Breakaway
Author: Rubygirl29
Universe: Sg-1, SGA crossover
Genre: Slash Cam/Lorne
Rating: PG-13 so far
Note: The F-302 program brings John Sheppard, Evan Lorne and Cameron Mitchell together for the first time. This story takes place prior to any of them joining SGC.
Part 2
A week later, Cam found an old acquaintance having lunch in the base cafeteria. After exchanging the usual information, they settled in for a more in-depth talk about their current assignments. Jim Stenson was a newly-minted Colonel on assignment at the Pentagon. Cam had served with him as a Captain at Peterson AFB before his combat deployments and they were, if not friends, familiar enough to share a table and a cup of coffee.
“So, Cam, what are you doing here at Luke?”
“Training on some new high-tech fighters.”
“The F-302 program? How about that! That's why I'm here. I'm an analyst on the project. Small world. How's that going?”
Cam took a swallow of his coffee. “It's pretty stressful being back in a learning environment after combat.”
“More stressful than combat?” Stenson laughed. “God, you rocket jockeys are all the same.”
“We're not, actually.”
“So, are you quartered on base?”
“No. I'm sharing a condo with two fellow pilots in Glendale. It's a good arrangement.”
“Anybody I know?”
“John Sheppard and Evan Lorne.”
Stenson coughed and shook his head. “I'm sorry about that.”
“What?”
“How'd you get shoved in with those two?”
Cam blinked at him, trying to figure out what he meant. “I don't get it.”
“One advantage of the Pentagon gig is that I'm up on the latest inside info. Sheppard's primarily a chopper pilot. The crazy SOB got sent home after a suspicious incident in A-stan. Seems he has a problem following orders. I wonder who pulled the strings to get him in the program here?”
Cam, who counted impatience as one of his besetting sins, wasn't about to condemn Sheppard. “Maybe he's here because he can fly anything with two wings better than I can on my best day.”
“Or maybe because Daddy has deep purse strings,” Stenson insinuated and Cam remembered why they were just acquaintances and not friends.
“And Lorne?”
Stenson leaned back in his chair. “He doesn't seem a little 'off' to you?”
“Off?”
“As in a certain policy beginning with DADT?”
“Come on, the guy's a Major. Just promoted. And if you say that's because he bent over for it, then I'll get up and leave this table.”
“Easy, Cam. It's just rumor.”
“It's a damn ugly rumor to pass on. You're a better man than that.”
“I'm just giving you a heads-up, that's all.”
“Jesus, Stenson. I forgot what an asshole you are.”
“Tell me that when he makes a pass at you.”
Cam's anger boiled over. He stood up. “Maybe I won't be as offended as you think,” he spat. “You know what? I'm glad you got that post in DC, because I don't want you fighting next to me, ever.” He banged the tray on the service line and left.
^*^*^*^*^*^
Training proceeded, and with it came the inevitable homework: something else Cam wasn't used to doing. He, Lorne and Sheppard all had different learning styles which should have been disruptive to their rooming arrangement, but seemed to work for them. Cam, used to being in command and making sure his team continued to work as one despite possible personal clashes, found himself observing Sheppard and Lorne with the same interest.
Sheppard was whip-smart with a near photographic memory. He seemed to absorb things by osmosis and while Cam and Lorne were pouring over books and spec sheets, he was finished and off to the golf course or pool.
Lorne was one of those maddening organized students. He set out what had to be done and did it methodically and thoroughly. He was smart enough to finish his work nearly as fast as Sheppard. His refuge was the fourth bedroom which he had set up as an art studio.
Cam was more interested in his observations than burying his nose in a book and it showed in his test scores. They were high, because he was inately competitive, but Sheppard was always first, and Lorne second in the classwork. Cam was annoyed. So he studied harder and longer, and made up for it in the flight simulators where it was his turn to be first, with John nipping at his heels and Lorne just one pace behind. It was beginning to piss off some of the other trainees that the three of them were consistently at the head of the class.
Cam found out how deep and ugly the resentment was while he was stowing some gear in his locker after a workout in the gym. He heard two voices from the other side, speaking too sofly to recognize, but not so soft that he couldn't hear the words.
“Sheppard's got to be feeding him the answers.”
“Or sleeping with him,” the other voice sniggered. “Maybe it's a menage a trois.”
“Naw, everybody knows Mitchell's a straight arrow.”
“Not Sheppard?”
“Are you kidding? After A-stan, Sheppard would sleep with anything that breathed. And Lorne's a bona fide DATD.”
“Fuckin' fairy won't last in this program.”
“Damn straight.” The locker doors banged shut.
All in Cam that was good and strong rose up. He had his shortcomings but prejudice wasn’t one of them. He moved silently to the end of the row of lockers, and emerged in full Colonel mode. “You fellas really ought to check around to see who’s in earshot before you start making accusations against other officers, all of whom rank you … including, me. In case you don't know who I am, I am Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell - the straight arrow, and I will go to your CO with this and demand an apology, in person, to both Major Sheppard and Major Lorne, if I hear one more word from either of you on this subject. You can pass that on to any other empty barrels you might know who are intending to make noise. Is that clear?”
Cam could be intimidating when he chose. He intended to scare the shit out of these two witless idiots and judging from their instant pallor and downcast eyes, he had succeeded. He wasn’t finished.
“Gentlemen, look at me when I'm speaking.” He waited a beat before continuing. “There will come a time when your lives will depend on your fellow pilots and officers. It's not very smart of you to alienate any of them based on assumption and gossip. But then, you're not Sheppard and Lorne. They rank you on all counts, not by just the insignia on their collars.” He left the locker room, using his best parade ground stride.
All the way back to the condo, he ran through the two encounters in his mind. Stenson was an asshole, but he had access to information. The two airmen were idiots, but they had the same intel. Cam lived with Sheppard and Lorne, and had never had any reason to believe they were anything but friends. It wasn’t a neat package, and Cam didn’t like loose ends. He swung the car around and went back to the base. As a Colonel, he had certain security protocols which he rarely used, but this time he did.
There was quite a bit on Sheppard’s Afghanistan incident. He’d ignored orders and had flown into heavy fire to rescue a medical team surrounded by Al Quaeda guerillas. He retrieved the medics, but as he was exiting the site his chopper was hit by a SAM and went down in a nearby village. Civilians died, as did the medical team he had risked his life to save. Sheppard had walked away with minor injuries.
Cam, haunted by similar ghosts, couldn’t fault Sheppard. He closed the file and moved on to Lorne’s. God, the guy was perfect. A nearly flawless service record, top of his class, marksmanship awards, combat honors, Distinguished Flying Cross, a silver star, purple heart, and Air Force Commendation medals. There was one black mark -- a disciplinary demerit from his Academy days for fighting. Cam grimaced. Yeah, that Lorne was a real cream-puff. It seemed like rumors were born of jealousy, not fact. Case closed as far as he was concerned.
He rubbed his eyes. Tomorrow, they would start training on the real thing. Forget simulators. They’d be in the air. Cam felt a thrill in his stomach. This was what he’d been waiting for.
Part 3