From the Well, to the Pit, with Love.
Who does the Deep Space Telemetry team under Cheyenne Mountain turn to for help? The Fort Wadsworth Chaplain's Assistants' School Motor Pool, of course.
No "Yo, Joe" battle cries.
Set during the SG-1 pilot "Children of the gods", after O'Neill's team returned with Daniel Jackson from Abydos where hostile attack led to the capture of Jackson's wife, Sha'uri (the original movie spelling and pronunciation of her name), and his brother-n-law, Skaara.
The Joe setting is prior to the Marvel 'A Real American Hero' series, #1, also known as the Hama-verse. This story also includes Hama's information from G. I. Joe: Declassified, produced by DD, where he tells the origins of the Joe team, including additional characters.
'Welcome to the Well' was what Dr. Langford said to Jackson when he arrived on site at the Creek Mountain location in the Stargate motion picture. It is never again referred to by this name, either in the series or in the movie. In some movie cuts the phrase is omitted, though it is included in the movie transcript. The Pit, is the GI Joe headquarters as originally conceived by Larry Hama.
Of course, I neither own Stargate nor GIJoe, nor will gain profit by this story. This is solely intended for the enjoyment of the readers, and myself.
General Hammond already expressed his reticence to use the gate. The President had over-ruled him, and now Hammond believed they were in real trouble. O'Neill had led two off-world encounters, and both trips had resulted in casualties. The third encounter was the alien incursion into the "Well" that had killed four men, and taken one woman, Sgt. Carol Weterings, prisoner. They had left a bitter taste in Hammond's mouth. O'Neill's brash assurances during the briefing that morning were not helping. Yes, O'Neill and Dr. Jackson had destroyed an alien starship, but that almost seemed more like luck than anything.
Hammond picked up the phone and dialed the Pentagon. He told an operator, "General Ike Austin, please." Moments later he heard a recording telling him, in General Austin's voice, that his phone call would be returned. "He must be in one of those meetings behind an unmarked door, " thought Hammond. 'Ole' Iron Butt' Austin had a reputation for being up to his ears in top secret organizations, something Hammond knew about himself these days.
An hour later, Hammond got a call back from General Austin. After catching up on the scores for their grandkid's soccer games, Austin got down to business. "What can I do for you George?"
Hammond resisted using Austin's nickname. "Ike, I hear you've been doing some work extra projects on the side. I could use some help."
"So the Deep-Space Telemetry department under Cheyenne Mountain is asking for help from the Fort Wadsworth Chaplain Assistants' School Motor Pool," retorted Austin.
"Yup," said Hammond with his big Texas voice, adding "that's quite a mouthful, Ike."
" 'CASMoP' is better on the tongue. Your chaplains' assistants must be hard on their cars," sniped Austin.
"Some things can get pretty ugly out here. I need those, um, chaplains up and running, Ike."
"I don't just send my chaplains' mechanics anywhere, George."
"This is big, Ike. If you don't send them, we could all regret it," said Hammond, almost pleading with the Army general. Hammond added, "Ike, I need the best."
"What kind of trouble have you gotten us into George?" General Austin asked rhetorically. "This group is the best, but as a team their raw, George. They haven't had a mission together yet. Tomorrow morning soon enough?"
"Can you get them here by 5, for briefing at 6, and…um, work at 7."
"Larry Flagg will see to the details. We've learned a lot since that fiasco in Mogadishu, about cars of course. Clay Abernathy will lead the team."
"Larry's a good man. He did good work on Schwartzkopf's staff, and then in Somalia. Not familiar with Abernathy. Thanks, Ike."
"You're welcome George. I will have access to Abernathy's report after fixing your cars, right?"
"I'll run it by the President."
"That serious?"
"Yup, bye, Ike."
"Bye, George." And with that, both generals get their teams ready for the next morning.
0430 Hours EST, Cheyenne Mountain Complex: 27th Level Conference Room
"Colonel, I will not hear another complaint. I have gotten you help, and they are going with you," said a frustrated General Hammond, almost yelling at Colonel O'Neill. Hammond continued, "Now, here are the dossiers General Flagg sent. I want you familiar with each them and their specialties before they arrive."
Captain Carter opened her copy of the file as a frustrated O'Neill sat down, and she began reading out loud, "Special Operational Detachment: Delta. Code name: G. I. Joe".
Kowalski added, "It looks like 13 SF's, almost a standard A-Team with a driver". He still had a grin on his face from watching O'Neill's interaction with the general.
O'Neill looked through the names. "Abernathy, Barney, Freistadt, Gambello, Graves, Kibbey, McConnel, Melendez, O'Hara, Pulaski, Snakeyes…What kind of name is Snakeyes? What could be so secret that a guy in a military unit using a chaplain's assistants' school's motor pool as cover that is name still needs to be classified? How could this guy's identity be more secret than a unit that visits other planets through a large metal ring?" They all took a closer look at the mysterious file. O'Neill continued, "Filename: Classified, Birthplace: Classified, face: Classified. I'll bet his fingerprints, shoe size, morning meal, and baseball card collection are all classified too."
Carter pointed, "His file quotes a former commander saying he is the best."
Kowalski responded, "That's not classified."
"All right," butted in Jack, "let's look these over. Where's Danny?" Looking around the table Jack noticed Carter, Kowalski, and the other members of SG-2, but no Jackson.
General Hammond poked his head in, "Oh, Dr. Jackson is taking care of prep work for Colonel Abernathy. I am not sure when he'll be meeting up with you. Oh, and from this moment on, we will refer to these G.I. Joes by their codenames." And then he stepped back out. Hammond did not know Colonel Abernathy, but if Iron Butt Austin trusted him, then Hammond was hopeful .
"Well, let's start with Abernathy, codename: Hawk," started O'Neill.
0300 Hours EST. Over an hour prior to the conversation above, in a C-130 somewhere above the Central Time Zone.
"O'Neill. He's a loose cannon. He's sarcastic, irreverent, and borderline insubordinate," commented Scarlett. "He lost his son, and then this General …what's his name, West puts us in this position of having to travel with him."
"Remember your place, Sergeant. He is an officer, and he does get the job done. You will show proper respect, is that clear."
"Yes, sir. But are we sure he didn't start the mess?" She countered.
"That doesn't matter now Scarlett, we're here to help with this mess, and we will be working together. Listen, are you familiar with Air Force Special Tactics?"
"Yes, sir. They are the Air Force's version of the Delta Force, or the Seals."
"O'Neill belongs to one of these units. Air Force S. T.'s are usually recruited from the other branches like the Army's Rangers, Marine Force Recon, or the Seals because the Air Force does not have ground combat units. He was a fighter jock who got himself admitted into the S. T.'s by sheer tenacity. He was the equivalent of a SF company commander in Iraq during the war and one of his teams got cut off. He led the rescue mission when he could have turned it over to another team in his unit, or called in another branch. He's got trouble, but he'll come through. He won't leave anyone behind." Scarlett now sat quietly. Which O'Neill would they get, the hero or the mess?
Scarlett's train of thought was interrupted. "Hay, check this out, Captain Samantha Carter. Fighter jock with a degree in theo-theore-retical astro-physics," read Rock'n'Roll, stumbling over the words.
"That means she's smarter than you," quipped Stalker. "So leave her alone."
In another part of the C-130, several other Joes were working to modify a tank. "I bet they've done it. I bet the Air Force has contacted aliens and their now on our world, just like Von Daniken predicted. They've contacted us, and now we're being called in because one got loose," said an excited Grand Slam.
"Just what have you been reading?" questioned Breaker.
"Well, for one, an Egyptologist by the name of Dr. Daniel Jackson," responded Grand Slam, "If you had looked at the Air Force dossiers you would have seen his name there as a civilian advisor."
"Since when have you been interested in Egypt…anything? You're usually reading comic books and watching Star Trek, you Geek," said Steeler.
"Since Dr. Jackson wrote about aliens using the pyramids as landing pads," Grand Slam retorted. "I admit, I thought it was non-sense too, but I liked the possibilities for a good TV series. But now, who knows?"
"Great, so now some archeologist found aliens, and we've got to go hunt down Predator," said Grunt.
"Don't worry about Predator, you just finish this tank," interrupted Stalker, just arriving from the passenger compartment. "Hawk sent me to check on your modifications. How's it coming?"
"Well," answered Steeler, "this M551 Sheridan was the prototype for the single-operator MoBaT. It'll be ready in an hour. It would help if I knew why we needed to use this older version. I realize that it's need to know, but the M-1 we were working on is a better tank than this one."
"I heard less than you did, but this Sheridan is closer to the dimensions we'll need," responded Stalker, who then saluted the Lieutenant.
"I'm glad we brought the extra help, pfc Kreiger here has been very helpful," responded Steeler, ignoring the sergeants salute, something Stalker expected. Up popped the head of a woman covered in grease. The Joes needed help completing modifications to the tank in a hurry. A local tank troop CO suggested her. She had been dismantling a broken track on a Bradley when Steeler co-opted her from the tank company's motor-pool to fly to Colorado. She was already a mess when he picked her up from the motor pool. Her face, and mechanics jumpsuit were covered in black grease. Her hair was so greasy the Joes were not sure if black was her original color or not. She had a huge smile on her face behind the soot that exposed her teeth, also covered in grease.
"45 minutes until landing. Please prepare to strap your-selves in, and secure all loose items," called the captain on the C-130s overhead.
0315 Aboard a proto-type XP-14F modified Tomcat, codenamed "Skystriker".
"We are 15 minutes out from Colorado Springs, Ma'am. Your call is scheduled in 5 minutes," announced the pilot, Captain Brad Armbruster .
"Thank you, Captain. And don't call me, Ma'am. I'm a sergeant, I work for a living," responded the young woman. That was more than she had said the whole trip. He, however, had attempted to talk her ears off.
"Now, why would the brass send an enlisted woman alone on an experimental flight three quarters of the way across the country," asked the pilot. He had noticed she carried no rank insignia. He added, "And what is your name again."
"You know the drill. Besides, why is a fighter jock going for an interview in Deep-Space Telemetry."
"Yeah, Yeah. If you tell me, you have to blah, blah, blah. Well, I guess we both have our secrets."
"Cheyenne Mountain calling Ace, do you copy," came the call from the mountain base.
"Ace here, I'm ready to patch you through," answered Captain Armbruster to his call sign.
"And turn off your ears. This conversation is classified," said the powerful voice.
"Yes, Sir," snapped the pilot.
"Can you hear me soldier?" said the voice, now only heard by the plane's passenger.
"Yes, Sir, loud and clear," responded the young woman.
"Everything you are about to hear is classified. Please respond with your codename," continued the voice.
"Shooter," was the woman's sole response.
"Good, my name is General Hammond, United States Air Force. When you arrive in Colorado Springs, you will be picked up by an escort and Dr. Daniel Jackson." Then General Hammond explained the nature of the Stargate, and her role in the mission. Ace listened quietly, hearing nothing. He brought the plane down to the runway and was taxiing before he realized the conversation was over. He did notice that the woman's face was a little pale. "You okay? It wasn't my flying was it?" She did not respond.
As Ace pulled into his designated parking place, a black suv pulled up, and out stepped a young man in civilian clothes. The young man had long hair and glasses. As they parked, both Shooter, and Ace noticed him. "He looks a little out of place, doesn't he?" said Armbruster, almost mocking the archeologist. "Spook?" said Armbruster, referring to the young man possibly being CIA. Shooter remained quiet until the canopy popped. The young man approached the plane.
"This must be your ride, huh?" Asked the pilot. The woman did not respond. "Hay, if you are going by Cheyenne Mountain can I have a ride?
"NO!" shouted both Dr. Jackson and Shooter. Brad feigned a dejected pout and then went about the business of shutting down the experimental fighter.
Shooter carried two large duffle bags over to Dr. Jackson. "Dr. Jackson I presume."
"Um, yes. And you are?" Dr. Jackson responded, mentally noting the ironic phrasing of the young woman's statement.
"That's not important right now. Did everything arrive as I requested?" rushed the woman.
"As far as I know. Now why are we here?"
"I believe you were sent to get me because we are going ahead of the larger group. I am Hawk's Fi-Lo."
"Hawk's Fi-Lo?" Asked Dr. Jackson. He was just now beginning to learn military jargon and this one was new to him. He wasn't concerned with terminology, as long as it got him Sha'uri back.
"Yes, you and I are going in before the rest of the team. According to General Hammond, you will show me how to work the DHD."
"Uhm, okay. Now why are we going ahead?" Puzzled Jackson aloud.
O'Neill, Carter, Kowalski, and the rest of SG-2 had finished their reading, and taken a break for breakfast. It was now about 0535. SG-2 went to rest while Carter and O'Neill stopped by the gateroom. To their shock, the gate was gone. They rushed up to the conference room to find General Hammond with 3 men and one woman.
O'Neill quickly noticed the military demeanor. The African-American in camos with a green beret, the younger man in an armor jumpsuit, the woman with the stark red hair, and the savvy looking man who carried authority like it was his nose. He was not pompous, just confident but respectful.
"Something wrong, Colonel?" asked the General.
"The gate is gone," interrupted Carter.
"Well, I've never seen you this concerned O'Neill. Yes, the gate is gone. We have moved it to a secure location above ground so that these fine soldiers can get their gear into the staging area."
The confident leader stepped up to O'Neill. "Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter: I am Hawk. This is the command team of G. I. Joe: XO-Steeler, senior NCO-Stalker, and Intel NCO-Scarlett. We're glad to be here, and glad to be serving under your command, sir."
O'Neill was perplexed. The man he knew only as a special ops full-bird colonel was sincere. "Um, okay. Thanks. Glad to have you." He wasn't sure how to respond, but he hoped he had pulled off something approximating reciprocal sincerity. O'Neill felt awkward, and could sense similar awkwardness in Hawk's subordinates. Luckily, Kowalski and SG-2 arrived. "Is Danny boy going to be here?" pondered O'Neill out loud.
"He has gone ahead to the co-ordinates provided by Sgt. Feretti. You will meet him when you go through the gate," responded Hammond.
"The gate?" asked Scarlett. O'Neill noted that only an enlisted SF would be so bold in a group of officers.
Steeler sat quietly, kicking himself, knowing that what they were about to hear meant that he was going to have to eat crow for a long time with Grand Slam.
O'Neill let Carter explain the gate, and their three previous experiences with it to the Joes. He only stopped her when he would say, "Dumb down the Trek-babble, Data." She would then apologize and continue.
At first no one asked any questions, then Stalker asked, "Now, why are we going to a different alien planet?"
"Rescue mission," was O'Neill's response.
"Actually," interjected Hammond, "yes. This is a rescue mission. But also, the president has authorized exploration of the gate network, with special emphasis on assessing any threat these aliens pose to earth. Colonel O'Neill has pointed out that these aliens have space crafts and if they are indeed a threat, we will need to forge alliances, and attain technology that will help us defeat them. And quite frankly, I want to know two things: are they as hostile as our previous encounters, or are we ticking them off; and secondly, can we beat them in a fair fight. That's where you come in. General Austin assures me that your team is the best there is, and I want to know we can win."
After a pause the questions began to come. Tactics, weapons, cover fire, command structure: Hawk sat by as Stalker and Scarlett asked most of those questions. As it approached 0630, the questions died down. With one more pause, Steeler asked, "If this gate goes into a pyramid, then why bring a tank?"
It surprised the SG teams that the Joes had brought a tank, but Carter replied, "The gate on earth was found out in the open, we think that others will be that way as well. Dr. Jackson seems to think they are placed in places of worship, like say Stonehenge. If that is so, heavier weapons will be to our advantage."
"All right then," said Hawk, having heard all the explanations, and the answers-usually in the form of "We don't know" to his team's questions- got down to the point. "What's the plan?"
"Before we answer that," posed O'Neill, "what's with this guy, Snakeyes?"
0655 At an undisclosed location on the grounds of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
Four black suvs pulled up to a large circus size tent in a field. The field was surrounded by woods, and there was a crane near the road at the field's edge. Outside the tent sat a group of men in green uniforms, and one in black. The men all stood at attention as the group got out of their suvs. Hawk led the way over to the men as he was followed by the two SG teams, his own command element, and General Hammond. He led them over to group standing in a perfect row, sharply facing forward. He started on the left and introduced them moving to the right: "Here is Shortfuze, and Breaker, Clutch, Grunt, Zap, Flash, Grand Slam, Rock'n'Roll, and off course Snakeyes." Snakeyes was the only soldier who wore a mask over his face. O'Neill resisted the urge to interview him there, reserving his curiosity for later.
General Hammond chimed, "Pleasure to meet you all, and good luck on your mission."
"Let's get to it, no more dramatics," spoke the mission commander O'Neill.
"Fall out, and into the tent, I will brief you as we make final arrangements," said Hawk. Grand Slam noticed that Steeler was purposely avoiding him.
Inside the tent, the SG teams got their weapons together. Hawk had Grunt open a special crate he had been saving. Hawk then explained to the Joes about the gate, and the plan for their mission. Grand Slam grinned from ear to ear.
"Eat your heart out astronauts, I'm goin' where no man has gone before, and in a jeep," chided Clutch.
"Shut up!" Yelled Short-Fuze. "You have no idea what we are in for."
Rock'n'Roll and Flash could only shake their heads. Zap said something in Spanish. Grunt and Flash kept taking deep breaths as they unpackaged the crate. "Remember those babies we tried out a few weeks ago," Grunt announced.
"Yeah," responded Zap.
"Well here they are." And Grunt held up a rifle that O'Neill and his team had never seen. "The XMLR-3A. I hope these work as well as advertised."
"That's why you will also be bringing your normal weapons as well. Colonel, would you like these in addition to your firearms?" offered Hawk.
O'Neill, Carter, and SG-2 each took a laser-rifle. O'Neill slung his over his shoulder, preferring to use a weapon he trusted. Hawk was pleased to see O'Neill make his own decision. The rest of the SG personnel hesitated, then followed O'Neill's example. Hawk was not fully convinced of the weapon himself. Flash was the only one in the group not to select the weapon. O'Neill noticed him carrying a different weapon. "I assume this is also a laser, what's the difference between this one and these that we're carrying?" he asked.
Flash explained, "Your weapon is hoped to one day be a standard issue weapon. The beam has the relative intensity of an armor-piercing bullet. It burns its target in a burst, like a machine gun. My XMLR-1A is more like a slicer. It's more intense, has more usage, but also is more delicate. Someone will have an extra M-16 for me if it burns out. This baby will slice a two inch concrete wall with no trouble at all."
"Well, okay then. I guess we are already in the space age. I hope these things work," said O'Neill.
Kowalski added, "Now I really feel like Buck Rogers."
Inside the tent O'Neill noticed a tank that looked like it might fit through the stargate. He also noticed two jeeps, and 3 heavy artillery pieces hooked to each vehicle. Who knows what else these guys brought? thought the colonel.
"Well, Colonel, we are late for our departure time. Are we ready?," asked Hawk.
"If you are," responded O'Neill. "Let's go."
The two SG teams entered a separate room in the tent, along with Hawk, Stalker, Scarlett, Snakeyes, Zap and Grunt. The rest of the Joes were to wait for a call that meant that the first group was in trouble, and they needed help. The SG support personnel took down the curtain divide, so that the Joes at their vehicles could see the event. Then the gate began to spin. When it finally stopped and the blue splash emerged from the gate, the Joes just stood shocked. All of them gasped, or awed.
O'Neill noticed that he heard a noise from all except one. Hawk simply said "Let's go." As O'Neill went through the gate he could hear one of the Joes in the background saying, "Yes" repeatedly.
After the SG teams had gone through the gate, Stalker said, "Welcome to Wonderland, Alice."
"I hope we don't run into the Queen of Hearts," responded Zap.
"And I hope we're not following the Mad Hatter," remarked Scarlett quietly, still very skeptical of O'Neill.
Snakeyes went through without hesitation. Scarlett went right behind him. Stalker pushed through like trying to knock down a door. Hawk looked at Zap and Grunt, and then stepped into the vertical pool. Last came Zap and Grunt.
"Godspeed everyone," wished Hammond in a benediction.