SPD-SG1 'verse
Yes, I know, it's been a while since I wrote in this 'verse but I finally managed to get this finished. Hope you guys enjoy. :)
Title: Hammer to Fall
Pairing: Jack/Sky
Rating: 15
Jack woke sharply, the sweat trickling between his shoulder-blades, his breaths sounding harsh and ragged in the silence of the room, his ears still ringing with the sounds of screams and blasts from some kind of weapon.
“Jack?”
It had been a long time since he’d had that dream and he didn’t want to think about what that meant, what the warning was for this time. He never really remembered the dream when he woke, all he remembered was fear - an all-encompassing fear that made him want to run and hide and never come out again. His father thought it was a suppressed memory from when he was young, before the tribe had taken him in, given him a family again and maybe it was. He just wished he understood it better.
“Jack?”
The first time he’d had that dream he’d been ten summers old and he’d had the same dream for six nights in a row. Not long after that the ground had shaken as if with the wrath of the gods and many lives had been lost. He’d had it again at thirteen summers old when the illness had hit the village. They’d rebuilt, both times, but that wasn’t what troubled him. If he’d only been able to work out what the dreams had been trying to tell him, maybe they would have been better prepared. Of course he was older now, an adult, and he knew that the voice of one child, no matter who that child was, probably wouldn’t have had any effect. That wasn’t the point. And it wasn’t important now. Now he had to work out what the dream was telling him this time.
“Jack! Look at me, damn it.”
A touch on his shoulder jerked him out of his thoughts and his body responded automatically, just the way his pair-bonded had taught him. He managed to stop himself just in time when he recognised Sky’s concerned face looking back at him and he relaxed. Sky. His pair-bonded. The other half of his soul that had found its form in an offworlder whose ways were so different to his own.
“Jack, are you alright?”
Jack. That’s right, that was the name he went by here. He still forgot sometimes, even though it was all he answered to. The people here had given him a new name, an Earth name, to stop people outside of the base asking awkward questions, but it was hard to adjust to being ‘Jack Landors’, even if he’d grown used to the first name over time.
“I’m fine,” he said absently, and he didn’t realise he’d used his own language until Sky responded in kind.
“You’re not fine,” was the flat statement, the concern evident even through the atrocious accent. Still, his pair-bonded was learning, that was the important thing and it was nice to have someone other than Z to talk to in his native tongue.
“It was just a dream,” he said before switching to English. “Go back to sleep, Sky.”
He couldn’t tell Sky about this yet. They were a sceptical people, these people of Earth, they wouldn’t believe in the prophetic nature of dreams. Except, he thought with a wry smile, maybe the dreams he had about Sky that left him aching. That message was pretty clear after all. But this? No. They wouldn’t believe, not until it was too late.
“Jack--”
“Just a dream,” he repeated. “Go back to sleep.” With that he lay back down himself, closing his eyes and trying to calm the thoughts whirling round his mind. There was a soft sigh in the darkness, then Sky followed his example and lay down again, his arm curling round Jack protectively. Smiling to himself in the dark, Jack twined his fingers through Sky’s where they rested on his hip, wondering if it was simple coincidence that their hands rested on the new ‘tattoo’ he wore there.
It had been Sky’s idea strangely enough, but he hadn’t taken a lot of convincing. Open symbols of their marriage weren’t allowed in this place, but something like this… having redrawn the symbols from the ceremony, he and Sky had had the key symbols painted onto their skin in pigments that wouldn’t come off. His were done in red, Sky’s in blue, just as they had been almost a year ago and every now and then he found himself tracing the pattern on his hip, reassuring himself it was still there. The connection between himself and his pair-bonded had solidified over recent weeks, Sky finally accepting deep down what being pair-bonded meant, even if, Jack thought guiltily, he didn’t know everything about what the bond could do. This was the most solid example of that. They wore each other’s marks now, inextricably bound together, and he would never let anything happen to Sky if he could stop it, which was why he had to work out what the dream tonight meant.
He leant back into Sky’s body, their linked hands sliding down across his stomach as he shifted, soaking up the warmth radiating from his husband, the calm, solid presence soothing his unease. He would work out what the dream meant and then he would make sure it couldn’t hurt anyone here he cared about; not his friends and certainly not his pair-bonded. If anything wanted to hurt any of them, it would have to go through him first.
***
Jack O’Neill walked into General Hammond’s office and nodded a greeting at the two men standing there.
“General. Cruger. Been a while.”
The other man, tall and burly with salt-and-pepper hair, nodded back with a smile. “That it has, Jack.”
“I see you two know each other,” Hammond observed. “Good. Colonel Cruger has been assigned to this base as liaison between the SGC and the Pentagon, at the request of President Hayes.”
“Liaison, sir?”
Hammond shrugged. “You know what the Brass is like, Colonel.”
“Yes,” Jack sigh in mock-sympathy. “Don’t they sell stuff for that yet, sir?”
The bald man’s mouth twitched in a faint smile. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Jack wrinkled his nose a little. “Darn.”
“I’ll leave the two of you to reacquaint yourselves,” Hammond said dryly, then sat back down behind his desk. “Dismissed.”
Walking down the halls of the SGC, Jack mentally ran over all the reasons Cruger would be here. It wasn’t likely that the Brass just wanted a liaison officer, that was what they had Major Paul Davis for, but if they wanted someone who’d report back all the dirty details Andrew ‘Doggie’ Cruger was not the man they’d go to.
“Look Jack,” the object of his thoughts said abruptly, stopping by an empty office that seemed to have been assigned to him. “I’m not here to snake your job, all right? You’re Hammond’s 2IC and my role here has nothing to do with that. I’m here as liaison only, back-up in extreme emergency, but that’s it.”
Jack sighed. “I don’t think you’re here to take my job. I just don’t see why we need a liaison officer.” Another one.
The other man shrugged. “Hell if I know. Personally I think the IOA’s leaning on Hayes and this is how he’s dealing with it. And if it wasn’t me it’d be either some sycophant who’s got blisters on his tongue from kissing so much ass or a pencil pusher that equates lives with numbers. I guess I was the sucker’s choice - they had less problems with me and my record than the other people touted for the position.”
“Least of all evils?”
“Something like that. So. Anything I need to know about?”
The SG-1 leader shrugged. “Not so much. Although there’s one team that’s… problematic.”
“Send them for retraining then. Get them back in shape.”
“Not the problem, they’re a young team and the military members are fresh out the Academy.”
Cruger frowned. “It’s not a full military team?”
“Nope. A captain, a lieutenant and two civilians. Oh and an alien.”
Dark grey eyebrows shot up. “An alien? I thought that was only your team.”
Jack shrugged. “All the best teams have aliens. And anyway, Jack’s not Jaffa.”
“‘Jack?’”
“Don’t ask. He’s here because of a treaty and he can’t go back for another five years or so. Some kind of cultural thing which is more Daniel’s area than mine.”
“Daniel Jackson.”
“Yep. The one and only. Anyway, SG-13’s not had the best luck lately and it’s beginning to cause problems.”
“SG-13? That’s an unfortunate designation.”
“And living up to its name. Tate’s not having an easy time of it.”
“Sky Tate? Nick Tate’s son?”
“That’s right. You probably taught him at the Academy.”
“Yeah, I did. A lot like his father. Looks wise anyway, personality wise they’re very different.”
“I didn’t know Nick Tate well.”
“I did. We served in the Gulf together. Just too bad he never made it home.”
There was a moment of heavy silence before Cruger broke it. “So. Fill me in on what’s going on around here?”
***
Sergeant Drew Harrington glowered at SG-13 as they sat round their table in the commissary eating their breakfast. The five of them were talking, exchanging smiles or rolling their eyes at each other and that, that alien was right in the middle of it. Sitting next to Tate, the two weren’t even touching each other but they still radiated ‘coupleness’. It was there in the glances they exchanged, the smiles and wry expressions and it made him want to hurl. He hadn’t forgotten his humiliation at the hands of the dread-locked man, how he’d shown him up in front of his superior officers when he’d first arrived on Earth and the resentment still burned, a banked fire just waiting for the opportunity to spark and flare up.
It was bad enough that the premiere team had a Jaffa as one of their members, but there was nothing he could do about that. SG-1 was notoriously close-knit, hell, even death hadn’t broken the bonds between them. SG-13 though… that team was nowhere near as cohesive. It was no secret that they’d only recently started to even get along with each other, let alone forge the kind of connection SG-1 had, so maybe, just maybe, he could do something about alien-Jack. It was simply a matter of opportunity.
***
“How’s it coming?” Doctor Manx asked as she entered the Thunderdome, easily spotting her two favourite subordinates. Bridge and Boom barely looked up as she walked in, hands not stopping from their work.
“Good,” Bridge said distractedly. “We’re almost done. The computers will be ready for the field in a couple of hours.”
She nodded and looked over at Boom. Even now she had no idea what his name was, everyone just called him Boom. He even referred to himself that way. She wondered if that blonde lieutenant he seemed to have some kind of thing with called him Boom. It seemed a little impersonal if she did.
“Ah, the MALP took more damage than we thought so it’ll take a bit longer to get it fixed. Day after tomorrow’s your best bet.”
She nodded again and turned to leave, stopping in surprise at finding the door blocked by the last man she’d ever expected to see again.
“Doctor Manx,” was the formal greeting and she nodded back, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
“Colonel.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes. It has.”
***
Harrington hung up the phone and sighed, torn. Well, too late now for second thoughts, he was well and truly in it. With the plan all set to go there was no chance of backing out, even if he could. He just hoped the SGC didn’t ever find out what part he’d played in this, they didn’t look kindly on anything that could be seen as betrayal. But still, at least that alien would be out of the way. He got what he wanted, the Trust got what they wanted and the SGC would be safe from alien influences. Everything would work out. It was for the best, after all.
***
“I’m telling you, they had a thing,” Bridge said excitedly as Z gave him a sceptical look.
“Who had a thing?” Syd demanded as she walked into the mess hall, Sky and Jack behind her.
“Doctor Manx and this new colonel. You could tell, they were all dancing round each other and meaningful looks and stuff.”
“What new colonel?” Sky asked curiously, sliding into his seat, Jack making himself comfortable between himself and Bridge.
“Ah, Colonel Krager, Kagan, something like that. I didn’t really catch it.”
“Cruger,” Z replied with a fondly exasperated look at the MALP tech. “He’s supposed to be a liaison officer or something, I think.”
“Colonel Cruger’s here?” Syd yelped and the others, barring Sky, looked at her in surprise.
“Yeah. What’s the big deal? Who is he?”
“He teaches at the Air Force Academy,” Sky said, shifting uneasily in his seat. “I have no idea what he’d be doing here.”
“Liasing, obviously,” Z replied. “That’s usually what’s meant by ‘liaison officer’.”
“We already have a liaison officer,” Sky pointed. “Major Davis liases between the Pentagon and the SGC, why would the Brass want another one?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Who knows why the military does things the way they do?” She ignored the frown Syd sent her way. “Anyway,” she continued. “What’s the plan for today? We’re not due off world.”
Sky shook his head. “I’ve got a meeting with General Hammond and Colonel O’Neill regarding our off world missions, I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”
Syd shrugged. “I’ve got the calendar shoot today, so that pretty much ties me up.” She scowled as Z snickered and threw a bagel at her. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, but I bet a lot of the guys would love it if you had,” Z replied with a smirk.
“That’s enough,” Sky interjected before the teasing could descend into an argument. “I don’t think the entire commissary wants to know about Syd’s calendar shoot.” His tone brooked no argument so Z reluctantly let it go. “So what about the rest of you?” she asked. “I know I’m going to be in my office all day, my backlog needs thinning out before I go crazy.”
Bridge shrugged. “Thunderdome. Where else?”
“What about you, Jack? Any plans for the day?”
Jack shook his head and pushed his food around the plate with his fork. “No. No plans.”
Z frowned. Jack never seemed to have plans and she had no idea what he did with his days considering he had no official position with the SGC. It had to be boring, she thought. He could probably use a little variety.
***
“You really don’t have anything to do?” Sky asked as he and Jack waited for the elevator that would take them to the board room.
“No,” Jack sighed. “When do I ever?” He’d thought he was getting used to this place, but now it seemed a lot more claustrophobic than it had in a while and he was itching to get away. He always did after he and Sky had spent any kind of time at their apartment, the freedom and space clashing horribly with the restrictions of the base.
“Excuse me, sir?”
He and Sky turned around to find a marine standing there, one Jack thought he recognised from somewhere. “Yes sergeant?” Sky asked guardedly and Jack looked at the man with interest, trying to place where exactly he’d seen the man before, put a name to the face.
“If it’s allowed, I could take him with me. I’m supposed to check on one of the experiments the scientists have running off base.”
Sky gave the man a thoughtful look, then raised an eyebrow at Jack. “Well?”
Jack grinned. A chance to get off base? He’d take that. “I’d love to.”
“Okay,” Sky replied as the elevator arrived. “Just be careful out there, alright?”
Jack waved him off. “Don’t fuss Sky.”
Sky rolled his eyes, but as they’d arrived at the board room level he didn’t get the chance to say anything else. He stepped out, then snapped out a hand to stop the elevator doors closing. “Don’t lose him, Harrington.”
“I won’t sir.”
Harrington, Jack thought triumphantly. That was it. Now, where did he remember him from? “Where are we going?” he asked as they exited the base, taking a left turn into the parking lot.
“Out into the woods,” the sergeant replied as they climbed into one of the standard issue ‘jeeps’. “Don’t ask me why, but apparently the scientists need a lot of space for whatever it is they’re working on.” Jack nodded and buckled himself in.
It was a pleasant ride, not as enjoyable as journeys with his pair-bonded or the other members of his team, but the view was nice, not unlike his home planet.
“This way,” Harrington said as they got out, jerking his head to the right.
They’d been walking for a while before Jack started to get uneasy. There was no sign of SGC presence anywhere and he knew enough about them by now that he thought he’d recognise it.
“Don’t worry,” Harrington said as he stopped, pausing a few steps in front of him. “It’s not far now. Bit off the beaten track though, huh? Can you imagine the effort it must have taken to get all the equipment out here?”
Jack stood there folding his arms across his chest. “Where are we going?” he asked again, apprehension causing his skin to prickle. He shouldn’t have come out here. Before Harrington could answer, Jack was caught off guard by the arm around his throat and the cloth pressed hard over his mouth and nose. As his vision blurred, everything seeming to slow down, he could just about make out the smile Harrington was wearing and knew he’d been set up.
***
It made a change, Sky thought, actually having good news to report to his senior officers. They’d finally come up with a way to go off world without messing around with the pair-bond connection between himself and Jack, for which he was very grateful; okay granted, it meant Jack was frequently left at the gate unless they were on known safe worlds, something Jack wasn’t best pleased about, but it meant that finally SG-13 could do the job they were supposed to, after months of being stood down for one reason or another, and it had the added bonus of no more searing pain at being who knew how many light years away from Jack. So far, the tactic was working. Jack kept an eye on the gate while the rest of them carried out the mission, and he was usually the one passing messages back along to the SGC and vice-versa. When he was a little more arms-proficient, Sky would feel more at ease about having Jack with them on dangerous missions and wouldn’t leave him at the gate as much, but until then Jack wasn’t going anywhere near potentially life-threatening situations.
Detailing the current success rate of this tactic to both General Hammond and Colonel O’Neill, he came to an abrupt halt as alarm flooded through his mind. Jack’s alarm. Before he could react, or answer the sharp question he only half heard, an astringent smell took over his senses and the world went dark.
***
Jack O’Neill frowned as Captain Tate’s voice trailed off mid-word. “Captain,” he said sharply. “Is there something wrong?”
There was no reply and it was as if the captain hadn’t even heard the question. Exchanging a concerned glance with the General, Jack stood. “Tate.” The young man stumbled, throwing a hand out towards the table and missing. He collapsed to the floor, out cold.
As Jack checked the kid’s pulse, relieved to find it steady, he could hear the General calling a medical team to the board room. Judging by the stillness and slow pulse rate, if Jack hadn’t known better he would have sworn the kid had been knocked out with a sedative.
***
Sky woke in the infirmary and was met by the concerned faces of his teammates.
“Hey,” Syd said softly. “You scared us. What happened?”
About to answer that he had no idea, he was spared having to do so when they were ushered away by a nurse, leaving him to the tender mercies of Doctor Fraiser. “How do you feel, captain?” she asked, checking his vitals.
“Like I was gassed,” he mumbled, trying to get his body to co-operate with his brain. He’d had the misfortune of being hit with knock-out gas once and it hadn’t been a pleasant experience. “What happened?”
“We were hoping you could tell us,” the doctor replied. “You collapsed in the board room during a debriefing.”
He winced, then froze. His team had been there when he woke up but Jack hadn’t, and usually Jack’s was the first face he saw. That was when he remembered the panic, followed by that smell, the one he knew he should recognise. “Jack. Where’s Jack?”
“We don’t know,” was the disturbing response. “We haven’t been able to find him.”
“We tried,” Bridge said, raising his voice so Sky could hear him from where he and the others were standing. “We couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“Something’s wrong,” he whispered, his mind automatically reaching out for the warmth that always symbolised ‘Jack’ to him and found only cold emptiness. His panic levels shot up.
“You don’t know that,” Doctor Fraiser said soothingly. “There’s any number of reasons that could explain…”
“No,” Sky interrupted, cutting her off urgently. “Something’s wrong, I felt it. He was afraid.”
The doctor stood back a little and regarded him thoughtfully. “Afraid?”
He nodded. “Yeah.” That was when another sick realisation sank in. “He was with Harrington, they were going somewhere off base, checking that one of the experiments the scientists have set up outside was on schedule.” He sat up sharply and swung his legs off the bed, absently noting that he was still in his uniform. Apparently he hadn’t been in the infirmary long enough for them to change him into the white scrubs. Well, that was a good thing. It meant he wouldn’t be hampered by infirmary clothes when he found Harrington and wrung his neck.
“Get back in bed, captain,” Doctor Fraiser said sternly. “I haven’t discharged you yet.”
“I feel fine,” he protested. He needed to find Harrington, right now. He couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to let Jack go with him, he knew the sergeant hated his pair-bonded, what had he been thinking?
“You might feel fine, but I haven’t finished with you yet. When you were brought in here you were displaying all the symptoms of being knocked out with a sedative, most likely chloroform. We need to make sure there are no lingering effects, now sit.”
He sat. Doctor Fraiser wasn’t above exacting revenge in the form of big needles and he wasn’t stupid enough to cross her. Chloroform, though, that made sense. It explained why he felt like he’d been gassed. Except, no it didn’t. How had he been exposed to chloroform? No, he hadn’t. Jack had. That was what the panic was from, it had to be. When he found Harrington he was going to make the man wish he’d never been born.
***
Walking through the corridors of Level 28 whistling softly, satisfied with a job well done and secure in the knowledge that finally the alien bastard was out of the way, sergeant Drew Harrington was taken completely by surprise when he was slammed hard into the wall, the arm across his throat almost cutting off his air supply.
“Where is he?” Tate growled, eyes promising murder if he didn’t start talking.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he gasped, relieved at hearing shouts in the distance, hopefully someone would get the maniac off him. How had he known?
“Don’t give me that,” the captain snarled, arm pressing harder against his windpipe. “Where’s Jack and what did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he protested.
“I’m going to find him,” Tate hissed, “and when I do, if he’s been hurt in any way, I swear to God I will snap your neck, are we clear?”
That was when the cavalry arrived and it took two marines to pry the captain off him, although if the man had resisted Drew had no doubt it would have taken more. He also didn’t doubt that Tate was fully capable of following through, the barely-suppressed fury in his eyes impossible to ignore. He nodded at the marine asking if he was alright and looked the captain right in the eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he repeated. “Jack was fine when we came back on base. I don’t know where he is now.”
“Okay boys, that’s enough,” Colonel O’Neill drawled from the end of the corridor. “We can clear some of this up right now, if you’ll follow me.” It wasn’t a request.
***
“Care to explain how you and Jack arrived back at base when the guards only have you arriving back, sergeant?” O’Neill asked pleasantly. After being informed by Doctor Fraiser that Jack had apparently left the base in the company of the man in front of him, it had been simple enough to check with the guards on duty at the entrance and they’d confirmed that while Jack and Harrington had left the base together, only Harrington had returned. That confirmation was supported by video footage from the security cameras.
Harrington paled and Tate was all but vibrating with the urge to no doubt beat the sergeant to a bloody pulp, something SG-1’s commander didn’t blame him for one iota. He’d be feeling the same way if it was him. “Who was it, sergeant?” he asked, still in the same pleasant tone of voice. He actually had it on good authority that he was scarier when he was calm than when he was yelling. Thanks Daniel, he thought wryly, not letting his gaze travel to the archaeologist sitting not that far away at the other end of the table. “NID? Area 51?” Both of those organisations were known to have renegade departments, any of which would love to get their hands on an alien with the Ancient gene. The sergeant remained silent. “I feel I should remind you that Jack’s husband happens to be in the room. I’m sure he’d love to know where Jack is.” Harrington glanced across at the captain and flinched at the cold expression he found there.
“The Trust,” he said softly, giving in to the inevitable, and everyone in the room tensed another few notches. “He’s with the Trust.”
Jack nodded at the marines standing at the door and they silently moved to stand behind Harrington’s chair. The sergeant stood without fuss, not putting up any resistance as they escorted him out of the room. He probably figured that co-operating would help his case.
“Sir,” Tate began, only for General Hammond to raise a hand, cutting him off.
“We’ll find him, son. We have a lot of resources to draw on now that we know who has him.”
“But…”
“Dismissed, captain. We’ll let you know when we have something.”
Jack watched as the emotions flickered across Tate’s face, ranging from disbelief, to anger, to helplessness before the blank mask reasserted itself and he nodded abruptly, saluting and walking out the room.
With everyone save his team and Cruger dismissed, Jack sat back in his chair. “Well, this is good news,” he said sardonically. “Just what we needed, the Trust with access to Ancient technology.” If they’d gone after someone with the Ancient gene, someone who had less protection than most others with the gene, then there was no way they didn’t have technology that needed switching on.
“Would he help them? The alien, I mean,” Cruger asked and Daniel shook his head vehemently.
“No, Jack wouldn’t help them. Not willingly.”
“How about unwillingly?”
Daniel closed his eyes and sank back in his chair. Everyone in the room knew that the Trust had numerous ways of enforcing co-operation. It was only a matter of time before alien-Jack was broken down and gave them what they wanted.
“That’s not mentioning Tate,” Jack pointed out, fingers tapping at the table morosely. “I doubt he’s just going to sit back and wait for us to launch a rescue.”
“He’s not you, Jack,” Daniel said dryly. “He’s not going to do anything stupid.”
***
Squaring his jaw, Sky opened the weapons locker and started to gear up. He wasn’t sure what he’d need so he figured it was better to be safe than sorry, especially considering he had no idea what kind of situation he was walking into, or what kind of condition Jack would be in when he found him. All he could tell at the moment was that Jack was alive and that he was afraid, nothing more. But when he found him, there would be nowhere to run for the people who’d taken him.
He froze, one hand on a P-90, suddenly aware that he wasn’t alone. Shit. He was in enough trouble for this as it was, taking out guards or whoever was behind him was only going to make things worse. He closed his eyes and braced himself. It didn’t matter. He just needed to get Jack back, before anything happened. He turned around, ready for anything, and was surprised to find his team standing behind him.
“I’m going after him,” he said firmly. “Don’t try to stop me, because it won’t work.”
“Who said anything about stopping you?” Syd replied, her arms folded defiantly. “We’re coming with you.”
Sky’s breath caught in his throat at the blunt statement, the realisation that they were standing by him, and he fought back the instinct to tell them to stay behind, stop them throwing their careers away. He almost told them anyway. His career was as good as over, had been from the moment he’d decided he wasn’t waiting for the SGC to rescue his pair-bonded, but Syd had a long career ahead of her, as did Z, as did Bridge, he couldn’t ask them to throw that away. But he wasn’t asking, was he? They’d made the same choice he had and he wasn’t stupid enough to turn that down. He could probably take all the help he could get. He nodded briskly. “Alright then. Gear up.”
***
Jack blinked, his vision blurred and his head feeling heavy, as if there were a stone around his neck weighing him down. It barely registered when someone slapped his face, he felt too lethargic to even lift his head. A voice spoke in the background and it sounded annoyed but he had no idea what it was saying, just that the tone reminded him of someone, someone important.
His head was wrenched up and he looked into a blurred face that was in no way familiar and he began to realise that he was in a lot of trouble.
***
They were almost out, just at the emergency exit, when they were caught. Fortunately it wasn’t a squad sent to bring them back, in fact it was just the opposite.
“Here,” Boom said hurriedly, thrusting something into Syd’s hands. “You might need this.”
A quick examination found it was the Ancient medical device that had sent Bridge, Z and Boom to sleep for most of a day. Sky bit his lip and nodded. “Thanks.”
Boom nodded. “Good luck.”
Commandeering a vehicle somehow wasn’t as hard as it should have been and Sky climbed into the back seat. “Delgado, you drive.”
“Why me?” she asked, making herself comfortable in the driver’s seat.
“Because I can’t track Jack and drive at the same time and I’m not subjecting myself to Syd’s driving again.”
Syd scowled but didn’t comment, simply getting into the seat next to Z.
“You sure you can do this?” Z asked, eyeing him in the mirror and he nodded.
“Yes.” He didn’t have a choice. If he couldn’t follow the internal prompting tugging him towards Jack, then nobody would find him and that wasn’t acceptable.
***
“Alright SG-1, you have a go,” General Hammond said. “We don’t have much time to do this so we need to move fast.”
“Yes sir,” was the combined response and they were just about to leave when the alarms went off. He picked up the phone in his office and when someone answered he demanded answers.
“Sir, one of the weapons lockers has been broken into,” Harriman reported. “Four P-90s are gone as well as four 9 mills and ammo.”
“Understood. Are we missing anyone?” It was a pointless question. He already knew the answer.
“SG-13 haven’t reported in yet, sir.”
“Very well. Thank you, sergeant.”
He put the phone down and looked back at his premier team.
“What was that you were saying about Tate not doing anything stupid, Danny?”
“Shut up, Jack.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Tate’s probably got a better chance of finding him than we do though,” the archaeologist continued.
“That’s beside the point,” Hammond said heavily. “He disobeyed orders.”
***
“So,” one of the men said with a disquieting smile. “I understand you go by ‘Jack’ here on Earth. Is that right?”
Jack glared and refused to answer, his hands flexing in the leather cuffs holding him to the chair, wishing he could somehow get out of the bindings - like Kitty Pryde from the X Men comics Bridge had given him, the way she could walk through walls and things like that. That kind of ability would be incredibly useful right now.
“Well, Jack, from what we know you have a very unusual gene, one that enables you to activate Ancient technology. That makes you… interesting to us. How about you tell us what exactly you can and have done with that special gene? Or maybe show us?”
Jack glared at him. He wouldn’t tell them anything or help them with anything. There was nothing that would make him… the man gestured sharply, his smile taking on a cruel edge and Jack flushed as the sounds of his and Sky’s voices from the previous evening filled the room, although a small part of him absently noted that he hadn’t truly realised how loud they could be when they didn’t have to worry about being on base. He was a little surprised Mrs. Montgomery hadn’t been banging on the walls or something by now to shut them up.
“Do you know what would happen to Captain Tate if that recording were to fall into the wrong hands?” came the conversational question and Jack tensed immediately as his captor shook his head in mock-sadness. “Sodomy, very nasty charge to have levelled against you. Sky’s career would be over. He’d be sent to Leavenworth-- do you know what that is? It’s a military prison, full of guys arrested for murder, assault, other manner of violence. What do you suppose would happen to your ‘husband’ if he were to end up there? Especially if the men in there know what he’s there for?”
Jack swallowed hard, his chest tightening and making it hard to breathe. He could imagine only too well what would happen. The people there would hurt Sky and they wouldn’t stop. Not ever.
“I see you do know. Or think you do. So what’s it to be, Jack? Tell us what you know about how you use your gene, switch a few things on for us and we’ll make sure this recording vanishes. Never to be seen,” he paused, “or heard ever again. Do we have a deal?”
Jack stared at him, his mind running through his options quickly. Sky would tell him not to give up, not to tell them anything. But if he did that Sky would be taken away from him, sent to this ‘Leavenworth’ where all those people would hurt him. He closed his eyes against Sky’s voice telling him that what happened to him didn’t matter, because it did matter. He couldn’t let anything happen to Sky, not if there was something he could do about it.
Do what Sky would want or keep Sky safe. It was the hardest decision he’d ever had to make. He knew that if he did what these people asked of him Sky would be disappointed in him and the thought of his pair-bonded’s disappointment weighed him down before his resolve strengthened. It didn’t matter if Sky was disappointed by his decision, as long as he was safe.
But he had no guarantee that even if he did help, did do what they wanted him to, that they would keep their end of the bargain and destroy the tape. Sky could very easily still be taken from him despite his co-operation and then he would have betrayed Sky and his friends for nothing. His hands clenched into fists in indecision and frustration. Which was the right choice? Was there a right choice, or was it simply choosing the lesser of two evils?
“Think about it,” came the satisfied statement and he looked back at the man who was watching him closely with a knowing smile. “Think long and hard about your choices, Jack. Your pair-bonded’s life is in your hands.”
That said, he walked out the room, the door closing with a soft click and Jack leant his head back against the chair, his eyes closed in despair. What was he going to do?
***
“Go left.”
“A little hard to do that with houses in the way, Sky.”
“Fine, first chance you get then.”
***
“Well, Jack? What’s it to be?”
Jack stared at the man’s ear and stayed silent. Sky was strong and he had the Elders to support him so they wouldn’t take him away. He had to believe that, otherwise nothing really mattered.
“Is that your final choice?”
Again he said nothing.
“Very well. I guess your pair-bonded’s not as important to you as everyone thinks.”
***
“Right, right. Go right.”
“You said left!”
“That was before. Go right.”
“Jeez, make up your mind already,” Z groused, yanking the car right.
“Do you want to do this?” Sky demanded. It wasn’t exactly easy, he thought peevishly. It wasn’t as if he had specific instructions inside his head intoning ‘Go left here’, all he had were sporadic hunches that they needed to go a certain way and if Z had a better idea he would love to hear it.
Z had nothing.
***
“Alright then, considering you won’t do anything to save your husband, what about Bridge Carson?”
Jack snapped his head up to look at the man who he’d very easily grown to hate.
“Oh, look at that,” the man sneered. “Reaction. Better. If you won’t help to protect your pair-bonded, who, I assume, you believe can take care of himself, how about someone more vulnerable?”
Jack stared at him, his heart sinking further than it had been already. He believed in Sky because there was nothing else he could do, but Bridge? Bridge wasn’t a soldier, and he was a lot more innocent than everyone else. He couldn’t let them do this to Bridge, couldn’t let them take away that innocence. He closed his eyes and slumped back in the chair.
“I will help.”
“Good boy.”
***
“Okay, we’re here,” Sky said quietly as they climbed out of the jeep.
“You sure?” Syd asked. “I don’t see anything.”
Sky jerked his head at the slow rise just ahead of them. “Over there.”
***
The leather cuffs came off easily and Jack stood. He had one moment where he considered using the training his pair-bonded had drilled into him so efficiently, then discarded the idea. These men had guns and he wouldn’t be able to do anything against those. Besides, if he did they would just go after Bridge like they’d threatened. The moment passed without action and he was led into another room, a room that tingled, almost like the device that made Z and Bridge sleep, only stronger. Whatever they wanted him to turn on, it was very powerful.
He swallowed hard and wished he’d taken the chance to run, because the idea of these people with so much power was terrifying. But he had to protect his friends, had to protect Sky, and if this was the only way to do it, so be it.
***
When Sky burst into the room, P-90 ready with the rest of his team behind him, the first thing he saw was Jack, hand hovering over something that looked Ancient in design. “Jack, no!”
Jack’s head had snapped round as they’d broken down the door and now his expression was a mix of relief and apprehension. “Sky.”
“Turn it on,” said the man standing next his husband, gun aimed squarely at Jack’s head. “Now.”
“Drop the gun,” Sky said coldly. “Right now.”
“Or what?” the man mocked. “Can you kill me before I kill him? Don’t think I won’t.”
“Drop the gun,” Sky repeated implacably. No-one threatened his pair-bonded and got away with it. No-one.
There was a choked gasp behind him and he turned his head to find Bridge disarmed and struggling against another Trust operative who seemed to have come out of nowhere to wrap an arm around his throat and force the gun out of his hands. Z had her P-90 trained on the man instantly but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. The man holding the gun on Jack smiled nastily at Sky. “What now, captain?” he asked maliciously. “You’re two men down and all you have are two little girls to back you up.”
“Did he just call us little girls?” Z asked quietly, the dangerous tone of voice completely lost on the Trust operatives who were no doubt congratulating themselves on defusing the situation.
“I think he did,” Syd replied, just as dangerously. Unfortunately neither of them looked particularly threatening and it was easy to see that the men had dismissed them as being no threat.
“You didn’t come alone, did you captain?” inquired the first man genially, ignoring them. “I imagine that’s not gone down too well at the SGC. And it doesn’t help you either. You’re decidedly short on back-up.”
Sky didn’t flinch, didn’t let his sinking heart show on his face. By now General Hammond would know that he’d disobeyed the direct order to wait until a proper rescue mission could be attempted and that he’d technically stolen alien technology in order to help him get his pair-bonded back. He’d be lucky if all he got was court-martialled; most likely he’d be facing dishonourable discharge, and it was simply adding insult to injury that they’d been check-mated so easily and that all of it had been for nothing.
The smiling man turned his attention back to Jack who’d never taken his eyes off Sky. “Now, turn it on or else we get him to do it,” jerking his head in Bridge’s direction. Jack’s eyes were full of helpless despair and his hand lowered to the device once more.
“Jack, no.”
“I’m sorry Sky,” was the quiet reply as Jack’s fingers reached out to brush the thing the Trust wanted so badly. “I have to.”
Just before he could touch it though, the loud crack of a gun shot echoed round the room and everyone spun round to find the Trust operative holding Bridge dropping to the floor and Z recovering from the kick-back, her expression cold with eyes hard as flint before she turned back to aim her weapon at the remaining enemy operatives, still staring in disbelief. Sky quickly took advantage of their distraction and calmly fired off a barrage of bullets that took care of the man threatening Jack. His pair-bonded gaped at the space where the man had been standing before he looked back at Sky.
Before either of them could say anything however, the air was suddenly full of the sound of bullets flying everywhere and Sky yelled at Jack to get down, barely having time to make sure he did so as he readied himself for the fire-fight. The fight itself was short, despite the Trust having the numbers and the physical advantage. They hadn’t planned on taking on a team as pissed off as his was, a team so determined to take them down that there was nothing that would stop them.
When the dust settled he lowered his gun with a sigh and looked around for Jack, cautiously coming out of cover. “You alright?” he asked, pretty calmly all things considered, he thought and Jack nodded.
“I am fine.”
Biting back the urge to question him further Sky just nodded, then motioned Bridge over. They had that medical device, might as well get some use out of it. Hopefully he’d have time later to get all the answers he needed from Jack. He was relieved when the green light had no effect on Jack, and he ignored the impatient expression that said louder than words that Jack thought the check had been a waste of time. Well, it didn’t matter if Jack thought it was a waste of time, because there was no way they were leaving here without checking him.
He was surprised though, that his team had come out of the encounter relatively injury-free. Z was bandaging up the top of Syd’s right arm, but that seemed to be the extent of it. In a way he was almost disappointed, because now there was nothing keeping them away from the base.
“Okay, then,” he said, with more confidence than he felt, “time to head home.” Time to face the music.
***
He sat in the brig, staring at the walls surrounding him. The return to base had gone pretty much as expected and he’d been arrested almost as soon as he set foot back on SGC grounds. Even now he could see Jack’s bewildered expression along with the worried expressions on the rest of his team as the marines had taken him away. He’d taken full responsibility for what had happened, so Syd had been spared being ‘escorted’ here as well, so far at least, and from what he could tell none of the others were facing official reprimands either. Unofficially was another thing altogether. They’d all have black marks on their records now, marks that would last a lifetime.
On the plus side, Harrington was getting everything he had coming. Sky didn’t think anyone would be shedding any tears over that.
He looked up as the door opened to admit Colonels O’Neill and Cruger and he stood, coming to attention automatically. O’Neill smiled, a strange half-smile that wasn’t exactly encouraging. “At ease,” the man said and Sky forced his body to relax, wondering what the two men were doing there and what the paper in Cruger’s hands was for.
“We would have got him back, you know,” O’Neill said, his full attention fixed on Sky. “We wouldn’t have left him in the hands of the Trust.”
“No, sir.”
“But you went after him anyway. Against specific orders to the contrary.”
Sky stared straight ahead, looking right down the line between the two officers. “Yes, sir.”
“Why?”
Sky blinked. “Sir?”
“Why didn’t you simply wait for the rescue squad?”
“They didn’t know where to look. Sir.” And they wouldn’t have let me go on the mission anyway. Too close to the problem.
“But you did.”
There it is, Sky thought numbly. They think I’m working for the Trust. “Yes, sir.”
“More of that pair-bonding thing?” O’Neill asked, as unconcerned as if he were out fishing, supposedly the man’s favourite hobby.
“Yes, sir.”
“Interesting.”
So far Colonel Cruger hadn’t said anything, simply held on to the piece of paper in his hand and Sky glanced at it surreptitiously.
“Wondering what this is?” Colonel Cruger asked, holding the paper up slightly.
No use denying it, Sky swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
“Well, take a look,” was the neutral response as the man held out the paper. Hesitantly, Sky took it, his eyes flickering over it rapidly. The words were a blow to the gut he hadn’t expected.
“I don’t--”
“It’s a way out,” Colonel O’Neill said quietly. “You can either accept the demotion in rank without question or you will face a court martial.”
Sky stared at him, torn between disbelief, shock and hope. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s politics, son,” Cruger said gruffly. “And she’s a cold mistress. What’s it to be?”
Sky bit his lip, then handed the paper back resolutely. “I accept.”
There were faint smiles on both faces, approving smiles that were gone in an instant. “Wise decision lieutenant,” O’Neill said and Sky had to work hard not to flinch at hearing the demotion spoken out loud, somehow making it all real.
“Yes, sir,” he said numbly, wondering how long it would take for the news of his demotion to spread through the base. Still, it was better than being discharged and at least he wasn’t looking at jail time anymore, that was a relief.
“Go back to your husband, Sky,” O’Neill said quietly as he walked out the brig, Cruger pausing a few feet down the corridor. “He’s been worried about you.”
Jack, Sky thought immediately. Yes, he needed to see him.
Walking through the corridors of the base, once again a free man, Sky couldn’t keep his thoughts from his pair-bonded and his hands clenched reflexively. He knocked on the door to the quarters he and Jack shared on base, his palms sweaty with nerves as he waited for Jack to open the door. He would never invite anyone in without knowing who it was, something about being careful who you invite into your life and your home. A long moment later, a moment that seemed to stretch for years, Jack opened the door cautiously, warily, no longer as comfortable around the base as he had been. His husband stared for a moment, then his whole face lit up, relief and joy plain to see.
“Sky!”
“Hi.” It was an inane thing to say, but right now it was all he could manage, his throat tight as he spoke, not letting anything else out. He just had no idea how Jack was feeling right now, despite the happiness on his face. He didn’t have to wait long to find out as his pair-bonded stepped back into the room to let him in and barely waited for the door to close before he pulled Sky’s head down, mouths meeting desperately as Jack held onto him tightly. Sky slid his arms around his husband, re-familiarising himself with the feel of Jack’s body pressed against him while at the same time not letting himself dwell on how close he’d come to losing this. Jack was safe now and that was all that mattered.
It took a moment for him to work out what Jack was saying, the words babbled in his ear a strange mix of English and Hcetwen, and for a while all the registered was the feel of warm breath on his skin and the sound of Jack’s voice. “Sorry, I’m sorry, my fault.” That seemed to be the gist of what Jack was saying, all that he managed to work out, and he shook his head, holding on tighter.
“Not your fault.” He whispered it over and over, willing Jack to believe him. Because it wasn’t Jack’s fault, it was his. All his. Gently he urged Jack towards the bed, tugging on his shirt as he did so, the need for contact hardly dulled by their earlier kisses. Jack responded without hesitation, fingers undoing zips and buttons with the ease of familiarity before they landed on the mattress, mouths and hands moving over skin.
***
Eyeing the remains of the electronics the Trust had left behind, Katherine Manx sighed wearily and wondered where she was going to start. Laptops, flash drives, disks, there was so much stuff and no clue what to begin with. Eventually she decided on the disks, the ones that hadn’t been fried or riddled with bullets. She really wished the soldiers would be more careful with the technology around them instead of just blasting it to hell and back. Didn’t they know how much information they were throwing away when they did that?
The first few disks didn’t hold anything important, the information on them was intel they already had, but she stored them anyway. Back-ups never hurt and there was no such thing as having too much information. The next disk she ran, however, was different and she flushed at the sounds coming out of the speakers before quickly switching them off.
Interesting, she thought, her cheeks still pink. Did the captain and his husband know they’d been taped?
***
“They were going to hurt you,” Jack said into the hushed silence. “If I didn’t help them. They were going to send you to someplace called Leavenworth.”
Sky tensed reflexively, then shook his head, pressing a kiss into Jack’s hair. “They can’t do that. Not for this. It’s not illegal anymore and even if it was we kind of have special dispensation, seeing as technically it’s because of a treaty.”
“Oh.” Jack’s voice sounded small in the darkened room and Sky ran his thumb across Jack’s cheek.
“It’s okay. There was no way you could know that.”
“They had a, a,” Jack scrunched his face up as he tried to think of the word. “Like… music, only of us, the night before…” his voice trailed off, tensing despite himself.
“A recording?” Sky yelped, sitting up abruptly and the sheet pooled on his lap. “They had a recording?”
“Yes,” Jack replied, pleasure at having the word curtailed by the expression on Sky’s face. “What?”
“Did you tell anyone about it?”
“No,” he replied in confusion. “Should I have?” He probably would have if that man hadn’t been there, that new one. Croo-ger he thought the name was. He didn’t know him, he didn’t trust him and he wouldn’t be surprised if Sky’s demotion had been his idea, said belief not endearing the man to him. In fact, as of now there were only four people he trusted without reservation and this ‘Cruger’ wasn’t one of them.
“Yes,” Sky said, tense all over again. “If it wasn’t destroyed in the fire-fight, if it’s still out there, it can be used against us and this won’t be over.”
“Oh,” he said again, closing his eyes against the guilt. He was making all the wrong choices lately.
***
“Are you serious?”
Kat Manx paused in her doorway at the quiet hiss.
“I’m serious,” came the voice of Bridge Carson. “They’d bugged Sky’s apartment, there was a recording of him and Jack and everything.”
Kat eyed the disk in her hands. So they had known.
“Blackmail? Why didn’t they report it?” Boom asked, sounding confused.
“That new colonel was there at the debriefing and Jack doesn’t trust him, he wouldn’t say anything,” was the reluctant response. “I don’t think he trusts anyone but Sky right now. And anyway, I think he was too worried about Sky at the time, considering he was arrested the moment we got back.” Bridge sighed quietly. “He was just beginning to settle here, you know? Trust people. And now all that’s gone.”
That was all Kat heard, the two technicians moving out of the room, the conversation too quiet for her to follow. She glanced back at the disk and knew what she had to do.
***
Sky looked up at the knock on their door and motioned Jack to stay where he was. He wasn’t being overly paranoid, he told himself. He was just being careful. And anyway, just because you were paranoid, it didn’t mean they weren’t out to get you. It wasn’t a cliché for no reason and that was partly why they’d stayed on base instead of going back to their apartment. Too many opportunities along the way, and besides, if the place was still bugged there was no way he was going back there. He opened the door cautiously and was startled to find Bridge’s friend Boom standing there looking nervous.
“Yes?”
“Ah,” the technician shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Doctor Manx thought you might want this.” He shoved a disk at Sky who took it automatically. “And she said to tell you the bug problem’s been taken care of. Unofficially.”
Sky stared at the man, then down at the disk. “Thanks,” he said sincerely.
“You’re welcome.”
Sky closed the door and sat back on the bed. “Well, I don’t think we need to worry about the tape anymore.”
“We can go home?” Jack asked hopefully and Sky smiled slightly. Home. It sounded great. Too bad they’d still be spending half their time on base.
“Yeah. I guess we can.”
***
Settling back into life on the base wasn’t easy. While the others seemed to slip back into their routines, for Jack it wasn’t that simple. Every face apart from his pair-bonded and the rest of the team seemed to hide hostility behind smiling expressions, and if he hadn’t refused to let himself be ruled by fear he wouldn’t have left the room he and Sky shared here, the memories of his abduction all too vivid. As it was, he still became a lot more familiar with the room than he was comfortable with, especially while he waited for news on what was happening to his pair-bonded, wondering why they were being kept apart when they needed to be together more than ever.
He’d spent a lot of time reading the comics Bridge loved so much, as well as a few books that Z had leant him. He was restless, not having anything to do but read, but at least his grasp of written English had improved with the constant practice. He glanced up as the door to the room opened, tensing a little despite knowing that only Sky would come in unannounced. Sure enough, Sky walked in, his footsteps heavy. Over the past year Jack had learned to read the other man pretty well and it wasn’t hard to see that Sky was hurting about something. It also wasn’t hard to work out that Sky wouldn’t want to talk about it. That being the case, he dropped the comic he’d been reading and held out a hand to his pair-bonded. Sky took it easily and let himself be pulled down onto the bed.
He hadn’t really noticed it before but after his encounter with the Trust it was clearer, easier to see if you were looking. Many of the SGC personnel were wary of Sky and some flat out avoided him, more so in the wake of the latest revelation about the effects of the pair-bonding, not to mention the demotion in rank Sky had suffered simply for coming after him. The only people he was anything like close to were his team and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing either, considering how reserved most of the team were - Bridge being the only exception - and the fact that after the rescue they were all in major trouble anyway. If Sky and the others hadn’t been held slightly apart before today, they definitely were now. No-one wanted to be associated with the ‘Bad Luck’ team, and they were now more isolated than ever. It was as if some invisible stain marked them out and people reacted accordingly.
Tentatively he opened his mind to the link between himself and Sky, unsure if he would sense anything - it wasn’t supposed to be a true telepathic connection after all. The sense of loneliness that washed over him was almost crushing and he instinctively wrapped himself closer around Sky, trying to project everything the other man meant to him, convince him he wasn’t alone, that he would never be alone as long as Jack was around. It was just so ironic that Jack’s mere presence was the problem he was trying to solve.
Tensing for a moment Sky relaxed suddenly into the embrace, his fingers tightening round Jack’s arms and holding on tightly, Sky burying his face in Jack’s shoulder, the taller man’s body shaking with fine tremors. Slowly though, excruciatingly slowly, the overwhelming loneliness retreated beyond Jack’s ability to sense, but he didn’t let up.
They needed to leave, he thought suddenly. Leave and get as far away from this place as possible. It wasn’t good for them here anymore, if it ever had been; it was too claustrophobic, too stifling, and they couldn’t be free, not really. They could never be truly pair-bonded while they had to be so confined in how they displayed their connection, so isolated from everyone by the simple fact of their bonding. They needed to be somewhere else, somewhere they didn’t have to hide, somewhere they wouldn’t have their being pair-bonded used against them. Somewhere other than the SGC. He just didn’t know where.
Title: Hammer to Fall
Pairing: Jack/Sky
Rating: 15
Jack woke sharply, the sweat trickling between his shoulder-blades, his breaths sounding harsh and ragged in the silence of the room, his ears still ringing with the sounds of screams and blasts from some kind of weapon.
“Jack?”
It had been a long time since he’d had that dream and he didn’t want to think about what that meant, what the warning was for this time. He never really remembered the dream when he woke, all he remembered was fear - an all-encompassing fear that made him want to run and hide and never come out again. His father thought it was a suppressed memory from when he was young, before the tribe had taken him in, given him a family again and maybe it was. He just wished he understood it better.
“Jack?”
The first time he’d had that dream he’d been ten summers old and he’d had the same dream for six nights in a row. Not long after that the ground had shaken as if with the wrath of the gods and many lives had been lost. He’d had it again at thirteen summers old when the illness had hit the village. They’d rebuilt, both times, but that wasn’t what troubled him. If he’d only been able to work out what the dreams had been trying to tell him, maybe they would have been better prepared. Of course he was older now, an adult, and he knew that the voice of one child, no matter who that child was, probably wouldn’t have had any effect. That wasn’t the point. And it wasn’t important now. Now he had to work out what the dream was telling him this time.
“Jack! Look at me, damn it.”
A touch on his shoulder jerked him out of his thoughts and his body responded automatically, just the way his pair-bonded had taught him. He managed to stop himself just in time when he recognised Sky’s concerned face looking back at him and he relaxed. Sky. His pair-bonded. The other half of his soul that had found its form in an offworlder whose ways were so different to his own.
“Jack, are you alright?”
Jack. That’s right, that was the name he went by here. He still forgot sometimes, even though it was all he answered to. The people here had given him a new name, an Earth name, to stop people outside of the base asking awkward questions, but it was hard to adjust to being ‘Jack Landors’, even if he’d grown used to the first name over time.
“I’m fine,” he said absently, and he didn’t realise he’d used his own language until Sky responded in kind.
“You’re not fine,” was the flat statement, the concern evident even through the atrocious accent. Still, his pair-bonded was learning, that was the important thing and it was nice to have someone other than Z to talk to in his native tongue.
“It was just a dream,” he said before switching to English. “Go back to sleep, Sky.”
He couldn’t tell Sky about this yet. They were a sceptical people, these people of Earth, they wouldn’t believe in the prophetic nature of dreams. Except, he thought with a wry smile, maybe the dreams he had about Sky that left him aching. That message was pretty clear after all. But this? No. They wouldn’t believe, not until it was too late.
“Jack--”
“Just a dream,” he repeated. “Go back to sleep.” With that he lay back down himself, closing his eyes and trying to calm the thoughts whirling round his mind. There was a soft sigh in the darkness, then Sky followed his example and lay down again, his arm curling round Jack protectively. Smiling to himself in the dark, Jack twined his fingers through Sky’s where they rested on his hip, wondering if it was simple coincidence that their hands rested on the new ‘tattoo’ he wore there.
It had been Sky’s idea strangely enough, but he hadn’t taken a lot of convincing. Open symbols of their marriage weren’t allowed in this place, but something like this… having redrawn the symbols from the ceremony, he and Sky had had the key symbols painted onto their skin in pigments that wouldn’t come off. His were done in red, Sky’s in blue, just as they had been almost a year ago and every now and then he found himself tracing the pattern on his hip, reassuring himself it was still there. The connection between himself and his pair-bonded had solidified over recent weeks, Sky finally accepting deep down what being pair-bonded meant, even if, Jack thought guiltily, he didn’t know everything about what the bond could do. This was the most solid example of that. They wore each other’s marks now, inextricably bound together, and he would never let anything happen to Sky if he could stop it, which was why he had to work out what the dream tonight meant.
He leant back into Sky’s body, their linked hands sliding down across his stomach as he shifted, soaking up the warmth radiating from his husband, the calm, solid presence soothing his unease. He would work out what the dream meant and then he would make sure it couldn’t hurt anyone here he cared about; not his friends and certainly not his pair-bonded. If anything wanted to hurt any of them, it would have to go through him first.
***
Jack O’Neill walked into General Hammond’s office and nodded a greeting at the two men standing there.
“General. Cruger. Been a while.”
The other man, tall and burly with salt-and-pepper hair, nodded back with a smile. “That it has, Jack.”
“I see you two know each other,” Hammond observed. “Good. Colonel Cruger has been assigned to this base as liaison between the SGC and the Pentagon, at the request of President Hayes.”
“Liaison, sir?”
Hammond shrugged. “You know what the Brass is like, Colonel.”
“Yes,” Jack sigh in mock-sympathy. “Don’t they sell stuff for that yet, sir?”
The bald man’s mouth twitched in a faint smile. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Jack wrinkled his nose a little. “Darn.”
“I’ll leave the two of you to reacquaint yourselves,” Hammond said dryly, then sat back down behind his desk. “Dismissed.”
Walking down the halls of the SGC, Jack mentally ran over all the reasons Cruger would be here. It wasn’t likely that the Brass just wanted a liaison officer, that was what they had Major Paul Davis for, but if they wanted someone who’d report back all the dirty details Andrew ‘Doggie’ Cruger was not the man they’d go to.
“Look Jack,” the object of his thoughts said abruptly, stopping by an empty office that seemed to have been assigned to him. “I’m not here to snake your job, all right? You’re Hammond’s 2IC and my role here has nothing to do with that. I’m here as liaison only, back-up in extreme emergency, but that’s it.”
Jack sighed. “I don’t think you’re here to take my job. I just don’t see why we need a liaison officer.” Another one.
The other man shrugged. “Hell if I know. Personally I think the IOA’s leaning on Hayes and this is how he’s dealing with it. And if it wasn’t me it’d be either some sycophant who’s got blisters on his tongue from kissing so much ass or a pencil pusher that equates lives with numbers. I guess I was the sucker’s choice - they had less problems with me and my record than the other people touted for the position.”
“Least of all evils?”
“Something like that. So. Anything I need to know about?”
The SG-1 leader shrugged. “Not so much. Although there’s one team that’s… problematic.”
“Send them for retraining then. Get them back in shape.”
“Not the problem, they’re a young team and the military members are fresh out the Academy.”
Cruger frowned. “It’s not a full military team?”
“Nope. A captain, a lieutenant and two civilians. Oh and an alien.”
Dark grey eyebrows shot up. “An alien? I thought that was only your team.”
Jack shrugged. “All the best teams have aliens. And anyway, Jack’s not Jaffa.”
“‘Jack?’”
“Don’t ask. He’s here because of a treaty and he can’t go back for another five years or so. Some kind of cultural thing which is more Daniel’s area than mine.”
“Daniel Jackson.”
“Yep. The one and only. Anyway, SG-13’s not had the best luck lately and it’s beginning to cause problems.”
“SG-13? That’s an unfortunate designation.”
“And living up to its name. Tate’s not having an easy time of it.”
“Sky Tate? Nick Tate’s son?”
“That’s right. You probably taught him at the Academy.”
“Yeah, I did. A lot like his father. Looks wise anyway, personality wise they’re very different.”
“I didn’t know Nick Tate well.”
“I did. We served in the Gulf together. Just too bad he never made it home.”
There was a moment of heavy silence before Cruger broke it. “So. Fill me in on what’s going on around here?”
***
Sergeant Drew Harrington glowered at SG-13 as they sat round their table in the commissary eating their breakfast. The five of them were talking, exchanging smiles or rolling their eyes at each other and that, that alien was right in the middle of it. Sitting next to Tate, the two weren’t even touching each other but they still radiated ‘coupleness’. It was there in the glances they exchanged, the smiles and wry expressions and it made him want to hurl. He hadn’t forgotten his humiliation at the hands of the dread-locked man, how he’d shown him up in front of his superior officers when he’d first arrived on Earth and the resentment still burned, a banked fire just waiting for the opportunity to spark and flare up.
It was bad enough that the premiere team had a Jaffa as one of their members, but there was nothing he could do about that. SG-1 was notoriously close-knit, hell, even death hadn’t broken the bonds between them. SG-13 though… that team was nowhere near as cohesive. It was no secret that they’d only recently started to even get along with each other, let alone forge the kind of connection SG-1 had, so maybe, just maybe, he could do something about alien-Jack. It was simply a matter of opportunity.
***
“How’s it coming?” Doctor Manx asked as she entered the Thunderdome, easily spotting her two favourite subordinates. Bridge and Boom barely looked up as she walked in, hands not stopping from their work.
“Good,” Bridge said distractedly. “We’re almost done. The computers will be ready for the field in a couple of hours.”
She nodded and looked over at Boom. Even now she had no idea what his name was, everyone just called him Boom. He even referred to himself that way. She wondered if that blonde lieutenant he seemed to have some kind of thing with called him Boom. It seemed a little impersonal if she did.
“Ah, the MALP took more damage than we thought so it’ll take a bit longer to get it fixed. Day after tomorrow’s your best bet.”
She nodded again and turned to leave, stopping in surprise at finding the door blocked by the last man she’d ever expected to see again.
“Doctor Manx,” was the formal greeting and she nodded back, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
“Colonel.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes. It has.”
***
Harrington hung up the phone and sighed, torn. Well, too late now for second thoughts, he was well and truly in it. With the plan all set to go there was no chance of backing out, even if he could. He just hoped the SGC didn’t ever find out what part he’d played in this, they didn’t look kindly on anything that could be seen as betrayal. But still, at least that alien would be out of the way. He got what he wanted, the Trust got what they wanted and the SGC would be safe from alien influences. Everything would work out. It was for the best, after all.
***
“I’m telling you, they had a thing,” Bridge said excitedly as Z gave him a sceptical look.
“Who had a thing?” Syd demanded as she walked into the mess hall, Sky and Jack behind her.
“Doctor Manx and this new colonel. You could tell, they were all dancing round each other and meaningful looks and stuff.”
“What new colonel?” Sky asked curiously, sliding into his seat, Jack making himself comfortable between himself and Bridge.
“Ah, Colonel Krager, Kagan, something like that. I didn’t really catch it.”
“Cruger,” Z replied with a fondly exasperated look at the MALP tech. “He’s supposed to be a liaison officer or something, I think.”
“Colonel Cruger’s here?” Syd yelped and the others, barring Sky, looked at her in surprise.
“Yeah. What’s the big deal? Who is he?”
“He teaches at the Air Force Academy,” Sky said, shifting uneasily in his seat. “I have no idea what he’d be doing here.”
“Liasing, obviously,” Z replied. “That’s usually what’s meant by ‘liaison officer’.”
“We already have a liaison officer,” Sky pointed. “Major Davis liases between the Pentagon and the SGC, why would the Brass want another one?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Who knows why the military does things the way they do?” She ignored the frown Syd sent her way. “Anyway,” she continued. “What’s the plan for today? We’re not due off world.”
Sky shook his head. “I’ve got a meeting with General Hammond and Colonel O’Neill regarding our off world missions, I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”
Syd shrugged. “I’ve got the calendar shoot today, so that pretty much ties me up.” She scowled as Z snickered and threw a bagel at her. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, but I bet a lot of the guys would love it if you had,” Z replied with a smirk.
“That’s enough,” Sky interjected before the teasing could descend into an argument. “I don’t think the entire commissary wants to know about Syd’s calendar shoot.” His tone brooked no argument so Z reluctantly let it go. “So what about the rest of you?” she asked. “I know I’m going to be in my office all day, my backlog needs thinning out before I go crazy.”
Bridge shrugged. “Thunderdome. Where else?”
“What about you, Jack? Any plans for the day?”
Jack shook his head and pushed his food around the plate with his fork. “No. No plans.”
Z frowned. Jack never seemed to have plans and she had no idea what he did with his days considering he had no official position with the SGC. It had to be boring, she thought. He could probably use a little variety.
***
“You really don’t have anything to do?” Sky asked as he and Jack waited for the elevator that would take them to the board room.
“No,” Jack sighed. “When do I ever?” He’d thought he was getting used to this place, but now it seemed a lot more claustrophobic than it had in a while and he was itching to get away. He always did after he and Sky had spent any kind of time at their apartment, the freedom and space clashing horribly with the restrictions of the base.
“Excuse me, sir?”
He and Sky turned around to find a marine standing there, one Jack thought he recognised from somewhere. “Yes sergeant?” Sky asked guardedly and Jack looked at the man with interest, trying to place where exactly he’d seen the man before, put a name to the face.
“If it’s allowed, I could take him with me. I’m supposed to check on one of the experiments the scientists have running off base.”
Sky gave the man a thoughtful look, then raised an eyebrow at Jack. “Well?”
Jack grinned. A chance to get off base? He’d take that. “I’d love to.”
“Okay,” Sky replied as the elevator arrived. “Just be careful out there, alright?”
Jack waved him off. “Don’t fuss Sky.”
Sky rolled his eyes, but as they’d arrived at the board room level he didn’t get the chance to say anything else. He stepped out, then snapped out a hand to stop the elevator doors closing. “Don’t lose him, Harrington.”
“I won’t sir.”
Harrington, Jack thought triumphantly. That was it. Now, where did he remember him from? “Where are we going?” he asked as they exited the base, taking a left turn into the parking lot.
“Out into the woods,” the sergeant replied as they climbed into one of the standard issue ‘jeeps’. “Don’t ask me why, but apparently the scientists need a lot of space for whatever it is they’re working on.” Jack nodded and buckled himself in.
It was a pleasant ride, not as enjoyable as journeys with his pair-bonded or the other members of his team, but the view was nice, not unlike his home planet.
“This way,” Harrington said as they got out, jerking his head to the right.
They’d been walking for a while before Jack started to get uneasy. There was no sign of SGC presence anywhere and he knew enough about them by now that he thought he’d recognise it.
“Don’t worry,” Harrington said as he stopped, pausing a few steps in front of him. “It’s not far now. Bit off the beaten track though, huh? Can you imagine the effort it must have taken to get all the equipment out here?”
Jack stood there folding his arms across his chest. “Where are we going?” he asked again, apprehension causing his skin to prickle. He shouldn’t have come out here. Before Harrington could answer, Jack was caught off guard by the arm around his throat and the cloth pressed hard over his mouth and nose. As his vision blurred, everything seeming to slow down, he could just about make out the smile Harrington was wearing and knew he’d been set up.
***
It made a change, Sky thought, actually having good news to report to his senior officers. They’d finally come up with a way to go off world without messing around with the pair-bond connection between himself and Jack, for which he was very grateful; okay granted, it meant Jack was frequently left at the gate unless they were on known safe worlds, something Jack wasn’t best pleased about, but it meant that finally SG-13 could do the job they were supposed to, after months of being stood down for one reason or another, and it had the added bonus of no more searing pain at being who knew how many light years away from Jack. So far, the tactic was working. Jack kept an eye on the gate while the rest of them carried out the mission, and he was usually the one passing messages back along to the SGC and vice-versa. When he was a little more arms-proficient, Sky would feel more at ease about having Jack with them on dangerous missions and wouldn’t leave him at the gate as much, but until then Jack wasn’t going anywhere near potentially life-threatening situations.
Detailing the current success rate of this tactic to both General Hammond and Colonel O’Neill, he came to an abrupt halt as alarm flooded through his mind. Jack’s alarm. Before he could react, or answer the sharp question he only half heard, an astringent smell took over his senses and the world went dark.
***
Jack O’Neill frowned as Captain Tate’s voice trailed off mid-word. “Captain,” he said sharply. “Is there something wrong?”
There was no reply and it was as if the captain hadn’t even heard the question. Exchanging a concerned glance with the General, Jack stood. “Tate.” The young man stumbled, throwing a hand out towards the table and missing. He collapsed to the floor, out cold.
As Jack checked the kid’s pulse, relieved to find it steady, he could hear the General calling a medical team to the board room. Judging by the stillness and slow pulse rate, if Jack hadn’t known better he would have sworn the kid had been knocked out with a sedative.
***
Sky woke in the infirmary and was met by the concerned faces of his teammates.
“Hey,” Syd said softly. “You scared us. What happened?”
About to answer that he had no idea, he was spared having to do so when they were ushered away by a nurse, leaving him to the tender mercies of Doctor Fraiser. “How do you feel, captain?” she asked, checking his vitals.
“Like I was gassed,” he mumbled, trying to get his body to co-operate with his brain. He’d had the misfortune of being hit with knock-out gas once and it hadn’t been a pleasant experience. “What happened?”
“We were hoping you could tell us,” the doctor replied. “You collapsed in the board room during a debriefing.”
He winced, then froze. His team had been there when he woke up but Jack hadn’t, and usually Jack’s was the first face he saw. That was when he remembered the panic, followed by that smell, the one he knew he should recognise. “Jack. Where’s Jack?”
“We don’t know,” was the disturbing response. “We haven’t been able to find him.”
“We tried,” Bridge said, raising his voice so Sky could hear him from where he and the others were standing. “We couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“Something’s wrong,” he whispered, his mind automatically reaching out for the warmth that always symbolised ‘Jack’ to him and found only cold emptiness. His panic levels shot up.
“You don’t know that,” Doctor Fraiser said soothingly. “There’s any number of reasons that could explain…”
“No,” Sky interrupted, cutting her off urgently. “Something’s wrong, I felt it. He was afraid.”
The doctor stood back a little and regarded him thoughtfully. “Afraid?”
He nodded. “Yeah.” That was when another sick realisation sank in. “He was with Harrington, they were going somewhere off base, checking that one of the experiments the scientists have set up outside was on schedule.” He sat up sharply and swung his legs off the bed, absently noting that he was still in his uniform. Apparently he hadn’t been in the infirmary long enough for them to change him into the white scrubs. Well, that was a good thing. It meant he wouldn’t be hampered by infirmary clothes when he found Harrington and wrung his neck.
“Get back in bed, captain,” Doctor Fraiser said sternly. “I haven’t discharged you yet.”
“I feel fine,” he protested. He needed to find Harrington, right now. He couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to let Jack go with him, he knew the sergeant hated his pair-bonded, what had he been thinking?
“You might feel fine, but I haven’t finished with you yet. When you were brought in here you were displaying all the symptoms of being knocked out with a sedative, most likely chloroform. We need to make sure there are no lingering effects, now sit.”
He sat. Doctor Fraiser wasn’t above exacting revenge in the form of big needles and he wasn’t stupid enough to cross her. Chloroform, though, that made sense. It explained why he felt like he’d been gassed. Except, no it didn’t. How had he been exposed to chloroform? No, he hadn’t. Jack had. That was what the panic was from, it had to be. When he found Harrington he was going to make the man wish he’d never been born.
***
Walking through the corridors of Level 28 whistling softly, satisfied with a job well done and secure in the knowledge that finally the alien bastard was out of the way, sergeant Drew Harrington was taken completely by surprise when he was slammed hard into the wall, the arm across his throat almost cutting off his air supply.
“Where is he?” Tate growled, eyes promising murder if he didn’t start talking.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he gasped, relieved at hearing shouts in the distance, hopefully someone would get the maniac off him. How had he known?
“Don’t give me that,” the captain snarled, arm pressing harder against his windpipe. “Where’s Jack and what did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he protested.
“I’m going to find him,” Tate hissed, “and when I do, if he’s been hurt in any way, I swear to God I will snap your neck, are we clear?”
That was when the cavalry arrived and it took two marines to pry the captain off him, although if the man had resisted Drew had no doubt it would have taken more. He also didn’t doubt that Tate was fully capable of following through, the barely-suppressed fury in his eyes impossible to ignore. He nodded at the marine asking if he was alright and looked the captain right in the eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he repeated. “Jack was fine when we came back on base. I don’t know where he is now.”
“Okay boys, that’s enough,” Colonel O’Neill drawled from the end of the corridor. “We can clear some of this up right now, if you’ll follow me.” It wasn’t a request.
***
“Care to explain how you and Jack arrived back at base when the guards only have you arriving back, sergeant?” O’Neill asked pleasantly. After being informed by Doctor Fraiser that Jack had apparently left the base in the company of the man in front of him, it had been simple enough to check with the guards on duty at the entrance and they’d confirmed that while Jack and Harrington had left the base together, only Harrington had returned. That confirmation was supported by video footage from the security cameras.
Harrington paled and Tate was all but vibrating with the urge to no doubt beat the sergeant to a bloody pulp, something SG-1’s commander didn’t blame him for one iota. He’d be feeling the same way if it was him. “Who was it, sergeant?” he asked, still in the same pleasant tone of voice. He actually had it on good authority that he was scarier when he was calm than when he was yelling. Thanks Daniel, he thought wryly, not letting his gaze travel to the archaeologist sitting not that far away at the other end of the table. “NID? Area 51?” Both of those organisations were known to have renegade departments, any of which would love to get their hands on an alien with the Ancient gene. The sergeant remained silent. “I feel I should remind you that Jack’s husband happens to be in the room. I’m sure he’d love to know where Jack is.” Harrington glanced across at the captain and flinched at the cold expression he found there.
“The Trust,” he said softly, giving in to the inevitable, and everyone in the room tensed another few notches. “He’s with the Trust.”
Jack nodded at the marines standing at the door and they silently moved to stand behind Harrington’s chair. The sergeant stood without fuss, not putting up any resistance as they escorted him out of the room. He probably figured that co-operating would help his case.
“Sir,” Tate began, only for General Hammond to raise a hand, cutting him off.
“We’ll find him, son. We have a lot of resources to draw on now that we know who has him.”
“But…”
“Dismissed, captain. We’ll let you know when we have something.”
Jack watched as the emotions flickered across Tate’s face, ranging from disbelief, to anger, to helplessness before the blank mask reasserted itself and he nodded abruptly, saluting and walking out the room.
With everyone save his team and Cruger dismissed, Jack sat back in his chair. “Well, this is good news,” he said sardonically. “Just what we needed, the Trust with access to Ancient technology.” If they’d gone after someone with the Ancient gene, someone who had less protection than most others with the gene, then there was no way they didn’t have technology that needed switching on.
“Would he help them? The alien, I mean,” Cruger asked and Daniel shook his head vehemently.
“No, Jack wouldn’t help them. Not willingly.”
“How about unwillingly?”
Daniel closed his eyes and sank back in his chair. Everyone in the room knew that the Trust had numerous ways of enforcing co-operation. It was only a matter of time before alien-Jack was broken down and gave them what they wanted.
“That’s not mentioning Tate,” Jack pointed out, fingers tapping at the table morosely. “I doubt he’s just going to sit back and wait for us to launch a rescue.”
“He’s not you, Jack,” Daniel said dryly. “He’s not going to do anything stupid.”
***
Squaring his jaw, Sky opened the weapons locker and started to gear up. He wasn’t sure what he’d need so he figured it was better to be safe than sorry, especially considering he had no idea what kind of situation he was walking into, or what kind of condition Jack would be in when he found him. All he could tell at the moment was that Jack was alive and that he was afraid, nothing more. But when he found him, there would be nowhere to run for the people who’d taken him.
He froze, one hand on a P-90, suddenly aware that he wasn’t alone. Shit. He was in enough trouble for this as it was, taking out guards or whoever was behind him was only going to make things worse. He closed his eyes and braced himself. It didn’t matter. He just needed to get Jack back, before anything happened. He turned around, ready for anything, and was surprised to find his team standing behind him.
“I’m going after him,” he said firmly. “Don’t try to stop me, because it won’t work.”
“Who said anything about stopping you?” Syd replied, her arms folded defiantly. “We’re coming with you.”
Sky’s breath caught in his throat at the blunt statement, the realisation that they were standing by him, and he fought back the instinct to tell them to stay behind, stop them throwing their careers away. He almost told them anyway. His career was as good as over, had been from the moment he’d decided he wasn’t waiting for the SGC to rescue his pair-bonded, but Syd had a long career ahead of her, as did Z, as did Bridge, he couldn’t ask them to throw that away. But he wasn’t asking, was he? They’d made the same choice he had and he wasn’t stupid enough to turn that down. He could probably take all the help he could get. He nodded briskly. “Alright then. Gear up.”
***
Jack blinked, his vision blurred and his head feeling heavy, as if there were a stone around his neck weighing him down. It barely registered when someone slapped his face, he felt too lethargic to even lift his head. A voice spoke in the background and it sounded annoyed but he had no idea what it was saying, just that the tone reminded him of someone, someone important.
His head was wrenched up and he looked into a blurred face that was in no way familiar and he began to realise that he was in a lot of trouble.
***
They were almost out, just at the emergency exit, when they were caught. Fortunately it wasn’t a squad sent to bring them back, in fact it was just the opposite.
“Here,” Boom said hurriedly, thrusting something into Syd’s hands. “You might need this.”
A quick examination found it was the Ancient medical device that had sent Bridge, Z and Boom to sleep for most of a day. Sky bit his lip and nodded. “Thanks.”
Boom nodded. “Good luck.”
Commandeering a vehicle somehow wasn’t as hard as it should have been and Sky climbed into the back seat. “Delgado, you drive.”
“Why me?” she asked, making herself comfortable in the driver’s seat.
“Because I can’t track Jack and drive at the same time and I’m not subjecting myself to Syd’s driving again.”
Syd scowled but didn’t comment, simply getting into the seat next to Z.
“You sure you can do this?” Z asked, eyeing him in the mirror and he nodded.
“Yes.” He didn’t have a choice. If he couldn’t follow the internal prompting tugging him towards Jack, then nobody would find him and that wasn’t acceptable.
***
“Alright SG-1, you have a go,” General Hammond said. “We don’t have much time to do this so we need to move fast.”
“Yes sir,” was the combined response and they were just about to leave when the alarms went off. He picked up the phone in his office and when someone answered he demanded answers.
“Sir, one of the weapons lockers has been broken into,” Harriman reported. “Four P-90s are gone as well as four 9 mills and ammo.”
“Understood. Are we missing anyone?” It was a pointless question. He already knew the answer.
“SG-13 haven’t reported in yet, sir.”
“Very well. Thank you, sergeant.”
He put the phone down and looked back at his premier team.
“What was that you were saying about Tate not doing anything stupid, Danny?”
“Shut up, Jack.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Tate’s probably got a better chance of finding him than we do though,” the archaeologist continued.
“That’s beside the point,” Hammond said heavily. “He disobeyed orders.”
***
“So,” one of the men said with a disquieting smile. “I understand you go by ‘Jack’ here on Earth. Is that right?”
Jack glared and refused to answer, his hands flexing in the leather cuffs holding him to the chair, wishing he could somehow get out of the bindings - like Kitty Pryde from the X Men comics Bridge had given him, the way she could walk through walls and things like that. That kind of ability would be incredibly useful right now.
“Well, Jack, from what we know you have a very unusual gene, one that enables you to activate Ancient technology. That makes you… interesting to us. How about you tell us what exactly you can and have done with that special gene? Or maybe show us?”
Jack glared at him. He wouldn’t tell them anything or help them with anything. There was nothing that would make him… the man gestured sharply, his smile taking on a cruel edge and Jack flushed as the sounds of his and Sky’s voices from the previous evening filled the room, although a small part of him absently noted that he hadn’t truly realised how loud they could be when they didn’t have to worry about being on base. He was a little surprised Mrs. Montgomery hadn’t been banging on the walls or something by now to shut them up.
“Do you know what would happen to Captain Tate if that recording were to fall into the wrong hands?” came the conversational question and Jack tensed immediately as his captor shook his head in mock-sadness. “Sodomy, very nasty charge to have levelled against you. Sky’s career would be over. He’d be sent to Leavenworth-- do you know what that is? It’s a military prison, full of guys arrested for murder, assault, other manner of violence. What do you suppose would happen to your ‘husband’ if he were to end up there? Especially if the men in there know what he’s there for?”
Jack swallowed hard, his chest tightening and making it hard to breathe. He could imagine only too well what would happen. The people there would hurt Sky and they wouldn’t stop. Not ever.
“I see you do know. Or think you do. So what’s it to be, Jack? Tell us what you know about how you use your gene, switch a few things on for us and we’ll make sure this recording vanishes. Never to be seen,” he paused, “or heard ever again. Do we have a deal?”
Jack stared at him, his mind running through his options quickly. Sky would tell him not to give up, not to tell them anything. But if he did that Sky would be taken away from him, sent to this ‘Leavenworth’ where all those people would hurt him. He closed his eyes against Sky’s voice telling him that what happened to him didn’t matter, because it did matter. He couldn’t let anything happen to Sky, not if there was something he could do about it.
Do what Sky would want or keep Sky safe. It was the hardest decision he’d ever had to make. He knew that if he did what these people asked of him Sky would be disappointed in him and the thought of his pair-bonded’s disappointment weighed him down before his resolve strengthened. It didn’t matter if Sky was disappointed by his decision, as long as he was safe.
But he had no guarantee that even if he did help, did do what they wanted him to, that they would keep their end of the bargain and destroy the tape. Sky could very easily still be taken from him despite his co-operation and then he would have betrayed Sky and his friends for nothing. His hands clenched into fists in indecision and frustration. Which was the right choice? Was there a right choice, or was it simply choosing the lesser of two evils?
“Think about it,” came the satisfied statement and he looked back at the man who was watching him closely with a knowing smile. “Think long and hard about your choices, Jack. Your pair-bonded’s life is in your hands.”
That said, he walked out the room, the door closing with a soft click and Jack leant his head back against the chair, his eyes closed in despair. What was he going to do?
***
“Go left.”
“A little hard to do that with houses in the way, Sky.”
“Fine, first chance you get then.”
***
“Well, Jack? What’s it to be?”
Jack stared at the man’s ear and stayed silent. Sky was strong and he had the Elders to support him so they wouldn’t take him away. He had to believe that, otherwise nothing really mattered.
“Is that your final choice?”
Again he said nothing.
“Very well. I guess your pair-bonded’s not as important to you as everyone thinks.”
***
“Right, right. Go right.”
“You said left!”
“That was before. Go right.”
“Jeez, make up your mind already,” Z groused, yanking the car right.
“Do you want to do this?” Sky demanded. It wasn’t exactly easy, he thought peevishly. It wasn’t as if he had specific instructions inside his head intoning ‘Go left here’, all he had were sporadic hunches that they needed to go a certain way and if Z had a better idea he would love to hear it.
Z had nothing.
***
“Alright then, considering you won’t do anything to save your husband, what about Bridge Carson?”
Jack snapped his head up to look at the man who he’d very easily grown to hate.
“Oh, look at that,” the man sneered. “Reaction. Better. If you won’t help to protect your pair-bonded, who, I assume, you believe can take care of himself, how about someone more vulnerable?”
Jack stared at him, his heart sinking further than it had been already. He believed in Sky because there was nothing else he could do, but Bridge? Bridge wasn’t a soldier, and he was a lot more innocent than everyone else. He couldn’t let them do this to Bridge, couldn’t let them take away that innocence. He closed his eyes and slumped back in the chair.
“I will help.”
“Good boy.”
***
“Okay, we’re here,” Sky said quietly as they climbed out of the jeep.
“You sure?” Syd asked. “I don’t see anything.”
Sky jerked his head at the slow rise just ahead of them. “Over there.”
***
The leather cuffs came off easily and Jack stood. He had one moment where he considered using the training his pair-bonded had drilled into him so efficiently, then discarded the idea. These men had guns and he wouldn’t be able to do anything against those. Besides, if he did they would just go after Bridge like they’d threatened. The moment passed without action and he was led into another room, a room that tingled, almost like the device that made Z and Bridge sleep, only stronger. Whatever they wanted him to turn on, it was very powerful.
He swallowed hard and wished he’d taken the chance to run, because the idea of these people with so much power was terrifying. But he had to protect his friends, had to protect Sky, and if this was the only way to do it, so be it.
***
When Sky burst into the room, P-90 ready with the rest of his team behind him, the first thing he saw was Jack, hand hovering over something that looked Ancient in design. “Jack, no!”
Jack’s head had snapped round as they’d broken down the door and now his expression was a mix of relief and apprehension. “Sky.”
“Turn it on,” said the man standing next his husband, gun aimed squarely at Jack’s head. “Now.”
“Drop the gun,” Sky said coldly. “Right now.”
“Or what?” the man mocked. “Can you kill me before I kill him? Don’t think I won’t.”
“Drop the gun,” Sky repeated implacably. No-one threatened his pair-bonded and got away with it. No-one.
There was a choked gasp behind him and he turned his head to find Bridge disarmed and struggling against another Trust operative who seemed to have come out of nowhere to wrap an arm around his throat and force the gun out of his hands. Z had her P-90 trained on the man instantly but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. The man holding the gun on Jack smiled nastily at Sky. “What now, captain?” he asked maliciously. “You’re two men down and all you have are two little girls to back you up.”
“Did he just call us little girls?” Z asked quietly, the dangerous tone of voice completely lost on the Trust operatives who were no doubt congratulating themselves on defusing the situation.
“I think he did,” Syd replied, just as dangerously. Unfortunately neither of them looked particularly threatening and it was easy to see that the men had dismissed them as being no threat.
“You didn’t come alone, did you captain?” inquired the first man genially, ignoring them. “I imagine that’s not gone down too well at the SGC. And it doesn’t help you either. You’re decidedly short on back-up.”
Sky didn’t flinch, didn’t let his sinking heart show on his face. By now General Hammond would know that he’d disobeyed the direct order to wait until a proper rescue mission could be attempted and that he’d technically stolen alien technology in order to help him get his pair-bonded back. He’d be lucky if all he got was court-martialled; most likely he’d be facing dishonourable discharge, and it was simply adding insult to injury that they’d been check-mated so easily and that all of it had been for nothing.
The smiling man turned his attention back to Jack who’d never taken his eyes off Sky. “Now, turn it on or else we get him to do it,” jerking his head in Bridge’s direction. Jack’s eyes were full of helpless despair and his hand lowered to the device once more.
“Jack, no.”
“I’m sorry Sky,” was the quiet reply as Jack’s fingers reached out to brush the thing the Trust wanted so badly. “I have to.”
Just before he could touch it though, the loud crack of a gun shot echoed round the room and everyone spun round to find the Trust operative holding Bridge dropping to the floor and Z recovering from the kick-back, her expression cold with eyes hard as flint before she turned back to aim her weapon at the remaining enemy operatives, still staring in disbelief. Sky quickly took advantage of their distraction and calmly fired off a barrage of bullets that took care of the man threatening Jack. His pair-bonded gaped at the space where the man had been standing before he looked back at Sky.
Before either of them could say anything however, the air was suddenly full of the sound of bullets flying everywhere and Sky yelled at Jack to get down, barely having time to make sure he did so as he readied himself for the fire-fight. The fight itself was short, despite the Trust having the numbers and the physical advantage. They hadn’t planned on taking on a team as pissed off as his was, a team so determined to take them down that there was nothing that would stop them.
When the dust settled he lowered his gun with a sigh and looked around for Jack, cautiously coming out of cover. “You alright?” he asked, pretty calmly all things considered, he thought and Jack nodded.
“I am fine.”
Biting back the urge to question him further Sky just nodded, then motioned Bridge over. They had that medical device, might as well get some use out of it. Hopefully he’d have time later to get all the answers he needed from Jack. He was relieved when the green light had no effect on Jack, and he ignored the impatient expression that said louder than words that Jack thought the check had been a waste of time. Well, it didn’t matter if Jack thought it was a waste of time, because there was no way they were leaving here without checking him.
He was surprised though, that his team had come out of the encounter relatively injury-free. Z was bandaging up the top of Syd’s right arm, but that seemed to be the extent of it. In a way he was almost disappointed, because now there was nothing keeping them away from the base.
“Okay, then,” he said, with more confidence than he felt, “time to head home.” Time to face the music.
***
He sat in the brig, staring at the walls surrounding him. The return to base had gone pretty much as expected and he’d been arrested almost as soon as he set foot back on SGC grounds. Even now he could see Jack’s bewildered expression along with the worried expressions on the rest of his team as the marines had taken him away. He’d taken full responsibility for what had happened, so Syd had been spared being ‘escorted’ here as well, so far at least, and from what he could tell none of the others were facing official reprimands either. Unofficially was another thing altogether. They’d all have black marks on their records now, marks that would last a lifetime.
On the plus side, Harrington was getting everything he had coming. Sky didn’t think anyone would be shedding any tears over that.
He looked up as the door opened to admit Colonels O’Neill and Cruger and he stood, coming to attention automatically. O’Neill smiled, a strange half-smile that wasn’t exactly encouraging. “At ease,” the man said and Sky forced his body to relax, wondering what the two men were doing there and what the paper in Cruger’s hands was for.
“We would have got him back, you know,” O’Neill said, his full attention fixed on Sky. “We wouldn’t have left him in the hands of the Trust.”
“No, sir.”
“But you went after him anyway. Against specific orders to the contrary.”
Sky stared straight ahead, looking right down the line between the two officers. “Yes, sir.”
“Why?”
Sky blinked. “Sir?”
“Why didn’t you simply wait for the rescue squad?”
“They didn’t know where to look. Sir.” And they wouldn’t have let me go on the mission anyway. Too close to the problem.
“But you did.”
There it is, Sky thought numbly. They think I’m working for the Trust. “Yes, sir.”
“More of that pair-bonding thing?” O’Neill asked, as unconcerned as if he were out fishing, supposedly the man’s favourite hobby.
“Yes, sir.”
“Interesting.”
So far Colonel Cruger hadn’t said anything, simply held on to the piece of paper in his hand and Sky glanced at it surreptitiously.
“Wondering what this is?” Colonel Cruger asked, holding the paper up slightly.
No use denying it, Sky swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
“Well, take a look,” was the neutral response as the man held out the paper. Hesitantly, Sky took it, his eyes flickering over it rapidly. The words were a blow to the gut he hadn’t expected.
“I don’t--”
“It’s a way out,” Colonel O’Neill said quietly. “You can either accept the demotion in rank without question or you will face a court martial.”
Sky stared at him, torn between disbelief, shock and hope. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s politics, son,” Cruger said gruffly. “And she’s a cold mistress. What’s it to be?”
Sky bit his lip, then handed the paper back resolutely. “I accept.”
There were faint smiles on both faces, approving smiles that were gone in an instant. “Wise decision lieutenant,” O’Neill said and Sky had to work hard not to flinch at hearing the demotion spoken out loud, somehow making it all real.
“Yes, sir,” he said numbly, wondering how long it would take for the news of his demotion to spread through the base. Still, it was better than being discharged and at least he wasn’t looking at jail time anymore, that was a relief.
“Go back to your husband, Sky,” O’Neill said quietly as he walked out the brig, Cruger pausing a few feet down the corridor. “He’s been worried about you.”
Jack, Sky thought immediately. Yes, he needed to see him.
Walking through the corridors of the base, once again a free man, Sky couldn’t keep his thoughts from his pair-bonded and his hands clenched reflexively. He knocked on the door to the quarters he and Jack shared on base, his palms sweaty with nerves as he waited for Jack to open the door. He would never invite anyone in without knowing who it was, something about being careful who you invite into your life and your home. A long moment later, a moment that seemed to stretch for years, Jack opened the door cautiously, warily, no longer as comfortable around the base as he had been. His husband stared for a moment, then his whole face lit up, relief and joy plain to see.
“Sky!”
“Hi.” It was an inane thing to say, but right now it was all he could manage, his throat tight as he spoke, not letting anything else out. He just had no idea how Jack was feeling right now, despite the happiness on his face. He didn’t have to wait long to find out as his pair-bonded stepped back into the room to let him in and barely waited for the door to close before he pulled Sky’s head down, mouths meeting desperately as Jack held onto him tightly. Sky slid his arms around his husband, re-familiarising himself with the feel of Jack’s body pressed against him while at the same time not letting himself dwell on how close he’d come to losing this. Jack was safe now and that was all that mattered.
It took a moment for him to work out what Jack was saying, the words babbled in his ear a strange mix of English and Hcetwen, and for a while all the registered was the feel of warm breath on his skin and the sound of Jack’s voice. “Sorry, I’m sorry, my fault.” That seemed to be the gist of what Jack was saying, all that he managed to work out, and he shook his head, holding on tighter.
“Not your fault.” He whispered it over and over, willing Jack to believe him. Because it wasn’t Jack’s fault, it was his. All his. Gently he urged Jack towards the bed, tugging on his shirt as he did so, the need for contact hardly dulled by their earlier kisses. Jack responded without hesitation, fingers undoing zips and buttons with the ease of familiarity before they landed on the mattress, mouths and hands moving over skin.
***
Eyeing the remains of the electronics the Trust had left behind, Katherine Manx sighed wearily and wondered where she was going to start. Laptops, flash drives, disks, there was so much stuff and no clue what to begin with. Eventually she decided on the disks, the ones that hadn’t been fried or riddled with bullets. She really wished the soldiers would be more careful with the technology around them instead of just blasting it to hell and back. Didn’t they know how much information they were throwing away when they did that?
The first few disks didn’t hold anything important, the information on them was intel they already had, but she stored them anyway. Back-ups never hurt and there was no such thing as having too much information. The next disk she ran, however, was different and she flushed at the sounds coming out of the speakers before quickly switching them off.
Interesting, she thought, her cheeks still pink. Did the captain and his husband know they’d been taped?
***
“They were going to hurt you,” Jack said into the hushed silence. “If I didn’t help them. They were going to send you to someplace called Leavenworth.”
Sky tensed reflexively, then shook his head, pressing a kiss into Jack’s hair. “They can’t do that. Not for this. It’s not illegal anymore and even if it was we kind of have special dispensation, seeing as technically it’s because of a treaty.”
“Oh.” Jack’s voice sounded small in the darkened room and Sky ran his thumb across Jack’s cheek.
“It’s okay. There was no way you could know that.”
“They had a, a,” Jack scrunched his face up as he tried to think of the word. “Like… music, only of us, the night before…” his voice trailed off, tensing despite himself.
“A recording?” Sky yelped, sitting up abruptly and the sheet pooled on his lap. “They had a recording?”
“Yes,” Jack replied, pleasure at having the word curtailed by the expression on Sky’s face. “What?”
“Did you tell anyone about it?”
“No,” he replied in confusion. “Should I have?” He probably would have if that man hadn’t been there, that new one. Croo-ger he thought the name was. He didn’t know him, he didn’t trust him and he wouldn’t be surprised if Sky’s demotion had been his idea, said belief not endearing the man to him. In fact, as of now there were only four people he trusted without reservation and this ‘Cruger’ wasn’t one of them.
“Yes,” Sky said, tense all over again. “If it wasn’t destroyed in the fire-fight, if it’s still out there, it can be used against us and this won’t be over.”
“Oh,” he said again, closing his eyes against the guilt. He was making all the wrong choices lately.
***
“Are you serious?”
Kat Manx paused in her doorway at the quiet hiss.
“I’m serious,” came the voice of Bridge Carson. “They’d bugged Sky’s apartment, there was a recording of him and Jack and everything.”
Kat eyed the disk in her hands. So they had known.
“Blackmail? Why didn’t they report it?” Boom asked, sounding confused.
“That new colonel was there at the debriefing and Jack doesn’t trust him, he wouldn’t say anything,” was the reluctant response. “I don’t think he trusts anyone but Sky right now. And anyway, I think he was too worried about Sky at the time, considering he was arrested the moment we got back.” Bridge sighed quietly. “He was just beginning to settle here, you know? Trust people. And now all that’s gone.”
That was all Kat heard, the two technicians moving out of the room, the conversation too quiet for her to follow. She glanced back at the disk and knew what she had to do.
***
Sky looked up at the knock on their door and motioned Jack to stay where he was. He wasn’t being overly paranoid, he told himself. He was just being careful. And anyway, just because you were paranoid, it didn’t mean they weren’t out to get you. It wasn’t a cliché for no reason and that was partly why they’d stayed on base instead of going back to their apartment. Too many opportunities along the way, and besides, if the place was still bugged there was no way he was going back there. He opened the door cautiously and was startled to find Bridge’s friend Boom standing there looking nervous.
“Yes?”
“Ah,” the technician shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Doctor Manx thought you might want this.” He shoved a disk at Sky who took it automatically. “And she said to tell you the bug problem’s been taken care of. Unofficially.”
Sky stared at the man, then down at the disk. “Thanks,” he said sincerely.
“You’re welcome.”
Sky closed the door and sat back on the bed. “Well, I don’t think we need to worry about the tape anymore.”
“We can go home?” Jack asked hopefully and Sky smiled slightly. Home. It sounded great. Too bad they’d still be spending half their time on base.
“Yeah. I guess we can.”
***
Settling back into life on the base wasn’t easy. While the others seemed to slip back into their routines, for Jack it wasn’t that simple. Every face apart from his pair-bonded and the rest of the team seemed to hide hostility behind smiling expressions, and if he hadn’t refused to let himself be ruled by fear he wouldn’t have left the room he and Sky shared here, the memories of his abduction all too vivid. As it was, he still became a lot more familiar with the room than he was comfortable with, especially while he waited for news on what was happening to his pair-bonded, wondering why they were being kept apart when they needed to be together more than ever.
He’d spent a lot of time reading the comics Bridge loved so much, as well as a few books that Z had leant him. He was restless, not having anything to do but read, but at least his grasp of written English had improved with the constant practice. He glanced up as the door to the room opened, tensing a little despite knowing that only Sky would come in unannounced. Sure enough, Sky walked in, his footsteps heavy. Over the past year Jack had learned to read the other man pretty well and it wasn’t hard to see that Sky was hurting about something. It also wasn’t hard to work out that Sky wouldn’t want to talk about it. That being the case, he dropped the comic he’d been reading and held out a hand to his pair-bonded. Sky took it easily and let himself be pulled down onto the bed.
He hadn’t really noticed it before but after his encounter with the Trust it was clearer, easier to see if you were looking. Many of the SGC personnel were wary of Sky and some flat out avoided him, more so in the wake of the latest revelation about the effects of the pair-bonding, not to mention the demotion in rank Sky had suffered simply for coming after him. The only people he was anything like close to were his team and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing either, considering how reserved most of the team were - Bridge being the only exception - and the fact that after the rescue they were all in major trouble anyway. If Sky and the others hadn’t been held slightly apart before today, they definitely were now. No-one wanted to be associated with the ‘Bad Luck’ team, and they were now more isolated than ever. It was as if some invisible stain marked them out and people reacted accordingly.
Tentatively he opened his mind to the link between himself and Sky, unsure if he would sense anything - it wasn’t supposed to be a true telepathic connection after all. The sense of loneliness that washed over him was almost crushing and he instinctively wrapped himself closer around Sky, trying to project everything the other man meant to him, convince him he wasn’t alone, that he would never be alone as long as Jack was around. It was just so ironic that Jack’s mere presence was the problem he was trying to solve.
Tensing for a moment Sky relaxed suddenly into the embrace, his fingers tightening round Jack’s arms and holding on tightly, Sky burying his face in Jack’s shoulder, the taller man’s body shaking with fine tremors. Slowly though, excruciatingly slowly, the overwhelming loneliness retreated beyond Jack’s ability to sense, but he didn’t let up.
They needed to leave, he thought suddenly. Leave and get as far away from this place as possible. It wasn’t good for them here anymore, if it ever had been; it was too claustrophobic, too stifling, and they couldn’t be free, not really. They could never be truly pair-bonded while they had to be so confined in how they displayed their connection, so isolated from everyone by the simple fact of their bonding. They needed to be somewhere else, somewhere they didn’t have to hide, somewhere they wouldn’t have their being pair-bonded used against them. Somewhere other than the SGC. He just didn’t know where.