Dawn Arises

Dawn Arises
Unification Chapter 30
By Michele
Rating: PG
Summary: Cassandra has a tantrum, Jack has a talking fish in his head, SG-17 is back with surprising news about the new Goa'ulds, Malek brings Jack a present, Jack worships the Bump, a nest traitors is overturned, Jack has a tantrum, and karma offers its own rewards.

Note: Ok, the ending is a little over-the-top, but really, I couldn't resist. This is the final chapter. Thank you all for your appreciation and support. I could not have written these stories without your good will and love. It's highly unlikely I will write anymore because I need to get busy on my own stories which I'd like to eventually get published. I have put them off so that I could complete this labor of love.

"I am getting married."

Cassie stood with her arms crossed, daring anyone to contradict her as she glared at the group. "My wedding is in two days and I will be on my honeymoon in three days. We can herd everyone through the gate and do it here or we can go home, triangulate those three warships around the planet, have Mr. Potato Head keep an ear out for bad guys, and Jack will walk me down that aisle if I have to put a leash on him and drag him with me!"

"Grant is trying to find our leak," Jack reminded her. He reached over and knocked the snickering Daniel on the arm. "Don't call him that. Can't you postpone? A month?"

"Absolutely not," she declared. "Half of the SGC and HomeSec will be watching, several aliens including Teal'c and a Jaffa squad, you and Grant will be there to monitor the guests, all my friends, and grandma Frasier. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen grandma?"

Jack sat back, wiping his mouth on his napkin. "Cass, we have an unsub running around with God knows what kind of information on all of us. He, or she, knew I went off-world and knew I was vulnerable. Even I didn't know what I was doing until I did it. Who knows what this person knows about you."

Cassie came closer and squatted next to him, taking his hand. "Jack, if it isn't one thing, it'll be another. I appreciate you protecting me, protecting all of us, and I love you for it, but we need to get on with things. We need to show whoever this person is that we are not afraid of them. Please go and scan the city for bad guys so I can get married."

While the adults went home to get set up for the wedding, leaving the kids at home under the watchful eye of Jerrie and a squad of SF, Jack went to his office, surprising the staff and letting them know that he was fine and Colonel Carter was feeling much better. He had gone in a couple of times from Kalam, for no more than a couple of hours and to let his face be seen. Paul was at his desk, passing papers to Jonathan who was signing Jack's name to them.

Added SF were wandering the city, as were visiting Jaffa and Anunnaki warriors. Grant Kendrick, their brilliant mind-reader, was set up in an al kesh, cloaked, hovering over the city. His reach and focus had strengthened considerably under the tutelage of the Furlings. He had even offered Jack a sincere apology for any brain-diving that was done before he understood the concept of mental privacy. Jack was happy the young man was stationed off-world. He hoped that Grant was the only oddity showing up. He couldn't deal with anyone flying around in colorful tights or shooting ray beams from their eyes. X-ray vision could be fun…… Much to Jack's dismay, the fish in his head began to lecture him as to why it wouldn't be possible. He told it to shut up.

"You're approving a fund-raiser for the Children's Hospital," Jonathan told him, signing Jack's name. "Very generous of you, Jack, thank you, you'll make a great host. You're considering Hammond for the Santa suit. He doesn't know. By the way, you spooked the staff the last time you came in. They were swearing one of your new talents was invisibility." He handed the clipboard back to Paul.

"I was considering the joys of x-ray vision but that irritating trout in my head informed me otherwise. I'm considering trout for dinner. Cass put her foot down, so we're home," Jack said. He took the clipboard to see what Jonathan was signing. "Kids are remaining there until I'm sure it's relatively safe. She's getting married this weekend come hell or high water. Or bombs and bullets." Nothing exciting on the clipboard, not that Paul would give Jonathan anything serious to sign. The fund-raiser was something he would have approved.

"Look at it this way," Jonathan said. "With everyone gathered for her wedding, it might be what it takes to lure the traitor out of the woodwork."

Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Kendrick's in a cloaked al kesh overhead," he said. "The town is flooded with aliens, and Sam is in semi-panic mode because her gown is a little snug around the middle. If this doesn't make someone do something stupid, I don't know what will."

Paul was looking closely at him, studying him. Jack leaned in. "Boo," he said dryly. Paul had the grace to flush. "I'm me," Jack told him. "My head is full of stuff I'll probably never use, but I'm still me. Except I can't have alcohol anymore. Or aspirin. I really need a beer. Where's Nick?"

"He won't tell me," Paul said in irritation. "He could be in town, he could be halfway around the planet. I don't know. I thought I heard someone speaking in Arabic, the last time he checked in, but for all I know he could be getting falafel in Manhattan."

Jack sat in the seat vacated by Paul and twirled a finger.

"China is not happy with all the changes, and is trying to crack down on any information about the leaping process. The reports are telling us that the cities are in turmoil but the countryside is apparently so used to working for warmongers that they are actually happier with an emperor. Some interesting satellite images have been coming in. The new government still has it in for you, though, sir."

"Anything on this emperor?" Jack asked. Paul took a few thoughtful steps.

"Shih Huang Ti. It's difficult to determine if that's his real name, since we don't have access to their vital statistics. It's unlikely that's his birth name. We have a grainy pic of him which we're trying to match up but no luck yet."

"Where is it?" Jack asked. Paul pulled a file out and handed it to him.

"We estimate him to be around 50," Paul said. "Average height and weight. So far, his public appearances have been under heavy guard in highly secured areas."

Jack looked hard at the picture and closed his eyes, sending his awareness out across the planet. Since his 'awakening,' it was much easier to scan the planet. He still got only emotions from people, but it was easier to sense and translate them, and easier to find a specific person as long as he knew what the person looked like and their approximate location. Ti was probably in Beijing, as far as he could tell; it was difficult to tell, though, never having met the man. There was a certain 'scent' to people, he had discovered, and that scent made it easy to pinpoint that person. He wasn't able to tell who was who, though, as he zeroed in on crowded Beijing.

There was fear from the entire population of China, and a lot of resentment. A few pockets of resistance but no one in a position to do anything about it. Jack went to the hanging touch-screen and tapped it on. He looked thoughtfully at the real-time satellite images that winked in and out of different cities.

"Is there any reason we can't offer China a deal?"

Paul and Jonathan waited, wondering what Jack was up to.

"What kind of deal?" Paul asked.

"Well, what if we offer China Lord Yu's old planet? Tell them we will transport anyone who wishes to leave Earth, if they want to populate Yu's planet. The home of their god-king. They can have it free of charge, set up their own government, their own laws. The planet would belong to them. Tell them his spirit offered it to them. I mean, unlike Christians, Jews, or Muslims, the Chinese don't have any ideology that tells them their land is sacred to them. Do they?"

"No, they don't," Paul said thoughtfully.

"Yu's palace has been emptied, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Paul said.

"All naquadah was removed," Jonathan said. "The toy box is at Area 51, the general stuff, staves and zats, hand-ribbons, were distributed to Jaffa and Tok'ra. We kept a few odds and ends, ships were shared. The planet is empty except for a couple of research teams. Lots of empty buildings that can easily hold almost half a million people. That's just one continent. They can colonize the rest."

"Forward the suggestion to the council," Jack told him. "If they're good with it, I will make the offer to King what's-his-face."

Jack went down to the labs and got the chair powered up. The files in his head immediately brought up the schematics for the mikku. He was beginning to wish his brain was hooked up to a printer. The overhead called Jack to the phone and he swore before ordering a tech to keep an eye on China. A moment later, he was walking through the arch into the SGC.

"SG-17 has reported in," Landry told him. "Thought you'd like to hear about it."

Eight men sat at the table in the conference room and stood as Jack and Landry entered. Bryce, Franklin, Bradshaw, and Shao with Bhusnurmath, Pani, Ganguly from the Indian Army, and Gaafar as an interpreter for the Indians.

"Khalid, how'd your mother's surgery go?" Jack asked, much to Gaafar's surprise. Daniel kept Jack and Sam updated on everything he knew about people, rambling on during meals and whenever he could. Jack appreciated the information. One never knew when something seemingly innocent could turn into important data.

"It went well, sir, thank you," he said. "Single bypass. She's feeling much better."

"Good. Let me know if she needs anything."

"Alright, major, what have you got for us?" Landry asked, nodding for Bryce to begin his report.

After a rapid week of training the Indian officers to the technology and how the SGC worked, they gated to a planet nearest to Vishnu and caught a ship the rest of the way. While SG-17 waited anxiously on the hidden Tau'ri owned ha'tok, the Indian team and Gaafar, dark enough to be mistaken for one of them, found their way into the society on the planet below. They got away with their bad accents by telling people they were from the other side of the world. They confirmed the presence of snakes with the hand-held MRI. Most of the upper caste was under Goa'uld control.

Pretending to be lower caste slaves, they made their way into the palace as servants. Gaafar earned himself a beating after he 'bumped' into the strange blond woman in a hallway. He slipped a locater onto her clothing and she disappeared several hours later when she was alone for a moment. During the ensuing confusion, they found a locked room that contained a queen Goa'uld. Gaafar tagged her tank and that disappeared, too. With the two disappearances, Vishnu himself went into hiding. All of Linea's lab equipment and the tank of baby snakes were beamed away.

Erra came and took Linea after rendering her unconscious, and all the snakes were destroyed after obtaining samples of them. The team on the planet each grabbed a person, two with Goa'uld and two without, and beamed back up to the ship. The Furlings kept Linea, refusing to even allow her access to Earth by being in a cell in Area 51's vast underground. The equipment and the Goa'uld bodies were sent to Area 51 to be put under microscopes. Sam was called at the same time Jack was.

Jack pressed the speed dial on the computer to Area 51.

"What do we have?" he asked when Sam's face came to the screen.

"We're working on it," she said. "Our initial look seems to be showing genetic manipulation but we don't know how or why yet."

"What do you mean, genetic manipulation?"

"I mean that both the body of the queen and the baby Goa'uld all show signs of genetic splicing in their cells," she told him. "We need more time." We've only had them for a couple of hours, will you chill? He could hear her admonition in his head and knew she'd be giving him evil looks when they got home. Her current look was bland but he could see the glint in her eyes.

"Alright. Yesterday, please."

"Do we have anything from the prisoners?" he asked the table.

"We managed to scare the unoccupied ones nearly out of their wits," Bryce said, "but according to them, Vishnu has been there for as long as they can remember and the people have served him; the light-haired woman showed up only a couple years ago."

"No other glowing-eyed beasties?" Jack asked.

"None, sir," Bryce confirmed. "Not until after the woman got there." Jack tapped the table.

"So, he was stuck there," Jack said to himself. "Just like Set was stuck here. His presence kept the Aschen away. Maybe made some kind of deal with them. Where did the queen come from?"

"They don't know," Bryce said, knowing Jack was speaking to himself and not the team. "They didn't know about a queen. The occupied persons went Goa'uld on us when they were questioned."

"Could the queen have been created there?" Jack asked. That damned fish immediately began giving him the instructions for creating a queen for a queenless species. He rubbed his temples in irritation and grabbed a paper and pen, copying the diagram in his head while the others waited in polite confusion. He then brought Area 51 back up on the computer. Sam was trying to be patient with him. He held up the diagram. "Does this make sense to you?"

"Closer, please," she said, squinting at the screen. Jack pushed it closer. "Could you fax it to me?" She sounded excited so he assumed it was understandable. Jack held it out to the SF at the door and told him to fax it.

"Do I want to know?" Landry asked.

"No," Jack said, shaking his head. "No, you don't."

He shook hands with their temporary spies and thanked them. One of the men started to say something and then turned to Gaafar who listened and nodded.

"Sir, he wants to know how he can make this a permanent assignment," Khalid translated.

"He can put in a transfer request through HomeSec," Jack told him. "He would be under my authority, and Gen. Landry's, though, not his superiors in India. He needs to talk to his commanding officer."

On his way to the arch to head back to his office, the incoming alarm sounded.

"It's the Tok'ra, sir," Walter said to Landry when they got to the command room. Landry waved a hand and the iris opened. Malek was walking though moments later, along with several more Tok'ra and a captive.

"Who's this?" Jack asked, walking through the SF who had their guns pointed at the strange man.

"Perhaps a more private room?" Malek suggested. Jack agreed and they moved to an interrogation room.

"He's carrying a Goa'uld," Malek told him once they were settled. Jack immediately sent out a feeler, confirming the presence. "He's Aschen, Jack."

Jack picked up a phone and dialed. "Bring the pukku to SGC detention."

"Come on," Jack said to the Tok'ra after hanging up, motioning them to the door. "We'll get rid of the snake and then we can question the host. Maybe he'll be grateful and provide answers."

"I will tell you nothing," the Goa'uld snarled at them. Jack turned to look blandly at him.

"Of course you won't," Jack agreed. "I'm not even going to bother trying. Which is why I will destroy you and then question the host. I'm a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them."

It curled its lip. "Stupid you must be, if you think anything of the host survives."

Jack considered it. "Tell me this –do you snakes actually believe that? Is it part of your training? Or do you all have the same book of really bad quotations? Because if you do, you really need a rewrite."

Jack turned his back and left the room, locking the door after the Tok'ra. "Mal, Sam's pregnant. I'd like to buy her something special. Know any good market places?"

"Congratulations. Kauppa has interesting goods in their market places; they trade with several planets. They are a protectorate."

"Great!" Jack patted his shoulder. "Leave the coordinates, will you?"

"Human!"

A flash of memory struck Jack and he paused. "You don't get to call me that," he informed the Goa'uld in the cell. "I am General O'Neill. What?"

"Release me. The Aschen will take me from you, if you do not."

Jack chuckled, much to the Goa'uld's surprise. "Let them try," he said. "There's a score I'd like to settle."

Malek followed Jack while the other Tok'ra stayed behind as guards. With the unknown Goa'uld strain, they didn't trust the SF to be as vigilant as they should be.

"So Vishnu's people are now off-world," Jack stated. He took his cell phone out and called his office. "Get our spy-in-the-sky working on our guests in detention. I'm going to find some food."

"Yes," Malek said. "That entire sector is at risk. Jack, I didn't want to say this in front of your guards –we were unable to detect the Goa'uld. It was by chance that we used one of your scanners."

Jack halted in mid-stride. "Repeat that," he ordered, staring into Malek's eyes.

"We were unable to sense them. We cannot sense that one," he said, jerking his head toward detention. He pulled an MRI out of his pocket and held it up.

Jack picked up the intercom from the wall. "Get someone into holding room 8 and take a sample from the Goa'uld in there. I want to know if there's something weird with his blood. Page me when you have the results." He began walking again as he dialed from his cell phone. "Anything on those dead specimens? Listen, Malek just said the Tok'ra were unable to sense the Goa'ulds. Yeah, check for naquadah. Dr. Lam is going to test living blood. I don't know; could Linea have spliced it out of them? You said the cells looked messed with. Ok, page me."

"The Aschen are certainly divided," Malek said. "They are hiding it well from those they continue to torment. Even the pirates are evading Aschen space. We questioned a few people from Aschen worlds, and besides the zero-population growth, most seem to be Goa'uld-free. It is the Aschen leadership that is beginning to noticeably change."

Jack frowned as he thought about it. "I guess it would make sense….. come on, serge," he whined at the man behind the counter and held out his tray, "I'm a growing boy, here." The sergeant added more enchiladas to his plate and Jack thanked him sweetly before moving to a table. "The lead snake would need to establish his court before getting their Jaffa and slaves together."

"Correct," Malek said, looking curiously at his own plate. The smells of the spices were strong and he wondered if his stomach lining was strong enough to handle them. "From what we have been able to determine, most of the old Goa'uld are dead. Those we did not kill were killed by their own slaves. There are very few Goa'uld left. A few were Masharu and went with Thanatos."

Jack felt a wave of nausea and looked at his plate of spicy Mexican food.

"Is something wrong?" Malek asked, seeing that Jack's attention was elsewhere. He was pretty sure green wasn't natural to the various Tau'ri races.

"I think the baby doesn't like spicy."

Malek looked at Jack's stomach.

"Not me -Sam," Jack said. "Daniel and I…. come on, don't your women get morning sickness?"

"Women with a symbiote don't become pregnant," Malek reminded him. "Harsesis children are forbidden." Jack grimaced and rubbed his stomach.

"Well, once in a while, a Tau'ri man will get sympathetic morning sickness."

"I see," Malek said, nodding in comprehension. "The bonding."

"Does everyone know about this except me?" Jack whined.

"Apparently," Malek said. The food was even spicier than it smelled and host was surprised when symbiote seemed to enjoy it. Jack scowled and took a homemade herb pill out of his pocket, tossing it back into his mouth.

They were called to the infirmary and told that, somehow, the naquadah was taken out of the cells of the incarcerated Goa'uld. The SGC scientists were at a loss and were all scrambling to find answers. Grant called in and told Jack that the Aschen in custody was screaming in one section of his brain while a Goa'uld was prancing in another. Many leaders on the Aschen homeworld were Goa'uld, as were several ships' commanders. From the man in the cell, Koort, they knew that the Goa'uld were a recent addition to the Aschen. Unfortunately, Koort didn't know how the Goa'uld got to the Aschen other than his own symbiote self, named Sayre, which was forced upon him while asleep on board the ship where he was an officer. From Grant's description, the symbiotes took on their own personalities and knowledge from the host's mind instead of being born with all the knowledge of previous symbiotes. Malek found it interesting and wondered if it had something to do with the unknown queen; if she had been created in a lab, it would make sense that she had no memories to pass on.

Once the pill kicked in, Jack managed to finish his lunch. They then headed back to detention where he stood in front of Koort/Sayre's cell, holding the pukku against his shoulder as he studied the man. Malek and the other Tok'ra took a cautious step away, giving the pukku a wide berth.

"Well, human, are you prepared to become a host?" it snarled. "We will put the knowledge in your brain to very good use."

"I told you not to call me that," Jack informed it. He brought the pukku down and shook it at the Goa'uld. "Just for that, I'm not even going to give you a final meal. Your host, however, will get whatever he wants as long as he talks to us. Bye-bye."

Before the snake knew what was happening, Jack turned the curious, innocent looking wand toward the cell. The man began to scream and collapsed from the pain. Malek watched through a scanner and gave Jack a nod when the snake was gone. The door was opened and Dr. Lam rushed in with medics to take care of the fallen Aschen.

"Wait!" the man, Koort, called out huskily. Jack squatted next to him, holding up a hand toward the medics. "You are O'Neill. I cannot be sent back. Please. I will be killed."

Jack nodded. "You give a full report, and we will scan your mind for honesty, then we can discuss a new home for you."

Koort thrust out a proud chin and gave a nod; the rumors of Tau'ri psychics were true.

"I will submit to your probes," he said. "Thank you for my freedom."

"And that report includes everything you know and you've done concerning the Aschen's treatment and intent of the worlds they have claimed," Jack warned. "We will pull it from your head by force, if we need to." Koort agreed.

"If he makes one wrong move, shoot him," Jack told the SF.

Since they had the Aschen under control, the Tok'ra decided to leave and see what they could do with the rest of the Vishnu-Aschen issue. Jack went to Landry and updated him. Two SG teams of Marines were placed on guard at Koort's side, and an interrogator would begin as soon as the medics were done with the Aschen.

Jack could probably do all of it himself if it weren't for his expanded brain making him understand why people had to experience life themselves in order to grow. He kept telling himself to delegate the authority. It was very strange, his head. The chatty fish seemed eager, if not outright excited, to have someone to tell all its secrets to. No subject seemed to be completed before another was jumped into. Whenever Jack's thoughts wandered to a subject, the fish began with a subject closely related. He tried countering the stale dialogue with memories of love with his partners. The fish agreed that sharing love was a thing of an expanded mind and went on to tell Jack about races who also loved openly and who happened to advance rapidly. Although some races petered out just as quickly after deciding that love was all they needed and so their technology didn't advance. Jack took it as a warning and decided to keep a small notebook in his pocket for anything interesting that Sam or Daniel might be able to use.

"Jack." He turned to see Landry coming down the hall.

"Hank." Jack waited for him. Landry looked at him for a moment and then jerked his head.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure." Jack followed him into a meeting room. "I'm sorry the Mountain is overrun with snakes today."

Landry waved a hand and shut the door behind them. "Oh, believe me, this is the most excitement we've had since NORAD moved out over the summer. Most of our people here are post-Invasion and they've been a little bitter over not being subjected to the alien of the week crisis. Jack….. I understand if you can't say anything, but if you can…. well, if something's going on and I can possibly help you, I'd like to help."

Jack picked up the coffee pot and suddenly remembered, putting it down and sighing over the glass of water.

"Thanks, Hank, I appreciate it. Ok, something is going on. There isn't anything you can help with but I'll tell you anyway. And it needs to stay here. Not even the Joint Chiefs have been told and certainly not the HomeSec council." Landry promised and sat back, giving Jack his attention.

"I went to Kalam to get help in triggering my downloaded memories. Files. Whatever. My DNA is now more Ancient than human."

Landry's face was blank for a moment. "Are you telling me you're no longer human?"

"Kinda," Jack acknowledged. "It would take a full genetic workup to spot the differences, but yes, according to our Furling buddies I am, for all intensive purposes, an Ancient. Hank, I look at the Stargate and the schematics come into my head. I know how all the technology is made. I know their history, I know our history. I know what killed them, I know how and why we live. And because humans need to grow up, I can't tell anyone what I know. Was a time I would have argued about it, but I now understand. And I agree with the secrecy."

"My God, Jack……"

"Hank, humans have the potential to be the greatest of all the races. Surpassing the Ancients. If keeping my mouth shut will make it happen, that's what I'm going to do."

Landry stood and looked out to the Gateroom as his mind raced. "Does Carolyn know?"

"No," Jack said giving his head a shake. "And she doesn't need to know. Not at this time. I won't have the regular medical needs, so if anything comes up, the Furlings will deal with it."

"You're going to need to explain that to the Joint Chiefs," Landry warned him. "Yearly physical is mandatory."

Jack shrugged. "A physical is fine," he said. "The doctors won't find anything. My immune system has become incredibly strong, so I won't be getting ill. Other than morning sickness." He dug for another pill. Landry chuckled, relaxing.

"How's Col. Carter?"

"She's happily eating everything in sight without one twinge of nausea," Jack informed him with disgust.

"Carolyn's mother had only a few weeks of morning sickness, but she had food cravings at the damnedest hours. Mint ice cream with creamed spinach."

Jack looked horrified. "If I start to get weird cravings, I'll kill myself."

"I doubt it," Landry said, humored. "Do you have names picked out?"

"Jacob or Claire. Carter."

Landry looked closely at him. "And you really are ok with that?"

Jack's mouth twitched and he sat, stretching his legs out. "I'm actually fine with it," he said. "From what the files tell me, the Ancients were matrilineal. The kid belonged to the mother and had her name. And I can tell you that the conception was a little weird, so we really have no idea who the father is."

"There was a news story about a man who wants laws changed so that a husband can take the wife's name as easily as a wife takes her husband's name," Landry commented. "The world isn't the one we grew up in."

Jack snorted. "Tell me."

As soon as he stepped through the front door arch, Fang ran by, something stuck in his mouth. Behind him came a naked baby, toddling swiftly and screeching at the running dog.

"Whoa, nelly!" Jack declared, intersecting the baby and lifting her high. Jerrie was moments away, bringing a handful of clothing and exasperation.

"Sorry, Jack," she said, taking Olivia from him and wrapping her in a towel. Olivia snuffled unhappily into Jerrie's shoulder. "Fang. Bad boy," Jerrie scolded. She reached down and plucked the thing from his mouth.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"Livvie's binky," Jerrie said, waving the pacifier. "He took it right from her mouth. He's been a little rambunctious today; he knocked her into a mud puddle. He's just playing, but he doesn't understand that she isn't ready to play that rough."

"If you see Stacey before I do, have her take him for a long walk and tire him out," Jack told her. He wasn't surprised that it was taking the entire family to deal with Fang; what child in the history of children and dogs actually took their vows seriously?

He brought Sam up on the computer while he changed clothes and freshened up in preparation to dinner at Cassie's house.

"What've you got for me?" he asked when she came on screen.

"The cells seem to have been genetically engineered. The queen was engineered and so were the offspring. The cells from the one at the SGC show the nucleus of the cells were changed out. Since the queen was empty, so to speak, I'm thinking that Linea took DNA from a known Goa'uld, more than likely dead Goa'uld, and spliced it into the empty nucleus."

Jack thought hard for a moment. "She cloned them?"

"Yes," Sam nodded.

"Who?"

"We don't know," she shrugged. "I'm thinking no one very important, since none of them are declaring themselves Apophis or Baal. Yet."

"How's the zapper coming for the ships?" he asked.

"I think we can do it," Sam said, brightening. "We're going to try hooking it up to the ship's shields. If we can reverse the shields so that they expand outward instead of around the ships, I think we can get the pukku to work on a wide-scale."

Jack frowned. "What about protecting the ships?"

"It's a temporary stop measure just for this mission," she admitted. "Maybe two ships zap the group and two other ships protect. Once we have this problem under control, we'll have more time to make a proper adjustment."

"Alright," Jack said. Even the fish in his head had been silenced into thoughtful contemplation. It certainly wasn't what the Ancients had planned for their little toy. "Take Daedalus to experiment on. Hermiod should be able to help get it set up. And don't forget we're going to Cassie's tonight."

There was a knock at the door and Jerrie stuck her head in.

"Sir? Lord Atis standing in the living room."

"Tell him I'll be right there," Jack told Jerrie. "Don't know why. I'll see you later," he told Sam.

Any Mulakma could come in and say they were so-and-so, it was a little tricky telling one adult male Mulakma from another, but this one had a more superior glint in his eyes than most of the others. Not that the newly clad Olivia was at all cowed as she attempted to tug on one titanium claw that was about as long as her arm.

"Atis, how's the family?" Jack greeted him. Jerrie squeezed by and placed a glass bowl on the floor in front of the winged alien. He thanked her and dipped his large, powerful beak into the iced tea.

"The little ones are a handful. Their fledgling feathers are being replaced with their colors." Atis wiggled a bright blue chin feather at Olivia. She grinned and made a snatch at it. "It makes them cranky."

"I hear ya, bro," Jack said with a sigh. "Olivia's still cutting teeth. She steals the dog's bone, the dog steals her binky…. it isn't a pretty picture."

Atis considered Jack's words and decided that it would take too much time to translate. "I apologize for coming so unannounced," he said instead. "May we speak?"

"Sure," Jack said and waved Atis into his office. He turned back to the living room and picked up Atis' tea. Talons were not conducive to picking up human made bowls or cups.

While Atis arranged himself in a sunny spot under the window, Jack relaxed in his chair, leaning back and setting his feet on the desk.

"From the suddenness of the visit, I'm thinking something's come up," he commented.

"It has," Atis said. "I tried discussing it with the council but they brushed me off. To be honest, I'm not sure who I can trust. I believe there is something very wrong on Taklede but others doubt my word due, mainly I think, from our long history of aggression."

"You think something's going on with Karoly?" Jack asked, watching the multi-faceted emerald eyes.

"I do," Atis said with a nod. Blue and green breast feathers ruffled in irritation. "He has been most…. agreeable."

Jack's eyebrows went up. "You're suspicious because he's been agreeable? Atis, what am I supposed to do with that?"

"You don't understand," Atis told him. He stood and paced, taking up a great deal of what little space there was. "Karoly has never agreed with anything a Mulakma has said. If I said our star was red, which it is, he'd disagree with me just to argue which hue. And since our planets have different atmospheres which alters the hue depending on which planet you are viewing the star from, well, you can see how pointless the argument is."

Jack stared at him. "Ok, you're going to have to give me something else to go on," he said. "Atis, I argue with Daniel all the time over dumb crap. What else have you got for me?"

"He has been asking us for DNA specimens and information on our genetics and population."

Karoly of Taklede was a pissy little man with no interest in anything other than propriety and a decent wine. Jack took his comm out of his drawer to give it a tap. "Hey, who's online?"

A moment later, he heard, "This is Gibil."

"I need Inanna. Could you phone home and ask her to check in?" Much to Jack's annoyance, the fish in his head began to tell him how to build an interstellar communications unit. Jack put it on pause.

"Jack, she's with the Tok'ra in the Aschen sector," he heard Ninurta say. "Can I help you?"

"Are you nearby?"

"No, I'm in Cairo giving a lecture. I can be available in about an hour and beam over to you then, if that will work."

"It works. See you then." He tossed the comm back into his desk drawer. "Let me check into it," he told Atis. "There is something going on but I'll be surprised if it's gotten this far."

Atis arched back to the SGC and gated home while Jack waited for Ninurta.

Ninurta showed up soon after Jack went through reports while Olivia played quietly on the rub in his office. The warrior had shed his leathers and was dressed in Arab robes. Olivia grinned at him and held out an alphabet block to share.

"What's going on?" he asked, picking the baby up for a cuddle. She pulled on his beard, pleased with herself.

"Atis told the council about certain concerns and no one paid attention?" Jack questioned.

"Yes," Ninurta nodded. "And we didn't not pay attention, we simply felt that he was…."

"He had a valid issue," Jack informed him. "Linea somehow got rid of the naquadah zing while she was messing with cells. We got Goa'uld running around and snake-carriers can't sense them. When would Karoly ever want to know about DNA and population numbers?"

To give him credit, Ninurta did pale, rocked by the information. He put Olivia on the rub before he dropped her.

"Jack, we…."

"I want someone to take a scanner and see if Karoly is holding a passenger. If he is, put him in seclusion until he can be questioned. I want every single member of the council tested. The only snakes I want to see are in the Tok'ra. And put Taklede under quarantine. Yesterday, garradum." Startled at the Ancient 'warrior,' Ninurta acknowledged and beamed to his own ship.

Before he left for Cassie's house, he had the ships locked down and begin a scan of all bodies on board. He called HomeSec with the orders to scan everyone, just in case. Paul called soon after and requested permission to arch to the house. After agreeing, Jack found himself looking at Paul standing in front of him and SF holding a zat on him.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, carefully watching the SF.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you've been in contact with off-worlders," Paul said, daring to stop him. "I'd just like to scan you."

Jack gave a nod. "I understand, colonel. Perfectly reasonable."

Once assured that Jack was snake-free, as well as Jerrie and Olivia, Paul dismissed the SF.

"No need, colonel," Jack said, holding up a hand to stop another apology. "You were right to do that."

"Thank you, sir. If you don't mind, I'll go with you and scan the others myself. Oh, and Cassie called. She said if you stall her wedding because of an invasion, she will personally levitate you to the top of the Himalayas. Daniel's threats were of a more personal nature."

Jack smirked. "Well, so far she hasn't been able to lift anything heavier than she could by hand which leaves me out, and as for Daniel –if he thinks he can carry out his threats, I'll let him."

Paul chuckled. "I'm sure the horse would have something to say about it."

Just before they walked out the door, the arch lit up to announce incoming traffic. Sam walked through a moment later.

"Hi, honey," she said and pecked his mouth. "Paul….what are you doing?" Paul was looking at her through the scanner and came closer.

"Uh, sir?" Jack went to him and looked over his shoulder. He squinted, frowned, and took the scanner from Paul, kneeling in front of Sam and her stomach.

"What?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"I think I need a chair," Jack said hoarsely, pale and about to hyperventilate. Paul put a chair under him and handed the scanner to Sam.

"Maybe you'd like to find a mirror and take a look," he suggested. She took the scanner and went quickly into the bathroom. A moment later there was a squeak and she came rushing out, throwing her arms around Jack's neck.

"Two!" she yelled. "We have two!"

Paul put the scanner on her again.

"That's pretty cool," he had to admit, looking at the two incredibly tiny skeletons nestled together in her lower abdomen.

"Let's go find Daniel," she begged Jack. He agreed as he reached into his pocket for a pill.

Jack drove extra carefully all the way to Cassie's house, much to Sam's annoyance, and Paul followed with a couple of SF. Maggie greeted them when they got out in front of the house. She was tossing a ball with David.

"Hi, mom," Jack pecked her cheek. "Where's Daniel?"

"Inside keeping Cassandra calm," she told him. "How are we?"

"We're fine," he assured her. He took her hand and called to the kids as they went inside. Daniel was doing something with grilled cheese sandwiches. Adding tomatoes and ham, it looked like. Cassie's comfort food.

"Since you're here, things must be better," Daniel said, seeing them enter. He leaned over the grill and accepted the peck to his mouth.

"Oh, you have no idea," Jack said. He handed a scanner to Daniel. "Take a look," he said, gesturing toward Sam. Daniel wiped his hands and then took the scanner, wondering what Jack was up to. He swept the scanner over Sam. He paused, looked up at them, and then back to the scanner. Maggie was looking over his shoulder and drew a sudden, sharp breath. Daniel tossed the scanner and swept Sam up into his arms with a loud yip. He almost dropped her in his anxiety.

"Did I hurt you? Are you alright? Sit! Do you need anything? Should we call the doctor?!"

"Daniel!" Sam took his face and kissed him, laughing at him. "I'm fine. Relax."

Jack caught the scanner and held it for the kids. Katie and Stacey quickly rushed in to peck Sam on the cheek while Jack carefully explained to Davy what they were looking at.

"There's two babies inside Aunt Sam?" Davy asked, looking from the scanner to Sam's stomach.

"Yup," Jack said with a nod. "Two babies are called twins."

"Oh. Are they girls or boys?" Davy asked.

"We don't know yet," Jack said. "This can only show us their bones. Maybe in a couple more weeks the doctor can tell us if they're girls or boys. Maybe one of each."

"That would be nice," Davy considered out loud. He went to Sam and put his face next to her stomach, giving the Bump a pat. "I love you, babies!" he said loudly into her belly button. He put two airy kisses on the Bump.

Maggie was weepy and hugged Sam. Cassie came down from upstairs and took the scanner that was held out to her. She screeched and also hugged Sam. She then turned and glared at Jack, hands on her hips and jaw thrust out.

"My fiancé is at the SGC," she informed him. "I cannot get married without him and forget that old telephone marriage like in old war movies." She held out a hand and her cell phone flew into it from across the room. She held it out to Jack.

He slowly took the phone from her, keeping his distance. "Alright, alright, Witchy-poo, just chill." He dialed the SGC. "This is O'Neill, give me Gen. Landry. Hank, please send Maj. Harper home before this woman of his turns me into a toad." He hung up and put the phone carefully on the table. "Are we happy now?"

"Yes, we are," she said, turning with a flounce and heading back to her room to continue working on her plans.

Jack groaned and rubbed his face. "God, please let her get married only once," he begged.

"We have three more to get rid of, possibly two on the way," Daniel reminded him. "Let's hope at least one of them elopes."

Stacey thought about it and counted on her fingers. "But, Daddy, isn't it five already? What about Matty and Davy?"

"They're boys, honey," Jack told her. "Shove them into tuxes, give 'em a bachelor party, and they'll never remember the wedding." The women gave him a look. Jack backed away and grabbed Daniel.

"Come with me," he whispered. "We're surrounded."

Family concerns took over and Jack forced himself to push politics and aliens to a backburner. Harper came home and calmed Cassie while he sent Jack a silent look of appreciation. Jack had to admit that Harper was an ok person; a little cocky but he was good for Cassie. Harper was certainly trust-worthy so Jack grumbled and told himself to quit being a pill and give the man a break. They got the kids together and headed out for home. Nanna passed out kisses and gave Jack a worried look; she knew something new was going on with him and he couldn't tell her.

It was his kids that soothed his mind and heart when they got home, playing on the floor with the younger ones, crawling playfully across the floor to Sam and worshipping the Bump, and giving horsy rides to Olivia. Once she was tired out, Jerrie took her and got her ready for bed. Jack sat on the floor, leaning back against the couch while he caught his breath. Fingers combed through his hair, caressing his scalp.

"We have birthdays coming up," Daniel commented. Stacey snuggled into his side and he kissed her brow. "Twelve and fifty-six. Are we doing a party at home or dinner out?"

"Can I have a party and invite friends from school?" Stacey asked, tilting her head up to look at him.

"Yes, you may," Daniel said, feeling a slight nod under his hand and seeing the acceptance in Sam's eyes across from him. "How about 10?"

"Ok," Stacey readily agreed. "I didn't have friends before; I hope people will come."

Daniel hugged her. "They will," he promised.

"We can do a family dinner but I want a date with the both of you," Jack said, raising a hand. "I don't care where as long as it's out of town."

"Can I have a date, too?" Stacey asked. Jack tilted his head back. "My birthday is first and then your birthday. Can't you and me have a date in the middle of our birthdays?"

"It's you and I, and yes, that's a very good idea," Jack told her. "Alright, Miss Jackson, I would be honored to take you on a date."

The kids were sent to get ready for bed. The adults relaxed in the nightly routine of listening to the kids stomp around and complain about their bedtime. Davy came down the stairs in his pajamas and straddled Jack's lap, looking at him with quiet concern. Jack knew that look.

"I'm fine, buddy," he told the boy and gave him a hug. "I have a lot of new stuff in my head and I just need time to adjust to it."

"Ok," Davy nodded. He passed out goodnights and went back upstairs.

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked once they went into their own room. Jack tossed his shirt onto a chair.

"I will be," Jack told him. "It would have been better if I had time to adjust before the planet began to wig out."

"Is there anything you could do if current laws weren't in place?" Sam asked, wiping skin cleanser from her face.

"Honey, that damned fish in my head wants me to leave the primates alone and let them deal with their own primitive natures. I won't do it and yet I need to stand back and let things happen as they happen."

"You need to witness," Daniel clarified. Jack agreed. He stepped into the shower, quickly rinsed off, and got out again within five minutes. He dried off, got into his pajamas, and slid into bed, curling into Daniel's back and reaching beyond to caress Sam's belly.

"What's being done about China?" Daniel asked quietly.

"I don't know," Jack said. "I haven't heard back about my offer. There is nothing HomeSec can do. We're about aliens and nothing else; we can't go outside jurisdiction, if I did I'd be no better than that shit who killed Tien."

Daniel took his hand and held it to his chest. "I know, Jack."

"The offer of Yu's planet is a good one," Sam told him. "He'd be crazy not to take it. Several groups have been arguing for their own planet."

"If we can get China off world, it would relieve tensions," Jack said. "That country is too big. They are their own world population and their own worst enemy."

He touched Sam's stomach again and leaned over Daniel's hip to kiss the Bump. Sam snuffled in amusement and stroked his hair. He took the scanner from the side table and looked at their babies again.

"I cannot believe how tiny they are," he murmured. The Bump was still barely noticeable; unless someone knew she was pregnant, they'd probably take the small curve as a couple extra pounds of feminine roundness. "When will they start moving?" he asked.

"Few more weeks," Sam said. "This is only the ninth week, give them time to grow a little more."

Jack put the scanner back on the table and curled into Daniel again. His stomach twinged and he reached for two pills, slipping one into Daniel's mouth and then his own.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, her eyes twinkling in humor.

"I'm not," Jack said. Daniel echoed him.

While they relaxed into sleep, Jack's mind continued to be busy. He hadn't been sleeping as long as normal, maybe a few hours a night. Most of the time was spent with his brain talking to him and reviewing events. He could see why more advanced civilizations didn't want them to have weapons –they were barely out of the Dark Ages and still playing with fire. He had to trust that heads open to the leaping process would prevail. The next couple hundred years or so would make or break the Tau'ri.

Most of the country was still arguing about the new customs that had begun to permeate Colorado Springs. More and more people were coming out of various closets, brains were being used to greater capacity, children were being allowed to stretch their minds, and, much to the fear of the clergy, more and more people were discovering handfastings and forgoing the traditional marriage ceremony of a man and a woman. Petitions were being sent to the state capitol, insisting that marriage laws be changed. Even the military was in a scramble concerning gays in their fox holes. Local troops had, for the most part, accepted it mostly due to the example Jack was setting and the fact that locals had more contact with aliens with whom same-gender situations were more commonplace. Jack reminded himself that it took a while for pebbles in a pond to send their energy outward.

Michael. He had to deal with Michael. His brother was once more in seclusion since he found out what Jack had been hiding from him. There were times when Jack really wanted to smack Michael silly. None of the other clergy in town were acting weird, so Jack could only assume that Michael was keeping his mouth shut. Matthew was of the opinion that it was the message of peace that mattered, not the stories behind the spiritualities. Daniel was proud of the boy. Matthew often sat in Daniel's library with a dictionary, trying to find the words that would best verbalize his thoughts and feelings. Daniel had warned them that spirituality was once more reaching a head and would implode or explode. Jack's narrator agreed, scenes and words speeding through his brain at light-speed as the fish examined the evidence.

The bean-counters in DC were still bitching about the lack of advanced weapons for the US military. The ships were very nice but the US needed them, too. Jack was still refusing and still promising to move the entire program off world if they continued to kick up sand. The US was NOT going to have toys to threaten the rest of the world with. No bullies allowed. Since Jack could prove that there were several other worlds willing to host them, many politicians and military leaders were gnawing at the bit.

Jack's attention was abruptly swung away as the fish caught wind of a subconscious image and made a suggestion. He sat up, careful to not wake Daniel, and reached out to the man in the image. The man was asleep. Jack couldn't get much from a sleeping mind.

"Kendrick."

"Here, sir," he heard in his head.

"What are you doing right now?"

"Taking notes from Ti's head," Kendrick said. "It's the middle of the night, so I didn't want to wake you up."

"You found him? Good. Stop for a moment and pick through this man." Jack sent him a clear image and a name. He felt surprise from the young man.

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me one thing," Jack said. "Is Ti a Goa'uld?"

"Not that I can tell, sir," Kendrick said. "Just a major ego and delusions of grandeur."

Jack was actually disappointed; he really wanted Ti to be a snake so he had an excuse to take the man out.

He left his bed and went to find a glass of wine. There was no wine. He remembered that all the alcohol was taken out of the house so that his partners could support his sudden allergy to it. The closest he got was grape juice. He wrinkled his nose and took a can of soda. Fang looked up from his blanket on the porch and thumped his tail.

"Did I wake you, boy?" Jack whispered as he leaned down and scratched the dog. "I'm sorry. Go back to sleep." He sat on the porch swing and listened to the nighttime insects.

The door opened and Daniel stepped out, rubbing at his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Jack nodded. "I'm good," he said. "Can't sleep."

"You've haven't been sleeping well for while," Daniel noted as he sat next to Jack.

"It's the brain," Jack told him. "I'm not sure if I need to learn how to turn off or if I just don't need as much sleep. Go back to bed. You can sleep even if I can't."

Daniel took his hand, letting the swing sway a little. "Wanna go down to the dock and fool around?"

Jack smiled and kissed him. "No, not now," he said. "Too preoccupied."

"Sir?"

Jack held up a hand, silencing Daniel.

"Here. What'd you find?"

"He's the one, sir. There's a small group within the Pentagon, an outcropping of something called the NID. I have names for you. And your home is bugged, sir. I couldn't get locations; he gave the order to place the bugs but not where."

"I will deal with it," Jack told him. "Unless Ti is doing anything immediate that I should know about, see if you can get anything else."

He pulled Daniel close and whispered into his ear. Startled, Daniel gave a nod. No longer trusting the phones, Jack silently changed into street clothes and took off in his truck. Once across town, Jack knocked on a door. Since the household was asleep, it took a few knocks to get someone up.

"Jack? What….?" Mason wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Is Sam alright?"

"She's fine. I need to take Keith home with me."

Mason stilled and looked at him. "Is this official?"

"Very."

Mason's younger son was awakened and came to the door in his shorts. Since discovering that Keith's talent made him sensitive to electricity, Jack allowed their home to be put on a separate naquadah generator. Keith's room was additionally shielded from any electrical interference with a Tok'ra design which was placed in the walls. Keith had been much happier and more able to deal with the world as long as he had a sanctuary to return to. Before Keith could say anything, Jack shushed him and whispered into his ear.

"No, nothing unusual," Keith said quietly.

Jack motioned Mason close. "Go to your box and shut the house off," he whispered. Mason lifted an eyebrow but went to find the crystal box.

"Go into each room and listen," Jack whispered to the boy. "Pick up the phones, too, including cell phones. If you get any weirdness, you tell me like this." He raised a hand and showed Keith the appropriate signal. Mason came in and gave a nod. They followed Keith as the boy nervously began in the livingroom, poking his nose around as though smelling for the location of an unusual scent. He looked at the men and shook his head.

He raised his hand twice; once in Mason's bedroom, where they quickly silenced a surprised Melanie, and once at Mason's cell phone. Jack shushed him and motioned him outside.

"Leave things for now," Jack whispered. "I'll send an extraction team in the morning. Not your fault. I need Keith to come home with me and find the bugs in my house."

Keith got dressed and rode with Jack back to his house. The boy wanted to ask questions but Jack kept him quiet. The power was already off at his house and the kids and Jerrie silently beamed out by Prometheus. The SF were on guard as Sam waited on the front lawn.

The moment Keith stepped onto the front porch, his radar went up. Jack took careful notes of where each bug was placed. Sam looked at the tiny dot attached to the inside of the phone in the livingroom. Since the SF would never have allowed anyone close to the house, they assumed it was someone who came in as a tech or maintenance person. By the time Keith was done, they had tagged twenty transmitters.

"In the morning, take him to my mother's house and have him do the same thing," Jack whispered to Mason on the sidewalk. "Michael's, too, but I'll be surprised if he finds anything at either house. I'll have a list ready by then; I want all key people's houses checked."

Mason took his son home for the rest of the night while Jack, Sam, and Daniel beamed up to Prometheus to reassure the kids.

"Kendrick." Jack opened a link to the cloaked ship. "Is he still in bed?"

"Yes, sir," Kendrick said.

Jack gave a nod and Col. Markham himself triggered the beam. Moments later, a man was laying on the floor, awakening in a confused state and finding himself surrounded by SF holding guns and zats on him. Jack stepped forward.

"General Robert Allegash, you are under arrest for conspiracy, espionage, and treason. To start with."

"What?" Allegash struggled to his feet, shocked. He jumped when someone else beamed in. Guards caught him and held fast to his arms.

"He doesn't know a name, only the contact information," Grant reported, staring at the general. "A face. I don't know the man. Hammond and Landry's homes, Dr. Lam and Dr. Warner, SG-1 and 3, Col. Davis, Maynard." Grant went on, naming one person after another, much to the horror of Allegash who stared at the strange young man in alien leathers. His mind opened, his fear caused one person after another to be brought up; people being watched, members of his deeply hidden cabal.

"You are the traitor!" Allegash shouted at Jack. "You are a US Air Force General; it was your job to protect your country! You failed! You sided with aliens and left your people to defend themselves! It is you who should be executed! I have been doing the job you should have been doing!"

"Put him in lockup," Jack ordered. The SF led the man away. Grant found a chair and began writing names and notes. The sun was rising over the east coast of the United States. Jack had to wake up the Joint Chiefs and the president.

"Orders, sir?" Markham quietly requested. Jack paused, noting the man's stance and unspoken offering of complete support.

"Stand by," Jack said, appreciating the colonel's strength. "We may be filling up detention."

"Yes, sir."

"Kendrick." Grant looked up, giving Jack his attention. "I'm going to beam up my chief of security. I want you to talk to him." Jack went to the consol and brought up Nick's ID. He was in Italy. Nick was standing inside the ship moments later, surprise glancing off his face in the blink of an eye.

"You rang?" Nick drawled. Jack quickly filled him in.

"Kendrick is going to show you a face we have no name for," Jack told him. "Tell me if you know him." Grant impressed the image into Nick's head, once more startling the man. Nick recovered quickly. Zu had done it to him a couple of times.

"I know him," Nick said grimly. "He doesn't do a lot of hands-on; he has a small team he farms out to. He moves around a lot, but the latest rumor is that his operations comes out of Columbia. Drugs, arms, information."

Jack brought Columbia up on the screen and Grant stared at it.

"How do I…?"

Jack showed him how to zoom in and out. Grant took over and zoomed in closer until cities were in view. He kept zooming in until he had one house in view.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir," Grant nodded. As he spoke, armed guards came around the house, on patrol in the early morning hours. They waited as the sun rose. People began to appear in and out of the house.

"That's him," Grant and Nick both said as a man stepped out onto the balcony. Jack nodded and the man was beamed up. Down below, it took a second for the guards to realize that their employer disappeared and began shouting and drawing guns. As soon as the man appeared on the floor, SF took him into custody, ignoring his yelling and superstitious fears.

"Two down, one to go," Jack said. Sam and Daniel looked at him, not bothering to tell him that he was beyond protocols. The screen swung around to China, already midway through the day. Once more, Grant zoomed around until he found the location of the mental signature.

"I believe he's alone, sir," Grant said. "He's commenting on his lunch. He usually eats lunch alone. It's his meditation time."

"Bring him up."

Emperor Ti fell flat on his butt, having been taken from a chair. Daniel shot Jack a look and quickly stepped forward to offer a hand to the emperor. The man began spouting angrily, slapping Daniel's hand away as he got to his feet.

"I'm O'Neill. We need to talk. And you cannot tell me a worldly man like yourself doesn't speak English."

"I will have your hide!" the man hissed.

"Whatever. We made an offer of an entire planet. I want to know if it's being accepted."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"It's a pretty planet, no pollution; we can even show you pictures." Jack twirled a finger and stock footage of Yu's palace was put on the screen. The emperor's eyes were so narrow, they were dark line slits. "Now enough farting around. All this can be yours for the asking price of……. one million American dollars. That's the cost of using the ships to transport your people. And it's extremely cheep. Very under budget. We are willing to transport up to one million people. Willing people. That's a dollar a person. You get this beautiful palace and an entire city, empty of people but still supporting livable homes. We will even throw in the energy battery to run the place. Only one –if you want more, you'll need to figure it out on your own. We will give you all the literature on the planet, tell you all about weather patterns, edible plants and animals, and which predators to watch out for. You may rule there as you see fit with no interference from us."

"He's weakening," he heard Grant say.

"This palace belonged to Lord Yu himself," Jack continued. The screen showed Yu in action. "Owner of over one hundred thousand slaves. Although he was on the enemy's side, he was honorable. His slaves served him because they wanted to, not because they were forced. You can see by how well the planet was kept that Lord Yu respected nature. He was very long lived, proud, noble to the cause. Whatever cause he had. We haven't taken over the planet because, well, we don't have a leader worthy of it. We're offering it to you."

"He's going to prance around about it to save face but he'll accept it."

"How about we let you sleep on it?" Jack offered. "Dr. Jackson here has the contract and treaty; I'll get it to you for you to look over. Sleep on it. I will keep the offer open for two weeks. Fourteen days."

Emperor Ti was sent home with a lot to think about.

"Fucking politics," Jack muttered. "No more bullshit. Daniel, would you please make up a treaty for that asshole?" He excused himself and beamed down to Maynard's office.

By the time most of the day was over, houses had been overturned for bugs, offices swept through for traitors, and several threats from angry Columbians had been dealt with. Even the fish in his head had been silenced from sheer amazement. It made an attempt at informing Jack about procedure, but didn't make it too far after Jack snarled at it. The shocked public was told that a conspiracy had been uncovered and they didn't need to know anything else. Henry went on air to condemn the traitors and praise Jack and his team for uncovering them. Since it was alien related, HomeSec rules came into play. All the people rounded up were to be taken off world for trials and judgment. Lawyers all over the country protested. The HomeSec rules were being pushed into questionable territory but no one needed to know. There was no way these particular people would spend any jail time, if there were left to American courts, so the alien aspect was pushed forward into the spotlight. Jack knew he was playing with fire, but dammit he was done with all the crap.

Three days later, with the kids on Kalam until things were calmer, Jack sent Keith through the house once more. Everything was cleared and Jack allowed Sam and Daniel to come home. The SGC and Area 51 were two of the few places that were clean of bugs, so they slept on base. With Jack's permission, Daniel went on air to explain the treaty that was being used to condemn the prisoners. The lengthy debate also included the United Worlds treaty and the new treaty that, much to the shock of the world, Emperor Ti announced he would accept. Few legal experts could find fault with any of the treaties, other than nit-picking.

Instead of beaming in, Ninurta 'knocked' by calling on the comm, requesting permission to beam into the house.

"Come on in," Jack said wearily, holding a cold glass to his forehead. Ninurta, Inanna, and Enki beamed in. They stood looking at him, not quite what to make of him.

"When you decide to clean house, you really clean house," Inanna commented.

"How do you feel?" Enki asked curiously.

"I'm fine," Jack said. He took a peeled orange from Daniel's hand.

"Are you up to hearing about Goa'uld?" Ninurta asked delicately.

"Only if it's good news," Jack said. Sam sat next to him, a reassuring comfort.

"Well, we had to quarantine Taklede," Ninurta told him. "Karoly's been de-snaked. He's completely beside himself about getting taken. There were a couple other representatives that were also freed, their planets are alright. We rigged the Hatoks with the new pukku-shielding sequence that Sam sent to us and it worked. Jaffa and Tok'ra are working on the Aschen before heading over to Vishnu. From what we can tell, the Aschen are grateful for the freedom but they still want to take over the galaxy."

"Good. Easier to deal with the Aschen than it is a Goa'uld infested Aschen," Jack said.

"Will you be staying for Cassie's wedding?" Daniel asked tiredly. "She postponed it because of the emergency, it'll be happening tomorrow before anything else interferes."

"We will stay, thank you," Inanna assured him.

As they prepared to beam back to Heaven's Bow, Jack stopped them, looking thoughtfully at Ninurta.

"You were wrong."

Ninurta cocked his head. "About what?"

"I don't regret what happened on the ship last year," Jack said. "I don't think about it too much, not because it upsets me, but because I could have gotten used to it and that thought scared me." He stood and took a few steps to the warrior. He leaned in and kissed Ninurta, slowly, affectionately. He tilted his head back to look into Ninurta's black eyes. "I'm not scared anymore. I won't go outside my marriage, so you'll have to wait until I'm a widower. If you still want me then. And I pray it'll be a long time before that time comes."

Ninurta smiled softly, kissed him, and patted his face with a gentle hand. "I will save a place for you with us, dadu. I have a couple more centuries left."

The Furlings left and Jack found himself in Sam's arms. She smiled, sniffled, and wiped her face.

"I'm very proud of you," she informed him huskily. Daniel engulfed them both in his long arms.

"Me three," he said.

With the house empty, they made love on the livingroom rug in front of the fireplace. Sam was uncomfortable, for reasons she didn't quite understand as she smoothed the small Bump, so she lay beside the men and watched as they loved each other.

In the morning, they were cleaned up and ready for the return of the kids. The kids were bathed and dressed into their wedding clothes and hustled out of the house. Harper and Grandma Frasier was keeping Cassie as calm as they could. Jonathan came in and made comments until she laughed. Since Cassie wasn't known to have alien friends, Teal'c and the Furlings were almost unrecognized in their Tau'ri clothes.

"Dad, someone at the door for you," Katie told Jack as he watched the crowd with paternal eyes. "Uncle Danny and Aunt Sam, too."

Jack lifted an eyebrow and motioned for the other two. Whoever it was must have good ID to have gotten past the SF.

"Can I help you?" Jack asked the woman at the door.

"General O'Neill, I'm sorry to bother you at this time," the woman said. "My name is Imelda Sigurdssen. I represent the Nobel Committee. I have invitations for you and your family for the upcoming awards in December. Congratulations, sir." She handed him three envelopes and left. Confused, Jack handed two out and opened his.

"This can't be right," he said, reading it. "It's got to be a joke. Where's the camera?"

Daniel was turning pale as he read his letter.

"Oh, my God…," he breathed. Sam needed to sit down. Jack looked over at her letter.

"Well, yours looks right to me," he said. "Danny's, too."

"What's going on?" Hammond came to the door, seeing the three of them in shock. Jack held up his letter and Hammond took it, giving it a quick read before looking at Daniel's and Sam's letters. He chuckled. "Jack, I can think of no one better for these awards. Congratulations. I know you'll bust something, but wait until tomorrow before telling everyone, will you? Let this be Cassandra's day."

"George, I….. I'm a soldier," Jack pointed out. "I shouldn't be getting this award. It has to be wrong."

Hammond looked closely at him with that wise old owl look he sometimes gets.

"Jack, the job of a soldier is to bring peace. Between you and Daniel, who else has done so much for peace in this past year? Sam certainly deserves the prize for Physics. And the two of you, in my opinion all three of you, in words and actions, deserve to share the Nobel Peace Prize."