Headquarters, 1-87th Infantry
Fort Drum, NY
Sergeant Patrick Joyce wasn't sure what was going on as he walked towards battalion headquarters. What could I have done wrong? The thought kept flashing through his head as he approached the building. It was another cold day in upstate New York. The winter had so far been pretty harsh and showed no signs of getting better anytime soon.
It could be worse, I could be back in that Afghan shithole with half a shoulder!
Joyce was just now starting to fully recover from the wound he suffered in Afghanistan. The annoying by-product of his actions on that mountain slope was that all the new kids in the company looked at him like he walked on water and crapped lightning bolts. The battalion was now gearing up for a deployment into Iraq and would need experienced, proven NCO's such as him. He didn't consider himself special but everyone else seemed to.
He had spent time in hospitals in Afghanistan and Germany before finally being airlifted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The injuries he saw there made him realize how lucky he was and reinforced his inability to complain about his lot in life. Compared to his college buddies Ed, Jerry, Gary and Chris… Stop being so morbid, you moron…
Joyce finally arrived at battalion HQ and stepped through the front doors. Waiting inside was a scary site. It was none other than the battalion Sergeant Major, Sergeant Major Hector W. Nunez. Nunez was not your normal human being. Unless you consider being 6'5", 275 pounds and the winner of more medals than Audie Murphy normal. Nunez spoke with a voice straight out of central casting.
"Move your ass, Joyce. CO needs to see you pronto."
"What's going on Sergeant Major? All I was told was to haul ass down here. Did I piss the CO off or something?"
"Just get down there and see him."
Joyce checked out his BDU's as he made his way to the door. The name on the door said it all:
Lieutenant Colonel Horace J. Green Commanding Officer, 1-87 Infantry
Everyone just called him the Old Man.
Joyce knocked twice and waited. Then came Lt. Col. Green's hoarse voice:
"Enter!"
Joyce entered the office and positioned himself in front of the CO's desk.
"Sergeant Patrick Joyce reporting as ordered, sir!"
The Colonel returned Joyce's salute and ordered him to stand at ease. It was then that Joyce noticed the full-bird Colonel sitting on a couch on the left side of the office. Lt. Col. Green spoke up.
"Sergeant Joyce, how's the shoulder doing?"
"Fine sir, thank you for asking."
"Joyce, this Colonel Proconti from JSOC headquarters at Fort Bragg. He's here to discuss an opportunity with you." Green then turned to Proconti and said, "Colonel, I'll be down the hall if you need anything."
"Thank you."
After Green exited the office, Proconti turned to Joyce and invited him to sit down. After they were settled, Proconti got right down to business.
"Well Sergeant, tell me a little about yourself."
"Excuse me sir, but what do you want to know?"
"Start from the beginning."
"Well, I was born and raised in a small town outside Boston, Mass. called Lancaster. My parents still live there. After high school, I attended Fordham University and graduated in 2001. But you probably already know this sir, respectfully, or you wouldn't be here."
"Correct, but I have to ask. Why did you join the Army? It would seem you could have done anything with a Fordham degree."
"Sir, I lost some people I was close to on 9/11 and felt the best way to honor them was to serve my country, at least in the short term. I'm not on some vengeance thing, if that is what you're thinking."
"Sergeant, your enlistment contract comes up later this year. Were you going to enlist again?"
"Probably not sir. I was considering grad school. I had standing offers from Notre Dame, Harvard and some others when I enlisted. Why do you ask?"
"Sergeant Joyce, I'm here because your name crossed my desk. I'm looking for qualified personnel for an extremely unique duty assignment. This assignment involves extensive training and even more extensive travel to some interesting locations. It does involve an element of risk, but I can tell you that you'd be working with some of the finest people in and out of the military. It's a Joint-Service operation. Other than that there is little I can say. This is code-word classified and is a Special Access Program."
"Where would I be stationed sir?"
"The program is run out of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, along with other locations. I can also tell you that there is ample promotion potential along with the possibility of moving to the officer ranks through OCS. In addition, there are academic incentives. If you're interested, I'll need an answer. If it's yes, we'll bring you out to Colorado in two weeks. So what's it going to be?"
"Where do I sign?"
SGC
Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, CO
Two weeks later
After two rather hectic weeks, Joyce found himself standing in a classroom in a facility built within a mountain. For Joyce, this was all a little on the odd side. Checking out of Fort Drum was actually a lot easier than usual considering JSOC was greasing the administrative wheels. Nice to have colonels helping you out out-process. Joyce had to admit, life on an Air Force base didn't look too bad. Everything seemed newer and better. The food certainly beat the cuisine back at Drum.
In this classroom, he found himself with a wide variety of people, 15 in all, including himself. There were three Navy SEALS from one of the teams who looked depressed to be out of the water. In addition there were four Air Force Special Tactics operators, three Green Berets from Ft. Bragg, two Marine Force Recon guys and two Air Force Security Forces troops from a special air base defense unit in Georgia.
What an odd group we make…
They were all in their Class A dress uniforms and waiting to be told what was next when:
ROOM ATTEN..HUT!
Joyce and the others stood and snapped to attention. In walked an unimposing Air Force Brigadier General in dress uniform.
"As you were. Please take your seats. Good morning gentlemen, my name is Brigadier General Jack O'Neill. I command this facility. I'd like to welcome you to the SGC.
SGC?
"You are, I'm sure, wondering what the SGC is and what you'll be doing for us. That said, before we get started, let me remind you about the Non-Disclosure Agreements you signed during in-processing. You will be held to them, make no mistake. You are joining what I know is the most important operation in the US military."
Yeah, right Joyce thought. I've heard this line before.
"You have all been selected for this program due to the nature of your experience and your proven attributes. The information you'll be receiving today may be a bit overwhelming. We will take our time and help you as best we can in making the adjustment to this assignment."
What the hell is this all about…
"Again, welcome. I will be seeing you again later today. For the opening part of your orientation, I will turn it over to Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, a member of the staff here at the SGC. Colonel?"
"Thank you sir. Gentlemen, welcome to the SGC. There's no easy way to start this, so we usually get it right out into the open. Approximately 9 years ago, the US Air Force started using a device of alien origin to visit other planets. We call this device the Stargate…
OH SHIT…