The Anunnaki Unification, Book 3: A Stargate SG-1 Fan Fiction Story

by Michele Briere

  To anyone watching from a distance, they would have assumed the two were in prayer over Jack, heads bowed, eyes closed, hands clasped. Daniel concentrated; a false start. Relax, he told himself. Out, not in. He sent his awareness out toward Jack, toward that familiar sense of Jack’s essence. He found blackness.

  “Jack,” Daniel called. He called again, several times until he felt a presence near him. “Come on, Jack, you’re alright.”

  “Wha… happen…..”

  “Someone shot you,” Daniel told him, relieved to hear Jack’s inner voice. “You’re on Europa. Dr. Warner and everyone worked on you for hours. You had us scared. Are you in pain?”

  “A little,” Jack said. Daniel felt him closer. He could feel the heightening pain as Jack struggled to regain consciousness.

  “Just sleep, Jack, don’t try to wake up. Let your body heal. I’ll get more pain meds for you,” Daniel said. “We’re here, Jack; Sam is right next to you. The kids are fine; your Mom and Michael are with them, we’ve been keeping them updated. Don’t you worry about anything except getting well.”

  “Love…. you….”

  “We know you do,” Daniel said. “We love you, too. Just heal. Sleep, relax, don’t worry about anything. There is nothing you need to be doing except getting better.”

  Daniel opened his eyes. “He’s fine,” he told Sam. “He’s in a little pain. He should be conscious soon.”

  “Let him wake up before he gets more pain meds,” she said, relief on her face as she put Jack’s hand to her forehead.

  “What happened?”

  They looked at Warner who was frowning at the equipment.

  “What do you mean?” Sam asked.

  “It looked almost like….” He tapped one of the monitors. “There was an extra brain wave pattern for a few seconds.” He pointed to a recorded section of the EKG.

  “Just a glitch,” Daniel suggested.

  “These machines don’t get glitches, Dr. Jackson.”

  Sam and Daniel shrugged their ignorance.

  The door opened and Jonathan walked in with Shara.

  “You should be resting, Mr. O’Neill,” Warner said in disapproval. “You’re three pints low.”

  “I’m fine,” Jonathan said. He lifted his hand, showing an orange. “See? I’m good. How is he?”

  “He should be awake soon,” Daniel said. “He’s in a little pain, but that can be dealt with when he’s awake.”

  “How do you know he’s in pain?” Warner asked.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” Daniel responded.

  Warner looked suspicious, starting to guess that something was up.

  “Hey, Doc, look at this,” Jonathan said, holding out an arm. “I’m bruising already. I think those nurses need a little extra time in the practice room.” Warner, his attention distracted, reluctantly looked at Jonathan’s arm which was turning purple.

  “Bruising is not good,” Shara informed the doctor, not at all happy.

  “I’m sorry,” Warner said, having had bigger and more menacing aliens growl at him. “They were in a rush. Maybe everyone should wait outside the room,” he suggested. “Give General O’Neill some quiet time.”

  “He’s fine,” Daniel said. Shara put a hand on Jack’s chest, mindful of the bandages.

  “He’s fine,” he said in echo, withdrawing his hand.

  Warner scowled and then paused, looking at the machines again.

  “There it is again,” he said, pointing at the brainwave activity. “Would you put your hand on him again?” Shara put a hand back on Jack’s chest. Warner shook his head, watching the readout. “Nothing. Must be coincidence.”

  “Let’s go outside, anyway,” Jonathan said. “We need to talk.”

  They went to a private conference room and made a guard sit and stay outside the door.

  “Couple of things,” Jonathan said as they sat at the table. “First, Happy Birthday, Sam.” He pulled a small case out of the bag at his waist and pushed it across to her.

  Sam smiled and took it. “Thank you, Jonathan.” She opened it and found a bracelet. The redness of the metal and the small stones sparkled.

  “That is gold from Sua,” he told her. “It looked red. I thought it was cool. And I know you liked that red glass, so I had that made for you.”

  “It’s beautiful, thank you,” she assured him. Daniel helped her put it around her wrist.

  “Now. Second. What was that all about?” Jonathan jerked a thumb in the general direction of outside.

  “They figured out how to jump planes,” Shara said with a smile as he leaned back and put his leather-booted feet on the table. “Not too bad, considering they’ve been together just under a year. A little slow, but not too bad.”

  “Feet down,” Sam told him. The boots were removed.

  “Oh.” Jonathan thought for a moment and then shook his head to clear it.

  “Jumping planes?” Sam asked. “What do you mean?”

  “That mind thing we’ve been playing with,” Daniel guessed. “We’re not actually going to another plane for that.”

  “No?” Shara asked. “As you will. Go on, Dadu.”

  “Anyway,” Jonathan began again. “Someone dumped a man’s body on Maynard’s front lawn. The rifle that was with it matched the bullet Warner had sent down for ballistics. It wasn’t us.”

  “Is there an ID?” Sam asked.

  “Don’t know,” Jonathan said. “It’s been pretty hush-hush. The press is making a big to-do about Jack being shot, though. The fact that a bullet was used seems to tell them that it wasn’t an alien. Like aliens can’t learn to use guns.”

  The door opened and Colonel Belarus stuck his head in.

  “Come in, Colonel,” Daniel invited. The ship’s commander shouldn’t be left standing out in the hall.

  “Am I interrupting?” Belarus asked. “I apologize for not attending to you earlier. The evacuations have been more involved than I realized.”

  “How’s that going?” Sam asked. Belarus looked tired as he sat at the table.

  “It is slowing down,” he said. “We’ve done what we could. China’s east coast is a mess. Fish and sea birds are turning belly up, plant life is dying. As for Korea…. It will be uninhabitable for a while. Russia has offered them a community in Khrebet Sikhote Alin. It’s close to Korea. A little colder. Much of it is unoccupied, so they can make a new home.”

  “Paying taxes to Russia, of course,” Daniel said.

  “Of course,” Belarus agreed with a nod. “Russia will not give up the land to another country. If the Koreans wish to live there, they may, but it is Russian land. They may go elsewhere, if they wish.” He sipped from his ever-present cup of tea. “The death count is at just over twenty million and still counting. Along the central corridor of the Korean peninsula is a mass grave.” There was silence for a moment as they tried not to allow the mental image to dwell on their minds.

  “So, good news,” Belarus said, sitting forward and brightening. “The general woke up momentarily. He was given pain meds and he is now sleeping. Dr. Warner is satisfied with the progress. He is a little jumpy as to why and how the general is healing a little quicker than normal.” The colonel’s expression was bland as he sipped his tea. “Apparently the wound has begun showing signs of self-repair.”

  The other four blinked innocently at him. Belarus chuckled and stood.

  “Oh, Colonel Carter,” he turned and lifted a finger in thought. “Word is going around that you are the new commander of Area 51. Congratulations. General Taylor says to take your time up here but he would like you in your office tomorrow, long enough to address the troops, and then you can return here, if you need to.”

  Sam’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God, I completely forgot!” Daniel leaned over and kissed her cheek, smiling at her.

  “Really?” Jonathan asked, his smile wide. “Area 51? Sam, that’s great. Congratulations. You’re buying the drinks, right?”

  Sam and Daniel stopped in to see Jack and kis
s his face before beaming home. When no one was looking, Sam lifted the bandage on Jack’s chest. The sides of the wound had new skin growth.

  “He should be home in a couple days,” Daniel said quietly. Sam agreed and looked at the huddle of doctors who were trying to understand the latest SG-1 weirdness. It was unspoken common knowledge that Jack was doing unusual things in the realm of healing, but to heal his own gunshot wound to the chest which almost cost him a lung?

  The children were happy to see them, as was the puppy who didn’t know why he was excited, but the children were, so he was, too. Maggie had a few friends over, keeping vigil with her while they played cards.

  “He’s doing well, Mom,” Sam told her. Maggie wiped her face and hugged Sam and then Daniel. “Would you like to go up and see him?” Maggie wanted to. Sam called the ship and had Maggie beamed up. The other old ladies around the table were suitably impressed and they packed up their cards and chips. Sam hauled the baby out of her swing and cooed at her.

  “Michael, thank you for staying with the kids,” Daniel said, touching Michael’s shoulder. “How are things, here?” He picked Stacy up, groaning under her weight as she settled her legs around his waist.

  “A little shaky,” Michael said. “Everyone is fine, though. A handful of refugees were brought here to the Academy Hospital, so the town is going all out to help. Katie wanted to help. We talked about it, we thought she was a little young, but we allowed her to volunteer at the hospital. Dr. Lam is keeping an eye on her.”

  “It’s alright,” Sam said as Daniel nodded. “She’ll be taking her M-SATs next year, so this may be a good time for her to see the worst of it before she gets into medical school with stars in her eyes.”

  “It’ll also look good on her records,” Daniel commented. “Won’t it, pumpkin?” He tweaked the baby’s cheek, making her smile.

  “What are emsats?” Davy asked, having heard the word but not an explanation.

  “It is a test people take to see if they can get into medical school,” Daniel told him. “Everyone else just takes regular SATs. The M means medical. People wanting to get into law school and become a lawyer, take L-SATs. The higher your score, the better college you can get into.”

  “Did you have a high score?” Davy asked.

  “Yes, I did,” he nodded.

  “Daddy?”

  “Yes, sweetheart.”

  “You need a shower.”

  The adults laughed and Daniel put her down.

  “Yes, I do,” he agreed. “I’ve been a little too busy to take one. I’ll take one right now, okay?”

  That was fine with Stacy.

  “Can we go and see Adda later?” she asked.

  “He’ll be home soon,” Sam told her. “He’s resting. He had a very long surgery, so how about waiting until he’s home?”

  Before Daniel went to their room, he stopped and touched Matthew’s shoulder.

  “He’s alright. Really,” he assured the boy. Matthew had been quiet with worry.

  It took them a minute to figure out why Tommy was playing hoops in the back yard. Sam and Daniel winced when they remembered they were babysitting for a couple of weeks.

  “Tommy, how’s your mom?” Sam asked. “Have you talked with her?”

  “She’s fine,” Tommy said. “She’s getting stuff in order, she said, before we move to that other planet.” Tommy was uneasy as he stared at the ball. “Are these alien people nice? That guy, Ninurta, seems like he’d be… well… like he’d get angry real easy.”

  Sam looked at Daniel and then sat on a plastic lawn chair. “He does look big and bad, doesn’t he? But I think he’s nice,” Sam said. “I know that General O’Neill likes him, and so does Daniel.” Daniel nodded and murmured an agreement. “He’s a warrior, and he does fight, when he needs to, but I’ve never seen him get angry with kids, and he’s kind to women, that much I can promise you.” Tommy would accept her word, for the moment. He had been told before that people were nice, and they turned out to be not so nice. Matthew’s family had been nice to him, though, and the warrior did help with his mom’s bad boyfriend, so maybe this would be okay.

  Chapter 47

  By the next day, Jack was grumbling from his bed on the Europa, insisting that he was fine and he wanted to go home. He’d make it an order, if he needed to. Dr. Warner reminded him that medical orders out-weighted those of grouchy old men. Jack glared. Sam and Daniel sat back and let Jack’s grumbles go in one ear and out the other. The baby pointed a finger at him and babbled. Jack pretended to eat the finger and Olivia screeched. Jack winced and pulled at his left ear.

  “Wow, the decibels,” he commented.

  “You are staying put, Jonathan,” his mother informed him. “My orders out-weight yours, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Maggie made herself at home on the ship as she took care of Jack. He drew the line at allowing her to give him a sponge bath.

  “I bathed you for years,” she informed him. “You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  He took the washcloth from her and flung it across the room before yanking out all the tubes, pulling a sheet around himself, and shuffling to the shower. He hadn’t been under the warm stream for two minutes before Warner was pounding on the door.

  “This isn’t funny, General!”

  Jack felt better, though, and the techs had put fresh sheets on his bed by the time he returned. His partners had showed up a few hours later, let the children see that he was fine, and sent them to the rec room while they listened to Warner tattle on his patient.

  Sam looked at Jack’s chest. The bullet hole was completely closed with new, healthy pink skin.

  “How’s his lung?” she asked. Warner shoved the chart under his arm.

  “That isn’t the point, Colonel,” he sputtered.

  “Isn’t it?” she interrupted. “If your patient is healthy, what’s the point in keeping his lazy butt in the bed?”

  “Yeah!” Jack spouted. He then thought about what he was agreeing to.

  “He shouldn’t be healthy,” Warner tried to reason with her. “We need to know….”

  “Ah, HA!” Jack pointed a triumphant finger into the air. Olivia pointed, too. “I am not a guinea pig! If my lung is working, all the holes are fixed, I want to go home.”

  They called Dr. Lam. “If he wants to die at home, let him,” the CMO told them.

  Warner stormed out of the infirmary and Jack sent everyone except his partners out as he dressed in the clothes that were brought up for him.

  “Jack, you do understand that about forty hours ago you were shot in the chest, collapsed a lung, arrested twice on the table, and we have only your word that you feel alright,” Daniel said as Jack pulled socks on.

  “I’m fine, Daniel,” Jack said. “Don’t ask me to explain it, just trust me that I’m fine.”

  They found Belarus, thanked him for his hospitality, and rounded up the kids to beam home. They quickly threw on full-dress and had Europa beam them to Washington. Heavily armed SF drove them to the church and they entered silently. Many people, who had turned to see who was coming in, were shocked to see Jack up and about and assumed that the press had been their usual hyperbole selves. Jack did have to admit that he was out of breath by the time they arrived and maybe he should have stayed in bed for another day. They ignored the rustling at their entrance, found seats next to Paul and paid attention to the speakers who stood to praise Vidrine.

  One person after another stood and spoke, sometimes a favorite hymn interspersed the speeches. Hammond and Maynard carefully avoided giving Jack more than a cursory glance. Both Sam and Paul spoke, having worked closely with the deceased. Gavin Taylor, formerly the CO of Area 51, newly made general, also spoke. Some liberties were taken, assigning Vidrine the title of hero, saying that he had been the spine behind all the alien technology when actually he understood only about one percent of it. He pushed the paper and was good at management, allowing his people to do their jobs an
d not micro-managing.

  Glancing unobtrusively around the church, Jack spotted a face he was sure he knew. A young man. Jack recognized the position of the young man’s seating; he could see every person in the room from that position. Hammond caught Jack’s eyes for a moment. Grant Kendrick. Jonathan’s AF academy friend. Jack lifted an eyebrow, but otherwise didn’t make a reaction.

  Vidrine’s wife and children were teary and holding themselves proud, as befitting the family of a Pentagon General. Curious, Jack reached. Curiouser and curiouser, he thought to himself, pulling back.

  “Isn’t it?” he heard in his head. He looked around and saw Kendrick staring at him. “I find Baker to be interesting, also.” He sent some interesting information Jack’s way. Jack sent a feeler at the Secretary of Defense. And snarled to himself for not doing it earlier.

  He stood to take his turn at the podium and paused to lean on the edge of the pew. He jerked his head and Daniel hurriedly stood to offer his arm. They walked slowly, carefully to the front of the church. Jack leaned on the podium as Daniel stood to the side.

  “I apologize for our earlier interruption,” he began, making a face as he touched his chest. “General Vidrine’s death was a shock to us. Our hearts go out to his family. Without General Vidrine’s support, the Research and Development department would not have survived. He pushed continually for funding, understanding and stressing the importance of the work as it related to the defense of this country. He was among the leaders that I looked to for guidance, and I have seen his hand in the personal growth of others.

  “When I first met General Vidrine, he had come out to our testing facility to witness the first glider we had come up with, the X-301. Unfortunately, there was a serious flaw with the glider and I almost died in space, along with a close friend and team member. General Vidrine stayed on hand to witness our dilemma, and our eventual rescue, and I am grateful for the prayers he offered during the incident. I’m sure someone was listening from on high, and I feel safer knowing that he is now helping that Someone to take notice of all that is happening down here and maybe help to set an example to those of us who still find ourselves in need of his guidance.”