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Jack J. O'Neill was happy. His first year at the academy had been successful. With his special history, he had been admitted at the age of 17, and he had literally flown over the trainings and classes this first year. He had chosen Military Strategic studies for his major, like his first time around. If his early results during the second year were any indication, he was headed to a promising graduation. With the holiday season looming, he intended to spend his two weeks leave at his duplicate's cabin.
Both men had reached an agreement: as compensation for Jack J.’s unfortunate predicament, Jack O'Neill had offered half ownership of the cabin to him. So far the arrangement suited him just fine. Whenever he needed the place, he sent Jack a short text messageto announce he would be there. The rare times they had bumped into each other, it had only been to pass the relay. Whenever Jack was there, Jack J. was not, and vice versa. Not that they did not get along fine but it was just too frustrating for Jack J. to get a glimpse of ‘what should have been’ while he was resting his ass on school benches. On his part Jack O'Neill had to be a little freaked out every time he saw a younger version of himself.
Jack J. knew who he had to thank for his life but he was not going to dwell on that forever.
The past four years had been all about studying and making the most of the situation he had been forced into. He was only moderately interested in partying (besides, drinking had been forbidden to him until recently). He was definitely not interested in girls that age –despite being the professed interest of many– so he chose to study. His admission to the academy had never been a problem, his path was already well traced and his rapid promotions planned in advance. He had even been wooed by the black operations section and he had declined more than once. He wanted only one thing: the Stargate Program. As soon as he was out of the academy, he was guaranteed the rank of major and command of an SG Unit by special order of the president and he was not going to jeopardize that.
Jack J. zipped his bag closed and locked his room before making his way down the stairs to the parking lot. He had decided to drive all the way to Minnesota, stopping at a motel along the way. The weather was clear and he should be able to make good time but he still had a long trip ahead of him.
As he was fumbling with the keys of his F150 a white flash enveloped him, leaving only his bag next to his red truck…
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Jack felt the alien presence before his senses were fully alert. His eyes snapped open and he groaned. "Thor, has anyone ever told you that sneaking up on people is dangerous?" he showed the small gun he had retrieved from underneath his pillow.
The Asgard blinked. "Greetings, O'Neill."
A feminine voice groaned next to Jack and he turned his head toward it a brief moment.
"Greetings to you too, Colonel Carter," Thor said at the same tone.
Jack slapped his forehead and collapsed back down on his pillow. "Ah crap!"
"I will wait for you on board my ship, O'Neill. We need to talk."
Thor disappeared in a flash of light. Jack sighed.
"You have any idea what he wants?" Sam asked, snuggling into his side.
"No," Jack replied "but I'm pissed. He really needs to stop appearing out of nowhere! What if we had been…"
Sam's groaned “Don't even mention it!"
"Not that I'm a prude or anything but…"
"Jack!" she cut him off in an offended tone.
"Kidding!" he said before kissing her soundly. "I'd better put something on, I wouldn't want the little guy to get jealous…" He folded back the bed covers and headed for the bathroom.
Sam snorted. "Smartass!"
"Yes Ma'am, and a cute one at that, according to you!" he laughed, barely avoiding the pillow she threw at him.
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Jack sat in the SGC briefing room. He had borrowed a set of military fatigues in exchange for the sweats he had donned before his meeting with Thor and was waiting for SG-1 and Major General Hank Landry to put in an appearance. To their credit, Thor had seemed to forget that 0430 in the morning was considered resting time for Earthlings… The alien was stoically seated in front of Jack while the latter endlessly drummed his fingers on top of the table.
Jack ran a hand through his tousled hair and then rubbed it down his cheek, grimacing as he realized he had not shaved for two days. Of course, he was supposed to be on vacation for at least another week, but Murphy's Law seemed to hang around his neck like a millstone. So here he was. At least he had showered, he mused.
There was a slight commotion at the entrance of the briefing room and Jack turned his head just in time to see Sam, followed by Teal'c, Cameron Mitchell, Daniel, Vala, and finally Hank Landry enter the room.
Thor blinked.
"All right, Jack, what's this all about?" asked an aggravated Hank Landry, getting straight to the point while the others grumpily sat down around the table.
"Thor and his buddies made some possibly interesting discovery that could help us beat the crap out of those Ori," Jack stated. "I might be the key to it, at least my clone might," he concluded.
"Oh?" Landry asked the alien.
"We have been trying to find a genetic solution to the Ori problem ever since our defeat when they invaded our galaxy. Conventional weapons have not been successful, and furthermore, we know that the Ori drive their power from the prayers of their followers." Thor started.
"You found a new super strong Asgard weapon to defeat the Priors?" Cameron asked, earning a warning look from Landry.
"I am afraid not yet, unfortunately, Colonel Mitchell. But upon studying some planets’ populations which did not seem to provide as much power as some others, we determined that a few genes showed a slight mutation, and that this was the reason the full deliverance of power from the prayer was prevented."
"…What about Jack's clone?" Daniel asked.
"To allow O'Neill's clone to live, we had to induce several mutations on certain parts of his genes. As a result, his genetic code is slightly different now than O'Neill's. He is not able to use Ancient technology the same way O'Neill does because some of the modifications were made on the Ancient genes."
"Let me guess, the same genes that are involved in not delivering full power to the Ori?" Vala asked enthusiastically.
"In a way, yes, but we had not noticed this at first. At some point during our research in analyzing the various genomes, O'Neill's was used as the reference, and that is how we discovered that some of the mutated genes on the human genome corresponded to the ancient genes in O'Neill's and later, John Sheppard's. We used his DNA imprint to verify our theories.
"And the Ori have not noticed?" Sam inquired.
"At this point, it seems that they do not care or have not paid attention. They are focused on other matters undoubtedly.”Thor paused a moment, then resumed. "We tried several simulations with O'Neill's and Sheppard's DNA but the result was not as promising as we had first presumed. Heimdal was the one to think of O'Neill's clone, and the simulations we made on his DNA showed that there was a stronger potential," he concluded.
"O-Kay, how does this concern SG-1?" Cameron asked.
"Jack J. has disappeared," Jack blurted out.
"What do you mean, 'disappeared'?" Landry asked.
"We cannot trace his biological signature to anywhere in particular in the galaxy. We know it is there, we just do not know where." Thor said.
"You think the Ori have some responsibility in this?" Teal'c suggested.
"We do not want to rule out any possibility; his disappearance was sudden and total. If he were dead, we would know it because of the markers we left in both O'Neill and his clone. Only two of our enemies can do this: the Ori…"
"And Baal," Jack said in a somber voice.
Thor nodded slightly.
"That's going to be wild goose chase," Cameron stated. "We've had trouble locating him ever since he left Earth with his clones."
"Baal has several hideouts in the galaxy. We may not be able to find his bio signature, but I have an advantage over him that he doesn't even suspect…" Jack said in a resigned tone.
"What is it?" Daniel asked.
Jack looked at Sam. "I know the precise location of most of them."
"And you never mentioned this before because…?" Landry asked in an aggravated tone.
"Because I had no idea I still had it in my subconscious!" Jack snapped back. "Thor searched Kanaan's memories and apparently those Tok'Ra know how to keep a secret because it took him a rather long time to locate these and retrieve them! Kanaan had memorized the locations and plans of most of Baal's bases. Of course, this might be old history for some of them, but we still have an advantage over him, and that's better than nothing."
Hank sighed. "So what's the plan?"
Jack folded his hands in front of him and looked straight to each member of SG-1 in turn.
"We split. I'll take Carter with me. Mitchell, you take Teal'c, Daniel and Vala. Carter and I will go and try to find Jack J. at one of Baal's fortresses. The rest of SG-1 tries the Ori alternative. Thor screened several possibilities and Vala might be useful if Adria's involved in any of them."
"General?" Landry asked, concerned.
"This is a personal matter, General, you stay here to run the base, I'm going to save his butt. I won't let him go through this a second time." Jack said in a tone that left no doubt about his determination.
"If Baal is the one who abducted Jack J., how can you be sure he won't be able to find what Thor did?" Landry asked. "And if the Ori did it, then…. I'd rather not think about what they could have done with him.”
"So what if Baal does? The snake won't have time to move fast enough and we can track ships. Besides, the point is to find Jack J. before Baal tortures him," Jack retorted.
"You seem pretty sure Baal captured your clone," Landry stated.
"He has a name, you know," Jack said, clearly annoyed.
"This was our first assessment as well, General Landry," Thor interrupted.
"So why did he capture him?" Landry asked, matter-of-factly.
"We may have a leak in our security system," Thor admitted.
"Lots of 'if' and 'may' or 'might'," Landry said.
Jack sighed, "We don't have many options. My gut tells me Jack J. is with Baal, I'm going."
"You may do whatever you want with your gut, Jack, but SG-1 is my responsibility and I'm not going to send them on a wild goose chase just because you have a gut feeling!"
"A gut feeling that is supported by Thor, Hank!" Jack roared, clearly beyond civility. "My gut feelings have saved our collective asses more than once, if I recall correctly!"
Silence fell upon the briefing table. Jack looked at the older man dangerously then spoke in a voice that left no room for discussion.
"Besides being one of our own, Jack J. O'Neill is far more important than what you can ever imagine if my buddy Thor here is right. So either you move your butt and support me in handling this, or I make it an order. If I have to face charges for abusing my position, then so be it. This won't be the first or the last time I take action for the greater good."
"Okay, Jack, you're the boss, I just hope you know what you're doing," Landry said, clearly defeated.
"Thanks for your support," Jack smirked
Landry stood up. "SG-1, go get geared up and be ready to leave. Jack, can I talk to you in my office, please?"
"Sure", Jack mumbled. "I have to ask for a form to borrow equipment anyway," he quipped.
While SG-1 went their separate ways, Jack stepped into the other general's office. The latter closed the door behind him.
"Jack…"
"I don't know what's gotten into you, Hank, but I don't like the way you treated me out there!" Jack roared. "I'm not a rookie and I think I have proven enough times that my judgment is accurate!"
"Calm down, Jack and sit down, please."
"You're treading dangerous waters there," Jack said in a cold voice.
"Jack! I said what I said because I think you're taking this too much at heart! Don't tell me the Baal possibility doesn't have any importance in your personal involvement!"
"Of course it does! It did when my team was supposed to be in his hands two years ago. Baal is the only remaining system lord and I know first hand what he's capable of!”
"And that's what worries me, Jack. How can I be sure that it's not clouding your judgment?" Hank asked, calmly.
"It's not. And besides, I'll have Carter with me, she'll keep me grounded."
"You outrank her," Hank deadpanned.
Jack smiled. "So? It's never stopped her before, it's not gonna stop her now, believe me, I know that first hand, too." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Hank looked surprised.
"What? It's not as if we're breaking any rule, and I won't be the one writing her evaluation, you will." He shrugged.
Hank chuckled. "I understand now why you were so eager to take that position in D.C."
"Not a word, Hank. Only Daniel and Teal'c know." Jack warned.
"My lips are sealed, don't worry…"
"Now can I fill in the form for my equipment?" Jack changed the subject, smiling.
Story Notes: Meeting the "Revelation" fanzine team at Avalon, I was invited to write a story for book #5.
I felt honored and came up with this... reposted with permission.
I felt honored and came up with this... reposted with permission.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]