She did think of something, eventually. Something that might not have been all that brilliant but it was all she could think of that would give him a sense of purpose. And it was something that would make him feel like he wasn't being ignored. Carter borrowed the communicator from O'Neill while he was hashing out some detail with a farmer whether the Asgard would be able to take all his chicken coops, or just his chickens. (Jack decided it would be better for the Asgard and the Pe'aoli if they didn't have a bunch of chickens on the loose on the ships, so the coops were something that would go up as well.)

Sam spoke with Shawn for a good five minutes, explaining to him what she wanted him to do, but giving him all the leeway in deciding HOW he wanted to do it. She couldn't see his face, but she could hear the sudden enthusiasm in his voice at the notion, and Sam knew that she'd come up with something that was good enough to keep him out of trouble on board the ship for a while. She reminded him that he HAD to eat lunch before he could start his project, and then signed off.

~*~

"Um, Thor?"

The Asgard turned his head from the hologram of the people that were being settled on the freighters and looked at the boy.

"Can I borrow some stuff? Well... actually, HAVE might be a better word, since I won't be able to give it back."

"What sort of 'stuff' did you have in mind?"

"Nothing important," Shawn said quickly. "Just some odds and ends. I won't know what I want until I actually look to see what all you have."

"As long as it is nothing that will pose a danger to yourself or others, and as long as it is nothing more advanced than the Tau'ri already possess then you may have whatever you wish."

"No, it won't be anything we want," Shawn promised. He grinned, then, and walked off the bridge, leaving the Asgard to return to his watching.

~*~

He ate lunch, although he supposed that a candy bar out of an MRE wasn't really a meal. Sam didn't have to know, though. Then he got to work. The first thing he did was go through all the shelves and drawers in all the rooms on the bridge level. This didn't take as long as it might have. It certainly would have taken longer if they weren't labeled. As it was, he could see a label and know what was going to be inside without opening the drawer, or pulling down the shelf. If it was something he thought he might want, he took it, if not, he didn't bother.

He assembled quite a pile of odd looking knick-knacks on the floor of the simulator room, then got to work, using medical tape that he'd found in the first aid kit they'd brought with them, and an Asgard version of super glue. There were all sorts of soldering kits on the ship, but just because Shawn knew what they were, didn't mean he automatically knew how to use them. And he didn't want to bother Thor.

~*~

"Whatcha doing?"

Shawn jumped at the voice behind him, and then jumped to his feet.

"Jack!"

"Hey, buddy," Jack gave him a quick hug, and looked at the object on the ground by the simulator chair. "What's that?"

"Bet I know," Sam said, smiling as she walked into the room to stand beside Shawn. The boy nodded.

"Did you get everyone off the planet?"

"Not yet, but they're getting closer. The Council have told us to just start beaming farmers up into the holds, and that one of them would be there to meet them and explain things to them. That way we didn't have to go to every little town and farm."

"They said they could do a better job of explaining, now that they understood better themselves," Jack added. It was obvious, even to Shawn, that Jack was glad to be off the planet. Fresh air was nice, but he wasn't all that great when it came to dealing with people. Or maybe he just wasn't patient enough. Either way.

"How much longer will it be?"

"At least a few hours. We'll be heading back as soon as the Pe'aoli are all on the ship and they're underway."

He nodded, and Jack looked at the object on the floor again.

"So? You going to tell me what that is? Or do I have to guess?"

"Try guessing," Shawn said, grinning.

Jack looked at it thoughtfully, walking around it and staring at it from all angles. It was an ugly piece of whatever it was. There were all sorts of things sticking out of something that looked a little like a mixing bowl with no bottom. There was a blue light that blinked incessantly and was almost entrancing. Jack thought he recognized one of the shoehorn things they'd eaten ice cream with, and he was almost positive that white stuff that had the writing on it was medical tape. That was about all he could be sure of.

"No clue, Shawn." He finally gave up. "What does it do?"

"Nothing."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Nothing?"

"Nope."

"What does it say?"

"'This is not a secret weapon. Ignore it.'"

"Is that Goa'uld?" Sam asked."

"Yup." The boy grinned.

"What's it do?" Jack asked again, prodding it with his foot as if he expected one of the attached pieces to come flying off and attack him.

"Nothing."

"What's it for, then?"

"I made it for the Goa'uld."

"Oh?"

"To keep them occupied." Shawn grinned again, and Sam smiled as she watched Jack staring at it. If it worked with O'Neill, it would certainly work with whatever poor soul found it and ended up taking it to his master.

"That's never going to work," Jack said; kneeling down and staring at the thing, still mesmerized by the blinking light and the very oddness of the contraption. He was still staring at it when Sam nudged Shawn, and gestured for the two of them to leave the room and go get something to eat.