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A/N: I created a first name for Balinsky. Gateworld did not list one for him, but Arduinna's Handbook listed Cameron. Because of Lt. Col. Mitchell I chose Jeffery instead so there wouldn't be any confusion Chapter Six Buffy tried to hide her nervousness as she entered the briefing room. She was about to meet the three men who were her new team. Thankfully, the burden of leadership was not on her shoulders, but on those of Colonel Dave Dixon. SG-13 was an exploration and first contact team like SG-1, which meant there was supposedly less chance of fighting. However, the man she was replacing, Jake Bosworth, was out for an indeterminate time due to injuries received off world. So while the chance of a fight was slim, it was possible. Very possible. When she had told General Hammond that she would accept the job, she had also explained to him who she really was. He just calmly nodded his acceptance and welcomed her to the program. He understood why she was hesitant about others learning the truth, but advised that her team should also be aware. Buffy balked at that, and they eventually settled on a compromise. The team would be apprised of some of her abilities – speed, fighting capabilities, and her heightened senses – but not told how or why she had them. Hammond would inform the team about Buffy without her present. Then he would tell them that under no circumstances were they to question her further about it. Once the team had been fully briefed, he would send for her. Now she was to convince these men that she was the woman George had just described. It was always a benefit for her that her enemies underestimated her because of her size, but it was a pain in the ass when it came to potential allies. They were going to take one look at her and decide she was going to be a hindrance. “Good morning, Miss Summers,” George said with a warm smile as he stood. “I’d like for you to meet Colonel Dave Dixon, he’ll be your immediate CO. Senior Airman Simon Wells, and Dr. Jeffery Balinsky.” Buffy took a moment to look the three men over. The Colonel stood at least a foot taller than her and was solidly built. His dark eyes were assessing her, as well. She could almost see him trying to attach the image he had created in his mind based on her description to the real thing and knew she was coming up a little short, literally. To his credit, his eyes only betrayed this for the briefest moment before turning neutral. Hopefully it meant he was going to be open-minded about it. Simon wasn’t as tall or as broad as the Colonel. His face was warm and open, but he was clearly confused. He still nodded politely to her. As for Jeffery, she hated to think it, but he looked like a geek. His red hair was slightly disheveled and freckles stood out on his pale skin. He waved cheerily at her and she couldn’t help but smile back. “Have a seat, Miss Summers,” Hammond said. After everyone was seated once again, he began the mission briefing. “Planet PX3-461 is, to all appearances, free from any indigenous life. I want you to do a sweep of the surrounding area and collect some samples. It shouldn’t take you more than eight hours.” “Aww, General…” “Colonel, this is your first mission since Bosworth’s injury a month ago and it will be Miss Summers first time through the gate. I don’t want to throw you immediately into a battle. Need I remind you that you are an exploration team?” “No, sir,” Dixon said, shifting in the large, black chair. “Good. You leave in one hour. Dismissed.” Then he stood and went into his office. “Well, Balinsky, sounds like you’re the only one who’s going to have fun this time,” Dixon said. “Is the samply thing boring?” Buffy asked, looking at Dave and Simon’s grim faces. “The worst,” Dixon groused, closing his folder. “I’d rather sit at a first contact meeting where I don’t know the language than dig around in the dirt. At least there’s usually food at the meetings.” “We’ll spend most of our time making sure Jeffery doesn’t get hurt,” Simon added. “I haven’t hurt myself in four months,” Jeffery protested. “And those other times weren’t my fault.” “Whatever, Balinsky,” Dave said. “That last month doesn’t count ‘cause we were on base. Now let’s get packed.” Buffy sighed softly to herself as they exited. It would be hard work to be accepted into this group. Jeffery stopped and waited for her to catch up. When she did, he said, “Really, I’m not as bad as they make me sound. My track record is better than Dr. Jackson’s.” “Huh?” “He’s legendary on the base. He’s been hurt the most, died a few times, and ascended. There’s a rumor that he’s why Colonel O’Neill has gone grey.” She giggled. “He did tell me that once.” “So it’s true? You know Colonel O’Neill from before.” “We’ve been friends for years,” she said with a smile. “Just as a warning, some people think you got hired because… well, you know,” he said, his face matching the color of his hair. “I don’t believe it myself. First, I don’t think General Hammond would have allowed it. Secondly, I know the Air Force wouldn’t have, for sure. They wouldn’t have jeopardized this program just to accommodate the whim of a Colonel. So you must be pretty good to get hired that quickly.” “Thank you, Jeffery, for being honest,” Buffy said with a sad smile. It seemed she would be spending her time here proving the rumors wrong. “I just thought you should know,” he said with a shrug. “And call me Jeff, please. I hate Jeffery, it sounds stuffy.” “But the Colonel and Simon…” “Do it just to annoy me. So I call the Colonel, Dave instead of his rank,” he said mischievously. “Noted,” she said with a grin. He grinned back. “They’re not that bad, really. See you in the gateroom,” he said, ducking into the men’s locker room. Buffy headed towards the women’s room. This wouldn’t be too bad she decided. At least one member of the team was friendly. XXXXXXXX Forty-five minutes later, Buffy was waiting with Simon in the gateroom. She hadn’t gotten a chance to ask Jeff if the other members of the team believed the rumors or not. She hated not know where she stood with people. To top things off, she couldn’t think of a way to break the ice. She was saved from saying something really lame by Dave and Jeff’s entrance. “Dial it up,” Dave called out, adjusting the pack on his back. He glanced over at her. “Where are your weapons?” “I’ve got a handgun and a zat,” she said. She had opted against the P-90. She had really just wanted the zat, but they told her that she had to carry something else with it. The thought of carrying any type of gun was an anathema to her so she chose what she considered the lesser evil. She was hoping to only ever use the zat and her knives. Dave grunted, seeing the two mentioned guns strapped to her legs. “Good. I know they said you were better with the hand to hand stuff, but our fights tend to be more long distance.” “Never said I was better at it, I just prefer it,” she clarified, watching the inner ring of the gate spin. She could feel the others confused looks on her back. The last chevron locked and something that looked like water came rushing out before being pulled back to create a shimmering surface. A grin was on Dave’s face as he said, “Not every job lets you see that, does it, Summers?” “You’d be surprised,” she muttered to herself. She had been through far too many portals in her life. “SG-13, you have a go,” came Hammond’s voice over the intercom. She looked up in the control room to see Jack standing next to the General. He gave her a quick thumbs up and an encouraging smile. With more confidence than she felt, she turned and followed the others up the ramp. She had literally been to heaven and hell and back, she could survive a trip to another planet. Letting out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, she stepped through the event horizon. What seemed like only a second later, she emerged on the other side to see a wide, grassy plain. A huge grin split her face and then it faltered as she thought about how Dawn would have loved this. There was so much about life that her baby sister would never experience now. “Are you all right, Summers? Your first few trips through can be shaky,” Dixon said, looking at her in slight concern. “I’m fine,” she replied, pulling away from her thoughts on Dawn. She put her sunglasses on and silently thanked Jack who had insisted that she pack them. The sun was quite bright. “Taking bets,” Jeff said, holding a small notepad. “Bets?” Buffy asked. “On what we’ll find on the planet,” Jeff said. “We have a pot of money back on the base.” “What happens when someone wins?” “They get to pick the place to eat.” “Abandoned naquadah mine,” Simon said. “Aliens that look like plants,” Dave said, his eyes searching the seemingly deserted plain. “Ancient ruins for me,” Jeff said, writing everything down. He looked at Buffy. “You in?” “Sure. Umm, a primitive tribe living in a cave.” “Creative,” Dave said approvingly. “Alright, let’s spread out. Wells, you take right, I’ll take left. Summers and Balinsky stay center.” Buffy bit back a retort that she could handle a flank and remembered that she was just a newbie. He’d never seen her fight before and they weren’t likely to meet anyone on this planet anyway. Hostile or not. He must have caught her expression because he said, “It’s nothing against you. You’re technically a civilian.” “I know,” she said calmly. She really wasn’t in the mood to argue with him. It would have been bad manners to cause a hassle on her first day. A slightly surprised look crossed his face. “Well… good. Let’s move out.” XXXXXXXXX Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes while he forced himself not to sigh. Putting the glasses back on, he said, “What’s wrong, Jack?” “Nothing.” “You’ve been here for twenty minutes fiddling with a Greek fertility statue and not saying a word.” “So?” The archaeologist got up and took the statue out of Jack’s hands. He put it back on the shelf where it belonged and turned to see that Jack had picked up an urn. “Jack…” “Daniel.” “Jack, what’s wrong?” “Nothing.” Daniel’s lips pressed together to form a thin line, and then decided to try a different tack. “I thought you were going to watch Buffy leave on her first mission.” “I did.” “Ah.” “Ah? What do you mean, ah?” Jack asked, looking at him for the first time. “Just ah,” Daniel said, walking around Jack to sit back down at his desk. Jack put the urn down and gave Daniel his full concentration. “No, you must have meant something by it, you always do.” “It just explains your behavior.” “Oh, it does, does it? Tell me, O Wise One, how does Buffy leaving have anything to do with my behavior?” “You’re worried about her. You’re the one who recruited her and if she gets hurt you’ll blame yourself,” Daniel said simply, his casual tone belying the humor he felt at the situation. Jack wanted everyone to think he was tough as nails and, while he was, there was a softness to him that only those who were truly close to him knew about. The mere fact that Jack was letting Daniel to see that he cared this much for Buffy humbled him. It was also funny to see Jack direct his mother-henning skills on someone other than his own team. “Well, yeah, but that’s not the reason.” The corners of Daniel’s mouth quirked slightly up. “Jack, I do remember that you only fiddle with my ‘rocks’ when you’re worried about something but don’t really want to admit it.” “Okay, fine… I’m worried about Buffy. Happy now?” “Not completely.” “For cryin’ out loud, Daniel, I admitted it, what more do you want?” Jack said irritably, moving about the office. “I think there’s more.” Jack stopped with his back to Daniel. After a long pause he said, “I’m not sure if I was right in offering this to Buffy.” “What do you mean?” “She’s been through a lot in the past ten years. More than you and me combined. What if this is just another pain or torment that she has to endure? Or worse, what if this is the thing that will finally break her?” Jack finished softly. “Why did you arrange this for her then?” “Because she needed a distraction,” Jack said, studying the spine of a book. “She’s a woman of action, of initiative. Dawn’s death shook her. I could see it in her eyes. She needed something to fight, to release her pain and anger on so she wouldn’t self-destruct. I didn’t want… I didn’t want what almost happened to me, to happen to her.” Daniel stared at Jack’s back, thunderstruck. He’d never heard Jack be so open. He once again felt humbled by how much Jack must trust him to reveal all of this. As he carefully mulled over the best thing to say, he moved to stand behind his friend. “Jack… I don’t know Buffy that well, but I do know you. I don’t think you would have done this if you didn’t think it would help. She had to have believed you in order to accept. She doesn’t seem to be the type to blindly go where others tell her.” A small smirk appeared on Jack’s lips that Daniel couldn’t see. “No, she’s not.” “Just remember, Jack, you showed her the door. She’s the one who chose to go through it.” “And if something happens to her?” “It’s the Jaffa or the Goa’uld’s fault, not yours,” Daniel firmly said. Jack finally turned and gave Daniel a faint smile. “Thanks.” Then he headed towards the door. “You really care for her,” Daniel said, causing Jack to stop. “Yeah.” “Do you love her?” “Wouldn’t matter if I did,” Jack said before slipping out the door. Daniel watched him go with a knowing look on his face. XXXXXXXXX “Hey, Jack,” Buffy said, bouncing into his office. His eyes scanned her for any obvious injuries. When he didn’t see any, he relaxed. “Hey, you. Have fun?” “Nope. Collecting samples is very boring and I didn’t win the bet,” she pouted. “Usually only the scientists enjoy that sample stuff,” Jack agreed. “So what did you bet on?” “That we’d find a tribe in a cave.” “Pretty far-fetched, don’t you think?” “No worse than Dave’s. He kept insisting that the plants were aliens,” she said. “Dixon treat you okay? What about the others?” Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yes, dad. I got along with the other kids and they were nice to me.” “Hey!” He said in mock hurt. “Just be thankful I didn’t threaten Dixon.” “He mentioned that,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Dave said you usually threaten the other teams when Daniel goes out with them. That if Daniel gets hurt then they get hurt. He said you must really trust me if he didn’t get the lecture.” Jack frowned. “He said that?” “Yup, but I told him that he probably didn’t get the lecture ‘cause you knew that if I found out I’d kick you ass.” “And what did he say to that?” “He laughed,” she said with a laugh of her own. “Does Daniel know about these little threats of yours?” “No, and he won’t,” Jack said, giving her a pointed look. “Gotcha,” she said with an evil grin. “He won’t hear about it from me.” “Why don’t I believe you?” “I dunno,” she said innocently. “Let’s go get something to eat. I’ve walked most of the day. And when I wasn’t walking, I was watching Jeff play in the dirt.” “Didn’t you eat your MRE?” Jack asked, grabbing his coat. “If you call choking cardboard down eating, then yes, I did,” she snorted. “I don’t understand how they expect anyone to survive on that. But I’m starving.” “Okay, okay. Let’s go,” Jack said, turning off the light as they left. Previous Chapter Undertow Menu Chapter Seven |
