Author's note: Thanks to all of you who have sent in reviews and feedback. I really appreciate it. Special thanks go to Diane for correcting all my mistakes.
O'Neill was actually doing paperwork, if you considered signing your name to documents paperwork. He finished signing several documents that would allow the purchase of two new computers, and then grabbed a folder that had SG-6's mission reports for their last mission and settled in to read. He didn't get past the first paragraph when the phone rang, and O'Neill grabbed the receiver.
"O'Neill," he said into the receiver.
"Jack! How's the weather out there?" George Hammond's voice spoke to him.
"Bright sunshine, fresh mountain air, and wait, I think I see some clouds out my window," O'Neill said wishing he did have a window. "How about you?"
"Oh can't complain, it's finally stopped raining. I was just calling to check on Gallagher's status. Did Doctor Wellters give him a clean bill of health?" George asked knowing Jack was not big on small talk.
"Yes, she did, finally. I think I am going to actually get rid of the pest."
"Well, now you know how I felt," Hammond said with a smile in his voice.
"I resemble that remark, George," he said trying to sound hurt.
"Seriously, Jack. How is he doing? Is he adapting to SGC, anything I should know about?"
"Well, aside from his resentment at being kicked down from a Colonel to a Cadet, he is doing well. He's been helping me with some paperwork to keep him busy and to keep him out of the hair of others while he was recuperating. Other than that, he's doing great. He really did a bang-up job on Terrean."
"His assignment to SG-1 was one of the best moves we made," Hammond agreed.
"Yes, sir. And I just want to say that I taught him everything he knows," O'Neill said smugly. "He gets along with others on base, too, but then again… he's me. What's not to like? Charming, witty, handsome…, did I mention charming?"
"Yes you did," George laughed.
"Are you able to keep his history quiet from the other personnel?" George asked with concern. "God knows what will happen if the NID or the Trust finds out he didn't die when you came back. We need him at the SGC."
"The doctor, SG-1 and you are the only ones who know, aside from me and the kid, of course." O'Neill said. "We are striving to keep it that way, although I think several people believe he is my kid or nephew or something."
"It's good that we are taking precautions in that regard. Once Gallagher has that terrible, disfiguring accident that is going to require extensive plastic surgery, you both can work there and no one will think he looks anything like you. Besides Jack, you have proven your worth above and beyond the regulations, so let them think whatever they want."
"Sir?" O'Neill was dumbfounded by that revelation. He had?
"Jack," Hammond's voice softened, "you killed a teammate for the good of the base, and the world. You shot Sam Carter with a zat gun twice, knowing it would kill her. She was your second in command and a dear friend and it was fortunate for us the alien entity had already taken Sam to safety. I'm not blaming you one bit, Jack. I'm just laying it on the line; you have proven that you are to be trusted to do the right thing."
O'Neill just sat there, hearing his friend's words that didn't quiet his nagging doubts. Was he really that trustworthy with the fate of the world? The welfare of the planet was in his hands, and sometimes the fear of making the wrong decision tore at him, making him wish he was in Gallagher's shoes.
"Jack?" Hammond's worried voice sounded over the phone.
"I'm here," O'Neill said, "just thinking about some horrendous decisions I had to make over the last eight or nine years. My day has been going downhill ever since I heard the Tok'ra were coming today - should I consider that an omen?"
"Is that going on today?" Hammond asked. "Well, they have been requesting this meeting for a couple days now. I suppose it was inevitable."
"Speak of the devil," Jack said as the klaxons blared overhead, "there's the doorbell. Gotta go George, I'll let you know what they want as soon as I can get away from them, okay? Oh and about those regs, do you think I could…?"
"NO! Don't even think it, Jack.
"Well, hell. It was worth a try," O'Neill said grinning and hung up the phone so that he could go see who was at the door.
The Stargate activated the minute he reached the control room. Teal'c and Daniel were already there, and Carter walked in just as Walter said, "We're receiving the Tok'ra IDC."
"Open the iris," O'Neill responded and led the way to the Gate Room.
All four of them stood at the bottom of the ramp when Gallagher joined them. Three Tok'ra delegates came through the Gate and walked down the ramp. O'Neill didn't know if he was happy or not to see Jacob Carter among the delegates. Jacob was a good man, but his symbiote, Selmac, was a major influence on the guy and O'Neill had learned the hard way that a snake is still a snake.
Jacob walked down and shook O'Neill's hand, "Jack! How you holding up?" he said with a huge grin.
"Fair to middlin' Jacob. You?"
"Could have been better, Jack, but we'll talk about that in a bit. Sam, sweetheart, how are you doing?" Jacob continued turning to give his daughter a hug.
"Fine Dad. It's good to see you. I am surprised you are here, though," Sam said holding him away to look at him. "It really is good to see you."
"Thanks honey, I was called in at the last minute to participate in these talks. The council thinks I could be an influence on your General here," Jacob said turning to smile at O'Neill.
"Oh boy, here we go," O'Neill said resignedly.
"It's not really all that bad," Jacob continued. "Come, I would like you to meet Avard and Janun," the two men nodded as their names were mentioned. "This is General O'Neill, my daughter Sam, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson and … um…" he faltered when he got to Gallagher.
"Jack Gallagher," Gallagher interrupted holding out his hand to shake Jacob's. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Recruiting them kinda young, aren't you Jack," Jacob said to O'Neill after giving Gallagher the once over.
"He just looks young. Shall we go?" O'Neill said indicating the way with his hand.
"Sure," Jacob replied taking Carter's hand in his as he turned to lead the way. "Do I know him," he asked looking back at Gallagher as Carter pulled him away.
"What have you been up to, Dad," Carter replied and O'Neill silently applauded her performance.
Everyone else began to follow Carter's lead, except for one of the Tok'ra who was standing there staring at him and O'Neill felt a chill run down his spine. "Um.. something wrong?" he asked.
The Tok'ra shook his head and turned toward the door. O'Neill put his hand on the Tok'ra's shoulder to guide him along and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The Tok'ra man kept walking away, leaving a shocked O'Neill standing there.
What the hell was that all about? O'Neill wondered as he stared after the man.
'Is it you?' came the small voice at the back of his mind and O'Neill felt the fear creeping up to envelop him.
Gallagher lagged behind the others as they headed for the briefing room. It worried him that Jacob might have recognized him. If Jacob did, wouldn't others?
It was a given the minute they got back to the SGC that O'Neill's clone had died due to the breakdown of the DNA. Nobody had to know that Thor actually cured him and that he was alive and well and had assumed the identity of one Jack Gallagher, Cadet extraordinaire.
He sat as far from Jacob as he could get when he reached the briefing room. O'Neill still hadn't shown up and Gallagher briefly wondered if he was going to.
The Tok'ra, Avard, had come in last and was standing by the window, his hands held behind his back as he contemplated the view. He turned when O'Neill entered the room then went to sit down next to the other Tok'ra, Janun. O'Neill stared at Avard for a moment, then sat down at the head of the table.
Gallagher waited along with the others for someone to speak. He was still trying to shake off the weird feeling he got when Avard brushed past him to get to the window. Jacob finally spoke up and said, "We have a problem and we need your help. The Tok'ra home world has been discovered by Nirrti, who has decided that we all should die. Our defenses are strong and we have been able to hold her off, but she is acquiring more ships, building her fleet and will soon be strong enough to take us down."
"What's holding her back?" Daniel asked. "She has conquered the technology to become invisible, she could just come in and wipe you all out without you knowing it."
"She tried that here, Daniel," Carter said, "we were still able to find her."
"That's true," Jacob said, "but the fact that she is trying to join forces with Ba'al is what has us worried. We won't stand a chance if that happens."
"That's pretty serious," Daniel said. "What can we do to help?"
"Well, we want to get inside Nirrti's mother ship to destroy it before she can convince Ba'al to help her," Janun said, the guttural sound of his voice clearly indicating it was the Goa'ould speaking.
"Well, that should be easy enough," O'Neill said, "we just walk in the front door and ask them nicely to show us where their generator is. Piece of cake," he said with a snap of his fingers.
"Jack, this is serious. Do you think we would even come here if it wasn't?" Jacob said as he stared at the General. "We need your expertise; you've all done this before. Jack, please, we can't leave and we can't hide. Will you help us?"
The room was silent and Gallagher looked at O'Neill wondering what he was thinking. He was wearing the 'stone face' as Carter called it earlier, working on something and hiding his feelings from outsiders.
"Jack?" Jacob said.
O'Neill turned and looked at Jacob and each of the two Tok'ra, then finally at Gallagher. Gallagher was shocked to see something that looked like fear in the General's eyes and he stared back at O'Neill with a puzzled frown. What? Gallagher wanted to shout. It unnerved him to see his counterpart like this and he didn't like being in the dark.
"Sir?" Carter said tentatively. O'Neill's behavior was obviously spooking her, as well. "We could go in and plant C-4 around the…"
"Do you have the floor plans of the ship?" O'Neill interrupted and turned to Jacob. "We would need to have as much information as you can provide us with in order to work up a strategy."
"Yes, we do. And we have an operative inside that will help you once you are there," Jacob said. He closed his eyes for a second, and Selmac took over, "You will not be entirely alone when you go in O'Neill, Avard and Janun will be accompanying you, and I assume you will be taking SG-1 with you?"
"Wait, what are you saying?" Daniel burst in. "You want Jack to go in personally? That isn't possible and you know it," he continued and Gallagher could see he was getting a little hot under the collar. "Jack is the commander of this entire base, he's needed here, not out there risking his life!"
"It has to be O'Neill," Selmac said with as much calm as a snake could muster. "Nirrti's ship is already in orbit around the planet where Ba'al is rumored to be. O'Neill should be able to find his way much quicker, as he has been there before."
Gallagher couldn't keep quiet any longer. "What's he talking about, General?" he said trying to quell the uneasy feeling that was threatening to go into hyperdrive.
"Well, Selmac?" O'Neill said. "Are you going to answer him? 'Cause see, I would like to know myself."
"You were there once before, Jack," Jacob answered instead. "Ba'al's fortress."
No one said a word. Gallagher knew that O'Neill had to be thinking the same thing that was going through his own mind, no freaking way!
O'Neill confirmed Gallagher's suspicion when he stood up and shouted, "No one is going anywhere except you three," he indicated the Tok'ra. "Get the fuck out of here," he said to enforce his statement and stalked off toward his office.
The briefing room was cloaked in shocked silence after O'Neill's outburst. Gallagher wondered if he should go find out if O'Neill was okay, but decided he would wait until he was away from the prying eyes of the Tok'ra.
Daniel, on the other hand, had no such qualms. He stood up, excused himself and walked over to the door of the office. He knocked once and let himself in. They all heard O'Neill when he said "Keep moving on out the other door because you are not staying here," before Daniel closed the door behind him.
"Dad, why don't you three sit here and talk amongst yourselves while we go see if we can talk to the General," Carter said as she smiled at her father. "You are welcome to eat if you are hungry," she continued as she shot a worried glance at the door of the office.
Jacob nodded at her as she got up to walk to the office. Teal'c was already at the office door and Gallagher got up to follow Carter.
O'Neill was sitting in his chair silently fuming as Daniel stood over him begging him to talk to him. "Just tell me why you are dead set against this, that's all I'm asking," Daniel said looking up as his teammates walked in and closed the door.
"Are those bastards gone?" O'Neill asked, ignoring Daniel.
"No sir, not yet," Carter said. "With all due respect, sir, why the sudden outburst?"
"Go make sure they don't leave anything behind when they leave, will you?" O'Neill said doggedly.
"General, sir, does it have anything to do with Avard?" Gallagher hazarded a guess. Bull's-eye, he thought when O'Neill's head swung around and he stared at him in shock.
"The tall one with the blond hair?" O'Neill asked.
"Yeah, Avard," Gallagher said, "the one who had the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention when he brushed past me."
O'Neill got up and walked over to the window and stared out at the men in the briefing room. "It's worse than that for me," he said quietly.