Unification: The Anunnaki Unification Book 5 Read online

  “Unfortunately,” Jack said. “Did you need something?”

  Matthew shrugged. “Just wanted to talk. Stuff.” He was making a point at not looking at Jerrie or Davy on the floor in front of the TV.

  “Uh huh. Come on.” Jack put T’Keet on David’s back and herded the boy into the bedroom. Daniel was making the bed, having put fresh sheets on it. Jack took a corner and helped before sitting on the edge. “Wass up?”

  Matthew was mulling something over in his head. “Um. Jonathan said….. if I wanted to, and if it’s okay with you, I can spent some time on Kalam.”

  Jack glanced at Daniel. “You mean to spend some time with the women there?”

  The boy was bright red as he nodded. Jack took a deep breath as he stood and paced a few steps, considering the information. “I’m of two minds on that one, Matty. I’ll be honest with you; an older woman taught me when I was your age. I’m not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was a positive experience, but maybe teenagers are supposed to experiment with each other. I don’t know, Matt, let me think about it.”

  The boy agreed and left the room with a sigh of relief. Daniel had something he was holding back.

  “Go ahead,” Jack said.

  “In cultures where sex is conservative, if not outright puritanical, there tends to be more abuse,” he commented. “Sex isn’t taught as a happy occasion, it is either a necessity or an assumption on the man’s part that he is due a woman’s services. Look at all the reports of abuse in this country. If you look at someplace like the Netherlands, where sex is much more open, the divorce rate is lower. I think that sending Matty to Kalam for the purposes of sex-ed would get us all in a hell of a lot of trouble with the law here, but if he’s visiting his cousin, or older brother, whatever you want to call Jonathan, and things happen, how would that be any different than if he was messing around with his girl here?”

  “Are you seriously suggesting we send a newly fifteen-year old boy to an alien planet to get him laid?” Jack’s eyebrows went into his hairline.

  “No,” Daniel said evenly. “Not out loud. Jack, I don’t have an issue with this. I’ve spent too many years in and around tribes for this to be of concern. Most boys his age are betrothed and taking part in the community. Skaara was a man at fifteen and about to be married.”

  Jack nodded, not very happy with the situation.

  “And what about Stacey?” he asked.

  “What about her?” Daniel asked, blankly.

  “When she’s fifteen or sixteen, are we sending her to Kalam, also?”

  Daniel paused in the inspection of his shoe. He was dressing up for a television interview about his new book. He tipped it and a puppy chow nugget fell out.

  “If she wants,” he said bravely before shoving his glasses into place.

  “Uh huh. I’ll remind you of that when she’s caught climbing out her bedroom window at midnight,” Jack promised.

  Jerrie needed to take the kids to the pediatrician’s for their checkups before they could begin their summer programs, so Jack took T’Keet with him. They had shared cub duties, getting the locals used to seeing her with various adults as they went around town. As much as Gen. Landry was enjoying playing the doting grandfather, the SGC wasn’t an appropriate place for the cub, so Jack and Sam usually took turns taking her to work if they didn’t leave her with Jerrie. They learned to use the baby-carrier for her. Her claws left their uniforms shredded. They suggested trimming the claws but T’Keet’s reaction was so violent, they needed to stop and contact M’Net. Trimming claws was almost as bad as trimming a mane; it was disgraceful. The adults apologized and left her claws alone. It certainly explained her wide-eyed examination when she saw humans trimming their own nails and hair. She spotted a picture of a younger Daniel with shaggy hair and gave her approval of the more proper mane.

  The little cub was quickly adapting to the new routines and culture. Once when the phone rang, and Jack answered it, “O’Neill,” T’Keet had quickly learned the routine and answered it herself, “T’Kt,” she had said politely. “Ooookaeeeee, I telllll Sammm.”

  The adults were amused but asked her not to answer the phone.

  “Sir, this is Gavin Taylor,” said the man on the phone. Jack handed a sippee cup to the baby.

  “Relax, Gavin, Jack is fine,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re a general, now; we can be a little more familiar.”

  “Yes, s…. thank you, Jack. I just received the report about Major Coulter. I’m not sure what to say about this; I’ve never had a problem with him and I certainly never noticed anything when I saw his wife. I was at their wedding.”

  A sippee cup was handed to the cub. She had no idea those fruits she loved came in liquid form. “Well, I’m no expert in this area, I just know that my instincts reared their ugly head so I had him checked. My head of security did the investigation, and I trust his word. I think what I’m more concerned about is how he’s going to retaliate. He’s had a few years with access to highly sensitive information. We have a gag-order on him, but if he decides to spread information far and wide before we can shut him up…. How much does he know?”

  “He knows a lot,” Taylor admitted. “S… Jack, will you allow me to deal with this? I’ve known him a long time and I’d rather this came from me.”

  “I’ll let Colonel Carter know,” Jack said.

  That was something Jack had been avoiding –how to deal with disgruntled ex-employees. It was one thing to discharge your typical slacker, but how did one guarantee a gag on an Area 51 major who had access to significant information? There were still plenty of toys and experiments going on that the public did not know about. All the research into the Ancient DNA and Asgard cloning was happening at Area 51. Jack pursed his lips in thought and called Sam.

  “Did Taylor call you? He’s going to handle the major, so don’t worry about it. Sam, how much does the major know about the genetics lab?”

  “All the departments are highly departmentalized,” she said. “No one really knows what the other hand is doing. Coulter may know a little more than others. I’m not sure how to find out how much he knows without risking his curiosity.”

  Jack wrinkled his nose and squeezed the bridge. “Okay. I’m sending Nick to you. The moment Taylor is done with Coulter, get him into the memory lab; Nick is going to make sure the major loses some of his memory.”

  “That’s borderline,” Sam warned him.

  “I know,” Jack nodded. “Can’t be helped. I don’t trust him.” He hung up with Sam and began the paperwork for a HomeWorld security breech. His bells were ringing. On a whim, Jack called DC.

  “Agent Barrett, please. General O’Neill. Thank you. ….. Agent Barrett, long time no bug. Tell me something –is Leo Coulter one of yours? Area 51. Thank you.”

  He hung up. Barrett would check a few sources and call back. The NID wasn’t too happy with current events; they were unable to get their fingers into the pie. They still argued on the Hill for a role in HomeWorld Security, and not only did Jack absolutely refuse, the NID’s own record wasn’t the most convincing especially when certain SGC Top Secret records were somehow leaked to congress and the senate. At least Barrett was easier to play with than most of the others. His former crush on Sam may have had something to do with it. Barrett did have a sense of ethics, though, something other agents seemed to lack.

  Jack’s cell phone rang halfway to his office.

  “O’Neill. Hmm. Okay, thanks. No, we’ll figure it out. Barrett, how much do you make? And you live on that? Want to work for me? I’ll give you twenty thousand more. I don’t know; come on out and we’ll find you a spot. Just keep your eyes off my wife.”

  He hit a speed dial. “The NID says Coulter isn’t theirs.”

  “What made you think of that?” she asked, stumped, at times, on how his mind worked.

  “I don’t know, just a hunch. He’s working for someone, Sam, and it isn’t us. Listen, I’m bringing in your Agent Barrett. I have a
hunch about him, too; have him tested ASAP, would you? I will bet you anything he turns on more than pretty science girls.”

  “His DNA is already on file,” she said, putting up with his jab. “All government agents are on file for identification purposes. I’ll get his started right now. Do you think he’ll play ball?”

  “I think so,” he said. “He’s always seemed uncomfortable with some of the NID’s games. Reynolds was a good find in their sand box; I think Barrett will be, too.”

  “He picks up on technology pretty fast,” Sam said, thinking out loud. “He pieces things together, too. I have an idea on what to do with him, unless you have something.”

  “No,” Jack shrugged. “You can have him. I did tell him to keep his eyes off my wife, though.”

  “You did not!” she gasped. “God, Jack, you can be so impossible at times.”

  “Yes, I can,” he agreed. “So, do you want him in Colorado or Nevada?”

  “Nevada,” she said. He could hear her eyes rolling.

  T’Keet ran ahead of him into HomeSec. The guards watched her slide to a halt across the slick, tiled floor and race back to them.

  “I T’Kt!” she announced importantly, holding out her ID badge. Amused, they waved her on. She had gotten over her kittenish fear of a camera and was proud to have an ID of her own made on her first day to work with Jack. The guards saluted Jack and signed him in. T’Keet had originally wanted to stay with Daniel, but Jack wasn’t too keen on it. Daniel didn’t have the security necessary to protect her. At HomeSec or Area 51, she could explore. Jack did have to send out a memo forbidding anyone from giving her sugar. Fruit began to disappear from desks but the fructose didn’t seem to have the same reaction as cane sugar did.

  Jack sat down at his desk and logged into Sam’s private files. He found the section containing the proposed specs for the new ships. Project Good Neighbor. Jack had to think about it before his brow cleared. Border patrol. Fences. Right. The next generation of starships were more elegant than the current series; the X-4 was a little bigger than Daedalus but it was also more sleek and maneuverable for fighting in tight spaces. He noticed that it was labeled, “Firelight.” He raised an eyebrow; it wasn’t the usual type of ship name. There were plans for five Firelights. Each section had a science and medical ship plus four smaller, Argos-class ships for exploration. He noticed that the bays on the ships were given more room for additional gliders. He tapped the monitor and waited for Sam to appear in the upper square.

  “Why five sets of ships?” he asked. She did a quick leap.

  “Because our galaxy is circular,” she said. “Not square. Five makes for better coverage.”

  “Oh. Why Firelight?”

  “Because fire not only sheds light, it also destroys, cleanses, and renews the seeds of life.”

  “You’ve been listening to Daniel,” he accused.

  “Do you want me to change the name?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “It’s fine. I was just curious. These look good, Sam; do we have the necessary amount of naquadah?”

  “Yes, we do,” she was pleased to tell him. “From what Teal’c brought in, what was found on Lord Yu’s planet, and what we’ve dug out of various mines, we have plenty to last us a while.”

  “Did you figure out what that jumper was mixed with?”

  “Not yet,” she said. “We’ve isolated the element, but we haven’t seen it before. It isn’t registered with any of our surveys in the SGC files. The Asgard don’t know what it is.”

  “Really.” Jack’s eyebrow went up. “Alright. I’m not happy with something sitting on this planet and we don’t know what it is.”

  “Neither am I,” she agreed. “We’re working on getting it off-world. The only ship with a large enough bay is an Asgard ship. As soon as Thor can spare someone, I’m going to have it taken to the Alpha site. Jack, I need the specs for the new ships to go to the United Worlds council. We’re going to have aliens on the crew, so we need to make sure the ships have appropriate arrangements. Other worlds will have their own ships, but ours are going to include allies on the crew.”

  “I’ll send them to Inanna,” he said. “What’s Thor doing?”

  “Not sure,” she said. “He said something about no longer needing to hold our hand.”

  The phone on his desk rang and Jack held up a wait finger to Sam.

  “O’Neill. Who? Put him through. Alan, what’s up?” As he listened, he glanced at Sam. He put the phone on speaker.

  “……insisting that their kid is innocent, Jack; they’re moving to press charges against Katie.”

  “That’s bullshit, Alan,” Jack informed the man. “That boy wouldn’t take no for an answer and Katie decked him. The parents are only pressing charges because of me.”

  “I agree,” his lawyer said. “Unfortunately, it’s their right to sue anyone they damned well please. God bless America. Their kid has the bruises, Katie doesn’t.”

  “So, if Katie had allowed herself to be raped, she’d stand a better chance at winning a court battle?” Sam asked, indignant. Alan King paused.

  “Correct, Colonel. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were there.”

  “I’m not,” she said. “That’s immaterial. There is no way in hell that boy is getting away with this. Jack, can we use a memory device on that kid?”

  “Not legally, no,” he said. “I’m considering calling in Zu.”

  “Oh, that’s good,” Sam agreed. “Will they believe him?”

  “Probably not.”

  “What’s a memory device and what’s a zoo?” Alan asked.

  “Nothing we should be telling you,” Jack said. “Do you have any recommendations, Alan?”

  “Yes,” King said. “Go ahead with the fight. Sheriff Richardson’s office sent over a file on that kid. Boy’s been reported more than once for mishandling his dates.”

  “Good,” Jack said. “Do what needs to be done, Alan; I’ve trusted you with everything else.”

  He hung up with his lawyer. “If we need to, Katie goes off-world,” he told Sam. “I’m not allowing that boy to win this.”

  “I have an idea,” Sam said. Jack wasn’t sure if he liked the glint in her eyes.

  The next day, a local news station was filming a mini-documentary at the high school. The JROTC class was present as were several members of the AFA’s martial arts team, the SGC’s combat trainers, Jaffa trainers, and the US military’s top martial arts award winner and newest SGC member, Colonel Mason Addison. The reporters were pleasantly surprised to learn that Addison and General O’Neill were first cousins. Mason’s wife and sons were also present for HomeSec’s unexpected show and tell. The boys, Mark age twenty-one, and Keith aged nineteen, both politely kissed Sam’s cheek upon meeting her. They weren’t sure about Daniel, but shook hands with him anyway.

  “General O’Neill, how does this help the kids?” the reporter asked, thrusting a microphone into Jack’s face. “All this seems a little too extreme for kids to be learning.”

  “We baby our kids too much,” Jack said. “Ten years ago, I would have agreed with you, though. Matt, come here.” He brought Matthew close, an arm across his shoulder. “This is my son, Matthew. He turned fifteen a week ago. Kinda on the skinny side, I know. So was I, at his age. Go show ‘em what you’ve learned this year, Matt. Matty never learned anything about self-defense before this past year,” he told the reporter.

  Although nervous, Matthew went to the center of the circle, meeting Teal’c in the middle. The Jaffa had put on a show earlier, drawing gasps from the crowd as no thrusts and jabs were held back. Blood was spilled, including some of Jack’s. Matthew made the appropriate greetings and held his ground, waiting. The crowd of civilians didn’t expect much except to see the alien Jaffa toss out a few half-hearted jabs until the boy went down. What they got was a teenager who found his feet, centered and grounded. Matty met Teal’c’s every move, fell and rolled before leaping back to his feet. Being smaller, he was able to d
ance around Teal’c, swing up on his staff, and landed his feet on Teal’c shoulders, making the warrior stumble. The crowd gave a startled gasp and clapped. Matthew eventually fell under Teal’c’s advances, but Jack’s point was proved; even a small teenager could learn to defend himself against a much larger adversary. Sparkling with pleasure, Teal’c accepted Matty’s bow of respect before grasping the boy’s forearm.

  Vinnie also showed off his skills. His own training was much like Matthew’s: suitable for a smaller person instead of a large man. He also made a good showing against a Jaffa. He then went back to his friends, accepted shoulder claps, and took back the hand of his new boyfriend. Much to the interest of the media. Bosco stiffened as the camera shot toward him. He gave his son a hug and ruffled the boy’s hair as the rest of SG-3 cheered their boy.

  After a short break, the center of the circle was re-staged with an old couch and a made-up car frame. Katie, dressed in her dating best and drawing a few whistles from the crowd (Jack glared), sat in the passenger seat. One of her JROTC mates, a larger boy, a football player, sat behind the wheel. More whistles ensued. Jack was a little uncomfortable watching her kiss the boy but perked up when she began to resist. When he didn’t take no for an answer, and getting her blouse torn in exactly the same place as before, Katie shoved her elbow into his chest. His explosion of air was audible across the circle. She jumped from the car and he followed. He grabbed her shoulder and Katie turned, shoving her foot into his crotch and snapping the palm of her hand across his jaw. The boy went down, moaning and holding himself. Jack snickered.

  “You are brilliant,” he whispered to Sam.

  At the hand on his shoulder, Jack turned and saw the sheriff. “Remind me not to play poker with you anymore,” Richardson said.

  Everyone was clapping for Katie, and Sam went into the circle to discuss self-defense for girls. To make her point plainer, another alien was suddenly present in the circle. A large feline on two feet. Paws. The crowd gasped once more, and took a step back. Sam picked up a staff and took on M’Net. He pawed her across the field a couple of times, and took a few smacks of the staff from her, before she knelt in his back with her teeth buried in his neck. Jaffa, SGC and HomeSec personnel howled for her, raising fists and staves. M’Net was introduced as the Sua delegate to the United Worlds and the commander of the Sua warriors. A small red ball of fur ran out and scurried up to M’Net’s shoulders.