Cat's Eyes A Highlander/SG-1 Xover By Tasha Part 3 O'Neill seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and with military efficiency he separated Methos from Richie. The older Immortal, Daniel and Teal'c were in one car, and Richie was in the other with O'Neill and Sam. Richie decided it wasn't such a bad arrangement as he found himself in the back seat next to the rather attractive woman. Her whole attitude screamed military, from the way she seemed to be assessing him the moment she sat down to the fact that she kept looking to O'Neill for guidance. Richie knew he had a weakness for a pretty face, and he tried to clamp down on his hormones by reminding himself constantly that she was of The Establishment. It was difficult when The Establishment looked quite so good. They drove in silence for a good five minutes, but it appeared that Sam wasn't as military as her companion, because she didn't seem particularly comfortable just sitting there not saying anything. "Where are you from?" she finally asked, and Richie saw O'Neill's eyes flick to the rear view mirror. "Seacouver," Richie replied--he didn't see much point in keeping it a secret. These people could locate his file any time they felt like it, he knew how the system worked. "It's near Seattle." "Lived there long?" was Sam's next question. "As long as I can remember," the Immortal returned hoping his mouth wouldn't run away with him. "I've moved around a bit the past few years, but I always end up back there; bit like a homing pigeon." His back seat companion smiled at that, and Richie found himself smiling back. Sam seemed pleasant enough, and she wasn't radiating suspicion out of every pore like O'Neill. If she hadn't been part of his escort to what was probably a military base, Richie might even have hit on her. As it was, a mantra started in the back of his mind, telling him she was not to be trusted. "Home is where the heart is," she said lightly. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you know, Adam Pierson?" It was obvious that she was fishing for information, but Richie decided it was better here than when they reached their destination. "We have a mutual friend," he explained, "and we bumped into each other one day. I wouldn't call us best buddies or anything, I'm only here because otherwise I'd be sanding our mutual friend's floor. Redecorating with my friends can be scary." Sam's grin became wider. "I have friends like that too," she told him and the little voice in the back of his mind dimmed worryingly. She glanced forward and Richie tried to look as if he wasn't noticing the silent signals going on between his escorts. "So you really have no idea what's going on here?" it was half question, half statement. "Not a clue," Richie replied truthfully, "when Adam opened his mouth he surprised me as much as you. Then again you know Adam long enough you come to expect things like this. Weirdness is a way of life with my friends. For all I know you could have just stepped off another planet." Sam went quiet, and the Immortal knew he'd said something, but he wasn't sure what. She covered quickly, but her body language spoke volumes even if she didn't. The mantra in his head came back to full volume. Richie began to contemplate what had actually been going on, and he started to think about the things Methos had said. It was beginning to dawn on him that maybe the Old Man's comments about Earth, and different races weren't just figures of speech. Stargate, suddenly made sense and Richie came to the conclusion that it was his comment about other planets that had cause Sam's momentary discomfort. This wasn't about ancient cultures; this was about aliens. "Do you even know anything about languages?" Sam was just making small talk now, but Richie decided to play along. "Wouldn't know Sanskrit from Swahili," he replied, and tried to look as relaxed as if he hadn't just had his world turned on it's head, again. They chatted for a while about nothing, Sam always digging for information, Richie giving it and then steering her away from subjects he didn't want to discus. It was when the Immortal saw the base that he began to feel anxiety again. It was literally built into a mountain, and it had top security written all over it. Richie began to pray that they wouldn't search their "guests": he hadn't been able to come up with an excuse for the sword. He didn't think they'd buy the old line about being a dealer, or a courier. Then again if the worst came to the worst what else could he say. ===================================================================== Okay so the courier line just wouldn't wash, especially since both Richie and Methos had been carrying their swords. Metal detectors were an Immortal's worst nightmare, and the base had soldiers carrying hand held ones. The weapons had been confiscated and both Immortals had been escorted to a locked room where they had been left. "Way to go on ruining a vacation, Old Man," Richie said sarcastically, and pointedly ignored the camera looking at him. "Calm down," Methos shot back evenly, "this is more important than just us. They need my help, they'll have to let us out of here eventually, because it's more important than the US military as well." Richie glared at his companion. "They'll have to let you out," he said pointedly, "but what about me? Thanks to the swords, Major Carter," the various ranks of their captors had been revealed when they'd entered the facility, "thinks everything I told her on the way here is a bag of lies. They think we're part of a big conspiracy to do with this Stargate thing." He paused. "What is the Stargate anyway?" "It's a device for travelling to different worlds," Methos told him. "Unfortunately it was taken over by a rather nasty race several millennia ago, and the one on Earth was buried to keep them away. An archaeologist dug it up again in the forties, and the last I heard their experiments had failed. If I'd known the US government had started the program again I would have tried to find out more about it. The Goa'ulds could quite easily wipe this planet off the face of the universe." Richie let the information sink in, and tried to make himself come to terms with the situation. "You know," he finally said, "I wish, just once that my life could be simple." Methos actually smiled. "Just play dumb and let me do the talking," were the words of wisdom he offered. ===================================================================== The two swords lay on the table as silent accusers, and Richie stood in awkward silence beside Methos. The room was large, and was obviously some sort of conference room. They'd been introduced to General Hammond, and Daniel and company were seated around the table. Richie was beginning to feel like a criminal dragged in front of the judge, and he had never liked that sensation. "Would you care to explain these?" Hammond said in a bland tone that belied the expression on his face. Richie just looked at him and kept his mouth shut: this was Methos' party. "An old tradition," the ancient Immortal said calmly. "The swords are a heritage nothing more." "To do with your knowledge of the Stargate I suppose," Hammond continued with equal dispassion. This time Methos just nodded. "Mr Ryan claims no knowledge of the Stargate, Mr Pierson," the General stated evenly, "and yet he carried a weapon like yours." Out of the corner of his eye, Richie saw Methos smile, and he tried to appear as calm as his ancient friend. "Training comes first, knowledge later," the older Immortal told those in the room. "I will need a successor, since I am not going to live forever," Methos' tone was dismissive and Richie hoped his face didn't give the other man away. "I've been lax in finding someone to teach. Richie knew he was joining a fraternity, but he had no idea about the Stargate." The General was silent for a moment, and fixed Methos and then Richie with his gaze. "Is this true?" he looked Richie straight in the eye and demanded an answer. The young Immortal knew he was not a good liar, so he chose to tell the literal truth. "I really didn't know anything," he said, hoping his voice wouldn't betray just how nervous he felt. "I still don't know exactly what's going on, but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't have my suspicions." The frankness of the reply had an effect on Hammond, and he nodded as he heard it. He appeared to be a man who respected honesty. "Colonel O'Neill and his team tell me that you know more about the origins of the Stargate than we do," the General turned his attention back to Methos. "That's possible," the ancient Immortal replied, "but I don't know what you know so I couldn't be sure. Man's history is very incomplete, and some facts were hidden for a reason. Some people chose not to forget, however, and the knowledge has been passed on. The fact that there were aliens on this planet several thousand years ago is one of those pieces of information, that there was more than one species is another. I could tell you where and when the rebellion against the Goa'uld started, and how long it took, but that's not really relevant at this present time." Richie watched as Methos swept his eyes around the table, making sure he had everyone's attention. "What is relevant is what that text you recovered tells you," he continued. "It's a general warning about the Goa'uld, but it's also a warning about the two who destroyed the Lenerai's planet. If I may ask where did you find the text?" "That information is classified," Hammond replied without hesitation. "Then let me just say," Methos continued, appearing not at all surprised by the response, "if you found it on a desolated world you've probably found the Lenerai's home, and if so you've probably alerted Shu and Tefnut to your presence. The text talks of a never- ending vigilance for signs of Lenerai survivors so that they may be hunted down. It's possible you may have gained the attention of two very nasty Goa'uld." That definitely held everyone's attention. "Just who are Shu and Tefnut?" Hammond was looking at Daniel. Richie was interested as well, and even though this still sounded like an episode of the twilight zone, so much of his recent life had been strange that he did not even question it. "The twin lion gods," Daniel didn't appear to have any trouble with the explanation, "Shu the male, god of dryness, Tefnut the female, goddess of moisture and humidity. In the older texts they are the children of Amen the creator, but in later texts such as the book of the dead they are described as the children of Ra and Hathor." The SGC personnel were looking at each other meaningfully. "Well there's no way they could get in here," O'Neill said confidently. "But SG-2 are investigating the site," Sam reminded them all. Hammond held up his hand. "Escort our guests back to their room," he instructed the two guards beside the door. Richie knew his observation of the situation was over. ===================================================================== SG-3 had been through the gate, they had conferred with SG-2, nothing was wrong. There was no sign of life on P3X157, and no sign that anyone was looking for any. SG-3 had returned and that left SGC with a mystery. Four hours after the original meeting, SG-1 and General Hammond were once again around the briefing table. "But why would he lie?" Daniel felt the need to defend his friend after the General had shown them the reports. "Maybe to throw us off," O'Neill's answer wasn't what Daniel really wanted to hear, but it wasn't completely impossible either, "gain some time." The linguist couldn't think of a good answer, and it was unsettling not to be able to trust a man who was his friend. "Just how well do you know Pierson?" Hammond addressed Daniel directly. "We spent three years working together," Daniel replied earnestly. "He was the only one who didn't immediately tell me I was insane when I started to form some of my theories. He even backed me up with the funding body once or twice. He's a good friend or I never would have called him in the first place." The General raised one eyebrow at that comment, and Daniel knew that he had not heard the end of the consequences of that action. At the present time, however, they had other worries. "Well until we can ascertain the truth of Pierson's statements," Hammond told them all, "I've recalled SG-2. They should be returning on the hour. Jackson I want you to work with Pierson until you have a working knowledge of this new language. I assume you could tell if he was making it up." Daniel nodded: it would be almost impossible for Adam to falsify the text if he was teaching the syntax and semantics. "Colonel O'Neill, you work on Ryan," Hammond continued. "Make friends, see what you can find out. Take him to the mess hall or any other low security parts of the base, whatever you see fit. I want answers people, and I want them quickly." The look on Jack's face clearly said that he wasn't very happy with the assignment, but Daniel saw him bite back his objections. With the mood the General was in, subtlety was the best policy. "Teal'c, Major Carter, confer with SG-2 when they return, look over their logs and make sure nothing was missed," their commander finished. "Dismissed." Everyone left the room as quickly as possible. End of Part 3