The three days lockdown were almost over.
As usual everyone got antsy not being able to leave the base and find out what was happening in the world. Rodney had recovered as fast as Daniel from his surgery, and had spent the last day pacing the lab terrorising whoever came near him. Daniel spent half of each day with Jack and John discussing their next move, and the other half working on figuring out whatever Carter had wanted with him.
Sha’re spent the three days helping Janet and Carson with the patients they had while Jeannie worked on what little Jack trusted her with.
It was the longest three days imaginable.
Sha’re sat in the small room they kept the equipment that controlled the shuttles, once the lockdown finished they would be sent to the last pick-up spots for three hours only. If whoever was missing didn’t get there in time, then they had no way back to the base unless they met one of the others. That had never happened.
But Sha’re had hope that Laura would break that rule. She knew the other woman was tenacious from the day they met; her absolute determination to redeem herself after standing by when Rodney was being tortured made Laura the one Sha’re was sure would return to them.
“Hey.”
Sha’re looked up and smiled as her husband walked in, “I did not expect to see you before tonight. You looked engrossed when I came by earlier.”
“Sorry,” he turned her seat so he could lean over her, “I didn’t realise you were there till you left.”
Sha’re shrugged, “I did not wish to disturb you. What you know may save us all.”
“No point saving us if I ignore the person who makes life worth it,” Daniel moved closer and gently kissed her.
“You are full of flowery words, my husband,” Sha’re laughed before shrugging, “But I like them.”
“That’s good to know,” Daniel grinned, kissing her again, “I have to get going, this was just a quick break,” he kissed her once more, “See you for dinner.”
With that he left and Sha’re sighed slightly to herself, no matter how bad things got she was lucky because he was with her.
It was almost so different.
Sha’re jumped as shuttle three activated. She quickly checked whose password had been used, letting out a cry of relief. She jumped up and ran through the corridors to the room Jack used as an office.
“She made it,” Sha’re cried as she burst in making Jack and John jump round.
“What?” John was on his feet instantly.
“Laura is in shuttle three and will be here in a few moments,” Sha’re grinned, “I have to tell Rodney. You have to meet her.”
“We’ll just get him to meet us there,” Jack told her, he motioned John to head to the landing bay as he called for Daniel and Rodney to go there as well, “Come on, Sha’re. Let’s hope she’s still our girl.”
Sha’re winced as she thought that Laura could become suddenly their enemy sent a shiver down Sha’re’s spine but she didn’t get a chance to as John hurried her along.
*********************************************
Sam tapped her finger against the desk.
It always amused her to watch the ‘students’ running around the campus, it was one of the reasons she used the cover of a university so she could watch the humans scurry around like ants basking in her wonderful presence.
“Yes?” she answered her phone when it rang.
“We are ready for you,” the toneless voice of Grif, the Andurian head of Security told her.
Sam smiled to herself, “I’ll be right there.”
Fixing herself, Sam shut down her computer and headed out the office. Walking through the corridors she was greeted by everyone who walked past her, some of them openly beamed hoping she’d remember them, others shy to meet the world famous Samantha Carter. Sam nodded but didn’t stop to talk to anyone, even those who she normally would.
Entering the lower levels, Sam continued past Teal’c’s cell with regret – she hadn’t had much time to play with her toy recently, finally reaching a much larger holding area where three Andurian guards stood outside waiting for her.
“Samantha,” Grif greeted her, “The prisoners are waiting for you.”
Sam entered the room and looked at the group who were chained to the wall. They all glared at her making Sam smile amused.
“Where did you find them?” she asked Grif.
“They were holed up in an apartment near the energy station,” he told her, “They had plans to disrupt it.”
Sam turned to the three men and woman in front of her, “Why would you want to do such a thing?”
“Bitch,” the leader spat at her; grunting as Grif slammed the butt of a rifle into his face.
“Now that’s not a very nice thing to say,” Sam practically purred, “What’s your name?”
As he remained silent, Sam turned to Grif for him to answer.
“Andrew Murphy,” Grif told her.
“Andrew,” Sam stepped closer, her hand sliding along his face before catching his chin and forced him to look at her, “I’m going to get all the information I want from you. You can make it easy on yourself and your friends by just answering my questions or I will make you watch as I slowly torture each of them. What will it be?”
Andrew glared at her, “Go to hell.”
Sam let him go and reached out her hand, her gaze never wavering from the man before her as the knife was placed into her hand.
“That, Andrew,” Sam said as she walked to the woman chained next to him, “Was the wrong answer.”
The woman whimpered in fear as Sam drew the cool metal of the blade along her cheek then along her exposed neck. The woman screamed as Sam sliced her ear off in one quick motion, catching it easily and moved to Andrew again.
“I can cut her up into little pieces and she will be awake throughout every part of it,” Sam told him, her voice filled with ice. She took a step into Andrew holding the piece of flesh close to him, “Tell me everything I want or you will watch as all of your friends are raped, humiliated and diced into little pieces.”
Seeing the defeat fill the man’s eyes, Sam turned to Grif and tossed him the ear, “I want a full report as soon as you’ve finished.”
With complete satisfaction, Sam headed back to her office.
Sam looked up less than an hour later when Grif entered her office, “Well?”
“He wasn’t part of O’Neill’s group,” Grif handed her a report, “But he did get information on the energy station from someone claiming to have been a member of the SGC.”
Sam frowned, “That has to be one of O’Neill’s lackeys. There’s no one left other than him and his little band of idiots.”
Grif nodded, “He must be using others.”
Sam frowned, “Go through their entire base of operations. I want to know every little piece of dirt on the floor, I want to know everything.”
“What about the prisoners?” Grif asked.
Sam waved her hand dismissively, “Kill them.”
“Of course,” he replied before leaving her alone.
Sam opened the report and browsed through it, looking for anything that would lead her to the man who was the last obstacle in the Andurians taking over the planet. Once she had a hold of him, she would happily plunge a knife into Jack O’Neill’s chest.
*********************************************
Laura Cadman stepped slowly out of the transport, hands in plain sight as she walked towards them. Daniel rested his hand on Rodney’s arm keeping him back as Jack and John each held a gun but had it resting at their leg.
“I have something for you guys,” she grinned, “You’re going to love.”
“You know the drill,” Jack stated.
“I do,” she nodded, “But before I get locked up I have something for you. It’s a message from the leader of where I stayed over the past few days.”
Jack frowned, he knew he should hand her over to Janet and Carson to make sure she hadn’t been compromised but curiosity got the better of him.
“Where were you over the last three days?” Jack asked, holding off the guards for the moment.
“The Colony of Peace and Love,” Laura grinned.
“The happy clappy bunch?” Rodney asked with disgust.
Laura smiled, “They’re not as happy clappy as you would think,” she slowly reached into her pocket and handed Jack a DVD, “I’ve got a message from them.”
“Did you tell them where you were coming?” John asked as Jack turned the disc over in his hands.
“No,” Laura replied, “I just said I was part of a group who wanted rid of Carter and the Zombies. There’s quite a few out there. One of them was an old friend of mine who knew I was supposed to be dead. That’s when they let me in on the secret.”
“Cadman, you have to go with this lot to Frasier,” Jack told her, “We’ll watch this and see you in an hour for your debriefing.”
“Yes, sir,” Laura nodded; she gave Rodney a quick smile as she passed him while Sha’re turned to Jack.
“Do you think she has been compromised?”
“Don’t know,” Jack murmured, “But I want to see what’s on this before I make a decision.”
Jack looked around; smiling slightly as he saw Rodney, John, Daniel and Sha’re all claiming seats in the small room so they could see what was on the disc. Jack placed the disc in the player and turned to take a seat finding there wasn’t one.
“Come on,” he cried annoyed.
Sha’re laughed and stood, giving her seat to him and settling on her husband’s lap. They all watched the blue screen as it jumped to a man’s face.
“Ferretti,” Daniel and Jack breathed in unison.
The man grinned at them through the TV, “I’m guessing it’s you who’s in charge of Laura’s little group. She hasn’t told us anything other than she is working with a resistance group - you inspire loyalty, Jack. Anyway the point of this was to say hi and to set up a meeting with you. I gave Laura instructions on how to contact me with a rendezvous so until then – see ya.”
The screen froze and Jack turned to the others, “Well?”
“You guys know who he is then,” John noted.
“Louis Ferretti,” Daniel stated, “He was on the team that came on the first mission to Abydos. We thought he was dead, killed by Carter in one of the first ‘terrorist’ raids.”
“Could this be a trick?” Sha’re asked, her cheek resting against Daniel’s hair.
“Possibly,” Jack conceded.
“We can’t assume that though,” Daniel added, “If this is really Ferretti and if what Laura told us is true then we may have some more help.”
“More mouths to feed though,” John noted.
Jack shrugged as Sha’re frowned, “I say we do it anyway. Anybody disagree?”
The others looked around the room but no one said anything so Jack nodded.
“Okay, let’s set this up.”
Laura waited until Janet finished before asking, “Well?”
“I’m finding no trace of anything Carter has used before,” Janet noted, her efficiency hiding the pain she felt having to talk about her once friend like that, “The wound on your shoulder was cleaned by someone who knew what they were doing.”
“Their doctor is young but she’s not bad,” Laura told her, “Did everyone else get through okay?”
Janet nodded, “You were the only one we almost lost.”
“What about Rodney?” Laura moved onto what she really needed to know, “Everything went smoothly?”
Janet laughed slightly and squeezed the other woman’s shoulder, “You saw him walking around when you got back. He’s fine and between them, he and Daniel may have the solution.”
Laura let out a long relieved sigh, “That’s great news.”
Janet turned to put away her instruments when her radio chirped, “Yes?”
“Is Cadman clean?” Jack asked.
“As far as I can tell,” Janet replied, “Everything checks out.”
“Tell her we need her in the conference room,” Jack ordered before the radio clicked off.
Laura looked at her, one eyebrow raised in interest, “What?”
“Conference room,” Janet told her, “They’re waiting for you.”
Laura bounced off the bed and grabbed her jacket before disappearing into the corridor.
Laura grinned as she saw Rodney walking towards her; she sped up and grabbed him in a tight hug.
“Oh it’s wonderful to see you walking,” she sighed in his ear, “I was worried.”
Rodney shrugged, “I’m fine. Janet thinks that the implant is designed to ensure the moment it’s switched off full sensation returns.”
“And you’ve slept?” Laura asked as they started walking.
Rodney shrugged, “Of course. Carson threatened me with sedatives if I didn’t. Are you...I mean what...”
“How about I just explain it once at the briefing,” Laura smiled at him, she stopped them walking and gently kissed his cheek, “Thanks for worrying about me.”
With that said they entered the conference room where Jack, John, Daniel and Sha’re were sitting waiting for her. Rodney took his seat as Laura stood.
“Okay,” she started, “Here’s what happened...”
*********************************************
Louis Ferretti had been one of the first men to step through the Stargate and one of three to return home from that first mission. He’d happily taken his place in the SGC when they started exploring, becoming the leader of SG2 when his friend died. Now though he was believed dead and was doing all he could to protect others as well as gather what he could so that when the time came he could help kick the zombies off their planet.
He walked slowly along the street, his hands in his pockets so he could grip his gun in case of trouble. He’d decided to come himself to this meeting Laura Cadman had set for them, he couldn’t send someone in his place anyway as if it was Jack and he knew it had to be then he wouldn’t meet him.
Reaching the alleyway he was supposed to go to, Ferretti began to have a sinking feeling. There was no one there, except a small cross drawn on the ground. Curious he stepped towards it, grabbing his gun as light surrounded him before rings transported him.
The instant the light disappeared Louis saw several people aiming at him.
“Put them down,” a familiar welcome voice made him smile as someone he had never expected to see walked forward.
Unable to help himself, Ferretti gave a smart salute, “Colonel.”
Jack grinned, “Major, you know you’re supposed to be dead.”
“Sorry if you’re disappointed,” Ferretti shrugged before turning serious, “I knew when Cadman talked about the guy who led her group that it was you. So, are we standing here all day?”
Jack motioned him forward, “Come on. There are a few others that want to say hi.”
“Tok’ra tunnels,” Ferretti noted as they walked towards the shuttle.
Jack nodded, “Gift from Jacob. Get in and take a seat. John, stay here with your team. Keep an eye on what’s happening top-side.”
Ferretti saw the man designated John nod before he started calling out orders to the others which were cut off as the door to the small shuttle closed. He watch as his friend manipulated the controls and grabbed the bar in front of him as they went flying through the tunnels towards wherever their base was.
Daniel stood waiting for the shuttle, Sha’re at his side. They were both excited to see their old friend, especially after they thought he was dead. As it drew up Daniel unconsciously moved Sha’re slightly behind him, just in case, but as Jack exited first with a grin on his face Daniel relaxed and stepped forward to greet his friend.
“Daniel?” Ferretti cried, he grabbed the younger man in a tight embrace, “I thought she had you.”
“They got me out almost two years ago,” Daniel replied sadness creeping into his voice; “We lost Teal’c though.”
“Damn,” Ferretti sighed before gripping Daniel’s shoulders tightly, “I’m sorry about Sha’re.”
“About me?” Sha’re stepped forward, smiling at the look of astonishment on the other man’s face before she gave a cry of shock as he grabbed her in a tight hug.
“I thought you...we heard,” Ferretti stared at the young woman as he set her back down.
“That’s the way it’s meant to be,” Jack replied, “We worked damn hard so that was what people thought.”
Ferretti nodded, “No problem.”
With a smile at the couple, Ferretti walked with the three of them to Jack’s office now the serious work began.
*********************************************
“How long have you been there?”
Jeannie smiled over at her brother, “A few minutes. What are you working on?”
He sighed, “I’m trying to remember what I was working on while...” he paused for a second to phrase it better, “At the campus.”
He saw Jeannie grimace but continued on, “It was a power source that should be powerful enough so that the Stargate can dial outside this galaxy.”
“Why do that though?” Jeannie asked, pulling over a stool she sat tapping on the side of it.
“Daniel believes that he can find a Stargate address,” Rodney explained, “And if he does, we could have a safe place to go.”
“Leave Earth?” Jeannie whispered, confusion in her eyes, “Can we do that?”
Rodney shrugged, “It’s not like we have much keeping us here. Besides we need somewhere we don’t have to move every few months and as much as I hate to admit it, Daniel is right about this.”
“About...”
“A place we can make sure we survive the Zombies,” Rodney told her, “They’re slowly killing us as a species and I may not like other people but I am not going to be part of the last generation of humans.”
Jeannie laughed suddenly making her brother frown at her.
“What?” Rodney demanded.
“You,” she giggled, trying to calm herself, “Actually advocating the need for kids. It’s so out of character.”
“Funny,” Rodney rolled his eyes at her, “If you’re going to sit there then you can help. See what you can do with the stuff on that laptop. But don’t change anything.”
Jeannie nodded and as he turned his back she mockingly saluted, “Yes, sir.”
They had sat in silence for what Jeannie thought had to be at least an hour when some man came running in.
“Rodney,” the man called, “Get to the TV room. Something major is happening at the campus.”
Rodney grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him to a room that was quickly filling with people.
“Turn it up,” Jack ordered as he entered the room with the others from the meeting.
“Just minutes ago,” the reporter on screen started, “An explosion shook the Andurian Educational Complex, it’s being reported that there are many casualties but there has been no confirmation on the number. Also, we’ve received news that Dr Samantha Carter was injured in the explosions trying to save several of the students. Although we have no information on her condition the Andurian representatives have released a short statement that has come from Dr Carter. It reveals that this man...” a picture of Jack appeared on the screen as several murmurs filled the room before being hushed quickly, “Colonel Jack O’Neill formerly of the SGC is the prime suspect in the bombing. Dr Carter’s statement concludes with the fact that this man was once a friend and asks that the public help find him so they can get him the help he needs.”
“Turn it off,” Daniel snapped.
Someone did as ordered as everyone turned to where Jack was standing, anger filling his eyes.
“Daniel, Rodney,” he said, his voice cold and calm, “Find the information we need.”
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Cuckoo In The Nest
by LE McMurrayKapitel Bemerkung:
Thanks to Stonedtoad.Part six is with my beta and part seven is being written just now.
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