Gen Landry had returned to base with SG1. There was an urgent satellite message waiting for him. The General recommended his elite team listen to the message in the conference room. The General was anxious to hear the call. They all suspected that it may be from the kidnappers. They all sat down and waited for their demands.
"Walter, go ahead and patch the call into the conference room." Ordered Landry.
"Yes, Sir." Answered Walter.
"Gen Landry, who I am, is not your concern. I'm sure that SG1 is listening is as we speak. Don't bother in trying to trace this call this is a recording and we anticipated your actions. Listen well all of you and understand that if you do not cooperate or fulfill our demands then you will be responsible for Vala Mol Doran and Dr. Lam's death. We want all known Asgard technology and information downloaded to a special disc that will be delivered as we speak. The disc is encoded and can only be retrieved with a special signature. If there are any attempts to download false information or any self destruct encoding then you will forfeit both your members' lives. We know that Dr. Lam is your daughter General Landry and we will not hesitate to kill them both if any of the Asgard technology cannot be used. Your next instructions will come at our appointed time."
The transmission ended and all of SG1 knew whoever was requesting this information knew that Asgard technology was off limits to any outside force and still under experimentation. They also knew that Vala and Carolyn were still in danger and hopefully alive.
"Walter, has there been any packaged delivered to this base address to me or SG1?" Col Mitchell asked.
"Yes sir. But it was not the standard delivery. Intelligence has the package and made sure that it was safe before opening. Do you wish them to deliver the package Sir? It was addressed to you and SG1."
"Yes, inform intelligence check for any prints if possible and check the delivery service who dropped it off." Stated Landry.
"Yes Sir.
"Sir, is it possible this may be a Goua'ld tactic? We know Athena kidnapped Vala to retrieve information from her past. Could this be their organization?" Said Sam.
"We don't know yet Col Carter. They obviously have some major intelligence to know Carolyn is my daughter and they addressed this disc to me and all of your team."
"Sir, what about the Asgard information, said Daniel. We risk Vala and Dr. Lam's life if they even suspect that we tampered with the disc and giving them any Asgard technology could jeopardize this entire program and the world, possibly the entire galaxy."
Daniel was worried about Vala and how the kidnapper made clear they would kill Vala or Carolyn from the transmission. He barely knew Dr. Lam other than from his injuries being treated, but now both of them could die and they may never know where the are. Daniel was still in a trance when Gen Landry spoke.
"Right now, we have two of our people in trouble and I want this treated like any other mission. We find out what we are up against and figure out a way to solve the problem."
"Sir this is Vala and your daughter we're talking about. Daniel said angrily. They are not just a mission to abort if something goes wrong. They could die and we may never find out where they are."
"Daniel, please be calm, said Teal'c. Gen Landry is concerned as all of us are. We cannot afford to be emotional and be irrational. He is correct that we must find out first who we are dealing with to properly help our friends."
Daniel calmed down at Teal'c's obvious wisdom and cool head in this crisis.
"I'm sorry Sir, I'm just worried about the both of them and knowing that Vala has been hurt and not knowing if she is alive or dea…………….
Daniel held his head down trying to control is anger and fear. He just wanted Vala back and Carolyn safe. He had forgotten the Gen Landry must be worried also, but was trying not to show it.
"No need to apologize Dr. Jackson. I know my daughter is probably taking good care of Vala and I do not intend to give in so easily to these terrorist. If we give them Asgard information they are as good as dead once they receive the information. I plan on giving them nothing until I see my daughter and Vala."
Col Mitchell interrupted. "Sir, we don't even know when they are going to contact us. We don't even know if this delivery service is legitimate yet and "if" they allow one of us to see them, there's still no guarantee they won't kill them or one of us."
"None of you are going to risk your life to do this. I am." Stated Landry.
"Sir, you can't be serious, said Sam. It they capture you then they could do anything they wanted with the information you know and use you as a bargaining chip to access SGC."
"Col Carter; I've been in the military my entire life. If been in opt missions way before you were born. I know how to deal with these types of people and I know the risk. I want our people back safe and sound and they are not going to suspect that we're pulling anything if I'm one of their hostages. I'm hoping that I can gather enough Intel from whoever is doing this and get them out unharmed. This is not open for discussion Colonel Carter. We need to get our people out and I'm the best choice right now."
"Sir, said Col Mitchell. You know that once they contact us, they may not cooperate and we can't risk putting a locator chip in your arm. We would have to stick close and unseen until you find a way to contact us."
"I know this is a big risk, stated Gen Landry. But off the record. This is my daughter. I'm tired of sitting by the sidelines while my people get hurt or killed. She's all I have right now and your people Col Mitchell thought enough for my daughter to make her feel welcome. I – I need to do this for her sake, for both their sakes."
The team understood that Gen Landry was risking everything to save his daughter and Vala. They all nodded in unison and decided to wait until they were contacted again.
UNKNOW LOCATION
"Our package has been delivered Team Leader. They cannot trace the package and I'm sure they understood the urgency in our threat." Stated the Soldier.
"Good, but never underestimate your enemy SGT. SG1 is an elite team and I've studied their mission reports. They are thorough and a force to be reckoned with. They will check to see if they can trace our transmission and check the disc for any clues. I know them well and our organization intends to destroy their program as well as use the Asgard technology to our advantage. Have the Medic check on our two guests and report back to me immediately."
"Yes Sir."
Carolyn had removed the respirator from Vala with the Medic's help. They watched her closely to see if she could breathe on her own. Vala finally settled into a rhythm of breathing and her color was returning to her face. She had the Medic administer some antibiotics into Vala's system and adjusted her Saline drip for pain. Carolyn was pleased with Vala's progress and how she was fighting off any infections from her wound. The Medic was suddenly contacted to report to the Team Leader and dismissed himself from Dr. Lam. The Medic's admiration of Dr. Lam's skills was increasing each day he spent with her. He was concerned what the Team leader would do once he held them as long as he could. The Organization was very top secret and only gave certain information out to those that were involved closely with the Team leader. The Medic had seen people that asked too many questions disappear and never be heard from again. This had made the Medic very cautious of his surroundings and who to trust. His skills he thought were being wasted and he was informed when asking about a transfer, that there were no available positions in his field and that it would be in his best interest and health to quit asking. As he approached the Team Leaders office he contemplated on how Dr. Lam may be able to help him out of this place and help her in turn when the time came.
Carolyn heard a moan come from Vala and her eyes were flickering open.
"Vala? Vala? can you hear me? It's me Carolyn; take it easy, I'm here." Said Carolyn.
"Car- Carolyn, are we still on our outing?" Said Vala weakly.
Carolyn had to smile at Vala's attempt to lighten their situation.
"Yes, we are. We just took a little detour for now. You had me worried. How are you feeling?
"A little thirsty. Can I hav-have some water?"
"Sure, hold on." Carolyn adjusted Vala's pillow and offered her some ice chips that the Medic had brought in.
"Your throat is going to be a little sore, so swallowing may be difficult for a little while. So these ice chips will help hydrate you better and soothe your throat. Are you feeling any pain or Nausea?"
"I- I feel a little light headed. Can- can't seem to stay awake."
"That's to be expected from the Antibiotics I gave you earlier. You need your rest to recover from your wound and I don't think we are going anywhere right now. Try to get some more rest. If anything comes up I'll let you know."
"Al- Alright; Carolyn?
"Yes?"
"Tha- thank you for saving me." Stated Vala.
Carolyn was touched by Vala's appreciation for her skills.
"You're welcome Vala. Now get some rest or I will put you to sleep. I'll be here when you wake again."
Vala slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep immediately. Carolyn checked her chart for Vala's vitals and kept a detailed list of her medication and progress. Carolyn had time to think about what her father may be doing. The people that had kidnapped her and Vala had yet to speak to them about what they wanted or why they were kidnapped. Carolyn was also secretly making a mental note of her surrounding and the change of personnel and guards. Who ever they were ran their organization like a military base, even thought none of them were in uniforms. Carolyn had known enough from SG1 that surveillance was important to any mission. She often overheard SG1 speaking of their missions while they were in her infirmary and she was always intrigued how they discussed new missions and how they needed new information to accomplish their task.
She thought that most of the missions the other teams discussed while in their infirmary were mostly recon and usually one of their members fell or had scrapes or picked up some virus while on other worlds. But SG1, whenever they returned from a mission their injuries were either the most serious or the most dangerous. The other SGC teams were in awe of some of their antics and enemies SG1 had to deal with. They had fought for years protecting earth from alien's attacks and even lost one of their own Dr. Janet Frasier.
Dr. Janet Frasier. The name had been thrown at her from the first day she took over the SGC infirmary. She found out early that she was not fully accepted or welcomed for a long time. Prior to joining Stargate Dr. Janet Frasier was heralded as being a pioneer to numerous technological advancements in the health fields. Carolyn had read many of Janets cases where she litterly was responsible for the health of alien refugees to earth, identifying infectious diseases and an expert on Goual'd smybiotes. This was something that Carolyn had studied from reading Dr. Frasiers notes. It was by her death that Dr. Lam had to fill her shoes overnight.
Carolyn remembered when she first met the other SG teams that they would not be receptive to her authority, but SG1 was one of the first teams to accept her without question. She had to find her niche' to having people trust her and take her professional advice and not be judgemental herself. Dr. Frasier she realized was a loved member of the SGC and Carolyn did all she could to fill that position with care.
Carolyn looked back at Vala sleeping and remembered her first meeting with Vala when SG1 found a Ancient device that transported her and Dr. Jackson to another planet and left their bodies in a state of limbo. Vala had died while in her care and her father looked disappointed the she let her die. But after a few long minutes Vala's body returned to life and and became stable and then again she almost lost her. She watched the banter between Dr. Jackson and Vala and she thought they were a old married couple. She soon found out from a one Col Mitchell that she was a thief and con artist and they barely allowed her to be a part of the team. As Vala continued to go on missions with SG1, her and Sam would talk about asking her out and she would always refuse, saying she had research to do. What Carolyn secretly knew was she was trying to impress her father that she knew what she was doing and was dedicating all her time to do so. Right now all she wanted to do is find a way out of this mess and hoped that they would keep them alive a little while longer.