“I know! That’s what I kept telling the General, but he said that my astrophysics degree could be a help and you’re just an archeologist,” Sam explained.

“And a linguist! Did you tell him that? Maybe I should talk to him again…”

“Daniel, Maj. Kawalsky told me that you’re not going because you don’t look like Indiana Jones.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“O’Neill said that we were both geeks except I had something more to offer than looking at rocks for a living. I’m sorry, Daniel. I thought you should at least know what they said.”

*    *    *

Later the next day, the expedition consisting of four soldiers, Maj. Kawalsky, Col. O’Neill, and Dr. Sam Carter boarded the small ship. In the cockpit of the puddlejumper, Sam stood up and stepped forward to the dialing device. She pushed the first symbol, and the Stargate immediately started to spin. The chevron locked, and the Gate spun on. In the Control Room, Hammond and McKay were watching.

“I give this no more than a fifty-fifty chance of working,” McKay predicted.

General Hammond gave him a questioning look. “Well, according to the tape, it worked for eight years.”

“Hmm.”

In the ship, Sam pressed the Point of Origin symbol and then pushed a button at the bottom of the dialing device. The Stargate kawhooshed and everybody stared out of the windscreen in amazement.

“Wow!” Sam exclaimed and then looked embarrassed.

In the Control Room, Hammond and McKay were also staring.

“Well, I'm certainly glad it's not me going through that, uh ... thing,” McKay commented.

Inside the ship…

Jack looked at Sam.  “Any idea what to expect?”

“Not really. According to the tape, we're going to be demolecularised, transmitted over two-thousand light years through subspace, and then, uh, rematerialised on the other side.”

“Okay,” Jack said while his face showed the opposite.

“I did not need to know that!” Kawalsky growled.

Up in the Control Room, McKay bent down to a radio. “Gateship One,  you are go for launch.”

Jack turned to the others with a look of disgust on his face.

"Gateship?!”

Sam shrugged in response.

“Alright.”

In the Control Room, Hammond has a similar expression to Jack's. 

“What? It's a ship that goes through the Gate -- it's a Gateship! Well, I thought it was clever,” McKay said in his defense.

Back in the ship, Jack took the controls. Sam screwed up her face nervously.  The ship left the ground and disappeared through the wormhole.

*  *  *

In the briefing room, Daniel watched the Gateship disappear through the stargate before turning from the window and leaving the room. He made his way towards the room he had been assigned.

“Dr. Jackson?”

He turned to see who was talking to him. She was just over five feet tall and was wearing a lab coat over her uniform.

“I’m Dr. Janet Fraiser. You didn’t come to the infirmary for your pre-mission physical.”

“That’s because I didn’t go.”

“But Dr. Carter said that you were both on a tape recording and you would both be going.”

“She went, but I’m not like the other me, so I didn’t get to go,” Daniel explained.

“The other you? I don’t understand.”

“Come with me. I’ll show you.”

Daniel took her to the office he was using and played the recording.

“That’s the other me. He’s who I should be now, but I’m not. General Hammond wants me off the base since I’m no longer needed.”

“Dr. Jackson…”

“Daniel.”

She smiled. “Janet. I think I can help you. Meet me at the elevator in an hour.”

“I don’t know what you can do….”

“Just trust me, okay?”

“The elevator in an hour,” he confirmed.

* * *

Hours later, the phone in General Hammond’s office rings.

“Hammond… He is claiming to be Dr. Jackson… How did he get his ID… It’s his? Have someone escort him down to my office,” he ordered and hung up.

It didn’t take very long before there was a knock on the general’s door.

“Come in.”

General Hammond was shocked to see the man entering his office. It was the very man who was in the recording. This time he was wearing glasses and a nice sport coat instead of desert robes.

“Dr. Jackson? How did you get here?” he asked in disbelief.

“ I’ve been here all the time except for a few hours this afternoon,” Daniel explained. “I ran into Dr. Fraiser and she was Professor Higgins to my Eliza Doolittle.”

“You mean you’re not…” General Hammond began. The man he had been dealing with was hardly someone he would have given a second glance to, but the man standing before him was someone he would listen to.

“No. I’m not the man on the tape, but I know I can be. There really isn’t much difference between us. I just want a chance to work here with the stargate. Dr. Fraiser suggested that if I look more like him, I would be more credible.”

“Sit down. There is a lot we have to talk about.”

Outside the office, Janet Fraiser smiled before walking away.

“Dr. Jackson, about an hour ago, we received a radio message from Col. O’Neill through the stargate. They arrived on the planet and have been met by a soldier of some kind. No one can understand him. Col. O’Neill said that Dr. Carter believes the language is similar to Arabic. None of our experts can translate it.  Your file states that you have some experience in languages.”

“I have a degree in linguistics,” Daniel told him.  “General, I’d like to try and translate for Col. O’Neill.”

“He’s due to contact us again in a few minutes. Dr. Jackson, I’m glad that you talked me out of sending you away so quickly.”

“So am I, General”