CHAPTER 10 GENERALS

Just what the hell was it about generals... John wondered. Damn, they were big... and scary. He thought briefly about General O'Neill, his own commanding officer based out of Stargate Command in Colorado Springs. The man was huge and a little scary to look at, but underneath it all, the interior of a pussy cat. Looking up at the forbidding general who stood before him, giving him a not so pleasant once over with his ice blue eyes, he mentally cringed. This was no pussy cat. The man probably crapped diamond chips, hell he looked as though diamond chips would be a very quick result if coal was shoved up his ass. And had to bite down on the bark of laughter that threatened to erupt and quickly schooled his features to show suitable respect for the large man with the formidable face that stood facing him now, likely wondering just what the hell he was doing on this island with his daughter. Damned if I know General... damned if I know...

John was the first to place his hand out in the gesture to shake and with no hesitation at all the General took it. His grip was firm, exceptionally so but not to the point where it was a pissing contest between the two men. Respect in every nuance of his posture, John looked him in the eye and saw the wary respect come into the general's. They would be fine. He sensed immediately that the general was a good man - a tough one yes, but the love in his eyes when he looked at his daughter was clear and while Gina may have chosen to see otherwise, John chose to acknowledge it. And his direct stare into the ice blue eyes of the general, told the senior man exactly where his thoughts lay.

"Daddy - what a surprise. I only saw you yesterday - is something wrong?" Gina pretended innocence and John's sideways glance at her crystalline blue eyes showed lowered lashes as she attempted to sweet talk her father and had to push down a laugh at the resolute look in the general's eyes. This was a long playing game, in which John suspected,there were never any winners.

"Heard there was a stranger on the island. Came over to see for myself - to make sure you've not gotten yourself into any more trouble." And it was the dejected slump of Gina's shoulders that had John stepping closer to her and pulling himself up even taller, effectively letting her father know that maybe he was trouble, but not the sort he assumed.

"Colonel John Sheppard, US Airforce - General, sir!" John stood to attention, something he only reserved for general's and brought his hand up in a crisp salute. He watched the general's eyes change, saw the shift in focus and watched the information begin to process.

"Stationed where, Colonel?" The shift in his eyes again, noting the lack of uniform but knew by the man's bearing and presence that he was indeed military.

"That would be where the story becomes a little less clear cut - sir...I don't suppose you've heard of the stargate programme?" He felt Gina beside him, felt her tense and the sharp intake of breath as she realised what he was about to do. And watched the general's eyes, saw the telltale flicker and gave a small smile. The general knew something, that much was immediately clear.

"I might have heard a little buzz about it - what do you have to do with it?" The general's eyes had hardened now and John knew that he had registered the implication of what the programme stood for and knew that the Colonel standing in front of him was more, much more than what he imagined.

Gina broke through the tension that had started to build. She pulled on her father's arm, and shooting John a look from beneath her still slightly lowered lashes, she went to usher to father up the beach and toward her cottage. "Let's go inside Daddy. It's a long story. John needs help, the sort of help that only someone with your connections can find for him. We need to get him home.. "

Seated at the small table in the kitchen, John desperately wanted to know just how much information the general was privy to about the stargate programme. He had known that work was underway in the sixties to find out how to worked, but he had thought it began later. This did not appear to be the case. The general knew something and if this was true, perhaps some sort of help would be available on this side of his time travel.

John started his story and watched carefully, the general's reaction. Gina appeared restless and jumped up from time to time to pour drinks, make lunch and sometimes just to stand behind John's chair giving him show of support she though he needed. And each time that she did this, John saw her father's eyes sharpen. The older man knew that something was growing between his daughter and the Colonel who sat across from the table from him and was not sure how he felt about it. He told the general more than what he needed to know, felt the relief of getting if off his chest so that perhaps he could give someone the chance to help him.

"You live in another galaxy? You are fighting a war against an alien species that feeds off human life force? Hell son, I've watched my share of science fiction and grew up like any other little boy - looking to the stars and wanting to fly to the moon. What you say is too detailed not to be the truth - and I sense in you that it is the truth. I consider myself an excellent judge of character, I read all the nuances in people and know exactly when a truth becomes a lie. I see only the truth. But time travel? This is beyond anything we can do more than theorize about now. I'm sure you've been told all this from my daughter. She's the physicist in the family. She will understand the limitations more than anybody."

John felt that restlessness take him over again and impatiently he ran his hand through his hair and pushed his chair away from the table. Gina swung her gaze to her, saw the agitation in his stance and tried to calm him with her eyes. And failed.

'I know this is a lot to take in General, and with all due respect sir, may I speak frankly here?"

"Go ahead son, we're not on the base at the moment. Let's keep it a little more casual for now. What do you want to say." The general felt a connection with the younger man, as though they shared more than a thread through the last fifty years and more than a little envy at what this very lucky Colonel had been fortunate to be able to do in his career. He longed to take a walk on the beach with him, man to man, not General to Colonel and speak freely about the things that John had seen, and the craft he had flown and the battles he had waged. He also saw the way that his daughter looked at him and wanted nothing more than to stop the hurt he knew would be sure to bloom once the Colonel went back to his own time line. If he went back to his own time line.

"Do you have connections Sir, at the base? Do you know of anyone who is working on the stargate programme? I saw your eyes when I first mentioned it. I saw that it wasn't the first time you had heard of it. If you can introduce me - I know I'm not supposed to intereact with anyone in this time line, I know that the consequences could be far reaching. I don't know what to do. And that scares me more than anything General. I'm used to being in charge. I'm used to being the one to make the decisions to look after my team. My superior officer is another galaxy away. I answer to myself, most of the time and this time, I can't fix this myself. I need my team. I need your help. Or failing that, I wait and hope that they are doing something to find a way to get me home."

The general stood now, knowing that he needed to go back to base and try to make some very discreet inquiries. "Tomorrow Colonel. I'll see what I can do from my end and we'll talk again tomorrow. There's a few names, a few favours I'm owed, but I'll keep it as discreet as I can. You hit the nail on the head with the possible consequences of interference. We need to be sure, that what we do can cause no ripples down the line."

He bent to kiss his daughter on this cheek and shook John's hand. "It's been a pleasure to meet you Colonel. A pleasure indeed. Makes me proud to know that our future is in the hands of someone like yourself. And what a wonderful feeling to know that we made it to the stars." He flicked a salute at John and this was promptly returned. Ingrained habit and this brought a smile to his face. Then felt Gina's hand touch his neck lightly as her father walked out of sight and thought he would burst if he didn't take her into his arms now.

She moaned slightly as she moulded herself to him. "Not many men win my father over John, but he showed you respect and that is a hard thing to win from my father."

"He's a good man Gina. Go a little easier on him. Now come here - I need to do something that your father would likely not approve of..." He laughed, running his hands up and under her tshirt, feeling no bra and hearing her breath come a little quicker as his hands flickered over her tight nipples.

"Mmmm..." she sighed. "Nice... don't stop..."

"Aaah, but there's other places to explore... just as soft, just as sweet..." His hands left her breasts and eased down to her cotton shorts and fitted in under her waist band to cup her soft bottom. Kneading slightly he heard her soft moans and felt her own hands begin their exploration and his trousers were unzippered quickly and easily. She grasped him and slid her fingers backwards and forwards under the tightness and smiled as his own breathing became just a little ragged. She pushed his down onto the seat again and quickly removing her shorts and panties, she climbed onto his lap, a wicked smile on her face.

"Ok, so like that hmmm?"

"Like that Colonel... " and she purred as she slid over his hard length and felt the immediate build up of friction. He reached around to cup her bottom again, and slid his finger under, lower and looking up into her eyes now, he saw that they were brilliantly blue and wide open, watching him. She dropped her head to kiss him hard and when she cried out she was still kissing him.

They didn't move for a long while. Holding her tight against him felt wonderful and when she finally stirred it was to suggest a late afternoon swim before dinner and it was only a very small part of his mind that remained back in the Pegasus galaxy wondering just how his friends were coming along with their rescue plans...