Author's note: At first glance, it may appear that I'm inserting shippy undertones. I don't want the shippers out there to get your hopes up- this story is strictly gen. I hope you'll keep reading anyway. : )
A few days later Emmett stood looking around the sparsely furnished apartment. He still felt off-kilter because his usual co-writer hadn't been cleared for the project. Just because she was from India…. His eyes widened when he saw the large cardboard boxes stacked around the room. He slowly dropped his overstuffed duffel bag to the floor and walked to the closest box. It was sealed shut, but he dug out his pocket knife and slowly pried it open. It was full of bulging files. He randomly selected one.
Flipping through it, Emmett saw detailed drawings of complex-looking machines, pages with text completely alien to him –"Oh God," he thought, "They're literally alien."—written down one side and what appeared to be English translations on the other. Hands shaking slightly, he replaced the file. It was slowly beginning to sink in; this was real. As he stepped back, he noticed a large number one written on one box. Cutting it open, he found a loose sheet on top of the files stacked inside. It read, "Chronological mission reports."
Emmett took a closer look at the rest of the boxes, finally seeing that they all had numbers. There were two more boxes of mission reports. Box Four had personnel information. As far as he could gather, the rest of the boxes, including the first one he'd opened, contained information later gathered on earth. There were files on allies and, presumably, on enemies as well.
Emmett didn't bother to eat. He grabbed a notebook and pen, the first file from the first box, and sat down on the floor. As he opened it his hands slightly shook. The first sheet was a communiqué from a General John West to the then-president. Emmett skimmed over the technical details, eventually getting that "the device" had been activated. It requested a go-ahead for a recon mission. The next page was the president granting permission. Next: items and personnel on the team going through the Stargate. Emmett jotted down the names; Colonel Jonathon O'Neill (he'd been recalled from retirement? What was that about?), Captain Charlie Kawalsky as his second-in-command, Major Louis Feretti, Major Joe Henders…Dr. Daniel Jackson? A civilian went along? Was that normal? Emmett put a question mark next to the scribbled name.
He paused when he saw a single item placed innocuously between foot powder (did they really need that much foot powder?) and medical supplies; one Mark Three Nuclear Warhead. Slowly he turned to the next page.
It was a mission report by Team Leader O'Neill. Emmett read the account with fascination, imagining the desert world the colonel described. He pictured the final battle in his mind, hoping he'd have a chance to talk to O'Neill. He paused when he read there were four casualties, among them the civilian. He grew confused when he read that O'Neill had ordered the bomb timed to detonate after they left, destroying the alien world. Slowly he erased the little stars he'd drawn next to the Colonel's name; maybe the man wasn't such a hero after all.
After that came a flurry of reports concerning the shut-down procedure of the project. Hours later, Emmett read a report sent flagged as high importance to the president. The action had started again.
The next morning Emmett woke up with a start. Looking around he realized he had fallen asleep on the floor, the file open on his chest. Yawning, he stood, stumbled to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Deciding he'd read enough mission reports for now, he went to the box of personnel files and withdrew several. He paused, shuddering a little, when he saw Captain Kawalsky's file. He remembered reading about the man's horrible—what did one call it? Infestation?—and death. He left it and carried the others to the kitchen with him.
That night Emmett pushed away the remains of his dinner. He flipped to a fresh page in his notebook and started jotting down preliminary ideas; it would need a catchy, easy to understand introduction. Maybe a shot of the Stargate or a team going into it… He decided to choose a small representative group from each of the various departments to focus on. It would be easier for the audience to keep track of that way. And at the top of his list was SG-1.
Emmett had quickly realized it would literally take months to read through all the information he'd been sent. He'd already started skimming only SG-1's mission reports. He'd stopped reading the personnel files once they were clearly past the mission reports he'd read, but if they were anything like the first reports, they would be stunning. Emmett made a note to himself to check before the interviews if the person had lost any friends or loved ones to the aliens—what were they called again? "Goos?" He'd noticed in the file that Dr. Jackson was listed as a widower. He was already dreading that report.
He flipped back a few pages. Ah. "Goa'uld." Note: check the pronunciation on that. What else? A few stories about dramatic missions, a few examples of some alien device now benefiting earth, military or otherwise. Oh, and a tribute to the fallen soldiers. Setting aside the notebook, Emmett popped in a tape he'd found in Box Six labeled, "Camera of D. Jackson, PR7-4NQ."
A few minutes later his eyes were glazing over. He actually hadn't seen anything of the alien world yet, just slow—excruciatingly slow—panning over some kind of tan rock with an inscription on it. He was pretty sure that what Dr. Jackson was mumbling in English—mostly—but it might as well have been alien. Leaving the tape playing in the faint hope that it might eventually show something interesting, Emmett opened the next mission report.
Days later, reports and personnel files and photos scattered around the floor, Emmett considered his options and wrote a brief outline of his plan. Open with shots of the Stargate. Explain how it works. Then he could have Dr. Jackson (who despite the numerous death certificates bearing his name was in fact still alive) explain about the Goa'uld and the alien warrior, "Teal'c" could help. Emmett mused that he'd have to ask a bit about Jackson's wife, make the tragedy surrounding her more real. He already felt a little bad, knowing that he would be reopening a wound that probably still hurt deeply even now. But he hoped his sincerity would show that the question wasn't asked to hurt the man. He also wanted to ask Teal'c about his past serving the enemy.
After that, he thought, he'd do a brief profile on a search and rescue team. There was a nice dramatic story he'd found to ask them about, a team cut off from the Stargate by a sudden and rapidly spreading forest fire. All the team members had acted professionally and heroically, and even better, with the exception of one of the S&R guys who had since died, they were all alive and in good health.
Senator Kinsey had contacted Emmett (which was strange because he thought he was supposed to be unreachable at the safe house) saying he'd give an interview. Emmett wasn't quite sure what to make of this. He'd already read some less than complementary things about the man, especially from SG-1's reports. Secondly, Kinsey wasn't deeply connected to the program, just involved in the budget. The budget was certainly important and necessary, but it was also boring and wouldn't shed any new light on the program. It was obvious that Kinsey wanted to make himself look good by being associated with Stargate Command. Yet Emmett had been told the SGC wouldn't be declassified for a long time, after his career and Kinsey's were both long over, probably after they were both dead and gone. By that time, a quick interview on Emmett's tape wouldn't affect the man's political career.
After that, Emmett thought he'd poke around and have a look at the technologies that were being developed. He could hardly wait to take a look at the high tech toys on the market or used by the military and try to guess if their origin was extraterrestrial. Even if he couldn't ever tell anyone about it… he would know. His individual interviews would have to be interspersed between the other elements of the documentary, to keep the focus personal and real. The order, of course, would depend on how the interviews went.
Yes, all the basic elements for a great story were here…all except romance. Emmett frowned. Sure, there was a certain tragic beauty to the story of Daniel Jackson and his wife… but he needed something that had a chance of still ending happily. Anyway, wasn't romance between coworkers inevitable? He just had to decide on the pair. Instantly his gaze lit on the photo of Samantha Carter. Of course- single, beautiful woman. But who to portray her with?
Not Doctor Jackson. Sure, he'd lost his wife almost four years ago, but it would be fresh in the audience's mind. Teal'c? No, too….alien. Hell, he didn't even know if it….worked…the same for… "Jaffa." O'Neill? Emmett considered. Well, he was maybe a little old for her, but he was apparently divorced, definitely a hero, and if he could cut it in a field unit, still in his prime.
Yeah, that would work. He'd nudge them both a little and see what kind of reactions he got.
Shifting his focus, Emmett studied the instructions given by the Defense Department again. He wanted to push the members of Stargate Command, yes, but he didn't want to unnecessarily antagonize them. The most significant restriction he could see was against filming any ongoing activities. That could be a problem.
Emmett thoughtfully tapped his pen against his chin as he considered the restriction. In a way, he could understand it. He didn't want to be in the way. But it was possible that the military was more concerned about the possibly of him taping something that made them look bad than they were about the real dangers of him being underfoot. Emmett could still vividly remember recording during the Gulf War and having his camera snatched away and destroyed. Well, he'd give the members of Stargate Command a fair chance to make themselves look good, but he didn't intend to show the program through rose-colored glasses. And hopefully he'd persuade them to allow a few shots of a team departing. After all, they could hardly expect him to do a documentary on the Stargate without ever showing the thing. Could they?