Colonel Jack O'Neill walked into the General's office with his hands in his pockets.
"You wanted to see me, Ma'am?" He asked.
"Yes, Colonel, please come in. We need to have a talk." She stated, as he took a seat wondering what he had done now. Or what new assignment she had for him.
"Colonel, as you know, we recently lost two members of SG-1. It looks like now that Colonel McGee will not be returning to active duty." The General stated.
Jack knew; he had just come from Mac's room in the infirmary. The truth be told, he thought, Mac was giving up after losing his team. Yeah, his leg might never be 100 percent again, but Jack thought it was more than that. He could understand too, he had almost given up twice after losing his teams.
"Major Johnson has agreed to take command of SG-11. It's no secret that I will be retiring in a few weeks myself." The General continued.
"Yes, Ma'am." He said wondering where she was going with this. Scientists, they always took the long way around things.
"I've already spoken to the President and my successor. We are all in agreement that we would like you to take command of the new SG-1."
A grin slid across his face. Take command of SG-1, oh yeah, he'd wanted this for years. Jack had worked hard to distinguish himself from his 'other' self. He had started by going back to high school and picking up computer skills to rival any hacker. When he was in the academy he even tried a couple of harder science courses, but some things never change.
Years ago, Jack had started calling the original Colonel Jack O'Neill, the 'other' one. He had tried many different names in his mind. First, original, and a few things better not mentioned in public. In the end, he decided on 'other'. If the other one was first, and yeah, he had been born first, would that have made Jack, second? Or was it third? Their robotic clone had died before this Jack had been created by the Asgard Loci. That was more than Jack could get his mind around. Plus First, Second, and Third reminded him too much of the Replicator society. Original, no that didn't set well with him either. As far as he was concerned, he was an original.
Colonel Jonathan Jack O'Neill had made conscious choices to make his life happier than his 'other' self's had been. He had chosen not to rejoin the SGC when he started his career, he wanted a life, and that seemed the best route at the time.
His other self, General Jack O'Neill, was in command of the SGC when he had graduated from the academy. Two Jack O'Neill's in any command - was one to many. The General didn't want him around, anymore than Jack wanted to be under his command. So Jack stayed Earth bound and had been recruited into black ops before leaving the academy. Sometimes he'd wondered if his past didn't have something to do with that, but he had never investigated it. This O'Neill knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Jack had meet and married a wonderful woman named Linda. They had a great marriage for about 10 years; he was determined not to mess it up and he didn't. They never had children but maybe that was for the best. Jack lost Linda to a skiing accident a few years ago.
Shortly after Jack lost his wife, General Samantha Carter took command of the SGC. She invited him to come back into the SGC and he accepted the invitation. Carter had been the only one to try to stay in touch after the incident with Loci that had created him. But after Carter had married the 'other' one, Jack broke off all contact. He separated himself completely from his former life and concentrated on making a life and name for himself.
Only once afterwards had he even attempted contact, it was while he was still a cadet. Jack had heard that Carter had given birth to a daughter, and he went by to offer his congratulations. She never knew. He came around the Academy hospital corner and saw the entire 'other' one's SG-1 team in her room; the 'other' one was holding his daughter. Jack couldn't interrupt. He was happy for them, honestly, he was. Making a decision, he turned and walked away from that life. He never even knew the baby's name.
"Take command of SG-1? I think I can do that." Jack said already putting his team together in his mind. He had wanted this for years.
"I thought you might, Jon." General Carter laughed. She never called him Jack. Knowing who her husband was, he didn't mind.
When Jack came to the SGC, he had commanded SG-18 for a couple of years. A good team, he still missed them. An altercation with some Jaffa had him laid up in the infirmary for a while. So in the mean time his team escorted some scientists on a field trip. A Goa'uld named Klorel attacked killing the entire SG-contingent.
Jack didn't know what had happen to Klorel after the Tollans had taken him out of Skaara, nor had he cared. Klorel had heard that Colonel Jack O'Neill was somehow leading a team for the Tau'ri again, and planned his attack to kill Jack. The Goa'uld had no idea that this Jack was in fact a clone, and not the Jack O'Neill who had freed his first host. It didn't matter to Jack, both he and the other one had been the same person, when Skaara was kidnapped. Plus he was going to get even for Klorel killing his team. The Goa'uld was surprised when Jack snuck into his private quarters a few weeks later, killing the parasite.
A darkness had encrypted his heart that almost consumed him, after first losing his wife than his team. He had forgotten how easy it was to lose people at the SGC and never wanted to feel that pain again. His friend Dan had brought him out of it. Dan was a good kid, a scientist, but not too much of a geek. Ever since, Jack had only accepted solo or multi team jobs, bidding his time until he could take over SG-1. Mac was getting close to retirement.
"We're going to follow the same format of the original SG-1 team, your new team members will be." Carter started.
"I'd prefer to put together my own team." Jack said.
"I know you would, but not this time." Carter informed him. She knew Jon had been through as much as her Jack, but she had to trust this was what was best for him. Sometimes her heart ached for the younger man in front of her. "I'm assigning an archaeologist and an astrophysicist to your team."
"Scientists." Jack mumbled.
"Yes, Colonel, scientists." She replied giving him one of her looks. The one that always made him, and the other one, sit up a little straighter and pay attention. "I think you will be happy with the selection."
"Dan?" He asked hoping.
"Yes, Dr. Dan Jackson, will be on your team." She smiled at him; her smile was still beautiful after all these years.
Jack was thrilled. Dan was an archaeologist and linguist; he knew more languages than his father, Dr. Daniel Jackson, had. Dan was also his best friend. Unfortunately, Dan's parents had died in a Goa'uld attack just before Jack met Dan.
"The astrophysicist is one of our top scientists in Stargate matters."
"Not, Dr. Thomas." Jack protested. He didn't want that scientist on his team. He was accident-prone and definitely a 'geek'. Plus he was older than Jack was and out of shape.
"No, not Dr. Thomas. I'm not sure you've ever met her. She hasn't been to Earth in almost five years."
"Is she human?" Jack asked. Exactly what was the General up to, he wondered?
"Very human, Colonel. She graduated from the Charlie site academy at the age of 19 and had her doctorate by 22. She speaks Ancient fluently and Asgard as well as any human can. For the past five years, she has been assigned to work with Thor." The General stated.
"She sounds like a wiz kid." Jack grumbled thinking he'd have to show her how to hold a gun.
"She is intelligent, I'll give you that much. She's tough too, Colonel. She took out her first Goa'uld at the tender age of 15. As a Lieutenant, she undertook a very dangerous mission involving time travel with the Asgard. Since then, she has been promoted to Captain." Carter proudly informed him.
Jack's eyes widen, he had heard about that mission. Some hotshot young Lieutenant had gone back in time to rescue the then Major Carter from a horrid prison system. The entire incident had been kept quite, and no one knew the full story. If she'd been assigned off world to the Asgard, then that would explain why he could never find out who she was. Usually missions are openly discussed in the commissary over a meal, or at least in the locker room. That mission had never even made it to the files; he had looked. For some reason it was marked top secret even within the SGC. He had thought the Lieutenant might be someone to groom for his future command of SG-1.
"Your fourth will be…" General Carter started.
"Wait, what's this Captains name?" Jack inquired.
"I'll introduce you in a moment." Carter said mysteriously. "As far as your forth goes, I thought maybe you won't mind having our resident Jaffa on your team."
"Rya'c? I'd love to have him. He's as good as his father." Jack beamed. Wow, his new team was shaping up to be a good one.
"Then Colonel, if you'll follow me, I'll introduce you to your 2IC." Carter stated as they both walked out of her office into the briefing room. Dan and Rya'c were waiting there, they already knew.
"Is she here yet?" Carter asked Dan.
"Not yet, but she should be arriving soon." Dan replied. He was waiting impatiently; he hadn't seen her for years. They had grown up together until she moved off world to attend the academy.
"Where did you say she was transferring from again?" Jack asked the General.
"From the Asgard home world, New Othello. Captain Grace O'Neill reporting as ordered, Sir." Grace answered as she entered the briefing room saluting both her new CO and mother.
Captain Grace O'Neill reporting as ordered.
"O'Neill?" Jack questioned looking at the General.
"Yes, O'Neill, as in my daughter." Carter replied. "Will that be a problem?"
"No, Ma'am." Jack responded looking at his new team.
Rya'c and he were about the same age. Maybe mid-forties was considered still young for Jaffa, but Jack wasn't worried about it. Teal'c and Bra'tac had trained him well, and he had been on several missions already with Rya'c. Dan and Grace were about 15-18 years younger than Jack was. Grace looked exactly like Carter had when she entered the SGC briefing room all those years ago.
As the team discussed their first mission, a sense of family was already starting to take hold. Jack knew this was going to be his new family, and he would take care of them as the 'other' one had his SG-1 family. Everything would be fine, if he could remember not to call Grace, Carter. Grace's brown eyes reminded him, she was not the same woman. She was someone to get to know in her own right.
General Sam Carter pulled Colonel Jack O'Neill aside as the new SG-1 team was heading to the gateroom.
"Colonel," she started. "You are the one person I trust…to bring her home safely and in one piece."
"I won't let you down Carter." Jack answered smiling at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Then he headed for the gateroom. Oh, yeah, this was his new family.
Their adventure was just beginning, as the new SG-1 team walked into the wormhole side by side.
~The beginning~
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