Stargate: Genesis
Written By: The Ascended Ancient
Chapter II: "Countdown to Colonization"
A/N: Anyone who skipped Chapter 1, thinking it was still the introduction thing I wrote before, you're wrong. I've since taken that down and replaced it with an actual chapter. So, if you skipped it, go back and read, because you're missing a lot of good stuff.
29 Days Until Colonization
In downtown Colorado Springs, Jennifer Hailey was finishing up a wonderful meal prepared for her by her boyfriend, Samuel Walters. He was a professor of psychology at Colorado State University, and he was the most wonderful man Hailey ever met. He was a tall, blonde man, two years her senior. His smile was infectious, and he seemed to know everything she wanted before she knew herself.
"So, did you hear the President's speech this morning?" Sam asked her as he brought the dirty dishes into the kitchen.
"No, I didn't," she replied. "I was busy working."
"But you've heard about what he said, right?" he asked as he returned to the dining room.
"Of course," she replied with a shrug. "It's no big deal."
"How can you say that?" Sam asked, an expression of shock on his face. "To think that our government has been going to other planets for over twenty years is... well, it's incredible. I mean, can you imagine doing that?"
"I don't have to imagine, Sam," Hailey told him. "I've done it." The look on Samuel's face was priceless, and Jennifer wished she had a camera to capture the moment.
"Y-You've what?" he asked.
"I'm a member of team called S.G.-1," Hailey explained. "We travel through the Stargate to other worlds on a daily basis."
"Wow," he said, stunned by her revelation. "I knew you were doing something big in that mountain, but... wow."
"Now that the Stargate's gone public, were all finally allowed to tell people about our jobs," Jennifer said with a smile. The smile only lasted for a second, though, before fading away.
"I'm also telling you now because I'm going to be gone soon," she told him sadly.
"What are you talking about?" Sam was even more stunned now.
"S.G.-1 has been chosen to lead the military personnel on the Genesis Colony," she explained. "I'm sure we'll get leave, but it may not be very often."
"I see," Sam replied, slowly processing what she's telling him. "How long do you have before you go?"
"Another month," she told him. "General Landry has given us time off until then."
"Oh," Sam said, finally leaving his shocked mindset.
"So we have one more month to spend together before I go," Hailey said, getting up from her chair and walking over to him. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a deep kiss.
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24 Days Until Colonization
Donald O'Connor walked down a corridor in the White House towards the Oval Office. The red-haired Irish-American man was the Mayor of a small town in southern New Jersey. As Mayor, he had worked hard to clean up his town, which was owned by a chemical plant that was dumping loads of toxic waste near housing developments. O'Connor had fought the politicians on the plant's payroll and rallied the citizens of his town, until he finally got the plant shut down and the federal government to come in and clean up the damage.
Turning the corner, he approached the President's secretary.
"Ah, Mr. O'Connor," she greeted. "The President is expecting you." O'Connor nodded to her and strode through the door into the Oval Office without saying a word. Seated behind a large, oak desk at the far end of the room was Gregory Richardson, President of the United States of America.
"Good afternoon, Mr. President," Donald greeted.
"Mr. O'Connor," the President said. "I'm glad you're here. We have a lot to talk about."
"Quite frankly, sir, I was surprised when I received your message," O'Connor explained. "And I have absolutely no idea what you want to talk to me about."
"You have, of course, heard about the Stargate Program and upcoming Genesis mission?" the President asked.
"Of course I have," Donald replied. "It's been the only thing on the news for days."
"Good," the President replied. "Because I want you to be in charge of it."
"What?" Donald was completely unprepared for what the President had just said.
"You have proven to be a champion of the people," the President explained. "You're quite popular in this country, and the international community respects your actions. And, political aspect aside, you're a very capable leader. Hence, I've picked you to lead the mission."
"But what about my town?" O'Connor asked, still trying to grasp what the President had just assigned him to do.
"A new mayor will be appointed," the President replied. "Who will, of course, be held to the highest federal standards as far as the chemical cleanup goes."
"I... see." Donald was quite shocked about all this.
"So, are you going to take this job or not?" the President asked.
"I... have a choice?" the mayor asked weakly.
"Yes, you do," the President told him. "I'm not going to put someone who hates the job in charge of such an important mission." The President leans forward in his chair. "So, what's your decision?"
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17 Days Until Colonization
Colonel Leslie Crawford walked through the front door of her apartment and immediately collapsed on her bed. In public, she held herself to such high standards. She would not tolerate even a moment of weakness from herself. But here, in the sanctuary of her sparse apartment, she allowed herself to relax.
So far during her leave, she's spent almost every waking moment preparing herself for the mission. Physical exercise, mental planning, the works. She was all business, almost all the time. That's how she got where she was.
As she lay there in bed, there was a knock on the door. Groaning, she got up and opened it. Standing in the hallway of the apartment complex was Captain Daryl Reynolds. The tall, African American just stood there, looking her over. She was drenched in sweat, wearing just a tank top and shorts.
"Been spending time at the gym, I see," he said with a thin smile.
"Absolutely," she replied. "Come in." She opened the door wider so he could step through.
"You know, being the best of the best doesn't mean you can't enjoy life a little," Daryl told her as he surveyed her barren apartment. "For example, you are allowed to purchase comfortable furniture." As he said this, he sat down on the wooden bench she had placed in front of her small TV.
"You keep telling me that," she said.
"Because it's true," Daryl replied. "You keep living like this, you're going to have nothing to live for once you're too old to fight."
"I could teach at the Air Force Academy," she responded. "Like you plan to." Daryl shook his head.
"You don't have the patience to deal with a bunch of young kids," he said.
"I'm very patient," she replied as she walked towards him, a beer in each hand.
"But not with incompetence," he explained. "Not with laziness. And not with someone who just doesn't want to do the work. These kids aren't trained soldiers, they screw up way more than any of us do. You have to be able to care for them, to empathize with them, to nurture them, if you want them to succeed."
"Nurturing won't help them survive in the Air Force," Leslie said sharply as she took a sip of her beer.
"Neither will extreme pressure," Daryl replied. "Face it, you're not teacher material."
"Maybe you're right," Leslie conceded. "So, I could just go on to commanding troops. Be a general or something."
"You are general material," Daryl told her, "but is that really what you want to do for the rest of your life?"
"It is, Daryl," the colonel said. "It's exactly what I want to do with my life.
12 Days Until Colonization
"Yeeeeehaaaaah!" Lieutenant George Banks screamed as he shot along a wave. He'd flown out to Hawaii as soon as he'd gotten his leave. They were in the middle of the best surfing time of the year, and he was going to take full advantage of it.
George loved sports. Any sport, every sport, but especially surfing. There was just something about balancing yourself on a board as you shot across the ocean, knowing that any moment you could screw up and fall that really did it for him. He loved it.
As the wave died down, he stopped standing on the board, knowing that if he continued to do so much longer he'd fall off. He lied down and turned the board around, heading back for the open waters.
Several hours later, after exhausting himself out in the ocean, he sat in a local Hawaiian tavern. He was drinking a beer and talking to some chicks.
"So, you work on this Stargate Program?" one girl asked.
"Yep," George replied proudly. "I'm a member of one of our off world teams, S.G.-1."
"Wow," the other girl said. "What do you do?"
"I translate alien writings and communicate with their peoples," George explained. "It doesn't sound like the most glorious job in the world, but there are some planets that without a translator, you're lost. The soldiers, they're the ones who use the fancy new technology we bring back through the gate to fight the enemy. The scientists, they're the ones who study the technology and figure out how to use it. But us archaeologists, we're the ones who find the stuff. Without us, Earth would've been conquered long ago."
"Wow," both girls said at once, leaning towards him. "That's soooooo cool."
"Oh yeah," George replied with a smirk. God, I love full disclosure, he thought.
6 Days Until Colonization
"So, you're going to be second-in-command of security on this colony?" Sam asked Hailey as they lay together in bed.
"That's right," Hailey replied. She and Sam hadn't really talked much about her upcoming assignment over the last few weeks. Actually, they hadn't really been talking at all. They'd been enjoying each other's company the entire time.
"Is there going to be a lot of danger on this mission?" he asked her as he ran his hand down her bare arm.
"There shouldn't be," Jennifer replied, pulling the blankets closer to her bare flesh. "The galaxy is far safer now than it was two and a half decades ago, when the Stargate Program began. That wasn't just propaganda, it's the truth."
"I see," he said, leaning in to kiss her neck. "So," he continued as he kissed down her neck, "you'll... have... some... spare... time."
"Maybe," she replied with a giggle as he kissed lower and lower, slowly pulling the blanket away. Sam pulled away from her chest.
"Then maybe you should have something to make the time worthwhile," he said with a loving smile as he stroked her hair. He reached over to the nightstand and opened a drawer. He pulled out a small box and handed it to Hailey. She just stared at it, knowing what it was, but too surprised to react. Finally, she opened the box, revealing the beautiful diamond ring inside.
"Jennifer Hailey," Samuel said, taking her hand in his, "will you marry me?" She didn't bother answering. She just tossed the ring down on the nightstand and threw her arms around him.
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2 Days Until Colonization
In New York City, a new building had finally been commissioned. Located across the street from the United Nations, this building was the headquarters of the Homeworld Defense Force.
"I don't see why we're going ahead with this!" Jack O'Neill shouted angrily. Standing in his office were the representatives of the twenty-seven nations, including the United States, who were a part of this organization.
"Because we've told the public that we are!" Representative Vladimir Chekov shouted back. The former Russian representative to the Stargate Program, Chekov had accepted the job as representative in order to continue to carry out that role. "We cannot back down now."
"A man was killed while revising the Genesis List!" Jack continued to argue. "And that was before the project went public!"
"I am sorry, Director," Ronald Winston, the British representative said. "But we are going ahead with the colonization project."
"You are going to put all those people's lives at risk to save face in front of the public," Jack told them, his tone somewhat calmer than it was before.
"If the public is to accept the Stargate Program as a necessary act by our governments, then the Genesis Project must go ahead as scheduled," Wei Ling, the Chinese representative said. "However, additional security forces should be placed on this mission, just in case."
"I agree with Representative Ling," Jaque DuGaulle added. "With the additional security, the people will be quite safe."
"I hope your right," Director O'Neill told them, knowing that they were dead-set on pursuing this agenda. "But don't expect me to take the fall if this goes south."
"We understand, Director," Chekov said reassuringly. "Now, I'm sure we must all report the need for added security to our governments so that the necessary forces can be sent in time." There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd before the representatives walked out of the office. Jack rested his head in his hands, wondering how it could've come to this.
"If it makes you feel better, Jack," Representative Chekov said, closing the door after the other delegates, "I share your reservations about this mission."
"Then why didn't you back me up?" Jack asked, lifting his head.
"Because there is no evidence that anything is wrong with the mission," Chekov explained. "And because the moment our governments came clean about the existence of the Stargate, we became committed the best course of action to gain public support: colonization. We must complete this mission, Jack. And we must do it successfully."
"I know, Vladimir," Jack replied. "I just can't help feeling that there's something wrong."
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Colonization Day
"Well, what a damned bad time for him to propose," General Landry told Major Hailey. "I'm sorry, Major, but I need you on this mission."
"I understand, sir," Jennifer replied.
"However," the general continued, "I don't see why after three months of service you can't have a month off. Enough time to get married and enjoy a decent honeymoon, don't you think?"
"Yes, sir," Hailey said with a smile. "Thank you, sir."
"Congratulations, Major," Landry told her. "Dismissed." With a salute and smile, Major Hailey left General Landry's office and walked down to the corridor outside the gate room. As she passed through the control room, she noticed a tall man in a black leather duster getting a tour from a young lab tech. The guy was kind of cute; he probably flashed her a smile and asked for a tour.
Hailey smiled a thin smile and remembered when she was like that. It felt like a lifetime ago, and it was long before she'd met Samuel.
As she emerged into the hallway, she found herself in the midst of a teeming mass of people, all waiting to go through the gate. Over two hundred people had been selected to go through the Stargate to the Genesis Site, and they were all here, on this level, right now.
"Hey, Jenny!" the cheerful, annoying voice of Lieutenant Banks called out to her from the crowd. She turned around to see him fighting his way through the mob of people to reach her. "How was the month long love fest?"
"It was good," Jennifer replied with a blush. She raised her hand high enough so George could see the ring on her finger.
"No way!" he said, astonishment etched across his face. "He didn't!"
"He did," Hailey replied, unable to prevent a huge grin from breaking out on her face.
"That's wonderful!" George said, smiling almost as much as Hailey was. "So, when's the wedding?"
"In three months," she replied. "General Landry's giving me some time off for it."
"Well, I'd better be able to come," George told her.
"I don't know," Hailey replied. "It might be better for everyone if the most annoying person I know isn't at my wedding." George playfully punches her in the arm for that.
Elsewhere in the crowd, Colonel Crawford and Captain Reynolds fight their way through to the gate room. Finally reaching it, they open the massive, bulkhead door, and walk through. They walk right into the middle of a shipping operation. Personnel from the S.G.C. were transporting the last of the supplies to the Genesis Site. They'd send more if needed, of course, but the goal was for the colony to become self-sufficient within ten years of its establishment.
Chosen seven years ago, P4X-337, the Genesis Site, has been worked on ever since. Already, enough buildings to comfortably house every single colonist had been built. A relay system had been set up, allowing a compressed recording of basic network television to be transmitted to the colony every day. They were already working on expanding to include cable stations, but the compression rate wasn't good enough yet for that. They had enough food and water rations to last for two years. After that, the colony was supposed to be able to grow its own food and purify its own water. If they couldn't more rations would be sent. After a decade of work, it should be completely self-sufficient.
"I guess it's time, huh?" she said, mostly to herself.
"Yes, it most certainly is," Daryl replied. "Let's make sure everything's ready.
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"Is it time yet?" General Landry asked the gate operator.
"Yes, sir," the sergeant replied.
"Good." Landry reached over and pulled a mounted microphone towards him. "Attention all Genesis Colonists. You have been chosen to take part in a mission that will change the course of human history on this planet. In a few moments, you will enter the gate room and walk through the Stargate. You've already been briefed on what this will be like, so I won't bother going through it again. On the other side, you will make an untamed wilderness your home. You will create a self-sufficient colony, the first of many. Good luck, and god speed." He released the microphone. "Dial the gate," he ordered the operator, who quickly complied. Landry stared out ahead of him at the gate room, which was full of people, all waiting anxiously to embark through something that just one month ago they would never have believed existed.
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In the middle of the group that had actually gotten inside the gate room, a man waits quietly to pass through the Alteran Ring. It's finally time, he thought. All those years of helplessness, and now I'll finally have the chance to finish what I started. Of course, these humans would not make this easy for him. He would have to be careful not to leave any sign that he was anything more than he pretended to be. If anyone became suspicious of him, his entire plan could fall apart.
And so he waited, watching the inner track of the Alteran Ring spin, reveling in the knowledge that soon, if he didn't make any mistakes, everything he desired would be his.
End of Chapter II
A/N: First of all, if anyone knows Colonel Chekov's first name, please tell me, and I'll gladly correct it. I used Vladimir because it's a common Russian name, but I just pulled it off the top of my head. For those of you who don't remember what I'm talking about, Chekov's the fat, Russian colonel who's in charge of facilitating relations between the US and Russia in areas involving the Stargate.
Other than that, just tell me what you think. Who is this man, and what is he planning to do? What is the colony going to be like? Well, keep reading to find out. As always, there's another chapter on the way.