Stargate Revealed: Politics and Power 10
by livi2jack

Summary: Jack meets an old foe. The team has a big problem. Who did it?

Rating: T+

Category: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Mystery, Holiday, Point Of View, Angst, Other
Season: SG-1 Season Nine

Related SG-1 Episode(s): 615 Paradise Lost, 813 Its Good To Be King, 901 Avalon, Part 1
Related Atlantis Episode(s): 201 The Siege, Part 3
Featured Character(s): Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Teal'c, Cameron Mitchell, Hank Landry, George Hammond, Harry Maybourne

Author Notes: Spoilers for Season 9
Sequel to Stargate Revealed Series

Feedback requested.


Chapter 10 Tag You're It
Teal'c stared back at the Commonwealth doctor at the Gamma Site. They had been at it for an hour already. He was beginning to wonder if this man knew what he was doing. At least it was and adult-person. So many in the Commonwealth looked like children because of the Genetic Restoration procedure. That procedure extended their life spans as long as 300 years. Teal'c objected to being poked and prodded for an hour by this adult one. The process was wearing on his infinite patience. Well, maybe not so infinite. They definitely thought there was something there.

Earlier that Friday, an assassin after O'Neill missed, killing Teal'c by mistake. To save Teal'c's life, Lady Anna sent Teal'c to the captured sarcophagus inside the Commonwealth. But in doing so, Lady Anna risked her own security. The assassins after her could potentially trace her location before she wanted to reveal it. Her opposition could compromise Teal'c somewhere along the way, there or back. So she sent him in such a way that she laid traps for her opponents. Whoever tried to trace his trail would be exposed to her agents. But that left the problem of how Teal'c himself could be compromised. Lady Anna knew if Teal'c had been 'tagged' by her opposition, he had to be kept away from Earth. The Commonwealth knew how to place markers in someone to identify them and to record where they had been. Sensor arrays in various locations recorded the passing of tagged ships, merchandise, and people. The locations weren't always where one would expect. Knowing all this, Lady Anna diverted Teal'c on his return.

After waking up in a Goa'uld sarcophagus in the Commonwealth's medical facility, Teal'c had been told to return in not so many words to Earth. Without a GDO, his identification device, the Iris barring Earth's Stargate would not open for him. If it didn't open, he would die. Protocol dictated that he proceed to the Alpha Site instead. There he was shuttled off to the Gamma Site.

Earth protected itself by conducting scientific and medical experiments on alien items off world to prevent catastrophes from happening on Earth. Lady Anna protected herself by sending Teal'c to be examined away from Earth. Aside from tags, Teal'c could be mentally compromised or even physically with weapons he didn't know were in him. After conferring with Lady Anna's doctors, General O'Neill approved her plan and allowed her to send her own doctors and technicians to the Gamma Site. The technicians found something...odd.

"Can you not get someone else to assist you, Doctor?" Teal'c wanted to get back to Earth before he turned 107 years old, sometime next year. This procedure was taking too long. "What is the delay?"

"The problem Teal'c," explained the technician, "is that we know there is a tracing device. But we have not seen this type. It is extremely difficult to locate at any one moment. The tracer keeps shifting in your cells. Each time we find it, it multiplies and changes location, then deletes the previous versions to some degree. We can either know its position or its speed but not both. Like all matter, it is both a particle and a wave. But the problem is much more complex.

So, we have not been able to determine enough to predict where it will arrive next. We are considering how to eradicate it from all your cells simultaneously. I must continue these tests to gather enough data. Then we can construct a treatment. I am sorry, but you cannot return tonight."

The Doctor was as frustrated as Teal'c. "If you leave here before this tracer is neutralized, you will always be transmitting your locations and your conversations. Here you are partially shielded. But this little item is apparently able to transmit your last known Gate address. It can activate the Stargate again after you go through and send a message to either another Gate with a type of "answering machine" or a nearby sensor array which can broadcast the information along."

"I see. The problem is complex, indeed." Teal'c composed himself for a long wait. He was disturbed to learn this information. These Hak'taur, as the Goa'uld termed advanced humans, were much more formidable than imagined. Never had he even considered such a device. But then, he conceded, he never knew all that much about Goa'uld technology. It could have existed and he would never have known.

"As it is, your arrival probably sent a message that you are here. If someone comes to investigate, then we have a surprise waiting for him. Our Great Lady anticipated this situation and has sensor nets in place to detect an approach. We almost hope someone will come." The Doctor grinned at Teal'c. Teal'c realized his meaning and gave a satisfied grunt. This Lady Anna was as devious as any Goa'uld he had ever met.


On another Commonwealth facility that Friday evening, Cam Mitchell blew his nose again. The tough veteran pilot caught a cold last night in the forest protecting O'Neill's cabin in Northern Minnesota. His eyes were red and he was beginning to cough. Sam shied away hoping not to catch it.

"You should see one of their doctors, Mitchell. They probably have the cure to the common cold. At least go to bed before you spread it to the rest of us."

"I did see their doctors. And they don't have the cure for the common cold. Go figure. But you are right. I am going to bed. General O'Neill wants me to join him wherever he is tomorrow. G'night, Sam."

Mitchell got up from his dinner and took a mug of hot tea with him. Surprisingly, Commonwealth food dispensers were now programmed for Earth foods as well. Sam watched him go and thought about bed herself. Sitting at the table, Sam ruffled her short blond hair and reviewed for herself the week's events. Something was not right. Whatever it was kept eluding her.

Tuesday, three days ago, Sam witnessed a show of force on a Commonwealth starship. Lady Anna decided it was time to warn the Goa'uld away from their plans to wipe out Earth and the planets of the Commonwealth. Jack and the Team went to the ship with a captured Goa'uld spy to a dead planet in a dead solar system. The point was to blow up the planet to demonstrate the Commonwealth's capability of destroying the Goa'uld and their friends, the Wannabes. The Goa'uld spy was convinced and took the message back to his masters as intended. Ostensibly, Jack had commanded that mission. But someone else pulled the strings.

Wednesday, two days ago, Sam realized that the Commonwealth had falsified the data on their doomsday device. Her calculations proved that the missiles they said did the job did not destroy the planet. Also on Wednesday, Lady Anna showed up at the SGC on Earth. She went with Jack to the White House for her welcoming reception. Supposedly, Commonwealth systems secured the White House. However, an assassin attacked O'Neill in the East Room. All hell broke loose around the world as Earth reacted to the debacle.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Thursday. Sam spent the day writing up her report on her findings. Jack and the Lady spent Thanksgiving at the White House and then went to his cabin in Minnesota, where another assassin tried to take them out. Bra'tac showed up with Teal'c and told them the Commonwealth was kicking Jaffa butt across the galaxy. Of course the Lady denied it but still, something was not right.

Today was Friday. Today had been a long day. Teal'c was dead at the hands of another assassin and nothing made sense. The day began at the SGC and continued all over the planet and off. She had been at Jack's cabin. Then she accompanied O'Neill and the Lady back to the SGC for the meeting with Bra'tac. The Team went on the trip to the Commonwealth Embassy in Washington. Outside the building, Teal'c died during the attack on the General. And now Sam was at some Commonwealth command center who knew where. These past four days were bizarre. Before going to sleep, there was one more thing to do to tonight. The whole thing was hinky.

Tonight, the President ordered his officials to get Earth's own house in order. Several factions wanted Jack dead. Some wanted to clear the way for their own access to the Lady, which his presence obstructed. Or, if they could not have access, make sure no one else could. Some just hated the idea of aliens and wanted to kill the man responsible for their arrival. Others wanted to control the Stargate. They thought world public opinion would be enough pressure to make the Americans relinquish the Stargate. Killing O'Neill and maybe the Lady too would add to that pressure. It would show that the Americans couldn't handle the situation. Some, like the Goa'uld, just had a grudge against O'Neill. The System Lords had decreed his death and sent ashraks, assassins of the highest order, after him. After the Commonwealth ran off the Goa'uld on Earth, there remained a distinct possibility that the Goa'uld left behind zatarcs. Zatarcs were humans programmed to kill in a specific circumstance. The human zatarc had no idea anything was amiss until he tried to kill someone. As part of the programming, the zatarc then killed himself. Determining who was a zatarc was next to impossible. But, the President wanted all these folks found ASAP.

Lady Anna had her own assassins after her for internal political reasons. Commonwealth assassins after Lady Anna had not yet arrived on Earth. She had built some defenses and had an intelligence network on and around Earth to try to trap them. But, the Commonwealth analysts were not entirely familiar with Earth and needed locals to direct some of their efforts. It was an immense task. The time was short. Complicating the problem was discovering that their beloved General O'Neill was now a target of his own people. No one had planned for that eventuality. The idea that O'Neill's own people wanted to kill him made absolutely no sense to any of them. Having to protect both Lord O'Neill and their Great Lady was a terrible situation.

After the President had ordered General O'Neill to continue as Lady Anna's Earth Force Advisor, Lady Anna decided to put Jack in charge of her Earth based efforts. It made total sense to her. He was not affiliated with any of her enemies back home. Even better, he had every reason to help her. She promised to help Earth and so far did a good job keeping her word. It made sense to her that he would know how to work his side of the situation. Her personnel would pull together information and assets to team up willingly with O'Neill because they trusted him. A joint operation was born.

As part of that operation, Jack detailed Sam, Daniel, and Mitchell to the Commonwealth analysis center to help the anti-terrorist efforts. After scoping the problem for a few hours, Sam knew she needed some more help. She knew just where to get it. Sam dialed her funky Commonwealth cell phone. The thing seemed to reach anywhere from anywhere. For security purposes, Lady Anna issued the Team, the President, George Hammond, and General Landry communicators, which operated as Earth cell phones. It made their conversations secure since they did not use Earth based systems. No one from Earth could hack in. And their range was tremendous. Whether the person was on the planet or just in the solar system, the user was reachable. Sam dialed General Landry. She hoped he was still awake. Good. The phone worked even from here wherever here was.

Unfortunately, the honorable Jack O'Neill had just reneged on his word to Lady Anna. Jack was ordered by the President and had agreed to obey Lady Anna by not discussing any of her plans before she authorized him. Lady Anna found out about Jack's conversation with the President. As far as she was concerned, he crossed the line with her. Security leaks from the President's office continued unabated no matter how much security equipment she had given. Jack's action caused another security breach. His action was beyond Lady Anna's understanding. She was extremely angry with Major General Jack O'Neill. So she sent someone to straighten him out; someone who could relate to O'Neill; someone who could make the point stick.


Three years ago, Maybourne was evading Death Row for treason. With promises of alien super-weapons, he managed to trick Jack into taking him to a moon where the cache was purported to be. Of course, Maybourne tried to double cross Jack. In the process, he got the two of them stranded on that moon. Things went from bad to worse and Jack had to shoot Maybourne, twice. But Jack forgave him and got the Tok'ra to take Harry away and fix him up, never to return to Earth. The Tok'ra left him on a primitive planet with some natives. Harry turned it to his advantage and the locals made him king. But Jack and SG-1 had to come and save his royal pain in the butt from the Goa'uld. They thought he was still there. Wrong.

Old Harry was a real character. Harry had been convicted of treason for his part in the failed N.I.D. off-world thieving operation and for his role in the brief Russian Stargate program, not to mention his part in the sale of the Goa'uld symbiote taken from a Jaffa captured by the Russians. But after that he managed to redeem himself. He did help Jack rescue Carter from Adrian Conrad's henchmen. He helped Jack get Hammond reinstated at the SGC. He helped Jack save Teal'c the time he was stuck dematerialized inside the Stargate. And he did help the SGC during an alien incursion. Over the years, Jack came to have a grudging respect for the rogue intelligence operative.

"So you really are some little tin god here, Jack?" Maybourne's eyes twinkled with amusement. "What is it they call you, O'Neill, the Great?" Harry Maybourne was snickering now. "I bet Kinsey is grinding his teeth every time he hears that one." Now, Harry was laughing a belly laugh. But his beady little rodent eyes never wavered from Jack's face.

"Keep it up, Harry. Or is it Good King Arkan?" O'Neill was shocked to find the disgraced former Air Force Colonel here under his nose.

"I still am, Jack. I still am 'King Arkan the First'." Maybourne wiggled his finger to say follow me, turned, and walked down the corridor expecting Jack to follow. Jack did.

"This is going to be good, isn't it?" Jack was in his surly mode. His finely chiseled face cracked a grin. "Last time we met, you told me how you couldn't leave 'your people' and your wives, plural. So, what are you doing here?"

"Let's just say I am more upwardly mobile these days." Harry turned a corner and summoned a shuttle vehicle like an old hand. Jack noticed. It did not set well with him. Not knowing about Maybourne was a real slap in the face. It couldn't be a coincidence that the moment he pissed off Lady Anna, that rat bastard Maybourne showed up.

"I take it you have been here a while." Jack sat down next to Maybourne who was at the controls. "How long?" Jack was amazed to see Harry act like it was second nature to be here. Oh, yeah, she was sending him a message.

"A couple of months. You mean you didn't know about me? I am shocked. Truly shocked." Harry chuckled loudly. "Here you are, the big idol to all these kids and no one bothered to tell you?" He gave Jack a look to be sure Jack wasn't playing him. Jack was pissed. His eyes narrowed to fine slits beneath a prominent brow. Harry knew him well enough to know. "Makes you wonder doesn't it, Jack?" Harry drawled slowly. He gave Jack a once over to be sure. "I heard they faint when you appear. Kinda like having the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Wayne Newton, and Elvis all rolled up into one." His bearded face was laughing now.

"It hurts me that you would compare me to Wayne Newton, but that's ok." Jack snarked back at him. "Do I look fat?" Jack knew this went deep, deeper than he had any idea. That woman was more devious than he ever imagined. Finding Maybourne and co-opting him to work for her was no small feat. Not telling him, well that was nasty. Letting him find out this way demonstrated how furious she was. "I'll ask you again, Harry. What are you doing here?"

"I am Lady Anna's Chief of Covert Operations. She knew enough to come to the best." Maybourne was really jerking Jack's chain tonight. And he was enjoying the fact, immensely. "She is the one who sent me to get you. You really pissed her off." He chuckled menacingly. "What did you do, Jack?"

"More to the point, what did she promise you?" Jack wasn't going to tell Maybourne squat.

"I could ask you the same thing, Jack." Harry knew this dance. He came through the same training as Jack. "And don't tell me it was all the flattery."

"It was all the flattery," Jack smirked. The ride stopped and both got out. The vehicle continued on. "Anyway, the President ORDERED me to help her. What's your excuse?"

"I heard she has a real thing for you, pal. What a looker. With an offer like that, I would have too," said Maybourne sotto voce. "All that power and wealth in one gorgeous sexy woman," Maybourne leered. "She wants you. It would turn anyone's head." Harry gave a lecherous chuckle. He was pulling the tail of the tiger for fun.

"Harry," Jack growled. "Don't go there."

"Don't get me wrong, Jack. Who wouldn't?" Harry saw that Jack was getting really angry. Jack had drawn himself up to his full military bearing. It was a little intimidating to most people, but not to Maybourne. "What? Don't tell me you've been a gentleman? This whole time?" Maybourne couldn't believe it. "Wow, Jack. An officer and a gentleman to the core, eh? This Lord O'Neill stuff really got to you."

"Maybourne, what are you doing here? I mean besides making me cranky?" Jack wanted to talk about anything else. It had been a long day with a long night behind it. Jack was feeling his age among all these ageless people. "How did you hook up with this outfit?"

"You really want to know?" Maybourne was dragging this out for spite.

"More than life itself." Jack knew the game.

"So I was on that nice little planet, bored out of my skull, when a bunch of people beamed down in front of my throne. Sent the locals screaming for the hills by the way," Harry chuckled remembering. "When they realized I was the ruler and I realized they weren't Goa'uld, we had a drink together. Seems they were looking for warriors to teach them how to fight. I didn't buy it at first, of course."

"Of course. We have the same problem with them. I don't buy most of it," Jack snarked back.

"Anyway, you want to hear the story or not, Jack?" Maybourne drawled as he walked Jack up to his elaborately ornate door. "Nice digs there, can I see? I'm somewhere on the next level and down the yellow brick road." Jack thought about it and opened the door.

"Sure, Harry, sure. Why not?" Jack figured he would learn some intel at this. And he wanted to sit down. "So then what happened?"

"I played the primitive hick for a while just to make sure they weren't pirates or something. But they seemed to be in earnest. Garen showed them her cross bow." Harry looked around. "Jeez Jack, she really does have it bad for you. Just look at this place! I bet you've got something good to drink around here." He started to poke around.

"Whatcha doin'? Hey don't touch that!" Jack leaped forward to take a personal item away from him. "I haven't been here yet, myself. But usually, they keep it stocked with what I like. Ah, Computer, where's the beer?" It answered and opened the refrigerator. "Sweet. They replicate the stuff to look like what we have back on Earth. She wants to make me feel more at home." Jack got out two beers and popped off his cap at Maybourne. Harry was impressed.

"Wow, all that just for you?" He started laughing. "I'm telling you, Jack. You have a sweet deal going for you buddy. I would retire and marry that woman." Harry couldn't keep from grinning. Jack just turned and found a chair to flop into.

"You marry her, Harry. Oh, but you can't. You are already married, how many times? To how many wives, plural?" He took a long pull on the bottle. Folding all of his 6'2" frame in one chair didn't always work. But this one fit like a glove. "So what happened to the wives, plural, Harry? What did you do with them?" Jack could dish it right back.

"Oh, some of them are back on that hick planet. And I got one of them here on a rotation basis." He grinned and drank heartily. "She's younger and more able to adjust. The rest can't cope. The older one thinks I have magical powers. So, I let her." Maybourne snorted a laugh.

"You were saying, they showed up and?" Jack wanted to hear this.

"And they found the Ancient stone carvings. They knew immediately what those were and started to read them. When I corrected one of them, they began to realize I wasn't a native. And the story came out." Maybourne finished his beer. "Got another?" Jack waved him to the fridge.

"They got pretty excited when they learned I was from Earth and knew you. At first, I didn't understand what got them so hot and bothered. But pretty soon, one of their higher ups came and invited me to meet Lady Anna on her homeworld. Some place! It's right out of Star Wars. They gave me my old uniform to wear when I met her, too. They replicated it somehow and knew exactly what it should look like. I wasn't going to argue and tell them I got court-martialed. Anyway, seems they knew that too." Harry patted his tummy. "They even calculated for a little weight gain. One of the wives can really cook."

"How long ago was that, Harry?" Jack was being cagey. He wanted to know how long Anna kept this little secret from him. So he took a sip from his bottle while eying Harry the whole time.

"Oh, about two months ago. She grilled me pretty good there for an hour. Seems she had read my file. I couldn't believe it. She knew every particular and wanted to be sure it was me. Then she wanted to know if I still could work my contacts back on Earth." Harry eyed Jack. He knew what Jack wanted to know. "I said I had been away a few years, but with enough backing, sure. Then she made me the proverbial offer I couldn't refuse." Harry just chuckled at that cliché.

"Harry, you know how I feel about clichés. What did she offer? I'll bet it was good." Jack waited, watching. He took a long pull on the bottle.

"She gave me the opportunity to provide Earth with everything we ever sought to defend the planet." Harry twiddled his bottle, trying to be coy.

"Oh, nice delivery." Jack smirked.

"Yeah, I suppose so," replied Harry. "C'mon, Jack. You can imagine what she offered. I took it. I get back in the game. I keep my title. And, I can do some good, too. I couldn't pass it up."

"Sold your soul, did you Harry?" Jack got up for another beer. "I'm not buying it back for you. This time, you are on your own."


Down on Earth, CIA Headquarters was a hotbed of activity for a Friday night. "Ok, people, what have we got?" The DCI at CIA Headquarters called the meeting to order. Department heads with their aides worked their Blackberries and Trios. Headsets were apparent on everyone's heads. The Lady's deadline was ticking down. Find O'Neill's assailants in the next twenty hours or the aliens would do it for them.

"We had a tip at a Fifth Street bar. Seems someone saw a person who should not be here. As in he should not be on the planet." That got everyone's attention. "One of the lawyers saw a former client he represented in a neighbor dispute a few years ago. The guy disappeared shortly afterwards and left debts and property all over the place. Seems the ex-wife went after it. By the time the lawyer and the creditors were paid, there was a little matter of $200,000 to pay back alimony and child support." The department head looked around. "The man was Colonel Harry Maybourne, U.S. Air Force, convicted of treason for his actions helping the Russians use their Stargate." A few people sucked in some breath. This was big news.

"Didn't O'Neill arrange for him to spend the rest of his life on some primitive planet?" The N.I.D. liaison tried to remember. "Sure, he and O'Neill got stuck off world for a month. The Tok'ra took him away after O'Neill nearly shot him to death."

"Then, we have a prime suspect for the assassination attempts. If anyone could arrange it, Maybourne could. And he has the motive. If he really is back on this world, then he is back in the game. Put out feelers to his old contacts. We can get this guy." The Director felt the first break had happened. At least he would have something to tell the President this evening.


Across the globe, Saturday morning was in full swing. A man materialized in a niche within a crowded shopping street. The target was twenty feet ahead of him. This target had eluded the best trackers on this planet. But this man had one flaw. He was a Goa'uld. And Commonwealth sensors picked up the naquadah in his blood. The question was whether there were with other Goa'uld who had also eluded the sensors. SGC files reported that the Goa'uld could take an injection of some chemical to suppress the signature of the naquadah and defeat most sensor traps. But this one's dose must have worn off. Or he was just too arrogant. Either way, the target was acquired.

The Goa'uld felt someone was watching him. Call it a sixth sense. Or maybe reading human reactions told him something odd was behind him. He stopped before a window so he could see the reflection behind him. Nothing looked amiss. But that didn't mean anything. He was here manipulating zatarcs that would kill the one called O'Neill. It was difficult to get close since the Hak'taur had a way of detecting Goa'ulds. The System Lords wanted O'Neill and the Sholvah dead. Maybe he would bring them that Hak'taur woman as a special gift, as well.

The tracker saw the hesitation in the ashrak. It knew someone was watching. But the tracker was too far to capture him. So he spoke into his communicator to activate the transporter. Maybe it could grab them both if he hurried closer. They could return anyone caught up by mistake. The tracker lunged forward. The beam activated. People screamed. Some vanished. But the ashrak had jumped into another host just in time.


Saturday morning, Jack woke up to find Maybourne passed out on his sitting room sofa. Jack was disgusted. The gray bearded old rogue was a mess. And he stank of stale beer. It reminded him too much of that moon where they got stuck. Some plant they ate caused them to have paranoid delusions. Maybourne became obsessed with the idea that Jack was trying to kill him. Realizing he was delusional too, Jack stopped eating the plant. His own headcleared before Harry came after him with grenades and the P90. Looking at Harry, Jack stopped cold. Delusions. He spun around. He felt like himself right now. But most of the time, he was obsessing on Anna.

'Paranoid delusions,' the words got him to thinking. O'Neill realized he was in big trouble. Last night, he had violated his word and presidential orders. For the sake of security, O'Neill was ordered to keep secret Lady Anna's operations unless she specifically authorized him to relay the information. What he found out yesterday made him doubt the wisdom of those orders. In fact, he got somewhat paranoid about what he discovered. Now why did he break his word? Was he paranoid? Or was he having some kind of delusion that made him constantly distracted by her and fear her at the same time? She put him in charge so what was he worried about?

Jack got up to wash his face. Oh my, he was looking his age today after two nights of drinking. Lines around his eyes and neck seemed more apparent. His hairline receded just a bit. Jack rinsed out his military short silver hair and toweled it dry. Whoops, no hair product here. Hard to cover the balding hairline without product to fluff up the front patch. He thought about his age and compared himself to that paunchy wreck on the couch. They were both about the same age. Jack looked in the mirror to check if he really was getting fat. The verdict was out. After cleaning himself up, he looked around for breakfast. There wasn't any. So he asked the computer to send some. It acknowledged. Jack was about to climb back into the bed when he heard some one knock on the door. It was Daniel. Of course it was.

"Good morning, Jack. Sleep well?" Daniel gave a quick glance at the fancy setting. "Word has it you are in the dog house this time." And then he saw Maybourne. "Oh, really. And when were you going to tell the rest of us?"

"You are enjoying this a little too much, Dr. Jackson." O'Neill was not in the mood. So he sat in the most comfortable chair that had to be configured just for him. Daniel took a seat on the chair opposite and slouched in disapproval. "I found out late last night myself."

"I'm here to have a talk with you. Guess who I ran into?" Daniel raised his eyebrow and cast a head nod over to a sleeping Maybourne. Daniel rapidly rambled sarcastically. "But then, I guess you both met. Anyway, he told me you broke your solemn word to Lady Anna. Why did you do it? No, seriously, why would the great Jack O'Neill break his word to perhaps the most powerful person in the GALAXY? Hmmm?" Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose and pursed his lips in a little pout.

"Daniel, I don't owe you an explanation." Jack sat up annoyed. He rubbed the short hairs on the back of his neck absently.

"Yes, yes, you do, Jack. You do owe me and the rest of the team an explanation." Daniel would not let it go. He started to speak his rapid patter. "So I want to know why you did it." Jack didn't answer him. He didn't really have a good answer to that one. "Jack, I think you have been acting really strangely the last couple of months. And it has something to do with her."

"Maybe. Is Carter here too?" Jack wondered mildly. Daniel nodded yes. "Teal'c, what's the story with him?"

"He has some kind of tracking implant that even the Commonwealth doctors and engineers don't know how to get out of him. So for now, he is stuck at the Gamma Site." Daniel paused. He raised his blue eyes to meet Jack's brown. It was hard to read Jack sometimes. He didn't like to give much away.

"Jack, I am serious. You are different. You have not been acting like yourself. Ever since you met this woman, you have been following her around like a puppy dog, a surly nasty snarling puppy." Daniel hesitated then continued. "I don't believe all the flattery has anything to do with it. We both know it is just propaganda. Or does it? Is the Lord O'Neill bit getting to you?"

"Why didn't you say something earlier, Daniel? If that is what you all thought, then why not say something to me? You are not children and I am not the schoolteacher. I depend upon you to watch my six." Jack said very softly. Jack rarely raised his voice. His command style was more relaxed and reactive. He preferred to give his team their heads and let them do their jobs. He only reined them in when they wandered off track too much. When the shooting started, he took charge. "Ok, Daniel, different, how?"

"Jack, you can't take your eyes off of her. And she can't let you out of her grasp. What's going on between you two?" There, it's out in the open. Jack looked down so Daniel could not read him.

"Nothing is going on between us." Jack paused thinking about the conversation in the White House. "Hammond asked me the same thing on Thursday. Maybourne asked me last night, too. Seems everyone thinks there is something going on."

"From what we can see, and we have discussed this, you are compromised. There is no reason for you to have taken her to the cabin or followed her to all those other places." Daniel pushed his glasses back up. "Sam is certain something happened that night."

"Absolutely nothing 'happened.' Jack made the quotation marks gesture with the two fingers of each hand, shaking his head, no. "You saw her in the morning by the fireplace, fully clothed."

"Ok, then consider this. Don't you think it is bizarre that the Lady went to your cabin? No offense, I have enjoyed myself there. But how do you figure someone like that would go along with it?" Daniel shot a quizzical look at Jack who frowned.

"She's not like that Daniel. She told me she used to have a place like it when her husband and kids were alive." Jack withdrew thinking about his own pain. "She said it recalled happy memories."

"Are you kidding? The place she meant probably looked like a log White House, with servants and gizmos." Daniel tried again. "Jack, do a reality check. The most powerful woman in the galaxy went to your dusty old cabin with no heat and no food in the woods with you alone in the winter. Now tell me that's not crazy."

"Well, when you put it that way," Jack mumbled something and looked down, covering his consternation.

"She is supposed to be trying to protect herself by coming here. But she risked her life to save you. And yesterday, she tried to fling herself out to the street to cover you while the assassin was shooting. Her guards had a terrible time pulling her back." Daniel sat closer. "Jack, you have to consider the possibility that she loves you or is insane or both."

Jack frowned. He did not realize she did it again for him yesterday. He saw her call out, but did not think any more about it. "I didn't know. I didn't realize she did that. I saw her in the doorway yelling something, but I was busy."

"Jack, she gave the President an ultimatum to find your assassins. Either find them in 24 hours or she would do it her way. And then she told him she would not accept anyone but you for her liaison."

Jack snorted in disgust. His sarcastic surly disposition came through in that gesture.

"She did it to take away any reason other powers would have to kill you to get to her." Daniel let that percolate.

Maybourne rolled over and interrupted. "Lady Anna really gave the President an ultimatum? Jeez, you've got to admire that woman. Here she is asking for his help and cooperation. Then she turns on him because someone tried to off you?" Harry sat there laughing his head off. "You gotta love that little gal."

"And don't you think it just a wee bit odd that this powerful woman can't make a move without you? She even put you in charge out here." Daniel pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows in a question. "Your honor calls you hence; Therefore be deaf to my unpitied folly."

"What?" Jack was lost.

"Oh, something from literature came to mind." Daniel smiled ruefully. "Why did she put you in charge?"

"From her point of view, she wants me in charge, because I am not connected to her enemies." Jack sighed and slouched back. He didn't like what he was hearing. Jack shook his head.

Maybourne chimed in with his opinion. "Jack there's no shame to being in love. It happens to the best of us. You acted out because you got frustrated. And she retaliated." Harry smirked at Daniel.

"I did not act out."

"Yes, you did, Jack."

"No, I didn't. I am duty bound to report what I see."

"Not this time."

"Anyway, the news I told President Hayes was not so bad and he has a right to know. But that other stuff, I had no idea." Jack stood up. He really did not want to consider all this.

"Not so bad? Jack! You have really lost it." Maybourne interrupted again. "You disclosed that she has multiple bases and where they are to the President without authorization! That's a serious security breach."

"He's the President and I have a duty to report." Jack stood his ground but he knew he was wrong.

"Not if you both agree to coordinate such news through her, which you both did and signed on the dotted line, too." Maybourne sat up incredulous. "I never would have believed it. O'Neill breaking his word, go figure."

"How do you know about that? She tell you?" Jack was really wondering how entrenched this guy was with the Lady. He didn't like it one bit. No he didn't like it at all.

"No, Jack. I found out the same way all the other nations on Earth found out. The White House is compromised from the inside by its own personnel." Harry got up to go. "She tried to tell them, but they never believe her. She tried to tell you too." He wiggled his fingers and strode to the door quoting, "All men's faces are true, whatsome'er their hands are. But there is never a fair woman has a true face. I went to school too Daniel."

"Oy, will you cut that out!" Jack groaned.

"C'mon Jack we've known each other too long, been through too much." Daniel waited while Jack stood stoically. "You must admit you have been, well, distracted to say the least around her."

"Ok, so I get distracted." Jack waved his hands outward to show his frustration. "I think she is messing with my head somehow. Don't ask me how. All I know is something happens when she is close by. But, Daniel, I am not in love."

"Or thou, the greatest soldier of the world, Art turned the greatest liar." Daniel gave him the look. "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale. Her infinite variety: other women cloy. The appetites they feed: but she makes hungry, where most she satisfies. That's Shakespeare, Jack, from Anthony and Cleopatra. Think about it and how that turned out." Maybourne snickered and winked at Daniel.

"What?" Jack had no idea what that meant. "Ok. Now you have lost me."


Saturday morning, the U.N. Ambassador de-planed in his homeland. He had business at the Palace today. The ambassador cut a sartorial figure in the latest Bond Street fashion. At the airport, Palace Guards sent to retrieve him whisked the ambassador past customs. He had to report and then go home to see his wives and children. The talk all over the Net said the alien woman wanted to recover the Ark of the Covenant from under the Temple Mount. There was no way he would let the alien whore and her abominations pollute Allah's holy land. The first problem was to get rid of that infidel old General who trailed after her like a dog. His leader was working on that right now. Then, the Stargate had to come under more progressive control. They would take jihad to the stars.

On the way to the Palace, the driver made a detour into the desert. Even the suspension of a Rolls Royce could not disguise the pitted dirt road. The ambassador knew something was wrong. He rapped on the dividing glass behind the driver. He got no response. Eventually, the car stopped out in the dunes. He was ordered out. A flash of light brought a young woman in flowing robes. She wore no veil. He wondered if the driver and the guard would try to kill her for her impertinence. Then he saw them bow to her. Uh oh. Then they made him bow to her, on his knees.

"Ambassador, do not concern yourself with your family. They are safe." She spoke with the voice of authority. "Even as we protect those you value, you will protect those dear to us." He looked at her in wonder. She seemed to blow with the wind. "You will not go to the Palace today. You will go places with these men." She indicated the large driver and the huge guard. "You will identify the conspirators to them. And, if you do as you are asked, your family will never want for anything." She dissolved into thin air. He knew he had no choice. His life was over one way or another.


"We had no idea that Earth could be compromised so quickly and so thoroughly." The DCI sat before the President again that Saturday afternoon. President Hayes looked especially grey after his injury Wednesday night. His Kevlar vest stopped a bullet meant for O'Neill. But the impact left him sore and in pain. "Sir, we took a look at Dr. Jackson's report questioning how the aliens could afford to buy and renovate the embassy in such short order. His descriptions of what they have done to that old barn on Massachusetts Avenue are astounding. Then we considered what General O'Neill said about the island residence where he stayed in the Pacific. We had been wondering about the Embassy, but we figured you had made some kind of classified trade deal for it."

"But when you told us, no you had not, we got busy. Sir, I don't think we have touched the tip of the iceberg. The Lady has financial resources to accomplish anything she wants. She owns banks, trading companies, shipping companies, real estate, oil reserves, mineral reserves, and one of our own defense contractors by proxy. Her lawyers even filed the necessary papers with the SEC. It seems she has done it all through legal channels. She was so swife, no one noticed. And from what we see, she probably owns a lot more in her holding company, "Star Commonwealth Enterprises." It's an off-shore company."

"She isn't even trying to hide this?" Hayes was alarmed.

"She had to finance herself here somehow, so she probably sold some knowledge or technology." The DCI was a realist. "But, no, she is not bothering to hide any of it."

The President sat there stunned. "It all happened right under my nose? And she did it in less than three months? While we were sending her contractors to help her fight off the Goa'uld, she was busy buying up everything on Earth?"

"Have we noticed any of the companies we deal with suddenly having unusual capabilities? I mean some of this should start to show pretty soon." Hammond was thinking ahead. "She must have gone after security related enterprises if she is bent on constructing her defenses here."

The DCI just shrugged. "I think it is too soon to tell. Most of this stuff will take years to come on the market. You can't re-tool production lines so fast. And you can't get FDA approval for medical items too quickly either. She could take it off-shore, though. If she gave up knowledge, then whatever comes of it will take longer to manifest itself. There's a lead time with all of this."

"Maybe she even has her own people running some of these companies now." The National Security Administration Director (NSA) consulted his notes. "From what we could tally overnight and this morning, sir, we figure she is richer than Bill Gates, the Queen of England, and the top ten richest people all put together. And that's preliminary."

"Didn't Ba'al build a company and his own building in Seattle in a short amount of time?" Hammond asked? "I remember he wanted to use the building as a bomb. We still haven't found all of his assets. Maybe she did." No one had a good answer to that possibility.

The NSA director cleared his throat to get their focus back. "Sir, we have traced her credit card purchases." The NSA director held up the summary.

"She has a credit card, too?" The President was incredulous.

"She likes to shop. We think she is buying presents for the folks back home. Rather innocuous stuff, souvenirs, couture clothing, and perfume. I guess she is a typical woman that way, sir." They all chuckled. "You know, there are gold cards, platinum cards, and lately titanium cards? Get this, her bank issued her a Naquadah level card."


Sunday morning, the councilors in the Prime Minister's Office gathered after the Sabbath. It was the first day of the regular work week. In the room, the councilors and engineers were fervent in their urgency. If what the Net reported was true, and Mossad sources had confirmed the alien's request, the Ark of the Covenant lay beneath the Temple Mount. So far, no one had been able to retrieve it. The men in that room were going to be damned if the aliens got it. If that happened, war would break out all over the globe. Better it should disappear and remain a legend. When they finally uncovered the cavern, nothing should be found.

Maps and engineering studies were taped to the walls. Sonar mapping indicated there was a sizable cavern down about a mile. The problem was how to dig and get to what must be tunnels giving access from some point. They could not afford to be discovered. To covertly access the area, engineers would have to start digging away from the area and slant the tunnel toward the Temple Mount hill. Where to put all that dirt would be as huge an effort. With all that dirt it would be difficult to avoid giving themselves away. The next problem was how to get the Ark off the planet so the aliens could not detect the energy signature, which alerted them in the first place. The Prime Minister had to use a back channel to the President of the United States to arrange such a subterfuge. Everyone was on the clock.


Monday morning rolled around after a lousy weekend. Teal'c was still at the Gamma site. The Commonwealth doctors could not figure out how to defeat the tracking device installed in the big Jaffa. It was not like any tag they had ever examined. So they decided to check with the locals to determine if they had ever encountered something like this. O'Neill dispatched Carter to the Gamma site to make her own inspection. She was baffled too. The science involved was far beyond current Earth abilities. The Lt. Colonel was even more baffled when she found out that she had been tagged too by the same method. In true military form, Carter became concerned that other team members were tagged. Maybe most of the SGC troops too. A call went out to General O'Neill to come with Daniel and Mitchell to determine if they had the same problem. Sure enough, each one did.

"Explain this again, Carter. How are we tagged and what do we do about it?" The silver haired general was really confused.

"Sir, all matter is both particles and waves." She looked at Jack to make sure he was focused. She went to the marker board and drew an atom with the electrons orbiting the nucleus. Sam put one proton and one neutron in the center. "Matter is made up of really teeny tiny bits called particles. Atoms are made up of subatomic particles, protons, neutrons, and electrons. There are even smaller particles like neutrinos, muons, leptons, quarks, and strings." Carter drew a circle labeled it an electron and put lots of little dots inside the circle. "Those are the really tiny particles, sir. Neutrinos can pass through anything, no matter how dense. In fact, 500 million billion neutrinos just passed through you."

Jack took a moment and grunted. "No matter how dense, eh?" He gave an offended look back at Carter.

"Sir, stay focused. Now, strings are so small human beings can't observe them. They are something like 10 to the minus 32 meters." Jack understood some of that. This was going to be a long explanation. Jack had a short attention span for Carter's prattle. However, he needed to understand this before he took it up with Lady Anna. Jack nodded back at her to continue.

"Good, sir. Now, imagine that particles have many properties. Sometimes matter appears to be a particle like a photon or even a string. And sometimes matter appears to be a wave, like a radio wave with amplitude and a frequency." Sam drew a wave that went up and down across the board. She labeled the height of the wave as 'amplitude' and the number of up and down curves 'frequency.' Jack appreciated the visual aid. "Some particles like Muons move so fast there is a time dilation effect. They exist forward and backward in time. Some of these tiny bits of matter have anti-matter counterparts. These tags are using strings." Carter paused again. "Sir, what I am saying is that the really tiny bits that make up matter and anti-matter are being used in these tags."

Carter paused to let the others catch up. Jack understood the part about radio waves and teeny tiny bits making up other things. He nodded. "Ok, then the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says that you can know either where a particle is or you can have some probability of knowing its momentum, where it is going. But you can't know both at the same moment. The part that you can't predict means a particle could wind up on the other side of the galaxy and not in you." She drew a stick figure and a dot flying out to a big ellipse and labeled it the Milky Way.

"But what does that have to do with these tags, Carter?" Jack was losing patience.

"If you could intercept enough of the special particles that have been introduced into us, you could sort of triangulate where that person is. You could do it even across the galaxy." Jack's eyes widened. Daniel was fairly jumping out of his skin. "The collection of the particles would carry information." She drew more dots flying out of the person into the Milky Way and circled them. Then she drew an arrow back from the circle to the stick figure.

"I read about this." Daniel got up and started to speak rapidly. "Right now, people are imprinting information on subatomic particles. We are doing it on photons. You use the directions of the two poles on the particle to encode information in Zeroes and Ones...1...0...1...0. One direction is a zero. The other is a one. Some are vertical or horizontal -, others are diagonal pointing right / or left and so on." He looked at Sam to continue. She smiled.

"Now you are getting it." Sam took over. "These are what we call Phased Spread Spectrum markers. The marker emits phased particles at different wavelengths simultaneously. Intercepting any one of these particles is completely useless, because of the Uncertainty Principle. Just observing the particle changes it. So on the intended receiving end, knowing the error rate, you would know your information was being intercepted and could change the code. Each particle carries no information. However, intercepting all of them, or at least most of them and comparing the phases will uniquely identify where the bearer of the tag is located anywhere in the galaxy."

"So these teeny tiny itsy bitsy particles can travel through us, through the solar system and out into space to the other side of the galaxy?" Daniel turned to Sam and asked, "I was right?" Sam smiled and patted him on the back, nodding yes.

"Daniel, if you were paying attention, you'd know Nintendos can pass through anything." Jack was losing his patience. "Carter, are you telling me our people did it?"

"No, sir. No one knows how to do it with particles that are not exactly at the same energy levels. And we certainly don't know how to do it with free quarks, strings, or anti-matter. Right now, someone managed to phase itsy bitsy little particles with different energy levels and use them to track us anywhere we go." The Team was uncomfortable with that conclusion.

Daniel piped in. "There is a tremendous amount of this type of work on Earth right now using photons for encryption. So far there has been only limited success. Some fiber optic transmissions have gone as far as 70km, hardly across the galaxy."

"But I heard the Commonwealth doctors saying they had never seen anything like this." Mitchell interrupted. "And they seemed disturbed. I don't think they were lying. But is it possible some other group did it and these folks just don't know?"

"They did say that they found one of their own markers and removed it," Teal'c commented. "If they have no idea about these particle tags, then maybe this is not their doing?"

"So, who did it and why?" Jack wanted to know. No one had a good answer. "I'm betting she did it somehow." He smiled a nasty rueful grin. "Ok, I have heard enough."


"Ok, boys, time to take it inside." Each one of the DC cops was apprehensive about entering the alien Embassy. The Feds had been over the scene with their own experts, but the crime happened in the District, so the Chief insisted that his own people be present to make their own analysis. They even had the permission of the woman alien, Lady Something or other. Each one waited for the other to proceed. Finally, the detective assigned to the job pointed at one of the beat cops to join him. They mounted the steps to the front door and rang the bell. There was a bell. The Detective shrugged at the Beat Cop.

A young child of maybe twelve answered the door and beckoned them welcome. Ok, not so terrifying, if they have kids here, how bad could they be? The Detective asked to see the person in charge and was told to wait. It didn't look so weird. And then he saw the table sculpture become birds singing on a tree; and then turn into butterflies dipping and swirling; and back into a stationary non-representational figure. Both men swallowed hard. Ok, that was weird.

"Saw something like that at Disney World last summer." The Beat Cop looked to see if the Detective bought it. Their eyes met. No need to say anything more.

The Assistant Ambassador came into focus walking down the hallway. Well, that was about the best description. No one was there before the image seemed to morph into view and stopped in front of them. She appeared to be solid and offered a polite greeting waiting for their response. They introduced themselves.

"Um, ma'am, we have been sent to take a look from inside to view the scene of the crime. And, we would like to ask anyone who witnessed it to answer some of our questions to help solve it." The Detective wasn't sure what else to say.

The woman nodded and beckoned them to follow through the doors to the front sitting room looking over the street. It was the most opulent room either had ever seen. Intricate enamels set into gold filigree decorated the walls in geometric patterns. Panels of lacquer and precious jewels depicted pastoral scenes. The carpet was deep and soft patterned with fractals in muted shades of the wall colors. Then they saw the ceiling. It was a three dimensional image of the sky with clouds slowly passing overhead.

The Beat Cop nudged the Detective to look at the ceiling. "Saw that in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas last year. The Detective silently nodded without taking his eyes from the scene.

"We have provided your National Security agents a copy of the incident as we recorded it. Have you seen it?" They indicated no. The Assistant waived her hand over a desk and the incident replayed in three-dimensional holographic images. "If you need to repeat it, just ask the Computer to stop and start as you like. If you wish to view it from another angle, tell the computer how you wish the picture oriented. If you wish it to play on the street outside, we can accommodate you, too. I suggest that we play it first outside where it happened. Then you can come inside and see what was happening in each room at the same moment as it was all recorded."

Oh boy, this was one report that would take hours to write.


Later Monday afternoon, Jack learned his presence was required in a meeting with The Lady. Lady Anna was in a briefing room on one of her ships stationed behind Earth's moon. It was in an L2 Earth-Moon orbit to hide itself perfectly behind the moon. Jack strode through that Commonwealth ship with an angry purpose. He was in high dudgeon, marching with his tall erect military bearing. His silver hair and the fine angles of his face made him an imposing figure with all his decorations on his dress blues. People in the corridors stood aside to let him pass. All Jack could think was that he and his team had been 'tagged.' Now, they could be tracked all over the galaxy no less. They were all compromised. In the military, you might as well be dead because you could not be effective any more. Someone had to know who did it and why. He was betting that devious impossible woman had something to do with it. Most things around here did. In fact, everything did. He wanted to know why Anna did it. More importantly, he wanted it undone.

"How did I ever get sucked into her act," he wondered? One moment she was sweet and irresistible. Then next, she was devious and ruthless. He hated his physical reactions to her. They kept him off balance and confused. She adored him. That much was obvious. Otherwise why would she tolerate his bad behavior? He betrayed her outright to the President against their agreement, breaking his word. "How could I do that? Why would I do that?" He really acted out that time. He kept telling himself that Anna was not his kind. She was an alien with an alien agenda. It was his duty to report what he found out. "The woman is fascinating." Anna was working with Maybourne, which said it all.

Jack marched right into the meeting intending to confront her. He took one look at the people in the room. One look at the Lord General and everyone but Maybourne and Lady Anna flinched. He glared at Maybourne, then at her. She didn't shrink. Good for her. The Major General lowered his voice.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?" Jack felt the tension in the room. "Well, that's good, because I want to speak to you too. You know where I have been. Now you had better have a damn good reason, ma'am. And don't tell me you don't know about it. You know everything around here."

"I know why you are here, My Lord General. I make it my business to know everything around here." Anna glared back.

"Ok, bad example." Jack paused and tried again. "I want to know why you did this. And I want it undone. You are the only ones capable. My people are the ones tagged, not yours. Go figure."

"I am tagged, too." She looked him in the eye. "Take a seat, General O'Neill. And do not try my patience this morning." She indicated a seat at the far end of the conference table. "I did not do this."

"Is that true? You are tagged too?" He was really confused now. "If you are the ones who discovered this tag, then you have the ability to create it. The truth if you please, ma'am."

"The Truth. Humph. General O'Neill, you have broken the article of your oath; which you shall never have tongue to charge me with." Anna stood her ground.

"Jack, Carter figures things out all the time but can't reproduce the effect," Maybourne twiddled his pen. Speaking to her this way is not a good idea. Harry could not understand why O'Neill was doing this. True, the guy always had an antagonistic streak, but this was way over the top. Harry decided to let Jack hang himself.

"Ok. Bad example." Jack reluctantly sat down more mollified. Then he noticed that Maybourne was sitting to her right, his place of honor. Oh, she was really angry with him.

"Now, General, who has been tagged?" He didn't understand her. "No answer? You just spent the morning running around the galaxy and you don't even know that much?" Anna gave him the look you give errant children. Jack just cocked his head and waited. It was coming. Maybourne volunteered.

"Lady Anna sent her technicians to check everyone at the SGC, the White House, the Pentagon, and the Daedalus. You know what they found?" Maybourne enjoyed tweaking Jack's nose on this one. "Lady Anna, me, you, her Personal Guard, SG-1, Hammond, Landry, most everyone at the SGC, some folks at Area 51, the crew of the Daedalus, and the President are all tagged." The answer gave Maybourne smug satisfaction.

"What?" Jack was really confused by that news.

"We are all victims, my lord general." A department head tried to reason with him. He searched O'Neill's face for understanding and found only fury. "You could have had the same tests the rest of us did right here without wasting precious time." He paused to make sure it registered.

"MY. LORD. GENERAL. Your duty is to oversee my security. I sent you to this System's bases to coordinate outer and inner system defenses. I did not ask you to go chasing your tail all over creation." Anna took him to task. "Your place this morning was here."

'Aw crap, I'm going to be in the wrong again. She was doing something to me. I can feel it.' Then he remembered he was supposed to be angry. Something stirred in him. He was losing his anger but he needed it to stay focused. Just looking at Maybourne made it come surging back.

"Someone else tagged us, Jack. We are meeting here to try to figure this out, as you should have been." Maybourne moved slightly over towards Anna. Jack saw him claiming the territory.

"Harry, I would really think about whose side you are on right now. She's got more going on than you know. Can't you see what's happening here?" Jack was really frustrated.

"We are all tagged, General. We didn't do it. Understand?" One of her department heads spoke up.

Jack lowered his voice and in his most dangerous demeanor, spoke slowly. "I want the tags removed... today."

"Then, General, I suggest you add that to your list of things to do." Lady Anna replied calmly. "Celerity is never more admired than by the negligent."

"I'm so sorry, My Lady." Harry emphasized the 'my lady' bit. "He is not used to dealing with such important persons." Anna nodded politely to Harry. "Isn't that right, Jack? You are more comfortable mowing down Jaffa or blowing something up. The boardroom just isn't your style."

Maybourne was baiting him. 'Typical. He's got his priorities screwed up again.' O'Neill felt his attention wandering. 'How is she still doing it to me?'

Anna gave Jack a disgusted look. Daniel was right. He was compromised. But Harry was right about one thing; he was more comfortable in battle.


Sources:

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: http/zebu. http/en. Encryptions: http/techupdate. http/en. Points of L2 Earth-Moon Orbit Image:

http/map.gsfc.nasa.gov/mmm/obtechorbit1.html.

Anthony & Cleopatra, Act II Scene 2, Scene III. Wm. Shakespeare http/www-tech. "Stargate SG-1" and its characters are the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Film Corp., Showtime/Viacom and USA Networks, Inc. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations and story are the property of the author(s), and may not be republished or archived elsewhere without the author's permission.