If All Else Fails - Prologue
Prologue
“As far as I remember, Operation Phoenix was first formulated during my third or fourth year on SG-1. We’d almost been invaded a couple of times, so Jack-then Colonel O’Neill-and General Hammond decided that it would be a good idea to have an escape hatch. We knew that if an invasion were successful, SGC personnel would be the first ones targeted. The idea was to get key military assets and their families off-world so that they could, in turn, work to free earth. Jack liked to call it the WAFGON plan-We’re All Fucked; Get Out Now. That probably gives you a little taste of Jack’s sense of humor.”
~ Interview with Daniel Jackson
Sam glanced up as Cameron Mitchell entered her lab. “Hey. Did you have that meeting with General O’Neill?”
“You could say that.” He gave her a sharp look. “You knew what he was going to say?”
“We all got the same briefing. The general recently updated it to take Atlantis into consideration.”
Cam shook his head. “Sam-”
“Let’s go out for a drink,” she suggested. “We don’t want to discuss this here.”
In truth, Sam would rather be with Jack, but he’d told her that he was going to spend some time with Daniel and Teal’c, and he was aware that Sam had known Cam since their days at the Academy. Sam had a connection with Cam that the rest of them didn’t.
And Jack had a certain proprietary interest in Cam; he trusted Sam to look after him.
“I could stand a beer,” Cam admitted.
“Let me get changed.”
Thirty minutes later, Sam slid behind the wheel of her car wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blazer. Cam was dressed much the same way, and he slumped in the passenger seat of Sam’s Volvo with his head hanging down.
“You knew about this.”
Sam heard the accusation in Cam’s voice, and she winced. “Since my third year on the team, when they first started putting the plan together.”
“How the hell do they expect us to abandon ship?” Cam demanded.
Sam gave him a sideways look. “The same way they expect us to do six impossible things before breakfast, Cameron. If we’re given an order, we follow it.”
“Except when we don’t,” Cam shot back. “I’ve got family here, Sam.”
“So do I, and like me, you get to make a list,” Sam replied, pleased when her voice held steady. “If the SGC can get them out, they will.”
Cam barked a laugh that held no humor. “Do you know how much family I have? I’ve got-shit. My parents, my brother, his wife, their kids-there’s no way the SGC can get them all out.”
“No, there’s no way,” Sam agreed. She thought of Mark, and his wife and kids, but she counted herself lucky that she had so few people to leave behind. If her team made it out, if Jack made it out, if they could get Cassie off-world-that would be enough.
It was harder for people like Cam, who didn’t have a wife and kids, but had a lot of other family. He had so much more to lose.
Cam shook his head. “No way I can do that. How am I supposed to choose? If I make that list-”
“You’ll bear the guilt.”
“Yeah.” Cam stared out the window, the darkness broken up by streetlights and the occasional neon sign as Sam headed deeper into Colorado Springs. “What if I don’t do it?”
Sam flicked her turn signal on to turn into O’Malley’s. Enough time had passed since SG-1 had gotten kicked out that it was unlikely she’d be barred from entering. Besides, Cam had never been to O’Malley’s, and they had the best steaks and beer in town.
“If you don’t make the list, you don’t have to choose,” she said as she pulls into a parking spot. “But Cam-the list is more about who can be used against you.”
“It’s about the people I can’t afford to lose, you mean,” he replied bitterly.
Sam sighed. She’d forgotten what it was like to be so naïve, to believe that hard choices could be left to someone else. Sam had made her list for the first time after Janet had been killed, wanting to be sure that Cassie would be covered. By the time Operation Phoenix had been put into place, her dad had been part of the Tok’ra, and Sam hadn’t been close with Mark in years.
Jack and her team were already designated as military personnel to send off-world.
They sat in the car, and Sam silently cursed Jack for leaving her to pick up the pieces. “Yes. It’s about whom you can afford to lose, Cam. Anyone who’s going to be a weakness needs to go on that list, whether you like it or not.”
“And we follow orders, like it or not.”
“That’s what we signed up for.”
Cam rubbed his eyes. “I don’t think I signed up for this.”
“You heard Jack,” Sam snapped. “This is a WAFGON plan. If all else fails, this is the plan we follow. We’ve never had to use it before.”
Cam shot her a look. “Jack, huh?”
“General O’Neill,” she corrected herself.
It was too late, though, and Cam smirked. “Thought that might be what’s going on. That’s why you didn’t want to come back to SG-1, isn’t it?”
“Well, it was a hell of a lot easier to hide our relationship when I wasn’t going off-world all the time,” Sam remarked sourly.
Cam grinned for the first time since he’d stumbled into her lab. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
He was teasing, but he was sincere, too. Sam knew that he would keep her secret, and she knew he’d think about what she’d said.
Cam was a good soldier, and he’d follow orders.
“It had better be,” she replied finally. “I know lots of place to hide the bodies.”
Cam grinned. “Yeah, I’ll just bet you do.”
Chapter 1
“As far as I remember, Operation Phoenix was first formulated during my third or fourth year on SG-1. We’d almost been invaded a couple of times, so Jack-then Colonel O’Neill-and General Hammond decided that it would be a good idea to have an escape hatch. We knew that if an invasion were successful, SGC personnel would be the first ones targeted. The idea was to get key military assets and their families off-world so that they could, in turn, work to free earth. Jack liked to call it the WAFGON plan-We’re All Fucked; Get Out Now. That probably gives you a little taste of Jack’s sense of humor.”
~ Interview with Daniel Jackson
Sam glanced up as Cameron Mitchell entered her lab. “Hey. Did you have that meeting with General O’Neill?”
“You could say that.” He gave her a sharp look. “You knew what he was going to say?”
“We all got the same briefing. The general recently updated it to take Atlantis into consideration.”
Cam shook his head. “Sam-”
“Let’s go out for a drink,” she suggested. “We don’t want to discuss this here.”
In truth, Sam would rather be with Jack, but he’d told her that he was going to spend some time with Daniel and Teal’c, and he was aware that Sam had known Cam since their days at the Academy. Sam had a connection with Cam that the rest of them didn’t.
And Jack had a certain proprietary interest in Cam; he trusted Sam to look after him.
“I could stand a beer,” Cam admitted.
“Let me get changed.”
Thirty minutes later, Sam slid behind the wheel of her car wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blazer. Cam was dressed much the same way, and he slumped in the passenger seat of Sam’s Volvo with his head hanging down.
“You knew about this.”
Sam heard the accusation in Cam’s voice, and she winced. “Since my third year on the team, when they first started putting the plan together.”
“How the hell do they expect us to abandon ship?” Cam demanded.
Sam gave him a sideways look. “The same way they expect us to do six impossible things before breakfast, Cameron. If we’re given an order, we follow it.”
“Except when we don’t,” Cam shot back. “I’ve got family here, Sam.”
“So do I, and like me, you get to make a list,” Sam replied, pleased when her voice held steady. “If the SGC can get them out, they will.”
Cam barked a laugh that held no humor. “Do you know how much family I have? I’ve got-shit. My parents, my brother, his wife, their kids-there’s no way the SGC can get them all out.”
“No, there’s no way,” Sam agreed. She thought of Mark, and his wife and kids, but she counted herself lucky that she had so few people to leave behind. If her team made it out, if Jack made it out, if they could get Cassie off-world-that would be enough.
It was harder for people like Cam, who didn’t have a wife and kids, but had a lot of other family. He had so much more to lose.
Cam shook his head. “No way I can do that. How am I supposed to choose? If I make that list-”
“You’ll bear the guilt.”
“Yeah.” Cam stared out the window, the darkness broken up by streetlights and the occasional neon sign as Sam headed deeper into Colorado Springs. “What if I don’t do it?”
Sam flicked her turn signal on to turn into O’Malley’s. Enough time had passed since SG-1 had gotten kicked out that it was unlikely she’d be barred from entering. Besides, Cam had never been to O’Malley’s, and they had the best steaks and beer in town.
“If you don’t make the list, you don’t have to choose,” she said as she pulls into a parking spot. “But Cam-the list is more about who can be used against you.”
“It’s about the people I can’t afford to lose, you mean,” he replied bitterly.
Sam sighed. She’d forgotten what it was like to be so naïve, to believe that hard choices could be left to someone else. Sam had made her list for the first time after Janet had been killed, wanting to be sure that Cassie would be covered. By the time Operation Phoenix had been put into place, her dad had been part of the Tok’ra, and Sam hadn’t been close with Mark in years.
Jack and her team were already designated as military personnel to send off-world.
They sat in the car, and Sam silently cursed Jack for leaving her to pick up the pieces. “Yes. It’s about whom you can afford to lose, Cam. Anyone who’s going to be a weakness needs to go on that list, whether you like it or not.”
“And we follow orders, like it or not.”
“That’s what we signed up for.”
Cam rubbed his eyes. “I don’t think I signed up for this.”
“You heard Jack,” Sam snapped. “This is a WAFGON plan. If all else fails, this is the plan we follow. We’ve never had to use it before.”
Cam shot her a look. “Jack, huh?”
“General O’Neill,” she corrected herself.
It was too late, though, and Cam smirked. “Thought that might be what’s going on. That’s why you didn’t want to come back to SG-1, isn’t it?”
“Well, it was a hell of a lot easier to hide our relationship when I wasn’t going off-world all the time,” Sam remarked sourly.
Cam grinned for the first time since he’d stumbled into her lab. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
He was teasing, but he was sincere, too. Sam knew that he would keep her secret, and she knew he’d think about what she’d said.
Cam was a good soldier, and he’d follow orders.
“It had better be,” she replied finally. “I know lots of place to hide the bodies.”
Cam grinned. “Yeah, I’ll just bet you do.”
Chapter 1