Chapter 3
Pete "Maverick" Mitchell found himself in the next generation top secret glider. The wing shaped vessel, powered by Asgard based engines was head and shoulders above the first Gliders that were developed. The new Gliders were not even called "Gliders" but rather they were dubbed "Thunderbolts" as a nod to the fighter aces of the Second World War. The gliders were slick, like a crescent shape with a single engine that gave off a blue glow in the rear of the craft. The cockpit was set on top of the vessel much like a normal plane. The new Thunderbolts were fitted with the best of Asgard technology including shield and subspace jumps to allow longer ranges. The flight suits were also different. The suits had to be deep space capable and airtight to allow the pilot the ability to exit the cockpit in deep space to make any repairs to the vessel. The flight suits needed to be highly reflective to easily see the pilot outside the craft and thus, Jack himself chose the color. Jack, being from the space race generation, chose silver to be the color of the suits. He didn't want orange as Sam wanted. Nor did he want plain ole white as it was already used. He wanted something flashy from his youth. Silver after the first flight suits used by the first men in space.
Pete looked down at his suit as he sat in the cockpit of the very futuristic fighter craft. Sam Carter sat behind him in the engineer's station as he was to be trained in the new ships first and then, he was to train the young Top Gun pilots who came with him into the program.
Pete opened the microphone and spoke, "Hey Sam!"
She replied, "Yeah, Maverick." She didn't like calling him by name as it was too much of a reminder of her old flame who stalked her to the point that he found out about the program.
"Can I ask why our flight suits…" he winced.
"Look like something from the sixties?" she laughed.
He nodded hard, "Yeah!"
"That was General O'Neill's doing. He wanted something we can all see and yet, different." she explained.
"Why not orange then?" he wondered.
She confessed. "I wanted orange. Jack won that one." she miffed. She finished her checks, "Ready?"
"I'm ready." he stated looking over the controls before him. "We're going to the moon and back." he doubled checked his flight path.
"Just a trip around the moon." she agreed.
He could not believe his ears. How Sam made the flight sound like a Sunday drive. "Just to the moon and back like any other Sunday." he remarked amazed at his own situation.
She assured, "You will get used to it. I know how it all sounds at first."
"And it takes seven months just to get the rovers to Mars." he mentioned.
Sam confessed, "The public technology is about fifty years behind us. We can get there in an hour with the new Thunderbolts."
Pete kidded, "Let's just swing by Mars, get ice cream on the way home…"
She grinned, "How I wish you were in the SGC sooner. I could have really used you that year SG-1 went down to a 3 man team."
"You had my cousin." he recalled from the briefing.
"He was supposed to make up his own team. Pull in his own men but he wanted me, Teal'c and Daniel." she informed. "I guess he was a bit of a groupie." she summarized.
Pete paused, "Wait! Cam could have pulled me in with him to be on SG-1 then?"
"I thought for sure he would have." she admitted.
"That little…" he cursed under his breath. "I could have been going off world then."
Sam shrugged, "Yup."
He shook his head, "Better late than never I guess." he complained. "You all set with you checks, Sam." Pete from himself on first name bases with the General as she requested he call her by first name.
"Ready!" she agreed.
Pete opened the radio, "Thunderbolt to flight control. We are ready for take off."
"Flight control to Thunderbolt, you are clear for take off." It was Cam's voice that came over the radio as new gliders were being tested and fitted just for the Homer and the search and rescue mission.
Pete started the engine. He paused as he felt nothing. "Are the engines engaged. I didn't feel anything."
Sam assured, "Engine are engaged, Maverick. With Asgard based engines, there is no kick like you get with traditional engine start up."
"Something to get use too." he understood.
"All systems are a go." Sam informed.
"Then let's go." he replied and released the brake.
In short time the vessel was airborne. Pete then found himself leaving the Earth's atmosphere and heading towards the moon. It was surreal for the pilot who thought break mach ten was an accomplishment just six moths ago. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of space as they left Earth's orbit. The stars never shined as bright for the pilot.
He cracked a smile, "I can't believe I'm doing this." he confessed.
Sam had seen the moon many times as she had decades in the secret space program. She nodded, "It's something to see for the first time."
He confessed, "I wish Iceman let me in on this a bit sooner."
"The Admiral knew about the upcoming search and rescue mission and that you would want to be on it with Cam. He made sure you got transferred in time." she soothed. "He was a great man. I saw a photo of you and him at his funeral. You were both young pilots. You were both in flight suits on the deck of a carrier. He was a handsome man back in the day." she admired.
Pete recalled his days on the carrier with his friends. "Yeah, with Iceman and Goose."
"Goose?" she asked.
"My other wingman." he explained. "Bradshaw. Bradley's father. He died when Bradley was a kid. He was my best friend." he confessed.
"Sorry for your loss." she sympathized. She then admitted, "I almost went into the Navy. I lost my mom when I was a teen and I was not on good terms with my dad. For about a month, I was looking into changing over to the Naval Academy. Then Cam talked me into staying in the Air Force Academy."
"You and Cam were in the Academy together?" he asked. He raked his memory trying to recall the days of his youth and what his cousin did.
She nodded, "We were! I had glasses back then. I was a bit of a nerd. Cam kind of helped me through a lot back then."
He recalled a young blonde haired girl with glasses he briefly met during his days at the Naval Academy. "Wait! That was you! The girl with the glasses that were big as an owl's eyes."
She miffed, "All the glasses were that big in the eighties."
He laughed, "I met you when we were cadets. You had long blonde hair and big ole glasses. You were such a nerd."
She grimaced, "Thanks."
Pete could not help but ask. "We're you and Cam dating back then?"
"No," she shook her head. "He was a very good friend who helped me though a real tough time. Then he saved me and my team when Anubis tried to invade Earth. He took a hit that was meant for us and that's how he nearly ended up in a wheelchair."
"You mean that wasn't a crash?" he asked alarmed.
"Wasn't a crash." she informed. She then admitted, "We lost a lot of good men and women over the years. I'm glad we didn't lose Cam too. That would have been a bit much on me especially after losing Janet."
"Janet?" he asked.
"She was the base doctor. Janet Frasier. She was also a very good friend. I wish she was still with us. I would have her on the Homer as a our doctor." she made her wish known.
"I wish I could have met her." he replied in kind. The moon was up ahead and growing closer. "We're approaching the moon." he informed.
"Just sling us around." she told him.
As Pete piloted the new space craft around the moon his eyes landed on a larger vessel before him. "Um…Sam!"
"That's the Hammond." she informed. "We always have a ship stationed on the dark side of the moon as a precaution."
"The Hammond." he noted and got look at the vessel. It was rather large and gray in color.
Sam noted, "Hard to believe that ship is twenty years old now. Named after the late General George Hammond. The first commander of the SGC. He got the program off the ground." She gave a little sigh, "I miss him."
"I wish I could have been there." Pete confessed.
"I wish you were there too, Maverick." she agreed. "You were this young, hot pilot and I'm sure you would have given Cam a run for the money." she laughed.
He asked, "What do you mean were? I'm still hot." he insisted.
"You have aged like fine wine." she complimented. "Of course, so has Daniel. He still looks the same. Like he never aged. I wonder if his ascension had anything to do with him looking the same?"
"Ascension?" he asked.
"The Ancients didn't all die out. Some ascended to a higher life form. Daniel was helped by Oma and he spent a year with the Ascended. Then he came back." she recalled. "Jonas Quinn filled in for him." She grinned, "Now there is someone to recruit for the new mission. You will like Jonas."
"Where does he live?" Pete wondered assuming he was an American.
"Another planet." she told him. "That will be your first dial out. We can go visit Jonas when we get back."
"You mean I actually get to go through the Gate?" he asked amused.
"Of course." she confirmed. "Now, let's stretch her legs a bit around the solar system and then go back to base."
Pete asked, "Where to next?"
"We're going to buzz Mars next." she grinned.
"Mars it is." he agreed as he started getting more accustom to the idea of space travel.
