FIC: Road to Pegasus crossover - SGA/SV
Edit: I was never really happy with this chapter, and after someone pointed out an interesting fact (ie. 'infodump') I realized what it was. So....I kinda edited it. I didn't add anything new, but I removed several paragraphs and other bits of info about the intervening years for Chloe, to be added to later parts. I'm happier with this part now, and I hope others will be too.
TITLE: Road to Pegasus
Untitled crossover fic involving Chloe Sullivan from Smallville in the Stargate Universe (Atlantis, mainly).
Rated: PG
Author: Lylip
Episode: Rising (1.01 & 1.02)
Prologue
One
(Pre-Series)
Eight Years Later
“Are you sure about this?” General George Hammond asked of his granddaughter over their weekly dinner. He’d always supported her decisions, but this latest one left him conflicted. She had agreed to join an expedition that ran a very high risk of being lost forever. He’d always known that another posting could potentially crop up, taking her out of his protective circle, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined her leaving the galaxy.
“I thought this through very carefully before making my decision.” Chloe told him seriously, wanting him to understand how important the Atlantis mission was to her. “I know all the reasons I shouldn’t go, but I also know all the reasons I should go - I need to go.”
Looking him straight in the eyes, she tried to convey everything she was feeling to him. He’d done so much for her since that day in the hospital, that she felt indebted to him, so she paid him back by becoming the best at her job.
She had spent almost a year convalescing in Colorado with her mother’s father; a Major General in the Air Force, who spent long hours in his office in Cheyenne Mountain. The cover story of ‘Deep Space Radar Telemetry’ was laughable in its unoriginality and total unbelievability - she ‘had’ met Dr Jackson, the ‘archeologist’ - but the undefinable urge to seek out the truth had vanished when a bomb had killed her father. A bomb meant for her.
“I never thought that when you were offered the position at the mountain, it would lead to this.” he told her, knowing that he would accept her decision. He had never been able to deny her the things she truly wanted. Her desire to attend the Air Force Academy proof of that.
While it had filled him with no small amount of pride that at least one of his progeny wanted to follow in his footsteps, he had his reservations about the entire state of affairs. But Chloe had been adamant. She wanted to be able to take care of herself, have someplace to carry out a remotely normal life without having to watch every move she made in case Lionel Luthor found her again, and she wanted to be close to him in Colorado.
It wasn’t the best reasoning by a long shot, but it was enough for him to pull some strings to get her through the admissions process as she finished her final year of high school by way of private tutors.
To go with her new life, she’d also chosen a new name. Chloe Gabriel - a way to honour the man who’d raised and loved her for most of her life.
Chloe Gabriel had attended the Air Force Academy, and upon graduation, was offered a job at Cheyenne Mountain, where when finally briefed on the classified project, had turned to him and proclaimed ‘I knew it! ‘Deep space telemetry’, as if!’.
“Does this have anything to do with Lionel Luthor’s upcoming parole?” he asked her, aware of how dissatisfied she was with the legal system as a whole. Though he had to agree with her - eight years was not nearly long enough for what he had done. But the man had been a model prisoner, and was eligible for parol, despite the further testimony of his granddaughter.
“I won’t lie and say it’s not a factor, but his continued existence has always had an influence on my life.” Chloe responded. “Every decision I make, every single thing I do, is always preceded by the question ‘Am I exposing myself?’. I’m tired of it. Going on this expedition with Dr. Weir will allow me the freedom to be myself again.”
“I’m a sentimental old man, and don’t want you to leave.”
“And I wish I could stay, but the opportunity is too much to pass up. It’s a chance to go where no human has gone before, to a place straight out of myth, and learn about our ancestors. Not to mention the new position and responsibilities. I can train my staff how I see fit, be head of the department . . . “ she explained, and Hammond had to smile at her enthusiasm. In her short time at the mountain, Lt Chloe Gabriel had worked miracles with the civilian researchers and their labs. That, more than her relationship to him or even her friendship with the current head of the SGC, is what had gained her the opportunity to go to Atlantis. In fact, he’d been so ‘hands-off’ with her career - despite the initial recruiting nudge in her direction - that few people in the Air Force even realized they knew each other.
“When do you leave?” he asked, already knowing the answer, a small smile on his lips.
“Three weeks.”
“Not nearly long enough to say goodbye.” he told her, acutely aware that given the mission parameters, he may never see her again. Power requirements being what they were, the trip was most likely one way.
“Not even close.” Chloe agreed, knowing that these weekly dinners with her grandfather were what she would miss the most.
“We’ll just have to make the most of it.”
“Agreed.”
TITLE: Road to Pegasus
Untitled crossover fic involving Chloe Sullivan from Smallville in the Stargate Universe (Atlantis, mainly).
Rated: PG
Author: Lylip
Episode: Rising (1.01 & 1.02)
Prologue
One
(Pre-Series)
Eight Years Later
“Are you sure about this?” General George Hammond asked of his granddaughter over their weekly dinner. He’d always supported her decisions, but this latest one left him conflicted. She had agreed to join an expedition that ran a very high risk of being lost forever. He’d always known that another posting could potentially crop up, taking her out of his protective circle, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined her leaving the galaxy.
“I thought this through very carefully before making my decision.” Chloe told him seriously, wanting him to understand how important the Atlantis mission was to her. “I know all the reasons I shouldn’t go, but I also know all the reasons I should go - I need to go.”
Looking him straight in the eyes, she tried to convey everything she was feeling to him. He’d done so much for her since that day in the hospital, that she felt indebted to him, so she paid him back by becoming the best at her job.
She had spent almost a year convalescing in Colorado with her mother’s father; a Major General in the Air Force, who spent long hours in his office in Cheyenne Mountain. The cover story of ‘Deep Space Radar Telemetry’ was laughable in its unoriginality and total unbelievability - she ‘had’ met Dr Jackson, the ‘archeologist’ - but the undefinable urge to seek out the truth had vanished when a bomb had killed her father. A bomb meant for her.
“I never thought that when you were offered the position at the mountain, it would lead to this.” he told her, knowing that he would accept her decision. He had never been able to deny her the things she truly wanted. Her desire to attend the Air Force Academy proof of that.
While it had filled him with no small amount of pride that at least one of his progeny wanted to follow in his footsteps, he had his reservations about the entire state of affairs. But Chloe had been adamant. She wanted to be able to take care of herself, have someplace to carry out a remotely normal life without having to watch every move she made in case Lionel Luthor found her again, and she wanted to be close to him in Colorado.
It wasn’t the best reasoning by a long shot, but it was enough for him to pull some strings to get her through the admissions process as she finished her final year of high school by way of private tutors.
To go with her new life, she’d also chosen a new name. Chloe Gabriel - a way to honour the man who’d raised and loved her for most of her life.
Chloe Gabriel had attended the Air Force Academy, and upon graduation, was offered a job at Cheyenne Mountain, where when finally briefed on the classified project, had turned to him and proclaimed ‘I knew it! ‘Deep space telemetry’, as if!’.
“Does this have anything to do with Lionel Luthor’s upcoming parole?” he asked her, aware of how dissatisfied she was with the legal system as a whole. Though he had to agree with her - eight years was not nearly long enough for what he had done. But the man had been a model prisoner, and was eligible for parol, despite the further testimony of his granddaughter.
“I won’t lie and say it’s not a factor, but his continued existence has always had an influence on my life.” Chloe responded. “Every decision I make, every single thing I do, is always preceded by the question ‘Am I exposing myself?’. I’m tired of it. Going on this expedition with Dr. Weir will allow me the freedom to be myself again.”
“I’m a sentimental old man, and don’t want you to leave.”
“And I wish I could stay, but the opportunity is too much to pass up. It’s a chance to go where no human has gone before, to a place straight out of myth, and learn about our ancestors. Not to mention the new position and responsibilities. I can train my staff how I see fit, be head of the department . . . “ she explained, and Hammond had to smile at her enthusiasm. In her short time at the mountain, Lt Chloe Gabriel had worked miracles with the civilian researchers and their labs. That, more than her relationship to him or even her friendship with the current head of the SGC, is what had gained her the opportunity to go to Atlantis. In fact, he’d been so ‘hands-off’ with her career - despite the initial recruiting nudge in her direction - that few people in the Air Force even realized they knew each other.
“When do you leave?” he asked, already knowing the answer, a small smile on his lips.
“Three weeks.”
“Not nearly long enough to say goodbye.” he told her, acutely aware that given the mission parameters, he may never see her again. Power requirements being what they were, the trip was most likely one way.
“Not even close.” Chloe agreed, knowing that these weekly dinners with her grandfather were what she would miss the most.
“We’ll just have to make the most of it.”
“Agreed.”