All Things Come in Small Packages
By Eilidh
Category: Kidfic
Warnings: None
Note: This is supposed to be a complete story… we'll see
General George Hammond stretched out in his office chair and tried to ignore the dull ache that radiated from muscles left inactive for too long. The day had been long and difficult, and he needed just a few moments of silence to let the events of yesterday settle in his mind.
If he hadn't seen it for his own eyes, George was pretty sure he would have called anyone with such a fanciful tale to tell, a complete liar. Turning his laptop screen towards him, his fingers danced across the keyboard and brought up a picture of his premier team.
SG-1 was known for attracting trouble like metal shavings to a magnet. They didn't actively seek out a problem and make it their own, no; it was just that in their role as first contact team for the SGC, they were thrown into the fire more often than not. This time though, the mission had been more akin to a raging bush fire and the consequences had been… unusual.
To this day, as he live and breath, and in glorious technicolor, George would never forget the first MALP image that filtered back from P2Y-771. A planet the locals called Agoria, George had been assured by the anthropology department that its population was harmless, and the briefing only days earlier hadn't left him with any reason to be concerned.
"Think early eighteen hundreds, General," Doctor James had declared during the pre mission briefing as he waved over his shoulder at the large presentation screen on the briefing room wall. "Very little technology and with only a rudimentary knowledge of medicine."
As Doctor James slid down into his chair signalling the end of his presentation, Doctor La Gran had swiftly taken his place, the diminutive geologist toggling the display until a mosaic of different colored soil samples filled the screen. "Pure gold," she had declared, face almost split in two with a smile of delight.
"You're saying this planet is rich in gold, Doctor? Hardly something Earth is in short supply of," George had queried keeping his voice low.
"No, General, but what the Agoria can offer us by way of minerals could be likened to pure gold."
And so the briefing had gone on with all parties pushing for access to the planet to fill their own department's wish lists. Thanking them all for their time, George had declared SG-1's mission to Agoria a go, and escaped to his office for a shot of whiskey and a Tylenol.
George wished for all the world that he could indulge in the whiskey and Tylenol again, but the image on the screen itched persistently at his mind and kept him on the straight with his responsibilities. The Agorians played the hapless villager routine well and swore they had no idea how it happened. No idea how a team of healthy humans could suddenly – what was the word again? What had Doctor Fraiser called it? De-aged?
George toggled the image on the screen and brought up another more recent shot. This one had been taken after a rescue team had gone through to Agoria and brought SG-1 home.
"Downsized," George huffed as he zoomed in on Colonel O'Neill. "Damn silly name if you ask me!"
The image settled and for a brief moment, George smiled at the scene being played out in the picture. Sitting at the base of the stone gate ramp was four ornately woven baskets, each holding a swaddled child. Neatly folded, like great care had been taken to preserve them, where the uniforms that SG-1 had worn when they went through the gate. Various personal items sat atop the uniforms and were the only immediate way the rescue team had to identify each baby. Teal'c being the obvious exception.
There was no one else in the vicinity of the gate. No way to tell who had dialled the gate and pointed the MALP in the direction of the baskets. It was a mystery, and one that the Agorians had no intention of helping them solve.
So George's premier team had been brought back through the gate and home. Now, settled in a makeshift nursery deep inside Cheyenne Mountain were four three month old babies. All fed, burped, diaper changed, and fast asleep.
All of who had only a day ago been full grown adults.
The End