Narrator POV
It was ten o'clock when the meeting began. President Hayes sat at the head of the table with Hammond, O'Neill, Carter, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'c on his right and Ace, Dusk, and the man introduced as Ripper on his left. Special Agents Kate Todd and Graham Miller stood at attention behind him after nodding to the Scoobies, and Major Davis was in front of the screen with a remote and the expression of a man who had been lead to his doom.
Sg-1 stared at the visitors with undisguised curiosity, but if you looked closely, Jack was suspicious and protective, Daniel looked like he'd just been invited on the archeology dig of the century, Sam looked at the girls with a mixture of reserve and hope, and Teal'c… had his eyebrow raised in an expression no one could read. The visitors' eyes kept roving around the room, no expressions except a slight smirk as they seemed to hold a silent conversation. Hammond looked impassive, and Davis watched all of them and whimpered. The DC delegation had gleefully amused smiles as they imagined the coming conversation. The narrator could see why; watching O'Neill and Ace go up against each other would certainly be something to see.
The Major pulled himself together and started talking, still looking pale. "I suppose, General O'Neill, you would like to know why three strangers are on your base?"
"And why the President seems so amused?" Sarcasm could be clearly heard as he spoke.
"It would be nice, Major." Hammond let only a little of his curiosity show, sending the former Colonel a warning glance. "I'd like to know why I'm here, too."
"The answers are the same- the Stargate belongs to their organization." Paul winced at the rather vocal reactions of the members of the SGC. "Quiet! I can't explain it very well myself, but if you'll just let them-"
"Explain what? That they're NID?" Jack said this, obviously.
"General O'Neill, listening might help." Hammond next.
"Sir, they can't explain if you don't stop talking." And lastly, Sam, some snark noticeable in her tone. The narrator thought O'Neill was proud that he'd corrupted her to that point and that Hammond sadly accepted it to be inevitable. Ace thought it was normal- they'd never been the most obedient of children, after all.
"Why Carter, are you telling me to shut up?" The former leader of Sg-1 had a faux-stern look on his face.
"Did I say that, sir?" Came her inane reply.
He chuckled "Fine. Continue, please." His temporary good cheer left as he turned back to his "guests".
The narrator watched in amusement as a biro and notepad appeared in Ripper's mind, making a mental note that none of the military contingent seemed at all surprised at his behavior with the woman he assumed was his second in command before he spoke. "Simply put, the device you call the Stargate is, and has always been ours, ever since the ones you call the Ancients gave it to us before abandoning our dear planet."
"And you expect us to believe that? How do we know you're not NID?" Angry, now. The narrator shook her head sadly. Humans could be so predictable.
"How do I know you won't betray us for personal gain?" And Ace matched him, albeit in a milder tone. Still, the narrator winced. Accusing the military man of being lacking in honor was not a good idea.
Indeed, his face grew hard and his eyes cold. "We don't do that."
"And we have only your word. Until we know you better, that means nothing. All I will tell you on that subject is that I hate the NID. I do not ally myself with them or their colleagues. They have a nasty habit of sticking their noses into things best left to others. Arrogant wankers." She finished in a mutter, the annoyance that had shown through so clearly having disappeared. Now, however, it sallied forth yet again.
"Add to that the fact that you have undone hundreds of years of work and simultaneously disrespected a great sacrifice the likes of which you cannot hope to ever understand, and I think you'll begin to see my side of this."
A weariness and longing entered her eyes before she quickly shoved them behind a mental burrier. Only the Jaffa caught the quick show of emotion, but he discerned one thing more than even Ace realized. A faint light of hope. Heaven, the narrator mused, still held a lot of pull over the blonde; it didn't matter how much she had to live for.
To an inexperienced observer, there would only be annoyance and anger in reaction to her words. If someone looked closely, though, they could see pain in the eyes of the inter-planetary travelers; Dr. Jackson thinking of Sha're, Janet, and Sarah; Teal'c of his family and Janet; Carter of Jolinar, Janet, her family, various boyfriends, her time in the Gulf, and her CO.
The narrator noticed this Janet person was a common theme. The tiny doctor had certainly left her mark on the group. The narrator returned to its observations.
O'Neill, it seemed, had the most on his mind. His marriage, Kawalsky, Skarra, Merryn, the ever-present Janet, the Gulf War… and his 2IC took precedence over them all.
The narrator shook her head. It was true that they could not comprehend the sacrifice Ace spoke of, but after all they had lost they wouldn't take that statement sitting down. Especially from one they viewed as a child, no matter how great a misconception.
"Don't you dare say we don't know about sacrifice. You don't know us, and for all your claims you don't know what we've been through. Surely you've realized by now how dangerous making assumptions can be." Surprisingly it was Carter speaking, glaring at the shorter blonde girl with a familiar fire in her eyes that had Davis worried without really realizing why.
Ace spoke again "I said nothing of the sort, though I do apologize for your assumption." Carter's glare upped a notch at the subtle barb, but the smaller woman kept talking. "I didn't intend to insult what you've lost," her voice was softer, more empathetic "but you do not know the facts of what happened when the Stargate was buried as we do. I will never know how it was done- there are not people with that caliber of courage and hope left alive. Not in this universe." Her face was closed, but her eyes were laden with respect, sadness, and a weariness that echoed in the eyes of every other person in the room.
The narrator sighed; these groups of people had lost so much. It hoped they wouldn't lose even more to each other.
"Apology accepted." The oldest woman in the room spoke quietly now, recognizing somewhere in the most ancient, instinctual part of her brain the truth in the words spoken.
"I'd also like to apologize for snapping like that; maybe you could explain things more so we understand what's going on a little better?"
"Accepted. Unfortunately, this meeting will take long enough as it is without adding in that explanation- it's a particularly long one. Major Davis, if you would continue, please. I promise we won't bite."
For reasons unknown, this did little to comfort the pale major at the front of the room. Perhaps it was the smirks…
The president laughed, his agents struggling not to roll their eyes. Well, Todd was. Miller looked like he was trying not to join in. "Yes, please do, Major. They promised they'd try to behave, but something tells me boring them won't help."
Ripper hid a small smile, a quiet "Indeed" barely heard by the room's other occupants. Ace and Dusk through mock glares his way while the Tauri of Sg-1 chuckled and glanced at Teal'c.
It was then the narrator noticed the position of the three blood-sisters. Dusk's hand sat on Ace's shoulder, and her foot was just barely touching her oldest sister. The narrator smiled a bit and tapped into the calming energy the young Key was channeling, and fell asleep. The narrator could watch them again another day.
A/N: School's finally out! Except for that whole summer PE thing... Anyway, this combined with the fact that I might have found a Beta should mean more updates for you poor readers. Be warned though, I'm also joining CAP, helping my sister prepare for college, and trying to get fit so I might actually have a chance when it comes time to apply to the Academy, so they mightn't be coming all that much faster. Anyway, enough of my excuses. Any feedback on the different POV? I don't know if I'll do this again, but I was curious. Oh, and there's more to this chapter that I'm adding later (I condensed/revised parts of the earlier chapters and decided this needed to be longer, but since I'd already posted it I decided not to be cruel and just left if up). Reviews and flames are mutually appreciated, and ideas for the future even more so.
KL