"So?"
"So what?"
"How are these people finding us? How are we finding them? If we don't have a space ship capable of going to other planets – and the last I heard, the shuttles can't do that – then how are we contacting these aliens?"
"Who told you that the shuttles can't...?"
She smiled, "Jack, I'm an engineer, remember? I know what they're capable of. It's hardly a secret, after all. Even if you were to put some crazy engine on one that could make it go faster than light – which I can't see the structure being able to handle that kind of velocity or pressure – then you'd still be looking at staggering distances."
His eyes were glazing again, and he was beginning to think she should be having this conversation with Sam.
"What's wrong?"
"We haven't altered a shuttle, okay?"
"Then how are you-?"
"Finish your dinner, and I'll show you."
"I'm done."
He looked at her plate. It wasn't anywhere close to being finished, but he shrugged. She was a grownup, if she said she was done, then she was done.
"Come on, then. But remember –"
"Yes, it's all classified. I know, Jack." She stood up and gathered her tray. He took her uneaten sandwich and handed it to Jaffer, who downed it more than willingly. The black lab hadn't eaten all that much that day, either.
..................
"I really can't stress enough just how big a secret this is..." Jack told her when they were standing in the hall once more.
She nodded, feeling a bit apprehensive, but a little excited, as well. "I won't tell anyone."
O'Neill took a card from his pocket, and slid it into a slot, and the door swooshed open, and he and Jaffer led her into a big concrete room with... nothing. She wasn't sure exactly what she expected to see; maybe some huge super computer or some crazy alien device that resembled a transporter from Star Trek, but what she saw was a simple metal ramp leading up to a big metal ring that had a whole bunch of drawings on it. Interesting, but hardly worthy of being in such a well-secured area.
"What is it?" She asked, looking up at it, then around to see if there wasn't maybe something else in the room that she'd missed. Something a little more alien looking.
Jack smiled, and turned her head back to the Stargate. Yeah, it wasn't all that impressive, he supposed. Until you knew what it did. And had seen it in action.
"That's what you're looking for, Sally." He chided, gesturing at the gate. "It's called a Stargate."
Sally walked up the ramp to take a closer look, but while she could see that the odd little drawings were probably something that would interest Daniel – or other people who liked glyphs and the like, she still didn't see the big deal.
"What does it do?" There had to be something. Jack was grinning like a kid with a huge secret.
"When it's turned on, it opens up a wormhole thing to another Stargate on a different planet."
"A wormhole?"
He shrugged. 'That's what they call it."
"They who?"
"Sam and the other eggheads."
She was quiet for a moment, looking at it, and then at Jack.
"It goes to other planets?"
He nodded.
"Mars?"
"No."
"Saturn?"
"No."
"Jupi-"
"No. None of the close ones, Sally. Just planets that have Stargates on them, and only if we know the address to the Stargate that is there."
"The address?"
"Yup."
"You'll have to explain that a little more, Jack."
He shrugged. "You'll have to wait and have someone who understand it a little better explain it to you. I'm not all that sure of how it works, exactly. All I know, is we dial it up, it swooshes open, and we go to other planets."
"Where you find aliens?"
"And some humans."
"Descendents of the Earth people?"
He nodded.
She crossed her arms over her breasts again, and looked at him seriously from the top of the ramp.
"Are you lying to me, Jack? Is this some kind of-"
"I'm telling you what you asked, Sally. This morning one of the other teams – we call them SG teams – was ambushed on another planet, and since my team – which is SG-1 – was there a week ago or so, we were called away from our barbeque to go find them. While we were there – off-world – Daniel and Sam were both hurt, as well as one of SG-5's men. That's what Daniel's been hiding from you, and that's how he was hurt."
She didn't look convinced, but Jack wasn't about to dial the gate up just to prove it to her.
"You've gone through it?"
"Lots of times."
"Can we go through it now?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"It's dangerous. You don't always know what's going to be going on when you come out the other gate."
Which would explain why a man like Jack would be involved, Sally decided. She'd never seen him with a gun, but she had a feeling that the Colonel – as everyone around the base referred to him – had plenty of experience with this type of thing.
"How often do you go through it?"
"Depends on the day."
"This is a lot to take in, Jack..." Sally finally said, looking up at the Stargate. It looked so... unimpressive.
"Yeah, I know. Just remember, you can't tell anyone."
"I know." She shrugged, walking down the ramp to stand next to him and Jaffer, and noticing a window above them, and another one above that. Standing at the highest window was a bald man watching them with a serious look on his face. She could see it even at a distance. "Who's that?"
Jack followed her gaze, and saw Hammond standing at the briefing room window that overlooked the gate room.
"That's General Hammond. He's the Commanding Officer of the Stargate program. He's also the one who gave me permission to show you all this, so you might thank him when you see him."
"Am I going to see him?"
"That's our next stop."
"So what?"
"How are these people finding us? How are we finding them? If we don't have a space ship capable of going to other planets – and the last I heard, the shuttles can't do that – then how are we contacting these aliens?"
"Who told you that the shuttles can't...?"
She smiled, "Jack, I'm an engineer, remember? I know what they're capable of. It's hardly a secret, after all. Even if you were to put some crazy engine on one that could make it go faster than light – which I can't see the structure being able to handle that kind of velocity or pressure – then you'd still be looking at staggering distances."
His eyes were glazing again, and he was beginning to think she should be having this conversation with Sam.
"What's wrong?"
"We haven't altered a shuttle, okay?"
"Then how are you-?"
"Finish your dinner, and I'll show you."
"I'm done."
He looked at her plate. It wasn't anywhere close to being finished, but he shrugged. She was a grownup, if she said she was done, then she was done.
"Come on, then. But remember –"
"Yes, it's all classified. I know, Jack." She stood up and gathered her tray. He took her uneaten sandwich and handed it to Jaffer, who downed it more than willingly. The black lab hadn't eaten all that much that day, either.
..................
"I really can't stress enough just how big a secret this is..." Jack told her when they were standing in the hall once more.
She nodded, feeling a bit apprehensive, but a little excited, as well. "I won't tell anyone."
O'Neill took a card from his pocket, and slid it into a slot, and the door swooshed open, and he and Jaffer led her into a big concrete room with... nothing. She wasn't sure exactly what she expected to see; maybe some huge super computer or some crazy alien device that resembled a transporter from Star Trek, but what she saw was a simple metal ramp leading up to a big metal ring that had a whole bunch of drawings on it. Interesting, but hardly worthy of being in such a well-secured area.
"What is it?" She asked, looking up at it, then around to see if there wasn't maybe something else in the room that she'd missed. Something a little more alien looking.
Jack smiled, and turned her head back to the Stargate. Yeah, it wasn't all that impressive, he supposed. Until you knew what it did. And had seen it in action.
"That's what you're looking for, Sally." He chided, gesturing at the gate. "It's called a Stargate."
Sally walked up the ramp to take a closer look, but while she could see that the odd little drawings were probably something that would interest Daniel – or other people who liked glyphs and the like, she still didn't see the big deal.
"What does it do?" There had to be something. Jack was grinning like a kid with a huge secret.
"When it's turned on, it opens up a wormhole thing to another Stargate on a different planet."
"A wormhole?"
He shrugged. 'That's what they call it."
"They who?"
"Sam and the other eggheads."
She was quiet for a moment, looking at it, and then at Jack.
"It goes to other planets?"
He nodded.
"Mars?"
"No."
"Saturn?"
"No."
"Jupi-"
"No. None of the close ones, Sally. Just planets that have Stargates on them, and only if we know the address to the Stargate that is there."
"The address?"
"Yup."
"You'll have to explain that a little more, Jack."
He shrugged. "You'll have to wait and have someone who understand it a little better explain it to you. I'm not all that sure of how it works, exactly. All I know, is we dial it up, it swooshes open, and we go to other planets."
"Where you find aliens?"
"And some humans."
"Descendents of the Earth people?"
He nodded.
She crossed her arms over her breasts again, and looked at him seriously from the top of the ramp.
"Are you lying to me, Jack? Is this some kind of-"
"I'm telling you what you asked, Sally. This morning one of the other teams – we call them SG teams – was ambushed on another planet, and since my team – which is SG-1 – was there a week ago or so, we were called away from our barbeque to go find them. While we were there – off-world – Daniel and Sam were both hurt, as well as one of SG-5's men. That's what Daniel's been hiding from you, and that's how he was hurt."
She didn't look convinced, but Jack wasn't about to dial the gate up just to prove it to her.
"You've gone through it?"
"Lots of times."
"Can we go through it now?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"It's dangerous. You don't always know what's going to be going on when you come out the other gate."
Which would explain why a man like Jack would be involved, Sally decided. She'd never seen him with a gun, but she had a feeling that the Colonel – as everyone around the base referred to him – had plenty of experience with this type of thing.
"How often do you go through it?"
"Depends on the day."
"This is a lot to take in, Jack..." Sally finally said, looking up at the Stargate. It looked so... unimpressive.
"Yeah, I know. Just remember, you can't tell anyone."
"I know." She shrugged, walking down the ramp to stand next to him and Jaffer, and noticing a window above them, and another one above that. Standing at the highest window was a bald man watching them with a serious look on his face. She could see it even at a distance. "Who's that?"
Jack followed her gaze, and saw Hammond standing at the briefing room window that overlooked the gate room.
"That's General Hammond. He's the Commanding Officer of the Stargate program. He's also the one who gave me permission to show you all this, so you might thank him when you see him."
"Am I going to see him?"
"That's our next stop."