Chapter 2
June had reported for duty to General Hammond and had been debriefed on the base, the Gate and the SG teams. She was to train under Dr. Janet Frasier for six months and then get placed on a team as a combat medic if all went well. Being nearly half way through her six year enlistment June decided to simply put her birthmother behind her and focus on her future and career. Yet, she had a feeling of bitterness come over her as she soon figured her mother gave her up so she could have her career and get her degrees while she suffered in an endless array of foster homes. She tried to not be bitter for she understood she was supposed to have been adopted into a family but still she couldn't help but feel as if she had been forsaken.
Weeks had passed and the next part of her job was to learn combat readiness for a SG team. Jack O'Neill and Teal'c were to conduct the training with the aid of officers and Daniel volunteered to assist as well. Pre-qualified cadets were brought in from the nearby Air Force Academy to train with the enlisted.
Armed with a spring-loaded replica of a P-90 loaded with caulk the trainees were to defend the Gate room from an attack. June Carter found herself in the control room with General Hammond and Senior Cadet Jennifer Hailey for the first part of the drill that was to prevent SG-1 from dialing in for they were playing the part of the "bad guys" in the mockup.
Jennifer sat in Walter's chair attempting to hold the iris as Sam manually hacked in from the beta site. She had to admit Sam made stopping the mock attack difficult. Jennifer tried a new program and stated, "I'm installing the beta firewall."
June asked, "Why not disconnect the wormhole?"
"You can't do that after it's be established, Airman." Jennifer stated annoyed.
"Sure ya can," she figured. "I read the manuals. There is a manual override in the Gate access panel."
Jennifer rebutted annoyed, "The drill is to prevent SG-1 from hacking into the computer."
"By shutting it down," she nodded. She looked at Hammond and asked, "Sir?"
Hammond decided to let June try to shut down the Gate manually. He gave a nod, "If you can shut down the wormhole before Major Carter can bring down that iris I will make a note of that in your file, Airman."
"Thank you sir," she gave a nod and left the control room. She pulled out her military issued pocket knife and went for the Gate access panel.
Jennifer shook her head, "She won't have time to do that. She needs a tool kit."
Hammond stated, "Open a channel to SG-1."
Hailey complied, "Channel open."
"Colonel O'Neill," Hammond stated.
"Sir," Jack's voice came over the radio.
"Don't enter the wormhole. Throw a piece of equipment instead." Hammond instructed for safety concerns.
"Um," he asked. "Why?"
"We're trying something not in the drill," he told him. "Throw something through…Like a boot or something."
Jack stood before the Gate on the Bata site and grabbed Daniel's hat and radioed, "Got something!"
Daniel gave him an annoyed look.
"You'll get it back." he assured him.
June reached the access panel and used her pocket knife to pop open the panel from above. She then found the manual override that would dissipate the wormhole.
Sam stated, "I got the iris down. Toss the hat." She wondered what they were doing in the S.G.C.
Jack tossed the hat and it went through the wormhole and the suddenly the event horizon collapsed. He winced for he knew Daniel's hat was lost.
Sam stated, "How did Hailey do that so fast?"
Jennifer Hailey sat at the controls after reporting the iris was breached. She looked dumbfounded as to how fast June brought the wormhole down.
June then used her radio to Hammond, "Should I reset the Gate so they can dial back, sir?"
He replied in his own hand held radio, "Reset the Gate, Airman."
June had reset the override and Sam quickly dialed back. Her voice came over the radio, "SG-1 is stepping through the Gate, sir."
"Affirmative," he stated.
Daniel demanded, "Where's my hat, Jack?"
"Next time I'll throw a rock," he miffed.
They walked back through and the drill had ended with the shutting down of the Gate. General Hammond emerged from the stairs to great them. "Colonel, Major," he gave the pair a nod.
Sam asked, "How did Hailey get the Gate down so fast?"
"Cadet Hailey didn't," he told her. "Senior Airman Carter did." He motioned towards June who walked out from behind the Gate as she folded up her pocket knife.
Jack asked kidding, "MacGyver is a woman?"
Sam asked, "June? How did you get access so fast? You need to unscrew the panel."
"You just pop it above," she told her. "A blade will work."
"Show me what you did," she told her.
June led her to the back of the Gate and showed her the panel, "You can pop it with a blade," she stated. She used the blade and slid it between the seams at the exact place and it popped open.
Sam looked at the hatch and felt inside the seams, "I could never hit the little knob with a knife. You would need to schematic to…" she sighed, "You have the schematic in your head…you have a photographic memory." She stood up and stated, "Sir!" she led June back to the front of the Gate. "We need to do the drill again and this time not let June anywhere near the Gate."
"Major?" he asked unsure.
"She has a photographic memory. She sees maps in her head. She saw a schematic of the Gate and used that to pop a hatch that we normally cannot. I would have to spend a lot of time trying to pop that hatch the way she did." she explained.
June asked, "Did I mess up the drill?"
Sam nodded, "Yes! Shutting down the Gate was not part of the drill."
"Then why dial from off world?" she wondered. "Just come in down the ramp without actually establishing the wormhole."
"So Cadet Hailey could be tested on the firewalls," Sam told her.
"Can't you that on a simulator?" she figured. To June it seemed reckless to use the Gate in such a manner.
"We could but we wanted a real world feel to the drill," Sam explained.
June rolled her head back and gave a heavy sigh, "Sorry I screwed it all up. Apparently, I'm real good at doing that."
Jack told her, "Shutting down the Gate like that was pretty slick."
Hammond stated, "I personally gave her permission, Major Carter. I wanted to see if she could do it. She beat you and Cadet Hailey in time."
"It's a pretty slick hack she used," Sam told him.
Hammond asked June, "You have a photographic memory, Airman."
She nodded, "Yes."
"I see," he gave a nod as he pondered how that talent could be used better. "See me in my office later."
"Yes sir," she gave a nod.
"We will do a frontal assault drill next week," he told them. "Dismissed," he then turned and walked back towards the office.
Daniel looked at Jack, "You owe me a new hat."
"It's government issued, Daniel." he huffed.
"Couldn't you have thrown your hat?" he asked.
"No," he shook his head and then waved, "Dismissed, Carter and Carter." He then walked off the ramp with Daniel in tow still peeved he threw his hat into the wormhole.
Sam stated, "I would like to speak to you in my office, Airman."
"Yes ma'am," she gave a nod.
Sam walked away feeling confused. She was peeved the drill was changed and yet if her suspicions were correct and June was baby she gave up then she had inherited her talents. Sam felt proud and angry all the same time.
June walked off the Gate room floor to put her drill equipment away. As she walked down the hallway she heard a voice from one of the other enlisted. "Don't show up Major Carter and Jennifer Hailey," the cadet told her. "That's like showing up baby bear in front of mama bear."
She looked at one of the Cadets. He was tall and had brown hair and eyes. She asked, "What ya mean?"
"Hailey is Major Carter's protégé." he informed. "They are like mother and daughter," he assumed incorrectly.
June found the assertion gut wrenching. Her mother would mentor some girl from college but didn't want her. She merely stated, "Thanks." She walked on the down the hallway. Samantha Carter had a reputation of being a genius and SG-1 were superstars in the world of the S.G.C. As she got to know her mother and her reputation the bitterness slowly rose in her as she abandoned by her mother. She tried to suppress the feelings but seeing Sam's near perfect life made her feel inadequate.
Meanwhile
Sam secured her gear and headed to General Hammond's office. She spotted him at his desk with a file folder before him. She stepped in the office, "Sir." Her eyes landed on the name June Carter.
Hammond looked upon her, "Major."
"I would like to speak to you about Airman Carter." she told him.
"And?" he asked.
She closed the door and took a seat, "I would like to see her records."
"On what grounds?" he asked.
"I would like to see her birth certificate," she admitted.
"It's in this file," he informed. "I pulled her records when you told me she has a photographic memory. I wanted to see how she placed on testing."
"She would need more testing to determine that," she stated. "Can I see her birth certificate?"
"That information is confidential," Hammond told her.
"Please," she begged.
"I can't open this file and just hand you her birth certificate." he told her. He then rose to his feet. "I'm going for a cup of coffee, Major." He stepped out the door and closed it behind him.
Sam looked back at Hammond and then at the file before her. She hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to know. She used her fingers and gently grasped the folder and peeled back the cover. The green birth certificate was right on top as if left there on purpose. She picked up the article and read off the information. The date of birth, the hospital, attending physician and name were all correct. The baby was listed as female, Carter. The first name of "June" was penciled in by a clerk after the month she was born. Technically, she had no first name, just a last name. Sam replaced the document and closed the folder. She sat looking wall wondering what to do.
General Hammond walked back into his office with two cups of coffee in hand. He placed one before Sam and took a seat across from her. He stated, "Jacob told me about what happened after your mother died." he informed.
"I was hurt and a mess," she admitted. "I blamed my father for her death and I had boyfriend and then I got pregnant. I couldn't bring myself to have an abortion after I just lost my mother. We thought adoption was the best way to go." she sipped the coffee and wondered what she should do.
"She's an adult now, Sam." he gently spoke. "I'm sure she will understand."
"She was supposed to go to a nice family," she replied. "She wasn't supposed to end up in foster homes."
"I'm sure she knows that," he told her. "You realize her records were never sealed and she had to have gotten her birth certificate to enlist and pass the background checks."
Sam squinted in thought, "That's right." She cocked her head, "She knows!"
"I think she does," he soothed her. "Legally, you are still her mother. She was never adopted and has your name."
"Where did June come from? It's penciled in. Her first name is blank." she noted.
Hammond stated, "She was born in June. I suppose they decided to use the month she was born in as a name."
"What do I do?" she asked.
"I can't tell you what to do but your relationship to June Carter is no one's business. Maybe now would be a good time to get to know her." he suggested.
"You think so?" she asked unsure.
"I think so," he nodded with a warm smile.
"Thank you," she sounded relieved. "Now how do I approach her?"
"That's up to you," he told her. "Maybe you two can find something in common and start from there."
"That could work," Sam agreed thinking of what they had in common.
