Chapter 1
Chapter Text
Something is…off with Jack, Daniel decided, watching from a distance as his friend opened and closed doors in an unused part of Level 18, and made notes in a pocket-size notebook. This isn’t normal behaviour, even for Jack. He sighed and shook his head. Then again, normal doesn’t really apply to Jack, does it? Still, this is a different not-normal to his usual not-normal. And now I sound as crazy as Martin Lloyd, except…he wasn’t crazy in the end, was he?
He took another sip of his coffee and grimaced. How on earth did I let a cup of coffee go cold? That almost never happens. This business with Jack is bothering me more than I thought. Pull yourself together, Jackson! He made his way back to his own lab, aware he had a mission that afternoon with SG-6 to prepare for. Why has no one else seen a difference in Jack? Sam hasn’t, because I asked her, but something’s…not quite right with him, I’m certain. Maybe I should start keeping notes.
Daniel didn’t see Jack again for several days as he had a further two missions with other teams as SG-1 was on stand-down while Jack was lecturing at the Air Force Academy. He enjoyed the odd off-world missions with other teams – there’s a distinct lack of prisons for a start – but much preferred to go with his own team. Still, change and rest, as they say, but hang on…when did Jack volunteer to give a lecture series? Has the world ended, and I didn’t notice?
It was already mid-October when he bumped – quite literally – into Jack again, in the corridor where most of the anthropology, archeology, and linguistic labs were and, for once, it wasn’t his lab Jack was peering into, whilst busily scribbling things in a notebook.
‘Jack?’
‘Daniel.’
‘Jack?’
‘Daniel?’
‘Whatcha doin’? What’s in the notebook?’ Daniel stretched out an arm to take the book, but Jack whipped it out of his reach.’
‘Ah, ah, ah.’
‘Jack.’
‘Don’t have time for all that, Danny,’ Jack told him, slipping the notebook into the leg pocket of his BDUs. ‘Things to do, places to be. You know.’
‘No, I don’t know,’ Daniel said in exasperation, suppressing the desire to stamp his foot. ‘That’s the point. Every time I see you, you’re busy scribbling in that notebook, or poking your nose into something that doesn’t really concern you, and—’
‘Everything that happens on this base concerns me,’ Jack interrupted. ‘I’m second in command. You know that.’
Danial frowned as he regarded his friend. ‘I do know that, but I wasn’t aware you did! And when was the last time you took an interest in what the Anthropology Department does? You don’t even know the names of the anthropologists, apart from me.’
‘Sure I do. There’s you, you’re the boss; and Dr Warner’s your deputy. Dr Kelly’s pretty new. She only graduated a year or so ago, and there’s Dr Corrigan. What I’m not sure of is why we need so many anthropologists, archeologists, and linguists. We have as many of them as we have biologists, you know, and one of them has a duel role with the genetics folk.’ Jack gave him a cheery grin and a nod and strolled off before Daniel could collect himself.
I could’ve sworn he didn’t know the folk I work with. I could have sworn it.
Daniel watched and made his own notes for a further couple of weeks, then decided he needed to confront Jack directly because there was definitely something odd going on.
Jack was…slightly more attentive in meetings, although he’d occasionally catch himself and try to paste on his usual Homer Simpson ‘Mmm, donuts’ face. Why has no one else noticed this?
So here he was, on a cold evening in late October – almost two years into the new millennium, for Netu’s sake! Where did that time go to? – clutching a six-pack of beer, and waiting for Jack to answer his front door which was, unaccountably, locked so Daniel couldn’t walk straight in as he usually did. When did he start locking up? He always said he’d rather the NID not break his door down every time they wanted to plant a few bugs. It came as a shock, then when a hand touched his shoulder, bringing him out of his reverie. ‘Ahh!’
‘Danny? You okay?’ Jack asked, frowning at him.
‘Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,’ Daniel nodded and grinned, holding out the pack of beer. ‘I’m fine, honestly, just, you know, daydreaming, like I do.’
‘In the rain?’ Sceptically.
Daniel touched his cheek, his fingers coming away damp. ‘When did it start raining?’
Jack made no reply, and simply held the door open to allow Daniel to enter and, with some relief, Daniel thrust the beer into his friend’s hands and continued on to the sitting room.
‘I’ll just go get…’ Jack touched his hair, as though rubbing it dry, and disappeared. Daniel heard him drop the beer onto the kitchen table, then continue down the hall to fetch a towel.
Daniel wandered around the familiar room, smiling at the team photograph on the mantlepiece, right next to the one of Charlie, in pride of place. He lightly touched a couple of the items on the shelf, noticing Jack had recently cleaned his grandfather’s medals, then trailed his fingers along the edge of the wood.
Collapsing onto one of the sofas, he swung his feet onto the coffee table as he’d done many times before. I love this house. It feels like home far more than my apartment does. Maybe I should get rid of it since I’m never there. I’d much rather stay on base, so it’s just a storage place, really. It’s not home to me, not like this place is. I guess growing up in a stream of different foster homes does that to you.
He rested his head back and closed his eyes, letting his hands flop to his sides. It even smells like a home: lavender – that’s the furniture polish, and the sandalwood is Jack’s aftershave. Memories of the weeks spent there after his return from Abydos flitted through his mind. Jack dragged me through that time after I lost Sha’re. He was about the only one who really knew how I felt, and being here with him…helped. We’ve both suffered tragedy and come out the other side in pretty much one piece, though I wondered, at times, if I would. Or even if I wanted to.
Shifting slightly to make himself comfortable, Daniel felt the edge of something under the cushions poke his back, and he felt for whatever it was. His fingers found the pointed edge of a small book. A notebook? Jack’s notebook?
Knowing he shouldn’t, but unable to stop himself, Daniel pulled out the same small notebook he’d seen Jack writing in at Stargate Command. I shouldn’t be doing this, but I’m going to, anyway. Opening the book, he recognised Jack’s sloping, loopy script, and did a double take as he looked at the actual words. What the hell? Words close enough to Latin to be a derivative, yet Daniel was one of the – very – few people on earth to recognise them not as a derivative, but of the source language Latin undoubtedly came from. Is this Ancient?
‘Whatcha doin’, Danny?’
Giving a start at Jack’s voice, Daniel looked up to find Jack leaning against the doorframe, regarding him with a raised eyebrow.
‘These notes are written in Ancient,’ he said, holding up the notebook.
Jack didn’t reply, just tilted his head slightly and raised both eyebrows in enquiry.
‘I didn’t know you knew Ancient.’ What a stupid thing to say.
‘Yeah, you did. You taught it to me. Me and Teal’c.’
‘Oh, yeah, during the time loop thing.’ Get a grip, Jackson! ‘But I, uh, I didn’t teach you this much.’
‘Sure you did. Ancient every day for three months, Danny. Three. Months. I was bound to pick some of it up.’
‘So you write all your notes in Ancient now?’
Holding out a towel, Jack came down the steps into the room and shrugged. ‘It keeps my hand in.’
Daniel rubbed his still damp hair with one hand and looked at the latest page of notes, then shook his head. ‘I didn’t teach you this. This is beyond what I know.’
‘Then I picked it up on off-world missions, or maybe it’s a leftover from the head-grabber thing. Does it really matter? I thought you’d be pleased I do actually listen to you and Carter sometimes.’ From his pocket, Jack produced a couple of the beers Daniel had brought, then sat down opposite his friend and twisted off the cap. ‘Cheers.’ He took a long drink and relaxed back in his chair.
Except, he’s not relaxed at all, though I doubt anyone else would realise that. He’s alert as fuck, just like he gets right before someone shoots at us, or throws us in a cell, sometimes both at the same time. He’s just missing his P90, except…why would he be so uneasy in his own house?
‘So what are your notes about?’ Daniel asked, turning the pages and recognising several words and phrases now he knew their provenance, along with a few names of scientists at the SGC. ‘Coombes, Felger, Lee, inutilis. Inutilis…Idle? You think Coombes, Felger, and Lee are idle?’
‘Useless,’ Jack corrected. ‘None of the three have produced anything innovative since they’ve been with us. Sure, Lee helps out Carter from time to time, but he does nothing any one of a dozen other scientists could do, and don’t even get me started on Felger. The man’s a jackass: all he ever does is fawn over Carter. “Oh, Major Carter, you’re so clever. I would never have thought of that”.’
Daniel grinned at the high-pitched voice Jack put on for Felger. ‘He is a bit of a fool, but Sam likes him for some reason. Why have you made notes about her department? Have you made notes about mine?’
He flicked through the notebook and, a few pages on, he saw the names Corrigan and Warner. He tried to translate the words around the names, but didn’t recognise any of them, not even anything related to them. ‘Jack, this Ancient is way beyond my knowledge or anything you might have picked up off-world.’ He met Jack’s eyes and focussed on them. ‘What’s really going on?’
‘Nothing’s ‘going on’, Danny,’ Jack said, but he couldn’t – or wouldn’t – meet Daniel’s eyes. ‘I’ve just made a few notes about what happens about the place: who’s pulling their weight and who isn’t, and, let me tell you, those three shrubs of Carter’s do not earn what we pay them. Your department’s okay, but hers is a hot mess. She’s the only one there worth her salt; the others certainly aren’t.’
Daniel stared at him for a while, his intense scrutiny making Jack shift uncomfortably, and, at length, shook his head. ‘No, that’s not it, or at least, not all of it. You’re…different, changed. You’re more serious than you used to be, and there’s less acting the fool than usual.’
‘Gee, thanks for the compliment!’ Jack muttered, looking away.
‘No, come on, admit it. When Sam goes off in her techno-babble, you usually pretend you don’t know what she’s talking about, even though I know you do. You have a masters in Military Sciences and Engineering, and you won an award for Academic Excellence at the Academy. You understand her perfectly well, but you used to pretend you didn’t. Now you…don’t. So what’s changed? Why are you suddenly taking notice of who does what, and how well they do it? Bill Lee’s been with the programme from the start, and Felger and Coombes joined not much later. Why are you looking into the civilians on base?’
‘Because they’re the largest expense the SGC has, apart from our energy bills! It’s my job to make sure we’re getting value for money from them.’
‘And you’ve only just discovered this?’ Daniel shook his head. ‘You’ve been General Hammond’s 2IC for almost four years and you’ve never once bothered yourself with how much the programme costs. I want to know what’s really going on, and don’t tell me nothing. Something has changed with you recently, and pretty soon other folk are going to notice and ask questions as well.’ Daniel folded his arms and sat back, staring at his friend.
Jack stared back at him, unmoving, and for a while, they tried to out-stare each other until Jack huffed. ‘Back off, Danny, just…just leave it alone.’
It was the wrong thing to say, and Jack clearly realised this the moment the words left his mouth, and he sighed and set his bottle on the table between him.
‘So there is something.’ Daniel tried not to smirk, but knew he was unsuccessful. ‘You might as well tell me now. You know I’ll only bug you until you tell me everything, and you also know I won’t let it rest until you do. So…what’s really going on, Jack?’ He knew he’d won when Jack’s shoulders dropped a little and he rubbed his hands across his face.
‘Okay, fine.’ Jack stood and went across to the mantlepiece and picked up one of the objects Daniel had noticed earlier. It lit up as soon as Jack touched it, making Daniel frown in puzzlement. Jack replaced it and returned to his seat, raising his eyebrows at his friend. ‘You must promise me this doesn’t go any further.’
‘Okay,’ Daniel agreed, wondering what on earth it could be that made Jack so serious. ‘I won’t say anything.’
‘No, Danny. Okay isn’t enough. You need to promise me not to repeat any of what I’m about to tell you. My life could depend on it.’
Daniel sat up, immediately understanding the seriousness of the occasion. Jack O’Neill wasn’t the sort to exaggerate in this way. He’d been in too many ‘life dependant’ situations to make light of it. ‘Jack? You’re scaring me now. What’s happened?’
‘I’ve come back in time.’
*****
It said something about their lives that Danny didn’t immediately call for the men in white coats, Jack thought to himself. Daniel said nothing for a while, just stared at him silently, his eyes unfocussed and his body still.
‘You learned Ancient in the future, probably to speak as well as write. Another head-grabber, or did you actually meet some of the Gate Builders themselves?’
‘Both, actually.’
Daniel nodded his head slowly. ‘And the review of the scientists? Were they not here in the future, or…’ His eyes suddenly met Jack’s. ‘You were in charge of the entire base, which is how you know how much everything costs, and you’re looking now to see what economies we can make. Are there financial problems in the future?’
‘Yes, and no. We have a lot of dead wood here, folk who contribute little, while there’re people at Area 51 who would make a valuable contribution to our mission.’
‘And the financial concerns?’
‘We do have financial worries ahead, although I think I might have a plan to help with that, but we do need to make sure everyone here is earning their keep, no matter who they are.’
‘That sounds ominous,’ Daniel said, frowning at him. ‘Like to give me an example?’
‘Most of Carter’s department for a start. There are some excellent scientists at Area 51 mostly sitting on their asses waiting for her to pass on a few doohickeys we’ve found off-world, which she can’t get to work. Few of the scientists at Area 51 have original research they’re working on; it’s mostly dictated by what folk here either can’t or won’t do.’
‘That’s unfair. Some excellent research comes out of Area 51, espec—’
‘I’m not saying they don’t produce anything,’ Jack interrupted. ‘I’m saying they don’t always get the chance to do original research, while some of the people we have here who’re supposed to be doing original research aren’t doing anything much at all. I just can’t understand why Carter keeps some of them here.’
‘Okay, let’s leave that aside for the moment. When did you get back, and from what time in the future? And why have you come back? Was it an accident, like us going back to 1969? Or was it—’
‘Whoa, whoa.’ Jack held up his hands to ward off his friend. ‘Give me a chance to answer a few before you go asking more questions.’
Daniel huffed and sat back, his arms folded again.
‘When I woke up on October 1st I wasn’t…where I expected to be.’ He grimaced at the memory, and tried to push it aside. If all goes well, it won’t happen that way again. ‘I came back from 2015, and I’m not sure if it was an accident, like us going to 1969, or if someone or something’s sent me back for a reason. I can’t get back to 2015, that’s for sure, especially since…’
‘Since what?’ Daniel demanded, sitting forward, then held up a hand. ‘Sorry, sorry, carry on.’
‘Nothing. Forget I said that. As to why I’ve come back in time – the truth is, I don’t rightly know,’ Jack admitted, scrubbing his hair with his hands. ‘I wasn’t in time to stop 9/11, and even if I had been, I doubt I could’ve done anything about it. The invasion of Afghanistan began the day I returned, so it’s likely something SGC related rather than anything national or international.
‘I began making notes to see if anything stuck out: missions, visits, lectures, the lot. I’ve probably forgotten a few things, but I think I’ve got most of it.’ He took another drink of his beer and cradled the bottle in his hands, moving it from one to another. ‘There’s one event next year which might be the critical one, but I can’t be certain.’ He took a drink of his beer and began picking at the label, subconsciously almost his thoughts elsewhere.
‘D’you want to try telling me?’ Daniel suggested. ‘It might help clear your thoughts a bit.’ Daniel watched him for a moment, then glanced at the mantlepiece and nodded towards it. ‘What’s that gadget? Why did it light up?’
Jack brushed off the final questions with a wave of his hand. ‘I’ll tell you later, it’s not important right now.’ He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘We’ve a few important missions coming up, but nothing which particularly changes anything in the future. The next thing which will affect future events is in mid March, next year. I think that’s the thing, the first thing, that is, I need to change.’
‘Okaaay,’ Daniel said into the silence which followed. ‘What happens? An off-world mission?’
Jack gave him a wry grin. ‘Yes, and no. The inciting incident, as it were, happened off-world when Teal’c stepped into a gate which got hit by a glider.’
‘What!?’
‘He was fine.’ Jack waved a hand. ‘Eventually. He got stuck in the gate-buffers, and it took time and various negotiations to get him out. I can solve that part, no problem. It’s what happened while we tried to solve it. A Dr Rodney McKay, from Area 51, an astrophysicist, was brought in to consult, but, unbeknown to everyone here, there was an ulterior motive for bringing him to the SGC, and…Well. Let’s just say no one came out of the situation smelling of roses.’
Daniel frowned. ‘I remember Rodney McKay. He came here to install the Beta Gate after you beamed our gate onto Thor’s ship when it was overrun by Replicators. He’s a decent guy. Got the gate installed faster than we expected, given Sam was off-world with you. He barely slept while he was here and got the gate up and working in a couple of days. General Hammond certainly appreciated him.’
Jack frowned back at him, his mind ticking over. Was the gate installed as fast as that last time? Is there a last time to my past pre October this year? I thought we were stuck off-world for longer than a couple of days, then again, it was a long time ago for me. But I don’t recall Daniel meeting McKay before Antarctica. He was certainly in Russia when Simmonds brought McKay here, but…maybe he did meet him at some another time.
‘Jack?’ Daniel looked concerned. ‘Is everything okay?’
He paused for a moment before answering. ‘Is there anything else you know about McKay?’
Daniel’s frown deepened. ‘Why? Why is McKay important?’
‘Just answer the damn question, Danny!’
Daniel’s eyebrows were almost blurred with the speed he raised them at his friend’s tone, and he tilted his head to survey him. ‘Oookay, but I don’t know much. He’s the Chief Scientific Officer at Area 51, and he’s been in the programme pretty much since it began, I think. Aaand, that’s about all I do know. Now you tell me why he’s so important, and just what happened!
‘What happened isn’t really important, and I know enough to either avoid it, or solve it if it does happen. No, the critical thing is that McKay pissed off Carter and, because of that, he was sent to Russia to help them build naquadah generators.
‘The point,’ he continued hurriedly as Daniel opened his mouth to ask another question, ‘is McKay becomes very important to the programme in the future, and because he pissed off Carter, he never came to work at the SGC. He could have used the experience of working here, and we could have used his considerable knowledge. But, because of what happened with Carter, no one here liked him – and I include myself – so on the occasions he could have helped us a lot, his input was pretty much ignored.’
‘Which is why you’ve been looking at Coombes, Folger, and Lee, and thinking of swapping them for McKay.’
Jack nodded. ‘Yeah, I want to bring McKay here, and a couple of other scientists from Area 51 who’ll be more use to us than the three amigos, but I’m pretty sure Carter isn’t going to like it and…’
‘And?’
Jack pursed his lips and gazed at the ceiling. ‘Let’s just say Carter and I…we had an…understanding in the future, but it didn’t work out. I’d like to see if it might work for us if we get together a few years sooner.’
‘You and Sam?’ Daniel sat back and folded his arms. ‘Huh.’
‘You don’t think she likes me?’
‘That‘s not the problem. She likes you just fine. Fraternisation, however…’
‘Yeah, fraternisation.’ Jack grimaced. ‘I thought if she was on another team…’
‘She’d still be under your command as you’re Hammond’s second,’ Daniel pointed out. ‘Are you really intending to move her to another team? That’s not going to endear her to you at all. She’ll hate it, especially if you replace her with another scientist, and she’ll hate the scientist concerned even more. I’m not too keen on it either, taking on a gate newby.’
‘We were all gate newbies at one time, and besides, I’m not thinking of replacing her with just McKay. There’s someone else I want to bring in as well. Another vital one.’
‘Scientist?’
Jack shook his head. ‘Officer. Probably the best damn pilot I’ve ever come across. I’d like to get him here and trained up so he’ll…be ready for a senior post when it’s needed. I’d only want to take McKay out when we needed a scientist.’
‘Jack, half the times…no, more than half the times we need Sam’s expertise is when we’re not expecting to.’ Daniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. ‘Even when we’ve just gone to meet and greet, we can land in trouble. How many times has she used her knowledge and skills to break us out of prison, or get us out of a sticky situation by hacking a mothership, for example?’
‘Have we ever needed to hack a mothership?’ Jack asked, trying to think back.
‘I was being metaphorical!’ Daniel shook his head. What I’m saying is can we afford to go off-world with a rookie?’
‘That’s my point: we were all rookies to begin with. I want to give both my guys experience of missions going wrong. It’ll stand them in good stead when…when they move on.’
‘Move on to—’
‘Ah, ah, ah.’ Jack held up his hand, palm outwards. ‘I can’t…won’t talk about that just yet.’
‘Fine.’ Daniel sat back again and folded his arms.
‘Are you pouting, Dr Jackson?’
Daniel huffed, then gave a reluctant smile. ‘I might be. Do you know how aggravating it is to discover your best friend has come back in time and he won’t give you all the information you want?’
‘Pretty aggravating I should think, but, Danny, somethings are better left, for a while at least.’
‘Okay, fine.’
It was a different ‘fine’ than the previous one, and Jack nodded in gratitude as Daniel let his arms drop and relaxed into his seat, mirroring Jack’s own position. ‘So, you said Sam was so pissed at McKay she got him sent to Russia to build something or other? What was it?’
‘Naquadah generators. When General Hammond needed someone to help the Russians build naquadah generators, she put him forward even when she knew he’d never even seen a naquadah generator,’
Daniel frowned at him. ‘Then how…What did he do? Read up about it on the plane?’
‘Probably.’ Jack shrugged. ‘I wasn’t on base when it all went down, and you were…elsewhere as well. McKay claimed he was the smartest man on the planet – in the galaxy, even – and if he taught himself how to build a naquadah generator in just a few hours on the flight over there, he probably is.’
‘More like a couple of days. Russia’s a big country,’ Daniel commented. ‘And he stayed with the programme even after that?’
Jack shrugged again. ‘From what I understand, he was under contract to the USAF, despite being Canadian. He certainly stayed with the programme for a further decade or so, then left in protest when…stuff happened.’
‘The stuff you’re not going to tell me about.’
‘Hell, Danny, I can’t! Some bad shit went down in the first timeline, and I’m going to avoid it all if I can. It’s just how I’m going to avoid it I can’t quite see, and when to change stuff.’
Daniel leaned forward again, all signs of humour now gone from his face. ‘Jack, you know you can’t tell Sam about any of this?’
‘Why not? Not that I was going to tell her, at least not at first.’
‘You can’t say anything to her at all!’ Daniel said urgently. ‘Don’t you remember how adamant she was about not making changes when we got sent back to 1969?’
Jack frowned. ‘That’s a long time ago for me. I remember her saying we had to destroy our weapons. I never did get a Beretta, which fitted my hand quite as perfectly as—’
‘Jack! Focus! You must not say a word to Sam about this. Understand?’
‘Yeah, okay, don’t get your panties—
‘I’m serious, Jack. Who knows what she’ll do if she knows you’re from the future and have no intention of going back?’
‘Okay, okay. I hear ya.’ Jack held up his hands in surrender. ‘No telling Carter. What about Teal’c?’
‘I don’t think Teal’c would have a problem, if that’s what you mean, but the person I think would be of most use to you is General Hammond.’
‘Really? The General?’
‘He knows time travel is a possibility because he remembered meeting us in 1969.’
Jack considered this and nodded. ‘True, and he’s in the best position to help me make the changes I need to make. Especially when it comes to reassigning folk.’ He met Daniel’s eyes. ‘When should I tell him? D’you think he’s noticed anything odd about me?’
‘No more than usual,’ Daniel replied, and laughed at the expression on Jack’s face. ‘Hey, you being more serious was one of the first things that tipped me off something was different with you, but I spend more time with you than the general does. And by the way, do you get promoted in the future?’
Jack looked away. ‘Yeah.’
‘And?’
He sighed. ‘I was a Lieutenant General when I retired.’
‘You retired? Huh. I thought you’d have to be carried out in a box. How come you retired? If you came back from 2015, you hadn’t quite reached mandatory retirement age. What went wrong?’
Jack stared into the distance. ‘The whole damn planet went to shit, that’s what went wrong.’
*****
They decided to invite General Hammond to supper one evening rather than tell him on base.
‘We’re less likely to get interrupted here,’ Daniel pointed out to his friend.
‘Funny thing. I think we’re more likely to get interrupted here,’ Jack responded. ‘I just settle down for the evening and then someone comes knocking at my door and spends the rest of the night here. Did you know it’s 01:30?’
‘What!? It can’t be, I only just…’ Daniel glanced down at his watch and gave a start. ‘How did that happen? I need to get going.’
‘Nah, the spare room’s still made up from when you last stayed over, and you’ve still got clean clothes here. Wouldn’t be the first time we stayed up late talking.’
‘Thanks, Jack.’ Daniel stood and stretched, his back popping as he did so. ‘See you in the morning.’
‘Not if I—’
‘See you first.’
They both grinned at the quip they frequently made to each other, and Daniel rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder as he walked past. Jack remained on the sofa for a while longer and reached for the notebook, which had been his undoing. Am I mad Danny sussed me out? Not really, and I know he’ll keep it all to himself. It’s been helpful to me to talk it through, and I feel much better. I might even get some sleep tonight; God knows I haven’t slept much in the last three weeks.
*****
‘So I didn’t dream it all, then?’ Daniel asked between mouthfuls of buttered toast the following morning – or rather later that same morning.
‘Huh?’
‘You really have come back from 2015?’
Jack scowled at him and jerked his head to one side. Daniel frowned back and shrugged his shoulders. The battle of the eyebrows went on for a few more seconds until Jack sighed, and disappeared into the sitting room, coming back with the object from the mantelpiece, which was glowing in his hands.
‘Can I talk now?’
‘You can now, yeah.’
‘You going to tell me what that thing is, as well?’ Daniel raised his eyebrows and waited, sipping his coffee.
‘It’s a…it cuts out any audio or visual devices that might be around.’
Daniel frowned at him. ‘I thought you did a regular sweep for bugs.’
‘I do, but this is in case I miss any.’ He sighed. ‘Look, we both know there’re folk who’d like nothing better than to make me disappear, and if they had an excuse to chop me up at the same time, they’d do it in a heartbeat.’ He paused for a moment, weighing his words. ‘And it’s only going to get worse as time passes..’
‘What does that mean? You’re talking in riddles.’ Daniel stared at him, but Jack made no reply. Daniel waited for a few seconds, then nodded towards the gadget. ‘Where’d you get that from, and why does it glow? It didn’t glow when I touched it last night.’
Jack hesitated for a moment, running his mind over what Daniel already knew about the Ancients. ‘Ask me in another year or so.’
‘Another year or so? Year? Really?’
‘It could cause problems if you know too much too soon.’ Jack held up his hand as Daniel opened his mouth. ‘Ah, ah, ah. One. Year.’
‘Can you at least tell me where you got it from? You surely didn’t bring it back with you?”
Hesitating again, Jack thought about how to answer. ‘We had it on base, but nobody knew what it was, or how to activate it.’
‘But you did.’
‘For cryin’ out loud, Danny, give it a rest, will ya? And come on, we’re going to be late.’
*****
Chapter 2
Chapter Text
SG-1 met with General Hammond for a team briefing later that morning regarding an up-coming visit to an ally. It was a perfectly ordinary mission and Jack knew nothing went wrong on it, nor was it likely to, but he was finding it even more difficult to concentrate than usual.
Have I done the right thing in telling Danny? Should I really bring the general into my confidence? And what about Carter? I don’t think my feelings for her have changed, but it’s going to be difficult to have a relationship and keep secrets from her. And yet…I have an opportunity now, to have the relationship I’ve thought about for so long, that I only managed to have with her for a short time in the future.
‘Colonel O’Neill!’
Jack gave a start and focussed on General Hammond, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. From his expression, this wasn’t the first time he’d called for his subordinate’s attention.
‘Yes, sir. I quite agree.’ He waited for a moment to see if he’d got the right phrase, but Hammond simply regarded him for a moment, then nodded and continued the briefing.
Phew! Close call. I need to pay better attention.
When General Hammond concluded the briefing, Jack was swift to follow him out of the room and into his office.
‘Can I help you, Colonel?’
Colonel, not Jack. He’s still a little pissed. ‘Yessir, if you could. I…’ Now he’d begun, Jack couldn’t think how to phrase his invitation to make it less of an order, something he’d struggled with since he’d been back. Transitioning from a Lieutenant General down to a colonel was quite an adjustment to make. Seeing Hammond’s eyes beginning to narrow, Jack got the point. ‘Would you mind coming round to my house tonight for supper? I have…something I need to discuss with you.’
‘Something related to your inattention earlier?’
Crap! ‘Yessir, kinda.’
‘And also related to your recent odd behaviour?’
Double crap! Jack stared at him for a moment, unable to think how to answer without giving too much away in an unsecured area.
‘I’ll take that as a yes, shall I? I like Mongolian Beef, by the way. With extra crispy fried noodles.’
‘Yessir.’
‘Shall we say 19:00?’ When Jack nodded again, a little lost for words, Hammond stared at him for a moment – a long moment. ‘Good. Close the door behind you.’
Jack found himself in the corridor outside Hammond’s office. What the fuck just happened? George knows? How does George know? Shit! George knows! Still frowning, he made his way down to Daniel’s office to find Teal’c already there, browsing through an old Atlas where much of the world was still in pink representing the British Empire.
‘You interested in that, T?’ Jack asked, peering over his friend’s shoulder.
‘I find it interesting that areas of Earth have been colonised just as the galaxy has.’
‘Yeah, but we don’t do that anymore.’
‘Jack!’ Daniel looked up from the book he was studying. ‘How can you say that?! What about the Philippines? What about Guam, and Puerto Rico, and all the other Pacific Island we ‘liberated’ during World War II and seemingly ‘forgot’ to hand back? What about Vietnam? That was nothing but an attempt at strengthening American influence in Indochina.’
‘That’s one point of view,’ Jack said carefully. ‘Other points of view do exist.’
‘But Jack—’
‘Danny, let’s not fall out over a war which happened years ago. There’re enough problems in the world without dragging up ancient history to say nothing of problems in the wider galaxy.’
‘But—’
‘Ah!’ Jack held up a finger, and when Daniel opened his mouth again, he wagged it with a further, ‘Ah!’
Daniel huffed. ‘Fine. Have it your way, but Teal’c, you need to know Earth isn’t so very different from the rest of the galaxy. It’s all about areas of influence, and forcing your own views on other people. Earth may not be ruled by quasi-deities, but it’s not for the want of some countries trying.’
‘Fer cryin’ out loud, Danny!’
‘Nope, not going to say anymore.’ Daniel mimed zipping his lips closed while Jack looked up to the ceiling, as if hoping for divine intervention.
‘Did you come here for any particular reason?’ Daniel asked, after a few moments of blesséd silence.
Jack stared at him, then raised his eyebrows in enquiry and mimed zipping his lips. Daniel ignored him. No change there, he sighed, and shook his head. ‘Nah. Just came to say George is coming over for supper tonight.’ He gave Daniel what he hoped was a significant look, but suspected it merely came out as constipated. ‘You wanna join us, T? We’re having Chinese.’
‘I will join you, O’Neill,’ Teal’c said, bowing his head. ‘Will we be watching a film afterwards?’
Jack looked at Daniel, who shrugged. ‘Prob’ly won’t have time for a film, T. We’ve got some…business to discuss. You gonna pick up the usual, Danny? George wants Mongolian Beef with extra noodles.’ At Daniel’s nod, he sketched a salute and, in his own words, skedaddled before Teal’c could ask him any questions. Nope, nope, nope!
*****
Am I being fair to Carter by leaving her out? Jack considered this as he laid out chopsticks and forks on his coffee table later that evening. Danny was right about her views on time travel, though. I knew nothing about the grandfather paradox before Carter lectured us on it. And she was worse when we used the Time-jumper Can I really have a relationship with someone I have to keep secrets from?
He activated his Ancient bug-zapper, and, as an afterthought, added some napkins he found in a kitchen drawer and checked he had enough beer and water chilling in the fridge. Finally, he pulled out the notebook he’d been gradually filling over the past few weeks to ensure he knew what he needed to tell George. Must remember not to call him that, too. I’m just a colonel at present, just a colonel.
Geor—General Hammond arrived at the strike of 19:00 – Jack had expected no less – and he was by the door ready to open it before the general had a chance to knock.
‘Jack,’ George said, holding up a pack of beer.
‘General,’ he replied, accepting the beer. ‘Danny and Teal’c should be—And here they are.’ He inclined his head towards the sitting room and turned back to the door which was already opening to admit Teal’c clutching a large box of cartons, each emitting an enticing aroma of savoury goodness, with Daniel following close behind him.
Silence reigned for the first twenty minutes other than the occasional request for something to be passed over, but finally, all four men sat back, replete.
‘So, Jack,’ the general began. ‘Going to clue me in on all your shiftiness for the past month?’
Jack mouthed the word ‘shiftiness’ to Danny, then nodded at his superior. ‘I am, sir, and I hope you’ll bear with me and not send for the SFs.’
‘Now I’m intrigued, but I promise to hear you out before I do anything.’
‘As will I, O’Neill,’ Teal’c intoned.
‘Well, I guess it all began when I woke up just over three weeks ago…’
The other two men listened without comment until he concluded with his discussion the previous night with Danny, then they all sat in silence to digest Jack’s tale. At length, General Hammond shifted in his seat, which acted as a sign for the others to move again. Teal’c took a drink of his water while Daniel helped himself to more rice. Only Jack remained silent and still, his focus on his superior officer.
‘Fourteen years, you say?’ Hammond asked. ‘Any significant incidents in that time?’
‘Telling them to you would take all evening, and probably most of tomorrow,’ Jack replied with a sigh. ‘I’m hoping a couple of the more extreme ones can be avoided entirely, and I’m not even going to mention them in case someone,’ and here his gaze fell on Daniel, ‘takes it into his head to just take a peak at who or what they are. “I won’t do anything, just look, honest!”,’ he finished in a high-pitched voice.
George nodded, ignoring Daniel’s spluttering. It clearly wasn’t a surprise to him to find Daniel up to his neck in whatever should or shouldn’t have happened. ‘And your point of…departure? What instigated your time travel? I’m assuming it wasn’t a solar flame this time?’
‘No, not a solar flare.’ Jack shook his head. ‘We were invaded by…creatures from another galaxy. These creatures, Wraith, came to cull the planet of humans – they feed on our life force, suck it all out through the chest, leaving just a husk, kinda like a mummified body, behind. Think of what happens when you dehydrate fruit or vegetables.’
Daniel screwed up his face in horror. ‘You didn’t tell me this last night.’
‘I didn’t want to talk about it above once,’ Jack returned, grimacing at the memory. ‘They’re terrifying. I saw a recording of…of one of our people being drained by a Wraith. Gave me nightmares for months afterwards.’
‘Did the man die?’ Hammond asked with a frown. ‘What happened to him?’
‘It’s a long story, and an event I’m also hoping to avoid this time, but he lived. Many thousands, millions, of others didn’t. The Wraith came to this galaxy in the first place because they’d pretty much exhausted their food supply in their own galaxy. I remember being told by…a native of that galaxy that if the Wraith reached Earth, they’d feed on it for a thousand years, and that’s not even taking into account the human populations in the rest of our galaxy.’
‘And the Wraith caused you to come back in time?’ Hammond asked.
‘No—that is, I don’t know,’ Jack said with a frown. ‘The last thing I remember is watching TV at my cabin and seeing bombs falling on towns and cities around the world. I’ve no idea how or who sent me back, or exactly why, for that matter.’
‘And your aim is to avoid us meeting these…creatures?’
‘Cross between a human and an insect, it turns out, and no, we can’t avoid them, but we can, hopefully, prevent them from coming to the Milky Way again.’
‘Can you do that?’ Daniel asked.
‘I…I hope so,’ Jack hedged, ‘or die trying.’ He gave a wry grin. ‘It may well come to that, but that’s what the SGC is for, isn’t it? Protect the gate? That’s what we do.’
Damn the gate! We need to keep Atlantis in Pegasus, but how do I explain that without it taking the whole night! Just go for it, he told himself, and took a deep breath.
‘We had a base of operations in another galaxy – the why’s and wherefores don’t matter for the moment – but politicians got involved.’ He shook his head at the memory. ‘They…divvied up our best defence against the Wraith through a mixture of cowardice and avarice, and shared the tech out amongst the different countries involved like a box of chocolates. Most of the stuff they stole wouldn’t even work for them, and the majority of the people who’d lived on the base and understood her technology refused to help. Some of them fell off the grid entirely.’ He fell silent, remembering his frustration and helplessness as good men and women were kicked to the kerb like trash. Was it any wonder they wouldn’t come back and help?
‘And you want to prevent this from happening again?’ Hammond’s face was as serious as Jack’d ever seen it
He nodded. ‘Ideally, I’d like to prevent the formation of the group of…of scavengers at all.’
‘Why was the group formed in the first place?’ Daniel asked, but Jack could see that wasn’t the question he really wanted to ask. Jack hadn’t missed Danny’s narrowing eyes when he’d used the feminine form to refer to Atlantis, and he suspected this was going to be another late night when his spare room would be occupied.
‘It all came down to money in the end,’ Jack said, trying to avoid telling Hammond he was the cause of the group being formed. ‘The idea was to have other countries help finance the programme in return for access to technology, and as time went on, they wanted more and more of the pie, so to speak.
Hammond grimaced. ‘It’s certainly true the programme is costly, and I’m under constant pressure to account for the expense of it compared to the returns we get in terms of technology. I can quite see how a group with a certain amount of power would scavenge what they could. The NID is proof of that. The problem is, how can we afford the programme without sharing the cost of it around?’
Jack nodded. ‘I do have an idea of how we can fund it, sir, and it’s tied into a couple of other things I want to do.’ He paused, glancing over at his bug-zapper. There was a faint – very faint – buzz in the back of his mind which reassured him the device was activated. ‘Robert Kinsey and the NID will become more and more of a problem as time goes by. To us and the USA, and to Earth and the galaxy as well in the end.’
‘Kinsey’s a legally elected official,’ the general pointed out. ‘I agree, he’s a pain in the ass, but he has a legal obligation, as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to ensure government funds are used in the most appropriate way. That he doesn’t consider the SGC a worthy recipient is neither here nor there. He’s not extending his purview by demanding we provide value for money, the taxpayers’ money.’
‘But you do still have the disc on him from Maybourne, don’t you, sir?’ Daniel asked, leaning forward a little and focussing on the general.
‘I do.’ Hammond inclined his head. ‘However, I prefer not to use it until I have to.’
‘You’ll have to,’ Jack assured him. ‘In the other timeline, he became Vice President.’
*****
After Jack’s bombshell, the four men broke for comfort stops and, in the case of Daniel, more coffee.
‘So, whatcha thinkin’, T?’ Jack asked his friend. ‘Nothing to say about what I’ve told you all?’
‘I have not.’
‘Nothing you want to ask me?’
‘No.’
‘Ho-kaay, then. Good chat.’ Jack patted Teal’c’s arm and went in search of Daniel who had brewed another pot of coffee. ‘Just had a quick – very quick – chat with Teal’c. D’you have anything else to ask me?’ Jack took a cup out of the cupboard and poured himself some fresh coffee. He’d become used to drinking his coffee black in the future and that habit hadn’t changed on his return to the past. Huh. It’s a wonder no one questioned that.
Daniel took a sip from his own cup and regarded his friend. ‘You know I have, but I can wait until we’re alone. I’m staying the night in case you haven’t guessed.’
‘Yeah, thought you would. I really did only want to talk about the Wraith the once, though.’
‘They sound terrifying. Worse than the Goa’uld.’
‘Much worse. The snakeheads only want to enslave us, not eat us.’
‘Is there any more of that coffee, Dr Jackson?’ Hammond asked, entering the kitchen. ‘I have a feeling this debrief might go on for some time.’
As Daniel filled a cup for the general and doctored it to his usual requirements, Jack focussed his attention on his superior.
‘D’you want me to give you all my aims and objectives now, sir, or should I keep some back for later?’
Hammond pondered this for a moment. ‘I think I prefer to have everything on the table now, but I realise that might take too long if you have fifteen years’ worth of information. How about you give me the highlights now, and then we’ll set up a regular briefing.’ He met Jack’s eyes. ‘And I’ll have to approve all your proposed objectives too.’
This made Jack raise his eyebrows. ‘All my objectives?’
‘All of them,’ Hammond confirmed. ‘You might have the benefit of hindsight – or should that be foresight? – but I need to see the wider picture in the here and now. It would be all too easy to make mistakes and enemies needlessly.’
Jack considered this as they gathered back in his sitting room, conceding George might have a point. Knowing how the timeline would end if he did nothing, he was probably too close to it all to see potential pitfalls in his plans. But I’m definitely gonna ruin Kinsey!
‘There are a few folks I want to bring into the SGC,’ Jack began, and noticed Danny was now making notes. ‘I hope you’re the only one who’s gonna be able to read those,’ he said to him pointedly. ‘We can’t take any risks.’
‘I asked Dr Jackson to make notes on my behalf,’ General Hammond explained, raising an eyebrow. ‘I’ll ensure no one else can see them.’ He waited until Jack nodded, then smiled at him. ‘Carry on. You were saying there are some people you want to bring into the programme. Civilian or military?’
‘Both, but the priority, in terms of what’s going to happen soon, is a civilian I want to bring from Area 51, but I’d rather go there to speak to him first.’
‘And what is going to happen soon?’ Hammond gave him such a piercing stare that Jack almost flinched.
How can I explain Rodney McKay and his visit to the SGC without prejudicing people against him?
‘It’s…He’s…There’s going to be a malfunction with the Stargate in the next few months, at least, there won’t be as I’m hoping to change things, although I do have a contingency plan if it does – and when it happened last time we—’
‘Jack!’ Hammond interrupted. ‘You’re not making sense. Is the Stargate is going to malfunction or not?’
‘Not – at least, I hope my changes will prevent it.’
‘Okay. Continue.’
‘Last time we were played by the NID and, quite unfairly, a good man was effectively exiled for merely doing what’d he’d been brought in to do.’ And I let that happen by not asking questions. Jack shook his head slightly. ‘I want to bring him in as soon as possible to avoid the NID’s games, and also because he’s a brilliant man who shouldn’t be closeted away in Nevada. In fact, there are a few scientists at Area 51 who would be better utilised by us at the SGC, and, quite frankly, some of the bozos we do have aren’t worth squat!’
Hammond raised his brows at Jack’s last comment. ‘That’s more Major Carter’s wheelhouse than yours, isn’t it? You’ve always supported her choices in the past.’
Jack winced a little. That was a harsh rebuke coming from George. ‘If I might ask, sir, who is actually the head of the scientists on base? Of all of them, not just a department like Danny’s.’
The general frowned. ‘I’ve never seen the need for an official head as, like I said, Major Carter generally oversees the scientists on base.’
Daniel frowned at this. ‘She doesn’t oversee my department.’
General Hammond shifted slightly, but made no comment.
‘Sir?’ Daniel asked, then huffed. ‘Is she the reason Dr Entwistle was sent to Area 51 even after I requested he came to the SGC?’
‘I wasn’t aware you’d asked for him to come to the SGC, Dr Jackson,’ Hammond said, then looked down at the cup in his hands and sighed. ‘But I admit I tend to accept her suggestions without questioning them, as she has a better knowledge of the science community than I have. That said, she has no official role outside of her own lab.’
‘So the head of the scientists is…’ Jack waited for the answer, since it wasn’t a question he’d ever even considered before. I never needed to know before.
‘We don’t have an official head scientist as such, as Major Carter covers much of the work, although by no means all of it.’ He scowled at something, then gave his head a little shake. ‘Area 51 has a Chief Scientific Officer, however, so perhaps it is something we should consider.’
‘Who’s their CSO?’ Jack asked.
‘A Dr Rodney McKay. I’ve only met him briefly when he came to install the Beta gate when SG-1 was stuck off-world, but I certainly know of him, as he’s worked for the US Government for a number of years. He came onto the payroll of the Air Force, and they subsequently moved him to Area 51 as CSO, despite Major Carter’s objections to his appointment, I should add.’
From Danny’s look of surprise, Jack knew this was news to both of them. ‘Why was that, sir? And does Carter have the authority to question such appointments? ‘
‘She didn’t think he had the breadth of knowledge required for the position, apparently, but her objection was dismissed out of hand since she had neither the experience nor the rank to make such a judgement.’
Jack flinched at the thought of how much Carter would hate that. Ouch!
‘As to Major Carter’s authority over staffing decisions, she has none. I’m happy to receive her recommendations, which I frequently take since, as I said, she has a better knowledge of the science community than I have.’
‘If I may, sir,’ Danny began. ‘Why was he made CSO?’
‘His salary alone makes him senior to the other scientists at Area 51,’ Hammond said bluntly. ‘He’s the highest paid civilian the Air Force employs, possibly the highest paid of all the civilians the military employs. He’s certainly our biggest civilian asset, but then I understand he has several degrees more than anyone else we employ. Apparently, we faced quite a bidding war before he signed with the USAF. To put him in any position other than that of Chief Scientific Officer would have been foolish, although he didn’t accept the actual title of CSO until later on.’
‘And yet he’s still languishing at Area 51 rather than at the SGC, where his talents could be put to better use,’ Jack said carefully. ‘Is that because of Carter as well?’
Hammond looked surprised. ‘I hadn’t really thought about it. As I said, Major Carter generally recommends who we should have at the SGC and who should remain in Nevada, although I have the authority to move personnel should I see fit. Area 51 now comes under the purview of the USAF and, in turn, to the Secretary of the Air Force, whereas I report directly to the President so my authority is greater than theirs, and I’m prepared to use it if I have to.’
‘So if I wanted to bring one or two people here…’ Jack looked at Hammond expectantly.
‘I can certainly arrange it,’ Hammond agreed. ‘Am I to understand you wish to bring Dr McKay to the SGC?’ Jack nodded, and Hammond pursed his lips. ‘And send some of Major Carter’s people to Area 51 in return?’ A further nod. ‘If, and I stress if, I agree to bring Dr McKay to the SGC, he will have to be given the role of Chief Scientific Officer here too, which might cause some ructions.’ He looked squarely at his subordinate. ‘Particularly for you.’
‘Sir?’
‘I’m not a fool, Jack, even if you might think so.’ He ignored Jack’s splutter of outraged denial. ‘I know you have feelings for her, but I also know you would never act inappropriately, so relax. Just, and forgive an old man’s curiosity, were you able to have a relationship with her in the future?’
‘I was, for a while at least, and I’d like to try again, if possible. And, by the way, sir, you’re not old, although you do need to keep an eye on your heart. Get it checked out, sir. Soon.’
*****
Two days later, Jack flew out to Nevada, Daniel at his side, with Carter safely out of the way lecturing at the Air Force Academy for a few days. We’re not sneaking off without her knowledge, Jack kept telling himself. It’s just better she doesn’t know about it. And I really miss my private plane. Really, really miss it.
Colonel Landry, the commander of Area 51, met them from their plane, and Jack tried to hide the dislike he’d carried back in time with him since he’d once considered Hank a friend, and had personally selected him to take over the SGC. And, boy, do I regret that!
‘Hank! How y’a doin, y’old bastard!’
‘Fighting fit, as usual, Jack. Dr Jackson, welcome to Area 51.’
‘Umm, thank you?’ Daniel answered, a little uncertainly.
‘He’s been here loads of times, Hank.’
‘Not under my command. Now.’ He focussed on his erstwhile friend. ‘Why are you here? General Hammond’s admin didn’t give a reason for your visit. Is there a problem?’
And I really miss being the man in charge, as well. No one ever asked awkward questions, or if they did, I could just ignore them. Except Danny, of course. And POTUS.
‘Nah, no problem. We just wanted a chat with one or two of the scientists we might need to consult with over an upcoming project.’
‘And what project is that?’
Stop asking awkward questions, you bastard! ‘Nothing’s been decided as yet, but Dr McKay and Dr Zelenka might be able to help us out. Maybe Dr Kusanagi as well, so I wanted to talk to all three of them.’
‘No problem. I’ll have them paged to come to my office, shall I?’ Hank smiled at him, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Gritting his teeth just a little, Jack returned Landry’s fake smile. ‘Sure, and maybe we could organise some coffee? I know scientists run on the stuff.’ How the fuck am I going to get rid of the asshole? I certainly don’t want him in my meeting.
Fortunately, Danny came to his rescue. ‘Would you mind taking me to see the progress made on the new ship, sir?’ he asked Landry in his politest tone. ‘I’d like to give General Hammond an update when we return.’
Danny, you rock star! I’d give you a big wet, sloppy kiss if Landick wasn’t standing right there!
Put like that, Landry couldn’t refuse, and as he led them into the main building and towards his office, Jack patted his friend’s shoulder.
‘I owe you,’ he murmured in an undertone.
‘For so much,’ Danny murmured right back.
*****
Jack heard McKay before he saw him, and sighed at the memories he had of the man: loud, obnoxious, and always convinced he was right, although to be fair, he was right almost all the time. And I’m still affected by my memories of him, even now. He tried to remind himself how crucial McKay was to the future of the Programme. Atlantis needs McKay, and so does Sheppard, unless I’ve missed my mark.
In the future, following the IOA’s decision to break up Atlantis rather than allow her to return to Pegasus, McKay had accepted a post at Area 51 alongside his new wife, Dr Jennifer Keller-McKay, but the marriage broke down within a year and McKay disappeared into the private sector where he added considerably to his already healthy bank balance.
And I’m convinced that’s what attracted Keller rather than McKay himself. She offered him her tits and the white picket fence, and Sheppard was pretty much chained to the SGC and Landick. I do like that name. I must remember to tell Danny.
For the moment, however, Jack plastered on a welcoming face as the three scientists filed into Landry’s office, aware he wasn’t supposed to know any of them, and he just about managed to keep it when he saw how young McKay appeared with a full head of hair. He barely looks old enough to buy a drink! What the hell happened between now and the Atlantis Expedition? The answer hit him like a punch in the gut. Siberia happened.
‘Who are you and where’s Landry?’ McKay demanded upon seeing Jack behind Landry’s desk. ‘Has he been re-assigned?’ All three of the scientists suddenly looked so hopeful, Jack was taken aback.
‘I-I’m Colonel Jack O’Neill, and Lan—Colonel Landry is showing my colleague over the Prometheus at the moment,’ Jack explained, watching their reactions. Disappointment, certainly, and…despair? What the hell’s been happening here?
‘Lucky colleague,’ McKay muttered, collapsing into a chair in front of the desk. ‘I’ve been barred from it since the project began.’
‘I, too,’ Zelenka nodded. ‘I had expected to work on it since many of the designs used are mine.’
What the fuck? ‘I understood most of the designs were done by Major Carter and Dr Murphy,’ Jack said carefully.
‘Murphy?’ McKay gave a bark of laughter. ‘He couldn’t design a blind alley!’
‘Is that what Carter told you?’ Dr Kusanagi asked, her lip slightly curled. ‘I can’t say I’m surprised. It wouldn’t be the first time Carter’s taken credit for someone else’s work.’
What the actual fuck? ‘That’s a pretty serious allegation, Dr Kusanagi,’ Jack countered. ‘Do you have any proof of that?’
‘Hang on a minute,’ McKay interrupted, snapping his fingers and speaking over Kusanagi’s reply. ‘Jack O’Neill? You’re the leader of SG1, aren’t you?’ He glanced at Kusanagi, who had lost some of her colour. ‘Zelenka and I will deny anything you report Miko as saying, won’t we, Radek?’
Removing his glasses to clean them, something Jack vaguely recalled as a habit in the future, Zelenka nodded. ‘Ano, ano, samozřejmě.’
Jack sat back, stunned at McKay’s words. ‘Huh?’
‘You heard me,’ McKay snapped. ‘Or…’ His eyes narrowed, and he scowled even more fiercely at Jack. ‘You’re recording all this, aren’t you.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘What?’ Jack demanded, now leaning forward. ‘No, of course I’m not!’ He paused and gazed at them in puzzlement. ‘Does that happen a lot here?’
‘Does what happen?’ McKay asked, his lip curling. ‘Recording meetings, or Carter’s habit of commandeering research when it’s almost complete, and claiming the credit for all of it?’
‘Either. Both!’
McKay tipped back his head a little, chin jutted out. ‘Why should you suddenly care? You never did before.’
His comment struck Jack like a blow to the chin, and he physically recoiled. He had been aware, in the future, that Area 51 wasn’t the happiest place to work; that the civilians there considered themselves the red-headed step-children of the Stargate Programme. And even knowing that, I still did nothing. I thought it was pure jealousy for not being involved in the bigger, more prestigious projects in the Mountain.
And Sam Carter was always the lead scientist on all those projects, even when she couldn’t possibly have had the time to be so involved in every single one of them. No one, not even me, ever thought to question any of it. How could I have missed this?
Taking an immediate decision, he met McKay’s eyes. ‘I want you to write a list of every single project transferred from someone here to C—to the SGC. You have my word that I’ll look into it properly, and not use it as a list of malcontents. General Hammond might not have operational control of Area 51, but he is the head the Stargate Programme as a whole.’ He waited for a moment, half expecting McKay to laugh in his face, but McKay tilted his head to one side, and, much to Jack’s surprise, held a quick conversation with Kusanagi and Zelenka in fluent French.
After a few minutes’ consultation, McKay turned back to him. ‘We agree, but you must swear there’ll be no repercussions on the scientists here. If you go back on our agreement…Well, just remember, I worked for the CIA for several years before coming here, and I wasn’t always in the lab.’
Jack stared at him openmouthed, amazed at McKay’s audacity. ‘Are you threatening me?’ He wasn’t like this before…was he?
‘Threatening you? Of course I’m not threatening you.’ He stared, almost defiantly, at Jack. ‘I was simply stating a verifiable fact.’
Jack couldn’t help but return his stare. I knew he worked for the CIA. Something about a nuclear bomb and a science fair? I was never interested enough to look into details and just accepted what I was told – mostly by Sam Carter. And fuck, fuck, fuck! Doesn’t he have a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering? It’s why he could help that planet in Pegasus with a ship in a volcano, or something like that. Why on earth didn’t I pay better attention? A small voice in his head said, you didn’t care.
Jack closed his eyes and gave a deep sigh. ‘Dr Zelenka,’ he asked in a weary tone, his eyes now wide open. ‘What are your degrees in?’
Zelenka frowned at him. ‘All of them?’
‘How many do you have?’ he asked cautiously.
‘Post-graduate?’
Jack shrugged, then nodded. ‘Okay.’
‘A Masters in Electronic, and also Electrical Engineering, and two PhDs: in Electronic, and Aeronautical Engineering, with a minor in Applied Engineering.’
I’m going to regret asking this, I just know it. ‘Dr McKay?
McKay stared at him for a moment, as though sizing him up. ‘Masters in Physics and Computer Engineering; PhDs in Astrophysics, Mechanical Engineering, and Aeronautical Engineering.’
And there it is. ‘You and Zelenka both have PhDs in Aeronautical Engineering and you’re not working on the new ship? Why?’
It was Radek’s turn to shrug. ‘We do not know. Neither of us are permitted to have anything to do with new ship. Is madness, but they say we are not cleared to visit Area 52.’
Jack noted absently that Zelenka’s English became worse the more agitated he became. I remember that about him, but not much else. ‘Who said you weren’t allowed to have anything to do with new—with the new ship?’
There was no response. ‘Me?’ Jack suggested after a lengthy silence.
McKay’s lip curled again. ‘It was General Hammond, if you must know.’
‘I see. And who told you that?’
Silence, again.
‘Major Carter did.’ Jack answered his own question. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
‘To be fair,’ Kusanagi began, ‘she was backed up by Colonel Landry.’
Jack didn’t miss the glares she received from each of her colleagues. Although given the crap Carter and Landry appear to have pulled, I wouldn’t want to hear them being defended either.
‘Why are you here?’ McKay demanded suddenly. ‘Why did you come all the way here just to ask us questions?’
Jack met his gaze, stare for stare. ‘I came to offer the three of you jobs at the SGC. In Colorado,’ he added, and grinned inwardly at their shocked faces.
*****
It wasn’t until they were on the flight back to Peterson AFB later the same evening that Daniel had a chance to question his friend. Any attempts he made before then had been frowned down by Jack.
‘Now can we talk?’ he asked, having checked no one was sitting near enough to them on the small plane to overhear their conversation.
Jack nodded. ‘Okay.’
‘Okay? Is that all you can tell me? Okay?’
‘You didn’t ask me a question, Daniel.’ Jack’s tone was as dry as Egyptian sand.
Daniel looked away for a moment, determined not to snap at his friend, otherwise he’d never get the story. ‘Fine. What happened with McKay and the others?’
A smile hovered on Jack’s lips. ‘Should’ve known you’d start with an easy one.’
‘Well?’ Daniel asked after a few moments. ‘What happened?’
Jack stopped tormenting him and explained what the three scientists had told him.
‘So it’s Sam who’s prevented McKay and Zelenka from working on the new ship?’ Daniel confirmed. ‘Because General Hammond didn’t seem to know anything about them the other night, other than Dr McKay.’
‘It looks like it.’ Jack nodded and sighed. ‘Which now makes me question everything that happened in the last timeline when McKay came to the SGC. Sam claimed not to know him or anything about him, but she obviously did. She’s had interactions with most of the scientists here, unless I’m suddenly in a different universe or dimension.’
I guess it says something about our lives that being in another universe or reality isn’t as implausible as it sounds. He’d had an experience with an alternate reality after he’d accidentally activated a quantum mirror off-world, so the idea Jack had returned to a different past wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. On the other hand…
‘Which is more likely?’ he asked carefully. ‘That you’re in another reality, or that Sam might have been…economical with the truth?’
The expression on Jack’s face gave him his answer.
‘But why would she lie like that?’ Jack demanded, his voice breaking a little.
Daniel winced at both the question and the tone in which it was said. Jack came back ready to make the changes necessary to prevent a world disaster. Surely wanting, having a relationship with someone he’s always been attracted to isn’t too much to ask? To now find out that she’s lied to him, to all of us, must be heartbreaking. ‘I suppose the other question is what she thought she’d gain from it, if anything,’ he said hesitantly.
The skin around Jack’s eyes became tight, and he pressed his lips together, but Daniel wasn’t certain if it was because of his question, or because Jack knew the answer all too well.
*****
Chapter 3
Chapter Text
‘You okay?’ Daniel asked Jack, poking his head around Jack’s office door to find his friend hard at work on…Huh. Requisition forms, unless I’m mistaken. I wasn’t sure Jack knew what requisition forms were!
‘I’m as okay as I was when you asked me that an hour ago, and the three times you asked it before then,’ Jack said, laying down his pen and frowning at his friend. ‘Is there any reason I shouldn’t be okay?’
Daniel fully entered the room and closed the door behind him. ‘Not really. I just…after Nevada…you know.’
‘No, I really don’t!’ Jack shook his head, and stared at Daniel. ‘Give me a clue, at the very least.’
‘After finding out about Sam and…all that.’
‘All that,’ Jack repeated, and sighed. ‘I’m fine, Danny, really I am. Look, come round tonight and have some supper with me. How’s that sound?’
‘Great. Mind if I bring some books over? There’s a few things I need to read up on, and I’m also trying to make a fairer mission and project assignment.’ He grimaced at the thought. ‘I’m very aware I’m as guilty as Sam at keeping the interesting stuff for myself.
‘No problem. I’ve got reading to do as well since I’m lecturing at the Academy next week.’ Jack cocked his head to one side and gave a lopsided grin. ‘We could invite Teal’c and make a party of it!’
‘Except Teal’c’s off-world with Bra’tac plotting something or other.’
‘The downfall of another Goa’uld, probably! Which reminds me.’ Jack picked up his pen and made a quick note on a scrap of paper, then looked up at his friend. ‘Anything else you wanted?’
Daniel smile at the dismissal and shook his head. ‘Nope. See you later.’
Thus began a pattern, of sorts. Daniel would drive himself over to Jack’s house for supper, and they’d chat about their day, their work, and bitch about the world in general. They’d always enjoyed the company of the other, even if it was simply to sit and read together in an evening. Few people saw Jack as a studious type – which was exactly how Jack wanted it – but Daniel knew of his current work on military history towards a Masters degree, and also knew of Jack’s intention to follow it with a PhD in the same from the Air University. Neither of them, therefore, had any difficulty in spending several evenings immersed in books and lecture notes.
‘Did you do this last time?’ Daniel asked his friend one evening at the beginning of November.
‘Hmm?’ Jack raised his head from his notes. ‘Sorry?’
‘This.’ Daniel waved a hand to show the paper and book strewn coffee table. ‘Did you work on further education last time?’
‘Some of it.’ Jack picked up his coffee mug and frowned at the cold contents. He raised his eyebrows and nodded to Daniel’s own coffee mug, making Daniel laugh.
‘Have you ever known me to refuse coffee?’
‘Never, in two timelines!’ Jack’s eyes creased at the corners, making Daniel laugh in response, and he followed Jack through to the kitchen and watched as he filled the coffeemaker.
‘I can’t wait for the new coffee machines to be marketed,’ Jack commented, topping up the reservoir.
‘New coffee machines?’ Daniel asked, only just preventing himself from reaching out grabby hands. ‘When and how?’
Jack laughed. ‘In a couple of years, and all you’ll have to do is load a cartridge and press a button. You and Sam bought one for me when I was promoted to Brigadier General. It was sweet, even if it took me months to learn how to use it.’
‘I’ll look forward to it, but you didn’t answer my earlier question.’
‘Which was?’
‘Did you do the War College, and the School of Strategic something or other last time?’
‘War College, yes, as it’s part of my ‘senior officer developmental education’.’ Jack used his hands to make air quotes. ‘I didn’t bother with a PhD, though.’
‘So why do it this time?’ Daniel couldn’t help his curiosity. The question had been bugging him from the moment he learned of Jack’s desire for another degree.
Pausing for a moment to consider this, Jack leaned against the work surface, folded his arms, and crossed his feet. ‘A few reasons, I suppose. Desire to set a good example to the more junior officers; interest in the subject itself; something to keep me busy in the evenings.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Is that enough?’
‘I was just curious. You never bothered with anything like this before. In our past, that is.’
‘That’s because I never needed to. I never wanted further promotion. Hell, I’ve already tried to retire twice.’
‘Three times if you include the time you retired to trap the rogue NID,’ Daniel reminded him. ‘And what do you mean by ‘developmental education’?’ Daniel repeated Jack’s use of air quotes. ‘What is that?’
By this time, the coffee machine had finished dripping through the filter paper, so Jack grabbed the jug and nodded towards the cupboard which held clean mugs. ‘Grab a couple of those, will ya?’
Daniel ‘grabbed’ two mugs, followed his friend back into the sitting room, and settled himself back down on the sofa. ‘So?’
‘Give me chance!’ Jack poured the coffee and made himself comfortable, then looked across to his friend. ‘All officers have to continue their education – if they expect promotion, that is. Each branch of the services have their own centres of further education. The Air Force has the Air University, which is the umbrella for various schools, including the War College and the Institute of Technology – AFIT.’
Daniel digested this information, then frowned. ‘Has Sam done all the officer courses, then? I don’t remember her ever mentioning anything about them.’
Grimacing, Jack looked down. ‘That’s because she hasn’t. Carter went to AFIT after she graduated from the Academy and got her PhD in Astrophysics, or, actually, Applied Physics, since AFIT doesn’t do a degree in astrophysics. She’s not bothered about any other training since then.’
‘And you don’t like that.’
Jack pursed his lips and met Daniel’s eyes. ‘Let’s just say I’m unhappy about her not being held to the same standards as other officers. It sets a bad example.’
‘But if she’s already got a PhD…’
Jack sat back and sipped his coffee, prompting Daniel to do the same, savouring the bitter taste on his tongue. Jack’s taste in coffee has definitely improved over the years!
‘The additional courses at the Air University aren’t all in the usual college subjects. In fact, most of them aren’t,’ Jack explained. ‘They’ve all got a mixture of critical thinking, command decision making, and general leadership skills embedded in them. Anyone aspiring to higher rank needs those skills.’
‘Skills which Sam hasn’t got.’
Jack shook his head, his lips making a thin line. ‘Aside from the few that were part of her PhD? No, she hasn’t.’
‘Why? And why has no-one ever suggested she do those other courses?’ Daniel didn’t bother waiting for Jack to answer. ‘They have suggested it and she’s ignored them.’
‘That’s not…quite accurate.’ Jack wouldn’t meet his eyes. ‘To date, General Hammond hasn’t pushed the matter, but at some point he’s going to have to explain to the Pentagon why she deserves further promotion above any other O4.’
‘There’s something you’re not telling me,’ Daniel said as Jack still refused to meet his eyes. ‘What is it?’ He waited for a moment, then added; ‘You know I’m going to push you until you do tell me, so save us both the effort and pain and tell me now!’
Jack now raised his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. ‘In the future, I ignored the fact she hadn’t done the requisite courses, and I pushed for her promotions beyond O4. In hindsight, I don’t think that decision served her well, but to be fair, she wasn’t the only one I did it for.’ He now met Daniel’s eyes, and Daniel could see Jack wanted him to understand.
‘Who else did you do it for?’ Daniel asked quietly. ‘The officer you mention before? Will you have to do the same again for him?’
‘No!’ Jack was emphatic. ‘The whole point of getting him to the SGC before…certain things happen is so I can make sure he has the skills, the experience, and the rank to do the job he needs to do in the future.’
‘And that’s something to do with the Wraith?’
‘It’s everything to do with the Wraith.’
*****
November continued with the addition of regular study evenings with Daniel, and a couple of movie nights with Teal’c – but none with Sam Carter, something Daniel was quick to pick up on.
‘Why do you never invite Sam to movie nights like you used to?’ he asked Jack over lunch one day. Teal’c had just left them, promising to bring over beer to go with their pizza and film of choice – even though he didn’t drink it.
Jack tipped his head back and considered the question. There were several answers he could give: Carter didn’t like SciFi; Carter didn’t like westerns; Carter didn’t like action movies; Jack knew she had other arrangements, probably with Janet Fraiser and Cassandra; Carter had other plans; but what they all boiled down to was Jack not wanting Carter in his space while he had unanswered questions.
Was everything McKay and the others said true? Has Carter really kept them away from building the Prometheus? Has she stolen other folks’ work? And the big one, did—do I really not care about the scientists at Area 51?
That was the clincher. McKay’s comment had cut deeply, probably due to its accuracy, and while McKay had referred to the period from the beginning of the Stargate Programme in 1997, to now, Jack recognised its veracity regarding the future as well. I was so sure of myself, of everything I did, but now…
‘—’ack? Jack!’
He gave his head a shake and focussed on Daniel. ‘What?’
The look Danny gave him was a mix of frustration and irritation. ‘If you’d rather I leave you…’
‘No, no. Sorry. I was miles away. What did you say?’
‘I asked why Sam never came to movie nights any more. Do you actually tell her about them?’
‘…Not really?’
‘Jack!’
‘Daniel.’
‘Jack.’
‘Daniel.’
They stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to give way until Daniel sat back with a huff.
‘Is this still about Nevada?’
I can lie, or I can discuss this with Danny like an adult. Lying had its merits, but Jack realised he really needed help to sort out his thoughts. ‘Yes.’
If his friend was taken aback by the frank admission, he hid it well and simply nodded, waiting for Jack to expound on his concerns.
Before he replied, Jack gripped the bug zapper in his pocket and thought on. At once he felt a…Wave? Flow? Some feeling deep inside me, anyway. I just know it’s ‘on’. ‘McKay mailed me a list of projects he and Kusanagi knew had been stolen by Carter,’ Jack admitted in a low voice.
‘He mailed you?’ Daniel look at him in astonishment. ‘Here?’
‘No, to the house. I guess he didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.’ And that pretty much says it all.
‘If they had proof, why didn’t they take it higher?’
He paused, trying to choose his words carefully, aware they were in a busy public room, even with the bug zapper activated. ‘He didn’t actually say, but he implied they couldn’t be certain anyone would actually do anything about it, and I think they’re worried about any blowback on them, or any of the other scientists. Kusanagi knew exactly what happened to the projects removed from Nevada.’
‘That…doesn’t actually surprise me,’ Daniel said slowly, his forehead creased in thought.
‘Why not?’ Jack frowned at his friend.
‘Well, if anyone knows how to find information others would prefer she didn’t have, it’d be Miko Kusanagi.’
‘Why?’ Jack repeated, straightening in his chair from his usual slouch. ‘Why should she be able to find information she shouldn’t have?’
‘That’s not quite what I said, but the answer’s the same. Miko Kusanagi was a hacker before McKay paid for her to go to college.’
‘The hell she is! How do you–‘
‘Because I asked the question,’ Daniel answered before Jack could even finish his question. ‘Calm down before you give yourself an aneurysm! Apparently McKay came across Miko at DEFCON in 1994. A hacker convention,’ he added at Jack’s puzzled expression. ‘He paid for her to do a PhD in Software Engineering at Northwestern and as soon as he joined Area 51 in 1998, he arranged her employment. That was before he became CSO. He brought in Radek Zelenka after he accepted the post – although he’d been CSO in everything but name since he first joined the programme. He just didn’t want the title and all the admin that goes with it, and I can’t say I blame him. I only have six reviews to do. He has more like 60 now!’
‘How do you know all this?’
‘Because I actually talk to people.’ Daniel grinned at Jack’s frown. ‘You should try it sometime.’
Jack ignored the slur on his character and fixed his friend with a glare. ‘I’m not sure I’d’ve agreed to bring her here if I knew she was a hacker.’
‘Why not? Sam’s hacked computers for us loads of times and you’ve never said anything to her.’
‘That…that’s different.’
‘Why is it different?’ Daniel leaned back in his chair, his lips twitching with humour.
‘Because…I…It just is, okay?’
‘If you say so.’
‘I do say so, and I’m the team leader!’
‘Are you going to stamp your feet as well?’ Daniel asked as he got to his feet, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. ‘So long, team leader. I have work to do!’
*****
One early morning in early December, Carter was waiting for him right by his parking place, and Jack cringed at her set face. Oh crap!
‘You waitin’ for me, Carter?’ he asked in as light a voice as he could manage, certain she must’ve learned about the impending staff relocations, even though they hadn’t yet been announced.
‘Yessir. I want to know why I wasn’t—’
‘Whoa, whoa, slow your roll.’ Jack held out both hands to stop her. ‘It can wait until we’re somewhere with a little more privacy, can’t it?’
Her face said no, but she gave him a single nod. With some effort, Jack noted, and he avoided looking at her until they were safe in his office and he was settled behind his desk. ‘Now, Major Carter, what was so urgent you had to waylay me before I’d even entered the place?’ His use of her title shook her. That much was clear, but she recovered herself pretty quickly.
‘Why wasn’t I consulted over the staff transfers?’
Well, I suppose it’s marginally less aggressive than she was earlier.
‘Well, no, not all of them, but surely the ones which affect my department?’
And here come the ructions George happened to mention.
‘Carter, I know you’re given a lot of rope here, but surely even you realise you can’t challenge decisions made by senior officers.’
If anything, her expression hardened, her lips becoming even thinner than before. ‘General Hammond has always been happy to hear my recommendations.’
‘So why are we having this conversation instead of you and the general?’ Carter didn’t answer and Jack recalled what day it was. Because he’s in DC today. Crap, I’d forgotten. ‘Can’t it wait until he gets back? He’ll only be in Washington for a couple of days.’
‘I was informed you were the one who insisted my people are moved to Area 51 and some of their people come here. Sir,’ she added, almost as an afterthought.
‘And who was your informant?’ Once again she didn’t answer and instead looked down at the carpet. Jack felt his stomach turn to ice. No one else knows about our decision, not even the Pentagon yet. That’s what George has gone to discuss. ‘Carter?’
She frowned at him, then obviously realised she was doing so, and tried to relax her face – which didn’t really change much. ‘I’d rather not say, sir. I don’t want to get anyone else into trouble.’
The only way she can possibly know is if she…I need to speak to Danny!
‘I’m sorry, Major Carter, but you’ll have to take this up with General Hammond when he returns. Now, if you’ll excuse me…’ He looked at her expectantly and waited for her to leave, but she showed no signs of doing so.
‘Sir—’
‘Carter, you can’t sit there all day. I have stuff to do.’
This time she got to her feet, but her dissatisfaction was clear in her body language as she leaned slightly forward, with her eyes narrowed, then turned away with something as close to a swish as Jack had ever seen. He followed her out of his office, which he locked behind him, dropping the key into the leg pocket of his BDUs. It won’t stop anyone determined to get in, but it might slow them down.
They both remained silent as they rode the elevator up to Level 19, where Carter got out, giving him a nod and a muttered ‘sir’ as she left. Jack continued up to the next level and went directly to Daniel’s lab. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, Jack thought absently, then remembered why he needed this talk with Daniel, who, unsurprisingly, had his head buried in a book when Jack entered his lab.
‘Whatcha doin’, Danny?’ Jack asked, more out of habit than genuine enquiry.
‘I thought I might see you in here at some point this morning,’ Daniel commented, removing his glasses and polishing them on his sweater.
‘Why?’
‘Because Sam told me she was going to beard you in your den.’
‘She didn’t even wait for me to get to my den. She bearded me in the parking garage.’
Daniel winced. ‘I’m guessing that didn’t go down too well?’
Jack looked at him, his face deadpan. ‘What do you think?’ He then frowned, realising what Danny had just said. ‘Wait. She told you she wanted to talk to me?’ Without waiting for a response, he continued. ‘When?’
Daniel returned his frown. ‘Why is that relevant?’
‘Damn it, Danny! Answer the question!’
‘Last night, if you must know. She said she’d discovered you wanted to transfer some of her people to Area 51.’
‘And did she tell you how she discovered this?’
Daniel sat back in his chair and gazed at him. ‘I have the feeling ‘she got a memo’ isn’t the answer you’re after.’
Jack sighed and dragged out the armchair Danny kept in his office purely for his use. ‘Danny, no one knows about the transfers. George has gone to the Pentagon to get them approved. No one else has any knowledge of them, other than you and Teal’c, and unless T-man has been running his mouth off in the canteen…’
For a moment, Daniel didn’t move, not even to blink, then he lifted his head and met Jack’s eyes. ‘So if no one else knows, how did Sam find out.’ Again, it wasn’t a question. ‘Do you have any thoughts?’
‘Just one.’ Jack was aware his face was set. It reflected the stone in his belly.
‘She hacked your computer.’
‘Mine, or George’s.’
Silence.
‘What are you going to do?’ Daniel asked at length. ‘And why does General Hammond need to get the transfers approved by the Pentagon? That’s not normal, is it?’
‘They need to be approved because of McKay. You know he’s the Air Force’s biggest asset – the biggest civilian one, at any rate. They need to keep both him and the Canadian government sweet.’
‘Then how did they get away with sending him to Russia last time?’ Daniel asked in a low voice, looking from side to side as though to check no one was listening.
‘By paying him mega, mega bucks. It was ironic, really. The man became a multi-multimillionaire, then moved to another galaxy, where he couldn’t spend a cent of it.’ Jack shook his head in wonderment. It was something he’d never understood. McKay had worked so hard – and argued so much – to be given such a salary. Then he went to live off-world where money was entirely unnecessary.
‘Or the money was never as important as the science or the mission,’ Daniel suggested, making Jack start.
Huh. I never considered that. ‘And as to what I’m going to do, that’s what I’ve come to ask you.’ Jack stared at his friend, angry Carter had broken his trust, and dismayed she wasn’t the person he’d thought she was. A woman of straw? ‘What do you think I should do? Or should I just ignore it? She’s hacked enough computers to get us out of a fix before today. Do I have the right to be angry that she hacked mine or the general’s?’
‘I think the important word there is to get ‘us’ out of a fix,’ Daniel said with a sigh. ‘If she’s done so now, it’s for her benefit alone. Do I think you’re applying double standards? Yes, and no.’
‘Danny, you couldn’t be more ambiguous if you tried!’ Jack got to his feet and began to pace, then realised Danny’s lab was so cluttered there wasn’t much room to pace. Still, he did his best.
‘Okay,’ Daniel suggested, ‘try this. What would you do if I came to you to tell you that…that Dr Corrigan had hacked my computer in order to read a classified document?’
‘I’d fire his ass and tell the SFs to escort him off base after a cavity search,’ Jack replied immediately, then stood still. ‘Oh.’
‘Yes, oh. And if it was…Captain Meyers?’
‘I’d have him in front of a court-martial as soon as I could,’ Jack answered in a flat voice, then sighed. ‘Fuck. It’s barely 10:00 and I already want a drink.’
Daniel gave him what Jack suspected was a sympathetic smile. ‘You order the pizza tonight and I’ll bring the beer?’ Danny offered. ‘I’ll ask Teal’c as well, shall I?’
‘Is he back on base?’
Daniel nodded. ‘Got back last night. He said he informed Master Bra’tac of your time travel, and he took it very well, and saw what an advantage it would give them in building a nation of Free Jaffa. Teal’c and he are working to free the Jaffa of a minor Goa’uld at present. Teal’c didn’t say which one, but apparently it’ll be quite a coup if they succeed.’
Jack nodded and sighed. ‘I might go and let him kick my ass, then. My pain’ll take my mind off everything else. Pizza for 18:30?’
*****
Jack avoided Carter for the next week or so as he was running training exercises at the Academy. In the previous timeline, he’d only given a lecture or run cadet training under extreme ‘persuasion’ from George, but he now understood the benefit of them, particularly the ones to groups of cadets destined for the SGC. Carter had designed the programme, and she’d done an excellent job with it – although it almost caused him physical pain to admit it. Still, the cadets didn’t know, and surely didn’t want to know about his problems with one of his team, and he tried to put it aside as he put the cadets through their paces. He’d found this particular group difficult to work with at first, knowing that unless he made a few changes to the timeline, one of them was destined to die on his first mission off-world with his team. That is not going to happen this time.
By the time the exercises were through, and the obligatory post-mortem on it held, George had issued his orders for the transfer of scientific staff. Daniel had dropped in on him the previous night, ostensibly to drop off a book he’d borrowed – and which Jack couldn’t even remember owning – but really to inform him of the super-hissy-fit Felger had thrown upon learning he was being transferred to Area 51.
‘He picked the wrong person to yell at though, really,’ Daniel told him, laughing at the memory. ‘He stomped, stomped, down to the general’s office and interrupted a conversation he was having with some Air Force muckety-mucks. None of them were pleased, as you can imagine, especially after his rant to General Hammond when he broke down and begged the general on his knees not to send him away from Sam.’
Jack choked on his beer, then managed to ask, ‘How do you know all this?’
Daniel grinned at him. ‘Because Siler just happened to be in the AV room and called me, Sam and Teal’c when Felger left his lab. We watched and heard it all as the general had forgotten to mute the audio recording when he began his phone call, as he should have done. I’m not sure who was most embarrassed in the end: Sam or General Hammond.’
Fortunately, when Jack was laughing so hard, he let go of the beer bottle, it was empty. ‘Tell me, Siler kept a recording.’
Danny grinned again. ‘I couldn’t possibly say, except there might or might not be a video marked ‘Training Exercise 9′ on your desk.’
‘What’s happened to Felger?’
‘Dismissed from the Programme,’ Daniel said baldly. ‘Someone at the Pentagon heard him shouting and pleading, and they checked his personnel record and decided they no longer required his services due to his “unsuitability for work in a pressurised situation”. I believe Sam is trying to find him a job in the private sector, but without a reference from here, and with the work he did with us being classified, I think she’ll struggle.’
Jack nodded. ‘Most likely. He might get a job in a community college, but to be honest, I don’t think he should be inflicted on young minds. The man’s a klutz.’ He got to his feet and went in search of refills for them both, making a mental note to keep a count of how many beers he drank. I’ve been drinking more beer and coffee since Danny’s been coming round more often. We both need to switch to water. ‘How did Coombes and Lee take the news?’ he asked, passing a second bottle to Daniel.
‘Bill Lee took it really well. I think he’ll be much happier at Area 51, to be honest. There’s much less pressure there, plus I believe they have a group who plays the same game as he does.’
‘World of WarCraft,’ Jack supplied without thinking, then winced as he realised what he’d admitted.
‘Yes, but you need to be careful who you say that kind of thing to,’ Daniel warned him. ‘It’s slips like that which could get you into trouble.’
‘I know, I’ll be more careful, but I tend to forget when I’m with just you. You know all about my…travels.’ He cast a glance at the mantelpiece where his bug zapper sat. Maybe I should keep it on as a default. ‘And you’re also the only person I can talk to comfortably, and not just about my…journeys.’ Daniel gave him a puzzled look, and Jack tried to explain it better. ‘Teal’c isn’t exactly one for general conversation, and Carter…Carter brings a whole host of other problems, and…’ He shrugged. ‘That’s it, really. Crap. I have no social life whatsoever, do I?’
Daniel gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘None of us do. I guess it goes with the job. Did you…will you…Is there no one else in your life until your…understanding with Sam?’
For some reason, Daniel wouldn’t meet his eyes.
‘There was a brief fling with someone from one of the alphabet services,’ Jack offered. ‘Very brief. She called it off after Carter came round one day when she was here. Said I had issues I needed to deal with. She was probably right, too. I had a couple of dates over the years, but no serious relationship. I always thought it was Carter for me.’
‘And now?’
‘And now…Now, I’m not so certain. My heart says I still want a relationship with her, but my head…thinks differently.’
‘Because of what you’ve learned?’
Jack considered this. ‘A little, I guess, but it’s made me review everything I know—knew about her, made me examine some of her interactions with both me and with other folk.’
‘And?’
‘And it’s complicated.’
*****
SG-1’s first mission after Christmas was strained – to put it politely, Daniel thought. Sam was still pissed with Jack, while Jack himself blithely ignored her. And that never goes down well with women. Even I know that. For himself, Daniel felt like he was being tugged in two different directions at once, and neither of them was the way he wanted to go. Teal’c, being Teal’c, appeared to ignore all of it, yet Daniel was certain he saw a look of sympathy on his face towards Jack when Sam deliberately ignored one of his orders off-world. Jack, for his part, rose above it, and although he was well within his rights to reprimand her, Daniel was glad he didn’t. There’d be no way back from there.
At the end of January, the day before Drs McKay, Zelenka, and Kusanagi were due to arrive at the SGC, Daniel wandered down to Level 19 to check out the space allocated to the new scientists. He’d intended to inspect it after Lee and Coombes moved out two weeks previously – Felger having been dismissed before Christmas – but had forgotten about it until he noticed the following day’s date circled in his diary. Now he wished he’d come down sooner.
‘Sam!’ Daniel entered her lab, having opened the doors to the labs the new scientists were going to use, and found them strewn with boxes and bits of broken equipment. ‘Why haven’t you sorted out the lab space? I know General Hammond told you to clear them because I was there when he said it! Where on earth are they supposed to work?’
‘They’re having the labs my people were evicted from,’ she said, her careless tone of voice at odds with the sudden flush of her cheeks.
‘But there’s junk everywhere! It looks as though someone’s just dumped a load of…Oh no.’ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. ‘Please tell me you didn’t fill them with rubbish on purpose.’
She glared at him. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. And why should I be the one to clear them out? It’s not my job. They’re perfectly capable of doing it for themselves, and if the labs aren’t good enough for them, perhaps they should run back to Nevada. Nobody wants them here in any case!’
Daniel stared at her. ‘Sam! You can’t…It’s…Look, I’ll give you a hand, and I’ll ask Jack to send a few airmen and Marines down to help shift the big stuff. We can get it done in a few hours.’
‘You go ahead if you care that much.’ Sam shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’m not lifting a finger for them. I have other, more important work to do.’
Shaking his head in disbelief, Daniel gazed at her, lost for words at her attitude. ‘Sam, this isn’t like you at all. What’s going on? Do I need to get Janet to check you for a symbiote?’ He gave a slight smile at the notion, but when Sam simply turned away, his smile faded. Crap. Is it possible? He took a step towards the doorway, trying to keep his movements as steady and unthreatening as he could, half expecting his friend to turn around at any moment, her eyes glowing. He was almost to the door when Sam did turn round, her now semi-permanent scowl firmly in place, but with no sign of an inner passenger. Although that doesn’t mean there isn’t one there.
‘Why are you making such a fuss about them, Daniel? I thought you’d be on my side. I’ve lost three of my best people to make room for these…these interlopers!’
‘That’s unfair, Sam. Three scientists, who were precious little use anyway, have been transferred to make way for three who are extremely productive – when they’re allowed to work on projects within their areas of expertise, that is.’
Sam studied him for a moment and Daniel tried to remain immobile under her scrutiny. ‘That was a very pointed comment,’ she said at length. ‘I wasn’t aware you knew any of them.’
‘I don’t, but—’ Daniel bit his tongue to prevent himself from responding further. He didn’t know if Jack was trying to keep their visit to Nevada a secret.
‘But what?’ Sam demanded, her anger now clear in her voice. He watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. ‘If someone’s been spreading rumours or telling lies about me, I need to know, Daniel,’ she said in a much more composed manner. ‘It isn’t fair not to allow me to defend myself.’
A few weeks ago, he’d have told her what Jack had learned, and probably agreed it was baseless tittle-tattle. Now, though…
‘Did you really prevent McKay and Zelenka from working on the new spaceship, despite them both having degrees in Aeronautical Engineering?’
Sam curled her lip. ‘Is that what they told you?’
‘They didn’t tell me anything. I haven’t even met them.’
‘Neither have I and I’ve never spoken to them either. It’s obvious they’re telling lies! How can we trust them if they lie to us like this? And if we can’t trust them, why on earth have they been transferred here and three talented scientists thrown out like garbage?’
‘I doubt you could use the word ‘talented’ in regards to Felger,’ Daniel pointed out. ‘None of his projects ever produced anything useful, and that’s even if they were completed, even I know that. And Coombes did nothing half a dozen other people here can do. Ross Corrigan has a masters in Pure Math, you know, as well as his PhD in anthropology.’
Sam glared at him, her hands on her hips. ‘Do I come into your lab and complain about your department?’
‘I’m not—’
‘Do me the privilege of not coming in here and complaining about mine, then!’
Daniel simply couldn’t help himself. ‘Your department, Sam? I understood Dr McKay is coming here as Chief Scientific Officer with a brief over all the departments, including mine.’
‘Exactly! How is it fair they bring in someone over your head?’
‘I really don’t ca—’ Daniel began, but Sam simply spoke over him.
‘It’s not just unfair, but wrong! The SGC wouldn’t even have a science division if it wasn’t for me!’
‘Sam, that’s hardly—’
‘I’m furious about it.’
Really? I hadn’t noticed.
‘I’ve a good mind to—’
Whatever she had a good mind to do, Daniel could only guess as he heard a familiar voice behind him.
‘I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you, Carter,’ Jack drawled, his tone of voice at odds with his frown and steady gaze.
Sam spun round to look at Jack, then, as he continued to survey her, brought herself to attention. ‘Sir.’
Jack came fully into the lab and pulled out a stool to perch upon, his gaze never wavering. ‘I came up to see if everything was in place for tomorrow,’ he said, his tone casual and conversational. ‘You know, for our new Chief Scientific Officer. Imagine my surprise when I glanced in Folger’s old lab and saw it filled with cartons and bags of garbage.’ He paused and gave her an expectant look. ‘No? Nothing? Hmm. I’d get a squad up from Base Operations, except someone would ask me why they’d been diverted from their allocated work, and there’d be paperwork, and General Hammond would get involved somehow. It’d just be a whole mess.’
Jack’s eyes moved from Sam’s face to Daniel’s, who shifted uncomfortably. This is nothing to do with me. Why am I squirming?
‘Still nothing?’ Jack asked again, pursing his lips. ‘Right, I’d better get on to Base Operations. I wonder who’s Duty Officer today?’
C’mon, Sam, Daniel mentally urged. C’mon.
‘I-I think I have time to see to it,’ Sam finally offered as Jack moved towards the wall-mounted telephone. ‘Sir.’
Attagirl, Sam.
‘Why, thank you, Major Carter. That’s most kind of you.’
Daniel wondered if Jack could possibly inject more sarcasm into his words if he tried.
‘Maybe you could also do something about the terrible smell in the lab set aside for Dr Kusanagi.’ Now there wasn’t even a hint of sarcasm.
‘I, um, I—places to go,’ Daniel blurted, and fled the scene of the—fled the lab as fast as he could.
*****
It took several hours to get the labs ready for their new occupants, and while Carter did help with clearing the space, it wasn’t done with any particular grace. Jack still couldn’t understand where all the crap had come from in the first place, although he had his suspicions.
‘Are these bits from a MALP?’ he asked Carter when they got to work on Coombes’ former lab. ‘I thought Coombes was a mathematician. Why would he have bits of a MALP in here?’
He watched as Carter’s cheeks flushed pink. ‘His principal work was as a mathematician, but he had other degrees as well,’ she explained, somewhat unconvincingly.
Which doesn’t answer my question at all.
Daniel, who’d come to help after an hour or so, stared pointedly at Carter, almost as though he expected her to say something, but she remained silent. Jack shook his head and continued to sort through the boxes of broken technology.
‘Where’s all this stuff come from?’ he asked, frowning at the bunch of twisted electrical wires, and… ‘Well, at least we know what caused the stink in here.’ He tipped the box he was searching through directly into the garbage sack and turned his head aside as the aged remains of a former MRE splatted into the bag, then he frowned. ‘Coombes only left ten days or so ago. This MRE must have been opened weeks ago to turn into this…liquid form.’ He looked up and caught Carter’s eye. ‘I don’t suppose you know anything about this, do you, Major Carter?’
Carter immediately looked away. ‘No, sir.’
Jack watched her for a moment, then shook his head and, as he turned back to the boxes, he saw Daniel watching him. He raised his eyebrows, but Daniel shook his head and made a circular motion with his finger, which Jack took to mean later. He nodded and bent back to his work.
Once his training classes were over, Teal’c also joined them, and with his strength behind them, they quickly moved on to Dr Lee’s former lab, which was to house McKay. This was in the worst mess, although it didn’t have the stench of mouldy meatballs Dr Kusanagi’s new lab did. Jack shook his head at the sheer amount of broken furniture in the room.
‘What the fuck? How the hell did all this get in here in just a few days?’
‘I believe it would need several men to carry and stack this amount of equipment,’ Teal’c commented. ‘And to build it as high as it is would require the use of stepladders. If we do not take care with the dismantle, it may collapse upon us.’
Just as it might have been planned to do, Jack thought to himself as he studied the…erection. Collapse on one person in particular. ‘A joke’s a joke,’ he said aloud, ‘but this could cause serious injury if it’s not disassembled correctly. It’s like a game of Jackstraws: if we move the wrong bit, it’ll all fall down.’ He turned to look at Carter. ‘Like Teal’c said, it took a lot of people to build this so carefully, and a considerable amount of time. This isn’t just a few boxes of crap dumped somewhere. This is a deliberate attempt to hurt or injure Dr McKay.’
‘Oh, is this going to be his lab? Carter questioned innocently.
Too innocently.
‘You know damn well it is. I was there when General Hammond informed you which lab was to be allocated to McKay.’
‘Actually, sir, the general didn’t specify a particular lab; he simply said the largest was to be McKay’s.’
‘That’s just splitting hairs, Major.’ Jack stared at her, wondering how he missed seeing this side of her last time. Was she always like this and I just ignored it, or have I made things so different simply by coming back in time? ‘I can’t ignore this as a bit of harmless fun.’ He turned to Daniel. ‘Can you go get a camera or your video recorder? I need to get this properly documented. It won’t be too difficult to find out who was involved in building it, and General Hammond may decide to bring official charges against them.’ He watched Carter out of the corner of his eye, but she didn’t so much as twitch. Either she’s a superb actress, or she wasn’t involved. A part of him – a small part – was relieved she wasn’t involved, but a larger, more rational side knew she didn’t have to be directly involved to make it happen. A quiet word here, a promise of help there…
It was late in the evening when they finally got McKay’s lab clear.
‘Did you arrange access to the supercomputer for the new scientists?’ Daniel asked suddenly. ‘I know General Hammond asked you to.’
Now that’s a guilty look.
*****
Chapter 4
Chapter Text
The arrival of Drs McKay, Zelenka, and Kusanagi was met with considerable disgruntlement from several of the scientists in the Mountain and quite a few of the military members too.
‘I’m pretty sure that Sam’s behind most of it,’ Daniel told Jack over beer one evening a week or so after the new CSO and his team began work at the SGC. ‘Although I don’t have any actual proof.’
‘What’s actually happened that you know is deliberate, and not just some bad-mouthing?’ Jack asked. ‘I haven’t noticed anything, but then, most folk in the mountain behave themselves when I’m around. Something to do with the eagles on my collar, I think.’
Daniel gave him a fond grin. ‘Jack, you never wear your eagles on your collar unless you’re forced to. When was the last time you wore a proper uniform? Outside of lecturing at the Academy,’ he added.
‘I…Huh.’ His friend frowned and took an absent sip of beer as he thought, then pointed a finger at Daniel. ‘When we went to Nevada. I wore my class As then.’
‘So four months ago, right?’
‘Not relevant.’ Jack waved this away with a hand, then paused, his hand still in the air. ‘What were we talking about?’
‘About some low level bullying in the mountain. You wanted some specifics.’ Daniel thought for a moment. ‘A couple of my staff have mentioned some of the enlisted not being as helpful as they usually are. A couple of airmen volunteer in our labs, sometimes. They help with logging off-world finds and general work in the labs. Senior Airman Poole, for example, wants to go to college to get his degree in Anthropology so is happy to help, but Ruth Kelly said he hasn’t been in the lab for a few days, and when she saw him in the mess and asked him if he’d help her with scanning and cataloguing some video footage from M2L 772 – the place where SG-10 found the ruins they believe might be Furling.’
‘They won’t be,’ Jack commented. ‘We’ve never found any trace of the Furlings other than the mention in Heliopolis, and by the Nox and Asgard.’
‘Well, it doesn’t matter because Poole told Ruth that he was sick of doing scut work for her, and the other airmen with him just smirked at her. She said she felt a little frightened with four strapping young men essentially making fun of her.’
Jack crinkled his nose. ‘It’s not bullying if they just smirk at her. I can’t do anything about that, and even if I tried, it’s likely just to get worse for her. If I tried to reprimand anyone who smirks, we’d have the entire base locked up, including you!’
Shaking his head, Daniel tried to explain himself more clearly. ‘I’m not asking you to reprimand them, but it’s an example of the sudden…ill-naturedness of the men on base. Poole got on really well with Ruth prior to the transfer in of McKay and the others from Area 51, but now the entire base seems to—to be angry about everything.’ He ran his hands through his hair. ‘I’m not explaining this very well, but there’s—there’s an undercurrent of general discord. It’s not anything I’ve experienced since foster care, to be honest.’
‘But is there anything concrete for me to do, or even see? Has anyone or anything happened as a result of this ‘anger’?’
A sudden memory struck Daniel, and he pointed his finger at his best friend. ‘McKay’s allergies!’
‘What about his allergies? I seem to recall him being allergic to something or other, but…’
‘Citrus. He has a deathly allergy to citrus – juice, the oil in the skin, everything. I’ve noticed he’s always very careful to check nothing in the mess contains any trace of citrus, and Doctors Kusanagi and Zelenka do the same when they’re with him. Msgt Grimes has begun marking anything containing citrus, but if he’s not on duty, it’s more difficult. I was in the breakfast line behind the three of them a day or so back and when McKay asked the server if there was citrus in anything, the Corporal gave him a nasty grin and said an orange had fallen in the scrambled eggs, and maybe everything else as well. McKay ended up with a packet of cereal he could see was unopened, and he didn’t even bother with coffee, just in case it had been doctored. After they’d moved off to a table, I heard the Corporal say ‘serves him right’ to another of the servers, but it didn’t really register with me at the time. My mind was on something else.’
He watched as Jack sat back on the sofa, and closed and set his books aside. Studying was clearly over for the night.
‘So you think whole thing was set up by someone?’ Jack gazed at him, and there was no sign of levity in his face at all. This was most definitely Colonel Jonathon O’Neill talking to him.
‘I…Yes, I do. I do think it was prearranged. The Corporal was obviously referring to something with his ‘serves him right’ comment. Serves him right for what? And who made the initial allegation that McKay had done something to someone or something?’
‘Do you know the name of this corporal?’
‘Not offhand, no, but it should be easy to find out who was on duty that morning.’
Jack nodded, his mind clearly elsewhere. ‘Okay, I’ll look into it tomorrow. Anything else specific?’
‘Yes, now I come to think of it. Someone has been messing with the staff locker room on Level 18. We’re all civilians on that level, and most folk live off-base, so the lockers are mostly used to store stuff like handbags and rucksacks. I don’t use them as I have my own quarters, but I recall hearing Corrigan and Warner – who both live off-base – saying someone had been in some of the lockers and mixed everyone’s boots up. Corrigan said it took ages to sort them out as most winter boots look the same, unless they were labelled. They treated it as a bit of a joke, but it’s an odd sort of joke to play, isn’t it?’
‘Very odd,’ Jack agreed, his lips set in a hard line. ‘For a start, it means someone unauthorised has been into the locker room, as I can’t imagine a civilian would play such a trick. The locker rooms and lounges on Level 18 and Level 19 are restricted to civilian staff, as is the small canteen on Level 16. It should be easy enough to see who went into those areas, though. We have CCTV on all levels. I’ll look into that as well tomorrow. That it?’
‘For the moment, yes, that’s all that comes to mind specifically, but there’s still this air of…’
‘Of general discord,’ Jack finished for him, nodding. ‘Right. I’ll look into the specifics tomorrow, and I’ll keep my eyes open for anything else out of place. You’re still certain Carter’s behind it all?’
‘No, I’m not at all certain, but someone’s behind it, and she’s the most likely candidate as she’s the one most affected by the recent changes,’ Daniel said, hating his feelings of powerlessness. I’ve been at the SGC for almost six years and I’ve never felt this vulnerable, not even when MacKenzie had me locked away for schizophrenia. We rely on the military to protect us, on and off-world, and while I can take care of myself, many other civilians can’t. Bill Lee would’ve had a breakdown by now if this had happened to him. He could barely speak if there were any soldiers around, let alone them basically harassing him.
The two men sat in silence for a while, but it wasn’t the usual comfortable silence. Both men had troublesome thoughts running through their heads, and when Daniel actually studied Jack, he noticed faint lines around his eyes, and while he no longer had the buzz cut he’d sported on their first trip through the Stargate, his slightly longer hair was now more silver than blond.
He’s getting old. We both are, but Jack is showing it now. Is it because he’s travelled back in time – again! – or did he look this old at this time before?
‘You finished looking?’ Jack asked in an amused tone, and Daniel realised he had been staring at his friend.
‘Sorry, I was just thinking we’re both getting old.’
‘Getting old?’ Jack repeated. ‘I’ve got thirteen years on you! Or maybe it’s twenty-six if you count the back in time bit.’
‘That’s what I was thinking. You look…tired. I wondered how you looked at this point last time, or if the extra worry has aged you.’
‘Daniel, stop talking now before you dig yourself in any deeper! I’m 49, not 99, though I’ll admit I’m tired. It’s probably all the late nights I have when you come round. We drink way too much beer and sleep way too little.’
‘Is that all it really is?’ Daniel asked, and he couldn’t help his concern leaking into his tone.
‘Yes!’
His reply was adamant, but Daniel couldn’t help waiting for something more to be said. It took a minute or two, but eventually Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes.
‘Okay, okay. I am tired, and I mean what I say about beer and sleep. We need to switch to water instead of beer, and get to bed before midnight on a school night. That said…’
He trailed off and Daniel sat motionless, waiting for his friend to arrange his thoughts.
‘Remember last year when Carter and I were suspected of being Zantacs?’
‘Zatarcs,’ Daniel corrected.
‘Yeah, them.’
‘I never was told why they thought you both were, or why you weren’t.’
‘Because it was…private.’ Jack paused and rubbed his eyes again. ‘The thing is, remember when we had those armband thingies that made us strong?’
‘Jack! What’s this about? I remember most things that happened, but you have to be clearer about what you’re trying to say.’
‘They thought we were Zan—Zatarcs because we both lied about what happened on Apophis’s new ship.’
Daniel frowned at him. ‘You lied? What—?’
‘Carter and I…We had a ‘moment’ on the ship, which we didn’t tell anyone about. I didn’t want to leave her after our armbands fell off as I had feelings for her.’
‘That’s not news to me,’ Daniel said. ‘Why—”
‘And she felt the same way.’
‘Oookay. That’s…’ He gazed at the wall above Jack’s head, then looked back at his friend. ‘Did either of you act on those thoughts? Last year, I mean. I know you haven’t…recently.’
‘No, we didn’t, and now I’m beginning to think my feelings for her have changed.’
Daniel raised his eyebrows. ‘Changed? You don’t…’
‘Care for her anymore? I’m not sure. I certainly don’t love her. That’s only something which developed after we got…closer to each other, but with all the stuff that’s come out in the last few months—’
‘Since you came back.’
‘Since I came back,’ Jack agreed, nodding. ‘I’m noticing things I never noticed about her before. It’s like she’s a different person. And not one I particularly like.’
‘Ah. That is a problem.’
‘One of many we—I have,’ Jack agreed, getting to his feet and going out to the kitchen, returning with two bottles of water. ‘Here. We can make a start now.’
Daniel took a long drink and wiped his mouth. ‘What are you going to do about Sam?’
‘I haven’t got a fucking clue.’
*****
True to his word, Jack made enquiries about the locker room on Level 18 when he arrived at the mountain the following morning. Rather than mess around asking questions, though, he went directly to Master Sergeant Sylvester Siler, the Sovereign of all things technical at the SGC.
‘Do you know what date we need to look for, sir?’ Siler asked, accessing the central data bank from his computer.
‘Sometime since the 1 of Feb, I can’t be more specific than that. Does it help?’
‘It narrows it down. We keep the digital images from the camera feeds for twelve months. I delete relevant footage from the previous year at the start of each month, as we don’t have the capacity to store it for longer. To date, we’ve not needed…Got it!’ he said triumphantly, and turned to Jack, moving slightly so Jack could see the screen. ‘We’ve got six cameras in the corridors of Level 18. It’s not enough to cover all the labs and office spaces, but the civilians get uneasy if they think they’re under constant surveillance.’
Jack down and scooted his chair to the desk. ‘Do the cameras record everything?’
‘Not sure what you mean, sir.’
‘Are they motion sensitive, or are they always on? And is it sight and sound, or just sight?’
‘Sight only in the corridors,’ Siler said, ‘and they’re always on. The files would be too large if we recorded sound as well. Only the embarkation room, control room, and the general’s office record sound as well, and he can silence or cancel the audio at any time.’
Jack nodded. He remembered this from the future, and he also remembered all the times he’d forgotten to cancel the audio recordings when he spoke with the President or other officials. In the end, Siler used to go through the recordings each week and wipe the sensitive audio. The truth was that only Siler and Walter were essential to the running of the Mountain, as much as the scientists and senior officers liked to think they were mission critical.
Meanwhile, Siler was fast forwarding through the recorded images, searching to find movement in them, while Jack watched the screen. There must be a simpler method of storing these images, which would make them more searchable. I’ll put Kusanagi on it. If anyone can come up with a simpler way, she can.
Various scientists and technicians scurried along the corridor at top speed, sometimes pausing to chat to another civilian, then scurrying off again. There were long periods with no movement whatsoever, presumably at night, then there was a sudden…non-movement which made both Jack and Siler blink.
‘What was that?’ Jack demanded, at the same moment as Siler pressed pause, then reversed the images. ‘It looked like that cat in the Matrix. Déjà vu.‘
‘It’s exactly the same,’ Siler muttered. ‘It’s where images have either been added or cut, and not very successfully.’
‘Can you see what should have been there?’
Siler gave him a flat look. ‘No, sir. I can’t see what should have been there, because it isn’t there.’
Ooops! ‘Can you give me a date and time, at least?’
‘7th February, sometime between 12:00 and 15:00.’
Lunch time for the geeks. Exactly when the corridor is likely to be empty.
‘Thanks, Siler.’ Jack patted his shoulder. ‘I’m going to ask Dr Kusanagi to look at some other way of storing the images to make it easier to search, if we ever need to.’
‘I’d appreciate that, sir. Thanks.’
‘No problem. I just wish everyone’s problems were as easy to solve.’
Jack jogged back to his new office, a space he’d cleared for himself on Level 24, alongside various storage rooms, where no one would think to look for him. Hopefully, at least. He sat back in his chair and swung his feet up onto the corner of his desk, ready to think the problem through. The glitch in the tape was proof something had been removed or edited. Fuck it. I was hoping not to find anything, not find something missing. Daniel’s right. Someone – or several someones – is deliberately targeting the civilian staff. What the fuck do I do now?
*****
It didn’t take long for General Hammond to call Jack to his office.
‘Come in and sit down, Colonel.’
Colonel again?
‘I understand we’ve had some disruption within the Mountain. Want to fill me in on it?’
How the hell does he do it? ‘Sir, do you have superpowers, or just well placed spies?’ Jack asked his superior officer as he dropped down into the visitor chair.
‘Why not both?’
‘Will you tell me how to do it when I’m promoted, please? I promise to keep it to myself. Scout’s honour.’
‘You never were a scout, Jack,’ Hammond said, his eyes alight with laughter. ‘As for my superpower, I promise I’ll let you into my secret if you’re promoted.’
‘That hurts, sir.’
‘As you’d say yourself, suck it up, Buttercup. Now, want to tell me about the problems the civilian staff are having with the military?’
‘Not really, sir, if I have a choice.’
‘Then I’ll make it an order.’ Hammond gave him what he possibly thought was an encouraging smile. It wasn’t.
Jack sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. ‘It was Daniel who brought it to my attention. We should get him in here as well.’
‘I’ve already had Dr Jackson’s report, thank you.’
Crap! ‘Well, there were two, possibly three definite instances Daniel could give me. The rest was pure speculation.’
‘I am aware. What have you done about the incident in the mess? That, to my mind, is the most serious.’
‘I agree, sir. I’ve spoken to MSgt Grimes, and he’s assured me all wrapped products will be clearly marked if they have citrus, or nuts in them, and that his entire junior staff are currently suffering retraining in their administrative functions. Basically, all shore leave has been cancelled until everyone under the rank of sergeant can quote the food preparation guidelines.’ The corners of Jack’s mouth twitched. ‘Whoever the miscreant was – and I’ve left that up to Jeff Grimes to discover – is going to get hell from his fellow Marines. I doubt we’re going to get any trouble from the kitchens again.’
‘I hope you’re right, Jack. Dr McKay deserves to eat his meals without worrying he might suffer an anaphylactic shock at any point.’
‘Yes, sir, and Jeff Grimes is also going to issue the mess staff with epi-pens, just in case there is an incident. He was furious when he discovered there weren’t any in the first aid kit. Apparently, it’s part of Sergeant Philip’s job – his deputy, you know – to do regular checks on date-sensitive equipment. He certainly won’t make the same mistake again, and, as a precaution, I’ve asked Dr Frasier to triple check all date-sensitive medical equipment in the Mountain.’
‘Good.’ Hammond nodded. ‘We can’t afford to make such mistakes, not when someone’s life depends on it. Dr McKay isn’t the only civilian with severe allergies, either.’
‘No, Daniel also has a nut allergy,’ Jack agreed. ‘To be honest, I’ve been considering banning all nut and nut products from the mess entirely – bar pre packaged items like Snickers. A nut allergy is the most common allergy there is, apparently.’
‘Go ahead and do as you see fit, Jack. You have my support. Now, what about the incident in the locker room on Level 18? What progress has Dr Kusanagi made?’
Jack shook his head in wonderment. ‘Seriously, sir, how do you do it? No one knows I’ve tasked Miko Kusanagi with a review of the security tapes.’
This time it was Hammond who smirked, but remained silent.
‘Miko’s searching for whoever altered the camera feed, but she says they covered their tracks very well indeed, which suggests someone who has an excellent knowledge of computers and computer systems.’
‘And we probably have a dozen or more such specialists, don’t we.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘More than the average military installation, certainly. She doubts she’ll find whoever did it, but she’s ensured there won’t be a repeat. Not without her knowing, at least. It appears there’s some issue over access to the supercomputer, but since I don’t really understand what it does anyway, I can’t be more specific. She says she’s added it to the list to deal with.’
‘And what list is that?’
Jack massaged his temples and sighed. ‘I told her you’d ask me that.’
‘And?’ Hammond raised his brows when Jack didn’t elucidate. ‘Jack?’
He sighed again. ‘This has the makings of a clusterfuck, to be honest, sir. A great big honking clusterfuck.’
*****
Events came to a head in the Mountain the following morning. By the time Jack arrived, Carter and McKay had already gone head to head over changes McKay had made to access and permissions to the base supercomputer, and Sam had taken it directly to General Hammond. Per instructions awaiting him at the initial check-in point, Jack made his way down to the briefing room on Level 27. I already have a headache and it’s barely 08:00.
When he entered the briefing room, Carter and the general were sitting silently at the long table. General Hammond was glancing through notes he recognised as the ones Daniel had made a few weeks previously, and although Carter saw him, she refused to meet his eyes. Jack raised an eyebrow as she remained seated. It took a few moments, but she did eventually get to her feet.
‘Sir. I want—’
‘Please take a seat, Colonel,’ Hammond ordered, speaking over her, and Jack slipped into his usual seat on Hammond’s right while Carter sat a few seats down on his left. ‘We apparently have a problem,’ he continued, looking directly at Jack.
‘Indeed, sir?’ Jack reached for the coffeepot on the table in front of the general – out of the reach of Carter, he noticed absently – poured himself a cup and settled back in his seat to await…he wasn’t quite sure what he awaited, but it’s not going to be pretty.
‘Major Carter doesn’t appear to understand that Dr McKay is CSO of the mountain,’ General Hammond informed Jack in a bone-dry tone. ‘Or that she has to abide by whatever decisions he makes.’
‘Sir!’ Sam protested, jutting out her chin ‘I don’t understand why I’ve been removed as CSO.’
‘You never were CSO of any part of the programme, Major Carter.’ The general held up his hand as she opened her mouth to argue. ‘Part of the fault is mine, perhaps, for allowing you to cover parts of the role, but you have never held the post.’
‘But, sir!’
‘Have you ever done the annual reviews of any of the scientists?’ Jack asked calmly.
‘Well, no, but—’
‘Who do you think should do them, then?’
‘I don’t—’
‘Colonel O’Neill and I did them two years ago.’ General Hammond spoke over her, forcing her to shut up. ‘Apart from those of the Anthropology Department, which Dr Jackson does. You said you’d do them last year but didn’t. The ones this year will be the first reviews for two years, meaning reviews of their work and goals never took place for any of the scientific staff.’
‘I’ll do them now, I promise,’ Carter said quickly. ‘If I can have my title back.’
‘Are you actually trying to bargain with me, Major?’ Hammond asked in icy tones. ‘You never had the title of Chief Scientific Officer, and you wouldn’t qualify for it if you happened to be in the running for it.’
‘How can you say—’ Carter began angrily before she pressed her lips together and fell silent. Jack could see her knuckles turning white as she gripped her hands together.
George Hammond cleared his throat and stared at her. ‘You wouldn’t qualify as CSO, Major Carter, as you don’t have the necessary breadth of knowledge. Dr McKay holds doctorates in three different fields, while his deputy, Dr Zelenka, holds them in two. You have a single doctorate.’
‘I might not have the actual pieces of paper, but I certainly have the knowledge and experience to get them if I wanted to,’ Sam retorted in a slightly more polite tone than earlier. ‘Sir.’
‘And yet you refused to consider furthering your education during your own review just a few weeks ago,’ Jack said calmly.
Carter’s cheeks reddened, and she dropped her eyes. ‘I don’t have time to spare, given our mission schedule.’
‘Yet you believe you have the time to give to the post of CSO?’ Hammond shook his head as though he didn’t know what to do with her. I certainly don’t!
‘You could always step back from being on a gate team,’ Jack suggested, giving her a hint of a way out. ‘Then you’d have time for further education and training.’
‘Sir!’ Carter expostulated. ‘I couldn’t—’
‘Then you don’t get to complain when other people have educated themselves,’ Hammond told her. ‘My decision stands, Major Carter. Dr McKay is CSO, and Dr Zelenka is his deputy, and I will support any decisions Dr McKay makes in that capacity, which brings us back to the original reason you came to me, I believe.’
It was clearly an effort for her, but Carter almost managed to regain her usual control. Almost, but not quite.
‘Yes, sir. I want—’
Hammond held up his hand to stop her. ‘I’m still waiting for Dr McKay, Major.’
‘Why—’
‘If your complaint concerns his role, he should to be here to explain his decisions, shouldn’t he?’
If looks could kill…Jack thought, absently. Was she always this belligerent, and I just didn’t notice?
The door to the briefing room opened to admit Drs McKay and Kusanagi, with Walter right behind them bearing a tray loaded with mugs, pastries, and three carafes of coffee. He set a new pot in front of the general, and the other two further down the table. McKay grabbed one of the carafes and poured a cup, swallowing it before Miko Kusanagi had even sat down. He poured a second cup and was about to drink that one too, when Kusanagi fixed him with a gaze through narrowed eyes. She made no sound and simply stared, but after a moment or two McKay set down his own cup, poured a second one and handed it to her.
Are superpowers a new thing around here? Jack mused. I wonder what mine is?
‘Thank you for joining us,’ Hammond said to the two scientists. ‘I wanted to clear up one or two issues which have arisen since you joined us.’
McKay was now on his third cup of coffee, Jack noticed, awed by his capacity for caffeine. He puts even Danny to shame and he would mainline coffee if I let him.
‘Now,’ Hammond began when McKay and Kusanagi had settled. ‘Colonel O’Neill mentioned a ‘list’ to me yesterday, Dr Mckay. Would you like to explain what he meant?’
George already knows, Jack realised with a start. He already knows all of it, and this entire charade is for Carter’s benefit.
‘Certainly, sir,’ McKay replied, looking up from the laptop he’d opened. ‘As soon as my transfer here was confirmed, I began a list of problems and issues that needed looking into as soon as possible, and one of the most glaring problems concerns the supercomputer.’
‘Go on,’ Hammond prompted when McKay paused.
‘Frankly, General, it’s a mess.’
‘Would you care to enlarge on that?’
This time, McKay glanced briefly across to Carter. ‘The permissions for the supercomputer are…’ He sighed. ‘Three of the people who have full access left here a few weeks ago, and there are several names I don’t recognise at all.’
‘But that’s hardly surprising since you haven’t been here before,’ Jack commented, keeping one eye on Carter, whose complexion had paled at McKay’s words.
McKay stared at him. ‘I might never have worked here in person, but I recognise the names of every scientist who does work here.’
‘That’s…dozens of names,’ Jack said, frowning. ‘How—’
‘Of course I know the names of all the people who work for me.’ McKay spoke over him. ‘I make a point of learning them. It’s not difficult.’
‘How can you possibly—’ Carter began, her cheeks now suffused with colour.
‘I have an eidetic memory.’ McKay spoke over her. ‘And Miko’s isn’t far off.’
‘I don’t believe you.’ Carter folded her arms and sat back in her chair, her body language screaming hostility.
‘Your doubt is irrelevant,’ General Hammond snapped, and Carter’s jaw dropped. She’s never been on the receiving end of his annoyance before.
‘—Kay’s ability is well documented,’ Hammond was saying, ‘However, we’re discussing access to the supercomputer.’ He turned to look at Miko Kusanagi. ‘You’re taking over the IT department, I believe, Dr Kusanagi?’
‘She’s taking over IT?’ Carter demanded, sitting forward, her full attention on the general. ‘But she’s—’
‘The most qualified person in the Mountain, although it’s a pretty low bar,’ McKay said, and nodded to Miko, who scowled at him.
‘There are numerous issues with the base supercomputer,’ she began, and Carter’s scowl notched up a megawatt or two, Jack noted, ‘but access and security are the ones which most concern me, concern us,’ she clarified, motioning between herself and McKay. ‘I could give a ten-minute lecture on what it all means, and how and why we’ve changed it, but the bare bones of it come down to two major changes.’
‘Go on,’ Hammond said, ‘although I do require a report on the wider aspects of this.’
‘Copy me in, too.’ Jack waggled his hand at Kusanagi.
‘Full access control is limited to only Dr McKay, as CSO, and myself as System Administrator,’ she continued. ‘Everyone else has the more usual mandatory access control, which is rights based.’
‘And which means?’ Jack prompted.
‘Heads of a department have greater access than the more junior members of the department. So Dr Jackson, for example, can access far more of the supercomputer than Dr Corrigan can.’
‘And why is that necessary?’ Hammond asked, holding up a hand to stop Carter from speaking.
‘It’s called the Principle Of Least Privilege. Users are given only the necessary privilege essential to their function. Dr Corrigan doesn’t need to see the personnel files for the department to do his job, for example, while Dr Jackson needs to see them, and make changes to them.’
‘Go on.’
‘Security is the other critical issue, although the new access controls will help with it. There’s little to no security anywhere on base, which is ridiculous, considering the secrecy behind what happens here, and the number of times the base has been compromised. People are now going to be forced to use login names and passwords, and the central computer will record when and where these log ins take place. There is no reason whatsoever that Dr Zelenka, for example, should be able to access the Infirmary files, say.’
There was a lot not being said here, Jack decided. I’ll look forward to reading the report on all this.
‘We’ve also cut all outside access, which should never have been allowed in the first place. No one should log in from home, or the coffee shop, or wherever.’
Once again, there was a lot not being expounded upon, and Jack stared at McKay until he got a slight, a very slight, nod. To be continued, I believe.
‘Will limiting access to the supercomputer help with our security?’ Hammond asked, looking between the two scientists. ‘Would we, for example, be able to see if someone edited the security feed?’
Jack kept his eye on Carter, sitting opposite him, and while he knew her self-control was generally very good, her cheeks paled a little at this news.
‘Hypothetically, yes,’ McKay answered. ‘But the changes Miko has already made to the central data bank will ensure no edits can be made to the security footage at all, and by limiting access to the supercomputer, we’ll have better control of all computer access in the Mountain.’
‘What about my access?’ Carter demanded, recovering a little. ‘That’s why I called this meeting and I—
‘Major Carter.’ The General silenced her mid-flow.
‘Sir?’
‘I called this meeting when you brought a complaint to me regarding Dr McKay.’
There was what felt like a long pause, but was probably barely seconds.
‘Yes, sir.’
‘I’ve already told you I will support whatever decisions Dr McKay might make. Do I need to repeat myself?’
To his credit, McKay appeared to be as embarrassed as Carter. He stared down at his laptop, immobile, and Jack could see a flush rising on his cheeks.
‘No, sir.’ Carter’s words came out clipped and flat while both her neck and back were stiffened.
‘General?’ Jack spoke before he even realised it. Hammond turned to look at him and raised his eyebrows. Jack took a breath and glanced deliberately at his watch. ‘I believe Dr McKay and Dr Kusanagi have a meeting with Dr Jackson shortly.’ Sorry, Danny, I’ve totally thrown you under the bus.
The words had barely left his mouth before McKay was on his feet, laptop, and carafe of coffee in his hands, with Kusanagi only seconds behind him.
‘Yessir, meeting with Dr Jackson.’ McKay was already at the door. ‘I’ll…later…’ He waved a hand, and the door closed behind Kusanagi. The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds.
The general raised an eyebrow at Jack, and his lips quirked. ‘It’s a good job you remembered the meeting, isn’t it?’
‘Yessir, and now I think about it, I believe I’m also expected.’
‘If only to tell Dr Jackson why his lab has suddenly been invaded,’ Hammond added in a low voice, and shook his head. ‘Off you go, then, Colonel. You’re dismissed.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Jack was pretty certain he left a trail of flames behind him in his haste to exit the room, and he leaned against the closed door and took a deep breath. That was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had, and I’ve been fighting the Goa’uld for more years than I care to remember.
*****
Chapter 5
Chapter Text
There was a noticeable easing of tension between civilian and military staff over the following days.
‘Ruth Kelly came in to see me this morning,’ Daniel informed Jack over dinner in the mess one night. They were both staying on base as General Hammond had been called to Washington for a meeting.
‘And?’
‘And she said Senior Airman Poole had come to her to apologise for his behaviour earlier in the month.’
‘Did he say why?’
Daniel shook his head. ‘No, and she didn’t ask him. He took her a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans from The Coffee Lab as an apology, though.’
Jack raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s a very specific apology. I wonder how he knew to buy chocolate covered coffee beans from the most expensive coffee shop in town.’
‘I couldn’t possibly say.’ Daniel didn’t even bother to hide his smirk. ‘He’s also asked her to help him with his application to Pikes Peak State College to study anthropology.’
‘Are you creating an army of minions, by any chance?’ Jack asked, his eyes narrowing.
‘Who’s creating an army of minions?’ Carter set down a tray at their table and looked between them. ‘Can we join you?’
‘We?’ Jack looked around and saw Teal’c coming towards them. ‘Of course.’ He shuffled his chair sideways to make room for Teal’c while Carter sat down next to Daniel.
‘So, are you collecting minions, Daniel?’
He grinned at her. ‘Not me, Ruth Kelly. SA Poole has asked her to help him with an application to college.’
‘Smart man. He’ll have no trouble if he has her recommendation. Is he planning on going local?’
Jack sat back and relaxed as his two geeks swapped suggestions of courses for other enlisted in the SGC. This is what I’ve missed. This exchange of thoughts and ideas. Did I change things so much when I came back in time?
‘I cannot recall when last we ate dinner together as a team,’ Teal’c said in a low voice as he settled in next to O’Neill. ‘It is something I have missed.’
Me too, old friend. Me too.
*****
Thanks to Jack’s adjustments to their mission schedule, SG-1’s next mission would be to Pangar, a full five months before their original visit.
‘I want to make sure Drey’auc doesn’t die,’ he told Hammond and Daniel at their next planning meeting – a now regular bi-weekly meeting on alternate Fridays where Jack laid out his immediate plans to General Hammond, and they discussed the best way to deal with any issues or problems that might arise. ‘I know she and Teal’c are effectively divorced, but her death caused considerable problems between Teal’c and Rya’c, and, quite frankly, Teal’c’s given a lot for this programme and country, and doesn’t deserve for his wife to die if we can avoid it.’
‘I quite agree,’ Hammond nodded. ‘But can you be sure things will happen as they did before? You said the changes you’ve already made are having a knock on effect, and the more time passes, the more things will change.’
‘True,’ Jack nodded. ‘But this was a nice and straightforward mission and even won us some goodwill from the Tok’ra. Not that it lasted long,’ he added sourly. ‘It never does where those fuckers are concerned.’
‘Jack!’ Daniel exclaimed. ‘They’re our allies and—’
‘S’not much of an alliance when they take, take, take, and never give us anything in return,’ Jack complained, but fell silent when George Hammond raised an eyebrow.
‘I agree we’ve had…occasional difficulties with the Tok’ra, but our alliance with them was sanctioned at the highest level, as you know. POTUS himself has a personal interest in our relationship with the Tok’ra, especially since Jacob Carter agreed to host Selmak. Is there a possibility your…additional knowledge will allow us to strengthen our alliance with them?’
Jack shrugged. ‘Possibly. I don’t recall everything, but they were certainly happy to find out what happened to their Queen, Egeria, even if she died in the end.’
‘Is there some way to maximise that for our benefit?’
Scowling, Jack shook his head. ‘That sounds much too close to ‘diplomacy’.’ He made air-quotes with his fingers. ‘You know that’s not one of my strong points.’
‘You mean you don’t have a diplomatic bone in your body, Jack,’ Daniel told him with a smirk.
‘I never claimed I did, Daniel.’
Hammond rolled his eyes, then sighed. ‘How do you want to play this, Jack? Do you still want to keep this from Carter?’
‘Definitely!’ Daniel answered before Jack could even open his mouth. ‘She mustn’t know Jack’s…travelled.’
‘This will be your first mission where you want to keep the original outcome,’ Hammond commented. ‘Do you think you can manage it with Carter in the dark?’
‘If Carter finds out, she’ll have me thrown in a deep hole so I can’t make any changes,’ Jack replied. ‘While I don’t know exactly what Teal’c and…the other member of SG1 did, I do know what they discovered so I can brief T and Daniel.’
‘Other member?’ Daniel asked, and Jack groaned inwardly. He’d hoped neither Daniel nor Hammond would pick up on that. I’m not sure I’m ready to tell Danny how he died.
‘A story for later.’ Much later.
*****
To Jack’s surprise, the mission to Pangar went off without incident. The Tok’ra were thrilled to have their queen returned to them, and, because of the earlier date, Egeria was still alive when the two Tok’ra returned with her to their current base. Her explanation regarding the flawed gene she’d passed on through her offspring now enabled the creation of a synthetic version of Tretonin, as well as the antidote which would restore the immune systems of, and save, the many Pangarans already taking the drug.
Teal’c, recognising Tretonin as the means of granting the Jaffa freedom from the System Lords, had offered to be a test subject when the synthetic version was perfected: something he hadn’t done in the original timeline.
‘So we have new allies in the Pangarans; a reason for the Tok’ra to be grateful to us; and the means for the Jaffa to break free of the hold the System Lords have over them,’ Hammond summarised at the end of the debriefing. ‘A good day’s work, SG-1. Thank you.’
‘I’ve spoken to Janet,’ Carter said, ‘and she thinks we’ll be able to produce the new drug in the quantities needed for the Jaffa, since they’ll have to take daily doses.’ She grinned happily at Teal’c, who bowed his head to her.
‘My thanks, Major Carter.’
‘Finally, a mission where nothing went wrong,’ Daniel commented, and gave Jack a wink across the table that made him swallow a grin. ‘At long last!’
‘I believe you may have put a jinx upon us, Daniel Jackson,’ Teal’c intoned from his seat beside Jack O’Neill, causing Daniel to snort into his coffee.
It was a good mission, Jack told himself. All his goals had been realised, and his team had worked together seamlessly. Carter had not only behaved herself, but had made one of her astonishing leaps of intuition in realising Egeria had deliberately sabotaged her offspring. Was I wrong about her, or was this a one-off?
He was brought back from his musings by Daniel, now recovered from the coughing fit Teal’c’s words caused.
‘Right. So, where to next?’
*****
Jack was acutely aware the date for Teal’c to become stuck in the gate buffers was imminent. He hoped that by changing the date on which SG-1 went to P3X-116, they would avoid meeting Tanith, and thus prevent him crashing into the DHD when Teal’c fired upon his Al’kesh. Since things didn’t always go as he hoped – or ever in reality – he was determined to get hold of a DHD for the SGC to replace the dialling computer.
Much to Jack’s surprise, however, McKay brought up the issue of a DHD for the Mountain just a few days after the mission to Pangar.
‘Miko and I have had chance to review the programming of the dialling computer,’ he told Jack and General Hammond late one afternoon at a meeting he requested between them, and Miko and himself, ‘and we both feel it’s not fit for purpose.’
Unable to help himself, Jack glanced at General Hammond. He’d suggested exactly the same thing to the general just that morning.
‘Not fit for purpose?’ Hammond repeated. ‘It’s served us well enough until now, Dr McKay. It took over fifteen years to create the dialling system, which allowed us to open a wormhole to Abydos. Why isn’t it good enough now?’
‘Because its coding forces it to ignore hundreds of error messages and safety protocols produced by the gate during the dialling process. Furthermore—’
He was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Sam Carter at the door of the briefing room, breathing heavily.
‘Major Carter?’ Hammond frowned at her. ‘Has something happened?’
‘You mean aside from you having a meeting about the dialling computer without me, the person who designed it and got it to work in the first place? I—’
‘Carter!’ Jack snapped. ‘Have you lost your mind? How dare you burst into a private meeting, let alone speak to General Hammond like that!’
‘But, sir—’
‘How did you know about this meeting, in any case?’ Jack regarded her through narrowed eyes.
‘I…I heard someone mention it. I-in the mess hall.’
It was evident she was lying, and Jack glanced at Hammond to see how he wanted to deal with this. George was watching her with a puzzled look on his face which Jack couldn’t help wondering at.
‘You weren’t invited to this meeting, Major Carter, because it has nothing to do with you,’ Hammond told her, ‘and furthermore—’
‘But I designed the dialling comp—’
‘No, you didn’t.’ McKay’s head was tilted to the side. ‘You may have worked upon it, but work began on it when you were still in High School.’
‘And they couldn’t get it to work until I joined Project Giza,’ Carter retorted.
‘Actually, they did.’ Rodney frowned as all eyes turned upon him. ‘Ernest Littlefield? Heliopolis? Come on! You all went there and rescued Littlefield, remember?’
‘Yes, but how do you know about it?’ Carter demanded.
‘I read the mission reports, of course.’ Rodney frowned at the question
Carter’s eyes turned on General Hammond. ‘Is it a good idea to allow a civilian to read our mission reports? Sir,’ she added hastily.
‘Why shouldn’t the Mi—’ Jack began, only to be cut off by Hammond.
‘That’s none of your business, Major, just as this meeting is none of your business. Now, please leave.’
‘But—’
‘Now, Major!’
Carter glared at him for a moment, then swung on her heel and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. It wasn’t quite a slam, but it was a close-run thing.
Jack rubbed his eyes. ‘I don’t know what’s got into her, sir. She never used to be like this.’
‘Actually, she was always like this.’ Rodney shrugged when both Jack and the general turned to look at him. ‘She just managed to hide it better from her senior officers. We told you this.’
‘What do you mean?’ Hammond asked with a frown, and he glanced at Jack, who sighed.
‘One or two things came out after I visited Area 51.’
‘What sort of things, Colonel?’
‘The sort I really didn’t expect,’ Jack muttered, and ran his hands over his face. He sat back and gazed at the concrete ceiling. ‘It appears Major Carter was keeping qualified scientists off projects she didn’t want them on and—’
‘Such as?’ Hammond asked.
This time it was McKay and Kusanagi exchanging glances. ‘Both Dr Zelenka and I were prohibited from involvement in the X-303 project,’ McKay explained in a neutral tone, ‘despite the ship being largely of our design. And as far as I’m aware, neither of us is credited with its design either.’
Hammond was staring at McKay, his jaw certainly loose if not actually open. ‘What?!‘ He turned to stare at Jack, who shifted uncomfortably. ‘You knew this?’
‘Only since my visit to Area 51 last November. I’ve since been asking quite a few questions about various projects and—.’
‘And you didn’t think I should be informed?’
From the corner of his eye, Jack saw McKay and Kusanagi exchange worried glances.
‘Should we…?’ McKay pointed towards the door with…
Yep. That’s a hopeful look on his face. Wish I could escape as well.
‘No, Dr McKay. The Colonel and I will finish this discussion later.’ Hammond gave Jack a look which had him squirming like a newly minted butterbar. ‘Now, you were talking about the dialling computer.’
‘I…Yes, sir.’ McKay took a deep breath and glanced down at his laptop. ‘The dialling computer ignores a number of error codes and dialling protocols present in a standard DHD in order to get it to work, including the ones, for example, which would have prevented a wormhole from connecting with the gate on K’Tau rather than passing through the system’s star and creating deposits of heavy metals into their sun. Furthermore, having our own DHD would allow greater research into collecting previous dialling addresses recorded in the DHD crystals.’
‘Previous dialling addresses?’ Jack repeated, sitting up from his slouch. ‘Carter said that wasn’t possible.’
Once again, McKay and Kusanagi exchanged glances.
‘It’s certainly possible,‘ Kusanagi said. ‘In fact, SG-6 downloaded a series of gate addresses from the DHD on P79 54G two years ago. There was no way to determine their dialling order, however, and some of the information was corrupted. The point is, it’s been proved to be possible, but it needs much more work. I would suggest Major Carter dismissed the idea as she either hadn’t thought of it herself or made it work.’
Jack saw a frown appear on the general’s face and shook his head at him. ‘Don’t say it, sir. This is a part of what I discovered in Nevada. I…’ He sighed again. ‘Carter…’ I was never sure if it was her defending the dialling computer, or if she genuinely believed it wasn’t possible in the Milky Way. I had no idea it’d already been done. Fuck!
McKay took a deep breath. ‘What I think Colonel O’Neill is trying to say is that Major Carter has a history of…’
‘Of stealing credit for work she had nothing to do with,’ Kusanagi said bluntly.
‘What?!’ Hammond demanded for the second time. ‘Jack. Tell me…’
‘It’s true, I’m afraid, sir.’ Jack rubbed his temples in an effort to get rid of his sudden headache. ‘It’s why I requested a meeting with you tomorrow morning. I’ve been investigating the claims since Doctors McKay, Zelenka, and Kusanagi first informed me about it last year. It…She…The DOD…
‘Major Carter has a habit of defrauding the scientists at Area 51.’ Kusanagi voiced the words Jack was unable to say.
General Hammond sat back in his chair and scrubbed his face with his hands. ‘I…She…What the hell, Jack?’
‘As far as I can tell, she’s not making any money out of it,’ Jack said hurriedly. ‘She just…’
‘She gets the credit for the work of other people,’ Kusanagi said flatly. ‘It’s still fraud, Colonel O’Neill, only personal rather than financial, as she’s still benefitting from the work of others.’
‘Do you have hard evidence for this, Dr Kusanagi?’ Hammond asked.
She met his gaze unflinchingly. ‘Are you aware of the encryption programme Dr McKay designed when he was nineteen and working for the CIA?’
Hammond inclined his head. ‘I am aware, yes.’
‘Then have you ever asked why, when most of the US alphabet and government agencies use it, the SGC and Area 51 do not?’
‘Scuse me,’ Jack interrupted, raising a hand. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
Hammond glanced at Jack, then focussed on McKay. ‘Doctor, if you would?’
McKay shuffled in his seat and glanced down. It was clear to Jack he didn’t want to speak about whatever it was. Finally, still staring down at the table, he cleared his throat. ‘As Miko said, I designed a computer programme to not only encrypt information held and moved around on a single computer but also to check the network to search for any similar information packages within that network – if any of the information had been copied and saved, or sent elsewhere, this programme would find it, who sent it, where to, and when. It was designed as a means to search out, or prevent, political and industrial espionage.’
He lifted his head and focussed on Jack. ‘I won’t bore you with the mechanics of it, but, as Miko said, it’s still being used today by almost every US and Canadian government office, agency, and division, be they military, social, political…’ He shrugged his shoulders and looked down again, a slight flush rising on his cheeks.
He’s totally embarrassed about his…success? Jack told himself. This is completely at odds with the brash, sexist lout I knew before – or rather, I didn’t know him at all! He didn’t even need the money from the Stargate Programme because this encryption programme has to have made him one of the richest men on the planet. Unless…
He held up a hand and waved it to catch Hammond’s attention. ‘Scuse me, again, sir. I have another question.’
Hammond inclined his head, although McKay was still looking down at the table.
‘If this programme is so valuable, why haven’t I ever, A, heard about it before, or B, heard who designed it?’
This last question brought McKay’s head snapping up so fast it must have hurt him.
‘I…’ the general began. ‘I have no idea of the answers to either of those questions,’ he finished, his brows furrowed. ‘Dr McKay?’
And there it is again; that shuffle of unease or discomfort.
‘I…’ McKay cleared his throat again. ‘I asked…After a few years I asked that my name not be associated with the programme any longer as I was uncomfortable with the attention it brought me.’ His head remained up, but he couldn’t focus on anyone or anything, instead, glancing around the room, his discomfiture evident.
This is not the man I thought I knew.
‘As to why the Colonel hasn’t heard of the programme, I couldn’t say,’ McKay finished.
‘Returning to my previous question,’ Kusanagi said into the silence which followed McKay’s answer – and Jack didn’t miss the way her hand briefly covered his – ‘General Hammond. Have you ever questioned why the SGC and Area 51 do not use the McKay Encryption Package?’
‘No, ma’am, I have not,’ Hammond answered grimly. ‘But I do wonder now!’
The look Kusanagi gave him was not quite the approving expression of a satisfied teacher to a pupil, but it was close, Jack decided.
‘Someone or someones in DC refused to have it installed at Area 51 on the grounds it would slow their computers, and thus their researchers, since much of their work is copied and distributed around the base,’ Kusanagi explained. ‘Before the SGC even began its regular use of the Stargate, they also argued it, too, should be exempt.
‘There’s no rational reason for both places to be exempt, even if the argument for Area 51 being exempt was true, which I sincerely doubt. What it does is mask the number of projects Samantha Carter has stolen from other scientists to allow herself, or, perhaps, other people she selected, to claim the credit for. I’d be very interested in seeing a list of the recipients of the work ‘transferred’ from Area 51.’
By now General Hammond’s eyes were narrowed so much his eyes were almost obscured. ‘Why was I never told about this?’ he demanded in icy tones, glancing around the table.
‘I couldn’t say,’ Kusanagi answered coolly, shrugging her shoulders. ‘I wasn’t initially aware you didn’t know why the encryption programme wasn’t in use here.’ She let her sentence fade away and sat back in her chair.
Somewhat reluctantly, Jack held up his hand again. ‘Ah, sir?’ Hammond turned to look at him and raised his eyebrows. ‘I, ah, I have a list of the work removed from Area 51, which Dr McKay sent me a few weeks ago.’
Hammond stared at him for a long moment, his face expressionless, and Jack squirmed in his seat. ‘Why did you not bring it to my immediate attention, Colonel?’
Because I didn’t want to believe that of Carter, but I can’t…The hell I can! The hell I will! Jack cleared his throat. ‘I didn’t want to believe Major Carter was capable of such a thing, sir.’
Hammond sat back in his seat, and Jack noticed his posture was ever so slightly more relaxed from two minutes ago. McKay, however…His gaze was fixed on the table and his shoulders were hunched, clear signs of his discomfort. I never knew him at all. Did I listen too much to Carter or…what?
George Hammond stood and walked to the window overlooking the gate room. The gate had dialled a few minutes previously and an SG team was returning from off-world. Jack knew it was SG-10 as Daniel had gone off-world with them, along with Drs Corrigan and Warner, to investigate some ruins possibly linked to the Gate Builders. Jack already knew the mission would be a bust, but hadn’t wanted to spoil Daniel’s excitement.
‘Dr McKay,’ Hammond said, still gazing out of the window. ‘You may go ahead with plans to bring a DHD back to the mountain, but it mustn’t be from a planet where the gate is in use. Go through old mission reports and try to find one on a deserted planet.’
‘We…ahh…that might not be necessary, General,’ McKay said. ‘If you recall, when Colonel Maybourne was using the Beta Gate to steal off-world technology, they had a DHD. The Beta Gate is now here, but not the DHD. If we can find it, there’ll be no need to scavenge one from another planet, although I suggest if we find one that isn’t being used, we grab it as a spare.’
Both the general and Jack frowned at this information.
‘I’d forgotten about the NID using one,’ Jack said, wondering why no one had ever mentioned this before. ‘Has anyone searched for it at Area 51?’
‘I looked for it before we brought the Beta Gate to replace the original one after SG-1 beamed it out to use aboard an Asgard ship,’ Rodney admitted. ‘While the Gate itself was well guarded, there was no sign of the DHD.’
‘If I remember correctly,’ Jack said, slowly, ‘when the NID took the Beta Gate to Utah and we found them with the Touchstone from Medrona, the DHD was in the back of a truck. Daniel jumped into it to try to catch the gate address, or at least some of the symbols, but wasn’t fast enough. We initially brought the gate here, then had it moved back to Area 51 under 24hour guard, but I don’t remember what happened to the DHD.’
‘So it could still be somewhere at Area 51?’ asked Hammond, then turned back to McKay. ‘Have Area 51 searched thoroughly, but go ahead with making a list of available DHDs off-world as well.’
‘And bringing it back here?’ McKay asked, lifting his head to regard Hammond. ‘I think one of us’ – he motioned between himself and Kusanagi – ‘should be on the retrieval team.’
‘I agree, but you’ll need to qualify with a hand-gun at minimum before going off-world.’
‘That’s no problem. I’ve already passed the USMC basic Marksmanship course at Nevada.’
Jack swung around to gaze at him, narrowing his eyes. Could he do that last time? I wasn’t aware of it. In fact, I recall Lorne complaining about McKay on the first off-world mission he went on with AT:1. Why is it different now?
‘You’ll need to pass the course here in the Mountain, but it shouldn’t be a problem for you.’ Hammond gazed at Kusanagi. ‘What about you, Doctor?’
‘My father taught me to shoot at the same time as he taught my brothers,’ she answered. ‘I shouldn’t have any problems.’
‘Good. Let me or Colonel O’Neill know when you’ve passed your test and you’ve picked a list of planets. You’ll likely need more than one. Dismissed.’
Jack watched as the two scientists collected their equipment together and left the room, talking in an undertone to each other. ‘Sir?’
‘This is a mess, Jack. A fucking mess!’
General Hammond swore! A bad swear! I don’t ever recall him using the f-word before.
Hammond looked around the room and stepped closer to Jack. ‘I’m assuming this is entirely new to you?’ he asked quietly. ‘You said nothing about such a thing happening before.’
‘It’s all totally new, sir. And I have to say, totally unexpected, except…’
‘Except?’
Jack huffed. ‘There were always complaints coming out of Area 51. McKay once called them the red-haired-step-children, but at the time I assumed it was just sour-grapes. All the most important projects have always been kept here. Now, though…’
‘Now it looks as though there’s a great amount of truth to it.’ General Hammond rubbed his hands over his head and sighed. ‘I wanted to retire, you know. Just one last appointment to a project which was winding down, to see me into retirement.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I need a drink, so let’s take this to my office. I have a bottle of whisky that’s calling out to me.’
*****
Jack was deep in uncharted country. He’d always thought he’d had a good relationship with George Hammond, but he’d never known the man kept a bottle of single malt in a locked filing cabinet, along with two crystal glasses. For the first time in…almost twenty years? Twenty. Years? Fuck! he was having a drink with his CO in his office. He has two glasses. Who does he usually drink with?
‘What are we going to do about Major Carter, then, Jack? Can we trust her? Can we afford not to trust her?’
Sipping the heavily peated whisky, Jack allowed the liquid to pool on the back of his tongue, savouring the taste while he considered the problem before them. ‘Samantha Carter is a brilliant woman, there’s no doubt about that, but within the Stargate Programme, which is full of brilliant people, she’s not particularly remarkable.’
He held up his hand as Hammond opened his mouth to object. ‘No, sir. Hear me out, please. She’s come up with many, many last minute Hail Marys and has saved both SG-1 and the planet more times than I can count. But knowing what I now know about the future, she’s done nothing that a few other scientists have also done, particularly Rodney McKay in the future. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a mix of her knowledge and experience, and sheer good luck which has made her so successful, and that, given the same opportunities, other scientists could do exactly the same, and, indeed, do, do exactly the same.’
‘So it’s her circumstances which have made her appear so remarkable?’ Hammond asked, topping up his glass and holding the bottle up at Jack.
Jack nodded and held out his tumbler for a refill. ‘Yes, largely, I’d say. She…I…’
‘Spit it out, Jack.’
‘All of Carter’s promotions are – or will be – below the zone. In some cases significantly below.’ He glanced up to find the general watching him carefully.
‘Go on.’
‘I…I just never thought about how her promotions went through so easily.’ He took another sip of his whisky. ‘On paper, Carter wouldn’t be seen as an extraordinary candidate as she’s done no training since her PhD. In fact, Daniel asked me about this recently. I know it’s difficult to hold a proper board regarding SGC promotions, but given what I now know, has this business with McKay’s programme not being used here or at Area 51 played into that somehow? Has no one ever asked why it’s never been used here or at Area 51?’
‘I…’ Hammond rubbed his face again. ‘I’m lost for words. Do you think she’s been instrumental in keeping the programme out to hide her management – or mismanagement – of other scientists’ projects, as Dr Kusanagi suspects?
‘I think so.’ Jack sat forward and rested his glass on the desk. ‘When you think SG-1 were going on two or three missions a week in 1998/99, it doesn’t give a lot of time for her to spend on pure science, not with her other military duties, and the lecturing she does at the Academy. I can’t understand how I never realised she couldn’t possibly be capable of regular off-world missions and a full scientific programme.’
‘Don’t blame yourself, Jack. I didn’t see it either.’ Hammond steepled his fingers. ‘The question is, what to do, now we know?’
‘Hell if I know,’ Jack muttered, wondering how his life had got so complicated. I didn’t ask to be sent back in time, although given a choice between the Wraith and time travel, I may have, but…’We can’t afford not to trust her, but how can we trust her knowing all this?’ He waved a hand in the air. ‘She’s far too valuable to the programme to get rid of her, and she knows far too much.’ Resting his elbows on his thighs, he rubbed his temples.
‘I’m assuming that a possible relationship between the two of you is now off the cards?’ Hammond viewed him with his brow furrowed.
Jack glanced up at his CO. ‘I…Huh.’ I hadn’t joined them dots. ‘I guess it is, sir, although…Sir, you’ve had some experience of time travel. I’d ruled out being sent to an evil-mirror-universe, but now…’
‘Jack?’
‘There are certain…anomalies.’
‘For instance?’
‘For instance, in the other timeline I’m certain McKay didn’t know how to fire a weapon. There was a specific mission report which mentioned his ineptitude with a handgun, and I’m also pretty certain he wasn’t CSO of Area 51.’
‘Then who was?’
Jack shifted in his seat. ‘That’s the problem. I can’t remember. I’m not sure I ever did know.’
‘So it’s possible that he was, and you were simply unaware. I did some research myself on Dr McKay when you first mentioned bringing him here, and he’s an honest-to-goodness genius with an IQ of over 200. In comparison, Major Carter’s IQ was tested at the Air Force Academy at a level of 168, which is still significantly above the norm, but isn’t even close to McKay’s. An IQ such as his coupled with his technical knowledge and experience makes him an obvious choice as CSO of any facility in which he worked.’
Jack frowned at that, but Hammond gave him a wry smile.
‘His encryption programme really was revolutionary, Jack, and was the first of its kind, although I believe IBM had something similar. Theirs, however, was tethered to their own brand and not generally available, whereas Dr McKay’s was. It never crossed my mind to ask why we didn’t use it here, and I’m now kicking myself that I didn’t. I suspect if we asked that question, we’d find someone in DC who kept it from being installed both here and at Area 51, as Dr Kusanagi suspects.’ Hammond paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and Jack watched him warily, wondering what else was going to come and kick him in the nuts. ‘I have to wonder, now, if Major Carter was involved in the decision not to install it here,’ Hammond finished.
‘If I hadn’t gone to Area 51 with Danny, we may never have known about any of this.’ Jack gave a wry laugh, then scrubbed his face with his hands. ‘I’m not sure if I’m pissed or relieved we do now know. Either way, we have to deal with what’s in front of us.’ He drained his glass of the remaining whisky and shook his head as Hammond held up the bottle with a raised eyebrow. ‘No, sir. I need a clear head to work out what to do now. It’s…There’s…We can’t risk Carter becoming disaffected and agreeing to work with the NID or the Trust.’
‘The Trust?’
‘Ah, crap! I didn’t mean to mention them yet.’ Jack sighed, giving himself a mental head slap. Too much info too early might be a problem. I can’t risk them going underground. He took a deep breath. ‘By the end of the year we’ll learn the NID is relatively clean, but a new player will emerge having swept up various former-NID folk. I don’t want to give too much information, but the new group will have ties to big business and are after purely financial or personal gain. Adrian Conrad, the guy who had Carter kidnapped last year, is a part of it, as is Kinsey – or he will be shortly. We can’t risk Carter throwing in her lot with them, because while she’s maybe not as smart as McKay, she is brilliant, and her ideas have and will save this planet numerous times.
‘I’d already considered moving her to a new gate team so she wouldn’t be under my direct command – and yes, I’m aware she’d still be under my command within the SGC. Danny pointed that out to me. But I also wanted to give some other scientists an opportunity to go off-world, particularly McKay, and I’d rather have him on SG-1 in place of Carter.’
‘And you think a new team will be sufficient to keep her here and away from any…outside temptation?’ Hammond raised his eyebrows. ‘I doubt it very much, but you go ahead if you wish. Where did you want to put her? And you also mentioned bringing in someone else who’ll be important to the programme in the future. What about him? Will you also want him on SG-1?’
‘I thought about Carter leading a scientific team, for a while at least,’ Jack explained. ‘And I want to bring in a Captain John Sheppard, a pilot in the big Air Force. I think he’s in Iraq at this point. He’s special ops.’
‘Why him in particular?’
Jack hesitated. ‘It’s way more than this, but he has a rare gene which will become important to the programme, vital even, and he’s also going to disobey his CO’s orders in the next year or so to rescue some of his men. It was a stupid order, and Sheppard should never have been punished for it. He’s a brilliant pilot, probably the best I’ve ever come across, but his career never recovered from the black mark he got, even though he did the right thing.’
‘Sounds a lot like you, Jack. I’m guessing his CO isn’t as long-suffering as me.’ Hammond regarded him, a tolerant smile playing on his face.
Jack jerked back. ‘I…Huh. I hadn’t recognised the similarities between us, but it’s obvious now you’ve pointed it out. It makes getting him to the SGC even more urgent.’
‘He’s that important?’
‘He’s critical to the protection of this planet, and if we can send…If we give him experience of the programme, he’ll be an obvious candidate for future…stuff.’ Saying what I want to say without saying anything is hard!
‘Okay, then.’ Hammond nodded. ‘See about moving Carter to SG-6, and sort out getting a DHD with Doctors McKay and Kusanagi. Do you want me to look for Captain…Shepard? How do you spell that? I don’t want to get the wrong one.’
‘It’s two Ps, and I’ll look for him, if you don’t mind. Someone may notice if a two-star looks for a captain with no ties to the programme.’
‘Then you have a go at looking for Captain Sheppard. With two Ps.’
The damn man is twinkling at me!
*****
Chapter 6
Chapter Text
The search for John Sheppard took longer than Jack had expected. Despite a desire not to draw attention to him, Jack could confirm Sheppard wasn’t serving in either Iraq or Afghanistan – or at least not overtly.
‘I don’t want to go through official channels, at least not yet,’ Jack explained to Daniel over lunch in a quiet corner of the officer’s mess in Cheyenne Mountain one day in early March.
‘Why not?’ Daniel took a mouthful of steak pie and hummed as he savoured the taste. ‘Why don’t we eat in here more often? The food’s much better than in the normal mess.’
Jack gave him an indulgent look. ‘It comes from the same kitchen, Danny. It’s just restaurant style here rather than cafeteria.’ He shook his head as Daniel gave him one of his ‘does not compute’ frowns. ‘Served at the table rather than having to wait in line?’
‘Oh. I never knew that. I just go where you or Sam go. I guess I rarely ate in a restaurant growing up or at college, and now…’ He shrugged.
It took all of Jack’s control not to react to Daniel’s innocent admission: his maternal grandfather’s lack of care, and, indeed, lack of interest in an eight-year-old Daniel after the death of his parents was unconscionable in Jack’s eyes. For Jack, children were precious, and he’d have done anything to get his own son back. Why couldn’t I have gone back far enough to save Charlie? Or even to save Danny from foster care and save Charlie? It wasn’t the first, and wouldn’t be the last time he had such thoughts, but, just as before, he pushed them down and answered Daniel’s initial question.
‘Because I don’t want any higher-ups wondering about our interest in Sheppard, and especially not the NID. If they got to him first, he could easily become a part of their operation without realising they’re on the wrong side.’
‘But surely, once he realised what they were up to – stealing alien technology for their own gain – he’d refuse to have anything to do with them?’
This was such a typical Daniel-Jackson-wide-eyed-naivety that Jack couldn’t help laughing. ‘That’s not how they’d justify it to him, Danny. What do Maybourne, Frank Simmonds, and Robert Makepeace have in common?’
‘Huh?’
‘Come on. What do Maybourne, Simmonds, and Makepeace all have in common?’
‘Umm. They all…work for the NID?’
‘That, and they’re all members of the Air Force senior to Captain Sheppard. They’re his superior officers, and if they order him to do something, he has to do it, or risk a court martial.’
‘But I thought the point was that Sheppard disobeyed orders?’
‘Stupid orders that risked some folks’ lives, yes. But if he was instructed to seize a piece of equipment which they said would protect lives on Earth, or help with the defence of this country? If he didn’t know they were running a clandestine operation, he’d just see the usual chain of command and do as he was told. Hell, much of what the NID does is legitimate: you only have to look at Agent Barrett to see that. How could Sheppard recognise the rogue element within the NID without knowing what to look for?’
‘Okay, so no tipping off the powers that be. How will you find him if he’s not where you expected him to be?’
‘I’m not sure yet, but the more I think about it, the more I think I must have switched dimensions when I came back, or was sent back in time.’
‘Based on…?’
Jack stared at him. ‘I don’t know what you mean?’
‘What’s so different this time than before, aside from Sam being more…manipulative.’
Sitting back in his chair, Jack sipped his coffee and thought again about the irregularities between past – future? – and present. ‘There’s Carter and the crap she’s pulling, and…McKay is different, I’m pretty sure. Carter originally described him as ‘petty, arrogant, and bad with people’.’
‘Really?’ Daniel screwed up his face. ‘I wouldn’t have said that at all. He’s certainly abrupt at times, and from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but petty and arrogant? No.’ Daniel shook his head. ‘And he appears to get on really well with Zelenka and Miko, so bad with people is out as well. Miko says she owes him everything.’
Jack frowned at him. ‘What?’
‘I told you McKay arranged for her to go to college, didn’t I?’
‘Well, yes, but why would she owe him for that? It’s not as though he’d miss the money. He’s loaded, and was before he even came to the SGC.’
‘Maybe, but she only got into such a good school because he recommended her, and he paid for all her degrees, not just her undergrad.’
‘And why is that relevant to me thinking I’m in a different dimension?’
‘It’s not, not really. I’m just trying to explain some of the differences which make you think you are.’
Jack leaned back and gazed at the concrete ceiling. For a former pilot, he’d adapted to living underground pretty well. Sheppard hated serving here in the future because he missed the sky. Why don’t I feel the same?
‘Are the only differences you’ve seen so far been about people?’ Daniel asked at length, proving – not for the first time – he could almost read Jack’s mind.
‘I…guess so. Why?’
‘Because they could be explained by a change in circumstances.’ At Jack’s puzzled look, he continued. ‘You admitted you’d never come across McKay at Area 51 before, and your knowledge about him came from Sam alone, as you weren’t on base when he came here originally. And if you hadn’t gone to see McKay in Nevada this time, you might not have decided to bring him here, and we’d still be stuck with Folger and Lee, and…the other one.’
‘Coombes,’ Jack supplied absently, considering what Daniel was saying. Huh. Deciding to get rid of Carter’s sycophants set this whole train rolling. Neither Danny nor I were here when Teal’c got stuck in the gate. All our info about McKay was second hand. Second-hand from Carter. He squeezed his eyes closed. If I hadn’t tried to make things right for him, I might have been able to have my relationship with Carter. Except…it would just have hidden the truth, which was probably always there. Jesus fucking Christ! I fucking hate being manipulated!
Daniel tilted his head. ‘Jack. Surely it’s better you knew what Sam’s done before you got into a relationship with her. And…Well.’ Daniel looked downwards and sighed. ‘None of her previous relationships worked out, as far as I’m aware. Maybe it’s bad luck, maybe it’s…something else?’
‘Bad luck?’ Jack frowned. ‘In what way?’
‘She was engaged to Jonas Hanson at one time. Then there were Martouf, and Orlin, and Narim from Tollan. They all died .’
‘But Carter didn’t kill them. Are you suggesting…What are you suggesting?’
‘That the men she’s been involved with all come to a sticky end.
‘So the odd reference I’ve heard around about Black Widows was aimed at Carter?’
‘Yes? No? I don’t know! I’d just rather you not die, Jack, not now I’ve got you trained!’
Jack regarded him for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Anyhoo. John Sheppard?’
‘What about him?’
‘How can I find him, Daniel? Any ideas?’
Tapping his lip with his finger, Daniel frowned. ‘What about his family? Do you know anything about them? Can they help? Or will that make more—’
‘His family! Of course! Daniel Jackson, you are a genius.
*****
Patrick Sheppard had passed away in the previous timeline before Jack had even heard of him. A billionaire Utilities Mogul wasn’t the sort of father Jack had supposed John Sheppard to have had, although he’d find it difficult to articulate just what sort of father he thought Sheppard might have. He was also pretty certain the IOA had never joined the dots to recognise which family of Sheppards John belonged to, as they’d have certainly tried to use it to their benefit in some way. Bastards!
He’d been vaguely aware of a rift in the relationship between John and his father, and although he’d heard mention from Sam Carter of it being long-standing, he didn’t know what had caused it, other than the owner of a massive company might expect his son to join the family business rather than serve Uncle Sam. Whatever the reason for their animosity, he would have to tread very carefully in his interactions with Sheppard Senior.
Since an Air Force Colonel contacting Patrick Sheppard asking where his son was would raise some awkward questions, Jack asked Daniel to contact Patrick, posing as an old college friend of John.
‘And you’re sure he won’t find that odd?’ Daniel asked him over supper one night at Jack’s house.
‘I suppose he might, but it’s better than me asking where Sheppard is. He’d want to know why I couldn’t just pull his file.’
‘And you can’t just pull his file because…?’
‘F’crying out loud, we talked about this, Danny.’
‘I was not a part of that conversation, O’Neill,’ Teal’c commented, then raised a single eyebrow when Jack huffed at him.
‘I don’t want Sheppard brought to the attention of anyone who might be watching.’
‘D’you mean junior or senior?’ Daniel asked innocently, and Jack caught sight of a smirk on his face, and promptly threw a cushion at him.
Putting his arms up to defend himself, Daniel lost hold of the can of soda in his hands, which promptly spilled all over the coffee table. Once order was restored and clean-up completed, Daniel took the new cell phone Jack offered him, and the piece of paper with Patrick Sheppard’s telephone number on it.
‘Will this connect to him personally?’
‘No, it’s for the main switchboard of Sheppard Industries,’ Jack informed him. ‘I doubted whether a college-chum of John’s would have access to a direct number, and in any case, I couldn’t find one.’
‘So I might well just get routed between secretaries and never speak to Senior at all?’ Daniel gave his friend a flat look. ‘How is that going to help?’
‘Just…just call the number tomorrow morning, Daniel,’ Jack sighed. ‘We’ll deal with that if or when it happens. Work the problem right in front of you.’
‘As far as I can tell, there are several problems right in front of us at present. And why can’t I call now?’
‘Because it’s almost 19:00 here, so 21:00 there?
‘It’s unlikely the CO of a corporation keeps office hours, and it may be better to call at this time as there probably aren’t as many folk around. I may reach him more easily.’
Jack shrugged. ‘Up to you.’
Daniel regarded him for a moment. ‘I’ll go and do it in my room. More privacy, and you won’t interrupt me!’
Jack looked over to Teal’c who, again, raised an eyebrow. The Jaffa eyebrow of doom, Jack thought, irreverently. ‘Any thoughts, T-man?’
‘I have not, O’Neill.’
Daniel returned to the sitting room twenty minutes later to find his two friends waiting expectantly.
‘So, get his entire life-history?’ Jack asked him, making Daniel frown and look at his watch.
‘Huh. I didn’t realise we’d been talking quite that long.’
Jack stared at him for a long moment. ‘And? So? Therefore?’
Daniel gave him a puzzled look.
‘The phone call, Dr Jackson. Did you get hold of Patrick Sheppard? Do you know where John is?’
‘Oh, yes. He’s at…ummm…ACC? No, ASS. No, no—’
‘Danny! You had one job! Did you actually speak to Patrick Sheppard?’
‘Yes!’ Daniel scowled at him. ‘We had a very interesting conversation.’
‘About?’
‘Oh, about all sorts of things, and—’
‘Daniel Jackson. I believe O’Neill will pull out his hair unless you answer his questions with all haste,’ Teal’c told him.
Daniel looked at him suspiciously. ‘Did you just make a joke? Only, it’s always difficult to tell with you, Teal’c and—’
‘DANIEL!’ Jack bellowed, now on his feet. ‘Focus!’ He took a deep breath to steady himself and sat back down carefully. ‘Dr Jackson. Will you please tell me the whereabouts of Captain John Sheppard?’
‘I already told you. He’s doing a course at AS…or AC something.’
Jack frowned at him. ‘ACSC?’
Daniel pointed a finger at him. ‘That’s the one. In Alabama, right?’
‘The Air Command and Staff College? Danny, are you sure you got that right? Only, as far as I know, Captain Sheppard never went to ACSC. Never did any further education after college.’
‘Well, he’s there now, or at least Major Sheppard is, until the end of May, his father told me, and…’
‘And?’ Jack prompted as Daniel considered how to explain the sense of something important not actually verbalised by Sheppard Senior, but evident all the same.
‘Mr Sheppard seemed…to be waiting for me to say something else, and it was as though he was…disappointed when we ended our conversation. I got the feeling I was…missing something?’
‘Missing something? Missing what?’
‘If I knew that I wouldn’t be saying I thought I missed something!’ Daniel retorted, flinging out a hand and narrowly missing Teal’c, who never moved a muscle. ‘You said Senior and Junior had a poor relationship in the past, but—’
‘I said they had no relationship whatsoever,’ Jack corrected him. ‘ Sam told me they hadn’t spoken in years, and John hadn’t spoken with his brother either until his father’s funeral in 2008.’
‘Well, Patrick Sheppard certainly has a good relationship with his son now,’ Daniel said flatly. ‘In fact, he’s invited me to pay a visit to Virginia at the end of the month as John will be home for spring break.
*****
With McKay and Kusanagi busy with finding a DHD, Jack turned his mind to one of his other problems: the Replicators.
The battle between the Asgard and the Replicators had, ultimately, led to the extinction of the Asgard – in the Milky Way at least – and was something Jack wanted desperately to prevent. As Teal’c had suggested at the time, the Replicator girl, Reese, might be the key to helping the Asgard in their fight against the Replicators in their home galaxy. In any case, Jack had several warnings to give to Thor, not least that trying to trap the Replicators within a time-dilation field would only allow them to speed it up, giving them a longer period in which to evolve and possibly create an army of humanoid Replicators.
Bearing in mind the failure of SG-2 to contact the Asgard after SG-1 had returned from their mission to P3S-517 with Reese in the past, Jack advised General Hammond to try to contact the Asgard as soon as possible. The Asgard communicator which Thor had given to Jack in 1999 could only be used off-world – Thor hadn’t wanted to give the Taur’i too easy a means of contacting with them – unless there happened to be an Asgard ship in orbit. Thus, while SG-9 were now sent to use the communication stone on a planet towards the outer edge of the Milky Way, SG-17 went to Cimmeria to use the Hall of Wisdom Thor had created on Cimmeria to allow the Cimmerians a means of communicating directly with their Asgard protectors. It would also double as an orientation mission for SG-17’s recruit, 2nd Lt Kevin Elliot, who died on Revanna this time around, something which gave Jack immense relief. We don’t leave our people behind.
‘What exactly are you aiming to achieve regarding the Asgard?’ General Hammond asked Jack during one of their bi-weekly briefings.
‘I’m hoping they might find a way to destroy – or at least incapacitate – their Replicators if they can study Reese without reactivating her. We were pretty certain she was ground zero for all the Replicators in the Milky Way and Ida galaxies.’
”What happened last time?’ Daniel asked. ‘Since you told us the Asgard essentially committed mass suicide, I take it they never got to study her.’
Jack grimaced. ‘I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me that, Danny. I’m afraid I didn’t cover myself in glory over the kid—android.’
‘So what happened?’
‘Long story short, the base was overrun by replicator blocks she created and we’d set the auto-destruct. You were trying to reason with her, Danny, to get her to shut them all down and return to sleep mode when Carter and I finally managed to break through the gate room door and I shot her.’
‘It sounds as though you were only acting on orders, Jack,’ Hammond told him. ‘If the auto-destruct was set, we had a finite amount of time to either eliminate the threat, or destroy the entire base with us in it.’
Jack felt an immense wave of relief wash over him: he hadn’t realised just how much he’d blamed himself from killing the girl. Machine, robot, whatever.
‘I’m more concerned that I apparently gave permission for the android to be brought back to base,’ Hammond continued. ‘Why did I allow it?’
Jack hesitated. He’d been against bringing it back in the first place, but Carter’s desire to further her knowledge of nanotechnology, as well as Daniel’s to investigate the end of a civilisation had persuaded him, and, in his turn, he had persuaded the general to grant permission. ‘I…I persuaded you, sir,’ he admitted somewhat shamefacedly. ‘Carter said it would be okay and…’
‘And I probably didn’t help, did I?’ Daniel asked, a wry smile on his face. ‘Did I argue about her rights and want to gain her trust?’ At Jack’s nod of acknowledgment, he gave a bark of laughter which had nothing to do with amusement. ‘Sounds about right.’
‘It wouldn’t have been a problem if we hadn’t activated it,’ Jack pointed out. ‘I was against doing that, but…’
‘But Sam can be very persuasive when dealing with technology, can’t she?’ Daniel added.
Sighing heavily, Jack nodded his head. ‘In hindsight, she’s always been that way,’ he agreed reluctantly. ‘Remember when SG-10 got stuck on the planet with the black hole?’
‘I missed that,’ Daniel reminded him. ‘I was stuck off-world with SG-6.’
‘Right. I’d forgotten—’ General Hammond cleared his throat, bringing Jack’s attention back to the point. ‘Well, Carter was more concerned with studying the black hole than the effect it was having on the members of SG-10,’ Jack continued. ‘Activating the android fell into the same class. Her desire for knowledge outweighed the risk of turning the damn thing on.’
‘It doesn’t sound as though any of us covered ourselves with glory,’ Hammond commented, ‘although I am concerned with Major Carter’s desire to study the thing. As she frequently tells us, she’s an astrophysicist, yet she appears to have an insatiable desire to study everything with which we come into contact.’
‘But, as Jack just said, she’s always been like that,’ Daniel pointed out.
‘Agreed, but given the new context in which to view her actions, I have to question many of the decisions she’s taken.’ Hammond tapped his pencil absently on his briefing notes. ‘Having one of the engineers examine the android would make more sense, but she apparently kept the technology to herself.’
‘She allowed Janet Fraiser to examine it,’ Jack felt obliged to say.
‘Yet Dr Fraiser is not a researcher. I’m afraid this is more evidence to support Dr McKay’s allegation regarding Major Carter’s…reluctance to pass on research to the proper parties.’
‘But you can’t act upon this knowledge, can you, sir?’ Daniel asked. ‘It hasn’t actually happened here, and now probably won’t.’
‘No, I can’t act in this instance, Dr Jackson, but a familiar pattern is emerging, and I intend to keep a close eye on it.’ General Hammond turned his attention back to Jack. ‘Anything further to add?’
‘Just that if we manage to make contact with the Asgard, we be frank about where my knowledge has come from.’
‘You want to tell them you’ve travelled in time?’
Jack nodded. ‘I do, sir. It’s the only way to convince Thor I’m telling the truth, and for him to then act on my knowledge. Nor can we afford for him to ignore the risk Anubis will pose for him personally, and, subsequently, for the rest of the galaxy. I’d also like to ask him to retrieve a couple of spare Stargates for us.’
‘Stargates, not just DHDs?’ Hammond raised an eyebrow.
‘Yes, sir. Unless we can prevent him, Anubis is going to use a weapon called a Stargate Destroyer against us, which, huh, will destroy our gate.’
‘Go on.’
‘It’s an Ancient device built to destroy a Stargate from another Stargate by transmitting large amounts of energy, causing the other gate to overload and explode. Anubis used it on us and I’d rather not go that route again.’
‘Why would the Ancients build a thing like that?’ Daniel asked, doodling absently on his notepad.
‘I’m guessing the answer you’re looking for isn’t because they’re arrogant fucks?’
‘Jack!’
‘It’s true though, isn’t it?’ Jack demanded. ‘Wait until you see what those bastards left in the Pegasus galaxy, then you won’t argue with me!’
‘Colonel! Dr Jackson!’
Ooops. Back to ‘Colonel’ again!
Hammond glanced at his watch and shifted in his chair. ‘I have my grandchildren coming to stay this weekend, so I’d like to wrap this up now, please, gentlemen. Colonel, you’ll be in command over the weekend. If we get a response from the Asgard, you have a go to both brief Thor and to request he retrieve a couple of Stargates for us. I’m assuming you want to store them on Level 29 as we did the second Stargate when we kept it here?’
‘It’s the only place with easy enough access, sir, and probably the safest. I’d also prefer we keep it as quiet as possible – although I am aware of how quickly news travels here.’
‘Mmm. Probably a forlorn hope there, Jack. Still, we can hope. Is that all?’
‘All that’s relevant for the moment, sir.’
‘Good. Now disappear, the pair of you, and unless the planet’s at risk, don’t disturb me this weekend. I haven’t been able to spend much time with Kayla and Tessa recently. I’m hoping to make up for lost time. Dismissed.’
Jack scowled at his CO. ‘You realise you’ve probably jinxed us, don’t you, sir?’
Hammond pointed at his face. ‘This is me not caring. It’s all your problem now, Jack, although I’m sure if you talk nicely to Dr Jackson, he’ll keep you company. Now, go!’
*****
Daniel trailed behind Jack as his friend made his way to his small office on Level 24.
‘Remind me again why you moved your office to this level,’ Daniel asked as they entered the cramped room. Your other office was much larger.’
Pointing his finger at his friend, Jack nodded. ‘And that’s exactly why I moved. And why I don’t have a chair for visitors. It only encourages lingering and unimportant chit-chat. This way, if someone comes here, I know it’s important, see?’
‘Well, yeah, but isn’t it a bit anti-social?’
‘I’m a colonel in the Air Force, in a top, top secret programme. I don’t give a damn if I’m anti-social.’ Jack seated himself in his desk chair and raised his eyebrows. ‘Was there something specific you wanted, Danny?’
‘I wanted to talk about Sam.’
‘Really?’ Jack pulled a face. ‘Haven’t we just done enough of that?’
Daniel rounded the desk and perched himself on the corner, facing Jack. ‘I’m worried about her, and about her career in particular, and…Well. Just hear me out. You heard what General Hammond said; he’s going to keep a close eye on her.’
‘And? So? Therefore?’
‘It’s just…If you hadn’t come back in time and started digging around, and if you hadn’t brought in McKay and the others from Area 51, she wouldn’t be in trouble. Is it fair that she—’
‘Whoa there, Daniel.’ Jack pushed himself away from his desk and linked his hands behind his head. ‘Carter’s problems are of her own making. Granted, I wasn’t aware of it in the past, but she still did it, and—’
‘That’s my point!’ Daniel stood up and moved around the room, restless in both body and mind. ‘Did she really do the same things? You said yourself you suspect you’ve come to an alternate universe—’
‘Different dimension, not different universe.’
‘Same difference! What—’
‘They’re not the same at all.’ Jack spoke over him, making Daniel stop and look at his friend carefully. ‘And whether or not she did the same things last time, she’s guilty now and, honestly, is lucky she’s not in more serious trouble.’
Daniel frowned at Jack. ‘Why isn’t she in more serious trouble? You said yourself that if it was Captain Meyers who’d hacked your computer, you’d court-martial him. If what she’s done is so bad, why isn’t she in trouble about it?’
Jack sighed and ran his hands through his hair. ‘This is strictly confidential, right? In fact, all of what we’ve spoken about today is strictly confidential.’ He waited until Daniel nodded. ‘Under normal circumstances she’d be facing an Article 15 at the very least, and—’
‘What’s an Article 15?’
‘It’s the same thing as Non-Judicial Punishment.’
‘I don’t know what that is either.’
‘It’s an inquiry held by a senior officer, General Hammond, in this case, which has the right to impose a fairly minor punishment on a service member.’
‘That doesn’t sound too bad.’
‘It’s not as bad as a court martial, for example, but it’s recorded in your service record and can affect future promotions, et cetera. It’s what John Sheppard had in his record in the future, and what we’re trying to avoid this time. The trouble is…’ He paused for a moment, and after a few seconds, Daniel prompted him.
‘The trouble is…what?’
Jack sighed. ‘The trouble is, someone so disaffected by the SGC is at risk of recruitment by the NID – or any other bad guys for that matter – who have too great an interest in our programme already. The last thing we want is for Carter to resign and fall into the clutches of someone who’ll work against us.’
‘Would she really do that?’ Daniel asked, his head tilted to one side.
‘It’s a possibility we want to avoid at all costs. If the worst comes to the worst, we’ll have to send her to an off-world site and keep her there.’
‘So it would affect her career.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘Danny, all sorts of things could happen which could affect the career of any of us. I may have made general in the other timeline, but that’s no guarantee I will this time.’
Daniel considered this, gazing unseeingly at the wall opposite and running the information he had through his head. At length, he focussed on his friend. ‘You didn’t want this at all, did you, Jack?’
Jack leaned back in his chair. ‘I certainly didn’t ask for it, if that’s what you mean. And I’m still trying to work out exactly why I got a second chance, when you, for example, didn’t.’
‘Because you’re better placed to make the necessary changes. I couldn’t have persuaded you to bring McKay and his buddies here, and I certainly couldn’t have persuaded General Hammond to do it.’ He glanced around the room again. ‘You do need to get at least one other chair in here, Jack. We can’t hold a conversation like this!’
‘Which is why, as I said, I don’t have another chair.’ Daniel scowled at him, making him laugh and hold out his hands. ‘Okay, okay. I’ll look for another chair, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be a comfortable one. Now, let’s continue this conversation later in the officer’s mess. Quietly.’
‘Why not at your house?’
‘Because I’m the duty commander and have to stay here this weekend, remember? Dinner at 18:00, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Now, buzz off as I do have actual work to do.’
Raising a hand as he left, Daniel headed for his own lab, then paused for a moment, and changed direction. I think I need to talk to Rodney McKay, but I need more information first.
*****
According to Jack, Daniel, and Rodney McKay developed a mutual respect for each other if not precisely friendship – albeit somewhat grudgingly on McKay’s side – so Daniel decided he needed to make the first moves towards a better relationship between them, especially since he’d already begun to get to know Zelenka and Miko Kusanagi better. ‘Know your enemy’ – or ally, in this case – was a sensible maxim and since research was one of his super-powers – also according to Jack – Daniel decided to research the hell out of the scientist known as Rodney McKay. Which turned out not to be the man’s name, or at least not his whole name.
‘Meredith McKay,’ Daniel muttered to himself as he read the relevant personnel file – Sam wasn’t the only one who could hack a computer, although that was something Daniel kept very much to himself. It’s no wonder the man has a whole mountain of rock on his shoulder if he went through school with the name Meredith. Who on earth does that to their son? Discovering Meredith left home for college at 12 – where he immediately dropped his first name – made a lot of sense to Daniel, although he wondered A. Why his parents were willing to let him go alone at such a young age, and B. Why he was willing to leave his family? – It certainly suggests the lack of an emotional link between both parent and son and would certainly explain a lot.
Either way, as far as he could tell, Rodney McKay had little to no contact with his parents after he left for Northwestern University – where he was post grad by 14 – and now his parents were dead, he appeared to have little to no contact with his only sibling – a married sister with no children.
Because of his own dysfunctional childhood, Daniel had no problem identifying similar traits in someone else, and he also knew how much the friendships and the sense of belonging at the SGC had helped him settle and grow into his position there and he wanted to give Rodney the same opportunity and encouragement. He was also very aware he couldn’t simply march into Rodney’s lab and announce their friendship, so he began a subtle campaign of which he was really quite proud.
First of all, he made sure to nod and/or smile at McKay when he ran across him in the mess or in a corridor, making no attempt to force a conversation on him, just simply being courteous. Then, after a surreptitious visit to McKay’s lab late one night, his second move was to order two inexpensive coffee making machines, aware that the new and improved machines would soon be available commercially. He set one up in his own lab, then took the second machine down to Rodney’s lab on Level 19.
‘You’re a coffee drinker, aren’t you, Dr McKay?’ Daniel asked as he entered the work space, smiling inwardly at McKay’s instant alertness at the mention of coffee.
‘Of course I am. Don’t all scientists operate better on high levels of caffeine in their blood, although, as a soft—’
‘I’ve been sent two new coffee-makers instead of the one I ordered,’ Daniel interrupted before McKay could insult his chosen profession. ‘I didn’t know if you already had one, or if—’
‘No, I don’t and yes, I’ll take it.’ McKay made grabby-hands towards Daniel, only adding as an after-thought, ‘Thank you.’
‘I can recommend The Coffee Lab in town for buying fresh beans and ready ground coffee. I have a delivery from them at the start of each month and I’m sure they’d happily supply you as well, if you wanted…’
An hour and a half later, Daniel left Rodney’s lab wearing an expression on his face closely resembling the look of a cat whose mistress had unfortunately forgotten to close the door to the dairy. Somewhat to his surprise, given what he’d heard from Jack, Daniel found Rodney McKay to be an interesting and articulate man, and becoming his friend wasn’t going to be anywhere near the challenge he’d anticipated. They already had several mutual interests and while their professional fields were very different, they had sufficient overlap in terms of the Programme to make working together both possible and productive. Stage one of my mission accomplished!
*****
Since his return to 2001, Jack had been aware of the date Teal’c was originally trapped in the Stargate buffers, and as the date drew closer, he became more and more nervous. Daniel had posited that some events were fixed in time and couldn’t be altered, and Jack hoped he was either wrong, or this wasn’t one of those fixed points.
When the actual date arrived Jack was on tenterhooks all day, waiting for the shit to hit the Stargate, and when he spotted McKay and Kusanagi chatting with Teal’c over coffee in the mess that afternoon, he frowned, although he couldn’t say why exactly. After the two scientists returned to their labs, both clutching plates of cake, Jack slipped into the seat opposite Teal’c, which McKay had just vacated.
‘Everything okay, T-man?’
Teal’c simply inclined his head.
‘The geeks weren’t…bothering you?’
‘No.’
‘Whatcha talk about with them?’ Jack shifted uncomfortably under the Jaffa’s intense – and silent – gaze. ‘Teal’c?’ he prompted.
‘We discussed the merits of Star Wars technology over that of Star Trek, The Original Series.’
‘Riiight. Good. No problems. None at all.’ Feeling as though he’d been pummelled somewhat, Jack left the mess in favour of Daniel’s lab.
‘T was chatting in the mess with McKay and Kusanagi,’ he announced to Daniel the moment he walked through the doorway.
‘And that’s bad because…?’ Daniel carefully set down his pen before he twisted around and focussed on his friend.
‘It’s not bad per se, it’s just…unexpected. They certainly weren’t friends before.’ Jack gave his friend a significant look. ‘You know. Fifteenth March.’
Now Daniel removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. ‘The Ides of March. So? I don’t understand the signifi—’
‘It’s when Teal’c got—’ Jack made a complicated hand gesture which only confused Daniel even more.
‘I don’t–‘
‘Daniel! When McKay and Carter…You know!’
‘No, Jack, I really don’t. And are you talking about Rodney McKay and Sam, or Rodney and Miko? And what’s it got to do…Oh. Right.’ Daniel now nodded and Jack grinned happily. ‘I still don’t see the significance of Rodney, Miko, and Teal’c talking in the mess. What were they talking about?’
‘Star Trek and Star Wars apparently, and they were never friends before.’ Jack threw up his arms. Why can’t Danny see how important this is?
‘So they can’t be friendly now? And why can’t they talk about Star—’
Jack gripped his hair, then, after glancing around, moved to Daniel’s side. ‘Don’t you see?’ he said in a low voice, barely moving his lips. ‘It’s something else different from last time. I think I am in a different dimension.’
‘Or McKay and Miko are just fond of Star Trek and Star Wars and talked to Teal’c who’s also a fan of both and makes no secret of it, when they were all in the mess at the same time.’
‘Oh.’ Jack frowned. ‘I didn’t think about that. Still…’
Daniel shifted on his stool until he faced his friend and gripped his arms, giving him a slight shake. ‘Jack. What can you do about it if you are in another dimension?’
‘I…Well…I…’
‘Exactly. You can’t do anything. If you want to change the fate of this planet, or this galaxy, you need to stop obsessing over minutia and work the problem in front of you. You told me that just a few days ago. Now take your own advice.’
He released Jack’s arms and Jack took a step back. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Danny speak such sense. Huh. Shows he does listen to me sometimes. He gave his friend a wry grin. ‘Thank you, Dr Jackson. How much for that consultation?’
‘You couldn’t afford me even if you wanted to,’ Daniel retorted, turning back to his notes.
‘Whatcha doin’?’ Jack peered over his shoulder at the notebook he was writing in. ‘Still making your notes in Ancient?’
‘It’s a method of learning, as well as making the notes indecipherable to anyone else.’
‘Except me. “Warlord who” comedat. Devoured? Is this about the Wraith? You’ve found some reference to the Wraith?’
‘No. I’m making notes about Anubis.’
‘Anubis?’
‘Remember? Jacob Carter and Ren Au have asked me to go undercover to a summit of the System Lords in order to poison those present, and you said we’ll find out that Anubis is back in the game. I was seeing what I could find out about Anubis and if it might give us any clues about getting rid of him as it looks as though he’ll be our new ‘Big Bad’.’
‘General Hammond refused to allow you to go, didn’t he?’ Jack clarified. ‘There’s no point, so it’s an unnecessary risk. We can’t kill the other System Lords as it’ll just leave the way open for Anubis to take over the entire galaxy, and besides, Zippy found a Tok’ra spy who gave him the entire plan.’
‘Zippy?’
‘You know. Zip-something-or-other. Zippy.’
‘You mean Zipacna?’ Daniel gave him a questioning look.
‘Yeah, him.’
‘But if we might learn something—’
‘No, Danny. There’s too much risk for what amounts to a zero-sum game.’
‘But—’
‘No, Danny! We’re not going to this summit, or taking SG-17 to Revanna for orientation. I told you what will happen, and too many lives were lost for no gain whatsoever, for us or the Tok’ra.’
‘But—’
‘Ah!’
‘Jacob Carter!’ Daniel exclaimed, making Jack frown.
‘What about him?’
‘You said he’s the one who’s done the research for the mission to the space station. How are you going to tell him I’m not going without telling him why?’
‘I…huh.’ I hadn’t thought about Jacob, and I can’t tell him anything without risking Carter finding out. Classic Catch-22 situation right there!
‘What…if…’ Daniel began screwing up his eyes. ‘What if we ‘receive’,’ he made quotation marks with his fingers, ‘a report from Master Bra’tac saying he’s heard a Tok’ra spy has been captured by Zipacna and that Revanna has been compromised? He could also ‘tell’ us he’s heard rumours about Anubis too. Would that be enough to prevent me from having to go to the space station?’
‘Now that’s some smart thinking, Space Monkey. Well done!’
His praise elicited a grin on Daniel’s face, which quite took him aback. Hmm. I need to praise him a bit more often if that’s the result.
*****
Chapter 7
Chapter Text
The next stage in Jack’s plan saw him taking McKay on a mission with SG-1. He deliberately chose a time when Carter was spending a few days of leave away with Janet and Cassandra Frasier, not willing to deal with any nonsense she might cause. It might make me pussy-assed, but I don’t care, Jack told himself.
He chose to take McKay to Edora, the planet on which he’d been stranded after the gate was hit by an asteroid. It would be a straight-forward mission with no expected difficulties, although Jack was aware such thoughts were dangerous. Have I jinxed us before we even begin?
Following his rescue from Edora in May 2000, the SGC had formed a treaty with them giving the SGC Naquadah mining rights in exchange for medical and educational help, and which also designated Edora a ‘safe’ world. The dialling address was added to a private evacuation list restricted to himself and General Hammond. There’s no way I’m inflicting any fucking politicians on Edora!
Despite Jack’s concern McKay would refuse to go off-world and, moreover, list all the ways in which he was far too valuable to the planet to risk himself, McKay responded well to the suggestion he join SG-1 on a mission and was, in fact, positively eager for the opportunity.
‘Should we be looking for a pod?’ Jack murmured to Daniel as they each refilled their coffee cups before the briefing about the mission.
‘I told you he wasn’t anywhere near as bad as you made out,’ Daniel retorted. ‘I’m getting to know him pretty well and I enjoy his company. And have you ever heard him lay into one of his minions?’ When Jack shook his head, Daniel grinned at him. ‘You should. It’s hysterical – as long as you’re not on the receiving end, I guess.’
‘I’ll put it in my diary,’ Jack told him, retaking his seat at the table. ‘So, Dr McKay, think you’re up for a mission to Edora?’
‘That’s P5C-768, isn’t it?’ McKay asked, tapping into his laptop.
‘How did you know that?’ Hammond asked, raising an eyebrow, and causing McKay to glance up at him.
‘I read it in the mission report.’ McKay’s forehead furrowed. ‘Have I got the address wrong?’
‘Not at all,’ Hammond replied, glancing down at his notes. ‘I was just surprised you immediately knew the dialling address.’
‘I have an eidetic memory, remember?’ McKay pulled a face.
‘And that’s bad…how?’ asked Jack.
McKay turned towards him and sighed. ‘Imagine your worst experience, and then imagine never being able to forget the smallest detail about it.’
‘Yes, but it also means remembering all the good things that have happened in your life,’ Daniel argued, casting a quick glance at Jack. ‘As well as everything you’ve read. I wish I could do that.’
McKay shook his head. ‘You wouldn’t, not if it meant filling your head with junk you wish you could forget. I read Peter Kavanagh’s doctoral thesis when the Pentagon suggested we promote him to a more senior position.’ He shook his head. ‘Now I can never rid myself of 80,000 words worth of utter shite.’
Jack burst into laughter, then laughed even harder at McKay’s expression of disgust.
‘I mean it. Not only was most of it plagiarised, it was clear he didn’t even understand what he’d stolen! FYI, I’ve fired him, had him black-listed with all government agencies and the Department of Education, and reported him to West Virginia University, who issued his degree.’
At least I don’t have to worry about that pain in the ass! Jack told himself. How the hell did he get picked for Atlantis last time? Even as he asked himself that question, he realised the answer. Weir appointed him, and at one point even wanted him for CSO of the Atlantis mission. He was now grateful for the IOA’s insistence that a non-American be appointed, since the two other senior leadership roles were held by US nationals. But not grateful enough to allow its formation.
For now, however, he concentrated on preparing McKay for the up-coming mission, which included him satisfying Jack regarding his ability to shoot straight. Jack had planned a future series of workshops to prepare any of the scientists interested in going off-world, but for the moment he took McKay to the gun-range to check his accuracy for himself.
McKay passed with flying colours with both a P90 and a Beretta M9 sidearm and, indeed, looked to have been using them all his life. I guess I was wrong, Jack told himself as completed the paperwork authorising McKay to keep an M9 in his quarters – in a locked box – and to sign out a P90 for off-world missions.
‘Do you know how to look after a gun?’ the Sergeant in charge of the Armoury asked McKay, who initially scowled at him, then hastily adjusted his features.
‘Yes, thank you. I have a cleaning kit which was issued to me in Nevada. Do I need to purchase a new one when it runs out, or will—’
‘Just bring the old one back here and we’ll replace it for you,’ Sergeant Adams told McKay. ‘It’s nice to come across a civilian who knows how to care for his weapon.’
‘Who taught you to shoot?’ Jack asked casually as they made their way to the elevator on Level 28.
McKay gave him a sharp look. ‘I…I did some shooting in the past, and when you transferred me here, I decided I should take the Marksmanship test. One of the Marines at Area 51, Sergeant Markham, helped me brush up, then he ran me through the test.’
Jack gave him a curious glance as he called for the elevator, and opened his mouth to ask another question, but at that moment, Walter Harriman appeared around the corner.
‘Sir? General Hammond is looking for you. He’s in his office.’ Harriman nodded at him, then disappeared back towards the operations room.
Jack sighed. Now what’s happened? He touched two fingers to his forehead and nodded to McKay. ‘See you in the embarkation room tomorrow at 08:00, McKay. Make sure you get your pack checked by the duty sergeant in the ready room.’ McKay nodded and Jack left him waiting for the elevator as he made his way to the General’s office.
*****
‘Ah, Jack, I’m glad Walter found you,’ Hammond said as Jack entered his office.
‘Problems, sir?’ Jack ensconced himself in the visitor’s chair. Wish I’d thought to collect a coffee on the way.
At that moment, the door opened to admit Walter Harriman balancing a tray of coffee and cookies in one hand, and a pile of folders under his arm, and Jack jumped to his feet to help before the whole lot spilled onto the floor. The general nodded his thanks and flicked through the folders as Walter closed the door behind himself.
‘I’ve just had a rather worrying report from Major Davis,’ Hammond told Jack. ‘You remember I had him go to check on security at Area 51 after you mentioned the theft of the mimetic imaging devices in the other timeline?’
Jack nodded. The devices had been used to frame him for the – ultimately failed – assassination of Senator Kinsey, and without them, Jack couldn’t be certain they’d be able to neutralise the group of businessmen who controlled the rogue elements of the NID and who were known as the Committee. He had a back-up plan up his sleeve to deal with the prob—
‘Colonel! Are you listening to me?’
Crap. Back to Colonel again! ‘Yessir. Mimetic imaging devices.’
Hammond frowned at him, clearly not convinced Jack had been listening, and he adopted what he hoped was the correct facial expression to reassure his CO.
‘Well, the devices themselves are safe,’ Hammond continued, ‘and Major Davis confirmed they are the original devices and not replicas – although he was concerned at the amount of technology scattered around the laboratories which hadn’t been properly signed out. Since Dr McKay left Area 51, the scientists there have gone a little crazy with technology previously off-limits to them, and there have been several injuries because of that. Dr Edwards, the new CSO, doesn’t appear to have the same…authority and respect Dr McKay had, and the scientists are apparently trampling all over him. Davis has recommended the Pentagon either give Dr Edwards the visible support he needs to deal with them, or they appoint a new CSO with a more forceful character.’
‘What did Landry have to say to that?’ Jack asked curiously.
The corner of the general’s mouth quirked. ‘He wasn’t at all happy since Davis’ report reflects particularly badly on him. I understand the Chiefs of Staff will now pay meticulous attention to all reports coming out of Area 51, and Hank Landry has been recalled to DC for a chat with the Chiefs.’ Hammond pursed his lips, then sighed. ‘One particular report from Paul Davis – made to me alone – has me very concerned, though, and its implications are…’
‘Go on, sir,’ Jack prompted after the general paused. ‘It can’t be that bad, can it?’ He turned a concerned face to his CO.
Hammond took a deep breath. ‘Major Davis has uncovered a pattern of systemic bullying at Area 51, and while he can’t prove where it originated, he is concerned about its widespread nature.’
‘Systemic bullying?’ Jack repeated, sitting forward and frowning. ‘I…How? Who’s responsible?’ He couldn’t help thinking back to his first conversation with McKay in Landry’s office and Kusanagi’s evident contempt for Sam Carter, but rather than race ahead and assume the worst, he waited to hear what George Hammond had to say.
‘That’s always the million-dollar question in circumstances like these,’ Hammond said with a sigh. ‘Davis asked several of the scientists exactly who had been bullied and by whom, but no one was willing to go on the record with specific examples.’
‘If no one was willing to talk, how did he conclude the bullying actually happened?’
‘He overheard two scientists talking about the increased harassment since McKay left Area 51 to come here.’
‘Harassment.’
‘Harassment, bullying, intimidation. They’re all similar behaviours with very similar results, and I don’t want any of them in the Stargate Programme, or in any branch of the uniformed services!’ Hammond drew in a breath and exhaled slowly.
‘Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to imply they’re acceptable behaviours in any situation, but I can’t help remembering something Dr Kusanagi said when Danny and I visited Nevada.’ Jack screwed up his face. I don’t want to accuse Carter with no actual evidence. It might have nothing to do with her. ‘What else did Major Davis say?’
Hammond regarded him thoughtfully. ‘Jack? Do you know something about this?’
‘I…I might do, but I have no evidence, just a comment Dr Kusanagi made,’ he hedged.
The general watched him for a moment, then nodded. ‘Paul Davis listed several scientists he interviewed who exhibited signs of fear, including the two he overheard, but they all refused to speak about anything other than their work. He also interviewed several enlisted servicemen who spoke of the scientific staff in very negative terms, mostly their belief that Area 51 would be a fine place to work if it weren’t for all the civilians, and missing the point entirely.’
‘That’s pretty much what I remember about the facility from the other timeline,’ Jack admitted. ‘I’m afraid I lumped civilian complaints under resentment or jealousy. All the more prestigious projects are done here and not in Nevada, mostly because of security. Area 51’s more a tourist trap than a research base, and I never considered there might be something more serious behind the complaints. In hindsight, I certainly should have done.’
‘But we have the opportunity now to do something about it.’ General Hammond gazed at the wall behind Jack for a moment or two. ‘Can we get Dr Kusanagi up here, and maybe Dr Zelenka as well? We’ll also need Dr McKay. He was CSO of Area 51, so they’re his people. It would be unfair to exclude him, and if there’s going to be an official investigation, we need his input.’ He gave Jack a grim smile. ‘It’s likely to be a hot mess, you know.’
*****
It was a hot mess and had the potential to get even hotter. After speaking to the three scientists, General Hammond spoke to the SecAir and postponed the mission to Edora, and he, Jack, and McKay travelled to Nevada, where they were joined by Major Davis. They interviewed several civilians – including the scientific support staff – about specific instances of bullying and intimidation.
Much to his surprise, Jack discovered McKay was respected by both the support and scientific staff – something which didn’t quite gel with what he’d heard in the other timeline. One of the support staff, however, an aspiring astrophysicist gaining experience and earning the means to pay for her doctoral study, was quite candid about McKay.
‘He bullies and insults everyone who doesn’t meet his personal standards,’ Kay Spencer informed Jack and General Hammond, while McKay simply scowled at her. ‘He doesn’t prejudice against sex or age, or anything else. He’s equally scathing about anyone who doesn’t work to the best of their ability. I learned more in the few months I worked for him than in all the years of study I’ve done at MIT.’ She grinned at McKay as he narrowed his eyes. ‘It was my tutor at MIT who suggested I spend a year here getting experience before I tackled my PhD. He said Dr McKay was a bastard, but he was an equal opportunities bastard who was brilliant. As long as I was willing to listen to him, I’d learn more from him than I would from anyone else, including himself.’
‘I suppose you’re not a complete idiot, Spencer,’ McKay said grudgingly. ‘I might even arrange for you to come to Colorado if you finish your work on gravitational waves to my satisfaction.’
‘Awesome!’ Spencer declared, making McKay scowl even harder.
‘So you wouldn’t say you felt intimidated by Dr McKay?’ General Hammond asked her.
She squinted at him. ‘Has someone said he’s intimidated them? Because they’re lying if they have,’ she continued without allowing Hammond the chance to speak. ‘I’ve seen proper bullying and intimidation, both here and in Boston, and Dr Mckay just tries to push someone to do and be the best they can.’
‘What would you call ‘proper bullying’?’ Jack asked her, disquiet stirring in his gut.
Spencer thought for a moment. ‘There’s the sort the SF’s do, like barging into you in a corridor when there’s plenty of room for both of you, or when they ‘accidentally’ make you spill your coffee, or your dinner,’ she added, warming to her subject. ‘I’ve also heard some rumours about sexual harassment, but as far as I know, it’s nothing more than rumour.’ She gave McKay a sideways glance. ‘It was better when you and Dr Kusanagi were here, Dr McKay. We could always rely on both of you to deal with anyone who harassed us, and none of the SFs dared do it in front of you, not after you had that one guy sent to Alaska.’
Jack wasn’t sure what he wanted to know first. The name of the SF in question; details of the harassment McKay and Miko Kusanagi dealt with themselves; or more about Dr Kusanagi, who was so slight, she looked as though a breeze might blow her away. ‘Dr Kusanagi…’
‘She’s trained in both Kendo and Jikishinkage-ryū,’ McKay told him, then sighed as Jack gave him a puzzled look. ‘Japanese sword fighting. She’s the equivalent of a black belt in each. Believe me, no one who actually knows her would mess with Miko!’
Kay Spencer nodded. ‘She was teaching me some of the basics of Kendo when she was here. I know a few of the Air Force people have some martial arts training, but none of them are willing to hold classes like Dr Kusanagi did.’
‘Is that something you’d like to continue with?’ Jack asked her, the germ of a plan forming in his mind. If the civilians knew how to defend themselves, they’re less likely to get bullied. Of course, it’d be better if there wasn’t any bullying or intimidation of any kind, but I know that’s probably an unrealistic hope. ‘If I could arrange for someone to offer lessons to the civilians here…?’
‘I’d certainly sign up,’ Spencer said immediately. ‘And so would a lot of the others I know. There’s not an awful lot to do here in the evenings, and Dr Edwards keeps a close eye on working hours. He says we can’t work with unknown technology if we’re too tired.’
‘He’s absolutely right,’ McKay agreed. ‘I couldn’t enforce that, though, as I tended to work long hours myself. I may be a lot of things, but I hope I’m not a hypocrite.’ He gave Spencer a measuring look. ‘Would it also help if we supplied some more recreational equipment?’
‘Such as?’ Spencer asked suspiciously. ‘Not all of us want to play basketball, you know.’
‘I mean things like TVs and gaming consoles,’ McKay told her. ‘Most geeks I know like computer games, but I also know few folks are willing to share what electronics they have in case they get damaged or broken.’
‘Is there nothing like that here?’ Jack asked with a frown. ‘I’m pretty sure I’ve seen requisition notices for PlayStations.’ He had seen them – in the other timeline after his promotion to general.
‘I saw one or two in rec rooms for the servicemen on my visit,’ Paul Davis said. ‘But nothing on the civilian side.’
‘It’s certainly something we can set up,’ Hammond agreed. ‘I’m aware the majority of the civilians remain on base during the week and only return home at the weekend.’
‘And some of us only go home when we run out of clean clothes!’ Spencer grinned at McKay.
Jack frowned at her comment. ‘Don’t the civilians have laundry rooms on base?’
McKay shook his head. ‘Only the military, and while senior members of the civilian staff have permission to use the officer’s laundry, very few of us actually did, and there were no facilities for the support staff at all.’ He paused for a moment, then sighed. ‘I should have made more of an issue about it, I suppose, but after one or two of the scientists complained that their washing had been dumped on the floor, or somehow turned pink, I just advised my people not to bother.’
‘The more I hear about this—’ Hammond muttered, then shook his head. ‘One last question, Miss Spencer.’ She nodded, and waited for him to ask it, but he appeared to be having trouble forming the words.
‘If I may?’ Jack said to him in a quiet voice. ‘I think I know what you want to ask.’ At Hammond’s nod, he continued in a louder tone. ‘Do you have any idea if there’s a reason behind the bullying from the military, Miss Spencer? Other than ‘because they want to’?’
She sat quietly for a moment, her former bounce and humour gone, and made no attempt to look at McKay for…whatever he might have been able to supply. Guidance? Assurance? After a moment or two, she gave a firm nod of her head, as though she’d made a decision. ‘Things were always worse after Major Carter visited, especially if she was on her own.’
‘On her own?’ Jack frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
Spencer gave him a puzzled look. ‘Not with anyone else? She’s been a couple of times with you and the rest of SG-1, but she also comes over fairly frequently with Dr Craven—’
‘Who?’ Jack demanded, not recognising the name.
‘Howard Craven, Systems Analyst, right?’ McKay looked to Spencer for confirmation. ‘Or at least, he pretends he is. Miko hates him and now has him on her list to fire. I’d forgotten about him as he always kept out of our way.’
‘And Major Carter comes here with him?’ Hammond asked in puzzlement. ‘When, and why? I’ve certainly authorised no one named Craven to come here, with Major Carter or anyone else.’
‘I’m not sure how to respond to that, sir,’ Spencer confessed, shifting in her seat and playing with her watch strap. ‘The Colonel asked about Major Carter and I…’
‘You gave exactly the answer you should have done, Spencer,’ Rodney said.
‘Indeed,’ Hammond said, but his smile was clearly forced. ‘Thank you for your time, Miss Spencer. You’ve been most helpful, but I’d prefer it if you kept the details of our meeting to yourself until we’ve completed our investigation.’
‘Right oh.’ As she left the room with a wave of her fingers, Jack got to his feet to check the flask of coffee on a side table. It was empty.
‘I miss Walter at times like this,’ he muttered. ‘We should bring him with us next time.’
‘I hope to God there won’t be a next time!’ General Hammond said as he stood and stretched his back. ‘What a clusterfuck!’
McKay gave him a wide-eyed stare, and as Jack caught sight of him, he shook his head minutely and mouthed ‘later’ to him.
Hammond turned to Paul Davis. ‘Will you make a report I can pass on to the Chiefs, Major? It’s clear there’re more than a few underlying issues here which need to be cleared up.’
As Davis nodded, McKay spoke up, making Jack glance sharply at him. ‘I’m afraid I’m to blame for some of the problems here, or I’m at least complicit. If I’d acted before—’
‘The problems here are far deeper than any of us realised,’ Hammond told him. ‘Far deeper. If anything, your presence here helped the civilian staff, just as Miss Spencer reported. You have nothing to apologise for, Dr McKay.’
‘Then, if I might make a suggestion, General,’ McKay said, somewhat hesitantly, much to Jack’s surprise, since he didn’t know McKay – even this new McKay – was ever hesitant about anything. ‘When I first became CSO, I asked why Area 51 came under the governance of the USAF and not the SGC, given that almost all the work now done here is linked to the Stargate Programme. I was told it was because you, personally, didn’t want to run Area 51 as well as the S—’ He paused at the look of fury which crossed Hammond’s face. ‘That wasn’t the case, was it, sir?’
Hammond’s lips were almost white, so tight were they pressed together, and spots of red stood out on his cheeks. Jack had never seen his CO look so angry.
‘I think this is a discussion which should wait until we’re back in Colorado, Dr McKay,’ Hammond bit out through his clenched teeth, ‘ but thank you for bringing it to my attention.’
Uh oh, someone’s gonna get their ass ripped a new one, and I’m glad this time it’s not me!
*****
Since McKay’s first mission with SG-1 had been put on hold because of their visit to Nevada, and since Carter was due back from leave after the weekend, Jack decided to go to Edora on Thursday 21st March as he and Daniel were intending to visit Patrick Sheppard in Virginia on Sunday 24th, and he wanted a couple of days off to get some washing done if nothing else.
Despite his initial trepidation at seeing Laira for the first time in, essentially, fifteen years, Jack now found himself excited at the prospect and he stepped forward eagerly into the event horizon, forgetting it was McKay’s first trip through the gate. Once on the other side he paused to wait for McKay to emerge, anticipating the usual complaints of first-time gate-travellers about disorientation, nausea, and sometimes about the cold or frost of the wormhole, although that was much better now than at first after Carter made adjustments for Doppler Shift. Instead, he could almost imagine McKay had been through the gate hundreds of times, in fact—
‘Jack!’
He looked up as a once-familiar voice called his name and he saw a figure running towards him. ‘Laira!’ Jack stepped forward and caught hold of the woman with whom he once thought he’d spend the rest of his life.
‘Oh, Jack, Jack! I thought you would never return.’ After hugging Jack tightly, Laira gave both Daniel and Teal’c a teary-smile, nodded to McKay, then looked around. ‘Where is Major Carter? Is she no longer a member of your team?’
‘No…that is, yes, she is, but she’s not here…not right now. I’ve brought Dr McKay to introduce to you.’
At the mention of his name, McKay stopped gazing around and moved to Jack’s side.
‘A fair day to you, Dr McK—’
‘McKay,’ Jack repeated. ‘He’s the head scientist of our programme.’
Laira immediately held out her hand, which McKay shook after a moment’s hesitation. ‘It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Jack’s,’ Laira told him, causing both McKay and Jack to splutter denials, and Daniel to laugh, while Teal’c raised a single eyebrow.
‘Have I said the wrong thing?’ Laira asked, her voice full of concern.
‘No, not at all,’ Jack told her, smiling down at her. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t come back, Laira. I meant to, then…’
‘You are here now, and that is what matters.’ Her own smile included the rest of SG-1. ‘Come, I am sure you are thirsty.’
Laira led them towards a familiar thatched wooden house, and Jack gave a sigh of pleasure, as he hadn’t realised how much he’d missed the simpler way of life here. As they reached the doorway, he paused, and turned to look at the village spread before him, with several people chopping wood, and others busy with the water pump, which, he recalled, always needed maintenance. A sudden exclamation from Daniel inside the house made him turn and get a firmer grip on his P90.
‘Jack, oh Jack! She’s adorable!’
Frowning slightly, Jack entered the wooden structure and came to a halt at the sight of his friend holding a small child who couldn’t be more than a year old. His eyes flicked to Laira, who gave him a gentle smile.
‘This is Lairissa.’ The pride in Laira’s voice was unmistakable, and when Jack looked back at the child – Lairissa – he felt his heart melt. My daughter.
*****
The visit passed without incident. Jack reacquainted himself with the people he’d come to know well, and all four members of SG-1 helped the villagers with their various chores, even McKay helping without complaint, although he quickly abandoned chopping wood in favour of examining the water pump. Jack recalled the hours he’d spent repairing the wind-powered water tower after it was crushed by the meteor shower and he wandered over to McKay to see what he was planning to do.
‘This is a really inefficient way to pump water,’ he heard McKay mutter to himself.
‘It’s worked perfectly well for the Edorans for decades,’ Jack pointed out, making McKay spin round to look at him.
‘I’m sure it has, but it doesn’t mean we can’t suggest improvements.’
‘Careful, McKay,’ Jack warned him. ‘I don’t want you insulting the locals and don’t forget our policy of non-interference. We can’t just march into a society and start making unnatural advancements.’
‘Non-interference?’ McKay curled his lip. ‘That sounds more like the policy of the ascended Ancient asshats and is nothing more than them abjuring their responsibilities! If I can offer an improvement to the water tower which would make it more efficient and less likely to break down, don’t I have a duty to help them? How is that any different from the Orbanians sharing their design for the naquadah generators with us?’
Paynan, a man with whom Jack had eventually become friendly during his time living on Edora, was standing close by and overheard McKay’s comments. ‘Can this man help us with pumping water?’ he asked Jack. ‘Why would you stop him from doing that?’
‘No, I’m not stopping him, I—’
‘It sounds like that is exactly what you are doing.’ Paynan turned to McKay. ‘This wind tower breaks down so easily, and if there is little wind, we cannot pump water. Can you help us with that?’
McKay glanced at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders. ‘Knock yourself out.’
‘Do you have some paper and a pen?’ McKay asked him, patting the pockets in his tac vest. ‘I forgot to bring any with me.’ He followed Paynan to his house, gathering a few other men as they went.
‘What’s happened, Jack?’ Daniel asked, appearing at Jack’s side. ‘Problem?’
‘McKay seems to think he can improve the wind pump?’
‘And that’s a problem because…’
‘Danny! You know we have to be careful about advancing a society too quickly. We—’
‘Jack!’ Daniel spoke quietly but firmly. ‘I’ve never heard you push that point of view. Sam, yes, but remember how pissed you were at the Tollans for saying that exact same thing to us? What’s changed now?’
Jack let out his breath, then scowled. ‘Nothing’s changed, but…’
‘But you put down pretty deep roots here, even if you haven’t been back since,’ Daniel said shrewdly. ‘Bar passing through when you ‘retired’ and joined the NID.’ He made quotation marks with his fingers.
‘And? So? Therefore?’
‘And therefore, you probably don’t want some newby coming here and changing things.’
‘I…I don’t?’
‘How would you feel if I came round to your house and started moving the furniture around?’
‘Danny, you’ve lost me. Why are you talking about my furniture?’
‘Because none of us like strangers coming in and upturning our homes.’ Daniel sighed as Jack stared at him in confusion. ‘Look, you’d made peace with the fact Edora was going to be your new home, right?’
‘Yeeees.’
‘So you’re out of sorts because McKay’s suggesting making changes? Changes to improve the way of life here.’
‘Huh?’
‘You told me you’d accepted that your life here would be much simpler. Now Rodney McKay is attempting to make improvements to that simple life and you’re…jealous, maybe? Or perhaps guilty might be a better word.’
‘Guilty? Why should I feel guilty?’ but even as he said it, he knew Daniel had gone straight to the heart of the matter.
‘I know I would be.’ Daniel gazed at him, making him shift uncomfortably.
‘Hookay. Nice chat, but I can see Teal’c…’ Jack waved a hand at his friend and headed over to where the Jaffa was still busy chopping logs. I do feel guilty, and maybe I’m a little jealous as well. I was here for three months and never once did I think to suggest ways to improve the living conditions.
Just before he reached the Jaffa, Laira called out to him and he changed direction to meet her.
‘I wanted to talk with you alone, Jack,’ she told him, falling into step with him. ‘I…I was unsure if you would ever return, but now you have…’
‘I didn’t know you’d had a child, Laira. If I had known, I’d have come back sooner.’
‘Would you?’
Jack stared at her for a moment, then took a shaky breath. I need to tell her. ‘There’s something I didn’t share with you…before.’ Laira looked at him and raised her eyebrows in inquiry. ‘I…I had…’ He swallowed convulsively. ‘I had a son, a son who…There was an accident. He got hold of my gun and…’
Laira gripped his arm. ‘Jack! He…he died?’
He nodded, unable to voice the words. ‘He’d be…he’d have been…almost fifteen now,’ he managed to say. ‘Laira, believe me, if I’d known you’d had…you’d given birth to…to my daughter, I would have come straight back. I…I couldn’t lose another child.’ His voice broke on the last word and he realised his cheeks were damp.
‘Oh, Jack.’ She shifted round until they were facing each other, never losing her grip on his arm, then with her other hand, she pulled his head down until they were brow to brow. ‘When you did not return, I asked Dr Frasier not to tell you about the birth of Lairissa. I knew…I knew you had great responsibilities on your own planet. Dr Frasier and Major Carter would give me news, would tell me how you were, what you were doing, and she took the greatest care with our child. Dr Frasier, though, thought you should know, and wanted to tell you, but Major Carter and I told her to say nothing to you and in the end she promised.’
‘Carter came back here? I didn’t know that.’ Jack frowned in puzzlement. How did Carter keep it a secret? Why did Carter keep it a secret? Janet’s visits I understand: I knew we supplied Edora with medical assistance, but why did Carter…
‘Will you come back to visit now you know about Lairissa?’ Laira asked him, and he could hear the hope in her voice.
‘I will,’ he promised. ‘As often as I can.’ It was a promise he intended to keep. He’d lived one lifetime not knowing he had a daughter; he wasn’t going to live another without her. My daughter.
*****
Chapter 8
Chapter Text
After much debate – okay, arguments – Jack and Daniel flew from Peterson Air Force Base to Norfolk Naval Station, then hired a car to drive to Lancaster, Virginia, where John Sheppard’s father lived. All in all, the journey time was over six hours, with three and a half of those hours spent on a USAF transport plane, and Jack thought longingly of the Gulfstream V he would use in the future.
‘It flew when and where I wanted it to,’ he told Daniel mournfully as he negotiated the car out of the Norfolk base, ‘and I had the final say in who flew in it.’
‘What about the beaming technology you said the Asgard fitted into Prometheus?’ Daniel asked absently, trying to find their destination on the paper map in his hands. ‘Didn’t you make use of that?’
‘Whenever possible, but there are some places we go where I—we need a paper trail. If it was just between the Pentagon and the SGC, beaming was fine – if there was a ship in orbit – but anything which involved a civilian not read into the programme meant legitimate transport. Ha—the President who promoted me to General used to moan about the number of lengthy journeys he had to make even if a ship was in orbit. He couldn’t just appear somewhere without Airforce or Marine One, or the bullet-proof cars he had. Plus, the Secret Service got their panties in a knot if he just disappeared.’ He grinned at Daniel. ‘Good times.’
‘I’m sure,’ Daniel commented dryly. ‘Now, tell me, how are you going to explain you accompanying me to visit ‘an old college buddy?’. Have you thought of anything yet?’
‘…No?’ Jack wriggled in his seat and tried to concentrate on the road. He wasn’t used to driving above a few miles between his house and the SGC since he hadn’t yet had much time to spend at his cabin – and won’t I be glad when I can beam from the SGC to the cabin! – so the seventy odd mile journey was taking its toll. ‘I guess I’ll play it by ear.’
‘Why aren’t I surprised,’ Daniel muttered, not quite under his breath, and Jack glanced at him and grinned.
‘Let’s treat it like a first contact mission.’
‘We usually end up imprisoned on a first contact mission.’
It was so true that Jack didn’t have a response to make, so he concentrated on the road. It wasn’t until they were driving down a long, narrow road, with glimpses of an expanse of blue water between the trees, that Jack realised exactly how privileged a family John Sheppard came from. He knew the basics, of course – billionaire utilities mogul estranged from his youngest son – but he hadn’t appreciated what the home of a billionaire utilities mogul might look like. There’s privilege and there’s Sheppard Industries privilege, yet Sheppard never gave an indication of the sort of upbringing he must have had.
Beside him he heard Daniel mutter ‘wow!’ as a white, two-storey antebellum house came into view. It wasn’t as though the house was overly large, even, though the two possibly newer wings stretched out to the back on either side of the main building suggested more rooms had been added after the initial building phase – where ‘newer’ meant before the Civil War of 1861-65.
‘D’you think they’ll let us in?’ Daniel asked him, his eyes fixed on the beautiful property as Jack drove into the horseshoe driveway and came to a halt by a circular bed of roses. ‘I feel as though I should be wearing pantaloons and a cravat.’
Jack gave a snort of laughter. ‘You were the one who spoke to Mr Sheppard on the phone.’
‘Dr Sheppard,’ Daniel corrected absently, still staring at the house.
‘Huh?’
‘Dr Sheppard,’ Daniel repeated, glancing at Jack. ‘He has an engineering doctorate. Or Admiral Sheppard, if you prefer. He’s also former Navy.’
I didn’t know any of this, and I’d have come out here totally unprepared if I hadn’t persuaded Danny to make the call. Thank Thor for Danny! Aloud he said, ‘Come on,’ and nodded towards the front door which was opening. ‘We’re up.’
A man slightly shorter and some years older than himself stood on the doorstep smiling at them as they got out of the car, prompting Jack to look behind him, uncertain if the smile was for himself and Daniel, or someone else. Nope. Just us. Daniel grabbed his backpack from the rear seat and jogged to his side as he made his way to the front steps.
‘You must be Dr Jackson,’ the man said, smiling at Daniel. ‘I’m Patrick Sheppard. Welcome to Morrow House.’
‘Nice to meet you, sir.’ Daniel smiled and shook his outstretched hand.
This is not what I expected. I thought Sheppard and his father were estranged?
‘Jack O’Neill.’ Jack held out his hand to Sheppard Senior. ‘I’m…Erm…’
‘Mr O’Neill. It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Sheppard senior said, and the smile on his face said it was a pleasure. ‘Come in, come in. John’s just back from his ride and is showering. He’ll be down soon.’ Patrick led them through an entrance hall bigger than Jack’s cabin, and through into a kitchen fitted out with the latest of culinary gadgets. ‘Coffee?’
‘I…Yes. Yes, please,’ Daniel nodded.
Well, that’s normal at least. He never refuses coffee!
‘Have a seat,’ Patrick told them while he fiddled with a coffee machine much more modern than the ones Daniel had ordered for himself and McKay.
The two men each pulled out chairs from the large pine table. You could fit a family of ten around this! Jack thought as he glanced around.
‘How do you know John, again?’ Patrick asked, leaning back against the worktop and crossing one ankle over another, and Jack froze.
That’s too casual a tone of voice to actually be casual. What does he know – or think he knows?
‘I, um, I was at, um, college. With him, that is. At college with him,’ Daniel stuttered, making Jack want to facepalm himself.
We should have practiced this.
‘At Stanford.’
‘Um, yes?’
‘Interesting.’ Patrick gave a smile which didn’t quite meet his eyes. ‘I wasn’t aware there was much overlap between math and archeology, especially as John was ROTC. Were you ROTC?’
Daniel gave Jack a panicked look, but Patrick hadn’t finished.
‘And how do you know my son, Mr O’Neill?’
Was that a slight emphasis on Mr? What does he know? How can he know?
He was saved from any sort of answer by the kitchen door opening to admit a tall man, his dark, unruly hair still damp from a shower, who stumbled slightly as he took in Jack and Daniel sitting at the kitchen table, followed by…
‘McKay?’ Jack demanded. ‘What are you doing here?’
*****
Jack had intended for Daniel to request a tour of the house from Sheppard Senior, leaving him alone with Junior, but McKay’s presence altered everything.
‘Why are you here, McKay?’ Jack frowned at him, his mind working overtime in an effort to rationalise everything.
‘Is there any law which says I can’t be?’ If McKay’s chin juts out any further, we can hang coats on it, Jack decided.
‘Well, yes, actually,’ he began, only to stop when Sheppard Junior rested his hand on McKay’s shoulder, silencing him.
‘Si’down, Rodney, and let’s discuss this,’ Junior told him quietly, and Jack was surprised to see how much that single touch calmed down the irascible scientist.
‘How do you know Major Sheppard, Dr McKay?’ Daniel asked, making Jack frown to himself.
Did I ever explain the relationship between John Sheppard and McKay to him?
McKay didn’t answer immediately, but his eyes shifted between Jack and Daniel. Probably trying to work out what we each know, or suspect. Unless…Jack took a breath and narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on Sheppard Junior. ‘I’m happy to meet you, Major Sheppard,’ he said carefully, trying to see if there was any recognition in the Major’s face. ‘I’m not sure if you know, but we have one or two things in common.’
‘Sir?’ Sheppard asked, neutrally.
‘I come from an Ancient family…’ He let the comment hang for a moment, then watched as Sheppard’s shoulders visibly relaxed and he exhaled.
‘An ATA related family, perhaps?’ Ju—John asked, his relief clear.
‘Indeed.’
‘As a mutual friend might say,’ John commented, his eyes now bright with humour. ‘General O’Neill?’
‘Colonel O’Neill,’ Jack replied, and grinned back at him, filled to the brim with relief.
He became aware of Daniel frowning at their almost unintelligible conversation, his eyes moving between the two of them.
‘Thank fuck for that!’ McKay exclaimed, throwing himself back in his chair. ‘Do you know how difficult it is to examine every word before you say it, in case it lets some massive rabbits out of equally massive hats?’
‘Yes!’ Jack and John said in unison.
The furrows between Daniel’s eyes deepened. ‘Huh?’
‘It appears I wasn’t the only one to come back in time, Danny,’ Jack explained, then stilled as he remembered Sheppard Senior was still in the room. ‘I…’ His eyes searched Patrick Sheppard’s face for…what exactly? Shock? Recognition?
‘It’s okay, sir,’ John assured him. ‘Dad knows about Rodney and I being time travellers.’
‘Although John didn’t come back until April this year,’ McKay added.
‘April?’ Jack repeated, his brows furrowed. ‘April 2001?’
‘Yeees.’ John frowned at Jack. ‘Why?’
Without answering him, Jack turned to McKay. ‘And you came back in April as well?’
‘In April, yes, but April 2000,’ Rodney answered, making Jack’s jaw drop.
‘You’ve been here for almost two years? How? Why?’
‘Believe me, both are questions we’ve been asking ourselves over and over,’ John admitted, leaning back in his chair, his forehead wrinkled. ‘Why? How long have you been here?
‘Since last October, so five months. What’s the last thing you remember, either of you?’
Sheppard stilled, his face suddenly devoid of expression, and his eyes gazed fixedly at something over Jack’s shoulder. ‘We were in Boston. McKay was lecturing at MIT. We saw Wraith hives blanket bomb cities around the world on TV. Watched culling rays scoop up people who had no idea what was happening. Then the TV stations suddenly went off air and…that’s the last I remember.’ He exhaled and his gaze switched back to Jack. ‘You?’
‘My cabin. I’d switched on the radio to hear the news and heard about the worldwide attacks, then…I woke up in my old house in Colorado Springs on 1st October 2001.’
‘I woke up in my grotty quarters at Area 51,’ Rodney said, ‘and it was a good job it was Saturday as I think I shook for most of the day!’
‘I woke up in Bethesda hospital in Maryland. I was taken there after being rescued from Iraq.’ John’s face returned to his blank stare.
‘You were a POW, weren’t you?’ Jack asked. ‘I remember reading about it at the time, but I didn’t know it was you until McMurdo.’
Sheppard nodded. ‘They held me for four weeks. I was rescued on 26th March and when I woke up in Bethesda on the morning of 1st April, I had a lifetime of memories of the future which I didn’t have the night before. At least it didn’t happen while I was still a prisoner, I suppose.’
‘So we were all sent back to specific times, for some reason,’ Jack said thoughtfully. ‘I couldn’t work out why October 2001 at first, but I finally decided it was to keep McKay from insulting Carter and being sent to Siberia.’ He glanced over at McKay. ‘It wasn’t fair to you, and it also impacted your future relationship with the SGC. I’m sorry.’
The surprised expression on McKay’s face at his apology spoke volumes to Jack.
‘I…T-thank you,’ Rodney stammered, then looked away. ‘I’m aware I’m an arrogant man, and my attitude didn’t do me any favours in the past – future, whatever.’ He shook his head. ‘I have tried to remedy that, though I know I’m not always successful.’
‘You certainly haven’t shown any particular arrogance to me,’ Daniel butted in. ‘Although, as I didn’t know you before, I have nothing to compare you to.’
‘It was your change in character in particular which made me suspect for a moment that I was in a different dimension as well as back in time,’ Jack admitted. ‘If you recall, I’d only met you briefly before Antarctica, and all I’d heard about you coloured my vision, so to speak.’
‘From Major Carter, I assume.’ It wasn’t a question, and Jack, seated next to Daniel, was aware of McKay stiffening.
‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘This time, though, I’ve been able to make my own observations, and while you made one or two slip-ups which made me wonder, overall I could see you were nothing like her description of you, and it puzzled me.’
He glanced up as Patrick Sheppard slid a mug of coffee before him and gestured at the sugar and cream, and nodded his thanks. ‘I apologise for ignoring you, Mr—Dr Sheppard.’ he began, but Sheppard Senior shook his head.
‘No apologies necessary, and please call me Patrick. Doctor makes me sound so old!’ He grinned as both Rodney and Daniel glared at him, then sobered and glanced down, before looking up again and meeting Jack’s eyes. ‘You three aren’t the only ones given a second chance.’ He sat down heavily opposite to Jack and Daniel, and his mouth twisted. ‘I lost my youngest son through my own anger and arrogance, and I held on to that arrogance for years. I apparently died without telling my youngest son how much I loved him, but I was given another chance, and I’ve seized it with both hands.’
John, sitting next to him, covered his father’s hand with his own and gave a small smile. ‘That’s all behind us now, Dad.’
‘Yes, yes, it is.’ He gripped John’s hand between both of his, smiled at him, then got to his feet. ‘I’ll leave you boys to it. I know you all have a lot to talk about and you’ll do it better without me here, although I hope you’ll take me into your confidence before you leave, Colonel O’Neill,’ he added. ‘I’ll be in my study if you want me.’
*****
The four men relaxed a little after Patrick Sheppard left them, and John noted O’Neill’s reaction at Patrick’s comment of ‘boy’, and couldn’t help grinning, making Jack scowl back at him.
‘Fuck you, Major.’
‘No thank you, sir. Rodney wouldn’t like it.’
As Daniel choked on his coffee, John realised that O’Neill obviously hadn’t mentioned his relationship with Rodney and he stilled. Crap! DADT—
‘You do remember DADT is still a thing, don’t you?’ O’Neill asked, clearly reading his thoughts.
‘Yeah, but I was told the SGC didn’t enforce it, and surely we can get rid of it after Beckett ‘discovers’ the…’ he glanced at Jackson, ‘the gene stuff.’
‘Huh?’ O’Neill asked inelegantly.
John frowned at him. ‘You don’t know about the link between sexuality and the gene?’
‘There’s a link?’ O’Neill tapped a finger on the tabletop. ‘How do you know about it? What do you know about it?’
‘I remember Beckett telling Elizabeth and I about it, so it was before he died in 2007.’
‘I never received a report about it.’ O’Neill tilted his head. ‘I wonder if it went to Hank Landry.’
At the mention of Landry’s name, John scowled, and O’Neill gave him an amused smile. ‘Already taken care of. There’ve been more than a few issues with Nevada and if Landry hasn’t been replaced yet, he soon will be, I’m certain. We’ll just have to hope his replacement isn’t worse than him.’
‘Agreed!’ John couldn’t help adding, in a not-quite-undertone, ‘The man’s a—’
O’Neill held up his hand. ‘Stop. Let’s take all that as a given, and we’ll talk about the gene stuff later. Now, why aren’t you in Iraq or Afghanistan where I expected you to be, and where I searched for you? I tried to be careful not to draw attention to you so couldn’t ask too many questions, but I was puzzled when I couldn’t find you. You did go back overseas last time, didn’t you?’
John nodded. ‘Yes, but when I tried to think why I’d been sent back to April 1st, the only thing I could come up with was being offered a place at the ACSC. I originally turned it down because I wanted to keep flying, not sit in a classroom, and in any case, I already have a Master’s Degree from my time at Stanford. Accepting the place at the Staff College was the only change which made sense to me personally. I couldn’t do anything about 9/11, for instance. I don’t have anywhere near enough influence for something like that.’
He took a sip of his coffee. ‘I had a couple of weeks to decide about ACSC – I always thought it was recompense or reparation after being a POW, but when I gave it careful thought I realised my CO was trying to help me, give me time to recover properly before being redeployed.’ John paused for a moment and dropped his eyes, then rubbed the back of his neck. ‘To be frank, sir, I knew I needed to be a better officer than I was last time. I was angry about what happened in Iraq for years, and it…’ He made an effort to meet O’Neill’s gaze. ‘It affected my work on Atlantis, I’m ashamed to say. I knew I was a better officer than that, but I was just so angry. I’m pretty certain now I had PTSD after being held by the Iraqis, and I just ignored it.’
‘And ended up with a black mark and being sent to Antarctica to wait out your commission,’ O’Neill added. ‘I think you’re right, for what it’s worth. I wanted to prevent you from making a mess of your career, but you seem to have done that all by yourself. Well done, but you do probably need some therapy to get it properly sorted. Ignoring it didn’t do you any favours last time.’
John shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but accepted the compliment as it was intended. ‘Dad, Dave and I have been seeing a therapist to help us work out some of our family issues, which mostly started after Mom passed away in 1987.’ He fidgeted with his watch strap and turned his head to look out of the window. ‘Dad also persuaded me to talk to him about my time in an Iraqi cave.’
‘Good for you,’ O’Neill told him. ‘It will help. Now. ACSC follows an academic calendar pretty closely, doesn’t it?’ John looked back at him and nodded. ‘When do you graduate?’
‘May 31st.’
‘Then we’ll try to get you assigned to the SGC from the start of June. I’ll have a word with General Hammond. He knows I’ve come back in time, but he’ll be surprised to find out about you and McKay! I can’t remember, did you serve under him last time?’
John shook his head. ‘He’d moved to Homeworld by the time I was sorted to the Mountain, although I did meet him on a mist planet in Pegasus.’ He grinned as O’Neill raised his eyebrows. ‘Long story and probably not worth going into. I think you’d already moved to DC when we sent our first databurst with our mission reports.’
O’Neill nodded agreement. ‘Right. Now, back to last year. What did you do between waking up and starting at ACSC in July?’
‘I did TDY at the Pentagon for three months or so before going to Alabama. Dad helped me get a position with the Director of the DOD Special Access Programme.’ He paused for a moment, and felt McKay gently touch his shoulder, offering silent support. John gave him a grateful glance for the comfort, then continued. ‘For once, I accepted his help in finding a post, and telling him about the time travel felt right. If I wanted a proper relationship with him this time, I needed to be completely honest.
‘I stayed angry at him last time, and it didn’t do me any good. I think he could probably have helped me with the Black Mark if I’d let him, and it seemed like this second chance was an opportunity to fix things with him as well as to make sure Atlantis goes back to Pegasus.’ He gave O’Neill a sudden frown. ‘That is why we’re here, isn’t it? To keep Atlantis in Pegasus and stop the Wraith from reaching Earth?’
‘I think so,’ O’Neill agreed, nodding. ‘I have to think it was the Ancients who sent us back. It certainly wasn’t a gadget of any kind since we were sent back from different places, and to different times, but I have no idea how it was done. I don’t think that’s important, though. My—our job is to make sure the right things happen and the wrong things don’t.’
*****
They took a quick break while Sheppard retrieved several bottles of water from the large refrigerator and set them in the centre of the table, pushing one towards McKay, who glared at him and looked deliberately towards the coffee pot, as did Daniel. Sheppard ignored him and simply gestured to the bottle until McKay sighed and grabbed it, while Jack pushed a bottle closer to Daniel and nodded towards it. Daniel held out for a moment, then huffed and took the bottle, twisting off the cap with a little more violence than needed, making Jack grin.
‘Now,’ he began, ‘what exactly have you told your father, Sheppard?’
‘That I worked in a highly classified programme which dealt with technology he couldn’t even imagine. He was sceptical at first, unsurprisingly, but quickly realised I was very different from the son he last spoke to in 1994, and that I also had knowledge he couldn’t explain.’
‘Such as?’
‘Such as telling him to get a health check asap because he had heart disease. It turns out he’d recently had a medical and his doctor told him if he didn’t start taking care of himself, he might only have a few years to live – something our housekeeper, Lizzie, seized upon and launched a campaign of healthy eating, with no more pies and cakes, or at least only in moderation. Dad’s also cut out the bottle of whisky he got through weekly, and has begun to use the pool regularly again.’ Sheppard took a long drink of water and replaced the cap, passing the bottle from one hand to the other.
‘The SGC could do with someone like Dad and Sheppard Industries on their side,’ Sheppard continued, ‘and I…I needed—need—my family.’ He bit his lip, and looked away, then firmed his chin and met Jack’s eyes. ‘And I’m glad I reached out. Having Dad and Davey behind me has helped me…heal, I guess. That, and Rodney’s regular visits.’ He gave McKay a soft smile, and McKay’s entire face relaxed and he reached out to touch Sheppard’s arm, but Jack remained silent.
I think he needs to get this out, like a confessional, maybe.
‘It was a little overwhelming at first, you know. Realising that I was on my own, and not really knowing what I should do.’ He took a steadying breath. ‘I didn’t tell him about the Stargate Programme per se, but I advised him to accept any contracts SI might be offered in Nevada or Colorado Springs, especially after buying an Aeronautical Company – in the hopes I’d leave the Air Force and work for him—’
‘Wait!’ Jack held up a hand. ‘Your father bought you an aircraft manufacturer to persuade you to go back home?’
John froze, only his eyes moving from side to side as though looking for a means of escape. ‘Umm. Yeah? Why?’
Jack stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Oh, no reason. Carry on.’
‘Okaay,’ John waited for a moment, but when nothing more was forthcoming, he continued. ‘I’m hoping Dad can be read into the programme, and, quite honestly, I trust my father’s company not to cut corners on any of his projects. I can’t say the same about other outfits. We got our fair share of guns which locked and body armour which was of less use than cardboard on Atlantis. I’m hoping we can avoid that this time.’
‘Amen,’ Jack muttered, making Sheppard smile ruefully
‘I know.’ He took a breath and his shoulders visibly relaxed. ‘And while the ACSC has kept me busy mentally, and I’ve had Rodney and my family at the end of a phone, I’m immensely grateful to know I’m not alone in this now. You’ll know, sir, how difficult it is to see how some things will play out with the knowledge we have, and how our relationships with other people might be affected, and it’s a pretty daunting prospect. What if I don’t remember something critical and people die because I’d forgotten what happened?’ He rubbed the back of his neck again, a tell Jack remembered from the other timeline.
‘I know exactly how you feel,’ Jack agreed, nodding. He wasn’t the same man he’d been in 2002 in the original timeline. He had an extra fourteen years of experience, for one thing. Is this how my clone felt when we realised he’d been de-aged? If—when that happens, I’ll try to be a little more understanding.
With a segue into a different subject, Sheppard continued. ‘Dad and Sheppard Industries have all kinds of classified projects, so I haven’t had to worry about him keeping the secret, although we didn’t tell my brother everything.’ He glanced up at Jack. ‘Did I do the right thing? I can’t be in violation of my NDA since I haven’t signed one for the SGC yet.’
Jack gave him a reassuring smile. ‘It’s fine, and I’ll have your father sign an NDA before we leave. Having him on side will help some of the plans I have, too. For one thing, I want to make the whole programme financially independent.’
‘To make the IOA unnecessary.’ Sheppard nodded his head in agreement. ‘Rodney and I had the same idea, especially now he’s at the SGC rather than Area 51. We don’t want those asshats interfering again.’
‘Agreed,’ McKay muttered, scowling at the table, then jumped with the others as Daniel rapped the table top.
‘Now you’ve all confessed to each other, can someone please tell me what on earth you’re talking about?’ he demanded. ‘Jack’s been very careful with the information he’s given to me, so I want an explanation about Atlantis, Pegasus, and why the hell you all seem to hate this IOA!’
‘Then, will you go collect your father, Sheppard, and we’ll include him in the explanations rather than have to repeat ourselves,’ Jack said, grabbing his briefcase and pulling out the NDA he’d brought with him.
‘You fetch him, Rodney, while I set out lunch,’ John ordered, then paused as Rodney stood up to go, muttering under his breath. ‘Unless you’d rather get lunch sorted?’
‘I’m going, I’m going. Geez, give me chance…’
Rodney’s mutters continued as he left the kitchen and Jackson grinned at the byplay, while Jack wandered over to the French doors which opened onto a veranda running the width of the house, leading to manicured lawns running down to the creek which fed into Chesapeake Bay. If this is where Sheppard grew up, no wonder he loved Atlantis and hated being at the SGC, although that probably also had a lot to do with Landry. I wonder what the fishing’s like here?
‘Lunch, Jack,’ Daniel called over to him, and he rejoined the group at the table, looking appreciatively at the plates of ham and beef, and bowls of salads. Beats meatloaf in the mess.
By mutual agreement, the five men kept the conversation general throughout lunch, and Jack grinned as John Sheppard added salad to both his own plate and McKay’s, who scowled at him. ‘Come on, McKay. Greens are good for you.’
‘It’s rabbit food.’
‘It’s one of Lizzie’s best salads, and you know better than to upset her.’
‘Is she fierce?’ Daniel asked, then looked down at his plate where Jack had served him to green salad. ‘This is delicious, and I don’t normally like salad either.’
‘Lizzie’s the opposite of fierce,’ John replied, his lips twitching, ‘but she has a way of making you feel wretched if you don’t eat up your vegetables. She’s guilted us all into healthy eating. I might try to recruit her for A—the expedition.’
‘Hell, I might try to recruit her for the SGC!’ Jack retorted through a mouthful of bean salad. ‘This is the best thing I’ve tasted in years!’
It took the whole of lunch to answer Daniel’s questions, and Patrick Sheppard remained silent as Jack took the lead in explaining the Stargate Programme with an outline of the IOA, while John and McKay helped with the explanation of Pegasus, Atlantis, and the Wraith.
‘And now I need you to sign the world’s largest NDA,’ Jack said to Patrick, sliding the inches thick document across the table.’
‘I wondered why you insisted on bringing your briefcase,’ Daniel commented.
‘I brought it expecting to have Major Sheppard sign it, not Dr Sheppard,’ Jack retorted, grinning at Patrick’s exaggerated sigh at the mention of his title. ‘After you’ve signed that, there’re a few things I want to speak to you about, sir.’
Patrick looked askance at the honorific, but Jack considered it pay-back for ‘you boys’ and merely offered a smirk.
*****
As the remains of lunch were cleared away, O’Neill pulled out a well-thumbed notebook and Rodney, passing behind him on his way to the dishwasher, saw that the notes were written in Ancient.
He stabbed a finger towards O’Neill. ‘We need to think of a way to introduce the ATA gene. Carson Beckett discovered it in the first timeline, but since his ethics were extremely dubious—’
‘And that’s putting it mildly,’ John muttered with a scowl.
‘Since his motives were dubious,’ Rodney continued in a louder voice, ‘I’d rather not have him be part of the Atlantis expedition this time, especially as he was a researcher first and foremost, and not the best choice for CMO in the first place.’
‘He was Weir’s pick, not mine,’ O’Neill pointed out. ‘And since the IOA were willing to give her whatever she wanted, I couldn’t fight it. I was able to push Alicia Biro’s jacket forward though, even if she was more ME than GP.’
‘Alicia Biro?’ Daniel echoed. ‘Why have I heard that name?’
Jack glanced towards him. ‘She’s a Medical Examiner who happened across a member of SG-4 after he’d been cleared by a relatively new nurse in the infirmary, and later died in ‘mysterious circumstances’,’ he said, fingers forming air quotes. ‘The local LEOs called her in before we were notified of his death, and we had to read Biro in, but it proved worthwhile since she’s given Janet a hand with autopsies a couple of times since. Ducky Mallard had good things to say about her when Janet asked for his advice,’ he added as an afterthought.
‘Ducky Mallard?’ Patrick smiled. ‘I know him. I’ve met him a few times at DC dinners and ceremonies.’
‘Everyone knows Ducky Mallard,’ Jack said with a grin, ‘but let’s get back to Beckett. Janet Fraiser had a lot to say about him before—’ He glanced at Daniel, then looked away.
‘Before?’ Daniel repeated, frowning at Jack’s suddenly serious expression. ‘Before what, Jack?’
After a swift glance at Rodney, who nodded once, Jack sighed. ‘Janet was killed off-world while treating an Airman on P3X-666—’
‘Killed?’ Daniel’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. ‘Janet was killed? Please tell me you can stop that happening again.’
‘I can stop that happening again,’ Jack said quietly, holding up his hand. ‘In fact, I’ve already stopped it by locking that planet out of the dialling computer, along with a couple of others we don’t want to go back to.’
‘What others, and what happened?’ Now reassured his friend was safe, Daniel’s curiosity was getting the better of him.
‘Not relevant at this point,’ Jack told him, and turned back to Rodney. ‘Beckett won’t be coming into the programme, but it means we need another geneticist to ‘discover’ the ATA gene.’ As Daniel opened his mouth to ask another question, Jack held up his hand again. ‘Not right now, Danny. Write all your questions down and I’ll do a Q and A later, okay?’
It was clear Daniel didn’t like his answer, but he sighed and turned to the back of his notebook and began to scribble.
O’Neill’s going to be answering a lot of questions later, Rodney thought to himself with a smirk, and shook his head slightly when John nudged him. ‘Later,’ he muttered in an undertone
Jack shook his head in resignation and turned his attention back to Rodney ‘Is there a geneticist you know of who’s a fit for the Programme? You seem to know, or at least know of most of the best scientists in the country.’
Tapping his finger on his lips, Rodney was silent for a moment, running names through his head, then he snapped his fingers a couple of times. ‘There’s a British geneticist who isn’t entirely stupid, Dr Anne Stewart. I remember Peter Grodin mentioning her, but I’ve no idea where she’ll be at present.’
‘Make a note of that, Danny, it’s worth looking into her,’ Jack instructed, then glanced at John. ‘Want to tell me about that link between DADT and the ATA gene? Ancient Activation Gene,’ he said as Daniel opened his mouth. ‘It’s how some of us can make Ancient technology work. Sheppard and I have it in spades—’
‘As do I,’ Rodney added, making Jack frown.
‘But you didn’t have it last time. I remember your joy when Sheppard here sat in the chair at…you know.’
‘That wasn’t joy, it was fury.’ Rodney scowled at the memory. ‘I’d been trying for weeks to get information out of the…thing, then this fluffy headed flyboy takes a seat and the damn chair almost sang with elation.’
‘Hey!’ John poked him in the arm. ‘Less of the fluffy-headed. I’m well within regulations now.’
‘And that should have clued me in straight away,’ Jack commented. ‘I don’t think I ever saw you with regulation hair before.’
‘There wasn’t a barber at McMurdo, and after that it was mostly to mess with Landry whenever there was a video-conference, or when I came to Earth.’ John grinned at his CO-to-be. ‘I do generally try to keep it shorter.’
‘Hmmm.’
‘About the ATA gene.’ Rodney decided to move the conversation on. ‘I had to have mine activated with Carson’s therapy last time, but I’ve come back with it, for some reason. It made me wonder if I was in another dimension or something at first, but that’s the only difference I’ve seen , so I’m thinking whoever/whatever sent us back needed me to have the gene.’
Daniel laughed. ‘Jack was convinced he was in another dimension for a long while, you should have heard him! It’s turned out to be you making changes, though, Rodney, and I guess you’ve made other changes we haven’t yet seen.’
Rodney felt his cheeks heat. ‘I couldn’t work out what I’d been sent back for, and I know I must have been sent back, rather than a solar flare send me back like it did SG-1, or sent John 48,000 years into the future, because I was nowhere near technology which might be affected by a solar flare, or any other technology, really! I decided what the hell! I’d just change the fuck out of everything that needed it, and hoped if I changed the wrong things, I’d find out pretty damn quick.’
He felt, rather than saw, Jack’s narrowed eyes upon him, and raised his eyebrows in enquiry.
‘What?’
‘Have you made any changes which affect Sam Carter? Directly or indirectly?’
Rodney returned his gaze evenly. ‘No. She’s acting exactly as she did before except this time, you’ve picked up on some of the crap she pulls.’ He gave a heavy sigh. ‘Look, I know I was a jerk to her the first time I came to the SGC, but—’
‘But you were right in what you told her about both the dialling computer and patterns stored in the buffers,’ John interrupted.
Rodney tilted his head back and forth. ‘I was right, but at the same time, Carter wasn’t wrong!’
‘Explain.’ Jack’s demand was succinct.
‘Patterns stored in the gate buffers will deteriorate in time, but my estimation of how long that time was, was wrong. Likewise, when I said that engaging the gate without the master control crystal would be dangerous, I was right, as putting a current through a conductive object with no means of control is extremely dangerous.’ Rodney paused as he saw Patrick Sheppard nodding.
‘That’s basic engineering,’ Patrick agreed. ‘If someone suggested doing such a thing in one of our installations, I’d fire them so hard their grandchildren would feel it! And given what you’ve explained about the energy stored in a Stargate, if it blew up, it would take out half of Colorado with it, at the very least.’
‘Exactly.’ Rodney pointed a finger at Patrick. ‘Sam Carter has the devil’s own luck, however, and when she activated the gate, the damage was limited to the embarkation room and the few people in it, which no-one seemed particularly bothered about.’
‘Me included,’ Jack said in a low voice. ‘When Siler said he wasn’t there by choice, I ignored him.’ He scrubbed his hands over his face. ‘I don’t think many of us covered ourselves in glory that day, did we?’
‘Doesn’t sound like it,’ Daniel said with a sigh. ‘It’s almost as though Sam weaved a spell over everyone to make them ignore her thoughtless and arrogant behaviour.’
‘Thoughtless, arrogant, and dangerous, it sounds to me,’ Patrick added. ‘The more I hear about the Stargate Programme, the more I wonder if it should ever have been opened.’
‘I’ve heard that argument from several people outside the SGC over the years,’ Jack told Patrick, ‘but whether or not we opened the gate, we still faced our off-world enemies. The Goa’uld knew where Earth was, and always intended to return, with or without a Stargate here. As it was, Apophis abducted Airman Carol Weterings, and killed five other security personnel: we never recovered Weterings’ body, or heard of her again. Likewise, the Wraith in Pegasus knew the Ancients had escaped back to their former galaxy, they just couldn’t find it, but we couldn’t guarantee that would always be the case.’
‘No, we couldn’t.’ John focussed on his father. ‘The Wraith are, to all intents and purposes, immortal. The oldest of them we came across remembered their fight against the Lanteans 10,000 years before. There’s every chance they’ll hit upon this galaxy at some point, and unless we have a base in Pegasus from which to reconnoitre and fight them, we won’t know when they’re headed here until they start bombing and culling a planet. Once they begin to feed in the Milky Way, they’ll glut themselves and feed for thousands of years.’
*****
Chapter 9
Chapter Text
It took little persuasion to convince Jack O’Neill to allow John to fly them both back to Colorado Springs, along with McKay in his new Cessna Citation.
‘It was a ‘get well soon’ present from Dad,’ John explained, grinning widely and bouncing on the balls of his feet. ‘One I didn’t mind accepting since it gave me a way to keep up my flying hours while I’m in school.’
‘That’s a pretty magnificent ‘get well soon’ present,’ Jack said drily as he walked around the gleaming aircraft.
‘Want to fly it with me?’ John asked, his grin morphing into a smirk. ‘It has two pilot controls.’
‘Hell yes!’
Behind him, Daniel and Rodney each rolled their eyes.
‘Boys and their toys,’ Rodney commented in a low voice, but not low enough for the two Air Force men not to hear them.
‘So?’ demanded John. ‘And you have no room whatsoever to comment on toys. You almost snatched Dad’s hand off when he offered to let you build a new laptop computer for yourself.’
‘That benefitted both of us,’ Rodney retorted. ‘It gave him the chance to market the design way, way ahead of the likes of Apple and IBM, and before you say anything,’ he held up his hand, ‘the design is entirely mine using only components available at this point in time.’
‘When is it likely to be on the market?’ Jack asked, thinking of how much he’d taken the computers of the future for granted. Something else I didn’t miss until I didn’t have it.
‘Hopefully in time for Christmas, 2002,’ Rodney replied. ‘And don’t worry, I’ve already put in an order for the SGC. We’ll have the first 500 to be built, and there should be a tablet ready in early 2003 which is influenced by the tablets we had in…that place.’ He looked around in case any mechanics or ground crew were within hearing distance, but they were alone in the hanger owned by Sheppard Industries.
Newport News Airport was just over an hour’s drive from Morrow House, and home to Patrick’s own company jet, as well as the plane he bought for John. ‘You’re going to need a way to get to and from Alabama,’ he’d told John, ‘as well as keep up your flying hours.’ After Rodney had made contact with John in May 2001 it also gave John a method of transporting Rodney to and from the Sheppard house at the weekends he stayed there, rather than Rodney having to fly into either DC or Norfolk Naval Station, and leave clear clues as to his destination should anyone bother to check. By using the smaller and lesser utilised Meadow Lake Airport in Colorado Springs, John and Rodney were further able to keep Rodney’s visits, and thus their relationship, private. It wouldn’t do for John to be discovered as gay before he managed to get to the SGC, where ignoring DADT was pretty much SOP.
Before the group headed for Colorado Springs left the Sheppard homestead, however, they laid out a number of plans.
‘General Hammond wants to meet you before you transfer to the SGC,’ Jack told John, ‘and this is an ideal opportunity, as you’re not due back at ACSC until next week.’
‘You want me to go into the SGC?’ John frowned at Jack. ‘Is that a good idea?’
‘Don’t worry. We’ll come up with a cover story if we need one, but it’s easier for you to go to the SGC than it is for the general to come here to Virginia. Especially as you won’t appear on any airline passenger lists. It’s unlikely anyone would think of searching for a private plane’s manifest.’
‘Is that likely?’ Daniel asked with a frown. ‘Who’d be looking for Major Sheppard?’
‘Likely, no,’ Jack replied, ‘but I’ve been in this game too long to take unnecessary risks. We’ve only just found out Sheppard and McKay have come back in time. What if anyone we don’t know about has too? It’s stupid not to take all the precautions we can.’
Daniel’s distress was almost tangible, and he bit his lip as Jack surveyed him, but, surprisingly – to Jack at least – it was McKay who touched Daniel’s arm.
‘It’s difficult to come to terms with constant suspicion,’ he told the archeologist, ‘but if Pegasus taught me anything, it taught me to suspect everyone until they’ve proved their intentions are honourable. I can’t tell you the number of times those we thought of as trusted allies turned round and bit us on our asses.’
‘Way to go with the metaphor, Rodney.’ John grinned at him, then patted him on the shoulder. ‘Still, you’re right. What was it Teddy Roosevelt said?’
‘”Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far”?’ Daniel quoted.
‘That’s the one!’ John pointed a finger at Daniel. ‘Though I’d rather carry a P90.’
*****
They left Morrow House after an early supper, and Jack followed John’s sports car to Newport News Airport.
‘So, how d’you think that went?’ Daniel asked as they negotiated the narrow lane leading back to the main road.
‘Better than I ever imagined.’ Jack’s answer was prompt and certain. ‘McKay was a surprise, though.’
‘You’re telling me!’ Daniel gave his friend a warm smile, but Jack was too busy keeping up with Sheppard to notice it. ‘Still, it did explain all the differences you’d been worried about. I am concerned that you think there might be other time travellers as well as you three. And I’m also wondering why I wasn’t sent back.’
Jack tilted his head slightly, clearly considering this.
‘Where was I when the Wraith attacked?’ Daniel continued, and Jack frowned.
‘I…think you were off-world with one of the gate teams.’
‘Not SG-1?’
‘No. After Carter was put in charge of the SGC, SG-1 was pretty much retired as a gate team. Mitchell – a pilot who joined the SGC in 2005, I think, took over one of the ships from Carter, and Teal’c was rarely on Earth after the Jaffa pretty much won their battle for freedom from the few remaining System Lords. Most of the big players had been wiped out: Ba’al hung on the longest.
‘We declassified the programme in 2013 and you could finally prove your theories to the bone-heads who’d driven you out of academia, and wasn’t that a great day! You stayed with the programme, but did a lot of lecturing so rarely went off-world unless there was something which particularly interested you.’
Daniel considered this. Jack hadn’t given him much information on what happened in the other timeline in the future. I wonder why he’s suddenly decided it’s okay to tell me…stuff.
Almost as though he could read Daniel’s mind, Jack spoke. ‘I didn’t go into detail before because I was worried about influencing the timeline, or rather, your future actions. What if you did something because I said you’d done it last time?’
‘And now?’
‘And now there are two other people to make sure the stuff that needs to happen, happens.’
‘And to prevent the wrong stuff from happening?’
‘Exactly!’
‘But what if it’s the wrong thing?’
Jack took his eyes off the road long enough to make Daniel grab for the steering wheel.
‘Jack! Keep your eyes on the damn road!’
‘Steady! I know what I’m doing,’ Jack retorted. ‘And not just about driving!’ He sighed and gave Daniel a – very – quick glance. ‘I have to trust that whoever brought the three of us back knows what they’re doing. In that vein, I want to go back to Kheb and look for Oma Desala.’
‘I thought said you’d locked that address out of the dialling computer?’
Grimacing, Jack nodded. ‘I did, but we’re going to need Oma’s help, if we can persuade her.’
‘To do what?’
But the car ahead was just pulling into a road which bordered the small airport, and, as he followed it, Jack didn’t answer.
*****
John spent the night at O’Neill’s house in Colorado Springs. Since Jack handed it over to Landry when he took up the post in DC, John had never visited it, and he looked around appreciatively as O’Neill and Dr Jackson led him in.
‘If you’re intending to stay tonight as well, Danny,’ O’Neill told him, ‘you’re going to have to make a bed up for yourself in the attic, unless you don’t mind bunking in with me.’
John felt an unexpected pang of yearning rush through him. SGC gate teams were no different to Atlantis ones in the way they fostered intimacy between the members, and he missed Teyla and Ronon like a part of himself was lost. I’ll find them again, he promised himself. I’ll look for Ronon as soon as we get to Pegasus, and any other runners we can find. But even while he made his promises, he knew his relationship with Teyla and Ronon would be different this time, because the circumstances behind their meeting would be different. I got lucky with Rodney being sent back as well; we won’t have to rebuild our relationship with each other, not like we will with Teyla and Ronon, unless…
‘Sheppard!’
John gave a start and turned to look at O’Neill, who was regarding him with an amused smile. ‘Sorry, sir. I was miles away.’
‘I could tell. I asked if you wanted anything to eat with your beer.’
‘Yes, please. I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol these days. We didn’t have much on Atlantis besides Zelenka’s smurf-piss, and I fly or drive so much at present that I tend to avoid it.’
‘Smurf-piss?’ Jackson enquired.
‘Produced from a home-made still, and usually blue for some reason I’ve never fathomed. Of course, officially, I knew nothing about it, but Rodney claimed a bottle now and then, which he shared.’ John gave a shiver at the memory. ‘Radek grew up in Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia, where the only alcohol available was what you produced for yourself. Apparently, his grandmother was an expert and even sold to the occupying forces. He learned his craft at her knee, so to speak.’ John frowned at his CO-to-be. ‘And we’ve never had this conversation, sir.’
O’Neill waved a lazy hand from the kitchen. ‘Relax. I know nothing about any smurf-piss.’ He nodded at Jackson. ‘Danny, show Major Sheppard where he’ll be sleeping and give him some clean sheets while I make some sandwiches.’
‘I’d be perfectly fine in the attic, Dr Jackson,’ John told him as Jackson led the way to a wing at right angles to the main part of the house.
‘It’s Daniel, and I’ve no problem sharing with Jack: we’ve done it often enough off-world, with Teal’c in with us as well, although he doesn’t so much sleep as kel’no’reem.’
‘Kel’no’reem?’
‘It’s a Jaffa meditative state they use instead of sleep, allowing the Jaffa, Teal’c in this case, to commune with his symbiote which will heal any ailments he might have. Interestingly—’
‘Fercryinoutloud, Danny. Give the man a break.’ O’Neill appeared at the door of the kitchen, a knife in one hand and a jar of pickle in the other. ‘Just show Sheppard to his room, and don’t give him a lecture he didn’t ask for.’
‘He asked about Kel—’ Jackson-Daniel began.
‘To be polite. He doesn’t give a shit what it is. Just show him his room, and the bathroom, and come help me butter some bread.’ O’Neill turned his head to look at John. ‘Turkey, right?’
John grinned, both at the offer of a sandwich filling and the recognition he didn’t care about Jaffa customs. Though I guess I should know this stuff if I’m to join SG-1 as O’Neill wants.
*****
They headed into the SGC for an 07.30 meeting with General Hammond, and as soon as he entered the facility, John felt the familiar pressure of the mountain almost physically bear down on him. I don’t know how all these people can work so far underground, day in and day out. It’d—It will drive me demented.
O’Neill shot him a look of concern, obviously realising he was struggling. ‘You okay there, Major?’
‘I will be,’ John answered, hoping to goodness he grew accustomed to it again. I did it before, I just need to get used to it again.
In the other timeline, when O’Neill was unable to get the city back to Pegasus in Spring 2009, John had been assigned to the SGC after Atlantis was dismantled by the IOA and left out in the Pacific in international waters and basically left to rot. Landry refused to accept his resignation, citing his importance to the Stargate Programme, and put him on SG-19 with different team members each week, never allowing John to forge a relationship with regular team mates. John offered his resignation to Landry every Monday morning, and every Monday morning Landry refused to accept it.
This exercise in futility was repeated until October 2010, when Landry reached mandatory retirement age, and General Samantha Carter took his place as head of the SGC, and John’s resignation was finally accepted. At this point, John took advantage of his trust fund and inheritances, and dropped off the grid, remaining so until a certain astrophysicist finally barrelled his way into a house by a beach in Kauai.
‘It won’t happen again,’ O’Neill murmured into his ear, almost as if he could read John’s mind. ‘I won’t let it, and I’ll also make sure you get plenty of sky time, one way or another.’
John nodded gratefully, and tried not to flinch when the elevator doors closed and he felt the movement of sinking further and further underground.
The general was waiting for them as they exited the elevator and John realised the Marines on the initial check-point must have alerted General Hammond to their arrival.
‘Major Sheppard.’ Hammond held out his hand to shake John’s, leaving him wondering if he should have saluted, despite being out of uniform.
‘Um. Yessir.’
Hammond led the way into his office. ‘Take a seat, son. We have a lot to talk about.’ He took his own seat behind his desk and waved a hand towards the empty chair alongside O’Neill’s.
‘Yessir. Thank you, sir.’
The general stared at O’Neill and raised his eyebrows.
‘Uhh. Oh, right.’ O’Neill pulled out a little gizmo, but instead of activating it, he passed it to John.
‘It’s…It’s a blocking device, right?’ John asked as the gizmo lit up in his hand.
‘I just call it a bug zapper. Nice to see your gene is as strong as it was before. We just need to find an opportunity to ‘discover’ it now.’
John passed the device back to O’Neill and concentrated on General Hammond.
‘I didn’t get to meet you last time, I understand,’ Hammond commented.
‘No, sir. You were already in DC when I was sorted to the Mountain, although I met you on a mist planet in Pegasus.’ John grinned at the bemused expressions on the general’s face. ‘It’s complicated, sir. It doesn’t matter.’
Hammond blinked at him, then shook his head. ‘Right. Moving on. When are you due to graduate from ACSC?’
‘Commencement is on Friday May 31st, sir.’
‘And where are you due to report after you finish?’
‘Back to Hurlburt Field, Florida. I’ll get my next posting then, although I am hoping I can be transferred to the SGC instead.’
‘And you will be,’ Hammond assured him. ‘We just need to get…What’s your expression, Jack?’
‘Get all our ducks in a row, sir?’
‘That’s the one. Don’t worry, son. We’ll get you here. Now. I wanted to talk to you about your father.’
‘He signed the NDA Gen—Colonel O’Neill had with him, sir, although I probably need to sign a new one, too.’
‘That’ll be part of your intake briefing. I’m hoping we can keep this visit under wraps, but if anyone asks any questions, you’re being considered as a pilot for the X-302 fighter-interceptor for the X-303 spaceship currently under construction. Your flight record speaks for itself, and if we’d known about you, we would have recruited you for it, but Colonel O’Neill says that your path is going to be very different.’ Hammond waved a hand as if to dismiss the X-303 and her X-302 pilots. ‘I’d like to arrange to meet your father. I understand there are some issues with the ship and the fighter-interceptor he might be able to help us with, and we’re also going to need his help with Colonel O’Neill’s plans for financial independence. Is it possible for him to come to Colorado, or should I make a trip to Virginia to speak to him? Or would it be better to take the whole thing to Nevada?
‘I think he’d be happy to come here, sir,’ John told him. ‘He’s fascinated by the Stargate, and how it’s powered. His was one of the first PhDs in Environmental and Energy Engineering awarded in 1998, as that was Sheppard Industries’ focus for many years, although its remit has widened since Dad took over from Grandpa in 1987.’
‘Then I’ll issue an invitation to him,’ Hammond said with a satisfied smile.
‘Sir?’ O’Neill held up a finger. ‘Might it be best to let Major Davis invite him? He’s usually the one to liaise between contractors and the Programme. It also keeps Major Sheppard at a distance from it.’
The general tilted his head. ‘Good point, Jack. I’ll get on the phone to Davis after this meeting. Now, was there anything you wished to ask me?’
‘I…’ John took a deep breath and glanced at O’Neill. ‘That is…’
‘DADT.’ O’Neill spoke the words John was unable to say. ‘I mentioned it a few months ago, sir, and you asked—’
‘Why it was important,’ Hammond finished for him. ‘Yes, I remember. But you said it could wait.’
‘Well, it can’t anymore.’ O’Neill met the general’s gaze square on.
‘We’ve never applied it here, Jack. Isn’t that sufficient?’
‘No, sir.’ John found his tongue at last. ‘Has the G—Colonel explained about the ATA gene?’
‘Not yet.’ O’Neill shook his head. ‘It won’t be discovered until after SG-1 find the outpost.’
‘The outpost?’ Hammond enquired.
‘It’s a special gene which allows certain of us to activate Ancient technology,’ John began, and saw the puzzlement in Hammond’s eyes. ‘That’s…’ He broke off, trying to think of a way to explain the words in that sentence.
‘It’s one of things that’ll become apparent later on, sir.’ O’Neill took over the explanation, much to John’s relief. ‘McKay is searching for a geneticist to help us ‘discover’ it, but it will become of paramount importance in the future. From what I’ve been told, there’s a very strong link between having the ATA gene and being gay, or at the very least, bisexual. If we want to recruit more gene carriers – and we will – we have to accept many of them, most of them will not be heterosexual.’
Hammond sat back in his chair, rested his hands together in front of him, and nodded slowly. ‘And why do you need a different geneticist from before?’
He’s good, John thought to himself, but then he’s been dealing with this for a few months, I suppose.
‘The original one was…flaky.’ O’Neill kept his face poker-straight.
Hammond’s lips twitched. ‘Flaky.’
‘It’s a perfectly accurate description, sir. He was a good geneticist, but a crap practitioner. Quite aside from the fact he hadn’t worked with live patients for how long, Sheppard?’
‘Several years, at least, sir.’
‘He made several extremely iffy decisions, one or two approaching criminal – had they been on earth. A diplomat, Dr Elizabeth Weir, brought him onboard, but I have no idea how she knew about him. She won’t be joining the programme, by the way.’
‘Thank fuck for that,’ John muttered. ‘I don’t think I could go through her interest—Sorry, sir. Go on.’
O’Neill gave him a grin. ‘She come onto you too?’
‘Too? Did she…with you?’
‘Oh, yeah. After I got thawed out. I couldn’t understand it at first, but I realised it was just my gene she was after. Probably why she went after you as well.’
General Hammond was trying his best to hide a smile. ‘I don’t think I need to hear anymore, gentlemen, but are you sure she won’t join the programme? How was she recruited last time?’
‘She was appointed to look into the programme by the new president,’ O’Neill replied. ‘But I’ve never been sure if he appointed her, or if it had something to do with Kinsey.’
John made a rude noise, then looked between Hammond and O’Neill. ‘Did I do that out loud? Sorry.’
‘You know Kinsey?’ O’Neill asked him.
‘Not personally, but Rodney’s pretty scornful about him, and Dad calls him a worthless piece of shit.’
‘I think ‘worthless piece of shit’ is a pretty good description.’ O’Neill waved a hand and grinned. ‘I might add candy-assed to it.’
Hammond cleared his throat. ‘Gentlemen?’ He waited until John and O’Neill nodded. ‘Thank you. Jack, what did you mean when you said she wouldn’t be joining the programme?’
O’Neill’s lips twitched, and he raised his eyes to the ceiling.
‘Jack?’ Hammond added several syllables to his name. ‘What have you done?’
‘I, umm. I may have, umm, asked Kusanagi to, umm, add her name to a terrorist watch list?’
Hammond shook his head in resignation while John grinned.
‘Can’t we do the same to Kinsey?’ he asked. ‘Rodney’s always good with ideas.’
‘Don’t need any ideas,’ O’Neill told him. ‘We’ve got a disk full of information about all his nefarious activities. Dates, times, all his links with the NID and to the Russians.’
‘Then why haven’t you done anything with it?’
O’Neill screwed up his face. ‘I kinda said I wouldn’t use it if Kinsey got General Hammond reinstated after he was replaced by General Bauer.’
‘Huh.’ John was silent for a moment. ‘What if…you handed the disk to my f—no, no! What if my father received it anonymously through the post?’
‘Kinsey will know it could only come from us.’ O’Neill sounded almost disappointed.
‘But what could he actually do about it? Unless the information is inaccurate…’
‘Oh, it’s all kosher, and not just from Kinsey’s own computer, he might have deleted. There’s a lot from online sources Harry Maybourne was able to save, and even it’s been deleted—’
‘There’s no way anything is ever entirely deleted,’ John finished for him. ‘Not if you have someone of Miko Kusanagi’s calibre on your side. And we do.’
O’Neill turned to look at Hammond. ‘You good with us giving it to Patrick Sheppard to deal with, sir?’
Hammond sighed. ‘I’ve been guided by you thus far, Jack. Just make sure it can’t be traced back here. We have enough suits in DC to deal with already.’
*****
‘Dr Sheppard, it’s a pleasure to meet you.’ A week after meeting John Sheppard, Hammond shook his father’s hand, and noted the fleeting grimace cross his guest’s face. ‘Do you prefer Admiral Sheppard?’ It was now a full-blown grimace.
‘I prefer Mr Sheppard, or better still, Patrick. I have a feeling we’re going to get to know each other pretty well.’
‘Then please call me George. Come, take a seat.’ Hammond led the way into his office and nodded to the Marine SF escorting their guest. ‘I’ll take it from here, son.’
As he settled in behind his desk, Hammond noticed the puzzlement on Patrick’s face, and smiled a little ruefully. ‘I’m afraid we must look like a pretty lax service to an admiral, and I’ll admit we rarely stand on ceremony here. When you’re dealing with alien technology and even aliens themselves, we’ve discovered a relaxed atmosphere works best.’ His lips twitched a little. ‘It also means reprimands are rare and have far more effect.’
Patrick relaxed in his chair. ‘Having met Colonel O’Neill, I quite understand. Now—’ He broke off as the door opened to admit a Senior Master Sergeant carrying a tray loaded with coffee and pastries, with a sheaf of files under one arm.
‘Ah, Walter, I need—’
‘All here, sir.’
‘What about—’
‘That’s here too, sir.’
He nodded politely to Patrick and left, leaving Patrick watching after him with a slack jaw.
‘Does he…What…’
George Hammond’s grin was pure mischief. ‘The Stargate Programme is unique in both its mission and its personnel.’
‘You’re telling me,’ Patrick muttered just loud enough for George to hear.’
The exchange regarding Walter Harriman had done away with any tension between the two men, and while Patrick sipped his – rather good – coffee, George explained how he hoped Sheppard Industries might help the SGC.
‘Of course, it’s all been made easier by your son’s friendship with Dr McKay.’
When Patrick frowned at the term used, George met his eyes. ‘While we pretty much disregard DADT, it is still the official policy stated in the UCMJ, and we can’t afford for their relationship to appear in any written reports which might be seen by anyone outside of the programme.’
Patrick’s swift glance around the office prompted George to glance at the small silver ball perched on his desk next to a photo of his two granddaughters. Patrick followed his gaze and frowned, then reached out to touch it. Jack’s gizmo immediately lit up, then faded. Patrick picked it up, and it brightened again, making Patrick set it quickly down.
‘What…’
‘Jack O’Neill calls it his bug zapper, and it…does exactly that. No one can electronically overhear what is said in its vicinity. It’s apparently technology from the Ancients, an alien species who built highly advanced technology, according to Jack. We haven’t come across them, as yet, but much of their tech is locked by a specific gene—’
‘The ATA gene,’ Patrick interrupted. ‘John and Col—Jack were talking about it, but they didn’t mention that it would work for me.’
‘There’s a lot we need to ‘discover’ about it, but your son apparently has one of the strongest expressions of the gene. It stands to reason at least one of his parents also had it.’ The general tilted his head. ‘It also makes you even more valuable to the programme.’
‘Thanks?’
Laughing now, George tried to bring the conversation back to DADT. ‘Your son explained there’s a link between the ATA gene and sexuality. Gene holders apparently have a tendency to be gay or bisexual.’ He held up his hand. ‘Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know. Jack simply said we need to abolish DADT if we have any hope of attracting gene holders to the programme, but we can’t do anything until we have ‘proof’ of the gene.’
Patrick nodded slowly. ‘I didn’t want John to join the Air Force because I knew he was gay – or at least bisexual since he was married to a woman for a short while. It’s ironic it’s his sexuality, in a roundabout way, which is now attractive to you.’
‘It’s way more than that for me, Patrick, and you know that. Having seen just a part of his service jacket, I’d want him for this command. Hell, I’d want him for any command. His gene aside, he’s exactly the sort of man for our programme.’
‘We just need to get DADT thrown out.’
‘Exactly.’
*****
It was late afternoon before Jack was called to the General’s office. And that must be a good sign. I thought they’d get on well together, Jack thought to himself as he made his way down to Level 27, McKay joining him in the elevator at Level 19.
‘Colonel.’ McKay’s tone was slightly warmer than before he learned Jack had also come back in time.
We may never be buddies, not like I think Sheppard and I could be, but mutual non-aggression would work for me.
They left the elevator together and were beckoned into the briefing room rather than the General’s office, and McKay pounced on the pastries like a starving man.
‘Did you forget to eat again, Rodney?’ Patrick asked, frowning at – huh, son-in-law, or to-be at least, I guess.
‘Don’t you start nagging me as well. John’s a big enough mother hen.’
‘We both just care about you, and hyperglycaemia isn’t a joke, so don’t treat it as such.’
The sharp reprimand brought a flush of colour to McKay’s cheeks, but the fleeting smile he gave Patrick Sheppard spoke of his affection for the man. ‘Yes, Dad. I was just—’
‘Busy and didn’t notice the time, yes, I know, but you know how much John worries, as do I.’
That point struck home, and McKay dropped his head.
Carter said his hyperglycaemia was pure attention seeking, but Patrick Sheppard isn’t the kind of man to be taken in by such. Jack frowned at the younger man. ‘Does Janet Fraiser know about your condition?’
‘Of course she does.’ McKay scowled at the question. ‘That woman misses nothing, and nor did Dr Clarke at Area 51, who probably split on me. Doc Fraiser also does a blood sugar test every Friday morning, and if it’s too low, she forces me to stay in the infirmary over the weekend.’
‘But that’s only happened once or twice, hasn’t it?’ Sheppard asked, still frowning.
‘Twice,’ McKay admitted, unable to meet Sheppard’s eyes. ‘And both times were at Area 51, before John came back. He…gives me an incentive, I suppose.’
‘Is there any way this command can assist you in dealing with this…problem?’ General Hammond asked, and Jack could tell he was sincere in his offer.
‘Thank you, sir, but I should be able to deal with it myself,’ McKay told him. ‘I’ve dealt with it all my life. I promise I’ll set an alarm to remind me to eat, Dad. And maybe ask Miko as well.’ He gave a full body shudder as he said her name. ‘If it’s a choice between eating or getting reamed out by her, I’ll choose food every time!’
‘Then let’s move on.’ Hammond picked up a pen and glanced at his notes. ‘Dr Sheppard has offered us his company’s full support in our move to be self-financing. He’s already in discussions with Dr Kusanagi to help market one or two of the programmes she’s designed since coming to the SGC, and both Sheppard Industries and Dr Kusanagi have agreed for a percentage of the profits to be paid to the programme. All that remains is for Dr Sheppard to come to an agreement with the DOD, and to that end, he and I will pay a visit to DC together.
‘What I want today, Dr McKay, is a list of technologies you think we could market, and, if possible, an idea of how much we might raise. I’d like to present the DOD with a full proposal for our financial independence.’
‘That…might not go as smoothly as you expect, sir,’ Jack commented. ‘I suspect there are more than a few vested interests in the ideas which derive from the programme.’
‘We’re both aware of that, Colonel.’ Sheppard was the one to answer Jack. ‘Which is why we’ll be going together. I have a few friends in government, and—’
‘And you play golf every week with the current SecNav,’ Rodney interrupted. ‘And cards with several of the Cabinet on a monthly basis.’
‘And I’m willing to use as much influence as needed,’ Patrick finished, ignoring McKay’s interruption.
‘How does your other son feel about the direction your company will take?’ Jack asked, aware that Dave Sheppard wasn’t read-in to the Stargate Programme.’
‘He’s aware there’s much he doesn’t know about John’s work and is happy to have John back in his life . As long as what we’re doing is legal and ethical – he’s a corporate lawyer by training – he’s said he’s content to let me run with it, although I would like to have him read into the programme if possible. It’d be helpful from a company point of view, and he’ll be useful if we run into any problems.’
‘I agree.’ Hammond nodded and scribbled a note on his legal pad. ‘I’ll get Paul Davis onto it as soon as possible.’
‘I’ve already made a list of technologies I believe will market well.’ Rodney offered a sheet of paper to each of the other three men. ‘And before you ask, Colonel.’ He turned his head to regard Jack. ‘It’s on paper because paper can’t be hacked.’
Jack frowned at him. ‘I thought your laptop was super-duper top-of-the-range?’
‘Mine is, but neither yours nor General Hammond’s is, and you‘ve already been hacked more than once.’
Jack grimaced. Don’t remind me.
‘Jack? Is there anything you forgot to tell me?’ Hammond asked, his tone making Jack squirm.
‘Later, sir? Please?’ He relaxed as Hammond gave a single nod. He’s going to be all over this now. Thanks very much, McKay! But even as the thought crossed his mind, he realised he was being unfair to the scientist. Danny told me this might come back and bite me in the ass, and I didn’t listen.
‘The next thing I wanted to discuss was the NID.’ Hammond changed the subject, but Jack knew he’d return to it once Sheppard had gone. ‘Patrick, did Colonel O’Neill brief you and John about them, and about the Committee?’
Oops. Back in the doghouse!
‘About the NID, yes, but he didn’t mention the Committee. What committee?’
‘It’s the name a group of shady businessmen gave themselves,’ Jack answered. ‘They’re behind most of the nefarious activities of the NID for no better reason than to make money.’ He almost spat the last words, making Sheppard raise his eyebrows.
‘And making money is bad because…?’
‘It’s bad when other people’s lives are sacrificed in the pursuit of money.’
‘I don’t disagree.’ Sheppard folded his hands loosely on the table. ‘But don’t make the mistake of tarring every businessman with the same brush, Colonel. Many—most of us have principles that govern our lives.’
As a reprimand, it was benign enough, and Jack slumped in his seat and rubbed his hands over his face. ‘I apologise, sir. In the past—future it was such egotism which brought the Wraith down upon us. I meant no offence.’
‘And none was taken.’ Sheppard regarded him for a moment, the general apparently happy for this to play out with no interference from him. ‘But the only way this can work is if you can trust me. If it helps, call me Admiral Sheppard instead of Patrick, to remind yourself that I was an officer before I was a businessman. My only desire here is to help my son, my family,’ his smile included McKay, ‘and to save everyone I possibly can from an enemy which, frankly, scares the crap out of me. Can we work together?’
‘It’ll be my pleasure, sir.’
*****
Chapter 10
Chapter Text
‘May I have a minute of your time, Colonel O’Neill?’
Turning to look back at McKay, Jack raised his eyebrows. ‘Problem?’
‘There will be shortly, and I’d like to get ahead of it, if possible.’
Jack gave a swift glance around, then nodded. ‘Join me in my office? We’ll be private there.’ Without checking to see if the scientist was following, Jack headed for the elevator and pressed the button.
‘You didn’t have an office last time,’ McKay said as he followed Jack into the elevator.
Jack snorted. ‘Apparently I did. I just didn’t know where it was.’
Rodney grinned. ‘John was just the same. He worked either in the Mess or on one of the balconies, at least until Lorne joined us. After that, he shared Lorne’s office, although he still had a couple of hideaways dotted around the city. Mostly where the sensors and radios didn’t work, so no one could find him.’
Jack studied him. ‘You still miss Atlantis.’ It wasn’t a question. ‘Even though it’s been, what, eight years now?’
‘Thereabouts, and yes, we both do. We can’t wait to get back.’
‘Despite the Wraith?’
‘Despite the Wraith. It was the first time either of us felt truly at home. Everything I’m—we‘re doing is directed towards getting back there.’ He dropped his gaze, making Jack frown. ‘John still feels such a responsibility for waking the Wraith last time,’ he said, his voice so low Jack had to lean forward a little to hear.
‘But…’ Jack paused, frowning while trying to think what he’d been told about the waking of the Wraith. ‘I thought it was proved he wasn’t responsible.’
‘It was, but John couldn’t believe he didn’t have anything to do with it.’
Not like Daniel and the Ori. Landry should never have allowed that to happen. McKay wasn’t wrong when he said we never considered the consequences of our actions. Look at those wristbands we used based on the flimsiest of evidence from the Tok’ra.
‘—iell? O’Neill!’
Pulled abruptly from his thoughts, Jack blinked at McKay, who pointed to the open elevator door.
‘Level 24? I don’t know where your hidden man cave is?’
Jack gave his head a shake and led the way to his office, pulling a key from his pocket. After Daniel’s complaints, he’d added a wooden chair to the room, making sure its firmness ensured no one would linger. He sank into his own – comfy – armchair and pointed the scientist to the other one. ‘What did you want to talk about?’
‘Naquadah-enhanced asteroids.’
‘Crap! Is it that time already?’
‘Since I only read about it in AARs, I’m uncertain of the exact time, but I’m pretty sure it’s imminent, and last time you used a tel’tak you salvaged from Revanna. Since the Tok’ra managed to escape Revanna and Tanith this time, we need a different plan, although do remember he’s still out there. Teal’c didn’t kill him this time.’
'I’ll add it to the to do list,’ Jack said sardonically
McKay gave a wry smile. ‘Yeah, yours is probably as long as mine. Back to the asteroid, though. If we follow Carter’s previous solution, we’re going to need a ship capable of entering hyperspace, plus you need her to think of that solution.’
‘Or you simply come on the mission instead of her?’
‘Is that wise? When I went to Edora with you, Carter was on leave. She isn’t now, and you don’t want to alienate her.’ McKay’s brow creased. ‘Or is that your intention, because if it is, it’s a stupid intention.’
‘Geez, McKay, don’t hold back, will you?’
‘Pah! You’ll only drive her directly into the arms of the Trust, or, even worse, the Russians – which reminds me. Don’t you have to send someone to teach them how to make naquadah generators?
‘Nope.’ Jack popped the P. ‘We only agreed to giving help to get their DHD. That didn’t happen this time so, no naquadah generators.’
‘Not even as a goodwill gesture?’ McKay tilted his head to one side. ‘No, it’s an ace in the sleeve, isn’t it?’
‘Youbetcha. As for Carter, she’ll shortly be taking the lead of a science team. I want you – and Sheppard, when he gets here – on SG-1 to get some experience under your belts. It’ll help you more in Pegasus when you get there. Plus, I want Sheppard to be a Lieutenant Colonel by then at the very least, so he can head the military from the start.’
The look McKay gave him was full of warmth. ‘I guess you’re not such a jack-ass as I thought.’
‘And you’re not an arrogant blowhard.’
McKay scowled at him. ‘You’ll ruin my reputation if you go about saying things like that! How can I intimidate the minions if they think I’m soft?’
Jack burst out laughing. ‘Your reputation is safe, Rodney. Now go away. I need to think about where to get a tel’tak from.
*****
In the end, Jack combined a couple of objectives when Master Bra’tac accompanied Teal’c back to the SGC to report on a new company of Jaffa led by K’tano, who wished for their own hodgepodge group to join his alliance.
‘Yeah, he’s a fake,’ Jack told the two Jaffa.
‘He will lead us in our battle for freedom!’ Bra’tac clasped his fist to his chest.
‘Not so much He’s a Goa’uld called Immiho—Immostep—’
‘Imhotep,’ Daniel corrected with a sigh. ‘Why do you always have to mangle—’
‘Him!’ Jack pointed to Daniel, ignoring his complaint. ‘The whole thing’s a setup to build Immi his own army to fight the other System Lords, getting the Free Jaffa a bad name while doing so. They’re only waiting until Immi’s got enough Jaffa to take out the whole lot in one attack. It’s just politics. Dirty, filthy politics.’
‘Then we must reveal him as a traitor!’
Huh. Did Bra’tac always speak in exclamation marks?
‘He’ll slip up on his own,’ Jack told Teal’c and Bra’tac. ‘You just need to have an escape route for the Jaffa who’re following him. He’ll either get them killed by sending them on suicide missions, or when the other snakeheads attack.’
‘But if he is the cause of the death of Free Jaffa, we must fight him,’ Teal’c argued.
‘Suit yourself, T man, but I have to tell ya, Immi almost killed you last time, although Yu had already had a go at you that day, I suppose.’
‘Colonel O’Neill.’ The general spoke for the first time since the meeting began. ‘Perhaps you can make out a list of future events to give to Master Bra’tac and Teal’c, and allow them to make their plans accordingly. I know, for example, that Teal’c is shortly going to require tretonin for Drey’auc, and it would be a good idea to have a supply of it in the Jaffa camp in which they presently live.’ When Jack nodded, he continued. ‘And wasn’t there a task you wished Master Bra’tac to help with?’
‘Yessir. To both.’ Jack turned to the two Jaffa. ‘We need to get hold of a ship with a hyper-drive to sort out an attack on Earth by Anubis. Can you help us, Master Bra’tac?’ He held up a finger as Bra’tac opened his mouth to speak. ‘And we’d also like your help in locating a weapon Anubis plans to use to destroy our Stargate.’
‘Is there such a weapon?’
‘Yeah, and if Anubis gets to it before we do, he can attack any planet he wants without the bother of going there.’
‘I seem to hear this name wherever I go,’ Bra’tac complained, frowning. ‘He is rising in power.’
‘It’s because he’s the new kid on the block, so to speak,’ Jack told him, then grinned at Bra’tac’s puzzlement at the expression. ‘He was one of the oldest, most powerful Goa’uld, banished by Ra and the other snakeheads, who’s been rebuilding his power base for hundreds of years, but isn’t quite there yet. We intend to off him before he gets too powerful, but we’ll need your help to do it.’
‘Then tell me what I must do.’
‘Anubis hasn’t yet managed to gain control of many worlds, and the Stargate Destroyer is on one of those. Last time you found it by dialling all the gates he controls and finding the one which was always busy, then went there to destroy it, but I never knew which planet it was. I was too busy flying our Stargate away from Earth, then ejecting before the F-302 took me to a galaxy far, far away.’ Jack gave a theatrical shudder at the memory.
‘And how did we destroy this new weapon of Anubis?’ Bra’tac asked.
‘Actually, it was Rya’c who destroyed it after you and Teal’c were captured,’ Jack said, noting the sudden flash of pride across Teal’c’s usually stoic face. ‘He stole a glider and strafed the weapon. Bang!’ Jack used his hands to indicate an explosion. ‘Your old chum Shaq’rel had heard about the weapon and brought a tel’tak to Chulak for you to use. I was thinking it might be worth looking him up to see if he either has, or can get hold of the ship now, so we can use it to divert the asteroid Anubis is about to send our way.’
‘…An asteroid?’ Bra’tac repeated. ‘What weapon is this?’
‘A bloody big one!’ Jack muttered.
*****
Much to their surprise, Jacob Carter contacted the SGC a day or two following the meeting with Bra’tac, to advise them Anubis was planning to launch a naquadah-enhanced asteroid towards Earth.
‘This didn’t happen last time,’ Jack muttered to Daniel as they made their way to the briefing room. ‘What’s changed to make it happen now?’
‘The Tok’ra base on Revanna not being attacked?’ Daniel suggested. ‘It solves the problem of us getting a ship, though. Are you still intending to bring Rodney on the mission?’
‘I’m not sure. There’ll certainly be a row if I do, but having McKay there will ensure we survive if Carter doesn’t think of expanding the hyperspace field.’
‘Is there a chance she won’t?’
They entered the briefing room at that moment, so Jack wasn’t able to answer, and, unsurprisingly, McKay was already seated at the briefing table with Drs Zelenka and Kusanagi alongside him.
‘Why are they here?’ Carter asked the moment she walked through the door and spotted the three scientists.
General Hammond frowned at both her words and her sharp tone. ‘I wasn’t aware I needed your permission to invite the Chief Scientific Officer and his team to a briefing, Major.’
Carter flushed, her face not enhanced by either her scowl or her colour, and took a seat as far away from McKay as she could, meaning she was far from Jack and Daniel too, and when Teal’c arrived, he hesitated a little and glanced at Carter, before sitting down next to Daniel
How did I not notice how objectionable she was when she didn’t get her own way? Another thought answered, because she always got her own way. Next to him, he was aware of Daniel frowning at her, and he gave him a nudge and a slight shake of his head. Ignore her, Danny.
‘As most of you know,’ Hammond began, ‘I was recently contacted by General Carter concerning an attack on Earth by the Goa’uld Anubis.’ He ignored Carter’s gasp of surprise and turned to Daniel. ‘Dr Jackson, what can you tell us all about this new System Lord?’
Good move, George. Don’t let on we already know all about him.
‘He grew to power by killing Apep, who in turn had killed his father, Atok,’ Daniel began, ‘and devoured the symbiote before the other System Lords before declaring himself Emperor of the Goa’uld. It took a further three centuries, but eventually Ra gained sufficient support from his brothers and sisters – as called by Apep – to defeat and exile Anubis and create a High Council of System Lords with himself as Supreme System Lord.
‘Anubis, meanwhile, tricked Oma Desala into helping him ascend, but was then forced into a state midway between ascended and corporeal. This state enabled him to use both the knowledge and the technology of the Ancients he’d amassed, and he grew in strength for hundreds of years before returning to revenge himself on the System Lords.’ Daniel paused to take a drink of water, and Jack noticed how Carter was frowning at Daniel from the opposite side of the table.
‘From what Jacob and Selmak have discovered,’ Daniel continued, ‘the deaths of the System Lords we’ve been able to kill has created a kind of vacuum Anubis is trying to fill, and has taken several of the lesser System Lords, such as Osiris, Tanith, and Zipacna to his service. Osiris recently petitioned the High Council of the System Lords to restore Anubis back to the Council and told them of his offer to destroy the Tau’ri before being readmitted to their ranks. As he wasn’t, at present, a System Lord, the Protected Planets Treaty didn’t apply to him, and since the System Lords themselves defined exactly what a threat to the Treaty was, they could chose not to enforce it.’
‘How do you know all this?’ Carter demanded as Daniel set down his papers, making the younger man jump.
‘From books, and from information your father passed to us,’ Daniel said, a little blankly. ‘Why?’
‘Because I’ve never heard of this Anubis, and yet it sounds as though he’s been pretty busy. How come you have, and I haven’t? And why didn’t my father ask to see me?’
‘I don’t like your tone, Major Carter,’ Hammond told her, frowning at her again. ‘General Carter hasn’t set foot in the Mountain for several months. Most of his communications come to us by data bursts transmitted from his ship. Unless he adds something for you personally, it has nothing to do with you.’ He gave her a measured look and she looked away, but her scowl didn’t lessen.
He nodded at her once, then transferred his attention to Daniel. ‘Thank you.’ His gaze took in the rest of the people at the table. ‘Dr Jackson mentioned the offer Anubis made to the System Lords: to destroy the Tau’ri. His first move has been to launch a naquadah-enhanced asteroid towards us. Now, since we can’t call on the Asgard to aid us, as Anubis hasn’t violated the terms of the Protected Planets Treaty since he isn’t a System Lord yet, we must deal with this threat ourselves, with the help of Jacob and the Tok’ra if we need them. What I want from you people is a workable plan to prevent this asteroid from colliding with our planet in just under two weeks.’ He stood from the table, nodded to McKay. ‘As CSO, Dr McKay, you’re in charge of this planning session, along with Colonel O’Neill.’
‘Gee, thanks,’ Jack muttered, not quite under his breath, causing Hammond’s lips to twitch as he turned and left the room.
‘Why is he in charge?’ Carter demanded as soon as the door had closed.
Jack sighed. ‘Because, as the general just said, he’s the CSO.’
‘Who has no off-world experience,’ Carter immediately countered. ‘I doubt he can even hold a gun, let alone fire one.’
McKay ignored her and went to pull a white board into place where they could all see it. ‘Thoughts, people?’ he asked, arming himself with a marker pen.
Knowing what was expected of him, Jack held up a hand. ‘Nuke it?’
‘Nuke a naquadah-enhanced asteroid?’ Kusanagi asked. ‘Do you want to blow up the entire Sol system?’
‘Might take more even than this system,’ Radek said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
‘So, we can’t destroy it,’ McKay said, tapping the pen on his other hand almost without realising. ‘Can we move it? It had to have been physically brought into our system.’
This was it. The original solution was the next step in the process, and McKay had laid it out for Carter to redeem herself and have all the credit. I had no idea he could be so generous. This isn’t the action of an arrogant and mean spirited man. I was so very, very wrong about him.
Carter, however, remained silent, still scowling and staring at McKay through narrowed eyes. Her professional jealousy was overriding her own integrity.
‘It’d have needed a mothership to bring it here, wouldn’t it?’ Daniel asked after a slight pause when no one spoke. ‘We have access to a cargo ship at best.’
‘Could we…phase the asteroid?’ Zelenka asked, frowning in concentration. ‘I have read of the phasing technology of the Tollans and also of the…Rootoo?’
‘Reetou,’ Jack corrected automatically, now frowning himself. Could that work? Why didn’t we consider it last time?
‘It couldn’t possibly work,’ Carter said, her tone full of scorn. ‘First of all, the Tollan are gone, and both the Reetou and their technology was for much smaller objects than an entire planet.’
‘But we wouldn’t be phasing an entire planet,’ Jack pointed out, remembering Carter’s use of Arthur’s Mantle to hide Earth from the Ori in a parallel dimension. I know where Arthur’s Mantle is. Under Glastonbury Tor. And with no Vala to screw things up, we could be in and out of there in a couple of days. And I’m definitely destroying that communication device before Danny can use it! ‘We’d only be phasing the asteroid.’
The glare Carter sent him should have caused him instant death. Possible while burning. She knows putting the asteroid into phase would work, but she can’t allow anyone else to be right beyond her. Her priority isn’t Earth or anyone else’s lives, as she professes. It’s Sam Carter. Each and every time. It’s Sam Carter. The realisation was like a hammer blow, and Jack physically shifted to one side, making Daniel catch his arm and frown.
‘Are you okay? You’ve gone awfully pale.’
”M fine.’
Still frowning, Daniel reached out to snag the plate of pastries in the centre of the table, and added one to a plate he slid in front of Jack. ‘Here, eat this.’
It was a plain croissant, for which Jack was extremely grateful, and he pulled off a piece to eat it dry, feeling his stomach settle after the first mouthful. He looked up, realising the room had fallen silent.
‘Are you alright, Colonel?’ McKay asked, concern in his voice.
Jack nodded. ‘Forgot to eat breakfast, that’s all.’ It was a lie, and Daniel knew it was a lie since he’d made omelettes for them both before they left for the mountain. It did the trick, however, and McKay nodded slowly.
‘Okay. If you’re sure.’
‘I am.’
‘Right then.’ McKay took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on Zelenka. ‘That was a pretty good idea. Some of my brilliance must be rubbing off on you!’
The words were undoubtedly egotistical, but the accompanying lopsided grin removed any offence. Carter didn’t see that. She only ever heard the words and took no notice of either context or body language. And then convinced the rest of us that the words were everything. And we lapped it up because she was always right. Our own golden girl.
The croissant felt as if it had turned to stone in his stomach as the metaphorical scales fell from his eyes. She never loved me, she just used me to climb the promotion ladder. Promotions happen fast in the SGC, but not as fast as hers. It took me fifteen years to go from light colonel to Brigadier General. It took her six.
*****
The rest of the meeting washed over Jack entirely. He waited only until McKay announced they had a workable plan, then he took off, and all but ran to the elevator, several uniformed personnel skipping out of his way. He hit the button for Level 21 and was in Janet Fraiser’s office almost before he realised it.
‘I need you to test me for Nish’ta,’ he managed to say before dropping into a chair, panting with a mixture of physical and mental exertion.
‘Nice to see you too, Colonel,’ Fraiser said, putting down her pen and frowning at him. ‘Why do you need me to check for Nish’ta?’
Jack stared at her and frowned. ‘Because I might have been exposed to it.’
‘When, and how?’
‘What?’
‘When do you think you were exposed, and how were you exposed? Was it digested, or inhaled?’
I didn’t know Nish’ta could be digested.
‘Both, either, and over a couple of years, maybe.’
Fraiser frowned at him. ‘What makes you think you’ve been exposed?’
Ah. The million dollar question.
‘I…have some doubts…that is…Can’t you just check me for it, dammit!’
Now Fraiser’s face was immobile. ‘I am simply doing my job, Colonel O’Neill. That means I have to ask certain questions. If you wish me to bring in a different medic to treat you, I can do so.’
Although Jack knew this was a reprimand, he wondered for a moment if a different medic would be a good idea, given Janet Fraiser was Carter’s best friend, but that would just draw attention to his situation. More attention, and he sighed.
‘I apologise, Janet. I’ve just realised I’ve made some…odd decisions which I might have been influenced to make. Isn’t there a hair test or something you can do? Please?’
His apology did the trick, and she led him through to a cubicle in the infirmary where she quickly and proficiently drew a vial of blood, and took a hair sample from his head.
She tilted her head as she regarded him. ‘I’m thinking you want the results asap?’
‘Please.’
Fraiser nodded, and as she pushed back the curtain separating the cubicles, he saw Daniel waiting by the door, wringing his hands.
‘D’you want me to scare him off?’ Fraiser asked in a low voice.
‘Na. Let him come in. He’d only manage to do it behind your back.’
She smiled at him, the first smile she’d given him in the last half hour. ‘You do know you never manage to sneak in here without my knowledge, don’t you?’
‘Yeah. But it makes us feel better if we think we’re doing it behind your back,’ Jack answered, grateful for her return to normality.
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ she told him, then waved Jack’s waiting teammate over. ‘Keep an eye on him for me, Daniel. I won’t be long.’
As Janet disappeared further into the infirmary, Daniel dropped into a seat next to Jack’s.
‘What’s happened? You went as white as a sheet, then disappeared so fast I thought the place might be on fire.’
Jack looked around. They were in the equivalent of a civilian Emergency Room. ‘We can talk about it later,’ Jack began in a low voice, ‘but I suddenly had the thought I might have been drugged at some point with Nish’ta—’
‘Nish’ta!’ Daniel all but shouted.
‘Shh! Keep your voice down! I’m trying to keep this on the QT!’
‘Why d’you think you’ve been drugged?’ Daniel asked in a whisper, looking from side to side to check no one was close by.
‘Later, I said!’
Daniel huffed and folded his arms, but remained – thankfully – silent until Fraiser returned.
She gave Daniel a level stare until he got to his feet, but Jack waved him back again.
‘Carry on, Janet. It just saves me from having to repeat it all later,’ Jack said with a sigh.
‘Very well.’ Fraiser pulled up a stool and down facing Jack. ‘I’ve only done preliminary testing on your hair – the other tests will take longer, but from an initial examination, you have not been exposed to any drug over the last eight months, for certain, possibly as much as a year, but hair deterioration means eight months is as much as we can be certain of. Does that help reassure you?’
Jack heaved a great sigh. ‘It does, Janet, and thank you.’ He hesitated for a moment, and Janet smiled.
‘Your medical information is strictly confidential, Jack – aside from Daniel, here, of course. I know SG-1 shares their medical issues with each other in case there’s a problem off-world, but that is your decision to make and I will never share your information with anyone without explicit permission. Okay?’
‘Very okay, and thank you again. It’s much appreciated.’
Daniel kept his silence until they were back in Jack’s quarters with the bug zapper initiated.
‘Now, will you tell me what’s going on?’
‘I had a sudden thought that Carter may have drugged me. Over a period of years.’
*****
They ended up in the briefing room. We always end up in the briefing room.
‘…So I asked Janet to check, and, bar anything coming up on my blood tests, I’m clear.’ Jack sat back and let his words sink in to his select audience of General Hammond, Teal’c, and Rodney McKay.
‘Why did you suddenly suspect her?’ Daniel asked again, for the benefit of the others who weren’t there when he’d asked it the first time.
‘It suddenly struck me that Samantha Carter is the golden girl here and in DC, and could do no wrong, ever. She was always right, no matter the subject. I realised that she never lo—cared for me. She just used me to climb the promotion ladder. I mean, promotions happen fast in the SGC, but not as fast as hers did. It took me fifteen years to go from light colonel to Brigadier General. It took her six.’ Jack sat back and let the others digest this.
‘Are you saying that Major Carter influenced both us and the Pentagon to give her promotions?’ Hammond asked in a quiet voice.
Jack nodded.
‘And you thought she may have influenced you through the use of drugs?’
Jack nodded again.
‘But that would—would be like—like a rape of the mind,’ Daniel said in horror, not having reached this conclusion earlier in Jack’s quarters.
‘And physical rape too,’ Rodney said quietly. ‘Jack’s admitted having a sexual relationship with Carter in the future. If that was done under duress or compulsion, it was rape.’
‘Are you trying to make me throw up?’ Daniel demanded, looking rather pale.
‘Now you understand how horrified I was when the thought struck me,’ Jack said, shaking his head. ‘I almost threw up on the spot.’
‘I don’t wonder,’ Hammond said in a low voice. ‘But you realise I can’t act on any of this, don’t you, Jack?’
‘Yes, sir, but I thought it was important that you knew my fears.’
‘And I appreciate that, son.’
‘I have a suggestion, if I may, General,’ Rodney said, hold up his hand. ‘It’s about base security. I know Miko’s been working on the security tapes, but have you considered installing a warning system of some sort to detect if noxious substances are released in the facility? Atlantis has automatic sensors, besides which, her systems wouldn’t work here. But just as you have smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide and dioxide monitors, you could also devise a system which would pick up on the release of any other chemical or gas in the mountain. Area 51 has whole labs full of chemists, so now that you oversee both facilities, you can direct them to add such a system to their project list.’
‘Isn’t that your role, Doctor?’
Rodney shook his head. ‘I’m not CSO of Nevada any longer. In fact, I’m not sure who is. Lance Edwards was fired at the same time Landry was removed after the bullying allegations came to light, and I’ve no idea who’s being considered for the post now.’
His words caused the general to frown. ‘But you should have received an offer from the Secretary of the Air Force offering you the post of CSO of the entire programme, or asking for your recommendation should you not wish to take up that position.’
Rodney sat back in his seat and stared at Hammond. ‘I can assure you I’ve received nothing of the sort, and the only way I’d take the job would be if I had oversight of all the work done at Area 51, including the X-303 programme, and even then I’d have to appoint a deputy for Nevada. It’s just too much for one person to do and do properly.’
‘And that was included after I pointed out that you and Dr Zelenka were largely responsible for the project.’
‘Then either the offer has gone astray, or someone has made sure I didn’t get it.’
Given Jack’s upset, and the issue of missing job offers, the general suggested that the mission to Edora be postponed to the following week, and for Jack to spend a weekend at his cabin.
‘I haven’t been up there for months,’ Jack said, considering the idea. How about you, Danny? Fancy a weekend fishing?’
Daniel grinned at him. ‘I’d appreciate a weekend at the cabin as long as you don’t make me fish.’
‘You don’t know what you’re missing.’ Jack shook his head, then turned his attention to McKay. Rodney. ‘How about you, unless you have ‘other plans’?’ He wiggled his eyebrows, making Danny snort with laughter.
‘I don’t, as it happens.’ When Jack raised his eyebrows, McKay continued, succinctly, ‘Exam prep.’
‘Riiight. What about you, T-man? Want a weekend in the wilderness?’
‘Since your cabin has modern amenities, O’Neill, it is not the wilderness, but I will join you, regardless.’
‘A team bonding weekend.’ Jack rubbed his hands together gleefully. ‘I can’t wait!’
*****
The three members plus one newby of SG-1 had an exceedingly pleasant weekend in Minnesota, eating, drinking, talking, fishing, or Jack fishing, at least. They don’t know what they’re missing.
Since all four of them knew about the time travel, and since there was no one for miles around, they could discuss whatever they wanted as much as they wanted, although Jack kept the bug-zapper on, just in case.
Rodney filled Daniel and Teal’c in on the Atlantis expedition, and, inevitably, Daniel was eager to be a part of it as soon as possible.
(‘Not gonna happen, Space Monkey.’
‘But, Jack—’
‘Nope, nada, nee, never.’
‘But—’
‘Ah!’
‘Indeed.’)
Jack, for his part, went through all he could recall of taking down Anubis and the Trust.
(‘By the way, T-man, you’re not gonna live off-base.’
‘Do I desire to live off-base in the future?’
‘Yeah, but it—Let’s just settle with ‘you don’t live off-base’, shall we?’
‘If that is your desire.’)
Since George Hammond was far away in Colorado, they could discuss the means to take down Kinsey in detail.
(‘John said you had a disc of all Kinsey’s crimes that General Hammond wouldn’t let you use.’
‘I promised not to use it if Kinsey got General Hammond reinstated after he was replaced by Bauer. The General simply held me to that promise.’
‘And it needs to get to Patrick Sheppard. He’s the only one who can really use it. Give it to me when we get back and I’ll make sure it gets there with no blowback on the SGC.’
‘Can’t we just shoot the fucker?’
‘Indeed.’)
‘Rodders,’ Jack asked on the Sunday evening – they were due to fly back to Colorado Springs early the following morning – ‘want to give us a rundown on your medical issues, and we’ll do the same?’
The four men were sprawled in front of an open fire, three of them sipping a beer and Teal’c with a glass of water, after a steak dinner, relaxed and refreshed after two days in the fresh, clean air of Minnesota.
‘Why?’ Rodney sat upright and looked at Jack suspiciously.
‘Because we need to know what to do if you have a problem off-world. I know there was a problem in the Mess when you first came to the SGC. That was resolved, wasn’t it?’
Rodney nodded. ‘Yes, and MSgt Grimes both apologised and had the corporal who caused the problem reassigned,’ Rodney explained. ‘He also assured me he has several EpiPens in the kitchen first aid kit as I’m not the only one with a serious allergy, and he makes sure they’re regularly checked.’
‘So we all need EpiPens?’
The expression on McKay’s face was heartbreaking, and Jack had to steel himself not to react.
‘I…Y-yes. Yes, please.’
‘And I’ll arrange a session with Janet to make sure we all know how to use them,’ Daniel added in a low voice. He noticed it, too.
‘Will you explain the pens and why we require them to me, Dr McKay?’ Teal’c asked.
Rodney nodded, but Jack sensed he was close to breaking down.
‘You have an allergy to peanuts, don’t you, Danny?’ he asked. ‘Maybe you can explain it while Rodders and I get more beers.’
Since the bottles they were holding were still half full, it was an obvious excuse, but Jack knew Rodney needed a moment to himself, and, sure enough, he went straight to the bathroom as Daniel explained human allergies to Teal’c.
‘Thank you,’ Rodney said softly when he rejoined Jack.
‘For what?’
‘For caring enough.’
‘Do you have any other medical issues we should know of?’ Daniel asked as they retook their seats, Jack sprawling in his and swinging his beer bottle between his finger and thumb. ‘I have hay fever, and allergies in general, to be honest, and the others all carry antihistamine for me in case I need it.’
‘And as many tissues as we can fit into our packs,’ Jack added, making Rodney smile.
‘Well, I’ll get some of those to carry as well, but there’ll be a onetime-shot released soon which will make all the difference to suffers,’ Rodney explained.
‘One of ours?’ Jack looked hopeful.
‘Unfortunately, no. One of the major drug companies has been working on it for years, but the Labs at Area 51 do come up with a male birth control implant in a year or two.’
‘Did you get it?’ Daniel asked curiously, and the tips of Rodney’s ears flushed pink.
‘I did, but I won’t bother this time as I’m with John now, but it’ll sell like hot cakes, and this time the money should come to us.’
‘Is Patrick Sheppard progressing with his campaign, then?’ Jack sat up a little, interested in the change of subject.
‘He emailed General Hammond yesterday regarding some things he’s working on, and I was copied in.’ Rodney frowned. ‘I think you were included, Jack.’
‘Maybe. I haven’t checked my email for a few days. Sick leave!’ he said at the frowns from the two scientists. ‘I’m not cleared for duty until tomorrow!’
‘Well, Patrick also said we should hear something in the next couple of weeks about DADT too,’ Rodney added.
‘Now that is interesting.’
‘And Siler emailed me to say Sam’s been officially transferred to lead SG-6, which has been newly designated a science team,’ Daniel said, a little reluctantly, if Jack had to say.
‘And you kept this nugget from us….why, exactly?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows at his friend.
‘Because I didn’t want to spoil what’s been a great weekend.’ Daniel sighed. ‘I just thought I’d better tell you all before we go home tomorrow, in case I forget.’
There seemed to be no answer to make to that, so Jack took another drink of his beer and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
*****
Chapter 11
Chapter Text
The postponed mission to Edora was rescheduled for the Tuesday after the weekend at Jack’s cabin, and this time, one of the nurses accompanied them to make the bi-monthly health checks the SGC carried out. SG-1 were accompanied by SG-7, an engineering team, along with Radek Zelenka – who had a masters degree in Chemical Engineering and had spent a year working with a mining company before joining the SGC – to assess the next stage of the Naquadah mining operation in the meteors which hit the planet every 150 years or so. While Jack and Daniel remained in the village, ostensibly as protection for Nurse Baxter, but in reality to fuss over and play with Lairissa – although Jack would deny the ‘fussing’ to the end of his days – Rodney and Teal’c joined SG-7 and Radek to see what needed to be done next to extract the valuable minerals.
The next closest meteor site was a few miles beyond the village, and took a couple of hours to reach, but Rodney was pleased he had no problems with either the distance or the pace at which they walked. All that exercise John makes me do is paying off, I suppose, although I’m never going to love horse riding as much as John does. Radek soon became engrossed in the readings they were getting from the spectrometers while Rodney and Teal’c stood by and kept each other company.
Rodney had had little to nothing to do with the Jaffa in the previous timeline, being wary of the man he was almost responsible for killing. Teal’c, apparently, had not harboured a grudge, but Rodney steered clear of him as much as he could. This time, however, with no such handicap, the two men had become friends, chatting frequently over such things as films and tv shows they both enjoyed. I miss John for more than one reason; I suppose. He was my best friend as well as my partner, and it helps to have Teal’c here.
For the moment, however, they were again discussing the merits of each favourite Star Trek Commander – Sisko for Rodney, Janeway for Teal’c as he liked badass women – while keeping an eye on Radek and SG-7. I miss Lorne as well. This mission would be perfect for him. Surely it can’t be long before he joins the SGC since he was here well before the Atlantis expedition was formed.
‘Have you come to a decision regarding the naquadah asteroid due to collide with Earth, Dr McKay?’ Teal’c asked after a few minutes of silence.
‘Mmm?’ Rodney turned to face the Jaffa. ‘Sorry, sorry. My mind was wandering. The asteroid? Yes, we think we have a plan. Do you recall the crystal skull you discovered on P7X 377?’
Teal’c nodded. ‘Indeed. My symbiote enabled me to sense Daniel Jackson even while he was out of phase and invisible to the others.’
Rodney nodded. ‘We’re planning a return to P7X 377 to talk to the Omeyocan about extending the in-phase field around the asteroid. It would still require a ship to take us to it, but – now we know about the naquadah – we can allow for that when landing it.’ He lowered his voice ‘The phase shifter would be invaluable on Atlantis as we can’t use the cloak and shield at the same time. Using the phase shifter would mean the Wraith couldn’t see us at all, and would, hopefully, use slightly less power than the shield or cloak.’
‘And if the Omeyocan cannot help us?’
‘Then we know how to get hold of a device hidden in Great Britain, under Glastonbury Tor, but that’s not ideal, as it took Sam Carter quite a while to analyse how it worked. Failing both those things, we fall back on the original plan of moving the asteroid into hyperspace for a few seconds and moving it through and beyond the planet. That’s my least favoured way as we’ll require a second ship to rescue us as the hyperspace jump will drain all the power of the tel’tak.’
‘Was not Dr Radek Zelenka working on the phase shift?’ Teal’c asked, watching the excitement of the Czech scientist at the levels of naquadah and other minerals revelled in the meteors.
Rodney nodded. ‘Yeah, but he can’t do anything until we’ve paid another visit to P7X 377.’
‘As I cannot visit that planet, I will return to Chulak and visit my son and Master Bra’tac, and take tretonin to give to my wife since O’Neill says that soon her symbiote will mature, and as she does not desire to take a further one, she will die without the new drug synthesised by Major Janet Fraiser.’
This was a long speech for Teal’c. Probably the longest I’ve had with him. Who knew he could be such a Chatty Cathy? And it’s good for him to be comfortable enough to come and go from the SGC as he pleases, but it’s odd that he hasn’t once mentioned the absence of Sam Carter from either the mission or SG-1. I wonder if she even knows we’re here without her, and what she thinks about her new team? That situation will not be pretty!
*****
It transpired, Carter didn’t know SG-1 had gone on a mission without her until their return to Earth at the same moment she was in the operations room. She watched open-mouthed as the group came through the gate and down the ramp, chatting amiably amongst themselves until Daniel caught sight of her and grabbed Jack’s arm. One by one, the group of men – and Nurse Helen Baxter – fell silent under her gaze, until she swung around abruptly and left the ops room, a puzzled MSgt Harriman staring after her.
‘Umm. The general…the general would like to see you as soon as he can.’ Harriman was alternating between looking at Carter leaving, and SGs-1 and 7 arriving. ‘Can see you, that is. See you as soon as he can. He…yeah. See you. Sir.’
‘After we get checked out by the infirmary?’ Jack prompted, grinning at Harriman’s evident confusion.
‘After you…yessir. After…after that.’
‘All of us?’
‘All of you?’ Now Harriman was really confused, which shouldn’t be as funny as it is, Jack thought to himself.
‘All of us. As in SG-1 and SG-7.’
‘What about me?’ Radek demanded, pushing his glasses up his nose yet again.
‘Aaah. Yessir. All of seven of you. That is, SG-7 as well as you, Colonel. And the rest of SG-1. And Dr Zelenka.’
Shaking his head and trying not to laugh out loud, Jack led the way to the infirmary and the ritual blood-letting.
The two teams and Radek rendez vous‘d in the briefing room where General Hammond was waiting for them, along with several carafes of coffee and pastries, both of which Rodney, Radek, and Daniel fell upon like a starving horde, each making away with a carafe of coffee and a plate of pastries for their own consumption. Never get between a geek and his coffee and snacks, Jack thought, shaking his head.
‘Colonel,’ Hammond began when they were all served and seated. ‘Report.’
‘…recommend we send a team of SeaBees to work out exactly what needs to be done with the infrastructure,’ he finished.
‘Thank you, Colonel,’ General Hammond said with a smile. ‘Have your report and recommendations to me by 2100 as I’m due in DC tomorrow with Patrick Sheppard to meet with some of the DOD.’ He got to his feet, followed by the other members of the Battalion, and smiled at them. ‘Dismissed. Colonel O’Neill? A word, if you please? You too, Dr Jackson.’
The two men followed him into his office and Jack was unsurprised when the General raised his eyebrows in expectation.
‘We need to find another of these,’ he muttered, activating his bug-zapper and placing it on the desk in front of him as he and Daniel made themselves as comfortable as they could in the small office. ‘I’m tired of carrying it around with me every day.’
‘Perhaps Rodney could reverse engineer one,’ Daniel suggested, shifting on his uncomfortable seat. ‘General, have you got new chairs? Because I have to tell you, they’re almost as uncomfortable as the one Jack has in his office.’
Hammond smiled. ‘I took Jack’s example and replaced the old chairs. Now, tell me, how is Lairissa and do you have photos? I can’t wait to meet her in person.’
*****
The sound of the alarm brought Jack from his office at full speed and, not for the first time, he wished the SGC had the tiny earpieces used by the Atlantis Expedition. That’s the lab medical alarm. Which Level though, damn it? We need a better system! Acting on instinct, he opened the door to the narrow enclosed staircase which connected all levels to the surface, the top of which was guarded 24/7, and ran up to Level 19 and the main labs. Of course, it would be the day when George was in DC.
As he emerged from the stairwell, he was in time to see a medical team led by Janet Fraiser enter the lab now occupied by Rodney and from where he could hear a cacophony of raised voices.
‘—be accident. Is deliberate attack.’ Zelenka for certain.
‘—aside and let me work!’ Janet.
‘—citrus in—.’ Hmm. Not sure. Could be one of several folk.
There was space in the doorway for him to get through, and there were far too many extraneous people in the lab, so Jack tried to thin them out before Fraiser began yelling even more. By the time he’d cleared the room of all but the essential personnel – i.e. Janet and her mob – and Zelenka and Kusanagi who refused to leave, Rodney was being transferred to a gurney, and Jack went ahead to the elevator to save as much time for them as he could. The scientist was still not breathing on his own even though he’d been injected with more than one EpiPen, from the look of the discarded ones on the floor of the lab.
The gurney appeared around the corner to the elevator at speed, with Janet actually on the gurney using the manual resuscitator, just as the elevator doors opened. Jack grabbed the white-coated man inside and dragged him out to allow the gurney entry, and ignoring his protests.
The unknown scientist fell silent as he watched the doors close on the medical team and their patient.
‘That’s McKay. Is he…’
‘No.’ Not yet.
‘But—’
‘Get back to your lab and back to work, and stop speculating!’
The scientist gave him a fearful look and hurried away. Jack stood still, trying to marshal his thoughts. There was something nagging just at the edges of his mind. Something I saw? Something I didn’t see?
He didn’t see or hear Daniel approaching until his friend touched his arm.
‘Jack? Are you alright?’
‘Hmmm?’ He turned to face Daniel, his mind still trying to work out what he’d seen, or was missing. What is it?
He felt his arm being taken, and he was pulled somewhere, but the first point at which he was really aware was when his friend pushed a glass of water into his hand.
‘What?’ He looked around and saw they were in Daniel’s lab on Level 18. When did we get here? ‘Daniel? What—? Why—?’
‘I think you’re in shock, but I’m not sure why.’ Daniel’s expression was the one he wore when confronted by something which interested him, but knew nothing about. ‘What’s got you in this state?’
‘I’m not in a state!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘Wait! Should I be? Is he…Is he—’
‘No! No, not that I’ve heard,’ Daniel said quickly, shaking his head. ‘But why are you so upset over Rodney’s injury?’
‘I’m upset when anyone on base gets injured.’ Jack felt physically hurt by Daniel’s comment. Do I appear indifferent to everyone here? Am I indifferent? Jack couldn’t prevent his thoughts from returning to the times when he hadn’t been bothered about injuries outside of those of his own team. Siler; various scientists I didn’t know the names of and couldn’t be bothered to learn; ditto various Marines and Airmen. Christ! I am a selfish asshole. ‘I was trying to remember what I saw in his lab. Something struck me as odd, strange.’
‘Stranger than a man in anaphylactic shock, not breathing?’
‘No! Well, yes, but it wasn’t directly connected with Rodney or his treatment. I got there just as Janet’s team arrived. It was either something I noticed, or something that should have been there but wasn’t. I just can’t remember, but it feels as though it’s…just touching the edges of my mind.’ He exhaled sharply. ‘It’s infuriating. It should be there, but it isn’t.’
Daniel sat silently, his brows furrowed and a concerned look in his eyes as he watched his friend. After a minute or two, he got to his feet. ‘Come on. We need to go check Rodney’s lab. That might shake whatever it is loose.’
The door to the lab was closed, and when Jack tried the door, it was locked, so he tapped at the door to the lab next door, which was standing partially open.
‘Dr Kusanagi?’ Jack and Daniel stepped into the lab to be met with a furious-faced woman who relaxed when she realised who they were.
‘Is everything okay, Miko?’ Daniel asked, stepping towards her with a hand outstretched.
‘Aside from my best friend dying in the infirmary?’ she asked sarcastically. ‘Yes. Everything is peachy!’
‘Did you lock the door to McKay’s lab?’ Jack asked, going directly to the point.
‘Yes.’ She stared at him, almost…defiantly? ‘I needed to preserve the crime scene.’
‘Crime scene? What…Why…’
‘Someone attempted to murder Dr McKay,’ Miko said baldly. ‘I mean to find out who.’
*****
‘So where are we now?’ General Hammond asked, gazing around the briefing room where SG-1, Radek Zelenka, Miko Kusanagi, Janet Fraiser, and Sam Carter, for some reason, were gathered later that night. ‘Dr Fraiser? I want to know exactly what happened, and I have several people outside of the SGC waiting for an update on Dr McKay’s condition.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Fraiser nodded and took a breath. ‘The lab medical alarm was activated at 14:34 and we determined it was Level 19. I mobilised my team, and we got to the labs at 14:38. Dr McKay was lying on the floor and his breathing was rapid and shallow. His face was already showing signs of swelling, and a raised, red rash was appearing. It was clear he was suffering an anaphylactic episode.
‘Dr Kusanagi informed me she had already administered an initial intramuscular dose of epinephrine, but Dr McKay was showing no signs of improvement. I administered a second dose of epinephrine at 14:39, but this had no visible effect. We began to move him to the gurney, but he seized and stopped breathing. We got him on the gurney and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and manual ventilation while we transferred him to the infirmary.
‘By the time we got him back to the infirmary, he was breathing on his own, although it remained both rapid and shallow. I began intubation as soon as possible but he seized again during the process and it was several seconds until we were able to get him breathing again.’ She took a drink of water and was forced to hold the glass with both hands, but still water spilled onto the table surface her hands were shaking so badly.
‘At present we have Dr McKay on a low-dose IV adrenaline infusion, and oxygen,’ she continued, ‘and we’ll keep him on both until at least tomorrow morning. We’re monitoring his respiratory rate, oxygen saturations, and blood pressure, as well as his heart for further signs of tachycardia, as an arrest is still an immediate danger.’
‘And your prognosis?’ Hammond asked, looking up from the notes he was making on her verbal report.
Fraiser hesitated for a moment, then sighed. ‘I’m concerned that he went for almost a minute without oxygen. Brain hypoxia shouldn’t begin under the three-minute mark, but…’
Jack felt his insides turn to ice. Brain damage. From the expressions of the other people in the room, he wasn’t the only one who realised what Janet was saying. In fact, only Sam Carter didn’t appear to be affected by the news. Sam Carter…
‘Have you determined the cause of Dr McKay’s trauma?’ Hammond asked Janet, making her frown.
‘I’m not an investigator, sir, and I’ve had my hands full trying to keep Dr McKay alive. He has two fatal allergies noted in his medical records: to bee stings and to citrus, in all its forms. As it wasn’t a bee sting, since I’ve examined him thoroughly for any signs of a sting, it must have been citrus, but I have no idea how it was delivered, though I suspect it was ingested by the severity of the attack.’
‘I can help you there.’ Miko Kusanagi spoke up from close to the end of the table where she sat next to Zelenka.
‘Dr Kusanagi?’ Hammond raised his eyes. ‘Do you have some pertinent information?’
‘I was with Rodney when he had the attack, and I secured his water bottle after he’d been taken to the infirmary, since I knew he hadn’t been stung. He’d just taken a drink when he collapsed and though he dropped the bottle, there was sufficient remaining liquid to tell citrus had been added, in a significant amount if the smell of it was anything to go by. I have it locked in my safe until an investigator is assigned.’
‘An investigator?’ Carter repeated from the opposite side of the table, her lip curling. ‘What do you want an investigator for? You think someone tried to kill him?’
‘Yes.’ Kusanagi inclined her head. ‘I do.’
‘But how can anyone tell the bottle in your safe is the one McKay was drinking from, and how do we know, for that matter, that you didn’t add lemon to it? You had ample opportunity.’
‘I took photographs of lab after everyone is left, including of water bottle on floor,’ Radek said, running his hand through his hair and making it look wilder than ever. ‘I have seen enough TV cops to know this.’
‘You’re ridiculous! McKay wasn’t—’ Carter began before being interrupted by the General.
‘Thank you, Major Carter! I‘m asking the questions. In fact, I’m not sure what you’re doing here. I didn’t ask for you.’
‘No, but—’
‘Dismissed, Major.’
With such an obvious order, Carter had no option but to leave the room, but her scowl was epic and her jaw so clenched Jack worried she might actually break her teeth. Scowl…Sam Carter…scowl…It hit him like a brick and he jerked his head up, meeting the eyes of Miko Kusanagi who gave an almost imperceptible nod.
George Hammond heaved a sigh and glanced down at his notes. ‘Right. Where were we?’
‘Dr Kusanagi was saying she has the bottle she suspects contains citrus,’ Jack said, his voice emotionless, and Daniel gave him a sharp look.
‘Thank you, Colonel.’ Hammond turned to Janet Fraiser. ‘Do you have anything to add, Major?’
Janet shook her head. ‘No, and I’d rather—’
She was interrupted by furious typing from Miko who muttered, ‘Oh no you don’t!’
‘Dr Kusanagi?’ the General asked.
‘Busy!’ she snapped, but Zelenka was leaning over to see what she was doing.
‘Someone…security footage of…of labs, to stop altering, no, to stop deleting somebody—’
‘Take that, asshole!’ Miko snapped at her screen, and finished whatever she was doing with a swishing of her hand, just as Jack felt a further stab of cold pass through him.
‘Dr Kusanagi? Dr Zelenka?’ General Hammond slapped his hand on the table with a resounding smack. ‘Will someone tell me what the hell is going on!’
Jack opened his mouth to voice his suspicions, but before he could say a word, an alarm sounded throughout the building, and Dr Franklin’s voice came over the PA.
‘Code 9, I repeat, Code 9. Dr McKay has just vanished from the infirmary.’
Mere seconds later, light flashed in the briefing room, making Jack blink, and he opened his eyes to find himself standing on the flight deck of an Asgard ship. He glanced around and saw what—who he was looking for. ‘Thor, old buddy, old pal. What have I said about kidnapping me?’
*****
‘What the fuck, Rodney?’
The sudden appearance of John Sheppard in the sitting room of Morrow House made Jack choke on his whisky. Which is a shame, he thought as Daniel slapped him on his back just a little bit too hard, because it’s a damn fine whisky. ‘Enough, already,’ he told Daniel, twisting his body around to avoid the anthropologist’s blows. ‘Also, ow!’
‘Good evening, Major Sheppard.’ George Hammond inclined his head as John went straight to Rodney and began to run his hands over him, checking he was okay. ‘Or should that be good morning since it’s already 1am?’
Satisfied his partner was in one piece, John turned to acknowledge the general, his arm still around Rodney. ‘I’m sorry, sir. Good morning. I was just…’
‘Natural, under the circumstances. No apology necessary. We’re all still waiting for an update on—’
He broke off as the Asgard beam deposited Thor on the rug in front of the fireplace, and Patrick Sheppard reared back. ‘Jesus Christ!’ he muttered.
Thor regarded him solemnly. ‘Incorrect. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. Jesus Christ was an Alteran, one of those whom you call the Ancients.’
‘Commander Thor.’ Hammond stood and motioned to his side. ‘May I introduce you to our host, Dr Patrick Sheppard, and his son, Major John Sheppard. I think you know everyone else.’
Thor looked around the room and nodded. ‘It is a pleasure to meet the allies of Jack O’Neill and George Hammond.’ He fixed his gaze on John. ‘Dr McKay is your partner, is he not?’
John flushed and stammered, ‘Yes, s—Commander Thor, that is…’ He cast a worried look at the general, who smiled at him.
‘Relax, son. I have it on the best authority that DADT will be officially revoked two days from now, on Monday 15th April.’
John closed his eyes and released a breath, then smiled at Hammond. ‘Thank you, sir. That’s great news. I appreciate you working on it for us, for all of us.’ He turned back to Thor. ‘Yes, Rodney is my partner, Commander Thor.’
‘A partner you almost lost today. Aside from pulmonary oedema, his heart had begun to shut down. What you call cardiac arrest, I believe, and without immediate action, cerebral hypoxia would have occurred.’
John’s face lost all colour, and he gripped Rodney’s hand, his knuckles showing white. ‘Cerebral hypoxia. That’s…’
‘Brain damage. Yes.’ Thor allowed John a few moments to absorb this, then turned his attention to Rodney. ‘While you are no longer in any danger, I suggest you rest for the next forty-eight hours, at least. Your body has undergone a considerable amount of stress.’
Rodney nodded, and, leaning on John, got carefully to his feet, and Jack could see the slight tremors in his hands, likely a reaction to the epinephrine he’d been given. ‘I can’t thank you enough, Commander Thor. I’d have died in the infirmary if you hadn’t helped me. I…’ He paused for a moment and rubbed his eyes. ‘I’ve developed a…piece of equipment which should help you in your fight against the replicators. It’s not quite finished since I’ve had to work on it in what little spare time I have, but with your help, we might complete it together. Perhaps we can discuss it tomorr—later today?’
Thor stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. ‘Yes, indeed, Dr McKay. Thank you.’
Together, John and Rodney left the room, and Hammond turned to Jack. ‘Did you know anything about this replicator thing?’
Jack shook his head. ‘No, nothing. But I know he developed several things which aided the Atlantis Expedition in their fight with the Pegasus Replicators.’
‘Pegasus has the same replicators we do?’ Thor asked, and if pressed, Jack would have called his tone of voice ‘interested’, except the Asgard don’t have different tones of voice, or expressions.
‘No,’ Jack said aloud, pushing away his thoughts. ‘The Asurans, the Pegasus form of replicators, are humanoid, created by the Ancients to fight the Wraith – the mortal enemy of the Ancients in Pegasus – then abandoned by them when they discovered their little experiment didn’t work, just like they abandoned all their other dangerous experiments and left the rest of Pegasus to deal with the fallout.’ Jack’s lip curled and his tone was scathing. The Asurans created their own duplicate Atlantis built of nanites, and have no interaction with the rest of the Galaxy – or they didn’t until the Expedition paid them a visit.’ He waved his hand. ‘But that’s a different story.’
John returned as Jack finished his explanation.
‘What’s a different story?’ he asked, retaking his seat and picking up his glass of bourbon.
‘The Asurans. Thor asked if they were the same as ours.’
John grimaced. ‘Not in the slightest, except for also being very, very difficult to get rid of.’
‘In what manner did you fight them?’ asked Thor.
‘We bombed the crap out of their world which happened to have multiple ZPMs on it, but we didn’t know a few had survived and were trying to ascend, aided by our former Expedition Leader.’ John took a sip of his bourbon. ‘That was one of many things which came back to bite us on our asses, but since I’ve been assured she won’t be joining the programme this time, we shouldn’t have that to worry about, and I fully intend locking the gate address for the Asurans out of the Atlantis system as soon as possible. Rodney and I have a list of addresses to lock out, possibly including the Pegasus Amish; we haven’t decided yet.’
‘The Genii?’ Jack asked.
‘The Genii,’ John confirmed, then, seeing the raised eyebrows of the others, continued: ‘A supposedly agrarian society actually at an evolution circa 1940s America with nuclear ambitions. They caused us a lot of problems, up to and including feeding me to a Wraith in an attempt to force Weir to hand over their leader, who was hiding on Atlantis.’
There was a short period of silence while Hammond, Jackson, and Thor took this in, Patrick, apparently having already heard the story from John and Rodney.
‘Then by all means lock them out of the Atlantis system as soon as possible,’ Hammond told John, his expression a mixture of horror and disgust.
John nodded, then he straightened his shoulders and met General Hammond’s gaze. ‘This thing with Rodney wasn’t an accident.’
‘No, son, it wasn’t an accident,’ Hammond answered levelly, even though John hadn’t asked a question.
‘Someone tried to kill Rodney, and if it hadn’t been for Commander Thor, they might have succeeded. That’s attempted murder.’
Hammond inclined his head.
‘I want that person, or persons, found. I understand the secrecy of the Stargate Programme makes prosecution difficult. Last time there was an off-world facility for transgressors. You need to get that set up asap as you’re going to need it.’
‘Sheppard, that’s not as easy—’ Jack began, but John turned on him.
‘Yes, it is. Whoever did this is a threat to people in the mountain at the very least, and possibly a much wider field.’
‘We don’t yet know who did it, or what their motives were,’ Hammond said, holding up a hand to stop Jack from speaking. ‘We haven’t had the time yet to investigate, and I agree. Whoever it was is a possible danger to everyone else and—’
‘No, sir. This is important,’ Jack said as he spoke over his CO, who turned to look at him, a frown on his face, but now he had everyone’s attention, Jack wasn’t certain how to explain his suspicions.
‘Colonel? Just what is so important?’ “That it warranted interrupting me” went unsaid, but Hammond’s visible irritation said it for him.
Instead of answering, Jack rubbed his face, playing for time, unsure of how to explain his suspicions.
‘Jack?’ Hammond asked, his irritated tone mellowing somewhat. ‘Do you…Do you know who’s responsible?’
Closing his eyes, Jack nodded, and Daniel suddenly straightened in his seat.
‘You’ve remembered what you did or didn’t see!’
‘Dr Jackson?’ This time it was Patrick Sheppard asking the questions. ‘What are you talking about? Do you know who did this?’
‘I—No, not exactly, just…’
‘Daniel. If you know something, you have to tell us,’ John said urgently, holding his hand out towards the archeologist in appeal.
‘Colonel O’Neill!’ This was Hammond’s serious voice. ‘What do you know?!’
‘I—I’m pretty certain it was Sam Carter.’ There. I’ve said it.
The world appeared to stand still. There was no movement or sound in the sitting room for what felt like hours, days, even. Then:
‘Jack, are you saying Major Carter tried to kill Dr McKay?’ Hammond asked, his diction so precise there could be no mistaking his words.
‘Yes. Well, no, not deliberately, I’m certain, but—’
‘There is no but,’ Patrick Sheppard said, his tone hard. ‘Either she did, or she didn’t.’
‘Look, all I have is a suspicion.’ Stop lying to yourself, Jack. You’ve got way more than that. ‘That is…’
‘After the…incident,’ Daniel began, his eyes fixed on Jack. ‘When Rodney was on his way to the infirmary, you said you’d noticed something in the lab, or not noticed something.’
‘Dr Jackson, you’re making less sense than Colonel O’Neill!’ Hammond snapped in exasperation. ‘The Colonel either saw something, or he didn’t.’
‘I wasn’t certain which, at first.’ Jack clasped his hands to keep them still and wet his lips. ‘Just that something wasn’t right. I realised what it was in the meeting last night, just before Thor kidnapped me.’
‘And?’ Hammond prompted. ‘What did you realise?’
‘…That Sam wasn’t in the lab after Rodney—after the incident,’ Daniel explained on Jack’s behalf, keeping his eyes on his friend’s face. ‘Everyone else on that corridor was there, mostly to see what was happening, but Sam…wasn’t, was she?’ He looked down at the table, then back up to meet Jack’s gaze. ‘That’s what it was, right?’
Unable to speak, Jack simply nodded.
‘And when Miko was busy with her computer and Radek said…someone was trying to delete the security footage of the lab,’ Daniel continued, almost to himself. ‘It was either Sam or someone acting on her behalf. She probably forgot about the surveillance cameras in the labs. I know I do.’
There. It’s all out now. Nothing more I can do. ‘Yes,’ Jack agreed simply, his voice devoid of emotion. I thought I was in love with her at one time. ‘I think Kusanagi stopped her.’
‘And before, when she was arguing with Miko, Sam said…she named the citrus added to Rodney’s bottle as lemon. The rest of us didn’t know that.’
‘And we won’t until the water is analysed, but, yeah. She said it was lemon.’
‘Why?’ John demanded, his voice almost breaking. ‘Why would she do this?’
Jack sighed and let his head drop back against the chair cushion, staring at the ceiling. Ask me a hard one, why doncha? ‘I’m not sure I have a good answer. She thinks Mc—Rodney took her job—’ He held up his hands as John opened his mouth. ‘Ah, ah. I said she thinks. Thinks Rodney took the job which was never hers to begin with. Plus, she’s been moved from SG-1 and he’s been put in what she sees as her place on the team.’
‘But she now has command of her own team,’ Daniel protested. ‘That’s a promotion, isn’t it?’
‘Not entirely, and not in her eyes,’ Jack answered, shaking his head. ‘But, again, not Rodney’s fault: she’s just focussing her anger on him. And that’s probably on us,’ he added, pointing at himself and General Hammond. ‘Maybe we could have handled it all better, I don’t know, but the damage is done now.’
Daniel suddenly yawned widely, and Hammond glanced at his watch. ‘Perhaps we could have, Jack, but it doesn’t excuse her, not at all. Now, what say we call it a night – or morning, rather? It’s almost 3am and I’m bushed.’ He turned to the Asgard Commander who’d remained largely silent, simply taking in the discussion. ‘Are you staying in orbit, Thor? Can you get the Colonel, Dr Jackson, and me home?’
‘Yes, to both of your questions, General Hammond,’ Thor nodded, then looked at John. ‘May we talk tomorrow about Atlantis, Major Sheppard? I have questions you may be able to answer.’
‘Yes, of course,’ John agreed, turning his attention to Thor. ‘I can never repay the debt I owe you for saving Rodney’s life, Commander.’ The tiny Asgard inclined his head, and John turned back to General Hammond. ‘Are we picking this up tomorrow, sir? May we invite you for breakfast?’
‘We have plenty of space if the three of you want to stay here,’ Patrick offered. ‘I should have said that sooner.’
‘Thank you, Patrick,’ Hammond smiled at Sheppard Senior, ‘but I’m at the age where I like my own bed, and while we have Thor to help us…Breakfast would be good, though, and we can discuss what comes next regarding Major Carter,’ Hammond finished, grimly.
‘Then breakfast it is. Does 08.30 suit you? It’s Lizzie’s weekend off so she won’t be around when you beam in.’
Hammond nodded. ‘Thor? That good for you?’
‘Yes, General, but for myself…’ the Asgard Commander tilted his head. ‘…I will BYO.’
‘I’ve corrupted the goddamned Asgard,’ Jack moaned, and disappeared in a flash of light.
*****
Chapter 12
Chapter Text
‘How’s Rodney doing this morning?’ Patrick continued to make pancakes as his youngest son lurched towards the coffee pot, clutching his mug like a drowning man would a life belt.
‘Tired, aching, irritated that he has to stay in bed without even a sniff of coffee. Take your pick.’ John closed his eyes in pleasure as the caffeine hit his body, despite being told by numerous scientists that it could take up to an hour before it entered the bloodstream. It wakes me up and makes me feel better. That’s good enough for me. ‘Dr Fraiser called around 7am, just as he was getting out of bed, and he leapt back in as though the hounds of hell were on his heels. Apparently, no one on base disobeys her orders.’
‘Not if they know what’s good for them,’ Jack O’Neill muttered, appearing in a flash of Asgard beam. ‘She has big needles and a penchant for prostate examinations.’
Both John and his father shifted uncomfortably, then grinned at each other.
‘Who was she bossing this morning?’ Jack continued, helping himself to coffee, just as Daniel appeared, already holding a cup.
‘Who’s bossing who?’ Daniel asked, draining his cup, and holding it out for a refill.
‘Whom,’ Jack corrected, holding the pot away from him. ‘Who’s bossing whom, and no, no refills until everyone’s served.’
‘I’m on it,’ John announced, opening a cupboard and extracting an ancient coffee maker. ‘Dad, do we have any filter papers?’
Patrick gave him a blank look. ‘How should I know? I’m not usually allowed to even open a cupboard. And that thing’s so old, I’m not sure it’ll work. There should be a French press somewhere. It was a wedding present. Try that. It’s reassuringly old-fashioned.’
‘Can we help at all?’ Daniel asked, looking around the kitchen. ‘Lay the table, maybe?’
‘Silverware in that second drawer.’ John nodded to the side of him while he filled the press with ground coffee. ‘Do we set for Commander Thor, sir?’ he asked as General Hammond touched Patrick’s shoulder rather than make him stop cooking.
‘Might as well.’ Daniel counted out five forks and knives and took them over to the table where General Hammond was already seated. ‘And you didn’t answer my question, Jack. Who’s bossing whom?’
‘Dr Fraiser’s bossing Rodney,’ John answered in lieu of O’Neill. ‘She ordered him to stay in bed and banned him from drinking coffee.’
‘As did I.’ Thor appeared holding a box which, presumably, held his breakfast. ‘He needs to rest for at least forty-eight hours and avoid any stress.’ Thor accepted a plate from John and, seating himself next to General Hammond, placed two small cubes, one blue, one yellow, on it just as Patrick carried over a platter of pancakes and crispy bacon, along with a jug of syrup.
‘It’s Canadian maple syrup since Rodney banned Lizzie from buying anything else on the grounds it was rubbish,’ Patrick informed them, taking his seat and smiling at the men gathered around his table. ‘Dig in, please.’
‘Those blue ones give me serious wind,’ O’Neill confided to John, nodding to the cubes Thor was eating with apparent enjoyment. ‘And Carter threw up after she tasted the yellow ones.’ As though realising his faux pas in mentioning her name, Jack grimaced, while General Hammond simply looked grim.
‘I spoke to the JAG this morning,’ he informed the others between bites. ‘Admiral Chegwidden says we need considerably more evidence before Major Carter can be charged with anything, let alone attempted murder. He offered to select an investigator from the Office of Special Investigations to be read into the Stargate Programme, but—I beg your pardon, Colonel?’
O’Neill looked up from his plate and glanced around. ‘Did I do that out-loud?’
‘If you mean that rude noise, yes you did,’ Hammond told him severely. ‘I’ve sent my granddaughters from the table for lesser offences. I certainly don’t expect my 2IC to behave like that.’
O’Neill stared at him in open-mouthed astonishment while John covered his own mouth with his napkin to hide his grin, earning himself a swipe from his father.
‘I…apologise?’ O’Neill managed to say at last, and Hammond nodded grimly, his eyes narrowed.
‘Now, Colonel, did you have something you wished to say?’
‘Just that we had someone from AFOSI ‘helping’ us in the—the other timeline, and he was sh—ah, useless. We’d be better with an NCIS agent, except Carter’s Air Force and…I’ll just finish eating, shall I, sir?’
‘Good idea.’ Hammond eyed his errant colonel for a moment, then continued. ‘I thanked the Admiral and said I’d get back to him. But I’m reluctant to bring in anyone from outside until I’ve talked to Major Carter myself and—’ He broke off again as the kitchen door opened, then raised his brows. ‘Dr McKay. We weren’t expecting to see you this morning.’
Rodney, dressed in sweatpants and an oversized USAF T-shirt which had seen better days, came fully into the room and looked around, but before he could say anything, Thor fixed him with a gaze.
‘You should not be out of bed, Dr McKay. Your body has undergone a severe shock and needs rest.’
‘Plus, Janet’s going to be on your case if she finds out you’re up,’ Daniel added. ‘Not that I‘d say anything, of course.’
‘Of course you wouldn’t,’ John said, pulling out a chair for his partner, and slapping Rodney’s hand as it reached for his coffee. ‘Defiantly not! Now, why are you up?’
Rodney plucked a piece of bacon from John’s plate instead of his coffee and dipped it in the small pool of maple syrup. ‘I don’t want you to do anything about…the person who put lemon in my water bottle, General,’ he said, looking intently at Hammond.
‘Do you know who that is?’ Hammond asked.
‘Do you?’
Hammond met him, stare for stare, then inclined his head. ‘We have a pretty good idea, yes.’
‘Then please don’t punish her.’
Her. Rodney knows exactly who tried to kill him.
‘I don’t think she meant to kill me. I don’t think she expected anything to happen, except, maybe, to prove I was exaggerating my condition. If that was the reason, she’s been made to look a fool, and that’s punishment enough. We have much greater concerns than what could be classed as hazing the new boy, and we really don’t want to force her into the arms of the rogue NID or the Committee, do we?’
The other five men – and an Asgard – stared at him.
‘But, Rodney. Someone almost killed you.’ Patrick broke the silence first. ‘That can’t just be ignored. They could be a danger to other people.’
‘I doubt it. It’s me she has a beef with, and possibly Radek and Miko, but I think she sees me as the source of her troubles, the catalyst, maybe.’
John opened his mouth to speak, but O’Neill got there first.
‘I have to agree. The Committee—’ He paused as Patrick frowned. ‘It’s a group of shady businessmen who see alien technology as a source of income, and they’re not fussy how they get it.’ Patrick nodded his thanks, and Jack continued. ‘We know they’re tied in with the NID and Kinsey, and it’d be all too easy to push a disaffected Carter – oh, come on! We might as well name her! We don’t want to push her into their arms, given her knowledge of the SGC.’
‘So you’d ignore an attack on my son-in-law to keep her happy?’ Patrick demanded, and frowned at McKay. ‘Don’t look like that, Rodney. You’re as good as married to John and that makes you family.’
‘I’m not saying we ignore what Carter’s done,’ Jack protested, possibly feeling the anger radiating from John, who sat rigid beside him. ‘I just don’t think she’s a particular danger to anyone else, and if I know anything about her, which I do, she’ll be furious with herself for being so stupid. So visibly stupid, as Rodney says, since she’s been proved utterly wrong about his allergies.’
‘And if there’s one thing Sam hates, it’s being proved wrong,’ Daniel added.
‘And I’m not saying let her off scot-free,’ Rodney added. ‘Just keep it in-house, as it were. She’s done some amazing things in her time at the SGC and since we know what’s coming,’ he indicated John and O’Neill, ‘we’re going to need everyone’s help if we want the planet to survive.’
*****
As soon as breakfast was finished and the other men were helping to clear the kitchen, Rodney moved around the table to sit down next to Thor.
‘John tells me you want to have a conversation about Atlantis, Commander. How can we help the Asgard?’
Thor inclined his head. ‘As you may know, for many generations, my people have used cloning technology to extend our life spans, and we upload the memory of one of our people to the clone from computer memory crystals. Unfortunately, excessive use of this process over the years has degraded our genome to the point where the Asgard race is in danger of extinction.
‘We of the High Council believe the city of the Ancients may hold the answer to our problem, but have been unable to find it for many thousands of years. We know a group of Alterans took their city to another galaxy to escape a plague which threatened this galaxy, but we don’t know which one. If you have now found it, we would ask for access to the city’s data banks.’
‘We – or rather Daniel Jackson, found Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy, and we sent an expedition there in 2004,’ Rodney explained. ‘I was the Chief Scientific Officer, and John, eventually, commanded the Battalion out there. We had great difficulty with the city database as it was almost impossible to search. We think it might have been deliberately scrambled before the Alterans left the city. Alternately, it may have scrambled itself during the ten thousand years it was on the bottom of the sea: we don’t know which one it is. If you wanted to come and search it yourself, or send someone else, I can’t see that being a problem, can you, John?’ he called out to his partner.
‘Can I what?’ John demanded, coming over to the table and wiping his hands.
‘See a problem in the Asgard coming to Atlantis.’ Since his back was turned to the other men in the kitchen, Rodney gave John a very slight nod, a very slight smile on his face.
It had been a source of considerable annoyance and frustration to them both that they had been forbidden from asking the Asgard for help regarding Atlantis. The reason given by the SGC at the time the Expedition left – that the Asgard had enough to worry about – was reasonable, but between then and when the Asgard finally took the decision to commit mass suicide, it was positively unreasonable, especially when Atlantis may have held the answers to the Asgard’s terminal cellular degradation. Based on information they had extracted from the Atlantis database, Jennifer Keller – with additional help from Michael’s database – was able to cure clone Carson Beckett, whose own cells were degrading, albeit the year following the Asgard’s suicide.
The real reason they were prevented from contacting the Asgard, they both believed, was because the SGC didn’t want them to know of their occupation of Atlantis, in fear they would either prevent the Expedition from leaving, or, after their occupation of the city, force them in someway to share the technology they found. Either way, those in charge of the SGC at the time – including the DOD, and possibly the President – did not want the Asgard to know about Atlantis, and, from the looks Jack had given the pair, the current leadership were more than a little unhappy at the agreement Rodney and John were about to make.
Rodney didn’t give a fuck, and he suspected John didn’t either.
Thor looked at John, then turned to look at Patrick, and tilted his head. ‘May I have your permission to scan you, Major Sheppard, and you, Dr Sheppard?’
John and Patrick exchanged worried glances. ‘Umm,’ John began. ‘What does scanning me entail?’
‘Touching your head with my finger allows me to take…readings of your body, such as the pressure of your blood, and your blood type, since I know humans have differing blood types.’
‘And you have to physically touch us to do that?’
The steady look Thor gave John told him it was an astute question.
‘…No,’ Thor admitted. ‘For example, I know without touching that you and your father share the same genome as Jack O’Neill, and Dr McKay had one derived from your gene, but it was a clumsy facsimile, at best.’
‘Clumsy?’ John repeated. ‘How so? And please remember, I’m a soldier, not a geneticist!’
‘Dr McKay was given your gene to force his own genes to mutate. It is an imperfect method which rarely works. Dr McKay is fortunate that his own cells accepted the foreign organism instead of rejecting it outright.’
‘And if that had happened?’
‘At best, he would feel tired, listless, possibly with vomiting; at worse, it might have killed him.’
‘Wait, wait, back up, Thor.’ Rodney waved his hand back over his shoulder. ‘You said I had a clumsy gene. Past tense.’
‘Yes, indeed.’ Thor inclined his head. ‘When I repaired the damage to your heart and lungs, I also repaired your body on a cellular level. Whoever, or whatever, sent you back in time did you a disservice by not taking care of that damage.’
‘So I no longer have the ATA gene?’ Rodney asked.
‘ATA gene?’
‘Ancient Technology Activation gene.’ As Thor continued to stare at him, Rodney continued. ‘It’s the name given to the ability to activate Alteran technology, or, more properly, Lantean technology, as they were known as Lanteans in Pegasus. Car—A geneticist on Atlantis created the gene therapy, and he said that it gave those people with a recessive ATA gene, like me, the gene we needed to activate the recessive cell, by using a mouse retrovirus.’
Since the Asgard didn’t have facial expressions, it was impossible for Thor to look disapproving, yet Rodney knew Thor was screwing up his nose in distaste at both the SGC name for the Ancient gene, and Carson Beckett’s ham-fisted gene therapy. ‘Yeah, I know,’ he said sympathetically.
‘That explains the cellular damage done to you, Dr McKay,’ Thor told him. ‘A mouse retrovirus risks triggering an attack on the immune system, which can lead to the formation of inoperable cancer. Nevertheless, I can give you the ability to use Lantean technology by modifying your own…ATA gene,’ and Rodney could almost see Thor curling his lip. ‘Using a vector—’ He paused, seeing a frown on several faces. ‘Using a genetically engineered carrier – not that of a mouse – I can transform Dr McKay’s gene into one which will be similar to Major Sheppard’s own gene, but one which his body will not treat as…alien, although, strictly speaking…’
‘Strictly speaking, it is an alien gene,’ Rodney finished for him.
‘Indeed.’ Thor inclined his head and Rodney couldn’t help but think the Asgard was actually imitating Teal’c. Is he trolling us?
Silence reigned for a few moments while they all absorbed what Thor had told them, then George Hammond broke it.
‘We need to make sure your Dr Beckett doesn’t come anywhere near this programme.’
Jack O’Neill pointed a finger at him. ‘Word!’
*****
Since Thor made no attempt to leave his discussion with John and Rodney, the other men rejoined them at the table, and Patrick brought over a fresh pot of coffee, moving it carefully out of Rodney’s reach, and earning himself a glare for his trouble.
‘Hey, don’t blame me.’ Patrick held up his hands. ‘Both Commander Thor and your SGC doctor have forbidden you coffee.’
‘It is a stimulant, as you very well know, Dr McKay,’ Thor said severely.
Is he frowning? John tilted his head to make sure. Yep. That’s a definite almost-a-frown.
‘Can we go back to how you think Atlantis may help your people, Thor?’ Hammond asked, adding sugar to his cup. ‘Both Jack and John know the location of the city, but we’re not ready yet to form an expedition.’
‘We need to secure a power source, preferably two power sources, before we can leave,’ John explained. ‘One to get us there, and one to power the city the moment we get there, as she’s on the bed of the ocean at present.’
‘I hope the city might have records which can help with our clone issues,’ Thor explained. ‘If not, then I fear my race is facing extinction.’
‘Which would be a real tragedy,’ Hammond said with sympathy.
Yeah, for them and us.
‘I’ll make it very clear to whoever is chosen as the Expedition leader that you are to be given full access to the city database,’ Hammond promised, surprising John since it was the opposite to what had happened before.
But then, different strokes for different leaderships, or something like that!
John opened his mouth to tell Thor about the Pegasus Asgard, then closed it again. That’s going to open a new can of worms. Instead, he turned to General Hammond, wondering how to ask the next question, then decided to just go for it. ‘I want to join the SGC the moment I finish my exams. I need to be there to protect Rodney.’
Jack frowned at him. ‘Are you implying we can’t protect him?’
‘There’s no implication whatsoever,’ John said baldly. ‘He almost died yesterday under your watch.’
‘Hey!’ Rodney poked his partner in the arm. ‘He’s right here! And he’s fine, now!’
‘But you almost died.’ John’s voice broke on the last word. ‘Carter almost killed you, and while I kind of understand why you don’t want her to face any charges, she’s still a danger to you. I just want to be there to protect you.’ He lifted his hand to touch Rodney’s cheek gently. ‘I can’t lose you now. I won’t be able to do this without you, especially knowing what’s going to happen.’
There was a silence around the table until Hammond cleared his throat.
‘When are you free to come?’ he asked, ignoring O’Neill’s scowl.
John grimaced. ‘I’m officially at ACSC until I graduate on 31st May, but my final exam is on the 15th. I’m happy to do a couple of weeks without pay, if that’s what it takes, sir. I just…’ John broke off and looked down at his hand joined with Rodney’s, unable to say anything more to convince the General.
‘Colonel?’ Hammond raised his eyebrows at Jack O’Neill, who also looked away. ‘Your thoughts?’
O’Neill nodded reluctantly, his lips twisting. ‘Yeah, I get it. I’d be the same if it was—Huh.’
‘Jack?’ asked Daniel, pausing with his cup halfway to his mouth.
‘Daniel.’
‘Ja—’
‘No!’ Hammond glared at the pair through narrowed eyes. ‘I know how this goes, so the pair of you can stop it right away!’
Patrick and John exchanged wide-eyed looks while Daniel and Jack both dropped their heads, the tips of Daniel’s ears pink. Just like naughty schoolboys, John thought to himself. General Hammond is really good at this leadership stuff.
‘I’d need to speak to the Chiefs about you coming to the SGC early,’ the general told John, picking up their earlier discussion. ‘Your transfer is sorted for the 1st June, and your papers should come down by the end of the April, but we may be able to swing TDY for you during May.’
‘And what will John be doing at the SGC?’ Patrick asked, in interest.
‘Coming through the gate with SG-1 for a start,’ Jack answered, making John look at him in surprise.
‘I thought Rodney was now on SG-1?’
‘He is,’ agreed Jack. ‘But since you want to keep an eye on him, we’ll become a five-man team, although I always intended you should join SG-1. There’s no rule that says gate teams must be four-men, and most of the S&R teams are five-men, with a couple of six or seven-man teams. If you recall, SG-1 became a five-man team when Mitchell was leader and Vala Mal Doran joined.’
John grinned at the memory. ‘I loved that woman. Didn’t trust her as far as I could kick her, but I loved her.’ He glanced at Daniel, his grin now becoming a smirk. ‘You, Dr Jackson, not so much.’
Daniel frowned, then glanced uneasily from side to side. ‘You didn’t—don’t love me?’
‘No, you didn’t love Vala, even though she was all over you like a rash.’
Jack joined in the laughter John’s comment evoked, while Daniel’s expression was one of disquiet. ‘Jack?’
‘Don’t worry, space monkey. I’ll keep her away from you – if she joins us this time, that is.’
‘Is she a soldier?’ General Hammond asked. ‘Which branch?’
‘She’s a…’ Jack frowned. ‘You know, I’m not sure I ever did find out which planet she was from. She was a…’
‘A thief, a lier, a trickster: take your pick,’ John offered. ‘But she was also incredibly brave and loyal. And great fun,’ he added, grinning again. ‘She came out to Atlantis when SG-1 came looking for—Well, SG-1 paid us a visit, let’s leave it at that, and Vala pretty much held court in the mess with my men falling over each other to bring her food or something to drink.’
Jack gave a bark of laughter. ‘I can just imagine it, but, like I say, we may not come across her this time.’
‘How did you meet her last time?’ Daniel asked, making both Jack and John laugh.
‘She hijacked the X303 currently in progress,’ Jack said, ‘and off-loaded all the crew except for you, Danny-boy.’ Jack grinned at Daniel’s horror-stricken expression. ‘We got you back, though, obviously, and she eventually became a permanent part of the SGC, but if we change the events which led up to her hijacking – which we want to – we may not meet her.’
Rodney got to his feet and stretched. ‘I’m going back to bed seeing as no one will give me coffee.’
‘You will need considerable rest over the next few days, Dr McKay,’ Thor told him severely. ‘I will return in three days to assess your recovery. Until that time, you must rest and avoid stress and exertion.’
‘But I’m needed at the SGC,’ Rodney protested. ‘We have an asteroid due to hit Earth in a couple of days!’
‘I thought Zelenka had that in hand?’ Jack said, frowning.
Rodney sighed. ‘He has, but—’
‘No buts, Dr McKay,’ Thor said firmly. ‘I do not wish my work on you to be wasted. Three days.’ He turned to address General Hammond, ignoring Rodney’s spluttering. ‘May I return you to your home, General?’
‘Thank you, Thor, yes,’ Hammond answered, draining his coffee. ‘And thank you for breakfast, Patrick, and for your contributions to our discussions. An outside view can be invaluable.’
‘I’ll take a lift back to the SGC, Thor,’ Jack said, and glanced at his friend. ‘Danny?’
‘With Jack, please, Thor. I think we have things to discuss.’
As Jack was flashed away by the Asgard beam, John distinctly heard him mutter, ‘Oh, crap!’
*****
Confronting Samantha Carter was best left until Monday morning, General Hammond decided, especially since he was off duty until then. Let Jack cope with the asylum for the rest of this weekend. I’m spending it with my girls.
To avoid giving Carter time to concoct excuses, Hammond left instructions for her to go to his office the moment she arrived at the mountain, although he was aware she might already have an excuse prepared. He’d had Walter collate the security footage from Dr McKay’s lab, and also the record of someone on Level 19 trying to erase it – which had to be someone from her lab since the other labs on that floor were empty and locked at that time.
His phone rang to say Major Carter was on her way down, and the general composed himself and ran over what he wanted to say to her, bearing in mind Dr McKay’s warning not to push her into the arms of the rogue NID or…what was the new organisation called? The Trust, that was it.
A sharp rap on the door brought him from his musings and he took a deep breath.
‘You wanted to see me, sir?’ Carter asked as she entered his office.
‘Take a seat please, Major.’ Hammond nodded towards the wooden chair in front of his desk, and stared at her for a while, making her shift uncomfortably under his gaze.
‘Sir?’ she said, after a while. ‘Why am I here?’
‘Last week, Dr McKay was deliberately exposed to an allergen which caused an almost fatal anaphylactic episode.’ Hammond waited for a moment to see if she had anything to say, but aside from a slight loss of colour from her cheeks, she remained impassive. ‘If it hadn’t been for the Asgard being in orbit and Commander Thor recognising an imminent cardiac arrest, he would have died, and someone in this facility would have been guilty of murder, as opposed to attempted murder.’
‘Attempted murder? Carter repeated, her lip curling. ‘That’s absurd! No one can die from a sip of lemon water!’
Hammond regarded her for a long moment. ‘You appear to be very knowledgeable about how the attack on Dr McKay was perpetrated, Major.’
Now Carter flushed and looked away from him. ‘You know how gossip spreads in this place, sir.’ Which isn’t the same as her denying the knowledge.
‘No, Major Carter, I don’t know. Where – and when – did you hear this gossip about how Dr McKay was attacked?’
‘I—I can’t remember.’ She was unable to meet his eyes.
‘Try harder.’
‘I—I think it—maybe—the mess?’
‘And when was that?’
‘I—I don’t—it—Friday? Night? Friday night—maybe?’
‘Shall I ask MSgt Siler to review the security footage of the mess hall for Friday night to see who you spoke to?’
‘I—’ Carter fell silent and shook her head, but the General wasn’t sure if she was saying ‘no’ to Siler, specifically, or ‘no’ in general.
‘Were you aware that if a service member is found guilty under Article 80 of the UCMJ, the penalty is the same as the maximum punishment allowed for the attempted act?’ Hammond watched as his words sunk in, and she swayed on her seat before managing to straighten up.
Carter’s face was ashen as she shook her head, and her breath hitched as she fought down a sob.
Once again, Hammond watched her in silence, letting his words thoroughly sink in. ‘However, it is fortunate for whoever attacked Dr McKay that he doesn’t wish to pursue the perpetrator.’ He gave Carter a few moments for this to sink in.
‘I could, of course, decide to ignore his request since the act happened on a military base, indeed JAG would likely say I should not ignore it. Likewise, if proof ever came to light that the act was committed by a member of one of the services, they would argue I have to act, and since the Statute of Limitations does not apply, there’s no time limit to it.’
‘I—I understand, s—sir.’
‘Dr McKay isn’t a vindictive man, you know, Major. He didn’t request a transfer here: I was responsible for his move, and that of Drs Zelenka and Kusanagi. All Dr McKay desires is the pursuit of science, and I suspect you have more in common than you believe.’
Carter didn’t answer, but pressed her lips together in a thin line.
I’m not getting anywhere with her. Hammond sighed and waved his hand. ‘Dismissed, Major, but don’t forget what I said.’
She met his eyes for the first time and gave a single nod of her head, then got to her feet and saluted. Hammond watched as she left his office.
I hope to God I’ve done the right thing.
*****
By the time Carter got back to her lab, Level 19 was abuzz with activity.
‘What’s going on?’ she demanded of a passing lab assistant she didn’t recognise and who had an armful of boxes . ‘And who are you?’
‘Kay Spencer. I’ve just been transferred from Area 51 to work with Dr McKay again.’
‘Again?’
‘I worked for him in Nevada, and he asked for me to come here, but he’s not here to welcome me.’ The girl pouted for a moment, then grinned at Sam Carter. ‘But Dr Z says reports of his death are greatly exaggerated and he’ll be back soon enough, which is good because I’ve missed him. And we’re all busy getting ready to go and vamoose that pesky asteroid!’ Spencer turned her head at a bellow from Radek Zelenka’s lab. ‘Keep your shorts on, Doc Z. I’m coming!’ She gave Carter a final grin and trotted into Zelenka’s lab from where a lot of banging and swearing seemed to come.
‘What took so long?’ Zelenka demanded of Spencer as she dumped her boxes onto one of the few empty benches. ‘This is a tight schedule!’
‘Dr Carter was asking me questions,’ Kay protested, then raised her brows in surprise as Zelenka scowled at her.
‘Major Carter, and be careful what you say to her.’
‘Why?’
Radek broke into a flurry of Czech, then in English added: ‘Always why with you! I know not why Rodney brought you here! Speak to her only when necessary, and do as I tell you!’
‘Aww, c’mon, Doc. You love me really.’
‘No one will love you if the planet is hit by the asteroid,’ Miko Kusanagi commented dryly, appearing behind her and Radek. ‘Hurry up. MSgt Siler is waiting to take us up the mountain as Teal’c and Bra’tac are due to arrive.’
‘I can’t believe I’m going into space in a spaceship,’ Kay said, unable to keep still, and her face one huge grin.
‘In what else would you fly into space?’ Radek asked, but he too was unable to keep the smile off his face.
Kay scowled at him, but the laughter in her eyes gave her away.
‘Ignore him,’ Miko said as she pushed her two colleagues into the elevator. ‘This is our first trip into space, too.’
‘But you have been through the Stargate,’ Kay said, and sighed. ‘I haven’t done that, either.’
‘You have time.’ Miko patted her arm. ‘You realise that you’ll be offered a job here after you complete your PhD?’
‘Really?’ Kay’s face lit up.
‘Of course, and if Rodney doesn’t offer you a job, I will.’ Miko smiled at her. ‘Your programming skills are already better than many in my department who are supposedly skilled IT professionals.’
‘But that, as Rodney said just a few days ago, is a low bar,’ Radek called back over his shoulder as he left the first elevator and called the elevator, which would take them to the entrance.
‘Did Doc Z just insult me?’ Kay asked Miko as they joined Radek in the final – or first, depending on your direction – elevator.
‘I don’t think he meant to.’ Miko glanced at her watch as they walked along the long entrance tunnel to the surface. ‘Come on. Teal’c said he was unsure if the cloak worked 100% of the time as the ship isn’t in the best condition, but it is space-worthy, and thank heaven for a damp, foggy day. There’ll be fewer people around to spot the tel’tak ringing us up if the cloak does fail.’
Kay’s excitement continued until they were less than two hours into the flight to the asteroid, and she realised they had a further six hours to go before they reached it, and there was nothing to see out of the window, had there been a window in the cargo vessel.
‘I warned you,’ Miko told her, ‘and advised you to bring something to occupy yourself with.’
‘I know.’ Kay sighed. ‘I brought some work, but I thought this’d be more interesting than it is.’
‘I believe all missions are so at times.’ Radek pulled his laptop from his backpack and settled down in what was really the cargo hold. ‘Teal’c and Master Bra’tac say we are on the timescale they predicted, so we must now hope the phasing device does its work.’
‘D’you think it might not?’ Kay asked, curiously, not fully conversant with how the device Radek had built would work, just that it should do the job they required of it.
‘No, no, I fear not that it will fail to work,’ Radek said. ‘I—It is that I expected Rodney to be here, and…he is not.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Miko reassured him. ‘Rodney has full confidence in the phaser and you. You spoke to the Omeyocan on P7X 377, not him, and if he doubted you, he’d have asked Colonel O’Neill and Dr Jackson to join us.’
‘And he also said not to call device Phaser as it is too much like Star Trek, Miko,’ Radek scolded, lightly.
‘Bah! Phaser, phasing device!’ There’s no difference!’
‘Big difference between vanishing a person and vanishing an eighty-five mile long asteroid,’ Kay muttered, not quite under her breath. ‘An eighty-five mile long asteroid made of naquadah!’
*****
Chapter 13
Chapter Text
Zelenka, Kusanagi, and – much to her surprise – Spencer were the toasts of the SGC, while Teal’c and Master Bra’tac also came in for considerable praise as the pilots.
The phasing device – which Miko and Kay still insisted on calling a Phaser – worked just as intended, and the catastrophic destruction of Earth was averted. More importantly, as Rodney informed John on a secure telephone line, they now had an option for hiding Atlantis from the Wraith, which wouldn’t tax the ZPM anywhere near as much as the cloak and shield did.
‘We have real options now, John,’ Rodney told him. ‘I can’t possibly tell him so, but Radek did a fantastic job with building the Phasing Device, especially in such a short time.’
‘I thought it was going to be called a Phaser?’ John said, and Rodney could hear the amusement in his tone.
‘Absolutely not! Have you been talking to Jack O’Neill?’
‘He called to update me on the happenings at the SGC and threw in a bit of gossip.’
‘The SGC is almost as bad as Atlantis for gossip,’ Rodney commented. ‘Look, I have to go. Your father is waving at me about something.’
‘Probably dinner at this time. Speak later?’
‘I can’t. Your dad’s challenged me to a game of Backgammon. With matches as the stakes. I said we should at least play for chocolate, but apparently I’m banned from that as well at the moment.’ He gave the deep sigh of the much-put-upon.
‘You’ll survive. G’night. Only thirty-one more sleeps.’
‘Thirty-one more sleeps,’ Rodney repeated, his voice now soft and low. ‘Love you.’
‘Love you more.’
*****
At Rodney’s request, Thor had arranged his return visit for early morning – so Rodney could, hopefully, go back to work – and at a time when Janet Fraiser could be beamed to Morrow House to do her own checks on his condition.
Although always professional, Rodney had noticed that in the past, Fraiser’s manner with him had been a little…distant. Miko had said the same thing, and they both put it down to her friendship with Sam Carter. Now, however, Rodney would have preferred distant over the mother henning Fraiser was now doing. Probably something to do with me almost dying on her watch, he decided, plus her pal being the one to blame.
Thor, however, had no such excuse, and for a moment, Rodney wondered if he was going to experience at first hand the tales of anal probing associated with grey aliens.
‘I’m fine!’ he insisted, trying to bat away Thor’s long, slender hands from where they were touching and pressing his chest and back. ‘You did a great job of fixing me up, a really great job and I’m very grateful and all that, but—’
‘Let the…man do his job, McKay,’ a familiar – and much loved – voice drawled. ‘And quit trying to fight him off. If he says he needs to check you over, he’s going to check you over, if I have to sit on you to let him!’ John stepped into view and grinned as Rodney gulped.
‘You being dressed up like that isn’t helping my blood pressure,’ he told John, running his eyes over his partner in his class A uniform. ‘You look good.’ He bit his tongue to keep back the ‘enough to eat’ he wanted to add. ‘I know you’d much rather be the man in black, but somehow, you seem to have more…authority in proper uniform.’
‘My usual black is uniform,’ John said, his smile making Rodney shift awkwardly.
‘You know what I mean. What are you doing here, anyway?’ he asked with a swift change of subject. John in any uniform does it for me, but the last thing I want is an erection in front of Fraiser. And Thor, I suppose. Does he even know what an erection is?
‘I came to see how you are. I have a free period first thing, so Váli beamed me over to have breakfast with you.’
‘Váli?’
‘My brother,’ Thor said, dusting off his hands. ‘You may get dressed, Dr McKay. You have recovered well and I am happy with everything I did. Please avoid anything containing caffeine for the next few weeks as it puts an unnecessary strain on your heart and lungs.’
Rodney felt the blood drain from his cheeks. ‘For a few weeks? Seriously?’
‘I am always serious about health, Dr McKay. I have repaired your heart. I do not desire to do it for a second time because you have failed to look after it.’
It was about as severe a reprimand as it was possible for an Asgard to give, and the blood now rushed back to Rodney’s cheeks.
‘Yes, s—Thor. I understand, and I will do my best, but—’
‘No buts, Dr McKay—’ Thor began, but was interrupted by John.
‘I’ll make sure he sticks to your edicts, Commander Thor.’
‘As will I,’ Janet Fraiser said with a frown directed towards their mutual patient. ‘In fact, I’ll inform Miko Kusanagi of your orders, and she’ll make sure he sticks to them.’
Rodney groaned. ‘It’s a conspiracy, that’s what it is.’
‘It’s for your own good,’ John corrected him. ‘That’s what it is. Now get dressed. Lizzie’s making waffles especially for you. Will you join us, Dr Fraiser, Commander Thor?’
Fraiser glanced at her watch and smiled. ‘I’d love to. I have an hour before I’m on duty. Let me wash my hands and you can show me the way to the kitchen or dining room. This place is a warren!’
‘It’s an old house,’ John said as she disappeared into the bathroom. He held Rodney’s shirt open for him. ‘I have a couple of things to discuss with you, Commander Thor,’ he said in a low voice, his eyes on the open bathroom door. ‘Are you able to wait until Dr Fraiser leaves?’
‘I am, but I will return to my ship. I will send down a communication device for you to use when you are in a position to speak with me.’ Thor gave a quick nod, then disappeared in a flash of light.
‘How does he do that?’ Fraiser asked, coming out of the bathroom in time to see Thor leave. ‘He never appears to have anything on him like a radio, or even something like our GHDs.’
‘Perhaps he just enjoys being mysterious,’ Rodney suggested, rubbing his hands together. ‘Right. I’m dressed. Lead me to the food!’
*****
Breakfast was a pleasanter meal than John had expected. He’d never known Janet Fraiser as she’d died before he joined the programme, but he’d always heard excellent reports of her from the Marines on Atlantis who had served at the SGC with her. Her only negative attribute, as far as he was concerned, was her close friendship with Sam Carter. Rodney had mentioned she was professional, yet cool towards him in the past, but there was no sign of that today.
Conversation over breakfast ranged from John’s experiences in Bethesda Hospital, to their mutual interest in the NFL, with side diversions into life in the USAF compared with Patrick’s experiences in the Navy, the newly announced repeal of DADT, and an exchange of humorous anecdotes of working within the Stargate Programme – where John had to be very careful not to contribute his own anecdotes from Atlantis. They all parted on good terms with Fraiser expressing her pleasure at John’s upcoming posting to the SGC, and with her not asking exactly why he was being transferred there.
Fraiser disappeared in a flash of light when John notified Thor she was ready to go, and seconds later Thor appeared and seated himself at the kitchen table.
‘I find myself wondering why you spend such a large amount of time in just one room of this large house,’ he said, and John wasn’t sure if he was making a joke or simply making a comment. Either way, he’s right.
Out of necessity, Lizzie, the Sheppard’s housekeeper, had been read into the programme so she could keep an eye on Rodney while Patrick went about his business. And because the SGC folk seem to enjoy coming here, John decided. It also makes it much easier to explain how I’m home from Alabama for just a couple of hours! She had been warned about Thor, but her expression as she was faced with an archetypal grey alien was priceless. I wish I had a camera on me!
‘Can I get you a drink, s—M—’
‘Commander Thor,’ Patrick told her in an undertone.
‘Would you like a drink, Commander?’ Lizzie repeated with relief.
‘A glass of water, please, Madam.’ At the expression of shock on her face, he glanced at John and tried again. ‘Mistress?’
‘Just Lizzie.’
‘Then please call me Thor.’
Lizzie placed a glass of water in front of Thor, then, with evident relief, left the room.
‘Exit pursued by a bear,’ Rodney muttered to no one in particular, but much to all their surprise, Thor nodded.
‘The Winter’s Tale.’ Thor nodded. ‘A warning against the perils of misplaced jealousy and distrust.’ John shivered as what felt like a cold finger ran down his spine, and from the expressions on Rodney and his father’s face, they felt it, too. ‘Yet they all, as I believe you say, lived happily ever after.’
‘Indeed, as our mutual friend would say,’ Rodney commented.
‘And now that brief interlude is over, I believe you had something you wished to discuss with Commander Thor, John?’ Patrick said in the driest of tones.
‘A couple of requests, a couple of warnings, and an offer of help,’ John said, fetching and opening his laptop. He then sighed as Rodney gave him the puppy-eyes and went to fetch Rodney’s laptop from Patrick’s study where it had been locked away for the last few days to prevent him from working. Needless to say, Rodney had not been happy, but Patrick hadn’t brought up two boys without learning a trick or two, and since neither of them were sporting any bruises, and they were still talking to each other, John thought Rodney’s forced downtime had gone pretty well.
Rodney sighed with pleasure at seeing his favourite laptop – his only laptop at present – and quickly opened the relevant documents. ‘One of our warnings for you concerns the android we mentioned once before: Reese. We’ve worked out her location and suggest you go to collect her, but refrain from activating her for the moment until I can complete my Replicator Disrupter gun.’
‘Which is close to being completed, I believe I recall you saying, Dr McKay?’ Thor commented.
‘I need your help with the last few bits of the mechanisms, but, yes. It’s almost finished. It needs testing, of course, and we’ll have to be particularly careful about that. In the…future a single replicator block took out an entire…’ He broke off, remembering how that single replicator block had effectively taken out the entire Asgard race. ‘Well, I don’t need to tell you how dangerous those things are.’
Thor didn’t reply and simply sat motionless, waiting for Rodney to continue.
‘Oookay. Don’t let the android near any of the other replicators as they’ll copy her coding and turn into human replicators as well, and don’t even think of using a time-dilation field or bubble because I promise you, it’ll go horribly wrong.’
John took over the conversation. ‘Our requests are for you to collect a couple of unused Stargates – and a space gate if you can find one. We had them in Pegasus and they were very useful.’
‘But useless here, as we don’t have any Puddle Jumpers,’ Rodney pointed out. ‘Why do we need one here?’
‘Because pretty soon we’ll have a Puddle Jumper, and this time we won’t get it stuck in Ancient Egypt!’
Rodney pursed his lips, but nodded. ‘And the DHDs? We’ve still not found the one in Nevada.’
‘And we’d also appreciate a couple of spare dialling devices, Commander. The SGC calls them Dial Home Devices, which shows an astonishing lack of imagination. GHDs, for example.’
‘Might I guess that one?’ Thor asked, and when Rodney nodded, Thor tapped his—tapped where his chin would be if he had a chin. ‘Is it possibly a Go Home Device?’
John broke into his braying donkey-laugh, which had a domino effect on Rodney and his father, and he would swear under oath that Thor was laughing as well.
‘Anything else on your cosmic shopping list?’ Thor asked straight-faced – or his usual face since…
‘Another warning,’ John said, scrolling through his spreadsheet. ‘I’m not entirely clear on this one as I wasn’t around for it, but, per Jack O’Neill, ‘don’t get your skinny ass captured by Osiris or Anubis, and keep the hell away from any violation of the Protected Planets Treaty for the next five years or I’ll ki—’ John broke off and swallowed. ‘Yeah, that’s about it.’
‘There was one more thing.’ Patrick raised a hand. ‘Rodney’s ATA gene.’ He held up his Blackberry. ‘George says Jack has just reminded him to remind me to remind Commander Thor. Have I got that right?’
‘Thank you, Dr Sheppard.’ Thor inclined his head.
‘Patrick, please.’
‘Thank you, Patrick. I—’
‘Commander Thor.’ John interrupted and Thor turned to look at him. ‘I beg your pardon, but would it be possible for you to create a—a vaccine to modify the ATA gene in those people who have it, but can’t use it without the vaccine Rodney was given?’
Thor stared at him for a moment, and John fought down the desire to move. I’m a goddamned Col—Major in the USAF, who’s stared down countless COs.
‘Yes.’
John looked from side to side. ‘Umm.’
Thor sighed. ‘Yes, Major Sheppard, I can create such a modifier suitable for human use.’ He tilted his head to the side. ‘Would this prevent the use of a mouse retrovirus?’
He couldn’t help himself. ‘John, please, and yes, it would prevent that.’ He waited for Thor to tell him to use his name without the title, and waited…
‘Then I will speak with Heimdall, one of our geneticists, to look into this matter. As for you, Dr McKay.’
‘Rodney, please.’
‘Thank you, Rodney. Please call me Thor. As I was saying, I will create a modifier for you, and if I return with it in, say, a week’s time, I will work on the Replicator Disrupter Device with you. Is that satisfactory?’
‘More than satisfactory, Thor, and thank you. For everything.’
Thor watched him for a long moment, then inclined his head. ‘You are very welcome, Rodney.’
*****
Rodney was laughing so hard he was clutching his sides as he appeared in the SGC Infirmary, and when Janet Fraiser frowned in concern and made to move towards him, he shook his head. ‘I’m fine. Just…Trust me, you had to be there!’ He hopped on to one of the beds and grinned at her. ‘Thor’s cleared me for work, but I need you to do it officially.’
His good humour was apparently contagious as Fraiser smiled at him with genuine amusement and affection. ‘I suppose, technically, at least, you’ve been off-world, so I should give you a medical check, but since I checked you less than an hour ago myself, and I trust Commander Thor…Off with you, Dr McKay, but come to see me if you feel the slightest bit ill, promise?’
‘Promise, and, it’s Rodney.’
‘Thank you, Rodney. Just keep away from caffeine and keep to normal working hours for now, okay?’
‘Okay.’ Before he knew what he was doing, Rodney had leaned forward to press a kiss against Fraiser’s cheek. ‘Thank you, Dr Fraiser. I’d be dead if not for you.’
She patted his cheek. ‘Call me Janet, and cut the soft soap. You’re still not getting coffee and, yes, I have informed Miko.’
‘I swear you women are ganging up on us men,’ Rodney muttered as he left the Infirmary with a wave of his hand.
The elevator was empty as he rode up the two levels, thinking deeply, and he was still thinking when he reached his own lab door. He paused for a moment, then before he could change his mind, he turned a full 180 and tapped on the door of Samantha Carter’s lab, opening it as her voice called ‘come in’.
They stared at each other for a moment, then Carter’s lip curled.
‘Come to rub my nose in it, McKay?’
‘In what, Major Carter? Me still being alive?’ Come on, Sam. Come on.
‘There’s no—’
‘Proof? There is, actually. Probably more than we know about, if we tested for fingerprints and DNA evidence and the like.’ He dismissed the ‘like’ with a wave of his hand. ‘That’s not what I’m here for.’ He paused and stared at her again. Wow, she’s let herself go. Carter’s hair was lank and…is that a spot on her chin? ‘I meant what I said to General Hammond. I have no interest in this going any further. I’m just here for the science, as, I think, you are.’
‘Except you’ve made sure I can only do what you allow me to do. You’ve taken away most of the projects I was working on, and—’
‘Major, I’ve taken you off projects other folk can do just as well as you, and left you with the ones in areas you specialise in. Come on, you’re almost as good an engineer as Radek is, and he’s got two Engineering PhDs!’
‘Not as good as you, though?’
‘Better than me.’ And I’ve never admitted that before. Never would have admitted it last time.‘Aside from the Aeronautical one, I’ve only got a Mechanical Engineering PhD.’
‘You’ve got a degree in Aeronautical Engineering?’ she asked, frowning.
‘I thought you knew that.’
She shook her head. ‘No. Bachelor or Masters?’
He frowned back at her, a thousand thoughts running through his head. ‘PhD. As does Radek.’ She’s completely nonplussed by the admission. Why? ‘You didn’t know that? How did you think we’d come up with the designs for the X-303?’
Carter stared at him. ‘You designed the X-303?’
‘Yeees. Who did you think designed her?’
She looked away from him and a slight flush suffused her cheeks. ‘I—I don’t know. Didn’t know. Colonel Landry—Dr Murphy—’ She broke off and shook her head, then turned away from him and went back to the naquadah generator she’d been fiddling with when he came in.
Rodney stared at her, running over everything he know about her at this point, trying not to let his future knowledge of her influence him. He’d fallen for her the moment he first saw her in the other timeline and he did find her sexy, though he flinched when he recalled his comment about ‘dumb blonds’. That was a stupid thing to say, and isn’t even true. I find intelligence far more attractive, hence loving John, who hides his intelligence behind that stupid smirk. He and Carter are so similar, in so many ways. Both are incredibly good looking, and both have the ability to think outside the box, which has been her strength in the field.
But where does Landry fit into it all?
‘I’m not your enemy, Sam,’ he told her quietly, hoping his tone conveyed his sincerity. ‘I think we could work well together if we tried.’ He took a step towards her, curious about the generator on her bench. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Something you don’t know anything about, unless you’ve suddenly become an expert in naquadah generators!’
Rodney coughed into his hand, trying to hide the smile which came to his lips. She’d think I was laughing at her – which I suppose I am. She’s no idea I had to become an expert in naquadah and generators for the Russians.
‘No, I’ve never worked with them,’ in this timeline, at least. ‘What are you trying to do?’
She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, no doubt trying to see if he was patronising her, or even laughing at her, but his facial expression must have satisfied her as she gave an abrupt nod, and stepped slightly to one side.
‘I’m trying to make it smaller, to be portable. We discover gates with no visible DHD frequently enough to justify having a couple of portable generators available to go through the gate so we can explore those planets, especially as they’ve often had no interaction with the Goa’uld. The current naquadah generators are pretty unwieldy and while you can interface one to a laptop, it’s pretty awkward, especially for someone who knows nothing about them.’
‘Which is most of the SGC,’ Rodney commented, pulling up a stool, genuinely interested in what she was doing. It had taken him several months to work out the same thing in Siberia. ‘What if you twist that…’
‘Hmm. No, but if I…’
And just like that, they were off.
*****
Despite his reluctance, Jack knew they were going to have to go to Kelowna. Naquadria was the only power source they’d found to have sufficient energy to open a hyperspace window for the F-302s, but because its inherent instability meant it could only be used for short bursts, it was only sufficient for small intra-system hyperspace hops. This, however, was all they needed it to do since the two-man ships were too small to be of any use for interstellar travel.
If they were to go to Kelowna, Teal’c and Daniel needed to be briefed on what happened last time, Jack decided, and Daniel told very firmly to stay by Jack’s side, and to keep his hands to himself.
‘I need your promise, Danny,’ Jack told him. ‘Ah!’ He held up a finger as Daniel opened his mouth to argue.
Daniel huffed. ‘I can’t give a promise like that. You know I can’t. What if—’
‘It’s the ‘what-ifs’ I’m trying to keep you safe from,’ Jack said, and – fair enough – his tone might have held a touch of asperity. But only a touch.
Rodney was staring at them both, open-mouthed.
‘Got something to say, Rodders?’ Jack asked, raising one eyebrow.
‘About ‘Rodders’, most definitely! But I’m also amazed that you have to make Daniel promise to follow your orders . I mean, if you’re the team leader, shouldn’t he obey you as a matter of course?’
‘He’s a civilian,’ Jack said with a sigh, at the same time as Daniel asked;
‘Why should I obey him?’
Rodney stared at them, then turned to Teal’c, who was solemnly eating a slice of cake. ‘Is it always like this?’
‘Indeed.’
McKay shook his head. ‘I understand now why SG-1 always got into so much trouble.’
‘Hey!’ Jack and Daniel spoke simultaneously.
‘It’s the truth, if Daniel never does as he’s told!’
‘He’s a civilian,’ Jack repeated, slowly, and slightly louder, just in case Rodney was having trouble hearing him.
‘So am I!’ Rodney used the same tone and volume. ‘But I always obeyed Sheppard on missions, even when I disagreed with him.’ He sighed and shook his head. ‘It’s about respect as much as safety. John and I argued—argue all the time. It’s practically our favourite thing aside from sex, but I never once disobeyed him on a mission, on or off-world. It would have sent entirely the wrong message to the people we were dealing with, as well as the men who served under John. He needed their respect as well as their obedience, and if they saw me arguing about an order, he made on a mission, it could lead to problems if they followed my lead and did the same thing, especially with the Wraith where a single second can mean the difference between life and a very nasty death.’
Jack rubbed his hands over his face. He couldn’t argue with a single word McKay was saying. It was all true, but in the five years they’d been going through the gate together, he’d never been able to rely on Daniel’s obedience – or Carter’s, for that matter. It was always ‘just one more minute’ or ‘I can do this if you give me time’. Daniel almost got us all killed when we went to Heliopolis, then there was the quantum mirror…
‘I have to tell you, Jack,’ Rodney continued, ‘John won’t accept that sort of behaviour if he joins SG-1. Maybe you should think about putting us on a different team.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Daniel had been staring at each of them in turn, as though he was at a tennis match. ‘What wouldn’t John accept?’
‘You not obeying orders,’ Rodney said baldly.
‘The only times I don’t follow Jack’s orders are when he’s wrong!’
‘Or you think I’m wrong?’ Jack added.
‘Of course,’ Daniel said, his astonishment evident. ‘You don’t always know best.’
Instead of answering him, Jack turned to Teal’c. ‘What did you do when you were First Prime, T-man? If one of your Jaffa disobeyed an order.’
‘They did not live to disobey a second time.’
‘That’s…that’s inhuman!’ Daniel said, staring at his teammate in horror.
‘That’s reality for you,’ Jack returned dryly.
‘But you’ve disobeyed General Hammond dozens of times,’ Daniel protested.
‘Very, very rarely. And each time I did, I was fully prepared to accept the consequences of my actions. Most of the time, I simply choose to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission. And again, to accept any consequences because of my choice.’ Jack stared at his friend for a moment, then shook his head with a sigh. There’s no way Danny’s going to promise to follow orders on Kelowna. Maybe I should just not take him?
‘No!’ Daniel said, abruptly – and loudly, causing the one or two people near them to turn and stare.
‘No, what?’ Jack asked in confusion, looking around, but they were still in a quiet corner of the Mess with Jack’s bug zapper on the table.
‘No, I won’t stay home while you go to…Kelo…’
‘Kelowna, and I didn’t suggest—’
‘Only because I didn’t give you a chance. I know what you were thinking.’
He probably did, Jack told himself. That’s the trouble of very close relationsh—Huh.
‘What are you thinking?’ Daniel asked him suspiciously.
‘You’ve just said you knew what he was thinking,’ Rodney pointed out. ‘Now you suddenly don’t?’
Daniel flipped him off while keeping his eyes on Jack. ‘What if I said I’d tell you if I wasn’t going to follow your orders?’ he offered.
‘You can’t pick and choose like that,’ Rodney said with a sigh. ‘You just don’t get it. I’ve no idea how you’ve lasted here so long.’
‘I believe we have reached an impasse,’ Teal’c said solemnly.
‘That’s one word for it,’ Rodney grumbled, getting to his feet. ‘I need more cake if I can’t have coffee.’
‘I will join you,’ Teal’c said, and glanced at Jack and Daniel. ‘Perhaps you may reach an agreement while we are gone?’
Fat chance. But nice of Teal’c to suggest it, I suppose.
‘I never realised you felt like this,’ Daniel told Jack in a low voice. ‘About my not always following your orders.’
‘Danny, the only time you follow my orders is when it suits you to.’
‘It’s not as bad as that…is it?’
‘Yes! And since you died last time we went to Kelowna, I can’t risk that happening again.’ Jack took a deep breath. ‘You’ll have to stay ho—here unless you promise to follow my orders. No buts or ifs. I can’t watch you—’ Jack’s voice broke, unable to even say the word. ‘Not again.’
‘Then I promise,’ Daniel said softly, and covered Jack’s hand with his own. ‘I promise to obey your every word – for this mission.’
Jack gave a watery laugh and dashed his hand across his eyes. ‘Only you, Danny-boy. Only you!’
*****
To begin with, it stayed pretty much to the script Jack could recall.
‘This is incredible. It is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jonas Quinn, and I’m a special advisor to our High Minister…As you have undoubtedly been told, this is one of our most secret and important research operations.’
‘Yeah, about that,’ Jack said. ‘Anywhere we can talk? In private?’
Jonas stared at him for a moment, likely taken aback by Jack’s rudeness, Daniel decided.
‘Daniel Jackson,’ he said, holding out his hand, then added, ‘Colonel Jack O’Neill, Dr Rodney McKay, and the tall, silent one is Teal’c.’
‘Your arrival on our planet is an extraordinary event,’ Jonas told them in excitement. ‘It’s my honour to show you around this facility. Please, follow me.’
He led them to an office filled with books and assorted artefacts.
‘I could be walking into your own lab, Danny,’ Jack commented. ‘Must be a geek thing.’
‘I don’t think I know this word…Geek?’ Jonas said with a frown. ‘But then I don’t understand how I can understand what travellers say, from a planet such a great distance from my own.’
‘There’s a universal translator of some kind built into the gate mechanism which is absorbed into—’
‘Danny!’ Jack said, halting the flow of information spouting from his friend. ‘Just ‘the gate does it’ is sufficient. As for ‘Geek’,’ he turned back to Jonas, ‘it’s an affectionate name for someone both knowledgeable and obsessive about information, particularly science.’
Jonas smiled at him. ‘Then I suspect I too am a ‘geek’.’
‘You are most definitely a geek,’ Jack muttered. ‘With the t-shirt, safety googles, and lab coat to go with it.’
This time Jonas’ smile was more of confusion than happiness, but he waved his guests to an arrangement of chairs, also taking a seat in an armchair rather than behind his – very tidy – desk. ‘You wished to speak to me about something in particular?’ he asked after a moment of two of silence.
Jack observed him for a moment, his head slightly tilted to one side. ‘You’re a brilliant scholar with an almost eidetic memory and you have several degrees, including ones in Ancient Kelownan History and Social Studies. Your mentor is Dr Kieran who is now struggling with thought, emotion, and behavioural problems. He has schizophrenia, although that won’t be officially diagnosed for a while yet. You’re the youngest person ever to be appointed as a special advisor to your High Minister, and a lot of people were unhappy when you were appointed. They’re still unhappy, by the way.’
Jonas was staring at Jack open mouthed. ‘How do you know all this?’
‘How do you think I know all this?’ he returned. ‘Come on, work it out.’
Jack continued to watch Jonas, whose eyes were now unfocussed as he tried to work out the conundrum. Come on, kid. You can do it.
After a couple of minutes, Jonas’ eyes focussed on Jack. ‘You have either learned about me from someone—someones here in Kelowna, or…’
‘Or?’ Jack prompted.
Jonas shook his head. ‘No. It’s impossible. I don’t know an awful lot about the S—Stargate, but…’
‘There’s a well-known author on Earth who once wrote: "When you have eliminated all which is impossible then whatever remains however improbable must be the truth",’ Daniel said, watching Jonas, the hint of a smile on his lips.
”When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth‘,’ Jonas repeated, then turned to Jack.
‘You once knew me, knew me well,’ he said slowly. ‘But since I have no recollection of you, our association must have taken place—but that’s impossible!’
‘”Whatever remains, however improbable…”‘ Jack prompted. Come on, kid!
‘We knew—know each other in the future.’
‘Sam always said you had a brilliant mind.’ Daniel smiled at the thought of his former teammate.
‘Sam?’
‘She was a member of SG-1 when I knew you in my past,’ Jack explained, then grinned as Jonas tried to work out what he was saying.
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake!’ Rodney shook his head in irritation. ‘You know that just confuses people, Jack!’ He turned to Jonas. ‘Jack and myself have been sent back in time to save the world from ending as it will do unless we make certain changes. There’s a third person, my partner, John Sheppard, who also came back in time, and he’ll be joining the SGC a month or so from now.’
Jonas sat for a moment, trying to take in this stream of information, then nodded. ‘And where do I fit in?’
‘You don’t,’ Rodney said bluntly. ‘Or not directly. We wanted you to understand, to know what we’re saying is the truth, because something terrible is going to happen to Kelowna unless you act on the information we’re about to give you.’
‘Now who’d confusing the poor kid!’ Jack demanded. ‘Look—’
‘How about I try to explain it since I was the one damaged by it before?’ Daniel suggested, and leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. ‘Jack?’
‘Fine!’ Rodney huffed, while Jack simply scowled at him. When did Danny get all calm and collected?
Daniel’s explanation of the danger, both of inadequate shielding and the explosive power of naquadria had Jonas frowning.
‘I’m not sure what I can do to prevent my government from using the naquadria bomb on our enemies,’ he said. ‘I’m just an advisor, and my government wants this bomb before the other two nations do.’
‘What if we provided a group of diplomats to broker a peace deal between the three nations?’ Rodney – much to Jack’s surprise – suggested. He then turned and scowled at Jack. ‘What?! I can do diplomacy! You don’t survive five years on a gate team with Teyla Emmagan without learning something about diplomacy and negotiation.’
‘Maybe you should be the negotiator, Dr McKay,’ Jonas suggested, his lips twitching.
‘Nah. I’d space them all within an hour,’ Rodney said, then tilted his head. ‘Huh. Maybe that’s—’
‘Nope, nope, nope!’ Jack leaned over and put his hand over Rodney’s mouth. ‘Don’t even say it, McKay! You could land us all in jail!’
He released his teammate and turned back to Jonas. ‘We can leave you to think it over, but if things happen as they did before, unless you take our advice, there’ll be a serious accident with your naquadria warhead which will kill everyone not just in this building, but for miles around, and if the bomb doesn’t kill them directly, they’ll die from radiation poisoning within a matter of weeks. And as one who’s seen it firsthand, it’s an horrific death.
Jonas stared at him, and Jack just hoped he could see how serious he was. ‘When you say first hand…’
‘Last time, Daniel tried to prevent an explosion by removing the overheating core of the device. He managed it, but it cost him his life.’
There was a period of silence while Jonas absorbed this, then Rodney held up his hand and waggled his fingers.
‘I’m an astrophysicist and an engineer, and I’ve built many, many bombs in both my lifetimes, so please understand that I know what I’m saying. If you explode your bomb, it’ll kill millions, but worse? It’ll start a chain reaction with the naquadria under your planet’s crust, which could destroy the whole thing.’
*****
‘So we left him to mull over what we told him,’ Jack finished, and sat back on the sofa, cradling his glass of whisky.
General Hammond nodded and sipped his own whisky while he thought over SG-1’s report on their mission to Kelowna. ‘Do you think they’ll supply us with the naquadria we’ve asked for?’
‘Unclear. We convinced Jonas we were telling the truth, but as you know all too well, getting politicians to change their minds is nigh on impossible if they’ve decided their way is best – which is always.’
Hammond gave him a wry smile. ‘I’m glad to see your cynicism hasn’t changed, Jack.’
‘Tell me I’m wrong!’
The general laughed and held up a hand. ‘You know I can’t!’
The debrief was taking place at Jack’s house with the bug zapper engaged. SG-1’s official AARs would record a visit to a planet which might, might, be able to supply a small quantity of a new isotope called Naquadria. The unofficial one was for Hammond’s ears only.
‘Well, until we hear from Dr Quinn, or the Kelownan government, there’s not much we can do,’ Hammond said, looking between the four members of SG-1. ‘What’s your next move?’
The four men exchanged glances.
‘I must go to Chulak to visit my wife who will shortly require the Tretonin I delivered to her,’ Teal’c said.
‘And I need to work on the Anti-Replicator Gun,’ Rodney offered. ‘Thor is due back next week to help me finish it, but I still have some stuff to do to get it to that point.’
‘I want to pay a visit to Edora,’ Jack said. ‘I promised Laira I’d go as regularly as I could, and if T and Rodders are busy on their own projects, it’s the perfect time to go.’
‘And you, Dr Jackson?’
‘SG-13 have asked me to go with them to a planet with a fairly primitive population they couldn’t communicate with, but who appear to have a plant which cures asthma.’
‘Asthma?’ Jack repeated. ‘How do they know that if they can’t communicate with the population? And I’m uncertain about you going off-world with Dave Dixon. He’s a nut job.’
‘He speaks very highly of you too, Jack,’ Hammond said, regarding him with that certain ‘look’ which to a child would mean early bed.
‘Sorry? You have to admit, though, General, he’s crazy as a box of frogs. On crack.’
‘A similar comment could be made about you, you know, Jack. Has>/I> been made about you.’
‘Nah. Dave’s certifiable. I’m just…eccentric.’ He looked across to Daniel. ‘Come with me to Edora. You know Laira loves you. And there’s Lairissa to play with…’
‘Fine.’
Jack pointed a finger at him. ‘Don’t take that attitude with me, Dr Jackson. I know you adore her, and I also know you bought up half of Toys R Us for her. We’ll probably need a dozen Marines to help carry it all!’
‘I may come with you to see her myself,’ Hammond said, and Jack knew he was serious. If ever a man valued family, it was George Hammond.
‘You’d be very welcome, sir. I’d love to introduce you to my daughter.’ My daughter. It never gets old. Ever.
*****
Chapter 14
Chapter Text
Thor returned to help finish the replicator disrupter gun the following week, and Jack and Daniel joined Thor in Rodney’s lab.
‘The energy beam severs the connection between the nanites,’ Rodney explained to Thor, who tilted his head to the side as he examined the device. ‘Jack built the original one last time—’
‘But I don’t have a clue how I did it,’ Jack said, shrugging his shoulders. ‘It was while I was under the influence of the head grabber thingy.’
‘In the future,’ Rodney continued, ‘you mentioned you had tried to create a device to disrupt the connection between the nanites, the individual cells, but were unsuccessful. It is why we named it the replicator disruptor, though.’
‘I don’t believe we know enough about the connectivity of the nanites,’ Thor said. ‘This is the link we were missing. Thank you, Rodney.’
Rodney felt his cheeks heat. ‘I’m afraid I can’t take credit for it, Thor. Major Carter designed the original ARG based on the Disrupter which Jack built using the Ancient repository of knowledge. I simply remembered how I adapted it to use against the human replicators in Pegasus.’
‘But Major Carter did not build this one. You did,’ Thor said. ‘You may have recalled her design, but I doubt it is identical to the one she built before. I consider this all your work, Rodney.’
‘And don’t forget that Sam based hers on Jack’s to begin with,’ Daniel added. ‘I’d call it a collaboration at the most. Don’t be afraid to accept commendation, Rodney. You’ve definitely earned it.’
‘And let’s face it, Rodders.’ Jack was laid flat on an empty work bench, his fingers linked under his head. ‘Only we know it isn’t all your own work, and we won’t rat on you!’
‘Indeed,’ Thor agreed. ‘Now, with what did you require my assistance, Rodney?’
‘I don’t know the correct frequency to use to calibrate the ARG,’ Rodney explained. ‘I believe you were able to determine it from your ship’s communication data picked up from the replicators.’
‘And then?’ Jack asked.
‘And then we need to test it.’
*****
Jack and Daniel wandered around Thor’s ship, the Bråvalla, looking for anything interesting, but like all the other Asgardian ships they’d ever been on, it was sparsely decorated. Sparsely? There’s nothing to see at all. Damn it! I knew I should have brought a magazine.
By unspoken mutual agreement, they headed back to the lab where Thor and Rodney were busy making adjustments to the ARG.
‘I wish Teal’c were here,’ Jack grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. ‘At least we could play ‘make the Jaffa smile’ game.’
‘You’ve never, ever managed to make him smile,’ Daniel told his friend. ‘And you know one day he’s going to realise you’re playing a game with—at him.’
‘He already knows,’ Rodney said absently, tapping a finger against his lips as he watched the lines of coding scroll by.
‘He does?’ Jack raised his brows in surprise.
Rodney looked at him, frowning. ‘Of course he does! He’s not an idiot, you know. His game is making you think he doesn’t know what you’re up to, and so far, he’s the winner by a long margin.’
‘Shut up!’ Jack growled at Daniel, who was holding his sides in laughter. ‘Sneaky bastard!’
By this time, Rodney was doubled over with laughter, and he and Daniel held each other up, especially at the outrage on Jack’s face. Throughout this interchange, Thor simply stared at them, his grey, Asgardian face expressionless, almost as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing or hearing.
‘Moving on,’ Rodney said, wiping his eyes and catching his breath. He made sure Jack and Daniel were paying attention and motioned towards the ARG. ‘It’s finished. What do we do now? It really needs to be tested.’
‘But we don’t have anything to test it on,’ Jack said. ‘And I’m certainly not in favour of bringing a replicator block to Earth.’
‘We…don’t have to,’ Daniel said, and Jack could see he was unhappy about something.
‘Daniel?’
Instead of going into their usual exchange, however, Daniel twisted his mouth into a grimace and looked at the floor.
‘Dr Jackson?’ Thor asked. ‘Is there something you wish to say?’
‘Sam…Sam has a couple of replicator blocks.’
‘What?’ Jack demanded.
‘She has two replicator blocks inside a containment unit in her lab.’
Jack sighed. Everything always seems to come back to Carter. ‘How long…’
‘Since Thor’s ship crashed into the Pacific,’ Daniel said unhappily.
Jack stared at him. ‘Those ones? I told her to destroy them!’
Daniel took a deep breath. ‘She told me she was keeping them in case we ever needed to examine one. And now…we do, so…’
Jack rubbed his hands over his face. ‘Okay. Thor, can you beam me down to Carter’s lab, please, buddy?’
‘No!’ Daniel held up his hand. ‘Let me go, Jack. Let me talk to her, friend to friend—’
‘Or better still, let me go down,’ Rodney suggested. ‘I’m the one she has a beef with, and, besides, we’ve reached a sort of…neutrality between us.’
‘A neutrality,’ Jack repeated, his tone dry as the desert sand. ‘And this is supposed to inspire me…how?’
‘For fuck’s sake!’ Rodney shook his head in exasperation. ‘Thor, please beam me down to Major Carter’s lab. I know you have a location for that.’
*****
Between one blink and another, Rodney disappeared from the Bråvalla and reappeared in Carter’s lab on Level 19 in a blinding flash.
‘McKay?’ Carter took a step back and rubbed her eyes. ‘Has Thor just transported you? I didn’t know he was in orbit.
‘We need your help. Thor and I have designed a Replicator Disrupter gun and we need to test it on some replicators. Daniel seems to think you have a couple. Can we have them?’
Sam Carter blinked at the rush of information, then frowned as she digested it. ‘Did he tell J—Colonel O’Neill I had them?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ Rodney hooked a stool with his foot, dragged it over and slumped down on it. ‘Why do Asgard ships have no chairs? My bloody legs are killing me!’
Carter’s frown morphed into a smile. ‘Tell me about it. I once stood all the way to the Ida Galaxy.’ Her smile disappeared. ‘Was he angry?’
Rodney had no trouble working out who ‘he’ was. ‘Yes. He wanted to come down, then Daniel argued he should come and ask you, so while they were busy arguing – you know how they do it – Thor beamed me down.’ He tilted his head to the side. ‘Why did you keep them when you know how dangerous they are?’
Her gaze was unfocussed as she stared at him, considering his question. ‘If Jack asked me that, I’d tell him Thor assured me it took more than two blocks to interact and produce new blocks.’ Her gaze focussed on Rodney. ‘He did, you know. I wouldn’t have brought them here if he hadn’t.’
Rodney nodded, not wanting to break her concentration. This is probably the most honest she’s been with me since we met for that very first time. His face twitched at the uncomfortable memory.
‘But the real reason I kept them, I suspect, is rather more…insightful, I guess the psychologists would say.’
Again, Rodney simply nodded his head.
‘I was curious.’ She gave a bitter laugh. ‘That’s the answer to almost all of my actions. I. Was. Curious.’
‘I’ve seen better epitaphs.’ He smiled as she glanced at him. ‘Cart—Sam. You’re a scientist. It’s what we do. We ask questions and we search for the answers. Mankind has been doing it since they first walked out of the cave. Don’t beat yourself up over what is as natural as breathing to you.’ He paused for a moment and regarded her. ‘It only becomes a problem when we lie about our motivations, or when we try to cheat the process.’
Carter flushed and looked away, but Rodney continued to speak.
‘My guess is you didn’t obey O’Neill and destroy the replicator blocks because you thought you could solve the problem of them, so you lied to yourself about them being harmless. Am I right?’
‘They are harmless. I—’
‘I accept that they’re harmless, but that doesn’t explain why you kept them.’ He waved a hand. ‘It doesn’t matter at the moment, but I suggest you have a conversation with yourself about the motivation behind your actions.’
He got to his feet and brushed his hands down his cargo pants. ‘Here endeth the lesson from Dr Rodney. My bill’s in the post.’ He glanced around the lab, frowning at the number of cupboards and drawers. ‘Your lab has much better storage than mine. Now, where are those pesky ‘cators?’
‘Talk to Siler,’ Sam advised him. ‘He built most of this for me, and those pesky ‘cators are in a wooden box, inside a larger wooden box over here.’
A few minutes later, Rodney was staring at a sealed glass container Sam had lifted out of a series of boxes that reminded him of a Russian doll.
‘Hard to imagine a few of these taking over an entire planet, isn’t it?’ he said, forcing himself not to mention the human-form replicators in Pegasus. Don’t give yourself away, not now when it’s so close to John coming here.
Carter gave a wry smile. ‘If I hadn’t seen them for myself, I’d have never believed it.’
Rodney straightened up and picked up the container, and was about to grip the communication stone in his pocket when he paused. ‘Want to join us on the Bråvalla?’
She straightened up so fast Rodney wondered if she’d hurt herself, but her smile showed no sign of an injury. Then her smile faded, and she shook her head. ‘I’m not on SG-1 anymore, and Colonel O’Neill won’t like it.’
For once, Rodney caught the unspoken part of her words, and he filed it away for future examination. ‘That’s irrelevant. I need an extra pair of scientific eyes on the problem, and you’re the person with the most experience of the—’
‘Pesky ‘cators!’
He grinned and nodded. ‘Of the pesky ‘cators.’ He gripped both the container and the stone in his pocket tightly. ‘Thor, can you beam us both up, please?’
*****
A blink and a flash, and the two scientists appeared in Thor’s lab on the Bråvalla, and in front of a scowling Jack O’Neill.
Ignoring him, Rodney placed the glass container on the bench they were standing around. ‘How does the communication stone work, Thor? I keep meaning to ask you. You obviously heard me speak, but how does that happen?’ He pulled the stone from his pocket and laid it next to the container. ‘There’re no obvious buttons, no obvious tech at all. How does it work?’
‘The stone connects—’
‘Whoa, whoa.’ Jack held up his hands. ‘One thing at a time. You can gossip about stones and radios etc etc when we’ve done with the rep—’
‘Pesky ‘cators!’ Rodney and Sam said simultaneously, and grinned at each other.
Huh. That’s new. And unexpected, Jack thought. Still, as long as she’s not trying to kill him, I suppose. Sheppard would never forgive me.
From the corner of his eye – the one Sam couldn’t see – Rodney winked at Jack.
That’s new, as well.
‘I decided two heads were better than one,’ Rodney announced. ‘We thought…’
Thor didn’t bat an eyebrow – not that he has any to bat – while Daniel’s disappeared into his hairline, and his jaw dropped.
‘What the hell?’ His voice was pitched so only Jack could hear him.
‘I know as much as you,’ Jack replied in an undertone. ‘I guess…we watch and learn.’
*****
The disrupter gun worked perfectly, turning the innocent-looking grey blocks into a pile of silver sandlike substance.
Jack rubbed his hands together. ‘Sweet. What’s next?’
‘Next, we have to test the disrupter against the replicators destroying my home galaxy,’ Thor told them, with just a hint of satisfaction in his tone, Jack decided.
‘One gun isn’t going to do much to them,’ Daniel pointed out.
‘We can easily make more of them,’ Rodney said, absently tapping his finger against his lips in what Jack was beginning to recognise as his ‘thinking’ mode. ‘Thor, am I correct that all Asgard ships have a—a matter convertor?’
Thor inclined his head. ‘Yes. The items we wish to convert, such as food, for instance, are created from stored values within our data systems, using stored matter on the ship.’
Jack opened his mouth to ask what matter, then decided it didn’t…matter. ‘Could we repli—convert the disrupter?’ he asked instead.
‘Yes.’
It’s why I like Thor. His answers are short and clear, unlike…others. ‘So what’s got you all distracted and a-lip-tapping, Rodders?’
Rodney frowned, and examined his finger, as though it held the answer, then looked up. ‘It’s what Daniel said. One Disrupter won’t make much difference. It won’t. We need a—a—’ His hands outlined a mass, part of a circle, a…’A field. A disrupter field, or—or a—a bubble to encase them so we can get them with one shot, or wave, or whatever we decide to call it.’
‘Is that important? To get them all at one time?’ Sam asked, frowning. ‘Depending on the size of the field, it might take more than one.’
‘True,’ Rodney agreed, ‘but what if they can adapt to the frequency we use? We might not get more than one shot.’
It was exactly what had happened in Pegasus, Jack recalled. It took less and less time for the Pegasus Replicators to adapt to, and broadcast, the new frequency, and now Jack understood Rodney’s hesitation. Bringing Carter aboard meant no discussion of future events.
Clearly, Thor had also realised this as he closed his mouth on whatever he had been about to say. Only Daniel remained unaware, and Jack slowly moved to his side, ready to clap his hand over his friend’s mouth should he begin to say something too revealing.
‘So we need a way to widen the field,’ Sam said, looking at the box, unaware of Jack’s concerns.
‘The shield!’ Rodney said suddenly, snapping his fingers. ‘We could adapt the Asgard shield to combine with the disrupter frequency and code.’
‘It’ll be expensive in terms of power,’ Sam warned, but her eyes were suddenly alive, unlike their previous dullness, which went along with her general air of unkemptness.
Huh. Even her hair has recovered its bounce – does hair bounce? ‘Ow!’ Jack rubbed his side where Daniel had just elbowed him.
‘Pay attention! You were miles away,’ Daniel told him.
‘What have I missed?’
‘Well, nothing really, but…’
Jack tuned out Daniel’s complaints and focussed on the two scientists and Thor. He considered himself an intelligent man – even if he tried to hide it – but their chatter, their exchange of ideas, was a foreign language to him. He followed it for a short while, but when they began to discuss someone named Karon – Keron? – he tuned out again and instead thought about up-coming missions, although everything will change with them simply because Daniel’s still alive, even before I change anything. Won’t the F-302 be completed soon? Maybe Sheppard’ll be here by then.
*****
It was only when he found himself alone in the lab that Jack realised the geeks had moved on from mere talking. He sighed to himself, cursing Daniel for not dragging him along with them, and made his way up to the bridge where, he reasoned, they would probably be. They’ll need to see…whatever it is they can see. Hmm.
‘Jack! Where’ve you been?’ Daniel demanded, his face alight with glee, then waved his hand. ‘It doesn’t matter, we’re almost there.’
‘Almost where?’
‘Hala.’
‘And then…’ Jack rotated his hand to get Daniel to continue.
‘And then Thor is going to bring all the replicators here.’
Jack knew this. He remembered it happening before, except the Asgard had created a time-dilation field to trap the—the pesky ‘cators! That was what Rodders called them. Sweet.
‘How?’
Daniel stared at him. ‘How?’
‘Yeah. How. How is Thor going to bring all the replicators here?’ No time-dilation field. No time-dilation field, please.
‘Oh. Using Reese, the android they discovered on a planet they believe the replicators originated from. Thor extracted the signal from it and he’ll broadcast it from here in the hope the repli—’
‘Pesky ‘cators.’
‘Huh?’
‘Pesky ‘cators. It’s Rodders’ word for them.’
Daniel stared at him. ‘Technically, that’s two words.’
Jack stared back at him.
‘Moving on,’ Daniel said, shaking his head. ‘Thor hopes the pesky ‘cators will all home in on the signal, and we’ll be able to—to drop the disrupter field around them. That’s the theory, anyway.’
‘And if the field doesn’t capture them all?’
‘Then we’ll use the disrupter guns.’ Rodney walked over to join them. ‘It’s the best we can do, I’m afraid.’
‘And if the theory fails and you don’t gather them all?’
‘Then we’re out of options,’ Sam said as she joined them, looking hesitantly at Jack.
‘You and I need to have words, Major,’ Jack told her.
‘Yessir, but can it wait until we’re back home? Please?’
‘Hmpf. I suppose so.’
The three former teammates stood together awkwardly, each aware of the issues between them, but the newest member of SG-1 was frowning into space, a finger tapping his lips.
‘Rodders?’ Jack asked. ‘Whatya thinkin’?’
‘Hmmm?’ Rodney looked round with raised eyebrows.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Jack repeated slowly.
‘I’m thinking about the signal Thor’s using to call them all together. That’s the bit we’re unsure about. Will the signal reach them all, and will they all come to an essentially empty planet?’
‘And, so, therefore?’
‘What if we had an energy rich ‘thing’ to attract them?’
‘Richer than the remaining infrastructure on Hala?’ Sam asked.
‘Mmm.’
‘There’s still a lot of Asgard technology down there.’
‘And we don’t have anything with richer energy,’ Jack pointed out.
‘Actually, we do.’
‘Do we? What?’
‘We have a naquadah-enhanced asteroid.’
*****
It turned out to be remarkably easy to tow a naquadah-enhanced asteroid to the Ida galaxy. The most difficult part was getting hold of the Phaser as Radek had locked it away in the safe in his lab.
‘But why is he lecturing in New York?’ Jack demanded.
‘It’s a symposium at Columbia. He accepted the invitation to speak at it before we came to Colorado,’ Rodney explained. ‘Miko’s there as well. As moral support, she said. I’d forgotten all about it.’
‘Can’t we just beam him out of there?’ Jack asked, already knowing the answer.
‘Not unless we’re prepared to declassify the entire programme,’ General Hammond said wryly. ‘Which we’re not.’
A piercing whistle attracted their attention.
‘Thank you,’ said Kay Spencer. ‘I’ve been trying to get your attention for an hour!’
‘For barely two minutes, kid,’ Jack corrected her.
‘Fine, two minutes then. I’ve been trying to tell you, I know the combination.’
‘You do?’ The same question came from several people all crowded in Radek’s lab, and made Kay jut out her chin.
‘Well?’ Rodney demanded after a moment of silence. ‘Get on with it, or I might change my mind about offering you a job.’
Kay huffed as she knelt down and, hiding the keypad from view, tapped in the combination. The safe door swung open.
Rodney pointed his finger at Spencer. ‘Remind me to make a master list of combinations from everyone.’
‘Why me?’
‘Because I said so.’
Sam Carter was already on her knees, pulling out the contents of the safe. ‘What does it look like?’
Rodney pushed her gently away. ‘Here, let me. I know what I’m looking for.’ He searched in several boxes and finally found it, and held it up.
‘So much power in such a small object,’ Hammond commented.
‘Wait till you see a ZPM,’ Jack murmured in his ear.
‘A what? the general asked at his normal volume, making everyone around him turn.
‘Shhhh! Secret, remember?’ Jack hissed. ‘Tell you about it later.’
*****
After begging, pleading, and possibly promising her first-born, Kay Spencer was allowed to go with them back to the Ida galaxy.
‘I am the only one who’s seen the Phaser actually work in the field,’ she reminded the group in Radek’s lab.
Rodney closed his eyes. ‘How many times do I have to tell people it’s not a phaser.’
‘What is it, then?’ Jack asked, aware he was teasing his teammate.
‘It’s a device which emits a field to move whatever’s inside the field out of dimension.’
‘That’s what you used to prevent the asteroid colliding with Earth?’ Sam asked. There was a slight pause before she added; ‘It’s a smart idea. I’m not sure I’d have come up with it.’
That cost her, Jack thought, watching as she relaxed her clenched hand. It cost her, but I have a feeling she’ll gain a lot of goodwill by admitting it. Good on you, Carter.
‘It is,’ Rodney answered, ‘but I explained, more than once, that calling it a phaser is wrong, and it suggests a link with the Phaser guns used on Star Trek.’
‘If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck…’ Jack shrugged when Rodney scowled at him. ‘Just sayin’.’
The group of five reappeared on the bridge of the Bråvalla.
‘Why have you brought a waterfowl aboard my ship, Jack?’ Thor asked him. ‘I understood you were returning with a phasing device, not an Anatide.’
Jack frowned and turned to Daniel. ‘Huh?’
‘Anatide, plural Anatidae. A member of the water bird family.’
‘You mean a duck.’
Daniel nodded.
‘So why not say ‘a duck’?’
Holding his hands up, Daniel backed slightly away from his friend. ‘I was just answering your question.’
Frowning, Jack glanced around at the others. ‘What was the frigging question?’
‘I enquired why you had returned with a—a duck.’
Jack stared at him. ‘Eh?’
‘Oh, for crying out loud! We don’t have time for this!’ Rodney stepped forward and held out the phasing device to Thor. ‘This is what we wanted.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the asteroid is—No, it isn’t. For fuck’s sake!’ Rodney slapped his forehead. ‘I’m an idiot.’ He glared around the Bridge. ‘And no comments from the peanut gallery, thank you.’
‘I don’t understand why you need the phaser,’ Sam said. ‘Am I missing something? It’s a very clever device, and I can see dozens of way it could be useful, but why do we need it now?’
‘We don’t. That’s the point, and why I’m an idiot,’ Rodney said with a sigh. ‘We originally decided to leave the asteroid out of dimension so it wouldn’t hit another planet – even though it could take months, years even, to get to one. However, Radek and Miko realised when they activated it, they were also out of dimension.’
‘Ah.’ Sam nodded.
‘None of us thought it through,’ Spencer added. ‘We had to return the asteroid to this dimension to actually get home.’
Jack had been following their discussion, looking between the participants like a man watching a tennis match, and he thought he’d followed it. ‘So that means…?’ he asked, hedging his bets.
‘That we don’t actually need the dimension shifter,’ Spencer explained. She swung around to face Rodney. ‘That’s right, isn’t it?’
‘Unless…’ Rodney was tapping his lip again, Jack noticed. ‘Unless,’ he began, snapping his fingers, ‘we go for belt and braces.’
‘Oh, good idea,’ Sam said, her face alight with energy and excitement. ‘Attract the repli—’
‘Pesky ‘cators,’ Jack, Daniel, and Rodney chorused, and grinned at each other while Thor and Kay Spencer watched them uncertainly.
‘Attract the pesky ‘cators to the asteroid, then put the whole thing out of dimension. Brilliant.’
‘Will it work, Thor?’ Rodney asked. ‘Without us becoming trapped inside it?’
Thor took the device from Rodney and examined it, and the pair had a technical conversation in which Sam joined in with, making the occasional remark.
‘D’you have any idea what they’re talking about?’ Daniel asked Jack.
‘Not a clue! Spencer?’
‘Shh. I’m trying to follow what they’re saying.’
Jack looked back at Daniel. ‘I guess that’s your answer.’
Before long, Rodney and Sam turned back to the others. ‘Thor thinks he can rep—duplicate the phaser in the Matter Converter, and using the signal…Why are you all grinning at me?’
Daniel and Spencer were trying – unsuccessfully – to hide their grins behind their hands, but Jack was outright laughing.
‘You…Phaser…’ Kay spluttered.
‘Ignore the children,’ Sam told him, but she was also smiling. ‘You called the phaser, a Phaser. That’s all.’
To Jack’s surprise, Rodney grinned. ‘Ah well. I never was much good at naming things.’ He met Jack’s eyes and gave the hint of a wink, making Jack laugh louder.
*****
It worked. The damn thing worked, and all the pesky ‘cators were both hit with the disrupter field and put out of dimension.
‘And we have the disrupter guns in case we run across any more,’ Rodney reported cheerfully to General Hammond in their debrief. ‘As far as Thor is aware, though, there are no more anywhere in the Ida galaxy.’
‘It’s a twofer,’ Jack agreed, nodding. ‘We got rid of the asteroid and the pesky ‘cators.’
Hammond’s bemusement as they all chimed in with Jack’s last two words brought forth such gales of laughter that Walter appeared at the top of the staircase from Stargate Operations to see what was happening, and disappeared back down, shaking his head in bemusement.
Once they had sobered and explained their mirth to the general, Jack waggled his fingers in the air.
‘Ah, sir? There is one more thing.’
‘Go on.’
‘The Asgard High Council were so pleased at our help, they have offered to fit the new X-303 with Asgard beaming technology, sensors, scanners, shields, and hyper-drive, but not weaponry, unfortunately. But they’ll do the same for the next couple of ships we build and they’ll send an Asgard engineer to help fit them, and to generally advise us.’
General Hammond beamed. ‘That’s excellent news, and the timing couldn’t be better.’
‘Why’s that, sir?’ Daniel asked.
‘Because P—I’m due in DC on Monday to argue for our financial independence. This will be a marvellous boost for our arguments and against the politicians who say we don’t give value for money.’
‘Glad to be of service,’ Jack told him, but his next words were drowned out by the noise of klaxons.
‘Unscheduled off-world activation.’
General Hammond led the way down the spiral staircase, the others following him, including Spencer, who was trying to keep herself out of sight behind Jack and Daniel. Hoping we can’t see her to throw her out, Jack mused. Poor kid.
‘It’s a dial-in from…’ Walter kept one eye on the screen where the dialling address was being registered, and another on the screen, which would display an iris code. ‘From Kelowna, sir. It’s the GDO we left with Jonas Quinn.’
‘Open the iris,’ Hammond ordered as they stared out at the rippling blue of the event horizon.
The ripples expanded momentarily, and a figure appeared at the top of the ramp, heavy packs on his back and in hand if his slightly bent posture was any gauge.
‘He’s done it,’ Jack whispered, and, fortunately, only Daniel heard him.
‘Who is that?’ Sam asked with a frown as Quinn walked down the ramp, staring at the security forces in position around the room.
‘Stand down,’ Hammond ordered, and as one soldier straightened and lowered his weapon, the others followed, and they all filed out of the room, leaving just four men on duty.
As Quinn looked around for any clue as to what he should do next, Jack and Daniel entered the room, with Rodney just behind them.
‘Hello, Colonel O’Neill, Dr Jackson, Dr McKay. I’ve come for a visit.’
*****
Jonas was fascinated by…everything. From the books in Daniel’s office to the SFs in the gate room, anything and everything interested him. What’s more, he also had an almost eidetic memory and spent hours in conversation with Rodney and Miko Kusanagi discussing the esoteric things they’d read (Jonas) to the lines of code they recognised on sight (Miko) to the sheer number of equations they knew and could use (Rodney).
For the first time in several months, Jack found himself almost in agreement with Samantha Carter as they watched the three geeks exchange information over lunch.
(‘Calling them geeks is quite rude, Jack.’
‘Well, Danny, they are’)
‘I was envious of McKay when he told us he had an eidetic memory,’ she confided in Jack and Daniel where she’d joined them for lunch. ‘Now, when I realise just how much must be in his brain, I don’t think I do anymore.’
‘He did say it was a burden,’ Daniel offered, peaceably.
‘No,’ Jack drawled. ‘You called it a burden, not a gift. Rodders just agreed,’
‘Rodders?’ Sam repeated. ‘Does he know you call him that?’
‘It’s a nickname, not an insult, Major. Don’t judge everyone by your own actions.’
Sam bit her lip and nodded. ‘Yes, sir. I—I—’ She stood and collected her tray. ‘I think I left—yeah.’
‘That was pretty harsh,’ Daniel said, watching her leave.
‘I suppose it was, but she gets me all riled up every time she opens her mouth.’
‘Not every time. She was very helpful on the Bråvalla. You said so yourself.’
‘Most of the time, then. I can’t forget what she’s done, particularly to Rodders. She almost killed him, and as far as I’m aware, hasn’t shown the slightest bit of remorse.’
‘Rodney seems to have forgiven her.’
‘She attempted to murder him, Daniel. She should have been called up for an article 15 at the very least.’
Daniel stared at him, frowning. ‘Are you saying you don’t agree with General Hammond’s handling of the affair?’
‘No! Well…Huh.’ Jack sat deep in thought. Do I disagree with the way he handled it? He only did what Rodders asked him to do . If it had gone to an Article 15 it would have caused a lot of other problems, and did Carter really try to kill Rodders? Would I have handled it differently? Ah, crap!
‘—ack!’
A hand on his shoulder made him start, and he realised he’d been oblivious of his surroundings for several minutes.
‘Are you well, Colonel?’ Jonas asked him in concern.
‘Nah. I’m fine. Just, y’know, daydreaming.’
Jonas didn’t look convinced, but he nodded when the others accepted his excuse, although from the look in Daniel’s eye, he’d be hearing all about it later.
‘The general’s expecting us,’ Rodney said, pointing at his watch.
‘Huh?’
‘For a discussion about Kelowna’s offer? Remember?’ Rodney shook his head, then led the way out of the mess hall.
‘Eh?’ Jack asked Daniel inelegantly, but instead of replying, Daniel also shook his head and left the mess behind Rodney and Jonas.
‘I wish Teal’c were here. He never leaves me in the dark,’ Jack grumbled as he followed his teammates, attracting several glances of bemusement from other diners.
*****
‘I’ve spoken to several people at the Pentagon regarding the request Mr Quinn brought to us from First Minister Valis,’ General Hammond reported. ‘Although it wasn’t easy contacting them at a weekend. Why politicians think diplomacy only happens on weekdays, I’ll never know.’
The group assembled in the briefing room comprised SG-1, SG-9 – a team which numbered two military-trained diplomats amongst its five members – Major Paul Davis and Jonas Quinn.
‘There was some talk of handing the matter over to the United Nations, but the State Department finally decided that would open too many cans of worms they were unwilling to explain, so a representative from the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, and one from the Office of Foreign Assistance will be read into the programme, and will travel to Kelowna along with SG-9, Major Davis, and, of course, Mr Quinn.’ The general beamed at them all, as if he’d solved world hunger, or the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
‘That’s great news, sir,’ Jack told him. ‘Well done. Now all you need to do is tell us what the request from First Minister Valis was.’
Hammond’s beam faded. ‘What?’
‘While we knew Jonas had brought a request from First Minister Valis, none of us know what that request was. Except Paul, maybe?’ He glanced at Major Davis, who shifted uncomfortably.
‘Umm.’
‘I do beg your pardons, everyone.’ Hammond gave them all a sheepish smile. ‘I didn’t realise you didn’t…know.’ He turned to Jonas. ‘Mr Quinn. Perhaps you’ll fill them all in.’
Jonas smiled at him, and Jack was reminded of how affable the man was. ‘Certainly, sir. In brief, when I informed First Minister Valis of the danger our attempts at building a naquadria bomb posed, he was very concerned, and, if I’m honest, disbelieving, at least at first. I was finally able to convince him, when I explained Dr McKay was concerned we might render our entire planet uninhabitable if we used the bomb we were building.’
‘This is in brief?’ Jack whispered to Daniel, but his friend merely poked his arm. Hard.
‘First Minister Valis, therefore, has asked the SGC to provide diplomats to negotiate a peace between the three warring factions of our planet.’
‘And the State Department has agreed to help us?’ Jack asked. ‘What’s it going to cost us?’
‘Always the cynic,’ Daniel sighed, but General Hammond was nodding.
‘A fair question, and the answer is, I don’t know at present. It will depend very much what the Kelownans are willing to offer us, but as a goodwill gesture, Mr Quinn was able to bring us ten pounds in weight of naquadria: sufficient to trial as a power source for the X-302 fighter jet.’
‘Excellent.’ Rodney rubbed his hands together. ‘I’ll get together with Radek—’
‘Of course, Dr McKay, but can you spare us a further few minutes?’ Hammond asked, but his eyes were laughing.
‘And SG-1’s role in this is…’ Jack asked.
‘Merely for information at present,’ the general answered, and raised his brows. ‘Was there anything in particular you desired? You’ve been looking after Mr Quinn. I understood he was accompanying you on a mission tomorrow.’
‘He is. I just wondered…Nope. All good here, sir.’ Jack grinned at his CO, hoping he wasn’t going to get the dreaded ‘Colonel’.
‘If there’s nothing else, Jack, you’re all dismissed. I need a few more words with Major Davis and SG-9.’
‘Dismissed. Yessir. Thank you, sir. Come on, campers. Places to be, things to do.’ Jack led his team from the briefing room. Jack. He called me Jack. He still loves me.
*****
Chapter 15
Chapter Text
Good morning, George.’ Patrick Sheppard greeted his friend at a coffee shop in Pentagon City. ‘I’ve ordered coffee and a couple of croissants for both of us. I haven’t eaten breakfast, and I doubted you have.’
‘Jennifer offered me a slice of toast, but she was busy getting the girls off to school, so I just had coffee. I’m ready for something to eat,’ George said as they seated themselves at a window table.
The weather was still too cool to sit outside, although, with May almost upon them, it wouldn’t be long before the checkerboard terraces outside the cafes in Pentagon City would be lined with tables, chairs, and gay coloured awnings, with the scent of freshly ground coffee and baked goods enticing workers to pause and partake. At 08:30 on a Monday morning, however, those same workers were rushing to get to their offices with barely enough time to grab a coffee to drink at their desks.
‘Being semi-retired has its advantages,’ Patrick told his friend.
‘How so?’
‘I was up and dressed by 07:15 today, as I have been for most of my life, but it’s because I chose to. I didn’t have the same urgency as I used to have when I was rushing to my office to read emails before everyone else was in to badger me about something or other. I felt almost relaxed, driving here, as well.’
‘Lucky you. I spent most of yesterday arguing with politicians and only got to Jennifer’s in time for me to go to bed. I missed the girls entirely, even though they waited up to see me.’
‘Problems?’ Patrick asked, aware they couldn’t even risk mentioning Colorado in such an open space, in such a populated area.
‘And then some,’ George sighed, then perked up a little. ‘Still, we had some good news from our Norse friends who’ve offered us several gifts, as thanks for our help.’
‘Gifts that could help us with our negotiations today?’
‘Indeed, as our mutual friend says.’
The two men grinned at each other, then George glanced at his watch.
‘Time to go.’
They took a cab to the lesser used River Entrance to the Pentagon where, to their surprise, they were met by the SecAir’s admin assistant, Mrs Janice Lloyd.
‘Secretary Williams asked me to escort you to his office,’ she told the two men after greeting them. ‘This way, please.’
Patrick had been to many meetings at the Pentagon, and both in and out of uniform, but he’d never been whisked through checkpoints quite as fast before. Mrs Lloyd gave the appearance of an efficient and highly regarded individual, despite her lowly title, but titles and appearances can be misleading, Patrick told himself. This is a woman used to giving orders, and used to being obeyed. I wonder if she’s an ex-service member? I wonder if she’d give me her phone number, if I dared ask?
‘Your 9.30am, Mr Williams,’ she announced to the Secretary of the Air Force, ushering George and Patrick into an office within a sumptuous suite of rooms.
‘George, how mice to see you.’
The SecAir advanced on Hammond with outstretched hands, much to his friend’s surprise, Patrick noted. And possibly his dislike. Hmm. I need to ask him about that later.
However, before they knew where they were, they were entering a room where a bevy of suits and uniforms were awaiting them at a large circular table. George came immediately to attention, and Patrick had to force himself not to follow suit. Man taken out of the Navy, etc, etc.
‘No need for all that,’ Williams said, waving a hand as he took his seat ‘We’re all friends here, aren’t we?’
Patrick stiffened at his words, and suspected George had had the same reaction. ‘Most certainly not amongst friends, I suspect,’ he murmured to his friend as they took their allocated and named seats. ‘On guard!’
*****
‘Well, that wasn’t as bad as it might have been,’ Patrick said to George in a low voice as they joined the throng around the coffee station – only SecAir, his Under Secretary, and the AF Chief of Staff were served in person. ‘Only a few of them don’t support our objective. I thought at first we were going to get shafted.’
‘As did I,’ George answered, even as he gave a fake smile to a Lieutenant General, who nodded to him. ‘I’m pretty certain he was involved in the attempt to get me to retire a couple of years ago. Henry Bauer, the man they brought in, was one of his protégés.’
‘John told me about that. He said Bauer was promoted after it was all over.’
‘That’s the way of it with a top secret programme. Can’t afford any disgruntled members of the services: they may go public.’
Patrick frowned. ‘What about their NDAs?’
‘Pretty difficult to enforce if truth be told – especially on someone who’s left the service. It’s why I was…not displeased, shall we say, when your son-in-law said he didn’t want to press charges.’
‘Ahh. I did wonder. How’s she been with him since then? I haven’t spoken to him recently to get an update.’
‘She’s been remarkably settled. Ro—your son-in-law has made an effort to include her in things where he can. My current bane is J, surprisingly. He can’t seem to get over it, even though R has.’
The pair had decided, early in their initial meeting, to use letters or acronyms where possible as they couldn’t use the bug zapper -or only sparingly – in much of DC, and the Pentagon in particular where an absence of radio traffic would be more noticeable than in the mountain or Jack’s house.
Just as Patrick was about to reply, he saw Mrs Lloyd heading their way, and she smiled when she saw him looking her way.
‘Dr Sheppard, General Hammond, Mr Williams and General Schneider would like a private word if you have a moment?’
‘Certainly, ma’am,’ George answered, his southern charm to the fore, making Patrick smile even as he followed George like a baby duckling.
I wonder what the Air Force Chief of Staff wants with us?
Their ‘private word’ took place in a corner of the room with Mrs Lloyd acting as gatekeeper and bouncer combined, and while several people looked their way, no one dared approach, not even George’s erstwhile enemy, Lt Gen Nelson Arreguin, who glared at them both throughout their ‘word’.
‘George, Patrick – I may call you Patrick, might I?’ Williams asked. ‘I know you play golf with Neville Delauder, so I feel as though I almost know you! Anyway,’ he continued without waiting for Patrick to give his assent, ‘I—We‘ve noticed how Arreguin is gunning for you, George, and we want to try to circumvent that, but what on earth did you do to the man?’
‘I didn’t go quietly into the night,’ George answered, but Williams wasn’t listening.
‘He wasn’t even invited to this meeting, but when he turned up…’ He held out his hands. ‘I mean, what can you do?’
It was a rhetorical question, but had George or Patrick wanted to reply, he didn’t give them time. And Schneider is enjoying every minute of it, Patrick mused. Almost as though he’d heard, Schneider glanced at Patrick and gave him a surreptitious wink.
Huh.
‘So, Janice is booking a private room at Browns for lunch and it’ll just be us four, Matthew, Eric, and Alice. And Janice, of course. Is that okay?’
‘I will not be joining you, Mr Williams,’ Janice Lloyd said in a frosty voice. ‘I am merely organising the luncheon.’
‘Aww, shame on you, Janice. We need pretty ladies to ogle over a meal.’
Patrick watched, mesmerised, as ‘Janice’ clenched her fists and didn’t hit her boss, and Patrick was tempted to do so on her behalf. Now, who the hell are Matthew, Eric, and Alice?
‘They’re like SecAir’s cabinet,’ George murmured to Patrick as they returned to their seats. ‘Eric Granger is Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser to Clive Williams, and is his right-hand man; Maj Gen Matthew Elmore is Deputy CoS for Plans and Programmes, and it’s rumoured Williams won’t even go to the bathroom without his advice; and Dr Alice Butterworth is the Air Force’s Chief Scientist, although I’ve never met her before.’
Patrick tried to cover his laughter with a cough, but fortunately, no one appeared to have noticed.
The discussions over the SGC becoming self-financing continued with Arreguin still making all the objections, even while Loretta Johnson, the assistant Secretary for Air Force Financial Management, agreed with the plan.
‘All we need now is Kinsey to walk in,’ George muttered to Patrick, making him turn and look towards the door just in case speaking the name of a demon did actually summon them.
It all dragged on until a quarter to midday when Williams rapped the table. ‘Well, we’ve had a most lively discussion this morning, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave it there. Thank you all for your input.’
There were several glances of confusion at whether or not they were being dismissed, but when Secretary Williams got to his feet, there was a general sigh of relief and people began to collect their belongings together. Nelson Arreguin gave George a smirk as he left the room at the side of the Director for Studies and Analysis – and Patrick had no idea what interest he had in the Stargate Programme – which George simply ignored.
‘I don’t think he realises he has absolutely no influence in making this decision,’ George said to his friend in a low voice.
‘Fuck him!’ Patrick muttered. ‘That’s three hours I’ll never get back!’
‘You never know in this programme. Anything can happen, remember?’
*****
Lunch at Browns was surprisingly pleasant – both the food and the company. Alice Butterworth was erudite, witty, and as disparaging of their host as they were.
‘He’s pretty harmless,’ she told them, taking a sip of the wine Williams had pressed upon her. ‘Just…clueless. He relies heavily on his advisors – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it means various vested interests are sometimes pushed above higher priority issues. Take this morning, for instance. Barely half the people in that meeting should have been there, and some who should have been present weren’t.’
‘Like who?’ Patrick asked, in interest.
‘Sally Claythorne, Chief Information Officer,’ Alice replied promptly.
George frowned. ‘Why would she need to be involved? It sounds like a political post.’
Alice shook her head. ‘Not at all. Sally’s in charge of Information Technology. Information Technology, Data, and Artificial Intelligence, to be exact. She has a far better understanding of IT than I do, and we actually work pretty closely as our areas of interest intersect quite a lot.’ She grinned then, and looked at George from under her eyelashes. ‘She’s tried to poach one of your assets several times, actually.’
‘Really? Who?’
‘Miko Kusanagi. Miko’s probably the world’s leading IT professional, and I doubt Sally’s the only one who’s interested in her. The same goes for Rodney McKay, and Radek Zelenka. In fact, anyone who’s worked closely with McKay can pretty much write their own ticket in the private sector.’ She frowned at George’s expression of surprise. ‘You didn’t know what a hot commodity Rodney McKay is? Why? How?’
‘I did know – to an extent,’ George told her. ‘I knew of his encryption programme, who doesn’t, but I…probably didn’t appreciate just what an asset he is.’
‘And you, Patrick? Did you know?’
Patrick smiled and nodded. ‘I knew. He’s my…son-in-law to all intents and purposes.’
‘Your son, David?’
‘No. John, but…’
‘Ah, of course. That ridiculous DADT. Thank God that’s out of the window now.’ Alice’s moue of distaste said more about her disapproval of the policy than her words. ‘Does that mean John will be joining the SGC when he completes his course at the Air Command and Staff College?’
Patrick’s mouth dropped open. ‘Is there anything you don’t know about my family?’
Alice appeared to consider this, but her grin gave her away. ‘I don’t know if you’re dating at present,’ she offered, making the two men laugh.
‘I think she’s asking you to buy her dinner, Patrick.’
‘I think so, too!’
*****
Once the table was cleared and the coffee brought in, the diners grew silent and focused on Clive Williams, who immediately ceded the meeting to General Schneider.
‘I asked Clive to arrange this private meeting so we can actually do something other than talk,’ he began, and both Patrick and George relaxed at his words. We might actually get a decision made now.
‘The proposal Major General Hammond and Dr Sheppard have put forward is to make the Stargate Programme financially independent. This can’t be done overnight, obviously, but I believe it is an achievable aim, and I’ll do all I can to support them in their endeavours.
‘This morning’s meeting was, if the Secretary of the Air Force will excuse me, a complete fiasco. Far too many civilians have now been read into the programme who shouldn’t have been, and their vested interests have been given priority over the SGC’s mission objectives which are, quite simply, ‘Defend the Stargate; Protect the Planet’. It’s as simple as that.
‘You’ll hear various other ‘objectives’ bandied about, such as ‘To search and retrieve technology which benefits Earth’ which is code for ‘which benefits me and my pals’, and maybe ‘research and development of off-world technology’ with the unspoken ‘acquired by any means’ – or maybe not so unspoken,’ he added as George grunted. ‘General Hammond?’
‘Harry Maybourne once told me that ‘acquire technology from other worlds, through trade or by theft’ was the NID’s stated mission,’ George said. ‘I’m not sure who was responsible for that mission statement.’
‘I could hazard a guess,’ Schneider said, his mouth twisted in distaste, ‘but that wouldn’t benefit anyone. Between ourselves, I’m pretty certain the NID is a front for a criminal organisation which involves both politicians and businessmen.’
‘It is,’ George said with a sigh, and Schneider glanced at him with narrowed eyes.
‘You have proof?’
‘…I have…something,’ George admitted reluctantly. ‘But I’m not prepared to go into details.’ His unspoken ‘here’ was understood by most of the people around the table with varying degrees of comfort.
‘Understood.’ Schneider nodded, then looked at the six people in his audience. ‘You’re all here because the SGC being financially independent will directly affect your personal briefs. Matthew. You’re Plans and Programmes. What’s your opinion?’
‘I’m in favour,’ Matthew Elmore replied. ‘The Air Force has a limited budget and the Stargate Programme takes the majority of it.’ He held up his hand as Hammond opened his mouth to speak. ‘It’s not a criticism, George, it’s a statement of fact. The less money you take, the more we have for other projects.’
‘Eric?’
The Senior Adviser to Clive Williams cleared his throat. ‘I’m in favour in principle, but I’m also aware there’ll be a lot of opposition from the wider DOD, and it’s going to take careful negotiations to get all the relevant parties to agree. Having Dr Sheppard and Sheppard Industries onboard will help, of course, General Hammond, but you must be prepared to make compromises.’
‘Compromises,’ Hammond repeated. ‘What kind of compromises are you suggesting?’
Eric Granger is a politician of the worst sort, Patrick decided. Compromise and negotiate are his weapons of choice, the namby-pamby little—
‘—agree, Patrick?’ George asked him, and Patrick forced his lips into a smile – or something approaching a smile.
Thankfully, George saw his problem and gave a mere hint of a nod.
‘Yes, of course. George has my full backing,’ he said, his voice full of confidence. Did I get that right?
Schneider gave him the glint of a smile, but no one else noticed his lapse, and Patrick relaxed in his chair, and reached for his coffee – which had gone cold. Still, not the first time I’ve drunk it cold, and I doubt it’s the last time.
‘Finally, what are your views, Dr Butterworth?’ Schneider asked.
‘Completely for it,’ Alice said brusquely. ‘Quite apart from the bad science which is being taught in our schools because we can’t reveal what we really know, it’ll improve the flow of new technologies into our society where they can do some good, rather than being choked up in some committee by politicians arguing that their state should get to produce it.’
Can’t argue with that, Patrick thought as he nodded his agreement. I wonder if I could get her phone number?
*****
The SI private plane took George, along with Patrick, back to Colorado to break the good news.
‘Nathan Schneider had a private word with me while you were in the bathroom after lunch,’ Patrick told George once they were in the air.
‘I wondered if he would.’
Patrick shot him a sharp look. ‘You know about this?’
‘If ‘this’ is the contract for SI to take over construction and production of the X-302, yes. I also know you’re on the shortlist for the next X-303 when it’s commissioned, and that they’re considering asking you to take over management of the X-303 still under construction.’
‘I knew we were in the final three for the new X-303s, but I didn’t realise we were being considered to take over construction of the fighter-interceptor or the X-303,’ Patrick said. ‘In fact, I didn’t know a new lead was being sought for either of them.’
George sighed. ‘The projects have both been mismanaged from the start, and I can’t get to the bottom of who’s responsible, but I’m pretty certain both Major Carter and Hank Landry were involved.’
Patrick wrinkled his nose. ‘I can’t hear her name without remembering what she did to Rodney.’
‘You must blame me for her not being held properly accountable.’
‘Why?’
It wasn’t the question George had been expecting. ‘Why?’ he repeated in surprise. ‘Well, I made the choice not to put her in front of an Article 15, for a start.’
‘I thought that was Chegwidden?’
‘Well, I suppose it was, originally.’ George frowned as he tried to think back to the conversation he’d had with the JAG. ‘He certainly advised me on procedure, but I was the one who made the final decision.’
‘And I didn’t disagree with that decision.’ Patrick sighed as George’s face contorted in puzzlement. ‘Not after both John and Rodney talked to me about it. They explained how dangerous it would be to have Samantha Carter on the outside of the SGC, and what she still had to offer to keep her within it.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘Rodney tries to give the impression he’s a hard man of science, but John describes him as a squishy teddy bear when it comes to compassion – which he has by the bucket load, although he tries to hide it.
‘John’s far more hard-nosed: the product of being on his own for so long in the other timeline, I think. Had Rodney made the slightest noise about just retribution, he’d have led the firing squad himself.’
‘When I originally heard what she’d done, I felt like leading the firing squad,’ George admitted. ‘But Rodney was right when he said we have far greater concerns to consider.’ He was silent for a moment, mulling over choices, actions, and mistakes. We’ve all made them, that’s for sure. ‘But we were discussing SI and our ship construction. I assume Sheppard Aeronautical will be the lead company?’
Patrick nodded. ‘Yes, and Rodney’s already begun hiring for that division, thankfully. As you probably know, I had hoped to entice John away from the Air Force with it, but once his time travel, and the Stargate Programme were explained to me, I realised that wouldn’t happen, and nor should it. John has a far greater role to play than building aircraft. That said, once he finishes at ACSC he and Rodney will take on greater roles in the company, although I will remain as CEO, and while he’ll indirectly own a share of the company – through SI being the parent company - John will funnel any renumeration – including any dividends from SI into a new trust he and Rodney are setting up.’
George raised his eyebrows in enquiry, and Patrick sighed. ‘I should really leave it to them to explain it to you, but as long as you’re surprised when they tell you…They’re establishing a trust to provide for the spouses and children of Stargate personnel killed in the line of duty – that’s military and civilian.’
The general stared at him, open-mouthed. ‘That’s…astounding. I’m lost for words.’
Patrick nodded. ‘So was I when they suggested it, and then I felt about this high,’ he held his thumb and index finger slightly apart, ‘that I hadn’t considered it myself. I believe the Programme attracts a much larger number of younger personnel than older ones – obviously as fitness must be a major concern – who won’t be on higher salaries, and are more likely to have young children. And as you often can’t reveal how they died, and therefore allow the spouse access to special funds, there will be many who subsequently struggle.’
‘Fewer than you might think, as several of the more senior officers keep an eye on as many as they can, but I’m certain a number of families will fall through the net.’
‘Undoubtedly.’ Patrick opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated.
‘Go on,’ George told him, smiling. ‘It can’t be too bad.’
‘John has suggested Dave be read into the Programme in order to head the trust.’
George tilted his head to one side and considered this. ‘It’s not a bad idea. Dave is a lawyer and also has some experience with wealth. Would it interfere in his other duties for SI?’
Patrick shook his head. ‘I doubt it, and I’m pretty certain he’d make sure it didn’t. I also suggested they appoint a couple of trustees from the Programme too.’
‘Dr Jackson,’ George said immediately. ‘I can think of a couple of others, so I’m prepared when they break this news to me, and I’m suitably surprised.’
‘You’d better be,’ Patrick muttered. ‘It’ll be my ass in a sling if you’re not!’
*****
Jack O’Neill was bored.
Jack O’Neill was bored, and he was driving everyone up the wall, especially his best friend, Daniel Jackson, in whose lab Jack currently hanging out, having been thrown out of the labs of Rodney, Radek, and Miko. Most unfairly thrown out, Jack told himself. It wasn’t my fault Zelenka hadn’t backed up his work on that computer. And who actually needs four computers, anyway?
‘Still mad at Radek?’ Danny asked him, looking up from the book he was currently reading.
‘He’s still mad at me. How was I to know he had a simulation running?’
‘Why were you in his lab to begin with? It’s not as though you’re close buddies, is it? Or are you?’ Daniel frowned as he spoke.
‘I wouldn’t say we’re buddies, as such, but I’ve eaten lunch or dinner with them a few times.’
‘Have you?’ Daniel asked, and his frown was now more questioning than puzzlement, Jack decided.
‘Only because Rodders was there as well. They’re his friends. I was just there because…Well, I was there, that’s all.’
‘And, again, why were you in Radek’s lab to begin with?’
Jack tipped his head back to examine the ceiling. ‘Because Miko and Rodney had thrown me out of their labs,’ he mumbled.
‘Miko and Radek did what?’ Now Daniel’s frown was because he hadn’t heard Jack’s mumbled and rapid explanation.
‘Because Miko and Rodney had already thrown me out,’ Jack said bitterly. ‘And before you ask, I don’t know why. Except…’
‘Except what?’
‘Look, I’m the second in command of this base, and I have the right to go wherever I want,’ Jack told him firmly, and Daniel sighed.
‘What did you do?’
‘Why do you immediately assume I did something?’
‘Because I’ve known you for six years, Jack.’
Huh. Seven years since Charlie…
‘I thought I was being helpful,’ Jack said at length, but Daniel didn’t comment or ask any questions. He simply waited for Jack to answer. I hate it when he does this, but he’s not going to break me this time.
Jack’s determination lasted all of two minutes. ‘Okay, so I was in Rodders’ lab and decided to play a game of tic-tac-toe. How was I supposed to know he was saving the stuff written on the white boards?’
‘Oh, Jack. You didn’t.’
‘If you mean did I wipe them clean…yeah, I did, but seriously, he should write ‘Do Not Erase’ or something on them.’
Daniel shook his head, but couldn’t hide his smile.
‘Ha! There! I knew you still loved me!’ Jack pointed a finger at his friend, then realised what he’d said. ‘That is…I didn’t…except…’
They stared at each other in silence for several minutes, hours, days, lifetimes…
‘Yeah, I think…I think I…might,’ Daniel said, not taking his eyes off his friend’s face.
‘So might I,’ Jack answered softly, and reached out a hand to touch Daniel’s cheek. ‘I think I always…did.’
And suddenly, he was no longer bored.
*****
‘John has his third exam this morning,’ Rodney told his teammates over breakfast on the morning of 13th May.
‘How many has he got left?’ Daniel asked, pausing with his fork in mid-air.
‘How many has who got?’ Sam Carter asked as she approached their table with a tray in her hands. ‘Mind if I join you? All the other tables are full.’
‘Go ahead,’ Rodney said through a mouthful of pancake, as Daniel nodded at her. ‘Major John Sheppard, my partner, is taking his final exams at the Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama, and he’s got just one left to do.’
Sam nodded as she carefully set out her silverware and crockery, and Rodney recalled the habit from the meals they’d shared on Atlantis. I guess that’ll not happen now. I wonder who’ll be the expedition leader this time?
‘It can’t be an easy relationship for either of you, being separated so much, can it?. Where was he before the College? Where will he go after he graduates?’
Rodney blinked at the litany of questions.
‘Umm. We manage; in Iraq; and…’ He paused and glanced at Jack, unsure how to explain John’s upcoming posting without causing a row.
‘He’s coming here,’ Jack said, baldly.
Sam paused, her coffee cup almost touching her lips. ‘Here? Here, as in the SGC? Why?’
‘Because he’s an exceptional officer who has a lot to offer the Programme.’
‘But, if he’s Rodney’s partner…’
‘What about it? Several of the Marines are married to other Marines or civilians on base. Why should Rodders and John be any different?’
Rodney gave an internal sigh. You probably shouldn’t have used his christian name, Jack. Sam won’t miss something like that.
Shrugging, Sam applied herself to her breakfast. ‘You know him, then, sir?’
‘We’ve met a few times. His father is helping General Hammond with a couple of projects.’
Annnd, click!
Sam stiffened. ‘He’s one of those Sheppards, then.’
‘Is that a problem, Major?’
‘Not at all.’ Sam shook her head, then focussed on Teal’c. ‘How’ve you been, Teal’c? I haven’t seen you for a few weeks.’
‘I am well, Major Carter. I have recently spent much time on Chulak, and with Master Bra’tac, and I am returning to Chulak later today.’
‘Why?’
‘My wife and son have recently relocated there from P3X 797.’
‘P3X 797,’ Sam repeated, frowning.
‘Land of the Light,’ Rodney said absently while he scrolled through his tablet.’
‘Do you have all the planet designations memorised?’ Sam asked with a certain degree of exasperation, making Rodney look up from his reading and frown.
‘Not purposely. I’ve already explained I have an eidetic memory.’
Sam simply shook her head and continued to eat her breakfast.
Rodney regarded her for a moment, then turned back to his tablet.
‘How does John think he’s done with his exams so far?’ Daniel asked, relaxing back in his chair with his hands wrapped around his coffee mug.
‘It’s hard to tell with him, but I doubt he’s had any problems,’ Rodney answered. ‘He’s a lot brighter than he lets on, you know. Much like Jack.’
‘Hey! I resemble that remark.’
‘Resemble all you want. Have you submitted your dissertation yet?’
Jack scowled at him, but Rodney merely smirked, making him huff. ‘At the beginning of May.’
‘Dissertation? What dissertation?’ Sam asked, clearly taken aback by this information.
‘Jack’s been studying for a Master’s degree for the last ten months,’ Daniel explained, oh so casually. ‘Didn’t you know?’
‘No, I didn’t.’ Sam stared at both him and Jack. ‘I think there’s a lot I don’t know about Colonel O’Neill.’
‘Jack O’Neill,’ Jack said, getting to his feet and loading his tray with dirty plates. ‘International Man of Mystery.’
*****
Teal’c had barely been gone a half hour when the gate dialled.
‘Unscheduled off-world activation,’ Walter called out. ‘I’m getting…’ He looked up at Jack and General Hammond, who had just arrived. ‘I’m getting Teal’c’s iris code.’
Jack frowned. ‘Has something gone wrong? He was intending to spend the week with Drey’auc and Rya’c.’
‘Open the iris,’ Hammond ordered, ‘and prep SG teams 1 and 4 for an off-world rescue, Colonel, just in case. We’ll find out what’s happened soon enough.’
There was a ripple in the event horizon as Jack sped towards the ready room, and Teal’c materialised with Master Bra’tac at his side.
‘Unit, stand down!’ Hammond called out before hurrying down the stairs of the Ops room and round into the gate room.
‘Greetings, Hammond of Texas,’ Bra’tac boomed. ‘We bring news!’
‘News which will make me happy?’ Hammond asked as he gripped Bra’tac’s forearm in a warrior’s salute. ‘Or am I going to have to shout at someone until I feel better?’
Bra’tac gave one of his loud, full-body laughs. ‘My news will bring you joy, Hammond of Texas.’
‘Do we need Colonel O’Neill?’
‘It would be best.’
Hammond smiled at him. ‘Then let’s all repair to the briefing room and wait for Jack.’
The general led them through the blast door, and up the small staircase to the Ops room where he told Walter to call for O’Neill, then they crowded up the spiral staircase to the briefing room where they settled around the table to await the Colonel.
Jack was in full off-world gear when he joined them, with Daniel and Rodney trailing after him, Rodney still trying to fasten his tac-vest.
‘I hope this is something important,’ Rodney said, scowling. ‘I have a ton of work to do, all of it needed yesterday, as usual. I can’t—’
‘Master Bra’tac brings news, Dr McKay. News which I suspect will interest you,’ Hammond scolded. ‘Master Bra’tac.’ He gestured with his hand to proceed.
‘Thank you, Hammond of Texas. Colonel Jack, you requested I seek a planet upon which the fake god Anubis has placed a terrible weapon, and I have done so.’
‘Excellent news, Master Bra’tac,’ Hammond said, smiling at the old man. ‘I knew we could rely on you.’
*****
Bra’tac produced a list of six planets which Anubis appeared to control, and after consulting Jack, Hammond dispatched SG Teams 1 to 6, one team for each planet, and warned them all to stay sharp as the weapon they were looking for would likely be heavily guarded. When the device was located, the team would send a message to the SGC who would then send through reinforcements to help with getting to, and destroying the weapon.
This would be the first time Sam Carter led her team on anything other than a straightforward science mission, and as the six teams lined up in the gate room, Jack knew Carter was staring at him – at his whole team – with a mixture of…Envy? Resentment? Both? I wonder how long it will be before she gets over herself?
As soon as SG-1 stepped onto P3W 867, they knew they had the right planet.
‘Why the fuck is it always us?’ Daniel muttered as he dived for cover from a staff weapon blast into a group of bushes – a group of thorny bushes. ‘I swear I’m going to resign.’
‘George wouldn’t accept it,’ Jack retorted as he hit the ground next to his friend. ‘And neither would I-oh-fuck!’
Fifteen minutes later, the three members of SG-1 stared at each other from the floor of the cell they’d been thrown into unceremoniously.
‘How many missions with us before you’re in a prison?’ Daniel asked Rodney.
‘Eight, which is more than I expected, to be honest. I think your AARs gave a ratio of 6:1, so I’m ahead of the game, I suppose. It was more difficult in Pegasus because of the Wraith.’
‘Why because of the Wraith?’
‘They rarely kill their victims as they’d be reducing their food supply, so I’ve been in several holding rooms on a Hive, and even been cocooned once or twice.’ He grimaced at the memory.
‘Cocooned?’ Daniel asked?
Rodney thought for a moment. ‘It’s too soon for The Two Towers,’ he muttered, ‘so…like a spider or a moth’s cocoon?’
‘You mean wrapped up in a silky-type web?’ Daniel’s nose and mouth were both screwed up in disgust.
Silky, sticky, yep, both those.’ Rodney grinned at him. ‘Makes this place feel like a palace, doesn’t it?’
‘Less comparing prison stories, and more escaping, Danny, Rodders,’ Jack ordered, although his own face was as contorted as Daniel’s. I, thankfully, never actually came face to face with a Wraith other than Todd. ‘Rodders? Can’t you get us out?’
Rodney stared at him. ‘How, exactly?’ He waved his hand, indicating the four walls and dirt floor of their prison cell. ‘There’s no technology for me to crack. There’s no lock for me to pick, even. There’s—’
‘Wait!’ Jack held up a hand. ‘D’you mean you can pick a lock?’
‘D’you mean you can’t pick a lock?’ Rodney demanded right back at him. ‘Even Sheppard can pick a lock – a fairly basic one, admittedly, but still…’
‘How did you learn to do that?’ Daniel asked. ‘Can you teach me? Teach both of us?’
‘I learned after being locked up once too often by the Genii, and I can teach you if you want, when we have time. John might be a better teacher, though, as he’s got more patience than me, as surprising as that might be!’ He grinned at Daniel, making both him and Jack laugh.
‘Okay, we’ll schedule some lessons when Sheppard gets here,’ Jack agreed. ‘But for now, is there anything you can suggest to get us out of here?’
‘Here’ was a small room containing a small bed, a table, and a chair, and little else, and was part of a small building close to the Stargate the Jaffa probably used as a barracks since they’d noticed several bunks in the room they were pushed through by their captors.
‘Start digging?’ Rodney suggested. ‘I mean, what else can we do?’
‘We don’t yet know why we’ve been captured,’ Daniel mused, drawing his finger through the loose dirt on the floor, or perhaps ‘ground’ would be a better description, Jack mused absently.
‘Because we came through the gate?’ Rodney suggested. ‘Those Jaffa didn’t exactly stop and ask us who we were and what we wanted, did they?’
The rattle of the door handle suggested they might soon have the answer to at least one of the questions.
A Jaffa bearing the mark of Anubis entered their cell and motioned to two other Jaffa to take Jack, leaving Daniel and Rodney behind. Jack was dragged through the suspected-dormitory, and outside where Anubis’ first prime was waiting for him.
*****
‘Well, it’s official,’ Jack said, spitting blood out of his mouth, then poked one of his teeth with his tongue. Huh. Another loose one. I’m gonna need dentures at this rate! ‘We’re on the right planet for the Stargate Destroyer. Much good it’ll do us, locked in here.’
‘What did they want?’ Daniel demanded, as he pulled Jack towards him and motioned for him to open his mouth. ‘Hmmm. Can’t see any real damage. Just blood and a loose tooth, and I’d say.’
‘And cuts and bruises to your face,’ Rodney added. ‘Or don’t they matter?’
‘All in a day’s work,’ Jack answered, gingerly touching his left cheek where the Jaffa goons had concentrated their attack.
‘What did they want?’ Daniel repeated.
‘To know how we knew about this place; what we intended to do here; why we wouldn’t bow down and worship their god, etcetera, etcetera. The usual.’
‘And?’
‘And what?’ Jack frowned at Daniel.
‘And what did you say?’
‘I said I didn’t know what they were talking about, that we’re peaceful explorers, etcetera, etcetera. There wasn’t anything I could tell them. We’re going to be held here until Anubis arrives, as he wants to question us, apparently.’
‘And how long will that be?’ Rodney asked, tapping his lip.
‘Couple of days, from what I understood. Why?’
‘Because when we miss a check-in, won’t the SGC send another team here? We need to try to warn them not to.’
Jack frowned. ‘They won’t send an S and R team straight away. We generally wait for two missed check ins.’
‘Why?’
‘Because quite often a team’s just got held up. If we sent a team every time someone missed a check-in—’
‘You’d have fewer teams killed off-world,’ Rodney snapped. ‘Seriously. How many entire teams have you lost in the last five years?’
‘Hey! You don’t know—’
‘What I’m talking about? I’ve read the reports, Jack. Nine entire teams were killed in the first five years of the SGC. Two iterations of SG-15 had all its members killed. Not all of them could have been saved by a rapid response unit, admittedly, but three of them could.’ Rodney shook his head. ‘It’s always been a failing of the SGC: not to learn from past mistakes.’
‘Exactly how is this helping us now?’ Jack asked, more than a little icily, even as he acknowledged Rodney was correct in his observations. I know all this. Why haven’t I acted on it before now?
‘Well, it isn’t – mostly because the proper protocols aren’t in place, but I was wondering if we could get a message back to the SGC through our GDOs, since we all still have them?’ He pointed to the devises on each of their right wrists, opposite to the arm which bore their watches.
‘How can we do that unless the SGC dials here, which we’ve just established, they won’t until after our second missed check-in,’ Daniel asked, fingering the GDO he’d forgotten he was wearing.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Rodney replied. ‘You have an advantage in this galaxy that we don’t have in Pegasus: the Asgard subspace communication system.’
‘The what now?’ Jack raised his eyebrows.
Rodney narrowed his eyes. ‘The Asgard subspace communication system. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it.’
‘Okay, I won’t. Danny, you tell him you’ve never heard of it.’
‘What. The. Actual. Fuck?’
Jack gave him a slightly crazed smile, which pulled on his split lip. ‘Ouch!’ He touched his lip, rubbing it carefully. ‘Look, Rodders, when we say we’ve never heard of something, just believe us, okay? It’ll save a lot of time and wasted words.’
Rodney shook his head. ‘I know Sam knows about it. I just can’t understand why she never explained it to you, to either of you.’
Jack and Daniel exchanged chagrinned glances. ‘It, ah, it might not, ah, be her fault,’ Daniel admitted. ”We both,’ he pointed to himself and Jack, ‘had a tendency to tune out when she, ah…’
‘Talks her psychobabble,’ Jack finished for him. ‘I mean, I know I pretend not to understand what she’s talking about, but in all honesty, sometimes I really don’t. I suspect she makes more than half of it up, in any case,’ he muttered. ‘Just to catch me out, y’know.’
‘Okay. Quick lesson on the Asgard subspace communication system.’ Rodney sketched out a grid in the dirt on the floor. ‘Over the last Thor-knows how many millennia the Asgard have spread out a kind of…net across this galaxy, and others too, I expect. Ida, certainly. The intersection points of the net here and here,’ he pointed to the sketch, ‘are the subspace relays which send communications back to wherever the Asgard are monitoring them.
‘Remember when you went back to Cimmeria for the second time? When Heru-Ur invaded because you’d broken Thor’s Hammer?’
Jack scowled. ‘We didn’t do it on purpose.’
‘Well, we did,’ Daniel pointed out, then held up a hand as Jack opened his mouth. ‘With the right intentions, maybe, but we still broke it.’
Jack sighed and nodded. Fair point, I suppose.
‘How do you think Thor communicated with you in his Hall of Might?’
‘From his ship.’ Daniel frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
With a sigh, Rodney tapped his lip. ‘Okay, how did Thor’s ship pick up you were in the Hall of Thor’s Might on Cimmeria?’
Daniel nodded and smiled. ‘I get it. At the time, we believed Thor’s ship just happened to be in the area, but the Hall of Might used the communication network to connect to Thor’s ship, right?’
Rodney wriggled his hand from side to side while Jack mouthed in the area at Daniel. ‘Close enough. My point is, if you’re paying attention, Jack, that if the gate is open to anywhere, our GDO’s mean we can send through a message which the Asgard, or possibly the SGC will pick up.’
Jack stared at him. ‘How will sending an iris code tell the Asgard or the SGC where we are?’
‘We won’t send an iris code. We’ll send the emergency code instead.’ He stared at his teammates as they remained silent, then face-palmed. ‘You don’t have an emergency code set up, do you.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘It’s a good idea, though,’ Jack said brightly. ‘Well done. I suppose you had them on Atlantis.’
‘Emergency codes, plus our GDOs allowed letters, symbols, and numerals to be typed so limited messages could be passed through the gate,’ Rodney agreed somewhat wryly.
‘Also a good idea. Make a note of it, Danny.’
Daniel ignored him. ‘So we’re stuck here until…when? Someone notices we haven’t come home?’
‘Looks like it. Wonder if they’ll feed us,’ Jack mused. ‘I’m hungry.’
*****
Chapter 16
Chapter Text
Newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. ‘So they missed their first and second check-ins yesterday?’
Colonel Marshall Sumner frowned. ‘I don’t like your tone, Lt Col Sheppard. You’re new to the SGC, so you don’t know how we work here, but I can assure you we’re doing all we can to find them.’
John bit his tongue so hard he broke the skin, and his mouth was filled with the taste of copper. Unfortunately, just after the six teams had left the previous day, General Hammond was called to DC as the proposal for the SGC’s financial independence had been refused by the Secretary of Defence, with no explanation of his reasoning. Patrick had called John to say he was meeting George in DC and had no idea when he was likely to be home, so John had flown himself to Colorado Springs without seeing his father, and a couple of days before he was officially expected.
Meanwhile, since both O’Neill and Col Edwards of SG-11 were off-world, command had fallen to the highest ranking officer on base: the Marine Colonel John had killed in the first timeline. How the fuck did Sumner come to be in charge today of all days?
‘I understand you’ve been promised a place on SG-1, but I can guarantee there won’t be any place for you on the flagship team or any other team with an attitude like yours. This is a prestigious posting, Sheppard, and I don’t know how you’ve wangled your way here, but I can send you back to Afghanistan in a New York minute, and I don’t care who your father is, or how well he’s connected.’ Sumner leaned back in General Hammond’s chair and stared up at John – who was still standing to attention – almost begging for him to make a slip-up so he could discipline him. I killed you once. Don’t make me do it again.
‘What’s your interest in SG-1, apart from you thinking you’re joining them, that is?’ Sumner asked curiously, flicking through John’s transfer paperwork, thankfully effective from the 1st May, and the bits of his jacket that hadn’t been redacted.
I doubt saying ‘my partner’s Rodney McKay’ would go down well, and it might also make problems for Rodney. Having no other suitable answer, John remained silent.
‘Nothing to say? I thought all you Zoomie girlies chatted and gossiped all day long. What’s making you so silent?’
I shot you in the middle of your forehead from about thirty feet away, and through spooky Wraith mist. I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I had to, John told himself as Sumner began to go through the other files on Hammond’s desk. His back was aching from holding himself so still for – he glanced at the clock on the wall without moving his head – twenty minutes! Fuck me! Except, no, yrrgh. Definitely not! I think my dick’s just crawled back inside.
After a couple more minutes, Sumner glanced up and smirked at John. ‘Oh. You still here, Sheppard? Dismissed. I’m sure you’ll find someone to show you to the barracks. I understand we’re a little full at the moment so you’ll probably be sharing.’ Sumner waved a hand in the air in a ‘shoo’ motion and carried on reading one of the files.
John brought his hand up into a slick salute, turned on his heel, and marched out, then leaned on the closed door for a moment. Walter appeared suddenly and gave him a sympathetic smile.
‘Congratulations on your promotion, Colonel. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you your office and quarters.’
‘Quarters?’ John asked, thinking of Sumner’s last words to him.
‘You’ve been assigned the quarters next to Dr McKay, and even if you hadn’t, your father has VIP quarters here you could use, though you might have had to share with him if he paid a visit.’
How has my father managed to get quarters? I didn’t know he was here that often.
‘He isn’t,’ Walter answered without missing a step. ‘But the general wanted him to know he had a room here if he needed it.’
‘Umm, Walter?’ John began, unsure of what he wanted to say.
Walter grinned at him and winked. ‘Let’s just say we’re very alike in many ways.’
‘So you’ve….’
‘Oh, no, no, I’m not—’ he glanced around, then tipped his head forward. ‘I’m not that much like you.’
‘Why are you—’
‘Cameras, sir. If you want to keep anything secret, tip your head forward so the cameras can’t see your lips.’
John frowned. ‘What…’
‘Dr Kusanagi is looking into it,’ Walter replied, still keeping his head low, although not unnaturally so such that any watchers would suspect anything. What the fuck? I’m thinking about ‘watchers’ in a top-top secret military base. Why has no one mentioned this before? What the actual fuck?
Nothing more was said until they reached John’s new quarters where Walter handed over a key, grinned, and left him alone with the duffle and locker he’d brought with him and left at the first check-in point. Sighing to himself, he quickly changed from his class As into the olive green BDUs and black T-shirt, which Jack had assured him were acceptable daywear in the SGC.
Once changed, he stood for a moment, considered the temperature of the mountain, then pulled out a thicker olive green shirt he’d picked up from the AAFES at Maxwell AFB, making a mental note to get his rank insignia changed. There hadn’t been time to get anything other than his class As changed before reporting the SGC. I really, really miss my Atlantis uniform, and I really, really miss being the base commander and being able to set the uniform requirements. He sighed for a future yet to come, and pulled on his combat boots – black, thankfully – and made sure the laces were properly tied, then headed for the lift and Miko Kusanagi’s lab. I need to know exactly what the situation with SG-1 is.
*****
Radek Zelenka was in Miko’s lab, and John greeted them both with a grin until he remembered he hadn’t yet met them in this timeline. He was confused, therefore, when Radek grinned back and held out his hand.
‘Major Sheppard. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I understand we will become good friends in the future.’
What the fuck? John gaped at him, unsure how to reply. They had become good friends in the future – once Radek had got over his insane crush on Elizabeth Weir.
‘I—I—’ John began, helplessly.
‘Men!’ Miko said with a shake of her head and stepped towards John with her right hand extended. ‘Rodney read us both into your big secret just before he left for P3W 867. He said he had a bad feeling about the mission and didn’t want to leave you friendless, not when there are so many problems here.’
John shook her hand warmly, then turned back to Radek. ‘I can’t tell you what a relief that is!’ He grinned at them both. ‘I was worrying about how to broach the subject of SG-1 being missing when I haven’t officially met you yet. Marshall Sumner is apparently in charge at present, which freaked me out.’ He paused and frowned. ‘Did Rodney tell you…’
Miko nodded. ‘Yes, we’re well aware of your future interactions – interaction? – with Colonel Sumner, and I can’t say I’m opposed to it happening again!’
‘Miko.’ Radek chided her gently. ‘Just be careful who you say such a thing before. It could cause problems for all of us.’
‘Pah!’ Miko waved away his concerns, making John smile.
Aside from her age, she hasn’t—doesn’t change a bit! ‘Who else knows Rodney’s read you in?’
‘No one,’ Radek answered. ‘There was no time before SG-1 left for P3W 867.’
‘And what – if anything – is being done to help them?’
‘Nothing at all, as far as I’m aware.’ Miko ran her hands through her hair, absently. ‘The protocols here…Well, let’s just say there are few protocols in place for anything. I hope it was, will be, different in…the future. Rodney told us about—about the lost city very briefly. I look forward to going there.’
‘What protocols did you have for late and missing teams?’ Radek asked after a fond glance at Miko.
‘A dial in and radio communication to the gate address concerned if a check in was missed by thirty minutes, and if the communication didn’t connect, or there was no reply, we sent out a second team in a puddle—a small space ship if the gate was accessible, but their check-in was reduced to ten minutes. What is it here?’
‘Two missed check-ins,’ Miko said. ‘Usually. They have exceptions for various specific teams. SG-1, for example, is frequently late with check-ins, so the emergency protocols for them are two check-ins plus an hour or so.’
‘An hour or so?’ John repeated, wondering if he’d misheard the vagueness of the time.
Miko nodded, and her expression of disbelief matched John’s own, he suspected.
‘Still, search and rescue should still have kicked in yesterday, shouldn’t it?’
Both Miko and Radek nodded. ‘You’d think so,’ Miko commented. ‘Although Colonel O’Neill asked for a little lee-way since returning to the gate might be an issue if they had the right planet.’
‘So why wasn’t a second team dispatched yesterday evening when they’d missed both their check-ins?’ John demanded, then shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Miko. I’m not blaming you at all. I’m just…’
‘Angry, furious, frustrated?’ Radek asked. ‘All of the above?’
John nodded. ‘All of the above.’ He took a deep breath and tried to centre himself. ‘What’s already being done, and what can we do without Sumner knowing and trying to stop us?’
‘As far as I can tell, nothing is being done at present,’ Radek said, tapping into his computer. ‘It looks as though two attempts were made to dial-in to the planet late yesterday, and one has been made this morning, but while they all connected, none managed to connect with O’Neill.
‘What did they hope a dial-in would achieve?’ John asked with a frown.
‘I am uncertain. Per Rodney, the plan was for the team which discovered the Destroyer to report back for reinforcements to go to them to help with the weapon destruction. However, they must first check-in, which SG-1 did not. As to what MSgt Harriman wished to achieve, I do not know, but there are, perhaps, protocols I know nothing about. I do know that Gate teams do not have remote-connection radios. They have to be close to the open gate to connect with the base.’
This news puzzled John, as he was certain the original radios they had used on Atlantis were not a new innovation. Why aren’t the SGC using them? He was aware Jack O’Neill had retained the radio he’d been issued on his first visit to the city – when the expedition had been forced to leave by the crew of the Tria. Which won’t happen again as I’ll lock out that damn console as soon as we get there. No one is throwing us out again.
‘Do we have any way to contact the off-world teams?’
‘Not unless they are close to gate when it is dialled. Is a ridiculous system we must amend.’ Radek was becoming more impassioned.
‘And the other five teams which went off-world?’
‘SGs-2, 3 and 5 are returned. Only SG-4 and SG-6, Major Carter’s new team, are outstanding, but per the records, SG-4 has a further hour before they are overdue.’
‘Should SG-6 be outstanding?’ John asked with a frown, still struggling with the whole thought of Carter being near Rodney.
Radek shrugged. ‘It is not clear. Let us say that no one as yet is concerned.’
An alarm sounded throughout the mountain, making John physically start. I’d forgotten that damn thing, or maybe my memory wiped it by choice. Considering that two gate teams were potentially in trouble off-world, one of them Rodney’s, John hurried back down to Level 28, then paused as the elevator door opened. Will Sumner let me in the Ops room? He shrugged and set off at a jog. I’ve got two chances.
*****
John watched as Carter led her team of two scientists and two Airmen down the ramp. Although Carter had a scowl set on her face, there were no apparent injuries, so it was difficult to tell why they were late.
‘Debrief in my—the General’s office in five minutes,’ Sumner snapped, and disappeared back up the spiral staircase before Carter could even open her mouth to argue.
They’ll never clear Medical in five minutes, so he’ll have an excuse to reprimand them, and debriefing in General Hammond’s office means they’ll all have to stand as there isn’t room for three extra chairs. He’s a fucking nightmare. A deeper part of him also said, What a fucking nightmare I escaped by killing him.
Nodding at Walter, he turned to leave when Walter reached out and touched his arm. Keeping his head low, he spoke in an undertone John had to strain to hear.
‘Colonel Sumner isn’t aware of the audio cut-off switch in the COs office, sir.’
John touched the Master Sergeant’s shoulder lightly and headed back up to Miko’s lab. What did that mean? He then gave himself a mental head slap. Of course, there’d be a switch to turn off the audio recording when the office had a direct link to the Oval Office. Or is that just a myth? He made a mental note to ask his father when he next saw him, and was still smiling when he entered Miko’s lab.
‘All set up,’ Radek said, pointing to the screen. ‘Will you lock the door, please?’
John flicked the lock and made another mental note to ask about Walter’s earlier comment about the cameras. I should have brought a notebook.
The debrief of SG-6 was deadly boring, and after a couple of minutes Miko turned back to her computer. John sat it out with Radek, but it didn’t tell either of them anything. Carter’s team was only overdue by an hour or so – nothing to be concerned about, apparently – and they hadn’t found anything. Sumner managed to make a few comments about general tardiness regarding the Air Force, which made Carter thin her lips, but that apart, nothing else was said, and John sat back in disappointment.
‘No blows exchanged, no bitten off ears, in fact no blood spilled at all. Is that a usual debrief?’ he asked Radek, who shrugged.
‘Is the norm for here, but I worry for the lost city if you speak of your usual debriefs.’
‘You’ve yet to meet Specialist Ronon Dex,’ John said with a grin, then he sobered. What about Teyla if things are changed when we arrive? Will we meet her? Will the changed circumstances change our relationships with each other? What about Ronon? I wanted to rescue him sooner, but…will we ever find him, even?
The sudden shaking of the lab door handle and tap at the door broke John from his thoughts, and he scowled when Radek unlocked the door and Carter came in, then tried to turn it into a smile. Despite Rodney telling him he and Sam Carter were getting on much better with each other, John hadn’t forgiven her for her attack on Rodney.
‘Who are—oh. You must be McKay’s partner,’ Carter said, offering her hand. ‘I did wonder if he made you up.’ Her smile took the sting from her words, but John wasn’t feeling very charitable.
‘Like you thought he made up his allergies, you mean?’
Carter dropped her hand and took a step back. ‘How do you know who I am?’
John stared at her for a moment, and bit back the words he wanted to say: rude, arrogant, and full of yourself. Instead, he ignored her question. ‘I’m John Sheppard.’
‘Sam Carter,’ she responded, holding out her own hand again. ‘Major Sam Carter.’
John regarded her, reading between the lines of her last remark. Carter had had a month ahead of him in rank when he was still an O4, but with his new promotion, he now out-ranked her. Is she the sort of officer who tries to use the authority of their rank, like Sumner? It’s weak and is usually little more than a pissing contest. ‘Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. My promotion only came down yesterday and I haven’t had time to get anything other than my Class As changed.’
‘Congratulations, sir,’ Carter said with only the slightest hesitation, and he wondered if she was choking on the ‘sir’.
‘I’m glad I’ve seen you, Major as I’d really like to speak with you about SG-1 being so overdue. I’m new to this Stargate business, but is it usual for a team to miss several check-ins and for no action to be taken?’
Carter frowned. ‘How overdue are they?’
‘They missed both of their check-ins yesterday,’ Miko answered, looking up from her computer.
‘And Sumner hasn’t sent out an S and R team?’ Carter asked, frowning. ‘Why not?’
‘We do not know,’ Radek said. ‘Walter twice dialled the planet yesterday and once this morning, all of which failed to contact with SG-1. No further attempts have been made.’
Sam Carter, still frowning, pulled out a stool and sat down. ‘Where’s General Hammond? I asked Sumner, but he just ignored me. Why did the general leave him in charge?’
‘The general’s in DC, and I understand Colonel Sumner is the ranking officer at present,’ John said carefully, as he knew there were two other 06’s on the base, but wasn’t sure if he should have that knowledge.
‘No, he isn’t. Colonel Reynolds has more time in rank, he just doesn’t like confrontation,’ Carter said, then sighed and met John’s eyes. ‘I’ve already apologised to Rodney about the lemon in his water, and I think he’s forgiven me. We’re certainly working well together now, but I’ll understand if you want as little to do with me as possible.’
John surveyed her silently for a few moments, then nodded and held out his hand. It’s difficult to refuse, especially as you were my boss in the past, which is just plain weird.
*****
‘Why hasn’t anyone tried to rescue us, and where the hell is Anubis?’ Daniel Jackson demanded, prowling around their prison cell while Jack watched him.
‘Are you seriously expecting an answer?’ Jack asked him from where he was laid flat on the floor.
They had decided that occupation of the one bed was to be done on rotation. Since off-world teams always stuck to Mountain Standard Time, they’d divided the day into periods of sevenish hours, and took turns using the bed, in walking or exercising, as the room wasn’t big enough for more than one person to move around in, and a period of sitting on the floor and trying to occupy themselves.
They’d already exhausted games such as ‘I Spy’, ‘Who am I?’, and ‘Fuck, Marry, Kill’, as well as drawing in the dirt for ‘Hangman’ and even ‘Tic Tac Toe’. Neither Jack nor Daniel would play ‘Prime, Not Prime’, making Rodney pout for over an hour, and Daniel had begged Jack and Rodney to give him lessons in Ancient.
‘Rodders, are you asleep?’ Jack kicked the bed frame, making Rodney grumble.
‘I was until you shook the bed, asshole. What d’you want?’
‘Danny wants to know where Anubis is.’
Rodney sat up. ‘Do I look like Anubis’ social secretary? Seriously?’ He frowned at Jack. ‘Did they hit your head too hard? Or maybe not hard enough?’
Jack scowled back at him. So far, he was the only one taken for questioning. And let's not forget the beating up. Bastards.
Daniel, ever the peacemaker, physically moved between them. ‘Don’t start, you two. We’re all in this together, and the only way we can get out is together.’
‘You’ve got a plan to get us out, have you?’ Rodney asked snidely. ‘Or are you just giving us platitudes?’
Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of a staff weapon had each of them turning to face the door.
‘Rescue?’ Rodney suggested. ‘Teal’c, maybe?’
‘Teal’c’s not the only one to use a staff weapon, y’know,’ Jack said, looking over his shoulder at Rodney, who was still seated on the bed.
A second and third blast, almost simultaneous, and loud shouting had them exchanging glances.
‘Did that sound like Master Bra’tac to you as well?’ Daniel asked.
‘Okay, campers, grab your gear and get ready for exfil. Don’t want to keep the rescue party waiting,’ Jack said, getting to his feet and dusting himself down.
‘What gear?’ Rodney demanded. ‘They took everything.’
‘He’s being rhetorical,’ Daniel told him. ‘Ignore him.’
‘I can do that.’
The three men moved to the back of the room, leaving space for anyone forcing an entry, and didn’t have long to wait before the door was kicked in, and Teal’c appeared, a grim expression on his face.
‘Colonel, Doctors.’ He bowed his head.
Jack held out his hands. ‘Where’ve y’been? You don’t call, you don’t write. Oh, hi, Bra’tac. How’re they hangin’?’
‘They are hanging very well, O’Neill. How are yours hanging?’
Jack had never worked out if Bra’tac took his question – the one he always asked when they met – seriously or not. Remember the rule. Never play poker with a Jaffa. ‘Ah, y’know, two months in this place makes ’em sore.’
‘You have been incarcerated for only two days, O’Neill.’
‘Where’ve you come from, Teal’c?’ Daniel asked him, shaking Master Bra’tac’s hand before shaking his. ‘How’d you know we were here?’
‘Dr Jackson, we must leave immediately,’ Bra’tac said, pushing Rodney towards the door. ‘I believe Anubis will shortly be arriving.’
‘We’ve got to—’ Jack began as Bra’tac rushed them down a passageway, past several Jaffa bodies, mostly dead, with just one moaning in pain at the blast mark on his chest.
‘The device, yes. Rya’c is—’
An enormous blast from outside cut off the rest of his sentence, and shook the ramshackle building they were in, but Bra’tac kept them moving.
‘That was Rya’c, was it?’ asked Rodney, grinning at Teal’c. ‘You must be so proud of him!’
‘Indeed.’
A tel’tak was strafing the Jaffa around the Stargate as they emerged into the open, and Jack and Teal’c doubled back inside, emerging with their weapons and backpacks. Rodney immediately opened his pack and lovingly stoked his tablet, while Jack and Daniel shoved their belongings back in pockets, and clipped their P90s to their tac-vests.
They fought their way to the gate, stepping over the bodies of Jaffa hit by Rya’c’s strafing, and shooting those still able to return fire, and within minutes Rodney was dialling the SGC and Jack sent through his IDC only to wait, and wait for confirmation the iris was down. Eventually, the wormhole closed down.
‘What the hell?’ Jack muttered. ‘Surely my IDC’s not been locked out? Teal’c, try yours.’
Rodney redialled the Earth gate and Teal’c sent his IDC through, and, once again, no confirmation came, and the wormhole flickered out.
‘I suppose we did miss our check-ins,’ Jack said, looking at Rodney and Daniel, ‘but yours should still be valid, T-man. It doesn’t make sense.’
‘I suppose at least the wormhole connected,’ Rodney said, tapping his lip.
‘Huh?’
Rodney turned to Jack. ‘If the gate hadn’t connected, I’d be concerned about the status of Earth’s gate. But if I…’ He began to pull various wires, tools, and his tablet from his backpack while the others looked on curiously.
‘What y’doin?’ Jack asked him, his head tilted a little as he watched Rodney unpack.
‘If I connect my tablet to the DHD, I might be able to send a message back to the SGC.’
‘Can you do that?’
‘Don’t know, which is why I said ‘might’.’ Rodney began to break open the DHD and Daniel crouched down beside him.
‘Can I help?’
‘I don’t know,’ Rodney said, attempting to connect his wires to the innards of the DHD. ‘Can you?’
‘I’ve watched Sam do it enough times,’ Daniel said. ‘Sometimes she’d let me hold her tools.’
Rodney flashed him a grin, but it quickly turned into a grimace when more shouting began, and Daniel jumped to his feet, reaching for his P90.
‘Oh, crap!’ Jack muttered, then louder: ‘Incoming Jaffa!’
His four companions protected Rodney as he worked as fast as he could, all the while wishing it was John with him, urging him to work faster. If we get out of this, I’ll never moan again when he asks how long it’ll be for the tenth time.
‘Rodders, we need to move!’ Jack called out, over the sound of P90s and staff weapons.
‘I’m nearly there!’ Work faster! Work faster! Rodney told himself, trying to get himself into the headspace he’d had in Pegasus when John yelled at him.
He felt a hand grip his shoulder and pull him into a standing position, then Jack grasped his arm and dragged him towards the newly uncloaked, vaguely pyramid-shaped tel’tak hovering above the ground and from where Rya’c was alternatively waving at them, and pointing to the sky from the cockpit.
Anubis must be close, Rodney realised, and allowed Jack to hurry him along to the ship where the transportation rings suddenly descended, all the while mourning the loss of the special tablet Patrick Sheppard had gifted him. It’s not even in production yet, and I can’t ask him to give me another. I wonder if I could steal John’s?
*****
‘Goddamnit!’ John rubbed his hands through his hair as he watched the wormhole disengage for a second time.
‘What’s Sumner playing at?’ Sam asked rhetorically. ‘I mean, fine, Colonel O’Neill’s IDC should arguably be locked out as he missed two check-ins, but Teal’c’s is valid. Sumner must realise they’re together on P3W 867, although how Teal’c came to be there, I have no idea. Given the reason for us all going off-world in the last couple of days, SG-1 could be in serious trouble.’
‘How were these missions allocated?’ John asked suddenly. ‘Miko said there was a list of six possible planets for this destroyer device, and six teams went out. Who decided which team got which destination, because if Teal’c’s with them, I’d say it’s pretty clear SG-1 has found the weapon?’
Sam frowned. ‘I think it was just in the order they were listed. SG-1 got number one on the list, SG-2 the second, etcetera.’
‘Your team was gone for two days, Sam, but the other three came back yesterday. Why were you given so long? What were your check-in times?’
‘We were all given a third check-in of this morning, unless we could get back to the gate before then,’ Sam explained. ‘We couldn’t risk sending out MALPs to the gate addresses as we risked warning the people who had this device Master Bra’tac told General Hammond about. Consequently, we had no idea what was on the other side of the gate, and no idea how far we might have to go to find this Stargate Destroyer, although it should have to be pretty close to the gate if it used the Stargate to—to do whatever it’s supposed to do.’
‘You sound sceptical about the intel from Master—what was his name?’ John asked, not entirely disingenuously as he’d never met Bra’tac in the other timeline, and wouldn’t recognise him if they met.
‘Bra’tac. Master Bra’tac,’ Sam replied. ‘He was Teal’c’s mentor, so to speak. He was the First Prime of Apophis before Teal’c and has been a good friend to us.’ She suddenly grinned. ‘He calls General Hammond ‘Hammond of Texas’ as the general didn’t know how to greet him at their first meeting. Bra’tac announced himself as ‘Bra’tac of Chulak’, so the general declared himself as ‘Hammond of Texas’! I’m not sure if Bra’tac knows it’s pretty much a standing joke for us. He’s got a very dry sense of humour. I’m sure you’ll get on with him.’
‘Hopefully,’ John replied, ‘but I was asking about his intel on the—the device he notified Colonel O’Neill about.’
‘The Stargate Destroyer?’ Sam asked, and when John nodded, she frowned and continued. ‘It was odd, really. He and Teal’c came to the SGC in late March with intel on the emergence of a Goa’uld overlord, Anubis, who was about to launch an attack on Earth, then, two days later, my father – he’s now a member of the Tok’ra. Have you been briefed about him?’ Again, John simply nodded, not wanting to interrupt her flow of information. ‘Well, my father contacted us with the same intel as Bra’tac.’
‘About the asteroid, right?’
”About the asteroid, yes, but Bra’tac also mentioned a new weapon Anubis had built called a Stargate Destroyer, which apparently sends a pulse of energy through one gate to another.’
‘And you’re sceptical of this intel?’ John asked again.
Sam wrinkled her nose. ‘It’s just…how has this new Goa’uld come to power so quickly, and how has he made such a powerful weapon, totally unlike anything we’ve yet seen from the Goa’uld?’
They’re good questions, John decided, and the type of question I’d have asked. But what has Jack told her?
Thankfully, Miko came to John’s rescue.
‘As I understood it, Anubis discovered this weapon which was made by the Ancients. As to his sudden appearance, your father said he’s been around for a long time, but as he was banished by the System Lords centuries ago, he stayed in the shadows until he’d reached a level of power they couldn’t ignore any longer. There was also some suggestion he was semi-ascended, but since there’ve been no positive sightings of him, that’s just conjecture.’
A superb blend of truth, supposition, and misinformation, Miko. I could kiss you, but both Radek and Rodney would kick my butt!
Sam was nodding. ‘That makes sense. Thanks, Miko.’
‘So, back to our missing gate team,’ John prompted. ‘How can we get Sumner to open the gate to them? Can we get Sumner to open the gate to them?’
‘Not without hog-tying him,’ Sam muttered. ‘I’m prepared to do it if you are!’
‘What about the officer you spoke of earlier?’ Radek asked her. ‘I do not recall his name.’
‘Colonel Reynolds?’ Sam frowned as she considered him. ‘We might be able to appeal to his better nature, I suppose.’ John made a moue of distaste and she hastened to defend Reynolds. ‘No, no, he’s not a bad man. In fact, he’s too nice sometimes, to his detriment. He’d much rather give way and avoid a possible confrontation, which is probably what happened between himself and Sumner. Sumner obviously wanted to be acting CO, so Reynolds let him.’
‘D’you think he might be willing to take part in a little coup if we ask nicely?’ John asked, with humour he didn’t really feel.
‘Let’s ask him.’
*****
The tel’tak spun around as it was hit by weapons fire from the Mothership which had just appeared above the planet. Jack glanced at Rya’c, still at the controls, as he gripped one of the once-gilded bulkheads on the flight deck, and wondered if the kid was going to get them out of trouble, or if Teal’c or Bra’tac should have insisted on taking over control. Hell, I can fly it if necessary.
It wasn’t necessary, and Teal’c’s usual impassive visage was replaced with a look of pride as his son took them competently out of danger, and into hyperspace.
‘Where shall we go, father?’ Rya’c asked Teal’c. ‘To take Colonel O’Neill and his team to Earth would take many days.’
‘Where’s the closest gate?’ Rodney asked, pushing between Jack and Daniel to see their pilot.
Bra’tac, who had taken the co-pilot seat, scrolled through the heads-up display. ‘Here.’ He pointed to the display. But it will take us almost twenty hours to get there.’
‘In twenty hours, the SGC will have declared us MIA, if they haven’t already’ Jack muttered. ‘Rodders, any ideas for a Plan B?’
‘Yes. I try to contact the SGC and send a message through the gate.’
Jack rubbed his hands together. ‘Sweet. What do we need to do?’
Rodney stared at him. ‘You just don’t pay attention or listen, do you? That’s what I was trying to do when you dragged me away from the DHD. And before you ask if I can have another go, you dragging me away made me leave my tablet behind. My souped-up tablet prototype given to me by Sheppard senior.’
‘Can’t he give you a new one?’
‘What the hell do you think ‘prototype’ means?’
‘Ah, if I may,’ Daniel said apologetically, trying to push Jack out of the way so he could reach Rodney. ‘Is this what you meant?’ He held out a slim silver case to Rodney. ‘I wasn’t able to disconnect the cables, but I rescued this.’
Rodney stared at him. ‘Can I kiss you?’
Daniel flushed, and Jack had to damp down his immediate and violent instinct to flatten Rodney.
‘Erm, better not,’ Daniel answered, glancing at Jack’s rigid features. ‘John might not like it.’
‘John can kiss my pale Canadian ass. I’d offer to have your babies, but, y’know.’ He waved a hand at himself, and grinned at Jack. ‘Only joking, Jackanapes!’ Jack's look of confusion made both Rodney and Daniel laugh.
‘I’ll explain it later, Jack, don’t worry,’ Daniel told him, patting his arm.
Jack sighed. I replaced one big brain with another, and this one isn’t even a subordinate I can terrorise. How is this my life? ‘Can I assume you can now send a message to the SGC, Rodders?’
‘If I can get back to the DHD, yes. Why don’t tel’taks have their own DHDs?’
‘Because they can’t go through a Stargate?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ Rodney subsided, and went back into the cargo area to find something to eat.
‘D’you think we can get back to the DHD, Teal’c?’ Jack asked his friend, who was leaning on the bulkhead close by Jack.
‘Since the Stargate Destroyer is no more, I suspect there is little here to detain Anubis. He will doubtless collect his remaining Jaffa and depart the star system. We must simply wait until that time.’
‘I hate waiting,’ Jack grumbled, half to himself.
‘Tough,’ Daniel called out from the cargo hold. ‘Teal’c? Rodney’s found sandwiches. Did you bring them and can we eat them, please?’
‘We had them made for you after we determined you had been captured,’ Bra’tac replied. ‘It was unlikely you would be fed, and Teal’c mentioned Dr McKay’s hypogol—Hype—’
‘Hypoglycaemia,’ Daniel corrected. ‘It’s when the body has low blood sugar and can be quite serious.’
‘And I’ve already had one stay in hospital in the last six weeks,’ Rodney said through a mouthful of sandwich. ‘Thanks, Teal’c, Master Bra’tac. The Jaffa didn’t take my energy bars off me, and Daniel had a couple he shared with me, so I was fine yesterday, but I was beginning to feel a little shaky just before you got to us.’
‘And I meant to ask, guys,’ Jack began, looking at the three Jaffa. ‘How did you know we were in trouble and needed help?’
‘I visited Drey’auc to ask how the tretonin had worked for her, then Master Bra’tac and I discussed the mission the SGC had dispatched you upon.’
‘We became concerned for your safety.’ Bra’tac took over the conversation after a frown at Teal’c, who was being pretty long winded, Jack agreed. ‘Rya’c has worked upon this cargo ship, which now has better engines and cloak than when we used it to find your asteroid. One of the addresses I gave to Hammond of Texas was reachable from Chulak, so we went there. Major Wade of SG-3 informed us of the destination you took, O’Neill, and since Teal’c was certain you would find the device because of your good fortune, we set off and hoped we were in time to help you. When we came out of hyperspace, we found multiple ships in orbit, so knew that once again your fortune had held true.’
‘You think all the trouble we get into is because I’m fortunate?’ Jack asked him, a little bemused.
‘Of course.’ Bra’tac looked offended Jack would think otherwise. ‘Teal’c told me of a Tau’ri tenet: “Fortune favours those who are brave”, and since you are very brave, O’Neill, you must therefore be fortunate.’
‘Ah, no, that’s not—Ow!’ Daniel glared at Jack and rubbed his side where Jack had elbowed him, hard.
Jack smiled back at him. ‘Don’t contradict Master Bra’tac, Daniel. I’m flattered he considers me brave, and I return the compliment, Bra’tac.’ Jack bowed to the elderly Jaffa, who smiled widely.
‘I intend this Tau’ri tenet be taught to all children of the Free Jaffa,’ Bra’tac proclaimed. ‘It is a worthy rule by which to live.
*****
Chapter 17
Chapter Text
Meanwhile, George Hammond was rubbing his temples, and Patrick Sheppard was pouring a glass of the Secretary of the Navy’s best malt, despite it being only 15:00.
‘Anyone else?’ Patrick asked, holding up the decanter.
‘No, thank you, and please, Patrick, help yourself to my best whisky,’ Secretary Neville Delauder told his friend.
‘I probably bought it for you, jackass,’ Patrick muttered, swallowing the entire measure and refilling his glass.
‘I’m not even sure why you’re in my office, Delauder continued, as though Patrick hadn’t spoken. ‘I’ve had nothing to do with whatever Robert Wallis has going on. In fact, I have little to nothing to do with the Stargate Programme, despite you being primarily served by Marines. The Marine Commandant deals personally with anything which comes up – his choice, I should add. If or when the next Commandant is appointed, and if I’m still here, things might change, but with an election next year, I can’t see much changing in the short term.
‘The actual Navy has no part of the programme, although I’d not refuse you a Seal team or two if you wanted them, General Hammond. Just sayin’.’
‘I’ll pass your offer on to my 2IC, Jack O’Neill, sir,’ George replied. ‘He deals with the Battalion mostly, although I have an idea he’s going to hand some of that over to Patrick’s youngest when he joins us shortly.’
‘Today, actually,’ Patrick said. ‘I spoke to him before I set off yesterday morning, and he said he’d been released a day early so would make his way to the SGC as soon as.’
‘SG-1 is off-world today and tomorrow,’ George told him, ‘but I’m sure he’ll find enough to entertain himself with.’
‘What’s SG-1 got to do with my godson?’ Neville asked with a frown. ‘You’re never sending him off-world with Crazy Jack, are you, General?’
‘I didn’t know he was your godson, sir,’ George said, settling himself back in the comfortable armchair. ‘Patrick did say he’d known you a long time, though.’
‘We went through Annapolis together,’ Patrick said, carrying the whisky decanter back to his own armchair. ‘I have to say, though, Nev’s done pretty well for himself.’ He waved his hand around the tastefully decorated, well-appointed room.
‘I can’t take any credit. Laura chose it all, then bullied the contractors until they did it to her satisfaction. Honestly, she’d make a pretty decent SecNav herself,’ Neville said. ‘That, or in a seat at the Resolute desk, and the same went for your Isobel, Patrick.’
Patrick gave a fond smile at the memory of his much-loved late wife. ‘She would indeed.’
‘So, to business,’ Neville said, glancing between his two unexpected guests. ‘What brings you to my four walls, aside from exasperation with our dear friend Robert Wallis?’
George gave Patrick a very slight nod, and Patrick put his hand casually into his pocket, and returned the nod, but much to their surprise, Neville suddenly frowned, and looked around the room. He tipped his head to the side as though listening to something, then focussed on Patrick, still frowning.
‘What just happened? What did you do, Patrick?’
Openly now, George and Patrick stared at each other, then Patrick once again put his hand in his pocket, and Neville shook his head, as though trying to shake something off.
‘Patrick?’ he asked, all humour now gone. ‘What have you done to me?’
Raising his brows, Patrick waved a hand at Hammond. ‘You do the honours, George,’ he said, and placed the Ancient Bug-zapper on the coffee table between the three of them.
Neville picked it up, and a blue light flashed briefly, and he frowned. ‘There’s that…sensation again. What is this?’ He looked at Hammond and held up the grey stone-like object. ‘Do I need to call for security?’
‘It’s based on an object we discovered off-world and which John’s partner duplicated for us. Jack O’Neill calls them bug-zappers. Essentially, they block any listening devices within its range – about twenty metres, I understand – and we use them when we’re discussing something we don’t want anyone else to ‘overhear’.’
Neville gave him a level gaze. ‘You think my offices are bugged? They get swept every week.’
‘By whom?’ Patrick asked. ‘The NID? FBI? CIA? Each of them has a vested interest in what is said in here. Are they likely to remove their own bugs?’
Neville’s mouth dropped open. ‘That’s…You’re talking about a conspiracy within the very pillars of our nation.’
‘So?’
‘No.’ Neville shook his head. ‘No, I refuse to believe in your conspiracy theories, Patrick. It’s—it’s incredible, in the literal meaning of the word.’
‘And yet it’s still true, but even if you don’t believe us, allow me to keep the device activated, just in case.’
Nodding slightly, Neville gazed at him. ‘I always thought I was the politically savvy one of us, but now…’ He shrugged. ‘Fine. But can you tell me why I felt it when you…activated it?’
‘That’s a very long story,’ Hammond said, ‘and one we don’t really have time for, but I’ll ask Sh—John to come have a conversation with you. He and his partner.’
‘Fair enough, but can we get to the reason you turned the blessed thing on? I happen to work for a living, gentlemen.’
*****
Their plan was straight-forward – on paper. John and Sam would explain that because of the chain of command of the SGC, Sumner shouldn’t be in charge, and he, Albert Reynolds, should be.
‘I wasn’t entirely happy with Colonel Sumner taking charge, but he was very persuasive,’ Reynolds explained as he leaned back in his chair, causing John and Sam to exchange hopeful glances. ‘And I’ve never really understood how the chain of command works here.’
John and Sam now exchanged dumbfounded glances at the admission, and John had to stop himself from facepalming. You don’t say stuff like that to subordinates, you idiot!
‘I’m sure Colonel O’Neill will be happy to explain it to you when he’s allowed back through the gate,’ Sam said, clearly not caring if she threw O’Neill under the bus. ‘But the immediate problem is getting SG-1 back to base. While there’s an argument the Colonel’s IDC might be compromised with two missed check-ins, there’s no reason Teal’c’s is, yet Colonel Sumner refused to acknowledge it and open the iris.
‘We believe SG-1 found the Stargate Destroyer the teams were looking for, as SG-3 have now returned and reported that Teal’c, his son, Rya’c, and Master Bra’tac caught up with them on PN3-114, and heard that SG-2, SG-4, and SG-5 had returned quickly yesterday – in fact I think SG-2 had returned before SG-4 had actually left. I know my team was still here.’ Carter paused to take a breath, and John watched Reynolds’ reaction to her information.
He looked to be a nice enough man, and pretty harmless, but John wondered how he’d managed to become an 06, and also wondered if it would have happened in the big Air Force. He’d taken a look at Reynolds’ jacket – courtesy of Miko – and the man certainly wasn’t outstanding: he’d just been in the right place at the right promotion-related times, since John didn’t even remember him in the other timeline, and he’d spent several years at the SGC in total.
‘What are you actually wanting me to do, Major?’ Reynolds asked, and John managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Sam, to her credit, had either more patience or a better poker face.
‘You are next in the chain of command after Colonel O’Neill,’ she explained, using words of no more than two syllables. ‘Colonel Sumner should never have usurped your position.’
Reynolds gave a self-effacing smile. ‘Maybe, but Marshall was very keen to sit in the big chair.’
No, he’s not harmless, he’s a dangerous fucking idiot. Who the hell still uses phrases like ‘big chair’?
‘I believe the point Major Carter is trying to make,’ John said, ignoring Sam’s urgent glances, ‘is that Colonel Sumner is not allowing SG-1 to return to base.’
‘And I’m sure he has his reasons. You’ve already pointed out that since SG-1 missed their check-ins, Colonel O’Neill’s IDC has been locked out.’
‘And Teal’c’s?’
‘Ah, but how do we know it is Teal’c?’ Reynolds smiled knowingly and nodded, though John didn’t have a clue why the moron was nodding. ‘You’re new to the programme, Major Sheppard, but you’ll soon learn we do things differently here. We’re almost a law unto ourselves.’
This was said with such pride that John had to turn away so Reynolds didn’t see him laugh. But I’m never playing poker with Sam Carter.
‘How do you suggest SG-1 get home, then?’ John asked once he’d recovered himself.
‘Oh, I’m sure they’ll find a way, even without the Major here with them.’ He nodded to Sam. ‘And may I congratulate you on your promotion, Major Carter?’
‘Promotion?’ Sam frowned. ‘What promotion?’
‘Promotion to Gate Team leader, of course. It’s an immense honour, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you.’
John and Sam thanked him for his time, then looked at each other as they closed Reynolds’ office door behind them.
‘How—’ John began.
‘Did he get promoted? No idea,’ Sam answered, anticipating his question. She looked around and lowered her voice. ‘If he were a woman, I’d be asking who he’d slept with!’
There was no irony whatsoever in either her voice or her attitude, and John wondered if she was perhaps innocent of at least some of the crimes discovered in the last few months. Maybe Miko and Rodney are wrong and she earned her promotions legitimately. That, or she’s a wonderful actress. ‘So what do we do now?’ he asked her.
Sam thought for a moment, then looked at him with her head to one side. ‘How serious were you about a little coup?
*****
‘You begin, George, as it’s your show,’ Patrick told him.
‘I’m sure you’re aware of the expense of the Stargate Programme, sir, so we’ve been trying to make it as self-financing as we can, by bringing various of our off-world discoveries, and technology developed by our scientists, into society.’ He frowned. ‘That’s a very condensed explanation , but I hope you understand.’ He waited for Neville to nod, then continued to explain his and Patrick’s efforts to gain financial independence, the vested interests they’d stomped all over, and the butthurt-ness they’d caused.
‘…So when SecDef called us in yesterday and explained that ninety per cent of our tech advances are tied up in secrecy orders, we tried to find out exactly what had happened, and who did it.’ Hammond paused for a moment, then gave a grim smile. ‘I already had my suspicions as to the person or persons behind it.’
‘And?’ Neville prompted.
‘One of my officers…’ He sighed and tried again. ‘Over the last five years, one of my officers has been sending details of projects to the DoD on a regular basis. These projects are then placed under a Type II Secrecy Order, meaning the DoD has control of how, when, or why a project is developed. More importantly for us, however, is that if or when the product is marketed, no matter how it’s done, the DoD receives the financial benefit, not the SGC nor the person who first invented or discovered it.’
Neville’s mouth was hanging open by the time George got to the end of his explanation.
‘That—that’s—that’s criminal,’ he finally managed to say. ‘Who the hell is this officer? I hope to God you sort him out.’
‘Sort what out?’ Patrick asked with a wry smile. ‘She was only following orders.’
‘So it’s a woman, is it? Is there any question of sexual favours being involved?’
Patrick’s lip curled up at the question, but George looked away and sighed.
‘…Possibly,’ he said, reluctantly. ‘Or at least we suspect that her promotion to Major was…influenced, shall we say.’
‘She didn’t earn it?’
‘She did, but…there are other factors involved I’m not at liberty to discuss.’
Neville nodded and sat for a moment tapping a finger on his leg. ‘Okay,’ he said at length, ‘how do I come into it?’
Patrick and George exchanged glances, and Patrick nodded.
‘Well, first of all, I needed a drink, and you were the closest option!’ He smiled at his friend and received a hand gesture in reply. ‘But you’re also my best friend and I trust your judgement and advice, and it’s advice we’re after at the moment.’ He paused and thought about what he and George both wanted, and needed, and they weren’t necessarily the same things. ‘What is the Navy’s policy on advances made by your own scientists, and who benefits from it? I may have served for twenty-five years, but this kind of thing never crossed my desk.’
‘You never had a proper desk, Patrick,’ Neville told him with a wry grin. ‘You fought the PTB whenever they offered you a land-based post until your last promotion, and you only agreed then if they gave you an operational command. I was there, remember?’
‘Pfft!’ Patrick waved away Neville’s comments, although it was true that he’d only accepted the promotion to Rear Admiral if he could stay on what he termed active service, as opposed to pushing a pencil for a living. He’d loved his service time, and the only reason he retired was Isobel’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer. He’d wanted to support her, and he’d had to take over the reins of SI, which she’d run after the death of his father, John Sebastian, two years before.
‘—terms of science and technology,’ Neville was saying to George when Patrick refocussed his attention on him, ‘our policy is essentially based on our immediate wants, and future needs; what the men in grey suits call our ‘Mission and Future Capability Strategy’, and I’m honestly surprised the SGC isn’t operating on similar lines.’
‘When the SGC was officially established in 1997, we were already fighting a war,’ George explained. ‘It had been moth-balled the previous year when it was thought the Stargate only had one destination, although we’ve discovered since then the gate was opened in the forties, and the records hidden away.
‘But by the time anyone realised what was happening and how much it was all going to cost, the vested interests were already milking the programme for all they could. What we need now is a way to end the…the appropriation, and return all intellectual property and proprietary technology to the contractors involved.’
‘If we can claim other branches of the services have their own policies concerning IP and PT, we have something to fight them with,’ Patrick added. ‘Hence our visit to you.’
‘And you’ll be asking the Army a similar question?’ Neville asked, getting up and going to his desk. ‘I think I can help.’ He pulled an address book from a drawer, picked up the telephone, and dialled a number.
Patrick and George tried not to listen to the conversation, and chatted between themselves while Neville was occupied, although Patrick couldn’t help overhearing certain phrases such as ‘thieving bastards’, ‘my dead body’, and ‘fucking politicos’!
*****
It was easy enough to get Sumner out from Hammond’s office to break up a fight helpful started between two of the Airmen John remembered from Atlantis, although he made no sign of recognition when Sam approached them.
‘I’ll get it squared away with General Hammond,’ John promised when they agreed to the plan, and it was as simple as that.
Sam and John hid in the primary armoury just around the corner from the gate room – embarkation room, he reminded himself – and peered through the slightly open door to see when Sumner stormed out from the CO’s office and into the main lift. This would take him to the mess hall where A1C Moores and Amn Wilson were, hopefully, exchanging in fisticuffs. John went into the Ops room, as none of the SFs in the gate–embarkation room would know him, while Sam went into the embarkation room to tell the SFs what was about to happen.
John gave Walter a quick rundown of what they intended, and he, helpfully, suggested they put the base into lockdown, which would keep the base personnel exactly where they were. Good idea, then we won’t have to cope with Sumner hammering on the gate room doors. Embarkation room doors. Fucking embarkation!
The base alarm sounded as the base went into a code three lockdown, and the two blast doors locked shut, and while Walter engaged the locks on the Ops room, he kept the security blast screen raised so John could see the ga—embarkation room.
The dial-ins from P3W-867 had been coming at five-minute intervals, and sure enough, not long after John and Sam took charge, the gate dialled again.
‘Colonel O’Neill’s IDC,’ Walter said to John and through the microphone to the gate room so Sam would know.
‘Open the iris,’ John told him, and leaned forward to the microphone. ‘Stand by gate room. We may have unfriendlies about to come through the gate. Wait for my order before firing.’
Sam gave him an odd look before she turned back to face the gate and raised the P90 she’d collected as they hid in the armoury. John, for his part, stood front and centre in the Ops room as the event horizon rippled and SG-1 emerged, the wormhole disengaging behind them.
‘What the fuck, Sheppard?’ Jack demanded, looking at the number of guns aimed at him and his team.
‘Sam?’ John said, ignoring Jack’s remark.
Sam lowered her P90 and walked up the ramp closer to the three team members, and tilted her head to one side. ‘All clear,’ she called out to John, who nodded and relaxed his stance.
‘Stand down, Security Force,’ John called out, then smiled. ‘Welcome back, SG-1. Want to join us in the briefing room? You’ll have to come the long way round,’ he added, pointing to the door which opened on to the lesser used corridor leading to stairs up to Level 27.
Jack scowled at him, and his anger was clearly growing. ‘Where’s General Hammond?’ he demanded. ‘What the hell’s been happening here? Why are you in charge, Sheppard?’
‘If you’ll come up to the briefing room, Colonel, please.’ John stared at him, hoping Jack would realise his intent to do this in private, and Jack gave him a single nod.
Walter already had coffee and a tray of sandwiches on the conference table when they filed through the door, which John closed with a deep sigh.
‘Hear me out, please, Jack,’ John said, holding up a hand, and Jack nodded even as his eyebrows raised at the use of his christian name.
They’d all just taken a seat when the door opened again and Carter slipped in, and nodded to John.
‘All done,’ she said, taking a seat next to Daniel while John, after a slight hesitation, took the seat at the head of the table.
‘Give me a chance to explain, please, before you all bombard me with questions,’ John said, and rubbed the back of his neck.
Jack didn’t speak, but after surveying him for a long moment, he gave John a single nod.
‘We’ve had a small coup,’ John began, and as Jack’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, he began to explain. ‘…so Colonel Sumner is now, to my knowledge, locked in the mess hall, and is doubtless taking it out on the other poor unfortunates also locked in there,’ he finished.
‘And Miko is keeping an eye on the security systems in case anyone tries to mess with them,’ Sam added. ‘I went to call her just before I joined you all.’
‘Does the general know about any of this?’ Jack asked.
‘Not from me.’ John shook his head. ‘My father phoned me before I left Alabama yesterday morning to say he was joining General Hammond in DC for urgent talks with SecDef and had no idea how long it’d take, so I flew myself directly to Colorado and spent the night at Rodney’s apartment.’
‘You flew yourself?’ Sam asked with a frown, and John had to stop himself from banging his head on the table. Stupid, stupid mistake. Stupid and fucking careless.
‘Turn of phrase,’ he answered her, hoping to shrug it away. ‘That’s all.’
Thankfully, Jack had more important issues to discuss. ‘And what has Sumner got to do with any of it?’ He gave John a questioning look, and John shook his head.
‘He persuaded Colonel Reynolds he wanted a chance to ‘sit in the big chair’,’ Sam explained, making quotation marks with her fingers.
‘He did what?’ Jack poked a finger in his ear as if he had trouble hearing what she said.
‘His exact words, according to Col Reynolds,’ John said, loyally backing her up.
‘But why wouldn’t he let us through?’ Daniel asked, speaking for the first time since their return. ‘I don’t understand that bit.’
‘He argued that since you missed two check-ins, you must be compromised,’ Sam explained.
‘But why wouldn’t he accept Teal’c’s IDC?’
‘No fucking clue,’ Sam sighed, and John realised it was one of the first times he’d heard her swear.
‘He told me he could send me back to Afghanistan if he chose to,’ John said, trying to hide his smirk. ‘He doesn’t care who my father is, apparently.’
‘That man will never have hot water again,’ Rodney muttered, opening his tablet, and John had to bite his lip to stop himself from reminding Rodney they weren’t on Atlantis.
Jack rubbed his face with both his hands, and John noticed how tired all three of the newly returned men were.
‘Did you find the Stargate Destroyer?’ he asked suddenly, remembering why they were off-world in the first place.
‘Found it, destroyed it, came home – after a space ride,’ Jack replied.
‘Well, to be accurate, Rya’c destroyed it,’ Daniel said, holding up a finger. ‘Rya’c, Teal’c, and Bra’tac arrived in a tel’tak to rescue us from a prison cell, and while Teal’c and Bra’tac broke us out, Rya’c took care of the Stargate Destroyer. Then, after our IDCs didn’t work, he helped us fight off the Jaffa and warned us about Anubis’ arrival. He was pretty much the hero of the hour.’
‘And where is Teal’c now?’ Sam asked.
‘Gone back to Chulak with Rya’c and Bra’tac for a couple of days,’ Jack told her. ‘Why were you involved in all this, Major?’
His use of her rank was almost a reprimand, and when she flushed, he shook his head. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. What I really meant was, you were off-world with your own team, so how did you get caught up in Sumner’s mess?’
‘I got back,’ she glanced at her watch, ‘a couple of hours ago and he gave us five minutes to get through medical before he debriefed us, and then had a lot to say about Air Force tardiness. I went up to moan at Radek and Miko and found Col Sheppard with them.’ She shrugged. ‘Then we enacted a coup against Col Sumner and got you back.’
Both Jack and Rodney’s eyes had risen at her mention of John’s new rank, and Jack frowned at him, noticing John’s uniform still sported gold leaves.
‘My promotion only came down yesterday, and I only had time to get my Class As changed,’ John explained. ‘Walter has the rest of my uniform in hand, or so he informed me.’
‘Then congratulations, Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard,’ Jack said with a smile, while Rodney beamed at him, and Daniel gave him a more restrained smile. ‘Welcome to the SGC.’
*****
After a few minutes on the phone, Neville returned to the grouping of armchairs, tugging down his shirt cuffs and with a satisfied smirk on his face.
‘Right. The Army has exactly the same policy as we do, and, given that, I suspect the Air Force has the same. It’s not anything I’ve ever really thought about. I suppose the two key questions now are: does the DoD have the right to usurp official service policy, and can the Stargate Programme be seen as a branch of service in its own right?
‘I can answer the second question right away,’ Patrick said. ‘No. And neither will it ever be seen as such since the Air Force will fight tooth and nail to keep oversight of it, real or perceived.’
George was nodding his head. ‘Agreed, except officially, I report directly to the President. In reality, though, the Air Chiefs have a lot of say in terms of promotions, etc.’
Neville was tapping his finger on his leg again. ‘Is it worth trying to be declared a fifth service? I mean, that would give you the right to have financial independence straight away, and there’d be less falling out about jurisdiction between the other forces. I’m certain David Wellington,’ he waved his hand over his shoulder, ‘the current secretary of the Army, would support it too, although he knows only the bare minimum about the programme since there’re no Army personnel involved so far, are there?’
George shook his head. ‘No, though I’d welcome any help from the Corps of Engineers as we do sometimes get involved with off-world building projects.’
‘How come?’ Neville frowned at George. ‘Is it something that occurs frequently?’
‘Not frequently, but it sometimes happens.’ He tilted his head to one side as he looked at Neville. ‘The Pentagon tends to see our mission as ‘find and retrieve’, or maybe ‘search and acquire’; either works.’
‘And it’s not.’
‘No, not if we want to build up relationships within the galaxy.’ George ran his hand over his head, and Patrick cleared his throat.
‘If I may, George?’ he asked, and when George nodded, he continued. ‘Remember our ethics classes at Annapolis? What do you remember about the Philippine-American War of 1899?’
Neville pulled a face. ‘Patrick! That was…more years ago than I care to remember!’ Then, as Patrick simply waited for him to reply, he groaned. ‘Fine! America annexed the islands to prevent Japan or…or Germany taking them over.’
‘And?’
‘And because we wanted a bigger market for our goods since we didn’t have an empire like most of the other world powers.’
‘And the Monroe Doctrine?’
‘Fine! You’ve made your point! No more, I beg you!.’
Patrick grinned at his friend, while George smiled, then his smile faded.
‘There is something pertinent I should mention.’ He glanced at Patrick, who raised his eyebrows. ‘A matter of Trust.’ Patrick nodded. ‘Since the beginning of the Programme, there have been attempts of political interference, both actual, and attempts we’ve thwarted.’
‘And Robert Kinsey is in all of them right up to his balls,’ Patrick added, wrinkling his nose as though even Kinsey’s name smelled disgusting.
‘Why am I not surprised?’ Neville sighed. ‘Go on, George.’
‘The NID ran Area 51 in Nevada until the year 2000 when it came under the purview of the Big Air Force, then earlier this year it came to me. During the reign of the NID, and to a lesser extent the Big Air Force, their standing orders caused us endless problems in the wider galaxy. Societies we had fostered relations with suddenly refused to have anything to do with us, and three powerful allies threatened to sever all ties with us, which would have been a massive blow.
'General Schneider called the NID a front for a criminal organisation, and he wasn’t far wrong. Many of its military members are facing long-term prison sentences, and a few have been sentenced to death for treason after they helped the Russians develop their own clandestine Stargate operation.’
‘To be fair, not all members of the NID are corrupt bastards,’ Patrick pointed out. ‘Just most of the military ones. And there have been skirmishes between the SGC, the NID, and various politicians since the inception of the programme in its current form. And while we think the majority of the corrupt military ones have been found, we know there are political ones we may never find, or if they were found, their involvement would be buried pretty deep, possibly because of vested interests, but also because we have no idea just how high it all goes.’
‘And you think these are the people behind your projects being placed under secrecy orders,’ Neville said with a sigh. ‘And who’d fight to keep the control they’ve managed to secure.’
‘Exactly.’
*****
Since George and Patrick were still in DC, Jack was in charge of the base, and thus the one to deal with the SGC’s two big problems, namely Marshall Sumner and Albert Reynolds. Reynolds is a fucking idiot, but Sumner’s worse. He’s fucking dangerous. How did I not know that? I dread to think what could have happened on Atlantis if John hadn’t…
He dealt with Reynolds first.
‘Albert, there’s a reason Sumner isn’t in the chain of command, that no Marines are in the chain of command. This is an Air Force facility, so it’s run by the Air Force. Got it?’
Reynolds frowned at him. ‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why is it an Air Force base? Area 51 isn’t.’
‘Actually, it is.’ Jack pinched his nose and sighed. How the fuck does he breathe and piss at the same time? ‘Nellis AFB? Ever heard of it?’
Reynolds frowned at him again. ‘Of course I have. I’ve even been there.’
‘You served there for three fucking years, man!’
‘No, I didn’t.’ Reynolds gave him a patronising smile. ‘I served at Area 51. Or perhaps you know it as the Groom Lake Facility,’ he added condescendingly. ‘It’s an easy mistake to make, although if you’d done your homework properly, Jack, you’d know that.’
The door to the office suddenly burst open, and Walter appeared, carrying a single cup of coffee. He gave it to Jack and watched as he took a sip. Jack choked, and Walter nodded.
‘What the fuck—’ Jack managed to say.
‘I added a little of the general’s number two medicine,’ Walter explained, ‘since you were getting a little dehydrated, sir. I’ll bring you a second cup when you’re ready for it.’
‘Coffee’s no good for dehydration,’ Reynolds said, frowning. ‘Bring a bottle of water for the colonel instead, Master Sergeant.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Walter said, with his back to Reynolds, and winked at Jack as he left the room.
Since ‘the general’s number two medicine’ was, apparently, whisky, Jack didn’t respond, but drank the coffee as fast as he could in case Reynolds took it away. When Walter returned a minute or two later, handed over a plastic bottle of water, and winked again at him, Jack decided to drink the water carefully, as he couldn’t even guess what would be in it. He did, however, now feel quite mellow rather than spitting the fire he’d wanted to at Reynolds’ comments to him.
‘I’ll make sure I do that,’ Jack said, hoping the phrase covered whatever the fuck the idiot had said previously, and since Reynolds gave him a friendly smile as he left, Jack assumed he’d managed to get it right. But I’m telling George we need to send him to Afghanistan. Or maybe we just send him off-world to a long-term project, which is what happened last time, I think.
The door of the office opened again, and the other members of SG-1 trailed in. Rodney and Daniel took the two chairs while John leaned against the wall, and Teal’c loomed, as per usual.
‘Did I want to see you?’ Jack asked, wondering if he’d forgotten something. But Walter usually remembers, even if I don’t.
‘You always want to see us,’ Daniel said, ‘or me, at least.’ This last was said with a decided smirk, and Jack gave a little smile at the memory of the previous night’s ‘seeing’.
‘Get a room,’ Rodney muttered, pulling out his ever-present tablet. ‘It’s about Ayiana.’
‘Ayiana,’ Jack repeated, his mind a little hazy due to the medicine Walter had all but forced him to drink. And that’s what I’m telling Danny if he asks. Forced I was. Forced. ‘I should know this, wait, don’t tell me, don’t tell me. Nah. Not a clue. What or where is Ayiana?’
‘The frozen Ancient?’ Rodney said, clearly expecting Jack to understand. ‘Antarctica? Deadly plague? You had to have a Tok’ra to cure you because she’d run out of juice?’
‘Oh, that frozen Ancient. What about her?’
‘That mission’s upcoming,’ Rodney continued, ‘and last time the whole of SG-1 plus Janet Fraiser traipsed down to the base there, and when every single one of you went down with the plague, Ayiana had to heal you.’
‘Except me.’ Jack held up a hand and waggled his fingers. ‘I got a Tok’ra instead.’
‘My point exactly,’ Rodney said, pointing a finger at O’Neill. ‘That poor woman healed seven people, so I suggest only a couple of us go down this time, to limit the healing she has to do. That way, quite aside from Jack not having to have a Tok’ra in his head, she might even survive the trip back here.’
‘It’s a good plan,’ Jack agreed, ‘but who goes and who stays?’
‘I want to go.’ Daniel held up his hand, a mutinous look on his face, as though preparing to fight his corner. ‘I need to go.’
‘Not sure about ‘need’, Danny-boy, but I’ve got no problem with you going,’ Jack told him, leaning back in his chair and swinging it from side to side. ‘Who else? John? You said you liked Antarctica. D’you wanna go?’
‘'Not particularly.' John shrugged, quite a feat when his shoulders were the only things supporting him, Jack decided. 'Don't forget Dr Fraiser. She'll be interested. Plus, she'll be useful if you're all going to get the plague.'
‘Good point, well made.’ Jack nodded, then looked at Teal’c. 'Any desire to go to a land of ice and snow, T-man?’
‘I do not, O’Neill. However, I would be interested in meeting one of the gatebuilders.’
‘So, three going instead of five, and only two will need healing,’ Rodney said, tapping his finger against his lip. ‘That should work, especially if you stop the moron who went out into the snow like some modern-day Oates and you use proper medical shielding equipment. Why you thought you didn’t need it before beats me.’
John coughed a word or phrase into his hand, making Jack glance over at him.
‘Did you just say ‘Hazmat Suit’?’
John grinned at him while Rodney’s cheeks went from their usual pale shade to a fiery-red.
‘Not funny, Colonel. I’ve already passed my life-time limit of radiation. D’you want me to die of cancer?’
‘Course not, idiot, but it was—hang on. You’ve already reached your life-time limit?’
Rodney nodded and frowned. ‘Yes, why?’
‘Because I know you were exposed to radiation several times in Pegasus during our first year alone. You and Radek built two nuclear bombs, for fuck’s sake.’
‘And again, yes, why?’
John stared at him open-mouthed, then closed it and shook his head. ‘You’re even braver than I ever realised, Rodney. To deliberately put yourself at risk of radiation poisoning…It’s…wow. You’re a big damn hero, McKay.’
Rodney’s cheeks had returned to their usual colour, but now they went just a little pink. ‘Who else was there to do it?’
‘I agree with John,’ Jack said, eying Rodney with respect. ‘You’re a big damn hero, Rodders. I’m proud to serve with you.’ And I mean that. I’ve seen a man die from radiation poisoning, and it ain’t pretty. To deliberately risk that…He mentally shook his head. Big. Damn. Hero.
He gave his head a physical shake and looked around the room. ‘So, Danny, T, and Doc Fraiser go to Antarctica when we get the call, right?’ He didn’t wait for an answer. ‘What else is on the horizon, Rodders? You usually know what’s happening.’
Rodney glanced down at his tablet. ‘Okay. Upcoming. Your clone, Jack, but that might not happen as we warned Thor about Loki and his tricks. Once—’
‘Hold on.’ Daniel held up a hand. ‘What clone? And who’s Loki? Aside from being the Norse god of mischief?’
Jack sighed. ‘Loki’s the Asgard who’s been kidnapping people from Earth for we don’t know long. He was trying to find a cure for their cloning problem. He kidnapped me and made a clone, except he had problems with its age, and it came out aged fifteen or sixteen. End of. Won’t happen again. As Rodders said, Thor knows about Loki and he promised to sort him out. Okay, Danny?’ He raised his eyes in enquiry, and Daniel scowled.
‘Fine. But we will be talking about this, Jack.’
Just add it to the fucking list, why don’t ya?!
‘Rodders, what else?’ he asked, moving swiftly on and hoping Daniel would let the clone thing drop. I know I didn’t handle it well last time, but I’m relieved it won’t happen again.
Rodney raised his eyebrows and looked between Jack and Daniel. ‘Okay. Hmm. Oh, Antarctica.’
‘I thought we’d covered Ayiana?’ Jack said, frowning.
‘We did. This is about the base. We know it’s there, but no one else does. What if we used Ayiana as an excuse to do some deep scanning there?’
‘How?’ John asked, leaning forward and looking at his partner. ‘We don’t have any ships yet.’
‘No, agreed, but we could ask Thor when he comes to look at Prometheus. And I’ve also got a plan to get ourselves a Jumper.’
John’s eyes positively gleamed, and Jack’s were no better.
‘A Puddle Jumper?’ John almost breathed. ‘Really?’
‘Well, we know where one is, don’t we? Rodney asked Jack.
‘Umm. Do we?’ Jack tried to picture a Puddle Jumper, and there was something…just out of…range…
‘Planet Maybourne, remember?’
‘Of course. The time-jumper’s on Planet Maybourne. And once we get that—’
‘Then we can go to Proclarush Taonis,’ Rodney continued, ‘and get the ZPM from there. Then there’s Ra’s ZPM in Egypt, if you think we should risk it.’
‘Woah, woah!’ Daniel held up his hand again. ‘Slow down. ZPM? What or where is Proclarush Taonis, and Planet Maybourne? Is that…’
This may take some time…
*****
Chapter 18
Chapter Text
Thank fuck Dave persuaded me to buy this house as a crash pad, Patrick thought to himself as he sipped his morning coffee in the small sunny garden behind his tiny Georgetown house. George had spent the night in Alexandria with his daughter and family, though Patrick had offered the use of a spare bedroom. It was the right decision for us both. This way, he gets to see his granddaughters and we both get a break from endless politics and the SGC.
And speaking of the SGC, what delights will this day bring? What new secrets will be revealed, secret even to the commander of the facility involved? How the hell did I get myself involved in this crap? Patrick stood and stretched, then took a deep breath and went to bathe and get dressed.
They’d arranged to meet in the Starbucks near the Pentagon Visitor Centre at 07:30, and George was sipping a coffee by a window when Patrick arrived.
‘I’ve ordered yours, just give the barista a nod,’ he told his friend. ‘And there should be a couple of warm croissants waiting for us as well.’
Order collected – both of them – the two men sat in companionable silence while they ate their croissants and drank their coffee.
‘You’re a bad influence on my diet,’ Patrick said wryly. ‘I think I’ve put on ten pounds since we got here on Wednesday morning.’
‘That’s because we’re dealing with asshats and politicians,’ George muttered. ‘Or maybe asshat politicians. Not sure.’
‘Okaay,’ Patrick drawled, frowning at his companion. ‘Maybe I’m the bad influence, because JO always describes you as a polite gentleman who’d rather say nothing than say a bad thing about someone.’
‘Not you,’ George mumbled into his coffee. ‘It’s this place. Never, ever let me be posted here, not if you’re my friend.’
Since Patrick knew very well that George had spent the better part of two years as the Director of Homeworld Security, he wasn’t sure what to say. Then he decided it wasn’t his problem. ‘Okay,’ he agreed. ‘Will do. Or will not, whichever fits.’
George looked around to see if anyone was close enough to them to overhear, but most of the customers were grabbing and going due to the early hour. Later on, the shop would be busy with people needing a snack between breakfast and lunch, but for now, the two men had the place almost to themselves. ‘Who’s first for us to hector and harass?’
‘Ummm.’ Patrick opened his tablet – identical to the ones he’d given Rodney and John – and checked his list. ‘We need to find out who instructed C to send the projects she removed from the A51 scientists to the DoD, and who she sent them to, if it’s not the same person.’
‘This is where we think the NID are probably involved, right?’
Patrick brushed his fingers with a napkin and sat back with his coffee in hand. ‘Well, we’re not sure when the whole business began. A51 was a research and development base long before the SGC began – in its modern capacity at least. Were the developments they made also pushed under secrecy orders, and production arrangements made to benefit the DoD and not the scientists involved? We don’t know, but if they were, it weakens our position as they have precedent to fall back on.’ He sighed. ‘Maybe we should have brought Dave in on this. Corporate law is his field.’
George wrinkled his nose. ‘Probably too late now, but it might be worth getting him read in, just in case we need his help. We were going to anyway. I’ll get Paul Davis to pay him a visit.’
‘Appreciated, and I know J’ll be pleased. They were always very tight as children, he and his brother – but it didn’t last after John and I argued, although J said they reconnected after my funeral.’ He grimaced at the thought.
‘You have had the medical J told you to have, haven’t you?’ George demanded, and relaxed when Patrick nodded. ‘Good. I’d hate to lose you now! JO made me go and see Janet F about my heart last November, and she’s had me on a diet since then.’
‘Better not let on about the croissants then!’ Patrick said and got to his feet with a sigh. ‘I’m too old for this lark. I should be hitting a ball around a golf course, not fighting asshats at the Pentagon.’
‘You’re only two years older than me,’ George told him sternly. ‘Quit your bitching. We’ve got asshats to fight!’
*****
‘I don’t know what to tell you, General Hammond,’ the young man said wearily, pushing his hair out of his eyes and making Patrick want to order him to get a haircut. ‘All Secrecy Orders, per the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, remain secret until they’re reviewed by the relevant department and the decision is made to declassify them. You needed to make an objection before they were placed under the Secrecy Order. It’s too late now.’
‘But these secrecy orders were made entirely without my knowledge,’ George protested – again. ‘How could I object if I didn’t know about them?’
‘Well, someone in your command knew about them,’ the boy exclaimed, finally pushed beyond his patience. ‘Go make a nuisance of yourself to them!’
Patrick cleared his throat. ‘Aaand we’re done. Fetch your supervisor, kid, before the general claps you in irons. Or I keel-haul you,’ he added, consideringly. ‘I’ve still got a boat, I think.’
‘My supervisor isn’t going to tell you anything different!’
‘Then we’ll hear him say it, not you. Stat!’ Patrick ordered, then grinned as the boy fled. He breathed on his nails and polished them on his jacket. ‘Still got it!’ he told George, and winked when George laughed.
Five minutes later, they were shown into a plush office where a man in a suit, rather than a uniform as Patrick had half-expected, met them and shook their hands.
‘General Hammond, Admiral Sheppard, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.’
No, it’s not. We’re pains in the ass, and how do you know my rank so quickly, asshat?
‘You too, Mr…’ Patrick smiled at the man, a toothy, shark-like smile. I worked with bigger sharks in the Navy than you, asshole.
‘Take a seat, take a seat. Can we get you some coffee? Lynne!’ he called out. ‘Get us some coffees, will you?’ He sat down at his desk and folded his hands together. ‘Now, how can I help you?’
Still not given us your name, asswipe.
‘We’re trying to get to the bottom of a number of secrecy orders placed on inventions and intellectual property produced by—Hmmm.’ George paused. ‘Have you been read into Project Giza, Mr…?’
‘Project Giza? Of course I have.’ The man – still unknown – laughed, yet it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘You can say whatever you want in here. This office is fully protected.’
I just bet it is. Fully protected with listening devices. Assface. Patrick slipped his hand into his pocket and thought ‘on’ at the bug-zapper. He’ll get a surprise when he checks the recordings. Asslicker.
‘Then you’ll know all about our Deep Space Telemetry base in Colorado, Mr…’ George said, and smiled when the dickface nodded. ‘What can you tell me about the secrecy orders placed on my scientists’ work?’
‘That they’re classified as secret since public knowledge of them might be detrimental to national security.’
That’s a quote directly from the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, assmuncher. ‘Yeah, okay,’ Patrick said, getting to his feet. ‘My bullshit detector’s going off, Mr Du cul. We’ll stop wasting both our times. Au revoir.’
That look of puzzlement on his face is almost worth this runaround.
‘What was that you called him?’ George asked as they headed back to the coffee shop to regroup.
‘Du Cul? It’s French for asshole.’
‘I may regret asking this, but how do you know that?’
Patrick grinned. ‘Isobel taught me various French swear words. Her family had a French nanny when she was a child, or a jeune fille au pair, as they called it. Au pair girl, to us commoners, George.’
George laughed, and was still laughing after they’d collected their coffee and muffins – ‘I need the sugar fix, fuck the diet,’ Patrick told him. ‘It’s too early to go and drink Neville’s whisky.’
‘Now what?’ George took a bite of his own muffin and smiled in pleasure. ‘Walter doesn’t allow me these on base.’
‘Get rid of him,’ Patrick advised, wondering if he could justify a second muffin.
‘Can’t.’ George shook his head. ‘Place would fall apart without him and Siler, and I mean that quite literally where Siler’s concerned. They can operate without me, or Jack O’Neill, but not those two. They’re worth their weight in naquadria.’
Since Patrick had been permitted to experiment with a small amount of naquadria in the last few weeks, he appreciated their value. ‘Fair enough. Can we clone them?’
George raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly. ‘Now that’s an idea. I’ll talk to Thor, but go back to my last question. What do we do now?’
‘Now? Now it’s time to take a look at your disc.’
*****
‘You want me to what?’ Dave Sheppard demanded as he walked determinedly around his father’s study at the Georgetown house – or what he could of it. ‘Dad, what the hell have you got yourself involved in?’
‘I think you’re about to find out,’ George told him. ‘Paul Davis has just arrived.’ He smiled at Dave, then went to get the door.
‘Dad, why are you hanging around with a three star?’ Dave asked in a low voice. ‘And why is he answering our front door?’
Patrick gazed at him. ‘Because I want to, and because I asked him to.’
‘Huh?’ Dave frowned at him, clearly not understanding his father’s response, but before he could ask anything else, General Hammond was back with a…an Air Force Major, it looked like.
‘I think you’ve already met Mr Sheppard, Paul, and this is his eldest son, Dave.’
Paul Davis shook hands with both Sheppards, then pulled a thick file from the briefcase chained to his wrist. ‘Is there somewhere private we can go, Mr Sheppard?’
‘Use the sitting room, Paul. Do you remember where it is?’
‘Yessir.’ Paul nodded and smiled at him. ‘Shall we go?’ he asked Dave, who scowled at his father, but dutifully followed the man.
George, meanwhile, had gone back to the big computer on Patrick’s desk and was scrolling through the disc Patrick had retrieved from his study safe earlier. ‘My God,’ he breathed. ‘This stuff could bring down half the cabinet. I had no idea Harry Maybourne could be so helpful.’
‘Did he manage to get away?’ Patrick asked. ‘John said he ended up on a planet as king last time.’
‘A kind of king, Jack described him as, and yes, Jack pushed him through the wormhole late one night a few weeks ago. We know the planet that made him king, so if he doesn’t get there, we can still go and get something called a Puddle Jumper.’
‘A what now?’
‘A Puddle Jumper.’ George shook his head. ‘I have no more idea than you, except Jack thought it exceedingly funny, while Rodney just sighed.’
‘A puddle jumper’s a small plane, isn’t it? Like a crop duster?’
‘That’s what I thought, but we’re dealing with Jack O’Neill, remember?’
‘Ah.’ Patrick nodded. ‘Well, if there’s one on a planet somewhere, I guess we’ll find out sometime. Meanwhile, do we want to bring down half the cabinet? I play cards with a few of them. Who’s on the list?’
‘My dear friend Lt Gen Nelson Arreguin, for one.’ George gave Patrick a beatific smile. ‘That’s made my day.’
‘Who else?’
‘Robert Teeler. Remember him? He was with Arreguin at that meeting. The Director for Studies and Analysis, although I’ve no idea what that actually means.’
Patrick was busy typing on his tablet. ‘Huh. Okay, well, maybe he should have been at that meeting. He’s responsible for ‘Air Force policy, guidance, and analysis which inform the leadership making decisions on future war-fighting capabilities’, apparently,’ he read from his tablet.
‘He has no jurisdiction over the SGC, though,’ George said. ‘I’d know if he did.’
‘If he’s on that list, he won’t be making any decisions soon. Who else is there?’
‘A couple of no use to us, not unless we have to blackmail the SecDef. Secretaries of Agriculture, Labour, Housing, oh. Teeler’s boss, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Wow. That’s a mouthful. He definitely needs to go. Let’s see…Huh. Several senior Senators and Congressmen, including our friend Kinsey, of course, and…Oh.’
‘Oh?’
‘Robert Wallis.’
Patrick stared at him. ‘Robert Wallis, the Secretary of Defence?’ When George nodded, Patrick swore under his breath. ‘There’s no mistake?’
‘No. And if these notes are accurate, Robert Wallis is also the leader, or chairman of the Committee. Jack said they never found who was at the head of that food chain, but they suspected that whoever it was, was pretty high in government, and they continued to lead things when it changed into the Trust, and when Ba’al became involved in it all.’
‘Well, fuck me sideways.’ Patrick shook his head. ‘I had no idea it went so far up. SecDef is the third highest post in the country, or fourth if you include the President himself. Fucking hell. These men supposedly ordered Maybourne to help the Russians develop their own Stargate programme. And John told me the Trust was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jaffa. Jesus fucking Christ.’
‘Eric Granger’s also on the list.’
‘Eric Granger…’ Patrick was certain the name meant something…’Got it. That namby-pamby creepy advisor twat.’
‘The Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force, you mean? That advisor twat?’
‘That very twat,’ Patrick agreed. ‘Told us we had to make compromises. Asslicker!’
‘Dad!’ Dave entered the study followed by Paul Davis, who was grinning. ‘Who are you calling a—a bad name?’
Patrick scowled at him. ‘My house, my rules. And if someone is an asslicker, I’m gonna call him an asslicker.’
‘And he really is,’ George assured Dave, and Paul Davis had to leave the room to get over his coughing fit.
‘I think all this Stargate business is eroding your brain, Dad,’ Dave complained, making George raise his eyebrows.
‘Eroding my brain?’ Patrick considered this, then shrugged. ‘Maybe, though I’ve not set foot through the gate yet. I’m doing that next week, so I’ll ask the medics there to give me a brain scan when I get back. If they say it hasn’t, though, you owe me an apology, son.’ And suddenly Patrick became Rear Admiral Sheppard. ‘And you’ll also show more respect to my guests in my house. Understand?’ He gave Dave a sweet smile, then turned back to his friend. ‘Any more asslickers to add to our list, George?’
*****
Much to his loud and frequent objections, Dave Sheppard had been sent out to make some noise around DC about his disgruntlement with his father.
‘And you don’t even need to pretend now, do you?’ Patrick asked as they ate breakfast together the following day.
Dave flushed. ‘I’ve apologised for my behaviour, Dad, to you and to General Hammond. Put it down to my shock of learning about the top secret programme both you and my brother have got yourselves involved with.’
‘A programme which has rekindled my zest for life?’ Patrick asked. ‘I was feeling pretty jaded and tired before I got involved, and now I wake up each morning looking forward. Something I’ve not really done since your mother passed away. Once she’d gone, all the light seemed to go with her. Now, I’m enjoying myself. I have new friends and new things to do, plus the Company will benefit tremendously. Although I want to talk to you about that once we’ve got this secrecy and NID business finished with.’
‘Way to go getting the subject back on track.’ Dave smiled at him, a genuine smile which reached his eyes. Maybe this will rekindle David’s zest for life too. It’s been missing almost as long as mine has.
‘I must say,’ Dave continued, ‘it’s not often a father tells his eldest son to go out and find some thoroughly disrespectful people to mix with.’
‘And to tell them how much you hate me,’ Patrick reminded him. ‘And the current administration as well. You need to make yourself attractive to this Committee.’
‘I’m the eldest son of the chairman of one of the largest private companies in the US. I’ll be attractive to them,’ Dave told his father, making Patrick frown.
‘Don’t believe all their propaganda, will you? They’re criminals and traitors, every single one of them.’
‘Trust me, Dad. I won’t forget.’ Dave gave him a half smile. ‘I have the family reputation to think about, and if I begin to have doubts about my mission, I’ll just think of John. That’ll do it.’
Patrick laughed and waved him off. ‘Go and be nice to evil people, then. I have mischief and mayhem to plot.’
The plan was for Dave to take up a few of the invitations which came by the sackful every week for himself and Patrick, and a few still for John, despite him being in the Air Force for the last ten years. Although Dave chose not to take part in ‘society’ social events, he was the grandson of both a prominent Boston family, and one of the First Families of Virginia and thus had an entrée into almost any society event he chose, in both Boston and Virginia, and, by association, in the rest of the USA.
In taking up his invitations, Dave would present himself as sick and tired of Patrick’s authority over the family business, and his association with many powerful political figures. When David’s disaffection became known – and he would make sure it was known – the hope was it would attract the attention of members of the Committee, or those close to it, as a way to involve Sheppard Industries, one of the foremost conglomerates in the country, especially since its involvement in the Stargate programme.
Dave also hoped it would provide him with some entertainment: life as a corporate lawyer, even within the family business, was not particularly entertaining. I deserve some fun: that’s what I’ll base my mission on, and it’ll be partially true, at least.
*****
Meanwhile, Patrick and George began Phase III of their plan to get the SGC self-financing, and possibly even profitable. Phase I was their initial approach to Clive Williams, Secretary of the Air Force, and the meeting between Air Force interested parties, which they both viewed as largely successful. Phase II had been the meeting with the Secretary of Defence, Robert Wallis, where they were told almost all the innovations and inventions to come out of the SGC were tied up in secrecy orders that couldn’t be broken. And I suppose the non-meeting with Mr du Cul was also part of Phase II, although I still have no idea who the hell he was, or what he did.
For Phase III, therefore, the two men had decided to take off the gloves.
‘I’ve got hard copies of all relevant documents, and the disc is back in the safe, with a second disk lodged with my bank,’ Patrick told George as they met in their original Pentagon City coffee shop, and sat outside in the end-of-May sunshine. ‘D’you think that’s enough protection?’
‘I wish it wasn’t necessary,’ George returned, pulling apart his croissant, ‘but unfortunately, it is. Jennifer has one of the copies you gave me, and the second is on its way to Jack’s cabin in Minnesota by post.’
‘Good, and have you left instructions for what Jennifer is to do with the disc if anything happens to you?’
‘I have, but I hope to God it isn’t necessary.’ George sighed, and sipped his coffee. ‘Sadly, though, too many good people have died because of their knowledge about the Programme. A journalist Jack met who got too close to the truth was hit by a car here in DC. He died minutes later in Jack’s arms. Neither the car nor the driver was ever found.’
‘And you think it was a hit?’
‘I’m certain it was a hit, even though we hadn’t notified anyone at that point about the journalist’s interest. I told Jack to find out a bit more, and he’d just finished talking to the guy when the car appeared out of nowhere, hit Selig, then sped off. I told Jack it was an accident, but he knew I was lying. He was just too polite to say so. My point is, people have died from knowing too much. The same could happen to us.’
‘If either of us die,’ Patrick said grimly, ‘my sons, your Jack, and especially Rodney, will make sure it’s not in vain. We can count on it.’
‘Fair enough.’
Their meeting with Robert Wallis was his first of the day, chosen by Patrick mostly because it’s usually the one meeting which happens on time. This meeting was no exception.
‘General Hammond, I don’t know what else I can tell you.’ Wallis relaxed back in his expensive chair, behind his expensive desk, wearing an expensive suit and expensive shoes, and in his very expensively decorated office. Patrick was pretty certain the pictures in the room were originals, and he’d previously seen at least two of them in the Oval Office. ‘The Patent Office issues secrecy orders,’ Wallis continued, ‘and once they’re issued—’ he scrabbled amongst his papers for the relevant one, and read: ‘no information pertaining to the invention can be disclosed to anyone not already aware of it’. So you see, General, there’s nothing I can do.’
‘That’s a great shame,’ Patrick said, sighing and trying his best to sound suitably despondent. ‘Because I didn’t want to do this.’ He met Wallis’ eyes, then, without looking away, opened his briefcase on the chair next to him, and removed a file which he pushed across the desk.
Wallis stared at him, then pulled the file towards himself and opened it with a sigh, which rapidly turned into a kind of squeak, which I’d be ashamed to make, Patrick decided.
‘Where did you get this information?’ Wallis demanded.
‘From our mutual friend, Robert Kinsey,’ George replied, happily throwing Kinsey under the bus, and all the buses following that first one.
‘Kinsey never gave you this list.’
‘Did I say he’d given it to us?’
‘How did you get hold of it?’
‘Secretary Willis, does it matter how?’ George asked. ‘We have it, multiple copies of it, in fact. That‘s what’s important.’
‘You can’t possibly hope to blackmail me with this list.’
Patrick feigned a look of pain and looked at his friend. ‘I’m hurt, George, terribly hurt that Secretary Willis should think we’re trying to blackmail him.’
‘I’m hurt too, Patrick, and it impinges on my honour as an officer and a gentleman.’ George was clearly enjoying himself. ‘As I’m sure it does yours. I mean, how many stars do we have between us, Patrick?’
‘I only had one star, but you already have three, George, and will probably get your fourth pretty soon.’ In December, if John’s remembered correctly.
‘So we have four stars between us, and no end of medals for gallantry, and courage, and saving the lives of thousands.’
‘Millions in your case, George. The entire planet, in fact.’ I’m enjoying this as well. Who can we terrorise next?
‘That’s right, Patrick. The entire planet. And what has Secretary Wallis done in the same time period, Patrick?’
‘Fuck all, as far as I can see, George. What did his bio say? A degree in Political Science from Florida National University.’
‘Florida National University? Is that a real college, or did you just make it up, Patrick?’
‘Oh, it’s a real place, George. I’m sure Secretary Wallis can tell us all about it, can’t you?’ He turned back to Wallis, who was looking decidedly pale.
‘What do you want?’
‘We want to know exactly what jig there is going on with the SGC, Area 51, and Samantha Carter,’ Patrick told him, his previous playful and joking tone of voice replaced with that of the CEO of one of the top US companies. ‘We want all the secrecy orders placed on the work coming out of the SGC and Area 51 released back to the SGC, and we want you to cancel all the licenses and contracts you’ve issued on that work. Furthermore, any projects taken from any of the scientists who work within the Stargate Programme must be returned, and any patents already issued changed into their names.’
‘And I want to know exactly how you got away with taking all this work from my people,’ George added. ‘And where Samantha Carter comes into it?’
Wallis glared at them, but he already knew he’d lost. These two men held the upper hand, and they all knew it. He took a deep breath. ‘What do I get if I give you all that?’
‘You get to live.’
Wallis made another squeak. ‘You’re threatening to kill me?’
‘Not ourselves, no.’ George took over the conversation. ‘But Harry Maybourne was on death row for being a traitor before he escaped, as are several others who were involved with the NID. We don’t have to do anything to you. The country will take care of that, if they let you live that long.’
‘So, what?’ Wallis looked puzzled. ‘You won’t hand me over?’
‘Oh, we’ll hand you over, but we’ll make sure you’re not on death row.’
Wallis wiped his brow. ‘I’m not sure living’s the better option,’ he muttered.
‘It will be for your wife and daughters.’
*****
‘So how did it all work?’ Jack asked, passing around bottles of beer to the other five men in his sitting room. ‘How was Carter involved?’
‘It was initially all done by the NID, when they were in charge of Area 51,’ George began, ‘and that may date back to the Roswell incident in 1947, which we now know was real. In fact, any research which came out of Area 51 was automatically put under a secrecy order as a matter of course, and Major Carter possibly didn’t know she was doing anything wrong—’
‘Are you saying it wasn’t wrong for her to steal work from my scientists and pass it off as hers?’ Rodney demanded, sitting up from his previous slouch on John’s shoulder.
‘I’m not saying that at all, Rodney,’ Hammond said in exasperation. ‘That’s an entirely different issue. Let me explain this first, then you can interrogate me about Samantha Carter.’
‘Yeah, Rodney,’ John said in a low voice, so only Patrick, sitting next to him, heard him. ‘Button it!’
‘As I said, all project work emerging from Area 51 automatically went under a secrecy order,’ George continued, ‘which effectively gave the DoD control of it, and they passed it on to one of their own scientists to complete. From there, licenses were issued to various government contractors to develop and market the relevant product. The same thing happens with NASA, which also has its budget set and funded from Congress.’
‘But they’re an established government agency. We’re not,’ Jack said with a frown. ‘Our budget has to be hidden between the lines, which means we can’t argue and justify our funding like they can.’
‘Which is exactly the argument we used with the Secretary of Defence,’ Patrick told Jack. ‘He just didn’t listen to us at first.’
‘So we changed that,’ George added, a glint in his eye.
‘Indeed, we did.’ Patrick grinned at him.
‘We can get to the juicy bits later,’ John said. ‘I’m interested in this as it ties into the Special Access Programme where I did my TDY last year.’
‘I may talk to you about it later,’ George told him, and nodded, then took up the tale again. ‘The arrangement the NID had with the DoD was initially all above board, but pretty quickly, it wasn’t. From what we’ve been able to discover, instead of putting the contract or agreement out to tender – as it should do with the sort of product and solutions coming out of Area 51 – they were only offered to one enterprise, or a couple at most – and we’ll probably discover they’re all involved with the rogue NID or the Committee in one way or another – meaning there was absolutely no best value procurement as set out in…What was it, Patrick?’
‘Federal Acquisition Regulation,’ Patrick answered, but the blank looks on the surrounding faces made him elaborate. ‘Basically – and this is very basic – Government Departments have to at least try to get the best value for money, but it isn’t limited purely to price. Other elements are taken into consideration, such as the quality of the final product, the time to delivery, and confidence in the contractor – so you wouldn’t ask a man who only builds garden sheds to build you a house, for example.’ Now there were nods of understanding.
‘So,’ George continued, ‘essentially, the DoD agent offering the contact got a kickback, which was then shared among the various other people involved, and from what we can tell, some pretty big kickbacks were made, and the NID in particular levied a ‘service charge’ for their involvement, and after they were removed from the oversight of Area 51 in 2000, Hank Landry continued their established practice – for a fee of his own, of course.’
‘What did Carter get out of all this?’ Jack asked. ‘Was she one of the ones given kickbacks?’
Patrick and George exchanged glances, and George gave a single nod.
‘It’s complicated,’ Patrick began. ‘And not entirely clear, because some of the big players in the NID, like Harry Maybourne, are now out of the picture, but from what we can tell, Samantha Carter didn’t receive any direct financial advantage for this, but, and it’s a big but, she gained…shall we call it goodwill?’
‘You’ve just spent two minutes talking, Patrick, and I’m none the wiser,’ Jack complained. ‘What do you mean, goodwill? How has that benefitted her?’
‘Right now, in May 2002, it hasn’t actually benefitted her very much, aside from a faster promotion to 04 than would have usually been the case. It has, however, allowed her to be seen as a ‘team player’ – Secretary Wallis’ words, not mine. We asked him, however, if being a team player would help her achieve all her promotions sooner rather than later, and he admitted it would. He’s already got her in line for a bump up to Lieutenant Colonel well below the zone.’
Jack frowned. ‘That didn’t happen until 2004 last time. Why would that be sooner this time?’
‘It’s not clear it is sooner, Jack,’ George told him. ‘Wallis just said ‘below the zone’.’
‘So that’s all she gains? A below the zone promotion? What about all the work she took from the scientists at Area 51?’ Rodney asked.
‘That’s something entirely different,’ Patrick said. ‘We’re getting to that. Now, is everyone happy they understand the secrecy part?’
Jack gave a quick look around. ‘Yeah, I think so.’
‘Right. Two other issues involved are Intellectual Property, and Patents, and this is where Samantha Carter is involved. Is everyone clear what I’m talking about? Rodney, I know you know, as you already hold a number of patents. Jack, Daniel, do you?’
‘I’m good,’ Daniel said, while Jack just nodded, and Patrick got the feeling he was getting frustrated at the time the explanations were taking.
‘As of this morning, all civilian contracts at the SGC and Area 51 are under review,’ George said, then held up a hand. ‘All except that of Rodney, and you, Dr Jackson, and those of the scientists Rodney brought into employment, like Doctors Zelenka and Kusanagi. It transpires that most of the civilian contracts – those of the scientists, to be exact – have clauses automatically written into them giving ownership of any resulting patent or intellectual property to the DoD.’
Rodney sat bolt upright and opened his mouth, but John dragged him back down.
‘Wait until they’ve finished before bombarding them with questions. You may find they answer them before you ask them.’
‘Fine!’ Rodney muttered and satisfied himself with glaring at George and Patrick alternately.
‘As it stands,’ George continued, ignoring Rodney’s glares, ‘Major Carter retains the contractor-exclusive-rights of the patents arising from the products and solutions sent to the DoD by her.’
Daniel held up his hand. ‘Sorry, sir, but I don’t understand what you’ve just said. What are contractor-exclusive-rights, and what do they do?’
‘I’ll explain that one, but chip in if you know more than I do, Rodney,’ Patrick said. ‘Contractor-exclusive-rights means the intellectual property and or proprietary technology—’
Daniel’s hand was in the air again. ‘Sorry, Patrick. I’m an archeologist, remember?’
‘Let me, Dad,’ Rodney said, pushing himself upright again, and batting away John’s hands. ‘Intellectual property is basically any idea you might have, and proprietary technology is anything your ideas result in, so I own the IP of the encryption programme I wrote years ago, right? It’s not a physical object, but I still own it. In the other timeline, I designed a new power source. That’s something physical, so it comes under proprietary technology. With me so far?’
Daniel nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘So I claim contractor-exclusive-rights to my encryption programme,’ Rodney continued. ‘Lots of companies use it, but I still own the IP, so I have contractor-exclusive-rights over it. Likewise, if my power source were put into production by, say, Dad, Sheppard Industries would produce it, probably under license, but I still hold exclusive rights to it; I’ve just chosen to give SI permission to make and market it.
‘What Carter has done, I suspect, is make herself the owner of any IP and PT, so when the relevant patent or maybe secrecy order runs out, ownership of the IP and PT revert to her and she can then do what she wants with it.’
‘Thank you, Rodney. That was very clear and concise,’ George told him. ‘One thing we’re still unsure about, though, is if Major Carter gave herself contractor-exclusive-rights, or if it was done by someone at the DoD, maybe because they had no idea who the original scientist was.’
‘Okay,’ Daniel was still frowning, ‘but you said that in a lot of cases, the work taken from the SGC and Area 51 was given to DoD scientists. Who gets the contractor-exclusive-rights in those cases?’
‘Good question.’ Patrick smiled at Daniel. ‘And one we’ve been asking ourselves, and asking the SecDef to find the answer to, but we suspect the DoD kept those, as they are allowed to do so under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1952.’ He held up a hand. ‘I’m not going to go into detail, don’t worry, but basically, the same Act the secrecy orders were issued under, also grants the DoD unlimited rights to an item or process if the scientists involved had received federal funding, which both the SGC and Area 51 do.’
Now John was frowning. ‘So, regardless of Carter and all the secrecy orders, the DoD owns anything to come out of the SGC and Area 51?’
‘No. They have unlimited rights to use it. Ownership of it still belongs to the scientist involved.’
‘Which is Carter, because of her contractor-exclusive-rights, correct?’
‘Correct, for the moment.’ Patrick sighed. His head was aching with all the thinking he was doing, even though he’d made good notes on everything he was talking about. Still, it should be much easier going forward. ‘Much depends on Carter herself. It is possible she’s unaware she’s been granted dozens of contractor-exclusive-rights. No, Jack, I said it’s a possibility,’ Patrick said in response to Jack’s snort of disbelief. ‘We have to give her the benefit of doubt. If she’s unaware, and the wording in the contracts permits it, she can transfer the rights back to the originator if she wishes. Even if she is aware, she may decide to do the right thing anyway, but what we’re hoping is that all the secrecy orders, patents, and contractor-exclusive-rights, are simply done away with, and we start again with a clean slate.
‘Regardless, Secretary Wallis is very motivated in getting everything resolved to how it should be, and his position means he can do things which no one else would be able to, like simply rip up the contracts which have the ugly clause in them, and issue backdated new ones.’
‘Why backdated?’ Daniel asked.
‘So any rights accrued by serving x number of years – like pension and sickness rights – are continued from the original contract date.’ Patrick looked around the room. ‘Is everyone clear about what’s happened, and what we’re doing to resolve it?’
John held up a hand. ‘I have a question.’ Patrick nodded to him to continue. ‘Why is Wallis so very motivated? What hold or dirt do you have on him?’
Patrick and George looked at each other, and they both smiled, but they weren’t happy, friendly smiles. They were predatory and vindictive, and it was Patrick who spoke for them both.
‘Robert Wallis is the key to bringing down the rogue NID and the Committee, and possibly the Trust before it even forms.’
*****
Chapter 19
Chapter Text
At the beginning of the week of John’s graduation, the whole of SG-1 went down to Maxwell AFB with him, including Teal’c who had to wear a beanie hat the whole time, but who didn’t want to miss out on a party, much to John’s disappointment as he really hadn’t wanted to go to the graduation ball.
‘What, miss out on you and Jack in your dress blues?’ Rodney asked. ‘Not a chance, right, Daniel?’
‘Right.’
‘But there’ll be dancing, and—’
‘And I know damn well you can dance, John Sebastian Sheppard, because I know your mum taught both you and Dave.’
‘And General Hammond is coming down for the graduation ceremony and the ball,’ Jack added, grinning at John’s discomfort. Always good to see someone else in the hot seat.
‘Oh, great. So there’ll be seven of us, because Dad’s coming too, all men, at a dinner. How’s that going to look?’
‘Like a group of men at a graduation ball,’ Jack answered. ‘Suck it up, buttercup. It’s happening, like it or not. Now, the important stuff. Can I fly your plane down?’
In the end, it wasn’t an entirely bachelor party as Radek and Miko, which meant Kay Spencer too, came down too.
‘I need to find a husband in the military,’ Kay grumbled to Miko as they gathered for pre-ball drinks at the hotel Patrick had booked for everyone. ‘I mean, Rodney and Radek look great, as does Doc J, but there’s something about a man in uniform…’
‘I totally agree,’ Miko nodded, ‘but I have to say my favourite uniform is the Marine Corps blue one.’
‘God, yes. Do the Air Force ever get to wear a sword?’
‘Not sure, but it’s still hot, even without the sword.’
‘Will you two stop it?’ Rodney ordered. ‘I’m feeling decidedly inferior here, and I’ve never felt inferior in my entire life!’
‘Well, it’s not like your suit is inferior,’ Kay commented, looking at him critically. ‘The damn thing screams expensive-tailor-made, as does yours, Doc J. In fact, I’m the one who should feel inferior. I don’t have a designer dress, a uniform, or a PhD.’
‘Yeah, about that,’ Rodney said, and beckoned Radek with a jerk of his head. ‘I’ve spoken to Darren Waters in Boston about you staying here with us and writing your dissertation remotely. He’s still willing to be your dissertation supervisor if you want him to be, or you can choose between Miko, Radek, and myself. Either way, he says he’s on the end of a phone if you want him, and you’re welcome back in Boston at any time.’
Kay Spencer gazed at him, and, to his surprise, tears formed in her eyes. ‘Oh, you darling man,’ she cried, and flung her arms around him, almost knocking him over in her enthusiasm.
‘Well, there, there,’ he muttered, patting her back uncertainly. ‘Just don’t get make-up on my screaming expensive-tailor-made suit!’
‘Should I be concerned about you hugging my partner, Miss Spencer?’ John asked as he wandered over to see what was happening between the geeks, then he frowned. ‘What’s he said to make you cry? Shall I kick his butt for you?’
‘What happened to your concern for your partner?’ Rodney demanded as Kay gave a damp chuckle and accepted a handkerchief from Daniel to wipe her eyes.
‘Rodney’s just offered me a permanent post and said he’ll supervise my dissertation. Isn’t he an angel?’ Kay enthused, making John bray one of his donkey laughs.
‘He’s certainly something,’ Jack muttered to Daniel, who consequently snorted fruit juice up his nose and made his eyes water.
The ball itself was…interesting, Jack decided. As a group of eight men with just two women, they attracted a fair amount of attention, and they attracted even more when Jack and Daniel got up to dance together, followed by John and Rodney. Just to mess with people’s heads, after dancing with all of their menfolk, Miko and Kay danced a waltz together, although they appeared to argue over who was going to lead, with Kay coming out the winner, mostly because she was taller than tiny Miko.
‘Why is that officer glaring at General Hammond?’ Radek asked Patrick at one point in the evening as they danced together. ‘He has not taken his eyes from him the whole evening long.’
Patrick glanced to where Radek indicated and saw Lt Gen Nelson Arreguin watching their table through narrowed eyes. He didn’t appear to have a partner with him, and Patrick wondered what brought the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations to a graduation ball in Alabama, for him to spend the evening glaring at an adversary. ‘He’s a member of a group who opposes the SGC, and appears to have a personal grudge against George,’ Patrick told the scientist in an undertone. ‘Thanks. I’ll keep an eye on him.’
One rather pleasant surprise was made during the speeches part of the evening, without which no military event, it appeared, could be held. John had, apparently, been a member of the Squadron Staff – a staff-student council, with the student body for each year group known as a squadron – and had held the title of Chief of Student Affairs, responsible for squadron welfare and morale.
‘What made you accept that role?’ Jack asked him curiously. ‘I wouldn’t have put you down as someone particularly welfare minded.’
‘Which is why I accepted it,’ John told him. ‘It was a weak area for me, and the men and women of any future command I might have deserve better, especially if it were a remote command.’
It was a reasonable comment to anyone who overheard their conversation, but the men and women gathered around that particular dining table – bar Kay Spencer – knew just how important welfare and morale would be on the city of Atlantis.
A further surprise came the following day at the actual graduation ceremony when John received the Commandant’s Award for graduating at the top of his class, and Rodney was almost bursting with pride when his red-cheeked partner returned to his seat clutching an engraved glass plaque.
‘It’s just a bit of glass, Rodney,’ John said, trying to play down his award while his partner proudly examined it and passed it along the line of chairs they occupied for the others to see.
‘It’s recognition that you aren’t the idiot you like to play sometimes,’ Rodney corrected. ‘Some other folk should take note,’ he added, looking pointedly at Jack, sitting next to him, who rolled his eyes. He turned his attention back to John. ‘And now we need to decide on the area you want to cover for your PhD dissertation.’
John stared at him for a moment, then leaned down and banged his head on his cliched fists. ‘Please, God, will somebody make him stop?’
*****
SG-1 split forces in the week following John’s graduation. Daniel and Teal’c accompanied Janet Fraiser down to the SGC Research Base in Antarctica, while Jack, Rodney, and John went out to Nevada to meet with Patrick Sheppard and discuss the stalled X-302 project, and also to meet the Asgard engineer Thor had selected to work with them on the ship which would be shortly named Prometheus.
‘God of forethought, fire, and crafty counsel,’ Jack complained just a half hour into their flight to Nevada in a C130. ‘Is ‘Prometheus’ really what we want to name our first spaceship?’
‘They were never going to go for ‘Enterprise’,’ Rodney told him absently, busy with his laptop. ‘Carter told you that last time.’
‘How do you know that?’ Jack asked, frowning at him.
Rodney looked up. ‘Because she told me. Why?’
‘Nah, no reason. I’m bored, and I hate this plane. Remind me again, John, why we couldn’t come in your plane?’
John laughed. ‘Because we’re on official SGC business, and the Air Force won’t allow a private plane to land at one of their top secret bases, even if it is carrying USAF personnel. Still,’ he added as an afterthought, ‘if I’d known they were going to send us to Nevada in a Hercules, I might have argued a bit more.’
‘It’s punishment, that’s what it is,’ Jack said from between his palms, as his hands were covering his face.
‘Punishment for what?’
‘Punishment for anything any of us have ever done, ever,’ he added in emphasis. ‘Punishment for me having that last slice of pie when I knew Morrison from SG-11 wanted it. Maybe punishment for when I wouldn’t play housie with my little cousin when I was five, and she was four.’
John eyed him thoughtfully. Jack rarely mentioned his family, except for the grandfather who left him the cabin in Minnesota, and that infrequently. When he thought about it, though, he had rarely mentioned his family in the other timeline. No one had even known he’d been married until his father’s funeral. This time, everyone was up in all his business, to the point his father had got himself quarters in the mountain. That reminds me...
‘Jack, why does my father have his own room at the SGC?’ he asked the man who was rapidly becoming his best friend – other than Rodney, of course. Rodney was…Rodney was his soulmate, his lifelong partner. Friendship was far too weak a word to use in connection with it.
Jack frowned at the question. ‘I didn’t know he did, which is odd, as I usually oversee that kind of thing.’
‘He wanted to be able to come and go as he pleased without having to bother MS Grimes every time, plus he wanted to leave various personal items so he didn’t have to cart them around everywhere,’ Rodney informed them, still concentrating on his laptop. ‘John, have a look at this, will you? It’s the math for the naquadria hyperspace generators, but there’s a problem with it somewhere.’
He held out his laptop, then frowned at the looks he was getting from the two other men. ‘What?’
‘How did you know that stuff about Dad’s quarters and MS Grimes?’ John asked, taking the laptop from Rodney.
Rodney frowned. ‘I’m not sure. I probably heard Dad mention it.’
‘That’s something I wanted to ask you,’ Jack said suddenly. ‘Only I keep forgetting. Why do you call Patrick ‘dad’, Rodders?’
Actually thinking about the question, rather than give an instant reply, took a moment. ‘The quick answer is because he asked me to, but it goes deeper than that, I think.’ Rodney paused, tapping his finger against his lip. ‘My parents were a nightmare. I was far too intelligent for them to cope with, and my eidetic memory meant they couldn’t get away with tricks most parents do, like casually ‘forgetting’ promises they’d made. I don’t honestly think they meant to have me when they did. I was passed off as a ‘honeymoon’ baby, but I suspect I was the reason they got married, not a product of it. They much preferred Jeannie, my baby sister, who came along four years later.
‘I think Patrick became the father I never experienced, and quite by chance, one day, I happened to call him ‘Dad’ without realising it, and he looked so pleased that I continued.’ He shrugged. ‘I guess it sounds odd to people who don’t know our actual relationship, but I gave up caring what other people thought a long time ago.’
John squeezed his hand and gave him a little smile. Jack watched them, glad the…’odd’ couple had found each other sooner than last time. It’ll save them both a lot of heart-ache. Hey ho. I sound like an old man. Fuck! I am an old man compared to this pair. I’m closer in age to Patrick than I am John. What the fuck?!
*****
White Rock Research Station, Antarctica, was in the middle of snow. Not a snowy field, or a snowy road. Just…snow. Daniel sighed as he viewed all the…snow. This is why I’m an archeologist. We work in sunshine, not…snow.
Two snowmobiles were waiting to take them to the research centre, and as Daniel climbed into one, next to Janet, they saw the plane taxiing round to take off again.
‘Why is it leaving us?’ Janet asked rather nervously.
‘Jack warned me of this,’ Daniel told her. ‘It’s something about the electronics and the cold. I should probably have listened to him a bit better. He did say it’d come back for us in two days, though.’
‘Two days of nothing but snow,’ Janet muttered, just loud enough for Daniel to hear over the noise of the snowmobile engine. ‘I wonder why this thing isn’t affected by the cold?’
‘Built for it, I suppose.’
The Research Station comprised an enormous dome made up of segmented hexagons over what appeared to be a group of prefabricated buildings. Which makes sense, I suppose, since everything needed to be flown in, and still needs to be flown in.
They were shown directly into the quarantine lab, where the block of ice containing Ayiana was being kept. I must remember not to call her that until Dr Osbourne names her. Damn Jack for giving me all this extra info!
‘Keep your coats on as we’re maintaining the lab at freezing level to maintain the specimen,’ Dr Woods told them as Janet made to unzip her jacket.
‘Ayiana,’ Osbourne said sharply to Woods. ‘This is a person. Give her the dignity of a name.’
Woods scowled at him, and Daniel tried to recall everything Jack had said about the pair. I don’t remember him mentioning animosity between them, but I suppose it is Jack. He’s not…very good at emotions.
The large slab of ice was lying on a table fitted with drainage holes, much like Daniel had seen in the pyramids in Egypt where the Pharaohs were embalmed before being placed in their tombs.
‘Ayiana,’ Janet repeated. ‘What a lovely name. How did you discover what she was called?’
‘We didn’t,’ Woods answered before Osbourne could open his mouth. ‘Osbourne named her with no discussion with the rest of us. Some family Cherokee name, he says. I told him there was no way this woman was Cherokee, and she’s certainly not a member of his family, but it didn’t bother him at all. So much for science, eh?’
Osbourne’s lips were pressed tightly together, but he made no comment. I don’t remember Jack mentioning this either.
‘How do you know it’s a woman?’ Janet asked.
‘Ultrasound readings,’ Osbourne answered. ‘But we’re not 100% certain.’
‘And her age?’
‘Our best guess is between 25 and 35, but the really important thing is our analysis of the oxygen content in the ice suggests it’s several million years old.’
‘Several million?’ Janet repeated. ‘That’s way earlier than the current estimates of human evolution. The agreed date is under nine hundred thousand years. This information will change everything.’
‘But because of the top secret classification of the Stargate programme, we won’t be able to release the information until the programme is declassified,’ Woods complained. ‘It’s ridiculous that we can’t share our findings.’
‘But we knew that before we signed up,’ Francine Michaels pointed out, trying to soothe the two men.
‘So the beta gate was put down here way before Ra brought the Giza gate,’ Daniel said, interested in the findings, even though he knew most of it from Jack’s memories.
‘Way, way, before,’ Woods agreed. ‘This would turn anthropology on its head if we could disseminate our findings.’
‘But there’s more,’ Francine Michaels said, hardly able to contain her excitement. ‘We’ve pulled an intact tissue sample from her.’
‘Intact,’ Janet repeated, her eyes wide. ‘No. Surely not.’
‘I do not follow your discussion,’ Teal’c said to Janet. ‘Why do intact cells excite you?’
‘It means Ayiana is still alive.’
*****
Patrick Sheppard met the three men at the dry dock for Prometheus. Patrick’s eyes were sparkling as he greeted them, then led them down to the bay where the X-303 appeared to be almost completed.
‘I want to introduce you to someone,’ Patrick said, smiling. ‘ Váli, I’d like to introduce you to Colonel Jack O’Neill. I believe you already know my son, Lt Colonel John Sheppard, and Dr Rodney McKay? Jack, this is Váli, Thor’s brother, who is here to help us finish the ship, and to install Asgard beaming technology, sensors, scanners, and shields, and hyper-drive.’
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Váli,’ Jack said, holding out his hand. ‘Your brother saved my teammate’s life.’
‘That’s Thor all over,’ Váli said, much to the shock of the three recently arrived men. Váli isn’t anything like Thor, Jack decided. Even his speech pattern is different. It’s much more…human-normal.
‘When d’you think the ship will be completed, Váli?’ Jack asked, then looked at the Asgard in shock as the tiny grey alien hummed before he replied.
‘Hmmm. Three or four weeks, I reckon. Probably plan test flights for five or six weeks’ time to be sure.’
Nope, nothing like Thor.
The four men followed Váli as he led them into the engine room of the ship, and Rodney stood stock-still for a moment, before rushing forward with grabby hands.
‘Will you explain how the Asgard hyperdrives work?’ Rodney asked hopefully.
‘Of course, Dr McKay. I’d be happy to,’ Váli answered, and his facial features shifted, and Jack realised he was smiling. Well, fuck me! I never knew the Asgard could smile, not in all the years I knew Thor.
‘Want to see the rest of the ship?’ Patrick asked John and Jack. ‘I think we’ve lost Rodney.’
‘Probably for the next couple of weeks,’ John sighed, as they followed Patrick down an internal corridor of the ship. ‘Can he stay with you, Dad? Or is there somewhere on the ship he can stay?’
‘I’ve got a room on base, but it’s not big enough for two, and I’ve also taken an apartment in the outskirts of Vegas. I doubt we’ll get him off base, though, so I’ll get someone to find a bed for him somewhere.’
‘And make sure he uses it,’ John instructed his father. ‘And eats regularly. You know what he’s like.’
Jack could hear the conversation between father and son, but he wasn’t really paying attention to them. He was more interested in the changes Sheppard Aeronautical had made to the ship.
He knew Prometheus had been wildly over budget and took much longer than expected last time, but it looked as though SA, with help from the Asgard, had managed to pull it back to the original time frame, and within, or close to, the original budget. I have to wonder if some of the extra cost last time went straight into someone’s pocket. Carter was overseeing the build, as usual, but she has no experience of that type of project, or any building project, really.
In terms of the changes, the quality of everything was better, as was the design. Last time Prometheus had looked as though it was designed on the back of an envelope, but this ship was…sleeker, more streamlined.
Jack looked around to check there was no one close to them. ‘John, d’you have any idea if the original Prometheus was designed by Rodders and Zelenka?’
‘They used some of Rodney’s designs, I think. The technical data, certainly, but much of the aesthetics had to be changed because of changes to where the engines were placed, for example. I saw the original design Rodney made – Radek didn’t join the programme until Atlantis – and it was elegant and more streamlined.’
‘We found some of the original drawings,’ Patrick told them. ‘And the design changes. It was as though someone was determined to remove anything Rodney had contributed, aside from the technical data and calculations, which could be passed off as anyone’s. We were in time to change some of the design before the ship was completed, and were able to modify some of what had been done, especially as we have an almost unlimited supply of trinium, thanks to the new mining site SG-11 found. It makes for a much more graceful ship.’
‘I think the alterations were made to remove Rodders’ name from the project entirely,’ Jack sighed. ‘Remember, his contract means he holds his own patents and the DoD or NID couldn’t steal them. That’s also why he and Radek were refused permission to see the ships being built. The X-302 and 303.’
‘There are certainly payments due to Rodney and Radek,’ Patrick said. ‘And I’ll make sure they’re made. SecAir was very clear in his letter of intent that intellectual property would be honoured, despite what objections might be made.’
‘Good,’ Jack said, and meant it. I’m so glad Patrick and SI were brought into the fold. I can trust him, unlike many of the previous contractors. I’m certain they were the cause of the leak to that journalist, Julia Donovan. Hopefully, with the ship being completed sooner than last time, and many of the sub-contractors being changed, the NID or Committee, or whoever the damn hi-jackers were affiliated to, won’t be able to steal the ship and strand her and us halfway across the galaxy again.
*****
So far, everything’s gone as Jack told me, Daniel thought. Ayiana had been thawed out, slowly and carefully, and was indeed alive. After a few worrying minutes, and the use of a defibrillator, Ayiana was breathing on her own. The same debate about current anthropological thinking being rewritten was had between themselves, with only Teal’c, looking on in his usual impassive manner, refraining from contributing to the discussion.
Norm Woods wanted to go out and take a further core sample of the ice where Ayiana was found, to prove the age of the ice, since a sample of one is no proof, he reminded them. Remembering the warning Jack had given him, Daniel casually suggested Woods and Osbourne check the weather forecast before venturing out. Woods clearly wanted to ignore his advice, but Osbourne checked the computer and sighed.
‘We can’t go out in this, Norm. It’d be stupid.’
‘But we’re leaving in a couple of days,’ Woods protested.
‘And if we go out in that storm,’ Osbourne indicated the monitor, ‘we might not go home at all.’
‘Fine!’ Woods stomped off, and Daniel watched him with a worried expression.
‘He’s not stupid enough to go out anyway, is he?’ he asked Harold Osbourne.
Osbourne frowned, then stood up, hurriedly. ‘Yeah, he is that stupid! I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry.’ He gave Daniel a half smile. ‘He’s a good guy, really, but six months down here with just the three of us is enough to drive anyone stir-crazy.’
Daniel smiled and nodded as Osbourne left to follow Woods, but his thoughts were very different. Neither you nor Dr Michaels have gone stir-crazy, have you? And you wouldn’t put your colleagues in danger by going out in bad weather either. He made to follow the two scientists when the internal phone rang. It was Janet Fraiser.
‘Daniel? I need your anthropology expertise. Can you come and tell me what you think of these?’
‘On my way.’
When he got to the observation room overlooking the quarantine lab where Ayiana was laid on a gurney, a monitor was displaying several different brain wave patterns, one of an EEG Fraiser had taken of her daughter, Cassandra when under the effects of a genetic experiment made by the Goa’uld Nirrti, when Cassandra developed telekinesis, one from Jack from when he’d had the download of the Ancient repository, and a final one unnamed.
‘Whose is that?’ Daniel asked, pointing to the unnamed pattern which matched the other two almost perfectly.
‘Ayiana’s. And all three are very similar.’
‘They’re almost identical,’ Daniel said, relieved he wouldn’t have to push Janet to make the link between advanced brain activity and Ancients.
‘I think Ayiana is one of the gatebuilders, Daniel. A living Ancient.’
Just as Daniel was about to answer, there came a thump, and then a shout from the quarantine lab.
‘Dr Fraiser!’ Teal’c called out, sounding unusually concerned. ‘Dr Michaels’ has collapsed.’
*****
Moving on from Area 37, where Prometheus was being built, to Area 51 proper, Patrick drove Jack and John to see what advances Sheppard Aeronautical had made with the X-302, the prototype which would become the F-302 Fighter Interceptor. Rodney refused to join them as he was ‘busy, busy, go away.’
‘I’m not sure if Thor meant him to,’ Patrick began, ‘but Váli took one look at the design of the jet engines and didn’t stop nagging until I agreed to let him ‘adjust’ them.’
‘Adjust,’ Jack repeated flatly.
‘That’s what he said.’ Patrick grinned at the other two men.
‘This is what you refused to tell me on the phone?’ John asked his father. ‘Even though we have the most secure cell phones on the planet?’
‘I wanted it to be a surprise.’
‘You do know Rodders is going to go ape when he finds out, don’t you?’ Jack said with a sigh. ‘I knew we should have insisted he came with us.’
‘I think you’re just going to have to accept that SG-1 will be without him for a while,’ John said, resigning himself to lonely and cold nights until they could entice Rodney back to Colorado.
‘But he’s our geek!’ Jack wasn’t pouting. Air Force Colonels do not pout.
‘I guess we’ll have to make do with Radek or Miko,’ John said, then flinched when Jack pointed a finger at him.
‘I’m telling them you said that.’
‘Sneak,’ John muttered.
‘Boys!’ Patrick grinned when Jack huffed and gave him a look of indignation. ‘Fine. Men! I haven’t told you the best bit yet.’
‘There’s more?’ Jack demanded.
‘Yep. Váli also told me he’s pretty certain he can work out how to use naquadria with the hyper-drive. He says its own instability can be used to determine the decay rate, and that irradiating it with low energy neutrons—’ He paused when both Jack and John groaned.
‘It’s no good, Dad,’ John told him. ‘I need to see this stuff written down before I have any chance of understanding it.’
‘And I just don’t understand it full stop,’ Jack said wryly. ‘If Váli say’s it’ll work, that’s good enough for me.’
Patrick huffed. ‘It’s actually very interesting, and I’m sure Rodney will appreciate it. Okay.’ He held up a hand as both men opened their mouths. ‘Fine. Váli thinks his idea will work and is terribly excited about it. He wants to go to Langara to see it in its natural form – and yes, John, I explained it doesn’t occur naturally. I dissuaded him because George says the three states are still working out their new alliance, but Váli wants to take some naquadria back to the Ida Galaxy to play with – his words, not mine.’
‘So we have a workable hyper-drive in the X-302?’ Jack asked. Now that would be good news, although I can’t think of an instance when we would need to send an F-302 through hyperspace. Hmm. It might lead to the production of a smaller ship. Like one the size of a Puddle Jumper.
‘Not yet, but we probably will have soon,’ Patrick told him.
‘And at least we won’t lose the prototype trying to get the gate away from earth,’ Jack said, nodding thoughtfully. ‘That cost us time and money last time. How soon do you think before we get it into production?’
‘No idea,’ Patrick said promptly. ‘We’re waiting on Váli to test the naquadria and decide how to use it in the hyper-drive for the X-302s. Meanwhile, because we’re putting the hyper-drives into the X-303 as we’re building her, she should be completed this side of Christmas.’
‘That’s…eighteen months earlier than before,’ Jack said in astonishment. ‘She’ll be ready to go to Pegasus as soon as the Expedition is.’
‘You still want us to leave before we did last time?’ John asked.
‘I think we have to. We know what problems will face us out there, or, rather, face you. As soon as we can get our hands on a couple of ZPMs and can legitimately find mention of the city, we need to prepare an expedition. Without the IOA this time.’
‘Amen to that,’ John muttered. ‘Assholes.’
*****
It took a little fast talking, but Daniel persuaded Janet Fraiser to let him chat further to Ayiana – wearing a mask, gloves, and scrubs over his normal clothing – while she dealt with Drs Michaels and Osbourne.
‘They’re both running a high fever, and I have no idea why,’ Janet said to Daniel with a sigh, standing a distance from him with her hands on her scrub-covered hips.
This is where I need to be careful, Daniel thought, but before he could decide what to say, Teal’c, standing on the opposite side of Ayiana’s bed to Daniel, spoke up.
‘Dr Michaels took and studied the tissue sample from the gate-builder,’ he reminded them. ‘Could this be the source of her illness?’
Fraiser frowned. ‘I suppose it’s possible, but then, so are several other things. Teal’c, I wish you’d agree to wearing shielding equipment, just in case it is something from Ayiana.’
‘I have no need of shielding. My symbiote will protect or cure me of any infection.’
‘If it is an infection,’ Janet said doubtfully. ‘Did you notice that small cut on her arm is now healed? That doesn’t equate with her having an infection. The opposite, in fact.’
‘But it’s odd Ayiana could cure herself like that, isn’t it?’ Daniel said innocently. Come on, Janet. Add all these oddities together.
‘I suppose so, but I’d like to r—’
She was interrupted by a shout from Norm Woods. ‘Hi, Dr Fraiser! It’s Harold. He’s collapsed. Help me!’
All three of them rushed to where Woods’ shout came from, and discovered him kneeling beside Osbourne who was stretched out on the floor, sweating and having trouble breathing.
‘The same symptoms as Francine,’ Janet muttered. ‘I wish Colonel O’Neill and Rodney had come with us to help. Sam even.’
Daniel couldn’t disagree. He understood the reasons just he and Teal’c accompanied Janet, but right at the moment, they needed more people to help the sick, because if Osbourne has gone down, Woods won’t be far behind him. Fuck!
Teal’c carried Osbourne through to the makeshift infirmary, with Woods following behind him, clearly worried about his friend – frenemy? – but on the edge of panic himself. He’s worked it out as well. Teal’c, I just hope you make a suitable nurse as you’re likely to be the last man standing!
With nothing he could contribute to the two patients, Daniel returned to Ayiana, who was now sitting up in bed and looking around her curiously.
‘I wish I could make you understand,’ Daniel sighed, taking off his glasses to polish them. ‘You’re going to need to cure them all, and I need to get you to the point where you realise that. I just don’t know how to do it.’
By the time his glasses were clean and he’d put them back on, Ayiana was out of bed and peering through the glass into the makeshift infirmary. ‘Hi, what are you doing? Come back to bed, Ayiana, You’ll—’ He cut himself off before he finished his sentence. Not much point in telling a six million year old woman she might catch her death of cold. ‘What is it Ayiana?’ he asked as she motioned between herself and the two research scientists in gurneys on the other side of the window. ‘Have you worked it out?’
Much to his astonishment, Ayiana gave him a decisive nod, then opened the door between the two rooms.
‘Hey! Whoa, no, no,’ Janet said, trying to block Ayiana from reaching Michaels on the gurney.
‘No, let her,’ Daniel said, holding up his hand. ‘I think she can help.’
Ayiana glanced back at Daniel, and her mouth curved into a smile. She rested her hand on Michaels’ stomach and closed her eyes in concentration. Michaels gulped a breath, then began to cough, and then breathed freely, her clammy skin drying before their eyes.
‘What the hell?’ Janet muttered.
‘I think you were right about her being a gate-builder,’ Daniel said quietly. I know you were right! ‘Remember when Jack had the Ancient download, and Cassandra developed telekinesis? Both had advanced abilities, and I think Ayiana has them too. When I was talking to her, doing the babbling thing Jack teases me about? I’m pretty certain she could understand what I was saying after only a couple of minutes. Would it…I know you have a sample of Jack’s blood from when he had the download, and samples of Cassandra’s too. Would it be possible to compare them to Ayiana’s and see if there are any similarities?’
Turning suddenly, Janet stared at him. Did I go too far? She suddenly grinned at him. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.’
By now, Ayiana had moved on to Osbourne, and within what felt like seconds, he was breathing normally, and his temperature had visibly dropped. Ayiana moved away from the gurney and stumbled, but Teal’c caught her arm and steadied her, then led her back through to her bed.
‘Rest,’ Teal’c said gently. ‘Do not tire yourself.’
No, because the rest of us will need healing before long, Daniel thought. How soon?
*****
Two hours later, they dragged Rodney away from Váli to eat.
‘Because you have to!’ John said in exasperation. ‘Dad, tell him!’
‘But there’s so much—’ Rodney began before Patrick held up a hand.
‘And it’ll still be here after you’ve eaten. Váli’s not going anywhere, you know.’
‘Fine!’ Now Rodney pouted until John nudged him and grinned.
‘We’re suddenly moving forward, aren’t we?’ he said in a low voice as they walked through a more inhabited part of the base.
Rodney nodded and smiled. ‘We’ve done more in the last couple of months than in the whole of the last year.’
‘That was putting stuff into place so we could move on when we needed to. We’ve not wasted time.’
‘No, but I’m very aware that Ronon’s already been a Runner for four years, and we don’t know how to find him when we do get to Pegasus.’ Rodney sighed. ‘That’ll take time to work out, especially as we don’t know who’s going to lead the Expedition.’
‘Well, it won’t be Weir, thank God,’ John muttered.
‘No. Your virtue is safe.’
‘Fuck you.’
‘But not her, eh?’
The mess hall at Area 37 was much smaller than the one at the SGC, but then it served far fewer people since the underground base was relatively small – given it also housed a space ship almost 200 metres long and 65 metres high.
‘The staff here are aware of your allergies, Rodney,’ Patrick told him as they joined the short line. ‘After what happened at the SGC, no-one will take any chances with your food.’
‘Thanks, Dad,’ Rodney said gratefully as he realised he had a full choice of dishes. Choosing the goulash, he carried his tray over to the table Patrick indicated, and the four men concentrated on eating before feeling able to talk.
‘I didn’t realise how hungry I was,’ Jack commented, wiping his plate with a piece of bread roll. ‘I may get a second helping of that.’
Rodney frowned and shifted in his seat. ‘Anyone mind if I get back to…’ he waved a hand.
‘Yes!’ John and his father said at the same time.
‘You’ve had your head in an engine for the last five hours,’ John told him. ‘And it’s barely six weeks since you almost died.’
‘Seven,’ Rodney mumbled.
‘Sorry?’ John frowned at him.
‘I said seven weeks. It’s been seven weeks since I almost died. Thor said to be careful for a month or so. I’m even drinking coffee again, though Miko rations it.’ He scowled at the memory.
‘It’ll do you good,’ John said unsympathetically. ‘I always said you drank too much.’
‘A nagging wife is like a dripping tap. Nag, nag, nag,’ Rodney told him unexpectedly, and making Jack frown.
‘What’s that?’
Rodney grinned at him. ‘Like it? It’s from Proverbs.’
‘What proverbs?’
‘No, the book in the bible, Proverbs.’
John gave him a look of concern. ‘You’re an atheist. What were you doing reading the bible?’
‘Kay Spencer,’ Rodney said, as though that explained everything.
‘Huh?’
‘Kay Spencer. The scientist who came to your graduation ball, although I never understood why.’
‘I know who she is, McKay! Why did she make you read the bible? Was she punishing you for something?’ John grinned at his own joke.
‘I can’t remember how it began, but we were looking through it for useful phrases. It was weeks ago. I can’t remember.’
‘You have an eidetic memory, McKay, remember?’ John said dryly.
‘Which is how I remembered that proverb.’
Patrick was looking between them, his brows raised. ‘What are either of you taking about?’ He held up a hand as John opened his mouth. ‘No, I don’t want to know. Rodney, why don’t you head back to Váli before you make my head explode. What are you two doing now?’ he asked Jack and John, who looked at each other.
‘There’s no flight back until 17:00, so we have a couple of hours to kill,’ Jack said with a scowl. ‘Fucking C130’s.’
Patrick sighed. ‘I have special permission to have my plane here, so if you can find a pilot to return it to me by tomorrow, I’ll let you take it.’
Jack grinned and rubbed his hands together. ‘Dibs!’
John stared at him. ‘What?’
‘I call dibs on flying it.’
‘You don’t know if you can fly it yet. It’s much bigger than my Cessna.’
As Jack blew a raspberry at John, Patrick stood and shook his head. They’re all like children. Wonderful, amazing, fantastic children, but children all the same. How on earth does George put up with them 24/7?
*****
Chapter 20
Chapter Text
‘So, d’you think you can qualify with a hand-gun, Radek?’ Jack asked him, tapping his desk with a pencil. ‘Can’t let you off-world without it.’
Radek cocked an eye. ‘I have already been off-world on three occasions, and also I was in Czech People’s Army as conscript for four years. I am familiar with guns.’
‘I’ll still need you to qualify here. In any case, we’ve probably got different guns than you’re used to.’
Radek got to his feet. ‘I shall do so today,’ he said, and marched out of the CO’s office.
‘Yeah, you do that.’ Jack sighed and massaged his temples. It’s been one damn thing after another today. I wish George were here.
General Hammond had returned to Washington two days after Jack and John’s visit to Nevada, leaving Jack in charge of the SGC again. More worryingly, he’d taken Sam Carter with him. I hate not knowing what’s going on. That was probably the best thing about being a general. That and the private plane, of course. And Danny’s not back from Antarctica yet. He sighed, then looked up as the door opened.
‘I knocked, but you didn’t answer,’ John said, coming right into the room. ‘Are you busy?’
Jack tilted his head and considered the question. ‘I could be if I wanted or needed to be. Why?’
‘Because I’m bored,’ John answered, dropping into one of the chairs in front of the desk. ‘I have nothing to do here except be on SG-1. I’d even welcome some inventory lists, that’s how bored I am. Is there anything I can do?”
Jack facepalmed. ‘Doh! There’s been so much happening, I forgot all about you. About what you’ll do here,’ he added at John’s sudden frown. ‘Of course I didn’t forget about you, you.’ If anything, John now looked even more confused. I’m babbling, Jack told himself.
‘Okay, ignore all that. George and I did chat about what you’d do here. I want to get you ready to command the Atlantis Battalion from the get go, and my plan was to get you promoted to light-bird before you left, but you’ve done that all by yourself. Sooo. What would you say was your weakest point as Atlantis CMO?’
‘All of it, any of it, I guess,’ John answered with a wry smile. ‘I hadn’t had any advanced command training before I went out with the Expedition, other than of leading my helo unit. Being shunted to Antarctica was part of that reason, I think. I guess no one thought it was worth giving me any further training, as they all hoped I’d just leave when my ten was up. Next thing I knew, I was acting CO of Atlantis, trying to win the support of the mostly Marine unit hand picked by Sumner, trying to avoid Weir’s overt advances, and trying to keep everyone alive against piss-poor odds.’
‘Wow.’ Jack gave a half-smile. ‘When you put it like that…’
‘I know I wasn’t the best leader I could have been.’ John shook his head. ‘We’ve already had that discussion, haven’t we? I guess…’ He thought for a long moment, and Jack let him, knowing John had to work this out himself. John gave a sudden smile. ‘I know it was a standing joke that Lorne did all my paperwork, but I did actually do most of my own. I let him have inventory, though. That’s a legitimate trickle-down job, and I had had experience with that in Antarctica. I did their inventories for the whole of the time I was there, as I was the senior officer, apart from the CO. It wasn’t a large enough base for him to have a staff.’
‘So, what do you think you need experience in now?’
John eyed him thoughtfully. ‘I can name any area I think I’m weak in?’
Jack frowned. ‘John, I’m not trying to trick you. It’s a legitimate question. If you say you need to be Hammond’s 2IC, I’ll do my best to make it happen for you.’
‘No, I don’t want that, but I’d appreciate working with the SGC Battalion. That was the most difficult job I had: winning the support and respect of the Atlantis Unit. – you couldn’t call it a Battalion that first year, not with only 100 men. I don’t think I got their respect until after the Geni invasion.’ He grinned. ‘I don’t think any of them realised I’d been special ops until I killed sixty Geni soldiers.’
‘I thought it was over 100?’ Jack said with a frown. ‘That was the number bandied about here after we got your package of reports.’
‘I killed 60 myself, but a further 40 or 50 were killed when I raised the shield on the gate. I don’t count them as my own kills, though.’
No, I don’t suppose you would,’ Jack muttered, then grinned as John gave a bray of laughter. ‘Anyhoo. What if you took over command of the Battalion? It’s something George and I had discussed with you in mind. We thought about appointing you as my 2IC – the 3IC, if you like.’
John gazed at him in shock. ‘What? Of the entire base?’
‘It’d actually bring us more in line with a normal base. I mean, even on Atlantis, you had a staff of officers, after the first year, that is. We’ve never formally done that here, but it makes sense that we do.
‘You’ll take over the Battalion, and we’d appoint someone else – or a couple of someones – to help me with all my other shit. My knees aren’t what they were, and as the programme expands, we’re taking on more and more responsibility. The search for the Outpost is going to be a big job all on its own. This way, there’s a much clearer chain of command, which will help prevent further problems like the one with Sumner and Reynolds.
‘But there are several people above me in rank,’ John protested. ‘Colonel Everett, for example. He was going to take over as Atlantis Military Commander until his…incident with the Wraith. And what about Colonel Caldwell?
‘You leave me to deal with Caldwell, and Everett isn’t a problem as he’s a Marine,’ Jack told him. ‘And by the time I’m through telling them what I’m making you do, they’ll come and offer you their commiserations, believe me.’
‘Can I have Lorne to help me? I’d really like to take him to Atlantis as part of the initial Expedition. Apart from him being a great 2IC, his future partner will be part of the first wave.’
‘The botanist, right?’
John nodded. ‘David Parish. They were good together, and now DADT’s gone, I hope they can get together legally and sooner.’
‘Hmmm. I think he’s only a Captain at present, on SG—’
The door to the office opened and Walter entered with several files in his hand. He glanced between Jack and John, then nodded, as though something had just made sense to him. ‘Captain Lorne’s jacket, sir, SG-11,’ he said as he passed the files to Jack. ‘And those of Lieutenants Teldy and Hart.’
‘Do I want them?’ Jack asked. ‘Do I even know them?’
‘You will soon enough, sir.’ Walter gave both men a nod and a wave of his hand, which might have been a salute, and closed the door behind himself.
‘When I first arrived, Walter told me he and I are very alike,’ John said thoughtfully. ‘Any idea what he meant?’
Jack frowned. ‘Does he have the ATA gene? Is that what he meant? Or has he…’. Jack twirled his finger.
‘No, definitely not that,’ John answered. ‘I asked him. I did wonder if he was a deascended Ancient.’
‘And?’
John shrugged. ‘No idea. It’s odd though, isn’t it?’
‘One of life’s many mysteries.’ Jack sighed. ‘I’ll get together with George and we’ll hash out a proper chain of command and give me a proper staff – or as proper as is feasible in the SGC. As far as I’m concerned, though, the Battalion is yours.’
‘Will you announce it?’ John asked.
‘Would you prefer I did?’
‘I think it’d be better than me just marching in and announcing I’m their new CO.’ John frowned and sighed. ‘Been there, done that, don’t want a repeat.’
Jack gave him what he hoped was a sympathetic smile. ‘Consider it done.’
*****
‘…so Jack’s handed over complete command of the SGC Battalion to me, effective from Monday.’ John finished explaining to Rodney how his meeting with Jack had gone.
‘Are you happy with that?‘
‘Yeah, I think so. It was probably the most difficult area of command I had on Atlantis. Possibly due to the fact I’d just shot their CO in the head.’
‘Possibly,‘ Rodney agreed, laughing. ‘How do you think they’ll take it?‘
‘Better than last time, though that’s a low bar. One thing in my favour is the make up of the SGC Battalion. It’s about half and half Air Force and Marines, whereas Atlantis was almost entirely made up from the USMC. Plus, I already have some experience of commanding Marines.’
‘Is it so different to commanding Airmen?‘
‘God, yeah. Two completely different animals. Marines need to be occupied, otherwise they’ll find something to do by themselves, and it’s generally something no sensible person would dream of doing. Remember the ‘gym’ they built themselves before we could get any equipment sent out for them?’
‘To be fair, Sumner should have thought about how a hundred very fit men, because they were mostly male in the first wave, how fit men would keep themselves fit.’
‘Yeah, but then Sumner should have thought of a lot of things. You included gaming consoles and the games to play them on for your science team.’
‘And quickly lost half of them to your men,’ Rodney reminded him.
‘It was that or go with them trying to make their own computer games using live people. I never did find out where they got the costumes they used. I don’t believe for a moment someone took a gorilla suit as their one personal item – which was also a ridiculous rule, and it’s not like anyone actually checked through our backpacks and footlockers to make sure there were only clothes there.’
‘I always wondered where all the rope came from.’
‘Huh. I never thought about that. But then, I think I spent the first week fighting off panic attacks every moment of the day and night.’
‘Did you? I never noticed.‘
‘Bad memories. Let’s change the subject. How are things going out there?’
‘Very well. I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to design and build the hyper-drives myself for the Daedalus – if that’s going to be its name. Which reminds me, I need Radek out here. Can you spare the time to fly him out tomorrow?‘
‘I can’t fly into Groom Lake AFB, not in a private plane.’
‘Why? Dad does.’
‘He got special permission.’
‘Then get special permission for yourself. Who’s the new CO out here? Landry’s replacement, I mean.‘
‘Albert Reynolds. I think it was a toss up between Hammond sending him to Area 51 or Alaska.’
‘He’s a dolt, but he’s harmless.‘
‘He’s damned dangerous,’ John argued. ‘We nearly didn’t get you back, remember? All on my first day, too.’
‘Okay, fine, but if he’s the new CO here, you shouldn’t have a problem getting permission to fly Radek in.’
‘Why can’t he get a transport plane like we had to?’
‘Please, John? Pretty please?’
‘Okay, fine, but when are you coming back? I—I miss you, you know.’
‘And I miss you, but this is huge, John. If I can learn how the Asgard build their hyper-drives, we can build our own. This didn’t happen last time as they refitted Prometheus in the Ida Galaxy. Whether it’s because Váli is a rule unto himself – which he might be – or Thor gave him permission to share that knowledge with us because he knows what happened to the Asgard in the other timeline, I don’t know, but this is more than we could ever have hoped for.’
‘Which is all thanks to you building the Replicator disrupter gun before the Asgard needed it. Last time they didn’t get rid of the Replicators until 2005. We’re a full three years before that. You did that, and quite possibly saved the entire Asgard race.’
‘Thanks,’ Rodney said, and John could hear the shyness in his voice. ‘So, you’ll bring Radek?’
‘Fine, but you need to call Jack and tell him you’re stealing Radek.’
‘Why?’
‘Because Jack’s got him training up to take your place while you’re away.’
‘You’ll have to take Miko. She’s already qualified. Or Kay Spencer. She’d love to go off-world with SG-1.’
‘Can she qualify, d’you think?’
‘You’ll have to ask her.’
‘She’s still not you. And she doesn’t have a PhD yet.’
‘Why does that matter? I wouldn’t have employed her if she couldn’t manage the work. I’m hoping to get her through her PhD in the next six months.’
‘Why the rush?’
‘I want her to come to Atlantis with us. Which reminds me, what’s happening down there?’
‘It’s gone pretty much as before, we think, except Ayiana’s managed to cure everyone. They’re due back tomorrow and will bring Ayiana with them if she’s fit enough to travel. Daniel’s already made the suggestion to Fraiser about the possibility of a special gene Ayiana might have. Once she ‘discovers’ it, we can give her Thor’s version of the gene-modifier to test properly this time. I’m not happy giving it to anyone without proper testing, now we have a chance to do that. If Fraiser’s happy with it, I’ll be happy with it.’
‘I agree. Carson was stupidly careless with the damn gene stuff.’ Rodney sighed down the line. ‘Listen, I’m staying here until Váli’s finished testing the naquadria for the X-302s. I won’t be back until the end of next week.’
‘Rodney!’
‘Hush, you big baby. Come out at the weekend if you’re not on duty. Dad’s taken a four-bedroom apartment, so he has room for us and Dave, if Dave wants to join us.’
‘He’s got a ball this weekend, did he tell you?’
‘Who? Dad? He didn’t mention it.’
‘No, Dave. He’s had to get a tail coat fitted and everything. I actually think he’s enjoying himself. He always had more social acumen than me.’
Rodney snorted down the line, forcing John to move the phone away from his ear. ‘A wet haddock has more social acumen than you!’
‘If all you can do is abuse me, I’m going to go and let Miko beat me up. She’s teaching me Jikishinkage-ryū. I think it might be a useful way of killing Wraith.’
‘Well, Ronon did have a sword.’
‘I might commission a few to take with us.’
‘Have fun, then, and you know I love you.’
‘Yeah. I love you too.’
*****
The Antarctic adventurers and Ayiana arrived back at the SGC at around the same time as General Hammond and Sam Carter early on Friday morning, so Jack and John resigned themselves to yet another day of meetings. To their joy and relief, however, General Hammond decided they’d all earned themselves a couple of days R&R. John, therefore, would get his weekend with Rodney in Las Vegas, and Jack and Daniel intended to retreat to Jack’s cabin, and since Thor would be in orbit to meet with his brother and Patrick, Jack was able to persuade him to beam him and Daniel to the cabin, although they knew they’d have to fly back on a commercial airline.
‘Still, it’ll save us the hassle of getting there,’ Jack told Thor. ‘I’m very grateful, buddy.’
None of them had set eyes on Major Carter after her return with the general, and it concerned Daniel.
‘D’you have any idea why Hammond took her to DC?’ he asked Jack while SG-1 had coffee and cake together in the mess – although Jack had pie instead of cake – mid-Friday morning.
‘No more idea than I did the last time you asked me, Danny. Go and ask George if you’re so interested.’
‘Okay.’ Daniel nodded to him, bussed his tray and left the Mess Hall, leaving Jack open-mouthed.
‘I was being sarcastic,’ he told John. ‘You realised that, didn’t you?’
‘I did, but Daniel clearly didn’t.’
‘And I understood your sarcasm, O’Neill,’ Teal’c added. ‘But I was aware Daniel Jackson would not.’
‘Is he really going to beard Hammond in his den?’ Jack wasn’t sure whether to laugh or bang his head on the table.
‘Only one way to find out.’ John got to his feet with his tray.
‘We are not going to barge into Hammond’s office,’ Jack said firmly.
‘Of course we’re not. We are going to let Miko hack the cameras in Hammond’s office,’ John told him.
‘Oh. Good plan. Hurry up.’
Miko was happy to hack into the cameras, but wasn’t willing to hack the audio. ‘No, Colonel O’Neill. That would be unethical.’
‘You’ve done it before. John told me you did it when Carter reported to that ass Sumner.’
‘Sumner was an idiot and wasn’t authorised to take the general’s place. I won’t spy on General Hammond.’
‘You’re spying by letting us watch the feed.’
‘Sight only. The general needs to be able to trust me.’
There was no point in arguing further, so Jack accepted he could watch Daniel bearding George, but not hear it.
Daniel had just entered Hammond’s office when Miko got the feed running. The general looked happy to see him, and Daniel sat down in response to Hammond’s hand wave.
‘It’s like watching silent movies without the captions,’ Jack commented to no one in particular.
”Fraid I’m not old enough to remember them,’ John answered, and ducked the punch Jack threw at him, laughing.
‘Asshole,’ Jack muttered, then tilted his head and frowned. ‘D’you think George is actually telling him why he took Carter to DC?’
‘Well, he’s still smiling and hasn’t kicked Daniel out yet,’ John answered. ‘That must mean something.’
‘Yeah, but what?’ Jack was beginning to get impatient. ‘And where is Carter? Have you seen her?’ he asked Miko, who shook her head.
‘But that doesn’t mean anything since I haven’t left my lab since breakfast. I’m trying to get all my priority work finished before our first mission next week.’
‘You okay with going off-world with us?’ Jack asked her.
‘Certainly. Rodney told me I was a member of AT-11 on Atlantis, and I wish to be ready for when the Expedition leaves.’
‘Daniel’s leaving,’ John said suddenly, ‘but both he and the general are still smiling.’
Jack stretched his arms above his head and groaned. ‘I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Do some fishin’, do some fishin’ in my lake.’ He waggled his eyebrows suggestively when John turned to look at him. ‘Two kinds of fishing, my friend. Hey ho. Let’s go find Danny and see what George told him.’
‘You do know you’re going to slip one day, and call him George to his face?’ John told his friend as they strolled to the elevator to go down a level, but when the elevator door opened, Daniel was standing in it.
‘Where y’goin’?’ he asked them, raising his brows.
‘Down to see you.’
‘Fair enough.’
A couple of minutes later, Daniel was setting a pot of coffee to brew in his office.
‘So?’ Jack demanded, relaxing back in his personal armchair and swinging his feet onto the small coffee table. John, meanwhile, had to make do with pushing aside a pile of books and sitting on Daniel’s reading table.
‘So what?’
‘So why did George take Carter to DC with him?’ Jack said, enunciating each word.
‘No idea, but he wants to meet with the three of us and Teal’c at 15:00,’ Daniel told them.
‘And?’ Jack asked, waving his hand in a ‘go on’ motion.
‘And nothing. He wants to see us at 15:00.’
‘Daniel! You were in his office for almost fifteen minutes! What else did he say?’
‘Nothing to do with Sam!’ Daniel answered in a similar tone and at a similar volume.
John eased himself off the table rubbing the back of his neck.. ‘Should I…?’ He waved a hand.
‘No!’ Jack and Daniel said together, and John backed away until he was pressed against the table.
‘Wow. Okay, I’ll just…’ He stayed pressed against the table edge, as still as he could be, eager to remain out of the line of fire.
‘Did George say why he wants to see us?’ Jack asked in a much calmer tone. ‘And where is Teal’c? He was with us.’ He frowned and looked around as though Teal’c might be hiding behind some of Daniel’s artefacts.
‘He said he had a training session with a couple of platoons,’ John offered, carefully, his eyes moving between Jack and Daniel warily. ‘He’s joining us for lunch at 13:00.’
‘And I think the general wants to talk to us about Sam,’ Daniel said. ‘I also had a question about the patents/IP stuff and my department’s contracts. While we don’t produce anything physical, we do have intellectual property, but he said the shady contracts didn’t affect any of the social sciences.’
‘The soft sciences, you mean?’ John asked with a grin. ‘That’s what Rodney calls them.’
Daniel scowled at him. ‘Just because—’ he began, but Jack cut him off with a wave of his hand.
‘No! Have this argument with Rodders by all means, but don’t drag John and I into it. And you shouldn’t wind him up!’ he told John, getting to his feet and pointing a finger at his teammate, ‘because I’m the one who has to cope with him!’ He turned to back to Daniel. ‘If you’ve got no other gossip for us, we might as well go and find T-man. See you in the mess at 13:00?’
Daniel nodded and waved a hand, but most of his attention was already concentrated on a large tome he dragged over to his reading table.
*****
‘…so while Major Carter did take credit for work she took from several scientists at Area 51, she did it with Colonel Landry’s knowledge, and possibly his encouragement, but we can’t be certain. Her defence was that each of the scientists concerned were working under her supervision, and thus she was entitled to any work they produced—’
‘That’s bullshit!‘ Rodney exclaimed over the cell phone John was holding so his partner could hear what General Hammond had to say.
‘Pipe down, Rodders,’ Jack ordered him, at the same time as the general said,
‘If I might finish, Dr McKay?’
Ooops. Dr McKay. George is getting pissy, Jack thought to himself.
‘Sorry, sir. Go ahead,’ said Rodney, only slightly subdued.
‘Major Carter claimed she was entitled to any work they produced, but.’ He held up a hand to prevent anyone from speaking. ‘But Secretary Williams, the Secretary of the Air Force, wouldn’t accept that defence. Furthermore, he has backed up the SecDef’s decision to have her return all the work of anyone still working in the programme – that’s here and all the sites in Nevada – and the work of people who have left the programme will be given to the SGC for our own benefit.’
‘So we can become financially independent,’ Jack said, and smiled. ‘Brilliant.’
‘We still have to work out how everything is managed,’ Hammond cautioned. ‘We don’t have our own sales and marketing division for a start, but that’ll be sorted easily compared to everything else we’ve had to wade through.’
‘So Carter gets away scot-free? Rodney asked, his bitterness clear in his tone of voice.
‘I thought you and she were friends now, Rodney?’ Daniel said, frowning at the phone even though Rodney couldn’t see him.
‘We can work well together,’ Rodney answered. ‘I doubt we’ll ever be friends, though. Not like we were last time.’
‘And she isn’t getting off scot-free at all,’ Hammond said. ‘I haven’t finished.’
There was a chorus of ‘sorry, sir’ from Hammond’s audience, and he nodded.
‘Thank you. No criminal charges will be brought against Major Carter, but her name will be removed from the next round of promotion she would normally qualify for and she won’t be considered for a ‘below the zone’ promotion for the next five years, meaning the earliest she’ll be eligible for promotion will be 2007. I understand that in the other timeline she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2004, Jack?’
O’Neill nodded. ‘Yes, sir. At the same time, I got my bump up to Brigadier General.’
‘That’s not going to happen to her this time, but both the SecAir and I agreed it was the least of the punishments she might have been given. Comments, anyone?’
‘I think it’s very fair,‘ Rodney said immediately. ‘Given that we can’t risk her being recruited by the Trust. I’d still suggest we keep an eye on who she meets or communicates with.’
‘Agreed, Rodney, but I have another suggestion I wanted to put before you all.’ Hammond paused and regarded the group of faces watching him. ‘Jack’s informed me we’re ready to kick off the search for the Antarctic Outpost, and I propose we send Major Carter down to supervise that.’
‘Supervise how?’ Rodney asked. ‘Tell the men with spades where to dig?‘
‘Not quite as basic as that, Rodney. Thor has agreed to scan the Antarctic area around where the beta gate and Ayiana were discovered. Since you’ve already given us the co-ordinates of the base, Thor knows exactly where to scan. Uncovering the base, however, will take time and care, as we don’t have direct access to it as I understand we did last time. Major Carter will supervise all the excavation works, and will investigate any additional finds we know are buried in the ice and snow. Your notes said the excavations took three months last time, but without interior access, Patrick and I estimate it’ll be closer to six months.’
‘And six months on ice will do Carter a world of good,’ John said, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. ‘It focuses your thoughts and is actually very calming.’
‘But then, you liked being there,’ Jack said with a grin.
‘I did! It was brilliant after twenty-five consecutive months in Afghanistan.’
‘Are we done now?‘ Rodney demanded. ‘I’ve got work to do even if you lot don’t! Not including you, General, of course,’ he added hurriedly.
‘Of course not, Rodney,’ Hammond said with a smile and a shake of his head. ‘Go, all of you. Have a relaxing weekend and I’ll see you all on Monday.’
He waved them off, then opened the bottom drawer of his desk, pulled out a bottle of whisky Patrick had given him, and poured himself a glass.
Now I only have Jacob Carter to placate, but I hope he’ll understand we’ve mitigated her punishment as much as we are able.
*****
‘…and you think they believed you?’ George Hammond asked Patrick’s eldest son.
Dave took a sip of his brandy. ‘I think so. Ainsley Westeron invited me to a drinks party tomorrow evening to meet some of his ‘associates’. He was very careful not to call them friends, although he has also invited me to play tennis with him at his club on Monday evening. I believe that’s intended to be more of a social meeting.’ He gave his father and George a wry smile. ‘To be honest, if I’d met him without knowing what he’s possibly involved with, I would probably have accepted his overtures of friendship. He’s personable, presentable, and appears to have a similar background to me.’
‘You mean prep school and Ivy League?’ Patrick asked, his face neutral. I must not be judgemental. Dave is a product of his upbringing, and that’s on me.
‘I guess so. We even have some friends in common. Remember Jamie Boulder from Anstey Court? He spent a summer with us when his parents were overseas? Probably…1985?’
Patrick nodded, but refrained from speaking. I remember how badly he treated Lizzie, and she hadn’t been with us long at that point. He was a nasty little snob, and I almost removed you from that school because of him. But it was your final year, and Isobel was already ill, although we didn’t know it at the time…
‘Well, Ainsley knows Jamie pretty well, and he’s joining us on Monday evening. We pretty much lost touch after Anstey Court as he went to join his parents in Singapore, and I went off to Harvard. It’ll be good to see him again and catch-up.’
‘You will remember the men and women involved in this group are dangerous traitors and criminals, won’t you?’ George reminded him. ‘They’re responsible for the deaths of several people we know about, and likely more we don’t know about.’
‘I won’t forget, General, I promise,’ Dave assured him. ‘But there’s no harm in me having a bit of fun while I’m working undercover, right?’
George eyed him carefully, and Patrick wondered what he saw. Whatever it was, must have given him some reassurance, though, as he nodded, albeit slowly and with a frown.
Dave glanced at his watch and swallowed the last of his brandy. ‘Right, I must go. I’m meeting Lucy, the girl I took to the ball last weekend. Don’t wait up, Dad. I don’t know what time I’ll be back.’ He paused for a moment and tilted his head to the side. ‘Maybe I should get my own place in DC if I’m going to be spending time here. I can’t exactly bring my friends back here, can I? Bye, General. Nice to see you again,’ and with a final wave, he was gone.
Patrick and George exchanged glances as they heard the front door to the townhouse slam.
‘Have we done the right thing in tasking Dave with this?’ Patrick asked his friend.
‘I’m sure everything will be fine,’ George told him, but Patrick could hear the false confidence in his voice.
*****
‘Sir? Do you have a moment for a chat?’
Jack surveyed the woman in his office doorway. I thought I was in love with her for a long time, but I realise I was in love with the idea of her, the Sam Carter I created in my mind. Everything we’ve discovered she’s done in this timeline, she did in the other. She just didn’t get caught.
‘Sure, come in, but don’t close the door as it can get a bit warm in here. The air-con isn’t running in this room.’
‘That’s because it used to be a storage room,’ Carter said dryly. ‘Honestly, sir, I’m sure you could have a much better office if you wanted.’ She looked around the room – which admittedly didn’t take long due to its size.
‘It’s fine for my needs,’ Jack told her. ‘As it is, I’m gonna have to move soon.’
Carter smiled. ‘Good, you—’
‘Only because too many folks know where I am now,’ Jack said, interrupting her.
‘Oh.’ She fell silent and fiddled with her wristwatch, something Jack didn’t ever recall her doing before. She’s nervous. Should I be as well?
‘You wanted to talk, Major?’
She straightened up, drawn back from whatever she’d been thinking about. ‘Yessir. It’s—That is—Sir, the general has asked me to go to Antarctica to lead the excavation for the base Thor discovered down there.’
‘I am aware.’
Carter gave a small frown. She didn’t expect me to say that, or she expected me to say more. Hmm.
‘It’s just—I’m not sure if I should accept it.’
Huh. We didn’t take account of that decision.
‘What’s your alternative choice?’
Now she looked taken aback. ‘Well, carry on here, I suppose. Carry on leading SG-6.’ She shrugged, and Jack sighed.
‘Carter, you do realise that almost the entire base knows what you did to the scientists? The work you stole from them?’
She flushed. ‘I didn’t steal—’
‘What would you call it, then?’
‘I was entitled—’
‘So entitled they didn’t take it all away from you? Mm?’
Now her cheeks were a bright red. ‘That’s unfair, sir. I—’
Jack placed his hands on his desk, palms down flat. ‘General Hammond has been more than fair to you. I wanted to court-martial your ass, and so did a lot of other people, both here and in DC. Instead, the general persuaded us to let you try to…rehabilitate yourself.’
‘By going down to Antarctica?’ She didn’t sound in the least convinced.
‘By giving you a project to organise, supervise, and complete.’ She’s really not convinced. ‘Okay, Sam, cards on the table. As it stands, your career is stalled, and the only way you can kick start it is by chalking up a success..’
‘I could resign my commission.’
‘Sam.’ His voice was gentle now. ‘They’re not going to let you leave. Not with the knowledge you have of the programme. The best you could hope for is a role at one of the off-world bases, and you’d be under constant surveillance. Take the Antarctic deal. You never know, it might lead to bigger and better things. I knew of someone, once, who was sent to work out his career in a dead end place. He thrived, and eventually, through being on site when a discovery was made, he ended up with his own command.
‘You were stupid, and you got caught, and added to the other stuff you’ve fucked up in the last six months, you’re lucky not to be in Leavenworth. Now, take your licks and move on. Accept Hammond’s offer because you’re not going to get a better one.’
Carter watched him for a while, but Jack could tell he’d reached her. She’s far from stupid, and she could have worked this out for herself, but sometimes you need advice from an old friend, and, despite everything, we were friends in the other timeline.
Eventually, she sighed and nodded. ‘You’re right, I suppose. I just…There was a time when I thought there might be something between us.’ She paused for a moment, giving him time to reply, but Jack remained silent. I did too, Sam. I did too.
She gave him a firm nod of her head and made an attempt at a smile, but Jack could tell she was on the verge of an emotional outburst. Taking a deep breath, Sam recovered herself, and gave him a bright smile – or as bright as she could manage. ‘Thank you, sir. I’ll accept the post in the Antarctic, and I’ll do it with good grace. I’ll take my licks, and I’ll try to learn from them.’ She gave a self-deprecating laugh. ‘Maybe I’ll get time to do some of the advanced officer training you told me about. I know a lot of the military colleges do distance learning, and I’m likely to have a fair amount of free time.’
‘Good for you, Sam,’ he said, meaning every word. ‘A lot can happen in a year, yet we’ll all probably still be here. Good luck, and…God speed.’
Much to his surprise, Carter pulled herself up to attention, and gave him a smart salute. ‘Colonel.’
He returned the salute with a smile. ‘Major.’
And then she was gone.
*****
The call came in the middle of the night.
‘Dr Jackson? Dr Daniel Jackson?’
‘Ahem, yeah, yeah, Daniel Jackson. Who is this?’
‘Who the hell is it?’ Jack demanded in a low, croaky voice. ‘It’s…It’s two fucking am!’
‘Shhh!’ Daniel waved a hand at him, but as it was still dark, he doubted Jack saw it.
‘I’m Richard Flemming, but you don’t know me.’
By this time, Daniel had managed to sit up and turn on the bedside light. ‘How did you get this number?’
‘I wanted Major Carter, but her phone’s not answering.‘
‘That’s because she’s on her way to fucking Antarctica,’ Jack muttered, shamelessly listening in.
‘What do you want of either of us? And how did you get this number?’ Daniel repeated.
‘I know about Adrian Conrad.’
Daniel and Jack exchanged glances.
‘What do you want?’ Daniel asked again.
‘They never shut the project down, but it’s got out of hand, and I think they’re on to me.’
‘Who are on to you? And where are you?’
‘The symbiotes. In the town. They know I—’
The sound of tyres screeching and then an almighty crash came down the phone, then the line went dead. Daniel found his hand was shaking as he replaced the receiver, and he looked at Jack, whose face reflected his own concern and surprise.
‘What the fuck?’
*****
Chapter 21
Chapter Text
Jack drove them both to the mountain, something they’d previously avoided doing to dodge questions they weren’t yet prepared to answer.
‘And you don’t remember anything about a Richard Flemming?’ Daniel asked him again.
Jack shook his head, but concentrated on the road, though they encountered little traffic at that time in the morning . ‘No, nothing.’
‘Did you at least warn the general we were coming in?’
‘Danny, you heard me make the call!’
‘Did I?’ Daniel yawned. ‘Sorry, I’m still half asleep. Did you call the others as well?’
‘I called John, and I could hear Rodders in the background bitching about being woken in the middle of the night. John said he’d get Teal’c and meet us in the briefing room.’
‘I hope someone thought to make coffee.’
‘God, so do I!’
Thankfully, Walter and his special senses had woken up and organised coffee and rather dry-looking pastries.
‘Fresh pastries won’t be available for another couple of hours,’ he told them, placing two of the four coffee pots in front of Daniel and Rodney, one for each of them. ‘And here’s the file you’ll need, sir,’ he said to Jack, passing him a fawn folder which Jack opened and spread out the contents on the conference table.
‘Doctor Richard Flemming, biologist, formerly a professor of advanced genetics at Stanford,’ Daniel read out loud, but Jack put a hand on his arm.
‘Better wait until George gets here.’
‘George is already here,’ Hammond said dryly, entering the room and taking his seat at the head of the table. ‘Now, what’s all this about? Dr Jackson?’
‘Yes, sir. I received a call from a Dr Richard Flemming at around 2am to say Adrian Conrad never shut down the project he began to look into how a Goa’uld symbiote might cure an incurable disease – in his case, Berchart’s Syndrome.’
‘If you recall, sir, Conrad was the nutjob who kidnapped Carter last September,’ Jack added, ‘to find out how a symbiote worked. And his company was Zetatron Industries. He disapp—son of a bitch!’ Jack slapped the side of his head. ‘Fucking idiot!’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Hammond was wearing his shocked expression. Damn it!
‘No, sir, not you. I’ve just remembered something I forgot!’
Hammond’s frosty expression thawed a little. ‘Carry on, Colonel.’
‘Conrad disappeared after we rescued Carter from that hospital in Seattle—’
‘Saint Christina’s,’ Danial interjected.
‘Yeah, whatever.’ Jack shook his head, losing the thread of his thoughts at the same time as John raised his hand.
‘Umm, ‘scuse me, but I’m not familiar with the details of Carter’s kidnapping.’
‘And neither am I,’ Rodney added. ‘Although the name Conrad rings a few bells.’
‘Adrian Conrad.’ Daniel continued reading the file. ‘A billionaire who specialised in fibre optic host channel adapters – I never knew that. Where on earth does Walter get his information from?’ Daniel shook his head, then, as Hammond raised an eyebrow, he hurriedly kept reading. ‘Umm. So, Conrad got his hands on a Goa’uld symbiote and had himself implanted with it to cure himself of Berchart’s Syndrome.’
‘That’s an autoimmune disease, isn’t it?’ Rodney said, nodding. ‘That’s how I heard of it, because of Adrian Conrad, but I’ve never heard of it in connection to a Richard Flemming.’
Jack sighed. ‘I did wonder if you remembered it. John? Any thoughts, memories?’
John shook his head. ‘I don’t recall anything about Berchart’s Syndrome or Richard Flemming. Adrian Conrad, yes, but the details are hazy. None of the earlier history of the programme was really relevant to Atlantis, or me, so while I did read all the mission reports, I couldn’t give you much detail of them.’
‘Jack?’ Hammond asked. ‘D’you want to carry on?’
He nodded, still annoyed with himself for forgetting about Conrad. ‘So, Conrad disappeared after we rescued Carter, and I thought at first Maybourne had taken him, but it turned out that Frank Simmons had him in an NID safe-house in North Dakota. In the other time-line, Simmons was arrested after the kerfuffle over Teal’c being stuck in the gate. Sorry to remind you, Rodders.’ He gave Rodney what he hoped was a sincere smile. I know he’s still hurt over that whole mess. ‘But because we avoided all that, Simmons was never arrested. Also, there was a whole thing about Prometheus getting hi-jacked by the NID, but I can’t remember when exactly that was because we’ve changed so much.
‘Anyway, the hi-jacking was a means to get Simmons and Conrad out of jail, and, long story short, both Simmons and Conrad got themselves killed. So, Simmons is still out there, probably still high up in the NID, and he’s still got Conrad who’s still snaked. What another fucking mess!’
‘How is Simmons connected to Dr Flemming?’ Hammond asked, cutting through all of Jack’s information and getting to the salient point.
‘I don’t know,’ Jack admitted, scrubbing his face with his hands, and noting absently that he needed a shave. ‘I have no memories about a Dr Flemming.’
‘Then it’s likely something which didn’t happen last time?’
‘…Possibly,’ Jack said, at length, and sighed, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. ‘But I was off-world for several weeks following our discovery of Ayiana. I had to—’ He swallowed the bile rising in his throat. It still bothers me years after the event. ‘Ayiana…The Ancient contagion…She couldn’t heal me so they—I had to—’ He swallowed again. ‘A Tok’ra symbiote cured me.’
Daniel gripped his arm and Hammond stared at him, appalled. Jack’s hatred of the Goa’uld and of symbiotes in particular was no secret in the mountain, not after Hathor forcibly implanted him with a symbiote in 1999. The knowledge he’d had a second one forcibly implanted – because he’d never have agreed to accept one voluntarily – shocked the people here who knew him.
‘So something connected to Flemming might have occurred while you were…unavailable, and you either didn’t know the details, or have forgotten them,’ John said, in summation.
Jack nodded. ‘Especially as I ended up in Ba’al’s hands after—’ Jack waved his hand, unable to bring himself to say it again, ‘and the fucker tortured and murdered me, then shoved me in a sarcophagus so he could start again. It’s no wonder I don’t recall being told what happened while I was…away.’
Hammond cleared his throat. ‘Let’s take a few minutes’ break, shall we? I’ll get Walter to—’
The briefing room door opened to admit Walter, carefully balancing a laden tray, and the general gave him a warm smile.
‘Just what we needed, son. Thank you.’
While Walter laid fresh cups, saucers, and plates on the table, Jack hurried to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, which still tasted of bile. When he stood up from washing his face, he saw Daniel’s reflection in the mirror, and his friend – lover – stepped forward to hug him from behind.
‘Jack. I had no idea…You didn’t mention—’
‘Because I can barely bring myself to remember it without throwing up,’ Jack said, resting his hands on the arms encircling him and watching Daniel in the mirror.
‘But you got through it.’
‘Only because of you,’ Jack said softly. ‘You were the reason I didn’t give up.’
‘Your thoughts of me?’ Daniel’s reflection looked puzzled. ‘But I thought you and Sam—’
‘Not thoughts, Danny. You. You were ascended for the whole of that year, remember? Well, not that you’d remember, but I did tell—’
Daniel placed his fingers over Jack’s mouth. ‘Hush. I know what you mean. Did I visit your dreams then? You said I did that occasionally.’
‘No, you came to me in my cell. Some stupid antigravity cell Ba’al threw me in.’
‘You mean you floated?’ Daniel looked puzzled.
‘Nah, it kept turning round, so the ceiling became a wall, or the door was where the ceiling should be.’
‘Okay. Did I help you?’
‘Not help, as in help me escape, you couldn’t – weren’t allowed to – but just having…company, I guess, helped me. It kept me alive until Teal’c and Carter, and Jonas came to rescue me.’ He gazed into the reflection of the blue eyes he’d come to love. ‘I think you might have nudged them to work out where to find me.’
‘I’d always find you, Jack. Leave no man behind. That’s the SGC unwritten rule, isn’t it?’
Jack nodded. ‘And it’s why I knew I could trust John Sheppard, because it’s his unwritten rule, too.’
*****
It was clear the short break had revitalised everyone, and the fresh coffee – with water for Teal’c – and pastries finished the job.
‘Now, Dr Jackson,’ Hammond said, wiping his sticky fingers with a napkin. ‘What can you tell us about Dr Flemming and his 02:00 telephone call? We can connect it all up with Jack’s information later on.’
‘All this background stuff is actually curtesy of Walter, sir. All I’ve done is make a couple of phone calls.’
‘Noted, son.’ Hammond said. ‘Go on.’
‘Two years ago, Dr Flemming left Stanford University,’ Daniel began, ‘and went to work for Immunitech Research, a wholly owned subsidiary of Conrad’s company, Zetatron Industries. After Conrad disappeared, Immunitech relocated to Steveston, Oregon, and their operations were scaled back quite drastically. Per the Oregon police, the remains of Flemming’s car were discovered not far from Steveston, which ties in with the phone call he made to me, but the police say there was no sign of his body.’
General Hammond considered that for a moment, then looked over to Jack. ‘Thoughts, Colonel?’
‘I think the first question we must ask is who is actually running Conrad’s companies at the moment as Conrad’s still missing, probably still in Simmons’ or the NID’s custody. It’s highly likely Simmons is running them, probably through that secretary of Conrad’s…’
‘Mendez,’ Daniel supplied, reading from Walter’s notes. ‘Diana Mendez. And from these notes, it looks like she’s the one who might be in charge. She’s certainly the one who’s dealing with the finances as Walter’s listed several large payments to overseas accounts.’
‘I can get Miko to have a look where that money’s going,’ Rodney suggested, making a note on his tablet. ‘She’d probably be able to get inside the company records as well, if we want.’
Hammond held up a hand. ‘Don’t tell me about any illegal acts she’s going to commit, please, Dr McKay, then I won’t have to report them, or lie about not knowing.’
‘Understood, sir.’ Rodney grinned at him.
Hammond smiled back, then gestured to Jack to continue.
‘Right, so Flemming told Danny they didn’t shut the project down, that it had got out of hand, and he mentioned symbiotes in the town. I assume he meant Steveston, especially since his car was found near there. They could be anyone, but is likely to be the NID, and even more likely to be Simmons and or Mendez.’ Jack poured himself a glass of water and took a long drink.
‘Simmons definitely needs to answer a few questions, but I’m not going to see him because the fucker kept me waiting for two hours last year. You’d be the best one, sir.’ He nodded to the general. ‘You out rank him, for a start. We need to go and find Conrad and see if he is still sitting in a cell in North Dakota. I could do that as I know where the house is, but it might be an idea to bring in someone else to go with me, aside from you, Danny, so don’t panic. An official of some kind – who’s read in – would be our best choice. Then someone needs to go and see exactly what’s happening in Oregon.’ He heaved a sigh of relief as he ended his briefing.
‘I agree on all counts,’ Hammond said firmly. ‘Jack, you and Dr Jackson can go to North Dakota. I’ll arrange travel for you as you can’t use a transport plane. And have a think who you can trust to go with you.’
‘Don’t have to think, sir,’ Jack answered. ‘NID Agent Malcolm Barrett. He’s totally clean, and he’ll have the authority to have Conrad released if he’s under guard, which he will be if it’s anything like last time. We’ll take Zats with us though, so we don’t have to kill them. You never know, they might have other useful information.’
‘Then contact Barrett and make arrangements to meet him in North Dakota, but don’t give him any further details over the phone. We need to keep this to ourselves, at least at first.’ Hammond turned to John and Rodney. ‘Feel up for a trip to Oregon, John? You, Teal’c, and Rodney can take care of whatever’s in the town, and if it is Goa’uld related, Teal’c’s the best person to have with you. You can fly yourself if you wish, and I can arrange paperwork to say you’re on official Air Force business. I’ll take care of Simmons.’ Hammond’s smile held both the promise of retribution for Simmons, and the pleasure he’d take in delivering it.
*****
After discussing the situation with Patrick, who came to the mountain ostensibly to discuss the production of various of the discoveries made by the programme now the secrecy orders and patents had been released, George decided to hold off on a confrontation with Simmons for a few days as Dave thought he was getting close to the membership of the Committee, and maybe even an invitation for him to join them.
‘It’d be better all round if we can take down the members of the Committee at the same time as we take down Simmons,’ Patrick told George. ‘Your thoughts, Dave?’
Dave turned from his inspection of the Stargate through the window of the briefing room. ‘It’s a fascinating thing, General, but do you ever wonder if you opened Pandora’s Box?’
‘Frequently, but it was opened before I joined the programme, and, as we’ve subsequently learned, we were always in danger from the Goa’uld, with or without the gate being opened. We had a couple of Goa’uld hiding on Earth – Hathor and Osiris, both of whom were accidentally released from their captivity, and Setesh, or Seth, was leading a cult in Washington state. Keeping the gate hidden wouldn’t have kept us safe, and by using it, we’ve made several off-world allies who’ve helped us, both on earth and in the wider galaxy.’
‘And the argument that it should be used to benefit Earth, or possibly just the US, as we’re the ones who control and pay for it?’
George and Patrick exchanged glances. This had always been their fear: that Dave would be swayed into believing the propaganda spouted by the Committee. Patrick raised his eyebrows in a silent offer of help, but George shook his head. He’d been defending ownership and use of the gate for the last five years and was quite used to it.
Thus, after a pause, George spoke quietly, but firmly. ‘None of us exist in a vacuum, son, but some are more fortunate than others. You got an expensive education, but its cost doesn’t make you better than anyone else. It’s how you use that education, especially in how it benefits other folk. I also believe there are no rights without corresponding obligations, and just as we wouldn’t simply march into Canada and seize their…their power stations, for example, we equally can’t go out into the galaxy and seize things which don’t belong to us.
‘The people who’ll tell you it’s our right to take whatever technology we want for the benefit of our country, are the same people who’ll produce and sell that technology to the highest bidder, no matter if they’re in the United States, or North Korea.’
‘Thank you, General,’ Dave said, returning to the table. ‘I wasn’t convinced by their arguments, but I was interested in your views, as I’m sure you’ve had to defend the very existence of the SGC many times.’
‘You’re welcome,’ George said, his shoulders relaxing slightly. ‘There have been, and I understand from Colonel O’Neill there will continue to be, suggestions that we hand over control of the gate to the UN, but, and I’m almost ashamed of admitting this, I don’t trust them. There are far too many vested interests within the UN – as there will be within any large organisation, especially an international one. I’m afraid there’s only a handful of people I’d trust with the responsibility of the gate. Jack O’Neill is one, and your father is another.’
‘Me?’ Patrick said, physically recoiling. He took a breath, but when he spoke, his voice was a little shaky. ‘I’m honoured, George. Surprised, but honoured that you’d trust me so much.’
‘I never had a brother,’ George said, his mouth slightly down turned. ‘But you’ve come to take the place of the one I might have had.’
Patrick was forced to blink back tears. ‘You’ve almost made me cry, you bastard!’ The smile he gave took away any insult from his words. ‘The feeling’s mutual, but I think you know that. I’ve trusted you with my youngest son, and son-in-law, and let my eldest be drawn into the madness and mayhem as well.’
‘And I’ll look after them as best I can.’
Dave cleared his throat, and when he had their attention, made a dramatic wipe of his eyes. ‘You’ve both made me cry. I may never forgive either of you. But back to me, please.’ Both Patrick and George laughed at his theatrics, and Dave smiled at them. ‘You need have no fear I’ll go over to the dark side, Dad, General. I’m as committed to bringing down the bad guys as you both are, and I’ll do whatever you need me to.’
‘Good.’ George gave him a firm nod. ‘I’m going to bring in SG-1 – which includes John and Rodney – to discuss what happens next. I don’t think you’ve met the other members, have you?’
‘I’ve not met any members of the programme so far,’ Dave told him. ‘I was thinking I’d never get to meet them.’
Walter entered at that moment, bearing a tray of coffee and sandwiches. ‘They’re on their way, sir,’ he told George, and nodded at Patrick. ‘Afternoon, Admiral. Nice to see you again.’ He set down the tray, and looked up and smiled at Dave. ‘You look very much like your brother, Mr Sheppard, I—’ He broke off and tilted his head, then smiled. ‘They’re just coming, General.’
With a wave, or possibly an almost-salute, Walter smiled again and disappeared down a spiral staircase Dave hadn’t noticed in a corner of the room. Within seconds, five men, one of them immensely tall and muscular, filed into the room.
‘Dave!’ John said, hugging his brother. ‘What are you doing here?’ Before Dave had a chance to reply, however, John was introducing his teammates. ‘This is Dr Daniel Jackson, archeologist, anthropologist, and linguist extraordinaire; Colonel Jack O’Neill is our silver fox, and the muscle mountain is Teal’c, our resident Jaffa, and former First Prime to Apophis.’
‘Until he saw the light,’ Jack added, holding out his hand to Dave. ‘Welcome to the SGC, Mr Sheppard, and thank-you for helping us with a pest problem.’
Dave’s head was swimming with introductions to people he’d heard of, sights and sounds he was trying to assimilate, and the decidedly odd things – like Walter – he was trying to comprehend. He managed to smile and repeat the names he’d heard his father and John speak of, but most of all, he wanted to grab his brother and give him a good shake. The bastard’s come back in time! Why didn’t he tell me?
‘I—You’re welcome, J—Colonel O’Neill.’
‘Call me Jack,’ he said, sliding into a chair beside Daniel and pulling a plate of sandwiches towards him and giving a couple to Daniel with a frown. ‘Eat. You didn’t have breakfast and have had Thor only knows how much coffee. You’re heading for an ulcer if you don’t take care.’
‘I get an ulcer?’ Daniel asked with a start.
‘No, you might get an ulcer if you don’t begin to eat properly.’
Daniel’s relief was evident, and he picked up a sandwich and bit into it without argument.
‘At least I don’t usually have to worry that Rodney doesn’t eat,’ John said with a grin. ‘Not unless he’s hip deep in an engine!’
‘Fuck you!’ Rodney managed to say with a full mouth, and without covering those near him in half-masticated crumbs.
‘Help yourself to something, Dave,’ George told him. ‘I’m afraid it’s every man for himself when it comes to eating. We’ve all had far too many half-eaten dinners due to emergencies. Good manners often get forgotten.’
Four of the five members of SG-1 paused and exchanged glances. Only Rodney continued to eat.
‘Sorry, sir.’ Jack spoke on his team’s behalf, his sandwich paused half-way to his mouth. ‘We all only got back a couple of hours ago and none of us have had time for anything to eat yet.’
‘Here, Dave.’ Daniel passed a small plate down the table to where John’s brother was sitting next to their father, while John passed him a rather denuded plate of sandwiches.
Fortunately, Walter arrived with more sandwiches and pastries, which he placed well away from Rodney.
‘I believe Agent Barrett is on his way down, sir,’ Walter told the general. ‘I’ll bring in extra coffee as soon as it’s brewed.’
‘Agent Barrett?’ George asked, his brow creased. ‘Was I—’
‘Sorry, sir.’ Jack held up a hand and wiggled his fingers. ‘I invited him as I knew we were going to discuss taking down the Committee. He was a great help in North Dakota, and I thought his participation would help us. I just forgot to tell you. Sorry.’
'That’s fine, son. We just need to remember to keep away from any mention of what will happen, and make it what might happen.’
Dave watched the interchange between superior and subordinate with interest. The Sheppard family had a strong military history, and he was used to contact with a mixture of ranks from a young age. None of his experience, however, had involved such a relaxed command, with casual chatter and social interchange between ranks. His father had tried to explain how the SGC ran, but Dave hadn’t appreciated just how linear it was, while still maintaining authority and respect.
Walter entered with Agent Barrett, extra food, coffee, and bottles of water, one of which he placed in front of Daniel with a nod – which Daniel returned with a scowl. Once introductions had been made and plates filled – more than once in Rodney’s case – General Hammond called the room to order.
‘First, welcome to the SGC, Agent Barrett, and thank you for giving up your Sunday to help us plan this mission.’ He smiled at Barrett, who returned it a little shyly. ‘Now, Mr Sheppard has been invited to a business meeting tomorrow evening by his contact, Ainsley Westeron, in Denver. We think this might be a meeting of the Committee as there’s no other reason to hold a meeting there, other than it being close to the SGC.’
‘I’d have expected them to meet in DC,’ Jack said with a frown. ‘How can we be certain this is them?’
‘We can’t,’ Hammond admitted, ‘but I’d rather us be prepared, in case it is. If it isn’t, we’ll already have a plan in place when the meeting does take place.’ He looked around the table, meeting everyone’s eyes, then nodded. ‘Colonel O’Neill, I believe you have the details of a plan?’
‘Yessir, or rather, John and I have a detailed plan. If we wait…’
Dave switched off as Jack laid out the plan for Barrett’s benefit. He knew his part would be straightforward: go to the meeting wearing a wire, and keep out of the line of fire when Jack and John burst in. I never saw my baby brother as part of a special operations unit, but I guess that’s what the SGC, and SG-1, is, though it’s difficult to imagine Rodney as one. John and Rodney both back in time. That’s still messing with my head, and I can’t believe Dad and I had no contact with John for so many years. Or that Dad died. I think my brain’s hurting just having the information in my head!
‘…so is everyone clear?’ Hammond was asking, and Dave blinked when he realised he’d been cogitating for twenty minutes.
Nods and sounds of agreement came from around the table, and Dave found himself nodding with the others. I hope to God my part’s what I think it is.
The meeting then broke up, and Dave found himself ensconced in an armchair in a small but comfortable sitting room, along with the members of SG-1. His father, the general, and Agent Barrett were nowhere to be seen.
‘Umm, where am I?’ Dave asked hesitantly.
‘At the SGC,’ Rodney told him, only to get his ear flicked by John.
‘In the gate team’s sitting room,’ John told him. ‘We thought you’d rather hang out with us than with Dad and the general, and their epic bromance.’
‘There isn’t anything other than a friendship between them, is there?’ Dave asked carefully, only a little worried about the answer.
‘No, nothing at all,’ Jack answered. ‘George is as straight as a plank, but he’s been lonely since his wife died in 1993. Apart from his daughter and granddaughters who live in Alexandria, he has no family, and his rank makes it difficult to make close friends.’
‘And since Dad’s in a similar position,’ John added, ‘aside from him being retired from the Navy, they sort of glommed onto each other and became BFFs.’
‘I think it’s nice,’ Daniel commented, curling up on a sofa next to Jack, while John and Rodney took up residence on the other sofa, with Teal’c in an armchair.
‘We’re not saying it isn’t.’ Jack put his arm around Daniel a little hesitantly , and Dave got the impression their relationship was still quite new, unlike that of John and Rodney, who, while sitting next to each other, didn’t see the need to cuddle.
‘This is a nice room,’ Dave said after a short silence. ‘Do all teams get their own sitting rooms?’
‘This isn’t exclusively ours,’ John said, grinning at his brother. ‘We have thirty-odd gate teams: the mountain’s not that big! There are three or four, all on different levels, but this is our favourite as it’s close to the mess for when Rodney gets hungry.’ He laughed as his partner poked him in the ribs. ‘Hey! Bully!’
‘They are a new innovation, though,’ Daniel explained to Dave. ‘It was John’s idea to begin with, as our quarters aren’t big enough for the whole team, and hanging out in the mess isn’t ideal. John said they’d foster team spirit and co-operation, which is how the general got the funding for them, although once we begin marketing and selling our the stuff we’ve developed, the money side will be easier.’
‘No, it won’t,’ Jack told him. ‘Financing the SGC is going to take a lot of work, and we’ll never be entirely self-financing, as salaries will still be paid by the DoD. They have to be, otherwise we’re running our own private army.’
‘I think Dad mentioned something about money being an issue in the future,’ Dave said, trying to remember just what the conversation was.
‘Money is always an issue,’ Jack replied, ‘but I think Patrick was referring to the international oversight committee which was established to…police us, I guess is as good a description as another. Vested interests were far too engrained with it – both personal, and group and national interests. There was also an overlap between the IOA and the Trust – the successor to the Committee – which didn’t help. We know about the Trust, this time, though, so can keep an eye on the people who were part of it last time.’
‘I thought my mission was to take down the Committee?’ Dave said, a little confused.
‘It is, don’t worry,’ John said, leaning over and patting his leg. ‘But we doubt we’ll get all of them, and there’re probably members we know nothing about.’
‘You just concentrate on your part, Dave,’ Jack told him. ‘Let us take care of the rest. That’s our job, that’s what we do.’
*****
The room on the 23rd floor was filled with light from the windows on two walls, proof that corner offices were always desirable. Eight men were seated around the conference-style table, with spare seats for Westeron and Dave, opposite each other.
Dave selected the seat from where he could see the door, and would thus see the strike team enter. As he reached out to pour himself a glass of water, he noticed how steady his hand was – the opposite of the mad beating of his heart.
The Chairman – or at least the man at the head of the table – stood to open the meeting, but hadn’t got beyond ‘welcome’ when the window to the side of Dave smashed in with glass flying everywhere accompanied by a blinding flash and an ear-splitting ‘bang’, causing great confusion, disorientation, and sheer pain.
He saw six black-clad men, faces concealed with balaclavas leaving only their eyes visible, swing into the room on ropes, and he was pretty certain they were speaking as their masks were moving where their mouths were, but he couldn’t hear a thing over the loud buzzing in his ears, so loud he could almost taste it. Within seconds Dave found himself pushed unceremoniously to the floor, and his hands tied with a cable tie which bit into his wrists. ‘Hey!’ He exclaimed. ‘I’m not—’
‘Shut the fuck up!’ a voice barked out, which sounded a lot like his brother’s voice, except harder and…more aggressive than he’d ever heard John be before.
Someone dragged him to his feet, and in a glance he saw all ten of the men at the table, including himself and Westeron, were being pushed up against the wall, facing the room, and kept in place by a tall and well-built man – Teal’c? – holding an odd weapon Dave didn’t recognise. It looked a little like an upright, curved snake, which was ridiculous, but the other cuffed men were eying it warily so they obviously recognised its threat.
A further two black-clad and face-covered men came into the room from the corridor, and one began gathering up all the loose papers and emptying briefcases into a large holdall, while the other man – and Dave was certain this was Rodney – was searching through the laptops on the table, and removing their hard-drives, where possible, then they too went into a holdall.
In mere minutes, the room was stripped of anything which might have been brought in from outside, then one of the black-clad men went around the room holding a scanner of some sort, sweeping it up and down the walls, and pictures, paying special attention to the light fittings. He gave a grunt of satisfaction when the scanner bleeped at the wall lights, and possible-Rodney went to take the first light-fitting apart. He obviously found what he was looking for, and patted the first man on the back, clearly pleased with his discoveries, but Dave couldn’t see exactly what they’d found.
At a command from one of the men, small, sticky discs were slapped onto the back of each prisoner’s shoulders – Dave could see the one on Westeron’s shoulder – and the ten men were linked with a rope threaded through their cuffs. While Dave was puzzling over this development, there was a second blinding flash – this time without the noise – and a brief tingle of…something ran through him. When Dave blinked away the bright light, he saw they were now standing on a metal floor in a room with white walls. Wait, are they metal walls? Where the hell—
Another flash later, and the group of prisoners with two guards were in the briefing room at the SGC, but this time the view of the Stargate was hidden by a blind of some kind. Have we just been beamed? The remaining black-clad men suddenly appeared – yep, we were beamed
Once the captives had been led away, maybe-John pulled off his ski mask, grinned at his brother, and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Am I glad to be out of that! I’d forgotten how awful they are.’
‘And claustrophobic,’ the possible-Rodney -who-was-actually-Rodney complained. ‘Urg! I feel like I need a shower. How on earth did you manage to wear—’
His question was cut off by John’s hand across his mouth. ‘Need to know, Rodney, remember?’
‘This wasn’t your first time in a hit squad, was it?’ Dave asked John. My baby brother! I remember holding him for the first time when Mom and Dad came home from the hospital. How could that tiny babe grow up into someone who regularly wears a black ski mask to hide his identity?
John rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Not exactly, although they weren’t hit squads as such, but I really can’t talk about it.’
‘I feel as though I barely know you, and I’m not talking about your travelling thing.’
‘Dave, I’m sorry—’
‘No. God, no, don’t apologise. I should be the one apologising, not you. It’s—I knew you’d served overseas, of course, but I never—I thought you were a pilot; you just flew planes. I had no idea…’
Jack came across to them and put his hand on John’s shoulder. ‘Pilots of your brother’s calibre don’t just do anything,' he told Dave. 'We wouldn’t have brought him into the Programme if he was just a pilot. He’s a highly trained, highly qualified special operations pilot. In the other timeline, he commanded a remote base of five hundred military assets, with around the same number of civilians, mostly scientists. He’s never been just anything in his life, Dave. What he is, is a goddamned hero. They don’t give out the Medal of Honour to just a pilot.’
‘And Jack should know, since he’s got one as well,’ Daniel added, joining his partner, while Rodney slipped his hand into John’s.
‘The SGC has the highest number of serving military who hold the Medal of Honour than any other military branch or division in the country, throughout time,’ Rodney told him. ‘What we do is dangerous, beyond dangerous, but I doubt all the details will ever be declassified in our lifetime, so it’ll remain unknown to most of the country, most of the world, but we still do it.’
Dave looked at the men surrounding him and did the only thing he could think of. He pulled himself up straight and looked into the eyes of all five men. ‘Thank you for your service.’
*****
With the information they’d collected from the Committee – both digital and paper – SG-1 had enough to tie Simmons into the Committee, and once again Thor helped by beaming them into Simmons’ exclusive apartment in the Colonnade, in DC. He was alone – they’d checked that – and he leapt up from a sofa when they appeared in a flash of light, swearing, and lurched towards a table with a drawer. Both Jack and John moved to intercept him, but while Jack went to grab his shoulder, John simply kicked him in the balls. With all his weight behind the kick.
Simmons doubled over with a high-pitched shriek most women of John’s acquaintance would have been ashamed to utter, even in childbirth, clutching his assets, and moaning as Jack kicked him onto his stomach to get cable-ties on him. The most difficult part was getting him to let go of his testes long enough to get the cuffs on, but after John had landed a second, gentler kick, he merely whimpered as he disappeared into the beam with Teal’c and Daniel.
‘Why’d you kick him?’ Jack asked curiously.
‘For what he did to Rodney in the other timeline.
‘Cool.’
*****
Further perusal of the information they’d collected from both the Committee and Simmons’ apartment gave them sufficient evidence to convict Kinsey and all the people on his list, except many of them were unknown to the SGC.
‘We need your dad,’ Jack sighed as he rubbed his eyes. ‘I don’t recognise half these names, and I have no idea if they support or oppose us. Patrick’ll know, I’m certain.’
‘Then let’s hand it all over to Dad and George,’ John suggested from where he was stretched out on the floor of Jack’s office – now moved from Level 24 to a larger one not far from Hammond’s, although Jack still used the one on Level 24 occasionally, just to mess with people, and it was a good excuse for going missing periodically. John also occasionally used it, for the same reasons. ‘We’ve surely worked on this for as long as we can. Both Rodney and Daniel are fast asleep, and while Teal’c’s eyes are open, he’s not tracking.’
‘He’s doing the Jaffa kel no’reem thing,’ Jack told him, leaning back in his chair. ‘They don’t actually need to sleep with a symbiote.’
‘They sleep with symbiotes?’ John repeated, and screwed up his nose. ‘That’s disgusting.’
‘No, not sleep with a symbiote, they sleeep with a symbiote.’
‘I think I must be mostly asleep, as that didn’t sound any different.’
‘Yeah, okay.’
Walter, sent to find the missing flag-ship gate team the following morning, or, rather, later that same morning, found them all fast asleep, and couldn’t help himself. Digital cameras were all the rage and had featured in most people’s Christmas stockings. Walter went to fetch his own and called his chum Siler to join him. Only after they’d each taken several photos of the sleeping team did Walter wake them up.
By the time the team made it to the general’s office half an hour later, a dozen or more photos were spread across Hammond’s desk. Daniel and Rodney were pictured with their arms around each other, cuddling, while Jack was asleep with his head on his desk, the papers beneath his head damp from drool. Teal’c was his usual solid, immovable self, while John was laid perfectly straight, his hands folded across his chest like a corpse.
‘I had to check you weren’t actually dead, sir,’ Walter told him.
‘Was that before or after you took the photograph, Master Sergeant?’
‘Oh, after, sir. Why?’
John rolled his eyes and sighed when his teammates clutched each other and wept with laughter. Except for Teal’c, who merely raised an eyebrow.
‘Sir,’ John asked the general, ‘can I have a new gate team?’
‘No.’
‘Hrmph.’ John folded his arms and put on his best pout while the others dried their eyes.
‘How did you get on with the information from Simmons’ apartment?’ Hammond asked the team when he was once more capable of speech.
‘You’ve seen how we got on,’ Jack said, pointing to the photographs. ‘I think you need someone used to looking through this stuff to see what is and isn’t important. There’s enough to sink Kinsey, but there’s other stuff in there that looks bad at first sight, but when you look into it, might be pretty innocuous. I think Simmons was blackmailing a large percentage of the beltway. No wonder he could afford the apartment he had.’
‘And the rest of his property,’ Rodney added, the inevitable tablet in his hand. ‘So far we’ve discovered property in several US cities, in Columbia, Peru, and…yep, and in France.’
‘The ones in Columbia and Cuba will be to escape extradition. We don’t have treaties with them,’ Daniel commented. ‘It’d be worth searching those properties, as he might have stashed some stuff there.’
‘I can get Miko to take a look at the digital stuff, but it may be worth asking her if there’s anyone she knows we can trust to go through it in detail,’ Rodney suggested. ‘There’s months of work for just one person, and she’s already loaded with her own work.’
‘Is it time to bring in the NCIS team we talked about?’ Jack asked Hammond, raising his brows. ‘We’d have to read them in, of course, but we need to do it now while Tom Morrow is still Director, because he’ll leave soon to go to Homeland, and they’ll get a corrupt director who almost finishes the agency.’
‘An agent afloat would make more sense than AFOSI,’ Hammond agreed, tapping his desk with a pencil.
‘And it’d help if we take one to Pegasus with us straight off, especially if they’re multi-skilled.’
‘Jethro Gibbs is a master carpenter,’ Jack said thoughtfully. ‘He’s also an expert sniper, which could be useful for you.’
‘I’m not having Gibbs on his own,’ John said flatly. ‘He needs his sidekick, whatshisname? The Italian. He’s the only one who can control and corral Gibbs.’
‘DiNozzo?’ Hammond asked. ‘I’ll run it by Neville—SecNav, I mean.’
John grinned. ‘My Godfather?’
‘Your Godfather is the SecNav?’ Jack asked, and shook his head. ‘Every time I think I’ve got you sussed, you chuck another curved ball. How…’
‘He’s my father’s best friend. They went through Annapolis together.’
‘We need to wrap this up, gentlemen,’ Hammond said suddenly. ‘Rodney is asleep, and Dr Jackson isn’t far behind.’
”M’fine,’ Daniel protested, his head drooping, then he gave a wide yawn which set off Jack and John.
‘Go to bed, gentlemen,’ the general ordered. ‘I’ll speak to John’s Godfather and the SecAir and see what we can come up with. Now go!’
*****
Chapter 22
Chapter Text
Jack’s sitting room was almost a standing room with SG-1, General Hammond, Patrick and Dave Sheppard as well as the SecNav, Neville Delauder crowded into it. Rodney claimed a seat, citing his bad back, while John made do with the floor, leaning back against Rodney’s legs. Teal’c, meanwhile, sat cross-legged, with his spine erect and his shoulders held back in a flawless posture.
‘…so while there will be trials, due to the classified nature of the Stargate Programme, they’ll be held in secret, and the verdicts are already pretty much decided,’ Neville finished, and took a long drink of the beer Jack had just passed to him.
‘What will happen to them?’ Dave asked.
General Hammond cleared his throat. ‘We’re building an off-world facility where they’ll all serve full life sentences, and we’ll also transfer the other people connected to the Programme who’re convicted of treason, like the ones caught when Jack went undercover with the NID.’
‘It’s the only way we can be certain future government officials, or politicians with sufficient clout, don’t let them out,’ Jack explained as Dave frowned.
‘What happened to their constitutional rights?’ Dave, the lawyer, asked. ‘Surely what you’re doing is illegal.’
‘Oh, totally,’ Jack said, leaning back and taking a pull of water – he’d switched from beer after his second bottle. ‘But this is far bigger than ‘constitutional rights’.’ He made quotes with his fingers. ‘When not just national security, but Intergalactic security is at stake, we need to make sure those fuckers aren’t getting out, and, as Harry Maybourne once told me, administrations change.’
‘I still don’t like it,’ Dave said, shaking his head and dropping his eyes.
‘We don’t care,’ Jack returned.
‘Gentlemen?’ Neville leaned forward and looked between the two men. ‘If I may?’ Jack waved a hand while Dave gave a tight nod. ‘Since the charge for most of those convicted is, or will be, treason – for both ‘levying war’ and ‘giving aid’ to our enemies – they’ve relinquished any rights they might have had, and, if we so desired, we could have them all executed. Is that a better option?’
Dave looked away from the man he’d called ‘uncle’ all his life. ‘No, sir,’ he said in a low voice, then sighed and looked back at Neville. ‘I understand, I do, but…There’s no provision for repentance if they’re in an off-world jail.’
‘There’s no provision for repentance if they’re dead, either,’ Jack said dryly. ‘I’m afraid this is just one of those things you’re going to have to accept, Dave.’
Dave gave a huff and nodded. ‘Yeah. Suck it up, buttercup, right?’
‘Indeed, as my friend would say,’ Jack said with a grin, then turned to Neville. ‘I do have a question, though, sir?’
Neville inclined his head. ‘Go on.’
‘What about Kinsey? Do you have enough on him to throw his ass in the slammer? And if you do, can we watch?’ he added as an afterthought.
Any remaining tension from Dave’s questions vanished, and there was general laughter around the room, and several people altered position or stretched their legs.
Neville waited until everyone settled down. ‘Robert Kinsey is manipulative and vindictive, but he’s also covered his tracks very well—’ He held up a hand as Jack opened his mouth. ‘No, no, hear me out. Almost all his…sponsors and supporters, I guess, are going to jail. While we don’t have enough yet, yet, to convict him, his network of influential men – as they’re all male, which makes its own statement about him – his entire network of influence and cronyism has been shattered, and he’s also been made to look a fool. Now, while he’ll no doubt try to spin it to his own advantage – taken in, deceived, we can expect all of these claims – he’s damaged his image, possibly irrevocably. Few people will trust him again, and as he’s also up for election next year, he’s likely to lose his seat in the Senate as most of his financial support has gone.’
‘So there’s a chance we may find enough to convict him?’
‘Absolutely. NCIS is on the case, as the SGC is largely made up of Marines, and they have a new recruit who’s apparently a wizard at forensic accounting. In fact—’ Neville turned to look at the general. ‘With your permission, sir, I’d like to introduce him to Dr Kusanagi. I think Agent McGee will adore her, and she might be able to teach him some of her own tricks.’
‘Rodney?’ Hammond asked. ‘You know her best. Is it something she’d agree to?’
He hummed a little, then nodded. ‘It’s certainly worth asking her, but if he gives her any attitude, he can expect to hear all about himself.’
‘Understood, and I’ll make sure he knows that.’
‘Just warn him Miko does her fighting with both IT and swords,’ John added. ‘I’ve seen hard-nosed Marines run away from her, screaming. It was fun for us, though,’ he added, making the others laugh.
‘So.’ Neville rubbed his hands together and looked expectantly at General Hammond. ‘Have I earned my space flight? ‘Cause that’s what Patrick promised me if I got this all sorted discreetly.’
The general smiled at him. ‘And you’ve certainly done that, but you’ll have to ask Rodney about the flight. He knows the schedule for Prometheus.’
‘It’s decided, then?’ Daniel asked, having remained silent for most of the discussion.
‘Yes.’ Hammond nodded. ‘Prometheus. SecAir made the decision earlier today.
‘It’s a Greek tragedy,’ Jack complained – again.
‘Prometheus also represents human striving,’ Daniel told Jack, slipping into lecture mode. ‘And in particular, the quest for scientific knowledge, as well as the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences. I’d say he’s a lesson we in the Stargate Programme should take to heart.’
‘I did not know that,’ Jack said in a deadpan tone. ‘Maybe we should put it on our letter-head.’ He then ducked as Daniel made a swipe at him.
‘I think that might be one of your unintended consequences, Jack,’ General Hammond told him.
*****
Things suddenly started to happen. Peter Grodin – a future member of the Atlantis expedition – was brought to the SGC ahead of time and added to Radek Zelenka’s growing Engineering Department. As Rodney had once suggested, he recommended Dr Anne Stewart, a British geneticist, be brought in to look at Thor’s creation of an ATA gene-modifier, and work out its components, with a view to producing it in quantity after strict testing and peer review.
Since Thor had already done, the majority of the work entailed, Stewart had a working gene-modifier, fully tested and reviewed, by the end of July, with the roll-out to members of the SGC and Area 51 beginning on the first Monday in August. Testing was mandatory for the military, but civilians were given the option of refusing it if they wished, but, unsurprisingly, no one refused to test for the ability to use the growing number of Ancient artefacts brought back to the SGC by the gate teams.
To ensure the scientists at Area 51 weren’t ignored, Rodney decreed that 50% of all artefacts brought back to Earth should be sent to Area 51 for testing and logging – but not before he’d gone through them to see if there was anything he wished to keep.
‘It’s a matter of safety and common sense,’ he told Radek after Radek had questioned his impartiality. ‘I know the most about Ancient technology and any technology I recognise as dangerous must be removed and passed over to the military. I can always ask John or Jack to do it if you think I’m being unreasonable.’
Radek demurred, as Rodney knew he would, and he continued to keep anything he was particularly interested in. The scientists there’re already being treated fairer than last time, he decided, and while his conscience niggled him occasionally, he pushed it firmly away.
The testing of the military brought forth several natural gene carriers, and the gene-modifier produced more.
‘It has around a 50% success rate,’ Rodney informed weekly briefing meeting, 'which is a few per cent more than Carson’s did.’
‘Do you consider that significant?’ Hammond asked him.
‘I think we’re picking up more of the lower end of the scale,’ Rodney hedged. ‘We won’t know their aptitude until we either get them in a Puddle Jumper or in the control chair at the outpost.’
‘Sorry, Rodney.’ Daniel waggled his fingers in the air. ‘Why do you need to get them in a Puddle Jumper or the chair? What will that tell you?’
‘We worked out a ranking system,’ John explained, leaning slightly forward. ‘It was based on how easily someone could fly a Jumper or could use the control chair. While Bill Smith might have the gene, it’s no good if he can’t use it. So when Rodney talks about their aptitude, he means how well they can use it.’
‘So who has the highest aptitude?” Daniel asked, looking at his teammates.
‘John,’ Rodney answered immediately. ‘Possibly because he trusts his gene and is willing to let go of himself in the control chair, so he lets it guide him, rather than him trying to dominate the interface.’
‘And also because I was exposed to far more Ancient tech on Atlantis than Jack has, or will be,’ John added, with a smile at his friend.
‘No.’ Jack shook his head. ‘Rodney’s right. You’re able to let go when you’re in the chair, John. I can’t. Maybe it’s because I’m older, or have a harder time trusting. I don’t know.’
‘But is the significance of discovering lower-aptitude ATA Gene holders important, Dr McKay?’ Hammond brought the discussion back to the point.
‘Not really, but, again, we won’t know until we have access to either the chair or a Jumper. What is important, though, is that we’re way ahead of schedule in testing for the ATA gene. In the other timeline, Earth didn’t begin testing for it until they got Carson’s gene therapy, in mid-2005. Discovering the gene holders sooner gives us more options with the Outpost, when it’s found. Before, only Jack and John could use it, and you had to recall John a couple of times from Atlantis to use it in Earth’s defence, which is clearly not ideal. Now, we may find a strong enough gene holder on Earth to use it.’
‘Good.’ The general smiled at his staff. ‘I’m loathe to say it, but things just might be going our way.’
‘They were, but you’ve probably jinxed them now,’ Jack sighed. ‘Thanks a lot, sir.’
*****
On their third or fourth – Jack had lost count – visit to Kheb, SG-1 finally met Oma Desala again.
‘Have you been deliberately hiding from us?’ Jack asked, narrowing his eyes. ‘And don’t give me any of that ‘if a candle is burning it’s time to fix the roof’ crap.’
Seeing her eyes narrow, Daniel tried to backtrack. ‘He means we’ve been seeking your enlightened wisdom, and would ask for—’
‘No, he doesn’t,’ Jack snapped. ‘I want to know what she’s going to do to fix her mistake.’
‘My mistake?’ Oma asked, not allowing any emotion to interrupt her composure.
‘We know what happened with Anubis,’ Daniel told her, elbowing Jack in the stomach to shut him up. ‘That you helped him to ascend before realising he only wanted access and the means to use Ancient technology. He’s going to kill thousands, maybe millions, of people in this galaxy if you don’t stop him, you know.’
‘What would you have me do?’
They’d found her in the temple in the wooded valley, just as they did on the first occasion they visited the planet. On the last three – four? – visits, they hadn’t even been able to find the temple, big as it was, so it was clear she’d allowed them to find her this time.
Jack eyed her thoughtfully. He knew the only way to defeat Anubis was for her to engage him in perpetual battle. That’s too simple an answer, so what does she want? What would make her agree? ‘We know about the Ori,’ he tried, but her demeanour didn’t alter. ‘We also know how to destroy them.’ Now that’s got her attention.
‘Course, that might destroy all ascended beings,’ he added, following John’s regular habit of leaning against the wall behind him, and letting his gaze wander around the room they were in. I’m going for nonchalant. Has she fallen for it?
‘That wouldn’t be much of a loss, though, would it?’ John enquired, playing up to him with all his worth, and joining him in holding up the wall with his shoulder. ‘And it’d solve the Anubis problem.’
‘That knowledge…’ Oma began, but trailed off, frowning as she tried to recover her chi. Though I don’t have a clue what a chi is, hers or anyone else’s.
‘How do you know this?’ she demanded. ‘We removed that knowledge from Anubis. No one else can have that knowledge.’
‘And yet…’ Jack let his words hang.
‘And just in case you think we’re bluffing,’ John added, ‘we know all about Arthur and Morgan Le Fay – or is she still calling herself Ganos Lal?’
That, more than his other words, convinced Oma Desala.
‘What do you think I can do?’ she asked, holding out her hands in supplication. ‘The Others will not allow Anubis to ascend, nor will they allow me to remove his knowledge, since that is my punishment.’
‘They’re pretty big on punishment,’ Rodney said, entering the fray. ‘Aren’t they? Except for themselves, of course. It’s fine for them to leave an entire galaxy to suffer from their mistakes.’
‘You also know of Atlantis?’ Oma whispered, growing even paler. ‘How?‘
‘None of your business,’ Rodney snapped, turning away from her, and Jack watched as he pressed his lips together while also tightening his grip on his P90 so much, his knuckles were white.
‘What do you think I can do?’ This time, as she said it, she focussed her attention on Jack, probably realising he was the leader. ‘Killing him is not good since he would then ascend, and the Others would simply send him back.’
‘You need to have a conversation with them,’ Jack told her. ‘Tell them what we know, and since it isn’t just we five who know it, killing us, or making us ascend, won’t help. It’d just make things worse for them, and you. At least we’ve come to negotiate and not just activated the Sangraal or the Ark.’ He straightened up, then stretched. How the hell does John do that leaning stuff all the time? My back’s killing me.
‘C’mon, campers, let’s get going. Wagons ho!’ He shot Oma a mocking salute. ‘So long, Oma. Don’t be a stranger. You know where we live.’
Bereft of speech, Oma Desala watched them leave without a backward glance.
*****
The next part of the plan had two parts. Part One, which SG-1 would take, was to return to Abydos and find the Lost City Tablet, which was hidden somewhere in the Temple of Ra. This would then, eventually, lead them to the gate address for Atlantis, and, indirectly, to the Eye of Ra, one of the six power sources to a superweapon Anubis built from the knowledge he retained from his short period of ascension.
‘Don’t forget I want to examine that Eye,’ Rodney told his teammates. ‘No one got the chance last time, but if Anubis did get the information from being ascended, it’s pretty certain the Ancients originally made them as power sources.’
‘What for?’ Daniel asked, pausing in checking his backpack as they readied themselves for the mission.
‘That’s what I want to find out.’
Part Two, the search for Telchak’s Device was, after rigorous discussion, being undertaken by SG-11, led by Colonel Edwards, with the newly arrived Captain Lorne on his team. The general, as well as Jack and John, wanted to see how Lorne performed under pressure, although with the search taking place twelve months sooner than last time, they hoped the device – the means to dealing with Anubis’ Kull Warriors – hadn’t yet been discovered by the Honduran Rebels who held it last time. That, and a team being sent rather than just Daniel and Bill Lee.
‘And whoever allowed that deserves to be shot!’ Jack had grumbled. ‘Who could possibly think sending Laurel and Hardy out with no back-up was a sound plan?’
He’d looked around when no one answered him. ‘Crap! Was it me? I can’t remember.’
Rodney had screwed up his eyes. ‘I think it was General Hammond, but I’d still suggest you keep those thoughts to yourself.’
‘It’s good advice,’ John had said, patting Jack’s shoulder. ‘Take it!’
Daniel, meanwhile, had refused to speak to him for several hours.
For now, however, SG-1 lined up at the foot of the ramp while Walter dialled the gate address for Abydos.
‘Feels a bit like déjà vu,’ Jack said, nudging Daniel. ‘At least you have meds for your asthma and hay fever now.’
‘But I can never go to Abydos without remembering Sha’re,’ Daniel said quietly, and Jack gripped his shoulder with as much emotion as he’d allow himself in public on base. In private was a different matter.
‘God speed, SG-1,’ Hammond called out from the operations room, and when Jack looked over his shoulder, he saw Hammond had raised a hand in farewell.
Abydos was as hot and dusty as Jack remembered when they emerged from the temple in which the Stargate was situated, but John and Rodney looked around curiously. The entire planet was gone by the time John joined the Programme, its population helped to ascend by Oma Desala after Anubis tested his new superweapon on it.
Looking around for any sign of life, Jack waved a hand as he and Daniel set off towards Nagada, the primary city on Abydos.
‘Don’t you think it’s odd there was no one in the temple?’ Daniel asked Jack as they struggled through the sand, slipping back one step for every two steps forward.
‘I think it’s odd that no planet other than Earth appears to have horses, or something like a horse,’ Rodney grumbled.
‘You don’t like riding a horse,’ John told him. ‘Or not very much.’
‘I’d have the motive to improve if it meant not walking on fucking sand,’ Rodney snapped as he slid forward, arms flailing, and ended up on his ass. ‘Ow!’
‘The Abydonians have mastadge,’ Daniel said, looking around as though he expected one to spring up. ‘A large, hairy mammal which possibly evolved from a horse. It—Arg!’
His shriek was echoed by Rodney as a dozen or more robed figures suddenly emerged from the sand, all shouting and all holding weapons trained on the team.
Teal’c immediately brought up his staff weapon and primed it, while John aimed his P90, but kept the safety on until he knew if these people were friendly, or if they were enemies.
Jack, however, held up a hand. ‘Hold your fire!’
One man stepped forward and pulled his robe aside to reveal his face.
‘O’Nieer!’ he cried, opening his arms. ‘O’Nieer! Dan-yel! Dan-yel!’
‘Skaara!’ Daniel shouted and ran forward to hug the man. He began to jabber away in Abydonian, all the time guiding Skaara towards the others.
‘O’Nieer!’ Skaara cried again, flinging his arms around Jack, then he turned towards Teal’c and stepped back, saying something to Daniel while occasionally glancing at Teal’c, his face serious.
Daniel stepped forward and placed his hand on Teal’c’s shoulder, pulling him towards Skaara.
‘Teal’c killed Daniel’s wife, Sha’re,’ Jack explained to John and Rodney, ‘when she was possessed by Amaunet, Queen of Apophis who we killed by…well, we killed him, that’s all you need to know for the moment.’
‘Teal’c killed her?’ John repeated, frowning.
‘She was being controlled by Amaunet and was torturing Danny. Teal’c did the right thing,’ Jack said, shortly.
‘I’m not disputing that, but how did Daniel take it?’
‘Exactly as you’d expect: badly,’ Jack answered. ‘He considered leaving the programme for a while, but finally realised that Teal’c did the right thing. Skaara, Sha’re’s brother, though, might not see it quite the same way, but Daniel’s the only one of us who can make him accept Teal’c. I wanted T-man to sit this one out, but he said he had to make restitution to Sha’re’s family.’
‘Restitution.’
‘Yeah. I’ve no idea what he means, either.’
Whatever Daniel had told his brother-in-law, however, appeared to work as Skaara gripped Teal’c’s arm in a warrior salute while Daniel continued to speak to him.
Jack, John, and Rodney, meanwhile, lay back in the sand, taking their rest while they could. Experience told them they didn’t know when they’d be able to rest again.
After a while, Daniel called them over. ‘Skaara says they don’t bother keeping a guard in the temple any longer as no one’s come through the gate since…since Amaunet was killed.’ Daniel bit his lip and looked away for a moment, then took a deep breath. ‘Skaara hasn’t ever come across a hidden room or the Eye of Ra, but there are several mentions of it in the catacombs. He’s going to lead us there.’
When they returned to the temple, Jack sent Teal’c off with three of the young men accompanying Skaara to set a perimeter, and allowed Skaara to lead them into the catacombs to the walls with the mentions of the Eye of Ra.
‘Where’s the hidden room, Jack?’ Daniel asked, looking around with a smile. ‘Skaara and I have spent hours in here, trying to eke out every little bit of information we can from these wa—Jack?’
‘Daniel?’
‘Ja—’ Daniel began, before Rodney slapped both their shoulders.
‘No! You’re not going into that routine. We’ve got a serious job to do, remember?’
‘I wasn’t,’ Daniel protested. ‘I was just waiting for Jack to show us where this hidden room is.’
‘I don’t know.’
The others rounded on Jack.
‘What d’you mean, ‘you don’t know’?’ Rodney demanded. ‘You said you knew!’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yeah, you did, Jack,’ Daniel sighed.
‘No. I did not.’
‘But you said…’ Daniel began, then inclined his head. ‘No, you didn’t. You said Sam and Jonas had found it while you were busy fighting off Anubis’ forces.’
Like Pavlovian dogs, they all looked up at the roof of the catacomb. Rodney was the first to shake himself.
‘So why are we here, Jack, if you don’t know where the room is?’
Jack shrugged. ‘Carter and Quinn worked it out. I thought you’d be able to do the same, but if you can’t…’ He let the sentence hang.
Rodney huffed, then shone his torch on another bit of wall, and Daniel joined him, carefully and gently running his hands over the writing and images etched there in past millennia.
‘That was cruel,’ John whispered to Jack.
‘It’ll work, though.’
*****
It did work, but it took much longer than it had before without the ascended Daniel’s assistance, but Jack considered it worth the wait as he watched Daniel’s face light up at the sight of artefacts in the room, unseen for possibly thousands of years.
‘There’s enough here to keep my entire department busy for the next ten years, he whispered, almost to himself. ‘Where do we start?’
‘With the Lost City tablet, and the Eye of Ra,’ Jack said, and his prosaic tone and manner brought Daniel back to earth with a bump.
‘There’s no romance in you whatsoever,’ he complained as he knelt to open a casket filled with jewels.
‘You didn’t say that last night,’ Jack murmured, just loud enough for Daniel to hear, who flushed at the memory.
‘Well, okay, you are sometimes,’ he allowed. ‘Now, what does this eye look like?’ He began sifting through the loose jewels and the actual jewellery.
‘Well, for a start, it’s not a real eye, and I don’t think they found it in one of these boxes. It was more difficult than that, I think.’
‘And what were you doing while Sam and Jonas Quinn were busy treasure hunting?’ Rodney demanded.
‘Fighting off Anubis’ Jaffa,’ Jack answered, frowning. ‘I wasn’t having a picnic, y’know!’
‘Here’s the tablet,’ John called out from the other side of the secret chamber, and Jack hurried to his side to read it with him.
‘Alterans, great plague, yada yada. Yeah, that’s it. Now we just need the eye.’ He looked around the room lit by torch flames that threw shadows across the stone walls and roof. ‘There was something else, I’m certain,’ he murmured, turning in a circle. ‘Something Carter told me about later, something she did…which she…knew…Danny wouldn’t…approve of…’ With a suddenness which made John jump, he straightened up. ‘Danny, Rodders, grab something and tap the walls,’ he ordered, pulling out his own K-bar and beginning to tap the wall lightly. ‘You too, John.’
‘Just be careful, all of you,’ Daniel begged them. ‘This is probably the most important cache of artefacts related to Ra we’ve come across.’
They tapped and touched for what felt like hours to Jack, but it was barely ten minutes before Rodney called out.
‘Here, there’s a hollow sound if I tap…’
Daniel hurried over and pushed Rodney out of the way.
‘Hey!’
‘It’s not like you’ve never done that to anyone, is it?’ John said, pulling him away from the wall to give Daniel space and light, then he switched on the light on his P90 and shone it on the place where Daniel was running his hands. ‘Does that help?’
‘Yeah, thanks,’ Daniel replied absently, all his attention on the wall. ‘There must be a way…’ he murmured, and the others had to strain to hear him.
‘D’you remember how they opened it last time?’ John asked Jack as Rodney joined Daniel in examining the wall inch by inch.
Jack shook his head. ‘No. I was occupied with fighting off Anubis’ thugs, and then…’. He paused and swallowed.
‘Then?’ John prompted, softly.
‘Then Skaara was injured, more badly that I realised at first. He…’ Jack swallowed again. ‘He…he ascended, right in front of me, just like Danny did.’ His voice trailed off as memories assailed him, but John touched his arm gently.
‘Jack?’
He gave himself a mental shake. ‘Yeah, I’m here, don’t worry. It’s just…so many pointless deaths, John. Lives wasted for no reason other than one…snakehead’s vainglory.’ He spat the last couple of words.
‘And we’ve been given the chance to change that, haven’t we?’ Jack opened his mouth to speak, but John continued. ‘We can save many of the lives we lost last time. Not all of them, but we can save some, and we can try to ensure that those who deserve it are caught and punished, right? We’ve made a good start, and now, hopefully, we can save Abydos. That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it? Saving the entire planet?’
Jack chuckled. ‘Yeah, that’s what we’re doing.’ He tried to pull himself together, a little ashamed he’d almost let his memories overtake him, and he touched John’s arm. ‘Thanks.’ It was all he needed to say. John knew what he meant.
They each smiled at the other, then noticed the argument on the other side of the chamber.
‘…not destroying it!’ Daniel. A rather heated Daniel from the sounds of it.
‘Daniel, don’t be so stupid! It’s the only way to get it open!’ And that was pure Rodders.
‘Problem, gentlemen?’ Jack asked as he and John joined them in staring at the wall.
‘No, no problem, because I’m not going to let anyone smash this wall and destroy the integrity of the chamber,’ Daniel said, glaring at Rodney.
Who was glaring right back. ‘Yes, there’s a problem, because this soft and squishy excuse for a scientist won’t let me break down the wall to get the Eye of Ra we came for!’
‘Are you sure there’s no other way to open wherever it is?’ John asked as he let his P90 hang on its strap and ran his hands over the part of the wall they were staring at and arguing over.
‘Positive,’ Rodney said.
‘No! We’re not certain!’ Daniel said at exactly the same moment.
‘I can feel a raised bit, which I suspect covers a small aperture,’ John told Jack, who stepped forward to feel the area for himself. ‘It’s probably too small to warrant a special opening mechanism,’ he added.
‘Yeah, I agree,’ Jack said with a sigh, knowing this was going to upset Daniel. ‘Sorry, Danny, but John’s right. I think it’s likely they made a hole in the plasterwork, put the eye in, and just plastered over it again. The only way to get the eye is to smash the plaster.’
‘Thank you,’ Rodney said, standing with his arms folded and the same air of superiority Jack recognised from the other timeline, the one which had been largely absent this time, but as he opened his mouth to speak, John pulled Rodney aside, making him squawk with surprise.
‘Don’t be so arrogant!’ Jack heard John hiss. ‘And don’t rub it in. You’re better than this, Rodney. I know you are!’
For a moment Rodney scowled, but then he let his shoulders slump and dropped his eyes to the ground. ‘Sorry, Daniel,’ he said, looking up and meeting Daniel’s eyes. ‘I was rude and insensitive, and I know how much this stuff means to you. And I don’t for a minute think you’re an excuse for a scientist. You’re an archeologist and anthropologist, not a botanist.’
‘Rodney!’ John raised his eyes to the roof and shook his head, but Daniel was laughing.
‘Never change, Rodney,’ he said, making a pretence of wiping his eyes. ‘Never change.’
‘So, are we gonna do this?’ Jack demanded, holding out the butt of his P90.
Daniel cringed, but nodded to him. ‘Go ahead, but don’t smash more than you need to.’
It only took a couple of blows as the plaster over the opening wasn’t thick, and once Jack had brushed away the bits of plaster and the dust he’d made, he stepped back and swept out his arm.
‘Your privilege, I believe, Dr Jackson.’
‘Thank you, Colonel O’Neill,’ he answered, and reached into the aperture.
The Eye of Ra was a palm-sized crystal in a circular setting reminiscent of a Stargate. At first sight, it was colourless, but, as with most crystals, once exposed to a light source, its facets became multi-hued.
‘If this is originally an Ancient artefact, it’s just possible the crystal might contain information,’ Rodney said, thoughtfully, turning the crystal, so it caught the light. ‘We never got to examine it last time.’
Daniel neatly plucked it out of his hand. ‘Possibly, but I get to examine it first as it’s an important archeological artefact.’
Jack, seeing where this discussion might end, took the crystal from Daniel and dropped it into a pocket in his tac-vest. ‘I think I’ll keep hold of this for the moment. Danny, you can take the Lost City tablet. Now, is there anything else you want to take now?’
‘Jack! We can’t take anything. It has to remain as it is until we’ve had time to sketch and photograph the chamber properly.’
Sighing, and knowing he was going to infuriate his partner, Jack shook his head. ‘Danny, we have to take what we need now – the Eye and the tablet – and look into sending out a couple of teams to keep an eye on your geeks once we’ve briefed George. Don’t forget that Anubis is searching for the Eyes and he’s gonna come here at some point. I don’t want to put your people in a dangerous situation. I don’t want to put anyone in a dangerous situation, not if it’s avoidable.’
‘So what you’re saying is I can’t come back until we know Anubis is gone? Jack! That could be months! Years, even! And what if he destroys it in the meantime? You said he destroyed the entire planet last time!’ Daniel was working himself into an epic rage of the kind Jack had never seen since he had killed Reese, and the memory made him shiver.
‘Danny, calm down. You’ll make yourself sick. I’m sure we can come up with a workable plan, but I don’t want to lose you now I’ve found you.’ Jack stared at him, hating that he had to disappoint his friend, but he knew his duty. ‘I can’t do anything until we’ve had a proper discussion with George, and I’m sure you don’t want to put Sha’re’s family at risk, do you?’
Appealing to that side of Daniel did the trick, and Jack hadn’t lied. Kasuf and Skaara’s safety wasn’t worth risking for the sake of Daniel’s science, although Jack wondered if Rodney, in the same position, would have made the same decision if it were his sister and niece at risk. No, stop it! That’s unfair! He’s changed. We’ve all changed.
*****
‘And is this enough to save Abydos, do you think, Jack?’ Hammond asked, his attention fixed on Jack rather than the other members of the team around the briefing room table.
‘I’m…uncertain, sir,’ Jack admitted, leaning back in his seat and tapping the table with a pencil. ‘Last time, Anubis ‘tested’ his superweapon on Abydos, destroying it completely. Whether he’ll destroy it anyway when he doesn’t find the Eye there, we can’t be sure. He’s certainly vicious enough.’
‘What if we put it about that we have the Eye?’ John suggested. ‘Would that save Abydos, or just bring Anubis to our door instead?’
Jack considered this, then shook his head. ‘It’s well known in the galaxy that we have an interest in Abydos, even if folk don’t know why exactly. Anubis may decide to attack it to teach us a lesson, but the same could be said about several other planets as well.’ Edora. Lairissa. Fuck! ‘As for bringing Anubis to our door, that’s already his intention, no matter what we do. Our best hope is to destroy him first, or by putting so many spokes in his wheel that he decides it’s not worth it.’
‘Which reminds me,’ Hammond said, pulling a sheet of paper from a folder in front of him. ‘Major Carter has been in contact to say they’ve almost finished mapping the extent of the Outpost beneath the ice, and are ready to begin excavation as soon as the seasons change. She estimates they’ll be able to start at the begin of October.’
‘October?’ Jack repeated. ‘Why is it taking so long?’
‘Light,’ Rodney said succinctly. ‘And the temperature, perhaps. This is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, remember?’
‘Right.’ Jack sighed. ‘Should we have waited to send Carter down?’
‘No, because she’s had the time to set up a base and get all the equipment they’ll need in place,’ Rodney answered, then glanced at the general. ‘Sorry, sir. Am I stepping on your toes?’
‘No, son, you go ahead. You know far more about it than I do,’ Hammond replied, smiling at him.
Rodney nodded. ‘Then once they begin, they’ll have to test the structure continually. It’s a massive project Carter’s got.’
‘I swear it wasn’t this difficult last time,’ Jack grumbled.
‘Because we already had a way in,’ Rodney explained, and it was clear he was trying to be patient. ‘If truth be told, we shouldn’t have gone into the Outpost as soon as we did. There should have been far more testing of structural integrity than we did. We were actually very fortunate nothing bad happened.’
‘Why did you go in so quickly?’ John asked, and Jack remembered that the entire base was up and running by the time John began his regular supply flights.
‘Because of Elizabeth Weir,’ Rodney said with a sigh. ‘She either persuaded the President to press on, or he pushed the project forward because he knew he was going to remove her from the SGC as soon as Jack was…thawed out, and he felt guilty. ‘
‘I’d go for guilt,’ Jack said, nodding. ‘Just from the odd thing POTUS said to me later. Kinsey either tricked him into appointing Weir, or blackmailed him. There was no reason, and certainly no precedent, to appoint a civilian as commander of a military base. I do know the Chiefs were furious with his decision, and I’m not sure he ever won their unwavering support.’
‘But we’ve still ‘discovered’ it a couple of years earlier than we managed last time,’ John reminded him. ‘Don’t be so hasty, master Hobbit!‘
Rodney laughed at his impression of Treebeard, and even Jack cracked a smile, while Daniel frowned.
‘What?’
‘I’ll tell you at Christmas,’ Jack told him. ‘It’s nothing important. Just Sheppard being a fool.’
John promptly stuck out his tongue, making the general sigh.
‘Gentlemen.’
‘I just want to get on,’ Jack told him, and sighed. ‘It feels like we’re dragging our heels.’
‘And yet we’ve made significant progress in the last few months,’ Rodney pointed out, reasonably. ‘The things we’re held back by are the things out of our control.’
‘Fine,’ Jack muttered, very aware of how close he was to pouting. ‘What about SG-11, sir? Any news from them?’
‘They believe they’ve found the right area in Honduras to search per your grandfather’s notes, Dr Jackson, but are struggling with the location of the waterfall and caves he spoke about.’
‘And it’s too early for Google maps to search for it via satellite,’ Rodney grumbled, making Hammond and Daniel frown at him.
‘What maps?’ Daniel asked. ‘Did you say Goggle?’
‘Google. It’s a fairly recent search engine, but the company will grow into one of the largest in the world, and its name, ‘Google’, itself becomes a verb. In the future, people will talk about ‘googling’ for information, even if they use a different search engine.’
‘But what’s it got to do with maps?’
‘Google launched a mapping platform, or will launch it,’ Rodney explained. ‘Basically, it’s satellite imagery of the whole world. It’s interactive, and eventually offered real-time images. Quite a few discoveries were made once it had mapped the entire world, especially in landscape archeology. My point is, that if we had satellite images of the relevant area, we could probably narrow the search area, or even pinpoint where they need to be.’
‘Can’t we get satellite images?’ John asked with a frown. ‘I mean, we have access to satellites, don’t we? And if we don’t, why don’t we? Surely we can justify the expense of one, or even more than one, in terms of an early warning system for an incursion into the Sol system?’
‘It’s not something that’s ever been raised,’ Hammond said, ‘but there’s a lot of sense in your idea.’
‘And both Miko and I have access to other satellites,’ Rodney said. ‘Legitimate access,’ he clarified when both Jack and John looked at him sceptically. ‘I’ll get on to it right away, but it is something we could easily do,’ he added, speaking to the general. ‘Prometheus will be starting her test flights shortly, and as soon as that happens, we can launch satellites from the ship itself. I’ve done it before in Pegasus.’
‘From a Jumper, though,’ John added. ‘It’ll be more difficult to manoeuvre a B-303 into place. And a ship is female, so it’s herself.’
‘Then we build the satellite with thrusters we can use from the ship herself,’ Rodney said, scowling at John, who just leaned back in his chair and smirked.
‘Then we have a plan,’ Hammond said, leaning back himself. ‘Excellent.’
*****
Chapter 23
Chapter Text
While Radek and Peter Grodin designed and then supervised the building of three satellites, Rodney, Jack and John went out to Nevada to supervise the initial testing of Prometheus. Daniel, meanwhile, had persuaded General Hammond and Jack – against his better judgement – to allow him to return to Abydos to record the secret chamber and its contents. Jack was unhappy letting Daniel off-world without him, but knew he couldn’t restrict the man simply because they were in a relationship, although Jack knew he’d restricted Daniel plenty in the other timeline when they weren’t in a relationship. Still, he wasn’t happy, and had insisted that Teal’c go with them and on hourly check-ins since the chamber and the gate were in the same complex.
Patrick and, surprisingly, Dave, met them on the runway when John flew them into Groom Lake – now his plane was authorised to land there.
‘We weren’t expecting you,’ John said as he returned his brother’s hug.
‘I’ve never seen a space ship, and seeing as it’s an SA project, I decided I’d come on the inaugural flight.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you, big bro, but a test flight isn’t an inaugural flight,’ John told him with a grin, then laughed at Dave’s disappointed face. ‘Still, I’m sure you can talk yourself into an invitation for the real inaugural flight. I’m sure it’s what most of the Air Force top brass will do.’
‘They did,’ Jack sighed. ‘But only for a trip around Sol. I didn’t trust myself not to space them if I took them any further.’
”I feel ya,’ John muttered in an undertone, then laughed at Dave’s look of horror when he overheard him.
Rodney was in his element running around, throwing out orders to everyone, including Jack and John, who mostly ignored them, and stopping occasionally to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Jack, John, Patrick, and Dave settled themselves on the bridge with Jack in the Commander’s seat, and John in the Pilot’s position, while Patrick and Dave respectively took weapons and communications.
‘Why are we waiting around?’ Dave demanded after an hour or so.
John looked up from plotting their path and noticed Jack appeared to be simply clicking though the ship’s systems. His father had, it appeared, fallen asleep.
‘This is normal for an initial test flight,’ Jack explained. ‘There’s ten hours of hanging around for each half hour of actual flight time.’
‘Have you done many test flights?’ Dave asked him, curiously.
Jack hummed. ‘A few, earlier in my career. John? Have you done any? I can’t remember.’
John looked up from his screen and grinned. ‘Not officially.’
‘What does that mean?’ Dave asked with a frown.
John didn’t answer, but his mouth was curved up, and his eyes were dancing.
‘Bastard,’ Jack muttered, then louder; ‘It means he’s done some, but if he told us about them, he’d have to kill us.’
‘Really?’ Dave asked his brother.
‘I can neither confirm nor deny your supposition,’ John answered, then smiled at his brother. ‘Seriously, Dave. I’m not allowed to talk about it. Not even to Jack, and his security clearance is the same as mine.’
Staring in wonder at his brother, Dave slowly shook his head. ‘It’s like I don’t even know you.’
‘Well, you don’t, not really. And it goes both ways, you know,’ John told him, giving him a sympathetic smile. ‘I don’t have a clue if you’re dating, for example. I don’t even know what your drink of choice is, but I’d guess that’s the same for many siblings. As we grow up, we grow away from our family. I mean, think about how much contact we had with our cousins from Mom’s side of the family. Do you even know where they live?’
‘Well, no, not without looking in my address book,’ Dave admitted.
‘There you go. Sometimes the closest family members are in the families we make for ourselves, and that’s particularly true in the Stargate Programme.’
‘Why is that?’ Dave asked. ‘I mean, I really want to know. What’s the relationship between you two, for example? Isn’t Jack your commanding officer? Why can you use his first name, then? You only ever call George Hammond, sir.’
Jack and John exchanged glances.
‘That’s a lot to unpack,’ John began, then almost sighed with relief as the radio crackled into action.
‘Váli’s finally here so we’re going to go ahead and fire the engines,’ Rodney announced from the engine room. ‘Fasten your seatbelts, gentlemen.’
Dave immediately felt around for a seatbelt and frowned when he couldn’t find one. ‘John?’
‘Calm down, Dave. He’s being metaphorical,’ John told him with a grin. ‘The ship has both inertial dampeners and artificial gravity, so you don’t need them.’
‘But if we went to battle stations, safety straps would automatically be released,’ Patrick added, surprising them all as they’d thought he was asleep. ‘I was dozing and didn’t want to interrupt your conversation,’ he added defensively when he saw the scowls on John and Dave’s faces.
Before either of them could respond, however, Jack spoke.
‘Retract the roof,’ he ordered, and waited until he received confirmation from ground level the roof was open. ‘Power the engines and take us up, Mr Spock!’
‘Actually, Jack, Mr Sulu was helmsman,’ John told him absently as he manoeuvred the ship through the bay doors. ‘And the engines are already powered.’
Prometheus lifted above the surface of the desert and moved upwards in her very first ascent.
‘This is weird,’ Dave complained as he watched first the Nevada desert shrink from view, then North America, until they were at last in space and Earth was simply a large blue sphere hovering in space.
‘What’s weird?’ John asked his brother as soon as they were moving smoothly through space.
‘Lots of things,’ Dave replied with a laugh. ‘You being able to fly a spaceship. Where did you learn to do that? And the fact that I’m on a spaceship, travelling in space, and I can’t even feel it.’
‘Inertial dampeners,’ John said absently, his eyes on his console. He clicked his radio. ‘Rodney? Are we still keeping to the course I plotted out to Alpha Centauri?’
‘Yes. We want to test both the sub-lights and hyper-drive engines.’
Jack had been following their conversation, and he looked across to John. ‘Take us to Mars on the sublights, then plot a jump to Proxima Centauri, Colonel Sheppard.’
‘Aye, aye, Captain,’ John replied, playing along, and Dave watched as the red planet filled more and more of the big window.
‘Jesus fucking Christ!’ he muttered to himself. ‘I’m looking at fucking Mars!’ In a louder voice he asked, ‘What speed are we doing?’
‘About a third of the speed of light,’ Patrick answered as both Jack and John were busy with their consoles. ‘Around 60,000 miles per second, if you want a recognisable figure, as we’re just on sub-light engines at present.’
‘And how fast is hyper-speed?’
‘It…doesn’t really work like that, Dave,’ John said, looking up from his console. ‘We travel through hyperspace to get to our destination, but…Right. Think of a sheet of paper, and how flat it is, and where the edges are, and run your finger from one edge to another. Then screw the paper into a ball. Those same edges are now closer together, right?’
‘I…I guess so.’ Dave wasn’t convinced of the explanation.
‘Well, that’s what hyperspace does, roughly. Approximately. Very approximately.’
‘I have all of John’s physics books at home, son,’ Patrick said, coming to John’s aid. ‘I’ll pass them on to you and you look up the answers yourself.’
‘Errm. Okay.’ Now Dave wished he’d never asked the question.
*****
With the first round of Prometheus tests done, SG-1 had a couple of days off. Daniel and Jack were going to Edora to check in with Laira and Lairissa, and to see how the mining operation was progressing – their excuse for the trip – while John and Rodney went home to Virginia to crash out, and plot their next moves. Rodney took the Eye of Ra with him to conduct a few experiments of his own, while John took the new Tom Clancy novel, Red Rabbit. Teal’c, meanwhile went off-world to the Alpha site, scene of a recent attack by an Ashrak assassin, hellbent on dividing the Jaffa who had been on the base for months, and the newly arrived Tok’ra, fleeing a Goa’uld attack.
The Ashrak had been discovered, but not before Bra’tac was attacked and left for dead, and while Teal’c had been assured his friend and former mentor was well, thanks to his symbiote, Teal’c wanted to make sure for himself.
Jack and Daniel returned from Edora full of stories about Lairissa who, at eighteen months was now walking and chattering away, and learning to call Jack Daddy.
‘I’ve never seen Jack so…content,’ Daniel confided in Rodney as they waited for their new coffee machine to build sufficient pressure to produce an espresso. ‘He goes all soft and gooey when he’s with her, and it’s getting more and more difficult to drag him home.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ Rodney said, poking at the pump to make sure it was properly connected. ‘He’s lost one child already. Separating from his daughter every couple of weeks must feel like hell. Look. I think it’s doing something.’ He pointed to the machine they were standing over.
‘I can build a fucking spaceship,’ Rodney had ranted to John. ‘Why am I waiting for five years until a decent coffee maker is released?’
So, he’d collaborated with Daniel as to what they thought they needed in a coffee maker, and what they’d love to have in one, and then built it. And now they were waiting for the first cup to brew – and had already agreed they’d share it, rather than one of them having to wait for the second cup to be produced.
‘It’s not even regularly every two weeks,’ Daniel said with a sigh. ‘Too much other stuff keeps coming up. I sometimes think it’d be easier for both us and Laira if we just move to Edora, and comeback each day to work here. At least Jack would spend more time with his daughter. Oh, and you’ll never guess,’ Daniel said, turning to face Rodney rather than the machine, ‘she’s begun calling me Papa! Jack is Daddy, of course, but I’m a papa!’
It was impossible not to smile at Daniel’s enthusiasm. For a man who had immersed himself in his work in the other timeline, and who agonised over the responsibility he felt for the number of deaths caused by the Ori, blaming himself for leading them to this galaxy, he was grabbing onto fatherhood with both hands.
‘I’m pleased for you both,’ Rodney said with a smile, and sincerely meaning it. ‘You both deserve it.’
‘What about you and John? Do you have any plans for children?’
‘No.’ It was brief and to the point, but at Daniel’s raised eyebrows, Rodney sighed. ‘We see our lives as being in Pegasus, and as long as the Wraith are a threat, we can’t justify bringing children into it, even if we could persuade someone to carry a child for us.’
‘But the Pegasean natives have children, don’t they?’ Daniel asked with a frown.
‘Yes, and Teyla, our teammate, had Torran, and John, Ronon, and I were as uncles to him. We had our share of dirty nappies and sleepless nights when we baby sat for Teyla, so we’ve had some experience of babies.’ He gave a half smile, and his eyes became slightly unfocussed. ‘I just hope she has Torran this time as well. All the changes we’ve made may alter things, especially if we go out to Pegasus sooner than last time.’
The coffee machine suddenly began to bubble and release steam.
‘I think it’s ready,’ Daniel said, with an eager smile.
‘Then let’s get on with it!’
*****
‘I feel…apprehensive,’ John told Jack two days after Prometheus’ maiden flight in late August. ‘Nervous. As though something bad’s coming.’ His fingers were tapping on the doorframe where he leaned.
Jack put down his pencil and stared at his friend. ‘Funny you should say that.’
‘You feel it too?’ John came fully into Jack’s larger office, closed the door and threw himself into a chair, then immediately stood and prowled around the room.
‘Mmm. But I don’t know why.’
‘Rodney’s checked his list of what’s about to happen, and there isn’t anything on it round about now. Anubis is pretty quiet and there’s no sign of his Kull Warriors yet, and even if there was, we’ve already got Telchak’s Device to help us build the Kull Disrupter,’ John said, sitting back down again. ‘The rogue NID and Committee are all in prison, and even though we know we’ve missed some, we think we’ve taken the big hitters. Finding out the Secretary of Defence was a member of the Committee was huge, and we’ve surely given them a massive setback if nothing else.’
‘I agree,’ Jack said, leaning right back in his chair to stare at the ceiling.
‘So why do I feel so fucking…antsy?’ John demanded, rubbing his face with his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.
After a short while he spoke again, his voice now so low Jack had to strain to hear him. ‘I—I dreamt about Atlantis last night,’ he confided. ‘I’ve dreamt of her a few times recently.’
Jack sat bolt upright so fast he almost gave himself whiplash.
‘What?’ John asked looking hurriedly around. ‘What is it?’
‘Dreams have always been important at the SGC,’ Jack told him, his face now wearing its ‘serious business’ expression. ‘There’s been more than one occasion when we’ve had night time visits from the Others, or even from a Goa’uld on one occasion.’
‘From a Goa’uld? Can they dream walk or something?’ John was frowning now.
‘No, nothing like that. It turned out to be a Goa’uld with a ship in orbit who was ringing into Danny’s bedroom, trying to prompt him to do something, or go somewhere. I forget now. What exactly did you dream about Atlantis?’
John tipped back his head and closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly. ‘I was going through the gate with a group of people. Rodney was there, and I think Radek and Miko were. Daniel was there too, and…there’s a baby crying. It sounds like Torran, but I can’t see Teyla anywhere. That was last night, but one I had the other night had me and Rodney in a Jumper. We didn’t go through a gate, but we were in a desert, which was odd, because we never really found a desert planet in Pegasus. Atlantis was covered with sand when I went forward in time, but it still wasn’t a desert.’
‘Anything else?’ Jack asked, his mind working overtime to work out what John’s dreams meant.
‘Well…’ John began, then shook his head.
‘Go on, kid. Just spit it out. We can make sense of it later.’
‘Atlantis was on fire, but the fire came from her, not from a Hive or anything from space. It was as though…’. His voice dropped. ‘No. We never actually saw the lava as we were already in space and hitting a hyperspace window.’
‘John? What are you muttering about?’
‘Sorry. I was trying to remember if I’d ever been close to a volcano and was getting it mixed up with Atlantis. Sorry. I’m talking rubbish, aren’t I?’
‘Not…necessarily.’ Jack stared at Sheppard for so long, his junior began to shift uncomfortably. ‘Atlantis was on fire from below, you said?’
‘I…yeees. Yes. Yes! That’s it! She was on fire from below. I thought it was from within her, but she had her shields up, and the fires were from below.’
Jack stared in his direction again, but now John could see he wasn’t staring at anything. He was busy running plans and ideas through his mind. ‘We need to go and see Maybourne,’ he said at last.
John stared at him. ‘Harry Maybourne? I thought he was on the run?’
‘He is, but I know where he ends up. And that planet just happens to have a Time-jumper.’
‘We’re going time travelling again?’
‘No. Well, yes, actually, but we’ll also be using it now. In the here and now, that is.’
‘Why? Not that I’m opposed to having a Puddle Jumper to fly.’
Jack pointed a finger at him. ‘You have a plane to fly!’
John pointed a finger back at him. ‘Which I let you fly as well!’
‘Okay. I’ll let you fly the Jumper occasionally.’
‘We split flying it half and half.’
‘Fine!’ Jack scowled at him. ‘But I’m flying it back in time because I’ve done it before.’
‘That, I’ll let you have!’ John relaxed back in his seat, then frowned. ‘When’re we going back to?’
*****
‘…So you’re certain he’s on the planet you gave him the gate address for?’ Hammond asked Jack again.
‘Not one hundred per cent,’ Jack admitted, taking a sip of his whisky. ‘But I’m ninety-nine per cent sure.’
Hammond sighed and swirled around the liquid in his glass. ‘This is three years sooner than it happened last time, Jack. I’m not sure I can put all your lives in the hands of a convicted criminal.’
‘He’s not really a criminal. He’s…Okay, yeah, Maybourne’s a criminal who was on death row. But he’s a kind of…honest criminal?’
‘An honest criminal who was on death row,’ Hammond stated, blunt and to the point. ‘You can see why I have my doubts, Jack.’
‘I do, and I do understand your position. I’ve been in it myself, but John’s dreams all point to us needing the Time-jumper from P7X 492. He’s dreamt of Proclarush Taonis, which is almost entirely volcanos, and he’s also dreamt of us going for the ZPM in Ancient Egypt. Someone or something is sending him these dreams, plus…’
‘Plus?’ Hammond repeated.
Jack sighed and knocked back the rest of his drink. ‘John says he’s got a feeling something bad’s going to happen, and I’ve got the same feeling. Uneasy, apprehensive. Those feelings plus the dreams mean something, sir. You know I’m not one to go along with something based purely on feelings. All too often it just turns out to be wind! This is different.’
Hammond stared at him some more, then nodded. ‘Fair enough. Get the team ready, Jack, you have a go. You’ll gate out to Planet Maybourne first thing in the morning.’
*****
They went through the gate at 08:00, emerging into blue skies and a temperate climate. The trees around the gate were filled with bird song, and colourful flowers bloomed everywhere they looked.
‘This is Maybourne’s prison?’ Daniel asked sceptically as he looked around.
‘It’s one of the planets the Tok’ra suggested he move to,’ Jack answered vaguely, trying to remember if there was a path to the main settlement. ‘I wasn’t initially part of that mission. I only came out after they’d found the Jumper.’
‘Jack!’ John said suddenly in warning, and when Jack listened, he could hear footsteps approaching. Four beautiful young women, each dressed in colourful clothing, and carrying either pitchers or baskets, emerged from the undergrowth, and smiled widely when they saw the five men.
The woman leading the party quickened her pace, then knelt at the foot of the steps to the Stargate, just in front of Jack’s feet.
‘You are Esgeewon, friends of my Lord. In the name of King Arkhan, I greet you.’ She bowed her head low, and the other women followed suit.
‘I—ah—Yes, yes, we are SG-1,’ Jack stammered, glancing back with a mute appeal to the others, who had fallen into place slightly behind him. Thankfully, Daniel stepped forward, level with Jack.
‘King—uh—King Arkhan is expecting us?’ Daniel asked.
‘We have come to help you refresh from your long journey,’ one of the other women said, standing up and holding out squares of fabric, while the other women moved away from the steps and filled bowls from the baskets with water, ready for the team to, presumably, wash away the stains of their travel, then to eat from the plates the women filled with fruit.
The five men exchanged glances, then Jack shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled away from the gate and be ‘refreshed’ by the willing females.
‘No flirting and making them fall in love with you!’ Rodney told John sternly, pointing a finger at him. ‘Keep your Kirking ways to yourself!’
John huffed. ‘What Kirking ways? And I’ve never flirted with anyone except you, and it took you six years to notice!’
‘I’m just saying,’ Rodney retorted and allowed himself to be pulled away and cleansed by a giggling young woman.
It was late morning before they finally arrived at the settlement, and Harry Maybourne was waiting to greet them like old friends.
‘Jack, Teal’c, Daniel, welcome to Paradise,’ he exclaimed, stepping forward to hug Jack and Daniel, although he stopped short of hugging Teal’c and merely nodded to him, a greeting Teal’c returned with the Jaffa eyebrow of doom.
‘So who are your new friends, and where’s Sam?’ he asked, smiling genially at John and Rodney, and leading them all forward to places already set at a large table outside an equally large hall with a dais at the far end with a throne-like chair on it. ‘Come and eat. It’s all prepared for you.’
‘Um, Jack?’ Daniel asked in a low voice. ‘Is there something you forgot to tell us?’
Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. I was so excited at the prospect of getting the Puddle Jumper; I forgot about the prophecies. Except we’re three years earlier than last time.
‘You didn’t tell me why Sam isn’t here,’ Maybourne said once they were all seated and being plied with yet more food.
‘She’s leading a project elsewhere,’ Jack answered with deliberate vagueness. ‘Lt Col John Sheppard and Dr Rodney McKay are SG-1’s new members.’
‘It’s taken two of them to fill Sam’s shoes?’ Maybourne grinned at his own sally.
‘Not at all,’ Jack said hurriedly as Rodney began to scowl. ‘In fact, Rod—Dr McKay has three PhDs to Ca—Sam’s one.’ He swallowed another mouthful of the rather tasty ojun fruit. I wonder if we could trade for more of these? he thought before he noticed Rodney was leaning away from the bowl of ojun fruit, and eying them suspiciously. ‘Hey, d’you know if there’s any citrus in ojun?’
‘Citrus?’ Maybourne repeated. ‘I don’t think so. They’re a kind of cross between guava and mango.’
‘I can’t taste any citrus, Rodney,’ John told his partner. ‘And we’ve all got EpiPens if you do have a reaction. Try one. You’ll love them.’
‘Rodders is allergic to citrus,’ Jack explained. ‘We had an incident recently where he ingested some and almost died. You can understand why he’s hesitant to try one.’
John cut a small piece of ojun and offered it to Rodney, and they all watched as Rodney hesitated, then put it in his mouth. His expression changed from worry to pleasure, and the foot he’d been tapping on the ground stilled.
‘It’s delicious,’ he said once he’d swallowed the small slice, and he made grabby hands at a whole fruit. ‘Can we get some to take back with us?’ he asked, making the others laugh.
‘So, how come you were expecting us?’ Jack asked after his second ojun, and aware he needed to follow the script and get Harry to show them the ruins and the prophecies if he wanted to ‘find’ the Jumper.
‘King Arkhan is a prophet. He foresaw your arrival,’ one of Maybourne’s handmaidens told Jack.
‘You’re a prophet now, Harry?’ Jack asked with amusement.
‘He’s certainly something,’ Daniel muttered just loud enough for Jack to hear, although Maybourne shot him a frown, then his face cleared.
‘Let’s take a walk,’ he suggested, getting to his feet. ‘There’s something you need to see.’
He led them to a clearing in the thick woodlands, and the ruins of an ancient building of the same grey stone as the village they’d come from. Daniel gave a shriek a girl would be ashamed of and ran forward to run his hands over one of the many columns.
‘This writing is Ancient, Jack,’ Daniel called out, and Jack shared a glance with John and Rodney, and moved forward to join Daniel, while Teal’c stepped back and looked around, his staff weapon at the ready.
‘I will stand guard, O’Neill,’ he called out, and turned to face the forest, his back to the ruins.
The rest of SG-1 moved forward to Daniel’s side, although both Jack and John were aware of their surroundings, each of them with their hands on their weapons.
‘What’s the history of them?’ Daniel asked Maybourne, pulling out his small video recorder and filming the area, while Rodney took readings with the sensor he’d built on the same lines as the LSDs they’d found on Atlantis. It didn’t have the same settings or range, but it was an advance on any similar earth-built gadget currently available, and one Patrick was keen to put into production.
‘I’m getting high readings of naquadah,’ Rodney said, turning in a circle with the sensor in his hands. ‘Especially in that direction.’ He pointed to his left, away from Teal’c’s position.
‘The old naquadah mines,’ Maybourne said, nodding. ‘The locals avoid this area because of them. Their recent ancestors, within a generation or two, were enslaved by Ares, but when the mines ran dry a couple of hundred years ago, he withdrew his Jaffa and never returned.’
‘This is fascinating,’ Daniel said, so engrossed in the columns, Jack wasn’t certain he’d heard what Maybourne had just said.
‘If you think this is fascinating, come and look at this,’ Maybourne said, leading the way to another group of columns set slightly apart from the others.
Again, Daniel stepped forward and ran his finger over the writing. ‘It’s a—a history of the planet, exactly what Maybourne just said. ‘Lord Ares came…no. Not came.’ He turned to Jack. ‘Come and read this. You have a better understanding than I do.’
Aware of Maybourne’s curious gaze, Jack moved to Daniel’s side. ‘Lord Ares…will return, but…the warriors…of our…our own…bloodline.’ Jack frowned and turned to look at Maybourne. ‘This hasn’t happened yet, has it.’ It wasn’t a question.
Harry shook his head, his eyes on Jack. ‘No, and the other columns in this group also talk of things that will happen. It also has several mentions of ‘the ones of our bloodline’.’ He tilted his head to the side. ‘I wasn’t sure what the bloodline stuff meant, but I think it’s connected to you.’
‘Me?’ Jack pointed to himself.
‘You, yeah, but it also mentions the leader and the planner.’
‘Huh?’ What the fuck’s he talking about? Is he drunk? Stoned? I don’t remember Carter or Daniel mentioning this.
‘Listen, I’m not crazy, although I did wonder if I was when I first saw these,’ Maybourne admitted. ‘It’s…they’re…’ He sighed. ‘It’s stuff that’s going to happen, predictions.’
‘Okay.’
‘No, it’s real. It talked about ‘the oppressors of old’ returning, so I got everyone into the old mines, and sure enough, we got a visit from some Jaffa who hunted around but didn’t find us.’
‘So then they made you king.’ Jack stared at him, then gave a snort of laughter. ‘You never change, do you, Harry?’
Maybourne shrugged. ‘Why do I have to? These people love me, and in exchange, I take care of them.’
‘By pretending to be a prophet?’ John asked.
‘Hey! I saved them from an earthquake a few months back. A load of the buildings were damaged, but we didn’t get as much as a hangnail between us.’
‘You’re a real gent, Harry,’ Jack sighed. ‘Now. What’s this about me being connected?’
‘I said I think it’s connected to you.’
‘Go on.’
‘Jack.’ Daniel met his eyes, all signs of excitement gone. ‘I hate to say it, but I think he’s right. Look.’ He pointed at a panel on one of the columns. ”On the first moon of the…forty—forty-fifth cycle, the ground will tremble and devastation will be wrought’.’
‘That was the earthquake.’
‘Right, and here: ‘On the sixth moon of the forty-fifth cycle, the…the nautical, naval, maybe? The naval captain of the second bloodline will return with the first and his…planner?” Daniel looked at Maybourne. ‘Is this the bit you meant?’
‘Yeah, but I translated devisor as inventor, and ducis as leader. From Dux, you know,’ Harry told Daniel.
‘You’re kidding me,’ John said, rolling his eyes. ‘Duke? Really?’
‘I think I’m missing something,’ Daniel said, frowning. ‘Are calling Jack a naval captain, Maybourne? And John a duke? So does that make me or Rodney the planner or inventor?’
But Jack was still and silent as he watched and listened to them. This feels…prophetic? And not Maybourne’s pillars’ prophetic. A naval captain is the captain of a ship, and despite what Weir and the IOA might have thought, Sheppard was the leader of Atlantis, her first son. And Rodders was both her planner and inventor, and John’s planner and inventor, even if they didn’t get together until much later.
So what does this mean? Do I have to go to Atlantis to be her Captain? What about Earth? What about Daniel? And if both Sheppard and I are gone, who’ll use the weapons chair at the Outpost?
*****
The five men of SG-1 came through the gate with a mixture of scowls and frowns on their faces, and George’s heart sank. I knew it had been going too well. ‘Medicals and then the briefing room, please, gentlemen.’ He turned away before he got caught up in conversation with them. ‘Walter, break out the good coffee and that last box of chocolate cookies, will you? I think we’ll all need fortifying.’
George went up the staircase to the briefing room, and settled himself at the head of the table, pulling out the latest report from Supervisory Special Agent Gibbs on the information gleaned from the mass of data they’d dumped on him and his team. He smiled in satisfaction as he read there was proof Kinsey had either killed Airman Nick Luxton himself in August the previous year, or had ordered someone else to kill him. Luxton was acting as escort to Kinsey on an off-world visit to Aschen Prime, the homeworld of the Aschen, with whom Kinsey was negotiating a treaty on behalf of Earth.
On his return to Earth, Kinsey reported the Airman had deserted his post and had either disappeared into the Aschen population, or had escaped through the Stargate. No one at the SGC had believed or accepted this explanation, but as it was the word of a sitting Senator against theirs, Kinsey’s report was accepted. This meant Luxton’s young wife, who had recently had a baby, was denied the Survivors Pension benefit she was due, as well as the lump sum gratuity she would have received had he died on active service.
There was absolutely no reason for Kinsey’s lies about Luxton, other than sheer vindictiveness towards a member of the SGC. Somehow Simmons had got hold of a confession from Kinsey that he killed the Airman when he got a little too close to the truth about the Aschen, and, with the aid of the Aschens, had simply disposed of the body. Since Kinsey and Luxton were the only representatives from Earth on Aschen Prime, Kinsey could have passed off Luxton’s death as an accident and no one would have been any the wiser, but that wasn’t Kinsey’s way.
At least Anna and the baby can now get Luxton’s benefits paid to them, George thought to himself, although the Air Force will probably try to get out of it by claiming it would breach confidentiality clauses. I will fight for Luxton, though. I’ll fight for as long as it takes.
He was brought out from his musings by the arrival of SG-1, but it was a sombre SG-1. What on earth happened to them?
‘Take a seat, gentlemen.’ George nodded to the seats around the table as he gathered up the papers he’d been looking at. ‘Now, what went wrong? Why are you all looking so woebegone? Was the…the Time-jumper not there?’
Jack sighed heavily. ‘Nothing went wrong, exactly, and the Time-jumper was exactly where I remembered it being. We took it through the gate to Edora as planned, but…’ He sighed again and looked down at the tabletop.
‘Maybourne showed us some prophecies,’ Daniel tried to explain, but his words only brought a frown to the general’s face as well.
‘Prophecies? What kind of prophecies?’
‘The real kind of prophecy,’ Jack said bitterly, but his words only made George frown.
‘Start at the beginning, please, Dr Jackson. I think I need to hear the whole report…’
Several minutes later, he was staring at Daniel in bewilderment. ‘Let me get this right. You found dozens of prophecies carved into stone columns, some of which have already proved accurate.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Daniel answered, for once keeping his comments and theories to himself.
‘And because some have proved accurate, you believe the ones relating to the future.’
‘No, sir. They’ve all proved accurate to date,’ Daniel explained.
‘And why is this?’
‘It appears that the columns were carved in the last couple of hundred years, since the ruling Goa’uld, Ares, left the planet. We’re pretty certain the prophecies result from an Ancient making use of the Time-jumper and leaving a record of what he saw happening.’
‘I agree with Daniel’s estimates of when the columns were carved,’ Rodney added, holding up a hand. ‘The sensor readings I took match the dates Daniel deduced from the carvings.’
George frowned. ‘I’m sorry, Rodney, I don’t follow. How can science match physical carvings?’
Rodney tapped his lips for a moment as he thought. ‘The ruins themselves are ancient – ancient with a small ‘a’ – and the time traveller, who we think could be Janus, as he made a Time-jumper which he left on Atlantis, simply made new carvings on the old stone. My sensor was able to compare the newly exposed stone in the carvings to the older, un-carved stone, and suggested the weathering on the stone exposed by the carvings was between 200 and 250 years old.’
‘Thank you, Rodney.’ George nodded his head to the scientist. ‘I understand, but I don’t understand why this is a problem.’
The others waited for Jack to speak, but when he continued to stare at the table, John lifted his head.
‘Some of the—ah—the new—no, the future prophecies were pretty specific who they were talking about, and without trying to bore you, we think they referred to Jack, Rodney, and myself, and we…we also think they referred to…to Atlantis.’
George blinked and tried to process John’s explanation. ‘The future prophecies spoke of the three of you in relation to Atlantis?’
‘Yessir.’
‘Okay, I’m going to need that boring detail.’ George rubbed his face with his hands. Am I getting too old for this?
‘There was reference to someone of the second bloodline being the Nauarchus: nominative, singular, meaning ‘the master of a vessel or a ship’,’ Daniel explained. ‘The—’ He broke off as George held up a hand.
‘Not as much detail as that, Dr Jackson.’
‘Fine. Nauarchus, the master of a vessel or a ship; Ducis, leader, or maybe guide; and Deviser, one who plans or invents.’ Daniel sat back, scowling.
George raised his eyebrows and regarded Daniel, who sat up straighter and lost his scowl. He transferred his attention to John again. ‘So you think the ship is Atlantis; the master of her is Colonel O’Neill; Dr McKay is the planner, or inventor; and you are the leader or guide?’ He considered this a little more. ‘Why would Jack be the master and you the leader? Why not the other way round?’
John looked away, unable to meet George’s eyes, making the general frown.
‘Rodney?’ he asked. ‘Dr Jackson? Anyone?’ he asked a little more forcefully.
‘It’s about the ‘bloodlines’,’ Rodney said, making finger quotes. ‘When we were on Atlantis, the city…she always saw John as her favourite son.’
‘I’m still not following.’
‘Nor am I,’ Jack said suddenly, frowning at Rodney. ‘I don’t recall ever hearing or reading that.’
Rodney looked away. ‘You wouldn’t. It was something we kept strictly to ourselves as we were concerned the IOA, or Landry would kick up a stink if they thought John and the city were…getting too close. You remember what they were like, Jack? They needed to be in control of everything while at the same time never accepting responsibility for anything.’
‘That’s true,’ Jack admitted with a sigh.
‘I’m still not following,’ George said, raising his eyebrows and fixing his gaze on Rodney.
‘John’s ATA gene is the strongest we’ve come across, stronger even, than Jack’s, and he also has a…a preternatural skill with Ancient technology. When he used the control chair…Whenever he used the chair, Atlantis would create a report on what he’d done or not done, which was great, but she also referred to him as Primus, the first, and it was always capitalised. She also occasionally called him Filius Primus, first son. It was these references Radek, Miko and I used to delete, and after a while, Atlantis only used those titles in the copies of the reports she sent directly to me.’
‘Why was I never told this?’ John demanded, frowning at Rodney, who sighed.
‘Because you didn’t need to know.’ Rodney rubbed his temples and sighed again. ‘Look, Weir, the IOA, and Landry all made it pretty clear they’d rather not even have you on the city, let alone as Military Commander. We were worried they might use it as a reason to remove you.’
‘Weir didn’t want me there?’ John asked in confusion. ‘She was the one who fought to keep me after the first year. She forced my promotion through to keep me as Military Commander.’
‘No, she didn’t.’ Jack’s face was set, stern, his eyes slightly narrowed. ‘I got that promotion for you. Weir argued against it, and got the IOA on her side, but since most of the Battalion were American, we got to appoint the commander, and I thought you’d done a fantastic job in that first year and deserved to keep your command. Rodders helped by saying he felt safe with you in charge, that you understood the scientists, and that you’d kept them all alive, even going in to bat against Weir on occasion in their support.’
John’s brows were now drawn sharply together. ‘But…Weir told me she’d forced through my promotion, and that I kept my command thanks entirely to her.’
‘Then she lied,’ Rodney said simply. ‘She wanted you under her thumb, and preferably under her. She wanted in your pants, John. She even admitted to Peter Grodin, in the first year, that she’d love to have a baby by you.’
John jumped to his feet, his chair crashing over behind him, and his face pale. ‘What?! What the hell, Rodney? I—’ He turned away from the table and began pacing. ‘She wanted my baby?!’
‘Calm down, son,’ George said soothingly, going over to John and putting an arm around his shoulders. John still had enough about him not to throw it off, and he took several deep breaths before allowing George to manoeuvre him back to his seat, where Rodney gripped his hand.
‘She never got the chance, John.’ He gave a lopsided smile. ‘Didn’t you ever wonder why I spent so much time with you in those early weeks? Miko, Radek and I kept an eye on where you were on the city in relation to her, and if she looked as though she was getting a little close when you were on your own, I used to dash to wherever you were, and once Teyla joined our team and got used to the city, she’d do the same. You were rarely ever alone for long.’
‘I do recall that,’ John admitted, and shivered. ‘Christ! That woman!’
‘She’ll never even get close to the programme,’ Jack promised him, passing him a bottle of water. ‘Miko’s kept tabs on her ever since Rodney read her and Radek in to our time travel.’
‘Thanks.’ John took a long drink, then gave George a half smile. ‘Sorry, sir. I…’
‘No apology necessary, son.’ George looked at the rest of SG-1. ‘Right. Back to our prophecies. It’s pretty clear now that John is the…What did you call him, Rodney?’
‘First son.’
‘Thank you. If John is the first son, and the leader or guide, Jack, you’re the captain and…Dr Jackson, you were talking about the bloodlines?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Daniel nodded. ‘The captain, Jack, is of the second bloodline.’
‘Meaning?’
Daniel shook his head. ‘I don’t know for certain, but I’d guess he’s a descendant of the…the city deputy, maybe?’
George sat back and let his gaze wander over the five men before him – or four men and a Jaffa. Teal’c never said much, but it was clear he was paying attention.
‘Teal’c, what are your thoughts?’ he asked.
Teal’c inclined his head. ‘I, too, believe the words refer to O’Neill, Sheppard, and Rodney, and also Atlantis. There has long been a legend among the Jaffa, of Atlantis, one of the magnificent city-ships of the gate-builders.’
‘One of?’ Rodney demanded, sitting up straight. ‘Why haven’t you mentioned this before?’
Teal’c raised an eyebrow. ‘There was never the occasion to speak of it.’
‘What other Jaffa legends haven’t you mentioned, T-man?’ Jack asked, tilting his head to the side as he surveyed his friend.
‘As many as there are stars in the sky, O’Neill.’
‘Huh.’
Feeling this discussion could easily get out of hand, George cleared his throat. ‘What does your particular legend say, Teal’c?’
‘That while many of the Gate-builders took their main city-ship to a far off galaxy, many also remained, but retreated to their city-ships to evade the great plague which swept the galaxy.’
‘Which fits in with what we know about the Ancients,’ Daniel said. ‘Except the bit about the other city-ships.’
‘We know about one of them,’ Jack said suddenly. ‘Proclarush Taonis. That was why we went for the Time-jumper.’
‘Huh?’ Daniel asked inelegantly.
‘John mentioned a dream he’d had about Atlantis on fire, and a volcano.’ He threw John a half-grimace. ‘Sorry, but it is important. Well, I think his dream was about Proclarush Taonis, which was where the Alterans first landed when they came to this galaxy, and where they either built, or left, a city-ship when the planet became uninhabitable. They left the city with a ZPM to power it, though, and SG-1 went there in the last timeline to get that ZPM, as it still had some charge. We now need to get that ZPM.’
*****
Chapter 24
Chapter Text
The sense of apprehension Jack and John had each felt earlier in the month was ramping up to urgency.
‘We don’t think we have much time left,’ Jack told George one evening at a meeting they were having at Jack’s house.
‘Time left for what?’ Patrick asked, taking another slice of pizza from one of the open boxes on the coffee table. He’d been briefed on the time-Jumper and the prophecies on Planet Maybourne, but still felt as though he was struggling to catch-up on information.
‘That’s the problem,’ Jack said, sighing in frustration. ‘We’re not sure. It could be one of many things, so we think we have to kick off several projects at once.’
‘That doesn’t sound…good,’ George said with a frown. ‘How many projects are we talking about, Jack, and how much manpower will be involved? Don’t forget we have other objectives to achieve.’
‘Some of them can be done simultaneously,’ Jack said, hoping to appease his CO a little, aware of the targets the Pentagon had set, such as discovering deposits of naquadah to mine, and even the number of Jaffa they expected Teal’c to turn or recruit for the Free Jaffa. Teal’c, for his part, took no notice of such targets. ‘John and I both think the expedition to Atlantis will need to be brought forward from its original departure date of September 2004, two years hence,’ Jack continued. ‘We think the date is more likely to be six months to a year from now.’
‘So, between March and September 2003,’ Patrick said thoughtfully. ‘Is that sufficient time to recruit and outfit an expedition?’
‘It’s more time than we had in the other timeline,’ Jack answered. ‘We found the Lost City tablet in February 2003, but it wasn’t until July the following year that Daniel finally found the gate address to Atlantis, with the Expedition leaving six weeks later, although, to be fair, a lot of the equipment had already been sourced as we knew an expedition would be going at some point.’
‘And what do these preparations entail?’ George asked, ‘What didn’t you have last time which you want to take this time?’ He looked at Rodney and John, since they were part of that first wave.
‘We’ve already started our lists,’ Rodney admitted. ‘Of people and resources. Kay Spencer has offered to source all the equipment and food, etcetera, and she’ll also try to find all the people we’ve listed as wanting to take.’
‘Why does she need to find them?’ Patrick asked with a frown. ‘Or aren’t they in the programme yet?’
‘Either not in the programme, or not yet qualified to join us,’ John answered. ‘Several of the Marines I had last time are still doing basic training, or have just completed it and aren’t ready to be admitted to the programme. Likewise, some of the younger scientists Rodney had haven’t yet got the experience he wants them to have.’
‘Either way, Spencer’s going to be the go-to guy for Atlantis,’ Rodney said, flicking screens on his tablet.
‘Aside from Atlantis, I’ve also made a list of planets which need to be visited by a gate team, and what needs to be done there,’ Jack continued. ‘For example, there’s an Ancient Repository of Knowledge on P3X-439 which Anubis will go after at some point, and which we can’t allow him to find. We need to either find a way to move it, or to transfer the information and destroy it.’
Daniel let out a moan. ‘Jack, you can’t go around destroying artefacts like that. The structure it’s in might be just as important. We need—’
‘We need to destroy it, if necessary,’ Jack said firmly. ‘Anubis cannot get his hands on it. It’s that simple.’
Daniel looked away from him, deliberately ignoring him, and Jack sighed.
‘General, this is vitally important. Whichever gate team goes to find it must destroy it if it can’t be moved. Imagine another Goa’uld having the entire knowledge of the Ancients. The Others removed a lot of the knowledge Anubis he got when he ascended, and we know the threat he is with just half of it. The entire galaxy, no! The entire universe would be at risk if a Goa’uld got all the knowledge.’
‘I understand, Jack,’ George answered in a soothing tone. ‘My orders will be very clear despite what Dr Jackson might say.’
‘Thanks, sir.’ Jack gave him a nod. ‘We’ve a list of other things which would cause a lot of problems for the SGC and Earth as well, if they’re found, like a human-Goa’uld clone Anubis has created, or will create, and which is stupidly dangerous. That needs to be destroyed as soon as possible, because there’ll be someone on Earth who’ll think it’s a good idea to study it, and try to replicate it. It was the IOA last time, but you know there are idiots in various positions who’ll think they can control it.’
‘I certainly do,’ George sighed, ‘but why the lists? Why aren’t you planning to take care of it all?’
‘SG-1’s attention must be on Anubis now,’ Jack explained. ‘He’s a massive threat, and we need to ensure we’re able to defend ourselves if he attacks us like he did last time. We know from what Daniel discovered last time that Anubis promised the System Lords he’d destroy Earth in exchange for being allowed back into the fold, so to speak. We’ve foiled his attempts thus far, but there’s no saying how he might respond to all his failures. We need to stay one step ahead of him, more, if we can.’
‘And this urgency you and John have felt?’ Patrick asked. ‘How is that affecting what you do?’
John and Jack exchanged glances, and Jack gave his friend a slight nod.
‘It’s our driving force,’ John admitted. ‘For myself, I wake up each morning feeling closer to whatever’s going to happen, whenever that might be. We’ve covered reams of paper with lists and ideas, and we just have to hope we’ve covered the right ones since we’ve changed so much.’
‘Can’t you…I don’t know. Use the Time-jumper to go ahead in time to see what might be happening?’ Patrick suggested hesitantly, shrugging his shoulders.
‘It’s not possible,’ Rodney said succinctly. ‘Sam Carter posited the time-Jumper had a minimum range of around two hundred years.’
‘And how did she work that out?’
‘From the data logs in the Time-jumper. I haven’t had time to look at them myself, but if Carter determined it, I very much doubt she’s wrong.’
‘What about the Ancient who built the time-Jumper? He could go forward in time.’
‘But since it’s likely he lived several thousand years ago, he was more, much more, than the minimum two hundred. And, no, I’m not prepared to experiment with it.’
‘And thanks, Dad.’ John scowled at his father. ‘You just cost me a hundred bucks!’
Meanwhile, Rodney was grinning. ‘I said you’d ask if we could go forward just a bit,’ he told his father-in-law. ‘John bet me a hundred dollars you wouldn’t.’
‘I’m not sure if I should be complemented or insulted,’ Patrick admitted, grinning at his son-in-law. ‘I’m going with complemented.’
‘And can I suggest we send a team of archeologists and anthropologists to Planet Maybourne to translate all the columns?’ Daniel added quickly.
‘Draw up a plan of mission objectives, Dr Jackson, and I’ll take a look at it,’ George told him, then smiled at Daniel’s disgruntled expression. ‘You know the process to be followed, son,’ he added, then laughed as Daniel huffed, and turned back to Jack. ‘What’s your next step then, Jack?’
‘Take Prometheus and the Time-jumper to Proclarush Taonis,’ Jack answered promptly. ‘The city has a shield over it, but it’ll allow a Jumper though it, and then we can make a proper scan of what’s left of the city, although we’ll still need hazmat suits as the air on the city will be toxic until I can activate the environmental controls.’
‘Then you have a go as soon as we can contact Prometheus,’ Hammond said promptly. ‘How will you get the Time-jumper on board?’
‘John and I will go through the gate to Edora and wait until Prometheus is in the system,’ Jack told him. ‘We’ll then fly the Jumper up to the ship and continue on to Proclarush Taonis where, hopefully, we’ll find a ZPM.’
*****
They found more than just a ZPM.
Miko had worked out the position of the planet by using the syllables of ‘Proclarush’ as the glyphs in a gate address, just as Jack had in the other timeline. She then checked the resulting gate address with the list added to the SGC dialling computer by Jack when he had his first Ancient download in his head.
This gave them the necessary coordinates, and General Hammond dispatched Prometheus, along with Daniel and Rodney – Teal’c was off-world on Free Jaffa business – with orders to go first to Edora to collect Jack, John, and the Jumper. Colonel William Ronson, the commander of Prometheus, estimated it would take two days to reach Edora, so the two friends spent their time on Edora alternately playing with Lairissa, and playing with the little ship.
‘I’ve missed the jumpers most of all, I think,’ John admitted to his friend after they’d combined their activities and taken Lairissa for a tour of Edora’s star system. ‘I was very tempted to steal a Jumper from Atlantis before the IOA stripped and scrapped her, but I knew they would know it was me.’ He was silent for a while, and Jack left him to his memories as he pointed out the other planets to his excited daughter.
It didn’t take long, however, for the twenty-month-old toddler to get bored with sitting on her daddy’s knee, and she tried to climb down. Since there wasn’t anything she could be hurt by, or which she could hurt, Jack let her down and she ran into the rear compartment, squealing with excitement, and threw herself onto a bench.
Roused from his unhappy memories, John smiled as she ran around the Jumper, but when she accidentally touched the time device in the rear compartment, it lit up. Exchanging a glance of alarm with his friend, Jack leapt up and grabbed the baby before she could send them off to some other time period. With her back on his knee, Jack gave John a slight nod and John lifted his hands and deliberately withdrew from the ship’s controls. The Jumper shifted slightly, but when Jack placed Lairissa’s hands on the control panel, it began a series of erratic jumps until Jack lifted the baby’s hands, and John took control again.
‘Holy shit!’ John murmured, eyes wide as he stared between Jack and his daughter. ‘She has the gene, and it’s probably as strong as yours.’
‘Holy fuck in a dust cart!’ Jack cursed at the same time as John, closing his eyes while clasping his daughter to his chest.
‘We can’t tell anyone about this,’ John said suddenly.
‘I know. It’d put a massive target on her back.’
‘And we need to find another place to keep the Jumper,’ John added. ‘We can’t risk her even getting near it, and activating it by mistake. It’s far too dangerous, quite aside from anyone else seeing her do it, not with folk from the SGC in and out all the time.’
‘For fuck’s sake! Why do things like this always happen to us?’
John ignored his friend’s rhetorical question as Jack bent and kissed his daughter’s blond curls, a mix of his own once blond hair and her mother’s curly hair. She smells of baby. How come they all have the same scent, even on different planets?
‘D’you think I should move Lairissa?’ Jack asked. ‘To another planet, I mean.’
‘I doubt Laira would go for that, and you can’t take her away from her mother.’
‘No, you’re right,’ he sighed.
They sat in silence for a while, each buried in their own thoughts, and Jack realised Lairissa had gone to sleep in his arms, her head resting on his chest, and he held her close. You mean the world to me, and I’d do anything for you, he promised.
*****
The difference of eighteen months between now, and the date they’d gone to Proclarush Taonis in the other timeline, was significant regarding the decay of the city-ship. In the other timeline, SG-1 ringing through the shield set off a chain of deterioration of the structure, which concluded with the collapse of the entire dome.
The time difference, or perhaps the use of a Jumper rather than transportation rings, meant the city remained stable enough for a little exploration before SG-1 returned to Prometheus. Since John had the most experience of flying the small ships, and of using their systems, Jack was forced to agree to him piloting the Jumper, leaving himself to play back-seat driver while John manoeuvred the little ship to a position above the city while Prometheus waited further out from the planet.
‘The shield’s covered by a shell of cooled lava, so I’m going to have to blast a hole big enough for us to pass through,’ John told the others, and waited for Rodney to nod.
‘I agree, and you need to hit the dome…here.’ Rodney, who’d connected his laptop to the systems of the Jumper as soon as he’d claimed the co-pilot seat, sent a diagram of the dome to the HUD display. ‘That’s the optimal point, but it looks like you only have a couple of hundred drones left, so be careful with them.’
‘A couple of hundred?’ Daniel repeated. ‘That sounds a lot.’
‘Not when a burst can have as many as fifty drones in it if John’s mental order to fire is too strong,’ Rodney explained. ‘Ancient technology is all intent based, you see. John’s skilled enough to fire off a single drone – or at least, he used to be. When I once flew a Jumper to get rid of an asteroid field – don’t ask, it’s a long story – I wasted most of my drones by not being able to fire only a few at a time.’
‘It was our first year on Atlantis, though, Rodney.’ John tried to placate him. ‘You got much better with practice.’
‘Which is entirely my point,’ Rodney retorted, but he reached over and patted John’s hand. ‘Just fire the drone, Sheppard.’
It took three drones to clear what John considered a large enough gap to pilot the Jumper through.
‘The shield will collapse as soon as we remove the ZPM powering it,’ Jack told the others. ‘At least, that’s what happened last time.’
‘Which is why I have a small naquadah generator to power the city before we remove the ZPM,’ Rodney answered. ‘Didn’t you notice me bringing it aboard?’
‘I wasn’t paying you that much attention, Rodders.’ Jack’s grin took away any sting in his comment, but Rodney still scowled at him, mostly out of habit.
‘I want to download as much of the information in the city database as possible,’ Rodney informed John. ‘If Teal’c’s right, and this is the first planet the Alterans settled on, I expect the soft scientists’ll be interested in it, and, you never know, there might be some stuff to interest us proper scientists!’
‘I’m not sure if I should kiss you or kick you,’ Daniel muttered to Rodney. ‘Kick, probably.’
By this time, John had passed through the shield, so Rodney ignored Daniel and peered out of the view port. ‘This is not a city-ship,’ he said firmly. ‘It’s only the size of the Antarctic outpost, or maybe the mobile drilling platform on Lantea.’
The surface area of the structure was not the snowflake-shape of Atlantis, but the shape of a bell, or an upturned U, and from above, resembled a bank of engines rather than a habitable construction.
‘If it is like the drilling platform, there should be a Puddle Jumper docking station,’ Rodney told John, peering between the view port and his laptop screen. ‘Over there.’ He pointed to an area of the structure they could see through the view port.
John manoeuvred the Jumper towards the area Rodney indicated, and as he drew close, an automated system took control of the small ship, just as Atlantis did when one of her jumpers approached. Much to their surprise and delight, two other jumpers were in the small docking station, and John and Rodney exchanged glances.
‘If they’ll open for us, we should definitely take them,’ Rodney said in answer to John’s unspoken question.
‘Hell, yes!’ Jack agreed from his seat behind John.
The four men pulled on Hazmat suits before exiting the Jumper, and as soon as John lowered the rear ramp, Jack raced for one of the other jumpers while Rodney pulled out his home-made sensor and poked at it.
‘According to my readings, the air is fine,’ he reported to the others, who exchanged glances and grinned self consciously, each wondering who would be the first to test Rodney’s readings. After a couple of seconds, Rodney huffed and pulled off his own hood, breathing freely.
A little red-faced, the others removed their hoods, and Jack finally got one of the jumpers in the bay to open for him. The little ship lit up as though it had been last used just the previous day, and Jack let out a shout of joy.
‘My own Jumper! My own personal Jumper and Bill Lee isn’t going to even get close to it, let alone take it apart!’
Rodney, meanwhile, had gone directly to the pilot’s position and was searching the whole of the lefthand side, then he too let out a shout of joy. ‘An LSD! Look, John, an LSD! Go check the other one!’ he ordered, waving his hand, but John already had the ramp of the other craft down.
‘Yep! Got one here, too,’ he shouted.
‘Fan-fucking-tastic,’ Jack sighed, and for once he meant it in a positive sense. ‘George is going to be over the moon!’
*****
With the naquadah generator hooked up to the central power system, Jack, John, and Rodney each flew a Jumper back to the waiting Prometheus, much to the surprise of Colonel Ronson.
‘I don’t suppose I get to keep one of the gate ships?’ he asked, eying the three jumpers covetously, as SG-1 shared – most of – their findings with him.
Jack stared at him in shock. ‘What? No! You’ll have your own fleet of F-302s soon.’
‘But a gate ship would be very useful in—in reconnoitring a new planet, or—or shifting personnel between locations.’
‘What’s it worth to loan one to you, occasionally?’ Jack asked him calculatingly, his head tilted to one side as he surveyed the colonel.
Ronson narrowed his eyes. ‘I get to use it for ten days a month, and I forget there were three gate ships aboard Prometheus.’
‘They’re puddle jumpers, and five days a month, plus you need someone with the ATA gene, because neither John nor I come as standard!’
‘My XO, Peter Kirkland, has the gene, and how about seven days, and I say nothing about that little scanner Dr McKay’s been waving around.’
‘Done!’ Jack held out his hand, then withdrew it before Ronson could shake it. ‘The SGC allocates your days based on our mission schedule.’
‘The SGC allocates the days based on both our mission schedules,’ Ronson offered, pretty fairly, Jack decided.
‘Agreed.’
*****
The Prometheus left the entire team on Edora this time. Jack, John, and Rodney each flew a Jumper to the planet surface, and Laira produced a meal while they discussed where to hide the three jumpers.
‘We need to keep the Time-jumper well away from the SGC,’ Jack said firmly. ‘Aside from George and a very few others, I don’t trust any of them with it.’
‘That’s a bit harsh,’ Daniel began, but was quickly shouted down by the other members of his team.
‘I agree with Jack,’ Rodney said firmly. ‘Not even Hammond is immune to influence from external forces.’
‘Then where can we stash them?’ Jack asked, frustrated and annoyed at the thought of unreliable associates.
‘What’s wrong with leaving the Time-jumper here?’ Daniel asked, looking puzzled, then he frowned as Jack and John exchanged glances.
‘D’you have that LSD in your backpack, Rodney?’ John asked. ‘Pull it out, will you?’
‘I’m not giving this up either,’ Rodney warned him. ‘They can have the other one, but I’m keeping this, and we only admit to finding one.’
‘Fine, fine, just get it out, will you!’
Frowning slightly at John’s impatience, Rodney passed it to him, and, after commanding it to turn off, John passed it to Larissa, who was seated on Jack’s knee. The baby took it with a squeal of happiness, and the device lit up like a Christmas tree.
‘Oh, fuck!’ Rodney muttered, and that pretty much summed it up
In the end, Jack and Daniel took the Time-jumper through the gate to P3X-797, the Land of Light, and asked Tuplo, the leader of the people there, if they could hide the Jumper in one of the many caves on the dark side of the planet, explaining it was dangerous technology they didn’t want falling into the wrong hands. Tuplo, forever grateful to SG-1 for saving his people, and especially his daughter, was happy to help in such a minor – as he considered it – way.
Technology held little interest for the people of P3X-797, who, while happy to accept medical care from the SGC, required little else from Earth, happily advancing their society at a normal pace rather than be pushed into development by a more advanced society, much like the Edorans.
Since John and Rodney followed in a second craft, Jack could hide the Time-jumper in a series of caves high in the hills of the Land of Dark, and John then flew the four of them back to Edora, where Laira was waiting with Lairissa.
‘So how do we do this?’ John asked Jack as his friend picked up his daughter and threw her high into the air, making her squeal with happiness. ‘Do we keep a Jumper here and just take the one back to the SGC?’
‘Won’t that defeat the purpose of hiding the Time-jumper on a different planet?’ Daniel asked, a little confused at the motives of Jack and John regarding the puddle jumpers.
‘We can lock the jumpers,’ John said, showing him a small gadget much like a TV remote. ‘There’s only a slight chance Lairissa can get into it, but we didn’t want to risk her managing to get into the Time-jumper. None of us knows exactly how it works, and we’ve all been bitten in the ass far too many times by Janus’s ‘experiments’ to risk it.’
‘We can hide the one we leave here in the forest, and cover it with branches, much like the way the Time-jumper was hidden on Planet Maybourne,’ Jack suggested, waving his hand towards the heavily wooded hillside. ‘No one’s likely to take Lairissa up there, so it’ll be safe, and the chances of anyone with a stronger gene than John’s finding it are low. Very low. We’ll hide one and then take the other back to the SGC.’
‘And ban the scientists from even touching it,’ Rodney added firmly. ‘I’ll threaten them all, then send Miko round as an enforcer.’
‘You really should stop using her as your muscle, McKay,’ John told him with a sigh.
‘Why? She enjoys it, and I’m all about keeping Miko happy.’
‘Good point.’
*****
Taking the Puddle Jumper back to the SGC caused as much excitement as SG-1 had feared. Both scientists and soldiers crowded around it on the ramp until John gave a piercing whistle, attracting everyone’s attention.
‘Back off, all of you, he ordered, and while the military contingent immediately took a step back, the scientists did not. Some scowled at him, some got even closer to the Jumper, but most of them simply ignored him. John sighed and glanced at Rodney, who simply shrugged, making John narrow his eyes.
‘Any unauthorised personnel still on the ramp by the time I count to three is fired,’ John announced, scowling at the crowd of assorted soldiers and scientists.
The soldiers moved quickly away, as, eventually, did the scientists after a glimpse at John’s face, although there was a fair amount of grumbling.
‘Will we get to study the…What is it called?’ asked one of the engineers.
‘It’s a gate ship, of course,’ another answered. ‘A ship which goes through the gate: Gate ship.’
‘It’s called a Puddle Jumper,’ Jack corrected him. ‘And you’ve just lost all naming rights, permanently,’ he added, blithely ignoring his own hypocrisy. ‘Now, beat it, the lot of you, unless your duty station actually is the embarkation room.’
The room quickly cleared, revealing General Hammond at the foot of the ramp, his arms folded.
‘Now what have you brought back?’ he asked with a sigh of resignation, ‘and how much of a headache is it going to cause me?’
‘We’ve found something which will delight you. You and the powers that be,’ Jack announced breezily. ‘Although you’ll have to warn them they’re not getting their hands on it.’ He lowered his voice until only his team and Hammond could hear him. ‘I’ve already had to agree to let Will Ronson have it for seven days a month to keep his mouth shut, although how we’re going to get it to him is another thing entirely.’
‘That’s not a problem,’ Rodney told him. ‘We get the Jumper out the same way we got the gate in.’
Both Jack and Hammond frowned.
‘How—’ Jack began before Rodney cut him off.
‘Former missile silo, remember? What came in must go out.’ When neither of them responded, Rodney rolled his eyes. ‘For the love of…’ he muttered and pointed up. ‘The ceiling retracts to get stuff in and out, yes?’
‘Yes.’ Jack nodded. ‘There’s a shaft up to the surface and…’
‘By jove, I think he’s got it!’ Rodney snarked to no one in particular. ‘And it’s surely easy enough to get a hole cut through the shaft? On to one of the unused levels?’ His words were met with blank faces. ‘We can make a bay for the Jumper on another level, then it can use the shaft to either get down here or up out of the mountain.’
‘Doh!’ Jack slapped his forehead. ‘It’s how Quinn suggested we get rid of the gate when Anubis…’ He twiddled his fingers. ‘That.’
Hammond stared at him for a moment, then shook his head and turned away. ‘Get Siler onto it,’ he called over his shoulder as he left the gate room. ‘Tell him I give my permission. Not that any of you care much about that,’ he added with a sigh. ‘What do I know? I’m just in charge of the place.’
The members of SG-1 stared at each other.
‘Did we just break the general?’ Jack asked. ‘Damn.’
*****
John clutched at his hair and tried not to pull at it, although with his hair as short as it was, pulling wasn’t actually possible. The lists of equipment and personnel to take to Atlantis were driving him crazy. Far too many of the soldiers he’d had last time weren’t yet experienced sufficiently to take to another galaxy, and he didn’t want another Aiden Ford – so new he still squeaked. I still don’t know what possessed Sumner to take him as his XO. Thankfully, Lorne’s ready to be my XO, even if we can’t get him promoted to Major before we leave. And I think that day is rapidly approaching. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, Jack agreed. Their sense of urgency was again ramping up.
‘But it makes no sense,’ Jack complained to him a week later as they both lay on their backs, staring at the star filled night-sky of Edora. ‘Why are we feeling so compelled to go? I don’t even want to go to Atlantis, not for more than a visit. My place is here, or rather on Earth. My daughter is in this galaxy, and I won’t leave her. I won’t, I can’t, lose another child,’ he added, almost to himself. He felt John’s hand grasp his arm and squeeze it, and thanked any higher being listening – except the fucking Ancients! – for a friend who knew when to keep his mouth shut.
Since Teal’c was still off-world, Daniel had joined his fellow archeologists in examining and deciphering the ruins on Planet Maybourne, and Rodney was busy with Radek checking out the ZPM they’d retrieved from Proclarush Taonis, Jack and John had returned to Edora for a couple of days to play with the Jumper and Lairissa, although their AARs would describe a site visit to the naquadah mines.
‘The pillars did speak about a triumvirate, though,’ John pointed out. ‘And so far, they’ve been pretty accurate.’
They had, something which bothered Jack more than he was willing to admit. ‘I just don’t see any circumstance where I’d willingly leave this galaxy,’ he said at length. ‘Besides, the Antarctic outpost needs either you or I to use the chair if Anubis, or anyone else, attacks Earth.’
‘No, it doesn’t.’ John sat upright. ‘I forgot to tell you. We’ve found someone with a gene strong enough to use it and the training to use it to the best advantage.’
‘Who?’ Jack demanded, still lying prone on the grass. ‘Anyone I might remember?’
‘Laura Cadman? USMC.’
‘Oh, I remember her. Rodders hated her, didn’t he? I can’t remember why.’
‘He didn’t hate her, they just had a…different kind of relationship. Cadman’s consciousness got transferred into Rodney after they both got beamed up by a Wraith dart. Afterwards, when we got them apart, they treated each other more like really close siblings as they had, literally read the other one’s mind, and like most siblings, they argued.’
‘Been there, done that, got the migraine,’ Jack remarked, sighing at the memory. ‘At least ours was between team and we all knew each other pretty well by then.’
‘Well, anyway, she’s apparently got a pretty strong gene, and her MOS is Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist. She’s also an expert in high temperature and energetic materials technology, so she’ll understand how and where to target a drone.’
‘Don’t you want her for Atlantis?’
John lay back down. ‘I’d like her, yes, but there are other EOD specialists while there aren’t that many gene holders with the knowledge to use the drones to their best advantage. Like Rodney told Daniel, it takes skill and experience to know where to fire a single drone to maximum effect.’
‘Can we get her transferred to the SGC?’
‘That’s the only drawback. She’s on TOD to the Secret Service at present, and I’d hate to pull her away from it as it’s a prime posting, and not one you get offered twice. We can ask when it ends, I suppose, but the Marine Corps aren’t likely to let us have her before her time’s up.’
‘Another reason for me to stay on Earth,’ Jack commented, then laughed. ‘I was beginning to think we might have to train up your dad as a standby, in case I’m tied up in something else at the critical moment.’
‘That’s not a bad idea, actually,’ John said, and when Jack turned his head, he could see his friend frowning as he thought about it. ‘His gene isn’t as strong as mine – which Dr Stewart thinks is because my mom also had the gene, meaning I got it from both parents – but Dad’s is certainly strong enough to let him use the control chair and he’s ex-military so understands what he needs to do, even if he hasn’t got any actual experience.’
‘No one has the experience except us two, and none of the PTB knows about that. D’you think Patrick would be willing to give it a go when we finally get the Outpost opened?’
‘I think so, yeah. I mean, who doesn’t want to fire a missile with their mind?’
‘Danny,’ Jack said immediately. ‘He doesn’t really even like firing his sidearm.’
‘But he has learned to.’ John sighed. ‘I wish it wasn’t necessary to arm and train the geeks, but I’m going to make that a rule for the Atlantis mission, and, thankfully, there’s no Elizabeth Weir to argue me down this time, or to persuade the IOA to back her and not me. I can think of half a dozen scientists who’d have lived if they’d known how to defend themselves properly. Bitch!’
‘Not gonna argue with you there, you know.’ Jack sighed, partly at the repercussions of Weir’s stupid decision making, and partly at the thought of the woman herself. ‘I never understood the rationale behind making a diplomat head of what was essentially a scientific mission. Even Danny, who always thinks the best of folk, thought it was stupid.’
‘And dangerous,’ John added. ‘I’m pretty certain I could have got Sumner back alive if she’d let me go when I first asked. I should have just taken a Jumper and gone, but I was trying my best not to fuck up again.’
Since John was beginning to sound a little maudlin, Jack changed the subject. ‘Are your equipment lists progressing? I’ve seen the requisition lists go through, but I’m not sure what you’ve actually got since I haven’t seen any supplies physically come into the mountain.’
‘And you won’t. We’ve hired an aircraft hanger to store everything in, and Prometheus beams everything over once a day, or she does when she’s in our system. I’ve driven a few wagons loaded with equipment to the airfield myself, and Radek’s done the same as he has a commercial driver’s license, as well.’
‘Why do you have a CDL? I kept meaning to ask.’
‘I got the opportunity to learn down at Maxwell, so I took it. I wasn’t sure when I might use it, but I fancied having a back-up career in case I couldn’t get myself transferred to the SGC, or I did something else against orders and got myself kicked out.’
‘It’s a shame you didn’t have a CO like George Hammond. I’d’ve been out on my ass a dozen times if he was as hard as some of your COs have been. Thank the gods your last one had the sense to send you to ACSC instead of throwing you back in the sandbox.’
‘I can’t argue with that. Plus, he’s the one who put me up for my promotion below-the-zone.’
The two friends lay in silence for a while, letting the calm of the planet and the spectacular panorama wash over them. Such occasions were few and far between for any serving officer, let alone one serving at the SGC.
‘Have you given any thought to who might lead the expedition?’ Jack asked, eventually.
‘No. Only that it mustn’t be a civilian with no experience of command, and no knowledge of the sciences practiced on Atlantis,’ John said, sighing yet again at Weir’s inadequacies. ‘She hadn’t a clue what Rodney’s people were doing, and with a less scrupulous CSO than Rodney, the scientists could have got away with murder, quite literally. Plus, because of her lack of knowledge, she made some really stupid decisions the IOA backed her on, like the Michael fiasco.’
‘Agreed,’ Jack muttered. ‘And in the first year, when she let Beckett go off-world to that planet trying to make their people immune to the Wraith.’
‘God, yes! Although Beckett himself had a lot to answer for, including making me turn into a bug.’ Jack felt John shudder at the memory.
‘So, thoughts?’
‘If it wasn’t for his daughter and grand-daughters, General Hammond would be perfect,’ John sighed.
‘Oh, he would,’ Jack agreed. ‘I wonder if he’d consider taking them with you?’
‘No, I wouldn’t want them on the city, not in the first year, at least. It’s far too dangerous.’
‘But it will be better with sufficient power. You’ve got the Taonis ZPM now.’
John rolled onto his side and frowned at Jack. ‘Won’t we need that to get us there?’
‘Crap! I’d forgotten. Yes. Unless Rodders can make something of the Eye of Ra.’
‘Crap fucking squared!’ John scowled. ‘I‘d forgotten about the city flooding.’
‘Huh?’
‘We found old Weir in a stasis pod, remember?’
‘Remind me.’
‘The first expedition’s arrival used up the last of the ZPM and the city began to flood. I, apparently, tried to fly the half a dozen survivors away in a Jumper, but didn’t know the one I chose was one of Janus’ Time-jumpers, and we ended up ten thousand years in the past, just as the last Ancients were evac’ing the city. Long story, but Weir stayed on the city to rotate the ZPMs so there was sufficient power for a fail-safe to raise the city ten thousand years later when the second expedition arrived. If we go to Pegasus before we did last time, it’s likely there’ll be no Weir, and therefore no fail-safe.’
‘Quadruple Crap! I’d forgotten that.’ Jack banged his head against the ground, then stopped. ‘Wait. If you go earlier than last time, won’t there be enough power to give Rodders time to get a power source connected?’
‘A naquadah generator?’ John asked, rolling onto his back again and covering his face with his hands. ‘I doubt it,’ he said indistinctly. ‘Shit and fuck! The fucking mission’s screwed before we even leave fucking Earth!’
From his position next to him, Jack could feel John’s combined anger and misery. He’s right. A naquadah generator takes time to hook up. Time they won’t have. Plus, would it power the shield? Is there any way round this?
Of course there is. There’s a ZPM in Ancient Egypt, and we have a time-travelling Puddle Jumper.
*****
Chapter 25
Chapter Text
Knowing in advance what could happen in their search for the Egyptian ZPM, John and Rodney remained in the Jumper and kept it cloaked on the ground in case a sandstorm came, which it did. There’s probably one a day, Jack decided as he followed Teal’c and Daniel into the pilgrim’s camp, just as before.
Everything went like clockwork. Teal’c, Jack, and Daniel got into the temple alongside the other pilgrims; Teal’c disguised himself as a Horus Guard and gained entry to Ra’s treasury, while Jack and Daniel hid themselves and waited for him to return. I wish we had radios to check in with each other, although they’d definitely give us away if we got caught. He touched the locator beacon in his pocket, the means by which John and Rodney could follow their progress on the ground. Should all three of us have had one? No. That would only increase the chance of us being found with them. Or would it? Damn it! My brain’s fried from this constant concentration: I can’t afford to drop my guard for an instant. I wonder how John and Rodders are doing?
They were doing fine. As soon as John spotted the telltale signs of a sky-high wall of pale golden air heading towards them at speed, he took the Jumper way up into the air, aware a sandstorm could reach as high as 20,000 feet in the right conditions. Since he’d flown mostly helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was strangely compelling to see the earth covered by rapidly moving clouds of golden brown instead of the usual grey of cloud cover.
‘I’m still tracking Jack’s location beacon,’ Rodney told him at regular intervals as he followed it on his laptop. ‘It’s stationary at present, which probably means Teal’c’s taking care of his part of the mission. I wish I could follow his movements as well, but we don’t have the subcu transmitters yet, and it was too dangerous to give them all a beacon.’
John smiled to himself at Rodney’s constant flow of information. The HUD showed him the exact position of the locator beacon, something Rodney hadn’t spotted since his attention was on his laptop, and John knew all about the subcutaneous transmitters the SGC and Atlantis would eventually implant in every member of a gate team. Still, Rodney’s babble was familiar, comforting even, and being with him on a mission, in a Jumper again, pacified his own concerns about the operation. He had no desire to live out his life in Ancient Egypt.
The sandstorm over, John landed the still-cloaked Jumper.
‘Why are you parking so close to the temple?’ Rodney demanded. ‘Doesn’t it increase the chances of us being discovered?’
‘Not really. We can always move if anyone gets too close.’
‘Well, what about the others? They think we’re further out in the desert. They might miss us entirely, and then we’d have to go looking for them, and neither you nor I have robes to cover our—’
‘Whoa, slow down, Rodney. Breath!’ John ordered. ‘I told Jack I’d get as close to the temple as I could in case they have to make a run for it. And Jack’ll have no trouble finding us. He can sense Ancient tech as well as I can.’
‘Not quite as well as you,’ Rodney said, more composed after John’s explanation, and the familiarity of John calming his excitability. ‘You have a greater aptitude than Jack, and have had right from the start. The one time I got Jack to sit in the Outpost control chair, I asked him to show me our solar system, and he couldn’t do it.’
John gave him a dopey smile at this memory of their first meeting. ‘I wanted to drag you into a supply closet as soon as I set eyes on you,’ he admitted. ‘Well, as soon as I set eyes on your ass!’
Rodney aimed a punch at his shoulder, and the resulting scuffle quickly turned into a make-out session until they were interrupted by a rapid bleeping. Jack, Daniel, and Teal’c were standing a few feet away from the front of the Jumper, looking around in confusion, not even Jack looking directly at the Jumper.
‘I know it’s close,’ Jack was saying as John activated the external acoustic sensors and lowered the ramp.
Rodney, after checking there was no one around to see him appear from nowhere, jogged around to the front of the Jumper. ‘This way, idiots!’ he called to them, and jogged back to the rear.
The others followed him, but weren’t fast enough to see him disappear into the craft. Jack walked into the side of the Jumper, while Daniel got himself turned around and he walked away from them. Only Teal’c accurately located the lowered ramp, and Jack caught hold of Daniel’s robes and dragged him to the spot where he’d seen his friend disappear.
‘So much for Jack’s ability to sense Ancient tech,’ Rodney muttered to John sotto voce. ‘Did you get the ZPM?’ he asked in his usual tone.
‘D’you think we’d dare come back if we didn’t?’ Daniel asked as he stripped off his robes. ‘Phew! They were hot on top of my normal clothes and tac-vest!’
Teal’c solemnly removed a reddish crystal from his robes and handed it to Rodney, who was making grabby hands towards it. He took it carefully from Teal’c’s hands and stroked it gently.
‘This is the difference between life and death for us on Atlantis,’ he said reverently, and none of the others could argue with his statement.
It was a perfect, flawless mission, but right up until the very last moment, the entire team expected something to go wrong.
‘It just feels too good to be true,’ Daniel said, as Rodney fiddled with the time-device, then ordered John to think about the date they’d left, putting into words the feelings of every one of them. ‘Nothing ever goes this smoothly.’ He turned to look at Jack as his partner groaned and found the others glaring at him. What?’
‘You couldn’t wait just half an hour until we’re in the present and back home?’ Jack demanded. ‘You’ve jinxed us good and proper, Danny-boy.’
As two of his three other teammates were also scowling at him – John over his shoulder – while the third raised a single eyebrow, Daniel huffed and folded his arms. ‘Rude. I simply said what we were all thinking.’
‘And you should know better after all this time,’ Jack scolded, but it was half-hearted at best. Danny was right. No mission ever goes this smoothly.
But it apparently did.
The Jumper flashed into existence in Earth’s atmosphere, sixty plus miles above the surface of the planet, and the sudden appearance of a multitude of points on the HUD, each one marking the presence of a satellite, bore witness to their return to the time period they’d left mere hours before, although night was falling in the northern hemisphere. John took them up into space, then down again to Cheyenne Mountain, making a second side to the triangle formed between three points: Egypt, space, and Colorado. They were home, in all senses of the word.
‘See?’ Daniel said as John lowered the Jumper down the former launch shaft and into its new station on Level 17, a previously undeveloped space. ‘A perfect mission, and you have to admit, we were due one.’
‘Perhaps,’ Jack allowed, yet he recognised the tightness of his chest. ‘But my sixth sense is warning me something huge is about to happen.’
‘I agree,’ John said as he withdrew both physically and mentally from the jumper’s controls. ‘I feel a little like Schrödinger’s cat. This huge bad thing Jack and I are expecting hasn’t happened until I lower the ramp. Or have I messed up the analogy?’
‘No, you haven’t.’ Rodney shook his head. ‘Besides, we all know what you mean. I’m feeling apprehensive myself.’
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Siler appeared in the view port. He was constructing a servicing and testing area on Level 17, where he could keep all his tools and apparatuses locked away, and to where all the powered machines and gadgets in the mountain could be brought when they needed fixing, rather than him having to lump his equipment around the mountain, losing bits of it when people ‘borrowed’, even though they’d promise it was just for a minute. With General Hammond’s full support, Siler had banned most people from even entering his ‘workshop’ except Radek, and, rather grudgingly, Rodney.
Right now, he was frowning at them, and gesturing to John to lower the ramp. ‘The general wants you.’
‘”Once more unto the breach, dear friends,”‘ Jack quoted as he got to his feet and pushed Daniel into the rear compartment.
‘”Or close the wall up with our English dead!”‘ Daniel finished. ‘Our American dead? Or maybe our SGC dead.’
‘I think we’re about to find out,’ Jack sighed as he pressed the switch in the rear compartment to lower the ramp.
General Hammond was waiting for them by the elevator on Level 17, his countenance grave.
‘Gear up for an off-world night op with night-vision and laser sights,’ he ordered. ‘You’re going straight through the gate.’ He paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on Jack. ‘We’ve had an emergency call about Edora. They’ve been attacked by unknown assailants.’
Jack felt himself sway, but Daniel on one side, and Teal’c on his other, each gripped an arm to steady him. ‘How—how long?’ he croaked, his voice almost giving up.
‘Half an hour since the message. SG-3, 4 and 17 have already gone through and are holding the gate. There’s only’ he glanced at his watch, ‘ten minutes or so left before we have to redial. Go get yourselves ready. SG-11 is prepping to go through with you. Major Fraiser is standing by to go through as soon as you give her the all-clear.’
Jack nodded and took a deep breath as he carefully withdrew his arms from Teal’c and Daniel’s grasp. ‘Let’s go!’
*****
They stepped through the gate into a battleground. The village was engulfed in fire; the flames reaching high into the night sky, and the timbers of the houses creaked and cracked as they collapsed. From all around, they could hear shouts of anger, screams of panic and terror, and the cries of the injured. Over it all, unnatural in this usual peaceful community, was the intermittent sound of gunfire.
For a moment the team froze, then, as SG-11 followed them through the wormhole, they were forced to step aside, and were suddenly engulfed in the chaos.
‘Over here, Colonel,’ the leader of SG-4, Major Boulton called from where he was busy dispatching the teams. ‘Major Peterson is tracking the unfriendlies, but we know several got through the gate.’
‘Hold the gate, Boulton,’ Jack ordered. ‘Dr Fraiser’s ready to come through on our word. Teal’c, John, with me. Daniel, Rodney, help where you can.’
He pulled down his NVDs and moved off, turning his head from side to side as he walked, and his gun already in firing position. Teal’c and John followed immediately behind, but John spared Rodney a nod of his head.
‘What are we supposed to do?’ Daniel demanded, but Rodney tugged him away from Boulton, who was watching with interest, even as he continued to despatch the other personnel.
‘We go with them, of course,’ Rodney hissed. ‘Can you use NVDs?’
Daniel gave him a scornful look and pulled his own NVDs down from his helmet while Rodney tugged out his recently acquired LSD from his tac-vest.
‘C’mon. We can follow them,’ he told Daniel as they jogged after Jack, Teal’c, and John. ‘I’ve already programmed this to show the ATA gene and naquadah, although Teal’c’s junior also shows up as well.’
‘Jack told us to help, not go with them.’
‘But John knows we’re on their six. Go back if you want, Daniel, but I’m backing up my partner.’ He glanced at his teammate, who remained at his side, jogging through the darkness, illuminated occasionally by burning houses. ‘Keep your weapon up. I can only use my pistol with this,’ and Rodney jerked his head down to the LSD despite Daniel not being able to see him.
The sudden distinctive sound of a staff weapon firing came from their left.
‘This way,’ Daniel said, turning abruptly, making Rodney stumble as he tried to change the direction of his step, and he dropped the LSD.
‘Shit!’ He felt around on the ground as the device had switched off the moment he let it go. ‘Where is the fucking thing? I can’t fucking see a fucking inch in front of me!’ he muttered to himself, then his hand came into contact with something which lit up. ‘Thank Christ!’ But as he got to his feet, he realised he was alone. ‘Fucking soft scientists! What happened to never leave a man behind?’ he chuntered to himself. ‘I can’t look at this and point a gun. Bastard’s going to get me killed, fucking soft scientist!’
Rodney came to an abrupt halt, almost stumbling again, as he saw two close points on his screen just ahead of him around the corner of a building, then he heard low voices. Low American voices.
‘—sign of her or the mother,’ villain number one.
‘The mother’s supposed to be the village leader.’ Two unfriendlies, then.
‘Leader of a fucking Stone Age village! What’s she look like?’ Idiot one.
‘How the fuck should I know? It’s black as fucking pitch! Can’t even see your face!’ Idiot two.
‘We can’t stay here. We need to get back to the gate.’ Idiot one again.
‘What about the kid?’ What kid?
‘Fuck the kid! Get to the gate!’
‘What’s the point? It’s bound to be guarded. Jakes said SG1 was on a mission. How the fuck did they get here?’ Who’s Jakes?
‘Smethers was supposed to be holding the gate.’ Smethers?
‘Fuck the gate! We’d be better off in the forest. Wait till they’ve all gone back.’
Maybe not an entire idiot, Rodney thought to himself, and he shifted position to see which direction they’d go in. He took a step to his right, but his foot caught the edge of something round. He slipped, his ankle turning. He felt himself falling, and couldn’t help the ‘ouff!’ which escaped as he landed.
‘What was that?’ idiot one demanded.
‘Over there,’ idiot two answered, and Rodney heard their footsteps come closer.
His ankle was throbbing, but he managed to turn himself. He dragged himself over to the wall, leaning back against it, and brought up his pistol. Me or them, me or them, he chanted under his breath, and waited until the first one came around the corner. Me or them, me or them.
The shape of a man appeared, blacker against the black of the night. Rodney saw him raise his gun. Me or him, me or him. Rodney aimed his pistol and fired, one, two, and rolled away, changing position before the other could get a shot off.
The black shape hit the ground. He heard the other man mutter ‘Jesus Christ!’, then receding footsteps. Definitely from Earth.
More shots from a P90 sounded around him; more screaming, the surrounding commotion getting louder, closer, deafening.
‘—odney! Rodney! McKay! Where the fuck—’
‘Here! Here, John! I’m here!’ Using the wall to lean against, Rodney scrambled to his feet, but his ankle wouldn’t straighten. Fuck! ‘Over here, John. Help! My ankle!’
The light from a P90 swept over the wall, picking him out, and a beloved figure started towards him, then tripped.
‘Careful! There’s a man. A body. A dead body. I killed—I shot—’ Rodney knew he was babbling, couldn’t stop himself, but just a moment later John was there. John was holding him. John was patting him.
‘Daniel said you were with him, but you weren’t. I couldn’t find you.’ John was babbling now, and Rodney leaned against him, thankfully.
‘I’ve hurt my ankle. Twisted it. I slipped and twisted my ankle and there were two idiots, but I shot one. I might have killed him.’ Rodney’s jabbering came to an abrupt halt. ‘I think I killed him.’
A clutch of P90 wielding shapes appeared, their lights illuminating the area, illuminating the body on the ground dressed in battle-fatigues, not the black of the SGC. Thank God! Someone pushed him over onto his back. The bullet hole was in the centre of his forehead. A perfect head-shot.
One shape whistled, and a voice said, ‘Great shot. Was it you, sir?’ It was Lorne.
‘No, Dr McKay,’ John answered. ‘Good shot, right?’
‘Brilliant shot, especially in the dark. Well done, Doc,’ Lorne said, and Rodney could picture his grin, making him suddenly homesick for Atlantis.
‘Thanks,’ he muttered gruffly, not sure quite what else to say. Luckily, John helped him out.
‘Go help with the clear up, now, you lot. Doc Fraiser’s here with the medical team for any injuries. Go!’ he ordered, and the group broke up into pairs. ‘Can you walk?’ John asked Rodney, gripping his arm.
‘It’s just a twist,’ Rodney answered, and tried to put his weight on the injured ankle, which immediately gave way, and he would have fallen were it not for John. ‘Argh! Maybe a sprain,’ he got out through gritted teeth.
John pushed him back against the wall and knelt down, shining the light of his P90 at Rodney’s foot. He touched the ankle lightly, and Rodney bit back a cry.
‘Maybe a bad sprain?’
‘More like a break,’ John sighed. ‘The whole ankle’s at an odd angle. Shit! I daren’t wrap it. Sorry.’ He glanced around, then got to his feet. ‘Think you can hop if I hold you up?’
Rodney considered how much John’s gentle touch had hurt compared to hopping over uneven ground. ‘Sure,’ he answered, all the while thinking, nope!
John pulled a ChemLight from his tac-vest and dropped it on the corpse, then slid his arm under Rodney’s armpit, and wrapped it around his shoulders, gripping him tightly.
‘Put your arm around me and hold on,’ he instructed. ‘We don’t have Ronon, unfortunately, but yell if it gets too much.’
Determined not to make a sound, Rodney held on, but it was going to be a torturous journey back to the gate. Teal’c found them after a couple of minutes, and he got Rodney’s other shoulder over his own, and the two men carried Rodney back to the gate, their way made clearer by the night sky turning into dawn.
There was a haphazard pile of bodies near the Stargate, and a line of covered bodies in a respectful line with adults and children crying over them, touching, and laying home spun rugs and blankets over them, along with the odd black of an SGC body bag. We use way too many of them.
‘Rodney!’ Daniel came hurrying over. ‘Are you alright? I lost you! What happened to you? One minute you—’
‘Whoa, Daniel!’ John held up his hand. ‘I think he’s broken his ankle, but he did get one of the unfriendlies.’
‘The other might’ve gone to the forest,’ Rodney told him, suddenly remembering the overheard conversation. ‘He also mentioned some names—’
‘Hold on until we’ve got you sorted. A couple of the teams are sweeping the forest. They’ll find anyone in there.’
This was a blatant untruth, but Rodney didn’t challenge John about it. He’d save it for later. His ankle was now aching, burning, and he needed to get it elevated. He remembered that much from the ‘first aid’ courses he’d been forced to attend. Fucking voodoo.
Daniel glanced back at the row of bodies, and with a shock, Rodney recognised a bent head of greying hair.
‘Is that…’ he began, unable to finish his sentence.
‘Laira’s dead.’
Rodney’s knees gave way, and had he not been supported by John and Teal’c, he’d have fallen. Don’t be a fucking idiot, he told himself. Jack needs their help, not you. ‘Go,’ he instructed John and Teal’c. ‘I can manage.’
John helped him to a seat, and propped the bad ankle on a box, squeezed his shoulder, and left him staring at the line of Edoran dead. They were looking for Lairissa, I’m certain. They mentioned the village leader, and I’m positive that’s Laira. Why do they want Lairissa? She’s just a baby. Why would—Oh. She has Jack’s gene.
*****
The sun rose on the smoking ruins of the village. Houses which only a few days ago had held smiling adults and laughing children were now a mass of blackened and smouldering timbers. A few people were making desultory efforts to rescue belongings from the wreckage, but the destruction was almost complete.
A small group of people emerged from the forest, and Rodney scanned them for anyone he knew, but there was no sign of Garan, Laira’s son, or his wife, Naytha, nor of Lairissa. Laira herself lay just a few feet away with the other members of SG-1 gathered around her. What a fucking stupid waste. And for what? A toddler with a gene she couldn’t yet control?
A man Rodney recognised come towards him, his fists clenched, and his chin jutted out.
‘You did this! You brought those people upon us!’
The worst of it was, Rodney couldn’t argue with the facts. We brought those people upon the Edorans. This didn’t happen last time, as Jack never knew about his daughter, so it must be our fault.
‘Year after year the fire rain comes, goes and harms no one,’ the man continued, now speaking to the other Edorans gathering around him.
Paynan, Haynan, Thaynan. What the fuck is his name?
‘Then the fire rain came and almost destroyed our village. Because of them! They took our people away through the ring. Many never returned!’
Varnan, Ardnan, Haynan. Already said that one. Darnan, Carnan.
‘Now they have brought death and destruction down upon us. Our village is destroyed, our people are dead.’
Farnan, Fernan, Lernan. Lernan, no! Linnan! That’s it. Linnan.
‘But some of us still live, Linnan,’ another man said. ‘And we can rebuild.’
‘Rebuild with what?! Everything is destroyed. We don’t have a single roof to shield our heads, nor food to nourish us.’
‘But we will help you. We will do everything we can to help you.’ Daniel. Thank Thor for Daniel Jackson.
‘Why would you help us when you are the cause of this?’ Linnan demanded, gesturing to the surrounding ruins. ‘And how can so few of us rebuild our homes? Even our children are gone.’
Rodney frowned and looked around. It was true. The only people he could see were adults, yet there had been any number of children the last time SG-1 paid a visit. Including a blond toddler with a curly mop of hair, who was nowhere to be seen. Did they get her?
‘Our children are safe,’ a third man said. ‘Garan took as many as he could through the stone ring to a place Laira had told him of, where they would protect our children.’
Earth? No, we’d have been told. Where did he take them?
Rodney felt a hand on his shoulder and he gave a start. John looked down at him.
‘Okay?’
‘Not in the least, but I…Come down here, idiot! I can’t shout at you.’
John knelt at his side. ‘What is it?’
‘Those two men I ran into. They were definitely American, and were talking about there being no sign of her or her mother, the village leader. They were looking for Lairissa, John.’
‘Dammit! Anything else?
‘Yes. They mentioned two names. Smethers, who was supposed to be guarding the gate, and someone called Jakes, or maybe Jake. It wasn’t clear, but he was the one who’d said we were off-world.’
John frowned. ‘Said who was off-world?’
‘Us! SG-1. Idiot One said Jakes had said SG-1 was on a mission.’ Thankfully, John knew enough about his partner not to ask who ‘Idiot One’ was. Rodney’s misnaming was legendary on Atlantis, and some Marines had proudly worn their moniker of ‘Science Grunt Four’. McKay knew who he was, just not who he was.
‘Anything else?’
‘Yes. That Edoran talking to Daniel, or yelling at Daniel, Linnan, I think. He said that Garan took most of the children off-world.’
‘Garan did?’
‘Will you stop repeating everything I say?! Garan, Lai—Laira’s son took most of the children ‘through the stone ring’.’
‘Where through the stone ring?’
‘If I knew that, I’d be telling you!’
‘Rodney! Not again!’ Janet Fraiser was standing in front of him, dark shadows under her eyes, and with a shock, Rodney realised it must be close to midday.
‘Now, what have you done?’
‘I think his ankle is broken,’ John told her, standing up, although that made him tower over her. ‘It’s certainly dislocated.’
Fraiser gave the ankle in question a quick glance. ‘Definitely broken. Can you walk, Rodney, or do you need a stretcher?’
‘I can hobble, with help.’
‘I can carry you,’ John offered, but Fraiser was already calling for a corpsman, and between the corpsman and John, they got Rodney safely through the gate.
A pair of scrubs, and an IV port later, and Rodney was safely away in dreamland.
*****
With Rodney tucked up safely in the Infirmary, John went back through the gate to Edora on the next dial-in, and quickly sought the rest of his team.
They’d got Jack away from Laira’s body and into Rodney’s former seat. Now Teal’c and Daniel, on either side of him, were trying to persuade him to eat an MRE, and drink a mug of something John suspected might be the industrial strength black coffee on which the Marine Corps appeared to thrive. Daniel looked up from his own mug as John settled down on the box which had recently supported Rodney’s broken ankle.
‘Is he okay?’
‘Broken ankle. He’ll be fine. They’re operating to pin it shortly.’
The other three nodded, and after a quick glance around, John bent his head closer to his teammates.
‘Listen, Rodney overheard two of the unfriendlies talking before he shot one of them.’
‘Rodney shot one?’ Daniel demanded. ‘How? Why?’
John frowned. ‘With his pistol, and because they were about to shoot him. He’s a very good shot.’
‘Yeah, sorry, sorry.’ Daniel grimaced. ‘I know he’s a good shot. I don’t know…Go on. He overheard…’
‘Two names: Smethers and Jake, or possibly Jakes. One of them, Jake, I think, had said SG-1 was away on a mission. That’s why they chose the time they did.’
‘And the other?’ Jack asked, his interest sparking a little.
‘Smethers was supposed to hold the gate. Presumably to stop anyone dialling out, except the Edorans don’t use the gate.’ John watched his friend for a moment. ‘Jack, Rodney also heard them mention a ‘her’ and ‘her mother the village leader’, which can only mean Laira. Rodney thinks they were after Lairissa.’
‘Who we are unable to find,’ Teal’c added. ‘Most of the children are missing, but some may have taken refuge in the caves.’
‘No.’ John shook his head. ‘Rodney also overheard Linnan say Garan took most of the children through the gate.’
‘Garan?’ Jack looked up. ‘Where to?’
‘That’s the problem. No one knows. And he won’t dare bring them back if he suspects those men are still here.’
‘Hold on.’ Daniel held up a hand. ‘If Smethers was supposed to be holding the gate, who called the SGC for help? They must have had a GDO or General Hammond wouldn’t have believed them.’
For a moment, John’s mind went back to Atlantis and the Genii invasion. But this is the reverse. Someone really did need help. ‘What did Hammond actually say when he first told us? It wasn’t ‘Edora called for help’, I’m certain.’ He sighed. ‘Just when we could do with Rodney…’
‘He said a call about Edora,’ Daniel said suddenly. ‘It was definitely ‘about’ because I noted the odd use of the word, but then everything went to hell. The call probably didn’t come from here.’
‘But would Garan have had the time to grab the GDO if the village was already under attack?’ John asked. ‘From my experience, it’s a mass of running and shouting people, and absolute chaos, although at least they didn’t have the Wraith firing on them from space.’
‘And if Smethers was holding the gate, he needed to be overpowered,’ Teal’c added. ‘A man with a group of children could not do that alone.’
‘That’s true,’ John said. ‘So who went with him? Who else is missing?’
Before any of the team could try to answer his question, Paynan, Jack’s old drinking buddy, joined them.
‘I offer you my sympathy, Jack,’ he said. ‘I know Laira was your woman.’
Jack stared at him for a moment, then gave an abrupt nod of his head.
‘Garan took our children through the stone ring. Can you tell us where they are, though there is little to bring them back to?’
‘I’m sorry, Paynan, but we don’t know—’ Daniel began before Jack suddenly looked up.
‘I know. And I also know where you can all safely shelter while you rebuild the village, because you’re right. You can’t stay here.’
Paynan’s face went blank. ‘We do not wish to join your people. They are the ones who attacked us without reason. Your allies may be no better.’
‘Gairwyn leads a village much like this one, and you’ll be safe with her and her people, I promise you.’
‘And our children?’ Paynan asked again.
‘I think Garan’s taken them to another ally: the Nox.’
*****
While Teal’c remained on Edora, arguing he was of more use there, the three remaining members of SG-1 went through the gate to the Nox homeworld, Gaia, in search of the missing Edorans. Opher, the eldest Nox the SGC had met, was waiting for them on the other side of the gate.
‘Welcome,’ he said, bowing his head. ‘Yet my news will be unwelcome.’
‘What’s happened?’ Daniel demanded as Jack sat down abruptly. ‘Where are the Edoran children? Did they come through the gate?’
‘Eight Edoran adults came through, but only seven lived.’ Opher tilted his head to the side. ‘I am sorry, Jack O’Neill. I was unable to heal Naytha, wife of Garan. They fired their weapons on her as she stepped through the Stargate,’ Orphan explained, and his usually bushy green hair became flat and lank.
‘But you can bring people back from being dead,’ Jack blurted out. ‘You brought me, brought the entire team back. Why couldn’t you bring Naytha back? She was carrying Laira’s grandchild.’ His voice broke on her name.
‘I see your love for her,’ Opher said quietly. ‘And your love and compassion will be rewarded, but not here.’
‘Not here?’ Jack gazed at Opher blankly and got to his feet with Daniel’s arm still around his shoulders. ‘Where are they?’
‘On Cimmeria, just as you wished.’
The four teammates exchanged wide-eyed glances.
‘How did you know that?’ Jack whispered.
‘We are the Nox,’ Opher answered, just as though that explained everything. Which maybe it does, Jack thought.
‘And the children are all safe?’ Jack demanded.
Opher’s features softened as he smiled. ‘Gairwyn welcomed the children just as she will the remaining Edorans.’
‘Did…did my…’ Jack began, unable to finish his question.
‘Your daughter went to Cimmeria with her brother,’ Opher said gently. ‘But she is not safe there.’
The four men stared at him in shock.
‘Then it was Lairissa they were searching for?’ Daniel asked, with a quick glance at Jack, who had his head in his hands. ‘Do—Do you know how…?’
Opher turned his head away from them and gazed at the forest. ‘That is hidden from us, but the child will not be safe on Cimmeria,’ he repeated. ‘You know where you must take her.’
*****
The three members of SG-1 gated directly back to the SGC, with very little discussion. They were all busy with their own thoughts, although John suspected they were all thinking about the same thing. A sombre George Hammond was waiting for them, and he led the way to the briefing room, not even sending them off to the Infirmary for a post-mission medical.
Do we know who the attackers were and why they were there? What they wanted?’ Hammond asked, getting directly to the point.
‘They wanted Lairissa, we think,’ John answered when it was clear Jack wasn’t going to, wasn’t able to speak. ‘Rodney overheard some bits of a conversation, a couple of names, but they were definitely looking for Laira’s daughter.’ He glanced quickly at Jack, not even certain he was following what was being said.
‘They—They killed Laira,’ John continued in a low voice. ‘And Naytha, her daughter-in-law. Garan led the children and some of the adults though to the Nox – Jack had apparently given Laira the gate address in case there was ever a problem.’ He cleared his throat and glanced again at Jack, who was still staring into space. ‘Unfortunately, Naytha was the last one through. She was hit, and the Nox couldn’t heal her, or save the baby as she was—was pregnant.’
‘Jesus fucking Christ!’ Hammond muttered, and John and Daniel stared at each other, open-mouthed. General Hammond never swears! ‘Right. Where are all the children now?’
‘On Cimmeria,’ Daniel answered. ‘It was odd. Teal’c had suggested we ask either Cimmeria or the Land of Light to take the survivors, as the Edorans aren’t interested in being a technological society, and Opher appeared to know this, although we didn’t mention it.’
‘Something else was odd, as well,’ John began, but was interrupted by the sound of an alarm, and the automated voice declaring an ‘Unscheduled gate activation’. Three of the four men exchanged glances, but Jack didn’t stir.
John and Daniel both ran down the spiral staircase to the Ops room, while the general followed briskly, but more carefully.
‘It’s Laira’s IDC,’ Walter said in a low voice, trying to see if General Hammond was behind Daniel, ‘but it’s coming from Cimmeria.’
‘Open the iris,’ Hammond ordered, and less than a minute later, Garan emerged from the event horizon, clutching a sleeping toddler against his chest.
Daniel gave an undignified squawk and ran down the staircase which led indirectly to the Embarkation room, and was at the bottom of the ramp in time to meet Garan. John, meanwhile, ran back up to the briefing room to fetch Jack, while Hammond simply watched, until the general came to his senses and ordered Daniel to escort Garan up to the briefing room, where, unceremoniously, he handed his baby sister over to Jack.
‘You are the reason my wife and mother are dead,’ Garan told Jack, shocking everyone in the room into silence. ‘I was glad when my mother found happiness, but first you left her, then you ignored the child she bore you, and now you have brought death and destruction down upon us all. Take your child, and tell your allies and your enemies alike that she is no longer on Edora.’
Without even waiting for Jack to answer him, Garan turned on his heel and retraced his steps, the two SFs who were escorting him running to catch up, while General Hammond grabbed the phone to give instructions to Walter. A few moments later, they all watched as the gate dialled, and Garan left without a backwards glance.
*****
Chapter 26: Epilogue
Chapter Text
Two Months Later
Four men leaned on the balustrade overlooking the sea and watched the sunset, and the planet’s two moons rose, one much bigger, or much closer, than the other.
‘I can’t quite believe I’m standing in the city of the gatebuilders,’ Daniel said with a small laugh. ‘I was convinced Jack wouldn’t let me come on the expedition.’
‘I didn’t,’ Jack admitted. ‘Last time, that is. And now all four of us are here.’
‘Five of us,’ Daniel corrected. ‘We have our daughter with us, don’t forget.’ The pride in his voice was unmistakable.
‘You decided, then?’ John asked with a sideways look at Jack. ‘Daniel’s down as her other father?’
Jack nodded. ‘It seemed like the best choice to make. Your father pushed through the paperwork for us, thankfully. We were both afraid of having to answer too many questions.’
‘To be fair, it is the first time we’ve had to register an off-world birth,’ Daniel pointed out.
‘And I hope it’s the last. Until the programme is declassified, at least.’
‘You think that’s coming?’ Rodney, now free from both plaster and crutches, asked Jack.
‘I think it isn’t too far off. I also think it’s how George and Patrick sold Patrick’s appointment to the President and the Chiefs of Staff. The post of Homeworld wasn’t created until after Anubis’ attack in 2004 last time, but it makes sense to have it now, with the Atlantis mission happening so much earlier. It also lightens George’s role, taking Area 51 off his plate and giving it to Patrick.’
‘I was surprised General Hammond didn’t take it,’ John said. ‘I thought he’d want to be closer to his daughter. And I really didn’t see Dad taking it on. That was entirely out of left field.’
‘Although it actually makes much more sense than last time,’ Rodney said, turning around to view the city with a little sigh of pleasure, and leaning back against the balustrade. ‘Your service heads have to be civilians, don’t they? For at least for the last five years? Then it makes sense that the Director of Homeworld Security is a civilian too.’
Daniel frowned. ‘But it’s not comparable with the Armed Services. If it’s comparable with anything, it’s Homeland Security.’
‘Don’t start arguing, you two,’ John sighed. ‘This is our first night back on Atlantis. Let’s try to enjoy it. Jack, Daniel, congratulations on becoming proud fathers. Jack, congratulations on your promotion to Brigadier General, on your retirement, and on your new appointment as Leader of the Atlantis Expedition.’
‘And congratulations on your new appointment as Chief Military Commander, and Rodders, as Chief Scientific Officer,’ Jack replied, smirking at his friends.
‘Have you all finished, now?’ Miko Kusanagi let the door to the upper balcony of the gateroom close behind her. ‘It’s like you have your own self-appreciation club.’ She joined them at the balustrade and looked out over the sea. ‘It’s so beautiful here, the city and the location. I felt as though I’d come home the moment I stepped onto her.’
‘Same,’ Rodney agreed. ‘I think it’s like that for all gene holders, but I didn’t get my gene activated until we’d been here a few days last time, so I didn’t get that initial welcome.’
‘But she is pleased to see us,’ John said softly. ‘And it’s more than just the full ZPM we were able to install. She’s more…she’s just more. More welcoming, more alive, more reactive. The lot. I can’t wait to sit in the chair.’
‘I’ve already checked the logs,’ Rodney admitted. ‘I couldn’t wait for you to sit in the chair. You’re still her Filius Primus, and her Ducis, John, and I’m her Ingeniātor, her Engineer.’
‘Ingeniātor,’ Daniel repeated. ‘It also means ‘has genius’, or, rather, the word ‘genius’ is part of the title.’
Rodney stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Moving on. Jack, you’re listed as her Navarche, her leader of ships, or Captain, or possibly, her Admiral.’
‘Admiral General Jonathon O’Neill,’ Jack said, trying out the title. ‘Hmm. I think I prefer General Jack.’
‘Certainly less of a mouthful,’ Miko agreed. ‘Is that how you wish to be addressed? General?’
‘I think so, even if I am retired. I’m the leader of the Tau’ri, from Terra where we have just recently discovered the Stargate – or Ancestor’s Ring? I can’t recall which we decided on. Rodders?’
‘Stargate,’ Rodney answered promptly. ‘And if questioned, we’ll admit to the four of us being direct descendants of the Alterans who brought Atlantis to this galaxy.’
‘The four of you?’ Miko tilted her head and frowned. ‘I didn’t think Dr Jackson had the gene.’
Rodney shook his head. ‘No, I meant the four of us, you, Jack, John, and I. We four have the strongest genes, and we need to take control of the narrative from the start. The four of us, and Jack and John in particular, could be Alterans. Our DNA , yours and mine, Miko, is well over 75% Alteran. John’s is 98%, and Jack’s is 96% according to Dr Stewart.’
‘Where do I fit in?’ Daniel asked plaintively. ‘Or am I just the adoring public?’
‘You’re the head of the Social Sciences,’ Rodney told him. ‘What more do you want? I can include Medical if you want?’ This was asked in such a hopeful manner, the others laughed.
‘And you do have a seat on the ruling council,’ Jack added. ‘You and Miko.’
‘About that.’ Daniel paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. ‘The prophecy on Planet Maybourne was very clear on it being a Triumvirate. You’ve now made it a Quinquevirate.’
‘We’ve made it a what-what?’ Jack demanded. ‘I can’t even say it, let alone be it!’
‘Let’s be a Governing Council, then we’re not tied in to just having five people,’ John suggested. ‘If the population of Atlantis grows, as we hope it will, the council will need to be expanded.’
Rodney frowned. ‘That’s our official policy, is it? I thought it was undecided.’
‘George, Patrick, and President Morris all agreed we needed as much self-determination as possible,’ Jack explained. ‘We’re here to build a society, not just rob the galaxy of its technology,’ he added. ‘I think Morris went for it as he’ll be stepping down next year, and he quite liked the idea of going down in history as the US President who colonised the Pegasus Galaxy.’
‘Except it’s unlikely our part of the programme will be declassified anytime soon,’ Daniel pointed out. ‘You said Atlantis was never disclosed last time.’
‘Not our problem,’ Jack responded immediately, then sighed. ‘Look, it’s unlikely the entire Trust will be caught and locked away, so Lairissa’s always going to be in danger on Earth. So if I—if we,’ he motioned to Daniel and himself, ‘can’t take her back to Earth for certainly the next ten or twelve years, I want her to grow up in a society, not just a mix of scientists and soldiers.
‘Getting the Athosians on our side will help, and we should think seriously about offering a home to the kids on Planet Suicide. Given that, we need the freedom to build a community, or, yes, a colony. So George, Patrick, and Morris wrote that into the Expedition Charter. Sure, they’ll appreciate any technology we can pass their way, but it’s not going to be the defining objective as it was under the IOA.’
‘Good.’ Rodney spoke for all of them. ‘And with the SGC having the Taonis ZPM, they can contact us in an emergency.’
‘Just as we can contact them with our full ZPM,’ John added. ‘Is it worth building the gate bridge again?’
‘Possibly,’ Rodney responded, just as Jack replied:
‘No.’
‘Something to discuss at the first Council meeting,’ Miko suggested. ‘Now, I came to fetch you all to the party. The rest of the Expedition were a little concerned that the four most important people on the city – because Lairissa’s tucked up in bed – were avoiding the ‘Welcome to Atlantis’ party, especially as there’s cake, General,’ she added slyly.
‘Then let’s go and eat cake,’ Jack said, clapping his hands. ‘Everything else can wait until morning. We’ve got all the time in the galaxy.’
Fin