Honor Amongst Thieves: Points of View
Part 1 of ?
Synopsis: Through the eyes of those who met Daniel and Vala in the course
of their adventure in AU-dom.
POV #1: Hammond
When he was working too hard on anything for too long at a time, George Hammond welcomed an interruption as well as anyone. He'd have preferred an update from Walter regarding the status of the late-to-report Prometheus, however, to this particular distraction. As long as he still valued the continued stability of his career, he couldn't ignore the phone.
Half an hour later, Hammond hung up the red phone, sighing in disgust and resignation. Times like these were perfect examples of how frustrating it was to answer to the most powerful political leader on the planet. With the election only two weeks behind them, the President seemed to feel that he needed some sort of grand gesture to preserve his legacy for posterity, but Hammond would really like to tell him where to stick his idea.
A documentary. Of all the ludicrous ideas to ever come out of Washington, this one won points for extra stupidity since it involved Hollywood, or at least one tiny slice of it. Emmett Bregman was not a name unknown to Hammond, seeing as how he was one of those pushy political journalists who got tired of the media giants telling him what to report and decided to begin digging up stories that should probably have stayed buried. He had a few respectable works in his portfolio, but Hammond thought that someone who had made a name for himself destroying the reputations of others was hardly the best choice to immortalize SGC operations on film.
He could almost hear Jack O'Neill's thoughts on this particular subject.
Speaking of Jack, it had now been nearly two hours since the Prometheus was scheduled to check-in, unless they'd contacted the SGC while Hammond was on the phone. Since it was the phone, Sergeant Harriman wouldn't have interrupted him, so the general pushed away from the desk and stepped out of his office. Just as his foot touched the first stair down to the control room, he heard the unmistakeable sound of the Stargate activating.
"Sergeant?"
The white-haired technician looked up at him briefly. "No IDC yet, sir. Wait, we're picking up a radio transmission."
"SGC, this is Colonel O'Neill... come in."
"Reading you loud and clear," Hammond replied, feeling some of his tension ease. "I take it you made it to your destination?"
"Yes, sir! We had another detour along the way, but we finally got here. Osiris sicced her guards on the local population when her prisoners escaped, so we have some wounded coming through with us. Oh, and a few presents, too."
Hammond felt his breath catch. For the colonel to be so... giddy as well as declaring he had presents to deliver, the general could only guess that this meant the mission had been a success. Doctor Jackson had been found at last.
He turned to instruct Harriman to summon a medical team to the 'Gate room, pleased to see that the significance of O'Neill's report was not lost on the sergeant. He was beaming, exchanging a look with the equally-joyful technician sitting next to him. As the second sergeant put in the call to the medics, Harriman deactivated the iris.
"Come on through, Jack," he announced, then immediately turned heel to greet the returning party from the 'Gate room floor.
There was an agonizingly-long pause, then the first ripples on the surface of the shimmering event horizon spat out Colonel O'Neill and Jonas Quinn, clad in what looked suspiciously like the armor of Super Soldiers. Both men stepped to the side to allow passage of those who were to follow, which included Doctor Fraiser, two members of SG-5 carrying a dark-haired woman on a gurney, and Teal'c assisting a limping redhead. Next through was Major Carter, whose face broke into a grin as soon as she glanced at her commanding officer. O'Neill indulged his flair for the dramatic by bowing deeply and gesturing behind him, as though introducing royalty.
A second later, the surface of the wormhole broke again, emitting a sandy-haired young man and the dark-haired woman around whom he'd placed his arm. The possessive gesture was mutual, the lady leaning ever-so-slightly against him with her own arm around his waist. The woman was not anyone Hammond knew, but as soon as the young man raised clear blue eyes in greeting, the general felt his breath catch.
"I've waited a long time to say this, son," he managed at last. "Welcome back, Doctor Jackson."
The answering smile did his old heart good. "Thank you, sir, and believe me when I say it is very good to be back."
"Nice to see you too, sir," piped up O'Neill. "Brought you another present, too." Hammond looked up to see the remainder of SG-5 and all of SG-3 step through the still-open wormhole, the six men surrounding a scowling woman with curly blond hair. "Danny had her gift-wrapped and everything!" he finished proudly.
"With your permission, sir," Major Carter chimed in, "we'd like to contact the Tok'ra and see about getting Osiris extracted from Miss Gardner."
Hammond felt his eyebrows raise. This was sure to be a very interesting briefing. "Permission granted," he replied as the wormhole collapsed. "Gentlemen, please escort Osiris to a holding cell."
"Yes, sir," Reynolds replied enthusiastically, gesturing for his team to follow with their sullenly glowering prisoner in tow.
He turned and nodded to the three women he did not know. "Ladies, I'm General George Hammond, commander of this facility. Welcome to Earth."
"It is a pleasure to meet you," answered the tired-sounding young woman lying on the gurney. "I am Mai, daughter of Han Kazo."
"Sarilis Camir," added the redhead, a handsome woman who appeared to be in her fifties. He looked expectantly to the third newcomer, but she merely turned her head and used an extended finger to jab Doctor Jackson in his coverall-clad ribs.
"Ow!" he griped petulantly, rubbing the wounded area. "Well, since she has apparently decided not to introduce herself—"
"I wouldn't want to abscond with your lightning, darling," she interrupted.
"That's 'steal my thunder', darling, and it wouldn't be the first time you've indulged your kleptomaniacal tendencies." She twisted her lips and raised another threatening finger, to which he rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. General, it is my duty—er, privilege to introduce Vala Mal Doran." Doctor Jackson licked his lips, then added, "My fiancée."
Hammond knew he was probably grinning like a proud papa, but took consolation in the fact that Colonel O'Neill probably looked even more smug than he did. "Congratulations," he offered simply, smiling at archaeologist's companion. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Mal Doran."
She beamed, flashing what looked like every tooth in her head. "Thank you, General. Daniel has told me so much about SG-1 and the SGC that I feel I know all of you already."
"All good, I hope," O'Neill added, hopefully.
"Of course," she answered, "except for you, Colonel."
As muffled snorts of laughter sounded around him, Jack pointed at Doctor Jackson. "Traitor."
"Realist."
"I thought you were an optimist."
"Can't I be both?"
Hammond chuckled, relieved on a level he couldn't even begin to describe that everything seemed to be back to normal for the two friends. Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson's humorous banter was legendary in the SGC despite the fact that the good-natured arguments had mostly disappeared months—perhaps even years—before the younger man "died". Whatever demons had hounded the two men and nearly destroyed their friendship seemed to have been exorcized. Perhaps absence really did make the heart grown fonder.
"That's enough, you two," Fraiser cut in, just as the rest of the group seemed ready to take up sides. "General, we'll be in the infirmary if you need anything."
"I'll go call my dad," announced Carter. "The sooner they can remove Osiris, the better."
"We should contact my parents as well," Han Mai suggested.
"I'll take care of it," Hammond promised. The procession then began to move toward the exit and the infirmary, but the general caught the archaeologist by the shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to enfold the formerly lost lamb in a solid hug, but he wasn't sure how well such a gesture would be received. Neither he nor Doctor Jackson had ever been the physically-demonstrative type that Colonel O'Neill had always been. "It is very good to have you back, son," he offered.
The younger man smiled with more warmth and ease than Hammond had ever seen him convey. "Thank you again, sir. I really missed this place once I remembered it."
"That's great to hear," he answered, then looked pointedly at Miss Mal Doran. "You are one incredibly lucky young lady."
Again, she flashed him a thousand-watt grin, snuggling up to Doctor Jackson's side. "Don't I know it!"
"If not, we'll remind you," Jack announced, ruffling his younger friend's hair. "Frequently, even."
Shaking his head, Hammond watched until the last of the troupe had filed out of the 'Gate room before remembering the phone call he'd received just before SG-1's return. If this filmmaker truly sought to create a documentary which exemplified the best of the SGC, then it was fortuitous indeed that the heart of the mountain was at long last home.