“I am sorry,” Thanatos said, sounding truly apologetic. “I was wondering why you were so phobic about us. Other than the raiding, killing, and the taking of slaves part. Well, you’ve certainly done your part in the 'snake' extermination process.”
Thor came in almost the same time Malek did. Thor confirmed the identity of Thanatos and what little he knew of the Goa’uld history. He was astonished that there were Masharu still alive. Malek was almost in tears after he listened to the tape of Thanatos’ story. He requested a copy so that he could spread it to all Tok’ra. Jack nodded and Landry ordered a copy ready by the time Malek left. A copy was also sent to Teal’c on Dakkara.
“The children of Aegiria need not stay here, little brother,” Thanatos told Malek. “You would be welcome in our home.”
Malek told him he would make the offer to his people, but could not make the decision for them.
“Hold it.” Jack scrubbed at his eyes. “I am having a hard time understanding that you guys and Baal and Anubis and Ra are all from the same race.”
“Jack, you and Jack the Ripper are from the same race,” Inanna told him. “You and Hitler are from the same race. You and John Lennon are from the same race.”
“Maybe I should send a copy of Brother John’s greatest hits to Baal?” Jack suggested. “Look, you guys need to give us a little time to digest all this. This may be ancient history for you, but it’s all new to us. At the moment, my insides are telling me that a conspiracy is in the works and it all comes down to snakes. Because of you guys, I have a problem when I see a snake on my lawn, and now there’s a family reunion happening on a galactic scale. Try looking at this from my point of view. Try the Jaffa point of view.”
“Jack.” He looked at the new voice coming from Thanatos. The dual tones had disappeared and everyone looked at each other, surprised; was a System Lord allowing the host to speak?? “I am Etan, host to Thanatos. I am his host of my own free will, just as Malek and his host share compatibly. I was in service to him during the last days with Reda, his Ras host before me. I know from the mind of Thanatos of the horrors you have had at the hands of the Goa’uld, but we have not had those experiences. The Masharu have been welcome among us. They have helped us to evolve, to grow, they have encouraged us to gain wisdom just as a good parent would. If there is a process you use to establish trust and relations with a potential ally, please see past the ugliness and face that which you fear. Shedding light upon the shadows will banish the shadows.”
“We’ve had Goa’uld try and fool us with the voice before,” Jack stated.
“Then I don’t know how to convince you except with time, experience, and patience,” Etan said. “I am not Goa’uld any more than Malek is. We have different queens. You are blaming an entire species for the crimes of a few. The naquadah is yours, whatever you choose. Since you have discovered a way to lock your gate, we will transfer the naquadah to Inanna’s ship with her permission.”
“Wait,” Inanna said, holding up a hand. She looked at Jack. “There may be a translation problem. I think you may be using the word ‘queen’ in two different ways. Jack, you know the word to mean a female leader of a country. The Queen of England. She has no real power, however, she is a figurehead; it is her people who rule and act. I am a queen only because my people allow me to rule. If I were doing a bad job, they could rebel and take me down. When Thanatos and Malek use the word, they are referring to a physical matriarch. Their genetic mothers. Symbiotes… Asura… pardon me, are born with the genetic memories that their queen wishes them to have. Neither Thanatos nor Malek have the genetic memories of each other’s queen or Baal’s queen. Except times their queens spent together.
“Mirin gave certain behaviors to Baal, and Zimrah and Aegiria gave certain behaviors to Malek and Thanatos. Baal, because his queen was already feeling the effects of the sarcophagus by the time he was spawned, has a few loose wires. Is Zimrah or Aegiria responsible for Baal’s behavior?”
Jack laughed and slapped the table, startling everyone. “I’m sorry,” he got out, wiping his eyes. “Baal. Spawned. Okay, I understand what you’re saying, but you’ll need to give us time to get beyond the whole good snake bad snake concept. Our relationship with the Tok’ra hasn’t exactly been stellar and now the Jaffa are wigging out on a power trip. My xenophobia is acting up a little. Malek, I have a couple of applicants requesting to be hosts. Don’t ask me why, but Daniel promised them a hearing with you. Or someone. Thanatos, I’m assuming you have a ship nearby? Hang for a while, and I’ll get back to you. If you can remember more details of your past, we’d be interested. And thank you for the naquadah. Hank, can we talk? Everyone else is dismissed.”
Jack and Landry went to Landry’s office. “You’re new to all this, Hank, you don’t have my bias. What’s your take?” Jack asked, falling into the chair in front of the desk as Landry sat behind the desk and relaxed back in his chair.
“Well, I’ve watched the tapes of Goa’uld and Tok’ra interactions, and I honestly cannot tell when one of them is lying,” he said thoughtfully. “This guy sounds like he’s telling the truth. He even stated instances when he was unsure of his facts. And how many other Goa’ulds have been so forthcoming with their history? Thor already confirmed this guy’s identity. Of course, I’m not ready to hand him the keys to my truck or let him date my daughter, but I think he deserves a fair hearing, just as any other potential ally.”
Jack pursed his lips as he considered the point “Alright. I’d like a copy of the entire meeting emailed to Daniel. Let him nit-pick it. Oh, and Hank? Sam and I are ‘handfasting’ Daniel officially as our consort. Soon, hopefully. Just so you are aware that there may be fallout when it hits the fan.”
Landry shook his head in disbelief. “How long have we known each other? Almost thirty years? I still don’t quite believe you are sleeping with a man, much less marrying one. Polygamy is illegal, Jack.”
“I know,” Jack said. “That’s why it’s a handfasting. The government has nothing to do with this union. It was Daniel’s idea. It was OUR idea to marry him; his part of the idea was the handfasting.”
“Jack.” He looked around and then down at his comm.
“Sam? We can talk directly to each other on these things?”
“Yeah, I didn’t know, either,” she said, sounding a little exasperated. “Ninurta just told me. Hey, we have new toys. And the Iraqis may be complaining about a big hole in their sandbox. We refilled it as best we could. We did have a little problem with the river, though.”
Jack and Landry hustled to the control room and brought up the satellite imaging. The Euphrates had a new, slightly deviated course. A one mile deviation.
“Sam, what happened to the Euphrates?” Jack asked.
“We hit the water table,” she said. “Think they’ll notice?”
“I’ll tell ‘em it was an oops,” he said with a shrug. “Practicing with a new toy. They signed the HomeSec contract, we don’t need their permission to practice out in the middle of nowhere. I take it you figured out how the Sua scoop was formed?”
“Actually, that new Goa’uld did it,” she said, sounding puzzled. “When Ninurta said to check on a backlash AND a loop, we worked it out. You remember that red glass from the mountain? The dirt on that mountain has properties which when combined with….”
“Sam.”
“I know, later. Jack, you do know that you are the only one around who can test the chair.”
“Where are you, on Heaven’s Bow? Beam me up, Scottie.”
The new toys were sitting in a cargo bay drying out. They were none the worse for wear, having been stuck in a fault line for thousands of years; a little dinged up from earthquakes, but still workable.
“Jack!” Sam came over to him, holding something. “Look at my new toy.” She held out the small box.
“What is it?” he asked, taking it. There was a knob sticking out, so he pulled it. It extended about five inches. It didn’t look as though it belonged in the
same category as the rest of the stuff lying around.
“It’s a hand-held MRI,” she said. "Major Davis came up with it." She hit a button on it and the screen lit up. Jack waved it around and Sam’s ribs came into view.
“Cool,” he said. “And you are snake-free.”
“I tested it on Camulus AND those two in the brig,” she said. “Snakes were clear to see. Now. How do we test THIS baby?” She pulled a cylindrical object from her belt.
“Is that the snake-eraser? Just try it on one of the prisoners,” he said as he continued to MRI people’s insides. He held it down and MRI’d his foot. He wiggled his toes.
“Not our prisoners,” she reminded him.
Oh, right. Jack hit his comm. “Inanna, can we use one of your prisoners to try out this snake wand thing?”
“I’ll be right there,” she said.
They met her in the brig. Jack was still pointing and shooting the MRI. The insides of the Sua were interesting. M’Net pointed to his tail and told Jack to inspect THAT. Jack laughed and congratulated him on picking up Earth humor. He showed the box to Inanna when she came in and pointed it at Camulus. Inanna was impressed.
“Aba will be jealous he missed out on that invention,” she warned Sam.
“Does this thing hurt?” Jack asked, gesturing toward the wand. The Jaffa in the cell were growing more and more concerned as they listened to the conversation.
“No,” Inanna shook her head. “We used it several times, and none of the hosts exhibited pain. It disintegrates the symbiote and the remains are absorbed by the host body.”
Sam looked at Jack. “When Jolinar disintegrated inside of me, I didn’t feel it,” she assured him. “And I’m sure the only pain Dad had when Selmak died was the pain from his own body.”
Jack nodded. “Okay, let’s give this a try,” he said.
Both Jaffa backed up as far as they could, protesting vehemently. Sam held the MRI and watched as Jack pointed the wand and pressed in the spot Inanna showed them. The symbiote inside the Jaffa slowly began to disappear. When Jack lowered the wand at Sam’s nod, the Jaffa cried out and thrust his hand inside the belly pouch. He felt around, a look of horror on his face when he realized his symbiote was gone.
“YES!” Jack pumped a fist.
Camulus looked at the wand and then at Jack. Apophis was the only Goa’uld Jack had ever seen scared. Until now.
“I beg of you, O’Neill, I am worth more to you as I am,” Camulus told him after swallowing hard. “I have held this host for too long, he would never survive if you took me from him.”
“Can we duplicate this thing?” Jack asked the ladies. They both shook their heads.
“Not without taking it apart and seeing how it’s made,” Sam said. “If we do that, we won’t have even one, if we can’t put it back together.”
Jack got a gleam in his eyes. “I need to talk with little buddy,” he said. “In a minute.” He pointed the wand at the other Jaffa and fired. Within a minute, they were snake-free except for Camulus. He glared at the ex-System Lord.
“Behave,” Jack warned. He then looked at the two despondent Jaffa in the cells. “You two have a choice –die from the lack of an immune system, take the tretonin and live, or negotiate with Inanna to drop you off at the nearest snake pit. Or whatever else she feels like doing with you.”
They trooped back to the cargo hold where a team was dismantling a sarcophagus. Jack looked at the chair before sitting in it. Nothing happened.
“Power gone?” he asked. He reached down, waved his hand over a tile, and sat back as it opened. Sam took the ZPM generator out and looked at it. The crystals were dark, completely devoid of power.
“Looks like it,” she said. “Hey, guys? Is there a power unit in that?” she called over to the sarcophagus team.
“Yes, ma’am,” one of them said. He held up a ZPM. “There’s a little energy left in it.” He brought it over and Sam exchanged it for the dead battery in the chair. The chair lit up. Jack concentrated and the ball that was nearby began to hover in the air. He set it back down. It was strange; sort of like imagining it happening and then watching it happen, rather than the other way around.
“Okay, let’s get all this stuff sent down to Sam’s lab,” he said. He remembered where he was when Sam cocked her head at the queen. Sovereign territory.
“If that’s alright with you?” he asked her.
“Yes, of course,” she said with an arched eyebrow and a quirk of her mouth.
Jack looked at the MRI and the wand.
“Can I have these?” he asked Sam. Jack really wasn’t the only person who could use it; there were others who had the touch, but Jack wasn’t ready to let that one out of his sight. They seemed to be coming up with a few Ancient toys that only Jack could use, while other people, those with the touch, could use more of the toys. Those devices that were for general usage could be used by anyone. There seemed to be a security level programmed into the devices.
When he returned to the SGC, Daniel was in deep conversation with Thanatos, Malek and Teal’c.
“Hey, T,” Jack greeted him. He held up the MRI and wand. “I have toys, wanna play?”
He showed them off and Malek took a step back from the wand, looking apprehensively at Jack. Thanatos stiffed slightly.
“Oh, chill, Mal,” Jack said.
“Any more MRI’s in the works?” Daniel asked, looking it over.
“More than likely,” Jack said. “Why, you want one?”
“No, I’m thinking about mass production. For medical personnel,” Daniel said. “A lot of time and lives could be saved, if these things were standard equipment on emergency vehicles and in the pockets of doctors.”
Jack stared at him. “I’m thinking military applications, and you’re thinking civilian. That’s okay, that’s why I’m a little bit fond of you.”
“Couch, Jack, pillow and couch.”
“What? I already kissed you in the gate room, what more do you want? Never mind, you’re getting that, too.”
Teal’c’s eyes began to glaze shut as they rolled back. “TMI,” he declared.
“Hey, T, Daniel’s going to marry us!” Jack told him. “You’ll be there, right?”
Teal’c looked from one to the other. He held his hand out, took the MRI, and aimed it at Daniel, scouring him from head to foot.
“This is normal,” Malek told puzzled Thanatos.
Malek stayed on base for a couple of days while Jack had his applicants brought in. With Jack’s permission, and Landry’s, Malek called in a couple of Tok’ra from the high council to talk with Thanatos. Pretty soon, there were several more. Jack walked around muttering about a snake convention. He was also despondent that Thor didn’t know how to make more wands. It was an Ancient’s device, not Asgard technology. Jack called Atlantis. No, they hadn’t found anything like it there. Jack had been looking forward to attaching them to the hulls of ships and sending them through the galaxy zapping symbiotes by the thousands. At the moment, he’d settle for one snake in particular. He called Baal.
“Too late!” Jack declared when Baal’s holo appeared. He waved the wand. “My toy, you can’t have it. If you’d like to touch it, I’ll let you come through.”
Baal’s eyes narrowed and he gave a low chuckle. “Oh, I think I can see it fine from here,” he said. “Thank you for the invitation, though.” He inclined his head. “What is the Tau’ri expression? Ah, yes…. Check.” He disappeared.
“Ass-wipe,” Jack muttered. “Check-mate.”
The control room crew whistled and applauded. Jack curtsied.
He went to find Daniel. He was in his office going over some documents.
“Jack, what do you think the Ancients made that thing for?” he asked, pushing his glasses up.
“For the snakes,” Jack said as he leaned his elbows on the desk and played with a stick that had small bells attached to it. He gave it a shake. The bells tinkled. He then shook it around Daniel.
“The sna
kes weren’t a problem when the Ancients were around,” Daniel told him. He took the medicine wand away.
Jack frowned. “Don’t tell me things like that,” he said. “What do YOU think it was made for?”
“I don’t know,” Daniel admitted. “But if not for symbiotes, originally –what? And why a control chair and satellite? We have no evidence that they were precognitive, so –why?”
“Maybe for a race that is no longer in existence,” Jack suggested.
“Let’s hope,” Daniel said.
Jack headed east to show off the new toys to the Joint Chiefs and the president, while Malek took his new Tok’ra to their base to be blended. Thanatos went with Malek to speak with the entire high council. General Vidrine was reluctantly pleased with the new MRI, semi-forgiving Jack for stealing Davis. Jack got a call from his mom telling him that everything is okay, but Megan was on bed rest. Jack flew to Minnesota. He was pretty sure he’d collapse for a week, once his body caught up with all the time zone jumping.
“I’m fine,” Megan insisted from her bed. “I’ve been having contractions, so I’m on medicine and bed rest.”
Jack sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over to press his mouth to her belly.
“She’s as stubborn as you are, Jonathan,” Mom informed him from the doorway.
“Grammy, no one is as stubborn as he is,” Megan said.
“I’m not stubborn,” Jack said, smoothing the covers. “I’m dedicated.”
Maggie snorted.
“I am,” Jack insisted. “Oh, hey, want to see my new toy? Major Davis invented it and Sam made it.” He took the MRI out of his jacket pocket and told them what it was. He turned it on and held it over Megan’s belly. His mother leaned over his shoulder to look. Tiny bones came into view.
“She’s sucking her thumb!” Maggie said, entranced. Jack moved up and positioned the MRI so that Megan could see her baby. She stared for a while and then hugged Jack hard.
“Thank you,” she said huskily, wiping at her face.
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 2: A Staraget SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 2