A Legacy left Behind - Initial encounters

Part 4

John decided to heed Dr Lam's advice as he felt the day finally catching up to him leaving him feeling exhausted. He had another long day ahead of him tomorrow.

Briefing Room

Level 27

SGC

Colorado

Next morning at precisely 0800 hrs, John found himself in the spacious Briefing Room which offered an overview of the Stargate and the Embarkation room through its clear glass window. A detailed star map dominated the wall next to the General's office, which was adjacent to the briefing room. There were projector screens, computers and other stationary surrounding the huge conference table that could comfortably seat about 30 people at a time.

"Hi. Good morning- Major John Sheppard, I presume- Cameron Mitchell- Nice to finally meet you in person- You caused quite the stir around here, man!" The Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who was lovingly fondling the coffee machine near the window, offered a friendly greeting.

"Good morning, Sir." John returned the greeting and made his way to the coffee machine intending to get a cup for himself as well. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

The handsome Colonel flashed him a grin, his blue eyes sparkling with good humor.

"Relax Sheppard; we are not going to feed you to the sharks or anything. It's just about you telling us your side of the story of what took place so we have the whole picture of the situation. We still have some loose ends to tie up, you see. And for the record, we only really start throwing our guys to sharks or alien versions of nasties after at least their third gate hop." His charming Southern drawl and the easy conversation did help to wash away some of the tension John carried in his shoulders without even realizing it.

He carried his coffee to the seat the Colonel pointed to and they both sat down. They didn't have to wait long as the remainder of the brass walked in for the briefing. John was introduced to Colonel Marshall Sumner, Marine Corps, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, Air Force and Mr. Richard Woolsey, liaison for the International Oversight Advisory (IOA). Dr Lam and Sergeant Harriman also joined and completed the gathering. After everybody was properly armed with their caffeine intakes and settled at the table, the General opened the debriefing session.

"Now Sheppard, Marshall plucked you out from the detention facility they have hidden away behind Bagram Air Base. We know they kept you there for five days. Take us through what happened from the beginning, from where you started, who was with you and what your initial mission was. Anything and everything you can remember and give us as many details as possible."

John took a deep breath, cleared his mind and then throat and started his account as ordered.

"I was sent in a Pave Hawk to pick up a CIA agent, Mr. J. Smith, from Kandahar airport. Caucasian, blond, brown eyed, early forties, 5'6", spoke with a slight German accent. I was to deliver him to Bagram but I was under orders to divert as required if Mr. Smith requested. He was on record as my crew. I was on comms black out as well. He kept on comms with someone on a private channel from the moment I picked him up and I didn't understand any of it- it was mostly code. Thirty-three minutes into our flight, a Black Hawk came out of nowhere and went down hard right in front of me."

He took a sip of his coffee and took a steadying breath and continued. Nobody interrupted him but he had their full attention.

"I followed it down. I sent a quick message to Bagram but didn't acknowledge their reply. Mr. Smith was insisting that we continue our flight but I didn't listen to him either."