Hmm, this chapter was a bit challenging to write. I hope you enjoy it though, and I can't wait to hear what you think. Please let me know. :) Enjoy, and have a great weekend.

Chapter 11

The next morning, Jack arrived at the academy air strip to find a plane waiting for him. He had expected it to be just a small plane, something the U.N. had been able to spare, but instead, it was Carpathia's new private plane, which had been oh-so-wishfully (In Jack's opinion, anyway) dubbed Global Community One. He was driven out to where the plane was parked, and as he got out of the cadet-driven jeep, the door opened. The stairs were already against the side, and a tall, dark-haired man in an air-line captain's uniform stepped out onto the top to welcome him.

Jack, who was in full uniform himself, climbed the stairs, managing to keep from wincing from his bad knees.

The other man smiled warmly and shook his hand. "You must be General Jack O'Neill. I'm Captain Rayford Steele."

"Nice to meet you, captain," Jack replied, returning the smile. Then he glanced at the Global Community One. "So…what's with the plane?"

Captain Steel shrugged. "The secretary-general didn't have anywhere to go today, so he sent me after you. I'll be ferrying you to New York and back."

"Sweet. I'm a pilot myself, but if I he won't let me fly myself, I like to know who's in the cockpit."

"Understandable," the other man nodded, then ushered him inside and closed the door. Jack heard the cadet outside the plane rolling the stairs away.

"So you have any idea why Carpathia wants to meet me so quickly? Enough to send his own plane to get me?" Jack asked.

Steele shrugged as he turned away from the now sealed door. "I know he's been excited about it for a couple of days, but apparently whatever you're involved with is on a strictly need-to-know basis so I don't know anymore than that."

"Ah, right, that…" Jack trailed off. Then he decided to go out on a limb. He was already starting to feel uneasy about this and would love to know why. "So, does that guy creep you out as much as he does me?"

That brought Steele up short, and the captain stared at him for a moment. "It depends on what you mean by that, general," he answered slowly, deliberately.

"Oh come on, it's pilot to pilot here. You can call me Jack."

Steele looked thoughtful as he nodded at that. "All right, then call me Rayford."

"Great! So what's the scoop on Carpathia anyway? Something about the guy doesn't ring right with me.'

Rayford glanced around. "Look, there's no one on this plane but you, me, my co-pilot, and one flight attendant, but I'd still rather wait until we're in the air to get into that kind of conversation. Why don't you have a seat, and I'll come back again once we're up?"

That left Jack a little confused, but also ultimately curious. He clapped his hands together. "Okidoki, that works for me."

Rayford nodded and headed back to the front of the plane, and Jack sat down and strapped himself in. Once the plane was in the air he moved to one of the couches, and a trim brunette flight attendant came in from the back to offer him a drink. He was fine and politely declined. She left, telling him to call her if he wanted anything, and he nodded and sat back, waiting for Captain Steele to make his re-appearance.

It took several more minutes, but then the door at the front of the room opened and Rayford slipped back in and sat across from him. Jack sat forward.

"What was that about? There something dangerous going on with Carpathia?"

The captain tipped his head to the side for a moment. "You could say that."

"Huh…well, I knew he was completely straight. I mean really, what completely sane person could think they can start world peace? And then on the flip side I have friends who think he's evil or something…"

That perked Steele's interest. "You do?"

"Oh, yeah."

"What do they mean by 'evil'?"

Jack shrugged. "It has something to do with the Bible…the word they used is 'Antichrist', I think…"

"They're Christians."

"Well, only for a couple of days now, but…yeah," Jack confirmed, looking at him. "How do you know that?"

Rayford glanced around again like he had before and lowered his voice. "Because I am too. I know what they're talking about. Doesn't it make sense to you?"

"Some of it…it fits in a lot of places…but God?"

"It's the only explanation that works, Jack," Rayford answered, using his name for the first time.

Jack shook his head. "Maybe…and I've got to admit that those particular friends of mine…they're smart people. But how am I just supposed to start believing something like that?"

Steele smiled. "You never really just wanted to know about Carpathia, did you?"

After his mouth stopped gaping, Jack swallowed a bit and sighed. "Uh, well…not exactly, no. I mean, at the time I didn't know you were into the same stuff as my friends, but it is pretty much about that…yeah."

"You're just looking for answers. I understand. I know how you feel. My wife and son disappeared in the Rapture. All I wanted was to know where they were, that they were safe."

Jack felt the blood drain from his face. "Oh…I'm…I'm so sorry."

Rayford smiled again, but sadly. "Thanks, but it's all right. I still have my daughter Chloe with me. I miss my wife and son, but I know they're fine, and that I'll see them again."

"A few friends of mine vanished too, and I want to believe that," Jack sighed. "But…"

"But you've always been a man who didn't need God, and you can't see yourself relying on Him now, even after what happened," Steele filled in. Jack just looked at him, wondering how he could know…and then realized that the other man had probably been the same way. He looked like a strong, self-reliant man. But instead of stopping to ask him, Jack let him keep talking. "Maybe you think it will compromise your character, or that you won't be you anymore…but the truth is, you won't be. If you accept Jesus, you'll be a new person, and not just figuratively, spiritually, but literally too, if you let Him change you. But that's a good thing."

Jack just sighed again. "Yeah…"

Rayford's voice softened. "You may not believe it now, Jack, but it's all true. And things are going to be happening--unimaginable things, things not only supernatural but earthly things we never thought could happen. There will be one-world government, one-world currency, global disarmament, one-world religion, that temple will get rebuilt…"

"What? How would Carpathia pull any of that off?" Jack questioned, pulling a face. "I seriously doubt he's insane enough to try to do all of that."

"You'd be surprised."

Then the plane's intercom came on, and Rayford was informed that he was needed in the cockpit. The captain sighed and stood. "Well, that's my cue to go. But I hope you'll at least think about it some more."

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Rayford smiled and nodded, then excused himself, leaving Jack alone.

Daniel met Sam and Vala in his office in the middle of the next morning as they'd planned the night before after he'd informed them of Jack's call and his subsequent talk with Simon Dockett on the phone.

Vala was avoiding him now--all three of them. It seemed she would rather stay away from them than risk being told more about their newfound faith, which she obviously didn't agree with. Teal'c was more open, and still talked with them, though usually not on that topic. Still he mostly kept Vala company. At the moment, that wasn't bothering them. They could get to their other friends later. Right now, Jack was the one most probably in immediate danger.

They were gathering to pray for him together.

Jack didn't get a chance to talk to Rayford Steele again before the plane touched down in New York and he was ushered off of it and into an official-looking black Sedan and driven into the city.

It took a little while longer than it might have usually to drive to the U.N. building in New York City, what with the damage that wasn't cleaned up yet, but once they got there the men in the car escorting him wasted no time in getting Jack into the building and up to Carpathia's office.

When the elevator opened to the large space and he stepped out, the one man that had come up with him left, and he found himself alone in what he realized was actually only the outer office. He was alone only for a few seconds. Then a tall, slim woman with long dark-blonde hair came out from the main office.

"You're General Jack O'Neill?"

"In the flesh," Jack answered, shrugging.

She shook his hand. "Hattie Durham. I'm the one that called your office to make this appointment. Good to meet you. Nicolae hasn't been able to talk about anything else all morning. He's looking forward to meeting you."

Jack pulled his hand back when she let go and glanced past her. "Sweet. So...is he in there?"

Hattie nodded. "Yes, he's waiting. You can go on in."

"Thanks." Ms. Durham nodded, but stayed where she was, and motioned Jack toward the door into the inner office. Once he had stepped in, she closed the door.

Jack looked from the closed door behind him over to the huge desk at the other side of the room, in front of an entire wall of windows. Nicolae Carpathia stood from his plush black leather chair behind the desk.

"General O'Neill," he smiled. He came around the desk to shake Jack's hand as well. Jack had seen the man on television and thought him about his own height, but in reality the European was a bit taller. Or maybe it was just the hair.

Jack pasted on a smile in return, and waited for Carpathia to let go of his hand. The man stopped his friendly pumping after a moment and took a step back.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you after all I have heard of your adventures," he began without delay, voice heavy with a thick European accent. His smile was beatific, almost infectious, almost as if he were trying to hypnotize his guest into feeling at ease, and Jack instantly didn't trust him. Apparently most around the world were already falling for it, and he didn't plan to be one of them. His internal alarm had been going off about this guy from the start.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Mr. Carpathia--"

"Call me Nicolae, please. May I call you Jack?"

Ha. So the guy did have a not-quite-entirely-polite side. "Okay, sure, why not?" he answered, so as not to arouse suspicion.

"Perfect," Nicolae grinned. "I hope that we will become good friends."

Jack shrugged. "Sure. So…what did they tell you?"

"Well, of course I was informed about the Stargate program and--oh, but where are my manners? Please, sit." The European motioned to the seat opposite his desk, which was nice but not as plush at the rolling chair behind the desk. Jack nodded in thanks and sat, and Carpathia returned to his own chair. Jack raised his eyebrows at him to urge him to continue.

"Yes, well, I now know of the Stargate program, and some of its more major accomplishments, which includes the facts that it seems you have saved this planet and everyone on it from certain destruction on more than one occasion, Jack."

"Yeah, well, those weren't just me, uh, Nicolae. It was me and my team, SG-1."

Carpathia nodded. "Yes, of course I know about SG-1 as well. I hope to be able to meet all of them as soon as possible."

"Why didn't you just fly all of them out here today?"

"I would have, but I am afraid that I have too much to discuss with only you. I was not able to clear enough hours of my schedule today to meet with all of you. At the moment, you hold the highest position, even above Stargate Command as the director of Homeworld Security, so I chose you."

"I'm flattered."

Nicolae smiled that unnerving smile. "I would hope so. Being in my position at this time in history is quite trying. There is much to be done."

"Huh. Yeah, about that...what've you got planned?" He might as well take advantage of this opportunity, while he had to be here.

Carpathia sat forward eagerly and clasped his hands on the top of the desk in front of him. "Oh, quite a lot. The peace treaty with Israel is already going as planned. The date is set for the beginning of next week, and that will be announced worldwide tomorrow. And of course the signing itself will be broadcast as well. After that, the rebuilding of the temple will begin."

"Okay, what I want to know is how you got everybody in the Middle East to agree to that. They've been fighting each other for hundreds--no, thousands of years."

"That part was easy--Doctor Rosenzweig's Eden formula. They all want it."

"That stuff that makes grain grow in the desert and other bad soil and all?" It had been revealed to the world about a month or so before the vanishings, just before Russia's failed attack on Israel that still remained a mystery.

He nodded. "Yes, of course. Granted, I had hoped I could simply make them understand the need for peace at a time like this, but in the end it came down to that."

"Sweet…then what?"

"There is even more to do after that," Carpathia smiled. "There are many things I hope that this world can accomplish in not too much time: one government, one currency, one religion…though of course the global disarmament will have to come first. The countries of this world must be able to trust each other first and foremost. Plans for these things are already taking shape. I am quite proud of my new staff, to say the least."

All of that's bull, was the first thought that entered Jack's mind, but it was quickly overtaken by shock. He hadn't believed that Carpathia really thought all of that was possible, much less was thinking about and planning ways to do it. And so far, people all over the world had been listening to and agreeing with this guy. They were all rallying behind him. That was when his mind really started to consider that Daniel, and Carter, and Cassie, and this new Rayford guy…really might be right.

They really knew this stuff…the Bible was right about that part…what else am I missing?