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  Her eyes closed again. Appalled, Teal’c rested her gently on the ground and opened another wormhole to Earth.

  “This is Teal’c,” he said through his radio. “I must speak with Doctor Fraiser immediately.”

  “Stand by,” said Sergeant Harriman. “I’m paging her to the control room now.”

  It seemed longer than an age before he heard Janet Fraiser’s voice. “Teal’c, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

  “Doctor Fraiser, I have a medical emergency. A young Adjoan woman. She is covered in a noxious rash. I request a medical team stand by as I bring her — ”

  “No, Teal’c! You can’t bring her through to the SGC. New protocols, remember? No unidentified and potentially untreatable pathogen or its carrier may be brought to Earth from any offworld location.”

  He had forgotten. But surely, in this case… “Doctor Fraiser, this young woman assisted SG-1. I must assist her. She is suffering. Possibly dying.”

  “Teal’c, I’m sorry, but my hands are tied. The orders come from General Hammond via the White House.”

  “Then can you not come here? If you wore a Hazmat suit — ”

  “No, the ban extends both ways until the pathogen’s been identified, remember? Look. Have you got a camera? Can you film her and send me the footage? Maybe I can advise some kind of temporary treatment while I work something out with General Hammond.”

  It was an excellent suggestion. Unfortunately… “No. Daniel Jackson has our camera.”

  “Then we’ll send you through a MALP. Get her in front of it and activate the video feed.”

  Of course. Distress had robbed his mind of clarity. Bra’tac would be sternly disapproving if he knew.

  “Yes, Doctor Fraiser.” Slumped at his feet, the girl Lotar moaned softly. “Please. Do not make me wait for long.”

  He knelt to gather her in his arms. At his touch she moaned again, almost weeping. In its pouch his symbiote writhed, as though sensing the illness that ravaged the young woman.

  Ignoring it, ignoring everything but the need to give what little comfort he could, Teal’c held Lotar lightly, frightened that even a gentle touch might cause her pain.

  “Be brave, Lotar,” he whispered. “We will not abandon you.”

  The outgoing wormhole collapsed. Nearly twenty minutes later, an eternity of time, an incoming wormhole erupted into life… and soon after that the SGC sent him a MALP.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Okay,” said Sergeant Harriman, still damp from his decontamination scrubdown. “Now that’s just gross.”

  Janet, equally damp, repressed the urge to smack him as she stared at the MALP footage of the sick girl feeding back to them from Adjo.

  Teal’c’s right. This Lotar is in serious trouble.

  “My first thought is that it looks like one of the poxes,” she said into the mike. “Chickenpox. Smallpox. Some kind of systemic viral infection. Who’s she been in contact with in the last four to five days, Teal’c?”

  “To the best of my knowledge, Doctor, she has seen no-one but us,” Teal’c replied over his radio. “Lotar has been alone, carrying out a pre-marriage ritual.”

  So if he was right that meant whatever disease this was, it had an extended incubation period. Or was it airborne? Her belly churned queasily.

  “Teal’c, you said this girl assisted you. How long did SG-1 spend in her company?”

  “Doctor Fraiser, are you suggesting they have been infected and will succumb to the same disease?”

  Please no, please no. “I’m suggesting it’s a possibility.”

  “Lotar guided us back to her village from the Stargate. It was a journey of some nine hours in total, but we were forced to stop at nightfall and sleep in the woods.”

  Oh, wonderful. “Teal’c, I’m going to send you through a blood kit and some skin swabs. Take a blood sample first, then swab her lesions so we can test them for viral and bacterial infections. Three different sites. Once you’re done send everything back to me. I’ll analyze it and hopefully identify her illness.”

  “And if you cannot?”

  “Yeah, well, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. Hold on.” She hit the gate room intercom and looked down at her chief nurse, waiting at the foot of the gate ramp. “Go ahead, Liz. Teal’c?” she added, turning back to the MALP’s microphone. “The equipment’s coming through now. As soon as you’ve got it we’ll disengage from our end.”

  Waiting while Liz sent Teal’c what he needed, Janet chewed at her bottom lip and focused on not letting her imagination run away with her.

  I used to be a whole lot better at keeping the damned thing under control. It’s this place. It breeds medical nightmares.

  “Doctor Fraiser…” said Walter. He sounded as worried as she felt. “Teal’c may be immune to whatever this is, but the rest of SG-1 is human.”

  And today’s award for stating the blindingly obvious goes to… “Sergeant, we don’t know what’s going on yet so please — let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

  “No, ma’am,” said Walter, chastened. “Sorry.”

  She patted his shoulder. “It’s okay.”

  Eventually the Stargate engaged again. First they received SG-1’s iris code, then the blood sample and skin swabs. As Liz rushed them to the lab, Janet radioed Teal’c. “Got them. Thanks.”

  “Doctor Fraiser, how long will it take to identify the pathogen that is making Lotar sick?”

  “I don’t know, Teal’c.”

  “Then what should I do? There is nowhere near the Stargate for Lotar to be housed. If you could advise me which of the medical supplies you gave me might ease her immediate discomfort I can assist her, but she cannot remain here and neither can I. I must ascertain the status of SG-1.”

  Of course. “Can you radio them?”

  “Mennufer is out of range.”

  “And it’s the closest village to your location?”

  “Yes.”

  Dammit. What the hell were the Goa’uld thinking, setting up a Stargate in the middle of nowhere? Oh well. It could be worse. At least Teal’c’s a competent field medic. But if someone had only listened to me they’d have a doctor on the team and…

  No. No. She didn’t have time to think about that. Washington’s refusal to consider her proposal would, in due course, be the subject of a pointed memo. But right now…

  “Okay, Teal’c,” she said. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll send you a camp bed and a portable awning so you can keep the patient comfortable and out of direct sunlight. Then you’ll give her one 5mg ampoule of morphine, into the upper arm. You’ll also need to set up an i/v with saline, I’ll send that to you and talk you through the procedure. Then we’ll get her onto penicillin, after you’ve done an allergy scratch test. Don’t worry, I’ll talk you through that too. And while the lab’s testing the blood and skin swabs I’ll get a hold of General Hammond and see what we can do about bringing her through to the SGC or at least letting a medical team onto Adjo. That way you’ll be free to find SG-1 and bring them up to speed.”

  “Thank you, Doctor Fraiser. I shall now disengage the wormhole and await those further supplies.”

  Sending Teal’c the equipment and material he needed and helping him take care of the Adjoan woman took longer than she liked, but at last it was done. As the wormhole to Adjo collapsed, Janet turned to Walter. “Okay. I need to speak to the general. Now.”

  The sergeant cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. “Sorry, Doctor Fraiser. No can do. I’m under strict orders that he not be disturbed unless the planet’s on the brink of invasion or implosion. Pentagon closed session, remember?”

  She banged her fist on his console. “Walter, I don’t care if he’s dancing the pasa doble with the President, I have to speak with him. If it makes life any easier for you, consider this my declaration of a Code Red medical emergency. Now get him on the phone.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said smartly.

  Listening to him work his magic Janet
could only smile a little, and wonder. In the way things often morphed without anyone realizing it, Walter Harriman had slowly but surely assumed the secondary role of General Hammond’s personal aide. Low-key and eerily, sometimes superhumanly efficient, things just… got done.

  If he ever decides to retire the SGC will be in trouble.

  He was arguing now, politely but relentlessly, with some drone at the Pentagon. For God’s sake, moron, just say yes!

  “That’s great, ma’am,” said Walter. “Doctor Fraiser is standing by. Thank you. Yes ma’am, I know. But I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t urgent.”

  “You got through to Hammond?” she said, stepping closer.

  His answer was to hand her the phone.

  “General Hammond?” she asked, her heart pounding.

  “Doctor Fraiser? Major Linton,” said a clipped female voice. “General Hammond is being reached. Please hold.”

  “Yes. Yes. I’m holding,” she replied. Hurry up, General, hurry up, hurry up.

  “Hammond,” said a welcome, familiar voice in her ear. “This had better be good, Doctor. I’m not here to take the Arlington tour.”

  “No, sir. I know. I’m sorry. We have a medical emergency on Adjo, General. I’ve put the base on a Code Red medical alert.”

  “SG-1?”

  “Their status is yet to be determined, sir. The only casualty I can confirm is a young Adjoan woman, but according to Teal’c SG-1 have been in contact with her. She’s definitely suffering from a disease. Pathogen unknown, extent of contamination unknown, but my preliminary observations suggest — ”

  “Your what?” demanded Hammond. “Doctor Fraiser — ”

  “Via MALP, sir,” she said quickly. “But I would like to set up an isolation unit and bring the patient — ”

  “Out of the question, Doctor,” said Hammond. “And you know better than to ask.”

  That stung. “Sir, we can’t do nothing,” she said. “I need to know what we’re dealing with. Even if SG-1 aren’t affected there are people on Adjo who might need our help.”

  “I’m aware of the humanitarian implications, Doctor. You say you’ve spoken to Teal’c?”

  “Yes, sir. He came back to the SGC with some raw naquadah for testing. When he returned to Adjo he found the patient and — ”

  “He’s been on the base? Is it compromised?”

  “No, sir. He was only here briefly, and we were notified of the medical emergency within minutes of his departure. Everyone he came into contact with has been through decon, the air filtration system has switched up to level 5 and we’re testing the filters for contamination now. Medical staff are on alert, of course, but I’m confident we’re not in danger.”

  “And you have no idea if the rest of SG-1 is affected?”

  “Not yet, sir. No.”

  “But they could be.”

  “It’s possible. Yes.”

  “And even if they’re not…”

  “Yes, sir. Until we get a clear picture of what’s happening, they’re stuck on Adjo.”

  “Damn.” Hammond exhaled sharply. “You say Teal’c brought back some naquadah? So the mission’s a success?”

  Right now she could care less about the damned mission. “Apparently, sir. General Hammond, Major Carter is already medically compromised. She had an accident, suffered a concussion. If there is some kind of contagious illness on Adjo and she’s exposed — ”

  “Doctor, I understand your position but for now Major Carter stays where she is. Understood?”

  She’d known he’d say that, and still it hurt. “Yes, sir.”

  “Right now, Doctor, all you can do is care for this Adjoan woman within the constraints of procedure. Inform Teal’c his highest priority is making contact with O’Neill and confirming that the team remains uncompromised. Once their status has been established we’ll look at rendering assistance to any sick Adjoans.”

  “And if SG-1 is compromised, General?”

  A short silence. “Then, Doctor, we’ll have a problem, won’t we?”

  She was grasping the phone receiver so hard the plastic was in danger of cracking. “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor Fraiser,” Hammond said, more kindly. “I know this goes against the grain for you. It doesn’t sit too well with me, either, but we have to maintain the base’s integrity. I’m not prepared to tempt fate again.”

  Well, no. Not when tempting it with SG-11, four months ago, had come close to wiping out Cheyenne Mountain and potentially Colorado. For starters. “No, sir. Of course not.”

  “I’ve got to go. I’ve kept the Joint Chiefs waiting long enough. I’ll check in with you for an update before boarding the transport home.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Frustrated, she hung up the phone then turned to Walter. “Dial up Adjo, Sergeant. I need to talk to Teal’c.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Walter, subdued, and did as he was told.

  “How’s the patient, Teal’c?” she asked, once contact was established.

  “She appears to have lapsed into a stupor,” said Teal’c. “Her breathing is shallow and her pulse is weak. I fear Lotar is dying, Doctor Fraiser. Under the circumstances can I not bring her — ”

  “I’m sorry, Teal’c,” she said, pain like a tight fist in her chest. “General Hammond wants you to locate SG-1 as a matter of urgency.”

  “Yes, Doctor. But what of Lotar?”

  Yes indeed, what of poor young Lotar? “To be honest, I’m not sure what I could do for her even if I had her in the infirmary. Antiviral drugs are specific to a handful of certain Earth viruses only. There’s a remote possibility that if I can identify the relevant pathogen I could maybe try synthesizing a treatment but realistically, that’s more science fiction than science. At the end of the day her own immune system might be the only thing that can save her.”

  “I understand. But I cannot leave her here, alone and suffering.”

  “Then you’ll have to take her with you, Teal’c. Carry her back to the village. Is that even possible?”

  “It is possible,” Teal’c said, after a short silence.

  But only just, she was betting. Damn. “Teal’c, you’re absolutely certain your symbiote will protect you?”

  “I have no reason to think it will not.”

  “That’s something. But listen, you can’t take Lotar into the village. You’ll have to leave her well beyond its limits. I have no way of knowing what the window of contagion is with this disease or even how it spreads. She could be safe to be around, or she could be a Typhoid Mary. Don’t take any chances. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Doctor Fraiser.”

  “I’m going to see what the geniuses around here can rig up by way of a radio signal enhancer. Something that’ll let us reach you through an open wormhole. We can’t not be in contact, that’s insane.”

  “I agree. And I wish you good luck.”

  “Right back at you, Teal’c. Fraiser out.”

  “What next?” said Walter, as he disengaged the wormhole.

  She thought for a moment, finger tapping her lips. “Okay,” she said at last. “How many teams do we have offworld?”

  “Four.”

  “Contact them. Let them know that unless they have their own emergency they’re to stay put and not contact us until further notice. SG-1 needs to be able to dial in without delay, and vice versa.”

  Walter nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, ma’am. Ma’am, I’ve got an idea. If we could rig up some kind of transmitter on a UAV and — ”

  She held up a hand. “Sounds great. You get on that, Walter. I’ll be in my lab. Let me know as soon as you’ve got something.”

  We can’t not have decent communications with Adjo. We just can’t. It’s bad enough I’m stuck here instead of being where I can do the suffering some good. But if I can’t even talk through some basic medical treatment…

  She wasn’t going to think about it. Thinking about the fact that there were sick people on Adjo whom she wasn’
t able to help was the short road to a major migraine.

  Please God, let this Lotar be a one-off casualty. Please don’t let this turn into another disaster.

  But given their recent run of bad luck, she had the worst possible feeling she was asking too much.

  Daniel sat cross-legged on the goat-nibbled grass of Mennufer’s village square, surrounded by a crowd of children and young adults. There were even a few adults hovering on the fringes, abandoning their daily tasks so they might listen to the strange man tell his fantastic stories in the sunshine. Every face was eagerly turned to his, every eye was opened wide with wonder. Having abandoned the idea of telling them some ancient Egyptian folktales — Ra tended to feature in them far too often — he’d opted for a definitely left of center but strangely relevant — sort of — Hans Christian Andersen story.

  It didn’t matter that the villagers of Mennufer had never seen an ocean. It didn’t matter that they’d never heard of merfolk, or princes, or bold sailing boats. They were humans. They understood love, longing, the desire for something more. They understood that wanting more usually meant giving up some of what you have… and sometimes even meant becoming somebody new altogether.

  They understood that dreams didn’t come for free.

  When the story was finished they patted their hands on their knees to show him how much he’d entertained them. Pleased, he glanced over at Sam to see what she made of their reactions. She was sitting in the shade of the nearest mud brick building, one knee drawn up to her chest, fingers laced and chin resting on the back of her hands.

  She didn’t look well.

  Was it just yesterday’s unfortunate tumble down the valley side or something more? She’d stopped sneezing, which was good, but even so she’d suffered two more nosebleeds. The second one had taken ages to stop. And she didn’t look right.

  Jack should’ve made her go back to Earth with Teal’c. Janet needs to check her out, because either she’s caught some weird Adjoan bug or she hurt herself worse yesterday than she wants us to know.

  And if that weren’t unsettling enough he wasn’t entirely certain things were completely copasetic with the Adjoans, either. Not the little ones — they were giggling and carefree. But the older children, the young adults, and their seniors… beneath their good-natured cheer he thought they were uneasy. Mennufer felt like it was holding its breath. He’d noticed the difference in them straight away. As though literally overnight some dark shadow had touched the village.