Hammond rushes to the gate room, SG-1 have dialled up the gate but can't get to it as they have been ambushed by Jaffa. Hammond opens the iris and the gate room takes fire through the open wormhole, but Hammond keeps the iris open, giving SG-1 the time to get home.

The gate room takes fire.

In the briefing Hammond tells them that if he had followed procedure, he would have re closed the iris immediately and they would all be dead now. Hammond tells them that he has had enough of the worrying about the teams he send out and the stress of the SGC, he is quitting immediately.

Jack goes to see Hammond in his office, he is convinced Hammond is leaving for another reason than that he said, he says that SG-1 have been presumed dead before and he hasn't resigned, why now? Hammond doesn't tell him anything. The rest of SG-1 give Hammond a good farewell and he leaves.

A while later the new CO, a Major General Bauer arrives, he introduces himself very sharply and leaves to his office.

Bauer arrives.

While walking together, Daniel and Sam are talking about Bauer's abruptness and walk straight into him. He informs them of a change in the way the base is run, Sam will now work on projects at the base, specifically a Naquada enhanced warhead. Daniel meanwhile will become a consultant, only going off-world when necessary. Jack goes to see Bauer and complains, Bauer tells him not to speak to him like that otherwise his career will come to a short, sharp end.

Having been given some 'leave' Jack goes to see Hammond at his house. He manages to get the truth from Hammond, the NID has been wanting him to become more aggressive in his command style and retrieve more alien technology that could help Earth, Hammond has of course refused. Since refusing his grand-children have been picked up by NID personnel and driven home without Hammond's consent, he can't possibly look after his family as well as run the SGC, and his family must come first.

Hammond confides in Jack.

At the SGC, Bauer asks Sam how the bomb is coming, she tells him that they don't have enough weapons-grade Naquada to finish it. Bauer tells Sam that a well armed strike force could attack the Goa'uld facility on P3S-452 and retrieve some, Sam is flabbergasted. Sometime later SG-3 (the team Teal'c has been reassigned too) return from the operation, there CO is dead. Bauer is more interested in whether they have recovered the Naquada then the men, they did get the Naquada.

Jack goes to see Maybourne in jail. Maybourne tells him that if he can get him free and pardonned he will help Jack get the info he needs on the NID, Jack will have to trust him.

Jack visits Maybourne in jail.

Having pulled a string, the Presidents, Jack has got Maybourne free. Maybourne takes Jack to a safe house and logs onto the net, the NID keep all their communications on highly encoded bulletin boards. Maybourne tells Jack that he would be best to hold the info over the NID to get Hammond reinstated rather than leak it out. Before Maybourne can get the data, the NID raid the house, but Jack and Maybourne escape. Jack is told he will have to get dirty if he is to succeed, can he stomach it? Jack tells him he can and Maybourne tells him that they will have to connect someone high up to the NID operation, of course he knows just the person.

At the SGC, Bauer has chosen the site to test the bomb. Sam argues that what he is doing is wrong but he doesn't listen to her. Daniel confronts Bauer about the site, the planet used to contain a Goa'uld Naquada mine, there will most likely be life on it, Sam then works out what Bauer is doing, the bomb will cause a chain reaction in the Naquada full soil which will most likely vaporise the planet. Sam argues heavily against it as they don't know what will happen to the gate or the effect Earth will suffer via an open wormhole, never the less Bauer pushes forward with the plan and activates the bomb. The planets surface starts to vaporise and then the observation MALP is destroyed.

The planet's surface starts to vaporise.

The gate fails to shut down and the gate room starts to fill with radiation, closing the iris stops the radiation for the time being but the iris starts to heat up, how long can it hold?

Maybourne takes Jack to see Senator Kinsey (Politics). He says he has never heard of the NID, but Jack doesn't believe him. Kinsey asks them to leave but JAck pulls a gun on him. Maybourne manages to get into the NID system using Kinsey's passwords and he starts to download the data, they find that Kinsey is linked with the threats to Hammond. Jack takes the data and tells Kinsey to get Hammond reinstated. The NID arrive but Jack calls the press, informing them of Kinsey's plans to run for President, thus allowing himself and Maybourne to escape.

Kinsey addresses the press.

At the SGC everyone has been evacuated to level 16 and Sam, Daniel, Teal'c and Bauer observe the gate from the observation room there. Luckily the gate shuts down after 38 minutes, they are safe. Bauer apologises to Sam.

A while later Hammond has been reinstated, he thanks Jack for putting his career on the line to safe him. He gets a call for Jack, it is Maybourne, he has e-mailed himself a copy of the NID info which he is also blackmailing them with, thus he has got himself a nice holiday to the Caribbean. Jack tells Hammond that one day he may need him to buy back his soul, meanwhile Maybourne dances off with some local ladies to steel drums music.

Maybourne gets a holiday in the Caribbean.