Where To Begin

Posted on Mon Aug 23rd, 2021 @ 12:17am by Lieutenant Michelle Hanley

Mission: Jumping Right In
Location: NAS Oceana, VA -> McMurdo Station
1368 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

(Three Weeks Ago - Dam Neck Annex, NAS Oceana, Virginia)

Like many arguments in the military during down time, the argument coming out of the squadron office at the Headquarters building of the US Navy's elite unit was one as a result of boredom and breaking up tedium. They were properly known as "Naval Special Warfare Development Group", but until copyrights said otherwise, they were often just referred to as "SEAL Team Six". At any time, they could be called upon for some of the "blackest of black" operations, but until then, it was business as usual.

"You're going to seriously sit there and tell me that Genysis and Dark Fate were worse than Terminator 3? Did you sleep through them all?" Michelle asked, "I'll give you Dark Fate was pretty weak and I think there was a political statement, and the casting for Genysis made Sarah Connor look like a 14 year old..."

"Hey boss, that's not fair to her. She did pretty good, I thought." Another one of the SEALs in the office protested.

"All three were trash, Gambler. It's about trying to reinvent 2, and sorry, but not even CGI is gonna save Arnie. Plus why bother having a new protagonist if you're gonna have Sarah Connor literally show up with more heat than us and just start laying down the hate on some machines?"

"Okay, I'll give that to you for 3, but Genysis was a lot of "what-if", alternate timelines. The John Connor being the real Terminator was a bit weak, but I mean, come on, they lined us up to have Arnie be a T-1000! Dark Fate wasn't as bad as 3, but I'd say only just. Can we at least just agree that Salvation was the worst?" Michelle asked.

"I think it was pretty dead on what it'd be like if we had to fight them." A third SEAL said. The others booed him and threw balled up pieces of paper at him.

"Screw that noise, the first two promised me...'plasma rifle in 40 watt range' in the future. I want my pew-pew-pew and neon firefights, damnit." Michelle responded.

Just then a screeching klaxon came from Michelle's desk, the rather annoying "alarm" from Star Wars. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and checked the screen.

"...threat board was clear, I thought. Why's Senior Chief calling?" Michelle asked out loud. That got conversation...well, everyone's now impressions of the iconic gun store scene in Terminator 1, to stop. She swiped her thumb over to the correct icon to take the call.

"Go for Hanley." Michelle said.

"Gambler, need you to report to the Captain's office, ma'am." Senior Chief replied.

"Aye, Senior Chief, on my way." Michelle said and the call ended. She pocketed the phone and grabbed her cover off her desk.

"What's up?" Voodoo asked.

"Dunno, just said I need to be in the Captain's office. Keep your phones on, though." Michelle replied, "Maybe something happened?"

"I'll flip through the news." The third SEAL said, turning to his laptop.

Michelle nodded in acknowledgement. The other part of the job was that in the modern era, they could be expected to respond to something much like police or firefighters, albeit on a different scale. As such, it wasn't unreasonable for them to start looking at the news to see why she had been summoned. In the meantime, Michelle walked her way through the corridors of the office, up the stairs and approached the door. She stood at attention outside of it and knocked.

"Enter!" The Captain's voice came from the other side. She stepped inside, where Captain McNair, Senior Chief Lopez, and an unknown man in Air Force "blues" were waiting.

"Sir. Lieutenant Hanley, reports as ordered." Michelle said, stopping short of the desk at attention.

"At ease, Lieutenant, take a seat." Captain McNair replied, "Lieutenant, this is Colonel Davis, Space Force." He said, gesturing to his guest. That wasn't unusual, the newest branch of the US Armed Forces still was using US Air Force uniforms until they came up with their own, since their origin had been the Air Force's Space Command. However, it was still taking a bit for the reality that there was a Space Force and it wasn't just a meme.

"Lieutenant, I've been reviewing your record. Among the first women to graduate BUD/S, you've seen numerous deployments, among the first women to be accepted into DEVGRU. A lot of people have a lot of good things to say about you and your performance." Davis said with a polite smile, "So, tell me - what did you think about 2008?"

"You mean the attack? I was 17, sir. There was a lot of panic in Las Vegas, especially with Nellis and Area 51 in our backyard. Creech, too, sir. Dad's a cop, so that made it scary. I guess they heard all the rumors about Area 51, the aliens I mean, sir." Michelle replied, "Nellis and Fallon had their hands full that day."

"That's a fair assessment, though Area 51 had nothing of interest. But what about what you felt? Regarding the fact there were aliens?" Davis persisted.

"Sir, it's no secret I'm quite the nerd here. Name a show with "star" in the title, I probably watch it for the thousandth time off duty. Is it scary that we've got aliens who might come back and do a better job than they did 13 years ago? Yes, sir. But I beg to differ with Isaac Asimov, sir, the prospect of being alone in the universe is a bit more terrifying than not." Michelle replied, "Because just like we've got allies and enemies on Earth, there's got to be at least someone out there that isn't a fan of the ones who shot up Groom Lake."

Davis nodded to McNair, who handed over a clipboard and a pen to Michelle.

"Lieutenant, this is an NDA. You are under no obligation to sign it, but if you don't, that's all the more that is said, but I do ask that you not divulge the conversation we've had with the Colonel so far." Captain McNair said, "Your presence here remains strictly voluntary but on the basis of if you sign and if you decline, there is no negative impact to you."

Michelle was no stranger to these things, such was the life in DEVGRU and she was formerly Naval Intelligence. So...red pill or blue pill?

She took a few minutes to find all the highlighted lines and signed all of them before handing it back over.

"Very well. Lieutenant, Colonel Davis is here because I've put your name forward for the Stargate Program. You're a hell of an operator, and in all honest, I need someone with an open sharp mind who isn't afraid to kick doors in but can also recognize when not to as a representative of the Navy and SEALs." McNair explained, "The billet is yours if you want it. The Colonel can explain the details. As much as I don't want to lose you, I think this assignment has your name on it."

The conversation went on for an hour. Michelle couldn't sign her name fast enough.

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(Present Day)

Captain McNair had been nice enough to send her off in style, having the flyboys fly her to the Falklands in a C-40, where she'd then pick up an RAF A-400 to McMurdo. Sleep had been difficult, she hadn't been this excited in a long time, and she didn't like the idea of leaving her team behind, but in the end this was living the dream.

Michelle had taken the time during the layover at the RAF base to dress for the frozen wasteland she was being sent to, but being that she had been born and raised in the desert, trained to fight in the desert...there was simply nothing else for it. But even then, her mind wandered, this wasn't McMurdo Air Force Base, Ross Island, Antarctica. It was Echo Base, Hoth.

And somewhere down there was the Stargate...the way they were going to cross worlds in the blink of an eye.