Warnings and disclaimer in chapter 1.
Enjoy.
The ride over to the hospital was silent, everyone going over their roles in this wild plan. Vala was going to distract the custodial staff, something that she was looking forward to. Cameron was going to wait in the transport in the rear of the hospital, both to provide back up for Vala if needed as well as to keep the transport ready to move as soon as they had Sam. Joris, with Jack as support, would use a his position and a false report that Kianna's condition had worsened to demand to see his daughter. After all the stonewalling they had experienced already Jack wasn't sure they would be allowed to see her but it also served a secondary purpose to keep their attention on them while Daniel and Teal'c used the stolen key card and retrieve their teammate. If all went well they would reconvene at the manor in an hour and hightail it to the waiting cargo ship.
When the sympathetic night shift were more than helpful and allowed Joris to check on his daughter Jack knew it was too good to be true. They exited the elevator and saw her slowly walking the hall next to her room. "Sam!" Jack cried out and sprinted down the hallway, Joris behind him. She slowly turned and stared at them in shock, but before they could reach her several sets of heavy metal bars slammed down from the ceiling.
"Father?" she asked immediately recognizing Joris, but then here eyes slid to Jack. He could read the confusion and uncertainty in them. "Jack?" She reached her hand through the bars toward them, just as Jack did, their fingertips mere inches apart.
"Sam!" he cried, grabbing his radio with his other hand. "Teal'c!"
"We are impeded," the Jaffa told them. "We are attempting to circumvent the trap."
"What's happening?" Sam asked, before her eyes rolled up and she collapsed. Tenaan stood behind her, pulling a crude hypodermic needle from her neck.
"What is the meaning of this Tenaan?" Joris demanded.
"They tried giving her a father to keep the sickness away," he told them psychotically. "Perhaps what she needs is a husband."
"She doesn't love you," Joris told him while Jack began pulling at the bars, trying anything he could think of to get through.
"Soon she will love me as much as I love her," he said as he grabbed her and proceeded to take her up to the roof. They glimpsed a spacecraft landing until the door shut closed with a thud.
"Tel'tak now!" Jack shouted through the radio as he grabbed Joris and pulled him to the stairs. Within minutes the team was powering up the cargo ship. "We need to get into orbit now! If they go to hyperspace we won't have any way to track them from down here."
"They're not going into orbit," Cam said from his position at the second chair. Teal'c had finally gotten the engines started and they were quickly gaining speed. "They are staying planetside," he told them, "heading northeast." Joris gave a small gasp.
"They are too fast O'Neill," Teal'c said as he gave the engines as much power as he could. "I will not be able to retain this speed indefinitely."
"They're almost out of sensor range," Cam reported. "In another minute we won't be able to follow them."
"We can reroute power from all the systems to the engines," Vala told them, already opening the access panel, "but the ship would be completely vulnerable and they're not exactly in the best of shape to begin with."
"There is no need to endanger your ship," Joris told them calmly. "I know where they are going."
"I thought you didn't know where they're base is?" Jack asked.
"I don't," he admitted, "but I do know what is Northeast. The old city. Along with the Stargate project there is only one other main project remaining there. I was told it was experimental power production and the reason it could not be moved was the infrastructure required would take years to recreate in the new establishment. It was a logical explanation that I never questioned."
"And now you believe that to be the location of the Inturi base?" Joris nodded.
"It is the only logical conclusion."
"Alright," Jack decided. "We'll head to old city." Joris quietly told Teal'c the directions, settling down in the second seat Cam just vacated.
"And when we get there?" Cam asked, following Jack and Daniel to the rear of the ship.
"We get Sam back," Daniel answered as Jack opened one of the several crates that were loaded into the cargo ship. He pulled out tactical vests and weapons and started handing them to Daniel. "And nothing is going to get in our way."
"Are you with us Colonel?" Jack asked, holding a vest out to Cameron.
"Hell yeah Sir," he said taking it from him. Vala didn't wait for a vest. Instead she skirted around Jack and grabbed one from the crate herself.
"Finally we get to the hunting part of the treasure hunt." She looked around at the various looks she was getting. "What? A girl's got to have some fun." She quickly donned her gear and traded spots with Teal'c so he could do the same. Soon the tel'tak was landing quietly a few blocks away from the Inturi base.
"Stay here Minister," Jack ordered.
"No," Joris countered. "I know you don't like it, and I know it's not real, but Kianna is my daughter and I will not stand idly by while her life is in danger. Besides, I may know where she is being kept once we make it inside the base." He locked gazes with Jack.
"Okay," he relented, "but you will do everything I say and you will stay in the back or I will shoot you. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," he answered. Jack nodded and they quietly filed out of the tel'tak. Soon they could see the massive buildings of the Inturi base lit up before them.
"I do not see any visible patrols," Teal'c said, intently studying the building.
"I doubt they have no security," Vala told them, "not with what I've heard about them."
"I've never heard of any suspicious activity in that area," Joris told them. "They never would have been able to remain undetected in the city if they had used superior technology.
"Maybe it's hidden, like at the hospital," Daniel said.
"So we go in quietly," Jack decided. They all agreed and quietly followed Teal'c as he led them from building to building; slowly making their way closer to their target.
"Which building?" Daniel asked.
"What I've been told," Vala relayed, "is that they have separate living, working, and business quarters."
"That one," Teal'c said pointing to the building on their right. "It is the only building massive enough to conceal a shuttle during non operational periods."
"I think you're right Teal'c," Cam said, also studying the building in front of them. "We should swing around and come to the building from the opposite side so nobody in the other two building will be able to see our approach."
"Agreed," Teal'c said as they leapfrogged from building to building again.
"If I remember correctly," Joris began as they neared the side of the building, "there is a service entrance on this building. There," he said, pointing to the small alcove. They cautiously made their way through a large courtyard and soon were in the alcove facing a small door with a simple security scanner.
"Allow me," Vala said digging through her bag and pulling out another device which she held in front of the scanner. Within seconds the door opened and the team stood inside.
"Let's go," Jack said as he slowly led his team down the hallway.
It was several minutes of walking down the same hallways before Joris finally found something familiar. "This way," he said, taking them down several hallways until they came to a door. "This is where I was." Jack nodded and slid the door open a crack. Inside he saw Tenaan laying in the chair blissfully deciding which of his memories he wanted Sam to have and oblivious to the rest of the world. He squashed his sudden desire to kill the man and instead slowly closed the door.
"Tenaan's in there," he said. "Nobody else though."
"The electrical impulses traveled along the wire leading to the opposite room."
"Then that is the most likely place we will find Major Carter," Teal'c said. He took the lead and led them through other hallways in the labyrinth like building until they finally found the opposite doorway. Teal'c, Jack, and Cameron gathered around the door. On the three count they burst in, quickly zatting the lone man standing next to a bank of computers. Daniel and Vala quickly joined them. Teal'c secured the room while Cameron took care of the Inturi. Jack and Daniel converged on the lone figure strapped securely in the chair.
"What are they doing to her?" Jack asked Joris helplessly, wanting to help but not knowing how. Her eyes and mouth were open, screaming silently for no one to hear.
"They are sifting through her memories," Joris said from his position in the doorway. "They are deciding which of her own memories would serve the scenario they are planning to imprint upon her, which memories can be altered to fit the situation, and which must be discarded completely. They will then add the memories Tenaan chooses to give her, as well as some they will fabricate."
"Sam?" Daniel asked gingerly, slowly reaching out a hand to the strapped figure half afraid she would vanish before he touched her. But she didn't disappear. Her hand was solid and warm as he grabbed it. He choked back his sob as he started undoing the restraint around her wrist.
"I wouldn't do that," the man said suddenly, recovering from the zat blast in a remarkably short amount of time. Teal'c turned, priming his staff weapon as he did, but calmed again when he saw Cam had his weapon trained on the man. The man simply shifted into a better position and remained where he was on the floor. "Shifting through memories isn't an exact science. Random neurons can trigger muscle responses."
"She's seizing?" Daniel asked just as he felt her arm jerk uncontrollably beneath his hand. He quickly held her arm down as best he could until the seizure passed. "Turn it off," he said in a deadly voice.
"I can't," he said. "It must complete the process before we can turn it off. To do so now would be to strip the subject of all their memories."
"He's lying," Joris said, stepping fully into the room. The man's eyes hardened in recognition.
"You and your people will pay dearly for this betrayal," he shouted. Joris ignored his ramblings, took one look at his daughter strapped to the chair, and headed for the panel the man was standing in front of.
"The process was stopped and started several times while I was here. Trust me Colonel." Jack stared at Joris for several minutes before deciding.
"Do it." Joris nodded and flipped several switches. "You seem to know an awful lot about this process Minister," Jack said suspiciously as they watched as Sam's body quieted down, her breathing eased and her eyes closed. Daniel quickly checked her pulse.
"It's steady," he said as he and Jack began to undo her bindings.
"They made me an accomplice," Joris said sadly, his eyes never leaving Sam, "unwilling but still an accomplice. When I realized exactly what I had done to Kianna, I devoted my life to repairing whatever damage I could." He turned from Sam and faced Jack. "I understand you're desire for vengeance. Promise me you will keep Kianna safe and I will pay whatever price you need."
"That won't be necessary," Jack replied after a few tense minutes. "Sam wouldn't want that." He looked back as Daniel finished freeing her legs. "What about the electrodes?" he asked nodding to the wires surrounding her head.
"You lack the necessary skill or technology to remove them," the man said indignantly. Jack looked to Joris for conformation.
"He is correct," Joris said gloomily. "He is merely a technician. A surgeon was needed to attach and remove those devices." Jack looked back and forth between the technician and Sam for several minutes. The electrodes gathered together a few feet behind the chair, connecting Sam to their computers. Every few seconds they could see small sparks travel to and from the computer banks as they rifled through her memories the way Jack would skim a mission briefing.
"Here's a thought," Jack said, moving behind Sam to the single wire. He gingerly touched the wire to make sure all the energy was gone then grabbed his sidearm. A few shots later and the wire severed in two. "Time to go," he said calmly as Teal'c carefully lifted the prone form of their teammate into his arms.
"What do we do with him?" Cam asked casually, indicating the man still sitting on the floor.
"Here's a thought," Vala said, bringing her weapon up before bashing him in the head with it. He slumped carelessly to the ground. "The zat didn't really work on him, unless you really did want to kill him."
"You can't argue with the lady's logic," Cam said as he quickly bound and gagged the downed man. They quickly left the lab, backtracking they're way to their entrance point when the sudden sounds of voices could be heard coming toward them. They quickly backtracked again, passing the door to the lab and desperately searching for a way out of the building.
"O'Neill," Teal'c said quietly after a few minutes of searching. He turned to see the figure in Teal'c's arms twitching slightly. "I believe Major Carter is regaining consciousness."
"There's a door up there," Cam said, knowing the hallway was not the best place for Sam to regain consciousness. Jack nodded and the team headed for the door. Cam and Vala secured the room while the team gathered around their missing member. Joris hovered awkwardly in the background.
"Sam?" Daniel asked when her eyes fluttered open briefly. He grabbed her hand in encouragement. A few seconds later her eyes fluttered again.
"Carter," Jack added his own encouragements and soon they were rewarded by the crystal blue of Sam's eyes as she was finally able to keep them open. Her eyes skimmed the room before landing on her teammates. She looked them over briefly before stopping on Jack.
"Jack," she said groggily, a smile forming on her face. It quickly turned to a frown, her eyes changing from joy to confusion to fear within a few seconds. "No," she murmured, weakly jerking her hand out of Daniel's grasp. She noticed Joris waiting in the background and clumsily forced her uncoordinated body towards him. "Father," she cried as she fell into his open arms. He whispered reassurances to her as she clung to him, but they could tell the second her mind switched gears again. Her back stiffened and she pulled away from him. "No. That's not right."
"Samantha," Joris called out, allowing her out if his arms but not relinquishing his grip on her. She didn't acknowledge him so he tried again. "Kianna." She responded to that name, looking him in the eye. "I know things are confusing for you right now. But one thing will never change. I care about you greatly. And I would never hurt you." She nodded her head. "Now I must ask one more thing of you. I would ask you one last time to trust me as I trust these men. Will you trust me?"
She looked around at the three men then back at her father several times. They could see doubt and uncertainty mixed with trust and love as her memories fired randomly. Finally she locked gazes with Joris. "Yes Father. I do trust you." He pulled her back into the embrace, which she allowed though not as comfortably as before.
"Sorry to interrupt," Cam said as he rejoined the group, "but there's something here you need to see." Jack looked up, shared a look with the other men, and then he and Daniel followed Cam to where Vala was waiting, flipping through the files on the computer she had managed to find.
"This looks like their entire financial record," Daniel said, stopping Vala when he came across Sam's file. "She's had the procedure done five times," he told them as he read her file. "Each time there have been complications, and wow," he exclaimed.
"What?" Jack asked looking over at the screen, not that he could make any sense of it.
"It tells what they paid for her," Daniel said shocked.
"How much?" Jack asked curiously but before Daniel could answer Cam came up.
"As interesting as that is, that wasn't what you need to see." He pointed to the other side of the room and they gasped as they saw what Cam was pointing out. Several dozen stasis pods filled the room.
"Oh my God," Daniel exclaimed from his place by the computer. He looked between the rows of pods to the computer and back again. "They're recreating the Goa'uld's experiments. They're trying to genetically engineer super humans."
"Which they then plan on selling to the highest bidder," Vala continued unable to keep the disgust out of her voice.
"They're close too," Daniel continued. "It says they actually managed to create some mutated abilities, but there are physical deformities that come with it. They are currently working to remove the deformities while keeping the ability." He looked up from the screen. "If certain Goa'uld get wind of this," he didn't need to finish the sentence.
"This facility must be destroyed," Teal'c stated from his position by the door. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Have you ever heard of a facility like this in connection with the Inturi?" Cam asked Vala. She shook her head.
"Its common knowledge you can get anyone you want from them," she explained, "which made several people suspect they were experimenting with mind control or some sort of mental programming, but nothing like this was ever imagined."
"Daniel, Vala, see if you can download those files to our laptop," Jack ordered. "If there are other facilities out there those files will hopefully mention them." They nodded and got to work as Jack turned toward Cam. "Do we have enough C-4 to blow this place to Hell?"
"Maybe this lab," Cam answered, "but who knows how many other labs there are. Not to mention the other buildings."
"Colonel," Joris said softly. Jack immediately turned, fearing the worst. He didn't calm down until he saw Sam sitting quietly next to Joris, gazing around the room but never focusing on anything.
"Joris?" Jack came back to crouch next to them, happy when Sam looked directly at him and answered.
"Nothing we have here on Birona is capable of generating enough power to maintain this lab Jonah. It must be some new technology Ra has discovered. It must be reported to the Council immediately."
"Carter? Sam?" Jack tried to get through to her, but she had returned to staring at the walls. He tried again. "Kianna?" She remained silent, lost once more in the memories that were fighting for dominance. Jack sighed.
"It appears that all her memories are randomly being accessed at this moment," Joris told him. "I haven't been able to keep her focused on a single thing for more than a few minutes." He paused for a minute as she mumbled something under her breath. "She was right about one thing though Colonel," Joris said quietly next to her. "There is nothing on Birona capable of creating the power required for what we are seeing here. If we were somehow able to sabotage it, perhaps the resulting explosion could destroy the entire complex."
"And half the city," Jack said.
"Maybe this will be the act that finally catches the attention of our neighbors and ends this abomination," he said, pointedly looking at Daniel.
"Do it Jack," Daniel said cryptically from his position by the computer. He had turned when Joris had called Jack over and had listened to their conversation. "It's time this secret is exposed." Daniel locked eyes with Jack for a few minutes before turning back to the computer.
"Besides, the city is already destroyed," Joris said calmly. "It is simply waiting for nature to reclaim it." Jack looked between Joris and Daniel for a few minutes before nodding. Daniel and Vala joined them, Daniel nodding simply and patting his bag to show they had retrieved the files. Cam rejoined the team as well.
"Any idea how to sabotage this place?" Jack threw out there.
"That's simple," Vala spoke up. "The cooling system." She looked around at the incredulous glances looking back at her. "What? It's simple Mother Ship Maintenance 101. The more powerful the engine the more important the cooling system. Plus the coolant is always ten times easier to get to than the engine. Just make sure there's adequate distraction so they won't notice the problem until it's too late to shut it down. Just ask Muscles." They all turned to look at Teal'c.
"Vala Mal Doran is correct," Teal'c said just as several alarms could be heard going off through the facility. "I believe our presence has been noticed."
"Let's just hope our distraction doesn't wear off before the bomb is set," Cam said, readying his weapon.
"Joris, you and Carter stay in the middle," Jack ordered as they helped them to their feet. Sam was a bit unsteady on her feet and gratefully accepted the help Joris offered her. "If there's any fighting you get Carter and you stay down and out of sight. Understood?"
"Yes Colonel," he said as he and Sam awkwardly shuffled out of the room. Teal'c and Vala went first, followed by Joris, Sam, and Daniel, with Jack and Cam bringing up the rear. It was a relief when they located the cooling system a few minutes later, without running into any Inturi. Jack nodded to Cam who quickly readied the explosion.
"Ten minutes," he said when he rejoined the team, "and then however long it takes for the generator to go critical."
"Which means it's time to leave." They took off again, only this time they did intersect a patrol. The patrol was easily dispatched but they did manage to hit Vala in the lower leg.
"I'm fine," she protested as Daniel knelt next to her to look at her injury. Daniel didn't look to sure. "It can wait," she amended, "but we can't. We need to get out of here."
"She's right," Cam said from his position. Daniel nodded and held out his hand to help her up.
"You can heroically carry me out of danger," she joked as he pulled her to her feet.
"Or I can sling you across my back like a bag of potatoes," Daniel countered as she threw her arm around his shoulders and he grabbed her waist. This let them both use their weapons as they made their escape. Which was good as another Inturi force suddenly rounded the corner behind them. Daniel and Vala had them taken out before the others could bring their weapons to bear.
"You do know how to show a girl a good time," Vala quipped as they followed Teal'c down yet another hallway. They had finally managed to find a door that led outside and were examining the scene outside. The courtyard which had been empty when they came in was suddenly teeming with men and machines.
"We need a diversion," Jack muttered. Suddenly the ground shook and the sound of the explosion could be heard. It came from the other side of the complex, and the team was safe, but the effect was immediate. The men and machines all started racing toward the now burning building.
"You're good," Cam whistled. They waited a few seconds to let everybody get a good head start before breaking their cover and running full speed through the courtyard. In the confusion it took the Inturi a few seconds to realize their prey was escaping. A few seconds was enough time to get them through the empty courtyard and back into the maze of buildings that made up that part of the city. They could hear the Inturi pursuing; every so often they got close enough to take a few shots which Jack and Teal'c responded to in kind.
"I see the ship," Daniel yelled from his position in front. Jack nodded to Teal'c who put on a burst of speed and covered the remaining distance within seconds. By the time the rest of them made it to the ship Teal'c had already had the engines going and was speeding away as soon as everyone was on board.
"They are pursuing," Teal'c reported from his seat when suddenly an explosion more massive than anything they were hoping for lit up the sky.
"Hold on!" Jack barely managed to get out before the shock wave hit and they knew no more.