“I cannot stand this idiot American idea of diplomatic immunity,” Jack said. He looked at the aliens. “My country has this rule that says diplomats are immune to prosecution for any crime, including murder. That has got to be one of the stupidest rules ever made, and it’s hurt us big time. I’d like to see it added to the compact that no ambassador is immune to the laws of the compact or the world he/she/it is visiting.”
The others agreed and Ninurta, as scribe for this meeting, made notations.
“With that added, and in addition to the abuse laws, no ambassador may use the rules of their own world when they are in session with the union,” Inanna interpreted. Jack agreed. “Slavery and the such is permitted providing it is legal on the home planet and that they have laws protecting their subjects, along with the care and well-being of the subjects. Except for eccentricities, all the compact worlds should be following, mainly, their contract with the union.”
The others agreed to the interpretation.
“Sir Karoly, are you able to agree with this?” Inanna asked the Taklede.
He frowned, pursing his lips. “I will take this back to my government for review,” he conceded. “I would like to see an initial over-view of the abuse laws beforehand, though.”
Inanna agreed.
“We cannot impede any world their own progress,” Jack said. “Look, there are a lot of things I hate, a lot of things I will fight for; I made the mistake once of looking at only one side of the coin without stopping to think about the other side, and I regretted it. It isn’t our business to tell people how to live their lives, it is our business to keep the terms of this contract. If people have agreed to the contract, then it becomes our right to step in.”
“And the rights of children?” Karoly asked.
“What about them?” Jack asked.
“One world has children who are sexually active.”
Jack thought about it. “How old are the children?”
“As young as five years,” Karoly said. “They claim it is with the consent of the child, but how can a child consent?”
Jack could feel that this Karoly was indignant about a great many things, all of which he felt it was his right to instruct others on. Jack had a few opinions of his own, but he rarely stepped on someone else’s toes. Not on purpose, anyway. He had learned the hard way, from Daniel, that people deserved the right to live as they will and Jack didn’t have the right to tell them otherwise. He could make his opinions known, but he couldn’t force anyone to his side.
“In my opinion, the child must be of legal age in their society before participating in sexual relations, especially with an adult” Inanna said. “A child may be able to understand, intellectually, what they are doing, but I don’t believe their body is ready for it. I don’t believe their heart is ready for it. From a broader, social standpoint, if the child is old enough to participate in sexual relations, that child is old enough to participate in the community at large, complete with adult standings in that community. Teenagers having sex with each other, I can see, I was a teenager once myself, and although my first experience was with an adult woman, I was at least old enough to understand what I was doing and I later appreciated her teaching me about sex. Children younger than puberty…. no, I don’t think so. We are a sexual creature, I know that, but if the switch isn’t on, the light won’t shine. Legal age.”
They could all agree to that.
Jack had to put his foot down on the sexual union with animals issue.
“An animal cannot consent, I don’t care how many teeth and claws it has,” he said. “Unless there is full, conscious knowledge and consent, it shouldn’t be done. People are actually doing that? I cannot believe we are even discussing these things.”
Inanna nodded, wrinkling her nose. Jack shuddered.
“There are quite a few worlds who are arguing that individual countries shouldn’t be barred from joining just because their world is not united,” Inanna reported.
“Including mine,” Jack responded. She inclined her head. “The point of all this is to unify the worlds. How can they decide to join, if the world itself isn’t unified? I don’t see the problem with this one; if they can’t get together to unify their world, how are they going to play in the big sand box with the rest of us? Get their own world unified, first.”
“Or,” Daniel held up a finger, “at least have a voting process or something that allows their governments to make decisions for the whole.”
“Some are attempting that,” Bre’tac said. “By force.”
Jack shook a finger. “Doesn’t count,” he said. He knew of several planets attempting to do just that, and one which had already destroyed itself through a war they refused to stop. “If they blow themselves up, what use will they be to the overall galactic community? Should we bring in the concept of sanctions?” Not now, the others decided. Ninurta scribbled it down for future discussions.
“And my world?” Atis, the Mulakma asked. His beak caused his words to be clipped. “Our governments are kingdoms run by kings.”
“A feudal society,” Daniel said to Jack. “I read the report. Duels at dawn and everything.”
“As you say,” Atis nodded to Daniel. “It is our way to conquer neighboring kingdoms and rule them. If one king must conquer all in order to join your union, this is what will be done. Will you deny us membership for our ways? We find it abhorrent that you humans use your females and children in such manners and, yet, you look down upon us?”
Jack grabbed his hair and pulled. “Point taken,” he said. “But can we draw a line at using weapons of mass destruction?”
They all agreed.
“Besides,” Atis said. “It is honorable to take one’s enemy face to face, not stand like a coward behind a great machine.”
“Yeah, it’s those great machines that saved your feathered ass from the Goa’uld,” Jack reminded him. Fur-tufted ears twitched.
“Point taken,” Atis said. Jack got a sense of humor from him.
The front door opened and Stacy and Davy ran in, slamming the door behind them as they tossed jackets and boots into the corner. They stopped short, wide-eyed.
“Ooooohhhh,” they breathed. They were staring at Atis.
“Hey, manners,” Jack reminded them.
“I’m sorry,” Stacy said, shaking herself. She walked over to the alien. “I’m Stacy and this is my brother David. I belong to Daniel, he belongs to Jack. We were staring because you have pretty feathers and fur.”
Atis inclined his head. “You are kind, youngling,” he said. “No offense is taken for none is given.”
The children greeted the other new guest with polite hand shakes and the rest of their guests with effusive hugs before going on their way. Bre’tac was chuckling.
“Like father, like child?” he asked.
“Tell me,” Jack snorted. Daniel knocked him on the arm.
“Put Stacy in charge of all this, instead of you,” he warned Jack.
“I’ll second the nomination,” Jack said.
Katie had been pouting in her room for most of the weekend, but she came out long enough to meet and greet people after Jack snapped quietly in her ear. Matthew had long since left to play with friends after changing out of his church clothes. Atis watched curiously as Olivia played on the rug.
“They are unable to walk so young?” he asked.
“Give her another few months,” Jack said. “She’ll be into everything by then.”
Jonas gave Atis a basic lesson on human baby development, and he chittered his beak thoughtfully. Jack took it as an acknowledgment.
“Ours are hatched and they are up and about immediately,” he commented. Jack started to comment on the hatching part, but didn’t know how to begin without sounding offensive.
“Hatched?” Trust Jonas….. “May I ask how many in a clutch?”
“Two to four,” Atis said easily. “Many don’t survive their first year. They go through ravenous hunger pains at vario
us intervals, and if they are not quickly fed, they will fall to each other.”
“They eat each other?” Jack couldn’t help it.
“No, not exactly,” Atis said. “In olden times they would, but not anymore. The taste of blood seems to satisfy them. It doesn’t happen at all, if attendants are being attentive.”
And he’s questioning our cultures? Jack couldn’t help shooting the thought toward Inanna. She raised an eyebrow and Jack was almost positive she had heard him. What did he just do?
“Lord Atis, you do understand that there is a clause about cannibalism?” Jonas asked as delicately as he could.
“Indeed,” he inclined his head. “As I said, the younglings do not eat, they merely fight for life. We are a hard, but fair society; it is our way.”
After they beamed back to Heaven’s Bow, Jack went to his computer and signed into the SGC files to check out the Mulakma and Taklede. Discovered by SG-3 on a routine mission during Reynolds’ command, SG-3 settled a few disputes, helped to find a lost royal tayr, their word for a small child, and both groups worked with the Argos during the battle. Col. Galanakis put in a good word for them. Jack called Reynolds over for a talk.
“Yeah, there are some oddities about them,” Reynolds said. “Both are a little on the formal side. The Taklede are more puritanical about their formalities, the Mulakma prefer to settle things face to face and are more open in their passions. I think they’re good guys, though; the Taklede have a tendency to preach, but they aren’t rabid about things. Most of the ones I met, at least, aren’t. The birds are a little more accepting and more prone to ask questions before judging.”
“Do they have something to offer, being on the main unification council?” Jack asked.
Reynolds thought about it and shrugged. “Maybe,” he conceded. “The birds can fly which gives them incredible knowledge about aerial combat, and the Taklede are exacting in their maneuvers. They hit their targets with one shot, usually. Outside of combat, they both have strong social backgrounds and an open-door policy for anyone in need. And they didn’t surrender to the Goa’uld. I like ‘em.”
Daniel came in and handed the baby to Jack.
“Hey, Kevin. Jack, I need to run to the store. I’m out of ink for my printer. Do you need anything?” Jack thought about it and shook his head. He gave Daniel an absent pat on the back of a thigh before Daniel went to find his jacket. He called upstairs to Stacy. She ran down and quickly put her jacket and boots on, and left with him, skipping happily while holding his hand.
Reynolds watched him leave and then turned to Jack.
“I still can’t quite get over all this,” he said.
“Believe me, I'm still learning.”
Later in the evening, as Jack and Daniel played in the shower, Sam was reading a report in bed. The men came out, finally, drying off and getting ready for bed. Jack crawled up the bed, burrowed under the paper, and came up to see her looking at him in amusement. She plucked at his wet hair and he rested his chin between her breasts.
“I refuse to believe you are ready for another round, not after all that yelling in there,” she informed him.
“Nope, not ready,” he admitted. “Doesn’t mean I can’t make nice with your boobies.” He nuzzled the soft mounds and she giggled. “Honey, I miss you here every day,” he informed her, whining slightly. “Danny can’t keep his hands off me, I feel like his sex slave, and I need you here to protect me.”
Daniel smacked his rear end.
“Ow. See? He abuses me,” Jack informed her. She stroked the bridge of his nose.
“Yes, I can see you’re so abused,” she told him. “I have some time saved up; how about a vacation? Just the three of us? A few days off?”
“How about just the two of you?” Daniel countered. They looked at him. “When was the last time the two of you spent any decent time together? Go, get out for a while, I can take care of the kids for a few days, Jerrie is here, Maggie is up the street, and I can even get Michael in here for an hour or two, if I have to.”
Jack scooted up a few inches and nipped at her lips. “Where would you like to go?” he asked her. She touched his face, gently stroking his cheeks. She glowed as she gazed at him, and Jack couldn’t believe how lucky he was and wondered how in the hell he had earned a right to her love.
“I think I’d like to find a cabin somewhere and disappear under a lot of heavy blankets,” she said. Jack slowly smiled.
“That can be arranged,” he said. He kissed her, brushing her lips with his as she took her long legs out from under him and wrapped them across the backs of his thighs.
“You know the secondary arch?” she asked. “The transporter thing? How about we set it up at HomeSec? Maybe in the ring room? I can come home everyday.”
Jack picked his head up from inspecting her breasts close-up. “You could do that with ships,” he commented.
“Yes, but it’s kind of silly to hop and skip with ships,” she said. “With the arch, home is just a few steps away. And everyone who commutes from here can use it.”
He considered it. “We can give it a try,” he agreed. “Have you worked out the mechanics of it?”
“Almost,” she said. “It’s almost a combination of the gate and a transporter. It needs to be dialed, but since it is for close proximity, not jumping through stars, it takes less effort. Not as many dialing sequences. And it’s a transporter, not a gate, so there isn’t a wormhole to contend with.”
Jack looked at her. “Uh huh. Are you telling me that you can build another one?”
“Eventually,” she said. “Bye-bye airplanes, trains, and automobiles, hello clean air.”
“Detroit is going to take out a contract on you,” he warned her.
“Oh, well,” she responded dryly. She was suddenly serious as she looked at him. “Jack, somewhere in that tin can of yours, you have the schematics for all this, you do know that, right? I mean, I can figure things out, eventually, but I’m only copying. You have the ability to create these things. Somewhere buried in there.” She tapped on his forehead.
Jack groaned and rolled off her. He stared at the ceiling, his hands locked behind his neck.
“I try not to think about it,” he said. “I haven’t had any urge to draw or even pick up a ruler and pencil, and as far as I know, I haven’t been speaking any strange words.”
She rolled over onto him. “You are always drawing, Jack; try sketching out something other than doodles. Will you try?” she asked. “For me? The next time you kel’no’reem and you’re all relaxed, will you just try to draw something? Don’t think about it, just pick up a pencil and try.”
“We could try hypnosis,” Daniel suggested from the opposite side of the bed. His partners looked at him. “No, I don’t believe it can make people act like chickens or anything like that, but it does relax the mind to a point where hidden things can come to the surface. Ask Dr. Edmonds.”
“I think I like the kel’no’reem idea better,” Jack said. A babbling was heard from the baby box and they looked at it.
“I’ll see what she wants,” Daniel offered.
“No, let me,” Sam said, sliding off Jack. “I don’t get enough time with her, as it is.”
“She’s just happy,” Jack said, giving a small reach. “Amusing herself.”
“Still. I want cuddle time,” Sam said. She straightened her t-shirt and went to the nursery. The men smiled as they heard her pleasure in Olivia’s presence.
Daniel rolled over and put an arm across Jack’s stomach, resting against his chest. “I’m glad she’s discovered the mother within,” he commented. Jack nodded. “While you were gone, Sam was dropped head first into the motherhood deep end. She was ready to scream after the first month. I don’t think she realized how sheltered she had been, being away most of the week while you and I took care of the kids. I had a problem at the base which took up almost an entire week, so she was left with the kids. Jerrie was good about helping her, and she was firm about it, t
oo. Sam was their mother, so BE their mother. Sam almost fired Jerrie for insubordination. Then Jerrie pulled the sick relative act and left for a week. I couldn’t leave the base, so Sam was alone with the kids. She finally had a long talk with several base mothers and she settled down to the job at hand.”
Jack chuckled. “Remind me to give Jerrie a raise. Or at least a good vacation.”
Chapter 36
The next day, the Kid Tree families all met at the Air Force Academy. The new commander was in agreement that a major talk needed to happen. Gabriel’s announcement was coming out on Wednesday so they had an impromptu gathering of kids and cadets on Tuesday. As usual, Daniel had it recorded. What people did not know was that it was close-circuited to President Hayes who wanted to listen in after Jack mentioned the meeting to him.
Unfortunately, the Academy had a bad record of intolerance. The new commander wasn't going to allow it to continue, however; he had already informed several of the more evangelical instructors and chaplains that they needed to get with the new program or find another position.
The kids and adults were all very interested in the leap process, and were excited about it. A lot of the kids, parents, and teachers were relieved that what was happening to the kids was a good thing and they weren’t imaging the weirdness. Hammond had given the instructors leave to reorganize their classes and start teaching the cadets at a higher level than their current grades.
When Daniel got around to sexuality and gender preferences, the wiggling started. Jack sent out a general feeler and found that many of the students had been concerned over changes in feelings. Old school instructors were not happy about either subject, especially the one about gender and sex.
“There will be zero-tolerance for intolerance,” Hammond told the cadets. “Respect will be shown for individual choices. This is a new world, ladies and gentlemen, and this new world needs to play nice with the galaxy. That means respect of all spiritualities, all gender preferences, and all individual choices.”
With three legends standing on the stage behind Hammond, looking out at the sea of children and adults, they knew Hammond was serious.
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