Title: Stargate: Athena

Authors: ReganX and SionnachOghma

Rating: PG/K+

Spoilers: Everything from 'Stargate: Sg-1' and 'Stargate: Atlantis' is fair game, spoiler-wise.

Summary: Sam's adventures continue when she is given command of Earth's newest ship.

Feedback: Feedback is more than welcome, flames are not.

Disclaimer: We do not own 'Stargate: SG-1', 'Stargate: Atlantis' or any of the characters associated with either show. If we did, Season Nine would have been... different.

Author's Note: This story is set after the end of Season Ten. The Ori have been expelled from our galaxy at this point.

Part I

Delta Site

"The Asgard have been able to equip this vessel with one of our hyperdrives." Thor lectured as the group materialized in the engine room. "It will allow you to explore other galaxies. The dialing computers for the stargate have been modeled on our own, and will be able to calculate stargate destinations in the galaxies you visit."

"How long would it take this ship to reach, say… Atlantis?" Daniel enquired in a would-be casual tone.

"At full speed, approximately two weeks. The new model engine is slightly more efficient than those onboard this ship's predecessors, however, after compensating for the massive size, the speed of this vessel is little more than that of the Odyssey."

"The systems are mostly crystal based, right?" Sam asked, her gaze fixed on the computer consoles lining the sides of the engine room. Had she not been wearing her dress blues, she would have been happy to begin to dissect the entire engine. "Were there any problems integrating the…"

"Carter!" Jack caught her arm, leading her away from the main console, half-afraid that, if she were to start examining it, they would never be able to draw her away. "You'll have plenty of time to play with your new ship once it's in the air. This is supposed to be a quick tour. We've got a lot more to see."

"But, General…"

"The Asgard enhancements have been successfully integrated with your original design interface." Thor assured her. The Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet seemed as eager to move though the tour quickly as the Head of Homeworld Security was. "If you will follow me."

Matching their strides to those of the much smaller Thor, Sam and Jack followed him through a corridor lined with crew quarters to a huge hangar bay filled with gliders.

"Hi, guys." Vala's greeting was cheerful.

"Vala." Jack scanned the hangar for other occupants, seeing none. "Who granted you access? I remember approving Mitchell – what have you done with Mitchell?"

"I'm here, sir." The cockpit of the nearest glider opened and a head popped up.

"Having fun, Cam?" Sam asked, amused.

"You betcha." Mitchell beamed, climbing out of the cockpit and sliding down, ignoring the ladder. "Can't wait to get one of these babies up in the air, see what they can do."

"It'll be quite a while before we have any of these on Earth." Jack remarked. "All twelve will be going with the Enterprise."

"We're not calling it the Enterprise… right?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I was overruled. Again." Jack grumped. What was the point of being 'the man' if he couldn't make any cool decisions?

"The Asgard would have liked to name this vessel for you, Colonel Carter." Thor said, leading the way up the stairs and onto the bridge. "But O'Neill thought that you might prefer a different name."

"So what is the ship going to be called?" She asked.

"The President thought that the ship's first commander should have the privilege of naming her." A familiar voice spoke up. General Hammond stood next to the commander's chair, in full dress uniform, a broad smile on his face. "It's up to you, Colonel Carter."

"I vote for the Vala." The recommendation came immediately.

Jack scowled. "We're not calling this ship the Vala."

"The first person who hears that name will probably blow us out of the sky." Daniel remarked caustically.

"What about the Mal Doran?" She asked hopefully. Nobody bothered to reply.

"What about naming it after Hermes, the patron god of travelers?"

"And thieves." Vala chimed in helpfully.

"Or maybe after Athena, goddess of wisdom and learning." Daniel continued, ignoring the interruption. "Or Iris, messenger of the gods."

"We've already had the Prometheus, the Daedalus and the Odyssey." Mitchell commented. "We could call this one the Icarus."

"You'd really want to name this ship after Icarus?" Daniel asked dubiously, looking at the other man as though he'd grown an extra head.

"Why not?" Mitchell shrugged his shoulders. "It should be a Greek name like the other ships have, right?"

"Yeah, but Icarus? The guy who flew too close to the sun and plummeted to his death when his wings fell apart? I'm not flying on any ship with that name. Why not just name it the Titanic and be done with it?"

"I get to name my F-303, right?" Mitchell appealed to General Hammond.

Realization dawning, Jack drew Sam aside. "You haven't told those two that they're not coming, have you?" He asked in a low voice.

Sam adopted her most innocent expression. "I thought that it would be better coming from you, sir."

"Carter…"

"They assumed that they'd be coming along, I didn't have the heart to tell them they wouldn't be." She gave him a beseeching look. "They'll be so disappointed."

"These nasty little jobs come with the big chair, Colonel." He reminded her firmly, sternly willing himself not to give in. He gave her a gentle push in Mitchell and Daniel's direction. "Go on."

Before she could approach the pair and break the bad news, Hammond came to her rescue.

"Major Ferretti is waiting for us in the briefing room, if you'd follow me." He told Sam, who was only too glad of the escape.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here today, sir."

He smiled. "I have a small piece of official business here today, Colonel." He lead her into the briefing room, where, in addition to Major Ferretti, General Landry, Sgt Harriman and half a dozen SGC officers, all in full dress uniform, were waiting.

Walter stepped forward, pressing small boxes into Hammond and Jack's hands.

"The President of the United States has placed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, integrity and abilities of Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter." Hammond said as he and Jack replaced the silver oak leaves with the eagle insignia of a full colonel. "Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter is promoted to the grade of Colonel, United States Air Force."

Uncomfortably aware of the fact that all the other officers in the room were clad in full dress blues, Mitchell glanced self-consciously at his own olive-drab jumpsuit.

He nudged Daniel sharply. "You couldn't have told me about this?"

"She got promoted first – that means I won the pool, right?" Vala asked eagerly from Daniel's other side.

"Yeah. Me too." Daniel said.

Mitchell was turning redder by the second. "There was a pool!"

"No, no pool." Daniel's response was over-hasty.

"Son of a bitch!"

"What was that, Colonel?"

Mitchell felt his face grow warm as Landry fixed him with a stern look. "Nothing, sir."

TBC.

Author's Notes: We hope to have the next chapter posted within a week. In the meantime, feedback is more than welcome and if there are any suggestions or requests, please let us know.