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Chapter 13
"Alright, turn him on his side just like that!"
Janet called from across the infirmary to one of her staff members.
Those possessed by the parasites had spontaneously gone into
convulsive shock. She had called for an increase in personnel to treat the
victims, while using anyone she could grab for assistance.
"What can I do?" Sam asked, her eyes wide as she
stared at the seizing bodies.
"Sam, come here by Lieutenant Menard and hold him down.
Make sure his airways are open and that he doesn't bite his tongue." Janet pointed to the man, moving away from
him as Sam took her place. Then, she hurried across the room to check on
another patient's monitor. "Nurse,
I need you to prep the machines, stat!"
"What's happening?" Colonel O'Neill asked,
appearing in the doorway.
Janet glanced up, catching General Hammond, along with the
two Tok'ra by O'Neill's side.
"They are seizing, Colonel. All of them." Janet grabbed a chart and rushed to the side
of Captain Mueller, who appeared to be reacting the worst out of all of them.
"If we can't temper the neurological activity—"
"Anything we can do to help, Doctor?" General
Hammond asked, his eyes jumping from patient to patient.
"Take my assistants' places in holding them down,"
Janet stated. "This way, we can work on administering any drugs and
equipment to stop this."
"Sir," Sam added, as she leaned over Lieutenant
Menard. "I left Dan--Thoth's notebook in my lab. There might be something in there that can help."
O'Neill glanced over at the general who gave a quick nod.
Nodding in return, Colonel O'Neill dashed for the door.
"I'm on it, Major," he called from the hallway.
Teal'c
did not enjoy holding a zatnikatel to his friend's back, but if they were to
find a way to overcome the parasites' control, he had to exercise extreme
caution.
However,
Teal'c was not convinced that Thoth had the means to overcome the toxins that
endangered the lives of his friends and colleagues.
Eyeing
Thoth carefully, Teal'c slid his card through the key slot, revealing Daniel's
office. The room remained much as it
always did, cluttered with artifacts from various cultures, but Teal'c felt the
room lacked the distinct sense of life that Daniel Jackson often brought to it.
Without
him, the room seemed hollow and distant.
"Over
here," Thoth called, moving towards Daniel Jackson's desk. Even with his
hands bound, Thoth appeared to be quite capable of rummaging through the
belongings of Daniel Jackson. "Here."
Teal'c
frowned, watching as Thoth opened one of the desk drawers, his fingers nimbly
sifting through unseen objects. As
Teal'c stepped closer to look, Thoth jumped, and raised his hands, revealing a
small sealed vial. Teal'c stiffened, watching the man carefully.
Grinning,
Thoth stepped forward and offered the vial to Teal'c. "This is the
substance. It will cure our
people."
Teal'c
raised his eyebrow at Thoth's choice of wording, but accepted the vial
nonetheless. Still aiming the
zatnikatel directly at Thoth, Teal'c took a moment to eye the vial carefully,
disgusted at the parasite's cunning and its very nature.
"We
will bring this to Doctor Fraiser immediately," Teal'c instructed, cocking
his head slightly to the door. "Come."
"Just-just
one moment, Teal'c," Thoth said, hesitant as he hovered near Daniel
Jackson's desk. "I would like to stay here just a few moments
longer."
"You
cannot," Teal'c ordered sternly.
"Give
the chemical to the soldier and remain with me, then." Thoth brought his gaze
to Teal'c, his expression teetering on pleading. "I have something to show
you."
Teal'c
considered Thoth's words, uncertainty weighing heavily on his mind. While part of him understood the importance
of completing this assignment, and to head back to the infirmary with Thoth and
the airman, another part of him wished to discover what other secrets Thoth
could be hiding. The more that Teal'c could understand, the better his position
if he were to find a way to save Daniel Jackson.
Though,
it occurred to Teal'c this could all be a ploy.
Teal'c
stared at the man that once was his friend and forced himself to decide.
"Very well," Teal'c said, handing the vial
to the airman and motioning him leave.
"What it is that you have to show me?"
Jack
ran down the hallway, fumbling in his pocket, trying to find his key card to
get into Carter's lab.
Dammit,
just get moving, butterfingers.
Finding
the card, he exhaled, and swiped it through the slot, rushing inside as soon as
the door opened. With a cursory glance,
he almost immediately found what he was looking for.
"Alright."
He
applauded himself, stretching forward to grab Daniel's notebook. As he went to reach for it, he accidentally
knocked over a couple of the journals Teal'c had been studying.
Jack
paused, hesitating, when he realized one journal lay open on the floor after
its fall. Cautiously, as if it would bite him, he reached down to finger it,
surprised when a small piece of paper slipped out of the side of the journal.
"What's
this?" he asked aloud, taking the paper into his hands.
A
picture. Or a sketch. On some old kind of paper. What was it called? Right, papris. He shook his head. No, didn't
sound right, but he was close.
Really,
the kind of paper didn't mean much at the moment. Jack was stunned by what he found on the paper.
A
drawing of a woman. Beautiful—exotic is
how he would describe her—with jewelry and makeup and a single ostrich feather
poking out of some elaborate headdress.
Funny
thing is, she really reminded him of Sha're.
Jack
paled, staring at the picture.
But
Jack couldn't help but feel his unease raise a notch as he stared at the
picture, recalling the Tok'ra's little lecture.
Thoth
takes the emotions and memories of his host and makes them his own.
His
own.
"Dammit!"
Jack grabbed the picture, the journals, and Daniel's
notebook, sprinting out of Carter's lab.
Sam
felt lost, watching the buzz of activity flutter all around her. While she had
some experience as the team field medic, she wasn't a doctor, or a nurse, and
could not participate with the level of confidence that the trained medical
staff could. All she could do was wait,
help when ordered to do so, and hope for the best.
She
hated it. Everything was falling apart.
Originally,
she had joined the Tok'ra with their study of the toxin. She had kept telling
herself that they were making headway and that soon, they would have the
breakthrough they needed to save Daniel, SG-11, and SG-17. She ignored the
persistence doubts that were nagging her, prickling the back of her mind. She
wouldn't fail like she had done in the past.
But
when Janet had announced that those in the infirmary had taken a turn for the
worst, Sam's hopes had come crashing down. She had volunteered to assist Janet
in attending to the victims. It was the best she could do. It was the best she
could offer right now.
And
she hated herself for it.
She
held Major Tyrell, soothing him gently, as he was consumed by another fit of
spasms. She doubted he could even hear
her.
"Stand
back, Major Carter," Akana ordered gently, taking her place.
Sam
nodded, stepping back, allowing the Tok'ra to do her job. Exhaling, Sam watched on apprehensively,
only stopping for a moment to gaze at Hammond.
He appeared as lost and concerned as she was.
Then,
Sam heard shuffling at the door, and watched as one of the base's airmen
entered, carrying a small vial.
Where
were Daniel and Teal'c?
"Doctor
Fraiser," the airman called, stepping into the room. "From Teal'c. He
informed us to give this to you immediately."
Janet
ran over to them, swiftly followed by Dalmar.
She looked it over carefully, and handed him the vial.
"I
would like to review this substance before use," Dalmar stated, eyeing the
vial carefully.
"Do
it," General Hammond called from the other side of the room.
"Let's
get that tested right away in conjunction with the sample of toxin we
have," Janet said quickly, hurrying over to her makeshift lab she had set
up within the infirmary.
Sam
rubbed her hands on her pants, starting to feel as if she would explode. She
had to be able to do something.
"Janet,
I'd like—"
"Carter!"
Sam
snapped to attention upon hearing her commanding officer's voice.
"Sir?"
she asked.
Colonel
O'Neill stopped short at the door, inhaling and exhaling sharply as he
attempted to catch his breath. "Here," he said, tossing the notebooks
and journals over to Beltesh. The Tok'ra fumbled for them, nearly missing them.
"Read those and figure something out."
"Sir,
I can—"
"You're
not an expert in Goa'uld, and I need you now, Carter," O'Neill said
sternly.
"Colonel?"
General Hammond questioned, still standing by one of the patient's side.
"Sir,
I think we might have a situation," O'Neill said steadily. He motioned to
one of the SF's, grabbing his sidearm and radio. Quickly, he checked to see if the gun was loaded, and brought his
gaze back to Sam. "Carter, get to the armory and grab a zat and meet me at
Daniel's office."
With
wide eyes, Sam nodded, not sure she completely understood. Not sure she wanted
to understand. "Sir?"
"I
think Thoth is going to get revenge on Teal'c for killing Sha're, on Daniel's
behalf."
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