Sorry I haven't updated in several days, just needed a small writing break. Updates will be coming more frequently again. Previous chapters still being revised, will let you know when they're all done and posted.

If you're also reading my other story "The New Ones", I haven't given up on it, a new chapter for it is coming soon!

Chapter 10

Isaac walked side by side with Colonel Davis into the main hangar of Area-51. Isaac had been making frequent trips here since his assignment to the project four months earlier. It had been awkward at first, especially around Davis, but his colleagues had slowly come to accept him as something other than 'the other Jack O'Neill.'

It was late in the afternoon on Saturday, and he was already in his flight suit and ready to go. He had done some test flights already, but this one was going to be special.

"I think you'll be very pleased with the result, Colonel," Davis said as they walked inside the hangar. "Though there is one issue to deal with," he amended under his breath.

Isaac caught the tone and gave Davis a bemused glance but his attention was quickly drawn away by the contents of the hangar. He gave a low whistle at the sleek black fighter that was undergoing intensive scrutiny by a dozen people checking its systems. The fighter, the F-400, was the fourth generation of Earth's counter to the Goa'Uld Death Gliders. It was more than just a counter, being superior to gliders thanks to some Asgard interference. True, it was not the first F-400 he'd seen, but this one was unique, the flagship of its squadron.

"She's a beauty, Davis," Isaac said admiringly, crossing his arms and standing back to run his eyes admiringly over the fighter.

Davis nodded. "Yeah, thought you'd like it. This ship is going to revolutionize our war against the Goa'Uld, and allow us to keep our end of the bargain with the Asgard."

"So, this one's really mine?"

"If nothing changes. She's the last one of the squadron, Colonel. It took a bit longer with her to accommodate for the extra missile rack on the belly, but all our preliminary tests show everything running as it should be."

Isaac rubbed his jaw and frowned. "If nothing changes? What might change, Davis?"

Davis shuffled his feet nervously and pointed to the woman approaching them.

"Carter! What brings you here?" Isaac called out before his brain could stop at him.

She didn't smile but walked steadily towards them with an armful of folders.

"She didn't know you were on the program till this morning," Davis whispered.

"Oh," Isaac said with a grim nod. He clapped his hands together and grinned confidently. He could handle Carter. "Well, let's get 'er in the air."

"Oh, there's still plenty of time for that..., Colonel O'Neill," she said, obviously uncertain how to address him, and her face showing her discomfort at the choice she'd made.

"Is there a problem, General… O'Neill?" He asked uncertainly.

"General Carter," she corrected with a smirk. "We decided two General O'Neills would be confusing. So, around here it's Carter. How'd you know about that?"

Isaac gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Small world, General."

She frowned and turned to Davis. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Colonel Davis? You can prep the F-400 for launch."

"Yes, General," Davis said with a salute and headed towards the craft.

After Davis was some distance off she turned back to Isaac and locked him with a hard, calculating stare. "How'd you get in this program, Colonel?"

Isaac wasn't sure if the truth or a lie was called for. He had assumed she knew how he got here. "Jack recommended me," he said flatly.

Shock quickly spread across Carter's face and then disbelief. "Jack?"

Isaac nodded. "Call and ask him if you want."

"He just up and recommended you?" She asked suspiciously.

Isaac grunted and shook his head. "Yeah, right . I had to fly to Washington and beg him for something useful to do. I think he felt sorry for me."

"I'm not sure you belong here, Colonel. You haven't earned the right to be here. You are not Jack O'Neill, and you need to stop acting like you are," she said, keeping her hard stare on him.

Isaac frowned and raised a questioning eyebrow. He hadn't expected her to be this difficult. "With all due respect, General Carter, you don't really know the slightest thing about me, and are really in no position to pass judgment on who I am. I'm Isaac O'Neill and make no pretense of being Jack."

"That's where you're wrong, Colonel. I'm in the exact position to pass judgment on you, but regardless of that. Your very presence here is pretense. If you weren't clinging to something of Jack's you'd be out there earning your rank like everyone else in this military."

Isaac wasn't about to back down. It had taken him quite a while to deal with his issues over Carter, and he wasn't going to let her win. "Quite right, General. I'm not Jack, but I've got all Jack's knowledge of fighting the Goa'Uld. That knowledge gives me the experience and skill for this assignment. You can't just ignore what I've got to offer. If we're going to win this war then we need to use every available asset. I didn't force the Air Force to keep me on as Colonel, rather they saw my inherent value." He wasn't going to admit to her that his knowledge of the Goa'Uld went far beyond what Jack new. Jack's memories weren't the only ones he'd inherited.

Sam sighed and shook her head. "Let's just get the test started, Colonel. We'll see how you handle the F-400, and then we'll discuss this further."

Isaac felt a pain forming in his temples. He ground his teeth together and tried to keep the sudden discomfort from showing up on his face. The headaches shouldn't be starting again so soon he thought. He tried to remember when he'd taken his last treatment, and then realized Carter was still watching him.

"You ready there, Colonel?"

Isaac nodded, sending a spike of pain between shooting from one temple to the other, and forced a smile. "Yes, General, I'm ready to go." He hoped the headache would stay bearable until he could get through the test. He inwardly cursed himself for having left the treatment in his locker, though he hadn't planned on needing it, even though his need for it had grown over the past couple of years.

Ten minutes later Isaac was strapped into the X-400 and taxiing out onto the runway.

"Remember, Colonel, for this test we just want to achieve a low orbit," Davis said through the headset.

"Roger that," Isaac replied. "Beginning takeoff."

He throttled the engine up and sent the ship speeding down the runway. The sound of engines screeched dreadfully in his ears, even the though the cockpit was nearly soundproof. He gritted his teeth as the ship lifted into the sky and sent him hurtling up toward the upper atmosphere. The ship passed through the thick grey clouds, and he broke through the cloud cover and sunlight struck the cockpit. Isaac was thankful for the visor over his eyes.

"We've placed three drones along your route," Davis said. "Engage with missiles."

Isaac glanced at his radar and saw the three drones. He used the touch screen near his left hand to select the port missile rack and the desired ordnance.

"These are test missiles right?" Isaac asked as he locked the targets. He didn't want to mistakenly fire off naquadah enhanced missiles over the continental United States.

"Affirmative, they have just enough explosives to take out the drones," Davis responded.

"Targets locked. Engaging," Isaac reported. He activated the attack sequence and three missiles were rapidly launched and veered off in three different directions.

Several seconds passed before the drones disappeared from radar and Davis confirmed, "Targets destroyed, Colonel. You're nearing the test's range limit. You need to shift into orbit."

Isaac frowned. The pain in his temples was intense. He desperately needed to land. "Request permission to delay the orbit portion of the test till tomorrow."

"For what reason?" Carter's suspicious voice came over the radio.

"I'm detecting a slight fluctuation in the engines," he lied.

"We're not seeing any problems on this end," Carter replied after a moment. "But if you're seeing something come on back, and we'll check into it."

"Affirmative. Returning to base," Isaac replied and sighed heavily.

An excruciating hour later Isaac finally made it back to the locker room. He immediately shut off the lights, easing the burning in his eyes. The pain in his head had extended into his arms, which felt like they were asleep and tingled at the slightest movement. He was glad the locker room was empty, as he sank to his knees. He couldn't let them see him like this. His face broke into a sweat as he crawled on hands and knees across the concrete floor to his locker. He swore to himself he was keeping the damn medicine with him from now on. The headaches, once predictable, were becoming too random for him to risk being caught without his one reprieve.

Isaac bit into his lip as he pulled himself up to open the locker. He quickly grabbed a small metal cylinder from the pocket of his jeans and pressed the end with several tiny holes in it to his wrist. He groaned as he felt a slight burning sensation in his wrist and sank back onto the floor, breathing heavily, his lower lip bleeding from having bit down to hard. The throbbing in his head slowly subsided, and he wiped the sweat from his eyes with the back of his hand.

"What a fine damn mess you've gotten yourself into, O'Neill," he muttered under his breath and closed his eyes, thankful for the darkness.