"That is so freaking cool!" Alexander exclaimed when Colonel O'Neill told him about the Stargate and the Program. "It's like a cross between Star Trek and Star Wars!. Minus lightsabers. Are there lightsabers? Because that would just make it perfect!"
"No we haven't found or made lightsabers, but it's good to know, good tv and good movies exist in your home reality as well."
"Indeed, many lessons can be learned from the example of the Rebel Alliance against the evil Empire."
"Star Wars is one of his favorites."
"It's like a metaphor for your life, huh Teal'C? Your rebellion against the Gou'ald. And then there's Carrie Fischer."
"Got a thing for the good bikini, kid?"
"Who doesn't? But no, it's the kickass bitch Queen attitude I love. She lets nothing and no one get in her way. Chewbacca could have torn her apart, literally and she's like 'get this walking carpet out of my way.' You just gotta admire someone that strong minded and determined. Plus the hotness on top of it and I'd say, she's pretty close to perfect."
"Strong minded woman are more interesting." Colonel O'Neill agreed.
"Indeed."
"And then there's Star Trek. Picard, he can both kick ass and think. Spock and Data, equally cool."
"Not hearing anything I disagree with here." Colonel O'Neill said. "But remind me to tell you about our android doubles sometime. Some aliens can be very annoying."
"If you say so, sir. So, what do I need to do to be allowed to travel thru that Stargate of yours?"
"We have a training program you'll need to go thru. We need to gauge your reactions to the kinds of situations you could encounter out there. There's a training class starting soon. If the General's right and you were part of the Program in your home reality, you shouldn't have a problem with it."
"Looking forward to it, sir!"
Unfortunately, before Alexander could start the class something interesting happened. SG 1, minus Colonel O'Neill who'd been injured by an arrow, returned from a mission to a world with Coast Salish, a Native American tribe on it, along with trinium, a mineral they could use as part of building Earth's own spaceship. The people weren't willing to let them mine it because they felt it would offend their 'Spirits', which Dr. Jackson believed, meant their gods. So the NID and the government were planning to go behind the Salish's back to do it.
Alexander entered the conference room looking for General Hammond, as he had a question and saw a black man talking to the General. The man's image wavered, but the General didn't seem to notice. Alexander charged in, something was clearly wrong. He slammed the officer to the ground.
"Private Harris, what do you think you're doing?!" The General bellowed.
"If I'm wrong, I'll gladly spend time in the cooler, sir. But I don't think I am. Who or what are you? Because you are not a human." Much to the General astonishment, the man's image wavered and became an alien with folds of skin on his face. "You see!" The alien exclaimed.
"Yeah, I see you. What are you?"
"We guard the Salish. We protected them from the Goa'uld. Now your people wish to take advantage of them. This is wrong."
"General?"
"There's a mineral on their planet that we need. The government is considering mining it without their permission."
"It's wrong to go behind their backs General and it's wrong to steal it." Alexander said.
"I agree and I argued against it, but they're desperate. We need that trinium."
"Then we should negotiate openly." Alexander looked at the alien. "If our leaders are willing to negotiate openly, will you meet with us?"
"If you attend the negotiations. You see. You would know if both sides are being truthful. We would trust you."
"What do you say, General? Is it worth it?"
"I'll talk to the President. Where is my officer?" He addressed the alien.
"He is unharmed, as are his whole team. We merely copied their images."
"Before any negotiations can begin, they must be released, a gesture of good will."
"I will speak to my leader."
Turned out the rest of the officer's team were also aliens in disguise. The leader was surprised to find these humans had one who could see.
"Only a few of the Salish see. We were unaware Earth had others who could see. We will agree to negotiate, as long as the one who sees, attends. We will trust you, Alexander Harris, to tell us the truth." They returned to their planet and the missing team members returned to Earth.
"What exactly did you see?" The General asked, curious.
"A wavery image, like a projection that flickered. You didn't see it or react, so I knew something was wrong."
"Interesting. What could cause this?"
"He may have more rods and cones in his eye structure, sir. Or a somewhat more developed perception filter in his brain." Major Carter speculated. "Regardless of what mechanism makes it possible, these people won't negotiate without him being there."
"Yes, they've made that very clear. The President has agreed, Private Harris, you will make yourself available to assist with negotiations. You will be truthful in whatever you perceive, so that we can conclude the negotiations as successfully as possible."
"Yes, sir. Where will the negotiations be? Here or on their planet?"
"On their planet."
"So cool! My first trip thru the Stargate. Looking forward to it, sir. And I'll do my best not to let you down, I promise."
"I believe you, son. Go see Doctor Frazer. I want her to run tests so we have some idea of what this seeing entails."
"Yes, sir."
After he left the room, General Hammond commented. "Things are going to be very interesting with that young man around." A statement SG 1 agreed with.
