Here I am, with new chapters! Dear guests, don't be afraid to state your ideas ;)
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Jack felt so frustrated. The gate was so close and so far.
The man was contemplating the device from the briefing room. He heard someone approaching. He turned and saw Sergeant Siler. The man was working in the room when Jack came in. Precisely at a desk at the center of it.
The briefing room was different from O'Neill's. It had been turned into a crisis room. No more big oval table with leather seats around it, but a row of desks with computers on it. Big screens were in different parts of the room, as well as two big white boards. A sort of server was against a wall.
Siler came to the bay window where Jack was standing. Like Jack, Siler stared at the gate below them.
"I heard that your interview with General Maybourne went pretty well, sir." the sergeant said. "General Maybourne seems very satisfied with the discovery in Antarctica."
Jack looked at the non-commissioned officer and didn't respond. The man with grey hair stayed silent because he was starting to loose hope.
His interview with Maybourne did go well. Maybourne was very enthusiastic because the Air Force found the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, and it seemed to be in good shape. During the interview, Jack shared the minimum as possible, to keep something that he could use if the Air Force decided to not help him or slow down the process. Maybourne didn't seem bothered. On the contrary, the lieutenant general seemed satisfied and said he had many plans for Jack. Maybourne certainly felt that Jack could provide more intel, he was patient enough as he knew that Jack was alone. In the end, O'Neill wouldn't see the stargate before a long time. The visitor had thought about taking control of the stargate in a more violent way if the situation wouldn't get better for him. Then, he imagined himself trying to access the device in the gate room. Carter was standing on the ramp, aiming a weapon at him, to stop him. Jack had a weapon in his hands as well. Would he shoot her? He did it once, and it was awful...
Now, Jack was looking at Siler, silent.
Siler seemed to understand Jack's state of mind because he looked down on the floor, and suddenly changed the topic, "Colonel Carter told me she would be away again."
Jack nodded. He frowned, realizing. He stared at the member of SG-1. "Siler, don't take it the wrong way… Why aren't you on these Medal of Honor tours with Colonel Carter? I saw you used to be part of it."
Siler looked at Jack. "Yes, sir. I used to be on these tours in the early days. But Colonel Carter and Colonel Robertson did the most part, on that day, when we defeated the Goa'uld. So, after a while, I was no longer required. And I'm fine with it."
Actually, Siler looked very satisfied with not having to do that anymore.
"But it didn't stop for Carter and Robertson, did it?" O'Neill concluded.
"Indeed, sir. Then, when Colonel Robertson left, it got…". Siler paused, pondering if he could say his thoughts straigthforwardly. He cleared his throat and used another phrasing, "Colonel Carter's doing a tough job."
Siler stopped, but his look made clear that the job wasn't just tough. Jack felt that perhaps, without Siler and Robertson, Carter was required, even forced, to do the job for three people. And if Siler wasn't missing that job at all, Sam was suffering from having to do it again and again. By the way, why couldn't Robertson continue the tours with Sam? Even if he had left the Stargate Program or the Air Force, he could still be part of the tours. Based on Siler's face and tone when he mentioned it, Jack understood that the situation was more complicated.
A bipping sound rose from Siler's computer. The man apologized and sat back at his desk. The more the member of SG-1 was looking at the screen, the more preoccupied he became. He picked up the phone next to him and requested the presence of Generals Landry and Maybourne in the room immediately, as there was a A.I.O 01 situation, message sent by the NASA and the European Space Agency. No need to know what A.I.O stood for. It meant there was a big problem, which Siler confirmed:
"A fleet of Goa'uld motherships is coming to Earth, sir."
Jack swallowed hard.
The situation was going to be very critical very soon.
And Jack was very worried.
Going to Ender looked less important than it was before.
Jack wasn't the kind of guy who would run away from the battlefield.
He decided to help this reality.
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"What the heck are you doing here?" Samantha Carter exclaimed, confused, after she opened the door of her apartment and saw Jack O'Neill and Sylvester Siler standing in front of her.
Siler responded when the lady glanced at him, "Sorry, ma'am. We tried to call you, but we couldn't reach you, so, we came here. It's very important, ma'am."
Siler quickly looked around. Carter understood he couldn't speak in the hallway. She invited the two men to come into her apartment. Siler gestured Jack to preceed him.
O'Neill didn't recognize neither the building nor the flat. He recognized some furniture inside the place. His Sam had the same. The smell of cigarettes attacked Jack's nose when he stepped into the living room. The living room seemed cold although it wasn't cold outside. The living room seemed dark although the sun was shining outside. The place was like Carter: stark. The lady almost raced to the low table to hide items that were on it with food containers from a Chinese restaurant. Three boxes of medicines. Four empty bottles of beer. An ashtray full of cigarette butts. The pack was next to the ashtray.
Siler didn't seem perturbed, or pretended he wasn't. Jack was. Even scared. Because Sam looked depressed. She also knew that Jack noticed the items, given her embarrassment. Jack couldn't ask anything because the sergeant didn't wait to explain the situation. O'Neill didn't listen carefully, too worried about Carter, and frequently glimpsing the low table. He just caught the parts where Siler mentioned that Major Mitchell would join them at the SGC and that her tour in Europe was cancelled.
Unfortunately, O'Neill didn't have time to discuss with Carter after Siler's report because when he was done, Carter grabbed her coat and keys, and the three people left the place.