"There are hundreds if not thousands of hives out there." Woolsey exclaimed. "How did they get so many ZPMs?"

"We don't know." McKay said. "But we know where there's a stockpile of them."

"Where?" Woolsey asked. "Because we're going to need as many as we can get to handle that." He pointed to the holographic display. "Are we sure this is real-time?"

"Positive." McKay said. "John sent the Odyssey out with a ZedPM and back again. It came up on the hologram."

"I see." Woolsey sat down, and for the first time ever banged his head on the table. "I guess we know how awful the ancients were at organising their technology now." He lifted his head and stood up. "Find these ZPMs and bring them back ASAP. We need these if we want to compete with that." He pointed to the large cluster of wraith ships. "You have authority to bring whatever you deem necessary. Of course Sheppard has to approve of it."

"I told you its fun Aiden." Sheppard said as he swung the golf club and the small white ball went flying through the event horizon. "You know, this planet is more than a thousand light years away."

"That must a new world record for sure." Aiden set his ball down and did the same as John had done, but his ball went through close to the top of the gate. "I'll get back in my game eventually."

"Shouldn't you be working?" The speakers announced General O'Neil's presence in the control room belonging to the gate. "Or should I take charge?"

"Shut it off." Sheppard ordered. The gate closed with a hiss. Aiden picked up the clubs and they walked out of the gate room. They reached the observation deck to find O'Neil with Teal'c.

"Its fun, isn't it?" O'Neil asked. "But only do it when you're stuck in a time paradox." He clapped his hand on John's back and left the control room. Teal'c followed suit.

"When do you want to head off?" Sheppard asked. "I managed to get two months off you."

"Thanks mate," He looked at the gate. "I'll get my stuff and I'll head back as soon as I can."

"Go on then." Sheppard watched as his long time friend headed off the same way O'Neil and Teal'c had gone.

He sat down and closed his eyes. He opened them again and stood up. Ford was standing there with his stuff.

"Did you just fall asleep on the job?" Aiden asked.

John chuckled. "It's been a stressful time. How long was I out?"

"Less than five minutes." He said. "I don't have that much stuff anymore."

John smiled and looked to the gate technician who was staring at them. "Does Earth know we're sending back one of our own?"

"Yes sir." He piped. "I sent them your message as soon as I received it."

"Good." He turned to look over the gate and its creepy glory. "Dial it up then."

The human figure who stepped through the gate was probably the last Sam expected to see. Aiden Ford, 'the druggy', as a few people had called him nastily. She'd never met him, but she knew he'd been rouge for a while. He stepped through the gate and looked around. Two guards walked up to him and began the search.

"Sorry, but its standard now." Walter said over the intercom. "Welcome back to Earth Lieutenant Ford."

"Haven't been called Lieutenant in a while." He whistled. "I see you brought in some big guns while I was away."

Two new inserts, the appropriately named, GL avenger, had been installed to either side of the gate as means of secondary defence. The old fifty calibre mounted were starting to gather dust.

Walter chuckled. "It's an improvement." He said. "We needed the extra firepower."

"Where'd the iris go?" Ford asked as his gaze went over the gate.

"It's shielded now."

Ford whistled again. "Cool." He started down the ramp and went through the left bulkhead.

"How are you handling Woolsey?" Jack asked as he and John walked through the many halls of the base. "He seems different to me somehow."

"He snapped when half the army left." John said. "He was a sobering wreck for about ten minutes and he's trying to keep calm that everything is falling down around him."

"The guy needs a girl." Jack said. "Speaking of relationships..." He let the sentence lag on for a while.

"I'm allowing it; Woolsey doesn't care for small matters like that." They turned a corner and passed a shadow group in cloak. He knew because one of them tapped him on the shoulder.

"Did you just feel something?" Jack asked looking around, his hand on his pistol.

"It's just the shadows." John said.

"Ah, you're ship retaking teams." He said looking around with squinted eyes. "If I could, I'd sign up. But being a general is more like a desk job. You do get to do whatever you want though."

"How are you doing with Sam then?" John asked, wondering if he was entering the territory of Jack's mind which had barbed wire and mines everywhere.

"Not too well." He admitted. "Long distance relationships don't really work." He shrugged.

John hummed in agreement.

"Still, you need to get someone John." Jack, being slightly taller than John, looked down on him. It seemed in his mid-age he had started to grow again. "Got your eyes on anyone?"

"I've been working," John said. "Running a war with a snapped IOA representative isn't all it's cranked up to be." They turned another corner and headed for the mess hall. "So not really."

"Not really?" Jack asked, unconvinced. "Or not telling?"

"It probably wouldn't work out." John said as he picked up a tray and started to dish out some 'food'. "I need to order some better food for the base."

"Probably wouldn't work?" Jack asked, now using everything John put out grammatically wrong to his advantage. "Who is it?"

"I really can't tell you, you'll be, pissed." John said, now forming a plan to stop the conversation with a joke.

"Try me." Jack said.

"Car-"

"You're kidding right?" Jack said, all signs of humour in his face gone.

"Yeah, it was just a joke."

"Good, 'cause if it was." He made his face creepily happy. "I'd kill you."

Starting to get uncomfortable, John walked over to his team sitting at one of the tables. He must have stepped on a mine.