Translations: Epilogue (19b/19)
Title: Translations ( Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen.
Chapter1 Chapter2 Chapter3 Chapter4a-- 4b Chapter5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10 Chapter11 Chapter12 Chapter13 Chapter14 Chapter15 Chapter16a-- 16b Chapter17a-- 17b Chapter18 EpilogueA-- B
4 May 1998
"You've been a participant--willing or not--on a few missions that were less than safe," General Hammond reminded him. "I hope that isn't the type of thing you're hoping to do more often."
This would be a tricky point, too. "No, sir, not at the moment," Daniel said carefully.
"Not 'at the moment'?"
"I--well, Dr. Rothman and I both believe it would be a good idea to increase civilian researchers' participation off-world," Daniel said. "I realize that's not a simple thing. What I'm asking is to be allowed to continue to learn with Teal'c, or undergo any other training necessary. If I learn to defend myself well enough--eventually--then any team I'm with won't be more burdened than necessary with trying to protect me."
The general pursed his lips. "Even assuming that I'd be willing to allow it, you've just presented a good argument about why you're useful here, on base."
"Captain Carter's expertise is useful on base as well," Daniel pointed out, "but her going off-world with SG-1 doesn't interfere with her other duties. First-contact situations are the ones in which language abilities and knowledge of mythology are most needed. We might be missing opportunities because we don't understand what the natives are saying, or if there's always a delay relaying information across the Stargate."
"The dilemma there," General Hammond said, "is that first-contact situations are also the riskiest. That's why we don't send civilians on those missions."
"Yes, sir, but two exceptions--my parents were sent on the very first mission of this kind, because of their cultural and linguistic expertise. They were essential for starting the Stargate program and saving lives, fifteen years ago and again this past year. And second...in the alternate reality, SG-1 didn't suffer from having the alternate...well, a civilian with them. Earth, in our reality, would be destroyed now if he hadn't been on a first-contact team."
"Mr. Jackson," the general said delicately, "all three of the people you mentioned are no longer with us. That is my point."
"I...I know, sir," he replied. "I haven't forgotten that. But all of the original SG-7, and several other good people here, have been killed, despite--and, in some cases, maybe even because--of their military training. No, no, all I mean," he said hastily when the general's frown deepened, "is that the military cannot prepare its officers for off-world diplomacy when we're just learning about it now as we go. Sometimes, another point of view might be useful. Necessary, even."
"SG-1 is our flagship team," the general pointed out, "which is why they benefit from being the most diverse of all our teams."
"Yes, but... Even for SG-1's first-contact missions... Teal'c has often been acting as the...spokesperson for the team when there are linguistic issues. I'm sure he's a good spokesperson," he added quickly, "but he could help in other ways if he weren't always burdened with that part." When he found Jack staring at him, he amended, "I was just using SG-1 as an example. Not because there's anything wrong with your record."
"We have found several Goa'uld planets where I was unable to facilitate communication," Teal'c put in. "Many times, if I am able to speak their language, they also know enough of Jaffa to fear me, or have heard of Teal'c the shol'va from the Goa'uld who rules there. Daniel Jackson is correct that I am trained first for battle and would serve better were this not a problem."
"Research and exploration are important objectives to this program," the general said, "but that doesn't change the fact that we're starting to fight a war here, on top of other dangers."
"I'm not asking to go into danger completely unprepared," Daniel said. "I'm asking you to let me train with whoever is willing to teach me. I heard about the new regulations for new SG team members, that they have to pass physical tests and be able to respond to various situations--if I can meet those requirements, eventually, I'd ask you to consider it then."
General Hammond sighed. "I won't promise you a place on a team now. That will come if and when you are able to meet our requirements, and it certainly not soon. When that time comes, I might reevaluate our policy on civilian off-world travelers."
"Actually," Robert said, "I'd like to suggest that you start reevaluating it now, if there are researchers willing to be assigned to field teams. Whether or not Daniel's allowed, there are more civilian than military scientists here, and sometimes we could be useful in the field."
"Are you volunteering, Dr. Rothman?" the general said.
"If...necessary, then yes, I'm willing to, but I'm happy staying home and going on occasional, purely research missions. But if someone wants permanent assignment on an off-world team...well, the military does work in combat zones with civilian contractors, so there are regulations in place to handle that."
"I'll keep it in mind," the general allowed reluctantly. "If someone volunteers, I'll consider it on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Jackson," he added, "in your case, the answer is 'no.' Later, I might consider it, if you can prove yourself to me and to one of our teams."
"I understand," Daniel said quickly, knowing he was unlikely to get any more. Even if the general agreed, it would be some time before most commanders here were comfortable commanding him, and uneasiness like that wasn't good for a team.
The general gave him a searching look. "Would the elder of your town on Abydos agree to let you stay with us, knowing that you would probably be safer with them?"
"Yes, sir, I think he would, once I tell him why."
"And what will you tell him?"
Daniel hesitated, then said, "I'll ask him to let me work with and fight for the people who freed Nagada and Abydos from Ra. To let me work for the people who may have a chance to save his children--my brother and sister. I'll tell him that I've made my choice."
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2 May 1998; SGC, Earth; 0800 hrs
"You have made your choice, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said when Daniel stepped into the gym that morning.
"You know I have. I made it a while ago."
"But now you have seen what it means to fight a battle. It is not the same as the stories tell."
He thought of a night spent huddled in the corner of a prison on Chulak, of Sam's face as she led Cassandra to her death, of running through lines of enemy Jaffa carrying a bomb meant to kill each and every one aboard the ship, and he shook his head. "No. It's not the same." He hesitated, then asked, "Did you know them? The Serpent Guards aboard the hatak vessels?"
Teal'c's mouth dipped into a frown. "Indeed. I trained many of them myself."
"And... If somehow, you had a chance to..."
"I would do it again," Teal'c told him evenly. "And so you now know that a victory can bring as much sorrow as a defeat."
"That's...encouraging," Daniel tried to joke weakly.
"That is the nature of war."
He swallowed and looked away, repeating, "My choice." He fingered his bashaak, turning it slowly and shifting it from hand to hand. "Teal'c--is all of this for revenge?" he asked finally.
Teal'c remained perfectly still, but his eyes brightened almost hungrily. "Yes."
"What happens if Apophis is killed? What do you do if...when the last Goa'uld that hurt you is dead or gone? Is that it?"
"Indeed not. Then I will fight for my wife and son, and for my people. There is vengeance to be taken for the past, Daniel Jackson, but there is also a future to protect."
Daniel gripped his practice staff and nodded, accepting, if not completely happy. He wasn't a child anymore; he couldn't expect everything to be happy. "Okay."
"Stop," Teal'c ordered suddenly. A little confused, since he hadn't actually started anything yet, Daniel nonetheless straightened and planted his staff upright on the mat in the formal resting position. Teal'c crossed the distance between them and pulled Daniel's free arm toward himself. With a gentleness that always surprised Daniel, no matter how many times he saw it, the Jaffa touched the band around his wrist. "Your brother gave this to you. It is a mark of strength to those on Abydos?"
"Not to everyone," he answered, unsure what Teal'c was doing, but trusting, not resisting. "Just...just to my brother."
Teal'c nodded once, then wrapped another length of thin, plain cord around his wrist above Skaara's, tying it off with deft fingers. "This leather was cut from the uniform I wore as a Jaffa warrior. Wear it as a mark of defiance against what the Goa'uld represent. Wear it as a mark of strength, not to all Jaffa, perhaps, but to your teacher. Tai'ya teal'c ya daru, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel stared at him a moment longer after Teal'c released his arm, then lowered himself to one knee, his bashaak flat on the ground in front of him and his right fist over his heart. "Kel sha, Tek'ma'tae. Tai'ya teal'c ya daru."
"Kree lo'sek!"
He rose immediately and snapped to attention, the response automatic now. Teal'c stepped back and held his bashaak in one hand, inviting the first move.
"Kree ka," he said. "Are you prepared to commit yourself fully this time, chal'ti?"
"Yes." Daniel raised the staff, preparing to attack. He was committed. He had made his choice. "I am prepared."
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4 May 1998
"Then there's your status on Earth to consider," General Hammond said. "To people here, you're a fourteen-year-old boy who has no business living, much less working, on a military base. Even the best students your age who wanted to work for the DoD would never be recruited for an operation as classified as this."
"Yes, sir, I know," Daniel said. "That's one part where I would need your help, as well as your permission."
"If I can cut in, General," Jack spoke up for the first time, "Teal'c lives on base, and he's had records created for anytime he needs to go out into the world. We could do something similar for Daniel--legally, he actually should be a US citizen, sir, by right of blood, and it's not like anyone officially knows that we're all that classified."
"How would his absence and sudden appearance be explained, then?" the general asked.
"Born abroad and currently serving as a representative from his...nation, or as a foreign volunteer in our operations. If Kasuf is willing to let Daniel stay and help us, he's got as much claim to that as Teal'c, who is, technically, a fugitive to his people. No offence, Teal'c."
"And this base would be his home?" the general said. "Your endorsement of this is what surprises me the most, Colonel. I remember you arguing more than anyone else about how it wasn't the right environment for someone to grow up." Daniel couldn't help letting his eyes drift over to Jack; he'd never known that before. "You've changed your mind about that?"
"No, sir," Jack said without hesitation. Daniel tensed. "I still don't think a military base is the right place for anyone to spend virtually his entire life. I don't even think it's right for Teal'c to be stuck here. But Daniel's asking to stay on Earth to help the SGC. If we're not going to let him do that, then he'd go back to Abydos."
The general looked briefly at Daniel, then back. "And this would be a bad thing, in your opinion? Going back to his home, rather than serving as part of the first line of defense for this planet?"
Instead of answering directly, Jack said, "Daniel, where would you go if you couldn't stay with us, here?"
Not sure where this was leading--he hadn't prepared for this--Daniel replied, "Abydos, of course. I would try to keep relations with Earth open."
"And keep the Stargate open, too. Which means people could travel to other planets."
"Well...well, yes, if... I do know the addresses of several safe planets that could be explored or researched."
"By now, you also know the addresses to several unsafe planets," Jack pointed out.
"Of course, but--"
"Like Chulak?"
Daniel's eyes widened in surprise. "I never told anyone I was thinking about--" He cut himself off.
Robert blinked at him, and Sam leaned forward in her chair. Jack nodded resignedly, as if he'd been expecting that, though Daniel knew he'd never mentioned it before; he'd barely even thought it before. It had just been whispering through his thoughts, these days, as he was thinking about the future... He dropped his eyes, not wanting to meet their gazes.
General Hammond looked bewildered. "You've been thinking about going to Chulak? Why?"
Daniel swallowed. "No, I haven't...really. But they don't need me on Abydos, in the long term, and the only planets I know with any sort of organized Goa'uld resistance are Earth and Chulak."
"Whether or not Apophis survived the attack on his ships, Chulak is a planet heavily dominated by Goa'uld and Goa'uld followers, Mr. Jackson."
He opened his mouth to explain, but Teal'c understood his meaning and beat him to it. "It is also a planet where the seeds of a rebellion have been planted."
"Daniel," Sam said incredulously. "You can't actually think--"
"I don't," Daniel said, trying not to become flustered. "I haven't actually... It's just...one thing I've thought of. Briefly. It's not like I want...or that I've made plans to..." He exhaled and glared at Jack, who watched him in return, his expression blank.
"Dr. Jackson from the alternate reality said something like that to me and Teal'c," Jack said unexpectedly. "Because it was the only other planet of resistance, and he didn't care if he died."
"Daniel Jackson, your greatest strength in this war is your mind," Teal'c told him. "Do not throw that away."
"I'm not planning to," Daniel said immediately, more than a little disturbed to learn that some version of himself had been ready and willing to throw his life away. "I'm not...desperate or acting irrationally, and...and I can be a good resource if I'm given the chance," he recovered. "Let me be useful to you here, General. That's all I'm asking."
"My point, sir," Jack said, calmly, "was that Daniel isn't going to sit back and do nothing. He could be a good 'resource,'" he said reluctantly, "though that's not the word I'd use. This is just a matter of making the best use of his...brain."
General Hammond looked between him and Jack. "I'm not denying that we could make use of his skills. I'm wondering whether we should."
"Daniel shouldn't have been here helping us from the beginning. I wish he weren't involved. But he was, and he's here now. Whether that's our fault, or his, or the Goa'uld's, that's how it is. I wouldn't say this lightly," Jack added, "but after everything, I think he's earned a chance to help us, if that's what he wants. It might even be safer than letting him go off on his own."
"Maybe so, but at the very least, you've pointed out yourself that this place isn't meant to be a permanent living space," the general said. "Teal'c's choices may be limited simply because he stands out more, but that isn't the case for a young human."
"The majority of the time," Daniel said, "I would ask to be allowed to continue living here, sir, if you'd allow that." He hesitated, then continued, "Colonel O'Neill...uh, has offered..."
"Officially, he'll live in my house," Jack said, "until he's able to make his own arrangements or he decides to return to his homeworld. Obviously, he can't drive to or from here on his own, so in practice, he'd stay on base a lot when my schedule doesn't match with his, the way other SGC personnel have rooms here to spend the night occasionally. It's not perfect, but it's better than never seeing anything but gray walls."
The general rubbed a hand over his mouth. "You've given this a lot of thought. You really want to do this."
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1 May 1998; SGC, Earth, 1400 hrs
"So you really want to do this," Jack said once Daniel finished explaining everything to him. Daniel didn't bother replying, since they both knew what the answer was. "I'm not going to argue with you about it anymore."
It still surprised him, even though it was what Daniel had been hoping for. "Okay. Well. Thank you."
"You know," Jack said abruptly, "I've never told you this. I wasn't sure I should, since it was just a joke at the time. I didn't want you to get the wrong idea." Jack swiveled a little from side to side in his chair, looking casual, though Daniel suspected he was anything but.
That was what people didn't understand about Jack. They assumed it was easy to see what he was thinking, because when he was angry he wasn't shy about yelling; he wasn't like Teal'c, who was very much controlled all the time unless he was about to rip someone's head off with his bare hands. Daniel had spent so much time talking to Teal'c that he could tell, usually, when the Jaffa was teaching a lesson or angry or pleased or joking. Jack was different. He exploded sometimes, but when he was really mad or really upset or really thinking hard about something, he looked and acted almost exactly the way he did when he just didn't care.
So Daniel eyed Jack's unreadable face and asked, cautiously, "What is it?"
The chair stopped moving. "The night your parents were killed," Jack started, and Daniel was proud that he could hear that now and not react, "they told me...just as a joke, you understand...that they'd trust me with their first-born son."
Daniel let that slither around in his mind for a while until he was sure he understood. "I haven't been trying to take your Charlie's place, Jack," he said finally, deciding he would sort out the hurt and curiosity and confusion after they'd finished talking. "And I'm sure it was just an expression they were using. I'm sorry if it's made you feel obligated to--"
"Shut up a minute," Jack cut him off. "In the beginning, yeah, we all felt obligated, because you were a traumatized kid and we felt like we owed it to your parents."
Daniel opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't a 'traumatized kid,' only to close it again, because that was certainly how he'd acted. He felt his jaw start to tighten and forced out, "I understand. And thank you. But...please don't feel like you have to--"
"Dammit, Daniel," Jack said, but it was quiet, not sharp and angry like it usually was when Jack said that. "That's not what I'm saying. If you can't tell that it's not like that anymore, at least with me and Teal'c and Carter, then you're not as smart as Rothman says you are. It hasn't been like that since the first days after we brought you here."
For several moments, Daniel stood still, trying to figure out just what Jack was saying, then gave up and admitted, "I don't know what you're saying."
"At first, we tried to look after you because we had to," Jack explained. "Now, we want to look out for you because...because it turns out you're not a huge pain in the...mika."
"Mik'ta," Daniel corrected automatically without thinking.
"Okay, yeah, you are, actually," Jack amended, "but we don't mind. That's what I'm saying."
He hadn't missed the change from 'look after' to 'look out for,' and wondered if it was intentional. "I want to tell you I don't need someone to look out for me, but I guess that's not very convincing after I've cried on you."
"It's not about that. You're a stronger person at fourteen--almost fifteen--than plenty of good men I know," Jack said, not with the false lightness used to bolster someone's spirits, but completely seriously, in a way that made Daniel want to stand up straighter. "God knows you've had more than enough to cry about, but you've always gotten back on your feet. That's not bad, kid."
Jack stood suddenly and dug a hand into his pocket. "Here," he said gruffly, holding something out. When Daniel hesitated, he rolled his eyes and pulled out Daniel's hand, unceremoniously stuffing something into the palm.
"A...key?" Daniel asked. He tried to decide whether Jack wanted him to retrieve something, or if it meant something else. "I don't understand."
"You can't live underground forever. It's to my house--you know where the spare bedroom and everything is. That key'll get you in, even if I'm not there.
"But I can't get to your house if you're not there," he pointed out, feeling particularly slow.
"Well, in case you catch a ride there with someone, then," Jack said. "Or you hitchhike or hotwire a car, or...Daniel, it's supposed to be a...a symbol."
"Of what?" he asked stupidly.
"Of...just..." Jack glared at him, dropping back into his seat. "It's a home. I know you'll probably be on base most of the time, but you need somewhere you can go to...you know, get away from things. Just a place to stay when you need or want to get out of the Mountain."
"Jack," Daniel said, fingering the grooves on the key, "I wouldn't ask you to... You don't have to feel like, just because my parents said--"
"This isn't about your parents or feeling obligated. Me, Carter, and Teal'c..." He paused, then said, "Remember Christmas, at Sam's house?"
The memory alone filled him with a tiny glow of contentedness, of longing and belonging all at once. "Of course I remember."
"It's not the same as being with your family, I know, but..."
"But family doesn't have to be blood," Daniel said, remembering the feeling of warmth from their makeshift Christmas dinner, casual and comfortable and careless for the day. Then he remembered the regret he'd felt afterward, knowing he'd be leaving them if he went back to Abydos, and he knew he'd be leaving family no matter which choice he made. "Family is the people it hurts to lose." He turned the key over in his fingers, peeking up through his bangs.
Something flickered through Jack's eyes too quickly for Daniel to read, before he quirked a half-smile. "Very glass-half-empty of you, but maybe...maybe." He paused a few more beats, then said, "Another thing...Carter said she mentioned adoption to you."
Daniel froze. "Yes," he said carefully, the key growing heavy in his hand. "She did, but--"
"I know you told her you didn't want that," Jack interrupted, starting to swivel in his chair again. "Usually, I'd say you were wrong, but you were getting ready to be an adult by the time we found you. I understand that you might not be looking for new parents now. I don't exactly like that, I won't lie to you, but I'm not sure we have the right to force you to do things our way, either. I just want you to know, if you've changed your mind since then--I'm offering, Daniel."
Daniel looked away again, a lump beginning to itch at his throat. "If I'd wanted anyone to offer, Jack, it would be you. Don't think that I don't understand how much you've done for me since I got here. Or how much it means that you'd be willing to...to take me in."
"But 'no'?" Jack said gently.
"If...if I'd been younger, or if I'd been raised here, or some other things hadn't happened..." He rubbed his fingers over the key one more time, savoring the feel, then slowly held it back out. "I don't think I can. I'm going to ask the general to be allowed to work here, as an adult--I have to take responsibility with that, too."
Jack reached out, but, instead of taking the key, he closed Daniel's fingers back over it and pushed it back. "Doesn't matter. The house is still open to you. Now, I--we're all still gonna treat you like you're younger than we are, because you are. Go and be responsible for yourself, if that's what you want, but everyone needs a few friends to look out for them sometimes."
Daniel mulled over that for a long time, then carefully tucked the key inside his pocket. "Thank you. Thank you, Jack, for... If there's anything I can do to repay y--"
"Don't get yourself killed," Jack interrupted. "For real, this time. That's enough for me." He hesitated, then said, "And laugh a little more, kid. Happy Solstice."
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4 May 1998
"A representative from Abydos," General Hammond said. "I think the right people could be convinced to allow it on those grounds, but don't expect them to grant you privileges, or to treat you as anything more than a student, or an intern assisting Dr. Rothman."
Not sure what all of that meant, Daniel glanced reflexively toward SG-1 on the other side of the table. Jack answered for him, "He's not asking for diplomatic privileges. He'll be responsible for following all of Earth's laws and SGC rules while he's here, or he'll take the consequences like anyone else. And if he ends up meeting someone outside the SGC, obviously, he understands that he won't be treated as an Abydonian spokesperson." Jack looked at him, and he nodded quickly.
"I would never expect something like that, General," Daniel said. "I'd be getting special treatment by being allowed to work here at all, and I know I am still a student, in reality and on paper; I'm not asking for more."
"And," the general reminded him, "if there are still people who doubt your good intentions, or those of Abydos--and there always will be those suspicious of anything alien to Earth--official status won't erase those doubts."
"I understand."
"As long as it's also understood," Jack added with a hint of warning, "that as long as Daniel follows our laws, any higher-ups will follow them, too, in dealing with those suspicions, and not treat him as an alien with no human rights."
"You mean that he should be afforded the rights of any other person of this world, as long as he follows the laws like any other person of this world," the general summarized. "You'd be willing to do that, Mr. Jackson? Become a citizen of Earth, instead of Abydos, in all practical senses?"
I'll always be an Abydon, he thought. But it doesn't mean I can't be a Tau'ri, too, sometimes. He had a place here by right of blood, Jack had said--by his parents' blood. He would carry out his parents' work, in his parents' world, for the sake of his own. "Yes, sir," Daniel said. "If that's what it takes."
"I've been wondering for a while now whether this was coming," General Hammond said. Daniel raised his eyebrows a little in surprise. "As much as I know you could be an asset to us, especially after some time to learn with the people here, I had some doubts about whether allowing it would be the right thing to do. In fact, I still do."
Daniel's stomach dropped, and he opened his mouth to try one last time, but the general continued before he could.
"Since you seem to have convinced some of my best people, however, on their advice, I'll allow it. On a provisional basis," he added. "I'll give you until the Abydos 'gate opens on..."
"August seventeenth," Sam and Jack said at the same time before he had a chance to fill it in.
"August seventeenth, then," the general said. "You have just over three months to show me that you can handle this without negatively affecting anyone or any operation here. Like any other person working here, if you can't keep up, I will put an end to it."
"Yes, sir," Daniel said, relieved. There was sorrow, too, waiting at the back of his mind, but he'd expected that, and he'd deal with it later.
"At some point during that time, I'll need to discuss with you, and Dr. Rothman, a few other things--mostly administrative business, including exactly what your story would be for anyone you meet outside of the SGC, and exactly how you would be handling your time and work. For now, however, I'd like to see if you can make this arrangement work out. When the Abydos 'gate opens, you'll ask the elder about cooperating with Earth's efforts against the Goa'uld..."
"Yes, sir, I'll speak to him as soon as I go through."
"...And you will ask him for his permission for you to stay and work at the SGC. If he doesn't agree to it, then I won't either." The general took a minute to search each of their faces. "Is there anything else you'd like to add? Any of you?"
"That's everything," Rothman said, echoed by Jack's "No, sir."
"Thank you, General," Daniel said, and included the rest of them in his look as he promised, "I won't let you down."
General Hammond looked down at the table, then nodded and stood. They rose with him. "I know you won't, son. And, Daniel..." He extended a hand, and after a second, Daniel reached out to clasp it in return. "Welcome to Stargate Command."
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FIN
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Sequel: Diplomacy
Final Notes:
I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I did. This was the longest writing project I've ever tried, and I'm surprised (but glad) that I made it all the way to here.
In case you're wondering about issues I left hanging, there are sequels, which is part of the reason why this chapter ended up being as much setup as resolution. They generally follow the Stargate: SG-1 arc, though obviously, things were different here, already, and things will diverge more and more in the later parts of my universe as well. Major plot elements will remain present, if not exactly the same. Book 2, "Diplomacy," is posted, and you can expect more off-worldliness as Daniel sheds more and more of his age restrictions, more Abydos, and plot-twists galore.
Please leave feedback--thank you very much for following me this far!