Chapter 6 - How Not to Put the SG-1 Back Together…

Daniel Jackson's Lab
Level 18
SGC - Cheyenne Mountain

Mitchell had a plan.

It was three-pronged and started with Daniel Jackson.

He found Dr Jackson's lab exactly where Harriman told him it would be, masquerading like an archaeological dig in some forgotten village than an official space in a top-secret air force base. The place was a mess with boxes, papers, and packaging scattered all over. Several bizarre things were off the shelves and books were piled together haphazardly in all available spaces. The man was moving two storage boxes to an empty chair when Mitchell knocked at the open doorway.

"Dr Jackson."

He glared at Mitchell through glasses, wide-eyed, before he remembered.

"Colonel." Jackson smiled and shook hands.

"My friends call me Cameron," Mitchell threw in the first bait and waited to see if the fish would bite.

"Daniel. Uh, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks." The fish didn't bite. It resumed packing with a slightly puzzled expression. So, Mitchell had to coax a bit. "I heard you're leaving?"

"Yes, finally," Jackson flashed him a megawatt beam and extended an empty box. "You wanna help me pack?"

"No, actually," Mitchell admitted, causing the grin on the man's face to shrivel into a frown. "I came to see if I could talk you into staying."

That didn't go down well. "You're kidding?"

"I've been given command of SG-1," Mitchell explained why he wasn't.

Jackson muttered something about him deserving it and turned back to find a book or a parchment.

"I think the SGC still needs you," Mitchell put it out there, fingers and toes mentally crossed. "You're the world's foremost expert on the Ancients."

"Hence my going to where they all came from; Atlantis. The City of the Ancients."

The man had a point, he had to admit. "Listen. General O'Neill gave me the choice of any posting I wanted. I chose SG-1. That meant Colonel Carter, Teal'c, and yourself. Not two letters, a dash, and a number." Mitchell pressed. He was nothing if not stubborn. His momma always said so, and so did his grandma.

"Uh, that's nice…"

"I wanted to be on the front line, working with the best. I wanted to learn from you."

"Look, this is all very flattering, but uh…"

"That's not the point." Mitchell cut him off.

Daniel stopped what he was doing and took his glasses off, turning serious. "I'm sorry. I mean I know I owe you one; we all do–"

Mitchell shook his head. No. They didn't owe him a damn thing. He was doing his job and that was all there was to it. Period. The visits from all of them had been nice; Daniel thanking him for saving their lives, Carter bringing his shiny new medal to him and General O'Neill mumbling about promising whatever he wanted…

"Listen, Jackson…I don't want you to stay because you think you owe me one because you don't," he said. Then paused. Maybe, what if…"Unless, of course, you're considering it?"

"Not really, no," Daniel muttered before pulling out a key from his back pocket. "I was just going to offer you my apartment."

Mitchell stared. He obviously needed to work on his expectations, and find a way to adapt fast to…er, different personalities. Daniel dropped the key on the table with a shrug and left the office, leaving him to contemplate his life choices.

"Right."

Part one was a bust. Onto part two it was.

The Jaffa World - Dakara

The Next Day

"Brother, I love what you've done with the place," Mitchell laid it on a little thick looking around, taking in the reddish hue of the world, the sweltering heat, the Gate and the flying Al'Kesh and death gliders.

Teal'c inclined his head and mumbled something about salvage and monuments in a grave tone. He mumbled some nonsense in return before the Jaffa went for his throat.

"Where is the rest of your team, Colonel Mitchell?

Ah. So that was how it was, huh? "Actually, it's still kind of 'SG-Me.' That's one of the reasons I'm here. I was hoping…maybe you could help me," he added with puppy dog eyes and everything.

Teal'c considered, letting a tiny ray of hope blossom before stomping on it with his big Jaffa boots. "I can offer some names of those I consider to be honourable warriors."

Mitchell held back a sigh. "I appreciate that. I know you're busy."

"We are attempting to build a whole new system of government that will span Jaffa worlds throughout the galaxy," Teal'c stated with calm serenity.

The man had a way of making him feel about two inches tall with just a few words. Maybe Landry took classes with him together somewhere on how to stomp on people's self-confidence. This was just working well for Mitchell. Not at all.

"Yeah, how's that going?" He was aiming for politeness, but he just couldn't get the sarcasm completely out of his tone.

"Not well." Was delivered with perfect deadpan.

"Well, your people did just renounce their gods. I guess we've got to cut them a bit of a break."

"Too many are still steeped in an old culture full of antiquated rituals and are slow to accept change," Teal'c said, rather sadly.

"I understand Major Davis and SG-7 are trying to help out?" Mitchell asked, feeling bad for the big guy.

"That has caused problems as well. Many view the Tau'ri with the same level of mistrust as a would-be enemy. They see the proposed system of government as a means to control and subvert their newly acquired freedom. My allegiance to the Tau'ri is not serving me as well as you might think at winning votes from the most traditional of the Jaffa electorate."

Mitchell wished he could say he was surprised. "Wow. Politics really does suck everywhere you go."

"Indeed."

"Listen, maybe it's a good thing I came by. If this…doesn't work out…before all the space on my team fills—"

That was as far as he got before Rak'nor came to fetch Teal'c back for his council meeting. Mitchell could help but feel a lot frustrated and a bit defeated. The Jaffa's repeated promise as he walked away did nothing to lift up his spirits.

The second part of the plan was also a bust. He didn't hold out much hope for the last part either. But he turned back and headed towards the Gate, or so in the direction he hoped it was, determined to give it a try anyway.

Control Room
Level 27
SGC

Carter's face popped up on the screen as he finished buttoning up his shirt. She was talking to him via video conference from the earth battle cruiser, Prometheus.

"Hi, Cameron." She greeted him cheerily.

"Hey, Sam. It's good to see you."

"Sorry, it took me so long to get back to you. We have been up to our ears double-checking the new hyperdrive," She rattled on, rather excitedly. "And then the uplink was jammed with the long-range plotting program being transmitted by Asgard…" Then with a sheepish smile, she shook her head. "No need to bore you. How have you been? You look good."

Mitchell got straight to the point since sweet talking hadn't gotten him anywhere. "Thanks. Listen, Sam…come back and rejoin SG-1."

Carter laughed. Unfortunately, she thought he was joking. "I heard you'd been given command. Congratulations."

"I'm not kidding. You can keep an eye on R&D in your spare time, just like you always have. Besides, Dr Lee is pouting because you got the post over him." He lied. Ah, how far the mighty had fallen…

"Really?" Carter frowned, visibly irked.

Mitchell sighed. Dejected. "No, I made that up."

Carter, to his great annoyance, flashed an understanding smile. "I have my reasons for wanting this job."

"I had my reasons for wanting THIS job. One of them was working with you. And please, do not say, 'that's nice.'"

"We'll still work together."

"It won't be the same. What if the world needs saving?" Mitchell realised that he was practically begging. He couldn't bring himself to care.

"Well, if the world needs saving, I will be there to do what I can." Carter declared with a brilliant smile.

"What if the world needs saving because I screwed up 'cause you weren't here in the first place?" Mitchell blurted. Then, immediately regretted the stupid outburst when Carter looked puzzled. He let out a sigh, checked around if anyone else heard his drama and turned his attention back to her.

"How about we pretend I didn't say that?

"Done."

Then the speaker of the Prometheus blared, calling for Carter. She left with a harried goodbye, a half wave and a promise to talk later.

And, that was it; the end of his grand plan. There was nothing more to do but start piling up bodies for a subpar SG-1.

He looked up to find Harriman aiming a sympathetic gaze at him.

"Well, Walter. It doesn't look like we're getting the band back together."