Chapter 15
It's Good To Be King
Daniel sat in utter disbelief when Jack and Teal'c returned to Olympia and told him the news. Jack was to fill in for Abby and be Acting King of Olympia. He couldn't speak at first. The news took his breath away. He looked about his room in the infirmary. Now, he had to motivate himself and get out of bed and make sure Jack didn't mess things up for the Olympians.
Jack stood at his bedside with Teal'c by his side. He grinned, "And T is my official bodyguard!" he added. "He's gonna do Monique's job."
"This is not good news, Jack." he replied. "Abby left you in charge?"
"She likes me!" he grinned.
"What was she thinking?" he gasped.
He added, "She wants me to help them start their own Star Gate program like ours."
He held his head in disbelief, "This is a nightmare."
"Come on Daniel. You can help out when you are not getting your…bath." he suggested.
He swung his feet over the side of the bed and slipped on his loafer. He wore a tan tunic and trousers. He mustered his strength and declared, "I'm not gonna let you screw this up on Abby."
Jack was ever so pleased to see Daniel out of bed. He feared his friend was growing depressed. Making him king was just the thing to get Daniel up and going. "I'm counting on it." he informed.
"What's the first thing you are supposed to do, Jack?"
"I think maybe get settled into my new room. Abby told me to take her parents old room." he stated. He looked to Teal'c, "Then what do we do?"
"I suggest addressing the people." the Jaffa stated. Teal'c knew Abby had some tactical reason for appointing Jack as the Acting King when she could have appointed anyone from her kingdom. Judging on how fast Daniel sprang from bed after he drank himself to a stupor over a rumor he wondered if Abby had done so for Daniel's sake. Surely, she knew how Daniel would react to the news. Perhaps, Abby was willing to place Jack in charge of a kingdom for Daniel's wellbeing. The move certainly perplexed him but seeing how Daniel reacted he now had a theory to the Queen's motive.
"What do I tell them?" Jack wondered. "I've never been king before."
Daniel huffed, "I will be your speech writer. Whatever you do, do not go off script." He shook his head, "This is a catastrophe."
SGC
Abby and Monique were given battle dress uniforms with the SG-1 patch. They were to work with Sam and Jonas as a team. Sam spied the pair in the women's locker room after they changed to the uniforms that Hammond had given them. She wanted to talk to Abby and Monique privately.
"Can we talk?" Sam asked the pair as they stowed the Olympian uniforms away.
Abby nodded, "Of course, Sam. You are my friend."
"Why did you put Jack in charge of Olympia?" she asked outright.
She smiled, "I bet Daniel is out of bed now."
"What?" she asked.
"Daniel was rather depressed and I think he missed his friends and having a purpose. So, I gave him a purpose." she confessed.
"Wait!" she held up a hand. "You sent Jack to be Acting King of Olympia to help Daniel."
She nodded.
"What about your people?" she asked.
"I think Jack would be good for them as well." she declared.
Sam blinked unsure, "How so?"
"Eventually my people will have to leave Olympia. The planet is going to enter an ice age. We have maybe twenty-five years before we must evacuate. Initially, we were going to scout for another planet but the Olympia is so old even if we get the engines running at full capacity I'm not sure it will survive breaking free of the mountain. Then we met you and we came to your world. Your planet can easily house the refugees. Jack is the embodiment of a 5th race. By getting to know Jack they will get to know your world."
Sam asked, "When were you planning on telling us about that plan?"
"In due time." she replied. "The kingdom will not carry on. I'm the last queen. Once we resettle we adopt a democratic-republic like what your have. The other option would be for the Olympians to adopt your world and your country and become…Americans."
"Have you ran that by General Hammond yet?" she wondered.
"We spoke of it yesterday." she nodded. "In exchange for our refuge you get all our technology. You get it all and we get a new home with you."
"Does your people know?" she wondered.
She shook her head, "Not yet. I want to see how they react to Jack. They loved the motion pictures. That's what gave me the idea to just relocate to your world. The people would be more apt to relocate to someplace they are familiar with. Once we are relocated, I will step down as queen and General Hammond said myself and Monique will be instantly given citizenship to your country along with my people."
Sam wondered, "And what do you plan on doing when you are no longer queen?"
"Blend in with the population." she replied. "I won't be queen. I will have a job and a home to tend to."
"You would be willing to just give it all up?" Sam wondered.
She replied, "Did I not just make Jack O'Neill the acting King?"
Olympia
Jack, Teal'c and Daniel found their way about the castle. The trio entered the King and Queen's bedroom. It was rather large and was richly accented with gold. The room was lavishly furnished with a large bed, golden chairs and a table. The floor was carpeted in red. White and gold drapes hung on the large windows.
"This is way better than a hotel room." Jack stated taking in the majestic room.
Daniel told him, "This room belonged to Abby's parents. She wouldn't even sleep in it."
Jack assured him, "I can sleep in it."
"I will take Abby's room. It's right across the hall." Daniel stated.
Jack looked at Teal'c, "You can stay with me here, T."
"Monique's bedroom is off Abby's." Daniel informed.
Teal'c understood his job was to protect Jack and wasn't sure how the Olympians would take the sudden change. He decided, "I shall stay here."
Pleased Jack grinned, "I never lived like a king before." To Jack being king was more of a vacation than an actual job. How hard could being king be? All he had to do was baby-sit the city until Abby returned. It should be rather easy considering the city was filled descendants of the Ancients and all were very civilized and there was hardly any crime. Such a low crime rate that they only needed one constable. He figured the city should about run itself.
Daniel countered, "You are filling in for Abby. Don't think of this as a vacation, Jack."
"Looks a lot like a vacation to me." he admitted.
Teal'c reminded him, "We have a mission to train the new special forces for Olympia."
"Right," Jack agreed. It was going to be even better than a vacation. He would get to run a boot camp of Ancient descendants.
Daniel sighed, "I'm supposed to learn how to use the nanites."
"We can do this!" Jack assured.
A female voice came from behind, "Your highness." It was Admiral Nike.
The three turned to see the pretty dark haired woman standing in uniform behind them.
"I'm Admiral Nike and I will be assisting you." she introduced herself. "How do you feel, Dr. Jackson?" She pleased to see him out of bed.
"Good," he replied. He motioned, "Jack and Teal'c will be staying in this room. I'll take Abby's room when I'm not in treatment."
"Very well." she agreed. She spoke to Jack, "Your highness, the troops are ready for inspection."
Jack grew very irritated by being addressed as royalty. He spoke candidly, "It's Colonel O'Neill. Not 'your highness'. I'm just a temp."
A smile crept across the Admiral's face. She felt assured as Jack stated he how he wished to be addressed and assured her it was temporary. She began to feel more at ease with the situation. "Colonel," she gave a nod. "This way." she motioned for the three to follow her.
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c followed the Admiral out of the castle and to a nearby court yard. Upon entering the area Jack found rows upon rows of men and women in the new military uniforms. He spied two rows of men an women wearing an orange jumpsuit that looked much like a flight suit. He wondered, "Those in orange. Are they pilots?"
Admiral Nike nodded, "They are our pilots for our star fighters."
Jack asked, "Can I see the star fighters?"
"Of course, Colonel." she agreed.
Daniel glanced at Teal'c, "We've got our work cut out for us."
"Indeed," he agreed.