Chapter 22: A Little Intel
Contentedly, Sam tapped the keys to enter the series of commands she wanted. Having spent the previous week developing her persona at the school, she was more than ready to do something she felt useful. Something normal.
Something adult.
After her checkup with Janet, SG-1 had held a briefing with General Hammond to update him on their progress and discuss the mission. Thus far, they had little to report beyond their successful infiltration into Providence Day School. Despite their lack of tangible gains, the General had seemed pleased, and he'd dismissed them with a wish for good luck and a caution to keep their heads up.
The meeting adjourned, SG-1 had quickly scattered. Jack and Teal'c headed to the gym for a few rounds on the exercise mat, and Daniel had made a beeline to his office like he hadn't managed at least several trips to the base during the previous week. He at least had been free to go where he wanted after his day finished at the school. Sam likewise had hoped to head for her lab. Unlike Daniel, she'd not been able to go back to base at all since Jack had flat out refused to take her, pointing out the importance of them putting up the appearance of settling into their new home for the benefit of their neighbors. Sam had been unable to disagree with the importance of developing their cover.
Knowing it had been over a week since she'd last been able to really spend some time in her lab, Sam knew there would be plenty of things needing her attention. However, her tentative plans were quickly changed when Walter hailed her as she'd walked by, begging her assistance with a few minor glitches that had cropped up that he'd been unable to solve.
While it wasn't her lab, Sam was still in her element. Before long she was settled in front of the dialing computer, running a diagnostic with Walter hovering over her shoulder, a cup of coffee left thoughtfully in reach. She'd taken only a token sip though, Harriman being unaware of her current need to avoid caffeine. The man seemed to overlook the fact that she knelt in the chair in order to reach the keyboard. In fact, he seemed to even forget the fact she was in the body of a child at all as he leaned to point out a few lines of code, solely focused on the quandary at hand.
It didn't take long before Sam had the cause of the problem isolated. With a few more taps, she got the information she needed to find a solution.
"The calibration of the capacitors is off by 0.034 microns," she said. "That's what's causing the spike in power consumption you've noticed. Good call," she said. Harriman had been operating the gate now for years and was very familiar with the many nuances of the system. Anyone else likely would have missed the minute variation. The man positively glowed under the praise. Sam continued. "I'll just make a few adjustments to compensate." Walter watched attentively, and Sam made sure he could see what she was doing. Harriman had learned much over the years, and was independent with most run of the mill glitches, his expertise freeing her from all but the uncommon or the catastrophic.
It took only a few minutes to run the repair. "There, I'll just start another diagnostic, and make sure we've fixed the problem." The program began to run, but had only been going a minute or two when the gate began to spin. Klaxons sounded as red lights began to flash. Jumping in front of a nearby, unoccupied terminal, Harriman's fingers flew across the keyboard.
"Unscheduled off world activation, unscheduled off world activation," he announced surely into the microphone as the iris spiraled shut. Minimizing the diagnostic, Sam brought up the dialing program, watching the chevrons engage on screen. General Hammond arrived as the security team jogged into the gate room, taking up defensive positions.
"Report," Hammond ordered.
A roster of off world teams already open, Harriman briskly reported, "We have three teams off world, but no one is due to report back for at leas six more hours," he said.
"Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir," Sam called out. Immediately, she wondered who it was, and why they were contacting them. While nowhere near as skeptical as the Colonel, Sam knew that the Tok'ra, even her father, seldom brought good news or dropped in just to visit.
"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, looking at the gate through the window, clear from his face that his thoughts were quite similar. Hand already hovering over the hand plate, Harriman pressed his palm onto the scanner. The iris spiraled open, the system automatically sending the authentication code.
The wavering blue event horizon appeared as the iris compressed back out of the way. After a moment, a figure stepped out.
Sam jumped to her feet, sending a belated glance at the General. Hammond was watching her with twinkling eyes. "Lead the way Major," he said.
"Thank you, sir," she replied, heading down the stairs. Even though she was the first one through the door, Hammond was the first to speak.
"Good to see you Jacob. My greetings to you as well Selmak." The General held out a hand and Jacob clasped it as soon as he reached the bottom of the ramp.
"George, how are you? Selmak says hi. Where's Sam, and who is this charming little girl?" he asked, squatting down to be at Sam's eye level and giving her a wide smile. A startled look crossed Sam's face.
"Uh, Dad," she started at the same moment Hammond said, "Jacob, perhaps we should go in my office."
An equally startled look crossed Jacob's face at her greeting, mingled with recognition. "Sammy?" he asked, disbelief in his tone.
"Hi," Sam said, a blush creeping up her neck as she wondered what to say. However, Jacob was no longer looking at her as he stood, narrowing his eyes at his old friend. Sam's embarrassment faded to surprise, but anger soon began to simmer as her father rounded on the General in accusation.
"Don't tell me it happened again," he exclaimed. "And just when were you going to tell me?" he demanded. Just then, Jack entered, closely followed by the rest of SG-1.
"Dad, hi," Jack exclaimed cheerfully.
Jacob turned his condemning glare on Jack. "What did you touch this time?"
Jack took a quick step back, holding up his hands in front of him while taking in belatedly the tension at the bottom of the ramp. "Whoa, there's an explanation."
"Oh, I'm sure," Jacob bit out.
Sam tugged at her father's sleeve. "Uh, Dad," she spoke up, trying to get her father's attention before the situation could deteriorate any further.
"Not now sweetheart," he told her, still focused on Hammond and SG-1. "Well?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Dad," Sam tried again more loudly while still tugging at his sleeve.
"In a minute, Sam," her father told her impatiently, still ignoring her for the most part. "This had better be good, George."
"Dad," Sam exclaimed in a tone that said she would not be ignored.
Reacting instinctively, Jacob looked down at her, and for the first time, he really looked. Sam braced small fists on hips and leveled her father with a glare that told him he had made and was acting on a rather incorrect assumption and that she wasn't particularly pleased with him at the moment. Recognition washed over the man's features.
"Sam?" Jacob asked in shock and disbelief. "Is that really you?"
Some of Sam's anger drained out. "Yeah, Dad, it's me." Jacob blinked several times, looking like he'd just been slapped upside the head. After a few moments, his chin dipped, and his eyes closed. When he lifted his head back up, Selmak was in control.
"My apologies," spoke the symbiote in reverberating tones. "Jacob is eagerly awaiting an explanation."
"I'll bet," muttered Sam, not so ready to forgive. It wasn't the first time in her life that her father had come in guns blazing, and Selmak's influence aside, it likely wouldn't be the last.
"Major," said Hammond warningly, and Sam flinched, remembering she wasn't alone.
"Sorry sirs," she mumbled apologetically.
The General coughed, masking his amusement well. "Why don't we move this discussion to the briefing room?" he suggested, a sideways glace at the security teams still filing out of the room, many of them unable to hide their curious looks.
Selmak nodded, and headed for the stairs. Hammond followed, and SG-1 let the Tok'ra get an appreciable lead before following. With a sigh, Sam fell into step behind her team. Honestly, she'd not thought about notifying her father. After all, they had things under control. However, judging by her father's reaction and the fact that Selmak had taken control, her father didn't agree with the assessment.
Arriving last to the briefing room, she saw that everyone had had either the cowardice or the courtesy to leave an empty chair on either side of Jacob/Selmak. For one perverse moment, Sam considered taking one of the empty seats left at the opposite end of the table, but rationality kicked in, stomping out the rest of her anger. After all, the last time her father had seen her as a child, she'd lost all her adult memories. So she really couldn't blame her father for ignoring her. It had just been difficult being treated like a child by the one person in her life that it had been the hardest to gain the respect of as an adult. And if she were honest with herself, he was the one person who's respect she was most afraid of losing, even temporarily, until she could be returned to her usual adult state.
Taking a seat next to him, she could only offer him a partial smile, as jumbled as her emotions were. The cool nod received told her that Selmak was still in control, but she knew her dad was in there, watching behind Selmak's temporary tight reign. As soon as things settled down, or when her father gave up his stubborn protests, Selmak would return control.
"Jacob, Selmak," Hammond began, seizing control of the briefing, "My apologies for not informing you about your daughter, but as you can see, she is in perfect health. I will also reassure you that, as you likely have guessed, Major Carter retains all her memories."
Selmak inclined her head towards Hammond. "Thank you General Hammond," she said. "You will forgive me for being blunt, but I am sure you know Jacob is most anxious. How is it Samantha Carter came to be in this state?"
Hammond broke eye contact, gathering his thoughts. Confident, he looked back up, and began to explain, telling Selmak, and by default, Jacob, about Providence School, and the likelihood that they had found another Goa'uld on Earth. The General left nothing out, quickly bringing the Tok'ra up to speed on their plan. When he'd finished, Selmak nodded silently.
"Thank you George," Jacob said, his voice once again back to normal when he lifted his head. He turned in his seat, studying her for a long moment. Sam shifted somewhat uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "Sam?" he asked finally.
She tried to smile reassuringly, but in all honesty, she was too worried about what her father might think. "Hi, dad." Mixed emotions passed over Jacob's weathered face, and Sam realized that things were likely just as confusing to him as they were to her. Finally, he surprised her by sliding off the chair, dropping to one knee and holding out his arms in invitation while completely ignoring the scrutiny of everyone else in the room. Momentarily startled, Sam stared at her father before she forced her body into motion and slid off her own seat, letting him put his arms around her.
At first, she was stiff, but then he leaned to whisper into her ear. "I'm so proud of you," he said. With those words he somehow conveyed a multitude of feelings and Sam relaxed, melting into his embrace knowing nothing in their relationship had changed. His arms encircled her, making her feel instantly warm, safe, and unconditionally loved. She closed her eyes as he moved one hand up to cup the back of her head, and she pressed her cheek into his chest, inhaling deeply. For a moment, she could forget all the troubles of this current mission and all it entailed; free to travel pathways to younger and more innocent times.
Underneath the smells of alien soils, the smell that was essentially Jacob Carter filled her nostrils, somehow feeling more powerful than she remembered. It was comforting, and she could even overlook the fact that he felt larger than she most recently remembered. After all, she had older memories of him being so much larger than she. The two remained in each other's embrace, oblivious to the somewhat embarrassed shifting in the room, until Hammond cleared his throat, finally shattering the spell. With identical sheepish looks, the two separated, Jacob's hands lingering on her arms as he studied her face, seeming to burn her appearance into his memory, or perhaps comparing the way she looked to some memory.
Feeling the loss of contact and somewhat embarrassed by the half-hidden smiles around the room, Sam got back in her chair. After a moment, Jacob followed her lead, rising and smoothing out his uniform, returning to his seat. He cleared his throat. "You're no doubt wondering what brings me here," he said, getting right down to the business delayed by the news of his daughter's transformation. "Actually, I'm here about Seshat. We had wanted to warn you about her. She's been gaining power slowly, and has a supply of slaves that until now, we weren't sure where she was getting them from. We knew the Tau'ri would likely run afoul of her sooner or later, and wanted your teams to be prepared. She's been rather ruthless in most of her dealings, but we haven't been able to find her base of operations."
"You didn't know she was here?" asked Daniel, silent until the moment.
"No," admitted Jacob. "Somehow, she's kept her sources secret. It's made it difficult for the Tok'ra to get spies into her midst, which in turn has made it near impossible to determine her plans, or sabotage her supply lines."
"Did you not complete the census you were undertaking when you discovered Seth, identifying the locations of all known Goa'uld?" inquired Teal'c.
Jacob tilted his head towards the Jaffa. "We did, but Selmak thinks Seshat must be a fairly recent arrival. Her old base was deserted. We'd assumed by the signs of destruction that there'd been a battle and she'd been defeated. However, by your intel, she must have managed to escape with at least a small party of Jaffa. She couldn't have been here very long."
Jack frowned, but Hammond beat him to the question. "How long do you think she's been here, on Earth?"
Jacob's eyes lost focus briefly as he seemed to be conferring with his symbiote. "We aren't sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say within the last 15 or so years."
There was a pause about the table. "You mean, she was here before we reopened the Stargate?" Daniel asked, sitting up with his brow furrowed.
"She must have a ship," said Jack.
"Indeed," nodded Teal'c.
"That would explain a lot," said Jacob, again going silent as he seemed to discuss something with Selmak. He leaned back in the seat and frowned thoughtfully. "I must say, George, you've got one helluva plan here," he said, and then looked at Sam. "I'd like to know more about this naquadah suppression you've come up with as well. I can't sense anything from either you or Teal'c."
Sam grinned. "It's working perfectly; I can sense Selmak just fine. We had to go ahead without as much formal testing as we'd like."
Jacob frowned at her response, but chose not to comment. "So, do you have any leads yet?" he said instead, turning the topic back to Seshat and the mission.
"Not a one," Jack complained, "But we've all managed to integrate into the school."
"That alone is the hardest part," Jacob said, and Jack nodded knowingly.
"Jacob, Selmak, is there anything that you can offer?" asked General Hammond.
Jacob shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, the Tok'ra actually know very little about Seshat. She's a fairly minor Goa'uld and relatively new to the bigger playing field."
Daniel frowned. "There are mentions of Seshat in ancient Egypt."
Jacob only shook his head. "Don't forget we are very long lived. There's no doubt she was here with Ra, as were many other minor and major Goa'uld, but in all likelihood, she left Earth during the rebellion."
"Than where has she been hiding all this time?" asked Teal'c, the slight scowl on his face showing just what he thought of the parasitic race.
Her father could only shrug, looking regretful. "Like I said, she's been rather unimportant, the Tok'ra have had very little interest until now in her doings or whereabouts. It has only been recently that she's began to become something of a threat."
"So," broke in Jack, "Wanna stick around, help us nail another Goa'uld?"
Jacob's face betrayed his amusement, but regret laced his tone. "I'm afraid that we need to get this information back to the council," he said. "There may be other ways the Tok'ra can help, and someone else may be able to provide more information."
"Not staying then?" said Jack with his usual abruptness.
"No," Jacob replied. "Sorry kiddo," he added for her benefit.
Sam tried to hide her disappointment. "I understand."
It was little comfort that Jacob looked just as disappointed. Daniel shot them both a sympathetic look. "We were just about to have lunch, would you have time to join us before you go? That is, if it's ok with the General," he asked. Sam smiled her thanks as General Hammond nodded his agreement.
Jacob looked tempted, but he looked like he was listening to an internal conversation before he regrettably shook his head. "Selmak thinks we need to get this report back to the council as soon as possible. Knowing where Seshat is and where she's getting her slaves is a very important piece of news, and knowing that, there may be something we can offer you, or at least more intel once we put this information together with what we already have." He stood, and the rest of the group followed.
"Should we leave a light on for you?" asked Jack, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked questioningly at Jacob. The older man smiled and shook his head, but Jack beat him to his response. "Let me guess, don't call us, we'll call you."
Jacob nodded, smothering a grin. "You got it." The group began to head out of the room and down the stairs to the control room, but Jacob held back, letting the others get ahead of him. "You ok kid?" he asked, wonderment in his gaze.
She smiled sadly. "Yeah," she said. Below, the gate began to spin, a deep thunking noise indicating that the first chevron had locked already.
Jacob sighed. "I wish I could stay," he said. Two more chevrons locked.
"I know," she said, looking down. Jacob dropped to one knee, and held out his arms.
"C'mere," he said.
Sam took the invitation, melting again into his embrace. Jacob wrapped his arms tightly around her and she sighed. Chevrons continued to lock into place, and they would have stayed that way if an airman hadn't appeared in the doorway, coughing softly to alert them to his presence. "General Carter, sir, the gate is open."
Slightly embarrassed, the two broke apart. "I should go. You be careful, ok?" Jacob told her.
She nodded. "You too Dad." On impulse, she reached out and took her father's hand. Jacob glanced down in mild surprise, but then he smiled, giving her hand a squeeze, before following the airman out of the briefing room, hand in hand.