Stargazers Stargaters Part 36
Author: jane
E-mail: illta1985@aol.com
Category: AU, Futurefic, Crossover(Roswell/Stargate SG1)
Rating: PG13 (A few swearwords)
Disclaimer: The characters of Roswell belong to Melinda Metz, UPN, Jason Katims and all the wonderful people who we all love for starting this fabulous series (but who we are frustrated with, for messing up the beautiful, 1st season story line!). Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement or disrespect is intended. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
Summary: After college, Alex and Liz (from Roswell) join the SGC. As the Stargate gives up its secrets, will their new colleagues in SG1 learn about the secrets the two friends still carry? Will they ever "dial up" one planet's address in particular? Read and find out!
Stargazers Stargaters Part 36
General Hammond, Sarah Gardner and Jack O'Neill returned to the SGC after visiting Stephen Raynar in the hospital and found Daniel and Sha're in the Infirmary visiting David Jordon.
"Hey Jack, General; how did your visit with Stephen go? Sarah, are you okay?" Daniel asked.
"The meeting with Dr. Raynar went pretty much as expected." The General answered.
"Stephen Raynar is not a happy camper right now." Jack interpreted.
"I'm okay, Daniel." Sarah said. "But I'm very glad that I'll be moving soon...if I get the position at Cambridge that is. I don't envy you, Professor; having to work with Stephen after this."
"I'm sure you'll get the position, Sarah; I just mailed Cambridge a glowing recommendation about you and your work." David Jordon replied. "As to Stephen...everything should work out alright. Remember, he doesn't think I know anything about any of this. I bet he'll even deny that Daniel came to visit me."
"So, when do you think we can return to Chicago, General?" Sarah asked.
"Actually, you and Dr. Jordon are scheduled to fly out tonight." The General said glancing at his watch.
"And you two are still coming with us, aren't you?" Sarah asked Daniel and Sha're.
Sarah had actually bonded with Sha're during their conversations about their shared experiences with the Goa'uld.
"Absolutely, I want to make sure that David gets settled back into the University Medical Center alright." Daniel answered
"And I am looking forward to spending a bit more time with you, Sarah." Sha're said, smiling.
"Then you'll fly back here tonight, right? I think we've been away from Antar long enough." Jack said and then added. "I hate to be away from the training so long and Daniel and Max are in the middle of negotiations."
"That's right." The General agreed and if he thought anything strange or suspicious was going on, he did not show it. "You're scheduled to go through the Stargate at 08:00 tomorrow morning." He ordered.
"I just hope we can sleep on the flight back." Daniel said wincing.
The trip to Chicago went off without a hitch; Daniel and David talked during the entire trip as did Sha're and Sarah at the opposite end of the roomy cabin. Upon landing, Dr. Jordon was transferred from the plane to the Medical Center and Daniel saw to it that he was safely tucked into his private hospital room before he and Sha're accompanied Sarah to her apartment. Sarah assured them that she would be alright and promised to keep in touch with them, especially if she had any trouble adjusting to "normal" life and her new job.
Daniel and Sha're did indeed get a little sleep on the return flight; they stowed the armrests on the four deeply padded chairs which ran along one side of the cabin, Sha're made herself comfortable in her chair at one end and then encouraged Daniel to lay down across the remaining three chairs and put his head in her lap. He fell asleep quickly and deeply as Sha're gently ran her fingers through his hair. And after landing in Colorado Springs, they drove home to snuggle together in their own apartment for the rest of the night. The next morning, Daniel and Sha're, well rested, drove into work at the SGC.
"Morning you two." Jack said, smiling at the young couple as they joined him in the Control Room.
"Morning Jack; anxious to um...get back to Antar?" Daniel asked with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, great planet, lot's to do." Jack answered casually as the Stargate burst open and then rippled brightly. "Let's go kids." He said and the three of them walked down the stairs into the Embarkation Room and then stepped through the worm-hole.
It was a gorgeous spring morning on Antar when they arrived on the other side. And since no one knew exactly when they would be returning, no hovercraft was there waiting for them, so all three of them decided to hike down for once. The trail down the hill was not too difficult and the views from the different elevations were beautiful. A person only got into trouble if they paid more attention to the wild-flowers than where they were putting their feet.
When they reached the Capital, at the foot of the large hill, they split up. Jack walked towards Beneck's house, in hopes of finding Sam, while Daniel and Sha're walked towards the Royal Manor, where they were staying. When the arrived, the older couple found their eight friends in the dining room eating breakfast.
"Good morning everyone." Daniel and Sha're called out.
"Hey you two, how was Abydos?" Liz asked.
Daniel was a little shocked, but then realized that no one had told them anything about what had really been going on over the past five days or so.
"Abydos was wonderful!" Sha're answered happily. "It was so nice to see my father and little Shifu again. But my Dan'yel was not with me most of the time."
"Huh? What happened?" Michael asked and motioned them to sit down.
"Didn't Sam tell you?" Daniel asked, puzzled.
"No, she said that it was your tale to tell." Maria said.
"Uh, well...just as we were to leave for Abydos, I found out that my archeology professor, Dr. David Jordon, had been involved in an accident and was not expected to live." Daniel began and there were gasps or cries from most everyone at the table.
"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction." Daniel admitted. "I really wanted to fly back to Chicago, but I knew that I needed to take Sha're to her father on Abydos; their Stargate would be uncovered for just that one day and if we didn't go through then, we'd never be able to, ever again."
"My Dan'yel was ready to give up his chance to see his teacher and only come with me to visit my father." Sha're said rolling her eyes in loving exasperation at her husband.
"But my sweet Sha're insisted that I only escort her through the Stargate to Kasuf and then return to Earth so that I could fly to Chicago." Daniel said with a loving smile on his face and then he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. He drew away reluctantly and then continued after someone cleared his throat. "Anyway, Sha're had insisted on telling the General about our dilemma and he had a plane waiting for me as soon as I returned to the SGC."
"Did you get there in time?" Tess asked anxiously, holding tightly to her fiancé, Kyle's hand and he soothed her by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"Well...in one sense, yes I did arrive in time...but in another...I didn't." Daniel said with a secretive smile; he was getting into the storytelling mood.
"Huh, what does that mean?" Michael asked as Maria shivered anxiously within the circle of his arms as well.
"Well..." Daniel drawled slowly as he began. "I did arrive in time to see Dr. Jordon at the hospital; he was still hanging onto life, but unbeknownst to me...there was a great danger lurking nearby..." And he launched into the story of Osiris' curse.
"You mean to tell me that there had been two Goa'uld hiding out on Earth all this time and no one knew about it?" Alex exclaimed in horror, interrupting Daniel in the middle of his story.
"Well, technically there were four Goa'uld left on Earth...that we know of. We'd already encountered Hathor and Seth. Hathor got away from us for a while, but Jack killed her a few months ago and Sam killed Seth when we tracked him down in the American Northwest shortly after that...and...Osiris and Isis were imprisoned here; forced into those canopic jars...but I digress, where was I...oh yes...Stephen Raynar had skipped town and was headed for Cairo." Daniel continued uninterrupted until his story was finished. Whereupon there was quite a bit of chuckling and giggling at Stephen's final fate; to continue teaching what he now knew to false...with the realization that his rival, Daniel Jackson had been right all along.
"I'd love to meet Dr. Jordon; perhaps Antar could be the first planet he gates to." Max suggested.
"And perhaps he'd like to come to our wedding..." Liz added and then continued. "And speaking of our wedding...Max and I were wondering if you and Sha're would like to renew your wedding vows at the same time..."
"Wow, that's quite an offer, Liz; thanks..." Daniel said and then glanced down at Sha're. A short bit of non-verbal communication passed in between them and then Daniel turned back to Max and Liz. "I had in fact thought of our doing just that, but the proper place for such a ceremony would be on Abydos, where Kasuf could give us his blessing, as he did the first time...And besides..." Daniel held up a hand to forestall any arguments. "This will be Your special day; a Royal Wedding, and as much as we appreciate your offer, it wouldn't be right for us to horn in and possibly outshine all eight of you!" Daniel finished with a grin as everyone else either groaned or grinned along with him.
"So, um, uh, has anything been happening here?" Daniel asked a few moments later. "How did your meeting go with the other dream-walkers and mind-warpers?"
"Actually, we've made quite a lot of progress." Isabel said smiling broadly. "Now that all five of you're back, we'll have a meeting this morning to explain everything to you."
Daniel nodded excitedly and Sha're smiled, happy that some progress had been made in fighting the Goa'uld. After everyone finished their breakfasts, including Daniel and Sha're, who nibble on muffins for their second breakfast of the morning, Michael went in search of Teal'c. The young general and the Jaffa had become rather good friends over the weeks they had been working together. And Max and Liz strolled hand in hand over to where Jack and Sam were staying. When the young couple arrived there, they glanced back and forth to each other.
"Do you think it's safe to knock on the door, or will we be interrupting something, do you think?" Liz asked.
While Sam had been unwilling to tell any of her friends about what was really going on with Daniel back on Earth, there had been a certain special glow about her after she had returned to Antar...And even though she would also not admit to anything happening between herself and Jack, her friends were beginning to wonder if something had.
"No...look, there's a light on in the kitchen." Max said after glancing down the side of the house; towards the rear.
"Yeah, but remember what Michael told us he found those two doing...on the kitchen counter!" Liz reminded her lover.
"Yeah, he said they were acting just like us!" Max said as he leaned down to give his lady-love a quick, yet intense kiss on her full lips.
"Mmm...okay, um...should we go and try knocking on their back door?" Liz asked after licking her lips.
"Sure." Max said as he drew her behind him, on the way to the home's back door. "Knock, knock." Max called out as he rapped his knuckles on the door. "Anyone home?"
A sound of scuffling came from within as well as a few choice curse-words from Jack, before the door was wrenched open by the frustrated Colonel.
"What?" He all but yelled, but then modified his facial features and tone of voice when he recognized Antar's king and future queen, standing at his door. "Oh, uh, sorry...Sam and I were...uh, um...never mind! What can I do for you folks?" Jack asked, plastering a charming smile onto his face and opening the door wider so that they could enter.
They entered the kitchen to find a much rumpled Sam trying to pick up a few things from the floor where they had obviously landed after being "accidentally" knocked off of the kitchen table.
"Oh my!" Liz whispered into Max's ear, but then they both fought to wipe the silly-looking grins off of their faces as they turned to their two, newly-in-love friends.
"We just came to tell you that we're having a meeting back at the Manor, to discuss some of the progress we've made over the last few days and some other news as well." Max told them.
"Oh, yeah, that would be great to hear." Sam said a little too energetically and Max and Liz grinned.
"So...we'll see you two in a few minutes then?" Max asked casually.
"Yeah, sure we'll be right there." Jack said, equally casual, before Max and Liz left their house.
Back at the Manor, everyone had gathered out on the patio to enjoy the lovely weather, but as they all waited for Sam and Jack to appear, several of the couples turned their attention away from the subject to be discussed and towards each other. Michael had pulled Maria onto his lap and was stroking her face with gentle fingertips as they whispered to each other. Alex and Isabel were sharing a seat; Alex had his arm around Isabel and was playing with her long, blond hair. Daniel and Sha're's heads were close together and they seemed to be speaking Abydonian to one another as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Kyle and Tess had been sitting next to each other, but now, following in Michael's example, Kyle pulled Tess up onto his lap for a kiss...And Max and Liz were having trouble keeping their hands off of each other and following in their friends' footsteps, but they knew that the meeting would begin as soon as Sam and Jack arrived and wanted to appear business-like. Teal'c was also rather stunned by all of the romantic activity going on around him, but his impassive face gave very little of his thoughts away.
Just then, Sam and Jack came around a corner in the path and stopped in shock when they saw the make-out sessions going on. Both of them had taken the time to put on fresh, clean BDUs, creases ironed in at all the proper places, even for such casual clothing and they looked all business; neither of them was mussed, rumpled or smudged, but the Colonel did still appear to be frustrated.
"Excuse us, but wasn't there supposed to be a meeting here?" Jack asked sarcastically. If he and Sam had had to stop their previous...um...activities, so should everyone else, he thought to himself.
"Hey, Sam, Jack...we were just waiting for you." Daniel said, half-reproachful, half-teasing.
"And waiting...and waiting..." Kyle muttered under his breath.
"Nice of you two to join us." Max said blandly. "Um, Michael, Maria...we're going to start the meeting now, would you two like to join us?" He called across the patio to the couple who were still involved only in each other.
Everyone was blushing to some degree, except Michael who simply discontinued his kiss of Maria's arched neck and turned to his king.
"Sure, Maxwell; whenever you're ready." He said in a tone, which really meant; 'so what are we waiting for, duh?'
"Have a seat, Sam, Jack and let's begin." Max said getting everyone's attention. "Isabel, why don't you and Tess bring SG-1 and Sha're up to speed on what you've been able to accomplish over the last few days?"
"Okay, while Daniel and Sam were busy catching a Goa'uld on Earth, our dream-walkers and mind-warp-people were also busy. Forty of us; twenty from each skill-group, each attempted to make contact with a Goa'uld, the host or even a symbiote...or a known Jaffa. Of those who contacted a host, twelve out of fifteen were successful. Contacting a symbiote is much more difficult and only nine out of fifteen were able to be contacted to some degree. Better news is that every one of the ten Jaffa were able to be contacted. Now, of these people...or creatures who were contacted, our people had varying degrees of success in having a conversation with them or...forcing them to do something against their will, but we learned a Lot! We plan to refine our techniques and keep on trying to learn more." Isabel finished.
"Your efforts do sound most promising, IsabelEvans." Teal'c told her gravely. "What is your ultimate goal? How do you plan to use these powers of yours to wipe out the Goa'uld?"
"And what do you plan to do about the millions of Jaffa who serve the Goa'uld; their physiology will still be dependent on carrying an immature symbiote?" Daniel asked.
"We are still in the learning stages here; we didn't even know that we could contact a Goa'uld host or symbiote a week ago." Isabel reminded them. "But our general plan is to try and communicate with the symbiote if we can; using the host if possible. But from what you've told us, the Goa'uld will never lose their need for conquest and war...You've told me that even the Tok'ra, who do not take unwilling hosts, are still rather arrogant and believe themselves to be superior to Humans. Will they fight over who should rule the stars once their brethren have been conquered?" Isabel asked.
"That's a good question." Sam said. "Maybe we should ask my dad to come back here so that we can speak to him."
"That would be a great idea; we might be able to work together with the Tok'ra or at least marry our plans to theirs, so we don't duplicate effort or get in each other's way. But anyway, barring some giant surprise, which would include the Goa'uld surrendering to us without a shot being fired..." Isabel and her listeners all groaned at the impossibility. "We plan a campaign of nightmares and mind-warps, which will make them fight each other, hopefully not involving their Jaffa armies in the process... whatever works for us. As to the Jaffa, we will try contacting them, prove to them that the Goa'uld are not gods and get them to leave their masters or fight against them. We wouldn't want to mind-warp them unless we have to. From Sha're we learned that we are able to fix a person's immune system after their symbiote has been removed. We can offer any Jaffa (or host) who wish it, freedom from their dependence on the Goa'uld!"
"You know...this is an incredible thing you're trying to do here." Jack said half-grateful, half-wary. "And I don't mean any disrespect when I ask this, but is there...anything you want from us in exchange for your getting rid of the Goa'uld for us?"
"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed.
"No, no...that's a fair question." Max admitted. "And yes there is something we want your help on, but we'll continue our work to eliminate the Goa'uld no matter what your answer is to this next item...We touched on this briefly when we first met and Daniel, General Hammond and I have been negotiating towards this end...We Antarians, a few of us anyway, have the technical know-how to build faster-than-light-speed ships, we even have the factories, which weren't destroyed during the war, in which to build them...And we do have an ancient naquada-mine that might have enough ore in it to build the ships with...otherwise, we'll use the materials we've always used in our ships...or a combination of both...But, we don't have enough manpower anymore. Too many of our technically trained people were killed during the war, as were a large percentage of our population in general...Not a family was left untouched by fifty years of fighting." Max drifted off sadly and paused for a moment before continuing. "Now we can train a new generation in these skills...and we will, but we need manpower and know-how right now; to seek out the naquada and mine it and to then build the ships themselves."
"Oh yeah, now I remember; this was touched on very briefly a ways back." Jack muttered.
"Well, that's something we can certainly help you with, as we put into that proposal that you and I wrote up." Daniel said. "How did that work out with your Council?"
"It was very well received!" Max broke out into a grin before continuing. "I believe the other, smaller points that we still need to cover will be accepted as well. How will your superiors take our proposal?" Max asked.
"The General and Major Paul Davis, our liaison with the Pentagon, both like our proposal as well. As soon as your Council signs off on it, we're prepared to take it to the President and the Joint Chiefs...It'll be an enormous undertaking; building two ships to start with; one for you and one for us, all here on Antar...But I think we'll be ready to sign the treaty and get started with the project within a month if all goes well." Daniel reached out and rapped his knuckles on a wooden table next to him; better to cover all bases and not jinx things now, he thought.
"Well then, have we covered everything? Does anyone have anymore questions?" Max asked glancing around at the entire group.
"Oh yeah, I have a question." Sam spoke up with a smile. "How're the wedding preparations going...you're at T-six weeks, right?"
"Yeah, but everything's going really pretty well...amazingly." Liz spoke up and her scientific mind warred with the tiny superstitious voice of her gut, not to follow Daniel's example and 'knock on wood'.
"We've been able to make a few changes that we really wanted made." Isabel piped up. "Even though our mothers insist on handling everything."
"And it'll be a miracle if Isabel has any nails left by the time the wedding rolls around, the way she keeps chewing on them." Maria giggled.
"No problem, dah-ling." Isabel drawled and flashed her perfectly manicured nails. "I have alien magic at my fingertips...literally." Isabel shot back.
"So...are your mothers here this weekend?" Sha're asked.
"Not this week, but they'll be coming back next week." Maria answered. "Wow, I always knew that Mom was a great one for bargaining, but she's been great, dealing with Max's mother."
"Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Evans have been able to help her a lot too." Tess added. "I think it's going to be beautiful ceremony...with hardly any stress...at least on my part...the mother's may be pulling their hair out by then, though!"
"No, Mother; Valaria has commented to me that the other ladies have been wonderful to work with. That's saying something considering how much she's used to getting her own way...and how many changes I know she's allowed." Max said, grinning down at his fiancé.
"Well I can hardly wait until our wedding!" Liz replied, meeting his warm amber eyes and getting lost in them.
"Uh...hmmm...I guess the meeting's over?" Daniel asked as no one else had any more questions they needed answers to badly enough to disturb Max and Liz, who were sliding more deeply into their own little world with every second that passed by.
"Yeah, let's get to work." Jack said to everyone in general and they all rose from their seats and drifted off to the day's activities.
TBC
Author: jane
E-mail: illta1985@aol.com
Category: AU, Futurefic, Crossover(Roswell/Stargate SG1)
Rating: PG13 (A few swearwords)
Disclaimer: The characters of Roswell belong to Melinda Metz, UPN, Jason Katims and all the wonderful people who we all love for starting this fabulous series (but who we are frustrated with, for messing up the beautiful, 1st season story line!). Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement or disrespect is intended. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
Summary: After college, Alex and Liz (from Roswell) join the SGC. As the Stargate gives up its secrets, will their new colleagues in SG1 learn about the secrets the two friends still carry? Will they ever "dial up" one planet's address in particular? Read and find out!
Stargazers Stargaters Part 36
General Hammond, Sarah Gardner and Jack O'Neill returned to the SGC after visiting Stephen Raynar in the hospital and found Daniel and Sha're in the Infirmary visiting David Jordon.
"Hey Jack, General; how did your visit with Stephen go? Sarah, are you okay?" Daniel asked.
"The meeting with Dr. Raynar went pretty much as expected." The General answered.
"Stephen Raynar is not a happy camper right now." Jack interpreted.
"I'm okay, Daniel." Sarah said. "But I'm very glad that I'll be moving soon...if I get the position at Cambridge that is. I don't envy you, Professor; having to work with Stephen after this."
"I'm sure you'll get the position, Sarah; I just mailed Cambridge a glowing recommendation about you and your work." David Jordon replied. "As to Stephen...everything should work out alright. Remember, he doesn't think I know anything about any of this. I bet he'll even deny that Daniel came to visit me."
"So, when do you think we can return to Chicago, General?" Sarah asked.
"Actually, you and Dr. Jordon are scheduled to fly out tonight." The General said glancing at his watch.
"And you two are still coming with us, aren't you?" Sarah asked Daniel and Sha're.
Sarah had actually bonded with Sha're during their conversations about their shared experiences with the Goa'uld.
"Absolutely, I want to make sure that David gets settled back into the University Medical Center alright." Daniel answered
"And I am looking forward to spending a bit more time with you, Sarah." Sha're said, smiling.
"Then you'll fly back here tonight, right? I think we've been away from Antar long enough." Jack said and then added. "I hate to be away from the training so long and Daniel and Max are in the middle of negotiations."
"That's right." The General agreed and if he thought anything strange or suspicious was going on, he did not show it. "You're scheduled to go through the Stargate at 08:00 tomorrow morning." He ordered.
"I just hope we can sleep on the flight back." Daniel said wincing.
The trip to Chicago went off without a hitch; Daniel and David talked during the entire trip as did Sha're and Sarah at the opposite end of the roomy cabin. Upon landing, Dr. Jordon was transferred from the plane to the Medical Center and Daniel saw to it that he was safely tucked into his private hospital room before he and Sha're accompanied Sarah to her apartment. Sarah assured them that she would be alright and promised to keep in touch with them, especially if she had any trouble adjusting to "normal" life and her new job.
Daniel and Sha're did indeed get a little sleep on the return flight; they stowed the armrests on the four deeply padded chairs which ran along one side of the cabin, Sha're made herself comfortable in her chair at one end and then encouraged Daniel to lay down across the remaining three chairs and put his head in her lap. He fell asleep quickly and deeply as Sha're gently ran her fingers through his hair. And after landing in Colorado Springs, they drove home to snuggle together in their own apartment for the rest of the night. The next morning, Daniel and Sha're, well rested, drove into work at the SGC.
"Morning you two." Jack said, smiling at the young couple as they joined him in the Control Room.
"Morning Jack; anxious to um...get back to Antar?" Daniel asked with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, great planet, lot's to do." Jack answered casually as the Stargate burst open and then rippled brightly. "Let's go kids." He said and the three of them walked down the stairs into the Embarkation Room and then stepped through the worm-hole.
It was a gorgeous spring morning on Antar when they arrived on the other side. And since no one knew exactly when they would be returning, no hovercraft was there waiting for them, so all three of them decided to hike down for once. The trail down the hill was not too difficult and the views from the different elevations were beautiful. A person only got into trouble if they paid more attention to the wild-flowers than where they were putting their feet.
When they reached the Capital, at the foot of the large hill, they split up. Jack walked towards Beneck's house, in hopes of finding Sam, while Daniel and Sha're walked towards the Royal Manor, where they were staying. When the arrived, the older couple found their eight friends in the dining room eating breakfast.
"Good morning everyone." Daniel and Sha're called out.
"Hey you two, how was Abydos?" Liz asked.
Daniel was a little shocked, but then realized that no one had told them anything about what had really been going on over the past five days or so.
"Abydos was wonderful!" Sha're answered happily. "It was so nice to see my father and little Shifu again. But my Dan'yel was not with me most of the time."
"Huh? What happened?" Michael asked and motioned them to sit down.
"Didn't Sam tell you?" Daniel asked, puzzled.
"No, she said that it was your tale to tell." Maria said.
"Uh, well...just as we were to leave for Abydos, I found out that my archeology professor, Dr. David Jordon, had been involved in an accident and was not expected to live." Daniel began and there were gasps or cries from most everyone at the table.
"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction." Daniel admitted. "I really wanted to fly back to Chicago, but I knew that I needed to take Sha're to her father on Abydos; their Stargate would be uncovered for just that one day and if we didn't go through then, we'd never be able to, ever again."
"My Dan'yel was ready to give up his chance to see his teacher and only come with me to visit my father." Sha're said rolling her eyes in loving exasperation at her husband.
"But my sweet Sha're insisted that I only escort her through the Stargate to Kasuf and then return to Earth so that I could fly to Chicago." Daniel said with a loving smile on his face and then he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. He drew away reluctantly and then continued after someone cleared his throat. "Anyway, Sha're had insisted on telling the General about our dilemma and he had a plane waiting for me as soon as I returned to the SGC."
"Did you get there in time?" Tess asked anxiously, holding tightly to her fiancé, Kyle's hand and he soothed her by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"Well...in one sense, yes I did arrive in time...but in another...I didn't." Daniel said with a secretive smile; he was getting into the storytelling mood.
"Huh, what does that mean?" Michael asked as Maria shivered anxiously within the circle of his arms as well.
"Well..." Daniel drawled slowly as he began. "I did arrive in time to see Dr. Jordon at the hospital; he was still hanging onto life, but unbeknownst to me...there was a great danger lurking nearby..." And he launched into the story of Osiris' curse.
"You mean to tell me that there had been two Goa'uld hiding out on Earth all this time and no one knew about it?" Alex exclaimed in horror, interrupting Daniel in the middle of his story.
"Well, technically there were four Goa'uld left on Earth...that we know of. We'd already encountered Hathor and Seth. Hathor got away from us for a while, but Jack killed her a few months ago and Sam killed Seth when we tracked him down in the American Northwest shortly after that...and...Osiris and Isis were imprisoned here; forced into those canopic jars...but I digress, where was I...oh yes...Stephen Raynar had skipped town and was headed for Cairo." Daniel continued uninterrupted until his story was finished. Whereupon there was quite a bit of chuckling and giggling at Stephen's final fate; to continue teaching what he now knew to false...with the realization that his rival, Daniel Jackson had been right all along.
"I'd love to meet Dr. Jordon; perhaps Antar could be the first planet he gates to." Max suggested.
"And perhaps he'd like to come to our wedding..." Liz added and then continued. "And speaking of our wedding...Max and I were wondering if you and Sha're would like to renew your wedding vows at the same time..."
"Wow, that's quite an offer, Liz; thanks..." Daniel said and then glanced down at Sha're. A short bit of non-verbal communication passed in between them and then Daniel turned back to Max and Liz. "I had in fact thought of our doing just that, but the proper place for such a ceremony would be on Abydos, where Kasuf could give us his blessing, as he did the first time...And besides..." Daniel held up a hand to forestall any arguments. "This will be Your special day; a Royal Wedding, and as much as we appreciate your offer, it wouldn't be right for us to horn in and possibly outshine all eight of you!" Daniel finished with a grin as everyone else either groaned or grinned along with him.
"So, um, uh, has anything been happening here?" Daniel asked a few moments later. "How did your meeting go with the other dream-walkers and mind-warpers?"
"Actually, we've made quite a lot of progress." Isabel said smiling broadly. "Now that all five of you're back, we'll have a meeting this morning to explain everything to you."
Daniel nodded excitedly and Sha're smiled, happy that some progress had been made in fighting the Goa'uld. After everyone finished their breakfasts, including Daniel and Sha're, who nibble on muffins for their second breakfast of the morning, Michael went in search of Teal'c. The young general and the Jaffa had become rather good friends over the weeks they had been working together. And Max and Liz strolled hand in hand over to where Jack and Sam were staying. When the young couple arrived there, they glanced back and forth to each other.
"Do you think it's safe to knock on the door, or will we be interrupting something, do you think?" Liz asked.
While Sam had been unwilling to tell any of her friends about what was really going on with Daniel back on Earth, there had been a certain special glow about her after she had returned to Antar...And even though she would also not admit to anything happening between herself and Jack, her friends were beginning to wonder if something had.
"No...look, there's a light on in the kitchen." Max said after glancing down the side of the house; towards the rear.
"Yeah, but remember what Michael told us he found those two doing...on the kitchen counter!" Liz reminded her lover.
"Yeah, he said they were acting just like us!" Max said as he leaned down to give his lady-love a quick, yet intense kiss on her full lips.
"Mmm...okay, um...should we go and try knocking on their back door?" Liz asked after licking her lips.
"Sure." Max said as he drew her behind him, on the way to the home's back door. "Knock, knock." Max called out as he rapped his knuckles on the door. "Anyone home?"
A sound of scuffling came from within as well as a few choice curse-words from Jack, before the door was wrenched open by the frustrated Colonel.
"What?" He all but yelled, but then modified his facial features and tone of voice when he recognized Antar's king and future queen, standing at his door. "Oh, uh, sorry...Sam and I were...uh, um...never mind! What can I do for you folks?" Jack asked, plastering a charming smile onto his face and opening the door wider so that they could enter.
They entered the kitchen to find a much rumpled Sam trying to pick up a few things from the floor where they had obviously landed after being "accidentally" knocked off of the kitchen table.
"Oh my!" Liz whispered into Max's ear, but then they both fought to wipe the silly-looking grins off of their faces as they turned to their two, newly-in-love friends.
"We just came to tell you that we're having a meeting back at the Manor, to discuss some of the progress we've made over the last few days and some other news as well." Max told them.
"Oh, yeah, that would be great to hear." Sam said a little too energetically and Max and Liz grinned.
"So...we'll see you two in a few minutes then?" Max asked casually.
"Yeah, sure we'll be right there." Jack said, equally casual, before Max and Liz left their house.
Back at the Manor, everyone had gathered out on the patio to enjoy the lovely weather, but as they all waited for Sam and Jack to appear, several of the couples turned their attention away from the subject to be discussed and towards each other. Michael had pulled Maria onto his lap and was stroking her face with gentle fingertips as they whispered to each other. Alex and Isabel were sharing a seat; Alex had his arm around Isabel and was playing with her long, blond hair. Daniel and Sha're's heads were close together and they seemed to be speaking Abydonian to one another as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Kyle and Tess had been sitting next to each other, but now, following in Michael's example, Kyle pulled Tess up onto his lap for a kiss...And Max and Liz were having trouble keeping their hands off of each other and following in their friends' footsteps, but they knew that the meeting would begin as soon as Sam and Jack arrived and wanted to appear business-like. Teal'c was also rather stunned by all of the romantic activity going on around him, but his impassive face gave very little of his thoughts away.
Just then, Sam and Jack came around a corner in the path and stopped in shock when they saw the make-out sessions going on. Both of them had taken the time to put on fresh, clean BDUs, creases ironed in at all the proper places, even for such casual clothing and they looked all business; neither of them was mussed, rumpled or smudged, but the Colonel did still appear to be frustrated.
"Excuse us, but wasn't there supposed to be a meeting here?" Jack asked sarcastically. If he and Sam had had to stop their previous...um...activities, so should everyone else, he thought to himself.
"Hey, Sam, Jack...we were just waiting for you." Daniel said, half-reproachful, half-teasing.
"And waiting...and waiting..." Kyle muttered under his breath.
"Nice of you two to join us." Max said blandly. "Um, Michael, Maria...we're going to start the meeting now, would you two like to join us?" He called across the patio to the couple who were still involved only in each other.
Everyone was blushing to some degree, except Michael who simply discontinued his kiss of Maria's arched neck and turned to his king.
"Sure, Maxwell; whenever you're ready." He said in a tone, which really meant; 'so what are we waiting for, duh?'
"Have a seat, Sam, Jack and let's begin." Max said getting everyone's attention. "Isabel, why don't you and Tess bring SG-1 and Sha're up to speed on what you've been able to accomplish over the last few days?"
"Okay, while Daniel and Sam were busy catching a Goa'uld on Earth, our dream-walkers and mind-warp-people were also busy. Forty of us; twenty from each skill-group, each attempted to make contact with a Goa'uld, the host or even a symbiote...or a known Jaffa. Of those who contacted a host, twelve out of fifteen were successful. Contacting a symbiote is much more difficult and only nine out of fifteen were able to be contacted to some degree. Better news is that every one of the ten Jaffa were able to be contacted. Now, of these people...or creatures who were contacted, our people had varying degrees of success in having a conversation with them or...forcing them to do something against their will, but we learned a Lot! We plan to refine our techniques and keep on trying to learn more." Isabel finished.
"Your efforts do sound most promising, IsabelEvans." Teal'c told her gravely. "What is your ultimate goal? How do you plan to use these powers of yours to wipe out the Goa'uld?"
"And what do you plan to do about the millions of Jaffa who serve the Goa'uld; their physiology will still be dependent on carrying an immature symbiote?" Daniel asked.
"We are still in the learning stages here; we didn't even know that we could contact a Goa'uld host or symbiote a week ago." Isabel reminded them. "But our general plan is to try and communicate with the symbiote if we can; using the host if possible. But from what you've told us, the Goa'uld will never lose their need for conquest and war...You've told me that even the Tok'ra, who do not take unwilling hosts, are still rather arrogant and believe themselves to be superior to Humans. Will they fight over who should rule the stars once their brethren have been conquered?" Isabel asked.
"That's a good question." Sam said. "Maybe we should ask my dad to come back here so that we can speak to him."
"That would be a great idea; we might be able to work together with the Tok'ra or at least marry our plans to theirs, so we don't duplicate effort or get in each other's way. But anyway, barring some giant surprise, which would include the Goa'uld surrendering to us without a shot being fired..." Isabel and her listeners all groaned at the impossibility. "We plan a campaign of nightmares and mind-warps, which will make them fight each other, hopefully not involving their Jaffa armies in the process... whatever works for us. As to the Jaffa, we will try contacting them, prove to them that the Goa'uld are not gods and get them to leave their masters or fight against them. We wouldn't want to mind-warp them unless we have to. From Sha're we learned that we are able to fix a person's immune system after their symbiote has been removed. We can offer any Jaffa (or host) who wish it, freedom from their dependence on the Goa'uld!"
"You know...this is an incredible thing you're trying to do here." Jack said half-grateful, half-wary. "And I don't mean any disrespect when I ask this, but is there...anything you want from us in exchange for your getting rid of the Goa'uld for us?"
"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed.
"No, no...that's a fair question." Max admitted. "And yes there is something we want your help on, but we'll continue our work to eliminate the Goa'uld no matter what your answer is to this next item...We touched on this briefly when we first met and Daniel, General Hammond and I have been negotiating towards this end...We Antarians, a few of us anyway, have the technical know-how to build faster-than-light-speed ships, we even have the factories, which weren't destroyed during the war, in which to build them...And we do have an ancient naquada-mine that might have enough ore in it to build the ships with...otherwise, we'll use the materials we've always used in our ships...or a combination of both...But, we don't have enough manpower anymore. Too many of our technically trained people were killed during the war, as were a large percentage of our population in general...Not a family was left untouched by fifty years of fighting." Max drifted off sadly and paused for a moment before continuing. "Now we can train a new generation in these skills...and we will, but we need manpower and know-how right now; to seek out the naquada and mine it and to then build the ships themselves."
"Oh yeah, now I remember; this was touched on very briefly a ways back." Jack muttered.
"Well, that's something we can certainly help you with, as we put into that proposal that you and I wrote up." Daniel said. "How did that work out with your Council?"
"It was very well received!" Max broke out into a grin before continuing. "I believe the other, smaller points that we still need to cover will be accepted as well. How will your superiors take our proposal?" Max asked.
"The General and Major Paul Davis, our liaison with the Pentagon, both like our proposal as well. As soon as your Council signs off on it, we're prepared to take it to the President and the Joint Chiefs...It'll be an enormous undertaking; building two ships to start with; one for you and one for us, all here on Antar...But I think we'll be ready to sign the treaty and get started with the project within a month if all goes well." Daniel reached out and rapped his knuckles on a wooden table next to him; better to cover all bases and not jinx things now, he thought.
"Well then, have we covered everything? Does anyone have anymore questions?" Max asked glancing around at the entire group.
"Oh yeah, I have a question." Sam spoke up with a smile. "How're the wedding preparations going...you're at T-six weeks, right?"
"Yeah, but everything's going really pretty well...amazingly." Liz spoke up and her scientific mind warred with the tiny superstitious voice of her gut, not to follow Daniel's example and 'knock on wood'.
"We've been able to make a few changes that we really wanted made." Isabel piped up. "Even though our mothers insist on handling everything."
"And it'll be a miracle if Isabel has any nails left by the time the wedding rolls around, the way she keeps chewing on them." Maria giggled.
"No problem, dah-ling." Isabel drawled and flashed her perfectly manicured nails. "I have alien magic at my fingertips...literally." Isabel shot back.
"So...are your mothers here this weekend?" Sha're asked.
"Not this week, but they'll be coming back next week." Maria answered. "Wow, I always knew that Mom was a great one for bargaining, but she's been great, dealing with Max's mother."
"Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Evans have been able to help her a lot too." Tess added. "I think it's going to be beautiful ceremony...with hardly any stress...at least on my part...the mother's may be pulling their hair out by then, though!"
"No, Mother; Valaria has commented to me that the other ladies have been wonderful to work with. That's saying something considering how much she's used to getting her own way...and how many changes I know she's allowed." Max said, grinning down at his fiancé.
"Well I can hardly wait until our wedding!" Liz replied, meeting his warm amber eyes and getting lost in them.
"Uh...hmmm...I guess the meeting's over?" Daniel asked as no one else had any more questions they needed answers to badly enough to disturb Max and Liz, who were sliding more deeply into their own little world with every second that passed by.
"Yeah, let's get to work." Jack said to everyone in general and they all rose from their seats and drifted off to the day's activities.
TBC
