TITLE – Across the Stars

AUTHOR – Sache8

RATING – PG-13

GENRE – Romance/ Action/Adventure

SUMMARY - Jonas joins SG-1 on a mission to rescue Daniel Jackson, who's been kidnapped from a Tok'ra base… along with someone Jonas once cared for deeply. Jonas-OC.

DISCLAIMER – This sandbox be the property of MGM, Gekko Productions… folks not me.


EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

by Sache8


CHAPTER ONE - Secrets and Memory

General Jack O'Neill liked to pretend that a knock on his door was an adventure. What was that song…something about spoons and sugar and every job supposedly being fun? So if he could just keep telling himself that every knock could be about something exciting, interesting, or even just plain urgent, it would almost be like going through the stargate, right?

Unfortunately, in this case it was just Daniel.

"Aren't you supposed to be offworld?" Jack asked, regretfully returning his attention to SG-9's report on the thermal vents of M16-7G5.

"Uh, yeah, pretty soon. I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything else from me before we leave."

"Believe it or not, Daniel, this base has managed without you in the past."

"Yeah, but this is a pretty important mission, and I don't know how long—"

Jack held up a finger. "Inestimable in length it may be. Important? Not so convinced."

"Jack, our alliance with the Tok'ra is one of the most important things that ever came out of this program."

Daniel had that tone in his voice— a serious sadness that Jack knew was really regret cleverly masked by a strong helping of patented Daniel Jackson idealism. Jack finally looked up at him. "For them, maybe," he said squarely.

"They saved Jacob."

"After holding us captive."

"They saved you."

Jack's only reply was a snort.

"Jack, I have to try."

"I know, I know. You want to try. The President wants you to try. Carter definitely wants you to try, and you're on your way to try! Heck, you even get a date. So what's the problem?"

They'd had this argument a couple of times now, and Jack really wished Daniel would stop dredging it up again. He had no patience with the Tok'ra, and probably never would, and as far as he was concerned the past few months of stilted relations with them had been one giant headache off his plate. It wasn't like they were at war or anything, he'd often pointed out. Why not live and let live, for crying out loud?

"So you're not coming to see us off then?"

Jack gestured helplessly at the stack of mission reports to be read and incident reports to be filled out.

"Yes, because paperwork has always stopped you before," Daniel muttered. "Later then, Jack."

"If you see Jacob, say hi."

"Will do." Daniel turned around but was barred from actually leaving by the sudden appearance of Walter Harriman in the doorway.

"Um, sir?" Walter called after two-stepping with Daniel a moment. The archeologist stepped back into the room to oblige the small sergeant.

"Yes, Walter?"

"This just came from Doctor Whittaker, sir," Walter said, handing Jack a folded note across the desk.

"Who?" Daniel asked as Jack accepted it.

"Thanks, Walter," Jack called to his retreating aide. He turned back to Daniel and unfolded the paper. "From St. Vincent's in Denver. Doctor who has security clearance. He's been monitoring the condition of Jonas's old professor."

"The one that had schizophrenia?"

"Yeah." Jack's eyes roved the note and he added, "Had being the key word." He put the note down with a sigh. "Kieran's dead."

"Oh," said Daniel uncertainly. "That's too bad." Hesitantly, he asked, "Why was he even here?"

"Moving him would have been rough, mostly on him. He was already comfortable where he was."

"Yeah, but didn't he have any family… loved ones back on Kelowna who would have wanted him home?"

"Just Jonas, as far as I know. He never mentioned anything about family."

"That's kind of sad."

Jack looked up at Daniel thoughtfully. "Yeah, it is. Anyway, I guess you were right about one thing," he said.

"What's that?"

"Paperwork can take its proper place when time serves. Seems I have a trip of my own to make now."

"You're going to Kelowna?" Daniel seemed surprised.

"I assure you, the visit will be as brief as possible, but I'm pretty sure they're going to want his body returned." Jack got to his feet. "You know what? Maybe I will come see you off."

As they neared the gate room, both pensive, Jack said, "I think Carter might want to come too."

"Well, do you want me to postpone?" Daniel asked. "Because you know, I don't have to—"

"No," Jack said, quick to cut him off. "You should go. Things aren't going to begin very well for your big reconciliation if you're late."

Daniel still seemed hesitant, but finally nodded. "Okay, well, tell Jonas he has my condolences."

"Sure thing." As they stepped into the gate room, Jack's eyes fell on Daniel's unlikely companion, and he wondered if his true motivations for sending Daniel hastily on his way were justified.

"General O'Neill!"

Amelia Kinsey still looked as bright and healthy as ever, all traces of the disease that had once wasted her body completely gone. Jack's fondness for her was certainly unlikely, but the kid had been through a lot in the past couple of years— heck, the last couple of weeks— and the last thing she needed right now was to accidentally run into a former boyfriend when she hadn't been expecting to.

Fortunately, as far as Jack knew, Daniel had absolutely no idea that Jonas and Amelia were in any way connected.

"Amelia," Jack greeted with a very sincere smile. "How much longer are you going to be taking these little road trips?" he asked. This was Amelia's third follow-up visit to the Tok'ra since her recovery, but he knew how fastidious the Tok'ra could be when it came to research.

"I'm not sure. I hope it doesn't end too soon, though," she said, looking over her shoulder at the gate, then smiled back at him. "Then I won't get to go through the stargate anymore."

Jack smiled back. "That I understand completely," he said. He glanced over at the two somberly dressed men flanking the far door. "And your buddies won't get anymore vacations," he added. He threw a wave and a chipper grin at the bodyguards. "Hi, guys."

"That's another reason it's kind of relieving to get away," Amelia confessed lowly, giving a playful roll of her eyes. "Secret Service on your tail for seven years when your dad wasn't even vice-president for one really seems like overkill, don't you think?"

Privately, Jack knew Amelia Kinsey had far more need of protection than probably any vice-president's family member in history, full term or no full term, and he had it on good authority that the gentleman standing in the corner knew that very well. Still, even the United States government realized how, on a scale of ridiculous, sending Secret Service through the stargate— particularly when there was a fully-trained military team already going— rated well beyond overkill. Amelia's agents would remain on Earth.

"Well, just remember," Jack assured her. "If you need any help, you've always got Daniel watching your back."

They looked over at Daniel, who had donned his backpack and was tapping the face of his watch with a focused frown. A moment later he looked up to see them both staring at him expectantly. "What?" he asked.

"I feel better already, sir," Amelia said.

Daniel, Amelia, and SG-12 departed with little incident, and Jack saw to it that the Secret Service cooled their heels somewhere out of his sight. They insisted on maintaining a presence while Amelia was offworld, and it had been quite an adventure convincing them that the twenty-six other levels besides the control center were equally as adequate for their brand of vigilance.

As he headed back upstairs, pondering his chances of having the Kelownan matter wrapped up before Daniel and Amelia got back, he tried to fight back a gnawing guilt. He knew Amelia probably would have liked to see Jonas, painful memories of the past notwithstanding, and he really didn't have the right to try and deliberately maneuver around it. Certainly he had no right to conceal from both of them the knowledge of how close they'd come to crossing paths again, but Jack O'Neill was a master of interring past hurts. In the end, it would be better for both Jonas and Amelia to keep the past buried in two years of time… and counting.


When Sarah Gardner had set foot on Earth soil again for the first time of her own free will, she'd disavowed all interest in anything to do with Egyptology. The United States government had expressed interest in retaining her intimate and painfully acquired knowledge of the Goa'uld to spur the efforts of the Stargate program, but Daniel and the then Colonel Jack O'Neill had firmly planted themselves in her corner, supporting her in her decision to pick up her life in whatever way she chose. She could not have asked for better champions.

If only knowing what she wanted to do had been as easy as knowing what she wanted to avoid.

She had tried pursuing other avenues of the past. Egypt had once been her passion, but it was not the only ancient culture worth knowing. This, however, had soon proven quite counter-productive. All of the history she'd devoted her life to was skewed. Fortunately, recent events had given her an opportunity to reach further back. A frozen continent and a lot of help from Daniel had finally offered her a bridge between doing the kind of work that had always defined her, yet avoiding the painful associations she would probably always be trying to evade.

The corners of Antarctica were not reeking with the remnants of the Goa'uld.

It was quieter since the Atlantis expedition had departed. Sarah had not been assigned here during that time, but the friends she'd made since her arrival talked of it often — the excitement of the newly-discovered Ancient outpost and the potential for so much more.

Some of the most brilliant minds working at the outpost had been lost to the expedition, meaning progress in research here had slowed considerably. Screening new candidates was a time-consuming process, but Sarah had not objected to the quiet and solitude of the much smaller team that now manned the base. The excitement was still here, though. Sarah had spent her months immersed in Latin studies, as well as sciences she'd never before taken an interest in, and she could even frequently be found lending a hand clearing out centuries' worth of ice from corridors that hadn't been intended to be full of frozen water. Not all of the complex had been as protected as the area with the control chair. The methodic mental studies and manual labor were soothing. And every day they learned a little more about the way things had once been here. Sarah greatly enjoyed calling Daniel with her discoveries every couple of weeks.

She couldn't call him tonight, unfortunately. She knew he was recently offworld and could be for some time. She dearly wanted to tell him about the new chamber they'd cleared today. It looked to be a lab of some kind, though it was hard to know for sure. In some ways it was unfortunate the Ancients hadn't been so arrogant as to spell out their exploits and accomplishments on the walls.

So it was just her and Dylan Thomas tonight. She'd turned in early, bundled in several layers of fuzzy blankets and a stack of her other favorite poetry on the nightstand beside her. They'd be up early in the morning to start the exploration of the new chamber, and she liked to be particularly fresh on these days.

A knock at the door— especially of the very official military variety— was certainly unexpected. Curious, and inexplicably wary, Sarah disentangled herself from her blankets and went to the door.

"Doctor Gardner?" said the smartly dressed officer on the other side. "I'm Major Davis from the General Hammond's office. I'm sorry to disturb you, particularly at this hour, but we wondered if we could ask you a few questions."

"Is anything wrong, Major?" she asked. She hadn't been directly approached by the military since she'd left the SGC. This, she knew, had been General O'Neill's continued influence.

The man smiled kindly. "Not at all, Doctor. When you're ready, the General is waiting for you."

Sarah made no effort to hide her surprise. "General Hammond is here?"

"I'll let him explain."

It didn't take long to get ready. A pair of thick black pants, socks to match, and a sky blue fleecy jacket comprised the quickest outfit on hand, and she was out the door as soon as she'd slipped on her boots. Assuming she would find the General and any other personnel he'd brought with him in the common area, she headed in that direction.

"Doctor Gardner," General Hammond greeted as he rose to his feet. He'd been sitting at the room's large table with a cup of steaming coffee by his hand and a very nervous Doctor Kendall two seats over. The General's smile, however, was as inviting as Sarah had ever found it, and his posture eased some of her own nervousness.

"General Hammond," she returned, stepping forward to take his offered hand. "It's been a long time."

"Please, have a seat," he said when he'd released her from the handshake. "I was pleased when Doctor Jackson told me you'd chosen to take a post here. I hope it's been working out."

"Thank you, General. I'm very happy here. Can I ask what this is about?"

For the first time, the General hesitated. "Doctor, do you know who this man is?" he asked. He nodded up at Major Davis, who pulled a full-size photograph from a folder and placed it on the table in front of Sarah. The photograph was of a white-haired, older gentleman wearing an expensive suit and a scowl.

Sarah blinked at the photograph slowly. "He seems a bit familiar," she confessed at last, "but no, I don't know his name."

"For a short time," General Hammond said, "Robert Kinsey was Vice-President of the United States, but more recently he had the misfortune to become host to a Goa'uld symbiote."

Sarah's sharp intake of breath and wince were not missed by anyone in the room. There was an uncomfortable pause before the General continued, "Doctor, I know it pains you to have to talk about your experience with the Goa'uld, but this is a matter of security, both for my country and the rest of the world."

Sarah didn't say anything, but finally gave a stoic nod.

"The last we knew of the former Vice-President's whereabouts, he was presumed aboard an al'kesh orbiting the planet, a vessel which was soon after destroyed."

"It was the same al'kesh that Osiris left in orbit when—" Major Davis began, but a quick glare from General silenced him. "My apologies," he said. "That was irrelevant information, anyway."

"Kinsey was presumed dead, though it was not confirmed," General Hammond concluded. "Now we have proof that he did indeed survive."

Two more photographs were produced. These were less crisp, but they showed who was unmistakably the same man in inconspicuous clothing walking through some kind of lobby. "These shots were taken yesterday from security footage at an airport in Cairo," General Hammond said. "How Kinsey managed to get that far undetected we're still trying to work out, but we think we know where he went next."

Major Davis pulled a third item from his folder and placed it before Sarah.

"I presume you recognize this?" General Hammond asked softly, gently pushing the map and photographs towards her.

Sarah swallowed, and it was several heartbeats before she could reply. "It's called Philae," she said quietly. "And the other one is called Bigeh. They're islands in the Nile devoted to the worship of Isis and Osiris, respectively."

"Can you think of any reason a Goa'uld would go there?"

"What makes you think he did?"

"The archeological dig on the island of Bigeh was infiltrated and looted late last night. Witnesses didn't get a clear look at their attacker. They were a mere handful of archeologists and the Egyptian officials supervising their work, and within a matter of minutes they were all either killed or incapacitated. When those who survived came to, a few seemingly random artifacts were missing from their work and the assailant was gone."

"However," said Major Davis grimly, "there are several coinciding reports by tourists along the riverbank of seeing lights rising from the island. Most assumed the lights had to do with some new part of the pyrotechnics show the Egyptian government puts on along that part of the river, but we know that's not the case."

Sarah was only half-listening. She was gripping the edge of the table hard as her mind made a rapid and direct conduit between what the officers were telling her and the dormant trove of Osiris's memories lurking in her brain.

"There was a tel'chak hidden on Bigeh," she finally said, exhaling forcefully when she'd sorted out what she was unwillingly remembering. She winced. "Deep in the caverns. Bigeh was a sacred place— very few were permitted to go there, even in the days of the Pharaohs. Osiris wanted to keep his best-kept secrets safe from his rivals' spies."

"This tel'chak was one of those secrets?"

"Yes." Then she paled. "What else was taken? Do they know?"

The men exchanged glances. "Among other things, a canopic jar."

"Bloody hell, did they ever stop stashing those things everywhere?" Sarah snapped. She sighed, rubbing her fingers against her forehead. "Do they know what it looked like?" The memories were complete enough that she had her suspicions, but she wanted confirmation nonetheless.

It seemed Major Davis's folder was unending in its supply of helpful graphics. "This is from the dig team's research notes," he said. Sarah bit her lip as she looked at the familiar shape and size of the jar in the photograph. The figure looked much as she'd expected. A woman's face with a plumed headpiece, an ankh in her right hand a tell-tale battle axe in her left.

How Osiris had hated her.

"She was called Anat," Sarah finally said.


A/N: Well, I think that I'm posting this about a year and a half after I first advertised that I would. It's not finished yet, but I recently (finally) had some breakthroughs in writer's block as to how to proceed with it, so I'm feeling daring enough to post a little of it. I hope you all enjoy.

The title is inspired by the musical piece of the same name from the Star Wars: Attack of the Clones soundtrack, which is one of the few things I actually like about that film. Honestly, I've been stuck on a title for this fic, and still haven't thought of anything brilliant. The phrase 'Across the Stars' always had this spine-tingling hint of adventure and romance to it, so I thought… eh, why not?

Special thanks to Domi Lys for helping me out with the Egyptology portions of this story. Everything in this chapter regarding the islands of Philae, Biggeh, and the legends about Osiris, Isis, and Anat were her ideas and contribution. I just wrote them up.

I hope you all enjoy!

Saché