Brotherhood (13b/27)
Title: Brotherhood ( Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen
Chapter1 Chapter2a-- 2b Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10a-- 10b Chapter11 Chapter12 Chapter13a-- 13b
13 November 1999; Sokar's Teltak; 1700 hrs
Jack leaned back against the wall. "So," he said, dredging up his last reserves to inject some cheer into his voice. Well, maybe 'last' was relative, because he'd dredged up his last reserves just a few hours ago, and apparently he still had some life left. "Anyone up for Scrabble?"
"We do not possess the necessary playing board," Teal'c said practically.
"Make it up," Jack said. "Just...say words out loud. Or something--anything."
Ironically, it was Jacob who seemed most amused by his attempts at levity. Then again, maybe that was because Jacob was in worse shape than any of them, even after getting off Netu, and the way things were going, they were going to starve, freeze, or suffocate in a stolen teltak, depending on whether their life support outlasted the supplies they'd found onboard--there were containers of something that might be water, although Jack hoped they didn't need to test those supplies before they died of thirst. Jacob was perhaps the only one who wouldn't die of boredom.
"Only," Jacob rasped, "if we get to use Goa'uld words."
"Funny," Jack said. "Teal'c and Daniel tried to do that the first time we taught them the game."
Without the hyperdrive, the only two places they could reach were Delmak and Netu, so their only other choice besides waiting for rescue was reentering atmosphere, attempting to land without dying ("With the ship in this condition and everyone gunning for us? Impossible," Jacob had said, and then, "No, seriously--impossible.") and then get out, break back into Sokar's palace, and steal another ship that probably wouldn't work any better, anyway. Jacob had laughed at that. ("Fine," Jack had conceded. "We'll make that plan B.")
But there was still a chance it wasn't all over, which meant they had to be alive, awake, and ready to take action if the chance came. He leaned his head back against the wall.
"O'Neill," Teal'c said suddenly. Jack turned to see his friend's concerned stare on him.
"I'm fine," Jack said, waving a dismissive hand.
"You are fevered," Martouf said, his attention drawn as well.
With a smirk, Jack pointed out, "You don't know fever until you've been in a stinking prison in a desert for a couple of months." If no one came for them by the time his leg got infected badly enough to actually matter, they'd probably all be dead, anyway. "It's not that bad," he said honestly. "Dehydration's not helping. Worry about Jacob."
Carter's voice shouted from the direction of the engine room, followed by a soft thump. "Damn," she added.
"Carter," Jack called tiredly. "You've been at that for hours. Stop and...and sit down."
A moment later, she appeared in the cargo area, one arm wrapped for some minimal support for whatever she'd wrenched in her wrist. "Sir, I've just started," she lied in the tone of someone so exhausted she didn't even realize she was lying. "I've been looking at the hyperdrive. It's based on a design similar to the naquadah reactor--kind of--I-I think--and I really think that, if I can just find something to repair the most crucial of the damaged circuits by finding some way to physically reroute the power from shields, which aren't functional anyway, to the--"
This time, Martouf shook his head and cut her off with a gentle, "Samantha, I have tried as well. Even if you were able to reach the hyperdrive and repair it without injuring yourself, there is simply not enough power remaining. There is nothing we can do. Please believe me."
"Sam, it's okay," Jacob said, reaching out a hand. "You did good, kid. Come here." Carter's face disappeared into the shadow of the engine room again, and then she came back to sit back down at her father's side with a sigh. "You fixed that cloaking mechanism, right?"
"Mostly," she said. "It's a little...flickery."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Is that the technical term, Major?"
"It should hold, sir--unless someone's looking hard for it, we should stay unseen. It's just that we're not completely blocked from other signals, but that shouldn't be much of an issue."
"If the SGC received our message," Teal'c said, "they will know that we are still here, and it is possible that they will search for us."
"Yeah, you're right. Hey," she said, perking up and pointing out the window. "Look at that!"
Something a little too much like hope propelled Jack to his feet despite the ache in his leg in time to see a bright beam of light shoot from Delmak toward Netu, then stop partway across.
"The matter stream was intercepted," Martouf explained, making Jack jump as he realized that both Teal'c and Martouf had rushed to see, as well. He wasn't the only one hoping for a rescue. "That is Sokar's mothership--no doubt he has recovered by now and has long since discovered Apophis's betrayal. Apophis will be punished severely and the denizens of Netu quelled."
"Good," Teal'c said in a low voice.
"What, you think Sokar's going to go to Netu himself?" Jack said. Even as he spoke, another beam of white shot from Netu to the mothership. "Wait, who was that?"
"Sokar cannot but know of Apophis's betrayal, particularly when it clearly allowed our escape," Teal'c said, sounding grimly satisfied. "There is nowhere for Apophis to run on Netu. With such widespread unrest, many Jaffa will undoubtedly obey Sokar and bring Apophis to him."
"So," Jack said, staring at the mothership, "we're watching Apophis being punished right now."
"Well, I wouldn't say 'watching,' unless you've got really good eyes," Jacob said from the cargo hold, "but it's probably happening now, yes."
"Wait, the matter stream was intercepted?" Carter said. "I didn't realize the technology worked like that. So the matter on both ends is transported through conventional space in a visible stream from one set of rings to another?"
"Yes," Martouf confirmed. "The light that you saw reaching to the mothership was such a matter stream. The transportation rings normally operate by proximity--the rings closest to each other and within range will exchange the matter to be transported."
"The rings between Netu and Delmak are most likely configured to be directly linked to one another to prevent the stream from being redirected to nearby ships," Teal'c added.
"I've been thinking of it like Asgard transportation technology, but I guess it's not," Carter said. She pointed again toward Sokar's mother ship. "So you have to be physically, directly in the path of the stream like that to intercept it."
"That is correct," Teal'c said.
"You mean," she said, "that if we'd thought of it, we could have just made sure Jolinar's teltak was in the path of the matter stream, and we could've transported directly onto it from Netu?"
"The teltak would have been seen and destroyed almost immediately if it had been left in clear view," Martouf reminded her. "Unless Teal'c or I had remained on the ship to maneuver it into position, at exactly the correct time, without being seen by an enemy vessel, and everyone else had been able to subdue the guards and reach the ring platform before being noticed and still be able to help Selmak and avoid the uprising, with fewer people to help..."
"In other words," Jacob summarized tiredly, "even less likely than what we ended up doing." He chuckled. "Which, by the way, was not a bad job."
"We aim to please," Jack said. Forcing as much cheer into his voice as he could, he added, "Well, we warned the SGC and the Tok'ra about Sokar. At least they know."
"Your actions against Sokar in his palace may also have provided the Tok'ra with the delay they require to take action, O'Neill," Teal'c added.
Jack turned deliberately away from the view of space and returned to the cargo area. "So we'll have saved the world again," he said, settling back down on the floor. "The whole galaxy, even. Never gets old, does it?"
"Just you wait," Jacob said. "If you make a habit of it, one day...you'll save the world, and they'll ask what took you so long."
"One day," Jack repeated, pasting on a smirk when the others shifted uncomfortably and averted their gazes. "For cryin' out loud, people, we're not dead yet, and it's getting boring in here waiting for the cavalry. Who's got a good game?"
"Twenty Questions," Teal'c said promptly. Jacob gave him a startled look, but Carter only smiled and ducked her head to hide it.
"Ah, come on," Jack said dismissively, leaning back against an empty crate and stretching his still-throbbing leg before himself. God, he was tired. And thirsty. Mostly tired. "You always cheat at that game."
Teal'c frowned at him, looking highly offended. "I have never cheated at Twenty Questions."
"He hasn't, sir," Carter agreed with a mostly-straight face, mustering up a bit of energy as well. "Nowhere in the rules does it say that the subject has to be something on Earth."
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about last time, when he said my coffee table was a vegetable," Jack said. Jacob snorted.
"It's certainly not a mineral or an animal," she said, "so I think we ended up deciding it was the best option, sir."
"You people play Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?" Jacob joined in.
"Infrequently," Teal'c said. "We find that version to be far too confining."
"Twenty...questions?" Martouf said blankly.
"Think about it in terms of information theory," Carter told him. "You pick a subject and everyone else asks yes-or-no questions and tries to guess the subject within twenty questions. If every question is well-framed, with a binary system of answering, assuming an exactly 50-50 chance of getting either answer, you can use twenty questions to distinguish between...um..." She paused, thinking. "Between 1,048,576 different subjects."
"I have selected a subject," Teal'c said, sitting tall and looking almost imperious as he waited for them to start guessing.
By then, Martouf looked like he'd decided to give up pretending he was more sane than the rest of them and joined in once he'd figured out the rules. Still, even with two Tok'ra and the rest of SG-1 trying to guess, Teal'c won again, the cheater, since he'd picked--
"Setesh's animal," Teal'c said.
"I thought that didn't exist," Jack said, disbelieving.
"On the contrary, it does," Teal'c reminded him. "Daniel Jackson claimed that there was such an animal on Abydos called ron n'sutekh."
"That's not fair; I can't even pronounce that," Carter said.
"That is why I chose that answer to be 'Setesh's animal,' Major Carter," Teal'c said.
"Fine," she said. "My turn--I've got one."
They made it through another game and a half before no one had the energy to keep going. Jack swallowed a yawn and prepared to muster up another useless suggestion for another useless way to pass useless time when Teal'c's pants started chirping insistently them.
"... one ..." Teal'c's pants said in an oddly familiar voice, "... Daniel ... respond."
Jack stared at Teal'c, who looked just as surprised as the rest of them to have his clothing speak and, momentarily, just as frozen. "Why is Daniel in your pocket, Teal'c?" Jack said, wondering if this was what it had felt like when Daniel had started hallucinating voices.
"Wait, hold ... they ... Jack? Sa..."
"The communicator. I left it there while Teal'c was helping me run," Jacob said suddenly.
"Stop!" Daniel's voice yelled, and, despite themselves, all of them stopped what they were doing, even Teal'c, who was halfway to his feet. He wasn't talking to them, though, and continued, "... Yi shay ..."
" ... no choice," another, unfamiliar voice said. "...what are you ...?"
"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said into the device.
"The cloak must be interfering with the transmission," Martouf said, moving again to the pilot's seat. "We have to take the risk and lower the cloak, or we won't be able to communicate--"
"Oh God," Carter said, horror and hope lacing her words. "Is he here? What is he doing here?"
"... I'll shoot," Daniel was saying rather than answering their hail. Jack exchanged a wide-eyed look with his team. " ... away from ... give me th..."
"Listen ..." the other voice said.
"... try to reach .... Get up ... go ..."
"... no way to ... without me ... both die, you ..."
"Who the hell is that with him?" Jack said.
"Cloak is down," Martouf called.
"--shot won't kill you; I'm willing to risk it," Daniel retorted, the signal clearer now, and Jack could finally recognize the strain of tightly clamped fear in his voice overshadowing the bravado. "SG-1, Jacob, Martouf, this is Daniel, please--"
"--only have eleven more minutes," the other said, sounding desperate, both of them shouting now, fighting for dominance over the speaker. "We have to leave before Sokar's ships see us in orbit and have time to move out of range. I am sorry, but this is the only way. Be reasonable!"
"--should've waited! SG-1, please respond! Jack! Teal'c, Sam, anyone, are you there?"
"Daniel Jackson!" Teal'c said again.
The ensuing silence was almost suffocating. Jack scrambled back to his feet and toward the bridge.
Then, finally..."Teal'c?"
"It is I," Teal'c said, and then he was interrupted by a stream of words in either Goa'uld or Abydonian or both that sounded so desperate he had to shout, "Daniel Jackson, kree!"
"Sorry," Daniel said, his words still fast and frantic but, at least, in English for the rest of them to understand. "There, uh, there's not a lot of time--Aldwin launched a...a bomb, and Netu is going to explode in..."
"Ten minutes," the other, unfamiliar voice said, more businesslike now.
"...ten minutes, Teal'c, you have to get off the moon, can you get out, where's everyone else--"
"We are no longer on Netu," Teal'c said as Jack peered out the window by the controls. "We are on board a teltak in orbit around Delmak, but we have lost all main systems and are unable to travel. Daniel Jackson, Sokar is in orbit around Netu in his hatak vessel--"
"We know," the other person said. "The explosion will destroy the hatak, as well. We are in a teltak above the atmosphere of Netu."
"The rings," Martouf said. "If the two ships are close enough, they should be able to detect our ring platform and lock them together. We should be able to ring from this ship to theirs."
"I don't know if we have enough power to use ours," Carter said. "They'll have to activate the rings from their end, but it's a two-way street, so long as we're on our platform..."
"Martouf says that you should be able to lock onto our ring platform," Teal'c relayed.
"But where are you?" Daniel said. "We don't see another teltak."
"I see 'em," Jack said, pointing. Teal'c reached his side first, followed closely by Martouf. In the distance, the distinctive shape of the Tok'ra's stolen and half-repaired teltak was visible as just barely more than a speck, near where they'd left the ship themselves while on Netu.
"We launched from Sokar's palace but have drifted some distance from it," Teal'c was telling them as Carter eased away from her father to join them at the bridge. "We see your ship. Move directly toward Delmak from the direction of Netu. We should come into your view quickly."
"Okay," Daniel said, and then, "Oh, uh, y-you can come back to the bridge now."
"Put your zat'nik'tel away," the other voice snapped. Jack raised his eyebrows, imagining what that scene must look like.
"If you reach for hyperdrive again, I swear I'll shoot you and the controls..."
"If you shoot the controls, the ship could be damaged beyond--"
"Do you think I care? I'm not joking!"
There was a brief silence, and then--
"They are moving," Teal'c said.
"Turn a little more po--uh, toward your left," Carter ordered, leaning over to talk into the device. "Not that much!" she added when it swung too far to one side. "There we go, hold that course. You're headed straight for us."
"Give that here," Jack said, holding his hand out for the com. Teal'c handed it over. "Teal'c, get Jacob to the ring platform. Carter, go make sure everything's ready." Jack turned long enough to see that everyone had obeyed, then returned to watching the other teltak's approach.
"Only a minute and a half left, Teal'c," Daniel said anxiously. "We see you. Aldwin, are...?"
"Three udajeet approaching," the other said suddenly. "We have been seen and are being hailed--we are almost within range. Prepare for immediate transport."
"Daniel, it's me," Jack said, moving toward the ring platform with the others now that the other ship had a visual on them. "Go to the cargo hold. While he's flying, you need to activate the rings. You know how? It's the same as the controls to the rings by the 'gate on Abydos."
"Now?" Daniel said anxiously.
"Wait 'til you guys are locked on us. Hit the command as soon as your friend gives the all-clear." Taking his thumb from the button on the communicator, Jack checked that no limbs were sticking out past the limits of the rings and said, "All aboard."
"I have locked onto a signal. It must be theirs," Aldwin said suddenly. "Go! Hurry, they are closing for attack!"
Rings shot up around them, and when the light disappeared, Daniel was standing before them, calling, "They're here, they're--"
"The udajeet are firing!" Aldwin replied.
"--here, go!"
A burst of light caught Jack's attention, and he looked out the window in time to see Netu and the surrounding ships go up in flames as their teltak swerved violently away to avoid both the explosion and enemy fire.
"Entering hyperspace," Aldwin called.
There was a final jolt that tossed all six of them along the cargo area. Jack caught the door and Daniel stumbled over him. Carter shielded her father as they slid into the corner, while Martouf staggered and knocked Teal'c off-balance, throwing them both into the wall.
When everything finally stopped, Jack caught his breath and called, "Anyone hurt?"
"No, sir," Carter called, sitting back up.
"We are fine, O'Neill," Teal'c added.
Jack turned to see Daniel's wide eyes before a weight disappeared off him and Daniel backed away to stare at them all. "Dewa'naturu," he breathed with a short, almost giddy laugh.
"Agreed," Jack said, peeling himself away from the wall to sit more comfortably. "So what--"
But Daniel had already disappeared on them again. "Aldwin, are there medical supplies?" his voice was saying. "Oh...here's your zat'nik'tel. Sorry." Jack heard a short, uncomfortable pause. "Well, no, I'm not, but...I would have been, if I'd shot you, so."
"I apologize as well," Aldwin finally said.
Jack had this vague idea that he should be getting up and doing something, but as it turned out, the floor of the cargo ship was much more comfortable than he'd realized. There must be something different about this ship. Possibly it was the presence of people who were flying him and his team to safety. Actually, it was probably more about the presence of a functioning hyperdrive and engines, although the other thing, with the people and the flying home--that was nice, too.
He gathered enough presence of mind to ask, "Jacob? How're you doing over there?"
"Ready for a vacation," Jacob said. "Somewhere cool. I hear Alaska's cold this time of year. What do you say, Sam?"
Carter gave Jack a nod first to say they'd last the trip home, then laid a soft kiss on her dad's temple. "Yeah, Dad. That sounds good."
"Here," Daniel said, running back in with a box in one hand, a skin of water in the other, and his tac vest draped over an arm. He walked right past Jack and gave the box to Martouf and the water to Carter.
"Thanks, Danny," Jacob mumbled. Daniel paused at that, but he seemed to be riding pretty high on the adrenaline still and only rolled his eyes. He opened a few pockets in his vest before he found whatever he was looking for, then handed a bandage of some sort to Teal'c, who peeled Carter away from her father to examine her considerably swollen wrist.
Jack looked longingly at the skin of water now in Martouf's hands, but then Daniel reached behind himself and pulled out his own canteen from his belt for Jack. "What's wrong with your leg?" he asked as Jack resisted the urge to guzzle down the water as fast as he could.
"It's not bad," Jack finally said, screwing the top back onto the canteen and sliding it toward the others. "Grazed by a staff blast--ah, geez, could you--"
"Sorry, sorry," Daniel said with a sympathetic wince, and he was gentler as he examined the makeshift bandage that Teal'c had made from cloth off the bottom half of a trouser leg. "I'm trying to remember what I'm supposed to do with burns," he admitted, even as his fingers moved to gauge Jack's temperature and check vitals. "No one at least cleaned it earlier?"
"Didn't really have clean water," Jack said, a little bemused at the ministrations, then tried to bat the hands away. "I'll live. Check on Jacob first, kid."
Daniel glanced up once and looked past him, then went back to what he was doing. "Martouf is doing it. There's some Tok'ra medicine...stuff; I don't know what it is or how it works, but I can at least do something here. You have a fever," he said suddenly.
"I'll live," Jack repeated.
"It's not high," Daniel agreed, glancing back at the others. "I'll just watch it. I guess? Right. You should drink some more water."
As Daniel pulled a field dressing from his vest, Jack looked over him more closely for the first time. "What are you doing here?" Jack finally asked, wincing as a careful trickle of saline washed most of the grime away from his leg. The burn really didn't look that bad, as staff wounds went, though the surrounding nerves were very unhappy at the moment.
"Couldn't let you go to Hell without me, could I?" Daniel said absently, but he had to pause in the act of wrapping the leg and wait until his hand stopped shaking. Jack waited until he was done, then gave him a meaningful look when he glanced up. "You sent this ship to Abydos, Jack. Did you forget who the Abydos liaison is?"
"We weren't expecting you to come after us."
"Well, you've learned your lesson, then," Daniel said, propping the leg on a backpack.
"I can't believe the general...let you," Jack said, and then a thought struck him. "Uh...Daniel?"
Daniel gave him a nervous glance. "Jack?"
"Normally, I wouldn't ask," Jack said mildly, "because that would just be stupid, and I know you're not stupid."
"Mm," Daniel said, not meeting his eyes. "That's debatable."
"Uh-oh," Carter said, hearing their conversation. "Oh, Daniel..."
"Does the general know you're here?" Jack said.
"We-ell," Daniel hedged, and Jack let his head fall back against the wall, suppressing the urge to laugh, of all things. This, right here--this was his team. "I'm sure he...knows by now. Colonel Makepeace probably isn't very happy with me for stowing away with Aldwin. I didn't have permission, per se--I mean, at all--but it's not as if Makepeace liked me much before, anyway..."
"You people are all insane," Jacob said with a tired grin of approval.
"Not anymore," Daniel said, standing and literally trembling with the need to do something. Maybe a little relief. Okay, probably a lot of relief. "Can I do anything? Does anyone need..."
"Sit," Teal'c ordered. Daniel exhaled sharply and dropped to the floor next to Jack, looking like he was trying to keep all of them in his sight at the same time.
"You're never doing something like this again," Daniel informed them sternly.
Jack snorted, his eyes drooping shut.
"Yeah, okay," Daniel sighed as Jack drifted off. "But I'm coming with you next time."
XXXXX
14 November 1999; Tok'ra Teltak, Vorash; 1200 hrs
They made it back to Vorash with no further complications. Jack wasn't sure about the others, but he knew for certain that he himself didn't manage to stay awake past the first minute or so.
Jack woke to the sight of legs walking past his face. "Jacob?" he said.
It came out more as a whisper, but Daniel's voice was somewhere next to him and answered quietly, "Teal'c has him. Can you get up?"
"Sure," he lied lethargically. There was the sensation of someone tugging on his arm and something wrapping around his waist. It didn't feel like he was really moving anywhere, though, and eventually the person stopped and a cool hand touched his forehead. "Wha...Daniel...?"
"I'll be right back," Daniel said. A warmth he hadn't noticed before disappeared from his side.
The next time footsteps came around, Makepeace's familiar voice said dryly, "You have...no idea how good it is to see you guys, Jack."
Jack couldn't figure out why the hell Robert Makepeace was on Netu, and then an arm considerably stronger than Daniel's was pulling him upward. "Carter," Jack protested.
"I got her, Colonel," someone else answered. Jack forced himself to look up long enough to see Carter half asleep as she leaned on Major Castleman, while Daniel helped a more alert Martouf to his feet.
"Daniel?" Jack said as he was lifted to aching feet and black spots appeared before his eyes.
Daniel paused on his way past. "Yeah?"
The black spots began to dance and merge as the teltak swam in his vision. "'M gonna pass out now," Jack mumbled. Makepeace's arms tightened around him, and he fell into darkness.
XXXXX
14 November 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 2000 hrs
The next time he woke up, it was to the sound of quiet footsteps sneaking past him. "I'm back," Daniel's voice whispered.
Jack wondered whether he was expected to answer that, but Teal'c's low rumble replied, "There were no misunderstandings among your people?"
"They were confused in all the rush, but it's fine. And Colonel Makepeace is pretty angry, but the general hasn't yelled at me yet, so... How're you feeling?"
"I have been well for some time." One of them yawned. "You should sleep."
"I will."
Jack turned his head very carefully to the side and opened his eyes to see an IV line going into his arm. Teal'c was sitting on the bed next to him and Carter sleeping on the next one over. Daniel sat slumped in a chair with his back to Jack's bed and facing Teal'c, still dressed in full gear after however many hours had passed. If Teal'c noticed Jack was awake, he didn't say it.
"You need a fourth," Daniel said abruptly. Jack blinked and listened in more closely. "This is what I was saying. If you'd just had one more person..."
"Even if you had been there from the start," Teal'c said, "you do not know how to fly a teltak. It may not have made a difference."
"If it's not me, then...then it's not me, okay? But you need somebody--all of you almost died this time, Teal'c. Everyone who wants exploration and first contact would be honored to be on SG-1--just pick someone and deal with him, yeah?"
Teal'c's eyes fixed on Jack for a moment, showing that he was very much aware of who was eavesdropping on whom, then turned back to Daniel. "We have survived thus far."
"Well, maybe next time you won't," Daniel whispered fiercely. "I know Jack annoys people--"
Excuse me? Jack thought indignantly.
"--but I annoy him, too. Just give someone a chance."
"O'Neill can indeed be tiresome to work with," Teal'c said with a completely straight face, looking directly at Jack. There was a long pause, and then Daniel finally cottoned on and turned around, jumping in surprise when he found Jack staring at him.
"Yi shay," Daniel sighed, yawning again and rubbing his eyes.
"I annoy people, huh?" Jack said, grimacing at the roughness in his throat.
Daniel made a face but said, "I'm pretty sure you've been doing it on purpose. Captain Hagman is still scared of you, and we're running out of civilians in the department who would join SG-1 even with an order from the general."
Jack didn't comment on Hagman, who was, in any case, little more than a vague but unpleasant memory from those early days of the program, or on the other people they'd had to stumble around with in the past for short temporary assignments. A lot of them turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, really. "What's going on?"
"Everyone will be fine," Teal'c assured him immediately. Jack relaxed something he hadn't realized he'd been holding tense until then. "Jacob Carter is on Vorash--with help from the Tok'ra, he will make a full recovery within days. Martouf has already recovered and is there as well. You and Major Carter have been sleeping since we arrived on Vorash several hours ago."
"You okay, too?"
"I am." Teal'c looked at Daniel and added, "Daniel Jackson has just returned from reporting to the Abydons. All is well, O'Neill. We were extremely successful."
"Okay," Jack said, running through that list again just to make sure no one had been left out. "Sweet. And about that fourth member you two were talking about behind my back...we've already got a fourth lined up, kid."
"Uh...yeah. Um. About that," Daniel said, looking at his hands. Jack raised his eyebrows, wondering how a burning desire to get on SG-1 could get erased by an adrenaline-filled rescue trip to Hell, but it turned out that wasn't it at all. "I don't know if...well, he didn't say anything to me, but I don't think Dr. Mackenzie was very happy at my evaluation. Either one of them, I mean, but especially the last one. I know he hasn't gotten a chance to speak with you yet, but...well. I'm not sure I made it past him. And I'll bet yesterday and today didn't help."
"You'll make the cut," Jack promised, deciding right then that he'd make sure of it. "Mackenzie's not the one who gets final say. If I want you on my team, are you still in?"
Daniel smiled briefly and straightened out of his tired slump. "Yes, sir. I'm in."
Then he yawned widely, just to make sure there was no danger of looking dignified.
"Colonel O'Neill," General Hammond's voice said, and Jack turned to see the general and Janet Fraiser both converging on his bed. Hammond was smiling down at him, which was always a good sign. "Dr. Fraiser tells us there's no permanent damage to your lungs from the toxins you inhaled on Netu, but you'll want to take it easy for a few days. One of the Tok'ra came by to fix a few minor injuries with our healing device. I trust it worked?"
Surprised, Jack wiggled his previously-injured leg and said, "Yes, sir, apparently."
"Good. I want a full account later, after you've rested, but I'm told that Sokar was destroyed, along with Netu and at least some of his fleet. You said Apophis was with Sokar at the time?"
"Yes, sir," Jack said, and then, "Well. We...think. We were kind of floating somewhere in space by the time any of this happened. I did see an explosion, though, so I'm guessing it worked."
Unless one of the Goa'uld had escaped and ringed to Delmak, out of range of the explosion, which, granted, was possible, but Jack was going to say it was unlikely. Probably.
"All right, then," the general said, still smiling. "Good work, everyone. Now, Mr. Jackson..."
"Daniel was just doing what I would have ordered him to do, sir," Jack said, because he knew Hammond had a tendency to be more lenient when someone's insubordination ended in someone else's being alive.
The general hesitated, looking torn, then said, "I'd stay out of Colonel Makepeace's way for a while if I were you, son."
Daniel flushed but looked relieved that that was it. "Yes, sir. Thank you. Sir."
XXXXX
19 November 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1700 hrs
"The tone of our entire conversation was very defensive," Dr. Mackenzie said to both Jack and General Hammond. "Even confrontational, I would say, even when it was clear he was trying to remain poised."
"What, to you?" Jack said, not caring that he probably sounded rude. Hell, if Mackenzie thought Daniel was confrontational, that was only because he hadn't had a meeting with Jack since he'd committed a certain Abydon to Mental Health. "Because, I gotta tell you, Doc--"
"Colonel," Hammond said. "Dr. Mackenzie's doubts are not new, as a matter of fact; you--and I--simply chose to dismiss them the first time."
"I'm speaking in general terms," Mackenzie said. "It's not unexpected, considering his situation, but in Mr. Jackson's case, the constant need to prove himself here often seems to express itself by engaging in dangerous activities in order to achieve a goal or to prove a point."
"Dangerous activities?" Jack repeated, wondering what the man thought this program was about.
"I'm talking about the things that pose an unnecessary threat to himself or others," Mackenzie said, as if reading Jack's thoughts. "His file contains several incidents, just in the last year, ranging from borderline insubordination to outright refusal to obey a direct order."
"I think I've got more of those incidents in my file than Daniel has in his," Jack said.
"Now," Hammond warned him, "is not the best time to point that out, Colonel. On the other hand, Doctor, those incidents were, in some cases, crucial to the success of the mission."
"It's also evidence of a pattern of making reckless decisions, sir, not all of which are guaranteed to turn out well," Mackenzie said. "Mr. Jackson fits almost perfectly a common profile of children vulnerable to recruitment into military service: separation from his family, alienation from his society, a lack of any semblance of stability, all against the backdrop of a war effort. It's not surprising to me that he's shown himself to be willing to take desperate action, and courageous or not, I cannot call it healthy. Given Mr. Jackson's history, I'd rather see him as a patient than see him in the field."
"Does your common profile include people who volunteer for service?" Jack asked.
"In some cases, yes," Mackenzie said. "I would ask if it can truly be called 'volunteering' in the case of a young person under undue stress who is placed in a situation where he honestly sees no other viable option."
Jack looked to the general, who seemed content to sit back and listen to the two of them make their cases. "We've given him other options," he said. "He won't take them. The only other options he would take are...worse."
"Yes," Mackenzie said. "I understand that, Colonel. I'm only asking that you consider the question. His profile--"
"How is that profile--or even his record at the SGC--any different from other person here?" Jack said. "You could say the same about me, or Major Carter or Teal'c."
Mackenzie paused, then said, "I was told to treat him as an adult, but there are objective differences for someone his age--physical, psychological, emotional--that cannot be ignored. Sixteen-year-olds are as mortal as any of us, and they can be as fragile as they are resilient. I don't think it would be wise to test how much more he can cope with before he snaps."
"That's the problem!" Jack said. "You're waiting for him to snap. Maybe if everyone hadn't been so quick to think that, we wouldn't've thrown him in the nuthouse so fast the last time!"
"I'm not talking about full-blown psychosis," Mackenzie replied, "or even just his own wellbeing. Stress and response to stress can do a lot to a person. Mr. Jackson has shown a tendency to leap to poorly-supported conclusions--"
"And how many times has he been right about it? Doc," Jack said, "that's an asset. Daniel is literally a genius, you've gotta know that. His ideas tend to be good, and it's not like the three of us won't step in if they're not."
"But with a history of rash actions and strong, often unsupported conviction, it's only a matter of time before he makes the wrong choice with serious consequences. I understand he thought it was acceptable to threaten the Tok'ra flying a ship--one of our allies--in the middle of enemy space while the enemy's fleet was being scrambled. That's the kind of desperation--"
"That's the kind of person I want on my team!" Jack said, slapping a hand on the table for emphasis. "We'll watch his back, and he'll watch ours. You think he needs therapy now? What do you think he'd've been like if he found out his team got blown up by the Tok'ra?"
The general's expression didn't reveal anything, but he said again, "Colonel O'Neill, your point?"
"Sir, if Teal'c or Major Carter had done that, it would've been called brave--above and beyond the call of duty," Jack said. "Daniel does it, and he's a liability or...mentally unstable. It's what any member of SG-1 would've done, and he managed it without compromising the mission."
"He was not a member of SG-1 at the time," Mackenzie pointed out.
"Then it's time to fix that," Jack said. "There's no line that decides a person's old enough to make his own choices."
"Our law says there is."
"Our law also prohibits someone like Teal'c from military deployment. I mean, you want to talk about a soldier with immune problems? He's got a flap of skin between him and agonizing death."
"Colonel," Hammond said, not quite rolling his eyes.
"I'm just saying," Jack said, holding up his hands. "Our laws don't cover everything. We put Teal'c out there because we'd be stupid not to. We put civilians out there because they can do good work and we need them sometimes, even though none of them has half the training Daniel's had."
"That doesn't make it right," Mackenzie said. "A couple of years ago--maybe less than that--you would have said the same, Colonel O'Neill."
And that was true, but it didn't change the facts. "I didn't know him then, not like I do now," Jack said. "If we lock him out, he'll leave. He'll get himself killed trying to do good somewhere else, and then he'll be dead and we'll have lost everything he brings to the table. He wants to be out there, and he's going to find a way to be out there, with or without us--with or without our protection. Daniel thinks of us as his team, whether or not he's on the SG-1 roster, and maybe that's my fault, or ours, but it's how it is. I defy anyone to say he'd be better off acting illegally as part of my team without the protection we can give him if he's actually on it."
Jack turned to Hammond, knowing this was the general's decision and not particularly caring what Mackenzie thought he knew. "Dr. Mackenzie, do you feel Mr. Jackson is any less fit for active duty than it was before the incident with the Linvris chamber on PY3-948?" the general finally said. "Not you, Colonel O'Neill." Jack shut his mouth.
Mackenzie looked back at his notes and appeared to give the question real consideration. Finally, he said, "No, sir, but I had very strong reservations at the time and still do now."
"They're noted, Doctor," Hammond said. "And, Colonel O'Neill, you will keep that in mind. Mr. Jackson is very young and inexperienced compared with the rest of you. I expect you to know the limits of everyone on your team and to know when lines need to be drawn, for the sake of the individual, the team, and the mission. Is that clear?"
"Crystal, sir," Jack said.
"Remember," Hammond added, "this means you have not one but two members on your team with loyalties elsewhere. Their allegiance to this command is not in doubt," he continued, holding up a hand when Jack opened his mouth to argue, "but it does add additional burdens to your team. Occasional business on Abydos--other than medical and engineering--and dealings with rebel Jaffa are your team's duty, now."
"General, we're the flagship team," Jack said. "Between us four, SG-1 now has close, personal connections to our most consistent long-term allies--the Abydons, the rebel Jaffa, the Tok'ra, even the Asgard, kind of. I think that's a good thing, sir."
"And when Mr. Jackson's brother and sister are rescued or, God forbid, killed?"
"Well...we'll take him until then," Jack said, not sure any of them knew what would happen when the missing Abydons were found, "just like we know Teal'c might leave the SGC if the Jaffa are freed." When no further argument came, he said, "Can I go tell Daniel, sir?"
Hammond sighed, then nodded. "Go ahead, Colonel. Mr. Jackson will rejoin SG-1 as a fulltime member, though under the same restrictions as before. Your next mission will take place next week as soon as Major Carter returns from leave with her father."
From the next chapter (" The Tollan"):
Narim turned to him and handed him something that looked like a triangle, with a blue crystal screen in the center. "I am here to deliver a message from our highest governing body. Dan'yel, son of Melburn, the Tollan Curia requests your presence for Triad."