By Deb
SERIES/UNIVERSE: SG-7
DISCLAIMER: M7 characters belong to MGM, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. The characters from Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM, Gekko, and Showtime. I'm not making any money from writing this story, I just love to write. Original characters (present and mentioned) belong to me...primarily Adriana and Dawn in this story.
SPOILERS: references to Ghosts of the Confederacy, One Day Out West, Witness, The Trial, Achilles, my own More than Friends. References to the movie Stargate, and various Stargate SG-1 episodes.
WARNING: original characters, some violence, nasty language in certain sections.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the end of the story, as I did with The Light in the Distance, will be the entire song from which the title is taken. While the quote won't make sense right away, it will as the story goes on and once you read the song, which reminds me powerfully of Vin.
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Part Six
He should have been furious. Two of his men had been involved in a bar fight, and his public relations officer could have been seriously injured, trying to defend one of those men. But the thing was, Nathan Jackson hadn't done anything wrong. He had been trying to comfort his friend Mary. Mary Travis had been trying to make sure no one would get hurt. And Chris Larabee had done exactly what any good commanding officer would do if someone was threatening one of his people.
The night before, while shooting pool with Mary, Nathan had run afoul of some idiots who objected to Nathan touching Mary's shoulder. God forbid, a black man touching a white woman. Hammond got hot under the collar, just thinking about the stupidity of it all. Nathan had been pushed against the bar, with the expressed purpose of teaching him a lesson, putting him in his place. When Mary had tried to stop things from careening out of control, she had been pushed into a wall, and it was then that Chris Larabee and a mysterious young man got involved.
He sighed, "What am I gonna do with you, Chris? I know it's been hell lately, and that kid who helped paid for the damages. I know that you were only doing what a good commander does, taking care of your people, but..." General George Hammond shook his head and looked up at the colonel. Larabee didn't look as bad as Hammond had expected when he realized that the Colonel had gone to the bar.
"I wanted to talk to you about the kid, General. I want him on my team," Larabee said quietly. In the exact same tone of voice that Hammond had heard him use when discussing what was being served in the cafeteria, or when he was talking about the mission. It was damn eerie, but not as much as what the Colonel said next. He went on, "He's a civilian, but my gut tells me we need him. Captain Travis agrees."
Now George Hammond knew he was in trouble. Mary Travis was one of his 'kids.' When he was really honest with himself, he would admit that he regarded everyone in the SGC as his children. Mary Travis was no exception. She was the same age as his daughters, her son was the same age as his granddaughters. She was smart, beautiful, stubborn, fierce, independent, and opinionated. Just like Sam Carter, and he loved those two surrogate daughters fiercely.
He also knew that when Mary Travis took on a crusade, nothing short of a nuclear detonation could deter her from her course. She had a new crusade, and his name was Vin Tanner. There was a knock on the door, then a blonde head poked into the room. Mary flushed as she looked from Hammond to Larabee and back again. Larabee said, "The general knows, Captain Travis. Did you get that information?"
"A little, sir. After Nathan told me that Mr. Tanner was a bounty hunter, I played a hunch and checked with the police departments and prosecutors in Texas. In addition to being an extraordinary tracker and guide, Mr. Tanner is also an expert marksman...or to use the old term, he's a sharpshooter. They didn't have much information on him during the last two years, but I did find out that he was very well respected," Captain Travis replied.
Remembering herself, she saluted General Hammond, her pale face now flushed with embarrassment. Hammond waved it off. He had other things to worry about right now. He asked, "I take it you agree with Colonel Larabee, that this young man would be an asset to the SGC. We already have a tracker, Chanu." Like most in the base, Hammond referred to the young Native American by his first name. There was only one Chanu. Just like there was only one Teal'c, and God help the base when those two got together.
"Yes, sir, but Chanu has a wife and son. Admittedly, Chanu is an excellent tracker, but he's only one man. And he'll want to spend time with Claire and Kevin, now that everyone is settling in. Now, I found out last night that Mr. Tanner knew Nathan's cousin, Dawn, in Texas, while Dawn was a grad resident. I did a search on her last night, and came up with her email address. I've sent her an email, telling her that I'm a woman whom Mr. Tanner helped, and I want to thank him...her name came up in conversation, and I was hoping she could help me by telling me more about him," Captain Travis replied.
Sneaky. Very sneaky. She hadn't mentioned the military at all, much less the SGC, and had kept an element of truth. Mary was starting to scare him. She had been spending too much with Larabee. A possibility occurred to the general...was that what Orrin had been thinking? They were a good bit alike, Mary and Chris. He had already enjoyed a few fireworks displays between his stubborn public relations officer and his equally stubborn SG-7 commander.
"Show me what you've got. I need something more than Colonel Larabee's instincts and your own, Captain," Hammond reminded her. Mary nodded and placed a file on his desk. She had been busy this morning, it seemed...it wasn't even eight am, and Hammond asked, "Did you do all this last night, after you got home from the bar, Captain?" He received an answer to his question, in the form of a flush coloring Mary's cheeks.
"I was intrigued, sir. And the less information I found, the more intrigued I became. Will this do as a start?" the captain asked, tapping the file with her fingertip. Hammond flipped open the folder...as he had come to expect, Mary had separated the file into two sections, 'what we know' and 'what we've guessed.' At the top of the list was 'Texan.' This kid was from Texas as well? Hammond read over the 'known' list and nodded. Mary had been as thorough as ever, reporting what she had learned on her own, and what she had learned from other sources.
"It's a good start. I want to start my own investigation into this boy. But I want you both to understand me. This isn't a 'yes.' It's not even a 'maybe.' I want to check him out, and then I want to talk to him. All right?" he asked, glancing from the colonel to the captain and back again. Two blond heads nodded in answer, and he continued, "Good. Captain, Dr. Frasier needs to see you in the infirmary. Colonel, I need your evaluation reports. And this conversation, about the bar fight, isn't over yet, Colonel. Dismissed."
Both saluted, then left his office. George Hammond sat back in his chair, reading over the file. Making a decision, the general picked up his phone and dialed a number, saying, "Hammond here. I need all the information you can find on Tanner, Vin. No, just 'Vin.' Our guestimate is that he was born between 1970 and 1975. Yes. As soon as possible. Thanks."
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Part Seven
At the same time Chris Larabee and Mary Travis were in General Hammond's office, detailing what they knew about Vin Tanner, the man in question was at the bar from the previous night. He had awakened this morning with a sore chest, a sore head, and the annoyed sense that things would only get worse from there. However, he needed a job, he needed food, and the bar seemed like the best place to start.
They didn't need any help, he discovered, but he did find out why he, Larabee, and Jackson hadn't been kicked out the previous night. Seems the bouncers threw those bigots out every night...they were the only ones who would stand up to the bullies. The previous night, the bouncers hadn't shown up until the end of the fight because there had been a disturbance from the alley...and Captain Mary Travis had been quite emphatic on who had started the fight.
There was one other factor. Everyone, except the bigots, had known that the three were military, and the bar got a lot of business from the nearby Cheyenne Mountain. The owner had shrugged as she made this observation, but Vin understood immediately. Kicking them out the previous night, when Jackson had been attacked, would have been very bad for business. Vin thanked the woman, then left. He had been more than a little uneasy about the way her eyes travelled over him.
Drina had often told him, when she noticed women looking at him, and how nervous it made him, that he was extremely attractive. Although, 'extremely attractive' was the term she preferred to use, that wasn't the only one he had heard to describe him. Hot, mega-cutie, hunky, were just a few words that had been used by Drina's younger friends to describe him...usually, the younger friends were around the age of twelve or thirteen. While Drina had few friends among the college set, young teenagers and preteens adored her...and Vin quickly became a favorite among those girls.
Vin actually had an easier time dealing with those young girls. It was when they got older, like Drina's age, that they started scaring him. Drina's age...Captain Travis...the owner of the bar. To name just a few. Drina didn't scare him. Captain Travis didn't scare him (though he didn't think he wanted on her bad side). Come to think of it, he kinda looked at women in this way...there were the kind that scared him, and then there was the kind that didn't scare him, but he wanted to remain on their good side.
He had learned the hard way to beware women who looked at him the way the bar owner had. Charlotte had looked at him like that, sort of, but there had been sadness in her eyes. Charlotte. He hadn't thought of her in years, not since leaving Texas. She had been pregnant when he left, so radiant and happy now that her marriage was back on track. Vin was happy for her...and in that last year before Eli Joe, Vin had even begun a tentative friendship with Will.
Eli Joe. Thoughts of the psycho-creep, as Drina would have put it, always returned when he began thinking about Texas, and all he had left behind. Despite the hell of the last two years, Vin didn't want to take back his own actions. Eli Joe had been threatening an innocent young girl, who had done nothing wrong. Vin still didn't know what Jess Kincaid had done to bring the wrath of Eli Joe and his employers down on his head. He did know, however, that no matter what Jess had done, his eight year old daughter didn't deserve to be punished.
Funny. Drina would have had a word for what happened. The search for a little girl had brought him to his closest friend, one of the few people Vin Tanner had ever trusted implicitly. The search for a little girl had ended up causing his break with that friend. Not because of an argument, but because Vin had to leave in the middle of the night, without a proper good-bye, with only a message on Drina and Carly's recorder while they were out of town.
That it should begin so innocently...seeking the kidnapped daughter of a widowed rancher named Jess Kincaid. Lily Kincaid had been missing for forty-eight hours by the time Vin was called in as a tracker. He found the little girl without any real trouble...Eli Joe hadn't even tried to cover his tracks. There was a brief, fierce battle, then Vin had escaped with Lily. Vin had thought that was the end of it, as the police closed in on the kidnapper, who was also wanted for armed robbery all over the state.
Adriana had fussed over him...by this time, she had become one of the few people he allowed to mother hen him. In part because he didn't mind it, coming from her...in part because it amused him. She was so damn tiny, but when she thought he was being stupid, she could have been ten feet tall. And in part, because there were times when Vin honestly wanted, or needed, someone to fuss over him.
Because this had involved a child in danger, Vin had needed Adriana's fussing, complete with her apology at the end for scolding him. She wouldn't scold him if she didn't care, and he knew better than to believe that she didn't consider a child's life worth saving. So he endured the hair-tousling, the scolding, and the worried looks she gave him until she was satisfied that he was really all right...at which point, she began peppering him with questions about how it happened. The girl was half-detective. And all-archaeologist, as Carly liked to say.
Two weeks later, Jess Kincaid was dead. Vin was brought in for questioning, but Lily quickly exonerated him by running into his arms. He learned from the police that Lily had witnessed her father's murder, but the shock had sent her into silence. Only the sight of the man who had rescued her had brought the child out of the terror. For the next two hours, secure in Vin's arms, Lily had told the police everything they needed to know.
Vin had thought, despite Eli Joe's incredible ineptitude at hiding his tracks, that he was dealing with a semi-intelligent person. After all, he had escaped from every one of his bank robberies, without being caught. He was wrong. Eli Joe had tried to set Vin up for Kincaid's murder, but didn't count on the man's young daughter as a witness to the crime. Or maybe he had noticed the little girl, and dismissed her. That, right there, qualified him as stupid.
Unfortunately, while Eli Joe was stupid, it didn't keep him from persuading his employers to put a hit out on Vin. Only a month after Kincaid's murder, Vin found himself running for his life after someone tried to kill him at his own apartment building. The would-be assassin ate a bullet before Vin could question him, but in the weeks after Vin's flight, he learned that a hit had been put out on him, for running afoul of Eli Joe's boss. The trouble was, he didn't know who that was. And he couldn't put Adriana or Carly in the line of fire during the weeks before their departures for Germany or the East Coast.
And so he had run. He had been running for two years, and goddammit, he was getting tired. Tired of not trusting, tired of...everything. He missed Drina, he missed Carly, he missed sitting in their apartment, listening to Drina's Celtic stuff and laughing over the stories from classes. He missed the gentle pressure of Drina's body against his legs while they watched the stars each night. He missed the trust, the companionship.
Vin reckoned he had been feeling this way awhile, but meeting up with Larabee, Jackson, and Captain Travis the night before had...aw hell, he didn't know! Maybe made him admit it? Vin wasn't a man who ran from much of anything...his late night departure two years earlier had been the last time he had run from anything. That was to save his life, and the lives of those dearest to him. Still, it was one thing to run from a mortal threat, to borrow a phrase from Carly.
It was another thing to run from the truth. And the truth was, Vin Tanner was lonely. He missed having someone to talk to...someone to just sit beside and relax. Someone to make him laugh, someone he could make laugh. Yes, he was lonely, dammit. And he hadn't realized just how lonely, until his eyes met Chris Larabee's and they agreed without saying a word what had to be done.
Well, Vin would be in the area for another few months...maybe he would see Larabee again. There was a part of him which wanted that. Which wanted to follow on the beginnings of the friendship which had started the previous night, tentative as those were...but Vin was honest enough to admit that he was afraid. If he let himself become friends with Larabee, it would be hell to say good-bye. Damn, he had been crying when he called Drina from that all night truck stop, though he would have seriously hurt the first person who called him on it. Nope. Wasn't worth it, letting himself become friends with someone, only to disappear. Again.
Vin shook his head as he reached his motel room, and glanced at his watch. It was twelve thirty now. He wanted to rest a while before heading out again. He had spent quite a bit of time at the bar, just trying to find the owner of the place, before finding out there were no jobs. And getting his questions answered. As he reached out to touch the door knob, an icy finger trailed down his spine. He knew he had locked the door before he left. He knew that.
It was unlocked now. Vin reached into his boot for his knife. As he eased open the unlocked door, he was greeted by the sight of Colonel Chris Larabee and another man. Larabee rose from his chair and the second man said, "There's no need for that, son...neither of us want to hurt you. My name is General George Hammond...I want to make you an offer."
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Part Eight
It had taken less than two and a half hours to get the report he wanted. Vin Tanner was twenty-four years old. Born in Texas on March 17, 1973, to Julia Rose Tanner. No mention made of his father. Julia died in 1978, due to upper respiratory complications. He would get Dr. Frasier to translate that for him later...her five year old son was passed from one migrant family to another. As he read the report, Hammond frowned. Most of the names listed as his foster families were Anglo...he had thought migrants were largely Mexicans/Hispanics.
Well, that was neither here nor there. He had spent the next eleven years in a series of 'foster' homes, if they could be called that. The boy finally ran away at the age of sixteen, leaving the town of Tascosa, where he had been living. Over the next six years, he made a reputation for himself as a bounty hunter and a guide/tracker. Two years earlier, Vin Tanner had disappeared...and a hit of $50,000 was placed on his head.
George Hammond wanted to know why, but he couldn't find the answers he wanted in the reports and files he received. Which left one option...directly question the young man. Hammond had called Larabee into his office and laid out the questions he wanted asked. It was then that Orrin Travis, who had arrived for a briefing on the status of SG-7, made an extraordinary suggestion. Go with Larabee to question Vin Tanner.
Hammond had known Travis for several years...they had gone through the academy together, had kept in touch through the years. While Orrin Travis was Army, and Hammond was Air Force, the rivalry between the two branches of service had remained friendly. It had been Travis who supplied JD Dunne to SG-7, over the strong protests of Chris Larabee. The team leader's exact words were, 'He's not the type.' He was overruled, however, and the teenaged cartographer remained. There were times when Hammond wished Chris had won that argument.
Travis knew the SGC as well as Hammond himself...in the rare times when the SGC commander actually got a vacation, Travis took over in his place. So, when Travis suggested that Hammond accompany Larabee, Hammond gave his old friend's suggestion serious thought. Orrin had further argued that if this young man was as impressive as his file had suggested...an expert tracker and, as Mary had put it, a sharpshooter...shouldn't Hammond be the one to actually recruit him? Larabee was a helluva leader, but he was no diplomat. No sense in scaring the boy, Travis had added with a half smile at Larabee.
Travis would keep things calm at the SGC. Mary was in the process of finding out where Tanner was staying. Hammond didn't often get out of the SGC. With his old friend's promise to 'hold down the fort,' his mind was made up. He wanted to get a sense of this young man before they even thought about bringing him into the SGC. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chris Larabee's instincts. He did...he would have never even considered speaking to the boy if he didn't trust the colonel's judgment. But Hammond also trusted his own instincts.
At ten thirty, Mary Travis returned to his office with the information on where Vin Tanner was staying. By eleven, Hammond and Larabee were in a Jeep, heading for a motel only a short distance from the bar where the fight had taken place. Tanner's file rested on Hammond's lap, but in spite of his official business, he found himself enjoying just being outside, away from the demands of his job. He loved his job...loved his people like his own children...but there were times when he needed to get away. I owe you for this, Orrin.
They reached the motel, and rather than watch Chris break the law (and he was more than capable of it), Hammond spoke to the motel owner about a key to Vin Tanner's room. The boy wasn't in trouble, he assured the man, he just wanted to thank Tanner for aiding his people the previous night in a bar fight. The owner gave up the keys quickly, alarmingly so...didn't even ask to see Hammond's credentials.
Even before he saw the room, Hammond was dismayed at the idea of anyone staying in this place. Then the young man had walked into the motel room, his stance guarded and a rather nasty-looking knife in his hand. It almost looked like one of Nathan's, but it set too easily in the young man's hand. There was nothing awkward in the way he gripped it. He wasn't looking for a fight...but if one came his way, he was more than ready. Hammond liked that.
As Chris had said, he looked older than his twenty-four years at first...until you looked past the mask which Mary had described. He had shoulder-length brown hair and even in the dim light provided by the sun, Hammond could tell Tanner had blue eyes. Trying to ease the boy's obvious distrust...and the look of near-betrayal he shot toward Larabee...Hammond said, "There's no need for that, son...neither of us want to hurt you. My name is General George Hammond...I want to make you an offer."
"Reckon I kin decide for myself, if somethin's needed. Ya got proof a' who ya are?" the young man asked in a raspy voice, flicking on the lights. Hammond smiled. The hair was a bit long...definitely not military in bearing, but he liked the kid's instincts. He removed his identification from his back-pocket, careful not to make any sudden moves.
"I wouldn't have brought him here, if he couldn't be trusted, Tanner," Larabee said in an almost gentle voice, handing the identification to the still-guarded young man. Tanner's bright eyes flickered over the ID card, then he tossed it back to Hammond. He returned the knife to its sheath without bending over, or even moving his eyes from either of them. Larabee continued, "Take it easy, like the general said, we're not here to hurt you."
An almost feral smile appeared and Tanner answered softly, "Reckon I could hurt both a' ya, even if ya tried anythin.' Alright. What's this offer ya mentioned?" The guarded expression remained in his bright eyes, and those eyes flickered from Larabee to Hammond and back again. He trusts Chris, Hammond thought, and if I had come alone, without Chris...maybe Orrin's idea wasn't so great after all.
"I want to recruit you, as a guide and a tracker. But before you say anything, I want to know more about you. I want to know about this price on your head, and what you did to make people so angry, they'd want to kill you. I want to know if you believe in loyalty...to your country, to your planet, to your people," Hammond asked. The young man settled himself against the wall, his bright eyes now returning to the general.
"Ya wanna know about the hit? Reckon I can do that. Short version...a lowlife kidnapped a little girl, as leverage against her pa. I found 'em, rescued her, got the hell outta Dodge. Two weeks after that, or thereabouts, the girl's pa was killed. She saw it...it was the same lowlife sumbitch who had taken her in the first place. And he tried to set me up. 'Cept, he didn't know that Lily had seen him killin' her pa. His bosses got mad at me for interferin,' and they put out a hit on me. End of story," Tanner replied.
The short version? If that was the short version, Hammond wanted to hear the long version. However, that could wait. Hammond said, "I have some more questions. Have you eaten?" There was a slight hesitation, then the young man shook his head, and Hammond continued, "Neither have we. Let me buy you lunch, and I will tell you everything I can. And then, I need to know I can trust you. If you decide to take this offer, I can promise you, that price on your head will be a thing of the past. Will you at least listen to me?" There was another hesitation, then the young man nodded again.
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Part Nine
If looks could kill, Chris Larabee would have been smeared all over the motel room wall. Given what else was probably smeared there, he was singularly grateful that Vin Tanner's eyes were not laser beams...they only looked that way. Maybe coming here hadn't been such a good idea...meeting on neutral territory would have been smarter...but it was too late now.
They were walking out to the jeep, and Vin swung himself gracefully into the back. Only Chris, who was a few steps behind, saw the grimace of pain. However, the colonel didn't call him on it. Instead, he said, "If it's all right by you, General, we can eat in the Jeep, or maybe an outdoor cafe?" The general looked askance at him, then noticed Vin's attire. He nodded and Chris drove to a favorite cafe of his, one that he frequented with Jack O'Neill when the other colonel decided Chris needed time away from the SGC.
The young man seemed more relaxed outside, and as he drove, Chris glanced into the rearview mirror a few times. Tanner's eyes were closed and for the first time, the mask was gone. Damn...Mary was right. He was a lot younger than Chris originally thought. Chris turned his attention back to the road, uneasily aware that his general was sitting next to him. There was little conversation between the three men, during the drive or once they reached the cafe.
After the food arrived, Vin began talking. He observed, "Ya asked about loyalty, General. I ain't a soldier...but I am loyal to m' friends. Don't have many of them...man with a price on his head, cain't afford many friends. Reckon, though, that what I say ain't important. So the question is, d'ya think ya can afford to trust me? I ain't gonna say somethin' that ain't true, that ain't who I am. I ain't a soldier, and someone's gotta earn my loyalty."
"Fair enough," the general replied, glancing at Chris to make sure the colonel would let him handle this. It wasn't easy, but Chris was willing to trust his commanding officer. The general continued, "You mentioned there was a longer version to the story about the price on your head. I want to hear that longer version, Mr. Tanner. And that will be how I know if I can trust you. All right?"
Tanner nodded and sighed, muttering, "It started 'bout six, seven years ago. I was a bounty hunter, then. Learned 'bout trackin' and huntin' from the Indians I knew from the reservations. Came across a lowlife type, by the name a' Eli Joe. Wanted for armed robbery, 'mong other things. I had been tailin' him for a few months, when he tried to fool me int' thinkin' that he was a widowed rancher named Jess Kincaid."
He paused, took a sip of his Dr Pepper, and smiled briefly at the drink. Chris was wondering what he was thinking. After a moment, Tanner's eyes returned to them, but there was a distant expression on his face. Tanner continued, "There was a few problems with this little plan a' his. First, I knew Jess Kincaid...he was good to me when I was a kid. Second, Kincaid's little girl Lily was actin' terrified a' him. She was a right smart little girl, though. Kept her head and got the hell away from that bastard. Gave me the room I needed, ta take him down.
"He went to prison, swearin' all the time he would get me back, and Kincaid too. Now, Kincaid didn't know why he had been targeted. I figgered at the time, wrong place, wrong time. Forgot about the whole incident, 'til a friend asked if I ever had a criminal try to pretend he was someone he ain't. Kinda ironic. 'Bout two and a half years after we had that conversation, I got a call from Jess Kincaid. Lily had been taken. The police had been brought into things the day before, by the time Jess called me, Lily had been missin' for forty-eight hours. Mind you, at this point, she was eight years old."
"Eli Joe," Chris guessed and the young man nodded grimly. Chris continued, "So you took this guy down twice." Again, Tanner nodded, and Chris muttered, "Christ. So, what happened? If he was in jail, did he escape, or was he let out on parole?" He glanced at the general out of the corner of his eye. General Hammond's eyes were fixed on Tanner's face. At that point, it would have taken a direct attack by the Gou'ald to break the general's concentration.
Or maybe, Chris thought with more than a little amusement, a surprise visit by that...now what had Standish called Maybourne? A verminous, loathsome creature in a blue uniform. For once, the southerner and Nathan Jackson had been in agreement...Nathan hated Maybourne with a passion. Come to think of it, Chris decided with a mental smirk, it would be fun to see what Tanner would do with Maybourne. Hell, I think Jack would pay money to see that!
"Well, 'bout three months before his case came up to the parole board, Eli Joe escaped. He made a beeline for the Kincaid ranch, only to find they had moved to the city. He kidnapped Lily, like I said. And he weren't real happy to see me," Tanner said dryly. Chris grinned. No, he sure Eli Joe hadn't been in the least bit happy to see the youthful bounty hunter. God, how old had he been, the first time he took down Eli Joe? If he had been twenty-two when Lily Kincaid was kidnapped, then he was what, seventeen or eighteen the first time?
"And you still don't know what Jess Kincaid did, that angered Joe's employers?" the general asked. Tanner shook his head with another sigh, and Chris realized with concern that the young man seemed exhausted. The general continued, recapping what Tanner had said, "And then, about two weeks after you successfully rescued Lily Kincaid, her father was murdered. You were dragged into it, first by Eli Joe's attempt to frame you for the murder he had committed, then when the assassins came for you a month after Kincaid's death."
"Right. No offense, but I didn't trust the government to protect me. I been doin' that for myself, since I was little," Tanner replied. He sighed again, his shoulders slumping slightly, and he muttered, "Two years since then. Well, now ya know my story. Don't know how that's gonna help ya know if ya can trust me, but there it is." Chris looked at his commanding officer, and saw the decision there.
"Mr. Tanner, I'm the head of an elite group of squads, who are sworn to protect our very world. While the United States is the primary base of operations, we are protecting the entire planet. We need a man with your skills. We already have a tracker and a guide, but as was pointed out to me this morning, he is a man with a family. And then there's Colonel Larabee's instincts about you. What's in it for you? You'll have the backing of the United States Government, the President himself, to remove the price from your head," Hammond began.
Tanner cocked his head to one side, frowning thoughtfully, but he didn't interrupt. Hammond continued, "You see, Mr. Tanner, both Colonel Larabee and I believe in moving mountains for our people. As does Colonel O'Neill. However...there are certain things we need from you. First, and most importantly, your solemn word that you will tell no one of the things you see. Second, you'll need to live on base. At least, at first." For the first time, Chris saw unease in the bright blue eyes. Hammond saw it too, and when Chris glanced at him, he nodded.
"Sir, maybe we should take Tanner to Cheyenne Mountain, so he could see what we mean. Otherwise, we'll be speaking of possibilities and such things all day. If you're willing to take the chance on him...we can see if he's willing to take a chance on us," Chris suggested. Hammond nodded, then turned his attention to the young man sitting opposite them...who suddenly seemed as young as JD Dunne. He looked scared. As scared as Chris had been when this was first brought to him.
But he nodded and muttered, "Reckon that would be a good idea. I ain't 'bout to say 'yes,' not without knowin' what I'm sayin' 'yes or no' to." Satisfied, Chris paid for lunch and the three men left the cafe. A few times in his life, Chris had the overwhelming sense that he had just made a decision that would change his life. He had that feeling the night he met Sarah Connelly, the night he had agreed to head up SG-7. He had that feeling now.
The drive back to Cheyenne Mountain was quiet, and Chris glanced back at Tanner a few times. He hadn't fallen asleep...then again, it seemed unlikely that he would let down his guard around them. His eyes were focused straight ahead and as the guard confirmed the general's identification, and they were waved through, Tanner straightened up. His breathing came faster and harder. It took Chris a moment to realize why. The kid was claustrophobic.
Hammond distracted the young man by saying in a quiet voice, "Welcome to Stargate Command, Mr. Tanner." Tanner looked at him, and Hammond smiled, saying, "I think it's time I told you everything. It's a long story, and we have a long way down." Chris parked the jeep, and the three men headed to the elevator that would take them down into the heart of the SGC.
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Part Ten
Vin was struggling to process everything the general was telling him. It helped to distract him from the sense that the walls were closing in on him. Drina used to do that, when they were in an elevator. They tried to avoid those things, using the stairs instead, but when the elevator couldn't be avoided, she distracted him by telling him about the pharaohs and ancient kings and queens. She had told him about the heretic pharaoh, Ahknaten, and his fate.
Vin used that now...he listened to the general's explanation of what the SGC was. Thousands of years earlier, an alien race had come from outer space to escape their fate. They were dying...the entire species was dying. They took up residence on earth, and took over the bodies of humans. The first place they attacked was Egypt, but their conquest wasn't limited to that ancient civilization. That was just the first point of contact, as the general put it. As Hammond explained about the alien who took the persona of Ra, Vin interrupted, asking, "Ra? Ain't he the sun god?"
"That's right. Each of these alien parasites, the Gou'ald, took on the persona of various gods in the pantheons of the countries they conquered. Ra was one System Lord. Hathor another, Apophis another. That was just in the Egyptian pantheon," Hammond replied with a pleased smile. Vin didn't explain that Adriana had taught him about the Egyptian gods...he had the uneasy feeling that these men would have expected him to learn about in school.
"In any event," Larabee said, leaning against the wall of the elevator, "over time, people got tired of being slaves, and they overthrew Ra's government. It was a massacre, and Ra fled earth, leaving his portal behind. The Stargate. It remained buried for the next several thousand years, until about seventy years ago. It was eventually brought to the US. Five years ago, the cartouches on Gate were deciphered by an Egyptologist named Daniel Jackson, and shortly thereafter, the first team went through."
Daniel Jackson? Vin knew that name. He had come up in conversation once, a few years earlier. Yes...the night after Adriana, Dawn, and Carly had moved into their apartment. Carly had asked Adriana what she thought about Jackson's 'wild' theories. He wasn't sure how the blonde girl had found out about them, since she was studying biology. However, Adriana wasn't keen to dismiss Daniel Jackson's theory that aliens had built the pyramids.
Vin had agreed with Carly...that theory was a little out there. Adriana had just smiled faintly and asked Vin if he thought the beliefs of Koje, about his spirits, were 'out there.' Vin had told her that was something totally different. Adriana had said nothing, but he could tell from her expression that she wasn't about to dismiss something without proof, even if it sounded ludicrous. Hammond took up the narrative, explaining, "The SGC was formed a year later, to protect ourselves from the Gou'ald System Lords, as well as make alliances with other worlds."
Come again? Other worlds? Did he just say 'other worlds,' or was Vin's uneasy sense starting to overwhelm his common sense? He looked from one man to the other. No hint of a joke in either pair of eyes. Vin swallowed hard, feeling more than a little dizzy. The elevator stopped and the two men each took one of Vin's arms, pulling him from the car. Vin blinked. God, the lights were bright!
They followed what seemed to be a maze of gray walls, Vin feeling as if his body had gone on auto-pilot. He barely noticed the glances between Larabee and Hammond, and their glances toward him. Vin was concentrating on putting one foot in front of another, even as Hammond explained the mission to Abydos. And then he was being led into a small room. But before he had time to notice just how small it was, the general said in an almost reverent voice, "That, Mr. Tanner, is the Stargate."
It looked like a gigantic donut. A gigantic stone donut, with lots of funny writing on it. The general continued, "Do we have any teams coming in?" This question was asked of a young man, maybe a few years older than Vin, with close cropped hair and glasses. Teams? The squads Hammond had mentioned? Before the young man had a chance to answer, the computer began beeping. Hammond smiled and said, "Excellent...that should be SG-1 coming in now." Vin wasn't too sure what was about to happen, but his unease had given way to curiosity. He looked at Chris, who just smiled reassuringly.
"Confirmed, opening iris," the man replied. His fingers flew across the keyboard. Vin was still looking down at the computer, but a nudge from Chris Larabee had him looking back at the giant donut. He gave an involuntary gasp as it was suddenly filled with a shimmering fluid, which exploded out from the donut. Vin took a step back, and Larabee put his hand on Vin's shoulder. Vin didn't shy away from the contact...he was too stunned by what he had just seen.
A half second after the fluid settled, figures began emerging. One...two...three...four. Except...there was something strange about one of the four. Vin cocked his head, frowning at that figure. He was a big man...not just tall, but broad shouldered. And just what the hell was that tattoo on his forehead? He leaned forward, trying to get a better look, and General Hammond said, "That's Teal'c. A Jaffa."
A what? Vin looked at the general, who ignored him for the moment and leaned forward, saying, "Welcome back, SG-1. We'll debrief in the conference room in fifteen minutes. First, there's someone I want you to meet." He turned the microphone off and led Vin and Chris out of the room, walking down stairs to meet the newcomers in the hall. Hammond said, "Colonel O'Neill, I'd like you to meet Vin Tanner, whom I hope will be joining us as part of SG-7. Mr. Tanner, Colonel Jack O'Neill, one of the survivors of the original mission to Abydos."
"The guy who helped to blow up Ra," Vin replied, recalling the specifics of the mission. Hammond nodded with a pleased smile. At the same time, O'Neill cocked a brow, smiling slightly at the young man. He was in his forties...brown eyes, close-cropped graying hair. Maybe five years older than Chris Larabee. A few inches taller than Vin. But not as big as that...what had General Hammond called him? A Jaffa.
"This is Major Samantha Carter...Dr. Daniel Jackson...and Teal'c," the general continued, first introducing the blonde woman, then a young man who looked to be a few years older than Vin, before finally nodding to the big man. Vin nodded to each of them, wondering if he looked a damn idiot, bobbing his head up and down. The Jaffa shifted his weapon to his other hand and reached out to shake Vin's.
Vin accepted his hand and Teal'c said in a low, gravelly voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Vin Tanner. You are not afraid of me." Vin looked at the big man in surprise, and Teal'c continued, looking at Hammond, "I am pleased with this young one. He shows no fear or disgust of me, General. He will be an excellent addition to Stargate Command. You will join us, will you not, Vin Tanner?"
"Easy, Teal'c, the kid just arrived. Don't scare him...and he hasn't seen Junior yet," O'Neill advised. As Teal'c released Vin's hand, O'Neill reached for it, saying, "Nice to meet you, Tanner. I take it Larabee was the reason for you coming here?" Vin nodded, but O'Neill was looking at Larabee over Vin's shoulder. O'Neill continued, "Well, Larabee's got good instincts. If he thinks you belong here, you probably do. Wouldn't mind seeing what you can do, though."
"Like you said, sir...don't scare him," Major Carter said, glancing at her commander. O'Neill affected an innocent 'who me' look, which no member of his team bought.
"I am interested in his capabilities. What do you do, Vin Tanner...what is your purpose?" Teal'c asked. Vin swallowed hard. It wasn't that he was afraid of the big man. But how in the hell did he explain what he did? He felt dizzy, and for once, welcomed the supportive hand on his shoulder. What exactly was he doing here? What could he possibly contribute to these people that they didn't already have?
"I'm...I was a bounty hunter. And a tracker...done some work with Search and Rescue," Vin admitted softly. Major Carter mouthed 'bounty hunter,' and looked at the general anxiously. He didn't understand the reason for that. And with all the eyes fixed on him expectantly, his natural shyness rose up. He got nervous in front of crowds. Always had. Hell, 'fore he met Adriana, he didn't even like being around people that much.
"Wait a minute...Vin Tanner? The same Vin Tanner who helped to take down Richard Boudreau a few years ago?" Daniel Jackson asked suddenly. Boudreau? Aw hell! Boudreau had been an archaeologist, or rather, a grad student studying archaeology. He had died in prison shortly after his sentencing. Jackson continued excitedly, explaining to his confused friends, "Richard Boudreau, he was an archaeologist who snapped before he even got into the field. He tried to kill a number of people, including a lady by the name of Priscilla Meadows. She was a student of Catherine's at one time."
"Then it's a good thing Mr. Tanner took him down," General Hammond said in a quiet, firm voice. He continued and looked at Vin, asking, "Colonel, I believe you wanted to see what Mr. Tanner could do. What do you think...is a demonstration in order?" Vin looked over at his shoulder when the four members of SG-1 looked past him to Chris Larabee, and the young man saw Larabee's almost feral grin.
"Oh, I think a demonstration is definitely in order, General. Shall we go?" Larabee asked. O'Neill smirked and gestured for the general to lead the way. Vin wondered when he had lost control of his destiny. No. That wasn't true. He had lost control of his destiny years ago, when those assassins had come after him. These men...he was being given the chance to once again, make his own destiny. If he dared to help explore these other planets. Did he dare? More to the point, did he dare not to? The call of ancient worlds, and wide open spaces called to Vin. He would have to remain at Cheyenne Mountain, some of the time. But...his choice was made.
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