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radio, Sam motioned for Teal’c to do the same. “Switch over to channel three. Don’t worry, it’s empty.”
    In Teal’c’s large hands, the radio looked like a toy. He turned the knob on the top of the casing and nodded.
    Sam thumbed the push-to-talk button and clicked out three short bursts, three long ones, and then three short bursts again.
    Teal’c cocked his head. “Do these sounds have meaning?”
    “In a way, yes.” She knelt down and poked three dots into the sand. “Each group represents a letter. In this case, the three short bursts represent three dots which in turn represent the letter S.”
    Sam then drew three long dashes across. “Those longer bursts represent dashes. Three of them stand for an O.” She finished her Morse code drawing with three additional dots.
    “SOS?”
    “That’s right. It’s an abbreviated way of saying help. Some people think it means Save Our Ship or Save our Soul though it’s really just easier to remember a simple pattern like this.”
    Teal’c raised an eyebrow. “Would it not be even easier to use HELP? It has only one additional letter and its purpose is — ”
    Another shot rang out.
    “What the hell!”
    That was Daniel. Sam closed her eyes, waiting for what she knew would be the colonel’s equally loud response.
    “Oh, for crying out loud. It’s just a damned bandage. I didn’t hit you that hard.”
    Without even thinking, Sam bolted up from her crouched position, switched her radio back to channel five and stuffed it in her vest. She headed toward the hill.
    And was stopped by Teal’c’s hand on her arm. “Major Carter, should we not ‘stay out of it’ as we were specifically requested to do by Colonel O’Neill?”
    Sam took a long breath. Teal’c was right, but that didn’t make it any easier. She told him as much. “I know Daniel’s barely back. I understand the colonel’s concerns, but we were… We are a team. Shouldn’t that count for something?”
    Teal’c bowed his head. “Then I suggest we allow O’Neill and Daniel Jackson to sort this out for themselves.”
    * * *
    Daniel dropped the rifle to his side in disbelief. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you’re trying to kill me.”
    “With a roll of gauze?” Jack moved the target another ten yards out. He stomped past Daniel, his head down as if he refused to look Daniel in the eye. “Again.”
    “You want to tell me what this is about?”
    “Not really. Just shoot the damn thing.”
    Daniel half lifted the rifle and then stopped. “Don’t throw any more bandages.”
    “No problem.”
    Daniel raised the rifle, squared off the target and —
    Got hit in the back by something heavy and plastic wrapped. Unbelievable. Jack had thrown an MRE at him.
    “Shoot the target.”
    “No.”
    “Can’t take a little distraction? Get used to it. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re facing an enemy who’ll use distraction, surprise, misdirection… Anything to throw us off guard. It’s one of the first principles in war, whether you like it or not.”
    Daniel couldn’t believe his ears. “What… Are you quoting the Air Force manual at me now?”
    “Trust me, the concept’s been around a lot longer than the Air Force.” Jack threw another MRE. It fell to the ground at Daniel’s feet. “Now shoot the god damned target.”
    “No!” Daniel exploded. Resisting the urge to throw his rifle to the ground, he laid it down and stepped away. “Why…? Explain to me… Why do you think throwing things will make a difference?”
    Jack strode toward him and faced him down. “Pick it up.” He scooped up the rifle and shoved it at Daniel.
    Who refused to take it.
    “Jack…”
    “No, Daniel. I’m not playing touchy feely with you today. You’re going to learn — ”
    “Learn what? To shoot while you’re throwing things at me?”
    “To stay focused. To shoot first. To goddamned do whatever it takes to stay alive. Survival comes first. Whether it’s from a gun, or