Chapter 49 - Brainstorm
Sam was only slightly less surprised than Jolinar when Anise was ready to help. Freya spoke first, granted, but it was Anise as usual who became obsessed with the idea. It became clear from the start that there would have to be a new dynamic.
"You once dealt with technology like this?" Anise asked, as they leaned over the screen with hyperdrive schematics.
"Not like this, but I think I have the capacity to learn," said Sam, surprised at the question.
"Then try to learn quickly, because it will be essential to achieving any of this in the time frame you require," said Anise. "Now, to the task."
Jolinar took a back seat, as she had expected to do, and Sam leapt in with both feet. Finally, after all this time, she was getting something meaty and scientific. She knew almost nothing about Goa'uld technology, but just seeing the details made it all so much clearer. Anise was swift and blunt with her comments, but that only helped Sam figure out where she was making basic errors, and after a few hours she didn't even feel frustrated.
At least, not about Anise. What was an issue, she realized, was what she and Jolinar were asking. Al'kesh and hataks had cloaking devices, but the average tel'tac did not. And the Tok'ra might let Jolinar take the tel'tac from their last mission, but the al'kesh was too valuable for such a mission. Also, its hyperdrive would be more difficult to adapt. Tel'tacs, though, did not come with cloaking devices, and Anise had no simple way to adapt one.
"In the end, it is not what you would call a cloak," she explained, showing Sam the scientific formulas scrolling page after page.
"Chameleon device, yeah, I think I get that," said Sam, nodding and taking in all that she saw. "You can program the crystal for that?"
"It's possible," said Anise, nodding.
*She always says that,* cautioned Jolinar, even though she wanted this to work more than Anise.
But before any of it mattered, they needed to conquer the issue of the hyperdrive. And that programming was much more familiar to Sam. Anise pulled up the reconnaissance and research that Tok'ra operatives had obtained from infiltrating upgraded vessels, and over a hot cup of hareshna Sam found herself brainstorming. It felt too good to be using science again, and even better to feel that Jolinar's awe was slowly becoming appreciative. There was hope for the symbiote yet, Sam thought half playfully.
ooooooo
The hotel room felt open, the sun shining through the bay window and giving the light-colored furniture and walls a bright feeling. It was good for a conversation that was supposed to be as friendly as possible.
"Okay, first of all?" Jean said, hands loosely clasped in her lap as she broke the pause after Daniel's self-introduction. "You want me to sign a confidentiality agreement? Not happening."
"Can I ask why?" Daniel answered, not at all surprised.
"Well, that should be obvious, right?" she answered, with a laugh that wasn't mirthful. "I mean, who can approve of the government appropriating science through secrecy? What ever happened to the free exchange of ideas?"
"It's not gone," Daniel assured, nodding. "That's not the point of the program I represent; the secrecy is not for the science, but for honest safety precautions. If it can be done, the science involved is made open to the public."
Jean leaned forward a little, resting one hand on her knee. "So what, the government just takes the rights of the scientists away? What about copyright and intellectual property?"
"Believe me, you're not the first to ask," said Daniel, hoping his open look would keep this from devolving into a pointless debate. "I mean, the things I've helped the program discover? I'd give anything to publish papers on it, if it could be safely done. But it's not, and you'll see that once you understand it all. This isn't your normal situation. It's not a brain trust."
Jean's eyebrows were skeptically aligned. "Really?"
"Well, I suppose it is, technically," Daniel backpedaled a little, readjusting himself in the chair.
"Yes, I figured that out when your people contacted me at first," Jean answered, sitting back up and crossing her arms loosely across her chest.
Daniel happened to note that Caleb, legs crossed in an easy position as he leaned back against his chair, was relaxed and unaffected. He looked interested, too, which surprised Daniel when he seemed to have nothing he wanted to offer to the conversation.
"So why do I want to help the government, not to mention the U.S. Military, pray tell?" Jean asked. "Or for that matter, why do you?"
"Well, that is the question," Daniel said, slowly, with a nod to himself. "I guess—I guess I just realize that this world isn't perfect, and we need to take the chances we can. This program was and is the chance in a lifetime, and bureaucracy and politics don't change that." He finished, and waited for her reaction.
"Hmm," was all Jean said in answer. "Do you want a drink?"
Daniel blinked. "Uh, sure, that'd be great."
As Caleb rose to get something from the mini-fridge, Daniel glanced over his notes. His useless notes. This was by far the most interesting conversation he never thought he'd have.
ooooooo
Hours had ticked past, full of the nitty gritty and draft after draft of essential planning. Sam found herself in a virtual course of hyperdrive lessons, and could only imagine the papers on the desks if the Tok'ra didn't have such great hologram technology. Soon, Sam was inundated with the power requirements, the equations for naquadah efficiency, and higher-level astrophysics that she hadn't had to touch in a while. It was exhilarating.
Anise seemed overjoyed to finally have an excuse to get to work on this. The Tok'ra didn't use hyperdrive often enough to make it a high priority, and Sam dragged Jolinar into sympathizing with a theoretical scientist in a society focused on practicality.
The virtual simulations ended in massive failure early on in the day. Speed, followed by massive crashes in hyperspace, with the ship's debris projected even to the point where it was shown how far it would spread after the sudden and unplanned stop. Even worse were the fits and spurts, which Anise didn't have to remind Sam might stop them too near a sun, or any other dangerous part of space, if they couldn't restart it in time.
"Is there any way to install a larger buffer on the energy transfer?" Sam asked, manipulating the code on the simulator with one hand and gesturing with the other while she spoke.
"Do you not think that the buffer was built at the greatest capacity to begin with?" Anise asked, eyebrow risen with a hint of disdain.
"Maybe—I don't know, they could have cut corners on production," Sam answered.
Anise made a small hmming noise, and reran the simulation.
"I wasn't finished," Sam said, as the program switched screens.
"Always test before you get that far, in case you're on the wrong track," Anise advised flatly. Then, as the results ran before their eyes, "No, you're doing fine."
ooooooo
"Thank you," said Daniel, as Caleb handed him a glass of ice water. While the English major looked completely at ease still, Jean's lips were pursed and her hands fidgeted. This was pushing all her buttons, Daniel could see, and his appearance probably didn't help.
"You know, this is all just a bit too under the radar," she said, gesturing with her hand towards Daniel. "It sounds like—like a cult or something, not like good science at all."
Daniel took a sip of the water, then set down the cup and leaned forward, elbows on knees. He wasn't supposed to let it go like this, but if it worked, Daniel knew he wouldn't be asked questions—and if it didn't work, no one would care anyway. "Mrs. Miller," he said, looking her in the eye. "I'm only working for the government and the military technically. I'm a civilian consultant, and as such, I really shouldn't be talking to you like an official."
Jean's eyebrows rose slightly and fell in a single movement. "Well, that's better," she said honestly, emphasizing the last word. "And?"
"And, I'm not here on their request," Daniel said. He took a deep breath. "You know how sometimes you find things, choices maybe, that don't make sense when you state them without context? That no one can understand with just a cursory knowledge? Well, this is one of those things, and I can't help that. One of my colleagues asked me to talk to you, not because anyone wants to steal your talents, but because she wants to work with you. And seeing the research she pulled up, I'm impressed too. We have some of the best minds working together on this program, and yes, there's a lot of innovation that isn't immediately made public. But it's not a conspiracy to steal ideas."
He sat back up, closing the file in his lap and placing it on the coffee table in between their chairs. "I can't really say this, but there's nowhere else in the world that you can find an opportunity like this. The possibilities...they're beyond anyone's dreams. And if you sign the papers now, I do have the evidence to show you that it won't be a mistake. You can always refuse and go on with your life, as long as you don't say anything about it. But I don't think you'll be able to."
He pushed the file over to her side. "All I'm asking, Mrs. Miller, is that you don't prejudge this based on the outer package."
Jean looked back at him, waved hair pulled back in a loose bun, leaving her face easy to read. "You're not a good liar, Dr. Jackson," she said.
"I'm not lying, I promise," Daniel said.
"No, I know," she answered, a slight chuckle in her voice. "That's what I meant. You really do think like this? Which means you're either brainwashed, or telling the truth."
"Or both," Daniel said with a shrug, for accuracy's sake.
Jean picked up the file, opening it and grimacing at the confidentiality agreement's first page. She glanced over to Caleb, who nodded and gave her a look that Daniel wasn't qualified to read. "So, if I ever sign this, all I have to do is call you and you'll explain everything?" she asked Daniel skeptically.
"Whenever you're ready," said Daniel. When she didn't say anything, he rose. "Well, I don't want to take any more of your time."
"Oh no, it's fine," Jean said politely, as she and Caleb rose. "You probably figured out, but I'm a tough sell on everything. It's nothing personal."
"I hoped it wasn't," said Daniel with a smile.
"I'll think about this," Jean said, nodding to the file as she opened the door for him. Holding the door open, she offered her free hand. "It was nice to meet you, Dr. Jackson."
"And you too," Daniel answered honestly.
He didn't notice when the door closed behind him; he was thinking too much about the visit. And despite this little side-trip, an airplane flight back to work in Colorado beckoned for him.
ooooooo
It was late night before they had a working code, and Sam and Jolinar watched with interest as Anise brought in the blank crystals for coding. They didn't seem like sturdy technology, and never had, to Sam, and the process seemed overly delicate. Even though Jolinar knew for a fact of their sturdiness, it was still a task that looked fragile.
If all went well, they could test out these crystals physically tomorrow, and then get straight to work on the chameleon device. Sam was anxious for the actual trial, despite Jolinar's assurances that such updates were not irregular occurrences. Even more important, the speed so far boded well for getting this done in a matter of days.
Lantash and Martouf were back from their mission, and Sam let her and Jolinar take a break after they finished the first part of this plan.
"When this is done," Lantash said as they prepared for a goodnight kiss before departing to mutual sleep, "I will expect a proper farewell before your extended mission."
Jolinar, noting with appreciation the use of 'when' instead of 'if', leaned in with a less intellectual appreciation. "Of course."
Despite all the thoughts in Sam's head, she and Jolinar shared no dreams, and woke with fresh minds the next morning. Jolinar was surprised at how little she chafed at this way of spending their time, even though this barrage of knowledge was for a distinct purpose that she cared about. She let Sam know distinctly that she wasn't merely tolerating it, that Sam should feel free to do whatever was necessary to heal the rift between Sha're and Daniel. It was no longer a matter of guilt, a change that neither of them expected, but something more invigorating. It felt good; it felt helpful.
Anise ran the first test before Sam and Jolinar arrived, and then Freya came forward. Her favorite part of these things was the assembly, and so she smiled at Sam and Jolinar, and together they gated to the planet where the tel'tac remained in orbit.
Sam wasn't completely comfortable with the crystal systems at this point, and though Jolinar didn't know much more she was at least fully at ease with how all the manual controls worked.
"There are two ways to do this," said Freya, opening up the center panel and removing the old crystals. "The safest way would be to test each step, starting the system and then preparing the hyperdrive without jumping. But you won't have that time on your mission."
"Can we not test it all at once?" Jolinar asked, arms loosely crossed over her chest as she watched Freya.
"Those are the options," said Freya. "Are you willing to risk it? I can stay here and analyze the tests, but if you take the ship out for a jump, I cannot be there. If all goes well, you will be fine. But if there's any error, you may be lost to some degree."
"Which might be the case anyway, even after your tests," said Jolinar. "We don't have time for that."
"You are surprisingly open to my hopes," said Freya with a small smile. "Then I will just check the system once this is done, and then we will run the first test. I will need a full report, though, whatever the outcome."
"Samantha will be taking note," said Jolinar with a nod.
And so Sam was, and also of how Freya installed the new crystals. Once Freya dealt with the first panel, Sam took control for a minute to look at the structure, thinking of all that she now knew of the inner workings. It was starting to feel more real, less about pushing in pieces that almost magically worked, and more about the underlying and very real programming that merely had a simple manual interface.
Freya frowned, and put the last crystal in place. With a slight nod to Sam, they made their way up to the bridge. Freya started the system with the usual hum, and the ship softly vibrated, a slight rattle almost out of hearing.
~Well, it didn't explode,~ Sam said to Jolinar, with the amused joy of success.
"This is where you continue," said Freya, eyes lit as she reluctantly took her hands from the control. "I will wait on the planet for an hour."
Jolinar snorted voicelessly. "We will be back within minutes."
Freya nodded, and exited the ship after one last look at the crystals. Jolinar took her seat in the pilot's chair, placing her hands on the rounded steering module. It glowed red, buzzing lightly beneath her fingers.
*Are you ready to take note?*
~Ready as ever. Let's take it for a test run.~
Jolinar chose near coordinates, inputting the data. As the hyperdrive wound up to open a window, Sam kept track of the diagnostic numbers playing out in Goa'uld on the HUD. Her gaze joined Jolinar as the symbiote glanced out the window, punching the button and watching the blue-green cloud prepare to engulf them. A slight jerk, and then they were in hyperspace.
Jolinar's eyes flicked back to the screen, and it could have been either one who sparked the leap in their heartbeat, because the speed they were seeing was exactly as planned. Only for a few seconds, and then the ship wobbled and the numbers danced up and down.
~Uh oh.~
*Not yet.*
Jolinar didn't touch anything, and after a slight shake, the numbers picked back up. Jolinar hmmed to herself in satisfaction, and she and Sam continued to watch. The shaking of the ship and the flickering of the hyperdrive continued at intervals of a few minutes, before they finally dropped out, with a rough shake of the ship. Jolinar's brow furrowed for a second, but she ran a diagnostic and found no apparent damage, not even slightly so.
*It will function,* she said.
Sam agreed silently, feeling like she wanted to pat the ship like an old rusty truck. It wouldn't fail them, even if it might not be up to the beating of a normal Tok'ra mission. This would just be in and out, less than a day.
Jolinar had them back in hyperspace before any further thoughts came to Sam, and they came out right above the planet where Anise and Freya waited, standing by the gate.
"As good as your word, and more or less intact," said Anise dryly, as soon as Jolinar stepped out. "I would say that I am surprised, but given your stubbornness on this issue, I am not."
"Your hasty assembly performed well," said Jolinar, sidestepping the words that almost dared to be seen as baiting. "Some instability, but nothing worrying."
Anise eyed her closely, but with no true suspicion. "Hmm," she said. "Then you will go ahead with it, even unfinished?"
"There are only three days left before I must begin my mission," said Jolinar. "And I do not wish to spend my last day carrying out this trip."
"Then we will focus on the cloaking device immediately," answered Anise readily. "I believe it is possible to manage something within the day, looking at these calculations. Perhaps Samantha should become familiar with them before we get to work in earnest?" She handed the screen she carried to Sam, who took control at the comment.
The hyperdrive was pushed out of Sam's mind by the time the wormhole brought them back to the Tok'ra home-world.
ooooooo
The visit to the Millers in San Diego had been rather refreshing for Daniel, even though it was a business trip. He came back to the SGC with a sort of renewed fervor, and worked just a little later than usual, even though his colleagues had kept up with the work and not left a backlog. Not that that would have convinced Jack, though, who Daniel didn't have to talk to to guess that he thought it was all an excuse.
With that in mind, it surprised Daniel to walk to an upper level late on day and see Jack in—well, it might be his office, but Daniel didn't think Jack knew if or where he had one of those.
"Hey," he called, pausing, hands in his pockets. "You're—late." It was the only word he could say that didn't seem to imply something vaguely insulting.
"Had a long call," said Jack, with a tired grimace that might have been to stave off a yawn. He looked at Daniel, still standing. "Sara," he admitted.
"That's nice," said Daniel, surprised. He stayed for a second longer, until Jack started walking. "I didn't realize you were in touch."
"We weren't," said Jack in a simple tone that just screamed of complexities.
"I guess she has clearance now, of some kind," Daniel mused, knowing Jack wouldn't just talk. He'd barely met Jack's ex-wife, but she had seemed a good fit; tough and probably a bit snappy, but with a soft side that was obvious within a few minutes of seeing her. And overall, touched with that dark sorrow that Daniel hoped he'd never understand.
Jack, walking alongside Daniel with slow steps, turned his head to give him a sharp glance.
Daniel's eyes widened, and he hoped he hadn't crossed the line. Jack's look wasn't angry, but it had a piercing quality that almost seemed to stem from discomfort. But then it faded into the near-emptiness of matter-of-fact.
"She said she only wanted to know if I wanted to tell her," said Jack. "I decided I did."
Daniel nodded. "And?"
"You know, I've had worse conversations about the Stargate," Jack said, his tone lightening, becoming intentionally lacking in seriousness.
"I can imagine," Daniel said, chuckling. "So is she going to come and see it for herself, or does she take your word for it?"
Jack sighed and half-shrugged.
They parted company a couple steps later, but Daniel was thinking about the conversation with Millers again, and the one with Dr. Jordan before that. He wondered if it was easier for him, a fringe scientist in anyone's definition anyway, and deeply in love with his work here. And he wondered sometimes why Jack stuck around, why he let the world think him a good soldier gone off the deep end. Then again, maybe he hadn't realized that those would be the consequences until it was too late, and he wanted his team because they knew otherwise. Maybe that was why he had reached out to Sara, to have one other person out there who knew.
Frustratingly, Daniel couldn't ask these questions, or rather he could ask them but couldn't expect good answers. He shrugged, though, thinking that if he knew Jack long enough, one day he wouldn't need to ask.
ooooooo
By the end of the next day, Sam and Anise were not on speaking terms. They had both worked late into the evening, with Freya occasionally coming out for reasons that Sam didn't understand in the moment. Jolinar did not do likewise—she understood the concept behind what they were doing, but had no talent in dealing with the specifics.
But by the morning, Sam figured out that Anise really didn't like this kind of work. Taking risks, yes, but not accepting half-hearted work. Sam, though usually looking for perfection, saw no reason to get worked up about it here, when time was the issue. And so she kept making intuitive jumps, and Anise seemed confused about whether Sam was just ignorant or knowingly stopping halfway...and she wasn't being very polite about voicing her confusion.
As Jolinar's past started coloring Sam's current frustration, she decided to bite her tongue and just do the work. The chameleon device was not going to be ready in time, not in the way they had wanted from the beginning. It was too complex to work into the Goa'uld system as a loose program, and they didn't have time to consolidate it into a compact add-on. They might be able to add enough of it to be relatively functional, but the definition of "enough" hadn't been agreed on yet.
It was midday, and Jolinar was remembering how this time yesterday they had been exuberant about the hyperdrive they had installed. Sam felt a bit of a fluster, and Jolinar decided to attempt something more soothing than regretful. It was a well-intentioned failure, but Jolinar's good intentions were worth more to Sam than success, and so it did help a little.
Anise slammed her hand lightly down on the table, drawing Sam's gaze quickly. "If we do not take the time to finish the security procedures, there is no possible way that I can determine that this will be in working order!"
"Working order?" Sam asked, shaping the words carefully so as not to add any more emotion than necessary.
"Yes," Anise said back. "The entire purpose of this? To bring you to the planet unobserved?"
"No, I need more than that," Sam said.
"If you keep ignoring the security, the system is likely to waver indeterminately," Anise said. "And then I do not see the point."
"How long?" Sam asked simply.
"Two days," Anise answered back without hesitation.
"How long for just being reasonably sure that it won't short out on us?" Sam asked again.
"Reasonable is knowing for sure," Anise tossed back.
Sam tapped the edge of the table, looking across at the one person whose help she truly needed. "Can you work with me to get 90% by tomorrow?"
"That is a factual number, for what I told you was an indeterminate system," said Anise. "The only surety is with a complete security system written."
"Just get me close, and I'll take the chance, okay?" Sam said, looking Anise straight in the eye. "And don't act like you don't know what close means."
Anise looked like she was biting her tongue for a second, then swallowed slightly. "I agreed to this, did I not?"
"Yes, yes, you did," said Sam. Jolinar inwardly chuckled, and Sam put on a tight smile.
"It may be possible," Anise finally said, and her fingers began putting rapid input into the device they were working with.
Sam breathed out, and they continued to work. Still not on speaking terms, not personally, but Sam wondered about when this was over. Jolinar wondered about how easy it would be to keep it only professional forever. They had a brief moment where they thought at the same time that easy was tempting, but not necessarily something they had good track record with.
As the flickers of the cloaking device lessened as the hours went on, they realized that this was coming together almost as planned. If that wasn't a good omen for their next, long, mission, then—well, Jolinar still didn't fully believe in omens, but it was easy to pretend with Sam.