The Anunnaki

by MicheleB

Set just after Season 8, ignoring 99 percent of Seasons 9 and 10. Jack thinks he's going to retire again; the universe has other plans.

11. Chapter 11

Mind Over Matter
Anunnaki Part 11
By Michele
Rating: PG
Summary: Daniel spends a week at the Oriental University filling everyone in on alien highjinx, T'Keet entertains the masses, Enki gives our trio a lesson in mental games.

Note: In regards to Sarah Gardner, I don't remember all the episodes relating to her, but she's part of canon. If you don't know who Sarah is, you've missed quite a few episodes. See eps relating to Osiris. Also, I've never been to the Oriental University (my Mecca), so I'm guessing at a few things.

Daniel insisted on flying to England immediately and attending Sarah's funeral the next day. He didn't have his passport, so the Pentagon was kind enough to arrange the passage. Jack and Sam went with him. The president wasn't happy about all three out of the country, and neither was Ninurta, but Daniel shut his ears as he read, over and over again, the note that had been found with Sarah, and faxed to Jack's account.

"Daniel, I can't go through that again. I'm sorry. I love you. Sarah."

They attended her funeral, and Daniel took her immediate family aside and explained the meaning of the note. They were horrified, having no idea why she had disappeared for those years, or what had changed her when she returned. Now that the genie had been loosed, Daniel could tell her story.

Come Monday morning, Daniel stood at the podium, silent, the Eye of Ra pendent around his neck clasped in one hand. The packed room watched him, sensing something, and finally settled.

"A few of you here today have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Sarah Gardner," he quietly began when he had silence. "Two days ago, I attended her funeral." There was a shocked rustle among the crowd. "What you also don't know is that Dr. Gardner was a victim of the enemy I will be discussing with you this week. She had been enslaved by the Goa'uld for several years before we captured her. Allies used an experimental process in an attempt to free her. They succeeded. Sarah, however, didn't fully recover. As strong as she was, she could not face the risk of being enslaved once again if the Goa'uld took over Earth. I would like to dedicate the truths spoken here this week to Dr. Sarah Gardner."

There were a thousand people sitting wall to wall in the Oriental University's largest auditorium, one camera feeding directly onto the internet for a live feed, and several other cameras dedicated to private viewers such as heads of state from all around the world. Daniel himself chose the interpreters, not trusting the political machine. Egypt had received an in depth preview so that they wouldn't be shocked upon learning what had happened to their mythology. The Egyptian leaders were preparing a statement for the following week. Daniel felt that it was a good sign when he was declared a son of Egypt. As a show of good faith, he reserved several seats for whomever the Egyptian government decided to send. His guards were not happy about that, speculating on Islamic terrorist infiltrators. Daniel wasn't in a mood to care.

He spent the first day on human origins and the history of the Goa'uld on Earth. Over and over, he showed images of artifacts with symbols no one had ever been able to decipher. Daniel deciphered it, and it wasn't made by humans. On the second day, he introduced the Goa'uld themselves, where they come from, and how the symbiote interacts with the host. He made it a point that the host was not responsible for any atrocities committed.

The third day was spent discussing the various allies and their fight for freedom. The Asgard got the greatest attention, being the legendary "little gray men" and the Roswell incident. A few UFO fans gave a rebel cheer at being vindicated for their beliefs. Technologies were also introduced, minus mention of weapons, and that yes, a few of those ships over Colorado did indeed belong to Earth. Many cheers went up at that. Daniel made it a point to use Earth or Tau'ri in his references, and not a specific country. He promised that there were alien drugs being tested and they looked promising for quite a few human conditions. They were no where near Stage 4 of clinical trials, though, so everyone would need to be patient.

Day four introduced the Stargate. The subject was completely unexpected and brought the viewers to a shocked stand-still. Daniel showed footage of an experiment he had done of walking into the event horizon and coming out on the other side, all the while having the camera on. Someone called out, "Hollywood magic!" which Daniel didn't bother to respond to. He ignored the rustle of the audience as he was pointing out something on the screen. A soft weight run up his back and settled onto his shoulders. Daniel paused, sighed, and continued with his seminar.

"Who's your little buddy, Daniel?" someone from his private seating called out when he took a breath. There were chuckles from the audience.

"This is T'Keet," he said. "She is a Sua cub. I showed you footage of the Sua on their homeworld. She and her father were the only members of her family who were not killed in a recent attack on their world. Her family was killed by Enlil, the same Goa'uld who tried to attack us over Colorado. T'Keet and her father were on board the Anunnaki ship when Enlil attacked her world, which is the only reason she's alive."

He took her paws and swung her around to his hip. "She is NOT an animal," he emphasized. "Her people are as sentient as you or I. She is a person. A toddler. Still a little person, but a person all the same. She likes me, so she keeps disobeying her father to find me. You try saying No to a two-year old."

He received loud laughter from the shell-shocked audience. T'Keet spooked and hid her face in Daniel's side. He pet her and scratched an ear.

"Say Hi," he encouraged her. She poked her head up after a moment and looked out at the sea of aliens.

"Hiiiieeeee!"

If nothing else won over the audience, the cub did. Several times Daniel took her backstage to Jack, and several times she escaped and draped herself around Daniel's shoulders, much to the amusement of the audience. If he had a mane, she'd be happily ensconced under it. Daniel made her useful during the last few hours by handing her a microphone and sending her scurrying up the aisles to various people he pointed out. She received lots of strokes along the way. Thankfully, no one asked how or why she was still on the planet.

Someone did ask about weapons, a topic Daniel had been expecting.

"According to this morning's local news, a man shot and killed his family, several stores were robbed at gun-point, a bank was held up, a police officer was shot, and a child accidentally shot his little sister. In the international news, the entire Middle East is trying to commit genocide, the Bosnians and Serbs are at it, the Irish are fighting again, Tibet is still not free, North Korea is making nice with nuclear bombs, the US feels that spending billions of dollars on our own weapons program is more important than the feeding and health of her people, and poachers killed a rare white elephant in Africa. Why on Earth would you want advanced weapons?"

The silence was broken by one person standing up and clapping. Others soon followed until the entire hall was standing. Daniel gathered up the cub and walked off the stage. He was steaming. Of all the questions someone could have asked, of all the topics that had been introduced that week, it was weapons. Jack stopped him and put a hand on the side of Daniel's face, looking intently into his eyes.

"They heard you, Danny," he said. "Listen to them. They heard you." He could see the strain on Daniel, the exhaustion of the week, of the past several weeks. This was a Daniel that was about to collapse.

"There's a file on the destruction weapons have caused," Daniel said after a moment. "I'd like Sam to present it."

Jack nodded and went out onto the stage. There were two hours left to the day, and no one had left. The audience quieted as Jack stepped up to the podium.

"I'm Jack O'Neill, Brigadier General in the United States Air Force. Retired. Those are my kids out there among you. Where is Col. Carter?" he asked calmly. "Would you come up here, please? Ladies and Gentlemen, while Dr. Jackson rests for a moment, I'm going to ask Col. Samantha Carter to tell you all about advanced weapons. She's our expert." Sam wasn't expecting to be a presenter, but she made her way up to the stage. She had startled the people she was near, not being in uniform. Jack brought up the file and she made a quick scan before gathering her thoughts.

One by one, she presented images on the screen. Daniel had collected some of the most horrific images they had in SGC files. The audience gasped at the destruction she showed them, from a single staff shot to before and after images of destroyed cities. She apologized for not being able to show them the after images of Abydos –there was nothing left to show.

The audience was silent as the images came to a stop. Jack walked back out, a hand on Daniel's shoulder. Sam took a step behind Jack, her hands at rest behind her back.

"Dr. Jackson has given us the keys to the universe," Jack said. "Let's not give him cause to be sorry he did so."

Being filled with academics instead of military, the auditorium was still shaking from stomping feet and cheering when Jack hustled Daniel out under the security of several guards. He wanted Daniel fed and watered and put to bed and God help the first person who woke him up.

Once back at the hotel, Daniel didn't make it to the bedroom; he collapsed onto the couch. Jack stripped Daniel down to a t-shirt and underwear, and tucked him in with the spread from the unused bed in their bedroom.

"How is he?" Sam asked as she walked in the door. Michael was behind her.

"Exhausted," Jack said. "One more day, and we go home."

Sam squatted down next to Daniel, stroked his hair, and planted a light kiss on his cheek. There were circled under his eyelids and his eyes fluttered restlessly beneath their lids. She stood as the door opened again. Col. Reynolds and SG-3 came quietly in, along with Major Davis.

"Davis, stay here and play guard dog," Jack said. "We are going downstairs for something to eat. I want no one in here, understand? Absolutely no one. Take the phones off the hook, put your cell on vibrate. I want him sound asleep for the entire night."

"Yes, sir."

Shortly after they left the room, the door opened again. Enki came in and waved the guard dog down, shushing him. He sat gently next to Daniel and put a hand on Daniel's chest. He shut his eyes and concentrated. He bent close and whispered something into Daniel's ear and stood up, Davis could see that Daniel was more relaxed and breathing deeply. Enki patted Davis on the cheek and left as quietly as he entered.

"Jack, you know you're not supposed to be giving orders," Reynolds said on their way downstairs. Jack looked at him and Reynolds raised a hand in surrender.

"I'm just sayin'…."

After a moment, Michael turned and introduced himself. Jack reluctantly introduced everyone. Jack's older brother with the clerical collar was given a careful look over by SG-3.

"Kevin, when it comes to Daniel, I will give orders to whomever I need to give orders to," Jack said quietly as they entered the hotel's restaurant. The manager came and fussed over them, offering them a private dining room which Jack gratefully accepted and requested that a buffet be set up. A few other teams were walking into the lobby and followed.

"You know as well as I do that Daniel would walk off a cliff if it whispered nicely enough. The major is under no obligation to obey those orders, but as long as they don't conflict with his standing orders, he's free to do as he feels is right."

"I understand that, Jack; I'm suggesting that you may be too close to the situation to see clearly," Reynolds said gently as they took seats around the table.

"What else are you suggesting?" Jack asked. Not thinking clearly when it concerned SG-1 wasn't anything new to Jack; he knew where his weaknesses lay. Reynolds' men took seats, listening to a conversation they wouldn't have the nerve to say to the general. Their CO and the general "grew-up" together in the SGC, though, so there was a closeness that made free speech permissible outside the office.

"I'm suggesting this entire week may not have been the wisest choice," Reynolds said. "If Daniel had suggested it to me, I would have hog-tied him until he got it out of his head. What's he going to do after all this? Is he going to go home this weekend and continue with his life as it was? Jump back into the Mountain and wait until the Asgard unlock the gate so he can go off-world with another team? He's just made himself the most wanted man on the planet, Jack. He may need to go off-world just to hide. All the religious freaks are going to be after his blood, the scientists are going to want to pick his brain apart, and the militants are going to want to torture him for weapons secrets. And now Sam is in the spotlight."

Jack drank half the glass of iced tea that was placed in front of him. "I'm aware that this could go down wrong, Kevin," he said. "We've talked about it. There are a few details that need to be worked out, but there is a possibility in the works that would fix it. I need to think more on it. Whatever happens, no matter how we did this, the SGC won't be the same. It won't be run the same way nor for the same reasons. A lot of reshuffling is coming down the line. Daniel wants to do his research. He wants to teach. He's just re-written every history book in the world. He needs linguists and archaeologists who are willing to learn the new history and who are willing to listen to him. He's only one person, he can't do it all on his own nor is he self-centered enough to want to try. The only way he will be able to get the people the SGC will need, is to bring all this into the open and wait for his geeks to come out of the woodwork. The cards have been flung, let's see which ones end right-side up."

"And Col. Carter?"

"She's overseeing R&D, which is what she wanted to do from the beginning. If she wants to be someplace else, she has a general she can submit the request to. She knows I'll back her up in whatever she wants to do."

"I'm fine, Kevin," Sam assured Reynolds. "There is more happening than you know about. I appreciate your concern."

"Jack, the colonel is right," Michael put in after listening to them. He leaned forward, frowning in concern. "Daniel isn't safe. I'm not blind to my more zealous brethren or to the Church's history. My own faith is in crisis, and in one stroke, you may have toppled Peter's Rock. The ramifications of these past few weeks are far deeper than you realize. The Vatican wants a chat with him. I personally received a call from Rome when Daniel refused the Pope's request for an interview. Forget that the Pope is in charge of a religious denomination; the Vatican is its own country, Jack, and Daniel is snubbing his nose at the King of the country. Even the Pope needs reassurances about all this. I actually spoke to him over the phone. Me, Jack, speaking with the Pope. I told him everything I knew but I couldn't answer his questions past that. I know you're not happy with me, and I've given you cause, but trust me in this; allow me to set up a meeting. Please. If people see that Daniel is playing nice, it may make things easier."

Jack wasn't happy about it but he was thinking as he played with his ring on Sam's finger. "Talk to Daniel about it," he finally said. "It's his decision. If he wants to do it, I won't stop him. One of those closed-circuit cameras went to the Vatican, though."

Michael sat back, nodding, relaxing a bit. "Good," he said. "It will allow the Pope to formulate his questions. And I will talk with Daniel after he's rested."

The door opened and a man stepped in. Seeing all the military, he turned.

"Mark, come in," Sam called out, waving him forward.

"Come on in, Mark, Susan," Jack also offered. "Have a seat. Eat."

Sam's brother and sister-in-law both came hesitantly forward.

"Everyone, this is my brother Mark and his wife, Susan," Sam said to the tables. Michael cheerfully ushered them to the civilian side of the table and held his hand out, introducing himself to his new in-laws.

Jack stood up and clinked a fork against his glass, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm declaring this evening's conversations to be work-free, alien-free, and serious discussion free," he announced. "Anyone talking shop gets cub-sitting duties, and I can tell you, a Sua cub is like a toddler on speed." The door opened and another group walked in. Jack sighed. "Ok, I'll rephrase that: the discussions are not to include good aliens verses bad aliens, but you can discuss things WITH aliens."

Inanna made a playful curtsey at him and Ninurta politely handed her into a chair.

"Now," Jack continued in regal mode. "No using ranks, everyone has a first name. I want to hear about families and lovers and lives and the latest bad movie. Kevin, how are Mary and the kids?" He sat and waited as the buffet was set up. Reynolds filled Jack in on the latest from his kids. Sam's family seemed a little shell-shocked so she got them talking about her niece and nephew.

"Gen…Jack, what do you think about the rescinding of gays in the military order from the president?" one of the men asked as they ushered the civilians before them to the buffet.

"I think as long as people keep their noses out of my bedroom, it's a good thing," Jack said with a raised eyebrow. "I know a couple other bedrooms that will now be safe, too. You've worked with several men, and women, that aren't exactly straight arrows, Dean, how do you feel about it?"

Harper filled his plate as he moved behind Jack. "If you had asked me a couple years ago, I would have said abnormals had no business among us. I know now that they're no different from us, they work just as hard as us. I admit that I'm still a little leery about the shower, sir. Sorry. Jack."

Jack chuckled and returned to his seat. "Believe me, Dean, you're not the one who has to worry about shower attacks. Unless Kevin is hiding something, you're safe." Sam heard him and laughed while Reynolds said something earthy in Jaffa to which Jack smiled appreciatively. Like the boys they are, the first thing they got Teal'c to teach them were the swear words.

"Look at it this way," she said to Jack. "Daniel is too tired to be attacking anyone in the shower or anywhere else."

Jack gave her that one.

"Sir…Jack, may I ask you something? Personal?" Bosco asked hesitantly. He glanced at his CO and lowered his eyes before looking back to Jack.

"You can ask," Jack said. Bosco nodded.

"My son found one of those websites that talked about you and Daniel and Col…Sam. He asked me if it was true, and I told him it was. Two days later he told me he was gay. I don't know what to say to him. He's 14, how can he know what he is?"

Jack frowned and cleaned off a spicy wing.

"I honestly can't give you a personal response on the gay issue, Jerry," he admitted. "Daniel is the only man I've ever been attracted to. From what he's told me, though, and just to be clear, he's bi, not gay, he put it like this: how did you know you like women?"

Bosco thought about it. "I….just do," he finally said. Jack nodded.

"It's something you've always known, it's something you feel instinctively inside you," Jack put in. Bosco nodded. "I had to learn the hard way that we are who we are. I can't tell you how to deal with your son but my advice, for what it's worth, is to love him. Love him enough to allow him to find out for himself who he is."

Bosco nodded and glanced at his CO. Reynolds gave him a nod, as did Harper and Kaplan. All his teammates were behind him. Jack approved; it made their unit stronger.

"A lot of people are coming out of the closet because of you three, Jack," Michael said. "I've had several of my own parishioners have come forward. They say they feel as though something has freed them. If General O'Neill can save the planet from alien invasion and still live with a man, why can't they? Or a woman, as the case may be. I could go round and round with the gay vs. Scripture issue, but people are no longer hearing it."

"And Daniel interprets it differently from the Church's interpretation," Jack said. "He's read it in the original languages, remember, and he knows how the laws came to be enacted. Believe me, Daniel gave us a lecture on the subject and it lasted a couple of days."

SGC personnel around the room chuckled, knowing Dr. Jackson's penchant for breaking into lectures at the drop of a hat.

"Jack, just out of curiosity, what did he say?" Susan asked.

"Since when do I listen when he goes into lecture mode?" Jack asked with a pained, constipated look.

"I think we are qualified to respond." They looked down the tables to Inanna. Even Michael forgot that they were in the presence of mythological figures.

"The law was: a man was to enter only women while planting his seed. He may take a male lover, usually one of a lower caste, but he was not allowed to enter him. He had to keep himself clean for his wives. It was the entire entering thing that was outlawed, not the fact that a man loved a man. A few men were given for entrance, such as the temple prostitutes or certain types of slaves, but a man who used an equal in such a way, was equally punishable under the law. This was about power. The power of the temples over the people, and eventually the power of the government over the people. It originally had nothing to do with the will of the gods, nor was an evil thing. It became evil when it was turned into a power struggle.

"Personally, I thought the whole issue was silly; if I can have an evening of peace and quiet while the boys are playing together, I will take it with great thanks." Ninurta smiled at her and kissed her neck.

There were chuckles as everyone listened politely, thinking. "Wasn't it a little hypocritical for the temples to allow male prostitutes and then not allow any other men to do that?" Sam asked. Inanna quirked her mouth.

"Samantha, dear, we are talking about men and religion, not logic."

Jack humpfed as the women chuckled.

"That's interesting," Michael murmured. "Weren't some of those temple prostitutes out of your own temples?"

"Yes," Inanna acknowledged. "I don't know how they got it into their heads that I'd want them to do that, I certainly never asked them to."

"You didn't stop them, though," Michael put in.

"Of course not," she said. "A person's body belongs to themselves. I didn't ask the temples to do anything in my name. I didn't ask for temples to be built, nor did I ask to be worshipped. You humans come up with these funny ideas all by yourselves, I can tell you that."

"Well, I don't think I'm coming up with a funny idea if I say that if Jack finishes all those hot wings, he's sleeping on the balcony tonight," Sam informed them.

They all laughed and Jack put his sticky, hot-sauce coated mouth over Sam's. She pushed him away and wiped her mouth as she laughed.

"I can attest to that one," Reynolds said over the noise and holding up a hand. "I've shared a tent with him once or twice."

"Please," Michael spoke up. "I'm his brother, remember? We shared a room until I was 15. My sympathies go out to Sam."

"Alright, alright, enough about my digestive tract," Jack declared. "And we won't comment on cabbage and you, Mike. At least Daniel appreciates a good fume fest."

"My point, I believe," Inanna said dryly. Her boys laughed as she reached over and patted Sam's hand. "Six millennia and they haven't changed."

"Are you really 6,000 years old?" Susan asked, wide-eyed. She quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was rude. Don't answer it."

Inanna laughed. "I'm a lot older, actually," she admitted. "My species doesn't register time as you do."

"Aren't you human?" Sam asked.

"No," Inanna said. Her hint of a smile indicated that she wasn't going to expound on the subject. Sam was confused; the autopsies on dead Anunnaki said they were human.

"All matter is bound to the laws of physics," Mark said.

"Yes, it is," Inanna said. "But time is not a physical thing, therefore it doesn't have to obey those laws."

"Time isn't physical? Tell that to my gray hairs," Mark commented. There were chuckles from nearby.

"Your gray hairs are time's reflection upon the physical, not time itself," Inanna said.

The geeks in the room were off and running with theoretical physics. Jack tuned out.

"Jonathan."

He looked at Michael.

"Megan told us she's pregnant."

"I know," Jack nodded. "She told me. Do not talk her into allowing Andrew back into the house."

Michael sighed as he fiddled with his silverware. "Jack, I understand that we don't want another child being hurt, I really do. At the same time, I need to consider the lack of a father in the house. Andrew lost it at his evaluation. He's been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Joey convinced Megan to put a restraining order on him." He was keeping his voice low and the family business to themselves.

"Good," Jack said, digging into a piece of pie and ice cream. "The kids have you, me, and Dad. Daniel is dad material, he's great with kids, and our kids like him. They have plenty of father figures. Make it work, Michael, don't make me take them out of their home."

"You'd do that, wouldn't you?" Michael asked, looking at his younger brother. Jack nodded.

"They're my family, too," he said. "If bringing them home with us is the only way they will be safe, that's what I'll do."

Michael slowly nodded.

Jack soon discovered that he missed half the conversations going on around him due to zoning out. He was tired. A few of the others had left already. He leaned over and whispered to Sam. She nodded and he stood up.

"Everyone, this has been a very pleasant evening, but I'm tired and I haven't properly kissed my wife yet today," he said to appreciative chuckles. "Don't leave on our account, stay and enjoy yourselves. Good night."

Sam stood with him, gave her brother and Susan hugs, and linked her hand with Jack's as they left. There was a man wearing a path in the carpet outside the door of the dining room when they left.

"General O'Neill?" the man stepped up. Jack politely stopped and a couple of nearby SF took a step forward, startling the man. Jack waved them off. "I'm sorry to be in waiting like this, I didn't want to interrupt your dinner. Martin Applegate." He put a hand out and Jack took it. "I actually wanted to speak with Dr. Jackson but it looks like he's surrounded by Attila's Huns 24/7. Could I ask you to give these papers to him?" He handed Jack a folder. "They're genealogy reports of my family. It's a hobby of mine. If Dr. Jackson is interested, he does have blood relatives. I won't bother him; my contact information is inside. His choice, sir."

The man wished them good night and left them in the hall. Jack looked at Sam and then back at the envelope.

"Hokay," Sam breathed. "Maybe we should have this checked out before getting his hopes up."

Jack agreed with her suggestion. They had all had strangers trying the missing relative act, but this was the first person who had documents that supposedly proved it. And he was a hell of a lot more polite about it than the others. Jack opened the envelope and pulled out a handful of papers. There was a summary in the letter of introduction, telling Daniel that, basically, he had cousins on his father's side, a branch off his grandfather's sister. Distant, but still blood. It was a little convoluted, but Jack could see why the children's services would have had a problem finding them when Daniel needed them all those years ago.

"I have a good feeling about this, Jack," Sam said, reading over his arm.

"Yeah, let's get it checked out anyway," he said. "Even I could have forged this."

They found Daniel still asleep on the couch and Davis in a chair reading a book.

"Did you eat, major?" Jack asked quietly. Davis nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Sam knelt next to Daniel and straightened the blanket, gave his hair a stroke, and kissed his temple.

"He hasn't woken up?" Jack asked, peeling off his tie.

"No, sir," Davis said. "He was restless, but Enki came in just after you left. He touched Daniel and then left. Daniel seemed to fall into a good sleep, whatever it was. I know you said not to let anyone in…."

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "It's ok, major. Does your spooky boyfriend do ID checks?" he asked. Davis considered correcting the general on the relationship but nodded without the correction. Jack handed him the envelope. "I have a job for him. Report to me, not Daniel."

Davis was dismissed for the evening. Jack checked on Daniel who remained asleep during the conversation. He hoped the ID check panned out; he could tell Daniel felt a little left out when Jack and Sam's family were nearby.

In the morning, Jack opened the door to find Shara and Gibil standing there, dressed in civvies, wearing identical innocent smiles.

"Good morning," they greeted him cheerfully. Jack wasn't buying it.

"What'd you do?" Jack asked, looking from one to the other. They brushed past him.

"Not a thing," Shara assured him. "We are only here to escort you to the theatre. Auditorium."

Jack wasn't going to trust those innocent faces; they were either up to something, or had been up to something.

"Is Major Davis in one piece this morning?" Jack asked.

Shara chuckled. "We have not touched the pretty prince in a few days," he said. Jack's cell phone rang and he answered it. He sighed and acknowledged the caller.

"Colonel Rappaport is dead," he said upon hanging up. "Four down and how many to go?"

The warriors blinked at him.

A noise came from the direction of the couch. An arm reached up in a stretch. Jack could hear joints popping from across the room. He went over and saw Daniel gazing blurrily up at him.

"Why am I on the couch?" Daniel asked.

"Because you didn't make it to the bedroom," Jack answered. "Feeling alright?"

"Mmmm. Yeah. I must have slept pretty hard."

"Almost 12 hours," Jack said. "I was a little worried but you were snoring away. We need to be at the university in 2 hours, can you eat?"

Daniel slowly sat up, twisting his back and neck, letting out more pops. "Yes, something light, though. Fruit."

Jack called room service while Daniel got into the shower.

While the stage was being set up and a last minute sweep of the room being done, Davis was going his best to fend off the playful advances of Erra. Daniel smiled indulgently at them. One person was not amused. Daniel put a foot on a chair and tied the lace.

"He'd settle down, if the right man asked him to," he murmured. Nick glared at him didn't say anything. Daniel was getting used to Nick walking around glaring at everyone and everything. For some reason, Davis was one of the few who wasn't intimidated by the man.

The last day of the seminar was a Q&A day. Daniel had the podium taken away and chairs placed on the stage. He insisted on Jack, Sam, and Paul joining him since not all the questions were going to be in his realm of knowledge. He refused to put a tie on, saying he wanted the last day to be comfortable and relaxed. Jack agreed to wear something that actually fit and wasn't 3 sizes too big, Sam and Davis had their uniforms on.

They knew the question had to be asked at some point, "Daniel, is it true about you, the general, and the colonel?"

There were chuckles around the auditorium.

"Why, Todd, still upset that I turned you down?" Daniel responded with a grin. The audience laughed. "No personal questions. Next." It didn't matter if Daniel was talking to one person or a thousand, he remained himself and paced free and easy as he spoke. Jack was always nervous talking to crowds but hid it in a show of bravado. It never seemed to occur to Daniel to be nervous. It must be the teacher thing, because Sam could talk in front of crowds, too, and she sometimes guested at a class at the academy.

Someone asked about the Goa'uld language and Daniel was off and running. He dragged out a whiteboard and scribbled all over it in something only a portion of the audience could understand. Daniel barely acknowledged the thud to his shoulders. He took the tail, dangled her over someone, and let her drop. A moment later he could hear hoots of Sua laughter as she was tickled and entertained.

"Dr. Jackson, can we ask exactly how you became a father to an alien child?"

Daniel paused in his scribbles as people chuckled. He considered several answers.

"Alien sex, there's a concept," he murmured. Davis flushed but didn't say anything. "I can honestly say I've never had sex with a non-human. I've been raped by a Goa'uld, but since she was in human form, I'm not sure that counts as non-human. Now, about this Linear B…."

They were now torn –ask more on languages or the Goa'uld part. Daniel gave them a summary of his experiences with Hathor, much to the shock of the Hathor fans, and then completed his rundown of the main Goa'uld language. He paused again, hearing a yelp. He looked over at his panel to see Jack holding his side. T'Keet was hanging upside down from his neck, her tiny, sharp teeth gnawing on his shirt at belly distance.

"What?" Jack lifted an innocent hand. "She has sharp teeth." She popped Jack on his cheek with a furry foot which he caught and bit, pretending to growl. T'Keet howled and popped him on the nose with the other foot. Jack let the foot go and sputtered fur out of his mouth.

"As long as she doesn't bite any lower," Daniel said, shaking his head at their antics, much to the amusement of everyone else.

That led to a discussion on Sua family structure and biology, which they filled in as best they could, minus Davis' personal knowledge which he was grateful for. The biologists in the audience were surprised to find out that there were mixes species. Daniel brought up a few images from Serrakin showing everyone Sam's friend, Warrick, and several half-human, half-Serrakin off-spring. The arguments on that one were loud and long, which Sam did her best to answer while using the whiteboard for equations. Enki walked out onto the stage and politely held out a hand which Sam placed the marker. He corrected a couple of her equations and added some of his own. He handed the marker back, tweaked her cheek, and left. Jack handed him the cub on his way past. So far, no one was taking responsibility for letting her out of the ship but Jack suspected sneaky warriors at play. Or a sneaky bird who hadn't been around lately.

"Noooo….J'ck!" T'Keet wailed, holding her arms out pitifully over Enki's shoulder. Jack tried to block out her cries, having just as hard a time of it as he did when his own kid did it, making him feel like a toad. Daniel ignored the requests for identification. He wasn't ready for that particular riot.

"Dr. Jackson, did I hear you correctly? The males of the Sua raise the children? In a polyandry household?" someone asked. Daniel nodded. Polyandry was rare on Earth, with most of the instances lost in the past.

"The social structures out there are as varied as they are here," he said, waving a hand at the roof. He went on with examples from one end of the spectrum to the other.

"And why does the cub keep coming to you?"

"Her people say my scent reminds her of her father," Daniel said. "I was also the first human she met, and that makes an impression. She usually comes to me first, Gen. O'Neill second, and Major Davis third. She'll go to Col. Carter once in a while, but it doesn't occur to her to see Col. Carter as a caregiver because the males are the caregivers."

"Alright, but why you three? There are lots of other men around."

Daniel looked at his squad. Everyone shrugged and gave a nod.

"Ok, so much for no personal questions," he said, rubbing his jaw. "It's an imprinting thing. Me, because, as I said, my scent. At first she went to Maj. Davis because he and I were seeing each other and she could smell me on him. The Sua nose is better than any truth serum. We split up and she began going to Jack because I started seeing him and Sam. Again, my scent. This arrangement is also something she would consider normal because her mother had three consorts. The consorts raised the cubs, she goes to the consorts. I think she's missing her other fathers who were killed in the attack on her homeworld. She is a baby, remember, she doesn't understand. Her remaining parent finds it amusing that she comes to me."

There was still some confusion out there.

"But how do they identify which is the biological father if there is more than one consort?" someone asked.

"They don't," Daniel said. "The cubs belong to the mother. Period. In fact, they don't have a word for father in their language. There is an honorific which identifies the maternal parent's consort but nothing for paternal. Social structure dictates that mature children don't mate within their immediate household; other than that, love rules the moment."

He dove into the biological process of Sua males and went from there to the Jaffa family unit, and into other cultures that they had run across.

"Now, your little one there, who will she mate with if she isn't home?"

"We don't know she's a she," Daniel said. "We use the feminine to refer to her because we can't pronounce the Sua word. The feminine is closer than the masculine, so we use it. Her gender won't actually form until puberty, which is about 6 Earth years. And no, her DNA isn't telling us. It's asexual, at the moment. We couldn't bring ourselves to call her It. Too rude in our society. But she has a long time before she is ready for a mate. And there are others of her kind around, so she'll be fine. Besides, if she does become female, the Sua females don't have much of a sex drive; they're kinda Vulcan that way. It's the males that are in continual heat and they don't mind playing with humans."

Daniel read a few responses and questions from a monitor which was hooked up to the private video feeds. The audience couldn't see the names taped to the front of the monitors and Daniel wouldn't say who was sending the questions.

"General O'Neill, will the enemy ship return and how will we defend ourselves if it brings reinforcements?" he read.

"There is the possibility of a return," Jack admitted. "But remember, we've had visitors for thousands of years, this isn't new. So far, we've won five battles for our planet. Colorado was only the latest. We have an excellent ground force and an excellent Air Force. This is not a completely American venture; we are joined by the Canadians, Russians, French, German, British. A few others. For the moment. More countries are in negotiations to hop on board. Our fighters are top notch. Now that the cat is out of the bag, and I don't mean T'Keet, armed forces around the world are choosing their best fighters to receive special training in alien techniques. Those people will train their troops. No, we are not giving jets to everyone. Any country that harbors terrorists or does not have the good of the planet at heart, will not receive a jet. The material needed to make those jets does not exist on this planet and it's in short supply. And no, we have not been able to replicate the material. The jets will not be used in planetary warfare, they are too valuable to waste on petty tribal complaints. And I can tell you that as we speak, there are several jets in a high altitude orbit. As of this morning, they have taken out three terrorist bombs that were launched at this building this week. A fourth was launched at Cheyenne Mountain."

Even Sam and Daniel looked at him in surprise. Jack had been keeping secrets again. Davis didn't blink. When the audience calmed down,

"We know who lobbied them, and they are being dealt with," Jack continued. "The bombs themselves were neutralized, not the cowards who pressed the buttons. Notice there has been no retaliation, so I don't want to hear whiners complaining about big, bad Americans with their big, bad toys. We're not the ones kicking up sand in the playpen."

"As for the Goa'uld Enlil, we don't know where he is. Licking his wounds, more than likely. But when he left, he was being chased by an Asgard ship and one of ours, the Prometheus, so I'm not worried about it. Now that we're not cloaked anymore, planetary security is being working on and steps are being taken to establish routine sweeps of the solar system."

"Sir, what about NASA?" someone called out.

"NASA's job is to explore the solar system, not defend the planet. We'll take care of the little gray guys, let NASA figure out how planets are formed. Unless Col. Carter has already done that?" He looked at her. Sam shook her head.

"I blow up solar systems, not dig in the dirt. No offense, Daniel." The chuckling audience didn't realize that she was serious. Astronomers were still trying to figure out why a distant solar system suddenly blew up.

"None taken," he responded with a smile. He looked at one of the monitors. "Can you comment on the turmoil in the religious community?" he read. Daniel sighed and paced a little.

"I'm not going to advise anyone on what they should and shouldn't believe," he said. "My opinion is that religion should be a personal matter, not one for organizations to dish out. My own beliefs are not relevant to anyone else. The world's religions all contain a beauty of their own, and I think that if you accept the moral and ethical teachings that work for you, you won't have a conflict."

A man immediately raised his hand. Jack held his tongue.

"Michael, I know what you're going to say," Daniel acknowledged the man with the white collar. "Father Mike is concerned about the definition of a Christian and the New Testament. I'm not going to tell you how I think you should fix it, Mike. I'm not going to tell anyone how to deal with their spiritual beliefs. I won't do it on other planets, I'm certainly not going to start here. If your beliefs work for you, if your faith is true, nothing that happens will be able to shake that faith. You may need to do a little reinterpreting of definitions, but your faith will remain."

"Father Mike is my brother," Jack offered. "You can imagine the conversations around our dinner table." He put an arm around Sam's shoulders and patted Daniel on a nearby thigh.

There were a few chuckles from the audience.

"Everyone, I want to re-emphasize something," Daniel said. "The System Lords, who call themselves gods, only took the names and myths from us, they are not actually those deities. The Goa'uld are sociopaths. You cannot allow their existence to shake you. You may continue with your daily lives and not fear that maybe you are being hypocritical in your faith. All you need to concern yourselves with IS yourself. Keep your heart open, love each other, be good neighbors. The rest will fall into place."

He waited until the applause died down.

"There is nothing out there that threatens your faith unless you allow it to," he said quietly. "My faith is in my family, and in myself." He stood behind Jack and put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "If you are feeling threatened, I suggest you look within."

A question popped in on a monitor.

"Are these System Lords truly lost? Can they not be reasoned with at all? Are you sure you are not biased in your opinion of them?" Daniel read out loud. "I want to show you something."

He showed them tapes of various System Lords in full lordly mode, identifying each of the creatures for the audience, he showed images of destroyed cities and worlds, and then a tape of Sarah's transformation from Goa'uld back to her normal, soft-spoken self. Once more, people gasped. Those who knew Sarah couldn't believe that the glowing eyed, snarling being was actually her. The Tok'ra surgeon deftly removed the Osiris symbiote from the young woman and tossed it to the floor where another operative zatted it.

"That is what we are up against, folks," Daniel said. "That operation cannot be counted upon, it is still in trials stage and it doesn't always work. The host is usually dead long before the symbiote is removed. The symbiote can kill the host from within. Sarah survived but she was unable to deal with the mental horrors that she remembered. The Goa'uld don't care what language you speak, what flag you wave, your gender, or your skin color. And the only religion they care about is you worshipping them. We need to be united in the fight against this threat, instead of concentrating on these petty wars against ourselves. They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be trusted. They are sociopaths. We must not imitate them by insisting that your god is better than my god."

Daniel declared a two hour break and walked off the stage. He collapsed on the couch in the sound room. Sam and Davis walked into the room behind him. Davis had the laptop which he put on the table before grabbing a bottle of juice and gulping it down. Sam hefted Daniel up, sat behind him, and he sank into her as she held him and stroked his hair. The Dean fluttered in to check on them and jumped aside as Enki and Ninurta came in. There was something about a few of these strangers that had been roaming around, but the man didn't know what it was. Jack poured coffee and cut off a large chunk of coffee cake. He held it up to Daniel but got his hand pushed away.

"Dumunita, you're expending too much energy," Enki gently told him.

"I'm fine, Aba, just tired. Come down here," Daniel said, pulling on Jack's shirt. He kissed Jack, hanging on with an arm around Jack's neck, slowly drinking him in. Jack let him take what he needed and Daniel began to relax. He let Jack go, turned onto his side, and curled up into Sam's chest, nesting his ear against her heart. He was asleep within minutes.

"He should have stretched this out, a couple days a week," Davis commented. He politely ushered the Dean out, having only noticed the man hovering. Daniel was one of their own, and the university was going out of its way to welcome their son back into the fold. Especially since they didn't do right by him years earlier. Jack bit into the coffee cake and nodded. Enki looked at him curiously.

"Jack, let me see your hand?" he asked. Jack looked at him and wiped his hand on his pants before holding it out. Enki held it for a moment, his eyes shut, and then released it.

"What?" Jack asked.

Enki shook his head in thought. "Nothing," he said. "Just curious. Would you try an experiment for me? Sit next to them, on the floor. Put the cake down. Shut your eyes. I want you to imagine that the air around you is crackling with electricity. I want you to order it. Call it together just as you would a group of raw recruits. They all come together, forming an orderly line. Stretch out your right hand and place it on Daniel. I want you to order your recruits to march forward."

Jack felt like an idiot but he did it. After a moment, Daniel moved slightly beneath his hand; he snuggled deeper against Sam and lightly snored.

"Good," Enki said quietly. Ninurta quirked an eyebrow and gave a reluctant nod. Jack opened his eyes.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Jack, when the Ancients opened your mind, they did more than download information," Enki told him. The talking didn't seem to be disturbing Daniel. They had seen Daniel sleep through bombardments. "The average human mind uses about 7 to 10 percent of its capacity. The Ancients downloaded into almost 90 percent, which is why you were unable to deal with it. The Asgard fixed that, but those areas of your brain are still open, now that the connections have begun firing. That exercise was a simple one; I had you stretch out with your mind and gather the energy from the space around you, and then transfer it into Daniel. He was low on energy, he had been working with his reserves for days now. He needs to learn how to tap into the energy himself. He can, he just doesn't know it. Anyone can, actually, it's a simple thing any child can learn."

"Are you saying he can do what the Ancients could?" Sam asked.

Enki shrugged. "No reason why he can't," he said. "He did Ascend. Twice. It's all a question of mind over matter. Literally. I recommend you take up meditation, Jack. The Jaffa's kel'no'reem is a good one. Daniel can teach you."

"Enki, I can't do that stuff," Jack insisted. "Just listening to those two go on gives me a headache. Sorry, honey." She shook her head.

"It gives you a headache because you are trying to process the information in too many places at once," Enki said. "It isn't what they are saying, it's how you are listening. Actually, ask Daniel to teach you how to fly."

"I'm a pilot, Enki, I know how to fly," Jack reminded him. "Daniel doesn't know one end of a jet from another."

"This is a different type of flying. Daniel will know what it means."

"If I'm interpreting this correctly, you're talking about an obscure section of quantum theory," Sam commented. "There's no proof humans can manipulate matter in the manner you are suggesting."

At the word 'quantum' Jack picked up his cake and coffee and tuned out.

"What is the body made of?" Enki asked.

"Particles of matter."

"Is the body so dense that it is able to stop particles from floating through it?"

"No."

"What are thoughts?"

"Particles hitting the neurons."

"If the particles around us are able to speed through the body, why can they not hit a neuron or two on their way? What keeps the particles together that make up our bodies? Why can't the particles of our mind decide to float on out and hit someone else's neurons? If you can specify a neuron juncture to bring up a memory, why can't you send the particle out and tell it to bring up someone else's memory? If you can manipulate particles in your own mind toward specific memories or thoughts, why can't you tell the particles of, say, that chair, to change their color?"

Sam stared wide-eyed at him, trying to find the words. Enki looked at the green chair and an instant later it was red. Jack almost dropped his coffee as he choked on a piece of coffee cake. Sam was glad she was laying down, or she would have fallen over. Davis abruptly stood and looked at the chair he was sitting on, making sure it was still the same puke green.

"Mind over matter, dumumunus," Enki said kindly. He gave her a pat and took himself out of the room, Ninurta behind him.

"Damn," Sam whispered after a moment. "Daniel picks the damndest times to be out of it."

"What the hell was that?" Jack asked, looking accusingly at the now red chair. "Davis, they're not human."

"Sir, beggin' your pardon, but they are," Davis insisted. "Bodies have been autopsied, and Ninurta's medical records are on file. They are completely human."

"Last night, Inanna said she wasn't," Sam reminded Jack.

"Then what are they?" Jack demanded. Daniel continued his light snoring.