Epilogue: Second Chances
What once was can never be again What can never be again is an opportunity An opportunity is a new beginning A new beginning is a second chance Second chances are what life is made of
Six months later
"Our top story involves the trial, and subsequent conviction, of former Air Force General Harold Maybourne. After a lengthy investigation by the Air Force and the Pentagon, it was found that the former General was responsible for hiring a hitman to eliminate another Air Force General, George Hammond, who has the head of a section of NORAD at the Cheyenne Complex in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As you may recall, Dr. Daniel Jackson, an archaeologist who also worked at Cheyenne Mountain, was tried and convicted of General Hammond's murder twelve years ago. It seems now that the Colorado Attorney General tried the wrong man. We will have more of this story at our newscast at 6 and 10. Now, here is Bill Harris with the weather. "
Lawrence Irving turned off the television set, a slight smile on his face.
He loved the media. If you gave them a big, juicy story, they ran with it and stuck to it like a dog with a bone. The best thing about the media was that it was so easily misled to think what the powers that be wanted them to think, and to report the news accordingly. No one except for himself, the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Harold Maybourne, and the four original members of SG-1, would ever know what really happened to bring about George's death.
The media involvement had been the President Sheffield's idea. When Lawrence had presented the commander in chief with the evidence of foul play, he'd been furious. He had insisted on reviewing all of the materials himself, as well as interviewing Dr. Jackson. The archaeologist had been concerned about making an appearance at the White House, because he had still been hunted down by the police. When Dr. Jackson had left the White House, he'd left with reassurances that he'd never be put in prison again. The media blitz was the President's way of partially restoring the credibility and respect that had been taken away from the archaeologist when he'd been arrested, raked over the coals, and forced to spend twelve years in prison for a crime he hadn't committed.
After the evidence had been reviewed by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an immediate investigation into the mysterious deaths had been commissioned. In the end, Harold Maybourne along with six others, including Samuel Marks, had been arrested and put through a court martial, where they'd been convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, among other lesser charges. Those men would spend time behind bars, with absolutely no privileges, for a long time to come.
Evidence of further corroboration between Maybourne and an identified person was found, leading Lawrence to believe that Maybourne had not been the one in control, even though he'd been the one in the spotlight. They'd dug as deep as they could, but hadn't managed to find the identity of the mysterious person. They'd get to that person eventually.
Lawrence was a happy man. He was furious that George had to die so senselessly, but at least his family finally had the right man to blame for the death. Lawrence's only regret was that it had taken so long to figure it out.
****
"Remind me again, why are we here?" Jack O'Neill asked as they stepped out of the elevator and onto the basement. He looked around the empty and dark corridor he found himself in and winced.
"We are here to visit Daniel Jackson, O'Neill."
"Yeah, Jack, something about wanting to be taken out to dinner, now that Daniel was employed again," Sam remarked, trying hard to suppress the grin that threatened to break out over her face.
"They've got Danny in the basement, Carter. How much money could the man possibly be making?"
He took several steps forward then stopped when he suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He was saved from having to ask when Carter stepped in front of him and walked confidently down the hall.
"It's the Pentagon, Jack. Believe me, civilian scientists of Daniel's caliber who happen to work here make a lot more money than..." she trailed off as she glanced behind her and met Jack's eyes.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Sam. He can't be making more money than me," Jack said. "He's a computer geek, which in my book, is not much different than a geek who looks at rocks. How can he possibly make more money than me? Is it because he's both kinds of geek?"
Sam only smiled and continued on her way.
Jack followed dutifully behind her, walking beside Teal'c. "What is it with Daniel and dark, out of the way places? His office at the SGC used to be in the middle of nowhere."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at Jack. "I believe that Daniel Jackson likes his privacy O'Neill."
Jack was about to reply to that, when he suddenly found himself running into Carter's back.
"Carter, what the hell are you doing?"
"I think we took a wrong turn, Jack. The office Daniel told me was now his used to be in this corridor, but I don't think it is anymore. It has been a while since I've worked here, you know," she explained, gesturing to the apparent dead end they'd just come to.
"Yeah, whatever. So get us where we need to go. I'm hungry."
They had turned around and were about to head in the opposite direction, when the dead end slid aside, revealing a room behind it. A young technician came out and seemed startled at seeing them.
"Are you lost?" he asked, eyeing Jack and Sam's uniforms. Once he saw their rank insignia, he saluted sharply and stood at attention.
Jack returned the salute. "At ease, Lieutenant. We're looking for Dr. Jackson. We were told he'd be down here."
The young man exhaled and seemed to relax slightly. "Yes, sir. Dr. Jackson is right through there. I'll open the door for you," he added, when he noticed that the door had slid shut again.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Sam said to the young man once he had the door open.
Jack nodded his thanks, and then stepped into the room.
The first thing he came face to face with was some kind of mask. Jack smiled, as he remembered seeing that same mask hanging on the wall in Daniel's previous office at the SGC. As he looked around the room, Jack saw other familiar things of Daniel's.
"They give the man a bigger office, and what does he do? He junks it all up again," Jack commented.
He continued to examine the room and found that along with the ancient artifacts, there was a lot of computer equipment present. The computer stuff seemed entirely out of place among Daniel's artifacts.
"Hey, Danny-boy! Come out, come out wherever you are. We're starving here!" Jack called and stood where he was to wait for the other man to pop out of wherever he'd buried himself.
"Hey, Jack,"
Jack turned to his left to see Daniel crouched behind a row of computers.
"I heard that crack about the mess in here," Daniel continued. "You should be one to talk. I've seen your house, remember?"
"Daniel, what are you doing?"
Daniel shrugged as he got up from the floor. "I'm just messing around with these to see how I can make them better."
"Better how?"
"Oh, you know. ways to make them harder to trace, how to make them run faster, that sort of stuff."
"Pardon me for asking, but aren't you supposed to be working?"
"Jack, this is my job."
"Wait a minute, you mean you're getting paid to mess with computers and hack into databases? What kind of a job is that?"
Jack's voice sounded harsh, but he was smiling. He was extremely happy to see the spark back in Daniel's eyes. It seemed like the man had replaced his old rocks with computers.
"Yes, they do. The Joint Chiefs were a bit concerned about the fact that I could break in to their government databases, since you told me to tell them how I got the information," Daniel sent an accusatory glance his way, but Jack just shrugged it off.
"Anyway, they put me here so I could help them prevent people like me from getting into the databases again."
"The Pentagon has hired hackers to do this sort of thing since computers became widely used back in the 1980s, Jack." Sam added. She turned to Daniel. "Are you happy here? I see you've made the place home."
Daniel looked around with a small smile on his face. "Yeah, it's home, and I am happy to be here. It helps to have all my artifacts back. Thanks for not getting rid of them, Jack."
"Not a problem. I figured you'd want them back sooner or later. I mean, all those years spent digging in the dirt to find that stuff shouldn't go to waste, right?"
"Right."
"Daniel Jackson, why did you not return to archaeology?" Teal'c asked, voicing the question that Jack most wanted answered.
Daniel thought about it for a while, before finally fixing his friend with a steady gaze.
"After my time at the SGC, archaeology wouldn't have been the same. All I learned during my time on SG-1 made the archaeology currently practiced pretty much obsolete, and I couldn't go back to that. This seemed a better option," he replied.
Daniel sighed and Jack saw the slight frown forming on his face. After a few more minutes of silence, Daniel continued.
"I'm still a failure to all of them, especially now. When I got offered this job, it seemed perfect. No one bothers me here, especially the media."
"Why didn't you go back to the SGC?" Sam asked.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't offered a job at the SGC."
"If you were to get an offer, would you take it?" Jack asked.
Daniel mulled that over for a minute. "Not right now. I'm happy where I am, Jack."
"Fair enough, but keep it in mind, just in case. Now how about that dinner you said you'd buy us? Carter informs me that you might be making more money than I am, so I want a good dinner."
"Oh, I doubt that I make more than you do, General, but a good dinner it will be. Let me go get my jacket and we'll be on our way."
****
"So tell me, what happened to the SGC? Why are you here?" Daniel asked as the four friends sat at the table of one of D. C's finest restaurants.
"We are here to see you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered. "Rya'c sends his best."
"How is he? I never got the chance to property thank him for all the help he gave me," Daniel said, wishing that he could speak to the young man himself.
"Rya'c is well. I will bring him to Earth on my next trip and we will both come to visit you."
Daniel smiled. "That would be great, Teal'c. I will be looking forward to it. So Jack, why are you here? I mean, it's nice that you've come to see me and all, but I'm sure there's another reason you came halfway across the country, and the galaxy."
Jack nodded and took a sip of his beer, before answering the question.
"We had a meeting with President Sheffield and the Joint Chiefs today to discuss the future of the SGC and the Stargate. Since Maybourne is in prison, Earth's base has been left with no leader."
Daniel saw the hard set to Jack's features and began to think that something had gone wrong. "Don't tell me that some other idiot like Maybourne got command of the SGC?"
Jack's face brightened all of a sudden, and he smiled. "Not unless you consider me an idiot. I've been promoted to Lieutenant General and put in charge of the SGC."
"That's great, Jack. Congratulations!" Daniel said, patting his friend on the back. "What about the off world base, what's going to happen there?"
"That's where I come in," Sam stated. "As of tomorrow, I'll be Brigadier General Cater, in command of the off world base."
Her radiant smile lit up the room, and Daniel couldn't help grinning like an idiot for her. He got up from his chair, went over to her, gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That's wonderful news, Sam. You deserve it!"
"Hey," Jack pouted. "I got promoted too, you know. I didn't get a hug or a kiss. All I got was a lousy pat on the back."
Daniel turned to Jack, giving the man his most innocent smile and leaned down towards him. "Are you sure you want that, Jack? What would your colleagues think?" he whispered in Jack's ear.
"Shut up, Daniel."
Daniel returned to his chair and regarded his closest friends.
The last six months had been hellish for all of them, but especially for Daniel. He'd been put through the wringer in order to get everything straight so that Maybourne and his accomplices could be brought to justice. At times, the rigorous questioning had left Daniel exhausted, which had brought about the nightmares. His years in prison hadn't been forgotten, nor would they ever be. They would become a part of his life, dictating the way he was to live it from now on. Even through all of the pain, he had been cleared of all charges and officially absolved of any wrong doing. He was free and he was once again able to support himself. He had been given a second chance, and he was willing to use it for all it was worth.
"I propose a toast," Daniel suddenly said, raising his wine glass. The others picked up their glasses and looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "Here is to never giving up, to friends, and to second chances. May we do the best we can with those we're given."
"Here, here," came the reply from the other three occupants of the table. "To second chances."
****
"Well, well, what do we have here?" JT commented as he noticed the new guy being escorted into the prisoner's common room.
"He's only here for a little while, waiting to be transferred to the federal prison," another of the inmates replied. "He's that Air Force guy that just got convicted of murdering that other Air Force guy a long time ago."
Something about that statement clicked in JT's mind. He narrowed his eyes as he examined the man, who was trying to do his best to stay out of everyone's way. JT made his way over to him, his face showing all of the contempt he felt for the man.
"So you're that ex-General that whacked his colleague, huh?" JT said as he reached the man. "Maybourne, right?"
"Who wants to know?" Maybourne replied.
JT laughed. "No one you need to worry about."
"Why do you care, anyway?" Maybourne asked again, giving JT a look that conveyed the man's despise for him.
"I spent almost twelve years sharing a cell with a man who I knew didn't belong here. He seemed way too nice to be at a place like this, especially for murder. I just recently found out from watching the news that I had been right about him all along." JT paused when Maybourne's eyes widened, as he realized who they were talking about. "That's right, Maybourne, I was Daniel Jackson's cell mate. I saved his ass when your people tried to kill him, and he repaid the favor by saving mine."
JT took a step towards Maybourne, cracking his knuckles. He smiled when Maybourne took an involuntary step back.
"I wouldn't be caught alone in the showers while you're here, if you know what I mean."
JT laughed and left the man standing there, alone, to ponder the many possibilities of life in prison.
THE END
And so concludes my second attempt at SG-1 fanfiction. Thanks for reading this rather drawn out tale. A special thanks to those of you who left reviews. you made my day!
What once was can never be again What can never be again is an opportunity An opportunity is a new beginning A new beginning is a second chance Second chances are what life is made of
Six months later
"Our top story involves the trial, and subsequent conviction, of former Air Force General Harold Maybourne. After a lengthy investigation by the Air Force and the Pentagon, it was found that the former General was responsible for hiring a hitman to eliminate another Air Force General, George Hammond, who has the head of a section of NORAD at the Cheyenne Complex in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As you may recall, Dr. Daniel Jackson, an archaeologist who also worked at Cheyenne Mountain, was tried and convicted of General Hammond's murder twelve years ago. It seems now that the Colorado Attorney General tried the wrong man. We will have more of this story at our newscast at 6 and 10. Now, here is Bill Harris with the weather. "
Lawrence Irving turned off the television set, a slight smile on his face.
He loved the media. If you gave them a big, juicy story, they ran with it and stuck to it like a dog with a bone. The best thing about the media was that it was so easily misled to think what the powers that be wanted them to think, and to report the news accordingly. No one except for himself, the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Harold Maybourne, and the four original members of SG-1, would ever know what really happened to bring about George's death.
The media involvement had been the President Sheffield's idea. When Lawrence had presented the commander in chief with the evidence of foul play, he'd been furious. He had insisted on reviewing all of the materials himself, as well as interviewing Dr. Jackson. The archaeologist had been concerned about making an appearance at the White House, because he had still been hunted down by the police. When Dr. Jackson had left the White House, he'd left with reassurances that he'd never be put in prison again. The media blitz was the President's way of partially restoring the credibility and respect that had been taken away from the archaeologist when he'd been arrested, raked over the coals, and forced to spend twelve years in prison for a crime he hadn't committed.
After the evidence had been reviewed by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an immediate investigation into the mysterious deaths had been commissioned. In the end, Harold Maybourne along with six others, including Samuel Marks, had been arrested and put through a court martial, where they'd been convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, among other lesser charges. Those men would spend time behind bars, with absolutely no privileges, for a long time to come.
Evidence of further corroboration between Maybourne and an identified person was found, leading Lawrence to believe that Maybourne had not been the one in control, even though he'd been the one in the spotlight. They'd dug as deep as they could, but hadn't managed to find the identity of the mysterious person. They'd get to that person eventually.
Lawrence was a happy man. He was furious that George had to die so senselessly, but at least his family finally had the right man to blame for the death. Lawrence's only regret was that it had taken so long to figure it out.
****
"Remind me again, why are we here?" Jack O'Neill asked as they stepped out of the elevator and onto the basement. He looked around the empty and dark corridor he found himself in and winced.
"We are here to visit Daniel Jackson, O'Neill."
"Yeah, Jack, something about wanting to be taken out to dinner, now that Daniel was employed again," Sam remarked, trying hard to suppress the grin that threatened to break out over her face.
"They've got Danny in the basement, Carter. How much money could the man possibly be making?"
He took several steps forward then stopped when he suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He was saved from having to ask when Carter stepped in front of him and walked confidently down the hall.
"It's the Pentagon, Jack. Believe me, civilian scientists of Daniel's caliber who happen to work here make a lot more money than..." she trailed off as she glanced behind her and met Jack's eyes.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Sam. He can't be making more money than me," Jack said. "He's a computer geek, which in my book, is not much different than a geek who looks at rocks. How can he possibly make more money than me? Is it because he's both kinds of geek?"
Sam only smiled and continued on her way.
Jack followed dutifully behind her, walking beside Teal'c. "What is it with Daniel and dark, out of the way places? His office at the SGC used to be in the middle of nowhere."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at Jack. "I believe that Daniel Jackson likes his privacy O'Neill."
Jack was about to reply to that, when he suddenly found himself running into Carter's back.
"Carter, what the hell are you doing?"
"I think we took a wrong turn, Jack. The office Daniel told me was now his used to be in this corridor, but I don't think it is anymore. It has been a while since I've worked here, you know," she explained, gesturing to the apparent dead end they'd just come to.
"Yeah, whatever. So get us where we need to go. I'm hungry."
They had turned around and were about to head in the opposite direction, when the dead end slid aside, revealing a room behind it. A young technician came out and seemed startled at seeing them.
"Are you lost?" he asked, eyeing Jack and Sam's uniforms. Once he saw their rank insignia, he saluted sharply and stood at attention.
Jack returned the salute. "At ease, Lieutenant. We're looking for Dr. Jackson. We were told he'd be down here."
The young man exhaled and seemed to relax slightly. "Yes, sir. Dr. Jackson is right through there. I'll open the door for you," he added, when he noticed that the door had slid shut again.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Sam said to the young man once he had the door open.
Jack nodded his thanks, and then stepped into the room.
The first thing he came face to face with was some kind of mask. Jack smiled, as he remembered seeing that same mask hanging on the wall in Daniel's previous office at the SGC. As he looked around the room, Jack saw other familiar things of Daniel's.
"They give the man a bigger office, and what does he do? He junks it all up again," Jack commented.
He continued to examine the room and found that along with the ancient artifacts, there was a lot of computer equipment present. The computer stuff seemed entirely out of place among Daniel's artifacts.
"Hey, Danny-boy! Come out, come out wherever you are. We're starving here!" Jack called and stood where he was to wait for the other man to pop out of wherever he'd buried himself.
"Hey, Jack,"
Jack turned to his left to see Daniel crouched behind a row of computers.
"I heard that crack about the mess in here," Daniel continued. "You should be one to talk. I've seen your house, remember?"
"Daniel, what are you doing?"
Daniel shrugged as he got up from the floor. "I'm just messing around with these to see how I can make them better."
"Better how?"
"Oh, you know. ways to make them harder to trace, how to make them run faster, that sort of stuff."
"Pardon me for asking, but aren't you supposed to be working?"
"Jack, this is my job."
"Wait a minute, you mean you're getting paid to mess with computers and hack into databases? What kind of a job is that?"
Jack's voice sounded harsh, but he was smiling. He was extremely happy to see the spark back in Daniel's eyes. It seemed like the man had replaced his old rocks with computers.
"Yes, they do. The Joint Chiefs were a bit concerned about the fact that I could break in to their government databases, since you told me to tell them how I got the information," Daniel sent an accusatory glance his way, but Jack just shrugged it off.
"Anyway, they put me here so I could help them prevent people like me from getting into the databases again."
"The Pentagon has hired hackers to do this sort of thing since computers became widely used back in the 1980s, Jack." Sam added. She turned to Daniel. "Are you happy here? I see you've made the place home."
Daniel looked around with a small smile on his face. "Yeah, it's home, and I am happy to be here. It helps to have all my artifacts back. Thanks for not getting rid of them, Jack."
"Not a problem. I figured you'd want them back sooner or later. I mean, all those years spent digging in the dirt to find that stuff shouldn't go to waste, right?"
"Right."
"Daniel Jackson, why did you not return to archaeology?" Teal'c asked, voicing the question that Jack most wanted answered.
Daniel thought about it for a while, before finally fixing his friend with a steady gaze.
"After my time at the SGC, archaeology wouldn't have been the same. All I learned during my time on SG-1 made the archaeology currently practiced pretty much obsolete, and I couldn't go back to that. This seemed a better option," he replied.
Daniel sighed and Jack saw the slight frown forming on his face. After a few more minutes of silence, Daniel continued.
"I'm still a failure to all of them, especially now. When I got offered this job, it seemed perfect. No one bothers me here, especially the media."
"Why didn't you go back to the SGC?" Sam asked.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't offered a job at the SGC."
"If you were to get an offer, would you take it?" Jack asked.
Daniel mulled that over for a minute. "Not right now. I'm happy where I am, Jack."
"Fair enough, but keep it in mind, just in case. Now how about that dinner you said you'd buy us? Carter informs me that you might be making more money than I am, so I want a good dinner."
"Oh, I doubt that I make more than you do, General, but a good dinner it will be. Let me go get my jacket and we'll be on our way."
****
"So tell me, what happened to the SGC? Why are you here?" Daniel asked as the four friends sat at the table of one of D. C's finest restaurants.
"We are here to see you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered. "Rya'c sends his best."
"How is he? I never got the chance to property thank him for all the help he gave me," Daniel said, wishing that he could speak to the young man himself.
"Rya'c is well. I will bring him to Earth on my next trip and we will both come to visit you."
Daniel smiled. "That would be great, Teal'c. I will be looking forward to it. So Jack, why are you here? I mean, it's nice that you've come to see me and all, but I'm sure there's another reason you came halfway across the country, and the galaxy."
Jack nodded and took a sip of his beer, before answering the question.
"We had a meeting with President Sheffield and the Joint Chiefs today to discuss the future of the SGC and the Stargate. Since Maybourne is in prison, Earth's base has been left with no leader."
Daniel saw the hard set to Jack's features and began to think that something had gone wrong. "Don't tell me that some other idiot like Maybourne got command of the SGC?"
Jack's face brightened all of a sudden, and he smiled. "Not unless you consider me an idiot. I've been promoted to Lieutenant General and put in charge of the SGC."
"That's great, Jack. Congratulations!" Daniel said, patting his friend on the back. "What about the off world base, what's going to happen there?"
"That's where I come in," Sam stated. "As of tomorrow, I'll be Brigadier General Cater, in command of the off world base."
Her radiant smile lit up the room, and Daniel couldn't help grinning like an idiot for her. He got up from his chair, went over to her, gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That's wonderful news, Sam. You deserve it!"
"Hey," Jack pouted. "I got promoted too, you know. I didn't get a hug or a kiss. All I got was a lousy pat on the back."
Daniel turned to Jack, giving the man his most innocent smile and leaned down towards him. "Are you sure you want that, Jack? What would your colleagues think?" he whispered in Jack's ear.
"Shut up, Daniel."
Daniel returned to his chair and regarded his closest friends.
The last six months had been hellish for all of them, but especially for Daniel. He'd been put through the wringer in order to get everything straight so that Maybourne and his accomplices could be brought to justice. At times, the rigorous questioning had left Daniel exhausted, which had brought about the nightmares. His years in prison hadn't been forgotten, nor would they ever be. They would become a part of his life, dictating the way he was to live it from now on. Even through all of the pain, he had been cleared of all charges and officially absolved of any wrong doing. He was free and he was once again able to support himself. He had been given a second chance, and he was willing to use it for all it was worth.
"I propose a toast," Daniel suddenly said, raising his wine glass. The others picked up their glasses and looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "Here is to never giving up, to friends, and to second chances. May we do the best we can with those we're given."
"Here, here," came the reply from the other three occupants of the table. "To second chances."
****
"Well, well, what do we have here?" JT commented as he noticed the new guy being escorted into the prisoner's common room.
"He's only here for a little while, waiting to be transferred to the federal prison," another of the inmates replied. "He's that Air Force guy that just got convicted of murdering that other Air Force guy a long time ago."
Something about that statement clicked in JT's mind. He narrowed his eyes as he examined the man, who was trying to do his best to stay out of everyone's way. JT made his way over to him, his face showing all of the contempt he felt for the man.
"So you're that ex-General that whacked his colleague, huh?" JT said as he reached the man. "Maybourne, right?"
"Who wants to know?" Maybourne replied.
JT laughed. "No one you need to worry about."
"Why do you care, anyway?" Maybourne asked again, giving JT a look that conveyed the man's despise for him.
"I spent almost twelve years sharing a cell with a man who I knew didn't belong here. He seemed way too nice to be at a place like this, especially for murder. I just recently found out from watching the news that I had been right about him all along." JT paused when Maybourne's eyes widened, as he realized who they were talking about. "That's right, Maybourne, I was Daniel Jackson's cell mate. I saved his ass when your people tried to kill him, and he repaid the favor by saving mine."
JT took a step towards Maybourne, cracking his knuckles. He smiled when Maybourne took an involuntary step back.
"I wouldn't be caught alone in the showers while you're here, if you know what I mean."
JT laughed and left the man standing there, alone, to ponder the many possibilities of life in prison.
THE END
And so concludes my second attempt at SG-1 fanfiction. Thanks for reading this rather drawn out tale. A special thanks to those of you who left reviews. you made my day!