10
He handed over to Sam and Daniel the job of showing off the tech while he listened in to the instructions from inside the craft.
"So, the operating system is intuitive, it will literally read your mind and provide you with what you need, so I think… weapons" the weapon pods appeared at the side of the craft and the targeting scanner HUD superimposed on the windscreen, Jon directed it to target the gate, but not to fire, and they all saw the tactical display and readouts.
"Jane, you're a 4, so you can do the same as I can… just sit here" he got out of the left hand seat and Jane slipped in "OK, think of life support," the HUD changed to display the atmospheric conditions, inside and outside the craft "now think navigation" a 2D display of the continent the Alpha site was located on replaced the O2 data.
"Ok Luke, you're next" Jane got up and Luke slipped into place. "Think power" the engine noise increased, suddenly the craft shifted slightly. "NO!" Jon shouted, "Shut it down!" but it continued to move, he pulled Luke out of the seat and settled in himself, the craft once more sat on the ground solidly, Jon looked around angrily "Have you any idea what would have happened had you been stupid enough to take off with that back door open?" he asked, his voice harsh. "This isn't some damn tinker toy, this is a spacecraft!"
Luke looked slightly abashed "You never think do you Luke… nothing ever bloody changes with you" Luke started and opened his mouth, but the youth put a hand up and closed his fingers as a sign to shut up. "You have to learn this… the threats out there are REAL… and I am not talking about the shit you are used to facing… the Wraith will literally suck the life from you, leaving you old and worn out, if not dead! I don't know if any of you have been in actual combat, but I know you two have seen a dead body! Every time you feel like doing something stupid, remember Mark… that is how you will end up if you piss about with this stuff!" Luke and Peter both went pale at the mention of their other brother by this child in front of them.
Jack stepped inside "I think I'll take it from here Jon" he said softly, Jon gave Luke a disgusted look and stepped out of the vehicle. "I warned you" he told his brother. "Don't piss him off, he's going to make General next year, and no matter how young he seems he has more combat experience than you do… and that's first hand, never mind what he got from me. Treat him with some respect and LISTEN to him… he knows more about this stuff than I do nowadays." Jack looked at the 6 people in the craft and waited for them to acknowledge what he was saying, Jane, Pete, June and Philip seemed to have no problems, but Luke looked sullen and Peter thoughtful.
Jack went out of the craft, gesturing for Daniel to go in and keep an eye on them, he made his way to Jon, who was sat on a rock flipping the cover on and off his watch.
"You can't blame them" he said
"I can blame Luke" was the answer "he was deliberately powering the engines"
"That's not what I'm talking about" Jack said
"I know" Jon lowered his head, he changed the subject, "I wanted to come see Cassie at the weekend, wish her the best when you get back will ya?" he told his original.
"Dad was there" Jack told him and the youth shuddered
"Glad I didn't come then… apologise to her will ya, she did send me an invite, but I thought it would be too much once I found out who she was going to get engaged to… I had hoped…" he stopped and lowered his head, and Jack had a sudden insight. Jon had hoped that he and Cassie would get together, they were both ideally suited to knowing how the other felt, and though she was 3 years his physical senior, she was the closest thing to a younger Sam Carter that could be found, and the only person about his age who could be told about his background. Jack put a consoling hand on the young mans shoulder.
"You'll find someone… hell you're only 18" he told him
"18 going on 58" he answered a bleak look on his face, making him look many years past his body's age.
"Yeah how's that going for ya?" Jack asked with a grin, the young man glared and then his expression lightened, which is what Jack was trying for.
"Better than being 58 with a 8 year old inside" the answer came back
"I resemble that remark" the older man said, they laughed and both versions stood and made their way back to the group, Sam raised an eyebrow at her husband, he nodded to tell her everything was OK.
"Hey Carter! I understand he finally knocked you up!" Jon said loudly as they approached, she blushed "About damn time… I was wondering if you would ever get around to it!" Jack gave the clone a warning glance, which of course he ignored… you can't make yourself cower with a look Jack ruefully thought. And of all the people in the universe who could know how to press his buttons, Jon came top of the list, closely followed by Sam, Daniel and Teal'c.
They broke for 'lunch' again, Jack hated travelling to planets on a different rotation, even though that was most of them. His body was telling him it was 1700 by the time they finished eating, even though by the local clock it was only 1230. Jon pulled him to one side after the meal, he had been watching the team all through it.
"Is everything OK with Carter?" he asked, Jack looked at her as she sat drinking her diet coke.
"Yeah, why?" he asked.
"She looks… tired" he said, Jack looked closely at his wife, she did look tired now the youngster brought it up.
He decided to finish the day quickly and cancelled the drone controls, he asked Jon to take everyone for a quick ride into space in the puddle jumper, it took 2 trips, and Jack made sure he was on the one with Luke and Peter, he sat in the right hand chair as the youth piloted them out towards a small asteroid field next to the planetary orbit and demonstrated the weapons, he was impressed by his clones handling of the craft and his obvious ease… Jack could operate the machinery easily enough… but he had not had enough practise, evidently Jon was keeping his hand in over in the other Galaxy.
They returned to Earth at 2000 SGC local time, bringing the puddle jumper with them, Jon was hitching a ride back on the Daedalus which was on it's way with items too big to fit through the 'gate. The cadets were taken by Daniel back to the academy, the others were shown to their quarters, after taking the craft up through the missile silo entrance and parking it inside the tunnel entrance, covered and guarded, Jack and Sam ended up in his VIP suite.
Jack spent 5 minutes disabling the security cameras, something he had learnt to do quite quickly after the two of the had got together, and they went straight to bed. Jack decided to tell Landry her quarters now were available to give away, she would be moving into his from now on, and sod any Regs or rumours… he wanted his wife to sleep beside him fer cryin' out loud!
OoΩoO
The next day the family were assigned to the above ground training facility, Jack sent Teal'c along with them, as they were given basic working knowledge of Zats and Staff weapons, and a Wraith stunner, and ran through a couple of exercises.
Juan turned up along with 3 more staff, and Jack appropriated a couple of offices on level 11 that were no longer essential to the wrapping up of NORAD for his staff, he also started moving the people out of the base that were no longer needed, and as NORAD was now going to a small office in Peterson, he was given some say in the deployment of the specialists that had worked there, especially the ones who had worked on the star wars project and other space based defence systems.
He had 2 weeks more to the end of the month, to clear the top of the mountain, and he at last told Hank his full plans, which came as a huge relief to the older man, who was going crazy trying to find room for everyone.
Dr Felger was the first person Jack moved up above the higher secure area, he had decided after yet another FUBAR by the scientist that only low level things would be handled by him in future, as anything with a power source or anything unknown was an imminent threat when Jay got close to it!
Dr Lee was given full command of the front line scientists below level 11, he would report to Sam, who would report in her turn to Hank… and of course Hank to him. Sam wasn't pleased to be put into such a roll, but as Jack pointed out, either she accepted it or worked with Felger… being pregnant had huge disadvantages for someone used to being a front line combat officer.
All in all things seemed to be going along well, David would be at the SGC full time the week after, when he graduated. Jacob and Mike he had secretly marked down for the Atlantis expedition, being the youngest he hoped they would be able to give Jon the respect he deserved and that his rank demanded.
He wanted to test Lukes kids, but was wary of asking until Luke settled more into the SGC, as the youngest in the family (Jack was 10 years his senior) he had always been spoilt, everyone else had protected him, and so he had grown up expecting things to go the way he wanted them to, Jack had hoped that being in the Army had sorted him out, but by the way he had acted with Jon it looked as if it hadn't.
A call came through to him at 1600 asking him to go to the security gates at the main entrance, when he got there it was Grace and Michael. They had come to say goodbye, and luckily had left Jon snr back at the motel with Rachael and the other members of the family.
Jack hugged his sister tightly, not sure when or even if he would ever see her again, the week had been stressful for him, as the weekend had been for everyone else, and in a way he was glad that they were heading back north… there was no real reason why Grace an Michael should move down to the springs, Mike, their youngest was now at the academy, but he had been at West Point anyway, not at home, so even though she was the closest of his siblings, he hoped she would stay in Minnesota and keep their father with her.
He noticed that no one else had come, he was disappointed that Hope had not taken the trouble, but then he could only blame himself, he had mentioned Mark, and though he had not expected her to hear it, he knew that it would have caused her pain to have it all dragged up again.
He wished them well and watched as their taxi turned around and drove away… for someone who had cut himself off so long go he found himself wishing he had kept in touch more… then he thought about the contact with his father, and the wishing went away… he could live without them all, he had managed for years so far without a problem, after all he had Sam now, and Daniel and Teal'c as brothers.
He turned and made his way to level 11 and spent a couple of hours clearing his inbox, which Juan kept topping up, until the others returned from their training.
He collected Sam and Daniel, and Teal'c was waiting by the top lift, and they all went to O'Malleys for dinner, all in all Jack was happier than he had been for over 2 years. He loved his job, it wasn't all the paperwork and Politian's that he thought it would be when he first took it, and it was definitely better than running the SGC and the niggling details that involved, but he had missed the team, and now he was back he felt at home.
OoΩoO
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