A/N: OH MY GOD! I am SO sorry for not posting sooner. I just finished this chapter and I feel so bad! I didn't even get to start writing it until yesterday. I am really sorry I haven't posted sooner. It's just been that kinda week(s). God, how long has it been since I last posted anyways? I'm just gonna blame it all on Vera and hope it never takes this long again!
She had said good-bye though. Sam had been back at the outpost for nearly two months now. In that time she'd helped broker an alliance between the Tok'ra and the Free Jaffa; an accomplishment that apparently had the President thrilled. She walked toward her office for the weekly 'supply' delivery, and her weekly 'chat' with Hammond, lost in thought.
Not that you could really count the delivered items as supplies now. The outpost was so well stocked and producing its own supplies that the deliveries from the SGC were no longer needed. But, Hammond continued to send them the items that were neither necessary nor a luxury; personal items, such as the letters that she exchanged with everyone back on Earth.
How had she gotten lost in thought about the SGC deliveries when she had just been thinking about the President? She must be rather homesick, she concluded. It didn't help that every time she did her job well the President and the Joint Chiefs tended to think that she was pulling off small miracles. It sometimes worried her that the better she did the longer they would want her to stay. Honestly, how long would they keep her at the outpost?
"Sam?"
She looked up to her companion and smiled warmly. "Sorry Dad, I was just thinking."
"I could tell," Jacob smiled softly. A smile Sam returned wholeheartedly. Ever since she had taken command here, and especially during the treaty talks, Sam had gotten to see more of her father than ever. They both seemed to truly enjoy it. "If you want to talk to George alone –"
"Don't be silly," Sam offered as she nudged him in the shoulder. "He'll enjoy hearing from you. Besides, I don't have anything pressing to discuss that can't wait till my monthly report. I wanted to show you the upgrades I made to the communication system too."
They stepped into her office to have Mal'tec and Ead'ogar take up their 'post' just in front of her door before they closed it for her. "They still haven't let up on standing in as your personal bodyguard, have they?"
"Not in the slightest," she offered as she sat behind her desk. "Pull up a chair, you're gonna love this." She smiled as he shook his head but pulled up a chair beside her.
"It looks like you moved the SGC control room in here Sammie," Jacob offered as he inspected her setup.
"Essentially I have," Sam smiled brightly. I brought in a second computer for streaming the video footage separate from my work computer. I have my own access to the Iris control, that only accepts my handprint versus the control room. I thought it would be nice not to have to run down to our control room every time I get a call. I've also created some programs that allow me to have completely private conversations through the Gate, at least on my side. I'll have to set up a similar system for Hammond for it to be completely confidential but at least it can be done."
An alarm sounded just as Jacob was about to ask something and Sam smiled apologetically at him. "Someone's dialing in."
"I noticed the iris you installed; does that alarm sound through the entire outpost like the SGC when there is an incoming wormhole?"
"Yes. We haven't had anyone other than our allies and the SGC contact us through the Gate but, the President wanted the iris installed and I have to agree. Provided this location remains hidden from the few Goa'uld left then this will likely be designated the Gamma Site. We'll probably have to set up a similar warning system as the SGC but for now this is all we need. It's subtle enough to allow for the flow of operations to continue while still being annoying enough to alert anyone to unscheduled Gate activations. That's only happened a few time with the Tok'ra this entire time though."
The screen flickered to life and Sam smiled brightly at Hammond and Jack, standing side by side. "Sirs, it's good to see you. I hope you don't mind but, I thought Dad might like to say hi."
"George," Jacob greeted as he pretended to ignore Jack but eyed him carefully. It was like he was waiting for the opportunity to bite the man's head off.
"Jacob," Hammond offered in a clipped tone before turning back to Sam. "The President is ordering you back to Earth immediately Colonel. He's requesting to speak with you as soon as you can be within range for the Prometheus to beam you to his office."
"Of course Sir. I have everything I need here. If you'll give me a few minutes to update Jamie and I'll be right there."
"Carter," Jack offered cautiously. Sam had to try hard not to snicker.
"Yes Sir?"
"Why do I have a feeling you've been expecting this?"
"What do you mean Sir?"
"You are too damn calm Carter, even for you. Ah ha! There, see that smile General? Carter's up to something!"
"Now why would I be up to something Sir?"
She couldn't help the slight pull at the corner of her lips this time and Hammond sighed. "Colonel," he began. "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry Sir, I can't discuss that at this time."
"What are you up to Carter," Jack asked. "How could you know that the President wanted you home a month early?"
"Sir, how many times have I told you? You are not the only person I write letters to," she said, barely containing her growing smile.
"You write to the President," Hammond asked, clearly surprised.
"I've passed out the letters you send around," Jack started. "I've never seen one addressed to the President."
"And you wouldn't Sir. Not when I include it in someone else's letter to give it to him for me."
"Siler," Jack nearly yelled. "Get Doc Frasier down here right now!"
Sam shook her head as Siler ran out of the room only to be interrupted by a knock at her door. "Come in," Sam called and was greeted by a nervous looking Bill. "What is it," she asked as she ignored Hammond and Jack. "What's wrong?"
"Dr. Sneed -"
"God Damnit!" Without another word Sam rushed out of the office.
"Dr. Lee," Hammond barked.
"Sir," Bill popped into view.
"What the hell is going on over there?"
"Sam's going on the warpath Sir. Has the President recalled her?" At Jack's cautious nod he sighed. "She told me when I arrived last week to expect this. And no Sir," he started, cutting of Jack before he could start. "I don't know the details. All I know is that she asked me to stay on here to work with her second in command and Dr. Marks in the event that she was called away. If its alright with you General I'd like to stay. I'd also like to get down there to see what kind of mess I'm going to have to keep contained while Sam's gone."
"Granted." No sooner were the words out of Hammond's mouth then Bill was out of view. "Jacob," Hammond began. "What's going on?"
"With the President? I have no idea, this is the first I've heard about it. But Sam hates Dr. Sneed. She says he's one of the most incompetent scientists she's ever had to work with, he's more annoying than McKay, and she can't figure out how he got this posting. I get the feeling what ever is going on isn't going to end well for the Doctor."
"Jacob, can you come back with Sam?"
"Yeah, I've got some time, I'll just have to let the Tok'ra know."
"Get her back here as soon as she's taken care of her wayward scientist," Hammond offered, a little on edge. "The sooner she gets to the President the sooner I'll get my questions answered." An alarm sounded and the three were interrupted by Sam's second in command, Jamie, running into the office.
"Jacob? Where's Sam?"
"Dr. Sneed."
"Fuck! Come on we gotta go!"
"What's going on," Hammond yelled, grabbing Jamie's attention.
"I'm sorry Sir, I don't have time. Jacob, we've got to get out of here now or Sam will murder me!"
"Damnit Colonel," Jack cried.
"If Sam can't stop the overload that I'm sure was caused by Dr. Sneed then I am not going to be around to give you a report Sirs. My job is to get everyone outta here and that includes my CO. Now if you don't mind I've got a job to do!"
"Jacob," George barked. "Go, keep us posted. We'll leave the Gate open in case you need us to send any help."
"Negative Sir," Jamie jumped in. "I'm under orders to begin evacuations to the Alpha site in the case of an overload. I need that Gate!"
"Fine," Hammond bellowed. "But I want the evacuation to take place here. Got it Colonel?"
"Yes Sir. Come on Jacob!" Jamie grabbed Jacob and pulled him out of their view.
Hammond ordered the Gate shut down just as Janet and Siler came into the Control room. "Sir -"
"Doctor," Hammond started. "We're about to have an evacuation of Eleftheria. Get medical teams down here and the infirmary ready to go. We could be looking at a lot of wounded people if Sam can't stop the overload."
No sooner had Janet disappeared then the Gate started to turn. "Incoming wormhole," Walter cried. As soon as the connection was made an IDC was received and an officer was on the radio.
"General, we gotta get these people through now!"
"Open the Iris!" Hammond and Jack rushed down to the Gate room. People came rushing through the Gate; Jaffa, Tok'ra, and SGC personnel alike.
Jack grabbed a walkie off a nearby officer as he watched the Gate anxiously. "Carter? Carter where the Hell are you?"
"I'm on my way to get her Colonel," Jamie cried over the walkie.
"George." Jack and Hammond both looked up to see a very concerned Jacob being escorted through the Gate. "George we have to do something. Sam's still back there."
"Jamie's on his way to get her Jacob. We just have to wait," Hammond offered as people kept coming through. The growing group was being escorted out of the gate room as Janet and her teams gave everyone a once over but Hammond, Jacob, and Jack all remained near the base of the ramp waiting.
"I found her Sir," Jamie's voice came over the radio. Jack looked next to him to find Janet's hand suddenly holding his wrist. Without a second thought he looked back to the Gate, waiting. The Gate Room was eerily quiet, contrasting with the number of people that remained but that didn't matter to Jack, or the others he was sure.
"SAM!" Jamie's voice rang out over the sounds that erupted into the Gate Room. There were alarms going off and it sounded as if the ship was already breaking apart.
"Jamie get the hell outta here!"
"Not without you Colonel, now move your ass!"
"Oh god," Janet sighed. "I don't know that I can hear this."
"He must have his radio in hand," Hammond mused. "Probably doesn't realize he's holding the button."
"Doesn't matter," Jacob said, his face grave.
"Sam we gotta go!"
"If I leave Jamie neither of us will make it to the damn Gate."
"Can you stop it?"
"I don't know," Sam yelled distractedly. "Get out of here! Tell the SGC to disconnect the Gate! If this blows it could destroy everything!"
"I'm not leaving you Colonel!"
"I don't have time for this Jamie. That Gate HAS to be disconnected. Now do your goddamn job!"
There was a pause in the conversation as they listened to what the imagined was a destructive scene. "General," Jamie began, still yelling over the noise. "We gotta close the Gate."
Hammond grabbed the walkie from Jack, "We heard her Colonel. We're disconnecting now. We'll be waiting for you two."
"Yes Sir, Tutor out."
The radio line was finally cut and Hammond looked up to Walter. "Disconnect the Gate. Now!"
Walter did as ordered and the Gate disconnected. Everyone remained where they were, their feet practically dug into the cement floor. Jack could hear a slight noise, he assumed it wa the Tok'ra leaving because he doubted the Jaffa would be less stoic than Teal'c. After a lifetime of silence there was another slight shuffling sound.
"Sir," Bill Lee asked as he stood next to Jacob. "Sirs, it's been ten minutes. If Sam wasn't able to stop the overload … it would have exploded by now. It's likely it's safe to reestablish the wormhole."
"If she stopped it," Jacob started, his eyes not leaving the Gate. "How long would it take her to get back here?"
"She probably only had 60 seconds at most before we disconnected … it would take another two or three minutes to ensure that the systems were offline and secure. Give Jamie another five minutes to walk to the Gate for an at site dial … Sirs, we should have heard from her by now."
Janet's hand tightened its hold on Jack's arm and he was sure she was cutting off his circulation. He didn't care. He couldn't not when - the Gate started to spin and he found himself unable to breath. It would be too cruel for this to be a call from the Jaffa or the Tok'ra; and god awful timing.
"Please," he heard Janet whisper. "Please be Sam."
The wormhole was connected and Walter cried out that he had an IDC. The Iris opened and everyone waited. There was a moment when nothing happened and then a very disheveled, very pissed off Sam came barreling down the ramp and past the group that stood there. "Where is he," she practically snarled.
"Dr. Sneed has been taken elsewhere."
Sam stepped up to the Jaffa that had spoken. "Show me."
As the Jaffa lead her through the crowd Jack and the others shared a quick look witheach other before running after her. They barely stepped into the hallway before they found the Tok'ra standing to one side while three Jaffa stood in front of a storage closet. "MOVE," Sam ordered harshly. Without hesitation the group moved out of her way and Sam through the door open. She stepped into the closet, pulled Sneed out, and slammed him into the nearby wall.
"You stupid shit. I hope trying to kill me was worth it. Believe me, I'm gonna make sure you never see the light of day again you stupid bastard."
"You can't do this," Sneed cried, fear clear in his eyes. "My brother-in-law -"
"Just signed his own death sentence and you want to try and use your connections to get out of attempting to murder hundreds of people at my outpost? If I'm going to toss your sorry ass in the brig what the hell do you think I'm gonna do with him? Sergeant!"
A nearby sergeant jumped into action, coming to stand at attention in front of Sam. "Ma'am."
"Lock him up in the Brig and keep two guards posted on him, do you understand," she asked as her eyes never left Sneed's.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Good. Now," Sam offered as she took another step into Sneed's personal space. "Don't do anything else stupid Freddie. Or I'll put you somewhere that no one will ever find you." Sneed swallowed nervously and Sam quickly shoved him into the waiting sergeant before turning back to face the group that had followed her.
"Sir," she addressed Hammond. "I'd like to request permission to send everyone back to start repairs immediately. I'm going to need Bill and I'm going to need to speak to the President before I go back.
"Granted. Doctor, Colonel," he offered to Bill and Jack. "Get things ready and start sending them back. We need to get things back in order. "Colonel, with me."
Hammond stood in between Jack and Jacob as they watched from the briefing room while Sam helped coordinate getting people and supplies back to the outpost. While they couldn't hear her they could still read her well and they knew that she was clearly an effective CO. Somehow she was ordering around officers, civilian scientists, Tok'ra, and Jaffa alike without anyone questioning her. She was clear in her directions and everyone seemed to just nod at her before moving to their assigned tasks.
"Sirs."
The men all turned around to find Hailey standing behind them. "Lieutenant I'm glad you're here," Hammond offered. "Colonel Carter is under orders to report to the President as soon as things at the outpost are settled. He wants that to be as soon as possible. Are you up to date on the outpost?"
"Yes Sir," Hailey nodded. "When I was assigned to SG-1 Colonel Carter began to forward me reports about the outpost. She requested that I stay up to date with the technology in case she ever needed an extra hand."
"Good, because we need that extra hand. I need you to go to the outpost. Colonel Tutor is going to assume command while Colonel Carter is reporting to the President. Dr. Lee is going to aid Dr. Marks and I want you to help. You know the Colonel Lieutenant. She's going to have a hard time leaving her experiments and research to people she doesn't trust. especially after what's just happened with Dr. Sneed. But, she trusts the four of you."
"I understand Sir," Hailey offered with a hint of a smile. "I'll do what I can to help out."
"Good. Until further notice you are to report to Colonels Carter and Tutor, dismissed." Hailey practically disappeared out of the office and the three men returned to watching Sam. "You owe me a hundred bucks Jacob."
Jack blinked a moment before he looked to the two men. "Sir?"
"When Sammie was little," Hammond offered, still not taking his eyes of the woman in question. "We made a bet on whether she'd join the Air Force or not."
"Then we bet on how long it would take her to finish the academy" Jacob offered.
"And how long before she started flying."
"We have standing bets on how long between each promotion," Jacob continued.
"We've had a long standing bet on how long it would take for her to be placed in command too. We also have a long standing bet about her command style," Hammond said as he finally looked to Jack. "I bet Jacob that she'd take after his command style. Pretty much willing to punch your lights out and call you a dumbass in the process."
"I thought she'd take after George," Jacob sighed. "I really thought she'd be more laid back and easy going. She is at the outpost really. Things are generally calm but, she's not as laid back as she was as your second. She's definitely got that CO air about her, better than George does. But, I thought she'd react pretty much the same in a crisis. You know, give the good ol' death glare and give a dressing down as appropriate. I really never thought she'd be so in your face about it."
"I thought she did a good job," Jack offered. "I'd like to be able to go after a civilian scientist that way."
"I completely agree," Jacob smiled. "I guess I'm just surprised."
"Me too," Hammond nodded.