Brigadier General Evan Lorne had never imagined to face such a situation. Yesterday, he was dealing with scientific reports and storage matters. Today, he was dealing with alien ship and invasion. This was why he was attending this meeting, in the briefing room beneath Cheyenne Mountain. With other military people, Senator Chloe Armstrong, and the representative of the US at the UN, Doctor Elizabeth Weir, around the table. Extra chairs had been brought for the civilian and military aides staying nearby. Everyone was dressed either in a service dress or a suit.
An Air Force veteran was among the civilian aides. Paul Davis. Lorne knew him because they had met a few times in D.C. when the veteran was a liaison officer. Today, he was working for Senator Armstrong. Sat behind her, he was checking his tablet. The other attendees had a report, or a tablet, or a laptop.
Lieutenant Colonel Scott Harrigan, working at Cheyenne Mountain, seated between Doctor-Colonel Janet Fraiser and Major General Cameron Mitchell, finished his status, "Though the ship's quite damaged, Doctors McKay, Lee, and Brody, the scientists Warren Horizons recommended, are making progress, also thanks to Martouf's descriptions."
Elizabeth Weir, at the opposite side of the table from the three aforementioned officers' standpoint, put on the table her copy of the report. She said, concerned, "So, civilians are working on this ship that's in a shed at Peterson? Are we sure there won't be any leak?"
"We've been working closely with General Mitchell and Warren Horizons to take the necessary measures, ma'am," Harrigan replied.
Cameron Mitchell, in charge of Peterson, bowed his head.
"What about the two witnesses?" Paul Davis asked, making everyone glance towards Armstrong to identify who had spoken.
Weir and Armstrong, sat next to each other, nodded.
The answer came from Lorne, at the head seat. "Like everyone who has access to this ship, they signed a non disclosure agreement. They're former black ops, they understand the stakes."
Davis, Armstrong, and Weir stayed silent. Probably reassured. Davis typed on his tablet.
Davis's boss changed the topic. "Could this whole thing be just a prank? I mean… seriously, General Lorne, alien invasion?"
"We all saw the ship in this shed, the body of this poor guy and the thing that was inside of him, and the storage boxes full of weapons. It's not possible to ignore that, even if this situation looks like a sci fi show."
"And how are we supposed to fight against aliens who are way more advanced than us, according to this Martouf's video? By the way, can we really trust him? He looks like these Goa'uld he claims are dangerous."
Armstrong turned to Janet Fraiser, who was looking at her laptop without really paying attention to the screen. So did Lorne and the other participants.
"I think we should give him the benefit of doubt. Martouf was severely injured. It's a miracle he made it to Earth," Fraiser expressed, looking at the audience.
"How could he stay alive so long, doctor?" Mitchell inquired.
"My team's still working on that... I think that the organism his body hosted kept him alive so he could reach our planet. Unfortunately, the two died after."
Lorne looked at Armstrong. "To answer your other question, Senator Armstrong, we're discussing the possible options. Colonel Ford and Lieutenant Patterson are here to help."
Amrstrong looked at Aiden Ford, US Marine, sat in front of Lorne. Patterson was next to him and on the same side as the civilian ladies.
"One of the options is to use Martouf's ship, ma'am," Ford said.
"Against a fleet of way bigger ships?"
"Martouf's ship has a cloaking device, which renders it invisible. We should take advantage of it."
"That doesn't mean the Goa'uld can't detect it," Paul Davis commented louder than he wished. People turned to him. He shrugged. "Just saying."
However, Armstrong seemed to agree with Davis and the military didn't seem to deny this possibility.
"Still, we should try," Ford encouraged, unperturbed. "We can send nuclear bombs to those ships. The more we can take out, the better for our defenses on Earth. We'll need a pilot." Ford looked at Mitchell.
The general, who was writing on his copy of the report, sensed Ford's attention on him. "I have candidates for you," he assured, looking up to the Marine.
Ford bowed his head. Armstrong wasn't 100% confident.
Neither was Weir. "This sounds easy in theory, Colonel Ford." Elizabeth looked around. "To be honest, first – she raised a thumb – we don't know if the ship can be repaired and on time. Second – she raised the index – except an alien's video, we don't have very much. Third – she raised the middle finger – we have three weeks, or less, to make the world get prepared to an alien attack. This may be even more difficult than actually fight against aliens who want to enslave us."
"That's why we need your help, Doctor Weir, Senator Armstrong," Lorne teased.
The two women looked at each other. Davis raised an eyebrow. They knew that this was going to become very crazy very soon.