THE RETURN OF SG-1
Chapter 2: What Year Is It?
General Wells was the first to move. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Well, sir, I could be asking you the same thing," the man who had spoke earlier sounded completely serious but the other two men and the woman with him were all grinning.
"I am General Roderick Wells, head of the SGC…" he would have said more but he was interrupted.
"We just left. How could you have replaced General Hammond in less than one minute?"
"Who are you?" General Wells was getting bored. He wanted answers and he wanted answers five minutes ago.
"I am Colonel Jack O'Neill, head of SG-1, this is Major Carter," the blonde woman nodded, "Dr. Daniel Jackson," the man with the glasses smiled, "and Teal'c," the last man the one with the gold emblem on his forehead bowed his head in acknowledgment.
General Wells ignored everything else and marched straight to Teal'c. "He is Jaffa. Take him to the infirmary and remove the symbiote from him then take it to be examined."
Two soldiers moved forward but were stopped by Colonel O'Neill who moved directly in front of the Jaffa.
"You lay one hand on him and I won't hesitate to kill you," his voice was low, deadly.
"Disarm them and then take them to the briefing room," General Wells ordered after deciding that he really didn't want to deal with a homicidal maniac that was protecting a Jaffa.
"Sir?" Carter asked.
Colonel O'Neill looked around hesitantly then nodded. General's Wells eyes practically popped out of his head when he saw the vast amount of weaponry the four were carrying. Soon the entire ramp was covered by ancient guns, zat guns, knives, grenades, and a staff weapon.
"This way to the briefing room," he began but was silenced by O'Neill.
"I think we know our way around," he said with a wink. General Wells made a mental note to keep an eye on him. He had a feeling O'Neill would be trouble. Big trouble.
After the four SG-1 members had gotten settled at the briefing table General Wells sat down at the head of the table and looked at them.
O'Neill looked to be about fifty-five with black and gray hair and blue eyes. He had a no-nonsense attitude about him that had all the young airmen either staying away from him or jumping to obey whatever command he gave.
Carter was female. She had her hair cut in the former military cut which only came to her neck. Like O'Neill she had blue eyes but judging from the way she was examining everything while trying to appear not to he figured she was probably some kind of military scientist.
Jackson was clearly civilian with his brown hair that hung in his face obscuring his brown eyes that were hidden behind glasses. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he was examining everything in sight as if it were the find of the century. He was probably a scientist too or maybe even an archeologist.
Words could not even begin to describe Teal'c. The man was Jaffa through and through. Like O'Neill, however he also had a commanding presence (although it usually succeeded in scaring the officers). Judging by the mark on his forehead he was high up in the Goa'uld chain of command, possibly even a First Prime. The symbol was unfamiliar but perhaps he would share that information with them although Wells greatly doubted it. The Jaffa were so loyal they would die before disclosing any information about their gods.
"Who sent you?" he wasted no time in asking.
"General Hammond of the SGC," O'Neill replied.
"That's a lie," Wells said, "I am the head of the SGC."
O'Neill turned to his companions. "We were gone less than a minute. How in the world did they replace General Hammond that quickly?"
"Sir," Carter spoke up. "Do you remember Urgo?"
A collective groan emitted from all four, even Teal'c.
"How am I supposed to forget him?" O'Neill demanded. "He lived in our heads for crying out loud. Not to mention he was very annoying and extremely difficult to get rid of."
"Indeed," Teal'c spoke for the first time since they had come through the Stargate.
Carter shook her head. "What I'm trying to say, sir, is do you remember how each time we visited his planet we thought only a few seconds had elapsed…"
"But in reality several hours," Jackson finished.
"So it's possible this happened again?" when Carter and Jackson nodded O'Neill groaned. "Okay I'm going to bite, what year is it?"
Wells felt confused but he answered, "2047."
There was a stunned silence then Teal'c said, "When we left through the Stargate it was 1997. We have been gone approximately fifty years."
"I know how to count, Teal'c," O'Neill snapped.
"1997?" the disbelief in Wells voice came through loud and clear.
"It is possible," Carter said. "We've traveled in time before, both forwards and backwards."
"You're sure we didn't accidentally touch one of those quantum mirror thingies by mistake?" O'Neill asked.
Carter nodded. "I'm positive, sir, if we had than they would at least know who we are or have trotted out the doubles by now."
"That's a good point," O'Neill agreed.
"Quantum mirror?" from the way they were talking Wells was beginning to think that 1997 was more technologically advanced than now. Of course there was the possibility that they were spies.
"That would explain why nobody knows who we are," the more Carter talked about it the more excited she became. "More than likely everyone we know is dead and we were probably presumed dead when we didn't return."
"Uh, sorry to interrupt this very fascinating theory," Wells observed that O'Neill didn't look particularly sorry at all about interrupting Major Carter, "but how do we know that this isn't just another Goa'uld trick like last time?"
"I did think about that, sir, but we haven't been sedated and I'm not sensing any symbiotes in here."
"I must agree with Major Carter, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "I have not felt the presence of a Goa'uld here either."
"Ok that's good enough for me," O'Neill leaned back in his chair looking very satisfied.
Wells decided that he would apparently need a reference book to keep up with everything they were talking about.
"Report to the infirmary," he said. "Then I want them escorted to a holding cell until we decide what to do with them."