Relative (GI Joe/SG-1)
Belated B-day fic for majorsamfan, who wanted a crossover between Stargate and GI Joe (my old fandom). She wanted some other things too, some of which I included and some of which didn't quite work out. ;)
I had a different ending planned, but this turned out a bit longer than I had originally planned so I ended it in a fun place. Also, I included pics of the pertinent Joes for any who wish to read but don't know GI Joe. (Er, not the toy... the comic. GI Joe is the name of the team.)
I hope you like it, :)
Relative
By Jennghis Kahn
Pairings- Hints at Sam/Jack. Sam/Hawk UST. Cover Girl/Beach Head.
A/N- This is completely un-betaed. Didn't have time. I think it's still quite passable, but feel free to point out any errors to me.
**
“When General Hammond said he was loaning me out to you guys to help fight Cobra… I didn’t think I’d actually be fighting Cobra.” Sam ground out, as she dropped to her side along the grassy incline of the hill. She slid a glance toward the woman who dropped next to her.
The woman gave her a shit-eating grin. “Hey, it’s nothin’ but party, party, party around here.” She gave a quick toss of her head to bump wayward strands of auburn hair from her eyes, and then she held up a wicked looking Desert Eagle.
Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head at the huge gun. “How do you even aim that, Courtney?”
“It’s Cover Girl in the field,” Courtney replied.
Sam furrowed her brows, resisting the urge to do the eye-roll again. She held up the Beretta 9mm she’d borrowed from the Joes’ armory before they’d arrived at the airfield. “Cover Girl,” she corrected. “Right. We don’t have codenames at the SGC.”
“Yeah, well… aliens don’t need a name to just beam you up if they want to get even. Cobra agents have very specific and painful methods for exacting revenge when they find out a Joe’s real name. We have family to protect.”
“Sorry.”
“And I aim this baby just fine,” Cover Girl continued, answering Sam’s earlier question. To demonstrate, she shimmied up to the crest of the hill and steadied the big gun in both hands, butt-end cradled in her left, right around the grip and fingering the trigger. When she fired, the gun slammed backwards smoothly, barrel remaining steady.
Sam was silently impressed. Courtney knew her way around guns. Considering the woman was a tanker for GI Joe, that wasn’t necessarily a given.
Courtney slid back down next to Sam and checked the pistol’s clip. “A couple of M-16’s would make me feel a hell of a lot better, but they’ve got us cut off from the hangar.”
The small air base they were currently trying to defend had had limited armor capabilities. The Joes had supplies and arms, but not enough to go around. A moot point anyway as the supply truck was in the hangar beside the new prototypes that Sam had been dispatched to showcase to the Joes. A naquadah-powered Skystriker and also a SHARC.
Cobra’s attack, just as they were about to wheel the Skystriker out onto the tarmac, came as a complete surprise. The Joes had taken it in stride though, and Sam had watched, more than a little amazed, as their leader, General Hawk, had brought his troops together with only a few short words and then sent them into a frenzy of action that had been graceful in its complex order.
She’d followed Cover Girl out the back door of the hangar and into the nearby woods, where they’d kept low and moved fast trying to locate any influx of ground troops. So far they’d found none.
“They probably got some sort of intel about what you brought us, Major. The Commander won’t call in the masses just for this so I doubt we’ll find ground troops. The pay-off isn’t big enough.”
“What’s all this then?” Sam jabbed her head in the direction of the smoke pouring up off the runway over the crest of the hill.
“Disturbing the peace,” Courtney answered dryly. She slid down further into the trench at the bottom of the hill. Sam followed her down. “Or a distraction… “ Courtney muttered, peering into the thick brush of the forest.
Sam had expected this job to be more of a vacation than an actual mission. She certainly hadn’t expected to see combat while she was here on loan. She was pretty sure General Hammond would throw a fit when he found out. Not to mention Jack. She grimaced.
Still, despite the unexpected brouhaha, it had been a surprising and, well, fun trip. The Joes were a gregarious bunch but had been eager to know all about the prototypes and the science behind them. Most of them anyway. All of them had top-secret clearance and knew about the stargate. They had to. Rogue Goa’uld had a way of fitting in perfectly with the Cobra terrorist organization. It was a vastly resourceful and powerful entity whose leaders rose to the top through cutthroat tactics and cold-blooded murder. You remained on top as long as you commanded fear of the troops and trusted no one. It was like coming home for the Goa’uld.
Courtney had been another surprise. A pleasant one. The Army sergeant hadn’t been intimidated by Sam’s techo-babble, and they’d soon found a similar interest in their passion for high speed. Courtney was a gear head. They’d talked Indian bikes over lunch for 3 days straight, much to Sam’s delight.
Courtney had taken her out for a hair-raising ride in her ’70 Plymouth Hemi Cuda, which had several interesting “modifications” that could easily get it seized by the state and earn Courtney several thousand dollars worth of fines if the police ever found out. If they could ever catch her that is. Sam had been in heaven.
There was a rustling at the crest of the hill above them that had them both jerking around, guns aimed steadily. General Hawk appeared, green helmet covering his blond hair, brown leather jacket over his BDU’s. He slid down nimbly beside them, despite the fact that he was easily over 50. Sam knew there was a sizeable amount of gray threaded into that blond. He turned striking blue eyes on her, and she felt her breath catch a little, overwhelmed by them yet again. Not even Daniel had eyes that blue.
“Major? Doing okay?”
“Fine, sir,” Sam replied with narrowed eyes. General Hawk nodded in approval.
He glanced at Cover Girl. “Flint’s set up a makeshift command center about one click to the north. Out of the way of the attack. Find a place to settle down. We’ll need any advance warning we can get.”
“Yes sir.” Courtney answered cheerily.
“What are you carrying?”
“Desert Eagle, sir. Carter has a 9 mil.”
“I’ve got a zat too, sir.” Sam glanced at him.
He lifted one blond eyebrow speculatively. “Another piece of that alien tech you guys are bringing back through the gate?”
“Yes sir.” She dug it out of her jacket pocket, clicked it into ‘ready’ mode.”
Both Hawk and Cover Girl stared at it.
“How remarkably… phallic-like,” Courtney exclaimed.
Hawk shot her a dark look, which didn’t seem to humble her at all, but she stayed quiet. He glanced at the zat again and shrugged. “Well, you haven’t done us wrong yet, Major. Gimme the Beretta. I’m almost out of ammo.”
Sam handed it over along with her extra clip.
“Be careful,” he warned them earnestly before climbing out of the trench and heading north toward the temporary command site. They watched him go, keeping an eye on the surrounding woods.
“Do you ever get used to those eyes?” Sam asked quietly, eyes scanning the trees.
“Nope,” Courtney answered, not even asking what she meant. “Get you every time.”
“Jesus…” Sam swore.
Courtney grinned. “He’s single, you know. And you’re an officer… “
“Oh, please,” Sam snorted with a sardonic smile. Her gut tightened up a bit though. She liked him. He was one of those generals you would follow to hell and back. He took care of his people and he didn’t ask them to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. He was a lot like Hammond… except more traditionally attractive and with less of a bullish figure.
Last night she’d hung around the Joes’ lab long after everyone else had gone home. The Visiting Officers Quarters were fine but quiet. A little lonely. She thought she’d get just a little more time in on the SHARC and study its weapons system. The SGC could always use a good water vehicle like that.
She’d been a bit startled when Hawk had strode quickly by, glanced up, and then barked, “Major. In my office. Now.”
She’d gone. You didn’t argue with a Lieutenant General. Not unless you wanted to spend your vacation in Siberia that is.
She was put at ease when she reached his door as he shot her a slightly teasing glance. “I don’t let my soldiers work without sleep, Major. You’re done for the night.”
“Oh,” Sam shrugged. “That’s okay, sir. I’m not tired, really. A few more hours and I could have that SHARC…”
“Major,” Hawk barked. He raised his eyebrows when she looked startled. “You know you could have gone out to dinner with the rest of them?”
Sam smiled a bit sheepishly. “Yeah, I know.”
He motioned to the chair across from his desk, and she sat as he loosened his tie and took his dress jacket off, slinging it over the chair next to her.
“How’s the project coming?” He asked. He picked up a glass carafe of scotch.
She hesitated and then enthusiastically broke into a description of how they’d redesigned the navigational system of the SHARC to respond more quickly to the naquadah-powered engines. She stopped when she caught him smiling into his scotch.
“I’m sorry, sir. Sometimes I get carried away by the tech talk.”
Hawk frowned and poured 2 fingers of the scotch into another glass. He set it in front of her and then lowered himself with a sigh into the chair behind his desk. He fixed her with a piercing gaze.
“Major, I don’t know what sort of military brass you’re used to up there at Cheyenne Mountain, but I like scientists.”
She lifted one brow. This man was nothing like she had expected. He kept her on her toes constantly. “Really?” She kept a dry edge to her tone.
“Mmm,” he grunted in the affirmative. He held his tumbler up and stared at the scotch as he swirled it around with a flick of the wrist. Sam found her eyes drawn to it and the silky way it clung to the sides of the glass. Her gaze moved from the liquor to the fine, blond hairs glinting from the backs of the General’s fingers. When she looked up again, he was studying her. She actually felt like blushing.
He smiled again and glanced away, seeming to feel the same bit of awkward tension that she did. She was under his chain of command right now, but she wouldn’t always be. She had a feeling he was thinking about that as well.
“I’m not only a scientist, sir. I picked the Air Force for a reason.”
“True enough,” he declared, eyes sliding back to her, relaxed. She realized he’d never do anything inappropriate while she was his subordinate. He gave a sly grin. “And you had the balls to blow up a sun. I like that. I like scientists who never say never.”
“Um, thanks.”
He motioned at her glass of scotch. “Off duty and off the record, Sam.” He made a dismissive hand wave. “I don’t stand on protocol. Unless there’s someone around with more stars than me.”
She couldn’t keep from smiling some more. The man was charismatic and confident and he’d never met her father or had anything to do with the stargate. She took a sip of the scotch. It was smoky and smooth.
“One of my perks,” he explained, watching her as she sipped. “You’d be surprised what you can get out of the Old Boys Club when you’re a gigantic pain in the ass.”
She nearly snorted the scotch out her nose. “Sir!” It was more a protest than anything. The scotch burned.
“’Sir’ is for the battlefield, Sam. We’re off-duty and I’m feeding you my best scotch. You can call me ‘Clay’.”
“Clay… “
They’d talked for hours and it had been comfortable and fascinating and a little exciting. She was used to interacting with the military’s big brass, but General Clayton Abernathy was a rogue.
“Shit…” Courtney was swearing in a soft whisper beside her in the trench. Sam immediately brought all her senses around to tune in on the woods in front of them.
“What is it?”
“Storm Shadow.”
Sam narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Storm Shadow. Cobra Commander’s personal guard.”
“Where?” Sam scanned the trees.
“There… look straight ahead and just to the right. See that little flash of white?”
Sam looked. She looked harder. “No.”
“Well, he is a ninja.”
Sam looked at Cover Girl. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. We’ve got one too, but he’s been off meditating at his cabin the past week. He and Storm Shadow used to be friends and are now mortal enemies.” Courtney rolled her eyes. “Something to do with honor and revenge and crap like that.”
Sam scanned the trees again. “Oh yeah. Jaffa revenge thing. We’ve got that too.”
There was a sound of metal sliding against metal from behind them.
They both whirled around, guns coming up. A blur waved in front of them, and Sam watched as Courtney’s Desert Eagle sailed away through the air. When they looked up, a figure dressed completely in form-fitting white robes, from his boots to the mask on his face, stood in front of them. His dark eyes were mere slits and he held a wicked-looking katanna in front of him.
“You talk too much, GI Joe,” the ninja said in a soft, dark voice. “Maybe you’d like to have a talk with the Commander?”
“Tea with Cobra Commander? Nah, I’ll pass,” Courtney joked grimly.
Sam angled her zat upwards. The dark eyes flickered toward her. Storm Shadow glanced down at the zat. He furrowed his brow curiously. “I am faster than bullets, woman. I… “
Sam fired, and the blue beam wavered out from the zat and straight into the ninja’s chest. He gave a choked cry and fell over, sword clutched tightly while he moaned and struggled to stay conscious.
Courtney swung around to stare at Sam. “The hell?”
Sam grinned. “Even ninjas aren’t immune to zats.”
**
Sam stood on the ruined tarmac and watched the bustle around her. The Joes pulling their team back together and picking up the pieces. Cobra hadn’t gotten to the Skystriker or the SHARC. The raid had stopped soon after Storm Shadow was put out of commission. Both prototypes had been loaded onto trucks and moved out as soon as it was deemed safe.
Hawk had stopped to talk to her briefly and told her there was a Colonel O’Neill on his way down to pick her up. Hammond’s orders.
“He’s afraid we’ll break their favorite scientist,” Hawk said with a grin.
She smiled at him. “Have zat, will travel.”
He hesitated for a moment, blue eyes holding hers for a beat too long. “I’m sorry to lose you so soon, Major. I grew up in Denver. Maybe next time I’m home on leave… “ He left it open for her.
“I could show you the stargate,” she suggested, tactfully turning down the unspoken offer for more.
He nodded, eyes a bit regretful. “I’d like that.”
One more brief flash of his grin and he was gone, his voice carrying over the airfield as he barked orders. It was a voice that had had plenty of practice.
Sam turned, looking for Courtney. She walked slowly along the old, weed-covered runway before passing in front of a line of humvees. When she glanced at them, she froze. Courtney was standing between two of them, sheltered from the eyes of the others, a man in a balaclava standing close in front of her. Courtney was talking and nodding. The man in the balaclava was Wayne. Sam remembered him well. He was gruff and direct and so rigidly dedicated to the Army and the regulations that there was a standing joke among the Joes that he drank starch for breakfast. He and Courtney bickered constantly.
As Sam watched, Wayne pulled the balaclava off his head and leaned forward. He and Courtney embraced. He held her for long moments, arms tightly around her, their bodies rocking slightly in comfort. When they pulled away from each other, their eyes held until Wayne pulled the balaclava back down and walked away. Courtney stood there a moment, arms sliding around her own waist, and then she glanced up and met Sam’s gaze.
Sam glanced away uncomfortably. This wasn’t something she should have seen. She was sure of that.
“Hey,” Courtney said as she walked toward Sam.
“Hey.” Sam studied her openly. There was no point in pretending.
“Sorry. No one was supposed to see that.”
“I thought you two hated each other.”
Courtney smiled. “Yeah, well… maybe not so much.”
Sam watched Wayne walking across the runway in the distance. Something else occurred to her. “Isn’t he the Joes’ Command Sergeant Major?”
Courtney eyed her nervously. “Yes, ma’am.”
Sam narrowed her eyes. Courtney wasn’t much for using the proper address for officers, male or female. Her nerves were showing. The ninjas didn’t bother her. This? This worried her. “Oh.” Sam thought about the implications of this. Chain of command.
“Look, Sam… it’s not like that.” Courtney winced. “Well, I mean, it is like that, but we’re not actually ‘together’. We just need to know things are all right with each other now and then, you know? Especially after a fight like this.”
Sam looked soberly at her. “Does Hawk know?”
“Probably. Not much escapes him. The general rule of thumb is that as long as you don’t force him to act on it, he’ll look the other way. It’s a lonely job. It’s hard to find somebody outside of the team. No one understands what we’ve been through together.”
Sam nodded slightly. Oh yes. She got that. “You’re willing to risk everything for it? Your job and his?”
“I wish we could pick and choose who we love. I really do.” It was all Courtney said. She glanced down the runway to where Wayne was directing a troop of Greenshirts.
“Be careful, Courtney,” Sam warned. Courtney nodded.
“Carter!” The voice came from behind them, and they both turned.
“Sir!” Sam grinned watching Jack O’Neill stalking across the tarmac toward them.
“Who’s this?” Courtney asked her.
“Colonel O’Neill. Commanding officer of SG-1.”
“Ah.”
Jack gave Courtney a quick glance as he walked up on them before his eyes connected with Sam’s. “Please tell me we don’t have to pay for all this,” he quipped, spreading his arms to indicate the ruin on the airfield.
Sam grinned. “No, sir. I didn’t blow anything up. I promise.”
He tilted his head and gave her a mock look of suspicion. “All right… “ He said hesitantly.
She introduced him to Courtney and he gave her a brief nod before taking Sam’s elbow and pulling her away a few yards. He stood close and faced her. “So… “ He started.
She couldn’t help it. She started to smile as their eyes met. He held her gaze from under lowered lids, looking down at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Did we have fun with our new friends?”
“Yes, sir.” She fought to keep the grin in and he watched her with amusement. Slowly, a grin spread over his face.
“You okay?” His tone was serious beneath the grin.
“Yeah. Fine. I think the zat impressed them.”
“Yes, well… we all love a good zat.”
They watched each other for a few moments. Jack finally looked away with a smile.
“I’m ready when you are, sir. Just let me say my goodbyes.”
Jack nodded. “Sure. I’ll go give the proper accolades to the man with the stars.”
He walked off, familiar stride making her look after him with a wistful smile on her face. When she glanced back, Courtney was staring at her, arms folded across her chest, one eyebrow arched high.
“Oh, shut up!” Sam grumbled.
Courtney grinned.
~end~
Some names to the faces...
Courtney Krieger aka Cover Girl
*
Clayton Abernathy aka Hawk
*
Wayne Sneeden aka Beach Head
*
Tommy Arashikage aka Storm Shadow
*
Cobra Commander (name unknown)
Whew, that was interesting!
Now I want to write Cover Girl and Sam riding their motorcycles to a bike rally.
I had a different ending planned, but this turned out a bit longer than I had originally planned so I ended it in a fun place. Also, I included pics of the pertinent Joes for any who wish to read but don't know GI Joe. (Er, not the toy... the comic. GI Joe is the name of the team.)
I hope you like it, :)
Relative
By Jennghis Kahn
Pairings- Hints at Sam/Jack. Sam/Hawk UST. Cover Girl/Beach Head.
A/N- This is completely un-betaed. Didn't have time. I think it's still quite passable, but feel free to point out any errors to me.
**
“When General Hammond said he was loaning me out to you guys to help fight Cobra… I didn’t think I’d actually be fighting Cobra.” Sam ground out, as she dropped to her side along the grassy incline of the hill. She slid a glance toward the woman who dropped next to her.
The woman gave her a shit-eating grin. “Hey, it’s nothin’ but party, party, party around here.” She gave a quick toss of her head to bump wayward strands of auburn hair from her eyes, and then she held up a wicked looking Desert Eagle.
Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head at the huge gun. “How do you even aim that, Courtney?”
“It’s Cover Girl in the field,” Courtney replied.
Sam furrowed her brows, resisting the urge to do the eye-roll again. She held up the Beretta 9mm she’d borrowed from the Joes’ armory before they’d arrived at the airfield. “Cover Girl,” she corrected. “Right. We don’t have codenames at the SGC.”
“Yeah, well… aliens don’t need a name to just beam you up if they want to get even. Cobra agents have very specific and painful methods for exacting revenge when they find out a Joe’s real name. We have family to protect.”
“Sorry.”
“And I aim this baby just fine,” Cover Girl continued, answering Sam’s earlier question. To demonstrate, she shimmied up to the crest of the hill and steadied the big gun in both hands, butt-end cradled in her left, right around the grip and fingering the trigger. When she fired, the gun slammed backwards smoothly, barrel remaining steady.
Sam was silently impressed. Courtney knew her way around guns. Considering the woman was a tanker for GI Joe, that wasn’t necessarily a given.
Courtney slid back down next to Sam and checked the pistol’s clip. “A couple of M-16’s would make me feel a hell of a lot better, but they’ve got us cut off from the hangar.”
The small air base they were currently trying to defend had had limited armor capabilities. The Joes had supplies and arms, but not enough to go around. A moot point anyway as the supply truck was in the hangar beside the new prototypes that Sam had been dispatched to showcase to the Joes. A naquadah-powered Skystriker and also a SHARC.
Cobra’s attack, just as they were about to wheel the Skystriker out onto the tarmac, came as a complete surprise. The Joes had taken it in stride though, and Sam had watched, more than a little amazed, as their leader, General Hawk, had brought his troops together with only a few short words and then sent them into a frenzy of action that had been graceful in its complex order.
She’d followed Cover Girl out the back door of the hangar and into the nearby woods, where they’d kept low and moved fast trying to locate any influx of ground troops. So far they’d found none.
“They probably got some sort of intel about what you brought us, Major. The Commander won’t call in the masses just for this so I doubt we’ll find ground troops. The pay-off isn’t big enough.”
“What’s all this then?” Sam jabbed her head in the direction of the smoke pouring up off the runway over the crest of the hill.
“Disturbing the peace,” Courtney answered dryly. She slid down further into the trench at the bottom of the hill. Sam followed her down. “Or a distraction… “ Courtney muttered, peering into the thick brush of the forest.
Sam had expected this job to be more of a vacation than an actual mission. She certainly hadn’t expected to see combat while she was here on loan. She was pretty sure General Hammond would throw a fit when he found out. Not to mention Jack. She grimaced.
Still, despite the unexpected brouhaha, it had been a surprising and, well, fun trip. The Joes were a gregarious bunch but had been eager to know all about the prototypes and the science behind them. Most of them anyway. All of them had top-secret clearance and knew about the stargate. They had to. Rogue Goa’uld had a way of fitting in perfectly with the Cobra terrorist organization. It was a vastly resourceful and powerful entity whose leaders rose to the top through cutthroat tactics and cold-blooded murder. You remained on top as long as you commanded fear of the troops and trusted no one. It was like coming home for the Goa’uld.
Courtney had been another surprise. A pleasant one. The Army sergeant hadn’t been intimidated by Sam’s techo-babble, and they’d soon found a similar interest in their passion for high speed. Courtney was a gear head. They’d talked Indian bikes over lunch for 3 days straight, much to Sam’s delight.
Courtney had taken her out for a hair-raising ride in her ’70 Plymouth Hemi Cuda, which had several interesting “modifications” that could easily get it seized by the state and earn Courtney several thousand dollars worth of fines if the police ever found out. If they could ever catch her that is. Sam had been in heaven.
There was a rustling at the crest of the hill above them that had them both jerking around, guns aimed steadily. General Hawk appeared, green helmet covering his blond hair, brown leather jacket over his BDU’s. He slid down nimbly beside them, despite the fact that he was easily over 50. Sam knew there was a sizeable amount of gray threaded into that blond. He turned striking blue eyes on her, and she felt her breath catch a little, overwhelmed by them yet again. Not even Daniel had eyes that blue.
“Major? Doing okay?”
“Fine, sir,” Sam replied with narrowed eyes. General Hawk nodded in approval.
He glanced at Cover Girl. “Flint’s set up a makeshift command center about one click to the north. Out of the way of the attack. Find a place to settle down. We’ll need any advance warning we can get.”
“Yes sir.” Courtney answered cheerily.
“What are you carrying?”
“Desert Eagle, sir. Carter has a 9 mil.”
“I’ve got a zat too, sir.” Sam glanced at him.
He lifted one blond eyebrow speculatively. “Another piece of that alien tech you guys are bringing back through the gate?”
“Yes sir.” She dug it out of her jacket pocket, clicked it into ‘ready’ mode.”
Both Hawk and Cover Girl stared at it.
“How remarkably… phallic-like,” Courtney exclaimed.
Hawk shot her a dark look, which didn’t seem to humble her at all, but she stayed quiet. He glanced at the zat again and shrugged. “Well, you haven’t done us wrong yet, Major. Gimme the Beretta. I’m almost out of ammo.”
Sam handed it over along with her extra clip.
“Be careful,” he warned them earnestly before climbing out of the trench and heading north toward the temporary command site. They watched him go, keeping an eye on the surrounding woods.
“Do you ever get used to those eyes?” Sam asked quietly, eyes scanning the trees.
“Nope,” Courtney answered, not even asking what she meant. “Get you every time.”
“Jesus…” Sam swore.
Courtney grinned. “He’s single, you know. And you’re an officer… “
“Oh, please,” Sam snorted with a sardonic smile. Her gut tightened up a bit though. She liked him. He was one of those generals you would follow to hell and back. He took care of his people and he didn’t ask them to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. He was a lot like Hammond… except more traditionally attractive and with less of a bullish figure.
Last night she’d hung around the Joes’ lab long after everyone else had gone home. The Visiting Officers Quarters were fine but quiet. A little lonely. She thought she’d get just a little more time in on the SHARC and study its weapons system. The SGC could always use a good water vehicle like that.
She’d been a bit startled when Hawk had strode quickly by, glanced up, and then barked, “Major. In my office. Now.”
She’d gone. You didn’t argue with a Lieutenant General. Not unless you wanted to spend your vacation in Siberia that is.
She was put at ease when she reached his door as he shot her a slightly teasing glance. “I don’t let my soldiers work without sleep, Major. You’re done for the night.”
“Oh,” Sam shrugged. “That’s okay, sir. I’m not tired, really. A few more hours and I could have that SHARC…”
“Major,” Hawk barked. He raised his eyebrows when she looked startled. “You know you could have gone out to dinner with the rest of them?”
Sam smiled a bit sheepishly. “Yeah, I know.”
He motioned to the chair across from his desk, and she sat as he loosened his tie and took his dress jacket off, slinging it over the chair next to her.
“How’s the project coming?” He asked. He picked up a glass carafe of scotch.
She hesitated and then enthusiastically broke into a description of how they’d redesigned the navigational system of the SHARC to respond more quickly to the naquadah-powered engines. She stopped when she caught him smiling into his scotch.
“I’m sorry, sir. Sometimes I get carried away by the tech talk.”
Hawk frowned and poured 2 fingers of the scotch into another glass. He set it in front of her and then lowered himself with a sigh into the chair behind his desk. He fixed her with a piercing gaze.
“Major, I don’t know what sort of military brass you’re used to up there at Cheyenne Mountain, but I like scientists.”
She lifted one brow. This man was nothing like she had expected. He kept her on her toes constantly. “Really?” She kept a dry edge to her tone.
“Mmm,” he grunted in the affirmative. He held his tumbler up and stared at the scotch as he swirled it around with a flick of the wrist. Sam found her eyes drawn to it and the silky way it clung to the sides of the glass. Her gaze moved from the liquor to the fine, blond hairs glinting from the backs of the General’s fingers. When she looked up again, he was studying her. She actually felt like blushing.
He smiled again and glanced away, seeming to feel the same bit of awkward tension that she did. She was under his chain of command right now, but she wouldn’t always be. She had a feeling he was thinking about that as well.
“I’m not only a scientist, sir. I picked the Air Force for a reason.”
“True enough,” he declared, eyes sliding back to her, relaxed. She realized he’d never do anything inappropriate while she was his subordinate. He gave a sly grin. “And you had the balls to blow up a sun. I like that. I like scientists who never say never.”
“Um, thanks.”
He motioned at her glass of scotch. “Off duty and off the record, Sam.” He made a dismissive hand wave. “I don’t stand on protocol. Unless there’s someone around with more stars than me.”
She couldn’t keep from smiling some more. The man was charismatic and confident and he’d never met her father or had anything to do with the stargate. She took a sip of the scotch. It was smoky and smooth.
“One of my perks,” he explained, watching her as she sipped. “You’d be surprised what you can get out of the Old Boys Club when you’re a gigantic pain in the ass.”
She nearly snorted the scotch out her nose. “Sir!” It was more a protest than anything. The scotch burned.
“’Sir’ is for the battlefield, Sam. We’re off-duty and I’m feeding you my best scotch. You can call me ‘Clay’.”
“Clay… “
They’d talked for hours and it had been comfortable and fascinating and a little exciting. She was used to interacting with the military’s big brass, but General Clayton Abernathy was a rogue.
“Shit…” Courtney was swearing in a soft whisper beside her in the trench. Sam immediately brought all her senses around to tune in on the woods in front of them.
“What is it?”
“Storm Shadow.”
Sam narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Storm Shadow. Cobra Commander’s personal guard.”
“Where?” Sam scanned the trees.
“There… look straight ahead and just to the right. See that little flash of white?”
Sam looked. She looked harder. “No.”
“Well, he is a ninja.”
Sam looked at Cover Girl. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. We’ve got one too, but he’s been off meditating at his cabin the past week. He and Storm Shadow used to be friends and are now mortal enemies.” Courtney rolled her eyes. “Something to do with honor and revenge and crap like that.”
Sam scanned the trees again. “Oh yeah. Jaffa revenge thing. We’ve got that too.”
There was a sound of metal sliding against metal from behind them.
They both whirled around, guns coming up. A blur waved in front of them, and Sam watched as Courtney’s Desert Eagle sailed away through the air. When they looked up, a figure dressed completely in form-fitting white robes, from his boots to the mask on his face, stood in front of them. His dark eyes were mere slits and he held a wicked-looking katanna in front of him.
“You talk too much, GI Joe,” the ninja said in a soft, dark voice. “Maybe you’d like to have a talk with the Commander?”
“Tea with Cobra Commander? Nah, I’ll pass,” Courtney joked grimly.
Sam angled her zat upwards. The dark eyes flickered toward her. Storm Shadow glanced down at the zat. He furrowed his brow curiously. “I am faster than bullets, woman. I… “
Sam fired, and the blue beam wavered out from the zat and straight into the ninja’s chest. He gave a choked cry and fell over, sword clutched tightly while he moaned and struggled to stay conscious.
Courtney swung around to stare at Sam. “The hell?”
Sam grinned. “Even ninjas aren’t immune to zats.”
**
Sam stood on the ruined tarmac and watched the bustle around her. The Joes pulling their team back together and picking up the pieces. Cobra hadn’t gotten to the Skystriker or the SHARC. The raid had stopped soon after Storm Shadow was put out of commission. Both prototypes had been loaded onto trucks and moved out as soon as it was deemed safe.
Hawk had stopped to talk to her briefly and told her there was a Colonel O’Neill on his way down to pick her up. Hammond’s orders.
“He’s afraid we’ll break their favorite scientist,” Hawk said with a grin.
She smiled at him. “Have zat, will travel.”
He hesitated for a moment, blue eyes holding hers for a beat too long. “I’m sorry to lose you so soon, Major. I grew up in Denver. Maybe next time I’m home on leave… “ He left it open for her.
“I could show you the stargate,” she suggested, tactfully turning down the unspoken offer for more.
He nodded, eyes a bit regretful. “I’d like that.”
One more brief flash of his grin and he was gone, his voice carrying over the airfield as he barked orders. It was a voice that had had plenty of practice.
Sam turned, looking for Courtney. She walked slowly along the old, weed-covered runway before passing in front of a line of humvees. When she glanced at them, she froze. Courtney was standing between two of them, sheltered from the eyes of the others, a man in a balaclava standing close in front of her. Courtney was talking and nodding. The man in the balaclava was Wayne. Sam remembered him well. He was gruff and direct and so rigidly dedicated to the Army and the regulations that there was a standing joke among the Joes that he drank starch for breakfast. He and Courtney bickered constantly.
As Sam watched, Wayne pulled the balaclava off his head and leaned forward. He and Courtney embraced. He held her for long moments, arms tightly around her, their bodies rocking slightly in comfort. When they pulled away from each other, their eyes held until Wayne pulled the balaclava back down and walked away. Courtney stood there a moment, arms sliding around her own waist, and then she glanced up and met Sam’s gaze.
Sam glanced away uncomfortably. This wasn’t something she should have seen. She was sure of that.
“Hey,” Courtney said as she walked toward Sam.
“Hey.” Sam studied her openly. There was no point in pretending.
“Sorry. No one was supposed to see that.”
“I thought you two hated each other.”
Courtney smiled. “Yeah, well… maybe not so much.”
Sam watched Wayne walking across the runway in the distance. Something else occurred to her. “Isn’t he the Joes’ Command Sergeant Major?”
Courtney eyed her nervously. “Yes, ma’am.”
Sam narrowed her eyes. Courtney wasn’t much for using the proper address for officers, male or female. Her nerves were showing. The ninjas didn’t bother her. This? This worried her. “Oh.” Sam thought about the implications of this. Chain of command.
“Look, Sam… it’s not like that.” Courtney winced. “Well, I mean, it is like that, but we’re not actually ‘together’. We just need to know things are all right with each other now and then, you know? Especially after a fight like this.”
Sam looked soberly at her. “Does Hawk know?”
“Probably. Not much escapes him. The general rule of thumb is that as long as you don’t force him to act on it, he’ll look the other way. It’s a lonely job. It’s hard to find somebody outside of the team. No one understands what we’ve been through together.”
Sam nodded slightly. Oh yes. She got that. “You’re willing to risk everything for it? Your job and his?”
“I wish we could pick and choose who we love. I really do.” It was all Courtney said. She glanced down the runway to where Wayne was directing a troop of Greenshirts.
“Be careful, Courtney,” Sam warned. Courtney nodded.
“Carter!” The voice came from behind them, and they both turned.
“Sir!” Sam grinned watching Jack O’Neill stalking across the tarmac toward them.
“Who’s this?” Courtney asked her.
“Colonel O’Neill. Commanding officer of SG-1.”
“Ah.”
Jack gave Courtney a quick glance as he walked up on them before his eyes connected with Sam’s. “Please tell me we don’t have to pay for all this,” he quipped, spreading his arms to indicate the ruin on the airfield.
Sam grinned. “No, sir. I didn’t blow anything up. I promise.”
He tilted his head and gave her a mock look of suspicion. “All right… “ He said hesitantly.
She introduced him to Courtney and he gave her a brief nod before taking Sam’s elbow and pulling her away a few yards. He stood close and faced her. “So… “ He started.
She couldn’t help it. She started to smile as their eyes met. He held her gaze from under lowered lids, looking down at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Did we have fun with our new friends?”
“Yes, sir.” She fought to keep the grin in and he watched her with amusement. Slowly, a grin spread over his face.
“You okay?” His tone was serious beneath the grin.
“Yeah. Fine. I think the zat impressed them.”
“Yes, well… we all love a good zat.”
They watched each other for a few moments. Jack finally looked away with a smile.
“I’m ready when you are, sir. Just let me say my goodbyes.”
Jack nodded. “Sure. I’ll go give the proper accolades to the man with the stars.”
He walked off, familiar stride making her look after him with a wistful smile on her face. When she glanced back, Courtney was staring at her, arms folded across her chest, one eyebrow arched high.
“Oh, shut up!” Sam grumbled.
Courtney grinned.
~end~
Some names to the faces...
Courtney Krieger aka Cover Girl
*
Clayton Abernathy aka Hawk
*
Wayne Sneeden aka Beach Head
*
Tommy Arashikage aka Storm Shadow
*
Cobra Commander (name unknown)
Whew, that was interesting!
Now I want to write Cover Girl and Sam riding their motorcycles to a bike rally.