Chapter 16: Easier Said Than Done

Deep inside a long abandoned missile silo, somewhere in the Nevada desert, the select scientific team working with Samantha Carter was in nirvana. Before them were two of the most fascinating recovered artifacts of ancient civilization. One, a large perfectly circular piece made of an unknown metal, was ringed with thirty six different glyphs on its outer edge. The second had to be a spaceship of some sort and an incredibly advanced one at that.

Rodney McKay was in his element. His imagination and ego were running wild. The only negative aspect of the whole thing was his nagging suspicion that Samantha Carter and the President knew exactly what these artifacts were. He couldn't stand people holding out on him. To be honest, he couldn't stand anyone knowing more than he knew.

McKay knew something was up when these particular gems were moved to this isolated, seldom used facility. Normally, anything of more than passing interest, especially items likely associated with extraterrestrials, was brought to Area 51. But not these pieces; they stayed out of sight of the full time research staff McKay had supervised until recently.

Area 51 was an extraordinary place in McKay's estimation. Though much of the research there was directed towards developing weapons for the war, the opportunities for scientific advancement and personal reward were great. As far as he and others knew, researchers who played key roles in significant advancements were promoted beyond their wildest expectations.

In reality, those much envied researchers unwittingly earned their places as hosts to creatures they couldn't begin to imagine. After all, this was Ba'al's world now and there was no way he'd let humans develop technology that might challenge his hold on the planet. Though the front line researchers were unaware of the fact, the ruthless Goa'uld remained acutely aware of everything that transpired at Area 51, courtesy of his well placed spies.

The fact that Area 51 was generally under the supervision of Ba'al's followers made President Carter's choice of research location for the new artifacts painfully obvious. Although the remote, pre-1940s facility was poorly equipped and had been abandoned for years, he knew its isolation would buy them time. Sam had told him she'd need considerable time to develop the programs necessary to complete the planned mission. It wouldn't due to have Ba'al discover their efforts prematurely.

As it was, Ba'al showed himself once or twice a year at most, often to collect on his quota of slaves from the war zone. Still, transport of the Stargate and the "spaceship" was carried out under cover of darkness and with the utmost secrecy.

OoOoOo

They'd been in the frigid climate of the Antarctic for more than seventy-two hours. After that, Sam and her team were happy to enjoy the warmth of the desert. Actually, in their elaborate underground bunker, the ambient temperature was beside the point.

When she'd seen the second artifact unearthed from the ice, Sam's heart skipped a beat.

She knew immediately what it was. An Ancient "puddle jumper", to use the name her Atlantis colleagues had invented, and possibly something more. Unable to get a look inside as the hull was completely frozen over, Sam restrained her enthusiasm until it could be moved to the research area and "defrosted".

If only … she thought. It would make things so much easier, at least a little easier, were this particular ship equipped with a flux capacitator. That ingenious Ancient device that allowed travel through the fabric of time, well, that would be almost too much to expect from the hand of fickle fate. But maybe …

She shared her hopes with Cam and Daniel, waiting before giving her father any more unbelievable, overwhelming information. Daniel, of course, clearly recalled the time machine they'd found on Harry Maybourne's planet, the one their friend Jack O'Neill had so ably piloted. He also recalled how Sam had been solidly against any interference with the time line back then. Cam reminded him that the current situation was different, with more than enough consequences to moderate Sam's opinion on the issue of time travel.

So it was with cautious optimism that the three members of SG1 accompanied the newly found artifacts to the bunker code named Area 52.

"Colonel Carter," Rodney McKay called, "we're ready to open what you call the puddle jumper. I thought you'd want to be there when we did."

"You thought right," Sam said with barely restrained glee. "Thank you, Dr. McKay, I'll be right there."

Moments later, with SG1 and the five researchers in attendance, the capsule was opened. Sam was the first one to enter the Ancient ship. Cam and Daniel were right behind her, having insinuated themselves in front of Rodney McKay. As the two entered, they were met by Sam's smiling visage, intent on the small cylindrical device in front of her.

"That's it, right?" Cam asked. "The flux whatever?"

"Yep," Sam said simply. "It certainly is. Now all we have to do it make it work."

OoOoOo

Rodney McKay had had about enough. Watching the unlikely trio exclaiming over the good fortune of finding what they were calling a puddle jumper in the middle of a sea of ice struck him as odd to say the least. They clearly knew what this was, and probably the metal ring as well, and weren't for sharing the secret. Sitting back and taking orders was not his strong suit. And he let Samantha Carter know it.

"Sam," he said, in as pleasant a voice as he could muster, "I think I've been fairly reasonable with you over the years."

"Yes, Rodney, you have," Sam replied, distracted by her puttering with the puddle jumper's engine core.

"Well, don't you think I deserve an explanation?" McKay asked. "I've been your supervisor for five years and suddenly your father, who just happens to be the President of the United States, tells me I'm reporting to you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Sam said, still more intent on what she was doing than her conversation with McKay.

"Well, what's going on?"

Sam looked up from the mass of circuitry set out before her. Her eyes fixed on McKay's mildly agitated face. He wasn't going to like this, but it's the way it had to be.

"In this particular case, I do know more about what's going on than you or anyone else. It's all classified, top secret. Believe me, its better you don't know. Besides, I'm hoping it will all be over soon," she said, purposely being as vague as possible. Though she needed his expertise, Sam didn't need the man's whining and hand wringing. Telling him about the alternate timeline would certainly give him a heck of a lot to whine and wring his hands about.

Though he looked put out, this Rodney never could refuse Sam much of anything.

"Fine, I'll figure it out for myself," he huffed. "But at least tell me what your boyfriend and that geeky guy are doing here."

Sam smiled. They went back to work.

OoOoOo

Cam paid frequent visits to the work site throughout the first two heady days, doing his best to encourage Sam's flagging spirits. With the help of her scientific team, she'd made great progress towards repairing the drive engines of the puddle jumper. In spite of this, Sam realized they were lacking one very important factor if they were to determine whether the vehicle was actually on-line and ready to go. More importantly, this was something they'd need for the plan to work at all.

No matter what Cam said, Sam held out little hope that Jack O'Neill would agree to pilot the jumper. As far as she knew, he was the only person readily available with both the piloting skills and the Ancient gene that was required to interface with the craft's controls. Both Cam and Daniel had seemed certain Colonel O'Neill would agree to help once he realized he was the only one who could. Sam, however, wasn't as certain. Moreover, she dreaded forcing his hand.

"Even if he were willing, he has a lot to lose by helping us," Sam said. "He has a new family here."

"You mean Kerry and the kids," Cam said remembering Sam's sadly rendered tale of the personal differences in this timeline.

"Yeah," she said softly, "two beautiful little boys who will no longer exist if we succeed."

"Wow…" Daniel said, genuinely boggled by the idea. "I can't imagine being in his position. In any other circumstance you know he'd be right here to help."

"I know, but this is different," Sam said.

"We have to get him to sign on with this," Cam said.

"What he means is, you have to get Jack to help us," Daniel clarified.

"I know," Sam said sadly, "I know."

TBC

A/N: Thanks again for reading and for your generous reviews. Next couple of chapters will be up this weekend.