Chapter Nine
STARGATE COMMAND
STATUS: GATE OPERATIONS SUSPENDED
03 JUL 03/1000 HRS BASE TIME
“
You are relieved of command
.”
It was too dark to make out much of Colonel O’Neill’s face on the communications ball though George could easily imagine Jack’s reaction to the Major’s orders.
Sitting beside him at the briefing table, Ambassador Huang practically rubbed his hands together with glee. “You are to be congratulated, General Hammond.”
George mentally counted to three before trusting himself to speak. “Congratulated for what, Ambassador?”
“Your foresight. While it is a terrible thing for our emperor to lose so many of his warriors, who knows what Colonel O’Neill might do once they reach his palace if you had not thought to arrange for Major Carter to replace him.”
“Firstly, Mister Ambassador, Lord Yu isn’t my emperor — ”
“General Hammond, sir,” called out Major Davis from George’s office.
Through the star chart window, a BDU-clad Jacob Carter sat down heavily into one of the visitors’ chairs. Even from this distance, George could tell that his old friend didn’t have good news to share.
He glanced back at the com ball, at the still silent colonel visibly glowering at his second-in-command.
“Go ahead, General.” Huang waved a hand as if in dismissal. “I am sure you’ve other, more critical matters which require your attendance. I shall continue to observe your team’s progress. Return at your convenience.”
If George had any hair left, he would’ve pulled it out there and then. Instead, he nodded curtly to the ambassador, turned on his heels and walked into his office in fewer strides than he thought possible. He gestured to the major to shut the door and then sank down into his chair.
“You’re looking a bit ragged there, George,” said Jacob. “Huang got you all tied up in knots or what?”
George related the events he’d witnessed on the Goa’uld communication device. “Tell me you have something.”
“Selmak does,” Jacob said.
“Let’s hear it.”
Jacob bowed his head, the telltale sign that he was climbing into the back seat so his Tok’ra symbiote could speak. The sight never ceased to amaze George. Nor the distorted sound coming from his old friend’s mouth.
“
I have examined Dr. Frasier’s results
— ”
The hallway door began to open. As Jacob dropped his head, Major Davis dashed over and stuck his head outside.
“I want to see General Hammond. Now.” The insistent voice had a slight Jamaican lilt.
George should have recognized who it was, but at this particular moment, he had bigger concerns. “Whoever it is, tell them we’re busy, major.”
A dark hand pushed the door all the way open, revealing one of Stargate Command’s new archaeologists. George recognized the man as Dr. Kevin Hopkins, an associate of Dr. Jackson’s.
Major Davis tried to block Hopkins from entering, but Hopkins had a good six inches on him and easily pushed his way through. The archaeologist stormed up to George’s desk and put his hands on his hips.
“Doctor, we’re a little busy here,” George said.
“Looks to me like you’re sitting around, chewing the fat all di’while. In the meantime, my friend is out there, somewhere, having god knows what done to him.”
George shoved down the flare of anger threatening to erupt and stood up, placing his hands on his desk. An effort to look as calm yet as intimidating as he possibly could. He didn’t have time for an argument, but this man needed to understand how things worked.
“We are doing everything we possibly can to find Dr. Jackson,” he assured Hopkins. “I need you to return to your lab and focus on your assignment. As soon as we know anything we can share, we will.”
“There goes that need-to-know business, again.” Hopkins laughed. “I’m not a pickney, General. I’d peg my two PhD’s against your two little stars any day if you’d like to try me on for size.”
“Shall I call in my Special Forces to explain to you the meaning of these stars, Doctor?”
“Wait a moment,” Jacob said. He stood up and approached Hopkins. “You’re the man who hassled Colonel O’Neill in the locker room yesterday.”
“Yeah, man. And I suppose you’re his best friend,” Hopkins sneered at Jacob. “Where the hell is he anyway? Hiding in a corner somewhere, licking his wounds? He should be. It’s his fault Daniel was captured by those monsters. If he hadn’t — ”
“That’s enough,” George bellowed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Major Davis stepped forward. “You need to leave, Doctor.”
Hopkins put up his hands in surrender. “I apologize. I… just…” He dropped his hands to his side as his voice fell to a whisper. “I never imagined something so horrible could happen. Not to anyone. Daniel was my best friend in graduate school. You have to tell me you’ll get him home. That you have the best people working around the clock to rescue him.”
George gestured toward the door. He needed Hopkins out of there, fast. With Colonel O’Neill removed from command, finding out what Selmak had to say could be critical to the next leg of SG-1’s mission. With all the patience he could muster, George said to Hopkins, “I assure you, the rescue of Dr. Jackson has this command’s highest attention.”
Hopkins began walking toward the door. He stopped, staring out through the transparent star chart. “If you don’t mind my asking, why is there a Chinese man sitting in your briefing room?”
George sat back down. “As you may be aware, the president recently disclosed the Stargate’s existence to the UN Security Council. The Chinese man you refer to is Ambassador Huang.”
“Huang?” Hopkins cocked his head sideways. “That’s odd.”
“Odd, how?” Jacob asked.
“P3Y-702 was loaded to the brim with Chinese artifacts,” Hopkins replied. “Is that why he’s here?”
“In a manner of speaking,” George answered. Hopkins had a high level of security clearance, but not high enough to be let in on the details of SG-1’s rescue mission.
“You said his name was Huang?”
George sighed. “Doctor, please.”
“Thanks to your ‘need-to-know’ program, I only got the short sheet but… wasn’t one of those Goa’uld System Lords named Yu after the ancient Chinese Jade emperor?”
Davis grabbed his elbow. “This way, sir.”
“Wait a second,” Jacob said. “What’s your point, doctor?”
“It’s probably nothing,” Hopkins said with a shrug. “Huang’s a common name in China, although, yeh… it’s a rather bizarre coincidence.”
In George’s seven years with the program, he’d learned the hard way that there were no such things as coincidences. “Explain.”
Hopkins looked back at him. “A planet full of Chinese artifacts… plus those four graves we dug up. Correct me if I’m wrong, man, but haven’t the forensic archaeologists determined those bodies were of Chinese descent?”
“Not yet.” George traded glances with Jacob. “Your point?”
“A’right,” said Hopkins as he raised one finger. “Daniel gets taken by some Goa’uld.” He raised a second finger. “There’s a Goa’uld who goes by the name of Lord Yu, after the Jade Emperor.” A third. “And then an ambassador shows up with the name of Huang.” He dropped his hand. “The original Emperor Yu’s full name was Yu Huang Shang-Ti. I’d consider that an odd coincidence.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Now if you wouldn’t mind…” George gestured toward Davis to show the doctor out.
Hopkins got halfway out the door and then stopped, frowning. “You realize this is all Colonel O’Neill’s fault. If he hadn’t tried to make such a half’ediat out of Daniel, he wouldn’t have been taken.”
“No, sir,” George said with an emphatic shake of his head. “Jack O’Neill has made more sacrifices than anyone else alive to protect you, this world, and particularly Dr. Jackson from the Goa’uld. You may not like the colonel’s tactics, but I can assure you, they’ve worked time and time again.”
“What about this time?”
“I have every faith in Colonel O’Neill and his team. They’ll bring him home. It’s what they do.”
Hopkins left without further resistance and Major Davis closed the door once more. George glanced over at Jacob. “Coincidence? Or is there something going on I need to know about?”
“
This information only further confirms Dr. Frasier’s preliminary results
,” Selmak said.
“Preliminary,” Major Davis repeated. He cleared his throat. “Sirs, I can’t go to the president with preliminary findings and coincidental names. There’s already enough tension between U.S. and China. If you’re wrong, the Chinese will have a fit. They’ll see any doubt of Huang’s credentials as an insult. I’m sorry, but you have to be sure.”
“We realize that, Major.” George stared at the red phone on his desk, wanting nothing more than to call the president himself. “How much more time does Dr. Frasier need?”
Davis looked at his watch. “Thirty minutes, maybe an hour.”
“
An hour may prove too long
,” Selmak said.
We must relay our suspicions to SG-1 immediately. Their lives may be in more danger than originally anticipated
.”
“And then?”
“
Then we determine how best to play our part in securing the safe return of Dr. Jackson and SG-1
.”
PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S
HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)
STATUS: SAR MISSION ON STANDBY
APPROX 2050 HRS LOCAL TIME
2 JUL 03/1010 HRS BASE TIME
“I need you to relinquish your weapon, sir.” Sam held out her hand, brushing against the communications ball hanging from her vest. She hated that device, just as much as she hated every moment of what had to come next.
Colonel O’Neill’s long fingers tightened on his P90. “You don’t want to do this, Major,” he whispered. “Not yet.”
Bra’tac and Teal’c remained a few feet back. The rising moon lit both their faces in apparent astonishment.
“Colonel, you’ve given me no choice.” She held out her hand again for emphasis. “You disregarded our orders, sir.”
Colonel O’Neill glimpsed down at her hand and glowered. “You can’t do this, orders or not.”
“I’m sorry, sir. General Hammond gave me the authority shortly before we embarked.”
“And of course you didn’t bother to check Air Force regulations on your own, right Carter?” His face tightened into an angry mask, one Sam never imagined would be directed her way. “What a good little soldier you are.”
“Sir — ”
“You can’t relieve me of command. The rules state there has to be two officers present. Nope, sorry, not going to happen.”
Bra’tac stepped forward. “I disagree… or is Teal’c’s new honorary rank merely an empty promise?”
“There’s a reason it’s called ‘honorary’.” The colonel raised up two fingers of his free hand in a mock version of air quotes.
“So you admit to only placating Teal’c in hopes of… in the hopes of what, O’Neill? So that he may stay with you and not join the ranks of the Jaffa Rebellion more directly?”
“For crying out loud, Bra’tac. This isn’t about you or your little rebellion.”
Bra’tac’s eyes narrowed. “Little?”
“
Sam, can you hear me
?” It was her father, speaking through the com device.
Sam groaned. Nice timing, Dad.
Colonel O’Neill rolled his eyes. “You gonna take that call or not?”
She pushed the ball out from its webbing and held it up. Her father was in the briefing room, a smug Ambassador Huang beside him. Sam knew ‘hate’ was a strong word to use, but at the moment, it seemed to define pretty much everything involved with this mission. Especially Ambassador Huang.
“We read you, Dad. Five by five.”
“
General Hammond requested I relay that the mission, as planned, is still a go
.”
Huang leaned in, his face filling up the ball’s display. “
Confine Colonel O’Neill to the ship, Major Carter
.”
“No, sir.” Sam shook her head. “The colonel’s still needed if we’re going to succeed on this mission.”
“
By whose authority
?” Huang snarled. Clearly, he didn’t like this anymore than Sam, though for different reasons.
“Mine as commanding officer.”
“Ha!” Colonel O’Neill laughed. “That’s a joke.”
Sam kept her eyes on the com device, knowing that if she looked at the colonel — even for an instant — she’d break. “Mister Ambassador, if you have a problem with my decision, I suggest you take it up with General Hammond or the Secretary of the Air Force, sir.”
Inside the briefing room, someone’s palm covered the display. When it was removed, Huang’s face had zoomed back out to include her father.
“
If anything changes on this end, kiddo, we’ll keep you informed. In the meantime, proceed as discussed.
”
“Right.” Sure Dad, easy for you to say.
Sam stuck the com ball back on her vest. “Colonel, that rifle is a direct violation of our orders. Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.” She held out her hand once more.
Teal’c came up beside the colonel. “O’Neill, if we are to rescue Daniel Jackson, and not return home in disgrace — ”
“Like I care what people think.”
“Nonetheless, our orders remain,” Teal’c said softly.
“Fine, whatever.” The colonel shoved his rifle at Sam.
Grabbing her pack from the ground, she ejected the partially spent magazine and stowed it and the rifle inside.
“Permission to use the head before we move out, Ma’am.” Bad attitude in full force, the colonel had come to attention and saluted.
“I will accompany you, O’Neill,” said Teal’c.
“No,” Sam replied. She pulled off the com ball and handed to Teal’c. “You hang on to this. I’ll escort the colonel in case he tries anything inappropriate.”
Colonel O’Neill raised an eyebrow. “What? You don’t think Huang wants to watch me take a piss?”
“Sir,” she warned. Now wasn’t the time for clever wisecracks.
“Fine then.” The colonel stormed off.
Sam followed, acutely aware of the sympathy on Teal’c and Bra’tac’s faces as she walked by.