The ramp was surrounded by marines when Jack led the team back through the Stargate. Welcome back, SG-1, General Hammonds voice declared through the tannoy. What kept you?
its a long story, Jack called back. Carters got a broken arm, Danny got zatted and we got invited to a diplomatic reception.
He could see Hammond staring down at him from the control room. Report to the infirmary, he ordered. There will be a full debriefing at fifteen hundred hours.
Jack sighed. Its good to be home. He looked at Daniel. Its better to not be the one whos going to have Janet shining a bright light in their eyes.
I think youre better get a full examination too, Jack, Daniel warned him. Von Pinn zatted all of us when we got caught, remember.
Aw, no Jack whined. That was ages ago, Danny. Im fine
.oOo.
George Hammond wondered if hed cause himself any serious injury if he mixed the indigestion tablets in the top left drawer of his desk with the whiskey in the bottom right drawer. It wasnt as if there wasnt a fully equipped infirmary on base. Then he remembered who would be responsible for his base if if he was on medical leave and decided against experimentation.
So instead of just examining some abandoned ruins, you discovered an industrialised world with military technology thirty years or so in advance of ours, who are on the verge of signing a treaty with a previously unknown Goauld warlord and helped them apprehend an NID team that had broken into one of their arsenals and was on its way back to Earth with a selection of their small arms? he asked.
Uh, yes sir, thats about the size of it, Jack admitted. We got an invitation to go back in a week or so to attend the big diplomatic party when the Angrezi sign their treaty with Nekhrun though, so its possible that we can get some of their technology legitimately this time.
Well at least thats something, Hammond agreed. You specifically, or should I send a diplomatic team?
Us personally, Jack confirmed, Although if we can arrange a later meeting then it shouldnt be a problem to have a diplomatic team take over.
Good, at least something can be salvaged from this, Hammond agreed. Ill see what I can find out about the NID using the stargate we recovered from Antarctica it shouldnt be too difficult to trace.
Just as long as no one expects us to get Maybourne back, Jack muttered. Good riddance.
ColonelMaybourne would be a valuable source of information for Nekhrun, Tealc pointed out. He has already made it clear that he has an interest in the Earth.
How much of a threat do you think he poses? Hammond asked seriously.
That would depend if he has the Confederacy backing him up, Jack admitted. Hes got at least six fairly large warships with him over Angrezi so if he turns up here with the same force then wed have trouble even slowing him down.
So our only hope is that he doesnt find out, Hammond concluded. Which means recovering Maybourne and his team at any cost.
Just what I always wanted to do, Jack grumbled. Get Harry out of one of his messes.
In the meantime, Captain Carter, contact the Tokra. Its possible that they will have more information, Hammond ordered. If Nekhrun is as powerful as youve reported then it might be easier to bargain with him for Maybourne than to attempt a rescue.
That might be an interesting conversation, Daniel noted. Nekhrun doesnt seem like hes particularly fond of the Tokra.
It will be interesting to hear their opinion of him, Tealc agreed.
.oOo.
That gangrenous sore on the hindquarters of a syphilitic she-goat lives!? Anise shrieked. Damn her! What does it take to get rid of her!? Even Jacob Carter seemed surprised by her vehemence.
Youve heard of Nekhrun then? Jack asked sweetly.
Heard of her? she spat. I thought Id killed the backstabbing weasel-faced bitch a thousand years ago!
Sam frowned. Her? The Nekhrun we met was male oh.
Oh? Jack asked. What do you mean, oh?
Nekhruns current host was male, but von Pinn said that his usual host was female, Sam reminded him. I take it that Nekhrun often takes female hosts?
Von Pinn? her father asked, eyeing Sam thoughtfully. Who was this von Pinn?
Dad, can we focus on the real issue here?
I think this is an issue, Sam, the elder Carter declared. How was this von Pinn character so familiar with Nekhrun?
Nekhruns apparently part of some outfit called the Confederated Free Systems, Jack explained. Andre von Pinns an officer in their fleet, he was the guy that got stuck escorting us around while we were there.
Confederated Free Systems, Jacob mused. Hmm. And yes, he confirmed, eyes lighting up as Selmak took over to address the question, Nekhrun mostly used female hosts ever since she and Ra parted ways. As Anise pointed out though, weve not had any confirmed sightings of her for most of a thousand years. We were fairly sure she died when the Alkesh she was aboard was destroyed wed leaked information on her movements to Nirriti and she told Ra.
You set Nekhrun up? Daniel asked. No wonder he she wasnt very happy with you.
Anise snorted. She never hesitated to share information on the Tokra with the other system lords. We lost at least a dozen bases because she ferreted them out, then swooped in after we were gone to enslave the populations who had supported us. No one ever saw those populations again. And Ive lost count of how many of our agents shes identified just when they were getting close to the System Lords.
You said she and Ra parted ways, Jack asked. How come? Too treacherous for him to stomach?
It was a long time ago, Selmak replied. Back before Egerias time in fact. From what I was told, Nekhrun was Ras chief warlord in the conquest of Earth. But they quarrelled about two thousand years later and Ra declared that Nekhrun was a renegade and was going to have her executed. Instead, Nekhrun escaped. Egeria tried to recruit her when she was founding the Tokra, but she laughed in our faces.
Youre painting a disturbing picture of Nekhrun, Hammond noted. How much of a threat do you think she would pose to the Earth?
Selmak shrugged. Theres no way to know, Nekhruns notoriously unpredictable. Well see what we can find out for you though. He looked around for a moment. You wont be opening the Stargate for another hour, right?
Hammond nodded.
In that case, maybe you can tell us a little more about what shes up to these days. The idea of Nekhrun with a fleet isnt one that anyone is going to be happy about.
.oOo.
General Hammond, Hammond replied into the handset red phone on his desk.
General, came the familiar voice of the Commander-in-Chief. Ive got Senator Kinsey in my office complaining about the SGC actively interfering in an NID operation that would have netted us a new generation of small arms. Do you know anything.
Hammond cleared his throat. Its possible hes referring to a recent incident where SG-1 narrowly managed to prevent the NID from starting a war between the United States of America and an interstellar confederation that could have a fleet of starships in orbit over the Earth in a matter of weeks. SG-1 will be returning on Tuesday to try to open formal diplomatic contact which could lead to us being able to purchase large numbers of those small arms, as well as a number of other technologies with military applications.
There was a pause. That bad?
Sir, a squad of NID agents under the command of Colonel Maybourne was apprehended after attacking an Angrezi armory and making off with a handful of small arms and heavy weapons. They killed half a dozen Angrezi soldiers without any provocation at all and right now, SG-1s assistance is the only thing that gives us any goodwill at all from them.
Hold on a moment, General, the Commander-in-Chief sighed.
Hammond rolled a pencil back and forth for a moment and then went back to reading the supply requests hed been evaluating before the call, holding the handset loosely from his ears. The White House didnt have very good hold music, he noted.
It would seem, General, the most powerful man on Earth said, recommencing the conversation without preamble, That this was not how the matter was presented to Senator Kinsey. He has apologised for the misunderstanding, it would seem that communication between the SGC and the NID is still not proceeding smoothly?
That is quite correct sir, I was not advised that the NID would be running its own stargate programme or executing foreign policy outside the guidelines that the SGC has been been operating under.
There was another pause. You make your point, General. Ill take the matter from here so that you can concentrate on the diplomatic situtation with the Angrezi. Please see if you can arrange for Colonel Maybournes people to be repatriated to us they may be hamfisted idiots but theyre our hamfisted idiots but do not risk the talks on it.
Understood sir, Hammond said.
Good luck George, the President said With Colonel ONeill on a diplomatic mission, I have a feeling that youll need it. He ended the call before Hammond could respond not that the general planned to disagree, hed bought a large bottle of antacids in preparation for whatever report SG-1 brought back from their next visit to Angrezi.
.oOo.
Sounds like Kinseys gotten his ass in a crack, Jack commented when Hammond mentioned the call to SG-1 during the pre-mission briefing. There really wasnt much to brief the four of them on they had all seen more of Angrezi than anyone else - so mostly they had reviewed the mission goals of persuading the Angrezi to let them send a diplomatic team to look into opportunities for trade and if possible to obtain Maybournes team.
No doubt he will extricate himself with his usual ease, Tealc pointed out solemnly.
Im not so sure, Tealc, Sam disagreed. Maybourne came within an inch of providing the Angrezi with a casus belli against Earth, and with them joining the Confederacy we cant be sure that Nekhrun wouldnt have backed them. That would have been an absolute disaster.
Somehow, I dont think that Kinsey will have any trouble producing plenty of evidence that he didnt know anything about it, said Jack. What do you think, Daniel.
Hmm? Daniel said, looking up from his own notes. What was that?
Hammond frowned. Doctor Jackson could you please at least try to pay attention?
Ah- sorry, he replied in a distracted voice. I was just thinking about the Angrezi. Nekhrun said that the ruins that we were looking at used to be his villa, right?
Yeah, Jack agreed.
So hes probably known about the Angrezi since long before the Confederacy existed in fact hes probably the one who took them there. And Anise said that he collected groups who had supported the Tokra when they were abandoned by the Tokra remember what he said about the Tokra sacrificing the people who sheltered them?
Sam frowned. I dont see where youre going, she admitted. Do you mean that the Angrezi could be descended from groups like that?
Im saying that the entire Confederacy could be made up of worlds descended from societies that he brought from elsewhere and had been manipulating from behind the scenes, Daniel explained. Remember, hes thousands of years old there could be hundreds of worlds that hes steering towards technological development. He says that hes not in charge of the Confederacy, but its pretty clear that hes got a lot of strings attached to it.
Well theres one way to find out, Jack told him, rising from his seat.
What method do you propose, ONeill? Tealc asked, following Jacks example.
Were expected to attend this reception thing as his guests, Jack said. So why dont we just ask him? Its not as if hes at all ashamed of what hes been doing, theres a fair chance hell be happy for the chance to brag about it.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
its a long story, Jack called back. Carters got a broken arm, Danny got zatted and we got invited to a diplomatic reception.
He could see Hammond staring down at him from the control room. Report to the infirmary, he ordered. There will be a full debriefing at fifteen hundred hours.
Jack sighed. Its good to be home. He looked at Daniel. Its better to not be the one whos going to have Janet shining a bright light in their eyes.
I think youre better get a full examination too, Jack, Daniel warned him. Von Pinn zatted all of us when we got caught, remember.
Aw, no Jack whined. That was ages ago, Danny. Im fine
.oOo.
George Hammond wondered if hed cause himself any serious injury if he mixed the indigestion tablets in the top left drawer of his desk with the whiskey in the bottom right drawer. It wasnt as if there wasnt a fully equipped infirmary on base. Then he remembered who would be responsible for his base if if he was on medical leave and decided against experimentation.
So instead of just examining some abandoned ruins, you discovered an industrialised world with military technology thirty years or so in advance of ours, who are on the verge of signing a treaty with a previously unknown Goauld warlord and helped them apprehend an NID team that had broken into one of their arsenals and was on its way back to Earth with a selection of their small arms? he asked.
Uh, yes sir, thats about the size of it, Jack admitted. We got an invitation to go back in a week or so to attend the big diplomatic party when the Angrezi sign their treaty with Nekhrun though, so its possible that we can get some of their technology legitimately this time.
Well at least thats something, Hammond agreed. You specifically, or should I send a diplomatic team?
Us personally, Jack confirmed, Although if we can arrange a later meeting then it shouldnt be a problem to have a diplomatic team take over.
Good, at least something can be salvaged from this, Hammond agreed. Ill see what I can find out about the NID using the stargate we recovered from Antarctica it shouldnt be too difficult to trace.
Just as long as no one expects us to get Maybourne back, Jack muttered. Good riddance.
ColonelMaybourne would be a valuable source of information for Nekhrun, Tealc pointed out. He has already made it clear that he has an interest in the Earth.
How much of a threat do you think he poses? Hammond asked seriously.
That would depend if he has the Confederacy backing him up, Jack admitted. Hes got at least six fairly large warships with him over Angrezi so if he turns up here with the same force then wed have trouble even slowing him down.
So our only hope is that he doesnt find out, Hammond concluded. Which means recovering Maybourne and his team at any cost.
Just what I always wanted to do, Jack grumbled. Get Harry out of one of his messes.
In the meantime, Captain Carter, contact the Tokra. Its possible that they will have more information, Hammond ordered. If Nekhrun is as powerful as youve reported then it might be easier to bargain with him for Maybourne than to attempt a rescue.
That might be an interesting conversation, Daniel noted. Nekhrun doesnt seem like hes particularly fond of the Tokra.
It will be interesting to hear their opinion of him, Tealc agreed.
.oOo.
That gangrenous sore on the hindquarters of a syphilitic she-goat lives!? Anise shrieked. Damn her! What does it take to get rid of her!? Even Jacob Carter seemed surprised by her vehemence.
Youve heard of Nekhrun then? Jack asked sweetly.
Heard of her? she spat. I thought Id killed the backstabbing weasel-faced bitch a thousand years ago!
Sam frowned. Her? The Nekhrun we met was male oh.
Oh? Jack asked. What do you mean, oh?
Nekhruns current host was male, but von Pinn said that his usual host was female, Sam reminded him. I take it that Nekhrun often takes female hosts?
Von Pinn? her father asked, eyeing Sam thoughtfully. Who was this von Pinn?
Dad, can we focus on the real issue here?
I think this is an issue, Sam, the elder Carter declared. How was this von Pinn character so familiar with Nekhrun?
Nekhruns apparently part of some outfit called the Confederated Free Systems, Jack explained. Andre von Pinns an officer in their fleet, he was the guy that got stuck escorting us around while we were there.
Confederated Free Systems, Jacob mused. Hmm. And yes, he confirmed, eyes lighting up as Selmak took over to address the question, Nekhrun mostly used female hosts ever since she and Ra parted ways. As Anise pointed out though, weve not had any confirmed sightings of her for most of a thousand years. We were fairly sure she died when the Alkesh she was aboard was destroyed wed leaked information on her movements to Nirriti and she told Ra.
You set Nekhrun up? Daniel asked. No wonder he she wasnt very happy with you.
Anise snorted. She never hesitated to share information on the Tokra with the other system lords. We lost at least a dozen bases because she ferreted them out, then swooped in after we were gone to enslave the populations who had supported us. No one ever saw those populations again. And Ive lost count of how many of our agents shes identified just when they were getting close to the System Lords.
You said she and Ra parted ways, Jack asked. How come? Too treacherous for him to stomach?
It was a long time ago, Selmak replied. Back before Egerias time in fact. From what I was told, Nekhrun was Ras chief warlord in the conquest of Earth. But they quarrelled about two thousand years later and Ra declared that Nekhrun was a renegade and was going to have her executed. Instead, Nekhrun escaped. Egeria tried to recruit her when she was founding the Tokra, but she laughed in our faces.
Youre painting a disturbing picture of Nekhrun, Hammond noted. How much of a threat do you think she would pose to the Earth?
Selmak shrugged. Theres no way to know, Nekhruns notoriously unpredictable. Well see what we can find out for you though. He looked around for a moment. You wont be opening the Stargate for another hour, right?
Hammond nodded.
In that case, maybe you can tell us a little more about what shes up to these days. The idea of Nekhrun with a fleet isnt one that anyone is going to be happy about.
.oOo.
General Hammond, Hammond replied into the handset red phone on his desk.
General, came the familiar voice of the Commander-in-Chief. Ive got Senator Kinsey in my office complaining about the SGC actively interfering in an NID operation that would have netted us a new generation of small arms. Do you know anything.
Hammond cleared his throat. Its possible hes referring to a recent incident where SG-1 narrowly managed to prevent the NID from starting a war between the United States of America and an interstellar confederation that could have a fleet of starships in orbit over the Earth in a matter of weeks. SG-1 will be returning on Tuesday to try to open formal diplomatic contact which could lead to us being able to purchase large numbers of those small arms, as well as a number of other technologies with military applications.
There was a pause. That bad?
Sir, a squad of NID agents under the command of Colonel Maybourne was apprehended after attacking an Angrezi armory and making off with a handful of small arms and heavy weapons. They killed half a dozen Angrezi soldiers without any provocation at all and right now, SG-1s assistance is the only thing that gives us any goodwill at all from them.
Hold on a moment, General, the Commander-in-Chief sighed.
Hammond rolled a pencil back and forth for a moment and then went back to reading the supply requests hed been evaluating before the call, holding the handset loosely from his ears. The White House didnt have very good hold music, he noted.
It would seem, General, the most powerful man on Earth said, recommencing the conversation without preamble, That this was not how the matter was presented to Senator Kinsey. He has apologised for the misunderstanding, it would seem that communication between the SGC and the NID is still not proceeding smoothly?
That is quite correct sir, I was not advised that the NID would be running its own stargate programme or executing foreign policy outside the guidelines that the SGC has been been operating under.
There was another pause. You make your point, General. Ill take the matter from here so that you can concentrate on the diplomatic situtation with the Angrezi. Please see if you can arrange for Colonel Maybournes people to be repatriated to us they may be hamfisted idiots but theyre our hamfisted idiots but do not risk the talks on it.
Understood sir, Hammond said.
Good luck George, the President said With Colonel ONeill on a diplomatic mission, I have a feeling that youll need it. He ended the call before Hammond could respond not that the general planned to disagree, hed bought a large bottle of antacids in preparation for whatever report SG-1 brought back from their next visit to Angrezi.
.oOo.
Sounds like Kinseys gotten his ass in a crack, Jack commented when Hammond mentioned the call to SG-1 during the pre-mission briefing. There really wasnt much to brief the four of them on they had all seen more of Angrezi than anyone else - so mostly they had reviewed the mission goals of persuading the Angrezi to let them send a diplomatic team to look into opportunities for trade and if possible to obtain Maybournes team.
No doubt he will extricate himself with his usual ease, Tealc pointed out solemnly.
Im not so sure, Tealc, Sam disagreed. Maybourne came within an inch of providing the Angrezi with a casus belli against Earth, and with them joining the Confederacy we cant be sure that Nekhrun wouldnt have backed them. That would have been an absolute disaster.
Somehow, I dont think that Kinsey will have any trouble producing plenty of evidence that he didnt know anything about it, said Jack. What do you think, Daniel.
Hmm? Daniel said, looking up from his own notes. What was that?
Hammond frowned. Doctor Jackson could you please at least try to pay attention?
Ah- sorry, he replied in a distracted voice. I was just thinking about the Angrezi. Nekhrun said that the ruins that we were looking at used to be his villa, right?
Yeah, Jack agreed.
So hes probably known about the Angrezi since long before the Confederacy existed in fact hes probably the one who took them there. And Anise said that he collected groups who had supported the Tokra when they were abandoned by the Tokra remember what he said about the Tokra sacrificing the people who sheltered them?
Sam frowned. I dont see where youre going, she admitted. Do you mean that the Angrezi could be descended from groups like that?
Im saying that the entire Confederacy could be made up of worlds descended from societies that he brought from elsewhere and had been manipulating from behind the scenes, Daniel explained. Remember, hes thousands of years old there could be hundreds of worlds that hes steering towards technological development. He says that hes not in charge of the Confederacy, but its pretty clear that hes got a lot of strings attached to it.
Well theres one way to find out, Jack told him, rising from his seat.
What method do you propose, ONeill? Tealc asked, following Jacks example.
Were expected to attend this reception thing as his guests, Jack said. So why dont we just ask him? Its not as if hes at all ashamed of what hes been doing, theres a fair chance hell be happy for the chance to brag about it.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.