I hope everyone is enjoying the new/old story. Please keep reading and reviewing.
A special shout out to Badkidoh who was not only the first to send a review for this rewrite but has consistently written reviews and kept me motivated to continue drafting the original story as well as giving some great suggestions for later chapters, Thanks!
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Sam had finally dragged her butt to her base quarters at almost one am escorted by Col. O'Neill. It had been such an exhausting day, and she had not gotten much done since she was tied to a computer for most of it. By the time she showered and crawled into bed it was just after one am. Regardless of how tired she was, she was not the type of person to fall into bed and be instantly asleep. She needed time for her mind to decide it was ready for a break regardless of how physically drained she was. So, to say that she was not happy to be woken up a few hours later by a ringing phone was an understatement.
She turned toward the sound that had disturbed her sleep and fumbled for the phone in the pitch black of her base quarters. There was only two sources of light in the room, the red numbers on the alarm clock and the thin strip coming from under the door leading out to the hallway. She could have easily slept with the bathroom light on or added a nightlight like some people did, but she enjoyed sleeping in the cool darkness. She grabbed the phone from the nightstand next to her bed and almost knocked it off in her haste to answer it just to shut it up. She glared at the bedside clock that read 5:32. "Carter" she growled into the phone. She had only had three hours of sleep and was regretting not stopping the experiment early as Colonel O'Neill tried to get her to do, on on some level wishing she had not started it at all. Oh well, it's not like she had never run on less than a few hours of sleep before. Expecting to hear Sgt. Siler on the other end with a gate problem, she was surprised to hear Sgt. Harriman instead. Maybe Siler was injured again, seemed to happen every week or so.
"Maj. it's Sgt. Harriman, the General has scheduled a briefing for 0600 and your presence is required. Colonel O'Neill is on his way down, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c are already here." He reported the location of the team knowing that she would want to know how much time she had.
Sam sat up in bed, her heart racing." Is there a problem with one of the teams off-world?" She was now completely awake and moving around dark the room with practiced ease. SG1 was often times sent on rescue missions when it was really bad, and sometimes just when they needed Daniel to clear up a cultural misunderstanding. She needed a shot of caffeine to wake up properly, but a surprise brief this early in the morning usually meant something bad.
"No Major, there are only two teams off world right now and they both made their regular check in yesterday. Neither of them reported any problems. General Hammond asked that I get messages to you and your team in the conference room at 0600. He has been in his office for the last hour." He relayed the message he was given. "Okay, thanks Sgt. I'm on my way." Sam hung up the phone. She finished getting dressed and splashed some water on her face, grateful that she had taken the time to shower before she went to bed. She brushed her teeth and put on some deodorant and was ready to go. She grabbed the green BDU Jacket off of the hanger next to the door and was still in the process of putting it on as she walked out of her room. She was happy that the Colonel had not put a guard on the door to her room because explaining why she was leaving against orders would have given her less time to go and grab a cup of coffee. As she rounded the corner, she bumped into the very person she had just been thinking about.
"Sir!" she said in surprise "I'm sorry." She had been distracted not only by her thoughts, but the fact that she had just finished buttoning her top. "No need Carter, just coming by to make sure you got your wake-up call. You headed down?" She hated how alert he appeared since she knew that he had gotten even less sleep than she had given he had driven home. He had not been kidding about waiting in her lab until the end of the experiment and escorting her to her quarters. He pretty much gave her the silent treatment the whole way and plainly informed her of what would happen if he found out that she went back to her lab.
"Yes sir, but only to level twenty 24, I still have a few minutes to get a cup of coffee from the mess, you want any?" One of the things she liked about her commanding officer was that he didn't hold a grudge. It was as if the previous night was forgotten, and everything was back to normal. She never had to wonder where she stood with him. It was a refreshing change from earlier commanders she had worked for, where a small mistake had you walking on eggshells for weeks. Having to watch every word you said all the time was exhausting.
"Naw Carter, I can grab a cup in the briefing room." He frowned. "As a matter of fact, you can as well." He knew that she didn't drink that coffee, and he even knew why. Didn't mean he couldn't give her a hard time about it though, frankly he was too tired to try to come up with something else to give her a hard time about. She once tried to convince him that what she got from the mess hall was better. But he had been in the military for so long that coffee all tasted the same to him. He could drink it hot or cold, fresh, or old, it didn't matter. For him it was not about the taste so much as just the jolt of caffeine he needed to start his day, or in some cases just to get to the end of a long night of watch.
"That is not coffee sir!" She said, having had this discussion before. "And what is there has most likely been there for hours already." Sam swiped her card at the elevator before turning to the colonel to continue their conversation. "Any idea what this is about? Thought the mission was for 0800?"
"Wow, talk about a quick change of subject, and no, I have no idea. I was just told to get my six up to the briefing, but not why." He looked at her and grinned. Deciding to return to their original topic, "I am so going to tell Sgt. Harriman what you think about his coffee, he may not talk to you for a week. You know how he likes to stay on top of stuff like that." He mentally patted himself on the back, this was not a threat he had made before. Knowing that it was not something she would ever expect, he was eager to hear her reaction. The doors to the elevator opened and they both stepped in as well as an airman who had walked up that the last second. The colonel pushed the buttons for their respective floors. "What floor airman?"
"25 Sir, Thank you." The airman faced forward and did his best to ignore the bantering between the two respected officers. This was a common occurrence around the base. This was not his first duty station, but he had to admit that it was by far the best. Not just because of the work that they did, but because of the people that they had the privilege of working for. They were very approachable regardless of the situation and usually funny to listen to when they were in a mood, which it appeared they were today. He continued to face forward hoping that he would get to hear the whole conversation before he had to get off the elevator.
"Sir, that's not fair. You know the mess keeps a special blend of coffee for Daniel and me. We take turns bringing it in. Besides you would do nothing but hurt his feelings and in the grand scheme of things is that really necessary?" She tried the guilty argument first. When that didn't get her anything except an amused look, she decided a different direction would be necessary. "But, if you must you must." she said with a resigned tone. "Just keep in mind I know all sorts of thing that could get you in trouble with him as well sir. Take memos for example." She refused to look at him.
Colonel O'Neill feigned a look of terror, knowing she could see his reflection in the doors of the elevator. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would," she paused briefly "sir!" In situations such as this one he knew that the honorific was only used as a reminder and was not in fact a show of respect. "Unless you would like to revisit the discussion of the coffee." Again, she halted briefly before adding, "Sir!" Sam looked up at him and tried to act innocent.
"You wouldn't be trying to bribe a superior officer now would you Carter?" He smirked at her, placing his hands on his hips. The elevator came to a stop on her floor and dinged. "Saved by the bell huh, sir. So do we have a deal?" Sam needed to know if she was going to have to do damage control the next time, she saw the Sargent.
"Yes, Carter we have a deal; and you have exactly fourteen minutes to get your coffee and make it to the briefing room. I'll see you there." She stepped off the elevator on level 24, her long legs taking her swiftly to the mess hall.
A few minutes later Jack walked into the briefing room with the usual bounce to his step he had following a good session of bantering with his Major and headed over to the standard issue coffee setup along the wall. "Good morning Teal'c. Danny here yet?" He needed to remember that she was not his Major. She belonged to the Air Force, or that's what he had to tell himself all of the time.
"Good morning O'Neill, DanielJackson is indeed here, I believe he has gone to get coffee before the meeting." Teal'c stood next to the large window looking out at the stargate.
"Any idea what's going on big guy?" Jack asked as he carried his coffee to the table and took his seat. Apparently, Daniel shared Carters opinion on the coffee in the briefing room. He glanced at his cup and took a sip. Yep, tasted fine to him. "None." Teal'c stoically replied still looking out at the gate. "Ya, didn't think so." Jacked leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes He knew that Teal'c was not one for small talk, so he decided to enjoy the quiet of the morning knowing that the rest of the team would be there any minute. Jack glanced at the clock on the wall as he heard Daniel and Carter. Ah, right on time, meaning five minutes early.
"I'm telling you Sam; I really need to get the pictures of the writing on the artifact before the boys at area 51 get their hands on it and we don't see it again for months. I was going to translate straight from the artifact when we got back from the planet. I had hoped that this mission would give me some context and a place to start, but looks like something else came up, so I don't think that is likely to happen now."
"I know Daniel, can you take them in my office? I still have a few diagnostics I need to run after we are done here." Both Daniel and Sam walked into the briefing room carrying huge cups of coffee. They were so large in fact that Jack was sure the mess hall kept them on hand just for his two coffee junkies. They took their respective seats while continuing the conversation.
"What have you been able to figure out so far Sam?" Daniel had not had a chance to do more than look at the artifact since they brought it back from P4X-385 a week ago. The writing was completely unfamiliar, and he had not been able to read it at first glance. The last time that happened was the planet that Ernest Littlefield had been stranded on. Most of the languages that they encountered had some link back to Earth. His hope was that the trip back to the planet would give him a frame of reference or at least an idea of where to start deciphering the writing, and maybe a new civilization that was not originally linked to Earth in which to learn from.
"Nothing yet. I ran a diagnostic yesterday and it was giving off massive amounts of power before I even turned it on. The fluctuations were a bit concerning because of the power spikes and the raw power potential, but it was so late when it finished though that I didn't get the chance to look at the test results, I was kind of ran out of my lab." She sent a meaningful look at the Col. "I had planned on doing that before we left for our mission this morning."
"Good morning SG1." General Hammond said as he came out of his office and took his seat a few minutes before 0600. His early appearance left no option for Jack to respond to Sam's claims of wanting to return to her lab this morning.
"Good morning, General," Jack asked getting down to business. "What's going on?"
"Let's get to it then. First, your mission this morning has been postponed for the foreseeable future." He held up is hand in an effort to stop the argument he knew would be coming from Daniel. "But Sir…" Daniel started to voice his displeasure at being put off for a mission that was a requirement for him to be able to translate the new language. Languages were to Daniel what technology was to Sam. But he was also primarily an archaeologist, so for him to sift through the ruins of the city on another planet was the highlight of his time at the SGC.
"Son let me finish." Even expecting the interruption it still grated on his nerves. "At 0430 this morning I was contacted by Thor. All he would tell me was that he had some rather important information to share and would be here…" In a blinding flash of white light Thor appeared sitting in his chair at the other end of the table. "Now." General Hammond glanced at the clock. It read exactly 0600.
"Thor buddy, how are you doing? It's been awhile." Jack smiled at the little alien. Of all their allies, Thor was by far his favorite and in his opinion the least complicated of their allies.
"It has indeed been awhile O'Neill. I am doing well." Thor addressed Jack with a nod of his head and then turned his attention to starting the meeting he had requested. "General, I have shielded the area from any possible outside surveillance. I feel that this information is not something you all would want to get into the wrong hands." Thor finished his explanation right as the phone in the briefing room started ringing. Sam got out of her chair and answered it. To no one's surprise it was base security informing them that the security cameras were no longer running in the briefing room or General Hammonds office.
"Just make a note in the log that Commander Thor has arrived on base and requested a closed meeting, the cameras will be out until he leaves." She hesitated for a minute. "No there is nothing wrong that you can fix. They will start up on their own when we get done." She hung up the phone and returned to her seat at the table next to Daniel.
"What's going on Thor? You have never disable surveillance before, this must be really serious for you to take these measures." Sam said.
"Ya, I have a feeling we are not going to like where this conversation goes are we?" Jack asked. This was not the first time Thor had visited to pass them some information or ask for help, but it was the first time he had basically cut them off from everyone in the mountain to pass along said information. "Is some bad guy coming to wipe out the planet again and you are here to warn us? I don't think we have made any new enemies. Have we?"
"Not that I am aware of Sir." Sam replied. "Just Anubis, and we already know he will be here eventually."
"No Jack, just the same old ones."
"I too know of no other enemy's that plan to 'wipe us out' O'Neill."
"See Thor, no new bad guys. At least that we know of." Jack said with a satisfied tone. General Hammond felt like he was watching a ping pong match trying to follow the conversation. "Okay people, let's keep it together so we can find out what information he has for us."
"No O'Neill, there is no impending doom that I am aware of. I bring information of Loki." Thor responded with a glance in Sam's direction.
Jack sat up in his chair giving Thor his immediate attention. "What?" Apparently he was no longer in a joking mood. He was sounding both pissed and concerned at the same time. "Didn't get out, did he? Around here doing more unsanctioned experiments on humans?" Jack asked.
"No O'Neill, Loki is still a prisoner on our home world." Thor began to explain his reason for making contact. "After returning Loki for his trial and subsequent conviction, I requested to be put in charge of breaking the encryption that he had used to safeguard his research. The High Council agreed. Thirty-three days ago, we were finally able to break the primary encryption. My main interest were any and all files pertaining to you O'Neill. I wanted to know if there were further experiments conducted on you, and if so, fix any damage Loki may have caused. "
"Okay, your here, so clearly you found something, so just cut to the chase Thor! The suspense is killing me."
"Other than an unknown minor addition to your genetic make-up we have found nothing. Our scientist are attempting to discover the reason for the change, but so far, they have no theories."
"Wait, so you came all this way and did all of this just to tell Jack that he as nothing to worry about?"
"Actually, there was one file specific to O'Neill but it appears that what ever he did was either unsuccessful or we were able to apprehend him before he could implement the changes. The science team is attempting to decipher what it was exactly Loki was attempting to do and how far into the process he had gotten before he was captured. But that information was not the reason for my visit Dr. Jackson. I would prefer to discuss that matter when I have more data to provide. However, last night I was given information that was a great cause for concern. As far as anyone is concerned, I am merely out on a test flight of the new ship. I am here without the High Council's knowledge or permission. I am here because of the files we found in connection with yours, designation exp4824963 related to Maj. Carter."
At this unexpected announcement Sam sat up in her seat. "Wait. He had files on me? What did he do Thor? Like Col. O'Neill said, it must be bad if you dropped everything to come here." Sam didn't know if she should be angry that one of their allies had done experiments on her at all, or terrified of what it was that Loki could have possibly done. "Don't get me wrong, I understand Loki's fascination with Col. O'Neill given that he was able to make use of the Ancient information downloaded in his brain, but what interest could he possibly have in me?"
"Wait, did you say files?" Daniel wanted to know. Leave it to Daniel to notice the nuances of the wording.
"You are not in any danger Maj. Carter. Before I disclose what was in the file, there was indeed another file, Dr. Jackson. The second file. Exp5394. This file referred to someone named Helen Magnus. The file didn't have much information about her, mostly the experiments Loki conducted." Thor stopped for a minute to let them digest the information.
"So, you're telling me that Loki experimented on Maj. Carter and some an unknown woman and that their files were attached to Colonel O'Neill? Why?" The General demanded looking at his two best officers with concern. He remembered how disastrous the situation was the last time they dealt with Loki and Jacks' subsequent cloning. He was uneasy about any experiments done on Sam, expecially if they were connected to Jack. He really hoped that whatever it was they would be able to manage the fallout from it.
"I have not been able to read the entire file General, it is rather extensive. This is what I am aware of. In 1971 Loki spent an extensive amount of time studying humans. The procedures were done in an attempt to locate something that could help with our cloning issues. Sadly, these were sanctioned experiments by the High Council. He had strict orders from the High Council, none of the procedures were to be invasive and he was not allowed to harm the subject in a lasting manner. The experiments he did on Helen Magnus, however, at least from what I can tell, were never sent back to the High Council in any of his reports. His original experiment on Helen Magnus was the same as he did with you O'Neill. According to his notes, she was just a random individual that was chosen for no discernible reason. However, he found an anomaly in her DNA that he was unable to explain nor replicate in the time frame he had been given for his research." Thor paused for a second to let the information sink in. "According to his personal notes, he returned home unsuccessful in finding anything useful. After a period of time, unknown to anyone, he returned to Earth. He thought that this anomaly may be the key to unlocking our problems with the cloning process as it was something no other human he had previously encountered had. But he needed more time to see how this anomaly would evolve, so he came up with a plan." Everyone waited for Thor to continue. "His first idea was to just clone her physical body and use it for testing as needed. With no higher brain function he would be able to take samples to study any time he wanted. According to his research, he was not able to determine what the abnormality did, let alone how to replicate it. So, he destroyed the clone and went back to the original subject with a different theory." He paused for a minute while he decided the best way to continue the story. He had continued to read the files during the flight from his home world to Earth and by the time he had gotten most of the way through he was sickened by what he was reading.
"Just spit it out Thor so we can figure out how to fix it." Jack said in exasperation.
"Unfortunately, O'Neill, I don't think there is any way to fix this." He said sadly. "He took several of her eggs and engineered a child that would carry the abnormality, giving it more time to evolve. She would be an exact physical copy of the original test subject."
Everyone at the table sat in stunned silence.
"What are you saying Thor?" The General wanted to know.
"Maj. Carter is a clone of this other woman in the file." Thor elaborated. "It appears that since he was unable to replicate the anomaly in Helen Magnus's DNA, he tried to incorporate the existing sequence through genetic manipulation."
"Thor that's not possible! I have memories of growing up, I have pictures of my mom holding me in the hospital after I was born. It's just not possible." Sam denied with a shake of her head.
"She's right Thor, I was at the hospital when she was born." Hammond interjected. "I'm her godfather for crying out loud!"
"You're not wrong General, Maj. Carter. You were indeed born, and your parents really are your parents, just without the biological connection you would see in a normal human child. You share a small part of your birth mother's DNA, but just enough to make sure the pregnancy would be viable. As far as your parents would have known was a normal pregnancy, and you are their child. Loki made nine attempts at creating a clone in an incubator before he came to the conclusion, he was missing a major component to the process."
"A woman to carry the baby to term." Daniel interjected for the second time since the meeting started.
"You are correct Dr. Jackson. The first nine trials ended in failure within the first three months. He concluded that without a human host it would not work. Your parents were chosen very specifically Maj. Carter. He needed to find someone with a compatible blood type so her body would not reject the altered embryo. He made three more attempts before he was successful. After the first three failures, all happening within weeks of implantation, he figured out that he needed to incorporate a small amount of your mother's DNA into the embryo so that it was not rejected by her body. He was successful Maj. Carter; and you were born nine months later, a perfect physical copy of Helen Magnus, to include the anomaly in her DNA, which has had more time to evolve in you."
