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Playing Ba'al

The wait had seemed endless, but had actually been less than twenty minutes. SG-1 was waiting in the briefing room, standing beside the conference table, when General Hammond hurried in. "Colonel, your message said you’ve found a way to use the Asgard information to take down Goa’uld shields."

"Yes, sir. We’ve done nearly fifty simulations, with every known shield frequency that we can think of, and it works every time," Sam informed the general, her voice filled with pride.

"I’m impressed. Be seated." Hammond waved at the chairs, settled into his own. "Now that we have a way to get two teams on the Goa’uld ships, we’ll discuss the final details of this mission. I’ve read your reasons for selecting SG-7. I have to agree that their experiences with Thoth will be of use during this mission."

"Yes, sir. We thought so. Carter has one more test she’d like to run to make certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that her plan will work," Jack said.

"It’s a simple test," Sam added.

"I see. And what is that test?"

"I’d like to ring to one of the ships in orbit. It really doesn’t matter which one. Then I’ll use the data crystal to scan the other ship and disable the shields. I have two crystals, I’ll have to make certain that each one works properly," Sam explained.

"I understand." A frown crossed the general’s face. "Colonel-"

"Doctor Lee and Doctor Coombs are already working on a jamming program to prevent anyone, especially the Goa’uld, from using this trick on us," Sam said quickly, a smile toying at her lips. "We sort of discussed the fact that tech like this could bite us in the butt if we’re not careful, or prepared."

Hammond smiled. It wasn’t surprising that the brilliant colonel was already a step ahead. "What are the chances of getting a jamming program written soon?"

She couldn’t help but chuckle. "I think Doctor Lee has taken the task as a personal challenge. He helped design part of the shields for our ships. So it probably won’t take him long. I’d guess a few days at the most."

With a chuckle of his own, the general nodded his understanding. "Colonel, you have my permission to carry out this test. We’ll monitor from the control room."

"Yes, sir!" Sam said, snapping of a salute. "I just need to get the crystals from my lab."

"Do so. Ring room in ten minutes," the general ordered.

"Yes, sir." Sam bolted out of the room, running toward the elevator.

"If this works, we’ll brief SG-7 first thing in the morning."

The members of SG-1 still in the room exchanged glances. "Sir, Radar just did a little look-see. Seems that the real Ba’al is in a snit because some of his ships aren’t responding. Radar seems to believe, and I whole-heartedly agree, that the clone is on one of those ships, and is controlling the others," Jack informed his CO. "The real Ba’al isn’t going to let this go…he’s gonna want to know why his ships are ignoring him. And, also according to Radar, the clone is working himself into a snit. One of those snakes is gonna blow, and when they do, they’ll blow our chances of inciting this little civil war among the Goa’uld."

Hammond’s frown was deep, and his eyes reflected his worry.

"Sir, our window of opportunity is gonna swing shut in our faces if we’re not careful. I fully agree that we need to have Carter make these final tests on those data crystals and their programs. Once that’s done, we need to brief SG-7. We’re not going to have more than a couple of hours for them to get up to speed. We need to do this now."

"I’ll let the President know that we need those ships tonight," Hammond said quietly. "General, I’ll have you monitor that test. I’ll join you as soon as I can."

"Yes, sir," Jack replied.

Hammond jumped to his feet and nearly ran to his office, not giving SG-1 the chance to make it all the way to their feet before he was out of the room.

Jack watched through the window as Hammond picked up the red phone. He turned to his team. "Let’s go, kids. We need to make sure this damned thing is fool-proof."

"Don’t make it too fool proof," Casey muttered.

"Why not?" Daniel asked, just a bit confused.

"Usually something that is ‘fool proof’ turns out to be something only a fool can figure out," Casey replied. "We don’t want that moron snake to be able to figure it out."

Jack and Daniel laughed, and Teal’c offered a grin.

"Good point, Angel," Daniel chuckled.

The four hurried down the stairs to the control room. Walter looked up as they moved to stand behind him. "Just received word from the ring room…Colonel Carter is there and ready to ring to the Prometheus."

"Tell her to get up there," Jack acknowledged. He shifted from one foot to the other, then back again.

"SGC, this is Prometheus. Colonel Carter is on board and in the transport room. She says that’s where she needs to do this experiment," Commander Ronson reported.

"Then that’s where she should do it," Jack responded. "Better let Daedalus know what’s going on."

"Yes, sir."

Ronson opened communication with the Daedalus, leaving the line open to the SGC as well, allowing those in the control room to hear the conversation between the two ship commanders. "Daedalus, this Ronson on the Prometheus."

"Go ahead, Colonel," Cam Mitchell’s voice echoed in the room.

"Colonel Carter is onboard, and ready to run a test. That test is to try to take down the shields on the Daedalus. Don’t try to compensate…if it happens, let it happen."

"Okay," Mitchell replied. "Can I get an explanation as soon as this ‘test’ is over?"

Ronson laughed. "I’ll tell you as soon as I find out."

Jack grinned. "Remind me to make certain the commanders of the Odyssey and the Phoenix know what’s going on before we go into hyperdrive."

Daniel grinned. "I’ll try to remember."

For several minutes there was nothing but silence. The SG-1 members in the control room were beginning to fear that the program wasn’t working, and their plans were going to be for naught.

"Damn! Shields are down, one second they were there…" Another few seconds passed. "Wait, they’re back up again," Mitchell’s voice said.

"Sir, can you give me a reading on how long the shields were down?" Sam’s voice echoed.

"Sure thing…uh…nav and weapons both report ten seconds," Mitchell replied.

"That’s perfect! Thanks, Colonel!" Sam sounded positively delighted.

The program worked. With luck, the Tok’ra would have news for them regarding the location of the two Ba’al’s, and hopefully that news would arrive very, very soon.

General Hammond strode into the control room. "Well?"

"Worked like a charm, sir," Jack grinned.

It was impossible not to smile, given the wide smiles on the faces of SG-1. "Let’s return to the briefing room. I believe we still have a few things to discuss." The general held up a folder that had just been handed to him by his secretary.

"Yes, sir," Jack nodded.

"Walter, have Colonel Carter return to the SGC at once," the general ordered.

Before the Staff Sergeant could respond, a message flashed on the screen in front of him. "She just ringed down, sir."

Hammond smiled again. "Thank you, Walter."

By the time they were getting settled around the conference table, Sam darted in, her eyes bright and her smile wide.

"Congratulations, Colonel," Hammond said, smiling proudly at her.

"Thank you, sir. The only risk that I can see is the fact that the shields will be down for at least fifteen seconds total. There’s no way that the Jaffa who monitor the shields won’t notice that the shields have dropped…but with luck they’ll just believe that it was a glitch in their system when they come back up," Sam said.

"Let’s hope that’s the case," the general said. "Now, are you certain that you’ll be able to use the same program to escape?"

Sam nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir, no doubt. All I have to do is get to a computer, send a message to the ship we’ve come in on, they drop the shield and activate the program. The program will automatically hone in on any nearby beaming devices. It might take as long as thirty seconds, but we’ll be back on our ship before the Jaffa…or Ba’al…realize we’re gone."

"My concern is your ability to move freely enough to get to a computer," Hammond said worriedly.

Jack glanced at Teal’c. The Jaffa gave a subtle nod. "It should help that Master Bra’tac has managed to get a few of the rebel Jaffa who were on Ba’al’s pyramid ship back into service to the snake," Jack said. "We’re fairly certain that at least half a dozen are on the ship with the real Ba’al right now. Bra’tac will notify them that one of our teams will be beaming onto the ship, and to offer any and all assistance that might be needed."

"Very good."

"We’re confident that SG-7 will be able to pull this off. The only help they had escaping from Thoth was a Tok’ra spy. According their reports, the spy couldn’t do much, not without exposing himself as a spy. So other than making certain they had a way to lower the force-field in the holding cell, that team was on its own." Jack disclosed. He cleared his throat. "There’s also the fact that SG-7 was one of the teams involved with trying to rescue Casey the first time Balls grabbed her," he added quietly. "They have as deep a hatred for that snake that we do."

Hammond nodded. Casey Jackson had earned the trust and loyalty of every team member in the mountain. Any threat to her was taken seriously, and as a personal affront to all the SG teams. Any support they could offer SG-1 in an attempt to take out any Goa’uld would be offered in full. Any mission that included Ba’al in particular, was certain to be met with determination. "Colonel, would you have Walter page SG-7 to the briefing room, please?"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied, jumping to her feet. Still on an excited high from the success of her test, she bounced down the spiral staircase that led from the briefing room to the control room below. Just a matter of seconds later, the call for SG-7 to report to the briefing room echoed throughout the facility.

"The Tok’ra have responded to our request for information about the location of the two Ba’al’s," the general said. The relieved sighs that went up around the table told him more about how worried SG-1 was about the mission, or at least the timing of the mission, than any of their reports or comments. He doubted they’d be happy to hear what he had to tell them.

"How much help are we being offered?" Jack inquired, certain in his own mind that the Tok’ra would offer nothing, very little, or just enough to cause problems for his team. His feelings were visible in his expression.

"Apparently the idea of two Ba’al’s, and what we all presume are his plans to create chaos among the other Goa’uld has them nearly panicked," Hammond replied. "They are, as Jacob Carter put it, ‘absolutely delighted that the SGC is planning a mission to stop Ba’al in his tracks’."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, once again leaving the hard and dangerous part to the Tau’ri."

"But, boss, we’re good at hard and dangerous," Casey offered, her green eyes twinkling.

"Very true," Jack said, a grin toying with the corner of his mouth. He looked back at the general. "So, they have the locations we need?"

Hammond shook his head. "They have a general idea where at least one of the Ba’al’s might be. And, they don’t guarantee that he’ll still be there when we arrive."

"So, basically we have their permission, which we don’t need; but no help, which we do need," Jack groused.

"I’m afraid that’s the gist of it," the general admitted. He wouldn’t tell the team about the added ‘advice’ the Tok’ra were offering. He had no doubt that Jack would be most concise in what they could do with that ‘advice’. As far as he was personally concerned, Hammond thought, if they couldn’t even offer an approximate location of one Goa’uld they monitored the most, they certainly had no right to try to dictate how the mission should be carried out.

Sam hurried into the room, and settled back into her chair.

"Colonel, would you explain how you have been able to work out how to take down the shields on the Goa’uld ships?" Hammond asked. He might not understand all the science involved, but having an idea of how the entire thing was supposed to work would give him a better idea of whether the mission was completely feasible. It was also a way to prevent Jack O’Neill from focusing on the lack of intel from the Tok’ra.

"Yes, sir. The Asgard information was a way to disrupt the shields at a molecular level. The right vibrations aimed at the shields disrupt the frequency of those shields and render them useless. The program I’ve written and put on the data crystals can easily be used by the tech in the transporter room. All he…or she…will have to do is insert the crystal, activate it, and in twenty seconds the shields should be down. The crystal will also activate scanners, to make certain that the shields truly are down. Once verification has been received, the tech will receive an ‘all go’ signal, and he…or she…will beam the teams to the Goa’uld ship," Sam explained. "When we’re finished, we send a signal, and the tech on duty reactivates the program, and beams us back to our ship."

Hammond nodded. "Good work, Colonel."

"Thank you, sir," Sam beamed.

The members of SG-7 had gathered just outside the door of the conference room. Hammond nodded at them, and waved at the table. "Please, join us, gentlemen."

The five men walked warily into the room. Everyone of them realized that if they had been called to join a briefing with SG-1, something was up. That ‘something’ being a mission. And that mission would almost certainly involve a Goa’uld.

"SG-7 reporting as ordered, sir," Major Tim Andrews, the CO of the team, said, saluting smartly.

Hammond returned the salute. "Have a seat, gentlemen."

Faces filled with curiosity…and just a bit of apprehension…the newly arrived team members settled themselves around the table.

The general handed a stack of folders to the young seer beside him. "Casey, would you pass these out, please?"

"Sure." She took the folders, made certain that each member of SG-7 had one.

"Major, you and your team are embarking on a joint mission with SG-1. While your mission will be the same, you will be going to a different ship, and will proceed from there," General Hammond informed them.

Andrews, who had been scanning the contents of the folder he’d been given, looked up sharply. "Sir?"

Giving a slight smile at the fact that Casey was nearly bouncing in her seat – not so much from excitement as from nervous anticipation – Hammond nodded at the slender blonde. The tension in the room was growing…and a bit of levity could help ease that tension. At least a bit. And having the young seer give SG-7 one of her ‘explanations’ would be just the thing. "Casey, as your information has been vital to this mission, why don’t you explain what’s going on."

Daniel snorted. Jack snickered. Sam lowered her head, but not before everyone at the table saw her wide smile. The corners of Teal’c’s mouth pulled upward.

Casey nodded, and took a deep breath. "Okay…long story short we had an incident a few days ago when SG-5 and the archaeologists they were protecting were kidnapped by the most inept group of morons in existence but it was a set-up because one of the ‘new’ members of their little pirate group was actually a Tok’ra spy and damn did he have news for us! Seems that Ba’al didn’t just make a clone of me, the rat bastard," she muttered, not quite under her breath, "he made one of himself. Now, knowing how that egotistical pea-brain thinks…which is really kinda scary now that I think about it…but anyway," Deep breath. "Ba’al was going to let his clone attack other Goa’uld, especially those who keep bitching every time he attacks them and he was going to sit back, watch the group come together to take out his clone, and then when they were celebrating the fact that they had finally rid themselves of the most annoying Goa’uld to ever draw breath, he was going to show up and demand their loyalty." Deep breath. "Which would really confuse the bejeezus out of them, and probably scare them as well but we screwed that plan up when we blew his pyramid ship up a few months ago and Ba’al has been complaining because his clone was destroyed and lucky for us the spy actually heard that for himself and what Ba’al doesn’t know is that the clone is alive and well and carrying on as if he’s the real Ba’al."

"Take a breath, Radar," Jack chuckled.

Casey shot a look at him. "I’m not done yet." She took another breath. "We are going to totally screw up his day by letting him know that his clone is alive and at the very same time letting the clone know that he is really a clone and the Goa’uld who are in service to Ba’al regardless of which ship they’re on and which Ba’al they’re sucking up to are going to catch wind of this and you know they’re going to run elbows to asses to make certain the System Lords know what’s going on…for a small fee, of course."

The men of SG-7 stared at the seer. The others at the table exploded into laughter.

"Wow," Lieutenant Terry Waters…one of the cadets who had recently been assigned to the team…muttered. He looked at Daniel. "Does she do that a lot?"

Daniel chuckled loudly. "Often enough."

"Are you saying there are…there are two Ba’al’s?" Sergeant Pete Sutter asked, wide-eyed.

"That she is," Jack said seriously, all signs of a smile gone from his face.

"And one is a clone," Major Andrews said, not quite believing that he and his team weren’t being pranked.

"And a dying clone at that," Daniel said quietly. "We have to get this done now; we’re not sure how much longer the clone has. What we intend to do is have the two Ba’al’s looking for each other. The clone will be determined to prove he’s the ‘real’ Ba’al, and the real Ba’al is going to have to get rid of the clone before the System Lords figure out what he’s been up to. Things have also been complicated by the fact that apparently the real Ba’al is getting pissy about several of his ships not responding to him. We have to move before he starts looking for those ships and finds the clone. He does that, and he’ll kill the clone and our chances of starting a Goa’uld civil war."

"Dayum," Airman Andy Bowman hissed. His face turned red. "Sorry, sir," he said contritely, addressing General Hammond.

"I understand your shock, son," Hammond said gently. "What we have to do is make certain that the System Lords are focused on Ba’al. Jacob Carter has informed me that as soon as word reaches their spies about ‘two Ba’al’s’, those spies will begin to persuade the Goa’uld they’re working under that Ba’al has knowledge of cloning that he hasn’t shared with them, according to the rules of the Goa’uld Empire. Then, they’ll begin to whisper that Ba’al might have shared that information with this System Lord or that System Lord."

"Which will turn the whole thing into a civil war free-for-all," Jack finished.

"And we can go in behind them and make things worse," Andrews surmised.

"That’s the plan," Jack confirmed.

"So…how do we pull off doing this at the same time…and…just what will we be doing?" the major asked.

"Thanks to Thor, I’ve been able to write a program that will drop the shields on the Goa’uld ships," Sam said. "Each team will have a data crystal, which the tech in the transporter room will use. We beam onto the ships using the Asgard beaming devices, tell the real Ba’al that his clone is alive, and the clone Ba’al that he’s a fake. As soon as they toss us into holding cells, we break out…and it looks as if we’ll have help from rebel Jaffa to do that. We get to a computer console and send a signal, the techs use the crystals to drop the shields again, and beam us out."

"Sounds almost doable," Andrews nodded.

"We’re hoping it will be completely doable," Sam responded. She turned her attention Sergeant Sutter. "Pete, I know you’ve had to use Goa’uld computers before. Don’t worry about trying to hide your tracks, you won’t be there long enough for them to figure out that the computer is being used, or that the communications system has been activated before your team is already gone. Just a simple SOS will suffice." She glanced at General Hammond. "Part of the code on the data crystals will start a continuous scan for any SOS once the first part of the program has been activated."

"Outstanding, Colonel," Hammond smiled. As usual, Sam Carter had thought of every contingency, and had planned for every one of them.

"Tim, we’re going to send you and your boys to the real Ba’al," Jack told the major. "The last time SG-1 met up with him, things went to hell real fast. We figure that things will go to shit even faster if he gets his hands on us again."

Andrews nodded. His was one of the teams that had been beamed aboard Ba’al’s pyramid ship. They’d been tasked with helping to plant C-4 throughout the hanger bay. "We’ve never actually come face to face with this particular snake."

"One of the main reasons your team was chosen," Jack told him.

"And the other reasons?"

"Well, according to Teal’c, if you can escape from Thoth with just the help from a Tok’ra spy, then you’ll be able to waltz in and out and around Ba’al’s ship with the help of a few rebel Jaffa."

Andrews chuckled. "We’ll take all the help we can get. Doesn’t get any better than rebel Jaffa."

Teal’c gave a regal nod of acknowledgement. "Indeed."

"It hasn’t been announced yet, but both Odyssey and the Phoenix are ready for duty," Hammond interjected. "SG-7 will be on the Phoenix, and SG-1 on the Odyssey."

"They’re finally ready? Cool!" Lieutenant Waters exclaimed.

"My feelings, exactly," Casey agreed.

"Major, you and your men need to study this mission plan. I’d prefer to give you more than an hour or so, but I’m afraid we’re racing against the clock on this one," Hammond said quietly.

The major nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I’m waiting confirmation of the arrival of the Odyssey and the Phoenix. They should be in orbit in no more than three hours. As soon as they’re here, I’ll let you know."

Heads moved up and down.

"Very well. Dismissed." The general rose to his feet, noted that the teams around the table had jumped to theirs, and with a hidden smile, returned to his office.

Major Andrews held up his folder. "Do you really think we can pull this off?"

Jack rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Every mission is a risk. But this is important." A smile stole across his face. "And Radar hasn’t picked up anything bad."

Andrews smiled as well. "Good enough for us, right boys?" The men of his team nodded and agreed vocally with him. "Okay, we’ll go over the details of this plan. See you in a couple of hours or so."

"We’ll be here," Jack promised.

SG-5 left the room, no doubt to find a quiet place…probably an empty classroom…to go over every detail of the mission plan. They might not have a lot of time, but every SG team had been sent on missions with very little notice before. It was part of the job. And every CO understood that fact.

Daniel draped his arm around Casey’s shoulders. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Was it really only one p.m.? It seemed so much had happened…it felt as if it should be late afternoon. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes, I am. And if we have a couple of hours, I would prefer to have lunch anywhere that isn’t an SGC commissary," Casey replied.

"Well, we could do a lunch run to Olive Garden," Jack suggested.

Daniel looked over at his best friend, a slight frown on his face.

"What’s wrong? Don’t want company?" Jack asked, his face the picture of innocence.

"They must be running a special," Daniel deadpanned.

Jack grinned unabashedly. "Two for one pasta deals. Comes with appetizers and dessert and everything."

"Sounds good to me," Casey declared.

"Whatever you want, Angel," Daniel said softly, dropping a kiss on the side of his Wife’s head.

"We should see if Napoleon can join us," Jack suggested, on the way to the elevator.

"Indeed. No doubt Janet Fraiser will be grateful to escape from the infirmary for an hour or so," Teal’c agreed.

"Did she ever get time off for spending the weekend in the infirmary with those refugees?" Casey asked.

Teal’c shook his head. "She has not. Although she has been adamant that she will not report for duty this weekend should anyone dare to put her on the roster."

Sam chuckled. "She means it, too."

"We didn’t hear…what happened with Jo’sef and Behemiel and those refugees?" Daniel inquired.

"General Hammond and Colonel Harrison were successful in locating a planet suitable for the people. Jo’sef was most helpful in explaining who Behemiel was," Teal’c replied.

"But, I thought the little boy was mute." Daniel pointed out.

"Indeed. Janet Fraiser said that Jo’sef’s parents were overwhelmed with joy when they learned that Behemiel could help them communicate with their son. It seems that Behemiel has become very important to the entire group."

"That’s good," Casey murmured. "They’ll all benefit from his guidance and wisdom."

"I concur, Casey Jackson," Teal’c said.

Jack clapped his hands together, then rubbed them briskly. "Okay, let’s head topside. My truck, fifteen minutes."

With murmurs of assent, the team gathered in the elevator. Civilian clothes, then lunch. They were getting ready to head into a situation that could turn to hell in the blink of an eye. While they were hoping that nothing would go wrong, they were all aware that with SG-1’s luck, something probably would. No matter what happened, they would prevail. Because…bad luck or not, they were still SG-1. And SG-1 always got the job done.

Casey glanced at the clock as she followed Daniel into the briefing room. Three-thirty p.m. She felt as if she’d spent more time in this room in the past few days than she had in the entire time she’d been at the SGC. An exaggeration to be sure…but still, they had spent a significant part of two days in this room.

The members of SG-7 were standing to one side of the room. The expression on each face was proof that they had read every word of the mission plan, and understood exactly what they would be doing…and more importantly, what was at stake.

The surprise, the seer thought, was the presence of two people she knew only through the reports she’d read in General Hammond’s office; offering her insight when he’d asked her to ‘look around’ each of them and let him know if they were the right people to command the two new X304s. She had known as soon as he’d made his request that not only was the general taking the task of filling those billets seriously, it was just more weight on his shoulders. Anything she could do in order to ease that burden, she would do.

General Hammond paused at the door that connected the briefing room to his office. How many times over the years had he sent people from the SGC through the Stargate into a battle that had to be won? Far too many, he assured himself. And, the majority of those missions had fallen to SG-1.

"Attention!" Sergeant Sutter called out, catching sight of the base CO in the doorway.

The military personnel in the room snapped to attention. The two civilians and the Jaffa stood straighter as well. One day, Hammond thought, I need to tell them how much that show of respect means to me. He stepped into the room and headed directly for the chair at the head of the table. "At ease, people. Please be seated."

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle around the table. Curious glances were tossed at the two strangers.

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, and the fact that once again the SGC was in a battle against Goa’uld and a race against the clock, Hammond let a small smile tug at his lips. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the commanders of the Odyssey and the Phoenix. Lieutenant Colonel Rebecca Simpson will command the Odyssey. Lieutenant Colonel, you will take SG-1 to the location of a Goa’uld ship that we believe is where a clone of Ba’al is in residence. Colonel Abraham Johnson will command the Phoenix. Colonel, you will take SG-7 to the location of a Goa’uld ship that we have just received confirmation is the ship where the ‘real’ Ba’al is in residence."

The two new commanders nodded at the acknowledgement of their names and ranks, as well as accepting the orders that they were receiving.

Jack jerked slightly. "Sir?"

Hammond gave a slight nod. "Master Bra’tac sent a message not more than an hour ago. Two rebel Jaffa overheard Ba’al muttering about the loss of his clone. It didn’t take them long to realize he wasn’t talking about the clone he’d created of Casey."

"Taseem said that he’d heard Ba’al make that complaint as well," Casey said. "I’d say that’s definitely confirmation."

"Be that as it may, I’d like for you to take a look. I want to be as certain as possible. Allowing SG-1 anywhere near the real Ba’al is a risk I’m just not willing to take," Hammond replied.

"Yes, sir."

"If you please, Casey," the general said, giving the seer a slight nod.

Daniel scooted his chair back. Wrapped his arms around his Wife as soon as she was settled in his lap. "Be careful," he whispered.

"Always," she whispered in return. She closed her eyes. Began to center herself, focusing on nothing more than her breathing…and then, as Teal’c had taught her…listening to her own heartbeat.

General Hammond and the members of the two SG teams had witnessed Casey doing a search multiple times. The two new ships' captains, however, were at a loss to know what was happening.

"Uh…what’s she doing?" Colonel Johnson asked, of no one in particular.

"Doing a search," Major Andrews said softly. "This is how she gets all the extra intel we need."

"You might want to read the reports about her abilities…sir," Sam whispered to the baffled colonel.

Still not sure he understood what was happening, Colonel Johnson nodded slowly. Exchanged a look of disbelief with Colonel Simpson.

When Casey giggled, Daniel grinned, and the other members of SG-1 chuckled out loud. Giggles and laughter were always good signs, was the mutual thought in four minds.

Daniel gave a start. "I’m right here, Angel," he whispered. Shrugged his shoulders when Jack gave him a quizzical look.

Sam hurriedly copied down everything Casey had said, exactly as she had said it. Her eyes went wide. "Spatial location," she whispered.

"Got it, Angel," Daniel told his wife.

"We’ve got it, Case," Daniel said.

Once again Johnson and Simpson shared bewildered glances.

The rest of the people sitting around the conference table were grinning from ear to ear.

She opened her eyes, and as she always did, lost herself for just a moment in the blue eyes that held her entire world.

"We got both sets of numbers," Daniel assured her.

"Good. I hope like hell someone knows what they mean," Casey grumped.

Sam laughed. "They’re numbers used to mark and identify solar systems."

Casey stared at her friend for a minute. "That’s got to be some astrophysicist type stuff."

The resident astrophysicist just laughed harder.

"Which one is which?" Daniel asked.

"First set is for the real Ba’al," Casey replied. "Second is for the clone."

"Well, now that we know where we’re going, we need to talk about-" Jack began.

"No talking. We go now. Ba’al is on the verge of a complete rampage," Casey interrupted, shaking her head.

"How long?" Jack asked immediately.

"Not more than a couple of hours," Casey replied. Not certain how she knew that Ba’al was close to doing something totally destructive and most probably aimed at Earth. Only that she did.

Hammond nodded his understanding. "Colonel Johnson, Colonel Simpson, you will ring to your ships, with the team assigned to your ship for this mission. The team commanders will fill you in on the details."

"I don’t understand," Colonel Simpson said, looking at the faces around the table.

"We’ll explain on the way," Jack said. "We don’t have much time, and we’ll lose time just getting to these assholes."

Hammond rose to his feet, the others following suit. "I suggest you get going. Dismissed."

"But-" Colonel Johnson started.

"Come on, Colonel, I’ll tell you all about it," Major Andrews said quietly. "When Casey Jackson says we don’t have much time, we don’t have much time."

"Let’s go, people," Jack said, already heading toward the door.

"Good luck, General," Hammond called out.

"To all of us, sir," Jack replied with a small nod.

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