A Legacy left Behind - Initial encounters

Part 3

Therefore he was convinced that this kid needed a proper and thorough orientation into the world of Stargate Command. This included the trip to Cheyenne mountain; the home of Stargate Command. The kid would get the full briefing of the program including its history, introduction to the planet-hopping through the gate, a thorough education on all things Ancient, the menace of the Wraith and a proper introduction and integration to the military contingent of the SGC.

And since he was the reason Jack wasn't dead and buried under burning wreckage, he would also get the kid into Area 51 where they designed their coolest toys to date. Time spent among the F-302 fighter interceptors and even cooler Ancient/Asgard hybrid X-13 fighters would do him good. Jack would also throw in the mandatory tours in their five active duty warships in orbit, as the cherry on top.

It had obviously nothing to do with the fact that Jack might be able to coax the kid into flying him back to McMurdo on the way back and continue the journey to the mountain with him in the luxury of the SGC private jet. Of course not; Jack was quite sure the Richardson kid was quite capable of flying him back. Maybe...

All this and more would take time. Jack was determined to get the kid through due process before this lot buried him here under the ice in the name of research, never to be seen again. Jack knew from experience that the scientists of all kinds generally lost touch with reality when they got their way. They all needed careful handling and management. And Jack was not about to release John Sheppard in-to their well-meaning yet disastrous clutches without proper training on geek-handling as well. This was the main reason he made this unscheduled visit in the first place. When he had seen the latest update the day before that the Major was out of the pod, he had made arrangements to be here when he woke up.

"I have been digging through the archives on all things Atlantis Jack - I think I'm quite close to figuring out the last recorded gate address to where the Ancients took off to. I have a feeling it might be in a different galaxy- Andromeda or probably Pegasus. And we will be another step closer to the Lost City. We'll need to focus on acquiring a ZPM because I think we might need extra power to dial this one. I just need to decode the final bit of the chevrons and we will be good to go." Jackson added his two cents to the cause.

Dr. McKay piped up when he heard the magic word.

"A Zero Point Module, often abbreviated Zed Pee Em, or for you Americans Zee Pee Em, is a power source, created by the Ancients, capable of supplying tremendous amounts of energy. It is one of the most formidable power sources known to exist, having been developed by the Ancients of course, kind of like a miniature universe in a bottle-oh, we could really use one more of those."

"-Why, thank you for the waste of that perfect explanation McKay," O'Neill sniped at the unhealthy excitement pouring out of the chief of science. He then looked around and added-

"Well, since everything seems to be more or less on track and in all of your capable hands, I would like to meet Sheppard now."

With that he rose swiftly from his chair and exited the conference room without giving anyone the chance to regroup and start making demands. When Daniel and Weir started to follow, he gently but firmly informed them he wanted to see the Major by himself.

He found the kid sitting cross legged on a bed at the far end of the infirmary, hunched over a PDA Carson had kindly given him. It dawned on him then, seeing the still white scrubs-clad figure, that it wasn't that long ago Marshall found him half dead in a cell in Afghanistan. The stasis pod had done a good job, he thought to himself.

Carson was hovering nearby over the medical paraphernalia surrounding Sheppard. When the Major saw the one star general ambling towards him, he automatically started to stiffen up to attention. O'Neill casually waved a hand at him to stay put and went to sit comfortably on the bed next to Sheppard. His ass was numb from having to sit on that metal chair at the conference room for a half an hour.

"So, you're the hot shot who saved my ass just now, hah? Thanks for that. So how's it going? You are feeling alright after your little stay in the pod?"

John Sheppard was eyeing him warily. He was sure he was the first superior officer the kid had to report to, who was sitting on a bed nearby dangling his legs over the edge with no apparent concern in the world. Well, he was secure in his position enough he didn't have to play power games with a subordinate. Besides, proper military procedures sometimes gave him heart-burn. He preferred to avoid them both when he could.

"Carson tells me I'm quite well healed physically. Thank you, Sir. And he says that I'll need to go for a psych evaluation before he can release me for active duty. I'm not quite sure where to go from there, Sir?"

The kid managed to end the statement in a question and gave him an expectant stare.

"You're in luck because that is why I am here. Well, that and to make sure people here are behaving themselves in general."

Expectant stare turned into a slightly bewildered expression.

"If you are up to it, I will take you back with me to civilization to get you up to date in the know-how of things and what you have tangled yourself up in. Also you can tell us what happened to you back in Afghanistan, before we found you. You know-a proper debrief and such. We can take care of your psych evals there and whatever follow-ups Carson will insist on. I'll be here overnight and be leaving at noon tomorrow. So what do you say?"

The kid agreed politely because O'Neill wasn't really asking. Dr. Beckett gave his grudging consent to release him after extracting promises of getting Sheppard a full medical evaluation the moment they reached the mountain. The doctor also had some budding aspirations about getting Sheppard wrangled in his gene therapy research. Jack took an inordinate amount of pleasure squishing those at the neck. While he was sure that the good doctor would never cross any lines into human experimentation, he always felt that Carson could be quite intense when it came to his gene therapy research.

Feeling quite satisfied about the good deed he had done for the day, namely rescuing Sheppard, he left the infirmary in search of food. Near death experiences always left him starving and he needed ample sustenance before he had to break the news to the natives that he was taking their prize away for a while...