Chapter 1

Project Backstep, Area 51, Nevada

Doctor Bradley Talmadge sat at his desk only half listening to the report his security chief Nathan Ramsey was making. Frank and the sphere were both missing. That meant there had been a Backstep. About a week from now he had once again given the order that would send Chrononaut Lieutenant Frank Parker back in time seven days to prevent some, as yet unknown, catastrophe. Frank hadn't made contact, yet, to inform them of his mission. Standard search protocols had been implemented to locate the Sphere, but so far they had come up empty. All he could do for the moment was wait for some word, chew on his unlit cigar, and let Nate go on about Parker's latest hijinks or shenanigans or whatever term he had chosen to use this time around.

The phone rang. Bradley put down his cigar and grabbed the receiver. "Talmadge."

"Sir, we have a 'Conundrum' call."

"Finally! Put it through."

Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado about 2 hours earlier

Warning lights flashed and alarms sounded throughout the SGC. "Unscheduled off-world activation," came the voice over the intercom. "General Hammond to the control room immediately!"

"Report!" Major General George Hammond called as he entered the control room.

"Sir! The Stargate just... 'came on' all by itself", the NCO at the console said as she continued typing commands. "There was no dialing or any kind of warning, and the iris won't close."

Hammond looked through the control room window at the Stargate. It looked like a vertical pool of shimmering water inside a gray stone ring, as it normally did. "Are we receiving any kind of transmission?"

"No, sir... Wait... We're receiving an IDC. Sir, it's... It's SG1?! How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but stop trying to close the iris just in case." Hammond stared at the screen with growing disbelief. He leaned down and keyed the console mic, "Stand ready, people. No matter who comes through that gate, take them into custody. That's an order."

Just as he finished speaking, four people fell out through the event horizon of the Stargate and rolled part way down the ramp. From where he stood they appeared to be the members of SG1. Then a fifth person followed, but this one was wearing what appeared to be an orange spacesuit with no markings and a white helmet. Several Marines, with weapons ready, moved in on them as soon as the wormhole had disconnected.

Colonel Jack O'Neill found himself face down on the ramp leading to the Stargate. He raised up enough to look around for his team. Teal'c was already on his feet. Carter and Daniel were starting to move.

"What the HELL was that?" He looked toward the gate, saw a man in an orange spacesuit, shook his head to clear any remaining cobwebs, and looked again. Nope, still there. "WHO the hell is that?" He could see a gash in the man's thigh and blood spurting from the wound. It suddenly didn't matter so much who the man was. He grabbed the material on both sides of the wound, applied as much pressure as he could to compress and close it, and yelled, "Medic!"

"Sir", Carter said from behind him, "I think we have other problems."

Jack looked around to see the rest of his team on their knees with their hands behind their heads. That's when he finally heard one of the armed troops ordering him to assume the same position. He turned back to the injured man. "Shoot me if you have to, Sergeant. If I let go of this wound, he'll probably bleed out before the medics can get him out of here." He looked over his shoulder to see guns still pointed at him. One of the men advanced to disarm him. He kept his hands firmly on the other man's wound, and watched silently as the rest of his team was also disarmed.

Hammond entered the gate room as soon as the all clear was given. The medics wheeled the injured man, under guard, out past him to the infirmary. He looked the prisoners over carefully. Except for their hands being zip tied behind their backs, they looked every bit like the members of SG1.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"General", the one who appeared to be Jack spoke up, "We are SG1. We just came back from standard recon on P3X-318. Daniel has video of some ruins, if you'd like..."

"I'm sorry, I find that hard to believe." SG1 was currently taking some much needed time off, and the mission to 318 wasn't scheduled until next week. "Now, who is your friend in the spacesuit?"

"Sir, I have no idea who that man is or how he came out of our wormhole. He wasn't with us on 318."

"I think I know who he is, sirs", offered the one who appeared to be Major Samantha Carter, "But I'll need to see his face to be sure."

Hammond's gut told him these people were who they seemed to be, but he couldn't just ignore the unanswered questions their sudden appearance raised. "Sergeant, escort these people to the infirmary then confine them until I can get some answers."

After almost two hours of phone calls and searches of several government databases, Hammond ordered the prisoners brought to him in the conference room. He was seated at the head of the table when the guards escorted them in, and he watched as they each took their seats.

"I really do want to believe you people are who you appear to be. Doctor Frasier can't find anything out of the ordinary with any of you, but there are still a couple of loose ends - not the least of which is the man who came through the Stargate after you did."

"Have I ever lied to you, sir?", Jack asked with hands spread and eyebrows raised.

Hammond ignored the question and turned to Carter, "Major, you said you might be able to shed some light on this situation."

"Yes, sir. The injured man is Lieutenant Frank Parker, US Navy... among other agencies."

"I was informed as to his identity, and we've done some checking, but we can't find anything definite on him after he was sent to Hansen Island. What else can you add to that?"

Jack took notice at the mention of Hansen Island. It was supposedly a CIA mental facility, but some of the stories he had heard over the years led him to believe there was more to it.

Carter looked uneasy. "I... I'm not at liberty to say, sir, but I think I know who to contact."

"Please, explain", Hammond said. He knew this was going to lead to another covert government agency or project of some kind. He wondered what he was in for this time.

"I can't really go into detail, sir, but Frank was on a mission. Part of that mission would have required him to contact his superiors. I don't believe he had the opportunity to do that. I can make that phone call, and you can take it from there, sir."

"We'll use my office", he said as he stood up from the table. He motioned one of the guards over to the office door before closing it.

"Sir, I'll have to use a code word to speak directly to the person we need to contact", Carter said as she picked up the phone.

"Understood, Major. I'll just be over here admiring this picture for a minute."

Carter dialed the number, listened for a moment, and then spoke only one word, "Conundrum."