Building the First Wave:

A Stargate: Exodus story

By C.L. Combs

 

 

Crossover: MacGyver, Stargate:SG-1, Diagnosis: Murder, CSI, Charmed, and whoever else decides to join the party.

Rating:  If you are capable of finding this story, you are mature enough to read it.  There is some violence, no sex or excessively bad language, nothing out of line with any of the stories used in this Crossover.  Probably PG-13/T due to the violence.

Authors note: This is part of the sandbox universe I started about a year or so ago.  It runs approximately before and concurrent with Exodus

 

For the most part, the only universe I’ve rearranged a tad is Charmed, since I can’t put MacGyver and demons together with a straight face (not that it can’t be done – just that I can’t do it).  So, in the Charmed universe, the girls have ESP gifts instead of powers, and since they are not fighting demons, Prue is alive.  I have tried hard to keep all the girls in character. Otherwise, things are the same for the other shows up until Anubis’ attack.

 

I want to thank Shallan, Sealie, and LoriW for beta’ing and support, and Teri for posting.

 

Enjoy the ride.

 

Disclaimer: Most of characters are not mine. I'm borrowing them out of deep reverence, affection and respect. I will accept only personal fulfillment, and no monetary gain. If you do sue, you will not get much and I will send over my Black Lab mix, who will stare at you pathetically for hours and probably con you out of all your food. 

 

Feedback: Please send any comments to spacecloud@juno.com

 

 

12 days after Anubis’ attack

 

MacGyver woke up as the plane touched down on the tarmac.  About the last thing he wanted to do was go to Washington DC. He’d rather be with his son and Lisa with all the earthquakes and volcanoes erupting around the world.  But it was impossible to say no to the President of the United States, no matter how you felt.  Whatever it was, it had to be important.

 

Besides, a Michael O’Neill had asked to meet him.  Mac was still trying to figure out where the kid fit in.  He said he was connected to his cousin, Jack, but that didn’t make sense. However, the anxiety in the young voice convinced him that the kid was truly worried about him. 

 

Maybe the kid could explain to him how his cousin saved the world.  That was just one part of the President’s historic speech that Mac was still trying to wrap his brain around.  That’s not counting the aliens and interstellar travel part.

 

Mac sighed as the people around him stood up.  L.A. was a disaster zone and the quakes continued to hit.  With so much devastation, it was becoming increasingly unsafe to stay.  The deciding factor for him had been when his son, Sam, had been hurt. He had been helping a mother and her two daughters out of a collapsed building when he was hit by a beam. The docs said that his shoulder should heal without complications, but it had been too close for MacGyver’s nerves.  He had left the young man with Lisa Woodman in Vail, trusting her to keep Sam from overdoing.

 

Spying a young black couple with a small child reminded MacGyver of the Coltons.  The family took some hits, but Billy, his wife and sons survived, along with Jesse and his son, Willy.  Mac wanted to get them out of L.A. as well.  Perhaps when he got back.

 

Once he reached the baggage area, he glanced around, wondering how he’d recognize Michael.  Then he spotted a teenager standing off to the side.  The kid looked exactly how he remembered Jack at that age.  He grabbed his suitcase off the belt then strolled over to the young man.

 

The kid gave him a slow smile.  “Hi, Gus.”

 

Mac internally winced.  Jack must have told him that nickname.  “You’re Michael?”

 

“People call me MJ.”

 

“MJ then.”  Mac glanced around.  “I think there’s supposed to be someone to pick me up.”

 

“Yeah, they’re out this way.  President Hayes gave me permission to catch you up to speed.”

 

Mac lifted an eyebrow, but followed the kid to the limousine.   MJ opened the door.  “Come on.  I’ve got a lot to tell you.” 

 

Two hours later, Mac decided that was the understatement of the century.  He stared into space as he wondered how he had missed so much.  Not only were there aliens, but his cousin had both fought some and made friends with others.  His life had been filled with wormholes, zat guns, evil snake-like parasites and clones.  It made his own life look tame.  Briefly, Mac wondered if he should be looking for Candid Camera.

 

Only, there was one person who made it real.  He finally glanced at the kid beside him. Actually, he wasn’t a kid.  He was a clone of Jack, with Jack’s memories.  Yet, the clone seems more vulnerable than his cousin.  Mac wondered just how hard life had been for him the past year.  Obviously, there weren’t many people he could talk to.  Not that Jack ever wanted to talk before.  But the kid version seemed to be reaching out. Mac decided to test the water by softly asking, “What are you doing now?”

 

MJ sighed.  “I’m going to high school in Denver.  But with the Stargate being ‘outed’, I’m concerned as to what else might become public.”

 

Mac nodded.  Between the on-going disasters and the hysteria over aliens attacking the planet, who knew how the general public would react to the news of a clone.  “You can stay with us,”  Mac suggested.

 

“You’ve already got a lot on your plate, Gus.”

 

Mac shrugged.  “Yeah, but family’s family.  I should have been there after Charlie.”

 

MJ stared at his hands.  “I… I mean, Jack, should have let you.  I, he, we wanted to call, but didn’t know what to say.”

 

“Sounds confusing, with all those he’s and we’s.”

 

“I’m getting use to it.” MJ looked up.  “We’re at the White House.”

 

Mac nodded, then quietly stated, “Jack did try to call me, a couple of weekends ago.  I wasn’t home.”

 

The kid looked at him in surprise as Mac stepped out of the limo.

 

**********

 

He was in the Oval office.  The real Oval office, the seat of power for the entire country.  To MacGyver, standing almost on top of the presidental seal was more unbelievable than clones and aliens. It didn’t feel right to be there, let alone sit down.  Uneasy, he kept his hands in his pockets and studied his surroundings.

 

A door opened and President Henry Hayes strolled in.  He eagerly held out a hand.  “Mr. MacGyver!  Welcome to DC.”

 

“Mr. President,” Mac replied, shaking the hand.  “It’s an honor to be here.  Though I’m not exactly sure why I’m here.”

 

“Have a seat and we’ll discuss it.”  Once Mac had sat down on a couch near the president’s chair, Hayes continued, “I trust Duplicate O’Neill has filled you in on the Stargate project?”

 

“Yeah, he did.”

 

“Rather overwhelming, isn’t it.”

 

“A bit.”

 

“I didn’t believe it at first, when I was briefed.”

 

Mac shifted his shoulders, trying to get comfortable with little success.  “Your speech the other day helped.”

 

“That’s good to hear.  And I understand your son was injured in the earthquakes.  How’s he doing?”

 

“He’s doing better.  Doc says he’ll make a full recovery.”  Mac met the President’s eyes and took a deep breath.  “Why am I here?  Is it because of Jack?”

 

President Hayes’ smile got wider.  “I knew I’d like you.  Straight to the point.”  Then his face turned serious.  “Actually, you’d already made my short list before I found out the connection between you and O’Neill.”

 

“Short list?”

 

“As you already know, we’ve been having movement on just about all our major fault lines in the US.  Shipping on the Mississippi has been disrupted from activity along the New Marid fault zone.  There have even been tremors felt in the East.  I’ve already had to announce large-scale evacuations of San Francisco and Tacoma and, I regret to inform you, that I’ll probably be making a similar announcement for L.A. and much of the Pacific coast this evening. Our geologists tell me that it’s only going to get worse.”

 

MacGyver could feel his gut twist at the news. Perhaps the President wanted him, as one of the few surviving members of the Phoenix Foundation, to organize the evacuations.  “Then where do I fit in?”

 

“When I say worse, I mean worse, Mr. MacGyver.”

 

“Just MacGyver.”

 

“MacGyver, then.  I was told two days ago that the caldera under Yellowstone is showing signs of coming to life.  If things continue on their present course, we may have only five to seven years before it blows in a supereruption.”

 

Mac leaned back, stunned.  “But, but, that would dump an enormous amount of ash across the middle of the US.  Decimate the US.  Affect global climate…”

 

“Indeed it would.”  The president paused, watching the emotions rolling around MacGyver’s face as he absorbed the news.  “However, in the face of this final overwhelming disaster, we also have an opportunity that was unimaginable before.  We can colonize other planets.”

 

MacGyver blinked. 

 

The President smiled.  “That’s why you’re on my short list.  I need capable leaders who can adapt quickly to new situations, and who are familiar with living off the land.  I’m impressed by your record, both in the DXS and at Phoenix.  You are exactly who I need to lead a team to colonize a new world.”

 

“You want me to do WHAT?”

 

“Lead a colony.”  Ignoring the growing panic on MacGyver’s face, Hayes continued, “Now, I know that it’s a large task.  We have a lot of organizing to do, as well as picking personnel and training.  We’ve decided that we need to start small, with a group of scientists to check things out, then grow by adding farmers, and eventually building cities.”

 

MacGyver blinked again.  “We can do that?”

 

“Sure we can,” the President replied, patting his knee.  “We have to.  Just the current homeless population is large and growing; we need to provide them the opportunity for new places to live.  We also have to be able to feed everyone, here and out there.  It’s a big task, but I trust that you are someone who can help me pull it off.”

 

“Can I have a few more details?”

 

An hour later, Mac was rubbing his forehead.  A part of him still couldn’t believe he was in the Oval office discussing a major evacuation of the US.  The knots in his stomach assured him that they were.  Could he do this?  Did he really have a choice?

“So, that’s the basic plan,” Hayes declared, leaning back.  “The one thing we haven’t discussed is what you want out of this deal.”

 

“What?”

 

Hayes smiled.  “You’re taking on a massive task.  We haven’t discussed compensation for you.”

 

With a sigh, Mac sank deeper into the couch, thinking.  Then he looked straight into the eyes of the President.  “The main thing that’ll make this work is people.  I want to be able to chose who goes, especially the first and second waves.”

 

“Agree.”

 

“Secondly, I want my son, my protégé Lisa Woodman, and MJ O’Neill on my first wave team.”

 

“Your son and Ms. Woodman will be cleared.  However, we may need Duplicate O’Neill here.  He has most of O’Neill’s knowledge.  With the original unreachable, that makes him invaluable to us.”

 

For the first time since the meeting began, MacGyver felt his anger rise.  “With all due respect, sir, MJ will be of more use to me, out there beyond the Stargate, than here as a high school student scared of being revealed as a clone.”

 

“Actually,” Hayes admitted, “I’ve had rumbling from other groups who would like to use his youthful looks and knowledge of covert ops.”

 

His gut did another twist, thinking of the vulnerable clone tossed into the black ops Jack use to do.  “Mr. President, MJ may have Jack’s knowledge, but he’s got a teenaged body.  He hasn’t developed the size or strength to handle those kinds of operations.” 

 

“Wouldn’t it be the same, sending him through the Stargate?”

 

“This is a different mission.  MJ won’t be scouting for the military like Jack did.  He’ll be working with civilians colonizing a new planet.  I can assign him tasks that will give him a chance to develop his adult strength while still being useful.  He also has knowledge of what others have found through the Stargate.  He knows who have been friendly or hostile in the past. He has more experience with the dangers out there than anyone else except the other members of Jack’s SG team.  That’s an edge I don’t have, and one I’ll need to make sure my people and I survive and achieve our goals. Allow me that edge, and allow him the chance to use his abilities while his body grows up.”

 

A slow grin crossed the President’s face.  “I knew I’d like you.  Okay, you’ve convinced me.  If Duplicate O’Neill buys it, too, you can take him.”

 

MacGyver’s own grin appeared.  “Thank you.”

 

*********

 

Pausing at MJ’s hotel room door, MacGyver took a deep breath.  While the human inside looked like a teenager, he was still Jack O’Neill.  Mac knew from a lifetime of experience that Jack could be stubbornly independent.  It was just as likely that the clone would tell him where to stick it as oppose to accepting his offer.  It was hard for Mac to predict which way MJ will go.

 

What was surprising was how much MacGyver wanted MJ to agree.  During the past two weeks, he had realized how much he missed his old friendship with Jack.  He also knew that the clone of his cousin was vulnerable and lonely.  The question was whether that vulnerability would push MJ towards what was left of his family, or away from the old wounds. 

 

There was only one way to find out.  Mac knocked.

 

Surprise briefly crossed MJ’s face when he found Mac at his door. “Hey, Gus.  Come on in.”

 

Mac followed him, wondering if MJ thought he would leave DC without contacting him again.  That made him more resolved to talk the young man into joining his first wave.

 

A collection of school books and papers cluttered the small table.  Mac lifted an eyebrow.  “Homework?”

 

MJ rolled his eyes.  “Shocker, Gus.  High schools are still handing out assignments.”  He waved his cousin to the only chair as he plopped onto the end of the bed.  “How’d the meeting with the President go?”

 

Mac grinned.  “Now I have a story to tell you.”

 

After Mac explained the colony project, MJ could only nod his head.  “Eons ago, the Goa’uld transplanted humans from Earth to other planets successfully.  If you can keep the System Lords off your neck, you should do fine.”  He met Mac’s steady gaze.  “You going to do it?”

 

“Told the president I would, if I could have three people guaranteed on my team.  My son Sam, my young friend Lisa, and you.”

 

MJ blinked.  “Me?”

 

“Yeah, you.”  Mac leaned back.  “So how about it?  You want to go through the Stargate again?  I really could use all your knowledge of what’s out there.”

 

“Do I want to go back through the Stargate?” MJ repeated.  “Are you nuts?  Of course I want to go!”

 

Mac couldn’t stop the wide grin from spreading across his face.

 

**********

14 days after Anubis’ attack, Highway 15 near Barstow, California

 

Jesse Colton tightened the knot, then straightened up to check the rest of the truck.  So far, so good.  The tires looked good, the engine was running fine.  They had plenty of food and fuel, with enough guns and ammo to protect it and his family.  Which was probably a good thing.  As far as his eyes could see, there were refugee vehicles in a long stream coming out of the L.A. area.  From Yugos to limos, anything that had survived the quakes was being used to escape the evacuation zone.  It made travel a lot slower than he’d like, but at least they were moving.  It had been tough enough getting out of the city.

 

A squeal turned his attention to the boys.  His nephews were playing with other refugee kids. Bridger, Billy’s oldest, was showing Frank’s boy, Cody, how to catch the ball under his leg. Their antics managed to lighten the grief clinging to his heart.  He missed Mama and Frank so much already.  But as Mama would have said, it was time to take care of the living.  It fell to him to keep the family going.

 

Frank’s oldest stepdaughter, LaTisha, and Anita were fixing supper.  His son Willy had met Anita during the quakes.  She was a pretty Hispanic girl who had quietly jumped in to help with anything that needed to be done.  Her whole family was gone; Jesse had no problem including her within their little unit.  She had also added in her family van to his old truck and Billy’s Explorer.  Between the three vehicles and what they could scrounge up to fill them, Jesse was confident they could make it to Colorado without any problems.  His biggest concern was having enough water.  Willy was waiting in line to fill their jugs, to add to the water tank in the back of the Explorer.

 

Suddenly, the happy sounds were broken by a scream.  In four long strides, Jesse reached the gathering of kids.  Six year old Cody was crying, holding his hand.  As Jesse knelt down, he spied the large piece of glass sticking out of the small palm. It looked deep. “Easy, Short Stuff.  Let me look.”

 

A black teen, who had also ran over, called out to a younger boy, “CJ!  Go get Uncle Jesse.”

 

“Unca Jesse is here,” Cody sobbed, tears streaming down his face.

 

The boy smiled at him.  “I meant my Uncle Jesse.  He’s a doctor.”

 

 Jesse gently rubbed his nephew’s shoulder as he looked over the hand. He glanced at the boy.  “A doctor?”

 

“Yeah, he and my mom, though Mom’s a coroner.  She’s still working back in LA.” 

 

Jesse closed his eyes a moment.  With all the dead, he could only imagine the grisly task the boy’s mother had.

 

The second boy had returned, a slight blond man in his wake.  “Hi, I’m Dr. Travis,” he declared as he knelt next to Jesse and Cody.  He gave Cody a smile.  “Looks like you’ve got a little trouble there, buddy.  What’s your name?”

 

“Cody,” the boy replied, tucking his head into his uncle’s shoulder shyly.

 

“And I’m his uncle, Jesse Colton.”  He noticed Billy, his wife Yvette and LaTisha had arrived, quietly observing.

 

“Hey, what a coincidence!  My first name’s Jesse, too.”  He dipped his head down to look into Cody’s eyes.  “May I look at your hand?”

 

Apparently deciding the man wasn’t too dangerous, Cody held out his hand.  Travis gently laid it on his.  “At least it’s a pretty green color.  But let’s see if can get it out, okay?”  Cody nodded.  Then Travis looked at Jesse, seeking his permission.  Jesse, liking this kid already, nodded.  Travis then quietly asked, “Deon, can you bring my bag over here, please?”

 

Ten minutes later, the glass was out, a small stitch in place, and the hand neatly bandaged.  Travis gave Cody a tootsie roll for being a good boy, and additional rolls to Bridger and Kit, who had been standing by worrying about their cousin.  LaTisha then took charge of her little brother, taking him back to the van.

 

Jesse watched the pair go, nodded to Billy and Yvette, then looked back to Travis.  “What do I owe you?”

 

The kid waved him off as he clicked his bag shut.   “Don’t worry about it.  Compared to the last couple of weeks, that was a nice change of pace.”

 

After a moment of study, Jesse asked, “ER?”

 

“Yeah.”  For an instant, the other Jesse looked old enough to be a doctor.  Then he shook it off. “I’ll try to check Cody’s hand before we leave tomorrow.”

 

“Jesse!” 

 

Travis turned and waved at a tall, husky blond man.  “Over here, Steve.”

 

His friend walked over.  “Deon said you were working on a new customer.”  He held out his hand to Colton.  “Steve Sloan.”

 

“Jesse Colton.  Dr. Travis here just pulled some glass out of my nephew’s hand.”

 

“He okay?”

 

“Yeah.”  The blond Jesse stood up.  “And he was a brave little guy, too.”

 

Sloan glanced around. “Where are you heading?”

 

“Colorado.  You?

 

Steve nodded. “Colorado as well.  We have a friend who lives in Aspen.”

 

Colton waved a hand at the boys who were now helping Bridger pick up the ball and mitts. “The kid mentioned something about his mom?”

 

“Amanda’s going to meet us there,” Travis replied.  “Steve’s father mentored both of us, and Jack who’s now in Aspen.  Though I’m not sure how Jack’s going to handle all of us descending on him at once.”

 

“How many?” Colton asked.

 

“Jesse, my father and I, and four kids,” Steve replied.  “You?”

 

“Five adults and three kids.”  Jesse thought a moment.  Sloan looked like a tough, responsible man.  But that was a lot of kids and he was still expecting trouble among the refugees. Also, it would be nice to have a doctor on hand.  “If you like, why don’t we travel together?  Safety in numbers.” He held out his hand.

 

Steve smiled as he grasped Jesse’s hand in a firm shake.  “Would appreciate that.”

 

*********

Same day, Denver International Airport

 

Sam Malloy was waiting on a bench, ignoring Lisa Woodman’s glares.  She insisted that he should have stayed at her place, but he was anxious to hear about his father’s visit with the President.  He had to admit there was a bit of insecurity, too. Planted during the earthquakes in L.A., he feared that something would happen to his father when he wasn’t there to help him.  It was stupid, but Sam hadn’t been able to shake it yet.  So he sat on the hard seat at DIA and pretended his shoulder wasn’t hurting.

 

Spotting the crowd of people entering the baggage area, Sam stood up, just barely holding back a gasp.  His shoulder was protesting all the recent abuse.  However, he refused to acknowledge it as his eyes searched for his father.  After a few moments, he spied the familiar, lanky figure.  “There he is.”

 

MacGyver walked up, a blond teen trailing him.  He gave Lisa a hug as he studied Sam, concern darkening his eyes.  “What are you doing here?” 

 

“Picking you up,” Sam returned unperturbed.  “Can you talk about your little visit?”

 

“Later,” Mac returned smoothly.  Sam instantly picked up the message. 

 

“Who’s this?”  Lisa asked, smiling at the teen.

 

“This is our cousin, MJ,” Mac introduced.  “MJ, this is my son, Sam, and Lisa Woodman.”

 

“Hi, MJ.”  Sam held out his good hand.

 

MJ shook it gently.  “How’s the shoulder?”

 

“Sore.”

 

“Broken,” Mac corrected.  “You should be resting.”

 

Sam rolled his eyes.  Lisa sent a ‘I told you so’ look at Sam, then asked, “You two hungry?  I’ve got a picnic lunch.”  She smiled at MJ.  “There’s plenty.”

 

Seeing the hesitation in the young face, Sam added, “It’ll be good.  There’s a fruit salad, some chicken and tuna salad sandwiches, plus Lisa picked up some brownies.”

 

Mac added, “You don’t have to be back to school until tomorrow, right?”

 

“Yeah.”  MJ looked between the Lisa and Sam, then nodded his head.  “Okay.”

 

Two hours later, the foursome were at a Chatfield Reservoir picnic table, the remains of lunch spread between them.  The wide open space surrounded them as the Colorado sunshine warmed the early spring temps.  Certain he would not be overheard, Mac told them about his new assignment from the President of the United States.  Silence stretched as everyone thought.

 

Then Sam looked up to study his father.  “A new planet, eh?  Could be fun.”

 

“Will be dangerous.”

 

“Needs to be done.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Sam’s eyes twinkled.  “When do we leave?”

 

Mac continued to stare into his son’s eyes.  “You did catch the part about being dangerous, right?”

 

Sam didn’t blink. “Yep.  And the part about how Yellowstone’s going to go ballistic. So it doesn’t sound very safe here, either.” 

 

Mac suddenly smirked, “You’ve kept up with all the aerial survey and imaging, right?”

 

Sam matched his smirk.  “You know I make extra money with that.”

 

“You like a job?”

 

“You’re on.”

 

“What about me?”  Lisa asked.  When her two friends looked at her, she pointed out, “I’m a wildlife biologist.  New species in a new setting – what’s not to get excited about?”

 

Mac stared at her now.  “You know, this is going to be rough living, especially at first, and dangerous.”

 

“So’s studying grizzly bears in Alaska,” Lisa returned. “I survived that.”

 

Mac smiled.  “Welcome to the team.”

 

Sam glanced at the silent young man across from him.  “What about you, MJ?”

 

MJ smirked.  “Who do you think’s going to fly the plane so you can survey?”

 

Sam smirked back.  “Well Dad, there’s three.  How many do we need?”

 

“At least fifty to begin with.”  Mac began picking up debris.  “But first, we’re getting you home so you can heal.”

 

“Dad…”

 

*************

16 days after Anubis’ attack, near Green River, Utah

 

Jesse Travis gently threw the nerf football to Kit Colton.  The boy’s huge grin spread across his face when he caught it.  As he attempted to throw it to CJ, Jesse glanced around their small camp. 

 

Willy and Anita were washing dishes, though Jesse suspected there was more flirting going on than washing.  Steve’s four year old daughter, Cathy, was playing with her dolls on a blanket near their Expedition, while her twin Mike and Cody Colton were playing with their toy cars in the dirt.  Dr. Mark Sloan was sitting on the bumper, watching the kids.

 

Jesse frowned as he studied his mentor.  He had never seen Mark look so pale and worn.  He had been hurt protecting his grandchildren when the first earthquake hit.  However, the loss of a community he had tended for so long was probably a greater injury than his physical ones.  Jesse also felt the loss, as well as the death of Steve’s wife, Ellen.  But considering others like Anita who had lost everyone, he felt they got off lucky.  Hopefully, Mark will perk up when he sees his old student again.

 

Jesse still felt a little uncomfortable about tagging along.  He had never met Jack Stewart, though Mark and Amanda often mentioned the fellow doctor.  He hated to impose on him, but Jesse literally had no place else to go.  He had always felt close to Mark and Steve, and he wanted to make sure they got to Aspen okay.  But afterwards, Jesse feared he would be more of burden than a help.

 

Catching the ball from Bridger, Jesse shot it off to Deon.  Then he noticed Jesse Colton talking in his cell phone.  He had thought it was only for emergencies.  He glanced at Deon and nodded to the kids.  The teen nodded back.  He had blossomed into a good, responsible young man since Amanda had adopted him.  He would keep an eye on the younger boys.

 

Colton had just shut his phone as he approached.  Waving his hand at the device, Travis asked, “Anything I need to worry about?”

 

A huge grin that rivaled his nephew’s crossed his face.  “That was my friend, MacGyver.  Says he’s in the neighborhood and he’ll be here in a few.”

 

Jesse lifted his eyebrows.  “In the neighborhood?”

 

“Yeah, I know it sounds weird, except that it’s coming from Mac.  That cat has a knack for showing up where you least expect him, and usually where he’s most needed.”

 

Half an hour later, a lanky man rode into their camp on a motorcycle.  As soon as his helmet was off, revealing his gray-white hair, the Colton boys were shouting, “MacGyver!  MacGyver!”

 

Jesse smiled as he saw the tall man kneel down to give each boy a hug.  He gave Cody an especially tight one.  It made sense; most likely he was friends with Cody’s parents, who had died in the quakes.  Then he walked over to give LaTisha a hug, and shook Jesse Colton’s hand.  Then the two tall men walked around to the small tent they’d set up for the night.

 

Later, as he was helping Deon lay out the sleeping bags, he heard the other Jesse call his family over.  Unexpectedly, he walked over to him.  “Travis, you might be interested in this, too.”

 

Jesse stepped around the truck to spot Mark talking to MacGyver.  There was a little more life in his mentor’s eyes.  Mark waved at Jesse.  “There he is.  He’s turned into a very fine doctor.”

 

Aware of his slight blush from Mark’s praise, Jesse held out a hand.  “Nice to meet you. The Coltons have talked a lot about you.”

 

MacGyver shook the hand firmly.  “We’ve been friends a long time.”

 

“MacGyver worked with the Phoenix Foundation,” Mark explained to Jesse.  “He and I were on a few boards together.”

 

MacGyver smile turned self-conscious.  “Good thing you were there, Mark.  I would have drowned in the committee meetings without you.” He glanced around at the gathering family.  “Anyways, let’s get this show on the road.”  He led them into the tent.

 

As MacGyver talked about Yellowstone and the Colony teams, Jesse could feel the excitement rise in his chest.  He had always thought the stories from pioneer days had sounded cool.  Now there were whole new planets, with trees and plants but few people, to explore.  Plus it was important work.  It was too easy to imagine the pileup of injuries caused by Yellowstone exploding. It would be worse than what he went through in L.A.  Then there would be the slow starvation and the diseases that followed it.  Jesse didn’t have first hand experience in that, but he knew it would be hard to handle.  He never expected to see it in the US.  Something had to be done to mitigate the upcoming tragedy.

 

Then MacGyver looked around.  “I’m going out with the first group, which will be mostly scientists and surveying.  If everything goes right, the second group will follow in about three months.  It will include farmers and construction personnel, plus other experts we deem necessary in the initial stages.  Later, once things are more established, we’ll start bringing in families and other professions.”  Mac turned to his old friend.  “Jesse, I need someone to finish organizing and lead the second group, especially after I’m off world.  Would you be interested?”

 

“Interested?  Man, Mac, it sounds good.”

 

“Good?”  Yvette wrinkled her nose.  “Go to some strange place where you don’t know anything?  It sounds scary and dangerous.  There won’t even be running water.”

 

“True,” Mac admitted.  “But you and the kids would probably be in one of the last groups to come through, once things are established and we’re certain we can protect the colony. More than likely, water and electric will be available at that point.”

 

“It needs to be done by somebody, if the US is going to survive the next decade,” Willy commented.  “Will I be able to go?”

 

“Yes,” Mac replied.  “Your civil engineering background’s going to be a plus in developing a new city.  I also suspect your dad may need some help.”  Jesse Colton reached over and squeezed his son’s shoulder. 

 

“I still think it sounds like a bad idea,” Yvette declared.  “I’m not even sure I believe Yellowstone could blow up.”

 

Mac nodded, accepting her objections.  “Why don’t you all talk it over?”

 

As the group filed out of the tent, Mac laid a hand on Travis’ shoulder.  “Can I speak to you a moment?”

 

Once the tent was cleared, MacGyver explained, “I need a doctor for my first group.  Dr. Sloan and Jesse speak highly of you, and you look like you’re in pretty good shape.  Would you be interested?”

 

“Interested?”  Jesse thought a moment.  “When you mentioned that you could designate up to 10 family members for later immigration, do they have to be blood relatives?”  As Mac tilted his head in question, Jesse continued in a rush, “Mark Sloan is more like a father to me than my real one.  If I could arrange it so that he, Steve, Amanda and their kids could move to a safer area than Earth in five years, that would be great.”

 

Mac nodded in understanding.  “I’m sure that can be arranged.  But what about yourself?  Yvette’s right about it being dangerous.  Especially since you’ll be in the first group.  While we’re picking these planets with care, we just don’t know what could happen.  There are bound to be problems pop up that we’re not expecting.”

 

A wide grin spread across Jesse’s face.  “I was an ER doctor.  The unexpected is all part of the job.”

 

“Well, think about it, and let me know your answer when you get to Colorado.”

 

**********

22 days after Anubis attack, Las Vegas, NV

 

Sara Sidle sighed as she turned in her report.  Since the alien ships had attacked, life had drastically changed.  While tourism had dropped sharply, there was a constant stream of refugees from the west coast passing through the city.  The overall effect was that it was becoming difficult to prosecute any crimes because transitory nature of both victim and perpetrator.

 

With the loss of the city’s main source of income and the drastically decreasing number of jobs, logic pointed out that Las Vegas would eventually be a ghost town. Catherine Willows had already left, her father making arrangements to send her and her daughter to the east coast.  Sara wanted to get mad at her for abandoning them, but really couldn’t.  She had Lindsay to protect. 

 

Walking into the break room, Sara spied her fellow CSIs, Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown.  Nick smiled at her.  “All done?”

 

“Yeah.  This is getting ridiculous.”  Sara waved around them.  “At this rate, I keep wondering how long we’re going to have a job.”

 

“Never thought I’d see the day when we’d have nothing to do,” Warrick admitted.

 

A tall, graying blond man poked his head inside.  “Hello?  Do you know where I can find Gil Grissom?”

 

“Second office to the right,” Nick replied in his friendly drawl.

 

“Thanks.”

 

The trio watched the man leave, then looked at each other.  “Have you ever seen him before?” Warrick asked.

 

Both Sara and Nick shook their heads.  “Perhaps he’s here to say they’re closing Vegas,” Nick joked.

 

“At this rate, it’ll be soon.  Then we’re all going to need to move, probably east of here,” Warrick remarked.  “Which is wild, considering I’ve lived my whole life in Vegas.”

 

“Well, I can’t say I want to go back to Texas.”  Nick carefully tore a paper cup into pieces, his face unusually blank.  “My sister said there’s more people than work.”

 

Sara sighed.  “With most of California a disaster zone, I don’t have any place else to go.”

 

“Me, neither.”  They looked up to spy Greg Saunders, their lab expert, at the door.

 

“Your sister get out of San Francisco okay?”  Nick asked.

 

“Yeah.”  Greg sat in an empty chair.  “She and a couple of our cousins managed to get on one of the flights to Chicago.  But she says it’s chaos.”

 

“This is so insane,” Sara declared, waving her hands.  “Who’d have thought that aliens, real aliens, would do this?”

 

“I doubt they intended to shake us apart,” Nick pointed out dryly.

 

“No, they just wanted to destroy us or enslave us,” Greg added matter-of-factly.  When the others stared at him, he looked back in surprise.  “Don’t you people read the internet?”

 

“You believe what’s on the ‘net?” Sara asked.

 

“Hey, that’s where you find all the latest and best information,” Greg defended.

 

Nick hid a smirk and asked, “Okay, I’ll bite.  What did you find on the web?”

 

“Basically, there are these dangerous aliens called Goa’uld who enslave humans, and this Anubis alien was the worst of the lot.  But the Air Force somehow found out, and have been sending teams to various planets to fight against the Goa’uld and find ways to protect us. “

 

Sara stared at him in disbelief. “How can we send people to other planets when we can’t even get to Mars?”

 

Greg rolled his eyes.  “By the Stargate!  Didn’t you listen to the president?  I read that Jack O’Neill led one of the teams.”

 

“He’s the guy who used the old device at the South Pole to kill the aliens, right?”  Warrick interjected.

 

“Correct,” Greg replied, lifting his eyebrows up and down excitedly.  “They’ve been trying to stop Anubis, so Anubis came here to destroy us.  Only O’Neill got the information about the Antarctica site, so he could protect us with the ancient do-hickey.”

 

“You can’t tell me you honestly believe all that, Greg,” Sara asked.

 

“After the light show three weeks ago, I believe it,” Nick declared.  “It was amazing.”

 

“But why all the earthquakes?” Warrick asked.

 

“Nobody seems to know that,” Greg admitted.  “I’ve seen theories that Anubis did something before he died, or that debris hit the Earth just right, or that the alien device did it.  Though I doubt that last one.  Why have a defensive weapon that tears your planet apart?  But you want to know the really scary thing?”  Everyone leaned in closer.  “They say that Yellowstone might blow.”

 

Sara leaned back, a skeptical look on her face.  “No way.”

 

“Yes, way.  They’re worried about what it might do to the West and Midwest.”

 

Nick slowly shook his head.  “All that ash, over the bread basket of America?  That’s serious shit.”

 

“Which is exactly what we’d all be in,” Warrick pointed out.  “No Midwestern farms would seriously impact eating, especially with California already in chaos.  And that’s not counting public health.  Volcanic ash can do some pretty nasty things to human lungs.”

 

“So what can we do about it?” Sara asked fatalistically.  “It’s not like we can prevent a volcano from exploding.”

 

“Why don’t you all come with us to breakfast and find out.”  Guiltily, all four looked up at Gil Grissom’s voice. 

 

Their supervisor was at the doorway with the stranger.  The stranger smiled at them.  “I’m buying.”

 

“Really?” Greg perked up.  “I’ll go.”

 

“Me, too,” Nick added.  Both Sara and Warrick nodded.

 

An hour later, all six sat in a back booth of their favorite diner and listened to MacGyver explain the situation and about the Colony team he was setting up.  “I won’t mislead you,” Mac summed up.  “It’s potentially very dangerous.  I can’t guarantee that you’ll ever return to Earth.  But it’s also the chance of a lifetime.”

 

“So basically, you need people to check out other planets and set up new places to live and grow food.”  Nick looked thoughtful.  “Where do we come in?”

 

“We’ll need to analyzes everything we find.”  Mac waved his hands.  “When we came to America, Native Americans were already here and could give us some ideas what plants were good and which weren’t.  We won’t have that luxury where we’re going.  While I’ve been told that most of these planets with Stargates have trees and plants, we’re going to have to test them.  That’s where all of you come in.  You already know your way around a lab and how to collect samples.  You’ll be given training on the specifics.  Your kind of expertise is exactly what I need.”

 

Everyone sat in silence.  Gil Grissom quietly asked, “How much time do we have to think about it, Mac?”

 

MacGyver pulled out a stack of business cards and handed them out.  “Give me a call.  If you’re interested, I can make arrangements to fly you out to Colorado two weeks from today.”  He looked at each person at the table.  “This is a big decision.  Take your time to think about it, and let me know.”

 

 

Three days later, Nick, Sara, Greg and Warrick were at the same table.  Warrick studied his fellow CSIs, who were unusually quiet.  “You guys thinking about MacGyver’s offer?”

 

As Nick and Sara nodded their heads solemnly, Greg grinned.  “What’s to think about?  I knew I was going as soon as MacGyver made it.”  At the disbelieving stares, he explained, “It’s a no brainer.  I mean, we’re talking about exploring a new planet!”

 

“It’s going to be really dangerous, Greg,” Sara pointed out.  “We literally don’t know anything about where we’re going.  Add in those aliens like the one that attacked Earth, and you may be dead by the end of the first week!”

 

“Maybe,” Greg conceded.  “But I’d rather go out in a blaze of glory than slowly starve to death.”

 

“Greg’s got a point.”  Now Sara and Warrick were staring at Nick.  He leaned back in his seat.  “Hey, I’m sure I’ve spent more time than Greggo thinking about it, but it makes sense.  We’ve got no guarantees no matter which way we chose.  Life’s going to be rough everywhere.  But I’d rather be actively trying to make things better than waiting around to die.”

 

“You sure, Nick?” Sara asked, her brown eyes reflecting her fear.

 

Nick leaned closer to her.  “Sara, think of it this way.  We spend our days now trying to give the victim a voice, as Grissom would put it.  This is a chance to prevent people from dying in the first place.  Not only is there the possibility of setting up the groundwork to help feed the people still on Earth, but we would be the front lines, looking for dangers that could kill other colonists.  We’d be helping the living keep on living.”

 

“And talk about field work.”  Greg waved his arms.  “We’re going to be doing things and seeing things we’ve never dreamed of.  It’ll take more than our lifetimes to explore a whole planet.”

 

“That’s for sure,” Warrick finally commented.  “Think of all the papers you could write, Sara, without having to think too hard.”

 

Sara turned to him.  “You, too?”

 

Warrick shrugged.  “Somebody’s got to do it.  And we probably have to leave here within the next year.  If I have to leave Vegas, I might as well do it up big.”

 

“It’s about life, Sara,” Nick continued to plead his case.  “Our lives, and the lives of our children.  What we do now could impact future generations in ways we can’t even comprehend.”

 

“Sure it’s dangerous,” Warrick added.  “Sure, we could die.  But with the risk is an incredible reward.”

 

“Join us, Sara,” Greg added his own plead.  “We’re too good a team to break up now.”

 

Sara looked at each man at the table.  They were all like brothers to her, the only family she had.  Could she overcome her fear of the unknown and step forward with them?  She took a deep breath, and felt her strong will surge up inside.  People would be counting on them, on her.  She couldn’t let them down.  She gave them a slow smile.  “Okay, I’m with you.  Who’s calling MacGyver?”

 

“I will.”  All four looked up to see that their supervisor still had his incredible timing.  Gil smiled at them.  “I take it you’re all going?”

 

“Yeah, are you going, too?”  Greg asked.

 

“Mac knew that I couldn’t turn down the chance to document the insect life of a whole new planet.  It’s a dream come true.”

 

Sara smiled as the rest of the guys chuckled.  Of course Grissom couldn’t turn that down.  Another surge of strength flowed through her.  This was the right choice.

 

*************

28 days after Anubis’ attack,University of Chicago

 

“Just think it over, and give me a call in a couple of days,”MacGyver advised as he handed the husky, dark-haired man his card.  “We could really use your expertise.”

 

Joe Pallen watched the man leave.  “There is no way I’m going to rough it on another planet,” he growled.

 

Another man stepped out of the door behind him.  “Yes, you are.”

 

*************

38 days after Anubis’ attack, Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

 

Paige Mathews walked out of the office, somehow managing not to slam the door.  Emotions surged through her.  She wasn’t exactly sure if she wanted to scream in anger or cry in frustration.  It had been that kind of a day.

 

Once around the corner, she stopped and took a deep breath, running her hands through her deep red hair.  It was time to meet her oldest sister, Prue Halliwell.  If she burst into tears in front of Prue, she would try to fix things.  Prue had enough on her plate without worrying about her baby sister.  Paige had to pull herself together.

 

After another deep breath, she stormed around the next corner and right into a man.  The folder she carried flew into the air, spilling its contents all around the hall.  “Oh, I’m so sorry!”  Paige exclaimed, kneeling down to the mess on the floor.

 

“That’s okay,”  the tall, gray-haired man knelt next to her to help pick up the papers.  “They need to either increase the lighting in this place or put up traffic signals.”

 

Paige’s snicker had a slightly hysterical edge to it.  “I suspect some of the denizens down here might burst into flames if they saw real sunlight.”  Then a thought popped into her head.  “You don’t work down here, do you?  Of course you do, you’re here.  I’m sorry.”

 

“Actually,” he interrupted, giving her a warm smile.  “I’m just looking for a Dr. Jackson.”

 

“Daniel Jackson?” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“My sister’s training with him.  His office is down this way.”  She stood up, trying to straighten the papers in her hands.”

 

The man also stood.  “Linguist?”

 

“Well, she was an appraiser, but she does know Latin and some Egyptian, so she’s learning… what is it?  Ghoul?  And some kind of ‘Ancient’ language?”  Paige waved her hands.  “I’m still trying to keep up with all this.”

 

“Aren’t we all?”  the man returned, brown eyes sympathetic.  He looked at the papers he was holding.  “Resumes?”  He smiled at her again.  “Paige Mathews?”

 

“That’s me,” Paige admitted with a sigh. 

 

“Looking for a job?”

 

“Not that it’s doing me much good.”  The last four horrible hours seemed to fall on her at once.  “One scientist wouldn’t even talk to me because I didn’t have a physics degree.  I’d sure like to know how many secretaries are running around with physics degrees; seems like they’d want to do something else besides type.  Then there were a couple who turned me down because I don’t have a military background, even though I’m taking a class right now on military reports and procedures.  Another seemed to think I ought be willing to take a turn on whatever the military’s version of a ‘casting couch’ is for the privilege of working for him.”

 

The man’s brown eyes darkened.  “Did he hurt you?”

 

Seeing his concern, Paige quickly assured him.  “No, he backed off when I told him my sister’s working with Dr. Jackson.”  Since he still looked upset on her behalf, she continued, ”Then there was the guy who turned me down because I ‘didn’t stay with one job very long’.”

 

Still frowning, the man glanced through her resume.  “Looks like you’ve done a variety of things.”

 

Paige shrugged.  “My sister needed help after her first son was born.  So I’d worked at her club, then took temp jobs for extra money.”  She sighed, her anger spent.  “Not that it helps me much. The next guy didn’t think I’d be ‘versatile’ enough for a Colony assignment.”

 

“You’d be interested in a Colony assignment?”

 

“I think it would be kinda fun.  Besides, someone needs to do something. When food’s in short supply, it’s the children who suffer the worst.  I’ve got two nephews.  Wyatt’s two, and Chris was born during the first earthquake in San Francisco.”

 

“Rough day to come into the world.”

 

“Yeah, but kinda lucky, too.  My sisters, Wyatt and I were all at the hospital with Piper, instead out in the city as it fell apart.  The hospital was one of the buildings that stayed fairly well intact. But anyway, I don’t want the boys to suffer.  I’ll do whatever needs to be done to make sure they’ve got whatever they need.  I want them to have a future, and things aren’t looking too bright at the moment.”

 

Together, they walked down the hallway towards Dr. Jackson’s door as Paige shuffled the papers into the folder.  “I’m sorry.  Piper says I babble when I’m upset or excited, and here I am talking your ear off.”

 

“That’s okay.”  The man held out his hand.  “Name’s MacGyver.”

 

Paige shook his hand.  “Paige Mathews. But you already knew that.”  Seeing one of her resumes still in his grasp, she held out her hand.  “I can take that.”

 

“How about I trade you.”  He handed her a slip of paper and a card.  “I’m leading one of the Colonies, and I need someone to go off-world and help me with the paperwork.  It would also be great if she’s willing to do various odd jobs that will pop up, and it looks like you’re a hard worker.  Would you be interested?”

 

Paige stared at him in shock.  “Interested?”

 

“Think it over,” MacGyver advised.  “We’re going to be part of the first wave, so we don’t even know all the possible dangers we may face.  You might never return to Earth.”

 

Paige was still getting over the first part.  “You want to hire me? For a Colony Team?”

 

MacGyver smiled at her.  “If you’re interested, the first team meeting’s in two days.  Details on that paper.”  He looked up and waved at Dr. Jackson, who was stepping out of his office.  “See you there.” 

 

Paige stared at him walking away with Dr. Jackson until Prue hit her on the shoulder.

 

*************

39 days after Anubis’ attack, Denver, Colorado

 

MJ sat on the curb in the Seven Eleven's parking lot, all of his possessions contained in a duffel bag and a large box next to him.  It wasn't much, but hadn't been even a year since he started life as the teenage-looking clone of an Air Force Colonel. 

 

He examined the couple stepping out of a SUV.  Nope, it wasn't Mac's son.  While MJ didn’t know Sam well, the young man possessed the family's eyes and lanky build, so there should be no problem recognizing him.

 

Leaning back, he lifted his face to feel the warm rays of sun.  Soaking in the Colorado sunshine, it was easy to forget the devastation suffered on the West Coast.  When he'd heard the news about the L.A. earthquakes, he had fought with himself about contacting Angus MacGyver.  How in the hell was he suppose to explain who he was without mentioning the Asgard and clones?  Yet he had to know if his easy-going cousin had survived the destruction.  The deciding factor was when the President broke the silence on the Stargate Project.  Still, he was surprised by how quickly Gus accepted him. But then, perhaps he should have known.  Gus always could roll with the punches.

 

He was still uneasy about getting close to the MacGyver family, though.  There was so much history between he and Gus, or at least the original and Gus.  If the past few months had taught him anything, it was that any tie he had as the original was severed as a clone.  It had hurt deeply.  So he was leery of developing new ones. 

 

Yet Gus and the kids were about to step through the Stargate for an extended period.  MJ knew exactly what kind of dangers could be lying in wait for them.  Sam and Lisa were good people.  He couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to them, especially if he could have prevented it.  Thus the reason he was sitting on the curb.

 

A Silverado pulled into the parking lot.  When a tall man stepped out and waved at him, MJ waved back.  Grabbing his gear, he walked over to where Sam was opening the back.  He glanced inside.  “Whoa.  You get enough?”

 

Sam rolled his eyes.  “We came down the mountain with about half of that.  Then Lisa hit the mall.”

 

“You picked up a lot of stuff at that outdoor place,” Lisa retorted as she joined them.

 

“Equipment that was on the lists,” Sam returned smoothly.  “Platform boots are not.”

 

“Maybe they aren’t on your list…” Lisa then reached in and pulled out a shopping bag.  “Speaking of which, MJ, I want you to try this on.”

 

MJ blinked, then blinked again when Lisa pulled out a fleece line leather jacket.  “You got me a jacket?”

 

“The one you’re wearing looks like it’s been through a blender,” Lisa explained as she helped the stunned teen into the garment.  “You’re going to need something a lot warmer, especially with all the flying you’ll be doing.”  Lisa stood back and smiled.  “Definitely looks better, and it’s got space for you to grow.  I knew leather would suit you.  How does it feel?”

 

“Good.”  MJ wiggled his shoulders, enjoying the warmth of the soft fleece.  “How much do I owe you?”

 

“Nothing.  Consider it a late birthday present.”

 

Frowning, MJ pointed out, “You didn’t know me when I had a birthday.  In fact…” He paused, suddenly confused.  When was his birthday?  The original Jack’s birthday?  The day he was cloned?  Like he really wanted to celebrate that.  What date was put into his files?  He should know it to keep his cover.  Why was he blanking out on it?

 

Seeing the rush of emotions flittering around the young face, Sam reached out to squeeze MJ’s shoulder.  “Then let me take you out for a late birthday dinner, and we’ll head for the Springs.  Deal?”  When brown eyes looked at him in a near panic, Sam quietly explained, “You don’t have to hide from us.  We’ll take it as it comes.  For now, let us welcome you into the family our way – by Lisa buying things and I making sure we eat.”

 

A smirk tried to work across MJ’s mouth before he could control it.  “I could eat.”

 

Sam squeezed his shoulder again.  “Then let’s go.”

 

*************

Colorado Springs, Colorado

 

Paige lifted the dark-haired baby in his new diaper from the table and gently settled him on her shoulder.   "Does that feel better, little guy?"  Chris simply hiccupped, his tears easing now that he felt more comfortable.  Rubbing the tiny back, Paige carried her nephew to the rocking chair.  It was the one piece of furniture they had managed to salvage from the family's Victorian manor in San Francisco.  A part of Paige wondered if the ghost of her mother had protected it, knowing her grandsons would need its comfort and her daughters a piece of their heritage.  Then she would scold herself for such nonsense.  Patty Halliwell was gone, just like the grand city of San Francisco was gone.  She had to put it way and move on.

 

Another reminder of moving on caught her eye as she sat down in the chair.  The card MacGyver had given her was laying on the makeshift end table.  She stared at it as she slowly rocked Chris.  Did she really want to join a Colony team?

 

Her oldest sister, in her straightforward bluntness, had simply given her the pros and cons.

 

"It's a great opportunity," Prue explained as they left the mountain for the Colorado Springs.  "You're getting on the ground floor of a Colony.  There is so much potential for growth, both personally and professionally.  You make a good impression there, and you could write your own ticket anywhere."

 

"So I could make some decent money?"  Paige asked.  They had so little after the quakes.  While Paige missed her extensive wardrobe, she really felt bad that Wyatt only had one pair of shoes he’d nearly outgrown and Chris only had two sleepers.  Piper was barely making enough at her new job as a cook to cover rent and food.  Prue was still in training and not making very much. Phoebe would be able to contribute once her first syndicated column was published. Paige felt like she was the one slacking off, in spite of all her efforts.  Jobs were scarce with so many refugees looking for work.

 

"Yeah, the pay is excellent.  The problem is, the pay is so good because it could be so hazardous.  From what Dr. Jackson's told me, those Goa'uld parasites are nasty.  They think our only function in the universe is to be their slaves or hosts.  Daniel lost his wife to those snakes.  And that's just one danger.  You don't know which plants and animals may be poisonous.  We know nothing about the weather on most of the planets.  You just don't know what may happen."

 

"Do you know anything about MacGyver?"  Paige queried, curious about the man who wanted to hire her after such a bad first impression.

 

"Not really.  I know that he's a cousin of Jack O'Neill, and looks a lot like him.  Daniel didn't say much, probably because he's still worried about the Colonel."

 

Paige blinked.  "How come?"

 

Prue sighed.  "It's not common knowledge, but Colonel O'Neill risked his life to save Earth.  Something about how the information he needed nearly killed him when it was transferred into his mind.  Right now he's in stasis down in Antarctica."

 

"Stasis?  That sounds like some kind of science fiction story."

 

"In case you haven't noticed, we're now living science fiction.  Anyways, Dr. Jackson and the SGC have been trying to get a hold of the Asgard, which I understand is this nice race of aliens that have been trying to help Earth.  Dr. Jackson's certain they can cure O'Neill.  They just have to answer our messages."

 

"So there are good aliens out there as well as bad ones?"

 

"Yes.  And I'm sure the SGC will give you a crash course before you head out."  Silence reined for a moment inside the small car.  "I'll miss you, Paige.  And I hate to think of you in danger.  But it's up to you to decide if the risks are worth the benefits."

 

Paige sighed as she felt the tiny body in her arms relax into dreams.   It was a great opportunity.  On the other hand, she would have to leave her family behind, as Phoebe all too forcefully pointed out.

 

"You'd leave?  Just like that?  Go on some lark and leave Piper and boys behind when they need you?"

 

Feeling rather unfairly attacked, Paige pointed out, "I'd be doing it for the boys.  Someone needs to make sure they have food in five years."

 

Phoebe rolled her eyes.  "Please.  You are not a farmer, Paige.  You'd only end up getting yourself killed."

 

"What, don't you think I can take care of myself?"

 

"In a shoe shop, sure.  In the middle of nowhere?  Paige, remember karate class?"

 

Paige could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.  "I was ten."

 

"Remember 9th grade gym class?"

 

"My arm healed."

 

"What about that job you took in the hospital laundry?"

 

"I doubt I'll run into hot dryers on a primitive planet."

 

Phoebe took a deep breath, and decided to try another tactic.  "Honey, I know you're talented.  I just don't think colonizing new worlds is where your talents lie."

 

Paige now knew her heated cheeks were closer to anger than embarrassment.  "How would you know?  I've never tried it before."

 

"You don't need to try everything, you know."

 

"It's not up to you, Phoebe.  If I want to go, I'll go."

 

Then her sister brought out the big guns.  “Paige, they’re military.  Remember Gram’s stories about what happened to Great Aunt Jenny? And you have the same gift.”

 

Paige took a deep breath.  “Aunt Jenny was asked to join the Army because she was a remote viewer.  Nobody knows I’m a remote viewer; It’s not like I listed it on my resume.”

 

“They could find out.”

 

“Prue’s been working at the SGC for two weeks, and nobody’s figured out she has telekinesis.”

 

“Yeah, but you’re going to be living with them.”

 

“’Them’?  We’re talking about fellow Americans, Phoebe, not Nazis.”

 

“That doesn’t mean they’ll understand if they catch you at it.”

 

“How are they going to catch me?  It’s not like I’m going to be actively using it.  Not like someone else who uses her empathic abilities for profit.”

 

“Hey!”

 

However, Phoebe’s point was valid.  All her sisters had some kind of ESP powers.  Grams had taught them conflicting lessons of keeping their special abilities hidden while using them to help people.  She had believed them to be blessed gifts that had to be treated with respect.  Paige had always been careful with hers, but she had used them when necessary.  If it came down between using her remote viewing to help someone or keeping it secret, which would she chose?  If her ability did become known, what would happen?  Great Aunt Jenny ended up in an insane asylum after the war.  She didn’t want that to happen to her.

 

What would her flower child grandmother have said about Colonies in outer space?  Could she have understood the decision that faced her youngest granddaughter?

 

"I can take him now."

 

Paige looked up to see Piper standing in front of her.  "It's okay.  You get Wyatt fed?"

 

Piper sat on the crate next to her.  She sighed tiredly as she pushed back her dark hair. "Yep.  Auntie Prue is telling him a story."  The two sisters enjoyed the quiet moment, the only sound a soft creak from the rocker.  Then Piper broke the silence.  "You're thinking about the Colony job."

 

"Yeah."

 

"You make a decision yet?"

 

Paige shrugged, careful not to disturb Chris.

 

Piper studied her a moment.  "You know, I think I'm kinda envious."

 

"Envious?"

 

"Yeah.  You'll get to have this grand adventure someplace where no one's ever gone before."

 

Paige smiled as she continued to rock.  "You hate adventure, Piper.  You like routine, stability.  That's what drove you crazy with Leo.  He was so busy saving people and searching for ‘enlightenment’, he never had a routine you could get used to."

 

"Yes, I like routine," Piper agreed readily, "but you don't."  Seeing she had her sister's attention, she continued,  "Routines bore you.  Challenges that would scare me to death thrill you.  It doesn't matter if you've never done it before or if you make a mistake.  You just pick yourself up and keep trying.  That's one thing I admire about you.  And that's the one thing I think this job requires."

 

Paige had stopped rocking.  "But what about you and the boys?"

 

"The boys and I will be fine, at least for a while on this broken planet.  What the boys really need is someone to go out there and tame a new world where they can go and grow up to be men.  I can't do that, but their Aunt Paige can."

 

Paige started rocking again, still holding the precious weight against her shoulder.  "I'll miss you all so much."

 

Piper smiled sadly, knowing that her baby sister had made her decision. "We'll miss you, too, Paige.  But you know what?  I have faith that you'll be seeing me and the boys real soon.  In fact, about the time you all realize just how bad military cooks are, that new world of yours should be ready for us."

 

"Trust me, I already know there's no military cook that can hold a candle to my sister."  Paige paused, collecting her thoughts.  "Thank you."

 

"Any time."

 

*************

 

The Silverado pulled up next to the guardhouse.  As Sam took out their credentials and ids, MJ leaned forward in order to study the view out the windshield.  “Man, the Seabees have been busy.”

 

“What do you mean?”  Lisa asked.

 

“All that, outside the old security fence.”  MJ waved his hand at the new and continuing construction.  “Those buildings, tents, parking lots, runway – none of that was here a year ago.  And there certainly weren’t so many vehicles.”

 

“It’s all part of the buildup for the new missions through the Stargate,” the guard replied as he examined their papers.  With a smile, he gave the trio a nod.  “You’re free to go ahead.  Colony check-in is at that navy blue tent to the right.  They’ll give you your housing assignments.”

 

Sam thanked the man and parked in the designated area.  The line inside the tent was short, and they were all back out in the sunshine in fifteen minutes.

 

Lisa was looking through the thick packet of information.  “Where do we need to go next?”

 

“I think we check into the housing,” Sam replied.  “Dad should have already picked out units for us.”

 

“He has.  He left me the keys.”

 

“Willy!”  Sam turned and shook the hand of his friend.  “You all make it here okay?”

 

“No problem.  Your father arranged for us to have a small campsite over there.”  Willy waved his hand towards the foothills.  He then gave Lisa a hug.  “Glad to see you made it as well.”

 

“MacGyver said your family’s getting involved with the Colony, too?”  Lisa queried as she stepped back.

 

“Well, half of us are.”  Willy’s sunny smile disappeared.  “Yvette thinks we’re all insane, and she’s half-way convinced Billy.  They’re up in Denver, looking for work.  She and Father had a huge argument over who was going to take Cody, until Billy admitted that Uncle Frank designated my father as Cody’s guardian if something happened to him and Darlene.”

 

“LaTisha?”  Lisa asked, face frowning in worry.

 

“Oh, she says there’s no way she’d be left out of this adventure.  And my new girlfriend, Anita Sanchez, is with us, too.”

 

“New girlfriend?”  Sam inquired with a smirk.

 

Willy grinned widely, but turned to MJ.  “And you must be MacGyver’s cousin.  He said you were coming, too.”

 

MJ nodded as he shook the young man’s hand.  “Michael O’Neill, but my friends call me MJ.”

 

“MJ, then.  I’m Willy Colton.”  Then Willy pointed to the rows of newly completed modules.  “It’s this way.”

 

“Have we missed much?”  Sam asked as they followed. 

 

“Mostly, the Air Force has been offering special classes for colonists and other new employees in a variety of subjects.  Anita and I are taking a couple. They’ve made arrangements for LaTisha to complete her botany degree, and even set up a small school for the children like Cody on site.  I think the classes specifically geared towards colonists will be held starting tomorrow, after the First Wave meetings.  Father and I have been working with MacGyver to decide on people for the second wave.  I think your father has the first wave set to go.  He said he’d leave you notes.”  Sam and Lisa snickered. “What?”

 

“Dad’s already been leaving me notes all over the place,” Sam replied.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him try to be this organized before.”

 

“Well, it’s all pretty huge.” 

 

MJ couldn’t help but agree as he looked around.  He wasn’t used to everyone knowing about the Stargate.  To see so many people, including children, so close to the main security fence for Cheyenne Mountain was eerie.  It only brought home just how real the threat to his planet was.

 

“Here you go.” Willy stopped at a small building.  “I’ll leave you to get settled in.  If you like, I can stop by later and show you where the mess tent is.”

 

“Appreciate it.”  Sam again shook Willy’s hand.  Then he turned to Lisa and MJ.  “Guess we better get moved in.  Sounds like we’re going to be busy for the next few weeks.”

 

*************

40 days after Anubis’ attack, Secure area outside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

 

Sam glanced around the tent as he stepped inside.  There were chairs set up in rows facing the front podium.  Some people had already started to fill the chairs, but Sam didn’t immediately recognize anyone.  His father had been recruiting all across the country, so most of the names on the list Sam held were unfamiliar.

 

Next to him, MJ unexpectedly froze.  Sam glanced up front, wondering who among the obvious military types had been known to Jack O’Neill.  He could only imagine how hard it must be for his cousin.  While MJ’s struggle to balance adult and teen memories rarely showed on his face, Sam could feel the tension radiate from the slim body.  It made him want to protect the Colonel turned kid, or at least give him a cushion from the painful situation.  Sam gently squeezed his shoulder as Lisa turned towards the chairs. 

 

Then an MP stopped MJ.  “This assembly is for First Wave colonists for the Delta Colony only.”

 

MJ sighed, then straightened.  “I am First Wave.”

 

“Only adults are allowed…” The MP began.

 

“O’Neill.”  Sam looked up, and discovered the huge black man who had been on the stage was beside them.  With a calm expression, the man with a gold emblem on his forehead gave MJ a slow nod of respect.  “It is good to see you are well.”

 

“It’s good to see you, too, T,” MJ replied with a bittersweet smile.  “What’s with the hair?” 

 

The man just smiled serenely.  Sam didn’t get it; the man barely had hair.

 

“You know him, Teal’c?”  the young MP questioned, eyes widening.  Sam got the impression that the man commanded a lot of respect, though he didn’t seem to have a rank.

 

“Indeed.  He is related to ColonelO’Neill.” 

 

Now many of the people nearby had turned to look at them.  Sam shifted his feet as he felt the stares.

 

The MP gulped.  “Is he supposed to be here?”

 

Teal’c tilted his head.  “The leader of this team must be very wise, if he chose young O’Neill to join.”

 

MJ quickly broke in, “And speaking of leaders, Teal’c, this is my cousin, Sam Malloy.  He’s MacGyver’s son.”

 

Teal’c gave Sam a slow nod of respect.  “He is the man DanielJackson is accompanying to Antarctica.  I would have liked to have joined them, but did not arrive back from the Alpha base until this morning.”

 

Sam wasn’t quite sure what to make of this friend of MJ’s, but was willing to be friendly. He nodded his head in greeting.  “Nice to meet you, Teal’c.”  As the big man returned to the platform, Sam hissed, “Who’s he?”

 

“Teal’c’s on my team, SG-1.  He was the first Jaffa to rebel against the System Lords and join us. Saved our butts, too, then and lots of times since.”

 

MJ was mixing up himself with the original O’Neill again. Sam had feared that being back among Stargate personnel would blur the lines for him.  Times like this, he wondered if it would have been more merciful if the Asgard had simply removed O’Neill’s memories from his clone.  To distract him, Sam pointed out, “Looks like Lisa has picked out some seats.”  He followed MJ to sit next to Lisa.

 

A skinny guy behind them, blond hair sticking in different directions, leaned forward.  “Did I just hear that you’re MacGyver’s son?”

 

Sam turned and smiled, offering his hand.  “That’s right.  Sam Malloy.”

 

His hand was shaken vigorously.  “Greg Saunders.  He talked with us in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.”

 

Sam nodded.  “The forensic lab investigators.  Dad was pretty happy you all agreed to come.”

 

“We’re happy for the opportunity,” the dark haired man next to Saunders replied, a Texas accent drawing out his words.  He offered his hand as well.  “Nick Stokes.”  He then offered his hand to MJ.  “I didn’t catch your name.”

 

“MJ O’Neill.” He waved at Lisa.  “And this is our friend, Lisa Woodman.”

 

Greg gave her a wide smile as he shook her hand.  “A pleasure.  And this is Sara Sidle, she’s also a member of our team.”  As the two women greeted each other, another man approached, holding four cups of water gingerly.  He quickly passed them to the three seated. 

 

“This is Warrick Brown, another one of us from Vegas,” Nick introduced.  “Warrick, this is Lisa Woodman, MJ O’Neill, and Sam Malloy.  Sam’s MacGyver’s son.”

 

“Really?” Warrick shook Sam’s hand.  “Where is your father?  I haven’t seen him.”

 

“Dad’s out of the country; he won’t be able to make it.”  Sam then spotted a pretty redhead standing nervously near the entrance.  “Excuse me a minute.”  Standing up, Sam walked over to check out his suspicions.  “Miss Paige Mathews?”

 

The woman turned to him.  Sam was immediately struck by her deep brown eyes.  “Yes, that’s me.  I’m trying to find…” She quickly consulted the note in her hand.  “The introduction meeting for the Delta Colony first wave.”

 

“You’re in the right place.”  Sam gave her a warm smile.  “I’m Sam Malloy.  My dad, MacGyver, told me to watch for you.”

 

“Really?  I still have a job, right?”  the woman asked nervously.

 

“You definitely still have a job,” Sam told her with a chuckle.  “Dad hates paperwork, and organization isn’t exactly his strong point, either.  He’s going to need you, trust me.”

 

“That’s a relief,” Paige admitted.

 

“Come on, join us over here.”  Sam led her back to where Lisa and MJ were talking with the Las Vegas folks.  After Paige was introduced, she and Sam had barely taken their seats when the major at the front called for everyone to sit down.  An older man sat down next to Sara and they all faced the front.

 

 

MJ tried hard not to fidget.  He remembered Major Alice Eugene as one of those admin people who got so lost in details, she missed the forest for the trees.  Besides, he already knew the history of the Stargate program; his original lived it.  If it had been just him, he would have found a way to skip this farce. But it wasn’t just him.  He sat between the kids, both of whom were paying close attention to the lecture.  Of course, it was new information as far as Lisa and Sam were concern. 

 

He had been impressed with the youngsters.  Lisa may wear the veneer of a rich valley girl, but MJ had seen glimpses of a warm and intelligent young woman underneath.  She might not be as smart as Carter, but he could see her learning all sorts of good info about the animals on a new planet.  That could be important, if any were unfriendly.

 

Sam was also highly intelligent, but he combined it with a quickness to adapt.  His quiet confidence and down-to-earth practicality would have made him a great commander, if he had decided to go in that direction.  He was the first person in MJ’s new life that he felt comfortable to have watching his six.  Which meant he was going to watch out for Sam.  He knew that the kid’s shoulder wasn’t totally healed yet.  After an hour of this boredom sitting in hard chairs, Sam may be hurting. 

 

Then Eugene finally asked, “We should have role call.  Where is the Colony leader?”

 

Sam sighed beside him, and stood up.  “My father, MacGyver, couldn’t make it.  But he left the list with me.”

 

Before Sam could begin to read, Eugene’s eyes narrowed.  “It is his responsibility to be here.  Why isn’t he?”

 

Sam met her angry stare calmly and without hesitation.  The kid’s worth rose another notch in MJ’s opinion.  “My father’s currently out of the country on a family matter.  He’ll be back in a couple of days.”

 

“The team leader should lead by example.  This isn’t a very good start,” Eugene declared.

 

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here.”  MacGyver had just entered the tent and was walking toward Sam.

 

“Dad?”  Sam stared at him in surprised.  “I thought you wouldn’t reach Antarctica until today?”

 

“We did.  Just that we got an unexpected lift home.”

 

MJ smirked. There was only one way Mac could get back to the Springs so fast.  “Let me guess; Short, gray, goes by Thor?”

 

“That’s the one.”

 

Teal’c stood up.  “ColonelO’Neill?”

 

Mac gave him a warm smile.  “Jack’s fine.  After Daniel and I convinced him that going home was a bad idea, Daniel’s taking him to the cafeteria to get something to eat.”

 

Teal’c glanced at Major Kennedy.  Kennedy waved permission for him to leave.  Teal’c swiftly left the tent.

 

In the meantime, Lisa asked, “Why can’t he go home?”

 

“Because there’s been reporters hanging outside his house since the president’s speech,” Mac replied matter-of-factly.

 

Eugene cleared her throat.  “You are,” she consulted her notes, “MacGyver?  You look just like O’Neill.”

 

Mac took the list from Sam.  “We’re cousins.”

 

The major still looked suspicious.  “Then why don’t I have a first name listed for you?”

 

Mac shrugged.  “Because it’s not important.”  He began to read off names, acknowledging each person with a nod.

 

Once he was done, Eugene snidely commented, “We need to continue, especially if we’re going to be settled in five years when Yellowstone explodes.”

 

MacGyver hadn’t sat down yet.  “I have a few more announcements.  One…” Mac sighed.  Sam shot him a hard glance, obviously detecting something from his manner.  “I have an update on the Yellowstone eruption.  Due to some recent information, we believe the caldera will erupt in 39 and a half months.”

 

Silence met the news, as everyone realized how much time had been cut.  Then Mac continued, “Thus our departure has been pushed up to three weeks from today.  It means we’ll have to put in some extra hours during the next few weeks, but the sooner we’re up and running, the better.”

 

MJ stared at Mac as he sat down and Eugene began to talk again.  The new calculations had to come from Thor.  Man, they were in trouble.  He just hoped that the group could come together and be ready to leave in three weeks.  He had trained recruits for the Stargate program, but those were soldiers who expected trouble.  The people around him now were scientists, more like Daniel in the beginning.  The only thing predictable about scientists was that they usually headed straight for trouble.  He could see so many ways for the project to go wrong.  Good thing Gus had him to balance things out.

 

*************

 

Sam rubbed his face as he stood in line at the cafeteria.  He was so glad it was dinnertime.  It had been a long day.  His shoulder ached deeply and there was a slight accompanying thud in his temples.

 

"You okay?"

 

Sam opened his eyes to find his father standing next to him, worry filling his face.  "I'll be fine.  Just a long day."

 

MacGyver was still studying him.  "It's a bit soon, after LA.  Maybe--"

 

"No, Dad," Sam interrupted, knowing what he was going to say.  "There's no way I'm waiting until Second Wave.  Besides, you need me now." 

 

The two men stared at each other for a moment, knowing what the other was thinking.  Then MacGyver sighed.  "Okay.  But at least try not to push it too hard, okay?"

 

“No prob.”  Sam glanced around, then lowered his voice, “You know, it would be a lot easier on me if Dr. Pallen wasn’t in my group.”

 

“Dr. Pallen is a good geologist,” Mac softly replied.  “You’ll need him to look over things, to make sure we’re not sitting on top of a major fault line or something.”

 

“He’s egotistical and wants to have everything his way,” Sam returned, carefully trying to stretch his sore shoulder.  “Can’t we find another geologist who’ll play well with others?”

 

Mac sighed.  “Most geologists are staring at the Yellowstone measurements.  Or watching Rainier erupt.  Or trying to figure out a pattern to the California earthquakes.  Or—“

 

“Never mind, I get the idea.”

 

“Hey, guys!”  MJ joined them in line, a wide grin on his face.

 

“Looks like someone got his flight certification,” Sam noted, smiling.

 

“Told ya, piece of cake.”

 

Mac squeezed his neck, a smile gracing his own face.  “Good job.  That’s one thing out of the way.”

 

Sam picked up three trays and passed two on to his family.  “That means you can join us for weapons training tomorrow.”

 

“Another piece of cake,” MJ replied happily.  His eyes dimmed slightly as he noted the way Sam held his right arm near his body.  But he continued merrily, “but it’s good I can rejoin the group.  How did it go this afternoon?” 

 

Sam rolled his eyes. 

 

*************

42 days after Anubis’ attack, weapons range

 

Grissom felt a familiar clench in his gut as he stood on the weapons range.  There had been two things he hated about his old job: politics and guns.  He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of having to carry a weapon.  He wanted to concentrate on the science. 

 

He glanced around to check that his old unit had all made it for the upcoming training.  The four young people were standing together, Greg making wild hand gestures as the other three laughed.  While technically he was no longer their supervisor, he still felt responsible for them. 

 

Then he spotted MacGyver, walking up with the three young people who had sat in front of them the day before.  Lisa Woodman was in his small group, assigned to study the wildlife they found.  She seemed like an intelligent, confident young woman.  Sara had told him that the tall, brown-haired man was MacGyver’s son, and the teen was some sort of cousin.  The family genes could be seen in the brown eyes and the lanky builds.  He had picked up during the meeting that all three of them were related to the famous Colonel Jack O’Neill.  Gil wondered if that was the connection that gave command of a Colony to MacGyver.  If it was, then for once politics had done them a favor.  He’d worked with MacGyver in the past, and couldn’t think of anyone else he’d rather have lead this expedition.

 

He subtly studied the teen again.  He was surprised to see someone so young on a First Wave team.  At some point, he would have to ask MacGyver what the kid’s background was.

 

Then he glanced around the group of almost forty people.  He had recognized some of the names the day before from papers he had read.  He would have to make the effort to get to know the others. They were all going to be stuck with each other for a long time.

 

Then five young men in BDUs approached.  They were apparently the instructors.  Grissom frowned.  They didn’t look that much older than Mac’s cousin.  Probably recent graduates of the nearby Air Force Academy.  Gil just hoped they knew what they were doing.

 

*************

 

Sam followed his group instructor from the initial orientation lecture.  He glanced at his father, who was following another group.  Hopefully, MacGyver could get over his extreme dislike of weapons to handle the course.  At least Lisa was in the same group; she could probably keep his father from getting too antsy.

 

The small group Sam was in included MJ, Paige Mathews, Greg Saunders and Nick Stokes of the Las Vegas CSIs, Dr. Jesse Travis, and the two geologists, Doug Pallen and Fay Trujillo.  While the postdoc Fay was enthusiastic and flexible, Sam hoped he could get through the training without fulfilling his desire to shoot Pallen.

 

Lt. Donnor had them line up facing him.  Sam stood between Travis and MJ as the young officer opened a box.  It contained a pile of objects that looked like compacted curved metal.  Pulling one out, he handed it to Paige, who was first in line.  Sam noticed MJ's frown just before the officer turned back to the box, "These are handy Goa'uld weapons called..."

 

Suddenly, Paige squealed as the device in her hands popped out into a 'S' shape.  The young woman juggled it briefly in her hands, then a streak of blue of light shot out of the top end.  Everyone stepped back as the beam hit the Lt. Donnor.  He slumped to the ground. 

 

Sam joined Travis in kneeling next to the officer.  Paige stood in shock, eyes huge in horror.  "Oh my God."

 

"Oh, for crying out loud."  MJ stormed up to Paige and took the weapon out of her hands.  "Of all the stupid, idiotic..." 

 

Sam looked up to see tears forming in Paige's eyes.  "I'm sorry.  I didn’t mean to. Did I kill him? Oh, my god, I didn’t mean to hurt him. Is he dead?”

 

"Well, he's breathing."  Travis sat back on his heels, puzzled.  Sam could see his father and his group running towards them with their instructor.

 

"No, he's not dead, just stunned," MJ explained.  "He'll wake up with a headache.  A richly deserved headache."  Sam could see the pure fury burning in his cousin's eyes.  MJ stopped beside the unconscious man and began to rant.  "Anyone who hands a weapon to a raw recruit without at least going over the basics first should be shot with it.  That's common sense when you're training soldiers with a new weapon, let alone scientists and newbies. But you just hand a zat to civilian without explaining it?  Are you out of your fricking mind?  You were trained better than that!  You’re damn lucky it was a zat and not a P-90…"

 

MJ was definitely in Colonel mode.  Trying not to laugh, Sam stood up to gently squeeze Paige's shoulder, trying to reassure the frightened woman. Fay and the CSIs also stepped closer, lending their support.  Feeling the approach of the other group, Sam called out, "MJ."

 

MJ continued to dress down the officer at his feet.  Which, coming from an apparent teenager, looked rather strange.  Worried about his cousin's cover, Sam yelled, "MJ!"

 

MJ turned, anger still infused in his posture. "What?"

 

"He can't hear you.  He's unconscious," Sam logically pointed out.

 

"I'm just practicing," MJ snarled, shooting a glare at his target.

 

"Who shot him?"  The lieutenant with MacGyver's group roared, kneeling by his downed fellow officer.

 

"I did," Paige hesitantly admitted, tears still streaming down her face.

 

The officer stood up and glared at Paige.  Feeling Paige wilt under the man’s intimidation, Sam stepped in front of her and glared back.  The lieutenant then declared. "Well, we obviously have to wait for an investigation.  And you, Miss, will be placed on suspension for the duration of this class.  Then..."

 

"Oh, for crying out loud," MJ interrupted.  He placed himself in front of the instructor and stared directly into his eyes.  "Miss Mathews didn't do anything wrong.  And we don't have time to mess around.  This group is leaving in three weeks through the 'gate and they need this instruction, including Miss Mathews.  Their lives will depend upon it."

 

The officer looked down his nose at the apparent teen.  "You will get out of my way while I take care of this matter."

 

MJ didn't budge.  "Have you ever taught this class before?"

 

"No, but..."

 

"Have you ever been through the Stargate?"

 

"No, but what..."

 

"Have you ever been shot by a zat before?"

 

"No..."

 

MJ lifted the weapon he had taken from Paige and fired.  The officer crumpled at his feet.  "Well, that's taken care of."

 

"MJ!" MacGyver protested.

 

"He'll be fine, Gus."  MJ then stepped over the two officers and walked to a clear spot.  "Listen up, people.  Anyone who wants a lesson in Zat 101 gather around."

 

Sam gently led Paige over to the MJ, the snickering Saunders and Stokes right behind them.  Travis stood on the other side of Paige, gently squeezing her arm.  "Hey, if I had been handed that snaky thing first, I'd have probably done the same thing."  Paige gave him a watery smile.

 

Sidle stood next to Stokes and Saunders.  "Does he have any idea what he's doing?"

 

Sam smirked.  "Oh, yeah."

 

Stokes added, "At this point, I'd trust him."

 

“I wouldn’t,” Pallen stated snidely.  “He’s just a kid.  What does he know about anything?”

 

Without turning to look at him, Sam commented lightly, “If you don’t shut up now and listen, Pallen, you’ll be the first one I shoot with those snake guns.”  The man glared at Sam but held his tongue.

 

MJ stood in front with total self confidence.  He held up the weapon.  "This, people, is a Zat'Nikatal, better known as a 'zat'.  It is Goa'uld made, and contain a liquid Naquadah power cell.  That basically means it's extremely difficult to drain the battery, which makes it very handy to have in close combat.  You can depend on it in situations ranging from invaders in your facility to a sudden attack when you're in the middle of nowhere.

 

"Another reason this is a very cool weapon, is that it allows you to both shoot first AND ask questions later.  As Miss Mathews and I so easily demonstrated, one shot from a zat will stun a victim, leaving them unconscious for an hour or two.  They will awake with a headache and the desire never to get shot again. And it gives you time to retreat, to contain them, or whatever the situation requires.  It works well on humans, Goa’uld, Jaffa and Asgard.  Unfortunately, it’s not as effective on Replicators, but that’s another story.

 

"Now, if you hit a human with a zat beam twice in a short period of time, it will kill them.  If you hit them three times, the body will disintegrate.  So, if you're in a firefight and you want to kill the enemy, make sure you hit them twice.  If you don't want to kill them, be careful to only hit them once.  If you don't want any bodies laying around, hit them three times." MJ looked around.  "Any questions so far?"

 

Lisa half raised her hand. “When you say ‘disintegrate’, what exactly do you mean?”

 

“The body disappears.”

 

"So when the bodies disintegrate, do they leave behind any residue, ashes, or any other kind of evidence?"  Sara Sidle asked.

 

"No."

 

"Whoa," Greg commented.  "Glad they didn't have any of those in Vegas.  Would have put us out of a job."

 

After glancing around to see if there were any more questions, MJ demonstrated how to close and open the weapon, pointed out where the trigger was, and how to shoot it by hitting a nearby rock.  Then he motioned Paige to step forward.  The young woman hesitated, but at MJ's insistence, she stepped up next to him. She was one of the few of the group who was shorter than he was.  He smiled at her, feeling bad the young woman had been placed in such a spot.  "Want to try this again?"

 

"You sure you want me to touch it?"

 

"You didn't do anything wrong," he told her earnestly.  "In fact, being able to fire an alien weapon the first time you touch it is a good survival trait.  You just have to make sure the dangerous end is pointing way from the good guys."

 

Paige smiled as several others chuckled.  Taking a deep, shaky breath, she replied, "Okay, show me how to use this puppy."

 

*************

 

After MJ had everyone set up to practice, Sam noticed Teal’c and another man examining the unconscious instructors.  He tapped his cousin on the shoulder and pointed.  “I think it’s time to pay the check.”

 

MJ looked, then chuckled.  “Finally, someone who knows what they’re doing.  I better go talk with them.”

 

Sam lifted an eyebrow.  “Need backup?”

 

“Nah, it’s cool. Keep an eye on everyone while I’m gone.”

 

MJ walked over.  “Hi, T.”

 

Teal’c looked at the clone and nodded.  “O’Neill.”

 

Lt Colonel Ferretti, who had been examining the unconscious men, stood up.  “O’Neill?”

 

“Hi, Lou.” 

 

Ferretti blinked.  “How did you… wait a minute.  You’re the… I thought you died?”

 

Before MJ could snark back, Teal’c replied calmly, “The Asgard fixed the clone, per GeneralO’Neill’s request. However, to protect O’Neill’s clone, his return to health was only known by a few.”

 

The Colonel simply nodded his head.  After all, weirder things had happened at the SGC.

 

“General?”  MJ repeated.

 

Teal’c tilted his head.  “O’Neill was promoted to Brigadier General yesterday.”

 

“He’s leading the Alpha site,” Ferretti added.

 

MJ paused, trying to decide if he should be jealous or proud.  He finally settled on a shrug.  “He’s going to have a lot of headaches.”

 

“I definitely wouldn’t want the job with all those budding Daniels running around,” Ferretti agreed.  He waved at the sleeping officers. “So what happened here?”

 

“Pure incompetence,” MJ replied.  “Lt. Donnor handed a zat to a civilian without explaining it.  She accidentally hit the trigger.”

 

Ferretti smirked.  “Bet he won’t do that again.”  Even Teal’c looked vaguely amused

 

“Then Lt. Torres decided that he had to stop everything and investigate, when he didn’t have the experience to run this class either.”

 

“You shot him?” Ferretti guessed.

 

“He was getting in the way.”  MJ folded his arms.  “What’s the deal, anyway?  These colonists need to be trained fast and efficiently, by someone who knows what they’re doing.  These kids are so raw, I can pick out the green behind their ears.”

 

“The Beta Colony is a being run by Colonel Johnson.  He’s pulled most of the training crew in to work with his people.  Add in that we have a lot of the experienced SGC people getting ready to head out to the Alpha base…”

 

“Well, somebody better point out to Colonel Johnson that General O’Neill’s cousin is running Delta colony.  If something happens to MacGyver because he and his people weren’t trained properly, exactly how do you think he’ll react?”

 

“Poorly,” Ferretti chuckled.  “I’ll make sure word gets out.”

 

“And these two?” MJ asked, pointing.

 

“I’ll take care of it.”

 

“Thanks.”  MJ looked up at Teal’c.  “Would you like to help with the rest of the session?”

 

“It would be an honor, O’Neill.”

 

*************

45 days after Anubis’ attack, tent assigned to Delta Colony

 

Pallen stood up, trying to use his husky build to be intimidating. “I still don’t see why we can’t have a satellite.  One month of Landsat would negate any need for any other type of survey.”

 

Sam held back a sigh.  This wasn’t the first time he’d heard this particular rant.  “Landsat circles the Earth.  We won’t be on Earth.  Nor will we have the capacity to launch a satellite for while.  And even if we did, each satellite is pretty pricey, especially to get the resolution we’d need.  With everything going on, we’re lucky to be getting as much support as we are.”

 

“And if we do get one, it would be more effective to have a weather satellite,” MJ added.

 

Pallen puffed out his large chest.  “Why should the meteorologists get the satellite?”

 

“Cuz weather moves a lot faster than terrain,” MJ countered.  “So get used to it.  No Landsat.  No GPS.  No Spot, whatever that dog is. We’re lucky to be getting the plane the first go round.”

 

“Being flown by a child!”  Pallen gaze turned condescending.  “I wouldn’t trust my life in a plane being flown by you.”  MJ stared back, anger bubbling behind his eyes.

 

Sam slammed his hand on the table between the two.  Once the pair looked at him, Sam softly but firmly stated, “I would.  And that’s all that matters.”  Glancing between them, Sam continued, “This is the last time we’re discussing this.  We can add to our list of equipment, but it has to be something we can crate in, and it can’t cost more than our entire budget.”

 

Fay tapped her long, light brown fingers on a pad of paper.  “I think we should add more Geiger counters.”

 

“Two is plenty for surveying,” Pallen objected.

 

Fay shrugged.  “What if one broke?   And if we ran into a serious problem, we’re going to want more.”

 

“Good point.”  Sam took great care to add the item to his want list, trying to cool off.  He did not want to lose his temper with Pallen.  He’d already had enough of the man, but he had to work with him.

 

“And a color printer to go along with the initial GIS software would be nice, too.”  Fay leaned back, running her hands through her black hair.  “With as much paper and extra ink cartridges as we can get.”

 

“What, we’re printing off pictures now?”  Pallen asked snidely.

 

Unfazed, Fay replied, “Actually, I was thinking it would be nice to be able to print out maps of the area once we input the data.  You know, for the other groups as well as the Second and Third waves. With the GIS system, we can add in the findings from the other groups.”  A wicked gleam entered the woman’s eyes.  “You know, like ‘poisonous serpents near apple tree, stay away’.”

 

A smirk briefly crossed Sam’s face.  Fay’s wicked twist of humor helped him to handle Pallen.  Taking a deep breath, Sam continued the equipment discussion.  After several more suggestions from Fay and MJ, along with a few snide comments and one actually helpful suggestion from Pallen, Sam adjourned the meeting.  Rubbing his hand over his face then back down his neck, Sam tried to release his tension.

 

“Another headache?” 

 

Sam looked up to find the other two gone but MJ examining him worriedly.  “No, just tired.”

 

“Pallen isn’t helping.  Any way we could vote him off the island?”

 

“Already tried.  Dad says he’s the only geologist available.”  Sam sighed as he shut down his laptop.

 

“Then we’ll have to find the first handy drop-off to push him from.”

 

Sam met MJ’s eyes.  They looked serious, but Sam was sure he was joking. Well, mostly sure.  “Let get something to eat.”

 

“That’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all afternoon.” 

 

As the pair stepped out of the meeting tent, a tech from the mountain ran up to them.  “Are you Sean A. Malloy?” the young man asked, out of breath.

 

“Yeah.”  Sam showed him his badge.

 

“Great.  I’ve got UAV data from Delta site for you.”

 

MJ’s interest was caught.  “Really?  How many passes?”

 

“Over twenty, including some swaths across some potential base camp areas.”

 

“Sweet,” MJ remarked as Sam took the CD.

 

Sam tucked the slim case into a pocket of his leather carrying case. “Dad’s going to want to see these right away.”

 

“Nah, he needs to eat, and so do you.  Or else you’ll both be too worn out before you get there.”

 

Sam smirked.  “Sure that’s not just teenage body talking?”

 

“That, too.”

 

“Okay, let’s go eat.”

 

*************

 

MacGyver read through the new regulations.  Seemed like they were changing twice a day.  Of course, everything was so new, no one was really sure what they were going to need.  That made Mac’s job of organizing that much harder.

 

On the other hand, Paige had already been a big help in that area.  Mac smiled as he again examined the neatly ordered piles she had left on his desk.  The others who had turned down the young woman had been idiots. She had been a godsend for Mac, and they hadn’t even left the planet.  He had just sent her home for some well-deserved time with her family.  He’d be taking her from them soon enough.

 

A knock lifted Mac’s head from the paperwork.  “Hi, Gil.”

 

Gil Grissom tilted his head as he examined MacGyver. “May I come in?”

 

“Sure.”  Mac tossed the papers back on his desk.  “I need a break.”

 

“I looked for you in the mess tent, but didn’t see you.”

 

“Lisa’s picking me up something.”

 

Gil nodded.  “How’s it going?”

 

Mac sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face.  “We could use another month for organization and training.”

 

“Is it critical that we leave so soon?”  Gil shut the door to the common room.  He glanced at the bedroom door.

 

“Sam and MJ are in the mess tent,” Mac answered the unspoken question.  “And yes, it’s critical.  If for some reason Delta site doesn’t work, we need time to test another one.  With the timetable for the Yellowstone eruptions pushed forward…”

 

Gil nodded.  “Three years isn’t a lot of time to set up a self-sufficient community.”

 

“But doable.”

 

“But doable, especially with the team you pulled together.”  Grissom leaned against the window frame next to Mac’s desk. “Is there anything more I can do?”

 

“You’re already helping a lot, Gil.  Knowing you’re keeping an eye on the biology survey teams is a big load off me.  And your CSI team’s going to be a great help.  You’ve trained them well.”

 

“They’re good scientists,” Gil agreed.  “And your Lisa shows a lot of promise as well.  Even Sara likes her, and she’s not much of a people person.  How do you know her?”

 

Mac smiled, eyes growing distant with his memories.  “I ran into a little trouble in Switzerland a while back, and stumbled into the yard of a boarding school Lisa was attending.  She helped me out, and we’ve been friends ever since.  She’s like a daughter to me.”

 

“Your son’s showing all the signs of a good leader, too,” Grissom added.  “What was his previous profession?

 

“Photo-journalist.”

 

“Interesting.  And your MJ is attracting attention.”

 

Mac frowned at that.  “How so?”

 

Gil chuckled.  “Tales of the weapons training session are making the rounds.  My people already have a few theories about him.”

 

“Like what?”

 

Grissom held up a finger.  “Sara hypothizes he’s some kind of genius.”  He added a finger.  “Greg thinks he’s a young… Java?”

 

“Jaffa,” Mac corrected, eyes amused.

 

“Jaffa warrior that the SGC talked into joining us.  And Nick suggested that perhaps your cousin sewed a few wild oats on the other side of the Stargate.”

 

Mac finally started laughing.

 

Gil’s smile grew.  “Anywhere close?”

 

Reining in his laughter, Mac shook his head.  “Tell Sara that MJ’s intelligent but not genius level.  Tell Greg that MJ can show him his stomach and prove he’s not a Jaffa.  And tell Nick that Jack went through the gate the first time 8 years ago, and it was Daniel Jackson who picked up a wife on the trip, not Jack.”

 

Gil’s eyes turned serious.  “But there is something, isn’t there?”

Knowing the look, Mac sighed again.  “I can’t tell you yet, Gil.  Not only is it classified, it could put MJ in danger if it gets out.”

 

“Alright.  But if it’s something I need to know, you’ll tell me?”

 

“All you need to know is that MJ’s human, and he has more knowledge about what lies on the other side of the Stargate than the rest of us put together.  And once we get set up on Delta, I may be able to give you more.”

 

Gil’s reply was interrupted by the door opening.  Sam and MJ walked through, chuckling.  “Here you are, Gus,” MJ declared.  “You know, not eating isn’t good for you.”

 

“Lisa’s getting me something.”

 

“You also need little things like breaks.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“This should help,” Sam interjected.  He lifted his laptop onto Mac’s desk.  “Hi, Dr. Grissom.”

 

“Hi, Malloy,” Gil greeted back as he watched the young man set up the computer.  “You have something interesting?”

 

“We’ve got some UAV data from the Delta site,” MJ answered cheerfully.

 

“Really?”  Mac turned his chair for a better view.

 

“UAV?” Gris asked.

 

“Unmanned Airborne Vehicle. They’re the SGC’s little remote drones that take aerial surveys.”  MJ also sat so he could view the small screen.  “It’ll give us our first real look at the area around the ‘gate.”

 

Sam tapped a few keys, setting up the data to be read by the SGC software.  “It won’t be as extensive as ours once MJ and I can get airborne, but it’ll give us a taste.”

 

They all watched as the footage started.  “As Jack said, lots of trees,” Mac commented.

 

“A lot of the planets with Stargates have trees and grass,” MJ agreed.   “Daniel thinks the Ancients liked trees.” Gil shot him an examining look. 

 

“Looks like we’ve got swamps to the east of the gate,” Sam commented as stagnant water could be seen through broad leaves.

 

“East is where the scouting team said they spotted a large body of water.”  Mac picked up the rough map from one of the piles on his desk.  “This area could be like the Everglades.”

 

Sam leaned forward.  “Okay, now this is the UAV that went west.”

 

Between the trees, the terrain looked rockier.  Small clearings covered in grass flew beneath the UAV.  “We’ll have to check it out, but one of those clearings may make a good base camp,” MJ suggested.

 

“About how far from the gate should we be?”  Gil asked.  “I’m assuming it would be better not to set up right next to it.”

 

“I’m thinking about five miles to start,” Mac replied.  “I want to be far enough away that we’ve got some warning if something nasty came through the gate, but close enough to evacuate speedily from something on the planet if we had to.”

 

“The trees could be used as camouflage for the base camp,” MJ suggested.  “That way, we can’t be spotted easily from above by gliders or Istar ships.”

 

Sam tapped a few more keys.  “Okay, this is to the North.”

 

“According to the reports, there should be…” Mac pointed.  “Bluffs.”  The yellow rock rose sharply, then flattened out onto a plain of grass and shrubs.

 

“That would be a good place to look into farming possibilities,” Gil suggested. 

 

“Since we’re close to the body of water, fruit tree and vineyards might do well,” Sam added.

 

Mac simply leaned back and smiled.  That was their new world.  He couldn’t wait to explore.

 

*********

53 days after Anubis’ attack, MacGyver’s temperary office

 

A sudden tremor had both Mac and Paige grabbing the desk, the heaviest piece of furniture in the room. A blink later it was over. Paige looked up to meet Mac’s eyes, taking a steadying breath.  “Not even a five pointer.”

 

MacGyver forced himself to release his grip on the desk.  “Nope, but enough to bring up memories.”

 

Sighing, Paige stooped down to pick up the papers she’d dropped.  “True.”

 

Silence stretched in the office.  Both had seen too much death and destruction the past seven weeks.  Paige shifted through her mind for a change of subject. “Oh, the security assignments are supposed to go out this evening.  You should be able to meet our unit tomorrow.”

 

Mac nodded.  “Good.  I want us all to meet them, and they us.  We’re going to be living together for at least three months, and I don’t want any of those civilian/military problems.”

 

Paige lifted an eyebrow.  “You think we can overcome that?  My sister said the bias seemed to be pretty strong on both sides of the fence.”

 

Mac rubbed his face ruefully.  “Your sister’s a smart gal.  But it’s not hopeless; Daniel Jackson has managed to gain the respect of the SGC’s military and he’s a civilian.  We can at least make the attempt.”

 

“Actually, I’m rather glad we’ve got the security force, especially if we run into any of those Goa’ulds or Replicators.  I told Prue that alien identification class is beginning to feel like a horror show.”

 

“MacGyver!”  Jesse Travis poked his head in.  “I think we’ve got a problem.”

 

Mac frowned.  “What’s up?”

 

“I’ve just been to the supply tent for our site.  I’d heard the medical supplies were supposed to be in, and I wanted to see if we got anything from my wish list.”

 

Paige picked up her clipboard and consulted it.  “Medical, lab supplies, and some of the science requests should be in.”

 

“Yeah, well, we’re missing about half of the required medical supplies.  And it doesn’t look to me like there’s nearly enough on the lab side, either.”

 

MacGyver frowned.  “Paige, take the supply lists and go with Travis.  I’ll see if I can round up couple of the lab and science people to look at their supplies.”

 

Thirty minutes later, Mac stood with a small group of his people. “What’s the tally?”

 

Paige sighed.  “We’re missing a lot.”

 

“About a third of the lab supplies we’re supposed to have aren’t there.” Nick reported.

 

Sam was grim.  “Several of our PCs are missing, along with the remote meteorology measurement units.”

 

“None of the seismographs that we’re supposed to have are there, either.” Fay added.

 

Even normally cheerful Jesse was frowning.  “And at least half our medical supplies are gone.  I’m going to need more than just bandaids if someone’s seriously injured.”

 

Mac rubbed his face.  They had less than ten days before they left this planet. It wasn’t the time to be losing equipment.  “Any idea what happened?”

 

“Yeah.”  Everyone turned to see MJ storm up.  “Colonel Johnson decided he needed more than what he was allotted.”

 

“WHAT!”  Mac shut his mouth and took a deep breath.  “I think it’s about time I met this Colonel.  Where is he?”

 

MJ frowned as he studied him.  “You sure, Gus?  I could…”

 

“WHERE IS HE?”

 

Everyone jumped at the anger in Mac voice, even Sam.  “He’s at the flight line,” MJ softly stated, worried filling his eyes. 

 

Mac stalked off towards the flight line, Sam and MJ trotting behind him.  Paige and Jesse exchanged looks and followed. 

 

Nick gently tapped Fay’s shoulder.  “Do me a favor?  Find Grissom and let him know what’s going on.  MacGyver might need some backup.”

 

Fay nodded, staring after their leader worriedly.  “No problem.”  As Fay turned towards the training tents, Nick jogged to catch up with Paige and Jesse.

 

*********

 

Sam had rarely seen his father become truly angry.  Usually, it was Sam’s temper that was about to explode and Dad trying to cool him off.  Though it was understandable in this instance.  Not only was stealing supplies wrong on a moral level, but it could seriously impact their group’s ability to survive. 

 

Now wasn’t the time to indulge in his own temper, though.  His pacifist father was storming towards a confrontation with a US Marine Colonel.  There was no way that was good, and someone needed to keep their head.  Sam pushed his stride. He was vaguely aware of MJ, with his still growing legs, struggling to keep up.

 

Once the flight line came into view, it wasn’t hard to guess who was Johnson.  Even without the rank on his shoulder, his arrogant stance screamed he was in charge.  While the salt and pepper hair suggested his age, his body was lean and muscular.

 

MacGyver suddenly stopped.  Sam nearly ran into his father and felt MJ slam into him from behind.  “Dad?”

 

Mac took a deep breath.  “I’m handling this.”

 

“Not alone, you’re not,” MJ growled.  “That bastard eats scientists for breakfast, Gus.”

 

“I’m not just a scientist.”  Back in control, MacGyver began walking at a more reasonable pace towards the Colonel. 

 

“Ah, crap,” MJ muttered as he and Sam followed.

 

“Colonel Johnson?”  Mac’s voice sounded polite on the surface, but both Sam and MJ could detect the ice underneath.

 

“Yes, what do you need?” the Colonel fired back.  He failed to notice the widening eyes and stiffening stance of several of the young officers next to him.  Sam was willing to bet they knew the original Jack O’Neill, and thought his Dad was Jack.  Obviously, Colonel Johnson had not met the famous leader of SG-1.  Sam wondered if he had any more experienced with the Stargate than his father.

 

“Name’s MacGyver, leading the Delta colony.  And I’d like my supplies back.”

 

The Colonel’s eyes turned condescending.  “We are leaving in eleven days and require those supplies.”

 

Mac’s brown eyes turned glacial.  “We’re leaving in nine days, and need those supplies just as badly.  Return them.”

 

“I said we need them. We’re the best chance at surviving in deadly conditions.  It’s a waste of supplies to hand them to you when you don’t stand a chance.”

 

Taking a step closer, Mac met the man’s intimidating stare.  “We have just as good a chance as you, AS LONG AS WE HAVE OUR SUPPLIES.”

 

“Face it, nerd.  You’re just the sap to appease the wimpy civilian in charge.”

 

Sam grabbed MJ as he felt his cousin try to launch himself at the marine.  While Sam figured it was even money that MJ could take the man, it was his father’s show.  Travis, who had just arrived with Paige, also placed a steadying hand on MJ’s arm.

 

“I’m a wimpy civilian now?”  Sam turned to see a tall, dark-haired woman being accompanied by MJ’s friend, Ferretti.  She glanced between the two men.  “What is the problem here, gentlemen?”

 

“Just some confusion on supplies, Dr. Weir,” Mac replied calmly, though his eyes were not as controlled.  “Seems a large portion of Delta Colony’s supplies have found their way into Beta Colony’s possession.”

 

“Really?”  Dr. Weir lifted an elegant eyebrow.  “There shouldn’t be a problem at this stage to order more if it’s necessary.  So it would be a good idea if those supplies designated for Delta Colony found their way back to the correct tent.  Right, gentlemen?” Both men continued to glare at each other.  “Right?” she insisted more forcefully.

 

“Right.”

 

“Right.”

 

“Good, I’m glad that’s settled.  And someone better train those supplies to stay where they’re assigned.”  She again looked at each man before giving them a dismissing nod.  “Gentlemen.”

 

Once she was out of earshot, MacGyver drawled, “So?”

 

Johnson continued to glare, but called out, “Henry, Katts, see to it Delta gets their supplies.”

 

Mac didn’t break eye contact.  “Sam.”

 

Sam took a deep breath and held out a hand to Paige for the clipboard.  She handed it to him, her eyes huge.  Before he could follow the two marines, Johnson declared, “Just don’t expect our Colony to pick up your slack.  As far as I’m concerned, you’re on your own.”

 

MacGyver shrugged, though his eyes were still angry.  “I knew we were on our own.  But if General O’Neill says you need help, we’ll help.  Reluctantly.”

 

Assured that hostilities had calmed for now, Sam turned towards the Beta supply tent. MJ, Nick and Jesse fell into step behind him.

 

*********

 

Lieutentant Dave Windrider read down the list.  His eyes briefly showed his relief when he didn’t find his name nor his good friends under the Beta colony’s security list.  His mother’s uncle, who had fought in Korea, had told him that it didn’t matter if a leader was hard; they just needed to be competent.  While he had had hard leaders he could respect, the little he’d seen of Colonel Johnson made him suspicious he fell under ‘incompetent’.

 

Finally, his finger hit a familiar name.  “King, Delta.”  Behind him, the tall black man from Kentucky nodded his head.  Montgomery King hadn’t really cared where he was placed; he was just happy to explore the stars.

 

“Gafkin, Delta.”  Heather broke out in a huge grin.  The husky, Wisconsin farm gal had had reservations about the Beta site commander, too.

 

“Palmer, Delta.”  Larry’s smile matched Heather’s.  That made three out of their old Stargate training group together.

 

“Dave?”  Heather prodded when he paused.

 

The Arapaho turned and flashed a smile.  “I’m Delta, too.”

 

“Cool, man,” Monty replied, giving him the complicated hand shake he’d taught him.

 

“King, Palmer, Gafkin, Windwalker.” The group looked up to see Lt Colonel Ferretti wave them over.  They trotted over and gave him sharp salutes.  Ferretti returned it, then asked,  “You’ve all been assigned to Delta squad, right?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Dave replied for the group sharply.

 

“There’s been a mix up in supplies.”

 

Heather tilted her head, since one of her specialities was requistions.  “What kind of mix-up, sir?”

 

“The kind where some of Delta’s supplies found themselves in Beta’s tent.”  Seeing he had their attention, Ferretti continued.  “Johnson just didn’t realize how sharp the Delta colony leader is.  But now they’ve got to get all those crates back to their tent.  Thought you’d might like to get in good with the Colony leader by helping.”

 

“Lead the way, sir,” Dave immediately replied.

 

They followed Ferretti to one of the large supply tents.  A slight blond man was sitting on a crate checking things off a clipboard.  As they approached, they could hear him say, “We still need the GIS software.”

 

“I think I’ve found it.” A soft Texas drawl floated out of the tent.  After a quick consultation of serial numbers, the blond man looked up and spied them.  “Hello?”

 

At the question, three heads poked out of the tent.  A teenager stepped outside.  “Hey, Lou.  What’s up?”

 

“Thought I’d bring you some help.”  Quickly, Ferretti introduced the young officers.  Dave quietly examined the teen, thinking he seemed familiar.  Then Ferretti held out his hand to the lanky, brown haired man.  “Sam Malloy, right?  MacGyver’s son?”

 

“That’s right.” Malloy nodded as he shook the hand.  “This is part of the Delta Colony team.  Dr. Jesse Travis on the crate there is our medical doctor.  Nick Stokes is one of our lab and collection specialists.”  The dark haired Texan waved at them with a friendly grin.  “And this is my cousin, MJ O’Neill.”

 

With the last name, all four heads turned to the teen.  Dave suddenly realized why the kid looked familiar.  “We trained under Colonel, I mean, General Jack O’Neill,” Heather stated.

 

The kid smirked at them.  “Yep, we’re related.”

 

Before any more questions could be asked, Ferretti slapped Palmer and King on the shoulders.  “Now, you young-uns help out your new teammates and get to know each other.”  He looked at MJ.  “Let me know if there’s any more problems.  I doubt the General would be happy if he found out Johnson gave your cousin a black eye before you even got off the planet.”

 

MJ smirked.  “You sure Mac would be the one with a black eye?”

 

After an awkward moment as Ferretti left, Sam wave them inside.  “If you could help us set aside our supplies from Beta’s, then get it back to our tent, we’d appreciate it.”

 

Dave smiled.  “No problem.”

 

*********

 

As Mac talked with Grissom and a few of the other scientists at their supply tent, an officer walked up to them.  Immediately noting the SGC insignia and the rank of major, MacGyver decided he’d better find out what else had gone wrong.  “Hello?”

 

“Major Kerry Terrell,” the dark haired young man replied.  “Are you Mr. MacGyver?”

 

“Just MacGyver,” Mac corrected as he shook his hand.  “What can I do for you?”

 

“I’m the head of your security force, sir.  Heard you had some problems, so I thought I’d see if I could help.”

 

“Appreciate that,” Mac replied.  “But I think we’ve about got it settled.”

 

“Here they come,” Gil pointed out. 

 

Mac looked up to spied Sam and his crew walking alongside two endloaders stacked with crates.  A few new military people were also mixed in.  “Sam!”  he called out.  “How’d it go?”

 

“I think we got everything, though Paige should probably double check,” Sam replied.  He quickly introduced the new security people, who began talking with Major Terrell. 

 

As the rest of the group helped put the supplies back where they belong, Mac managed to pull MJ to the side.  He nodded his head to the security personnel.  “What’d you think?”

 

MJ glanced at the crew.  “Don’t know a lot about Terrell.  He was part of the SGC security; about time for him to be promoted.  The kids’ll do fine.”

 

Mac lifted an eyebrow.  “Kids?  You know them?”

 

A huge grin full of pride spread across MJ’s face.  “Know ‘em?  I trained them.  One the best squads to go through the program.”

 

Mac nodded, reassured.

 

*********

60 days after Anubis’ attack

 

Sam sat on a rock that overlooked the high plains of Colorado.  Beyond Colorado Springs, he could see long stretches of prairie grass and dots of tall trees, indicating farm houses.  All blend towards the horizon, which Sam knew reached beyond the Kansas state line.  With the sun shining and the birds flying overhead, it was hard to believe that in three years the whole place would be buried in ash.

 

“That’s nice.”

 

Sam turned his head to spot his father.  MacGyver sat down next to him.  The pair rested in silence as they took in the view.   

 

Finally, Sam broke the silence.  “I can’t believe we’re leaving all this.”

 

Mac sighed.  “I know.  I’ve spent so much of my life fighting to protect Earth’s natural areas.  It feels like I’m abandoning it.”

 

“Can’t fight Mother Nature.”

 

“I know.  And I know this area will eventually recover.  Not that it’ll look the same, but then nature is continually changing and evolving.”

 

“That’s what we’re doing, too, Dad.  We’re adapting to the new set of circumstances.” Sam draped an arm over his father’s shoulders.  “Who knows; a few hundred years from now, our descendants will come back and wonder why we left.  Or wonder why we didn’t leave sooner.”

 

Silence again stretched comfortably between them.  Then Mac softly stated, “I just hope we’re ready.”

 

“Dad, we could sit here and plan until Yellowstone blows up.  Until we’re on the ground and actually experiencing what Delta planet has to offer, we won’t have all the information.  All we can do is live and learn, and tell Jesse Colton so he knows what to plan for and bring with him.”

 

“I know.  But I’ve got 65 people looking at me to lead them.  I’m just praying that I know what I’m doing.”

 

Sam chuckled as he squeezed Mac’s shoulders.  “That’s why you have MJ and me.  We’ll get through this together.”

 

*********

61 days after Anubis’ attack, Halliwell apartment.

 

“Bye, Red.”

 

Paige just barely held back the tears as Victor hugged her.  Though not her father, her sisters’ father had always been kind to her.  Which she thought was especially nice of him, considering her father had been one of the reasons her mother left Victor.

 

Then Piper stepped up, tears welling in her brown eyes.  “You be careful.”

 

“I will.”  Paige hugged her sister tightly.  “And you take care of those boys.”

 

Stepping back, her eyes widened when she spotted Phoebe just behind Piper.  Still upset that Paige was going, Phoebe hadn’t spoken to her in over a week. “Pheebs?”

 

Seeing the uncertainty, Phoebe gave her a brave smile as tears streamed down her face.  “You didn’t think I’d let my baby sister leave without saying good-bye!”  She enveloped Paige in a big hug. 

 

Paige drew comfort from the unexpected embrace.  “I’m going to miss you.”

 

“Me, too.”  Phoebe stepped back and adjusted Paige’s collar.  “You just take care of yourself.”

 

“Ready to go?”  Prue asked, keys in her hand and sadness in her eyes.

 

Paige took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

 

“Can I go with you?”  Phoebe asked.

 

Paige looked at Prue.  Prue glanced between them, then nodded.  “Sure.  Come on.”

 

Picking up her bag, Paige took a final look back.  Piper was still crying, holding Chris while Victor held Wyatt’s hand.  Wyatt, not understanding the heaviness in the air, waved at his aunt.  Paige waved back, then stepped out the door.

 

*********

 

As Steve Sloan pulled Jack Stewart’s Jeep to a stop at the drop-off point, Jesse took a deep breath.  He was leaving today for a whole new world, literally.  It had been hard enough to say good-bye to the kids and Mark last night.  Amanda’s late call from L.A. nearly did him in.  He tried not to think about the good-byes possibly being forever.

 

The two men stared out the front window for several moments. Then Steve drawled, “You have everything?”

 

“Triple-checked everything last night.”  Jesse hated how hoarse he sounded.

 

Not that Steve sounded much better.  “I’m helping Colton with the second wave.”  The former police detective turned to stare at the smaller man. As friends, business partners, and practically brothers, the pair had been through a lot together.    “Be sure to be waiting for me when I get there.”

 

Jesse met his eyes.  He knew what Steve really meant.  “I’ll have a spot all saved. Just make sure you come.”

 

A sad smile touched Steve’s lips.  “Let’s get you unloaded.”

 

 

 A little further down, Lisa was helping Sara fix the latch on one of her bags.  “There, that ought to do it.”

 

“Thanks.  I can’t believe how much trouble that was giving me.”

 

“They’re cheap locks.  Between them and the god-awful BDUs they want us to wear, I told Mac I was one inch away from outfitting us myself.”

 

Sara chuckled as she stood up, not sure exactly how serious to take that statement.  Then her attention was drawn by Paige’s voice.

 

 

Paige stood next to the car, receiving a tight hug from Prue as Phoebe continued her list of reminders and warnings she had started in the car.  Paige drew as much strength as she could from her oldest sister’s strong arms, knowing it would have to last her for a while.

 

 “…And write!” Phoebe ordered as Paige stepped away from Prue. Paige could tell she was one step from totally losing it.  “We want to hear about this new world of yours.”  Then she paused as her attention was caught by Nick and Warrick carrying their bags through the gate.  “Hey, is there any way I can sign up for this trip?”

 

“Pheebs!”  Paige slugged her shoulder before picking up the bag. Suddenly, she was in the center of a group hug from both sisters.  She allowed herself a moment of comfort, but knew it was time for her to step out on her own. Screwing up all her courage, she disentangled herself, and said good bye. 

 

Next thing she knew, she had walked almost on top of Lisa and Sara.  Sara gave her a sympathetic look.  “You okay?”

 

Paige took a deep breath, trying not to cry.  “Yeah, just harder than I thought it would be.”

 

Lisa’s face was wrinkled in concentration.  “The one girl looks like that columnist.  Ask Phoebe?”

 

Paige chuckled, surprised Phoebe was even recognizable with her mascara running.  “Yeah, Phoebe Halliwell’s my sister.  The other’s our sister, Prue.”

 

“Lot of P’s,” Sara observed, wondering what it would be like to have such close family.

 

“Yeah, it’s a family thing.  My mom’s name was Patty, Grams was Penny, and my second oldest sister is Piper.  Thank God Piper decided to drop the P’s when she named her boys.”

 

Lisa draped an arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders.  “Let’s get inside.  I think Mac’s getting ansty.”

 

*********

 

MacGyver stood a third of the way up the ramp, the large metal ring behind him.  Before him, his group of scientists and marine specialists were gathered, surrounded by their mounds of equipment.  A glance up showed Dr. Weir behind the glass, watching him.  MacGvyer took a deep breath, and turned back to the ones he was about to lead to another world.

 

“Well, I’m not much for making speeches, so I’ll keep this short.”  He paused.  Twin smirks from Sam and MJ urged him on.  “We about to leave on a grand adventure.  I do not know what  awaits us.  I do know that our best chance at success is to work together and look out for one another.  Our country and the people of Earth are depending on us to find a new place to live.  Let’s not disappoint them.”  Mac looked up at Weir.  “Dial the gate.”

 

As Mac stepped down to stand next to Sam and MJ, he watched the rings spin.  “You two ready.”

 

“Yep,” Sam replied, also watching the Stargate in fascination.

 

“Piece of cake, Gus.  Piece of cake,” MJ declared. 

 

The force of the opening wormhole blasted forward, then snapped back into a glimmering pool within the rings.  “Alright everybody,”, Mac called out.  “Let’s go.” 

 

With a deep breath, Mac stepped forward into his grandest adventure yet.

 

The End

 

 

Posted: December 24, 2006

Post Feedback

 

Return to: Cindy's Locker