Chapter 1 – Calm Before the Storm

Colonel Jack O'Neill writhed on the ground. His right leg was nearly completely blown away from the knee down. He screamed and cursed in his agony. He made no effort to conceal his pain, even if such an effort could have been possible. No one was there to see or hear him. He'd sent the rest of his team back through the gate.

For several months things had gone smoothly. He'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it did, it exploded.

SG-1 had enjoyed an unprecedented period of calm. Anubis and the System Lords were keeping each other busy. No one was trying to destroy the Earth for a change. SG-1's recent missions had resulted in new friends and allies and, remarkably, no injuries.

Even Jack O'Neill's life outside the SGC had been rolling along nicely. He was enjoying a very adult relationship with Chanah, a physically and emotionally scarred woman from another planet he'd met on a mission seven months earlier. Jack's relationship with her had developed quickly and oddly. They were quite a bit alike. Both had suffered tragic personal losses and were emotionally reserved, prone to expressing themselves physically rather than through words. After helping her deal with post traumatic stress syndrome following torture at the hands of the Goa'uld, Jack had arranged for Chanah and her now twelve year old son Micah to relocate to Earth and for her to work at the SGC.

Neither Jack nor Chanah was looking for anything more than fun from their relationship. Both wanted to tread carefully with her son. He'd lost his father to the Goa'uld almost two years earlier. Chanah and Jack took care to integrate him into their relationship, and to give him the individual attention he'd need. Jack even finally found a fishing buddy in Micah. Chanah was cool to fishing, giving Jack special time to bond with Micah. It wasn't hard. Micah was a good kid to whom Jack had opened an entire exciting world by pulling him off the "boring Zen rock" on which he had been living.

If Jack had one complaint, it was the competition he had for Micah's interests from Daniel and Carter. The boy was interested in science, like his grandfather, an inventor. Micah never hesitated to desert Jack for time with either of them in their labs.

Micah had even given Jack sort of an excuse to get a dog. By giving one to Micah, Jack effectively became a part of the dog's daily life without the responsibility for it. There was rarely a day when Jack was on planet that he didn't spend with Micah or Chanah.

Jack had bristled a little when Chanah and Micah named the dog MacGyver, after Micah's favorite old show on T.V. and upon Chanah's insistence that the guy on it looked like he could be Jack's younger, cuter brother. But Jack was obligated to get as good as he gave on a joke once in a while. He took it in stride and even played along.

"Now MacGyver, show me again how to mold a tennis ball into a tactical nuclear warhead."

"MacGyver, show me how you made the iron curtain fall by sniffing other dogs butts."

He cracked them up pretty good.

Oh, yes, it was all rolling along smoothly. Chanah had integrated herself into the SGC better than he'd expected. She'd been training SGC members in her unique hybrid form of martial arts, combining the techniques of the Jaffa and the People of the Oneness. During those lessons, she'd also been teaching the rudiments of the Goa'uld language to SGC members. Knowing her to be more of a tomcat than a nice girl, Jack was sure she was not teaching them politically correct Goa'uld as Daniel would. More likely it was nasty words. Kitchen Goa'uld, one might say.

Even Chanah's training to become an off world team member looked promising. Jack hadn't been entirely confident that would work out. Following orders was not Chanah's strong suit. She was capable yes; but a follower, no. She'd spent almost ten years of her childhood in a Goa'uld slave labor camp. It made her resistant to taking orders later. After that she'd fought the Goa'uld and Jaffa for several years with much success all by herself using a potent toxin. She liked working alone.

But Chanah surprised Jack. In the training program, she outshone younger recruits with her tactical sense and her attention to the welfare of the team. True, she had disagreements with the team leaders at time, but she raised valid concerns respectfully and followed orders in the end. She would be given the chance to go off world with a team.

She went on a couple of soft missions as an extra team member with good results. She shined on one that went bad, bailing out the C.O. with her energy staff and getting an injured teammate to safety. After that, she'd earned an assignment to a team.

Jack hoped General Hammond would integrate her into a team with a leader who would respect her experience and consider her views, just as he did those of Carter, Teal'c and Daniel. A hard ass, who just liked to shout orders and be in charge, would can her in no time. But given his personal relationship with her, Jack could say nothing to Hammond to influence his decisions.

He wasn't happy with her assignment to SG-9, but it was what was available. Her C.O. would be Major Will Frawley, a bit of a paper tiger who had yet to face down any truly nasty encounters with the Goa'uld as had SG-1 or Chanah. Jack thought him a little quick on the trigger and not too respectful of his men's opinions. Chanah could burn herself with him fast, but this was the military and she needed to learn to deal with all kinds if she was to make it.

Part of Jack was conflicted about her going off world. They'd see much less of each other because of scheduling rotations. And although he didn't mean to be chauvinistic, this was a woman he cared for a lot and he was afraid for her out there even trusting in her abilities. As he thought about it, he realized he was probably no less worried about her than she was about him.

But these were not things they discussed. Jack and Chanah were awkward at emotions. They expressed how they cared for each other in their physical interaction and competitive bantering. Neither spoke of love or commitment. Daniel Jackson was convinced that both were afraid that if they said such thoughts out loud, it would all crash in around them.

They also had to tread delicately at the Mountain. Since Chanah was an alien, she was akin to a civilian in the Air Force structure. Fraternization rules did not prevent their relationship, but Jack could not allow it to continue if it "eroded good order and discipline." It was necessary to distance themselves at work. He was not her C.O. and it was understood that she would not go on missions with Jack.

So it smoothly sailed for Jack and SG-1 for almost seven months since Chanah and Micah moved to Earth.

Until P8Q-307.