Hank Landry
I felt like whining "Get a room already!"
But two-star Generals didn't whine. We yelled. We barked. But we didn't whine.
It just didn't happen.
I'd been surprised when I was offered this command - a bunch of scientists doing deep space radar telemetry? Then I learned that Jack O'Neill was currently the CO and changed my mind.
O'Neill and I went way back - further back than either of us liked to admit - and I knew the man thrived on action and the unknown. So when I'd been given clearance and finally found out what truly went on under Cheyenne Mountain, I hadn't had to think any further before accepting command.
Then I got here and found myself ... frustrated. People were so good at their jobs, affording me very few opportunities for yelling. Colonel Carter and Daniel Jackson were both geniuses and damn good soldiers too - despite Jackson's civilian status. Teal'c was a formidable warrior, the strong and silent type, and treated everybody with a deep respect.
The SFs were smart and quick, the clerical staff polite and efficient ... They were all the best of the best, and I was proud to be associated with them. Even though I missed the yelling.
Then O'Neill and Carter brought a silly feud onto the base and that had given me the opportunity to do some yelling. A small part of me had snickered at Carter's creativity, but she would never know that.
They both promised to keep their feud out of work and I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that things would go back to whatever passed for normal around here.
Not so.
For several days now, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill and Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter had practically been playing footsie with each other. These two seasoned and highly decorated soldiers were definitely flirting. Unless you knew one or both parties, you'd never know it, but the signs were there. The smirks, the sideways glances, the nudges.
This was one of the strangest commands I'd ever had.
Daniel
During the briefing, I saw Jack doodling on his pad and smiled. One of the few constants in a universe full of change was Jack and his twitchy fingers. I leaned over slightly and caught a glimpse of a curvy woman in a sarong. The woman bore a strong resemblance to a certain blonde Colonel.
Jack flipped the page quickly and gave me the patented O'Neill death glare - the one that made new recruits scurry for cover. It made me want to laugh. Who the hell did he think he was fooling? If he and Sam weren't involved, then it was only a matter of time.
I looked over at Teal'c and raised my eyebrows. Geez, get a room, guys.
Teal'c
Colonel Carter and O'Neill were acting strangely - even for them. Two strong warriors were behaving like unsure adolescents. They sent each other sly smiles, nudged each other and teased.
I believe Daniel Jackson would say at this point "Get a room, guys". I quite agree.
The sexual energy vibrated through the briefing room - even General Landry seemed aware of it by the hard looks he gave O'Neill. He seemed like he would be a good leader - strong and disciplined - but I would not find out.
I had chosen to return to Dakara to take my seat on the newly formed Jaffa Council and Daniel Jackson was to join the Atlantis expedition. O'Neill would leave for Washington in a week and Colonel Carter was considering new options.
SG-1 was no more.
It was unfortunate, but change comes to everyone. Sometimes it is for the good, sometimes not, but you cannot fight change.
George Hammond
I shifted back in my big leather chair, reflecting that I would miss it. I'd literally kicked Jack out of it when I'd gone back to the SGC a few months ago, and had told him to ship it to DC for me.
But there was no place for this chair on the Prometheus. My final command before retirement. But that's what I'd thought about the SGC. That was supposed to have been a short simple command - hah.
That little bubble had been burst when one Colonel Jack O'Neill ("Retired" he'd corrected me snarkily) had appeared in my office, unshaved and in civvies, and had admitted to omitting things out of his report.
And his second mission to Abydos had led to yours truly being on the hot seat for seven years of the biggest cover-up in America's military history. It had been one wild ride.
I picked up the box and looked at the set of silver stars inside. When Jack officially took over Homeworld Security, he would be promoted again. Major General Jack O'Neill. Good Lord.
There was no denying he deserved it. What the man had gone through for his country, for the planet, entitled him to promotion a dozen times over. But there was also no denying that his maverick attitude, his creativity with the rules, his insubordination had delayed his promotion from Colonel to Brigadier by several years.
That had been a good thing, though. Jack hadn't been mentally or physically ready to come out of the field, even though he was at the age where most field officers were moved to desk jobs. Theman was fitter than people half his age, and thrived on the action of leading SG-1.
I know people had been surprised when he'd accepted command of the SGC shortly after being revived by Thor - his favorite little alien buddy. And that was one of the strangest pairings in the galaxy - the deliberately dense soldier and the super-smart Asgard.
But I hadn't been surprised. After Doctor Fraiser's death, I'd seen the fatigue begin to etch Jack's face. He was tired. Tired of fighting a war without end, tired of death. There was only so much a man could go through before it started to eat away at you.
And there was the issue of his much-abused knee. He'd known and I'd known that it wouldn't last much longer. And he didn't want to risk becoming a liability to his team.
So he accepted the promotion and took charge of the SGC. If he couldn't protect his people physically, he could at least be in charge of those that did.
He was a good man. And he deserved this second star. And if that meant that he was able to pursue ... ahem ... other options, then I was behind him all the way.
I was neither blind nor stupid. I'd known he and Sam Carter had strong feelings for each other. But they'd set them aside for years to fight the Goa'uld and I was proud of them for that. They could have chosen to sneak around, but both were too honorable, despite Jack's assertions that he was not actually that nice of a guy.
But now ... now Jack was no longer her commanding officer - they wouldn't even be working together. Maybe these two loyal officers would finally realize they belonged together as, sadly, other relationships hadn't worked out for them.
I closed the box with a snap. Good luck, son, I thought.
Hank Landry
I strolled into the commissary and sat next to O'Neill, who was with his former SG-1 team-mates. "I think we should do something to mark your leaving, Jack," I said bluntly.
Jack shifted uneasily - the man had been one of the most restless of the young Airmen who'd served under my command, and it seemed age hadn't done anything to cure him of his wriggling. "Ah, that's okay, sir," he said. "I'm not into big affairs."
"Something low-key, then," Doctor Jackson said. "C'mon Jack; you let your last big move slide by without acknowledgment. You can't expect us to let this one go too?"
O'Neill scowled at the younger man, but Jackson didn't even blink. I'd seen hardened ten-year vets crumble under the O'Neill glare, but the blue-eyed linguist shrugged it off. "Fine," O'Neill grumbled. "What d'you suggest?"
Something in their interactions informed me that there was more to these two than child-like squabbling. They alternated between protecting each other and fighting like cat and dog. The best analogy I could come up with was 'brothers'. O'Neill was like a big brother to the orphaned Jackson; nagging him, protecting him, teasing him.
Jackson frowned slightly. "What about O'Malley's?" he suggested.
"No!" O'Neill and Carter both shouted.
Perhaps Carter could see the confusion on my face, because she added, "Look up Ataniks in our mission reports from 2000 to 2001 and you'll understand, sir," she said. She went a delicate pink. "Not one of our finest moments."
Now Jackson went pink. "Right ...," he said slowly. He tapped his forehead. "And to think I thought I'd got everything back."
I amended my earlier assessment. This was the strangest command I'd ever had.
I think I've now touched on the changes that will roll in Season 9, as far as I know based on the few spoilers I've heard. The rest of this story will therefore be pure speculation or 'what should have been'.
More fluff in the next part - I promise!
