"You know, this really isn't necessary."
"Yes it is."
"No, really. I'm a good shot. Ask Ian here. I can-"
Jack held up his hand to interrupt.
"McKay, there's no way in hell I'm going to give you a pistol – much less a P90 – until you prove to me you can shoot it with some semblance of accuracy."
"But-"
"Rodney." Now Ian interrupted him. "Just show him so we can get on with this."
The astrophysicist made an annoyed sound, but picked up the weapon off the table in front of them. With Jack and Ian both watching, he disassembled it and put it back together fairly quickly, and then loaded a clip and pointedly waited for them both to put on headgear to muffle the sounds of the shots. When they did, he aimed the P90 at the target down the indoor range and fired off a couple of well-controlled bursts. The bullets shredded the lower part of the target. Not center man, but good enough for a scientist who was far more comfortable with a laptop in his hand.
Jack looked over at Ian, who shrugged. He wasn't the one who'd taught McKay to shoot, but he was pleased that he'd made a decent showing of himself.
"Now the pistol," Jack said.
McKay rolled his eyes, but repeated the performance with the Beretta on the table, his aim a bit better with the handgun than it had been with the P90.
"Satisfied?" he asked, smugly, when he was done and had cleared the weapon and set it back down.
O'Neill nodded.
"Yeah." He looked over at Ian. "Your turn, Colonel."
McKay snorted, but Ian just took it in stride. He started with the P90, stripped it and reassembled it a lot faster than McKay had – although he was careful not to jam any parts together or show any sign of carelessness. Then he decimated the head of the target Jack had pointed out for him. The Beretta followed a minute later, and every round was in the chest of the same target.
"Not bad, huh?" McKay asked, grinning.
Jack nodded.
"Not at all."
It was what he expected from an Air Force Colonel, although he didn't say so.
"Doesn't hurt to make sure," Ian said, not at all offended at being tested. He would have done the same thing in Jack's shoes, he was sure. "You never know when you might be hit by friendly fire because someone's inexperienced with the gun they're holding."
McKay rolled his eyes again.
"Please. It was a long time ago."
"It still hurt, Rodney."
"I barely nicked you."
"Twice?"
Jack was gathering up the weapons, but he looked up at that.
"He shot you twice?"
"Hello? They were ricochets. They barely broke the skin."
Ian ignored him.
"On the plus side, he also managed to shoot himself at the same time."
"Oh, that's mature…"
Jack smiled, handed Ian the P90s and they headed back to the armory.
"Tell me that he's better now."
Ian nodded.
"He's better, now. Doesn't panic like he used to."
"And I'm a hell of a shot," McKay added.
"He has his moments," Ian conceded.
"Good."
They reached the armory and were outfitted with P90s and tac vests. Ian had already been given his Glock back, and Jack handed McKay a holster with a .45 in it, similar to the one he'd just fired. They all three made sure they had plenty of ammunition for each weapon – just because they were heading to what was supposed to be a secured (and empty) location, that didn't mean they were going to go without protection.
Once their preparations were complete, they headed back to the gate room where the others were waiting for them.
"All set?" Jack asked Sam as they entered the room.
She looked up from the laptop she'd attached her device to and nodded, looking a little worried, but Chelani also nodded.
"Everything is performing well within parameters, Colonel," he told him. "The device will hold steady and we even checked to make sure there are no solar activities that may cause issues."
"You're ready to go," Sam said. She looked at Jaffer, who had been following Jack. "Are you going to take him?"
Jack shook his head.
"He'll be fine here."
Jaffer wagged his tail cheerfully. He didn't like being left behind, but he also knew that as compensation, Sam would almost certainly give him a treat to make up for being abandoned.
McKay loaded his laptop into a sleeve that was designed to attach to the back of his vest and looked at the others.
"I'm ready."
Jack looked at Ian, who nodded, and then looked over his shoulder at the control center.
"Dial it up."
"Good luck," Hammond told them.
As the gate started to dial, Daniel shifted a little from beside Teal'c.
"I could go, you know…?" he told Jack. "Maybe you could use the help with translations or something."
"We're going to go and come right back, Daniel," Jack told him. "You'd be too tempted to-"
"I could control that."
Sam snorted, and he scowled at her, frustrated.
"I could."
"We'll bring you back a souvenir," Jack promised him as the gate finished dialing and swooshed active.
Ian stepped forward, first, but it only took a moment for McKay and Jack to catch up. An instant later they walked through the event horizon.
After only a slightly longer pause than usual, Jack stepped out on the other side, felt a slight tingle and found himself in a large, open room with a staircase almost directly in front of him. As Ian and McKay materialized beside him, he noticed one more important thing. The room wasn't deserted like the others had told him it'd be. Watching him from above, and from several closer positions only a short distance away were people. People who looked almost as shocked as Ian and McKay did.
"Oh my God…" McKay whispered, his face pale and his eyes wide. "They're Ancients…"