General Hammond watched as Teal'c emerged from the Stargate followed by Daniel Jackson. When he realized that Major Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neal had not returned, the general quickly made his way down to the gate room.
"Teal'c, Dr. Jackson, where is the rest of SG-1?" He could see the anger and worry radiating from both men.
"Major Carter has been imprisoned on P-2417. Colonel O'Neal is staying to make sure she is not executed before we return." Teal'c said bluntly.
"What the hell happened?" The general demanded.
"Sam was framed." Daniel said frustrated. "We can't prove it because we can't take anything even remotely technological to test their evidence. We're going to need to recruit special help for this one." He paused. "We need a real detective to help us prove Sam's innocence."
"Daniel Jackson." Teal'c warned. "This is not safe."
"I know the risks, Teal'c, but we need them. If they won't help, Sam is as good as dead."
General Hammond listened to the exchange with growing anger. "Gentlemen, if you are finished with your conversation, I think it's about time you filled me in on what you're talking about." His voice steadily rose to a shout by the last word.
Daniel sighed. "Yes, sir, but we need to go to a secure room." The general was confused but willing to do anything to get some answers.
They adjourned to a secure room. "Alright, Dr. Jackson. Explain."
"Sir, you remember when we found the Stargate in Peru?" The general nodded. "Well, the reports weren't absolutely complete."
"What?"
"The gate wasn't the only thing we found." Daniel looked the General in the eye, "Sir, what I am about to tell you can not be reported in any way. Do I have your word?" The general was still reacting to the knowledge that one of his teams had not been completely honest with him. "General, Major Carter would rather die on a strange world than sacrifice the subjects we didn't report."
General Hammond could see the conviction on Jackson's face and the fear on Teal'c's. "Very well you have my oath that I will not report anything you tell me on this subject."
"When we were preparing to destroy the gate, we were found by a group of Chopec warriors being led by an American police detective and an anthropologist. The detective had felt the activation of the gate."
"What do you mean, felt the gate?"
"The detective is what is called a Sentinel, all five of his senses are enhanced. It seems to be a genetic trait. Every Sentinel has a companion to watch his back. If he focuses too much on one sense he goes into a fugue state that his partner calls a zone out. At one time Sentinels were more prevalent as tribal guardians but now they are extremely rare."
Teal'c interrupted. "He can sense the presence of a Goa'uld in any stage. He is one the Goa'uld prize as a host. Even the Tok'ra' search for Guardians as hosts."
"We have to give him a chance to say yes or no. They both know the risks." Daniel argued.
"Dr. Jackson, who in the hell are you talking about?"
"The detective's name is Jim Ellison, his partner is Blair Sandburg. He can do almost anything our forensic equipment can."
General Hammond recognized both names. Even in the mountain they had seen the initial news coverage about the so-called superman and remembered reading the news when Ellison had been rescued in Peru so many years ago. He had seen the news conference where the young doctoral student declared the Sentinel dissertation a hoax. His eyes widened as he realized it had been the truth. "Make the call."
"Yes sir." Daniel stood and quickly exited heading for a phone.
General Hammond looked at the Jafar. "You have reservations, Teal'c."
The big man nodded. "Yes sir. I know there wasn't a Goa'uld presence on P-2417, but I hesitate to risk a guardian and companion."
"Is this man the only chance we have to save Major Carter?"
"Yes sir." Teal's said reluctantly.
"Very well. Let me know when everything has been arranged."
Teal'c nodded and exited the room, going in search of Daniel.
Cascade
"Is it my imagination or has it been relatively calm?" Henri Brown said to the young detective."
Blair looked up from the stack of paperwork he was working on. "Oh man, you had to go and say it. We'd better make the announcement now."
"What announcement?" Jim asked as he sat down at his desk opposite his partner.
"H said it had been too quiet. We need to let everyone know that the curse has been spoken."
Jim shook his head. "Henri, I thought you knew better than that. We'll make sure everyone knows the coming rash of criminal activity is because of you."
"We'll say a prayer for you, Henri." Blair said solemnly.
"Come on, you guys." Henri said plaintively.
"You know, I might be able to find a curse removal ritual. I'll check it out." They managed to draw out their tormenting of Brown for a few more minutes. Simon leaned out of his office.
"Ellison, Sandburg."
They looked at each other and both turned to glare at Henri. H held up his hands and started backing away. "Hey guys, I swear what ever it is it's not my fault." He said escaping to his desk.
They were laughing as they entered the captain's office. They were immediately sobered by the look on Simon Banks face. "What's wrong, Captain?" Jim asked.
"Why is a government agency sending a fax asking to borrow two of my men? An agency mind you that I haven't ever heard of?"
Jim and Blair looked at each other and shrugged. "Which agency, Simon?" Blair asked.
"SGC, sounds like it's military."
"Sir, you remember Daniel Jackson from a couple of months ago?" The big man nodded. "Well, he's part of the SGC."
"You mean...?" Blair nodded. "I really didn't want to hear about this." He handed the fax to his detective. "There is a contact number here. You might as well call and see why they want to borrow the two of you. Use my phone."
Blair recognized the number as the one Daniel had given him months ago. He quickly dialed. "Hey Daniel, what's up?" Jim listened in on the conversation.
"We need you and Jim to help us out."
"What kind of help?"
"Your 'special' kind of detective work. Major Carter has been arrested on one of our trips. We know she was framed but they won't allow certain types of equipment in their village."
"What was she arrested for?" Blair asked.
"Murder" was the bald reply.
The younger man looked at his partner who nodded his agreement. Blair held his hand over the mouthpiece. "Captain, can we go?"
Simon gave a resigned sigh. "This is what I get for having the best team in the country." He muttered under his breath. Jim smiled to himself. "Yes, you can go. I'll work out the paperwork, but so help me if you don't come back in one piece, I will personally shoot the both of you."
Two hours later they were on a military transport heading for the SCG headquarters. "When did the concept of aliens and travel to other worlds step out of the realm of impossibility?" Blair mused.
"About the same time "Dr. McKay" walked into a certain hospital exam room. I personally thought he was an alien." The big man joked.
Blair chuckled. "Yeah, I guess with everything we've been through it's become easier to accept the strange."
The officer in the front of the plane had seen the pair board the plane. He had thought to himself that they were the most mismatched pair he had ever seen. The Captain couldn't figure out what the powers that be could want with two civilians, but it had been impressed upon the crew how important it was for Ellison and Sandburg to be delivered quickly and safely. Ellison, the taller of the pair, looked as if he could be military but the shorter one, Sandburg, looked more like a hippie than anything else.
The two men spoke quietly. "Are you sure about this, big guy?" Blair asked worried about the unknown effects of travel through Stargate would have on his Sentinel's senses.
"As long as you're there we can do this." Jim answered.
Blair smiled at the level of confidence in his partner's voice. He sat back and thought for a moment. "I have an idea. Since we don't have a clue about gate travel, I think our best bet would for you to turn your dials all the way down, and let me lead you through the gate."
"Should work. You'll need to help me readjust them when we get where we're going."
"No problem." Blair relaxed back into his seat and fell asleep. Jim watched his partner sleep. It never ceased to amaze him how the younger man could fall asleep anywhere. Jim also sat back trying to get as much rest as possible.
It only seemed like minutes before he felt the landing gear descending. After landing they were hustled over to a waiting helicopter. Blair pulled back for a second. "It would have to be a helicopter." He said under his breath.
"Come on Chief, I promise you won't have to jump out of this one." Jim patted him on the back and gently pushed his reluctant partner toward the waiting vehicle. Blair gave him a sickly smile and climbed into the copter.
As they entered the SGC facility, Jim could feel the weight of the mountain as they traveled down in the elevator. Daniel and Teal'c were waiting as the doors opened. "I'm glad you guys could make it." Daniel said as he guided them to the conference room. "We'll explain everything in a moment."
They entered the room each claiming a seat as they waited for the General to arrive. "We..." Daniel cleared his throat. "I had to let the general know about your abilities." Jim sat stunned as Blair leapt to his feet.
"What have you done! Do you realize what you've done?" Blair shouted. "We are so out of here. Come on, Big guy." He grabbed his jacket.
"That wont be necessary, young man," a voice said from behind the Cascade pair. Blair spun around. "I swore an oath not to reveal anything about the two of you, and I take my word seriously."
"Who are you?" Blair asked suspiciously.
"I'm General Hammond. I am in command of the SGC."
"Well, General, we are out of here," the distrust of the military evident on the young man's face.
"Blair." Daniel stepped between the pair. Jim put his hands on his partner's shoulders. He had listened as the general made his statement and felt that Hammond was being honest. Daniel continued. "I know you don't have any reason to trust the military, but you can trust General Hammond. He has never broken his word for as long as I have known him. He's the reason Teal'c is part of SG-1 and not in a lab being studied like a lab rat." The two men winced at his choice of words. The phrase brought back memories of arguments between the pair. Blair slowly sat back down arms crossed over his chest.
"Okay, we'll listen." He stated.
Daniel glanced at the general, then he began. "Two days ago, we made a visit to P-2417. It is a very rigid patriarchal society. At first everything went well until Sam intervened in a family argument. A young woman was being punished by her father for refusing to marry the man of his choice; Major Carter stopped him from beating the girl. He threatened Sam and stomped off. Later that night the girl's father was killed and all of the evidence points at Sam. Jack stayed behind on the planet as a guarantee that we would return; otherwise they would have executed her. His staying gave us the time to find and bring back a truthsayer." Both Blair and Jim looked confused. "They won't permit any technology on their world. They have what are called truthsayers. They are allowing us to bring our own they don't believe it will make a difference. It seems to be a hereditary office in their society. You, however, will be able to tell if someone is lying. Hopefully you will also be able to find some kind of evidence to help clear her." Daniel stopped, praying he had convinced them.
"We'll go." Jim said. "There are a few questions first." General Hammond nodded. "One, are there any Goa'uld on this world?"
"No, we haven't seen and sign of Goa'uld on this world. It looks like another race is protecting this world." Daniel answered.
"What kind of evidence do they have against the Major?" Blair asked.
"The knife was found beside her cot and there was blood on her sleeve. Beside the body there is a drawing in blood that the village leader claims is of the major." Teal's explained.
"Last question, when do we leave?" Jim asked.
Jack stood impatiently by the gate impatiently waiting for the return of his team. He prayed Ellison and Sandburg would be with them. He was startled out of his contemplation of Carter's fate by the sound of the gate activating. He moved out of sight with his weapon, a six-foot staff, ready. They had found that the village had some kind of a field around it that rendered any equipment unusable. He watched as Daniel and Teal'c crossed first. The Jafar turned back in time to catch Ellison before he crushed his partner.
Jack ran up to the group. "What the hell happened?"
"I knew it! I knew this would be a problem." Blair said to himself. "Come on, Jim. Wake up. You really need to wake up and take a look at this world." As the young guide continued to try and reach his zoned partner, Daniel filled Jack in on what had happened.
"Blair had Ellison pull back his senses. I think he was hoping that if they were turned down Jim wouldn't have a reaction to the gate. Looks like it didn't work."
They watched as the younger man continued to speak to his zoned partner. It took the better part of an hour before Jim responded to his guide. The big man opened his eyes in confusion. He looked past his partner to the worried faces around him. "What happened?"
"Well, it looks like you won't be earning frequent gate miles in the future." Blair teased. He helped the big man to his feet.
"Detectives, it's really good to see you right now." Jack said, relief evident in his voice.
"I wish it could have been under other circumstances, Colonel." Jim said before looking around.
"The two of you ready to go?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." Jim answered; he looked back at the gate dreading when they would have to return. He remembered the beginning of the transit. The intense colors and cold had caused his dials to spin out of control. The last thing he remembered was the overload of color. He had zoned on the ones that were beyond normal vision.
The small group trekked to the village. Jim was aware of the people watching from sentry positions in the trees. Periodically he would look directly at one of the watchers. It became a game trying to get a reaction from the sentries. As soon as they noticed him watching, their heartrate would increase. He could hear the ones they passed climbing through the trees to get ahead of them. He could hear the excitement in the voices of the alerted villagers. "Daniel, what language do they speak here?"
"It's a combination of Anglo-Saxon English and Gaelic, why?"
Jim smiled. "The village has been notified that we're on our way." He paused for a moment. "I can't understand all of it but they seem to be telling someone that a truthsayer is coming."
They entered the village and it became silent as they came into sight. Jim felt his skin crawl as they walked past the outer circle of huts. He looked around trying to spot the source of the feeling. He saw a woman standing partially hidden in the shadows of a hut. He focused in and tried not to show the alarm he felt when he saw the hatred on her face as she looked at his partner. He glanced at Blair and was shocked to see the glazing of the younger man's eyes. When he touched his guide's shoulder, Blair blinked and looked around.
"What's wrong Chief?" Jim said quietly.
Blair looked confused for a moment, and then he shook his head. "I'm not sure." Blair whispered. "It felt like everything was becoming distant, like I was in a fog. I was trying to remember why we were here." Jim motioned for him to follow, not stopping until they were out of the sight of their malevolent watcher. "What's going on?" Blair asked quietly.
"One of the locals is very unhappy that we are here. I think she just made my list as our number one suspect." They followed the SG-1 team to the building where Major Carter was being held.
The young sergeant woke from a light doze when the door opened. He raised his weapon and was prepared for anything. His face creased with a smile when he saw Daniel, Teal'c and their companions.
"Where's Sam?" Blair asked.
Jack motioned with his thumb toward a locked door. "As soon as the village warden shows up with the key we'll be able to see her." Jack explained. "He should be here in a moment.
Jim could hear the major pacing in her cell muttering to herself.
"How the hell do I get into these messes. I knew I should have stayed in bed." He could hear her kicking the furniture around in the small room.
The villager with the key showed up moments after the SG team, keys in hand. "Only one may see the prisoner." He stated officiously. Jim stepped forward. The warden looked at him and paled. "Truthsayer." He whispered. Quickly moving out of the big man's way.
Jim entered the cell holding the frustrated Major. She stopped pacing and turned toward her visitor. "Colonel, how much longer..." Her eyes widened. "Jim!" She said stunned. Sam's smile lit up the small room. "I should have known! You're the Truthsayer."
Jim nodded, "So how did you get into this mess, Sam?" He asked wanting to hear her side before confronting any of the villagers.
"Have a seat," she gestured toward the cot. Once they were settled she began. "This is one of the times I should have listened to the 'Don't interfere' lecture. I couldn't just stand by while he was beating the girl. After the girl got away, her father started to threaten me. I told him to give it his best shot." She looked at Jim. "He stormed off, still making threats. Everything seemed to settle down after that. Daniel and the Colonel met with the village elders. It seemed to be a success but by then it was too late to go to the gate so we decided to accept their hospitality and spend the night." She paused and looked confused.
"What is it?" Jim asked carefully prompting her to continue.
"I'm not sure. I remember going to the house we were to stayin, a kind of travelers hostel. After going in things are a bit fuzzy. I can't really remember much of anything until the next morning when I woke up to see a number of people standing around the room with the warden out there asking why I had killed the girl's father, Gennone. I told him that I didn't know what he was talking about. He asked me why I had blood on my sleeve and why the knife was beside my bed. They hauled me out and put me in this cell without another word." She paused for a moment. "Do you think you will be able to help?" Sam asked hopefully.
Jim smiled. "Don't worry." He reassured her. "We will get you out of here and the real murderer in this cell. Get some rest"
"I think I will be able to now." She smiled.
Jim left the small cell and joined the others.
Blair was the first to his side. "Was Sam able to help?"
"Yeah, Chief." He looked at the rest of the team. "I think I know how it was done. Now we just need to track down the guilty party." Jim said with an almost feral grin.
"Do you think it's...?" Blair started to ask.
"Remember the fog?" The younger man nodded. "Well it's time to put our talents together and find the generator." Jim started to head out the door.
"Hold up, Ellison. Where do you think you're going?" Jack asked impatiently.
"Colonel, your team needs to stay here to protect the Major. If we're right, there will be an attempt on her life. You need be with her at all times."
"Very well." O'Neal said reluctantly.
Sentinel and Guide exited the building. "So what's the plan, big guy?" Blair asked staying close to his partner.
"Remember the feeling you got when we entered the village?"
"Yeah."
"Well, we're going to track it to it's source."
"That's workable." Blair said with a smile. They wandered through the village. Most of the inhabitants watched with great curiosity. Jim started monitoring the villager's heartbeats, hoping for a reaction to their presence. Blair, noting what Jim was doing, placed his hand on his partners back to keep him grounded. Most seemed nervous around the truthsayer, but it was a normal nervousness. The two men were waiting for the one with the power to cloud minds.
She watched as the two walked through the village. The young woman could feel the power contained by the men and knew they were in the presence of the only ones who could ruin all of her carefully laid plans. Carefully staying out of sight, she tracked them.
"You feel that, chief?"
"Yeah, it feels like a pressure system, like the air just got heavy." Blair answered.
"Whoever it is, is watching us now." Jim stated and started to slowly turn as he focused his sight on the buildings around them. His efforts were rewarded when he saw a figure standing in the shadows of a distant building. Looking closer, he wasn't surprised to see a young woman with a bruised face watching them. "Spotted her."
"Her?"
"Yep, looks like the daughter."
The young woman suddenly stiffened and pulled back out of sight. She couldn't shake the feeling that the tall one knew who she was. It was now time to set her back-up plan into motion. She pushed out mentally to the minds she controlled and set her mob into action.
Jack sat watching the door to the small jail grumbling under his breath. "I can't believe we're stuck here waiting. I hate waiting." Daniel turned his face away to hide the smile on his face. He knew 'Mr. Action' was having a tough time sitting and waiting. They suddenly heard an increase in the noise from the outside. Teal'c quickly entered the room and barred the door. He had been patrolling around the building when he saw the rapidly forming mob moving towards them.
"O'Neal, we have company."
Jim heard the gathering mob form across the village and had a good idea who was behind it. "Come on Chief, this kid has just escalated everything"
Blair turned to look in the same direction as his sentinel and saw the gathering crowd. "She's controlling them. How can we stop them?"
"We need to find the girl. O'Neal and the SG team will be able to hold them off until we stop her. Time for you to use your talents to track her."
Blair nodded. Thanks to Incacha passing on the way of the Shaman to the young guide, he was now able to, among other things, track anyone using abnormal amounts of energy. He could see it in the form of a glow. It this case, the glow was a muddy reddish black. Since the two men were prepared, she would not be able to direct her power against them. Jim followed as the younger man started running across the village.
Shalyn stood at the back of the crowd. She focused her anger toward the interlopers and projected her emotions into the crowd. She smiled to herself; her plan was working. No one would ever know she had been responsible for her father's death.
Blair slowed as the row came into sight. Stopping he turned to his Sentinel. "I need your help, big guy. I'm going to try something new."
"Just tell me what you want me to do." Jim said projecting confidence in his Shaman.
"Stand behind me and put your hands on my shoulders. Between the two of us we will be able to contain her." Blair explained. Jim nodded and took his position of support behind his partner.
Blair took a deep breath and gathered his energies. Once he had readied himself, he reached a mental net around the young woman. At first Shalyn didn't realize what was happening. The crowd was beginning to lose the single purpose she had forced. Those on the fringe were starting to drift away. She tried to force them back into the fold when her mental broadcast hit a wall. Shalyn spun around with a cry of rage. She saw the two intruders standing behind her, knowledge in their eyes. She tried to attack them with her mind but her action was turned back onto herself as the net closed tighter around her. Her mind shut down under the assault and she collapsed.
The crowd came to their senses when the influence of the young girl had been cut off. They were confused by their location. Jim stopped the increasing babble. "Enough!" He said in command voice. The crowd wheeled as one to see the truthsayer behind them. "This is the killer." He pointed toward the young girl on the ground. The SG-1 team hearing Ellison's voice stepped out to help if needed. They watched as he supported his exhausted partner. "She killed her father." The crowd began a dangerous rumble.
Blair held up his hand and the crowd quieted. "The girl is not the only one to blame. You are all at fault. When I touched her mind..."
The crowd began to mutter. "Mind witch."
"Stop! You are fools. You have had a truthsayer in your midst and lost her because of your disregard of the teachings of your ancestors. How many knew about the abuse this child endured." Some turned their faces away, ashamed. "Instead of helping, you turned away. She could feel you reject her pain. This had been happening all her life. The night she killed her father it was in self-defense. He was preparing to kill her and the visitor who had shamed him. She knew the good people of this village wouldn't help her so she helped herself in the only way she knew how." Blair leaned back against his Sentinel absorbing the strength to continue, his face showing the pity he felt for Shalyn. "You will release the visitor, Major Carter, and we will leave your world. We will take the girl. You can not be trusted to care for her." He closed his eyes and collapsed into his Sentinel's waiting arms. Jim motioned for Teal'c to retrieve the girl while O'Neal released Sam from her cell.
"I think a strategic retreat would be in order before these good people realize we are taking their scapegoat and their truthsayer away." Jack said when the team was together. They quickly headed for the waiting Stargate.
Blair regained consciousness shortly before they reached the gate. Jim smiled at the man young man he was carrying and set him down. "You okay to hike the rest of the way, Chief?"
"Yeah." He looked around at their companions. "Is everyone okay."
"Everything is fine and will be even better once we get through the gate. Let's get a move on, people." Jack announced from the front the group.
They soon reached the gate and dialed home. As they waited for the sequence to finish dialing. Jim had only one question. "What is the general going to think when we bring back the girl?"
Jack shrugged. "Don't know, but Blair was right. There is no way in hell we're going to leave her here to their tender mercy." The rest of the team nodded their agreement. Jim could feel the instant before the Stargate engaged, and tried to mentally prepare himself for the journey ahead. Blair could feel the tension building in his Sentinel.
"Jim, I think we are going to try something new this time." Blair said, just loud enough for his Sentinel hear. Jim looked at his partner ready to try anything. "Just listen to my voice..."
The next Jim knew he was stepping out of the Stargate. He looked at his partner and smiled. "Not bad, Chief, didn't feel a thing."
Blair smiled and looked toward the rest of the team. "I need to release her now. I think she will be okay."
"She'll need a lot of help coping with a new environment and learning how to deal with her abilities." Sam added. "Since the two of you seem to be our resident experts..." She looked at the Sentinel and guide.
Jack O'Neal piped up. "Yeah since you can't leave for a few days, you might as well stay busy."
"What do you mean, we can't leave?" Jim asked.
"Quarantine is SOP after visiting off world." General Hammond answered. "It will only be three days."
Blair and Jim sighed and with one voice both said. "You get to tell Simon."
