"So, let me get this straight, son," Hammond started with his debriefing of the Chief, Foe Hammer and Cortana, "You had this AI in your armor suit for the better part of your few months' stay here and decided it would be better not to mention her to anyone for fear of Area 51 trying to pull something," and he got a nod from the man. He sighed, continued, "She only got revealed when her system overloaded due to these Replicators that took over Thor's ship. She was trying to listen in on them."
"Yes, sir," The Spartan replied.
"And this AI, Cortana," He spoke, then nodded in greeting to her. She smiled back at that and the General continued, "She has been working with you since even before your arrival to our world, meaning you've had her while we were here, in the SGC... Can she listen to our networks, then? The Radio and telecom systems we have? And would she be a threat to us?"
"Yes, yes and no, sir," Chief replied again, still as calm as ever, "Cortana's only ever been loyal to humanity. She's worked in the shadows a bit to keep us from Area 51's grasp, yes, but she has not otherwise tampered with anything regarding the SGC, nor has she sent any information or messages to opposing parties. Despite us still operating under the UN's jurisdiction, we are currently under your employ and safe-keeping. Something we really don't want to risk, unless..." And he seemed to shut off his microphone, exchanging words with Cortana via direct com now, going by the AI's own facial features changing.
Hammond rubbed his face, then said, "That's going to complicate the stay if NID or the NSA start sending people over to check on us again, son. Keep her out of their Line of Sight and make sure only you and SG-1 know about her presence, Then gave a smile like a father reassuring his son, "Thanks for telling us. Now, onto the other major issue that has arisen," He turned to the dark-skinned woman with a strong jawline, a jovial smile and buzzcut hair that sat in front of him, hands behind her back and armored flight suit in full display, then spoke, "Ma'am, name and rank, please."
"Sir, Captain Carol Rawley, UNSC 23rd Naval Air Squadron off of what was once the Pillar of Autumn. Service Number:0292-56837-CR," She saluted, smiling, "I'm one of the UNSC's Flyin' ladies and I was the Delivery Girl for the Chief and Cortana during a rather big fight from what he told me. He told me a lil' about the SGC and what year we're in and... I gotta say, I almost didn't wanna believe him."
"CRT monitors gave it away," Cortana quipped.
"Yeah," Carol chuckled awkwardly, "Though I'm just not gonna look this gift horse in the mouth and be glad I get a second lease at life, even five hundred years before any of us would ever be born and in one of the weirdest places in the damn multiverse... And yes, I'm startin' to believe whatever Einstein said about this stuff, honestly. Can't explain it otherwise."
"Better to have something to hang onto so we stay sane," Hammond agreed, "Very well. Thank you, FO Captain. Welcome to the United States and Cheyenne. Hoping the Air Force boys and girls you'll be meeting are friendly enough and that you get acclimatized to this place."
"Thanks, sir," She saluted.
"You're dismissed," He told her, then looked to Chief and stated, "As for you, Chief, I want to talk to you and Cortana a little more," then received a nod from the man. He looked to Carol, who smirked, saluted and left, then turned back to Hammond. He motioned to the reinforced chair that one of the Staff had brought specifically for Chief to sit down on, then placed his own behind onto the leather seat that acted as his office chair and spoke, "I hope you understand that you're asking me to keep what could be a state-threatening secret from my people, Chief."
"... I know, sir," The Spartan replied. He was well aware of the risks, which is why he suggested, "Or you can tell them that they need my armor to allow her to operate to her fullest and that, until further notice or the President of the US says otherwise, I'm attached to SG-1, sir. Best not to Cloak and Dagger this too hard. We wouldn't want to risk Earth's defenses."
Hammond blinked, looked to Cortana and only got, "Yeah, I'm with Chief. Tell'em, sir," out of her to know that the two were a little crazy. She crossed her arms and added, "We're still actively under SGC Jurisdiction, meaning neither of those organizations really have access to us. And if you tell them, there's no risk of them sticking one of their own muppets into your seat for lying on reports."
The General hummed, scratched his chin and said, "Very well... Thanks for agreeing to talk."
"Better than getting one of the people we got used to thrown out of his chair," Cortana offered, smiling, "Frankly, sir, I think I speak for the both of us when I say we grew fond of you, heh..." to which the old man could only smile. Cortana, meanwhile, felt the Chief stand up. Hammond stood, too, gave Chief a salute that the Spartan reciprocated, then the two parted ways, with Hammond going back to his work.
Chief walked out, slotting the chip back into his helmet and stating, "Hopefully, that'll solve that."
"Yeah..." Cortana murmured, uncharacteristically unconvinced.
"Something wrong?" Chief inquired. Best to get any sort of misgivings out immediately after the fact. Cortana appeared on his HUD and shook her head, but something did seem to irk her. He nodded his head as they walked down the hall and toward the Barracks. Or the Mess, really. He wasn't sure if he was hungry, but it was best to recharge on energy.
She told him, "I wanna get more info on this 'NID'. Per historical records, both classified and declassified from the URNA, there was no such organization, whatever its acronym means. So, they're either born specifically to keep watch over Black Projects like the Stargate Program, or they're something else entirely. Eitherway, without information, I'm just throwing darts in the dark."
"Throwing things at the wall to see what sticks," Chief sighed. He entered the mess hall as his stomach grumbled. He had only eaten one meal these past three days. Finding his table, he saw that SG-1 was already set up there, waiting for him. He told her, "Well, the entire base is gonna know eitherway, so..." then yanked the Chip and walked to join the team.
Taking his helmet off in a show of trust, the Spartan sat himself down next to Teal'c at the table. Jack smirked and said, "Glad you could finally tag along, Chief. Daniel's still stuck in the infirmary because of the appendix, but, hey... Shore leave's still on if you and Cortana wanna tag along," and he motioned to the AI as she materialized on the table, grinning.
"Frankly, sir, we'd love to," The AI quipped, hands on her hips, "But I think we might head to New Reach, take Carol with us for a short trip, show her the ropes."
"How is Captain Rawley?" Teal'c inquired, "We did not get to thank her for retrieving us from Thor's vessel."
"She's fine," Chief replied, "Probably getting a tour from one of the staff. Her Pelican's going to be on-site as well, at the nearby Air Station. She'll probably be its sole operating Test Pilot, however," and he hummed as he saw the Captain come in with previously mentioned escorting staff. Cortana whistled toward Carol, taking her attention toward them, while Chief asked, "And Thor?" rather obviously worried for the little grey man that had dragged them up to help him.
"Asgard ship recently teleported him from here. Pod must've had a locator beacon," Carter answered. She then mused, "He told us he thanks us for the help."
"Glad we could help," Jack replied rhetorically as Captain Rawley walked to the table. He saluted and said, "Captain. Welcome to the table. Care to join us for a game of poker?"
"I'm more of a mahjong gal, sir, thanks," She quipped as she pulled a chair and sat herself down beside them, "So, Chief, Cortana, word's I'm gonna be workin' much closer to some US Air Force test squadrons here. They wanna see the old girl's capabilities before approving her deployment to missions. I said sure, but d'you mind providing'em the specs for her? Y'know, in case she ever needs spares."
"Sure. I'll compile them in a report that we can print," The AI nodded, smiling, "Wanna tag along with us, though? We're fixing to go to a planet I think you're going to want to see."
"Eh, sure," She shrugged, "If the General don't mind."
Jack snorted and replied, "General Hammond's usually good with requests like that. I think I might actually spend leave there, too, honestly. I mean, a river right by our base camp with plenty of fish, nice mountain views, a whole valley to ourselves. Yeah, I know Carter and Daniel are probably gonna be working, but I figured I might as well make a team building exercise out of it... Teal'c, you gonna join, or are you going back to Chulak?"
"Rya'c is occupied with his own work. He has sent word that he was happy to see me again, but has said that it may be best to remain hidden for now. Bra'tac, in the meanwhile... Well, I do not know what he may be doing," Teal'c answered, stood in whatever passes for a relaxed stance for him. Though it was less 'relaxed' and more 'coiled up for attack', Chief observed. He was in a similar position. He had no targets, thankfully.
"So, that's the entire gang, then," Jack smirked, then looked to the Captain and asked, "Up for it?"
"Aye, aye, sir," She smirked, "Can't wait to see how it is to travel through the place's namesake..."
... She regretted that immediately. Her stomach felt like it'd turned inside out for a moment and she was caked in a layer of ice, surprisingly enough. She hunched over and whined, "God damn, that felt like a bad descent with too many Gs and no dampeners..." before she looked up at the Chief. The man extended a hand to her, which she gently took alongside a canteen from Carter. She spoke to Carter, "Thanks, Major..." uncapped the canteen and downed a quarter of the content.
After swallowing the water, the woman breathed a sigh of relief and handed Carter the canteen back with a thankful smile. She then walked up beside the Chief and paused, eyes shooting wide open as she saw the aurora in the sky, the sun, the moons and even the valley they were in. She murmured, "Oh, my God... Chief, this is..."
"Reach," The Spartan replied calmly, "Or the local copy of it. Forerunners probably built it..."
"I'll be damned," She breathed, then smiled, "It's... Oddly sweet to see how the ol' place is without all the racket of Civvies," as she looked upon it. Indeed, aside from the encampment set up by the SGC where science and military staff stayed while investigating the Forerunner structure inside, Reach was untamed, untainted wilderness. She paused as she saw a herd of Moa, then beamed and said, "I ain't had a damn moa burger in years! Even when we were back home, I was stuck on the Autumn running kids through prep courses! Ya mind if I go hunt us one, Chief?"
"Hunt a couple," Jack quipped, "A lot of us are probably gonna be hungry."
"You betcha, sir!" She smirked, then drew what looked to be a standard UNSC M6. Chief stopped her, looked to Jack and exchanged guns between the pilot and him, handing her a 9mm Beretta. She looked at it, winced a little, awkward, then said, "Right, best not to put a fifty SAPHE into the bird. Spoils the meat'n'all... Be back in a sec!" and she rushed out to follow the herd.
"It seems she has already found her... Groove..." Teal'c observed, arms crossed.
"She's in radio contact with us, so it should be fine," Chief told them as they approached the camp as Sentinels above performed a controlled orbital descent back to one of the few maintenance holes still open in the mountain. The Spartan stared up at them, then sighed, thankful he didn't have to shoot Forerunner stuff anymore. He looked over to Carter and asked, "You have those samples you wanted to show Exultation, ma'am?"
Carter patted her carry-on bag and smiled as they descended. The staff at the base greeted them with salutes, the scent of cooking food and the quiet, distant tunes playing from a radio making the place feel more like one of the old FOBs in Vietnam than anything. Maybe it was also the barbed wire and defense towers with fifty-caliber machineguns on standing tripods and searchlights.
Jack set his bag into his tent, pulled out his fishing gear and bag and said, "Alright. You folks'll find me by the river. Give me a howl or a radio message when Captain Rawley comes back with lunch," leaning his fishing pole on his shoulder and walking off. Carter chuckled, went to her own tent and put her heavier bags away, then grabbed a few items, including the Replicator samples.
Chief sat himself down, took his helmet off and removed Cortana's chip, staring up at the sky as the Sun descended slowly behind the mountains to their East. He looked at Cortana as she hovered there in her holographic form, wearing a smile. Both then turned to look toward Teal'c as the man simply seemed to enjoy the semi-serene quiet of the base.
Indeed, Reach had remained a bit of a bastion of calm for both the Spartan and his comrades. Old or New, it mattered little to him. His blue eyes swept the area around, watching as some of the Air Force staff, Marines and scientists simply milled about. He sighed, stood up and slid his helmet back on, putting the chip in and walking into the Forerunner installation. The mouth of the cave had been widened and reinforced by concrete. It even had an armored door. Its security systems weren't in place yet, though, seeing as Chief waltzed in without the need of a keycard.
Truth be told, they'd been gone a couple days at most. What the Engineers had done was damned impressive, but it was still human technology mingling with Forerunner items. The Spartan stepped out into the wider opening of the central chamber, descending down one of the ramps and toward the central holographic display. He found Carter and Exultation talking, rather unsurprisingly, about the hostiles.
"... Yes, these nanites very much match what we had to deal with!" The AI spoke as she performed a thorough scan, her voice more steady, though still retaining that friendly self of hers. She spoke, "Though it seems they have evolved since our last fight with them. Then again, what doesn't evolve in millennia is doomed to die fairly quickly. Thank you for bringing me this sample, Doctor Carter. It will provide a wonderful basis for adjusting our weapons systems in case of future incursions!"
"You're welcome, Exultation," Carter smiled. She looked over and said, "Ah, Chief. We were just finishing up if you want to speak with her."
"Greetings, Reclaimer!" The AI cheered.
Chief blinked, then looked over to Carter and asked, "How'd you get her to stop calling you Reclaimer...?"
"I just told her my name?" Samantha shrugged, "Try it, Chief. Might help." And that got Cortana to laugh. As if the Spartan would so easily reveal his name. He sighed, however, while Carter continued, "Side question, uh... Exultation, we just recently got a new comrade of Chief's that dropped in. She appeared out of thin air in her ship and sort of saved our lives. Any explanations?"
Exultation hummed pensively, then hovered gently over to the Chief and asked, "May I see this newcomer? A scan might help me better understand her and where she came from..." to which Chief nodded. He led the AI and Carter outside, to the sight of Foe Hammer carrying two whole-ass Moas to the fire. Chief sighed, then radioed for O'Neill to tag in as the AI sputtered over to the new person.
Carol furrowed her brow and tensed when she saw the little AI ball hovering toward her. What put her at ease was Exultation's happy voice as she greeted, "Greetings! I am 096 Patient Exultation, monitor of Defense Installation 029! Worry not, I am friendly!" which caused Carol to look to Chief. The Spartan gave an approving nod, which allowed her to look Exultation in the eye. Exultation herself continued, "May I scan you quickly?"
"Uhm... Sure thing?" The woman replied, awkward. She gently set the Moas she'd shot aside. The AI's antigrav engine sputtered happily as her eye glowed a faint blue. A beam of light washed over Foe Hammer's body, with Exultation letting out several noises of confusion and a final noise of affirmation, a hum, at the end of the scan. Carol then asked her, "What's this about...?"
"Understanding your arrival, of course!" The AI replied, "And I do!" excitedly turning to face the Chief, Carter and Teal'c. She mused, "I searched through and matched similar markers to those from the Scan I've made on you, Reclaimer. Your friend is from your own world, yes! But it seems as though a technological piece left over by the Librarian has assisted with this matter! Strange, though, that its effects would be so widespread, really..."
"Explain, please," Chief requested.
The AI somehow managed to nod her entire body in confirmation, speaking, "You see, I assume you have met a slipspace-based technology meant for the digitization of Forerunner minds. It was later repurposed into a weapon of a sort, if you can count creating a new military force that is not susceptible to the enemy we previously faced in our own Galaxy 'weapons'."
"... The Composer," Chief and Cortana spoke at the same time.
"Yes! Indeed!" Exultation cheered, "Glad to know my hypothesis was correct."
"Composer?" Carter raised a brow, "Wait, the Forerunners had a digitizing tech that could..." and, when the implications hit her, she gasped, surprisingly horrified. She looked upon the Chief and Carol for a moment, noting the latter's confusion and the former's serenity at the matter. Teal'c himself seemed to understand the matter. Jack, who'd just come in from fishing with three massive Reach-native Salmons, stopped to listen to the conversation.
Chief sighed deeply, "What does this mean, Exultation? Layman's terms, please."
"It means that the Recomposition Station run by my sibling in the nearby Star Cluster is operating at peak efficiency!" She said, then let out an awkward giggle as she looked to Carol, adding, "Perhaps even a little too much so, if it's revived someone of your all the way above your Home World," with a happy chirp. She then went on and continued explaining, "It stores an ever-updating Database of every single human that has come into contact with the technology of my creators, as well. They are not clones, either. These are the people who've fought beside you... Some of the database may be corrupt or damaged, but otherwise..."
"... Damn..." Carol blinked, "No existential crisis of being a clone, at least, but... Holy..."
"Do I wanna know?" Jack asked warily.
Carter turned to him, a little pale, and told him, "We'll explain everything, sir..." then looked at Exultation and asked, "Does the planet this station is on also contain a Stargate, Exultation?" as her mind raced a mile a minute trying to comprehend the sheer scale of this type of discovery. It was basically a Machine that could easily raise the dead...
"It does," The AI replied, then giggled awkwardly again, "Though be forewarned if you do visit... My brother is a tad eccentric."
"I'm... Not gonna say anything," Cortana told them. Chief could almost actively hear her biting her tongue so as not to invoke the famed everyman that was Murphy, nor his laws. He always tended to screw anyone's day if they called out one of his stupid laws. Chief, however, knew that that didn't matter at this moment. Going to that building and understanding it was the next important issue on the chopping block.
"... Should we start eating the Moa?" Foe Hammer asked, "I think I need a meal in my belly before I pass out from this overshared information..." and everyone else agreed quietly. Exultation quietly departed back to her post as the Captain skinned, cleaned and cut up the alien birds, setting their meat to cook on the grill with some familiar spices. The meat smelled sweet even from as far from the grill as they were.
Chief hummed as Cortana was parsing through the new information in his head. His AI told him quietly, "... This means we should expect more than just Foe Hammer to appear. And if it can recreate vessels, god only knows what we're gonna be looking at in the future. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for... Anything... John, d'you think the Tok'ra actually met Spartans?"
He shrugged. This place handed them ever more questions and very few answers. He said, "If they are... I hope we can recover them, or that the Tok'ra mentioned us to them so we can rally up..." with a subdued, but genuinely hopeful tone to his voice. He paused as he was handed one of the Moa legs, with Carol smiling awkwardly. She spread portions of meat and vegetables cooked on the grill out to every member of SG-1, then sat herself down. Chief sighed, excused himself to Cortana and took his helmet off and bit into the leg.
... Sweet, tangy, almost chicken-like but not quite, as it had its own distinct flavor and the meat was tender and juicy. He blinked, looked at the leg and felt a blur of old memories come back to him. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of such memories, so many intertwining and becoming a blur, just to disappear all over again as his training repressed them. He sighed, then said, "Thanks, Captain Rawley. It's good..."
"Good? Jush GOOD!?" Jack balked, mouth full of food. He swallowed and added, "This is the best damn bird I've ever tasted!"
"It is rather... Suculent," Teal'c quipped... The bones were already clean.
Carter couldn't so much as utter any sound, really. She was too deep into enjoying the meal to really care about expressing anything that could do justice to how she felt about the food. Chief himself sighed, smiled a little, then went back to eating as well. It was a memory of home, in a way. Of the reason mankind had fought. To be able to enjoy life. Life included meals like this...
... He quietly wondered who would join them next, then...