Chapter 1
Naval Pilot Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell stood working on the engine of the P-51 Mustang with his godson, Naval Pilot Lieutenant Commander Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw. As the pair worked in jeans and t-shirts a classic red Ford Mustang pulled into the hangar. Sitting behind the wheel was a man sporting sunglasses with dark hair and who bore a striking resemblance to Maverick.
Air Force Colonel Cameron "Shaft" Mitchell had come to visit his cousin, Pete. Cam removed the sunglass and opened the door of his car.
Bradley immediately realized they had to be related for they looked to much alike to be strangers. He paused and asked, "Who is that, Pete?"
Pete stood grinning ear to ear. "That is my cousin. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Air Force." he informed. He stepped forwards and welcomed his cousin with open arms, "Cam! Good to see you again."
Cam gave him a warm hug. "Pete!" He then looked upon the Bradley's young face. "Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw. Congrats on your promotion and on that mission." He offered a handshake. "I read all about it."
"Thanks." Bradley replied shaking his hand. "You two look like brothers." he mentioned. "I mean, wow. You sure you are cousins?" he asked Pete.
"We're cousins." Pete assured. "What brings you to my neck of the woods, Cam?"
"I heard Admiral Cain grounded you." Cameron stated.
"That he did." he confirmed.
"I'm here to un-ground you." he smiled brightly.
"I'm not Air Force." he reminded him.
"Doesn't matter. You have been requested to a new duty station. In Colorado Springs. Cheyenne Mountain. I want you to bring a few of those Daggers with you too."
"Flying for the Air Force?" he asked a bit bewildered.
"We can get ya transferred." he told him. "You be under the command of General O'Neill. He just came out of retirement for this little project."
Pete cocked an eyebrow, "Can you give me a hint on what this little project is about?" He found Cam's enthusiasm intriguing.
"I have been trying to get your sorry ass into my project for fifteen years. But that Admiral friend of your kept pulling you back from me. I'm sorry he passed but now, your mine." he insisted. "You and Bradshaw. I want Seresin and Trace from your Daggers."
"Hangman and Phoenix." Pete stated a bit surprised. "They both just got promoted to Lieutenant Commander."
"I want them too." he insisted. He then placed his hand on his shoulder. "I also read about the bird you blew up hitting mach 10. That's impressive. Of course, not for a Mitchell." he had to brag.
Pete squinted, "You got a look on your face like a cat who just a canary."
"And you are the canary." he agreed. "Cheyenne Mountain. Tomorrow. 8 am sharp."
"And if I'm not sharp?" Pete smirked.
Cameron stated, "You don't want to miss this. Trust me. This is where you belong."
"I'll be there." he agreed.
"Bring the kids." Cameron reminded him.
"I'll bring the kids." he agreed.
Next Morning
Pete rode his motorcycle, minus a helmet, to Cheyenne Mountain sporting his leather jacket over his civilian clothing. Upon gaining access through the guarded gate he soon found Bradley waiting with Natasha and Jake by a transport truck. All were dressed spiffily in their white dress uniforms and sporting ribbon bars. Pete, decided to not wear the white dress as it would simply cramp his style and he also didn't wish to get his good white dress suit dirty on the bike. Upon dismounting the motorbike he greeted his former students. "Kids." he smirked.
"Maverick." Jake greeted back.
Natasha asked, "Any idea why the Air Force pulled us in? I mean, this is really unusual."
Pete confessed, "I have no idea why Cam wanted us so bad. Air Force already has their own Top Guns. They don't need us."
Jake glanced at the entrance before them. "Obviously, they do." he surmised.
The four climbed in the back of the troop carrier and soon found themselves inside the top secret facility. They dismounted the truck, entered through the blast doors and then was instructed to get on an elevator. Upon entering the elevator they found themselves going down 28 floors.
Natasha puckered in thought. "I wonder if maybe the rumors are true." she spoke aloud.
Bradley asked, "What rumors?"
"That this base is actually a secret space port and we have aliens down here." she told him.
Jake rolled his blue eyes. "I highly doubt that."
Pete smirked, "Why doubt it? I've seen some strange things flying over the years."
"Secret space port?" he shook his head amused.
Soon the lift stopped and elevator door slid open. They were only ten floors down. Before them stood a brown haired clean shaven man wearing blue battle dress, sporting glasses that seemed rather out of date and carrying a large box. He requested, "Hold the door."
Pete placed his hand on the door as he recognized the face. "Daniel. Right? I met you once at my cousin's cookout."
Dr. Daniel Jackson stepped onto the lift carrying a box he got from storage. He recalled, "You are Pete Mitchell. Yeah, we met before. At the cookout. Mitchell nearly got you in then. I guess some Admiral stole you from us."
"Iceman." he nodded. "He was my friend and wingman. He died."
"So sorry for your loss." he stated as they began the ride down. He paused a moment. "Your cousin has been talking about you nonstop, Captain. I heard about the last mission. You really impressed some of the flyboys around here. John Sheppard is impressed. He been trying to duplicate that run on a simulator with Jack."
"Jack?" he asked.
"General O'Neill." he clarified.
Jake found the chatter boring and assumed the old nerd before him must be the most boring man on earth. He asked, "What do you do here, Daniel?"
Daniel stated, "I'm an archeologist and linguist." He found over the years to not bother giving out his resume as it seemed redundant at that point in time.
Jake jested, "Like…Indiana Jones."
Daniel asked, "Have you guys been debriefed yet?"
Pete confessed. "We have no idea why the Air Force pulled us in."
"Hmm," Daniel smirked and then turned towards Jake. "Kind of like that but in space." The elevator came to a halt as the young pilots all stood gaping. "That's my floor." Daniel stated and walked off. The door closed again behind him.
The four pilots stood in the elevator as they only had more floors to go. They looked at one another trying to figure out what Daniel meant.
"You guys don't think this is really a space port?" Bradley asked.
The elevator stopped and door slid open. They walked off the lift and into a busy hallway. Pete heard Cam's voice.
"You made it." Cameron greeted the pilots.
The pilots all turned to greet Cam.
Pete replied, "We made it. I just saw your friend, Daniel in the elevator."
"He's getting some stuff out of storage." he informed. "It was like pulling teeth getting him back from Atlantis."
The four stood and traded glances.
Bradley asked, "Excuse me. Atlantis?"
Cam grinned, "We found it years ago. It's a city that's also a space ship."
Natasha asked, "Is this some kind of joke? Are we on some military version of a reality TV show or something?"
He told her, "No joke. What I am about to show you is top secret. This way." he motioned for the pilots to follow.
In short time Maverick and his Top Gun pilots followed Colonel Cameron Mitchell into the Gate Room. The group of pilots all came to a halt upon laying eyes on the large stone ring before them.
Pete stated, "You got our attention, Cuz. What is it?"
"I'll let Sam explain it." he grinned brightly as Brigadier General Samantha Carter entered the Gate Room sporting blue battle dress as well sporting a new hairdo which was remarkably much like the hairdo she wore back when she was a young captain. She recently had her white hair dyed to blonde, her makeup was lightly applied to conceal a few wrinkles. Despite her age, she felt much like that young captain stepping into base so many years ago.
Pete's eyes landed on her. He recalled meeting her at the cookout as well. "Sam! Right?" he offered a handshake.
She grinned at him, "You're the nice Pete." she told him taking a jab at her former boyfriend. "You look good!" she complimented him as she realized they were about the same age.
"Not as good as me." Cam bragged in jest.
He rolled his eyes as his cousin amused. "It's the Mitchell genes."
Sam shook his hand and then looked over the young pilots before her. She called them by call sign. "Rooster, Hangman and Phoenix. Good work on that mission." She then looked to Pete, "You have got to be one of the best pilots in the entire military, Maverick. I can't tell you how long we have been trying to get you in the S.G.C.."
"I'm here now. So, what is that thing?" he pointed towards the Gate.
"It's called a 'Star Gate' and it creates a wormhole through space to other Star Gates on other planets." she informed.
Bradley realized, "This really a space port."
She laughed slightly. "Welcome to Star Gate Command. It's not a space port though."
Pete asked, "What do you guys do here?"
"We go through the Gate to other worlds." she explained. "We have teams. The Navy Seals do have a team with us."
"We're not seals. We're pilots." he reminded her.
"I know." she nodded. "We also have ships and fighters. You will be learning how to dogfight in space and how to operate the deep space vessels we have."
Bradley gasped, "Are you serious!"
Natasha figured, "This is a deep space top secret program."
"It is and yes, I'm serious." she informed. "General O'Neill is waiting to debrief you in the meeting room along with General Sheppard."
"So, what the mission?" Pete asked.
She stated, "We are going after a missing deep space vessel and crew called Destiny. It's a search and rescue mission…in space." she explained.
Pete asked, "You mean…we are about to leave the planet?"
She nodded, "We do it all the time."
"Did Iceman know what you guys do here?" he asked.
"Admiral Kazansky was well aware of Star Gate Command." she informed.
Pete then realized his friend pulled a heck of a prank on him. "That little bast…" he pinched his lips tight. "He got me! He knew I would end up here eventually."
Sam stated, "He contacted me personally just days before he died. He told me it's time for you to come and work with us. He also requested you and your Daggers to be transferred to the Air Force. You are now a full bird Colonel in the Air Force. Colonel Mitchell." she then realized she had two men named Colonel Mitchell who looked a bit alike. She looked at Cam and then Pete. "Of course, I'll call you by first name."
"Call me 'Maverick'." he requested. "I'm kind of use to the name."
"Maverick it is." she agreed.
Bradley realized "That mean were are all majors."
"That's correct." she confirmed. "Major Bradshaw."
Hangman stated, "Just like that we are all now Air Force?"
She nodded, "Admiral Kazansky personally did up all your transfers before his death. He told me it would be better for your careers if you were not subject to Admiral Cain. I personally never met Cain but I heard of him. He wanted you all under Jack's command."
"Jack?" Pete asked.
"You met him. General O'Neill. He's a full four star general. Admiral Cain cannot touch you here." she assured him as she knew the Admiral had a beef with Pete Mitchell.
Pete asked, "The guy who looks like that actor who played MacGyver?"
She grinned, "That's him. Don't bring up MacGyver. He really not a fan of the show. Or the new show for that matter."
Pete stated, "You two were pretty close as I recalled."
"He's my husband." she informed. She held up her left hand and displayed the wedding ring. "Trust me, Jack would not come out of retirement, bring on Navy Top Guns without a real good reason." She motioned, "Come on! Briefing room is this way."