"The next president's got a hard act to follow" said the man sitting at the
table behind Daniel Jackson. "I can't remember as many changes as we've
seen in the last five years - most of them for the good, as well."
Daniel smiled grimly to himself, but it didn't go unnoticed by his partner. He broadened his smile as he looked at her - something he hadn't been able to stop doing these last ten days since she and the others around the table had lifted him from the sealed-off Goa'uld planet. He still saw Jennifer Hailey in one sense as the young woman he'd fallen for six months ago when they'd set out to find who was selling precious religious icons to the Goa'uld. But now, instead of being fifteen years his junior, she was a stunning, mature woman matching his own forty six years of age.
'Damn time dilation!' The thought ran through him for the thousandth time. 'And damn Sam and Jack as well!' He still didn't know whether what they had done in atonement for using him would ever be enough for real forgiveness. Sure, he didn't want to go on hating them for a betrayal that wasn't really one - depending on your viewpoint of course - but the consequences of his being used like that rankled and the feelings would not lie down. Perhaps in time..
He turned his attention back to Jen, and marvelled again at her instant (for him) transformation from thirty one to forty six. Fuller in the face and body, but still so attractive, the faint lines round her eyes only adding character. And, oh! Those freckles on her nose, cheeks and forearms. Over the last three days he'd taken to wondering how she thought of him, frozen in time for fifteen years, unchanging in appearance from the older man she'd fallen for so far back in her own past. The mischievous look in her eyes as she gazed back at him told him that he'd be silly to reject her now, and to be honest, that was the furthest thing on his mind.
He reluctantly turned his attention back to the proceedings of the Interplanetary Traders Guild President's Dinner, held in the sumptuous and graceful surroundings that characterised so many of the buildings on Mythor. He still could not get used to Sam and Jack's appearance, which had shocked him so much a few days ago. They were *old*. He had stared open- mouthed when he had clambered out of the rescue ship into the cargo hold of their space freighter just over a week ago. As far as he was concerned, they'd crash-landed on the Goa'uld world in Earth year 2015 and been taken off again half a day later to find that the year was now mysteriously 2031.
Jack, as the retiring Guild President, sat in the place of honour at the top table with Sam beside him on his right. His wispy grey hair topped a craggy, deeply-suntanned face that was so familiar and yet so changed. He looked superbly fit for a seventy-nine year old, but at the same time had become like a favourite grandfather figure. Only his deep brown eyes remained as Daniel had known them. His elder son Jacomb looked more like the Jack he had known back in the days of the first Abydos mission.
And Sam.. Well, still so recognisably herself, but her golden hair now mostly grey, her lined face still so attractive yet mature. He just couldn't get used to the fact that she was now sixty four years old. Like Jack, she was more thick-set than he had known before, but had a grace that was obvious to the eyes of most. She caught Daniel staring at her, and briefly flashed him a nervous smile before the person on her right engaged her in conversation again.
On this formal occasion everyone was expected to follow the correct Mythoran dress code - sleeveless gowns for the women and short-sleeved tunics for the men. There was no denying the visual impact of so many guests whose only differences in style were the colours they chose - white, grey, dark blue or black, and their choice of jewellery. Jack was the exception, wearing no rings or necklaces, but it was his last time to wear the President's platinum Chain of Office. Sam too had chosen only a simple circlet, but the exotic iridescent stone that hung at her throat served to highlight her still-fascinating eyes. And since this was after all the home world of the ultimate wedded bond, the lighting was especially arranged to show off the im'ri implantations worn by several couples throughout the grand hall.
Daniel still marvelled at the way Jack and Sam communicated so intimately by a combination of looks, gestures and relatively few words, as did the other bonded couples. They were both speaking far more to neighbouring guests and officials than to each other, yet it seemed as though nothing important was escaping their enhanced dialogue.
He looked back past Jen at the others seated at his own table. Teal'c - the man he'd thought to be his truly close friend, yet whom he was still learning to fully trust again after their adventures of the last few months. Teal'c too was now fifteen years older than before, but showed little visual change to the casual eye. However Daniel had seen how he tired more quickly these last few days - still a superb athlete compared to the average Tau'ri specimen, but not the same as he was when they'd first met.
Either side of Teal'c sat the O'Neill children, who still treated him as their hero. 'Children!' thought Daniel sarcastically. 'Children to me six months ago, now adults of twenty six and twenty four. Damn time dilation!' he sighed again. Jacomb, so like his father had been, a sometimes reckless, forceful daredevil who nevertheless carried an aura of caring leadership. And Danil, named after himself, but so unlike his elder brother. You could see some of his mother's facial characteristics in the half-light, other times not. The brains of the family, even more a technical genius than Sam had been at her brilliant best. And furthest from him were Ari, Sam and Jack's foreman, and his attractive wife Karinne.
The deep reverberating note of a large gong sounded, and conversation in the hall died out slowly. On the dais, Jack rose from his seat to start his retiring President's address, exchanging a brief brilliant smile with Sam as he steadied himself.
"Members of the Society and Honoured Guests." he began before pausing momentarily. "It has been an honour to serve. These traditional words are self-evidently true for any President who has had the good fortune to make it through to the full term of office. Yet to me they have a personal significance beyond even that, which I will explain in a moment." He paused again, looking at the host of expectant faces around him.
"My five anni as President have coincided with the most significant event to befall the known universe in many, many generations. I refer of course to the still incomplete but certain defeat of the Goa'uld as the enslavers of countless peoples." He waited until prolonged applause died away. "Of course, there may be some traders who regret the passing of a clientele that always paid its bills on time.." He paused again as the laughter subsided.
"But mark my words. The opportunities for free trade amongst emancipated worlds have never been as abundant as now. We can now be assured of fewer restrictions on technology and industrial goods. If sold and used wisely, great benefits for the living standards and future prospects of so many races will follow. We are all, in this Guild, wealthy beyond the dreams of the vast majority of people alive in the Gate-connected universe. Let us use these profits with equal wisdom and generosity to avoid the worst excesses of pollution and exploitation that have characterised the past." More applause caused him to halt again.
"It is my privilege tonight to reveal to you one of the major factors, and the identity of some of the true geniuses, that have brought about the downfall of the Goa'uld." Sam suddenly looked up at him in alarm, but he motioned with his hand to calm her, and she felt the sudden panic disappear through their highly-developed *feeling* for each other.
"Many of you know my wife Samantha." he continued. "She is the person who adapted and developed the means to isolate so many Goa'uld worlds, as a direct result of which their power base collapsed so rapidly." Gasps of surprise and more applause rippled throughout the hall. Sam looked down modestly at the table, but couldn't resist a broad smile appearing.
"As many of you also know, these worlds have been *insulated* behind a temporal slow-down field that means that life continues as normal for the inhabitants, but ten thousand times more slowly than in the universe outside their atmospheres. One hour for them is equivalent to four hundred and sixteen standard days for the rest of us. Their Stargates no longer function as further dialling signals from other worlds are blocked by the delayed previous signal still being played out at the arrival Gates. Space ships passing through the time-change boundary in the atmosphere lose their computers because the front end of the ship is suddenly ageing ten thousand times slower than the back end." He paused and stage-whispered *sotto voce* to Sam, "Hey, am I getting this right so far, dear?" The audience responded with more laughter. Jack's attitude to high technology was well-known to fellow Guild members. Daniel now realised what had caused his Tel'tak craft to suddenly go out of control, resulting in the need to be manually crash- landed on the surface.
Looking up again, Jack continued, "Of course, the Goa'uld still rule on these planets, if a little slowly. But competent armies and civil administrations now exist in sufficient numbers in the United Universe to be able to deal with these remaining planets one by one. And of course, the traders will follow!" More applause rippled round.
"But how did we get the Goa'uld to deliver their own means of destruction? Quite simply, we let them be taken in by their own avarice. We acquired, sometimes I will admit not by completely fair means, a number of art works, cultural and religious symbols and icons, implanted them with the time- delay devices, and sold them to the willing buyers! They could not wait to take these coveted items back to their home worlds, with the result that within three weeks of universe time, they were unknowingly living at a snail's pace." Some of the audience responded with 'oohs' and 'aahs', pretending that they had known the principle all along but were merely awaiting details.
Jack stood straight and stared directly at Daniel. "I have a confession to make, Ladies and Gentlemen, of which I am not proud. In order to convince the Goa'uld of the desirability of acquiring such items, I callously used the good nature of my greatest friend without his knowledge. The Goa'uld fell for it, of course, thanks to his protests about the sale of these icons. But I wish to state before you all that I am truly, truly sorry for the way we used the good name of Dr. Daniel Jackson of the Crucis Archaeological Institute. His protests about our apparently callous actions stirred the hearts of millions on various worlds. But being a man of deeds as well as thoughts, he didn't stop there and unknowingly lead an expedition onto a time-warped planet to recover one of these valuable items."
Jack paused again, lifted his reading glasses from his nose and sought out Daniel in the audience. "Daniel, Sam and I ask publicly tonight to consider forgiving us, however long it takes. We used you, used your good nature to defeat the enemy. I never thought that we would succeed so well or at such cost to you and to ourselves. The fifteen years you have been missing from our time can never be compensated." A ripple of soft applause passed through the crowd but died away quickly.
Daniel blinked and the wave of emotion overtook him. Feeling that some kind of response was called for, he stood briefly and smiled at Jack, nodding his head. But deep down, he wasn't ready to go all the way yet, and Jack could instantly tell that further heart-searching talks lay ahead, when the time was right. Daniel sat down again, and Jen leaned across, squeezing his hand and kissing him on the cheek. He blinked several times in reaction to his state of inner conflict.
Jack's duties as speaker had not finished, however, and the audience turned their attention back to him. "My final act as President of the Guild is to pay tribute to the person who has given me the life that I have, and if I have done some good work for the Guild, she has been the driving force and support that has made it all happen." He looked down at his wife. "Smile, dear, it's you again!"
As the guests burst into wild applause, Sam blushed as deep a red as anyone had ever seen, but couldn't help the joyous grin that seemed to cover her entire face. She stood up and leaned across to kiss him briefly before sitting down again. She would remember the next few moments for the rest of her life.
When all was silent again, Jack said, "Sam was a scientist when I met her, but I don't hold that against her any longer." Laughter ran round the hall. "The discoveries and inventions that she has made in her lifetime have revolutionised physics. Aided by Dr. Jackson and our great companion Teal'c, she has moulded particle physics, astronomical calculations and computing throughout the Gated worlds. She taught the Asgard to think illogically!" More laughter resounded. "And yet, for reasons I will never understand, she chose me as her life's companion. She saved my life by her quick thinking and bravery on many occasions, but never once made me feel small or insignificant. How could I ever resist that?"
He turned to face Sam again, to find she was looking up at him in awe. "One of our first misadventures together was to get stranded in an ice cave, cut off from everyone. We were dying together from the cold, and the last words I remember you saying to me, Sam, were 'It's been an honour to serve'. Well, the honour was mine Sam, so much so that after we were rescued and I was recovering, I knew that my life was the better for having you in it." Her smile broke out again.
"But clever scientist that you are, my dear," he continued, "I know there's one thing you haven't realised." A frown appeared but her smile remained. "Today marks the day that we have been together as im'ri bonded partners for ten thousand days. That's just over twenty seven Earth years." More applause, cheers and whistles abounded. As they died down, he spoke the words that finally caused her tears to flow. "And I have loved you and your obsession with your doohickies on every single one of them. Future Guild Presidents will count themselves lucky to have even half the support and joy from their partners that you have given me. Thank you, Samantha."
As tumultuous cheers and clapping began, Sam rose and threw her arms round his neck, and held him tight for several moments. Eventually they both turned to face the audience. Standing behind her with his left hand on her waist, he grasped her right hand in his and they raised their right arms together, their im'ri patterns in close contact flashing and sparkling in the spotlights.
Daniel smiled grimly to himself, but it didn't go unnoticed by his partner. He broadened his smile as he looked at her - something he hadn't been able to stop doing these last ten days since she and the others around the table had lifted him from the sealed-off Goa'uld planet. He still saw Jennifer Hailey in one sense as the young woman he'd fallen for six months ago when they'd set out to find who was selling precious religious icons to the Goa'uld. But now, instead of being fifteen years his junior, she was a stunning, mature woman matching his own forty six years of age.
'Damn time dilation!' The thought ran through him for the thousandth time. 'And damn Sam and Jack as well!' He still didn't know whether what they had done in atonement for using him would ever be enough for real forgiveness. Sure, he didn't want to go on hating them for a betrayal that wasn't really one - depending on your viewpoint of course - but the consequences of his being used like that rankled and the feelings would not lie down. Perhaps in time..
He turned his attention back to Jen, and marvelled again at her instant (for him) transformation from thirty one to forty six. Fuller in the face and body, but still so attractive, the faint lines round her eyes only adding character. And, oh! Those freckles on her nose, cheeks and forearms. Over the last three days he'd taken to wondering how she thought of him, frozen in time for fifteen years, unchanging in appearance from the older man she'd fallen for so far back in her own past. The mischievous look in her eyes as she gazed back at him told him that he'd be silly to reject her now, and to be honest, that was the furthest thing on his mind.
He reluctantly turned his attention back to the proceedings of the Interplanetary Traders Guild President's Dinner, held in the sumptuous and graceful surroundings that characterised so many of the buildings on Mythor. He still could not get used to Sam and Jack's appearance, which had shocked him so much a few days ago. They were *old*. He had stared open- mouthed when he had clambered out of the rescue ship into the cargo hold of their space freighter just over a week ago. As far as he was concerned, they'd crash-landed on the Goa'uld world in Earth year 2015 and been taken off again half a day later to find that the year was now mysteriously 2031.
Jack, as the retiring Guild President, sat in the place of honour at the top table with Sam beside him on his right. His wispy grey hair topped a craggy, deeply-suntanned face that was so familiar and yet so changed. He looked superbly fit for a seventy-nine year old, but at the same time had become like a favourite grandfather figure. Only his deep brown eyes remained as Daniel had known them. His elder son Jacomb looked more like the Jack he had known back in the days of the first Abydos mission.
And Sam.. Well, still so recognisably herself, but her golden hair now mostly grey, her lined face still so attractive yet mature. He just couldn't get used to the fact that she was now sixty four years old. Like Jack, she was more thick-set than he had known before, but had a grace that was obvious to the eyes of most. She caught Daniel staring at her, and briefly flashed him a nervous smile before the person on her right engaged her in conversation again.
On this formal occasion everyone was expected to follow the correct Mythoran dress code - sleeveless gowns for the women and short-sleeved tunics for the men. There was no denying the visual impact of so many guests whose only differences in style were the colours they chose - white, grey, dark blue or black, and their choice of jewellery. Jack was the exception, wearing no rings or necklaces, but it was his last time to wear the President's platinum Chain of Office. Sam too had chosen only a simple circlet, but the exotic iridescent stone that hung at her throat served to highlight her still-fascinating eyes. And since this was after all the home world of the ultimate wedded bond, the lighting was especially arranged to show off the im'ri implantations worn by several couples throughout the grand hall.
Daniel still marvelled at the way Jack and Sam communicated so intimately by a combination of looks, gestures and relatively few words, as did the other bonded couples. They were both speaking far more to neighbouring guests and officials than to each other, yet it seemed as though nothing important was escaping their enhanced dialogue.
He looked back past Jen at the others seated at his own table. Teal'c - the man he'd thought to be his truly close friend, yet whom he was still learning to fully trust again after their adventures of the last few months. Teal'c too was now fifteen years older than before, but showed little visual change to the casual eye. However Daniel had seen how he tired more quickly these last few days - still a superb athlete compared to the average Tau'ri specimen, but not the same as he was when they'd first met.
Either side of Teal'c sat the O'Neill children, who still treated him as their hero. 'Children!' thought Daniel sarcastically. 'Children to me six months ago, now adults of twenty six and twenty four. Damn time dilation!' he sighed again. Jacomb, so like his father had been, a sometimes reckless, forceful daredevil who nevertheless carried an aura of caring leadership. And Danil, named after himself, but so unlike his elder brother. You could see some of his mother's facial characteristics in the half-light, other times not. The brains of the family, even more a technical genius than Sam had been at her brilliant best. And furthest from him were Ari, Sam and Jack's foreman, and his attractive wife Karinne.
The deep reverberating note of a large gong sounded, and conversation in the hall died out slowly. On the dais, Jack rose from his seat to start his retiring President's address, exchanging a brief brilliant smile with Sam as he steadied himself.
"Members of the Society and Honoured Guests." he began before pausing momentarily. "It has been an honour to serve. These traditional words are self-evidently true for any President who has had the good fortune to make it through to the full term of office. Yet to me they have a personal significance beyond even that, which I will explain in a moment." He paused again, looking at the host of expectant faces around him.
"My five anni as President have coincided with the most significant event to befall the known universe in many, many generations. I refer of course to the still incomplete but certain defeat of the Goa'uld as the enslavers of countless peoples." He waited until prolonged applause died away. "Of course, there may be some traders who regret the passing of a clientele that always paid its bills on time.." He paused again as the laughter subsided.
"But mark my words. The opportunities for free trade amongst emancipated worlds have never been as abundant as now. We can now be assured of fewer restrictions on technology and industrial goods. If sold and used wisely, great benefits for the living standards and future prospects of so many races will follow. We are all, in this Guild, wealthy beyond the dreams of the vast majority of people alive in the Gate-connected universe. Let us use these profits with equal wisdom and generosity to avoid the worst excesses of pollution and exploitation that have characterised the past." More applause caused him to halt again.
"It is my privilege tonight to reveal to you one of the major factors, and the identity of some of the true geniuses, that have brought about the downfall of the Goa'uld." Sam suddenly looked up at him in alarm, but he motioned with his hand to calm her, and she felt the sudden panic disappear through their highly-developed *feeling* for each other.
"Many of you know my wife Samantha." he continued. "She is the person who adapted and developed the means to isolate so many Goa'uld worlds, as a direct result of which their power base collapsed so rapidly." Gasps of surprise and more applause rippled throughout the hall. Sam looked down modestly at the table, but couldn't resist a broad smile appearing.
"As many of you also know, these worlds have been *insulated* behind a temporal slow-down field that means that life continues as normal for the inhabitants, but ten thousand times more slowly than in the universe outside their atmospheres. One hour for them is equivalent to four hundred and sixteen standard days for the rest of us. Their Stargates no longer function as further dialling signals from other worlds are blocked by the delayed previous signal still being played out at the arrival Gates. Space ships passing through the time-change boundary in the atmosphere lose their computers because the front end of the ship is suddenly ageing ten thousand times slower than the back end." He paused and stage-whispered *sotto voce* to Sam, "Hey, am I getting this right so far, dear?" The audience responded with more laughter. Jack's attitude to high technology was well-known to fellow Guild members. Daniel now realised what had caused his Tel'tak craft to suddenly go out of control, resulting in the need to be manually crash- landed on the surface.
Looking up again, Jack continued, "Of course, the Goa'uld still rule on these planets, if a little slowly. But competent armies and civil administrations now exist in sufficient numbers in the United Universe to be able to deal with these remaining planets one by one. And of course, the traders will follow!" More applause rippled round.
"But how did we get the Goa'uld to deliver their own means of destruction? Quite simply, we let them be taken in by their own avarice. We acquired, sometimes I will admit not by completely fair means, a number of art works, cultural and religious symbols and icons, implanted them with the time- delay devices, and sold them to the willing buyers! They could not wait to take these coveted items back to their home worlds, with the result that within three weeks of universe time, they were unknowingly living at a snail's pace." Some of the audience responded with 'oohs' and 'aahs', pretending that they had known the principle all along but were merely awaiting details.
Jack stood straight and stared directly at Daniel. "I have a confession to make, Ladies and Gentlemen, of which I am not proud. In order to convince the Goa'uld of the desirability of acquiring such items, I callously used the good nature of my greatest friend without his knowledge. The Goa'uld fell for it, of course, thanks to his protests about the sale of these icons. But I wish to state before you all that I am truly, truly sorry for the way we used the good name of Dr. Daniel Jackson of the Crucis Archaeological Institute. His protests about our apparently callous actions stirred the hearts of millions on various worlds. But being a man of deeds as well as thoughts, he didn't stop there and unknowingly lead an expedition onto a time-warped planet to recover one of these valuable items."
Jack paused again, lifted his reading glasses from his nose and sought out Daniel in the audience. "Daniel, Sam and I ask publicly tonight to consider forgiving us, however long it takes. We used you, used your good nature to defeat the enemy. I never thought that we would succeed so well or at such cost to you and to ourselves. The fifteen years you have been missing from our time can never be compensated." A ripple of soft applause passed through the crowd but died away quickly.
Daniel blinked and the wave of emotion overtook him. Feeling that some kind of response was called for, he stood briefly and smiled at Jack, nodding his head. But deep down, he wasn't ready to go all the way yet, and Jack could instantly tell that further heart-searching talks lay ahead, when the time was right. Daniel sat down again, and Jen leaned across, squeezing his hand and kissing him on the cheek. He blinked several times in reaction to his state of inner conflict.
Jack's duties as speaker had not finished, however, and the audience turned their attention back to him. "My final act as President of the Guild is to pay tribute to the person who has given me the life that I have, and if I have done some good work for the Guild, she has been the driving force and support that has made it all happen." He looked down at his wife. "Smile, dear, it's you again!"
As the guests burst into wild applause, Sam blushed as deep a red as anyone had ever seen, but couldn't help the joyous grin that seemed to cover her entire face. She stood up and leaned across to kiss him briefly before sitting down again. She would remember the next few moments for the rest of her life.
When all was silent again, Jack said, "Sam was a scientist when I met her, but I don't hold that against her any longer." Laughter ran round the hall. "The discoveries and inventions that she has made in her lifetime have revolutionised physics. Aided by Dr. Jackson and our great companion Teal'c, she has moulded particle physics, astronomical calculations and computing throughout the Gated worlds. She taught the Asgard to think illogically!" More laughter resounded. "And yet, for reasons I will never understand, she chose me as her life's companion. She saved my life by her quick thinking and bravery on many occasions, but never once made me feel small or insignificant. How could I ever resist that?"
He turned to face Sam again, to find she was looking up at him in awe. "One of our first misadventures together was to get stranded in an ice cave, cut off from everyone. We were dying together from the cold, and the last words I remember you saying to me, Sam, were 'It's been an honour to serve'. Well, the honour was mine Sam, so much so that after we were rescued and I was recovering, I knew that my life was the better for having you in it." Her smile broke out again.
"But clever scientist that you are, my dear," he continued, "I know there's one thing you haven't realised." A frown appeared but her smile remained. "Today marks the day that we have been together as im'ri bonded partners for ten thousand days. That's just over twenty seven Earth years." More applause, cheers and whistles abounded. As they died down, he spoke the words that finally caused her tears to flow. "And I have loved you and your obsession with your doohickies on every single one of them. Future Guild Presidents will count themselves lucky to have even half the support and joy from their partners that you have given me. Thank you, Samantha."
As tumultuous cheers and clapping began, Sam rose and threw her arms round his neck, and held him tight for several moments. Eventually they both turned to face the audience. Standing behind her with his left hand on her waist, he grasped her right hand in his and they raised their right arms together, their im'ri patterns in close contact flashing and sparkling in the spotlights.