"Sorry!" Jonas was quite puzzled. For the last couple of hours Daniel had been trying to explain the difference between Table Tennis and Ping Pong. Jonas was a quick study, but Daniel was growing impatient. He usually did when they had to spend a weekend on-call.
"Remember, this table is only 9ft by 5ft. We do not have an unlimited space here," Daniel said, more calmly, reminding himself that Jonas was a beginner.
"I am aware of that Dr. Jackson," Jonas replied sounding a bit testy himself. He, too, was a bit frustrated.
"Listen, we don't have to do this… we can stop," Daniel said, reluctantly giving Jonas the option to find another way to occupy his time. "And please…call me Daniel."
"No, no," Jonas protested, exhaling and trying to let some of his frustration leave with the expelled air, "I do want to learn. Please, Daniel, continue."
"Well, as I was saying, like Tennis, the game we play outside with the big green ball, Ping Pong involves hitting the ball back and forth across a net until somebody misses the ball, until the ball hits the net or until the ball misses the table."
"And…"
"In each of these cases, the opponent scores a point. We each serve until 5 points have been scored. Then, after the each person has served for 5 points, whoever reaches 21 points first wins," Daniel said, repeating what he had said several minutes earlier.
"I know, Daniel, I know," Jonas said in a tone that was increasingly sarcastic. He was, at this point, wondering if Daniel had always been this particular before his ascension. One look at Jack O'Neill's face seems to confirm that he was.
"Jonas," Daniel was looking at him, "are you ready?"
"Oh, yes Daniel, of course," Jonas put himself in ready position.
"One more thing, if the score is tied at 20 all, or deuce, the service changes after each point until 1 player gains a 2 point advantage to win the game." They proceeded to try to play again and watched as the ball bounced off the table and hit Jack on the head.
"Hey!" Jack protested, while ducking. It wasn't that the Ping Pong ball hurt, it was that he missed getting his frog across the road because the ball broke his concentration and forced him to duck his head at just the wrong time.
"Sorry," Jonas replied, sheepishly. "I'm still getting the hang of this."
Daniel turned his head away to hide the smile that was creeping onto his face from Jack's scowling glare. The on-call weekends on base were always a chance to annoy Jack. It wasn't like he was trying this time…really. He was trying to teach Jonas how to play Ping Pong. It seemed inevitable that they would all end up in the rec room. On these weekends they usually did. Daniel had tried to get them all to play Ping Pong with him several times over his years at the SGC. Teal'c had been a willing student when he'd first arrived at the SGC. He had stopped by mutual agreement because the Ping Pong ball became a dangerous weapon when it was hit by Teal'c and all felt it was best if he stayed away from the game. Now it was Jonas' turn. He was a much better student than Teal'c and a far less aggressive opponent as well.
"Hey, Jack," Daniel said when he was able to look at Jack with a straight face, "I could always ask Teal'c to stand in for Jonas." Teal'c cocked his head slightly and raised his eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Daniel's suggestion. His surprise dissipated as he noticed Jack's expression.
Jack gave Daniel a glare that told him all he needed to know and quietly returned to his Gameboy. Before he began playing again, he glanced over to check if Carter had moved a muscle during the entire exchange. He noticed a smile playing at the corner of her mouth, but he couldn't be sure if it was due to amusement over their banter or (and he could not imagine this) if she was actually finding humor in whatever article was keeping her interest in the most recent issue of Astrophysics Journal. Jack shook his head and returned to his game of Frogger.
He thought about disrupting her and reminding her that this was supposed to be recreation time, but decided against it, as he knew what her response would be. "Sir, this is relaxing and the articles are interesting," he could hear her voice inside his head. The Ping Pong lesson had resumed and the clickety-click of the ball on the table and paddles was just about to drive Jack to distraction when Sam let out an exasperated grunt.
"What?" Jack looked up from the Gameboy, pausing the game momentarily.
"Oh, it's just so frustrating sometimes…" she said, shaking her head.
"What is?" Jack asked, not sure if she was referring to what she was reading or what had taken place in the room moments ago.
"Oh, there's another article in here on wormhole theory…" she began, and seeing the colonel's eyes roll almost immediately, she decided to abbreviate her tale, "…basically, the author is theorizing about what kind of energy source it would take to generate enough exotic matter to stabilize a wormhole. It's so frustrating knowing that such a device exists and not being able to share it with people who are beating their heads against a wall without it."
"Oh, well, uh, I completely understand…" Daniel began, but was interrupted when Jonas served the ball while his attention was diverted. Jonas earned a glare before Daniel continued, "I would love to bring my former colleagues together and show them the evidence I now have to support the theory they all found so ridiculous back then."
Sam smiled in empathy as Jonas turned to Teal'c for clarification, "Daniel Jackson is referring to a presentation he made to group of archaeologists describing his theory that the pyramids of Egypt were built by an alien race. This presentation was the reason Catherine Langford invited him to join the Stargate program."
"Oh, right," Jonas, said, nodding his head in understanding.
Jack was about to make a smart remark, but he stopped, mouth open, as the alarm klaxons began to sound.
"Unscheduled off-world activation," the voice over the speakers said as all five of them dropped what they were doing and began moving quickly to the control room.
The five arrived in the control room just as the seventh chevron locked into place. The iris aperture was just closing as the wormhole activated.
"Sergeant?" Jack asked as they walked up behind Walter Davis.
"Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir," Davis said as the computer identified the signal coming through the `gate.
"Open the iris," Jack said and then turned his attention to Sam. "Get Hammond on the phone and tell him what's going on."
Sam nodded and turned to use a handset on the wall behind her. She kept her eye on the `gate as she told the base operator to ring the general. The operator tried Hammond at his home first, but was having no luck. Sam felt a smile creep on her face as she saw her father emerge from the wormhole. Then she felt the smile disappear again as she noticed that he was accompanied by two females. One of those females was Anise.
Sam's rather unkind thoughts were interrupted as General Hammond finally spoke through the phone. She turned her attention to the handset and explained the situation to the general. He told her to make the Tok'ra comfortable in the briefing room and said he would join them as soon as possible. Sam hung up the phone and ran to join the rest of SG-1 in the `gate room.
"Jacob," Jack said, smiling, but with a wary look on his face.
"Jack," Jacob said and reached out a hand. Jack took his hand and shook it while eyeing the two females who had arrived with Sam's dad.
"What's up?" Jack asked when the handshake had concluded.
"I think we need to talk," Jacob said and then noticed Sam arriving in the `gate room. "Sam," he said and reached out to take Sam into a hug, smiling.
"Hey, Dad," Sam said, returning his hug and his smile. "Why don't we go to the briefing room," she said as she pulled away from her father's embrace and gestured with her head toward the doorway through which she had just entered. "General Hammond is on his way to see you."
"Thank you," Anise said, following closely behind Jacob and Jack. The remaining SG-1 members followed and the third Tok'ra visitor brought up the rear. Sam motioned toward the large conference table in the briefing room above the control room. She was not at all surprised to see Anise forego sitting at the table, preferring instead to look out the observation windows onto the Stargate below. That suited Jack just fine as he was hoping to avoid speaking to Freya all together. He did take notice that the third member of the Tok'ra delegation remained behind a distance, near the top of the stairs, standing in the shadows. He thought to approach her and make an introduction, but then decided Jacob would introduce her when he was ready.
"So…" said Jack as most of the party began sitting at the conference table. "What news of gloom and doom do you bear?"
Jacob gave Jack a sarcastic look and answered, "Let's just wait for George to arrive, shall we?"
Jack shrugged and looked at Sam, who returned his shrug.
Several minutes of silence followed and then Jacob broke the silence to ask Sam if she had heard from Mark. The pair discussed family as the rest of those in attendance tried not to be too interested. Daniel tapped Jonas on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. He then introduced Jonas to Anise. The three conversed in front of the observation windows for several minutes.
Jack had excused himself to call the cafeteria and to have coffee and whatever pastry was available brought to the briefing room. He and Teal'c conversed over by the window in front of General Hammond's office while they awaited the arrival of the refreshments. All in all, they managed to pass the 30 minutes it took for General Hammond to arrive with hospitality and without controversy. Still, Jack couldn't help feeling that the eye of the storm was about to pass on by.
General Hammond stopped in his office and took a quick look out at the briefing room before he actually entered. He was more than a little surprised to see Anise. She was sitting next to Jacob at the table, occupying the chair to the left of the one he planned to use. Sam was seated on Jacob's left. Daniel and Jonas had taken seats across the table from Anise and Jacob while Teal'c and Jack continued to stand near the door he would use to enter the room. He noticed another standing near the top of the stairs leading to the control room and wondered why she hadn't joined the others. George took a deep breath and walked into the room.
"Good afternoon," he said as he approached the table and waited for Jack and Teal'c to take seats beside Jonas. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit? " he asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.
"George," Jacob said, thought the smile from earlier had left his face. "We have a situation and it's bad." Jack began to feel uncomfortable again. For starters, Anise had begun to take an interest in him again. At least that's how it felt. She was drilling a hole through him with her eyes and he was doing his best to avoid making eye contact. He opted, instead, to gaze over at the third Tok'ra, again wondering why Jacob hadn't introduced her. He gave an involuntary shudder as a chill passed through him. Surprised and a bit disturbed, he turned his attention away from her and tried to focus on Jacob, without seeing Anise.
"We have discovered that one of our operatives is a spy for Fenrir-an agent of Jorgumund-the Destroyer. This operative has had access to one of our rather sensitive projects and has taken a top-secret and dangerous device," Jacob was interrupted as Jack's full attention was now riveted on him.
"Whoa!" Jack said, stopping the narrative before matters could get any worse. "Wait a minute. Why are you coming to us with this? This sounds like a Tok'ra matter."
"Yes, Jack, this is a Tok'ra matter, but we believe the Tau'ri are his intended target."
"What? Why? Who is this renegade?" Jack said, not giving Jacob or anyone else, for that matter a chance to talk.
Before Jacob could answer, the third Tok'ra visitor decided to make her presence known. Walking forward, she lowered the hood on the robe she was wearing and all were able to see her clearly for the very first time. Jack was suddenly struck again by how he had once again, nearly forgotten she was present. Daniel gave a bit of an involuntary gasp, as a glimmer of recognition flickered in the back of his mind. Seeing her was almost like watching a picture of an ancient Celtic priestess come to life. He had always been good at remembering myths, legends and stories, but his time with Oma had served to heighten his awareness and memory of those legends belonging to Earth as well as those of other planets in the galaxy.
She was a stunning sight to behold and the others at the table turned their attention to her as well. Her blond, almost white, hair was long and wavy. Tall and statuesque, she wore long flowing white robes, and had pale skin. She bore a purple stone in the middle of her forehead. It matched the stone in the Celtic style knot pendant she wore around her neck and it nearly matched the color of her eyes. The sharp contrast between the pale color of her hair and skin with the color of her eyes made Daniel wonder how he had not taken more notice of her when she had arrived. He was still feeling as though he had seen a painting come to life. But then, paintings don't talk.
A voice that was light and musical-with a hint of an ancient Irish accent spoke. "My name," said the picture come to life, "is Rhiannon. I am from Cymrie."
Jack was struck by how different this Tok'ra woman was from the others. Daniel and Teal'c also noted that she was not the leather-clad vixen that was Anise. Nor did she resemble any other Tok'ra they had encountered.
"My god-she looks just like a picture of Rhiannon of the Birds, a Celtic Witch." Daniel whispered it so softly that Jack couldn't swear he'd heard it, but in his head and heart, he agreed. He, too, was familiar with the legend of Rhiannon of the Birds, having read the story as a child. He had seen a painting of this legend as well. This Rhiannon was a dead ringer for the depictions he'd seen of the legendary figure Daniel mentioned.
Teal'c just stared, his curiosity piqued. He had encountered very many different worlds and societies. However, he had not come across the Cymrie before.
"I will tell you all you need to know," Rhiannon began, wanting to continue before the stunned silence that had fallen over the room vanished, "…but first my symbiote wishes to address you." Rhiannon's eyes flashed briefly. All took notice as Rhiannon's eyes changed from the purple of the amethyst to the blue of a summer sky.
"Now that I've got your attention," thought Sam. Daniel and Jonas exchanged looks, silently asking each other if either had seen anything like that before. None of them were previously aware that a symbiote could actually change the color of the host's eyes. Daniel and Jonas were both curious if this was something that was unique to Rhiannon's people.
"My name is Brownwyn" she began. "You may have guessed our origins are very different than some planets and peoples that you have met. I can assure you that Rhiannon's people are human. They just evolved a little differently. Her history is from ancient Erin, or Ireland, as you may call it now."
She sat down. "Dr. Jackson, I don't suppose I need to explain the whole mystical and nature focused religion of the ancient Celts, the influence of the druids. But you need to understand that, although we have the power to do things that may not seem quite `human', we are human. Just with abilities that have been enhanced. Early Goa'uld engineering that enhanced the natural abilities of the people. Which is why there were captured in the first place. Once you enhance those types of abilities, they tend to be used against you. Rhiannon's people learned how to move around with the use of the `gate, what they call sithiche roth or `fairies circle'."
While they were still digesting this new information and before they could ask any questions, Brownwyn continued, "We also learned how to manipulate time."
Sam interrupted, " Simultaneous `gate travel with the occurrence of a solar flare. We've experienced that a few times ourselves, but predicting the solar flares is beyond our current capabilities. Not to mention how dangerous time travel can be..."
"True," Brownwyn acknowledged, "but we have learned how to predict the stellar flares and using the original technology, not that invented by the Goa'uld, but by the Ancients, we can control not only when and where we go in terms of day and continent, but when and where we travel in terms of seconds and exact location."
Daniel interjected. "You built a Time Machine? Isn't that a little too…H.G.Wells?"
Brownwyn looked confused at that and turned to Jacob. Jacob explained to her that Daniel was referring to an Earth novel about a time machine and time travel.
"Well, not quite a novel nor a machine," Brownwyn answered, bemused. "We have built not a machine, but a hand device."
"You're serious." Daniel sat back in his chair. He took off his glasses and wiped them before he put them back on his face, "that is just unbelievable. And more than a little…ill conceived?"
"The grandfather paradox, Rhiannon. You ever hear of that?" Daniel mumbled under his breath. Sam and Jonas caught his low voiced comment and nodded in agreement.
"Daniel is right," Sam added. "Creating a time travel device is crazy. Why would you want to do that?" amazed that anyone would want to build such a potentially dangerous device.
"Not all beings perceive time in the same way we do," Jacob answered his daughter. "You know time travel is a scientific possibility. You also know that there are worlds far more advanced than Earth. It was only a matter of time before such a device was created. Time manipulation is something Rhiannon's people can do without the device. She was merely trying to find a way for the rest of us to join her."
"And you're telling us this…why?" Jack asked tightly. He liked this less and less with each passing second. He felt a dark shadow over his mood returning. How many times has he wished for a time machine to go back and change what happened with Charlie?
Rhiannon's voice took over and answered Jack's question, "Because the renegade Tok'ra, Dagda, has it. We believe he is going to use it to kill someone very important to the Stargate program. To kill this individual is to kill the Stargate program. Can you imagine" she continued, "how very much the Goa'uld would like to fix it so that the Tau'ri be not involved in this?"
Jacob's symbiote, Selmac, added, "It was precisely because of your involvement that Ra and Apophis are gone. After so many years, it was the Tau'ri that defeated these two powerful Goa'uld, as well as others."
Rhiannon's eyes were now a dark purple, almost to the point of being black.
Anise went over to her and put her arm on Rhiannon's shoulder and spoke. "Dagda's host, Brian, was…" she stopped for a moment, considering how to describe this man, "he was weak. Not in physical strength, but mentally. We…" Anise faltered for a moment and Jacob supplied the proper words, "Yes, he was a good and hard worker. He would run errands for us and mostly worked in the lab with Rhiannon and Brownwyn."
Anise sighed and sat down again. "Three years ago, a Goa'uld was brought to us by one of our operatives. His host was weak and old and he asked to join us. He swore to us that he only came to help our cause and that he would no longer serve the System Lords who were using their power to enslave and destroy. He was tired and could no longer face the pain he was causing. That Goa'uld was called Dagda."
Eyebrows raised and Daniel presumed that most of people in the room were not familiar with the history of that particular god in Norse mythology.
Jacob continued the story. "He played his role so well. He provided much valuable information. He never even asked for a new host, though his was close to dying. After being with us and watched carefully for 2-1/2 years, we trusted him enough to provide a host. Brian volunteered. We felt we had little reason for concern given Brian's lack of mental capacity. However, Brian obviously had some cunning in him, and Dagda…well, he took advantage."
Jacob walked over to the window that overlooked the `gateroom, "Brian had been working in the lab, cleaning up, helping with equipment storage. He was helpful and desperate to be more than he was, I suppose."
"Water, Jacob, seeks its own level," Rhiannon said softly, but the tone was a bitter one. "'Twas my error. Aithnionn ciarog ciarog eile-a beatle recognises another beatle. I allowed the worm and the weasel to merge. I was blinded by my 'pity' for Brian."
"Rhiannon," Anise said quietly, "we were all fooled."
"Bah! Aineolach! (Ignorant) " Rhiannon exclaimed, clearly still bothered by the turn of events and her perceived lack of judgment.
Jacob continued describing how Brian very slowly started to change. How he has slowly ceased to be a non-entity, but actively participated, produced and planned. He reiterated that Dagda was strong and that in Brian, who had been extremely weak, he had gained control quickly. The blending was total, complete and dangerous.
Jacob then described the device that Rhiannon and Brownwyn had invented. There had been two devices that had been kept in the lab, safely under lock and key. "At least, we thought they had been safe," Jacob added. "Dagda stole one and destroyed what he thought was the only other. Brownwyn had, in fact, created a 3rd device that she kept hidden in her quarters. This device, more advanced than the other two and unknown to everyone except Rhiannon and myself, is capable of tracking the other device." This information was news to Anise, who looked surprised, but covered it well.
"We cannot tell you who he is after, but we can place you 6 months before the incident in order to plan, find and stop Dagda by any means possible," Jacob paused. "Rhiannon will be going with you."
"Jacob, " Jack started, "you said you can't tell us who he's after. Does that mean you don't know or you won't tell us?"
"That, Jack, means whatever you want it to mean. We have told you all we can," Jacob replied, uncharacteristically cryptic.
"Or, as usual, all the Tok'ra wants us to know," Jack scoffed under his breath before turning to General Hammond, "General Hammond, sir, what do you want us to do?"
General Hammond looked at the man who was as much his friend, as his second in command and shook his head. "Jack, I don't like this. I certainly don't like buying a pig in a poke. Not knowing who this Dagda is after makes this a difficult mission without the complication of time travel. However, I've known Jacob Carter for many years and even though he is now a Tok'ra, I don't think he would put any of us in a dangerous situation unnecessarily. Especially considering that his own daughter is involved."
Jack started to say something, but Hammond raised his hand to stop him, "No Colonel…Jack. If this is as he presents it, we have to go on blind faith here." Turning to Jacob, "Do you want them to gear up?"
"No, George, civilian clothes will be more appropriate. Rhiannon can provide them with the weapons if and when they need them."
"Alright people, report to the gate room at 1800 hours," Hammond said and stood, signaling the end of the discussion.
"Great…" Jack said, under his breath, obviously displeased with the mission and even less happy about the lack of ordinance. Rhiannon drew closer to Jack as he stood up from his chair. She closed her eyes and raised her hand slightly, though no one standing nearby noticed the subtle change in hand position. Jack closed his eyes, feeling a bit light-headed. He put his hands on the table to steady himself, thinking he had just stood up a bit too quickly. Rhiannon walked even closer as Sam noticed Jack's sudden quietness and unsteadiness.
Jack suddenly found himself standing in the street in front of the house he and Sara had shared. He felt disoriented and confused. He turned as he heard the voice of Rhiannon behind him. However, when he turned, he was back in the SGC and he decided it was really Sam's voice he had heard.
"Sir, are you OK?" she asked, reaching out to touch his arm.
Jack shook his head slightly, but remained upright. "Yeah, just stood up a little too quickly I guess." He finally straightened up and gave Sam a little smile to alleviate her concern.
"Maybe you should stop by and let Janet take a look at you," she suggested.
"Yeah, I'll do that," he said, smiling again. She knew there was no way he was going to stop by and see Janet, but she decided now was not the time to challenge him.
"Well, stop by the cafeteria when you're done. Teal'c, Jonas, Daniel and I will be grabbing a bite," she offered the invitation before following General Hammond, Anise and Jacob out of the briefing room.
Jack took another look at Rhiannon before he turned to leave. She was standing near the `gate room observation windows. He considered talking to her, but felt a cold shudder ripple through his body at the thought. She appeared lost in thought and he decided not to interrupt her.
Rhiannon continued her meditation in front of the observation windows after everyone else had vacated the briefing room. "Llewellyn, cò ás dul g'ad? "(Where are you) Rhiannon called.
"A seo! Here! Rhiannon" came the soft answer.
A tall hooded man appeared in front of her, though no one but Rhiannon could see him. "Is it aimsir -time?" he asked quietly. "Is it time?"
"Aye-I fear for our future if this doesn't work. I need all the strength of purpose I can find. The saighdeár(soldier) is an- fhoiseoil (restless). He is very restless."
"Yes, he is," Llewellyn agreed, "you would do well to be aware of that." Llewellyn looked at his friend and said, matter of factly, "Cearbach!(Careless) `Tis reckless you are Rhiannon. I would have thought that Brownwyn would have settled you down."
Rhiannon laughed and her eyes flashed ever so slightly. "Oh she is quite aware of my cearbach nature, but she also understands what it is we must do. And so we will."
"Are you sure that you know what you are about? Warriors can be quite unpredictable and this one appears to be more so."
"Aye, they can be for certain. But you know, Llewellyn, so can the gods and as a servant of ours, I cannot let the Warrior lose his heart. It is his saighdeár's cridhe (warrrior's heart) I am counting on. He is so close to losing that. He holds himself, even from her."
"As she does from him Rhiannon," Llewellyn reminded her.
"Aye! But his guilt is killing him. His enemies still use that against him and though every time she heals him just little, another comes along to remind him. He deserves fois (peace). I can give him that. This battle with the Goa'uld may very well be won."
"Then may the gods bless you Rhiannon. Go in peace and return to us in peace," Llewellyn then turned and disappeared.
"Aye!" Rhiannon said softly after a few minutes, "'tis time."
Jack entered the cafeteria, even though he wasn't hungry. He never turned down an opportunity to share a meal with his team. He looked around and easily spotted the team. The quartet was seated near the back of the cafeteria and seemed to be involved in a rather serious discussion. Hammond, Anise and Jacob sat at a table on the opposite side of the room.
He momentarily wondered why Jacob had chosen to sit with Hammond and Anise and why he and Sam had not taken the opportunity to spend a few minutes alone together, but he pushed the thought away as he realized they had already had some time to catch up while waiting for Hammond to arrive. He walked over and grabbed a dish of red Jello before he continued on to join his team. He was surprised to see General Hammond and Anise rise up and leave as he turned back to walk to his team's table, and even more surprised to see Jacob remain. He shrugged, expecting to be joined by Jacob at any moment.
Rhiannon entered the cafeteria just as Jack had obtained his Jello. She immediately focused her attention on Jack and moved to take a seat where she could keep him in her direct line of site. Sam looked up as she noticed Jack approach their table. She smiled as she noticed the red Jello and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. No one but Jack noticed. He was just setting his tray down when he was struck by another wave of dizziness. He reached out his hand to steady himself on the table.
Jack was suddenly back on the street in front of their house. He thought he heard Rhiannon again. He turned and this time, he did see her.
"What the hell is going on here?" he asked, more than just a little annoyed.
"Well Jackie boy, it appears as if you have some issues with the past. And, I guess you really are going to make us go there, aren't you?" Rhiannon sighed. "I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this."
"Come to what?" he asked, allowing only a fraction of the anger he was beginning to feel to be expressed. "What is this?"
"Don't you recognize it, Jack? This is the day it happened," she said, scrutinizing him. He felt like she was looking right through him. As she saw comprehension dawn on Jack, Rhiannon nodded and continued, "I sensed you were restless. I need to know if I will have your full attention during the coming journey, Jack O'Neill. I canna have you wishing that you could race in and save Charlie and still have everything continue on as it has."
"So why ask for SG-1? Why didn't you request that General Hammond send someone else?"
"I wish it were that simple, Jack, but it isn't. You know?" Rhiannon tilted her head and considered the man in front of her. "It is SG-1 I need and SG-1 I will have. Will you or nil you?" Rhiannon walked around O'Neill, sizing up the man and his single-minded determination. "I have a proposition for you then. I can give you the opportunity to change your history. Go and be the person you were 8 years ago. Try and save your son. Live out that time line."
"Why?" Jack asked not hiding his skepticism and disbelief.
"I told you. I need your attention, Jackie boy, and I don't have it. I need you to do what you're destined to do. It is who you are and you cannot fight it. But I don't believe you understand it truly. Holding you back would take more energy and time, and even though I can manipulate the time, your guilt will eat at you. You ken?"
"So, I can relive this day…change the outcome and still go on the mission?" Jack asked, still not clearly understanding what was happening.
"Well, Jack, changing the outcome of this day will have repercussions," she said turning away from his scrutinizing gaze and looking off into the distance. "I think you need to experience the alternative in order to make an informed decision about what path you will walk from here." Rhiannon looked at the man and thought "'Tisna a permanent change in the time line I have in mind for you, Jackie boy, but I won't be telling you that now. You will have to find your own way-but not alone."
Just then Jack felt something touch his arm. He couldn't see her, but he, somehow, knew it was Sam. He said her name.
"Sam?" she heard him whisper, barely, as she reached out to touch his arm, just as he fell to the ground unconscious. She quickly moved to his side barking an order to have medical personnel notified. Jonas jumped immediately to follow her instructions. Teal'c rapidly joined Sam near Jack's side.
She felt his neck for a pulse, which, to her relief she found. Then she felt his forehead to check for fever. While her hand was on his forehead she heard some strange words. She looked around, confused. The words had sounded as though they had come from Jack, but she had not seen his mouth move.
"Did you hear that?" she asked.
"Hear what?" Daniel asked as he joined her, bending over O'Neill, waiting for the medics to arrive.
"Nothing," Sam said as she realized no one else had heard it. "Daniel what does mo ghràidh mean?"
Daniel looked at her with surprise. "Where did you hear that?" he asked, unaware that Sam knew any Gaelic words at all.
"What does it mean?" she asked again, unwilling to reveal it's source without knowing it's meaning.
"Uhm…Beloved," he said, watching her reaction with curiosity. Sam's reaction, however, was practiced neutrality. She thanked him and turned her attention back to Jack.
Jack spun around, searching. He was sure he felt Sam's presence, but he could not see her anywhere. With a practiced effort, he squashed the thought that often popped into his head when he thought of Sam…mo ghràidh, the term he'd often heard his grandfather use when referring to his grandmother. The thought usually brought a seemingly unexplained smile to his face, but he had no time for that now. He turned back to Rhiannon, his face expressing his exasperation, confusion and frustration.
"Are you ready?" Rhiannon asked, anxious to get this done.
Before Jack could answer, he was overcome with dizziness again. When he opened his eyes he was sitting on the porch next to Sara. He had the nagging feeling that he shouldn't be there, that something was wrong…then he remembered.
He stood up and grabbed Sara, "We have to go into the house. Now!" Jack dragged Sara with him as he ran into the house, up the stairs and into their bedroom. They arrived just before their 10-year- old son, Charlie, could open the drawer of Jack's bedside table.
"Charlie! What are you doing?" Jack practically shouted and he hardly ever yelled at Charlie. The Colonel voice was usually all he needed to use.
Sara gasped, "Your gun…he was going for that damn gun, Jack!"
"I didn't mean anything, Dad, Mom," Charlie said very quietly, a hint of tears in his eyes and voice. "I just wanted to look at it."
Jack's sharp eyes noted the clip that Charlie was trying to hide.
"Just look at it. While you had a clip in it Charlie?"
Sara broke into tears and shrieked at Jack and Charlie. She knocked the clip out of Charlie's hand and then grabbed him. She hugged the boy to her, and turned to Jack with venom in her eyes.
"Why-why does that…that thing have to be in our home," she asked, bringing up the old argument again. She wanted nothing to do with guns in the house. He had argued to be allowed to teach the boy about firearms, how to use them, how to respect them. He reasoned that Charlie would not be curious if he was allowed to shoot the gun with supervision and instruction. She argued that he was too young for such things. In the end, neither had won the argument as he still kept a firearm in the house and she did not allow him to instruct the boy.
Sara then grabbed Charlie and dragged him out of the bedroom. Jack just sat on the bed. It was then that he started to shake and felt something slip away.
The next morning, Col. Jack O'Neill, instructor for Special Ops, reported to Falcon Air Force Base. It was the beginning of a new 16-week session with his recruits.
Jack was early…very early.
The night before had been difficult. Sara had not spoken to him since the incident and Charlie had been unapproachable. Jack had wanted to remind his son about the danger of handling weapons improperly, but he sensed that Charlie was just too upset to listen. Dinner had been tense. No one had spoken, and the silence had been deafening. Charlie had gone straight to his room right after, as had Sara.
Jack had flopped on the sofa. He had been exhausted, drained, unusually so, but he also had felt incredibly tense. He'd decided to have a beer and watch a little TV. He'd finally drifted off to sleep, never having left the couch. Sometime during the night Sara had thrown a blanket on him.
The cafeteria at 0530 was bustling with the activity of the shift change. Jack sought out the solitude of a table in dark corner and sat down to drink his coffee.
"Damn!" he thought. That child knew better, didn't he? Hadn't he told Charlie never to touch that gun? Hadn't he explained that it was dangerous? "Why Charlie? Why?" the close call of the day before still haunted him. Deep down he knew he and Sara would have to resolve this difference of opinion. Charlie was no longer too young…surely she would agree to that now.
At 0615 his friend and fellow instructor Charlie Kawalsky found him still drinking that same cup of coffee.
"Jack? You OK?" Kawalsky asked as he sat down at the table with Jack.
"Huh! Yeah!" Jack looked up and rubbed his hand over his face, trying to shake off the exhaustion he felt and hoping the caffeine would kick in soon.
"Okay old buddy, what happened?"
Jack sighed, sipped his coffee, made a face when he realized it had grown cold and put it down before answering his friend. "Charlie disobeyed a long standing order to not touch my .45."
"What?" Kawalsky asked, clearly shocked.
Jack signed again and repeated the statement before proceeding to explain what had happened. His frustration with the situation was evident in his telling of the story. The whole firearm issue had been one of those things that had come up after he and Sara had married. Though he respected and understood her objections to firearms in general, he felt her attitude was naïve and impractical given his occupation. It was an issue on which they had, uncharacteristically, been unable to compromise. However, this incident had strengthened his resolve and he was determined to tackle it and see it to its conclusion. Whatever that conclusion may be.
Kawalsky sat back in his chair and let out his breath. Shaking his head, he commented about Sara and the word ballistic kept being repeated.
"No lie there." Jack commented. "It was a very quiet household for awhile. However, it will likely be a very noisy household this evening."
"I'll bet," was his friend's only comment.
Jack looked at his coffee and decided that he didn't like luke warm any better than ice cold. He looked at his watch and realized it was time to get to his office and prepare for class. Kawalsky nodded, finished his coffee and walked to the training area with him.
Lucky for Jack, it was a busy day. He was able to function normally, but upon returning home, the lingering mood from the night before was still evident. Sara was not waiting at the door for him, nor was she anywhere downstairs. A note let him know dinner was in the oven; she and Charlie were at the movies.
"Right," he though, "he almost shoots himself and she takes him to the movies." Shaking his head, Jack headed to the oven, took out his dinner, found the TV remote and sat down. If he didn't have a headache before, he did now and it was compounded by a sense of unease. He had the sense that someone was watching him.
He got up and walked to the window. He spied a tall blonde man with the hair to his waist walking by on the sidewalk. "Takes all kinds," he thought. The man was wearing a black duster and it was warm outside. Shaking his head again, he sat down and ate his dinner while he watched the news.
Sara and Charlie came home around 8 pm. Charlie gave his dad a hug, but was still shy around him. Sara barely acknowledged his presence.
Sara picked up the dishes signaling she knew that he would have taken care of it, but just went back into the kitchen. Charlie took his bath and called for his dad to tuck in him. Later while passing the master bedroom, Jack took note that Sara was already in bed, reading and ignoring him for the moment. He was not going to allow this to continue.
"Sara?" Jack started.
"Don't!" Sara began. "I know that it wasn't your fault, not exactly. But I can no longer believe that Charlie will be safe with that thing still in the house."
"Sara, you know why I have it here."
"Yes. I do." She stopped and looked at him sadly, quietly and then continued, "and that contributes to part of the problem."
Jack sat down on the bed and looked at his wife. He marveled at how their relationship had changed almost overnight. Her eyes, which had shown light and love when he'd looked at her just the day before, now were dark, closed and unreadable.
"Sara, I don't want to have to go over old ground with you on why we have the weapon in the house." Jack sighed and continued, "however, we really do need to consider that Charlie is now old enough to learn the ins and outs of handling a weapon with safety."
"No Jack," Sara's eyes flashed, "I will never consent to that." She then abruptly closed her book, turned out the lamp and without a word rolled over and closed her eyes.
"Great!" Jack thought, "Here we go!" He got up off the bed and went to the linen closet, got the extra pillow and blanket and headed to the sofa.
"What a cliché," Jack thought, "sleeping on the couch." Jack looked down at the Golden Retriever lying on the floor next to him. "Hey Oliver, good buddy, do you have room at your house for me?" Oliver lifted his head, wagged his tail, yawned and went back to sleep. Jack patted the dog in his head and smiled. Jack turned on a station that played old movies and, after considering several options for approaching the subject with Sara again, eventually fell asleep. That night the dreams started.
"Brionglo'd," an Irish accented voice said softly in his head, " Dream."
"Ian? Ian?" the young woman's blond braids went swinging as she ran. "Co` a's dul `gad?"
The young man hiding behind the tree started to laugh. "Aislynn will never find me."
"Ian-mo chroi-co1 a's dulgad?" she called again. "Ian-my love- where are you?"
The young man decided that he had teased her enough. How he loved her. He jumped out from behind the tree, "Nach brea' an la' e'?"
Aislynn screamed and yelled, "Isn't it a beautiful day? Is that all you can say to me?"
"Ta' tu' go ha-a'ileann-you're beautiful," he said to her.
Aislynn smiled at him, her bright blue eyes shinning with the love she had for him. Then just as abruptly as the dream had started, it ended and a soft voice whispered to him, "Oi'che mhaith, codladh sa`mh. Good night, sleep well Jack O'Neill and remember."
Jack woke up at 0400, rubbing his hand over his face and noticing that the TV was still on.
"Lord," he thought, "great movie to fall asleep to, Braveheart. I haven't heard that much Gaelic since my Granddad was alive." He shook his head and smiled slightly at the memory, something about the face of the woman in his dream pulled at him. However, he also had the briefest of memory of having braids and ribbons in his hair and, what was worse, wearing a kilt. "What was up with that?" he thought, puzzled and a bit disturbed. Jack showered and looked in on his sleeping family before he left for Falcon.
*****
Charlie Kawalsky was waiting for him, coffee and Danish in hand, when he arrived at the base cafeteria.
"So, how did it go last night?" Kawalsky asked.
Jack gave him a cryptic look and sighed, "Well…I've had better non-conversations with Sara."
"She didn't go for teaching Charlie about weapons safety?"
"Well if you mean cutting off the conversation before it got started…then yeah, she didn't go for it."
"Okay, well, what is next on the agenda?"
"A more secure place for the .45 or making sure that Charlie doesn't see where I hide it the next time. That…or I find time to teach Charlie before Sara finds out about it?" then seeing the expression on Kawalsky's face adding, "Nah, I didn't think that would work either."
"He is already curious about weapons, Jack. Where do you think you can hide it that he won't find it?"
"Not on this planet, that's for sure," Jack said, shaking his head, "that's why I intend to buy a locked cabinet. Sara will just have to get used to a new piece of furniture in the bedroom." Jack yawned, leaned back and stretched. "I feel asleep watching Braveheart last night. What a weird movie to dream by."
Charlie looked at his friend, "Braveheart? That Mel Gibson movie was on last night?"
"Must've been Charlie. I had a dream about me in a kilt. Though, I don't know if I was Scottish, or Irish or…I don't know…Can you beat that?" Jack laughed. He briefly considered telling Charlie about the woman and the Gaelic, but thought better of it.
"Boy, I wish I had known. That scene where they mooned the British was my favorite," Kawalsky said, a huge grin gracing his face. Both men laughed and finished up their "breakfast of champions", a.k.a. coffee and a Danish before heading to class.
Neither man noticed the soldier doing the clean up around their table. Neither noticed that he had long blond hair to his waist, light blue eyes or that he was wearing a duster. Neither man noticed though he stuck out like a sore thumb among the close- cropped, uniformed, military personnel. But the man noticed them and smiled. His plan was just beginning.
*****
The locked firearm cabinet was met with reluctance by Sara. It did not fit in with the décor, though Jack had been considerate of the existing furniture in the room when making his selection. Days went by and Jack had asked if she wanted a key to the cabinet, a steely stare that spoke volumes, was her initial response. Still more days had gone by and then she had told him that she not only didn't she want a key, but that she didn't want another key anywhere in the house. She told him to keep his key with his others and any spares someplace besides their house.
Yet, it seemed Sara was hardly speaking to Jack these days. Of course, she wasn't yelling at or complaining to Jack either. Charlie, sensing the tension between them, was getting surly, non- responsive. The stress of unresolved issues from 10 years of marriage was beginning to show signs of overtaking them.
Still, with all that, it was the dreams that were really starting to get on Jack's nerves. Now he was having another one. The dreams always involved the same woman and man, but this time the view was interspersed with visions of a blond woman in BDU's and she was calling him "Sir!" She was begging him to do something, but he just couldn't hear what it was. He understood the Gaelic in his dreams, but what this woman was saying just couldn't reach that part of his brain.
After the first month, Jack started to drink before bedtime. The dreams were draining him and he could swear that in those dreams he heard a voice telling him to dream and remember…in Gaelic. He was beginning to think he was losing his mind.
Another dream started out the same way the others had, always with Aislynn. This time she was begging him to remember. He asked, "What? What is it you want me to remember?" And then she changed. Now she had short blond hair, but her eyes were the same. He could hear her calling, "Colonel! Wake up! Janet he won't respond. Why won't he respond?"
After each night he dreamed, he woke feeling tired and drained…too tired to think, to work. Sara noticed that something was happening with Jack and wondered if she had pushed him too far. She noticed he had been drinking at night. Not heavily, but not just beer anymore. Lately it had been whiskey, Irish whiskey. And he hated Irish whiskey.
*****
His latest dream included a tall blond man with waist length hair and light blue eyes. He hated Jack, that much Jack figured out and he understood this man was his enemy. He felt he should know this man. "But why? Why do I know him?" he thought. "What is he to me?" When that man was in his dreams, Aislynn was not, nor was the other woman.
"La'idir-strong," Dagda said to him. "You have much Misneach- courage Jack O'Neill, but not enough to stop me."
"Stop you? I don't even know you," Jack responded, but it was as Ian that he responded. "Ca as duit? Where do you come from?"
Dagda only laughed, "You will know soon enough." Suddenly, the tall man turned around. He sensed another near by. This one he sensed had much power and he knew it was time to leave. "I will be back Jack O'Neill. You may depend on that."
Ian/Jack looked confused and scared. Ian, because he had never faced such evil in his life and Jack, because he had. Then a voice sounded in his head, "Sicoha'an-peace Jack. You are la'idir and beannaithe - blessed. I am watching you." Soon after Jack settled into a peaceful sleep. However, true rest had eluded him for a long time and it was starting to show.
*****
"Damn it, Sara! I am tired of all of this fighting, either give over or go away."
"Jack, I know that you have been having a hard time sleeping, but I am not the one keeping you on the sofa now."
"No, huh!" Jack turned and looked at her. " Not keeping me on the sofa." He laughed, though it was a harsh laughter punctuated with much pain. "I look at you. You turn I away. I touch you. You shrug me off. I kiss you…hell, I would get more of a response kissing the blarney stone."
Sara did not respond. Jack had come home drunk, stinking drunk…something he had not done since his release from the Iraqi prison. Thankfully, Charlie was asleep, but if she didn't calm Jack down, he would wake up.
"How should I welcome you home when you stink of a bar Jack?"
"Guess it is the same way you have been welcoming me home the past 2 months. What difference does it make?"
Jack sat heavily on the sofa. "I am tired Sara," he began, "tired of the fighting and tired of those damn dreams." He rubbed his face, "I don't want to talk now Sara. I am going into the office to sleep there." Jack got up, drove to the office and lurched his way to bed on the sofa in the office. This night he did not dream, but a presence was there, watching him.
"Jackie boy, stay strong. Your journey is going to be a tough one. But I'll be watching you. Dinna worry."
*****
Jack barely made it to the base briefing the next morning, but one look at him and his C.O. suggested he go to the infirmary. He blew off the suggestion and went to his office and sat down at his desk. Looking at the picture of his wife and child made him want to cry. "Where did it all go wrong?" he asked himself.
The tall blond man walked by his office and smiled at the site. "Lag! Weak…good. By the time I am finished with you-no-one will be able to save you."
Jack sensed the malevolent feelings and looked around. There was no one there. "Where did that feeling come from?" he thought and began to wonder if he was losing his mind. Staring at the picture on his desk, Jack called home, needing to try again to reach his wife. The phone rang and rang, still no one answered. He could almost believe that he could hear Sara breathing on the other end, though it was only the ringing tone he heard.
"Ten years! How can ten years be as nothing?" his mind screamed. He felt as though everything were spinning out of control and out of control was not a feeling Jack enjoyed.
Jack turned his chair to face his window. In an effort to put the frustrating thoughts of his home life out of his mind, he began to ponder the other thing that had been troubling him so. The dreams had continued to grow in intensity and realism. At times they were warm and loving and at times dark and dangerous.
The blond woman in his dreams always looked at him with such love, his heart nearly broke every time he woke up. Whether it was the young Aislynn or the older Air Force Major that he dreamed about, he knew he loved them as they loved him, though he could not understand the connection. He wondered why the older woman, Sam, kept calling for him to wake up, pleading with him that they needed him.
"Who in the hell was Sam and what did they need him for?" he thought. No answers came.
Lately, another man had started to turn up in his dreams. He had no name to put with this man yet, but, somehow, he knew this man. He could recall conversations with him and he knew instinctively that they had been friends, good friends. Yet, he couldn't seem to place how he knew this man, why he knew him or what this man was to him and to Sam.
Time continued to pass. Jack and Sara's relationship continued to decay. The dreams continued to come, when he could bring himself to sleep. He'd started visiting bars after work, partly to drown the anger and partly because he didn't dream quite so much when he was drunk or least he didn't remember that he dreamed.
******
Jacob Carter was very agitated. He had just seen Jack collapse and had immediately moved to speak to Rhiannon. Knowing Rhiannon's fine hand was involved and would control the situation did nothing to calm his growing concern. He was not happy knowing that his "Samantha" was going to be involved in this.
"I don't like this Rhiannon. If I had known that…" he began, and was cut off.
"Calm yourself Jacob," Rhiannon said, trying to maintain her concentration.
"Don't Jacob me Rhiannon," he continued, unwilling to be put off, "I don't like this."
Rhiannon gave a small sigh, "Patience, Jacob, patience."
Jacob's head nodded almost imperceptibly as Jacob allowed Selmac to assert himself. "Rhiannon," Selmac reminded, "the Tau'ri are not noted for their patience."
"Nay, old friend, they are not," Rhiannon answered and then after a moment's thought and to allow her to maintain her concentration, summoned Brownwyn.
"Old friend," Brownwyn mused, "It has been a long time since we have spoken, Selmac."
"Yes, Brownwyn, it has been. How many years ago was it that we lived in hosts that were mated."
"Too many years it seems," a smile spreading across her face. "Your new Tau'ri host is most impatient. Is it so with all of them?"
"Brownwyn," Selmac laughed, "have you forgotten what it is like to have a warrior as a host?"
Brownwyn laughed and Selmac could imagine her shaking her head, "No, but I remember best our being sisters in the old days and being married to Warriors. What a fine lot they were to deal with then."
"Jacob worries," Selmac explained, growing more serious again. "He knows of the strong pull between the Colonel and his daughter and it scares him."
"Ah well, I suppose it would, considering the silliness of their military. I could also understand the fatherly fears for a daughter, but O'Neill will never allow harm to come to her, especially from him. His intentions are honorable. Otherwise Jacob would truly have something to worry about."
"I believe, that is exactly what he worries about, that O'Neill's intentions are honorable." Selmac was silent for a minute, "Rhiannon knows what she is about, does she not?"
"Aye, she does," Brownwyn reassured, "but she is starting to worry. Dagda has been invading Jack's dreams as well and haunting him during the day. She is vigilant, but concerned."
"She will know when she needs to step in?" Selmac inquired, still trying to internally reassure Jacob.
"Yes, Selmac, she will do what needs to be done, when the time comes. But you must calm Jacob, he has the potential to upset things otherwise," Brownwyn cautioned. "`Tis a dangerous game we play here."
"I will calm Jacob, he is starting to listen more and reacts less. But these Tau'ri…so volatile."
"One more thing," Rhiannon directed to Selmac, "tell Jacob that she belongs to him. She has always belonged to him, as he has belonged to her. This was written even before time began. No matter whom they find themselves with, they always find their way to each other. No matter what life time or time line, they always find each other."
Selmac acknowledged Rhiannon's comments and knew that it would be the devil's own to keep Jacob calm about that.
*****
After one last fight with Sara, Jack moved out. Sara didn't protest against it, nor did she agree with it. Sara kept silent.
The hardest person to tell was Charlie. He begged his father to stay and explained that he was sorry about the gun. Jack hugged and kissed his son, "Charlie, you have nothing to do with this. This is between your mother and I. We both still love you more than anything else in this world. We just have some things to work out."
Charlie hugged his dad and cried as Jack walked away.
Dagda watched this scene and smiled. "So, the downfall really begins now. Did Rhiannon think that I would fail at destroying both of my enemies?"
*****
Falcon Air Force Base- 0600 hours
"You like shit warmed over and left out too long in the Sun." was Kawalsky's comment to Jack three weeks after he moved out.
Jack just lifted and eyebrow and looked down at his coffee.
"Jack, " Charlie started, "you can't continue on like this."
"I know, " Jack said quietly, "I just can't take the dreams anymore."
"Dreams Jack?" Charlie began. "Tell me."
Jack sat back and sighed. "Okay…let me tell you about the one I had last night. I was in Cheyenne Mountain…way down in one of the sub levels in a place everyone referred to as the SGC. I remember talking with General Hammond…"
Charlie's eyes widened, "Our General Hammond? The newly assigned C. O. of this facility?"
Jack nodded and continued, "We were talking about putting a team together to go through a Stargate and he just told me that a Captain Carter…"
"Captain Carter?" Kawalsky interrupted again, "Not General Carter? Not the guy who just got reassigned from this facility?"
"No," Jack shook his head, " I mean Captain…and it gets better."
Jack continued and recounted his dream.
Hammond: "Where's Captain Carter?"
Samuels: "Just arriving, sir."
Jack: "Carter?"
Hammond: "I'm assigning Sam Carter to this mission."
Jack: "I'd prefer to put together my own team, sir."
Hammond: "Not on this mission, sorry. Carter's our expert on the Stargate."
Jack: "Where's he transferring from?"
Sam: "*She* is transferring from the Pentagon
Charlie sat back and stared at his friend. "Whoa!" Charlie said, "that is weird. Then what happened?"
"Then the dream switched back to that Braveheart thing. I was sitting by a waterfall with a young girl. I swear, Charlie, I have never seen her before, but I knew everything about her. Right down to the mole on her…" Jack stopped and laughed, "Well anyway what happened while I was sitting with her was strange."
He took a sip of his coffee and continued, "One minute she is speaking to me in Gaelic and the next…
Jack: "Well, with all due respect, Doctor…"
Sam: "It is appropriate to refer to a person by their rank, not their salutation. Call me "Captain," not "Doctor.""
Hammond: "Captain Carter's assignment to this unit is not an option, it's an order."
Sam: "I'm an Air Force officer just like you are, Colonel. And just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside, doesn't mean I can't handle whatever you can handle."
Jack: "Oh, this has nothing to do with you being a woman. I like women. I've just got a little problem with scientists."
Sam: "Colonel, I logged over 100 hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War. Is that tough enough for you? Or are we going to have to arm wrestle
"Excuse me?" Charlie said, "I don't know what to say. Maybe you need some time off. This thing with you and Sara is really making you crazy, Jack."
"Maybe so," Jack said thoughtfully. "I can't remember all of the dreams. They've been happening for so long now." Then seeing the concern in his friend's eyes and not wanting Charlie to take this any further than just a conversation between them, he smiled and made an attempt to lighten things up. "Hey, they're just dreams, right?"
Charlie could only look at his friend and shake his head.
*****
Jack's dream that night took an even stranger turn than the ones he'd told Charlie about. This dream included a man he knew to be his friend. In the Braveheart-style dreams, as he now referred to them as, his name was Dennis, but in this dream he knew the man as Daniel. Jack dreamed about being in an office with packing crates and Dennis/Daniel was packing things away.
Jack: "Hey! You should meet the whiz kid they saddled us with while you are out of commission."
Daniel: "Robert Rothman. He was my research assistant when I was doing my dissertation. Smart guy. He had a good teacher."
Jack: "Geek."
Daniel: "Yes, you used to call me that."
Jack: "I was talking about you. So…how long are we going to be stuck with this guy?"
Daniel: "What do you mean?"
Jack: "How long are you gonna be gone?"
Daniel: "Didn't Gen. Hammond tell you?"
Jack: "What? That you quit? Yeah, he told me that, but, uh, come on. We both know you can't stay away."
Daniel: "Then I guess we're both wrong, cause I'm gone."
Jack: "Give it a week. You'll miss me."
Daniel: "Yes, all the salty, bad-tempered insults, all the illogical arguments."
Jack: "Ok, you'll miss Carter and Teal'c."
Daniel: "I'll miss Carter."
Jack's confusion about his dreams continued. "Teal'c? Who the hell was Teal'c? What kind of a name was that, anyway? And again with Carter, always Carter," he thought.
Several nights later, he had the dream that had him waking up in a cold sweat.
FIRST: "We are inside your unconscious mind now."
Jack: "You'd think there'd be more lights on."
FIRST: "This place must be important to you."
Jack: "I work here."
FIRST: "Your iris code is 903224637."
Jack: "Wow, that's…. close. Here's one for you. I'm thinking of an animal."
FIRST: "I never expected that you would amuse me."
Jack: "I never expected you to put your hand in my head."
FIRST: "Your mind is incredible."
Jack: "Well…"
FIRST: "Such chaos and humor and pain. You're correct to blame yourself, your son would be alive but for your carelessness."
Jack: "Don't do that again."
FIRST: "That will be your punishment each time you attempt to conceal something from me on our journey." The Gate activates.
Jack: "Where we going?"
FIRST: "Every place you have ever been."
Jack's first thoughts were, "No! It didn't happen that way. Charlie didn't die." His next thoughts were "Crap! What the hell is going on here?"
*****
Dagda laughed quietly, "Rhiannon, are you here? Did you see?"
Rhiannon's voice came quietly Into Dagda's head, "Fool! Your parlor tricks won't stop what is to come. Gloat if you like, but you don't have the power to stop me."
*****
Jack stumbled home several days later, thankful it was a Friday night and that he wouldn't have to face going to work with a hangover. He was also thankful that he didn't have any students this session. It wouldn't do to show them what a breakdown looked like.
Just minutes after his head hit the pillow, he dreamed again. It began with his chasing Aislynn, kissing and holding her. Then Aislynn became Sam and he had a dream of them in desert combat gear and walking up a ramp to a glowing circle.
Jack: "Captain?"
Sam: "Don't worry, Colonel. I won't let you down."
Jack: "Good. I was gonna say "Ladies first.""
Sam: "You know, you really will like me when you get to know me."
Jack: "Oh, I adore you already, Captain."
And just as suddenly the dream changed to them dressed in clothes he had never seen and their relationship was more committed, but not the same.
Sam: "You know, there are things about this place that I like."
Jack: "Really? Would it mean anything if I told you I remember something else?"
Sam: "What?"
Jack: "Feelings."
Sam: "Feelings?"
Jack: "I remember feeling --- feelings."
Sam: "For me?"
Jack: "No, for TOR. I don't remember much, but I DO remember that."
Sam: "So---"
Jack: "So--- I'm just saying."
Sam: "Well, then I feel better."
Jack awoke the next morning very confused. He was beginning to wonder if Sam and Daniel were real people. Which caused him to wonder where he had encountered them and what they meant to him. How had he forgotten them? Why else would he be dreaming about them? There was something very familiar about the two, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't seem to put it together. He felt that the life he was living was not quite *his* right now, and yet it was.
Dagada walked past the house Jack was living in and looked at the window Jack was standing near. Jack didn't see him.
*****
The dreams became more frequent and darker. He was having more difficulty functioning while he was awake. His behavior, his appearance, his obvious loss of focus became so apparent that General Hammond ordered him to the Infirmary. The doctor gave Jack a physical - full blood work, lab work, x-rays, MRI – if you could name it or abbreviate it, Jack had had it.
The doctor could find no physical, bio-chemical or any related –isms plaguing Jack and finally told him that it his sleep deprivation problem was most likely stress related due to his pending divorce, Charlie's behavior problems and general exhaustion.
"Go home Col. O'Neill. Call any one of these therapists and stop drinking," the doctor handed him a list with names and numbers on it.
Jack laughed at the doctor and thanked him.
He and Sara had been battling about a therapist for Charlie for the last month. The one that Jack would work with, Sara would not. The ones that Sara picked, Jack hated. In the end, only Charlie got his own therapist.
Jack was now into self-medicating because of the dream about the man sticking his hand in his head. Though, in the most recent incarnations of that "nightmare" the appearance of the man had changed and he found this new visage, this man with the long blond hair and the ice blue eyes, even more frightening and painful. Taking the stimulants was the only way he could think of to try and stop the dreaming. However, his efforts were for naught and he had continued to have that recurring "nightmare".
*****
"Damn the man," Rhiannon railed. She was finding it harder to keep control of the situation. She recognized that she still had a measure of control over the situation, but it wouldn't be long before Dagda would equal her powers.
"Damn! It has to stop now," Rhiannon told Jacob. "I'm sorry for it. Fenrir has somehow made Dagda stronger and it is now or never. I canna wait any longer."
"Rhiannon, I don't want Sam dragged into this," Jacob stated.
Rhiannon turned on him. Raising her right hand and pointing at him she told Jacob in a very cold voice "Tis not Jack's failure that Dagda wants. It is his life. That was not part of the bargain Jacob."
Rhiannon sighed, "Jacob, your daughter is in no danger from Dagda or Fenrir. They do not see her as a warrior to challenge them. They see her as a girl playing at being a warrior. They do not even see her time as Jolinar's host as anything significant. Teal'c is a Jaffa and you know how much respect they have for them. And Jonas is a non-entity. It is Jack and Daniel that they fear. Samantha is safe and I promise she will remain that way."
"But not safe from Jack," Jacob was petulant.
"I thought you liked the man," Rhiannon was more than a little amused.
"I do…and that is part of the problem."
Rhiannon nodded, "I canna wait any longer to finish this. It will be done this night. By morning we will be finishing our mission. O'Neill may never forgive me for this but I still have another way I may make this right for him."
*****
That morning on Jack's desk at home, the local paper from the day before was open on the table.
"Hmm," Jack thought, "I don't remember bringing this in."
It was open to a page whose headline was about an Archeologist and an unusual theory. Jack's heart gave a lurch when he saw the picture. "Dennis?" he first thought, "no, not Dennis…Daniel, Daniel Jackson."
His heart started to beat quickly as if he knew some danger was near this man. He put down the newspaper and thought about part of the dream that he had last night.
Jack: "Daniel?"
Daniel: "Yeah."
Jack: "Did you want something?"
Daniel: "Yeah. Tell Jacob to stop."
Jack: "Why?"
Daniel: "Because I'm ready to move on."
Jack: "You just giving up?"
Daniel: "No. No, I'm not giving up, believe me. You remember Oma?"
Jack: "Sure."
Daniel: "I think I can do more this way. It's what I want. I have to go now. Everything's gonna be fine. Please Jack. Tell Jacob to stop."
Very slightly almost like on a breeze Jack heard a voice call out to him "Remember". Jack started to think about the dreams he'd had. Dreams he had about the hand in the brain, about "Daniel" and about Sam. The Sam dreams kept pulling at him as well. He knew without a doubt that he loved that woman. Every fiber in his being told him that and he remembered another dream he'd had about her.
Anise: "What were you feeling?"
Jack: "Like ... someone who was about to die."
Sam: "Sir …"
Jack: "I didn't leave ... because I'd have rather died myself ... than lose Carter."
Anise: "Why?"
Jack: "Because I care about her… a lot more than I'm supposed to."
There was no longer any doubt that these two people meant something to him and not just from the dreams. He could almost put substance to them. He believed that he knew what aftershave Daniel wore and he knew that Sam's scent was Heather. In every dream he'd had of Aislynn or Sam, she had always had the same scent.
His head started to hurt and he took an Advil with a whisky chaser and went to lie down. Rhiannon's voice was heard in the room he occupied.
"I am sorry for this O'Neil. Truly I am. But now you must remember everything. I will make it right for you. I promise. But now, I am going to put you back to where you belong. `Tis Daniel that is in danger now, Jackie boy. You have finally shown me that. `Tis Daniel you need to save. Remember, Jack."
Jack sat up in bed and yelled "Rhiannon!"
The next thing Jack opened his eyes and found blue eyes looking at his. Her face held a look of extreme concern. He was surrounded by Teal'c, Jonas and Daniel and for a minute, he thought it was Aislynn holding his head.
"Mo ghràidh" (beloved) Jack reached up and stroked her face and placed a soft kiss on her hand, before realizing it was Sam and that they were in public…in the SGC, no less. Sam's eyes widened and she risked a soft caress of her own on his cheek. Jonas, Daniel and Teal'c made sure that they shielded the two from prying eyes.
Then he realized where he was and what he had just done and sat, up rather quickly, startling Sam and the others. "Whoa!" he said, confusion clouding his features, "What the hell was that?"
"You passed out, sir," Sam said, recovering from her confusion over what had just occurred.
He looked up and into the faces of each of the four who were all looking at him with concern. "Yeah? Did I just…"
"Yes…but I don't think you were in your right mind," Sam said, not allowing him to verbalize the action he had taken upon waking. "We called for a medical team, but they haven't arrived yet."
"Oh, hey," he said standing up, the others following, though staying close in case he needed some support. "I don't need a medical team. I'm fine," smiling and holding out his arms to show he was back to his old self.
"Sir," Sam protested. "You didn't stop by and see Janet, did you?" He didn't answer because she knew he wouldn't lie to her. "You cannot be thinking of doing this…this thing when you have been having dizziness and blackouts."
"What?" Daniel interjected. "Dizziness and blackouts? For how long?"
"He was dizzy earlier, in the briefing room. I suggested he see Janet," Sam said before O'Neill could spin the two incidents into something less than what they were.
"Look, I was fine before that…witch walked into the SGC," Jack said with a vehemence that startled even Teal'c.
Just then, Rhainnon approached Jack who turned to her. His eyes were hard and he ground out "You Witch!" Jack began, "Go hifreann leat!" (To hell with you)
"T'a bro'n orm" (I am sorry) Rhiannon started.
"D'un do bheal." (Shut your mouth)
(Peace)"Si'ocha'n Jack," Rhiannon answered, "we don't have time for this. I promise you and I will finish this dance. But now, you know who the one in danger is. We can waste time fighting this out now. We'll do what needs to be done and come back to it later."
"Po'g mo thoi'in!" (Kiss my ass)
Rhiannon laughed ruefully at this and shook her head, "We have no more time. We need to go now."
Rhiannon pressed a button on a bracelet that had previously been obscured from view by her robe and transported them to the `gateroom. She looked at Daniel and then at Jack. All were momentarily disoriented, but recovered quickly as they recognized their surroundings.
"What the hell?" Jack asked, spinning around.
"Is that an Asgard device you're wearing?" Jonas spoke up, voicing a question that was on the tip of several other tongues.
Rhiannon ignored their questions and continued to look at Jack, who turned stare back at her. Between them passed a silent communication that no one else understood.
"Daniel," Jack began, as the past few… "How long had it been," he wondered, "Minutes? Seconds?" …began to all make sense to him. Well, most of it made sense. He still wasn't sure about the Aislynn, Ian, Dennis stuff. "you are the intended victim. Dagda wants you dead."
Daniel's face paled, "What? How do you know this?" He looked to Rhiannon.
Again she ignored the questions and continued, "You, Teal'c and Jonas will be teleported someplace safe. Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill will come with me to finish this."
"George," Jacob implored, seeing questions on the tips of everyone's tongues and knowing Rhiannon was now in a race against time. Her discomfort at the increase in Dagda's abilities was quite disturbing to him as well. Though he knew Rhiannon did not perceive time in the same linear fashion as the rest of those present in the room, he could feel her sense of urgency and that was enough for him. "You have to trust her on this…she doesn't have time to explain anymore than she has. It's dangerous to wait or to debate this any further. If you've ever trusted me, you have to do it now."
"Where do you intend to send them?" General Hammond asked.
Rhiannon looked at General Hammond and smiled.
"Why, fishing of course," Rhiannon laughed at their astonished faces. "What better place to send them, then to Colonel O'Neill's cabin in…" she thought for a minute, "ah, Minnesota."
She reached into the pocket of her cape and handed Teal'c a large Topaz. "Put this into your staff weapon Teal'c. It will boost the power of your weapon to destroy Dagda should we fail and he find you. You will know him if and when you see him."
Rhiannon closed her eyes and mumbled some words in ancient Gaelic and pressed the button on her bracelet again. Teal'c, Jonas and Daniel disappeared before Daniel could utter another word.
Looking finally at Jack and Sam, Rhiannon spoke quickly, "Major Carter," she handed a ribbon device to Sam as she spoke, "you know verra well how to use this, I suppose?"
Sam nodded, still somewhat stunned by the pace of the past few minutes and the changes that had occurred.
"When the time comes, you will be the one to use the device on Dagda. Colonel O'Neill will divert his attention long enough for you to use the device. I will be there to add power to it. But it must be done quickly. No hesitation Major. No questions. Understood?" Rhiannon fixed her with her amethyst gaze.
Sam nodded and in the next minute they, too, where gone from the `gateroom.
Sam and Jack both spun around as they were no longer where they had been seconds before. They were now in an alley between too buildings. Thankfully, under an awning, as it provided cover from the rain. Regrettably, next to a set of dumpster, as the smell was horrendous. Both were dressed in the blue BDU pants and black t- shirts they had been wearing on base, because they had not taken the time to change before they were whisked away.
"Park Plaza Hotel," Sam read the sign near the door under the awning, "wait, that's the hotel Daniel was speaking at when Catherine contacted him…right?" looking first to Jack and then to Rhiannon, not needing confirmation, "But I don't understand why you didn't tell us right away."
Rhiannon and Jack exchanged a look and Sam wondered at the underlying anger in Jack's gaze. Rhiannon nodded slightly while looking at Jack and answered Sam. "There are issues that needed to be cleared before we started."
Sam looked from Rhiannon to Jack. Rhiannon held her gaze, but Jack's gaze was on Rhiannon and it still held a considerable amount of anger and pain.
"What issues would that be?" Jack finally asked.
Rhiannon looked at him "Issues that "children" should know better than to ask."
"Are you saying that I am a child?" Jack asked sarcastically
"Si'ocha'n (Peace), I have told ye already I am sorry. That much is all I will say now. We don't have time to play at this game and save Daniel's life."
"Oh we are certainly not finished Rhiannon."
Sam looked at the two, puzzled by their interaction, but beginning to suspect that Rhiannon had had something to do with Jack's passing out in the cafeteria. At least she hoped Rhiannon had had something to with it. The alternative was that something was wrong with him and she didn't want to even consider what that might mean. He didn't seem to be experiencing the dizziness any longer.
"Look," said Jack to Rhiannon, "there is no way you can go walking around in there without drawing some major attention to yourself, even in San Francisco. We will be conspicuous enough. What exactly are we trying to do here?"
"You know Dagda now, eh Jack?" Rhiannon asked, as the confusing interaction continued.
"Yeah…I think so," Jack said, the intensity of his gaze never wavering.
"We have to stop him," she said, simply.
Rhiannon agreed to find a less conspicuous way into the building and Sam and Jack chose to enter through the front entrance. Sam was the first to find the sign outside the auditorium the sought:
Symposium:
Ancient Egypt
The Old Kingdom and The IVth Dynasty
Alameda Room
2-4pm
Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head as he contemplated listening to that lecture, but joined Sam just outside the main entrance to the Alameda room. They heard Daniel talking, which was very disconcerting. Jack began to wonder where he had been at that very moment and stopped himself, mindful of the "lesson" Rhiannon had tried to teach him.
Sam gave Jack a small poke on the arm and gestured with her head toward another entrance to the room. Jack could see Catherine opening the door quietly and entering the room. Jack nodded to Sam, then signaled for her to open the door and they entered.
The audience was becoming more animated as the seconds ticked by. Open scoffing could be heard and people were beginning to get up and leave. As Jack and Sam scanned the area, the auditorium all but emptied out. Jack nearly laughed when he heard Daniel ask one of the few remaining audience members, who was getting up to leave himself, if there was some luncheon scheduled that he had been unaware of.
Catherine was one of the last people to leave the auditorium, though Daniel had not even noticed she was there. Daniel was alone and gathering up his papers, when Jack and Sam heard a noise.
A tall blond man with light blue eyes appeared, almost out of nowhere and Rhiannon, who also seemed to appear out of thin air, called to him. "Dagda!"
If Sam had had doubts about who Dagda was, those doubts were now erased. Jack, on the other hand, had known him the minute he laid eyes on him. Dagda's unique appearance was not one he would soon forget.
Dagda turned and sneered, "Rhiannon…how perfect. And I see you brought your pets with you. You are not strong enough to stop me alone and what did you bring with you? A drunk and a woman? Truly, you must have lost your mind if you think this will stop me."
Jack walked up to Dagda and pointed his weapon at him, "Who are you callin' a drunk?"
Dagda laughed and asked, "Do you really think that puny weapon would be a match for me?" He raised his hand and a ribbon device was instantly visible. "Surely, the great warrior O'Neill knows that a Tau'ri weapon is no match against the power of the Goa'uld? Surely you know, after all the time we spent together, that you are no match for the Goa'uld. You are weak, cowardly, indecisive. You couldn't even keep your own son alive."
Sam was struck by the hatred she saw emanating from Jack's face. She wondered, if only for a second, if he was going to need any assistance in bringing this guy down. She did take her eyes off his long enough to notice a subtle hand signal made with the hand not holding the pistol. She moved, quietly, choosing to take up a position nearer to Daniel's location. She smiled to herself as she saw him crouching near the table that had previously held his paperwork, eyes wide with curiosity and fear,
"Well," said Jack, through clenched jaws, "that may be true, but obviously, you don't know the Tau'ri very well," he continued, "We learn from mistakes, triumph over adversity, and that which doesn't kill us, makes us grow stronger," throwing every cliché he could think of at the malevolent being before him.
"Is that right?" asked Dagda, raising the ribbon device and taking aim at Jack. Jack showed none of the fear that Dagda had seemed to thrive on in the dreams he remembered. Instead, he continued to point the pistol at the arrogant Aryan, waiting, watching, wary.
Dagda activated the hand device and at the same moment, Jack fired. The bullets ricocheted away as it became apparent Dagda was also using personal shields similar to those previously used by Apophis, Sokar and Heru'ur.
"Damn!" he thought as he felt the agonizing, searing pain in his head being generated by the Goa'uld's hand device.
Sam resisted the urge to call out and, instead, quietly pulled her knife out of its belt sheath. She took aim and hurled it at Dagda's back, hoping this shield was of the variety that allowed slower moving objects to penetrate. She was rewarded when she saw the knife hit its target, causing Dagda to stop his assault on Jack. Dagda, growled in anger and pain and then turned and aimed his hand device at her.
Rhiannon, knowing Dagda was now off-balance, emotional and thus, most vulnerable, yelled, "Now!" to Sam who raised her device at once. Rhiannon closed her eyes and raised her hands and directed her thoughts to Sam's and the burst of power from the combined energies whirled Dagda around.
Jack was on his knees and shielded his eyes against the light which was causing his already traumatized head to hurt even more. The combined energies from Rhiannon through Sam's hand device were not just killing him. Dagda was being ripped apart, disintegrated, because in minutes, he was gone. Rhiannon noted that there were no marks on the floor, nor any charred areas and motioned for Jack and Sam to hurry as the commotion had been noticed and they needed to be gone. She directed on last look to Daniel, who slumped to the floor, unconscious.
*****
General Hammond welcomed back Jack, Sam and Rhiannon. Minutes later Daniel, Jonas and Teal'c reappeared as well.
Jack requested that he be able to leave before the briefing, explaining that his blackouts were causing some problems with his concentration and that he was sure Rhiannon and Sam would be able to bring the General up to speed. Hammond looked at his officer, noticing the exhausted look on his face and nodded. He saw the look that was exchanged between Rhiannon and Jack and wondered where the anger was coming from. Rhiannon wasn't responsible for his blackout was she…or was she?
The briefing didn't last long. Rhiannon was short and to the point in explaining what happened, but like most of the Tok'ra gave no explanations nor offered any apologies. Rhiannon felt that the only person she owed an apology to was Jack O'Neill and he was the only person that she would give any explanations to.
*****
Jack was on the roof of his house setting up his telescope. He'd been through the infirmary, been checked out, been given 24 hours of down time. Bits and pieces of what felt like a lifetime, but was actually only a few minutes of real time, were now part of his memory and he was finding that confusing as hell.
Jack felt her before he even saw her and cursed, "Go n-ithe an cat thu' is go n'ithe an diabhal an cat" (May the cat eat you and the devil eat the cat.)
Rhiannon laughed and said almost with sadness, "Your Gran must have had a lot of soap in her house, for your GrandDa and you. I can just imagine the more colorful phrases he taught you. I wonder what your Da and your mum had to say."
Jack just looked at her.
"Okay Jack O'Neill. "Tuigim" (I understand) Ta' bro'n orm (I am sorry)," Rhiannon stopped and considered the man that was fooling around with the telescope to avoid letting more angry words come out. "You need to understand, Jack, that it was not just Daniel he wanted dead, it was you too. I needed to not only make sure you were strong, but safe. I didn't want you to trade your life for Major Carter's or Daniel Jackson's, or for Charlie's - which we both know you would have done. Didn't the dreams tell you that? Haven't your own actions shown you that?"
"I deserved to have the chance to make my own decisions Rhiannon. I am a soldier."
"Aye, you are a warrior Jack O'Neill that much is clear. But your heart wasna there. That can be a great problem for a warrior. For a Warrior to be a good and effective warrior, he needs not only his honor, but also his heart. Where has yours been, Jackie boy?"
"You didn't have the right to interfere with my heart or my honor." Jack responded with some heat.
"Perhaps," Rhiannon was thoughtful, "but it is over and we have to settle up you and I."
Jack's eyes were dark and unreadable, "How do you settle up with what you did to my heart – allowing me save Charlie only to lose him anyway?"
"Do you remember your GrandDa telling you about the legend of Rhiannon?"
"Yeah."
"'Tis true you know."
Jack looks at her.
"Legends are always based on reality Jack. The tellin' of it in the oral tradition sometimes stretches the truth a wee bit. But the heart of the legend is true."
Rhiannon sat on the ledge and continued. "Rhiannon's song could either put the listener into a blissful 7 year sleep…" she stopped seeing Jack's eyebrow go up, "ah well I can assure you that I'll not be putting you into a sleep, blissful or other."
Jack looked at her and he nodded for her to continue.
"Well, her song can also take away pain. And that will be my gift to you. I will remove the pain in your heart that you still carry from Charlie."
Sensing his gasp more than hearing it Rhiannon continued, "Mind, I can only give this gift for the night. Once the dawn comes, your brain won't remember, but your heart and your soul will. You will wake up in your own bed, thinking of a dream that you can't remember, but you will wake up the lighter in spirit for it."
Before Jack could ask her what the gift was she continued, "The other gift you want, Jack, is already yours. Given time it will be as you hope."
Rhiannon motioned to a small figure that stepped almost out of the sky.
"Go give your Da a hug and a kiss Charlie."
Charles O'Neill smiled at Rhiannon and then ran into his father's arms.
"Mind your Da, Charlie, and don't give him any trouble."
Jack held his son and the tears where there.
"Oh aye, he is real enough, Jack O'Neill, there is substance to him. I can only let you have it this once, for this night and then he has to return to the spirits, but you will find peace this night O'Neill and for the rest of your life."
Rhiannon started the words of a Celtic Prayer for peace and it whispered in the wind and the night sounds surrounding a crying father and his son.
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
The words drifted through the levels of Cheyenne Mountain as Rhiannon joined Anise and Jacob for their return to the Tok'ra headquarters.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
For some unknown reason many people that night slept better than they had in a long time and long time pains and heartaches were mysteriously eased and changed to the loving memories they were meant to be.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
As the prayer ended, Jacob, Anise and Rhiannon stepped through the gate and vanished.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the infinite peace to you
Morning found Jack O'Neill in his bedroom, a smile played around his lips and the face looked peaceful in its repose. Gone were the harsh lines around his mouth, eyes and forehead. The Warrior at last found his heart and it was at peace.
Epilogue
Tok'ra Home world - unknown
Anise walked quickly into Jacob's office. "Jacob, two messengers have arrived from Cymrie."
Jacob looked up from his desk and noted that Anise looked slightly distressed, "Is there something wrong Anise?"
"The messengers wouldn't say, only that Rhiannon was very clear that the message had to get to you quickly."
Jacob walked to the `gateroom with Anise and then met with the two messengers. They handed him the communication ball and he went to their briefing room, along with Anise and two other members of the Tok'ra High Council. Jacob activated the communicator and Rhiannon's image appeared.
"Greetings Jacob," Rhiannon began, "I have some news that could possibly be a problem."
"And that would be…"
"That Dagda didn't exactly die on our last mission."
"What? How?"
"It seems that Fenrir might have teleported Dagda out. The energy pulse that your daughter and I used on him might have disguised Fenrir's attempt to rescue Dagda. There was no evidence of our use of the ribbon device or any charred areas around him."
"Shit!" Jacob cursed.
"You Tau'ri and your colorful language. I suppose we should get used to it."
"What exactly does that mean?" Jacob looked at the ball.
Rhiannon's laughter ran out and she answered "To whom do you think we will be going to ask for help this time?"
Jacob put his head on the table and groaned while Rhiannon smiled, a smile of regret and self-recrimination.
Story Notes: Author's Note: This is my first attempt-feedback if you care to would be appreciated. My thanks to all those wonderful people who transcribe the episodes at SG_Transcripts -begged and borrowed your work. Thanx also to Blue Topaz who very kindly read/reviewed this.
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 ]