Lightning

Part V

Two days passed by relatively easy, certainly on Tracy Island. Jeff was gone, John was back, and Virgil was up in Thunderbird Five, monitoring everything that went on down on Earth, although that wasn't much so far.

Gordon was watching Independence Day over and over again, his brothers suspected that he still couldn't believe that his favorite movie was becoming reality. Alan was on the contrary very excited, as if he couldn't wait to meet some aliens, and – if necessary – kick some major alien ass. John was interested to meet some aliens too, but his interests were purely scientific. And maybe a bit human curiosity. Scott seemed as if he didn't care at all that there were aliens on Earth, but his brothers knew better than that.

Since Jeff had told them the story of Brains and his sister, the Tracy brothers were trying to avoid Brains as much as they could, but Brains wasn't exactly forthcoming with information too. Fermat was still at Wharton Academy, as Alan was now being home educated. More or less.

Two days had passed by without any mission, and Alan knew his dad expected him to be studying his history and math. But with all this excitement – how the hell was he supposed to be studying when aliens were walking on Earth? Right now, this very moment!

Jack was not pleased. Oh no, Jack was not pleased at all. This trip to the future was becoming a hell, literally. He now knew that agreeing with that big brown man was the biggest mistake he'd ever made in his miserable life. After they'd been sedated, things went downhill.

When he had woken up, unfortunately not in his bed, but in a dark room god knows where, he had not only a major headache, but also discovered that one of his team members was missing.

He and Daniel had been discussing their situation for what seemed like hours. They figured that the guy hadn't been a Goa'uld, since his eyes hadn't lit up but changed in color – and besides, Goa'uld couldn't paralyze you by just looking in your eyes. But he wasn't entirely human either, that much was for sure. Question was, where was Carter, and what were they planning to do with them?

Their questions were soon answered, when a door had opened and the big brown man had entered and signaled that they should follow him. They had been led into another room, where they'd met the bald man again. Jack had felt the urge to strangle him or at least do something that would really hurt, but then remembered that he didn't want to be paralyzed again, so Jack decided to keep quiet.

Of course, the first question the bald man had asked, was the one Jack had expected.

"So, Mr. Jack – or whatever your real name is – where are you from, and what were you and your companions planning to do with all those weapons?"

Jack had reached automatically to the place his zat gun should've been, but had found none.

"No, Mr. Jack. I can assure you that your weapons are some place safe. Now, if you would be so kind to explain to me who you are and where you come from, because your weapons are unlike any I've ever seen before…"

"You know what, go to hell," Jack had replied.

A somewhat artificial smile had appeared on the bald man's face. "I think you don't realize the situation you're in, Mr. Jack," he'd said as he turned on a TV.

"You son of a-" Jack had said as soon as he saw that the TV viewed Carter tied up against a chair.

"Yes, Mr. Jack. Now, if you want your girlfriend back in one piece, I suggest you do as I say. When I first viewed your magnificent weapons, I was under the impression you are in the army?" As none of the two SGC-members replied, the bald man had continued, "Good, that was exactly what I was expecting…"

After that, the bald man had explained his 'ingenious plan'. Jack and Daniel had to plant a massive amount of C-4 under a building he called 'The World Nation Tower', where at that moment the International Convention of Aerospace Technology Developers was being held. It was a mystery why the bald man wanted to blow up some Aerospace Technology Developers, but as the man had said; 'One question, and your friend is dead. If the World Nation Tower isn't a pile of dust by 0500hrs this afternoon, your friend is dead. If you try to contact anyone, especially International Rescue, your friend is dead. If you don't obey, your friend is dead.'

And now, Jack and Daniel were on their way to the World Nation Tower. In a cab.

Poor cabdriver, Jack thought, if he only knew what his passengers were carrying…

"2AM, Jack," Daniel said as they got out of the cab, "What's your great plan?"

Jack rubbed his temples, his headache was starting to return, and sighed. "I think it's best to evacuate the entire building…"

Daniel looked up at the 100-storey building. "You want to evacuate that?"

"What's your great plan then?"

"I didn't say it wasn't a good plan, it's just-"

"-gonna be a hell to evacuate," Jack finished Daniel's phrase, "I know."

"How are you gonna – what?" Daniel asked, but was cut off by Jack, signaling that Daniel should be quiet.

"Look-" Jack pointed towards a news crew, standing not too far from their position, "Just be quiet for a minute, I wanna know what they're saying!"

"…and at this moment the 4th International Convention of Aerospace Technology Developers is being held here, in the World Nation Tower. Among the 126 participants are Hiro Mizayaki from Sato Corporation, Jean Trèsangle from Dee Année and of course Jeff Tracy from Tracy Enterprises…"

That name caught Jack's attention. Jeff Tracy?

Daniel noticed Jack's expression of familiarity, "Jack? You know one of those guys?"

"I… think so."

'They're closing in on our position!'

'Retreat! Retreat!'

Jack looked around him, searching for help. He was unable to move his leg, and couldn't get up without any assistance…

'Someone! Over here!' he yelled, 'I can't… move…' His words started to fade away, as was his vision, Jack noticed. Everything was kinda becoming a blur. No, this definitely wasn't good. Most of his comrades would've reached command control by now, he figured… And good ol' Jack just sits here, waiting for the enemy…

However, Jack looked up, as struck by lightning, when he heard someone call, 'Hello? Anyone there?'

'Yeah! Over… here…'

He heard some debris fall, and saw someone making his way through the collapsed building… towards him! Jack prayed it wasn't an Iraqi member of the resistance, 'cause otherwise he wouldn't make it out here anyway. However, he was relieved to hear (since his vision wasn't that precise anymore, and all he saw was a tall, green blur) an American voice say, 'Can you walk?'

'If you help me get up, yeah, I think so.'

The American put his arms around Jack's shoulder, giving Jack the opportunity to stand up. 'Aw, damn!' Jack let out, when he accidentally put some weight on his right leg.

'Come on, lean on me. The Iraqi's will be here soon… and I trust you to prefer the USS Horizon above an Iraqi prison?' The American stated.

'Damn right I do,' Jack said as the two men stumbled through the deserted, and destroyed town.

'So, how long you've been here?' The American said, trying to make Jack focus his attention on something other than his leg.

'Three… months,' Jack managed to say in-between to steps, 'I was getting ready to head back next week. Guess that won't be happening any time soon, huh?'

'Not if it's up to me,' the American replied.

This determination made Jack even wonder more who the guy actually was. He had some guts, even Jack had to admit that. Besides the fact that he was the only one who had replied to his calls for help, the guy refused to believe that they wouldn't make it to command control, despite their situation. But, just as he was about to ask who the guy was, the world began to spin around him and instead of seeing a blur, everything went black.

The next thing Jack saw, when he opened his eyes, was white. So white… was he in heaven? Yeah, that was possible… they probably never made it to command control.

However, his assumptions were proved faulty when he heard someone say, 'Well, Major O'Neill, how are you doing today?', nope – definitely not an angel, but a doctor.

As he turned his head around, he saw someone standing next to – wait a minute, he could see clearly again!

'A hell of a lot better than… when did I get here?' Jack asked, suddenly realizing that he must've been there longer than just a couple of hours, 'And where exactly is here?'

The doctor had to laugh, 'Well, Major, I am pleased to inform you that you are in the infirmary of the USS Horizon. You were brought here four days ago, with a multiple fractured leg and severe dehydration.'

'And what about that guy that brought me here?'

'Ah, you mean Captain Tracy? Oh, nice fellow – I believe he went home two days ago. He too came in with severe dehydration, plus the fact that he was completely exhausted.'

'I can believe that,' Jack murmured, realizing that the guy must've been dead tired after dragging an unconscious superior to command control. 'And what's gonna happen to me now?'

'Well, you'll be pleased to hear that General O'Connor has authorized your transport back to the States. You'll be transported to the Roosevelt Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, next thing tomorrow morning.'

After that, Jack had spent two more weeks in the Roosevelt Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, before he was allowed to leave… in a wheelchair. He didn't particularly look forward to spending eight whole weeks on wheels, but it was way better than being in a hospital; the place of all places he despised – especially the syringes.

But, after six weeks, Jack had about seen it all. His car wasn't equipped for transport of disabled persons, and neither was the car of his wife. With nowhere to go, Jack nearly sunk into a deep depression. The only thing that made his days worth to live in those eight weeks, was his wife, Sarah. She noticed the sad mood of her husband, and started searching for a way to cheer Jack up again. And boy, did she find something…

On the sixth day of the seventh week in a wheelchair, Jack started his day as he did every day. With the help of his wife, he got out of bed. With the help of his wife, he got dressed. With the help of his wife, he stumbled downstairs and sat down for breakfast. At least eating his fruit loops was something he could do on his own.

After he'd finished his breakfast, Jack went, with the help of his wife, to the living room, sat down on the couch, and wondered which one of the five hundred crosswords he would solve today. However, his mood did not improve when he read the first word he had to solve.

'Land in the Middle-East, four letters,' Jack read out aloud, 'Yeah, rub it in, won't you,' he continued to no one in particular. Usually, Sarah would reply with something along the lines of, 'Come on, Jack, it's a goddamn crossword. They can't help it!', but instead, it was a familiar male voice that replied. 'And I thought I was doing you a favor by getting you out of that hell.'

That voice… where had he heard it before?

-'I was getting ready to head back next week. Guess that won't be happening any time soon, huh?'

-'Not if it's up to me.'

Jack looked up… and saw the face he first saw so many weeks ago… the face of his savior.

'Captain Tracy?'

The American, or rather Captain Tracy, smiled, 'Actually, it's Major Tracy now. Nice to finally talk to you, Major O'Neill.'

Jack smiled back, 'Same here.'

After the introduction, Jack and Major Tracy, or Jeff – as Jack had found out, talked for what seemed like hours. Jeff told Jack that after he'd come back from Iraq, he was promoted to Major, and got a job offered at Deep Space Radar Telemetry, as Jack soon found out that Jeff was quite the genius when it came to stuff involving planes, rockets and outer space. Jeff, on the other hand, discovered that Jack was a man of action, not a person who could sit quietly in a wheelchair, and that Jack was short for Jonathan-

'You're actually Jonathan O'Neill? THE Jonathan O'Neill? As in Jonathan O'Neill, the youngest Air Force pilot ever to earn a Medal of Honor?'

'Eh, I guess so-'

After a while, it became clear that both men had attended the same Military Academy, at which Jack had become some sort of local legend.

Sarah watched the interaction between the two Air Force Majors with great pleasure, as they both seemed to enjoy their conversation very much. Anyway, it was nearly six o'clock when Jeff decided to call it a night.

'Well Jack, it's been really nice talking to you… but I really think I should get going. My girl's waiting at home, and I don't want to be late for dinner.'

'Yeah, same here. Ya know, we should keep in touch. I really enjoyed talking to you.'

'Well, once your leg is healed, maybe we could do some stuff together. You know, stuff women don't like.'

'Yeah, we should do that…'

As Jeff drove off, Jack felt that he'd made a friend for life.

Only to realize many years later, that maybe he'd felt wrong. After the conversation they'd had back then, they never spoke again. The only thing Jack ever heard from Jeff, was via the television – a CNN newsreader had declared that 'Jeff Tracy had successfully set foot on the moon'.

"Jack? Jack", Daniel said, trying to get through to his team member. It seemed like one of the names the reporter had mentioned, caused Jack to relive one of his (good? bad?) memories.

Finally, Jack snapped out of it. "Huh? What?"

"So, assuming you know one of these guys, what's your plan of action now?"

"Eh," Jack said, trying to come up with a good plan, "I think I have an idea, but I'm not sure whether or not it'll work…"

"Anything, Jack. I'm willing to work out every plan, as long as we can get Sam back."