Chapter 2.
"O'Neill here." the colonel answered his phone. DING DONG! His doorbell rang at the same time. He tucked his phone under his chin and went to hand out candy. "Hang on a sec." he said as he went to the door. He held out the candy bowl as he listened to his caller. "I'll be right in." he said as he closed the door and hung up.
O'Neill was the last one to arrive at the briefing. All of SG-1 was already there along with most of the senior staff of the base.
Hammond didn't waste any time on greetings. "At 1835 local time, a ship was spotted in orbit over earth."
"Goa'uld?" someone asked.
"This is nothing like any Goa'uld ship we've seen. The basic design of a long ship with a relatively narrow cross section is more reminiscent of an Asgard vessel though this is unlike anything we've seen before. The largest Asgard vessel we are aware of is the O'Neill Class, which measures one and a half kilometers in length." Hammond put up a photo of an O'Neill Class ship on the screen. He then juxtaposed it with a photo of the the new ship. "This new ship measures nineteen kilometers in length."
"Is this a joke, General Hammond?" Teal'c's brow creased.
"No son, this is not a joke." the Texan replied. "Is there something you know about this ship?"
"That ship is the Executor. It is Darth Vader's personal ship." Teal'c stated. "Though, I was under the impression that the Star Wars films were fictional."
Hammond turned to look at the suddenly familiar ship. "So was I. So was I." he whispered.
A search for information on the once fictional ship turned up two airmen who were considered uber-geeks by their peers. Charles "Chuck" Grimes and Morgan Bartowski were friends and maintenance workers. Even super-secret bases need janitors. And both immediately recognized the photos presented to them.
"Well, it's definitely Executor class." Morgan said. "Sir." he belatedly added.
"Executor class?" General Hammond led.
"Yes, sir." Chuck said. "The Executor was the first-"
"Tied." Morgan interrupted.
Chuck sighed. "...one of the first of it's kind." he pointed at the photo. "But this marking here marks it as part of Vader's Death Squadron fleet, which makes this the Executor, sir." he reasoned.
"Where is this from?" Morgan asked, still looking intently at the photo. "I've seen every scrap of deleted footage ever made and I've never seen the Executor from this angle." a beat. "Sir."
"Morgan." Chuck warned his friend. Morgan hadn't taken to the military like Chuck had. He got in trouble sometimes because of it.
"No, it's alright." Hammond assured him. "We need to know everything you two know about that ship and it might help if you knew why. That photo was taken by one of our satellites after that ship suddenly appeared over the western coast of America earlier tonight."
Morgan got very serious suddenly. "Vader's ship... real."
"The President has ordered us to initiate contact with this ship within the hour. For now cloud cover is obscuring it from view from the surface but that won't last forever and as soon as it's visible, panic will quickly follow." Hammond said. "First thing I need to know would be the best way to try and contact them. Then I need to know what kind of technology we are likely dealing with."
Chuck and Morgan then went into (figurative) hyperdrive. Communication was either completed by hologram, video conference, or radio. Morgan even had a list of Imperial radio frequencies at his house. A team of SF's was deployed to retrieve that list. Then they set about confirming the ship's size and going over the likely 5,000 weapon emplacements on the ship. It had an estimated 2,000 turbo lasers and the same number heavy turbo lasers as the ships' main weapons. It wasn't known how that would stack up against Goa'uld tech but it was estimated that there was more power in a heavy turbo laser blast than a Ha'tak barrage normal turbo lasers might be less powerful per shot but could fire much faster. Not to mention that the Executor also had heavy ion cannons similar to Asgard technology, as well as torpedoes and missiles. They had tractor beams and ways of opening bays to space while keeping atmosphere inside. However, they had no known beaming technology, which was the first bit of good news General Hammond had heard that night.
A ship of that size carried at least 144 starfighters. But both Morgan and Chuck agreed that the Executor probably carried 1,000-2,000 TIE (Twin Ion Engine) fighters of various classes. Morgan started going in depth in the likely capabilities of the TIE fighters versus death gliders but Chuck interrupted.
"I think you're forgetting about the ground troops. The Executor carried 3 prefabricated bases to drop on various planets and 50,000 storm troopers with blasters. Along with plenty of walkers and speeders. And their heavy turbo lasers aren't going to blow us up like the Death Star could, but an orbital bombardment could destroy us in a day without having to land any troops if they wanted." Chuck warned.
"I'm getting that picture." Hammond assured him. "I've sent a message to the Asgard, though we haven't heard back yet."
"We won't know for sure until they face each other, but even the O'Neill class is only as big as a standard starcruiser. That's the kind of ship that captured Leia's ship in the first movie. This thing is over 10 times that size." Chuck said.
"Well, they haven't made any moves yet. Maybe no one's home and we can claim her for ourselves." Jack said brightly.
"That's not quite true, Colonel." Hammond said. "A shuttle from the ship landed outside of LA and then returned to the ship not long after it first appeared. I would have mentioned it earlier but haven't had the chance."
Just then the SFs returned with Morgan's list of frequencies.
"Oh boy." were the first words out of Jonathan's mouth.
"Everyone who is or was recently a storm trooper, report to the bridge immediately." Darth Vader's voice crackled on his com link.
"We're on our way." one voice said.
"So are we." said another.
"What? Are you crazy? I'm not walking back into the clutches of a Sith Lord." a whiny voice Jonathan recognized as Tucker's younger brother said.
The trooper next to Jon balled his fist. "Andrew. Shut up and meet me on the bridge." Tucker ordered. "There's no use in running. He just heard everything you said anyway."
"He did?" Andrew asked pitifully.
"Yes, he did." Vader's voice confirmed. "And I'm looking forward to meeting you, Andrew."
"Eeep." was the last message over the coms.
Jon and Tucker were the second group to arrive and got to watch the third group comically arrive. It was clear that Andrew was in that group as he was being pushed along by his partner.
While watching that unfold, Jon had a revelation that Luke Skywalker had been wrong. You could see out of the storm trooper mask quite easily if you knew how to operate it. It had a Heads Up Display (HUD) that could show infrared, UV, polarized, night vision, and a couple other options.
Once Andrew was in place and being held by his brother, Vader spoke. "If you would all please remove your masks so I can see your faces." he politely requested.
Jon quickly followed suit.
"Jonathan." Vader recognized him. And "Tucker." once the other had gotten his mask off.
Andrew had his taken off by his brother and Warren took his off but two of them did not. The two that were partnered with Warren and Andrew.
"You first." One of them ordered.
Vader ignored them. "You must be Tucker's brother, Andrew. Do you think you can control your fear or shall I have a medical droid issue you a relaxant?"
Andrew seemed to realize he was being offered help and not being threatened. "I- I- I'll be okay, Lord Vader."
"And you look familiar." Vader said to Warren. "Do you go to Sunnydale High, too?"
"Yeah." Warren said, slightly surprised at being recognized. "Warren Mears. Senior."
"Well?" Vader turned his attention back to the storm troopers who still had their helmets on.
"You first." One of them repeated.
"My mask cannot come off." Vader informed them. "This is no longer a costume for me. My body has been changed by whatever magic brought this ship into existence."
"Oh," the soldier said.
The one who hadn't yet spoken in the group spoke after he took off his helmet. "My name is Riley Finn. You'll have to forgive my friend, Forrest Gates, here. He's slow to trust people. We're both seniors at UC Sunnydale and we'll be starting our graduate work next year."
"A little old to be Trick-or-Treating, aren't you, Riley?" Vader asked.
"Frat party." Finn said simply. "Actually, we never arrived. We need to check in with our... friends soon so they don't get worried and send out a search party."
"Yes, I have friends I need to contact as well." Vader said. "But first I need your reports. Then we can decide how to move forward."
The reports were quick. Except that Andrew apparently got over his fear and now was hard to shut up. The only surprise was that Andrew and Forrest's group found a mining ship full of equipment that the Executor had never shipped out with originally. But at least it solved the fuel problem, except for needing people to run the equipment and extract the material.
Xander explained to his soldiers (he was already starting to think of them as his, even if they weren't really) about who he was. He gave them a quick spiel about magic, vampires, and demons being real. The four native Sunnydalers gave each other looks to see if the others were buying it before sighing in relief that the others now knew the truth about what was out there. The other two also shared a look, but it was very different. Through the Force, he could clearly feel that they were hiding something and weren't particularly surprised at what he told them. But that could wait.
"It seems that all of us have people who would be pleased to know that we aren't dead. And most of you, no doubt, want to go home." Xander said and took a deep breath from his ventilator. "I'm not going home, though. I just paid a very high price in exchange for this ship and I'm not willing to lose it. I'm not sure yet how I'll crew it, but you all are free to go if you want. You'll have to leave your blasters and your uniforms here, because like the Terminator arm, they could adversely affect the future of the world if they fell into the wrong hands. But, if you choose to stay, you'll become the first officers of this ship-to-be-renamed-later. And I want to assure you that despite appearances, I'm not going to force choke anyone for failure."
"That's it, you're just going to let us go?" Forrest asked.
"As long as you don't try to steal anything, you are free to leave. I can have a shuttle ready in 15 minutes if you like. But I'd appreciate it if you'd wait for everyone to decide and save the fuel for separate shuttle runs. But if you stay, you'll be swearing allegiance to me. I've quite literally given an arm and a leg for this ship and a Force choke will be the nicest thing I do to mutineers." Xander warned.
"Um, Mr. Vader, uh, Xander, sir?" Andrew said warily. Pointed to a flashing light on a board. "We're getting a radio signal."
"Check it."
Andrew flicked a switch and voice started speaking. "-gate Command calling the Executor. This is Stargate Command calling the Executor. This is Stargate Command calling the Executor..." the message repeated.
"Answer them."
"This is the Executor, the most powerful ship in the Empire and-" Andrew was cut off when Xander Force pushed him away from the controls.
"Jono, why don't you answer them." Xander said.
Jonathan sat down where Andrew had been. "Stargate Command, this is the Executor. We read you loud and clear. How can we help you?"
There was silence for a moment before the radio crackled to life with a new voice. "This is General George Hammond of Stargate Command. To whom am I speaking?"
"Lieutenant Jonathan Levinson, 2nd in command of the Executor." Jon was initially surprised at the words but repeated them quickly enough.
"Well, Lieutenant, we down here were hoping you could tell us how you got where you are right now and what, exactly, were your plans now that you're there." The General asked, evenly.
"Well, how we got here is probably magic." Jon said automatically into the radio then turned to Xander. "What should I tell him are our plans?"
"Tell him we don't have any plans yet but we come it peace. That should help." Xander advised.
Forrest scoffed as Jon relayed the message.
"Something to add, Forrest?" Xander asked.
The two college kids looked at one another. The... less tan one spoke. "Mind if I take the mic?"
Xander motioned him to the chair.
"Stargate command, this is Captain Riley Finn, US Army rangers." he rattled off his serial number. "Please confirm that Stargate Command is Air Force codename Project Blue Book."
"Where did you hear that name?" Hammond asked. "Even the name of that project is highly classified."
"Sir, I'm part of the army's codename Project Initiative. Myself and another man in my platoon were overtaken by the spell. Now, with all due respect, sir, you have a very powerful ship in orbit over your position. Now is not the time to quibble over 'classified'." he spat the last word.
Silence stretched on for a minute. A woman's voice came back, "Please hold for a moment." After another minute the General was back. "Yes. This is Project Blue Book. And if you know that name, you might be able to guess what we deal with."
"Aliens from outer space?" Riley asked.
"You're kidding me. Aliens are real?" Xander asked in disbelief.
"You're in a spaceship, dude." Forrest answered.
"Yeah, but ours was created by magic." Xander defended.
"Yes, for the past several years we have been meeting, trading with, and occasionally fighting aliens from distant parts of the Galaxy." Hammond confirmed.
"How?" Xander had to ask and Riley relayed it.
"A device known as the Stargate. Many of these Stargates were seeded on habitable worlds throughout the galaxy. They allow almost instant transit from one Stargate to another for humans or small vehicles from one side of the galaxy to the other." Hammond explained.
"Well if aliens really do exist, that changes things dramatically." Xander thought out loud. "Tell them we need to think about this and will call them back on this channel later."
A/N: When I thought of two geeks, I immediately thought of Chuck Bartowski and Morgan Grimes. Their names were changed to protect the innocent. (Me) The intersect does not exist. These are not those characters, just needed names for geeks.
A/N: SG-1 is no longer on Netflix at this point, so I'm not fixing this in any specific SG-1 timeline.