“Jack, you are so full of shit.”
Hayes would believe in aliens popping in for dinner, but not the pope and the Dalai Lama. Jack had called him to find out if he wanted to join the ceremony on the Prometheus. When Henry asked how Jack had gotten the two men to agree, Jack told him about negotiations over pasta.
“Jack.” He turned to Daniel and Sam who were face to face with the computer in HomeSec’s monitoring room. He went over and looked at the screen which was showing them squiggles and lines. “We don’t recognize the language,” Daniel admitted. “I’ve run it through every program I can think of, and we got nothing.”
“Is Ninurta still in orbit?” Sam asked.
“I think so,” Jack said. He tapped the star-shaped comm which had become standard equipment on the front of his dress shirt. “Hey, anyone home?”
Ninurta was standing next to them moments later, looking at the screen. He was as stumped as Daniel and Sam.
“Most of the ship looks Ancient,” Sam said. “There are a few differences. For instance, the drive isn’t completely crystal technology; there is a type of wiring under the hood. The wires don’t hold any residue, but they are hollow which points to something being sent through them.”
“And there is Ancient writing inside, and there is also this one that we don’t recognize,” Daniel said, tapping a finger on the screen. Ninurta nodded thoughtfully as he pulled on his beard, absently nibbling a few hairs that needed to be trimmed.
“Well, I don’t recognize it, either,” he said. “I also don’t know the technology. It does seem as though it is a combination of Ancient and something else.” He looked at Jack.
“Sorry, no bells for me,” Jack said.
Ninurta started to press the beaming control on his necklace. “Oh, that young man, Grant, is ready to leave,” he said. “We spoke with his parents and assured them of his safety. Jonathan gave them your home and cell number. Also, Trish and Tommy are settled in on board; they’ve even been helping with the injured. Do you need us to stick around? My people need a break.”
“No, no, we can take care of this,” Jack waved a wrist at him. “Go. Have a safe trip. And don’t scare Grant.”
“Yeah,” Daniel added. “He’s a pagan and he’s been worshipping you guys. Let him down easy.”
Ninurta blinked at him. “But, Daniel, I like being worshipped. A pretty young man on his knees before me is a good thing.”
They ordered Ninurta off the planet.
“Sam, are we ready?” Jack asked.
“We are,” she said with a nod and then brought up another monitor. “Daedalus, this is Carter. Are you in position?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Paul, Nick, and Ravenscroft came in and quietly shut the door.
“Argos, are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Colonel Sheppard?”
“Ready, Colonel.”
Sam looked at Jack. He stepped back to a row of chairs and sat, slouching with his hands folded behind his neck, waiting. Sam straightened and tugged at her uniform.
“Colonel Sheppard, when you are ready, you may begin a countdown,” she said.
They watched Sheppard on the monitor. He was alone in the old jumper. Sheppard sat at the main console, his hands hovering over the controls. The team had spent hours getting the old, burnt out crystals out of the engine and replacing them with new ones, jury-rigging the unknown wires around the crystals, and having Sheppard poke a finger at various parts of the ship’s anatomy.
“Daedalus, on one,” he said.
“We got yer six, Sheppard,” Caldwell acknowledged reassuringly.
John touched the console and the ship reluctantly came to life. After a moment of making sure the ship wasn’t going to sputter its last breath, he began a count-down.
“….three, two,…. one.”
The moment the ship burst from its mountain tomb, the cavern it left behind was instantly filled with quick-drying concrete from Daedalus and rocks from Argos. The top of the mountain trembled, rocks and snow fell as concrete oozed from the large hole.
“I need to land!” Sheppard called out, struggling to control the ship. “This Betty is boppin’!”
“Get it to Area 51!” Sam ordered. “Daedalus, keep him in your cross-hairs.”
“We got him,” Caldwell said.
“Colonel Carter, I won’t make it to Nevada!” Sheppard informed her. “I can make it to Austria’s Yard!”
“Brigadier Schoepke; sir, please clear your field!” Sam said at a monitor to the CO of Austria’s Yard.
“The far southeast field is open, Colonel,” the brigadier said. Austria had been watching the games on the mountaintop since the craft was first uncovered. They watched as the old jumper fought against the pilot. Beads of sweat dotted Sheppard’s forehead, his jaw clenched as he argued with the ship to do his bidding.
“Why can’t he use the hanger bay of a 303?”
Jack and Sam glanced back, having forgotten that Nick had snuck in with Paul.
“The bay isn’t big enough for something of that size,” Sam said. “The mouth of the bay is just big enough to let the gliders in and out.”
Jack looked at her.
”Working on it,” she sighed.
The jumper pitched and rolled in the air. Sheppard swore at it, muttering about machines with semi-intelligence.
“It isn’t the machine, Colonel,” Jack said. “You are in control, you just need to adjust your sense of the machine to take into account…..”
“No, sir!” Sheppard snapped. “It’s fighting. I’ll land this fucker and then I want out of it. You need to touch it, sir; it isn’t like other Ancient machines. If I believed in ghosts, I’d swear this thing is haunted.”
The jumper landed in the Austrian Yard, sliding several hundred yards and doing a roll before digging into grass and coming to an abrupt halt. Rescue workers began to rush out to him.
“Colonel, are you alright?” Jack asked, waiting impatiently for the image to adjust.
“Hunky-dory, sir.” Sheppard was sitting on the ground, frowning at his arm. A medic was in the process of putting the arm in a sling while someone else dabbed at a bleeding cut on Sheppard’s scalp.
“Need to put seat belts in those things,” he grumbled.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Sam asked.
“Fine,” he snapped, glancing menacingly at the ship behind him. “That thing is possessed. You drive it. Ma’am.”
While Sam had the commander of the Austrian Yard, Brigadier Schoepke, put the ship under lock and key until they could figure it out, Jack made sure everything was ready on board the Prometheus. He hated having to dress up and play nice, but he had backed himself into a corner. It didn’t occur to him that by offering one of his ships, he had to play host. At least Matty was going to be at his side. When the kids found out what was going to be happening, Matthew asked if he could go and watch.
“You want to see a memorial service?” Jack asked.
“No, I want to see how two different religions do it,” Matty clarified.
“Matt, do you understand that this is about the murder of millions of people?” Jack asked, not understanding where this side of Matthew was coming from. “Even I don’t want to be there.”
“I know,” Matthew nodded solemnly. “I’m not sure I can explain it; I just want to be there.” His voice unexpectedly hit a high note and he looked horrified. Davy stopped chasing Olivia around the rug, stared at his brother, and laughed. Fang pranced and took a lick at the baby. She swatted in his direction.
“David,” Jack shook his head in warning. “It’s alright, Matty, try and ignore it. And, yes, you may come with us. You’ll need your formal suit. Go on and get ready. Take a shower first.”
Jack called Henry back and informed him that it would be a good idea if he also made it to the ceremony. If not as the US President and for the sake of public relations and the fact that it was simply a good idea, but as training for Henry’s future position as Earth’s delegate to the United Worlds. A few of the HomeSec members were making quiet objections to what they saw as the US taking control not only on their world, but off their world as well. Jack told Keir to quiet the protests; Henry would be answerable to the council just as Jack was. The UN was even more unhappy with Jack.
More protests were coming down the grapevine. The Vatican wasn’t too keen on their pontiff making his debut on board a space ship. The Joint Chiefs didn’t want Henry off world, either; once was more than enough for their peace of mind. President Tien was going to join them on board the Prometheus, as well as many other leaders from around the world. The rest of the 303s would be keeping an eye on the planet and various missile silos.
“Dad? I changed my mind,” Matty said from the top of the stairs. “I don’t want to go.” Suspicious, Jack sent out a feeler.
“Matty, most of the people there will be men,” he said. “Military events tend to happen that way. We’ve all been through it. You might get teased a little, but we all understand. Just laugh it off.”
The uniforms were hanging on the back of the bedroom door, still in their plastic wrap from the cleaners. Jack took his down and started to dress. His voice had jumped around for a while, sometimes settling into a husky frog that he couldn’t clear from his throat. He remembered that Michael, already an adult, didn’t tease him; instead, he tried to help Jack by offering advice such as sucking on lemons or not talking at all. None of it seemed to make a difference, but at least Michael stood by him. Jack paused in sliding the belt through the hoops, wondering why he hadn’t remembered that before.
Sam came out of the shower and began her own dressing.
“Is the new array ready?” he asked.
“I believe it is,” she said from upside down. She had bent over, shaking her damp hair out and using a dry towel to soak up the water. “Prometheus tested it at the Alpha Site. Colonel Markham seems happy with it.”
“Good,” Jack nodded. “Matty’s coming with us. His voice just broke, so he’s a little embarrassed.”
She flipped her hair back and started combing it out.
“This should be an interesting summer,” she commented. “Cass took Stacey shopping and they bought a couple of training bras.”
“I thought something was looking different,” he said, straightening his tie. “I didn’t think she needed one.”
“Neither did I, but Stacey was feeling a little weird about the bumps.”
Daniel came in and tossed his clothes on the bed. “Should I talk about it with her?” he asked, hearing the last of the conversation. Sam shrugged.
“I don’t see why you need to,” she said. “You can if you want to. I would have been too humiliated to have my Dad talking to me about bras when I was eleven. I could now, but not at eleven. She’s been eying some pretty dresses; why don’t you take her out and get her something pretty?”
“Why does she need a dress?” Daniel asked, not understanding. “She’s always running and playing.”
Sam was putting on pantyhose, something the men found to be a rigorous thing to watch, unlike the elegant rolling on (and off) of stockings.
“Danny, she’s becoming a young lady,” Sam informed him. “Running is good, but she’s a girl. She needs pretty things as well as play things. Buy her a pretty dress, pantyhose, and shoes to go with the dress. Let Stacey pick out things herself, you just sit patiently and wait for her. Most of the store staff will be willing to help. Then take her out for dinner someplace nice so she can wear her new dress and shoes.”
Daniel put a dark suit on the door hanger.
“But….. she’s going on a dig with me this summer,” he said, still not getting it.
“That’s alright, she still needs girl clothes,” Sam said. “You have dress up clothes and play clothes, she needs dress up clothes and play clothes. If it makes you feel better, you can buy her dig clothes at the same time.”
“Daniel, it’s a female thing,” Jack said. “Just go along with it.”
He went to Sam and straightened her tie. She smiled and straightened his. There was a knock at the door. A quick look at each other -everyone was dressed, “Come in,” they called.
Matthew walked in, tugging at his pants. “My pants are too short.”
The adults looked down. The cuff was riding a little high.
“Wear your jROTC uniform,” Jack said. The boy was sure to hit over six foot by an inch or two.
As soon as they were ready, Jack called and had them beamed up to Prometheus. Jack called Michael and had him beamed up, also. Michael tugged nervously at his collar and formal black suit.
“Michael, I think that the older Matthew gets, the more he looks like you, not Jack,” Daniel commented, watching the two tugging at themselves. Michael glanced at his grandson and smoothed a stray lock in the boy’s hair.
“I can see Megan in him,” Michael said. “He has her eyes. Ours, too, I guess.”
General Maynard approached the group. He gave Jack the Eye and Jack excused himself.
“Is there any particular reason you insist on bringing family to official affairs?” Maynard asked quietly once they were away from the group.
“Well, I’m trying to learn how to play nice with my brother, and he is a Catholic priest, so I thought he’d like to visit with the pope. They got along nicely over dinner. And Matthew has an interest in religion and philosophy. Both the pope and the Dalai Lama seemed to enjoy his presence before, so….”
“Alright, never mind,” Maynard said, waving a hand. “I’m sorry I asked. I wanted to tell you that your request to allow troops who are under your command to wear identifying insignia has been approved.” He pulled a box from his pocket and handed it to Jack. “This is now part of your uniform.”
Jack opened the box and saw a small Tau’ri pin. “It’s almost the same design as the one Helen Alberts created,” he said. Maynard nodded.
“It’s based on it,” he said. “We bought the template. And don’t worry, she was well compensated.” He told Jack where it was to be properly displayed and Jack pinned it to his uniform.
“Thank you, Francis,” Jack said. “This will mean a lot to our people.”
“You’re welcome. Shipments are being sent out to Colorado and the Yards, and a shipment of them is on board. I thought you might like to pass them out to the flagship, first. There are boxes in your quarters.”
Jack went to find the boxes. They were sitting on the small table in the corner of the room. He took a handful of the pins and put them into his pocket before calling stores up to take the rest of them and start passing the pins out. He found Sam and Daniel talking with delegates from various countries. He made nice and shook hands before putting a pin on Sam’s uniform.
“It’s now official uniform,” he murmured. She looked at it and gave it a rub. Jack turned and Sam stopped him. She raised her hand to her forehead. Jack stilled and returned the honors, searching her eyes. He then pinned one to Daniel’s lapel before finding Col. Markham and going around the room to pass out pins to the crew as he greeted people.
He managed the appropriate condolence that Daniel had taught him to say to the Korean ambassadors from the UN, and he didn’t think he made too bad a hash of it.
Markham excused himself to go and find a box; he wanted to give them to his officers, himself. It might have been Jack’s imagination, but the troops seemed to stand a little straighter.
“What was that for?” Jack asked in Sam’s ear when he was done.
“Because it’s been a long time since I saluted you and I wanted you to know that I respect the officer,” she whispered back. “We worked hard, Jack, we earned this recognition. This past year has been unreal and you made it happen. You pushed and bulldozed your way across the world, and you made it happen.”
Jack shook his head. “No, Sam; I made a lot of mistakes. I would do everything differently, if I could. You and Daniel have been trying to teach me to be a little more tactful….”
“And you are,” she assured him. “When you need to be. If we had a problem with you, we’d let you know. Now, you go out there and take charge of this circus.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Walking past the door, Jack paused and turned; he would have sworn he saw something red run past. He thought about it. No, it wasn’t flying, which was a good thing…..
After Daniel spoke in Jack’s ear, the Swiss Guard was allowed to bring firearms on board. Jack had been refusing all armed escorts and it was creating a quiet furor.
Everyone was present and accounted for, self-important delegates strutting throughout the ship and making demands they had no right to be making such as ridiculous requests to the galley. One person wanted to know if they had any alien oysters. With Jack’s approval, Markham put a quick halt to that one. Jack nodded for Daniel to take over.
“Everyone,” Daniel said quietly after stepping up in front of the main screen. Their guests settled. The Catholic delegation was on Daniel’s right and the Buddhist delegation was on his left. All the red and yellow among the black and various armed forces uniforms made for a colorful crowd. The two groups were doing their best to stay away from touchy issues, and be friendly with each other. Heads of State were in the middle, separating the two religious groups. There had been a few arguments from various other religions, all demanding a say in the ceremony. Jack tuned them out.
“Eight days ago, a great and terrible thing happened,” Daniel said. “The worst day this world has ever seen. Has it been only a week? It seems an eternity has gone by since one person killed eleven million people. In a single day. In a single minute. Men and women die on battlefields every day, but this wasn’t a battle. It was a slaughter of innocents.
“There is no one left to bury the dead or mourn them. There are millions of bodies unaccounted for because they were burned into ashes in an instant. Americans, I believe, are in a position to understand this concept. For those that remain…. let’s just say that summer has begun.”
He turned to look out the window, absently noticing that the pilot had taken his request to make sure the ship was facing the peninsula from the east, looking toward the west.
The guests didn’t quite know what to make of all the aliens ships in the area; they knew a few ships had come in to help but not that many. Ships of various sizes, as large as the Tau’ri ships down to ha’tak size were in nearby orbits.
“Princess Pari was the seventh daughter of the king,” he said. “He was exasperated at having all daughters, and his exasperation turned to anger. When the king was dying of disease, Princess Pari tried everything to find a cure for him despite his attitude toward his daughters. She finally managed to get hold of some holy water which was only obtainable from the world of the dead. Given the water, the king revived and experienced a new cycle of life.
“Just as Princess Pari held true to her pure heart and forgave her father, may we learn from her, strive for her strength, and forgive the anger of others. May Changsung grant the holy water and allow these souls their new life.”
Murmurs of response from the various traditions echoed through the room and Daniel stepped aside. Both delegations came forward and began their preparations, each working independently and yet mindful of each other’s space and needs. Daniel moved gently through the groups, soothing ruffled feathers with quiet words.
Someone whispered into Jack’s ear and he gave a nod.
Prometheus hung low over the center of Korea. Not low enough for details, but low enough to see the destruction. Chants were sung in various languages, water was sprinkled around the room, incense waved, and candles lit. The ship’s fire system had been temporarily turned off. The two groups took turns in the steps and prayers of their rituals. Daniel seemed to have a little more problem with the Catholic side of the room than the Buddhist side as he took egos to task.
Henry sat next to Jack and leaned over.
“You’re a magician,” he said.
Jack shook his head. “Daniel put this together, I’m just letting them use the ship.”
“Jack, it’s only been eight days; how long ago was this started?” Henry asked.
Jack thought about it. “Two days ago, I think? You don’t understand, Henry -when Daniel wants it to happen, it happens. Have a talk with my ass, if you don’t believe me.”
Hayes covered his mouth, holding in the inappropriate laughter.
“Really; I barely made it out of the shower in one piece last night. And then he went for Sam. You should see the size of the hicky under her left breast.”
Henry choked and looked around before tapping Jack on the leg. “Show a little respect, Jack,” he whispered in reprimand.
“Oh, Daniel is definitely worthy of respect, Henry.”
Henry quickly stood and left the room before he lost it and disturbed the ceremony.
The man in question was looking completely innocent with his freshly shaved face and properly somber mourning suit. He glanced at the entrance and the escaping man before looking at Jack, knowing that something was said. Jack gave an “I don’t know” shrug.
There was much carrying on with hymns and chanting before the ceremony closed. Jack tried to nap, but he was edgy around all the guns that he didn’t authorize. There were also people around him who knew better, so they made it a point to bump into him from time to time or to whisper something at him. Matthew watched the ceremony from nearby and sometimes perched at Jack’s knee or shoulder.
“They’re doing the same thing,” Matthew whispered late in the ritual. Jack looked at him. “Both groups claim to be different but they’re doing the same thing. Both are using earth, air, fire, and water to set their space, both are using …. sound, and both are encouraging the souls of the dead to pass beyond. So why do they argue with each other?”
“Not my area, son,” Jack whispered back. “You’re ahead of me on that one; I don’t understand any of it.”
It took a moment to realize all the chanting and prayers were done. The quiet was deafening as Daniel once more stepped to the front. His hands were clasped in front of him as he looked at the floor. He then looked up and around the room.
“It was pointed out to us that with so many millions dead, the land and water could become more contaminated than what the blast had already caused. It would be nearly impossible to manually bury the dead. How could we deal with this? So an idea was borrowed from one of our alien allies.
“Colonel Carter’s team of engineers rigged the ship’s weapons array, temporarily, with an energy beam that will disintegrate everything it touches. It will turn everything to ash. Much like the blast did, but this will leave no residual radiation. It can target one body or thousands at a time. This was the best option we could come up with. It was discussed with both the Chinese and Japanese governments, and with the Korean ambassadors to the UN, who are present with us today. We hope that the souls of the victims will understand this desperate measure.” He bowed low to the Korean ambassadors and stepped aside.
Actually, Sam’s team had figured out how to use the zat technology on a wide beam setting and set it on an automatic three. Everything would disappear, leaving the ground bare. They couldn’t trust Earth with a weapon that would make someone disappear, so this one was ‘borrowed,’ and would be ‘set’ for the dead instead of clearing the ground for farming. Jack knew someone would figure out they were up to something and deduce that the clean-up equipment could be used for more nefarious purposes, but it would take that someone quite a while to figure out how to make a zat. If they could first figure out how to get hold of naquadah and then turn it into liquid.
A potential headache in the making was the rumors out of Area 51 that they were working on integrating zat technology into the ships’ weapons systems, basically turning them into one big zat. If that happened, who knew what alien enemies would do when they understood that the Tau’ri ships could not only shoot at them, but disintegrate them. Off-worlders weren’t ignorant of the zat technology. Jack wasn’t all that sure they should go that far in the advancements. He probably needed to talk it over with an annoying old man.
The image on the front screen changed, zooming in on the ground. People gasped at the piles of rotting corpses. Human and animal corpses covered the ground for miles, except for the center of the blast. The center of the blast zone had no bodies to see; they had been turned to ashes upon the bomb’s impact.
Beginning from the east, Prometheus began to zat the ground, leaving behind empty land. Although there were quiet sobs from a few of the women present, several men stood stoically and swallowed back the rocks in their throats. Daniel stood next to Sam, holding her hand while Jack made sure Matthew was alright, keeping the boy close by his side. The wet cheeks actually made Jack feel better than seeing the boy silent and still.
A couple of the Buddhist contingent began to sing a song of mourning in Korean. Jack looked closely at them and realized they were of Korean descent. The ambassadors joined them.
Slowly, people began to drift away from the room and found the food that was set out for them. One of the kitchen staff apologized for the lack of fruit; it seemed that something had gotten into the stores and quite a bit of the fresh fruit had small teeth marks.
“Why do people eat at memorials and funerals?” Jack asked.
“Because it reminds us that life goes on,” Daniel said, taking a slice of melon. He tweaked Matthew’s tie and winked at the boy.
“You look very nice, Matthew,” Sam said. “Very handsome.”
“Thank you,” he said, flushing. No one had said anything about his voice cracking once in a while, but a few of the men who heard him had silently acknowledged it with a sympathetic wince. Some of the crew who knew Matty commented on his uniform, praising him for honoring his father by wearing it. Matty didn’t think it was the time to tell them that he only wore it because his other dress slacks had become too short. But he held himself straighter, discovering that, in some strange way, he was beginning to fit in with Uncle Dad’s world.
As Jack tried to find a way out of listening to a discourse on the bowel problems of French President Lowther’s poodle, he noticed someone had come in and was murmuring into Sam’s ear. She glanced at him.
“Mr. President, would you excuse me?” Jack asked. “My… oldest son just came in and it looks like he needs me.”
Lowther looked over and saw an older teenager with a ponytail and the air of a mature man standing next to Sam and Daniel. Jonathan had at least changed into a formal human suit, instead of the leathers they had gotten used to seeing him in.
“What’s up?” Jack asked quietly, once he was with them.
“Nothing to get alarmed about,” Jonathan said. “You remember Lord Yu’s First Prime? Oshu? He’s turned up. Alive. He wants to present himself to Thanatos, and before we make it happen, I thought you’d like to talk with him. Now isn’t a good time, but….” He glanced around the room, mirroring Jack’s barely concealed impatience at having to participate in an event he’d rather not be at.
“Look at you, buddy,” Jonathan said, smiling at Matthew who had come over to them. Jonathan brushed at the boy’s shoulder. “Very snappy. What are you doing this summer? You going to come over for a while?”
“I’m going to play baseball.” Matthew colored and groaned. Jonathan smiled and gave Matthew’s neck a pat.
“Started this morning,” Jack commented.
“Look at it this way,” Jonathan said to the boy. “It doesn’t last long, and your voice will be deeper when it’s done.” He took Matthew’s jaw and turned his face back and forth, looking carefully and stroking the smooth jaw line. “No, not yet. That’s okay; mine’s still a little thin, too.” He touched his own jaw and gave it a rub, the thin strip of dark hair rasping slightly. He leaned in, glancing around conspiratorially. “Know who’s visiting on my ship?” Matthew shook his head. “The Sua.”
Matthew lit up and turned to Jack, once more the child that he still was.
“Go,” Jack said, giving him a wave of his wrist.
“Did we really change his diapers?” Jonathan leaned in to ask. “He’s growing up too fast.”
“I… changed his diapers,” Jack said.
“Whatever,” Jonathan said with a shrug. “He’s starting to look like Michael.”
“That’s what Daniel said. What’s really going on?”
Jonathan looked hurt. “Oshu is on the ship.”
“And?” Jack questioned. “My space is filled with alien ships. Are they all accompanying Oshu?”
“No,” Jonathan admitted. “Word spread fast about the explosion and you have a lot of friends. They wanted to pay their respects and offer to help. What’d you do with the weapons?”
“A couple of my guys rigged a few zats,” Sam said. “We set them for continuous disintegration on a wide beam. No one knows; we told them it was an alien agricultural tool.”
Jonathan stared at her. “You know? There are times I think I’m more afraid of you than I am of anyone or anything else.”
“She’s the new CO at 51,” Jack said proudly.
“Yes, I know. Very cool,” Jonathan said and gave her shoulders a squeeze. Jack remembered and reached into his pocket. He took out a pin and attached it to Jonathan’s lapel.
“Give one to Grant,” Jack said, handing him a second pin and showing its position on his uniform. “They’re official. I can’t take off now to see Oshu, so keep him on ice for a few more hours. Is he behaving?”
“Yes,” his clone nodded. “Jack, he was loyal to Lord Yu out of a sense of honor, not because he believed Yu was a god. Yu died last year. He was in a sarcophagus for a long time and apparently he just didn’t wake up. Replicator-Sam did quite a number on him and his symbiote was already too weak from the battle with Anubis. Oshu’s been hiding it from the rest of the snakes but I don’t think anyone was fooled. Oshu wants to join Thanatos out of self-preservation, I think.”
“The Jaffa would tear him apart,” Sam commented. Both men nodded.
“Right,” Jonathan said. “To say nothing of the remaining Goa’uld who are in hiding.”
“Do I really need to see him?” Jack asked.
“No,” Jonathan shrugged. “It was just a thought. He pin-pointed several large naquadah mines, a few hidden outposts, and handed over the keys to Lord Yu’s palace. Sam, Teal’c is on his way with a full cargo hold of naquadah. I also brought back something for Daniel.” He pulled a piece of paper from an inside pocket. It wasn’t paper, Jack and Sam saw.
“That’s…. what? Parchment?” Sam asked, lightly touching the scroll.
“Sort of,” he said. “Our trees are slightly different, so our paper doesn’t come out quite the same as Tau’ri paper. I copied this from a very old piece of rice paper in the palace. It was disintegrating. I thought Daniel might like to go treasure hunting.”
Jack unrolled the parchment; Sam looking over his shoulder. “A map?” they asked. “Are you serious? A treasure map? This looks like China.”
“It is,” Jonathan nodded, looking pleased with himself. “Apparently when Lord Yu was still living in ancient China, he had quite a collection that was hidden before he was chased off the planet. From what little I remember of history, I don’t think it’s ever been found.”
“Great,” Jack groaned. “Just what Daniel needs; another adventure.”
Sam told Jonathan about the old ship in the Alps.
“Yeah, Ninurta said something about it,” Jonathan commented as he nodded thoughtfully. “Neither Inanna or Enki know anything about it. Well, it does stand to reason that if the Ancients were ruling on Earth for centuries before humans took over, there should be more evidence of their presence.”
“That’s Daniel’s argument,” Jack said. “He’s putting together his own department for Earth-based exploration. I think he plans on turning over every pebble on every mountain, desert, and beach on the planet.”
“And you have Earth’s security and now Sam has Area 51,” Jonathan said. “Between the three of you, I’d say Earth is in good hands.”
After watching the process for a couple of hours, Jack declared that it was time everyone went home. Let the ships do the ugly job of cleanup. When most of the visitors were gone, a small Sua bounded into the main room and passed out nose-rubs with the cold tip of her nose. Daniel groaned under her weight.
“I think you get heavier every time I see you,” he told her.
“Dan’el heavier,” T’Keet told him, poking at him.
“Did you just tell me I’m getting fat?” he squinted at her.
“Yes.”
Sam laughed and quickly bit her lip, covering her mouth with a hand. Jack patted his stomach as he walked by.
“Don’t worry, Danny-boy, I like you fat and sassy.”
“That’s it –I’m on a diet,” Daniel declared.
Daniel knew his pants were a little tighter, but not that tight. He had gained maybe ten pounds. Unfortunately, he tended to gain weight at the mere thought of chocolate.
“Sam cub,” T’Keet said, giving her a pleased sniff.
“What?” Surprised, Sam touched her stomach. “T’Keet, I’m not pregnant.”
“Cub,” T’Keet repeated. “Sick cub.”
Sam looked at the men. “I….. haven’t felt any different,” she told them. “My period isn’t due, so I can’t go by that.”
“Why don’t you go to the infirmary and have someone check you out?” Jack suggested, suppressing a new panic.
“If there is a fetus and it isn’t formed right, like T’Keet says…..” Daniel stopped, also finding his mouth suddenly dry.
“You’re right,” Sam said, looking down worriedly at her stomach. She headed off to the infirmary.
“Gabriel warned us this might happen, the first time out,” Daniel told Jack, giving his arm a rub.
“I know,” Jack said. He looked at the cub. “Thank you, T’Keet. Sam might have been hurt and now she won’t be.” Hopefully. Physically, anyway.
Daniel looked closely at Jack and then put his arms around the man.
“She isn’t Sara,” Daniel murmured into his ear. “There won’t be continuous repeats of miscarriages. It’s too soon after the cessation of a bad implant for her to have a healthy pregnancy. Sam will be fine. Come on, we’ll go with her.”
While T’Keet bounded around the ship to greet old friends, and spook the few civilians who were still on board, much to her own amusement, the men went to the infirmary. She had just laid on a table and pulled her blouse up while Dr. Rand got the ultrasound machine ready. The men stood by as they clasped Sam’s. They couldn’t make head or tails of the black and white, grainy image on the screen.
“There’s something in there,” the doctor announced. “I can’t tell the age of the embryo; the image is…. How sure is that nose on the cub?”
Sam looked at the men.
“Get a scope in,” she told Rand. “I want to see a real-time image.”
She got her clothes off and into a hospital gown. When everything was ready, a thin scope was inserted through Sam’s vagina and carefully through the cervix. They all looked at the monitor. Sam looked at the men again.
“D&C,” Sam said. Dr. Rand agreed.
“Jack, would you call Carolyn and see if she needs the… embryo… for anything?” Sam asked. Jack stepped into the hall as Sam was prepped.
Daniel leaned over Sam, looking into her scared eyes. “From the looks of things, I think you would have miscarried,” he quietly told her, stroking her hair. He pressed his mouth to her forehead before touching her lips.
“I think he’s right, Colonel,” Rand said. “Please don’t blame yourself; you’re doing the right thing.”
Jack came back in. “Dr. Rand, please make sure the embryo is made available to Dr. Lam.” He went to Sam and she held out a hand to pull him down. He kissed her and smoothed her hair as Daniel had done.
“This is routine,” she assured him. “I’ll be fine.”
“I know; I’m allowed to worry.”
She smiled at him and touched his cheek. “Yes, you are. I love you, too.”
“General? Dr. Jackson?” Dr. Rand motioned for the men to stand aside.
An hour later, Sam was on pain meds and ready to go home. Dr. Rand wanted to keep her for a day. The excised tissue was put on ice and sent down to the SGC.
“Honey, will you just stay put for a day?” Jack requested.
“I’m not sick,” she insisted. “I’m a little uncomfortable, that’s all. Carolyn can watch over me at home.”
Jack looked at Rand. He wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed.
T’Keet came in holding onto Jonathan’s hand, and Daarai holding Shara’s hand. She sniffed at Sam and pulled her ears back at the smells. She gave a delicate sneeze.
“No cub?” she asked.
“No, the cub was too sick,” Sam told her. “It’s alright, T’Keet. Thank you for telling us about the cub. Maybe next time the cub will be healthy.”
“And are you well, ahatu?” Shara asked.
“I’m fine, Shara,” she said. “I keep telling everyone I’m fine, but no one is listening.”
Jack leaned in close, staring at her, waiting. Her chin wavered. “I’ve never been pregnant before,” she whispered. Jack gathered her into his arms as Jonathan and Shara ushered the children from the room.
They got Sam to agree to staying in the bed and allowing the doctors to look after her for a day. Dr. Rand stopped by her bed once more.
“Colonel, I can’t say I know how you’re feeling, but I can say this –your pregnancy would not have progressed much further. You probably would have miscarried within a week and since I estimate you were about four weeks along, you would barely have noticed. If you think about this as a benign tumor, and not an embryo, it would be more accurate. I’m sorry, Colonel. Gentlemen.”
The pain meds hit and Sam fell asleep.
“Come on,” Daniel said, giving Jack’s hand a tug. “She’s asleep. There’s nothing we can do here; we need to make sure everything else is going according to schedule. We can cry about it later.”
Jack knew Daniel was right and they kissed Sam once more before heading back to the main part of the ship. They found most people had gone except the Buddhist contingent; they had discovered the cub. The old man was beaming from ear to ear as T’Keet and ‘Rai entertained him. She jumped at Daniel when she saw him, and ‘Rai shyly went to Jack’s side.
“Smell nice,” she informed him, using her tail to point at the man.
“Yes, he does,” Daniel agreed. “Her people use scent to get to know other people,” he told the man. “She means you’re a good person.”
He laughed. “I am glad to hear that,” he said.
“No,” T’Keet shook her head. “Smells like mersu. Mersu good.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Daniel said to her. “I think mersu is a spice.”
Whiskers arched forward as she studied him.
“Daniel-Jack sad,” she said. “Sam o-k.”
Daniel lifted her and gave her ears a nuzzle. “Yes, Sam will be fine,” he said. He told the Dalai Lama what had happened and the old man’s smile turned down.
“So sad,” he said. “May I pray for her and the lost one?”
Daniel inclined his head. “All good thoughts are welcome, Your Holiness, thank you,” he said.
Jack was never too sure what to say when someone asked him that question, but Daniel tended to respond with that particular comment and Jack was finding that he liked it. It did seem to keep Daniel out of sticky conversations.
He went to the front screen and watched the process going on below. With all the people off the ship, there did seem to be a sense of finality. It was a day of death. And yet, as the bodies disappeared and sterile land was left behind, it was a day of new beginnings. Arms went around his waist from behind and his neck was kissed.
“If it’s a choice between Sam and a baby….”
“I know,” Daniel said. “Jack, she’s going to be fine. We were warned this might happen. We weren’t using precautions, so it was bound to happen.” He turned Jack around to face him. Jack stared into the blue eyes. “We’re in this together,” Daniel told him. He laced his fingers with Jack’s, their rings clinking lightly together, and leaned in. As he was kissed, Jack felt himself relaxing. For some reason, kissing Daniel always seemed to put life into perspective. Maybe Ninurta was right and the three of them really were connected by that internal bond that Jack wasn’t sure he believed in. He tried to find that bond that rang SAM within him and drew her in. She was asleep on the meds. She relaxed into the men, cocooned in love.
Daniel smiled against Jack’s mouth. “I felt that,” he murmured. “You’re getting good at it.”
“I’m not really sure it’s real,” Jack said. “Ten years ago I would have called anyone crazy who thought such a thing was real.”
“Ten years ago you were an ass,” Daniel informed him. “You’ve grown up very nicely, though, and I think you’ll do.”
“Do what?” Jack asked.
“Oh, I’m sure I can think of something,” Daniel said. He leaned in again.
“Treasure map.”
He leaned back.
“What?”
Jack took the paper from his pocket and held it up. “Treasure map. Ancient China. From Oshu. What do I get in exchange for this?”
Daniel was almost hyperventilating.
“You are soooo easy,” Jack informed him.
No comments:
Post a Comment