The flight from Cleveland to Colorado had been relatively uneventful. If you didn't count Xander's cursing in at least a half a dozen languages when he realized that eventually he'd have to tell Andrew that he was right about aliens. That alone was enough to put him in a foul mood.
Dawn on the other hand had been amazed at the science behind the Stargate and Willow had been silently pleased at that. The more she could get Dawn interested in the sciences, the easier her she would be able to use her magical abilities. It was true that magic allowed you to step outside the so called "Laws" of physics, but it was always easier if you cast while operating within those laws, bending was always easier than breaking. The more Dawn knew about those laws the better spell caster she would be.
After both had finished reading the information that Willow had gleaned from her invasion of the SGC computers she spent the rest of the flight explaining, exactly why they were getting involved with another military operation.
The biggest, at least what she told them was that she had found references in some older tomes that seemed to refer to the Goa'uld as the demons that took human form. It also seemed to make several references to the Goa'uld and demons working in conjunction in the past. The problem is that a person would have no idea that the Goa'uld were not demons unless they knew about interstellar life.
On the other hand one that didn't know about demons but did know about the Goa'uld would be flying blind because they'd have no way of knowing that the demons referred to in texts were actual demonic entities, not simply parasitic life forms like the Goa'uld. So it was obvious that the Council and the SGC needed to know about one another.
When Xander asked why she hadn't discussed this with Giles first she had been somewhat vague and had made some comments about a vision and conversation with Mistress Harkness. Xander had seemed troubled by this bit of information but seemed to have decided to keep his peace, at least for the time being.
*****
'emAliens are real, huh,/em that thought had continually been bouncing around in Xander's head since Willow had come clean and come right out and said it. Sure he'd suspected, pretty seriously in fact, that she was headed in that direction. But suspecting it, and having the proof of it dropped into his lap in black and white, and eight by ten color photos was something else entirely.
He'd been so deep in his own thoughts that he'd allowed the entire drive from the airport to Cheyenne Mountain to pass without much being said. He'd been quite content to let Dawn and Willow talk and argue the points and facts of the situation while he tried to figure out what Willow wanted to do with this information.
Somehow, someway he just knew, like he knew that he needed to lie to Buffy about Angel, that something more was going on than Willow was letting on. The fact that she'd kept something so serious from Giles was all the proof he needed of that. Something was going on and it was making the pit of his stomach ache in a way that never heralded anything good.
*****
Jack and Daniel were heading up the elevator to the surface to pick up their "guests". Daniel watched the way Jack stood ramrod straight, starring directly at the doors. Daniel knew Jack was pissed and was worried that his friend was going to say something to offend these people. Even Daniel knew that anyone that could hack into secured government files, then get the president to not only give them a pass, but invite them to the very secured operation they'd illegally accessed had power you didn't mess with.
"Jack," he tried.
"Daniel," Jack answered back, condescension clear in his voice.
Daniel frowned. It was times like these that it was very difficult for him to remember that this was the same man that had faced down some of the worst threats the earth had ever seen and saved the world more times than it would ever know. It was hard to reconcile that hero with the way he was acting now. Like a child that had been forced to share its favorite toy. It was petty, and Jack was better than that.
"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think," Daniel tried again, "Maybe they'll be really helpful."
He had to admit it sounded weak, even to him. Jack just looked at him, an eyebrow raised, something he'd had to have picked up from Teal'c. Daniel gave up as the doors opened and realized he was going to have a headache before all this was over.
*****
Jack would have felt bad about the way he was acting with Daniel if it weren't for the fact that he was too mad to care right now. These people were coming into the mountain to sightsee and it pissed him off. The SGC wasn't a tourist attraction; it was the last and only line of defense against the fall of all mankind. That might sound like a bit of chest thumping but it was true. They did serious work here, and they didn't have time to entertain a bunch of people that as far as Jack was concerned should be under the mountain somewhere in a concrete filled hole. You just didn't flaunt laws and national security and get a free tour out of it that was just…wrong, somehow.
As Jack approached the check point is dark mood only darkened, if that was possible. The three people standing there didn't look like their combined age would match his. Ok that was an exaggeration but still, how could people this young possibly offer anything to the SGC but aggravation.
Then the part of Jack's mind that kept him up some nights started to kick in and painted a different picture.
The young man, with an eye patch, an eye patch Jack noticed didn't stand like some worthless civilian, or even like Daniel did now after nine years of gate missions. This guy stood like a trained soldier. Oh he looked relaxed enough, and most people would never notice. Jack did because he caught himself doing the same thing when he was trying to look like anything but what he was at his core.
The redhead and the brunette, both so young looking both carried themselves the same way although to a somewhat lesser degree than the one eyed man. They definitely weren't simple civilians and Jack found himself both more and less comfortable with that fact, especially when the guard told him that the man had been packing a .45 that he had willfully surrendered as soon as they'd approached the gate.
Something was seriously off here and there was nothing like not knowing the whole story to make Jack cranky, "So you three are the ones that have screwed up our day, huh?"
"Jack," Daniel's voice said warningly, Jack ignored it.
"We aren't trying to be a bother," the brunette said. Although the words sounded somewhat sincere there was an edge to her eyes that just rubbed Jack the wrong way.
"Oh sure," Jack said, looking at Daniel who had a helpless look on his face, "What you thought you'd steal some files, call in a favor, and then get a tour and no one was going to say anything about it."
"We aren't looking for special treatment, we're here to learn as much as we are here to help," the redhead said, not nearly as polite or respectful as the brunette, "Whether you know it or not we're in the same business and that means we know how important secrets are, Col. O'Neill, even when, or should I say, especially when they are secrets that involve the safety of the entire planet."
Something about the woman suddenly put Jack's teeth on edge and made him want to steer clear of her. Of course that made him even more pissed off that he was actually being intimidated. He didn't get intimidated.
He went to open his mouth but Daniel, peacemaker that he was, beat him to it, "How exactly are you involved in the same business we are?"
The redhead smiled, "All in good time, Dr. Jackson, but first introductions," she pointed to the one-eyed man and said, "Xander Harris," she then pointed to the brunette, "Dawn Summers, and I'm Willow Rosenberg."
"Well," Daniel said, taking the lead from Jack once again who he didn't think was capable of playing nice right now, "If you'll follow us we'll get you down to the senior medical office, Dr. Frasier and we can go from there."
"Medical officer," the brunette questioned nervously.
"Standard procedure," Jack said with no small amount of glee as they headed for the elevators, "no one gets into the SGC without first being cleared through medical. That's one of those rules that helps keep everyone safe."
The brunette, Dawn still looked nervous but Rosenberg said, "That will be fine, right guys?"
"Right."
"Right."
They both sounded completely unconvincing and Jack had to actually turn away for a moment to keep from laughing out loud.
*****
The elevator ride down was quiet but Willow, Dawn, and Xander were in full conversation mode.
'emWills are you sure it's a good idea to let these guys do a medical workup on us,/em' Xander asked telepathically, 'emI know for me at least that some things aren't actually going to be Kosher./em'
Willow frowned at Xander's phrasing but didn't say anything, about it, instead she thought back, 'emDon't worry Xander, these guys are on the level, and we've got nothing to worry about. Besides I'll make sure that any samples they take and any records, paper, electronic, or otherwise are destroyed when we leave./em'
Dawn and Xander had known Willow long enough to know when she was presenting a false front of confidence, and when she wasn't. Since L.A. the false fronts were few and far between. If Willow said they could trust these people then that was good enough for Xander and Dawn…even if the idea of someone poking and prodding them didn't give them a warm and fuzzy feeling.
*****
SG-1 and General Hammond were sitting in the conference room waiting for Doctor Frasier to arrive. The original plan had been for her to examine the three visitors and then have them escorted to the conference room. Instead she had called the General and told him there were some unusual issues with the examination that she wanted to discuss before clearing them.
The general had asked if she thought it necessary to present her findings in person and she had said it was, hence the waiting.
In short order Frasier arrived and took her seat at the table distributing three copies of files to everyone present. Normally medical records would be confidential, but in the case of the SGC, very few things were ever really private unless they were uninvolved with the SGC, and in this case, that little rule didn't apply.
After everyone was settled and had been given a chance to give the files a once over the general cleared his throat and said, "Well, doctor, you wanted to present your finding, what have you found?"
Janet stood and went over to the monitor and activated it to bring up the data she had input over the course of her examination.
"First," she said, "I can say unequivocally that, with the exception of some minor anomalies, none of them are hosts, clones, or anything other than human."
"What anomalies, doctor," the general asked.
"Well let's start with Mr. Harris, since his file is arguably the most interesting," she pulled up a picture of Xander and his files.
"Alexander or Xander, as he prefers to be called, Harris is, twenty Five, five foot eleven, and two hundred and fifteen pounds."
She stopped at that and let it sink in, there was a three second pause before Jack said, "Wait a minute, what?"
"That can't be right," this from Carter.
"I know, I checked it twice and one of my scans revealed the cause. I found that the reason for his higher than expected weight is that Mr. Harris' muscle structure is unusually dense. I can't find any logical explanation for it. I did a DNA profile and came up with a mutation but I simply can't connect it definitively to or explain his muscle density at this time."
"I'd like to know more about that mutation." Jack said, even more confused.
"I would to, and Mr. Harris didn't seem surprised by it but was reluctant to talk about it and since it didn't have a direct bearing on the examination I didn't push."
The general nodded at her pause and so she continued, "Other than that the thing I found most disturbing was the unusual number of healed broken bones and scars on Mr. Harris. Everything from burn marks to knife wounds to scars caused by things I cannot begin to identify. The worst injury by far however is his eye. I X-rayed the area and there are healed fractures along the skull. When I inquired as to the cause of the injury he simply told me that it was an occupational injury."
The tone of her voice clearly indicated that she didn't believe the explanation.
"What do you think doctor," the general asked quietly, unsure if he was going to like the answer.
"In this day and age general this kind of injury is unheard of. Before coming to the SGC I was part of a project that reviewed case files of victims of torture from the Middle East and Africa. I saw an injury similar to this and it was from a victim that had their eye removed as a torture. If I didn't know better I'd say that Mr. Harris' eye had been gouged out of his skull," she said grimly.
That statement shocked everyone.
The general nodded, "Please continue doctor."
"With the exception of this injury and the scars and healed injuries, Mr. Harris' general health is excellent and I could find nothing that would give me a reason to not admit him."
"And the other two," Jack asked grimly.
"The same, basically, both are in excellent physical health, and I do mean excellent. As with Mr. Harris both have a collection of scars and healed fractures, although not as extensive as Harris, it's definitely more than one would expect to find on civilians."
"Thank you doctor," the general said. Janet nodded her head, collected her files and left.
"Comments," the general asked.
"It would seem that perhaps Daniel Jackson was correct in his initial suggestion," Teal'c said.
"About what," Daniel asked, lost in thought.
"It would seem that these individuals are warriors perhaps sent to aid us."
"Oh come on," Jack said, although lacking his usual snippiness, "Harris and Rosenberg aren't even twenty-six yet, and Summers is even younger."
"And yet all three possess scars that one would find on any one of us were we given a similar examination," Teal'c said and then sat back, apparently satisfied that he'd made his point.
"Teal'c's right," Daniel said, "I mean Rosenberg all but said that they were involved in the same fight that we were. Maybe they weren't just trying to impress us."
Jack wanted to argue, but having seen the medical evidence he just didn't have the energy to do it. They were adults, technically, but he hated thinking that people so young could be involved in anything that even resembled the things he and the rest of the SGC were involved in.
General Hammond looked at Carter and asked, "Major, what did you find when you ran their names?"
"Well sir, all three are former residents of Sunnydale, California," Carter began.
"The town that sank into a crater a few years back," Daniel asked.
Carter nodded and went on," Rosenberg and Summers both have degrees, and in Rosenberg's case she has her Master's and has only to do her dissertation to receive her Doctorate,"
"For crying out loud, she's only twenty-six," Jack said.
"I know, she's very intelligent, what records I was able to get to showed her nearly off the scales, intelligence wise. But what I found most interesting is that all three are listed as being employed by Homeland Security."
"What would those three possibly have to do with Homeland Security," Jack asked.
"I have no idea," Carter said, somewhat miffed by what she was about to tell them, "I tried to access their files but was booted right out of the system. I then got a call not a minute later, directly to the line in my office from a 'Riley Finn', he identified himself as their immediate supervisor and told me that their files are Eyes Only and that I didn't have the Clearance to see their files."
All four people in the room stared at her in shock, knowing what her clearance was that shouldn't be possible. Then she dropped the other shoe, "He also told me that the only people that could emgive/em me clearance was them, personally, or the President of the United States, and the President wouldn't do so unless he'd talked to them first. He then told me; in no uncertain terms that if I tried to illegally access the files again he'd see to it that I learned not to poke my nose where it didn't belong."
"He threatened you," General Hammond asked darkly.
"I got the feeling that the threat didn't have a lot of venom to it, but I also got the hint that these people are well protected, maybe as well protected as we are and that I needed to back off," Carter said, summing up the conversation with Finn as she saw it.
"Who is this Finn," Hammond asked.
Carter pulled up another photograph of a man with a scar wearing a suit and tie, "Riley Finn is the senior director of a section of Homeland Security that I can't get access too. According to his file he was an army office but most of his military record is blacked out as well and I can't gain access to any of that either. In short general, I'm blind to who these people are and who their boss is. All I can say for certain is that they work for the government and have a direct line to the president, apparently."
Jack's hands slapping the table startled everyone as he stood and said, "That's it, who the hell are these people?"
Hammond also rose to his feet, anger clear in his features as he said, "That's what we're going to find out Colonel, right now."
He picked up his phone and told whoever was on the other end to show in their visitors before practically slamming the phone back down. No one threatened his people he didn't care who it was or why.
The door to the conference room opened and the three people came in, walking like they didn't have a care in the world. That would have pissed Jack off if he wasn't so busy analyzing the three while considering what he'd heard, and what Teal'c had suggested.
As he studied them he realized that 'T' was right. These people carried themselves like soldiers, the moment they came into the room they scanned it just like he would have, assessing threats and escape routes. He realized, belatedly that his subconscious had tried to warn him earlier but he hadn't paid attention. He was getting sloppy in his old age.
Of course his mental tirade was stopped cold when the brunette, Summers, 'Dawn' took one look at Teal'c and froze, just before screaming out, "Oh my Goddess!"
Rosenberg was the first to react, "Dawn," she said, her voice filled with equal amounts of concern and warning. Dawn apparently wasn't hearing it.
"Willow do you see it," she asked, her face filled with loathing and a little fear, "It's all inky darkness, I feel so dirty, like I'll never be clean again."
Willow was right beside the girl now as was Xander, both whispering quietly to the girl who was whimpering slightly but was slowly getting herself under control.
The SGC personnel seemed to put it together at the same time and realized that somehow, this girl could sense the symbiote inside Teal'c's pouch.
Daniel was immediately concerned for the girl that almost seemed to be in physical pain and started to step forward to offer some aid, Harris just looked up at him and said, "Back off."
The warning was so cold that Jack found himself taking a step back and it hadn't even been directed at him.
Finally after a few moments the girl seemed calmer and Willow looked over at Xander before turning an apologetic look to the other people in the room and said, "I'm sorry about that, Dawn's still a bit new to shielding herself, I didn't expect her to be so sensitive to the Primpta or I would have warned her."
"What the hell are you saying that she can emsense/em the damn snake inside him," Jack asked getting his voice back.
The three visitors looked at one another and for the first time seemed to have doubts on their features. Finally Rosenberg said, "I guess it's time we explained ourselves, huh?"
*****
Dawn was finally returning to some semblance of normal. Dr. Frasier had arrived, having been called by the General when neither Xander nor Willow had been looking. That earned a lot of points in their book. It was obvious they were all upset about the situation but even so he hadn't hesitated to call for medical assistance when it seemed necessary.
The doctor had given her a quick examination and asked her some questions. She'd answered as honestly as she could without giving anything away and then finally declared that she was ok, and no, she didn't need to go to the infirmary.
Dr. Frasier had seemed concerned but not overly so and had left once again.
That had left everything in a bit of a quandary, which had led Xander, naturally stepping up to take charge. He'd looked at the General and said, "Excuse me, General Hammond, but would it be possible for me to contact the president?"
"Why," the general had asked suspicion clear in his voice.
Xander had decided that since the cat was out of the bag honesty was the best policy and he said as much, "Because the cat's out of the proverbial bag, general. You've all probably had a lot of suspicions about us since you found out we were coming. I know I would. Tack on that I know the president basically shoved us down your throats and that's got to be leaving a foul taste in your mouth. Now, you find out about this and I know you'll never trust us. We're not here to make enemies we're here to gather information on a threat so we can offer help. In order to do that you need to trust us, and we need to trust you. We need to give a little to get a little."
He looked over his shoulder at Willow and she dropped her shoulders in defeat. She had really wanted to come in, get the info they needed and get out. Let the President and Giles deal with the implications that demons and Goa'uld might have once worked together in the past and put the steps in place to call them in if they were ever needed. She'd wanted to do all that without forcing yet more innocent people into the dark world they occupied. It was a foolish wish, considering what these people did for a living but she had tried.
She and Xander had discussed this briefly after he'd finished reading the files, and he'd told her that this, having to tell them would be a strong possibility. She hadn't wanted to believe it but now it was obvious that Xander had once again seen what she didn't and now here they were. She met his eye with her own and simply nodded her head.
Xander turned back and said, "So we need to have a sit down and make with the explanations. The problem is that in order for us to share with you without you thinking we're either totally nuts or trying to pull something on you is to have outside, verification. I figure the President should be enough, at least for now."
The general seemed momentarily unsure; on the one hand he wanted to know what was going on. On the other he had no idea what kind of hold these people might have on the President and he didn't want his people any more compromised than they might be already.
Xander saw the man's indecision and said, "If you want, you can listen into my conversation with the President, perhaps even arrange for transfer of some secure files. It will make things easier," he paused for a moment and then said, "sir."
The general considered it and finally said, "Very well, Mr. Harris, this way," he indicated his office.
Xander met Willow's eyes and smiled weakly, then squeezed Dawn's shoulder who said, "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I know you guys didn't want to have to tell them."
Xander shook his head, "Nonsense, Dawn, this was a possibility, we all knew it. Besides you know me, the more people that know the truth the better I feel; especially if these Goa'uld things have worked with demons in the past."
He then turned and followed the general into his office noting with amusement that the general ensured to keep the door open rather than closing it and placing himself alone with Xander.
*****
While Xander and the general were in his office, presumably talking to the president SG-1 was having an impromptu meeting on the far side of the room while keeping a careful eye on the people that had caused so much excitement recently.
"Would someone like to tell me how in the hell that girl can sense a Goa'uld," Jack asked.
"She didn't just sense it, Jack," Daniel said, his blue eyes wide in shock and wonder, "she was seeing it. She said it was like an inky blackness, she could see it inside of him."
Jack looked at his 2IC and said, "Ideas?"
Carter seemed deep in thought, "I don't know sir. According to Janet they've got no Naquadah in their systems, they're not hosts and there's no evidence they ever have been. There should be no way for her to sense the Symbiote inside Teal'c."
"She is not the only one that sensed it MajorCarter," Teal'c said, entering the conversation.
Jack looked at him, "T?"
"When DawnSummers began to react to my symbiote neither XanderHarris, nor WillowRosenberg were shocked by her words," the former First Prime said, "Instead seemed only concerned for her reaction. As if they were trying to hide what they knew."
Jack replayed the incidence back in his mind and thought it made some sense. But how was it possible that three seemingly normal humans, none of them any older than twenty-five and one not even old enough to drink yet could do that. What's more how did those same three people acquire records and files that were so Top Secret that the SGC couldn't get access to them especially if these people could sense Goa'uld? That would be an incredible advantage for the SGC, yet no one seemed to think it was important to tell them.
Jack looked at Carter who said, "Maybe that's why they're here, to tell us what they can do, maybe to offer their assistance. It'd make sense now as to why the President gave them clearance to come."
"That's fine, but I still want to know how they can do it," Jack said.
"I hate to suggest it," Daniel said, "and I mean I really hate to suggest it."
"Just spit it out Daniel," Jack said.
"Well what if it's like Anna," Daniel asked, his voice filled with disgust, "what if they're the result of some experiment by the N.I.D.?"
"Coming here to get protection," Carter asked, latching on to Daniel's line of thought.
"I don't know, maybe. Or maybe they went to Homeland Security and they got sent here with all this hush hush to keep the N.I.D. from knowing what they're doing," Daniel said, looking at Jack to see what he thought.
Jack ran his hand through his hair and looked at Teal'c who simply said, "It would not be beyond the rogue elements of the N.I.D. to experiment on civilians if they thought it would give them an advantage."
"I might agree with you T, but you heard Doc Frasier, these people have battle scars, so I'm not thinking they're innocent people plucked off the street," Jack said.
"Even if they were N.I.D. at one time," Daniel said, "I doubt they signed up to be guinea pigs."
Jack couldn't fault Daniel on that one.
*****
Xander and General Hammond were both sitting at the general's desk when the general picked up the red phone, "This is General Hammond I have a matter I need to discuss with the President," he said simply.
A few moments later the president was apparently on the line and then the general hit a button and put the phone back in its receiver and said, "Go ahead, sir."
"Xander," the voice of the president said, "to what do I owe this honor?"
The general was, to say the least, confused by the lack of protocol from the President; it was like he was talking to an old friend.
"Well sir, things didn't quite go as planned," Xander explained, then looked at the general and said, "We're apparently going to have to give them the speech and, well to be frank sir I thought you could let the general here know that we're serious and telling the truth so they don't come after us with the butterfly nets."
The president could actually be heard chuckling and after a moment said, "I could have told you before you left, Xander that things never go as planned with it comes to the SGC."
"Thanks for the information, sir," Xander said with humor.
"George," the President's voice said.
"Yes, Mr. President?"
"George, remember what I told you, about how I felt after I was briefed about the Stargate program," the president asked seemingly out of left field.
"I remember sir," Hammond said.
"Good, just remember that feeling after Xander and his friends are done talking to you. You're going to be as convinced as I was that this is some kind of a joke, I can assure you it isn't. Xander and the people he works with have been responsible for saving this planet and every living thing on it at least as many times as the SGC."
General Hammond looked shocked at that statement and he looked at Xander with a new found appreciation and respect. He also noticed that the young man seemed to almost be blushing in embarrassment as he said, "Stop it sir, you're embarrassing me."
The president's chuckle could be heard again and he said, "I'll arrange for the Initiative files to be secure transferred to the SGC computers."
"Thank you Mr. President," Xander said.
"Incidentally," the President said, "I just got a call from Rupert Giles, he's a little irritated with you and Ms. Rosenberg, Xander. I thought he knew about your little excursion so imagine my surprise when he told me he knew nothing about your plans."
Xander winced and said, "I don't suppose you were able to calm him down, sir?"
"Put it this way," the President said, "I wouldn't want to be you if he gets a hold of you in the near future."
"Ripper," Xander asked.
"No doubt about it," the President said.
General Hammond actually saw Xander 'gulp' at this statement but remained silent, realizing he was definitely out of his depths here.
"Thanks for the warning, Mr. President," Xander said, "I'll pass it along to Willow."
"You're welcome Xander," the President said, "George; call me if you need anything."
"Thank you sir," General Hammond said, "Thank you, Mr. President," Xander said as well and the phone went dead.
General Hammond looked at Xander and said, "Ripper?"
Xander shuddered and said, "My mentor, had a misspent youth, picked up the nickname Ripper for his more aggressive personality traits. He's all civilized and proper now but if he gets up in a boil sometimes old habits come back and Ripper makes an appearance. It's usually best in that situation to reach minimum safe distance as quickly as possible."
"And that would be," the general asked.
"The other side of the ocean is usually safest," Xander said simply before standing to move back towards the conference room, ignoring the shocked look on the general's face.
*****
The room went silent as Xander and the General came back into the room and the General indicated that everyone should take their seats. The general sat at the end of the table closest to his office and SG-1 flanked him on either side, while Xander, Dawn, and Willow sat at the other end.
Willow had taken the place directly opposite the general and Dawn was to her left with Xander to her right.
General Hammond cleared his throat and said, "The President was very specific to tell me that what Mr. Harris, Ms. Rosenberg, and Ms. Summers tell us is the absolute truth."
Xander cleared his throat and then promptly sat down and looked at Dawn. She looked at him and then at Willow who was also looking at her expectantly. She almost seemed to whine as she said, "Why do I have to do it?"
"Hey," Xander said, "I broke in the last rookies. Come on Dawn, you want to do field work you get the boring parts with the fun parts."
She sighed in a huff before standing and saying, "Fine."
She then looked at the military personnel that were staring at all of them like they were insane, emIf they only knew,'/em Dawn thought, nearly causing her to giggle.
She composed herself and said, "Ok, the World is older than you know, and contrary to…"
She stopped suddenly and her eyes snapped to the board behind Xander. Both Willow and Xander reacted instantly to her and Willow asked, "What is it?"
Dawn's voice took on an almost ethereal tone as she said, "Something's coming."
Not a second later claxons and alarms began to sound throughout the complex.
*****
Jack hadn't known what to make of the three youngsters but every single time he thought he had a handle on things something else happened and he was right back to square one, trying to play catch up.
When the Summers girl, Dawn stood up it seemed that they were emfinally/em going to get some answers, and answers that were, if he was reading between the lines, going to be absolutely outrageous, but according to the President, were also absolutely true.
She had just started what he was pretty sure was a practiced spiel when she froze, and her eyes snapped to the wall that they used to cover the observation window to the gate room when people they weren't sure of who was in the conference room. The tone of her voice sent shivers down his spine and her ominous warning had him and the rest of SG-1 rising to their feet even as the claxons began sounding.
"Unscheduled Off-world Activation," they heard Walter's voice announce over the public address system as they ran down the stairs to the control room.
"She knew the incoming wormhole was coming before it happened, right," Daniel said as they skidded to a stop behind Walter, "I mean everyone got that, right?"
"Yeah, we got it," Jack said putting the incredibly strange, but at the moment irrelevant information to the back of his mind as he said, "Report."
Walter looked over his shoulder at Jack and said, "Tok'ra G.D.O. code sir, along with the emergency warning."
Jack looked over his shoulder at General Hammond who was coming down the stairs with their "guests" all three of whom were talking animatedly amongst themselves.
Hammond stepped into his field of view and said, "Open the Iris." He then leaned over and said into the microphone to the Gate room, "All teams stand-by, they could be taking fire."
No sooner had the words left the general's mouth and the iris slid back into its standby position than several staff blasts slammed into the walls behind the armed guards pointing their weapons at the event horizon of the gate.
Several tense seconds later three figures came diving through the gate and rolled down the ramp. One of them, General Jacob Carter, host to the Tok'ra Selmak stood and yelled, "Close the Iris, George! Close the Iris!"
His words were shouted in near panic and Sam, who was closest, slammed her hand down on the control that allowed for emergency shutting of the iris, even her fast reflexes, unfortunately, weren't enough.
A round, black object had come sailing through the gate not a second after Jacob Carter and his companions. The object wasn't more than ten feet past the horizon when it exploded with a loud sound and a burst of energy that had everyone's hair standing on end and had the soldiers immediately adjacent to the gate writhing in pain.
Carter's hand had slammed down on the iris panel not a quarter of a second after detonation but it might have been not at all. The iris didn't move even as several computers and electrical devices simply shut down. The only light visible just before the emergency lights kicked on was from the glow of the event horizon; it's blue white glow showing all to clearly the horror as Jaffa after Jaffa warrior began streaming into the gate room through the Stargate.
The response was immediate, the members security team still standing opened fire on the invaders, dropping nearly a dozen Jaffa in as many seconds. Unfortunately they just kept coming through, firing their staff weapons ahead of them as they went.
Jack and the rest of SG-1 watched in horror as one of their worst fears was realized. Carter said, "It must have been some kind of EMP device, it's shorted out all the electronics in the immediate vicinity. The only way were going to get the iris closed is to do it manually."
They all looked down into the gate room and saw that the Jaffa had set up a holding position with the gate at their back while the security team had done the same at either door. Jack turned to General Hammond and said, "Sir, permission to,"
"Go, Colonel, go," General Hammond said, not bothering to wait for the request that he knew was coming.
Immediately Jack and Teal'c took off down the stairs and headed off to the armory. Xander started to move but General Hammond said, "Where do you think you're going, son?"
"To help," Xander said, but the security team pointed their rifles and General Hammond said, "I'm sorry but you can't go anywhere while this base is in a foothold situation."
"But General, I…" Xander began.
Hammond shook his head, "No, security, take these people back to the conference room, now."
The three armed men waved their weapons at Xander, Willow, and Dawn and the three reluctantly moved back up the stairs.
When they got to the conference room they were startled to hear more automatic weapons fire and staff blasts. They ran to the observation window and saw that someone new had come through the gate. All three gasped at the darkness they saw surrounding him.
Where Teal'c and the other Jaffa had darkness around their abdomens, this man had that same inky darkness completely surrounding his aura. He might not be a demon, but they knew that these people needed their help and by the time they realized it, it might be too late.
The three looked at one another and immediately went into action. Willow turned to the three armed guards and just said, "Take a nap."
Immediately the three guards collapsed to the ground like marionettes with their strings cut. Xander scooped up one of the M-16's, a combat knife and all the spare clips he could find. He turned to Willow and Dawn and said, "We need to shut down that portal."
"It's a gate, Xander, not a portal," Willow corrected.
"Whatever, we need to shut it down and we need to do it now."
They both turned to Dawn who looked nearly petrified at what their combined stares meant.
"What are you looking at me for," she asked, her eyes widening as she realized what they were really going to ask her to do.
"This is all you Dawn," Xander said, "If there was ever something you had as a specialty, this is it."
"But I'm not ready for this, Willow can…"
"I've got to help the soldiers, Dawn," Willow interrupted.
Dawn looked ready to protest more and Willow laid her hand on Dawn's shoulder and said, "This is your gift, Dawn. You knew the gate was coming before it even started. You felt it, you're attuned to it. You can do this."
"But I don't know what to do," Dawn said pleadingly.
Willow smiled, "You were once a green ball of energy designed to open dimensions to one another, all this is, is a simple little worm hole, just emwill/em it to close. You have the power Dawn, I know you do. It's time to stop being afraid of who and what you are. It's time to be you. I believe in you."
Xander looked at her and said, "So do I, Dawn, this is your time. I'm counting on you."
Dawn swallowed hard at that and then nodded, forcing her fears away with nothing but the force of will that she'd seen exercised by so many of the people that she loved.
*****
When Jack saw the figure walk through the gate he knew they were in trouble. Every damn time a Goa'uld came through the gate it spelled trouble for them all, and this time was no exception.
"Jaffa Kree," he shouted, to one of the Jaffa warriors.
Even from here he could see that the snakehead wasn't taking any chances and has his shield up and running. Coward.
Teal'c was right behind him, his staff weapon held tightly in his hands waiting for the moment to strike. Jack spared a look across the room and saw Carter and Daniel both standing with the security team, waiting for his order.
"Carter, you there," he called through his radio.
"Here sir," she said.
"Our only chance is to hit them hard and fast, and try and get the iris closed. That's your and Daniel's only priority, do you copy,"
Jack saw Carter and Daniel look at one another worriedly as they both recognized the tone in his voice as the one he used when he was getting ready to do something monumentally stupid.
For a moment he almost thought they were going to argue but finally Carter's voice came back over the radio, "Copy that, sir."
Jack nodded and turned back to Teal'c and the others and whispered some basic orders along the lines of, 'make your shots count and don't stop moving,'
Just as he was about to give the order to attack, several things happened at once that left him staring stunned.
*****
Xander, Willow, and Dawn came back down the stairs, moving like they owned the place.
General Hammond motioned for one of the armed guards to stop them but the guard barely made it a step before the man was flung against the wall and pinned. Willow Rosenberg met the General's eyes and his blood ran cold at what he saw, her eyes were white, completely. He tried to speak but she cut him off, "Don't worry general, we're on your side."
Willow then looked at Dawn and nodded her head. General Hammond was again shocked speechless when he saw the girl, not much older than one of his granddaughters really, close her eyes, and rise into the air as her hair turned ghostly white and her body began to glow.
*****
Dawn Summers was twenty years old in appearance, six years old chronologically, and older than the universe in reality. Willow had always told her in her magic studies that her unique origin held with it a well of untapped power that would easily outshine Willow's own if Dawn simply learned to use it.
That was easier said than done however considering her fears of what she saw magic do to Willow.
Again Willow had, in her best teacher voice, explained that her situation was different for two reasons. One she had no formal training in magic, which was one of the reasons she'd fallen. That and although she could use magic she wasn't made of magic. Two, she'd learned a majority of her magic skill atop a Hellmouth; not exactly conducive to white magic practices.
Still Dawn had been scared and in fact it had taken her two months to reconnect with her power after she first touched it because of how much power she had felt.
Now, however, her family was counting on her. Their plan called for her to shut the gate down or Xander would be a sitting duck. So she closed her eyes and with Willow's words ringing in her ears, allowed the power she'd feared flow fully into her for the first time in her life.
She felt Willow tapping into her power, more for a show for the general than anything else. Willow's part of the plan barely registered on her power scale and Dawn knew that.
Absently she wondered why Willow thought she wouldn't be able to handle the soldiers and the gate too but that would be a thought for a later time.
As her power filled her she felt her vision shift and even with eyes closed she could see everything around her. She felt her family, the members of the SGC, the Jaffa warriors and the Goa'uld that led them. Above it all, she saw the gate. It stretched out beyond the room and she allowed her consciousness to flow out and then follow the thread she saw attached to it back to its destination, rejecting all the laws of wormhole physics along the way.
She became aware of the planet thousands of light-years on the other end of the galaxy and she saw the Jaffa waiting their turn to step through the gate.
She saw the weapon they were preparing to send through as well, something that even her inexperience told her could only be a bomb.
She pulled away from this vision as she returned her awareness to the earth and to the matter at hand. She opened her eyes and looked down upon the opened gate and spoke a single command to which the Stargate obeyed perfectly.
"emstrongClose!/strong/em"
*****
General Hammond didn't know what to think of what he was seeing. He studied the young woman as her face seemed twisted in concentration, then her eyes suddenly snapped open and she spoke, her voice filled with power that seemed to fill and echo through the control room as she said, "Close!"
Then to General Hammond's everlasting shock, the gate simply shut down.
That's when all hell really broke loose.
*****
'You think she's ready,' Xander asked as he watched Dawn use her power, truly use it for the first time.
'She has to get over her fear, Xander. She's been ready for months. But her fear of what I did has been preventing her from using it. I know we said we were proud of her for not lashing out in anger in L.A. but still, she could have done something but she didn't. Just one more thing that's my fault,' the witch said sadly.
Xander didn't bother arguing with her. If there was one thing he knew about Willow it's that she'd ride the guilt wave over her past actions until she was ready to get off. For the most part she'd done just that; come to terms with and dealt with the guilt of what she had done through her addiction. Then after seeing her comfort with herself after the L.A. incident it seemed to indicate an end to the whole, guilty Willow thing.
Then they'd started really discussing Dawn and her reluctance to use her power and had realized that she had froze up in L.A. and the only reason they could think of was because of what she'd seen power do to Willow.
At first they were proud of her, praising her to the others for her control. The more they thought about it however the more it bothered them that even in a moment of life and death she still hadn't used her power; hadn't even tried. As Willow had shown in two different circumstances, there were ways to use magic to fight and protect yourself even if you couldn't use magic directly. They both knew that Dawn was at least as resourceful as Willow but instead of trying she'd simply done nothing.
It caused them both some concern. All of this hadn't changed what they'd told the others, that they were proud of Dawn's control. However what they wanted to know was what the root of that control was. Reluctance to use power was one thing, phobia about using it was quite another.
It was for that reason that they had decided to keep Dawn with them until they could determine which it was and how to help her through it. Granted an alien attack wasn't the perfect circumstance but they'd take what they could get.
As soon as Dawn closed the gate, Xander and Willow went into action. Willow shattered the control room windows with enough force to rain down glass upon the Jaffa warriors more than thirty feet away and cause them to instinctively duck for cover. It hadn't been enough to hurt them, but between the unexpected closing of the Stargate, and the sudden rain of glass, they were caught off their game as Xander jumped out the window and landed just below, crouched down, and opened fire on the Goa'uld.
Xander let loose a full clip on the Goa'uld standing in front of the gate with a stupid look on his face when he realized it had closed. The bullets bounced off of some sort of shield however and although he did get a couple Jaffa with ricochets his target was still standing.
Inside his head he recalled the mission reports they had read and realized that the shield was, according to the SGC, some kind of energy screen. The greater force with which something struck it, the more the person using the shield was protected.
So taking a page from one of Col. O'Neill's reports he dropped his rifle, pulled the combat knife he'd stolen and charged the shocked Goa'uld with a battle cry on his lips.
*****
Jack watched in stunned silence as the gate simply shut down without warning. From the look on the Goa'uld's face it wasn't part of the plan.
Unfortunately for the snake he wasn't given a chance to regroup before there was the sound of shattering glass and Jack looked up just in time to see the kid, Xander jump from the now shattered control room window like he was stepping off the curb.
He had to give the kid credit for his control of the weapon in his hand. Most people had a problem controlling a rifle at full automatic without some training. Then again from what had been said, the kid probably had as much training as Jack had at that age.
Unfortunately all the control in the world didn't mean anything if your target wasn't hit. That damn energy shield the snake was using protected him from every one of the kid's bullets.
Jack started to say something when he saw the kid ditch the rifle and pull a knife he hadn't even known the kid was carrying and charge the snake with a battle cry. The move caused Jack to still in shock only for a moment before he moved into the gate room proper to offer cover fire as Xander made a suicide run for the head snake in charge.
*****
Xander ignored the Jaffa around him and the sounds of automatic weapons fire as he trusted Willow to cover his back. His entire focus was on the Goa'uld. They'd read enough mission reports to know that if they took him out, the Jaffa would be a lot easier to control.
As he neared the parasite posing as a god he saw it raising its hand and the device attached to it. His instincts warned him a moment before the pressure wave exploded from the device and headed right for where Xander had been a moment before. Fortunately he'd dove to the side and the wave passed harmlessly by him.
Xander was instinctively aware of the Jaffa that he had been moving towards being tossed aside like toys by Willow's power. Thanks to her he had a clear shot to his enemy and was able roll with his dive before leaping up onto the ramp and into the guy's personal space. The alien tried to bring the hand device around to attack him again but Xander never gave him the chance as he caught the arm with the device by the wrist and drove the knife in his hand to the hilt into the alien's chest, just below the sternum. He pulled it out and drove it in again before pulling the knife out once again and driving it up under the chin and allowing the now lifeless body to fall to the ground with his knife still sticking out of the chin.
He turned away from his fallen enemy and looked up at Willow and Dawn who were smiling. Their smiles were short lived as twin looks of horror crossed their faces and Xander realized that Col. O'Neill was shouting something to him. He never got the chance to understand the shout as a warning however before the back of his neck became the center of a new world of pain.
*****
Jack didn't know what the hell was going on but he wasn't one to look a gift in the mouth. As the kid charged the snake and Jack moved in to cover him several of the Jaffa warriors were hurtled across the room and away from Xander by some unseen, but obviously powerful force.
Jack used that to his advantage and took out any of the Jaffa that were still on their feet, Teal'c, Carter, and Daniel all doing the same.
Jack then saw the kid avoid a hand ribbon blast and then come right up into the man with the knife and bury right in the sweet spot at the base of the sternum not once, but twice, before slamming it home up under the Goa'uld's chin.
He watched Xander turn from the now dead host and realized a moment before everyone else did what was happening. He tried to shout a warning to Xander, but there was too much happening and the kid didn't understand. Jack tried to run to him, to help but before he'd gotten within twenty-feet he heard the god awful screech of a symbiote before he saw the thing leap onto Xander's back and realized exactly what that meant.
Xander screamed in pain and Jack heard his two companions scream his name.
Xander's body pitched forward before catching itself and he stood up and Jack watched as his eyes flashed that all too familiar white and a sneer of arrogance and superiority come across the kid's features.
That's when things, once again, went all kinds of crazy.
*****
The Goa'uld symbiote known as Nator was pleased with his new body. This one would make a fine host for centuries to come. He looked up with his new eye, a slight problem he would correct with his lord's cloning technology, and grinned at the women whose names came quickly to his mind.
They would both make fine concubines and with their power they would easily enable him to conquer his enemies and soon he would rule the System Lords.
His plans were quickly brought up short as he felt a force slam into his consciousness and wrestle control of the host away from him. A moment later Nator found himself infused with more pain than he had felt in his entire existence.
Somehow the host was fighting back, and not just token resistance, but had actually succeeded in taking control back and hurting Nator as he did so.
Humans were weak, and Nator knew this. He would not allow a simple boy to fight him and he yanked back control of the host body from whatever it was that had taken it from him. As he did so the pain he had been experiencing ceased.
Before he was even firmly back in control however the force once again slammed into him and took control from him once again and this time the pain he felt was even greater than before. Something he wouldn't have considered possible.
Then through the pain he heard a voice, the voice of the host himself command him and Nator, Goa'uld right hand to one of the most powerful system lords in the galaxy had no choice but to obey this command as he was ejected violently from the host's mouth.
*****
Willow watched as the parasite attacked her friend and she heard Dawn call out Xander's name. Willow reached out with her power to her friend, ready to offer any and all help that was needed to help him take his body back from the thing that was trying to steal it.
As she made contact however she felt the presence of not just Xander, but the others that floated within his mind and smiled, realizing exactly what was about to happen.
She looked over at Dawn and smiled, communicating with her eyes that everything was alright. Dawn smiled too and together they sat back to watch and for a moment almost felt sorry for the thing that had picked the wrong Scooby for a host…almost.
*****
Xander knew what was happening almost instantly as he felt for the third time in his life as a foreign being invaded his mind and tried to take control. He raged against it and brought all of his will down to stop it, refusing to once again be anyone's butt monkey. Instinctively however he knew immediately that he wouldn't be strong enough to take out the invader to his body and mind on his own. He smiled evilly as he knew something that the invader didn't.
That he wasn't alone, not in here, not ever.
As soon as the Goa'uld tried to take control the Primal energy that had been part of Xander for so long; the energy that had been integrated into his very soul lashed out with metaphysical teeth and claws, attacking this usurper with all the power at its disposal. As it did so Xander ruthlessly yanked back control of his body and watched with glee as the thing that tried to take him over had its psyche torn to shreds.
In obvious fear and desperation the Goa'uld yanked back control once again and the Spirit was thrown away from it for a moment. The peace was short lived for the Goa'uld however as the Spirit was once again upon it, harder, faster, and stronger than it had been the first time and Xander once again took control of what was his.
Even as Xander was resisting the effort to take him he'd caught glimpses of this things life. He saw the string of hosts, innocent humans, that it had taken control of and then forced their bodies to do unspeakable things. All while they screamed in silent misery imprisoned within their own minds.
Xander wouldn't have believed it was possible for him to hate anything as much as he hated vampires. That was until he saw into the heart of this "Goa'uld" and saw what it really was, and whom it really served and in that moment Xander felt a hatred he hadn't felt since he'd had to kill Jesse. He growled within his own mind as he turned his attention to the thing that had tried to control him and let loose.
At the same time Nator saw into the life of this new host and saw who he was and what he did and immediately realized his mistake. A mistake he knew was going to cost him his very existence. Still he tried desperately to hold on in some vain hope that it could win this battle.
Unfortunately for him he would have had a better chance of suddenly sprouting legs to run away with.
Xander's attack was too much and as he finished with it he gathered up all the power he had, his own, Primal Spirit, and Soldier alike and combined it together as he commanded with as much strength as he could that this encroacher, "Get Out!"
The effect was instantaneous and the Goa'uld had no choice but to push itself into Xander's throat where he vomited it from his body like the poison it was.
*****
Jack watched, weapon pointed, as the smug look fall from the face before him just before the single eye flashed green.
There seemed to be some kind of seizure and the eye flashed white once again. This time however the expression on the Goa'uld's face was one he'd rarely seen in one of the snakes, fear.
Jack didn't get much chance to contemplate that before the eye flashed green once again and Jack and the rest of his team stared in muted fascination as Xander's voice could be clearly heard saying, "Get OUT!"
Then to Jack's shock the kid simply bent over and retched up one Goa'uld symbiote.
Jack started moving, bringing his weapon up to cover both Xander and the squirming snake that laid on the ground. He really didn't need to bother however because Xander seemed to pull himself together and stood, weakened and bleeding from his mouth but still steady.
He met Jack's eyes and Jack realized that the kid was in there, and the snake wasn't.
Then Xander raised his foot, and slammed it down on the Goa'uld symbiote smashing it like he would a large and offensive bug.
The body gave a satisfyingly wet crunch as it was killed and then Xander pitched forward to the ground as unconsciousness finally took him whole.