Chapter 196

Area 51

"Approach, Janet 700 passing through six thousand." The pilot stated over the radio.

"Janet 700, squawk 0332 on transponder. Continue descent and check in as you pass outer beacon at eleven mile out." The approach controller replied.

The white and red liveried 737 glided through the cold air. Beneath, the harsh desert terrain doted with jutting jagged and rocky hills unfolded. Following the familiar flight path flown many times, the Janet Air 737 moved closer and closer to its destination through some of the most highly restricted airspace on Earth. That destination was an airfield so secret that for many years the United States government refused to even admit its existence.

"Approach, Janet 700 passing outer beacon now." The pilot announced.

"Janet 700, check wheels down. Wind is one hundred at six. You are clear to land runway one four." The controller replied.

Janet Air is an airline like no other. Instead of flying families to Disney World, Janet caters to a far more discerning passenger base. Operated by a shell company belonging to the Department of the Air Force from an obscure and nondescript terminal at Las Vegas' McCarran Airport, Janet is the sole transporter of personnel to and from Area 51.

With wheels down, the 737 continued to shed both altitude and airspeed. Flaps fully extended, the airliner settled into ground effect as the wheels waited just feet above the tarmac sailing beneath. Puffs of smoke appeared around the landing gear as the main gear and nose gear touched down. Thrust reversers engaged, the pilot lightly applied the brakes and further slowed the aircraft. Slowing to taxi speed, the 737 steered off the runway and onto the main taxiway that would take them to the appointed location where the passengers would disembark.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dreamland." The pilot announced over the intercom.

Instead of traveling salesmen and business executives, the newly arrived passengers were a different lot. Aerospace engineers, avionics specialists, and computer engineers all in the employ of several of the largest aerospace contractors globally. Carrying on briefcases and backpacks, the group quickly disembarked down the rollup stairway and was quickly whisked into the large hanger two hundred yards in front of them. Once inside, the group passed through the first of many security checkpoints as they descended deep below ground.

Employed by Boeing's Phantom Works and Lockheed's Skunk Works, the group of new arrivals all possessed some of the highest security clearances known to exist. Despite this, their armed Air Force chaperones would remain nearby for the duration of their stay at Dreamland. Exiting the final security checkpoint, the group made their way into a cavernous subterranean hanger. Looking around, they took quick note of other teams from their design bureaus already in attendance. Interspersed with each group were several advisors from the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency. Whatever this was, it was big.

Laying their eyes at the craft arraigned throughout the hanger, they soon realized just how big this truly was. Along the far left wall of the hanger sat two unfamiliar looking craft. One a Tel'tak and the other an Al'kesh. A banner on the Tel'tak announced that this was Santa's 'other reindeer'. That the two craft were stripped of weaponry and cloaking field generators went without saying. These were not the true stars of the show though. That honor belonged to the strange looking craft sitting in the center of the work floor. This craft was very much unlike the other two craft, with its needle like shape and downward curing canards it looked every bit the spaceship envisioned by many science fiction fans. To trace its origins, one had to look years back into the SGC's past.

The late Adrian Conrad purchased a Goa'uld symbiote in an attempt to save his life from the disease that devastated his body. That symbiote was cloned many times over. Eventually, these cloned symbiotes were allowed to infect nearly the entire population of Steveston, Oregon. Opting to reunite with their brethren elsewhere in the Milky Way, construction of a spacecraft began in an abandoned shipyard. For three months, they toiled secretly at its construction, but they were not alone. Monitoring their activities was the NID, who planned to capture the vessel once complete. Built entirely of Earth materials, this nearly complete but never to be completed vessel failed to resemble any known Goa'uld design ever before encountered. Since its capture, the vessel had rested in the subterranean hanger in which it now sat.

Since the vessels arrival at Dreamland, its systems had been catalogued and dissected. Every secret and nuance it possessed was well known. The same could be said for the Tel'tak and Al'kesh in close attendance. Metallurgy, shields, sensors, life support, hyper drive, and sublight engines systems were neatly explained in many gigabytes of briefing materials. All of this knowledge and information was turned over to the aerospace contractors. One thing that would not be turned over was the Goa'uld designed hyper drive engines themselves. Instead, the briefing material, along with pages upon pages of information pertaining to hyper drive theory along with an example of the Asgard designed hyper drive found on the Prometheus would be provided.

In light of the new reality since disclosure, the aerospace industry on Earth found itself playing catch up. Transition from jet power and rocket boosted orbital flight to intergalactic hyper drive technology had happened without the industry's assistance. In comparison to systems thought to be cutting edge just one year ago, the engineers realized just how far behind the power curve they truly were. Were it not for the President's insistence that the economy be kept stable, this information might not have ever found its way into the hands of these men.

Innovation is known to breed excellence and new discovery. While Arkos provided incredibly advanced exampled of technology, it did so without the need to innovate to a degree. To truly master these new technologies, engineers needed to be set loose with a base of knowledge while expanding their understanding through trial and error. Indigenous development of these systems had the potential to greatly spur new advances someday. For this reason, the aerospace industry was being handed a stake in the great game without the assistance of Arkos. As understanding increased, more advanced concepts and examples of Ancient and Asgard knowledge and technology would be made available. Earth's expanding horizons continued to broaden, one day at a time.