Betrayal

SUMMARY: The title says it all

"Carter!" Jack screamed from his position to the left of the gate. "Go through it now! That's an order Major". Jack laid down the covering fire so Sam could reach her destination safely. The sound of staff weapon blasts came from all directions. The staccato sounds of gunfire rang out intermittently from Jack's AK 47. Jack chanced a quick look over his shoulder to see if Carter was listening. She was moving in the right direction followed closely by Teal'c who was carrying the prone body of Daniel Jackson.

"Colonel!" Sam yelled out as she reached the steps leading to the open Stargate. "Come on"

"I'll be right behind you Major, Just get yourself and the others to safety." Even as he spoke, Jack began to move backwards towards the gate, all the while spraying the area with bullets. Satisfied that he was indeed following them, Sam turned and ran through the circle to safety along with Teal'c. Jack continued his backwards withdrawal. As his heel found the bottom stair, he turned and started to sprint up the steps to the ring . On the second to last step, a staff blast found his leg, throwing him off balance, only to crash to the ground in pain. As he fell, his GDO transmitter flew from his hand into the waiting ring. With an audible woosh, the Stargate shut down, leaving Jack behind to his fate.

" We need a medic here now!" Sam yelled as she emerged from the naquadah ring into the SGC embarkation room. She caught up to Teal'c who was only feet away from her with Daniel still in his arms. "How is he?" she inquired with worry in her eyes.

"He appears to be undamaged, with the exception of the blow to the head" came the reply. Teal'c turned so as to give Carter a better view of Daniel's face. Aside from a nasty looking bruise on his forehead, he did appear to be all right.

Just then, Janet Frasier arrived with a gurney and a team of medics. She took a quick look at Daniel, then nodded at Teal'c to place him on the gurney. Teal'c did so with a gentleness that belied his great strength. "Take him to the infirmary stat. I will be along in just a moment" Janet directed her staff. Briskly they moved out of the room. "Are the rest of you okay?" she asked, " and why isn't the Colonel with you?"

Horrified, Sam turned back to the gate. In watching Daniel, she had assumed that the Colonel was indeed behind her. At that moment, an object came out of the gate and crashed to the ramp with a loud, metallic clang. The gate then shut off behind it.

Sam walked over and hesitantly picked up the object. It was the Colonel's transmitter. "Oh my God!" came the strangled words. "He was right behind me. What happened?" Sam began to shake as the realisation hit that Jack may not have survived the shoot-out, and that she left without him.

'Major" came the authoritative voice from behind her. "Major Carter - attention!"

Sam immediately reigned in her emotions, and stood tall with her salute directed at her superior officer "Yes Sir. General Hammond, Sir" came her military reply.

"At ease Major" the General said. Turning to Janet, he gave a brief nod to excuse her to the infirmary. Janet turned away with a worried look at Sam, but recognising the need to aid Daniel, she left. Looking up at the control room above him, the General addressed Lieutenant Simmons "send the MALP through as soon as possible. I want to know everything possible about the situation there". With that he returned his attention to the remaining members of the team waiting on the ramp " Teal'c and Major Carter, I want you in my office now. Obviously we have a situation here that requires our immediate attention. Dismissed" with that, Hammond spun on his heel and headed out the exit.

"Yes Sir" Sam whispered. Teal'c took her arm gently, and with a last, sad look at the now dormant gate, she let him lead her out the door.

"So you're telling me that this was all a set-up? Someone knew that you were coming through and was waiting there to ambush you? Who would do such a thing? And why?" The General was furious and throwing questions at a rapid pace at the two members of SG1."Who could possibly know that you were coming? I only got the orders for the mission yesterday."

"Orders Sir? Since when are we sent to any new world based on orders from the outside?" Sam asked curiously. "And yes Sir, it was an ambush. Our attackers came at us from strategic positions around the gate's vicinity. We were allowed only enough time to dial back, and that was largely due to Daniel's quick work at the DHD and the Colonel's intuition. He sensed the attack seconds before it began and started to provide the cover fire immediately."

"You're right Major. We don't normally receive orders from off base, but these came from the Secretary of Defence himself. It seems that SG7's report reached his ears, and he was concerned that the technology on that planet could pose a threat. Especially the.....what did you call it Major?"

"The Eternal Loop - Sir"

"Er - right. Anyway, he seemed to feel that anything that could distort or affect time could be very damaging in the wrong hands." Hammond began to rub his temple absently. "As far as I know, that information followed a direct chain of command. With what you just told me though, I have to wonder if that's true."

"Sir, what about Colonel O' Neill. We need to go back there to see if he's still alive" the last words tumbled out of Sam's mouth in a rush, as though saying them would make it so.

The General thought for a moment before speaking, "From what you have told me, there seems to be little chance that Jack is still alive. Much as this pains me to say it, request denied. Until we know more about this possible set-up, I am not prepared to send any more people through. I won't risk losing anyone else. Now I have some calls to make and I suggest you go to the infirmary and have Dr. Frasier check you out. Dismissed"

Hammond sat down slowly as he watched the two friends leave the room. He understood their frustration, but the implications of what they were saying was frightening. Somewhere there was a leak. It was at a high level to have known about the Eternal Loop, and apparently it had a grudge against either the Stargate program, or SG1 itself. Either way, he needed to find it! If only he knew about Jack....

Daniel was starting to come around in the infirmary as Sam and Teal'c arrived. They were greeted by Dr. Frasier. She informed them that according to the tests she had run, that Daniel would be fine. It appeared that he had a mild concussion, and a rather colourful bruise, but nothing more that she could detect. Watching them closely, she understood that Daniel was only a part of the worry apparent in their faces. Hearing Daniel call her name, she gently steered them into the examination area with her to check on him.

"How are you feeling Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c inquired, although to his eye, the linguist appeared pale, but alert.

"I'm fine thanks Teal'c." Daniel took in their expressions and realised that there was a serious problem. Then he noticed an empty space that should have been filled with one sarcastic Colonel griping about having to play mother hen in the infirmary again. "Where's Jack" he asked hesitantly, not knowing if he wanted to hear the answer. " He wasn't hurt was he?"

Sam was staring fixedly at the IV pole standing unused beside the bed before turning her blue eyes to meet Daniel's. " We don't know what happened to him Daniel. He never made it through the gate with us. We uh, we left him behind". The last words came out in not much more than a whisper.

Daniels' face was a study in horror. "Oh my God" he choked out. "No one could have survived that. I know I don't know everything that happened there before I got knocked out, but I do know that small armies don't all possess that kind of firepower. How could this have happened?" Tears brightened his eyes as he looked to his friends for answers. " When can we go back to get him?"

"We cannot. At least not yet Daniel Jackson. It appears as though we may have been betrayed by our own people. General Hammond is trying to find out how our mission could have been disclosed. Until he has some idea of who is behind this, and why, he has denied us a chance at rescue. He is worried that word of a rescue attempt on our part might be relayed to these same people, and that we may once again be ambushed. We need to find out who is behind all of this before we can go back." Teal'c's mild tone surprised everyone, until they looked at the tension in his jaw and realized how much he was restraining himself. No one envied the first hostile to encounter Teal'c after this, as they would take the brunt of his frustration.

"So we are supposed to sit here and twiddle our thumbs while the General makes his phone calls, is that what your telling me?" Daniel demanded of his friends.

"What do you suggest we do Daniel?" Janet asked. She was just as upset as the others. Jack was her friend too, and a second father to Cassie. If they had any ideas on how to help, she was going to join them.

"Well, let's go over what we know. The orders came down from the Secretary of Defence. Who would have access to information coming from that quadrant, and who would be interested in the type of technology that we're dealing with here? Obviously anything that could alter time would be valuable to all governments, but that information was still known only to a few key people in our government. So, that leaves us with people from our own backyard as it were." Sam started to doodle on the pad of paper in front of her. Chains of command started to appear. As the names of all who should, and could have access to the information appeared under her pencil. One name emerged that caught her breath. "Look at this guys." Sam showed each of them the name that she circled. Colonel Maybourne.

"Maybourne! " Daniel exclaimed. "That fits. Look what happened with the touchstone. He had his dirty little fingers all over that, nearly at the cost of that world. He also hates Jack and the rest of us. Sam, I think you're right. I feel it right here." Daniel pointed at his stomach. "Now what do we do about it?"

"Well, for a start, I think we should approach General Hammond with our suspicions. Maybe he has found out something more substantial than just a hunch. I agree with you though Daniel, I think we have our man." With that Sam started for the door. Daniel hopped off the bed, and with Janet and Teal'c close behind, he followed her.

Sam hadn't finished knocking when an angry looking General Hammond opened the door, a phone still to his ear. He gestured for her and the others to come in and sit while he finished his conversation. "'You'll never guess who our leak is" said the General after slamming down the phone.

"It wouldn't be Colonel Maybourne would it Sir?" asked Carter sarcastically. It seemed some of the Colonel was rubbing off on her.

"Now how did you know that Major? Never mind. It seems that orders came from the top to NID to remove the device from planet P3X 912 without our knowledge. The Secretary of Defence was not made aware of this. Those orders came from another faction of the Government. We were then to be sent in to help secure the object. When it was found to be missing, the inhabitants would naturally think it was us who had stolen it in the first place. Apparently Maybourne had personally asked for the assignment, and had arranged for the orders to be sent to us requesting SG1 be the team sent rather than the initial contact team."

"To what end General" inquired Daniel.

Teal'c spoke up. "To deflect attention away from Maybourne and his men and place it on us. The villagers were expected to turn on us in anger, causing a diplomatic incident that we would be blamed for. If any of us were lost, Maybourne would blame it on our own incompetence, and probably rejoice when in private. Does this theory seem sound General?"

"I'd say you are right on the money Teal'c. Now the question is - what are we going to do about it?"

"Well, for a start, we could go back to the planet and try to reason with the people. We could explain what happened and find out about Jack" Daniel said.

"The MALP was already sent Dr. Jackson" the General spoke. "It showed nothing but the clearing you described. There was no sign of the Colonel".

"I don't think that would work anyway" Carter interjected. " We have no proof of anything. All we could do is give them our word, and what would that mean to people who already think of us as thieves. We need to find the device and return it to it's people. And" she added savagely " we need to take down Maybourne!" The General’s comments rattled her more than she would ever let on, but she would make sure that Maybourne paid dearly for whatever he had set Jack up for.

"How will we find the device General?" Janet asked. "We don't even know where to start."

"On the contrary, General" all eyes turned towards Teal'c as he spoke. " I suggest that we go directly to the source. We should find Colonel Maybourne and have a 'talk' with him. He should have no problems ‘talking’ with me. I can be very ‘persuasive’. The smile on Teal'c's face promised all sorts of revenge against the Colonel. Teal'c had not forgotten the events of his near death from an insect sting. Events precipitated by one over anxious Colonel with a personal agenda.

"Now Teal'c" the General smiled conspiratorially, "you know that I cannot authorise that. What you are suggesting is tantamount to kidnapping. I am aware however, that SG1 is overdue for 24hours of downtime, effective immediately. Be back in my office at 2100hours tomorrow. I hope you have an enlightening day. Dismissed" with that, the General saluted the four people of his command then turned back to his desk.

Colonel O'Neill awoke to near darkness. He was lying on a dirt floor in what appeared to be a cellar of sorts. Long since abandoned by the looks of it. What little food remained was rotten and crawling with insects. The light trickled in through chinks in what he assumed was the door. The air was damp, with a mouldy smell. Jack reached out and felt a wall just inches behind him. He sat up with a groan, and pushed his back against it for support. Feeling for his pack, he realised that it, as well as his gun had been removed. Closing his eyes, he remembered seeing his team going through the gate, and then the burning pain in his leg as the blast hit him. The next memory was of waking up here. Tentatively, he reached down to the back of his thigh where he knew the wound was. Even his cautious touch resulted in the excruciating pain that brought tears to his eyes. "Oh Jack. This is bad." Even his soft words sounded harsh and out of place in his cell. Slowly he raised himself to his feet. Balancing on one leg, he hopped over to where the door sloped to meet high up with the wall. Placing one hand on the wall for support, Jack placed his other hand on the door and gave it a test push. It didn't budge. For all its dilapidated appearance, the wood remained strong. "Damn natural fibres" Jack muttered. Giving up on getting out for the time being, he concentrated on exploring his surroundings. The cellar appeared to be about 8 foot square. There were no windows and just the single door he had already tried. The air was dank and stale, and a feeling of abandonment permeated it. There was no furniture and the walls were bare. "Peachy" Jack grumbled. He was thirsty and felt feverish and from what he could find, there was no water. With no way of knowing how long he would be there, he realised he would have to conserve his energy. Moving to the corner of the room, Jack slumped down the wall, with his injured leg stretched out in front of him. The waiting game began.

Maybourne rounded the corner of his Sierra home with a satisfied look an his face. It had been a good couple of days for him. First he had acquired the Eternal Loop, and then he set SG1 up to take the fall. Apparently, Jack O'Neill was now MIA, and Maybourne couldn't be happier. He hated that arrogant Colonel with a passion. Unaware that the hall in front of him suddenly filled up with the bulk of the massive Jaffa warrior, Maybourne smacked right into his chest. Quicker than thought, Teal'c had him spun around and tucked under his arm like a football. Holding the Colonel' s weight easily with one arm, he used his free hand to cover Maybourne's mouth. Thus subdued, Maybourne was carried unceremoniously out of the building and into the waiting van. The driver waited for the doors to close and then sped off. In the back, Maybourne was freed. Teal'c sat right behind him though, as solid and immutable as any mountain. Maybourne shivered as he felt the eyes of the Jaffa train on him. Bolting was not an option he realised. Across from him sat Daniel Jackson with a 9mm casually waving in his direction.

"What's going on here?" Maybourne sputtered.

"We'll ask the questions "Colonel'" Daniel remarked.

"You'll pay for this! I'll have you court-martialled. I'll see you before a firing squad, I'll......" Maybourne’s words ending abruptly as he received a light smack across the back of the head from Teal'c.

"I don't think so Colonel. We're not actually military, now are we?" Daniel chose not to mention Sam and Janet who sat out of sight in the front of the van. "And as such, we can't be court-martialled. In fact, since no-one saw us take you, you can't even have us charged." Daniel dropped his voice to a low and dangerous tone. "And if no-one ever finds you, who will know or even care about what happened. Show him Teal'c"

Maybourne looked around towards Teal'c only to find a Zat gun trained on him.

"You remember these don't you Colonel?" Daniel asked snidely. "One shot, great pain. Two shots, you die and three shots, you’re gone. No evidence. So now we are going to have a game of twenty questions. You know the game don't you? I ask the questions, and you answer to my satisfaction or Teal'c shoots you. Your choice."

Teal'c noticed that Daniel, normally a peace loving man, seemed to be enjoying himself. Apparently, revenge sat well with him.

"So Maybourne, let's begin shall we......"

Jack's fever had set in with a vengeance some hours before. He was weakening rapidly. He realised that the wound had become infected during his hours on the cold dirt floor, and he understood that if his conditions didn't change soon, that he might not survive. He had assumed that someone would come to question him, or more hopefully. release him. After all, if they wanted him dead, they could have just shot him again. Over the last few hours however, it became painfully apparent that he was on his own. While he waited he had been thinking about his friends, and his life. mind ticking over. He knew he had suffered through some real tragedy, only to gain a new lease on life. His work was fulfilling, if somewhat dangerous, but being a man of action, that suited him just fine. He had gained some true friends while at the SGC. Friends who quite literally would die (and had died) for him and who would follow him to the ends of the Earth, and the galaxy for that matter. It was with this in mind that he contemplated his next course of action. While he knew that he could not lift the door , he wondered if he could break it apart. He had been listening for some time for sounds of activity outside. He had heard none. Jack realised that he had been left there to die. The people were evidently quite confident in their cell, and with no food or water, and an injury, they obviously did not expect him to last long. Night had started to fall and he realised that the cover of darkness would be necessary for him in reaching the Stargate. His cell might not be watched, but the gate probably was.

Jack stood up slowly, and began to move towards the door, eyes shut tight to ward against the spots swirling sickeningly in front of him. He felt something trickle down the back of his leg from his wound. Ignoring it, he opened his eyes when his hands felt the wood. Wedging his fingers into the largest chink he could find, Jack began the tedious task of breaking away the wood. One sliver at a time.....

Promptly at 2100 hours the next day, Hammond entered his office to find a waiting Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson, Janet Frasier, and Teal'c. All were smiling.

Sam started " General Sir, we know where the Eternal Loop is, and we think we have a plan for getting it back."

"Well Major, let's hear it" the General replied.

Teal'c took a turn. " It is not within Area 51, General, but the key to it is."

"Apparently," Daniel's turn " Maybourne didn't trust his people with the artefact."

The General snorted.

"It seems that he has it packed and ready for delivery. We know the pick up point. It is waiting in a locker at the train station in Washington. The key, however is still in Nevada" Daniel continued.

Now Janet joined the fray. "The Colonel became rather talkative General. It seems that this whole affair has become very cloak and dagger. Maybourne was contacted anonymously, ostensibly through the Secretary of Defence's Office, but he was given all instructions by phone. All he was told was to get the device, and to arrange for a fall guy. That would be SG1. It seems the Colonel derived a great deal of satisfaction from setting them up, and even more when he found out that Colonel O'Neill was listed MIA." A frown creased Janet's brow when she recalled hearing Maybourne's comments from the cab of the van. The laugh Maybourne let out when he described Jack's probable demise was reason enough for her to want to blow her cover and shoot him herself. "He had a team of four go in to retrieve the device. They were dressed in SG uniforms and a point was made to have them throw the teams’ names around a little".

Teal’c stepped in at this point. "It appears as though this may have been the same team that escaped through the second gate at Nellis before it was sealed".

Daniel took over " The key is to be picked up at 0900 tomorrow morning. All they are expecting is a man going by the code name ' Franz'. He is German and has the phrase "good morning all, what a nice day it is" to identify him. That will be spoken in German of course, which I just happen to speak.. I will go in his place to get the key while Teal'c intercepts the real agent and delays him. After that, it is a simple matter of getting to the locker and grabbing the device."

The four friends waited while the General mulled over all that he had heard. After a time, he placed his hands down on his desk and stood. "SG1, and Dr Frasier, you have a go." After the office emptied, he sat down again and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't reconcile himself to the fact that his own government were the ones that he and his people were defending themselves against. Even more than the Goa’uld. He sighed, raised his head and started to work on how he was going to explain this all to his superiors, or if he even was......

Jacks' breath was coming in ragged gasps and sweat trickled down his brow as he continued to break away the wood that confined him. Blood streamed unnoticed down his arms from his torn fingers. He had the hole almost large enough to crawl through, if he could just get that last piece. With a tearing sound, the wood tore away, but Jack had pulled so hard that as the piece gave way, so did his leg. He landed hard and opened his mouth in a silent scream. The pain overtook him and he passed out.

With his security badge at the ready, Daniel approached the guard at the entry. He showed the request for pick up papers Hammond had given him, and was shown through. Teal'c, Janet and Sam watched for the expected arrival. Daniel made his way to the office of Sergeant Wilson. He ducked into the nearest washroom to don his German disguise. When he emerged, his clothing and hair had changed. Checking the corridor, he approached the door. After knocking three times he was given permission to enter. Daniel delivered his line in perfect German. The Sergeant did not appear to question his appearance at all. He simply handed over the envelope without a word, and indicated the door, showing Daniel in no uncertain terms that he could leave now. After changing back, Daniel walked out of the complex at a semi hurried pace. He did not want to appear anxious, but he did want out of Area 51 as soon as possible. He still felt a lingering fear that he might run into the real delivery man. His sigh of relief as he and the rest of the team drove away was audible.

Unknown to them, Sergeant Wilson stared at the door Daniel had exited only moments before, through sightless eyes. The delivery man quietly unscrewed the silencer from his gun before he left the room. Apparently, finding the envelope already gone was upsetting to him. However, with no clue as to who picked it up, he had no choice but to leave empty handed and report to his superiors.

Jack figured that he had about two hours to sunrise if nights lasted as long here as on Earth. He had come to shaking and weak. It took all of his energy to lift himself out of the cellar. All he could do was thank his lucky stars that it was his leg that was bad. If one of his arms had been hurt, he never could have lifted his weight out. Of course, now that he was out, it would be better to have both legs. Using a long piece of wood he salvaged from the remains of the door, Jack and his makeshift crutch started out. The moon was out enough to illuminate the tracks left by the wagon that had transported him. He just hoped that they had come straight from the Stargate instead of making a detour. One painful hour later, and Jack spotted the Stargate. He almost fainted with relief. To his surprise, it appeared to be unguarded. After a moment of reflection though, he realised it wasn't so strange. He was thought to be safely out of the way, and with the team gone, the people really had nothing to guard against. Now he had to figure out how to get home. Without his GDO, the iris wouldn't open for him. As Jack continued to make his way to the DHD, he tripped on one of the myriad of field stones on the ground. Putting his hand out to support himself, he landed on a small mound of them. Staring at them while he ground his teeth against the pain that seemed to have spread throughout his body, a strange thought popped into his head. SOS. "What the Hell" he said out loud. It can't hurt. With that Jack raised himself up on the DHD and began to dial home.

" General Hammond to the embarkation room." was heard throughout the corridors of the SGC.

Red lights flashed and klaxons signalled gate activation.

"All right people, what do we have?" the General inquired.

"Sir, it's an incoming wormhole, and it's from P3X 912. Sir, that's the planet SG1 last gated to. The one Colonel O'Neill is still on. Do I open the iris Sir?"

"Negative Lieutenant. We don't know if that's the Colonel, or a hostile."

Both men jumped as a series of bangs was heard on the iris. A moment later another series was heard. Thirty seconds later yet another barrage hit the iris. Then the gate deactivated.

The staff in the control booth all turned to the General for some direction. A puzzled look on his face slowly changed to a grin. "Colonel, you sly son of a gun! Lieutenant, dial up P3X 912 immediately, and get SG1 ready to go through. The Colonel waits for us gentlemen. Let's not keep him waiting."

Jack was holding on to the DHD for dear life. He had done all he could, but he knew he had reached his limit. He hoped someone understood morse code still, and that if there were to be a response, that it would be quick in arriving. He was not disappointed as the Stargate came to life. That plume of blue that heralded the opening of the gate was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, but it paled in comparison to the sight of his team coming back for him. Daniel rushed to take his right side, Teal'c the left and Sam got to work dialling them home. Within seconds, they were within the safety of the SGC and Jack was promptly delivered into Janet's hands.

It was three long hours later before Janet emerged from Jack's room with a report for his waiting team and the General. "Jack is in pretty bad shape I'm afraid. The staff blast damaged much of his leg and the infection that settled in has spread throughout his system. He is malnourished and dehydrated. I need to operate if there is to be any chance of saving his leg, but he is not strong enough to survive the surgery at this point. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t look good. I’m surprised he’s held out for as long as he has". The look on Janet’s face told them even more than her words.

Several long moments went by before Daniel finally found his voice. "Can we see him?"

"Sure" Janet replied. "He's very weak, but he is conscious and I know he wants to see you. Just keep it short okay?"

With that the team filed into Jack's room. The head on his bed was raised so he could see them easily as they took up places around the bed. Monitors beeped and hummed around him and several IV's dripped into his arms in multiple places. Heavy bandages encased his hands damaged from ripping through the wood, and most noticeably, his propped up leg was wrapped in bandages that were already showing signs of seepage from his wound. All in all, he looked like hell. The grin on his pale face as he took in their expressions seemed totally incongruous with the scene around him "Is it ever good to see you guy's alive and well. I was worried. Now, I want to know what happened."

Slowly the team filled him in on the events of the last few days. Jack's grin faded to a look of pure hatred when he heard about Maybourne's role in the proceedings. "Wait until I get my hands on that son of a bit...!"

"Colonel" Hammond interrupted. "You're not going anywhere near that man. Not in your condition. The rest of your team departs tomorrow for Washington and when they retrieve the Eternal Loop, they will return it to the planet. Without your help I might add".

Jack started to reply when a look of pain crossed his face. Suddenly, one of the monitors started to squeal out warnings and Jack's eyes slid closed. Janet pushed the team away and quickly injected some adrenaline into the nearest IV line. The readings on the monitor settled down to a more normal pattern. Janet turned to the team with worry in her eyes. " This is just the start. His body is shutting down. The infection is too great and I don't know if he can fight it any more."

Janets' words hit hard and the team just stared at the unconscious man on the bed. Each had a million thoughts go through their heads, and all of them ended with the word -Why.

After a long night's vigil, Janet finally kicked the team out. They had a job to finish, and she was feeling overwhelmed with trying to keep Jack alive, and them placated. Neither was proving to be easy.

Several hours later, the team arrived back from Washington with the device. Retrieving it from the locker had proven to be a simple task. Worried that the locker might be guarded, they had split up and surveyed the area. No evidence of surveillance had been apparent. Now they just had to return it to it’s rightful owners. General Hammond gave them the go ahead to return the object.

The team arrived to an unprotected area. Teal'c took the case containing the Eternal Loop, and together they walked to the nearest village from where it had been stolen according to Maybourne. They were met by a vanguard of armed men and were escorted to the town ruler. They opened the case and much to the delight of the crowd, Teal'c lifted up the artefact and presented it to the ruler. After much explaining, Daniel managed to convince the rule of their sincerity, and of how they came to return the artefact. To show his gratitude, the ruler asked if the team would like a demonstration. A plant was brought forth with a flower just beginning to wilt on it. The ruler hummed a single note. The artefact appeared to remain dormant, but the flower started to bloom brightly again. As the note continued to sound, the flower changed into a bud. The ruler let the note die out and the team stood transfixed by what they had just seen.

The ruler himself escorted the team to the gate. As they started to dial, Sam suddenly turned to the ruler excitedly. " Can that work on anything organic?"

"Yes" came the reply.

"What are you thinking Sam?" Daniel asked, a sneaking suspicion coming into his mind.

"Our friend was injured here. He made it home to us, but we don't think he will live. We don't blame you for what happened, but we do wonder if you can heal him. Can you turn back time enough to reverse the damage done to him?" Carter asked.

"We can but try " the ruler said. He sent two men back for the device. They had it back to the gate in moments.

Teal'c turned to the ruler "If you would accompany us to where our friend is, I will personally guarantee your safety. Please though, we must hurry."

As the team entered Jack's room, they were greeted by Janet. She looked sadly at them and shook her head. Softly she told them that Jack had slipped into a coma, and she didn’t believe he would come out of it. The team and Janet gathered around the sides of the bed, while the ruler stood at the foot.

A note began to hang in the air as the ruler started to hum. He held the Eternal Loop in his hands as he varied the note. The team all turned to Jack to watch for any signs. Nothing happened and they all felt the great weight of disappointment. The ruler hummed louder. Another noise joined it. It was the sound of the monitors picking up more activity. Jack's heartbeat grew stronger. His blood pressure picked up. His colour improved. Janet started to unbandage one hand, disbelief clear in her face. This was unlike anything she had witnessed before. She gasped as she looked at his hand. The fingers were healing over. She quickly turned to his leg. As the bandages came off, the horrific injury came into view. As they all looked on however, the wound started to knit together, the infection and the burns fading away. The skin turned a healthy colour. In a matter of moments, the leg was as though it had never been injured.

The ruler let the note die, and as it ended, Jack started to wake. Surprised to see everyone looking so intently at him, he squirmed uncomfortably and tried to break the ice. " Do I have food in my teeth or what?" Suddenly, everyone was talking and laughing in relief.

Days later, the team and Janet were in the briefing room with General Hammond. Jack had been given the all clear by Janet. Even though she had witnessed his miraculous healing for herself, she insisted on keeping him under observation for another 48 hours before releasing him. The ruler had been sent home with their thanks earlier that week. They also gave some ideas for the defence of the Eternal Loop, including the shutting down of the gate by the people unless absolutely needed. Something that powerful would continue to be at risk, especially with this unknown team, operating under the guise of the SGC floating around.

"Well people" Hammond addressed them. "I want to congratulate you on your fine work, but we do have one loose end to tie up. Colonel Maybourne wants to see your heads on his mantle. Apparently, being left trussed up in the middle of the Area 51 parking lot does not sit well with him. Officially he has no recourse as no one in the military had any dealings with him. Be aware though that this is not over. He will be out to get you like never before, and frankly, I don't know what we can do to stop him."

"I think Teal'c has him frightened enough for now General. We will keep our eyes out for him though" Sam grinned at the image those words brought to mind.

"Then SG1, you are dismissed." Having spoken with the President, a full investigation into the matter was being undertaken. Who had really sent the orders to steal the artefact and set SG1 up would be uncovered. He had the Presidents’ assurances on that. While Hammond had argued for Maybourne’s dismissal, the request was denied. After all, Hammond was informed, he was apparently just following orders. The identities of the four men was still an unknown, as was the man found dead in the train station washroom. The only identification on him was his German passport, and that proved to be a forgery. With a heavy sigh, Hammond turned off his desk lamp for the first time in days. With a final look around his office, he headed for home. He only hoped that the newly gained calm would last.........

The End

This is my first attempt at intrigue. Should it be my last?