Jack was hanging up the phone when Daniel came into the room, and something about Jack’s body language immediately alerted him that there was a serious problem.
 
“Jack?”
 
Slowly turning, Jack looked at him.  “That was Hank.  General Hammond passed away this morning. His aide found him at his desk.”
 
Daniel stared for a long moment, then fumbled for the chair before sinking down onto it.
 
“I know, right? I thought he’d outlast all of us,” Jack said wryly. “Irish?”
 
“Please.”
 
Jack nodded and went to the cabinet, pulling out an old and expensive bottle of Irish whiskey, then two glasses. He poured a generous helping into each before walking over and handing Daniel his. Raising his glass, Jack said, “To George.”
 
“To George,” Daniel echoed softly before both men downed their drinks.
 
~*
 
Jack sat beside Hank, only half-way listening as other speakers extolled General Hammond’s virtues. His own history with George played in his mind like flashbacks- serving together when Jack was just a young Captain, the older man’s presence after Charlie died, when he took command of the Stargate program, when SG-1 got tossed back in time and met the younger George, when Daniel died, hell, all of the times when Daniel had died, when he’d been promoted to General, then given the SGC while his friend had gone to Homeworld Security…so many memories.
 
A nudge reminded him of his duty and he got to his feet and headed towards the platform in front of the gate.
 
Standing at the podium, Jack looked at the assembled troops, silently acknowledging Carter, who was back from Atlantis for the service, Daniel by her side along with that pain in the ass, Vala, then  Mitchell, Ferretti, and Colonel Paul Davis.
 
On the other side he nodded at Teal’c and Master Bra’tac, then at Jonas who’d come from Langara to pay his respects. They were just three of more than a two dozen alien representatives of worlds that the SGC had become allies with over the years. 
 
And most of their success had to do with George. The man knew when to glad hand, and when to play hardball, but to Jack, the man’s greatest skill had been his ability to listen to his people and act accordingly. It had saved SG-1’s, and Earth’s ass, more than once.
 
A throat clearing snapped Jack back to the present and he saw Hank incline his head for him to start talking.
 
Taking a deep breath, Jack leaned forward towards the mic, “Hey, you might not know me,” he began and there was a waves of chuckles in the audience, “but I’m Jack O’Neill, or better known as George’s problem child.” Outright laughter swept through the crowd, and Jack grinned for a moment, before turning serious.
 
“How can I articulate the loss that we have suffered?” he asked quietly, and silence fell. His eyes briefly met Daniel’s, and he knew that the loss he saw there was echoed in his own.
 
“George Hammond was a fine man, a great General, and most of all, my friend. But more than that, the success of Stargate Command can be directly traced to General George Hammond. He was a man who knew when to stand firm, and when to act. He knew when  to listen to his people, and when to take the reins and be the General. He didn’t believe that violence was the answer, and he was one of the men who taught me that words could make a difference.
 
I could go on, but here on Earth, there was a battle about a hundred and fifty years ago, a time in our history where brother fought against brother. And after many, many men died, one of the men who fought there, a General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, said these words…”
 
 
"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays.
Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to
consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and
women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know
not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were
suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to
ponder and dream; And lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap
them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls.”
 
Jack let his voice trail off, the powerful words echoing in the corners of the gateroom. He cleared this throat, and for a moment, bowed his head. “If there’s anyone’s spirit that will linger here, I think George’s will. And I believe that his spirit will inspire us to be better.”
 
He glanced up at the control room, forcibly reminded that George would never again be waiting on the other side of the glass for his teams to return safely. “Godspeed, General George Hammond,” he said, and snapped a parade smart salute to the flag hung in memorial before he headed down and back to his seat, head down, eyes burning from suppressing unexpected tears.
 
*
 
It was a little later at the small wake in the cafeteria when Bra’tac came up and shook hands. “O’Neill,” he said solemnly.
 
“Bra’tac,” Jack smiled. “Good to see you. How goes the government?” he asked.
 
Jack already had Teal’c’s answer, but the former Jaffa’s answer was from the point of view of a man who regarded politics with distaste.  Bra’tac viewed the ability to choose as a precious gift won through battle and blood, and his viewpoint usually differed.
 
The old man’s eyes twinkled. “I begin to see that we could power the entire government with the wind from speeches that say nothing.”
 
The answer made Jack laugh. “Which is the exact reason I never wanted to go into politics.”
 
“It is a work in progress, as you say.” Bra’tac answered philosophically. “I was very interested in the soldier that you quoted.”
 
“Ah,” Jack exhaled. “General Chamberlain. He was a General in an ugly war that saw too many men die.”
 
“As have we all,” the old Jaffa said quietly. “I see that Daniel Jackson is looking well.”
 
“Yeah, he always looks good,” Jack said, his eyes tracking the love of his life as he spoke to various people in the room.
 
 
When Jack retired he’d surprised no one by moving in with Daniel. What had surprised people, but only the ones without eyes, was that he and Daniel were partners in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, one of those who’d actually been surprised was Carter, and she’d drowned her sorrows by heading to Atlantis.
 
When people had heard, no one had gone to Daniel and told him not to break Jack’s heart, oh nooo. They’d all come to Jack and threatened him in various ways if he made Daniel unhappy. It had been kinda sweet, in a scary homicidal way.
 
What had surprised him was one of those who’d threatened him had been George. His old friend had been short and to the point.
 
“Jack, I’m happy to see you happy. But hurt that boy and I will come after you like the wrath of God. Understand me?”
 
Jack, dumbfounded, had nodded.
 
Hammond had then grinned. “That’s what my Lil’s daddy said to me when I asked for her hand in marriage, though he said my girl, but you get the idea.”
 
The memory made Jack smile reminiscently, and Daniel, ever attuned to his moods, looked across the crowded room and smiled, making the loss of George hurt a little less.
 
"And Daniel Jackson is happy?"
 
Jack shrugged. "You'll have to ask him."
 
The old man watched Daniel's face as he watched O'Neill, and smiled. "I do not have to."
 
 
the end-


*~*