August 19: A Cascade of Echoes: Specialized Vacation Destination
Title: A Cascade of Echoes, Chapter 06: Specialized Vacation Destination
Author: 3am_moonlight (MirroredIllusions on TtH)
Crossover: BtVS / Stargate SG-1: Continuum
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,094
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & Post-Stargate SG-1: Continuum
Disclaimer: Nothing copyrighted belongs to yours truly.
Summary: In which the Tau'ri get information they did not expect.
Author's Note: Written for Day 19 of the 2022 August Fic-A-Day.
Previous: Back To Start . Try Again . Tok'ra . Stargate Command . Interlude .
After everyone returned to the conference table and got comfortable again, Mr. Coolidge took the lead. General O'Neill responded by sending him a not-so-friendly look, but the man was either oblivious or he had a lot of practice pretending to not see.
"We've been doing some background research into your counterpart in this reality. Starting with facial recognition to get your real identity." He halfway held up a file with a cliche 'CLASSIFIED' stamped in red on the cover. "We found her, and our databases recognize her as Buffy Anne Summers, originally from Los Angeles. She lived for seven years in a small town called Sunnydale, located halfway between L.A. and San Diego, before it unexpectedly fell into a sinkhole a few years ago. Summers doesn't have a criminal record per se, but there are some interesting notations there."
*You were right,* Egeria commented. *They are going to try and use your other self against us.*
*I would've been a lot more surprised if they didn't.*
"This reality's version of me and I are two very different people."
"Am I right in believing the divide is that she moved to Sunnydale and you didn't?"
Buffy inclined her head slightly. "Kind of. It is one of the major divergences between our lives."
On General O'Neill's right, Colonel Carter got more intense. "You've met," she stated just as Coolidge was about to speak up again. "You and the other Buffy, you've met."
"We have," she confirmed simply.
"How?" Coolidge's eyes had narrowed in surprise.
*You were right about this too. He was expecting to use the other Buffy's actions against you, or possibly to try and use her as a way to bargain for something.*
"There's a lot of technology out there, Mr. Coolidge. Including spaceships with cloaking devices, among other things. In fact, you'd be surprised how many aliens see this planet as a specialized vacation destination."
Every single person who wasn't part of their group stared in complete silence at them.
Daniel found his voice first, "I'm sorry? Could you please repeat that last part?"
"Before Stargate Command began sending teams out there to explore other planets, Earth was just another planet no one cared about. It was just a small world in an insignificant solar system, but when word got out to the more advanced races there was another world where technology had advanced past farming and very basic technology they became curious. Naturally, they did reconnaissance first and found out about the iris you've placed in front of your Stargate, and that the Stargate itself is placed within a highly secure facility.
"So, they went for the second option; spaceships. As they didn't actually know how far Earth had advanced they dropped out of hyperspace much earlier than they would've otherwise, and immediately cloaked. Smaller ships were deployed once they were in orbit and they landed on different continents where they spent time exploring while trying to blend in."
Buffy looked at their surprised and concerned faces. "One of the downsides with having such a huge population is that you don't really know if you've been visited by someone from another world, or if it's just a weirdo from another country who is trying to act native.
"They've kept an eye on Earth, and as it has developed quite a few things no one else has, someone had the bright idea to sell it as a tourist destination. There are also scientists who are observing for various reasons. Just to name a few."
The room exploded in loud voices, and Buffy just sat back. The Tau'ri were an odd people, so helpful in some cases when it came to people less fortunate than them, yet so ignorant about what was happening in their own backyard.
General O'Neill whistled loudly after a couple of minutes. "Quiet down, we're not getting any answers this way." He glared at Coolidge and the other politicians before he turned to Buffy. "Is that how you've gotten on and off Earth? As part of a tourist group?"
"No, we've amassed our own technology and reverse-engineered some of it. Spaceships are an important part of many cultures out there and not having a fleet could be problematic. Especially since going through the Stargate leaves you vulnerable to any kind of attack.
"Every now and then I've taken a ship and gone back home, usually visiting my counterpart from this reality." Then, just because she couldn't help herself, "Besides, this world is the only one that's invented coffee, and I need my fix."
Daniel snorted before he got serious. "How many worlds are a part of this, and how many aliens are on Earth that we don't know about?"
*Do we have those numbers?"
*No, merely estimates.*
"How come they haven't made direct contact with us? They should know that just landing and making themselves comfortable on someone else's world is kind of rude."
This time Buffy just gave him a look. "And who would they ask? This planet doesn't have a worldwide government. Heck, most countries don't even get along very well. Besides, what makes you believe they haven't tried asking someone? Just because the SGC doesn't know, doesn't mean no one else knows. You're not alone, you're not in charge of this entire world, and frankly, you don't really have a say.
"The U.S. has made everything classified, which means if they asked they would either not be believed or they would end up in a lab. If they did ask another government then that government probably deemed it classified as well, if they took them seriously. Since no one really believes in aliens, and especially that they're more intelligent than us and have more advanced technology than we do, why would they try and tell another government that aliens contacted them?"
"Those are some good points. Obviously, we don't advertise, but if they had entered through the front door..."
"Then you would've denied them access, and since they have a way around you, they took it."
She looked at Daniel, the military representatives, and all the politicians. "Understand that these people are a lot more advanced than you, and they have stayed hidden for centuries or even millennia to avoid the Goa'uld and other hostile species. They consider this little blue marble as a curiosity, but the people themselves as primitive.
"You could try and locate them, but I doubt you'll find them."
After that, the rest of the politicians joined in and Buffy got the sense she had somehow ended up in a badly supervised kindergarten.
Author: 3am_moonlight (MirroredIllusions on TtH)
Crossover: BtVS / Stargate SG-1: Continuum
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,094
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & Post-Stargate SG-1: Continuum
Disclaimer: Nothing copyrighted belongs to yours truly.
Summary: In which the Tau'ri get information they did not expect.
Author's Note: Written for Day 19 of the 2022 August Fic-A-Day.
Previous: Back To Start . Try Again . Tok'ra . Stargate Command . Interlude .
After everyone returned to the conference table and got comfortable again, Mr. Coolidge took the lead. General O'Neill responded by sending him a not-so-friendly look, but the man was either oblivious or he had a lot of practice pretending to not see.
"We've been doing some background research into your counterpart in this reality. Starting with facial recognition to get your real identity." He halfway held up a file with a cliche 'CLASSIFIED' stamped in red on the cover. "We found her, and our databases recognize her as Buffy Anne Summers, originally from Los Angeles. She lived for seven years in a small town called Sunnydale, located halfway between L.A. and San Diego, before it unexpectedly fell into a sinkhole a few years ago. Summers doesn't have a criminal record per se, but there are some interesting notations there."
*You were right,* Egeria commented. *They are going to try and use your other self against us.*
*I would've been a lot more surprised if they didn't.*
"This reality's version of me and I are two very different people."
"Am I right in believing the divide is that she moved to Sunnydale and you didn't?"
Buffy inclined her head slightly. "Kind of. It is one of the major divergences between our lives."
On General O'Neill's right, Colonel Carter got more intense. "You've met," she stated just as Coolidge was about to speak up again. "You and the other Buffy, you've met."
"We have," she confirmed simply.
"How?" Coolidge's eyes had narrowed in surprise.
*You were right about this too. He was expecting to use the other Buffy's actions against you, or possibly to try and use her as a way to bargain for something.*
"There's a lot of technology out there, Mr. Coolidge. Including spaceships with cloaking devices, among other things. In fact, you'd be surprised how many aliens see this planet as a specialized vacation destination."
Every single person who wasn't part of their group stared in complete silence at them.
Daniel found his voice first, "I'm sorry? Could you please repeat that last part?"
"Before Stargate Command began sending teams out there to explore other planets, Earth was just another planet no one cared about. It was just a small world in an insignificant solar system, but when word got out to the more advanced races there was another world where technology had advanced past farming and very basic technology they became curious. Naturally, they did reconnaissance first and found out about the iris you've placed in front of your Stargate, and that the Stargate itself is placed within a highly secure facility.
"So, they went for the second option; spaceships. As they didn't actually know how far Earth had advanced they dropped out of hyperspace much earlier than they would've otherwise, and immediately cloaked. Smaller ships were deployed once they were in orbit and they landed on different continents where they spent time exploring while trying to blend in."
Buffy looked at their surprised and concerned faces. "One of the downsides with having such a huge population is that you don't really know if you've been visited by someone from another world, or if it's just a weirdo from another country who is trying to act native.
"They've kept an eye on Earth, and as it has developed quite a few things no one else has, someone had the bright idea to sell it as a tourist destination. There are also scientists who are observing for various reasons. Just to name a few."
The room exploded in loud voices, and Buffy just sat back. The Tau'ri were an odd people, so helpful in some cases when it came to people less fortunate than them, yet so ignorant about what was happening in their own backyard.
General O'Neill whistled loudly after a couple of minutes. "Quiet down, we're not getting any answers this way." He glared at Coolidge and the other politicians before he turned to Buffy. "Is that how you've gotten on and off Earth? As part of a tourist group?"
"No, we've amassed our own technology and reverse-engineered some of it. Spaceships are an important part of many cultures out there and not having a fleet could be problematic. Especially since going through the Stargate leaves you vulnerable to any kind of attack.
"Every now and then I've taken a ship and gone back home, usually visiting my counterpart from this reality." Then, just because she couldn't help herself, "Besides, this world is the only one that's invented coffee, and I need my fix."
Daniel snorted before he got serious. "How many worlds are a part of this, and how many aliens are on Earth that we don't know about?"
*Do we have those numbers?"
*No, merely estimates.*
"How come they haven't made direct contact with us? They should know that just landing and making themselves comfortable on someone else's world is kind of rude."
This time Buffy just gave him a look. "And who would they ask? This planet doesn't have a worldwide government. Heck, most countries don't even get along very well. Besides, what makes you believe they haven't tried asking someone? Just because the SGC doesn't know, doesn't mean no one else knows. You're not alone, you're not in charge of this entire world, and frankly, you don't really have a say.
"The U.S. has made everything classified, which means if they asked they would either not be believed or they would end up in a lab. If they did ask another government then that government probably deemed it classified as well, if they took them seriously. Since no one really believes in aliens, and especially that they're more intelligent than us and have more advanced technology than we do, why would they try and tell another government that aliens contacted them?"
"Those are some good points. Obviously, we don't advertise, but if they had entered through the front door..."
"Then you would've denied them access, and since they have a way around you, they took it."
She looked at Daniel, the military representatives, and all the politicians. "Understand that these people are a lot more advanced than you, and they have stayed hidden for centuries or even millennia to avoid the Goa'uld and other hostile species. They consider this little blue marble as a curiosity, but the people themselves as primitive.
"You could try and locate them, but I doubt you'll find them."
After that, the rest of the politicians joined in and Buffy got the sense she had somehow ended up in a badly supervised kindergarten.