, as soon as I can reach it. After that, it's safe to remove it from Colonel O'Neill's head without causing any more damage."
"Wait a minute," Carter interrupted. "But what about that spike that's already grown into the Colonel's brain?"
"It will pull back with the dismantling process," Dr. Travis explained.
"How do we know it's not going to send more spikes through Jack's head?" Daniel wanted to know.
"It won't, as long as we follow the right procedure," the scientist said confidently.
"When I tried to remove the device, Colonel O'Neill seized and then arrested. How do we prevent that from happening?" Janet asked, still frowning.
"That was the response of the device, as it wasn't disabled first, before the attempt to remove it. It is designed to do that."
"Anybody told you the design sucks?" O'Neill commented.
"Is this man medically trained, to perform such a surgery?" Fraiser questioned.
"He is," Travelle nodded. "He has worked as a neurosurgeon on Tollana for at least twenty years."
Fraiser slowly glanced at her, not happy with the situation just yet.
"I don't think we really have a choice here," Daniel opted, glancing from one person to another. Carter was nodding in agreement.
"Now, hold it for a minute," Jack started, raising one hand. "Not that I don't think this is all very nice, but why should I trust him?"
"You have my word that he will do nothing to harm you, O'Neill," Travelle smiled.
"So... I should trust you," O'Neill said. "No offence, but that still doesn't make me feel any better..."
"We, the Tollan, are very grateful for the assistance of the people from Earth, and you in particular, dealing with certain situations in the past. Consider it as paying back an old debt, Colonel. We owe you," Travelle simply explained.
"Well, yeah, that's all very flattering, but how can you be sure that he," O'Neill slowly motioned towards the scientist in question, "feels the same way as you do?"
Travelle slowly bowed her head before looking straight at the man in the bed. "As you, I, too, have my ... methods. I will personally be present during the procedure. I can assure you that you will be in the best hands."
"Colonel?" Hammond gently asked. "It has to be your decision, Jack."
O'Neill sighed heavily, raising his hands in exasperation. "Well, Sir. I already have the mother of all headaches... How much worse can it get? Let's get this over with..."
"I'll get a nurse to show you to the operating room," Fraiser said to the Tollan scientist. "Then I'll prep Colonel O'Neill for surgery. Everybody, please.... out."
A couple of minutes later everybody had left, after giving O'Neill the thumbs up for good luck. Dr. Travis and Travelle had been shown to the operating room for preparations while Fraiser stayed with O'Neill to make the final arrangements.
She was moving around the bed, when O'Neill suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Colonel?" she asked in surprise.
"You are going to be there, aren't you?" he demanded.
"Yes, Sir," she responded with a frown. "Although I have no expertise in this to contribute to the procedure."
"I don't care. I trust you. I feel a lot better knowing that you will be there to look after me..." he admitted softly.
Fraiser smiled reassuringly at him, gently patting his arm. "Thanks. I'll do my best, Colonel."
Oh-uh.... The Tollan, saving Jack? He's not to fond of them to start with, so.... How's that going to end?