SGC
Cheyenne Mountain AS, CO
Joyce was spending his morning staring into a half-eaten bowl of Fruit Loops. The Dining Hall at the SGC was pretty good. He had spent an hour at the gym this morning working off last night's steak. This was one of those mornings where Joyce was in deep thought. The last two and a half weeks had been a considerable leap of faith for the Army infantryman. On the table next to him were his study materials in a highly organized binder. In addition was a copy of Melville's Moby Dick that he had picked up at a store near Peterson.
"Sergeant Joyce, may I join you?" Joyce looked up to see Dr. Jackson standing in front of him with his breakfast on a tray.
"Of course sir, please."
"Thanks, and please call me Daniel. Sir just doesn't sound right."
"Yes sir…Daniel."
"I saw from your records that you attended Fordham, is that correct?"
"Yes, I graduated in 2001."
"What major?"
"Double major, History and Medieval Studies. I minored in Theology."
"Sounds like they kept you busy. I have a PhD in Archeology myself. Never saw this type of thing coming. Did you study any languages?"
"Latin and Old English, both were required in the Medieval Studies Program. I also studied French in high school. I can translate the Latin. Speaking it is a little more difficult. Learning the Old English was a major league headache."
"Those language skills will certainly come in handy in the program. What do you think so far? Be honest."
"Well, honestly, what you folks do here and your ability to keep it under wraps are amazing. It can be rather difficult to find the words…It almost makes everything else going on in the world seem small by comparison. The threat seems immense based on everything you've told us. But the possibilities are also there. I'm curious to see how much longer something this big stays classified."
Daniel knew all about that subject. "True, we have had some close calls, but we've managed. I'm pretty liberal politically but even I don't think this is ready for public consumption."
"Panic?"
"Among other things. This knowledge will crack open a lot of different fissures within society, both nationally and on the world stage. Politics, religion, race, economics and morality will all be on the table. The President knows this."
"What benefit are we getting for the risk? You've spoken in general terms during class but I don't think I've heard anything specific yet."
"In the coming days you'll be getting briefed on things like Prometheus and the F-302. It's going to blow your mind."
"Any more mind-blowing information and I'll have an aneurism."
Meanwhile…
"Sir, our advisors with Jaffa Resistance report that their numbers are improving and so are their capabilities of striking at various System Lords." Marine Colonel Jeremiah Glyndon was confident in his assessment. Col. Glyndon was the SGC's J-2, or Director of Intelligence. Glyndon had just recently come from commanding the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Iraq. "Something is going to give. It's too big for Baal and his ilk to write off cavalierly. The Jaffa are the power base. They're going to have to deal with it before facing the Replicator threat."
O'Neill pondered the predicament. "Question is, do the Jaffa commit to one big fight or go the Viet Cong route?"
"Sir, culturally speaking, it's our assessment that the Jaffa are too proud to go the Tok'ra route. You can't change thousands of years of training overnight."
"Let's just hope they don't get as arrogant as the Tok'ra." O'Neill had a certain dislike of the Tok'ra resistance and some of their methods. He wasn't a fan of how they treated their US allies especially. "Jacob is the exception as always Carter."
"I'm sure he'd appreciate the sentiment sir." Carter missed her father's presence more than ever.
"Jerry, are the advisors having any issues or problems working with the Jaffa?" The Jaffa had departed the Alpha Site because they perceived the Tauri were becoming their new masters, however false the perception.
"None reported, sir. We've been pretty generous with resupply." "Good. Bill, how many teams do we have chopped to this mission? O'Neill directed the question to his J-3, Director of Operations, Air Force Colonel William Henson.
"Sir, four teams are currently on the mission. Mostly Green Berets teaching insurgency tactics."
"Col. Glyndon, you want some more help?"
Glyndon looked like a kid at Christmas. "Hell, yes sir. We've got some use for them."
"Bill, let's rustle up two more immediately and maybe two more if it works out. Can we do it?"
"Yes sir. Also, remember that we're supposed to discuss a mission to Langara." Langara was the home world of Jonas Quinn, a former member of SG-1. The planet had been divided among three feuding nation-states, but had started coming into some form of maturity. The Langarans were requesting that SGC help bring their military establishment up to a better level. The decision was winding its way through the DOD, the State Department and the White House. Good luck.
"Yeah, that decision is coming soon. Okay, thank you gentlemen." The directors got up and left. After they left, O'Neill turned to Carter.
"You get the feeling things are coming to a head? Like a boiling pot waiting to blow?"
"Yes sir, I do."
"Great."