He ran his fingers down his dress uniform where it hung on the wardrobe. For the first time in a long time it gave him a sense of pride. For too many years he’d been cooling his heels, taking on any flying job that was offered and those offers had been few. He’d stayed with the air force because he still believed he had a place here despite his superiors not wanting anything to do with him. He’d never regretted going back and rescuing his men even though it had left a permanent mark on his record.

Then came the day he had met General O’Neill and everything had changed. Not only did he have the gene which enabled him to use Ancient technology but he suddenly found people willing to believe in him. The General didn’t give a damn about his record and neither did Elizabeth Weir. Whereas others had judged him purely by his record they had gone beyond that and seen him for who he really was. Now here he was being promoted to L. Colonel.

John thought about the events that had led up to this moment, about the mistakes he had made and the people he had lost. He’d been completely unprepared for the role that had been thrust upon him with Sumner’s death, a death that he had caused to spare the man from the terrible assault by the Wraith. Without hesitation he’d taken on the responsibility of command but his inexperience had shown in the mistakes he had made. If he had it to do again he knew there were some things he would do differently, but equally there were some things he wouldn’t.

His biggest regret was that he had failed his young friend, Lt. Aiden Ford. When Aiden had really needed him, he hadn’t been there. Yes, there had been a war on but that was no excuse for not seeing to the needs of his people and Aiden had needed him. Now his friend was out there somewhere and it was John’s responsibility to find him. He didn’t even begin to know where to start looking but that was where Teyla’s people came in. They had a widespread network of contacts and should with luck pick up Aiden’s trail fairly quickly. With everything they had been through it seemed so unfair that Aiden wasn’t here being promoted alongside him.

Showered and shaved, John quickly got dressed, and not before time. A knock at the door was quickly followed by a young sergeant announcing they were ready for him. Feeling suddenly nervous, John straightened his jacket and followed the sergeant to the gateroom where everyone was waiting for him.