Sunday, April 25
Reality A001
Daniel was glad that the tub had a broad ledge. He rested his cast on the side and sank as far as he could into the hot water to soak his bruises. It had been a very quiet day. The only person he saw all day was the airman who brought his meals. Silently brought them. He'd half expected Samantha, but she hadn't shown. Daniel suspected that if she'd wanted to, Hammond would have prevented her. He was here to work, not to enjoy movies with a pretty woman.
He'd spent the morning working on the history book, then took a nap when he finished. At noon, the airman came with his lunch and a new folder of papers, so he'd gotten back to work after eating. His left shoulder was beginning to ache with the inactivity forced on him by the cast and the sling, and his right arm was getting sore from doing all the work.
Before too long, he was tired out again and he lay down for another nap. When he woke up it was past eight and since he'd already worked his required six hours, he decided to take a bath. So now he lay in the tub, wishing he was home, wishing he didn't have a broken arm . . .
Next thing he knew, there was a very polite, very embarrassed young man at his elbow. "Sir, you have to come out of there. You've been in there for at least three hours."
The water was now cold, and Daniel struggled to sit up. "Thanks," he said thickly. He was very stiff and his left shoulder ached even more than it had before he took his bath because his weight had been dragging on it while he slept. He blinked, trying to wake himself fully, but it was not easy.
"Sir, are you okay?" the airman asked.
Daniel nodded. "A little stiff, I think," he said. He sat for a moment, trying to gather the energy to try and stand up.
"Do you need help?" The young man was hovering anxiously. Daniel shook his head, grimacing, and started to push himself to his feet in the tub, no simple task one-handed. It was a good thing that the airman hadn't left, because when Daniel lost his balance, the other man steadied him. "Sir, let me help you."
Daniel gave him a brief smile and gently shook him off. "I'm up, I should be fine. Can you get me a towel, though?" The young man nodded and pulled the towel off the rack. Daniel took it and stepped out of the tub. "I'm out now. You can go, I'll be fine."
"If it's all the same to you, sir, I think I'd better stay." Daniel shrugged and got himself as dry as was reasonable, then pulled on a pair of pajama pants. The airman hovered nearby.
"What's your name?" Daniel asked, squinting at the blurry tag on his chest.
"Solomon, sir," he said, "Airman Solomon."
"You really don't have to stay," Daniel said. He walked into the other room with Solomon in close attendance.
"Do you know what the general would do to me if I let you fall down and hurt yourself?"
"Promote you?" Daniel suggested. Solomon's eyes widened. "Sorry, bad joke," Daniel muttered. He climbed into bed. "Good night." Almost as soon as he found a comfortable position, he fell sound asleep again.
Monday, April 26
The first thing Daniel thought when he woke up was three weeks today. At just past noon today, it would be three weeks since this Jack abducted him from his office. He ached all over, and he could almost feel the weight of the bomb in his chest. He wanted to go home, but that wasn't happening any time soon.
"Danny, you awake?"
Daniel sat up sharply and stared at Jack, who was sitting at the desk, watching him. "Yeah. Um . . . good morning, Jack."
The colonel put his book down and walked over to him. "You feeling okay? Solomon was pretty worried after he got you out of the tub last night."
"I'm fine, Jack. I just got tired, that's all." Daniel blinked. He was still tired, but he'd been on an emotional roller coaster for three weeks. With some difficulty, owing to his inability to use his left arm, he shifted himself backward to lean against the wall.
"You don't look well," Jack said, squatting by the bed. "Should I get the doctor?"
Daniel shrugged. "I'm just tired, Jack. It's been a wearing few weeks."
Jack shook his head. "You really don't look well. You're looking sort of gray."
Daniel grimaced. "Great." He turned and got up, heading into the bathroom. The towel he'd used the night before still lay on the floor. He picked it up and shoved it into the laundry chute. He used the toilet, then washed his hands and pulled on a t-shirt. When he left the bathroom, he was half-hoping to find that Jack had gone, but no such luck. Jack was still in the room, but he'd stuck his head out the door.
Daniel walked over and sat down at the desk. He used a sticky note to mark Jack's place in his book and set it aside. Then he flipped his texts open and started working.
He'd only been going for a few seconds before a yell from Jack made him jump. "Daniel!" He turned apprehensively to see Jack staring down at him with clear exasperation. "What are you doing?"
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Working," he said. "Why, what does it look like I'm doing?"
"Daniel, it's obvious even to a blind fool like me that you're not really up to it yet. Rest for awhile longer. You're only supposed to put in six hours today in any case. You don't have to start the minute you get up."
Daniel pursed his lips. "You sent for the doctor, didn't you?"
"What of it?"
"There's nothing he can tell me that I don't already know."
"Well, he's coming," Jack said implacably. "And there's nothing you can do about it."
Daniel shrugged. "I'm well aware of that, Jack," he said, and he couldn't help the bitterness in his tone. He turned back to the desk and started working again.
Jack sat down in the chair next to the desk. "Daniel, I didn't mean . . . I've been trying to get you out of here, but Hammond won't hear of it."
Daniel paused in his work and closed his eyes. "Please, let's not talk about Hammond."
"Sure, Daniel," Jack said hastily. An uneasy silence fell between them, and Daniel looked down at the copies of parchment and the books that lay open in front of him, and suddenly none of it made any sense. He slammed one of the books shut so hard that it made Jack jump.
"Damn it!" he growled. "I hate this!"
The door opened and Daniel turned. It was Dr. Warner and General Hammond with his faithful shadow. Daniel turned back to face the desk and closed his eyes. Didn't that bloody man have anything better to do? Had Jack even considered that Hammond might take an interest in anything unusual coming out of this room?
He stood, because Hammond always seemed to commandeer this chair when he came in. Jack stood up as well and pulled him towards the other chair. Under his insistent pressure, Daniel sat down again. Hammond walked over to him, pushing Jack out of the way, and put a hand under his chin, tilting his face up. Daniel held very still, not looking into the other man's eyes. "You don't look well," he said, his tone irritable. "Doctor, what's wrong with him?"
Warner cleared his throat. "You mean apart from the broken arm, the multiple contusions, the unnecessary surgery and –" A growl from Hammond cut him off. "Close confinement isn't good for anyone, sir, it –"
"You haven't examined him, Warner," Hammond said, releasing Daniel's jaw and turning towards the doctor. "I don't want your moral prating, I want to know what's physically wrong with the man."
Daniel endured the swift exam Warner gave him, not liking Hammond's close proximity. It seemed that his temperature was normal, his heart rate was in the accepted range, and his blood pressure was a little elevated, but not in the danger zone. That last was hardly shocking. Daniel felt like a harp string that had just been plucked.
"Well?" Hammond demanded impatiently.
"Hypertension," Warner replied, "combined with physical trauma and the stress of being kept in a confined space without access to sunlight." Daniel was very aware of Hammond's close scrutiny.
"He could come stay with me," Jack suggested suddenly. Hammond gave the colonel a suspicious look. Daniel licked his lips. It would be good to get out of here, but staying with Jack might make it a bit harder for his friends to find him when they came. It would also make it harder to avoid conflict with the colonel.
"O'Neill, wait outside, please," Hammond said, and Daniel didn't dare look at him. He was afraid he'd look too nakedly terrified and desperate for him to stay. Jack opened his mouth to protest, but no words escaped his lips. Hammond waited in silence, staring at him, until he turned to go. Then the general appeared to dismiss him from his attention, turning to the doctor. "What do you suggest, Dr. Warner? Does he need vitamins?"
Warner's mouth opened, but he didn't speak immediately, and his eyes flashed over to Daniel's face in something like alarm. "No, sir, I don't think so. I think he needs a little time outside, more to do that isn't work, more visitors. This isolation isn't doing him any good." The door opened and shut as Jack left.
"Vitamins wouldn't do him any good?" Hammond asked.
Again, Warner gave Daniel an odd look, making him wonder what the hell they were talking about, then the doctor said, "Sir, I think it would be ill advised at this time. There are too many factors involved for it to have predictable effects." Daniel realized abruptly that they were not talking about vitamins, but something that was being concealed as vitamins. That must be how everyone was being drugged.
Which implied that he wasn't currently being drugged, or Hammond wouldn't be suggesting it. However, he was now pushing for it, which wasn't a good thing. "I'm just tired," Daniel said. "It will pass."
Hammond turned to gaze down at Daniel. "Did I ask you?"
Daniel reminded himself that yelling at the bastard would not have a beneficial effect. "No, sir," he said woodenly.
"You are relieved from work for the rest of the day," Hammond said. "And I will have Lt. Carter find some more movies for you. Warner, come with me. We will discuss this in my office."
Warner nodded and followed the general out of the room. Daniel sat for a few moments, his heart still pounding in his chest, wondering what this change in Hammond's behavior meant. After awhile, he got up and went over to his bed where he curled up on his side. He had to fight the depression that was threatening to overwhelm him. If he got too depressed, he'd stop watching his tongue and let his anger fly, and that could have disastrous results.
Empty of people, the room was too quiet. He'd been ordered not to engage in his sole reason for being here, the work that only a Daniel Jackson could do. He'd slept long enough. He didn't have anything he wanted to read, and he'd seen all the movies that were here at least twice, if not more times at this point.
There was nothing to do but lie here and try not to be depressed.
As Samantha approached the general's office, his secretary said, "Go on in, honey." Samantha nodded at the old woman and opened the door onto an angry confrontation. General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill were facing off across the general's desk, and Dr. Warner stood a few feet away from them, looking more than a little harried.
". . . control him, sir," the colonel was saying. "There's no reason he couldn't come stay with me. I have the space, and –"
"It's out of the question, Colonel O'Neill," Hammond said in an icy voice. "As of this moment, Daniel Jackson is legally dead. I'm not going to alter that to suit your whims."
Samantha stepped inside and closed the door. This didn't sound like a conversation that needed to become gossip fodder.
O'Neill's voice took on a persuasive note. "Why not, sir?" he asked. "It wouldn't hurt anything, would it? We could say that he was undercover somewhere, and that we couldn't let his identity be known, so it was easier to fake his death."
Samantha looked over at the general who had a faint smile on his face. He shook his head. "His being dead gives me an advantage that I'm not willing to give up," he said, sounding smug. Samantha braced herself for the explosion that was sure to burst out of her commanding officer and looked over at him in surprise when it didn't come. He seethed in silence, obviously worried that Daniel would pay for any outburst on his part. "The expenses incurred in his upkeep are being billed as maintenance for a translation device. He's a non-person, and I like it that way."
Samantha found her own temper rising and fought to keep it under control, to continue to seem like a drugged automaton under Hammond's thumb.
"I see," Colonel O'Neill said in a colorless voice.
"The only way Daniel Jackson will leave this base is through the gate. However, I might be persuaded to allow him on the surface within the confines of the base. With guards." His eyes narrowed as he gazed at O'Neill. "Without you."
"Sir, it would be better for Dr. Jackson if he was with someone he felt comfortable with," Dr. Warner said tentatively.
"Well, then, he can go with Lt. Carter," Hammond said, looking at her. "Carter, I'm glad you're here. Go find six or seven movies in the base library that you think Dr. Jackson would like and bring them back with you."
She nodded and hurried out. What was going on? What was the colonel doing, suggesting that Daniel go live with him? Things were just getting strange. Nothing like this had happened before with any of the other Daniels.
The selection of movies in the base library was pretty limited. She didn't want to get anything too depressing or too violent. Watching someone beating up on someone else would probably not be a great thing for Daniel right now. She grabbed a selection and went back to the general's office, once more going in without knocking.
"I have to, do I, colonel?" Hammond was asking, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I didn't mean that, sir," O'Neill said hastily. "It would just be good. Daniel needs to get out of that room a bit."
"We'll see, colonel," Hammond said with finality. Seeing the colonel about to make some angry retort, she walked forward swiftly and put the movies on the desk. All three of them looked at her with surprise. Hammond looked down at them. "Colonel, I want you to go read Dempsey's mission report on P9N-394. I'm going to send SG-1 there on Wednesday, so you need to get up to speed on the situation."
"SG-1?" the colonel asked. "Are you planning on sending Daniel?"
"Barring emergencies, Dr. Jackson will not be going on missions till his arm is healed," Hammond said. "Get the report, colonel. The briefing will be tomorrow at ten a.m. sharp." O'Neill saluted, pivoted on his heel, and left. Hammond turned to Dr. Warner. "How much time does Jackson need outside?"
"I'd say a minimum of three hours, sir, and it can't be just once. It needs to be a frequent occurrence. The human body requires sunlight. He also needs to feel secure. The bomb –"
"Is not under discussion," Hammond said sharply. "What is it about that pitiful archeologist? He's got you all turning into simpering wimps."
"It's not Dr. Jackson, sir," Warner said. "I would feel this way about any prisoner. I think the Jaffa probably needs sunlight as well, and his child certainly does."
"The Jaffa needs to earn sunlight for both himself and his child," Hammond said coldly. "But I can't afford for Dr. Jackson to fall ill, particularly not if I want to get proper use out of him." Warner looked disturbed, but Samantha knew she had to fight down her own feelings of outrage. She couldn't let that overpower her practicality or she'd be doomed.
She took a deep breath and said, "Sir, would it be accurate to say that you regard Dr. Jackson as a tool?"
"Yes, Carter. Why do you ask?" Hammond looked curious, and Warner looked appalled by her calm question.
"Well, any good tool requires maintenance, right? I mean, you put oil in your car and change the belt on your vacuum cleaner. Look at it as maintenance. A human being needs sunlight and social interaction to stay healthy. If you give him those things, he'll be more productive."
Warner was staring at her as if he'd never seen her before, but Hammond nodded sourly. "I guess that's true, though I can hardly see how he could be any more productive."
She grimaced. "Sir, I know he has been productive, but no one can go on for long at the pace that's been set for him. If you want him to last, you're going to have to –"
"Lower my demand, yes, I know. That point has been mentioned before, though never quite so sensibly." She tried not to flinch under his approving regard. He nodded slightly at her, then turned to Dr. Warner. "Very well, I will permit outings to the surface for Dr. Jackson. No more than two a week, no more than two hours at a time. Arrange them with Lt. Carter. If she's not available, then there is no outing. Understand?"
"Yes, sir," Warner said, glancing at Samantha with confusion in his eyes. "I will consult with Lt. Carter."
"Very good. You are dismissed." With another perplexed glance at Samantha, Dr. Warner left the office.
When the door was shut, Hammond smiled at her. "Please, Lt. Carter, have a seat." She managed a return smile and sat down. "You have become quite practical," he said. "I commend you on the alteration of your outlook."
"Thank you, sir," she said, at a loss for anything else to say.
"See that it lasts." She nodded. He pulled the movies closer and sorted through them. "Any of these will do, but please only take three in at a time. He's already got six movies in his room right now. Get those out of there and take three of these in."
"Yes sir."
"And let him know that you and O'Neill will be gone for five days on this mission. You'll be leaving on Wednesday and coming back on Sunday, unless there are any delays. There is a particularly interesting natural phenomenon on that planet, and I want you to discover if any of the side effects could prove useful to us. I've arranged for the report to be sent to your lab. Read it before tomorrow's briefing."
"Of course sir," she said.
"You are dismissed, lieutenant, but keep on as you have been and you may very well regain your bars." He smiled as she rose and saluted him. He returned the gesture, and she left, feeling more than a little shaky. Such approbation from such a man was quite disturbing.
Five days. Daniel would be without friends here for five days. She hated that thought, but couldn't refuse the assignment for any reason that wouldn't bar her from visiting Daniel in any case. And she had to be . . . or at least had to seem . . . practical in Hammond's eyes.
She headed down to Daniel's room, assuming that his breakfast had surely already arrived. He was huddled on the bed, looking utterly pathetic and terribly tense and frightened, and she wondered, suddenly, if that confrontation had started in here. It had been enough to make her mouth dry with tension, what it must feel like to be the subject of the controversy, she didn't like to think about.
He looked at her and smiled. It was a ghastly expression given the misery in his eyes.
She smiled back at him and walked over. "I've got some new movies for you," she said, touching his hair gently. "It'll be okay, Daniel. It will." He didn't respond. She wanted to take him in her arms and rock him, but she wasn't sure she dared. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?" Once again, he lay silent. He wasn't ignoring her exactly, but he clearly didn't have anything to say. She squeezed his shoulder, then went and swapped the videotapes. Quickly, she took the tapes she couldn't leave with him back to her lab, then she hurried back to him.
He wasn't on the bed anymore, and the bathroom door was closed, so she turned the guest chair by the desk so that it faced the bed and the bathroom door, sat down and picked up the a novel that had undoubtedly been left by a visitor. From the look of it, it was Colonel O'Neill's.
Within moments, the bathroom door opened and Daniel emerged. He smiled when he saw her, but this smile was more genuine. "I heard the door open and I wasn't sure who I'd find out here," he said.
Her heart broke at the terror implicit in that statement. Saying something wouldn't be politic, though. She dropped the book on the table. "Did you see what movies I brought you?"
He nodded. "I've never seen any of them, so they should work out great."
"Good," she said.
He sat down on the bed, crossing his legs. "It's Monday," he commented, and she nodded, baffled by the sudden change in subject. "Hammond has made it clear that you folks are supposed to put in a full day's work rather than spending so much time with me."
"That's true," she agreed.
"Therefore, either you're risking Hammond's wrath for my sake, in which case, don't." She shook her head, mildly bemused by his words, but his next words brought her sharply back to earth. "Or you're here for a purpose."
She grimaced. "Yes. You're right. I . . . I have some things I need to tell you." Smooth, Samantha, she thought. Make it obvious that it's a big deal.
Daniel gave her a sympathetic look that nearly undid her, but she held herself together. Very gently, he said, "Tell me." He sat waiting attentively.
She cleared her throat. "SG-1 is being sent offworld on Wednesday, just the colonel, Major Kowalski and me."
There was a silence. Daniel licked his lips and tried to look unflapped by this news, but she could see the dismay that lay beneath the mask. "How long?" he asked after a moment.
"We're scheduled to be back on Sunday."
His eyes widened. "Sunday?" he repeated. She nodded and watched him do the math in his head. Then he put his finger right on the key word. "Scheduled?"
She bit her lip. "No delays are anticipated, it's a routine science survey, but it would be unfair not to let you know that –"
"I know, Samantha," he said softly. "I do the same job. So, you and Jack are going to be gone for five days. Who's in charge of me while you're gone?" She looked down, not sure what to say. "Ah," he said. "Hammond then." His tone was flat and unemotional as he fidgeted with the edge of his cast with his right hand.
"He wants you to be able to work," Samantha said. "He's . . . he's decided that you should have time outside."
Daniel looked up from his fidgeting. "Outside? Outside where?"
"Here," she said. "On the surface."
He sat forward. "You're kidding. Outside?"
"Only two hours at a time, and no more than twice a week, and only if I'm available to accompany you."
Daniel blinked at her. "It's a hell of a lot better than nothing. When?"
"I'm not sure, it has to be arranged with Dr. Warner, but I will make sure it happens at least once before I leave on Wednesday."
He leaned back again. "Who intervened on my behalf?" he asked. "I can't believe Hammond came up with that on his own." She opened her mouth, then closed it again uneasily. "Never mind, forget the question." He shook his head. "I just keep wondering what Hammond's making Jack do by threatening me."
She stared at him, but he wasn't meeting her eyes. She cleared her throat, which had the effect of drawing his attention to her. With her eyes wide and innocent, she said, "Now why would General Hammond have to threaten Colonel O'Neill to follow orders?" She widened her eyes just slightly on the last word, and Daniel blinked at her for a moment, the way he . . . the way her Daniel always had when he was confused.
He coughed, and then said, "Of course, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking."
She shrugged. "It's not important," she said. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
He shook his head. "No, I haven't, but I'm not really hungry."
She pursed her lips. "I'll have some food sent, stuff that will keep so you can eat whenever you do get hungry."
Raising his eyebrows, he shrugged slightly. "That sounds like a reasonable plan."
She narrowed her eyes. "You need to eat something, then, so the plan works."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Samantha, I will eat something, but just now my stomach's still a little unsettled."
She nodded and stood up. "I suppose I had better go. Is there anything else I can get you?"
His eyebrow quirked in appreciation of her careful phrasing. "A deck of cards would be nice," he said. "Other than that, not really."
"I'll see if the colonel and I can join you for dinner."
He smiled. "I'd like that."
She walked over and squeezed his shoulder again, then left. On her way through the halls she saw Sgt. Siler. She paused to chat with him briefly, catching his eye and putting a hand in her pocket, hoping he'd catch her reference. His eyebrows went up, but he didn't otherwise reply. They talked for a few moments more, then went their separate ways.
She went to her lab and sat down to read Dempsey's report. From the looks of things it should be a fairly straightforward science survey, and might not take nearly as long as the general had scheduled. She turned from that to ironing out a few problems that had turned up recently in the dialing program.
Colonel O'Neill stopped by her lab just after lunch, and she asked him if he wanted to have dinner with Daniel. He said he'd arrange the food, and asked her to join him for dessert afterwards at a place he knew. She agreed and he brushed his lips against her forehead and left. Life was certainly taking a surreal turn. As the door shut behind him, she wondered if this had hit the gossip tree yet.
Shrugging, she returned to work. At about three o'clock, the phone rang. Not taking her eyes off the computer screen, she picked up the receiver and said, "Carter."
"This is Colonel Makepeace. I was wondering if you could come take a look at some stuff from my last mission and see if you can make sense of it. Our science geek keeps scratching his head and sighing, so I'm guessing he's as lost as I am."
"Of course, Colonel. Give me twenty minutes to wrap up what I'm working on."
"Thank you, lieutenant," Makepeace said.
Samantha hung up and sighed. It never rained but it poured. With everything else that was going on, how she was supposed to fit the occasional drop in science visit into her schedule was beyond her. She closed down the dialing software and made a few notes to help her take up where she'd stopped in the process, then she headed down to Makepeace's office.
He showed her some very odd samples and she talked about it with Lt. Mikel Tainaga, the biochemist who was assigned to Makepeace's team. While they discussed the objects, Sgt. Siler came in and joined in the conversation. Finally, she suggested a couple of tests and Tainaga rushed off to try them, leaving her alone with Makepeace and Siler. She started to get up, but sank back in astonishment when Siler said, "I activated the jammer about five minutes ago, so we're good to go."
She stared at him and then looked over at Makepeace who shrugged with embarrassment. "I did need your help, lieutenant, but the timing was dictated by your request to Sgt. Siler this morning."
She nodded slowly. "I see, I guess."
"I'm trying to make sure to vary the locations and persons present when I use this thing to make it as untraceable as possible."
Nodding again, she licked her lips. She hadn't really counted on having Makepeace present for this conversation. As she opened her mouth to speak, though, Maybourne materialized behind Makepeace, gave her an oddly mischievous look, then tapped him on the shoulder.
The marine let out a shout of surprise and turned, glaring. "Would you stop doing that!" he exclaimed angrily.
Samantha stared at the three men in total befuddlement. Maybourne, Makepeace and Siler were already working together? How long had this been going on? Was that why Siler approached her?
"It's not what you think, ma'am," Siler said. "I had no idea that you were in communication with Colonel Maybourne until he approached me after our conversation."
She blinked. "I see."
"I do believe we've rather overwhelmed you, Lt. Carter," Maybourne said with a boyish grin. "I am sorry, but what is the issue you wished to discuss with Sgt. Siler?"
Samantha raised an eyebrow. "The phase shifters aren't toys, Colonel Maybourne," she said after a moment. "If you use it too much, you're going to get caught, and there's only one person who could have given it to you."
His expression sobered instantly, and Makepeace gave her an appreciative look, which made her wonder just how many times Maybourne had surprised the marine. Maybourne nodded. "I fully comprehend the risk, Lt. Carter, and I assure you I'm not taking undue chances. It is, however, a useful and convenient way to be able to drop in on colleagues I can't openly visit."
"I suppose so," she said, "but be careful."
"Just what I said, only I didn't know you were the one who gave him the device," Makepeace said. "I assumed he'd 'borrowed' it."
"In any case, I don't have a huge amount of time right now," Samantha said, turning to Siler. "Sergeant, you're working on reverse engineering some of that Goa'uld technology they brought back from Chulak, aren't you?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you think you could come up with a decent excuse for consulting with the Jaffa the general's holding?"
All three men stared at her in resounding silence. After a moment, Makepeace said, "Jaffa? What Jaffa?"
Samantha looked from one to the other of them, then said, "None of you know that Hammond has a Jaffa prisoner?" They all looked blank. She cleared her throat. "Two actually, he's controlling Teal'c by threatening his son."
"Teal'c?" Maybourne's jaw dropped with shock. "Did you say Teal'c?" She nodded. "That's the name of the Jaffa who's on SG-1 in the other reality."
Samantha's eyes widened. "No wonder Daniel looked so stunned to see him."
"Daniel?!" Maybourne shook his head. He took a step towards her. "He saw him? What's going on?"
"Maybourne, why don't you take a seat and let Lt. Carter tell us what she's talking about?" Makepeace said. "And what it has to do with Siler."
Maybourne took control of himself and sat down, waiting. Samantha shrugged. "How much do they know about your extracurricular trips, sir?" she asked.
"Siler knows nothing," Maybourne replied, "and Makepeace is fully informed."
Siler raised an eyebrow. "Do I gather that you've been visiting the reality this Daniel is from?" he asked. Maybourne nodded.
Samantha grimaced. "Yes, he has. We're trying to get Daniel home, but he's been so isolated that he's becoming desperate, and I was afraid he'd do something foolish and get himself killed. I asked Maybourne to see if his friends would send him a note written in some language that only Daniel could translate that we could slip him so he'd know what was going on." She shrugged. "I figured they could get the other Daniel, the one we left behind, to write it, but –"
"But they haven't even told that Daniel about my visits," Maybourne said. She hadn't known that. "I guess they're worried that he'd find any communication between them and us would strike him as suspicious." Samantha nodded. "But there's a Jaffa who has defected to their side and is on SG-1. He wrote the note in some archaic form of Goa'uld, mixing it up with other writing to conceal what it was. He told Daniel who he was and that they were working with us to get him free."
Samantha made some connections in her mind and blinked. "That explains a lot," she said. The others looked at her. "He . . . the Teal'c that Hammond's holding, he may not be on our side, but he's not not on our side, if you follow me."
"Not really," Maybourne said.
"He lied." They all looked uncomprehending. "Hammond decided that Daniel had mistranslated the story that the other Teal'c wrote to hide the note in. He was convinced that there were military secrets hidden in it that Daniel was omitting, so he brought in the Jaffa to translate it as well."
Maybourne froze, appalled. "What?" he asked, his voice filled with dismay.
She nodded. "It was terrifying, but he lied. He told Hammond that it was just a folk tale, but if it was written by the alternate reality version of himself –"
"This is getting more than a little confusing," Siler said. "You're saying that the alternate reality . . . what was the name?"
"Teal'c."
"Teal'c. The alternate reality Teal'c wrote a note to the alternate Daniel that we're holding prisoner, which our Hammond tried to have the Teal'c from this reality translate, but the Teal'c from here lied?"
"Exactly," Samantha said. "He protected Daniel, and I don't know why. But if the Teal'c in the other reality works with Earth, I wonder if this Teal'c would work with us. He has no reason to like Hammond, and for that reason alone, he might be willing to help us if we can get rid of him."
"He's a Jaffa, lieutenant," Makepeace said. "He's one of the enemy."
Samantha shook her head. "According to Daniel, who should know, the Jaffa are indoctrinated from birth and have no choice about being what they are."
"You've discussed it with him?" Makepeace asked incredulously.
"No." She stood up and started pacing. "I saw a conversation between him and Hammond. I was eavesdropping digitally." She turned and faced Makepeace. "But here's the kicker, leaving aside the facts that the story and note were in his own handwriting and that it mentioned the identity of the alternate reality Teal'c, I really think he might have helped Daniel anyway. There was just a feeling about the whole situation . . . he could obviously tell that Daniel was a prisoner, and he was angry with the way Hammond was treating Daniel because he was a scholar. And when Teal'c mentioned 'the god Apophis,' Daniel responded with 'the false god,' and Teal'c nodded." Makepeace and Maybourne were looking at her blankly, and she pursed her lips in exasperation. "He agreed with him. I don't think Teal'c likes the Goa'uld any more than he likes Hammond, and that can't be a bad thing."
"That's what the other Teal'c called the Goa'uld," Maybourne said suddenly. "'The false gods' were his exact words."
"So what is it you want Siler to do, Carter?" Makepeace asked.
"I'm not sure now," she said. "If none of you knows about Teal'c being a prisoner, it would be a little fishy for him to request to see him."
"Maybe," Siler said. "But I have a meeting with Hammond tomorrow morning regarding the Goa'uld technology and my relative lack of progress. I could mention casually that it would be a real boon to talk to someone who had direct experience with it. He'd probably assume I was referring to Daniel since he's from an alternate reality, but he might just think of that Jaffa and offer to let me meet with him."
"It's possible, and it doesn't risk anything," Samantha said. "You could just as easily be speaking rhetorically."
"But what's he supposed to do once he gets in with the Jaffa?" Makepeace asked.
"The first time, not a damned thing," Siler said. "Just what I'm there for . . . but after that, I'll know where he's being kept and will be able to get an idea of what security measures are in place. Once I know that, I'll have a better idea of how to circumvent them. I can also start out just talking to him, seeing what he knows and thinks about things."
Makepeace looked thoughtful. "I think it would work," he said. I think it's a good idea, in fact. Just be damned careful."
"Yes sir," Siler said.
Satisfied, Samantha walked over and leaned against the wall. "All right, that's that for now. There are a few things you need to know. First, Hammond has the Jaffa's eleven-year-old son and is threatening him to ensure Teal'c's cooperation. Second, Hammond is now using Daniel as a threat against Colonel O'Neill, who is going back and forth between a delusional belief that this Daniel is our original Daniel and more rational states of mind. Regardless of which state he's in, though, he will do anything to protect Daniel."
"Shit," Makepeace said. "No wonder the man's been wandering around the base lately like an angry zombie."
"So, are you really having a relationship with him, or is that just a cover?" Maybourne asked bluntly.
"It's a cover," Samantha said as Makepeace spluttered. "It gives us an excuse to go places that aren't readily monitored and talk quietly while appearing to snuggle. He asked me to get allies since we can no longer act on our own without endangering Daniel."
"Well, you've got them," Makepeace said. "And Siler can go pursue the possibility of help from the Jaffa. When the time to act arrives, it could come to open battle in the corridors of the base, and we'll need every man we can get."
"My thinking exactly," Samantha said. "And now I've got to go. I've been here far too long. I will be meeting with Jack tonight. We're having dinner with Daniel then going out somewhere for dessert. Is there anything I should tell him when I get the opportunity?"
"Tell him you have found some allies, but don't tell him who. He's a man with a hostage . . . he's been compromised."
Samantha grimaced unhappily. "You think I don't fit into that category?" she asked.
Makepeace shrugged. "Well, you do have the added bonus of not being fruit loops."
"True," she replied. "Though I'd prefer different terminology. It's not his fault." She squirmed uneasily under their regard. "Not entirely."
"No," Maybourne agreed. "Not entirely." Makepeace nodded grim assent. "I'll show up when I can. It will probably be a few days before we can meet again in any case."
"Almost a week," Samantha corrected. Both Makepeace and Maybourne looked startled, but Siler seemed unsurprised. "SG-1 is being sent to P9N-394 as of Wednesday and we're not scheduled to be back until Sunday."
Makepeace let out a whistle. "That should make things interesting. All right, we'll get together when we can early next week. I've got some things that I'm moving on as well. You'd be better off not knowing specifics, but just know this, lieutenant. You're not alone."
She smiled. "I've never been alone, colonel, I've always had company. It's just that my companions were a prisoner from another reality and an insane man. It makes for very strange and strained conversations."
"I can imagine," Makepeace said, shaking his head sympathetically. "We'll see you later, then."
She pushed off from the wall she'd been leaning against. "Gentlemen." They nodded politely and she left.
When she got back to her lab, the phone was ringing. She rushed inside to pick it up. "Carter," she said.
"Lieutenant, it's Dr. Warner, do you have some free time this afternoon?"
Startled, she nodded. "Yes, doctor. When?"
"I thought in a hour. I'll have all the requirements that Hammond sent me ready by then. And I thought, since you'll be leaving in two days, that we should do it again tomorrow."
"I don't know my schedule tomorrow yet, but I'll have a better idea after the mission briefing."
"Give me a call then, and meet me outside Dr. Jackson's room in an hour."
"Yes, sir," she said and hung up. Walking over to her computer she sat down and peeked in on Daniel. There was a covered plate of sandwiches on the desk that showed signs of depredations, and a bowl of fruit. There was also a bar fridge near the door to the bathroom which hadn't been there that morning. Hammond had evidently decided to make some effort to give Daniel a better environment. Somehow, knowing Daniel, she suspected that it was making things worse for him emotionally. A bar fridge in the room with him implied that he wasn't getting out of that room any time soon.
She grimaced and set to work again on her programming. It wouldn't be forever. They would see to that.