Author's Note: Heading for Seattle this morning, so I probably won't update for a day or two!

OOOOOOOOOO

There was a hesitation, as if no one believed what they were hearing, and then Daniel spoke up first, asking the question that was on everyone's lips.

"What? Why not?"

"Because I think that's what Anubis wants."

"That's ridiculous," McKay scoffed. "Why would he want the Asgard to send a fleet of ships after him?"

Ian scowled.

"For one thing, the Asgard aren't going to send a fleet. If anything, they'll send a couple of ships. For another, if Anubis was here to attack us he'd have done it by now – which makes you wonder what he's waiting for."

"And you think he's waiting for the Asgard?" Jack asked. He'd been wondering the same thing Ian had just brought up – why Anubis wasn't pressing his obvious advantage, instead of just hovering out in space somewhere and sending in the occasional Ha'tak to look for the SGC.

Ian shrugged.

"I can't see any other reason why he'd be waiting. He doesn't know where the SGC is, but with Ancient technology in the mix, he probably doesn't need to find us. The way he handled Thor's ship as proof of that."

"You didn't answer my question, though," McKay said. "Why would he want the Asgard here?"

"To obtain their technology as well," Teal'c said.

Ian nodded.

"That'd be my guess."

"That doesn't make any sense, though," Sam said. "If he wanted Asgard technology, why blow up Thor's ship? Why not just take it?"

"Best guess would be that he didn't expect us to get help so quickly," Ian said. "He didn't know about the devices Thor gave Shawn, Andrew and Jack to call him if they needed him – and probably expected to have another twelve hours or more to get set up for whatever ambush he'd have planned for the Asgard. So he just blew Thor's ship instead."

"Which would definitely bring in more Asgard," Shawn said.

"Yeah."

Thor blinked.

"So you believe this Anubis is merely waiting for my fellow Asgard to appear before he sets his plan into motion?"

Ian nodded.

"He has Ancient technology and Goa'uld technology. The only thing he's missing is Asgard, really – and he probably thinks he has a pretty good chance of getting it."

"The ease which he destroyed Thor's ship is probably a good indicator that his weaponry is formidable," Teal'c said. "I believe there is something to what Ian is saying."

"Thor's ship was unoccupied," Daniel said. "Would the other ships be that easy of targets if the Asgard came?"

"Not as easy, no," Thor said. "However, they would not be expecting to face anything more than a Goa'uld. This Anubis would possibly prove more than they could handle if they only sent a single ship or two to investigate."

"So what? Now we can't call the Asgard for help?" McKay asked.

"No," Jack said. "We can call them. We just have to make sure they know what they're going to be facing."

"How long would it take the Asgard to bring an entire fleet of ships to bear?" Sam asked Thor.

"Hours. Perhaps a full day or more."

"Why so long?" McKay asked.

"It is a big universe, Doctor," Thor said, sounding almost defensive. "We are spread out fairly well."

"Let me get this straight," Hayes said, speaking up for the first time. "You don't think that we're going to be attacked at all?"

Ian shook his head.

"I didn't say that. I just don't think we're the primary target."

"Which means what? We're safe?"

Jack beat Ian to the answer.

"No. We're in more danger than ever, really. Especially if we can't count on help from the Asgard."

Hayes scowled.

"You people are just a fountain of bad news. Tell me we have some good news. Anyone?"

"We have the weapon in Antarctica," Ian said.

"If we can figure out how to get through two miles of ice to get to it," McKay countered.

"A ring device might do it," Jacob told them. "Not all at once, but a section at a time."

"A ring device?" Sam echoed, frowning.

"If we modified it a little it would go through the ice instead of going between the molecules of the ice like it normally would."

"Can we do that?" Daniel asked.

"Selmac thinks we can." Jacob looked over at Thor. "With a little help from you, we might even be able to make it more efficient – maybe it could go all two miles at one shot, instead of a couple hundred feet at a time."

Thor nodded.

"You have my help."

"As soon as you send word to the other Asgard," Hammond said. "Warn them what's going on and give them the chance to get a fleet together."

"That's going to take a day," McKay said. "We'll be toast by then."

Hammond ignored him, and turned to Jacob instead.

"How long will it take you to modify the ring device?"

"We have to bring in a ship first, George. Then it shouldn't take more than an hour. I could get a ship here in a few hours, probably."

"Only to have Anubis blow it up when he sees it coming," Sam said. She turned to Ian. "You have another one of those cloaking devices…"

He nodded.

"Then dad can take that with him when he goes to get the ship and modify it to cloak his ship when he comes in."

"It won't work for him, Sam. He's Tok'ra."

Meaning, he carried a symbiote.

"You could go."

They could probably use his help, after all.

He shook his head.

"Jack's going to have to go."

Jack scowled.

"Excuse me?"

"You're going to have to go – or Shawn, you choose."

Which was no choice, really.

"Why not you?"

"Because I'm not going to be here."

Now Jack wasn't the only one frowning.

"Where are you going to be?" Sam asked.

"Looking for a way to counter Anubis' advantages."

"I thought the weapon we were going to find in Antarctica was going to counter Anubis?" Daniel asked.

"It's going to protect the earth from anything he throws at us," Ian corrected. "But it doesn't have infinite range…"

"And you think you know something that does?" Hammond asked.

Ian nodded.

"I do know something that does. It's just a matter of getting it here."

"From where?" Jack asked.

"Atlantis."