Title- Summons
Author- Denise
E-mail – sky_
Category- Fluff
Season- 10ish
Spoilers – Sacrifices
Content Level – Nothing really
Content Warning- None
Summary- SG-1 receives an emergency summons from Teal'c
Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Sci-fi and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
For Sue, whose idea this was.
Summons
By
Denise
"Did his message give any details?" Daniel asked, zipping up his TAC vest.
"You mean other than 'come now'?" Jack asked, ignoring the chafe of new, freshly requisitioned fatigues.
"Other than demanding SG-1's and the general's presence, no," Sam answered, zipping up her own vest and pulling her hat out of her locker.
"Either the man's psychic or he's damn lucky I was in town," Jack said, following Sam's silent invite to hang his just shed dress blues in her locker since he no longer had one.
"Cameron and Vala?" Daniel asked, the slam of his locker door echoing Sam's.
"If they make it in the next five minutes, they can come with," Jack declared, leading them from the room.
The trio made their way down familiar corridors quickly arriving at the armory. The next few minutes were a flurry of paperwork as they armed themselves, the urgency of Teal'c's summons leading them to take more than just their P-90's and side arms.
"Let's go," Jack said, shoving one last clip into his pocket.
They descended the flight of stairs down to the gateroom. Jack looked up as he entered the large room, nodding at General Landry who gave the order to Walter.
The gate began to spin and Jack tapped his fingers restlessly on the butt of his weapon. He'd forgotten how slowly the SGC gate dialed.
"You sure you don't want some backup?" Landry asked having come down from the control room to join them.
"Teal'c just summoned the three of us," Jack replied.
"Teal'c sent a message," Landry corrected. "It could be a trap."
"All the more reason not to involve more people."
"Jack—"
"Hank, I know," Jack interrupted, lowering his voice. "But I also know that you'll have the IOA on your six for 'wasting resources'," he said, making quote signs with his fingers. "A recon team is easier to justify."
"Besides, sirs," Sam interrupted. "Even after all these years, the Jaffa are pretty skittish."
The gate splashed open with a flourish that almost passed unnoticed. "Whatever you think is best," Landry said with a shrug, obviously reluctant but lacking a good reason to forbid the mission – and disobey the orders of a superior officer.
Jack sighed silently as he led Sam and Daniel up the ramp. He knew he'd put Hank in an awkward position, but this was Teal'c. And he'd asked for them to come – immediately.
After more than ten years and more adventures than he wanted to remember, he owed the man. They all did. And Jack couldn't ignore Teal'c's call for help any more than he could one from Sam or Daniel. And it was a feeling they all shared.
They stepped out of the wormhole and Jack ducked, instinctively moving towards the DHD and the meager protection it offered. He heard Sam and Daniel do the same, each moving to flank the gate. The clearing was quiet and Jack heard nothing but the distant call of birds. He looked over at Sam and she shrugged. "It looks clear, sir," she said softly.
"I don't see any signs of an attack," Daniel said, as the three of them regrouped.
"The goal isn't always the gate," Sam said. "You wanna terrorize, you hit the settlement."
"Yeah," Jack said. She was right, he couldn't deny that. But he also couldn't deny that the last thing he was in the mood for was to deal with the fallout of a massacre. "Carter?"
"It could be anyone," she said, divining his unasked question. "Ba'al's clones are the only major system lords left, but there are plenty of minor goa'uld out there wanting to make a statement and earn some street cred. It could also be the Lucian Alliance."
"Or other Jaffa," Daniel said. "There's been a lot of petty bickering and old grudges run deep."
"Of course they do," Jack said. "Let's go find out."
The three of them slowly made their way towards the settlement. They didn't travel on the defined path, but parallel to it, using the light forest as cover. As they walked in silence, Jack kept looking for some sign of an attack. He could hear no screams or cries. As far as he could tell, he couldn't see or smell anything wrong. To use the cliché, it was quiet, too quiet.
As if the universe was mocking him, he heard something and stopped, raising his fist. Sam and Daniel both stopped, dropping down to a squat. Two children ran down the trail and Jack tensed, assuming that they were being chased. They ran by, laughing as one chased the other.
"That was…unexpected," Daniel said.
"Ya think," Sam quipped.
"Come on," Jack said, taking point. The only way to find out what was going on was to get to the village. The kids had to have come from somewhere close.
They set out and Jack wasn't surprised to find the village just over a small rise. The trio paused just inside the tree line to survey the situation.
"I'm starting to get the idea that Walter mangled the message somehow," Sam said.
Below them, the village looked perfectly normal. Children ran and played, a few of them watched over by older children or women, at least two of which were heavily pregnant and stood there in the ageless pose with one hand massaging their back while another rested on their swollen belly.
Three men walked towards the camp, each carrying a large animal slung over their shoulders while wood smoke from dozens of fires billowed gently into the sky. "I'm definitely thinking Walter futzed up," Jack said.
"General, we should—"
"Yep," Jack interrupted. "Let's go find T. Stay alert just in case."
They stepped out of the trees and walked towards the village. Almost immediately, a couple of the children cried out and one broke off, running into the village. "I think we were expected," Daniel said.
"Don't you remember, Daniel, we're famous," Sam teased.
"More like infamous," Jack said, nodding towards a familiar figure winding his way through the collection of tents and huts. He walked forward, waving his greeting. Whatever had prompted Teal'c to summon them, the problem didn't seem to be on this planet, so Jack felt like he could relax. "T, dude, what's up?" Jack called out.
"O'Neill, Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c greeted. He paused for a second and studied them from head to toe. "Is something amiss?" he asked. "Do you require my assistance?"
"You were the one that called for our help," Jack said. Teal'c merely raised an eye brow.
"You left the message with Walter," Sam said.
"Come immediately," Daniel said.
"We came," Jack said.
Teal'c sighed. "I must apologize, O'Neill. It seems that my message was inaccurately conveyed."
"We kinda figured that," Jack said.
"So, nothing's wrong?" Sam asked.
"Indeed it is not," Teal'c answered. "If you will come with me, I shall clarify the situation."
He motioned and they followed as he retraced his steps, weaving through the dwellings until he came to one hut that was a bit larger than the others. He stood beside the doorway and held a heavy blanket aside, inviting them in.
Jack stepped inside, squinting a bit until his eyes adjusted to the dim light. The hut was small, perhaps twenty feet square and consisted of one large common room that seemed to serve as kitchen, dining room, and family room with one corner partitioned off that Jack guessed was the bedroom.
"Ry'ac," Sam said, greeting the tall figure that got up from the table as they walked in. "I didn't know you were here."
"Colonel Carter, General O'Neill, Daniel Jackson," the young man greeted. "You honor us with your presence."
"We haven't seen you since the wedding, how ya doing?" Jack asked, reaching out to shake the man's hand.
"I do well, O'Neill," Ry'ac replied.
Jack caught a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye and turned as Karyn, Ry'ac's wife, walked out of the back room. "This is why I summoned you, O'Neill." Teal'c said.
The young woman carried a small bundle in her arms and things immediately clicked in Jack's brain. "O'Neill, Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson, I wish to introduce to you my…I believe the Tau'ri term is, grand child."
"Congratulations," Daniel said, shaking Teal'c's hand.
"She is strong and healthy," Teal'c proclaimed proudly. "Many of the midwives in the village feel that she is exhibiting signs of extreme intelligence and skill."
Karyn gingerly sat down in one of the chairs set around the table and proudly pulled back the blanket swaddling the baby. Jack bent down to look at the child and was unable to resist smiling at the tiny little face topped with a swatch of short, curly, dark hair. "She's beautiful," Jack said. He stood up. "Grandpa Teal'c." He patted his friend on the back.
"Is everything okay?" Sam asked Karyn. "We can take you back to Earth and have one of our doctors check things out," she offered.
Karyn smiled. "Thank you, Colonel Carter, but I am well," she said.
"Medical assistance is not why I requested your presence," Teal'c said. "It is the Jaffa tradition to give the child a name that symbolizes all that you wish the child to become."
Jack couldn't control the proud grin that crept across his face. He didn't know what to say, literally.
"Wow? Really?" Daniel said. "That's interesting. You know, there's a lot of cultures where a name—"
"Daniel," Sam interrupted, cutting him off.
"Oh right." Jack's grin widened. Yep, even ten years later, nothing had changed.
"So, what's her name?" Jack asked, possibilities running through his mind. Jackie, Jaclyn, Johanna…
"Colonel Carter, we want to name our daughter Samantha," Ry'ac said.
Jack's train of thought derailed in a heart beat.
"Umm, aah, wow," Sam stuttered.
"Hey, that's great," Daniel said, patting her on the back. "Congratulations."
"I…I'd be honored, thank you," Sam said.
"Would you like to hold her?" Karyn asked Sam.
"Umm, yeah," Sam said, stepping forward then pausing, realizing that it just didn't seem right to hold a newborn while she was armed to the teeth. She started to disarm, handing her P-90 to Daniel then she unzipped her TAC vest and dropped it into Teal'c's hands before she held out her arms, carefully cradling her namesake. "She's so tiny."
"Shoulda seen her nine months ago," Jack said, sitting down in one of the chairs. Sam frowned and glared daggers at him for a second before she turned her attention back to the baby.
Jack watched as she slowly walked back and forth, gently bouncing the baby and occasionally making funny faces. "This was the emergency?" Jack asked Teal'c. "Nothing else is wrong?"
Teal'c shook his head. "Indeed."
"I feel kinda…overdressed," Daniel said, awkwardly holding up Sam's P-90 for a second before he laid it down on the table. Teal'c set Sam's vest down while Daniel disarmed himself. Jack secured and laid down his own weapon, finally relaxing.
"We didn't even know that you Ry'ac and Karyn had a baby coming," Daniel said.
"It is not a topic for casual conversation," Teal'c replied.
"So," Jack clapped his hands together. "If this is a christening we should drink to the health of the kid."
"We should?" Daniel asked.
Jack ignored him. "T, Ry'ac, you guys got any of that hooch we had last time."
"Too much of it, if you ask me," Karyn said, getting to her feet. She a bottle and cups from the cupboard and, with Ry'ac's help, set them on the table and served each of them some of the home brew.
"To family," Jack said, raising the carved horn cup.
"To family."
~Fin~