by Anne
Disclaimer: The characters of Daniel Jackson, Jack O’Neill, Sam Carter, Teal’c, General Hammond, Janet Frasier, Apophis and anybody else you recognise from the SGC do not belong to me. Neither does the concept of the Stargate, SGC, and the Goa’uld and any thing else related to the series Stargate SG1. They belong to Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products.
The characters of Methos (a.k.a. Adam Pierson), Joe Dawson, Connor MacLeod and Duncan MacLeod belong to Panzer/Davis, Rysher/Gaumont Television. So do the concepts of Immortality, the Game and the Watchers.
Likewise the characters of Adam Newman, Megabyte Damon, General William Damon, Ami Jackson, Jade Weston, Kevin Wilson or any names or events linked to the Tomorrow People TV series do not belong to me either. They are the property of Roger Damon Price, Thames/Tetra and ITV Television.
“So, are you are the only so called telepaths there are, or are there more of you?”
“Daniel, how are you feeling? I didn’t see you come in.”
Daniel stood framed in the doorway. His eyes looked unnaturally bright, he was looking around the room as though he wasn’t sure exactly where he was. He pushed his glasses further up his nose before replying.
“Fine, Jack. Shouldn’t you have Pierson under lock and key, after what he’s done? I’m not very happy about having him running around the base after he pulled his sword on me.”
Hammond noticed that the archaeologist didn’t seem to be very pleased to see the immortal. In fact he seemed very angry. He stepped in to defuse the situation. “Methos, or Mr Pierson, as he prefers to be called, is our guest for the moment, Doctor Jackson. I don’t think there will be a repeat performance of what happened before, will there, Mr Pierson?”
“No, General. I’m sorry Daniel, I couldn’t take the chance of Ramiis coming through the Stargate.” That reminded Methos of something. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of having my sword back. I don’t like being without it.”
O’Neill laughed.” You mean your lucky sword. Don’t push it, old timer, one thing at a time, okay. I still can’t believe I fell for that crap you fed me before.”
Methos pretended to look hurt. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve had years of practice. Byron always appreciated my penchant for crap, as you so nicely put it.”
Great, thought O’Neill, now he’s going to start dropping names from history. He was beginning to think that the Adam Pierson persona was gone for good. This Methos was just far too sure of himself. Something suddenly occurred to him. “Daniel, are you feeling okay? I thought you’d be bombarding Pierson with questions by now.”
Daniel certainly didn’t look like his usual self. This whole thing must have shook him up a lot more than they had originally thought. He looked very pale and tired and the look he was giving Methos wasn’t very pleasant. You would almost think that he hated the guy. Come on, Jack, pull yourself together, this is Daniel we’re talking about here.
“Sorry, I’m just feeling a bit tired. I’ve also still got a bit of a headache. Anyway,” he turned to Adam,” you still haven’t answered my question. Are there more of you?”
“Ami and Jade, is that right?” asked Hammond. “Sorry, Bill, I overheard you talking on the phone.”
Adam sighed. He had hoped to keep the existence of the other Tomorrow People a secret. No point putting their lives in danger as well. Well at least they don’t know about Kevin, he thought. “Yes, that’s right,” he replied. “I’ve told them to stay where they are until we make sure that the Medusa Stone or whatever you call it, is no longer a threat to us.” He also wanted to make sure that this Ramiis was safely out of the picture. If he were anything like the other Egyptian they’d encountered he wouldn’t give up too easily. The idea of the existence of something like the Medusa Stone gave him the creeps as well. He hoped it was the only one of its kind.
[I hope so too,] telepathed Megabyte. [Sorry Adam, I couldn’t help but overhear, must be the effects of that stone, your mental shields aren’t working as well as usual. You’re broadcasting your thoughts quite loudly.]
“So when do we get to meet them?” asked Daniel.
“Daniel, are you sure you’re feeling okay?” asked Carter. She was beginning to worry. Even Daniel usually had a bit more diplomacy than this. He’s definitely not acting like himself at all.
Daniel shot her a murderous glance. “ Of course, I’m okay. I feel fine, considering all that’s happened.” He suddenly put his hands over his head, and bent over as though he was in pain.
Frasier moved in quickly. “Doctor Jackson, what’s wrong?”
“I…” He suddenly straightened up. “I’ve got a bad headache, that’s all.” His tone seemed colder, more distant.
“Hey, Daniel, lighten up. The Doc is just trying to help that’s all.” Something else was bugging O’Neill. “Something must be causing these headaches. Are you sure you don’t remember what happened on PX251?”
“What?” Daniel seemed to become aware that everyone in the room was watching him. He shook his head.“ No, I don’t remember a thing. This Ramiis guy is freaking me out a bit. I think I’ll go and have another look at the manuscript.”
“Methos, sorry, Pierson, maybe you should go and help him?” asked O’Neill. A thought occurred to him. “ I suppose you learnt the language when it was still being used? Come to think of it, you did tell Daniel it had been a while since you had spoken it.”
Methos shrugged. “Quite often people just don’t take what I say the way I mean it. Mind you, it depends on your point of reference, I suppose.” He turned to Daniel, “Look I’m sorry for what happened. You’re just going to have to forget it and move on. I learnt that a long time ago, and the fact that you can’t always feel guilty about past regrets as well.”
Adam noticed the way the man looked at himself and Megabyte. He had the distinct impression it was more do as I say rather than do as I do. There was something about his relationship with Tutankhamun and his friends that he wasn’t telling. He felt a sense of regret or maybe even guilt coming from him.
Daniel looked uncomfortable. “Let’s leave it at that then, shall we? Just don’t give me any reason to distrust you, okay? I get a bit nervous when people pull a sword on me.” He seemed to think for a minute. “General Hammond, is it possible to have a look at the sword that you found next to me?”
“It’s in the same place that we have the stone and manuscript. Mr Pierson’s sword is there as well. By the way, Mr Pierson, how did you manage to get your sword out of the secured area in the first place? That place is locked up tighter than a drum.”
Methos coughed modestly. “I have a friend who has taught me a thing or two about breaking and entering.”
Oh well, thought O’Neill. I suppose I should be relieved that he didn’t say he’d learnt it riding with Butch and Sundance. He opened his mouth to say something smart and shut it again. No, I’d rather not know, he decided. Five thousand years is a long time, I wonder what other things he’s done that he’s not telling. When Daniel is feeling more like himself, I’ll get him to find out. The old guy will wonder what’s hit him…
O’Neill noticed Adam was looking at him, he seemed as though he wanted to say something. The boy opened his mouth and then shut it again.
[Do you want me to talk to him?] ‘pathed Megabyte. He was sitting on one of the beds, his legs dangling over the side. Adam was pretending to look at the medical equipment they had been hooked up to, trying to decide what exactly to say to O’Neill.
[No, I’ll do it.] Megabyte wasn’t exactly known for his sense of tact. Adam still remembered when they had first met Ami during the Culex affair. His friend had started talking about the spaceship before Ami had even got used to the idea of being a Tomorrow Person. All his comments had done was convinced her that that were both mad.
O’Neill and the two Tomorrow People were alone in the infirmary. Daniel and Methos had gone to look over the hieroglyphs on the box housing the Medusa Stone. Carter had gone with them. She was going to run some more tests on the box, hoping to find out more about what it was made up of.
Hammond had suggested that Damon might like a tour of the base. Teal’c had volunteered. O’Neill suspected that the Jaffa was very curious about Adam and Megabyte and wanted to ask Damon some more questions about them.
“What is it, Adam?” asked O’Neill. “I don’t need to be telepathic to know you want to talk to me about something.” He noticed the Australian boy had stopped what he had been doing and was running his hands through his dark hair, trying to hide his apparent nervousness. He wondered what Adam wanted to talk to him about - obviously he wasn’t sure what sort of reaction he was going to get, whatever it was.
Adam decided the best approach was just to get straight to the point. He liked O’Neill, but didn’t want to upset him by saying something that the other might construe as out of line.
“It’s about Methos. I can sense that you don’t trust him very much. I just wondered if you had thought about the whole situation from his point of view.”
“His point of view? I don’t know what his point of view is, that’s the trouble. He’s not particularly forthcoming when it comes to sharing information. I still think he’s only shared as little as he thinks he can get away with.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Colonel…”
“Call me Jack, Adam.”
“Jack,” Adam continued. “I know that Megabyte and I, as Tomorrow People, live with a fear of what would happen if the military got their hands on us. Imagine the potential for experimentation. A lot of people would fear what we can do, what we are. It’s really hard going through every day pretending to be something you’re not because you can’t take any chances. We don’t even tell our friends, because our lives and theirs may depend on their not knowing the truth. Not everyone reacts to our secret the same way that you have.”
“Then there’s the people that would want to use us as a weapon against others,” interrupted Megabyte. “We’ve already run into people like that and I wouldn’t like to try a repeat performance.” He was now standing beside Adam, ready to give him some moral support, if needed.
“Okay”, said O’Neill. “I see your point.”
“Now imagine how those same people would react to someone who couldn’t die. Imagine the potential weapon in that. If the military got their hands on an immortal, they could kill him over and over again while they tried to find out what made him tick. The perfect lab rat.” Adam shuddered. “It would be a living hell.”
O’Neill agreed. “Yes, that does put quite a different spin on things. Maybe I owe the guy an apology.” Another thought struck him. “ You know that you people are quite safe here, with us, don’t you?”
Megabyte nodded. “Yes, we trust my Dad’s judgement and his friendship with General Hammond. Methos hasn’t got someone looking out for him though, remember and it sounds as though he’s been watching his back, or should that be head, for a very long time. Five thousand years, wow. Imagine all the things the guy has seen over the years.”
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