Late afternoon that same day:
"Well, at least he's easy to find." Daniel said as the drone sent feedback to the handheld computer sending them live video.
"Well, that's new." Jack said in interest. The drone had cleared the trees and behind the village was now a delicate and slightly fanciful castle punctuated by spires.
"It looks like Disney Land." Daniel said laughing.
"The fortifications are inadequate to an assault." Teal'c noted.
Jack shook his head ruefully. "Well, I've officially seen it all."
Daniel tilted his head and nodded. Jack probably had now.
"I always knew the military was a Mickey Mouse operation. Come on kids. Let's go find Uncle Walt."
"I believe we are looking for Harry Maybourne not Walt Disney, O'Neill."
Harry's ranger parties spotted them before they reached the village. Sam had warned him they might before he'd left. "Hold strangers." The tall woman whose hair was now threaded with silver said to them. "General O'Neill?"
"One and the same." Jack said tightly.
"We met once before, years ago. How is Colonel Carter?" She asked him of his previous second.
"That's what I need to see your king about."
"I will take you to the castle." Her hands signaled the other rangers in the party and they fell in behind her and Jack as an honor guard.
Jack had to chuckle. It reminded him of Sam doing so at the park with the boys. Had probably been doing it unconsciously since they were toddlers. Harry would of course teach his people how to communicate silently. He noted that a high percentage of the hunters were women. Well over half. Harry was a libertine but he was no sexist. It didn't matter what gender you were as long as you were competent in Harry's eyes.
It was a short walk to the village and they soon found themselves at the foot of a wood drawbridge to a modestly large castle. They had dug a moat and Harry had filled it with Koi. Jack just shook his head.
"King Arkhan had them imported from your world. He says they are good luck. They are also delicious but we are only invited to eat them on special occasions." His forward said with a smile as she waved them past the posted liveried guards and into the castle.
Daniel looked around in interest. "Jack, this is really interesting. If this catches on here, the entire planet will pick it up as a way of looking at architecture and it could potentially influence their way of designing buildings for hundreds of years."
"Good thing he went with Walt instead of green shag carpet on the walls then." Jack quipped.
"Why would one make one's house appear as a gilly suit?" Teal'c wondered.
"I asked my aunt that as a kid and she told me it was fashionable." Jack replied.
"It sounds hideous." Teal'c intoned and Jack gave him a grimly amused smile for an answer.
"Mistress Garan, we saw your party approach and prepared a meal for you. Queen Morina and the heir will join you and our esteemed guests shortly."
"Thank you Galhandra." She told the guard.
Daniel was noting that Garen was much more friendly towards them this time. Perhaps because she'd rather liked Sam once they got to know each other. Sam did have that effect on others pretty often. "Garan, it's very nice that there's been food prepared, I'm sure Jack is hungry, he usually is, but we really need to speak to your king. It's kind of urgent."
"All will be revealed, Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri." She told them in a serious and slightly officious voice and proceeded to lead them through the halls of the castle until they came to a brightly lit great hall filled with long tables and a dais at one end. "Please, sit." She invited them but it was much more an order and she gave them pointed looks. Once Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were seated, she clapped her hands and motioned for the servants to ring out the meal.
"We are a simple people as you know, lunch will be soup and bread followed by fruit and cake if you like." She explained, not wanting them to expect something better suited to their ranks both among her people and their own.
"Soup is fine Garen." Daniel said, pointedly saying the woman's name in case Jack happened to have forgotten it over the years.
Jack looked like he was considering it then nodded. "Soup sounds great." He said in his 'I really don't care but I was raised to be polite' voice.
A stately woman entered the room followed by a girl of about ten or so. "Mayor Garen, I see you cannot resist leading the sentries still." The woman said with humor.
Garen looked heavenward. "Only when the Tau'ri appear, my queen." She said with amusement.
"Was this predicted too? Daniel asked the woman.
"No. After your people left, King Arkhan formulated a plan to keep an eye on the goings on of the galaxy, including your own world."
"Father was most put out that you chose to not engage his services nine years ago, goodfather O'Neill." The girl said.
Jack looked at her. "And you are?" He waved a hand with objective interest but his expression was kind.
"My apologies Goodfather, I am Samantha, first of King Arkhan's children, and the future queen." She said with a polite curtsey.
"He named you after Sam?" Daniel said.
"Our Sam?" Jack asked, clearly mulling that over.
"Is it not fitting on your world to name one's progeny after those you admire?" Queen Morina asked Daniel.
"Er, well, yes. Yes it is." Daniel replied a little bemused. "Queen Samantha." He said thoughtfully.
"It does have a nice ring to it doesn't it Danny?" Jack asked with a grin as he sipped the water that had been placed before him.
"It does indeed O'Neill." Teal'c agreed, clearly amused enough to be telling Sam of this development later.
"Father has asked that you remain here and rest until he is able to meet with you." Samantha told them.
"Where is the good King Arkhan?" Jack asked flippantly.
"I was instructed to inform you that he will meet you on.. let's see… Alpha Site I believe he said, in two days time."
"Why in two days time?"
"He said he needed to collect something you would need. Something about… easier than figuring out the dog is the password. He said you would know what that meant." She explained.
"Does that make sense to you Jack?"
"Yah. Unfortunately. Looks like we'll have to pull a similar maneuver as the deal with Hammond."
"The deal with Hammond?" Daniel looked confused.
"When Kinsey forced Hammond to step down, Harry and I blackmailed Kinsey into getting George's job back with the SGC."
"You blackmailed a senator?"
"I've done worse Danny."
"True." Daniel admitted.
"King Arkhan assured us that he need only acquire the one item, then he would return with you to Earth to resolve the issue you came to discuss with him." Garen assured them. "I trust you to return our king to us General?"
"No worries, we just want to borrow him Garen." He said, patting the woman companionably on her shoulder. They were a lot alike really. Unswerving loyalty, an itch to remain active in spite of being forced into flying a desk. Attractive brown eyes.
Garen gave him the hairy eyeball and Jack smirked. It wasn't his fault the Tok'ra had been useless last time. He took out the system lord for them. It turned out ok.
"General O'Neill, why did you not take the positions King Arkhan offered both you and Colonel Carter when you saved our world from Lord Ares a decade ago?" Garen asked them. King Arkhan had filled her in on the situation over the last few years before he'd taken his leave and she simply could not understand how a pair so well matched as the king described them as to fall apart in such a way.
"Garen, it wouldn't have been right of me to take your job. This is your home. We still had a war to win back then."
"And after?"
Jack shrugged. "That's part of why I'm here now. They just would have dragged our sorry butts back if we'd taken him up on his offer. What good would that have done?"
"My people would have protected you." She insisted.
Jack smiled at her kindly. She was a good person, loyal and kind-hearted. "I know you would have tried but it wouldn't have been right to put you in that kind of danger. We don't do that. I'm fixing things now. That's the important part."
She nodded, but her eyes still narrowed. "See that you do." She finally said.
"Yes ma'am." Jack said and gave her a jaunty salute.
She smiled a little then. "So, King Arkhan tells me you have two sons now?"
"Yes. Tell us about your children Goodfather." Samantha said enthusiastically as she sat at the table and accepted a bowl of thick rich soup herself.
"Well, the oldest, he's eight, his name is Georgie, Sam named him after her own godfather who was our base commander for a very long time, that's a lot like what Garen here does. His little brother is named Jacob after his grandfather but we all call him Jake."
Jack continued on through the meal telling them about the boys and even some of Sam's experiences without invading her privacy too much.
