the episode takes place over the course of five days, counting down to an at first unrevealed event named "zero hour". five days to zero hour, general o'neill is introduced to his new administrative aide, mark gilmor, who makes a suspicious phone call. meanwhile, o'neill's new position as a general is twofold. he needs to decide decorations for an upcoming official visit, and prepare sg-1 for its next offworld trip. a quickly growing alien plant and the arrival of two brawly amrans, possible trade partners from another world, lead o'neill to write a letter to general hammond, his predecessor.