DISCLAIMER: SG-1 its characters belong to B.W, J.G. and MGM. No copyright infringement intended, no money be made.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Most of the dialogue taken directly from the show. Written for the Spring 2010 Sam and Janet Ficathon. Special thanks to my beta oxfordshoes2.
SPOILERS: AU. This is a different version of the events of S08E12 Prometheus Unbound.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Prometheus Unbound
By Dhamphir
"All I need is enough time to collate the data from the field integrity tests. With that information I should be able to synthesize–"
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" the general exclaimed, waving his hands in the air. "All I want to know is if you'll be able to get the doohickey working."
Sam grinned in amusement. "Yes, sir. I'll get it working," she replied as General O'Neill opened the door to his office.
Both Jack and Sam stopped short at the sight that greeted them. General Hammond smiled at them from Jack's chair behind his desk.
"General!" O'Neill exclaimed.
"Jack. I let myself in – hope you don't mind."
"Absolutely not! Welcome."
"Thank you."
"Miss the chair?"
"Actually, I do."
"Want it back?" Jack offered, only half joking.
"As a matter of fact, I do. My new one just isn't the same."
"That's not exactly what I meant."
"Colonel Carter – nice to see you again."
"Likewise," Sam said with a bright smile. "We miss you around here, sir." She ignored the look of feigned indignation O'Neill gave her. "So, to what do we owe this pleasure, sir?"
"I came to ask if you'd be interested in joining the mission to Atlantis."
"You did?" "You did?" O'Neill and Carter asked in unison.
"She's the most qualified person on this planet, and the mission commander needs someone who understands Ancient technology."
"With all due respect, sir, I think you should tell the mission commander that I need Carter right here."
"You just did."
"I did... I did? You, sir?
"Yes." Hammond stood up. "Request denied. Colonel Carter, you're with me." He looked at Jack with a slightly smug smile. "I'll have the chair shipped to Washington. You can requisition a new one."
"I'll do that, sir."
"We leave tomorrow," he told Sam as he moved to the doorway. "Oh, and I'll be taking Walter, too," he tossed over his shoulder as he left.
"What the hell do you mean?" Pete Shanahan demanded.
Sam continued to pack. "Exactly what I said – I've been transferred."
"To another galaxy?!"
"Yes."
"Sam... Sam!" He waited until she looked at him.
She took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "What?"
"Can't you tell the general you don't want to go? I mean, it's not like he gave you any notice."
"I do want to go. It's an opportunity of a lifetime."
"What about us?"
"Pete... I'm in the Air Force. You knew something like this could happen, that I could be transferred."
"To another state, not another galaxy! If you were transferred to another state I could always go with you. I don't suppose the general will let me go with you to the Pegasus galaxy," he finished bitterly.
"No."
"So where does that leave us?"
Sam stopped packing and hesitated. With her head hung she closed her eyes... and came to a long overdue decision. She removed the engagement ring from her finger and gently placed it in Pete's palm, closing his hand around it. "I'm sorry."
"Sam–"
"No, Pete. It would have never worked."
Even though a part of him had sensed the truth of her words, it still hurt. He had truly hoped that by being patient and supportive of Sam's work that they could make things work. He should have known it wouldn't have lasted though. Sam's hesitancy in accepting his proposal and her obvious resistance to moving in together should have been a clue. He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't lead to regret, so he silently left the bedroom and exited the house. Pausing to look at the house for a couple of moments, Pete got in his car and drove away.
Sam sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh. She'd never meant to hurt him... but if she was honest with herself she knew she shouldn't have ever accepted his proposal. She agonized over her answer when he'd asked. She finally said yes... because it had been the right thing to do – to get married, settle down, and have a family. At least that's what she'd told herself.
Even though Sam had been instrumental in the design and build of the Prometheus, it was something else entirely to be walking its corridors while traveling to a different galaxy. She couldn't suppress the smile that graced her lips. She rounded a corner and saw General Hammond.
"General!"
"Welcome aboard."
"Thank you, sir – again," she replied as they fell in step together.
"My motives were purely selfish, Colonel. We haven't heard a word from the Atlantis expedition team since they first left. We have no idea what we're going to find in Pegasus. Your knowledge and expertise will no doubt prove invaluable."
"General, if you don't mind my asking..."
"Why am I going?"
"Well, you could've chosen anyone to command this mission, sir."
"You know, I sat back and watched you people go on a lot of adventures over the years."
"It's just that I thought that when you were replaced at the SGC, you were sort of bucking for retirement."
The general smiled. "And then I led Prometheus against Anubis' fleet."
"Got your dander up, sir?" she said with an understanding smile.
"That's why I took the job as Head of Homeworld Security – and then this opportunity came along. Well, the President put me in charge, so I could choose anyone I wanted to lead the mission."
"So why not choose yourself?"
"Like I said, I sent a lot of people into action over the years. More than a few didn't come back. I'd like to see this one through personally."
"We've never left anyone behind, sir."
"And we're not going to this time."
They arrived at the conference room. Sam made a last check of her presentation as they waited for the last of the personnel to arrive. Finally, the general gave her a nod, indicating for her to start.
Sam pointed to the data projected on the screen. "The last recorded MALP telemetry from Atlantis indicated an enclosed space with viable life support." She was interrupted by a woman rushing in to take a seat and hiccupping.
"Stop it!" Novak (according to the name tag on her uniform) muttered to herself.
"Now we're going on the assumption that the expedition team found the lost city and was able to set up a base of operations there."
Novak hiccupped again. "Sorry."
The general turned to Novak. "Dr. Novak?"
"The Asgard hyperdrive is functioning at 100 percent, sir."
"Thank you." He looked back at Sam. "Colonel Carter?"
"I'm sorry – what was I saying?"
"Oh, you were assuming the lost city is at the other end of the field trip," Novak said before hiccupping again. "Please ignore me."
"It's hard to," Sam observed.
"You disagree, Doctor?" Hammond asked.
"Well, as far as we know, the Atlantis team found another outpost like the one on Antarctica. It could be on a moon, or at the bottom of some deep, dark ocean," she finished with another hiccup.
"Which is why we're going," Hammond pointed out. "If they're trapped and need help–"
"If they're even alive at all," Novak said, interrupting the general and hiccupping again.
"As for why they've been unable to make contact with Earth, hopefully it's just a matter of being unable to locate a viable power source," Sam said, taking back control of the briefing.
"Using information collected from the Ancient outpost on Earth, Colonel Carter and her team have pinpointed our destination in the Pegasus galaxy," said the general.
Sam's next words were cut short by Novak once again hiccupping loudly.
"Damn it to hell!" Novak grabbed a glass of water from the table, spun her chair around, leaned forward until her head was below her knees, and noisily slurped water while upside down.
Novak approached the elevator just as Sam swiped her access card.
"Dr. Novak."
"Colonel Carter."
"Sam," she replied, giving the woman permission to use her first name.
"You can call me Lindsey. Um, sorry for contradicting you in the briefing."
"Oh, no, don't be. I mean you were right. The fact that we haven't heard from the Atlantis expedition since they left is a bad sign," Sam said as the elevator finally arrived and they both entered.
Novak hiccupped as the doors closed.
"Tried holding your breath?" Sam asked.
"Oh, God! I've tried everything!"
"Yeah, it doesn't work for me either."
"It's been like this since I was a kid," Novak explained as the elevator stopped and they got out. "It comes on when I get scared, but this is the worst it's been since my PhD presentation. I mean, I don't really do well in stressful situations. I guess that's why I turned down going to Atlantis the first time."
"Well, I'm sure you're going to be fine. General Hammond says you're, uh, you're very good at what you do, so..."
"Oh, thank you!"
An alarm suddenly sounded... and Novak hiccupped.
"What's that? What's wrong?"
"I don't know," Sam answered as she hurried down the corridor.
Novak took a deep breath and held it for several seconds – until she realized she probably ought to report to her station since an alarm was sounding.
When Sam arrived on the bridge, Colonel Reynolds was standing in front of the main viewscreen and General Hammond was sitting in the command chair. Chief Master Sgt. Walter Harriman in was in the seat to the general's left.
"We're picking up what sounds like a distress call," Hammond said.
"Where are we?" asked Sam.
Walter answered her, "We're still well inside the Milky Way."
"Play back the message," ordered the general.
"Yes, sir."
Walter played back the recording. A woman's voice could be heard, but the message was so garbled only a few sporadic words could be understood.
"... require assistance... failed... lost power... stranded..."
"She sounds human," Sam observed.
"What do you think?"
"Well, sir, as much as I hate to delay this trip, I think we have to check it out."
"How far away is it?" Hammond asked Walter.
"The message is originating just over 50 light years off our designated route. We could be there in... 20 minutes."
"Set a course."
"Yes, sir."
When the Prometheus came out of hyperspace they observed two damaged and motionless Goa'uld ships.
"Set shields at maximum; arm weapons," Hammond ordered.
"Looks like and al'kesh and a cargo ship," Colonel Reynolds observed.
Walter studied the readouts on his display. "Scans indicate they've suffered significant damage. The distress signal is originating from within the al'kesh."
"A human distress call from a Goa'uld ship – that doesn't make any sense," observed the general.
Reynolds nodded. "I agree, sir. It could be a trap."
Sam chimed in, "I know this looks suspicious, but what if there was an uprising on board one of those ships? There could be human prisoners in need of our help. They, and the ship, could provide some valuable intelligence."
Hammond nodded in agreement. "Open a channel."
"Yes, sir," Walter replied.
"This is General George Hammond of the Earth vessel Prometheus. We're answering your distress call and standing ready to assist you."
"We can transport a portable sensor unit on board to determine life support viability," Walter offered when there was no response.
"General, Colonel Carter is right – an al'kesh is potentially a valuable ship. Even if there are no survivors, we need to determine if it's space worthy. If it is we should salvage her," said Reynolds.
Hammond nodded. "Take a team."
"Yes, sir."
On the al'kesh, Reynolds and his team discovered four dead Jaffa. They found no sign of life, but on their way to the bridge they heard the transporter rings activate.
"Prometheus, someone just activated the–"
The transmission was cut off.
"Colonel Reynolds, say again," said Hammond.
"Sir! Our rings just activated," reported Walter.
"Security team to level four ring room. Visuals onscreen."
Walter pulled up the camera in the ring room, but there was nothing but static.
"Seal it off."
"Controls are not responding, sir."
Sam took over, trying to get the controls to work.
"Security team, report," Hammond ordered.
Sam shook her head. "All shipboard communications are down."
"Initiate emergency lockdown."
"I can't sir. I may be able to from the engine room."
"Go."
Sam took off with a couple of technicians in tow.
Sam rounded a corner and barely dove for cover in time when she spotted the Kull warrior at the end of the corridor. The technicians with her weren't fast enough – the Kull warrior took them out with a zat. Sam stayed hidden until she heard its heavy footsteps lead away. She cautiously peeked around the corner to make sure the way was clear before taking off at a run for the armory. She grabbed one of the modified T.R.E.s she and her father had designed to bring down Kull warriors. She adjusted the chip in it, grabbed some other weapons, and headed off.
Meanwhile, on the al'kesh, the rings they'd been unable to activate suddenly activated. Reynolds and his team were surprised to see several unconscious Prometheus crewman show up.
General Hammond, Walter, and the rest of the bridge crew stared in horror when the Kull warrior barged in and raised its zat.
Reynolds and his team had just removed the latest unconscious crewman from the ring platform when it activated once again, depositing General Hammond, Walter, and two other crewman.
"Status," the general barked as he and Reynolds headed to the bridge. They arrived in time to see the Prometheus power up and fly away. "Can we pursue?"
Reynolds sat in the pilot's seat and tried to activate the controls. "Engines are offline; controls are unresponsive. The weapons are offline, too, sir. It looks like we're dead in the water."
Walter ran onto the bridge. "General! I just did a head count – Colonel Carter is still aboard Prometheus."
Sam made her way to the bridge where she found the Kull warrior standing with his back to her. She raised her weapon and fired, with no effect. The super soldier turned around and Sam fired again... still with no effect. The Kull warrior raised its zat.
"Oh, crap!"
General Hammond walked over to Novak where she was sitting on the deck holding her head.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, I feel like my head's going to explode. But on the bright side, I think my hiccups are gone!" Of course, as soon as she said that she hiccupped. She rolled her eyes at herself. "What do you need, sir?"
"I need this ship operational – now."
"Yes, sir." She got up and scampered off to get to work on the repairs.
Hammond returned to the bridge. Walter was in the pilot's chair working.
"Near as I can tell, we're lucky that the life support systems are still working, sir."
"How much time do you figure we have?"
"That's hard to say. I've got some secondary systems online, including some short range sensors, sir. Scans of the cargo ship indicate that it's in worse shape than this al'kesh." Walter paused before making an observation. "Strange, isn't it, sir?"
"You mean that a Goa'uld super soldier would go to all this trouble to keep us alive?" He nodded. "Yes, it is."
When Sam came to she found herself tied to the command chair by nylon zip-ties around her wrists. She struggled despite knowing the zip-ties wouldn't give. She looked at the back of the Kull warrior where he stood looking at some display screens.
"Hey, how's it going?" She got no response. "Guess it's just you and me, huh? It's a little strange, isn't it? You see, that weapon I shot you with should have killed you." Feeling like she was channeling O'Neill, Sam continued to talk despite getting no response. "What's even stranger is that you guys usually don't take prisoners, either. I mean, it's kind of kill first and... No, that's generally just about it – just the killing. I'm just going to talk to myself here for a while, because you're not going to talk to me and... Not that you guys are very talkative, but, uh..."
The Kull warrior turned towards Sam and spoke in the resonate tone of a Goa'uld. "You may prove useful."
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Where's everybody else?"
"I transported them onto the al'kesh."
"Well, you kept the wrong person, because I don't know anything about the ship."
The Kull warrior walked towards Sam. "But you are very attractive."
"What?!"
The Kull warrior moved closer.
The thought of an ugly, slimy Kull warrior touching her was more than Sam could stomach. "Um... you're not my type."
"But you are definitely mine."
The warrior reached up and started to take its helmet off.
"No, don't! You don't have to take that off!" She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you... much..."
Sam opened her eyes at the decidedly feminine voice. What she saw was an attractive brunette with chocolate brown eyes and an amused smirk. She looked vaguely familiar, but Sam couldn't place her. The woman continued to remove the Kull armor, under which she wore a form-fitting, black catsuit. It was only when the woman had removed the bulky armor that Sam noticed the woman was wearing boots with at least four extra inches of sole on them.
The brunette noticed the blonde staring at her boots. "They take a little getting used to, but between the extra thick soles and the lifts I wear inside them, no one would guess I'm only five three," she said with a smirk. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her short hair. "Alright. I want to send a long range transmission using the communications systems."
"Sorry, don't have a clue."
The woman sauntered over to Sam. "You lie."
"In general? Uh... no. Yes. Well, I try to be honest, but you know, occasionally a little white one slips out every now and again." She was obviously still channeling O'Neill.
The brunette slapped Sam.
"Ah! Ow!" She couldn't believe the woman slapped her.
"Shall I kiss it better?" the woman purred.
"Um, no." Sam thought she could have sounded a little more convincing. "Just don't do it again." Sam mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Apparently, she couldn't sound more convincing. "Hey, look, even if I knew what it is you wanted me to do, what makes you think I'd tell you? How the hell do you think you can steal a ship when you don't know how it works?"
"I got the sub-light engines going."
"Yeah, so you did."
"You really expect me to believe you don't know how your own ship works?"
"Look, my name is Sam. I'm just a lab tech."
The brunette walked over and sat in the adjacent seat, and started trying to activate the controls.
"Have you heard of Earth? The Tau'ri?" Sam continued when she didn't get a response. "Okay. Well, we were on our way to rescue a few friends who are trapped in–"
"I really don't care."
"Look, this really isn't necessary–"
"Can I have this ship? 'No.' Okay; discussion over." She slammed her fist down on the console, which beeped and displayed a message: Communications System Active. "Oh." She smiled at Sam. "Here we go." She pressed a button. "Tenat, this is Janet. If you can hear me, please respond."
As she paused to allow for a response, Janet didn't notice that Sam had managed to reach and pick up a piece of metal. She might be able to use it to try to cut through her bindings.
"I've managed to procure a vessel bigger and better than what I hoped for. Tenat, if you get this message, I apologize for the delay and will meet you at the designated coordinates in one day. Janet out." She turned to Sam. "Now, about the hyperdrive."
On the al'kesh, Hammond entered the engine room where Dr. Novak and Colonel Reynolds were working on a bank of crystals. "Colonel. Doctor."
"I've re-routed remaining power to shields and life support for the time being, but as far as the engines go..." Novak shrugged.
"The control crystals for both sub-light and hyperdrive engines are totally fried," Reynolds explained.
Novak nodded. "Looks like they were deliberately sabotaged."
"Can they be repaired?" the general asked.
"In a word, no. We need new ones."
"I was thinking about that cargo ship, sir," Reynolds offered.
"Sgt. Harriman says life support over there is minimal – barely enough to sustain one person for a few moments."
"And if we don't get new crystals..." Novak started hiccupping. "Sorry."
"I'll go, sir," Reynolds said with a nod.
"No, I'll go."
Reynolds stared at the general in surprise. "Uh, with all due–"
"Colonel, someone took my ship. I want it back," Hammond declared in a tone that brooked no argument.
While Janet tried to get the hyperdrive working, Sam continued to try to cut through the binding on her right wrist with the piece of metal.
Janet let out a frustrated growl. "Access is restricted by a code."
"Yeah? Too bad," Sam sneered.
The brunette turned and shot the pertinent blonde in the shoulder with a Kull weapon that burned like a staff weapon. Sam cried out in pain and shock.
"That hurt?"
"Yeah!"
Janet showed the blonde the palm of her right hand, showing her a small Goa'uld device attached to her fingers. "I can fix it."
"I don't know the code!"
The brunette stood and walked over to Sam. She sat on the blonde's lap, straddling her thighs. Sam found the brunette's closeness more than just a little disconcerting. Despite the painful wound, her body was having a... favorable reaction to the brunette.
Janet activated the device on her hand and healed the blonde's wounded shoulder. "There. Feel better?"
Sam looked at the hole in the sleeve of her t-shirt and took note of the completely healed skin and flesh. She looked at the woman on her lap. "You're a Goa'uld."
"No – but I was once a host to one."
"Which would explain the naquadah in your blood that lets you use Goa'uld technology."
"And how I can quickly learn to fly this rather primitive ship."
"Yeah, so primitive one would wonder if it was worth the bother."
"Well, in this case, it's the size that matters." Janet pointedly looked down at Sam's breasts. "Actually, pretty much in every case," she said with a decidedly carnal leer as she blatantly ground her hips against the blonde.
Sam's wide eyes blinked in shock... while every nerve in her body seemed to be connected to her crotch. She was turned on.
Janet leaned in, lightly blew in the blonde's ear, and then sucked on her earlobe. She grinned when she felt the blonde's hips jerk in response. "Tell me the code," Janet whispered before sticking her tongue the blonde's ear. "Please."
"I d-don't... don't know i-it."
Janet pulled back. "Fine." She hopped off of Sam's lap and walked away, looking over her shoulder just before leaving the bridge.
Sam never felt so confused.
On the al'kesh Hammond prepared to ring over to the cargo ship, assisted by Walter, Dr. Novak, and Colonel Reynolds.
"How much time will he have?" the colonel asked.
"I'm guessing a few minutes, maybe less," Walter answered.
"Sir–"
"Not another word, Colonel," the general snapped. He stepped into the circle. "Do it now."
Walter activated the rings and sent Hammond to the cargo ship. The general turned on the light attached to his rifle. The air was thin and he was already coughing and struggling to breathe as he headed to the engine room.
"General? General, can you hear me?" Novak called over the radio.
"I'm here in the engine room."
"Open the third panel down on the center column."
He did as instructed. "Done."
"You want the blue one. It should be located at the center of the panel."
Despite his blurry vision he managed. "Got it."
"One panel up you should find a clear one."
He opened the panel. "It's hard to tell. The light in here's..." Hammond managed to pull the crystal, but he was about to pass out. "Something's..."
"General, can you hear me?"
"It's only been two minutes!" exclaimed Reynolds.
"There was a firefight on board. If the life support is not cycling the air..."
"What?"
"Staff blasts give off carbon dioxide. In a small enclosed space..."
Walter took off running for the ring room.
General Hammond barely managed to stagger into the ring room. Just he passed out he tossed the crystals into the circle. When the rings activated the crystals were sent back to the al'kesh; fortunately, Reynolds transported to the cargo ship at the same time. He grabbed hold of the unconscious general and pulled him into the circle.
Walter retrieved the crystals from the circle then reactivated the rings, transporting Reynolds and the general back to the al'kesh.
Reynolds tried to rouse Hammond. "General. General! Sir!"
"Is he breathing?" Walter asked.
"He may need mouth-to-mouth," Novak said.
Reynolds clearly didn't like the prospect, but at Novak's silent goading, he pinched the general's nose. Just before he placed his mouth over Hammond's the general came to.
"Oh, excellent waking up, sir! Good job on the crystals, too."
Hammond grabbed the colonel's shoulder and pulled him down to speak weakly into his ear. "Get the ship moving."
"What did he say?" Novak asked as the colonel sat up.
"He said, 'Get the ship moving.'"
Walter and Novak rushed off as Reynolds helped the general up.
After making some adjustments to the crystals in the engine room, Janet heard the hyperdrive come online.
A display console confirmed it: Hyperdrive course – plotting.
"Much better," she said with a smile.
A voice came from the doorway. "Lose the weapon. Move away from the console," Sam ordered while holding a zat on the intruder.
Janet turned and eyed the blonde. "I liked you better tied up."
"Against the wall. Lose the weapon."
She removed the weapon from her waist and dropped it on the floor. "This suit will still absorb zat blasts." Janet walked over to the wall, then turned to face Sam with her arms held out wide. "So, you should probably make me take it off
"What about your head?" Sam asked pointedly. "I think we'll turn the ship around first."
"I don't know. If I had me at gunpoint, that wouldn't be my first choice."
"Yeah, well..." Sam admitted to herself it wasn't really her first choice either; however, she had a duty. She walked over to the console and input the appropriate commands. The system merely beeped at her. "What's going on?" she asked the brunette.
"I rewrote the access codes so I'm the only one who can use the navigation systems."
"Undo it."
"Listen, hundreds of lives are at stake. I'm trying to save the last of my people and this ship is their only hope."
"Maybe if you'd mentioned that off the top–"
"Would you really have helped?"
"Look, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we were also on a rescue mission." The console beeped a warning, prompting Sam to look at it.
"What is it?" Janet asked.
"A ship just appeared on our radar. It's an al'kesh."
"This quadrant is crawling with Goa'uld vessels. Chances are it's not your friends. I made sure that ship was fully disabled when you showed up."
"We'll see."
"We have to raise shields and arm weapons."
"I'm going to try to hail them first," Sam replied, moving to a different console.
The brunette burst into action, kicking the zat from Sam's hand and then punching her in the face. Sam had been taken completely by surprise. She had no idea the petite intruder could move that fast or hit that hard. As Sam lowered her hands from where she'd covered her face, she saw Janet at the ready, with her hands up and in a fight stance. Janet tried to punch the blonde again, but was blocked. Sam landed a punch to the brunette's nose.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Her hands few to her face and she doubled over. "You hit me!!"
Sam rolled her eyes and bent towards the woman. "You hit me!"
"Yeah. You know, we could just have sex instead."
Without warning, Janet punched Sam again, then kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her flying across the room. She ran across the room to the blonde, kneeled over her, grabbed her ears, and hauled Sam to her feet. Sam cried out and tried to dislodge the brunette's hands from her ears, but eventually resorted to grabbing Janet's hair and pulling it as she backed the brunette against a wall. Janet finally let go and ducked down out of the blonde's grasp just as Sam threw a punch at her. Sam's fist smashed an electrical panel on the wall and sparks flew. She grasped her fist in pain and groaned.
Janet, crouched on the floor in front Sam, grabbed a small fire extinguisher and slammed it into the blonde's stomach, doubling her over. The brunette followed that up with a punch that pushed Sam back against a console. A second punch sent the blonde backward over the console and onto the floor.
Hammond joined Reynolds, Novak, and Walter on the bridge.
"Feeling better, sir?" the colonel asked.
"Yes, thank you."
"We just caught up with the Prometheus."
"Nice work!"
"It was all Novak, sir."
The woman smiled proudly... then hiccupped.
They're not responding to our hails, sir," Walter reported.
Sam crawled around the side of the console. From where she stood on top of the console, Janet jumped down in front of the blonde. Sam turned and crawled in the opposite direction. The brunette jumped onto Sam's back, wrapping her thighs around the blonde's neck. Sam managed to get to her feet, but stumbled backwards. Janet grabbed onto a strut on the ceiling and continued to squeeze her thighs around the blonde's neck.
Sam managed to force Janet's legs apart and get out of her grip. She then turned so she was facing the brunette. Still hanging onto the strut, Janet kicked the blonde hard and knocked her onto her back. The brunette dropped to the floor, jumped onto of Sam, straddling her waist. She leaned down, gazing into the blonde's big, blue eyes from only a few inches away.
"Are we done?"
"I am."
Janet took Sam's head between her hands, pulled her up into a sitting position, gently caressed her cheek, and then claimed the blonde's lips in a passionate kiss.
Sam was stunned by the kiss. She accepted the kiss, opening her mouth and admitting Janet's tongue, before she could even form the thought or inclination to not do so. The kiss was arousing and stole her breath. Then her reason seemed to return. Sam pushed the woman away, breaking their kiss.
"You're a fruitcake!"
Janet, who had really been enjoying the kiss, didn't react well to being pushed away. She savagely head butted Sam, smiling in victory as blue eyes crossed and the blonde slumped back onto the floor. Janet stood and walked over to the console. As she was entering a command she was shot in the head by a zat, which dropped her to her knees. Janet managed to turn and look at Sam – with zat in hand – before falling unconscious.
"Weapons?" Hammond asked as they looked out the viewscreen at the Prometheus.
"Online," Walter replied. "We're in range."
"Target the rear thrusters. Take out her sub-light capability." The general hated giving the order to fire on his own ship, but they needed to prevent the Prometheus from getting away.
Before the al'kesh could fire, a hyperspace window opened in from the Prometheus. It flew into it and disappeared.
"She just jumped into hyperspace," Reynolds stated unnecessarily.
When Janet came to she was lying on the floor of the brig. "Ow," she groaned and slowly sat up, looking around. Then she realized she was wearing an Air Force jumpsuit rather than her sleek catsuit. "Oh, that's just great." She almost jumped when a voice came over the intercom.
"I see you."
Janet located the camera in the room, stood, and walked towards it.
"Did you have fun taking off my clothes?"
"It was your idea," Sam replied.
"No. I meant when I was conscious. You know, so I could distract you and kick in the head," the brunette countered.
"I kept my eyes closed the whole time," Sam lied through her teeth. She'd had a hard time tearing her eyes away from the brunette's practically perfect body. Her mouth watered at just the memory. Her hand involuntarily reached out and touched the image of the beautiful woman on her monitoring screen.
"I'm sure you did," Janet replied sardonically.
"So, where are we going?"
"I told you – to save my people. Can you please let me out of here?"
"Ohhh, no."
Janet wearily sat down on the cell's metal toilet. "You know, I haven't eaten in days."
"Could you please tell me how to access the navigation controls?"
"It isn't very nice, you know, starving a prisoner to death. Come on, Sam, you've seen me naked. The least you could do is cook me dinner."
Janet was at one end of a long table in the mess. Sam was sitting at the opposite end, holding a zat on her.
"Aren't you hungry?" Janet asked and tossed an apple towards the blonde.
Sam didn't even attempt to catch the apple, so it bounced off the table and onto the floor. "No."
She gestured to the food, "Thank you. You know the Tok'ra?"
"Yep."
"A year ago, a Tok'ra incited a rebellion on Tyrus. The people rose up against Qetesh, the ruling Goa'uld, and once the Jaffa had been overcome, the Goa'uld was captured alive, tortured, and beaten for days on end." She paused and took a slow breath. "I was host to that Goa'uld at the time. The people didn't understand that it was the symbiote that had ruled so harshly. I guess the Tok'ra felt responsible. He rescued me, removed the Goa'uld symbiote, and nursed me back to health."
"You said your people are in trouble now."
"It was only a matter of time before the forces of another Goa'uld showed up – a System Lord named Camulus. That's when the Tok'ra disappeared. People still refused to surrender; Camulus ordered that they be wiped out. We controlled several ships: troop transports, cargo ships, al'kesh. Many people were saved, flown to an uninhabited nearby moon in the system – Tenara. The ships made several trips before most of them were intercepted and shot down. Camulus never knew there were so many survivors, so we were safe. Only problem was, the moon didn't have a stargate."
"So you were trapped."
"We only had a few ships left – not enough to relocate everyone again. It wasn't a problem. Camulus seemed to have little interest in the other planets in the system. He left behind a small force to guard the stargate on Tyrus. We used the ships to keep apprised of what was happening and to steal supplies and technology wherever we could."
"You know that Camulus is gone now? He was beaten by Baal."
"And Baal's forces are searching every habitable world in Camulus' territory. His ships are everywhere. It's only a matter of time before my people are found on Tenara."
"So you got desperate and tried to steal that al'kesh."
"It was damaged in the firefight. I was hoping one of my ships would answer my distress call. I'm sure you can imagine how lucky I felt when this ship showed up – it's big enough to rescue all of my people and take them to a world far away, free from the Goa'uld."
Sam escorted Janet back to the brig.
"You don't have to lock me up."
"I think maybe I do."
"What difference is it going to make? This ship is automatically flying to Tenara. You can't stop it."
"Well, when we get to Tenara I'll just explain the situation to your people and maybe there's something we can work out."
"They're not going to trust you. You have to let me talk to them."
"No." Sam closed the door and reluctantly walked away.
"Sam!" Janet sighed and turned away from the door. "This is bad."
Sam sat in the command chair, her eyes never straying from the monitor that showed the occupied cell of the brig. There was something irritating... and alluring about the brunette. Part of Sam was impressed. After all, the petite woman had singlehandedly taken over the Prometheus – no small feat. And, despite Sam's six-inch height and quite-a-few-pound advantage, not to mention advanced hand-to-hand training, the brunette had kicked her ass quite soundly. If not for getting a hold of the zat and using it on the woman, Sam knew their positions would be reversed.
She smiled. Janet was feisty, smart, determined... and beautiful. A real challenge in a number of ways. She just wished she could figure out why she had a niggling feeling of familiarity about the woman. She wracked her brain trying to recall any Janet she may have known in the past. There had been a couple, but they were nothing like the woman in the brig, physically or personality wise.
Sam was pulled out of her thoughts as the Prometheus dropped out of hyperspace. The comm system activated.
"Janet, this is Tenat. We have you on our scanners."
"Um... Hi."
"Where is Janet?"
"She's here; she's just... indisposed at the moment."
"She did not mention she was working with someone."
"No, I guess not. Look, I realize I owe you an explanation. It's a bit of a long story, really."
"We will hear it in person and inspect your vessel."
"That's good, because we're coming in for a landing."
"We will meet you at the designated coordinates."
"Very well."
Sam, dressed in some of the Kull armor and armed with a zat, exited the ship. There were two men waiting for her, and their expressions made it clear they weren't happy to see her.
"Who are you?" The larger man, well over six feet tall and easily 275 pounds of muscle, demanded. His voice identified him as Tenat.
"Um... my name's Fett. Boba Fett."
"Where is Janet?"
"She's inside."
~~
Janet had managed to pry open the panel next to the cell door to access the wires and electronics. She located what she thought were the right wires. With fingers mentally crossed, she connected the two wires... and electrocuted herself. She was thrown back a few feet, landing on her back. She let out a frustrated yell.
"Dammit!!"
Her anger turned to surprise and delight when she sat up and saw that the door to the cell was open. She ran to the bridge in search of the blonde.
"We'll only deal with Janet," Tenat stated while the second man aimed a weapon at Sam.
She didn't recognize the weapon, and so couldn't be totally confident in the ability of the Kull armor to stop it.
"Unless you want to die, you will get Janet out here – now."
The second man powered up his weapon.
"Look, there's no need for this. I assure you Janet is on the ship, she's just indisposed at th–"
"Tenat!" Janet came running out of the ship, throwing herself at Tenat.
He caught her, hugging her tight, and grinned. "Thank the gods that you're safe! We didn't know what to think when this," he gestured at Sam, "came out without you."
"It's okay, Tenat. I just had to finish doing something on the ship." Janet kissed Tenat on the cheek. "You can put me down now," she said with a smile. She looked at the second man. "And you can put your weapon down, Gar."
He grudgingly lowered it, pointing it at the ground instead of at the blonde.
The large man set Janet down. He then frowned, "Two death gliders did a flyover about four hours ago.
"Get everyone together and get them on the ship, now," Janet ordered.
Tenat turned and let out an ear piercing whistle.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Sam objected.
Janet glared at the blonde. "Look, I told you why I needed your ship. We have to get these people out of here," she said as she pointed to the first group of women and children arriving in the clearing, accompanied by a few armed men.
Sam bit her lower lip a moment. She couldn't leave women and children to be captured by the Goa'uld, but she couldn't allow armed men on the ship. She'd had enough trouble just dealing with the petite brunette.
"Okay. Fine. But no weapons allowed on board."
Gar aimed his weapon at Sam again. "And just what are you going to do about it?" he sneered, speaking for the first time.
Janet stepped between the two, facing Gar. "It's okay. Do as she says. What's important is that we get everyone out of here." She stared him down for several seconds. "Gar."
Finally, he relaxed and let out a sigh. "Okay." He handed the weapon to her. "But only because it's you asking."
Janet nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you."
She collected weapons from each armed man as they escorted the women and children onto the Prometheus. Sam stood just inside the entrance, directing the refugees to the common areas of the ship. Finally, Janet was the last to board. She handed the heavy duffle, filled to overflowing with weapons, to Sam.
Suddenly two death gliders flew overhead... and fired on the ship. Sam closed up the hatch and both women ran to the bridge.
Sam ran to the weapons console, but couldn't get the system up. "I need to access the ship's systems!"
Janet jumped into the pilot's seat, punched in her code, and activated some systems. "Alright, raise the shields." She piloted the ship, taking off while the death gliders continued their assault.
The blonde kept a close eye on the shield strength. "What are you waiting for? Let's go into hyperspace," she ordered.
"I can't – it's not working. We've already taken too much hull damage. We have incoming – al'kesh. Arm weapons." More death gliders joined the pursuit along with two al'kesh. "Shields are failing!"
Sam finally got a weapons lock. The Prometheus began firing on the death gliders and taking them out; however, the fire they were taking was also taking a toll. A number of panels on the bridge blew out around the two women.
"Aft shields are down. We're almost out of weapons," Janet reported.
One of the al'kesh dove for the Prometheus, firing. Suddenly it exploded – blasted out of the sky.
"What just happened?" the brunette asked.
"An al'kesh just took out one of its own," Sam replied.
"Nice work, Sergeant. Target the second al'kesh. Fire at will," ordered General Hammond.
Walter smiled proudly. "Roger that, sir."
They pursued the second al'kesh until they were able to take it out as well.
"Colonel Carter? This is General Hammond. Do you copy?"
Sam rushed to the command chair and activated the comm system. "General! It's good to hear your voice, sir."
"Likewise. Are you alright, Colonel?"
The blonde looked pointedly at Janet. "We're fine, sir."
"Are we clear to ring aboard?"
"Stand by." She again looked at the brunette. "Unlock the system. Those gliders likely retreated to a nearby mothership. We have to get out of here now, so unlock the system."
Janet nodded and did as requested.
Sam reactivated the comm system. "You're all clear, sir."
"What are you going to do with me?"
"I'm not sure. I realize you were trying to save your people, but you did steal our ship."
Dr. Novak found the general walking down a corridor with Sam, on their way to the brig.
"Sir, we managed to get the shields and hyperdrive back online. However, there was significant hull damage – I wouldn't recommend a long journey in hyperspace."
He nodded. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to return to Earth. How long before the ship is ready to go again?"
"Hard to say."
Sam smiled. "Good work, Lindsey, both here and on the al'kesh."
"Thank you." Novak turned to walk away.
"Hey!" Sam waited until the woman turned back. "Hiccups are gone, huh?"
It was obvious from her expression that Novak hadn't realized. "I didn't even notice! I guess I was having too much fun!"
Hammond and Sam both smiled with amusement as the woman cheerfully walked away.
Janet looked up when the door to the cell opened. She stood and squared her shoulders as Sam entered. She'd face the consequences of her actions – it had been worth whatever they were to save her people.
"There's someone here to see you," Sam said. She stepped aside and General Hammond entered.
The general's jaw literally dropped. "Dr. Fraiser?!"
It had been eight years since Janet had been addressed as Doctor; eight long years since she'd worn an Air Force uniform. Nevertheless, the old instincts and training kicked in – she involuntarily stiffened to attention. "Sir."
Sam looked from one to the other and back again in shock. "You know her?"
"Dr. Fraiser was one of the women abducted by Apophis when he came through the stargate eight years ago."
"Oh, my god. I thought you looked familiar. I was part of the team that was sent to rescue you and the others," Sam said.
Janet didn't visibly react, but the general realized he needed to talk to the doctor in private. He turned to the blonde.
"Please excuse us, Colonel. I need to speak with Dr. Fraiser in private."
Still stunned by the revelation of who the brunette was, she responded absentmindedly. "Sir?"
"Leave us," Hammond said not unkindly.
She snapped to attention. "Yes, sir." Sam left and closed the cell door behind her.
Janet was ready when the knock sounded on her door to her quarters... well, the quarters she'd been allowed to stay in once someone decided it wasn't necessary to keep her in a locked cell. She may have been let out of the brig, but she wasn't not allowed to go anywhere on the base without a guard. And, of course, she wasn't allowed to leave the SGC. She hadn't seen the sun, or the stars, or breathed non-treated air in four months.
She looked at today's guard, a marine, Sgt. Anne Wallace. "I'm ready."
They headed to the mess.
Every day she had breakfast in the mess – always at a table by herself – with her guard standing over her. Finished with breakfast, she would then be escorted to a small briefing room on level 25, where she spent hours answering questions and being debriefed by a myriad of people – generals, scientists, engineers, even a politician or two. Lunch was usually eaten in the briefing room while the questioning continued.
When it was decided to call it a day, Janet would be escorted to the mess for dinner and then back to her quarters. Three evenings a week she was allowed some time in the gym – again, under guard. She may not have been in a locked cell, but she was still very much a prisoner.
After breakfast Janet and her guard walked to the briefing room. She wondered who'd be there that day. Some days the endless questioning wasn't so bad – those were the days that Sam participated. The blonde had the most beautiful blue eyes and a cute, dimpled smile. And she was brilliant. Janet actually enjoyed it when they got into technical discussions. She had never been an engineer, but Janet had always been smart, and after seven years of being a host to Qetesh she retained a healthy understanding of Goa'uld and other alien technologies.
She hoped Sam was one of the ones waiting for her in the briefing room.
Janet was surprised when they arrived and the only person seated at the conference table was General Hammond. He hadn't been around in weeks.
"Please, have a seat, Dr. Fraiser." He then looked at Sgt. Wallace. "Wait outside."
"Sir." Wallace saluted and left.
A dark eyebrow quirked in surprise. That was a first.
Hammond opened a folder on the table in front of him. "I've received daily updates on your debriefing and the information you've provided us. You've been very cooperative. Colonel Carter says your information has been extremely valuable. In light of your cooperation, it's been decided to view your unauthorized appropriation of the Prometheus with a little... understanding. No lives were lost, it turned out our Atlantis expedition was fine, your people were saved, and you've contributed greatly to our intelligence about the Goa'uld.
"I've received a number of recommendations of what to do with you."
Janet couldn't resist a sardonic smirk. She had no doubt about what some of those recommendations must be.
"And I've made my decision."
She stiffened. She had been an Air Force officer, she knew what a court martial would have to say about some of her actions. At least Tenat and Gar and the others were safely resettled on a new homeworld.
"I'm giving you a choice. You're free to go, to leave Earth and join your people on P5J-721 – Nalen. Or..." he paused for a beat, "you may stay here – provided you agree to certain conditions."
"Just what are those conditions?"
He told her. It certainly gave her something to think about.
"How soon do you need my answer, General?"
He gave her a small smile. "Before I leave here tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay."
Their meeting ended.
"Come in," she said when someone knocked on her door. Janet was surprised to see Sam enter.
"Hi."
Janet arched an eyebrow. "Can I do something for you?"
"Actually, I was hoping to do something for you."
"Oh? What?"
"How would you like to go to dinner?"
"I was thinking about passing – I hear they're having meatloaf."
"I wasn't talking about the mess. I was talking about going out to dinner – off base." The blonde flashed a dimpled smile. "I was thinking about showing you around in a blatant attempt to show you the advantages of staying."
"I suppose it's you I have to thank for the 'conditions' of my remaining on Earth."
Sam actually blushed as she ducked her head. "Um... yeah."
Janet walked over to the blonde. She stood in front of her just outside Sam's personal space and crossed her arms. "Are you sure you want me on your team? I'm no longer in the Air Force you know – I won't be snapping to attention and popping off 'yes, ma'am' every time you turn around."
Sam smirked. "I wouldn't expect you to. And yes, I'm sure. You'd be a great asset to SG-1. You know a lot about the Goa'uld, you understand quite a bit of alien technology, you sure as hell know how to fight, and..."
"And what?"
"And I'd really like it, personally, if you stayed," she finished softly.
"Well, you've given me some reasons why staying would benefit you, but what would I get out of it? What's in it for me?"
The blonde smiled again. "Like I said, I was hoping to take you out to dinner to show you."
"If you want to convince me to stay you'd be better off staying in... and showing me exactly how much you want me to stay," Janet purred sultrily.
Without looking, Sam reached behind herself and turned the lock on the door to prevent any interruptions. Gazing into dark brown eyes, she took a step forward, took the brunette's face in her hands, dipped her head, and tenderly kissed Janet.
While it was exactly what Janet had wanted, she was still surprised Sam had actually made the move. When they parted Janet grabbed the blonde by the front of her BDU shirt, turned, and shoved her backwards. Sam was caught by surprise and stumbled until she landed on her back on the bed. Janet had her own shirt removed before she landed on top of Sam and grabbed the bottom hem of the blonde's shirt, giving a hard yank and opening it by popping off all of the buttons.
Sam grinned. "Is that a yes?"
"It depends on how good you are. You have all night to convince me, flygirl." She leaned down and claimed the blonde's lips in a heated kiss.
"Teal'c, Daniel, say hello to our new teammate – Dr. Janet Fraiser." Sam smiled as she made the introductions.
"Just call me Janet."
"Welcome, Janet Fraiser," Teal'c said with slight bow.
Daniel shook her hand. "Welcome to SG-1, Janet."
The End