Part 10: Casual sets
Two weeks later…
Lucas Jackson and Becca Sutton, the other members of the team that Oma Desala had gathered, entered the bridge talking softly. They both stopped short and looked out the front window.
"We better be cloaked," Lucas said, a comment on how close to the planet they were.
"Ready?" Lilly asked her team. They were going in and as per usual, she'd stay on the ship and guide them. Lucas called her the 'eyes in the skies.'
Once beamed down to the planet, the team discovered an old ceremonial platform. Glass panels surrounded it on the ground and above it, orbs of light seemed to glow like floating lamps. It was beautiful, almost chapel-like in the reverence that had obviously been put into decorating the place. Too bad the mission was to blow it.
Intel suggested the Ori and their army used this to communicate across great distances and planes of existence. Taking out that kind of communication could limit enemy ship and troop movement.
Lucas was just setting to work when the back of JJ's neck prickled. He motioned to the other two, and Lucas and Becca ducked behind a boulder nearby.
Someone's near, Lilly sent to JJ
Yeah, I know, shut up.
Lilly jumped to Lucas' mind. It was much more difficult to do and she was still learning this new skill, but it was important.
Lucas, keep working with Becca along the south perimeter. I sense whoever it is approaches from the Northwest. JJ will handle him.
Lucas shivered slightly. It was weird when she did that. Granted, Oma had taught them all to recognize Lilly's signal and allow her to enter. It wasn't like Lilly invaded their minds without permission, but still, weird. Way weirder than any of the stories his dad told.
Becca saw Lucas shiver and smirked a little. She knew his typical reaction to Lilly entering his mind.
"Lilly?" she whispered, checking if her assumption was correct.
"Yes, she says it's safe to work along the south perimeter."
They separated from JJ and only minutes later, they heard a few shots of gunfire followed by shouting.
"Dad?!"
"JJ?"
"What the hell are you doing here, Dad?"
Jack shouted irritably, "Apparently, getting shot at."
Then JJ noticed a second person step up and lower her weapon. "Mom?!" JJ asked, not trusting his eyes.
Jack and Sam glanced at each other. Jack titled his head sideways as if assessing his son for the first time. "Did you honestly think she'd let me go by myself?"
Becca and Lucas now joined the crowd. "Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill," Lucas said smiling, "nice to see you again."
Sam turned and grinned at Lucas and Becca. "Hi, guys. Where's Lilly?"
"Ship," Lucas supplied.
JJ grumbled, "Are you here to check up on us?"
"I swear, JJ," said Jack, "we had no idea you and your team were already here. This was supposed to have been destroyed a week ago." He swept an arm toward the elaborate device on the raised platform.
"Yeah, well, we were a little late." JJ shot Becca a look at her comment.
"What?" Becca sassed. "Like it's my fault the hyperdrive is only functioning at 60. It was you and Lucas that were outrunning those angry people from P6X–"
"Ah," JJ glanced nervously at his parents then back to Becca, "let's not get into that right now. The question is not 'What are you doing here?' It's 'Why the heck aren't you at home?'" JJ asked his parents.
"When scans showed it was still operational a week after it was supposed to have been destroyed, your Mom and I came to take care of it."
"On a mission? You two?"
Sam raised a brow. "Honey, did you forget what your Dad and I used to do?"
'Honey?' Lucas mouthed to Becca, who tried not to giggle. JJ saw it, and anger boiled at his parents for undermining him in front of his team.
Jack added, "We've been doing a few missions, here and there. Small ones. Safe ones. Ya know, the knees and all. But still, trying to help." He could see the rambling explanation was doing nothing to placate JJ's anger at the situation.
"Look," JJ said, dismissing everything else but the mission for the moment. "Lucas here is gonna do his thing, then we blow this, then we're out of here. We'll deal with the rest later."
Sam's heart swelled, so much his father's son. Then she pushed the emotions aside, they were on a mission. Plenty of time later to give them all hugs, find out what sort of trouble they'd gotten themselves into and out of over these last months, and do plenty 'mothering' of them all no matter how old they were.
"Becca," Sam turned, "maybe I can help with that hyperdrive?"
Hours later, Lucas had wires connected from the device's mainframe to his laptop and was typing away. The only words coming from him were the occasional "oh" or "huh."
JJ sat on one of the fancy glass steps next to his father. Becca, Lilly, and Mom were up on the ship doing repairs on the slightly scrambled and fried hyperdrive.
Honestly, how were Lucas and he to know that shaking hands with those women was against some kind of code? The ladies seemed normal about it. Until their men showed up with sticks that shot out some kind of lightening-like lasers. Good thing the hyperdrive took the brunt of the attack and not anyone on his team.
JJ glanced at his father. Jack seemed to be distracted by some gold and blue bird-like creature that kept a nest in a tree nearby.
JJ knew he was justified in being suspicious that his parents 'conveniently' showed up on one of his missions. But it was also nice to see them. Sort of. He and the others had been on their own for what seemed like forever. They had seen things and done things together, and maybe for the first time JJ saw his parents and their unique relationship in an entirely different light. The whole damn thing was so confusing.
"Most missions like this?" Jack asked carefully, as if unsure of JJ's mood. Anger was still a good possibility, so he kept his eyes focused on the goofy birds building a nest, hoping his son wouldn't think this was some kind of 'talk.'
"What?" was the answer by way of question. "Sitting around babysitting the geeks while they work?"
Jack glanced back at Lucas typing on his laptop. If Jack squinted, he could see Lucas' father sitting there instead. Wearing a big floppy hat and glasses, using a brush to clear sand from a hieroglyph, and any second now turning to say, "But Jack, we have to stay and study this," in that whiney voice.
Jack sighed, that was far too many years ago to count. Now, it's Lucas not Daniel, and it's JJ not Jack.
"Pretty much," JJ shrugged. He set his gun aside and leaned back on his elbows. "Sometimes we get ambushed, that's kinda fun."
Jack decided to ignore that. It came from the 'son proving himself to his old man' instinct. Jack understood it.
"You keeping those rules I taught you in mind?" Jack asked.
"Rule number one: No one gets left behind. Rule number two: Plan A never works, usually plan B doesn't either. Rule number three: Carter is way smarter than you and… Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I think rule number three needs some updating."
"It never failed me." Jack paused, feeling the weight of years push on his joints in that moment. "OK, maybe revise it to say 'Trust in your geeks' Ah–I mean scientists." He glanced up, as if expecting Sam to hear him all the way from up there on the ship. "Always.'"
JJ nodded, and continued, "Rule number four: Never trust a Tok'ra."
"Very important."
"Did you ever tell Grandpa that was one of your rules?"
Jack glanced at JJ. "Keep going." It was said in that 'We'll discuss it later, son' tone.
"Rule number five–"
They both hushed to silence. Something had moved in the distance, JJ picked up his gun. Jack signaled for JJ to move back and cover Lucas. JJ did so and also reached out with his mind.
Lil?
Yeah, I sensed it too. I'm sending Mom and Becca down just behind you for back up. You've got to–
Blow the device no matter what else happens, I know. Jeez, you nag worse than Mom sometimes, ya know?
Lilly threatened, Be nice or I'll tell her what you did on M5X-343.
You wouldn't.
Concentrate…
A giggly sound echoed through his brain just before she left it. Damn little sisters.
A man appeared in the clearing near the ancient device wearing robes and holding a staff. He began reciting from the book of Origin seemingly oblivious to what was happening around him. Troops behind him– including some Jaffa– took position and took aim at Jack, Lucas, and a suddenly materializing Becca and Sam.
Jack still could not get over the fact that some of the System Lords had aligned themselves with the Ori. It was like a bad-guy pizza with all bad-guy toppings.
Jack mumbled, "Pizza sounds good," as he took a shoot.
Cover fire protected JJ as he stilled his body and mind. He could feel Lilly doing the same. The others would handle the troops, he and Lilly were here for a different reason.
Lilly reached out further, her link to others was stronger than her brother's. JJ could hear, but she could also feel.
Lilly knew what other people wanted, desired, hated, loved. This man she now faced off against felt passion for nothing. He was cold inside. Devoted to a cause but not possessing any love for it. Duty without spirit, and it made Lilly shiver.
She felt JJ at her side. As if they were physically close, not her on a ship and him on the planet below. In Lilly's experience, it was as if thousands of silver gossamer strings left her and flowed into the shell of a man. They twisted and turned, the man's own energy fighting back for a time. But Lilly and JJ stood firm, pouring all their ability and strength into it. The silver strings spun around him faster and faster. Then the struggle of wills was suddenly over.
The Prior slumped over unconscious and Lucas and Jack opened fire on him. Becca bent over to see to JJ, who had also collapsed but was conscious, a little dizzy, and confused.
The troops kept coming, only one or two stopping long enough to be stunned at the development. Many were not surprised; news of two Kyrusians who had the ability to take down a Prior had been spreading of late.
"Lilly," JJ yelled out both in his mind and aloud, "get Mom, Dad, Becca and Lucas out of here."
You too, Lilly screamed at him from inside. JJ screwed his eyes shut, God, it hurt when she did that.
Not yet, he said.
JJ saw the others beamed out, and he turned, not sure how long Lilly would give him.
Trust me, he begged her.
Just keep talking to me. She was scared, he could hear it and feel it from her.
JJ crouched, getting closer on the ground to the edge of the platform. A few shots whizzed by, taking out tree branches over his head.
JJ?
Almost made it.
He placed a few packets of explosives with a timer at the base of the platform. For some reason, he noticed that Lucas' laptop was still attached, but had little time to think about how his friend was going to lament the loss.
Now, he told Lilly.
Lilly turned to the rest of the group on the bridge of the ship and repeated, "Now!"
They beamed JJ out just as Becca hit a button. The self-destruct counted down the final seconds. A large explosion from the planet could be seen out the ship's window as JJ materialized and immediately collapsed at the feet of his mother.
"See Mom, no hands," JJ quipped before he passed out.
Sam knelt to check on her son, and relaxed when she found his pulse steady. He would need rest. Rest, and lots of Jell-O.