A/N It occurred to me that I should give a time line for this story. For SG-1 it takes place in early season 7. For the Troubleshooters, this takes place between Out of Control and Into the Night. For the Alpha Squad, it takes place between Get Lucky and Taylor's Temptation. Enjoy the chapter.

Ch 2 What Do You Believe?

General Hammond stared at the man who had come into his office to speak with him in a mixture of stun and amazement. Just who were these men that they could gain access to the most secret, the most secure military base in the world? And where did they come off saying that Colonel Jack O'Neill was a terrorist plotting to kill Senator Kinsey? Sure there was no love lost on either side of the equation, but he knew for a fact that Jack O'Neill was an honorable man.

"What possible evidence do you have to implicate Colonel O'Neill?"

Max Bhagat was more than a little annoyed himself. Not that anyone could tell. First, he'd had to pull all kinds of strings just to find out where O'Neill was stationed. Project Bluebook was unheard of. Besides, if these people were doing Deep Space Radar Telemetry, he'd fall down laughing.

"We have interviewed several people. All of them have heard Colonel O'Neill make threats against Senator Kinsey. We have one source that has Colonel O'Neill holding Kinsey at gunpoint! I want to interview him NOW!"

Hammond was silently cursing every circumstance that led to this point. Kinsey was a rat bastard who would have been better suited for anyone of a number of other professions. Personally, he liked the idea of snake wrangler. He pondered whether or not it was because it took one to know one, or he was hoping Kinsey would get bit by a particularly poisonous kind.

Conceding the interview would be an easy way to get Bhagat to back off. Hammond knew where Jack had been almost every second during these last few months. "Walter, get Colonel O'Neill to my office."

Jack and Daniel had just settled into their vigil over Sam and Teal'c. Janet had learned long ago to let SG-1 be. They would rest when they knew their friends were out of danger. Daniel heard the phone ring and answered it. After he hung up, he looked over to the colonel. "You are wanted up in the general's office. Go ahead. I'll stay with them. Call if you need help."

Jack looked from Teal'c to Carter. "You too," he answered. As he strode to Hammond's office, his thoughts returned to the so called "good"snakes, the Tok'ra. His face was thunderous at the knowledge that the Taur'i weren't even going to receive a thanks for rescuing Malek. His scowl deepened when he thought of how because of said operative, Carter and Teal'c were in the infirmary right now.

Jack's trouble radar went on instant alert. The three wore confidence and power in a way that others wore shirts - the way that he himself did. Two of them were wearing BDUs - black. The third was wearing a sports coat and tie. All three looked like they meant business.

"Uh, General? We getting new teams and I missed another memo?" Jack figured that humor might cut some of the tension in the room. It was only then that he recognized one of the three men. Joe Cat. The other man in uniform looked like he could handle anything on the other side of the gate. He knew Joe Cat could. The third looked like he could be trained up for the task.

"Colonel, this is Captain Joe Catalanotto, US Navy, Commander Tom Paoletti, US Navy, and Max Bhagat, FBI. They have some questions for you." There was just a touch of irritation in the general's tone.

"Yeah, well, hurry it up. I need to be up in the infirmary." Only the general recognized the anxiety in his eyes and knew its source. "What's up?"

Max Bhagat looked at Colonel O'Neill. He appeared to be open yet there seemed to be a shield around him that excluded all but a few. "What are your feelings toward Senator Kinsey?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Let's see, I think that Kinsey is a smarmy, self centered, arrogant ass. Any other questions?"

"For what reason were you at his home three years ago?" Max asked?

"Three years ago?" Jack looked somewhat confused.

"Tessa and Kayla." General Hammond supplied needlessly.

"Ah that. Well, someone kidnaped the general's granddaughters for the afternoon. The evidence trail led to people in the senator's acquaintance. A sometimes friend of mine and I crashed his party to obtain the evidence. The senator objected. I pulled a gun on him. We got the evidence and left." Jack sounded like the whole thing was reasonable.

Joe and Tom could practically feel their jaws dropping. They agreed with O'Neill about Kinsey's character but to hear the type of people he was connected to? Well they were only a little surprised. What truly surprised them was that O'Neill was very matter of fact about what he did. Like it was every day that he held a gun on a US Senator. What world did he live in?

"Can you account for your whereabouts for the last six weeks?" Bhagat asked.

"Ya sure, ya becha!" Jack affected his Minnesotan accent just a bit.

"And you were . . . ?"

"Sorry classified. Next question."

Max's next question was an obvious one considering who they were talking about. "How do you feel about Kinsey working to shut down your project?"

Jack looked over to General Hammond. "How much do they know about what we do down here?"

"So far they know about the Deep Space Radar Telemetry. We are looking into obtaining clearance for partial disclosure."

Max started to sense a flicker of uncertainty.

"I think that he is short sighted. He is out for his own self righteous ends and doesn't see what is right in front of his nose." Jack's face was totally closed off.

"What is so important about Deep Space Radar Telemetry that Kinsey is being so self righteous and short sighted about?"

Jack rocked back on his heels. "May I ask what you work in? I mean other than the obvious and say FBI and Navy."

"We work in counter terrorism. Captain Catalanotto leads SEAL Team Ten. Commander Paoletti leads SEAL Team Sixteen. I lead the top counter terrorism task force in the FBI." Of course Jack already knew Joe Cat's association with Team Ten.

More pieces of the puzzle fell into place for Jack. He turned to Hammond. "Can I tell 'em what is on the other side of that blast shield?"

"I think we can. Major Davis is working on getting them the clearance as we speak."

"Well you might say that I'm into counter-terrorism too. The terrors that we deal with here are much more horrible." Jack's eyes and jaws minutely tightened. "Come with me, gentlemen." Jack's eyes twinkled in General Hammond and Joe's direction. It was times like this that Jack reminded General Hammond of a little boy. Jack got up and practically hopped down spiral staircase to the control room. "Sergeant, open the blast shield." The heavy metal sheet lifted and the five men were looking down into an enormous room. At the far side of the room, there was a twenty-foot circle. Jack grinned. "There, gentlemen, is where I was."

Tom couldn't grasp the enormity of what he meant. "In that room?"

"No, I was on another planet. That" Jack pointed, "is the stargate. It can take you to other planets throughout the galaxy - even into other galaxies."

Joe choked. 'Okay, so he has finally cracked his lid. He must have been only firing on seven cylinders for the last twelve years.'

"UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION! UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION!" Loudspeakers blared. Red lights flashed. Ten men with serious looking weapons raced into the room below and took up position.

"Excellent timing." Jack said as the kawoosh filled the ramp.

There was a call on the intercom. "Colonel O'Neill to the infirmary stat." And like the wind he was gone. Joe and Tom followed him with the help of an SF. Technically he was still a suspect in a terrorist investigation.

Up in the infirmary, Teal'c was thrashing around. There were some rather inventive curses spewing from his mouth in Goa'uld. Jack was a little surprised to recognize most of them. This was another reason why Jack wished Junior was still around - almost. Before, T would have put himself into Kelnoreem. There would have been no dreams of missions gone bad. There would be memories, but he's a warrior. He knows how to deal with them. When he dreams like this, all the bad stuff comes out.

Daniel was doing his best to calm down his friend. This is the first time since he was descended that a mission went bad and Teal'c was hurt. He didn't want to show how shaken he was. Teal'c always was a monolith of strength. He had the air of invincibility. So Daniel just did what he always did for Jack. He held Teal'c's hand while trying to hold him down and talked to him in Goa'uld about Rya'c.

Joe Cat knew that there was something seriously wrong. The man thrashing around on the bed was possibly bigger than Harvard. There was a petite doctor trying to inject him with a sedative. There was a younger man trying to hold him down and calm him. The enormous man was shouting in a weird, guttural language. Joe knew, or at least recognized, most of the major languages in the world. This was unlike any of them. There were no similarities in either the black man's or the younger man's words to anything he knew.

Jack was moving to the thrashing man. He, too, spoke in that same language. The younger man's jaw dropped. The unconscious man calmed enough for the doctor to give the sedative.

Joe only knew that people shouldn't be hurt like that doing Deep Space Radar Telemetry - as if that was what was going on down here. The first glimmer of belief about that weird ring started.

Tom had no clue what was happening. He moved to help the colonel hold down the man on the bed. Granted he was big, but that did not seem to account for the incredible strength the man had. This was a man near just this side of unconsciousness? And it took three men to hold him down? Tom did not ever want to get on the man's bad side. There was almost an inhuman strength about him.

It was no surprise that Deep Space Radar Telemetry was a cover story for something. Well come on, deep space radars under a mountain? And why on earth do they need a Black Ops colonel for that? There were so many holes in that story that it leaked like a sieve.

Daniel looked at Jack shocked that Goa'uld had come out of his mouth. Why exactly did he always play dumb and make him translate every word said? Well he could guess why out in the field. That allowed him time to form responses, think up strategies, and confound the System Lords and their Jaffa. As he started to ask, he heard, "Aaah! Not now, Daniel!"

Janet saw the crowd that had gathered in her infirmary. "Daniel, if you want to stay with Sam and Teal'c you may, but the rest of you get out or face my needles."

Jack paled ever so slightly at that thought.

"Colonel? I want you to go get some rest before you even attempt your shift. I'll see you in six hours. Daniel? Not too much coffee in my infirmary." Daniel scowled.

Back down in the control room, Max Bhagat was getting the shock of his life. He barely noted that Tom and Joe were following O'Neill. His attention was fully captured by the klaxons and red lights swirling through the room. The desk sergeant waited anxiously for a readout to match up in the computer. "It's SG-14, sir."

"Open the iris." The general was all business.

From nowhere. Literally from nowhere, because there was a wall behind them, came five people out of the incandescent blue light in the room below.

Max dragged his jaw off of the floor and said, "I think I just stepped into the twilight zone."