by Stargate
When he arrived at General Hammond's office, he found it empty. However, the General himself was visible through the star map, standing alone in the briefing room, staring at the Stargate below. Teal'c stepped through the office, and out into the silent room beyond. After a moment, General Hammond spoke.
"How's your arm doing, son?"
"It is healing well." Teal'c joined him at the window, watching the activity in the gate-room. The Stargate was open, and a small group of Kinahhi were heading up the ramp. Teal'c could not see their faces, although one man appeared familiar. Someone he had encountered during his time on their world, perhaps?
"Councilor Athtar is leaving," General Hammond said. "Apparently he's pleased with the progress of the tests, and wants to report back to the rest of the Kinahhi Security Council."
A convenient opening for the purpose of his visit. "What is the nature of these tests, General Hammond?"
"I wish I knew."
Teal'c lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "You do not know?"
General Hammond compressed his lips into a line of anger. "Even though it's happening on my base, Kinsey has insisted that only his people know what's going on. National security."
"That is most disturbing."
General Hammond nodded. "The truth is, the only reason I'm still in command of the base is because the President stepped in on my behalf But there's only so far he can go; Kinsey has a lot of friends, and there's an election coming up. The President is walking a fine line."
Tauri politics were a subject of little interest to Teal'c - unless they risked damaging the Stargate program. He waited for General Hammond to meet his gaze. When he did, Teal'c spoke. "You are aware that Tauri prisoners are being brought into the base?"
"I am. And it's happening over my official protest."
"Is there no other way of discovering the nature of this experiment?" Teal'c asked, disturbed by Hammond's apparent passivity. "Can you not refuse cooperation?"
"If I refuse, I'll be out, Teal'c." The General looked away, clearly frustrated. "Kinsey's just looking for a reason. And I've already stuck my neck out one too many times."
Thus the truth of the matter was revealed. The Tauri inability to divorce personal from professional was at once their strength and their weakness. It gave them passion to fight in defense of their kin but on occasion undermined the ground on which they stood. After a moment of silence, Teal'c returned his gaze to the gate-room. The Kinahhi had left, and the wormhole fizzled into nothing. "I do not believe O'Neill intended to deceive you, General Hammond," he said quietly. "Your good opinion is important to him."
Although the General did not respond, Teal'c sensed him shift uncomfortably. The Tauri, he had often observed, were perturbed when confronted by honest expressions of emotion. He continued, daring to say more than protocol usually allowed. The situation was precarious and he deemed the risk necessary. "You should not allow your judgment to be affected by your disappointment in O'Neill." He paused, watching the General's jaw clamp shut. "There is still value in audacity."
"You call it audacity?" General Hammond said at last. "He tried to pin his crime on an innocent man. And he lied to me, point blank. I don't call that audacity, Teal'c. I call it criminal insubordination."
A heavy charge indeed. "To which innocent man do you refer?"
The General glanced at him, his expression unreadable for once. "That's right, Jack said you didn't know." Teal'c made no reply, and Hammond continued. "Colonel O'Neill planted the stolen Kinahhi plans in Ambassador Crawford's possessions. If the Kinahhi hadn't proven his innocence, he would have gone to jail."
In truth, Teal'c had to repress a smile of admiration. O'Neill's actions were sly, yet he could not condemn them. He too had identified Crawford as an enemy, not only to SG-1 but to the Tauri. Governed by ambition, Crawford placed his own desires before anything else - including the freedom of his world. He was a small man, in mind as well as stature, and failed to grasp the global implications of his actions. His limitations were a threat, one O'Neill had attempted to eliminate. "You have trusted O'Neill's instincts for many years, General Hammond," Teal'c reminded him. "Do not doubt them now."
"Trust? He lied to-"
"Ah, there you are." A thin voice that rasped from General Hammond's office; Ambassador Crawford stood watching them, his smile smug and his dark eyes alight with trouble. "Still here, Teal'c? I'd thought you'd be cooling your heels in Area 51 by now."
Not deigning to reply, Teal'c cast a questioning glance at General Hammond, whose head shook slightly in denial. "What do you want, Crawford?"
"A word in your ear, General." The predatory smile broadened. "I can guarantee you'll be interested."
General Hammond's brief nod to Teal'c served as both dismissal and apology. Offering a scant bow before he left, Teal'c kept his voice low. "Consider my words, General Hammond. Eight years of trust should not be so easily overturned. And much is at stake."
The General did not reply but turned to face Crawford with a defiant lift of his chin. Teal'c hoped he had said enough.
"Colonel O'Neill?"
From behind the airman, Daniel could see Jack stretched out on the narrow cot, hands behind his head and ankles crossed. At the sound of his name he opened his eyes and peered at the open door to his cell. "I didn't order room service."
Daniel smiled, and the guard cleared his throat. "No, sir. Your legal representative is here."
Frowning, Jack sat up. "I don't have a-"
"Yes, you do." Pushing past the guard, Daniel stepped into the room.
Jack stared. "You gotta be kidding..."
"Thank you." Daniel shrugged apologetically at the bemused airman. "You can go now. I'll call if I need anything."
Clearly suspecting that he was being taken for a ride, the soldier hesitated but beat a hasty retreat when Jack waved him away with a weary gesture. Daniel couldn't help smiling; even under guard, Jack's commands were impossible to resist. Once the door was closed and silence had settled in the small room, Daniel took a deep breath and began. "So...?"
"I don't need a lawyer, Daniel," Jack said at once, lying back down and closing his eyes. "If I did, I'd hire a real one."
"Good to see you too." He perched on the edge of the small table and studied his friend's tense face. "Are you okay?"
"Peachy."
Whether it was denial, false bravado, or just plain stubbornness, it was typical Jack O'Neill. Irritating as hell. "Jack, we have a problem."
One eye opened. "Ya think?"
"I'm not talking about this," Daniel said, gesturing around the room. "I'm talking about the Kinahhi. They-"
"What do you want me to do, Daniel?" Jack's voice was quiet and heavy; he sounded defeated. "I'm not getting out of here anytime soon. I knew what I was doing when I took the plans from Quadesh."
Daniel nodded, glanced at the door, and in a low voice said, "So did the Kinahhi."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It was a setup, Jack. I think they let Quadesh give you the plans because they wanted us out of the way. They knew we were trying to scupper the treaty."
Jack didn't move for a long moment, eyes slightly unfocused as he thought it through. Suddenly he sat bolt upright. "Sonofabitch! Crawford."
"Crawford?"
"Quadesh overheard him telling Damaris why we wanted the anti-gray device." Jumping to his feet, Jack paced the short length of the cell and back. "This is all some plot to protect their goddamn treaty?"
Daniel shrugged. "It certainly worked. Kinsey's upstairs testing a prototype as we speak."
"Hell of a lot of trouble to go to," Jack mused quietly. "I can see what Kinsey gets out of it, but what about the Kinahhi? What do they get?"
It was a good question. Daniel had left the negotiations before that subject had been raised; in retrospect he wondered if Crawford would have let him stay that long anyhow. "Teal'c thinks they're using the treaty to get a foothold on Earth."
Jack's grimace was eloqu
ent. "What does Hammond say?"
Another good question, with no easy answer. His hesitation drew a sharp look from Jack. "I don't know," Daniel said at last. "Hammond seems..."
"Supremely pissed? He is. With me."
"It's not the first time we've broken the rules."
"Yeah, well, he has his reasons." If Daniel hadn't known better, he could have sworn his friend looked contrite. And when Jack spoke again, it was almost confessional. "I hid the plans in Crawford's stuff - I set him up."
"You what?" Daniel couldn't keep the shock from his voice. "Why?"
"Because he's a sonofabitch and he's out to get us." He slid a dark look toward Daniel. "Law of the jungle."
"Harsh law."
Jack just shrugged: what did you expect from a guy like me?
Better than that. But this was hardly the time to debate relative morality - there were more pressing matters at stake. "So that's why Hammond's so angry?"
"Point is, Hammond doesn't trust me," Jack said, sidestepping the question. "You have to warn him. Tell him what you know."
"And what about you?"
"This doesn't change anything. I'm still guilty."
Daniel shook his head. "But they set you up."
"And I set Crawford up. What's the difference?"
The law of the jungle... "The difference," he said quietly, "is that you hate yourself for it, Jack." His friend flinched, but Daniel pressed on regardless. "The difference is that they read our minds. They knew exactly how to manipulate you to get us out of the way. They exploited you, exploited your need to save Henry Boyd. It's not your fault."
"Then whose the hell is it, Daniel? Yours? Teal'c's? I was in command!" With a derisive snort, Jack stalked to the far side of the room. His hands scrunched in his hair for a moment and then fell to his sides, fingers clenching and unclenching as he calmed himself. "Look, Hammond agreed to help you, so just-"
"What about you?"
"Oh, I'm way beyond help."
Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So that's it?" he said scathingly, frustration edging him into real anger. "You're just gonna give up?"
"I'm locked in a cell, Daniel!" Jack whirled around to face him, taut as a tripwire. "What the hell do you expect me to do?"
"I don't know! Something. Fight this!"
"Fight what?" Jack was incredulous. "Don't you get it? I screwed up. I deserve this."
"No you don't!" Daniel's shout rang loud in the suddenly silent room, falling away until all he could hear was his own ragged breathing.
With a resigned shake of his head, Jack turned his back on him. His forehead came to rest against the cold wall, his hands balled into angry fists. After a moment he spoke in a controlled, clipped voice. It reeked of self-recrimination. "Go save the world, Daniel. You don't need me."
Daniel stared in disbelief. "That's where you're wrong."
He got no answer.
CHAPTER TEN
t was late, and Daniel's office was quiet and dark. The desk lamp shone on scattered piles of paper, the static blue glow from the computer screen mixing a cooler light into the soft amber of the lamp. In other circumstances, at other times, it was one of Daniel's favorite places, but tonight everything felt wrong. The air was stale and cold and the constant electrical hum that permeated the SGC felt menacing instead of comforting. Daniel couldn't relax, he couldn't even sit still. Three hours later, and he still couldn't get Jack's words out of his head. Go save the world, Daniel. You don't need me.
"This is most disturbing," said Teal'c, halting Daniel's restless pacing.
"Yeah." He dropped heavily into his chair. "It's as if he's given up
In the muted light, Teal'c's features were lost. "O'Neill values the good opinion of General Hammond. If he believes he has lost General Hammond's trust, he will not forgive himself" Teal'c shifted, still hidden in the shadows. "And perhaps, by embracing his own punishment, he seeks to protect Major Carter and ourselves from similar treatment."
"We all knew what we were doing, Teal'c. It's not his fault."
"Do not underestimate the burden of command, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c paused, moving away from the wall and into the light. It shone bronze on his skin and glinted against the golden brand he wore. "O'Neill holds himself responsible for the consequences of all our actions."
Sinking back in his chair, Daniel absorbed what his friend was suggesting. "I guess he hoped bringing Boyd home would earn the rest of us a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card."
Teal'c inclined his head. "Had the anti-gravity device not failed on P3W-451 we would only have been missing for a few days. Senator Kinsey would not have been able to conclude the treaty with the Kinahhi, and General Hammond's command deci sions would not have been questioned."
"And Bill Crawford wouldn't have been handed over to the Kinahhi." The situation was getting more knotted by the moment, and Daniel was beginning to wonder if it was even possible to untangle the mess. It was no surprise that Hammond was hog-tied. After what Jack had done, Kinsey must have had a field day. The fact that the General was still in command at all could be considered a miracle. He pressed his hands against his eyes. "What the hell was Jack thinking, setting Crawford up like that?"
"That is a question only O'Neill can answer."
Lifting his hands from his face, his vision blurring with the sudden loss of pressure, he glanced curiously at Teal'c. "I'm sensing a `but'."
"Despite what O'Neill may now believe," he said carefully, "I do not think his instinct was wrong. Crawford represents a threat. O'Neill's attempt to neutralize that threat was judicious."
"If morally questionable. To say the least."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Ambassador Crawford is trading the freedom of the Tauri to further his own quest for power. He behaves like a Goa'uld, and deserves to be treated no better." He moved closer. "I know what it is to be a slave, Daniel Jackson. There are times when morality must defer to the defense of freedom."
Shifting uncomfortably, Daniel put his glasses back on. "Ah... actually, I don't agree. Once you start removing basic human rights in the name of `freedom', you might as well give up all pretense at living in a free society."
Teal'c stiffened, a subtle gesture of dissent. "And how free will your society be if Ambassador Crawford and the Kinahhi are successful in their plans?"
It was an age-old argument, but one Daniel found impossible to let slide. "Truth is, Teal'c, so far we don't actually know what their plans are."
The eyebrow rose in a sharp line of irritation. "By the time their plans for the Tauri are made apparent, Daniel Jackson, it will be too late to resist."
"And if we go around locking people up for crimes they might commit, we may as well hand ourselves over to the Kinahhi right now!" Frustrated, Daniel pushed himself to his feet and stalked to the far side of his office. Teal'c said nothing, and the silence between them grew long. At length, Daniel turned around. Teal'c was still standing by the desk, regarding him carefully. "Look," Daniel sighed, "there's no point in arguing about this. Jack did what he did, and it's landed him in jail. Which means it's up to us to try and stop the Kinahhi."
Teal'c gave a slight bow. "On that we can agree. Perhaps General Hammond will-"
Klaxons blared, disturbing the late-night quiet of Daniel's office. For some reason they sent a chill of apprehension rippling across his skin. "Trouble?"
The Jaffa cocked his head, as if listening to an inner voice, tension bunching in his neck. He felt it too. "Indeed."
Without further discussion, they headed down to the gateroom.
Jack stepped out of his cell and glanced around. "Where are we going?"
There was no answer from the anxious airman who had come to fetch him, but he saw the soldier's glance skitter nervously toward Major Lee, who stood further down the corridor. The Major just shook his head.
Trouble. Jack felt it like a cold, sickly breeze, chilling the back of his neck. The sensation doubled when he realized Carter's door was open and he watched
her appear in the doorway looking as confused as he felt.
"What's going on?" she asked. The question was directed at Lee, but her eyes fixed on him.
Jack gave a little shrug. "Lackland?" You knew things were bad when military prison seemed like a good option. "I hear it's nice this time of year."
Carter just nodded tightly and fell in at his side as they headed out of the detention block and toward the elevator. The down elevator. So much for San Antonio. When Lee hit Level 28 Carter murmured, "The gate-room?"
"Briefing room," Jack replied hopefully. It did nothing to brighten her apprehensive expression. "Lee?" he snapped, gratified to see the man jump. "What the hell's going on?"
"I'm sorry, sir," the Major replied without turning around. "I'm not at liberty to say."
"On whose orders?" There was a long pause. "Major?"
"General Woodburn, sir."
Carter frowned. "Who?"
Still Lee didn't turn around, but Jack could see him tense. "He took command of the SGC a few hours ago, Major."
The hovering sense of unease exploded into full-scale alarm, and Jack found his fingers itching for a weapon. But he kept his voice calm and even. "Where's Hammond?"
"I don't know, sir." Lee sounded strained, back ramrod straight. "I heard he was relieved of command."
Shit. Jack exchanged an urgent look with Carter. Her eyes were wide with shock, but anger sparked more life into them than he'd seen since their return home. He took it as a good sign.
The elevator stopped, and they were led along all-too-familiar corridors. He couldn't shake the feeling he was being led to his own execution. Nevertheless, he followed Major Lee through the blast doors and into the gate-room. They weren't alone. A small team was in position, weapons ready but not raised. At the foot of the gate stood a phalanx of Kinahhi soldiers, their gray uniforms bathed in the blue light of the open wormhole. Before them was a solid man of middle years, steel-gray hair forming a hard line above wild eyebrows. Jack didn't recognize him, but from the uniform he guessed it had to be Woodburn. And next to him stood Crawford, a gleeful smile stretching his lips. "Ah," the Ambassador gloated. "How the mighty are fallen."
