"I needed to see his reaction. If he acted fine then, he'd do it all over, but if not… well you know how close the Jaffa were to the gate right?" That was a cleverly disguised snippet/question. When Jaffa swarmed the gate, there was no way out and SG-1 had to fight though. What the general meant was that when the younger didn't except his rank of lieutenant, he'd fight his way out so he could get his way through the gate, so to speak.

"Of course sir, we had to fight hard, but we regained control."

Poor Teal'c had no idea what was going on, but he sensed that they were trying to deceive the younger O'Neill, so he kept shut.

Hammond then winked to those at the table and left to his office. After a couple minutes, he returned and took his seat again. He now addressed the duplicate.

"Lieutenant?" Jack's younger head snapped up to attention.

"Yes sir?" He tried to keep all anger out of his voice. Jack picked up on it anyway, he knew his copy was keeping all of his feelings carefully behind a stone face, or trying to at least.

"I've just talked to the president asking him about your situation and how you would have to go through your life essentially all over again. He told me that it was up to me."

"Oh? And what is my fate sir?" Jack Jr. asked with little feeling. He figured he wasn't going anywhere in the rank business.

"I have decided to bring you up to colonel, well lieutenant colonel, so we can disguise your rank, but also be on the same level as Jack."

The elder pulled a face at Hammond. "I'm not a lieutenant colonel."

"I know Jack, but he is, for all your intents and purposes, a colonel."

"Wait sir, so am I a colonel or not?"

"This is too confusing… Jack two, you are a colonel. You look exactly like Jack, so this means you also look at least thirty. And you are to be on SG-1, but you are under your own command, under the elder's command. I do not want the two of you arguing about commands or who goes where."

"That will be highly unlikely sir," Jack smiled. After all, they did have the same thoughts and memories. "I'll kick his butt if he does."

"No way colonel, I'm kicking yours."

"Nuh uh little man, you are sooo going down."

"You wanta take this outside old man?"

"Colonels!" The two looked up from their banter.

"Yes sir?" they answered together.

Hammond looked at the other smiling team members. "Are we done here people?" They nodded. "Then dismissed."

The Jacks smiled evilly at each other. "Come on little man, let's take this to the mats."

"Okay geezer." And the continued down the hallway to insult each other, with SG-1 following like willing puppies.

After the fight (the younger won the first round, then the elder kicked his butt the second and the younger called it quits) the whole team took off to the mess to eat. Younger Jack was communing with his best buddies.

"School sucked ya know. People kept asking me if I was related to you."

"What did you say?" Daniel asked, interested.

"'Of course not sir. Who's Jack O'Neill?' Then they'd say 'sure you're not.'"

"Sir, did you use a name in school?"

"Yeah, Jack Ryan." The older Jack spun around.

"From the Tom Clancy books? You've gotta be kidding me." The Tom Clancy books were their favorites.

"Yes I am."

"Oh."

"But this is going to get very confusing. I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill and you're Colonel Jack O'Neill."

"I had it first."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not.

"Did too."

"Did-"

"Sirs!" They gave Sam an innocent look, they'd been working on it for years.

"Yes?"

Daniel spoke up. "You guys gotta stop doing that."

"What?" they said. Daniel muttered to himself.

Teal'c was curious now. "O'Neill, what is it like to be in the presence of each other."

They looked each other up and down, not finding any thing different about each other that was on themselves. "Interesting... again," the older Jack answered forgetting that the younger had the same memories as him and did indeed experience the other clones. The younger snorted.

"Yeah again." Teal'c's eyebrow went up. The team went to sit down after getting food.

"Ah jello, I've missed you."

Jack's eyebrows went skyward in mock disbelief. "They don't have jello at the Academy?"

"No they don't, isn't that insane. I don't know how I ever lived without it."

"What about cake, please tell me about cake," The older pleaded sarcastically.

"Nah, it's no good. Lord did I miss this food, I mean look at the bountiful jello and cake," Jack the younger responded just as sarcastically.

"You poor deprived child." The elder reached over to ruffle his copy's hair, knowing that he hated it. Jack also knew that the double wouldn't appreciate being called a child either. The younger frowned and let it pass.

"Yeah, I know. I was also deprived of an annoying archeologist, a brilliant scientist even if she does confuse me… us, and a stoic former First Prime Jaffa. Not to mention, I have a date with a big gray metal ring with red lights that sort of flooshes sideways." Jack theyounger winked.

"Glad your back then Jack," Daniel grinned.

"Ditto sir." Jack winced at the pun, both of them did.

"Now Carter, that was bad," the younger protested. Their good time was cut short by an announcement.

"SG-1, please report to General Hammond's office. SG-1 to General Hammond's office."

"Oh?"

Soooo.... whadda think? I'm afraid I've reverted to the way I used to write.... gah. Anyway......how is it?