This chapter's a bit shorter - sorry to any of you who like those huge 4000+ word chapters. Y'all are nuts. Anyway, wrapping up the "Christmas" time here.
P5X-707, "Treefort", January 18th, 2011
"No! Leave it! Just grab a tissue sample and we're heading back!"
Jon was leading a dozen biologists and engineers through a marsh-type environment that the scientists had considered to be absolutely fascinating until a massive worm had tried to eat one. A score of guards had taken down the worm, the scientists had freaked out for a minute, and were now once again fascinated with the meter-wide worm.
"We need to dissect the creature! Samples don't tell us anything. You guys are here to support us, we'll be fine. It's dead now."
'Oh fer cryin' out loud!'
Jon paused for a second deciding how to handle this, and the scientists went back to examining the corpse. He could always pull rank as the base director, but these people were going to be working in his base. He needed to maintain decent relations with them, while still keeping them safe.
Fortunately, they weren't nearly as smart as the two scientists he had worked with for seven years.
He held up his hand so all his men could see him. As soon as he had their attention he started counting down with his fingers. They'd know something was up and they'd follow along.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1.
"Tremors! There's another worm nearby! Back to base! Back to base! Move it, move it!" Jon yelled it out at the top of his lungs.
The eight biologists gathered around the worm's corpse reacted as one, lunging away from the body, some of them even leaving their materials behind as they ran back to the center of the ring of security guards.
"Drew! Lead the way. Everyone else keep sharp. If we keep moving, it will have a harder time burrowing up underneath us. Move out!"
The members of the security team were all hiding their grins as they boisterously yelled back and forth, tell each other to tighten up and keep an eye out. One of the men at the rear yelled up that he was feeling a 'gullywhumper of a tremor turning my spine to jelly back here' and the scientists began crowding the heels of the front of the security team.
This was an orientation trip for the scientists and engineers who were going to be making up the core of the research base that was beginning to be built, the first of the upcoming wave of new bases.
This base was the first of nearly twenty planned, and Blackbriar had been tasked with being in charge of this base, and possibly all of them, due to the potentially dangerous nature of the mission - they were going to be smaller research bases without the massive infrastructure of the sites like Alpha and Gamma which were also backup military and bug-out sites. Instead they would be dedicated to research, ostensibly for military purposes, but Jon could tell from the structure Jack had supplied that there would be a lot more fundamental research going on than applicable military weapons development.
Give these sites a couple of years, and when the Stargate program went public, there would be a long list of dramatic discoveries to showcase and an entrenched ethos of exploration.
At least that was what Jon guessed Jack was trying for. He hadn't heard from Teal'c or Trisha since Christmas, and he hadn't heard much of anything from Earth about the Jaffa.
The group reached the base without further incident, and Jon was pleased to see the base still standing. Massive sections of tree trunks formed the pillars of the chain link fence surrounding the base, and the base had quickly been named "Treefort" by its inhabitants.
The planet had extremely aggressive plant life. The worm was the first large creature found, and Jon was worried what other surprises the planet held. Hell, he had been worried about that all along - this was just the first evidence that his worries were for a good reason.
"Drew, after you get your guys squared away, draw up some plans for defenses against a worm coming up inside the compound and show me. Also, send a team out to retrieve that worm, or at least as much of it as you can get out of the ground. The scientists will be thrilled to have it, and I want to know what we're dealing with."
Jon had picked Drew Thompson, the sniper who had been with Jon on the Lucian Alliance attempted kidnapping, to be the head of base security. The man had virtually zero interaction skills with non-military, but within the security forces he kept things running like a well-oiled machine.
"Yes sir. And sir, nicely done on getting the eggheads back to base."
Jon smirked a little. "Just keep it inside the security personnel. Don't want to get people's feathers ruffled."
"Yes sir," the grin stretched wide on the tall, lanky man's face.
Jon headed to his "office" where he spent far too much time for his liking, the main reason why he had tagged along on the outing. The office wasn't much, it didn't even have office equipment, instead his computer was sitting on a couple crates, and the "office" was just one of the rooms in the military's standard modular tents everyone was using until the buildings were finished.
Core necessities had been set up in record time thanks to Jon's alert to Blackbriar. A week after he had talked with Blackbriar's president, Homeworld Command had released their plans, and Blackbriar had submitted their proposal which had been mostly drawn up by Jon. Three days later it had been accepted, and two days after that construction had started.
Jon began typing up an email to Blackbriar requesting earthquake sensing equipment or something like that which would be able to detect vibrations in the ground. Hopefully that would help guard against the worms. Next was an email to the biology team letting them know he was bringing the worm corpse in and he wanted a summary of its eating preferences, estimated speed underground, and general physiology - and he expected it by tomorrow at 1000.
He scanned over his list of projects. Power systems beyond their current generators. Computer systems. Ground clearance - he wanted more than the standard distance cleared back from the fence surrounding the base. Security systems - cameras, IR and motion sensors. Food possibilities from the native plants. Further water wells. Stargate security.
Whew.
Not wanting to dive into paperwork again just yet, he picked up the only personal item he had unpacked - the picture of Cassie and himself she had sent while he was still at the Alpha Site. He had called Cassie a few times each day while he had been in D.C. especially when it became apparent he would be flying straight to Cheyenne Mountain. He had been nearly sick with disappointment - it was the life of military people on the move, but it was still hell.
He smiled, though, at the memory of getting off the military plane to see Cassie waiting for him next to Jack in full regalia. She had launched herself across the tarmac and into his arms. Being able to kiss her and hold her had almost brought tears of joy.
Officially she was there to be re-briefed into the Stargate program as a consultant, and Jon had almost thanked Jack. Not quite, but almost.
Jack's words before he had stepped through the Stargate had been less joyful.
"Money is getting cut to the bone. We're going ahead with base expansions, but these things are going to be shoestring operations. On the plus side, Blackbriar is being sole-sourced for this because of how small the bases are going to be."
Jon winced but nodded. "I've spent the last few days drawing up base plans for Blackbriar. I'll get back to them and tell them to start scaling down and coming up with some inventive approaches."
"Good."
Jack crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, looking at Jon. Jon almost laughed to see the mirror-familiar behavior.
"All right," Jack finally said. "Sam read me the riot act on this, but I'm still telling you - Cassie is like a daughter to me. You- " Jack poked Jon in the chest, "only spent a couple years and that was all while Janet was still around. Then you were gone and didn't see her again until she was all grown up. I get that. I do."
Jon knew by Jack's tone that he didn't actually 'get it' but rather someone, Sam, had drilled something into him, hard.
"But, Ihave watched her grow up all the way and Iwas there after Janet died and Ithink of her as my daughter. That means," and he poked Jon in the chest again, "youare going to make damnsure she's happy and never going to have a broken heart. I don't care what sort of crap thoughts you have about being all noble and letting her go for her own good - you are notgoing to make my little girl cry, you got it?"
Jon nodded and then chuckled.
"Not that you have any room to be throwing stones like that. 'Cuz that's exactly what we did for Sam. I heard you even sent her off after some little pissant after I left - probably told yourself it was for her own good, eh?"
Jack glared and Jon noticed one of the guards in the Gate room begin to step forward to separate them, but Jon knew that with Jack glaring, he wasn't going to act. If he were going to act, the glare would have been at Jon down on the ground.
After a second the glare died down and Jack suddenly let out a little chuff of breath.
"Sam pointed out the same thing to me. Look," Jack's tone shifted to a slightly softer tone from the previous "commander giving orders" tone. "Sam's obviously not as smart as everyone thinks because she's happy with me."
Jon smirked and Jack's glare sharpened, daring Jon to make a smart comment.
"I thought Cassie had better tastes in men too," Jack continued. "But since she seems to be blind about this, it means that you make her happy. And thatmeans that you don't send her packing for her own good or anything like that. You stay with her no matter what because that's what makes her happy."
Jack took a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.
"At least that's what Sam says."
Jon could identify with Jack's reaction - his own matched it. If it was better for Cassie, Jon would do it, no matter the cost to himself.
"I'll keep that in mind. And I'll make sure she's always safe and happy, don't worry about that."
Jack nodded. They understood each other.
The speaker announced an outgoing wormhole in one minute.
"Good luck," Jack had held out his hand.
"Good luck," Jon had clasped it in return.
Jon shook his head free of the memories and set the picture back down on his 'desk' of crates.
"Miss you, Cassie. Love you," he whispered.
And then he shoved the memories and the aches to the back of his mind and got back to working on the camp.
A/N: Ok, ok. I gotta say it. Did ya' noticed what I did at the top of the story? I "wrapped up" the Christmas part. Eh? Eh?
Hey! Ouch! Stop it! Stop - ouch! - throwing things! It wasn't that bad of a joke!