Chapter Two

A military transport aircraft landed on the airfield just outside the Knight Foundation headquarters hangar. Michael and Sarah had already packed their supplies in preparation to leave.

KITT stated, "Michael, this new mission sounds very interesting. However, it would seem there is a lot more to this than we have heard so far. I cannot find a Department of Homeworld Security listed in any military database, and I have top secret clearance. It is a bit puzzling."

Michael crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah KITT, it does sound a bit 'cloak and dagger' to me, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, we've done the cloak and dagger thing before, right?"

"Yes, Michael, we have. By the way, do you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life? There is a lot of information available on the Internet about people who have been visited, or even abducted, by so-called aliens, yet any government documentation is usually very vague. With such a vast expanse of space, the odds of there being intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy are actually good."

Sarah and Michael looked at each other for a moment, unsure how to explain to KITT about the multitude of conspiracy theories and plain old fiction purported by people who believe they had encountered aliens.

Zoe spoke up, "KITT, you can't believe everything you read. There are a ton of wackos out there who will tell you they were abducted by aliens, when in reality they just got drunk and hypnotized by some flashing lights from a passing airplane or something. There are no big scary aliens out to get us." She motioned with her hands in front of her as if casting a spell trying to ward off scary thoughts.

Billy looked to Zoe, then to KITT. "Oh come on, KITT is right, it is simply a matter of statistics. It is also quite arrogant, I think, to believe that we are alone in this huge universe."

Zoe laughed and looked over at Billy. "Sure Billy, sure, whatever you say."

"Whatever," Billy scoffed, and he swiveled back to his computer.

Sarah and Michael turned towards the outside door just as the buzzer sounded. Michael opened it and noted two officers from the U.S. Air Force standing outside.

"Dr. Graiman, Mr. Knight, I am Lieutenant-Colonel Sanders, and this here is Major Greene, U.S. Air Force. We are here to take you to your briefing with General Landry in Colorado."

Michael tried his best to hide a smirk. "Yes, thank you, Colonel Sanders, let's get going. So, do you guys get good chicken in the Air Force?"

Sarah giggled, Zoe laughed yet tried to compose herself quickly, and Billy looked to them for a moment in confusion before he snapped his fingers and quickly turned back to his screen, stifling a chuckle.

Lt. Colonel Sanders gave Michael a somewhat dour expression. "Oh yes, ha ha, I have never heard that one before. Please stop. My sides hurt. Now come on, wiseguy, don't want to keep the good General waiting."

Michael and Sarah both waved to their team, left with the officers, and boarded the transport aircraft.

After they had gone, KITT asked, "Billy, I do not understand. I know that Michael was in the Army, and they tend to have a friendly rivalry with the other branches of the military, but why would the Air Force have better chicken?"

Billy chuckled again. "Ah yes, KITT. Try looking up Kentucky Fried Chicken and who founded it."

KITT was silent a moment as he accessed data. "Oh I see, Colonel Sanders was the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Michael was therefore making a joke based on Lt. Colonel Sanders' name in relation to the fast food chicken restaurant chain. Very clever, Michael."

Michael still had his earwig communication device in his ear, and responded to KITT. "Yeah KITT, I got a million of them. See you soon."

"See you soon, Michael."

The flight from the Knight Foundation in California, to Colorado Springs took around two hours. During that time, Michael chatted with the two officers, sometimes speaking about his time in the Army, other times speaking about more general topics such as sports. Meanwhile, Sarah worked on her laptop computer. When they landed in Colorado, they were met at the airport by a military-issue sedan, and driven by a young Corporal to Cheyenne Mountain complex. They were admitted through the security gate after showing their ID. When Sarah saw the sign above the entrance tunnel, she nodded toward it.

"Hey, Cheyenne Mountain. Isn't this where NORAD is based?"

Corporal Anderson nodded briefly. "Yes ma'am, however where we are going is beneath NORAD."

He did not say anything further, so Sarah resumed simply looking out the windows as they entered the tunnel and drove deeper into the mountain. They parked in the underground parking lot, and the Corporal escorted them through the underground entrance, past another security checkpoint with hand print and retina scanners, finally into a bunker with many maze-like passages. He led them through the base and up to an office door.

"General Landry is here. Just a moment."

Anderson knocked on the door. After hearing a brief "come in," he opened it, stepped in and announced, "Sir, we have Dr. Graiman and Mr. Knight here to see you."

General Landry looked up from his paperwork on his desk. "Ah yes, good, please come in. Thank you, Anderson."

"Yes, sir." Anderson left.

Michael and Sarah looked around briefly, then sat down in the chairs facing General Landry's desk.
Landry shook hands with them before taking his seat.

"Dr. Graiman, Mr. Knight, thank you for coming," he began.

Sarah responded, "Thank you for inviting us, General. And please just call me Sarah."

Michael added, "And Mike."

"Very well, Sarah and Mike. You can call me General Landry, or just General. I know that General O'Neill doesn't stand on formalities so much, but I do. We will be giving you a full briefing in a few minutes, but I wanted to meet you privately first." He gestured to his desk, where two folders bearing the SGC logo sat. "First order of business, would you please review and sign the NDAs? We must have these before we can continue."

"Of course," Sarah replied.

She picked up the folders, handing one to Michael. They both read through the documents, signed them, and handed the folders back to General Landry.

"Michael," KITT spoke up from a video-audio feed sitting on the table. "Do I need to sign an NDA as well?"

"Nah, KITT, I'll vouch for you," Mike chuckled, but then he caught sight of the stern-eyed General. "Uh... is that okay, General, sir?"

Landry looked at him a second longer, then gave a small shrug. "I suppose asking an AI to sign a waiver is impractical. Now let's get down to brass tacks. We are not alone in this universe. There are other sentient races out there, many of them. Some of them are hostile, some are friendly. This operation here is all centered on an alien device called the Stargate. We found it back in 1928, in Egypt."

Landry looked at both of them, but they just kept looking back at him, listening intently. He continued.

"About 10 years ago, our scientists were finally able to discover how it works, and we began using this device to travel to other worlds. You will get a more thorough explanation in the briefing, but suffice it to say, it opens up a whole lot of possibilities for us. As well as problems. That is why we have brought you here. One of these hostile alien races is the Goa'uld, a group of symbiotic life forms that attach themselves to a host body and take it over. They were a major power player in this galaxy for a long time. Due to our efforts, and help from some friendly alien allies, we have managed to whittle them down. However, there is one Goa'uld who decided to start causing problems here on Earth. His name is Ba'al."

"Ba'al," KITT chimed in. "A Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning master or lord, used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor. Most commonly, it was the title for Hadad, Semitic god of rain, thunder, fertility and agriculture, called the lord over the assembly of gods on the holy mount of Heaven. However, Biblical uses of the name Ba'al refer to any number of local spirit-deities worshipped as cult images, each called a ba'al and regarded in the Hebrew Bible as false gods."

"So is this an alien or a god?" Mike asked wryly.

Landry explained curtly, "They posed as deities in Earth's past in order to gain followers and trust. Not only is Ba'al here on Earth again, but he has made clones of himself. We need you to help capture some of them."

Landry waited a moment and looked at them both again.

Sarah spoke first. "So, you need our help to capture hostile aliens? This sounds to me more like your line of work. We certainly have no experience capturing aliens!"

Landry smiled briefly. "Well, I would not think you have experience capturing aliens, but you do have experience capturing bad guys, and from your files your team is very good at it. When you boil it down, Ba'al is just another bad guy. Sure he is an alien, but in a human body. He has access to superior technology, but so do we. Although this is normally, as you say, our line of work, we need some help since we have to keep up with our normal missions. Since these clones are here on Earth, it makes sense to bring in some... local help."

Mike considered all of this, and finally he spoke. "General, how many of these clones are we dealing with? Also, what kind of strength do they have without their superior technology?"

"Good questions, Mike. Unfortunately, for the first one, we don't have an exact answer as of yet. We do, however, know of two clones on the west coast that we want you to bring in. One is in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California, the other one is in Portland, Oregon. As for their strength, the symbiote does give them formidable strength, but they are not invulnerable."

Mike hummed thoughtfully with his fingers to his chin. "Capture bad guys, strong but not invincible, only two of them with known locations... leave out the alien crap and it's like any other mission."

"Indeed, Michael," KITT added in. "And may I add an 'I told you so' regarding the high probability of life existing elsewhere in the universe?"

Mike gave a sigh and rolled his eyes. "No, KITT, you may not."

Sarah looked from Mike back to Landry. "Alright, General, this sounds like something our team can handle. What exactly do we need to do?"

"Well, the next step of course is the full briefing. After that we will loan you some equipment, including specialized non-lethal weapons and secure communications gear. Then we will send you on your way. So if you will follow me please to our briefing room, we will get started."

Landry put the two folders with the signed NDAs into his IN box pile on his desk and rose from his seat. He led Mike and Sarah out of his office and into the larger room next door, the briefing room. It had a large wooden conference table with chairs, TV screens, and to one side a very large metal door which appeared to cover a window of sorts, even though they were underground.

Landry took the seat at the head of the table, and gestured for Mike and Sarah to sit in the chairs along the side. As they were getting settled, they were joined in the room by a man in a green casual style uniform, wearing glasses.

"I hope I am not late."

"Ah good, Dr. Jackson, you are right on time. Sarah, Mike, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson, one of the scientists who helped bring about this operation, and a member of our lead expeditionary team, SG-1."

Daniel Jackson smiled and shook hands with Sarah and Mike. "I was told there would be three."

"Greetings," KITT said over his speaker. "I am Knight Industries Three Thousand, or just KITT. Forgive me for not shaking your hand, Doctor Daniel Jackson."

"An AI is the third," Landry explained.

"Fascinating! Well then..." Daniel looked briefly to Landry, who gave him a nod, and the archaeologist raised one hand with a presentation clicker. With it he turned down the room lights, and turned on one of the TV screens. The screen showed a spinning 3D logo, with the lettering SGC.

"Dr. Graiman, Mr. Knight, KITT, welcome to Stargate 101," Daniel began with an amiable tone, like some university professor. "Everything I am about to tell you is classified top secret. As General Landry no doubt mentioned to you already, we are not alone in the universe. In fact, not only are there other alien species out there, there are many settlements of humans, descended from our ancestors who were taken to other planets. Being an archaeologist, this is quite fascinating to me, but our time here is short, so I will cut to the chase."

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and looked pointedly at Landry again. Landry nodded, and with a push of a button, Daniel gestured to the now opening metal door, which slid up into the ceiling, revealing a window and at what was beyond it.

"May I introduce you to the Stargate. As Jack would say, cue applause," Daniel said, chuckling softly to himself.

Mike and Sarah got up from their seats and went closer to the now revealed window, to stare at the large enclosed room below. In the center of the room was the main attraction, a giant vertical ring shaped object, the Stargate itself. While they stared at the sight in wonder, KITT's voice called out.

"May I see this Stargate as well?"

"Ah, sorry buddy," Mike said, and he brought the video-audio device over to the window. "Do you have a good view?"

"Yes, thank you, Michael."

Daniel continued. "The Stargate was originally discovered in Egypt in 1928. It was studied for decades. Eventually we figured out how to use it, and use it we did. We have since visited many worlds, and even established bases on some of them. Now then, on to the nitty gritty, how this thing works."

He clicked his device again, and the TV changed to show a video of the Stargate, its central ring with different symbols spinning around. The ring appeared to stop at certain points, and each time it did, the chevron at the top clunked downward and then up, and another chevron along the side lit up. It continued in this manner, with the ring spinning in the opposite direction after each stop, until seven chevrons were lit. The center of the ring then lit up with a brilliant blue-white light, with a large swirling form of energy appearing to flow outward from it, then a moment later, the energy collapsed back toward the center. The center of the ring was then filled with a shimmering energy, as if it was a vertical pool of luminous water.

"This sequence here is what it looks like when the gate is dialed and activated. The big swirl you saw is known as the unstable vortex, or in technical terms, the kawoosh."

Sarah smiled at that nickname and laughed. "Kawoosh? Let me guess, named by one of your astrophysicists?"

Daniel smirked and nodded. "My colleague Dr. Sam Carter. Lieutenant Colonel Sam Carter. So at any rate, the kawoosh is what happens when the connection is formed, and once it is stabilized, what you see is called the event horizon, also known as the puddle, for obvious reasons. The connection between Stargates is called a wormhole. It is a temporary path over vast distances of space that allows near instantaneous travel. The sending gate converts your matter to energy, which is sent at great speed through the wormhole, and the receiving gate then converts the energy back to matter. As far as the traveller is concerned the trip is over about as quickly as you can walk two steps. In reality it can take several seconds, sometimes a minute or more."

As Daniel explained the mechanics of gate travel, he clicked his device and the TV screen showed 3D graphical representations of two gates, a wormhole connecting them, and small figures going through one, converted to small blobs of energy, being whisked down the wormhole, and appearing on the other side whole again.

Mike and Sarah were both watching the video, with an occasional glance at the real Stargate only a few meters away in the next room.

"Does it hurt, going through that thing?" asked Mike.

"Yes well, there used to be a side effect of extreme cold temperatures when going through, but that was resolved early on, and now there are no unusual effects. It feels a little strange, but once you get used to it, there is nothing to it really."

Sarah looked from the TV screen back to Daniel. "So how many of these things are there?"

Daniel looked down briefly before answering. "Actually, we don't know how many total there are, but we do know there are many, the ones we know about are over a hundred. They were built many thousands of years ago by a race we simply call the Ancients. They were very similar to us, originally. At some point they managed to evolve to such an advanced stage, they were able to shed their mortal bodies and exist as pure energy. The technology they left behind was found and used by another race, the Goa'uld."

Daniel clicked his device again, and the TV showed a picture of a dark-skinned man in very elaborate gold clothing, standing in front of what looked to be a vast army of soldiers.

"Meet our... friend, Apophis." As he spoke the word friendhe gestured with his fingers to make air quotes. "Apophis was one of the top dogs among the Goa'uld. He was also the first Goa'uld we encountered. We kicked his slimy butt. Although believe me, it was not easy."

Mike smiled, then asked, "It looks like he has a bunch of grunts with him. Who are those guys?"

Daniel answered, "The Goa'uld almost always have their armies of Jaffa with them. The Jaffa are a humanoid race, specially engineered to be strong and fast, and they have an abdominal pouch which carries the larval Goa'uld symbiotes. This gives them a great deal of strength and long life."

Sarah asked, "So the Goa'uld themselves are actually the symbiotes, they have two types of symbiosis—with a host body, and with an... incubator body—which in both cases makes the host stronger: does that about sum it up?"

Daniel looked to Sarah. "Yeah, more or less. The Goa'uld have basically portrayed themselves as gods, and they have borrowed the different gods from different mythologies throughout our history. To name a few, the former number one was Ra, with Apophis, Heru'ur, Horus, and Seth as lieutenants, and so on."

KITT spoke up. "Like Ba'al of the Semitic religion."

"Precisely. However, separate a Goa'uld from his or her technological advantage, and they are not all powerful. They are strong, yes, but they are not invincible or immortal."

Daniel clicked his device, and the screen changed to show another man in elaborate clothing, fair skinned, with dark hair and a goatee.

"Now here we have the reason you are here. This is Ba'al. He is one of the few remaining of the Goa'uld System Lords, which were sort of the Mafia dons of the empire. Thanks to us," he gestured around the room, indicating the SGC, "and some help from some friends, we have all but dismantled their empire."

Mike studied Ba'al's picture. "So this guy was able to clone himself, and his clones aren't out dominating other worlds, they are running around here on Earth?"

Daniel looked at him seriously. "Basically, yes. His clones on Earth won't have access to the same level of technology as your run of the mill System Lord, though they may have some of it with them. They may have a small number of their Jaffa warriors. What's more likely is that they will have a small army of regular human security guards. The main technological advantage they are likely to have, and you need to watch out for, will be their weapons."

He clicked the control device again, and the screen changed to show multiple views of a long staff shaped device, with a large arrow-shaped head and bulbous attachment at the bottom.

Mike gave a low whistle. "Okay, so are they going to smack us around with this freakish looking pimp cane?" he asked, tongue only half in cheek.

Daniel responded, "This 'pimp cane,' as you call it, is what we call simply a staff weapon. The arrowhead at the top opens up, and it fires a powerful energy blast that can kill most humanoid targets with one shot."

He clicked his device, and the screen showed a video, with numerous Jaffa warriors in cover positions in a forest, holding staff weapons, firing them off into the distance at an unseen enemy. Also in the scene were several hits from the enemies weapons, some of them taking out the Jaffa in the scene, some hitting the ground or trees around them, all with devastating effect.

Mike and Sarah both watched, all joking gone from their faces.

"That appears to be an effective pimp cane, Michael," said KITT.

Mike's throat felt a little dry at the scene of carnage. "Yeah..."

After the video ended, the screen went back to the multiple static views of the weapon.

"As you can see," Daniel resumed, "these are quite effective, however they tend to be somewhat inaccurate. We figure they are more of a show of force, to scare enemies as much as to actually kill them. Of course, if you get hit with one, it will kill you."

He clicked the remote, and the screen showed a smaller device, the size of a handgun, but with a somewhat snake-like appearance.

"This is their equivalent of a sidearm. The full name is Zat'nik'a'tel; we just call them zats. It fires a somewhat different energy burst. One hit will completely stun the target, and two hits will kill."

Mike asked, "So it's the fancy alien version of a taser?"

Daniel chuckled slightly. "Perhaps, if you took a taser, turbocharged it, and put it on steroids. I've been hit with these on more occasions than I can count, it is not fun. To answer your next question before you ask it, multiple hits over a long time do not kill; it is multiple hits while the charge is still affecting your body that matters. If you get hit again after that charge has dissipated, you just get stunned again."

Sarah looked from Mike to Daniel and asked, "So this kind of thing sounds handy for capturing someone alive, which is what you want us to do with the clones, correct?"

Daniel smiled that she seemed to be quite quick on the uptake. "That's right, and your team will be loaned a few zats for your missions. Before we do, you will need a brief training session." He looked from their guests to Landry, who nodded his approval. Daniel then gestured to the door. "If you will follow me, we will take you to the armory for a little show and tell."

Mike clapped his hands and rubbed them together, smiling. "All right, alien ray gun 101, sounds like fun!"

Sarah smirked over at him, then got up to follow. Landry watched them leave and chuckled slightly to himself.


A/N: This story has not been abandoned! I am updating more frequently, it is now part of my NaNoWriMo project.