Chapter 6

Talin exited the Environment and entered the control room, removing the IHFG as he walked. He became uncharacteristically subdued as the command central as a whole stood and gave him a round of applause.

"Wonderful job sir."

"So convincing."

"Genius move to bring Jacob in."

"Can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve."

"Definite nomination for your portrayal of the General, sir."

Clapping his hands to bring order, he announced, "Okay folks, fun time is over. Now let's see what the remaining members of SG1 are up to. He looked around the room until his eyes fell on Markhen. "You…umm…" Talin snapped his fingers in Markhen's direction.

The unobtrusive, shy programmer stammered, pointing to himself. "Did you mean me, sir?"

"Of course, I mean you. What's your name?" Talin inquired.

"Markhen." The programmer tried to keep the tremor out of his voice, believing that Talin had stumbled across the movement to bring SG1 home.

"Well, Markhen, come up and take Leske's job… and welcome aboard the executive train." He pulled out her chair and motioned for Markhen to move up.

"Th..Thank you, sir." Markhen was horrified. His ability to blend into the background had been beneficial to the movement. His work in the far corner of the control room was imperative to the success of their mission. Now under the direct, watchful eye of the 'master,' his work in that quiet little corner would have to be curtailed immediately.

For the second time that day, the control room broke into applause as Markhen took Leske's seat. Plastering a fake smile on his face, his thoughts returned to his terminal, where he had been researching the ever elusive "blue dress" incident. He had observed a shift in emotions across Major Carter's face when Talin had mentioned that mission, leading Markhen to believe that something was amiss. He had just started sifting through the team's mission reports, when Talin made his announcement. Still believing that the Major's conversation with Talin as Hammond wasn't quite right, but not too sure why, was piquing Markhen's warning signals. Sighing, aware that this search would have to be put off until later, he placed Leske's headset on and turned to the viewing console in front of him.

He watched with growing interest and amusement as the "blue dress" was the topic of discussion amongst SG1 as they sat in Daniel's office…watched Talin's emotionless face. The normally bustling and noisy control room took on a false sense of quiet as it waited for Talin to make his decision to fix this mistake, the second in less than two days.

"Let's sit with this one folks, see where the players take it before we make any decisions. The worst case scenario…the finale happens sooner."

* * * *

Daniel dragged Leske into his office, thrilled to discover that the security cameras he had destroyed had not been replaced. Wordlessly, he directed the young woman to his desk chair as he spun a stool around so he was facing her. Daniel just folded his hands in his lap and stared at Leske, waiting for her to start speaking. After all, if she really wanted to help he and his friends, she would naturally want to contribute.

Leske's eyes darted around the room. She looked to Daniel as though she was uneasy, despite the fact that her body language spoke only of comfort in the cluttered office. How many times over the last year had Daniel invited Janet in here for coffee, or to talk? How many times had that been Leske?

"Daniel… I… I really am sorry. I want you to know that," she whispered. He nodded his head in acknowledgement, but remained silent, hoping she would continue. "Not just for this… well, this whole thing, but… dammit, Daniel, it was all my fault! If I hadn't…" she trailed off, unable to continue.

"What? What was your fault?" he asked quietly, leaning slightly toward her.

"Everything. It was me. I… your books, a few months ago. I programmed them empty. And all of the old mission reports. That was me. I'm sorry… I made you think you were crazy or something. God… I never should have. You'd all probably be safer if I hadn't. In the Environment, but safe." She was on the verge of tears as she begged for absolution, for his forgiveness. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

"And, and then, when Jack wouldn't believe you… I never thought he'd go that far…"

"Jack has a way about him. He was upset with me… maybe without *reason* but he didn't *hurt* me or anything, he was just… upset."

Leske raised her head from her hands, a confused look on her face. "Jack…? What? No! I wasn't talking about Jack… well, I guess maybe I was, kind of, but… no, I meant *Talin*. I never thought *Talin* would go that far. Daniel, the only reason why Jack reacted the way he did when you went to him was because Talin tweaked his chip. He was afraid that if Jack believed you, his show would be over. He's been messing with both of your chips ever since. Apparently, your degrading friendship was good for ratings. Drama. It wasn't Jack, Daniel. He wasn't himself."

Daniel blinked in amazement. "And, in the gateroom… after he killed Reese and I…"

"Yeah. That was Talin, too," she said softly, avoiding his gaze once again.

Then, surprising even himself, Daniel began to laugh. A slow, quiet chuckle at first, then it grew into a hearty release of emotion. Of realization… joy and sadness and relief. Everything was okay. Thank God! Everything was okay! All was forgiven. Clean slate. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. For a moment, he was able to ignore that he and Jack had been so flagrantly violated and concentrate on the fact that none of it was real. None of it heartfelt. Everything was okay. Or it would be, anyway.

"Thank you," he finally said, recovering and wiping a tear from his eye. She was just staring at him like he was from outer space. That made him chuckle some more. Hell, to her, he *was* from outer space.

"Uh…" She shook her head. "What for?"

"Just… thanks. Thank-you for telling me that. For coming here. For trying to help. Thank-you. And if I don't remember to say it again when all of this is over, thank-you." He was smiling now. Genuinely smiling for the first time in as long as he could easily remember.

"You're welcome," she replied, feeling far more at ease. She finally met his eyes and smiled back. "Now, what are we going to do about getting your friends home?"

* * * *

"No, they'd have thought of that. It's you're fault actually."

"How the hell is it my fault? It's you're damn planet."

"Yeah, well it was your memories that gave us the idea."

"Shit."

"Yeah. Well, from the last information I got, I honestly doubt anyone has been bored enough to change my numbers. My iris codes should still work."

"*Should* work. But we don't have any guarantees, right?"

"Right."

"And even if we do get onto the planet, through the iris, or whatever… how are we going to find them? I mean, won't somebody notice that I'm back and not supposed to be?"

"You could use the IHFG I brought."

"Sure, but then what are you gonna use? You'll be recognizable too."

Silence.

Daniel couldn't remember which little white Styrofoam cup on his desk still actually had coffee in it. He picked them up at random, throwing them disgustedly across the room until he found the one he wanted. He put it to his lips and savored its cold bitterness. Mmmm. Caffeine.

Hours had passed since he and Leske had retired to his office to brainstorm, and only hours were left before Hammond was going to lock out his friends. This was all very important stuff, but frankly, his brain was fried. And judging by the way she was idly spinning around in his desk chair, Leske's was, too.

They'd already collected everything that Leske brought with her and spread out the few devices on the floor. Daniel stood up and walked around the pile for the fifth time in the last hour, mentally cataloguing the wealth again. The recording device, laptop still attached, her equivalent of a GDO, a couple of data cards, the IHFG… maybe it was just the caffeine talking, but suddenly that last one looked familiar. Daniel bent down to pick up the round object.

"Hey, Leske? Where did you say you came up with this technology?" he asked, turning it over in his hands, examining it.

Leske joined him on the floor, sitting cross-legged across from him. "I didn't. That's something else we just… kind of picked up. One of the first shows we did, actually, several years ago. A small group of… well, really ugly aliens, came exploring through our stargate, hell-bent on taking over our planet. Lucky for us, they had one-track minds. They didn't even notice that the world they conquered was as holographic as they were. They disguised themselves using devices just like this one. That show only lasted a couple of months. People got tired of watching them just go after planet, after planet, after planet, after--,"

"Were these guys, like, *really* ugly? Kinda purply and growly?"

"Yeah. Real rude, too. Just thought they could walk in and--,"

"Of all the dumb luck! I don't believe it!" Daniel exclaimed, no longer paying attention to Leske.

"What?"

"These guys came here, too! God, I thought this looked familiar! It's not exactly the same as theirs, though. Is it?"

"Um, no. We copied their design and made some of our own. Picked their brains, if you could call them that, and got designs, schematics, manuals…"

"I think we may still have some of these around, from when they were here. Most of the aliens self-destructed when it became obvious that they were going to lose, but three of them weren't blown to pieces. The ones imitating me, Jack, and Major Davis. I think they got sent to Area 51 for study."

"Area 51?"

"Yeah. Nelles? Ring a bell? No… what would you know…? Oh! Give you an idea of how they run things over there, anyway, you know Maybourne?" Leske nodded at the familiar reference. "Well, he used to be in charge there. It's where a lot of the stuff we find goes. Scientists there study it and see if it has any practical applications for us."

"Do you think we could get them? I'm sure I'd be able to reprogram them. Then we won't have any problems moving around in the Environment. Daniel, this could really work!"

"Yeah, well. We have to get them first. I'll go talk to Hammond and see if he can make some calls. Keep your fingers crossed."

* * * *

Carter left Daniel's office frustrated and confused. The Colonel and Teal'c agreed with her regarding the General's remark, but in actuality, the three members could not agree on what to do with the information.

"A possible foothold situation sir? …Should we confront the General?"

"In all honesty, I'm not sure Carter. "

"Teal'c?"

"Except for the information that O'Neill conveyed to us today regarding DanielJackson's concerns, I have had no doubts or suspicions regarding the SGC."

"Me neither, Carter."

"Me neither, sir."

"Okay, for now, let's just sit on it. I know there is something more than meets the eye here, but I think just keeping our eyes and ears open…that's all we can do."

"God, I wish Daniel were here, Sir," Carter said, uncharacteristic tears threatening to overflow.

Hearing her name paged overhead to report to the control room, she wiped the tears on the backs of her hands and gave her teammates a lopsided grin.

* * * *

Her father stood at her side as the MALP and the UAV were launched into the event horizon to the planet that Jacob had given the coordinates to. Once the two pieces of equipment met their mark, Jacob kissed Sam on the cheek and excused himself with promises of seeing her later. Inquiring if she knew where Jack and Teal'c were.

"In Daniel's office, dad." Turning to her father with tears in her eyes, she whispered, "I miss him, dad."

Jacob pulled his daughter to him in a quick embrace, kissing the top of her head. "I know Sam. I wouldn't have stopped with the healing device, but Jack said that Daniel *wanted* me to stop." For just a second, for the first time in a long time, when Sam hugged her father, he felt *normal*. Her stomach didn't go into little twists in response to Selmac and she reveled in it, forgetting to question the inconsistency. Maybe she was just getting used to it? She smiled, digging her forehead into his shoulder.

Sam nodded her head in agreement. "I know, but it doesn't make the hurt any less."

Jacob hugged his daughter a little tighter before releasing her with promises of a conversation later, after his briefing with the General, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. She smiled at him sadly as she watched him depart.

* * * *

"Priceless…priceless." Talin raised his clenched fists. "Yessss. Good girl, Major." There would not be a dry eye on the planet after that scene…Sorit was a consummate actor. His portrayal of Jacob/Selmac had won him numerous award nominations and this scene was a shining example of the smoothness with which he handled most situations.

"Okay folks," Talin said to the technicians in the control center, placing a hand on Marken's shoulder. "Switch primary cameras to O'Neill and Teal'c… umm…keep only secondary cameras on Carter. "

Chapter 7

Back to Majel's Homepage.