Stargate Revealed: Power & Politics, Part 18
by Livi2Jack

Summary: The first skirmish ends. Battle plans take priority. Jack struggles to live. A disturbing secret is revealed.

Rating: All Ages

Category: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Mystery, Point Of View, UST, Other

Related SG-1 Episode(s): 703 Fragile Balance, 720 Inauguration, 813 It's Good To Be King, 814 Full Alert, 817 Reckoning, Part 2, 901 Avalon, Part 1, 902 Avalon, Part 2
Related Atlantis Episode(s): 201 The Siege, Part 3

Featured Characters: Jack O'Neill, Jack's Clone, Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, Mitchell, Hammond, Bra'tac, Maybourne, Kinsey, and Hayes.

Author's Note: I have included some details of military, space, and energy technology which I happen to know anyway. My husband is a rocket scientist for real. So I have extensive exposure to these issues through my own contacts within NASA. Many authors can do the same research. Many other science fiction stories may or may not contain some of these ideas or terms which are available to the general public. I would like to think I had some of my own originality invested in this story. If any overlap, well I'm not getting any money for this story. And I am applying for a U.S. Patent for the Particle Tags.

Feedback is requested.


Chapter 18: No Fairy Godmother
After Lady Anna arrived a week ago on Earth, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the Israeli government entered into negotiations with the Americans to secure the Ark of the Covenant from the aliens. The Ark was on Lady Anna's list of demands to Earth in exchange for help developing the planet. No one wanted to agree to that demand. Now, the game plan was to excavate the Ark and then get it through the Stargate to hide it. From orbit, the Commonwealth had detected the energy it emitted. So finding a hiding place on Earth was out of the question.

With all the turmoil around the globe caused by Lady Anna's public arrival to the White House, unstable elements around the world were in motion. In the last six days, four assassination attempts on Lady Anna and General O'Neill made all the leaders realize the situation was out of control. Adding to the dire situation, she was acting out on her own behalf. No one and nothing was safe from her.

Since Sunday when the Mossad recommended and the Prime Minister agreed to dig, the effort went quickly. The objective was so valuable no thought to finding archaeological treasures slowed down the efforts. The teams digging to find ancient access tunnels to the object found them rapidly once they knew where to look. Modern equipment made short work of the crumbly soil. Millennia of dirt piling up over ancient ground removed easily. By late Tuesday evening, the excavation teams found the energy barrier.

"We can't get past this point, sir." The soldier with the drill stood back to let his superior pass. "There's no more dirt or rock, but we can't go through." He pointed to the barrier. "Never saw anything like it, except on science fiction shows." The older man approached cautiously. He reached out tentatively to the barrier to touch it. It shimmered and held.

A certain edge of nervousness caused a snort of laughter. One or two expressed their nervousness by shifting position and implements. The chief engineer passed his gaze over the supporting fortifications. No point in a cave-in now. He seemed satisfied. But these tunnels had been dug perhaps three thousand years ago. Clearing them out required some modern engineering for safety.

All right," the older man said briskly. "In about six hours, we're going to be visited by a special person. I want the perimeter reinforced again. No one is to take any chances. The Prime Minister is not especially happy about this but we have no choice. No one leaves the perimeter. No communication in or out. Is that clear?" Heads bobbed in unison. The Chief Engineer turned to walk half-bent through the tunnel. He hit his hard hat on a swinging light hanging from a crossbeam. With all the tension, he didn't even notice.

Exiting the shaft, the Chief Engineer approached the table inside the room adjacent. The building housing the entrance to the tunnel was in the oldest section of town. The project required absolute secrecy. The biggest problem to keeping that secrecy was the large amount of dirt removed from the hole being dug below the city. Any hole has a volume of dirt, which must go somewhere. So getting all the dirt and debris clear of the building was an effort in itself. Several other passageways were cut through to other buildings so smaller amounts of materials could be removed from several locations at various times. Special trucks stood by a regular construction site to carry off the extra amounts. Utility vehicles proclaimed a new set of pipes being laid for that section of the city. Security was on high alert.

Standing around the room at the entrance to the tunnel were more scientists and military men. The Chief Engineer nodded to the General's adjutant and took his place. The table had a large map covering the surface. Marks delineated the various shafts that had been dug to the target. Ventilation shafts dotted each line.

"I can't help being doubtful about our whole end of the operation," the white haired paunchy General stated. "But if our estimates of the barrier's strength are accurate, we can't get in on our own. And I have to agree that the potential advantages of doing that, from a purely political standpoint not to mention the military one, make it worth the risk of exposure. "

"I can't quite avoid the notion that we are being just a little too cute, a little too clever, about it all." The ascetic looking Defense Minister crossed his arms over his chest and puffed out his cheeks from the tension. "On the other hand," he grinned tightly, "there's always the fact that we are about to pull the tail of the tiger."

"I know she's good, sir." The Colonel looked up through his half-rimmed reading glasses at the Defense Minister. "But can she really detect this at this depth?"

"She found it in the first place...from orbit," the General replied evenly. "Colonel, I'm perfectly aware that you think I've been a bit of a Cassandra about this entire operation. That, however, is known as the determined but sober attitude of a responsible military commander." The General's staff member looked down in embarrassment. "I'd be an idiot if I didn't have huge reservations about undertaking. Maybe we are crazy to remove this object and try to get it away from people who have those kinds of capabilities."

"It's a long way to Colorado from here. Having said all of that, the very fact that the Americans are so certain that we can get it quickly from here to there is encouraging." The stern face of the Defense Minister did not give away his hatred of what they had to do. The object belonged here. "We have to transport it to give a body blow to these aliens and their arrogant confidence and willingness to take what they want. It's a military objective in and of itself. Get it out of here. Do whatever you have to do. But try to do it quickly and without our neighbors knowing. But don't sacrifice it for those constraints. You have your orders. Just do it."


That same evening in Antarctica, Commonwealth doctors raced to save General O'Neill from the assassin's poisoning attempt. The Doctor walked up to O'Neill and administered the last portion of the antidote. He stepped back to see if it worked. The grey pallor and shallow breathing had changed to a rasp of a death rattle before the last of the dose was administered. It took everything Lady Anna had to keep the little hand-healing device going.

"Jack?" Daniel shook him by the shoulder. "C'mon don't check out on us. Fight." Small signs of life made themselves evident. O'Neill's breathing became more regular after he took some deep gasps to fill his empty lungs. Color began to return to his skin as oxygen moved into the starving tissues. Finally, his eyes opened slowly without comprehension at first.

Lady Anna had no more to give. She slumped against the Chair. Her head hit the armrest with a thud no one expected. A gash appeared on her forehead and blood trickled down on Jack's arm. Gentle hands moved to lift her head and move her away. Her breathing was ragged. Jack moved his eyes to the motion around him. He saw her being lifted off.

Medtechs opened the stasis pod. Gently, the doctors laid her down and activated the device. Sadness and tension filled the room. Daniel looked down on her, still in repose. It was like looking at Sleeping Beauty waiting to be awakened by a kiss. Only, she wasn't as sweet or as innocent, Daniel reminded himself. She was Machiavellian power-hungry ruthless monarch bent on waging war. And she was doing it real time in Earth's backyard.


That same evening, President Hayes arrived at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. The motorcade brought him swiftly to the SGC. There, the Gate Room filled with AF officers and Non-coms at attention. General Landry escorted the President to the ramp for his speech. All eyes forward, everyone was curious what anyone could possibly say in this crisis. Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter was up and dressed at the fore, even if she was still feeling a little weak.

Early that morning in the White House, Sam took a blast from an ashrak's weapon. Lady Anna's quick thinking and hand held healing device closed the wound and stopped the bleeding. But Carter had lost a lot of blood. The Commonwealth medical treatments and a half-day of rest had done miracles. The new Commonwealth medical equipment and technicians enabled a major injury to heal in hours where it would have taken weeks with Earth medicine. The use of the new 'Quickheal' substance for the wounds made short work of the injury. Now, Lt. Colonel Carter had work to do.

As the Goa'uld attacked the solar system, President Hayes marched swiftly into the Gate room and up the ramp not wasting a moment more of precious time. He put on his spectacles and paused looking at the expectant faces. Taking a deep breath, Henry Hayes launched into his prepared speech. Mercifully, it was short and to the point.

"I want to thank all of you for a thankless job. Your contributions to the current crisis are the stuff of legends. Each one of you is a hero. And never think we don't know it. Now, back to work everyone. We've got a planet that needs saving." He took off his glasses, saluted, and moved off with General Landry with his entourage in tow. Sam strode in the rear along with them for the briefing, wondering how they were going to pull it off this time.


Ba'al's plan to trade important Earth leaders for O'Neill and the Hak'taur woman was in its final stage. The Supreme System Lord ordered his Earth clones to take care of the matter. While on Earth, Ba'al managed to clone himself and his host multiple times. Now, he had operatives who were certainly loyal to his interests, or rather their interests.

"What should we do with the worthless humans we collected, My Lord?" The man kneeling before the command chair raised his head, waiting for instructions. The slightly bearded man regarded his subordinate with annoyed patience. This Ba'al oversaw covert operations on Earth.

"Do with them?" Ba'al raised an eyebrow? "We wait as instructed. Now go and don't bother me with such pitiful details." The man rose and bowed beating a hasty retreat. The man in the chair chuckled malevolently. The other Ba'al would enjoy this very much. He laughed to no one in particular.

A visual transmission activated before the Ba'al on the Earth Base. It was Ba'al on the long-range ball communicators. Ba'al's clones on Earth administered his ever-growing financial and political empire. Each time Earth thought they caught Ba'al, another Ba'al turned up. The Jaffa were certain they had killed the original. But the SGC and Teal'c knew better.

"Kel, Ba'al," responded his Earth Clone, Ba'al. "The human leaders you wanted are here in custody. We await your arrival." Ba'al's image nodded sagaciously and waved a dismissal at Ba'al. Ba'al saw Ba'al's image disappear from the Goa'uld ball communicator. Everything was working to Ba'al's ingenious plan.


Late Tuesday night which became Wednesday morning, the Section Array Chief (SAC) bent over the illuminated control console. Since receiving Lady Anna's secured paper message last week, he prepared for this moment. The targets were in range. Two of the three Ha'tak vessels met the targeting computer's requirements. The third remained just at the edge of range. He sighed. It would have to do. The calculations done by the onboard computer made this job less difficult, but not less stressful. It was time to launch. Microscopic devices on tiny missiles with hyperdrive capability shot out from another drone platform one million klicks away. The hyperdrives activated. The missiles vanished.

Moments later a console reported the successful emplacement of the hardware near the central command and control centers on the Ha'taks. It would be a few minutes more before all the small pieces would re-assemble themselves into the explosive device. All that remained was to send the final activation sequence. The SAC sat back and waited. There, the computer detected the signal to begin. The SAC activated his beacon to another array deeper in the solar system and began to bounce the feed to several drones washing the trail of the transmission. The last drone sent the information on a tight beam to the CIC onboard the 'Daniel Jackson,' waiting behind Earth's moon. The SAC waited hoping the third Ha'tak would move into range. He had the time. His position for the rest of the battle was here.

On a similar cloaked pod, unknown to the first SAC, worked another SAC. He too had been alerted by a secured paper message from Lady Anna. However, he knew about the first SAC's mission. Having him monitor the effort to ensure success was a redundancy in the plan. Lady Anna never left anything to chance. The Second SAC was ready with more micro-missiles. And he had the real detonation equipment. For this SAC was a close cousin of the Lady and a trusted member of the inner Royal Family. This kind of secret was too valuable. Only a handful of high-level Research and Development Officers knew about this little gem. Lady Anna was determined to keep it that way.

What neither knew, nor perhaps guessed, more watchers took their positions throughout the solar system to ensure the success of this mission. The Lady knew plans could be compromised and accidents could happen. Equipment could be faulty and fail at the wrong moments. So she had these items manufactured at separate facilities, then assembled at others. Personnel could be compromised, get sick, or be killed in battle. Stand-by reserve troops made sense. Compartmentalizing all this information made the effort that much more secure. Lady Anna spared no effort towards redundancy. This plan had to work.

Even so, the test on the dead planet revealed some of that secret. For the benefit of the Wannabe spy, O'Neill supervised the destruction of a dead planet as a warning to Ba'al. Instead it had alerted Ba'al and Colonel Carter that something more was available to the Commonwealth than just powerful naquadah bomb carrying hyperdrive missiles. The energy required to blow up that planet could not possibly be contained in even thousands of such missiles. Yet, the Commonwealth wanted everyone to believe it took only one shot with a naquadah-enhanced super-nuke to blow that planet to bits. And maybe, the results were a ploy to make one sort of disinformation only look like another kind of disinformation. The readings pointed in one direction so the observer would not look in another. Lady Anna wanted Ba'al to know something more was afoot. She just didn't want him to know what.

And she didn't want Carter to figure out too much either. Certainly, Colonel Carter told Jack about the discrepancy with the test firing he conducted. Even if Colonel Carter's analysis was off, her efforts might point in the right direction. Ba'al had his spies everywhere and had compromised Earth security. If Carter did figure it out, it was a good bet Ba'al would get his hands on that information. Lady Anna was frustrated with the situation of leaks still on Earth. No matter how much equipment she gave to tighten up the situation, stupid Earth officials could not get control of their own people.

To top it all off, Jack was right. The Ashraks on Earth were working nishta-controlled humans to their advantage. Loose lips were very near to sinking her ships. And as hard as she tried to tell Jack and his superiors, they only distrusted her more. Letting them know about the nishta problem would have revealed too much to the enemy. So she kept silent. And she manipulated the situation to keep Carter running around on fool's errands to keep her off the scent. The funny thing was, she had the distinct impression that O'Neill knew it. It occurred to her that he had the same idea. So, maybe, he was listening, but she couldn't take the chance he wasn't.

Colonel Maybourne knew about the nishta problem. He knew an electrical shock could defeat nishta's insidious mind-control. Maybourne's operatives worked feverishly behind the scenes giving electrical shocks to as many suspected victims as possible. It was one of the reasons they shot Mr. And Mrs. Kinsey. A zat discharge had the same effect. And now those two were in custody. But many Earth leaders had disappeared. Everyone in Maybourne's command figured it was the Goa'uld. Once in Goa'uld custody anything could be done with the human leaders. Having world leaders snaked or turned into zatarcs was one way to get to Lady Anna. Colonel Maybourne had the task of discovering where to find them before Ba'al arrived. As much as he had compromised Earth security, Lady Anna had infiltrated his.


The Commodore looked up from his control console in his office. His aide walked in with a bow. "My Lord Commodore, we have received notification that the drones are in place on two of the Ha'taks. Our operative is standing by in case the third one moves in closer for implantation. He reports everything went nominal. We are receiving a data stream through our FTL communications arrays." The Commodore nodded and went back to his console. Then he lifted his head with a question. His subordinate was still standing there. "My Lord, if I may," the aide began with hesitation?

"What do you need, Major?"

"My Lord, I am sorry to tell you that Our Great Lady has been placed in stasis to save her life." He bowed to avoid showing his emotions.

"I see." The Commodore sighed deeply. He was disturbed too. His crew had no idea what had transpired this morning in the Commonwealth. They didn't know that she was now the Regent. Effectively, she was their monarch after the coup d'etat. Only the barest nod to legality kept the despised and weak King as a figurehead. Lady Anna retired him to a monastery under close supervision. Now was not the time to tell the Lady's Personal Guard. It was enough they were coping with battle.

In Commonwealth society, battle was a difficult thing to undertake. The morality of the general Commonwealth society was based on the Ten Commandments. Every doorway had them inscribed. The Commandment not to kill had been a huge hurdle to overcome while building an effective military these past seven years. But the religious 'Teachings' provided for self-defense. There were ample examples of battles fought and defensive campaigns. But no one had done it in over two thousand years. Reading history was one thing. Gearing up a peaceful society to wage war was another. The obstacles were inculcated in the people. Getting the populace to accept the moderating provisions for self-defense had been an uphill battle.

Lady Anna's opponents through the Religious Council fought her every step of the way. The hypocrites in the Council used the religion as a weapon for their own purposes. The religious leaders sought to manipulate the masses and wrest control of the monarchy away from Anna's clan. Lady Anna and her clan Matriarch, Princess Ellen knew it. So, they had laid her traps for the traitors.

On the advice of her clan Matriarch, Lady Anna's engaged in the ruse of going to Earth to hide from their assassins. As expected, this move precipitated the opposition's actions to replace her. The Lady laid counter measures across entire parsecs of space to track and weed out her enemies. Cross and double-cross were unfolding across the Galaxy as she stood with the President and his advisors. The various clan factions that sought the prize of the throne fell into her traps. But the perfidy of her own clan members was breath taking. They tried to substitute her with her own body double. They planned to use the double and preserve the Royal line by marrying the double off to a minor cousin. With an heir from the union in their control, Anna became unnecessary. So her own clan also sent assassins after her. And this morning, they paid dearly for their arrogance. The Lady's opponents and the entire Religious Council were either under arrest or already executed for treason.

For over two thousand years, the military had been little more than a symbolic decoration and internal security force. Most of their activities were ceremonial other than guarding important officials from maniacs. More covertly, they acted in an Intelligence capacity to protect the Royal Family from overly ambitious noble families. In their other duties, Intelligence kept the Commonwealth at peace with their neighbors. Various covert actions against unstable elements on neighboring planets ensured the peace. But the general populace was uninformed about such matters. Once the Goa'uld had wiped out an entire planet seven years ago, Lady Anna built the military into a real fighting force. Now that the Commonwealth had an interest in Earth, Lady Anna staged a defense of the planet. Today's action in Earth's solar system was one of the most complex battles ever attempted by the Commonwealth Forces or any human endeavor.

And now, Lady Anna was in stasis at the most critical moment. The Commodore was effectively in charge until the main fleet arrived. Admiral Zay, Lady Anna's second in command for the entire military sat on his flagship, the 'O'Neill, the Great', in hyperspace just beyond Earth's solar system. He waited for the moment the main force of the Goa'uld and their partners the Wannabes would arrive. Everything depended on not being detected before the trap could be sprung. So the advance force of three Ha'taks and multiple Al'kesh mid-range bombers had to be challenged without disclosing the real Commonwealth capabilities. The Goa'uld had to continue to believe that Earth was unprotected and that Lady Anna was a sitting duck. The Commodore and Admiral Zay had read histories about WWII. Specifically, they noted the sacrifice of Coventry, England to enemy bombardment to hide the fact the enemy's codes had been broken. And so, the Commodore sacrificed the new base on one of Saturn's moons to maintain the deception. It was a shame. But this was war.

Since the Replicators had destroyed most of the Asgaard Fleet and Anubis effectively broke the Protected Planets Treaty, the Goa'uld felt emboldened to act. The System Lords in their defeat were desperate. They were trying to rearm by rebuilding their fleet. With the Jaffa free, the System Lords turned to their sometimes allies, the Wannabes for labor and expertise. The System Lords still ruled multiple human worlds with countless millions of human beings as slaves. They were down but not out. Rebuilding was not going well since the Commonwealth became aware of the plans. The Lady knew that the plans included destroying the planets of the Commonwealth. And Earth through Ba'al's nemesis, Jack O'Neill, had helped the Commonwealth stop those plans. As far as the System Lords were concerned, Earth was now a target. Knowing Lady Anna's interest in O'Neill, assassinating him was icing on the cake.

The new System Lords led by Ba'al, intended to rise up and retake Goa'uld territories lost to the Free Jaffa. But the Commerce Raiding that O'Neill started was working. O'Neill's plan strangled trade between the Goa'uld and their allies. By attacking merchant shipping, O'Neill created shortages of strategic goods necessary for building the new fleet. For the Goa'uld and their partners, the Wannabes, their ship building ground to a halt as convoys of materials disappeared. All the remaining resources of the System Lords were stuck guarding the convoys and therefore, not threatening Earth or the Commonwealth. And that was the point. O'Neill through the Commonwealth brought the Goa'uld to their collective knees again.

The rage at this situation was enough to make the System Lords jump at the bait to finish their enemies. First on the list of actions was to complete the destruction of the Commonwealth began by Apophis seven years ago. However, Ba'al had personal history with O'Neill to finish. With Lady Anna on Earth, it looked like he could get two birds with one stone. Deliberately, Lady Anna set herself up as tantalizing bait. In his anger, Ba'al was motivated by his desired to be Supreme System Lord. He readily jumped at the bait. In one bold move, Ba'al believed he could finish O'Neill, Earth, and the female Hak'taur. Hak'taur, the Goa'uld word for advanced humans, were prized as hosts and despised for their ability to challenge the Goa'uld. He intended to use Lady Anna as a host for his new Queen. Together they would re-populate the Goa'uld Empire.

Ba'al also wanted to gain the new Ancient Weapon for himself. It would ensure is supremacy over the other System Lords. From his sojourn on Earth and infiltration of the Trust, Ba'al had access to classified information. He knew there were problems with the Chair device. And he knew the Replicators had decimated the Asgaard. Nearly all their ships were gone. And not enough time had passed to rebuild their fleet. Ba'al was gambling they would not risk their remaining resources to protect Earth in a battle with no obvious outcome. It was now or never. At this moment, he was mere hours from arriving at Earth with a force of thirty-eight Ha'tak class Motherships and two larger base Motherships, each containing scores of Al'kesh bombers and thousands of Death Gliders. Ba'al meant to finish his business today.


Out in Earth's solar system the battle raged on. Missiles with normal and hyperdrive propulsion howled out across the endless light-seconds of vacuum. No fleets in history had ever engaged one another at such a preposterous range. More than two full light-minutes lay between the Commonwealth fleet and the Wannabe defenses. That amounted to fleets and defenses 22,353,888 miles apart or 35 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. It would take over eight minutes for the Commonwealth missiles to cross that stupendous difference if they did not have hyperdrive capabilities. As it was, the missiles launched, disappeared, and then reappeared inside most of their targets. The kill rate was nearly 87 on the first volley.

Lady Anna had read of O'Neill's incursion on Anubis' mothership using an F-302. O'Neill's flight bypassed the newly improved shields by entering hyperspace for a split second. He and Carter re-emerged inside the protective barrier to make a bombing run that took out Anubis' newest doomsday weapon. O'Neill sent a bank shot of a naquadah enhanced nuke down an exhaust shaft to make the kill. Then he engaged the hyperdrive engines of the F-302 to get out from under the great ship's shield before the explosions could destroy the small craft.

With that episode in mind, she instructed missiles be constructed that could do the same thing. By using miniature hyperdrives, they could cover the vast distances a space battle would require and circumvent any shield an enemy might have. If the Commonwealth knew how to do anything, it was how to build micro-devices that saved labor and increased productivity. Lady Anna commandeered those production facilities for three months to achieve the creation of micro-missiles with miniature hyperspace capabilities. The micro-missiles carried small amounts of weapons grade naquadah. Being miniatures, tens of thousands could be placed on platforms all over the solar system to catch the enemy on any approach vector and hopefully in the crossfire.

What Earth's military didn't understand was the level to which robotics and computers had been perfected by the Commonwealth. They assumed large missiles and great fleets of ships were required to defend the planet. But tiny Commonwealth missiles could use many means of propulsion. The President and his advisors understood chemical propulsion.

But they could not imagine missiles that used ion propulsion, Magneto Hydrodynamics (MHD), or Higgs Particles to power hyperdrives in miniature. For example, ion propulsion is done with a small rate of burning fuel but sends exhaust out with extremely high rates of speed, comparable to the speed of light. You can stretch a small amount of fuel and get a lot of motion out of it. So, it is ideal for small projectiles that need to travel near the speed of light.

Lady Anna's science was far beyond Earth's. They used string theory and the interactions of Higgs Particles to propel their missiles and power many devices. Higgs particles are spread all over the universe. In fact, there's billions upon billions of them penetrating every single cell of your body as we speak. Everything interacts with Higgs particles. The result of this interaction is the property that we perceive as the mass of an object. The speeds achieved by the Commonwealth meant they had to understand and take advantage of the interactions of the Higgs Particles.

Earth scientists were just beginning to understand that there were many other means of achieving extreme propulsion in outer space. But Anna's people had been out there for 2000 years. They had learned that the very particles of the universe were readily available out in space. Lady Anna's missiles utilized what was already floating around out there. They could eliminate on board fuel by capturing and expelling the free particles easily obtained along the way, a process called Magneto Hydrodynamics (MHD). But Anna's people were beyond even MHD. They did use it for explosive devices. MHD systems are important because they concentrate energy in time and space, so that gentle forces applied to plasma for a long time can cause violent explosions and bursts of radiation.

Lady Anna's missiles didn't even need naquadah to explode.

Lady Anna's multi-stage micro-missiles used naquadah for initial power generation. After being initiated, they became unstoppable, needed no on-board fuel, and could continue forever.

More importantly, Lady Anna's planet buster missile used this science along with several tons of anti-matter. It only took one ordinary size missile to make a demonstration to the Goa'uld when O'Neill blew up the dead planet. And that's what neither Carter nor Ba'al figured out. Once Jack became her Allied Force Commander, Jack knew and dared not tell.


In a brief skirmish out on the rim of the Galaxy, Captain Jack the Younger commanded the raid on the outpost with the Jaffa delegation observing. Lady Anna wanted to send a message to the Jaffa High Council. Stop screwing with her. In that brief engagement, only a few of the Goa'uld and Wannabe vessels ever came into attack range of any Commonwealth military asset. Their energy weapons could not destroy the oncoming missiles directed by 'The Enterprise.' After all, the missiles were there and then they were inside the enemy ship, depot, fabrication plant, energy plant, and a host of other locations. A few of the ships left to picket the system ran for it after the round went to the Commonwealth.

On board the starship, Teal'c smiled a broad grin. He glanced over at Rak'nor to gauge his reaction. It was one of genuine horror and disbelief. Teal'c understood immediately why Rak'nor had that reaction. If these humans had this kind of capability, then they were unstoppable. The grin faded from his face. He turned to face O'Neill, the Younger as he was terming Jack's clone. Jack's face was transfixed in amazement.

"That was so cool!" He looked over at Teal'c and saw the dismay. "What?"

Teal'c moved over to speak quietly. "O'Neill," he paused not liking that title of address. Noting the insignia and uniform this other Jack wore, Teal'c addressed him as, "Captain?" Jack thought about it and nodded. He understood Teal'c's hesitation. "Do you realize what this means to Earth and the Jaffa Nation?"

"I think I do. It means we can finally kick some Goa'uld butt." Jack held off on his smirk. "But you are going to tell me differently."

"Indeed." Teal'c raised an eyebrow and looked around to make certain the other bridge crew were not in proximity. Lowering his voice, Teal'c approached the Captain's chair. "If they can send a missile the distance from Earth to the moon in eight seconds without hyperdrive, then they are formidable. But they can send a missile in less than a second with the hyperdrive. Who can stop them? If they use hyperdrives on their missiles they can by-pass conventional shields. The Goa'uld do not have the ability to counter that tactic. Even the Asgaard may not have the ability to withstand that tactic. And therefore, neither do the Jaffa or Earth."

"And that's a problem, how?"

"Other than being conquered by these aliens, consider how the Asgaard will react. They already don't want us having their technology without one of their own operating it. That's why Hermiod is on the Daedalus. He is there to make sure we do not become a threat to the Asgaard." Teal'c rolled his eyes around the bridge. This conversation was being recorded.

Jack's eyes followed Teal'c's gaze and comprehension crossed his young face. He gave a small nod making certain Teal'c saw. "What you are telling me is that these humans have just leveled the playing field with the mighty Asgaard." Captain Jack realized the game just got more interesting.


General Jack tried to stand up from the Chair on the Antarctic Base. Still recovering, he was a little wobbly. "Legs, I got legs." His knees buckled and guards caught him. In pain, he grunted. The tall silver haired general managed to walk it out. "Anyone have something for a bad headache." He asked putting a palm to his eyes. The Medtechs conferred and selected something. "It's a nail in the head kinda thing. Anyone?" The Security Chief checked the contents under a scanner and permitted the dose. Jack felt better immediately.

"How you feeling?" Daniel came up and touched his shoulder. O'Neill shook it off out of reflex. "Well I guess that answers it. Now what?"

"What?"

"What I asked."

"You asked me what?"

"Never mind."

"What's in there?" Jack pointed to the stasis pod and wandered over to it. He was a little surprised to see Lady Anna in it apparently asleep. "She didn't lose any time getting that nap."

"She's in stasis, Jack. She nearly died keeping you alive." Daniel spoke rapidly before Jack's attention wandered again. "Jack, you have to work the chair. There was a big space battle and it didn't look like it went any too well for our side." Jack frowned.

"Gotta pee." He stalked off. Daniel thought about it and followed.


Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and her technicians arrived in a flash of light. The waiting officers and ministers gasped. All the talk about aliens never prepared them for the reality of such an arrival. One of the men walked up to her and used his forefinger to poke her shoulder to see if she were real. He jumped back. She grinned.

"Yes, I am really here. Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, U.S. Air Force. Now, gentlemen, show me the problem."

"Colonel, I am General David Ben-Gurion. If you would step this way, please." He gestured to the map table. Sam gave him a puzzled look. "I'm his great-grandson, ma'am." He smiled at the usual consternation anyone had hearing his name.

"We have agreed to put aside our differences considering the threat to the entire planet." He looked her over doubtfully. "Are you certain you understand what we are dealing with, ma'am? You do realize the aliens want this and will do anything to get it?" He was curious about who she was. All he had been told was that she worked with General O'Neill. And now, everyone on the planet knew that name. "You haven't brought much in the way of equipment." His eyes searched her with a question.

"Yes, sir, we know. And if I am correct, we don't need anything more. If we do, I can send for it. So show me where so we can get started." Sam leaned over the table and received her briefing. Sam and each member of her team received hard hats and followed the General and the Chief engineer through the tunnel system. Reaching the end, General Ben-Gurion touched his hand to the wall to let it shimmer. Sam touched it too and stood back to let her technicians take readings.

"So what do you think? How do we get through?" The General was doubtful this woman knew what she was doing, but it was worth a try. He just didn't like the fact the Americans had to be brought in on this. The Americans had the Stargate and the expertise. It was a mutual standoff. Everyone had to cooperate.

Sam considered for a moment. Then she directed her aide to touch the wall. His hand passed right through. Everyone gasped. "Ok, suit up and don't touch anything in there." The man put his hazmat suit and helmet on with breathing apparatus. "It's been thousands of years since air has gone into that room. It might have a poisonous atmosphere," Sam explained to the group. Sam nodded to the man who continued to pass right through and disappear. A few minutes later he reappeared, his helmet off. His eyes shown brightly and he smiled broadly.

"What did he do? We couldn't get in there no matter what we did." General Ben-Gurion was astonished.

"It's classified, sir. But he can do it at will." She turned to the technician. "So what did you find?" The man handed her the small camcorder and switched it to replay. Nothing worked. He looked confused.

"I'm sure I recorded the whole room. While I was there I saw it on the screen. Shall I go back in and do it again, ma'am?" The technician scratched his short blond hair in puzzlement.

"Yes, try again. And this time, take a bigger camera with batteries?" Sam snarked back. He readjusted his hazmat suit and the breathing devices. But then he removed the helmet and checked his equipment. None of it worked anymore. The man got a new suit and went in again. He returned a little later. Holding the camcorder up to them he pushed replay and nothing appeared again. "Here, give me that." Sam took the camcorder and discovered it no longer worked. Then she hit replay showing the tech the buttons. "What about the suit? Same thing?" The man checked his equipment. None of it functioned. "Ok, try again." Sam commanded. This was embarrassing.

In another new hazmat suit, the tech walked back into the room. A minute later he returned and again nothing appeared on the device. "I guess it won't let us record, ma'am," offered the Tech. "And it doesn't seem to like electronics." His suit was out again.

"The barrier must act as some kind of dampening agent." Sam took a gizmo and took her own readings of the barrier. She shook her head. "It doesn't say anything other than there is an energy source here. Ok, try this. Go in there and sketch the thing and the room. Do we have some pencils and paper?" An aide went scurrying back down the tunnel for the supplies. He returned with them and the tech made another foray in to the chamber. While he was gone, the silence was awkward. Sam gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile to the two generals and waited. Finally the tech reappeared. The sketch was gone. The tech was confused.

"Now I know I sketched it, ma'am." He took the paper and drew what he saw from memory. Everyone took a look. It seemed to be what they wanted to find.

"Ok, now what, ma'am?" The General wondered. This was certainly an unusual situation.

"We extract it and take it off world. Then we wash the trail through several gates and secure it until we can determine more about it. And we tell no one. The Commonwealth is otherwise occupied today. We are hoping they will not detect the movement before it is too late." Sam took out her Tok'ra communicator. "With your permission I shall let my superiors know we have located it and are satisfied it is the object. They will dial the Gate and have it ready so there is no wait on the other end."

"You can't transmit from this far down, Colonel." The General shook his head. How good could she be if she didn't realize that? Sam smiled patiently and cocked her head waiting. The General shrugged an ok.

"We have located the package. Prepare the transportation." Sam listened. The Landry's voice came back to her telling her to proceed. "Yes, General Landry. Thank you, sir." She clicked off. Everyone looked at one another. Clearly, the Americans were way ahead of everyone else on this planet. She motioned for the young man to take another young man in with a platform. Nothing happened and no one returned. Sam became concerned. She tried her Tok'ra communicator to the two in the chamber and got nothing. Now she was worried.

"This is Colonel Carter, I need to speak to General Landry immediately." She waited for the familiar deep voice to reply. "Sir, we sent in the team to extract the package and they have not returned. It's been too long, sir. Something is wrong."


"Ok, I think we did it. Any signs of resistance, Number One," Captain Jack asked his First Officer? He shook his head no. "Life signs readings? Humans?"

"We detect thirty-eight human life signs on the larger station, My Lord Captain. And there are forty-seven on the base on the largest asteroid." The First Officer checked again. "And it seems there are a many more on the orbital farm."

"Did we get a surrender?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Then initiate a rescue of the humans. And I want to speak to whoever is left in command over there when you sort this out." Jack stood up and stretched. "I'll be in my ready room. You have the con." Jack motioned to Teal'c to join him. "Um, Teal'c aren't your friends hungry or something?" Teal'c considered the question.

"Indeed."

"Good, then boys, follow this nice officer to the mess and chow down. I want to talk to Teal'c for a while." The other Jaffa looked doubtful but obeyed Teal'c. After they left, Captain Jack walked through the door and entered his small office off the bridge. "There's no place like home."

"And is this home, Captain?" Teal'c stood with his guard up. Jack plopped down in his chair and put his feet up on his console, with his hands resting behind his head.

"Aw have a seat, T. I don't bite, much." He grinned a satisfied happy go lucky smile. "Oh, speaking of eating, I can send for lunch. What's your pleasure?"

"Nothing right now, thank you."

"You aren't afraid of me, are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm the captain of the starship ' Enterprise.' Isn't that a gas? It was named the 'Samantha Carter.' But I got to change it." He saw Teal'c raise an eyebrow. "I don't want to hear it." Teal'c cocked his head. "I'm not in the mood." Teal'c said nothing. "Ack! What did I have back on Earth? Nothing. That's what. There, I am an 18-year-old kid with the mind of a 53-year-old man. Do you have any idea how FRUSTRATING that is?"

"I do not." Teal'c conceded. "Did you not say you wanted to do it all over again?"

"I tried that for over two years in high school for crying out loud. You know what? It sucked." Jack leaned forward taking his feet down. "It was a really bad idea. What was I thinking? And listening to teenage girls prattle is enough to make me go nuts, wacko, bonzo, crackers, INSANE!"

"I see."

"And listening to some pompous ass of a teacher bored me out of my skull. One of them had it in for me. So I had to explain the facts of life, politely but firmly, and wound up in detention. Me! In DETENTION." Captain Jack shook his head and ruefully smiled at the thought.

"It is difficult to imagine."

"I can't live like that. Now, I'm officially 18 and legal and have to decide what to do with my life all over again. If I join the Air Force again, I can't be a Colonel because there would be too many questions. If I go to the University again, I have to face the same problems as high school. I can't even think of joining the usual college hi jinks like a fraternity and watch them drinking beer until they puke, eating cold pizza for breakfast, or doing silly frat boy pranks. So what kind of social life is there for me in college? I'm way past this apparently." Jack looked down. "And it's somewhat perverted to chase teenage girls considering I'm not really a teenager."

"Indeed."

"Besides, it was too easy." Jack smirked. Teal'c raised an eyebrow and considered that idea. He nodded sagely. "On Earth, I don't fit. Here I fit. Here everyone looks way younger than they are. There are plenty of 18-year-old looking people who can be anything from 35-135 yrs old. I am NORMAL here. I can learn. And I can use my knowledge. I can be me." Jack remarked sadly.

Teal'c began to understand how much this Jack was suffering emotionally. "You are separated from your people?" He saw the uniform and the attitude.

"My people?" Jack snorted in disbelief. "My people have no use for me. These folks do. I can pick up where I left off, only BETTER." He studied his hands and spoke softly. "I'll tell you something, T. Here, I have a future, because this is the future." He waved his arms out to indicate the ship. "You can't fight progress. The folks back on Earth just haven't adjusted to the notion yet."

"How did they come to you?" Teal'c was curious.

"Actually, Lady Anna came to me. She gave me the proverbial offer I couldn't refuse." Jack's eyes twinkled mischievously. "That is some woman."

"You admire her." Teal'c said it more as a statement than a question. Jack nodded slowly.

"Indeed." Jack chuckled.

"Are you aware Lady Anna is now the ruler of these people? She overthrew the King this morning, seizing power for herself. And she executed her opposition." Teal'c watched for the kind of response, adding, "I was there."

"What?" Jack was alert. "You're not kidding?" Teal'c eyed him. This Jack was expressive. And knowing him, Teal'c saw something new. This Jack was considering how it would help him. This Jack was different. He had thrown in his lot with these people. And, Teal'c realized he had to watch his step.


"This just in to the CNB News Desk, I'm Kendall Cross with breaking news." The pretty blonde reporter, who had been on that fateful hijacking of the Prometheus three years before, ran with the story. "Reports are coming in that many world leaders have gone missing. We can confirm that the British Prime Minister is missing. The Russian President is missing as well. The turmoil in those countries has resulted in violence and scores of deaths. Roll the tape." Kendall turned to watch it herself. The world watched riots in London and then in Moscow. Mobs were shouting 'death to the aliens.' And the Russian Vice-President stood before the Duma, the lower house of the Parliament, to announce he was assuming emergency power.

"Speculation is rampant that the alien leader is retaliating for this morning's assassination attempt on her life, in the White House. It is the second time in a week that assassins breached security in the Executive Mansion and tried to kill her. Although the Secret Service had the building secured, other aliens managed to break in using advanced devices. We have been unable to reach the alien embassy in Washington for comment as yet."

"Reliable sources here in Washington believe the President of the United States boarded Air Force One this afternoon. According to war plans, the President must move his office to a battle command either in flight or under Cheyenne Mountain Complex where the Stargate is located. Standard procedure in the event of war is to secure the succession by having members of Congress and the Cabinet go to bunkers scattered around the country. We have reports that many members of Congress took Marine helicopters this afternoon from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. At present the White House was unavailable for comment. Stay tuned to CNB for more breaking news." And she cut to commercials.


"Ok, Bob, I can call you Bob, can't I." It was more of a statement than a request. Colonel Harry Maybourne had himself under control again. Of course, this bozo had no way back on him. It was just bluffing. "Let's begin again, Bob. I ask the questions. You give me answers. If you don't, we run through the list of your dear ones beginning with the Missus." Former Vice-President Kinsey ignored him. "Ok, fine." Maybourne nodded to the guard. "Have it your way, Bob."

The guards brought Mrs. Kinsey. The older woman in her "Ladies That Lunch" suit was more angry than frightened. Her make-up showed the tracks of her tears. But she had regained her poise. She was a politician's wife. Very little fazed her. "Robert, do something. What's the point of having power if you can't get us bailed out?"

"Oh for god's sake, dear, nothing will happen to you. This is business. It does not involve innocents, especially family members." Kinsey looked at her with pique.

"What, you think this is 'The Godfather,' and we don't involve families in business?" Maybourne calmly stared at him. "In the Commonwealth, that's all they deal in, whole families. You screw up, your family pays the bill." Mrs. Kinsey gasped at the audacity of the man with the beady eyes. "So, what's it gonna be? Or are you tired of her?" Kinsey thought it over.

"Robert, I thought you loved me." Mrs. Kinsey was offended. "We've been together 45 years, you sonofabitch." Bob looked at Maybourne and shrugged.

"Oh go ahead, Harry. That's one less card you have to play." Kinsey really did learn to play a new level of hardball. "Sorry, dear. But the whole planet is at stake. And, I really am tired of you."

Mrs. Kinsey's eyes narrowed. "You haven't heard the last of this, Robert."

"This time, I think I have, dear." He waved good-bye with just his fingertips.

Maybourne chucked his head to say take her away. They heard her all the way down the corridor. Once out of the area, a female officer approached a distraught Mrs. Kinsey.

"Don't worry, my lady. No one is going to hurt you. Our Lord General Jack O'Neill forbade Colonel Maybourne before he took you." That got Mrs. Kinsey's attention. The guard handed her a tissue. Mrs. Kinsey sniffled and blew. She was listening. The officer began again. "We wanted your reaction just now to be real. But we do have to make it appear that we did harm you. So we are going to take you to the Medical Lab and apply what appear to be wounds. Now calm yourself." The guards released her. "Your husband is involved in something terrible. We need his information. Any cooperation you offer will work for you with us."

"I want to speak directly with General O'Neill. I want to hear this from him." Mrs. Kinsey felt she had some room to bargain. She was right.

"Jack we have a call from the ship. Mrs. Kinsey wants to talk to you." Daniel was curious. "Why would Mrs. Kinsey be on the ship?"

"Oy," Jack replied. "Kinsey's up to no good again. Connect me."

"Yes, ma'am, I'm General O'Neill." Jack's hologram appeared in the Medlab onboard the 'Daniel Jackson.' She recognized him.

"I thought your name was 'Starsky.' No matter, I want to hear it from you that they are not going to hurt me. And I want to know why you permitted this." She gestured with her hands full of tissue.

"Ma'am, I couldn't stop them. But I made it plain I would not tolerate it if they hurt you. It's the best I could do for you, ma'am. I'm sorry." Jack really felt uncomfortable. "Are you okay?" She nodded.

"Well, General, I suppose this is what we get for fooling around with aliens. I just wanted to hear it from you." She blew again. "Is it true that the fate of the planet's at stake?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jack really felt for her. "Ma'am, your husband is mixed up with the wrong people again. I would be grateful for your cooperation. Did they explain what they want you to do and why?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"I'm going to get that sonofabitch," she said with vehemence. Jack said thank you and commed off. Remembering the phrase, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' Jack decided it was apt.


"My Lord Admiral Zay, we are getting multiple point hits." On board the Base Ship, 'O'Neill, the Great,' the Commodore entered the Admiral's luxurious office on the Flag Officers' deck. It was just across the hall from Lord O'Neill's own office. Admiral Zay commanded the Commonwealth fleet that was now lying in wait in hyperspace. "It's beginning." The Admiral met the Commodore's gaze with fire in his eyes. Today was payback for the lost planet.

"How long?"

"They should hit the first hyperspace mines in an hour. Then we go to work with the Lady's special surprise smart bombs."

"They won't be expecting this. Our Great Lady did her homework. No one has ever laid mines or bombed ships in hyperspace." His smile would send a chill through a blast furnace. "Let's see if these things work in battle." Both men bowed to each other. The Commodore left to return to the Battle Bridge.

Admiral Zay idly wondered what the snakeheads would think when they finally saw 'The O'Neill.' It was as large as Manhattan Island on Earth, eleven miles long and three miles in diameter. He would give anything to see the look on Ba'al's face before he sent that abomination straight to hell. Chuckling, Zay went back to work.

The only question was which Ba'al?


Jack had recovered and napped for a couple of hours. He was feeling better with the sleep and the Commonwealth's advanced medicines. They even remembered to feed him. And someone knew enough to bring cake. Now, he was back in the Ancient Chair on the Antarctic base exploring the capabilities of the chair. A pot of coffee brewed next to him. The table at his fingertips was stacked with hot fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The two Earth scientists looked at them longingly. These aliens really did try to take good care of him, Jack mused. Then Jack saw the hopeful stares at his stash of doughnuts. "Ahhhh, dough-nuts," he intoned in his best Homer Simpson voice. "Oh alright. Have some." He watched them approach and give him shy smiles. "Go on. They'll get more. Am I right, boys?" He smirked and looked over at the Commonwealth guards. The Commissary Specialist bowed in reply. "See?"

"Jack you need to focus." Images were dissolving. Daniel shoved a warm sticky treat in his mouth. "Umm," he grunted, eyes shut. "That's so good," the scientist garbled with his mouth full. He reached for another. "They are best when they are hot." Jack reached for one and Daniel intercepted him. Daniel handed Jack a napkin and placed another one over the gel pad on the Chair. With a look that said don't argue, Daniel poured Jack a mug of coffee. "Now, don't spill."

Once again, the images streamed overhead. So far the count was thirty-eight big ones. Intelligence was accurate again. Daniel read off the distances and estimated times of arrival. The smaller point hits were more jumbled. But a best guess was a few hundred of what were probably Al'kesh size ships. They were all still in hyperspace fast approaching. Somewhat closer another fleet was evident. Jack hoped it was the good guys. The sizes and configurations more closely approximated Commonwealth vessels. Daniel's special cell phone rang.

" Jackson." He listened intently. "Yes, sir. He's here. He's fine now that he's had his coffee." Daniel covered the phone and handed it to Jack. "The President, for you." O'Neill took the phone and continued to stare up at the display seated on the Ancient's Chair.

"O'Neill." He listened. "I can't do that, sir. The information is too vital." He listened and grunted. "No, sir. She's not available yet. Yes, the chair is refilled. No we haven't tested it. We don't want to give away that it's working. But every indication is that it's ready." He listened some more. "Thank you, sir." Jack hung up and handed the phone back. He continued to be mesmerized by the holoimages.

"It's getting easier to manipulate the data now that I know I can. She was right you know." He spoke to Daniel who was agitated watching the enemy ships approaching. Jack changed the scene to his cabin in Minnesota. "Just checking if it's still there." He switched the image to a tropical beach and watched the bikini clad girls walk along the sand. "Sweet."

"Jack! This is hardly the time." Daniel couldn't believe Jack's attention would wander at a time like this. Then he became curious. "Can it look at my house?" Jack switched the image to Daniel's front lawn. "Cool. How about looking inside the SGC? Check on Sam." Her biobed was empty. Both men grunted in satisfaction. The image switched to the Gate room and then the meeting in the Briefing room. "Turn up the sound?" It was like spying on your parents talking to other adults.

"O'Neill has to be dealt with after this. We can't let him run loose anymore. The man's a menace. He's compromised by the alien woman." General Maynard, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs insisted. Heads were bobbing in agreement around the table. "He's so gone that he is siding with the aliens. And now we are depending on him to defend this planet again."

"I don't see how we can stop him short of doing something, well, drastic. The Lady adores him. She will retaliate." Hammond spoke sadly. "I just don't see him betraying us. It's not his nature. And so what if he ascends? He'll be gone."

"And what if he stalls like Anubis' clone? And then it goes horribly wrong? A couple of days ago he was at 19 percent towards ascension. Now he is 28 percent. A human this far along can acquire dangerous capabilities. The data is conclusive. He is physically well on his way to ascension. Sir, something here is very different from Anubis' clone. We aren't sure what it means." Dr. Lam spoke with authority. "And, I should point out that her genes have changed in the same location to the same degree."

"That difference could be a good difference, Doctor Lam. For one thing, General O'Neill is not an evil man. Anubis was." Dr. Warren gave his analysis with professionalism. "More problematic is the fact both Lady Anna's and General O'Neill's DNA has altered and we can't reverse it or stop it. Whether it was from a retrovirus or some other reason, they are changing. We can ask the Commonwealth if they can engineer a retrovirus to stop it. I tend to think if they could have they would have unless she stopped them. Our comparisons to O'Neill's previous DNA on record shows significant alteration. Even if the change stops, they will still be different."

Dr. Mackenzie, the SGC's primary psychiatrist added, "They have more in common with each other than the rest of the human race. No wonder they can't bear to be apart. Aside from the sense of smell, something is working to keep them together. Plenty of people smell good to one another. They don't cling together like this. It could be a mental phenomenon. At this point, it's probably subconscious."

"I think we can agree his 'nature' has changed. As to her, I just don't see how we can get to her." The SecDef paused. "Maybe her own people were after her for this reason? They just didn't want to tell us. Maybe that's what Maybourne meant when he said that we didn't know who she is or WHAT she is. Apparently, she knows. What else Dr. Lam? Go on."

"We know the tags are not responsible," answered Dr. Lam. "Our guess is that the Asgaard did the tags to keep track of us now that we are wandering around the galaxy. They want to know where we are and what we are up to. So they tagged anyone connected to the Stargate Program and these aliens as well."

"Sir, the strange thing is that Thor's marker is still there in General O'Neill. So we have to wonder if the Commonwealth rendered it inactive or if it just happened naturally." Dr. Warren shook his head in puzzlement. "They have been asking to give him the Restoration treatments to extend his life as much as another 80 years past his normal lifespan."

"What about the Lady's DNA? You're saying it too has changed?" President Hayes asked Dr. Lam. She nodded. "How recently? Do we know?"

"Our access to their records is limited. The incident with the tags made them release her most recent scans as of two months ago. But my best guess was sometime in the last few weeks." She looked at her father, General Landry. "And General O'Neill's comparison is to four months ago before he left; two weeks ago when he came back to visit; and last Wednesday when he arrived home. We compared these results to today's blood samples. We took hers from the bump on her head in the White House. And his from the cut he got during the scuffle with the assassin."

"At this rate of change, I recommend we terminate with extreme prejudice while we still can." The SecDef spoke firmly. ""Gentlemen we have to consider that we may not get another chance."

"Options," asked President Hayes?

Hammond tried to be the voice of reason. "We do not have to assume this is a bad thing. They could just ascend and leave. Or, they might take more time to ascend and then we could access more of the Ancient's information on Atlantis. Or, we could just send them to Atlantis more permanently. Or at least we could send O'Neill to isolate him away from Earth. He would be a good station commander or at least an asset over there." Some heads started to bob in agreement. "We could let her take him and have the Commonwealth worry about what to do with them. They have more capabilities. And angering her any further would only do us more damage in the long run."

"Dr. Mackenzie, what do you think he would do if we insisted on his retirement and sent him away?" General Maynard at least was against killing Jack outright.

Dr. Mackenzie raised his hand to gesture indecision. He shrugged. "He has his violent tendencies, but they have been under control most of his life."

"I see. Almost anything could happen. The man's a loose cannon on a good day." The SecDef had already made up his mind. "You are talking about a trained killer who has done some incredibly awful things albeit in service of country. But, have you really considered how much killing he has done in his life? Just the sheer numbers of Jaffa that he has mowed down are cause for concern. The man has blown up a sun with an entire solar system, and now, another planet. Are you telling us that he can become unstoppable with his impaired judgment to boot, before he ascends if he ascends?"

"Sir, I have known Jack a lot of years," began General Landry. "We were in Nam together. We've known each other all our lives. So that's some real history. I don't believe for one second that he would ever do anything to hurt his people. So, I want to suggest, respectfully, that the honorable Secretary back off!"

"Jack, they are afraid of what they don't understand." Daniel's eyes brimmed with tears. He looked away pushing palm over his face so no one would notice.

"They are doing a threat assessment. It's their jobs." Jack's face was made of granite. "If what they say is true, I would too."

"Don't worry, My Lord General. Our Great Lady foresaw this problem. She charged me with your life." The new Colonel in charge of Security stepped up to the Chair to face O'Neill. "I swore to her with my life and the lives of my family that you would survive no matter what." He saluted with every ounce of dignity he could muster.

Jack regarded him evenly without a trace of emotion, and nodded. "We have to find Thor."

An image of Freyr's temple on K'tau popped up before them. It was chaos. He saw Elrad trying to reason with Colonel Mitchell. It wasn't working. Daniel watched the holoimage, amazed at the altercation. Jack and Daniel listened to the dispute in progress.

Poor Elrad, the leader of the village was unnerved. To him it appeared that the Fairies and the Elves were screaming at each other. And they were really mad. In the context of Norse mythology, the people of K'tau thought that the SG teams were Elves. They thought Anna's people were Fairies since they had first appeared as holograms two weeks ago. The Elves first arrived four years ago. The whole situation had everyone upset.

Elrad, Flayman of the village, had no idea how to stop the altercation. Worse, he thought the Oetanus, the ones at war with the gods, also called Etin, were involved. Sure enough, Elrad pointed to the Jaffa saying they had the markings on their foreheads as foretold. It wasn't a good sign. Freyr had warned them about the presence of Etin. He told them to run to the Temple and call him from the Hall of Wisdom if the Etin ever showed up. Only, the Fairies in the Temple would not let him inside. The crowd on K'tau watched in agitation as the screaming continued. The language got ugly. Violence was sure to break out.

"Please, you must stop. It is sacrilege. We have to go into the Temple. Our Lord, Freyr commanded us to go if the Etin ever showed up. You must let us." He wrung his hands. No one was paying any attention to him. And of course, the resident fly in the ointment, Brother Malchus, showed up to egg on the crowd.

"It is unholy. We must send these people away. And if they won't go, we must make them." Brother Malchus urged the crowd. He was the religious fanatic who had killed some Elves a few years back and had been punished with hard labor for a few years. The locals on K'tau knew that neither the Elves nor the Fairies loved Malchus with reason. But he kept at it anyway until the crowd was ready to get sticks and drive the Fairies, Elves, and Etin back to wherever they came from.

Elrad and Malchus got into an argument about how these beings arrived at all. It was a mystery since the Fairies had sealed the Annulus. Elrad tried to explain that was part of the reason the Elves were mad. The locals knew the Elves came periodically to talk to Freyr in the Hall of Wisdom accessed from inside the Temple. It was actually an Asgaard phone. But the Asgaard warned the SGC not to tell and not to interfere in the development of the K'tau.

Thinking the SGC were good elves, Elrad and the others let the Elves come through the Annulus as they called the Stargate. Beside the Annulus, the Elves left a magical device, a MALP, which could sometimes be used to talk to the Elves far away. To contact the Elves, a special combination of symbols were pressed on the altar by the Annulus. A wall of shimmering water appeared. Then, they were told to throw a magic box into the water. It usually took a few minutes but the Elves would speak through their magical device. Now the Annulus was sealed shut. Apparently, the Fairies made it unusable. No wonder the Elves were angry that the Fairies sealed the Annulus.

The kindly old man watched in dismay. It was not natural for Elves and Fairies to congregate this way. It was even more bizarre that the Etin were present at all. The screaming continued. The Fairies laughed at the Elves who threatened all sorts of terrible revenge. The Etins stood by glowering and getting angrier by the minute. It was a recipe for disaster. Who knew what mischief would happen now that the Annulus was sealed?

"We want to talk to Freyr. Please, you must let us do it." Elrad beseeched them. "Fairies, call your good Queen Anna. And you," he spoke to Mitchell. "Call O'Neill, the Elf beloved by the Fairy Queen. They will surely settle this dispute." He looked at the furious Etin 'Giants' and decided not to ask them for their leader.

"Will you just stay out of this?" Mitchell shouted. Elrad blanched. Then Cam felt bad about it and went up to the leader of this little village on K'tau. "I know it looks bad. But we're just having a discussion. The Fairy Queen still... loves...er, O'Neill, the Elf. But they're having a disagreement." Mitchell looked around at the bedlam. "Elrad, is there another way into the, er, Temple?" Elrad shook his head no. Cam sighed up at the sky.

"You brought the Etin. Freyr will be angry. No good can come of this. Please, just leave. We don't want you here. Now, just go, please." He turned to leave. "Everyone go to the Grove. We must pray for peace." The crowd murmured in agitation but most turned and went with Elrad. A few others began accumulating larger rocks and tree branches.

"That went well, yeah, went well." Cam Mitchell threw up his hands and kicked a small rock down the path in aggravation. "Momma said there'd be days like this."

"Ok," said Jack. "I've heard enough." The holoimage disappeared. "We've got to get to K'tau and use the Asgaard phone. And we need her." He pointed and frowned. She wasn't going anywhere too soon, stuck in stasis as she was. Everyone was waiting for the Medical Ship carrying the captured Sarcophagus to fix her if it could.

"Um, Jack," Daniel began. "What about operating the Chair?" He raised both eyebrows and assumed his pout.

"It's kinda like surfing the internet, only better."

"No, I meant staying here to operate it during the battle."

"There's that." Jack made his decision. "We still have time. You there, um, Colonel. Is there a way to communicate with your team on K'tau?"

"Not without access to an FTL communications array. I would have to go up to the ship. But all communications are silent until our Fleet arrives." He thought for a moment. "And it would take several hours to send another ship to K'tau. By then the enemy will be here, My Lord."

"Listen, I want you to do both. One way or the other, the guys in the Temple have to let my team in to call Thor." Jack looked at him trying to decide if this man could really be entrusted with this mission. Well, there wasn't much choice. He needed Daniel here to translate. Carter was on another vital errand. And Teal'c was MIA. Now he knew he could not rely on anyone at the SGC either. His hands were tied. "Will you do it?"

"Yes, My Lord General. If it will ensure your survival, my orders are to do it no matter what." He saluted and got transported up to the ship.

"Jack, what are you going to do after all this?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."


Sources: wikipeida : norse mythology, speed of light, tonnage war, MHD, Higgs Particles. Space distance calculations: astro-tom getting started earth sun distance.

Disclaimer: "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" and their characters are the property of Sony Pictures 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 against this or any other story in the universe. 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.