Lee rolled her eyes. "We've already quadruple checked things, Colonel, we're good to go stop worrying."

"Once we're through that mirror we can't exactly pop back and get anything."

"No, we can't but we have everything we need. Everything else is on the other side of that mirror so let's get moving."

"She's right, Mal, you're worrying too much, that's usually my department," Van told him.

"It's my job as commander to worry." Mal checked his gun again.

Oliver slapped him on the back. "And you're doing an excellent job at it."

"Funny. All right, let's do this." He gestured toward the mirror. "Dial it up or whatever it is you do."

Henry chuckled and pulled out a small device.

Sam frowned at it. "That control device is different from the one we have."

"Yes, our science team developed this one based on the original device, with a few improvements. They found a way to force the mirror to keep its place even if it's been turned off. The device also assigns a designation to each alternate dimension so if you need to you can dial it up." He showed her the device.

"That would have come in handy several times in the past," she said.

"It has come in handy for us. We've been exploring through the mirror for a bit."

"Wait, you explore alternate worlds?" Oliver asked him. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"It can be, yes. We felt, much like exploring through the Stargate, it was worth the risk. We figured those alternate realities might show us a way to avoid some disastrous fates."

"Like how to kick the Alliance's butt?" Lee grinned at him.

"Yes, exactly." He fiddled with the control device and the mirror turned on. Two guards on the other side waved. Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green piece of cloth and held it up. One of the men on the other side did the same. "Precaution to make certain we have the right reality," he told the others when they all frowned at his odd behavior.

"Did it ever occur to you that another you in another reality might come up with the same signal?"

He stared at Lee. "Well, now it has. We need to touch the mirror at the same time. Ready?" Everyone stepped close and reached out toward the mirror.

"Good luck, SG-1," Sam told them just before they touched the mirror and vanished.

They turned and waved to her from the other side. Mal saluted her with his P90 before the mirror went dark.

Mal turned away from the mirror. "Okay, now what?"

"Now we go and speak to General O'Neill so I can let her know I've found help," Henry told them.

"We need to get this done as quickly as we can because two of me in one reality can cause problems," Oliver told them.

"We know, General Carter filled us in. Lead the way," Mal told Henry.

"Follow me." He led them from the room that held the mirror, down a corridor and into a room that looked as if it had been set up as a war room. Charts and laptops littered the room and people hurried from one side to the other handing off reports and information. "General?"

Sam turned. "Oliver, you're back." Her eyes went to the team where they stood just behind him. "And I see you've found some help. Hello, SG-1 it's good to see you again."

"We're glad we can be of service, General," Mal replied "We have a plan but it's going to take a hell of a lot of coordination to accomplish."

"Then let's get started. Fill me in on your operation." She led them across the room to a table littered with maps and they sat down.

They spent the next hour and a half filling her in on the details of the plan they'd come up with.

"We should have enough men to form four teams to send into the city." She paused and then shook her head. "My problem with this plan is that a lot of it hinges on that outpost existing in our world," Sam told them.

"If it doesn't then we'll reevaluate but I think it's a good bet that it's there. The Ancients were on Earth in both our realities so it makes sense they'd build the outpost in both of them," Oliver reasoned.

"He's right," Henry added.

"If you're certain then we better get you there as quickly as we can so we can enact this plan. We have two Puddle Jumpers, you can take one of them," Sam told them.

"That's perfect we can cloak and the Alliance won't know that we've left," Mal told her.

"How did you get your hands on a couple of Jumpers?" Oliver asked.

"We escaped in them when the Alliance gated into Atlantis. It was either escape or fight to the death, we figured it was better to run and have a chance at getting the city back than to stay and die," Sam explained as she led them to the hanger where the Jumpers were being kept. "Can any of your team fly a Jumper?"

Oliver raised his hand. "Yes, I can."

She grinned. "I suppose that was a stupid question on my part."

Oliver shrugged. "Not really, in our reality maybe I never joined the Atlantis Expedition."

"Good point. I'm assuming you did."

He nodded. "Yes, but I got tired of flying back from the Pegasus galaxy every time my sister got herself captured by the Alliance. We don't exactly get frequent flier miles for those trips."

"It happened once!" Lee protested.

Sam chuckled. "Well, frequent flier miles or not, you're with SG-1 now."

Oliver turned to Henry. "Are you going to come with us?"

"No, I need to stay here and help to coordinate the strike teams." He held out an ear piece. "Use this to communicate with me so we can make certain everything is on schedule and we can keep in sync."

"Yeah, wouldn't want us to blow the Alliance ships out of the sky before the strike teams are in place."

"Nope, we wouldn 't. Good luck." Henry held out a hand and Oliver used it to pull him into a hug.

"You too."

"Hey, why can't I fly the Jumper?" Lee asked.

"Because you've never flown one and this is too important for a practice flight," Mal told her as they got on board the Jumper and settled into their seats. "Do you have the coordinates for the Antarctic Gate?"

"Yes, I'm putting them in now," Oliver told him from the pilot's seat. "Everyone ready?"

"Punch it!" Lee shouted.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Here we go." The Jumper lifted from the ground and hovered for a moment while the doors of the hanger opened. "All right here we go. Jumper One leaving the hanger. We are cloaked."

"Good luck Jumper One, we'll be waiting to hear from you, Control out," Sam told them over the ear piece that Oliver wore.

"Thank you, Control, Jumper One out." The Jumper shot forward out of the hangar and up into the sky. "We're clear and it doesn't look like the Alliance suspects anything. We're on course for the Antarctic."

"This is going to be a very long and boring flight, isn't it?" Lee asked.

Van grinned at her. "We could play a few hands of poker."

"No, I already owe you my life's savings and then some."

"We never play for cash, you don't owe me anything," he replied.

"Well, if my life savings was tied up in popcorn I'd be destitute."

Mal laughed. "Nice. I thought you stopped playing poker with him when you found out he can count cards?"

She sighed. "Yeah, well I'm not that bright I guess."

"It appears you aren't." Mal grinned at her.

They sat back in their seats and got comfortable for the long ride.

Mal nudged Lee. "Wake up, we're here."

"I wasn't sleeping. I was resting my eyes."

"Well you were snoring while resting your eyes," Van told her.

"I do not snore!"

"Like a lion with a sinus infection," Oliver said as he stepped past them and exited the Jumper.

"That's rude," Lee muttered as she followed him out. Mal and Van were behind her, both of them chuckling. "If either of you want to live I suggest you stop snickering," she told them without turning around.

Oliver held out the Lantean scanner and walked back and forth for several minutes before he stopped and turned to them. "We need to dig right here." He made an X in the snow with his foot.

"All right, let's see how well this thing works." Mal fetched the mining device, turned it on and pointed it at the X that Oliver had made. The device made quick work of the ice and snow, tunneling down into the earth until they hit the air pocket that indicated where the outpost was. "The Gate here was never activated so I don't know how big this pocket is. In our reality they found the Gate when Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter were diverted here. The activation of the Gate caused a larger pocket to form. We might be dealing with nothing but a dead end here."

"We have the mining device, I'm sure we can clear it all out quickly enough. We don't have much of a choice, we need the Gate," Oliver told him.

"All right, I'm going in."

"Wait a minute, sir." Lee pulled out a rope and held the end out to him.

"And what am I supposed to do with that?"

"Tie it around you. If the passage collapses at least we have a chance at finding you."

"Right, good idea, Captain." He took the rope and tied it around his waist. "Okay, here I go."

Lee fed the rope into the passage after him as he moved. They waited while he dug further into the ground looking for the outpost and the Gate.

Oliver paced while Lee and Van stood near the hole where Mal entered. "You know it took them months to excavate this site in our reality."

"Stop being negative, Ollie," Lee told him.

"I'm just saying, we might not be able to do this. We should have thought this through more thoroughly. We could have brought shovels at the very least."

"A shovel would have been useless," Van replied. "The ice is too thick."

"Right, of course, that was a stupid idea." Oliver continued to pace.

It took Mal nearly two hours to clear out enough of the outpost to access the Gate and allow them to get to the chair and the DHD. He tapped his radio. "Can you hear me?"

"Barely," Lee answered. "Is it safe for us to come down?"

"Yeah, I have no idea how we're going to get back out though."

"Uh, yeah that could be an issue."

"Wait, hold up a second."

"Colonel?" Lee waited but he didn't answer. "Colonel Hughes?"

Behind her Oliver screeched. She spun to see him staring at a ring platform. Mal waved. "Look what I found."

She laughed. "Well, that solves our getting in and out issues."

"It certainly does. Shall we?" Mal asked.

"We shall."

They crowded onto the platform and Mal activated it. The rings whirred and they were transported down into the outpost.

"Oliver, get to work on the bypass so we can use the Gate. Lee, costumes?"

She unclipped her pack and dug out the Ancient costumes they'd brought with so they could pose as the Ancients and ask for the ZPM. "Right here."

"Good, you and Van go get changed. As soon as Oliver gets the Gate working you need to go. While you're gone, Oliver can take a look at the chair and hopefully determine whether it's in working order or not. And how many drones might be left."

"Okay, we'll get ready. Come on, Van." She dragged him away so they could change into their Ancient wardrobe.

Oliver removed the panel from the DHD so he could get to the control crystals. He sat on the floor and plugged his laptop into the DHD and began working on it. "This could take a little bit."

"Try and make it take less than a little bit, we're on a schedule here," Mal reminded him.

"Yeah, I know but this isn't like hacking into the Pentagon, this is hard."

"Did you just ..." Mal shook his head. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

Oliver looked up at him with a grin. "No, you probably don't." He went back to work on the DHD.

"These outfits are hideous. I'm no fashion maven, but the Ancients really did have something against color." Lee spun in a circle. "How do I look?"

"Like a fashionable Teacher." Mal gave her a thumbs up. "Where's Van?"

"Right here. I feel ridiculous."

"Well you look authoritative. You need to get the ZPM, once you're back here you can change out of that getup." Mal looked down at Oliver where he sat on the floor. "Well?"

"Do I need to explain again how difficult this is?"

Mal sighed. "No, please don't."

Lee looked around. "Great, there's no place to sit where I'm not gonna end up with a wet butt. I can't even lean against the wall. This sucks."

"We aren't here for a vacation, Captain," Mal reminded her.

"I know, but I'd like to be comfortable while waiting for my nerdy brother to hack into an alien device so we can gate to an alien world, grab another alien device and get back here to save an alternate reality."

Van grinned at her. "Never thought I'd hear anyone say those words or that I'd be involved in such a mission."

"Right? It sounds like a bad sci-fi movie." Oliver shook his head.

"It does." Lee grinned. "But it would be a really epic, cult classic sci-fi movie."

"All right, I'm in. Now to upload Dr. McKay's workaround program." He tapped at the keys of his laptop. "Okay we should be good to go."

"Should be or are?" Lee asked.

"Let's find out." He stood and dialed P1N-035. The Gate connected with a fawoosh. "We are good to go. Good luck, you two!"

"Thanks. Ready to go be a Teacher?" Lee asked Van.

"As ready as I can be. I hope my Ancient isn't awful."

"You'll be fine. Let's go." They stepped through the Gate and emerged on the planet. "Let's see if we can find the leader of this city."

"The Ductere," Van told her. "That's what he was called in our reality, I'm assuming it's the same here." They moved across the open area around the Gate and headed for the town. A man approached them when they neared the city. Van smiled at the man. "Hello, we are here to see the Ductere."

"Yes, of course." He hesitated. "Are you the Teachers?"

Van smiled. "Indeed we are."

"You have finally returned after all of this time. The people will be excited to have you back!" He thrust out his hand. "I am Feodor. It is a pleasure to meet one of the Teachers."

"We cannot stay long, unfortunately. We have come to retrieve a device left behind by our ancestors. It is vital to the survival of our people."

"Yes, of course, come I will take you to see the Ductere and he will help you find this device you speak of." He hurried away and they followed him through the old town and into the newer one, across the square and into the building that housed the leadership of the country. "The Teachers are here to see the Ductere," he told a woman sitting behind a reception desk.

She rose partially, stared at them, then sank slowly back into her seat. "The Teachers," she said in a hushed voice.

"Yes and they would like to see Ductere Urvan."

"Yes, of course, right away!" She hurried away and returned with a woman trailing behind her.

Van looked at Lee. "Mala," he whispered.

She nodded. "And it would appear that Urvan is in charge here as well."

Feodor smiled. "I will leave you in the capable hands of the Ductere's people. It was my honor to be of service to the Teachers."

"The honor is ours," Van told him.

Mala smiled. "If you would please follow me." She led them to the Ductere's office. "Ductere Urvan, we have the honor of hosting the Teachers." She stepped aside so he could see Lee and Van where they stood in the doorway.

Urvan stood. "We are honored by your presence. May I ask why you have returned?"

"We are in urgent need of a device that was left behind by our ancestors," Van told him. He pulled out his tablet and showed Urvan an image of a ZPM. "This is the device we need."

"That is one of our most prized relics." He seemed reluctant to part with it even if he believed he was speaking to the Teachers.

"We understand that but if we do not return with this device our people will lose a war we have been fighting with an enemy much worse than anything you can imagine. If this enemy is allowed to win they could threaten many more planets," Van explained.

"Including this one," Lee added.

Van placed a hand on Urvan's arm and spoke in Ancient.

Urvan smiled and nodded. "Yes, I understand. Come, the device resides in our museum." He led them from the building to the museum. People stopped to stare as they passed.

"I guess there must be images of the Teachers somewhere because I feel very watched," Lee muttered.

Van nodded and followed Urvan to the pedestal where the ZPM sat. He pulled the device that detected whether the ZPM had power and held it near the case. "It still has power. It will work."

Urvan chewed his lip. "It will be a shame for it to go."

"Yes, but you will be saving millions of lives," Lee told him.

"Indeed, I must not be selfish. I will have the alarm system turned off so you can retrieve it." He bustled away.

"Well, at least we don't have to do a smash and grab this time."

Lee grinned. "I could if you'd like."

"No, I wouldn't like, thanks."

Urvan returned and opened the case. He reverently pulled the ZPM from its perch and held it out to them. "I hope it serves you well."

"Thank you for your assistance. This will not be forgotten," Van said as he took the ZPM.

"Are you certain you cannot stay even for a few hours?"

"I wish we could. Your people have come very far since we left and we would be very interested in seeing how you have advanced but our people need us," Van answered.

Urvan bowed to him. "Of course. I hope you will be able to come and visit us again soon."

"As do we," Van answered. After a bow, they left.

"Let's get out of here before someone figures out we aren't the Teachers," Lee muttered.

"I'll second that." Van quickened his pace as they left the city and headed back to the Gate. "Can we make a note not to visit this planet and steal another ZPM from them, it gives me an anxiety attack just thinking about it." Van glanced back at the city.

"I can't make any promises but we will try. Dial us home, or rather home-ish."

"Dialing!"