AN: How I came to choose Amarillo Texas: I opened my atlas, and picked the closest Texan city to Colorado. For those of you playing along home, it's about 605 km. Why Texas, you ask? Got me.
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Wednesday's Muster
0600, Amarillo Texas
Janet Fraiser never suspected that Major Griff would own a set of fine china. Yet, there was the delicate saucer and cup full of tea perched on her knee. Apparently, it had been his mother's, and he was supposed to have been married which would have made the dishes less out of place. Janet's tea was getting cold, but she hadn't noticed. All of her attention was fixed on the television set, which Griff had set to CNN, or what passed for CNN under the Aschen anyway.
"It is still unknown," the announcer was saying as he concluded his summary of SG-1's attack on the Gate platform, "what means Jack O'Neill used to blackmail the respected Drs. Carter and Jackson and the Jaffa Teal'c to cooperate with him, but it must have been effective, because they all ignored chances to save themselves.
"Authorities are looking for Dr. Janet Fraiser," and here there was a picture. "Who also collaborated in this act of terrorism. Her last known location was Chulak."
As the announcer switched topics, Janet finally took a sip of her now stone cold tea. Griff had been making breakfast when Janet and Jacob had knocked on his door, and now Janet understood that his shock in seeing her was not just because it was six o'clock in the morning. Terrorist Collaborator indeed!
"That's been playing more or less continuously since yesterday," Griff said. "I didn't know what to think. I mean, the Colonel has always been crazy, but. . .in a good way."
"No kidding," said Janet. "Blackmailing? Whoever is writing their cover stories needs a few lessons in plausibility."
"Still, it's effective." Jacob was quite shaken by the images of Sam's attempt to pass through the Gate. "Start working on a speech, Janet. If we ever get a chance to broadcast anything, we're going to pounce on it."
"You're going to need some sort of disguise, doctor," Griff said thoughtfully. "You've been all over the news, and even though they're expecting to find you on Chulak. . ."
"That is indeed most prudent," said Selmak. "But I believe our priorities should be finding allies and procuring weapons."
"Daniel said you would be able to get in touch with your team." Janet directed at Griff, who nodded. "Will they be with us?"
"Oh yes," Griff said with conviction. "Abernathy phoned a two AM after he'd seen the news for the first time, completely livid. The others have all checked in too, but I didn't have anything to tell them."
"You do now," said Janet. "Have them meet us in the commissary of the SGC tomorrow at noon. Tell them to come in Foothold."
"Why the SGC?"
"The armoury's still full."
"I think we're going to need an astrophysicist," Jacob said, a catch in his voice. "Selmak's never been one, and I want an outside source to look over the Jupiter plan and tell us how much sense it really makes. I don't think Earth was meant to be in a binary system."
"There's a name here," said Janet, flipping though the 'recipe' book. "Rodney McKay. He's non-military, but he was one of our emergency contacts at the SGC. We never had to bring him in. He lives in Colorado Springs."
"At least he's on the way," Griff said. "I'll get my team together, and we'll be there."
"Before we go, there is one last task to attend to." Janet looked up when Selmak spoke to see Jacob holding a pair of scissors. "Your hair is probably the best place to begin, Doctor Fraiser."
Janet sighed and nodded. She placed her still full tea cup on a coaster, and got up to follow Selmak towards the bathroom.
"Do not be concerned, Doctor Fraiser," Selmak reassured her. "I have had centuries of practice altering hair for the purposes of disguise. My current host needs no such maintenance, obviously, but I am still female. I promise I will remain within the realm of good taste."
The expression of Major Griff's face was quite priceless.
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1400, Colorado Springs
Dr. Rodney McKay was, perhaps, the most annoying human being Janet had ever met. He was brilliant, and he had been willing to listen to her before calling the authorities, but he had all the social graces of an oyster. Still, at the same time, Janet half-wished they'd called him into the SGC a couple of times; it would have been fun to watch Sam bring him down a peg. Or six.
As McKay sat at his kitchen table pouring over the data and taking notes while Jacob stood by ready to take any action necessary, Janet sat on the chesterfield trying not to let her inactivity herald another breakdown. As long as she was busy, she could keep it out of her mind. On the ship to Earth, Jacob had offered her a drink of water. She had known it was drugged, even before she had noticed that it was purple, but she hadn't protested. Part of her was furious at his treatment of her, but another part understood. She wasn't made of spun sugar, but she was still finding her footing, and Jacob had decided to hold her up until she did. She wondered if Daniel had known that would happen.
"This is really ridiculous." McKay's sudden outburst drove all thoughts of Daniel from her head, and for a moment she was irrationally angry with the scientist. "From what I understand, they plan to ignite to ignite Jupiter and force it to begin fusion. They aren't changing its mass, so its gravitational effect on Earth and orbit will remain static, but it's just too small."
"Too small for what?" asked Janet.
"To be a star." McKay spoke as though to a child. "Astronomers have been theorizing for years about Jupiter's potential to be a star. Some even go so far as to say that it was a failed star, and the reason that it failed, was that it was too small. End of story. It's not like it can go on a diet and bulk up. When it's ignited, it will burn through its hydrogen in a very short period of time and then go Nova. And that will definitely affect Earth."
"How short a period?" Jacob asked.
"I'd need more time to get an exact number. Two, three thousand years maybe." Off of Janet's look he continued. "That's a very short time, astronomically speaking."
"We need something more immediately destructive," Selmak said. McKay, to his credit, did only the slightest of double takes.
"What about radiation? Green house effect? Ice caps?" Janet thought she was firing in the dark, but McKay perked up a little.
"UV radiation would increase. More skin problems."
"The Aschen can deal with that."
"Well, we're effectively doubling the solar emissions directed at Earth. We've stopped putting out greenhouse gases, but the old ones are still up there. Less heat energy would escape Earth, and the temperature would increase. The ice caps would melt and flood the coastal areas, and the rest of the Earth would get so hot it would be unlivable."
"How unlivable?" Jacob asked.
"Been to Venus lately?"
"How long?" Janet pressed to the heart of the matter.
"We'd notice the effects almost immediately," McKay said after a few moment's thought. "The cold habitat species would be gone within fifty years, and we'd lose the coast around the same time. Another fifty years and even the warm habitat species, including humans, would begin to die out. The air would be getting worse and the water would be evapourating and not condensing. Fifty years after that, there'd be nothing left but rising temperatures."
Janet and Jacob shared a look, and Jacob nodded.
"Can you make up a presentation? One that could be broadcast and understood by the general populace?" Jacob asked.
"Yes."
"We'll add your reproductive statistics to the presentation as well," Jacob said, looking at Janet. "That way, if we broadcast, we'll kill two birds with one stone. Three if you get that speech written."
"What exactly are you people planning?" McKay asked. "I mean, you told me way too much to let me live if I don't join you, and I'm completely in, so tell me."
"We're still planning," Janet admitted, wincing slightly. "But right now, we're gathering up our people, organizing our information and procuring our supplies for what will likely be a very long guerilla war."
McKay swallowed.
"Doctor Fraiser," said Selmak. "You should remain here with Doctor McKay and corroborate your information. We must go and contact our people. We will stay here tonight."
Selmak held out Jacob's hand for the communication sphere, and put it in his pocket when Jacob handed it over to them. With a nod, they went out the door. Janet turned back to the table where McKay was waiting.
"He has people?"
"Tok'ra. He's Jacob Carter." Janet flinched at McKay's reaction to the surname. "Sam Carter's father."
"I met her once. At NORAD. She was giving a presentation about Deep Space Telemetry." Janet couldn't help but smile a bit at that. It really was a ridiculous cover story. McKay continued "She was a genius, but I can see how she'd be taken in by this. It's all sugar coated and almost believable. If I'd been told every day for the last few years that it would work, I'd be inclined to believe myself."
Janet said nothing, but she did begin to revise her opinion of Doctor Rodney McKay ever so slightly.
"Come on, doctor," he said. "We've got some doubts to plant."
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AN: I'll admit straight out, I made a lot of the Jupiter stuff up (except the part about it being a failed star. It really is just below critical mass). But really, two stars? That's got to be a recipe for disaster.
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Wednesday's Muster
0600, Amarillo Texas
Janet Fraiser never suspected that Major Griff would own a set of fine china. Yet, there was the delicate saucer and cup full of tea perched on her knee. Apparently, it had been his mother's, and he was supposed to have been married which would have made the dishes less out of place. Janet's tea was getting cold, but she hadn't noticed. All of her attention was fixed on the television set, which Griff had set to CNN, or what passed for CNN under the Aschen anyway.
"It is still unknown," the announcer was saying as he concluded his summary of SG-1's attack on the Gate platform, "what means Jack O'Neill used to blackmail the respected Drs. Carter and Jackson and the Jaffa Teal'c to cooperate with him, but it must have been effective, because they all ignored chances to save themselves.
"Authorities are looking for Dr. Janet Fraiser," and here there was a picture. "Who also collaborated in this act of terrorism. Her last known location was Chulak."
As the announcer switched topics, Janet finally took a sip of her now stone cold tea. Griff had been making breakfast when Janet and Jacob had knocked on his door, and now Janet understood that his shock in seeing her was not just because it was six o'clock in the morning. Terrorist Collaborator indeed!
"That's been playing more or less continuously since yesterday," Griff said. "I didn't know what to think. I mean, the Colonel has always been crazy, but. . .in a good way."
"No kidding," said Janet. "Blackmailing? Whoever is writing their cover stories needs a few lessons in plausibility."
"Still, it's effective." Jacob was quite shaken by the images of Sam's attempt to pass through the Gate. "Start working on a speech, Janet. If we ever get a chance to broadcast anything, we're going to pounce on it."
"You're going to need some sort of disguise, doctor," Griff said thoughtfully. "You've been all over the news, and even though they're expecting to find you on Chulak. . ."
"That is indeed most prudent," said Selmak. "But I believe our priorities should be finding allies and procuring weapons."
"Daniel said you would be able to get in touch with your team." Janet directed at Griff, who nodded. "Will they be with us?"
"Oh yes," Griff said with conviction. "Abernathy phoned a two AM after he'd seen the news for the first time, completely livid. The others have all checked in too, but I didn't have anything to tell them."
"You do now," said Janet. "Have them meet us in the commissary of the SGC tomorrow at noon. Tell them to come in Foothold."
"Why the SGC?"
"The armoury's still full."
"I think we're going to need an astrophysicist," Jacob said, a catch in his voice. "Selmak's never been one, and I want an outside source to look over the Jupiter plan and tell us how much sense it really makes. I don't think Earth was meant to be in a binary system."
"There's a name here," said Janet, flipping though the 'recipe' book. "Rodney McKay. He's non-military, but he was one of our emergency contacts at the SGC. We never had to bring him in. He lives in Colorado Springs."
"At least he's on the way," Griff said. "I'll get my team together, and we'll be there."
"Before we go, there is one last task to attend to." Janet looked up when Selmak spoke to see Jacob holding a pair of scissors. "Your hair is probably the best place to begin, Doctor Fraiser."
Janet sighed and nodded. She placed her still full tea cup on a coaster, and got up to follow Selmak towards the bathroom.
"Do not be concerned, Doctor Fraiser," Selmak reassured her. "I have had centuries of practice altering hair for the purposes of disguise. My current host needs no such maintenance, obviously, but I am still female. I promise I will remain within the realm of good taste."
The expression of Major Griff's face was quite priceless.
..................
1400, Colorado Springs
Dr. Rodney McKay was, perhaps, the most annoying human being Janet had ever met. He was brilliant, and he had been willing to listen to her before calling the authorities, but he had all the social graces of an oyster. Still, at the same time, Janet half-wished they'd called him into the SGC a couple of times; it would have been fun to watch Sam bring him down a peg. Or six.
As McKay sat at his kitchen table pouring over the data and taking notes while Jacob stood by ready to take any action necessary, Janet sat on the chesterfield trying not to let her inactivity herald another breakdown. As long as she was busy, she could keep it out of her mind. On the ship to Earth, Jacob had offered her a drink of water. She had known it was drugged, even before she had noticed that it was purple, but she hadn't protested. Part of her was furious at his treatment of her, but another part understood. She wasn't made of spun sugar, but she was still finding her footing, and Jacob had decided to hold her up until she did. She wondered if Daniel had known that would happen.
"This is really ridiculous." McKay's sudden outburst drove all thoughts of Daniel from her head, and for a moment she was irrationally angry with the scientist. "From what I understand, they plan to ignite to ignite Jupiter and force it to begin fusion. They aren't changing its mass, so its gravitational effect on Earth and orbit will remain static, but it's just too small."
"Too small for what?" asked Janet.
"To be a star." McKay spoke as though to a child. "Astronomers have been theorizing for years about Jupiter's potential to be a star. Some even go so far as to say that it was a failed star, and the reason that it failed, was that it was too small. End of story. It's not like it can go on a diet and bulk up. When it's ignited, it will burn through its hydrogen in a very short period of time and then go Nova. And that will definitely affect Earth."
"How short a period?" Jacob asked.
"I'd need more time to get an exact number. Two, three thousand years maybe." Off of Janet's look he continued. "That's a very short time, astronomically speaking."
"We need something more immediately destructive," Selmak said. McKay, to his credit, did only the slightest of double takes.
"What about radiation? Green house effect? Ice caps?" Janet thought she was firing in the dark, but McKay perked up a little.
"UV radiation would increase. More skin problems."
"The Aschen can deal with that."
"Well, we're effectively doubling the solar emissions directed at Earth. We've stopped putting out greenhouse gases, but the old ones are still up there. Less heat energy would escape Earth, and the temperature would increase. The ice caps would melt and flood the coastal areas, and the rest of the Earth would get so hot it would be unlivable."
"How unlivable?" Jacob asked.
"Been to Venus lately?"
"How long?" Janet pressed to the heart of the matter.
"We'd notice the effects almost immediately," McKay said after a few moment's thought. "The cold habitat species would be gone within fifty years, and we'd lose the coast around the same time. Another fifty years and even the warm habitat species, including humans, would begin to die out. The air would be getting worse and the water would be evapourating and not condensing. Fifty years after that, there'd be nothing left but rising temperatures."
Janet and Jacob shared a look, and Jacob nodded.
"Can you make up a presentation? One that could be broadcast and understood by the general populace?" Jacob asked.
"Yes."
"We'll add your reproductive statistics to the presentation as well," Jacob said, looking at Janet. "That way, if we broadcast, we'll kill two birds with one stone. Three if you get that speech written."
"What exactly are you people planning?" McKay asked. "I mean, you told me way too much to let me live if I don't join you, and I'm completely in, so tell me."
"We're still planning," Janet admitted, wincing slightly. "But right now, we're gathering up our people, organizing our information and procuring our supplies for what will likely be a very long guerilla war."
McKay swallowed.
"Doctor Fraiser," said Selmak. "You should remain here with Doctor McKay and corroborate your information. We must go and contact our people. We will stay here tonight."
Selmak held out Jacob's hand for the communication sphere, and put it in his pocket when Jacob handed it over to them. With a nod, they went out the door. Janet turned back to the table where McKay was waiting.
"He has people?"
"Tok'ra. He's Jacob Carter." Janet flinched at McKay's reaction to the surname. "Sam Carter's father."
"I met her once. At NORAD. She was giving a presentation about Deep Space Telemetry." Janet couldn't help but smile a bit at that. It really was a ridiculous cover story. McKay continued "She was a genius, but I can see how she'd be taken in by this. It's all sugar coated and almost believable. If I'd been told every day for the last few years that it would work, I'd be inclined to believe myself."
Janet said nothing, but she did begin to revise her opinion of Doctor Rodney McKay ever so slightly.
"Come on, doctor," he said. "We've got some doubts to plant."
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AN: I'll admit straight out, I made a lot of the Jupiter stuff up (except the part about it being a failed star. It really is just below critical mass). But really, two stars? That's got to be a recipe for disaster.