Chapter 7 Three large sedans came to retrieve the nine people who were waiting. And while Methos found himself comfortably ensconced with his old friends Ramirez and Ptahsennes, and Daniel traveled with Dawson and MacLeod, Jack ended up trying to make small talk with the de Valicourts. "So, ah... Pierson tells me you used to be a pirate, Robert. What do you do now?" "Corporate raider," de Valicourt answered cheerfully. "Same thing -- just without the sea." "Nice," O'Neill smiled painfully. "And do you still teach Sociology, Gina?" "Not really," she admitted. "We've both taken a sort of leave of absence. We're honeymooning." "They usually give you time off for that, don't they?" "We like to take our time," Robert confided. "Sail round the world. Spend a decade or so on a deserted island somewhere. I know some really hard to find places. Off the beaten track so to speak. We were in Barbados just having a few repairs done and stocking up the yacht when MacLeod reached us." "A decade or so... Nice," O'Neill smiled even more painfully. "And you, Colonel O'Neill?" Robert asked politely. "What do you do exactly?" "Oh... Nothing special. A little black ops, the occasional war, a lot of traveling. Really a lot of traveling," he muttered disgustedly. "Nothing as exciting as corporate raiding or making a difference in the lives of young people." "Nice," Robert smiled -- painfully. *** "So, what do you think?" Methos asked O'Neill as he gave a final tug to his uniform jacket before tucking his hat under his arm. They were all going to be part of General Hammond's formal presentation to the Immortals waiting in the visitors lounge in the above ground portion of the facility. A small conference room had been prepared and while they waited the prospective recruits would be served food and drink. It was Hammond's idea really, a friendly gesture to keep their guests from feeling trapped and endangered. Not surprisingly, Methos had agreed. He'd come to the SGC already feeling trapped and endangered, but for entirely different reasons. And no one had even suspected he was different. The waiting Immortals had no such luxury. Hammond had felt that since they had no reason to trust a military with which they were unfamiliar -- and one which had been demonized so completely by the media -- they might be a bit more open-minded if they were not immediately stripped of their weapons, marched into a missile silo surrounded by armed soldiers and asked to "cooperate" because aliens were invading. "What do I think?" O'Neill finally responded as Major Carter joined them. "About what?" "You know," Methos nodded toward the locker room ceiling. "About them." "They go well with the decor." "What?!" "Come on, Pierson," O'Neill chided as they headed toward the elevator. "We've got Alexander the Great, a pirate, a French Lady in Waiting, a Highland warrior, an Ancient Egyptian high priest and the Chief Metallurgist to the King of Spain. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm really trapped in the worst science fiction novel ever written." "Alexander the Great?!" Carter stopped dead in her tracks. "You didn't get the memo?" Jack raised an eyebrow, but showed a suspicious lack of regret. "Colonel, you don't write memos," Samantha responded beginning to move again. "Well, not to you," Jack said defensively. "I can just call you." Methos grinned as they reached the elevator and he picked up the thread of their previous conversation. "You forgot to mention the other character in the fantastical little melodrama we're living, O'Neill." "And that would be?" A sudden announcement over the loudspeaker interrupted them. "Colonel O'Neill, Captain Pierson, please report to Guard Station AG-1 immediately." "That would be Amanda," Methos smiled winningly as the elevator opened and the announcement repeated. "The world class jet-setting jewel thief." *** "Darling!" Amanda called as she stepped out of the stretch limousine sent to retrieve her from the airport. One arm held a bouquet of long stem yellow roses, the other a tall fluted champagne glass -- still half full. "You sent champagne and flowers?" O'Neill muttered sotto voce as they approached. "She'd have bolted at the first guard post otherwise," Methos responded between tightly clenched teeth held in a polite smile. "Amanda," he said warmly as she leaned in to give him a quick kiss. "Have you lost your mind?!" she hissed angrily against his cheek. "You're perfectly safe," he whispered back. "Would I be anywhere the danger is?" "This had better be good, Methos!" Amanda raised her brows as she stood back, looking him up and down. "You do clean up nice though," she said in a normal tone, grinning at the uniform. Behind them Jack cleared his throat and Methos turned to make introductions. "Amanda...Darieux ?" he said questioningly and received a slight nod from the lady. "Meet Colonel Jack O'Neill, U.S. Air Force." Amanda shoved the flowers and her glass at Methos nearly spilling it on him in the process then offered her now free hand to the colonel. "Charmed," she smiled warmly as he took it. O'Neill smiled back trying hard not to stare but with Amanda that was almost impossible. The skimpy black sheath dress she wore set off her tall, feminine figure to perfection. And her dark hair framed her face in a short blunt cut that made her eyes seem twice as large as they actually were. "Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain, ma'am," O'Neill responded falling back on protocol when all else failed to get his mind off the woman's long, seemingly endless bare legs. Distantly he wondered how she managed to walk in a pair of six inch spiked high heels. Very nicely, he had to admit a moment later as she took his arm, ignoring Methos as he polished off her wine and tossed the flowers and glass back into the limo before leading the way inside. "So," Amanda asked with a touch of forced gaiety. "You're a friend of...Adam's?" She glanced back at the other Immortal who gave her a tight nod. "Actually," O'Neill responded gently disengaging her arm as they reached the guarded entrance to the conference center. "I'm Captain Pierson's Commanding Officer." "And how commanding you are, Colonel," she cooed softly. O'Neill coughed, ignoring the gleam in the Airman's eyes as the soldier opened the door and stepped aside to let Amanda pass. Beside him, Methos didn't even bother to hide a smile. "Amanda?!" MacLeod had turned with the others as the door opened. He scowled darkly at Methos, who merely shrugged. Of course MacLeod would be annoyed Methos thought as he moved into the room. He tended to think of women, especially Immortal ones, as precious objects in need of protection. But Amanda was clever, inventive and had skills that could only be an advantage at some point. And as a fighter... Well, she'd survived for more than 1200 years and that was no mean feat for an Immortal, let alone a female. The woman in question briefly surveyed the room as she moved toward MacLeod, abruptly coming to a complete halt as another Immortal came forward. Her mouth opened but no sound came out as the other man silently took her hand, kissed it then held it comfortingly between his palms. "My deepest sympathies for your loss," Ramirez told her gently. "Rebecca was an extraordinary woman. She is truly missed by those of us who knew her." "She-- We--" Amanda choked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Damn you, Ramirez!" she finally shouted, suddenly throwing her arms around his neck. "I thought you were dead!" "There, there," he patted her back soothingly as Amanda sniffled and at last pulled away. "I am sorry, but when one is asked by a god to remain silent, one can do nothing more than keep his promise. I hope you will forgive me, my dear." "Of course I forgive you," she said, carefully wiping at her eyes. "But you aren't making any sense. What does God have to do with anything?" There was a stir at the door as someone entered. "We shall talk later," Ramirez told her as they were asked to be seated and MacLeod came forward to take Amanda's arm. The old Egyptian bowed graciously and moved aside to find a seat beside Ptahsennes. Methos glanced around the room, finally spotting Daniel, who looked a little paler than usual. "You all right?" Methos asked as he joined Jackson and Carter near the door where the general would soon make his entrance. "Yeah, fine," Daniel muttered, flushing as Alexander waved in his direction. "Just feel like a fool," he said, raising a hand and wiggling his fingers in tepid response. Methos stifled a chuckle. "What'd you do? Tell him he looked just like a bust of Alexander the Great you'd recently seen?" Daniel grimaced. "Worse. I told him his Ancient Greek was flawless." Methos burst out laughing. "It's not funny!" Daniel insisted. "And you could have warned me before I made an ass of myself!" "What, and give you preferential treatment?" O'Neill murmured as he joined the group and overheard the last comment. The young archaeologist's eyes widened eagerly. "Pushups?" "Over two hundred," O'Neill confirmed. "Thanks, Jack. I feel better now." Carter tried not to smile as Methos frowned. "You guys are no fun anymore," he grumbled, coming to attention with the rest of the troops as the general entered. There was a pause as Hammond came to the podium and O'Neill quickly introduced him to the assemblage. With a few formal words the general thanked everyone for coming then began to reel off the standard VIP tour speech. "Now, ladies and gentlemen," he suddenly broke off from the accustomed formula. "I realize that I'm about to ask a great deal of you. And I would like to offer you my trust by revealing our little secret to you. In order to do that I need for you trust me -- by laying aside your weapons for the time being." There was a small stir among the participants and for a moment it looked like Ptahsennes and Robert de Valicourt were going to lead most of the group in revolt and walk out the door. "If I might have your attention for a moment," Hammond said with quiet authority. "First, I would like to point out that the only mortals on this base who know your secret are standing in this room -- unarmed. Second, as with all military bases the only folks carrying weapons here are authorized personnel guarding secure locations. And lastly, this is holy ground. I for one would not like to stand before my Maker on the day I am judged and try to explain how I butchered unarmed civilians on land consecrated to His Glory." There was a small titter of laughter at this last and MacLeod rose silently to remove his still sheathed katana. "Pretty lady," O'Neill nodded appreciatively as he opened a small weapons locker and stood back while the Highlander placed his sword. MacLeod grinned and went back to stand beside Dawson. Then one by one the other Immortals got up until only Alexander and Amanda remained. The first hadn't carried a weapon since he'd set foot on the base and the second... Well, if she was armed O'Neill was going to start instituting strip searches. "Now, if you'll please follow me," General Hammond began, leading the way to the elevator which took them down to the main guard station where they were processed through security. They were quiet for much of this, the occasional whispered conversation taking place as most of those who had never seen the inside of a high tech, high security installation avidly took in the details of the operation. Most especially Amanda, Methos noted. "Stop that," he murmured into the tiny shell of her ear as he slid into the elevator behind her. "Stop what?" "Planning," he told her. "I'm not planning," she muttered. "I'm... I'm taking a professional interest." Methos chuckled low in his throat. "Trust me, little girl, there are only two things of any real value in this place. The first is so big you'd need a crane to lift it. The second..." Methos thought about the larval Goa'uld Teal'c carried. The thing that kept him healthy and alive as long as it remained inside him. "The second would be worth your life if you tried to remove it." She stared at him for a long moment as the elevator made it's way down. "I'll remember that." "You do." The elevator finally came to a halt and they disembarked, waiting as the other half of their group was escorted down. Finally, they all trooped off in the direction of the Stargate, General Hammond launching into his 'discovered in 1928' speech which was quickly followed by the tried and true show and tell method of letting his visitors see the gate in action. "But this is wondrous," Gina whispered as those who hadn't seen it already stared in awe. "A gateway to other planets? Perhaps one day we will answer the question of whether or not we are truly alone in the universe." "Actually," O'Neill said uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. "We got that one on the first try. Meet Teal'c," he waved the Jaffa over. "So Teal'c, tell us where you're from and what you do for a living." The big man looked over the Immortals assembled in the gate room. "I was born on Chulak, a world many light years from this place. For many years I served as the First Prime of Apophis, a false god who enslaved my people and those of many other worlds. Now, here on the world of the Tau'ri, I fight against the tyranny of the System Lords." "That'd be the aliens?" Alexander asked from where he stood not far from MacLeod. "Excuse me," the Highlander interrupted, "but do I know you?" Alexander shook his head. "Don't think so, but then I'm told I have one of those faces. Al Philipson," he nodded then winked at Joe whose mouth suddenly dropped. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd really like an answer to my question." "Yeah," O'Neill nodded. "That'd be the bad guys." The small group seemed to waver between disbelief and dismay. "They call themselves Goa'uld," General Hammond explained as he held their attention. "A race of sentient parasitical beings who exist by taking humans as hosts. Ten thousand years ago they came to this world and made it their home. They enslaved mortal man sending thousands as slaves through the Stargate to serve their needs in a variety of ways. Eventually, the people of this world rebelled and they were forced to flee. Now they control most of the galaxy, taking who they want and what they will with virtually no one to stand against them." "You said 'mortal man'," Robert commented. "Not," he looked at the others, "us?" "Captain Pierson," Hammond nodded. "We're immune," Methos told them. "They can't harm us at all. But," he added. "That doesn't mean we're safe. For a long time this world has been like a bad taste in their mouths. One they were willing to try and forget because there is nothing here they cannot find elsewhere. Unfortunately, human curiosity being what it is," he smiled ruefully, "has caused them to take notice again. Which makes us a thorn in their side. And I'm afraid," he looked to Alexander, "that they no longer wish to conquer this world. They simply want it gone." "Good god!" Robert breathed, holding Gina close. "They're coming?" Amanda asked, looking nervously at the gate. "When?" "To tell the truth," O'Neill responded. "They've been and gone. But," he added. "They'll be back. You can count on it." "They will not rest," Teal'c interjected, "until they find the means to destroy this world and end any chance for freedom humans may have." "And Immortals?" Ramirez asked gravely. "What would happen to us should they succeed?" "It would be unpleasant at best," Teal'c acknowledged. "At worst, they would find the means to annihilate you as a threat to their power. For while they may claim to be gods, you possess that which in the eyes of the people would make you truly gods." "They aren't immortal," Alexander stated, nodding slowly in understanding. "As if," Jack snorted. "Of course they do have these sarcophagus things they use to keep their hosts young and healthy. With them they can live in the same host for... Well, forever. Without 'em," he shrugged. "They've got some healing abilities but they can be killed. Believe me, I've snuffed enough of them to know." "But if you can kill them," Ptahsennes spoke up. "Why have you come to us?" "Because something has them scared," Joe murmured and the others silently nodded. "It's true," Hammond agreed. "Recent events have proven to us that the benefits of having more than just one Immortal in our midst would be to our advantage. To all our advantage. What we'd like to do is assemble a strike force. A small, tightly knit unit of men and women who could be called upon only in the most dire of circumstances. That's why you're here." "It's never been done," Alexander murmured, openly shocked, but like the others clearly intrigued. "Yes, it has," MacLeod responded, staring at Methos who refused to acknowledge his glance. "But this time it'll be different." Ramirez smiled broadly. "Indeed."