Author's Note: Edited and reformatted some parts to make it less poorly written. Also broke up into several chapters in preparation for future update.

"So do you know anything about why we're up here yet, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"No," Colonel O'Neill responded curtly.

"Really? Sam hasn't told you anything?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, she has," O'Neill said. "I just wasn't listening." Daniel stared at him. "What? They have the good Jell-O up here."

"Okay, well, I guess we'll find out at the briefing," Daniel said.

"What briefing?"

"The one that's at 1600 hours? There was a memo? …Right, that would explain it." Daniel said.

"1600 hours? That's in…" O'Neill checked his watch. "12 minutes. Think we have time to stop by the cafeteria?"

"No, probably not."

The two began to wander towards the briefing room, 3 decks above them. One deck away, a familiar Jaffa stepped into the elevator.

"Greetings, Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson," said Teal'c. "Have you discovered the reason for our endeavors aboard the Prometheus?"

"Well, not yet. That's why we're going to the meeting," Daniel replied.

"I will be most interested to learn the purpose of the device about which Major Carter seems so enthusiastic," Teal'c said.

As they reached the briefing room, they were greeted by Colonel Ronson, commander of the Prometheus. Then, Carter began her presentation.

"As many of you know, we have previously been limited in transportation. Our only practical interstellar travel is through the Stargates or the Prometheus here. Although the Asgard have promised us the hyperdrive and beaming technology, even these will not allow us to respond rapidly to threats throughout the galaxy.

"However, one technology which we have had yet to make significant use of is the Goa'uld ring platforms. These are mainly used for intrasolar system beaming, usually onto a Goa'uld ship. With the help of our Tok'ra allies, we have managed to begin to reverse engineer this technology.

"Although we refer to it as Goa'uld technology because they are its most common modern users, the rings were actually invented by the Ancients. As a result, we have been able to use our study of the Stargate system and the help of the Asgard to reverse engineer them into this device."

With that, Carter gestured towards the large metal device behind her, which looked something like a cross between a bar, a drum set, and an array of computers. "This device is capable of transmitting small amounts of matter through subspace at superluminal speeds."

Here, O'Neill raised his hand. "So, it's basically a Stargate."

Carter responded quickly: "It is similar in function to a Stargate. However, there are two main differences. Stargates create a controllable singularity to form a wormhole which bends spacetime to connect two points, sending the user a short distance in real spacetime to cover a high effective difference. This device uses subspace…"

O'Neill cut her off. "Well, obviously. And the other difference?"

"This device does not need a receiving device on the other end. This may seem unimportant, but consider the fact the Stargates on Goa'uld strongholds are always heavily defended. With this, we could beam anywhere on the planet, or even directly into the stronghold if it does not have a shield. It would provide an enormous tactical advantage against the Goa'uld.

"So far, we have tested the device on the surface of the planet several times, over short and long distances. This will be the first test from orbit down to the planet's surface."

Suddenly, the ship rocked and the lights went out. "What was that?" Colonel Ronson asked. "Battle stations!"

The crew rushed to the bridge, where they found a Goa'uld Ha'tak outside the window, firing upon them. "They got a lucky first shot in while our shields were down, sir. The reactor was damaged; we've lost shields! We have hull breaches all over the ship!" Carter shouted.

"Return fire. Give them everything we've got!" ordered Ronson.

"We can't return fire! Our rail guns use power from the main reactor too! All of our systems are down, even life support!" Carter said. Sparks rained down as the incoming fire continued.

"Then what can we do? Can we surrender? There has to be something," asked Ronson.

"We don't even have the power to hail them. The only thing we can do… of course!" said Carter.

"What? I need something, anything," said Ronson.

I don't have time to explain!" Carter yelled over her shoulder as she rushed off. She headed back down the hall to the briefing room, where her machine had been abandoned. She called a technician over to help her.

"I can teleport everyone on board down to the planet's surface. I just need help expanding the range on the device to encompass the entire ship. It should have enough power; it's not connected to the rest of the Prometheus," Carter said to the technician. The two began working frantically on the machine. Within just a few seconds, it whirred to life, and a bright light grew to fill the entire room.