PART TEN 
 

Nine-Eight-Nine was silent when the Stargate burst to life, its whoosing sound echoing off the metal structure around it.  A solitary figure stepped through onto the dais but was soon joined by two flanking officers, guns at the ready.  When the gate shut down its mercurial wall with another loud sound Major Samantha Carter checked her bearings then looked around.   

The officer on her right moved over to the MALP, which appeared to still contain most of the items that had been packed for the colonel.  Sam exchanged a look with the young Lieutenant but she made no comment.   Lifting her chin, she looked around.  The sound of the gate had to have echoed loudly in this place, so why hadn’t the colonel or the clone come out to greet them?

“Colonel!” Her voice echoed around her, confirming her suspicions. “Colonel? Daniel?”  She checked her watch.  If she didn’t know better she’d say the place was deserted.   

Colonel O’Neill was due to return a report an hour ago but he failed to show up.  Hammond had allowed him a leeway of time, but when Sam had gone to the General, arguing that they should never have allowed the Colonel to go through alone, Hammond gave into her request to go and investigate. 

Two hours prior to this Teal’c had accompanied Daniel to P4x-459 to continue their fledgling relationship with the Harkentarkians. They were not due back for hours.  Hammond felt it was best to leave the SG-1 members on the mission they were already on, and issued two other officers, Lieutenant Peterson and Captain Hofftom of SG-10, to go with Major Carter and investigate the situation on Nine-Eight-Nine.  Their orders were to bring Colonel O’Neill home, and the clone, if anything should have happened to O’Neill.

Carter indicated for the team to fan out.  She went straight ahead while Peterson went down the immediate steps, and Hofftom rounded the catwalk and went up the stairs at the other end.  When Sam reached the computer a strange sensation of Déjà vu came over her.  Hairs stood on her forearms and the nape of her neck.

She looked around at the computer and equipment and seeing nothing out of the ordinary she cautiously went along the corridor towards the room she’d remembered waking up in on their last visit.  Working the release of the door it slid open.  It was how she remembered it; black sleek tables in the centre of a room in need of good repair. Other than that, the room was empty so she backed out and went along the corridor to the next door.   

Inside, on the far wall, laid the body of the Jack clone.  She caught her breath as she gingerly crossed over the room.  The material draped over him came up to his nipple line while his hands lay lightly laced together across his stomach region.  Sam observed the muscular contour in the arms, neck and upper chest, and the small tuft of hairs nestled between the firm rounded pecs.  Involuntarily she raised her brow.   From her vague recollections of the Colonel’s build she figured it to be accurate.

She twisted to leave the room, taking one step from the inactive clone before she paused.  If her clone had the mole under her breast like she did, it would stand to reason that the clones were near to a perfect match as anything would be. Carter knew she should walk from the room, not glance back at the clone, but she was also a scientist, curious….

Carefully she watched the door as she took one step back to the clone.  With the tip of her gun she eased up the material and began to peer under.  The sound of the door opening had her turning away from the clone so fast that her head spun.  Lieutenant Peterson looked from her to the clone then back to her. If he noticed her blushing he didn’t comment.

“I’ve located a room..”

“Where?”

“A few levels below us.”

She worried over her next question. “Is he there?”

“No, Ma’am.  But I did note a stringent smell of fresh urine..”

“Urine?”

“I gather these things don’t.. pee..” The young officer looked past her to the robot on the bed.  Sam looked at the Jack clone. 

“No, I don’t.. I don’t think so.”

“Then I’d say that the Colonel has recently been here.”

“But where is he now?”  She asked as her mouth turned down in frustration.

“Shall I take you to the room, Major?”

“If it’s fresh,” She crinkled her nose. “I’m sure to find it myself.  Keep looking. Colonel O’Neill has to be here somewhere.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The lieutenant turned and left the room.  Sam glanced down at the clone, flushed when she realized what she was about to do, then turned and left the room herself, closing it behind her.

*

Captain Hofftom was SG-10’s resident Archaeologist, and a devout student of Doctor Daniel Jackson.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about the prospect of coming face-to-face with a robot version.  He stepped carefully along the metal mesh walkway, his boots making a clunking sound with each step.  He held his gun at the ready, on General Hammond’s orders.  He knew, from the quick Briefing that he attended prior to this mission that the General and Major Carter were concerned for the Colonel’s personal safety. That thought had him gripping the barrel of his gun a little tighter.  Hofftom considered the Colonel to be way smarter and stronger than he was, so what kind of hope did he stand against this rogue Clone if O’Neill was taken down by it?  Hofftom swallowed in a chronically dry mouth. 

Rounding a bend in the walkway he spotted something out of ilk with the rest of the complex.  A doorway shrouded in cloth was at the end of the row.  The temperature in this vicinity had risen slightly, making the young Captain sweat.  Hofftom blew his hair from his eyes and stepped closer to the cloth-covered doorway. 

*

Sam was back at the computer.  Her gun was next to Colonel O’Neill’s, which appeared to have been abandoned on top of the computer monitor.  Carter had checked it out for discharge, but it was clean.  Now she was trying to understand the different screens scrolling across the monitor, flashing lights of red, orange and green, at her.  She wasn’t sure she understood what any of it meant.  Nothing seemed to be an emergency, which was her scenario – that the Colonel had gone with the clone to a distant corner of the vast place to repair something.  But nothing was showing a problem. 

*

Hofftom’s gun pointed through the layers of material and he used it to sweep it aside. At this angle all he could see was a corner of the room, and it looked like it had been wreaked.  Piles of material were pushed against the wall and Hofftom was trying to ascertain what its purpose might be as he craned his neck and peered through the curtain and into the rest of the room. 

Perhaps, Sam was now surmising, the clone and Colonel had repaired the problem and were now on their way back, having been too far away from the Gate when it first opened to have heard it.  She checked her watch then her head snapped up when she heard Hofftom’s cry of “Major!” echo through the complex.

Sam snatched up her gun and ran towards the sound, discovering Lieutenant Peterson doing the same from the opposite direction.  They got to a point in the metal walkways and looked around, confused by the ambiguous surroundings.

“Major!”

Sam and Peterson took off at a run towards the sound and soon found the cloth-covered doorway.  Carter caught her breath outside, preparing herself, or at least trying to, for what might be inside.   She pushed through the thickness and stood beside Hofftom, staring at a pile of bedding in the corner of the room.

“The Colonel has definitely slept here,” Peterson said as he shouldered past the others and went to the military issued bed roll, still in its original form.  Carter sighed in frustration and pushed a hand through her short blonde locks.

“So where the hell is he?” She grumbled through gritted teeth. 

“Obviously not here,” Peterson said as he toed the bedroll with his boot. “Shall we report to the General.”

The blue eyes went wide for a moment, and then Sam reneged.  It was clear that whatever had happened to the Colonel was going to take a larger search party than the three of them.  “I’ll call it in,” she mumbled as she turned to follow the others from the room.  Peterson and Hofftom were out when she saw something from the corner of her eye.  Going to the wall she peered through the material and then startled when she realized what was behind the partially closed drapes. 

“Major?” Hofftom poked his head back into the room.  Sam twisted her neck to look at him. 

“I’ll be right there.  Meet me at the Stargate.”

“What’s that?” He asked, jutting his chin towards the wall she was staring at as he stepped into the room. 

She put herself between the advancing officer and the cuffs on the wall.  “I gave you an order, Captain.  Do it!”

Wordlessly he nodded then left the room.  Sam turned around and looked at the cuffs again.  She screwed her eyes shut tightly when she thought about what their purpose might be.  Instinct for Damage Control kicked in for her and she covered over the incriminating evidence before leaving the room, only sparing a quick glance at the rumpled bedding and for the events that might have unfolded in that corner. 

As she stepped from the room she realized she was sweating.  Rubbing her hand over her brow she made her way back towards the Stargate. 

*

Hofftom and Peterson were sitting on the steps of the dais when Carter joined them. 

“Dial us up, Lieutenant,” she called out as she neared.  Peterson got up off the dais and was about to reach the DHD when the gate started to activate.  Hofftom scurried off the dais and was beside Major Carter when the next chevron locked into place. 

“Cover up,” Carter barked as she moved to the side of the direct blast.  Peterson crouched behind the DHD while Hofftom climbed partway down the steps and aimed his gun at the centre of the gate. 

Soon the last chevron hit home and the gate burst to life, dappling silver light through the complex.  Sam’s fingers tightened around the barrel of her gun while her trigger finger inched into place. 

Two bodies emerged from the shimmery surface, both engrossed in each other’s conversation and unaware of the welcoming party awaiting them.  Jack was obviously telling one of his ‘stories’ to the clone. 

The younger man was laughing hard as he said, “Space monkey?”

“Hey! It’s something I called him when he returned from the dead, once-”

Daniel screwed up his handsome face. “Does he like it?” Clearly the clone didn’t.

Jack couldn’t help but laugh. “I really don’t know.  I only ever called him that once, and he never mentioned it..” Jack saw the laughter in the blue eyes. “Oh come on! It’s from a cartoon! Don’t tell me you never watched Space monkey when you were a kid, Daniel?”

Together the men stopped at the end of the ramp. “Well when I was a kid, Jack, I was in orphanages a lot, so I don’t really remember much about anything.”

Sam and the others had exchanged looks throughout the tête-à-tête, somewhat perturbed that their presence hadn’t had any impact on the returning men’s conversation.  She stepped forth and said, gruffly, “Colonel?”  

Jack’s head snapped when he heard her voice. His surprise was evident by his shocked expression. “Holy…” When he saw Hofftom then Peterson he startled even more. “Carter, what the hell are you doing here?”

She retaliated before thinking, “What the hell weren’t you.. doing… here?”

Jack arched his brow at that clumsy yet insubordinate comment but all he said was, “I asked first!”

Daniel chuckled softly beside him, and Sam could see glee shining in the colonel’s brown eyes. Offended that he was so glib about the situation, and her own concern for his safety and well-being, she retorted sharply with, “Sir, you were due to report to General Hammond at ten-hundred hours. You failed to do so.  We were issued as Search and Rescue.”

Daniel looked from one to the other, to the third. Sarcastically, he mused, “Wow… all.. all.. three of you?”

Carter glanced at him, did a double-take at his uncanny likeness then said, “This was supposed to be a peaceful mission.  Three should have been ample.”

“Ouch!” The clone quipped as he rocked on his feet and bowed his head to hide his smirk. 

“Ten-Hundred? It’s only Oh-Nine-Thirty now, Carter!” Jack held his arm out to her to show her his watch. 

She barely glanced at the watch as she informed him. “Colonel, it’s Eleven-forty-Two.  Your watch must be slow.”

Jack looked at his watch, tapped the glass with his fingernail then announced, “It’s working fine, Major!”

“I can’t explain that, Sir, but the time on Earth is currently-” She checked her watch, partly to make sure and partly to prove her point- “Eleven- forty-three.”

Jack listened to his watch again, shook his arm then listened once more.  He shrugged as he lowered his hand to his thigh and looked at the clone beside him.  Daniel’s gaze was neutral.

Carter looked at the clone, who had been watching her from under a wrinkled brow.  “Sir, General Hammond is waiting your return.”

Jack looked at Daniel then at Carter.  “The mission here is still not completed, Carter. I’ll come back when it is.”

Sam frowned as she looked between the two of them.  “All due respect, Sir…”

“Yadda-” Daniel mumbled before pursing his lips, cocking a brow and folding his arms over his chest. On Daniel that was always a self-protection mechanism; on this clone it appeared aggressive.  An uneasy feeling turned Sam’s stomach as she traded looks with this clone.  He looked like Daniel, and it was true that she hadn’t seen Daniel amused a lot, but there was an arrogance oozing from this man that didn’t suit the face she knew so well. 

Coolly, she said, “I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t beg, Sam,” Daniel purred, with more than a hint of knowing in his tone. The wink he gave made her flush and feel incensed.

Ignoring him, she addressed the colonel. “Sir, are you coming back to Earth?”

“Ah-” Jack scratched his ear and looked at the scuffs on his boots. “No.” He raised his face and grinned at the flustered Major. Carter’s mouth dropped open and she looked like she had a hundred and one things she wanted to say but the only words out of her mouth, as she stared back into the colonel’s brown eyes, were, “Peterson, dial up Earth and go through to tell General Hammond that Colonel O’Neill is refusing to return to earth.”

Peterson’s face went white.  “Excuse me, Major, but..”

“You heard me.  I want you and Hofftom to return and ask Hammond to issue reinforcements.”

Colonel O’Neill didn’t flinch at her words. He looked at the Lieutenant before tilting his head to look at his very angry subordinate again. 

“Me? Ma’am?” Paterson croaked, clearly unhappy about his latest charge.  

“Ya scaring the crap outta him, Carter.  Go through yourself..”

“No Sir,” Sam said bluntly.  “I’m remaining here to talk sense to you.”

“You’re in trouble now, Jack!” Daniel teased and the colonel twisted at the waist to look at him.  They exchanged grins then Jack looked back at Carter.

“Go home.  I’ll come by.. later..”

“Dial it up, Paterson..”

“But Major..”

“That’s an Order!”

Both Daniel and Jack watched as Paterson pressed each glyph on the dial home device but the last glyph would not engage. Peterson frowned and pressed the symbol harder. 

“It won’t engage, Major.”

Jack’s brow furrowed with an interested frown as he made his way over to the DHD.  Carter was by his side.

“That doesn’t make sense.  Try it again,” she ordered. 

The young officer tried the seven symbols again and this time it did engage.  Carter frowned but could offer no explanation.

“Maybe it was just busy,” Jack said, brashly.  Carter glared at him, not sure she was overly fond of the ‘relaxed Jack’ act.  She then watched as Paterson pressed the large red onyx-like centre.  The two young officers glanced at all three remaining people as they slinked past on their way through the gate.

Once the Gate was shut Daniel turned to Sam and said, “Gee, if I knew you were coming..”

Ignoring him, Sam interrupted in a controlled voice, “Sir, I’d like to speak to you in private.”

Jack shrugged and stepped away from Daniel.  The clone’s expression darkened as he watched Carter and O’Neill walk away from him. 

*

Daniel and Teal’c had just returned from their mission to Harkentarkan.  They were carrying a number of bulky items in their arms. 

“Ah, gifts from the Harkentarkians,” Daniel informed the baffled General who was looking over the arms full the men were carrying.  As he spoke, the archaeologist handed over each item to the officers who had come to help relieve them of their load.  Standard operational procedures required the gifts to be analyzed and inspected for any form of sabotage.  Daniel felt it unnecessary in the case of the Harkentarkians but he relinquished the artifacts to the awaiting arms.

With amusement in his eyes, Hammond said, “It seems you made a good impression, Doctor Jackson.”

“Apparently so,” Daniel said, both proud of his achievement and amused by the General’s delight at the bounty of gifts. 

Daniel was about to speak again when the gate started to rotate. Daniel and Teal’c moved off the ramp and all three men stepped away from it. Hammond turned to look up at the Control room.  Lieutenant Simmons was on duty that afternoon, so it was he that informed the inquiring man, “SG-10’s code, Sir.”

Hammond nodded sharply and let Daniel and Teal’c know what was going on.  “Colonel O’Neill failed to return his report on time.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the gate burst to life. Over the roar Hammond said, “I sent Major Carter and two members of..”

Two forms came through the shimmering wall and made their way to the end of the ramp.  Hammond, Daniel and Teal’c all waited for Sam and Jack to come through but when the gate closed behind the two incoming travelers the General looked at them in confusion.

“Where is Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter?”

Hofftom stepped forward and, clearly uncomfortable, announced, “Sir, there was a slight problem on P3x-989…”

<End of Part 10>