A/N Thank you for those continuing to read and the reviews.
I promise I will get back to the action soon. But first a bit of a back story to where I think all the characters we love are at since they left our screens. It's all relevant to the future story line.
Spoiler alert to some references in the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series.
14 days, 8 hours, 39 seconds before the event.
Jack was busy in his yard preparing fire wood for the upcoming winter season. The weather was unusually warm for this fine August morning, the air as crisp as spring. Jack heaved a deep breath before lift of his trusty axe into the air. He stalled momentarily as he prepared his axe, swooping down on the wooden log beneath it, the brute force splitting the log in two. A single drop of sweat furrowed down is aged features. His time in Washington had aged him greatly; he no longer owned his sweet toned form, or sharp defined features. Being out of the field has mellowed him out, he still had great form and still is a distinguished man. His hair now outgrown, he decided with a change since his long years of it being short. His long silvery hair was always a hit with the ladies; one above all admired it the most. 'It makes you look younger' she said as he contemplated shaving it back to his military days.
The years have become easier since the defeat of the Ori and of Ba'al, the last of the system lords. Jack hadn't needed to be out in the field after that, until trouble with the wraith Queen Death, who very nearly destroyed Earth. Thankfully thanks to him and the heroism of the entire programme earth was saved once more.
Jack got promoted to Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill a three star General certainly has some weight within the military and with the president himself.
It wasn't easy becoming 'The man', it was certainly a lot more challenging becoming 'The Mans, Man', the top dog, as some refer to him as now.
Becoming the man had this one advantage that allowed him to marry the love of his life. His relationship with Brigadier General Samantha Carter hadn't been a fine sailing one. They had to keep to secrecy for many years before it was allowed to become common knowledge. They married off world in secret. Only a few selected members were in the know. General Hank Landry helped organise the whole thing, all close SG personal came; Daniel, Teal'c, Cameron, Vala, Walter to name but a few. Of course he was only Just a two star General then and he was set to retire before the fiasco with the wraith Queen Death. So being 'The top dog' had its perks.
The president himself wouldn't allow Jack to retire yet, he thought he was still needed. Jack didn't know it, no one did, but he was right Jack was needed.
Soon after there was a problem with the Lucian Alliance and long and behold another promotion another few years in service. His retirement finally now fast approaching within a month he will no longer be the head of Home world security and his wife will take his place running the show.
It has been nice going into work with her the past few weeks, like old times showing her the ropes within her new upcoming role. Teaching her, protecting her, watching her with awe as he always did when they worked together, this time however he never had to hide it.
General Louis Ferretti will be taking over Sam at the SGC he has been command at Cheyenne for the past two weeks single handed. With Sam being on the phone in constant contact helping the newly named 'The man' out; Ferretti had an impeccable record, yet even greater respect for his peers, but he lacked the confidence in his own abilities. Something Sam could understand herself. It was something she wrestled with when she took command over the Atlantis Expedition.
He loved living at his cabin, in Minnesota. The sights are even more beautiful now that she is here with him it no longer was just his, it was theirs a place they came to meet with every chance they had, every chance the military allowed. The air the lake all full of life, peace away from the daily stresses of life, serene sights and endless wails and calls from nearby wildlife. But it was the air couldn't be beaten, so fresh and clean. It reminded them both of inhabited planets that were just left alone, showing of its magnificence, not being consumed by men and their destructive machines.
These past few years had allowed them to fully concentrate on making it their home, things being as quiet as it was no threats, wars or impending doom. Most the SGC's main mission was to offer support with the Atlantis Expedition and seek out information that could aid The Destiny. It had been a while since they had heard form Eli, but in his last communication all had seem to be going well. He mentioned that it might be a fair while before his next communication. So no-one had reason to believe otherwise. The mission still stayed the same. Find new allies and technologies that could aid the defence of Earth and its close allies.
Sam woke early that morning she had been sleeping in later during the mornings than what she normally would. She put it down to stress and exhaustion from meeting her new colleagues and getting to grips with her new position.
Stretching her arms out she could hear Jack was outside chopping firewood, it was his morning routine since they arrived, wake up chop firewood, shower, than make breakfast. She rolled over, allowing her legs to kick of her duvet and place her feet on the brisk carpet underneath. She braced herself for yet another yawn something that had been a far too common occurrence within last few weeks. She eventually stood up and headed for the bathroom, not bothering to close the door behind her. Sam couldn't hear the familiar sound of the axe any more; she would be joined in the bathroom soon, she just knew it.
Sam had just managed to put toothpaste on her brush, placing the plain blue brush in her mouth she was greeted by sweaty masculine arms wrapping them firmly around her waist. Her long blonde hair being nuzzled as Jack aimed for her nape of her neck, his favourite spot.
"Eww, get of me you're all sweaty." Sam playfully tried to elbow him in his side, trying to talk with a mouthful of paste while attempting to unclasp his hands around her abdomen, with her free hand.
"Good morning beautiful." He said with a higher pitch than he intended to. "How'd you sleep?" Jack said ignoring the fact he was just playfully pushed away from his favourite spot.
He squeezed past her so he could the shower on.
"Very well, I'm still feeling rather tired though; I'll book an appointment with Dr Lam later today." Sam said, undressing from her pyjamas.
"Are you going to the SGC today?" Jack asked jumping in the shower.
"Yeah Ferretti called early this morning, said something about a new potential ally, or something SG-12 encountered. Can't really remember..." Sam said yawning again.
"Huh." Jack's face grew wide with concern; it's not a normal thing when the smartest woman on the planet has forgotten a simple phone call.
"Yeah I'm sure. Jack don't worry, I'm just tired. Over worked, under paid –you know how it is."
Sam removed the remaining item of clothing and entered the shower, joining her husband in the warmth of steaming hot water.
Jack didn't want to talk no more; it had been a while since they had shared a shower together. He had other things in mind other than talk about work.
After their rather unexpected longer than usual shower, Jack whipped up a quick scrambled egg breakfast with a small ration of streaky bacon. He thought Sam was in need of a decent breakfast today, for some reason his gut was telling him it was going to be long day for her. He passed the cooked breakfast over with a glass of orange juice and sat beside her. She was busy reading over a report that Dr. Lee had passed her way.
Even Though Sam was for all intensive purposes 'The Man' it still didn't stop her from having to overlook any new project being headed up from the science department. Nothing much had changed; Jack still vividly remembers sending some files over her way once or twice to get her expert opinion on. It's not that he didn't trust the eggheads at Area 51, it's just that he valued Sam's opinion much more on these matters. She was never afraid to tell him what he needed to hear, instead of what people thought he wanted to hear.
At times he was glad he did especially over the wraith incident. He wasn't sure if destroying that weapon was a good idea, but he trusted his wife's instincts. As it turned out, it was the right call after all; yet he didn't doubt she was wrong in the first place. She almost never is.
After washing up and idle chit-chat about the current political affairs Jack went to get ready to leave.
"Where are you going Jack?" Sam asked as she saw him putting on his shoes, sunglasses and cap.
"I'm driving you to work today." He said with a smile as large as his face, he huffed when he got back up from putting his shoes on.
"I don't need a chaperone." Sam sighed, slightly annoyed that he didn't ask her beforehand.
"Oh, trust me, I'm fully aware of your capabilities Honey," he winked at her as he used the term 'Honey' Sam never did like couple names. "I need to get some things done and talk to Ferretti before I officially retire. You know the talk." He said opening the door, gesturing her to walk through it. "Besides it would be nice to catch up with the guy's it's been a few months since I saw them last and no doubt I'll have the talk with Mitchell as well. He's probably wondering why he never got offered the job to command the SGC, given he was your second in command and all."
"Yeah he did actually. Since that seems to have been how it's worked out." Sam got into the passenger side of the infamous black truck.
It was a short majestic ride into the SGC, the roads were clear, as were skies and the overgrown hedges along the road had been freshly chopped, creating this lovely fresh smell in the air. It reminded Sam of an alien world she had encountered years ago. Back in the days when everything was new, not like know when the element of surprise has since long passed. Her mind wondered of the past, how far they have come as a race and as individuals. How lucky she felt that even though she worked in military she was still able to have a life outside it, a Husband, a family with their adopted daughter Cassie. And the many extended brothers and sisters she's made on her journey.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Jack said after a while noticing how distant she was.
"Huh... Oh I'm just thinking. Do you ever miss it?" Sam asked.
"Miss what?" Jack replied perplexed, he wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going.
"Miss the adventure, the missions, going off-world exploring and..."
"And fighting terrifying enemies much more advanced than us, with the impending doom hovering above her heads every given second." Jack interrupted.
"You know what I mean!" Sam laughed.
"Serious answer," he looked at her, seeing her nod he continued. "Yeah I did miss it at first and then it got easier as I got older. Now I don't miss it so much. You'll get used to it. you've got loads more on your plate than what I had. I didn't have the whole Science department to overlook." He placed his hand on Sam's lap, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
They'd been together for eight years, married for six. Yet being able to do this still shocks them both. They never in a million years thought it would a possibility. They kept their relationship secret for a lot of years. Until that is the president signed of a special order for SGC personnel given the fraternisation regulations a little bit of leeway for SGC personnel. A free pass. There were exceptions of course. The moment that it was discovered it would endanger the lives of others or conflict, or interrupting their working life. They would be separated through transfers outside the Stargate Program or honourably discharged from the military service. It had its drawbacks, initially. A lot of complaints followed over the constant couple interviews and simulation tests. Nevertheless, it soon became a big hit.
Sam thought about going off-world a lot recently, she missed going off-world and travelling through space on The Hammond. She missed her time on Atlantis, she had the privilege to run the entire show and still was able to command and go and explore an entire new galaxy. She hoped that she'd get the chance again, one day to travel through space.
They'd headed down into the elevator and reached level 28. It took longer than expected, being stopped and greeted by everyone, new and old to the programme. But eventually they made it down to meet newly appointed General Ferretti.
"General O'Neill, pleasure to see you again Sir, from what do we owe this honour?" Ferretti saluted, shaking the forever legendary Lt General O'Neill's hand firmly.
"Ahh shucks, if I'd of known y'all missed me that much I would've dropped by more often." O'Neill smiled patting Walter on the back.
"Yes of course Sir, You're always welcome." Ferretti stuttered.
"I'll leave you too it Sam," He gave her a wink then faced back to Ferretti, "I'll have a chat with you later." Jack smiled and walked off. "Now where's that cake."
They both just laughed.
"So, what about this new race or something you talked about?" Sam questioned, fighting back yet another yawn.
"Ahh yes, let's go to your office. I'll brief you there." Ferretti chipped up, his excitement was clearly shown.
SG-12 encountered an alien race that had been secluded for over millennia, they don't seem to know much about the Stargate. But they are very, very advanced. They have had no dealings with the Ori. They seem to be in a pretty sheltered part of the Galaxy. They had advanced ships that travelled at great speeds and other vast technology, no one had gotten sick and there had been no such thing. They never had problems with growing foods. Best of all they seemed to have terra formed their moons as harvest lands. They were once barren. They seemed pretty oblivious that there was a whole galaxy out to explore. They mentioned they have had visitors before, and thought the Stargate only travelled to the same place. They had visited neighbouring planets and have been considered to be these planets saviours. They seem to be more than happy to keep to themselves and even more happy to strike an alliance with Earth.
After Sam read the report, she seemed fascinated. More so that they had not known about the Ori, The Ori had technology that could detect weapons and tech that could be a threat to them, so they knew who would be more considered a threat and by this initial report it sounds like this race could well have been a huge threat. With how widespread the Ori were, how many colonies and planets they had turned it seemed very unlikely that these beings had no idea about the Ori in the first place, even more so the Ori didn't know them.
"It seems like this is something that we should investigate further. If what this report reads it would be certainly interesting to know how they stayed of the Ori's radar." Sam said closing the report up.
"You think so. I thought that perhaps we should send our negotiation teams. And start striking an alliance." He watched Sam's face carefully as she re-read SG-12s report again.
"Yeah it sounds like it's worth checking into." Sam confirmed. "Is there anything else while I'm here?" She pondered rubbing her head.
"Erm, no I don't think so... Oh erm I think Walter had some paperwork with your name on it." He looked at her quizzically.
Ferretti grew concerned over her lack of enthusiasm. He expected her to be a bit more excited than she showed to be. Given that they haven't made a discovery like this since the Icarus base some years ago.
She said giving him a smile. "Er, yeah I think you've got everything handled here. Some investigation needs to be done to check these people out a bit more. But yes, I think you are right this sounds promising. If they want an alliance, we should at least consider it." Sam confirmed General Ferretti's thoughts. "Don't doubt yourself so much Lou. If the brass didn't think you could handle running the SGC, you wouldn't have been given the job." She said with a smile and left to find Walter.
To be continued...
