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

by Michele Briere

“Jack, what else do you get from him besides preoccupation?”

  Jack sank further into the hot water, thinking about it.

  “That’s actually the best word,” he said. “But I get the same sense that I get from the Rav.”

  Daniel crooked an eyebrow up. “Open? Accepting?”

  Jack thought about it and nodded. “Yeah, those work.”

  “Matt, you spend a lot of time at church with your grandfather and you seem to enjoy the council meetings. Any chance you’re considering being a priest?”

  Matthew considered it. “I don’t know,” he said. “I like how it all makes me feel, but I don’t want to be a priest like grandpa. Maybe I’ll want to get married someday. Have kids. I like helping with Olivia, even though she’s a pain sometimes.”

  “There are lots of different kinds of priests,” Daniel told him. “Only a small few have celibacy rules. Matt, what do you get when read the different myths?”

  “That they all say the same thing,” he said. “I mean, a lot of them talk about people and how they lived, but they also want us to be kind to each other and to be honorable.”

  “What about deity?” Daniel asked.

  Matthew shrugged. “I think that there’s something that feels alive,” he said in cautious contemplation. “I’m not sure how else to describe it. I’m not sure that a single God fits, though. It’s like…. this is stupid, but all I can think of is Star Wars and the Force.”

  “An energy that connects all things and binds them together?” Daniel suggested.

  Matthew lit up. “Yes, that’s it,” he said.

  “That is spirituality,” Daniel told him. “I think it’s great that you found that wave to ride. And I agree that it can be heady enough to overshadow everything else. If you’re worried that there’s something wrong, we can certainly get your hormones tested and make sure they’re where they’re supposed to be, but I think you’re a little young to be concerned about that. Jack’s right; lots of boys are late bloomers. Not a problem. Unless you do plan on being celibate, though, you should learn to adapt that spirituality to the rest of your life. Matty, if you are meant to be a priest of some kind, don’t fight it. We will encourage and support you.”

  Jack echoed him and Matthew ducked his head. “Can I ask you something?” Matthew asked Daniel.

  “Sure, kiddo.”

  “About your book. I’ve read it a couple of times and I keep thinking that something is missing. Something about the Ancients, I think. I keep thinking that maybe they did something more than build the gates.”

  Daniel spread his arms along the side of the tub. “Like what else?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Matthew said, lifting a shoulder. “I mean, I know you had to leave some things out. Classified things. I’ve lived here long enough to hear when things are NOT being said. I think there’s stuff you didn’t say. And I think there’s something about the Ancients that you don’t want people to know.”

  “Well, when you can expound a little more on that, I don’t mind listening,” Daniel told him. Matty looked at him.

  “Uh huh.” He stood and unexpectedly pecked Daniel’s damp cheek. “Thanks, Uncle Dad.”

  Daniel was smiling as the boy went back into the house. He opened an eye to see Jack also smiling. “He’s going to lead the children out of darkness,” Daniel predicted.

  “How about we deal with getting his new brother or sister out of darkness first?” Jack suggested. Daniel agreed and turned toward Jack with glittering eyes.

  “The kids are still up,” Jack warned. Daniel didn’t seem to care as one hand slid down while his mouth found Jack’s neck. Daniel was obviously feeling better. Jack gave a growl and pushed back, splashing water over the edge of the hot tub.

  Darkness hit a new high, or low, when Jack was called to the SGC late the next morning. The conference room held Landry, SG-1 and 3, and their Indian trainees.

  “Morning, Jack,” Landry said as Jack acknowledged everyone and waved them down. Landry pulled slightly at Jack’s collar and shook his head at the purple bruise that was poking out. “Aren’t you a little old for that?”

  “Hey, talk to Daniel, I’m just his toy,” Jack informed him. Reynolds and Bosco snickered. “Besides, Sam is being extra careful for the next seven months so we are being considerate by letting her rest.” It took the others a moment and then congratulations were offered. The trainees were a little perplexed.

  “Does this mean you can’t go out for a ride with us?” Reynolds asked.

  “A ride? To where?” Jack asked. With a nod from Landry, Reynolds pointed at the screen.

  “You need to see this,” he told Jack.

  Video from a hidden camera showed the Indian-descended locals of the Vishnu planet working hard in a factory. Tanks bubbled gently as shadowy forms swam freely in the water.

  “Are those…?” Jack leaned in.

  “Yep,” Reynolds said grimly.

  The image changed to someone’s hands, long, slender fingers holding a Goa’uld larva gently, examining it before setting it back into a tank. The image zoomed in on another, larger tank at the far end of the room. A bloated form occupied the tank.

  “That’s…. where the hell did they get her?” Jack couldn’t believe it. Someone had found a queen snake!

  “We haven’t gotten that far, sir,” Reynolds told him. “Since only one queen was ever found, and she died before we could talk with her, we don’t actually know how many others there were, if there were any at all. Nothing the Tok’ra or the Goa’uld ever said made us think there were more. According to Malek, the Tok’ra didn’t think there were any more. We have a call out to Thanatos.”

  “Could one have been bioengineered?” Landry asked.

  “Don’t know, sir,” Reynolds said apologetically. “Not my area of expertise. We can ask the Tok’ra once they get finished reviewing this footage. This isn’t the best part, though, Jack. Keep watching.”

  They all winced as they watched a snake take the human offering. Vishnu himself appeared, dark, with long black hair and a blue robe, inspecting the slaves. Jack had to admit that he didn’t know the face, although the over-the-top clothes were in character for a Goa’uld. The scene changed to more of the lab. Someone was bent over what was obviously a microscope, completely out of character for the technological level of the planet. The person was female and… blond?

  “Who…?” Jack leaned in. He then sat back, stunned. “Crap.” He picked up the phone and dialed. “Daniel, come to the SGC. Now.”

  “This is not good,” Jack informed the room.

  When Daniel came in, via the new arch, and saw the footage, he sank into a chair. “Oh, crap,” he said, echoing Jack. “Oh, I was hoping that it wouldn’t happen.”

  “Well, if she had a twisted wire or something, a little amnesia wouldn’t fix it,” Jack told him. “Look, I know you don’t want to hear this, but we should have killed her.”

  “Don’t pull the I-told-you-so routine with me, please, Jack,” Daniel begged, running a hand over his hair and giving it a pull in frustration. “Is there a plan in the works?”

  “Not yet,” Landry said. “We need to know about that queen and we need to know if there are any more. We also need to get Dr. Frankenstein out of there and question her. From what we’ve seen of security, not too many people get near to her and she doesn’t go out into the general public.”

  “I can get to her,” Daniel said.

  “Over my dead body,” Jack informed him.

  “Jack, you know damned well I’m the only one who can do this,” Daniel said, knowing Jack was going to fight it.

  “There is no way in hell I’d let you go without me and I’m not going anywhere until our baby is born,” Jack told him, his voice beginning to rise. “With five kids running around and one on the way, we … WE!…. cannot leave Sam to play mother-hen by herself. Absolutely not!”

  “I’m not an asshole, of course I don’t want to leave them!” Daniel shouted back. “I�
��d be gone a week! No one else can get close to her except ME!”

  The men around the table tried to look anywhere except at Jack and Daniel. “Uh.” Reynolds raised a hesitant hand. “I don’t mean to interrupt family stuff, but I might have an idea.”

  Jack and Daniel scowled at each other for a moment. “What,” Jack snapped.

  “Well, why do we have to actually go down to the planet?”

  Everyone looked at Reynolds.

  “Explain, Colonel,” Landry said.

  “Well, sir, why can’t we just beam her up? From the surveillance, we know that she’s in her lab at certain hours so we set a wide beam and bring up anything registering body temp in the vicinity. We did the same thing in Korea and it worked there.”

  Jack lost his scowl.

  “And the Aschen?” Jack asked. Damned pirates were getting their fingers into everything out there.

  “They seem to steer clear of that planet,” Reynolds said. “We still haven’t figured out why. We can plot a route to the planet that will get us around the Aschen once we check on their current shipping lanes.”

  Jack drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. “I’m not happy,” he finally said. “Even if I consider allowing Daniel to go, and I do agree, however not happy I am about it, that he is the only one who can talk to her, I won’t let him go without me and I’m not going anywhere for the next seven months.”

  Daniel folded his arms, shoving his hands peevishly under his pits. Bosco held up his hand. “Can I put a recommendation into the hat?” he asked. Jack grunted. “Why does the talking need to be done there? Why not beam her up, put her on ice, and bring her here?”

  “Why didn’t you do that already?” Jack asked.

  “Because kidnapping is not a nice thing to do,” Daniel reluctantly said. “We have a play-nice treaty and it doesn’t extend to that planet. We can’t take someone, legally, from a planet which doesn’t hold a treaty with the UW, and the citizens of that planet have not called a mayday.”

  Jack thought about it, trying to remember the odds and ends of the treaty. He tapped on the computer, searching for the file.

  “There’s a loophole in that,” he finally said. “Ke’ra is not wanted anywhere, but Linea is a criminal and there are who knows how many planets that she has wiped out. I’d say Linea has destroyed Ke’ra and escaped Vyus. For all we know, she’s the one who brought that snake to the planet. She’s open game.” While the evil scientist Linea had come down with a case of amnesia due to a planet-wide infection that caused all the inhabitants to have amnesia, she had reverted to a kind, gentle person who only wanted to help cure everyone. Taken back to the SGC, where, hopefully, the SGC scientists could help find the cure, Daniel had fallen in love with her. His heart was still aching over the death of his wife, Sha’re, and has fallen hard for the gentle scientist, Ke’ra, not realizing that she was the younger version of an evil scientist, Linea, who they had already had a run-in with on a prison planet. The more suspicious others had become of her, though, the harder it was for Daniel to admit to the facts being presented to him. He hurt for a while, after Ke'ra reverted to Linea, but he got past it.

  He turned the computer toward Daniel for his own perusal of the treaty’s exact wording. Daniel considered it thoughtfully.

  “Alright,” he said. “Just to keep things kosher, though, maybe run it by the council and make sure they’re reading it the same way. Jack, don’t look at me like that. Whatever her past, Linea has not harmed us so we cannot excuse a vigilante raid. Even with the Goa’uld hunting, it was for a specific System Lord, not an all-out extermination. We have a treaty that says we will follow certain rules, and since you’re the Big Cheese, it might be a good idea to set an example.”

  Jack didn’t like it at all but he knew Daniel was right.

  The teams were excused to make things happen while Daniel stood at the window, looking down at their old familiar friend. Landry glanced at him and then at Jack and got out of firing range, closing the door silently as he left them alone.

  “I’m sorry,” Jack said, seeing the tightened muscles across Daniel’s back. “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re an asshole. I’m an asshole. And I think I understand how you were feeling when I went hunting last year. If you want to go with SG-1, I won’t argue. It’s been a long time since you’ve been on a mission. Go. Go play, bring the bitch home.”

  Daniel took a breath, the window fogging for a moment. “You’re right. My responsibilities are here and I have no business being on the front line, not with our kids waiting for me. I’ll wait until the Prometheus gets back with K… Linea. Experiencing our new child growing is more important to me. And yes, you are an asshole.”

  Jack’s mouth twitched. “Love you, too. Can we blame this on hormone changes?”

  Daniel looked over his shoulder, a small smile warming Jack’s heart. Before Jack could respond, both men suddenly ran for the men’s room down the hall. When they finally lifted their faces from the toilets, they found Dr. Lam holding up the wall in the hallway. She gave them her famous inscrutable dark eyes and handed them each a package of crackers.

  “We are not amused,” Jack informed her.

  “Oh, but we are amused,” she told them. “Congratulations. Be sure you replace the liquids and keep your electrolytes balanced. I know you’ll be feeling tired and not wanting to even look at food, but rest any time you can and eat anyway. Lots of protein. Eat through the morning sickness and you should find that the nausea lessens. Keep crackers or dry cereal by your bed and eat something before getting up. It should help. Sometimes eating and drinking at the same time can trigger it, so try not to drink at mealtimes. Some women find that sniffing lemons, fresh grated ginger, or mint also helps when they feel it coming on.”

  “We’re not women,” Daniel reminded her. Her stare told him to shut up. He wasn’t quite sure what Jerrie saw in her, only that Dr. Lam made Jerrie happy. According to Jerrie, Carolyn had a good sense of humor, a passion for life, and a romantic heart. Maybe being on base with her father, General Landry, put her on edge.

  “It’s a proven fact that some men also experience some of the pregnancy symptoms,” she said. “We’re not sure why, only that it happens. As close as the three of you are, this should have been expected. Besides morning sickness, you might experience some sleeplessness and indigestion, hormones will fluctuate causing emotional upheavals including depression, and there is a possibility of postpartum depression. Read the baby books, talk to each other, and, above all, take it one day at a time. And considering the fact that one of you is the bio-Dad, if you think anything unusual is happening with Colonel Carter, bring her in. Otherwise, she should be fine with her regular OB/GYN.”

  The men promised to behave and obey.

  Instead of heading out, Jack side-tracked to the control room and had Walter dial out.

  “Anyone home?” Jack asked into the mic when the channel was open.

  “Are you alright, Dr. Jackson?” Walter asked whispered as Daniel sat and leaned forward until his head was between his knees.

  “Morning sickness,” Daniel told him. Walter’s eyes opened in shock. “Sam is pregnant, not me,” Daniel said. “I don’t think the universe has gone that far out of whack.”

  “Oh. Congratulations, sir. Sirs.”

  Jack also had his head between his knees.

  “Come on over,” they heard Ninurta from the speaker. The men reluctantly sat up, slowly, and headed to the gateroom.

  “This is not going to be pretty,” Jack said under his breath, staring at the gate with apprehension. The moment they were on the other side, they immediately ran past a startled Ninurta and out of the building to find bushes. Ninurta followed them, watching, perplexed.

  “Are you ill?” he asked.

  Jack turned to look at him. “Alright, stupid question,” Ninurta acknowledged.

  “Sam’s pregnant,” Jack told him.

  “Congrat…. ahhhhh, yessss…. Jack, you are bonded t
o her. Bondings produce this level of sharing,” Ninurta said. He stepped up to the men and put a gentle hand on their backs for a moment. “Better?”

  “A little,” Jack said, feeling the nausea subside with the redact. “Thanks.”

  “Come,” the warrior said. “I will make a calming tea for you.”

  They followed him into the modest manor house and through to the private family room. Ninurta spoke quietly to a servant who gave a nod and left them. The men sat gingerly into over-stuffed chairs and relaxed once they found that their stomachs weren’t going to go AWOL on them again.

  “Papa!” A little boy ran into the room and climbed onto Jack’s lap. Jack winced as he accepted the hug around his neck.

  “Easy, Daka,” Ninurta said. “Papa isn’t feeling well. His tummy is upset. Uncle Daniel’s, too, so sit gently.”

  “He’s fine,” Jack said as the boy settled down beside him. “Where is everyone?”

  “His fathers are on their way home,” Ninurta said, nodding toward Daka. “Aba is in his lab, everyone else is in the fields. Wheat harvest. I was here overseeing the silos when your call came in.” The servant came in carrying a tray which he placed on the table. Ninurta took the ingredients and began their tea.

  “A bonding brings those involved closer than your average pairing,” Ninurta told them as he gently pressed the herbs into the hot water. “I will bet anything that the bond’s energy surrounded you during your lovemaking in which the baby was conceived.”

  The men considered him and then each other. “Surrounded all three of us,” Daniel confirmed.

  “Ah,” Ninurta smiled and nodded. “Which is why you are both experiencing it. And in the same waves, if you haven’t noticed. This pregnancy was planned.”

  “Per Sam’s request,” Jack said. “She was ready.”

  Ninurta handed the men each a cup. “Sip slowly.”

  “Now, Daniel, about this possible Ancient site of yours,” Ninurta said, petting his beard thoughtfully. “We honestly don’t know what to tell you. Aba said that when he arrived on Earth, in his initial tour, there were only small pockets of primitives around. Barely out of the trees. Most of the Ancients had left by then, those who had not died in the plague, and a few stragglers were rounding up survivors for the final ship to the Pegasus galaxy. Our people, the Asgard, and the Nox were given the task of monitoring the life forms that seemed to be immune to whatever was killing the Ancients. They didn’t have high hopes for the primitive forms on primordial Earth. Not only were the brains of the primates not viable, but the planet was undergoing a major tectonic upheaval. The Ancients couldn’t have stayed there even if they wanted to; the planet was turning itself inside out."