Don'cha think the IOA has entirely too much authority? Don'cha wish Jack actually could carry a weapon to an IOA meeting?

Part 2

Daniel Jackson stood up from his desk and paced around the room - again. Why, he asked himself again, why didn't I realize? Was I so caught up with myself... that I didn't think there would be repercussions to anyone else? I was so sure I was right. I was so sure this would just end it all. Why didn't I think about what if it went wrong? And why is Jack the one who is paying the price? I haven't had so much as a wrist slapping, and Jack is probably being relieved of his command right at this moment.

Having Jack in charge of Homeworld Security had turned out to be a great boon to the SGC and Atlantis project. For, despite the naysayers early on in Jack's generalship, and the skeptics who cried in mock horror, "Jack O'Neill - at a desk?!" he was flourishing as a general. He understood the challenges of alien combat, as well as alien negotiation, better than any other general could. He had a penchant for knowing which solutions would work, and which wouldn't, that other officers lacked. And he had the flexibility to listen to his advisors and ability to think way outside the box that allowed his command to grow, adapt, and overcome the challenges and threats as they evolved.

Daniel paused in his pacing, wrapping his arms around himself, staring unseeing at a shelf full of artifacts. What would they do without Jack in command? Would other heads roll? Jack supported Elizabeth Weir in Atlantis and Hank Landry at the SGC. What would happen to the SGC if they relieved him and put in another person? Another Bauer? If the IOA was so determined to have Jack relieved, it was unlikely he would be replaced by someone from, or even sympathetic to, the SGC.

What a mess! A mess I made. At least they won't put him in jail. Or...oh, God! What if they do put him in jail?

Daniel defeatedly dumped himself back into his chair, leaning back, both hands rubbing his face under his glasses.

At that moment, his phone rang loudly, causing him to jump and nearly spill off his chair. His hand grabbed the receiver, seemingly of its own volition, even while his mind screamed at him, "I don't want to talk to anybody right now!"

"Jackson." His voice almost squeaked.

"Daniel!"

He was seized with both relief and fear at the sound of Jack's voice. "J-Jack?"

"Daniel. You sound surprised to hear from me."

"Oh, yeah! Are you okay? What's happening, what's going on?" Daniel asked quickly, without even giving Jack a chance to respond.

"Whoa, Daniel! I only have a minute. Just left the meeting with the President, wanted to let you know nothing bad resulted - I haven't been relieved. The Chairman is still in there with him, so I don't know what else might happen, but the Man saw it our way, and told the IOA to suck it up."

"Oh, well, that's great, Jack," Daniel sat slowly back into his chair, almost overwhelmed with relief.

"I gotta run; they'll be out in a minute. Just wanted to let you know so you can get off of your guilt trip."

"Guilt trip?" Daniel asked defensively.

"Oh come on, Daniel, I know you! You've probably been agonizing over this since I left the mountain."

"Oh, no, no. I was just doing some translations...actually."

"Yeah, right." Jack snorted in reply, and Daniel could tell he was not fooling him. "Later, Daniel." And with that the call ended.

Why did I say that? Daniel shook his head, wondering at himself. But he was so relieved he felt giddy. He decided he would call Jack later in the day and get more details. First, to tell Sam and Teal'c.


Unfortunately , Daniel actually did get caught up in his translations later that day, and didn't think to call Jack, until it was so late at night he figured Jack wouldn't want to be disturbed. But on the other hand, he didn't hear from Jack, either. In fact, several days passed with no more communication from Jack at all. Daniel being busy, and figuring Jack was also busy, didn't think much of it. He had gotten used to Jack's absence, after all, and it wasn't like they talked everyday anymore. And, he reasoned, it was all over the evening news that General Maynard was being promoted to General of the Army, the first time there had been such a promotion in decades, and there was to be a big to-do in Washington. No doubt all the top brass, including Jack, had to have some involvement in that, which made his schedule even busier.


Several days later, General Landry called SG-1 into his office for a briefing, informing them that they were now the lead for finding a way or ways to gather better intel about the Ori. SG-1 spent the next several days either off world or in communication with allies seeking out any information about Priors' activity, or trying to discover if there was a way to determine if the Sangraal, the anti-Ori bomb, had been successful.

In the end, it was the Asgard who came to the rescue, again. They reported that by all means at their disposal, they were certain that the Ori were gone. Now only the problem of the Priors and their followers remained. SG-1 returned to Earth to make their report.


As the team members walked down the ramp from the gate, General Landry called out to them, "I take it you have news."

"Yes, sir," Carter replied. "The Asgard assure us that the Ori have been defeated."

"Outstanding!" Landry's grin bespoke his relief. "All of you to the briefing room now for the report."

SG-1 turned in their weapons and followed the General up the stairs.

"I'm glad that this is the case - a lot has been happening politically with the IOA while you were gone. This will help bolster changes that the President is making."

"We've brought crystals that the Asgard recorded for us, containing the information from scans they made in the Ori galaxy, as well as video tapes we made during briefings with the Jaffa and Tok'ra we visited on other planets in our galaxy, " Daniel informed the General.

"There should be no doubt that the Ori are in fact, defeated," Teal'c added.

"Good. I'll pass this along with your report to the Pentagon."

Daniel thought of Jack, and felt a sudden pang of guilt that he had not spoken to his friend in weeks, despite his intention to do so.

"So, how is Jack doing?" he asked Landry.

Landry smiled broadly. "Quite well, actually. And by the way, we're going to be seeing him soon. We're having a little inspection next week. General O'Neill, and that is Lieutenant General select O'Neill, will be bringing the members of the newly appointed IOA military liaison to visit the SGC.

"Lieutenant General Select?" Sam inquired with surprise.

"Yes, my boss actually out-ranks me now," Landry's voice sounded both proud and ironic at the same time. "The folks in Washington finally got a clue, it seems."

"Well, that's great, isn't it?" Daniel asked aloud, but thought, 'Why didn't Jack call and tell me?' Daniel sat up straighter as he asked, "The IOA has a military liaison?"

"Yes. Its formation is a way for the President to demonstrate his faith in Jack's command, and also in us - that he believes we are doing a good job and going in the right direction."

Landry's eyes gazed around the table, a hint of something else in his expression. Daniel watched him intently, tapping his pen against the notebook before him. There is something else he's not telling us, he thought. He decided to do a bit of fishing.

"Excuse me, but what is the military liaison part?"

"Actually, Jack's idea to help us out with the IOA. After what happened with you, Jack wanted to insert some sanity into the equation. He asked the President to suggest that the IOA be composed of military folks, or at least each country should have a military liaison, who could better convey the military aspects back to their respective countries."

"And since appointing new members would mean firing the existing ones..." Daniel deduced.

"Yes, Dr. Jackson. It was easier for the countries involved to appoint the liaison. Now Jack wants them to visit the various parts of his command so they can experience 'what's out there' for themselves."

"And Jack's planning this." It was a statement, not a question.

"Let me guess," Sam interjected. "They're going to the Alpha site."

"And experience a little training exercise," Daniel finished her sentence for her.

"Oh, yes," Landry replied, imitating O'Neill with a smile.

Because nobody goes off world without the proper training, Daniel thought, remembering a discussion with O'Neill from long ago.


Landry assigned SG-1 the honor of setting up details for the visit, and the training sessions that would occur prior to the trip as well as the off-world training at the Alpha site. For security, SG teams 3 and 13 would accompany them off world. The training would be very rudimentary - not nearly what a newly assigned person would have to face, but enough that their guests could get some safety training and a feel for what could happen on missions.

Daniel was in his lab, going over some past scenarios on the computer, thinking amusedly how they may apply to their newest "trainee" class, especially with Jack going along. Training just hadn't been the same since he was no longer with SG-1. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door as Sam entered, a file in her hand.

"You'll find this interesting," she grinned, flopping the folder. "General Landry gave me the list of our students. Thought you might want to peruse it."

Daniel reached out when she tossed it in his direction, almost missing it. "Thanks," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't thank me until you read it."

Daniel lifted the file, pushing his glasses back up his nose from where they had slipped. As he read, his eyebrows inched up his forehead. The names on the list were ones that even he recognized, like a "Who's Who" of foreign military.

"Wow," he said softly, thinking about Jack playing some of his training pranks on these guys.

"Wow is right! Not only are all these general officers, but the highest ranking, equivalent to three & four stars," Sam lamented. "That means they'll outrank everybody, even General O'Neill."

"But since they're not American military, that doesn't count, does it?"

"Oh, but it does. Rank is rank, and due equal respect internationally. Of course, you wouldn't take an order from an enemy, but among allies..."

"So, these guys could order Jack around?"

"Um, it will be interesting, won't it?"

"Something's not quite right with that. Wasn't the whole point of militarizing the IOA so that they couldn't order us around? So that Jack is acknowledged to be in charge?" Daniel's eyebrows knitted together.

"Yes. Maybe the various member nations purposely picked high-ranking and highly regarded appointees in retaliation? To keep control? General O'Neill won't like that."

Daniel thought a moment. "But, knowing Jack, he will have some plan to deal with it."

Sam stared off, thinking for a moment. "Well, whatever it might be, I don't know, but we better have these scenarios ready for them."

Daniel nodded his assent, and turned back to the computer.


A week later, most of Stargate Command was crowded into the gate room, a podium in place at the top of the ramp, flags on either side designating the various nations that comprised the IOA. This was an unprecedented visit to the SGC in that they were receiving eight flag officers at the same time into their midst. Following protocol, General Landry needed to properly welcome them with a ceremony, which, by O'Neill's order, would be mercifully brief. By each country's flag was the standard for its general. Daniel Jackson stood with Teal'c and Sam Carter next to the ramp, rubbing his neck with the discomfort of wearing a tie, when he noticed that by the US flag there was one with five stars. He nudged Sam. "General Maynard must be coming."

Sam glanced in the direction he pointed, then did a double-take. "Yes, you must be right. But, oh, that's odd. I didn't hear any mention of it. I can't believe his name was left off the visitor list!"

Teal'c looked around both his friends to see the flag. "Indeed, the presence of the Chairman is usually treated with much pomp, is it not?"

But the three friends did not get a chance to speculate further, as the blast door suddenly slid open and General Landry called "Attention!" All the military personnel snapped to. The only sound was the footfalls of the group as they entered. Until Jack O'Neill entered, that is. Someone in the rear of the room gasped loudly. Daniel leaned forward slightly around Sam to see what was going on. Sam did not move, except for executing an "eyes right" to see what had happened. Then Daniel did a double-take, getting his first good look at Jack and seeing... Jack was not wearing the three stars of a Lieutenant General. There on his epaulettes was the round form of five joined stars! He whispered excitedly to Sam "It's Jack! He's the five-star!"

Sam, at attention and not daring to speak or move, could only widen her eyes in response. As the group moved by, heading up the ramp, Teal'c smiled and bowed slightly to his friend and brother. Jack nodded to the three of them with a small smile, and took the stage.