1969 Debrief
"At ease." General Hammond took his seat. Jack and Sam followed his lead while Daniel and Teal'c remained seated. "It's good to have you all back. I've been looking forward to this debrief for a long time."
"A long time indeed, sir." Jack gave him a wry grin. "I can't believe you've kept this a secret for so long."
"It wasn't easy, but Captain Carter made it very clear to me that I couldn't speak of it or I could mess up my future, as well as yours." He glanced at Sam. "You were very convincing. So, what happened after you left me penniless on that road?"
They gave him a detailed account of their time and how his note had helped them.
"When you had me research using the gate for time travel you knew the dates that were written in your note, but you didn't know what those dates referred to."
"Correct."
"Then how did you figure it out?"
General Hammond shrugged. "It was years later, after you'd done your report when I went back and looked up the solar flare data. I had a longer list, but I knew I had only given you those two dates, so I didn't give you more than that."
"Nor any hints. We had a hell of a time figuring it out." Jack leaned back in his chair. "A few more clues would have been nice."
General Hammond looked back at Sam. "The clues have been there for years."
Sam's eyes widened. "All the books and the telescope."
General Hammond nodded. Jack and Daniel just looked confused. "Carter?"
A wide grin spread across Sam's face. "General Hammond gave me my first astronomy book when I was a child. The next time he came to visit he brought me a telescope. I remember my dad fussing about him spoiling me." She locked eyes with the man who had brought her so many gifts as a child. "You sparked my love of astronomy."
"That was my intention. I'm just glad it worked."
"Have you been guiding me my whole career?" He could hear the concern that all she had achieved had not been due to her own work.
"I have done very little, other than make sure you got here, and honestly you should have been here long before I got here."
Jack thrust his hands out. "That's why you asked to be reassigned here rather than retire."
"Yes, it was."
""Is this why you brought me out of retirement?"
"Yes, son, it was. It was also why I let you go after Dr. Jackson. I knew we needed him here, not on Abydos."
Sam sucked in a shocked breath. "And you knew Teal'c was going to be on SG-1."
"I did."
Jack waved his hands in front of his face. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a pea pickin second. I did a ton of paperwork to get him on this team and you put us both through the gauntlet."
"Yes, I did. Although I knew it was going to happen, I still had to cross every t and dot every i. I also had to make you earn it."
"Wow." Jack ran his hand through his hair. "You are a much sneakier man than I ever gave you credit for."
"Did you designate SG-1 an exploratory team instead of a combat team so I could be on it?" Sam questioned.
"That was the only way to get around the regulations forbidding women to be in a combat unit."
"And you've been planning this my whole life." Sam looked astonished.
"Actually, since before you were born. I made friends with several different Carters over the years. I had no idea when I met your father that he would have a daughter who joined the Air Force, but luckily for my wallet Jacob was the only one who had a daughter nicknamed Sam."
She couldn't help but grin at the thought that he'd spent years trying to meet people with the last name Carter.
General Hammond looked over at Jack. "I've also kept an eye on you since you joined the Air Force."
"Me?"
"I pulled a few strings over the years to keep you out of the brig. You sure do know how to ruffle feathers."
"It's a gift."
"What about me?" Daniel tilted his head.
General Hammon turned to his right. "I gave your name to General West so he could mention you to Katherine. West also kept me in the know about the program, so I was in a good position to take over."
"Damn." Jack shook his head. "You're like your own branch of the Illuminati."
General Hammond bit back a grin. "From here on out you're on your own. No more seeing the future for me."
"Yes, sir."