The Omake Files – The Fifth Man
Hobbies
"Private Collection"
The advantage to being an active team member on an SG-team, was the hazard pay.
Ever since the defeat of the Goa'uld, with some changes happening, Harry had decided it was time to get his own place. He had signed over the deeds to the house back to Daniel, and bought a large plot of land.
Because of all the things he had been involved in, his pay wasn't just hazard pay plus basic... and so, that plus the oft-recurring influx of winnings from the betting pools at the SGC meant the land he bought was fairly big.
Given an M-Generator, which he still could use to limited effect, and it didn't take long to excavate a large area of the ground in two places with a trench between them. One, the deeper one, would have his Hanger and private research lab. The other would be his basement, with a corridor to the lab running between.
But then, Sam was transferring to Area 51, and he put in for transfer there too. Then Colonel Cauldwell got him to join up on the Daedalus, temporarily, for the trip with the ZPM. Construction of his new home was halted, and for good if working at Area 51 was going to pan out.
Then, returning from Atlantis on the Daedalus, and then the whole thing with the new SG-1 commander and the Ori, and transferring back onto SG-1 without having ever been to Area 51 as a member of staff, he resumed work on his new home. He didn't do most of the work, just enough that he could then have a house built over the basement by contractors, claiming work commitments meant that the basement was as far as he got before he lost patience with the DIY job. Which, from a certain point of view, was true.
Two months, he spent living with Daniel during the whole thing, once he realised that he may as well have the place. It had been when Sam returned that his actual transfer was cancelled, rather than delayed as it had been. About a month after that, his house was ready to live in. The builders hadn't noticed the corridor doorway, when they installed the electrical and plumbing into the basement.
A month later and his own work was finished, the garage he built next to his house, just on top of the hidden lab... and he was done.
By then work had progressed on his little kit-plane mockup of a Jedi Starfighter, and had it moved to the 'Hanger'. A built in roof access into the garage that he had put in after the garage allowed access.
After work neared completion of it, and Sam decided to build her own, his little research lab had shelves of blueprints, pieces of technology he had used, and a really good one of the fighter itself.
Most of the work on his plane was fine-tuning, making sure it's AG Drive could get the little starfighter up through the roof into the garage. Intelligent sensors linked into the AG system meant it would vary the fields to keep the plane level and not suddenly shooting up when it became hovering over the garage floor, rather than above the hanger floor, above the open hanger roof access hatch.
The hanger was quite large, for what was in it.
The frame of Sam's was half assembled in a corner, the entire work space used for it less than an eighth of the room. In another corner, the working models for various systems were stored. A model of an F-302, that was 2 metres wide, was hovering, demonstrating the working AG fields. Beneath it, further demonstration that the intelligent sensors worked to vary the AG fields, lay various other models. Mostly just non-functional those.
A full quarter of the hanger was used up however, by a device on loan from NASA. It was a Vacuum Capsule. It was a device used to test relatively small objects, as large as the Fighter too, to check if they were sealed correctly, essentially ensuring that they wouldn't explode from internal air pressure in space.
Harry sat in his lab, looking out of where a wall would have been to separate it from the hanger. But he preferred this open plan.
Thoughts ran through his head.
Among the pile of blueprints that were for SGC, Area 51 or Other Projects, lay the design for a fighter. However, no engines that didn't require fuel existed on small enough a scale with sufficient thrust to be suitable. Where the F-302 had wings and therefore plenty of internal space for fuel, It was still not intended for use except for in combat situations. The way the Solar System Patrols had been setup were evidence of that. Small refuelling depots were placed around the system. They didn't want to rely on them, so the search for a new fighter was underway.
His computer beeped, and he saw a new mail on the highly-encrypted network only accessable to those with the right equipment. The entire network was not on the Internet. For security, no computer that accessed it was hooked up to the internet, either.
But recently, an addition allowed use of a Closed Email network within the system.
Which was what Harry began to read. It was a request... And he found himself laughing at the thought.
Someone wanted an X-wing. He was still working on getting permission to actually fly his little Delta-7 Aethersprite mockup plane.
He sent a reply, stating that he'll be accepting requests if he can get permission to start up the 'SGC Private Collectors Club', basically people with functioning mock-ups of full scale or down-scaled ships based on TV or Films.
The first on the bill, would be a 3 metre long model of the Enterprise. With the hologram technology they had reverse-engineered from the little Jedi Lightsaber they recovered, all those years ago, it would even have phasers! Well, not ones that actually did damage. But hell would be set loose if Paramount or ILM discovered it. Harry found it pretty hilarious the irony of that, something that was essentially a prop for Star Wars being used in a model of a Star Trek ship. Sort of.
Already, a holographic field could be created to produce a 'smoke-and-mirrors'-type cloaking effect. In short, projecting an image that cameras on the opposite side capture. That had been how he had hidden the corridor. The door being in a depression in the wall of the basement, but the depression - and so the door, hidden behind the holographic field that made it look like the wall just continued on, uninterupted.
As yet, he hadn't found a way to tie a forcefield and hologram together for physical holograms. The forcefield part was actually the biggest powerhog, while the holgram was the most bulky part, which was why the Aethersprite didn't have more than a stealth-type of forcefield, to hide it from Radar. The holo-emitters were a bit too big to fit within the structure, and the forcefield probably couldn't stop a bullet, considering the internal reactors were tied up in powering the rest of the craft.
Email sent, he went back to work on the delicate work of an AG field emitter. Several would be fitted to the undercarriage of Sams' Aethersprite.
--
Atlantis, Years later
In orbit, a Hyperspace window formed, and out of it, shot the XUT-413 'Normandy'.
The design looked similar to the Daedalus, but on a smaller scale. It's two cargo pods mostly resembled the pods from the Prometheus.
Before it entered the atmosphere, it stopped in orbit, and out of the port hanger, two objects launched. Small, just over 8 meters long, just under 4 metres wide. A slight shimmer on the two was all that was noticeable to indicate the atmospheric shields that allowed the crafts to fly in space.
The two were modified Delta-7 Aethersprites. They resembled the original configuration, but were much thicker than before in the middle. The two fighters took escort positions as the Normandy made its descent to the city ship below.
In the cockpit of one, Colonel Potter radioed in. "Potter to Atlantis."
"Atlantis, we..." There was a pause, then, "Sir we read you from an unidentified craft..."
"Affirmative. I and Major Roaché of the Normandy are incoming in... ahm, You'll believe it when you see it. Request opening the Jumper Bay roof doors for entry."
In the distance, as the ship and two planes descended out of the clouds, he and the French Major who commanded the transport vessel spotted Atlantis in the distance. A pair of Talons' from Atlantis' fighter compliment approached and took up escort positions.
Harry got permission, and shot ahead of the others at full thrust.
And slowed the craft down to almost a halt, above the retracting bay doors.
An addition over the radio, and he continued descent into the gate room itself.
Above, Major Roaché landed the craft in a spot not normally taken by a puddle jumper.
Harry landed the craft, the three landing gears locking into position just in time to contact the was hardly a sound for the landing, which would have surprised the onlookers, where they not already surprised by what seemed to be a fighter from Star Wars landing in the gate room.
Harry got out, and the leader of the base, Colonel Samantha Carter, held in a knowing smirk when everyone saw the Jedi garb that Harry tended to wear these days, when piloting his plane.
"Hey Sam." He greeted warmly. Sam smiled back.
"The Normandy's commander asked if he could, so I hope you don't mind that he brought yours down himself."
Sam nodded, and saw the changes. "Made it space-worthy I take it?"
"I finally got the hyperspace ring booster working too."
"You mean..."
Harry gave a smile, and nodded. "I've also replaced the power plant here, which now give it a limited combat shield. very limited though, so, dodge fire. The additional power plant on the ring booster provides extra power too, when not in hyperspace."
Sam's smile became a little forced as certain ideas occurred to her. But then her smile became genuine again as she approached him. "Made the same modifications to mine?"
"With its own Hyperspace booster ring." Harry finished. "The normandy will be deploying both in orbit before she leaves."
Sam shot toward him, and the two hugged each other hard.
Once they seperated, Harry added, "Rodney promised some ancient-based tech upgrades."
"He did?"
"I made him promise not to mess it up, and to make sure it all works. No flaws or reduction of efficiency and all that for what's on there now, pass all the changes along..." He paused, and she got the idea.
"What did you say you'll do for him in turn?"
"Well, he's interested in if we can build a shuttle like those on Star Trek."
Sam reminded him, "You've got a long list to work on, you know."
"I know, so I've got members of the Collectors Club building the various projects."
"Really?"
"We've got them designing the parts, and once they're done, I've already gained permission to use the Matter Converter on the Odyssey to mass-produce the parts."
Sam's eyebrows went up.
"I've already got about 6 Aethersprite's being assembled from the component parts. The original, atmosphere-only version."
"Still authorised to fly on Earth?"
"All of them, under agreement. Some favours were owed. As long as no demonstrations of classified technology occur, our agreement between the club and LucasFilm would even prevent them suing. It's not like they don't get any sales revenue afterwards."
Someone coughed, and Harry turned to see Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard, and Dr McKay.
"Remember the deal, Rodney. If it doesn't work I don't build you a shuttle."
"Of course... Ahm... It really flies in space?"
Harry nodded with a grin.
"Well, shall I-" McKay moved to get on the craft, as though he intended to get into the cockpit, but Harry stopped him.
"Flight systems are locked down, McKay. I'll move it to an exterior-accessable lab later."
Rodney nodded.
--
It was a fortnight later, and Sam and Harry were going to visit Earth for a week. Harry would then stay on Earth, but Sam had to go back.
In the jumper bay, the two modified Delta-7 Aethersprites powered up. In their cockpits, were their pilots. As always, Harry wore the Jedi garb, and Sam had followed with her Mara Jade/Jedi clothes. Amused as they were now, Sam accepted the Mara Jade flight code.
"Control Room, this is Mara Jade. Open Jumper Bay floor hatch."
"Confirmed."
The two hovering Aethersprites moved side-by-side, facing opposite directions. Harry and Sam shared a nod, and in synchronisation, the two spacecraft lowered into the gate room, where Sam shot forward into the open Stargate. Behind her, Harry spun his on the spot and shot forward aswell.
A Stargate was at least 5 metres in diameter. An Aethersprite was only just under 4 metres in width. The single-seat craft were smaller than puddle jumpers. They easily fit through.
--
Earth
A day later, the two spacecraft appeared through the Stargate, and promptly rose through the open roof and out of the SGC.
An hour after that, the two pilots landed in Harry's house garage, dropping into the hanger below the garage.
Thanks to the seclusion, Harry and Sam were not interrupted, as often happened in atlantis. It had been quite a while since they had gotten together but then been unable to see each other again. There was a lot of time to catch up on.
--
Mark knocked on the door, his two kids with him holding in smiles.
With the age thing, many people who didn't have security clearance for the true story, at the very least were told something close enough to it that it was the truth, while not being too revealing. Many of Harry's friends from outside of the Program knew that something had caused him to age a lot. Most didn't realise the significance of his new rank however, or even know his original age. Considering his origins had always been a mystery, when he came home aged with two kids, Janet and Jacob, who were rather young, he easily explained it as recently having the opportunity to bring them home.
Mark was one of the few who had a little clearance to know that some crap went on, time-wise, and Sam's their Mom, but not their mom. But he didn't really understand most of what he had been told... As it was he had only just gotten used to the idea of Sam and Harry being together, despite the long while since the aging thing happened.
Marks kids, now in their teens, believed something much closer to the truth, simply based on that Jedi stuff that Harry and Sam had fed them after that fateful halloween, just over 4 years ago. They couldn't understand what had been said about the time thing, but they had seen enough star trek to have said, when Sam started to explain to them, 'Temporal anomlies. Got it.'
They'd accepted it there-and-then, half a year ago. Mark was the one who had been in shock and not been able to get it at all for awhile.
And now that the whole thing was over, they had gotten used to it all, mostly... He had been invited over to Harry's... no, their home.
Harry opened the door, and welcomed them into his large house. The two kids shot forward and hugged the life out of him. Thankfully, as they had stopped calling him Luke, when they each hit twelve, they simply exclaimed, "Uncle Harry!"
"Oof... Need... Air..."
They released him, and saw Janet and Jacob peeking around the stair banisters, and more sedately went over and gave their cousins hugs.
Mark was amused at that, and smiled when greetings over, the pair simply asked, "Is it ready? Can we see it?"
He nodded, and Mark followed Harry and the two excited kids curiously. He never did get the truth behind why the kids had called Harry Luke beyond that weekend. They made their way out into the garden and followed a path through the trees around the back into a clearing, still on the property.
And there, the kids squeeled upon seeing the real Jedi Starfighter, hovering with the landing struts retracted, the cockpit open, the pilot smiling back at the group.
"Oh My God!" Sam's neice exclaimed. "Does it go into space too?! Can we go in it?"
Looks were shared, as Harry silently communicated to Sam, "How the hell do I handle this one?" They couldn't exactly take the kids up, there wasn't room in the cockpit, and even if there was, he doubted he'd get permission. And considering the last few times he broke the rules in regards to the Aethersprites, he couldn't afford to break any rules again with this.
Bit by bit, his resolve to tell them no was disolving. Thankfully, Mark was used to their pleading and other, methods of persuasion.
"No, kids. One, it's space. If something happens..."
"But Daaaaad!"
"It's a Spaceship!"
Sam inserted. "He's right, you two. If something happens, He'd kill whoever's left here on the ground. And I don't want either of you two hurt."
Resolve coming back, Harry added, "Besides, we can't fly them remote, and there's only space for one person in them. Now, come on, Gather round, and I'll tell you all about this Aethersprite I built for your aunt."
--
Authors Note: Aznblackhowling, I guess I sorta answered that query/suggestion in here already. Suffice to say, it's semi not-classified. And if anyone's not sure on if the craft would fit in the cities' jumper bays: the jumpers are 8 metres long themselves. According to the Stargate Wiki, though, and its notorious for sticking to 'official' sources and not trying to give a good effort into checking actual sizes. Also, posted some pictures of the hanger (floor and frame of an aethersprite) check my forum for the links.
And rewrote some parts. No idea what I was thinking when I wrote some paragraphs back when I wrote this originally. It wasn't clear on where or when that last scene was, or what some things were onabout.