Hi, next instalment
I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
So the room must listen to me
Filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e
Bird House In Your Soul from They Might Be Giants
==============
General Hammond stopped both Sam and Jonas as they came out of commissary, "Sir," Sam acknowledged.
"Major," Hammond replied, "would you give us a moment?"
Sam nodded, patting Jonas reassuringly on the arm before leaving them alone.
The General looked down at the mug of tea, Jonas was carrying, before he spoke, "how about we get some fresh air," he said, motioning to the lift.
Jonas looked into the older man's face, trying to read between the lines of command that the years had entrenched on his features, but the General was giving nothing away. Jonas nodded and followed Hammond up to the surface.
As they stepped out into the bronze of the autumnal courtyard the leaves were playing tag with the wind as it tried to tidy up after itself by sweeping pathways through the dry, organic, debris.
General Hammond made his way to a derelict, wooden, out building that stood on the fringes of the compound, saluting to a maintenance crew working on a broken down truck as he passed.
Jonas looked around the shed, ever curious, which was filled with rusting bits of machinery and old paint tins whose dried out colour decorated their sides in cracked spills. "Sit down, Mister Quinn," the General said softly, signalling to a dark wood bench.
Jonas did as he was asked, placing his mug under the seat out of the way. Hammond took his place on a frayed and worn leather chair, "I come out here sometimes just to get a feel for things," the General enlightened, watching the service men mill around the courtyard, busy with their duties.
The Kelownan kept his head down staring at the carpet of squashed cigarette ends and cigar butts that littered the dusty floor.
The General swivelled his chair round to face the younger man, the mechanism winced at the movement, "son, Doctor Booard said he found you a little unresponsive to certain questions put to you at the psych test. He is of the opinion you're holding back something, something that has you all twisted up inside. He's worried that this is going to severely add to the physical and mental pressure that your, your gift already puts on your emotional state."
He sighed, letting his words rest for a moment with the alien, "Jonas he's asked me to take you off active duty, for a while, until he's happy that this 'issue' has been resolved."
The truck belched a thick plume of smoke from its exhaust much to the annoyance of the oil-smudged mechanic working under the hood. He let out a string of profanities that grabbed both men's attention for a short while. Jonas turned back and looked into the Texan's eyes, "General, please," he begged, "I couldn't sit around all day with my hands in my pockets, it, it would drive me insane!"
"Then give me something, son," the General requested gently and Jonas realised he was cornered.
He leant forward, clasping his hands together, wringing them as if they were wet, "it, it was no picnic going back to Kelowna," he said eventually, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor.
"I was still viewed as a traitor by many, by most Kelowans, actually," he continued with a small sardonic laugh, "but the Tiranians and Andari would trust no one else to handle the negotiations and I, I trusted the First Minister and her plan, her dream for unification. It was our planet's only way forward, if we were all going to survive."
Jonas looked at the General, his eyes full of pent up sentiment, "she went against all advise, to recall me, to have me by her side at the negotiating table, but it just showed the strength of her convictions, her belief in a united Langaria."
He stood up and went over to the open doorway, leaning against the frame, looking out onto the compound, "but at what cost," he whispered to himself, shaking his head as if to ward off some inner demons.
He turned back to Hammond, "as I said in my report, Ravel's Supremacist movement already had a tight grip on government and the ordinary people, especially those living on the boarders who had spent a life time defending their homes, their provinces against Tiranian or Andari attacks. The N- bomb and Anubis' first wave assault had done nothing to change the hatred in people's hearts but it had brought all sides together in an understanding, and Dreylock wanted to turn that understanding into co- operation."
He seemed uncomfortable with the conversation and began to pace the out- building as if trying to shift some weight, "it, it could of worked," he said looking to the General for approval. "I think all parties, all three nations were ready to accept some sort of coalition if it, if it wasn't for Ravel spreading his poisonous ideals and, and the history of 'wrongs' each side was unable to put behind them."
He sat back down, massaging his forehead, "that's why I was so ready to believe that he was behind..."
Jonas stopped for a moment, lost in some inner war, "behind what, son?" Hammond pressed.
The Kelownan looked up, "there was, was a massacre, of, of Andari refugees, families fleeing from their lands that had been poisoned by the bomb, " his vocal cords were tight with emotion. "We promised them a future, a home. We welcomed them to our bosom and called them brother only to slaughter them, when their backs were turned and slice them open so their entrails could freeze with the frost and snow."
There was an anger in Jonas' voice, something General Hammond had never associated with the young man, "someone had planted a rumour, that the Andari, at the camp, were infested with Goa'uld lava and the ordinary Kelownans lapped it up, letting that hatred in their hearts stir their blood lust."
He ran his fingers through the spikes of his hair trying to cleanse himself of blame as the resentment in his voice abated and an open sore of guilt cracked his words, "the City Guards just let them through. They just opened the gates and let the mob in. They could have stopped it, closed the compound, turned the mob away, but they had orders not to."
"From Ravel?" The General asked.
Jonas shook his head, "what mattered was that the Andari government thought the order had come from Ravel and that he had started the rumour."
Hammond looked confused as he watched Jonas play with a cigar butt, squashing the tobacco out of its belly with the tip of his foot, "the Andari were just about to sign a peace agreement with Ravel and pull-out of the coalition negotiations."
He looked up at the General, "needless to say, it didn't happen, not after the massacre," he sighed painfully, "it, it was Wolf who gave the order for the guards to stand down and it was he who started the rumour within the Supremacist movement."
"But General Wolf was working with the First Minister, for unification," the older man stated.
"Yes," Jonas said quietly.
Hammond understood; Dreylock had used the massacre to stop her opponent from aligning himself with one of her 'allies' and to get them back to the negotiating table.
"They trusted me," the Kelownan continued, his tone broken and anguished, "I sat round the table and sold them the idea that our peoples would have a joint future, that we would build better place to live where our children would not grow up hating their neighbours. They, they trusted me and I betrayed that faith."
"Jonas you had no idea that Dreylock had planned this," the General raised.
"I, I should have sensed it," he looked down a his gloved hand, "what use is, is this gift if it only works some of the time?"
"I cannot answer that, son, but it wasn't your fault. I know you feel disillusioned, hurt, even deceive by your government again but you gotta let it go. You know that, no matter how much you dwell on it, the past cannot be changed, so use that energy to work on the future, change that for the better."
Jonas wiped a hand over his face and slowly nodded, "yes sir," he said in almost a whisper.
Hammond leant back in the chair, again, before he spoke, "Doctor Booard tells me you've been having a visitor in the night."
He was rewarded with a slight smile, "the, the potter, sir, yes, a couple of nights ago."
"Major Carter believes that your visitor could explain the energy surge we experienced after Doctor Jackson's team exited for the planet."
"Really," there was a sparkle ignited in the Kelownan's eyes, Hammond smiled.
"You've not seen him since?"
"No, no, sir, only sensed him."
"At night?"
Jonas frowned, puzzled by the General's question, "um, sometimes."
"Mister Quinn would you say a trip to the excavation site might give you a stronger link with this 'individual'?"
Jonas nodded, "I believe so, sir."
"And therefore give you, once that link has been established and questions answered, a peaceful night's sleep and the rest that Doctor Booard has requested?"
Jonas smiled, "yes, sir."
"Colonel O'Neill is returning at fifteen hundred hours to collect supplies, do you think you could be ready to join him?"
The Kelownan nodded.
"Good," Hammond stated with a nod of his head, "but Mister Quinn, when you return I want you to attend regular sessions with Doctor Booard. I want you to be able to talk to him, just as we have done today, is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
Jonas got to his feet in a rush of excitement, reaching down to retrieve the mug; the General gestured for him to go. He watched the young man hurry across the compound, narrowly missing running into a group of servicemen in his haste. He smiled and reached into his top pocket pulling out a hand rolled Havana.
============
Jonas quickly tided his notes up, in the office, and tucked them into his bag. He glanced around the compact workspace, checking that he had not forgotten anything; his eyes resting on the microfiche, he picked the container up.
He held it tightly in is hand for a moment, letting the side of his balled fist tap against his lips in thought. He heard General Hammond's words again, 'you know that, no matter how much you dwell on it, the past cannot be changed, so use that energy to work on the future, change that for the better.'
He opened a nearby drawer and put the canister gently inside before shutting it.
When he had left the office an unseen presence went and opened the same drawer, lifting out the microfiche and replacing it, back, on the counter.
===========
Thanks for reading – let me know what you think.
;o)
I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
So the room must listen to me
Filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e
Bird House In Your Soul from They Might Be Giants
==============
General Hammond stopped both Sam and Jonas as they came out of commissary, "Sir," Sam acknowledged.
"Major," Hammond replied, "would you give us a moment?"
Sam nodded, patting Jonas reassuringly on the arm before leaving them alone.
The General looked down at the mug of tea, Jonas was carrying, before he spoke, "how about we get some fresh air," he said, motioning to the lift.
Jonas looked into the older man's face, trying to read between the lines of command that the years had entrenched on his features, but the General was giving nothing away. Jonas nodded and followed Hammond up to the surface.
As they stepped out into the bronze of the autumnal courtyard the leaves were playing tag with the wind as it tried to tidy up after itself by sweeping pathways through the dry, organic, debris.
General Hammond made his way to a derelict, wooden, out building that stood on the fringes of the compound, saluting to a maintenance crew working on a broken down truck as he passed.
Jonas looked around the shed, ever curious, which was filled with rusting bits of machinery and old paint tins whose dried out colour decorated their sides in cracked spills. "Sit down, Mister Quinn," the General said softly, signalling to a dark wood bench.
Jonas did as he was asked, placing his mug under the seat out of the way. Hammond took his place on a frayed and worn leather chair, "I come out here sometimes just to get a feel for things," the General enlightened, watching the service men mill around the courtyard, busy with their duties.
The Kelownan kept his head down staring at the carpet of squashed cigarette ends and cigar butts that littered the dusty floor.
The General swivelled his chair round to face the younger man, the mechanism winced at the movement, "son, Doctor Booard said he found you a little unresponsive to certain questions put to you at the psych test. He is of the opinion you're holding back something, something that has you all twisted up inside. He's worried that this is going to severely add to the physical and mental pressure that your, your gift already puts on your emotional state."
He sighed, letting his words rest for a moment with the alien, "Jonas he's asked me to take you off active duty, for a while, until he's happy that this 'issue' has been resolved."
The truck belched a thick plume of smoke from its exhaust much to the annoyance of the oil-smudged mechanic working under the hood. He let out a string of profanities that grabbed both men's attention for a short while. Jonas turned back and looked into the Texan's eyes, "General, please," he begged, "I couldn't sit around all day with my hands in my pockets, it, it would drive me insane!"
"Then give me something, son," the General requested gently and Jonas realised he was cornered.
He leant forward, clasping his hands together, wringing them as if they were wet, "it, it was no picnic going back to Kelowna," he said eventually, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor.
"I was still viewed as a traitor by many, by most Kelowans, actually," he continued with a small sardonic laugh, "but the Tiranians and Andari would trust no one else to handle the negotiations and I, I trusted the First Minister and her plan, her dream for unification. It was our planet's only way forward, if we were all going to survive."
Jonas looked at the General, his eyes full of pent up sentiment, "she went against all advise, to recall me, to have me by her side at the negotiating table, but it just showed the strength of her convictions, her belief in a united Langaria."
He stood up and went over to the open doorway, leaning against the frame, looking out onto the compound, "but at what cost," he whispered to himself, shaking his head as if to ward off some inner demons.
He turned back to Hammond, "as I said in my report, Ravel's Supremacist movement already had a tight grip on government and the ordinary people, especially those living on the boarders who had spent a life time defending their homes, their provinces against Tiranian or Andari attacks. The N- bomb and Anubis' first wave assault had done nothing to change the hatred in people's hearts but it had brought all sides together in an understanding, and Dreylock wanted to turn that understanding into co- operation."
He seemed uncomfortable with the conversation and began to pace the out- building as if trying to shift some weight, "it, it could of worked," he said looking to the General for approval. "I think all parties, all three nations were ready to accept some sort of coalition if it, if it wasn't for Ravel spreading his poisonous ideals and, and the history of 'wrongs' each side was unable to put behind them."
He sat back down, massaging his forehead, "that's why I was so ready to believe that he was behind..."
Jonas stopped for a moment, lost in some inner war, "behind what, son?" Hammond pressed.
The Kelownan looked up, "there was, was a massacre, of, of Andari refugees, families fleeing from their lands that had been poisoned by the bomb, " his vocal cords were tight with emotion. "We promised them a future, a home. We welcomed them to our bosom and called them brother only to slaughter them, when their backs were turned and slice them open so their entrails could freeze with the frost and snow."
There was an anger in Jonas' voice, something General Hammond had never associated with the young man, "someone had planted a rumour, that the Andari, at the camp, were infested with Goa'uld lava and the ordinary Kelownans lapped it up, letting that hatred in their hearts stir their blood lust."
He ran his fingers through the spikes of his hair trying to cleanse himself of blame as the resentment in his voice abated and an open sore of guilt cracked his words, "the City Guards just let them through. They just opened the gates and let the mob in. They could have stopped it, closed the compound, turned the mob away, but they had orders not to."
"From Ravel?" The General asked.
Jonas shook his head, "what mattered was that the Andari government thought the order had come from Ravel and that he had started the rumour."
Hammond looked confused as he watched Jonas play with a cigar butt, squashing the tobacco out of its belly with the tip of his foot, "the Andari were just about to sign a peace agreement with Ravel and pull-out of the coalition negotiations."
He looked up at the General, "needless to say, it didn't happen, not after the massacre," he sighed painfully, "it, it was Wolf who gave the order for the guards to stand down and it was he who started the rumour within the Supremacist movement."
"But General Wolf was working with the First Minister, for unification," the older man stated.
"Yes," Jonas said quietly.
Hammond understood; Dreylock had used the massacre to stop her opponent from aligning himself with one of her 'allies' and to get them back to the negotiating table.
"They trusted me," the Kelownan continued, his tone broken and anguished, "I sat round the table and sold them the idea that our peoples would have a joint future, that we would build better place to live where our children would not grow up hating their neighbours. They, they trusted me and I betrayed that faith."
"Jonas you had no idea that Dreylock had planned this," the General raised.
"I, I should have sensed it," he looked down a his gloved hand, "what use is, is this gift if it only works some of the time?"
"I cannot answer that, son, but it wasn't your fault. I know you feel disillusioned, hurt, even deceive by your government again but you gotta let it go. You know that, no matter how much you dwell on it, the past cannot be changed, so use that energy to work on the future, change that for the better."
Jonas wiped a hand over his face and slowly nodded, "yes sir," he said in almost a whisper.
Hammond leant back in the chair, again, before he spoke, "Doctor Booard tells me you've been having a visitor in the night."
He was rewarded with a slight smile, "the, the potter, sir, yes, a couple of nights ago."
"Major Carter believes that your visitor could explain the energy surge we experienced after Doctor Jackson's team exited for the planet."
"Really," there was a sparkle ignited in the Kelownan's eyes, Hammond smiled.
"You've not seen him since?"
"No, no, sir, only sensed him."
"At night?"
Jonas frowned, puzzled by the General's question, "um, sometimes."
"Mister Quinn would you say a trip to the excavation site might give you a stronger link with this 'individual'?"
Jonas nodded, "I believe so, sir."
"And therefore give you, once that link has been established and questions answered, a peaceful night's sleep and the rest that Doctor Booard has requested?"
Jonas smiled, "yes, sir."
"Colonel O'Neill is returning at fifteen hundred hours to collect supplies, do you think you could be ready to join him?"
The Kelownan nodded.
"Good," Hammond stated with a nod of his head, "but Mister Quinn, when you return I want you to attend regular sessions with Doctor Booard. I want you to be able to talk to him, just as we have done today, is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
Jonas got to his feet in a rush of excitement, reaching down to retrieve the mug; the General gestured for him to go. He watched the young man hurry across the compound, narrowly missing running into a group of servicemen in his haste. He smiled and reached into his top pocket pulling out a hand rolled Havana.
============
Jonas quickly tided his notes up, in the office, and tucked them into his bag. He glanced around the compact workspace, checking that he had not forgotten anything; his eyes resting on the microfiche, he picked the container up.
He held it tightly in is hand for a moment, letting the side of his balled fist tap against his lips in thought. He heard General Hammond's words again, 'you know that, no matter how much you dwell on it, the past cannot be changed, so use that energy to work on the future, change that for the better.'
He opened a nearby drawer and put the canister gently inside before shutting it.
When he had left the office an unseen presence went and opened the same drawer, lifting out the microfiche and replacing it, back, on the counter.
===========
Thanks for reading – let me know what you think.
;o)