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 Sixteen
After escorting Vin Tanner to the infirmary, where Dr. Frasier would do a thorough medical examination, General Hammond returned to his office. He had a few concerns about Tanner being able to work as part of a team, but his instincts told him the boy would be all right. Right now, he had to finish with the first planned mission for SG-7. Hammond shook his head, looking over the intel he had received.
PK3167 had originally been a refuge from the Gou'ald, former slaves and former Jaffa who had escaped to the desert-like planet not unlike Abydos. For the last two hundred years, the Gou'ald had left the current inhabitants alone...until three weeks earlier, when a System Lord had arrived to take supplies from the locals...the Se'min'o, as they called themselves. During the 'liberation' of said supplies, one of the Jaffa had noticed a bracelet made of naquada.
The Gou'ald needed naquada, just as those of earth needed energy. And they wouldn't believe the chieftain of the Se'min'o when he told them that the naquada had run out some fifty years earlier. The System Lord gave them a month to prepare for mining operations. If things weren't to his liking, the entire Se'min'o tribe would be wiped from the face of the planet. Men, women, and children. Mercy wasn't a concept which the Gou'ald understood or respected. While not even Dr. Jackson had heard of the System Lord...Hammond hadn't thought there were any gods named Anderson...that didn't make him any less dangerous.
Hammond had learned of the plight of these people the previous week, from SG-1, while Larabee was still forming the core of his team. The general hoped he was a compassionate man, but he also knew himself to be practical. And the truth was, the Se'min'o could be valuable allies. Originally, he had planned to send two teams, SG-1 and SG-7, but a last minute 'request' from the Asgaard had tapped SG-1. There were no other teams available to accompany the fledgling team. Orrin Travis had told Hammond he just needed to have faith.
Hammond supposed that was part of the reason why he was so open to the idea of Tanner, a civilian, joining the SGC and SG-7. By God, that boy could shoot! Hammond shook his head, remembering the 'demonstration' provided by the young man earlier in the afternoon. The first run-through on the firing range had knocked everyone's socks off. Then Colonel O'Neill proposed a little virtual reality game...and they would find out how good he really was.
Hammond smirked to himself, remembering the sheer astonishment which had decorated the colonel's face after the virtual reality test. It had been comprised of Tanner in an Old West setting, using the 'high ground' to protect the rest of his team. If he was good on the ground, he was breathtaking from a higher position, and Hammond wondered a bit uneasily if the young man had been a sniper at some point. But Tanner had denied any background in the military, and his records showed that. While records could be doctored, Tanner was a brutally honest man.
Teal'c had promptly declared that he would teach the newcomer how to use a staff weapon and zat gun, then added that the lessons would begin the following week, after SG-1 concluded its meeting with the Asgaard. If Jack's expression during the Old West demonstration had been hilarious, Tanner's expression as he mouthed staff weapon? Zat gun? had been downright hysterical. They had a lot of work to do in the next few days.
Tanner had no military training, no military background of any kind. He was a civilian who preferred to wear his hair long, who decided which authority he would recognize. Hammond counted himself lucky that Tanner was willing to recognize his own. The boy wasn't rebellious, but as he had stated earlier in the day, he decided whom he could trust, he decided what was necessary. Hammond was willing to bet the boy had been on his own for most of his life.
And as he watched the young man quietly submit to the tests, once he understood the reason for those tests, Hammond realized why they needed that boy in SG-7. It wasn't just for his skills as a tracker (which had yet to be put to the test, although Chanu had spoken highly of him), or for his talent as a marksman. It was the way he dealt with other people. Vin Tanner was a quiet, unassuming man, one who easily faded into the shadows without really trying. Someone who didn't pay attention would make the mistake of underestimating him, especially once they heard his colorful way of speaking.
Maybourne, Hammond knew, would make that mistake. He would come to the conclusion that Tanner was uneducated, and therefore stupid. Hammond smiled, thinking of what would happen the first time Maybourne tried to patronize the young tracker. And then he winced, thinking of the sheer delight O'Neill would take in unleashing the extremely intelligent former bounty hunter on the smarmy officer.
Then there was the way he dealt with Larabee. Hammond had never seen anything like it. He had known, as soon as Orrin suggested the colonel for this duty, that Larabee was a good man. His old friend had excellent instincts, and Orrin had told him that Larabee once saved his life. Orrin owed him. And giving him a new purpose in life was the best way General Travis knew to thank the colonel.
Hammond supposed that was why Travis had also assigned Dunne and Standish to Larabee, with his approval. He trusted Orrin, but this was still his command. And Travis knew that. Dunne and Standish provoked Larabee, challenged him. All of them did in some form or another. And then there was Tanner, whom Larabee had only met the previous night. After hearing of the bar fight, and the aftereffects, from Captain Travis, Hammond watched the colonel and former bounty hunter together.
And damned if Captain Travis wasn't right. During a brief break, between the firing range demonstration and the virtual reality setup, Hammond had noticed Larabee and Tanner talking animatedly. And...Larabee was actually smiling. Not a smirk, but a genuine smile. About as rare as Teal'c genuinely smiling, and just as welcome. Hammond didn't know what Tanner had said to the colonel...and really he didn't care. If Tanner could have that effect on the others in SG-7, the boy would be worth every bit of red tape Hammond would have to cut through.
Wilmington was a question mark. Not in terms of what he brought to the team, but how things would work between him and Tanner. It was very clear that Tanner wasn't afraid of Larabee. Or O'Neill. Or Hammond himself. And the general thought it highly unlikely that Tanner was afraid of Wilmington. He also knew that Tanner had not yet proven himself to Wilmington, and probably wouldn't for a while.
Wilmington, like Larabee, like Tanner, was a protector at heart. He was fiercely protective of Larabee, whom he had known for so many years, and he was equally protective of JD Dunne. Tanner was an unknown quantity, and Wilmington was unwilling to trust the lives of those he cared for to the instinct of others. That was one snag. The other was, quite simply, jealousy. The man was human after all, and it had to hurt, seeing Larabee open up to Tanner. Based on what Hammond had learned, Larabee had shut Wilmington out of his life after the deaths of his wife and child.
Hammond had enough faith in Wilmington to know that he wouldn't sabotage the young marksman/tracker...but he would be keeping an eye on the boy. That was fine, that was part of Wilmington's job...not just as Larabee's friend, but as a member of SG-7. That left one other trouble spot...Ezra Standish and Nathan Jackson. Hammond sighed deeply, sitting back in his chair as he thought about those two.
There was a lot he didn't know about Standish...even more he didn't know about Jackson. He had personally recruited Jackson at the prompting of Janet Frasier, who had served with Jackson in the Persian Gulf War. But he didn't know the man very well, didn't know the facts of his life. He knew Jackson was a damn good medic, and fiercely protective of his...a trait common to all members of SG-7, it appeared.
But there was something in his background which had... Well, Hammond wasn't entirely sure. However, the general was sure that the animosity between Jackson and Standish from the first meeting went far deeper than a bad first impression. He hadn't been there for that first meeting, didn't know what, if anything, Standish had said to Jackson. Wilmington was suspicious of Tanner, and that was fine. That wouldn't cause trouble within SG-7. Standish and Jackson would, however.
He returned his attention to the mission profile. All seven members would be going to aid the Se'min'o. Hammond wished he could have sent one of his more experienced teams out on this mission, but there simply wasn't time. Time was not something the Se'min'o had. And unfortunately, this was a war...whether he liked it or not, this was a war. This mission would be a trial by fire for SG-7. Hammond said a silent prayer, then signed off on the mission. How they would carry it out would be up to Larabee and his men, but Hammond wanted Anderson away from the Se'min'o. Preferably dead, but away would suffice, at least to buy both the SGC and the Se'min'o time.
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Part Seventeen
If he lived to be a hundred, he would never failed to be amazed by the workings of fate. His wife didn't believe in fate or destiny...she believed that everyone made their own destiny. God knew she had made her own, five years earlier, when she had chosen him and their child over her father...turning her back on the family she was born with, for the one she was in the process of creating. She didn't believe in fate...but Chanu did.
After the confrontation with his father in law and the Nichols brothers, Chanu had spent the next few years building a life with his new wife and son. Kevin Rafael Hunter had been born five and a half months after the confrontation, and named for his wife's younger brother as a way to build a bridge to the boy. Rafe had taken the peace offering with tentative grace, and promptly fell in love with his nephew. Until the beginning of Claire's senior year, when Chanu and Claire could no longer deal with her father's interference, 'Uncle Rafe' spent as much time with little Kevin as he could.
After Claire and Chanu finished up their respective degrees, Chanu had been a police officer for a short time, before his tracking skills had come to the attention of General George Hammond. He didn't know what he would be doing for the Air Force, why the Air Force would need a tracker, but Hammond promised him the opportunity of a lifetime. Excellent pay, benefits, the promise of the general himself to look after Claire and Kevin if anything happened to him. All Chanu had to do was decide if Hammond could be trusted. Like his good friend, the other man for whom his son was named, Chanu relied on his gut instincts about people. And his gut told him that Hammond was a man to be trusted.
The first time Chanu had stepped through the Stargate, he knew his intuition had paid off. He and Claire lived in Colorado, of course, in an apartment not too far from Cheyenne Mountain. Kevin was getting close to his fifth birthday, and a constant source of delight and exasperation to his parents. Claire was teaching Russian at the Air Force Academy, and loving every moment of it. Chanu had no doubt whatsoever that General Hammond had pulled some strings, and maybe General Travis had as well.
All of which had left Chanu in a thoughtful mood, even before he saw the strangely familiar young man walking with General Hammond toward the infirmary. Ever so often, he would shake his head at fate, at what had led him to this time and place. What would have happened if he had said 'no' to the general's offer? What if the general had never even come across his record as a tracker for the police? What if Tanner hadn't believed in him all those years ago? Chanu knew now that Detective McCoy had believed all along that the young Native American hadn't kidnapped Claire.
But Vin Tanner had refused to give up, and thanks to that tenacity, Chanu was free before Reverend Moseley could do anything. It was at times like these, when he played the 'what if' game, that Chanu realized just how much he owed Tanner. Yes, Chanu would have been freed eventually, but if Tanner hadn't intervened...it was entirely possible that Chanu would have lost Claire forever. And Kevin might never have been born.
Chanu didn't want to think about a life without his wife and son. It had actually been Claire's idea to name their son after Vin Tanner...she had learned from her roommate that Tanner's real name was 'Kevin.' Adriana Wilmington...the little hellcat. Chanu shook his head with a grin, rubbing his jaw where she had punched him, all those years ago. He had made a grave mistake in his original judgment of that one! And she had made him pay for it, too.
He supposed he owed her as well...she had been willing to fight at Tanner's side. Not for his sake...it had actually taken her a long time to forgive him for attacking Tanner with the cord for her robe. Even after Tanner had explained to her that if Chanu had meant to kill Vin, he would have been dead, she remained cold toward Chanu for the next several months. But at least she had been rebuilding her friendship with Claire.
So many 'what ifs' to consider, and Chanu couldn't help thinking about fate. Destiny. Whatever you wanted to call it. He got another 'what if' to consider as he headed out of his quarters when he needed to stay overnight at the SGC. What if he had turned left out of his quarters, instead of right? So many things played into fate, so many little things that created a larger thing. Chanu reflected a bit sourly that his father would be pleased to hear him now.
Chanu had been heading to the infirmary, to confer with Dr. Frasier about Claire. She was not only the CMO of the SGC, she was also a good friend. And Janet was one of the few people Chanu would have ever consulted about anything involving his wife. Chanu, to put it simply, did not speak with other people about his wife. He and Claire worked out any difficulties between the two of them...but this was one time when Chanu was willing to break that rule. He was worried about his wife, and he wanted Janet's opinion.
He could have saved the conversation for another day. It had occurred to him. But he didn't have anything else to do, and this had been weighing on his mind for some time. Except, fate once again intervened...and he recognized the slender young man walking with the general. Light brown hair still worn to his shoulders, as he had when Chanu first met him. Hell, even his clothes looked the same. Still wearing faded blue jeans, still wearing a brown suede jacket. He was a few years older, but he was still Vin Tanner.
Chanu stopped in the middle of the corridor, staring dumbly as Dr. Frasier came out to meet the two men. She smiled as the general introduced her to Vin, and Chanu grinned at the way Vin blushed and ducked his head as he shook the doctor's hand. Then the other man followed the doctor into the infirmary, and the general continued on. Without realizing he was doing it, until he caught up to the general, Chanu ran after his commanding officer.
General Hammond looked up as Chanu reached him, out of breath, and asked with concern, "You all right, son? Is there something wrong with Claire?" Chanu smiled, and shook his head. He had quickly learned that Hammond was as protective of his people's families, as he was of the men and women under his command. The general continued, guiding Chanu to one side, "Then tell me what's on your mind, because the last time you ran after me like that, Claire had just had a miscarriage, and you needed to be with her."
Time off which the general had granted without hesitation. Chanu said, glancing back toward the infirmary, "Forgive my presumption, General, but was that Vin Tanner I just saw?" The general nodded, eyes narrowing, and before he could ask the question, Chanu replied, "Yes, I do know him. We were friends, years ago, in Texas. I lost track of him after Claire and I moved to New Mexico with Kevin. We named our son after him."
"Then 'Vin' is short for 'Kevin,' not for 'Vincent.' I'll have to ask you to keep that to yourself, Chanu, Colonel O'Neill would never let him hear the end of it," General Hammond murmured, and Chanu nodded with a grin. That didn't mean, however, that he wouldn't tease Vin about it. Hammond continued, "I take it, then, that you're familiar with his abilities as a tracker and a bounty hunter? He's accepted my offer to join SG-7."
SG-7. Larabee's team. Six men, at least until this morning. Colonel Christopher Larabee, Major Buck Wilmington, Dr. Josiah Sanchez, medic Nathan Jackson, negotiator Ezra Standish, and Private JD Dunne, cartographer. Wilmington. Good Lord. That was Adriana's older brother. Chanu didn't know why he had never put it together, since he had known that Adriana had an older brother named Buck who was in the Air Force, but he supposed it just hadn't been a priority for him.
Did Hammond know about Vin's friendship in Texas with Adriana Wilmington? Did her brother? Her foster brother? Chanu had no way of knowing that, not without asking, and he wasn't willing to put Vin in a bad position. Tanner was a little on the strange side when it came to such things, and Chanu owed him entirely too much. So, instead of bringing Adriana Wilmington into the conversation, he said, "Yes, I do, sir. He was a damn good bounty hunter and tracker. He saved my life, back in Texas."
"Was this back when you were accused of kidnapping Claire?" Hammond questioned and Chanu nodded. He wasn't surprised that the general knew about it, since the man tended to conduct thorough background checks on his people. Hammond continued, "You think he's a good man, then? Someone I can trust out there, against the Gou'ald?" Chanu bobbed his head firmly. One thing he had learned about Vin Tanner in the years before he and Claire finally left Texas for New Mexico...the other young man was a protector.
He would have no tolerance for the Gou'ald, for the way they enslaved other people. Their habit of taking unwilling hosts. And let anyone even threaten to harm someone Vin Tanner considered 'his,' and Tanner would take him or her down. He replied, "Vin has worked on his own for a long time, sir. But I know that man's loyalty. He may not be loyal, in the way the military understands it...but he will move heaven and earth for someone that he cares about. I saw that a thousand times in the time I knew him."
A faint smile lit the general's face as he replied, "That was my feeling as well, son, but I'm glad to get verification from someone who actually knows him. Speaking of Claire, how is she doing? The last time we talked, you said that she was talking about having another child." Chanu fell into step beside the general, telling him about his concerns for his wife. General Hammond was one of the other people whom Chanu could go to, when he was worried about Claire.
That had been an hour earlier. And now, Chanu sat alone in his quarters once again, staring at the opposite wall. Fate had brought Vin Tanner back into his life. And until he spoke with his old friend, he would keep silent about the part Adriana Wilmington had played in that long-ago drama. He had overheard something being said about Tanner meeting the rest of SG-7 at dinner, in the cafeteria. Chanu would approach him then. Then Chanu smiled. It would be good, to renew his friendship with Vin. A man couldn't have too many friends.
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Part Eighteen
It had been decided that Vin would meet the other members of SG-7 at dinner. He had already met Jackson and Larabee, and Larabee wanted him to meet the others. Larabee had said very little about the rest of his team...just that there were three other men. Standish, a Southerner; Dunne, who was from back east. That covered a lot of ground, and he told Larabee as much. And then there was Sanchez, who was an anthropologist.
Drina had once explained that anthropology was a bit like archaeology. 'Cept, she studied dead civilizations, and somebody like Sanchez studied live 'uns. She admitted it was a simplification, but she was barely awake at the time. Drina always said that her mind didn't work as good when she was sleepy. Vin didn't know about that.
Vin looked at himself in the mirror. Larabee had said they would return to his motel room after dinner, to pick up his things. Vin would remain at his quarters, at least until he found a place for himself nearby. Dr. Jackson had offered to let him stay at his apartment, and Vin promised to think on it. He wasn't sure what kind of roommate he would make...hell, this whole teamwork thing was scarin' the hell out of him.
Forget that. This entire situation was scaring the hell out of him. What was he thinking? 'Til he got his own place, he would be livin' inside a goddamn mountain! Vin shuddered. He belonged in the open, not inside a mountain. But what the hell had he been doin' for the last two years, but livin' inside a mountain? A different kind a' mountain, but a mountain just the same. Only this time, he would have Larabee at his back, and probably Jackson, and maybe even Captain Travis too. Time would only tell about the others.
His mind shifted back to Buck Wilmington. Vin had been wrong about one thing...there were similarities between the brother and sister. They just weren't visible at first. Both siblings had dark hair, and that was the limit to their physical similarities. Both had a hard time trusting, though Vin had the sense Wilmington was just tryin' to protect Larabee. And Drina...hell, he knew why she had such a hard time trusting, even if she had never said it outright.
Vin wondered what he would do, the first time the big major mentioned his baby sister. Did he ignore his instincts, and just admit that he had known Adriana in Texas, all those years ago? How did he bring up the subject? Did he wait until Larabee or Wilmington brought it up? Did he bring it up himself? Or...and this was something that hadn't occurred to him before. Maybe Captain Travis could help him find Drina.
He had sworn to find her again, when it was safe. Now there was an idea. Maybe once he was sure he could trust these new people, he could ask some of them to help him find Adriana. Maybe Captain Travis, or Dr. Frasier, or General Hammond could help him by finding his friend through the internet. He would have to come up with a good excuse why he didn't use the computer himself, but that was a thought. He knew she had been headed for the University of Munich. That was a place to start.
And then there was Larabee. Until the previous night, he had only known Larabee through Drina's stories. Which actually told little about the man himself, but a lot about him at the same time. He knew that Larabee's wife and son had been murdered, and that it hadn't happened that long before Drina's college graduation. That was why Major Wilmington hadn't attended his sister's graduation. Vin also knew that Larabee had been devoted to his wife and son, and that before his marriage to Sarah Connelly, he had been a hell-raiser.
But Drina had loved Chris Larabee, Vin could hear it in her voice. Love, mixed with awe. And fear. Fear of disappointing that man. Yes, Vin knew that Adriana had loved the colonel, but how did he feel about her? Vin's gut told him that Wilmington would tear him apart, limb by limb, if he found out about some of the scrapes Drina had gotten into with Vin. He wasn't as sure what Larabee would do. It was eerie, in some ways, how Vin seemed to understand the colonel. But this was one situation where Vin wasn't willing to trust his gut.
There was a woman involved, and a woman whom Larabee had evidently considered a sister. Vin himself was fiercely protective of Adriana, even as he understood that the archaeology student could not be told what to do, or what not to do. She was damn independent, could kick ass when she had to, and usually pretty sensible. Unless he, or someone else she cared about, was threatened, in which case, all hell tended to break loose.
Aw hell, he thought, how in the hell did I get myself into this? He didn't want to keep his friendship with Drina a secret, God knew he wasn't ashamed of her. Or the way they had looked after each other in the years of their friendship. It was just...he didn't want to lie to Larabee, but this was a strange situation. And truth be told, Vin wasn't even sure he could lie to the colonel. Wasn't sure if those green eyes would see right through him, through any lies of omission which Vin might use.
A noise alerted him that someone was just outside his quarters and Vin spun in place, his hand reaching automatically for the pistol. He had left it in his room at the motel, dammit. Not that he would have been allowed into the mountain with it, no doubt. And there was no need for a weapon, for the intruder was Larabee. He said quietly, "Remind me not to sneak up on you out in the field. You ready to go?"
"Reckon I am," Vin admitted, "just feelin' a bit out a' sorts. This whole thin' feels a bit strange to me, and I ain't rightly sure what to do. Larabee, ya gotta understand...I been on my own for two years. Ain't had nobody watchin' my back since the whole thin' with Eli Joe hit. I ain't sure if I can work with a team. Don't mean I ain't gonna try, but..." Larabee walked further into the room, his eyes focused on Vin.
"No one is used to it, Tanner. You never had a partner as a bounty hunter...who watched your back, before Eli Joe started raising hell?" the colonel asked. Vin looked away, trying to figure out what to do next, and Larabee said softly, "You lost whoever it was, didn't you? I don't think Eli Joe killed this person...you would have tracked him down and killed him, if that was the case. But you still lost whoever watched your back."
"The gal I told ya 'bout last night, the one I met on that rescue mission. Lord, she was a little bit of a thing, 'bout the same size as Dr. Frasier. Tiny, but a hellcat. I Śmember this one time, she damn near took the head off 'a skip, cause she believed he had tried to kill me," Vin replied, grinning slightly at the memory. Adriana trying desperately to land a second blow, and himself trying to drag her away.
He lowered his eyes and hissed, "I didn't even get a chance to say g'bye to her, proper-like. That bastard took that away from me. I couldn't say g'bye to her, face to face, like she deserved, 'cause I was afraid Eli Joe would kill her. And I promised her...I promised...that when it was safe, I would find her again. That's one promise I aim to keep. Once I find out who put that hit on me...ain't nothin' gonna stop me from findin' her."
As he made the vow a second time, Vin lifted his eyes to meet Larabee's, and the other man nodded. Evidently, this was something the colonel understood.
Larabee replied, "You made a promise to your friend, Tanner, that you would find her again. I'll make one to you now. We will find out who put that hit out on you, and why. We will find out why Jess Kincaid is dead. And I will help you find your friend." The light eyes burned into Vin, and the former bounty hunter began to see glimpses of the man whom Adriana had loved so much. He nodded and Larabee smiled.
Vin had heard comments while Dr Frasier was running her tests, that Larabee had rarely smiled. And yet, just in the twenty-four hours Vin had known Larabee, he had seen the man smile several times. Larabee said now, "Good. Then let's get something to eat, then we can pick up your stuff." Vin nodded, glad to focus on something else. Yes. He had work to do.
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Part Nineteen
The Lord did work in mysterious ways. He had heard that for years, when he was growing up. And he supposed he had always believed it...but until recently, he hadn't seen the truth in the old saying, for him. Not until he had found himself adrift, without a purpose for the first time in twenty-five years. For twenty-five years, he had taught anthropology to high school students during the school year, and travelled during the summer.
At the end of the previous school year, the sociology/anthropology program had been fazed out. There wasn't enough money, the administrators had said, not for both the program and new uniforms for the football team. Which was a load of crap, in the eyes of Dr. Josiah Sanchez, but there had been little he could do about it. Except get drunk and end up in jail again, and that was getting a little old.
And so, he had said good-bye to his students...some of them gifted, some of them who had never known what it was like to have a teacher's faith in them. If nothing else, he could be proud of that. He had made a difference to some of those children. He didn't suppose it could take back the sins of his youth, when his demons weren't under lock and key, but it was a step toward atonement.
Three weeks earlier, he had received a phone call from General Orrin Travis, who had been his CO in the Army, years earlier. Somehow, Travis had learned that Josiah was out of a job...and he had been authorized by the head of a program to offer Josiah a new purpose. Those had been the words he used, too. A new purpose. He would be part of a highly classified research project, based out of Cheyenne Mountain.
Which meant, Orrin had said severely, getting drunk and blabbing was not an option. Research program, huh? Research program, his ass, something big was going on.
His instincts hadn't lied to him. An hour after arriving at Cheyenne Mountain, Josiah had realized that something very big was going on. It took him another two days to find out what that something was. And when he finally learned why he had been recruited, nothing short of Armageddon could have kept him away. It was every anthropologist's dream, the SGC. To travel the universe and encounter not only the descendants of Earth, but alien beings.
Josiah found himself under the command of Colonel Christopher Larabee, a man with demons of his own. But who didn't? Larabee was different from Sanchez, in that he kept people at arms length from him...or further. It was a means of protecting himself, of course, as well as others. At least, the anthropologist had a feeling that was what Larabee told himself. But even before the bar fight, Sanchez could see that the protective walls around Chris Larabee were coming down. Captain Mary Travis and her son Billy had something to do with that.
In a way, Josiah wished he had gone to the bar with Nathan the previous night. Logically, sensibly, that wouldn't have been a good idea...his temper would have ignited the first time someone had shoved Nathan. But...he would have liked to see this boy whom Nathan described in action. Nathan had seen him fight, and then Major Wilmington had seen him shoot. This new member of their team, a tracker/guide/sharpshooter.
And then he had heard the young man's name...Vin Tanner. Josiah had just shaken his head in disbelief, thinking again that God truly did work in mysterious ways. First, with the phone call from Orrin Travis which had given him a new purpose...and now, with a familiar name. Josiah had never met Vin Tanner, but he had heard of him. From Koje, his old friend, who was the father of the SGC's other tracker, and from Koje's old flame Priscilla Meadows.
He had been, in many ways, a surrogate son to Priscilla in the last few years before the woman's death. Koje had held Vin Tanner equally dear, because of his help to Chanu when the young man first married the lovely Claire, and he had been saddened when the young man disappeared less than a year after Priscilla's death. Josiah wondered if Chanu knew his old friend was here in the SGC...well, he would find out in just a few minutes. Colonel Larabee had gone to the newcomer's temporary quarters to fetch the young man. That had been fifteen minutes earlier, and it was, at most, a five minute walk. The natives were getting restless. To his right, Josiah sensed young John Dunne fidgeting in his chair.
"Easy, son," Josiah murmured, "our new teammate may be nervous about meeting us." JD's head snapped up, and a rueful smile appeared. John Dunne, or JD as he called himself, was the youngest member of the new team at nineteen. Originally from Trenton, New Jersey, he had joined the Army after high school because there wasn't enough money for him to go to college. His mother's medical bills had wiped the family's savings out.
If his recollection was correct, Vin Tanner was in his early to mid-twenties. What, twenty-three, maybe twenty-four? He was, at the oldest, twenty-five, but that still put him only a few years older than JD. At least in terms of chronological age. However, both Priscilla and Koje had told him quite emphatically that when they met him, he was already a man. At the time, he had been no more than eighteen or nineteen, the same age as the young man beside Josiah.
And yet, despite his year in the army, JD Dunne was still just a boy. Josiah was an anthropologist, but he was fascinated with psychology as well, and he wondered what kind of experiences had caused Vin Tanner to grow up so quickly. He wondered if he wanted to know. His young companion said, "I suppose I didn't think about that. Have you ever met him, Josiah?" The anthropologist shook his head with a smile, and JD continued, "Buck doesn't trust him. Thinks he might hurt the colonel."
Josiah didn't ask which colonel the boy meant, and noted the frank disbelief in JD's dark eyes. He sighed to himself. JD was still young enough to believe that his heroes were more than just men. He wouldn't understand, not at first, that Chris Larabee was just a man. Flawed, broken in some ways. And that Buck Wilmington was fiercely protective of Larabee, due to their years of friendship.
"Buck has known Colonel Larabee for many years, John Dunne. I would imagine he's protective of his old friend. And our new sharpshooter is an unknown quantity," Josiah replied. The anthropologist paused, then smiled at the young cartographer. As soon as the boy had arrived at the SGC, Buck Wilmington had taken the youngster under his wing...'erasin' those bad habits he had learned in the Army,' Buck had termed it.
They squabbled, like any pair of siblings would, and Josiah wondered about the connection that had formed between the big major and the teenaged private, and in such a short amount of time. He knew from random comments that Buck had a younger sister, who was just a few years older than JD, and Josiah wondered if that played into it. The little Buck had mentioned about his sister, Josiah had gotten the sense that Buck loved his sister, but for some reason which wasn't entirely clear to the major, the pair were estranged.
He did know that she was in Germany, doing her graduate and postgrad work...if he remembered correctly, she had another year before she received her Ph.D. in archaeology. Josiah's personal theory was that because his sister was in another country, and he couldn't fuss over her...because Chris Larabee wouldn't allow it...Buck's more overt protective instincts were directed at JD instead.
It was only a theory, and Josiah understood that he didn't know enough about the major's younger sister to be sure. Major Wilmington didn't talk much about her with anyone other than Chris Larabee. And while Josiah's instinct was that Colonel Larabee was rather fond of the younger Wilmington sibling, the colonel had never said so. Josiah didn't ask, either. He had learned that Larabee didn't like people prying into his own business, and he stayed out of other people's.
It was then that Colonel Larabee arrived with a slender young man with shoulder-length hair. He was a few inches shorter than Larabee, dressed in jeans and a loose shirt. At first glance, it would be easy to mistake him as being much older, but Josiah ignored that first glance, and looked deeper. Oh yes. Without a doubt, this was Vin Tanner, the young man who had helped to extend Priscilla's life by a few years. The rest of the table stood as Larabee approached with the young man, and Josiah wondered if the boy felt at all overwhelmed.
"At ease. Tanner, this is the rest of SG-7. You've met the major and Nathan...that's Ezra Standish, our negotiator and diplomat; Dr. Josiah Sanchez, our anthropologist; and Private John Dunne, our cartographer. Boys, this is Vin Tanner, our guide and sharpshooter," Larabee said, nodding to each man as he mentioned their names. From the corner of his eye, Josiah saw Standish tip an imaginary hat to the newcomer.
There were polite murmurings, the usual 'nice to meet you, it's pleasure' that went with introductions, then Tanner said quietly, "Nice to meet y'all." And that was it. No flowery speeches, nothing of that nature. Then again, Sanchez would have been more surprised if Tanner had a lot to say. Koje had always said the boy spoke only when necessary, and said only what he needed to say when he did speak.
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Part Twenty
"Mr. Tanner, I infer from your speech that you are a native of Texas, is that correct?" Standish asked, his own Southern accent a bit more pronounced than usual. Tanner nodded, and the diplomat smiled, saying, "I thought as much. I am from Virginia myself, although I have been fortunate enough to travel the world." Was it his imagination or was there a touch of sarcasm, even bitterness, in the voice of the Southerner?
"That's right. All over Texas. And the name is 'Vin.' I ain't nobody fancy," the young guide answered. Maybe not fancy, maybe not well-educated, but definitely intelligent. Fiercely intelligent, was how Koje had described him. Josiah didn't know if he would agree with the 'fiercely' part yet, but he could almost see the wheels turning in Tanner's mind as he took stock of the men of SG-7.
Even as Josiah noticed Tanner's reactions to the other men, the bright blue eyes slid toward him and the young man said, "Anthro-pol-o-gist. Ya study people...not like an archaeologist. Ya study live people." Which was a rather interesting way of putting it. Properly stated, as a cultural anthropologist, Josiah studied the differences and similarities between groups of people, past and present. However, that didn't make Tanner's statement any less true.
"How did you know about what Josiah does? I never heard of anthropology, 'til I got here," JD asked. The boy was having a hard time with the lines between the civilians and the military. He was young and gung-ho, but he had learned since his arrival to call Josiah, Ezra, Nathan, and Buck by their first names. Larabee was still 'the colonel.' And their newcomer had already stated that he wanted to be called by his first name.
"I was wondering that myself...people around here seem to have a hard time understanding Ezra, and you seem to have no problem at all," Major Wilmington observed. That wasn't entirely correct. JD was one of the few who had a hard time understanding Ezra. It was just that the man took so long to get to his point, Jack O'Neill and a few 'Neanderthals' as Ezra had called them, ran out of patience and told him to speak in plain English.
That was something that Josiah had found amusing. Daniel Jackson, who was the best friend of O'Neill, didn't always speak plain English when he was talking to the colonel. Maybe Ezra just rubbed him the wrong way when he did it?
"I had me a friend in Texas, she was in college to be an archaeologist. I used ta go to her apartment while she and her roommate was studyin' for 'xams. I learned a lot from them girls. He ain't hard t'all for me to understand," Tanner replied, and Josiah was surprised to see the young man's bright eyes darken. As if the memory of that girl was painful to him. Someone he had loved and lost. Tanner continued, "She done tol' me 'bout the difference between archaeology and anthropology. Was a real smart girl."
Josiah wasn't the only one who noticed the guide's sadness. Nathan asked, obviously trying to distract them, "Colonel Larabee, has the general told you anything about the first mission...about when we leave, or anything like that?" As the men all sat down, Buck slapping at JD's wrist as the boy tried to take a roll from the major's tray, Josiah noticed the way the other members of the team paired off. Larabee with Tanner. Wilmington with Dunne. Nathan and Josiah, side by side. Ezra...at a corner. Not quite in the group, not quite on the outside. Interesting. Very interesting.
"We'll be leaving within the next few days, Nathan. We find out the exact mission tomorrow morning. Before we go, General Hammond wants Tanner to go through his psych test," Larabee replied. There was a surprise. According to the scuttlebutt Josiah had heard, there wasn't time for a psych test...the mission would serve as the boy's psych test. Perhaps seeing his expression, Larabee said, "It's scheduled for tomorrow morning, Josiah. The general wanted to do it today, but we simply ran out of time, and the general had other meetings."
"Psych test?" Tanner asked, frowning. He didn't say, what psych test, but he didn't have to. He looked from one man to another uneasily, asking, "What kinda psych test?"
"The kind where you gotta face what really scares you. Don't ask me how they figure it out, 'cause I ain't really sure, but they do figure it out. Like me. In my psych test, I shot a civilian, a mom with two little girls. They wanna figure out what's gonna make us snap, and how we're gonna react to stress," JD put in. Josiah rolled his eyes. The psych test was supposed to remain confidential, but accidents happened. And JD hadn't learned yet how to keep his mouth shut, or when things didn't need to be revealed.
"We'll see about that," Tanner said quietly. There was no pride in his voice. He wasn't bragging. He was stating a fact, and damned if Josiah didn't believe him. Tanner continued, "Ain't sayin' nothin' scares me. That ain't true. Lotta things scare me. But I ain't rightly sure they could make what scares me the most." True enough, Josiah thought, and this boy gets his back pushed to the wall, that's when he's most dangerous. He didn't get angry, he became lethal. Josiah had seen his kind before.
"Well, that's the reason for the psych test...to see what your limits are," Nathan observed. Tanner remained silent, and Nathan continued, perhaps sensing the young man's discomfort with talk of the psych test, "So, Vin, you said that you're from Texas...all over Texas, actually, is how you put it. What brought you to Colorado?" Josiah knew that if his father had been here, he would have sworn that the Lord, regardless of which God you believed in, had brought Vin Tanner to this place, to be part of this group.
But Josiah's father had been a preacher, a man of the cloth. And the anthropologist had no idea if Vin Tanner even believed in God, much less the God which Josiah's father had believed in. There were so many different faiths out there today. Not all of those paths believed in the God of Josiah's father...for that matter, Josiah didn't believe in that God. And so he kept silent, waiting instead for the young man to answer.
Tanner was turning over a roll in his hand, murmuring, "Figgered it was a good time to move on. Lived in New Mexico. Nevada. California. Up into Washington and Oregon. Came back down from Oregon to Arizona six months ago, then here last week. Colorado was a good a place as any. Ain't got no real rhyme or reason when I go somewheres. Just where I feel like." His voice remained low and he stared at the roll in his hand.
We're making him nervous, Josiah realized. With that in mind, the anthropologist transferred the attention from the quiet young man, to someone who was far more at ease talking. He glanced over at the Southerner, asking, "Ezra, you mentioned that you had lived all over the world...any one place stand out to you?" The Southerner glanced at the Texan, then back at Josiah, and a faint smile appeared.
"Yes, I attended school in Europe...and before you ask, Dr. Sanchez, I believe I attended school in every country on the continent, including all four countries in the United Kingdom. That would be primary school and secondary school. I doubt very much if I attended the same school two years in a row. My mother's business made that impossible, you see," the negotiator replied. Now Josiah was certain there was bitterness in his voice.
Nathan, who hadn't liked Ezra from their first unfortunate meeting in the conference room, started to say something, but Tanner said very quietly, "Reckon that was right lonesome, growin' up like that. Never havin' a chance to make friends."
It was such a simple statement. Reckon that was right lonesome, growin' up like that. Perhaps that was what made it so powerful, the sheer simplicity of it. There was a silence at the table, and Tanner turned his attention back to his meal, then JD said, "Hey, Ezra...you said all four countries of the UK. That's Great Britain, right?" Ezra nodded, and the boy continued, "So what's the fourth? England, Ireland, Scotland, and what else?"
"He's talkin' about Wales, son! You deal with maps, you should know that!" Major Wilmington exclaimed. JD glared at the major, who glanced at Larabee and said, "Chris, you oughta have a talk with this boy...shit, he don't even know about Wales, and he's a goddamn cartographer! He can't even glare properly! Now, Adriana could tell you a few things about the UK, and how to glare properly. Mind you, she ain't as good as Chris, but she's better Śn you!"
"Who's Adriana?" Nathan asked with interest. Adriana, they learned, was Buck's younger sister. The major had never mentioned his sister before not by name. It was always 'my little sister,' or some such thing. Nathan said as much, observing, "You know, Buck, that's the first time you ever mentioned your sister's name. I was starting to think you made her up, you know, as a lure for the ladies. 'Long with your animal magnetism."
The entire table broke up laughing...except Tanner, who had retreated even further into himself. Josiah wondered if he was uncomfortable with revealing as much of himself as he just had. Buck distracted him by retorting, "Hell, no, I didn't make her up! DeeDee is eleven years younger than I am, but she does exist. She's finishing up her Ph.D. in archaeology at the University of Munich, in Germany. Damn smart little girl, ain't she, Chris? Chris here can tell you just as much about our little princess."
"Buck, you are so full of crap! If she's eleven years younger than you are, that means she's only twenty-four, and she can't be getting her Ph.D. already!" JD said in exasperation. The boy shook his head, then added, "Besides, I'm not sure she's that interesting, if you call her Ślittle princess.' And how did you get ŚDeeDee' out of Adriana?" Careful, son, Josiah thought, I suspect Buck is just as protective of his baby sister as he is of Chris. Or you.
"She is twenty-four, JD, and she is finishing up her Ph.D.. She's in a program where she gets her Masters and Ph.D. both within three years. According to the story I heard, she couldn't say 'Adriana' properly when she first started talking, and it came out as 'DeeDee.' The 'little princess' story is longer, and I've got to get Tanner back to his motel so he can pick up his things. You ready to go, Vin?" Larabee asked.
The young man nodded, murmuring g'night to everyone there. He hadn't eaten much, but Josiah had an idea that he didn't eat much when he was nervous. JD muttered, "Still, how interesting can she be, studying archaeology? What's so exciting about that? Where's the fun in studying things that have been dead for years?" Josiah cringed when he saw Larabee's eyes narrow, then the colonel sighed and shook his head.
"Ya gotta know the past, kid, if ya want to see the future," Vin said unexpectedly as he rose to his feet. Wise words, Josiah thought, wonder if he learned that from his archaeologist friend in Texas? Vin continued, "Most interestin,' most unpredictable people I ever knew was archaeologists. Never rightly knew what they was gonna say next. G'night, y'all. Be seein' y'all early tomorrow morning. Let's go, Larabee."
He left the cafeteria, Larabee only a few steps behind. There was a silence for several moments, then Ezra drawled, "Did anyone else receive the distinct impression that Private Dunne's ill-conceived words about archaeologists in specific and history in general caused our new guide some distress?" So Josiah hadn't been the only one who noticed that. He nodded quietly, then Ezra explained a bit impatiently to an obviously confused JD, "What I'm sayin,' son, is that Mr. Tanner did not take your statements very well. If I didn't know better, I would say he took it rather personally, when you insulted Major Wilmington's sister."
Again, Josiah nodded, and decided to have a little chat with Chanu. He didn't know if the young guide realized yet that his friend was here in the SGC, but he would find out. And, he would see what Chanu could tell him about this female archaeology student who obviously meant so much to Vin Tanner.
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