A/N: Guess what? I thought I posted this chapter 2 weeks ago, and I was waiting on posting the next chapter till I had the next chapter ready to go... *facepalm* Anyway. Chapter 6. Welcome!
They got through the airport with no problems. Strange, how a world pre-9/11 was so... chill. "What's wrong?" Jack asked as they looked for their gate.
"Nothing," Elle said, wrinkling her nose. She blew out a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. "Just, in my time, going through security is a nightmare. We just walked right through." She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Look, there's our gate."
Jack detoured them to the shops. "Snacks," he said firmly.
"I haven't been on a plane since I was, like, twelve," Elle realized as they were waiting for their commercial flight. "We went to Mexico all the time to see my grandparents."
"What part?" Daniel asked.
"Uh, East Coast. Veracruz."
"The Olmecs," Daniel identified. "The oldest step-pyramid in Mexico."
"Yeah." Elle frowned in realization. "What do you want to bet their disappearance..."
"I wouldn't," Daniel agreed. "That's one thing I do agree on. We need way more researchers from that part of the world."
"Uh-huh."
They left the conversation there since talking about alien exportation of cultures in the middle of an airport would definitely violate their NDAs.
The flight was a good five hours. Elle spent most of it leaning on Jack's shoulder, asleep, as he worked his way through a crossword book he'd gotten in the airport. Daniel spent the entire flight with his nose in a book, A History of the Vikings, making notes. One guess as to what he was looking for. Hammond, like Elle, napped through most of it. With his workload, it was a wonder he slept at all.
They arrived in DC in time for dinner. Elle's stomach imitated humpback whales as they waited for their DC liaison to show up through the crowds. I miss Johnny and Carol. I wonder how they're doing. I wonder if these whales here on this Earth are also aliens. I should check that...
Major Paul Davis, liaison from the White House to the Stargate Program, appeared a second later. He was a good guy, solid, dependable, and had no interest in going through the Stargate. "General. Colonel. Doctor."
"Major," Hammond said. "This is Miss Elle Wilcott, our new civilian mission consultant."
"Ma'am," Major Davis said, nodding politely. He waved an arm. "Car is this way, sir."
Funnily enough, Elle had never been to Washington, DC. In the 23rd and 24th centuries, the world headquarters was in Paris, and Elle had been to the embassy at San Fransisco. By that time, Washington, D.C., was a tourist spot for its history. Speaking of which...
"Daniel, the Smithsonian," Elle breathed as their car passed one of the museums. "I forgot it still exists in its prime here. It's not been blown up yet."
"Ooh," Daniel said. "We have time to go, right Jack?"
"Tomorrow," Jack said dryly. "After we see the president. I don't want you two hyped up on artifact dust."
Elle and Daniel shot him matching looks of disdain.
Hammond carefully did not smile. "I will be staying to talk to President Turner afterward, but you can certainly go with them, Jack."
"Uh, I was thinking Major Davis since he's more familiar," started Jack, caught out by his clear desire not to go with the two nerds.
"Oh no, Major Davis is staying with me," Hammond said, eyes twinkling.
"Great," Jack said.
Daniel laughed at him. "Jack, it's fine. I've been around the museums. We don't need a guide."
"No, I'm coming," Jack said predictably. "If I leave you alone, the next thing you know, some museum's hired you to dig out everything in their basement, and you're going to discover the secrets of Atlantis or something."
Elle nearly choked on air as she started to laugh hysterically. "Milo, Thatch," she wheezed, waving a hand, when Hammond looked at her curiously. She fanned her face, trying to hold in her laughter. "Oh, man, Jack, you don't even know. You don't even know," she wheezed.
"What?" Daniel asked.
Elle leaned against the window, tears coming to her eyes. "There's gonna be a cartoon," she said. "About an archaeologist who believes that Atlantis was real. Discredited. Hired by an old man. Translates some ruins. Finds a secret tunnel. Finds an advanced civilization. Stays behind with his new wife." She started laughing again at the expressions on their faces.
"Someone turned me into a cartoon?" Daniel asked indignantly.
"No, no," Elle said, patting his arm. "Listen, it's the best Disney movie they ever made. The only other one that reached it was Treasure Planet. Ohhh, man. If they make it here, you'll have to scour the movie industry for leaks." She thought about the upcoming in-universe TV show, Wormhole X-treme, and almost started dying of laughter again. "Never mind," she said weakly and silently snickered to herself.
Jack shook his head. "She's got the punch-drunk toddler giggles," he said wisely. "Leave her alone."
Elle could not refute the assertions to a satisfactory degree.
"Here's your hotel," Major Davis said a while later.
Elle looked around eagerly. She'd never stayed at a hotel. Every time she'd come to Earth, it had been to visit someone's family. She forced herself not to gawk at the sleek lobby or the people in it. "Time travel," she whispered to herself, seeing the landlines in the row of phone booths off to the side of the lobby, and, to her surprise, people were smoking cigarettes indoors. There was one, maybe two cellphones in sight and a handful of laptop cases. Only a couple of people were even wearing jeans. Most everyone was wearing slacks or skirt suits.
"Stop staring," Jack muttered under his breath, tugging her along.
"It's like a movie set," Elle murmured. "A vintage movie set." She coughed. "Smokey movie set."
They signed in and received their keycards, and the five of them got in the elevator. Two other people joined them. One of the men gave her a quick look up and down and smiled slyly. "Hey," he said. "How you doin'?"
Jack moved in front of her. "Eyes front, soldier," he ordered.
"Sir," the man said, immediately cringing backward at attention. He turned around and did not make eye contact with anyone for the next four floors before he got out with his buddy.
"I forgot this planet is full of humans," Elle despaired once the doors closed. "Uncivilized, unmannered human males, all over the place. Ugh." She made a face.
Hammond chuckled. "That's about the right attitude for you to have here. Don't hesitate to call someone out on their behavior."
As they got to their rooms, Elle contemplated that statement. She'd never, in all seriousness, had to worry about it in the future, even as she got into her older teen years. Everyone on the Enterprise had been the model of decorum, and all the boys she interacted with were like her brothers. If any of them had harbored a crush, she hadn't seen it. None of the young ensigns closer to her age had eyed her either, but then again, would you look at Captain Picard's pseudo-adopted protege with anything but complete respect? When she was younger, on Earth, her Earth, her parents had warned her about catcalling, about personal boundaries, about watching for people with bad intentions. But she had never gone anywhere on that Earth without her parents. And now... She contemplated her own emotions, sitting on the edge of the hotel bed. "Am I... anxious?" she asked aloud and thought of the look in that stranger's eyes. "I feel like I need a chaperone. Ugh." Note to self: don't go anywhere by yourself. Stick with one of your team. This is why women go everywhere in packs. Should've brought Sam.
Someone knocked at the door.
Elle startled and then shook it off. "Don't get paranoid on me now, woman," she told herself and went to the peephole. It was Daniel.
"Hey," he said when she opened the door. He looked at her face and frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Six thousand years of female rage just activated in my genes, and I'm hungry," Elle said plainly. "We should've brought Sam."
"Sorry," Daniel said, wincing. "I guess that's another for the 'Welcome to Earth' primer, huh? Prepare to be looked at and catcalled if you're a woman."
"I'm barely even that," Elle said.
"Exactly," Jack said as he and Hammond came over. "Which is why if anyone looks at you sideways, I'm going to kick their teeth in. Better yet, I'll teach you to kick their teeth in."
"I didn't hear that," Hammond said dryly.
"Yes, sir," Jack said, and as Hammond walked ahead of them, mimed a series of actions that would definitely leave any man, except maybe a Jaffa in full armor, on the ground. "You've got this."
Elle thought back to her lessons in self-defense with Chief Giotto and Worf. "Yeah," she said, suddenly feeling more confident. "I do, actually."
"Jacket," Jack reminded her.
She grabbed her jacket, double-checked that she had her keycard, and closed the door.
They had dinner at a nice steakhouse. Elle had a long sip of her Dr. Pepper as she watched Jack methodically finish his giant steak and a pile of mashed potatoes. "It is a miracle that you are still alive," she said.
"Amen," Daniel murmured and hid his laugh behind his napkin when Jack glared at him.
"This cut of meat does not come along that often, you know," Jack said.
"I know," Elle said, poking at the remains of her own hefty steak. She sighed and then laughed. "Poor Spock. Fated to be best friends with someone who could eat a hamburger for every meal."
"Vulcans are vegetarians, right?" Major Davis asked. "Why, again?"
"They're touch telepaths," Elle said. "And, as far as they're able to, they don't speed entropy."
"Speed entropy?" Major Davis echoed.
"Taking a life is seen as adding to the chaos," Elle said. "They will, if necessary, but as cleanly and quickly as possible, to prevent suffering."
"Understandable," Major Davis said.
"What about Klingons?" Jack asked.
"Oh, they prefer their meat still alive and kicking," Elle said dryly, thinking of Worf's brother's face when they'd had that buffet. "Also, a surprising fondness for Korean food. Is Korean BBQ a thing yet here?"
"Actually, yes," Major Davis said. "I know a good place. We could go."
"Nice." Elle smiled wistfully. "My dad took me once before I left."
"We'll have to take you to the Commissary when we get back," Jack said. "They've got a pretty good selection of internationals."
"You only went to the Walmart?" Hammond asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Hm. Perhaps you could include Cassandra on your trip. Dr. Frasier says Cassie is wild about meeting another teenage girl with the same circumstances."
Jack grimaced. "I hadn't even considered it, sir, with all the rush. Elle, you haven't met Cassie yet, right?"
"No," Elle said mildly, "I've been on base the last two weeks getting ready for this."
"Hm. We'll have to have a barbecue or something at my house." Jack nodded. "Thank you, sir, for mentioning it."
Hammond waved him off.
They went back to the hotel afterward. Their meeting with the President was at nine in the morning, and Elle wanted to be sure and get some good sleep and some good Vulcan meditation.
-/\-
Light blue skirt, matching blazer. Discrete gold earrings. Sensible pumps. Backpack. Hair in a neat bun, a couple of face-framing tendrils. Discreet mascara and lipstick. Elle looked at herself in the mirror and laughed. "What is this, Independence Day?" she asked. "Great Bird, I hope not. We have enough trouble." She cleared her throat and said, in a voice recognizable to millions, "I ain't heard no fat lady." And followed it up with, "Forget the fat lady. You're obsessed with the fat lady. Drive us out of here!" She laughed to herself. "My quotes are wasted on these people, honestly." She frowned. "I could've used so many of those quotes when we were chasing the Borg. Ugh. Missed it. Ah, well. I'm sure there's a ship I can use it on later. Besides, this is diplomacy. I can do that. I'm plenty diplomatic." She pointed at herself in the mirror sternly. "There will be no yelling at the brass, young lady."
Elle saluted her reflection. "Let's do it. Great Bird, give me strength." She picked up her backpack. "If you're mildly telepathic... do you turn into a purse?" She tugged on the strap hopefully. It turned into a leather belt with pouches. "Purse?" She tugged again. It turned into a mini backpack, the kind that had just been getting popular when she'd, ahem, disappeared. "Good enough. If you were a Loungefly, I'd probably get mugged. No. Disney adults aren't a thing yet."
A familiar rap at the door. "Elle, you ready?"
Elle opened the door and grinned. "Could you look any more uncomfortable in your dress blues?" she asked dryly.
"As a matter of fact, no," Jack said and yanked at his collar. "You look very professional, by the way. Almost grown up."
Elle wrinkled her nose at him. "What am I missing?"
"Absence of youth," he quipped and ushered her into the elevator. "Come on. The others went down to have a coffee before we go."
Daniel handed Elle a cup of coffee as she joined him and the other two at the table. "Hnng."
"Good morning," she replied. She took a sip of coffee. "Ah. Fresh bean soup."
Major Davis almost choked on his bagel. "Wh-"
"Don't encourage her," Jack said tiredly and made to steal Daniel's coffee.
Hammond handed over a fresh cup. "Do not provoke the archaeologist," he scolded, trying not to smile.
Elle hid her smile behind her coffee cup. She nibbled at her breakfast sandwich. Gotta eat your protein, she reminded herself. Can't go getting the shakes in front of the leader of the free world.
"You nervous?" Jack asked.
"Nope," Elle said.
"You lyin'?" Jack continued.
"Nope," Elle said, entirely truthful. "He may have authority, but he's honestly just some guy." She glanced at General Hammond, who suddenly looked wary, and added, "Some guy to whom I will be extremely respectful because I am always respectful to people in positions of authority."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Jack said, sneaking a glance at Hammond's face, "but in your concussed ramblings, didn't you mention that you were called the Brass Cleaner by the admiral at your HQ, on account of you giving people the verbal smackdown?"
Elle cleared her throat. "I give everyone all due respect, like I said. Sometimes, that due respect is zero."
Major Davis choked on his bagel for real this time. "Sir," he coughed.
Elle grinned at him. "Don't worry, Major. I've helped sign at least two," she whispered, "interplanetary," and continued, "treaties. I know what I'm doing." She sobered. "And, stupid nicknames notwithstanding, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize this program or the people who work in it." She met his gaze. "I promise."
He nodded, looking a little more relieved.
"Depending on how today goes," Hammond said, "we may find you are the best or the worst thing to happen to Washington DC."
And with those auspicious words, they finished their breakfast and got in the car.
-/\-
Elle was silent on the ride over. Contrary to her joking at breakfast, Elle was well aware of the power wielded by the president of the United States. She knew, far better than Jack or Daniel, what she was asking for with her proposal. If even part of her scheme were approved, the whole world would change. That was squarely on Elle's shoulders, and if it failed... No, she couldn't, wouldn't, think like that. She'd already outlined three backup plans at three critical junctions if something happened. In the end, Earth would still come out ahead. They had no other choice.
She took a moment to center herself. I wish Spock were here. Or Captain Jim. Or Captain Picard. Or Uhura. Anybody with more experience than me. Not even to talk in my place. Just to hold my hand. She thought of those early days when Spock would let her cling to his sleeve so she wouldn't get lost. Spock, if you were here, what would you say?
Her mind's eyes answered almost instantly, her mental version of Spock somewhere in between TOS and TNG ages, kind and firm. Acknowledge your fear, but do not let it control you. It serves no purpose. Only acknowledge the realities of this moment and use all the tools available to you. That is all you can do. Her mental image tilted one eyebrow. And I would say, remember, you are like Jim Kirk. Once your mind is made up, the universe will follow.
Like Scotty says, Elle reminisced fondly, The captain's will be done, amen.
Elle let the memory of Spock's telepathic impression fade away slowly, letting those positive emotions bolster her.
Daniel touched her shoulder lightly, bringing her out of her semi-meditation. "Elle? Five minutes."
Driving up to the actual White House was insane. It was like a movie, again, but with more security checkpoints and Secret Service. Elle stared at the history on the walls as they were escorted to their meeting. "When Hamilton comes out in fifteen years, you're gonna love it," she told Daniel as they waited in a conference room off the Oval Office. She'd caught a glimpse of it, and it was indeed oval. Elle resisted the urge to go straight for the Resolute desk and check for secret panels (thank you, National Treasure, for this new urge to deface national monuments).
"What's Hamilton?" Daniel asked, speaking of national treasures.
"A rap musical based on the biography of Alexander Hamilton's life," Elle said.
Daniel stared at her in horror. "What."
"It's incredible," Elle said. "I cry every time."
Daniel held up a hand. "I can't."
"Dr. Crusher loved that musical," Elle added. "If more of our crew were singers, she would've had a production of it. I think Captain Picard would be a good Lafayette since he was actually French. But he said no."
"I would pay good money to see a British person do a French accent and rap in it," Jack said slowly.
Elle blinked at him. "Oh, yeah. You don't know. Captain Picard is French in real life. Like, long live Patrick Stewart, but yeah."
Jack stared at her. "You're breaking my heart right now," he said. "Who's Patrick Stewart, though?"
"Never mind," Elle said. Remember, actor names don't transfer over. She'd had yet to look up any shows she knew portrayed real universes. She didn't want to see an unfamiliar face or, worse, see a familiar one.
The door opened, and the President walked in. "George, it's good to see you again." He shook Hammond's hand with a smile.
"Mr. President. You remember Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Major Davis."
"Of course. Gentlemen."
"And this is our new mission consultant, Eleanor Wilcott," Hammond said. "Elle, Bill Turner."
"Miss Wilcott." His handshake was firm. "A pleasure to meet the mind behind this analysis."
"Sir." She met his smile with one of her own, polite and confident.
They all sat down. The president received a file folder from one of his aides and opened it. Inside were Elle's two reports, highlighted and sticky-noted to death.
"So," the president said. "First, I must say welcome back to Earth. I understand you are originally American."
"Yes, sir. Pacific Northwest."
"I would also like to say that I'm sorry that your presence here with us came at such a cost as losing your previous universe."
Elle managed a nod. "Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate it."
He nodded and clasped his hands together on the desk. "Miss Wilcott, I have to say, when I became president of this country, I was not expecting space travel and aliens to be the most defining moments of my term. And frankly, I did not sign up to be commander in chief of any war, let alone one in space."
"I understand, sir. If your platform were based on war, you wouldn't be here," Elle acknowledged.
"Exactly. And now you're telling me, in our future, which you've seen on a television show, that we will be at war with three different alien races?"
"Four, sir, counting the ones in the Pegasus galaxy."
He shook his head. "I don't like this situation at all."
"Neither does anyone else, sir. But not liking it doesn't mean it won't come anyway."
"That I do have to agree with," he said. "Your report of future events is fairly linear, at least, and the amount of detail you've managed to remember is staggering. How did you do it?"
Elle inclined her head. "Vulcan meditation and memory techniques, sir. I have almost a full eidetic memory, and with these practices layered on top, approximately ninety percent recall."
"That's quite a feat."
"Thank you, sir."
He opened the other document, the proposal. "Now. Onto the real point of this meeting. Your proposal for the future of the Stargate Program."
"Yes, sir." Was it possible to vibrate through the physical plane from nerves? Elle forced herself to calm down.
Turner looked at Hammond. "George, have you read this?"
"I have, sir."
"What do you think?"
"It's brilliant," Hammond said plainly.
"Any objections to it?"
"None, sir."
Turner raised his eyebrows. "None?"
"No, sir. Elle has already incorporated any suggestions or objections that we had into the proposal."
"This is going to make us a lot of work," Turner warned.
"I believe our people are more than qualified to meet the challenges," Hammond said.
"I agree," Turner said slowly. "Colonel O'Neill. Your thoughts?"
"Well, sir, I wish we had something like this to guide us years ago when we started all this," Jack said frankly.
Turner huffed a short laugh. "That would have been nice. Hindsight is 20/20. And now it seems so is the future." He folded his hands and looked at Elle, meeting her gaze steadily. "If I denied this entire proposal, what would you do?"
"I would ask you to reconsider," Elle said, heart hammering in her chest. Calm. Calm. Keep it calm. "And if your decision stood, I would remain with the program and help as much as possible."
"You wouldn't hare off to planets unknown and try and do it yourself?"
"No, sir. I don't have the guts to die again that quickly."
Turner winced. "I appreciate it. Your presence here is much more valuable to us." He closed the folder. "Effective immediately, I'm approving this proposal. I already have a meeting to introduce this topic to my Cabinet at the end of the week."
Elle forced herself to stay calm despite the rush of relief. She was almost light-headed. "Thank you, sir."
"Thank you," he said. "I would rather get this done and protect all of our fellow humans than let the years go to waste getting my people killed." He checked his watch and stood. "General, Major Davis, we can discuss this further." He held out a hand to Elle. "Thank you, Miss Wilcott. You may have saved this planet with this plan of action."
She shook his hand, finally able to smile freely. "I hope so."
The president nodded. "I look forward to working with you. Colonel. Dr. Jackson." The three men went out, presumably to the president's smaller office, to discuss the details of the proposal.
Elle leaned over and grabbed Daniel's arm. "Just to clarify, he said yes, right?" she asked as they were escorted out.
Daniel smiled down at her. "He said yes," he confirmed. "Congratulations."
"Yes!" she whisper-shouted and allowed herself to bounce on her toes. "Oh." She had to pause right in the middle of the hallway. "This is going to change the whole future."
Jack gently nudged her forward. "You can have your freak-out in the car," he said. "Let's go."
Elle didn't notice anything about the White House as they left, still dazed by her success.
"All right," Jack said, sliding into the driver's seat. "Are we still good for the Smithsonian, or do we need to go to the hotel and decompress?"
Elle snapped out of it. "Museum!"
Jack sighed. "Aw, man."
-/\-
The Natural History Museum, where the T-rex chased its own tail, and the statues walked at night. That was a solid couple of movies. "That doesn't look like a T-rex," Elle said, eyeing the skeleton in the main hall as they entered.
"It's not a T-rex," Daniel said. "It's a... Jack, what is it?"
"Big lizard," Jack said helpfully.
"Really?" Elle asked, unimpressed.
"I'm an archaeologist, not a paleontologist," Daniel pointed out.
"Fair enough." Elle looked at the bones more carefully. They were like nothing she'd ever seen. Well, different Earth, different dinosaurs, probably. "All right, mister archaeologist, let's go that way, then."
They picked up quite a few stragglers through the museum, people eagerly listening in as Daniel professor-lectured his way through the exhibits.
"He's a good teacher," Elle said quietly as she and Jack watched him explain proto-European farming culture to a couple of teenagers. "People would pay good money to have him lecture."
"You'll get your wish. He'll be lecturing all day long, getting all our new people ready to go."
"It's gonna be a lot of work," Elle said pensively. "I would say sorry, but I'm not that sorry."
"Don't be," Jack said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "The results are worth the work. And it'll be easier on my knees, for sure." He checked the time. "Drag Daniel away from his fans, and we'll go get lunch."
They detoured through the gift shop and Elle got a whole handful of rock crystal candy. "What, haven't you ever had the urge to cronch the rocks?" she asked when Jack gave her a look. She pointed at him. "Don't deny it."
"Yeah, okay," Jack said with a grin. "Can you imagine eating lava? It looks like it ought to be edible."
"One of the geologists on the Enterprise was a Horta," Elle said. "He eats lava all the time. He says it's like honey, but it tastes like metal."
"Hot metal spoon," Jack said. "Tasty."
Speaking of spoons, they went to a greasy spoon diner for lunch and went back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. "Nap, and then we can go out and find something to do," Jack said. "A couple of my buddies might meet up with us. General Hammond will probably meet us for dinner."
"Sounds good to me," Elle agreed, and they went into their rooms. Full and sleepy from lunch, she wandered over to the bed and flopped down. She flicked through the TV channels till she found some old Doctor Who reruns. "Look, ma, my friends are on TV," she said dryly and laughed to herself. If it was tinged with wistfulness, there was no one to acknowledge it.
The dulcet, low-budget tones of classic sci-fi soon lured her into a siesta. Elle didn't fight it too hard.