Stargate Revealed: Power & Politics, Part 23
by Livi2Jack
Summary: Jack learns some truths he would rather not hear.
Rating: Teen+ for some minor language, some violence, some religious issues.
Pairings: Jack/Other
Category: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Mystery, Point Of View, Romance, Other
Related SG-1 Episode(s): 703 Fragile Balance, 817 Reckoning, Part 2, 901 Origin
Related Atlantis Episode(s): 201 The Siege, Part 3
Featured Characters: Jack O'Neill, Mini-Jack, Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, Hammond, and Hayes.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Season 9+. Jack's new job.
Many thanks to all my readers who have stuck with this saga for so long. Your kind comments and many feedbacks were a great gift. Thank you all so very much. Special thanks to Rionach O'Neill for a generous gift of research. And hugs to Rebecca, Diane, Su, Melissa, Layla, Lily, Maggie, Harley, and the gang at Yahoo's One-oneill group.
DISCLAIMER: "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" and their characters are the property of Sony Pictures MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Film Corp., Showtime/Viacom and USA Networks, Inc. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended against this or any other story in the universe. The original characters, situations and story are the property of the author(s), and may not be republished or archived elsewhere without the author's permission.
Chapter 23: Be Careful What You Wish For
Sometimes you just have to sit down and take stock. Jack backed off from Lady Anna to sit down in the gazebo. That was quite a kiss. And so was her reaction. For some minutes he regarded her wondering what she was up to now. 'If she objected so much, why wasn't I arrested?'
Anna turned her back on him and walked to the edge of the steps looking out at the garden all around. Jack watched her regain her composure. The effects of the tags were working on both of them. Now that they were in proximity, both felt better. He was tired and confused. So much had happened since they met he couldn't keep track of it all. If anyone had told him what would happen that August morning in Washington, DC, well, he might have shot the messenger.
As near as he could put it all together, that woman over there was the most scheming, heartless, power hungry, driven human being he had ever met. She didn't need to be a Goa'uld. She had bigger ideas and the resources to back her. But if he wanted to be fair, and he really didn't at that moment, she had some good reasons. Some. She also had some weird ones too that almost got everyone killed. In fact, her whole society specialized in weird as far as Jack was concerned.
Forget all the kowtowing, excessive politeness, and pretty speeches. These folks were dangerous to a fare-thee-well. It didn't matter that they routinely refused to take life. What mattered was 'when' they refused to do it. And that 'when' seemed to be awfully selective these days. That pretty, make it gorgeous, woman over there had just pulled off a selectively bloody coup d'etat yesterday. And now she was the supreme ruler of 38 billion advanced humans who lived for hundreds of years. Her empire included 26 star systems with 24 habitable planets and moons. Even a big time Goa'uld like Ba'al would be hard pressed to call himself a System Lord as powerful as she was at this moment.
And here he was, Jack O'Neill from Minnesota via Chicago, with that underhanded, shrewd, calculating, devil in a blue dress. She was within striking distance. He pondered whether to strike. He pondered for quite a while. But the truth was that he needed her to survive. Because without her, he was guaranteed to lose his mind courtesy of the Asgaard's tagging device. Putting up with her could be handled. The real problem was finding out why the Asgaard wanted him to mate with her. What did they hope to achieve with such a child? What more could they achieve getting a baby the usual way versus just mixing one up in a test tube or cloning the both of them? Jack sat there pondering for all he was worth. Nothing came to mind.
Jack turned his attention around to her. She seemed to be lost in thought as well. Obviously, she realized she needed him to survive. Or did she? For someone so devious, could she have arranged all this? She was a consummate actress. He had seen it. But then why would she tolerate him and his bad behavior? By all rights, she should have exiled him already. Maybe she still would. After he did his part in front of the people at some crazy ceremony tomorrow, would she be done with him? Now was the time to take out some insurance against that. But how?
"Anna, come over here. We need to talk."
While O'Neill pondered his fate thousands of light years away, President Hayes looked around the assembly on the Gateroom floor. It was a motley crew. He fidgeted impatiently. General Landry approached to tell him that Colonel Caldwell was ready to bring everyone aboard the Daedalus. Babs Hayes looked at her husband with apprehension. For the past hour she had seen first hand how the Stargate operated. One minute it was just a big ring, the next, out popped water, and then men. Startling was an understatement. The President took his wife's hand. She looked beautifully composed in her long gown brought from the White House. He smiled at her then nodded to the General.
In a flash of white light, they were all standing in the transporter room on the Daedalus. Chuckles of laughter broke the tension. It seemed so silly to have been that apprehensive. Colonel Caldwell stood there to greet his Commander-In-Chief. After the salutes and the pleasantries, the President took a tour of the ship. It was impressive. And being in Outer Space had a certain cachet. That generation grew-up watching the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo rockets blast off on man's first attempts to reach the stars. Everyone there had witnessed Neil Armstrong land on the Moon in 1969. Each person was thinking about Armstrong's historic speech on the moon; "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." And here they were, on a ship that could travel to other galaxies. In his own lifetime, no one present had ever imagined such rapid progress. And it was all due to the Stargate Program.
The opening of the Gate brought a startling reality. There were people out beyond the stars. And now they were here. The Commonwealth fleet stared them in the face. President Hayes entered the bridge of the Daedalus to look upon that new reality. And what he saw struck him dumb with awe. Outside the ship, many vessels darted about. But one enormous ship loomed so large in the view screen only part could be shown.
"Can we see that, that, ship?" President Hayes finally found his voice.
"Reduce viewer magnification, Major Gant." The ship's image decreased to fit the screen. Many tiny points of light swept across and around the ship on the screen.
"Are those ours or theirs?" Hayes indicated the moving little ships.
"Theirs."
"And, how big is the Daedalus compared to that one. I'll bet we look pretty big to them too." Hayes grinned back at his staff.
"No, sir." Caldwell walked up to the screen. He pointed to a small dark oblong shape moving across the sunlight reflected from the hull of the enormous ship. "See that one, sir?" Hayes nodded. "Looks tiny?" Everyone nodded. "That's our sister ship, the 'Odyssey,' another Daedalus-class ship. Colonel Casey Emerson is in command." Caldwell surveyed the shocked looks on the bridge visitors. Scowling, he continued. "Sir, now you begin to understand how outclassed and outgunned we are against them."
Hayes saw his wife's face. She was horrified. Others in the party stood transfixed looking at the screen. Each person understood. It was in their eyes. Every science fiction story, every movie, every image of aliens went through their minds. And each one feared what they saw. He had to do something. A leader has to keep control. Hayes went for levity to break the pall.
"Well, thank God they like us." Hayes tried to joke. It didn't go over well. "Ok, then at least they like General O'Neill." He kicked himself for not coming up here before. O'Neill was right. You just had to see it for yourself.
"That ship is named, 'The O'Neill the Great,' sir." General Hammond weighed in. He was clearly disturbed by what he saw on the President's face. "Sir, I have been to the Commonwealth. And I can tell you for a fact, they LOVE Jack. The rest of us are unimportant."
"Well then, we have to be sure that General O'Neill knows what he has to do."
"Captain, we have received a message through the Stargate. It's marked urgent confidential." The First Officer of the 'Enterprise' brought the recording crystal to Captain Jack O'Neill, the clone of Lord O'Neill. It still sent shivers down his spine to think that the same consciousness was right here with him. The Anointing Ceremony was today. The F.O. wondered what the clone thought about it, if he thought about it. Things were pretty busy today with the intruder shadowing them here out on the Rim.
It wasn't the first time. Readings indicated that some other ship was constantly just out of range. It must have been monitoring the skirmishes the 'Enterprise' had fought these past two days. First, Captain Jack, as Master Teal'c termed him, beat the crap out of some Wannabe base. Then they captured all the manufacturing apparatus and a number of human slaves. Hackles raised on the F.O.'s neck thinking about the condition in which those poor people had been found. It didn't help that they also had engaged renegade Free Jaffa . Out here on the Rim of the galaxy, they were up to the same old tricks with humans, only worse. Lady Anna was right to show all this to Master Teal'c. He would now deal with the danger the Jaffa High Council presented. No one doubted that war would come between the advanced humans of the Commonwealth and the new Jaffa Nation. But the question right now was who was out there shadowing them so expertly?
Captain Jack took the message into his Ready Room just off the bridge. The message was from Lady Anna. He smiled seeing the recording of her image. That was some woman. If not for her, he would be languishing on Earth never fitting in, never reaching his potential as a 54-three year old man in an 18-year old body. No one knew what to do with him, much less himself. Not until she came along. He almost lost that opportunity, but not quite. The Lady had a fling with him as second best to having the real deal. While everyone thought she was attending to business back on her ship, she was with him conducting monkey business. He had pressed her for the reason. Her answer was simply that she could, so she did. He was a perk of office. Fine, he turned it around to make the most of his opportunity and here he was, Captain of the Commonwealth Starship 'Enterprise.'
Jack pressed the reset button to focus on the message.
"Captain O'Neill, I regret to inform you that we must ask you to divert from today's celebrations. We have an urgent mission you are to direct yourself. Trust no one but yourself to see this through. Tell no one what the real objective is until it is too late for them to refuse. No Acts of Refusal will be tolerated on this matter for anyone. Shoot to kill anyone who even might suggest they will not cooperate." Lady Anna gathered herself for the kicker. "Captain, Lady Janelle has escaped her planet of exile."
That brought a low whistle from Captain Jack. Lady Janelle was Regent Anna's cousin and betrayer. Lady Janelle had participated the conspiracy to replace Anna with an body double imposter in order to seize power. The conspirators intended to marry the double as Anna to produce an heir they could control. That heir would marry into a competing family faction. The crown would then pass from the original royal line out for the first time in history. Once the heir was born, the double would be terminated. No one would ever know. But the man they intended to marry to Anna's double saw through the ruse and reported directly to Anna on Earth. Lady Anna turned on the conspirators in a bloody coup d'etat. As a result, Lady Janelle had been exiled along with many of those conspirators not executed outright. Somehow she had escaped. Jack turned back to the rest of the message.
"As your liege lord of the clan and Regent of this Commonwealth, I am ordering you to stop her by any means necessary. Captain, you are a member of the Royal Family's clan now. I know that is something new to you, but understand that if Janelle and her cohorts manage to assume power, you will be one of the first to die at her hands." Anna paused for a moment to look at someone off to the side. "In a moment, thank you,' turning back she continued.
"Captain, none of the regular flag officers will be diverted from this Ceremony. It would tip our hand that we know. I am acting to delay as many as I can from arriving here to spread the leadership and our chances if you fail. Admiral Zay will have to attend. But Commodore Eli has been contacted. Unfortunately, he is still dealing with the mopping up campaign at Earth. We cannot get the 'O'Neill' to you fast enough. Nor can we get the 'Jericho' the other Base Ship to you either. You will rendezvous with our older Super Dreadnaughts the 'Moriah' and the 'Jordan' at the coordinates as displayed. Another task force is enroute to the Capital planet, Aretz. We only hope that fleet can make it in time. Commander Michael is with that fleet. They are all clan members and my close cousins and cousins of Admiral Zay as you are now. Do not underestimate these family connections, or the obligations that come with them."
Captain Jack (CJ) winced at that reminder. It so went against his grain to think along such undemocratic lines.
'All she had to say was that she was Regent and ordering it so. What did all this family crap have to do with it anyway? It was so damned tribal. I'm a professional military officer. She is the legitimate government. End of story as far as I was concerned.'
CJ sighed. Well, that was his new reality. He knew it would be different. He just thought he wouldn't really have to deal with it as an Admiralty officer.
'Ok, pal, you were wrong, Sheesh. For being so advanced, they are so backwards about their government.'
"I have the utmost faith in you, Captain. You are a Jack O'Neill. Our troops will follow you. More to the point, I want you to play that up as far as possible. It may have an effect on the crews aboard Lady Janelle's ships." Anna looked even tougher, "and I want you to get to the nearest Stargate before the battle to receive and record the broadcast from today's ceremony. Use it to distract and confuse her crews. Some if not most will hesitate after seeing it. She may be jamming the signal. Your F.O. knows how to defeat her countermeasures with the next item on this message. Let him see only that part of this message. Do not tell him it is Janelle until the ships are ready to engage."
"Captain, it is not that I don't trust your officers, but compartmentalize as much of this information as possible. We don't know who on board will be listening to you and who will try to transmit any of it. And we don't know who has been further compromised against their will. The Goa'uld have been able to infiltrate our command staff using nishta to brainwash them. Some of that brainwashing can be turned for other purposes and Janelle knows it. She does not know that you are now a Commonwealth Starship Captain. She won't be expecting it. I am counting on that surprise to work for your advantage. If you think it necessary, zat as many of your officers as you must to defeat the nishta. Have the non-coms zat key personnel. But do it quickly. They must recover as soon as possible. And be careful, there could be a zatarc on board, but we doubt it. It is more likely a zatarc is here for the ceremony."
Jack frowned at that news. Damned snakehead sonsofbitches just had to raise their ugly over dressed over the top boombox voices to complicate matters. The fun never stopped with them. The Ori were really awful, but the Goa'uld were not to be forgotten for a second. Jack continued the message. Anna was really beautiful all dressed up. He wished he were there with her. That old man he used to be would never appreciate her. He was too busy fighting with her to understand where his own interests lay. Captain Jack shook his head.
'Was I ever such a stubborn shortsighted old coot? Let him have his fantasy that he's sticking up for Earth. I'll take the real deal.'
"Jack," Anna's voice softened. "Be very careful. Watch your six."
In the palace garden, Lady Anna cautiously considered whether to sit with Lord O'Neill. He was a dangerous man. And he had decidedly strange ideas about politics and diplomacy. That little demonstration was beyond belief. He had manhandled her again and assaulted her in a most intimate way. For a really smart man, he could be a pig. That silver-haired general had his part to play tomorrow. But what would she do with him later? There was work to do. Would he just be in the way? Or would he learn and cooperate?
Composing her face to a pleasant mask, Anna carefully considered how to phrase her response. He was an unusually intelligent man, who liked to hide that fact. On the surface, he could act as dumb as a doorknob. But his mind never stopped working, observing everything, missing nothing. And he would do absolutely anything to protect his people. She admired that fact. But he wasn't always right. Just now he almost made the wrong choice. Once again, Anna had seen his struggle to decide whether or not to kill her. How did she ever let such a man in striking distance? Well, she'd handled plenty of men before this one.
"Jack, we really should have an understanding." Anna held her hands out palms facing him in a gesture of 'what'll it be?'
"Yes, about that." Jack tilted up his lantern jaw and cocked his head at her, thinking how to phrase it. "We have more than a connection here courtesy of the Asgaard, don't we?"
"I don't understand."
"The doctors on the 'Jackson' told me that whatever the tags started, it's now hard wired into our brains. It's a learned behavior now, too." Jack sighed and shifted his position spreading out his arms across the back of the bench. He could see that she was afraid of him.
'Keep it loose buddy. She saw you think about killing her. Get the control back.' Jack crossed his legs to emphasize his relaxed state.
Anna wasn't fooled. Casually, she moved a little farther away, presumably to smell a flower on the vine winding up the far pillar. Almost absent-mindedly, she turned halfway to look at him, gazing out towards the garden. That small extra distance would be necessary if he attacked. Surely, he must know the security system would kill him if he did?
"And what do think we should do?"
"I think you should do something for me."
"Like what?"
Jack rubbed his nose and then replaced his arm so gently on the back of the bench. "Like giving me certain assurances."
"Assurances. About what?"
"You tell me."
Anna considered what to reply. She didn't need to deflect the question. But, what would be a sufficient response, tell him little, and still leave him willing to cooperate?
"I told you many things I have never said to anyone, Jack. Do you remember what I told you? I told you I would never lie to you and I would never hurt your people."
"Yes. But, the part that concerns me is what you didn't say."
"Don't be concerned. I told you what you need to know."
"I don't think so. I need more."
"I can't do that." Anna looked squarely at him. "I have given you more than you have the right to expect."
Jack considered her words. Her viewpoint was so different from his own. That was the crux of the matter. She had told him time and time again that she would never lie to him, would never hurt him, and would never hurt his people. What constituted hurt and lies could be an entirely different concepts in her mind than in his. She may believe that bringing Earth into the Commonwealth would be a benefit even though he didn't think so. Jack understood that her long life imparted a different viewpoint as well. And, time just didn't mean the same thing. Jack realized what Daniel had been teaching him for so long. Understanding the other person's culture paved the way for good relations and stopped problems before they could begin. At this moment, he had a very personal problem with her.
But, here he was a military man accustomed to planning deadly assaults not diplomatic negotiations. Just now, he had nearly chosen a deadly assault by default. Diplomacy was tough by comparison. He preferred battle. From here out, he was stuck being a diplomat. By her choice, he was Earth's representative. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He hadn't objected. The truth, if he wanted to admit it to himself, and right now, he sort of did, was that he hated his desk job at the Pentagon. He loved going off world. She was his ticket. She was the only way he would ever be able to keep exploring the universe. But he would have to do it as a quasi-diplomat assigned as a military advisor. There were his choices. He could either sit behind a desk and be retired pretty soon; or, tag along with her and try to do some good for many more years.
The downside was that diplomacy came hard and was dangerous. This powerful ruler of so many could decide the fate of his planet. Jack felt crushed by the weight of that realization.
'Here I am, old Jack O'Neill, who might and that's a big might ,be allowed, be able to influence her in the right direction. Maybe there will never be another opportunity like this again. She saw me consider killing her just now. Anna was ready to have me removed and kept at arms length until this tag problem can be solved. She knows I only have to be in her proximity, not right next to her, to let both of us function. It's time to buckle down on this diplomacy gig and get the result of my choosing.'
"Anna, I know that you are in charge here. I do." She nodded slowly. "I know that a guy like me has no right to question you. But consider this, I do represent my people. So it should count for something extra." He paused waiting for a reaction. She didn't have much of one. All she did was wait quietly.
'Well, she never did say all that much most of the time. Although she could lay out a pretty reasoned argument like a trial lawyer. That was one incredibly intelligent woman,' Jack admitted to himself. He liked intelligent women.
"We also have a very personal problem, even if Thor removes the tags." Jack used his hand to gesture back and forth unable to say the actual word, 'together.' She still didn't say anything. "Anna, I know we have to be very formal in public. But I don't want to be afraid of you in public or in private." Jack frowned and turned his head away.
Anna's face swiveled towards him in surprise. That's why he wanted assurances?
"Jack." Anna began softly. It was her turn to turn away. "You are very harsh to me. It is I who must be afraid of you. I don't deserve it. And I won't tolerate it any more." She turned to him with eyes glistening and blazing. Unconsciously, she was rubbing her upper arms where he had crushed her too hard against him.
Jack saw it and understood his friend's point of view. And then it hit him. This wasn't about getting Anna to accept his point of view. It was about him understanding hers. When had such a powerful leader ever let a shrub like him get so up close and personal? He should have asked himself why, much earlier. Realization washed over Jack. Lady Anna was doing her best to help him understand her thinking, while trying to communicate with a stubborn American on his level. Why would she bother? He perked up at that thought. There were just so many unanswered questions.
'Whatever the reason, Lady Anna had decided I have to be here. But this togetherness is weird even considering the tags. Right or wrong, as the Commonwealth's Supreme Military Commander, Lady Anna believes the very existence of the human race is at stake. Most importantly, the Lady believes my presence is critical to ensure the success of her mission to preserve humanity. It doesn't matter if she is correct. What matters is that Lady Anna believes it and her people do too. So she put up with me at every turn. I've misjudged her, almost throwing away an unprecedented opportunity to be heard in the highest circles of their government. Smooth Jack, smooth.'
'This royal lady isn't the girl next door or another colleague. She isn't a member of my team. I am on her team, the team that will change the course of human history. Hey, pal, you would rather treat her more carefully. As Regent, Lady Anna is the leader of a great people, deserving of respect. Phew, you had better start acting like a two-star general representing his people.'
In his mind, Jack silently thanked Daniel for all the diplomacy lessons for all those years. Jack stood up.
"Ma'am, I want to apologize to you for my bad behavior. It was inexcusable. You have been more than patient and forgiving. I realize that now. I can't change the past, but I can change the future." He held out his hand, "Please, allow me the privilege." Jack bowed slightly. It still didn't come easily to him. After a moment's consideration, Anna saw he was genuine and felt a surge of relief. She held out her hand and let him approach. Jack took her hand, raised it a bit, and bent to kiss it as any gentleman would to a lady. Both smiled, sensing each other's goodwill and knowing they had turned a corner.
"Ok, let's get a shot of the President in the Captain's chair." Colonel Tom Rundell summoned the camera crew to take their positions. Bregman's Air Force TV crew, Sr. Airman Shep Wickenhouse and Captain Dale James, moved expertly around the bridge crew and the brass watching them work. The make-up lady finished the last touches. "We are ready, Mr. Bregman."
"Okay, sirs, Mr. President, try to act natural. Well, as natural as you can on a spaceship. Phew." Emmett Bregman had to grin. Then he caught a stern look from Kendall Cross who had become his shadow. She wasn't going to be upstaged one iota on this scoop. "Remember, we can edit a lot of this. So don't worry if you don't like something you said. We'll catch it in Post."
The President gave a campaign smile at the camera. And the show began. "Now I know how Captain Kirk felt."
"What did the Hak'taur disclose to you, Master Teal'c?" Ka'lel of the Hak'tyl began the High Council session. She was more disposed to side with Teal'c, but not always. Still, she decided a moderate tone would be more appropriate this day.
"We learned first hand that they are not the ones responsible for Jaffa deaths on the outer rim. And to our shame, we witnessed the atrocities those Jaffa perpetrated on the humans under their care. We participated in the battle against the Goa'uld who came to harvest the Jaffa's symbiotes. They are desperate, indeed. For they no longer have a supply of mature ones to implant in humans. Their population continues to decrease with all the current in-fighting."
"Are you certain this was not some deception? Perhaps the Goa'uld ship was one of theirs or was lured there by them." Yat'yir spoke for the opposition. None of them were happy about so many Hak'taur, the term for advanced humans. Most Council members were afraid of such power and such powerful weapons in the hands of lowly humans. Worse, these humans hated the Jaffa.
"While it is true we did destroy the main attack vessels. Some of the smaller craft, Al'kesh and Gliders, were captured. The crews were interrogated. The Jaffa on those ships confirmed that they had come for the prim'tah. More than that they would not comment. We have brought with us, two from that battle." Teal'c raised his hand without looking back. His officers brought in a bound Jaffa who was the worse for wear. The Council proceeded to interrogate him according to their custom. Teal'c was disgusted.
Then the topic turned to the threat posed by the Hak'taur. Centuries of conditioned attitude under the Goa'uld made them consider advanced humans to be a threat to be neutralized. But at this time, so many would be impossible to wipe out. The Free Jaffa simply did not have the military assets to do it. The Council broke the session without coming to a consensus. Teal'c was appalled.
"Teal'c, you should return to the Tau'ri and let them know. They don't deserve this treatment. But the old ways die hard." Bra'tac clasped Teal'c firmly on the shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I will continue to gather support among those loyal to us. Go. The Council will not meet again for many days. There is no hurry."
Teal'c hesitated, then gave Bra'tac a head nod before he departed.
All through the Commonwealth's Capital, candlelight vigils filled the plazas and squares. Throngs of people gathered to watch the hovering news screens. Flowers arrived by the shipload to be dumped on the roadway and arranged along the parade route. The Royal Barge was decorated with flowers until it nearly sunk. The Great Steps to the Temple were decorated in gold carpet woven from solid gold threads mixed with scarlet and purples in a non-repeating design. It stretched from the foot of the stairs up hundreds of feet to the entrance to the Temple's inner sanctum. The people were preparing for the greatest event of all time.
The new High Priest began the ceremonial purification rituals. Each movement he made was captured for eternity and viewed by the tens of billions all over the Commonwealth. Legions of high ranking religious figures kept the vigil with candles and incense. Ancient robes not seen for two and a half millennia were brought to the site still hermetically sealed for this moment. And the priests at the olive press worked all night to extract the Holy Oil.
Two men walked up to the desert café at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It was hot ina parking lot filled with tourist buses giving off hot exhaust to boot. The men were in tatters. In fact, they were about to collapse. Dirty, stinking, crusted with dirt and sores, they made it through the doors before they fainted. The customers jumped up in alarm. Given the circumstances, the proprietor grabbed his rifle. But the two men didn't move. Someone threw a glass of water on them. Neither moved. One groaned.
With his foot, the proprietor rolled one over. He didn't look like the usual terrorist. He was wearing some kind of desert camouflage uniform. He looked European. One of the men reached into the fallen man's shirt to check for a body bomb and pulled out a wallet instead. He snorted in disbelief and handed it over to the proprietor. American Air Force Officers out here? Then he dialed the phone to report the situation to the Egyptian police substation. They would call the paramedics.
'Stupid G.I.'s wandering about the Sinai without a clue, thought the Mossad operative hanging out undercover as a tourist bus driver. Probably tried to climb Mt. Sinai without water, he shook his head in disbelief. Idiot probably thought he could just hit a rock.' But he checked over the I.D.'s before sauntering outside to make his own call.
A half-hour later, the sound of helicopters drowned out conversation in the restaurant. The arriving Israeli Defense Forces deployed rapidly to surround the building and secured the area before their commander arrived. The Mossad operative who made the call couldn't stop his jaw from dropping at the sight of General Ben Gurion in person walking through the door. This was huge.
"It's them. How in the hell did they get all the way out here?" The Colonel turned to face the General. "Looks like they've been out here the whole time. We can tell the Americans we found them." Orders flew and medics rushed in to do their jobs. The doctors who arrived with the General bent over the unconscious men. Medics loaded them up quickly on to hand carried pallets and loaded them on the choppers. The General ordered everyone out. They all climbed back in the choppers and left. The whole thing lasted less than ten minutes. The men in the café knew it would be a long afternoon of questions by Egyptian authorities.
"Colonel, how do you suppose they got here without us seeing them come out of that chamber with the Ark? It's been manned around the clock. No one has been able to penetrate the barrier. I know for a fact nothing has come out. They don't sneeze next to it that I don't know about it. Think there's another passage way?"
"If so, it doesn't explain how they traveled a few hundred miles away. Or why."
Both men exchanged significant glances. The Pentagon had some questions to answer. "I'll handle the Egyptian government protests." The General didn't bother to nod. These things could always be settled.
On the Asgaard starship 'Daniel Jackson,' Thor was past impatient. He had been waiting for two hours in orbit around Anna's planet. No one had ever done him this discourtesy. The Supreme Commander had had enough. The fate of the Asgaard depended on what would happen here today. With that he checked his readings to be certain those two were together. And then he summoned them to the ship.
"Thor? Buddy?" O'Neill spun around to see Thor sitting at his console. "Sweet. Hey pal, where you been?"
"Greetings, O'Neill." Thor nodded to the female. "Anna."
Lady Anna looked at him archly. She was not pleased at this abduction. In one day she had been assaulted and kidnapped. And she was in no mood.
"You were told to wait." Anna drew herself up to her most regal presence. And with a waive of her hand, she and Jack were back in her dining room in the palace.
"You can't do that to him!" Jack was beside himself. "We've been trying to get a hold of him for two weeks." Then he got confused. "You can do that? I mean leave like that?"
"Obviously." Anna pointed to her head. "Implant. I activated the transporter."
"Why?"
"Because he has to learn his place."
"What?"
"It's time you understood something, My Lord General." Anna paused to make certain he was paying attention. "We are the equals of the Asgaard."
"What?"
"They have fooled you with their bag of tricks. But no more." Anna swept past him to seat herself back at the table and indicated he should join her.
"What?"
"Oh, do stop playing the fool, Jack. You and I both know the truth. You are smarter than any man alive. Oh, what's the phrase? KNOCK IT OFF!" Anna raised her water glass and smirked. "To you, My Lord General, the most advanced human to ever live." And she drank the whole glass.
"Thirsty?"
Anna refilled his glass with wine and hers with water. Jack eyed her, noticing she wasn't drinking with him. Well, she was a lightweight when it came to alcohol. He thought back to that night at his cabin after the beers and the shooters of tequila. She went nuts running around the woods thinking she was poisoned by Tabasco sauce. Then she passed out on his sofa. They tied one on that night. Yep, it was probably for the best. He raised the glass to sip. The wine was a very good vintage. She did set a magnificent table. He sat down.
"And to the man with the Repository of the Ancients still in his head." She drank again. "And we both know you are practically an unascended Ancient."
"You knew?"
"I knew from the moment we met."
"How?"
"Remember giving me the flowers when we met?" Jack nodded. "Remember what it felt like when our hands touched briefly?" Jack had to think and then remembered feeling as though time stood still. Odd memory to recall. Then he nodded.
"It felt like you were alone with me and no one else was there?"
"You did that?"
"No. You did." Anna sipped at her wine. "You were searching me. And you knew it. So stop pretending. I know. You can't lie to me."
"I can't. Really."
"We are the same. We can sense each other. And that's why I can't lie to you, either." Anna put down her glass and leaned forward towards him. "Emotionally, you just don't like to admit it, even to yourself."
"Oy. Here we go, pop psychology 101."
"No wonder you survived as long as you did in your line of work. You weren't just talented, you had an advantage." Anna regarded him with a significant wink and a nod. "I knew what I was doing when I came looking for you."
"Oh, you did. What a shocker."
"I came for the same reason Thor wants the two of us to mate. Only I have more important plans than that."
Jack sat there considering her words. What did she know? And why would she tell him tonight? "Ok, so I'm special. So what?"
"Jack, I read the reports on our progress toward Ascension." Jack didn't answer. He didn't like where this was going. "Your reports said that I was almost 30percenton the way there. It said that you were 19 percentand later 24 percent. Did you realize it changed in the time we have known each other?"
"And that means what?" Jack raised his eyes to search hers. She knew plenty. Jack kept his face a mask and lowered his eyes so she couldn't read him. No one had told him he had changed.
"It's up again. And by every indication, it's still going up." Anna spoke more softly. "Jack, something about those tags accelerated our development. Thor screwed up if all he wanted from us was to mate." Anna paused watching him. "Jack, we need each other to Ascend."
"That's why you want me so much? To Ascend?"
"No. I don't want to Ascend just now. I have too much to do first. But, I can't control the rate of change. And I can't walk away any more than you can. Listen to me. The tags don't matter anymore. They were the delivery system Thor used to make us want to mate. Our changing was a side effect he didn't count on. What's done is done."
Jack banged his fist on the table making the dishes rattle.
'I trusted the little grey fella. And now this.' Jack looked away in frustration. 'At least she isn't going to exile mrm. She actually needd me. Here was that insurance. Why did she give it to me? And why now?'
"Is that why you came, to make a child?"
"I came to you for the reasons I told you."
"And for the reasons you didn't tell me."
"I knew that you were like me. My operatives did a thorough job on Anubis and his information. He knew. And I found out. I just had to pick my moment." Anna paused for effect. "I had to wait until after he was defeated."
"Because if he knew about both of us, we were in trouble."
"Yes. It's probably why Thor put that marker in your DNA. He didn't want Anubis experimenting on you." Anna paused trying to decide if she should tell him the rest. "Snake plus Ancient equals trouble."
"Ack! Right. Makes sense."
"He failed."
"What?"
"Thor failed."
"Oy." Jack took a deep breath. "Khalek?"
"Yes. Anubis used you to make him." Anna felt pity for the pain of that revelation. But it was long past time Jack stopped kidding himself. "Your DNA provided the human component. He cloned his snake body and mixed the two to get Khalek. But your DNA wasn't enough. Khalek stalled out. He couldn't Ascend."
"He didn't look like me." Anna just gave him the schoolteacher look Jack was learning to hate. "Oh, right. Anubis was manipulating the genome. Then why did you have to ask Thor to remove the marker?"
"We didn't. It was a cover story." Anna waited for Jack to catch up with that one. His face was a stone mask. "Jack, the marker's gone. You can live a long life like us, now."
"I didn't say yes." Jack sighed. "So why do the Asgaard want to mate us if Khalek was a dud?"
"They want a new cloning template. They've already tried with yours and failed. Anubis tried with yours and failed. They know that Pegasus galaxy humans have a slightly different genome. That's why the Asgaard are helping you folks get back and forth to Atlantis. They thought they could find what they needed in the Pegasus galaxy and duplicate Anubis' experiment with Asgaard instead of Goa'uld or your DNA. Then they would have a body that could hold one of their minds. But they haven't found the right genome there."
"Ok, that explains me. What about you?" Jack wasn't sure he wanted to believe this. But he did know she wasn't lying. She could be wrong, but she wasn't lying.
"So they were back to the idea of cloning the right body. Then two weeks ago, they found me, thanks to you."
"You wanted to meet Thor." Jack thought about it and added, "If all this is correct, why did you want to reveal yourself to the Asgaard?"
"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have. We didn't know until last week. While they sat there cloaked in your solar system, we were searching through their database. Now we know."
Jack frowned. "And now we know what?"
"Do you realize the Ancient healing device worked better when both of us tried together?"
"Yes, I wondered about that. So this has something to do with combining our DNA." Jack pushed back from the table and ruffled the hairs on the nape of his neck, thinking. "Okay, what do you want from me?"
Anna stopped pacing to frown. She sighed.
"Jack, we have a greater purpose than making a template for the little clone bodies the Asgaard want. If they get our child, they may get back on the road to Ascension. And they may not. That's what they want. Now, the Asgaard think they can breed the right kind of body themselves. And that's not the way it works."
"That's what they want? That's what all this is about? To Ascend?"
"Think about it. If they knew the Ancients, they knew about Ascension." Anna knew she was finally reaching him. "They're facing extinction because they tried to manipulate their DNA so they could Ascend. It backfired. And they had to clone themselves to survive. Jack, their thinking is still so messed up they plan to try again with new bodies from special human DNA."
"And, so, therefore? What?"
"Our scientists have been studying the human genome for nearly two thousand years. We've learned a few things."
"Like what?"
"Like you and I have a mutated Ancient gene that has interesting differences we don't share." Anna smiled gently before delivering the bombshell. Jack cocked his head waiting for the other shoe to fall. Wait for it, he told himself.
"Jack, each one of us is prime real estate for the Asgaard. But together we are the Mother Lode." Anna saw the look of comprehension in his eyes. He let out a low whistle. "So, Jack O'Neill, what do we do about Thor and his kind?"
"Not much we can do. He's probably gone by now."
"Oh, don't do that, Jack. We both know he's still up there waiting his turn."
"Right. I've heard enough." Jack stood up from the table. "I want to talk to Thor."
"So talk to him, Jack. Nothing is stopping you."
