New Horizons (part 6)
The next thing Sam knew, she found herself in a
dimly lit room, reclining in a very comfortable chair that, on closer
inspection, resembled a chaise lounge.
Twisting her head back and forth to try and figure out where she might
be, she suddenly realized her temples were pounding and her mouth was impossibly
dry. Slowly, her memory of the past few
minutes returned, and she felt the heart wrenching loss all over again. Jack, Daniel, and Teal’c were all gone. It was just her now. What was she going to do?
Through choking sobs she was powerless to prevent, it
gradually dawned on her that she wasn’t alone.
Sniffing ineffectually, she looked around and gasped at the sight of a
softly snoring Jack O’Neill laying in an identical lounge right beside
her. Across the room in two others, she
could just make out the features of Daniel and Teal’c beginning to rouse. Afraid she might be hallucinating like she had
on ‘Prometheus’, Sam attempted to get up and investigate, only to find her
wrists and ankles securely bound and fastened to the lounge. “What’s going on?” she demanded of no one in
particular, not even daring to consider that what she was seeing might actually
be real. “Where am I, and why are you doing
this to me?” she yelled. When she was answered
only by silence, she began struggling in earnest to free herself.
“Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, do not worry,”
a warm, resonant voice she recognized as Thor’s was saying. “All will be explained when the others
recover sufficiently,” he promised.
Intrigued, but still scared, she fought back the
urge to scream at the weirdness of the situation. “Thor, where are you?” she demanded. “I can’t see you, but I can hear you. Are you in this room? And why are you doing this?” she added as an
angry afterthought.
“Patience, Colonel, patience,” came back the soothing
response. “Please do not struggle
against the restraints. They are quite
secure. I would not like to see you
inflict unnecessary pain on yourself.
However, you will be released from them in a few moments. Please try to relax until then,” he finished
calmly.
“Sam?” a weak voice suddenly enquired. “Sam,” it sounded a little stronger, “is that
you?”
Recognizing the timid voice was coming from Daniel
across the room, she stated matter-of-factly, “Daniel, you’re dead. I saw you die. You can’t have survived. You were so badly mutilated that even a
sarcophagus wouldn’t have been able to revive you,” she choked out.
“Well, I'm obviously not dead, Sam. Why would you think that? Where are we, anyway? What’s going on?” he demanded.
“Dr. Jackson,” Thor’s quiet voice intoned once again,
“as I told Colonel Carter, all will be explained in due time, I assure you.”
Sam started thinking furiously. Could it possibly be that they weren’t dead
after all? If so, then why weren’t
Teal’c and Jack responding? Concerned
now, she called out, “Teal’c, are you here, too?” After a slight pause, she added plaintively,
“Jack, talk to me, please.” Suddenly,
Sam gasped, realizing for the first time that she’d been holding her breath,
praying that all this wasn’t just some sick trick her brain was playing on her.
Almost immediately, she was rewarded with Teal’c’s
resonant voice. “I am here, Samantha
Carter.”
“What the hell’s going on here?” the shaky,
irritated sounding voice of Jack responded a few seconds later.
Almost too afraid to believe, Sam asked
breathlessly, “Jack, is that you? Please
tell me you’re alive, that it’s really you!
I thought you died in the explosion,” she confessed with a sniff, “and I
saw both Daniel and Teal’c die too, yet you’re all right here.”
Before he could answer back, the lighting intensity
began to slowly increase, allowing their eyes time to adapt. As each one looked around to see the others
apparently safe and sound, they relaxed just a bit. Sensing they shouldn’t speak anymore until
they got some explanation of what just transpired, they directed their
attention to Thor, whose command chair had just beamed in and was now sitting
regally at one end of the room. His face
was unusually passive, even for him, his eyes unblinking, almost as if drugged. Sitting there watching him, Jack couldn’t
help thinking something was wrong with this whole picture. Uneasy as it made him feel, he was even more
upset to find he was securely fastened to his chair, as were the rest of SG-1.
As Thor began speaking, Jack immediately noticed the
fact that, although he could hear the words, his mouth never moved. Deciding to jot that one down in the ‘I’ll
think about it later’ column, Jack forced himself to study his immediate
surroundings to glean any possible intel
as he listened. One of the first things
he noticed was a row of exquisitely detailed boxes sitting in a neat row on a
table off to Thor’s left. They were
brilliantly colored, each uniquely adorned in intricate designs and characters
he suspected must be some form of alien writing. The boxes were cubic in shape and looked to
be about two feet on a side.
As he studied them, the middle of the three began
glowing a soft, yellow light, and Jack felt a thought assault his mind like a
jack-hammer, ‘My name is Luitriisomdiarik,
and it is I that reside in the box you see glowing and addressing you in your
minds.’ In response to Jack’s unspoken question, he heard the response, ‘Yes,
you may call me Luie, General O’Neill, if that
pleases you. I am communicating with you
telepathically through the one you call Thor.
I am speaking with each of you in your own minds, and I pledge to you I
mean no harm.’ The voice paused only
momentarily before continuing. ‘Though I
have the ability to intrusively scan your thoughts, I will not. During your stay here, none of my people
will. You have proven yourselves worthy
of our respect, and we do not take advantage of those we would call friends.
Before I begin,’ he continued, ‘and yes, Dr.
Jackson, I will answer all of your questions, you can be assured, I would like
to extend to you the courtesy of being released from your chairs to move around
freely and reassure yourselves that you are indeed real and unharmed. The bindings are no longer required. Yes General, it was
necessary for you to be restrained, and I will explain why shortly. Now, for the next few moments, please feel
free to move around or utilize the sanitary facilities Supreme Commander Thor
has graciously made available through the doorway to your right. And as I said, I will state my purpose answer
all of your questions when we resume.’
With that declaration, the voice in Jack’s mind grew
silent and the glow of the middle box disappeared as if a switch had been
thrown. He looked up just as a brilliant
flash lit the room and Thor disappeared once again. After a second, he noticed how quiet it had become. None of the others had spoken a word. He could understand that from Teal’c. He was kind of reserved in the typical
Snapped out of her reverie by such an irreverent
comment, she forced herself to look him in the eye and smile sweetly. “Well, I see you’re definitely alright, Sir.”
It kind of hurt that he’d even consider
kidding her about such a thing.
When it finally dawned on Jack that he must have
unintentionally offended her, the only thing he could think of to say was, “Uh,
Sam, are you okay? I didn’t mean…”
“I’m fine, Sir,” she answered simply. To her chagrin, she was not entirely
successful at concealing the hurt and irritation in her voice. “It’s just that up till a few minutes ago I
thought you were dead, and here you are kidding around as if nothing even
happened. That might be funny to you,
but it sure as hell isn’t to me,” she replied emotionally. “Please don’t ever make jokes about things
like that.”
“Gees, Sam, uh Carter,” he corrected quickly, “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your
feelings or anything,” he said sincerely.
“It’s okay, Sir. It’s not all your fault. I guess I need to act a little more
professionally; not let things get to me so easily. But thanks, I do accept your apology,” she
said, turning away to try and compose herself a little better.
Jack thought about it a second,
and decided to just drop it and direct his attention back to the mission. Shifting mental gears quickly, he looked
around to find his other two friends stretching and slowly moving in his and
Sam’s general direction. “Hey Daniel, T,
you guys okay?” he asked. “You sure don’t
look any the worse for wear.” Before
either one could answer, he added with feeling, “Listen, I really am glad to
see you two alive.” Looking down at the
floor, he added quietly, “It goes without saying, you
guys and Sam mean everything to me.”
After a few seconds, he looked back up, and to
anyone watching, it was as if he'd never made the comment. There was no trace of the melancholy which
had laced his words a second ago.
Instead, he was smiling, motioning for them to hurry up and join the two
of them. “Now, let’s get our heads
together and try to figure out what’s going on here.”
“Indeed, O’Neill.
I too am glad to be alive,” Teal’c replied with a polite nod, “although
I cannot explain how that occurred. I
clearly recall being hit by weapons fire at least twice.”
“Yeah, Jack, I’m okay, too and very, very glad to be
here,” Daniel chimed in. “I don’t
remember anything; I must have been shot.
Did I die?” he enquired seriously.
When Sam answered, she didn’t exactly sound
cheerful. “You could say that,
Daniel. You took a blast in the face,
and Teal’c several in the chest.” Her
voice faltered a little as she continued. “I, I thought you were both dead. I’m so glad to see you,” she said, moving to
embrace them before pecking each one on the cheek. As she finished, she looked over to where
Jack leaned against a lounge watching, trying to keep the smirk off his face. Her voice softened, but grew even more
emotional. “And as for you, General
O’Neill, I’ve never been so glad to see anyone.
With that, she came over and kissed his cheek as well, embracing him and
whispering in his ear, “And, I intend to show you soon just how much.”
When they pulled apart, Jack positively beamed. Teal’c and Daniel exchanged significant glances,
wondering how much different the scene they’d just witnessed might have been
had they not been present. Almost
solicitously, Daniel asked, “So, Jack, I take it you were a fatality, too?”
Finally pulling his eyes away from Sam’s, Jack
answered, “You know, all I remember is catching one in the shoulder and Sam
trying to drag me back to the beam-out point.
Apparently, a couple more
“Yeah, well, you kind of left out the part where you
threw yourself between me and the
“Wow, Jack, you’re a hero again, huh? Guess that does qualify you for some special
treatment from Sam,” Daniel teased.
Glancing over in her direction, he chuckled to see her blush a very
bright and conspicuous shade of red.
“Indeed,” Teal’c added with raised eyebrows and just
the slightest grin.
Suddenly, it dawned on Daniel why Sam had blushed
and said what she did, and why Jack was smiling so big. They must finally be a couple! They’d found a way! Or more likely, they just decided to screw
the stupid regs, he surmised. He was happy, almost ecstatic for them both. If anyone deserved to find happiness together,
they did. He knew he had to tell Sam how
happy he and Teal’c were for them. And
if the natural result of them getting together would be the dissolution of SG-1,
then so be it. Truth be known, he was
beginning to tire of the whole ‘exploring the galaxy and whumping
on Goa’uld ass’ thing, anyway.
Walking over a few steps to where she stood fighting
to regain her composure, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Sam, I think I
just figured it all out. You and Jack
are finally together, aren’t you? You
took my advice! I just want you to know
that I, or rather we,” he emphasized,
“think it’s great. You don’t have to
pretend around me or Teal’c; we’ll keep your secret.” Looking down at the stunned look on her face,
he couldn’t resist leaning in to gently kiss the forehead of the woman who’d
become as close as the sister he’d lost so many years before. Sniffing back a tear at the thought, he
pulled away quickly.
Jack watched the whole exchange rather curiously,
wondering what Daniel might have told her.
Whatever it was, she looked pleased.
He could read the adoration she felt for him in her expression. As he watched, she seemed to sense his eyes
on her because she glanced over, winking and smiling the special smile that
always tripped up his heart. ‘God, I
love that woman,’ he thought for the umpteenth time.
Noting that it was high time to get back down to
business, he uncrossed his arms and walked back over to where the others were
standing. “Okay, we’re all back
together,” he said with a glance in Sam’s direction, “and I need to know
everyone’s feelings on what we’ve seen so far.
Was I the only one that heard him, or was that Luie
guy talking in your heads, too? And what
is it with that box going all ‘glowy’ and stuff? I also like to know what Thor’s part is in
all this, at least for starters,” he said, looking expectantly at Daniel,
knowing he was usually the best one to get things going.
“Jack, I know I heard him in my mind,” Daniel
began. A quick look around confirmed the
other two had as well. “That being the
case, I suspect we can deduce he wasn’t lying when he said he had the ability
to intrusively scan our minds. In fact,
I think we can safely say we’re not even in any danger.”
“Whoa, Danny boy, how can you conclude that? And what does the fact they’re able to speak telepathically
have to do with whether or not they’re dangerous?” Jack demanded. “Besides, in case you didn’t notice, they
took all four of us prisoner. And we
were all strapped into those chairs, for cryin’ out
loud. True, we’re free now, and they say they won’t hurt us, but I’m not
ready to get out the old peace pipe and pretend they’re family just yet!” he
concluded loudly.
Looking at each of the others for support and
finding none, he saw the hand writing on the wall and resigned himself to once
again being lectured. Turning his gaze
expectantly towards Sam, he asked, “Carter?”
She could usually explain things so vague and esoteric that he didn’t
stand a chance of getting it all by himself without looking like the dummy of
the group. The problem was that more
often than not, she was prone to getting carried away and waxing all
scientific. ‘Oh well, maybe this time
will be different,’ he thought optimistically.
“Well, Sir, I actually kind of agree with Daniel,”
she began.
“Do tell,” Jack muttered under his breath.
Ignoring the snide comment, Sam continued. “Think about it, Sir. We know from what Thor told us that they’re
even farther ahead of us than the Asgard. At this point, it would seem that they have
the power to heal otherwise fatal wounds.
They can even communicate with us telepathically. Need I go on, Sir? If they really wanted to harm us, I seriously
doubt there’s anything we could do to stop them.” With that she grew quiet and studied Jack’s
face for some confirmation that he’d understood her simplified reasoning.
Jack wasn’t really dumb, though; he just played like
he was. Sam knew that. You didn’t get to be a general in charge of
the most top secret base in the world by being dense. Truth be told, there probably wasn’t anything
she’d just said that he hadn’t already figured out on his own. He just wanted her to summarize to keep up
his image.
“T, you agree with that assessment?” Jack asked,
trying to draw him into the conversation.
“You’ve already been a warrior twice as long as I’ll ever be. What do you think? You feel all warm and fuzzy about this guy?”
“I do, O’Neill. I agree that we have little to fear from the Piraxan. However, I
must admit that I do not feel that ‘warm and fuzzy’ is an appropriate description. I have observed nothing that would lead me to
believe they were either significantly warm or fuzzy.” Growing silent, he tilted his head, indicating
that as far as he was concerned, he’d fully answered the question and the
subject was closed.
Jack cleared his throat in an attempt to avoid
laughing at Teal’c’s stoic comment. “Yes,
well…. Maybe we don’t have to worry
about them zapping us or anything. But has
anybody got any thoughts as to why we found ourselves bound to those chairs in
the first place?”
“I do not know, O’Neill,” Teal’c stated simply.
Daniel scratched his head in thought before
answering. “I can’t imagine why that
was, Jack. I guess we just don’t have
enough information at this point. But we
may find out here in just a minute,” he said, gesturing towards the center box,
which had resumed glowing softly.
As if on cue, Thor’s chair beamed back in, this time
placing him directly between SG-1 and the table holding the three boxes. But now, an additional object could be seen
lying off to the side of the boxes. It
looked like a small case, and was covered in a dark, leathery looking
substance. As they all looked on, Jack
crossed his arms and strolled over to look at it with brief interest before turning
to address his alien friend. “Thor, old
buddy, are you okay?
You don’t look so good today,” he observed rather bluntly.
“Thank you for your concern, O’Neill. I can assure you that I am well,” Thor
answered curtly. “However, I must ask
you and your team to resume your seats.
I sense you have many questions you wish to ask. But you must be patient, as all will be
revealed soon. You have my word,” he promised
solemnly.
“I don’t doubt that for a second, Thor. But first, how ‘bout telling me real quick what
your part is in all this,” Jack continued stubbornly. “And were we really dead and brought back to
life? ‘Cause if we were, I gotta’ tell ya’, I really
appreciate it.” Sensing he wasn’t going
to get any further response, Jack eyed him critically a moment before slowly
turning and moving to rejoin the group.
He huffed his frustration just as the voice in
his mind boomed once again.
‘I trust you are ready to resume,’ it said.
‘Sure,’ Jack answered in a somewhat annoyed tone,
gesturing as he did with a quick tilt of his head for everyone to resume their
couches. Apparently, at some point
they’d all been changed back to sitting upright and facing Thor and the table
full of boxes.
Once they were all again seated, the voice resumed
speaking in their minds in what seemed to be perfect English. ‘The Piraxan council
is honored that you have agreed to meet with us. It is our hope that you will leave this place
thinking of us as friends. Now then,
there is much to discuss. But first, I
request that you permit Thor to administer what you would call a drug to help
us communicate with you more efficiently.
So far, the collective has been silent, allowing me to be their
emissary. That, however, is wearisome to
my two colleagues and myself, and even more so for Thor. It was initially necessary to enhance his
mind telepathically to be able to amplify and focus your disparate thoughts so
we could communicate with you on the level we found necessary over the last few
hours,’ he said before pausing.
‘In addition, the collective contains several
hundred million minds, each desiring what you might call ‘real time’ dialog
with you. At your present level of
development, your brains are simply incapable of participating unaided. Please be assured that what I ask will be neither
harmful nor permanent, although for just a few moments it may be somewhat
unpleasant, and there is a slight chance you will retain a very limited telepathic
capability indefinitely. Though that is possible,
I must say in all honesty that it is very doubtful you will retain even a
rudimentary ability to communicate telepathically within a few days time.’
Stopping to let them consider everything he'd said
to this point, Luie watched through Thor’s eyes as
they looked back and forth at each other.
He already knew they agreed with his proposal individually; no doubt
their leader sought only to ensure that when he agreed on their behalf, he
would be speaking for all of them.
As he continued to observe their fairly predictable
behavior, he used the time to clandestinely begin an experiment to
simultaneously measure both the breadth and power of each of their minds. The procedure itself wasn’t particularly
sophisticated. Basically, it was
sufficient to momentarily probe by introducing a complex concept so foreign to
their way of thinking they shouldn’t be able to consciously detect its
introduction. Once initiated, he had
only to sit back and wait for the two or three seconds it took the collective
to analyze the data he relayed to them.
To his great amazement, the humans known as O’Neill
and Carter both responded immediately to his mental touch, trying to quantify
the subtle intrusion. Excited by what
that suggested, Luie quickly shut down the probe to
counter their efforts. It wouldn’t have
hurt them if he hadn't, but he couldn’t permit any conscious realization on
their part of what he was doing at this delicate stage of the negotiation. If they were eventually found worthy as he
suspected they would, there would be plenty of time for full disclosure.
As the assessment came back from the collective, he
marveled to learn the full extent of all four’s mental development. They were significantly advanced beyond even
his wildest expectation. But O’Neill and
Carter seemed to have minds that were apparently linked together so tightly that
he was surprised they didn’t experience a weak, mutual telepathic ability
naturally. As a result, he was surer of
the final outcome of his investigation now than he’d ever been with any members
of a prospective race. He couldn’t help
feeling a growing level of excitement that made him smile inwardly. Yes soon, very soon, they would finally be
able to share the burden of the ancestors with another species. ‘The results are very interesting indeed,’
was his only comment, as he answered the insistent query posed to him by the
collective.
‘Hey, Luie,’ Jack suddenly
called out. ‘We appreciate you giving us
time to consider your request and all, but Thor told us before we left to
expect it, and we kind of agreed we would in advance. So I just want to ask you: did I understand
right when he said it will not only allow us to be more telepathic with you,
but will also allow us to block any intrusion by either you or your collective buddies,
or each other?’
Daniel couldn’t help cringing at Jack’s crude and
untrusting thought. Sometimes he
wondered why General Hammond ever let Jack do the talking….
‘What?’ Jack demanded in a rather testy tone. ‘I didn’t say anything wrong, Daniel. I was just confirming that our thoughts can
in fact be blocked. What’s wrong with
that?’
If the exchange was offensive to Luie,
he never let it show as he patiently began addressing Jack’s concern. ‘You are correct, O’Neill. The drug provides certain substances to
temporarily facilitate telepathic activity.
However, a unique chemical tag has also been incorporated into each dose
to prevent any undesired or uncontrolled binding of one mind with any other,
including our own. Quite literally, it
serves to block the communication in both minds if either the sender or
receiver is unwilling for it to take place.’
Jack accepted Luie’s
explanation with a polite ‘Thank you,’ but that didn’t stop him aiming one final
annoyed glare in Daniel’s general direction.
Somewhat amused by the two men’s behavior, Luie directed a private mental query to Thor asking if he
was okay and ready to proceed.
‘I am indeed,’ was the emotionless, if somewhat
pained, reply.
‘You will be given a dose compatible with your own
physiology, Thor,’ he stated. ‘Please
let me say again how much we appreciate your consenting to facilitate our
communications thus far. It has
obviously been uncomfortable, maybe even somewhat painful. However, I can assure you the drug will
change all that. Now, if you would be so
kind as to administer the four doses to the humans and then this one to
yourself,’ he said, manipulating Thor’s head and eyes to look at the special
vial reserved just for him. It was a
different color and placed by itself on the far side of the small open case.
‘Very well,’ Thor answered. Immediately, he spoke aloud to the group, “General
O’Neill, if you would be so kind as to have your team lie back down on their
respective couches as a precaution and roll up their sleeves, we will begin.”
“Okie-dokie,” Jack
answered irreverently. “All right folks,
you heard the uh… er, Thor. It’s time to get stuck.” As he moved towards his own couch, he found
that miraculously, they’d all once again resumed their original reclined state.
As each member of SG-1 received their injection,
they grimaced from an excruciating pain in the temple far worse than any
headache they’d ever experienced.
Thankfully, the sensation faded swiftly, leaving only a mild headache
and a little dizziness that wasn’t too bad if one just laid
still until it passed.
Sensing their obvious discomfort, Luie spoke again soothingly, ‘The discomfort you’re no
doubt feeling will soon pass. It will be
facilitated greatly if you can nap a short while. At the very least, you should all lie still
for a couple of hours. Thor, it will do
you good as well,’ he added as an afterthought.
‘And you would all be advised to avoid talking. The drug temporarily affects the ability of
your brain to analyze stimuli and direct audio responses while the normal
synaptic responses are being altered.
You may very well be unable to communicate at all for a short
while. Some might find this very
disquieting, which is the reason I recommend all efforts to communicate be
avoided until the drugs take full effect.
Also, I cannot stress enough that you must attempt to clear your mind of
all conscious thought. Do not expect
your efforts to be totally successful; however, I assure you that to the extent
you are able to follow this recommendation the transition will be made that
much more pleasant. You should also be
warned that this is doubly important because the chemical tag allowing you to
shield your thoughts from others takes a good bit longer to take effect than
that which facilitates the pliant telepathic state we seek.’
After the migraine class headache eased following
her injection, Sam laid patiently trying to discern the actual onset of the
drugs effects. She didn’t know about the
others, but she was more than a little concerned about being unable to curtail
her mental activity for more than a very brief time. All her life, she’d cultivated a mental state
whereby she was always thinking about one, two, sometimes even three, different
things simultaneously. It wasn’t
uncommon for her to be processing two unrelated threads of thought for hours at
a time.
As if that wasn’t enough, she was also apprehensive
about being too transparent with her gushy, if not downright vivid, fantasies
of one Jack O’Neill, fearing she just might sentence them all to an ‘R’, if not
‘X’ rated experience. At least it
shouldn’t be any shock to Daniel and Teal’c that she had such deep feelings
towards him now. Laying there quietly on
the couch, the thought occurred to her that thinking and worrying about it
would probably only make it that much more likely to become a self-fulfilling
prophecy. Determined to prevent just
such an eventuality, Sam focused her will, forcing herself to relax completely,
while clearing her mind of everything and concentrating instead on trying to enjoy
the strange sensations beginning to manifest themselves. ‘Here we go,’ she thought excitedly. ‘The next few hours should be interesting, to
say the least,’ was the last conscious thought she remembered as she drifted
off into a light and peaceful sleep.
Sometime later, Jack awoke to an absolute cacophony
of thoughts and feelings washing back and forth through his mind like the waves
rolling in on a beach. Some were big and
powerful; others, he could barely feel as they licked gently at the very edge
of his consciousness. His own were easy
to identify, while many others were foreign, but somehow familiar. Encouraged by that simple realization, he
attempted to ignore the pounding in his head to concentrate solely on
quantifying and identifying each one of the intruders. Although only partially successful, the
effort encouraged him to the point he slowly began opening his eyes to peer up
at the ceiling high above. For some
reason, that seemed to help more than anything, and he felt the pain gradually
diminish until it was a barely noticeable twinge. Emboldened by his accomplishment, he
refocused his mind on calming himself while gradually identifying and forcing
out any stray thoughts and impressions.
With a start, he suddenly felt a soft, tentative,
but focused touch on his mind that he was able to intuitively identify as
Sam’s. It was nothing more than an
unabashed feeling of love and concern bathing his whole mind in its growing
intensity, serving to instantly soothe away any remaining tendrils of pain. Just as he realized it for what it was, he
felt another touch he knew instinctively to be Daniel’s. It was far less focused, not nearly as
intense, but identifiable nonetheless.
He was laughing! Or was it embarrassment
at what Sam was sending him?
Immediately, Jack concentrated, sending him back a
not so subtle thought to get lost. He
wanted to try to talk to Sam, and he didn’t need an audience. Daniel’s response came back no stronger, but
considerably more focused than before, like he was finally beginning to get the
hang of this ‘communicate through the head’ thing. He seemed to be embarrassed to be caught
unintentionally eavesdropping, but he’d gotten the message to bug off loud and
clear, and he apologized profusely.
Sensing the total withdrawal of Daniel’s mind, Jack
refocused on communicating with Sam.
Beginning to feel a little more sure of himself, he sent a tentative,
‘Hi, Sam.’ Almost
immediately, he felt her response, this time crystal clear and intense almost
to the point of pain.
‘Hi, yourself, Jack.
You okay?’ she asked quickly. 'I
was beginning to get a little worried about you sleeping so long.'
‘Yeah, I think so,’ he admitted. ‘Except for the fact that you just kind of
blew the cobwebs outta’ the old noodle. But you’re volume’s just right, now,’ he
chuckled.
‘Oh, sorry ‘bout that,’ she replied. ‘I’m not exactly experienced at this myself
you know. You’re just right; strong and
clear. I almost think I hear you in my
head better than I would if you were standing in front of me talking.’ After a second, she added excitedly, ‘You know, I kinda’ like this.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ he shot back. By the way, thanks for the nice wake up. That has to be one of the neatest things I’ve
ever felt, to know someone loves and cares about me that way. You mind if I clue you in on how much I
happen to love you?’
‘Please do,’ Sam thought softly. In less than a heartbeat, she felt an
all-encompassing feeling of adoration and love that she’d only dreamed about
before. Although only a mental picture,
it rapidly swelled to become a beautiful mosaic depicting nothing but the
deepest friendship, warmth, love, and respect.
She gasped at the intensity of the thought growing and expanding, making
way for a mental image of the most pleasant embodiment of the plans they’d been
making for their future, of how he looked forward to them finally making love
for the first time, and how intensely he wanted to give her a child. Just as fast as it came, it seemed to fade into
the background; still there, but leaving room for him to speak clearly once
again with the picture serving as a sort of breathtaking mental wallpaper.
‘How’s that for starters, Sam?’ he projected proudly. ‘I could say so much more, but we’ve got the
whole rest of our lives. All you need to
know for now is that I love you with every fiber of my being. Do you have any idea how much that really is?’
‘I do now,’ she answered immediately. ‘Jack, that was the
most stunning, wonderful, romantic thing anyone’s ever expressed to me. Not in my wildest dreams have I ever imagined
anyone could love me like that.’ For
several seconds she concentrated, easily sending back a mental picture leaving
no doubt as to the breadth and depth of her own feelings for him. Regretfully, she had to allow the image to
fade, sensing it was time they rejoin the others. They still had a mission to accomplish, and
she knew Jack would want to check on Teal’c, as well as find out Daniel’s initial
impressions of their newfound abilities.
‘Hey, Sam,’ Jack sent, ‘before we go, I want to ask
you something. You know how I’ve always
been kind of tight-lipped about my personal life and the walls I tend to put up
to keep people out and stuff? Well, I
don’t want there to be any between us, not now, and not ever. I want you to always know exactly how I feel
about everything; I don’t want there to be any secrets. I want you to read my thoughts as much as you
want. There’s nothing I want to conceal
from you anymore. Just promise me you’ll
always be there with me in my heart as well as my head,’ he concluded.
Sam couldn’t help feeling as if her heart was going
to explode with the love she had for this man.
‘I don’t know what to say, Jack, except of course I will. I don’t quite know yet how to do it, but I
want you to have free reign of my thoughts and memories, too. But you do realize we’re going to have a few
disagreements and fights, right? Every
couple does. But no matter what, know
that I’ll always love you more than I disagree.’ She thought for a second before continuing. ‘Oh, and you also realize of course that this
means your Christmas and birthdays may be a little less exciting since there
can’t exactly be any secrets.’
‘Yeah, that’s okay,’ he chuckled, ‘but don’t you
remember that Luie said this power of ours will
probably be gone in a few days? We won’t
have to worry about the Christmas and birthday thing. As for the other, I’ve already thought about
that. I’ll just apologize now in
advance. And I’m always going to be wrong! There, you’ll just have to punish me!’
‘Somehow, I think you’ve got a rather distorted view
of what punishment is all about, Mr. O’Neill!’ she giggled. ‘And for the record, I really like the idea
of you being wrong all the time! But
seriously, if it’s okay with you, I want to explore the possibility of finding
out about that drug we took, and what the long-term ramifications would be if
we stayed on it when we left. That’s
assuming they’ll give us some to take home or we can synthesize it
ourselves. Is that okay?’
‘Yeah, sure, that’s a great idea.’ Feeling a bit naughty, he couldn’t help
adding, ‘Only, if that doesn’t work out, don’t
worry. We can still use what downtime we have here to, how shall I say it, explore this whole phenomena in
considerable detail.’ Sensing she didn’t
quite catch the true meaning behind his words, he continued, ‘I mean with you,
Sam!’ As he finished, he concentrated on
flooding her mind with a few choice erotic images.
‘Uh, Jack, keep that thought please,’ Sam responded breathlessly. ‘Only remember, I can paint a pretty good
picture, too! You want me to give you a
little preview?’ she teased right back.
‘Uh, no, not right this second,’ he shot back
wistfully, 'although, I'm sure I'd really enjoy it.' With a huge mental sigh, he added, ‘We’ll
talk more about that later, Sam, I promise.
Unfortunately,’ he drawled out, ‘right now we need to get back so I can
check on the others.’ Without waiting
for her response, he reached out, trying to touch Teal’c’s mind. ‘Hey, T, are you out there somewhere buddy?’
‘I am, O’Neill,’ was the instant response. ‘Daniel Jackson and I have been mentally
conversing, speculating as to what you and Colonel Carter might be
discussing. Your minds appeared to be
blocked to anyone except each other. The
subject matter for your discussion must have been of great significance,’ he
teased.
‘You could say so,’ Jack stammered. After a second’s pause to get over the
embarrassment of being so totally busted, he mentally cleared his throat. ‘You sound really good, T; I can hear you loud
and clear.’ Almost immediately, he
reached out to touch his younger friend’s mind. ‘Daniel, are you still out there on the line
somewhere?’
‘Yeah, Jack, I’m here,’ Daniel replied instantly, ‘and,
I just bet you two were having an official discussion,’ he said
sarcastically. More seriously, he added,
‘Listen, I told Sam before, and now I’ll tell you: you guys know ‘mum’s the
word’ with me and Teal’c concerning you two.
And I know I’m speaking for the big guy here too, when I say we think
it’s great. Congratulations! You really deserve to finally be together.’
‘Yeah, well thanks,’ Jack responded sincerely, still
feeling a little uncomfortable talking about his and Sam’s newfound
relationship openly. Hoping Daniel would
just follow his lead, he sought to change the subject by asking, ‘Now that
everyone’s here, has anyone heard from Thor?’
‘I have not, O’Neill. Was he not administered the drug also?’
Teal’c enquired solemnly.
Sam spoke up first, glad to hear the conversation
returning to something a bit more professional. ‘He was, Teal’c, but his physiology is very
different from ours. There’s no telling
how the serum affected him. I’ll ask
about it later…’
She was interrupted by Luie’s
clear thought, ‘I can feel a strong link with each of your minds, so I will
assume the transformation was successful.
Are any of you feeling ill effects?’ he asked, querying each of their
minds in turn. Receiving no affirmative
response, he was surprised when Colonel Carter sent him an intense thought.
‘Excuse me, Luie, but why
can’t we communicate telepathically with Thor?’ she asked. ‘Is there a problem, or does it work
differently with him?’
‘No, your question is a good one, Colonel,’ he
acknowledged. ‘Please rest assured that Thor
is well. His response to the serum was quite
satisfactory, and he is monitoring our communication from another room even as
we speak. But since he is an Asgard, a race with roughly the same latent telepathic
abilities as you humans, he is no more nor less adept
at communicating. As such, both of your
races are unable to communicate trans-species, even with the benefit of the
serum. Your minds are simply too
undeveloped, which I’m afraid makes them basically incompatible. The only reason he was able to do so before
was because my colleagues and I invasively augmented his mind enough to allow
it. But as I explained earlier, that
cannot be sustained for long periods of time.
As a matter of fact, he's asked me to apologize on
his behalf if any of you found him overly curt earlier, but his role as
facilitator was extremely tedious. He is
quite fatigued as a result. Although he
can’t communicate with you directly, he can indirectly, because I am serving as
a mental relay to provide the required real-time conversion.' Luie stopped a few seconds
to gage their reactions before proceeding. 'Now, if that adequately addresses your
concern, I would be pleased to resume your briefing,’ he said with patient
finality.
‘There is a good bit of ‘intel’, I believe you would call it, General
O’Neill, that needs to be passed along before I get to the actual point of why
we asked you here. Unless someone has an
objection, I will begin immediately.’
Hearing none, he continued. ‘Some
of this information, Thor may already be aware of; some, he certainly will not. First of all, we Piraxan
are an off-shoot of the Asgard race.’
Thor was the first to ask the question everyone else
was thinking. ‘How is that
possible? The physical evidence does not
appear to support such a claim. Even if
your assumption is correct, our people could not have been separated
sufficiently long to develop such a drastically different physiology.’
Luie’s answer was immediate. ‘Suffice it for now to say, Thor, that we
were genetically manipulated from your form into what we have become, while
your people continued down their normal evolutionary path. That is the reason for the differences you
see. Our technological level is where it
is mainly because our progenitors gave us advanced technology from the very
beginning. In addition, they gifted us
with our unique telepathic abilities, allowing us to acquire knowledge at a much
faster pace than we otherwise could. As
to exactly who they were and why it was done, that will be addressed shortly when
I speak to you about why we have chosen to re-associate ourselves with our Asgard brothers, as well as open a dialog with the human
species.’
Sensing additional questions from nearly every one
present, Luie decided to ask them to let him proceed
for now. ‘Your questions are both
understandable and expected. As I’ve already
stated, we will diligently attempt to answer each one of them in time. But for now, please allow me to give you the
basic information essential for understanding the more important issues that
follow.’ With that, their minds became
politely attentive, but he noted a steady unguarded conversation taking place
between the members of SG-1. ‘Good,’ he
thought, ‘they’ve adapted quite satisfactorily.
He knew that fact bode well for the success of his mission.
‘When the Piraxan offshoot
was formed, it was deemed necessary to physically separate them from the
remaining Asgard.
At the time it occurred, there were only about one hundred thousand of
us living together on a planet very near the edge of this galaxy. For all intents and purposes, we were still Asgard. We were in
fact clones, as your people, Thor, still are.
It was a relatively easy matter to gather us all up and abruptly
disappear without a trace. Why the
progenitors decided to proceed in that fashion has never been revealed to us.
Once we arrived at our new home world, the
progenitors actually began the genetic manipulation that resulted in what we
have become. In so doing, many more were
cloned, continually refining and multiplying each successive model until our
numbers increased to over three hundred million, and we gradually took on the
physical and mental characteristics we have today. As I believe you are aware, we exist
primarily as energy entities. We simply
have no reason to adapt a solid form, but we can for short periods when
necessary. As for today, I can assure
you that I am in my natural vaporous form.
Our ‘essence’, if you will, is inside each of the three boxes setting on
the table before you.
Aside from our basic physical transformation, the
most far-reaching and significant alteration was the enhancement of our latent
mental and telepathic abilities. Our
minds were manipulated to enable us to link together to form what I have previously
termed ‘the collective.’ Linked in such
a manner, we can use the combined power of many minds operating in parallel to
solve nearly any problem in a considerably shorter period of time. This fact alone has been largely responsible
for our extraordinary technological leap forward since the separation from our
ancestor Asgards.
It also allows each one of us to simultaneously participate in anything
happening at any given time, as is occurring here today. Even as I speak, approximately three hundred fifty
million Piraxan are listening in.’
Pausing, he let that all sink in a moment before
continuing. ‘Consider please that we are
not sexual beings; we do not reproduce.
We were cloned over many years in very large numbers. We don't age or die as you know it, and
although we could be destroyed, that has never occurred since the genetic
manipulations were terminated more than a thousand years ago. We don’t explore, and we’re not interested in
conquest. We exist simply to carry out
the mission of our progenitors and nothing more.’
Looking around at all the shocked faces, Luie had to smile.
They were indeed an inquisitive, thoughtful bunch. He sensed the desire to pose numerous
questions, but they were politely waiting till he finished his briefing. ‘Good,’ he thought. Now, for how they came to be here. ‘When you were invited to come here, Thor was
asked to be intentionally vague in answering many of your questions. We wanted you to come because you saw the raw
potential for meeting us, even in spite of the risk to yourselves and your
race. Of course, Thor was an exception;
we needed him to facilitate our initial communication, as well as be the
liaison between all three of our races.
He was not given any specifics about why we wanted SG-1 here, nor how we
would assess you when you arrived. He
merely provided the transport, although he did play a pivotal role during your
engagement with the unknown alien race and the Goa’ulds.
To be perfectly honest, the human race was being
tested, and SG-1 and General O’Neill had been specifically recommended by Thor
as being the finest your race had to offer.
You were all adjudged as being the very best at what you did, and in the
case of General O’Neill, was identified by Thor as being an advanced human, as
well as having received the Ancient’s download on two separate occasions. So, there was little doubt who we wanted to
come.
On the way here, you participated in a scenario
designed to challenge your intelligence, motives, honor, compassion, and
loyalty. We were very encouraged by what
we observed. In addition, Colonel Carter
and General O’Neill were specifically tested to determine their willingness to
intentionally make the ultimate sacrifice: first, for beings they knew almost
nothing about, and secondly, for each other.
Those results were also quite extraordinary. When we subsequently introduced a non-intrusive
probe directly into their minds, we found evidence of a very strong emotional
bond between the two of them which effectively serves to greatly amplify each
one’s individual telepathic abilities.’
As he listened, Jack couldn’t help stealing a quick
look at each member of his team.
Predictably, Sam’s attention seemed focused on every ‘word’ Luie was saying.
Without a doubt, he knew she was already analyzing his speech, turning
it over and over in her mind, considering every ramification. Sensing his lingering gaze, she turned her
head slightly and smiled before once again losing herself in what was being
said. Also predictably, Daniel was listening
rapturously, occasionally glancing back and forth between he
and Sam. ‘He must be in seventh heaven,’
Jack thought. Almost immediately, a grin
crossed Daniel’s face; then, quickly faded.
Idly, Jack considered that he must have ‘heard’ his own thoughts. As to what Teal’c was doing or thinking was anyone’s
guess. His expression remained blank, and
his eyes were shut as if trying to avoid focusing on anything at all. For a second, Jack wondered whether he might
be feeling a little queasy. He must have
sensed his concern because he suddenly looked up as if questioning whether
something was wrong. Jack just shook his
head no, and immediately immersed himself again in Luie’s
continuing dialog.
‘As for the test itself, SG-1 unanimously chose to
protect the innocent; a quality I can assure you is not prevalent throughout
the galaxy. Three of you were killed
during the test, or so you thought. When
Thor beamed you aboard this vessel, he was asked to place you directly onto the
stasis couches you currently occupy. The
only thing that was not an illusion was when he greeted you initially. From that time on, I, and my two colleagues
in the boxes beside me, fed you a continuous mosaic of mental images for the
roughly one hour you fought to save the aliens.
Neither they nor the Goa’ulds
were real. They were images taken out of
your own minds. In the case of the
alien’s characteristics, they were taken from one of O’Neill’s childhood
memories of a scary science fiction movie.’
Jack shot them a warning glance as Sam and Daniel
both tittered in laughter, apparently finding it quite amusing that he had ever
been scared of ‘the big bad aliens’.
‘The intensity of that memory was why we selected
it. You were not killed and brought back
to life. Rather, you were fed images to
make you believe that you were, and that all the other events that occurred
really did happen. We input stimuli only,
and then sat back to study and measure your individual and collective
reactions. What happened to you was a
result of your decisions in conjunction with the artificial world we created
for you to interact in. You could not be
allowed to know what we were doing if we wanted a true and accurate assessment
of how you would really react.
Finally, you were restrained because we could not
know with certainty how you would react to the images we input into your
minds. We could not take the chance you
would react violently and inadvertently hurt yourselves or each other. Needless to say, you all passed that initial
test as you would say, ‘with flying colors’.
Before I continue, does anyone need a break?’ When no one responded, Luie
resumed. ‘Please do not hesitate to let
me know if you are feeling any discomfort at all from your procedure. The drug should be at its maximum
effectiveness by now, and we should be able to easily relieve any uncomfortable
symptoms.’ As expected, both Teal’c and Daniel
responded mentally to his offer to help.
In both cases, by momentarily concentrating a tiny fraction of the
mental power inherent in the collective, he was able to immediately detect and
ease each man's individual offending neurons.
Once they’d both assured him that all was well, he was ready to continue
the briefing.
‘As I mentioned a few minutes ago with regard to General
O’Neill and Colonel Carter, I also tested you individually to ascertain the power
and scope of your minds in an effort to determine whether your race is advanced
enough to proceed with what I am about to propose. Again, I wish to state that I’ve never made
any attempt to invade your private thoughts and memories, with the sole
exception being when you first arrived, and that was strictly confined to selecting
the appropriate images from General O’Neill’s mind for your testing.’
Satisfied that no one had any doubts about his last
statement, Luie moved on. ‘In the test, I introduced a mental concept
so sophisticated it should have been well beyond your ability to consciously
detect. In the cases of Dr. Jackson and
Teal’c, your minds instantly dismissed it as not requiring any thought, but
your brains were measured for the instant it took to determine that fact. The data was then processed by me and my
colleagues and passed on to the collective for evaluation, and I must say, you
considerably exceeded our expectations.
Indeed, we found each of your minds to be very powerful and possessing a
nearly unlimited growth potential.
As I said previously, in the cases of Carter and
O’Neill, we were quite surprised to find the emotional bond they obviously
share responsible for greatly sensitizing their minds to the point they both
sensed my probe. Whether or not they
would have ever become consciously aware of its intrusion had I allowed it to
continue, I cannot say. In order to
preserve the validity of the test results, I withdrew it immediately. Additionally, it was found that they are
linked so tightly that we were rather surprised to find they weren’t naturally
telepathic to some degree, although the preliminary data shows that they are in
fact, slightly empathic towards each other.
Even as I speak, that link is at least a factor of fifty beyond anything
we could have reasonably expected. In
fact, I must retract something I stated earlier before we’d finished analyzing
the data.’
Diverting his thoughts momentarily to address just
the two of them, he continued. ‘You may
well retain the ability to link over considerable distances even after the drug
has worn off, because the permanent residual effect is roughly proportional to
the cube of the bond strength created while under its influence. Of course, should that pose a problem for
either one of you, I can easily remedy it.’
To his surprise, both seemed delighted to hear about
the possible persistence of their abilities, and quickly assured him that it
was no problem, so he continued his briefing to the entire group. ‘The progenitor race responsible for we Piraxan’s, and the reason you are all here, is the race you
refer to as the Ancients. We were
created by them to be the caretakers, if you will, of several galaxies after
they moved on and in most cases, ascended.
In addition to yourselves, we have been watching all the major races in
your galaxy, most notably the Asgards, Nox, Tollan, which incidentally,
are an offshoot of your own species, the Aschen, Furlings, Goa’uld, and several hundred others. You however, although far from the top of the
list in technological achievement, seem to have the potential qualities the
Ancients identified as most desirable for becoming the galaxy’s fifth great
race.
Within your lifetime, we Piraxan
will leave this galaxy behind to carry on our mission of monitoring younger
sentient species development, just as we did yours. Thousands of your years ago we identified you
as one of the most likely candidates for advancing the Ancient's dream of a
true galactic civilization that was to incorporate species from hundreds, if
not thousands of different worlds, working together in peace and harmony for
the good of all. Over ten thousand years
ago, they, along with the Asgards, Nox, and Furlings, attempted just
such a venture. That great plan failed
because they were far too busy competing with each other technologically to see
the value of working together for the very long term goal of nurturing and
protecting innumerable infant races such as yourselves.
So, they abandoned that dream and pursued their own
interests. The Nox
eventually turned inward, becoming a gentle, spiritual people more in touch
with their inner selves than any race we’ve ever observed. But they slowly isolated themselves,
preferring quiet anonymity, rarely moving out into a galaxy that was now
teeming with life, most of which could have sorely used their guidance and
wisdom. Today, they are a highly
advanced society, but only recently have encounters such as the one they had with
your team, alerted them to the fact that they can no longer afford to remain as
they are. The galaxy is becoming a far
too dangerous place to sit back and contemplate only oneself.
The Furlings chose to
follow a path very similar to the Nox, except they chose
to concentrate their efforts on finding a voluntary road to spiritual
enlightenment, as did the majority of the Ancient's. Many ascended before those remaining became
involved in an interstellar war that utterly devastated their adversary, while
nearly destroyed their own civilization.
Today, there are again several tens of billions inhabiting the planets
of old dying stars close in to the center of this galaxy who still aspire to
that original lofty goal, if only the knowledge required to make it a reality
could be reacquired. They too, have
recently expressed a desire to revisit the great experiment envisioned by the
Ancient's so long ago.
As for the Asgard, they
have become a noble and mighty space-faring race, very technically advanced,
and the defender of many lesser races such as your own. They might well have been asked to pick up
our yoke, but for the fact they have inadvertently made themselves a dying
race. Advancement in their cloning
technology is no longer able to keep pace with the natural degradation in their
copied bodies. But they are a proud and
noble people, and they deserve to survive.’
As Sam listened, she shivered with an excitement
she’d only experienced a few times in her life.
Not that her job wasn’t normally challenging and exciting. But Luie was talking
about the Furlings and interstellar wars and the fact
that hundreds of other alien races were out there in the galaxy! It was incredible stuff, and she couldn’t
believe how fortunate she was to be a part of it all. Totally caught up in his briefing, she
listened closely….
'The plan we have devised meets all the requirements
of our progenitors, with the added benefit of removing the Asgard
from the route to slow extinction they've inadvertently placed themselves on
over the last thirty five hundred years.
With their help, and that of the other two super races and yourselves,
we propose the formation of a new ‘United Council of the Stars’, to be
established in the very near future on an as yet to be named neutral
planet. It's purpose would be two fold:
first, the protection of all nine thousand three hundred three sentient,
non-aggressive races we have discovered spread across nearly a hundred fifty
thousand star systems in this galaxy, and secondly, the prudent and timely
dissemination of the Ancient’s knowledge and technology to each species at
their own best pace for the benefit of all their people. The Ancient’s envisioned a universe where the
collective might of the vast majority of the galaxy’s races would permanently
ensure a lasting peace and prosperity for every being. For the first time in over ten thousand years,
we believe that goal is attainable.
Although limited initially to just the Asgard, Furlings, Nox, and you Humans from the Tauri
planet, the ruling council should in time grow and expand to encompass more and
more races as they eventually meet the membership requirements you establish. But you are obviously not at a level anywhere
approaching that of the other three super races. Nevertheless, yours has proven most qualified
to lead the others on the Ancient’s behalf.
In addition to filling the council’s primary leadership role, we
envision something like your Stargate Command to initially visit candidate
worlds by either Stargate or ship, the purpose of which is to assess their
current level of development and desire for associate membership. Another goal would be the establishment of an
appropriate plan for administering technical assistance, if deemed appropriate. Although the final decision will be up to the
council at large, yours will be the primary responsibility to recommend whether
or not to proceed, and at what level.
To that end, we propose that you, General O’Neill,
become the Secretary General, if you will, of the council. In addition to being the voting member of
your race, you will have the additional responsibility of setting the overall
agenda for the council, and for the day-to-day operation of the entire planet.’
‘Me,’ Jack boomed out, ‘why me? I’m a military man! I don’t know the first thing about politics
and negotiation! I wouldn’t even know
where to start!’ he complained. But, he
stopped abruptly as he felt Sam reach out to touch him with a gentle, but insistent
thought.
‘Jack, you always underestimate yourself,’ she
beamed privately. ‘Look at all you’ve
done. No one could be more qualified. You
have all the experience, intelligence, compassion, and drive someone assuming
such a position could ever hope to have, or would ever require. Besides, you wouldn’t be alone, remember?’
she admonished seductively.
In most ways, her words had an immediate calming effect. Even though his heart was hammering at the
prospect of a lifetime with Sam at his side, he felt somehow soothed. But he still felt inadequate, wondering how he,
Jack O’Neill, could possibly lead a galaxy full of humans and aliens. After thinking a second, the answer was
obvious: with Sam at his side, he felt empowered to accomplish anything. Without her, there wasn’t a chance in hell. Suddenly realizing he’d just made his
decision, he determined to give it his best shot. After beaming back over his love and thanks
to Sam, she broke their special connection.
With a sigh, he looked back up, surprised to see everyone
but Thor staring at him expectantly, obviously amused at his initial outburst. For his part, Thor seemed not the least bit surprised.
‘The Asgard have great faith in you, O’Neill, even if you do not. You would be a very capable leader,’ he said
matter-of-factly.
Thankfully, Luie began
speaking before he could respond. ‘With
his impressive knowledge of languages and cultures, Dr. Daniel Jackson is
easily the most qualified to head the overall effort to identify candidate
races for associate membership. He will
also recommend the level and rate of council involvement to disseminate the
Ancient’s technology, and perform the necessary monitoring of all ongoing
efforts. In addition, he will be the
Speaker Pro Tem of the general assembly of associate members. As should be expected, the scope of his
responsibility is so large as to require a substantial number of personnel to
assist. We intend that they initially be
human, but as soon as possible, as in all the facility staff, they should become
truly representative of the many races represented.
Teal’c will be responsible for security, both on and
off the planet. He will also become the
Commander of all military forces, answerable directly to the ruling council
through General O’Neill.
That leaves only Colonel Carter. Her technical expertise and experience makes
her singularly qualified to supervise the dissemination of technology to your
race. In addition, we feel she is
uniquely qualified to become director of the effort responsible for
recommending and supervising all technology transfers to those associate
members deemed appropriate by the council.
In addition, she will assist General O’Neill and perform his duties,
should that ever become necessary.’ Pausing
a moment to let them assimilate everything he’d said so far, Luie sensed Daniel’s comment before it was even stated.
‘Luie, I think I can speak
for all of us when I say we are tremendously honored by your words and proposal. But our government, our world, is not ready for this, nor are they going to permit us to just
step in and assume to speak for everyone on the planet. I wish things could be that easy. There
will have to be negotiations to decide what nations will participate and who
Earth’s representatives should be, and…’
He was interrupted in mid-sentence by Luie, ‘Excuse me, Dr. Jackson. We realize this is a bold plan requiring the
approval of all your people. That is one
of the reasons we have decided to immediately accompany you back to Earth. They must be convinced of the necessity for
this initiative. While it may not be
easy, it is positively essential. We believe
that if we take the matter directly to them they will be convinced. Whether or not your government’s leaders
agree is largely irrelevant. It is
definitely in Earth’s best interests to set aside any petty politics and national
self-interests, and once and for all embrace the idea of a truly one world
government. Your Stargate Command must
be made public, along with full disclosure of the fact that your race is only
one of many that reside out here among the stars.
As I alluded, this will not be easy. Some will balk; some may well panic. But in the long run, your people must be
educated and come to embrace this simple reality. As you well know, within the past few years,
your planet has been in dire peril from the malevolent Goa’uld race, as well as
a few others, on several different occasions.
But for the efforts of your Stargate Command, and more specifically,
largely due to your unit ‘SG-1’, they would have succeeded in destroying your
civilization and enslaving those that survived.
Believe me when I say there are several more races out there in the
galaxy who have recently taken notice of your level of
development and would like nothing more than to permanently annihilate or
subjugate you, and they are infinitely more qualified to do so than the
Goa’uld.
Through ignorance and inaction, your leaders would
ensure your eventual destruction, and this is something the Piraxan,
Asgard, Furling, and Nox
races are no longer willing to stand back and allow to occur. All of us pledge to safeguard humanity and
its tremendous potential to become the fifth super race, but only if your
people can be convinced it is in their own best interests. To that end, our appeal will be made directly
to them, not with any one government or its leaders. The initial revelation of our existence will
be as public as possible, designed to undermine any leader who through
arrogance, desire for power, greed, or plain stupidity, finds himself in opposition.
Simply put, we have agreed to assist in the
difficult transition that will inevitably follow adoption of this plan and the
total upheaval of your planet’s politics and ways of life. We will not permit wars or aggression of any
sort once the military machines of the individual national governments have
been dissolved, and will utilize whatever advanced technology is necessary to
maintain planetary peace and prosperity.
All weapons of mass destruction, whether nuclear, chemical, or
biological, will immediately be destroyed or rendered permanently inert. One country will not be allowed to fight
another for any reason. The loss of
national sovereignty may be hard for some to accept, but death or enslavement
at the hands of the Goa’uld, Aschen, Iktaren, Basilke, or Oombonee, to name only a few, would be infinitely worse.
Many may well suspect that we have ulterior motives
for helping your planet, while others may be moved to openly resist those
efforts. I will address the issue of
motives shortly, but please be assured that we have no need or desire to
conquer your admittedly beautiful, but otherwise insignificant world, or any
need or desire to subjugate your people.
As you well know, if that were the case, any one of the super races
could accomplish it alone in a matter of minutes. Finally, we pledge to defend your world against
aggression by any race for as long as it takes for you to ascend to your
rightful place as the fifth great race.’
Finally, Luie stopped,
waiting patiently for the comments and arguments he felt sure would come. He was pleasantly surprised to see there were
only very minor disagreements over the vast majority of what had been said to
this point. For the most part, it dealt
with how they could possibly get the entire world to agree on anything,
particularly if it dealt with the loss of national sovereignty. Considerably relieved and emboldened, he
decided to finish his dissertation expeditiously. ‘Assuming our plan is eventually implemented,
you might well ask yourselves, what could possibly be incentive enough to
ensure the enthusiastic support of the Asgards, Furlings, and Nox?’
‘As I said earlier, the Asgard
are well down a road to self-destruction by virtue of millennia of cloning
themselves, having for whatever reason long ago abandoned their normal asexual
reproduction in favor of cloning their bodies and subsequently uploading their
minds into them as each aging one failed.
They are not an aggressive race, caring little for expanding their
sphere of influence. They are interested
only in protecting what they have, as well as possessing a burning desire to
safeguard other younger and therefore, more vulnerable races. That being the case, they feel they will be
more than compensated if they can once again become capable of reproducing
themselves normally.’
‘But, Luie, how’s that
affect us? How could we help them with
that?’ Sam asked, a confused look clouding her expression.
Jack snickered at the remark, eliciting a frown from
Sam, as she waited patiently for Luie to answer.
‘The human race is genetically energetic and
diverse, more than capable of providing from willing donors the tiny amounts of
DNA they require to modify their own back to the point where they can resume
sexual reproduction. The technical
description of how this might be accomplished is extremely complex, but it is
well within the capability of the Ancient’s technology. This is the only reward they seek.’
‘In the case of the Furling, they seek a more total
enlightenment and the knowledge of the Ancient’s to allow many of those still
remaining to eventually ascend voluntarily.
They recognize the value of their own contribution in first helping you
Humans, and then later, all the other races, to achieve their true
potential. The knowledge they possess is
truly advanced, although under-utilized, as they have little need for
technology beyond maintaining themselves at their current level. For them, the Ancient knowledge is more than
adequate compensation for their participation in the council into the
foreseeable future.
Finally, the Nox pledge
their considerable support and mental abilities, most notably that of
self-healing, in exchange for the ability to adapt themselves to finally become
a truly telepathic species, the one thing they have so long sought, but never
been able to achieve. With the Ancient
knowledge we can provide, they enthusiastically support the whole initiative.
Now, if there are no questions, I wish to mention a
few things which should be important and helpful to you when you begin your new
duties. Notice I said when, and not if. We of the collective are
confident from your testing and subsequent analysis that you will eagerly
embrace our plan because it is just and right.
Similarly, we have no doubt that you would do anything possible to help
your species survive and achieve its true destiny. Having said that, I wish to point out that
you will be required of necessity to permanently relocate from Earth to live on
the planet we eventually select. It will
be an aesthetically pleasing, pristine and temperate world, with no indigenous
intelligent life. You, and anyone you
care to bring with you, will live comfortably and will be able to travel back
to Earth or anywhere else, at will. For
the time being, your allegiance should remain with your home planet, but we
foresee a time when you may well pass on to others your responsibilities in
that regard in order to focus more effectively and impartially on the galaxy as
a whole.
The sheer volume of technical knowledge you will be
required to deal with fairly screams out the need for assimilating a tremendous
amount of new information in a relatively short period of time, certainly not
the years your normal educational process would take. In order to aid the acquisition of
information you’ll need to do your jobs, you will each be given at least a
partial download of the Ancient’s database.
Let me assure you that it will be done in a manner which will allow your
mind to safely absorb the data. In the
case of General O’Neill, the entire database is already resident in his mind,
although presently lying dormant, and for the most part, unused. It will slowly be reactivated, and each of
the rest of you, except Colonel Carter, will receive portions that appertain specifically
to your jobs and interests. In her case,
she will also receive a full download.
As you have seen with General O’Neill, just having
the knowledge doesn’t automatically mean it is available for your use without
specific triggering events, or some basic training in the concepts that data
represents. In other words, he wouldn’t
normally be able to build a Stargate, but with training, he might very
well. Similarly, Colonel Carter won’t
intuitively understand how to develop a cure for the common cold, but with
enough schooling, may eventually. For
this reason, several Piraxan will remain to serve as
teachers, tutors, and mentors, giving you the benefit of the nearly
inexhaustible knowledge contained within our collective to help you learn at
your own pace what you need to know to effectively use the even larger
resources of the Ancient databases your minds will eventually contain. If that sounds ambitious, believe me when I
say that it is, but you have proven to be extraordinary beings. We have no doubt that you will thrive in such
an environment, even while carrying out your respective obligations.’
Finding himself tiring rapidly from the long mental
exertion, Luie signaled his captive audience that he’d
completed the briefing. For the first
time, they all stopped conversing privately with each other, apparently stunned
by the enormity and scope of all he’d revealed and proposed. Amused to see them so impressed, he quickly
conversed with the collective to verify they were in agreement with what he was
about to offer. Hearing no objection, he
politely asked his guests to indulge him just a few more moments.
With attentions once more focused on him, he
continued. ‘Before I leave you to
discuss our proposal, on behalf of the entire Piraxan
collective, I would again like to thank you for coming. Whether or not your people eventually come to
endorse this proposal, I would be pleased to offer each one of you an immediate
token of our appreciation and respect that is not contingent upon such
action.’ Sensing their surprise, he
added, ‘When you woke after being injected, I scanned your bodies to ascertain that
there were no ill effects. That scan
also revealed that each one of you is afflicted with one or more physical
maladies that your medical science is not currently capable of adequately
addressing. So, with your permission, I
would like to offer to repair one major ailment for each of you.
Teal’c, you are currently taking a drug called ‘tretonin’ to maintain your immune system in the absence of
a symbiote. If
you agree, I will permanently remove that need by adjusting certain portions of
your brain to produce several vital enzymes to reactivate your entire immune
system over time.’
Surprised and pleased at the offer, Teal’c smiled as
he directed back his answer, ‘Indeed, that would be most appreciated.’
Noting the gratitude in his powerful thought, Luie concentrated, summoning assistance from the
collective. Within seconds they were
able to isolate and stimulate the portion of the
In his mind, Teal’c gave a nod of thanks, to which
he was immediately answered, ‘You are most welcome,
Turning his attention to Dr. Jackson, Luie beamed, ‘Likewise, I offer to repair a minor physical
impairment. Your eyes are improperly
shaped. I wish merely to adjust the
curvature to eliminate your need for the contrivance you call ‘glasses’. Is this satisfactory?’
Daniel gasped at the offer. Since early childhood, he’d been saddled with
the requirement to wear either glasses or contacts. He was so used to wearing them he never
really gave it much thought. But he was
eager to finally be free of needing them.
Without a second’s hesitation he signaled his enthusiastic permission,
supposing idly that the Piraxan mental capabilities
must be somewhat telekinetic as well if they could just focus their thoughts
and alter a physical object. Almost
immediately, he sensed a tingling in both eyes.
Reaching up, he removed his glasses and attempted to focus on the ceiling
maybe twenty feet overhead. As he did,
it sprang into sharp focus, his vision considerably better than even the
glasses provided. Ecstatic, he fairly
shouted, ‘Thank you, Luie, I’ve never seen this
well!’
‘Easy, Daniel,’ Jack shot back. ‘You ‘bout blew the top of my head off!’
‘Oh, sorry,’ Daniel replied apologetically, still barely
able to contain his excitement.
‘General O’Neill, I observed that your knees are
extensively scarred, and neither has sufficient cartilage. With your permission, I will correct that,’ Luie stated.
‘Hey, go for it!
If you can do that, my hat’s off to ya’!’ Jack
answered back with enthusiasm.
‘Very well, I will begin,’ Luie
said. Reaching out with his mind, he
sent a torrent of thought, focusing it directly underneath each kneecap,
instantly removing the offending scar tissue.
A little more delicately, he converted small amounts of O’Neill’s own blood
into compatible tissue, altering the DNA sequence that instructed it to remain
lodged in the proper position, connecting itself firmly to bone on both ends.
As Jack lay there, all he felt was a gentle warming
in both knees. There was no pain, and
almost immediately the all-pervasive ache he’d endured for the last fifteen
years or so slowly began fading away until it was completely gone. Knowing intuitively that he could probably
jump up and down if he wanted to, he focused the most heart-felt thanks he
could muster, all the time marveling that if this race could do such things
just by thinking about it, what in hell did they need him for?
Pleased at the General’s humble response, Luie braced himself for the final and most delicate
effort. The human female known as
Colonel Carter was waiting, her mind busily trying to figure out in advance
what he could possibly offer her.
Sensing what he was about to do would very likely be an emotional event,
he began carefully. ‘Colonel Carter, the
scan of your body revealed what I expect may be a most private condition. If you like, I will shield you from your friends’
minds. Is that what you desire?’
She thought a moment before answering confidently. ‘No, I don’t think that’s necessary. These guys are like my family. We don’t have too many secrets from each
other,’ she concluded, a bit apprehensively.
‘As you wish,’ Luie
answered back. ‘Your reproductive organs
are damaged sufficiently that, although you may be able to conceive a child,
you certainly could never carry it to term.
With your permission, I will correct that anomaly.’
Sam gasped audibly at the import of what Luie had just said.
Up until that moment, she’d firmly believed in her and Jack’s ability to
conceive. It hadn’t even dawned on her
that whether or not she could, she might be incapable of carrying the fetus to
term. Even as tears filled her eyes and
she felt Jack’s soothing, ‘I love you,’ she felt a tingling begin that grew
slightly in intensity before quickly subsiding.
Before she knew it, it was all over.
Sam somehow knew it had been successful. Through her quiet sobs of joy, she finally
managed to choke out, “Thank you, Luie.” When it finally dawned on her that she’d
spoken out audibly, she tried to stem the tears and concentrate enough to send
a mental picture of just how appreciative she really was. Feeling nothing but warm soothing thoughts
from the guys around her, she finally succeeded.
‘You are welcome, Colonel Carter, but it is hardly
necessary to thank me. It is I who
should be thanking all of you. Without a
doubt, I consider the four of you and Thor, to be my new friends. It is the very least I, or should I say we, could do for you.’ As he finished projecting the thought, he
added quietly, ‘If it’s not too presumptuous of me, I would in fact, like to
congratulate you and the General on the bond you obviously share. Although I am unsure whether it is
appropriate or not for me to offer this wish, I hope your union rewards you
with many strong babies. And although I
doubt you’ve thought much about it, the rare combination of yours and O’Neill’s
DNA will most likely prove extraordinary.
That being the case, I hope you will consider that such a combination is
the very best the Asgard could ever hope to receive.’
Shuddering from the intensity of the simultaneous
blasts of indignation from the two, Luie quickly
recovered, attempting to explain.
‘Please, I did not mean to offend you.
I sense that you misunderstood because I phrased my thought
improperly. Obviously, your species have
very strong maternal instincts. I assure
you, I never meant to imply that any young you may have would be a, how do you
term it, ‘guinea pig’ for experimentation, no matter how much it could help the
Asgard. What
needs to be done to help them requires only the extraction of a rather minute
quantity of DNA from your future baby; it is a very simple procedure occurring
even before it is born, and would be entirely safe to both mother and
child. Please believe me,’ he ended in
obvious distress.
Noting the soothing effect that his words seemed to
have, he dared to finish his explanation.
‘What the two of you can produce together is very probably the best the Asgard could ever expect because it would be the blending
of the very best your human race has to offer, an advanced human male with the
Ancient gene, and an extraordinarily intelligent and beautiful female, which
would very likely result in an even more advanced human.’
As Sam listened, she couldn’t help feeling her anger
swiftly fade, especially since she suspected both the sincerity and validity of
what he was saying. Not that she was
tooting her own horn, but Sam knew she was a genius, and she also knew Jack was
especially fine for a lot of reasons!
Besides, how could she stay mad at such a silver-tongued devil? He’d actually called her beautiful!
‘Hey,’ Jack interrupted quietly, ‘you reckon we can
let the ol’ guy off the hook? He did say you were beautiful, and I can’t
argue with that!’
‘Yeah, I guess so,’ Sam replied. ‘I don’t think he meant it the way it sounded,
or at least the way we took it, anyway.’
Pausing just a second, she added with a mental grin, ‘Where do you think
he learned to talk so sweet when he’s in trouble, if they’re cloned
beings? Maybe he’s got a wife and just
doesn’t want to admit it,’ she kidded.
‘Ya’ think?’ Jack
replied. Not waiting for a response to
his sarcastic comment, he aimed a thought straight back to Luie.
‘Hey, I don’t know where you learned to
sweet talk a woman like that, but you’re a hit with Sam here. Anyway, you’re forgiven. I just don’t think either one of us is really
too keen on the idea of our baby being used medically, but I guess what you’re
talking about would be okay if you can absolutely assure us that it’s a one
time thing, and is safe for both mother and baby. Besides, Thor here’s a pretty good ‘ol guy. He’s saved
our asses countless times. I think the
whole Asgard race is worth it, right Sam?’ he
queried, knowing before he even asked that she’d agree. Feeling her mental nod, he grew silent again.
‘Thank you, General O’Neill, and I assure you it is,’
Luie responded.
‘Now, I suggest that we adjourn and let you and your team and Thor
rest. He has graciously provided rest
facilities for each of you. Then, please
discuss our proposal at length, and we will meet back here in ten of your
hours. We will decide what our next step
should be at that time,’ he finished, as the lights on all three boxes went out
together. Almost simultaneously, five
bright transporter beams flared and they all disappeared.
_______________________________________________________
By the end of their next session with Luie, they’d decided what needed to be done to ensure
Earth’s cooperation. They unanimously
agreed that it needed to be something spectacular to get the attention of all
the world’s leaders pretty much at the same time. Jack was surprised when Daniel half-heartedly
quipped, ‘You know, what we need to do is get ‘em all
together in the same room and have Luie, Thor, maybe
a Tokra, a Furling, and a Nox,
all come beaming in and shock the living daylights out of them.’
Even before he got the thought completely out, they
all knew that was basically the answer.
And what better place could there be to get them all together than the
United Nations? The General Assembly was
in session again, and would be for at least a week. Now all they had to do was get as many of
Earth’s key leaders as possible there at the same time and show them something
really eye popping, ‘Like Thor’s ship perhaps,’ Teal’c interjected.
‘Perfect,’ Sam shot back. ‘Thor could collect most of the key leaders
from orbit while in stealth mode and beam them straight to the Assembly
chamber. Then, Luie,
Thor, and the others would arrive one at a time. If the sight of four or five aliens beaming
in and talking to them wasn’t enough, we could beam them all outside for some
kind of staged demonstration by his ship.
Of course, that will take some coordination with the military to avoid
any undesirable response. Hey, wait a
minute,’ she thought excitedly, ‘What about General Hammond? I know if we could convince him, he’d help us
convince the President and Joint Chiefs.
Then, they could ensure there’s no confrontation. What do you think?’ she asked everyone in
general.
Jack spoke up for the first time. ‘I think that could work, only do we want to
make that kind of first impression if we don’t have to? What about just having the whole thing take
place outside the UN to begin with? Thor’s ship should make a very effective point
without us having to do much of anything?
It shouldn’t be too hard to get every major news organization on the
planet to show up for some unknown special news conference, especially with
General Hammond and the President’s help.
Everyone can still beam in for maximum impact, and the whole thing can
be relayed simultaneously by satellite on every frequency used around the
world. We’ll have them all say
something; then, assuming we get his support, the President can expound on the Stargate
program before Luie takes over and gives a brief
synopsis of the plan. As they beam back
aboard ship, the President can announce that it will make a slow trip around
the planet, which we will have designed to give maximum public exposure. He could also warn that some will undoubtedly
take offensive action, but Thor’s ship will track and destroy the responsible
aircraft or missile. After everyone has
been given fair warning to evacuate, the base or vessel from which it was
launched will also be eliminated.’
With very little further discussion they all agreed
to adopt that plan. They set zero hour
for four days hence at precisely 1100 EDT, hopefully
far enough away to allow them time to convince General Hammond and the
President. The plan didn’t really need
either one’s support to succeed, but taking the time to try and convince them
was definitely the right thing to do, and it would make the whole thing that
much easier to sell to the other world leaders, especially in the case of the
President. After discussing the best way
to get them all together, they broke up to go get a few hours sleep, while Thor
started them on the long trip back to the Stargate they’d originally come
through. Luie
and Thor agreed to come in the ‘
After eating and once again talking everything to
death, they agreed they needed to sleep as much as possible on the trip
home. Catnaps wouldn’t sustain them for
long in the face of all they needed to do over the next few days. When they got back, things were going to get
pretty hectic pretty fast. There might
not be much of a chance then to rest. As
Daniel and Teal’c excused themselves and headed for their respective rooms,
Jack reached out a hand to pull Sam up, immediately pulling her into a close
embrace. Reluctantly, they finally broke
apart and kissed one last time before Jack headed for the door leading out of
the common room to his own quarters a short distance away.
‘Hey, wait a minute,’ Sam beamed. Jack stopped abruptly and turned around with
an inquisitive look on his face. ‘I just
thought of something, Jack,’ she added, a smile painting her expression from
ear to ear.
‘What’s that, Sam?’ he enquired, more than a little
curious.
‘Well, you know that talk we had with General
Hammond the morning we left, and how worried we were that instead of the
President granting us a waiver so that we could finally be together, we just
might end up with a court martial and ruined careers for all three of us? Well, we don’t have to worry about that
anymore. Jack, it doesn’t make any
difference now what happens. Within a
few days, we won’t be subject to military jurisdiction anymore. Hell, there might not even be any
military! We can get married anytime we
want, and when we get to our new jobs, we’ll already be husband and wife!’
A look of comprehension slowly washed over Jack’s tired
face. He hadn’t even thought of
that! His mood was nothing short of ebullient
as he quickly walked back over to where Sam stood and leaned down to give her one last mind-blowing kiss. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to! Feeling like he was almost walking on air, he
abruptly changed his mind and shot her a last thought, ‘I love you, Sam! See you in my dreams!’ With a spring in his step he’d not had in
years, he turned back and briskly headed through the door and off to his
quarters.
_______________________________________________________
When SG-1 finally stepped through the Stargate into
their own Gate room, General Hammond was standing there at the base of the ramp
to greet them personally. “Welcome home,
SG-1,” he boomed with obvious pride. “I
trust your mission was interesting and went well?” he said fishing for a little
information.
“Oh, yes Sir,” Carter beamed, “on both scores as a
matter of fact.”
“Sir,” Jack intoned, “you better get
ready for a long debrief. That was one
hell of a mission.”
“Really,” General Hammond replied with interest. “I’ll look forward to it then. Debrief will be in two hours people. Get yourselves a physical and a good shower. In the meantime, I’ll call the President and
tell him you’re back. Once you notified
me of your ETA, I phoned him, and he cleared his schedule so he could be here
this evening. He’s staying in
“No, Sir.
Nothing’s funny. I just, well,
we’re glad to be back is all,” Jack replied.
Following a quick glance over to a smiling Sam, he glanced back quickly
and asked, “Permission to be dismissed, Sir?”
“What? Oh,
yes, you’re dismissed,” the General muttered, obviously perplexed at the whole
team’s apparent amusement.
“Thank you, Sir,” Jack answered with a smart
salute. When he looked back around, he
could see Sam hesitating at the door, obviously waiting as long as she could
for him to catch up. He'd just reached
her when he heard General Hammond call out their names. “Sir?” they enquired almost as one.
As
the General strode over, he asked conspiratorially, “Jack, Sam, I almost
forgot. You know that little matter you
two talked to me about right before you left?
Well, it’s all taken care of. The
President agreed with me that we can’t afford to lose either one of you, and we
do owe you big time. You have his
blessing, and an executive order to that effect should be waiting for both of
you in your respective in-baskets.
Congratulations you two,” he said with a huge grin, “we’re both happy
for you.” Looking at Jack, he added, “Just
one thing, though. The President says he
expects to get an invite to the big event or those orders will be rescinded
forthwith!” At that, he looked purposefully
at Sam and smiled. Turning his attention
back to Jack, he squeezed his younger friend’s shoulder before turning and
walking purposefully towards his - or Jack’s, he reminded himself for the
umpteenth time-
office.
Striding away, Jack turned to lock eyes with Sam, sending a mental picture of just how they might best celebrate the occasion. Instantly, he was rewarded with the biggest, most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. Neither said anything; they didn't need to. Intertwining fingers, they walked out of the Gate room hand-in-hand, totally oblivious to the stares of every airman they passed. Yes indeed, things were finally looking up!
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