Prologue

Klaxons blare as your hands and knees slam onto the corrugated metal ramp. The wormhole disengages behind you and you hear safeties being disengaged on side-arms and heavy boots clomping in a semi-circle in front of you.

The all-too-familiar sound of a zat'ni'katel being prepped to fire quickly frightens you to awareness, "They can't be…" you think desperately. You manage to snap back your head, flicking most of the hair from your face and then you can see; clear foreheads, US flags on the sleeves, and a man with glasses pointing an automatic rifle at your head. "No Goa'uld would wear glasses" you reassure yourself. Only a moment has passed since you engaged the device on the other side, knowing that this would likely be the only time you could act, and hoping against all hope that the technology would work so you would manage to step through the Stargate without slamming into the metal barrier. Your choked and strained voice vocalizes your utter relief.

"I made it home!" But before you can register any more the profound relief of your success, it takes back control. Your head jerks painfully to the left and it closes your eyes. You feel its anger as it slowly forces your head back to the front. It is almost insane in its fury as it makes you rise from your knees, trying to maintain its control. "I'll be back. You'll be gone." You know it hears you, here inside your head. It jerks your head back up and stares down the uniformed men below. They don't know how to react.

But then it makes your eyes glow.

The energy discharge of the zat'ni'katel is welcomed; you know it will weaken the parasite in your brain more than it will weaken your will. As you fall once more onto the corrugated metal, you know the final step will be possible soon, and that thought might have almost given you the strength to manage to smile.

Chapter 1

They looked at the monitor displaying the unconscious Goa'uld in a cell with shock, confusion, and fear.

"How did that thing manage to get through the iris?" General Hammond demands.

"Sir, we picked up evidence of an energy transmitted through the Stargate that seemed to interfere with the numerical coding responsible for signaling the iris to engage." Major Carter hurriedly says. "We might be able to MacGyver some sort of completely mechanical mechanism for controlling the iris, but that will be a temporary and cumbersome solution at the very best."

Colonel O'Neill notices how Daniel crosses his arms and readjusts his stance as he tilts his head towards the ground and glares up at the monitor, like he could just close his eyes quickly and bury his chin in his chest if what he is seeing gets too bad, or maybe so he can hide his face if it were to look back at him. "You know, I think I actually heard it say something…" he mumbles.

Jack now looks across the little semi-circle around the monitor, and sees Teal'c with his hand clasped behind his back, as usual, but now he's inhaling through his nostrils and straightening his head back out and gazing out the window at the Stargate. His eyes look worried. "Crap. That is not a good sign." Jack manages not to freak out in front of his command and his commander, but if Teal'c is nervous, well, "We are in so much trouble."

"So now any Goa'uld can go blasting some radio signal through the Gate and make our stuff short out?" O'Neill says waving his arms around, indicating the monitor, the gate, and the various computer equipment around them. Carter manages to sidestep a misaimed swing of the Colonel's left arm and explains "Not short out, it can't do that, but…"

"But they can change the signal input." Daniel says. "They can change what it's supposed to do; any electrical signal, any computer."

All eyes go to Carter for her answer. "We don't know the range of this signal or its exact compatibilities, but…" She can't quite manage to finish, so Hammond does. "We are in trouble."

All eyes are off the monitor now, looking out at the Stargate. Then at Carter for some stroke of technical brilliance, at Hammond for some line of inspiration, or at Jack, hoping that he might still manage some quip or one-liner or that unshakeable strength and leadership he always seems to possess. But in the next few minutes, that does not happen. However, as SG-1 and General Hammond discuss technical specifications, new precautions to put in place, and possible implications of such technology, something changes on the monitor.

Your eyes open. You stand up.