stargateficrec | Starting Over, by Redbyrd (PG-13) (Reply)

Rec Category: Jack O'Neill

Pairing: none
Categories: Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Kawalsky, gen, episode related, pre-series
Warnings: language, violence, canonical temporary character death
Author on LJ: redbyrd_sgfic
Author's Website: Redbyrd's Stargate Fanfiction
Link: Starting Over

Why This Must Be Read: Redbyrd treats us to a retelling of the movie and the year before COTG from Jack's POV, neatly filling in the missing scenes with her usual talented style.

Jack's voice is real and engaging – and rather colorful! – as he takes us through the events of the movie, fleshing out his scenes with the events that took place off-screen, including the shift from "Colonel" and "Jackson" to "Jack" and "Daniel." Then we get the year in between, including how Jack managed to convince West that Daniel was dead, the blossoming of his friendship with Katherine, the quiet divorce, and his coming to terms with his new life… and then those momentous words, "It has to do with the Stargate."

Redbyrd is an absolute master at filling in the blanks and giving us the backdrop of an episode. This long and satisfying fic is a wonderful look at Jack's evolution from the hard-eyed colonel of the movie to the "Jack O'Neill… with two Ls" that we all love.

"Why don't you just tell them everything?" Daniel asked. Jack looked up in surprise. He was wrapped in a blanket and sitting up. The water and rest seemed to have revived him. The cool disappointment in his soft tone stung. When the hell had he given Daniel any cause to expect anything? Hell, when had he started thinking of the kid as Daniel instead of Jackson? Daniel went on relentlessly. "Why don't you tell them about the bomb?"

Kowalski looked sharply from Daniel to O'Neill, "What's he talking about?"

There was no reason to keep the secret now, he supposed. Jack said, "My orders were simple. Track down signs of any possible danger. If I found any, blow up the stargate. Well, I found some." He returned Daniel's disappointment with stubbornness.

If it fazed the archeologist, it certainly didn't show. Daniel stared back at him and said, "Well, your bomb is his now. And tomorrow he's going to send it back to Earth, along with a shipment of that mineral they mine here. And when that thing goes off, it's going to cause an explosion a hundred times more destructive than that bomb alone is capable of."

Jack's eyes widened as he realized what that could do. It wasn't a huge nuke, but it was a nuke... Jesus, the bomb alone would destroy the mountain and contaminate a huge swath of Colorado. And if Daniel was right about the magnifying effect of the ore, Colorado Springs could be in range of the direct blast effects. Paralyzing fear blasted though his veins. Sara. The thought of his wife in the line of fire made his tone rough. "I'll intercept that bomb before he can send it through." He'd have to. That was all there was to it.

Kowalski demanded, "Why wasn't I told of this?"

Jack said harshly, "Because there wasn't any reason to tell you, Kowalski, you weren't even supposed to be here. You were all going to go right back through with Daniel. I was going to stay behind alone and blow up the stargate and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Daniel said, "It's the gate on Earth that poses a threat. That's the one we have to shut down." His look was accusing and Jack suddenly realized why he was worried. This planet was *made* of that ore, and Nagada was even closer to the pyramid than Colorado Springs was to the mountain. Any way you sliced it, a lot of people were going to die.