The Times That Weren't - Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate: SG-1, Atlantis or Universe, I just like to play in world
Previously: Ch 1
The Times That Weren't - Chapter 2
Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, December 2002
He knocked on the door of his squadron CO's office and waited until the full bird Colonel inside told him to come in. He opened the door and immediately spotted the General sitting in the chair facing his CO's desk, both men were now looking at him as he walked in and came to full attention.
"Lt. Colonel Mitchell reporting as ordered, sir." He stood rock still, his gaze focused on a point on the wall behind the right shoulder of the grey haired, stocky colonel seated behind the large desk overflowing with papers and folders in neat piles. The view outside the window showed the almost painfully blue sky above the Saudi Arabian desert base at which he was currently stationed. Despite not moving his eyes a millimeter from that spot on the wall he could feel the General seated to his left eyeing him carefully, appraising him.
"At ease, Colonel." his CO said and he opened his stance and clasped his hands behind his back, allowing his eyes to meet those of his superior. The older man glanced at the brigadier general seated across from him and made introductions. The General stood up and held out his hand which Mitchell immediately shook. "He's come to offer you a job, Mitchell."
"We're creating a new squadron, son, based in Nevada, flying the latest hardware. You've been tipped to lead it." The General's clipped tones didn't really inspire Mitchell, he was already flying the latest F-16Cs in the 363rd AEW 79th FS and there was no way the F-22 was coming out any time soon, and taking a Stateside posting when things were really heating up in the Middle East and he was in a front line squadron seemed more like a demotion. He said as much to the two flag officers, as politely as possible. "Oh, this is a front line squadron, Colonel, make no mistake about that. Guaranteeing liberty from very real threats. I was told this might be an inducement." The General reached into the trouser pocket of his dress blues and handed Cameron a yellow post-it note. His brow furrowed in confusion then a lop-sided smile flitted across his lips as he looked down at the incongruous piece of paper he'd just been handed. It read only, 'Take the job Cam.'
"This is Major Samantha Carter's handwriting, sir." He glanced at the General's stern brown eyes with an incredulous look. The older man only nodded.
"Major Carter recommended you, son, her input is highly valued." Once more the older man's eyes settled into appraising Cam as he looked down again at the note. A slow smile spread across his face as things started to fall into place in his head.
"Deep Space Radar Telemetry my ass." He was openly grinning now while his CO looked, with evident confusion, at the General, who seemed very pleased. Cam had known for a while that Sam had been up to something other than what she was actually officially listed as doing. Something he'd never been able to get any clue about. He'd never seen the walls go up faster the few times he'd tried. If this got him a step closer to her then there was not really any question of his taking the chance. "Where do I sign up, sir?"
Groom Lake, Nevada, January 2003
Sam paused outside the internal door to the hangar connecting it to the rest of the facility and nervously clenched and unclenched her fingers and smoothed down the knee length skirt of her dress blues. It had been a few years since she'd last seen him at that function in D.C. after she'd been promoted to Major, although they'd kept in touch by phone and emails. She'd hated lying to him so much that night, she hadn't realised how much she had just wanted to tell him everything as soon as she saw him. She'd introduced him to Jack and Daniel and they'd caught up over the next hour or three, he'd told her so many stories, each one better than the last, and she so longed to share some of hers it had been physically painful. Still, she couldn't drag herself away from him, seeing him had been so good.
She looked through the square safety glass window in the door and saw him wearing his own dress blues, holding his cover in the crook of his arm and running a hand over the wing of the X-302 prototype laid up on some jacks in the center of the hangar. She should not be this nervous, damn it! He was one of her best friends and now he knew everything she'd been doing. She didn't have to lie any more. Oh. Maybe he'd be angry with her for the lies. She took a deep breath and set a smile on her face. She'd just have to get through it if he were and hope he'd understand. She opened the door and walked slowly towards him, the sound of the engineers tinkering and tooling underneath the sleek, forward swept wings of the Terran space superiority fighter masked her approach, but he seemed so absorbed in memorising the lines of the craft he might not have noticed her even if the hangar had been completely silent.
"She's a beauty, isn't she?" she asked as she came to a stop not more than six feet from him. He spun at the sound of her voice and the grin which took over his features dispelled all thoughts she'd had of his being angry with her. Even more surprising was when he ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist in a bear hug and lifted her off the ground unceremoniously.
"Deep Space Radar Telemetry my ass!" He laughed as he spun her around and she had to wrap her arms around his neck to keep her balance and gave a little yelp as he bounced up and down before setting her down again. "Major Samantha Carter, you sly minx!" Now she was grinning as he settled for a more ordinary hug, which was still a bit informal for an Air Force facility.
"It's really good seeing you again, Cam- sorry... Lt. Colonel Mitchell, sir!" She gave a little salute despite being indoors and he grinned at her then fingered the gold oak leaf on one of her shoulders.
"Won't be long now, Sam, especially if even a third of what I hear you get up to is true." His grin was like cool water on a hot day and she couldn't help blushing sheepishly at the pride in his voice as she looked down at the ground to try to recover slightly. He could still make her feel like the crushing cadet she'd been at the Academy. "I've read a bunch of your mission reports, at least the few I have clearance for now, and I'm still having trouble believing any of it at all!" She noted the tinge of awe in his voice and she felt even more embarrassed. "You'll have to tell me your stories now, Sam," she nodded at him before he turned towards the spaceship behind him, "and I can't wait to get this baby up in the air! Thanks for recommending me for this gig, Sam, this is..." He shook his head in disbelief. "I know Bryce could fly one of these in his sleep. You sure I'm good enough for this?" He looked at her expectantly, but there was a glint in his eye that told her he felt himself to be good enough, he just wanted to hear her belief in him.
"I do, Cam, you're the best pilot I've ever flown with. I have no doubt you'll get everything and more out of the 302s." She smiled at him and couldn't keep herself from slipping her arm through his as he stared at the open cockpit ahead of them. She turned a bit more sombre at the reminder of Bryce Ferguson who had also been short listed to join the squadron before the incident which had landed him in the hospital. "How is Colonel Ferguson, Cameron?" She saw the dark cloud come over Cameron's eyes as his smile faltered slightly.
"Still undergoing physical therapy, but he's looking a lot better. The doctors say he still has a sliver of shrapnel which concerns them," he was pointing at his head with a waggling finger, indicating the location, "they won't let him fly again." This news brought Sam up short, she hadn't heard their friend had been grounded.
"It wasn't your fault, Cam." she breathed and he simply turned to look at her with a face indicating he believed it was his fault and nothing she could say would change his mind about it. He just looked away after a while and changed the subject, she sighed and let him.
"This one's a two-seater variant, I see. Tell me you'll let me take you up soon." He looked at her and grinned at her emphatic nod. "Haha, I can't wait! I'm gonna make you regret agreeing to that!" He leered at her evilly and she chuckled at his enthusiasm despite knowing he was trying to hide his guilt and anger at himself. Even so she was sure that he'd never be able to make her regret agreeing to anything he proposed.
"Just as soon as I wrap up this media tour of the Prometheus I have to do." She smiled at his grin as she accepted, but when the words 'media tour' registered his brow furrowed in confusion. "I know, I know. It can't be helped though. It's the only way to stop this journalist, Donovan, from going to the foreign press with what little she knows. We're not going to let any footage actually get out. We have a plan, it will be a cakewalk." She grinned and he nodded.
"So this will be a few hours of drudgery for you and then I get you and this baby all to myself, right?" He raised his eyebrows enquiringly and she nodded smiling. "Great!"
An hour later Cam was standing in the base's control room watching the Prometheus speeding off into orbit after being hijacked.
"Aw Hell! Those bastards are stealin' Sam!" This outburst earned him odd looks from the techs and officers standing around him.
Seattle, Washington, August 2008 (alternate timeline)
Sam sat at her brand-new table, in her brand-new kitchen, wearing her brand-new bathrobe, drinking coffee from her brand-new mug and eating English muffins from her brand-new plates. She hated it. She read the headlines in the issue of the New York Times she'd just laid down flat on the table and closed her eyes when she realised that they were probably very similar to the headlines that would have shown on the front page in her timeline. She opened the paper straight to the classified ads and started scanning them. There! She grabbed her pen and quickly circled the wanted ad in the automotive section which was looking for a 1967 Ford Mustang S-Code Fastback in black, and looked at the phone number listed next to it. It would be to a disposable mobile, as they'd agreed, and she reached into her brand-new hand bag and fished out the disposable phone she'd also bought. Typing in the number she waited impatiently for it to connect, heard it ring once, twice, then an instantly familiar Southern drawl on the other end made her grin like a schoolgirl.
"Hello?" Cam prompted, she detected a note of expectancy in the voice.
"Cam, it's me." she replied breathlessly.
"Sam?" The joy in his voice was easily recognisable. "It's so good to hear your voice, darlin', you have no idea!"
"You too, Cam, I know it's only been a couple of weeks since they split us up, but..." She had to stop as an inexplicable tightness filled her throat and her eyes were stinging.
"Say no more!" he interjected. "I feel the same. Listen, let's get the business out of the way, then we can talk some more." She found herself nodding even knowing that he couldn't see her. They quickly exchanged addresses and cover names, even though they'd probably never use them. What they would use were mail drops and P.O. boxes, as well as disposable phones. Cam told her about Daniel's request for passport photos and cash from the both of them which she found curious, but made a note of it as well as the contact details Cam had received from him. She'd call her friend tonight, it looked like the Air Force had put him up in Boston, while Cam was in the outskirts of Austin. After they got all of that sorted out she found herself smiling happily just listening to Cam chuckle on the other end of the line. "Wanna know a good thing about that ad I put up?" he asked and she told him to go on. "I've actually received a few calls from folks looking to sell their Mustangs. I think I'll just take one of them up on the offer. This one guy has one up quite cheap. It just needs some restoration work which I can do myself. I miss my 'Stang like you wouldn't believe, Sam." She grinned.
"You know, maybe you should set yourself up to restore classic cars for a living. You loved working on your car after all, and the Air Force has already made commitments to us to help us get our own businesses off the ground. I'm sure they think if they do that we'd be less likely to try to rewrite history." She felt the intensity of Cam's silence on the other end as he gave her suggestion a lot of thought.
"I think you're on to something. It would make a good cover for travel too." he declared and proceeded to list more benefits to her idea. She smiled happily and carried on chatting with him well into the morning, bouncing ideas off him for a business for herself. Something which could help them with their plans. She'd discuss it with Daniel too, later that evening. After she bid him a fond goodbye she put the phone back into her bag and tidied up the table, which was now covered in slips of paper with notes she'd taken during the conversation. She sighed happily, unable to quite believe how much better she felt now that she'd gotten back in contact with her teammate.
Stargate Command, September 2009
Cam dismissed the solicitous airman with a nod before looking down at the parcel and turning it over. Seeing his parents' address he opened it, wondering what they were sending him. Inside he found a note from his mother detailing how she'd found a box under the stairs with his name on it, which contained a thick, sealed Manila envelope addressed to him and several cassette tapes, which she'd included. The sealed letter was curious, it was old, but he was sure he recognised the handwriting on the direction. The cassette tapes were all sealed in their boxes with adhesive tape and marked confidential. The envelope also had one more distinctive feature, scrawled across the front of it in bold letters was the directive to not open it until August 2008. He tried to remind himself what had been happening a year previous while opening the envelope with a finger and pulling out a smaller envelope marked 'Eyes Only Col. Cam Mitchell' in red marker, which seemed to contain another tape and something hard and circular, and another letter addressed to 'Generals Landry and O'Neill, members SG-1' which caused Cam's eyes to bug out. The one mentioning his rank wasn't that surprising, he just stuffed that envelope into his BDUs' pocket to open later, but for his parents to find something at their house, addressed to the Generals and mentioning SG-1 by name was almost unbelievable. He looked up to find Sam looking at him curiously and he motioned her over with a flick of his head. She got up and the other members of his team looked over as he started walking to meet Sam halfway.
"What is it, Cameron?" she asked, seeing the look on his face and taking the parcel with the sealed tapes he offered her, which she glanced at in mounting curiosity.
"Did General O'Neill come back with you from Washington?" Cam asked her in an edgy tone, she nodded.
"He was at the debriefings with me, he personally hand-delivered the letter the President wrote for the committee." She motioned her head in the vague direction of General Landry's office despite it being a few floors down from the commissary. "He should be meeting with General Landry now." The rest of the team noticing the tension which had arisen in the two colonels got up and walked over as well.
"We should go see them now," Mitchell stated holding up the letter addressed to them, "my parents found this at their farmhouse." Shocked expressions greeted him which he took in for a moment before turning around and leading them to the elevator to go down to sublevel 27.
He knocked on the open door of General Landry's office and both he and Sam stood at attention in front of the two generals until given an implied 'at ease' when Landry asked them what they wanted.
"Sir, I received a very unusual parcel from my parents today, they say they found a box at their place with my name on it and inside were a bunch of sealed tapes and this letter." He handed the letter to Landry, without mentioning the other letter which was meant only for himself. Landry glanced at the direction and looked back up at Cameron, the surprise evident in his two raised eyebrows, he handed the letter to O'Neill who scowled at it.
"What's the meaning of this, Mitchell?" asked Landry rather pointedly.
"I don't know, sir, I came here as soon as I saw what was written on it." He was trying not to sound defensive as it was a valid question. This could be a huge security breach. He trusted his parents not to mess around with anything which was clearly marked as his, after all his father was ex-military and used to the trappings of secrecy. His mother's letter mentioned the box was marked 'Classified' which immediately set off alarm bells with his father. O'Neill opened the letter and scowled even harder, looking at Cam incredulously.
"This is dated '1970', Mitchell, and signed by you." Jack declared which brought confusion to everyone in the room, Cam looked at the signature and it was indeed his, which he confirmed while still denying any knowledge of the letter itself. O'Neill read the letter and handed it to Landry who read it as well. "Where are the tapes?" he asked and was handed them by Sam.
"Walter, I need a cassette tape player in the briefing room immediately!" Landry shouted at the open door, causing the members of SG-1 to wince at the loudness. A squawk emanated from the intercom on his desk and the disembodied voice of Chief Harriman gave an acknowledgement of the order. Everyone filed out the other door to Landry's office into the Briefing room and seated themselves around it to wait for the base's senior non-com to bring up a tape deck he'd scrounged from that place Chief Master Sergeants find everything that's asked of them. Once he'd been dismissed Cam took out the tape marked as the first and put it into the tape deck to play. The voice they heard was unmistakably Cameron's voice, but it sounded older and weaker and the Southern drawl was more pronounced.
"This is Colonel Cameron Mitchell, US Air Force. After-action report, unnamed operation. Current date, May 19th, 1970. I will detail in this report the events which took place during and after the extraction ceremony performed on the clone of Ba'al by the Tok'ra on July 31st, 2008-" O'Neill stabbed at the stop button on the deck and looked around the table.
"Clone of Ba'al? What the Hell?" He glared at Cam as if he expected answers and the younger Colonel looked very uncomfortable under the Lieutenant General's gaze.
"Let's listen to the tape some more before we jump down Mitchell's throat, Jack." said Landry pressing the play button once more. Cam glanced at the other members of his team whose features showed equal parts, confusion, curiosity, amusement and sympathy. The tape continued, detailing a plot by Ba'al to take control of the Goa'uld System Lords using knowledge of future events gained from time travel, and a scheme to keep Earth from using its Stargate by sinking it to the bottom of the Atlantic, high above the Arctic Circle, while it was in transit between Egypt and the US before World War II, and it turned out Cam, Sam and Daniel got their chance to glare at Jack after his meeting with them on the USS Alexandria was described.
"What?" O'Neill asked after Cam stopped the tape after a moment and the three of them looked at him pointedly.
"You were a bit of a jerk there, Jack." said Daniel with a critical look.
"Oh, come on, you'd be a jerk too if you were still a Colonel and found out your best friend is supposed to be a dweeb." Jack waved them off and Landry pressed the play button again. It carried on until Mitchell described jumping through the Stargate to Egypt in 1929 where that first tape ended. They had to take a break for a while at that point to collect themselves. The events described previously were just too harrowing for all concerned. When they returned half an hour later, Vala still looked pale and unfocused, but everyone else seemed better. Landry looked at each person silently before pressing play on the second tape.
"I still had ten years to wait for Ba'al to arrive." There was a nervous cough from the Mitchell on the tape. "I apologise for this Generals, but I spent the next decade as a sailor in the Merchant Marine until I could sign on with the Achilles-" O'Neill stabbed at the stop button angrily and stared at Cameron with fire in his eyes, Landry's own gaze was much more dispassionate, but no less disappointed. Sam just shook her head at him.
"How could you, Cam?" she asked as Daniel just covered his face with both hands to try and keep himself from laughing, Teal'c's stoicism was marred by the mirth in his eyes while Vala was still uncharacteristically withdrawn. Cam hung his head without meeting the gaze of any of the Air Force officers.
"I'm... ashamed." he said plaintively and Daniel couldn't keep from sniggering.
"We'll think up a suitable punishment for this transgression later." Landry said pressing play again. When the tape resumed Mitchell described how he and another crewman aboard the Achilles shot Ba'al and the Jaffa as they came through the Stargate. He went on to detail how he'd dropped the bodies and Goa'uld technology into the ocean, and tried to live a very boring life from then on to keep from contaminating the timeline as much as possible. He went on to explain the audio nature of the report as a proof of his identity and how he trusted in the safety of these materials at his parents house.
"So you think you're a big damn hero now, huh, Mitchell?" O'Neill asked, some amusement creeping into his voice. "Shot ol' Ba'al in the head and saved the world from a Goa'uld invasion by giving me another time-travel headache."
"You've scored the SG-1 trifecta now, Cam." Sam was smiling at him alluding to a conversation they'd had two years before when they'd been shifted into an alternate dimension by Merlin's device. He smiled ruefully at her.
"Let's get some voice print analysis done on these tapes, Carter." Landry ordered and stood up, Cam and Sam followed suit.
"Yes, sir." she confirmed.
"I'll have Walter get these tapes for transcription, looks like one of them is about the political situation in that alternate timeline." Landry picked up one of the tapes.
"The Navy in charge of the Stargate program is just all sorts of wrong." Jack grimaced.
"Agreed. Able Seaman Mitchell, report to the brig, consider yourself under arrest for desertion." Landry said with amusement evident in his tone and smile. "Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Cam gave his CO a small smile in acknowledgement as O'Neill and Landry walked out of the briefing room with the tapes and the deck.
On to Chapter 3