Chapter 9
Sam and Daniel had returned to school the next morning. Jacob had made a phone call to the school and with some persuasions managed to get his son Mark transferred into Mr. Hinckley's class as well.
Ralph Hinckley stood before the class as he had just gotten a phone call from Jacob Carter informing him that Mark would also be part of the contingency plan. "Class!" he called.
All eyes fell on him.
"I just spoke to Sam's father. Her brother, Mark is now going to be part of the contingency plan for the Star Gate project." he announced. "He's having Mark moved to our class."
Daniel and Janet both looked to Sam along with the other classmates.
Sam explained, "We had to tell mom and him about last night. Mom was getting suspicious and since I'm involved she was about to freak out. Dad had to let them in but we didn't want to."
Rhonda asked, "Does your brother have anything to do with Star Gate Command in the future?"
"No," she shook her head. "He's a retired cop who lives in San Diego. Has two girls. They are both going to the Academy and are going to be part of it though."
Daniel grinned, "They both got in?"
She grinned back nodding excited, "Both aced the entrance exams. So did Tess Hammond."
"Awesome!" Daniel beamed proud of the next generation.
Janet sat beside herself, "Tess Hammond is five years old." She explained to the class, "She's General Hammond's granddaughter." She then added, "He placed his family's phone number above the Presidents'."
Rhonda stated, "I like Colonel Hammond. He's got that Grandpa vibe to him."
Tony warned, "That Colonel is not taking anyone's shit."
Janet smiled, "He certainly is not, Tony." She gave him a stare in warning.
Ralph agreed, "I hold a high level of respect for Colonel Hammond and Colonel Carter."
Karl spoke up, "Anyone else notice that Captain O'Neill looks just like MacGyver?"
Ralph gave him a disappointed look.
Sam snickered, "He's not too thrilled if you hum the show's theme song either."
Janet laughed, "Especially in an elevator. He can't get away."
"Ladies!" Ralph spoke a bit taken by the giggling.
Sam became meek, "Sorry."
Janet huffed, "Hell…I'm not sorry. He called me 'Napoleon Power Monger.' So, I shoved a needle in his ass. He's the most uncooperative patient."
"Janet!" Ralph stood shocked. Sweet Janet, his favorite student seemed to have turned into a mouthy teenage girl at that moment.
She reminded him, "I'm Dr. Frasier up here." She tapped the side of her head.
Tony smirked, "I liked you better as the class geek, Janet."
"I can shove a needle in your ass too, Tony." she warned him.
Karl sat a bit shocked, "Damn! Napoleon Power Monger is right." He then asked, "Just who was Napoleon anyways?"
Sam stated, "He was a great military genius. Many of his tactics are taught in military schools today."
Daniel gave a brief history lesson, "Napoleon Bonaparte also known as Napoleon the First was a military commander who rose to power during the French Revolution. He lead the French Republic and then became the Emperor of France from 1804 to 1814 and 1815. He led a military expedition to seize Egypt, to undermined the British and…" Daniel tailed off in thought.
Sam and Janet both knew the look.
Ralph was soon catching on as when Daniel got that look the wheels in his head were turning at a mighty rate and he was connecting dots. "Daniel?" Ralph asked.
"I wonder what Napoleon knew of the Star Gate and aliens." he mentioned off hand.
Tony sighed, "Let me guess. Napoleon also had a red suit to fly around in."
"No," Daniel shook his head. "But what if he did have contact or at least had the concept of aliens?" he asked him. "His rise to power was unlike most. He wasn't born into Royalty. Yet, it was the Pope who crowned him Emperor." He puckered in thought.
The door opened to the class room and in walked Mark Carter. He loved the idea of being in the new top secret space program but looked upon his new class and realized his reputation was about to take a hit at the school. He decided he needed to make the class much cooler and less trouble. He came to attention and gave a salute to Ralph. "Mark Carter, reporting for duty, Mr. Hinckley."
Ralph gave a small smile for he understood the family was military.
Tony wadded up a paper ball and threw it at the boy, "Geek!" he called him.
Mark looked at Tony who was older and bigger than he. He didn't want to get in a fight for he would lose. He also didn't dare say the class was for the dumb kids either. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He looked to Sam for help.
Sam quickly came to his aid. "I think Mark has the right idea. This class is like a military class. We need specialize training and that would include discipline. Like cadets in the Academy."
Tony argued, "No way! We are not going saluting one another and reporting for duty."
She offered, "We can get uniforms."
Tony rolled his eyes, "Big deal."
She then added, "Combat training."
"I can hold my own." he huffed.
Daniel came up with an idea. "Since this class is a special class for a top secret space program how about we adopt some secret handshakes, salutes, signals and symbolism." He figured he could make the class seem more cool to the students with a little occult added in.
"Secret handshakes?" Tony asked.
Mark took a seat as Ralph motioned for him to do so.
"Yes, secret society handshakes and stuff like that." Daniel intrigued the boy.
Tony agreed, "Okay…but no saluting and reporting for duty sh…crap." He censored himself as the teacher was standing before the class.
Ralph asked, "What do you have in mind, Daniel?"
"May I?" he stood up and motioned towards the blackboard.
"By all means." Ralph nodded wondering what the genius would come up with.
Daniel walked up to the board and grabbed a piece of chalk. He drew a two sided pyramid with a circle on top. "This is the symbol for Earth." he told the class. "This is be our secret class symbol."
Tony looked upon the symbol, "That's cool." he approved.
Sam stated, "We need a cover for the class. Like we are studying astronomy."
"Lame." Tony complained.
Kyle agreed, "That is lame. We should just say we are studying Ancient Aliens. Like what Daniel's mom was talking about."
Sam suggested, "As a class project."
"Yeah!" he agreed.
Rhonda rolled her eyes, "Do we need a lame club name too?"
Sam suggested, "How about A.A.? Ancient Aliens?"
"Alcoholics Anonymous." Tony rebutted amused.
Janet added, "And Triple A would be an auto club."
Kyle stated, "Why can we have a cool club name. Airwolf is a cool name for that little club."
"Like SG One?" Daniel asked amused with himself.
Sam injected, "Star Gazers One."
Tony rolled his eyes, "Lame."
Daniel jested, "Star Gazers Command."
Rhonda laughed at the joke. "Daniel is pretty funny." she noticed.
Janet agreed, "Oh' I know. You should have seen some of the briefings. Everyone is trying very hard to keep a straight face."
Daniel looked at Sam and Janet. "Remember that year I ascended?"
They both nodded.
"At any point in that year, because I still have memory gaps from it, did we by any chance go back in time to World War Two and were fighting Nazis and I was Indiana Jones?" he asked.
"No!" Sam shook her head with a bizarre and confused expression.
"Hmm," he squinted his eyes annoyed.
Janet asked, "Where did you get the idea from?"
"Jack!" he huffed. "He told my parents that Indiana Jones was based on me."
Sam and Janet giggled a bit.
"Ascended?" Ralph asked.
Daniel explained, "The Ancients didn't all die. Some survived by ascending to a higher life form. A woman named Oma helped me Ascend and for a year I lived in with them. Then I came back. Thing is I have giant memory gaps from that time…even now."
Tony asked, "What are these Ascended things?"
"They are often mistaken for Angels." he explained. "And they have real power." he warned.
Rhonda soothed, "You were an angel."
Tony teased, "But if he was sent back then he's a fallen angel."
Daniel paused in thought again, "Now I wonder if the devil was an Ancient."
Kyle asked, "And Jesus?"
"Maybe an Ascended being." he concluded. "Maybe the bible is based on the Ascended and some kind of civil war they had."
"That's a possibility." Sam agreed.
Kyle stated, "We still need a cool club name though."
Rhonda kidded, "Daniel's Angels."
All eyes fell on her amused.
"Like Charlie's Angels." she referred to the television show.
Tony rolled his eyes. He shook his head, "Geek Squad."
"They repair computers." Sam informed.
Ralph told the class. "Star Gazers with a cover of an astronomy club is a good cover for the school. It would fit with Earth's symbol too."
"Still lame." Tony stated not enthused.
Meanwhile
Jack was escorted to the lair by Dom, String and Caitlin. He climbed out of the jeep and looked up upon the secret hidden cave that house the top secret helicopter. He looked about and mentioned "This is really out there."
String informed, "It keeps prying eyes away." He then led Jack and his crew into the lair.
Jack stepped inside and his eyes landed on the most awesome sight his old mind ever had. Sitting in a bean of sunlight was a slick black helicopter. It was sleek and sexy and reminded Jack's older mind of what the 80's all about. It had class, it had style and it was state of the art. Though he flew the most advanced jets and earth made gliders the image of inspiring for Jack. He got an old familiar feeling upon seeing Airwolf sitting in the sunlight and surrounded by darkness of the hidden cave. It reminded him of the feeling he felt when he first watched the Star Gate come to life. Over time the Star Gate became routine for the man. It was a feeling he missed. But at that moment he felt like he was on the first dial out again.
"Impressive." he told String.
Dom cheered, "Ain't she a beauty."
Jack had to agree, "It's got that 80's slick look to it."
Dom corrected, "She's the Lady. We don't call the old girl 'it'."
"The Lady looks pretty neat." Jack told him.
String chuckled amused, "You ready to fly her, Captain."
"I am." Jack agreed.
Dom countered, "Jack would be a Colonel, String. Remember, he went back through time mentally. In his mind he's an old man like me."
Jack corrected, "General actually."
String motioned for Jack to go ahead, "After you, General." He glanced at Caitlin who stood back listening.
Jack stepped up the bird. He opened the pilot's door and looked inside. "Neat!" he cheered.
Dom slid open the rear door, "I'll get our flight suits out."
String stated, "Caitlin will take the booster seat on this flight. Jack can take co-pilot." String then walked over to where the co-pilot's seat would be and opened the door.
Caitlin took hers and an extra flight suit from Dom. She handed one to Jack, "Here's your flight suit, Jack."
He gathered the flight suit and noticed it seemed different than the military. It too was sexy and slick. A light silver-blue color with a short collar and pockets that were clean cut and smooth. He found the patch of the wolf's head with a set of wings. "This is neat." he noted. He began to put the flight suit on over his clothes.
"Neater than that uniform you wore when you would go through that ring, Jack?" Dom wondered.
"Way cooler!" he agreed. "We just has standard battle dress with tactical vest and guns."
Dom informed, "We carry side arms in shoulder holsters if we go on a mission. Airwolf has her own guns."
Caitlin suggested, "Maybe after we get the ring from Russia we can fly Airwolf through it."
Jack shook his head, "It won't fit. The rotors are too long."
String paused and asked, "Did someone suggest actually flying a chopper through the Star Gate?"
"We looked at all options. We use a MALP if we are unsure about what's on the other end." he explained.
Caitlin asked, "What's a MALP?" She just finished zipping up her flight suit.
"Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe." he replied. "It's a remote control mini tank that takes air samples and video and sends it back to us." He finished securing his flight suit and then looked across to String as the man climbed into the cockpit. He mentioned, "Don't tell Carter that I new what MALP stands for."
"Why?" she asked.
"Sometimes I would kind of dumb myself down and have her or Daniel repeat what they said." he confessed.
"Why would you do that?" she asked baffled.
He explained, "It's that stupid TV show. I look like that actor who plays him and I don't want everyone thinking that I'm him."
"You don't want people thinking you are the actor?" she wondered.
He shook his head, "No! MacGyver!"
"I'm sure people know that MacGyver is a fictional character, Jack." she assured him.
He shook his head, "No! They don't. If I start getting all brainy, then people start thinking I'm him."
Caitlin assured, "You are safe being brainy with us." She patted his shoulder and climbed into the back of the chopper rather amused. She adored Jack for he reminded her of String and yet he looked just like a famous celebrity.
Jack climbed into the co-pilot's seat and placed the helmet on. He started his checklist along with String. As the two men worked through the ear phones of the helmet he heard humming. It was a familiar tune. The theme song from MacGyver. He paused and looked back at Caitlin. "O'Shannessy." he spoke to her.
She looked at him, "Sir."
"Don't hum." he requested.
"Sorry," she excused. "I suddenly just got theme song stuck in my head."
Jack turned back around a rolled his eyes annoyed.
Caitlin then started to hum the theme song again.
Jack rolled his eyes again.
String decide to come to Jack's aid. "Hey Cait."
"Yeah String." she replied.
"How about this song?" he asked and then started to hum a different tune. (The theme song to Airwolf.)
Dom grinned, "That's catchy, String."
"I like that." Caitlin agreed.
Jack asked, "What song is that, String?"
"I made it up." he stated.
Jack asked, "You a musician?"
"I play cello." he told him. "Classically trained."
"Neat." Jack stated.
String stated, "I own a cabin in the mountains. You should come up for a weekend, Jack."
"You own a cabin too?" he asked surprised. "Does yours have a pond?"
"Nope," he shook his head. He then noted Jack seemed a bit down at the reply. "It's on a lake." he informed.
"You have a cabin on a lake?" Jack gasped.
"I do." he confirmed.
Dom added, "Only way in is by chopper."
Caitlin request, "Tell us about your cabin, Jack."
"It's in Minnesota. It's a little cabin with a pond." He then recalled, "I would go fishing in the pond but it didn't have any fish in it. Then we found that tape in the tomb with us on it and then it did have fish in it."
The crew paused for a moment.
String asked, "Tape in a tomb?"
"Yeah, something we did that we didn't do." he shrugged a bit confused himself. "In the tomb was a ZPM and a tape of SG-1. Apparently, we found some Ancient time ship, went back to Ancient Egypt, made a recording and put the tape in a vacuumed sealed pot along with a power modular for Atlantis which was about to fall to an enemy. After that, my pond had fish in it. I don't know what we did but I figured it was close enough."
They sat in silence for a moment as String, Dom and Caitlin all tried to understand what Jack just disclosed.
Caitlin stated, "I'm confused."
Dom assured, "So am I."
String explained, "They went back in time and never returned but they made it so they never had to go back in the first place so they never left."
"You actually understand what he's talking about, String?" Dom asked.
"Time travel would open up all sorts of paradoxes. It's a paradox. SG-1 went back in time, completed a mission and never returned. They might have been killed but since the completed the mission, they never had to go back in the first place thus they saved themselves." he told them.
Jack confessed, "I lived it and I still don't get it."
String confessed, "That would be a head trip." He addressed the situation, "Let's get ready for take off." He then continued his flight check.