Hang
or
Gates, the Sequel
or
In Which Impressions Are Made, and Ed Finds Love (But Not Really)
SG-1 and General Landry sat around the over-sized table, silently trying to reconcile this new information with what they already knew about the world. It was a long process, and quite complicated.
"Why is it that Daniel's always the one who meets the interesting people?" Whined Vala.
ONE HOUR EARLIER
The briefing room was silent, as General Landry had left for his office to report to his superiors about the new development at the SGC. Considering other things that had happened there, this was a mild incident, barely a footnote on their record. But it would soon become much bigger. Maybe even an entire chapter.
Cam Mitchell finished his musing (see above) before the General emerged, and so was left to stare about the room. He took a long look at 'Ed', the kid Daniel had supposedly met while he was supposedly dead. The boy was lounging in a chair, spinning idly and seeming completely at ease. He looked to be twelve but was actually eighteen, as his little brother, Alphonse, had told them in a careful whisper. Al at least was normal sized for his age, thirteen. The younger brother was as mysterious as the older, though considerably more kind and less volatile. They'd already heard Ed blow up at a man over the radio, one he'd called many colorful names.
The rest of his group seemed a bit less at ease then their guests; they weren't exactly on edge, more curious than anything. Still, the quiet (punctuated by the squeal of Ed's chair as he spun it) was unnerving. Finally, Teal'c's hand shot out and grasped the back, stopping the rhythmic squeak.
Everyone, including Al, gave him grateful looks. Ed huffed but didn't try to break the man's grip.
Just then, the door to Landry's office opened to reveal a hounded-looking general. Cam immediately guessed the man had spent the last twenty minutes playing phone-tag with bureaucrats and toadies.
The General say down and tried to exchange pleasantries with their guests (ambassadors of a sort). But Ed was a very cut-to-the-chase, skip-the-BS, kind of guy, and he jumped right into the first question.
"So what is this place? What do you do here? Daniel wasn't exactly clear on it." He addressed his questions to Daniel, as that was the only person in this room (aside from Al) that he knew and (marginally) trusted.
Landry cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. "This is Stargate Command, SGC, on the planet Earth. This is the base of the Stargate program, which includes exploration of the galaxy, making allies with other peoples out there, and making weapons with which to protect ourselves from other threats in the galaxy." Although there aren't too many of those anymore. He added in his mind.
"Well, that all sounds good and noble. Too good. This base is military-run, and if I know anything it's that the military does nothing that doesn't benefit itself. What's the catch?"
What a cynical child. Was the general thought on everyone's mind.
Al elbowed his brother in the shoulder, then winced and rubbed his arm where it had hit(1). "What my brother means is, we've found there's usually an ulterior motive. He thinks its always something bad. To his credit, he's right most of the time."
"Well, I'll admit there are people in our government who want things run differently here. But I can assure you that so long as I run this base, I will do all I can to stop those people."
Ed nodded, and he seemed satisfied that this man at least was one of the honorable people.
"And what do all of you people do here?"
"We make up a team called SG-1. Not to brag, but we're at least indirectly responsible for the destruction of three technologically advanced races bent on galactic domination. We're kind of famous." Daniel said.
Ed nodded, unimpressed.
"If you don't mind, we have some questions of our own. For instance: how did you find us? And I'm still unclear on how you and Dr. Jackson met." Landry said.
"Well, I died after being stabbed by my insane half-brother, and I met Daniel here at the Gate. We talked, and he mentioned this Stargate thing, so when I went through the Gate a bit later I focused on that thing, and there was a damn lot of information on it in there. Made my head hurt for days, I tell you. I memorized as much as I could. Later, when I got home, I remembered meeting Daniel and I was really bored, so I figured I'd check this out, 'cuz it seemed interesting. I knew the general location of the gate, and I got funding to dig it up and get it running--that was fun--and then I started trying every gate address I got from the Gate. And that's a lot. I was starting to think we'd never find you. Lucky you mentioned the shield-thing, or I'd have splattered." Finished with his tale, Ed sat back to enjoy their faces.
"I don't think you clarified anything for them, brother." Al muttered.
(2)Before being allowed to go anywhere else, Ed and Al had to be examined by Dr. Lam for foreign diseases they might unleash upon the unsuspecting SGC members. Basically, she needed to take some blood and give them a standard doctor's checkup. Unfortunately, this involved needles.
"No! Get that thing away from me, sadist!" Ed protested loudly as she approached with a needle.
Al sighed. "They just need some blood, Ed."
In response, the older brother snatched a nearby knife and slashed his palm. "Here! Just get the damn needle away from me!"
Dr. Lam gasped and ran for something to stop the bleeding, and Al shouted, "Brother!" in a very exasperated tone.
Ed held his hand over a tray with raised edges and clenched his hand, letting blood fall, before he clapped his hands--a lot less firmly than usual, due to the cut--and touched the wound. The edges knit themselves together and mended, not even leaving a scar.
"I love medical alchemy." He commented, flexing his hand.
Dr. Lam came rushing back to find that she wasn't actually needed. Ed pointed to the tray and asked, "Is that enough?" and she nodded very quickly, likely worried he'd slice himself open again if there was a chance that it wasn't.
"Honestly, brother. Needles hurt far less than what you just did." Al sighed.
"Needles are a perversion of all things natural. They're an instrument of torture used by sadistic doctors." Ed growled.
Dr. Lam booted them from her infirmary before even more blood was shed.
Waiting right outside was Colonel Samantha Carter. Upon hearing her rank, Ed had been wary, but since ascertained that she was nothing like the Bastard (who was worthy of a capital letter, in spite of Ed's better judgment). From what he'd seen so far, she was an intellectual and a pretty good soldier, too. Worthy of respect for any normal person, but Ed was not normal.
"So where are we going now, lady?"
"Brother!" Al admonished. "I'm sorry." He said to Sam.
She found herself a bit bemused at this duo, who acted like Jack and Daniel when Jack was still on the team. "That's okay. I'm here to take you back to the briefing room. We still have a lot of questions, and I'm sure you do too."
"Alright then, let's go." Ed said, starting off.
"Do you even know how to get there?" Sam asked, following. Al rushed up to join his brother.
"Pretty sure. This way, right Al?" Ed said, motioning to the left.(3)
Sam shook her head and let them take the lead, ready to step in when one of them finally admitted to being completely lost.
The three burst into the briefing room, having almost run the entire way there. Sam straightened right away, flushed with embarrassment more than exertion, and tried in vain to fix her rather wind-blown hair. Ed came in, slowing to an easy walk and looking very pleased with himself. Al was last, nearly barreling into Ed.
"Colonel." Landry said in a tone that was both a greeting and a question.
"Sorry sir. I was escorting them here when Ed mentioned being curious about how exactly the gate works--"
"I had my theories, but only Al could keep up and we think the same way anyways." Ed put in.
"--and so I went to my office to get him the book I wrote on it(4) and then we got sidetracked by a naquadah generator I was working on--"
"Say no more, Colonel." Landry interrupted her fast talking. "I understand, just take a seat."
Looking a bit sheepish, she sat down beside Teal'c, ignoring his unreadable stare.
Ed, who had since the infirmary come to respect the wealth of knowledge Sam held, realized quite suddenly that he'd never heard the huge man speak
"What's that thing on your forehead?" He asked. It looked suspiciously similar to a homunculus tattoo, but he wasn't about to risk the mission and the Bastard's whining just to see if the man's head would grow back when chopped off.
"It is the symbol of the false god Apophis, whom I used to serve. He is dead now." Teal'c rumbled.
"Good for you. There is no such thing as a god." Ed said cheerfully.
Teal'c's eyebrow rose, somewhat surprised to find that he did not seem to intimidate the young Edward at all.
"I've been wondering..." Cam started. "Why would your government send you and your brother here--I mean, why not someone... older, or, uh, more experienced?"
Ed looked decidedly unimpressed with Mitchel's attempt at tact. "Because there is no one more experienced than I am. There is no one better suited for this. I'm the guy they send in when they don't know what else to do." And Ed smiled knives.
They all digested this, and Al mentally hung his head in shame at his brother's flair for the dramatic. He also plotted revenge against the Bastard Ed had learned it from.
"Aren't you a bit... young?" Asked Vala.
Ed snorted. "If I was any older it would've killed me, and I wouldn't have come back."
There had been several more hours of talking, in which SG-1 learned a bit about the Elrics and their world, and the Elrics learned a lot more about Earth and the galactic situation. Also, the conversation had often turned to technology and science, as both brothers were eager to hear about all of the advancements of Earth. During these scientific times, Ed, Al, Sam, and occasionally Daniel, were to be found talking at the speed of light about things no one else could make heads or tails of.
By the end of it, Ed was pretty sure he'd fallen in love with Sam's brain.
The group stood before the gate, already dialing out, and said their goodbyes, arranging for further trips and communiques in the future. SG-1 and the General waved the brothers Elric out of the SGC.
When they were gone, there was silence.
"That was new." Daniel commented.
"I know. No one tried to kill anyone, nothing blew up or malfunctioned, and no one was kidnapped. I think we're starting to get the hang of things." Cam said cheerfully.
(1) He is on Ed's right, and thus elbowed Ed's right automail arm, causing more harm to himself than to Ed, who didn't actually feel anything.
(2) This is back in present time, for those of you who are confused.
(3) He memorized the route on the way down, just in case they needed to escape. Knowing their luck, it still might happen. (FORESHADOWING)
(4) In the episode they get the super-power armbands from the Tok'ra, Sam finds time to finally write a book on wormhole physics. That's my second favorite episode, right after the one where Teal'c and Jack are stuck in a time loop and do all sorts of crazy stuff.
Due to reviews and responses to Gates, I have decided to extend it a bit. Don't expect much more.