This is a missing scene story for the Stargate movie "Continuum." A version of it was originally posted to a group on yahoo, but it's been rewritten with zeilfanaat's help.

Warnings – spoilers

"Legendary"

The aliens had arrived and not illegal ones from Mexico, Cuba, China or South America. Aliens in ships from outer space. It was still so incredible. Lt. General George Hammond had known about the three people found the year before, and he knew about the stargate and the plan to get it up and running. He also knew about the warnings, and dagnabbit if the claims weren't coming true. Mitchell, Carter and Jackson, the team from the other timeline, had blown in, been downright insubordinate and rude to the President, and were now on their way to Andrews AFB. Hammond had seen only Miss Carter accept a handshake. Mitchell had kept his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, and Jackson had started off with his hands tightly fisted, but had quickly put them in his pockets too.

He had heard the conversation, if Jackson bellowing 'I told you so' could be classified as conversation, and then, not wanting to look at the three of them anymore, and needing to locate two of the people known to have the Ancient gene, he had turned his back. One or both of the men with the ability to operate Ancient devices might be needed if the Navy got the stargate working, and if SG-1 was actually able to steal a cargo ship, get to another planet, find the power source and get back. It was a long shot, but at the moment it was the only one they had.

"For a minute, I was wondering, General," the President admitted. Perching his hip on the edge of the table next to Hammond, he clarified. "For a minute I was wondering if they were going to help."

"Yes, Sir." Hammond still couldn't believe that those three individuals had been on a team that had supposedly saved the planet... more than once. It was absurd. He accepted a folder from an aide and volunteered the information to the President. "We contacted Colonel O'Neill. His orders have been cut, but the time to get him there will take about four hours longer than anticipated."

President Henry Hayes turned toward Hammond and looking puzzled he asked, "Why?"

"He refused the hop to Iraq to catch the quickest flight," Hammond explained. He knew from the look on his face that the President didn't take kindly to officers countermanding orders. He usually didn't either.

"What do you mean, he REFUSED?" The President's ears turned red as he raised his voice, something he didn't ordinarily resort to doing. The Colonel couldn't refuse a direct order. If he did, he could face charges.

Hammond only hesitated a second before responding to the man's angry disbelief. He kept his voice even and his gaze straight ahead. "Colonel O'Neill was ordered to Iraq where he would catch a hop to Germany, which would get him on a plane bound for McMurdo Station. He refused to go into Iraq."

Hayes remained quiet, all the while wondering about O'Neill. He remembered him as the AF officer who made initial contact with the three members of SG-1, and the one to conduct the first couple of debriefings. The man then completed video and written reports, and his own lengthy debrief before being released back to duty, which, if Hayes remembered correctly, was heading up Special Forces training on the ice. Nobody had thought much about O'Neill again until the aliens had showed up. They had had a plan, at least they thought they had. A team had been working for months to excavate and set up the stargate found in the deep frozen crevasse in case what SG-1 had predicted actually came to fruition. They had known about the Ancient gene and scientists were still trying to isolate it so they could test for it since it was reasonable to assume that others possessed it too. Their plan in case the aliens came had included knowing where to find O'Neill, and with him still being on active duty, it had been relatively easy to keep tabs on him. It had been months since the man had been read in on the proposed project.

"The Colonel told me no, Mr. President," Hammond continued, smiling at the man's audacity. "He will not go anywhere near Iraq, and he referenced a Presidential Order preventing anyone from making him do so." He didn't tell the President that O'Neill had said that the only way he'd go would be in shackles, because Hayes might just want to do that to the Colonel.

With a questioning look the President replied, "You're smiling. What's going on and why aren't you ready to court martial him and make due with the other man?"

"I demanded an explanation after he not only told me no, but hell no." Chuckling, Hammond slowly shook his head, actually enjoying telling the story, and Hayes just stared at him in disbelief. Realizing that Hayes was staring at him like he had two heads, he unsuccessfully concealed a slight smirk and continued. "To be precise, he said, 'Hell no, Sir' before he gave me his reason. Mr. President, if we need more, you'll have to get access to that order."

President Hayes was wondering what the heck was going on and why one of his predecessors would issue such an order. "What did he tell you, George?"

Hammond wasn't smiling anymore and in a sobering tone said, "He'd been a special guest of Saddam Hussein, Mr. President." His gaze went to the floor.

Hayes stared at Hammond as his own brain interpreted the words. O'Neill had been a POW. He let that realization soak in for only a moment. It was terrible, however, while he felt for the man, he was needed now... by the whole dang planet. They'd get him whatever he required: leave, PTSD counseling, whatever he needed for as long as he needed it. But of all the times the man could have refused, today was not it.

"You reminded him about the gene and why we need him?" Both men knew that last part depended on SG-1.

"I did." His tone was solemn and his gaze still directed down at the President's feet.

Hammond's eyes were hooded and Hayes knew he wasn't telling him everything. "He still refused? Knowing the planet is in jeopardy and, because of the gene, he's all we've got?"

Lifting his gaze he said, "Mr. President, he said his wife and son had been through it twice, and it wasn't going to happen again." Hammond knew he could have ordered him. Maybe should have ordered him. Should have demanded that he get his butt into Iraq. But he hadn't pushed the officer, hadn't forced him in any way to comply. No ordering, no yelling, no reprimand. Under normal circumstances, Hammond knew he wouldn't have hesitated to discipline the officer. The phrasing of the declaration however had not escaped him. O'Neill hadn't refused for himself. He wanted to protect his family. And that was something Hammond could certainly identify with and understand.

An unspoken apology passed from the General to the President. Hammond could have explained further. He could have told Hayes that O'Neill had questioned the time table. He could have admitted to providing more information than a General should ever need to divulge. He wasn't exactly sure why he'd done it. Why he'd been totally honest with information that nobody, including the Colonel, had a right to know. Hammond wasn't sure, but he finally decided that he had told him because O'Neill had asked, and because somewhere in the back of his mind, he figured out that O'Neill needed to know and deserved to know.

Hammond knew in his gut that there was something extraordinary about the man. Satisfied that he'd made the right decision, he admitted simply, "He'll still arrive in plenty of time."

President Hayes considered for a moment, but then smiled and nodded at his trusted friend. He didn't need an explanation, and he didn't need to see the sealed order to confirm anything. He now understood why the former President had done what he did. Heck, Hayes knew he would have issued an order like that after the first time. The Colonel knew they could check. Knew they probably would check. Perhaps when he got the time, he would try and find out more about Colonel Jack O'Neill.

"Just get him there, General," the President conceded, his trust in Hammond absolute. His attention was drawn to an aide handing another folder to Hammond. He had to wait only a second or two.

"The other man with the gene, Captain John Sheppard, is confined to quarters." Hammond didn't even ponder why Sheppard was a Captain when he was apparently a Major in the other timeline.

"I guess we should get him too. What did he do?" He didn't have the luxury of wondering for too long, the planet might need Sheppard.

"Yes, Sir," Hammond acknowledged as he nodded to the aide, waiting in the wings. "He's facing charges for disobeying a direct order. We won't use him unless we have to."

The President didn't miss the irony. Still curious about O'Neill, he gave a short nod to Hammond before walking to a more private area to make a phone call.

Later when the stargate site had been destroyed and SG-1 was on their way to Russia, Hayes and Hammond sat side by side. Amid the flickering emergency lighting, they, along with the others in the bunker, were lounging on the floor or in the chairs that hadn't been damaged when part of the ceiling came down. Rubble was all around them and choking dust filled the stale air. The bunker was their salvation, but also their tomb, unless by some miracle someone could dig them out.

"I found out about the sealed order for O'Neill."

The two men were covered in plaster dust. Hayes was cradling his left arm and Hammond had blood on the side of his face. Turning his head, the General noticed the soft look in the President's eyes.

"I want to believe he was telling the truth," Hammond quietly replied, hoping he hadn't misjudged O'Neill. He had never met the man in person, but he liked him.

"He was," President Hayes confirmed. "I called Ben directly." Hammond recognized the first name of the former President. The man had been a senior Senator running for President when Hayes was a junior Senator, wondering why he'd gotten into politics. Representing the same political party, they'd met and conferred many times, and had became friends.

"Not only can he refuse to go to Iraq, he can also decline any or all service in Iran, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. And a couple of others I don't remember right now." He flinched silently, easing his arm and shoulder to another position.

"Damn," Hammond exclaimed, both for the revelation and Hayes being in obvious pain. "How does he stay in Special Forces and never go into those places?" He'd forgotten for a moment that O'Neill had been in one of those countries when he had contacted him just a few hours earlier. Hammond thought he could still hear the ringing in his ears when the man had vehemently refused.

"He doesn't always refuse. It's his choice," President Hayes explained. "I believe that if our timetable needed him at McMurdo sooner, he would have gone into Iraq for the flight you first wanted him to take."

Hammond wanted to believe it too. O'Neill had his reasons, good reasons, for not going into Iraq. The man had stated his case with passion, and for that, Hammond had to give him credit.

Not waiting for Hammond to reply, Hayes quietly added, "The first time he was missing for four months. For most of it, nobody knew he was even still alive. That was during the first Gulf War. He returned to the region after 9/11, heading up the teams tracking Al Qaeda and locating their camps. Bad intelligence got him and two teams captured. Five months later they all escaped."

Hammond listened intently. The curious Colonel Jack O'Neill was becoming more and more curious... and mysterious.

"He has a special exemption for his commendations," Hayes offered, as another ceiling tile came down close to them.

Hammond wondered who in the world would issue special orders for medals and citations. And just how many special orders did the man have? Hayes wasn't finished explaining.

"The man's been written up for the Medal of Honor... twice. Never went forward because there was just no way to reveal his heroism without divulging classified information." It wasn't unusual for Special Forces operations to tread into black ops territory, entering and leaving without a trace. "These weren't solo ops either. There were plenty of reliable witnesses."

Hammond nodded, waiting for the President to continue. Congress and the media would have wanted details. They'd have demanded to know every little bit of information about what the Colonel had done, when he had done it, how he had done it, why he had done and where he had done it. No stone would have been left unturned, and some information, some details should never be allowed to see the light of day. Some of Hammond's service had been that way, so he completely understood the cloud of secrecy that cloaked O'Neill.

An electrical outlet near them sparked and then started smoking. The sprinklers hadn't kicked in yet, and everyone was hoping they wouldn't. The people in the bunker were buried alive. They didn't need to be wet too. Emergency power had become intermittent as the already dim lights dimmed further.

"Very few people know anything at all about the Colonel's ops and the ones that know something... know practically nothing at all. Or at least they don't admit to knowing." Hayes had been surprised when Ben relayed so much information about O'Neill. After hearing it, he didn't think anything would surprise him anymore. The man was the genuine article.

"Surely he was given something in their place," Hammond guessed, referring back to the medals, as the smoke from the outlet diminished. True heroism wasn't just dismissed.

"Two Air Force Crosses and a Silver Star, all of which he has permission not to wear." Hammond looked stunned. Hayes chuckled lightly, adding, "He has two other Silver Stars, three Distinguished Service medals, two Bronze Stars and several Purple Hearts, which he also has permission not to display." O'Neill was a true hero who didn't want anybody to know it.

"He's supposed to wear all ribbons and devices," Hammond absently reminded himself and the President. "I never heard about anyone asking for permission to keep from displaying their medals, let alone actually getting it. I don't understand, Mr. President."

"I can't speak for him, but from what Ben told me, I'm guessing that he believes he's just doing his job and doesn't like any special attention. Medals like those would certainly be noticed, and in that quantity especially."

Hammond was puzzled, but was liking the mysterious Colonel more and more. "I wonder what ribbons he does wear?" he questioned out loud, not expecting a reply.

The President knew the answer. He had asked the same question earlier.

The bunker was deathly silent with only the occasional cough to interrupt it when Hayes told Hammond, and anyone else who was listening, "O'Neill and Ben go way back. Even Kinsey had good things to say about him after SG-1 showed up here a year ago."

"Bob Kinsey seldom has anything good to say about the military, personnel included," Hammond stated knowingly. As a Senator the man had been instrumental in holding back funding, and since becoming Secretary of State, he was even more anti-military. He supported the President's decisions, but only after the State Department had run roughshod over everybody in the Department of Defense, FBI and CIA, and all the advisers in the White House.

Hammond's gut hadn't been wrong, but now he wanted to know more. "What did he say about the Colonel?"

The President smiled. "He knew of him by reputation. Said he has as many reprimands as commendations. Called him a hero." Hayes turned to look at Hammond, a quirky smile on his face. "O'Neill is legendary in Special Forces." The words were spoken proudly, almost reverently. Hammond's eyes twinkled as he returned the smile, satisfied that he hadn't been wrong about the man.

A while later the temperature in the sealed space had gone up and the two men were drinking sparingly from water bottles. Hammond had been thinking about McMurdo being destroyed, and broke the silence.

"I hope he's all right," he confessed in a half whisper. Hammond wanted to believe that O'Neill's luck was holding and that he hadn't been at the base when it was destroyed. He wanted to believe that his plane had either landed safely somewhere or that he'd successfully parachuted out. Hammonded needed to believe. The planet needed a man like Colonel Jack O'Neill fighting for it.

The President knew Hammond was talking about jack O'Neill because he also wanted him to be alive, to be out there helping lead the fight against the invaders. Everyone needs heroes - live heroes.

The air was thick and stale and the President coughed weakly. He cleared his irritated throat before telling his friend, "Amen, George. Amen."

The End

This is the last of my "Stargate: Continuum" missing scene stories. Thanks for reading. I hope you liked them.