"Let me get this straight," Grady said when Jack had only gotten half way through his explanations. "We are on an alien ship out in the middle of the galaxy, millions of miles away from home, and you want to go out to fight other aliens in order to free people who live on another planet… Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"

"Yes, I do," Jack replied, trying hard to hide his impatience. Grady was going to be a problem and Jack did not look forward to dealing with it. "But this is all real. Denying it will not make it go away."

"C'mon Grady," Brad spoke up, "We've all heard stories about Area 51 and alien invasions. Didn't you see that movie, 'Independence Day'? We're going to save the world!"

"This is not a joke Brad," Jack said with a serious look on his face.

"Oh please," Brad responded, the anger in his voice laced with what sounded like desperation. "Next thing I know, you'll be telling us that all those alien abduction stories were real."

"How do you explain all this?" Rachel spoke up for the first time since Jack had ended his visit with O'Neill. "I mean, one minute we're at the Academy and then we are here… wherever here is," she continued as she waved her hand to indicate the whole room.

The silence that followed seemed to answer her question. Jack knew the answer, but he didn't think they wanted to hear his version, so he kept quiet, hoping they would be able to work out their doubts and fears quickly.

"This is a crock!" Grady exclaimed. "Something you cooked up, I'm sure," he continued, pointing at Jack. A smile came to his face as he said, "You should have seen yourself, standing there in the middle of the room talking to 'General O'Neill'," he added as he started to circle around Jack. "Hey Jack, hope you don't mind me dropping in…" Grady continued, mimicking Jack's words. "Were we supposed to believe that you were actually talking to the General? There was no one there, Gallagher. It made for a great show though. I'll give you that."

Jack didn't respond. His anger was red hot, but he still kept his silence as he glared at Grady. He continued to stand there with clenched fists, fighting to keep from strangling the bastard, all the while knowing he had to convince them that this was indeed real and that they would soon be required to face an army of Jaffa. Brad and Rachel kept their silence as well, both staring at him with resignation in their expressions. Grady, on the other hand, was ready and willing to keep his own beliefs intact, and Jack wondered what it would take to convince him that this was all real.

"Well?" Grady prompted. "Are you ready to tell us what all this is really about? Because I have to tell you that I'm ready to go back home any time now. Which way is home Gallagher?" he continued menacingly.

"Home is that way," Jack said pointing at one of the walls of the room they were in. "Or maybe it's that way," he continued, as he pointed toward the opposite wall. "It really doesn't matter which way because if you step one foot off of this ship, you're dead. Look Grady, I know this is all hard to take in, but you are just going to have to trust me and hear me out. That little guy I was talking to earlier is one of Earth's allies and whether you like it or not, we are going to help him with his little problem."

"We are allies with aliens?" Brad asked before Grady could respond. "Jack… I've known you for a couple of years now, we've been good friends almost from day one at the Academy. In all that time, you've never lied to me, at least not that I've caught you at. I trust your judgment, but this is so farfetched that even I'm having a hard time believing you. Give it to me straight. Is all this alien crap true?"

"Yeah, it's true," Jack confirmed, guilt sweeping over him. His whole life was a lie, at least the part about his identity. He knew what keeping secrets meant, having spent the majority of his career in top secret operations, but it still bothered him when he was forced to lie to people about what he did for a living, or who he really was for that matter.

"This may sound corny, but I believe in you Jack," Rachel said, a small smile lighting up her face. Jack found himself smiling back at her. "There is no other explanation for us being at the Academy one minute and here the next," she continued. "You mentioned something about the 'superior technologies' these aliens have… that bright light was a transporter beam?"

"Something like that," Jack responded. "The Asgard have technologies that we can't even begin to imagine. They are a superior race and we value their alliance because of it."

"That little guy is an Asgard?" Brad asked. "How many other races are out there?"

"Well, from what I am told, there are at least four, not counting the Goa'uld. Or the Tok'ra for that matter, who could be considered the same as the Goa'uld… but take my advice, never, and I do mean never tell them that to their face," he said with a grin. "Then there are the Unas, if you want to call them a race of anything…"

"Stop!" Rachel exclaimed, holding up her hands toward Jack. "Just stop. What the hell are you talking about?"

Jack looked at her and tried to hide the smile that was trying to make an appearance. His anger had disappeared sometime during the last few minutes and Jack knew it was because of Rachel and Brad. He was glad they were there to be a buffer between him and Grady. Jack could tell he was going to need his two friends, judging by the angry glare on Grady's face. The glare was fine with Jack, Grady could glare all he wanted to as long as he kept his opinions to himself.

"Look," Jack said, "Why don't I just finish telling you everything and lay it all on the line for you guys? I'll try to explain as much as I can, as well as brief you on our mission. Grady, can you restrain yourself until I'm finished?"

"This ought to be interesting. I'm up for a good science fiction story," Grady sneered.

"Yeah whatever," Jack said, then picked up where he left off before Grady went off on his earlier tirade. "As I was saying, it took us awhile to figure out how to get the Stargate to work, but when we did it gave us the opportunity to explore other planets. We found other humans living on these planets, humans who originated from Earth. It seems that the Goa'uld - the bad guys, I mean, we're talking the really horrendous megaton BAD guys…"

"That bad, huh?" Brad interrupted, grinning at Jack.

"Worse," Jack responded with a nod. "Anyway, the Goa'uld came to Earth thousands of years ago and decided that the humans living here would make wonderful hosts for them to live in and could be turned into slaves. They took what they wanted and dropped off the slaves on planets that they claimed for themselves. It just so happens that the descendants of some of those slaves are living on the planet Thor wants us to go to. In order to free those people, he wants us to eliminate the Goa'uld who is the current false god of that world."

"This just gets better and better," Grady interrupted. "Now you're telling us that these aliens are Gods."

"Shut up, Grady," Rachel said, shocking all three of her companions. "Go on Jack," she prompted.

Jack smirked, then continued, "The task of eliminating the Goa'uld will be up to the members of SG-1, who have a lot more experience in doing that kind of stuff. We're just going in on a basic recon mission to determine what they will be facing by scouting the territory, and if we're lucky, take out a few Jaffa."

"Jaffa?" Brad asked.

"The Goa'uld's henchmen. They are the enemy and I want you all to treat them as such. I know that you have yet to face a real enemy, and this is something that General O'Neill has qualms about, but I think that if we stay low and work quietly, we'll avoid any casualties."

"Wait a minute," Grady said, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I realize that we are all Cadets here, but I am an Upperclassman. This means that I will be in charge of this 'mission'."

Oh great, Jack hadn't counted on this. In fact, this scenario had never entered his mind. He'd just assumed he'd be in charge. "I don't think so Cadet," he said, repeating a phrase O'Neill had used earlier. Grady did have a point though, and normally would be in the right, but Jack knew that if they were to survive this mission, he was going to be the one calling the shots. "I know what we're up against, you don't," he added.

"I thought you weren't falling for any of this," Brad said, in Jack's defense.

Grady didn't respond. Jack could see him struggling with everything that he'd been told and what had transpired over the past hour. "It has to be me Grady," Jack said quietly. "I know who and what we are up against, not to mention that I've done this before."

"There is no way I'm going to put my life in the hands of a Cadet who's only had a few years of military training," Grady insisted, having come to terms with his feelings. "I've had a lot more experience in the field Gallagher and I will be the one calling the shots."

"Okay, let's put our respective training to the test," Jack said, knowing that he was going to have to convince this guy of his abilities. He was not about to admit that he had almost 30 years on the idiot. He went over to the door that Thor had gone back through after their meeting with O'Neill and stuck his head out. "Thor?" he called out. "When are we going to see some weapons in…?" his voice faded off as he heard the electronic whine of the transporter behind him. He turned and saw a pile of weapons and supplies on the floor of the room. "Never mind," he called out, before walking over to the pile and picking up a Zat.

"This is a Zat," he told the other Cadets. "Do you know how it operates or what it does?" he asked Grady.

Grady stared at Jack warily before taking the weapon into his own hands. He turned it over in his hands before looking back at Jack. "No," Grady admitted, as he held the Zat out to Jack, while at the same time accidentally pressing the mechanism that primed the weapon.

"Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing!" Jack exclaimed, as he reached out to gently retrieve the Zat from Grady's hands. He stared suspiciously at Grady for a few seconds before aiming the weapon away from the Cadets and pulling the trigger. "The first shot stuns, the second one kills. Remember that."

"Your turn Grady," Jack ground out. "What kind of weapons does the Jaffa carry?"

"This is your story, Gallagher," Grady responded. "You tell me."

"Staff weapons," Jack responded, realizing that this tactic was not one of his brightest ideas. He was just going to have to force the issue on the Cadet and be done with it. "I am leading this mission, Cadet Grady. I've fought the Jaffa before, and I know what to expect. This mission goes down my way."

Grady was at a crossroads here and Jack could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he debated on which way to go. Common sense was telling him to let Jack take the lead, while his pride was fighting it all the way. Jack waited for Grady to make up his mind, all the while knowing he would probably be facing an insubordination hearing when he got back to the Academy.

"He does know the enemy, Cadet Grady," Rachel said, apparently thinking along the same lines as Jack. She was probably regretting her earlier words when she told Grady to shut up.

"That's assuming that there really is an alien enemy on an alien planet," Grady ground out. He turned to Jack and stared at him for a minute before common sense finally won over. "All right," he sighed. "I'll step down for now. But I will take over if I deem this is all a setup or if you screw up."

"Fair enough," Jack replied, even though he had no intentions of ever letting Grady take over on this mission. He pulled off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt before he remembered there was a lady present. "Do you mind?" he said to Rachel, indicating with his hands that he wanted her to turn around. He watched her smile at him before he turned his attention to the clothing on the floor. He chose a pair of pants, then glanced at her, "No peeking," he insisted.

"You are definitely no fun, Jack Gallagher," she teased as she turned her back on him. Jack had to smile at her when he saw her stiffen as she said, "Brad?" in a voice filled with pleading and desperation.

"I'll kill both of them if they so much as steal even a tiny peek when it's your turn," Brad swore. "You will visit me in prison, won't you?"

"On a weekly basis," Rachel promised, as she giggled.

Jack smiled at his friends as he realized how glad he was that they were there. He knew he could have done this on his own, but having a few more guns as backup was a definite asset that he planned to use to his advantage. Now all he had to do was get them out of this alive.

"Okay people," he began, as he shrugged on his BDUs. "I'm going to give you a crash course on Jaffa 101. Pay attention here, we have a lot to cover…"