Author's notes: I felt that I needed to update this chapter in order to fix some glaring holes. Most of it is the same, I just felt that the other Cadets would not have "melted into the background", as I originally wrote it. I hope my changes have made this chapter better than the original.
Jack let go of Grady as the light faded away to nothingness. Oh God no, he thought. This is not happening. He stared blankly at the faces of the three Cadets who were now standing in the middle of a room on an Asgard ship. "Shit!" he swore as the expressions of his companions changed from confusion to fear.
"What the hell?" Grady said, his expression showing his anxiety. "Where are we?"
Rachel was the first to move, her eyes taking in everything as she moved away from the group. Jack watched her as she walked around the room, his mind refusing to work out any kind of scenario.
"What's going on?" Brad asked. Jack knew, but he wasn't quite sure why. So he kept his silence, wondering idly if he was going to get blamed for the three Cadets being there. His biggest worry though, was who was responsible for him being here. He felt himself tremble slightly as the image of Loki flashed through his mind. Jack did not want to have another run-in with that bastard. He was on the verge of panic as he tried to figure out why he was here. What if they had brought him here to eliminate him or because they had decided he was a mistake that never should have happened? God, the thoughts that were running through his mind were threatening to bring him to his knees.
Instead, he pulled himself together. He now half hoped it was Loki so that he could crush that little cockroach into the ground. He walked toward the middle of the room and bellowed, "Thor? Was it you that brought me here?"
"Jack?" Rachel said, staring at him as if he had lost his mind.
He ignored her and tried again, "Thor! Come on buddy, what's going on?"
"I am here O'Neill," Thor's voice came at him from the doorway causing Jack to whirl around on the spot. "It is good to see…" Thor's eyes widened the moment he got a good look at Jack's face. "You are not O'Neill," he said stating the obvious.
"You got that right," Jack agreed, grinning at his old friend. It was good to see him. "You want to tell me what's going on?"
"Jack?" Rachel said again, her voice reflecting her fear. Jack turned toward her to see that she was standing next to Brad, who was staring at Thor with a look of disbelief, while Grady stood next to the other two with an indecipherable look on his face.
"It's okay," Jack soothed. "There's nothing to worry about." Oh man, was that the understatement of the century, he thought snidely.
"What's going on Jack?" Brad asked, as he stared at Thor.
"This is impossible," Thor said. "The transporter was configured to bring O'Neill here. There must have been a malfunction with it."
"A malfunction," Jack repeated, his attention having been brought back to Thor. "Are you telling me that you missed?" He asked, trying to grasp what Thor was saying. He couldn't help grinning as he thought about how Thor used to boast about their advanced technologies. This was almost like the icing on the cake.
"It would appear so," Thor said calmly.
Jack wondered if anything ever got to this guy. "So now what?" he asked.
"Transporter?" Brad butt in. "As in 'Beam me up Scotty'?"
"Look, I'll explain everything," Jack told his friend. "Just let me get this straightened out, okay? Okay?" he asked again and Brad finally nodded. Jack looked over at Rachel, who also nodded at him. "Grady?" Jack asked, as he turned to the third Cadet who had been uncharacteristically quiet since Thor had shown up.
"Whatever," Grady said, turning his gaze back to Thor. For once, Jack wished he knew what was going on in the Upperclassman's head. He didn't like this not knowing what to expect from the guy who had made it his mission in life to make Jack's life miserable.
"I will send you back," Thor spoke up, bringing Jack's attention to him. "If you will tell me where you were when you were transported, I will endeavor to put you back in the same place you were taken. There is something I would like to know," he added as he stared at Jack. "How is it you know my name?"
Jack didn't answer right away. He had to be careful what he said around the others and he struggled with finding the right words to tell Thor who he was while at the same time not giving anything away to the Cadets. Jack never was very good with words.
"What's up with Loki these days?" he asked, hoping that Thor would put two and two together. "I hope you made sure he was punished harshly for what he did to me."
Jack waited for Thor's reaction to his words, wondering if it was enough, especially since he no longer looked like the kid that Thor had saved several years ago. Apparently it was, as Thor's eyes widened again before nodding his head. "Yes, he truly regrets what he did to you O'Neill. It appears the transporter isn't too badly damaged after all. It was configured for O'Neill and it brought you here instead," he said. "It just picked up the wrong O'Neill."
"I am not O'Neill," Jack said firmly. This was something he felt strongly about. He'd spent the last four years working on his new identity and he resented Thor demolishing everything he'd worked so hard for. He needed to be his own man and that was the way it was going to be. Period.
"Still, the transporter should have picked up the original O'Neill," Thor continued. "There may be a problem that we need to work on."
"Yeah well, in the meantime, you wanna tell me why you needed O'Neill here? Maybe I can help," Jack said.
"We have encountered a planet whose people have requested that we help them to defend themselves," Thor explained. "We would like your help in ridding the people of their enemy."
"Replicators?" Jack asked, grimacing as he remembered those nasty little bugs.
"Goa'uld," Thor replied evenly. "The planet is situated among those that are not in our treaty with the Goa'uld. Our attempts to convince them to leave the planet in peace have gone unrewarded. There is one Goa'uld in particular who has claimed the planet as his own and refuses to give it up. We were hoping the Tau'ri would help us in eliminating this Goa'uld so that we can claim the planet as an Asgard protected planet."
"Goa'uld, Tau'ri," Grady spoke up, and Jack could see he was finally gearing up to his normal aggravating self. "Do you think you two could speak in English?"
"Why can't you just take it yourselves?" Jack asked Thor, totally ignoring Grady. "The Goa'ulds don't stand a chance against your forces."
"The Goa'ulds would consider it a direct attack against them and the terms of our treaty would be rescinded," Thor answered patiently. "They would not be able to blame us if the Tau'ri helped those people."
"You want us to do your dirty work," Jack said. He couldn't blame the Asgard for depending on them, the Tau'ri depended on the Asgard just as much, making their alliance a valuable one.
"That is correct O'Neill."
"My name is Gallagher, Jack Gallagher," Jack said making another attempt at convincing Thor to get it straight. "Who are we up against?" he asked.
"A minor System Lord named Algin," Thor told him. "The planet that he rules is the only planet he has in his possession. He does have an impressive fleet though, as well as a Ha'tak. The Ha'tak is currently on the planet's surface, as is the majority of his fleet. It is our wish that SG-1 destroy the Ha'tak and Algin."
"Planets and aliens - why do I feel like I'm in the middle of a Science Fiction movie?" Brad asked the room at large.
"Are you going to be able to transport SG-1 here?" Jack asked as he glared at Brad. "I mean with your transporter malfunctioning, who knows who will end up here to join our party."
"I will request a full diagnostic scan of the transporter before attempting to use it again," Thor responded. "In the meantime, I must inform O'Neill of what has transpired here. I am afraid that you and your friends will have to wait here until we are sure the transporter is working properly."
Jack nodded his head in understanding, then turned to look at his companions. They were all staring at him, Rachel looking worried, Brad with an amused look on his face and Grady openly glaring at him. Jack sighed as he realized that he was going to have a hell of a time explaining all this to them.
"You're going to have to explain these guys to the General," Jack said, wishing to warn Thor. "He is not going to be a happy camper when he finds out about them."
"Perhaps it would be wise to know exactly how they happened to be here," Thor said, as he looked over at the Cadets. "The transporter beam should have only brought you here."
"Well," Jack said thoughtfully, "We were all standing in practically the same spot. Rachel and Brad were trying to hold me back from killing that idiot over there," he continued, pointing at Grady, "And the idiot had grabbed me to try to beat the crap out of me. I guess what it boils down to is that your timing sucks," he finished.
"Yes, it would appear so," Thor agreed.
"Look Thor, would you like me to talk to O'Neill?" Jack asked. "I think it would be best, especially since he will need to know exactly who came with me. This way he can give me some ideas on how to fix all this."
Thor didn't answer, instead he walked over to a console that was situated near the door and began moving one of the intricately designed stones to manipulate the environment. "Step over here, O'Neill," Thor said, indicating a spot near the console.
Jack did as he was told while at the same time telling Thor, "The name is Gallagher. I am not O'Neill anymore." Jeez, what was it going to take to get it through Thor's head?
"I will always be Thor," the alien responded in all seriousness. Jack realized at that moment what Thor was thinking. It didn't matter that he was a clone, he was still O'Neill, would always be O'Neill. Not in my world, Jack thought viciously. "Please, just call me Gallagher," he said.
"Gallagher," Thor said, giving in. "I will attempt to project your image now."
"Wait!" he said to Thor. He turned toward the Cadets, staring at them, suddenly at a loss for words. How did one tell his friends that he would be talking to someone who wasn't there? "A hologram," he told them waving his hand around in a vague attempt to explain it to them. All three of them raised their eyebrows, encouraging him to elaborate further. "I… I'm just going to talk to the General for a minute," he added, pointing to the empty space behind him. "I'll be right back," he said, finally giving up. He just knew they were going to think he had lost it. From their vantage point, he would be talking to thin air.
Well it couldn't be helped. "I'm ready," Jack said to Thor and waited for the scenery to change. He didn't have to wait too long, as he found himself in the control room at the SGC staring at a surprised General and a control technician. "Gallagher," General O'Neill growled, anger overtaking his surprise, "this had better be good."
"Hey Jack. I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this. Thor has a little problem…, well a lot of problems and you get to help us solve them all."
"Well isn't that special," O'Neill growled, while at the same time dismissing the technician with a nod of his head. "Why don't you tell me all about these problems? You can start with your presence there."
"Thor missed," Jack responded smugly. "All that talk about how superior their technology is and he missed. He was aiming for you," he admitted.
"I see," O'Neill said quietly. "What are the other problems?"
Jack hesitated, wondering if he should tell the General about the Cadets being there, all the while knowing he was going to have to. "Well, there is a Goa'uld who is in control of a planet that has asked Thor for protection. He wants us to help him get rid of that particular snakehead."
"How?" O'Neill asked.
"Destroy the mother ship and the Goa'uld," Jack said simply. "He would like SG-1 to do the honors."
"Which Goa'uld is he talking about?"
"Algin."
"Never heard of him," O'Neill said, with a thoughtful look on his face.
Jack waited for O'Neill to process this information, stalling the inevitable. "Thor can't do it himself?" O'Neill asked after a few minutes.
"It would violate the treaty the Asgard have with the Goa'uld," Jack responded.
There was more silence before O'Neill said, "SG-1 is off-world right now and not expected back for a few more days. It wouldn't be in our best interest to pull them away from their current mission right now. Thor will have to wait until they get back."
Jack turned to repeat the General's words to Thor. "Perhaps you can take care of this problem yourself, Gallagher," Thor responded. "Tell O'Neill that we will bring up weapons and anything else you need to accomplish this."
What? Gallagher thought. "You want ME to tell him THAT?" he asked Thor, his anxiety rising as he thought about what O'Neill would say to that.
"Tell me what?" O'Neill asked warily.
Jack turned back to the General and stared at him for a full minute, knowing what the response would be and dreading it. "Thor says that he will be taking weapons and other supplies I will need to do the job," he said having decided to take the bull by the horns.
"I don't think so, Cadet," O'Neill growled menacingly. "You get your ass back here and report for a debriefing. You have ten minutes."
Jack decided now was the time to take the diplomatic approach. "But sir, I could scout out the territory and get things started for SG-1. I'm here anyway," he added.
"What about your classes?" O'Neill asked, his anger not appeasing at any rate.
"Yes sir, about that…" God, the General is going to have a stroke. Jack took a deep breath, then forged on. "There is another little problem that we need to take care of."
O'Neill stared at him with dread. "Another problem?" he finally asked. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"No sir," Jack said. Just do it Jack, he thought to himself. "Thor was aiming for you, but got me instead. I happened to be with some other Cadets at the time and they sort of came along for the ride."
"What does that mean?" O'Neill asked in a deadly calm voice.
"It means that we have a lot of explaining to do and you have a lot of paperwork to take care of in order to keep these Cadets quiet," Jack said. "They are standing behind me even as we speak."