Sam smiled and pressed her mouth to his chest.
“With all the naquadah that Teal’c brought us, plus what was taken from several Goa’uld planets, we have enough for twelve more 303s and the 302s for them. I’d like to try out the new model, though. I’d like to cut it to a couple of Prometheus class and Daedalus class, two more science ships, and use the rest on the new patrol ships. We should get five patrol ships out of the rest.”
Jack thought about it and slowly nodded. “Will the patrol ships be ready by the time Henry takes his place on the council?”
Sam thought about it. “We could probably make one ready,” she said. “We’d need to put it ahead of the 303s.”
“Do we really need to do this?” he asked. “There are a lot of ha’taks and smaller ships sitting around.”
“Yes, but the Jaffa have been taking them,” she said. She opened her mouth to say more and then thought about it, eying him suspiciously. “Did you just distract me?”
He smiled at her. “Did it work?”
She punched him in the chest. “Beast.”
They showered and found Daniel changing a diaper. Olivia saw her other parents and grinned, waving a foot in the air.
“Fang, no,” Daniel scolded the pup. The puppy was investigating the interesting smells in the small can.
“I’m going to work,” Sam said. She kissed Daniel and then picked up the naked baby. She held Olivia close for a moment and then kissed her round cheek. A small, red-furred head poked up to see the changing table.
“Sam kiss?”
She gave the ears a scratch and bent to peck the cub on the head.
“Good morning, T’Keet.”
“Good…. morrrnnning,” the cub returned. She twitched, pleased with herself.
“Where’re the kids?” Jack asked.
“Katie hos-pi-tal, Matteeee friendzzz, Staceeee reeeeding, Daveeee cartoooonzzzz. Jaaack, no understaaaand cartooonzzz.”
Jack took a paw and swung her up and around to his back. “It’s a Tau’ri rite of passage,” he told her. “Just keep watching; you’ll get it.”
After T’Keet put herself nose to nose with Daniel and begged to be allowed into his clan for a while, they found themselves agreeing to cub-sit for a couple of weeks. The neighborhood kids were excited to be playing with an alien cub, although the SF had to stop curiosity seekers and the media from disturbing their family street. Having been around other humans for a year, T’Keet was pretty well adapted to human living conditions. A few things needed to be explained, such as household plumbing. She also needed to understand that most human children didn’t sleep all piled together. T’Keet found that odd. Davy, however, was quite happy to share his bed and cuddle with a living stuffed animal.
On Jack’s end of the deal, he heard from a few conservative generals and other government-type officials. Allowing an alien to scamper about the planet was too dangerous. Jack reminded them that the alien in question wasn’t wearing clothes so where would she hide the suicide bomb? Considering the fact that Henry was rolling around on the White House lawn in front of the press corps with the cub and his grandchildren while Jack argued with the generals, the arguments didn’t get far.
A few scientists wanted all sorts of tests on the cub. Jack told them what to do with their tests while Sam sent out copies of stock records on the Sua and Daniel offered a two hundred page report on the Sua culture. He apologized for the brevity of the report, but he was up to his eyeballs in paperwork.
What halted T’Keet in her tracks was meeting Ronnie. Ears and whiskers popped up and twitched. She didn’t know there was a third kind of human; what was this one? Daniel had a hard time trying to explain the concept of transgender. He finally gave up when T’Keet’s ears flattened, effectively shutting them to more sound.
Fang also gave the cub a curious sniff over and T’Keet was pleased to return the gesture. She, too, was taught how to take the pup for a walk, although she didn’t understand why Fang just couldn’t use the toilet like everyone else. She tried instructing the pup on proper procedures and was rewarded with face licks.
They took her along into town on trips, spooking the civilians, and introduced her to ice cream. All the sugar wasn’t good for her, Sam and Daniel both tried telling Jack; he didn’t listen. T’Keet spent most of the night completely wired. The other two insisted that Jack stay up with her until she settled down. T’Keet was on a sugar-free diet after that.
With the cub on his back, Jack went to his office and picked up a faxed report.
“Sam!” He slowly walked into the living room. When she showed up, he handed it to her. She quickly scanned it, frowning.
“Where does he come up with this stuff?” she asked out loud. “Okay, I’m getting a new assistant. I’ll send this to General Taylor.”
“That Rusty person checked out,” Jack commented. “It’s up to you, but I get a good feeling about her. And Livie likes her.”
Sam thought about it for a moment before her brow cleared. “Oh, right. CMS Wilson.”
“Why didn’t the mikku turn up that ship when we did the planet-wide naquadah search?” he asked. “I don’t get it. The hit we got showed only enough naquadah to make less than two percent of that ship. What’s the rest?”
“We don’t know, yet,” she said, keeping pace. “The chief’s file looks good. I’ll interview her for the position. I’m disappointed about Coulter, though. I met his wife; she seemed happy to me. And yes, we will do another scan and refocus on the naquadah mix.”
“Okay, I’m not happy with this mikku thing, I don’t care who invented it,” he declared.
“Well, then I’d say dig into those memories and fix it,” she said sweetly. She patted his face and went to find her shoes.
Jack thought about it. “Was that a snap?” he asked.
“Yes, it was,” Daniel confirmed. “You’re the one with the downloaded knowledge; try helping her instead of continually telling her to reinvent the wheel. Jack, I know you’re scared to try reaching for the knowledge, we all know what happened the last couple of times. But those were immediate downloads and your brain didn’t have time to adjust. You’ve had time and we know you can bring up the knowledge when you want to. Quit being a sissy and just do it.”
Jack scowled.
“What sisssssseee?”
“Someone who is afraid to do something,” Daniel said.
“Oh. Jack sisssseee?”
“Not usually.”
“Fine!” Jack declared, tossing his arms up. “I’ll go….. conjure a ghost.”
“Da!”
He looked at the floor. “Yes, your majesty?”
Chubby arms were held out. Jack bent and picked her up, settling her on a hip and buzzing her check. “At least someone loves me,” he muttered.
“We all love you, Jack,” Daniel said. “Even when you’re being a wimp.”
“What whhhimmmmpah?”
“Never mind,” Jack said, as Daniel ignored them and went into the bedroom to change. He handed the baby to Jerrie who was doing her best to stay out of the contest of wills. After a short intro to T’Keet, Jerrie had added another child to the group without much effort. The cub was easier than expected; she was able to reason and caught on quickly. Everyone hoped that curiosity didn’t kill this cat, though.
The front door opened and Matthew walked in. “Are you awake?” he asked snarkily.
“Unfortunately,” Jack said. “Did you need something?”
Matthew shrugged. “Just wanted to talk. Stuff.” He was making a point at not looking at Jerrie or Davy on the floor in front of the TV.
“Uh huh. Come on.” Jack put T’Keet on David’s back and herded the boy into the bedroom. Daniel was making the bed, having put fresh sheets on it. Jack took a corner and helped before sitting on the edge. “Wass up?”
Matthew was mulling something over in his head. “Um. Jonathan said….. if I wanted to, and if it’s okay with you, I can spent some time on Kalam.”
The boy was bright red as he nodded. Jack took a deep breath as he stood and paced a few steps, considering the information. “I’m of two minds on that one, Matty. I’ll be honest with you; an older woman taught me when I was your age. I’m not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was a positive experience, but maybe teenagers are supposed to experiment with each other. I don’t know, Matt, let me think about it.”
The boy agreed and left the room with a sigh of relief. Daniel had something he was holding back.
“Go ahead,” Jack said.
“In cultures where sex is conservative, if not outright puritanical, there tends to be more abuse,” he commented. “Sex isn’t taught as a happy occasion, it is either a necessity or an assumption on the man’s part that he is due a woman’s services. Look at all the reports of abuse in this country. If you look at someplace like the Netherlands, where sex is much more open, the divorce rate is lower. I think that sending Matty to Kalam for the purposes of sex-ed would get us all in a hell of a lot of trouble with the law here, but if he’s visiting his cousin, or older brother, whatever you want to call Jonathan, and things happen, how would that be any different than if he was messing around with his girl here?”
“Are you seriously suggesting we send a newly fifteen-year old boy to an alien planet to get him laid?” Jack’s eyebrows went into his hairline.
“No,” Daniel said evenly. “Not out loud. Jack, I don’t have an issue with this. I’ve spent too many years in and around tribes for this to be of concern. Most boys his age are betrothed and taking part in the community. Skaara was a man at fifteen and about to be married.”
Jack nodded, not very happy with the situation.
“And what about Stacey?” he asked.
“What about her?” Daniel asked, blankly.
“When she’s fifteen or sixteen, are we sending her to Kalam, also?”
Daniel paused in the inspection of his shoe. He was dressing up for a television interview about his new book. He tipped it and a puppy chow nugget fell out.
“If she wants,” he said bravely before shoving his glasses into place.
“Uh huh. I’ll remind you of that when she’s caught climbing out her bedroom window at midnight,” Jack promised.
Jerrie needed to take the kids to the pediatrician’s for their checkups before they could begin their summer programs, so Jack took T’Keet with him. They had shared cub duties, getting the locals used to seeing her with various adults as they went around town. As much as Gen. Landry was enjoying playing the doting grandfather, the SGC wasn’t an appropriate place for the cub, so Jack and Sam usually took turns taking her to work if they didn’t leave her with Jerrie. They learned to use the baby-carrier for her. Her claws left their uniforms shredded. They suggested trimming the claws but T’Keet’s reaction was so violent, they needed to stop and contact M’Net. Trimming claws was almost as bad as trimming a mane; it was disgraceful. The adults apologized and left her claws alone. It certainly explained her wide-eyed examination when she saw humans trimming their own nails and hair. She spotted a picture of a younger Daniel with shaggy hair and gave her approval of the more proper mane.
The little cub was quickly adapting to the new routines and culture. Once when the phone rang, and Jack answered it, “O’Neill,” T’Keet had quickly learned the routine and answered it herself, “T’Kt,” she had said politely. “Ooookaeeeee, I telllll Sammm.”
The adults were amused but asked her not to answer the phone.
“Sir, this is Gavin Taylor,” said the man on the phone. Jack handed a sippee cup to the baby.
“Relax, Gavin, Jack is fine,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re a general, now; we can be a little more familiar.”
“Yes, s…. thank you, Jack. I just received the report about Major Coulter. I’m not sure what to say about this; I’ve never had a problem with him and I certainly never noticed anything when I saw his wife. I was at their wedding.”
A sippee cup was handed to the cub. She had no idea those fruits she loved came in liquid form. “Well, I’m no expert in this area, I just know that my instincts reared their ugly head so I had him checked. My head of security did the investigation, and I trust his word. I think what I’m more concerned about is how he’s going to retaliate. He’s had a few years with access to highly sensitive information. We have a gag-order on him, but if he decides to spread information far and wide before we can shut him up…. How much does he know?”
“He knows a lot,” Taylor admitted. “S… Jack, will you allow me to deal with this? I’ve known him a long time and I’d rather this came from me.”
“I’ll let Colonel Carter know,” Jack said.
That was something Jack had been avoiding –how to deal with disgruntled ex-employees. It was one thing to discharge your typical slacker, but how did one guarantee a gag on an Area 51 major who had access to significant information? There were still plenty of toys and experiments going on that the public did not know about. All the research into the Ancient DNA and Asgard cloning was happening at Area 51. Jack pursed his lips in thought and called Sam.
“Did Taylor call you? He’s going to handle the major, so don’t worry about it. Sam, how much does the major know about the genetics lab?”
“All the departments are highly departmentalized,” she said. “No one really knows what the other hand is doing. Coulter may know a little more than others. I’m not sure how to find out how much he knows without risking his curiosity.”
Jack wrinkled his nose and squeezed the bridge. “Okay. I’m sending Nick to you. The moment Taylor is done with Coulter, get him into the memory lab; Nick is going to make sure the major loses some of his memory.”
“That’s borderline,” Sam warned him.
“I know,” Jack nodded. “Can’t be helped. I don’t trust him.” He hung up with Sam and began the paperwork for a HomeWorld security breech. His bells were ringing. On a whim, Jack called DC.
“Agent Barrett, please. General O’Neill. Thank you. ….. Agent Barrett, long time no bug. Tell me something –is Leo Coulter one of yours? Area 51. Thank you.”
He hung up. Barrett would check a few sources and call back. The NID wasn’t too happy with current events; they were unable to get their fingers into the pie. They still argued on the Hill for a role in HomeWorld Security, and not only did Jack absolutely refuse, the NID’s own record wasn’t the most convincing especially when certain SGC Top Secret records were somehow leaked to congress and the senate. At least Barrett was easier to play with than most of the others. His former crush on Sam may have had something to do with it. Barrett did have a sense of ethics, though, something other agents seemed to lack.
Jack’s cell phone rang halfway to his office.
“O’Neill. Hmm. Okay, thanks. No, we’ll figure it out. Barrett, how much do you make? And you live on that? Want to work for me? I’ll give you twenty thousand more. I don’t know; come on out and we’ll find you a spot. Just keep your eyes off my wife.”
He hit a speed dial. “The NID says Coulter isn’t theirs.”
“What made you think of that?” she asked, stumped, at times, on how his mind worked.
“I don’t know, just a hunch. He’s working for someone, Sam, and it isn’t us. Listen, I’m bringing in your Agent Barrett. I have a hunch about him, too; have him tested ASAP, would you? I will bet you anything he turns on more than pretty science girls.”
“His DNA is already on file,” she said, putting up with his jab. “All government agents are on file for identification purposes. I’ll get his started right now. Do you think he’ll play ball?”
“I think so,” he said. “He’s always seemed uncomfortable with some of the NID’s games. Reynolds was a good find in their sand box; I think Barrett will be, too.”
“He picks up on technology pretty fast,” Sam said, thinking out loud. “He pieces things together, t
oo. I have an idea on what to do with him, unless you have something.”
“No,” Jack shrugged. “You can have him. I did tell him to keep his eyes off my wife, though.”
“You did not!” she gasped. “God, Jack, you can be so impossible at times.”
“Yes, I can,” he agreed. “So, do you want him in Colorado or Nevada?”
“Nevada,” she said. He could hear her eyes rolling.
T’Keet ran ahead of him into HomeSec. The guards watched her slide to a halt across the slick, tiled floor and race back to them.
“I T’Kt!” she announced importantly, holding out her ID badge. Amused, they waved her on. She had gotten over her kittenish fear of a camera and was proud to have an ID of her own made on her first day to work with Jack. The guards saluted Jack and signed him in. T’Keet had originally wanted to stay with Daniel, but Jack wasn’t too keen on it. Daniel didn’t have the security necessary to protect her. At HomeSec or Area 51, she could explore. Jack did have to send out a memo forbidding anyone from giving her sugar. Fruit began to disappear from desks but the fructose didn’t seem to have the same reaction as cane sugar did.
Jack sat down at his desk and logged into Sam’s private files. He found the section containing the proposed specs for the new ships. Project Good Neighbor. Jack had to think about it before his brow cleared. Border patrol. Fences. Right. The next generation of starships were more elegant than the current series; the X-4 was a little bigger than Daedalus but it was also more sleek and maneuverable for fighting in tight spaces. He noticed that it was labeled, “Firelight.” He raised an eyebrow; it wasn’t the usual type of ship name. There were plans for five Firelights. Each section had a science and medical ship plus four smaller, Argos-class ships for exploration. He noticed that the bays on the ships were given more room for additional gliders. He tapped the monitor and waited for Sam to appear in the upper square.
“Why five sets of ships?” he asked. She did a quick leap.
“Because our galaxy is circular,” she said. “Not square. Five makes for better coverage.”
“Oh. Why Firelight?”
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 3: A Stargate SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 28
