Office of Colonel James McNamara, Eglin AFB, 4:50 P.M. Central Daylight Time

"Come in, Bear." McNamara looked up from his desk as Nash entered. "And close the door."

"Mack?" Nash questioned. "You sent for me?"

"I did. Come and have a seat."

"Have you got some word from search and rescue?"

"Not exactly. Sit down, Major."

Nash did as he was instructed, taking the chair directly across the desk from McNamara. McNamara picked up a folder from his desk and extended it toward Nash.

"What's this, sir?" Bear took the folder and opened it. Inside were two sheets of typewritten paper. He looked at the top one, then up at McNamara. "You're ordering me to fly to Peterson Air Force Base? Colorado? What's going on, sir?"

"That will be explained to you when you get there, Major."

"Sir, while O'Neill is missing, I was hoping to stay close…"

"You'll only be a phone call away, Bear," McNamara interrupted. "I will personally let you know if there is anything to report."

"But…"

"This is an order, Major, from the Pentagon."

Nash straightened, confusion written across his face. "Yes, sir."

Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mt, 3:50 P.M., MDT

"It turns out that I do know Colonel McNamara," General Hammond was on the phone again to the SGC, where Jack, Jay, and the other members of SG-1 were gathered around the speaker on the conference table. "In fact, you may have met him, Jack. He was a major, then, and he was serving there, at the SGC, when you came back on board. He was reassigned about six weeks after you arrived."

"I'm afraid the name doesn't ring a bell, George," Jack replied. "But we were pretty busy those first few weeks, and there were a lot of personnel coming and going."

"That's okay," Hammond went on. "The point is, he knows about the stargate."

"Sweet!" Jack said. A pause. "How does that help us?"

"Mack and I talked it over, and we think the best thing to do is to read Major Nash in on the Stargate Program. That way, he can work with you folks to come up with a plan."

"With us, George?'

"Yep. Nash will be flying into Peterson in just about three and a half hours. Arrange to have someone meet him and bring him to the mountain."

"We're supposed to read him in, then?" Jack asked.

"Would make sense, wouldn't it," Hammond said. "You can give him the whole tour. He can see that Jay is fine. Then you can work out how to explain all this."

"Uh… Yes, sir," Jack said after a moment.

Hammond chuckled. "What? Did you think I was going to fix the whole thing for you? With all the brainpower sitting in that room with you right now? Put your team to work on this. You've had much tougher problems."

"It's not that, George." Jack ignored Daniel's stifled laugh and the amusement in Carter's eyes. "It's just pretty unusual to bring someone in here without preparation. Does Nash have the necessary clearances?"

"On Colonel McNamara's recommendation, I'm authorizing those. In addition, of course, you'll have him sign the standard non-disclosure forms when he arrives…" A pause as Hammond evidently checked the time. "Which should be just about 1930 hours, your time. Are we all clear?"

"Yes, absolutely. All clear. Sir."

"Good. Because it's late here, and I'm ready to go home," Hammond stated. "By the way, Jack, I handed in my resignation as head of Homeworld Security to the President today. Recommended you to take my place. President Hayes thinks it's a great idea. Good night." With that, he hung up, no doubt chuckling at the reactions to the bomb he had just dropped.

SGCSGCSGCSGCSGCSC

"Stop talking!" Jack threw his hands in the air. "Everybody be quiet! Carter—not another word!"

"But, Jack…"

"Not you either, Daniel! I'm not talking about this right now! Hammond didn't say a thing! It didn't happen!"

"O'Neill…"

"Teal'c, I swear…" Jack gave him a glare and the pointing finger

The Jaffa subsided.

"This is not on my agenda!" Jack stood up. "Right now there is a nice little planet with some nice little people who can't wait to meet me, and that's where I'm going. For a nice long visit! Daniel, you can come along—but do not, DO NOT, mention the P word!" With that he stalked into his office and slammed the door.

The others looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

"P word?" Daniel questioned when he could speak.

"I'm guessing Pentagon," Carter snorted.

"Or maybe Promotion," Jay put in.

They all dissolved into laughter again. It went on for a few moments, then slowly stopped as they all took in what had just happened.

"He's going to be head of Homeworld Security," Daniel said softly.

"In Washington," Sam added, almost to herself.

Teal'c drew himself up, and looked toward O'Neill's office.

Jay watched them. In Daniel's expression he saw genuine pleasure for his friend; in Teal'c's, deep respect. Carter looked – devastated; there was no other word for it. Then she caught Jay's eye on her and quickly got her features under control.