Chapter 10: Offers

It was the nicest conference room that Jack had ever seen. Part of it was the view. Looking straight out into space was a nice touch, but not something they could duplicate in the conference room in Cheyenne Mountain. The décor, on the other hand, could have used some sprucing up. Jack wasn't sure how, but he was sure it was a fashion disaster in any century.

The captain was seated at the head of the table, like General Hammond, and there was an open seat to his left, like where Jack sat at their own conference table. Daniel and Teal'c sat next to each other on the other side, and Sam sat next to where Jack supposed he would be sitting. He walked to the table, pulled the chair back, and took a seat.

"This seems important," Jack observed, looking at everyone around the table. The sudden rise in Daniel's eyebrows was an unmistakable expression of Ya think?

"I suppose it could be, Colonel," Captain Picard agreed. "All of you know I was speaking with the admirals and captains of Starfleet while we were docked at Starbase 83 for repairs."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Lovely place."

"Isn't it?" the captain asked, though Jack was sure that he meant it to be as sarcastic as Jack's comment was. "They were very impressed with my report of the performance of your weapons and… well, they have an offer for you. Each of you." Jack's heart skidded to a stop as he imagined everyone else's did, too. "Frankly, I'm as surprised as all of you," the captain admitted.

"An offer—you mean to work for them?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Captain Picard answered. "Colonel O'Neill, they've extended the offer for you to teach the use of your projectile weaponry at the Academy. It obviously does more damage against the Borg, and your expertise with them is an opportunity they don't want to pass up."

Jack almost said Yeah right, but didn't get the chance. Teaching was just one of those things he didn't consider himself… "suited for." "Major Carter, your assistance in Engineering and your capacity to learn quickly has gotten you an offer to work at Utopia Planetia shipyards to help design new weaponry for the ships that will be useful against the Borg."

"Captain…" Sam breathed. She didn't sound totally opposed to the idea, Jack thought. And that worried him.

"Teal'c, Lieutenant Worf has explained to me, in detail, how he believes you would be a great addition to a security team and that your knowledge in hand-to-hand combat far exceeds his own. If you are interested, there is a place for you here on the Enterprise, as a security chief alongside Mr. Worf."

Teal'c nodded, as though he thought it were a great honor, but as usual said nothing on the matter.

"Doctor Jackson…"

"Captain," he interrupted. "Not that I don't appreciate the honor, but I've got to keep looking for the Iconian gateways. I'm afraid that if I were to… to accept a position somewhere else," he started nervously cleaning his glasses, "that I would just get too busy for it."

"I realize that," the captain sighed. "And your work would largely be to search for these gateways. Your appearance has renewed interested in the Iconian legends and you, being the foremost expert we have on them at the moment, would be largely self-directed. You could go—do whatever you wished."

Jack was about to speak up that, as far as it was up to him, he wasn't leaving his team to go anywhere ever, but the captain said, "I don't expect an answer right now. We have time before we leave starbase on our next mission. But I would ask that you consider your options carefully."

Everyone fell silent until Sam got up and walked out of the conference room. Everyone else followed her and the captain went to the bridge. "Well, he's got a lot of nerve," Jack grumbled.

"I don't know, Jack," Sam sighed, and Jack was jarred by the first time on this trip that she hadn't called him Colonel. This wasn't a good sign. "I have combed over every bit of the sensor logs and studied the maps between Earth and the planet we landed on… there's nothing."

"We must continue looking, Major Carter," Teal'c insisted. "We do not belong in this universe and must get home."

"I don't know about that, Teal'c," Sam objected.

"Really, can any of us know that?" Daniel asked. Jack wanted to sock him across the jaw for that. Daniel seemed to notice his murderous glare. "I mean, who is to say what would happen down either path we take. Whatever we decide, the future… you know, it's at stake, and this isn't a decision that we can just make without considering the consequences."

Leave it to Daniel to philosophize everything, even the simplest little thing. "I am not teaching at their little Academy," Jack spoke up. "We're staying here and figuring out a way to get home."

"But, why, Jack?" Sam demanded. "There's nothing more that I can do! I'm sorry, guys, but my end of this business has been a failure. I've been staring at the sensor logs for coming up on two months with no progress. I'm no closer to figuring it out now than I was on our first day here. If the data isn't there, it just isn't there."

"You just want to work on putting big guns on spaceships," Jack accused. The instant he said it, he realized that actually sounded pretty cool.

"Yeah, actually," Sam agreed. "I want to help the Federation fight their enemies. It's no less than what we would do if we were back home."

"But we aren't home!" Jack reminded.

At that, Sam sighed. "I know. I know we aren't. But I don't… see it, Jack! There is no scientific reason that I can find with all the sensors of the Enterprise for us to be here and not on P-029T like we should be."

"So you're saying 'fate' did this to us?" Daniel asked. "I don't buy that."

"Well, what else to you want?" Sam demanded.

For a moment, they all stood in the hallway, glaring at each other. No one seemed to know what to say. Teal'c was staring at Sam, looking irrevocably sad. Daniel was thinking, like always, but it was hard to tell what exactly. Jack didn't know what he was thinking, and for a moment, he thought he wasn't. That wasn't very unusual, though…

Jack sighed and collected his thoughts. "What else…? We want to go home."

"I can't…" Sam sighed, shaking her head. "I can't help with that. Maybe, if Daniel can find a gateway, then maybe I could MacGyver something with their equipment to get us home, but I doubt it. I don't… I don't want to fool you guys into thinking that I can get us home, because I don't think I can."

Daniel looked at the wall next to him for a moment and then back at everyone. "Can we just… hold on a second?" he said and took a deep breath. Jack tapped his foot impatiently and Sam seemed just as anxious to get this conversation over with. "Sam, you can't just give up," he said finally. "I can't even tell cow from planet in Iconian yet; I know how you feel. I'm going to keep looking for these gateways. I don't care where they are or whether there are any or not. I'm still going to look."

"I'm not going to give up," Sam sighed in response. "Not really. I just… have you ever looked at something, the same thing, for so long that it started to lose its meaning entirely?"

Daniel smiled. "Yes. Of course."

Sam looked at Jack and went on, "I'm not giving up. I just think there are things for me to learn here. With the Federation."

Teal'c nodded. "I agree with Major Carter. The technology of this place surpasses our own. It may be worth the extra time for Major Carter to study it, as well as keep searching for a way home."

"What does this mean, though?" Daniel questioned. "Are we all going to just go to Utopia Planetia, then?"

Great question, Jack thought. He didn't think Daniel would be happy sitting around at Utopia Planetia when there were countless ancient alien cultures to investigate. Jack didn't think he would be too thrilled with it, either, after a couple of weeks. He was already tired of not working, but if teaching at the Academy was his only option, then he thought he might just not work for a while longer.

"I believe it would be most advantageous for me to remain on the Enterprise," Teal'c spoke up. "I will assist their security teams in learning hand-to-hand combat and fighting the Borg. They must also learn to be proficient with Tau'ri weapons, O'Neill, which I will teach them."

Daniel sighed, as though both relieved and sad that Teal'c had just said what he did. "I think it would be best for me to research the Iconians, like Captain Picard suggested. I'd have to see some dig sites and… travel around, though, and that doesn't really fit with the picture."

"Are we talking about splitting up?" Sam asked, her tone almost slightly panicked.

"No!" Jack snapped.

"Wait a second, Jack," Daniel interrupted. "I don't like the idea any more than you do, but… this could be the best option." He took off his glasses and looked at Sam. "You can continue your research at Utopia Planetia, right?"

"Yes…" Sam answered tentatively.

"And Teal'c can study the weapons they have on the Enterprise with Worf in case we can use them back home," Daniel went on.

"Indeed."

"Daniel," Jack said. "We aren't splitting up."

"Well, what do you suggest, then?" he asked.

Jack shrugged. This was it? This was how SG-1 was going to end? "Wherever we go, we go together."

"We split up off-world all the time," Daniel pointed out.

"Yeah, Daniel, you don't think this is a little different?" Jack asked sarcastically. Then he sighed and looked at all of them, knowing that they were at least a little right. Just a little bit. "Alright, so the plan is that Sam goes to Utopia Planet or whatever, Teal'c sticks around on the Enterprise, and Daniel goes gallivanting off though the galaxy looking for Iconians. Is that it?"

Daniel shrugged and Sam nodded. "That is it, O'Neill," Teal'c answered.

"Well, I don't like it," Jack muttered. "But I guess I see the advantage." He sighed. "This sucks."

Daniel smiled, laughing a little. "Yeah, it does."

"What will you do, Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, then.

"You probably wouldn't want to come with me, Colonel," Sam chuckled.

Jack smiled a little at her. Sam was going to be too busy with her kumbayah session with a bunch of Starfleet eggheads and probably wouldn't even notice that she was away. She routinely got lost in her own lab at SGC, so Jack wasn't too worried about her. Teal'c would be fine on his own; he always was. The only person going to places unknown totally alone was Daniel.

"You're right," Jack agreed, and looked at Daniel. "I guess you'll be on your own at a bunch of boring dig sites?"

"Probably in the beginning," Daniel agreed. "I think some other archaeologists will be joining me later on." Then he frowned and revised, "Maybe."

Jack nodded and considered a few more moments. "Well, then, I'll go to some of those… exhilarating dig sites with you."

"Um, no, really that's not necessary," Daniel said.

"Nonsense," Jack interrupted. "Sounds like one hell of a party. Wouldn't want to miss it."