1969 Prime, by Redbyrd (PG)

[figs_sg1_rec]

Rec Category: General Hammond
Pairing: none
Category: General Hammond, Samantha Carter, episode related, time travel
Warning: temporary (?) character deaths
Author on LJ: redbyrd_sgfic
Author's Website: Redbyrd's Stargate Fiction
Link: 1969 Prime and the prequel, 1969 Prime Minus One

Why This Must Be Read: In yet another Redbyrd gem, we get to explore those tricksy ramifications of time travel. In 1969, SG-1 made it back because of the note Hammond wrote to himself, creating a loop to give them the knowledge to get safely home. But if we follow the logic of that explanation - at least, as much logic as is possible when discussing time travel! - shouldn't there have been a beginning to that loop, when SG-1 went back before Hammond had a chance to write the note?

That leads us to 1969 Prime - a prequel to the episode, where the ending isn't very happy. Sort of. Because the ending is the episode, and that makes everything all right. Doesn't it?

Time travel makes your brain freeze...

The first half of the story, understandably enough, isn't written from George's point of view - after all, it's the recounting of the first part of the episode, when SG-1 set out without that crucial note in Sam's pocket. Delightfully, for me, Redbyrd takes the opportunity to write the story from Sam's POV. (I believe I have mentioned, once or twice, that there is a sad paucity of good Sam POV gen stories in the fandom.) Little changes until we meet Hammond, although I particularly enjoyed Redbyrd's explanation for Daniel's foot-in-mouth "Nyet." After all, they're on a mission, and Daniel is used to automatically translating and replying to different languages when they step through the Gate.

The story twists sharply on its axis once SG-1 are hustled into the truck and they have their confrontation with Young Hammond. From that point on, the story is told wholly from George's POV, and it's particularly poignant to see SG-1 through his bewildered and concussed eyes, especially once they tell him the truth and try to set up events for an eventual fix of their situation. When escape meets with failure, George is left with the memory of four strangely gentle people and a commitment that will shape his life for the next three decades.

Redbyrd does her usual excellent job of weaving the few hints we know from canon into a realistic whole. There's the sad note of Hammond deliberately sticking to his job despite his wife's illness, because he's determined to still be part of the Air Force in order to save SG-1's lives in the future; there's his early meeting with Samantha Carter, his friend Jacob's tomboy daughter. Most fascinating of all, there's his meeting with Jack from COTG, now retold with the colored implications of what George knows happened and is going to happen.

As an added bonus, Redbyrd wrote one more story: 1969 Prime Minus, which is the loop before the prime loop, so to speak. If there was a loop when SG-1 went back but George hadn't written the note yet, then it stands to reason that there was the original time line, in which SG-1 hadn't gone back yet... yes, I know. Brain freeze! While Prime Minus One seems very similar to Prime, many motivations and details are changed, making for fascinating reading.

Any fan of time travel - and George Hammond! - can't afford to miss these two wonderful fics.

"I told you, I'm not going to help you," he said more loudly. If they thought Hammond would ever cooperate with the enemy, they were in for a surprise.

They turned and looked at him. The older man smiled a little wryly. "Well, Lieutenant. That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself. You're going to have thirty years to decide whether to save us or not. And by the time you have to make the decision, you'll have known us all for a while." His glance shifted sideways, and then back as if he was stopping himself from saying something. "Some of us longer than others. You have to understand, we know you-- will know you-- pretty well. Too well to believe you'll leave us stranded if there's anything you can do about it."

Hammond gave them a stubborn look.

The man shrugged, "So tell me, Lieutenant. What's the date?"

"The date." Hammond rolled his eyes and surrendered to weirdness. "August fourth- or fifth, now if it's after midnight." At the other man's impatient gesture, he added. "1969."

" '69... " the man repeated. He turned to Daniel. "What happened in '69?"

Daniel appeared to be searching his memory. "The - the moon landing." He turned to Hammond, "That was just a couple of weeks ago, right?"

This was ridiculous. Hammond said dryly, "The entire world knows that."

The other man said, "But not too many people know you watched it from your father's bedside in his hospital room... just two days after his first heart attack."

Hammond was stunned. Then furious. Obviously this operation had been far more carefully planned than he had realized. "So you've been spying on me. So what?"

"You're going to have two daughters," Daniel said. "Jack?"

The older man said, "Elizabeth and Deborah. Um..Elizabeth may be around now, I'm not sure about Deborah."

Hammond pressed his lips together. His daughter Elizabeth would be three next month. And his wife was pregnant. The new baby would be due in December.

"Sir," Sam spoke up. "Be careful what you tell him. Foreknowlege could change what he does."

The other man nodded, "I know, C-Captain, but we have to tell him enough that he believes us. Stuff we could never have known in advance." He turned back to Hammond. "You'll be a general when we meet again. And you'll be really pissed off at me. Try to remember that I had a really, really good reason for doing what I did, and cut me some slack."

Comments

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

Hammond deliberately sticking to his job despite his wife's illness

See, there was a good reason for that- I had to explain why Hammond in some of the AUs is a one-star general, when he has two stars in COTG our timeline.

(Yes, I confess, I'm reading recs for my own stuff. *blushes*)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I have always adored your talent for winnowing out sense from the more ridiculous gaps in canon.

And I don't see why reading recs for your fic is any different than rereading feedback, which is a very good thing to do whenever you need to feel good. :)