Ace In The Hole
Chapter 41
President Henry Hayes was sat in quiet reflection, in all his years as a politician he had made plenty of speeches but none so far had ever been as important as the one he was about to make. As he thinks back to the day he was told of the Stargate programme a small smile forms upon his lips.
"Penny for them" Hayes just glances up at the British Prime Minister sat opposite him.
"I was just remembering the moment I was told about the gate" Hayes grins "I thought General Maynard was pulling my leg"
"I have to admit when I read I was to be briefed by M.I.7 for the first time I thought it was a typing mistake" Edward Simpson grins.
"You will do fine Henry" Susanna Slazsky smiles warmly coming to sit next to him and gently placing her hand on his knee, Hayes glances at her hand then up to her smiling face.
"Edward?" The British P.M. Merely raises his eyebrows "Maybe we are in a brave new world?"
"How so?" Simpson asks noting Slazsky's slight frown.
"Well its not often the U.S. And Russian Presidents have been this... close"he says the words whilst playfully nodding towards his knee but President Slazsky catches on immediately and playfully slaps him on the arm.
"Men!" she smile broadly as both men start grinning.
"Mr President" O'Neill says from the doorway flanked either side by Daniel and Woolsey "It's time"
Hayes once more takes a deep breath before nodding to the others in the room.
"OK then... Let's do this"
Crowds had been continually gathering since the press conference had been called, The President was to speak on behalf of all Alliance nations at 8am sharp, The press frenzy had been big enough but when it was realised that all leaders of the now 57 nations signed up to the Alliance would be in attendance an air of anticipation not seen since the end of the last world war was sweeping the planet.
Has Henry stepped up to the podium flanked either side by the leaders of so many nations he felt a sting of hope race though his heart, hope that today the world would finally embrace its role and responsibilities, he takes a deep breath and as he does so the the crowd of almost a million people there in person, and the whole world at large watching live on every T.V. Set around the planet holds their breath in nervous anticipation.
"I address you this morning not as the President of the United States, not as the leader of a country, but as a citizen of Earth... I have been appointed to speak on behalf of all the leaders assembled here before you and though what I am about to explain may be difficult to believe it is our hope that you see past fear and doubt to the truth and opportunity that lies beyond" Hayes can see the looks of tense apprehension in the reporters faces in front of him slowly he takes a deep breath then looking directly to the numerous cameras pointed at him... he continues on calmly.
"We are not alone in this universe" he has to smile as he finally realises what it sounds like to be able to hear a pin drop "The United States and her allies have been sending teams of people to other worlds for the past eighteen years... by means of an Alien device called a Stargate... in that time we have made many friends and allies... unfortunately we also made enemies along the way" Whispers of fear float through the crowd "Our two primary goals have always been... The Defence of Humanity and... The Protection of this World" he takes a breath "But both tasks have not always been the same and we have been unable to shirk from the responsibilities that created"
Reporters begin to frown trying to work out what exactly the President was trying to say.
In the distance an old man in the crowd yells out "There's other people out there!"
Hayes grins and nods pointedly to the old man "The specific details of how and why will be released soon but for now I will say that out of all the worlds that we have encountered so far... they are predominantly inhabited by... humans" A roar of excited cheers and clapping erupt from the crowd, and Hayes takes a sip from the glass of water on his podium waiting with a smile on his face for the crowd to die down.
"Tauri... is the name given to us by friend and foe alike, it means... First World... Because it was to Earth that centuries ago an alien race came... they took our brothers and sisters from our world and seeded them though out the stars to be used as slaves. Thanks to the valiant efforts of everyone involved in the Stargate programme the race which has ruled our galaxy through fear and intimidation for thousands of years has finally been defeated" Hayes smiles as cheers go out.
"To fulfil one of our primary goals... the protection of this world... the acquisition of advanced technology has always been a priority and over the coming months details and examples of this advancement will finally be coming into the public arena..."
At his nod a flight of nine F-302 fighters come streaking across the sky in formation from the Lincoln memorial, they fly in a straight line towards where the conference is being held outside the Capitol Building, deliberately flying low and slow before coming to a stop hovering directly above the President and other world leaders.
Hayes has to grin at the stunned and surprised looks on the faces in both the press pool and crowd at large.
"The F-302 is currently the most advanced fighter interceptor on the planet... capable of both atmospheric and space flight and over half of the nations assembled here have been operating them for some time now"
With a nod the F-302's accelerate and pull up sharply before rocketing up and out of sight within seconds a roar of cheers and clapping erupt from the crowd and Hayes takes a few seconds to look back at his comrades in arms, most are grinning widely but both President Slazsky and Prime Minister Simpson just tap their watches and point to the sky before also grinning.
"The galaxy as become our new back yard and the universe itself the new frontier... The time to boldly go is now... God bless America... God bless The Tauri... Thank You"
Before the crowd has time to clap the Hammond flanked either side by the Churchill and the Bonaparte drop their newly installed cloaks right above the crowd, all those assembled stand in stunned silence staring at the huge vessels just hovering there and its not until the President beams out in a flash of light does the crowd once more erupt into cheers.
"Any news?" Sheppard asks as he saunters into the control room.
"There has been rioting in a few African nations complaining that once again Imperialism is on the march but other than that its been a fairly good reaction" Chuck nods to the monitor bringing up a clip of an interview of Commander Carter and Julia Donavon.
"So Commander Carter?"
"Yes that's correct... the Tauri ranks have had to be altered slightly... Colonels will lead ground teams were as Commanders control our expanding space fleet" Carter says with a bright cheery smile.
"So Commander Carter you are in command of the T.S.S. General George Hammond that correct?"
"The Hammond yes..." Carter nods.
"Named after the late former commanding officer of Stargate Command?"
"Yes that's correct"
"So... How fast is she?" Carter grins at Julia's question.
"Fast... her sub-light engines can take her to about half the speed of light but her hyperdrive can take her a lot faster"
"How is she powered?"
"She has 3 Naquadah reactors and a forth Naquadria reactor for the hyperdrive" Julia frowns looking puzzled "Its a super heavy element that is not found on Earth"
"Is it safe? are we at risk from radiation?" Julia makes a joke but Sam can tell from the tone of her voice that she is nervous.
"Like all power generation there are small risks involved... however unlike Plutonium or Uranium for that matter Naquadah normally gives off no dangerous emissions" Julia Donovan shifts in her chair slightly eased.
"Weapons?" Julia raises an eyebrow knowing she is pushing her luck with the question, but Sam just nods and smiles.
"Though I can't go into detail... I can say that a 304 is possibly the most well armed and versatile ships currently operating within the galaxy" Sam grins upon seeing Julia's relaxed smile.
"From information released so far it seems that the world at large owes you and your team a great deal" Sam blushes slightly
"Just doing our job" Sam says humbly as ever.
"Well on behalf of everyone watching I would like to say thank you to you and your team Commander"
"That's really not necessary"
"Will the announced reorganisation of armed forces mean any job losses?"
"No... but with disclosure comes a stark realisation... A single 304 could wipe out all of Earth's armed forces from orbit... the new threats are out there not here at home"
"And what about the threats here?"
"From whom?" Sam smirks as Julia flounders for a few seconds caught off guard. "Russia and China are our allies and more importantly our partners in this endeavour"
"Do you see the Navy as being dead now?"
"No not dead... but they like every service have to understand that the ball game has changed, I have every confidence in their ability to adapt to the changes"
"So are any of the rumours true about alien abductions?" Sam just grins.
"OK enough" Sheppard sighs "How long before they rea... Hang on how in the hell can Sam be doing an interview on Earth?... When she's on Avalon heading back there?"
"Miss Donavan was allowed to tape the interview before hand Sir" Chuck merely smiles "Avalon should arrive at 09:00 eastern time... that will make it 1am in New Zealand" Chuck grins at Sheppard as he shakes his head pulling a face.
"Time difference's are a bitch" he sighs before trundling off to bug McKaye.
Avalon exits hyperspace gliding gracefully towards Earth.
[Avalon do you read us?] Sam smiles broadly upon hearing Landry's voice.
"We hear you loud and clear General"
[Welcome home SG1... the city's approach is clear of all traffic tell Mitchell he's a go]
"Yes Sir... Carter Out" Sam smiles wildly at the other technicians in the control room before contacting Mitchell.
"Cam... we are go for landing... you have the ball"
[Roger that Sam... hold on to your hats... this is only my second landing after all... Mitchell out]
"I seriously hope you were joking Colonel!" Cam doesn't open his eyes to look at Elizabeth's scowl but a small smile creeps across his face causing her to sigh in annoyance.
"Trust me will ya doc?" He grins opening one eye at her whilst still effortlessly maintaining their approach.
"You are starting to sound just like Sheppard" Elizabeth smiles.
"Thanks" Cam grins "I think..."
Under the cloak of night the city glides effortlessly towards the Southern Pacific Ocean, its stardrive lighting the sky as it slows their decent towards its new home.
"Chatham Island dead ahead" Cam grins as he hears more footsteps entering the room.
"You are aiming for the bay Cameron not the Island itself... you do know that don't you?... Muscles?" Vala says hesitantly.
"I believe the Colonel is once more attempting humour" Teal'c says with a grin.
"Every body better..." The city jolts slightly throwing Elizabeth and Vala into Teal'c who in turn merely glares at Mitchell.
"And we are down... Powering down the star drive... and beginning basic safety checks" Mitchell says with a smile.
"There is no need Colonel... I am fine... in fact my hyperdrive functioned almost 7% above baseline efficiency" Elizabeth grins at seeing the others confused looks.
"Welcome to Chatham Island" O'Neill says walking in with Carter minutes later.
"Sir" Mitchell jumps up to attention.
"Easy Mitchell..." O'Neill grins "At ease for gods sake" Mitchell relaxes and offers his trademark goofy grin.
"So where exactly are we?" says Vala as she worms her arm through Teal'c.
"Chatham Island... roughly 500 miles east of Christchurch, New Zealand" Jack grins "The New Zealand government has kindly leased the islands to the alliance of course the 600+ inhabitants had to be relocated"
"So why here?" Cam says frowning slightly until he notices Carters slight grin.
"The ship yard's in Nevada were unable to cope, we needed more space so we decided to build a few more" Sam says.
"I thought I heard something about Midway?" Cam frowns.
"Midway, Chatham and Ascension are the newest shipyards being brought online... all Islands that are way out to sea, makes it difficult for the public to get here." Sam looks to O'Neill.
"The Nevada site including area 51 is to be wound down... to many prying eyes... though it could be a good draw for tourists if we open it to the public... We could make a tidy sum" Jack grins before turning tail and leaving the others shaking their heads at him.