The Life We Live

Family Help

Katelyn sat in her office looking at her computer screen in fascination. General Landry had given her permission to look at her dad’s record. She had top-level security clearance so General Landry saw no problem.

As she began reading through it, she realized her dad had been apart of a team that helped make the Stargate Program work. He created the power station that powers the gate. He was part of a team that did the work, but didn’t actually know what they were doing the work for. Her dad was never actually able to see the Stargate or even learn of its existence. Katelyn thought it was quite tragic, but she was here now because of what her dad helped ultimately do.

When she was finished reading it, she went to Daniel’s office. Cameron was already in there. She told them what she learned about her father. They were surprised that he helped with the Stargate Program. Like so many times before an alarm sounded and red lights flashed. “Unscheduled off world activation.” Walter’s voice sounded the base. Daniel, Katelyn, and Cameron walked to the control room where they met up with Sam, Teal’c, Vala, and General Landry. “What’s going on?” Cameron asked. “I don’t know. There’s something wrong with the gate. It’s open, but it’s not letting anything through.” Walter said sounding generally confused. Sam sat down at the computer and began working on it. Cameron, Katelyn, Vala, Daniel, and Teal’c walked out of the control room knowing they would be of no help. Katelyn and Cameron went to Katelyn’s office.
Hours later Sam came into Katelyn’s office. “I have no idea what’s wrong with the gate.” She sounded annoyed. “I can’t fix it.” Katelyn looked around. “Siler says that it may have something to do with the power station that someone else made for this base over twenty years ago. Maybe it’s finally giving out.” Katelyn looked up at Sam and smiled. “My dad was one of the people who built that power station.” Sam looked confused. “Really? We should to talk to General Landry to see if you can get him here because it was a completely independent design. Siler can’t do anything with it.”
Katelyn nodded as they all went to the briefing room to talk to General Landry. “What we think is happening is the gate is getting enough power from the power station to open, but not enough to let physical objects through safely. We think the gate is using this as a safe guard so the objects won’t be reassembled wrong. This problem has never occurred before because no one has ever built a man-made dialing system.” Sam explained. “Can Siler fix it?” General Landry asked. “No, but we know who the designer of the original system is.” Katelyn said. General Landry looked at her. “Who?” He asked. Katelyn smiled. “My dad.” General Landry looked surprised. “He’s the only one that can fix it?” He asked. Sam nodded. “Alright, Dr. Warner, Colonel Mitchell, looks like you’re going to Arizona to get General Warner.” General Landry said. “Dismissed.” Sam and Cameron stood up in respect for their superior officer as he walked out of the room.
Cameron smiled. “Looks like I’m going to meet the parents.” Katelyn laughed. “Just my dad.” Katelyn said as they walked to the locker room to change into their street clothes. They got on the first flight to Phoenix. When they got there, they caught a cab. They pulled up to a little white house with a picket fence. Katelyn took a deep breath as she walked up the steps. She hadn’t seen her dad in over ten years although she talked to him regularly.
She knocked on his door. Her dad answered. His grey eyes got huge when he saw who was at the door. “Hi, Dad.” Katelyn said smiling. Her dad smiled and opened the screen door for them to come in. “Katelyn, what are you doing here?” Her dad asked. “We’re actually here on business.” Katelyn said as she hugged her father for the first time in so long. “Hello Sir. I’m Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell.” Cameron said smiled and saluted. General Warner saluted back. “Colonel Mitchell.” He said nodding. Cameron looked to Katelyn. “Dad, this is my boyfriend.” Katelyn said. Her dad smiled. “Cameron Mitchell, it’s a pleasure to meet the man that makes my daughter so happy.” Cameron smiled. “It’s a pleasure Sir.” Cameron said. “I’m retired, call me Brad.” He said. Cameron nodded as they sat on the couch.
“So you said you were here on business?” Brad asked. Katelyn looked to him. “Yes, it’s about a power station you made for a top-secret facility about twenty years ago.” Katelyn said. Brad looked to them. He had grey hair and old eyes. They sparkled when he spoke though and his crow’s eyes were more prominent when he smiled. His wrinkles were getting the best of him. “It was my own design. The power specifications needed were so big that the normal designs couldn’t sustain it. I had to create a whole new one.” Brad said. “Yes, we know. You actually built it for the base I work at and it isn’t working the way we need it to. We need you to come and fix it for us, Dad.”
Brad looked at his daughter and the man he figured would be his son-in-law in due time. “It’s been a long time. Why can’t you have someone else make a new one, a more modern one?” He asked. Katelyn looked at her father with grave eyes. “Dad, I knew you were asked to build the power station because no one else could get the normal designs to manufacture enough power in a safe way to power what it needed to power. You’re the only one that’s been able to do it, which is amazing considering you never even saw what it was going to power.” Brad studied them. “What does it power?” He asked. Katelyn smiled. “Something amazing. Would you like to know what it is?” She asked. Brad’s eyes lit up. “You’re allowed to tell me?” He asked.
Cameron nodded. “We’ve been given permission by the President of the United States.” Brad looked surprised. “In the 1920s an alien device was found in a dig in Giza, Egypt. We call this the Stargate. It’s a giant metal ring, which we use to travel to other planets. It creates a wormhole and it transports us near instantaneously to other planets.
This device is what’s keeping this planet alive. We have saved the world so many times and have made several technological advances by use of it. We have spaceships capable of interstellar travel. Cameron and I have been on rides like that several times. Dad, you made all this possible. Without your power station the gate never would have gotten enough power to allow travel.” Katelyn finished.
Brad looked stunned. “What’s wrong with the power station and the gate?” He asked getting right to business. Katelyn figured the shock was going to weigh down on him when he saw the gate. “What we think is happening is that the gate is getting enough power to open a wormhole, but not enough power to let someone travel through safely. We think the gate isn’t letting anything through as a safeguard so it won’t allow anything to get assembled wrong. When you walk through you are de-molecularized and then re-molecularized on the other side.” The shock finally got to him. “So you’re saying to travel to other planets and fight aliens?” Brad asked. Katelyn smiled. “Yeah, I have since I told you I worked for a top-secret facility. It’s been wonderful.” Katelyn said. “We better get going. We need to get this resolved as quickly as possible so we can continue with normal gate activity.” Cameron said. “If you call that normal.” Brad said as he got up to lead them out of his house.
They got on a flight to Colorado Springs. When they got back, Katelyn brought Brad to her and Cameron’s apartment to drop off his things. After that, they got into Cameron’s black car and drove to the base Brad had worked at so many years before.
They rode the elevator down to level twenty-eight where the briefing room and gate were. They walked up to the briefing room. Brad looked around the control room for the short second seeing Walter looking at the computer screen typing furiously.
Daniel, Vala, Teal’c, Sam, and General Landry were already sitting around the table when Katelyn, Brad, and Cameron walked in. They took their seats. “Dad, this is SG-1…my family for all intents and purposes. This is Dr. Daniel Jackson, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, and Vala Mal Doran. She’s an alien. We met her when she tried to highjack one of our spacecrafts a few years ago. This is Teal’c, he’s a Jaffa. His home world is a planet named Chulak. And this is General Hank Landry, the commander of this base. Daniel, Sam, and Teal’c have been with this program for as long as it’s been running.”
They all waved at him. “Guys, this is General Brad Warner, my father.” Katelyn said proudly. “It’s an honor to meet you General Warner.” General Landry said. “I take it you’ve been updated on our current situation.” He continued.  Brad nodded all business now. “Yes, Katelyn and Colonel Mitchell have told me what you think is going on. I will need to look at the data coming from the gate and then the actual power station.” General Landry nodded. “Okay, Sergeant Harriman will be there for the data on our computers and then talk to Sergeant Siler when you want a look at the power station. You have no idea how much this means to all of us.” General Landry said as he stood up. “Dismissed.”
Sam, Cameron, and Brad all stood up as General Landry walked out of the room. “Well Dad, lets go to the control room and meet Walter.” Katelyn walked Brad to the control room with the rest of SG-1 following behind her. “Walter, this is my dad. He’s going to help figure out how to fix the gate. When he’s ready to see the power station, get Siler up here.” Katelyn told Walter. “Yes, Doctor.” He said. “Thank you.” Katelyn replied. Brad’s eyes were fixed on the ring. Katelyn smiled. “Amazing isn’t it?” She asked. Brad breathed out. “Remarkable. You travel through this?” Katelyn smiled. “Me and my team, a few times a week.” She looked back to them standing there smiling. Brad’s eyes followed Katelyn’s to her team. “It’s indescribable.” Katelyn said.
Brad sighed. “Well, I’d better get to work.” He said as he sat down at the computer next to Walter. Katelyn, Cameron, Daniel, Sam, Vala, and Teal’c all left and went to the cafeteria for lunch. They all sat down at a free table. “You’re father seems like a nice guy.” Vala said with wide, child like eyes. Her British accent was very prominent. Katelyn smiled at her. “Yeah, I guess he is.” She looked down at her food as she moved it around with her fork. Vala looked confused. “You don’t know?” She asked. “Well, I mean he was nice when I was little, but isn’t every dad? You know wanting to give their little princess everything. After I turned thirteen, he was always gone and when he was home, I didn’t talk to him much. When I moved out, I didn’t look back. I didn’t talk to him for over ten years. I only started talking to him a few years ago.” Katelyn explained.
“I see.” Vala said looking down knowing it was hitting home. After SG-1 was finished eating, each member of the team left to do his or her own thing. Katelyn went to her office. Once she walked inside, she sat at her desk. She rubbed her eyes. Cameron walked in at that moment. He saw her sitting there looking exhausted. He sat down in front of her desk. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked. Katelyn looked up and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine, just a little tired that’s all.” She replied. Cameron nodded. Someone knocked at Katelyn’s office door. “Come in!” She shouted. Brad opened the door slowly and peeked in. Cameron got up from the chair. “Anyway, I’ll see you later Katelyn. I have to go talk to General Landry.” Cameron said walking to the door as Brad came inside. Katelyn smiled and waved to him as he left.
Brad took a seat in the chair Cameron was just occupying. He looked around at all the pictures. “Hi.” He said. Katelyn smiled. “Hi, Dad.” She replied. “What are you doing here?” She asked. Brad shook his head. “I need to take a break. I don’t know what’s wrong with it. Will we be able to go through this gate?” He asked. Katelyn shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. We’d have to go ask Sam.” She said. Brad nodded. “We better go do that then.” He said. Katelyn got up from her desk and led Brad out of her office and down to Sam’s. Katelyn walked in. “Hey Sam, we need your help.” She looked up from her laptop. “What do you need?” She asked. Katelyn looked at Brad. “Well, I can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong with the power station. Katelyn tells me there is an object called a DHD for other gates. I need to take a look at it. I was wondering if the gates getting enough power for us to walk safely through and the gate on the other side can reassemble us.” Brad explained.
“I don’t think that would be very safe. We can have the Odyssey take us to the Alfa Site though.” She said. “Good, I’m just afraid if we don’t go soon the power station will lose complete power and we wouldn’t be able to get the gate to connect anymore.” Brad said. Sam nodded and they headed up to the briefing room where they told General Landry of their predicament. He decided that SG-1 would take Brad to the Alfa Site to look at the DHD. Sam, Katelyn, and Vala got the locker room first where they changed into the black uniform. Daniel, Teal’c, Cameron, and Brad changed next. Once everyone had their P-90s, aside from Brad who only had a zat gun, they were beamed aboard the Odyssey.
“Welcome to the Odyssey.” Colonel Emerson said sitting in his chair. Sam smiled at him. “Thanks Colonel.” She said. “So, the Alfa Site then?” Colonel Emerson asked. Sam nodded. “Yes, Sir.” Colonel Emerson said something to Major Marks and the Odyssey jumped into hyperspace leaving Earth behind. Brad looked at the purple haze in front of them through the front window. Katelyn walked next to him and looked out the window. “You know you helped make this possible.” Katelyn said. Brad didn’t say anything as he looked out. He smiled at Katelyn. “Well, let’s go find you a room. We’re going to be on this ship for a few days.” Katelyn said. Brad gave her a confused look. “How far away is the Alfa Site?” Katelyn smiled. “Billions of light-years away. It’s on the outer edge of our galaxy.” Katelyn explained. It was a lot for Brad to take in. He just walked to the quarters with Katelyn.
They found him a room. All night, Brad worked on his laptop trying to figure out a way to fix the power system. In another room across the hall, Katelyn sat looking out the window. Cameron came in and saw her. She didn’t move at the sound of the opening door. Cameron smiled thinking he was lucky to have such a wonderful person love him. He walked up behind her and placed his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder. Katelyn smiled knowing who it was. “Hey.” She whispered. “Hi.” Cameron whispered back as he kissed her on her cheek. “What’s up?” She asked. “Just wondering if you wanted to grab a bite to eat before going to bed?” Cameron replied.
Katelyn smiled. “Sure. I think we should bring dinner in here though.” Katelyn said as she turned around. She put her arms around his waist and looked up at him. He looked down and smiled back. “Alright.” Cameron replied as he kissed her forehead and then let her go. They walked out of the room together and got dinner. When they returned to their room, they sat on the bed and ate. “You know, if my dad doesn’t find a solution to this power problem, the Stargate Program could be endangered.” Katelyn said softly.
Cameron looked down at his food. “I know. They will think of a way to power the gate eventually, but if Brad’s anything like you, he’ll find a way.” Cameron smiled at Katelyn. “Thanks. I hope he finds a way for all our sakes.” Cameron kissed her. When they were finished eating, they went to bed.
The next few days went by quickly, and soon the Odyssey was in planetary orbit over the Alfa Site. SG-1 and Brad were standing on the bridge. A transmitter device was given to Brad. “Good luck.” Colonel Emerson said before SG-1 and Brad were beamed out onto the surface. “Whoa.” Brad said when he looked at the Alfa Site. Katelyn smiled. “Piece of cake right Dad?” Brad didn’t say anything; he just smiled at his daughter. Sam brought Brad to the DHD and they began working on a possible solution. Cameron, Daniel, Teal’c, Vala, and Katelyn went to a tent to see the commander of the Alfa Site. Cameron began talking to him. “We have a problem, Mitchell.” Colonel Lawson said. “What is it?” Cameron asked taking a drink of coffee he just poured himself. “We just got a communiqué. An Ori ship is on its way here.” Lawson replied. Cameron put down his coffee. “How long?” He asked. Lawson looked down. “A few hours, maybe less.”
Katelyn looked at Daniel. They walked to the DHD where Sam and Brad were looking through its systems. “I need to send a message to the SGC. Will the gate at least transmit that much?” Katelyn said. Cameron would usually have done it, but he was working on a plan with Lawson. Sam looked at her curiously. “Yeah, radio signals shouldn’t be a problem.”  Katelyn nodded and began dialing Earth. When the horizontal wave shot out, Brad jumped back a bit. “General Landry?” Katelyn said. There was a pause. “Yes, Doctor?” He asked. “Colonel Lawson just got a communiqué from an ally of ours. An Ori ship is going to be here inside a few hours. We don’t have enough room on the Odyssey to evacuate all the people from the Alfa Site.” There was another pause. “How did they get the location of the Alfa Site?” General Landry asked. “I don’t think they know it’s our planet. I think it’s just next on their list to convert or destroy.” Katelyn replied. “Alright, stay there. Have the Odyssey stay there as well. Try to fight them off for as it takes for you to figure out a way to fix the gate.” General Landry ordered. “Yes Sir.” Katelyn replied. “Oh, and Doctor” Landry added. “Yes?” Katelyn asked. “Good luck and be careful.” He replied. Katelyn smiled. “Yes Sir. Thank you.” Katelyn said before the wormhole closed.
Sam looked at Katelyn, shocked. “I would work as fast as you can. You might not have that much time when the Ori get here.” Katelyn said. Sam nodded and motioned for Brad to get back to work. Katelyn left and went back to Daniel, Teal’c, Vala, and Cameron. She told them what General Landry said. They were beamed back aboard the Odyssey. They had their plans. The Odyssey would hold them off as long as they could. It was only one Ori ship according to their source. If the Ori soldiers made it to the planet Lawson and all his men would attack. Hopefully, it would be enough because it was their only option. The hours went by quickly and soon Major Marks confirmed one Ori ship about to drop out of hyperspace. The moment they did, Major Marks fired. It hit the ship, but not in a vital spot and they were able to get their shields up before the Odyssey could hit again. The Odyssey was doing evasive maneuvers to try to decrease the number of shots hitting them. They were getting their butts kicked when Sam’s voice shouted over the radio. “We got it! Beam us up and get us the hell out of here!” Sam said.
Sam and Brad were beamed aboard. They had also beamed as many people off the planet as they could. “Lawson said he’d hold them off. He said we needed to get this information home. Go now!” Sam shouted. The Odyssey jumped into hyperspace. The Ori ship didn’t follow. Katelyn looked down at the Alfa Site. She knew for sure it was going to be destroyed. She felt a loss for all those people. Brad came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright.” He said although he had no idea if it was going to be. Katelyn didn’t say anything; instead, she turned around and hugged her dad. He held her tight as she cried. Katelyn hadn’t felt her dad’s firm gripped comfort hug since she was a little girl. It felt good.
In a few days time, SG-1 and Brad were back at the SGC. Brad started working on the power system right away. Soon it was finished and the gate was working properly again. General Landry had Walter dial the Alfa Site, but it wouldn’t lock. They assumed the worst, Colonel Lawson couldn’t hold the Ori off in time for them to get home, get the gate fixed, and send in reinforcements. Brad, SG-1, and General Landry stood in the briefing room feeling the weight of those lost lives.
“On behalf of this planet, I thank you for getting the gate working again.” General Landry said. Brad smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you, Sir.” Brad replied. General Landry left after that, leaving Brad alone with Teal’c, Cameron, Sam, Daniel, Vala, and Katelyn. Brad looked at them and smiled. Each member smiled back. Teal’c just nodded. “Thank you guys.” He said. “Why are you thanking us? You’re the one who helped us. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Daniel asked. “You gave me the chance to experience something I’ve never experienced before. This was an amazing opportunity so thank you.” Brad explained. “You’re welcome then.” Vala replied before Daniel could. Daniel looked at her. She just smiled her big smile back. “It was nice working with you Colonel Carter.” Brad said. Sam smiled. “It was nice working with you too, Sir.” She replied.
Brad looked at Cameron. “You’re a good guy Colonel Mitchell. Be good to my daughter and take care of her.” Brad said. “Don’t worry, Sir. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” Cameron replied shaking Brad’s hand. Brad looked at Katelyn and smiled. Katelyn smiled back and stepped forward to give him a hug. He hugged her tight. “I’m so proud of you. You do an amazing job here. You have amazing friends and you did alright at picking out possible husband.” Katelyn started crying in a good way. How she had always longed to hear all that from at least one of her parents. “Thanks Dad. That means the world to me.” Katelyn replied. Once Brad let go of Katelyn he looked back at the rest of the team. “Keep up the good work and thank you for taking care of my daughter all these years.” Brad said before casting one more wave as he left the room. Katelyn looked at her team and smiled. She loved them all so much. “Let’s go grab something to eat.” Cameron said. SG-1 walked out of the room behind him smiling.