I apologize for not getting any new parts out for any of my fics in some time. I simply haven't been able to get myself to actually write while I sit in front of my computer. I just hope this little (long) faze is over and it won't be so long until the next update. Again, sorry for the extended delay.

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General Hammond glanced up, briefly catching Xander's eyes. After a quick nod, he hesitantly reached into the, now open, box and retrieved the only object within said box.

From its physical appearance, the object looked mundane, no more than a mere paperweight. George, however, knew better. He had seen this object once before, and only once before. The President of The United States had placed something similar onto the table in his 'war room' when he had visited all those months ago to explain who Xander was, and about what they knew about the 'night life.'

The metallic object, perhaps made out of silver, was only about 6 or 7 inches in length, 3 inches wide, and not even 2 inches thick. About half of an inch, on each end of the metallic object, had a darker coloration than the rest of it. And, as light as the object was, it was somewhat mesmerizing how the metal seemed to catch and reflect the light from the room.

Within the box was a soft blue material, perhaps velvet. Laced throughout the surface of the interior were small and colorful crystals. Towards one end of the box, some larger gems seemed to filter out any excess light, and reflect it off of the smooth material that comprised the inside of the hatched lid. Where the open lid met the box was a recessed slot, about 3 inches long. The only truly open area within the box was where the device had been resting before General Hammond removed it.

"So, what is it?"

Two sets of eyes rested on Colonel O'Neill, whose intense focus seemed to shift between the object and its container.

"That's what I'd like to know."

Xander seemed to fidget for a moment before finally answering.

"Simplest explanation…it's a communication device." Both men looked at him skeptically. "I suppose a better explanation would be to say that this one of the first devices that integrate technology and magic." That seemed to pique both officers.

"How does it work?"

Xander took the object from Hammond and attempted to answer his question.

"The President sent this to me while I was in Sunnydale trying to decide if I should join up. A friend of mine, who used to work for The Initiative, which I believe you both remember," After receiving nods from both parties, he continued. "He was the one to deliver it and explain how it worked."

Xander took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. A stray thought suddenly struck him of Giles taking off his glasses and cleaning them when faced with a similar situation. Suddenly, much to his amusement and consternation he found himself wishing for a pair of his own glasses.

"There are crystals that have certain spells cast upon them placed within the confines of this cylinder. Between some other, smaller gems, and the properties of this metal, a boosted 'signal' is made to broadcast the spells embedded within the crystals to another one of these objects. There are two main crystals running the length of this thing, one is enspelled to 'transmit' while the other is there to 'receive' a call."

Jack looked between the two other occupants with wide eyes. "Um, just what sort of spell, or spells, were...umm…placed within those crystals?"

Xander couldn't help himself as he smiled in amusement at the child like eagerness in Jack's voice. It was quite refreshing to see the childlike enthusiasm in Jack as he approached anything magical. It was amusing so long as he could see the result of said magic, and so long as it wasn't trying to kill him, or his team.

"It's a spell that allows you to talk to someone mind to mind. Well, you can speak to them as long as they have one of these babies to 'receive' the 'sent' thought. There was, however, a safeguard put into these things. Since there are some upper class demons out there that could easily 'intercept' or listen into a 'call' without the receiving crystal, with the safe guard engaged all that they'd get is a scrambled message, if they could even figure out how to tap into its wavelength." He glanced at both men. "That's another thing. You need to know who you are 'calling' or else their receiving crystal won't activate and they won't hear your call." He shrugged "They figured that would be important. They wouldn't want anyone who had one of these getting every call, or not be able to reach who you wanted to."

Jack had to nod in appreciation. "So, who are we 'calling'?" He wasn't sure he liked the smug smirk the kid couldn't seem to keep from surfacing on his face.

"The President."

"Why don't we have one of these?"

The smirk left his face as Xander faced to answer the General's question and shrugged.

"Riley was trying to impart to me how important it was that I not lose this or break it. However, he laughed at that suggestion because there are apparently spells placed on the metal to make it as close to indestructible as humanly, or inhumanly, possible." He shook his head in consternation. "Besides this thing being insanely expensive it is supposed to be used solely for Class 1 supernatural occurrences meaning E.L.E events" He gave them a strained smile. "The main reason I have one is because I apparently have this predisposition of getting into more trouble than should be humanly possible, and it usually involves the supernatural."

Jack snorted. "Well, they seemed to have you pegged. I guess one out of two isn't bad."

Xander snorted back at the banter. "Please, this was only my first mission, give it a little while." After that, all three men gave a slight shudder. "Anyways, I wasn't sure if you were cleared to know about it, but I figured in a case of emergency, I'd pull it out. Though, once we use it, in all likelihood, the NID will figure out that we have one."

Xander looked up slightly, and simply nodded his head.

"I guess that doesn't matter anymore." He tossed the object to Hammond, who deftly caught it. "Say 'Hi' to The President, General." He gave an encouraging smile to Hammond who was looking at the object like it was extremely fragile. Suddenly, Xander's eyes lit up in hurried remembrance. "Uh, General, this thing is tuned to me, which means it only transmits thoughts I concentrate on sending, you are able to use it because you are physically touching it, but it transmits all of your thoughts, not just the ones you want to send. So, be careful what you think."

It was hard not to laugh at the wide-eyed look Hammond was sending him. For some reason, Jack suddenly found himself troubled with a coughing fit he couldn't quite get under control.

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Perhaps the proper reaction to learning that The President of The United States is currently able to 'hear' all of your thoughts is to panic. Once Xander had told him that such was the case, George knew that his heart had skipped a beat or ten. However, one does not become a General by panicking at unusual situations, and if his term at the SGC had been good for anything, it was training him in how to handle 'unusual' situations, perhaps SG-1 more so than anyone with their abilities to piss off advanced races and fight god like beings to a standstill.

Of course, this thought went through his mind in a flash, and just as he came to his conclusion, the sound of light chuckling could be heard, or felt, in the back of his mind.

/Not to worry, George, this can be quite an experience for the newly initiated. And you're right. I've read some of those mission debriefings, the way you've kept your head in some of those situations you've faced, is nothing less than miraculous./

"Um, thank you, Mr. President."

The sound of a light cough brought The General's attention over to Xander.

"He can hear your thoughts, Sir. You don't need to speak out loud." The soft smile on the young man's face did little to alleviate the tension he was feeling, and the smirk Colonel O'Neill couldn't seem to wipe off his face would have to be dealt with at a later time. 'I think some more time with Daniel, 'studying some rocks', will be called for.'

Xander's snickering and the downright laughter from The President brought him back to his current situation. He couldn't quite stop the slight flush from covering his face.

/I think there is a way we can help you out of this predicament, George. Try closing your eyes, it will help you visualize communicating with me, us, and help keep any extraneous thoughts to yourself/

Jack watched as both Xander and General Hammond closed their eyes. Xander still had a slight smile on his face. Jack shook his head. He was glad that the kid was still able to smile, even with all this crap storming up around him. They had a long way to go to get out of the woods, but if anyone could make it, it was his team.

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General Hammond looked around the 'War Room' from his usual seat at the head of the table. To his right was The President, and to the left sat Xander.

Nodding to himself, he thought, "Well, this does feel far more comfortable." he thought. Well imagine his shock when he heard his voice echoing off the walls.

The President, noticing Hammond's expression, was quick to reply. "Yes, this part of the spell makes communication that much easier; so long as you can afford to close your eyes, wherever you may be." After a brief pause he continued. "And don't forget; try to control what you think. You may be able to keep some things to yourself, but you'll find that we all hear most of what you think. And don't worry about reprimands, at least from me, your thoughts are your own, and I won't hold you accountable for anything said, that would normally be left 'unsaid'." It was somewhat unsettling to see The President suddenly smirk in a way that was far too 'Jack O'Neill' for anyone's liking. "Though I'm sure, given enough time, Xander here will be able to have enough ammunition for a decent blackmail."

Xander chuckled quietly while Hammond simply shook his head, yet the room remained silent. The President gave a slight nod of approval at Hammond's quick regain of control at the bizarre situation he found himself in. Hammond decided to ask one, of what had to be a million, questions.

"Do both of you see the 'War Room' as well?"

Both men nodded before The President responded. "That is a side affect of the spell, it takes all those participating and place them in a location that they will all feel comfortable in." A slight nostalgic smile spread across his face. "Believe it or not, the first time I used this device, I was sitting in a bar with an 'old friend' of mine." He nodded to himself as his eyes became much more focused. "Now, what's so important that I'm postponing a meeting with the rest of the Joint Chiefs?

Both men looked alarmed, but The President quickly dismissed their concerns, and soon a full recount of events was told. In the end, The President summed it up well by simply shaking his head while regarding the newest member of SG-1. And the troubles he had gotten into.

"Only you can get into this much trouble on your very first assignment involving gate travel." Xander simply shrugged, not sure what to say. "Don't worry, Son. We'll do right by you, and I'll make sure to chew out the NID on their latest move. I have to admit, I'm impressed by O'Neill's improvisation."

Xander smiled at him. "Should I tell him that he can call you Jack, Sir?"

President Ryan smiled at the young man. "No."

The three men snickered quietly before The President turned his attention back towards Xander.

"Give me 30 minutes, and then place your unit in the receiver within the box. I'll do the same on my end."

Hammond looked somewhat confused as Xander slowly nodded. The President gave him a slight smile as he began to fade away.

He looked over at Xander who simply shrugged at the man and said, "Speaker phone," as he too began to fade from view.

As Hammond opened his eyes, he saw The Colonel with a confused expression on his face. He seemed to glance at Xander, his watch, then looked him right in the eyes while stating.

"Uh, Sir, the both of you have only had your eyes closed for a minute or so."

Hammond looked over at Xander who gave him a familiar shrug before taking the metallic object.

"We were communicating at the speed of thought. From what I was told before, when we were in the 'War Room' we were linked, and the mind can communicate much faster than if we were verbally communicating with each other."

The General had to agree. To him, it had felt like the conversation had lasted for at least an hour, and felt almost wiped out from trying to keep his thoughts to himself, and not say something inadvertently because of a stray thought.

The first few times had been embarrassing enough.

Though, he was pleased to know that The President was going to have another one of these devices issued directly to him. Lord knew how many headaches that would help reduce.