A Single Man of Courage – Part four
A couple of hours later found Jack still sleeping under the watchful gaze of Teal'c who had entered quietly and was sitting eating.
Sam and Daniel came in to see Teal'c placing a warning finger to his lips to shush them. They came around the table to see what Teal'c was pointing at. There in the midst of the cushions lay a curled up Colonel, who looked for once to be sleeping soundly.
Sam gazed down at him, noticing how much younger he looked when he slept. The stress lines he wore when awake were absent. His hair was sticking up all over the place and she had to fight the urge to kneel down and smooth it for him.
Daniel grinned at the sight, sorely tempted to annoy the Colonel, but remembering how tired he'd looked, he decided he'd eat first.
"O'Neill has already eaten," whispered Teal'c as Sam and Daniel joined him at the table.
They helped themselves to breakfast and coffee and when they'd finished the Colonel was still sleeping.
"He'll have to wake soon. Can I have the honor?" asked Daniel, getting up grinning.
"I do not think it is a good idea," said Teal'c.
Sam smiled. "Probably not," she agreed with a shrug.
Daniel crept over to stand near Jack, part of him wanted to let Jack sleep, the other part wanted revenge for all the wake-ups Jack had given him. He grinned and stepped on the cushions to get closer. He'd no sooner got both feet on when a blur of movement caught at his legs and he found himself flat on his back with an irate Colonel on him, holding him in a head-lock.
"Jaaack," he choked.
"Christ Daniel, what are you playing at," cried Jack as he released the coughing archaeologist.
"Did I say it was not a good idea, Daniel Jackson?"
Daniel sat up with Jack's help. "Course you did," he answered, coughing as he rearranged his skewed clothing.
"Sorry, are you okay?" asked Jack.
"I'll live," groaned Daniel. "I should know better I suppose than to sneak up on you."
"Yes you should." Jack grinned with relief that the archaeologist was unhurt. The couple of hours sleep he'd had had refreshed him and he felt in a much better mood. "Any coffee left?" he asked, wandering over to the table.
Sam nodded and passed him a cup and he sat down to enjoy it.
"Daniel, how about you go and ask the guards to find Samels, see what's going on. Don't go anywhere though."
Daniel nodded, returning a few minutes later and grabbing himself some more coffee as they waited. Another five minutes brought a quick tap to the door and Samels entered.
He bowed. "Can I be of assistance?"
"Yeah, what's the agenda for today?" asked Jack.
"Agenda?" asked Samels, not understanding.
"Do we get to see the Council today?" reiterated Daniel.
"Yes, yes, soon. I have come to let you know what will be expected."
"Good," said Jack, rolling his eyes in frustration. "Initially we'll all sit in."
"All? You are not to negotiate by yourself?"
"Nope, all of us. Doctor Jackson here will be the main man so to speak, once we know where we stand."
Samels' face fell quite flat.
"And the woman?" He quickly flicked his gaze over Sam, who bristled with indignation at his attitude.
"Major Carter is a highly valued member of the SGC and of high authority. She is not 'just a woman'." Jack drew little quotes with his fingers around the words.
"Women are not permitted in the council chambers," said Samels unhappily.
"Then I suggest you relocate the trade meeting," said Jack, coolly turning his back on the aide as he casually helped himself to more coffee.
"Dismissed." He waved at the aid and sat himself down.
Samels almost stomped from the room, the door closing, not with a bang, but with a little more force than was necessary.
"You do haughty real well," said Daniel with a smirk.
"Well. I had to say something before Carter ripped his head off."
"Sir!" cried Sam, trying not to laugh at her CO's expression of innocence. "I wouldn't have 'ripped his head off'."
"Possibly not, but he'd have probably wished you had by the time you'd have finished with him," said Jack with grin.
"Well, you've certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons now. They don't go big on women stepping out of their line. OUCH!" cried Daniel as Sam slapped him on the arm. "What's that for?"
"Stepping out of their line." She put her fingers up to mark the quotations.
"I didn't mean that. I meant 'their' line as in … oh never mind," huffed Daniel indignantly, rubbing his smarting arm.
Jack called them to order. "Right kids, playtime is over."
Sam and Daniel quickly sobered up and sat down, joining Teal'c and the Colonel on the cushions.
"We'll see how seriously they are willing to trade. Personally, all I want to do is haul ass out of here with SG-6 in tow."
"I still wonder why Thor picked on you to represent Earth at times, Jack," sighed Daniel.
"Hey, what can I say, they recognized my hidden talents."
"Yes well, you do keep them well hidden I must say."
"Thanks, Daniel."
"You're welcome, Jack."
"You know how to bolster a man's confidence alright."
"Confidence isn't something you're short of."
"It's a good job with you around."
"Now you're saying it's my fault you need confidence?"
"Yep, that and foresight … hindsight … any damn sight to keep you outta trouble."
"Gee thanks, you make me sound like a wandering idiot."
"Well if the cap fits …."
"Jack …."
A rap at the door stopped them, much to Teal'c's relief. Sam was having a hard job not laughing out loud at their exchange.
Samels entered once more.
"The Council has agreed to you all and the wom …" He froze mid word at the grim expression on Jack's face. "The err … Major can join you, but she may not address the Council directly. Will this be in order?"
Jack looked at Sam. "Will that be in order for you Major?"
Sam picked his play up. "Yes, I think so Sir. I'm sure my input can be worded through our chairman Dr Jackson."
"Very well Major. Samels, when do we meet?"
"As soon as you are ready," affirmed the aide.
Jack looked at his team before flicking a quick look at his watch. "Very well. One of the guards can escort us in say … fifteen minutes."
Samels nodded. "Please leave your arms here; they will not be necessary around the palace."
"We do not leave ourselves unarmed."
"Please, no guns."
"We will be bearing our side arms – purely for protection – your guards have weapons in the palace – I assume so that they can protect. I will not leave ourselves unprotected." Jack spoke firmly, annunciating very precisely at the aide.
Samels hesitated then spoke. "I will explain to the Council." He quickly departed again.
"I'm not sure I like leaving our other stuff here unguarded. The P90's would seem to be an attraction for them."
Even Daniel had noticed the coveted looks their weapons had been given. "It can't be helped though. I think taking all our gear in would be seen as an insult."
"True, however, I want you all with your vests on. Top up your pockets with anything of value and stash all of your ammo on you. We can remove the firing mechanisms on the guns." Jack stood. "Come on Daniel, I'll do yours."
They moved quickly to their rooms and sorted out their gear. Jack left a few 'traps' to see if their things would be searched and then joined Daniel in his room. Stripping Daniel's little used P90 of ammo, he gave Daniel the firing mechanism, reminding him how to replace it if need be.
With their vests on and fastened and the side arms in their holsters, they looked quite respectable in a 'don't mess with me' kind of fashion.
Meeting up in the corridor once done, Jack gave them a brief "Heads up kids," followed by "We're off to see the Wizard," as he opened the doors to the wing.
The guard led them down a different corridor from the one Jack had used to visit Major Dawson. It took several minutes before they came to a halt outside a courtyard area where the guard spoke to more guards, before they were allowed to proceed. The palace became more lavish in its decoration and the corridors much wider. They were led through two large rooms before more guards opened up a pair of doors.
The large room they entered was light and airy. A huge table adorned the centre of the room, behind which stood twelve men, some of whom looked quite elderly, all in white and turbaned. At the head of the table stood Kissain.
"Good morning. I trust you are well rested," he bid them with a brief bow.
"Quite well, thank you. The quarters are quite comfortable," replied Jack casually.
Daniel gave Jack a 'look' but said nothing.
"Please permit me to introduce, but do not worry to remember names," assured Kissain as he introduced the Council one by one. Jack then introduced himself and his team.
Presently they were all seated and Daniel gave his opening speech, and the discussions began.
Frequently one of the Council would burst into his own language, too fast for Daniel. The person would then apologize in English before carrying on. Kissain said very little, but Jack noticed that no one voiced an opinion opposed to anything he said.
The morning passed quickly, but with very little headway. A recess was called for everyone to rest as the high heat of the day became apparent.
Once more back in their quarters a meal was served to them.
"That went well," sighed Daniel.
"I feel like we learned nothing more than we knew before this morning," said Sam.
Jack speared some meat with a knife. "Thank goodness for that, I thought I'd missed something," he grinned
"Did you follow much of what they spouted in their own language? They were too quick and guttural for me most of the time," asked Daniel apologetically.
"Most of it was nonsense, put on for effect. They were just stalling. Kissain's in charge of that lot."
"I thought the Council were the heads of state?" put in Sam.
"Nah, they're just figure-heads I think. Kissain holds the power here."
"Why the pretence then Sir?"
"Don't know, perhaps it's a front for the people, maybe they used to be in charge … I don't know, but he is, believe me."
They finished their meal in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Check your gear and then get some rest," ordered Jack as he made his way to his own room.
Jack found his 'traps' were disturbed, but nothing was missing.
"Well, now we know for sure we need to be on our guard even more," he murmured to himself before lying down on his bed. He lay thinking, trying to piece together what he knew. Nothing pointed to a peaceful race just wanting to trade, however there was nothing to prove 'hey we want a war' either.
'Too many Special Ops, that's where you got so twisted,' he told himself.
xoxoxoxoxo