Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long guys, but I didn't really know what to do for the next chapter, since I got the idea for the first one after too much coffee. Hopefully this one doesn't sound too far fetched or anything. Oh, and General Hammond retired a few years ago, and the SGC is now run by a General Peterson.

Cheeky.

Chapter Two:

I sighed as I stood in front of the mirror. I ran a hand through my shoulder length blonde hair and was reminded about how much I looked like my mother. Except I had my father's brown eyes. I smiled faintly at that. At least there was something about my father that I had. Something no one could ever take from me.

The plane flight to Colorado Springs had been uneventful. I had managed to rent a car from the small airport and drive to my mother's house. As I had half expected, she hadn't been there when I arrived. A note had told me she had gone to work early, and to meet her there at 2pm that afternoon.

So here I was, at 1:15pm, staring at myself in the mirror of my old bedroom in my mother's empty house. Not exactly the welcome I had been expecting. But I suppose it was fitting. I had never quite fit into my mother's world, not really. So I couldn't expect a place for me here.

I sighed again and stared at my choice of outfit. I wore a simple pair of blue jeans that fit me rather snugly (it seemed I had gained a few pounds recently) and a simple white singlet top under my battered leather jacket. It was what Jessie called "dressy-casual" and I hoped it would do for whatever my mother planned.

Noticing the time was close to 1:30pm, I finished touching up my makeup and left the house. I would be late if I wasn't careful. I slipped on my sunglasses as I walked out into the bright afternoon sunshine and tried to quiet the nervous feeling in my stomach.

The drive to the base passed rather quickly and it didn't take long until I was confronted by the sight of the imposing military base. I pulled up in front of the gate as my mother had told me to do, and waited until one of the uniformed soldiers headed over.

I wound down my window as he peered in. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked, polite but still imposing, like the mountain behind him.

"My name is Dr. Shannon Carter." I told him. "I believe I'm expected?"

"If you wait one moment, I'll go and check." The soldier replied.

I nodded, wondering just what they did on this base. Surely not all military bases were this hard to get into?

A minute later the soldier came back. "Dr. Carter," he smiled this time. "May I please see some ID?"

I reached into my wallet and pulled out my driver's licence. "Will that do?" I asked.

"Thank you, Dr. Carter." The soldier replied. "Just follow the road until you get to the parking lot. Someone will be there to meet you."

"Thanks." I nodded, as the gates opened in front of me.

As I drove through them, I wondered once again just what it was I was getting myself into. It was something big…and I'm not sure I wanted to be involved, because I had a feeling it would make my life a whole lot more complicated than it was now.

Sighing, I parked the car and got out, slipping on my sunglasses to cut down on the glare. I looked around for the person who was supposed to meet me and noticed a man in a drab green uniform step out of a side door. That must be him, I thought.

I watched him walk over to me. "Dr. Carter?" he asked.

I nodded. "That's me." I said.

The man was tall, with light brown hair. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses and he wore a black T-shirt under his green jacket. "My name is Captain Brian Singer. I'm here to escort you into the facility."

I smiled politely at him. "Thank you."

He nodded at me. "Right this way, ma'am."

I'll say this: while the uniform of the many Armed Forces tended to be very drab and unappealing, they did raise polite little soldiers and sailors. And despite my mother's (and grandfather's) involvement in the Air Force for so many years, I had no urge to join them or become like the good Captain. Too many rules tended to annoy me.

The Captain led me through the door he had come out from and down a few flights of stairs into the mountain itself. We passed a few offices and other personnel, before entering a larger room at the end of a corridor. "If you'll just wait here a moment, I'll tell the General and the Colonel that you are here." He said and left.

I raised an eyebrow in slight annoyance. Then I sighed. What the hell was going on? I hadn't seen much of this base yet, and that told me I probably wouldn't want to. But I couldn't deny I was curious. I may be dreading the answers to my questions, but I still wanted to ask them – and finally find out about what my mother has been up to for all these years.

Fifteen absolutely boring minutes later, my mother entered along with a tall, dark haired man in his late fifties. "Shannon." My mother greeted warmly. "This is General Mark Peterson. The leader of this facility."

"Nice to meet you." I said to the older man.

"Likewise." He replied.

He glanced at my mother before continuing. "Dr. Carter, I'd like to show you something, but to do so I require that you fill out some national security forms. Because what you learn here today cannot be taken off this base. Understood?"

"I understand." I agreed, a sinking feeling in my gut. What had I gotten myself into? I only wanted a normal life and to putter around trying to figure out black holes or something…

"And are you willing to sign the forms?"

I glanced at my mother and caught her hopeful expression. This was important to her. "Yes." I said. "I guess so."

Nodding, the General handed me a whole bunch of forms and a pen. Blankly, I looked at the number of them, before sitting down at the table. I read each form carefully, wanting some clue as to what I was getting myself into. And I was surprised at the depth of the forms. It seemed I couldn't tell anyone about this unless I got permission direct from the US President…and that made me real nervous.

But I signed the forms anyway. I was curious, and my mother wanted to show me something. I couldn't refuse that. And if the forms were that serious, she wouldn't have let me come, right?

"Done." I said finally, handing the pen and the forms back to the General. "So what the big secret I can't tell anyone?"

The General smiled at me. "I think the best place to start is by showing you. SG-3 should be arriving soon."

The last part of the sentence had been said more to my mother than me, as I plainly had no idea about who or what an SG-3 was. I couldn't help it, though. I was damn curious and I had no trouble following the General and my mom down a series of corridors and to an elevator. I noticed that the General used a security card in the elevator. Seemed I really was going to learn the truth.

I bit my bottom lip in an effort not to swear. But as I blinked my eyes in absolute shock, I couldn't help it. This could not be possible!

"Shocking, the first time you see it, isn't it?" my mother commented.

"Shocking?" I repeated. "You've just shown me a circular device capable of forming a wormhole, that by the current laws of physics, shouldn't actually exist. So, yeah, it's a little shocking. Not to mention that said device was made by aliens."

As the blue event horizon flickered out, I stared at the four men who had just exited the wormhole. This appeared to be SG-3. I turned back to my mother. "Alright. I want the whole story. From the beginning."

"Of course." My mother said mildly, and somewhat amusedly, as she led the way up to the control room.

As we crossed the room to another, larger, room, I couldn't help but stare at the amount of computers in the small space. "As we crossed the room to another, larger, room, I couldn't help but stare at the amount of computers in the small space. "You've got quite a network controlling that thing." I said.

"The stargate." My mother corrected.

"How much memory space do you need for the program that runs it? Or do you have some other way of controlling when the wormhole appears? And where does it go? Is it true you can only travel in one direction through them? And then how to you get back?"

My mother held up a hand. "Hold it, Shan." She said. "You'll get your answers. I promise."

I nodded. "Mom…is this what you've been doing all these years?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Well, I guess this explains why you worked late. I can't believe wormholes actually exist! And they can be controlled! This could potentially turn the laws of physics as we know them on their heads!"

"It can do more than that, sweetheart." My mother said.

"What do you mean, mom?" I asked. There was more?

At that moment, the General walked into the room. "Ready for the whole story?" he asked me.

"Way beyond ready." I said flatly.

"Good." The General replied, taking a seat.

I sat down next to him at the large table and began to fire my questions at him. "So, how long have you had this thing? 30 years? How did you find it? How does it work?"

The General looked up in something close to panic. "Wait a moment, Dr. Carter. You will find out your answers, I assure you."

I would have asked some more, because I was so impatient to get the answers. I finally understood why mom had wanted me to see this. Studying an actual wormhole was so much more exciting that studying distant black holes! But at that moment, two other men entered the room. Two men I had known since childhood. Daniel and Murray.

Oh, boy. This would be one hell of a story.

And it was. It took an hour for them all to tell me the basic story. From finding the 'gate in Egypt to the Goa'uld and beyond. The different planet, different people. Aliens. Aliens actually existed. And more than that, Murray actually was one! Or, should I say, Teal'c.

"This is going to take me a while to digest." I said finally, when they had finished.

"Well, how about I take you home then, Shan?" my mother asked soothingly. "You can come back tomorrow and ask all the questions you want."

"Sure." I nodded. "I think I'll need to."

Then I paused. There was something I needed to ask, though, before I left. Something I had waited almost 21 years. "There's just one question I have before I go." I said.

"Sure." Daniel said. "Anything."

"Indeed." Mu…Teal'c agreed.

"Why was I never told about my father?"