The soldier observed the three leaving the room. His eyes glowed behind his shades. The whispering in his head grew louder, angry that he had failed. The civilian is unpredictable, does not follow orders, a risk to the cause. The soldier clenched his fists and took a step forward.
"Hey Gary!"
Pausing, the soldier turned around to a thin soldier, who was jogging up to him. The whispering told him that his name was Turner, his comrade in the SG-5 team. Turner was calling him Gary. Frowning, the soldier wondered why he couldn't remember that fact so quickly.
"Hey Gary. What's the rush?" Turner grinned. His smile faded when he saw the commotion down the hall. "What's going on down there?"
"The scientist was shot." Gary said flatly. He continued on down the hall. Somehow he had to deter Turner from following him. Gary needed to complete his mission-to destroy the scientist and eliminating all security risks to the project. Project? The whispering ceased as he tried to remember what the project was. Why couldn't he remember? The whispering returned, telling him to not be distracted. He was a soldier, wasn't he? A good soldier doesn't question orders, he acts upon them.
"You mean Jackson?" Turner whistled, glancing at the closed medical doors. Two guards stood there stoically. "Was he injured during their mission?"
"Probably." Gary said, continuing further down the hall, frustrated that he couldn't get in to finish his mission.
"First you, now Jackson." Turner groaned. "This isn't good, I tell you."
Gary stopped. He was injured? He vaguely remembered a planet, wet and damp from the rainforests that covered it. The enemy was lurking there, guarding a mine. When they had arrived, there was barely enough time to react. He remembered an alien soldier jumping on top of him. A pain in the back of his neck-
"Gary? You okay? You know, I don't think those doctors in Washington were much help for you." Turner looked at his comrade with concern. "You were better off here with Doc Frasier."
Gary merely grunted. Turner shrugged, pounded his comrade on the back and left to relieve his shift. Gary stared at Turner's back, disturbed that he couldn't recall that mission, but the whispering returned and he could now only think of his new mission.
"It was a soldier." Teal'c stated flatly in the meeting room. The colonel, Carter, and the general stared at the alien warrior with disbelief.
"Are you saying that one of our men shot Doctor Jackson?" The general stood up from his seat, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Are you sure, Teal'c?"
"I saw him followed Daniel Jackson as soon as we returned from the Stargate. I thought it strange." Teal'c paused, a guilty look passed over his dark face. "I did not hurry to join Daniel Jackson in the elevator. He was alone with the soldier."
"It wasn't your fault." Jack said quietly. "You couldn't have know."
"One of ours." Carter whispered in shock. "How could this be?" She whirred around to Teal'c. "Could he had been taken over by a Go'uald?"
"I did not see his eyes. I was too far away."
"How could one of our soldiers be infected?" Jack interrupted. "We go through examination right after we return. Something like that couldn't just slip past that."
"I do not know, O'Neill." Teal'c admitted. "But I know for certain that Daniel Jackson is still in danger, until we find him."
"We'll do a search of the complex. It could be an imposter." The general said as he picked up the phone. Punching an interoffice number, he made a few requests.
"We'll also need to get a hold of the elevator's security cameras and take a closer look."
Just then, Doctor Frasier walked in. The doctor's lab coat was covered in blood, her gloves still on. She walked over to the group, nodding to the general as a way of apology for interrupting. The three got up in anticipation.
"He's got a hole in his abdomen. One bullet ricochet around his ribcage before lodging to his third rib. There's a bit of internal bleeding, but if no other complications arise, he's going to make it."
Jack grinned, whispering a victory while Carter grinned up to Teal'c. The alien warrior was whispering a word of thanks to his deities. The doctor smiled tiredly, glad that it was good news she delivered this time. Needing to get back to her patient, she started to leave when she paused. She took out a small DAT tape from her pocket. A bullet was lodged in its middle. She gave it to the general.
"I don't know if it's salvageable, but I think it already served its purpose." The doctor paused before continuing. "The tape was in the top pocket in Doctor Jackson's jacket. It stopped the bullet from entering his heart. That bullet would have killed him instantly." With that, she nodded at the soldiers and left.
Carter took the tape and examined it, shuddering to think what would have happened if Daniel hadn't had this in his pocket, on his way to the labs to have it analyzed. She didn't want to imagine it. Even more, Carter didn't want to believe that a possessed soldier is wandering around the base, possibly getting out to the world outside. Who knows what damage could happen then?
As if reading her mind, Jack turned to the general. His jaw was set as he decided on what needed to be done.
"General, we need to quarantine this base until we can find the culprit." Jack glanced over to his friend T'ealc, "If he didn't left the building already. We also need a guard by Daniel."
"I will guard Daniel Jackson." Teal'c interrupted, stepping forward.
"I wasn't going to ask anyone else, Teal'c." Jack said, already guessing that Teal'c would volunteer. The alien warrior was high in honor and loyalty. If guarding Daniel would ease his undeserved guilt, so be it.
General Hammond nodded, agreeing that this was the best method and was already on the phone giving out orders. The remainder of the group went to see Daniel.
The two guards at the doors of the infirmary saluted to Jack sharply before stepping aside. Jack stopped himself from staring, checking to see if their eyes glowed. As he went in, he glanced over to his two other companions and realized that they were doing the same thing. The shooting had left them paranoid. If it really was a Go'uald occupying a human soldier's mind, the only evidence of the infection is through the eerie glow of the eyes, a residual effect from the parasite invasion.
Carter sucked in her breath as she sees Daniel. The bed was at a far corner, away from the doorways. The monitors that surrounded the bed were constantly beeping and flashing heartbeats, the pulse rate, and temperature. Daniel was tucked firmly in bed, a breathing mask over his mouth, and an IV attached to his arm. Carter hated to see him so lifeless, his eyes shut with pain, his blond hair damp with his fevered sweat. She wanted to hear him go on about artifacts, his theories that the academic world had dismissed as nonsense and the lecturing he was always giving them about the value of cultural appreciation. Carter sat down on the stool besides the bed and touched his arm hesitantly, wondering if he would wake up just with a touch. Daniel didn't react at all.
"He's going to be alright, Carter." Jack said quietly, sitting down besides her. "He's our space monkey, remember?" The colonel was referring to the nickname he gave Daniel when the Egyptologist miraculously escaped the Go'uald battleship when everyone else thought he was dead.
Carter laughed softly at the nickname. "Daniel can't stand that name. It stuck and now everyone is calling him Doctor Space Monkey."
"Oops." Jack said. Teal'c smiled at Jack's failed attempt to look apologetic.
The group sobered when they realized that it would probably be a long time before Daniel could recover and tell them what had happened. Jack frowned, not liking the idea that the shooter was still around.
"Did Daniel say anything to you?" Jack asked Teal'c. The warrior shook his head. Then Teal'c paused, a thin eyebrow rose up in speculation.
"What?" Carter asked, "Did you think of something, Teal'c?"
"Perhaps." Teal'c muttered, glancing down at Daniel as if almost for a confirmation. "Daniel Jackson had said that he was not military. He said that he was a problem."
Shaking his head, Jack looked at Daniel, too. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Glowing." Teal'c suddenly said, his head lifted as he recalled that final word Daniel spoke before losing consciousness.
"Glowing?" Carter leaned forward in thought. "Do you mean his eyes were glowing?"
"I do not know. That was all Daniel Jackson said."
"I don't like it." Jack suddenly said, getting up abruptly. "Come on Carter. We better check out those surveillance tapes." The two started to leave when Jack turned around again.
Teal'c made no move to follow. He had taken Carter's seat, sitting by Daniel's side. Jack nodded to him solemnly, making no attempt to call him over. The colonel knew that Teal'c would not feel any better if he weren't the one to guard Daniel. Teal'c bowed his head slightly in thanks for the colonel understanding. The alien warrior sat very still, by his friend's bedside, his eyes alert.
The other two proceeded to the labs where the general was waiting for the technicians to play the surveillance tapes from the elevators. Motioning them to take a seat, the general scanned the black and white video. Two figures facing each other, possibly talking, in the elevator. One of them pulled out their gun and fired. Carter flinched when the other figure, Daniel Jackson, stumbled back and slid down against the elevator wall. With a kick, the other figure left and stood there watching the doors closed.
"Damn." Jack muttered. He knew what to expect, but watching the actual shooting left him cold inside. To see his friend so coldly shot down like that was unsettling and in no way, calm his seething anger.
"I don't see any of the faces clearly." The general commented quietly.
"He's wearing a hat." Jack agreed, "The man knew where the cameras were."
"What about the cameras in the Gate room?" Carter wanted to know.
"The man was hiding in the background." A technician spoke up, handing her another tape. "Couldn't get a good shot of him."
"He knew what he was doing." Jack said grimly.
"It was planned." Carter added.
General Hammond studied the two solemnly. He wondered what they were thinking. The general knew that they were upset. The team had always return from their dangerous missions unscathed. To have team members attacked in their home, where they were suppose to be safe, made the attack more upsetting.
The soldier the others had called Gary, strode down the hallway until he reached the barracks. Pausing, the soldier was a bit disturbed that he couldn't recall where his quarters were. The soldier glanced at the names until he found his. Entering with the key he found in his pockets, the soldier entered a sparse room with a double bunk and two lockers. A desk with a stack of books was propped up against one wall. The soldier named Gary could not recall whose books they were, but knew some of his belongings were on that desk. Approaching the desk, he glanced at the large mirror hanging besides it. With a shout, he backed away at what he saw. As the soldier had glanced by chance at the mirror, he saw his eyes glowed iridescent red. His eyes widened, his chest heaving as if he was running hard, the soldier took another look at the mirror. His eyes looked normal again.
This wasn't the first time, the voice echoed in his head.
Gary shook his head furiously. "No, no, no!" he shouted within his closed quarters. The soldier banged his head onto the mirror, shattering it with a piercing shriek. The glass cut his forehead and the soldier involuntarily backed away; one hand up to his self inflicted wound. As the soldier took his hand away, he was surprised to see no blood. Not really wanting to, he glanced at the mirror. Despite the mirror being broken, the soldier could clearly see that the cut on his forehead was gone.
I can heal your pain. The voice in his head was back. I can give you power. Gary stared at the mirror once more and stared back at the broken images of him. The eyes glowed once more, but instead of being frightened, the soldier now seemed pleased.
The leaders of your world made us a bargain. The voice said in a soft tone. Gary frowned as he tried to recall the days he was in the hospital. Two uniformed men from the Pentagon had approached him just after surgery. They had little sympathy for his pain. Instead, the men were more interested in the results the doctor-in-charge had found during the surgery. They said that Gary could make a major contribution to his country and took him back to Washington. Gary couldn't remember much of his trip there. It was like sitting in the back of his mind, watching someone else move his limbs, make words with his mouth, and shake hands with the uniformed men.
It was agreed that we kill the scientist to show our faith in the bargain, Gary. The voice cooed to him as the soldier began to pick up the pieces of the broken mirror before his roommate returns to discover this. The scientist is an outcast; his ideas do not conform to your leaders. He is a threat to my existence, too.
"He's not military." Gary echoed the words the people in Washington had told him. "A hazard to the mission. Too unpredictable."
He must be eliminated before he can decipher all our secrets, Gary. The voice continued, delighted that the soldier was agreeing. Then we can be merged completely and be whole. The voice went on, its tone a bit annoyed. When you killed my host, severing me before I could escape, I needed to heal immediately. How ironic that it would be you, my killer, that becomes my body. But the process was incomplete due to my injuries and I can not communicate to you too clearly. My powers are still weak, but I can still be very useful to you.
Gary just nodded, not really understanding what the voice was saying. All he could think of was the mission. He couldn't tell anyone, else alerting the scientist, who would then corrupt the rest of the base's minds. The group that was paired with the scientist had become weak, wanting to negotiate with alien impurities and not take their knowledge. While stellar powers around them were gaining power, they had become comparatively weaker. We are too weak to defend ourselves.
You are too weak to grasp the opportunity this Stargate has offered you-the conquering of a universe. Think of the power, Gary. You could lead your people to a new evolution.
Gary grinned to himself, not realizing he had cut his hand when picking up the glass. Gary also didn't notice that the cut was already healing.
© 1998 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa’uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.