Dinner went well with old friends gathered around the table. Ferretti did a lot of listening and watching. He kept looking at Nick, trying to figure out how such a man could possibly be sleeping with another man. He then looked at Jack, also someone who didn’t fit stereotype. Jack could sense the confusion and let him work it out for himself.
Jack had a quiet conference with Paul before the others got there, and let him know about Narim. Paul was just as stunned as they had been.
Dinner was taken over by talk of wedding planning. Paul announced that Nick had proposed. Daniel sent a fist into the air. “YES!”
“You’re going to be my best man, right?” Paul asked him.
“Oh, hell yes!” Daniel assured him. Nick was looking green so Jack got him a beer.
Jack decided to skip work the next day and go find Inanna. After a look from Daniel, Jack revised his decision and made it a family outing. Sam called the schools and got the children excused while Daniel called Landry, his students, and then the dean.
The children were excited. Stacy and Davy wanted to bake cookies for Jonathan and Aba, so Daniel helped them with cookies. Large spoonfuls of dough and chocolate chips were eaten before they made it to the oven.
Jack remembered that his mother had been talking about going to see Jonathan, so he called her. She’d be going with them.
Landry gave Jack his frowning hound dog face when Jack refused to take an SG team with him.
“Hank, we’ll be with the Anunnaki and Jaffa,” Jack said, refusing to look at the face. “Quit fussin’.”
It was a call from Maynard that made Jack pause.
“Oh, come on, Francis, this is a vacation,” Jack whined. “Do you know how long it’s been since I spent decent time with my kids? I can’t even remember the last time I laid around the house naked with Sam and Daniel. It isn’t TMI, it’s a fact. No one’s invading us, I get vacation time.” Jack hung his head, listening. “Kalam and Chulak. I suppose Teal’c could use fresh meat. Gate. Does it have to be Marines? They’re meatheads, Francis. Very funny. They grunt, Francis, they couldn’t speak a coherent sentence if they tried. Oh, alright. How many? Great.”
He hung up and snarled just as Davis walked into the office.
“What is it?” Paul asked.
“Maynard,” Jack told him. “Apparently the Marines want to learn that Jaffa fighting style, so ten of those jarheads are coming along for the ride to be trained as trainers. Ten! Grunting, spitting, farting, scratching hairy pits and balls…..”
“Well, sir, they do pride themselves in being prepared for the unexpected,” Davis said calmly.
“And?” Jack snapped. He paused. “I knew I gave you a raise for a reason. Get Chulak on the Bat-phone.”
“Yes, sir.”
While Davis made the necessary connections, Jack made a few hasty calls of his own.
Jack was whistling as he walked into his house with a bounce in his step. Over-night bags were sitting by the door and the children were running around in last-minute excitement. Jack caught Daniel by the waist and slid his arms around from behind.
“I’ve been loving you for such a long time, baby,” Jack sang into Daniel’s ear. The children giggled as Daniel strained against Jack’s arms.
“Sam, he’s high!” Daniel called out. Sam came into the living room, a baby on one arm and a bag of diapers on the other. She smiled at them.
“…expecting nothing in return
just for you to have a little faith in me,
all you gotta do is have a little faith in me…”
“Sam, he’s up to something,” Daniel translated.
“Have a little faith in meeee….” The last came out a warble and the children laughed. Jack turned him around and kissed him. “I want you to Gate over to Kalam,” he said, planting kisses along Daniel’s stubbly jaw. Daniel wasn’t sure if he should be responding to the kisses or the fact that Jack had switched to Goa’uld. Sam stopped and listened. It was rare enough when Jack took to his basic smattering of languages, let alone Goa’uld. They tried to focus on what Jack was saying. “Take the kids with you. You’re on vacation with the children who are visiting Jonathan. We will be Gating over to Chulak.”
“What’s going on?” Daniel asked as Jack kissed his neck.
“Just training games with a few jarheads,” Jack said. “They don’t know it, so play along.”
Daniel and Sam relaxed. Sam continued gathering baby supplies while Jack copped a feel of Daniel’s ass. Three out of four children pretended to gag. Katie just shook her head.
“Kids in the room!” Matthew reminded them.
“Yeah? Parents making out in the room,” Jack countered. He gave one more kiss and released Daniel. “I’ll have you know I patted your butt more times than I’ve patted Daniel’s,” he informed the boy.
“Oh, please, no,” Matthew begged of the ceiling. “Don’t let him start.”
“It’s a cute butt,” Jack continued. “Couldn’t keep pants on you; you would run out of the bathtub before I could even get you dry. Had to chase you all over the house just to get underwear on you. Spiderman underwear, if I recall…”
Matthew turned red, covered his ears, and ran up the stairs as Stacy and Davy laughed. Jack chuckled in satisfaction.
Two hours later, Jack was whistling as he and Sam walked hand in hand, fingers laced, down the corridor of the SGC. She lifted an eyebrow when he had taken her hand, but didn’t say anything as he gave it a squeeze. Landry glanced at their hands and also didn’t say anything.
“Are they here?” Jack asked.
“Yes, they are,” Landry nodded.
“Good,” Jack declared. “Let’s do it.”
He and Sam went to find their Marines. The boys were staring up at the Gate and making low commentary. Jack sensed the hidden nervous energy.
“Officer on deck!” Sam snapped. The men turned and sprang to ridged attention. The SF at the door held back their amusement. Jack looked at their guests and paused. He silently cursed Maynard and vowed revenge before walking slowly up to one of the men, tall and lanky with iron gray hair.
“Colonel,” Jack said quietly.
“General,” the man returned. Frost was in the air.
“At ease, boys,” Jack finally said. They relaxed. “We will be heading over to Chulak shortly. Colonel Carter will provide show and tell. Colonel Addison.” The man did his best to swallow the antagonism as he followed Jack down the hall to a conference room.
“Are we going to have a problem?” Jack asked the moment the door was closed.
“Not from me,” Addison said, folding his arms.
“I was not informed that you were in the group,” Jack said after a moment of studying the man. “I’ll give you the option of…..”
“I’m staying,” the man interrupted. “Sir.”
Jack gave a satisfied nod and sat slowly on the edge of the table. “You want to tell me about your men? Have a seat.”
The men were the best the Marines had to offer in the form of hand-to-hand combat trainers. Jack could have guessed that much; the man in front of him was among the top ten black belts worldwide.
“They don’t know,” Addison said. “About us.”
“That’s fine,” Jack acknowledged. “I will tell Carter, though. She is my wife.”
The man nodded. “I’d like to meet her.” He hesitated. “I was sorry to hear about you and Sara. I liked her.” Jack nodded. “I’m sorry I missed Charlie’s funeral. I couldn’t get away.”
“Melanie told me,” Jack said. “Thank you. I have Megan’s kids, now. We adopted them. Olivia is almost nine months old. They’re all getting big. I can barely carry David anymore.”
The man nodded, a brief hint of sorrow showing on his thin, craggy face. “I was sorry to hear about her and Uncle Tom. Again, I couldn’t get away.”
“Melanie told me.” Jack took a moment and then stood. The colonel slowly stood. “Look, Mason…. We need to work together. I don’t expect affection from you, but I do expect professionalism. Can we do that?”
“Do you really need to ask?” Mason said coldly. Jack pursed his lips and then pressed the comm at his shoulder and requested Sam’s presence.
“Be right there,” came from the comm.
Mason frowned. “What’s that?” he asked, looking at the small device.
“An Anunnaki radio,” Jack said.
Sam came in minutes later. She looked at the men, sensing the tension.
“Samantha Carter, Mason Addison. A cousin.”
After a surprised moment, Sam took the hand offered to her.
“He belongs to my Aunt Faith,” Jack said. “One of Mom’s sisters.”
It was going to be a loooong day.
He went to call Maynard. The general didn’t understand why Jack was pissy.
“He was a last minute replacement, Jack,” Maynard said. “He had been unavailable, he became available. Why?”
Ignoring the unspoken hint at an undercover position, Jack paused, considering that maybe Maynard didn’t know. “He’s a cousin of mine,” Jack said. “That isn’t in our records?”
“No, it isn’t,” Maynard said, an audible sigh coming over the phone. “I don’t understand, Jack; why is this a problem?”
“We’ve been butting heads since we were kids,” Jack said, sitting down. “To say we don’t get along is an understatement. Alright, I’ll deal with it. Him.”
Jack knew of several other cousins in the forces and looked them up on the computer. At least he got along with the others. His mother used to tell him that he and Mason were both pig-headed and complete opposites. Night and day. All Jack knew was that Mason had no sense of humor and was wound up tighter than a coal mine spitting out diamonds.
They Gated into Chulak and hiked to the training camp. The men tried hard not to crane their necks at the multiple moons in the sky while shaking off the frost that first-time Gate users go through. Jack wasn’t sure what took attention from newbies first –the odd alien creature that they came upon or multiple moons and suns in the sky. At least Chulak was far enough away from the double stars that the planet wasn’t an oven.
“T!” Jack spread his arms out in greeting as they entered the camp. He clasped forearms. “Nice to see you. Bre’tac, looking good. For an old man. Rya’c, I want babysitting time.” Teal’c’s son smiled and promised time with the baby. Sam greeted the men with kisses to their cheeks and informed Rya’c that he had grown up too fast. The young man shyly ducked his head. “Teal’c, these are the men that need to be trained,” Jack said, indicating the Marines standing stiffly behind him. “Sic ‘em.” Teal’c scowled.
Jack took Sam’s hand and they went to find food.
“Was it my imagination, or was there a woman standing slightly proprietary next to Teal’c?” Jack asked as they walked the half mile to Teal’c’s villa.
“That is Ka’lel, I believe her name is,” Sam said. “I don’t know about her and Teal’c, but I think she’s the council representative for the women. Her inclusion was something Teal’c and Bre’tac pushed for. The Jaffa women don’t have a voice except through their men, so women’s rights are a big issue, at the moment.”
“And we corrupted the guys,” Jack concluded. “A little corruption can be a good thing.”
Teal’c and Bre’tac found them a short while later, and helped themselves to fruit from the bowl on the table.
“Aren’t you two training?” Jack asked, having expected them to be running the Marines all over the nearby forest and fields.
“Rya’c and Ka’lel will begin,” Teal’c said.
“Your people need perspective,” Bre’tac said, slightly offended.
“What’d they do?” Jack asked, not surprised.
Bre’tac’s nostrils flared. Not a good sign. “They assume that this training is a waste of time and so we should give them the basics and send them home.”
Jack nodded. “A little attitude adjustment. I see. Adjust away.” He raised his cup and clinked it with the others. “And the plans?”
“Implemented,” Bre’tac assured him with an evil smile.
“Good. So. T. Ka’lel? Is she as deadly as she is pretty?”
“Indeed.” The big guy almost growled in pleasure.
Jack’s radio clicked. “General, may I speak with you?” came Mason’s voice. It was biting and hard, yet polite.
“Sure.” Jack looked at the people around him. “Go ahead.”
“These are children,” Mason hissed. “Where are the warriors that were supposed to train us? That Teal’c guy informed us that we were weak humans and left us with children. This is bullshit.”
“Some of those children have been fighting longer than you have, Colonel, so suck it up and pay attention. Out.” Jack smiled and shut his radio off.
“Where did you say the baby was?”
While the Marines were pummeled by women and children, Jack and Sam played with Rya’c and Kar’yn’s baby son. The men looked on, proud grandparents.
“We do not know if he will be able to survive without a prim’ta,” Teal’c said worriedly. “I have spoken with Enki, and he says it may take a few generations for our DNA to reestablish itself. I fear that Dor’nar will not be able to live without tretonin once he is of age.”
Jack lifted the baby and held him out. “Well, how about we worry about that when the time comes?” he suggested. He blew raspberries on the round belly, which seemed to be a universal way to get a baby to laugh.
An hour later, Ka’lel walked in. “It is done,” she announced.
“Great!” Jack declared and jumped to his feet. “Let’s get over to Kalam.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what did you do?” Sam asked. Jack straightened up, cleared his throat, and did his best ‘addressing the troops’ stance.
“Colonel Carter, it is my sad duty to inform you that some big bad Goa’uld has come along and stolen our Marines and some Jaffa children,” he informed her. “Cowardly snakes. None of our ships are in the area, alas, they are all occupied and cannot get away, so we are going to beg assistance from allies and we’re going to borrow the Heaven’s Bow to rescue our kids. In a little while. SG-1 is still at lunch, I think.” He checked his watch and nodded to himself.
“T, don’t worry, we’ll get Rya’c and Kar’yn back,” he said, patting Teal’c on the shoulder.
“And I will discuss with my grandson the bravery of his parents,” Teal’c said, picking the baby up. The tiny body seemed incongruous in the large arms, but Dor’nar didn’t seem to mind.
When they got to Kalam, Inanna put on her best sorrowful face and informed them that a naughty Goa’uld had come hunting and took not only several of her boys, but also Daniel.
“What a shame,” Jack said, crunching on an apple. “I guess we need to go and find that so-and-so snake, whether we want to or not. Say, Queenie, you don’t mind if I borrow your ship, do you?”
“Not at all,” she said with a wave of a royal wrist. Jack bowed and then turned to the men standing nearby.
“Jonathan, I’m sorry to inform you that your cousin Mason is among the missing,” he said, deeply sorry.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Jonathan said, leaning on the seated Shara’s shoulder. “I suppose I should help find him. Honey, can I go out and play?” he asked, tapping Shara on the head.
Jack's mother looked at the boys and crossed her arms. “You will find my nephew,” she informed them.
“Yes, ma’am,” they acknowledged. Hammond shook his head and returned to his mooning over Mrs. Clark who returned his moonstruck batting eyes. Somehow, he had gotten her to take a trip off-world.
“Say, Lou, wanna tag along?” Jack asked Ferretti. The major was doing his best hide his amusement.
“Sure, General, I can still hold a gun,” he said. “How does this thing work?” He took Jack’s zat and awkwardly maneuvered it with his left hand while steadying himself with his cane in his right hand.
“One zat for stun, two for kill, three for disintegration,” Jack helpfully told him. “We don’t like to use three around the uninformed Tau’ri, though, it might give them ideas. I can think of a few people I’d like to three.”
“How long does the stun last?” Ferretti asked, trying to find the firing button.
“A few seconds, depends on the person,” Jack said. He took the zat and fired. Jonathan fell to the floor.
“Bad Jack,” Shara informed him. “Remind me to beat you up later.”
Jack waved a hand from Shara to the inert form on the ground. “When did this happen? Do I need to have a talk with him? Or with you?”
“Why, would you like to join us?” Shara asked.
“I've seen you naked,” Jack informed him. “I ain't going anywhere near something that size.” His mother covered her ears and moved away.
The ship was being aired out while food and water were being stored.
“Who was taken?” Jack asked Ninurta as the warrior tested the bridge controls.
“Besides Daniel? Gibil, Adia, Ladiru, Gishnu, Erra, and Zu.”
“Oh, no,” Jack said, slightly horrified. “You sicced Zu on them? I guess we really do have to rescue them. Who’d you get to be Goa’uld?”
“Malek,” Ninurta grinned. “With Rak’nor as his First Prime.”
A wave of lightning over took Jack and he blacked out. When he came to, he was lying on the floor with Sam shaking him and calling his name.
“Wha the fu…..” he tried to mutter.
“Just breathe,” she told him. “Jonathan zatted you.”
“Son of a….. ohhhh, my head.”
“Don’t worry, Jack,” Ninurta patted him. “You weren’t hurt. You fell with your face in my lap. I missed you, too.”
Jack shook off the millions of bees stinging his nerve endings and chased his snickering clone off the bridge.
Jack and Sam assured the children that they’d be staying the night and then they needed to head out in the morning to rescue Daniel. They’d be back after they were done playing games. The children were happy enough to be playing outside in the warm weather, learning to learn to ride their horses, and seeing to the lambs and goats that needed to be petted and fed and loved.
Jack turned to his clone.
“No you don’t,” Sam said, stepping between them. “You started it, Jack, so behave.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan said, sticking his tongue out. “Besides…. we need to talk about something else that you might want to kill me for.”
Jack followed him to an empty room. He was suspicious when Jonathan told him he’d better sit down.
“Last night Matthew saw something he maybe shouldn’t have,” Jonathan began.
“What’d he see?”
“Me, Shara, Adia, and a few others having our own little party down by the lake.”
Jack didn’t want to know. “What kind of party?”
“A party, Jack,” Jonathan said with dry emphases. “Matty was with a few other teenagers when they came down to the lake for a swim. We were already there. Our kids are used to it, it’s part of the culture so they didn’t care, but Matty couldn’t stop watching. I let him watch, Jack.”
Jack sat back, blowing out a hard puff of air as he scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Is he alright?” he asked.
“Yes, I think so,” Jonathan said with a nod. “I know for a fact that a couple of our girls, and a boy or two, had already invited him for their own playtime, and he refused, which is fine and which they accepted, but I know he was watching from nearby. I could sense the need in him, Jack, normal for his age, but he only watched. I think he was curious about the mechanics. I deliberately made sure he could see; we weren’t in an especially kinky mood, so it was all just gentle love-play.
“I talked with him this morning, got some of his questions answered. I really think he’s fine. I got the feeling that he was romanticizing sex, and this gave him a reality check. He’s fine.”
Jack stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Crap,” he finally said. “I forgot about this open-door sex policy these guys have here. I’ll check in with him. There’s a creep factor here.”
“I know,” Jonathan grimaced. “I didn’t want to chase him off, though, and have him thinking that we were doing anything wrong. And since I’m not a father to him, I don’t think it occurred to him that privacy might be an issue. We were out in the open, what was private?
“One of the older teenage girls from his group came over and joined us, it’s allowed here, and I had sex with her. Matty was flashing so hot, I could feel the heat from those fifty yards away. He’s ready, Jack. There is a girl at home he likes, so you may want to keep an eye on him.”
“He hasn’t said anything about a girl,” Jack commented.
“He hasn’t said anything to the girl,” Jonathan said. “And remember that fifteen to sixteen is an average starting age for our family.”
“And he’ll be fifteen soon,” Jack responded with a nod.
“Let him stew for a while,” Jonathan recommended. “Give him time to work out questions before you go hunting for him.”
“I know,” Jack nodded. “If he has sex while he’s here, I want him wearing a condom. Same with Katie. You know what I mean.”
“There are no STD’s and the ladies are all on a birth control,” Jonathan said. “It’s one of Enki’s inventions. Seems to work. The women only get pregnant if they want to. They’ll both be fine, if they decide to play.”
“What about Stacy and David?” Jack asked with a sudden thought. “How much have they seen?”
“Not much, I don’t think,” Jonathan said with a shrug. “They’ve spent most of the time at the nursery and with the younger kids. They watched a lamb being born and we had a nice talk about it. Mom was there, too, and she also talked with the kids.
“Jack, it isn’t one big orgy here; people work. Hard. Last night was wind down time, that’s all. It was a nice night, the water is pleasant, and we just spent a few weeks on around the clock foal and lamb watch. We were exhausted. The kids are safe; I wouldn’t put them in danger.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Jack said. He looked at his clone, wondering if he could spend the rest of his life farming, and doing animal husbandry. He looked out across the landscape, a dark, odd green with gently waving grasses, a savanna growing out of what was once, just a short time ago, a barren wasteland of desert. The former planet of Abydos, where a beautiful tribe had lived, descendants of ancient Egyptians, the first planet visited when the Stargate was turned on. Where Daniel had met Sha're and her father Kasuf, and lived for a year before SG-1 came back for him. All those people were gone, now, all life on the planet destroyed by a Goa'uld out for revenge.
“I’m happy, Jack, really,” the young man said, knowing what was on Jack’s mind.
“I did it for a couple of months because I had to,” Jack said, remembering the time he had been stuck on a planet after their Gate was destroyed. “Is this really what you want?”
Jonathan put his elbows on his knees and hung his hands thoughtfully. “I do more than play with the animals and fool around,” he said. “I spend time teaching the kids, and some adults, to read and write, I take my turn on patrol with Heaven’s Bow, I help with city planning, and once in a while I stare at the stars. I’m teaching the kids to play baseball. Got a little hoop action going, too. I’m needed here, Jack. And yes, I’m happy.”
Jack slowly nodded and stood up to head for the door. “Oh. Nick and Paul are hand-fasting in a couple of months. They’d like you to do the music. Paul is burning a CD; he’ll send it to you when it’s done.”
“Yeah, Daniel told me. Never knew Nick had it in him,” Jonathan said with a shake of his head. “And you think Shara and I are an odd couple. Let them know I’ll be there.”
Jack wandered around until he found Sam. She was in an obviously private discussion with Inanna, so Jack kept wandering. When he came across a group of boys, Jack tossed his arm around a shoulder and kept walking.
“Oh, God, he told you, didn’t he?” Matty whined as he dragged his feet. He had noticed Jack and Jonathan in a close discussion, and was afraid he knew the topic.
“Oh, yeah,” Jack nodded. He gave the shoulders a shake. “I just want to know that you’re alright.”
“I’m fine,” Matty assured him. “It was a little weird to see, but I’m fine with it. Does he tell you everything we talk about?”
“No,” Jack shook his head. “Just the important stuff that dads need to know. Your discussions are safe with him. This is the first time he’s said anything to me, so if you’re worried about anything else, he’s kept it to himself. I won’t ask, you know you can talk with me about anything. What did you think was weird?”
“Everything,” Matthew said. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “It was…. messy. Not like on TV or the movies. Lots of noises. People farted and no one cared.”
“Yes, sex is messy,” Jack confirmed with a chuckle. “But did they have fun?”
“Yes, I think so,” Matthew said reluctantly. “They laughed a lot and talked. Shara has a really big… you know… and Jonathan said it did hurt a little, but once he relaxed, it didn’t hurt. Looked kinda gross, to me, though.”
Jack gave a knowing chuckle. “Yes, I agree, it does look kinda gross. He’s right, though, it doesn’t hurt. Not if it’s done right. And you don’t have to do that, not if you don’t want to. Some women like it done to them, though, so just be open-minded if someone asks you. It’s your body, you can refuse, but make sure she understands why, or she'll think you're refusing her all together. It really does feel good. Both giving and receiving. Messy, farting, laughing and other noises during sex means you’re alive and having a joyful time with life.”
Matthew looked up at him. “You never talked like this before,” he commented.
“I hadn’t met Sam and Daniel before,” Jack said. “It doesn’t matter who you choose as a partner, Matty; if that person, or persons, brings joy to your life, it’s a good thing.”
Matthew stopped walking, thought for a moment, and turned to face Jack. He put his arms around Jack’s waist and hugged him.
“Love you,” Matthew murmured. He released Jack and ran back to the other boys.
“I love you, too, son,” Jack said softly after him.
The smell of a cigar caught Jack’s attention and he looked around.
“Let me guess –no carcinogens,” he said. Enki winked and took another puff. “Every paradise has a serpent, old man, so what’s in this garden?”
Enki stood from a conveniently placed rock and joined Jack on his walk. “Don’t know yet,” he said. “We’ve started running into mutations, though, so something’s bound to show up.”
“Mutations?” Jack frowned and Enki shrugged.
“The matrix is still in motion,” he explained, waving his cigar around. “It’s slow enough for us to live here, but at a cellular level, it’s still forming the planet. I set it in motion, now it's nature's turn. Like all living things, we add what we can to the mix, let nature cook it, and hope the cake turns out as perfect as possible. Since it is in the planet's matrix, it might even change us, a little, so that we adapt better. There will always be a few lumps, maybe a little tilted, but as long as it’s sweet and filling, we will be nurtured by it.”
Jack smiled and nodded. “I understood that one,” he said.
“You understand a lot more than you let on, Jack,” Enki told him. “Do you know why you get confused? Because your subconscious is too busy to be bothered. Any new developments?”
Jack pursed his lips as he looked around. Children were running everywhere; a lot more children than he remembered should be there. A surprising number of dogs and cats roamed around the houses, horses munching placidly on grass, goats, sheep, and cows populated the fields at the far end of the small, yet modern city. He spotted a few animals that were obviously not of Earth origin. Jack assumed a naquadah generator was powering the city.
“Not sure,” he admitted. “A few odds and ends are starting to rumble around. I’m working on it.”
“Good,” Enki nodded, pleased.
“Are you Furling?” Jack asked directly. Enki smiled.
“Just for that, I will tell you yes,” he replied in the same.
“Narim, a Tollan, paid us a visit a few days ago,” Jack continued. “He said something that made Sam think about that arch Erra dropped off. She put two and two together and came up Furling. Why the big secret?”
“Because if you knew from the start, you’d rely on us for answers,” Enki said. “You needed to get there on your own. Daniel told us about the Tollan’s visit. Unprecedented, to say the least. I think we need to go talk to them; it’s one thing for the Nox to decide to Ascend, it’s an entirely different matter for the Tollan to Ascend. They’re not ready. They have physical knowledge, but they’ve done nothing about the spiritual knowledge. They won’t Ascend without it.”
Jack frowned. “I’m not spiritual, does that mean I won’t ascend?”
Enki chuckled. “Jack, your question is pointless. You are genetically an Ancient. When the times comes, you will know what to do. It’s built into your DNA. The Tollan are not genetically superior, they’re just a bunch of wise-guys who learned how to manipulate matter. A relatively simple trick, once you know how.”
Jack stopped. “But I’m not an Ancient,” he insisted, still not quite believing that part of the whole deal.
Enki looked at him and shook a finger. “Don’t make me smack you, boy, we’ve had this conversation before. Why do you think it was possible for all that material to be downloaded into your brain? Only an Ancient could have triggered it, and I’ve told you this before.”
“I thought anyone with the gene could do it,” Jack said. “I just happened to be the one there. Daniel almost did it the second time we found one of those things.”
“He could have, since he had already Ascended.” Enki shrugged. He began walking again and Jack followed. “There’s the general, all-purpose gene that a lot of your people have, and then there’s you. You’re a throw-back, Jack. A genetic anomaly. Your family tree is one continuous Ancient line and it all culminated in you. On your mother’s side, by the way. The maternal line is always the stronger. Technically, you could make an argument for not being human.
“As for your spirituality –Jack, I heard what you said to Matthew. Do you realize that most parents never say the word ‘joyful’ to their child in their entire life? And here you are actively encouraging your children to pursue it. ‘Joy’ is the very essence of spirituality, Jack, and you’ve been wallowing quite happily in it.” Enki patted Jack on the cheek and allowed himself to be taken in hand by excited children who wanted to play.
The sky was slightly red from the filters Enki had placed in the ozone to keep out the damaging rays of the dual stars. It made some of the plant life more purple than green, but the insects didn’t seem to care; bees buzzed and crickets chirped a merry tune.
Stacy and Davy waved to Jack from on top of their horses out in the pasture where Jonathan had taken them out for riding lessons. Jack waved back. Sam found Jack sitting on a fence.
“Hey.” She walked around to the front and put her hands on his thighs. “Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “I don’t suppose you’d like to find a field and make love with me?”
She smiled and reached up to kiss him. “Ask me in a week,” she said. “My period started.”
Jack frowned. “Already?” he asked. “I thought you’d have at least another month before it started up again.”
“Me, too,” she grimaced. “Oh, well. Inanna gave me a handful of some kind of spongy insert. It can stay in the entire week, taken out, washed, and reused. The women here use them. I’m bringing a couple home to Cassie and Katie.”
“A little more than I needed to know, but okay,” Jack said. She laughed and leaned into his chest. He leaned down and buried his face in her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she responded. “Jack, are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine,” he said with a smile. He took her face in his hands and kissed her, slowly, lovingly. “Should we go and find our Danny, now?” he asked, weaving his fingers through her hair.
“Yes, I think so,” she said. He kissed her, mapping the lips he already knew. Her fingers stroked his lower back as they suckled and licked gently at each other’s mouths. Jack took one last kiss and reluctantly stopped before things became a problem.
Jack and Sam let the kids know they were leaving and to mind Nana and General Hammond. Stacy informed them that she would be grateful if they returned with her Daddy.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jack said and kissed her cheek.
Everyone on the mission got aboard the Heaven’s Bow and settled in. They already knew where their ‘kidnap’ victims were, and it would take only a short trip to get there.
“Jack, there’s a mothership dead ahead,” came Ninurta’s voice over the intercom.
“Is it ours?” he asked.
“I believe so,” the bridge said. Jack walked quickly to the bridge.
“Any contact?” Jack asked.
“Nothing on the channels, yet,” Ninurta said. “Try your own brand of scanning. See if you can find Daniel.” Any of the Anunnaki could have done it, yet they insisted on forcing Jack to practice. He knew they’d take over in an emergency, though.
Jack sat and reached out for Daniel’s familiar ‘scent.’ “He’s there,” Jack said. The rest of the people on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s calm, so everything must be good. I think I’m getting Zu. Can he pop over this far?”
Ninurta held out an arm. “Zu, to me!” he called out. A moment later, the bird was sitting on the arm. “How’s it going?” he asked the bird. It rattled on in their own language and then popped back out. Ninurta chuckled.
“He says your men are tripping over themselves in their humiliation at having civilians knowing more than they do,” Ninurta said.
“Good,” Jack grinned.
“Zu said to give them a little more time. Daniel and Rya’c are about to storm the bridge and take out the evil snakes. We should be close enough for a visual.” Ninurta fiddled with controls for the camera they had planted, and the main screen changed to show the inside of the bridge. Malek sat at the main chair with Rak’nor pacing off to his side.
“Here they come,” Kar’yn said from a station where she monitored the hall activity.
Jack reached out again. The image of a corridor filled his mind, startling him. Ninurta felt Jack's jump and told him to relax and go with it. Jack was seeing from Daniel’s eyes.
After a moment, he decided he was impressed; he hadn’t realized that Daniel had picked up so much military training. He no longer barged through intersections without looking first, he listened to all the surrounding noises, he was quiet on his feet, kept himself tucked into the walls, calculated his movements, and even coiled up a piece of loose cable he came across, and looped it over his shoulder.
“Wow,” Jack commented to himself.
Daniel glanced behind and saw Rya’c, Mason (with a bloody eyebrow), and several other Jaffa and Marines scattered down the hall. Daniel motioned and Mason stepped forward.
“Take two men and head down that corridor,” Daniel whispered and pointed. “On your right will be a conduit just before a door.” He explained the layout of the corridor and the behavior of the Jaffa that the Marines needed to watch for. Jack had a feeling of frustration from Daniel and assumed that it wasn’t the first time Daniel had tried explaining anything to the men. Despite his grumbles, Jack knew the Marines weren’t that dense, so maybe it was one Marine in particular that was refusing to pay attention.
Mason and two men headed silently down the corridor, and Daniel motioned for several more to split up at another corridor. Jack pictured the layout of the ship and saw that Daniel was surrounding the bridge before entering. Daniel held out his hands and a child stepped into them. The child put a knife between his teeth and Daniel hoisted him up to a vent. The child scurried inside and was gone. Jack recognized the boy as one of the Jaffa trainees.
Daniel stood to one side of the door and Rya’c to the other. Rya’c fiddled with the door controls. On a count of three, Rya’c took out the main crystal and the door opened. They jumped in headfirst to the floor. Zat fire hit the walls on either side of the door. Jack knew the zats were fixed at bare minimal power, but the Marines didn’t know that. Daniel took a smack to the head and spent a moment dizzy. Mason found himself taken on by a teenage girl and wound up thrown halfway across the room.
The child dropped from above and landed on Malek. The slow weight and knife immediately penetrated the shield and Malek went down, startled, not having expected an aerial attack. Daniel jumped in and hog-tied the ‘System Lord.’
“Check-mate!” Daniel shouted. The fighting stopped and Jaffa stood around looking down their noses at the mystified Marines. Daniel put a boot in Mason’s side and shook him. “Up and at ‘em, Colonel,” he said. “Shake it off.”
Jack and Ninurta laughed and got up from their seats.
“Come on,” Jack said to Sam and Ferretti.
They beamed over and looked at the wreckage of the bridge.
“Messy, messy, Daniel,” Jack said, toeing a piece of console.
“Yeah, well….” Daniel stood with a zat shouldered.
“Ja…. General, what the hell is going on?” Mason demanded as he forced himself to throw off the stun. His men gathered slowly behind him. None of them looked happy.
“O’Neill training,” Jack told him.
“You sent a child through the ventilation system?” Malek asked Daniel in disbelief. Said child grinned at him. Jack clapped Malek on the shoulder.
“Malek, Malek…. How many years have you known Daniel?” Jack asked. “You should know by now not to underestimate him. For shame, Mal. Getting slow in your old age.”
Sam took a quick look at everyone and declared no one seriously injured.
“Good,” Jack declared. “Then while we are headed back to Chulak, I want a meeting with the commanders of this mission. Rya’c, I’d like to hear from you, too, come on. Colonel, you and your men will be debriefed later.”
“So. What’d you think of Colonel Addison?” Jack asked Daniel once they were out of sight of the bridge.
“Why?” Daniel asked, suspicious.
“He’s a cousin,” Jack said.
Daniel nodded, his brow clearing. “That explains a few things. Well, I think he’s a well-trained Marine. I also think that the military in general needs to change their training tactics. They make no allowances for local culture. They fight like the British did when they came over to put the fear of God back into the colonials.”
Jack thought for a moment. “They march into every situation in the same style,” he said. “The colonials had taken lessons from the local tribes, which was why they won the War for Independence. Our military has not taken history as a lesson.”
“Correct,” Daniel nodded. “The colonel and his men saw civilians as an impediment instead of local experts. It was like pulling teeth to get them to shut up and listen, and they only did so because everyone else ganged up on them. Pride goeth before the fall. And they fell. They even refused to see Zu as a source of information. No one who was not American could be trusted. I couldn’t be trusted because I had lived too long among the locals and I had probably gone over. Even though I'm northern European by genetics, I was also Egyptian born, which made me automatically suspect.
“To give the guys their due, though, I think that if we had a few more days they would have settled down into a proper learning mode. They started to listen, once in a while, and I got the colonel to follow my lead for that last battle.
“They were madder than hornets when we got there. They were ready to storm down the corridors and take out everyone they came across. Not an especially bad plan, letting God sort out the bodies, but they were going to use up all their energy before knowing the layout of the battlefield. They didn’t even know who they were fighting.
“Gibil and Erra sat back and pretended to be ranchers, so I sent Zu out for recon on the assumption that a real Goa’uld wouldn’t realize that he was sentient. When he started talking, the men thought it was just cute macaw parroting. They started to change their minds when Zu kept coming back with reports. After that, they began to listen.”
“So, you got their attention,” Jack said. Daniel nodded.
“I think so, yes. Were you watching any of it?” Daniel asked.
“The last few minutes,” Jack said. “I followed you down the corridor to the bridge. You did a good job, Danny, I was impressed. What made you think to pick up that cord?”
“Too many MacGyver episodes.”
“Daniel is being generous, Jack,” Erra said, jumping in. Gibil, Malek, and Rya’c agreed. From the various inputs, Jack learned that ‘Lord Khonsu’ informed the men that this was a retaliatory strike against Jack by taking Daniel, and against the sholva, Teal’c, by taking Rya’c, and that the others would become new Jaffa, since Jack had stolen all their slaves. Everyone tried telling them that, besides the fact that it was standing orders to rescue Dr. Jackson, Daniel was the one who spoke and read the language, he knew the ship’s layout, and he had the experience of escaping from these ships. They didn’t listen and the colonel insisted that the non-military keep quiet so that the men could think. Rya’c argued that he was military, as were several others who had been taken. They were ignored and then threatened when Rya’c attempted to take charge.
Jack shooed them out and had Mason sent for. Once the colonel was standing before him, Jack repeated the verbal report. Addison’s jaw became tighter and tighter.
“Now, I know for a fact that you are not as ignorant as you made yourself on this outing, Colonel,” Jack said. “So I’m going to assume you allowed your personal feelings to get in the way of common sense. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“Is this off the record? Sir?” Addison asked coldly.
“For the moment,” Jack warned.
“You deliberately put me and my men in the hands of children in an effort to humiliate me, you disrespected me and my own experiences as a soldier, and now I see that you have allowed your own fame to go to your head by acting as a warlord out here where the eyes of Earth and the American government cannot see you.”
“Are you insane?” Jack asked, eyebrows climbing higher and higher. “Are you the only person on the face of the Earth who has not read Harriman’s book? Daniel’s book will be out in a few months; it’s a real eye-opener. If you had been paying attention, you would have known that Rya’c was a warrior in just about all the battles over the past few years and he can match you as an experienced soldier. He knew the battlefield and you refused his experience, so who exactly was disrespecting whom? Dr. Jackson also knows his way around a battlefield, much to his own regret, and you disrespected his knowledge. Gibil and Erra may be herding cattle, at the moment, but did it occur to you to ask them if they had any battle experience? They’re Anunnaki, Colonel.
“Every one of those people that were with you had battle experience. You had seasoned soldiers all around you, and you disrespected them. As for your contention that I’m playing warlord, I can’t begin to tell you how much bullshit that is. These are my friends and I asked them for a favor in an attempt to respond to YOUR request to be trained in Jaffa-style fighting. I showed you great respect, Colonel, by offering you up to the masters because I thought you were capable of that challenge. You failed, Colonel, miserably.”
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