Play Baal
Anunnaki
Part 27
By
Michele
Rating: NC-17 Jack/other
Summary: When
the galaxy comes calling, Jack takes over.
Note: Much of this is narration because I am really really bad at plotting and tactics. I'm a people person, I've never understood war, which is more about politics than anything else.
Jack brought Bre'tac home for dinner, much to the delight of the children. He was introduced to Jerrie and he bowed politely to her.
"Major Bryce's sister," Jack told him. Bre'tac's eyes lit up.
"Ah, yes," he said. "I have fought beside your brother. He is a most skilled warrior."
After dinner, Bre'tac told the children stories. The older ones were beyond bedtime stories, but they listened avidly while pretending to do homework. After a while, Jack stole Bre'tac back amidst protests, and he and Sam left for the SGC, picked up Davis on their way out, and had an impromptu meeting with Landry and Reynolds. They brought up the star charts and Bre'tac pinpointed where Baal was holding fort. Reynolds nodded in agreement, confirming the rumors he and SG-1 had been hearing on their own excursions. Jack had Sam highlight the worlds they knew in the area that would need added protection. He frowned; there were a lot and Baal had been busy stealing more slaves from unprotected worlds. And from the positioning of Baal's fleet, he was preparing to reclaim territory that had been freed by Jaffa and Tau'ri.
"Do you know where the Tok'ra are at the moment?" he asked Bre'tac. The old warrior gave the last known coordinates and Sam marked it off. "Where is Thanatos' fleet?" Again, Sam marked it on the chart. Sam highlighted each world they knew had space flight, and each world with a friendly military. Once the star chart was lit up with all of Jack's requests, the universe didn't look so daunting. Even Bre'tac's face was lit up as he looked at the star chart. They were not as alone as they thought they were; Baal could be taken.
Jack called Maynard and requested a special meeting with the Joint Chiefs, and asked that they come to him for the meeting. It was highly irregular, but Maynard agreed after Jack promised to send his al kesh to pick them up. Jack made a list and sent Davis to start dialing numbers.
The next day, HomeSec was under heavy guard as military leaders from around the world were brought in. To their even greater surprise, they were joined by military leaders from off-world, including Jaffa, Tok'ra, Masharu, Langaran, Serakkin, Sua, and Anunnaki. Some wanted to know where the Asgard were, so Jack had to explain the Asgard non-involvement. The Tau'ri were amazed, not comprehending the extent of their galactic allies until they saw all the different representatives in one place. The wind was taken out of their sails.
The sky filled with various types of alien ships was quickly reported and the press descended upon Homeworld Security for explanations. Demands fell on deaf ears.
The star chart was brought out and broken down for those unfamiliar with space coordinates. A few of the military leaders who prided themselves on astrophysics were having a difficult time with the fact that they could get across the galaxy in a week, instead of hundreds of years. More information was highlighted after input from Masharu, Anunnaki, and Serakkin. They brain-stormed for six days straight, with Thanatos and Camulus giving inside information on Goa'uld techniques and Baal's possible current thinking patterns, and came to an agreement. The HomeSec council informed their governments, blessings were received. All 303's were recalled home and all 302 pilots were recalled from vacations. The press took note and were still left in the dark. Jack sent word to Thor of their plans, putting the Asgard on alert. Word got out and non-flight friendlies sent their pledges of support for anything the Alliance needed; O'Neill had saved their butts, so they would make good on that favor. All the non-Tau'ri allies were looking to Jack as the leader, and Tau'ri generals and admirals quickly swallowed their pride and fell in line.
The 303s came home and were immediately restocked and loaded for battle. Almost all civilians on board were replaced with troops. By the time all the ally ships arrived, there were over 1000 ships in orbit and waiting around the solar system. No explanation had yet been given to the people of Earth, except that they were friendlies and not to worry.
Jack insisted on taking a day off in the middle of the war plans. He gathered his family together and explained to the children why he had to leave, and promised that he would be back as soon as he could. Jack set out pictures of Megan and his father, and he talked with the children about their mother and how much he missed her and Papa. He got Katie, Matthew, and Davy to talk and to tell stories, and even Stacy helped by telling a story about time spent with Megan and Grandpa Tom. Jack made the children all hold hands and promise to help each other and listen to whatever Sam and Daniel told them.
Before he left, Jack was taken aside by his partners.
"We had a talk with Inanna," Sam told him. Daniel nodded. "Jack, we of all people know exactly how bad things might get out there. If this is going to go on for a while, and a choice comes down to your sanity or your fidelity, we want you to choose sanity."
"We know you too well, Jack," Daniel told him. "You stress. You hold things in when they are at their worst; it's bad for you. You will have Paul with you as well as the Anunnaki. Take comfort with them, if you need to."
Jack looked from one to the other.
"You two want me to cheat?" he questioned with a raised brow. They shook their heads.
"No, we want you to survive," Sam clarified. "You know how Inanna's people deal with stress; it's obviously kept them alive and sane. We will want you back, of course."
"And this is only for an extended war absence," Daniel said. "If you do Baal in within the month, you'd better be snow white when you get back here. This offer is only in case of a major break with sanity and we are agreeing to only certain people. Inanna, Ninurta, or Paul. No one else."
"And does Paul know you are offering up his ass?" Jack asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Of course not," Daniel said. "But he would know when to offer it up himself."
Jack shook his head, chuckling, and kissed them both.
"You two are crazy, do you know that?"
Jack had a visitor to his office amidst the chaos. His chief of security.
"I'm not happy that he's going out there. Bring him back to me alive," Nick requested. Jack had already refused Nick's request to go with them; he needed Nick on Earth to help with Homeworld Security.
"I plan on it, Nick," Jack told him. He had no doubt about the man's love for Major Davis; he had seen it in action, living so close to them. Jack considered Nick to be semi-feral, but Davis was constant in his attempts to tame him. Jack needed Paul, though; his major was pretty good at almost reading Jack's mind, and Jack discovered that Paul kept his schedule better than the computer.
Mrs. Clark was a little weepy as she worried for her boy. She and Mrs. Arthur got together and informed Jack that he had better come back or ELSE.
"Or else what?" Jack asked. The women nodded sagely.
"Exactly," Mrs. Arthur informed him. Neither of the men understood but Sam seemed to as she agreed with the older women. When Daniel asked around the SGC, personnel all agreed that Jack had better return; none of them wanted to answer to Mrs. A if he didn't. Even General Landry quickly agreed. What worried Daniel more was that the female personnel all seemed to understand the vague threat. He was beginning to think that the female language was never going to be deciphered.
Jack sent Jerrie and the kids all shopping and told her to take a few hours. She didn't ask as she loaded the kids into her SUV. Jack, Sam, and Daniel took their time making love to each other.
Inanna and her crew transferred and split up between the 303s and left a rudimentary crew on the Heaven's Bow. At least the planet would have a certain amount of protection. Just in case.
Jack put Earth at Defcon 2.
Those who knew Jack were not surprised when he put his 'son' on his war council. Jonathan had shown up at the war council meeting in Anunnaki leathers, centered and at peace. He pulled his hair back into a ponytail and got to work. Only a few Tau'ri considered questioning it and being military, they knew when to not ask questions; especially when long-time SGC personnel gave them looks that told them to keep it shut. Jonathan could often be found without a shirt or vest on, wearing only leather boots and the kilt. The deep, grooved scars on his chest, still reddish-pink from healing, had earned him respect in the eyes of the Jaffa. The tattoos of Tau'ri and Anunnaki on each upper arm proclaimed his dual allegiance, and several Anunnaki also had new ink. There was a little commentary about Goa'uld tattoos, but it was quickly canceled out as more and more people showed up with new ink on their arms. Jack had also noted the new muscles on Jonathan's upper body. The warriors had been toning him.
The main question of the day was, "Where exactly is Baal?"
Jack and the war council stared at the star chart, discussing various locations where Baal had supposedly been sighted.
"There." Everyone looked as both Jack and Jonathan pointed at the same spot at the same time.
"How do you know?" Malek asked, looking from one to the other.
"We have to start someplace," Jack said mildly, not looking at his clone.
Battle plans were created, discussed with the troop leaders, and each troop was sent out to take up position. Word came back that Baal was aware of something being up at Jack's place.
Jack put Hammond in temporary charge of HomeSec, and made the Prometheus his flag ship. Many tried to convince Jack to remain on Earth, but he had waited too long for this day; he needed to be on the field, and he wanted Baal. Several squads remained on Earth to guard home base. Jack left Col. Chekhov in charge of them, much to the vocal disapproval of the Joint Chiefs.
"General Hammond," Jack called over the open radio. "Let's hear it, sir."
Hammond smiled and everyone in the control room turned to look at him. "God's speed, people."
News from behind the lines was that Baal was suddenly on the defense when he became aware of the size of the amassed fleet headed his way from three different directions, with a Tau'ri battle cruiser leading each of the three fronts.
The first month was a hard, bloody battle. Allies were picked up along the way, hundreds of lives were lost, mostly locals on various planets. Troops put down on ally planets for rest and refilling of the food stocks. A hundred or so non-flight worlds honored their debts to the Tau'ri, proud to step in where they could to help even if was just for a hot meal. They had been scared; Baal had been gathering the remaining Goa'uld to him and had begun taking slaves once more. Jack refused to be a desk jockey, and took turns in the cockpit of 302s along with everyone else. He took Teal'c as his partner. Jack's personal guards were not happy about his going into battle along with everyone else, but there wasn't much they could do. Generals were supposed to remain behind and direct. If Inanna was going into battle, so was Jack. She wasn't going to get all the fun.
Ship by ship, Baal's fleet was picked off. Col. Reynolds came in at one point, carrying a silver platter with a domed hood. He entered the bridge of the Prometheus with a shit eating grin.
"How much do you love me, Jack?" he cooed. Jack's ears would have twitched if they could. Bridge crew turned to look. Even Markham slowly turned his center seat around, an eyebrow raised at Reynolds' tone. Markham was still getting used to Jack's form of command.
"That depends," Jack said cautiously as he straightened up behind the battle board. "Is that a steak?"
"Even better," Reynolds said. He lifted the lid. A bloody head sat on the platter with a dead symbiote next to it. A rebel yell rocked the bridge. Jack was happy to report to the troops that Enlil was officially dead. Moral was lifted high and a renewed effort was made on the battle front. Goa'uld heads began to be delivered to Jack as they became available. It was a little gruesome, but it was making the troops happy. A few sticklers for propriety made commentary about the rules of warfare.
"What rules?" Jack snapped. "This is war, not a football game."
Like a tidal wave, Alliance ships swept across the galaxy. They found a few inhabited worlds that were under siege by Goa'uld slavers, and a couple squads took the time to quickly dispatch the mothership hovering over each world. Alien worlds that had yet to be met by SG teams, but had heard of the Tau'ri named O'Neill, joined in the fight, introducing themselves with gunfire as they flew side by side with Alliance ships.
Jack's reputation had grown when word got out that he was interrogating prisoners by reading their minds. Jonathan had also been learning to do it, as were a few others that had shown themselves to be 'intuitive.' Anunnaki interrogators spread themselves out to other ships. Captives began killing themselves rather than being taken before one of these interrogators. Only Jack had the horrifying snake stick, though. Tok'ra had taken to being completely honest with him after the first time they witnessed what the pukku could do. Malek had tried telling them.
Jack's reputation was also growing about the time he spent walking through the infirmaries. There was a hushed whisper that people touched by him tended to heal faster than others with the same wounds who were not touched. Jack thought it was nonsense when he heard about it, scoffing with a wave of his hand. Bre'tac and Teal'c didn't comment.
There was only so much kel'no'reeming a man could do, so Jack was running on caffeine most of the time. When he did agree to get a little rest, he rarely made it to his quarters and usually ended up in one of the make-shift group rooms. With all the extra people on board the ships, a few of the larger rec-rooms were cleared of furniture and the floors were covered in pillows, blankets, and anything else people could sleep on. He would crash in a group room and more than once woke up in a tangle of arms and legs. After spending almost a year getting used to multiple people in his own bed, he slept better when surrounded by people. Most of the groups were non-Tau'ri; Jack's own people were still a little self-conscious about groups, and were rarely out of the male-female pairing. Jack was usually in the Anunnaki's room. Col. Reynolds and SG-1 weren't questioning it, so neither did anyone else. The crew was discovering that if they took their cues from SG-1, they worked easier with their unpredictable general.
After the first month, the no sex policy went quickly out the door once people learned that Jack didn't care as long as jobs were done to the best of their abilities and no jealous duels were started over assumed territory. He saw the example on alien ships; the connection made them closer and more likely to fight harder for each other, as well as releasing tension. Let people be people, he decided. Not that they had much time for playing. Jack insisted that the crew spend off-duty time in as much recreation as possible, to off-set their on-duty time. Being confined in such tight quarters 24/7, play-time was important or people would blow up.
Col. Markham gave him looks and made small comments under his breath about protocol, but Jack told him to chill and think of it as an experiment. Major Davis was keeping a quiet watch on statistics, letting Jack know that performance stats were up while stress related issues were down. There had been a few blow-ups over women, but Jack didn't need to step in; the women themselves dealt with it. They were not property, they would spend time with whomever they pleased, and if the men didn't like it, they were put on the no-contact list. The Anunnaki women and the few female warriors of the Jaffa were all supportive of their baby sisters.
It no longer fazed Jack to see his clone in the middle of a puppy pile, and found it interesting to watch Sua-Human sex. He had numerous offers but declined them all; his own sense of honor kept him happy with his hand.
Jonathan had been hanging around one young lady in particular, Jack noticed. Adia, he was told.
"I know how Daniel felt when he was presented with Sha're," Jonathan quietly told him as they walked among the troops. "She's about 16. She's been seriously uptight about sex. You need to understand, Jack; in their culture, a young woman is invited into beds when she is physically mature enough. You've seen them, they're all very open about it. Well, with the whole baby thing happening, she's been feeling as though she's expected to be nothing more than a baby factory. She's been afraid to sleep with the men. When she found out that I'm fixed, she came to me and asked me to sleep with her. She felt that I would have no expectations of her because I won't be fathering any children. I'm also not as physically intimidating as the other men, I'm not a father figure to her, nor am I one of her brothers. And she likes my hair."
Much to Jack's embarrassment, Jonathan had also taken to being the entertainment during what little down-time they had. More often than not, he could be found with his guitar, fronting a home-made band and getting people to dance. Once or twice Jonathan had goaded Jack into a song, much to the good-natured enthusiasm of the troops. During one of their 303 commander meetings, Jack was surprised when Col. Caldwell also jumped up onto the stage and helped Jonathan rock the house down. The man was a pretty good, slightly raspy baritone. Caldwell blamed it on the cigarettes he had smoked for years. Until he was put on the 303. Smokers didn't stay smokers, once they were put into space. Even Col. Markham had to admit that the crew were more together after such events. The Sua had to wait for landfall until they could build bonfires for their drums. They tried to build a bonfire on a cargo deck after bringing in wood from one of the planets they visited, and were startled when the ship's fire system took over.
Such events were few and far between on some stretches of the battle. There were many weeks when all they did was fight enemy ships without let-up. Entire motherships had been taken, and smaller vessels took them over as home ports. The cramped spaces on the other ships were relieved as personnel transferred to the hatoks. The closer they got to Baal's position, the more desperate Baal's fleet fought.
Baal sent a message that he wanted to talk truce, but Jack refused; he knew better than to believe a Goa'uld would keep the truce. His council agreed with him. Other calls came in, requests for asylum. After questioning, Thanatos confirmed that many were hidden Masharu. Jack reminded him of free-will and not to trust someone just because they say one thing. Interrogators took over and a few of the asylum seekers had been executed. Most Jaffa willingly surrendered to Bre'tac, and slaves were offered the chance to fight or sit it out in a hatok until they could be returned to their home worlds. Many chose to fight.
A few battles were fought on the ground of one planet or another. Jack more than once found himself on the back of a race called Ras that served on Thanatos' ship. They reminded Jack of centaurs; half horse and half human. Pony sized, not full horse sized. And they didn't mind carrying riders. Jack got to know one called Mitraka and they became regular partners when they were on ground. Teal'c's Ras was called Pashly. The troops were startled, at first, when the Ras were brought out of hiding, but quickly got used to them, as they did with any other alien race. The Goa'uld Jaffa seemed outraged that the Tau'ri would resort to ground fighting on something other than their feet.
Reports were sent back to Earth and Jack was relieved to hear that Earth was still safe. A world-wide party was being had after he sent news back that Enlil was dead. News of the space battle with the Goa'uld was smuggled into the general population, and everyone was avidly eating up the images being sent back from the 303 cameras. The Pentagon tried to stop the public from viewing it, but Hammond convinced them that the public deserved to know. The public found it strange to watch the space battle; after years of movies, they automatically expected sound effects. All they got was dead silence. Sound didn't travel in space. Neither did fire. Ships that blew up or were hit were simply whole one minute and drifting with debris the next. Any fires were confined to the internal portion of ships, anyplace with oxygen present.
All the kids sent messages and Jack kept pictures of them plastered all over his quarters. Olivia had discovered her toes. Jack recorded stories for her to watch which Daniel played on his laptop, so that she would know his voice and his face. Many mommies and daddies sent recorded story-time messages, and story books were circulated through-out the ships so that they had new stories to share.
The second month's oddity came in the form of Major Davis. During a moment of breathing, Jack leaned against a railing that overlooked a cargo bay that was being used as a sport's court. Handball, basketball, whatever anyone decided to play. At the moment, there was a ship-wide soccer match going on. He was quite often interrupted with questions and paperwork to sign. Someone stopped next to him and he waited for something to be put in front of him for him to sign. When nothing appeared, he glanced over. Davis.
"How are you, major?" Jack asked him. His protocol droid had proven himself to the troops by taking part in the battles just like everyone else. The major may walk and talk prissy, but he fought like a soldier and he had the growing scars to prove it. The troops had learned that they could rely on him to back them up and to get them out of danger when needs be.
"I'm fine, sir," Davis told him, leaning against the rail to watch the game below. The Sua had been taught to play, but the humans refused to allow them into the game; the Sua were more flexible and were able to use tails. The humans declared them foul play, so the Sua were relegated to being referees. That proved to be problematic, too, once the Sua understood the rules; no one got away with anything.
"Paul, Ninurta said something a while ago," Jack said, watching the game. "He said you view life a little differently and that I should ask you about it. Is it too personal?"
"For most people to be asking, yes," Paul said with a nod. "But not you. That boundary flew out the window at my piercing ceremony. Daniel said he explained the difference to you between Master and slave. Master Gabriel also talked with you about it. I consider myself to be slave, Jack; my heart is a slave's heart. We are all in service to someone. I live to serve, to be IN service. It is my choice for myself, it is my surrender to who I am. When I look around me, I see Masters, which includes women as it refers to Mastery of the self, not of an individual. I see Doms, slaves, submissives, a few dogs, a few puppies, mommies, and daddies, a kitten here and there. You're a daddy, in case you're wondering. I see a few other things, but that's the gist of it. It makes me happy to be in service. I am not happy when there is no service for me to perform. It is my choice as to who I serve, though; I will respect others, but service is offered freely to those I honor. I may be slave but I'm not a doormat. And Ninurta talked with me, too, Jack." He turned to face Jack, still leaning against the rail.
"I honor you, Jack," he said quietly. "I serve you freely in whatever capacity you may require of me. I'll serve you meals, clean your quarters, fetch your laundry, shine your shoes. Service includes my body. Do with me as you wish, whatever you need and whenever. This is slave Paul speaking, not Major Davis, and this offer is good only during our time out here. Once we are home, I return to Nick. And he and I have spoken about this possibility, and I do have his permission to be making this offer. He considered writing a permission slip for me should it come to this, but we thought it would be too damaging to all concerned if it were found, so… Jack, should the time come that you are away longer than planned, it is my wish that Paul be given into your custody until such a time as he can be returned to me. You may use him as you will, but use him with an open heart. Love him. I ask that you not leave any permanent marks on his body and that you be kind to his mind and his heart. He has my permission to play with Ninurta, Shara, Gibil, Erra, Enki, M'Net, and Jonathan, should he wish. He is to consider you his temporary Master. Please keep him safe for his return to me."
Paul stood straight, feet planted, hands locked comfortably at the small of his back as he recited Nick's message. To a casual observer, he was standing at ease before his commanding officer. If there were anyone nearby who was Leather, they would recognize a slave standing before his Master.
Jack was staring at him, a little uncomfortable.
"I'm not into that stuff, Paul," he said. Davis smiled gently.
"Sir, you don't need to do anything different," he told Jack. "I am available to you should you need anything beyond the call of duty. It doesn't have to be sexual, it's your choice. This is just an offer, sir, you don't need to accept, if you don't wish it. The offer remains open until we return home." He turned to leave and then turned back, contemplative. "Sir, in my world, so to speak, this is nothing unusual; it is good manners to offer the services of one's slave to another Master when abroad or if a Master is visiting. This is not blind obedience; Nick and I discussed this and I have willingly consented."
Jack ruminated on the strange conversation as more Goa'uld surrendered to the Alliance. Jack used the pukku on them and found that Camulus had been right; when the Goa'uld was dead, the host quickly died, too, having been host too long. Sometimes there was a brief moment of horrifying clarity for the host, and death was the blessing. Jack sent many of the images to Baal. Over an open channel, of course.
The ground battles were the worst. All too often they left a planet flowing with rivers of blood. Mostly red, a few dashes of orange, purple, green, and blue. Jack found it hard to believe that the natives were thanking them for freeing them from the Goa'uld, when they were hip deep in the dead and dying. In the middle of the second month, Jack had found himself no longer able to feel after burying one child after another. It seemed that not a day went by when he wasn't burying someone or pulling a sheet over someone's head. Only seven weeks had gone by, and it seemed like an eternity. All Jack could smell was blood and the dead. He was a ghost when he walked through the Prometheus and to his quarters. Someone must have whispered a word to his private council because he didn't even hear his door chime until Ninurta sat on the side of his bed.
"You're a mess, ahu," the warrior told him gently. He touched the soot on Jack's face and looked over the blood and bruises. A section of hair was matted down with blood and dirt, but the wound had been minor and was encrusted over. "Come on," he stood and took Jack's hand, giving it a gentle tug. Jack stood without a word. Ninurta herded him into the shower. Jack was gently scrubbed from head to foot, taken out, dried and put to bed. Jack lay back on his bunk, an arm over his face. Seven weeks; they had been at it for only seven weeks and he had seen more blood and death than he had seen in his lifetime. Were they doing the right thing? Jack had a headache.
"There's something I ask Daniel to do when I need to scream," he said huskily from behind the arm.
"I know, dadu. Turn over," Ninurta told him, giving his side a pat. Jack loosened his BDUs and turned onto his belly. His BDUs were lowered. Ninurta reached into his belt pouch and a moment later a slicked finger was gently stretching him.
"Jack, I want you to do something," Ninurta said. "I want you to reach out to Daniel. You can find him, you are bonded with him, you can sense him at this distance. It's how you always knew he was alive when everyone else thought he was dead. Imagine a cord coming out of the middle of your chest. There are actually two cords, one is Daniel's, the other is Sam's. You can tell the difference between the cords. Follow Daniel's, not Sam's. This isn't for her. Climb it until you reach him. Cling to him, Jack, let him hold you. He is your rock, your foundation, let him support you. He will sense your presence and he will know what to do."
Jack felt Ninurta kneel behind him and took a shaky breath as a steel arm went around his hip and held him still. Ninurta entered him and Jack bit the pillow he had pulled to his chest. The warrior was gentle but firm as he slid into Jack. He was larger than Daniel and Jack felt himself splitting in two. He sent his awareness flying out to find Daniel. Ninurta pulled back and then pushed back in with a quick thrust. Jack whimpered into the pillow. Harder and harder, he was fucked until he was openly crying and tearing at the pillow. Ninurta didn't let up or attempt to calm him. The guards outside swallowed hard when muffled screams penetrated the thick door. They had orders not to interfere, though, so they didn't. A few personnel walked past and jumped as they heard a scream. They looked at the guards who did nothing. The personnel hurried past.
Dead bodies rose up to greet Jack. They gibbered at him, threw blood on him, hit him with torn off limbs and entrails. Children looked up at him with dead, hollow eyes. Daniel, Sam, and all their children spoke to him in the dual voice of a host. Snake after snake lunged at him until his body was splitting at the seams with all the snakes in him. Charlie stood in front of him, a symbiote head weaving in and out of his belly. Jack screamed and clawed at the bed.
"Jack!"
He refused to hear the voice, shaking his head.
"Look at me, baby," the voice said again.
"You're not real!" he screamed.
"I'm real," the voice said calmly, softly. A familiar scent washed over Jack and he clung as hard as he could. Familiar hands stroked his hair. "Let it out, baby, it's ok. None of those things are real but I am. Just let go; I won't let you fall."
Jack cried as he clung to Daniel.
When Ninurta was done, he slid out and to Jack's side, pulling him into his arms. He held Jack, not stroking him or rocking him, just held him in a firm grip. When he was calm enough, Jack moved and turned over onto his back, wincing slightly. Ninurta handed him his t-shirt, and Jack and wiped his face and blew his nose before tossing it to the floor.
"Do you believe in a soul?" Ninurta asked.
"Yes."
"Then believe that those souls are not lost," Ninurta said. "They will return. Let them know of your sorrow for them, ask their forgiveness, and beg them to return in a new body."
Jack was silent for a while, contemplating his inner eyelids. For the first time since he was a child, he prayed. He spoke to those lost, though, not a deity.
"You've done this for thousands of years?" he asked after a while.
"Yes. It was hard, at first; there was a time when our feelings were shut off," Ninurta confessed. "All that death and quite a bit of it unnecessary. The innocents are the hardest. When we discovered that we were faced with becoming like the Goa'uld or destroying the remainder of our race through our own internal fighting, the Nox smacked us upside the head. They were still interfering way back then; this holier than thou thing is relatively new. They told us to cut the crap, love each other, don't fight each other, and open our hearts to even the most horrific of things. Say YES to everything. Even when we must say NO, stop and say YES. That is the acceptance of life. Death is part of life. When we say NO to death and destruction, we deny life Her due. By saying YES, we stand in a place of beauty. Do you know why death, destruction, carnage is beautiful?"
Jack shook his head, staring at the warrior next to him.
"Because it is a direct reminder of the miracle of life."
Ninurta reached over and abruptly slapped Jack across the face. Hard. Jack jumped, a fist raised.
"That is also a reminder," Ninurta said, doing nothing to defend himself. "Feel, Jack. Always. One hundred percent of the time. Feel. Never stop. Scream, laugh, cry, but feel it. For every drop of blood spilt, say YES to life. This is why we love so fiercely; we cling to each other, insisting that we feel and celebrate life to its fullest. We are not immortal, Jack, we age and we die. We simply age much slower than you. After the first thousand years, we have seen all and we've done all. There is no more discovery. Many choose to die, instead of waiting for death to choose them. Those of us who remain do so either listening to the seconds tick by or we shut off all feeling. I have learned to listen to the seconds. We are not sex freaks, Jack; if you watch closely, quite often we are not actually engaged in full sexual intercourse. We love each other. We touch, we hit, we caress, we scream and yell, we laugh, cry, speak our minds, our hearts, we kiss, we sing, dance, we look into each other's eyes and praise each other. We do this as a reminder that we are alive. More than likely, I will choose the hour of my death. When I am ready. I am not ready.
"I have two life-cords bound to me, also; my Queen and my Shara. Triples are actually more common than any other combination. You probably already know the meaning of Inanna's name; queen of heaven. Do you know the meaning of Shara's name? His name means 'foundation.' As in, the foundation of a building. He is my foundation. Daniel's name means, according to your modern definitions, God is my judge. A little inaccurate, if his name is broken down into ancient meanings. 'An' means heaven, 'el' means lord. Dan'el, lord of heaven. The judgment part comes in by way of heaven; the heavens are filled with creatures of light that illuminate the darkness. They literally shed light upon the dark, illuminating truth. Daniel is your Truth, Jack. When darkness befalls you, look to your Truth."
Jack was staring at him.
"Do you always talk so much after sex?" he asked.
Ninurta chuckled. "Yes," he admitted.
"What does your name mean?" Jack asked. "Daniel said 'Nin' means Lady."
Ninurta smiled. "It does," he said. "It also means Lord. My language doesn't really break down into gender specific categories, unlike the Semitic languages such as Arabic or Hebrew. 'Nin' is just a polite, general honorific for male OR female. Like Ma'am or Sir. 'Urta' is an earth reference. Lord of the Earth. Aba's name actually means the same thing. 'En' is also an honorific which means Lord. More of a leadership honorific, than a general one. 'Ki' means earth. Lord of the Earth. Different kinds of earth, though. Ki refers to the living earth, the earth that grows. Urta is the plants and growing things. Apparently, I grew like a weed."
Jack burst out laughing. Ninurta smiled, pleased.
"Jonathan means Gift of God," Ninurta continued. "You think of yourself as Jack, though, and Jack means the Lord is Gracious. You are gracious, Jack; you have a tremendous heart. You have opened your home, your life, to five children. You see injustice and you're the first person to stand up and point it out. The galaxy comes calling for help, and you rally the troops. It's been too long since we met anyone with a heart such as yours, Jack, and we honor you for it."
Jack leaned up on one elbow, looking at him.
"I don't know what to say," he quietly admitted.
Ninurta shook his head. "You don't need to say anything. I proudly call you brother as well as friend. Aba has declared Daniel his own, a rare thing, by the way, so that makes you my brother, too. Know we are your family, Jack, and as family, you have the right of family. All of our people know this."
"Do brothers in your family have sex together?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ninurta smiled. "They do after the first couple thousand years," he said. "Blood boundaries tend to break down after such a long period of time."
"Like having sex with one's father?" Jack goaded.
The warrior laughed. "Not too often, but it happens," he admitted. "Those boundaries are placed because of the problems of genetics interfering with conception. Neither of us can make the other pregnant. And again, after a couple thousand years, those genetic bonds tend to disappear. I admit it was strange, the first couple times, but we were sharing my queen and it just happened."
"I don't think I could get that close with my clone," Jack said, wrinkling his nose. Ninurta laughed again and nodded.
"Yes, having sex with one's self seems as though it would be more disconcerting than sex with one's parent." Ninurta looked at Jack, smiling softly. He reached out and touched Jack's face with a finger. "I'm glad he has joined our family," he said. "He makes my Shara very happy. He brings a breath of fresh air to our family. Jonathan is very courageous, Jack; he could very easily have taken the easy path and ended his life. It was an exceedingly cruel thing Loki did, creating him without a thought for the person. I don't think anyone can even contemplate the true horror of Loki's work. Jonathan is a living person, he has his own soul, and yet Loki treated him as a thing. Your body and mind may have been duplicated, but his soul is his own. Jonathan has chosen to explore his soul, the only thing he has that is NOT yours. That is why he has found himself happy with our family. You could not be happy in his place because that is not part of who you are. He is a consort, you are a lord. Those aspects come from the heart and the soul. He is at peace now that he as accepted his place as consort. He can now grow and become his own person to the full extent of his soul."
They talked for a while longer, discussing the battle and a few on-board issues. Before Ninurta left, he sucked Jack off and told Jack not to be a ninny; join them in their room once in a while for more than just a place to sleep. Jack felt as though he had cheated on his partners.
"Jack, it's just sex," Ninurta reminded him as he dressed. "Your people place too great an emphasis on it. It's a physical release. They told you to come to us, if you needed to, so you didn't cheat. You have their permission. And for goddess' sake, take Paul once in a while. He has a nice, tight ass; you'll love it."
News of Jack's midnight screaming went quietly around the ship and Jonathan checked in with him. Jack assured him that he was fine. Primal scream therapy worked. Jonathan chuckled and agreed.
The ship alarms went off when they came upon another planet that was surrounded by Goa'uld al kesh. Jack was scheduled in a 302, so he and Teal'c took off along with the rest of their squad. The Goa'uld were keeping with their M.O; they were terrorizing villagers who were not yet industrialized. The villagers were terrified when the new ships buzzed angrily into their skies. Their terror began to turn into hope when they noticed that the new ships were firing upon the others, instead of the village.
They knew where Baal was, but it had been difficult getting to him. The closer they got, the deadlier the fire-power surrounding Baal. The main task, at the moment, was keeping Baal in their galaxy. He had already tried to run, but Jack had him triangulated; three fronts were keeping Baal in the middle of the playing field. So they picked off his fleet, one ship at a time, freeing one planet at a time. A few of the Goa'uld who had surrendered gave Jack a clue to Baal's thinking; At first, Baal had been surprised by the size of the Alliance fleet; then he had become more and more concerned when he realized that all the smaller worlds they had been taking slaves from had banded together under O'Neill's leadership and created one massive force. They kept Baal running enough that he was unable to get a Gate lock and escape, not that he would get far, anyway; word had been quickly passed and most gate worlds had their gates under close watch. If Baal appeared, he would be instantly shot.
The 302's landed and Jack and Teal'c jumped out, chasing Jaffa into the forest. Jack winced and slapped a hand to the side of his face and went down with an even greater pain in his leg; close calls from a staff. His face ached and he bled a bit, but it wasn't anything he knew wouldn't heal. Several men stopped and checked on him. The leg wound would also heal. Teal'c growled and blasted the Jaffa who aimed at Jack. They ran down Jaffa for half the day and then returned to the main village, weary and sore. Crying and sniffling punctuated the air as the locals gathered up their dead and wounded.
"General!" Jack looked around. Harper was waving him down. Jack went over, limping. A man was cradling his wife, his eyes terrified.
"A snake just shot into her," Harper said, his zat pointed at the woman. "It came out of one of the dead."
Jack pulled his MRI from his pocket and looked at the woman through it. He took the pukku from his utility belt and aimed it, watching through the MRI. Harper watched over his shoulder as Teal'c kept a zat on her.
"It's gone," Jack told the husband. "She'll be alright." He went around and MRI'd others, disintegrating any living snakes. Once more, he wished the thing could be reverse engineered so that others could have one, too. He helped to gather up the children, cradling them and singing silly nursery songs to them as their adults scurried around them. These children were still alive; he could deal with a few nursery songs.
The villagers were no where near equipped to head out into space with them; farming was their primary concern. Col. Reynolds was having a pow-wow with the village elders, every once in a while looking toward Jack as they spoke.
The fields were mostly destroyed. The villagers were going to starve until the next crops could be harvested. Jack looked around, taking note of various animal hides, and motioned to a few pilots.
"Each of you take a local," he told them. "Find out how much food will be needed until the next harvest, and get some game in here." They acknowledged him and went out for a little hunting with 302s.
By nightfall, there was a pile of dead animals ready to be skinned and their meat dried. Experienced hands were brought down from the ships to help with the skinning and smoking so that the meat wouldn't go bad. It took two days to make sure the village was set up; the meat was hanging, the grateful locals could take it from there.
Jack touched his cheek and worked his jaw. The side of his face was still a little numb from the anesthetic and stitches, but the doctor told him he would be fine. When he got his BDU's off, Jack whitened. The doctor pushed him back down.
"Two more inches, and my wife AND our husband would have been without their favorite play toy," he told the doctor. The nurse reddened and handed the doctor another threaded needle.
"Sir? Do you have a minute?"
Jack looked up from his desk.
"Come in, major," Jack invited Harper. The major stood a little nervously in front of Jack.
"Sir, I…. when we get home…I'm going to ask Cassandra to marry me."
Jack was glad he was sitting.
"You've been seeing her for what, a couple months?" Jack asked. "Not including the three months we've been out here?"
"Yes, sir," Harper nodded. "I'm in love with her. If she'll have me, I want to spend my life with her."
Jack studied him over the top of his reading glasses. "Are you asking my permission?" he asked. He took his glasses off; he was getting a headache again.
Harper shook his head and grinned. "No, sir, just giving you warning so that you'll have time to get used to the idea. Dad."
"Out," Jack ordered, pointing to the door. He found a couple of Tylenol, put a cold pack to his face, and called Jonathan in.
"Go beat up Harper," he told his clone. Jonathan shrugged, nodded, and left.
During the third month, a hatok exploded close to the ground and decimated a largely populated planet. Slave labor was mining naquadah, and the ore magnified the explosion. A chunk of the planet was literally blown away.
Davis brought Jack a dinner plate, not that he thought the general was going to eat without being force-fed. Without waiting to be asked, Paul had taken to cleaning Jack's quarters and bringing him food trays when Jack didn't feel like sitting in the common room. Not saying anything, Jack unzipped his BDU's. Davis went to his knees. He slid his hand inside, brought Jack's cock out, and sucked him, quickly getting him hard. Jack absently sent out a feeler. He gently pushed Paul aside and stood up.
"Sir? Did I do something wrong?" Paul asked, sitting back on his heels, looking concerned.
"No, son, I did," Jack told him as he undressed. He held out a hand. Paul took it after a moment, looking at the naked man in front of him, and Jack pulled him to his feet. He found himself being undressed and lowered to the bunk.
"I've been thinking of my own needs," Jack told him. "I've been self-centered, Paul, and I'm sorry. You needed someone to hold you, to acknowledge you. I need Sam and Daniel, you need Nick. Since those we need are not here to offer that comfort, we'll help each other. That's what you needed from me, isn't it?"
Paul jerked his head in a nod as Jack turned off the lights, locked the door, and climbed in behind him. He wrapped his arms around Paul and pulled him back into his chest. Paul trembled slightly and Jack gently soothed him with his hands, touching where he could reach, stroking skin, feeding the younger man what he needed –the human touch.
When Jack's alarm went off for his next shift, he woke up to find Paul sitting and watching him.
"Morning," Jack croaked on automatic. Technically, it was 1600, if their military timed clocks were anything to go by.
"Good morning, sir. Coffee?" Jack nodded and took the cup as he scrubbed the sleep from his eyes. Paul had cleaned the room, showered and shaved while he waited for Jack to wake up. When Jack was looking semi-awake, Paul knelt in front of him, sitting back on his feet.
"Sir? May I kiss you?" he asked. Jack looked at him for a moment and then nodded. Paul leaned in and pressed his mouth to Jack's, sweetly and chastely before sitting back. Jack silently fished, put his cup down, and leaned forward. He kissed Paul properly, slowly, gently, opening up, touching tongues, allowing Paul to taste him.
"Get to your post," Jack told him, sitting back. Paul jumped to his feet and gave a short, Jaffa-like bow, hands locked at the small of his back.
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," he said with a smile and practically hopped from the room.
When Jack left his room, he discovered Ninurta leaning against the side of his door with a knowing grin. Jack flushed and ignored his guards as he walked down the hall.
"Nothing happened," Jack declared.
Ninurta tossed an arm around Jack's shoulders. "Nothing except that Jack O'Neill discovered he really does have a heart," he said. "Well done, dadu."
Jack looked for his clone and found him in the middle of updating the Goa'uld score board.
"What does zazu mean?" Jack asked. Jonathan was blank.
"The Lion King?" he asked.
Jack shook his head. "Ninurta called me zazu."
Jonathan thought about it. "Do you mean dadu?"
"That's it."
Jonathan smiled and moved a light on the board. "It means darling. It's just affectionate."
"Oh. Speaking of Zu; where is the flying shish kabob?"
"No idea," Jonathan shook his head. "He and Erra have been off on some sort of mission for months. No one's talking. I heard you slept with Paul last night."
"Faster than a speeding 303 around here…. Slept being the operative word," Jack said. "That's all. He needed someone to hold him. I let him kiss me. Nothing more."
Jonathan shrugged. "Don't need to explain to me, Jack, I was just curious."
Jack wasn't sure what was weirder –Paul sleeping in his bed, or watching Shara hang all over Jonathan and seeing Jonathan smiling over his shoulder like a man in love as he clung to Shara's arms and had his neck nuzzled. Jack had watched them in the playroom; there was no way in hell anyone with a dick that big was getting anywhere near him. Taking it from Ninurta had been bad enough….Did he really look like that during sex?? Ew.
"Sirs! He's on the run!" Jack's head popped up and he focused on the main screen. A hatok was making a break for it, up and over, instead of across the lines.
"Get after him!" Markham shouted, belatedly looking back at Jack.
"And double-time it!" Jack added, giving the colonel a nod.
Ships came to screeching halts and flipped around in space to chase after the mothership. The hatok suddenly disappeared into a slipstream and loud curses echoed through the bridge of the Prometheus.
"Where's he going, Jack?" Ninurta asked, coming onto the bridge and stepping up to his side.
"How the hell should I know?!" Jack screeched.
"Dammit, Jack, get your head out of your fucking ass and tell us WHERE HE'S GOING!!" the warrior lost his patience and shouted in Jack's face. Everyone on the bridge stopped and turned to them. Angry enough to triple-zat the man, Jack suddenly found himself reaching.
"Home," he whispered, staring in horror at the screen.
The word was sent to the entire fleet and everyone set their coordinates.
"General, there's a gate here!" Davis shouted, pointing at the chart.
Jack stalked off the bridge and ran to the hanger bay. He and Teal'c jumped into a 302 and flew out the second the Prometheus slowed enough to let them out. Ignoring the startled natives, Jack ran to the gate while Teal'c dialed.
"Open the door NOW!" Jack shouted the moment the gate was established. He heard a startled squeak from Walter and they ran in, coming out in the gateroom.
"Defcon One! Get everything we have into the air!" Jack shouted as he ran through the door and down the hall.
Bells and whistles started to blow and people ran to their posts. Jack ran up to the command room and yanked on the phone while Walter sent out the signal to rally the 302s. Jack called Hammond and confirmed the codes. Hammond put the world on alert. Baal was a few hours away.
Jack called the Heaven's Bow and had them put him and Teal'c down at HomeSec. The bells and whistled were going off at his office, too, as they ran through the corridors, startling everyone who thought he was off-world. He ran into his office and grabbed the phone out of the hands of his faint admin who was staring at him as though she had seen a ghost. Jack hit the speed dial.
"Daniel! Round up the kids and get them off-world!"
Hammond met Jack while Teal'c went to take command of the small fighter squadron that was kept on base.
"The Joint Chiefs are putting the military on alert and letting our allies know what's going on," he reported. "What is going on?"
"Baal slipped us the finger," Jack said as they hurried down the hall. "He got into subspace before we could fire a shot. He's headed here. T and I jumped in through a gate, the rest of the fleet is on the way."
All the Yards had been busy while they were away, and many new 302s began to buzz angrily in the air all over the planet. Jack's only fear was that the pilots were untried. He met Teal'c outside and hurried to a waiting 302, pausing long enough to get into a flight suit. They had to meet Baal long before he got to the planet.
Jack rounded up the troops the moment he hit air. Sam and Col. Jeffries showed up on his wing.
Baal came out of subspace near Saturn. Much to his shock, Tau'ri were there to meet him. The weapons of the 302s were hardly a match for a hatok, but the 303s were only minutes behind Baal so they kept him busy, stalling him while they waited for the rest of the fleet. Death gliders were picked off. 303s suddenly appeared and gliders immediately exited the hanger bays to join the games. The alien ally ships had stayed behind to deal with the remainder of Baal's fleet.
The shields around Baal's ship had been strengthened; the 303s were unable to get a shot through them.
"Playing with Anubis' toys?" Sam called out over the radio.
"Looks like it," Jack responded.
They dodged in and out of death glider fire, Jack at the wheel while Teal'c took care of firepower. He could sense Baal on the hatok; Baal was angry, shocked, and yet worried. Never had so many non-Goa'uld taken out Goa'uld ships before. Their 302 shuddered.
"O'Neill!" Teal'c yelled.
"Yeah, T, sorry," Jack responded. No mental multi-tasking in the middle of a space battle…
"T, there has to be some place on that ship that is vulnerable," Jack said, thinking out loud. "Nothing is perfect." They dodged another blast from the ship.
"Sam!" Jack called out. "How are those weapons able to get out if the shields let nothing in? Wouldn't they phase out along the inside of the shields like ours do on the outside?"
"Good question," she responded. "Give me a minute."
They each took out several more death gliders as Sam thought about Jack's ruminations.
"Ok, the way our weapons work is that the ship's computer automatically tracks the weapon," Sam said, thinking out loud. "When we lock onto a target, the computer makes note of it and fluctuates the field which allows….target their gun muzzles!"
Jack immediately changed course direction and placed them in direct line with one of the hatok's weapons. He took weapons control and fired the moment he saw a spark of energy. He spun them away. When he turned them around, that section of shield was down and the surrounding ship's surface was crackling with angry energy. The comm. channels were loud with shouts from the other pilots. All the sharp-shooters took center stage and targeted the gun muzzles on the enemy. The mothership tried to escape the moment Baal realized what the insane Tau'ri were doing. While 303's kept him corralled, several more sections of shield went down and the remaining 302's began targeting the ship itself until an entire corner began to glow.
"It's going to blow!" Markham called out over the pilot channel. "Everyone get out of the way. Far out of the way!"
302's scattered like startled mice, heading out into space in all 360 degree directions from Baal's ship. The Prometheus gave the hatok one more blast through a downed shield section and the 303's also scattered.
The mothership blew up with a nuclear sized explosion.
Screams of joy were heard on the headsets.
"Drinks are on me!" Jack announced.
Debris rained down on the Earth, the chunks of naquadah creating spectacular fireworks against the ozone. Someone started singing We Are the Champions, and by the time they returned to the planet, even Teal'c was rumbling badly into the radio.
302s landed in the now legendary field where it all started. Pilots jumped out and fell on their faces as they kissed the snow covered ground. It wasn't too long until local families showed up to find their heroes. Jack caught Sam in his arms and swung her around. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her as they kissed long and hard.
Helicopters showed up, cameramen hanging out.
"Someone get those peeping toms out of my airspace!" Jack ordered over his radio. He went back to kissing his wife. A short time later, the rest of his family was beamed in front of him. Jack caught the children, squeezing them hard. He could not believe how big Olivia had grown. He kissed the crying, scared baby and handed her to Sam. He yanked Daniel into his arms and kissed him. They slipped on the snow and Jack fell on top of him. The children laughed as they continued kissing.