Kajos: I know it's been weeks since I last up dated and it was a bit of a cliff hanger but I promise I am working towards the answer and there will be more info in the next few updates.
James was bored out of his mind. It seemed like he'd watched every episode of every TV show ever burned to DVD. Played every board game in existence and mastered most of the computer games on the planet and cried more water than he though was in his body.
He knew why he was stuck in the VIP room. The General couldn't risk what he might do, what the thing in his head might do. He had to be confined, but it didn't make it easier. His only saving was all his visitors. Daniel had taken to working in his room. The Colonel, Sam and Teal'c also came for poker games and such quiet often or sometimes just to sit and talk. Cassy came most weekends and brought something new and different, or even just brought her college work and they would look over it together. Rya'c had gone back to the resistance though so he didn't see him. He was rapidly getting ahead on his schoolwork after Daniel had declared him home schooled and got all the people on base to tutor him.
He even saw Jack…Jon every now and then, he hadn't been able to settle in with a new foster family yet and was constantly coming back to spend nights on base between families. Apparently his last few families had been in Colorado Springs just so they wouldn't have to organise complicated transport. The best thing about seeing Jack was that he snuck him in beer and other items he was unable to get from others.
James was starting to become resigned to the idea after three months that he wasn't going to be able to leave his cell any time soon. He didn't want to hurt anyone. In here he couldn't.
As Hammond ended the briefing Jack and Daniel remained in their seats.
"Is there something you two wish to discuss with me?"
"Yes, sir." Daniel said hesitantly. "I know we've had this conversation a hundred times but sir, we can't just leave him in there. Surely we can at least allow him to leave the room."
"Dr Jackson you know the position on this. We have been given two options. James McGuyver has been marked as a hostile. Now we can either keep him contained on base with the proviso that he has no access to classified information, a condition that we are stretching as is. Or I can hand the boy over to the NID to care for and I don't think any of us want that."
"Sir, there has to be something we could do. The kids 16. He's going stir crazy down there. At this rate He'll finish school in two months. He hasn't even noticed how far ahead he is. Even Frasier's worried, apparently he's developing unhealthy sleep patterns."
"I am aware of the problem Colonel but right now we just don't have any other viable options."
"What if we could prove he's not a threat?"
"Well that would change everything. I case you haven't noticed Major Carter and Dr Frasier have been trying just that for the last three months, unfortunately what ever else is in there with him doesn't want to walk and we have no way of forcing a consciousness inside someone's brain to do anything."
"The Tollans do." Jack said suddenly realising.
"Yes! I can't believe we haven't thought of this before. The Tollan are able to give the host control over their body and a voice. I realise it's not the same thing but it's worth a try!"
"What exactly are we getting at here boys?"
"Well the Tollan might be able to force the second consciousness to take control of the body." Daniel paraphrased.
"Sir, permission to contact the Tollan?" Jack requested.
"Granted." The General said relieved that they were finally getting somewhere. He had visited with James a few times and he was a good boy. He hated seeing him stuck underground in a room for the rest of his life or worse in a cell being interrogated.
Jon jumped out the car and slouched up to the checkpoint. He pulled his pass out his back pocket and spent the normal twenty minutes waiting for the guard to verify if a teenager seriously had higher clearance than he did. Finally he was allowed into the mountain and rode the elevator down to the bottom floor before heading quickly for the next check point, he was tired of being stopped in the corridor and dragged of somewhere while people went through the security check again when he knew he would have another one on reaching the check point out side the SGC elevator.
Eventually he reached his floor and proceeded to ditch his kit in one of the guest rooms that was rarely used by anyone else. He then headed through to see Hammond and tell him he was back. He knocked on the door.
"Jon, what was it this time?" The boy sat down in front of him.
"Husbands a gun nut. Got pissed with me when I pointed out he was going to get his family killed if he didn't store them properly."
"Jon you need to find some where you can stay."
"I know sir but it's hard. It's hard being treated like an unruly 16 year-old when I can remember dressing down people older than them."
"Well, I assume you've dropped your stuff in your room?"
"Yes, sir. I was going to go see James if that okay with you?"
"Yes, yes that's fine."
"Are we any closer to a solution for him?"
"We are in fact. We're talking to the Tollan. They believe they might be able to assist us. Currently we're just sharing information but we could be able to take him through in a few days."
"Any chance of tagging along if I'm still around the place?"
"Missing it that much?" Jon shrugged.
"I feel like I've been grounded a lot of the time. I can't fly, I can't fight, I can't vote. It gets to me some times."
"I'll think about it Jon."
"Thank you sir."
"Now go see McGuyver, the boy could use all the friends he has." Jon smiled and left heading for the VIP room. He never bemoaned his friend's better accommodation. He didn't have to spend every second in his.
James was sat on the couch playing COD when he arrived.
"Hey." He said sitting next to him.
"What was it this time?"
"Ghastly gun guy."
"How bad?"
"Kept a loaded shot gun in the coat cupboard. And kept his bullets in the pantry." James made a sympathetic sound. Jon shrugged.
"It's stupid anyway. I turn 17 in what six months, after that I'm turned out anyway."
"Not, true. SGC will pay for college or somewhere to stay."
"I don't know. Maybe I should just go to the academy." James paused his game and turned to Jon.
"I thought you wanted to do something different with your life?"
"I do…it's just I miss it. I've travelled to other planets, James. I've been out there. I can't forget all that. I'm never going to be happy just settling down to a desk job. I want to be back here." James smiled at that. "What? What are you smiling at?"
"You've been playing dumb so long you've got yourself convinced, Jack. You don't need to go back into the military to come back here. Loads of people work here who aren't military." Jon shook his head. [AN: James refers to Jon as Jack and Jack as the Colonel]
"Yeah, some of the smartest people on earth."
"Jack. If you got yourself a degree in astrophysics, or even engineering or anything even remotely relevant they'd hirer you. Those skills combined with what you already know about what's out there in the universe, what you know first hand."
"You think?"
"Yeah, Jack. You'd be brilliant."
"What about you? Rate your getting through work you'll be heading to College soon. What are you going to do?"
"Not sure. I mean before all this." He indicated the room. "I always thought I'd go into computer security. You know do a course at some community college and then get a job somewhere and spend my weekends hacking the pentagon. Now I don't know."
"You could still do that."
"Yeah, giving the possible hostile the ability to crack security systems all over the world is a great idea."
"To late for that. Anyway I hear someone's had an idea and they might be getting you out of here."
"Really?"
"Yeah, some guys we met a while back. The Tollans. They think they might be able to help apparently. And anyway, you should be aiming higher than some desk job. You're a damn near Genius."
"Only because thanks to my brain partner I'm apparently accessing a larger proportion of my brains processing power than most people."
"Still, your smart. I mean I know Carter would hirer you to work here as it is if she could."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, unfortunately the guys at the top get picky with her about people having at least a masters."
"I could do that. Computer science or something."
"You should. You might even get to go off world."
"Now that would be good. I mean I imagine the stargate travel itself is rather underwhelming as experiences go but the chance to see new cultures and technology…that would be great."
"God, you're like Carter and Daniel rolled into one."
"Hey, I'm not that bad and unlike them I'm not going to try and explain it to you because I know you understand" Jon shoved him.
"Anyway, what you playing?"
"COD."
"Want to play some Co op?"
"Always."
Kajos: Big reveal starts next chapter. Hope you like this little interlude. Please review.