Author's Note: This is a crossover with Battlestar Galactica 2003, and in a small way, season one of Stargate Atlantis.
Timeline: This story takes place just after the season one final of BSG2003 and about twenty-five years after season seven for Stargate. I know that seems like a lot, but just bare with me!
Spoilers: Minor spoilers for Stargate up to 'Grace' in season seven. Major spoilers for 'Kobol's Last Gleaming Part Two' for BSG2003.
I have included mentions of Atlantis and the team that went there, but I wanted to include Janet in my story, so the timeline is slightly AU. Apologies if it doesn't make sense.
Oh, and just a note: I changed the X-303's to BC-303's and the X-302's to F-302's after it was pointed out that they would no longer be experimental anymore. Thanks! I also changed some of the rankings that I had gotten wrong…sorry about all the mistakes guys!
Cheeky.
The Thirteenth Colony:
By cheeky-chaos
Prologue:
Jack sighed as he sank down onto the couch. He was exhausted. Work had been one problem after another, all demanding his attention and time. Sometimes it seemed as if no one could do anything without asking him his opinion or permission first. He sighed again and reached for the TV remote. As he flicked channels mindlessly, he wondered if he should call out for pizza or just go straight to bed.
The low hum of the television filled the empty house as Jack debated whether he was more tired or hungry, reminding him that he was all alone. And instead of making him feel better that no one else was here after the demands people had been making on him all day, Jack felt sad. He suddenly wanted company.
As if reading his mind, the phone rang. Hoping it wasn't someone at the base needing another opinion, Jack picked up. He had wanted company, and now it seemed he had it. "O'Neill." He greeted.
"Hey, Jack." A familiar voice said warmly. "I hoped you would still be up."
"Hey, Danny." Jack replied, smiling. It was always nice to hear from his old friend. "What's up?"
"Oh, the usual." Daniel answered. "And you?"
"Same as ever." Jack said. "You should drop by sometime, since I tend to spend most of my time on-base these days."
Daniel chuckled. "They won't let you play with your new toys yet?" he teased.
Jack rolled his eyes, even though his friend couldn't see it. However, having been friends with Jack for at least half his life, Daniel guessed what the response would be. "Poor, Jack." He added.
"You call for a reason, Danny-boy, or just to tease an old man?" Jack shot back, amusement filling his tone.
"You're not old, Jack." Daniel denied. "Because that means I am too."
Jack laughed. "Daniel, I'm 67 years old. Even with all that new medical technology we've got that fixed me up, I'm still old."
Daniel just grunted in disagreement. "Jack, you can run faster now that you could 30 years ago. Don't start that, I'm old stuff with me. I know you."
"Tell that to my kids." Jack said dryly. "They keep calling me 'the Old Warhorse'."
"That's better than 'the Old Relic'." Daniel snorted.
Jack laughed. "They didn't?" he asked, half-amused, half-incredulous.
"They did." Daniel answered. "Of course, it was fun to see Janet yell at them afterwards."
Jack nodded as he remembered the Doc's lectures that she used to give him. "Fun to watch, painful to go through." He commented. "How is Janet, anyway?"
"Good." Daniel said, before pausing slightly. There was a slight muffled conversation on the other end of the phone, before Daniel came back on. "She wants to talk to you."
"Sure." Jack said and waited as the phone was passed over.
"General?" Janet asked.
"Jack." Jack corrected, before she could continue.
He could almost see Janet rolling her eyes. "Alright then, Jack." Janet said. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, Janet." Jack replied. "And yes, that is a medical opinion." He added, forestalling any in depth conversation about his health.
"I know." Janet said. "I talked to Dr. Sinclaire."
Jack shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or groan. "So, you've been checking up on me, Doc?"
"I know you, Jack." Janet said dryly. "Besides, we can't have an intergalactic hero being unable to command his final mission."
"So you heard then." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes, we both did." Janet replied. "Are you entirely sure you know what you're doing?" she asked.
"Retiring?" Jack asked. "Sure. I'm not getting any younger, and now seems like as good a time as any to let the next generation take over. The Replicators haven't been seen in years, the Goa'uld are still in hiding and we're winning against the Wraith. Why shouldn't I go fishing?"
Janet laughed softly. "If anyone deserves it, it's you Jack." She said. "And I wanted to say thank you. For the mission."
"No problem." He said. "It wouldn't be the same without you."
Saying her goodbyes, Janet passed the phone back to her husband. "That goes for both of us." Daniel said, obviously having overheard Janet and his' conversation. "It will be great to take a break from everything and do a little exploring again."
"My thoughts exactly." Jack agreed. "It's been too long."
"It has." Daniel replied. "Now, I'd better let you get some sleep. I'd bet you've got a busy day tomorrow."
"Busy doesn't even begin to cover it." Jack answered. "'Night, Danny."
"'Night, Jack."
Jack sat there a moment after he put down the phone, smiling softly. Sometimes it didn't feel like all that much time had passed, and he was still a member or SG-1 exploring space through the 'gate. The he heard someone inserting a key into the front door and pushing it open. He wondered who it was, since not many people had keys to his house or visited this late at night, but was glad none the less.
"Jack?" a voice called.
Jack was surprised at the voice, not expecting to see the tall, slim blonde who had just walked into the living room. "Sam?" he asked. "I thought you weren't home until tomorrow night?"
Smiling tiredly at him, Sam walked over to the couch and sank exhaustedly onto it. Jack gathered her into his arms and she leaned gratefully on his shoulder. Despite the fact there were a few more lines around her clear blue eyes and silver threaded into her blonde hair, Jack thought his wife was just as beautiful as he had when he met her. And he never stopped feeling humbled every time he remember that she had chosen to spend her life with him and that she loved him as much as he loved her.
"The talks finished early." She explained tiredly. "The Asgard have agreed to help us set up an international transport system using some of their new technology in exchange for a copy of the schematics of the new BC-303 design."
"What do they want those for?" Jack asked, hoping Sam would give him the simple answer and not the one filled with techno babble.
"I was under the impression they were intrigued by some of the technology we've incorporated this time." Sam answered.
Jack nodded, not sure what else to say. Sam was clearly exhausted and he really didn't want to know any of the technical details of the new transport system. Alien technology just wasn't his specialty. He usually left that up to his wife or some other scientist. "So, how's Thor?" he asked instead.
"He's good." Sam replied. "He wants to wish you a happy retirement, though, so expect a visit soon."
Jack smiled. "Good old Thor."
Sam turned to face Jack. "Was your day any better than mine?" She asked.
"Nope." Jack said. "It seemed everyone had a problem they couldn't fix by themselves, not to mention the fact they needed to ask my opinion every second word. For crying out loud, I'm only a General. I don't know everything."
Sam smiled. "You're a hero to them, Jack." She said. "Most of the SGC personnel still believe you can actually walk on water."
Jack frowned. "Very funny, Carter." He said.
Sam smiled. "You haven't called me that in years." She remarked.
Jack grinned. "Probably has something to do with the fact your name's O'Neill now." He replied.
Sam snuggled closer to her husband and grinned. "Yeah, I do seem to remember something like that." She agreed.
Jack kissed her on top of her head and turned up the volume on the TV, just in time to catch the last half of the late night news. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard the topic of the news article.
"…and in other news," the female anchorwoman began, "The head of the SGC, General Mitchell Hayes, confirmed earlier today that the U.N.E.S Prometheus, the BC-303 class spaceship and flagship of the Tau'ri Fleet, is to be decommissioned after it's latest and last mission."
"That was fast." Jack muttered. "The memo only passed my desk this morning."
"That might have something to do with your reluctance to do paperwork, Jack." Sam quipped.
"Yeah, it might." Jack agreed, unable to keep from smiling. He may be a General, but he still hated paperwork.
"Commanding the Prometheus on her last tour of duty is General Jack O'Neill, one of the original members of SG-1 and who is also rumoured to be retiring in a few months." The reporter continued. "Due to his brave and dedicated service, not only to this planet but to the rest of the Tau'ri and our allies, General O'Neill has been given special permission to include all of his old friends and colleagues, in what is thought to be his last mission."
"After the six month long tour, the U.N.E.S Prometheus will be decommissioned in a small ceremony and the U.N.E.S Protector, first of a new breed of BC-303's, will take her place as the flagship of the Fleet." The anchorwoman said. "While the new design of BC-303 class ships will be faster and more manoeuvrable than the old, it is a sad day when we lose two such heroes of our time."
As the news moved onto other things, Sam turned to her husband and looked at him curiously. "So, it's true." Sam said. "You are taking command of the Prometheus then?"
"They couldn't get anyone else to do it." Jack joked.
Sam shook her head at the joke, but couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. She knew Jack was excited about commanding the Prometheus. He'd been a member of the Stargate Programme for around 30 years and Commander of the Tau'ri Fleet for ten. You didn't stick around that long doing paperwork if you didn't like your job. And Jack loved to fly more than anything else, even if he wasn't the pilot. It was one of the reasons that he spent half his time on Thor's ship whenever it was in orbit.
"So, who gets to pick just which of your old friends you get to bring along?" Sam asked with a speculative look in her eye.
"I do." Jack said smugly.
At her raised eyebrow, he grinned. "Retirement present." He explained.
"Do they realise what they've let themselves in for?" Sam asked.
"Nope." Jack answered. "And I intend to keep it that way until we've broken orbit – because then they can't do anything about it."
Sam laughed softly. Jack could act just like a little boy sometimes, always excited about getting his own way. "Who's going?" she asked.
"You, T, Daniel, Janet, and Ishta far." He ticked the names off on his fingers. "I'll be keeping most of the Marines, pilots and technicians already stationed aboard though."
"Me?" Sam echoed. "I'm coming?"
Jack gave her a sideways look. "I sent you a memo." He said.
Sam simply glared. Jack grinned back, nothing seeming to dampen his good mood. "I got special permission given my upcoming retirement." He said. "Besides, I told them there was no one better to send on Prometheus' last mission than the woman who helped create the original."
Sam's smile broke off into a tired yawn. "I'm glad." She said sleepily. "It's been a long time since I've done anything except work in a lab."
"The SGC lost a good officer when you resigned your commission." Jack commented.
"True." Sam agreed. "But they wouldn't let me marry you otherwise, so it's their fault."
Jack chuckled. Then he reached over and turned off the TV. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
"Mmm." Sam agreed sleepily, causing Jack to chuckle softly again.
Together the two of them staggered up the stairs towards their bedroom. They both undressed quickly and slid beneath the covers as their eyes drooped. Almost asleep, Jack reached over and pulled his wife into his arms, before his eyes drifted shut on a contented sigh.
Captain Alexandra O'Neill grinned as she walked through the bustling and noisy off-world military base and headed towards the large mess hall. If she was lucky, she could grab a cup of coffee before she had to report for duty. She was dressed in her usual uniform of combat boots, olive green pants and jacket over a black T-Shirt. Her shoulder length brown hair was tied back in its usual braid and tucked under at the end and her brown eyes were hidden by sunglasses from the bright sunlight.
The sunshine was warm and helped Lex shake off the last chill from the stargate. She had just 'gated in from Earth, where she had just spent a week of down-time while her ship, the U.N.E.S Prometheus, was in the dock undergoing maintenance and repairs. Lex had been stationed aboard the Prometheus as an F-302 Interceptor pilot for about nine months now and she'd be quite sad when the old girl got decommissioned.
Lex looked up in delight as a BC-303 flew overhead, heading towards the dock. She loved the beautiful, sleek ships and had spent hours staring at them in dock when she was a kid – she still did if she ever needed to think something over.
The Alpha Site, where Lex was, was filled with personnel from all over the Earth, as well as a few from other planets. The Alpha Site had been the first U.N.E base after the Stargate Programme had been made public. U.N.E stood for the United Nations of Earth, a governmental body that had grown from the old United Nations around 25 years ago, when the world had discovered they were not as alone in the Universe as they had imagined.
The U.N.E now also commanded a space-faring fleet designed to protect the Earth and her allies, along with any indefensible colony of humans on other planet. The Fleet had been nicknamed the Tau'ri Fleet by some of their allies and the name had stuck, because one of their missions was to protect all the Tau'ri, no matter the planet. Lex found that comforting and quite exciting to be one of people helping shape both her planet's future and the future of the Universe itself.
The way the U.N.E Fleet operated at the moment, for all combat personnel at least, was to recruit from all the major militaries of Earth, as well as those from other planets who demonstrated aptitude and interest. Lex liked the way everyone had a chance to apply, no matter what country they were from and that positions were judged on skill, not race. The Earth was finally putting the last of its racial discrimination behind it and becoming a more peaceful society.
Lex had been a member of the USAF (United States Air Force) – although, technically, she was still was considered one – before she had joined the U.N.E Fleet and carried a US flag patch above the U.N.E Fleet logo on her olive green uniform to indicate her nationality. That was the other thing that Lex loved about the multicultural nature of the Fleet – the accents. She loved to try and pick what they were before checking the flag patch on the uniform.
Entering the mess hall, Lex slipped off her sunglasses and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the relatively dim light inside the building. As she looked around at the many groups of people sitting around the tables, Lex listened to the loud hum of conversation in various different languages all around her and smiled. The noise rose and fell all around her, occasionally punctuated by a loud bark of laughter or a voice raised in excitement or anger, was as full of life as the people making it Lex felt a familiar sense of contentment as she stood there. Somehow, being part of the Fleet felt as much of a home as the one she had grown up in.
"Lex!" someone called out from Lex's right, jolting her out of her thoughts.
"Viper!" another voice greeted.
Her smiled turning into a grin, Lex turned and walked over to a group of her fellow pilots and personnel from the Prometheus, who also happened to be her good friends. "Hey, guys." She said, slipping into an empty seat.
"Coffee?" Dr. Lucas Jackson offered with a grin, winking one of his blue eyes at her.
Lucas was the only son of Dr. Daniel Jackson and Dr. Fraiser-Jackson and had taken after his mother by becoming a medical doctor in the USAF – he currently held the rank of Captain, just like her. He had grown up side by side with Lex, and sometimes she felt that he was as much of an older brother as he was an old friend. He had also inherited his father's coffee obsession and looks, which meant there was always a pot of decent (but sometimes kidnapped) coffee nearby.
"Thanks." Lex smiled back, grabbing an empty mug and holding it out.
"So?" Lieutenant Charles "Ice" Boone, originally from the British RAF (Royal Air Force) leant forward and asked in his almost formal-sounding British accent. "How does it feel?"
Technically, Ice held the rank of Flight Lieutenant, but there had been an effort to try and standardise the ranking system of all military personnel. As a result, the Flight Lieutenant rank he had held in the RAF was converted to a first grade Lieutenant. This had happened to everyone when they had joined the Fleet. It was supposed to make things easier and it did for the most part.
Lex raised an eyebrow. "How does what feel?" she asked her wingman.
"Serving under you father?" Ice clarified.
"Don't you mean serving under both of my parents, along with Uncle Daniel, Aunt Janet, Uncle Teal'c and his wife, Aunt Ishta who are all pretty much considered my family even though we aren't related by blood?" Lex shot back, a little sarcastically.
Ice grinned, his grey eyes twinkling in amusement. "Oh, yes. Sorry."
Lex groaned. "I don't know yet."
"Tell me about it." Lucas muttered. "And did I tell you that Althea was coming to?" he turned to Lex as he said the last.
Dr. Althea Jackson was Lucas' younger sister and had taken after her father, inheriting his passion for ancient cultures, even though she looked just like her mother in appearance. She had just finished her PhD in Linguistics and already had a degree in Archaeology.
Lex laughed wryly. "If JC wasn't stuck on Atlantis, it would be just like a family holiday!" she said.
JC was Lex's older brother, Dr. Jonathan Carter O'Neill. He was an astrophysicist just like their mother and was currently stationed on Atlantis, the Ancient city the SGC had discovered around 25 years ago, under General John Sheppard and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Weir.
Lucas sighed. "I know just what you mean." He said. "And I had thought it would be bad when you were stationed aboard nine months ago."
Lex rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, sure." She said. "You were just happy to have a friend on board. Which you wouldn't have such a problem with if you didn't keep sticking large needles into people!"
"Biggest damn needles I've ever seen!" Lieutenant Billy "Tex" Wilson, a fellow USAF officer, said in his deep Texas drawl.
"Oui." Captain Marguerite "Nightmare" Devereux agreed in her musical French accent.
"Hey, it could be worse, mate." Captain Owen "Tank" Mitchell, a RAAF pilot (Royal Australian Air Force), said. "He could be sticking more than needles into us."
"Ja." Lieutenant Bastien "Torch" Schultz agreed in his German accent, with a laugh.
Sharing a good-natured laugh with everyone at the table, Lex looked around for her missing friends. "Where's Sasha and Lan?" she asked.
Sasha was the nickname of their Russian friend, Lieutenant Aleksandr "Merlin" Koslov and Lan was Lieutenant Lan "Rocket" Yao, or Yao Lan to put it in proper Chinese order with the family name first. Both were also fellow pilots stationed aboard the Prometheus.
"They're already aboard with the Skipper." Tex told me.
'The Skipper' was the nickname for Commander Mark "Skipper" Gale, Lex's squadron commander and CAG, or Commander of the Air Group. He was originally from the US Navy, which had caused him to be teased a little in the past. But he was a fair CAG and always seemed to have as many friendly comments for his pilots as reprimands.
"Which is where we should be." Ice commented, looking at his watch.
Everyone looked down at their watches, and noticing the time, got up in a flurry of activity. As everyone scrambled for the docks, Lucas fell into step beside Lex. "This is going to be an interesting six months." He said.
"You can say that again." Lex agreed, with a wry grin.
Looking up at the looming docks above them and the Prometheus beside them, Lex realised that this was not going to be a usual command. Instead of just having a General or Colonel to deal with and the usual pressures of duty, she would also have to deal with her family. This is definitely going to be an interesting trip, she reflected.
To Be Continued…