lightgambit

The Light Gambit
By
Denise

Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

SG-1 returned to the SGC remarkably in one piece. "Defense teams stand down," General Hammond ordered, visually scanning the quartet before him. Doctor Daniel Jackson was chatting with Major Samantha Carter as they both handed their weapons over to the arms master, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Teal'c following suit.

The portly general entered the gateroom. "How was your mission, colonel?" The man asked, his words casual but his voice full of meaning. His premiere team had had a rough time of late, alien and terrestrial machinations and plots pushing them nearly to their breaking point. As if the pressures of the goa'uld situation weren't enough, now the SGC was finding itself an unwitting pawn in a game of political intrigue. There were days when George had no idea who to trust.

"Peachy, sir. Friendly natives, no snake heads…all in all, a nice, boring trip," Jack responded handing his rifle to the sargent.

"I'm glad to hear that, colonel." We'll debrief in the morning," Hammond said, noting the tired expressions on the team's faces.

Sam handed her samples over to Siler and gladly followed the rest of her team from the room, incredibly grateful that the general had delayed the briefing. Right now, she was so tired she feared that she'd doze off and drool on the table.

"We called it last time. You want infirmary or showers first?" He asked, reviving their long-standing custom. As long as none of them came back needing immediate medical attention, they took turns calling dibs on the showers or infirmary.

Both had their advantages. If the debriefing wasn't immediate, once a person cleared medical they could go home, but there were also those nice sandy planets where all you wanted to do was wash the dirt and grit off your body. Sam was dying for a nice hot shower, but if she cleared medical she could go home, where her bathtub waited for her.

She reached out and hit the button for level 21. "Shower's all yours, sir," she replied with a small smile.

"That's probably a good thing," Jack quipped taking an obvious step away from Daniel.

"Daniel, the doc might like you, but not that much." Sam choked back a grin at the indignant look on her friend's face.

"I was not going to say anything," the Jaffa said, stepping aside so Sam could exit the elevator.

"Why don't you ask the colonel about the…. What was it called, Teal'c?" She asked, taking sympathy on her friend.

"The creature was called La'taka," the Jaffa answered, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Ask him HOW he got sprayed," Sam suggested as the doors closed. Chuckling under her breath and knowing she'd have to pay for it later, Sam made her way to the infirmary. She'd have to press Teal'c for the details. She knew from experience that tenacious was Daniel's middle name. He literally wouldn't give up until he wormed the whole story out of the colonel. She entered the large room her eyes seeking out Doctor Fraiser.

"Sam. Hi. You guys are back?" the petite brunette woman asked, setting down the chart she was reading and crossing towards her friend.

"I let them have it. We don't debrief until tomorrow," she explained shrugging out of her jacket as Janet pulled the curtains closed. The doctor proceeded with the examination noting the dark circles under her friend's eyes, the slight slump in her shoulders.

"Still having trouble sleeping?" Sam stared at her feet, not responding. "Sam, you can't keep going on like this."

"It's hard when you're surrounded by three guys 24/7," Sam said wryly referring to the solicitous attitude of her teammates. Ever since they'd rescued her in Seattle, they'd been supportive. The general and the colonel had both pretty much granted her anything she requested. And she couldn't help but notice that not a day of downtime went by without Daniel calling just to chat. Even Teal'c had gotten into the act, not moving far from her side when they were off world.

She appreciated their concern, really she did. But they didn't understand that there were times when she just wanted to be alone.

"Sam, I know for a fact that the colonel had some trouble after Hathor's goa'uld, and that Teal'c had nightmares after you guys got him back from Heru'ur. And Daniel and I both had problems after Machello's goa'uld killers. There's nothing wrong with having bad dreams; in fact it's normal. I'd be worried if you never had a nightmare. You know there's nothing wrong with asking for help."

Sam sighed and looked at her friend. "Janet, you know as well as I do that's not an option. Having me crack up and talk to Mackenzie is just what people are waiting for. They'd love nothing more than to have one or all of us grounded," she said referring to whoever was pulling Simmons' strings. A mystery person whose actions had made it clear that there were crocodiles lurking in the shallows just waiting for one careless moment so they could pounce.

Janet nodded. "You're right. As much as I don't want to admit it. But who says you have to go to Mackenzie? Why don't you talk to one of the guys?"

"Janet, don't get me wrong, they've been great but…as clingy as they are now do you have any idea how bad it'll get if I talk to them? Look, honestly, I'll be ok," she promised.

"I'll tell you what. You said your briefing isn't until tomorrow. So why don't you take a nap? I can even give you a mild sedative if you want," the doctor offered, drawing some blood for the normal post gate tests.

Sam shook her head. "Yes on the nap, no on the drugs. But if I still can't sleep I'll try them tomorrow night."

"It's a deal. I'll send Randi over with your inoculations and then you can go." Janet looked at her watch. "The guys should be showing up any time now."

Jack strode down the corridor, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. He'd gotten Daniel and Teal'c to agree to a night out, now all he had to do was convince one reluctant and slightly anti-social major that it wouldn't hurt her to come as well. It was the least he could do to repay her for spilling the beans to Daniel.
He knew she'd been under a lot of stress lately, heck they all had. And while a dinner out and maybe a movie wouldn't cure all their ills, it sure couldn't hurt. At least it would pry her out of the mountain for a while, he thought nearing her quarters.

"Daniel?" he stopped short at the sight of his friend exiting Carter's quarters, quietly pulling the door shut behind him.

"Ssh," the man said, holding up his finger in the universal 'quiet' sign. "She's asleep," he said softly, looking over his shoulder. "I thought I'd come invite her," he said in response to Jack's puzzled look. "Janet said she was going to take a nap." Jack looked at his watch. They'd been back nearly four hours. It looked more like his second was down for the count rather than just catching a few Z's. Which he was glad to see, he hadn't missed her close association with insomnia in the past few weeks.

"I put a note on the table. She can catch up with us if she wants to," Daniel said.

"Relax. We're just going to go get something to eat at The Mason Jar and maybe catch a movie," Jack said, calling the elevator.

The next morning Jack sat down in the commissary joining Daniel and Teal'c, clutching a mug of coffee in his hands and mentally cursing the person who'd invented beer, or at least the guy whose idea it was to make it stronger now than it was twenty years ago. Three bottles used to barely give him a buzz, now the same amount virtually guaranteed him a headache. He'd known that when he'd polished off the last of the six pack, but he'd needed it. Anything to make the last two hours of Teal'c's Star Wars marathon go a little faster.

He looked across the table, perversely enjoying the same pained expression on Daniel's face. It served him right, he's the one who just had to tell Teal'c that Jack had a VCR and would LOVE to spend the evening suffering through six hours of special effects. "Remind me again why I don't shoot you?" Jack asked.

"Too much paperwork," Daniel answered looking up with bleary eyes. "Just for the record, we'll go Jell-O wrestling next time," he said, holding his head.

"I do not understand why the Tau'ri so joyously consume beverages that have such a negative effect upon their bodies," Teal'c said, giving them his 'tolerant' look.

"I don't understand how you can let a snake sleep in your stomach," Jack quipped, sipping his coffee. Teal'c merely nodded and dug into his breakfast.

"Please tell me we're not doing anything special today," Daniel begged, not looking at the over easy eggs on Teal'c's plate.

Jack slowly shook his head. "Just the debrief, then we can hole up for a while. Speaking of which, either of you seen Carter this morning?"

"Maybe she crashed. I know the last time I dealt with insomnia, once I got over it, I slept for a week," Daniel offered.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go see if she's still asleep, make sure she's at the debriefing," Jack said, getting to his feet. He left the commissary and made his way to the elevator hoping that she was awake. It would make things a little easier. He saw nothing wrong with catching a nap but he knew that she'd see it as a sign of weakness. The same way she apparently saw the nightmares she'd been having since Seattle as a sign of weakness. He, Daniel and Teal'c had all noticed the slight change in her behavior in the past few weeks.
She'd been a bit tenser, a little quieter. When they were off world, he'd noticed her trying not to sleep until she was just too tired to fight it any longer. She was playing a dangerous game. He knew sleep deprivation could mess with a person's head. Hell, he'd been there a time or three. But if she'd finally let down her guard and given into her body's demand for rest, then he'd be spared having to step in, which would be easier on both of them.

"Carter?" Jack knocked, opening the door a bit. The room was dim, only a light in the corner illuminating the room. "Carter, you in here? We got a debriefing in an hour." He peeked his head around the door. She was curled up on the bunk facing the wall. He could see that she'd showered and changed her clothes, her boots sitting on the floor beside the bunk. "Carter?" he called louder, crossing the room. "Come on, time to get up." Getting no response he shook her shoulder, alarmed when her head lolled limply. "Carter?" he said sharply, reaching for her pulse at her neck. His hand recoiled and his heart sank as his fingers encountered nothing but cold, still flesh.

A very shell-shocked group met in the briefing room an hour later. The details of the mission to P8T675 forgotten, Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and General Hammond sat silently in the large comfortable chairs awaiting the arrival of Doctor Fraiser. Jack stared at his hands, still feeling the cold, almost rubbery feeling flesh under his fingers. It wasn't supposed to be like this. If one of them died it was supposed to be on a mission in a blaze of glory, not quietly in their sleep two hundred feet under a mountain. Hell, they weren't supposed to die at all, not these people, not his team. They'd all thumbed their noses at the grim reaper enough times he'd started to wonder vaguely if they were immune somehow.

"I don't understand how it happened," Daniel said. "I mean she was fine yesterday."

"Did anything happen on the planet?" Hammond asked. "Anything that you didn't pay attention to at the time?"

"Other than being an alien planet, there was nothing of note upon P8T675," Teal'c reported.

"Text book mission, sir," Jack said quietly. He'd been wondering the same thing. Had there been some plant, some bug or animal Carter had come into contact with? Had he missed something?

"That's quite all right, doctor," He said as she took a seat. Jack glanced at the physician seeing the puffy nature of her eyes; her slightly smeared make up. He suspected she wasn't the only one in such a state at the moment.

"We just…Major Carter…" Janet paused and took a deep breath. "The best that we can determine is that she's been dead about twelve hours. We'll know more when the autopsy is done. There's a pathologist coming over from Peterson."

"Autopsy? For cryin out loud doc, you're not going to cut her open," Jack protested.

"Colonel, it's standard procedure for a death of mysterious circumstances," Janet said, trying to placate him. "We don't know what happened. It might be nothing, but we have to know."

"Oh please Jack. You know as well as I do that they've been trying to get Sam to participate in their tests for years. Hell, I imagine they're drooling at the prospect of peeking inside a host's head," he said cynically.

Jack met Hammond's gaze. They both knew that the NID was incredibly interested in Carter's altered physiology. And they knew that she'd refused every request for any kind of study beyond giving them some blood samples. There had even been a discretely worded request a couple of years ago, purely in the interests of national security, of course, that the NID expected to have Sam's body, if and when she died, delivered to them. A request that both Jack and George had no intention of fulfilling.

"It's not going to happen," Jack said quietly earning him a look from Daniel. "Don't worry, we've aah…it won't happen," he said refusing to go into detail.

Hammond nodded. "We just sent a message. The Tok'ra are going to send him as soon as they can."

"What about us?" Daniel asked. "If it was something off world we've been exposed, too."

"I don't think so, Daniel. Sam's and your bloodworks showed nothing foreign at all. I hate to say this but…"

"I agree with O'Neill. Major Carter does not have the psychological wherewithal to take her own life," he stated.

"This speculation gains us nothing," Hammond said. "Colonel, according to what I've been told, Major Carter went to her quarters last night. Teal'c, you and Doctor Jackson work with security, let's make sure she was alone. Colonel, check the duty logs. I want to know who was on this base in the last sixteen hours. There has to be a reason one of my best officers died and I want to know what it is. Dismissed."

"I administered the serum. There was a…side effect," she said, her voice falling off.

"It did work, sir, the subject was neutralized. But instead of dissipating in the subject's system it apparently caused multiple organ failure." The colonel stopped listening as the woman prattled on and one. Damn. It should have worked. Every test had let him to believe that it was the formula he was looking for.

"Remain in position." He ordered, hanging up the telephone. It was a set back, but maybe not as bad as he'd first thought. She said it had worked initially, that was good. He just had to know when and how it had gone wrong. And he couldn't do that from here.

Cold. It was so cold. And so incredibly quiet. She could feel a faint vibration, feel the chilling breeze blowing gently over her body. Why was it so cold? She should get up; maybe she left the window open. That made no sense, if the window was open it wouldn't be so quiet. What had happened? Why couldn't she open her eyes? Why couldn't she move? She could feel something hard and smooth under her and the faint weight of a covering over her. Why was she under the covers? She never slept totally under the covers. There was a faint click and she felt the air pressure change. A sensation of motion and she felt someone pull back the covers. They picked up the cold metal of her dog tag and she heard the faint rustle of paper. What the hell was going on? She felt the cover at her feet raised and hands fumbled at her right foot. "Here you go doc." A voice said.

"This your DB?" a strange voice said. She could her the footsteps of another person coming closer.

"Yep. Major Samantha Carter." She heard the rustle of paper again. "She was found dead this morning. Cause of death undetermined. Which is why you're here, I'd guess."

"Sure doc, right this way." She felt the cover flipped back over her face and heard the footsteps fade away.

Dead? Wait a minute. She wasn't dead. She tried to move, to yell or make some noise, but her body remained stubbornly quiescent. This was wrong, they were wrong.

The footsteps returned and she felt gloved hands picking her up, moving her from the cold surface to one slightly warmer but still too cool for comfort. She again felt movement and sensed that she was being pushed down a hall, clued in by the odd squeak and squeal of a gurney wheel direly in need of some WD-40.

There was a slight thump and she could smell another room, this time the odor of disinfectant and the faint lingering aroma of death assailed her nose. She'd been in this room once, years ago on her orientation tour. In her mind's eye she could see the patchwork blue and green tiles, the stainless steel trays of stainless steel instruments, the uses of which she hadn't wanted to imagine.

She felt hands lift her up high over the edge of the lipped table. They set her down gently, one of them propping her head on a hard block. Oh God, they thought she was dead. Was she dead? This didn't feel like before. It had been warm and welcoming, not cold and sterile. She couldn't be dead.

The cover was pulled back and from the rush of cold air she could tell that she was naked under the sheet. She listened to the doctor dispassionately describing her physical condition, examining every inch and rolling her over to search for any clues. He'd notice. He had to notice that his autopsyee wasn't quite ready for his services yet.

Internal? What did he….ooh no, he so was not going to… She felt the light touch of fingertips at her left shoulder.

NO, she tried to scream, feeling the slight pressure of the scalpel on her skin. He stopped abruptly and she thought for a moment that he'd heard her.

"Indeed I can. I am Major Carter's teammate. I will be present for this procedure." She heard Teal'c say. Teal'c. Yes. He'd figure it out. He'd stop the happy butcher.

"Indeed, I do not. However I wish to guard my friend and insure that her body is not defiled unnecessarily," he said. Sam could hear the repressed emotion in his voice. If she could cry she'd be balling right now, she thought.

She heard the doctor sigh heavily. "You can stand over there." She heard Teal'c step away and again felt the hands on her shoulder. NO. This was not going to happen. Come on Teal'c, where are those Jaffa senses of yours. I'm not dead. For God's sake, I'm not dead. I'm not dead.

Her internal litany came to a screeching halt as she felt the stinging slice of the scalpel cutting into her skin. Mentally she screamed as he cut again, this time slicing a bit deeper into the muscle. "That's odd…" he said, probing the cut with his fingers.

"She's bleeding…Oh sweet Jesus." She heard the clatter of the scalpel fall to the floor.

"Not dead…oh God, she's not dead," the man gasped. "I have to go…get help…I…" She heard the door to the morgue fly open as she felt warm hands on her body.

Fingers gently probed the incision and she heard the sharp intake of breath. She felt the sheet drawn back up covering her as a bit of fabric was pressed against the cut. "Major Carter, I shall remove you from this place," he said, picking her up like he would a child.

Still shocked from the near miss she hardly registered the sound of the door opening, Teal'c carrying her impatiently past the elevator and towards the stairs. She didn't care where he was taking her, as long as it wasn't…there.

"Teal'c…there's nothing I can do…" She heard Teal'c leave her and the jumble of footsteps as he dragged Janet to her side. Hands again explored the incision. "Teal'c, sometimes bodies bleed…."

"Corpses do not have a pulse," he said, applying pressure to make the wound bleed a bit. Sam felt the sticky wetness stream down her chest.

"Oh my God," Janet breathed. Sam felt cold metal touch her chest. "This isn't possible. There's a heart beat."

Through her relief Sam barely comprehended the flurry of orders and activity or felt the tiny sting of someone drawing blood. "Sam. Sam, I'm going to try a stimulant, ok?" Janet asked. Sam felt the needle slide into her vein and the warm rush of drugs into her system. Slowly she could feel her heartbeat and breathing speed up. Fighting against the panic, she forced her eyes open and tried to make them focus. "Sam? Can you hear me?" Janet's face swam over hers, the doctor's hand grabbing hers.

Sam grabbed it convulsively and fought against the shivers that were wracking her frame as cold muscles struggled to warm themselves. "Nnnot dead," she whispered through chattering teeth.

"How the hell can someone foul up this badly?" Jack demanded loudly, not caring that his voice was carrying out of the briefing room and down the stairs.

"No, sir. People make mistakes; I can deal with that. But how the hell do you send a person to the morgue when they're still alive?" he yelled, shooting to his feet. He was over the line, he knew it, but at the moment he didn't care.

"Preliminary results on Sam's blood shows a very strong sedative, at least we think it's a sedative. No one's ever seen it before. It's similar to curare, it paralyzes the muscles and slows the metabolism down to practically nothing."

"Practically nothing? You didn't even check did you? Oops, this one has no pulse that I can detect, must be dead," he sneered.

"Sir, she was cold! You felt it yourself. If it's so easy to do why did you call me telling me that she was dead?" Janet demanded, her voice anguished.

"That's enough!" Hammond yelled diffusing the tension in the room. "We'll deal with whatever procedures need to be changed later. Doctor, what is Major Carter's condition?"

"Once I gave her the stimulant it seemed to totally reverse the effects of the drug. It took several stitches to close up the….wound. Teal'c's staying with her and other than a bad case of shock, she's fine. It will take a few weeks for the muscle damage to heal enough for her to go off world but…"

"It doesn't make any sense, Janet," Daniel spoke up. "Why didn't this drug show up in her post gate?"

"That's just it Daniel, it didn't. Her post gate blood work was fine," Janet insisted.

"Does Major Carter remember anything from the last twenty-four hours?" Hammond asked.

Janet sighed. "Pretty much all of it," she admitted, steeling herself for another explosion from O'Neill.

"From what she told me and Teal'c, she remembers you trying to wake her up sir. And…. everything since."

"She doesn't remember anyone giving her anything?" Hammond asked refusing to dwell on what he'd just been told. There'd be enough time for that later.

"No, Sir. She left the infirmary, had a shower and then laid down. The next thing she knew was Colonel O'Neill trying to wake her up."

"No one went near her quarters," Daniel reported, relaying the information he'd gleaned from his original search for suspects in his friend's death. "Teal'c and I have watched all the security video."

"Look over it again," Hammond ordered. "Doctor, I want a complete search of Major Carter' s quarters. If there's a booby trap there I want it found. Colonel, you and I are going to go over the duty rosters again. If we have a traitor in our midst I want them flushed out."

Sam slowly drifted back to consciousness, savoring the softness of the bed and the warmth of the blankets covering her. She didn't know how many there were, eventually she'd stopped counting as Teal'c and Janet had piled on one after the other in an effort to stop her shivers enough that the doctor could stitch up the incision.

She could sense the presence of Junior and that simple fact comforted her like no other. She felt a little silly, clutching at Teal'c's hand with her good arm while Janet had doctored her shoulder but she'd been unable to stop herself at the time. His presence and calm voice were the only two things that had stopped her from totally freaking out.

She slowly opened her eyes, meeting the dark concerned gaze of Teal'c. "Major Carter," he said, reaching out to help her. She slowly sat up, her balance off a bit with her arm in a sling across her stomach. She'd have to get used to it, she knew. Janet had warned her that it would be a bit before she could lose the sling without risking doing more damage to her shoulder muscles, but at least it was better than the alternative. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, " she said smiling slightly. "Really," she responded to his skeptical eyebrow. "Where are the guys?"

"O'Neill and Daniel Jackson are speaking with General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser," he answered not elaborating on what they were speaking about. He didn't need to. She knew how many 'discussions' there had been after Daniel had been accidentally committed to mental health last year. Wrongly declaring someone dead would be worse. Feeling a sudden wave of claustrophobia, she pushed the blankets back and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. "Major Carter? You should not leave the infirmary."

"I need to get out of here, Teal'c," she said, fighting to keep her voice even the memories she'd buried creeping back to the surface.

She saw the concern in his face and for a moment regretted the bit of weakness in insisting that he remain with her. This would be so much easier if he were gone. "A walk," she suggested. "She can't protest that. My legs are stiff," she said hoping that he wouldn't press the issue. He gave her an appraising look then turned and opened the closet, pulling out a robe. "Thanks," she said, slipping her good arm into it and her feet into slippers sitting on the floor.

Half an hour later she signed out at the front gate hoping that the guards all hadn't heard about her recent demise. In the back of her mind, she knew she was probably making a mistake and that there would be hell to pay when she got back, especially from one very pissed off Jaffa…but she didn't care. All she knew for sure was that she had to get the hell out of here before she totally lost her mind.

Jack entered the infirmary, a list clutched in his hand. He shot a glance at the shrouded bed in the corner then headed towards Janet's office. He could visit Carter on the way out, assuming she was even awake. "Doc?" He knocked on the slightly ajar door.

"Come in," she said. He could hear the tension in her voice. "What can I do for you, colonel?" she asked cautiously.

"I was thinking. You said Carter didn't remember anyone coming into her quarters or anything right?"

"Yes, sir. Of course it's possible that if she was in a deep enough sleep she could have missed it."

"Not according to the security tapes from the corridor outside her room. Which got me thinking. You just expanded the medical staff a couple of months ago?"

"Yes, sir. Once we expanded to over fifteen teams it stood to reason that we'd need more medical staff. There's even talk of enlarging the infirmary. We sometimes have to shuffle beds as it is."

"Right. Now, if you were trying to get a person to take a drug without he or she noticing it what would you do?"

"Or give it to them in a form they're so used to that they don't suspect a thing. Carter got her post gate inoculations right?"

"Of course colonel, that's standard…you think I did it?" she asked, her eyes growing wide.

"No. No," he hurried to say. "But what if one of your staff did? Namely a Lieutenant Randi Bradley." He handed her the duty logs.

"Randi? Why would she do anything like that? She's only been here a couple of months."

"I aah…just a second." Janet got to her feet and opened a file cabinet. She pulled out a file and read through it. "She was recommended, a General Garcia at the Pentagon. You think she tried to kill Sam?"

"I'm not sure yet. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure that this Bradley had anything to do with it. She's just the only lead I have right now. Doc, is there any way to find out what she put in Carter's inoculation? Other than asking her that is."

Janet thought a moment, then walked past Jack and into the infirmary. He followed her over to a red biohazard box hanging on the wall. "It's standard procedure. After each shot we remove the needle here and place the syringe in this box until it can be incinerated. I have no way of knowing which syringe was used on Sam but I can test the residue and see if the sedative is in one of them," she said.

"That's good. And keep it on the QT please, doc. If this Bradley is a plant, we don't need to tip our hand."

Lieutenant Randi Bradley stood nervously in the shadow of a pin oak, her eyes scanning her surroundings. She could feel droplets of sweat rolling down her back as her hands worried the file folder she'd taken from the mountain. It was wrong, had been from the beginning. It had seemed so simple at first. All she was supposed to do was keep her eye out for any medical knowledge that her superior wanted. Simple. No big deal, really. It wasn't like she was giving up secrets or anything. Her boss had clearance even higher than General Hammond's. All she was doing was insuring that the information reached her boss in a timelier manner. No big deal. But then he wanted her to give Major Carter the shot. He'd said it would simply knock the woman out so Randi could take a few readings and maybe a sample or two. No one would ever know. And it wasn't like she was violating the woman's privacy, she was military, she basically had none. But it wasn't supposed to kill her. That had been bad enough but now…she wasn't dead. How was she going to tell her boss that? 'Sorry, colonel, I made a mistake. Major Carter is really alive.'

"I hope that's not my report you're mangling," the smooth voice said from behind her.

Gasping she spun, her hand going to her chest. "Sir…you scared me," she choked out.

He gave her an intolerant look and took the file from her, leaving her nervous fingers to twist amongst themselves. "You should pay more attention. Is the autopsy report in here?" He started to read the file.

"I don't want to…alive? You told me she was dead," he accused, stepping forward, enjoying the panicked look in her eyes. It had been so long.

"She was. Or maybe they just thought that she was. I was there; they brought her into the infirmary. Doctor Grissom had been getting ready to cut her open to do the autopsy when he realized that she wasn't dead. That…that's good, right?" She asked, her eyes darting past him. He'd backed her into the thick trunk of the tree, stepping so close as to block her escape.

The colonel thought a moment. This might be even better. He knew that Hammond had been blocking the disposal of Carter's body and that he'd likely have to contend himself with copies of the autopsy. But now…now he had a chance at the real thing. And best of all, the drug appeared to work. Things just might work out.

'She's a simpering child who will betray us to save her own skin in an instant. Kill her.'

Shrugging internally he smiled broadly. "Yes, it's very, very good." He turned from her and dropped the file onto the ground.

"That's great, sir," she said, her voice clearly relieved. "Was…was there something else you needed me to do?"

He stood up a fist-sized rock clasped in his gloved hand. "Yes, Lieutenant. Die." He raised the rock and with a super human strength, struck her with it again and again. When her body was lying motionless upon the rocky ground, he stood up, tossing the rock disdainfully aside. Breaking a few small branches off the tree he covered her with them, then stood back. His face was covered in blood, he could tell, feeling it start to dry into a hard, sticky mask. He licked the blood off his lips, savoring the salty taste. He stared at the body, he should be horrified at what he'd just done, but instead he was oddly invigorated. So long, it had been so long and it felt so good. Picking up the folder he turned, leaving the body behind. It was time for round two.

Sam signed into the mountain slightly refreshed and more than a little regretful. She knew she was probably in trouble but hoped that General Hammond was in a forgiving mood. Even if by some miracle, her absence had escaped the eagle eyes of Janet, there was no way in hell Teal'c was still standing outside the locker room waiting for her to change from the scrubs she'd been dressed in and into a pair of sweats she'd had in her locker. He was patient, but not THAT patient.

Ditching him had been an incredibly rude thing to do, but she'd been desperate to get out of the mountain and find a little peace and quiet to clear her head. During the last twelve hours, she'd done a lot of thinking.

Janet said she'd ruled out anything on the planet and she hadn't eaten before she laid down to nap so whoever slipped her the drug hadn't put it in her food. This left the obvious idea of the post mission inoculations. But why? What could be gained by drugging her? She knew that Doctor Brooks and his compatriots disappeared into Federal Custody after her kidnapping in Seattle. Were they behind it? She wasn't naïve enough to think they'd been locked up, chances are they were serving their time in some lab somewhere. They'd been wanting to separate Conrad from the goa'uld. But Conrad was gone, vanished just like the doctors. Unless he vanished WITH the doctors. What if they were still trying to carry on their experiments? Maybe they'd meant for her to die?

She had to talk to the colonel. Well, apologize first, than talk. She needed to see what he thought of her theory. Was it valid or was she just paranoid?

She made her way to his office, grateful for the early hour, which meant there was practically no one in the corridors to deal with. Seeing the door hanging open a bit she took a deep breath then knocked perfunctorily and slipped in. His keys were tossed negligently on his desk beside a steaming cup of take-out coffee telling her that he'd just arrived.

Knowing that he'd have to change since he rarely wore his BDU's for the drive she turned and walked to their locker room. "Colonel?" She called quietly, knocking on the door and peeking cautiously around it.

Her CO was hunched over tying his laces. Hearing her voice he looked up surprised. "Carter? Where the hell have you been?" He demanded, shooting to his feet.

"Yeah, he's pissed, but he's the least of your worries. Why'd you go AWOL?" He slipped behind her and closed the door.

"I…I just had to get out of here sir, take some time to think. Colonel, I hate to say this and it might sound a little…paranoid, but what if the drug was in my post gate inoculation?"

"Sir, it's the only thing that makes sense. Right after I cleared medical was when I started feeling so sleepy and…"

"Carter!" he said sharply making her look up. "It was the post gate inoculation. Fraiser found traces in one of the syringes. How well do you know Lieutenant Bradley?" he asked abruptly.

"She's one of Fraiser's nurses," he explained. "The one who gave you your post gate."

"Did she say why?" Sam asked not knowing if she was relieved or dismayed that she'd been right.

Shooting her a warning look, Jack crossed to the door and opened it. "Yeah, Davis?"

"Sir. General Hammond wants to see you ASAP. Sir, they're calling Bradley's death a homicide. And there's a representative from the JCS arriving right now to investigate it," the man reported.

"Yeah. I'll be right there," Jack answered, closing the door. "Carter?" he whispered. Getting no response he quickly searched the room and came up empty. "Damn it," he muttered then left to meet with the general.

Jack knocked on Hammond's door, then entered the man's office, carefully keeping his face bland. "You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked. "Oh for cryin out loud. Samuels, what are you doing here?" he demanded, unable to hide his dislike of the smarmy man.

"It's nice to see you too, colonel. I'm here to investigate the death of Lieutenant Bradley," he said, turning to face Jack.

"You're in the wrong place. She was killed off base; we have no jurisdiction over it. Surely the general told you that?" Jack said trying to glean something from Hammond's expression. The older man's shuttered countenance told Jack that there was a lot more going on here than a simple investigation.

"You're right colonel. We do have no jurisdiction over the investigation. However, we are well within our purview to give any and all assistance to the local authorities. Tell me colonel, do you know of anyone on this base that would have a reason to wish to harm Lieutenant Bradley?" He asked. "Anyone with whom she has ill feeling?"

"Oh, I know that, sir. But some people make enemies faster than others, don't they, colonel?" the man asked pointedly.

"What's your point, Samuels?" Jack asked coldly not liking the direction this was heading.

"I'm not trying to make a point, colonel. It's just that since the lieutenant was new to the area and reportedly had few friends outside of work, then it stands to reason that her killer might know her from here." He turned to face the general. "Sir. I'm under orders to question everyone who has had contact with the lieutenant, co-workers, anyone she was seeing socially. I'm also under orders to investigate the incident with Major Carter," he said, handing a sheaf of papers to the general.

"I don't see what Major Carter's incident has to do with this," Hammond said, taking the papers and dropping them on his desk.

"Maybe nothing, sir. But you have to admit that two such breaches in such a short period of time could be related somehow," he said. "I trust that I have your full cooperation?" The man smiled.

"If you will excuse me then, general, colonel, I'll start my investigation." Samuels saluted then left the room.

"Sir, even a blind man can see where this is going. Bradley drugged Carter who has since vanished and now Bradley's dead," Jack said not tipping his hand that Carter was on the base. If the general knew that then he'd have to do something about it. Jack just hoped she had the sense to hole up somewhere.

"A syringe with no finger prints on it since all medical personnel wear gloves. For all we know, someone gave it to Bradley and she was totally unaware of what she'd done. It's circumstantial at best."

"We're pretty sure where Samuels is going with this. As much as I hate to admit it, I think he's right about the situation with Carter and Bradley being connected. While he's off trying to incriminate Carter, why don't you find out what really happened."

"Colonel?" He turned back. "We need proof. Proof that Samuels can't spin his way."

Jack left the general's office trying not to look like he was going somewhere. He had to get up to the front gate. Even if Carter was staying hidden, eventually Samuels would think to check the sign in sheet. The base was just big enough that if no one knew you were here, you could stay hidden, for a while at least. And he had a funny feeling that his second had to stay AWOL for a bit longer.

He rode the elevator to level 11 trying to plan how to swap or misplace the sign in sheet. Whatever he did it had to be discrete.

"At ease, Sergeant." Jack picked up the clipboard and flipped through the papers. Fortunately, Carter had signed in on a different sheet than Samuels, and he doubted that the man had thought to check the other sheets. "This is the only record of who's entered the base this morning?" he asked the man, taking the top sheet with Carter's signature on it off the clipboard.

"Yes, sir. Well, that and the video." The man jerked his thumb at the camera over his shoulder. Damn, the cameras. Lord only knew which cameras she'd been on. "Is it true what they say, sir?" the man asked,

"That Lieutenant Colonel Samuels is trying to blame Major Carter for Lieutenant Bradley's death," the man asked quietly.

"Yes, sir, well sort of. The colonel's driver told me all about it, he overheard the colonel on the phone on the way from Peterson."

"Just that the colonel believes the major is to blame and he plans to take her back with him. Colonel, with all due respect sir, I can't let you take those sheets," the man said, reaching out to take the sign in sheets from Jack.

The man set them down and deliberately knocked his coffee cup over, spilling the dark liquid over the sheets. "I'm afraid there are no sign in sheets from early this morning, sir. A careless accident. And I do have to report that there was a slight technical difficulty with the cameras as well," he said meaningfully.

"Any time, sir," the man replied as Jack turned and went back down. Now that his major didn't exist, all he had to do was find her.

Sam sat in the corner of the rarely used storeroom on level 15 trying to still her breathing as she heard someone enter the room. She should have known that they'd find her. She'd signed in this morning and the base wasn't that big. If she had any guts she'd just troop right on down to the general's office and turn herself in. And there was a part of her that wanted to do just that. But there was a bigger part of her that wished she'd never come back. She could have just vanished, hiked up into the mountains and disappeared.

She'd been tempted to do just that this morning as she sat in a park watching the sunrise. She could leave and find someplace where no one knew anything about the goa'uld or the Tok'ra. Where no one knew that she had an alien metal swimming in her blood or a protein marker that apparently made her a desired lab rat. Somewhere where no one would drug her against her will. Maybe she'd start to feel like she could trust people again. This would be nice because she sure as hell didn't feel very trusting at the moment.

"Samuels couldn't find his ass with both hands. Are you going to come out or are we going to play hide and seek?"

"It's better if I don't. Then if he asks if you've seen me, you can honestly say no," she answered, feeling relief at his seemingly unconditional belief in her innocence.

She got to her feet and stepped out of the corner. "I'm sorry I left earlier I…"

"I went straight to your office this morning. I don't really think anyone else knows. But that doesn't matter, all he has to do is check the sign in sheet."

"He could. Except they suffered a coffee attack. As far as Samuels is concerned you're still AWOL. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you have a nice alibi for last night?"

"I just…drove for a while. I found a park and…Colonel, I'm sorry. I know it was stupid, but I had to get out of here."

Jack stopped and thought a minute. If he followed the book, he should march the major down to Hammond's office and turn her in. But he'd thrown the book out the window about twenty years ago. "You stay here. I'm going to go fill Daniel and Teal'c in. Samuels does have part of it right, whomever killed Bradley is probably behind what happened to you. We just have to find the link, and we need to keep Samuels chasing his tail until we can find some proof to clear your name."

Teal'c cautiously entered the storeroom glancing at his watch. He would have to make haste. O'Neill had requested that they meet at 1300 and given the circuitous route he and Major Carter would have to take to evade personnel and surveillance cameras they would barely make it on time.

"Major Carter," he called softly. Getting no response he quickly searched the room. Perhaps her location had been discovered and she had sought refuge elsewhere? He found his teammate sitting on the floor in the far corner of the room her back against the wall, fast asleep.

He found some of his ire at her eluding his guardianship the previous day fade. His teammates were all capable warriors in their own rights, but in those moments when he saw them at their most vulnerable, he was reminded that he had been a warrior before they and even their parents were born. "Major Carter," he said again, reaching out to give her uninjured shoulder a gentle shake.

She wakened with a start, her right arm striking out. "Teal'c." She shook her head to clear the sleep from her brain.

"O'Neill desires us to meet. He has sent me to retrieve you." He stood up and held out his hand to pull her to her feet. She stood up with a grimace, her right hand going to her wounded shoulder. Wordlessly he held out a small brown bottle. "Had you informed me of your desire to leave the infirmary I would have given these to you," he chastised watching her read the label. They were some painkillers that Doctor Fraiser had slipped to him in the event that he had contact with the errant major.

"Thanks," she grinned slipping the bottle into her pocket. He nodded and started to steer her towards the door. "Teal'c…I'm sorry. Ditching you was wrong I just…" She took a deep breath. "I had to get out of here for a bit," she apologized. "And what you said…downstairs. It means a lot. Thanks." She took his hand and grasped it tight.

He nodded and returned the gesture, smiling slightly. "I believe once we provide Lieutenant Colonel Samuels with sufficient evidence of your innocence, General Hammond will be most interested in being briefed on the ease in which a previously deceased person gained exit from this facility," he warned.

"Indeed. We must move quickly. Security will begin to monitor this section again in a few moments." Placing a hand on the small of her back, he guided her out of the storeroom and towards the meeting.

Bert Samuels knocked on Hammond's door, then entered the room without waiting for permission. Soon he would not need to pander to rules and regulations to appease the general.

'I'm tired of being patient. This man is the sole barrier between me and my goals. Time and time again he has eluded my best efforts. But this time I have him right where I want him.'

'Right now you have nothing. The only sample of the drug was used on Major Carter, whose body you do not have possession of. You do not have proof that the serum works and without proof they will not risk using it on Conrad.'

'They will use it. With Simmons compromised, they will have no choice. They will pay my price.'

'They will mock you. You desire command of this facility yet you do not have the power to attain that goal. You are too impatient.'

'I do not need command of this facility. I don't care what their logs say; they know where Carter is hiding. Once we prove that we will prove that O'Neill and Hammond are in collusion and they both will be removed from this command. Carter will be found and I will take custody of her. Regardless of what they may think of me they will not be able to deny my accomplishment. I will topple the SGC once and for all.'

"Aah, General Hammond, I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, ignoring the pile of papers on the man's desk. "This won't take long." He tossed a file onto the desk deliberately sending a few of the man's papers to the floor.

Samuels sat down sitting back and crossing his legs. "The results of my investigation."

"I see. Colonel, the autopsy of Bradley isn't even finished yet and you have decided you've discovered the identity of her killer?"

"Major Carter went AWOL at 1900 last night. A fact you neglected to inform me of, by the way. Lieutenant Bradley was killed at 2100. Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Fraiser have determined that the lieutenant is the person who drugged Carter, this gives her motive."

"Perhaps not, however when taken into consideration with the major's experiences and behaviors in recent months, I'm surprised that you haven't removed her from active duty. In fact, your failure to do that indicates that you're letting your personal feelings interfere with your ability to command."

"I think they do, general. First of all, she's been host to a goa'uld and on several occasions has claimed to have access to the creature's memories. Second is a trend of flaunting orders to achieve personal goals beginning with her and the rest of SG-1's collusion with an alien race to allow the Tollan to escape. Then she and O'Neill deliberately disobeyed orders to carry out a personal mission to Apophis' ship. She allowed the alien Linea access to the computer systems, it was her idea that the orb be brought back to earth for study, an act that nearly resulted in the destruction of the whole planet. She set off her reactor to provide a distraction for O'Neill to kidnap the Orbanian child. She backed O'Neill when HE refused to obey a direct order and bring the alien Alar and his knowledge to earth. And let's not forget her breaking out of this facility and causing property damage to a restaurant in town, endangering not only this facility but also innocent civilian lives.

" She also failed to apprehend the goa'uld Osiris, and was blatantly disrespectful to General Bauer. This was before her mind was taken over by an alien entity which threatened to destroy this whole planet, then kept another alien as a house guest for over a week before working with that alien to destroy a weapon that could have been used to protect earth.

"And I'm sure you recall having to have her and the rest of SG-1 forcibly disarmed when they all refused YOUR direct order. Shall I go on with her disregard for procedures that nearly destroyed a planet, having O'Neill let the goa'uld Nirti go to save the life of one child, her negligence that resulted in the death of an ambassador and cost us a potential beneficial alliance and her blatant refusal to cooperate with her superiors," he finished ticking off the list on his fingers.

"I know the game you're playing, LIEUTENANT Colonel, better men then you have tried and failed," Hammond said his jaw set. "Who are you working for and what do you really want?"

"Simply justice, general. It's clear that Major Carter has finally snapped and murdered Lieutenant Bradley in cold blood. How long are you going to shelter a murderer? How many more of your people does she have to kill before you admit that she's insane and needs to be confined for her own safety and the safety of others?"

Hammond shot angrily to his feet just as the klaxons sounded announcing an incoming wormhole.
'Unauthorized gate activation.' Hammond walked from behind his desk and pulled the door open. "Get the hell out of my office," he ordered.

Samuels got smoothly to his feet. "Of course, sir. I really hope your major hasn't been lending her GDO out to people," he baited, stepping from the room then following the general down the stairs to the control room.

The iris swirled open and a few seconds later a single figure emerged. Shooting Samuels a cold look, Hammond walked past him and down to the control room.

'Leave now!' Ignoring the voice in his head, Samuels followed the general down the stairs and into the control room.

"Jacob, we need to talk…privately," Hammond said, giving Samuels a pointed look.

"What's wrong? It's not Sam is…" Jacob broke off his face hardening and his eyes glowing angrily. "Goa'uld Kree!" Selmac roared, her eyes glowing angrily as she fumbled for the zat gun worn at her waist.

Samuels eyes flared in response and his hand flew to the small of his back, pulling out the pistol he'd had concealed there. "Kel'shak sholva!" he roared, firing the pistol at the two men. Selmac pushed Hammond to the side grunting as a bullet tore through Jacob's chest pushing the man back. Samuels fired several more times forcing the few SF's in the gateroom to duck for cover. Taking a few last shots at the power box sending showers of sparks and smoke into the room, he turned and ran, leaving confusion and carnage behind.

Sam and Teal'c slipped into the unused office on level 13. They'd used the same room over a year ago when they'd wanted to discuss General Bauer in a place that was relatively free from surveillance. The upper levels of the SGC were mostly abandoned, though with the growth of the facility, Sam figured they'd be put into service soon.

"Bout time you two got here," Jack groused. He was standing behind Daniel who was sitting in front of a laptop.

"I'm fine, Daniel, thanks. What are you doing?" She sat on the edge of the desk where she could see the screen.

"Ok. First, we're pretty sure that Bradley is who slipped you the mickey but we can't prove it."

"And since she's dead, we can't exactly ask her who she was working for," Daniel interjected.

"But I doubt that she's doing this out of the goodness of her heart," Jack said.

"So if we follow the money, we can find out who was paying her and pulling her strings," Sam said.

"Right," Daniel answered. "The problem is how to get at it. We can't exactly go through channels."

"Right here." Jack pushed it towards her. Sam picked it up and read it. "There's nothing in there, we've been over it twice."

"Maybe not. Daniel, do a search." She gave him a web address and he typed it in. "Here." She read off a series of numbers.

"If someone is paying her, I doubt she was stuffing the cash in her mattress. And she doesn't look like the type for an account in the Caymans or somewhere."

"Jackpot," Daniel spoke up. The screen flashed and a series of numbers scrolled up the screen. "Two thousand a month for the last three months."

Jack shrugged. "Everyone has their price. Bradley was just cheap. Does it say where it came from?"

He did as he was told. "Son of a bitch," Jack breathed. "Zetatron Industries," he read.

Jack shrugged. "It makes sense, I guess. With Simmons out of the game, they had to find a new player."

"Maybe so," Daniel said, "But what…"His question remained unasked as the sirens whooped into life.
'Intruder alert…Intruder alert. Medical team to the gateroom. Colonel O'Neill to the control room.'

Sharing quick glances, the quartet hurried from the room. They quickly made their way down to level 28, pushing past the scattered SF's and medical personnel.

"Lock down the mountain. I want a room to room search!" They heard Hammond order as they ran into the gateroom.

Janet gave her a quick shocked look then shook her head. "He'll be fine. Selmac should take care of it," she reassured.

"General, what happened?" Jack demanded moving to his CO's side. "Are you all right?"

The general was shakily standing, holding a piece of gauze to a cut on his bare forehead. His normally pristine white shirt was garishly painted with smears of bright red blood. "I'm fine. The blood is Jake's. Colonel, Samuels is apparently a goa'uld. He shot Jacob, then ran. Find him," the man ordered.

"Teal'c," Jack said turning to leave the room. "I want a level to level search. You, you and you, let's go," he said hurrying down the hall.

In his wake, several medical personnel entered the room pushing a pair of gurneys. Sam stood back as they efficiently loaded Jacob's unconscious form onto the narrow cot. "You too, general," Janet ordered.

"You were unconscious for a few moments and you're going to need stitches. Will you come willingly or do I have to strap you to a bed as well?"

"Samuels damaged the power supply to the gate and we have teams off world," he said, moving away.

"You are still a patient too, Major," Janet said. " Siler is more than capable of getting the gate back on line.
Now will the pair of you follow me or do I have to make it an order?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Knowing when to admit defeat, the two officers trailed Janet and her people out of the room.

"From what you described, it sounds like Par'ira," Jacob said to the group standing by his infirmary bed. Selmac was repairing the damage from the bullet wound but Janet refused to release the man until she was sure he was totally healed.

"It's what we use if we have to forcibly separate the symbiote and host. It's a potent muscle relaxant that works on both parties. If a symbiote wants to, it can release a powerful toxin to kill its host. This prevents that," he said.

Jake nodded. "It's necessary for the host to be conscious so they can tell us when we've severed all the connections. Usually the host retains the power of speech and can tell us when we've removed all the symbiote's tendrils. But if someone is trying to backwards engineer the serum, they might not know that."

"They're still trying to get the goa'uld out of Conrad," Daniel said. "They just wanted to make sure it works first."

"But if they take the symbiote out, they lose their access to its memories," Hammond said from his bed right next to Jake's, a large white bandage decorating his scalp.

"It is possible for the host to retain the goa'uld's memories after separation," Teal'c said. "As Major Carter has Jolinar's."

"Sometimes it works that way, sometimes not. It depends on how the host and symbiote interact," Jake said.

"At least we know who killed Lieutenant Bradley," Janet said, holding up the report she'd received from the Crime Scene Unit. The CSI had found tiny bits of leather snagged on the rock used to kill the lieutenant, leather that matched the glove the SF's found in the trunk of the abandoned staff car Samuels had left behind. That and bloodstains on a uniform proved that the colonel was the woman's murderer.

"Maybe he'll relocate to Florida," Jack quipped gaining him a round of dirty looks. "What? Like it's never happened before?"

Seventy miles away, a haggard figure huddled in the dark recesses of a Denver back alley rocking slightly as haunted eyes stared at nothing.

"Get out of my head," Bert whispered, the horror that he was host to a goa'uld overwhelming him. He remembered now, staring in amazement and fascination as a shape wormed its way out of the dead Jaffa's uniform, the stab of pain as it jumped at him, how he'd tried to move then been unable to as it took possession. It all made sense, the black outs, the nagging headaches, the little voice of intuition that was really the voice of his captor. The sudden and odd desire to regain entry into the SGC and go through the chaa'ppai, to go home.

'I have tolerated your dramatics long enough,' the goa'uld said, again disgusted with his choice of a host.

Bert thought back. It had felt good to rise above the constraints placed upon him by society. How many times over the years had he wished for revenge upon someone for a slight visited upon him? How often had he watched incompetent men taking the credit for his ideas and using them to rise above him? How many times had he had to remain silent while he was mocked by the likes of O'Neill and Hammond, not daring to speak out because they out ranked him?

It was liberating to act without fear of reprisal, to do something only because he wanted to do it, not because he was ordered to do it. He no longer needed to measure his actions with respect to his career. He was free, free from it all.

'I am Zadok. Now if you are done feeling sorry for yourself, we have much to do,' the creature answered.

Samuels stood up clutching the thin jacket of his uniform around him. "What do we need to do?" he asked, his voice stronger.

'First, you can stop talking aloud like some child,' Zadok chastised. 'And second we need to get you out of that ridiculous uniform. Not only is it impractical, but it will hamper our goals.'

'We're going to get off this backwards rock. We're going home,' he said. Maybe this host had potential after all, he thought, steering the body with gentle nudges. The SGC may be out of reach but it wasn't the only way home, just the easiest.