The Departure Cheyenne Mountain:
Jack fidgeted. Earlier that day two air force officers had shown up at his house, informed him that his retirement had been revoked, and that he was to accompany them to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex immediately. To make matters worse, his escorts refused to give him any explanation as to why he had been recalled to active duty; they had merely informed him that it was 'on a need to know basis' and that he'd be fully briefed in 'due time'. Since then, he had been waiting in one of the base's briefing rooms. Occasionally the monotony was broken by a new arrival, but none knew, or would admit to knowing, the reason why they had been summoned to the base.
Jack shifted in his seat, kicked the chair leg, drummed his fingers on the table and thought, 'For crying out loud! Right now I should be hunkered down with a rod in one hand and a cold beer in the other, not wasting my time here.'
Jack looked around the room, taking in the changes since his last visit to Cheyenne Mountain. 'It sure hasn't changed much in five years. Same institutional gray walls, same uncomfortable chairs. Ya think that with their budget, the Pentagon could spring for some new furniture,' he thought. He scanned the crowd, searching for a familiar face. A couple of the junior officers looked familiar, but Jack couldn't quite place anyone.
'What ever happened to all those civilians they had working here? Did they send them all home after Ferretti, Kowalsky and I got back from Abydos?' Jack thought. Jack wondered, not for the first time, what cover story had been given to explain Dr. Jackson's disappearance.
Another man entered the room. Noting the new arrival's insignia, the crowd rose, and saluted. The man ordered them to be seated and took his place at the head of the table. "I am General George Hammond, the new Commanding Officer of this base," he said.
After introductions were finished, General Hammond faced the assembled men. "Gentlemen, as some of you already know, five years ago, a team of air force personnel accompanied by a civilian specialist, traveled across the galaxy to another world. On this world, they found a civilization descended from humans kidnapped from ancient Egypt. They also encountered a very powerful alien posing as one of the ancient Egyptian deities. . . . Fortunately, Colonel O'Neill and his men, aided by Dr. Jackson, were able to neutralize the threat. . . . " The General continued to speak, ignoring the stunned disbelief from certain members of his audience. "After Colonel O'Neill returned, the government decided to mothball the project. This decision was made in part due to erroneous information," General Hammond said, glancing at Jack who responded with a sheepish shrug. "Erroneous information, sir?" an officer asked. "Yes, apparently Colonel O'Neill's mission report was not entirely accurate; especially his account of Dr. Jackson's status," said General Hammond. "It appears that Dr. Jackson was not killed on Abydos, as reported." "Sir, what did happen to Dr. Daniel Jackson?" one of the participants said. "Have there been any attempts at communication since the first mission?" "After Colonel O'Neill's return the stargate was disconnected and put into storage. Several months after that, the stargate apparently reactivated. We believe that someone or something tried to visit us, but, due to the packing materials blocking the stargate, the person or persons were unsuccessful," General Hammond said.
"Are you sure that someone tried to get through?" Jack asked in alarm.
"Organic residue was found on the inside of the packing crate," General Hammond said.
Jack froze. 'No, oh god, no, not Daniel,' he thought, sick with horror. 'What have I done? The man had no future on earth, he'd lost his job, his girlfriend had dumped him, he had even been evicted. He wanted so badly to stay with Sha're, to explore Abydos and learn more about ancient Egypt. I was only trying to help, but I condemned him to death,' Jack thought desperately.
General Hammond resumed the briefing. "Tomorrow a second expedition will depart for Abydos. The purpose of this mission is to open trade negotiations with the Abydonians for naquadah, the mineral used by the alien Ra, to obtain any advanced technology, and of course, find out exactly what happened to Dr. Jackson."
"Who will lead this mission?" asked one of the officers. "As he is the highest ranking officer with first hand knowledge of the terrain, Colonel O'Neill will be the commanding officer," General Hammond said. "That is, if he's willing."
Everyone turned to Jack. Oblivious, Jack continued to berate himself for allowing Daniel to stay on Abydos. 'He must have been trying to come home and now he's dead. This is all my fault,' he thought bitterly.
"Colonel?" General Hammond said. "Are you listening?"
Jack started. "Yes sir," he said, not quite sure what Hammond had been saying.
"Then it's settled, you will lead the tomorrow's mission to Abydos," General Hammond said.
"Abydos tomorrow, right," Jack said, his mood lightening a little.
"I trust this time you will present a full and accurate report, Colonel," General Hammond said, in a rather unfriendly tone.
Jack met the General's gaze. "Yes sir," he said quietly. 'I guess I deserved that,' Jack thought.
"Good," Hammond said.
The Next Day:
Jack, accompanied by Kowalsky, Ferretti, and two new officers, Major Griff and Colonel Makepeace, stood on the ramp in front of the stargate, waiting for their adventure to begin.
"Chevron seven encoded," the technician said at the gate came to life.
Colonel Makepeace approached the rippling surface of the event horizon cautiously. "So this thing really leads to another world?" he said giving the wormhole a dubious look.
"Don't worry Colonel," Kowalsky said to Makepeace. "It's a piece of cake."
Makepeace, apparently feeling that the honor of the marines had been impugned, jumped into the event horizon, quickly followed by Major Griff.
"See you on the other side," Kowalsky said to Jack as he and Ferretti leapt after them.
Jack took one last look around the embarkation room. Noticing General Hammond watching him from the observation deck he tossed off a jaunty salute and stepped through the gate.
The End.
Jack fidgeted. Earlier that day two air force officers had shown up at his house, informed him that his retirement had been revoked, and that he was to accompany them to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex immediately. To make matters worse, his escorts refused to give him any explanation as to why he had been recalled to active duty; they had merely informed him that it was 'on a need to know basis' and that he'd be fully briefed in 'due time'. Since then, he had been waiting in one of the base's briefing rooms. Occasionally the monotony was broken by a new arrival, but none knew, or would admit to knowing, the reason why they had been summoned to the base.
Jack shifted in his seat, kicked the chair leg, drummed his fingers on the table and thought, 'For crying out loud! Right now I should be hunkered down with a rod in one hand and a cold beer in the other, not wasting my time here.'
Jack looked around the room, taking in the changes since his last visit to Cheyenne Mountain. 'It sure hasn't changed much in five years. Same institutional gray walls, same uncomfortable chairs. Ya think that with their budget, the Pentagon could spring for some new furniture,' he thought. He scanned the crowd, searching for a familiar face. A couple of the junior officers looked familiar, but Jack couldn't quite place anyone.
'What ever happened to all those civilians they had working here? Did they send them all home after Ferretti, Kowalsky and I got back from Abydos?' Jack thought. Jack wondered, not for the first time, what cover story had been given to explain Dr. Jackson's disappearance.
Another man entered the room. Noting the new arrival's insignia, the crowd rose, and saluted. The man ordered them to be seated and took his place at the head of the table. "I am General George Hammond, the new Commanding Officer of this base," he said.
After introductions were finished, General Hammond faced the assembled men. "Gentlemen, as some of you already know, five years ago, a team of air force personnel accompanied by a civilian specialist, traveled across the galaxy to another world. On this world, they found a civilization descended from humans kidnapped from ancient Egypt. They also encountered a very powerful alien posing as one of the ancient Egyptian deities. . . . Fortunately, Colonel O'Neill and his men, aided by Dr. Jackson, were able to neutralize the threat. . . . " The General continued to speak, ignoring the stunned disbelief from certain members of his audience. "After Colonel O'Neill returned, the government decided to mothball the project. This decision was made in part due to erroneous information," General Hammond said, glancing at Jack who responded with a sheepish shrug. "Erroneous information, sir?" an officer asked. "Yes, apparently Colonel O'Neill's mission report was not entirely accurate; especially his account of Dr. Jackson's status," said General Hammond. "It appears that Dr. Jackson was not killed on Abydos, as reported." "Sir, what did happen to Dr. Daniel Jackson?" one of the participants said. "Have there been any attempts at communication since the first mission?" "After Colonel O'Neill's return the stargate was disconnected and put into storage. Several months after that, the stargate apparently reactivated. We believe that someone or something tried to visit us, but, due to the packing materials blocking the stargate, the person or persons were unsuccessful," General Hammond said.
"Are you sure that someone tried to get through?" Jack asked in alarm.
"Organic residue was found on the inside of the packing crate," General Hammond said.
Jack froze. 'No, oh god, no, not Daniel,' he thought, sick with horror. 'What have I done? The man had no future on earth, he'd lost his job, his girlfriend had dumped him, he had even been evicted. He wanted so badly to stay with Sha're, to explore Abydos and learn more about ancient Egypt. I was only trying to help, but I condemned him to death,' Jack thought desperately.
General Hammond resumed the briefing. "Tomorrow a second expedition will depart for Abydos. The purpose of this mission is to open trade negotiations with the Abydonians for naquadah, the mineral used by the alien Ra, to obtain any advanced technology, and of course, find out exactly what happened to Dr. Jackson."
"Who will lead this mission?" asked one of the officers. "As he is the highest ranking officer with first hand knowledge of the terrain, Colonel O'Neill will be the commanding officer," General Hammond said. "That is, if he's willing."
Everyone turned to Jack. Oblivious, Jack continued to berate himself for allowing Daniel to stay on Abydos. 'He must have been trying to come home and now he's dead. This is all my fault,' he thought bitterly.
"Colonel?" General Hammond said. "Are you listening?"
Jack started. "Yes sir," he said, not quite sure what Hammond had been saying.
"Then it's settled, you will lead the tomorrow's mission to Abydos," General Hammond said.
"Abydos tomorrow, right," Jack said, his mood lightening a little.
"I trust this time you will present a full and accurate report, Colonel," General Hammond said, in a rather unfriendly tone.
Jack met the General's gaze. "Yes sir," he said quietly. 'I guess I deserved that,' Jack thought.
"Good," Hammond said.
The Next Day:
Jack, accompanied by Kowalsky, Ferretti, and two new officers, Major Griff and Colonel Makepeace, stood on the ramp in front of the stargate, waiting for their adventure to begin.
"Chevron seven encoded," the technician said at the gate came to life.
Colonel Makepeace approached the rippling surface of the event horizon cautiously. "So this thing really leads to another world?" he said giving the wormhole a dubious look.
"Don't worry Colonel," Kowalsky said to Makepeace. "It's a piece of cake."
Makepeace, apparently feeling that the honor of the marines had been impugned, jumped into the event horizon, quickly followed by Major Griff.
"See you on the other side," Kowalsky said to Jack as he and Ferretti leapt after them.
Jack took one last look around the embarkation room. Noticing General Hammond watching him from the observation deck he tossed off a jaunty salute and stepped through the gate.
The End.