Chapter 13: What Jacob Knows

Oddly enough, President was never one of Jacob Carter's career ambitions. Even serving in the United States Senate he had a fairly good idea of the added stress and responsibility that role would necessarily involve. Now in his second term as reluctant chief executive, the retired military officer doubted his ability to survive the remained three years of his duty.

He vaguely remembered the days when his was a position of true power. He was a very young boy when that was still the case. Now at seventy years of age, Jacob longed for those days, the time before life on Earth changed forever. He chuckled morosely to think how men like Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington would have reacted to being mere puppets in the hands of a more powerful force.

On his first day as President, Jacob received his top secret national security briefing. That was the day he entered a select group of people who knew the real reason behind the War Without End. It was a shameful secret, shared equally by all the nations of Earth. The secret had haunted Jacob's dreams ever since his first days in office. Struggling to find a way out of a Faustian deal from hell, Jacob had failed miserably.

And so another generation unknowingly remained in bondage.

OoOoOo

It had been nearly a year since Sam visited Jacob and her mother, Kathleen, in Washington. From the moment he was elected, Sam distanced herself from the political hubbub that accompanied the highest office in the land. Jacob could count on one hand the number of times his daughter had visited the White House. When she'd vehemently refused Secret Service protection, he'd nearly had a stroke. With Kathleen's counsel, he'd relented and not forced the issue. He'd simply made judicious adjustments. Although she never saw them, two agents were within striking distance at every hour of the day and night, watching over her safety. Jacob knew she'd be furious if she found out, but really didn't care. He wanted her safe, from others and from herself. If she were angry with him, it wouldn't be the first time.

But she was here now. She'd called only last night and said it was important. Without hesitation, he'd arranged to have her flown out first thing in the morning. Sam had arrived by mid-morning. Jacob was unable to get away before early afternoon, tied up in tedious staff meetings. That gave Sam time to visit with her mother. Now finally, he made his way to the residence, eager to learn the reason for his daughter's sudden visit.

As Jacob arrived in the residence, he gladly shrugged off the pressures of the West Wing. He removed his tie and suit jacket, picked up a cup of coffee and proceeded to the front sitting room where he expected to find his family.

Sure enough, Sam and Kathleen were right where he'd expected them to be. The front sitting room, decorated in warm summer colors and sporting a marvelous bay window, was Kathleen's favorite area of the residence. She'd single handedly redesigned it after they'd moved in and was quite happy with her efforts. It was hers in a way no other area of the austere, pretentious mansion would ever be.

What Jacob wasn't expecting was the scene that greeted him. Kathleen and Sam were seated next to each other on the sofa. Kathleen's arms were wrapped around her adult child, Sam's head on her mother's shoulder. He could hear of the sound of his daughter's weeping.

Sam's tears were not foreign to Jacob. Over the past few years, there had certainly been enough tears, depression, despair and loss. He's seen his daughter about as low as she could go. Pulling away from everyone, suicidal, psychotic, full of self hatred. After all of that, this was the first time he'd seen her cry in her mother's arms. And it scared the living daylights out of him.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked, too fearful to couch his concern in softer words.

He was met with Kathleen's deep set blue eyes, clearly troubled, but not panicked.

"Our daughter has quite a story to tell you," she said. "And you had better listen."

OoOoOo

Sam had no idea what she was expecting. Here she was meeting her mother for the first time in thirty years. Her dead mother, the mother who'd tragically died when she'd needed her the most. Alive and well, this Kathleen Carter appeared the picture of health. At a vigorous sixty-eight years of age, the First Lady remained a tall, stately beauty with her now white hair pulled back loosely and her blue eyes as intensely captivating as ever.

Sam recognized her immediately. Thirty years or no, this was her mother. Kathleen's face had danced in her head more times than she could remember over the years. And she was here, in the flesh. At least in this alternate timeline, they'd been given another chance

When she realized there'd be time with Kathleen before Jacob arrived, Sam planned to keep her emotions low key, as if it were another day, another visit. Once she saw the love and acceptance in her mother's eyes, she forgot all about that resolution. With very little preamble, she'd told the older woman everything. With a naiveté born of years without a mother, Sam's revelation poured out, uncensored and unabridged. In the wink of an eye, she felt young and vulnerable, glad to have her mother's arms to comfort and console.

OoOoOo

Jacob sat quietly, his mind racing while his body remained preternaturally calm.

He was in awe of the woman before him. Confident, unafraid, certain of facts that would intimidate anyone else, she presented a cogent argument for a farfetched proposition.

Little did Sam know her argument was supported by facts she couldn't begin to imagine. Yet without those fact to fall back on, she forged ahead, hoping against hope her "parents" would believe her. The hidden history of this world, a world not her own, supplied all Jacob needed to entertain the truth of "his daughter's" words.

"You're telling me you're not really my daughter," was all he could say when she finished.

"Not the daughter you know," Sam answered. "Your daughter and I have had very different experiences these past few years."

"Thinking about it gives me a headache," Jacob said. "It's hard to believe there could actually be an alternate timeline, another me, another you."

For the first time, Sam began to consider the possibility her father would take her seriously.

"I know it's a lot to take in at once," Sam admitted.

"It is," Jacob admitted.

"You believe me, don't you?" Sam asked in astonishment.

"I do," he said simply.

His response exceeded her wildest, optimistic hopes. Maybe her father was toying with her, trying to humor the sick child he'd come to know.

"Will you help us, Dad?" Sam asked after a long pause, waiting for the moment of truth she feared was coming.

It never came.

OoOoOo

Less than thirty minutes later, the Secret Service announced the unscripted arrival of Colonel O'Neill and a certain independent government contractor. Without skipping a beat, President Carter opened the door.

"Jack, Mr. Mitchell," he greeted them as if they were expected. "Come in. Your timing is impeccable."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Take a seat. I have quite a story to tell all of you."

As they took their places, Jack and Cam both greeted Sam and her mother. Cam, introduced to Kathleen Carter for the first time, looked like a dear in the headlights. Undoubtedly, he was a bit overwhelmed by the ongoing changes in the timeline. Moreover, he was still uncertain whether or not Jack O'Neill believed his story or was bringing him here for censure. Worse yet, maybe they were arranging a single pick up for the ambulance.

He needn't have worried. After politely offering drinks all around, Jacob proceeded to reassure both his daughter and Cam. Though overwhelmed by the magnitude of their story, he believed it on its face. There was too much history supporting it to leave any doubt. And something was definitely different about his daughter.

"You mean I'm not getting fitted for a straight-jacket?" Cam asked skeptically.

"No, son," Jacob answered. "I believe both of you are perfectly sane. I may not be, but you two are all right," he added with a grin, wondering why he was so damned sure.

"I'll tell you a story," the president began. "You might not believe this one either. I know I didn't when they told me the day after my inauguration. Funny thing, all of a sudden when you become president, the powers that be decide you're one of them. All of a sudden you can be trusted with secrets others are clamoring to know."

Jacob stopped for moment, reached out and took Sam's hand. "Sam, the NID told me about the Stargate four years ago. So when you told me your story, strange as it sounds, I knew it was possible."

"And I know the broad outlines of the Stargate dossier; that's why I didn't immediately send Cam here to the funny farm," Jack added.

"You mean this timeline does have a Stargate?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Not exactly," Jacob replied. "Apparently we did. It was discovered in Giza back in the 1920s then kept under lock and key in a government bunker for quite some time. Seems folks knew it was important, but didn't have a clue what it was. Then in the forties, during the early years of the original war, it was rediscovered as it were. There were many in the military who hoped it was a weapon, one that would dwarf the nascent atomic bomb in its scope and power. Needless to say, with that build-up, no expense was spared on attempting to unlock its secrets. During my first national security briefing I read a file describing the first time they succeeded in turning it on. It was incredible."

"None of that was made public at the time, was it?" Kathleen asked.

"No, none of it," Jacob answered. "It was top secret then too, but for totally different reasons."

Jacob had their attention. No one moved a muscle, intent on every word he uttered.

"Research proceeded at a feverish pace. Everyone knew by mid 1945 the war was reaching a cross roads. Development of the atomic bomb was days away from completion and initial testing was promising. Troops were massing for final assaults in Europe. The Allies were secretly beginning to plan for reconstruction, so certain they were of a total victory."

"So the war was coming to an end," Sam said, "just as it was in our world."

"Yes," Jacob answered simply. "But everything changed. You have to understand the thinking back then. All of our resources were focused on winning this war. The effort was a source of national pride, for pretty much everyone. When he came, we had no defense."

"Who came, Sir?" Jack asked, realizing he didn't know half the story.

"He called himself Ba'al," Jacob said. "The records I was shown describe him as a humanoid creature whose eyes glowed. He spoke with an unnaturally sonorous tone and he had great power."

"Sam, are you okay?" Jack asked. His eyes were locked on the woman sitting across from him. All of a sudden she'd gone pale and her eyes had glazed over.

Sam breathed deeply, exhaling forcefully. "I'm fine. We know him, Ba'al that is."

"Really?" Jacob asked. "He exists in your reality? How is it then you still have a Stargate?"

"It's a long story," Sam said. "We'll fill in the blanks," she said nodding toward Cam, "but right now we need to hear your story. What did he do in this world?"

Jack and Jacob nodded to each other.

"I'm told we didn't take him seriously at first,'' Jacob began. "Roosevelt had no idea he'd visited Hitler, Hirohito, and Churchill as well. Equal opportunity monster I'd say. He demanded to be shown the Stargate. How he even knew it existed was beyond us. When security attempted to detain him, he vanished. Vanished into thin air they said. Almost immediately, unexplainable things occurred in areas nowhere near the front lines. An American battle cruiser was blasted out of the water. A submerged German U-Boat was vaporized. A squadron of fighters was destroyed on a Midwest airfield. All from the sky, with a single blast, looked like a laser. As if that wasn't enought, the entire contents of the Manhattan Project labs simply disappeared."

"He was back in Washington less than an hour later, a hologram of the creature anyway. Needless to say, Roosevelt was more willing to negotiate. The Joint Chiefs told him there was no realistic defense against something they couldn't begin to understand. Sure, at first they'd blamed it on the German, Japanese maybe, but fairly soon it was clear they too were receiving demands."

"So you gave him the Stargate?"

"Yes, we did," Jacob answered. "We barely knew what it was ourselves at that point. It certainly wasn't worth risking the security of the planet. In the simplicity of the time, we actually hoped that would be the end of it. But it wasn't, not by a long shot."

"What happened?" Cam asked.

"Roosevelt was told to call a summit. It was unheard of, in the middle of a war, meeting with leaders of all warring parties. But we weren't the only ones impressed by the creature's power. Hell, the Air Force, such as it was at the time, did their level best to blast his ships out of the sky, but it wasn't even close. Nothing we had could reach that far, let alone touch the ships in orbit. It didn't take much convincing to bring everyone together."

"I remember hearing about that meeting," Jack said. "That's when the war changed. We moved out of the European theater."

"Yes," Jacob continued. "It seems the Stargate wasn't all this Ba'al character wanted. He and others like him wanted an army to 'defeat the forces of the future' he said. Needless to say, the leaders of the time had no idea what he was talking about. But it didn't matter. Their choices were limited. I'm not aware of every detail of those negotiations, but the War Without End was a result."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand," Sam said.

"He offered to let us keep our world," Jacob continued. "The price was unimaginable. Slaves, 'hosts' he called them and common soldiers, and others who would be 'incubators' for their young. He explained that his kind had conquered many worlds before ours and that resistance would be punished with annihilation."

"I can't believe Earth, any Earth, accepted this without a fight," Cam said.

"Leaders knew their people wouldn't accept it. There would have been mass panic. Many more would have died. They decided the people would never know what was happening."

"The war … the casualties …" Sam said, her mind exploding with the enormity of the cover up. It was all an elaborate façade, a stage to supply the fodder for Ba'al's army, a way to pacify a creature intent on conquest and power.

That was how everything changed.

TBC

A/N: Thank you for continuing to read. Anxious to know what you think. Reviews much appreciated.

Planning to have the story finished round about Chapter 19 or 20, no longer.

Disclaimer: Please remember as you read this that since no one really knows whether there are such things as alternate timelines, AU, AR, whatever, in my mind the possibilities are wide open. I'm limiting myself only by the general guidelines I've seen on SG. Could be, right?