Colonel Jack O'Neill knocked on General Hammond's door before entering.
"You wanted to see me sir?" he asked, slipping his hands into his pockets
and rocking on his feet.
"Colonel O'Neill, I have a very important assignment for you." General Hammond said, handing O'Neill a dossier and smiling.
Jack took the folder and groaned. On the tab, he read 'Candidates'. "Oh brother." He mumbled.
Hammond sighed, sitting down. "As second in command of the SGC and team leader of SG-1, it's your duty to look over new candidates. There is a lot of potential in there, and I want your input. As of now, SG-1 is ordered to stand down while you evaluate the recruits. There will be a bus arriving at 09:30 hours tomorrow. They know they are seeing a top secret Deep Space Telemetry project. There are twenty candidates." Hammond steeped his fingers. "We will be keeping four of them."
Jack quickly glanced at the sheets in the folder. "All of them are marines." He said softly. "Shouldn't Colonel Makepeace be looking these over?" he asked.
Hammond smiled. "Makepeace is offworld. Besides, it's not for his team."
Jack nodded. "SG-5?"
Hammond nodded his head. "Only three survivors. It was touch and go with Simmons, but Dr. Fraiser assures me that he will be fit for duty."
Jack sighed. "So it looks like I am baby sitting for the next few days." He sighed and saluted, rather sarcastically. "Thank you General Hammond, sir." He toned.
Hammond only smiled. "Anytime Colonel. Anytime. Dismissed." He said, getting back to some paperwork. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Xander stared in awe as the bus rumbled into the giant cave-like entrance. He wondered, only briefly, why a deep space tele...telem...tele –something, would be underground. All he knew was he was on some sort of fast track. He and nineteen other recruits all rode the bus and watched their surroundings pass by. He would get a pay raise, most likely a promotion, and he would also be in something that wasn't combat oriented. Willow would love it.
The bus stopped and everyone filed off. The driver had them all fall in and other personnel, from the base, apparently, took their bags with them. Xander resisted the urge to look around. Almost three minutes passed when two officers came into view. One was an Air Force Colonel, the other wore Marine Corps fatigues. There was no rank insignia.
"My name is Colonel Jack O'Neill. I am second in command of the base here at Cheyenne Mountain. This is my second in command. T'ealc." He said and paused, looking at the large man beside him. "Jones. T'ealc Jones. Just call him T'ealc...or sir." The Colonel sputtered.
Xander smiled very softly. The Colonel sounded like him sometimes.
"Before we go any further, are there any questions about what you are here to see?" the Colonel asked.
Xander hesitated.
"Any at all?" O'Neill asked again.
Xander had one, but he wasn't sure if this was a test. Willow always said there were no such things as stupid questions, but Willow had never been in the military. His instinct took over and the lifelong lessons from his best friend came into play. Xander raised his hand.
Jack nodded in his direction. "Yes private?"
Xander stepped forward to speak. "Private Harris, Sunnydale California sir." He barked out. "I was just wondering, sir...Why is a Deep Space Telemetry project underground?" he asked.
Jack narrowed his gaze and held out his hand to T'ealc.
T'ealc just looked at O'Neill's hand, expressionless.
Jack sighed. "Harris, the dossier on Private Harris." He said.
T'ealc bowed his head slightly and handed over the dossier.
Colonel O'Neill walked over to Xander , reading the file.
Xander winced inside. He knew he should have stayed quiet. At the core of his being, he had figured out a long time ago that shutting up and not questioning things made life so much simpler. Then Buffy came into their lives and now he questioned everything, much to Willow's enjoyment.
O'Neill made a few notes in the file and closed the folder. "Because it's a Top Secret Deep Space Telemetry project, Harris." He said simply.
Xander opened his mouth again, much to his chagrin. Damn it. "But, wouldn't we actually need to be looking into Deep Space to see if the research worked, sir?" he pressed.
O'Neill opened Xanders file and made a few more notes. "Not until the thing is built, private." He said. "Anything else we can help you understand?" he asked. "Why do we wear green in the desert, perhaps? Why the joint military control? Why you were picked?" he asked.
Xander only shook his head. "No sir." He said, effectively cutting off his thought process.
O'Neill looked at the other recruits. "Anyone else?"
No one stepped forward. O'Neill frowned. "Let's move inside, then."
Xander turned in perfect military precision and marched inside with the others, not noticing T'ealc watching him, one eyebrow raised in admiration. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Do you think he's ok?" Willow asked Buffy again for the third time.
Buffy blocked the vampires punch and spun, kicking him in the chest, sending him sprawling across the ground. "Who?" she asked, before pulling her stake.
"Xander." Willow said, sipping her diet coke. "I mean. He could be dead, and we wouldn't know. Do you know how many people have died in wars and they don't know them? They have monuments in Washington D.C. dedicated to soldiers that no one knows!" panic crept into Willows voice.
Buffy shook her head and blocked two more punches with the vampire before slamming the stake into its heart, dusting it instantly. "Have you been watching the History Channel again?" she asked, turning to Willow.
Willow looked down. "They might have had a show about the monument while I just happened to pause on the channel, yes." She said.
Buffy grinned. "At least you aren't watching the Discovery Channel again and convinced we are all dying from the plague." She laughed.
Willow smiled now. "You think I am exaggerating?"
Buffy smiled. "You're worried about your best friend. Exaggeration is allowed. I am sure he is doing fine and having a wonderful time. Want to get mocha to chase away all the bad stuff in your busy Willow-brain?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure he's having a lot of fun." She affirmed before walking with Buffy. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Xander rubbed his head and sighed. He was miserable. Looking at the paper again, she tried to make some sense out of what it said. The calculations he had on paper couldn't be right, but with the formulas they had given him, he was sure that they were. Looking up, he saw the other eleven recruits struggling the same way. Seven people hadn't made it past the first two days. Finally, he stood up, signaling he was finished.
The blonde woman who administered the test came up to him, looking at the paper. "All finished, private?" she asked.
Xander knew that Major Carter was an officer in the Air Force, which meant she could be just as tough and rugged as the others, but he felt more at ease working under her supervision than he did any of the others. She had an air around her that exuded confidence and that comforted him. It was a little like working with Buffy again. "Yes ma'am. But..." he paused, snapping his mouth shut. He was about to question things again.
"But what, private?" she pressed. Xander was the first to complete the complex formulas and she wanted to know his thoughts.
"Well..." he said, pointing to several things on the paper. Silently, he thanked Willow for he tutoring in the advanced math classes she insisted he take with her. She had wanted to take the classes, but not alone. She begged Xander to go with her and she promised she would help him. He passed, with a fair grasp of the procedures, but still the formulas made no sense to him.
"Yes?" Major Carter pressed, almost eagerly.
"Well...it doesn't make any sense." He blurted out.
"Thank you!" one of the other recruits blurted out. "I can't even begin to put this stuff together; none of it makes any sense. And besides, I am a marine, not a scientist." He said.
Carter looked at the marine and smiled slightly. "The thoriums in front of you are the basic tests that a position on this base calls for. How far did you get?" she asked him.
The soldiers face fell and he looked at his paper. "I filled out my name and started the first problem...I got stuck." He said.
Major Carter looked around the room. "How many of you made it past the first problems?" she asked.
Three other recruits raised their hands.
Major Carter smiled. "How convenient." She said softly. "Thank you all. The test is over." She looked at Xander. "Can you see me after everyone is dismissed?" she said.
Xander nodded.
"Dismissed." Carter said to the group. "Drop your tests off on the table by the door and return to your barracks." She said. "Come with me, Harris." She commanded.
Xander smiled. Yep. It was just like working with Buffy again. At least THAT he knew how to do. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Willow frowned and typed several more lines. The message was always the same; A bright yellow square in the middle of her screen that flashed 'Access Denied'. She had just used every trick in her considerable arsenal and she had nothing. Cracking top secret government computers was really starting to frustrate her.
Tara walked up behind the hacker and leaned down, resting her chin on the redheads shoulder. She kissed Willow softly on the cheek and lovingly wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Still nothing?" she asked.
Willow leaned back into her girlfriends embrace. "Nothing. It's like he just disappeared." She sighed. "It's all very frustrating." She grumbled. Shutting the laptop down, after making sure to pull out of the intricate network she had created to ensure that Uncle Sam was unable to trace her, she stood and shuffled over to the bed with Tara.
"I'm sure he's fine, sweetie." The blonde said softly, crawling in beside Willow.
Willow only nodded and turned off the light as Tara snuggled up beside her. "You think I'm weird?" she asked softly.
Tara frowned. "Why would I think that?" she asked.
"Because of my little obsession with finding Xander." Willow said, flopping down on the bed next to Tara.
Tara smiled softly. "It's not weird to worry about your best friend since...well, the sandbox."
Willow rolled onto her side and looked into Tara's eyes. "You don't feel threatened or worried about it, then?"
Tara only shook her head. "I know you love me, but I also know you love Xander. Just like you love Buffy, and Mr. Giles, and Riley. You love me a little different..."
"I love you a lot different." Willow interrupted her voice firm.
"But I am not jealous that you are concerned." Tara continued, smiling.
Willow smiled. "I am so lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend."
"Understanding; yes. Happy to go to sleep with no snuggles; no. Come to bed sweetie." Tara said, smiling and trying to look innocent. To anyone else besides Willow, it worked. But the hacker knew the look in Tara's eyes and quickly forgot about Xander. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Xander stood at attention along with the other recruits. He wasn't sure why they were asked to stay outside of the doors and he wasn't sure what the klaxons and machinery grinding behind the doors was, but he knew how to follow orders. So he stood, waiting for someone to come along and tell him where to go and what to do. Personally, he missed Buffy.
Samantha Carter smiled as she heard the fourth chevron engage. She nodded down to Colonel O'Neill in the Gate room and the Colonial smiled devilishly. "They can come in now, sir." She said, knowing full well why Colonel O'Neill did this part personally.
"I love this part." He said, sliding his ID card through the reader. The doors slid open and he looked at the four new recruits. "Come on in folks. The show is about to start." He said, gesturing for them to file into the room past him.
Xander stared open mouthed at the large, spinning circle at one end of the gate room. "That's a deep space telemetry project?" he asked mainly to himself, but his voice carried over the noise of the Stargate.
"No. That's a Stargate." Colonial O'Neill said.
"A what, sir?" Xander asked.
"A Stargate." The voice came from behind Xander and he almost jumped. "It's a device found on the Giza Plateau in the early 1920's." Major Carter said, pulling on her gloves. "It creates a stable wormhole within the confines of the gate that allows near instantaneous travel through hundreds of light years of space to another planet equipped with a similar gate." She said.
Xander smiled. "Cool."
Major Carter sighed, rolling her eyes. She slipped her hand into her pocket and handed Colonel O'Neill a crisp, twenty dollar bill.
"Thank you Major." O'Neill said.
Chevron seven encoded. the voice over the intercom spoke. Chevron seven locked. As soon as the voice sounded, the gate burst forth with a horizontal splash of something resembling water. The 'splash' shot out several feet before falling back and settling into the shimmering surface.
"Let's take a walk, kids." O'Neill said, slipping his sunglasses on.
Xander, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and the rest of the recruits walked up the ramp and into the gate. In an instant, they were gone.
"Colonel O'Neill, I have a very important assignment for you." General Hammond said, handing O'Neill a dossier and smiling.
Jack took the folder and groaned. On the tab, he read 'Candidates'. "Oh brother." He mumbled.
Hammond sighed, sitting down. "As second in command of the SGC and team leader of SG-1, it's your duty to look over new candidates. There is a lot of potential in there, and I want your input. As of now, SG-1 is ordered to stand down while you evaluate the recruits. There will be a bus arriving at 09:30 hours tomorrow. They know they are seeing a top secret Deep Space Telemetry project. There are twenty candidates." Hammond steeped his fingers. "We will be keeping four of them."
Jack quickly glanced at the sheets in the folder. "All of them are marines." He said softly. "Shouldn't Colonel Makepeace be looking these over?" he asked.
Hammond smiled. "Makepeace is offworld. Besides, it's not for his team."
Jack nodded. "SG-5?"
Hammond nodded his head. "Only three survivors. It was touch and go with Simmons, but Dr. Fraiser assures me that he will be fit for duty."
Jack sighed. "So it looks like I am baby sitting for the next few days." He sighed and saluted, rather sarcastically. "Thank you General Hammond, sir." He toned.
Hammond only smiled. "Anytime Colonel. Anytime. Dismissed." He said, getting back to some paperwork. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Xander stared in awe as the bus rumbled into the giant cave-like entrance. He wondered, only briefly, why a deep space tele...telem...tele –something, would be underground. All he knew was he was on some sort of fast track. He and nineteen other recruits all rode the bus and watched their surroundings pass by. He would get a pay raise, most likely a promotion, and he would also be in something that wasn't combat oriented. Willow would love it.
The bus stopped and everyone filed off. The driver had them all fall in and other personnel, from the base, apparently, took their bags with them. Xander resisted the urge to look around. Almost three minutes passed when two officers came into view. One was an Air Force Colonel, the other wore Marine Corps fatigues. There was no rank insignia.
"My name is Colonel Jack O'Neill. I am second in command of the base here at Cheyenne Mountain. This is my second in command. T'ealc." He said and paused, looking at the large man beside him. "Jones. T'ealc Jones. Just call him T'ealc...or sir." The Colonel sputtered.
Xander smiled very softly. The Colonel sounded like him sometimes.
"Before we go any further, are there any questions about what you are here to see?" the Colonel asked.
Xander hesitated.
"Any at all?" O'Neill asked again.
Xander had one, but he wasn't sure if this was a test. Willow always said there were no such things as stupid questions, but Willow had never been in the military. His instinct took over and the lifelong lessons from his best friend came into play. Xander raised his hand.
Jack nodded in his direction. "Yes private?"
Xander stepped forward to speak. "Private Harris, Sunnydale California sir." He barked out. "I was just wondering, sir...Why is a Deep Space Telemetry project underground?" he asked.
Jack narrowed his gaze and held out his hand to T'ealc.
T'ealc just looked at O'Neill's hand, expressionless.
Jack sighed. "Harris, the dossier on Private Harris." He said.
T'ealc bowed his head slightly and handed over the dossier.
Colonel O'Neill walked over to Xander , reading the file.
Xander winced inside. He knew he should have stayed quiet. At the core of his being, he had figured out a long time ago that shutting up and not questioning things made life so much simpler. Then Buffy came into their lives and now he questioned everything, much to Willow's enjoyment.
O'Neill made a few notes in the file and closed the folder. "Because it's a Top Secret Deep Space Telemetry project, Harris." He said simply.
Xander opened his mouth again, much to his chagrin. Damn it. "But, wouldn't we actually need to be looking into Deep Space to see if the research worked, sir?" he pressed.
O'Neill opened Xanders file and made a few more notes. "Not until the thing is built, private." He said. "Anything else we can help you understand?" he asked. "Why do we wear green in the desert, perhaps? Why the joint military control? Why you were picked?" he asked.
Xander only shook his head. "No sir." He said, effectively cutting off his thought process.
O'Neill looked at the other recruits. "Anyone else?"
No one stepped forward. O'Neill frowned. "Let's move inside, then."
Xander turned in perfect military precision and marched inside with the others, not noticing T'ealc watching him, one eyebrow raised in admiration. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Do you think he's ok?" Willow asked Buffy again for the third time.
Buffy blocked the vampires punch and spun, kicking him in the chest, sending him sprawling across the ground. "Who?" she asked, before pulling her stake.
"Xander." Willow said, sipping her diet coke. "I mean. He could be dead, and we wouldn't know. Do you know how many people have died in wars and they don't know them? They have monuments in Washington D.C. dedicated to soldiers that no one knows!" panic crept into Willows voice.
Buffy shook her head and blocked two more punches with the vampire before slamming the stake into its heart, dusting it instantly. "Have you been watching the History Channel again?" she asked, turning to Willow.
Willow looked down. "They might have had a show about the monument while I just happened to pause on the channel, yes." She said.
Buffy grinned. "At least you aren't watching the Discovery Channel again and convinced we are all dying from the plague." She laughed.
Willow smiled now. "You think I am exaggerating?"
Buffy smiled. "You're worried about your best friend. Exaggeration is allowed. I am sure he is doing fine and having a wonderful time. Want to get mocha to chase away all the bad stuff in your busy Willow-brain?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure he's having a lot of fun." She affirmed before walking with Buffy. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Xander rubbed his head and sighed. He was miserable. Looking at the paper again, she tried to make some sense out of what it said. The calculations he had on paper couldn't be right, but with the formulas they had given him, he was sure that they were. Looking up, he saw the other eleven recruits struggling the same way. Seven people hadn't made it past the first two days. Finally, he stood up, signaling he was finished.
The blonde woman who administered the test came up to him, looking at the paper. "All finished, private?" she asked.
Xander knew that Major Carter was an officer in the Air Force, which meant she could be just as tough and rugged as the others, but he felt more at ease working under her supervision than he did any of the others. She had an air around her that exuded confidence and that comforted him. It was a little like working with Buffy again. "Yes ma'am. But..." he paused, snapping his mouth shut. He was about to question things again.
"But what, private?" she pressed. Xander was the first to complete the complex formulas and she wanted to know his thoughts.
"Well..." he said, pointing to several things on the paper. Silently, he thanked Willow for he tutoring in the advanced math classes she insisted he take with her. She had wanted to take the classes, but not alone. She begged Xander to go with her and she promised she would help him. He passed, with a fair grasp of the procedures, but still the formulas made no sense to him.
"Yes?" Major Carter pressed, almost eagerly.
"Well...it doesn't make any sense." He blurted out.
"Thank you!" one of the other recruits blurted out. "I can't even begin to put this stuff together; none of it makes any sense. And besides, I am a marine, not a scientist." He said.
Carter looked at the marine and smiled slightly. "The thoriums in front of you are the basic tests that a position on this base calls for. How far did you get?" she asked him.
The soldiers face fell and he looked at his paper. "I filled out my name and started the first problem...I got stuck." He said.
Major Carter looked around the room. "How many of you made it past the first problems?" she asked.
Three other recruits raised their hands.
Major Carter smiled. "How convenient." She said softly. "Thank you all. The test is over." She looked at Xander. "Can you see me after everyone is dismissed?" she said.
Xander nodded.
"Dismissed." Carter said to the group. "Drop your tests off on the table by the door and return to your barracks." She said. "Come with me, Harris." She commanded.
Xander smiled. Yep. It was just like working with Buffy again. At least THAT he knew how to do. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Willow frowned and typed several more lines. The message was always the same; A bright yellow square in the middle of her screen that flashed 'Access Denied'. She had just used every trick in her considerable arsenal and she had nothing. Cracking top secret government computers was really starting to frustrate her.
Tara walked up behind the hacker and leaned down, resting her chin on the redheads shoulder. She kissed Willow softly on the cheek and lovingly wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Still nothing?" she asked.
Willow leaned back into her girlfriends embrace. "Nothing. It's like he just disappeared." She sighed. "It's all very frustrating." She grumbled. Shutting the laptop down, after making sure to pull out of the intricate network she had created to ensure that Uncle Sam was unable to trace her, she stood and shuffled over to the bed with Tara.
"I'm sure he's fine, sweetie." The blonde said softly, crawling in beside Willow.
Willow only nodded and turned off the light as Tara snuggled up beside her. "You think I'm weird?" she asked softly.
Tara frowned. "Why would I think that?" she asked.
"Because of my little obsession with finding Xander." Willow said, flopping down on the bed next to Tara.
Tara smiled softly. "It's not weird to worry about your best friend since...well, the sandbox."
Willow rolled onto her side and looked into Tara's eyes. "You don't feel threatened or worried about it, then?"
Tara only shook her head. "I know you love me, but I also know you love Xander. Just like you love Buffy, and Mr. Giles, and Riley. You love me a little different..."
"I love you a lot different." Willow interrupted her voice firm.
"But I am not jealous that you are concerned." Tara continued, smiling.
Willow smiled. "I am so lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend."
"Understanding; yes. Happy to go to sleep with no snuggles; no. Come to bed sweetie." Tara said, smiling and trying to look innocent. To anyone else besides Willow, it worked. But the hacker knew the look in Tara's eyes and quickly forgot about Xander. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Xander stood at attention along with the other recruits. He wasn't sure why they were asked to stay outside of the doors and he wasn't sure what the klaxons and machinery grinding behind the doors was, but he knew how to follow orders. So he stood, waiting for someone to come along and tell him where to go and what to do. Personally, he missed Buffy.
Samantha Carter smiled as she heard the fourth chevron engage. She nodded down to Colonel O'Neill in the Gate room and the Colonial smiled devilishly. "They can come in now, sir." She said, knowing full well why Colonel O'Neill did this part personally.
"I love this part." He said, sliding his ID card through the reader. The doors slid open and he looked at the four new recruits. "Come on in folks. The show is about to start." He said, gesturing for them to file into the room past him.
Xander stared open mouthed at the large, spinning circle at one end of the gate room. "That's a deep space telemetry project?" he asked mainly to himself, but his voice carried over the noise of the Stargate.
"No. That's a Stargate." Colonial O'Neill said.
"A what, sir?" Xander asked.
"A Stargate." The voice came from behind Xander and he almost jumped. "It's a device found on the Giza Plateau in the early 1920's." Major Carter said, pulling on her gloves. "It creates a stable wormhole within the confines of the gate that allows near instantaneous travel through hundreds of light years of space to another planet equipped with a similar gate." She said.
Xander smiled. "Cool."
Major Carter sighed, rolling her eyes. She slipped her hand into her pocket and handed Colonel O'Neill a crisp, twenty dollar bill.
"Thank you Major." O'Neill said.
Chevron seven encoded. the voice over the intercom spoke. Chevron seven locked. As soon as the voice sounded, the gate burst forth with a horizontal splash of something resembling water. The 'splash' shot out several feet before falling back and settling into the shimmering surface.
"Let's take a walk, kids." O'Neill said, slipping his sunglasses on.
Xander, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and the rest of the recruits walked up the ramp and into the gate. In an instant, they were gone.