CHAPTER ONE
Anubis was furious. He had just received confirmation that the drones he sent to the Tau'ri's Alpha Site had failed in their mission. The weapon the humans and the Tok'ra were developing was not destroyed. From the information he had just received, the reason for the failure was this man called Dan'yar. Tales of him destroying Al'Kesh and killing drones were spreading among the Jaffa. Some of Anubis' own Jaffa were beginning to question his power. He had already executed two for showing disrespect.
Anubis had also learned something else. If the stories being spread by the Jaffa could be trusted, this Dan'yar had the ability to see into the future. In fact, he had known about the attack on the Alpha Site before it came. Precognition of that level was not an ability that the Ascended possessed, which meant that Dan'yar was not one of the Ascended. This was something that Anubis had already guessed when he heard some of the details of what Dan'yar did at the Alpha Site.
So, if Dan'yar was not one of the Ascended, who and what was he? The Jaffa said that he was human, but how could any human possess such powerful psychic abilities? Only through advanced genetic manipulation or a mutation of the brain itself could such a thing occur.
Either way, this Dan'yar was proving to be a very dangerous enemy. One way or another, Anubis needed to find out who this man was and where he could be found so that he could be dealt with.
"You screwed up, Weisman," Colonel Bray snarled. "Because of you, one of my men is in the infirmary, and the mission was a failure."
"But the translation was correct!" Doctor Barry Weisman insisted. "I was very careful to make an accurate translation of the tablet. You must have done something wrong."
Bray stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Barry's chest menacingly. "Now, you listen here, you pencil-necked geek. You're the one who got something wrong, not me or my men. God save us from brainiac scientists and people like you who think that you're smarter than the rest of us. If you were in the military, I'd have you stripped of your rank for your incompetence."
The colonel would have continued his tirade if it wasn't for the fact that the linguist's eyes had fixed upon something behind Bray, widening perceptibly.
'Damn. It had better not be the general who's behind me,' Bray thought as he slowly turned around. 'If it is, he'll rip me a new. . . . Ohhh, shit!'
"Is there a problem here?" asked Doctor Daniel Jackson in a tone of voice that would freeze the Caribbean Sea from one end to the other. He stood just a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest, his expression and body language clearly stating that he was not happy.
"T-there was a problem on SG-20's last mission, sir," Barry stammered. "I translated a tablet found inside a box, which had the directions on how to safely navigate a maze to reach what sounds like it might be a storehouse of advanced weapons. But something went wrong, and one of the booby traps was tripped, causing a cave-in."
"Yes, I heard about the accident," Daniel said. He turned his eyes back upon Colonel Bray, who tried very hard not to squirm under the piercing gaze. Bray knew that the archeologist could fry a person right where they stood, had, in fact, done so to one of Anubis' drones. Seeing the man's eyes, the colonel had to wonder if Jackson could also do the opposite and freeze a man solid. It sure felt colder in here.
"As it so happens, I just finished looking at the tablet myself," Daniel continued, "and Doctor Weisman's translation was accurate. What he didn't realize, however, is that there was a hidden compartment in the lid of the box, which held a second tablet with different directions, the right directions. You see, the other tablet was a trap designed to lure anyone who didn't know better to their deaths. The only reason why I found the hidden compartment is that I'm familiar with the culture that the one on M37-155 originated from and knew how sneaky they could be. I suspected that there was something more to that box than met the eye. Doctor Weisman, on the other hand, is a linguist, not an archeologist and, therefore, doesn't have the knowledge I do on the parent culture, so it's no surprise that he didn't figure out about the hidden compartment."
Daniel's gaze hardened even more. "Doctor Weisman is part of the Linguistics Department staff. Since I am the head of that department, technically speaking, he is under my command. Therefore, in the future, I would ask that you come to me about any problems you have with him or anyone else on my staff in either the Linguistics or Archeology Departments instead of insulting and intimidating them. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes, sir," Bray answered immediately.
"Good." Daniel handed him a piece of paper. "This is the translation of the second tablet. The directions should lead whoever goes back into the maze to the chamber where the weapons are, if there really are any weapons there. Don't be surprised if there aren't. Like I said, this culture was very devious, and this might have simply been one big ruse to trick their enemies."
Colonel Bray took the paper, thanked Daniel and hurried away. The archeologist watched him leave. Barry's voice brought his attention back to the man.
"Thank you, sir," the linguist said. "I'm so glad you showed up. I have to admit that Colonel Bray scares me a little. He doesn't like anyone on base who isn't military."
"Yes, I know all about his attitude regarding the civilian personnel on base, especially the scientists. I've had to deal with it myself in the past."
"Well, you sure did put a scare into him that time, sir," Barry said with a big smile.
The man's statement startled Daniel. He hadn't intended to scare Bray, hadn't even realized that he could scare the man. Not all that long ago, he wouldn't have been able to even if he'd held a gun to the man's head.
"Um . . . if you have any more problems with him, just let me know, okay? Oh, and stop calling me 'sir', Barry. I'm Daniel, remember?"
"Yes, sir . . . Daniel."
Daniel headed down the hall, deep in thought. He ran the things he said to Bray through his mind, wondering if he came on too strongly. The accident was one that could have been prevented if the box and tablet had been given to him, but it came in while he was on Albaren dealing with the Jaffa, and everyone was in such a big hurry to get their hands on advanced weapons that they immediately sent the box and tablet to the Linguistics Department. Daniel didn't even know about it until SG-20 returned yesterday.
This really wasn't the reason for his attitude toward Bray, however. The truth was that he wasn't in a very good mood right now. He'd just gotten word that, yet again, someone had come to the SGC about him, this time because of the revelation Thor made three days ago. A meeting was scheduled with the person in fifteen minutes. The good news was that it wasn't Major Rice or Colonel Morrison who'd come this time, but Daniel was still wishing that they'd just leave him alone. He couldn't help but wonder what kinds of demands and requests this person was going to make.
On top of this new headache to worry about was the feeling that had been plaguing Daniel for two days now, that something was going to happen. It had left him very ill-at-ease. Just like the last time he had this kind of feeling, Daniel had attempted to find out the reason for it, but without much success. All he'd gotten were flashes of an intense battle between SG troops and Jaffa and an even stronger feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
Fifteen minutes later, Daniel entered the briefing room. Inside, were General Hammond and a blond man of medium height.
"Doctor Jackson, this is Doctor Holt. He is a geneticist who works at Area 51."
The moment Daniel heard where the man was from, his suspicion that he wasn't going to like this was confirmed.
The geneticist stood and shook Daniel's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Jackson. We've been hearing a lot about you over at Area 51."
"Yes, I bet you have." Daniel took a seat.
"Okay, I'll get right to the point," Holt said. "We received the report on what Thor told you. According to him, you are genetically similar to the race known as the Ancients, correct?"
"That's right."
"Aren't the Ancients the incorporeal beings that you were one of for a year?"
"I was ascended, but I wasn't an Ancient," Daniel explained. "The Ancients were an advanced race that learned how to ascend long ago. They were the original gate builders."
"Yes, that's what I've heard. The Ancients were originally human, right?"
"Yes, but they had evolved far beyond what we are presently. Tests that Doctor Fraiser ran on the Ancient who was found frozen in Antarctica showed that, while the woman was basically human, there were significant differences."
"So, you're saying that, eventually, we'll evolve to be like the Ancients?"
"Not necessarily. The Ancients may have evolved from a race of humans, but that doesn't mean that we'll evolve in exactly the same way. Our evolution might take a different course."
"Yet Thor said that, genetically, you have many similarities to the Ancients," Holt pointed out.
"He also said that I wasn't at the same level of advancement. I'm not an Ancient, Doctor Holt, not even close."
"Still, the truth of the matter is that you are the most genetically advanced human being on Earth, perhaps in the whole galaxy, if we go by what Thor said."
"And? I know there's one coming, so please just come out and say it."
"And we'd like to run some tests."
Daniel gave a sigh. Yep, just what he'd figured. "Doctor Holt, I already went through this before. Another doctor from Area 51 was with the men who came that time."
Holt nodded. "Doctor Fairview. I've worked with him a couple of times. But let me assure you, Doctor Jackson, that I have no desire to turn you into a lab rat. Some of the information I need I can probably get from Doctor Fraiser. All I need from you at this time are some DNA samples."
"DNA samples? That's it?"
"Yes, that's it, at least for now. I'm not saying that, sometime in the future, I won't need to run some specific tests, but, if I do, chances are that I can arrange to do them right here at the SGC. You wouldn't have to go to Area 51."
To say the least, Daniel was surprised. He'd been sure that this was going to be a repeat of the headache with Rice, Morrison and Fairview.
"Okay, I can't say that I will agree to any future tests, but you can have your DNA samples."
Doctor Holt smiled. "Fair enough."
"Out of curiosity, what do you plan on doing with my DNA?"
Holt smiled. "Lots and lots of tests. We're hoping to figure out how this happened, what caused your genes to be altered in the way they were. Your report said that Thor believed that there may have been a preexisting anomaly for this to have happened, correct?"
Daniel nodded in affirmation.
"Well, that's one of the things we want to find out, how much of the end result is due to an extraordinary genetic event taking place at conception and how much of it was caused by your ascension experience. It could give us new insights into what the human race will eventually become."
Daniel couldn't help but be affected by the man's sincere earnestness. It was obvious that Doctor Holt was passionate about his work.
"I assume that you will be keeping us informed on anything you learn," General Hammond said.
"Of course," the geneticist replied. "After all, Doctor Jackson has a very personal interest in this."
A few minutes later, Daniel and Doctor Holt entered the infirmary. Daniel saw that Sam was sitting on one of the beds, being treated by Janet.
"What happened?" he asked, coming forward.
"Oh, just a stupid little accident," Sam replied.
"Sam has a minor electrical burn on her arm," Janet explained. "It'll be fine." She looked at the man standing beside Daniel. He stepped forward, holding out his hand.
"I'm Doctor Holt," he said with a smile.
After a brief hesitation, Janet took the proffered hand.
"Doctor Holt is a geneticist from Area 51," Daniel told her. "He wants some of my DNA."
Janet's eyes narrowed. "Why wasn't I informed of this before now?"
"I apologize for that, Doctor Fraiser," Holt said. "Everything happened rather quickly. I was given orders to come here only a few hours ago. Someone should have contacted you about it since you are Doctor Jackson's physician. And someone should definitely have told Doctor Jackson that I was coming."
"Yes, they should have," Janet agreed, in an unforgiving tone. "It seems that the NID and Area 51 have an alarming tendency to show up here unexpectedly, and they always seem to want something, especially from Daniel."
"Yes, I know about that whole issue with Major Rice, Colonel Morrison and Doctor Fairview. Personally, I had nothing to do with it, but I'd still like to apologize for that. Please believe me when I say that not everyone connected to Area 51 is that insensitive and pushy. As I told Doctor Jackson, all I want at this time are some DNA samples and the information you already gathered during the tests you ran on him back when his paranormal abilities first became active. That's it. Then I'll be out of your hair."
Janet's expression softened a bit, and she looked at Daniel.
"I said he could have them," the archeologist told her.
"All right, I'll make some copies of my findings, then we can get those samples."
"Mind if I join you?" Holt asked. "I think that you and I might have a friend in common."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Joseph Beech."
Janet smiled. "You know Joe?"
"Sure do. We met several years ago at a symposium on genetic mutation." Holt smiled again. "He told me all about this spunky lady he went to medical school with who became a physician for the Air Force."
The two doctors headed off to Janet's office. Daniel and Sam looked at each other in amusement.
"So, what's this all about?" Sam asked.
"They want to study my DNA to see if they can figure out what's going on with it and how it happened."
"And you said yes?"
"I said yes to them taking some DNA samples and running tests on them. If they want anything more than that and Janet's test results, they'll have to ask. The truth is that I really would like to know how this happened. Was I born with some weird genetic anomaly or do I have my ascension to thank for all of this?"
Sam nodded. "I can understand that. Well, at least this Doctor Holt seems a lot nicer than the men who were here before."
"Doctor who?" asked Jack, who had just entered the infirmary. "Hey, Carter. I heard about your little mishap. You okay?"
"I'm fine, sir. Nothing to worry about."
"So, who's that surfer dude in with Fraiser?" Jack asked.
Daniel's eyebrows lifted. "Surfer dude?"
"You know, blond hair, eternal tan, toothy smile."
"Ah. Well, the 'surfer dude' is Doctor Holt. He's a geneticist from Area 51."
Jack's gaze sharpened. "Area 51? Does this have something to do with you?"
"Yes. He came for some DNA samples from me." Daniel explained everything.
"Just as long as they don't try to clone you with them. It was bad enough having to deal with a mini me. The thought of a mini you running around is enough to give me grey hairs." The two scientists glanced up at the mass of solid grey on his head. "Okay, so it would make my grey hairs . . . greyer."
"Don't worry, Jack. I doubt that they intend to clone me."
"That's good to hear. On another matter, we all need to get together and come up with a strategy to deal with this film crew that's coming on Monday."
"A strategy, sir?" Sam inquired.
"Yes. I don't know about you, Carter, but I don't feel like having my personal life recorded for posterity."
"Jack, they're coming here to make a documentary about the Stargate Program, not a biography on us," Daniel said.
"Oh, come on, Daniel. You know very well that they're going to be asking some pretty personal questions. That will probably be especially true in regards to you. After all, it isn't every day that someone dies and gets ascended to a higher plane of existence. You don't think that they're going to want to know all about that and how you feel about it?"
Daniel sat on the edge of Sam's bed. "To be honest, I didn't think much about that. I've just been worrying that they'd find out about my abilities."
"Yes, and that's another thing. This documentary guy might not be given any reports on that whole thing, but let's face it, Daniel. You're the talk of the town here on base. Chances are pretty good that he's going to overhear someone talking."
"Yes, I know. That's what I've been worrying about."
"Okay, so the first thing we've got to do is have General Hammond order everyone to keep their traps shut about you during the entire time that the film crew is here. The second thing is for us to personally make it clear to people that they are not to say even one word about your abilities to anyone, not even a whispered conversation over Fruit Loops in the morning."
"There's not a whole lot of time to do that, sir," Sam pointed out. "The film crew arrives day after tomorrow. That only gives us the rest of today and tomorrow."
"Then we need to get busy, don't we. I'll talk to Hammond about it and ask him to give the order, then we can all split up and cover the base from top to bottom."
"We'll have to keep track of who we talk to. Some people will be off-duty."
The sound of muffled laughter halted their conversation. Jack took a peek into Janet's office and saw that the laughter had come from her. She and Doctor Holt appeared to be enjoying each other's company. Frowning, Jack returned to his teammates.
"Fraiser and Surfer Doc seem to be getting along famously," he said, not sounding all that happy about it.
"They apparently have a friend in common," Daniel explained, looking closely at the colonel, puzzled by his reaction.
"I'm going to go talk to Hammond," Jack said rather abruptly. "We'll get together for our strategy session later."
No sooner had Jack left when Janet and Doctor Holt came out of the doctor's office. They were both smiling.
"Okay, Daniel. Let's get those samples," Janet said.
A few minutes later, the samples had been gathered and Daniel had gone back to his office.
"Remember what I said, Janet," Doctor Holt said. "The next time I'm in Colorado, we'll have to get together for lunch and swap stories about Joe."
"That would be fun, James."
"All right. I've got a plane to catch. I'll be in touch."
Both women watched the geneticist leave.
"'James'?" Sam said, a teasing, curious tone in her voice.
"Oh. Um, Doctor Holt and I have a mutual acquaintance, Doctor Joseph Beech. I went to medical school with him, and he went on to become a geneticist, which is how he and Doctor Holt met."
"Ah, I see." Sam smiled impishly. "James seems to be very nice."
"Yes, he does."
"He asked you out?"
"Not on a date, if that's what you mean. He just thought we could get together for lunch."
Sam nodded, smiling again. The smile soon disappeared, though, and her expression grew distant as she stared off at the doorway of the infirmary. Seeing the change, Janet drew closer.
"Sam, is something bothering you?" she asked.
Sam's eyes returned to her. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you've seemed very distracted these past few days. Now, granted, you and Daniel did just go through a harrowing experience, but I get the feeling that isn't what this is about."
Sam gave a little sigh. "You're right. I guess I haven't been hiding it very well. Could we go into your office?"
"Certainly."
The two women went to the office. After shutting the door, Janet sat behind her desk and told Sam to take a seat.
"So, what's this about?" the doctor asked curiously.
Sam's eyes met hers. "I've been thinking about asking Daniel out on a date."
