Chapter 28
With the ships conducting repairs, time off being taken planet-side in rotating shifts, and getting fresh food brought in from the planet below, there were reports to be read and written. Jack’s head buzzed from the decompression.
“Sir? Do you have a minute?”
He looked up from his desk.
“Come in, Major,” Jack invited Harper, leaning back from the computer. The major stood a little nervously in front of Jack.
“Sir, I…. when we get home… I’m going to ask Cassandra to marry me.”
Jack was glad he was sitting. What? He must have said it out loud.
“We’ve been dating for a few months,” Harper told him, cocking his head to one side. “I take it no one told you.”
“Nooo,” Jack confirmed, lacing his fingers across his belly. “No one seems to be telling me much, lately. Does Nate… Jonathan know about this?”
“Yes, sir; he’s the one who introduced us.”
Jack groaned and breathed into his hands for a moment.
“I wasn’t sure how your relationship with her worked, sir, so I wanted to let you know that I’m in love with her. If she’ll have me, I want to spend my life with her.”
Lowering his hands, Jack studied him over the top of his reading glasses. “Are you asking my permission?” he asked. He took his glasses off; he was getting a headache again.
Harper shook his head and grinned. “No, sir, just giving you warning so that you’ll have time to get used to the idea. Dad.”
“Out,” Jack ordered, pointing to the door. He found a couple of Tylenol, put a cold pack to his face, and called Jonathan in.
“Go beat up Harper,” he told his clone. Jonathan shrugged, nodded, and left.
During the third month, a ha’tak exploded close to the ground and decimated a largely populated planet. Slave labor was mining naquadah, and the ore magnified the explosion. A chunk of the planet was literally blown away. The planet dying, as many as possible of the inhabitants were brought up to the ships and transported to another habitable planet in the same system. Since nearby planets were in the habitable zone, which experience had shown was a good indication that transplanting life from one planet to another should be sustainable, animals and plants were also transported and abruptly put down, left to quickly adapt, or not.
While engineers from the ships helped locals to quickly build temporary housing, rumor had it that Baal was nearby, sending the rest of the ships on a snake hunt. Jack, Jonathan, and Ninurta were on the bridge, studying the star charts of the area. They were nose to nose with a suspicious spot in an asteroid belt just beyond the tenth planet in the large, twelve-planet system. Their spidey-senses told them something was in there, but the ship’s sensors weren’t picking it up.
“Sirs! He’s on the run!” Heads popped up and focused on the main screen. A ha’tak was making a break for it, up and over, instead of across the lines.
“Get after him!” Markham shouted, belatedly looking back at Jack.
“And double-time it!” Jack added, giving the colonel a nod.
Ships came to screeching halts and flipped around in space to chase after the mothership. The ha’tak suddenly disappeared into a slipstream and loud curses echoed through the bridge of the Prometheus.
An image hit Jack in the center of his chest. “Home,” he whispered, staring in horror at the screen. “About face!” he yelled. “Get us home, NOW! Move it, move it!”
Markham stood ramrod straight in the center of the bridge, barking orders the second he heard Jack’s “Home”. The word was sent to the entire fleet and everyone set their coordinates.
“General, there’s a gate here!” Davis shouted, pointing at the chart.
Jack stalked off the bridge and ran to the hanger bay. He and Teal’c jumped into a 302 and flew the second the Prometheus slowed enough to let them out. Ignoring the startled natives, Jack ran to the gate while Teal’c dialed.
“Open the door NOW!” Jack shouted the moment the gate was established. He heard a startled squeak from Walter and they ran in the second the event horizon was established, coming out in the gate room.
“DefCon One! Get everything we have into the air!” Jack shouted as he ran through the door and down the hall.
Bells and whistles started to blow and people ran to their posts. Jack ran up to the command room and yanked on the phone while Walter sent out the signal to rally the 302s. Jack called Hammond and confirmed the codes. Hammond put the world on alert. Baal was a few hours away.
Jack called the Heaven’s Bow and had them put him and Teal’c down at HomeSec. The bells and whistles were going off at his office, too, as they ran through the corridors, startling everyone who thought he was off-world.
Hammond met Jack while Teal’c went to take command of the small fighter squadron that was kept on base. “The Joint Chiefs are putting the military on alert and letting our allies know what’s going on,” he reported. “What is going on?”
“Baal slipped us the finger,” Jack said as they hurried down the hall. “He got into subspace before we could fire a shot. He’s headed here. T and I jumped in through a gate, the rest of the fleet is on the way.”
All the Yards had been busy while they were away, and many new 302s began to buzz angrily in the air all over the planet. Jack’s only fear was that the pilots were untried. He met Teal’c outside and hurried to a waiting 302. They had to meet Baal long before he got to the planet.
Jack rounded up the troops the moment he hit air. Sam and Col. Jeffries showed up on his wing.
Baal came out of subspace near Saturn. Much to his shock, Tau’ri were there to meet him. The weapons of the 302s were hardly a match for a ha’tak, but the 303s were only minutes behind Baal so they kept him busy, stalling him while they waited for the rest of the fleet. Death gliders were picked off as they were targeted. 303s appeared and gliders immediately exited the hanger bays to join the games. The alien ally ships had stayed behind to deal with the remainder of Baal’s fleet.
The shields around Baal’s ship had been strengthened; the 303s were unable to get a shot through them.
“Playing with Anubis’ toys?” Sam called out over the radio.
“Looks like it,” Jack responded. His pleasure in her voice would have to wait.
They dodged in and out of death glider fire, Jack at the wheel while Teal’c took care of firepower. He could sense Baal on the ha’tak; Baal was angry, shocked, and yet worried. Never had so many non-Goa’uld taken out Goa’uld ships before. Their 302 shuddered.
“O’Neill!” Teal’c yelled.
“Yeah, T, sorry,” Jack responded. No mental multi-tasking in the middle of a space battle…
“T, there has to be some place on that ship that is vulnerable,” Jack said, thinking out loud. “Nothing is perfect.” They dodged another blast from the ship. “Sam!” Jack called out. “How are those weapons able to get out if the shields let nothing in? Wouldn’t they phase out along the inside of the shields like ours do on the outside?”
“Good question,” she responded. “Give me a minute.”
They each took out several more death gliders as Sam thought about Jack’s ruminations.
“So, the way our weapons work is that the ship’s computer automatically tracks the weapon,” Sam said, doing her own thinking out loud. “When we lock onto a target, the computer makes note of it and fluctuates the field which allows…. target their gun muzzles!”
Jack immediately changed course direction and placed them in direct line with one of the ha’tak’s weapons. He took weapons control and fired the moment he saw a spark of energy. He spun them away. When he turned them around, that section of shield was down and the surrounding ship’s surface was crackling with angry energy. The comm channels were loud with shouts from the other pilots. All the sharp-shooters took center stage and targeted the gun muzzles on the enemy. The mothership tried to escape the moment Baal realized what the insane Tau’ri were doing. While 30
3s kept him corralled, several more sections of shield went down and the remaining 302s began targeting the ship itself until an entire corner began to glow. The Heaven’s Bow got in close and tossed some kind of beam at the ship, latching on to it. Very slowly, the Anunnaki ship pulled away. Baal’s ship followed.
“It’s going to blow!” Markham called out over the pilot channel. “Everyone get out of the way. Far out of the way!”
302s scattered like startled mice, heading out into space in all 360 degree directions from Baal’s ship. The Prometheus gave the ha’tak one more blast through a downed shield section and the 303s also scattered.
Just beyond Pluto and the giant Oort Cloud, Heaven’s Bow released their tow beam, put their engines into over-drive, and disappeared. The mothership blew up with a star-sized explosion, sending a burst of shock waves in all directions. Asteroids were disintegrated, larger rocks turned into rubble that would rain down on planets and moons for quite some time to come.
Screams of joy were heard on the headsets.
“Drinks are on me!” Jack announced.
Someone started singing We Are the Champions, and by the time they returned to Earth, even Teal’c was rumbling badly into the radio.
302s landed in the now legendary field where it all started. Pilots jumped out and fell on their faces as they kissed the snow covered ground. It wasn’t too long until local families showed up to find their heroes. Jack caught Sam in his arms and swung her around. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her as they kissed long and hard.
Helicopters showed up, cameramen hanging out.
“Someone get those peeping toms out of my airspace!” Jack ordered over his radio. He went back to kissing his wife. A short time later, the rest of his family was beamed in front of him. Jack caught the children, squeezing them hard. He could not believe how big Olivia had grown. He kissed the crying, scared baby and handed her to Sam. He yanked Daniel into his arms and kissed him. They slipped on the snow and Jack fell on top of him. The children laughed as they continued kissing.
Chapter 29
There was an impromptu party in a large, open space in the warehouse district. Many pilots had chosen to return immediately to their homes; those that remained got the party started. Restaurants opened their kitchens and catered to the event. Jack winced at hearing a familiar voice in the microphone. Sam and Daniel looked at him, as did the children.
“Don’t even,” he warned.
“Too late, Jack,” Reynolds said, clasping him on the shoulder as he walked by. “We have ship’s footage of you, him, and Col. Caldwell rocking your asses off. More than once.”
“Really?” Sam and Daniel each took an arm and steered Kevin away for gossip.
“Dead meat, Adda,” Stacy informed Jack, giving him a pat. He looked at her.
“What did you call me?”
“Adda,” she repeated. “Daddy said it means Daddy.” The other children nodded.
“Uncle Danny is Uncle Danny for us, but you’re Adda for Stacy,” Katie told him. “And Aunt Sam is Aunt Sam for us, and Mom for Stacy.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you know how much I missed you guys?” he asked, whining. “My quarters are covered in pictures of all of you. Ask anyone; they think it’s a funky wall-paper. I am in serious need of kisses. Lots and lots of kisses.” They laughed and toppled him, covering his face with the begged smooches. They did take care with the boo-boos, though. He was glad to know they had bonded with his partners.
Although the children wanted to stay with him, it was getting very late and the alcohol was beginning to flow. The baby wasn’t at all happy about the ruckus, so Katie offered to take the kids home.
“Since when?” Jack asked.
“Since Uncle Danny taught me to drive,” she told him, taking Olivia from him. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’m a good driver.”
“But I wanted to teach you how to drive,” Jack whined.
“You get to teach me, Dad,” Matty informed him, patting him on a shoulder. Jack didn’t care; he got a ‘Dad’ out of both of them.
He got good night kisses and the kids sent him out to play. Jack went into the main party just in time to see Harper go down on one knee.
“Is that what it looks like?” Sam asked in his ear. She and Daniel stood side by side, watching.
“Yes, it is,” Jack nodded, not too sure about how he was feeling. “He told me on board that he was going to do it. I didn’t expect it so soon, though.”
Cassie threw her arms around Harper’s neck.
“Looks like we have a wedding to plan,” Daniel said. He smacked Jack on the arm. “You didn’t go down on one knee to me,” he complained.
“Me, neither,” Sam said, glaring at Jack.
“So I’m a barbarian,” he told them. “And I’ve been on my knees before both of you, so shut up. Guys, Harper is going to be our son-in-law. Dean Harper, guys. How do we feel about this?”
“Well, technically, Cassie was Janet’s daughter, not ours,” Daniel reminded him. “We’re more like uncles and aunt-in-law. I think the bigger question is how does Jonathan feel about it?”
They all looked toward the end of the room where said Jonathan had momentarily paused in his stage romping. He saw them watching him and he gave an okay.
The Press showed up at the door and they were stared down by some of the larger Jaffa. General O’Neill will hold a press conference in two days; they could wait. In the meantime, they could report that Tau’ri hind ends were saved once more by the general and his kids. Grrrrr…. The reporters shot back to a safer distance. Actually, Davis had already had a press kit ready for release. It should be arriving via fax in all the main press offices. The Jaffa snickered to themselves.
Jack got his owies kissed by his partners before they insisted on dancing with him. They plied him with a beer and pulled him into the crowd. They steered him closer to the front until he was pulled up onto the stage, much to the delight of everyone. Caldwell was also pushed up, as was Ninurta who had been learning songs from Jonathan. The four men shook the building. Ninurta’s growling baritone adapted well to the hard rock he had picked up from Jonathan’s boom-box.
It was almost dawn by the time everyone worked out their energy. A few words in Jack’s ear sent him up to the stage. “Quiet!” he called out. The crowd calmed and waited for a moment. “It is appropriate that we celebrate life,” he said. “A lot of good people were lost, though, and we should also remember them.” There were shouts from the crowd and clapping. “Since the start of the Stargate Program and through the recent events, the count is at 2,237 lives lost. That’s just immediate military personnel, not including civilians, and we’re not done counting those lost during this action. Before we go home and take comfort with our families, I’d like to ask Daniel to come up here and sing that lament he sang for us a while back.”
Daniel hopped up onto the stage. “Which one?” he asked, not showing any discomfort at being in front of a microphone with a few hundred people.
“The Egyptian one,” Jack reminded him. “The one you sang when you were comparing notes with Inanna.”
Daniel nodded. He gripped the microphone between both hands, thinking and centering. He then piped out a clear tenor. The haunting keening echoed across the warehouse, sending shivers through the spines of everyone. Many had their heads bowed and were silently weeping by the time he was finished. The words were not in English, but their intent came through the language barrier.
Jack, Markham, Caldwell, and Galanakis gathered and stood at the entrance of the door, making sure everyone headed out was touched and thanked by them.
He collapsed into bed when he got home, was undressed by his partners who frowned at the stitches on his inner thigh, and slept for over fifteen hours. All the phones were shut off and the guards were doubled around the house. The children were kept home from school. Sam made sure to call Jack’s mother to let her know Jack was fine and would call her when he woke up. The television was filled with images
of the return of the pilots and the battle near Saturn. Over and over, Baal’s exploding ship was shown. Someone had recorded Daniel’s lament, which was also broadcast over and over. No list of dead had yet been released but when sons and daughters, husbands and wives didn’t return home, families knew.
Sam had nestled into Daniel as they watched the morning programs; she then went into her office and began writing up her report while Daniel and Jerrie saw to the children. Jerrie had already welcomed her brother back the night before; today was time for him to spend his with wife and children.
The younger children were anxious to see Jack, but Katie and Matthew understood that he needed time to sleep and get himself together. Olivia had been a little cranky, picking up on the tension. Sam brought out a partial, yet growing, list of the declared dead and showed it to Daniel.
“God,” he groaned. “Almost half the teams are gone.”
Sam nodded. “Col. Reynolds is the only one left of SG-1, and Bosco and Harper from SG-3,” she said.
“Would it be callous of me if I said I was glad Nyan had been left here?” Daniel asked, flipping through the pages.
“I wouldn’t say so,” she commented. “He never picked up on the weapons like you did; it wouldn’t have been appropriate for him to be out there in that.”
“Did lots of people die, Uncle Danny?” Davy asked, leaning against his arm.
“Yes, they did,” Daniel nodded, giving the brown hair a tousle.
“But Daddy and Nate are here,” Davy said, looking for confirmation.
“Yes, they are,” Daniel confirmed. “And he’s Jonathan now, remember? Just like Uncle Jack became Daddy, Nate wants to be called Jonathan.”
David nodded. “But you’re still Uncle Danny.”
Daniel smiled. “Yes, I’m still Uncle Danny and Aunt Sam is still Aunt Sam.”
“Do I hafta change my name, too?” David asked with a sigh.
“No, you’re still Davy,” Daniel assured him.
Several times during the day, they heard helicopters fly over the house. Jets quickly came in and chased them away. The home of the Chief of HomeWorld Security was a no-fly zone.
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 2: A Staraget SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 14