I don't know where this came from. It's kind of a bad rip-off of Stargate. Mostly, it's my "Wormhole X-treme is to Stargate as Stargate: SG-1 is to x" story. But I really haven't been thinking about it that long; it just kinda popped up with all I've been reading lately. But if you enjoy it, great. If you don't, I guess I need to find better ideas to play with.

Dramatis Personae (as they might be if I continue)
The General
Kevin Armstrong--old team French linguist
Liluye "Chani" Armstrong--new team German linguist (15)
Natalia Kuli--old team German linguist
George Kuli--new team Spanish linguist (18)
Lucas Kuli--MOCR (18)
Marie Miller--old team Spanish linguist
Gus Miller--new team French linguist (19)
Neil Miller--new team diplomatic leader and German linguist (16)
Pavel Koretsky--old team diplomatic leader and Russian linguist
Valentina Koretsky--new team Russian linguist (20)

**********

November 1st, 1986.
Though he towered over the room's other occupant, the six foot five inches tall civilian nodded respectfully to the general before him. "Thank you, sir. You know, I probably won't be able to come back here until she's out of the house, and by then..."

The Air Force officer smiled, even laughed a bit. "By then, you'll be too old to keep up. I understand. Even something so amazing as the 512 should never get in the way of your family." His face became serious again, as it usually was while he was on duty. "You realize we need as many good poeple as possible. I trust your daughter will have no aversion to joining in when she can if we're still around."

"I'll do what I can," the tall man replied.

"Good." The general stood, taking the other's hand in a shake. "God be with you, Kevin."

"You, too." With that, the two parted.

June 13, 2003.
"You've got to admit," Chani declared as soon as the commercials started, "that if he wasn't evil, wasteful, and annoying, Anubis would have been a really cool ally."

Kevin shook his head. He'd long ago given up trying to 'discuss' these points with his daughter. She always came up with too many counterpoints anyway. Her attention shifted back to the TV, where snippets from an upcoming episode flashed across the screen.

He frowned, something in the commerical evoking memories of a promise he'd made years before, a promise they had called in. Earlier that evening, he'd received a message from his old employer, explaining that his presence had been requested and his daughter's as well. His first instinct had been to say no, but he knew they wouldn't let him just change his mind. Besides that, he was positive his daughter would love to go.

She was so young. He had been nineteen when he signed on, and he'd always thought of himself as being too young. But Chani, she was fifteen, barely that. He couldn't imagine that they didn't realize that.

Fortunately, her mother thought that it was a good idea, that it might give Chani something to work towards in school. At least the teen wouldn't have to worry about getting a summer job.

**********

Chani glanced down at her clothing for the fifth time in three minutes. "You know," she remarked, "all the times I've flown, and I've worn tennis shoes on every flight. Are you sure we won't have time to change before getting there?"

Kevin sighed. Since they were to be landing right at the base, it gave more meaning to the words 'direct flight' than she knew. "We're going to be late, even as it is," he mumbled, "so I really don't want to take the time to change." His eyes hadn't moved from the novel in his hands.

"So, um, what are your cousins like?" Chani grumbled, fidgeting with her skirt again.

"They're nice." He then pretended to be completely absorbed in the book.

Finally, she looked up from her clothes and around at the other people on the aircraft. "Hey, Dad, don't you think it's a little odd that this plane can hold something like thirty passengers, and there's only, lesse, seven of us?"

He shook his head. "It's a small airport."

"Small airports don't have direct flights from the other side of the country. You can barely get one to GSP anymore, and that's only five states away, not forty-eight."

"We got lucky."

"Scheisse. This is flying, remember? You don't get lucky unless it has something to do with the pilots' abilities or how fast you got through security."

A woman across the aisle and in the row in front of them snickered at the remark. Kevin shook his head. "I don't know, Chani, so settle down. It's a long flight."

She sighed then stared out the window. Delicate designs of light green, dark green, and other tiny shapes crawled by, where she could seen them through the breaks in the puffy white and gray carpet of clouds. Above the plane, the sky was clear and blue, a hue of which rivalled faceted sapphires in beauty.

Though the view was wonderful, she shortly declared it predictable, consistant, unchanging, and therefore boring, so she glanced back at her father. Her jaw dropped when she saw him conversing lightly with the woman across the aisle.

"Computer programming," Kevin replied, answering the woman's question. "You?"

She grinned. "After you left, we all heard about it, and the general even told us why and encouraged us with 'family always comes first.' I went home, raised the kids, and started teaching fifth grade."

"That's great."

Chani tapped his arm. "Dad?" she asked pointedly.

He coughed a couple horried, wet smokers' coughs. "Chani, this is Natalia Kuli. I used to work with her."

The teenager smiled half-heartedly. "Hi."

Natalia waved in reply but stared at Kevin. "You didn't tell her, did you."

His eyes darted back and forth. "I didn't know I was supposed to."

A visible realization crossed the woman's face, and for a few moments, she looked as though she couldn't decide whether to laugh or to remain caught up in the seriousness the situation seemed to demand. "They never sent you the Introduction Guidelines, did they."

He shook his head, his eyebrows falling together. "Introduction--"

"Language?"

"Yours."

Natalia nodded then looked to Chani. "Sag mir, warum kommt ihr hier?"

She shrugged, obviously surprised at the transition into German. Unfortunately, she didn't know how to respond. "Family reunion."

"You weren't so far off from the truth, Kev. All four of us are comin' back to teach these young 'uns what it's all about."

"How many?" he wondered.

"For now, just five." She glanced to Chani, but addressed Kevin. "The Introduction Guidelines insist that 'new recuits' so to speak are to be told most of it on the way, without detailed explanation of devices until we're inside."

He shrugged. "Guess I'd better get started. Nice talking to you again, Natalie." Kevin then anchored a bookmark in his novel and deposited it in the seatback pocket in front of him. "Chani, we aren't going to a family reunion."

"I got that, but thank you, Captain Obvious." She thought for a moment. "Guidelines to introduce people to what?"

"The 512," he answered, belatedly realizing it would be nothing more than a number to her. "Put it this way: You're right. Aliens do exist, and they've been here."

Her eyebrows rose, and for a second, she could say nothing. "You're joking, right?"