Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey is the eighteenth episode of the third season of Stargate SG-1.

Plot
SG-1 go to Tollana to negotiate a treaty with the Tollan, asking for technology to help defend Earth against the Goa'uld. The Tollans, fearing they would destroy themselves, refuse to give them anything. In response, an angry Col. O'Neill steals a device that disables weapons. After SG-1 returns to Earth, the diplomatic incident caused by the Tollan's discovery of the theft forces O'Neill into early retirement. When Daniel visits him at home in an attempt to figure out what's going on, O'Neill insults him, telling him that apparently his teammates didn't really know him at all, and that he's finally acting like himself.

Now retired and unaffiliated with Stargate Command, O'Neill is approached by Colonel Maybourne to take part in a secret operation regarding the Stargate. After accepting Maybourne's proposal, O'Neill joins a rogue SG team whose standing orders are to acquire technology from other worlds, through trade or by theft. One member, Newman, is one of the men who fled through the second gate when SG-1 re-captured it in Utah. O'Neill's first mission as a member of the rogue SG team is to steal alien technology from an Asgard-protected world, a device that will allow the wearer to become invisible.

SG-1 is informed that a new commander will be taking O'Neill's place, and that Hammond has chosen Col. Makepeace over Daniel Jackson's desire to have the team led by Maj. Carter.

The rogue SG team explain to O'Neill that they have a man on the inside of SGC: whenever they steal a device, they drop it off right before the inside man's SG team arrives, and then they leave and allow the inside man to pick it up, while the inside man returns it to Maybourne on Earth.

O'Neill demands to be the one to undertake the drop-off, explaining it as a desire to do at least once every job his new command does. He goes to the drop-off point alone and hides the Asgard device underneath a rock near the Dial Home Device. Just as he tries to dial back, the Stargate kawooshes, and the target SG team comes through the gate. O'Neill barely makes it to cover in time.

To his surprise the SG team is SG-1. O'Neill hides in the bushes and watches as Col. Makepeace retrieves the hidden Asgard device and SG-1 goes back through the gate. O'Neill returns to the rogue team base after SG-1 leaves, and an Asgard appears next to the DHD as O'Neill departs.

After an Asgard ship begins beaming out stolen items from the rogue team's base, O'Neill revels his true allegiance to the SGC and evacuates the rogue team through the Stargate. He 'convinces' them to do so by stating that the Asgard will start beaming out people after all the tech has been taken, and no one knows what they do with criminals. Unbeknownst to the thieves, O'Neill dialed Earth, where Gen. Hammond has them arrested. O'Neill and Hammond reveal to the remaining members of SG-1 that O'Neill's uncharacteristic actions, with the help of the Tollan and the Asgard, were a ploy to get Maybourne to reveal the location of the rogue team, which had been damaging Earth's interests by stealing offworld technology.

Carter, Teal'c and Daniel are all offended that they weren't in on the plan, though Hammond explains that he had to be sure their reactions were genuine. Not to mention that the Asgard were the ones who had requested that O'Neill be the only one involved. As the reunited SG-1 leave the Gateroom, O'Neill apologizes to Daniel for his behavior, saying that their friendship is solid and that the fact that it was Daniel who visited him "means something." Straight-faced, Daniel tells him that it didn't: "We drew straws. I lost."