"Hank."

"Joe."

The two men greeted each other; one a decorated general, the other a weathered cowboy.

"Something tells me you're not here to say hello to an old friend," Joe sized up his one-time commanding officer.

Joe was blue collar through and through. Aside from a stint in Vietnam, his life had rarely taken him beyond the family ranch. Almost 40 years of herding cattle had taught him time wasn't worth wasting with meaningless small talk. It's not that he was unfriendly; he was just to the point.

"What gave it away," General Hank Landry looked down at his uniform trying to lighten the mood a little, but he was no fool when it came to reading people. He gave his old friend a weak smile, "No, not this time."

Hank knew Joe understood why he was there, and because of it wasn't happy to see him. In truth he'd wanted to avoid this, but with the government cutting his budget they'd somewhat forced his hand. He needed the best to protect the best.

More specifically, General Jack O'Neill had forced his hand. Jack knew what kind of a pilot Jess was and he also knew about Hank's close ties to the family. He said he felt Jess would take it better coming from a friend. Hank knew he was right, and agreed to do it, but it didn't mean he wanted to do it.

Looking out from under the brim of his Stetson, Joe signaled toward the corral. Hank followed his friend's gaze and saw the person he was really there to see.

"Thanks Joe," he nodded.

Hank walked over to the corral where Jess was riding a pretty little bay quarter horse, cutting calves from the cows to be branded. He leaned against the wooden railing and watched with admiration at the precession with which horse and rider worked. It really looked more like a carefully choreographed ballet set to the rhythm of beating hoofs and hollering cowhands.

One of the wranglers saw the general and gestured, distracting Jess from the task at hand. She turned her horse and headed over to greet the man she thought of as family, instinctively knowing the news he brought with him was something she didn't want to hear.

"When?" She cut right to the chase.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a lot like your uncle?" Hank squinted against the late afternoon sun.

He had known Jessica O'Connor for most of her life. At age ten, Jess' parents had died in a car accident. Her Uncle Joe and Aunt Maggie took her in, raising her on the ranch as if she was their own daughter.

Over the years, Jess had taken on Joe's no-nonsense domineer. She'd also inherited her mother's inner strength and her father's restless spirit. All these things had combined to make one of the best pilots and finest Air Force officers Hank Landry had ever known.

Her questioning hazel eyes were unrelenting and the general finally answered, "Monday, 0800."

Jess looked away at the mountains. She knew she didn't have a choice. Just because she'd been honorably discharged didn't mean they couldn't call her back up. After almost a year working the ranch with Joe, she'd started to believe she was truly free of the military life she'd once craved. Still, deep down she'd known they'd come for her eventually.

She blinked hard, taking a deep breath and steadied her horse. "Where?"

"Cheyenne Mountain Complex. I'll send a driver for you, so make sure you've got what you need. It'll be awhile before you'll be home again," Hank explained.

"What?" Jess shook her head realizing for the first time that she was speaking in monosyllable sentences. "What's at Cheyenne that you need me for, last I heard they were running deep space telemetry out of that place?"

Jess was confused. She was ecstatic to learn that she wouldn't be returning to that God forsaken desert, but why call her up to a research facility. She was a pilot not a scientist.

"Yep, something like that," Hank knew he shouldn't say more; too many ears around. "It'll all be explained on Monday."

"Well at least you gave me the weekend," Jess gave Hank a smile that assured him she wasn't about to blame the messenger. "Stay for supper?"

"Depends, what's Maggie cooking?" Hank smiled back. He knew she wasn't happy, and regardless of if she'd believe him or not, neither was he.

"Why don't you go on up to the house and see," Jess instructed. "I'll be up once the boys and I have finished here."

Hank headed back toward Joe and the main house. As he approached, Joe squared up to him.

"She's given more than her fair share for God and country," Joe's comment was a statement of fact.

"Yes she has." So was Hank's answer.


"So what are we celebrating?" Allie was glad to be out with her two best friends for a night, but Jess was already finished with her first beer, and had just bought a round of Jameson for the three women. Allie knew that when it came to Jess, Jameson before midnight was rarely a good sign.

"My promotion," Jess said holding up her shot glass.

"Did Joe decide to retire and give you the place?" Carrie, the other woman in their three way friendship, chimed in. She didn't understand Jess' current obsession with the ranch. Carrie was much more of a city girl, with her perfectly manicured nails and latest style clothing. The appeal of spending the day with smelly cows and dirty wranglers was unfathomable to her.

"Not exactly," Jess paused for effect. "Here's to Major Jessica O'Connor."

Jess tipped her head back easily downing the amber liquid, and fully enjoying the familiar burn of whiskey on her throat.

She looked at her two friends frozen in shock, "Drink up girls."

"Jess they can't, you were discharged!" Carrie was outraged.

"I don't understand. How can they expect you to go back?" Allie looked close to tears.

"They can and they did. And I'm not exactly going back," Jess grabbed her empty beer bottle and shot glass. "Who wants another one?"

Without really waiting for an answer, she headed up to the bar. Carrie and Allie exchanged a knowing look. Jess was done talking about it and her friends knew it was pointless to push her.

Neither Allie nor Carrie had any idea what had happened to Jess in Iraq. Jess refused to talk about it. What they did know is that the experience had changed the very core of their long-time friend. Once prone to roam every chance she had, Jess had barely left the ranch in almost a year. She was withdrawn and serious now. The mischief that used to radiate from her very being had been replaced with a distance that her friends couldn't comprehend, but had learned to respect.

Even so, with the news out of the way the women proceeded to enjoy themselves. Jess was genuinely in a good mood and even joked around a little, which ultimately put both Carrie and Allie equally at ease. Despite her circumstance, Jess was feeling okay about being recalled. After all, at least she wasn't returning to the frontline.

Alcohol increased Carrie's and Allie's courage and it wasn't long before Jess' two friends abandoned her for a couple of the local yokels that tended to populate O'Malley's. Jess didn't mind. She was just glad to be out with her girls, and relieved they hadn't tried to pull her out on the dance floor with them. Since getting back from Iraq, Jess preferred to watch life rather than fully participate in it. There were some things that she just wasn't ready for yet.


General Landry heard a knock on his door at 0745.

"Come," was his only reply. He was sorting through some papers and didn't bother to look up right away. He knew it was Jess.

"Major Jessica O'Connor reporting for duty as ordered Sir," Jess saluted, standing straight backed in her crisp dress blues before the expansive desk. She chose a point, eye level, on the wall straight in front of her and stared rigidly at it.

Being back in uniform was highly uncomfortable for her. Aside from what it represented, the over starched blue cotton and polyester attire had nothing on a pair of worn-in jeans. Moreover, as a pilot used to flirting with the clouds, she found being 20 some odd floors under ground a bit unsettling.

At the same time, she wanted to make it abundantly clear that she didn't expect to be treated like anything other than a soldier despite her established relationship with the General. To Jess, personal integrity and honor were of the utmost importance.

"At ease Major," Hank figured Jess would be less then receptive to this whole scenario. He also figured she'd want to draw a clean line between their on-base interaction and their personal friendship.

He was just glad that she wouldn't be under his direct command. That way she would have a friend on the inside that she could confide in. He figured in the long run, she'd need it.

Hank had also shown the foresight to only invite two of his senior people to Jess' orientation. He assumed it would be best not to amplify an already overwhelming situation with too many new faces.

Pushing his chair back from his desk, Hank pointed toward the boardroom, "Right this way."

He waited for her to pass him by on her way into the adjoining room, and then looked over to address Walter who was now standing in his office doorway, ever at the ready.

"I've already contacted them Sir, and they are on their way," Walter informed the General.

Hank was starting to get use to Walter's sixth sense for what he needed and simply dismissed his aide.

"Have a seat," he waved a hand at the long boardroom table. Jess surveyed the room. She immediately noted the exits, and the blast doors that covered what she assumed to be a pane of observation windows.

She chose a seat across from the door they'd entered that kept her back against the blast doors, but also gave a clear line of sight to the spiraling staircase on the opposite side of the room. The choice wasn't lost on Hank and he felt a pain covered twinge of pride at how her specialized training had ingrained certain habits into Jess.

"Morning, General," two people entered the room, bringing Jess back to her feet.

"Major Jessica O'Connor, this is Lt. Col. Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson," Hank introduced the pair and salutes and handshakes were exchanged all around. Jess couldn't hold back the corners of a smile when Daniel fumbled with his arm full of papers and over flowing coffee cup.

"Col. Carter and Dr. Jackson are here to brief you on the Stargate program," Hank explained, only to be on the receiving end of a very inquisitive look from Jess. "They'll walk you through it. I leave you in very capable hands."

With that, he went back into his office, closing both the door and the blinds.

"Major, please have a seat," Sam gestured and everyone took their places at the table.