Newly christened TSS Prometheus, High Earth Orbit
In the sharp prow of the Prometheus, facing forward was a 'seemingly' very large window. It was not a window as such, as merely a false overlay over the bulkhead that projected the forward view to those who would watch. This was not a control center of the ship, it was in fact a large hall sized Rec room for the crew and also doubled as the Galley. None of the crew were here at the moment, as Prometheus did not have a fully fledged crew yet, (she was only half manned) and those who were qualified were hard busy training the influx of new personnel, coming in as much secrecy as possible from all over the world.
The Rec room would be a rather historic area in a few minutes though. Harry grinned at the slowly spinning image of Earth that filled a quarter of the large viewscreen; with him were SG1 (minus an Ascended Daniel), General Hammond, and the newly appointed Chairman of the STO Council. Lieutenant General David Thompson of the British Army (actually a former SAS operative) stood in the rigid military posture of a lifelong professional soldier. He stood at just over five foot eight and looked to be still in good shape for a man in his mid fifties. His face had the hale look of a man who seen much of combat and his dark hazel eyes showed a formidable intelligence at work behind them.
Harry had not spoken much with the de facto 'leader' of the STO (they were both very busy) since his appointment…(that was a story in an of itself, the negotiation war between the various STO member nations for the position of Chair of the Council had left many a bruised ego and sullen political leaderships in its wake)…but he had read the man's file (the entire thing; classified or otherwise) and he thought that there couldn't be a better person to marshal the STO to take the fight to the Goa'uld. Against his enemies he was ruthless and more importantly cunning, his friends and allies were treated as brothers (he already had confessed that he had a healthy respect for the Rebel Jaffa). But like anything, he was human, and he had his foibles and flaws…the worst of which was his tendency to take everything too seriously, and he refused to show that he had a sense of humor. He was even more stoic that Teal'C.
"Are you ready, Mr Ambassador?" said Thompson, with just a hint of cockney in his accent.
"Yes, General," said Harry with a nod, "my 'surprise' is ready and waiting to be unveiled." General Thompson knew what the surprise was; Harry had revealed it only to him thus far and only because of the man's new importance in the scheme of things. Harry tapped the wireless communicator earpiece threaded into his ear. "Colonel Ronson?"
"Ronson here," came the voice of the Captain in his ear.
"We are ready, please set a course for the far side of the moon, and bring us into a high geo-stationary orbit over the equator," instructed Harry.
"Copy that."
"We organized this whole thing just for a trip to the moon?" asked Jack with an askance frown. The view swerved and soon the distant white-cratered circle of the moon came into view and began to steadily grow larger.
"No, Jack, the moon is only our first stop," explained Harry patiently.
Prometheus bridged the gap between Earth and it's only natural satellite in less than half a minute, and maneuvered to a relative stop two thousand kilometers from the perpetual dark side of the moon. Harry gave a lop sided grin to Sam and raised a handheld subspace communicator about the size of his fist (it was one based off an Alteran design).
"This is Ambassador Harry Potter to Tranquility Base, come in please," he said. This generated a few quite confused looks among those present, except for Thompson and Teal'C (who would never purposefully look confused if he could ever help it…he merely raised an eyebrow).
"Umm, you do know that you're about thirty odd years late to communicate with Neil Armstrong, don't you?" asked Jack with a bemused grin. "Unless you can actually talk into the past with that doohickey."
"No Jack, I can't communicate with the past," said Harry with an exasperated sigh.
And abruptly, out of nowhere, a familiar voice responded over the communicator in Harry's hand, which allowed everyone to hear. "Ambassador, this is Tranquility Base, we read you and are prepared to receive guests."
"Very good," replied Harry.
"Is that…" said Sam astonishment, her eyes widening.
He merely grinned at her and said, "You may disengage the cloak, Narim." Everyone started at the familiar name and stared at the wallscreen in amazement. For there, in a large crater on the equator of the moon had appeared a sprawling complex of interconnected hardened buildings, shaped like a giant five pointed star when viewed from above. "Say hello, to Tranquility Base, five miles in diameter, capable of housing fifty thousand people in comfort. It's a fully capable military and scientific facility. Ten underground shipyards adjoin the Base, and as you have just seen it's capable of hiding itself very effectively. It can also defend itself through an amalgam of land based weaponry equivalent to the Prometheus and also has an Asgard derived shield all powered by a neutrino-ion generator that the Asgard were going to write-off…which I took the time and effort to fix."
"And yes, this is where the Tollan Remnant have been in hiding."
"Right under everyone's proverbial nose," said Hammond with a chuckle.
"Yes," nodded Harry, "I find that often the best place to hide something, is in plain sight. Now then, let us adjourn to the Ring Room."
Tranquility Base, Luna (A/N; from now on Earth's moon is referred to as Luna)
The Rings descended out of the ceiling to land and hover, there was a flash of materialization and for the first time in less than thirty years, Terrans set foot on Luna's surface again. Harry stared around him in interest; he had never been in Tranquility (he'd only done the planning and seen schematics…the work had been done by the automated Asgard fabricators and builders, with the finishing touches added by the Tollans when they arrived) but it looked somewhat bigger than he had imagined it.
The Ring Platform was situated in the Base's Operations Center (Ops), which was nestled in the deepest part of the Base. The Rings was situated on a prominent raised section to the northern end of Ops, and radiating outward in a circle from it was various control stations that regulated and governed the facilities systems (Weapons, Security, Life Support, Power etc.) all of which faced inward to a central desk in the middle of the large circular room. A desk where the Base commander would stand and from where he could easily give orders to the various stations, it also had a large holo display hovering above it, which currently showed an ethereal representation of the Solar System. (Prominent was the green dot hovering over the moon which represented the Prometheus, in addition to another collection of dots moving past Saturn, a F-302 squadron on routine patrol. The interior design of Ops and of the whole Base had the feel of a blend between the military practicality of the Prometheus interior and the geometric aesthetic that was prevalent in the Achilles.
Currently manning all these stations were Tollans; dressed in the their customary ribbed jackets and angled cut attire. Narim himself, who had been seated in the Life Support station, jumped to his feet.
"Deactivate security field," he ordered the Tollan at the Security station after he scrutinized the new arrivals and was satisfied. There was a flash of blue energy that cocooned the Ring Platform and it visibly retracted itself.
"Greetings," said Narim, "and welcome to Tranquility. The last home of the Tollan. General Thompson, it's an honor to meet you."
"The honor is mine," said Thompson neutrally.
"Major Carter," said Narim, warmth entering his tone.
"Hey Narim," she said and they hugged briefly.
"It's is good to see all of you again," he said to SG1, "Ambassador," he nodded in Harry's direction; they had often communicated over the last few weeks leading up to this, so there was no need for much formalities. Narim guided them to stand at the Command Desk.
"Narim," said General Thompson, "I want to formally, on behalf of the STO and Earth, declare that your people will always be welcome to remain here on Luna, and if full disclosure ever occurs on Earth that the contribution you are making and will make in the future be formally recognized. In addition if any of your people should wish to live out their days on Earth, that they will be given full aid and assistance in doing so."
"Thank you, General," said Narim with a slight bow of his head, "however, my people have after lengthy discourse and debate decided to remain here, united, on Luna…where we can best help in the struggle against the Goa'uld by aiding your capacity to fight them."
"We thank you in turn for helping us," said Thompson. "To that end, I hear from Ambassador Potter that you have news?"
"Yes…we have just finished a large production run of the AHM-1B (Anti-Ha'tak Missile). We have also studied the data sent to us by the Ambassador on Naquadria, and we believe it possible to synthesize in a laboratory, though some further research is required into engineering failsafes to prevent an accident similar to the one that occurred a few weeks ago on Kelowna…my sincerest sympathies on the loss of Dr Jackson…" his tone turning sad.
"Thanks," said Sam softly, her eyes twinkling in the light. It seemed that whenever she was reminded of Daniel that she would start to get tears in her eyes. It didn't really matter to her that technically Daniel wasn't dead…Harry thought that intellectually she understood that, but her heart was a completely different story, and Samantha Carter's heart was deeply affected by the departure of Daniel Jackson to the higher planes.
"In the meantime, we can use the amount of Naquadria you already have in your possession to enhance the AHMs even further, that's relatively easy to do and only requires a few days," said Narim. "We can also begin the transfer of the new ordnance to the Prometheus immediately."
"Very well," nodded Thompson, and looked with a sigh around him. This was a rare event by all accounts for the General. The scale of the task ahead must've seemed daunting.
"Is something the matter, General?" asked Harry.
"Yes and no," said Thompson, "just thinking of the headache I'm having trying to find enough people to man Prometheus, let alone Daedalus, Odyssey and Apollo. Now I also have the equivalent of a military colony on Luna, and an even larger shipyard than A-51."
"Do you not have the resources to employ so many?" asked Narim worriedly.
"Resources are not the issue, as I said, its people and training them," said Thompson stoically, "because of the secrecy, only certain personnel in the civilian and military establishments can be recruited. They also have to be carefully scrutinized and researched before the ugly truth of our Galaxy can be disclosed to them."
"Ah, to be sure they don't turn around and betray the 'ugly truth' as you say, to your own news media," reasoned Narim thoughtfully. "Well, we can't help in regard to your selection process, but perhaps I can send some of my people to help with the training?"
"That would be greatly appreciated," said General Thompson.
While Prometheus was loading the new ordnance into her magazines and armory, Narim led his visitors on a brief tour of Tranquility. It was much like Area 51, only larger by a few orders of degrees. The scientific and fabrication equipment was much more advanced as well, which was mostly thanks to the Tollan's efforts and Harry's provision of an Asgard matter-energy fabricator. The military facilities included a hangar bay for F302s double the size as that on a DC ship, hall like briefing rooms, CO and enlisted quarters, Rec rooms, and so forth.
In the Civilian-Scientific sections of the Base, the most impressive feature was a large Arboretum with infant plants clustered together and rolling lawns of grass stretching across an area about as large as a football field, specially configured lights provided a realistic day-night cycle and even emitted the artificial equivalent of true sunlight. The Tollans whose passion was for Botany could be found hard at work here.
All to soon for the group the Prometheus radioed that she was finished with her task of loading the new AHMs. Narim escorted them back to Ops and they said goodbyes.
As soon as they were back on board, Harry instructed Ronson to set another course…this time for an orbit over Mars.
"You're not telling me we have another 'secret' Base on Mars," said Jack seriously. "We don't, do we?" he asked suddenly unsure about complaining about it. Harry left the man on tenterhooks by merely smiling enigmatically. Clearly the Colonel was conflicted by his thought 'that it would be cool' to have a base on Mars, versus the thought that they couldn't possibly find people to man such a Base…not without full disclosure.
"No Jack," said Harry eventually looking at the others in the Prometheus Rec room. "We don't have a Base on Mars." Harry heard the tiniest of relieved sigh coming from General Thompson. "Yet," he finally qualified.
"Huh?" said Jack, looking confused.
"You'll see," said Harry, turning back to the wallscreen. It took twenty-one minutes for Prometheus to navigate between Earth and Mars, given their relative distances apart at this time of year. Time, which the group passed by either talking (Generals Thompson and Hammond softly speaking about things Generals speak about), making use of the table games (Teal'C and Jack played Ping Pong – and rather surprisingly Jack gave a good accounting of himself, almost beating the Jaffa.)
Sam had cornered Harry to talk about Tranquility at a table after they had served some drinks from the self-serving bar (the Rec room would mainly be Pilot Country for off-duty pilots – there was no actual alcohol though) for themselves.
"What else are the Tollans working on?" she asked curiously.
"Not just weapons," said Harry eventually, thinking carefully on what to reveal, "they're also putting together a medicinal and medical technology package that can be carefully rolled out on Earth." Sam raised her eyebrows, looking intrigued. "Obviously not everything they know, some of the medicines are still well beyond Earth's organic and inorganic technical capabilities to produce. However, off the top my head I can tell you that the majority of genetic disorders and diseases are going to go off the 'incurable' list in a few years, in addition to a few of the more nasty viruses that are still prevalent."
"What about affordability?" asked Sam.
Harry knew instantly what she was actually asking and worried about, "the day that any company gets one of these new medicines on a patent, is the day that I ask the Asgard to dump an asteroid worth of Gold onto the world market." She blinked and tried to comprehend that statement.
"An asteroid of Gold?" she said incredulously.
"Of course," said Harry nonchalantly, "only Earth as far as I've seen of the Galaxy and beyond ascribes as much value to Gold. The Goa'uld uses it, but only for ship decoration. The Asgard uses it here and there in their technology but it's worthless to them otherwise. I made this threat quite clear to the STO Council, these new medicines and everything that could save a life will be generic medicines under government control. If I catch a whisper of a drug company trying to patent one of these, not only will I dump the world Gold market, I'll beam every member of the offending company out of their premises and place them somewhere else…then I'll dematerialize every piece of property the company owns."
"Damn," she said in awe, "that's one hell of a big stick in the ol' 'stick and carrot' approach." Harry grinned evilly at her.
"You should've seen the faces of the politicians in the STO that I knew had private sector interests," said Harry wickedly, "like children who had their visions of many lollipops in the future ripped away."
"Ambassador, we are in a standard orbit around Mars," came the voice of Ronson, interrupting any further conversation.
"Thank you, Colonel," said Harry, tapping his ear radio. The group in the Rec room stopped what they were doing and stared at the wallscreen. The Red Planet dominated the view; Harry could even see Olympus Mons (a volcano twice the size of Mt. Everest) with red tinted winds growling down from it at speeds that made any similar phenomenon on Earth pale in comparison. Many of them realized the historic moment, the first humans to achieve orbit around Mars, and Colonel Ronson even allowed for a minute of silence to allow the now multinational crew to partake in any prayers they wished to offer.
"Do you detect any ships, Colonel?" asked Harry with a frown, after the minute was over.
"Negative, Ambassador, sensors are clear," reported Ronson.
"He's late, he should've been in orbit already," commented Harry worriedly.
"Who's late?" asked Jack.
And as if the Fates had been listening and waiting for Jack's question, multiple large Hyperspace windows opened a million kilometers to starboard from the Prometheus. Squirting back into real space came gigantic ship after ship after ship, until a hundred and twenty vessels hovered in space over Mars.
Everyone was stunned, except for Harry, who merely smiled in satisfaction. The Milky Way was treated to a sight it had not seen for many hundreds of years. A fully-fledged Asgard Task Force; it was composed of twenty of the 'smaller' nine hundred meter long Science vessels, whilst sixty visibly upgraded Beliskner class vessels hovered in a covering wedge formation over them. And forming the tip of the spear in the Task Force was forty gleaming chrome, one point two kilometers long O'Neill class Battlecruisers.
"My goodness!" said Sam, gasping in awe.
"Holy Hannah! That's one big damn fleet!" said Jack with wide impressed eyes. Hammond was speechless. Thompson merely regarded the ships with an appreciative eye.
The musical chime of an Asgard transportation beam filled the air and Thor in his control throne promptly materialized after a white flash of light.
"Greetings," said the diminutive Asgard in usual casual tones.
"Thor! Buddy!" said Jack with a happy smile and gestured to the fleet on the screen, "like your rides."
Thor merely tilted his head in acknowledgement and turned to face Harry and General Thompson. "I apologize for my lateness. But I had to thwart an attempted attack by Anubis on an Asgard Protected Planet."
"Did you have any problems with the new Goa'uld defenses?" asked Harry with a raised eyebrow.
"I will admit that the battle took longer than normal," said the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. "But largely thanks to the data provided by your encounters with the new motherships, we have been able to modify our weapons to compensate. However, even if we did not have that data, the O'Neill class would've still defeated them swiftly." Everyone in the room could feel Jack's ego inflating.
"Oh, I would've loved to see the snake's face when he saw that fleet," said Jack with appreciation.
"Only three O'Neill class ships were used to drive off the Goa'uld," reported Thor, "we felt it wiser to conceal the Task Force's presence in this Galaxy for as long as possible."
"Aaaaah," moaned Jack in disappointment, and Hammond gave his 2IC a visibly annoyed glance.
"General Thompson," said Thor turning to the Chairman of the STO. "As a duly appointed leader for your race's interstellar efforts, I've come with a request to you on behalf of the Asgard."
"And what is this request 'exactly'?" asked Thompson pointedly.
"The Asgard would like permission to establish a Base of Operations in the Sol System, more specifically on the planet you call, Mars, from which this Task Force will operate from."
"And what is the purpose of this Task Force?" asked Thompson.
"To remove the 'bluff' aspect of the Protected Planets Treaty," said Thor with Harry could only describe as satisfaction. "The Task Force is here to properly enforce the Treaty, as it should've been all those centuries ago, which the war with the Replicators has distracted us from. And it is largely thanks to your efforts that the Asgard are in a position to do so again. It is my pleasure to report to you that the Replicator scourge in the Ida Galaxy has been completely cleansed."
"Wow," said Sam blinking, "but how can you be sure?"
"Your discovery of the Android Reese," explained Thor, "the 'mother' you could say, of all Replicators. Embedded in her programming was a command code that we discovered would influence all Replicators if it was broadcasted through subspace."
"What was the command?" asked Hammond curiously.
"To come forth," said Thor, his black eyes glistening with triumph. "It worked and all the Replicators all over the Ida Galaxy obeyed the call mindlessly. They all congregated on a single planet we had specially selected for this purpose, and they were annihilated when every ship that could be spared fired their Replicator Disruptors at the planet."
"Congratulations my friend," said Harry with a relieved sigh.
"It could not have been done without your race's help," said Thor bowing his large head at them. "And now we have a very large debt to repay, the Asgard civilization is now in a recovery and rebuilding phase, and we have set aside this Fleet to secure the Milky Way Galaxy again."
"Can you assure me that you won't be detected establishing this Base by anyone on Earth save for the STO?" asked Thompson.
"Asgard ships and installations employ multiple devices which when activated, shield it from detection by sensors in use by any known race," explained Thor. "The Prometheus can detect the Fleet only because of the Asgard sensors it is using. Tranquility can because its systems was designed and constructed en large by Ambassador Harry."
"Indeed," nodded Thompson, "well, I can provisionally grant you permission then to use Mars. The STO Council will need to ratify that decision, but I have to sweeten the pot for them to make this work. Can we agree that in the future, when you decide your mission has been accomplished, that Earth can take over any facility you build. You can take any advanced technologies you don't want out of your hands with you," he further qualified when he saw Thor begin to frown.
"That will perhaps be acceptable," said Thor eventually, "it will be matter for the Asgard High Council to collectively decide in the future…however, if you can further prove yourselves in our future collective endeavors then I'm sure that the High Council will make a decision in your favor."
SGC, Earth. Daniel's Office
Harry entered what most of the base personnel dubbed 'the Museum'. For that was what Daniel's office looked like; though in his own opinion it looked like a hybrid between a museum, library and hurricane of loose notes, papers and post-its dotting everything. The place even had that smell of old paper that permeated the air. It was a monument to the past and the people that lived in those times. He was not surprised to see Sam in the office. She hadn't noticed him yet and her tears and sniffs flowed unrestrained…she was mourning.
She picked up Daniel's glasses that lay discarded on his desk, from which she moved to run her hand over a journal.
Harry knocked once on the door. Sam was startled and she abruptly faced away from him while drying her face off with her sleeve.
"I'm sorry to intrude," said Harry softly, "but I'm afraid we were of one mind at the same time."
"What?" she said, not understanding, blinking her eyes clear.
"I also wished to visit this place," said Harry, walking towards the large desk in the middle and running a finger over an ornate African style wood mask and breathing in the air while closing in his eyes, "to remind myself of him, what he stood for."
"Glad I'm not the only one feeling like this," she said miserably, staring at the books on the table. "Can you believe that Colonel O'Neill has requested that SG1 remain on the active team list?"
"Everyone grieves in their own way, Sam," said Harry pointedly, "he is Special Ops, and you should know what their mentality is to emotions such as that; something that is to be bottled and only opened when off-duty and in private. He is treating Daniel as he would when a close friend or colleague dies in the line of duty."
"I knew there was a reason I didn't go for SpecOps," she said with a sigh.
"But you must also understand that when Daniel ascended he finally understood something that I hope everyone one day truly comprehends."
"And that is?"
"That death is not something to be feared, it's necessary for life itself to exist," he said solemnly, "it is but the parting of the veil of this existence and moving beyond. Those who achieve ascension merely go up a step on the ladder, while those who do not, moves beyond the ladder entirely."
"It almost sounds like a normal death is better then," said Sam in confusion.
"Yes and no," said Harry wryly, "there are no absolutes when moving in the higher planes. There is nothing so arbitrary as right or wrong, better or worse…it is beyond description with words. There is only one concept that carries from our present existence to the beyond…the only thing that is, at the end of the day in our control…whether we are good or evil."
SGC, Earth, Briefing Room 2
Harry took his designated seat next to the Podium where General Hammond was standing and addressing the theater sized room in front of him. All one hundred seats in the sloping room were filled with the assembled field commanders and their respective 2ICs of Earth's Special Forces regiments from amongst the STO member nations; the US Army's legendary Delta Force, the British SAS, the French COS, Russia's Spetznas GRU were amongst the most notables present, but they were not the only ones.
The men and women (although mostly men) had been given their baptism of fire over the past month; introduction to the big, bad Galaxy out there, and how to survive it, Stargate operations, the weapons they would see, use and in most cases those that will be used against them, the Goa'uld, the ships, the technology they would encounter and so forth. A learning process that gave these men and women a whole new respect for what the SGC had done and continues to do.
"…as you can see, there have been changes at the SGC, since you first visited the facility little more than a month ago," said General Hammond. "The very Briefing Room you are in just received its last coat of paint two days ago. Sub-levels One through Eighteen, which used to belong to NORAD (NORAD had moved to Peterson AFB), have been taken over to accommodate the increased force levels that will be present in the SGC. Numerous other advancements have finally been installed; these include the Firestorm Shields that will further reinforce the Blast Doors, and the Stargate's Iris."
"However, to the main point of this briefing, your various units will be deployed in Forward Offensive Operations against the Goa'uld, with a single aim…to re-ignite the Feudal rivalry between the various Goa'uld System Lords, which has largely been all but stamped out thanks to Anubis. To carry this briefing further with the pertinent details I will hand you over to Ambassador Potter." Hammond vacated the podium and Harry promptly took his place.
"Good evening," said Harry stoically, "the Tok'ra have finally managed to reestablish some order in their ranks after their defeat at Ravana. And with it, our ear on internal Goa'uld politics has returned. It seems that the System Lords have become polarized into two factions since Anubis' reappearance. The majority are naturally behind Anubis and this faction has largely stopped making war on one another. However, we are lucky in that Anubis has not managed to unite the Goa'uld fully."
"Lord Yu, leads an opposing faction of all the minor Goa'uld, this minority faction has in the last few months stepped up its attacks on Anubis. Our goal is this; attack the various Goa'uld supporting Anubis, but it must appear to be another Goa'uld within the same faction doing so. This will create dissent in Anubis' corner and hopefully cause a parting of the ways and maybe even outright war within the faction."
A Major from Spetsnaz raised his hand. "And zjust how will we azhieve zis?"
"There's a simple answer to that," said Harry and gestured to his right. Teal'C strode into the room in full Jaffa armor, his steel boots making that eerie hollow marching noise that never failed to intimidate. "You will all be going to Jaffa Boot camp at the Alpha Site. Where you will learn to at least portray Jaffa as accurately as you can manage in the time available. The SGC has in its past collected a lot of spoils from the Goa'uld, the biggest of which was a fully armed and equipped Goa'uld mothership. You will be issued your own sets of captured Jaffa armor and weaponry and will receive temporary tattoos marking you as belonging to the various System Lords allied with Anubis…from there you will engage in battle against certain System Lords representing other System Lords…and hopefully we'll have an easier time of it when Earth decides to wave the flag and strike out in its own right."
"And rest assured that once Anubis' coalition has dissolved, that SpecOps will become the blade of Earth's spear on the ground and through the Stargate."
"Who'll be the tip?" asked an SAS Operative.
"SG1 through fifteen," said Harry, "will continue to function as the Recon element of STO ground ops, whereas you guys will be SG sixteen through forty…the heavy hitters who gets called in when the proverbial shit hits the fan. And trust me, out there, beyond the Stargate, it always hits."
"Any questions?"
88888888888888888888888888888
Walking up the steep circular staircase from Stargate Control into Briefing Room 1, Harry was treated to a strange sight. General Hammond, Sam and Jack was seated in their usual spots around the table, and Janet in her customary white Doctor's coat sat next to them; the unusual thing about the scene was that Sam was wearing mirrored sunglasses (even though she was twenty eight floors below ground), Jack had alarmingly less hair than when he saw him last and looked like he had plugs in his ears from the firing range, Janet was wearing a pair of dark gloves, and amazingly it seemed as if General Hammond had lost almost half of the fat around his waist.
"I'm almost afraid to ask," said Harry blinking owlishly at them, and taking a seat. There seemed to be a whirlwind of emotions going across their faces; though they seemed to be very uncomfortable and shifting constantly in their seats.
"Shhhhh!" said Jack irritation on his face. "Not so loud! Lower your voice."
"Ok," said Harry softly, his eyes growing alarmed. "What's going on?" he whispered.
"I can bench press as much as Teal'C!" blurted Jack, his face shining with satisfaction.
"I can see in the pitch dark, again," said Sam with a sigh of irritation, gesturing to her sunglasses. "And I can do complex Base-8 math in my head without writing it down or needing a computer."
"A residual effect of the Atonieks armbands?" asked Harry speculatively. Oh boy, its finally happening, he thought.
"Dr Frasier doesn't think so," said Hammond with a frown.
"Why not?"
"Because the effects are not confined to just Major Carter and the Colonel," said Janet, taking a deep fortifying breath. "I myself have seemed to develop a similar extreme ability, I was treating a staff weapon burn a Marine received after that firefight against the Goa'uld two days ago…I'm dressing it and the next thing I know he's looking at me in amazement…he told me the pain was gone, I lift the bandage…" she shook her head, "…the wound was gone."
"And I woke up this morning," said General Hammond, his tone incredulous, "missing forty pounds of weight around my belly. And I haven't felt this energized since I was in my mid twenties. I had to dig out my old smaller uniform shirts before coming to work."
"General Hammond and I are not the only ones," said Janet, "I've had numerous visits from various Base personnel reporting all a manner of 'improvements' that have suddenly manifested themselves; spontaneous weight loss, increased strength, dramatically improved senses and so on, I'm still cataloguing them, but my duty nurse tells me, she's received emails, calls and more visits over the last few hours from almost everyone on Base, and from personnel off duty."
"So if it's something contagious, the milk has been spilled already," said Harry with a frown.
"At the moment, my only theory is that somehow the Atoniek armband nanovirus that allowed these abilities to come forward the last time, somehow survived within the Colonel and the Major, despite their own bodies developing anti-bodies to it, the virus could've adapted itself in the meantime and spread among the base personnel and only now manifested," said Janet, with a frown, shaking her head.
"You don't sound to confident in that theory?" said Harry.
"It's all speculation," nodded Janet, "I don't know if it's a virus at all, it's the only thing we've come across in the past that is remotely similar, the cause of this could be something else entirely. I'll need to do a complete battery of tests on everyone manifesting an 'improvement' or enhanced ability, but that's a lot of people…"
"Find out, Doctor," ordered Hammond, "until we know the cause of all this, I can't authorize any further Gate activity."
"I can also perhaps help those who find their 'ability' a bit unmanageable," said Harry carefully, staring at Sam, pointedly.
"How?" asked Jack curiously. Harry looked around for anything suitable, and settled on the remote that controlled the wall display. He could do this without anything as grand as a gesture, but he wanted to make a point. He held out his hand towards the remote and it promptly flew across the room and he caught it effortlessly.
"I trust I've displayed my bona fides," said Harry wryly, staring at their gaping mouths and awed faces.
VIP Visitor Quarters, SGC
He knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Harry entered what had been Jonas Quinn's place of residence ever since he had 'defected' one could say with the Naquadria. It was as well appointed as a room in the Base could be, which wasn't saying much. It was just a rather large room with a comfortable double bed, artwork adorned the walls and had its own dinner table, television set, music stereo, with a small bookcase filled with modern fiction.
Jonas had dressed in a spare casual green SGC uniform and was sitting against his bed's headboard with his nose glued in a book. The stereo was playing some classical music…Bach.
"Ah, Ambassador," said Jonas, getting up after marking his place in the book. Harry glanced at the cover.
"The Hunt for Red October," commented Harry with a grin.
"It's a strangely fitting book for someone in my position to read," said Jonas with a rueful chuckle.
"I take it Marko Ramius is your favorite character then?"
"Not my favorite but the parallels between me and him are undeniable," said Jonas, sobering.
"That they are," agreed Harry. "Anyway, I'm here to inform you that you've passed your psych evaluation, and you've been granted provisional clearance to move about the base freely." He handed a pass card to the Kelownan. "Now that will get you access to areas for your current clearance level; which as you can see is 'Delta' and below. Areas with Alpha, Beta and Charlie designations you can only enter with an escort and a damn good reason."
"Good, thanks," said Jonas and pinned the keycard to his collar. "To be honest, I was rather confused at the questions your Intelligence Agency asked me, I was expecting to be interrogated on my planet's various militaries and so forth."
"Why would we do that?" said Harry.
"I guess because that's what my country's military would do," said Jonas uncomfortably.
"Let me put it this way, Terra, (that's the official name now of our planet) and its allies, are fighting a war of Galactic proportions against an implacable enemy with superior numbers, technology and territory on its side. Now…do you think, beyond the implications of Naquadria, that we would have any other interest in your planet?"
"No, not when you put it that way," said Jonas quietly.
"But," said Harry his tone softening, "you have just as much right to fight against the Goa'uld as I have, for they would enslave your world, strip it until they were sure they've gotten every gram of Naquadria from its soil and leave it in ruins. So with that in mind, follow me."
He waved off the SF that was now free from his minding duties of Jonas, and escorted the Kelownan to Daniel's Office.
"This is Dr Jackson's office," said Jonas not a few moments after entering the 'museum' like room.
"How did you guess?" asked Harry curiously.
"He briefly described it to me," shrugged Jonas. "So why am I here?"
"You told Dr Jackson that you wished to see what was 'out there' through the Stargate," Harry gestured around the room, "this is the one place where you can do that whilst still remaining on this planet. In here are all Dr Jackson books, research notes, tools, and artifacts that he has collected over six years of Gate Travel and exploration. And this is just the tip of the iceberg; there are at least three large storage rooms worth of backlogged artifacts that Daniel hasn't got around to catalogue yet. I've also unlocked his desktop computer and given you an ID on the Base Data Archive so you access anything pertaining to what you research."
"Ah…I've never used one of those before…" said Jonas pointing to the plasma screen of the computer.
"…there is a user manual next to the screen," interrupted Harry, pointing to the colorful book. "However, I suggest you start with this…" he handed Jonas a large canary yellow book.
"'Computers for Dummies'," read Jonas awkwardly from the cover.
"Don't feel bad," said Harry in amusement, "there are countless people on Terra, mostly from before computers became in widespread use, whom still don't have the first clue about the things. Ask Colonel O'Neill, he'll say a Megabyte is something you do when you eat a large hamburger."
Obviously Jonas didn't get the small joke. "I don't understand."
"That's what the book is for."
The Kelownan nodded and sat down on a nearby chair, looking around, and then suddenly asked, "Why?"
"Why am I doing this?"
Jonas nodded.
"Mainly to give you a job, keep you busy, I can't imagine it must be nice staying cooped up in the VIP quarters all day with an armed guard." Jonas nodded. "And…I'll be frank, SG1, has gone through four 'replacements' for Dr Jackson's position already. They just can't find anyone to fill the void adequately."
"And you think I can?" said Jonas incredulously. "I'm the last person that Colonel O'Neill would want on his team. He thinks I'm a liar…he wouldn't trust me to watch his back in a million years. And for that matter why are you seemingly in my corner? I recall you calling me a lying coward."
"Never, say never," admonished Harry with an enigmatic grin. "And lets just say you redeemed yourself to me when you came forward and told the truth, and don't think I'm blind to the sacrifice you made. You left behind the cushy job with the High Minister and threw yourself at the mercy of an unknown, superior, foreign power…that is hardly the action of a coward. As for Colonel O'Neill, he's by nature and training suspicious of anyone and anything he doesn't know…and he doesn't know you. Teal'C, like me, already somewhat respects you. He's been where you are…he also threw himself at the mercy of Terra after he, out of the blue, defected and helped SG1 escape from Apophis' clutches… Major Carter, well, she was a really close friend of Dr Jackson…and where he is concerned her heart is her driving force, so you'd need to prove your worth to her in some way."
"I also think your 'Quick Study' and eidetic memory would be an excellent asset on any SG team. So there you have it…take this opportunity, prove you have what it takes…or prove my initial assessment of you." Harry gave him a meaningful look and left a very thoughtful Kelownan in his wake.
'…hospitals, clinics and specialist centers all around the globe are being inundated with people requesting answers and demanding tests to determine how they could've suddenly 'developed' these 'abilities' spontaneously. In addition, people who've suffered from, certain behavior, eating, and other disorders have suddenly been 'cured'.
There has been no official word from the government and the White House released a public statement that the causes of the phenomena are being investigated with all possible speed…"
"…joining us now is Dr Allan Hathaway, a Neurologist from Johns Hopkins. Here to report on the latest results of the medical communities search for answers into what is now being called 'The Great Leap.' Dr Hathaway?"
"Thank you Julia. Now, it's a common fact that humans only use a certain percentage of their 'brains', so to speak. This generally hovers between five and ten percent. Einstein himself is believed to have been hovering around maybe twelve percent, but we don't know for sure. This is Thermographic scan I've done of my own brain…I did it in a routine exam of myself a year ago, and now this is one taken just yesterday…now…on your screen you can see the visible difference…"
"…you were at eight percent but now you're at twenty two!"
"Exactly, we still don't know enough about the brain for me to say what this will mean for me, I haven't manifested an 'ability' yet. But judging from what we've been seeing, it may only be a matter of when, not if. We've also noticed that there are physiological differences as a result of this 'Great Leap'. People's senses have started to become hyperacute, their base line strength has increased to various degrees, I've also seen patients who had been suffering from a cold or flu suddenly report that their symptoms have disappeared, this could mean that our Immune systems have 'Leaped' as well. Although I'll leave that to the Immunologists to determine."
"I also want to caution people that the benefits of Leap may not come without cost."
"What do you mean, Doctor?"
"We most likely will need to consume more energy to accommodate these changes, in other words, we'll need more food than normal, and it would be highly unwise to skip meals. I can personally say, my appetite has definitely increased."
"I'm sure I speak for everyone when I ask, does Johns Hopkins have any idea what are the root causes of the Leap?"
"At the moment, we only have theories, you must understand that the 'Leap' affected those parts of the body that are still a great mystery to medical science, our DNA and the Brain. We're making headway with DNA with the Human Genome Project, but understanding what part of DNA does this or that, will require centuries of research.
That being said, the general theory on a scientific cause for this is that we are experiencing the evolution of Modern Man that we know today into something new. We have now moved from Modern Man, to Superior Man. Homo Sapien to Homo Superior."
"Thank you, Dr Hathaway for your time."
"Thank you, Julia."
"This is Julia Donovan for Inside Access. And we will see you tomorrow for more breaking news as it happens."
Harry pushed a button on the remote. The TV shut down. He stopped for a moment and his shoulders seemed to be slumping as if an incredible weight had fallen on them. He stared up at the ceiling, through the twenty subterranean floors of the SGC and imagined all the amazed and frightened people on the planet.
He had done it.
There was no turning back.
He hoped he had done the right thing.