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Luck was not with them. Three days after Halloween, Kyle came in with a message that had Duncan calling the SG-1 team members into his office immediately.

"What’s up?" Jack asked, the last one to arrive.

Duncan handed him the piece of paper that had been brought in only moments earlier. "Read this."

"Holy Hannah!"

The Scot nodded. "If we don’t help out, things could get real ugly real fast in this galaxy."

Each of the team members had read the message. It was from Thor, and though short, it said enough. His planet was again under attack from a threat that the Asgard seemed incapable of stopping. One that would threaten every other planet with life on it as well. He was requesting SG-1’s presence as soon as possible.

"Replicators?" Casey asked.

Sam shook her head. "I don’t think so, or he would have said so. Besides, we have the weapons to defeat them now. Since Thor was able to destroy the planet they had taken over, there don’t seem to be many left. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t out there somewhere… replicating…getting ready to attack again."

"Best way to find out is to go ask," Jack said.

"Okay, you have a go as soon as you’re geared up," Duncan said.

Casey and Sam exchanged looks. Casey grabbed the phone on Duncan’s desk, quickly dialed it.

"Help yourself," he grumbled.

"Thanks, I will," she grinned. "Hi, Mom. Can’t talk, but we’re on our way to help the Asgard…not really, just that they can’t seem to handle the problem themselves."

"Probably need somebody dumber than them, again," Daniel complained, not without a trace of humor.

"Okay, we will. Love you, too, Mom. Hug Emmie for us…Okay, ‘bye." She cut the connection and handed the phone to Sam, who called Mrs. Peterson.

As soon as that phone call was finished, Teal'c took the receiver and dialed. The others exchanged amused glances, tried not to listen as he explained to Carly that he ‘would not be home tonight’, and that no, he wasn’t sure when he would ‘be home’. They saw the grin, and Casey swore the dark man blushed. He said something in a language she didn’t recognize, but obviously Daniel did, because he grinned broadly. Teal'c finished his call, then turned to face his teammates. "I am ready," he said calmly, and walked out of the office.

"Okay, Space Monkey, give. What did he say?" Jack demanded as soon as he was sure Teal'c would not overhear.

Daniel shook his head. "It was a private conversation, Jack."

The older man shook his head. "Nope, he made it right here in front of us. No expectation of privacy."

The archaeologist/linguist grinned. "He told her that he would miss her as well, that he loved her, and that no other woman pleased him as she did."

Jack scrutinized his friend. "Why do I have a feeling that that’s just a translation of the translation?"

Daniel shrugged and stood to his feet. "That’s all I’m going to say. Don’t even think about asking," he said when Casey started to open her mouth. "I’m not saying a word."

"Can I at least ask what language it was?" Casey asked petulantly, as she followed him into the hall. Sam and Jack were right behind her, Duncan behind them.

Daniel grinned. "Portuguese."

Casey giggled. "Carly must have taught him that."

"Duh," Jack retorted. They were walking toward the armory.

"Bite me," Casey said, her eyes flashing with humor. "You’re just ticked ‘cause Daniel won’t tell us what he really said."

"Tell me you’re not just as curious," Jack countered.

"I’m not just as curious," Casey replied.

"You’re annoying, Jackson, very annoying."

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," she said, smiling at him. She opened the locker that held the packs that the teams used on each off world mission, located theirs, and handed them out. Daniel and Jack were already checking and loading P90’s, and grabbing extra ammunition.

Casey pulled her lip between her teeth, cocked her head to the side.

"Case?" Duncan asked, a frown on his face at the warning signal that crossed her lovely face.

Daniel and Jack both jerked to look at her.

"Lot’s of ammo, guys. Lots. We’re going to need it. Marines, Mac, we’re going to need more manpower," she said softly, her eyes closed as she struggled to ‘see’ what she was feeling.

Duncan nodded. "I’ll get a message to George right now," he said, already heading out of the door.

"Bad?" Daniel asked softly.

She nodded. "Bad."

"Shit!" Jack swore. "I was starting to like the shorter hours, nobody shooting at us, not running from anybody or anything…"

"Me, too," Casey said softly. "But we have to do this. Thor and his people are in danger."

"Let’s go, campers," Jack said when they were finally packed, each of them carrying more than the usual amount of extra ammunition. He led the team to the ‘gate room. The last chevron was locking into place when they walked in.

"Casey, I’m going to send extra ammo with the Marines, they’ll be coming through here first," Duncan told her from the control room. "Anything else we should send?"

"Anything that makes a nice loud ka-boom…with lots of shrapnel," Casey responded, frowning slightly, wishing she knew exactly why that particular aspect seemed so important.

"You got it. Okay, SG-1, you have a go. Godspeed," Duncan said.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Thor was waiting on the other side, having received the transmission that SG-1 was on the way. "Greetings, O’Neill," the small gray creature said.

"Thor, buddy! Long time no see!" Jack exclaimed. "So, what’s up?"

"We have need of your help," Thor said.

"We got that in your message. What’s the problem?" Jack replied.

Thor motioned that they should follow him. "We have been - discovered - by a race of…creatures. Very destructive creatures."

"Discovered?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, Doctor Jackson. They arrived in a ship that they have stolen from another race at some point in the recent past. The province where they landed is now completely under their control, and they are preparing to move into the neighboring area. If they are not stopped, they will strip our planet of all organic life forms. Including us."

Casey shivered. "What are these things?"

They had entered what appeared to be an active ‘war room.’ Several Asgard were busy at various workstations, tracking the enemy that was set on the total destruction of the planet.

"They are called ‘Percuese’, and are the creatures that Replicators were modeled after. They behave and work exactly as Replicators, the difference being that they are not machines, but biological creatures, able to modify their body structure; and consume organic matter, rather than metals. They consume only organic resources." Thor explained.

"Sounds downright nasty," Jack said, shuddering slightly.

"So why ask for our help?" Sam asked.

"You were successful in defeating the Replicators, preventing them from taking over our planet, because your thought processes differ from our own," Thor said.

"In other words, we’re dumb enough to get the job done," Jack said. He and Daniel exchanged a glance.

"To put it bluntly, yes," Thor replied.

"Guess it pays to be stupid humans, huh?" Jack said, not completely joking.

"It would seem so, in this instance," the little gray alien agreed.

"So, we need to go into this province and kick ass, right?" Jack said, looking at the holographic map that hovered over a large table in the middle of the room.

"Yes, O’Neill, that is exactly what you must do. If they are allowed to expand, it will not take them long to overwhelm the entire planet. Once they strip our home world, they will move on to the next planet, and so on."

"If left unchecked they could destroy all life in the galaxy," Sam whispered, her eyes wide as she looked at the map, following the computed trajectory of the Percuese.

"Not even funny, Sam," Casey said, shivering.

"Colonel Carter is most correct in her conclusions, Mrs. Jackson," Thor said. "This is a most serious situation."

"Okay, Duncan has some Marines on the way. Get us there, and then send the back up when they arrive," Jack said. If they had to do this, it was best to get in and get the job done.

"As you wish, O’Neill."

In a flash of light, the team found themselves in what was left of a forest. Only a few stumps of trees remained, and the dirt was bare of anything that could have ever been called ground cover.

"I hate it when he does that," Jack grumbled. He looked around. "Looks like they’ve already been through here. Let’s see if we can find the nasty little buggers and get this done. Teal'c, buddy, take point. Daniel, you and I are on the six. Ladies, keep your eyes open. Move out, kids."

The team began to walk, following the trail of destruction.

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