The Omake Files – The Fifth Man
Hobbies
"Attack of the...?"
USS Daedalus
Colonel Cauldwell was looking over the duty roster, when he spotted the name of their temporary 'hyperdrive technician'.
Just a day had passed since leaving earth for the first time. The ship had a full crew, had a ZPM and Asgard hyperdrives, and were well outside their own galaxy by now.
He would have plenty of time to get to know his crew. He wanted to know more about the lieutenant who had spent a good portion of the last 12 months with the Asgard.
He wasn't on duty, and so made his way to the bunk room were one Lieutenant Harry Potter was staying. He wasn't in. It took him twenty minutes, to find that Lieutenant Potter was in an unused cargo storage room. One of just a couple left, as they were loaded with a lot of cargo.
Opening the door into the small bay revealed an interesting sight. Harry was putting something together. So far, the frame tickled the edge of his recognition. The frame was V-shaped, thickening in the middle the further towards the, back? It went.
And the beginnings of some machines were being installed. He coughed, and Harry stood up inside the open frame, some dirt and grime on him, welders' gloves on, but no welder in immediate sight.
"What's this, Lieutenant?" He asked calmly, curiously.
"Oh, Um..." Harry pulled off the gloves, and in hesitation to answer, had started rubbing the back of his head. Normally, this would have messed up his hair, but after the military cut when he started at the Air Force, His hair, which had only just begun to really grow was a mass of messy hair regardless.
"Lieutenant?" he pressed. Harry didn't have to tell him if he didn't want to, unless of course it would endanger the ship.
"Just a little hobby, sir."
Steven stepped into the room proper, and recognised enough of the gathered machines that would be attached to the thing, to realise just what it was going to be. "Building a little plane? Not exactly aerodynamic. Where's the wings?"
Harry looked at what he was building, and shrugged. "I'm hoping, it won't need them for lift."
Steven just stared for a moment, then asked, "Bit small, isn't it? What scale are you building at?"
Amused, Harry answered, "Full size. Single seater."
"Glider then."
"Nope. I'm hoping to power it with a Mark 2 Naquadah Generator. I just need to work out what type of engines will at the very least let me fly it."
Steven took a minute, before he asked, "Are you making a Jedi starfighter?"
"If it'll work in space." Harry agreed. "But that's not the aim. Just a little hobby flying. I couldn't exactly take an F-302 out for a joyride could I? It's been too long since I last flew for fun. And I'm keeping a record of what works and doesn't, everything. If it does work, Area 51 will have all they need to know to build one of their own, or adapt it for whatever upgrades to the F-302 they do."
"So you're designing your own Aeroplane that doesn't rely on aerodynamic surfaces to provide lift, nor jet engines for thrust... for fun?"
Harry waited, then Steven said, "Can I join you? I quite liked the originals, and despite the acting, episode II had a few really good ships..."
A Nod, and the pair got stuck in.
--
Stargate Command
Harry knew he had forgotten something. He didn't know what it was, as he went into the control room. The Daedalus had just left to ferry back the returned members of the Atlantis Expedition, along with the new lot back to Atlantis.
Unfortunately, Daniel couldn't go, because of something involving that conwoman who had tried to steal the Prometheus, Vala something.
"Morning sir." Siler spoke with a smile. He found something funny for an odd reason. Harry noticed that Sergeant Harriman too was smiling about something.
"Morning Siler, Walter. What's so funny?"
Walter spoke up, "Just as the daedalus left, last night, Colonel Cauldwell passed on a message for you from Doctor McKay."
Harry raised an eyebrow, and asked, "And just what did the Arrogant one have to say to me he couldn't say to my face?"
The story behind the animosity was an odd one. The two had somewhat of a mutual respect for each other, but some people don't get along regardless.
"He said that he'll enjoy taking apart some plane you were building and left on the ship."
Harry was almost running to dial the planet nearest to where the Daedalus would be stopping at before finally venturing into the black, but Siler stopped him. Walter added, "Colonel Cauldwell also sent a message of his own, that he doesn't know what Dr McKay was talking about, there isn't a plane of the given description on his ship."
Harry sighed in confused relief.
"Oh, and I received a message for you from Area 51. The commander wishes to convey is apologies that your transfer is delayed, and that your personal project is stored away to await until you arrive and have the time to finish it."
Walter fished out a wad of paper from a pocket, and handed it to him. They were written in Walters' handwriting, speaking of those very messages.
Harry found the P.S. from the area 51 base commander a little amusing. "P.S; I've tried to keep it quiet about just what it is you are actually building, but let me tell you, the Star Wars fans in us all are going nuts. I'm grateful you're letting us see your notes once you're finished, it's the only thing stopping them ripping it apart to see how you got what's finished so far actually working."
"What star wars fighter are you building, Sir?" Siler asked.
"Jedi Starfighter, Episode II."
"Got lasers on it, sir?"
"Nope. Unarmed. Not really for the SGC. Just to satisfy two hobbies."
It was then that Cam Mitchell entered the control room. "Daniels' Awake."
Harry left, curious about what was going on there, thoughts of his hobby faded.
--
Area 51
Sam opened up part of the finished drive section, and whistled at the finished product revealed. Beside her on the floor she had laid on to get under the craft, lay open a book of notes in Harry's engineering/science shorthand. 'Too bad half the systems aren't finished or working, I'd love to fly this.' She thought, as she closed it back up.
She moved out from under it, stood, and then stepped to the open cockpit. The entire craft was held in the air by clamps and supports, as the landing gear was not installed. She was tempted to climb into the half-finished cockpit, but held back. She knew Harry wanted the honor of flying it first.
A call came through and she returned to her project, occasionally thinking about the fighter. She didn't mention to him the next time he called, that she had taken a peek. He knew her enough to know that she would have anyway, but he knew she was careful enough to not ruin his work.
--
Over the ocean
Two almost identical 'Jedi Starfighters' flew in formation, the blue trail of the engines glowing for barely a metre. The two shared opposing color schemes. Where on one it was red, the other was gold, and where on one it was gold, the other was red. On one wing, where the Republic symbol was in the films, was painted the SG-1 patch. The opposite side, where the Astromech droids would have been, but weren't, rendering the craft design symmetrical, was the Earth patch.
Just as worn by SG-1 on their shoulders. Earth patch left, Team patch right.
The name printed just under the cockpit on one said '1st Lt. H. Potter', and the other, 'Lt. Col. S. Carter'.
Inside the first, Harry wore the Jedi uniform he had kept since his 20th birthday, when he wore it to go trick-or-treating with Sam's niece and nephew.
Inside the second, Sam too, wore the one she had kept since then.
The cockpit on the inside didn't resemble that of a Jedi Starfighter, unlike the outside.
Multiple touch-screen displays adorned the front control panel, displaying the typical flight information in a graphically beautiful manner, reminiscent of both the display themes of the Daedalus' and Odyssey's computers, but different layouts. For flight control, there was still the flight stick, but it was molded to fit Harry's hands. Likewise in Sams', it was made for hers. A selector switch was present for weapons, although as yet neither carried any. This did not mean neither could carry. But they didn't fit them with weapons, because that wasn't actually why he built the first, nor why Sam had then built her own.
It took Sam only three months to build hers. Much less, if you only count actual hours spent on it.
Harry's had taken far longer, since the daedalus through 8 months till now to finish, due to finding out what did and didn't work, and which ones that did, didn't together.
He didn't manage to make it a space-craft. But that didn't matter.
He thumbed the radio, and Sam responded.
"What say we push our engines? We're at mach 0.7 here, and not even straining."
"Harry, are you sure you made the design supersonic-capable?"
"Thor assured me it was."
"He did?"
"He's asked if he could adapt the design for the Asgard, with their technology. He was rather intrigued when I told him the inspiration."
"When was this?"
Harry coughed a moment, then spoke, "When Kvasir assisted us with that whole supergate debacle last month. I had enough time to talk to Thor from Kvasirs' ship. He had asked me if I had designed any other ships."
"Oh."
"He said they'll likely only use it as a transport for single Asgards when transporters are unreliable, like when Heimdahls' lab was inaccessible through the planets' atmosphere."
"We beamed there and back fine." Sam countered.
"You were on the surface. She said that if she'd had an 'Aethersprite' back then, she probably would have had her stuff stored in a transporter storage module and stored it on the ship..."
"But they're not hyperspace capable... Don't tell me you're going to be building a Hyperspace module? Or they are,... whatever."
Harry laughed. "Their version would be hyperspace capable. When Thor sent a message about their progress with it last week, he included the design specs. We couldn't reproduce from just those specs, but it was detailed enough to impress me."
"Defenses?"
"Light shields, but they're learning how to alter the shield to be an Anti-replicator field. A few messages back and forth over the last two, three months and I've figured out what they're probably going to try to do with an Aethersprite."
Sam groaned, though not from annoyance or anything really negative. Despite Harry's reluctance with the nicknamed 'Iron Man' suit, which she didn't really believe the story behind despite the evidence for it being possible sitting in the mock Jedi Starfighter to her right, she really didn't get why he'd then build his own Jedi Starfighter, even if it weren't actually a spacecraft yet, nor a fighter.
She understood the reasons he had for building a plane for himself. She understood it too. They were both getting a lot of pleasure from flying. No worries, no fears. She just didn't get that contradiction. Accept Star wars thing, not Iron man thing.
"Sam?" Harry asked.
"Yeah?"
"Yay or Nay on going supersonic?" He asked, reminding her of his earlier question.
"Oh. Yay."
"Catch me if you can!"
With that, Harry put the engines on full throttle. The acceleration was almost unbelievable. Would have been had he not already flown in an F-302 at full throttle before...
In retrospect, the F-302's acceleration was probably the unbelievable one, since it was so big. This, was not as fast in acceleration, but its tiny size but engine thrust? Definitely believable, compared with the F-302.
Either way, though, Harry's 'Delta-7 Aethersprite kit plane rocketed forward. Almost literally, if rockets were used.
Sam followed, and the pair reached Mach 5 at 10 kms' altitude, just above the clouds.
The advanced sensors of the Aethersprite, based on what little Harry had learned of the Asgard sensors that were more advanced than those now on the Prometheus, reported a ship sailing the ocean below. It was an aircraft carrier. Feeling cheeky, Harry asked, "Want to do a fly-by of the ship below?"
"Harry! Thats-"
"How can it be illegal? These babies aren't classified."
"What?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you? As a 'display model', I can show it off. There's nothing in the agreement that says I can't show it in flight."
Sam was quiet for a moment. Then a giggle. "Okay."
"That also means I get to show Marks' kids." Harry added, and the pair descended, slowing down until they had a visual on the aircraft carrier.
"Good lord. They already think you're a Jedi..."
"They think you are too."
"Damn. I forgot that."
The two decelerated, and did a fast flyby of the carrier, not too fast though. Everyone on the carrier thought they were seeing things...
Of course, it took some explaining when they landed back at the SGC, using an Anti-gravity system based on the Prometheus' to allow the craft to hover without main engines at up to 40 feet off of any surface directly below the craft. The Silo access to the base had become their access to the rooms which opened out into the silo. A moving platform would come out for their AG system to use as that surface. Like moving an air cushion, the craft would then move forward with a little tilt, literally using the AG field like a Harrier jumpjet would tilt and use the vertical thrust to accelerate.
The whole of the SGC found it amusing, indeed several people like President Hayes did find it amusing... although the President didn't find it nearly so funny when the Navy's Joint Chief barged into a meeting once he had learned who was responsible for the prank.
Harry and Sam both lost priviledges to fly the vehicles below the clouds, with obvious exception for take off and landing from the SGC or Area 51, for a month.
--
Authors Note: Bit later in the day than i intended, but then I got caught up watching Eureka Season 1. (Got it on DVD, so with HDMI Upscaling... wooow. episode 'Dr Nobel'... funny scene at the end. 'So where'd it go?' satellite gets destroyed 'Um... Pasadina, we have a problem' heh.