Chapter 1

"So, Miley, your dad is really making you go to Military Space Camp?" Lilly asked, still not believing that I wasn't punking her.

"For the fifth time, yes, he thinks it's the best way for me to prep for some upcoming movie Hannah's starring in." I threw another partially folded shirt into my duffle bag.

"Did you try the puppy dog eyes on him?" Lilly clasped her hands and demonstrated her suggestion.

"Yes, of course I did. But he thinks it would be educational and maybe even fun!" I said with air quotes around educational and fun. "It's supposed to be all very method and realistic. I'll have to wear camo and follow commands and everything." I sighed dramatically.

"Camo can be cute through, so maybe it won't be all bad!" Lilly said with her arm around my shoulders, trying to comfort me.

"No, Lilly, not the cute camo. The real stuff. It'll be just like military school. Fake guns and officers yelling at me! I got this packet in the mail that gives me all the stuff I have to memorize. I'm supposed to be Dr. Stewart, some kind of scientist. My dad thinks this will give me a good acting experience because everyone will be real into it and all the commanding officers will stay in character the whole time," I explained, glaring at the packet that was thrown off my bed in a moment of rage.

"It doesn't sound so bad . . ." Lilly said, but then I heard her mumble, "So glad it's not me."

I glared at her. She just smiled.

"Thanks for the support, best friend . . ."

"You're welcome!"

"Ugh! I can't believe I'm doing this for two whole weeks out of my summer! Doesn't Hannah have more important things to do? I know Miley does. I'm sure none of the other stars of Wormhole Extreme: The Movie! are going through all this work for the part. I mean, couldn't I just watch reruns of the stupid tv show version from the 90s?" I flopped back onto my bed and tried to smother myself with a pillow.

"I'll miss you! When do you leave?" Lilly asked.

I removed the pillow to answer her.

"Tomorrow. The torture begins tomorrow."

The next day Jackson put the camp's drop-off address into the GPS as he and Dad drove to see me off. When we arrived, the place looked a little extreme for a camp.

"You sure this is the place, bud?" Dad asked Jackson.

"Yep, the GPS says 1108 NW Main Street."

"Okay, Miles, this is it. We'll be right here to pick you up in two quick weeks," Dad said enthusiastically. "Have fun!"

I looked out the window at all the trucks coming and going.

"If nothing else, they put a lot of effort into the realism, so I'll try."

Dad gave me a parting hug, and Jackson gave a terrible mock salute as I walked inside.

There was a table with a strict looking man sitting behind it.

"Name and rank?" he asked.

"Dr. Miley Stewart?" I said nervously.

"Hmm . . . Dr. M. Stewart. Yep." He took my picture and printed off my badge.

Soon I was given a blue and black uniform and ushered onto a bus with the few bags I was allowed to bring. The camp was in a different state so we'd bus to the airport and all the campers would go together.

To keep with the realism, I was only allowed one personal item. I chose a small guitar named Luna. Who knew when Hannah inspo would strike? It was the very same one I had written my first song on. It had been a completely terrible song, but a song nonetheless.

I sat down in the last empty seat next to a girl in some kind of military outfit, I didn't recognize which branch.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Miley Stewart," I said, already getting into character.

"Senior Airman Madison Smith. Are you excited?" she asked.

"I'm getting there. I think it will be a good experience and all."

"A good experience, are you crazy? This is going to be awesome! Plus, I heard that Lt. Col. Sheppard is really cute! He's head of military ops."

Cute guys? Things were definitely looking up.

"I guess."

We talked about where we were from, our families, and then were basically best friends by the time we pulled into the airport. In a single file line, we all transferred from the bus to a small plane. Airman Smith and I were once again sitting next to each other.

"So, why were you selected for this special mission?" she asked as we got situated.

My packet had told me that I was a super genius, science whiz kid.

"I'm a junior scientist and people told me I was gifted for my age or something," I told her.

"Cool. I'm an explosives expert. Not gifted or anything, but quickly on my way to becoming 2nd Lieutenant because there was a direct commission opportunity tied to this secret assignment."

She seemed really excited for a camp promotion. Maybe she had been before and these types of things rolled over between summers?

Eventually, we landed and were bused to some place call Cheyenne Mountain for our special briefing, which actually turned out to be really interesting and well thought out for a two week camp.

So . . . the lost city of Atlantis did exist, but was in a different galaxy. We were fighting a war with aliens that could suck the life out of you called the Wraith. It sounded like something you would see on Sci-Fi. If all science was this cool, maybe I would be able to get better grades . . .

Maddy and I were finally separated, she went with some military personnel and I was placed with some other scientists. Colonel Sheppard was there and he was as cute as Maddy had said. He would be guiding us scientists to Atlantis.

"You're Dr. Stewart, right?" Colonel Shepard asked.

"Yes, sir," I said, unconsciously brushing my hair behind my ear.

"I'm just checking in with each of you. I know you late sign ups didn't get as much time to prepare, so I know this all can be a little overwhelming," he said.

"You're fine, sir, I mean, I'm fine, sir," I replied, mentally beating my head against the wall. "Totally overwhelmed and loving it, sir."

"Well good. Just what we like to hear." He smirked.

He got a slightly faraway look in his eye and then responded to something apparently over comms.

"All right, it's time to get moving." He gestured for me and the others to follow him.

Colonel Sheppard led us down long hallways until we came into a big room. In the center was a weird looking, giant ring thing. It must have been the Stargate space portal thing they had told us about.

This camp must have a lot of money . . . Though the metal did look a little roughed up like it had been there for several summers.

"Okay scientists, we're about to dial the gate and the military teams will go through first. We're scheduled for the third puddle jumper."

A loud clanging sound erupted as part of the Stargate started to spin.

"Chevron 1 encoded."

Colonel Sheppard was watching us closely as the spinning continued. When the last metal plate locked in place. An ocean of blue shot out of the ring and was then sucked back in.

"Sweet niblets!" I accidently yelled. It got a chuckle from the people around me, but I barely heard them.

It suddenly occurred to me that I was in the wrong place.

I had faced crowds of thousands of screaming fans, run from scummy paparazzi, met the president of the United States, but nothing could have matched the panic that I felt in that moment.

Not only was I in the most wrong place an 18-year-old popstar could be, but I was certain that every single person around me would kill to keep the place a secret. This may have been the one secret that was even bigger than the one I had kept for all these years.

And I had just stumbled into it.

A cylindrical space ship came down from an opening overhead. I almost lost it, but my fear of disappearing into some secret military space prison made me stay quiet.

Think Miley, think. How can you get out of this?

Nothing immediately came to mind. People were loading into the ship and I slowly got pushed forward as the scientists behind me moved to fill the space.

Everything seemed to be simultaneously moving too fast and in slow motion. It would be easier to get out of this mess before we went through the Stargate, but for the life of me I couldn't come with any excuse to leave that wouldn't have me locked up. I had stuff I still wanted to do. Senior prom, a world tour, living to see twenty.

"You ready to go, Stewart?" Colonel Sheppard asked. My mouth had gone dry and I couldn't respond.

When I said nothing, he continued.

"These jumpers are pretty great, aren't they?"

And here I had been worried about bad camo. Now with the impending threat of life sucking aliens in a different galaxy I would have gladly worn anything. Okay, maybe not anything anything, but bad camo while mean drill sergeants yelled was much more preferable than anything that was coming.

"I don't think I'm cut out for this." My mouth said it, but my brain was still trying to catch up with my mouth's plan.

"What?"

"I wasn't top of my class. I only went into science because my dad wanted me to. When they said special assignment I only signed up because everyone else was. It must have been a mistake that I was chosen over everyone else." It was all stream of consciousness. My mind trying to say anything to get out.

"It's a lot to take in, but you'll feel better when you get there."

That was the exact opposite of what would happen.

"I'm not so sure, sir."

"I'm telling you, once you get there, any doubt that it was the wrong decision will go out the window. If Rodney McKay can survive there, anyone can." Colonel Sheppard said this like it was supposed to make everything better, it didn't. "If you don't come to like it, you don't have to redo your contract and can just come back."

Right. If only it was that simple.