Chapter 11 : Problems. Always problems
11:00: Daniel was waiting in the briefing room, which was deserted. He was re-writing his notes for fear of missing anything important. Suddenly Dr Carolyn Lam arrived, sitting down opposite Daniel.
"You're early, Daniel," the doctor began.
"Yeah, and I hope Jack won't be late." Being on time was never his strong point.
"Yeah", the Doctor laughed, as she was interrupted by John, Jack and Mitchell who all said hello.
"On time as always, Daniel," Mitchell remarked, "I found out two friends here on my way."
"Lucky for us; there are so many corridors and they all look so similar we would've gotten lost," Jack added.
"So Jack, how's are your head and eye? Any better?" the doctor asked.
"Yes, thanks to your care," he said, sitting next to the doctor between her and John.
11:25: Teal'c and Sam arrived Sam was always the last to arrive, always having something to finish or check at the last minute before she made it to the briefing. They sat down next to Mitchell.
11:30: The discussion was lively and varied, but there was still no sign of the General or Angela, Daniel noted.
11:45: Daniel was starting to lose patience but held back from going to see if Jack was in his office for fear of disturbing him. He was probably in a meeting that was overrunning and 15 minutes was hardly the latest the General had ever been. He got a certain pleasure out of making other people wait.
11:50: Silence reigned. No-one even opened their mouth to breath so as not to miss the slightest evidence that the General was about to arrive. Sam looked at the door handle to Jack's office. She saw the handle turn and held her breath while Daniel could hear what sounded like someone who had just run full speed up the stairs. The door opened:
"Thank you, Mr President," Jack finished as he opened the door for the former and his two bodyguards, "I'll keep you up to date with the slightest developments on our progress."
"I look forward to it, General, you have my full support."
At that moment, Angela arrived.
"Sorry I'm late, I got lost in the corridors," she said, noting the presence of the President. "Good morning, Mr President," she said as she came closer.
"Angela, how are you?" he said as he came closer to Angela to greet her. His guards didn't flinch, it was almost like they knew her, "now, when was the last time ...?"
"About five months ago, I think. I'd spent the day with your wife."
"Oh yes, and that dress you wore was exquisite. Uh," he said as he reminded himself the others were there.
"I see you already know each other," Jack said.
"Yes, I know her. She's the pride of the Air Force, just a pity it's the French Air Force. She tests the security at the White House from time to time as well as other secret installations in the country and abroad as well. We have been having trouble trying to contact her for a while, though. I'm entirely confident she'll be able to assist, but just so you know, she's precious to us, the President said, speaking to Jack O'Neill, before turning once again to Angela, I expect full cooperation, from our side naturally I and the secret services are willing to accept all your demands and conditions."
"Conditions?" Daniel asked.
"As I said, I've known Angela a long time and I know that whenever we ask for her help, there are always conditions. I believe I've given you all the guidelines, General, so I'll leave you alone," the President said as he departed, followed by his two bodyguards.
Angela then sat down between Daniel and Mitchell and Jack went back to his seat.
"Okay, now that everyone's here, we can get started."
"You sure it's not too early," Daniel said while looking at his watch. It was 12:05.
Jack ignored the remark and carried on:
"I imagine you have some idea as to why you're here in this room in a secret military base."
"Not entirely," John said, "we just know that the mission might be dangerous. We've just signed the confidentiality agreement."
"Ah."
"What agreement?"
Daniel took out a file and slid it over to Angela, along with a pen.
"It's the usual bla bla bla, you just need to sign it," Mitchell added.
Angela opened the file and then closed it again.
"You're not signing it?" O'Neill asked.
"No," Angela said simply.
Jack sighed; the battle had begun:
"You..."
"It's not that I don't want to sign, General," Angela interrupted him, "but I just can't. I don't have the right to sign these papers or any other unless it's a Class V. As far as I can see that's not the case here. My signature is meaningless."
"What are you talking about,?" Mitchell asked, "that's impossible. What we're going to talk about must be at least Class V, if not VI, if that even exists."
"Actually, she's right. Class V covers..., actually I don't even know but even though our project is sanctioned by the Air Force, it's not covered by Class V. She has every right to refuse to sign and even if she did, she would be allowed to speak about it. Basically, she's part of the highest grouping of spies. But I also know that what we've about to discuss she won't reveal, even under torture. Isn't that right, Angela?" O'Neill finished.
Everyone looked at Angela, waiting for her response.
"You're very well-informed," Angela said, decisively.
"So, are we in agreement, General Calling?" O'Neill said, stressing the 'General'.
Angela seemed startled for two reasons:
The first was that very few people knew her real surname, being as it was that of a very old, noble French family. Even she had forgotten about it. In fact, her legal identity had been expunged and replaced by Miss Calling, which she also used very rarely. Only the President, the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, as well as the head of the secret services, knew her new identity.
The second was that no-one had called her 'General' since she had retired a little over a year before.
She was far from the only person to be surprised. Mitchell, John and Jack were among them.
"General Calling?" They all said.
"Yes, under the circumstances, the President asked General Angela Calling to come out of retirement and restored roles before she takes early retirement," O'Neill explained.
Angela Calling, oh of course...John whispered to himself.
O'Neill briefly summarised the situation. Around ten years ago - 'already' he thought to himself - Dr Daniel Jackson discovered that an artefact recovered from an archaeological dig was actually a gateway that allowed a person to travel across the universe and visit other planets. They had discovered new peoples and new technologies. During that time, Earth had avoided being wiped off the galactic map several times and the same was happening today, the threat affecting not only Earth but the rest of the galaxy as well.
Daniel spoke about the Ori. He explained that they possessed extraordinary powers and were a danger to our survival. He told them that their only hope was to find an Ancient weapon created by Merlin that would allow them to destroy the Ori.
"Alright, so if I've understood you correctly, and stop me if I'm wrong, we find this weapon on some planet, we kick these lying, son-of-a-bitch Ori's asses and get home in time for dinner like nothing happened and we all live happily ever after. Sounds easy," Jack said. "And you really expect me to believe that this is what you spend your days doing. You must think I'm an idiot."
"And this is the part where you tell us that ET isn't real, said O'Neill, but I'm telling you now he does exist, not only that, but they're ugly, small and butt naked."
"Yeah, he's right, they really are all naked," Mitchell said, attempting to lighten the mood.
"But let's not waste our time trying to prove it to you, we'll have the chance to prove what we've just told you, we should...," O'Neill said.
"What are we saying here? I mean, John, Jack and I are here," Angela said.
"Well, we had to explain our little problem to the representatives of the major nations of the..."
"And they believed you?"
"They're aware of this, aren't they?" Angela asked.
"Actually, they've known about the Stargate for a few years now, but luckily they don't know all the details," Mitchell stressed.
"And you really expect me to buy all this? John said.
The General sighed:
"You've been chosen by your countries for this mission. They wanted a representative of each nation to be part of the team. You're all an important part of that team according to your files and all have a place on that mission, but if you don't want to take part, I'll be happy to show you the door. No-one's being forced here," Jack said, starting to lose patience. "as far as you're concerned, General Calling, you'll be our pilot. Daniel will hand you out a file that'll tell you everything you need to know. I suggest you all read it so you're not surprised by what comes next. They'll be on the table. If you want to take them, you'll be welcome on the team, but there'll be no turning back."
"How long do we have to think about it?" John asked.
"Shall we say about 2..."
"Two days!"
"No, 2 hours. If you take the file, the Doctor here will give you a time to come for a health check," Jack said, pointing to Dr Lam, "and then the fun really starts," Jack finished, smiling. Jack got up and went back to his office accompanied by the team, leaving the three guests alone.
John and Jack looked at one another. Their decision wasn't obvious.
"Do you think this is a joke, Angela?" John asked.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"You always know when someone's lying to you," Jack stressed.
"So?"
"I don't think it's a joke, John," she said, fixing her gaze on O'Neill's door.
"I'm sure you're right," Jack said.
"In any case, congratulations Angela, or should I say, General. You never told me you were a pilot, and a pilot no less," John said, teasing a little.
"I was a pilot and I know a lot more besides that you couldn't even imagine. You know nothing about me," Angela answered him.
"Well, if you go, I'll go," Jack said, looking insistently at Angela.
"Me too," Jack went on.
"You're both cowards!"
"You know I'd follow you to hell if I had to," John mumbled while smiling.
Jack looked at John in surprise. Angela was stunned as well.
"I don't think I...," Angela began, making it seem like she hadn't heard anything.
"You don't think you can do it, what you need to do to complete this mission, am I right?"
"You're the most able among us and everyone knows it and I'm sure you're not looking forward to that 'early retirement' of yours," Jack said, cutting her off.
"No, what I mean, if you would just stop interrupting me for a minute, is that I don't think I'll have a choice in it and I actually didn't mind retirement. I finally felt calm."
"We always have a choice," Jack said.
"I think she's right. They wouldn't have done all that to find you and bring you back here if they thought you'd refuse," John finished, and without hesitation, took the file and left.
Jack sighed and took one himself, winking at Angela before he left. Angela was left alone looking pensive.
O'Neill had a confident air about him and he was smiling. Jack and John had taken the files with no questions asked. What was worrying him now was Angela's hesitation and his gaze fixed on her. She hadn't said much during the meeting. She hadn't even asked any questions, which annoyed him. She had practically remained silent and motionless. Jack wasn't even listening to what Daniel was saying. He kept shifting his gaze between the file and the young woman. Angela then turned her eyes towards him, almost fixing her gaze on him, but he immediately told himself that she couldn't see him through that glass. Nevertheless, this woman made him uneasy; he almost felt like he was naked before her. Her very presence almost unsettled him. He wasn't afraid of her, but she just gave the impression that there was an aura of security around her. He was well aware that she knew how to judge people and guess what their reactions would be. He had the feeling that her mouth was incapable of saying anything but the truth. He broke off contact. During the connection, Jack couldn't avoid that stare that seemed to pierce the human spirit, sending a shiver right through him.
Angela stood up and made her way over to the window from which she could see the Stargate. She took another look at the file on the table. O'Neill could read on her face a battle between curiosity and safety, a battle which must have been hard for her. She then turned her back and spent a long moment looking at the gate without moving. She finally left the room.
On seeing the absent look around Jack, Daniel stopped.
"Jack! Are you listening to me?"
"Yeah,... ah, no," O'Neill said and then a moment later said, "she's not gonna take it," he said as he circled his desk and sat down.
Mitchell came back and found the room empty with just a file on the table. Daniel did the same.
"But, she has to..." Daniel started.
"I know that, but I just would've preferred it if she'd volunteered," Jack said, cutting him off.
"Why can't women ever just do what they're supposed to? Why do they always have to complicate everything?" Daniel exclaimed.
"That's not true I...," Sam said, defending herself.
"Get out of my office. I need some time to think," Jack cut her off. He didn't notice it, but he had hurt Sam.
Angela didn't head straight for her room, unlike Jack and John who had almost certainly read the file. Instead she headed for the Stargate to see it up close, just for curiosity's sake.
She was both impressed and troubled by its size. It was the first time she had seen a machine whose workings she couldn't figure out. She went closer to it, a little hesitant, and held out her hand to touch the Gate. The moment she touched it she jumped back. The structure was cold. The contact made her shiver and the tingling sensation reminded her of who she was, feeling it in her neck and the palm of her hand. It was almost painful. She didn't even realise how her hands were crackling with joy as she touched it.
Suddenly, the Gate started making a noise, setting off an alarm: "unauthorised offworld activation."
She instinctively removed her hand as a protective barrier sealed the Gate: the Iris. She looked at the Gate in surprise. It was beginning to move, symbols lighting up on it the likes of which she had never seen. Angela stared at them, clearly intrigued. When it reached the fourth symbol, the Gate stopped.
At that same moment, billions of light years away, in another galaxy, another Stargate was also lighting up.
Angela was fascinated. She sat in front of it and just stared. She had no idea how much time had passed, but...
"Impressive, isn't it," Mitchell said, as he joined her, disturbing her from her daydreaming. "You don't even seem surprised to see me."
"I heard you coming. I'd hear you coming miles away."
"It had the same effect on me the first time I saw it," Mitchell said as he sat beside her. "They must have shut down the connection. That's what happens when an address we don't recognise tries to dial us or we don't get a 'password'."
"You mean you don't know who just tried to contact you?" she said, sounding intrigued.
"Yeah, for security," he said, also looking at the Gate. "So?"
"I think it's fascinating but it's weird because I'm not surprised to see this Gate. I have all these feelings inside me as if I already know everything about it. I don't know, it's just a funny feeling. Deep inside me, I feel so happy and I don't know how to explain why I'm feeling this way. It's freaking me out and I don't like it."
"Me neither," Daniel said as he came up to them, holding in his hand the famous file, "I think you forgot something, Angela."
"No, I don't think so," she replied, not even looking at him.
Daniel sighed.
"It would be simple if...," he said as he put the folder down in front of her and left without saying another word. He didn't know what else to do.
"You know what all that means?" Mitchell said, pointing to the Gate room, "I mean you being here," he said.
"If I'm not mistaken, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you need me and that's it."
"No, that´s not it, you outrank me!"
"I always did, Mitchell and anyway that doesn't count for anything," Angela said, laughing.
"I think you should take it," Mitchell said, as he held up the folder for her to see.
"I don't think so, you'll have about as much luck as Daniel!" she said as she stood up, angry and left Mitchell alone once more with the folder. Then he also sighed and said to himself, "nice try, Daniel."
This time Angela went straight to her room to get her dog.
Meanwhile, Mitchell was heading for Daniel's office. When he arrived, he saw Daniel looking busy. Mitchell tossed the folder in front of him.
"She still wouldn't take it?" Daniel asked as he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She must really have connections if she won't take this mission. There aren't many people who could get away with that."
"You think so?" Mitchell asked.
"She must be if she knows the President. The other countries want her but they're not pushing it too far. I guess they don't want her as an enemy."
"Connected," Mitchell said, sighing as he remembered that picnic she had organised, "to who?"
"Well, there's the President, those secret services she's done so much for and I'm sure there are others."
"But the President knows we need her."
"I know, but you have to understand this, you might put yourself on the wrong side of her. Daniel asked as he sighed, "we could find a compromise, a vacation maybe."
"I don't think that's what she has in mind."
"Yeah, I guess not, but it can't hurt to ask her straight out."
"We can try and why don't you talk to her?" Mitchell suggested.
"I don't think that's such a good idea."
"I thought the two of you were pretty close. That's how it looked to me, anyway."
"It's getting late, I think I'm going to turn in," Daniel said, putting an end to the conversation , clearly not wanting to go into the details of his relationship with Angela.
"Alright, see you tomorrow. But think about it, will you?"Mitchell said as he left.
The following day at 5am in one of the rooms, Angela got up to get dressed. She put on navy blue jogging pants and a short black top that showed her midriff. She took her cachet du matin and put Voyou's collar on the dog. She went looking for something in her bag and took it out. It was her mp3 player. She was all set for her daily jog, except that today the scenery wasn't all that inspiring. Instead of jogging through a park along a woodland trail, she had to make do with the endless corridors with her dog following. Instead of the sunrise, she had the neon lights. Instead of wide open spaces, she was confined to straight lines all filled with airmen she nearly crashed into at every crossing. Despite all this, she went jogging almost with a sense of joy.
For his part, Jack couldn't get to sleep. He hadn't slept a wink all night. For once he decided to get to the base on time, actually a few hours early.
Once he arrived, he made sure he didn't run across anyone he knew like Daniel or Teal'c who wouldn't hesitate to note how punctual he was today. He even asked himself what he was doing there this early instead of enjoying a nice beer in front of the TV. He was starting to worry there might be something wrong with him; it wasn't normal for him to be at work this early, everyone being surprised by the fact. He was worried he was starting to turn into Daniel. "No. Not that, please!" He really hoped he didn't bump into him.
A voice shook him out of his daydreaming. "It's 7am in the morning, for crying out loud," he cursed.
"General, wait," a feminine voice said to him.
He turned round expecting to see Sam, but it wasn't her. Doh! It wasn't even a member of the team.
"Ah, it's you, General Calling," he whispered the words so that no-one on his team would know he was on the base this early. "You know what, call me Jack...actually, I don't know; I'm still a little confused this morning."
"Well in that case, call me Angela. I see you're a morning person."
"Actually, not at all. By the way, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention this to SG1, but I can tell you certainly are a morning person."
"Your secret's safe with me, but you seem to be perceptive in the morning, which would explain your..."
"Confusion, yes I know...I keep on...losing track. Which reminds me, there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about."
"Good, so do I. You go first."
"Ok I'll start," he said, launching himself in, "I hear you've been jogging and you're still jogging through the corridors and I'd like..."
"Yes, I'd like to go outside."
"...for you to stop," Jack finished
"You've got to be kidding! If I don't move, I'll go mad."
"I can't let you off this base, it's out of the question. There's a sports room on the base, that's all I'm going to say on the subject."
"But General, my dog can't do his business on the base, he needs..."
"Someone can walk him.. Corporal, find me a dog handler to take this dog for a walk in one hour," Jack asked a soldier as he carried on walking. "Satisfied?"
But Angela had stopped.
"Jack! I wasn't asking for permission, it was just to let you know."
"What does that mean?" Jack said as if she was joking, "you're not leaving this base." As he said these words, several soldiers encircled the young woman.
"We'll see about that," she said with a defiant tone.
Jack ignored the remark and went to his office. Now that he was here, he had to do something. He was already regretting being there.
"Well, that went well. I've had worse," she said to the two guards who were now going to follow her everywhere. She carried on with her jog with a smile on her face. The day was starting well and she had a feeling things were going to turn out alright.
Around 15:00, Mitchell was on his way to General O'Neill's office, with a worried feeling. He knocked on the door and went inside.
Daniel and General Landry were already there.
"Ah, Colonel Mitchell, I asked the General if he'd take up his old post."
"Which before that used to be your old post," Landry said.
"Yes, this is true, but let's skip the details, you'll bring back bad memories."
"Are you leaving, General?" Mitchell asked.
"After a lengthy discussion with the President, Mr Woolsey and Hammond, I've decided to leave. Actually, I'll be leaving with you as a part of this trip. Good news, isn't it?"
"I'll say," Mitchell replied, having dreamt of putting SG1 back together again.
"So, the famous Jack O'Neill, back in the saddle after having gotten so bored in his office," Daniel teased.
"That's not true, Daniel. You're spreading baseless rumours. Read the reports, it was very exciting, especially those little notes Teal'c left."
"Teal'c leaves you notes?" Daniel went on.
"Very informative ones. And there, they were the most exciting part," Jack said.
"What kind of notes?" Daniel continued.
"Colonel Mitchell, I'm guessing there's a reason you came," Jack said, changing the subject.
"Uh, yes General. Angela's not in her room. I went to give her the file," he said, holding up said file.
"She must still be out walking, I ran into her this morning."
"This morning?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, it was pretty late," Jack lied, "she was jogging and complaining about the scenery. No need to worry."
"But she goes jogging very early; she must be finished by now," Mitchell commented.
"How early are we talking?" Daniel asked. Jack looked uneasy.
"05:30 I think," Mitchell answered.
"You said you ran into her late on?" Daniel repeated to Jack with an insistent look.
Jack pretended to be looking at the file he was holding. He finally managed to say:
"I don't think we need to worry. She's probably flirting with some airman." When he saw the look Daniel was giving him, he said, "well, your ex is pretty hot!"
At that moment, two winded airmen came into the room:
"There's a problem, General."
"Weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on our young lady guest?"
"Yes General, I don't know how she managed to get away from us. She was in the shower after her jog. We thought she'd been in there a while, so we asked a woman airman to go in and check she was still there and just like that she was gone. Her dog too," one of the airmen said.
"Mobilise the base, tell everyone to find her. She has to be here somewhere. Mitchell, contact Teal'c and Sam.
"Jack," Daniel said.
"What?"
"What else did you say to her?"
"Nothing,..., she said she wanted to go outside the base and I reminded her she wasn't allowed to. Then she went into a whole song and dance about how she could leave whenever she wanted."
"So, you provoked her?"
"I didn't think she'd actually go and do it. And I did not provoke her...well, ok, a little bit," Jack confessed. "But, we'll find her. She can't get out of here easily, especially with that big dog of hers. Okay, get out of here, you've got work to do," Jack finished.
They all left the office. Daniel cast a look of desperation in Jack's direction, leaving him alone with General Landry who was laughing to himself.
"Maybe there's something I can do," Sam said.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Mitchell said, "I'm all ears."
"Every airman has a badge that lets them enter certain zones or not depending on their access rights. We can use that to find her and we'll know if she's still on the base."
"Does that mean we can see everything she's doing?" Mitchell said.
"Not just that, it means we can see where she's been before and follow in her footsteps with a program that's recorded all her movements for the day. The computer then registers each passage in a room to control them. If a person doesn't have access rights, the passage is closed instantly."
"Then she has not been anywhere to which she did not have access right, or we would have known," Teal'c said.
"We'll see," Sam said as she sat herself in front of her pc. After several minutes she said, "that's it, that red dot is Angela this morning at 04:30. After she finished her jog at 08:00, she went walking through the corridors to General O'Neill's office..."
"What?" Mitchell said in surprise.
"That's strange. You said she'd disappeared when she went to take a shower."
"Yeah, and..., Mitchell said.
"Well, according to this, she never went in the showers," Sam explained.
"Perhaps she discarded the badge," Teal'c suggested.
"It's possible, but the signal doesn't get anywhere near the women's showers," Sam said, "and besides that, according to the computer, the badge is still active which means she's still on the base."
"False alarm, then?" Mitchell said.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.
"But why? And how did she lose her guards?" Mitchell asked.
"I don't know," Sam confessed,
"She may be in the course of planning her escape," Teal'c stated.
"Or maybe she's just looking for a way to kill John or Jack," Mitchell joked.
Sam however was not joking:
"She's in the sports room at the moment."
"But she went for a jog this morning!" Mitchell said.
"Things would not seem to be as they appear."
"Well in any case, neither Jack or John or with her," Sam checked, "let's go check on them, you never know."
As Daniel joined them, they were making their way to the sports room where the sensors indicated they would find Angela. They entered the room with their weapons drawn.
"Hey, what's this about? What are you doing?" said a voice.
"I'm sorry, General," Sam said, confused.
"Why are there two airmen aiming at me?" at that point, the two guards lowered their weapons. "I take it you've brought good news if you're disturbing me during my workout."
"We were looking for Angel," Daniel said.
Jack looked around from where he was sitting on the bench.
"Well, as you can see, she's not here."
"General, we tracked Angela and the trace led us here," Sam said.
"Well, it saddens me to inform you that you're wrong, Colonel," Jack said.
Sam pointed the sensor at O'Neill and scanned his body. The alarm went off in his pocket.
"What do you have there?"
"A pocket," Jack said, a hint of annoyance in his tone as he took out his badge, "it's my badge," he said, holding it up.
"General, that's not yours," Sam said.
"What does that mean?"
"It's Angela's"
"How did her badge end up in your pocket?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it was after we met this morning, and it's not what you're thinking."
"I'm not thinking anything," Daniel teased.
"How did she do this? Did she improvise as she went along or was this all planned in advance?" Teal'c asked.
"That's a good question. One thing's for sure, she certainly has a good imagination. I never would have known. Maybe she used to be a pickpocket too," Jack said, "so Carter, you said this badge could be traced? That was clever."
"Actually General, all the badges can be," Sam said,
"Are you saying that someone could see everything I was doing?" Jack said, "not just what room I was in?"
"Yes Jack," Daniel said.
"Well that's scary! And...clever. So how come Angela knew this when even I had no idea?" Jack commented.
"I don't know, Sir," Sam said.
"Did you get far with the camera footage?" Jack asked.
"We've watched all the footage since this morning and we didn't find anything. I think we lost her after the showers," Mitchell said.
"Ok, well I've heard enough! I appreciate peace and quiet when I'm working out. Scram!" he finally said as he saw no-one was leaving.
19:00: Sam came into O'Neill's office
"We've got nothing from the videos."
"I've ordered barriers set up for a 15km radius surrounding the base, had her photo circulated and..." he said as the phone rang. "Hmm...hmm, ok I'm on my way. I think we found her, come with me," he said to Sam.
The two made their way to the canteen and through there to the kitchens. There were two guards at the doors to the kitchen.
"Is she here?" Jack asked.
"Yes, General," said one of the soldiers, "it was the cook who found her."
He went inside. Angela was sitting next to her dog behind some shopping bags. She was eating a McDonald's bacon and cheeseburger.
"I couldn't resist," Angela began, holding out the McDonald's bag, "and of course I needed some dog food and we went for a walk. By the way, it was on you."
At that moment, the rest of the team arrived.
"Here, I borrowed this. I think it belongs to you," she said, holding out a blue card, "it cost you about 40 dollars," she said, looking at the receipts.
"I think she's making it up as she goes along," Daniel said as he watched her eat.
"What have you done?" Jack said, looking at his card and shooting a withering stare at Daniel.
"Ask your superiors to pay you back. Well, I'll be on my way...," she said as she stood up, "I like to eat in peace. Come on boy," she said as she picked up the shopping bags and left the room, leaving Jack and the team perplexed.
Jack looked at his badge and his credit card:
"She's got balls, I'll give her that...well, looks like that's our problem solved," Jack said.
"I don't think so. We're going to have other problems with her," Daniel noted.
"Well, following orders might not be her strong point and she certainly is lacking in deference and discipline, but she's loyal and brave and I think we can count on her," Sam spoke out in Angela's defence.
"She's going to cause us a big problems if she can't follow orders or keep he calm," Jack sighed, "and I want it drilled into her that we expect discipline when she's being trained."
"I think she'll soon prove she doesn't need any training," Daniel said.
As she left the room, Angela laughed on the inside as she thought of the look on O'Neill's face as she handed his card back to him. She might have fun here after all. Still carrying the two shopping bags, she returned to her room accompanied by her dog.
Three hours later it was getting late and Jack was reading over his mission reports when he was interrupted by the most hateful man he could imagine. His day had started badly and it looked like it was going to end badly too. He had no choice but to see him, even though it gave Jack a migraine. Unfortunately, many years of experience had taught him that he just had to deal with it. This man could just as easily have played devil's advocate. He could always find something to pick you up on. Every decision you made, he saw as a way to criticise your choices with not a small amount of pleasure. If that wasn't enough, he was just so dull, with his flawless business suit, not a crease in sight. Recently however, Jack had taken to laughing to himself whenever they met. It hadn't actually been so long since he and this man had taken part in a mission to save the base on Atlantis, which turned out catastrophically. This devil's advocate wasn't the bravest soul and Jack now took full advantage of the fact to remind him that, when faced with danger, people don't always have the luxury of making the most appropriate decisions. He was also eager for him to meet Angela, as he was fairly sure she would throw a spanner in the works when they met; in fact he was confident sparks might fly. But today he was very surprised by the apparent condition of his enemy, who looked defeated as he fell into the chair facing Jack, leaving his devil's advocate persona to one side.
"Mr Woolsey, nice to see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Jack lied, "you don't look so good. I take it your interview with John Smith and Jack Croft could have gone better?"
"Uh, yes, them. It was, it's..."
"Ah, Angela," Jack said with a smile.
"Y...yes, she's...she's a little unnerving."
"She is that. I know what you mean; she's one unpredictable woman."
"More like unstable, if you ask me. She's given me a migraine."
"You too! Don't you think you're being a little too harsh saying that she's unstable?" Jack said, realising that his day might just have gotten better thanks to Angela. as he felt his worries lifting, He laughed silently. This was going better than he had expected, "she wouldn't answer your questions, huh?"
"Oh, she responded alright. Her answers were just...surprising to say the least and as for her frankness...if it was up to me, I'd have her sent away now as I don't think she can be controlled and she'll continue to be a source of problems, but given the circumstances..."
"You're willing to make an exception. I'm sure it can't feel good that you can't control this young woman and she keeps slipping out of your hands. Me, I kind a like that."
"Well, you can start the other tests on our candidates, but make sure you don't upset her as she has good relationships and she's no-one's doormat. As you yourself pointed out, she's not likely to cooperate, in spite of my...arguments," Woolsey said.
"What kind of arguments?"
"All I can say is that she's covered herself very well. We didn't find any sign of weakness or mistakes. That's what frightened us the most. It meant we couldn't apply any pressure, nothing worked against her. We simply don't have anything she wants."
"Like what? What did you offer her?"
"Everything a woman would want: jewellery, money, she didn't want anything despite my most tempting offer."
"You tried to buy her off with money?" Jack sighed.
"Well, you know how women are..."
"Well apparently she's not like other women. Did you ever think to ask yourself that she might not need money, that maybe she's pretty rich anyway? She's one of a kind alright."
"You're right, she's charming. I was impressed by her."
"She had the same effect on me," O'Neill said, happy that someone at least could put Woolsey on edge.
"I got the feeling she could read your innermost thoughts, like she was analysing or judging me with a look, she..." he shuddered, "I felt like my soul was laid bare in front of her when she looked at me," Woolsey mused. He had forgotten O'Neill was there and carried on expressing out loud his uneasiness at having had that young woman invade his soul all while she sat in front of him. He even thought he could sense something around her. An aura...
"Excuse me? What are you saying?" Jack said, coming out of his own daydream-like state. He had the impression that she had truly spooked Woolsey.
"Oh, nothing. I was just saying she was keeping certain things to herself," said Woolsey, almost whispering for fear he might be heard . He then got up and left without his characteristic sarcasm such as "we'll be keeping an eye on you." Jack smiled again. This really was a good day. Angela had scared his biggest enemy, next to whom even Anubis couldn't compare. He shuddered. Woolsey was right about one thing: Angela was indeed judging her questioners.
There was at least one positive side to having the young woman around: she had put Woolsey in his place, which let O'Neill know that the man would not be interfering in his business. He decided to meet with Jack and John the following morning and then Angela by herself.
After interviewing Jack and John, the General awaited General Calling's arrival. He went over in his head one more time as he remembered it. A knock at the door brought him away from is thoughts.
"Come in," sighed Jack.
"You asked to see me, General?"
"Yes General...and can we stop with this joke?"
"Excuse me?"
"I've already told you to call me Jack, between Generals anyway," he said as he gestured to the chair.
"Ok, no problem, I can't stand formality, it's inefficient," she said as she sat down on the chair.
"You're not making that job any easier," Jack said going straight to the heart of the matter, forgetting what he was going to say.
"Excuse me?" she said for the second time.
"You totally destabilised poor Mr Woolsey," Jack said.
"Ah, that's what you're talking about. I couldn't resist, I..."
"Don't worry about it," Jack said, cutting her off, "It's a good thing, so don't apologise! I was getting fed up with having him on my back all the time. You still worry me, though. You're unpredictable and that can be dangerous for us. But given the predicament we're facing, we'll have to put up with your psychological imbalance."
"My what?"
"Mr Woolsey's words, not mine, I'd like to point out. You do bring out a funny side in him though, I've never seen him look so desperate."
"I'm not psychologically unstable, I'll have you know!"
"Well, maybe not everyone appreciates your nature. It happens. A lot of people don't get me either, but let's not dwell. This afternoon, you're going to report for a full medical since there's no record of one in your file and tomorrow you're not off the hook. You and I are going to go out and get to know one another."
"Cool!"
"This is going to be your first intergalactic trip."
"I'm not so sure it's such a good..." Angela started to say.
"Everything'll be fine, you'll see!" Jack interrupted.
"You really do want to move fast, don't you?"
"I do. That's the second thing I wanted to talk to you about. It might be a bit delicate for you but it's vital for us." Seeing that she wasn't reacting, he carried on, "as soon as possible, we're going to start your training in a standard fighter, so there shouldn't be any problems for you theoretically as it's more what you're used to, just to ease you back in. I want you to know I don't want to be hard on you. I can understand how you're feeling and what you're worried about but the clock's against us! We need you to get your confidence in yourself back as fast as possible and," he said as he heard a knock at the door. "Come in."
Dr Lam entered.
"We're ready to see General Calling and these are the reports on our two new agents," she said as she handed him the files.
"We're done here. You can go."
Angela followed the doctor to the infirmary.
A few minutes later, she was sitting on a bed with a thermometer in her mouth. Mitchell was keeping her company with an amused look on his face. The doctor took her pulse and blood pressure.
"Breathe in...and out...good, your heart seems to be in good condition and working normally. Let's take a look at your temperature," she said, taking the thermometer, "38.5. That's a little high."
"Yeah, I'm overheating a little at the moment."
"Well, we'll just need to run an ultrasound and an EKG and that should be your heart exam all done," she said as Angela sighed. She had had about enough for one day.
The doctor asked her to lie down to start the exam. The doctor lifted up her patient's top to attach the electrodes. She stopped when she noticed the bandages.
"What are these?" the doctor quizzed Angela.
"Just an injury, it's not important."
"It's opened up since her fight," said Mitchell, "we did the best we could for her. Sam didn't think it was threatening."
Carolyn pulled off the bandage delicately and looked at the wound.
"Stab wound."
"Yes, not a fast one though. Risk of the job," Angela said, grimacing slightly.
"Does that hurt?" Carolyn asked as she pushed on the wound lightly.
"No."
"How about here?" she said, surprised. Angela again answered no, "I'll take care of it later."
Carolyn took a look at the other scars and as she followed the marks they left on Angela's skin, a shudder went through both the young women. It didn't extend far beyond the doctor's fingers, which she perceived mainly as a tingling sensation. She couldn't explain what she was feeling.
"I don't like people touching them," Angela said.
The doctor looked away so no-one could see her troubled reaction. She had been fascinated by the scars, but now she felt horrified and guilty as those injuries weren't just caused by battle.
Several hours and tests later, Angela left the infirmary without major incident. Dr Lam was surprised when Angela had informed her that she wasn't up to date with her jabs. Lam decided not to push her on it, under Mitchell's guidance. When it came time to take a blood sample, Dr Lam came close to the outstretched arm, but the moment the needle touched Angela's skin, the usual crackling energy began to course. Angela sighed. It had been like this since the start .The doctor's ministrations had had a reaction on her patient's skin, leaving a none too pretty brown mark behind.
"How did this happen to you," Lam said, pointing to the scabs.
Angela simply shrugged her shoulders.
"I woke up with them one morning."
"Really?"
"At first it was just redness and then they started to bleed. I just thought it was an allergy."
"Do you know how it might have started?"
"Not exactly..."
"Hmm...what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing really," Angela said a little too quickly.
"I see," the doctor said, getting the impression she wasn't telling the whole truth, "well, I'm just going to take a cell sample just in case."
"No problem, but it's just an allergy."
"I'm sorry, but I just want to be sure and seeing as how your medical file is pretty much empty, I don't have any evidence of this allergy."
"I understand."
"I promise I won't bother you anymore," Lam said as she took her sample, "well, for today anyway. Do you have these anywhere else?"
"Yes, on my left thigh. More or less the same, but even less pretty."
"Good, thank you," Lam said as she made a note of the information, "can I see?"
"Of course," Angela said as she lifted up her wide pants as the doctor prepared another sample tube.
"Well, that really is it this time," Lam said as she closed the tube.
Angela put her clothes back on, got up and left quickly, followed closely by Mitchell.
"I thought she was never going to let me leave."
"She just wants to make sure she doesn't miss anything," Mitchell said.
"Tell me something, do they know about my tumour?"
"Yeah, they know. They noticed it on your scan but..."
"What's the point of all these tests when we all know I'm going to fail and fail with a big fat F," Angela joked as she suddenly stopped, "so why does she want to see me again?"
"For your physical."
"Not much need for that. Everyone on this base can tell you I was jogging for two hours this morning, so I think I'm covered on that front."
"That's not what Jack thinks?"
"What? General O'Neill?"
"No, the other Jack. He said you'd gone soft."
"Remind me to tell him he was wrong. The next time I see him, I'll kill him, then we'll see how soft I've gone," she said. On seeing Mitchell's serious expression, she said. "Alright, maybe just a little, and I mean a little. I just need to stop eating any old thing and I'll get back to normal I think. And the rest is to be expected. I'm getting old and weight doesn't take any prisoners."
"If you say so."
"Speaking of which, I'm starving."
"Let's catch up with the rest of the team."
"No, I'm too hungry!" a few moments later, she said "does he really think I can help you?"
"Who?"
"Jack...uhh, the General."
"Sam and Daniel think so."
"They have more faith in me than I do in myself. Too bad for you I'm the key to solving all your problems. Am I the only one with this gene?" Angela asked.
"The Ancient Gene? No, General O'Neill has it too. It's not that easy, he's already tried to fly the ship but couldn't make it work."
"That's why he's jealous. He's jealous of me, a woman, because I could and he couldn't. I mean, getting the ship to fly."
"I don't think he's jealous. If he is, he doesn't show it...unless you read his..."
"I didn't read anything, I'm just good at reading people's facial expressions. It's sort of my job to know who's lying, who's a hypocrite...Anyway, how come you built a ship when you can't make it fly?" she said, changing the subject.
"It was a gift," Mitchell said simply without going into more detail.
"A deadly gift?"
"A little bit," Mitchell admitted.
"But what does that have to do with me?"
"Huh?" Mitchell was having trouble keeping up with the conversation. The young woman had too many thoughts floating around in her head.
"This is all too much for me," she said, gesturing to the base all around her.
"Except for the fact that you're totally unstable and you have some sort of special powers."
"No, I meant the gene, but thanks for reminding me of my anomalies and..."
"They're not anomalies, I'm sorry if I shocked you. These are gifts you have," he said, thinking he had hurt her.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore, I was only joking. Do you think this is normal?" Angela asked, showing him her hands as they crackled with energy.
"Well, it's part of your charm."
"I don't see how, it makes me run away," Angela said.
"Do John and Jack know?"
"No, I haven't told them anything, even if they're wondering something. I didn't want to relive the experience like I did with Daniel." Angela said simply.
"Did Daniel hurt you? He won't talk to me about it?" Mitchell asked her.
"Well, at least he's honest, he never lied to me."
"What about the others?"
"So what are you going to do? Make everyone play with me?" Angela laughed, "It's all ancient history and I'm not ready to tell my secrets to a man I'm seeing. It's not the kind of thing you say just before your first date. If I'm not careful, I might go up in sparks at any minute and I'm a very excitable woman. It's not the most elegant thing!"
"Speaking of your...gifts, Sam has a theory and as for men, I quite like...quirks, I mean..."
"Which means I'm different, a freakshow, a monster."
"Oh yeah, a horrible monster," Mitchell joked.
"I'm being serious about this," Angela shouted.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"I know, but..." she said, a little more calmly.
"I..."
"No, listen to me. It's just that on the base it's not easy to tell a man I'm a secret agent who risks her life every day and I'm not going to stop doing what I love because of 'love' as well as hiding all the secrets I have, it's...I hate liars and I think when you live with someone, you should tell each other everything. Knowing I have to lie to the man I love to protect him from me just makes me ill. I...and my problems don't do anything to help me sort out my feelings. It's a burden for me to have these...gifts as you call them, a burden I never asked for!"
"I know. I wanted to say I've seen some really strange things from the Ori. They have these devastating powers and they use them," Mitchell said.
"Would I be like these Ori?" Angela said with a worried tone as they arrived at the canteen.
"You don't use your powers to kill, as far as I know. Do you want to control people? Make them slaves?"
"No!"
"Well then, you're not an Ori," Mitchell concluded, taking a plate.
"So, what am I?"
"I don't know, ET's sister," Mitchell said, lightening the mood, "no, I'm just joking," he said, sitting down in front of her. "Sam might have the answer to that question in her theory. Maybe Daniel will as well."
"You said Sam was looking into the question?"
"Yeah, she's worked on the Ancient weapon we used in the battle over Antarctica, when your life got turned upside down. From what I can tell, she checked for anomalies," he said, grimacing as he used the word he hated. He changed the term, "fluctuations. It could be the weapon that caused your...condition."
"Why? Just that?"Angela asked as she forked a piece of potato.
"That's the snag! That's what Sam said, and I know that's surprising coming from her. Anyway, it was O'Neill who fired the weapon. Well, he..."
"He must have 'swallowed' an Ancient encyclopaedia to manage that."
"What, he ate a book!?"
"No! It'd take too long to explain," Mitchell said.
"And you said you were getting bored, Cameron! I wouldn't mind being as bored as you!" Angela joked, giving him a wink. Then her tone became serious once more, "so, he was trying to destroy me?"
"No! I'm sure he wasn't trying to do that deliberately. He doesn't remember any of it."
"You sure he doesn't want to finish the job! Maybe I'll remind him of something he's forgotten."
"I..." Mitchell began.
"Angela!" someone shouted.
Angela turned round to see Sam coming her way.
"You started eating?" Sam said as she caught her breath.
"Yeah," Angela said as she ate her bread.
"So, how was your day?"
"Horrible. I'm just glad Mitchell was here, otherwise it would've been a total disaster! It was horrible and Dr Lam still hasn't finished."
"Just be patient, tomorrow afternoon it'll all be over," turning towards Mitchell, she added, "we need to go look for Vala after tomorrow. Generals O'Neill and Landry absolutely want her to be there."
"Who's Vala?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," someone said from behind Mitchell. It was Daniel. "How was your morning?"
"Great!"
Mitchell and Sam both smiled.
That evening, SG1, Dr Lam and Mr Woolsey were waiting in the briefing room,
Woolsey had still not recovered from his interview with Angela. O'Neill came in and sat down.
"Well, I hope you have some good news for me. And yes, I'm changing the rules today because I'm only accepting good news and I don't want to hear about the rest. Let's leave that for another day."
"Well, I'm afraid I don't have any good news," Woolsey answered, "I've already voiced my opinions to you."
"You never have good news. Come on, make an effort. No? Well, too bad for you. I was giving you the chance to make up for all the other times. You know, I think that's one thing we actually agree on."
"Yes, but I do have something to add. I've just learned that this woman has been lying!"
"What?" Everyone was shocked.
"What do you mean?"
"She's done nothing but lie to us."
"Are you sure she wasn't playing with you?" Daniel asked.
"Maybe so, but the lie detector didn't show anything."
"Sure, so if it didn't detect anything, then she was telling the truth. But those things aren't 100% accurate."
"No. I corroborated several points, such as her name...none of it was true and..."
"There must be some mistake," Sam began to say.
"I am afraid not. We used an Asgard lie detector device," Teal'c said.
"That's usually reliable," Sam agreed as she looked at him.
"Carter, isn't it possible that this lie detector just doesn't work on her?" O'Neill asked. On seeing Sam's questioning look, he continued, "she must have been trained to cope under interrogation and not reveal anything," he said.
"I don't think we should trust her. She's shown she's capable of twisting the truth," Woolsey said, "what's more, she doesn't seem to trust us. She's holding things back."
"Well I trust her," Mitchell said.
The others agreed.
"She hasn't exactly denied the fact that she's resorted to murder in the past to achieve her goals," Woolsey added, grimacing.
"She just wanted to scare you and it obviously worked," Daniel said.
"Do you have another idea?" O'Neill asked Woolsey.
"No, I..."
"So tell me what's really getting to you. We've already talked about this and we both agreed, so what's changed?" Jack asked, getting straight to the point.
"Her conditions."
"Yeah, we know she has certain conditions and need I remind you, we're prepared to accept them."
"Then you clearly don't know what she's asked of us. Your...supporters find it unacceptable."
"You are referring to those who often obstruct us," said Teal'c.
"I'm referring to the people who provide significant investment, but yes, they don't agree with you."
"What...?"
"She's demanded that whatever we find be used solely against the Ori."
"That seems reasonable to me," Daniel said.
"Can you imagine if the United States had a weapon like that to use against our enemies, we..."
"We'd be unstoppable but I think that's exactly what Angela is looking to avoid. She probably thinks we're not capable of possessing and controlling a weapon like that and she's right," Daniel said.
"She wants it destroyed."
"I'm sorry Daniel but he's right. A weapon like that could give us a huge leg up in advanced weaponry which could help us fight the Ori and the Wraith. It would be a shame to destroy it," O'Neill said.
"What if we formed a sort of council that could decide whether or not the weapon should be used depending on the situation?" Mitchell suggested.
"She'll just say that power corrupts," Daniel said.
"What if we ask her to guard it?" Sam said.
"She'll never do that!" Daniel said.
"He's right. Everyone's attracted to power, even her. There's nothing she can do to resist that. And anyway, she won't live long enough to guard it," said Daniel.
"You know the situation we're facing, Woolsey. We'll talk to her about it, maybe we can change her mind. We have to accept her conditions," O'Neill said as the rest of SG1 concurred. "And as for the lie detector, that might be an asset we can use against our enemies and that's what I'm interested in at the moment," he said as he turned towards Dr Lam, "what's your opinion, Doctor?"
"As Daniel pointed out, she doesn't have much longer to live in her present condition. Her reports are negative, her heart rate is elevated," she said as she read her notes, "several cardiac arrests, her lungs..."
"Cut to the chase," O'Neill said impatiently.
"She's in no fit state to 'travel', Sir."
"What, still?"
"It's a miracle she's still alive. Her brain tumour is at the final stage of metastasis and somehow it's still localised. I don't know why but it hasn't spread any further. Normally once cancerous cells cross the haemato-encephalic barrier, they can spread to the whole brain. After that, it's easy for the tumour to propagate itself throughout the whole body. In Angela's case, that's not happening and so I can't say it's a typical cancer. Quite the opposite actually, her brain activity is higher than average."
"Well, she's an intelligent woman and her job requires her to think and adapt..." Sam started to say.
"Just take a look at this...," Carolyn said as she searched for a sheet of paper in her file, "here," she said, handing it to Sam.
"You calculated her brain activity?"
"Yes."
"It's off the chart!"
"And that's at rest."
"Really? That's at rest?"
"This is when it's active," she said, handing her another sheet of paper, "with memory tests. Compare that with the results of a normal activity."
"Will somebody tell me what's going on?" O'Neill said impatiently.
"Well, Sir," she said, choosing her words carefully, "she has a resting brain capacity of 18 and an active capacity of 32," Sam said.
"As opposed to the normal rates of 5 and 12," said the Doctor.
"So, you're saying she uses more of her brain than Carter does, which I'm sure is around 12?" O'Neill said, happy he'd understood the conversation.
"Yes, humans only use a small amount of their mental capacity. We know that over the course of their existence, the Ancients used more and more of their unused capacity until they achieved ascension," Daniel commented.
"Which means that...," Woolsey said.
"That she's closer to the Ancients than we are , like having an excellent memory and incredible reflexes, which partly explains her gifts," said Daniel, talking more to himself than the others.
"But, what's really strange is her health. We know that given enough time, the Ancients could acquire the ability to heal disease and injuries," Sam said, "and, that they had healthy bodies. From what the team on Atlantis discovered, they're usually in good health."
"But she's not. Far from it in fact. And you haven't seen all her scars," said Dr Lam.
"What about her DNA," Daniel said as he emerged from his thought process.
"I'm sorry," said the Doctor.
"You analysed her DNA, right?"
"Yeah, we did it when she was working with us," Sam said, "that was how we found out she had the Ancient gene."
"Actually, I was just getting to that," said the doctor, "she has far more genes than other people. By comparison, General, you possess an inferior portion of 1 Ancient gene, no offence. Angela has around 20. In your case, the gene is located at precise points on certain localised chromosomes. In General Calling's case, it's completely random in all her chromosomes which has led to errors as if..."
"As if someone had started or tried to re-write her DNA," Sam finished, "but that's impossible. The Asgard tried to alter their genetic makeup to halt their genetic regression, using the General's as a template which caused even more mutations and eventual death."
"So...?" Mitchell asked.
"General," Sam said, turning towards O'Neill and choosing her words with care, "you may have unleashed something in the Battle over Antarctica. The weapon didn't have any effect on Mitchell, but it had a profound impact on Angela. Who knows what you did or might have done at that moment? From what I can see, the job was unfinished and didn't work out the way it was meant to. You weren't aware of what you were doing. We'd need to study the basis of the Ancients' gifts and I've already find some anomalies in the Ancients' genetics," Sam said.
"Merlin spoke about that," Daniel reflected.
"About what? His soul?" Mitchell said.
"No, not just that. He said that a human who had the kind of power the Atlanteans had would be unstoppable as someone like that would have feelings like love and anger..., and these would keep them on the right path: ascension and break through the limits like destruction. These were feelings the Ancients didn't have, which would make humans much more dangerous. Merlin also wanted the Ancients to participate and help humans to flourish and help them ascend. That's why he re-took human form. He wanted both races to mix and he said that "this mixing" would create a new race more capable of defending itself. But, the new generation might be surpassed quickly if they acquired their powers too fast in their lifetime, so he created a weapon capable of destroying higher beings. He thought these people could be dangerous if they didn't learn what it took to possess this superior power, something they would only get with age, wisdom and a lot of meditation," Daniel said.
"But Angela's not old or wise," O'Neill joked.
"He's right, if Angela let go and didn't control her fears, her anger...she could cause a disaster," Mitchell said.
"Things that the Ancients could never do. They could never have taken up arms and attacked anyone. They only acted in self defence. Humans are capable of killing and destroying, but very few Ancients were like that. Anyway, what Merlin wanted never happened; the Ancients never involved themselves completely in human affairs and he abandoned his weapon and the rest of his research.
Others decided to make humans worship them and that's what led to the Ori. So, Merlin continued his research in secret. But, the others learned what he was planning and sent Morgan le Fay to stop Merlin and destroy the weapon. She left us plenty of clues that she didn't destroy, so people could still find his research."
"And that's what helped us find Merlin frozen and half-dead," said O'Neill, "but I don't get what you're saying. That weapon is unfinished and ineffective. Right now all it lets you do is pass from one dimension to another."
"Yes, we only have a part of the weapon, but maybe on this planet we'll find what we need to finish it. Maybe it's a sign that the planet can't be reached by stargate."
"Like the Saint Graal," Sam said, "Baal said that the planet wasn't in its normal position in the solar system because Morgan changed it to make it so you could only access it through the stargate," she commented, "and we changed planet pretty frequently. The fact that the gate is blocked in this case might be a security measure so that this planet is only accessible from space."
"Morgan was smart, she planned for all of this. She proved that when she stopped the Ori's powers. It's possible she's testing our abilities again."
"Great! Like we didn't have enough mysteries already," Mitchell said.
"I think we're getting off track here," Jack interrupted, "all I know id we have to go to this crazy planet and we'll see where that leads. Now, let's get back to what we were talking about. What were we talking about?"
No-one responded.
"I think we were saying that you tried to kill her by modifying her DNA," Daniel said, frustrated at having been interrupted.
"Which shows she didn't have these genes before and her brain capacity wasn't the same as it is today," said O'Neill in his defence.
"No, not at all. The people around her never noticed these abilities before and her passion for numbers and quantum physics is a recent development. It was all Greek to her before," Sam said.
"Really?" Mitchell said.
"In any case, we're interested in her situation," Woolsey murmured as he came out of a long silence.
"What? I hope you're not going where I think you're going! You want to make her a lab rat! That would be a great study!" Mitchell said angrily.
"But just think about it! Studying her condition could give us an advantage over all our enemies! Anyway, it won't be you making the decision and your opinion won't be asked for. She's going to be studied whether you like it or not, but we'll see about that after this mission, providing she survives, of course." With that he stood up and left.
Once Woolsey had gone:
"He won't do it," Daniel said, looking at O'Neill.
"Oh he's just got an idea in his head, that's for sure, but I'm sure we can count on the fact that Angela won't let him get away with anything and we can help her when the time comes. We could always hide her on another planet; the galaxy's a big place."
"I think she'd enjoy that," Mitchell joked.
"Well, I think we're done here. The meeting's over," said O'Neill.
"I just wanted to add a few more things. I'd like Angela to see a psychologist," said Dr Lam.
"What? She did that already!"
"I want a second opinion. I think she's had some pretty traumatic experiences."
"And what makes you think that?" Daniel asked.
The doctor looked to catch Mitchell's eyes, but he avoided her glance. She went looking for some things in her folder and pulled out a few photos which she passed to the others.
"What's this?" Sam asked as she picked up a photo.
"They're marks caused by burning and other things as well as scars...," the doctor answered.
"Traces of torture," Teal'c said simply.
"Yes, I think she at least could have acquired them on her missions and it's clear she's not all there, which we saw with the stab wound."
"Teal'c," said O'Neill, "you seem to recognise these signs, what's your take?"
"Indeed. I believe that the marks on her forearms are caused by cigarette burns..."
"Short version, Teal'c! I don't need all the details."
"Some of these wounds are old, but I can confirm that she was indeed tortured."
"That's what I thought. That might have caused a mental imbalance marked by occasional violent reactions," Dr Lam said, still fixing her gaze on Mitchell who was looking at the photos.
"Torture," Mitchell whispered under his breath.
"What has she gone through?" Sam thought.
Flashback
Dr Lam arrived in the patients area where Mitchell and Angela were waiting. They had spent a good part of that day in there.
"She's just dozed off," said Mitchell.
"It's been a long journey for her and these tests are tiring," the doctor said as she put a clipboard next to the bed, "but we're done for today."
"I'd like you to take another look at her injury."
"Sure, why not. I need to clean it anyway," she said, going to find bandages, gauze and disinfectant.
As she approached the bed to prepare her patient, she lifted up Angela's top to remove the bandage. A hand stopped her in her tracks and startled the doctor.
"What are you doing?"
"Angela, you scared me. Sorry if I woke you."
"It's alright, Angela. She just wants to take another look at your injury," said Mitchell soothingly.
Angela relaxed her grip and as she did, the doctor felt a pain in her fingertips.
End of flashback
"You surprised her," Mitchell said.
"And the shrink said she was alright and didn't notice anything unusual about her behaviour," O'Neill said.
"On the surface, yes! But she has been tortured and I want to make sure that the damage wasn't just physical."
"I'll see what I can do. She made the last shrink run," said O'Neill as he stood up and went back to his office.
The meeting hadn't gone badly, thought Jack. Woolsey didn't speak too much. Everything went well. Well, almost. There was a bad feeling that he just hadn't been able to shake since Carter had unfairly accused him of trying to modify the young woman's DNA. He felt bad around her. Very bad. He couldn't remember a thing, nothing except a migraine. Thinking back on it, he felt a sense of joy. That's weird. It wasn't the best time to be laughing and happy. He wasn't only happy he'd destroyed Anubis' fleet. Of course, he had been happy at the time but it was more than that. There was something else. What?. He didn't know but now that he thought about it: it wasn't anything to do with the battle. What could he have done? What was making him uneasy was the fact that he found it wrong to be feeling joy in those circumstances. Those good feelings were linked to some ...important discovery, he thought. Not the Ancient chair. He had found something about the Atlanteans that they had been waiting to find out. But what? He didn't know yet. It was frustrating but it was definitely something important. He certainly couldn't understand the subtlety of this finding at the moment as he had lost all the knowledge he gained about the Ancients just after the battle. There was nothing good about this story. He had agreed to come out of retirement again to help SG1 but this time he had a bad feeling about it. Things were even more complicated than usual. When General Landry had suggested he replace him in his post on a temporary basis, he started laughing. They were in the same position they had been in three years previously, but this time the roles were reversed. He actually preferred the first role, the one in which he was asking Landry to replace him. This time round it was Landry who was asking O'Neill to replace him. In doing this, he exposed his plan. In fact, Landry wanted to become a permanent member on the Ankara site to represent the T'auri in organising galactic defence while O'Neill and his old team looked for the weapon. At the beginning, the plan looked easy. It certainly seemed simple enough and it was a good one but, little by little, it all grew more complex on both sides. On one hand, relations between the Jaffa and Earth were hardly going well and, on the other, they weren't getting better fast enough for his taste.
He emerged from his thoughts, yawned and took a file from a stack to his left. As well as his office, Landry had left behind a ton of mission reports, so boring he hadn't missed them nearly as much as the missions themselves.
End of chapter