Author's notes: Written in response to a Christmas Challenge that had to include SG1 being stranded off-world over Christmas, Jack being injured and the team reminiscing about Christmas, past/present/future.
Feedback: Please!
Star of Wonder
By CoriKay
We Three Kings of Orient Are
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light Rev. John Henry Hopkins 1857
General Jack O'Neill knew he was being considered a hardass, and refused to care. He knew his decision was unpopular. Even Walter had beens uncharacteristically quiet, his thin lips drawn into even a tighter line. The Goa'uld, to his knowledge, did not celebrate Christmas. A threat had arisen and would be duly investigated and evaluated. That meant that a team would be sent out and all necessary support staff would be on-site. So it came to pass that on Christmas Eve, an off-world mission was to be mounted.
A ghostly whispering of "Scr…oo…ge" followed him down the hall. Jack whipped his head around to find himself alone. He shrugged it off and resumed his route to the embarkation room.
Louder this time,"GRINCH!"
He stopped, pivoted, ready to put the insubordinate offender on report for the rest of their military career, but no one was behind him. He ran his hand through his cropped silver hair. Obviously, this general was spending way too much time here. A deliberate swipe of his ID card through the reader opened the door to the Gate room and allowed him entry.
Daniel, Carter and Teal'c stood at the bottom of the ramp, geared up and ready to go. The three marines that would be accompanying them as back-up were ready as well.
He approached the group and studied the faces of his comrades. If they were distressed about his decision to send them out this particular night, they gave no outward sign.
"Ready, Colonel?"
"Yes sir." She came instantly to attention.
"Recon only."
"Understood, General."
"You're slated for a three day mission. Keep in touch." O'Neill paused, not saying the "be careful" he so wanted to add.
Carter responded, "By the book, sir."
Jack turned and signaled the technician at the controls. The Gate spun and after the last chevron locked, the familiar blue of the wormhole burst through the ring and settled into its mesmerizing pattern. It never ceased to amaze him.
Two marines disappeared into the azure pool followed by SG1. As the last marine, Karlin, passed Jack, there was a deafening explosion behind them. Instinctively, Jack ducked and covered. There were shouts of confusion and smoke roiled about him. He felt a strong arm grab his elbow.
"Come with me, sir. We've got to get you to safety."
Jack was yanked to his feet, pulled up the incline and given a strong push. In a moment he was engulfed by the event horizon, the cold penetrating his BDU's. The momentum gained on Earth propelled him through the gate on the other world. He hit the ground, and rolled, already issuing orders as he came to his knees.
"Carter, dial us back home! There's been an incident at the SGC!" he yelled.
"I don't think so, General. You won't be giving the orders on this mission." O'Neill looked up and saw the marine who had thrown him through the gate. Whose weapon was now pointed at his chest.
"In fact, you will probably never give another order again and we'll all be better for it." He gestured with his gun. "On your feet, hands on your head and turn around." O'Neill had no choice but to comply.
Carter, Daniel and Teal'c, already disarmed, were under guard by the other two marines, their weapons and tac vests piled at their captors' feet. Daniel's glasses were missing and his left eye was swelling closed.
"You okay?" Jack asked.
Daniel nodded.
O'Neill was pushed forward to join SG1 by the unmistakable pressure of a gun muzzle between his shoulder blades. They were quickly encircled by the marines.
Jack cleared his throat. "Well, if this is your idea of getting me to safety, it sucks."
Another marine spoke, "We're more concerned with the safety of Earth."
"Excuse me?" Jack asked.
"You should never have been given command of the SGC. Not with your track record."
Teal'c spoke. "The General is a great warrior. He has saved your world time and again."
Karlin broke in, "And how many times was he responsible for putting Earth into a position of being destroyed? It was his initial mission to Abydos and the death of Ra that caused the Goa'uld to take notice of Earth. After he put us on their radar he continued making mistakes that threaten our very existence. We could have had technology from the Eurodans, but the General here, he let Alar go splat against the iris. He deserted the Tollans. He was ready to destroy the Gadmeer, obviously an advanced civilization, to save a primitive people."
Jack spoke before any of SG1 could come to his defense. "Your quarrel is with me and some of the decisions I've made. Let the Colonel, Daniel, and Teal'c go."
Karlin smiled, just a little. "Oh I don't think so. You're kind of a package deal. You're SG1, the premier team, and equally to blame for the trouble we're in." He motioned to the marines and ordered, "Secure them."
Ropes were produced from the marine's back packs and soon they were bound hand and foot. SG1's weapons and equipment, with the exception of Daniel's 9mm and Teal'c's staff weapon, were loaded aboard the MALP which had been sent through the gate prior to their arrival. Karlin tucked the pistol into his waistband and then engaged the MALP. It trundled off, taking its cargo with it. The gate was situated on a barren plateau; obviously the traitors knew the mobile unit would meet its end by crashing into some canyon below.
Karlin and his cronies gathered around the DHD. Jack hoped that Teal'c's superior hearing would be able to pick up their hushed tones. But an almost imperceptible shake of the Jaffa's head communicated to O'Neill that even he couldn't discern what was being said. The Gate was dialed and Jack committed each symbol to memory. It was an unknown address, but he filed it away, he'd need it later to track down these conspirators. The two marines entered the wormhole, leaving Karlin behind.
"Rats deserting the ship?" O'Neill goaded. "Might have been a mistake to leave us here alone with you."
Karlin just glared at him in response.
Carter leaned against him, her voice low. "You mentioned an incident at the SGC, sir."
"An explosion," he answered.
"How bad?"
Jack knew that approximately twenty minutes had passed since their arrival. If damage had been minor at the SGC, he would have expected that by now an outgoing wormhole from Earth to this world would have been established. But the gate remained idle.
"Bad enough, I guess," he said.
"Shut the hell up!" Karlin yelled. He picked up Teal'c's weapon and brandished it. "You know I've always wanted to tell a superior officer that," he said. "Especially you two." He pointed the staff weapon in the direction of them and charged it.
Carter didn't flinch. Instead, she fixed her stare on the young man. "If you kill us now, you won't be able to complete whatever plan you have in mind."
Karlin swung the weapon away and discharged it into the scrubby vegetation that covered the plateau. "Nobody says anything, unless I say. Got it?"
"Crystal," Daniel mumbled.
The natural light grew dimmer and the arid air colder as they waited. Hours had passed since their capture. The fact that no rescue team had appeared worried Jack. His concern for himself and SG1 became secondary. His mind focused on the SGC. Was their capture part of a larger incursion? How many people were involved? Was it the Trust or some other splinter group? While his thoughts were in constant motion, so were his thumbs. Not real obvious movement. Just enough to allow his double-jointed appendages to slip past the coils of rope binding his hands. Being bound from behind was an advantage this time out. At least their captor couldn't see what he was doing. The man had turned away from them, occupying himself with Teal'c's weapon, aiming at imaginary targets. Jack felt the ropes loosen and fall. In seconds he had freed his legs. He rolled up soundlessly to his feet and then barreled toward the back of the soldier.
The man whipped around, his mouth a surprised O at O'Neill's charge. His first shot went wide. Jack grabbed the weapon with both hands, swinging it sideways. Karlin continued to fire, the bolts of energy arcing off into the twilight. The sounds of impacts reverberated in the stillness. Jack held on, finally pulling the marine toward him with all his strength, then falling back. He put his foot into the soldier's midsection and pitched him over. That forced Karlin to release the staff weapon and land with a satisfying thud on his back on the hard ground. Jack scrambled to roll onto his stomach, find the trigger and fire. The young man was quicker. He was on his feet in a split second, his hand finding Daniel's pistol.
Jack heard the sharp repeat of the 9mm at the same time he pulled the trigger of Teal'c's weapon. The charge sizzled through the air and struck Karlin. The soldier's hands fluttered, dropped the pistol, and then grabbed his smoldering midsection. He fell forward without as much as a cry. Jack relaxed his hold and let his head sink to the ground. He was suddenly tired, so very tired. And he couldn't understand why there was this rushing sound in his ears. Somewhere over the roar he could hear voices.
"General!"
"O'Neill!"
"Jack!"
What did they want anyway? Hadn't he saved their lives? Couldn't they just give him a moment's peace? He'd be over in a moment to untie them. Make that two moments. It felt so good just to lie here, even if it was face-down in the dirt.
He wasn't sure how long he rested. But it didn't seem near long enough. He felt hands on him. Hands that gently pried the weapon from him and turned him onto his back.
"God, Jack," Daniel said.
"Just a Brigadier General, Daniel. Not god, "he answered. He struggled to sit up.
"O'Neill, lay back," Teal'c commanded. "You have been injured."
"Please, sir, you've been shot," Carter pleaded.
Shot? Maybe that explained the expanding warmness he felt spreading across his chest. But there was no pain. Every other time he had been shot, there had definitely been pain. He noticed it was getting darker. He opened his eyes wider to compensate, but to no avail. The blackness overtook him.
He jerked awake. Pain flooded every fiber of his body. Oh yeah, this is how he remembered being shot felt like. His movement brought instant response.
"Take it easy, Jack." It was Daniel.
It was light outside. So bright that Jack had to squint to make out his friend hovering over him. "Carter? Teal'c?"
Daniel crouched over him, mercifully blocking out the glare of the sun. "Teal'c' went after the MALP at first light. We'll need the radios to communicate with the SGC, if we can get the Gate open."
"What do you mean, if we get the Gate open?" Jack was surprised how weak his voice sounded. Despite Daniel's protests, he rolled onto his side, toward the DHD. Carter was over by it. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
"Um, one of the staff weapon blasts must have damaged it. Sam's working on it now. Please, just lay back. You're going to start bleeding again." Daniel applied pressure to the top of his right shoulder. Fireworks blossomed in his field of vision and nerve endings fired white heat up and down his arm.
He couldn't suppress the moan that escaped his lips.
Daniel spoke. "It'll be better when Teal'c finds the MALP and the medkits."
"How long was I out?" Jack asked.
"About four hours."
Four hours. What in the hell was going on at the SGC? They should have been rescued by now.
Carter dropped down beside them. "You're awake sir."
"Apparently, Carter. What's the word on the DHD?"
"There's some damage to the crystals. If I had some tools to work with, I might be able to reroute some of the pathways."
"And the tools are on the MALP," Jack said.
"Yes sir."
"You both better help Teal'c look for it. I'll be okay here."
"I'm not going to be much help out there." Daniel motioned toward his black eye and his missing glasses.
"Well, look for your glasses, then look for the MALP."
Daniel reached into his shirt pocket, pulling the shattered remains of his eyewear from it. "I'll stay here with you, Jack. Besides, we need to be ready if anyone besides an SG team comes through the Gate."
"You just told me you can't see," Jack reminded him.
Carter spoke. "You can't be left alone, General, and you know it. Daniel will stay here and I'll go help Teal'c." Before Jack could protest she was gone.
"Karlin?" Jack asked.
"Dead."
"Did you search him?"
"There was nothing on him. No communication device. No evidence of who he was working with…"
"Or for," Jack finished. He wondered why Karlin's friends hadn't come back. "We need a more defensible position, Daniel."
"We didn't want to move you. Besides there's not much cover here."
"Get us closer to the Gate. On one side of it. At least we'll have first chance to fire on whoever comes through. They'll be expecting Karlin to have us under control." He noted that Daniel had his pistol tucked in his belt. "How many rounds do you have left?"
"All but one."
"Thanks for bringing that along, by the way," Jack couldn't help sounding sarcastic.
"Are you saying it's my fault you were shot?"
"Just saying, if he hadn't had the pistol…"
"Yeah, it's been much better if he had shot you with a P90."
Jack paused and thought. "Point taken," he said. "Now get me up."
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"But yet, it's the General's idea. Now get me up."
Daniel sighed and extended his right arm toward Jack's left. They grasped elbow to elbow and Jack levered himself to a sitting position. That wasn't too bad. Until a wave of vertigo threatened to slam him back to the ground. He fought against it, opening his mouth and sucking back air.
"Jack," Daniel warned.
"It'll pass, give me a minute." Eventually the horizon stabilized and he stopped seeing two Daniels. "Okay, let's do it."
Daniel stood, grabbed Jack's good arm and hauled him upward.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Jack swore.
Daniel's voice was close to his ear. "Well, it is Christmas."
Jack paused to look at Daniel. "It's December 25th, by Earth's calendar. No more, no less. Just get me over to the Gate."
Daniel put Jack's left arm around his shoulders and held onto his left hand with his right hand. He slipped his left arm around Jack's waist. Together they made their way to the ring. Jack sat with his back against it, thankful for its support and modicum of shade it offered. He didn't tell Daniel he felt a familiar rush of warmth across his chest.
O'Neill kept Daniel busy. He had him move Karlin's body out of the sight line of the Gate and had him kick dirt over the stains of blood on the ground. The element of surprise would be the only thing they had going for them. Jack appropriated the pistol and had Daniel take the staff weapon. Then they waited.
Teal'c and Carter returned some hours later as night fell once more, empty-handed, exhausted and with the disheartening report that the MALP lay in various pieces at the bottom of an inaccessible chasm. O'Neill drifted off into restless sleep, the only thing that assuaged the pain. He awoke to the sound of his team's voices but saw no need to open his eyes.
"Your best Christmas, Sam?" Daniel asked.
"That would be the one that Dad bought me a whole bunch of GI Joe stuff. He was home that year and it was great." She paused. "I suppose it should be this year, Pete and I were supposed to celebrate together."
Jack tried to find any trace of bitterness in her voice, but found none.
"What about you Teal'c?" she asked the Jaffa.
"It would have to be my second year among the Tau'ri. I was reading through your Bible and came upon the Gospels, which enlightened me to your Christmas. I had never heard before of a benevolent God," Teal'c answered in his smooth baritone. "And you, DanielJackson?"
Jack could almost hear the smile in Daniel's voice. "My first year with Sha'rae. I set up a "tree" of sagebrush and hung some beads on it. She thought I was crazy."
Jack's favorite Christmas? He felt his heart harden. It would have been, should have been the Christmas after Charlie's tenth birthday. The one where he would have presented Charlie with the number one present on his list, the Easton hockey stick, still wrapped and shoved in the back of Jack's closet. He couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped his lips.
That brought instant response.
"General, are you okay?" Carter asked.
That forced him to open his eyes. "Fine," he responded. In the bright moonlight his team was silhouetted, their upper bodies stripped to their black tee shirts. He felt an uncustomary weight on his body and realized their jackets and shirts were heaped on him. "You're out of uniform," he groused.
At that moment he felt a vibration in the Gate. "Get ready!" he ordered. With the synchronicity born of years of working together, his team mobilized. Teal'c grabbed his weapon and ran to the other side of the ring. Carter took Daniel's pistol and steadied herself against the Gate. The blue of the event horizon gushed through the portal, and then retracted. For a few breathless seconds, nothing happened. Then a MALP broke through and made its slow advance down the ramp.
"Yes!" said Jack. "Carter, get down there and let them know we're here."
She bounded down to the rover. She spoke to it and pointed up to where Jack was sitting.
The on-board camera panned up toward him and they heard a familiar voice. "SG1."
"General Hammond?" Jack asked.
"Yes, Jack. I thought we had made clear that you were to limit your off-world adventures."
"Well, this wasn't exactly my idea, sir…
Daniel interrupted him. "Jack's been shot. We need medical supplies."
O'Neill made sure Hammond was aware of the situation. "The DHD has been damaged, don't send anyone else through. Carter can tell you what she needs to fix it."
"We've contacted the Prometheus. They're on the other side of the galaxy but can be recalled at any time." Hammond said.
In rapid succession, medical supplies, extra weapons and equipment Carter required were sent through the Gate. She and Teal'c worked at the pedestal. Jack drifted in and out, happy for morphine. After a few hours, the DHD came to life and Carter dialed home.
The SGC had sustained significant damage with some strategically placed explosions. Someone had known exactly what would cripple Gate operations. It left him wondering who had been involved and if anyone from the group was still embedded.
But the expertise and the sheer will of SGC brought the Gate back on-line and accomplish the rescue of SG1. Jack had no doubt about it; he had the best damn people in the world, make that universe, working for him. Except maybe for Dr. Brightman. She didn't respond to his demands any more than Dr. Frasier had. After daily lectures telling him it would take longer to heal because of his age, she finally allowed him to go home after twelve days at the SGC.
His street was dark except for the few remaining houses that still were aglow with Christmas lights. He parked his truck and stayed in the house long enough to grab a beer from the frig. His rooftop observatory was his destination.
The Colorado sky was clear, ebony black with little moonlight to diminish the splendor of the star-filled heavens. He knew what constellations he should be seeing on this date, January 6, 2005. But as he scanned the sky there was something out of place. A very bright light was moving from east to west across the firmament. He stiffened, already considering the possibility of an invasion. But the light slowed, then stopped, its radiance increasing overshadowing every else in the night sky.
January 6th, somewhere in his long-lost Catholic upbringing, it clicked. Epiphany, the night the Wise Men followed the Star and brought their gifts to the Christ child. A sense of peace surrounded him and General Jack O'Neill did something he had not done willingly in many years. He got to his knees and asked forgiveness for things he had done and left undone. And for the first time dared to consider asking forgiveness for the one thing he could never forgive himself for.
He never heard the car roll up into his driveway, or the greetings of his friends. It wasn't until Daniel's voice coming from below jerked him from his concentration.
"Jack! You up there?"
He could already hear Daniel ascending the ladder and knew there'd be no way he'd make it to his feet in time. Instead he dropped to all fours.
Daniel was instantly at his side. "What happened? Are you all right? Teal'c! Sam! He's up here!"
"Daniel, don't get them up here. I'm fine. "
Too late. Teal'c and Carter joined them in less than a minute, making for very crowded conditions on his roof top observatory. They helped him to his feet.
"What happened, sir?" Carter asked her eyes wide with concern.
"I'm fine." He punctuated that with a "Really," when he saw their skeptical looks.
"Why were you on your knees, O'Neill?" Teal'c questioned.
"I thought I'd lost something," he answered.
"Did you find it?" the Jaffa asked.
He threw a glance skyward and then placed one hand on the Jaffa's shoulder and the other on Daniel's, then looked at each one of his team in turn. "Maybe it wasn't lost after all, just misplaced."
Epilogue
Jack carefully unwrapped the hockey stick and rested it against the headstone.
"Sorry it took me so long to give it to you, Charlie." He struggled with the next words. "After you died, Christmas didn't mean anything to me anymore. It was easier to believe it was just another day of the year. But I was wrong, son."
He brushed his hand across the engraved lettering. "Merry Christmas, buddy."
The End
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