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Chapter Text

25 August 1999; Level 26 Corridor, SGC; 0600 hrs

Lieutenant Dean Barber turned away from his perusal of the wall in front of him--he'd only nodded briefly to the two anonymous faces with him--when one of the others spoke up.

"Wish they'd given us a little more information," the woman said, almost to herself. There was a single, subdued gold bar on the woman's lapel that put her a step below Barber in rank, a name that he couldn't make out before she slipped a tactical vest over everything...

All the tests so far had been separate, individual, one person tested at a time with SG personnel standing around and making them sweat, so all Barber knew was that the three people in the room right now were the only ones who'd gotten this far. Along with himself and the other lieutenant, there was a kid who looked like he'd stepped right out of high school and was now standing quietly in the corner of the room that they'd all been stuffed in to wait.

"Well, I guess that's part of the test," Barber suggested, drawing the woman's attention to him. Her eyes flicked over his uniform, cataloguing his rank and name. "If we go to an alien planet, we can't expect to have all the information we'd like."

Alien planet. Jesus. How cool was it to say that?

He carefully suppressed his glee and checked his own equipment again.

"Yeah, of course," she agreed, tucking a stray strand of hair back into her ponytail, "but we're going in with no context at all, aside from some primers and a few lectures on the history of the Stargate. There's only so much you can learn from isolated pieces of data."

"I agree," the other guy spoke up. He really was a kid, Barber noticed when he looked closer. He was a couple of inches shy of six feet, though his slouching posture made him look smaller, and he looked no older than seventeen, maybe eighteen at a stretch. No insignia, either. "They're not making this a fair test."

"Maybe that's on purpose, too," Barber pointed out, and the kid tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"Do you guys know what we'll be doing?" the woman asked. "Final test and all."

Barber shrugged. "No idea. I guess they'll tell us when we go in, but we might as well get to know each other while they keep us out here stewing."

"Yeah," she agreed, sticking out a hand. "Kristen Astor, Middle Eastern studies with a focus on foreign language."

"Dean Barber," he answered, shaking her hand. "Electrical and computer engineering."

"Daniel Jackson," the kid added. "Anthropology." Jackson hesitated, then eyed them both and asked, "You're both in the military?"

Barber caught Lieutenant Astor's eye and saw her quirk an eyebrow. "Yep," he answered.

"Air Force? That's what the wings mean, right?" Jackson asked. "I mean, of course. Right?"

"That's right," Barber said, bemused. "Where're you from, Jackson?"

"Me? Uh...Ch-chicago. Um, University of." He grimaced and laughed a little. "Sorry. Kinda nervous. I've never done this kind of thing before."

A college grad, then, maybe, and definitely someone worth considering, if the Air Force was recruiting him so young, but then again, a program that had been started to save Earth from alien attack probably attracted all sorts of prodigies--even chronically nervous ones, apparently.

"Hey, don't sweat it," Barber told him, because chances were they were either going to be competing or working together, and someone who was nervous was unpredictable in either case. He watched the kid turn his vest around in his hands, as if trying to make sure he knew which way was up. "You need help with that?"

Jackson navigated his way into his vest by himself, but he let Barber show him which pockets held first aid supplies, which one contained a utility knife, a flashlight, and other tools the SGC had seen fit to provide them. "Well, we're not going to be just sitting around, if they're making us wear these," he said. "I just wish we didn't have to do this so early, for...for crying out loud."

"Not a morning person?" Barber said, offering a smile.

"No," Jackson said emphatically. "Sir. Uh, what do I call you?"

Barber laughed, amused even as he wondered silently why the hell they'd been put into the same group as this kid. "How about you stick with our names. Barber and Astor."

"I wonder why they put us together? Engineering, language, culture..."

"They all could be useful in practice," Barber said. "Some SG teams are deliberately set up to have a wide range of skill sets. Maybe this test will be a team effort."

Astor made a face. "I hope so. If it's a competition, we're not exactly working on the same turf."

"Yeah," Jackson agreed, "I might be in trouble unless it's just a test of Goa'uld artifacts."

Barber frowned, but Astor spoke up first. "Wait, wait, Goa'uld artifacts? I only got the Abydonian language primer and an overview of basic data-display technology."

"Really?" Jackson asked, blinking. "I didn't. They gave me a basic Goa'uld language reference and some material on Goa'uld social structure...no? You didn't, uh...?"

"I didn't get any of that," Barber said, more worried now. "I got a bunch of reading on wormhole physics and interfacing Earth's technology with Goa'uld crystals. No one told me anything about language. Why didn't we all get the same stuff?"

"We must've taken completely different preliminary tests, too," Astor said, frowning.

They'd received the speech about how Earth was at war with parasites with delusions of grandeur called the Goa'uld, and they all knew basic things about the Stargate and the goals of the program, and then...that was it. They would learn more if they got in, they'd been told.

"Well, I probably don't have the physics background to understand...well, anything other than the fact that Stargate goes kawhoosh," Jackson offered, waving a hand to demonstrate. "It sounds complicated, and they only gave us a few weeks to prepare, after all."

"Yeah, I guess--"

The door of their little room slid open. Barber sprang to his feet, Astor doing the same. A man with graying hair stood in the doorway. Barber recognized the woman next to him as Captain Carter, who'd given him his brief introduction to alien tech before all of this started, which meant that this must be none other than SG-1. And that meant the man behind them both with a glinting tattoo on his head...

"You're a Jaffa," Jackson said brightly, standing belatedly. "That's so cool."

"You are correct, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa said. Barber had a moment to wonder that the Jaffa spoke perfect English and knew their names already before berating himself for prejudices--big, strong, and alien didn't mean 'stupid,' after all, and SG-1 was supposedly in charge of this round of testing. Of course Teal'c would know their names, and probably a lot more than that, too.

"Listen up," the man in front--Colonel Jack O'Neill, it must be--said. "I'm Colonel O'Neill, this is Captain Carter, and that is Teal'c. You'll be working as a team today. You want to earn a place on an SG team, you finish the task we've set you and don't kill yourselves or anyone else. This is your last test. You succeed, you're in. You fail, you're out. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Barber and Astor both said.

Jackson stammered, "K-kill? You're not...you mean, like, metaphorically, right?"

O'Neill gave him a hard stare and didn't look away as he said, "Lieutenant Barber, you're in command. You keep your people in line."

"Yes, sir," Barber said. Jackson gave them all a wary look and shut up.

"Captain?" O'Neill said, and Captain Carter stepped forward to take his place.

"In three minutes, you will walk through these doors," she said, then swiped her card through the reader to reveal a long hallway. There were no lights, so it was too dark to make out any details except a few doors on either side of the hall and one at the end. "You are on a planet controlled by the Goa'uld Heru-ur. At the end of this corridor"--she pointed at the door at the far end--"is the Stargate. Your goal is to get home. Any questions?"

Barber blinked. What the hell?

"Wait, what?" Jackson asked aloud. "Just walk to the other end? That's ridiculou--"

"Jackson," Barber warned.

"I'm just say--"

"Not now!" he insisted, adding a glare until the kid subsided. "Sorry, gentlemen, ma'am. Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Nope," O'Neill said.

"I suggest you all get ready," Carter told them, turning and walking away. "In two minutes and...eighteen seconds, those doors will open, and the test will begin."

Barber stared in confusion as SG-1 walked away and the doors closed again behind them.

Jackson turned to both of them. "Okay, but seriously, did that not sound kind of...dumb?"

Astor shrugged, pulling out a flashlight that they'd need to see inside the dark hallway once the doors opened. "There's got to be something more to this," Barber said. "She said it was a planet controlled by Heru-ur. What do we know about him?"

"Heru-ur. Horus the elder. Son of Ra and Hathor," Jackson answered without hesitation, and Barber realized for the first time he should probably hold off judgment on him. He'd gotten this far in whatever tests the SGC had set him, after all.

"No, son of Osiris and Isis," Astor corrected, frowning.

Jackson paused, looking surprised, then shook his head. "In Egyptian mythology, yes, but Goa'uld lineages don't correlate exactly with what Earth's myths say. In any case, it probably doesn't matter who his parents were; Heru-ur is a conqueror, a fierce warrior."

"We're unarmed," Astor pointed out, not arguing Goa'uld pedigree. "They can't be expecting us to fight anyone. There must be some trick, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a trap we'll have to outthink, not a battle."

"All right, here's what we do," Barber told both of them. "As soon as those doors open, we move. Be fast, but be careful of anything that might be a trap. Jackson, your flashlight?"

"Right," Jackson said anxiously, fumbling until he found it and promptly dropping it with a soft, "Ah, crap."

"You okay?" Barber asked. "Hey--stop worrying; it's gonna be fine. Just a test. All right?"

"S-sure," Jackson said dubiously, picking up his flashlight and flicking it on.

Then the doors slid open, and there was no time for anything else.

...x...

They shone their lights into the dim corridor and stepped into it together. "What the hell?" Barber said.

There were solid metal blast doors now standing as a barrier between them and the 'Stargate' at the end of the hall. So this was the test--they had to get past the blast doors. A slamming sound made him turn around, just in time to see the entrance close as well.

"Well, I guess this is it," Astor said. "Lieutenant Barber?"

Barber aimed his flashlight at the barrier, then at the walls to either side. "Control panel," he said, recognizing Goa'uld design. "Maybe I can override their programming and get this door open so we can get through."

"Or maybe we're supposed to go around," Astor suggested, directing her own light at the other door to the side of the hallway, a few meters from the blast doors. She hurried toward it and pulled on the handle, but it didn't budge. "There must be more than one path to get to the, uh, 'Stargate.' This side door's locked, but there are hieroglyphs all over it."

"Can you read it?" he asked.

After a moment's examination, she said, "Numbers, random words...maybe it's a code. The glyphs are raised, but"--she pressed one of them experimentally--"not buttons. Could be switches of some kind, and I just have to find the right symbol or combination."

"Here's another door," Jackson said, his light directed at the other side of the hall, several more meters from the others. "It's locked, with Goa'uld glyphs around it. Barber...is this a control panel, too?"

"Yeah," Barber confirmed. "It should slide open, like a drawer."

Jackson tugged hard to no avail, then said, "Maybe the symbols are instructions to open it. I think I can read them with some time..."

"You two work on those," Barber said, pulling open one of the other control panels to start examining the control crystals inside. "I'll work on this barrier. One of us'll figure something out."

He'd just pulled open the control panel for the blast door barrier when he heard Astor say, "Hey, does one of these represent Heru-ur? It's the falcon in mythology, right?"

"Hm?" Jackson's voice answered from down the hall, sounding distracted. Barber glanced back briefly to check on both of them, then returned to his own panel. "Heru-ur? Yes, the falcon is his symbol."

This panel was odd--only the power regulation crystals were in place, and there were empty slots, as if some crystals were missing. It made sense, he supposed; it would be too easy if everything were there already. Each of the twelve empty slots was labeled with a digit from 'zero' to 'nine,' the numeral 'one' repeated and the last one left blank. It must be a test of whether they could configure it properly. Where were the control crystals, though?

"I think..." Astor was saying. "Huh. This one's loose. If I turn this--sir, I got it--"

Barber paused what he was doing and turned to see her twist the falcon symbol next to the door, which slid smoothly open. "Nice," he approved, shining his flashlight into the room beyond, which looked empty. "Come on--"

There was a sound like breaking glass. Jackson yelled, and something flashed at the edge of Barber's vision.

"Daniel!" Astor cried. Barber whirled around to see a spark of electricity fade from the wall as Jackson crumpled to the ground.

"What happened?" Barber asked, running back. Alarms began to blare around them, and then stopped suddenly, taking the few, dim lights with them. Barber waited for the emergency lights to come on, but nothing happened, leaving them in silence and pitch blackness.

Astor reached Jackson first. "I think he got shocked; I didn't see." She glanced up at the wall, then pulled him a few inches away from it. He didn't stir. "He's not responsive, but I've got a pulse." Barber reached their side and crouched beside them. "And something wet...blood--there's a broken crystal up there, he must've cut his hand."

Barber looked up and realized Jackson had found a way to get the control panel open, but one of the crystals was broken, as she'd said, a thin, wet ribbon of red glistening on its side. "Crystal circuits are often linked in a centralized network--that might be what took out the lights and the alarms." More importantly, crystal circuits could go haywire when a single element broke like that... "You see any burns on him?"

"Not that I can see," she answered. "Might be something under this blood, but I don't have anything to wash it off and check. Damn, it's too dark..."

"Hey!" crackled through and intercom on the wall, interspersed with static. "Th...O'Neill. We just lost ... surveillance of your corridor. What ... hell did you ... Lieutenant?"

Barber nodded to Astor to stay there. He glanced briefly at the panel in the wall, where smoke was rising from a crystal, then found his way to the intercom. The first touch sent a jolt of what felt like static through his finger, making him jump, so he took a bracing breath and tried again, letting out a breath when nothing happened.

"I'm not sure, sir," he answered once he'd hit the button. "Jackson was looking at something written in Goa'uld on the wall. He got the control panel open, but there's a broken crystal. It looks like he got shocked pretty bad, and it might've taken out some other systems if everything's linked."

"You call ... keeping your people in line, Bar...?"

"Still can't wake him," Astor said anxiously. 

Barber looked back at Jackson, hoping his organs hadn't been cooked by whatever he'd done to that control crystal, and forced himself to remember that, if surveillance had been blown, SG-1 couldn't see what was going on in their corridor--they were lucky to have any communications left at all. He took a breath, then made the call.

"Colonel," he answered, watching Astor try to wake Jackson, "we don't know what that shock did to him--he needs medical attention."

"Sir!" Astor cried, suddenly a flurry of movement. "He's not breathing..."

"What?" Barber said.

"Still got a pulse," she said a second later, carefully shifting Jackson's body so he was flat on his back. "He stopped breathing--it's been no more than...maybe twenty seconds, but--"

Barber dropped to his knees next to them, tilted the head back, watched for the chest to rise, listened for a slow whistle of air through the slightly open mouth. "Dammit," he muttered when nothing happened. "Astor, start breathing for him!" he ordered, surging up again to his feet.

He reached the intercom just as O'Neill's voice was saying, "... stop now, your test ... over and you failed."

Angrily, he jabbed the intercom button and said, "Then I guess we failed, sir! Jackson's in respiratory arrest. We have to get him out of here now!"

There was a pause, and then, businesslike, "We're coming, Lieuten.... first aid until we..."

There was a cough, and then a shallow gasp.

"Breathing on his own again," Astor said, a little shakily.

Barber scrubbed a hair through his hair and only nodded, because 'breathing' was pretty much a minimum requirement as far as being alive went. "Make sure he keeps breathing," he said. "How 'bout his hand; is it still bleeding?"

The hand didn't look too bad at first glance, but Barber knew electricity was tricky like that--you couldn't see the internal damage. If there'd been enough current flowing through Jackson to knock him out and screw with his breathing, the electricity must've done something to his insides, and the human body was like a sack of conducting fluid with a heart that beat--or stopped beating--when electricity told it to.

Then Captain Carter's voice said, "Stand by ... working on it."

Working on it? What was that supposed to mean?

Astor pulled out a field dressing from her vest pocket, tucking her flashlight between her jaw and her shoulder to illuminate what she was doing. She winced in sympathy when Jackson flinched as the cloth pressed the cut. "Daniel? You with us now?"

A moan answered her.

"Sorry, I know, I know," she said as she worked. "You awake? Daniel."

"Lieutenant," Carter hailed again, and Barber's attention was redirected to the intercom, "we can't get ... door... our side. Whatever Jackson ... something else, too. Are ... able to see the aff... circuit?"

This was turning into one hell of a shitty day.

"Can we have light back, ma'am?" he asked.

"I'll try ... reroute some ... backup ... that'll take a while," Carter answered, sounding frustrated. "... sequestered that corridor ... tests, and we're not linked to ... but communications. Barber, the crystal ... broken--is it one ... programming crystals?"

"No, ma'am, it's the power regulator," he said, shining his light into the panel where Jackson had just been standing. 

"Do you smell that?" Astor said sharply. "Is that smoke?"

Barber frowned. After a moment, he smelled it, the sharp, acrid smell of something burning--plastic?--but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. And then he raised his flashlight and realized it was coming from right in front of him--

Carter was saying, "We didn't account ... would break one of ..."

"Down!" Barber managed, and he threw himself to the ground just as a spark leapt from around the intercom and crackling sounds emerged. Turning his face away, he saw Astor plant her body in front of Jackson's as well as she could, instinctively protecting her head with her arms. A louder crack above made him roll back up to a crouch, looking up to see a spark of flame disappear, leaving them in the dark again, smoke surrounding them.

Barber aimed his flashlight back up at the blackened plastic that had previously been the intercom. "Goddamn," he muttered. Carter had said something about sequestering the corridor, and now that he thought about it, of course it made sense that they would have isolated the testing area's systems from the rest of the base...which meant it was possible that these few panels all drew power from the same local source. Overload one and damage others...something was going to go. Or everything was. "Everyone okay?"

"Yes, sir," Astor said.

"Ngh," Jackson said, then coughed weakly.

"Sir," Astor said, shifting so she could see Jackson better. Barber took another look back, decided to panic about losing communication later, and hurried to their side. Astor rose to her feet as he took her place, and she hurried away to see what they could do from there.

For a brief moment of insanity, he almost thought that this might be part of the test. Then Jackson shuddered and tried to roll away when Barber touched his shoulder and stopped partway with a pained whimper, pulling his hand toward his chest. People who regularly fought alien parasites might be a little crazy, he figured, but he was pretty sure these tests weren't actually designed to injure or kill.

"Jackson--Daniel?" Barber said. Daniel opened his eyes halfway and then let them fall closed again, shivering. "No, no, no, stay with me. Daniel, open your eyes, huh?"

Daniel obeyed, slowly. "What..." he breathed, then winced. "B-Barber?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right. How're you doing?"

"Nn...ah, god..."

"Where's it hurt?" he said, thinking of internal damage, internal burns, who knew what else...

"I don'...feel good."

"Sir, " Astor called from the end of the corridor where they'd come in. "We're sealed in from this end. We might as well check the room I got open just before Daniel got hit."

Barber turned to see the open door again. "They'll get in to us eventually," he thought aloud, but Daniel made another sound of distress, and he stood up. "Right, no reason to wait. Astor, keep an eye on the kid."

Without waiting for her response, he hurried into the other room she'd opened, which he found almost completely empty, except for a bundle of cloth on a table. He touched the cloth and heard a faint clinking sound, so he unwrapped it quickly to find six control crystals. Fine--this must be what was missing from the panel outside.

From outside, Astor's voice could be heard saying, "You all right, kiddo?"

"Mm," Daniel's voice said, almost too soft to hear, "s'it...c-cold?"

"Hey, stay awake," she said sharply.

Focusing back on his task, Barber wrapped the crystals again and picked them up. Next to them was a small, stone tablet and something that looked like a wireless mouse. Remembering something from the reading he'd been given, he picked up the last one and ran it over the tablet, gratified to see the displayed text change. It was in hieroglyphs, though, so he scooped those up, as well.

"Can you read this?" he asked Astor, handing her the tablet and the device. "I think this was the puzzle we were supposed to solve in there."

"Uh," she said, squinting at the tablet. "Yeah, I think so."

"Figure out what it says," Barber said, putting down the control crystals to watch Daniel while she did that. Astor had stripped off her tac vest and jacket to spread over him. Worried about having to deal with the other kind of shock on top of electrical shock, Barber took off his own vest and stuffed them both under the kid's legs before checking the dressing. The bandage was wet, but not saturated, and it looked like whatever bleeding there was had stopped, or at least slowed a lot. "How're you holding up?" he asked, glancing at where Astor was reading silently, her lips moving.

"Can't...stop sh-shaking," Daniel gritted out, and he was indeed still shivering despite the extra covering. "Hurts..."

"Electricity can mess with your muscles," Barber told him, not mentioning that it could mess with your brain and everything else, too. "Don't worry. We're almost there. How's your hand?"

"F-feels...um. Weird."

"Numb? Hurts?"

"Hm..." Daniel said, closing his eyes again.

"That wasn't permission to go to sleep, Jackson," Barber said, not frantic at all, Jesus Christ, why couldn't they have gotten someone from the medical corps assigned to join them? "Open your eyes and...and just keep talking to us, you hear?"

Astor spoke up. "It looks like...it says we need to solve the...uh, secret, mystery... The riddle, I guess. It says, 'Solve the...riddle of the stones to open the gate.' I think these are instructions."

Barber looked toward the blast door. "There are crystals missing from that control panel over there," he said. "If the 'stones' are 'crystals,' I'll bet that tablet tells us how to configure it properly to open the door."

He started to gather the crystals and move toward the panel when she said, "Daniel's out again, sir," she said. "Pulse is steady, but we've gotta get him out of here."

There was a second when he wondered if this had been rigged somehow to take out so many systems at once when someone screwed up, and then discarded the thought. It didn't matter how, at the moment, or even if it had been rigged, because the point was that they were cut off, there was someone unconscious on the floor, and they had to get him out, test or not.

"I think I know what this is," he said, staring at the numbers written on the panel next to the slots. "We have to figure out where to plug everything in. That must be the 'riddle.' Astor, how're you doing with that tablet?"

"I, uh," she said, then passed the odd device over the tablet again. "I can read what it says, but I don't know what it means. There's that introduction, and then it gives a list of six colors."

"Colors," Barber repeated, poised to start working at his panel. "What--yellow, red, et cetera?"

"Yes, sir."

"Like the crystals. Are they associated with numbers or anything?"

She shook her head. "There's a... It says something like... I don't know, this doesn't make any sense. Uh...a...circuit above two--" She stopped.

Barber raised his eyebrows. "A what and what?"

"I mean, there are a bunch of possible meanings...with a little time, maybe..."

"Might not have that much time, Lieutenant," Barber said, looking toward Daniel and watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest in the beam of the flashlight. She turned, too, then closed her eyes briefly and nodded.

"Okay. First word, 'the circuit.' Second, 'above, over, on top.' Then two of something... this could mean 'phrases,' uh...or...certain other meanings, like triangles, or a radius."

"'Radius' like the bone or 'radius' of a circle?" Barber asked, still not getting it.

"It's geometry, sir; radius of a circle," she said. "Wait, you don't think...circuit. Circle. Circumference?"

He stared at her, and then turned to the panel. "Oh, that's...no way," he said in disbelief.

"What?"

"Circumference over two radii...that's pi. If I know the first few digits of pi..."

"And," she continued, "we know the order that the crystals go in by color... Do you know the first, um...we need six digits."

"Yeah, I know them. What's the first one?" he said. Carefully, hoping this panel was isolated from whatever else had already been screwed up, he removed the power regulator and set it aside, relieved when nothing shocked him.

"Red," she said, and he slotted the red crystal into the slot labeled '3.' "Then white. Uh, what color is malachite, green, right?"

"Sure," he answered, hoping she was right, slotting a colorless crystal into '1' and a green into '4.'

"Then white, then...I think this is...is there a purple one?"

"Hold it," he said, still on the second clear crystal in the second '1' slot. Purple in the '5.' "Okay, yeah, got it. Last one?"

"Yellow."

Barber plugged the yellow into the '9.' He picked up the blue power crystal again but hesitated with it poised over the slot where it had been before. That was the wrong place now--it wasn't even connected to the others. There was another blank spot that made more sense, though, so he slotted it in carefully, bracing himself for whatever might happen if he'd configured this wrong...

A loud alarm made him jump back, but the next moment, the blast door began to rise. "Yes! That's it." Astor appeared beside him. The other side of the corridor seemed empty, too, so he started for the 'Stargate' door at the other end, calling, "Is anyone there? Colonel O'Neill?"

Without warning, the lights came on all around them, making him blink to let his eyes adjust.

"What?" Astor said. Barber stopped, turning around to see her look up, mystified, at the lights that had been cut off only minutes ago, which was why he was facing the right direction to see Daniel sit up, brushing off the jackets they'd lent him and waggling something that looked like a remote control before he slipped it back into his pocket.

"Daniel?" Barber said in confusion, making Astor turn as well.

"Hey, guys," Daniel called back. He shrugged. "You win."

...x...

The sound of another door sliding open made them turn yet again to see SG-1 and General Hammond walk in calmly.

What the hell--they'd been had!

Barber stared at SG-1, still trying to work out exactly how everything fit together.

"You pass," Colonel O'Neill said to both of them, then walked past to point an accusing finger at Daniel. "You're not actually supposed to bleed on them, you realize that, right?" O'Neill asked, pulling the hastily bandaged arm toward himself but loosening his grip when Daniel flinched.

"It's not that bad. Not even bleeding anymore," Daniel said, then nodded to Barber and Astor, offering a smile that turned into a wince when O'Neill started unwrapping the dressing.

"If your hand gets infected from testing recruits, I'm gonna laugh," O'Neill threatened while peering at the cut.

Daniel frowned at him. "She found the switch faster than we'd expected, so I had to hurry... Sorry, sir," he added in their direction. "I didn't mean to mess anything up."

"That's all right, Mr. Jackson, you did fine," General Hammond said with a smile. "Lieutenant Barber, Lieutenant Astor, we'd be happy to have you join this command."

Astor exchanged incredulous looks with Barber. "But," he said feebly, then glanced back at Daniel, who was currently bickering with Colonel O'Neill. The general was still looking at them, and so were the other two members of SG-1, so he said, "Yes, sir. Uh, thank you."

"General," O'Neill said, walking toward the door and shepherding Daniel with a hand on his back, "I'm taking Daniel to Dr. Fraiser."

"Jack," Daniel complained, then tried futilely to sidestep. "Jack, c'mon, I can go on my own!" Barber watched, bemused, as Daniel was dragged bodily out of the room by O'Neill and called back to them, "Thanks for taking care of me!"

O'Neill continued herding him out. "And what did I say about trying to make Teal'c laugh during--"

They rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. Barber snuck a glance at Teal'c. The Jaffa raised an eyebrow at him. He looked away.

"Holy sh--schnitzel," Astor murmured.

Hammond smiled again and didn't rebuke her for language. "Come with us to the briefing room. We'll explain, and once Colonel O'Neill and Mr. Jackson are finished, they'll join us."

XXXXX

25 August 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 0730 hrs

O'Neill walked into the briefing room alone a few minutes after they did.

"Sir?" Captain Carter asked as she and Teal'c turned immediately to him. "Daniel?"

"Went up to the office," O'Neill said, taking a seat. "He'll be down with Astor's orientation files, General." Carter had already given Barber a binder of things to study and forms to fill out; he'd assumed Astor would be getting the same from another research department.

"All right," Hammond said, then turned to Barber and Astor. "As I said, Lieutenants, your skills were not in question today. That scenario was set up primarily to make you feel a sense of pressure while you attempted to solve a problem that you'd never expect to see on Earth."

"We did think of a couple of other possibilities," Carter explained, "including putting you in a combat situation, but I've had trouble trying to engineer Goa'uld weapons to fire duds without it just looking silly."

"I wanted to use paintballs," O'Neill said.

"Which would've seemed even less real than blanks," Carter went on smoothly. "The special effects were easier to rig up, this way--you might've noticed if Daniel had gotten 'shot' and started leaking fake blood. We were monitoring the entire time to make sure nothing went wrong in reality."

Of course they were. These were professionals--the best professionals. They would've had contingency plans for when their contingency plans went sideways. Barber should've known. He had known and had still let them manipulate him into believing exactly what they wanted.

"And," O'Neill said, leaning back in his chair, "we had to know how you'd interact with other military personnel and with civilians. Some of them know what it's like to work on an SG team; some don't. Now, Daniel laid the 'helpless' thing on a little thick, but you might end up working with someone who really is completely inexperienced."

"I was afraid you'd suspected that it was an act," Hammond said, "but I assume from your reactions that you didn't."

"I almost did, sir," Barber admitted, "but I didn't think there was any way someone like Daniel could be in on this." Or should it be Mr. Jackson?

O'Neill snorted. "Yeah, we figured. That's why we use him as our plant. He's gotten it down pretty well these days, don't you think?"

"So," Astor spoke up, "there wasn't actually any sort of urgency, sir?"

Daniel walked in then, holding a thick folder, the blood washed off his arm and a clean bandage visible on his left hand. "Sorry I'm late, sir," he said to the general, then took a seat by Teal'c, who gave him a stern look. Instead of quailing, Daniel leaned closer with a quick smile and muttered something that sounded like, "Chel nak, Jaffa." Teal'c's lips twitched as if he were about to say something, but he only raised an eyebrow.

Carter continued, "Actually, we've run that same scenario before, Lieutenant, and others have failed. There was a time limit. The first group waited for help to find them instead of trying to get out on their own, and Daniel 'died' during the wait. The second group was too flustered to figure out the riddle fast enough and he 'died' again."

"One of the guys taped Daniel's mouth shut," O'Neill added. "Not that I don't understand the temptation sometimes, but it's really unbecoming in an officer."

"You get the idea," Daniel said, shooting a scowl at O'Neill. "Anyway, you two were the first to make it all the way through to the end."

"If you hadn't passed," Carter said, "you might well have gotten a position on base, but not as active field officers, at least not right away."

"Huh," Barber said, peering more closely at Daniel with a mix of irritation that they'd been led to think they'd almost let him die under their watch, and relief that they hadn't and that they'd apparently passed. "And you're..."

"...standing in for Dr. Robert Rothman at the moment," Daniel said, handing the folder to Astor and not actually answering the question Barber had been asking. "His team's been on a long-term research trip. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you, Lieutenant Astor, when they check back, um...in two days, I think. But for now, you get me."

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" someone called. Barber and Astor both started in their seats, but the rest of them jumped to their feet, Hammond moving toward the control room with SG-1 while Daniel followed them to the periphery of the room and watched.

"Close the iris," Hammond ordered.

Barber turned toward the briefing room window to see the metallic shield closing over the Stargate--now, that was a pretty cool piece of engineering--but, a moment later, the technician at the console announced, "Receiving Tok'ra IDC."

"Toke what? Was that part of the lectures?" Barber said quietly, but Astor only shrugged in answer. Captain Carter was grinning, though, and SG-1 put their heads together with the general briefly before she walked back into the briefing room.

"I apologize," Carter told Barber. "I'll take care of your orientation myself, but SG-1 needs to be here for this. Daniel, do you mind bringing the lieutenants upstairs, maybe answer a few of their questions and send them where they need to go? I'm sorry, Lieutenant Barber, but I'll come to Daniel's office to get you when I'm done, and then I'll bring you to the physical science labs."

Daniel turned toward the opening iris, looking disappointed, but agreed, "Okay. Can I meet him later?"

"Yeah, 'course," Carter said, without explaining who he was.

SG-1 and Hammond hurried down the stairs into the embarkation room, and Daniel turned to Barber and Astor. "Hi," he said. "Uh. So. I guess we're supposed to go upstairs."

...x...

"We'd really like to change the format of these scenarios," Daniel confided to them in the elevator, rocking back on his heels. "It's easier for me to act as a faux-applicant if you don't know anything about the SGC's missions, but it'd be more realistic if we could come up with other ways so you could at least put everything in more context. You'd get to read more of the reports, for one; it's important to be able to learn and draw from what you or others have done in the past. We've talked about opening up the whole base--that'd be kind of fun."

"It is a bit confining," Barber agreed, studying him curiously and wondering at the implication that knowing more about the Stargate program would mean knowing more about him, too. Daniel was probably a member of an SG team, then--not military, judging by his interactions with the others--or else someone so prominent that his name would have come up in past reports. For the life of him, Barber couldn't imagine how or why that would be the case for someone so young.

Astor scratched the back of her head, then said, "Okay, no offense, but...pi? Really?"

That earned a lightning-quick grin that disappeared almost before they'd seen it. "We actually had to do that once, on a world called Cimmeria," Daniel said. Field operative, then, Barber decided. "For the scenario, we just replaced the Norse runes with Egyptian hieroglyphs and the geometric shapes with crystals. And, uh, the talking Viking hologram with--" He stopped. "You know, it...really makes more sense if you know the background. You can read the report if you're interested."

The elevator stopped at the eighteenth floor, and Daniel led the way out, still talking. "This level is where most of the social scientists and language specialists work. The main physical science labs are on Levels 19 and 20, so you'll probably join one of the labs there, Lieutenant Barber. They're interested in you for general research as well as fieldwork."

Daniel's nervousness before might have been faked, but his penchant for talking lots and fast clearly wasn't. He stepped into an office, made a beeline for a coffee pot, and opened the can of grounds sitting next to it. "This is Dr. Rothman and my office--come in. Coffee?"

"You weren't lying about not being a morning person, huh," Astor said.

"Your sleep schedule can get very odd if you go off-world a lot," Daniel explained. "You're both on teams, which is, uh, better in terms of scheduling and work shifts. Only a little better, mind, but they at least try to set up reasonable rotations. It's the temporary attachés who have really irregular schedules."

"Like you," Astor guessed.

"Like me," Daniel confirmed. "I, um. I dunno, should I be giving...a tour or something? Feel free to look around."

Barber studied the office. It was cluttered in a way that almost hid the fact that it was actually also a lab, clearly used more for desk work than for chemical analysis or--or whatever archaeology labs usually did in a wet lab.  "So this is where we come if we need advice with some language or culture?" he said.

"You can, yes," Daniel said. "Someone in here will have an idea of where to look or whom to ask if we don't know the answer ourselves, and we keep communal reference materials here. But you'll learn which people specialize in different fields, and you can go to them directly."

Daniel glanced distractedly out the door as someone rushed past and recited, "Um, temporary bunkrooms are scattered on Levels 12 through 15--the ones on 15 are used by civilian personnel. Security's on 16--talk to them if you have any questions about access if your direct supervisor doesn't know. In emergency situations, you may be called upon to bolster their numbers, and there are occasional drills, so I'd familiarize myself with their setup and personnel. Indoor ranges are on 17--two generally for projectile firearms, Earth or alien, one for experimental and energy weapons, but check with the RSO for specifics--"

Oh, man. Barber couldn't quite contain a grin. There were facilities meant for shooting experimental alien energy weapons.

"--medical facilities and gym are on 21--oh, someone set up a basketball room on 20. Mess and commissary and low-level isolation rooms on 22. Um. Level 24 is used for servicing equipment and storing most of the unmanned probes we send through the wormhole, and you're familiar with 27 and 28. Those are the--whoops--"

"'Scuse me, Jackson, you mind if I grab this?" an airman said, running in and snatching a book from the shelf. "Coburn wants a quick check on--"

She was back out the door before she even finished her sentence. Daniel watched her go with a raised eyebrow but didn't seem concerned. "Right, anyway," he finished. "Those are the main areas. There are also permanent and VIP quarters on 25 and 26 if you ever need to...uh, crash."

"Assigned quarters?" Astor asked. "I don't remember being told that. Are we required...?"

Barber had a girlfriend who was planning to move in with him two weeks from now. He assumed Astor was thinking along the same lines that he was--living at work would not only make it harder to have an outside life, but it would also make his cover story for family and friends more complicated.

"No, no; senior SG officers and team members can use the rooms on 25 and 26, but it's just for when you can't get off base," Daniel assured them. "Sometime we get...well, guests--refugees or diplomats--and they stay in those rooms while they're here. If there's a widespread base lockdown and there happen to be too many people who need a bed, those rooms get allocated according to seniority, so, sorry. But everyone's pretty good about making space when necessary, and the general bunkrooms aren't bad. And if we're locked down, you'll probably be too busy trying to help resolve the situation to care very much, anyway. Whether it's okay to stay in the Mountain in non-emergency or -medical situations depends on your cover story. Teal'c and I are the only ones who have permanent quarters, and that's just because we don't have regular Earth homes."

A-ha. That would explain things.

Astor raised her eyebrows. "You're...not from Chicago, are you."

"I made that up," Daniel admitted. "I'm actually an alien. Oh, that's not derogatory," he added when he saw their faces, though Barber was pretty sure they were both stuck on 'alien,' not the social connotations of the word. "Not in and of itself, anyway. It's about tone and context, yes?"

Astor took this in stride--or hid her surprise well; maybe that was why she was being assigned to a diplomatic team like SG-14--and said, "But you're human, right? Or...like, do you specialize in undercover work? You look young and harmless enough. Is that an alien...thing?"

Daniel straightened from pouring a mug of coffee. He blinked several times, looking unsure whether to be offended or amused. "I...that's not... I'm human. My parents were from Earth. And I'm sixteen years old by your calendar, so if I look... But, uh, I really do work in this department. As a translator. Mostly."

Someone stormed loudly past the door, calling something about the something from PF3-586 before he disappeared from sight. "Geez, is it always this busy?" Barber asked.

Daniel hesitated, then shrugged. "You'll hear about it soon anyway--it's all people are talking about. People have been a lot more tense than usual lately, because there was a...an incident at Area 51 about two weeks ago."

Astor turned away from scanning the bookshelves and said, "That sounds ominous."

When no reassurance came, Barber decided it was ominous. Daniel sipped thoughtfully at his coffee and said evenly, "Someone got into one of the most secure areas of the facility. There was a lot of damage, but it looks like the objective was theft of a certain item."

"But Area 51. Are we talking...stolen alien technology?" Barber asked.

"Well...yes," Daniel said. "It's very, uh...powerful, you could say. Dangerous."

"A weapon?" Astor asked, alarmed.

"An enormous healing device," Daniel corrected. "And some explosives and energy weapons and things, but mostly, we're worried about the healing device. We can deal with the rest. If SG-1 seemed a little brusque earlier, that's why--they've been heading that investigation."

Before Barber could ask exactly what it was about a healing device that was dangerous, they were interrupted by voices approaching their position from the hall, and they all turned.

"--on Earth," a man's voice said. "It's a long shot, but we figured it'd be the best place to start."

"Well, our head Egyptologist isn't here," Captain Carter's voice answered, "but why don't you just tell us what you know. Maybe we can come up with a few ideas."

When Barber looked back, Daniel was putting down his mug. "Excuse me," he told them, but before he could take more than a step, Carter entered, followed by an older man dressed in something that looked like a cross between a shirt and kilt and leather armor. Barber would have found it hilarious if the man hadn't looked so serious and also kind of scary. And given the nature of this place, he might actually be an alien, and laughing seemed impolite and probably kind of ignorant, as someone who'd only ever seen Earth-wear. O'Neill and Teal'c followed right behind.

The man took in the office quickly, his gaze sharp, and Carter told him, "Dad, this is Daniel Jackson, Dr. Rothman's assistant and an Ancient Egyptian specialist. In fact, he's the reason I'd heard of Setesh before today. Daniel, I'd like you to finally meet my dad."

Barber saw Astor twitch minutely, and it was taking conscious effort not to let his own jaw drop open. Dad. Right. So. Not an alien. Unless Captain Carter was one, too, which would be weird. Then again, if Daniel was an alien, and Teal'c the Jaffa obviously was...

This was going to take some getting used to.

Daniel extended a hand to the man and said, "General Carter, I've heard a lot about you--I've been hoping to meet you and Selmak."

Carter--the other one, the alien general, apparently--looked as thrown by Daniel as Barber himself had been, and he turned to Captain Carter to ask, "Is this a joke?"

"Dad!" Captain Carter hissed as Daniel stiffened and withdrew his hand.

O'Neill said, "Why don't you give him your information, Jacob, and see what comes up. In the meantime, someone should show these bright young officers where to go, hm?"

"Lieutenant Astor," Daniel said, sounding displeased about being called a joke. "Please go to the office down this hall and ask Captain Hagman or Lithell if you need help. Everything you need should be in that file; there's some paperwork on top you'll have to fill out."

With a final warning glance at her father--Jacob? General? What?--Captain Carter said, "Lieutenant Barber, I'll take you to the engineering department. Dr. Lee can show you around some of our current projects while I'm dealing with this issue down here."

"Hey, congrats, by the way," O'Neill called as they were both ushered out of the room before they could speak. "And good luck. You're gonna need it."

Chapter Text

25 August 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 0800 hrs

"Well," Jack said once Lieutenants Barber and Astor had gone, leaving Teal'c, General Carter, and Jack alone in the room with Daniel. "Good first impression."

Daniel tried not to look annoyed, because it wasn't the first time someone hadn't taken him seriously, and looking annoyed wouldn't help convince anyone to start doing so. Instead, he sat down behind his desk, making sure his body language made it clear that this was, in fact, his desk in what was his office in Robert's absence. "Sam mentioned Setesh, General Carter?"

Sam's father was still looking at him oddly, but he answered, "I don't usually go by 'General' these days. Jacob's fine."

Daniel nodded politely behind a sip of coffee, because the man was Sam's father, and that certainly deserved some politeness. "Jacob. Can I help with Setesh somehow?"

"The Tok'ra are seeking his current location," Teal'c said. Jacob didn't say anything more and seemed to be waiting, as if to see whether Daniel at least recognized the name.

Daniel tapped a pen idly against his hand, stopping only when he hit the cut he'd carelessly gotten in that morning's scenario. He'd done some research on Setesh almost a year ago, when he'd been looking for mentions of Kheb or the gods involved in the myth--bits of information had caught his attention, though not enough to warrant following up. Still... "I'll bet no one ever looked on Earth," he finally said.

Jack raised his eyebrows, and Daniel knew he'd guessed right.

"Are you just saying that?" General Carter--Jacob--asked, looking more interested now. "Or is there an actual reason to believe he might be here?"

"Well, I had a theory last year," Daniel started, then amended, "Not a theory. An impression, at best. Anyway, we were busy with Kheb at the time, and we didn't have any solid evidence of a murderous tyrant trying to take over, so we never pursued it further. I still have the research, though."

"The Tok'ra believe Setesh never left Earth when the Stargate closed behind Ra after the uprising in Giza," Jacob told him. "The problem was, I figured looking for a Goa'uld on Earth, among six billion humans, would be like..."

"Looking for a needle in a haystack," Jack said. Daniel knew him well enough to recognize a hint of pride in his voice and knew the military environment well enough not to let the recognition show. He had to prove competence now and not let overconfidence color Jacob's already-questionable opinion of him. "But if you have a clue, that haystack might've just gotten a bit smaller."

"Why do the Tok'ra believe he's on Earth?" Daniel asked.

"The Tok'ra's record of Setesh ends when the Earth's Stargate was buried about five thousand years ago," Jacob said. "So..."

"Wait," Daniel said in surprise, coming quickly to his feet. "The Tok'ra's record? What record?"

"The Tok'ra council has been taking a Goa'uld census of sorts throughout the galaxy," Jacob explained. "They've been doing it basically as long as they've been fighting the System Lords."

"You keep track of the Goa'uld? You know where each one is at a given time, or, or at least which planets he or she rules? So you could...if we asked, you could tell us--"

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c interrupted, and Daniel shifted his gaze from Jacob's confused expression to his friend. "The Tok'ra keep a record of the Goa'uld System Lords."

Oh, he thought, but demanded, "Only the System Lords?"

"Pretty much," Jacob said, his brow furrowed. "There are thousands of Goa'uld--too many to try to keep up with. If we can take out the System Lords, the rest should be, more or less, easy pickings. What, don't tell me you guys are actively looking for one of the minor Goa'uld?"

But Jack knew what he was thinking now, too, and asked, "You wouldn't happen to know of one named Klorel, would you? Or Amaunet?"

Jacob dipped his head, and when he raised it again, his eyes glowed.

Daniel sucked in a breath--he'd had a nightmare like this once--but forced himself not to step back. "You're Selmak," he said.

"Yes," Selmak said. Daniel shivered slightly and tried to hide it, but he was certain the sharp eyes saw it. "You are very interested in Apophis."

"You know who they are, then," Daniel said, daring to hope, just a little. "Klorel and Amaunet?"

There was a long silence in which Daniel knew he should really just start looking for Setesh, because the entire SGC was going insane with stress these days, and if there was a Goa'uld on Earth, they had to focus, but... He pushed back the chill that Selmak's voice gave him and stood still while the Tok'ra assessed him. "You are the Tau'ri of whom Lantash spoke," Selmak finally said. "The boy who prayed for Apophis as he died."

Interesting--and perhaps shrewd--that Martouf tended to speak when dealing with the Tau'ri, while Lantash, though more rash, took the lead among other Tok'ra. Did Jacob and Selmak do the same? How much of the trust between them was a careful game meant to appease while still holding something back?

But they could discuss Tok'ra-human politics later. "I prayed for his host," Daniel corrected stiffly. "And I ask now for my brother and sister, the hosts of Klorel and Amaunet."

Selmak lowered his gaze, and Jacob Carter resurfaced. "Sorry to hear that," Jacob said, after a pause. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to keep tabs on them, except as they're pertinent to Apophis. We haven't heard of either of them in over a year."

"You don't know where they are now," Daniel said, nodding, looking down and sitting again.

"No, 'fraid not," Jacob said, but solemn now, not joking or scornful anymore. "Klorel seems to be on his own, and last we heard, Amaunet was still with Heru-ur. Our operatives in his army were killed on a planet called Cimmeria, and we haven't been able to get someone else on the inside yet."

Jack grimaced behind Jacob's back. That had been their fault, albeit accidentally.

"Okay." Daniel cleared his throat and logged into his computer. "Sorry for the interruption. Um. Right, Setesh." A silence met him, and he said, "Do you want me to show you what we found?"

"Yeah, how d'you figure he's on Earth?" Jack said, coming around the desk to look over his shoulder.

"I don't remember how I got to it last time, but let me see if I can..."

Daniel pushed away from the desk again and crouched to reach a lower shelf, where there were binders full of things they'd found at some point and thought interesting but hadn't been able to follow up. He extracted the correct binder and paged through until the word Setesh caught his eye, then returned to his desk.

"Here," he said, opening to the information they'd printed out from an obscure site.

"Cult of Setesh," Jack read off the page. "Sweet."

"You see," Daniel explained, "last year, I found that there have been religious groups revolving around a mysterious figure named Seth. Or Setesh. Or Sutekh, Sut, Seti--"

"Yadda," Jack said, motioning with a hand for him to go on.

Daniel made a face but went on, "For a long time, since at least 1000 B.C., and probably before that, this religion has existed in some form or another. This cult"--he flipped to the first page in the set--"lasted about a hundred and fifty years. And then this one for only a couple of decades, and this one almost three hundred years...it goes on like that over three thousand years. But the last trace I found was a cult around Stonehenge whose leader was named Seth, and it was ended in 1822."

Jack pointed at the last page he'd stopped on. "What is that?"

"The symbol used by the cult, I suppose," Daniel said, tilting his head at the animal. "Tau'ri Egyptologists think it's imaginary--they call it the typhonic beast. Apparently, it never existed on Earth, but it definitely exists on parts of Abydos. Well, it doesn't look exactly like this, but we call it ron n'sutekh, Setesh's animal, and it looks reasonably similar."

"The animal exists on certain desert planets, and that does looks a little like Setesh's brand," Jacob said, coming around as well to look. Then he blinked and looked at Daniel. "Did you say 'Abydos'?"

Daniel nodded but didn't elaborate. "Anyway, I remember something odd...um...here. The members of the last cult were killed, not by the Christians who had been attacking them but rather by themselves. They slit their own throats as they came under more suspicion, but no one ever found Seth's body. Now, this account is probably second-hand, at least, and sensationalized, but since these cults seem to have been secret organizations, we probably won't get anything more reliable. It might be what you're looking for."

"That sounds possible," Jacob acknowledged. "The MO's right: false religion, devout followers, leaves bodies behind..."

Sam walked back in then, looking surprised to hear her father's words. "Don't tell me you found something? Already?"

"Not sure," Jacob said. "But I think maybe we have, Sam."

"But see, I'm not so sure about that," Daniel said, swiveling around in his chair to face them. "If Setesh has been on Earth for the last five thousand years, why hasn't he tried to take over, or at least looked for the Stargate?"

"Setesh attempted to overthrow Ra," Teal'c said. "He did not succeed."

"Came pretty close, though," Jacob added. "Setesh was high on the food chain, but when Ra won, the other System Lords sided with him and put a price on Setesh's head. Then, the Tok'ra and the other System Lords all wanted to kill him."

"So he's not trying to take over Earth," Daniel said; "he's hiding here among the humans. And that's why he hasn't..." He trailed off, thinking. "But I lost track of him after the early 1800s. Surely he's done something since then."

"No more cults floating around?" Jack asked.

"Not that I found," he said, skimming through the page again and trying another quick search. "I can keep looking, now that I know it's worth trying to find. But..."

"What?"

"The last cult was thought of as being full of extreme zealots. People were wary of them, and then they all killed themselves. That's kind of...aberrant, right?"

"Y'think?" Jack said.

Jacob was frowning at him again. "Which means they might've caught someone's attention. You want to use records from Earth's law enforcement agencies."

"Uh...sure," Daniel said, guessing that law enforcement would probably be involved if people were killing themselves. "I've never dealt with other government organizations besides us. Can we ask the law enforcement, uh, agencies, or... How does that work?"

Sam shrugged. "We can get a look at US federal agencies' work from here, to some extent, so we can see if anyone's caught the scent."

"What if he's not in the US?"

"We've got to start somewhere," Jack pointed out. "If there's an investigation going on that has anything to do with this country, the CIA will probably know, and we can find it."

"Huh," Daniel said, impressed. "That's...chel nak. How do I do that?"

"I'll show you how to get onto the classified net, and you can go through the search yourself," Sam offered. "I need to configure this unit to get on the network, though. You mind?"

Daniel stood to leave her the chair and full access to the laptop. "No, of course not."

"This'll only take a few minutes," she said as she began to work.

"There's something else," Jack was saying to Jacob. "In fact, this would explain a lot. You know how we had Hathor's sarcophagus at Area 51?"

"Yeah, George told me it got stolen," Jacob said grimly. "How the hell do you lose a sarcophagus?"

"It wasn't us," Jack pointed out. "It was the NID and the idiots stationed at Nellis."

"But now you think that was Setesh," Daniel said in interest. SG-1 had been put in charge of that investigation; Daniel wasn't an active part of that, so what he knew extended just barely beyond the rumors circulating around base.

"Why don't you tell me what happened," Jacob said.

Jack sighed. "Two weeks ago, an unauthorized, unmarked aircraft landed at Nellis Base. About thirty minutes later, an alarm sounded in the area where the sarcophagus was being kept. Long story short, there were a few explosions that left fragments of what Teal'c says could be Goa'uld bombs, and the sarcophagus disappeared. It looks like all witnesses or persons involved are dead. The plane itself was later found in the middle of the Pacific; it was probably destroyed before it hit the water. We've been looking for weeks, but we had nothing to go on, short of scouring the world for a giant box."

Daniel heard Sam's frustrated huff from where she sat. Even with Jack's instincts, Sam's ability to pull information from just about anything electronic, and Teal'c's familiarity with Goa'uld devices, whoever had taken the sarcophagus had been careful to destroy everything--and everyone--that could possibly be a clue of any kind. Of course, knowing that there was a Goa'uld somewhere on Earth put everything in a different light.

"Does this happen often?" Jacob asked incredulously. "Unauthorized people getting into Area 51 without even being stopped by security?"

"Now, that's where it gets more interesting," Jack said. "Not only did the security forces let the attackers through, the guards' bodies were later found in the sarcophagus room, still holding their weapons. In fact, a few of the personnel inside were killed by those weapons."

There was a pause as Jacob took that in, and then he said, "You think it was an inside job--the NID was in on it."

"That was our assumption," Teal'c said. "It would not have been the first time that some members of the NID were involved in illicit activities."

"It would've explained the use of Goa'uld technology, too," Sam put in, not looking up. "No one has access to more Goa'uld devices than the NID, and the sarcophagus was right there. We've been thinking that it was probably a rogue operation and that that was why there was such a delay in sounding a proper alert."

"But now, if Setesh was involved..." Jacob said.

"It still doesn't explain how they got the NID to help them," Jack said. "Those guys were clean--they could've been rogue agents, I guess, but I doubt they had contact with a Goa'uld without anyone noticing. And if Setesh tried the steal the sarcophagus, how did he know it was there in the first place?"

"Unless someone inside Nellis was helping them," Jacob said.

"But if that's the case, there's another question," Sam added. "Why now, after the NID's had the sarcophagus for over a year?"

"Perhaps Setesh has been aware of that the entire time," Teal'c said, "and has simply waited until he was able to execute such an elaborate plan."

Jacob nodded in agreement. "And he would've needed someone who knew where things were kept," he continued. "He was using the people at the facility. You guys took out Hathor, right? You know there are Goa'uld substances that exert some degree of mind control."

Jack grimaced. "So now there's a Goa'uld out there who can control NID agents' minds and got his hands on a working sarcophagus. You know, I kind of liked it better when we thought it was just dirty NID guys."

"If it was Setesh, we need to shut him down as soon as possible and get that sarcophagus back," Sam said, standing. "Okay, Daniel, I'm done."

"What is... Is this like a normal search engine?" Daniel asked, looking over the window on his screen.

"Basically. You should be able to see current and past cases, keeping in mind that other agencies also keep some--or a lot--of their work under wraps," she said. "Especially for open investigations, sometimes it's hard to get all the information, but if we get a lead, we can go right to the source agency and try to get more facts. So, uh...are you good here?"

"Hm?" he said absently, trying to decide what keywords would be most likely to lead to Seth/Setesh/Sutekh... He saw Sam glance at her father out of the corner of her eye and said, "Oh, yes, of course. I'll start looking--thank you, Sam."

"Thank you, kiddo," Jacob said, ruffling Daniel's hair as he left to catch up with his daughter. No one ever did that, so Daniel was too surprised to do more than blink in confusion before Jacob disappeared out the door. Jack smirked at him, and he could have sworn Teal'c was laughing a little, too, silently.

"Look at this. I leave you alone for half an hour and you're drinking coffee," Jack said, making Daniel stop with his mug halfway to his lips.

"If you hadn't scheduled those two lieutenants' testing for 0600, maybe I'd be more awake right now," Daniel said, grimacing when he saw the results of his first search attempt. Okay, so 'SETH' might have been a little too broad as a search query.

"Excuses," Jack said, but he took a cup from the shelf and poured some coffee for himself, too. Teal'c raised a disdainful eyebrow at them both.

...x...

"Alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives," Daniel said when he'd finally found the connection he'd been looking for. He skimmed over the rest of the information. "That's really the name of an agency?" It seemed an unnecessarily unwieldy name.

"That's your friendly neighborhood ATF," Jack confirmed, reading over his shoulder. "You're sure this is our Goa'uld?"

"Not sure, but I think I've gone as far as I can go from here."

"Airman," Jack called out the door. "Get the Carters up here, would you?"

"Um, Jack," Daniel said, chewing his lip.

"Daniel?"

"This Seth has nearly fifty followers, according to their intelligence. And if it's the same Seth, then they'll probably respond to a threat with violence. His previous cults committed mass suicide when threatened, and his people weren't afraid to die when they stole the sarcophagus."

Jack was giving him a look now but said, "Fanatics in secret cults are complicated that way."

"Well, you'll need something subtle."

"Daniel, just...what are you talking about?"

"I think sneaking in would be the best way," he said. "Attack Seth himself before he can do anything in return, instead of storming his...his compound or camp or...whatever stronghold he has."

"Would've been my plan," Jack agreed, narrowing his eyes. "And...?"

Sam and Jacob walked in then as Daniel said, "I'm just... You have to be careful, that's all."

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

Teal'c answered, "Daniel Jackson believes we should infiltrate Seth's group of religious followers in order to eliminate him without harming his followers."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jacob said, and then, "Wait, you found him?"

"There's a cult around Seattle," Jack said. "Seth Fargough."

"...who is said to have magical powers and healing abilities," Daniel added, "and who sometimes kills members of the cult in front of the group, and who has his followers heavily armed and guarding him. Oh, and his eyes glow."

"Nice," Jacob said, looking reluctantly satisfied. "So...is there a problem?"

"No, no problem," Daniel said, only slightly lying. "Uh, who's going in? Of the people in this room, Teal'c and Jacob can't blend in because Seth will sense their symbiotes..."

"Me and Carter," Jack said.

"Even I can sense Sam's residual naquadah if I'm close enough," Daniel pointed out, ignoring the curious look that drew from Jacob. To turn attention away from the statement--it wasn't important just now--he added, "Selmak can too, right?"

Jacob gave his daughter a sideways glance. "Yeah, it's not that hard to tell if we're standing like this. It's not strong, but if Seth gets close, it's a dead giveaway that she's involved with something that has to do with Goa'uld."

"So Sam, Teal'c, and Jacob can't go, which leaves Jack, and..." He cut himself off before he could say 'the report says the average new recruit is at least ten or twenty years younger than you, Jack,' and settled on, "...you're only one person. It might be good to have an extra person with you to...what's the word...brainstorm. Make sure whoever sneaks in has the best chance."

"I say we take a look and see what we're dealing with," Jacob cut in. "Let's make sure this guy is even our Goa'uld, and then we'll decide who's sneaking into what."

"'We' meaning 'not you,'" Jack said, pointing at Daniel.

"Jack, my research found him," he said, indignant, and while he was aware that he'd often looked things up for other people to complete in the field, he had been doing a lot more than sitting behind a desk for months now.

"This isn't a research trip," Jack said, as if he might not know that.

"I'm already approved for some fieldwork, and I'm a few assessments away from being approved for first contact," Daniel retorted. "I'm better trained and more experienced than any other civilian here. If this is done right, no one needs to get hurt."

Jack shook his head. "When's the last time we went on a mission that went right?"

Frustrated, Daniel pointed out, "When Robert's out, I'm supposed to make sure the teams have the right cultural specialists when needed, and I don't have anyone else I can send with you right now who's as familiar with the mythology and the information pertaining to--"

"I want to be out of here and on the way to find Seth in two hours," Jack cut him off. "You want to come, you'd better convince General Hammond by then."

"Fine," Daniel said, and left for the general's office.

XXXXX

"I can't believe you convinced Hammond," Jack grumbled once they were on the plane.

"Colonel, he's just here to help provide insight," Sam said placatingly. Daniel might have complained about being talked about in the third person, but he wasn't going to push his luck if General Hammond was willing to let him join them, just in case mythology became useful.

To Daniel, Jack said, "Once we land, we're dealing with people outside the program."

"I know, Jack."

"So that means Jacob is General Carter, no one mentions the word 'symbiote,' you say you're Air Force and nothing more, and you do not speak in Goa'uld or Abydonian or any language that people don't speak today on Earth. In fact, stick entirely to English. Got it?"

"Yes," he said, suppressing the urge to ask if it was all right to speak a modern Earth language like Dutch.

"And listen to Teal'c."

Daniel blinked. "To...Teal'c? Okay. Then do I have to listen to you?"

"Yes," Jack said. "And to General Carter."

Daniel looked at Sam. "Uh. What about...Captain Carter?"

"Listen to her, too."

"Then why didn't you just say--?"

"Daniel...!"

"Okay!" Affronted, he added, "I wouldn't do anything to endanger all those innocent people in there. You know that, Jack."

Jack nodded curtly. "Just don't endanger yourself, either."

Jacob--General Carter out loud now, not Jacob--spoke up sharply, in the voice that made clear who was the general. "Is this gonna be a problem?" He pointed between the two of them. "Because I will find a couple of feds to sit on you if there's gonna be a problem, Daniel."

"No, sir," Daniel said, deciding to err on the side of deference to avoid having anyone sit on him. "I understand the stakes when we're in the field."

General Carter raised his eyebrows at Jack, who said, "He does. He's good--we're good."

"All right, then," Jacob said. "We need to know how Seth is controlling his followers."

"Mind-control, you said," Jack said. "The reports from people who've been deprogrammed make it seem like they were under the influence of something more than just head games." Daniel nodded in agreement and looked back over the notes he'd brought with him.

"We need a closer look," Jacob said, "but the Goa'uld have developed a number of substances that could do that."

"Such as the substance that Hathor used on the people at Area 51," Teal'c suggested.

Sam shook her head. "That wasn't particularly strong. It only worked on people who responded to female pheromones, for one, and there's a reason such a small strike force was able to overtake them all while they were dazed. No, whatever Seth's using, it's more than that."

"There were some 'deprogrammed,'" Jacob said. "Do we know how?"

Daniel skimmed over the notes. "Apparently, psychotherapy alone wasn't enough. One thing that helped was...ECT? I don't, uh...I don't know what that is."

"Electroconvulsive therapy," Sam provided. "Interesting."

Daniel felt his eyebrows rise, remembering that he'd just spent the morning pretending to be injured from electric shock. "Electro-what? They use that for therapy here?"

"Apparently, it works," Jack pointed out, tapping his notes.

"It can be done under controlled conditions," she explained, "but it's possible that the followers were implanted with some kind of technology that burned out with enough current while the shock wasn't enough to kill the human victim."

Jack made a face but said, "I think someone would've noticed a machine inside them. Even stuff as small as nanites shows up in your blood."

"Nish'ta?" Jacob said.

"Bless," Jack said.

Jacob gave him a look. "Nish'ta is an organism that infects the tissues of the body, like a virus. It can be aerosolized and inhaled, and it makes the mind pliable. While it's very strong, it can be killed by enough electrical current without permanently harming the victim."

"Well, what if it's not that?" Daniel asked. "We don't want to...shock people half to death and then find out that's not the cure at all." He tried not to shiver at the thought--electric shock seemed like something that should come out of a weapon, not a doctor's tool. Still, he'd learned enough to keep an open mind--Tau'ri medical technology was advanced beyond what he understood. If Sam said it was legitimate, it probably was.

"That's why we do recon first. We wait and see before we jump the gun," Jacob said.

Daniel nodded, not wanting to say anything else that might make him look less competent than he already probably seemed to someone like Sam's father.

A moment later, looking curious, Jacob asked him, "You're from a naquadah-rich planet? You mentioned Abydos. That's Ra's planet, isn't it?"

"That's where Ra fell," he answered, lifting his chin. "We Abydons are tok Ra, perhaps even more than the Tok'ra are."

"Cute," Jacob said, but he looked satisfied with the answer. "Okay, then."

Daniel watched him curiously, almost expecting him to do something odd to show he wasn't completely only human anymore, then blurted, "What is it like?"

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "What is what... You mean being a Tok'ra?" Daniel nodded. "Well, physically, I'm a lot healthier than I was."

"Your cancer is gone," Daniel said, because Sam had told him that. "Did it hurt?"

"The blending?" Jacob asked. "Well, there's the whole...burrowing into soft tissue thing, and Selmak and I were both in pretty sorry shape at the time. But Selmak made everything as easy as possible. And that's the cool part--you heal fast." He paused, his gaze becoming unfocused, then smirked. "One of the cool parts. I'm smarter than Sam, now, too."

"Oh, please," Sam muttered, but Daniel could see her hiding a smile.

Daniel nodded, tapping his fingers against his armrest. "Okay. But it can hurt, if the...the symbiote isn't trying to make it easy on the host? Like...if the host were unwilling?"

Jacob's smirk faded. "Yeah. The Tok'ra don't like to take unwilling hosts, but it's harder if you resist. Yeah, Danny, it can be painful."

Before he could respond to the childhood nickname that no one used anymore, the plane touched ground with a small bump, and Jack took over. "Okay, kids--and General--let's go."

"We'll go to the local authorities first," Jacob said. "They'll know where this guy is, at least, even if they aren't the ones taking point on the investigation. And we need to make sure no one's gonna be stepping on our toes while we're here."

XXXXX

25 August 1999; Washington; 1500 hrs

"I know who you're talking about," the sheriff said. "I had a lot of parents come into my office--they lost their kids to this nut. They got shipments of what looks like a bunch of arms recently."

"You didn't think that was suspicious?" Sam asked.

"Didn't have--whatchacallit--probable cause. Even if I did, I don't have the manpower." At that, his gaze passed over their small, eclectic group. "You sure you folks can shut this guy down?"

"Don't worry about us," Jacob said. "You ever seen the man in charge?"

The sheriff narrowed his eyes, but he didn't question them further. "The property's owned by a guy named Fargough. His record's clean."

"That's him," Daniel said, then remembered he was supposed to let the others lead this and fell silent. He tried not to squirm as the sheriff stared at him.

"This one of the boys who got out from there?" the man asked.

Surprised, Daniel looked sideways at Jack, who raised one eyebrow very slightly. Jack's hand fell protectively on his shoulder as Jacob said, "That's classified. We can't discuss any details of this investigation." Daniel glanced up at the sheriff, who seemed to have decided he was one of Seth's former followers, anyway. Jack's finger poked him hard in the back of his shoulder, and he looked back down at the floor.

"Well, you're a brave young man to help out like this," the sheriff said gruffly.

Daniel cleared his throat awkwardly, trying not to do something that would make them all look like idiots--like laugh--and said, "I'm, uh...I'm not supposed to talk about the--"

The sheriff waved a hand. "Yeah, I know. All right. That's all we know. I'll show you to the main building--you can follow my car."

Jacob smirked at Daniel as he walked out. Daniel waited until the sheriff had climbed into his car before pulling out from under Jack's hand and climbing into the back row of seats in the car with Sam and Teal'c. "What exactly am I allowed to do while we're here?" Daniel asked as they followed the sheriff's car down the road.

"We'll see, Danny," Jacob said.

"It's Daniel," he said sharply this time. "Don't call me Danny. Sir."

Jacob's eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror, and he said with a bark of a laugh, "They make 'em with spirit on Abydos! I like that."

"Dad," Sam said, but half-heartedly. Maybe she was reluctant to say any more, for fear that her father would start calling her Sammy.

"You kids," Jacob chuckled.

Daniel huffed. Turning back to business, he imagined he was at a customs and courtesies briefing, about to step off-world with a team. "What do I need to know to deal with law enforcement officers?"

...x...

"That's the main building," the sheriff told them. "About three-quarters of a mile up that drive. Gimme a call if you need me."

"Will do," Jack said with a tight smile.

"Colonel," Sam said quietly, and Daniel turned to follow her gaze to a man rapidly coming toward them. He didn't look like a military-trained man of any sort, but Daniel knew very well that 'civilian' didn't mean 'harmless,' the way airmen at the SGC tended to assume.

"You people the FBI?" the man said.

"No," Jack answered. "Who're you?"

"Jason Levinson," the man answered. "I've been camping out here for the past month, hoping to catch a glimpse of my boy Tommy. He's been in there nine months now."

Teal'c touched Daniel on the shoulder to catch his attention and said quietly, "Wait here."

Daniel hung back near the car as the others approached Jason Levinson, talking quietly about the compound behind them.

Suddenly, Teal'c stiffened slightly. Levinson didn't seem to notice, but Jack had--his hands were sliding out of his pockets to hover casually closer to where his sidearm was hidden. Daniel had no idea what they had seen or heard or felt, but he slid closer to the car, anyway, where he'd have a better chance of finding cover or reaching a weapon if it came to that.

"The fence is in the wide open and around most of the property," Levinson was saying. "But I'll show you a brush cover if you wanna go in."

"Good," Jacob said, leading him a few feet away, toward the property.

As soon as there were a few paces between Levinson and the team, Teal'c said, "O'Neill, we are being surveilled."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "I saw them. Probably FBI, maybe ATF."

Daniel started to turn, then stopped when Teal'c said, "Do not look toward them."

Jack began reaching for their equipment. "Daniel, stay in the car and lock the doors while we check this out. We'll only be a few minutes, but there's a Beretta just in case--see it? Everyone else, we're going to look and only look for now."

Daniel opened his mouth to argue, because surely he was as qualified as Jason Levinson not to make a mistake, but Teal'c warned, "Daniel Jackson..."

It wasn't until Daniel was sitting in the passenger seat of the car and everyone else was sneaking past the fence that he realized with chagrin why Jack had told him to listen to Teal'c: Teal'c didn't need to give him orders very often outside of the gym, so he'd never gotten into the habit of thinking twice about those orders the way he had with Jack. He frowned, wondering if they'd planned it like this, and resolved to pay more attention to that in the future.

"ATF! Step out of the vehicle!"

He jumped and turned in his seat to see a man outside the car, a gun leveled in his direction through the closed window. There was another man with another gun behind him and three more who'd crept up without his notice. Daniel's hand was halfway to the bottom of his seat where Jack had left him a pistol before he remembered that the ATF was the agency that had taken charge of this investigation.

The agent saw his movement anyway and ordered, loud enough for the sound to carry through the closed door, "Freeze! Federal agent! Step out and keep your hands where we can see them."

Daniel froze, then raised both hands so they could see he was empty-handed. He glanced back toward Seth's compound, but the others were still out of sight.

"Now!" the agent demanded, more sharply, so Daniel swallowed and slowly opened the door before someone shot at him through the glass. Jack would never let him forget it if he was responsible for a bullet hole in a government car. Also, it would mean he was being shot at, which was, in his experience, a bad thing.

"Sir," Daniel said loudly enough to be heard from where they stood several wary yards away, stepping back so there was no doubt that he wasn't doing anything suspicious in the car. "Uh, Agent. Please just...let me explain."

"Who are you?" the agent asked. "And where are the people who were with you?"

"I'm Daniel Jackson, with the US Air Force," he recited. He reached for his ID and stopped when everyone tensed, guns rising. "I'm just--my identification is in my back pocket. I'm unarmed."

"Keep your hands up," the agent in charge said, then nodded to one of the other men. "You're one of Fargough's kids, aren't you."

Trying not to squirm as the other agent pulled out his identification, patted him down briefly, then looked inside the car, Daniel said, "No, I'm not. I'm here with a team that's trying to remove...Fargough. The others are looking for a way into the building right now."

"It looks authentic," the other agent said. "Dog tags, ID card--civilian, Air Force affiliation, in the capacity of 'Special Liaison.' But there's a pistol in the car, and it looks like more artillery in the back."

"We've come across Fargough's kids before with illegal permits and weapons," the first agent warned. "IDs and tags are easy."

"They've attacked people before?" Daniel asked, surprised. They'd expected some details not to have been available so easily online, but they'd also been assuming that this Cult of Seth was more or less self-contained, with the exception of the assault on Area 51. That didn't make sense--the previous cults had all stayed fairly private until someone else tried to attack them first.

"We'll ask the questions," another agent said. "Fadman, search the car." A woman stepped out of the crowd and started toward the car, but the others didn't move.

"Hey!" Jack's voice called, and Daniel sighed in relief. "What the hell are you doing!"

Most of the agents shifted their aim to SG-1 and Jacob.

"Daniel?" Jack barked, fury and worry both audible.

"I'm fine, Colonel," Daniel called back. "They're ATF, investigating Seth Fargough."

Jack was glaring murderously at the agents. His submachine gun was pointed at the one who still held a gun on Daniel. Sam's hands were on her gun, too, while Teal'c--well, he probably had a zat'nik'tel hidden away somewhere, and no doubt it would be in his hand in half a second if a fight erupted. "Looked more like you bozos were investigating the contents of my consultant's pockets," Jack snapped to them.

"I'm Special Agent James Hamner," the man in charge said. "Who're you?"

"Major General Jacob Carter, US Air Force," Jacob said before Jack could answer. "These are my people. I suggest you return Mr. Jackson's belongings to him and lower your weapons."

By the time everyone decided that the others weren't the enemy, Jack had turned his scowl onto Daniel, as if to say, 'see what you got into?' Daniel tried to communicate wordlessly that he'd only been following orders--first Jack's, then Teal'c's, then Special Agent James Hamner's--and see, look where that had gotten him. Maybe that was too complicated a thought to be expressed with shrugs and eyebrows, however (or maybe everyone was just annoyed), and Jack simply scowled harder.

...x...

"This compound is home to some kind of cult," Agent Hamner said. "It's run by a charming guy who goes by the name Seth Fargough. We've recently acquired intelligence to confirm they have a hoard of prohibited weaponry here."

"That's some mighty fine intelligence you've got there," Jack said, clearly resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"They've also begun to get more violent. As I was telling your...consultant earlier, about two weeks ago, they received a big shipment of something we haven't been able to identify yet. Since then, there have been three incidents of members leaving the property. At first we thought they'd snuck out to escape Fargough."

Jack shot his team a significant look, then turned back to Hamner. "But...?"

"We lost two agents the first time, and Fargough's people killed themselves once they were surrounded. The second time, we attempted to subdue them, but, again, they turned their guns on themselves before we could get them," Hamner said.

Daniel saw Sam and Teal'c exchanging a glance as Jack and Jacob continued their questioning. The shipment had to have been the sarcophagus, and even if Seth wanted to hide on Earth, perhaps his greed overcame his caution once he'd found a way both to subdue people and to regenerate himself or even his followers with a sarcophagus. If they'd thought this situation was urgent before, it was rapidly becoming even more so.

"Do you know what they were targeting?" Jacob asked.

Hamner hesitated, then allowed, "They were looking for information--one person managed to hack her way into a government computer, but whatever she was looking for, we think it was too high-security for her to get to it. She escaped our agents, though."

Perhaps they were trying to find out where the sarcophagus had come from, or get into Area 51 files, perhaps even looking for the location of the Stargate. Setesh would surely be interested now that he knew about Goa'uld devices being stored somewhere.

"So what do you plan to do?" Jacob said.

"Surround the compound and negotiate," Hamner said. "Try to get 'em to come out peacefully."

Daniel made a face. "That won't work," he said before he could remember to shut up, but no one berated him. Well, someone else would have said it if he hadn't.

Hamner gave him a narrow-eyed stare. "I suppose you could tell me why not."

Daniel bit his lip and looked to Jack, who said, "Classified."

"You were in there with Fargough and his followers?" Hamner pressed. "Undercover or deprogrammed?"

Daniel was quickly realizing that there were severe limits to the advantages of looking like he couldn't possibly be an agent and therefore had to be a victim or a possibly a spy of some sort. It would be a useful trait for a spy, but he wasn't even cleared for a mission like this, except as a consultant.

"Hey," Jack snapped. "You've heard of 'classified,' right?"

"Fine!" Hamner snapped back, equally irritated now. "Well, I'll tell you what. The United States Air Force was not invited to participate in this operation; therefore, you're out of your jurisdiction. Therefore, I'm ordering you all to leave, or I'll have you arrested."

Daniel squinted at the wall behind Hamner, not sure how to respond. Jacob asked good-naturedly, "This is a secure phone, isn't it? Could we use it to place one call?"

They were ushered out as Jack picked up the phone. Daniel turned in time to catch a particularly gleeful look on Jack's face before he walked back toward the car.

...x...

Ten minutes later, the President of the United States called and put Jack in charge, and the SGC took over the ATF's workspace. Jack looked satisfied. Hamner didn't.

"I think it's safe to say we're dealing with Seth," Jacob said immediately. "From what we saw, he's probably using nish'ta, and we know how to reverse the effects."

"Go in with zats," Jack said. "The shock should do it."

"And shoot fifty people before Seth notices?" Jacob said. "Or before they kill us with that stockpile of weaponry they've got? You heard Hamner--Seth's getting antsy."

"Then we need to get in without being noticed," Sam said. "We can't walk in the front door or he'll just brainwash us before we can do anything."

"He must have an escape route," Daniel said, trying to interpret the map that the ATF had drawn and tacked onto the wall. "We've found underground escape tunnels built into almost all of Ra's major facilities in Nagada."

"That was also true of Apophis," Teal'c confirmed.

"So we do a perimeter search outside the fence and look for those tunnel entrances," Sam said.

"And if we find them?" Jacob asked. "We still need a way to get in and not get compromised by the nish'ta. Teal'c and I wouldn't be affected..."

"Not gonna work," Jack said. "You'd be made in a second. I'll go in through a back entrance and try to get close enough to assassinate him before anyone gets dosed with anything."

"Wh--wait," Daniel said when no one objected. "You want to assassinate him? And kill his host, too?"

Jacob looked surprised. "Daniel, there's a bigger picture here than one man."

Daniel frowned, glancing at the others. "I...I know that. I just want to make sure I understand this clearly if we're designating an innocent man collateral damage. The Tok'ra know how to remove symbiotes, don't they?"

"I get it," Jacob said tensely. "Obviously, we'll capture him alive if the opportunity arises, but if it's one man with a Goa'uld in him versus the lives of fifty of his followers--and probably the rest of us standing around here, too, and who knows how many afterward--then we can't hesitate for one life." Jack made a face but shook his head when Daniel looked to him.

That was the policy, and he knew it. They were supposed to subdue the Goa'uld with minimal injury if there was a chance of saving the host, but ultimately, the host was a relatively low priority in most missions. Daniel bit back another protest, reminding himself that they couldn't risk an angry, former System Lord to be freed and many people killed simply for the chance to save one person. He hoped that choice wasn't one they'd have to make if--when--they found Skaara and Sha'uri. "Yes, sir," he said unhappily. He wondered, suddenly, if Jack or Sam had ever tried the same argument before, back when they'd first started fighting the Goa'uld, then said 'yes, sir' and stopped finding it strange.

But they were at war. Daniel knew that. He'd pledged himself to it, and he wouldn't go back now.

"So," Jack said, "I go in through the back--"

Teal'c interrupted, "Your chance of success is extremely low, O'Neill."

"He's right," Jacob said. "At best, Seth realizes you're useful and you end up working for him. At worst, you're dead, and so are the rest of us."

"Actually," Sam said thoughtfully, "I think I have an idea. I can fix something--an earpiece, maybe, to deliver an electrical shock upon remote command. We'd just need someone listening in through the earpiece and ready to deliver the jolt, and the nish'ta would be killed without Seth's knowing it."

Jack nodded. "You start working on that, Carter. Daniel, you...stay here and help her. Everyone else, let's round up Hamner's men and see if there's an underground entrance somewhere."

Catching Sam's worried frown, Daniel waited for the others to leave and said, "Sam, the sheriff said a lot of parents have been calling about kids they lost to Seth. Look at the reports--I don't think he's seeking them out actively; he's waiting for interested people to seek him out." He held out the abbreviated missing persons reports to let her see. "A lot of people get recruited pretty young--around their late-teens to late-twenties."

Sam skimmed over the reports, caught his meaning, and looked up. "Yeah, I see," she said, "and no, you're not going to."

"Lieutenant Astor asked me yesterday if I worked undercover a lot, because I look the part," Daniel said. "She was right. I'm the perfect one for it on this team. Who'd suspect me?"

"You're a little on the young side of the profile," she pointed out.

"But I'm big enough--I can pass for a year or two older than I am," he said. Even though Jack thought he'd still grow another inch or two, he'd learned that he was already tall enough to look, at a casual first glance, like he wasn't out of place among the men of the SGC, especially if he walked confidently enough. "And there have been younger. Sam, my age is the one asset I have that the rest of you don't in a mission that requires infiltration. Let me use it."

"That's not true," she said, her voice lowered. "And later, I can explain to you why that line of thinking bothers us."

"And I'll remind you that I am an adult and that you're not breaking international law by accepting what I'm offering," he countered, because he'd read enough to know she was thinking of children who had been exploited on this planet as soldiers or spies in past wars. "Sam, Jack is going to be alone in there, with practically no chance of success. I'm just saying, maybe you should rig up an extra earpiece. It doesn't have to be for me. It's just in case."

She gave him a piercing look, then sighed. "Just in case, then."

...x...

"We've got a way in," Jacob said, once they'd found the entrance and had rejoined Daniel in the tent.

"And I've got a way out," Sam said, holding up an earpiece designed to deliver an electrical pulse to kill the nish'ta. "So now, we need a plan."

"I have one," Jacob said. "But I'm gonna want more than one person on the inside."

"I made an extra," Sam said, holding up a second earpiece.

"We're gonna take our chances on Carter, then?" Jack said, examining the earwig.

Sam didn't answer immediately. Daniel looked at Jacob, who was already watching him but didn't speak. "No. I'll do it," Daniel said.

"Whoa," Jack said, looking up sharply.

Jacob looked Daniel up and down. Perhaps he--or Selmak--was remembering that Daniel wasn't from the USA on Earth and was an adult by the standards of Abydos and many other societies. "Can you use a zat'nik'tel? Handle yourself in a fight?"

"Hold it--"

"Indeed," Teal'c answered instead. "Daniel Jackson's skills are sufficient against an enemy that is not expecting an assault."

"The nish'ta will make people very loyal, but it doesn't do any favors in terms of reflexes and quick thinking," Jacob added. "So you'll have the advantage there."

"Just hold on a minute!" Jack snapped.

"We can't afford to sit around much longer if Seth's starting to get bolder," Jacob said. "There's a threat from the Goa'uld, a threat from his followers, and a threat to his followers. We need to get in and get them split up as much as we can if we want to have a chance at neutralizing them."

"Do you people realize that whoever goes in there might not come back out?" Jack said, looking incredulous.

Daniel pointed to Sam's wired earpieces. "Well, that's why--"

"I'm not talking about that! Or don't their guns bother you?"

"In a full attack, yes, they'd probably open fire," Jacob said, "but with a single invader, nish'ta is much more likely. His followers are average, untrained people--if Seth's been getting bolder, someone with your skills will be a lot more useful alive than dead."

"Jack, if you're compromised, we're done," Daniel said. "We should have a backup plan."

"Well, we can come up with a better one," Jack said.

"Remember Cimmeria?" Daniel pressed. "You and Teal'c in armor, dragging me through Heru-ur's camp to get Shifu..."

"That was because we had no other choice!"

"We have few other choices now, O'Neill," Teal'c said, "but we have more time to plan our actions, and Daniel Jackson is more prepared now than before."

"Daniel wouldn't even be in the most dangerous position--that's you, Jack," Jacob said. "We just need him to help get the ball rolling, and then Sam will go in to help you."

Jack seemed to be wavering, so Daniel added, "I'm going to start being sent into the field soon. Why not now, since you need an extra person, and I can do it--you know I can do this, Jack."

Jack paced a few steps, then said, "I'll sneak in alone and try to get him before anyone sees me. If I get hit with this nish'ta stuff, then we can go to a backup plan. But only if I'm caught first."

"Sounds good," Jacob agreed. "If you're caught, we're gonna leave you under the nish'ta and zap you just before Daniel goes in, to keep your reactions real for as long as possible, and we'll listen through your earpiece--it'll give us a better idea of what they'll do to Daniel, so he'll be safer. Seth probably won't care too much what you're doing there--he's gotten used to relying on the nish'ta--but if he starts interrogating you, we'll activate the earpiece and you'll have to make something up."

"Fine," Jack said, his words clipped. "So what's this plan?"

"We want to finish this fast, but we don't want to rush and blow it. If you're caught, Daniel will wait a day or so before following. We'll continue monitoring through the earpieces to make sure you're both okay."

"If the second person is still only a day on the heels of the first," Sam said, "what if Seth realizes it's a backup?"

Jacob looked at Daniel. "That's Daniel's advantage. Jack goes in, armed to the teeth, and tries to kill Seth. Daniel goes in a day later, in civilian clothes, unarmed, looking like a local student--hell, give him a backpack--and no one would connect them."

"He doesn't even have to use the tunnels," Sam said, nodding. "Colonel O'Neill will look like he's trying to sneak in through the back, and Daniel can walk up to the front door, like he's just a kid who's curious about this religion."

"You're sure these earpieces will work, Captain?" Jack asked Sam.

"Yes, sir, assuming Dad's right."

"Dad?" Jack asked Jacob.

"It'll work, if the jolt is big enough," Jacob assured him.

"And I will listen to your movements while you are within the compound," Teal'c promised.

Jack took a breath. "Okay. Send me in first. So if I screw up, what's the plan?"

XXXXX

26 August 1999; Washington; 0500 hrs

"The entrance is through Goa'uld rings," Selmak said, listening through the headset.

Daniel stopped his impatient perusal of the interior of the ATF tent. "Rings? Jack was transported from the tunnel?"

"Yes. But they were waiting," Selmak confirmed. Sam hurried in from where she'd been standing guard at the tent flap to put her head together with her father's and listen, too. Daniel grabbed one side of Teal'c's headset to share it. "They have caught him."

"--hate it when that happens," Jack was saying.

"Welcome!" a Goa'uld's voice said--Seth, of course. "Who are you?"

"The name's MacGyver," Jack answered flippantly. "But you can call me Mac."

"Oh, boy," Daniel muttered, relinquishing the headset and reaching for the spare ear piece. "Should I get ready?"

Jacob held out a hand. "No. Wait, like we talked about. Sam, this could work to our benefit--you'll be able to use the rings to get in there for backup instead of sneaking up stairs or ladders."

"What if they grab me too early?" Sam pointed out.

Tapping the earpiece, Jacob said, "Teal'c and I will be monitoring. You'll just stay away from the ring chamber until we hear them"--he pointed at Daniel--"say that they've got the ring activation device, so they'll be controlling it when you try to get in. Daniel, don't activate it until you and Jack find a way to get Seth out of the room."

"General Carter," Teal'c said before anyone else could speak, and they turned to see Jason Levinson entering the tent.

"You're the father, aren't you?" Levinson said to Jacob. "Your kid's in there?"

"No, my son's not in there," Jacob assured him. "Sir, you need to step outside."

Levinson sighed but nodded resignedly. "Can I get some coffee?"

Daniel stood up to finger the earpiece on the table, listening to the stilted conversation between Levinson and Jacob as he reviewed mentally what he was supposed to do once inside.

Finally, when Levinson had left again, Daniel said, "Were you talking about Mark?"

"How do you know about Mark?" Jacob said scowling at the equipment.

Daniel glanced nervously at Sam, then said, "Sam told me last year that she missed him."

Now Sam scowled at him as Jacob gave her a considering look. "Daniel..."

"I was just wondering. Maybe you should talk to him."

"It's complicated," Jacob said, looking like he wasn't sure where to direct his scowl this time.

"In Jaffa society," Teal'c said, "loving one's children is not complicated." Daniel gave him an incredulous look, because he knew of very few parental relationships more complicated than Teal'c's with Rya'c. Then Teal'c returned the glance pointedly, and he understood that that wasn't the point right now; when Jacob was living on another planet and constantly in battle, who knew when it would be too late?

"In human society," Jacob was saying, "sometimes it is."

Daniel barely stopped himself from pointing out that it would be a lot more complicated if he waited until one of them was dead. He supposed this wasn't really the best time to be discussing it, anyway. "I'll go get ready," he said, standing up.

"Wait. Sit down and listen first," Jacob ordered, but he was giving Sam occasional surreptitious glances now.

"What?" Daniel said. He sat.

"You focus on the civilians, like we talked about," Jacob said. "If something goes wrong--if anything goes wrong, a lot of people could die, including us, them, and whoever Seth attacks next. Jack and Sam will worry about Seth and his host, do you understand?"

Daniel took a slow breath, glancing at Sam, and conceded, "Yes, sir, I understand."

"Good. Now, stick to the plan. We wait."

Chapter Text

27 August 1999; Seth's Compound; 1100 hrs

Voices. A hand on his shoulder.

Where...? What...?

Calm. Peace.

Daniel woke and opened his eyes.

"Welcome, disciple," a man said.

Daniel turned, his mind pleasantly relaxed, to find himself lying on a soft pallet of blankets. It was unfamiliar, as were the room around him and the white robe he wore, but as soon as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it as unimportant.

Of course it was unfamiliar. Never before had he been able to enjoy the honor of serving Seth.

"Are you well?" the young man asked him.

"Yes," Daniel heard himself say.

"Good," the young man said, not smiling, but not unfriendly, either. "Do you feel strong enough to begin service of your god, Seth?"

Suddenly exhilarated at the thought, Daniel sat up. "Yes, of course!"

"This way," the other said, and led him out of the room.

"What would he have me do?" Daniel asked.

"That is for your god to decide," the man said.

"Yes. Of course," he said, trying to hold back unseemly enthusiasm. "I am happy to serve."

Part of his mind turned to strange thoughts, the words 'drug' and 'System Lord' but they didn't make sense, and it didn't matter. The thought was blown away quickly, wisps of half-formed and useless ideas on the wind. He faltered for a moment, wondering, wondering...but then the man with him turned and beckoned, and he stopped wondering and followed. He was content to be allowed simply to enjoy the bliss that was Seth.

"Come," the man said, leading him through yet more twisting, snaking corridors.

The thought of snakes teased at something in Daniel, but he shook his head and continued.

Time flowed oddly. They were walking, and then suddenly they were somewhere else, still walking, but Daniel couldn't remember having made the journey. It was difficult to think, and part of him wanted to push through the odd mist in his mind, to be able to think, think, think, because what was he if he didn't have his own mind, but...

No need to think. Only serve.

Finally, they arrived in a large, open room. Daniel's escort was still, calm, so he forced himself to be so, too. He would not want to displease his lord.

Then, he was before Seth himself.

Seth's eyes glowed. There was a visceral feeling of power, of amazement that filled the air and flitted through Daniel's stomach now as he looked upon the face of his god. He was torn between standing straighter and kneeling and had to resist the urge to salute, either with a fist to the heart or a hand raised to his brow or both arms crossed over his heart. He wasn't sure where any of impulses originated, though, so he remained still and let Seth's gaze search him.

There was an enormous stone box on the floor, big enough to house a person lying down, in full sight beside the throne. It glittered gold and was covered with odd script that Daniel knew, somehow, he would be able to read if he could only see it. Without quite knowing what it was, there was a strange pull toward it. Perhaps it was another implement of his lord's power.

"Are you prepared to serve your god?" Seth asked. All thoughts of the box fled Daniel's mind.

Daniel had fallen to his knees before he could remember thinking about it. "I am prepared," he said. Words floated into his mind, and he voiced them without thinking, "Seth is life. Seth is happiness. Seth is almighty."

Seth nodded once, in approval, and Daniel could have melted with pride. "Stand," Seth ordered. Daniel rose quickly to his feet and was led to a pile of disassembled weapons on the floor.

There was a man--an older one--sitting close to him, who stopped cleaning the gun in his hand as Daniel lowered himself to the floor. When Daniel flicked an appalled, chastising look toward the insolent man, he began to work again.

Daniel settled in his place and found his hands reaching automatically for the correct tools and parts. He knew how to do this, it seemed. Some of the weapons were unfamiliar to him, but he knew some of it, and the mechanics of stripping and cleaning and assembling a gun were so easy for him that he almost didn't need to think. He didn't know how or where he'd learned it--

("Because if you don't, it could malfunction on you."

"I understand why, Jack. I was just asking what this...stuff...is."

"It's just cleaning solvent, Daniel, for cryin' out loud.")

--but it didn't matter where he'd learned it, as long as he could use it to serve now. Seth would be pleased with his work.

"Rise," Seth said.

Daniel looked up, but his lord was beckoning to another servant, a woman slightly older than himself. She came gracefully to her feet and stood before him. Seth turned, leaving them to watch as the female servant waited, barely moving except to breathe.

"Where were you three days ago?" Seth said.

"I was seeking information about the place where my lord's healing chamber was found," the servant answered, gesturing slightly toward the large box by the throne.

"And did you succeed?"

"No, my lord," she said.

Without warning, Seth whirled around, and Daniel caught sight of a metallic glint before the knife sliced neatly through the servant's throat.

She fell to the ground. Daniel watched the red fluid soak into her white dress, spreading through the fabric.

Another servant--a young man, this time--took the blade from Seth and wiped it clean on a cloth. Two others picked up the girl and placed her in the strange box--the healing chamber.

Seth turned to the rest of them in the room and said, "We must prepare for what we will face when the impure forces attempt to destroy us. Remember that they may take your lives, but Seth is the only one who can give life to you. Return to your work, so that we will be ready."

Daniel wasn't sure how long it was before the grinding of stone made him pause again and look up. When he did, light shone from within the box.

"Witness the power and mercy of your god!" Seth said, gesturing. As his hand rose, so did the girl inside, alive and whole again, and if Daniel had needed proof before of Seth's power, there could be no question now.

"I would die for my lord," she said, bowing to him.

"But you live," Seth said, "by your lord's hand."

"Seth is life," Daniel blurted, but it was okay, because the rest of the room was saying it, too. "Seth is happiness. Seth is almighty. Seth is life. Seth is happiness. Seth is almighty!"

Two of the women led the miraculously revived servant away. Daniel bent back over his work, more determined than ever to be ready for the impure forces when they came.

Suddenly, a jolt of pain ripped through him.

Daniel gasped. His stomach lurched as memory flooded back along with the pain, and he had to clench his fists on the barrel of a gun in front of him to fight the temptation to clap a hand over his ear as the burn of electricity subsided.

Nish'ta. Snake. Goa'uld.

Ugh. He'd knelt to that...thing.

And it wasn't just a box, after all, but a sarcophagus. Ay naturu, he'd watched while--

"What is the matter?" a woman next to him said blandly. On the other side of her, a man--Jack, of course, it was Jack--watched him, not halting his hands' movements.

And Jack's face looked blank, still, but his eyes were intensely focused, trying to communicate some message that Daniel didn't quite comprehend, except that it meant neither of them was under nish'ta anymore, and they had to focus and start moving. He'd made a mistake already--if he hadn't made a sound, they might have had more time to reconnoiter, but as it was...

Thinking quickly, Daniel felt under the sleeve of his robe and scratched his hand hard where he'd been cut on a fake control crystal during the training exercises two days before, flinching at the brief flare of pain there when the cut was reopened. "I am unpracticed at this, and I hurt myself," he said as evenly as he could, and held up the arm to show the thin line of blood weeping through his palm. "I'm sorry."

Seth was watching and now flicked a glance toward one of the guards, a young man with dark hair who pulled Daniel gently to his feet and led him away. But to where--a first aid station? Somewhere to wash off and make sure he didn't drip blood on the guns? It wasn't like Seth was afraid of letting blood get all over the--

No. Think about that later.

For now, he was being led away from Jack. Not good--it was too early for that--but still okay, maybe, if not quite according to plan. It was fine. They could do it this way, too, with a little...creativity.

The hallway was empty. The guard leading him held an assault rifle in his hands, and there was a zat'nik'tel hooked onto his belt. He was tall, taller than Daniel, but far too relaxed and unprepared for any resistance. Daniel took a deep breath, thinking of Teal'c's lessons and readying himself, waiting for the guard to turn a corner and look back for him, off-balance for that brief moment...

The guard reached the corner. Wait...wait...

Daniel slammed his body into the guard's and slapped his hand over the man's mouth, trapping the gun against the other man's body and the man's body against the wall. He ducked a fist made clumsy by their awkward position and scrabbled frantically for the zat'nik'tel, but with his left hand on the other's mouth, he couldn't stop one of the guard's hands from fighting with him for the zat gun, too.

One of them primed the zat--he wasn't sure whose finger had done it--but it remained trapped halfway in and halfway out of the holster with Daniel's own body in the way and both of them grappling for control.

Gritting his teeth, Daniel clamped his hand tighter against the man's face as he heard the first muffled sounds of protest beginning to emerge. Using a foot to pull up the bottom of his own robe and expose his bare skin, he wrenched the zat to the side, aimed at his own leg, and, before he could think too hard about it, squeezed the trigger.

Fire seared through Daniel's body, and he sagged into the guard as they both collapsed against the wall in pain. He barely heard the rifle falling to the ground as he thought, Don't pass out, don't pass out, don't...

"Ow," he coughed once his throat unclenched itself enough to speak. "Ow, gods." Rolling shakily off the guard, he finally--belatedly--unhooked the zat'nik'tel and decided that he was very okay with the numb sensation crawling along his shivering limbs; it was better than what it had felt like before, anyway. He nudged the rifle away with a foot and swallowed another ow as he glanced anxiously over his shoulder.

The guard recovered a moment later and looked around himself, confused. "What happened?"

"Oh, good," Daniel breathed, because even though zat energy was supposed to transmit through anything that conducted electricity, it was good to see that he hadn't shot himself for nothing. "It's okay. We're here to help you." He looked back nervously once more and shook off a final few shivers. "Come on, where do they keep the zat'nik'tel?"

"The...what?" the man asked, looking somewhere between panicked and lost. Daniel held up the weapon impatiently. "Oh. Right."

Once they'd entered an empty room and closed the door behind them, he said hurriedly, "I'm Daniel, by the way. We're trying to get you guys out of here."

"Tom," the man said, then opened a cabinet that held more zat'nik'tel than the SGC had collected in two years.

Daniel paused halfway through reaching in to arm himself. "Levinson?" he asked hesitantly, not sure how common the name Tom was, but fairly confident that Tommy was a nickname for Tom as much as Danny was for Daniel.

"Yeah," Tom said, now closer to panic. "How...who are you?"

"I, uh, know your father, Jason--he's been looking for you," he answered. It wasn't an answer, but it quieted Tom, which was good enough.

Next step...what was next? Daniel took a breath and tried to concentrate on the plan they'd agreed to follow. Well, they'd gotten split up much too early, and Sam would have to be ready to back them up much sooner than expected, but Tom was on their side now. If they could get weapons to Jack, then...

"Do you know how to use the transport rings?" Daniel asked Tom, looking through the cabinet of zats. He stuffed two loosely into holsters that he strapped around his lower legs, hidden but reachable--it was a good thing the new recruits had longer, more amorphous robes that reached nearly to the floor. "You have the device that controls the platform?"

"Yeah," Tom said, handing him the device to activate it.

Daniel touched his ear to make sure the earpiece was still there and said quietly, "Teal'c, I have zat'nik'tel and the ring activation device. Seth has a hand device and the sarcophagus, I don't know what else." He ignored Tom's expression, which said he suspected Daniel might be insane. "The other new disciple--the older one? He's my friend," Daniel said to Tom. "Bring me back toward him in the main room, and I'm going to give him this"--he held up a zat--"so you need to block Seth's view of us until we're done."

Tom stared at him dazedly but finally nodded.

Stuffing the zat in his hand back into Tom's belt, Daniel said, "I'm going to help get people out, okay? Do you know of a way to get Seth out of the room?"

"I can...tell him we're under attack?"

Which meant people would start to arm themselves, which could get messy, but they were taking too long already, and if they worked fast...

"Okay," Daniel decided. "Wait a while, though. Say...ten minutes. And when people leave the room, you stay, and I'll send you out through the tunnels."

"This is crazy," Tom hissed, eyes wide.

"Uh-huh," Daniel agreed, with a thrill of something that felt a little like reasonable panic and a little like unreasonable excitement. It wasn't as though he liked being in danger, but he'd been in danger enough to know that adrenaline could lend the kind of courage needed to make it through when the stakes were this high. "It's okay, yeah? Don't worry. Just, uh...act normal."

He crept back into the corridors and waited for Tom to step out as well and grip him by the elbow, then let himself be steered back toward the main room. They bowed once to Seth, and then, as promised, Tom led Daniel back to Jack and maneuvered himself between them and Seth. Daniel knelt and picked up the barrel of something he didn't recognize with one hand while slipping a zat to Jack with the other, making sure to stumble just enough that their robes overlapped. Jack shifted a few inches to give him enough room to sit, tucking the zat under his legs as he moved.

After Daniel had counted two minutes, there was a sideways glance from Jack, and then another. Daniel wished he knew whether there was a hand signal for 'I can't tell you the plan now, but if you wait approximately eight minutes, it will become clear.' The only sign he was sure about was the one to be quiet, but he supposed holding a finger to his lips would be a bit conspicuous, so he settled for reaching for a foregrip from Jack's pile of weaponry while making the sign for 'eight.' When Jack's eyes slid over to him, he brushed a hand over his wrist where he usually wore his chronometer, then wiggled his fingers again to say 'eight.'

Well, actually, it might have been the sign for 'seven,' or possibly 'cuckold;' he wasn't fluent in hand signals, and he might even be using the wrong sign language. Either way, Jack seemed to get the point, which was that there was a plan of some sort, and stopped glancing at him.

Finally, Tom walked back into the room and said, "My lord, the impure forces that you prophesied are approaching the compound."

Seth only smiled, making Daniel wonder briefly if he'd made a mistake after all, but then he stood and beckoned. "We will cleanse our world of them. They will pay eternally," he said.

He swept out of the room with the rest of his followers following, not looking back to see that three men--Daniel, Jack, and Tom--had remained behind.

Actually, there were five, and the other two were real guards who did notice.

Jack whipped around with his zat gun and shot them both easily before they could move. "No, no, no, no!" Daniel whispered urgently as the gun turned toward Tom. Jack lowered the zat, glancing sharply around the room. "Hurry," Daniel told Tom, who handed his zat to Jack and helped the other two toward the platform. "Follow the tunnel and go up the ladder at the end. Your father's out there."

"Geez, Daniel, warn a guy," Jack breathed, standing and taking the other zat as Daniel pulled out his last weapon for himself and pressed the ring activation device. Tom and two befuddled young men disappeared in a flash of white.

Sam appeared in their place, fully geared. She was holding two more zat'nik'tel, as planned, but her father was with her--not as planned--and he held only one zat'nik'tel. His other hand was encased in a ribbon device. Teal'c was there, too, with zats.

"What're you two doing here?" Jack hissed. "He's gonna know!"

"The plan has changed--he already knows someone is coming, and his hand device gives him a shield," Selmak said curtly, holding up his own hand device. Sam handed Daniel and Jack new, two-way earpieces, and they hurriedly swapped theirs out. "I will find Seth."

"Daniel, go," Jack told him, then took to one corridor while Sam and Teal'c each went another way. Daniel hurried to the ring transporter and sent himself into the tunnels, gripping his zat in one hand and the ring activating device in the other as he stood to the side and waited.

"Three," Sam's voice said in his ear. "Now, Daniel."

He pressed the device again, and a confused group of Seth's followers--three of them--appeared in the tunnels. "Hurry up!" Daniel said to them, pointing the way out of the ring chamber. "Follow the tunnel and climb up the ladder at the end." Six people so far.

"Now," Teal'c whispered. Four more dazed followers appeared in the tunnels.

And then Jack's, "Four of 'em--go!"

And then there were another three, making seventeen. Then eight all at once, which he supposed probably meant two or more of them had caught up to each other and were working together now, and then a group of seven. Another five was thirty-seven in total, all sent down to the tunnel. Was that everyone?

Then there was a crash! in his ear, followed by more than one man's yelling and Sam's voice calling, "Dad!"

"Sam? Jack?" Daniel said, hoping they could hear him. "Teal'c!" Static crackled in his ear loud enough to hurt his eardrums, and he pulled the earpiece out.

Trying not to panic at the sudden loss of contact, Daniel looked toward the other end of the tunnel, where a sea of white robes was moving toward the ladder, pulled out one by one by the ATF. He primed his zat, not sure whether his SG-1 was going to come out soon or if Seth was.

And then he realized he held the ring activation device and had no way to know when or if the rest of his team needed to be transported out.

Daniel looked back one more time, satisfied that all of Seth's followers seemed to be making their way out. He bit his lip, stepped onto the platform, and pressed the device.

The main room was empty when he was transported inside. With no idea where to go--and because his job was to watch the rings, albeit from the other end--Daniel stayed in the room and ducked back behind the throne for cover. The sarcophagus was next to him, still open, glowing from within, as if trying to tempt--

He looked determinedly away.

Heavy footsteps sounded from the corridor on the left. Daniel swallowed and held his zat at the ready.

Jack ran in, carrying Jacob over his shoulders. "General!" Daniel said, emerging from behind his cover. "What happened? Where's Seth?"

"Carter's on it," Jack said, only sparing him a single glance before lowering Jacob to the ground. "Teal'c's with her. I'm going back to help. Get Jacob to the rings and then both of you get out!"

Daniel knelt at Jacob's side. "General?"

"We will survive," Selmak said.

There was no visible wound that Daniel could see, but Jack had been carrying him, which meant something was wrong. "Can you stand?" Daniel asked, worming his shoulders under one of Jacob's arms and helping him up to his feet. No hand device--how had he lost it? Unless he had taken it off himself... "Are you okay? Tell me if I'm hurting you, or Jacob..."

"M'okay, Daniel," Jacob's voice said, sounding winded and half-choked, but definitely not dead. Not dead was good.

Daniel had just lowered Jacob to the ring platform when Jack came flying back into the room to land hard on his back. "Jack!"

"Go, I said, go!" Jack wheezed, rolling stiffly to his hands and knees. Daniel ran over and braced himself under Jack's arm instead to help him the rest of the way to his feet. "Daniel, he's coming, just go, I'm good--"

"Sam, Teal'c?" Daniel asked.

As if in answer, a Goa'uld's voice roared angrily from down the hall. Daniel felt Jack pull away and let go of his arm. He grabbed at his zat'nik'tel, only to find that he'd dropped it without even realizing it. He looked back, saw Seth stalking toward them, and darted behind the sarcophagus again, reaching for his weapon as Jack rolled to one side and fired, only for the zat energy to be turned by the Goa'uld personal shield.

"Hey!" Sam yelled from behind Seth, raising her hand. Daniel's breath caught as he recognized the ribbon device she wore, remembering now that Jolinar had left the ability to use it within her.

Before Seth could turn around or react at all, he was thrown off his feet and into a wooden cabinet, knocking it down in a shower of debris. "Now, Daniel!" Sam ordered.

Automatically, Daniel pressed the device that controlled the ring platform. Then he remembered he wasn't standing on it.

"Dammit!" Jacob yelled hoarsely as the rings activated around him. "What the hell do you th--"

He was transported down, and Jack joined Daniel behind the sarcophagus with a sharp, "Stay down!" Teal'c was sneaking silently toward them from a side corridor as Seth found his footing again. Daniel bit his lip and shrank back a little--the plan had changed almost immediately and had continued changing since then, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing now--

There was a thud, and Seth stumbled back a few paces into a wall but quickly regained his footing. He threw Sam against the nearest wall, and she fell with a grunt. As she struggled to recover and raise her own hand again, Teal'c left his cover and fired his zat'nik'tel.

The Goa'uld personal shield activated, and the zat energy dissipated harmlessly, but Seth's attention was no longer fixed on Sam alone while she caught her breath. "You cannot defeat me!" Seth cried, raising his glowing hand device toward Teal'c.

Jack rose on his knees to fire his own zat'nik'tel, so Daniel stopped thinking about the plan, raised his weapon, and did the same, neither of them doing any damage but making Seth pause long enough for Teal'c to duck back down behind a wall.

"Setesh!" Sam shouted, still on the ground.

With no more warning, Seth hurtled through the air and slammed into the far wall with a loud crack. Daniel flinched, and he wondered distantly what that crack had been as Seth crumpled to the ground, unmoving, lying at an unnatural angle that no spine should be able to sustain.

Dead. Broken.

Jack moved to check the body, zat held out, just in case. Daniel's feet walked him there, too, and he stared, mesmerized, at Seth's open, unseeing eyes, willing his stomach to stay in place.

"He's dead," Daniel heard himself say.

Jack glanced once at him, then turned to tell Sam, "Hail Dorothy." There was a pause, and then, "Carter!"

"Captain Carter, are you injured?" Teal'c was saying. Daniel turned as well to see Sam still lying where she'd fallen with the other two already crouched at her side.

"Knocked the wind out of me," she said breathlessly, twisting to try to stand and grimacing at the sight of the debris she'd landed on. "I'm okay, just help me up. Let's get out of..." She froze with one hand reaching for Teal'c's shoulder. "Oh, damn..."

"What?" Jack said sharply. "What's wrong--"

Tick. Tick.

Daniel leaned across her body and saw the metallic ball, Goa'uld numbers flashing on the display.

"Eight," he read from the device. "Seven..."

"An explosive," Teal'c said, and pulled Sam roughly to her feet.

"Move," Sam said, holding Teal'c's arm as they staggered together toward the ring platform. "Rings!"

Jack scooped up the ball and rolled it down the nearest hallway, where it clattered down the stone of the next room, then ran for the ring platform behind them. Just as Daniel activated the rings, an explosion sounded in a distant room, and then another--

When they stumbled out together in the underground tunnels again, Jacob was waiting, looking torn between relief and anger. Daniel took a second to notice that everyone was on his or her feet once again, although Jack was rubbing his back and Sam was still leaning on Teal'c.

"Setesh?" Selmak asked.

"Dead," Teal'c said shortly.

"Let's go," Jack said, and they made their way out of the tunnels.

XXXXX

27 August 1999; Seth's Compound, Washington; 1300 hrs

Jack rolled out an ache in his shoulders. Stupid snakes. He glanced over his shoulder at the car, where Daniel was inside, changing out of his 'I-love-Seth' robe.

"Carter?" he asked, watching her stuff the hand device into a bag, out of sight, before anyone saw and asked questions.

She glanced at him, clenching her jaw and pushing the bag far enough away that it was out of her reach. "Sir."

He hesitated, eyeing the bag warily, then finally said, "Nice job. Saved our asses back there."

"Yes, sir," Carter said, but in a particularly unhappy tone of voice.

"You okay?"

"Yes, sir," she repeated. "A little bruised, that's all."

"It's okay, just a delayed reaction," Jacob was saying. Jack turned to see Daniel sitting sideways out of the car in his normal BDUs, his elbows on his knees and his head down. "Adrenaline, dead body... Don't worry about it. Nice job, kid."

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Daniel," Carter said to him. "Seth. I don't think we could have saved him, under the circumstances, but still, that was an awful..."

"No," Daniel said, lifting his head immediately, his face pale but earnest. "Sam, you saved us. And I like ribbon devices a lot better when you're using them," he added, smiling in feeble joke, though his gaze twitched once toward the bag. Though no one mentioned it, Jack knew he had a particular aversion to ribbon devices, ever since Apophis had used one to capture him from Abydos and then Klorel had used another one on him a few months later. Given that they'd all spent hours after that thinking he was dead (permanently), Jack wasn't fond of ribbon devices, either.

"Everyone else okay?" Jack asked.

"All of Setesh's followers are unharmed," Teal'c said.

Carter was still stealing wary glances at the ribbon device, but she'd get over it, because she was Carter. Daniel looked like he wished he could make that white robe they'd been wearing spontaneously combust if he glared at it hard enough. Glaring, though--Jack would take 'glaring' over any number of potential reactions, especially when dead Goa'uld were involved.

"Tom?" Daniel said suddenly, looking at him.

"No, I'm Jack," Jack said.

Daniel frowned at him. "Tommy Levinson. He's the one who showed me where to find the zat'nik'tel--he was in the first group we sent down. Did he...?"

"He's fine," Jacob answered. "He's with his father."

"What are we telling them about Seth?" Carter asked.

Jack tried to think about exactly how much he remembered from the nish'ta-colored haze. Not much in terms of specifics, which was good; the haziness could work to their advantage. "Mind-altering substance," he said. "Makes you more open to suggestion."

"Hallucinogenic," Carter added, nodding. "To explain the things they saw."

"What about the technology in there?" Daniel said. "There are still a lot of zat'nik'tel, and there's a djera'kesh on Seth's hand. The sarcophagus is still there--I don't think it got blown up--and I'm sure there's more in there, too."

Jack met Jacob's eyes. "Experimental technology," Jack said. "Classified. We'll need a cleanup team here, anyway, so if we can just make sure everyone stays out until we're done, we should be okay. Hey, we'll get a nice load of Goa'uld tech from this salvage," he added.

"It'll be a nice haul even after splitting with the Tok'ra," Jacob said.

"Splitting--excuse me?" Jack said indignantly.

He dipped his head and Selmak said, "Jacob is being facetious. The Tok'ra do not need extra zat'nik'tel as much as you likely would; however, we will ask to see what is there, to help you in identifying the devices if nothing else."

Jacob returned and complained, "Selmak never lets me have any fun."

Daniel was watching them in fascination, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. Jack rolled his eyes and said, "I guess we're keeping the sarcophagus at the SGC from now on, huh?"

"We'll have to make sure it wasn't damaged in the explosions," Carter said. "We could have someone go in and check..."

"Let's leave it to the cleanup crews," Jack said. "Hopefully, I got the bomb far enough away. Either that, or we'll hope you can fix it, Carter."

She grimaced. "I'll hope for the former, sir," she advised.

"Well, I'll talk go to the feds," Jacob said. "I'll make sure everyone gets our story and stays out of that building until the SGC gets here."

"We should talk to the victims, too," Daniel said. "I know it's not technically our job, but we can't just leave without telling them anything and or letting anyone else learn anything they're allowed to tell them." He frowned, as if he'd managed to confuse himself with his own sentence, then amended, "We owe them some explanation."

Jack hesitated, looking at Daniel uncertainly, but then again, they'd just gone in together to clear out a Goa'uld compound, so speaking with the victims didn't seem like something anyone here couldn't handle. "You sure you're feeling okay, kid?"

"Yes," Daniel said, pushing off the back of the car and even holding out his newly bandaged hand to show there was no harm done. "I should go help. I'm your transl...well, the...communication...person."

Jack snorted. "Good show. Just remember the cover story better than you remember your words, communication person."

"All of you take it easy," Jacob said. "Help get some of this sorted if you want--figure out what they know or what they remember about Seth--and then get some rest."

A few minutes later, Jacob was talking to Hamner, Teal'c and Daniel were talking to Seth's victims, and Jack was on the phone talking to Hammond with Carter.

"Yes, sir, the mission was a success," he reported. "Seth is dead."

"Any other fatalities?" Hammond asked.

"None. All of Seth's followers were recovered and are physically unharmed. But we are going to need a team to identify and take care of Seth's body and any Goa'uld technology left inside the compound. They should be advised that there were explosives, and it's possible not everything was detonated."

"Understood, Colonel. I'll send some men your way immediately. Speaking of technology...?"

"The sarcophagus is in there. I recommend that we leave it locked up at the SGC this time, sir."

"Agreed. And how's your team?"

"Fine. Everything went off with as few hitches as could be expected," Jack said. "A few bruises, the usual--but we're fine."

"The nish'ta, sir," Carter reminded him.

"Oh, and Daniel and I were dosed with some kind of brainwashing drug, kind of like the stuff Hathor used. Jacob's sure it's eliminated, but I recommend that anyone who goes into that building exercise a lot of caution, in case the drug's still floating around."

There was a short pause, and then, "Colonel, if you were dosed with a brainwashing drug, you put me in a position of being unable to accept your word at face value."

"Crap," Jack muttered tiredly, thinking he really should have waited until they got back to mention that. "Well, both Teal'c and Jacob are immune because of their Goa'ulds. You remember that from the Hathor incident, sir, I assume. Should I get them to vouch for me?"

A sigh, but more of exasperation than of relief or annoyance. "That would help. Just to avoid any questions, Jack."

"Yes, sir." He covered the mouthpiece and called, "Teal'c! Daniel! Get over here!" Teal'c started back. Daniel, because he obeyed orders fine in combat but picked and chose otherwise, only held up an index finger, still talking to a young woman wrapped in a blanket. Once the Jaffa was there and Daniel was finally making his way back, Jack thrust the phone out and said, "Teal'c, tell the general I'm not crazy, would you?"

"General Hammond," Teal'c said into the phone, "Colonel O'Neill has ordered me to inform you that he is not crazy."

Great--convincing, Jack thought, though Hammond knew them well enough that he'd probably be amused. "You and Teal'c learn anything?" he said aloud, opening another car door so Daniel could take a seat and still talk to them. "What are they saying?"

"It's not clear," Daniel said. "Everyone's very disoriented, but really, anything could have happened in there. Obviously, at least one of them has used the sarcophagus."

"Probably more," Jack said. There had been more than one bloodstain on the floor. Daniel winced but nodded in agreement.

"Then we have no idea how many may have been put into that sarcophagus," Carter added. "I'd recommend a thorough medical examination for all of them, though. They'd need to, anyway, just in case anything worse went on in there that you didn't witness, sir."

"Yeah," Jack sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "How about in terms of any plans Seth had? Anything we need to know about?"

"So far, it looks like both the men and women were used mostly as guards or domestic servants without being told why or what was going on," Daniel said.

"I am in agreement," Teal'c said, hanging up the phone with the general. "It is possible that Seth intended to expand his power, but that is no longer a threat." Jack opened his mouth to say something else, but Teal'c turned to Daniel and said, "Daniel Jackson, you were forced to discharge a zat'nik'tel upon yourself, were you not?"

"Uh...well, yes," Daniel said, a little defensively. "I didn't see any other option at the time."

Apparently, it was performance review time, because Teal'c continued, "You left yourself momentarily incapacitated. Why were there no other options?"

"Because Tom was about to start yelling for help, Teal'c, and there was no way I would have been able to hold onto him for much longer. But it did work. And I got the zats, so..."

"Then what was your mistake?"

Carter raised her eyebrows at Jack, who gave her a small shrug in return but didn't interrupt. Daniel fidgeted in embarrassment, giving the two of them a look, although Jack wasn't sure if he wished they weren't listening to him being dressed down or if he hoped they'd intervene. Finally, he sighed and told Teal'c, "I knew he was bigger than I was, and I still got up close and tangled up and let it become a contest of strength, which I don't think I would have won if it had gone on much longer."

Teal'c made a low noise of agreement. "Was there another way?"

Daniel squinted an eye, as if trying hard to picture the situation. "Um...I suppose... I might have been able to grab his zat without touching him at all, even just turned it in the holster without trying to take it. But he had a gun--"

"You have been instructed on Tau'ri firearms," Teal'c interrupted. "What kind of gun?"

"Submachine, looked like an--oh," Daniel said, wincing. "If I'd gotten close enough, it would have been difficult for him to use an Uzi with a shoulder stock when it was strapped to his body. By the time he'd decided to shoot or try to club me with it, I probably could have zatted him."

"If he did not suspect you, you should have attempted stealth first," Teal'c said. "Your method was acceptable, but you are very fortunate that it worked."

"Yeah, I know," Daniel muttered. "Don't worry, I won't be shooting myself again anytime soon."

"Good idea," Jack said. "You okay?"

Daniel grimaced. "I can't imagine what it would be like to live under nish'ta for months or years. It must be horrible. Can you imagine anything worse than losing control of your own mind?"

"Maybe not," Jack agreed, then repeated, "So, you okay?"

"Me? Oh, yes, I'm fine," Daniel replied, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "A little, uh...disturbed by the idea of prostrating myself before a Goa'uld, but..."

"All for a good cause," Carter assured him.

"Well, you, too, then," he retorted, with a look at the Goa'uld hand device.

"That's how it is when you go undercover," Jack told him. "You do and say stuff you'd never do normally." Teal'c nodded once in agreement. "That's how the game goes."

"I was afraid I'd messed it up from the start," Daniel admitted.

"Never rely on plan A to work," Jack advised.

"Actually, plan A was your getting in undetected. So I was already on plan B, and I don't think we'd made a C, which was a problem because B went sideways."

"True," Jack conceded. "Sometimes, we have to make it up as we go. You did good," he added honestly. "Improvised well, picked up on the right cues and everything."

"Good. So, uh, Colonel," Daniel said, leaning forward, "you know how part of the assessment for field personnel is performance in the field? And you know I've now formally made a request to be considered for a position on an exploration team as a civilian attaché--will this, uh...have any impact on that at all?"

Jack tried to think of a logical reason to say 'no' and found it just a bit harder than it would have been even a few days ago. There was something about killing off System Lords or would-be System Lords that made everything else seem a lot easier in comparison, dangerous as he knew that outlook to be. He settled on, "We'll see what the general says. All right, everyone take a short break. Then spread yourselves out and work with the feds until our people get here, and then we'll head home."

Chapter Text

29 August 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1100 hrs

"Thank you," General Hammond said once they'd finished the debriefing about Seth and all the Goa'uld tech goodies they'd collected. "Captain Carter, the sarcophagus will be kept in storage, and I'm leaving you in charge of who has access to it. I shouldn't need to tell any of you that there will be absolutely no human testing done on that device without my express permission."

"Yes, sir," she said. "I'll talk to Dr. Fraiser about setting up a safety protocol for any sort of use. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any damage from the explosions in Seth's compound."

"Well done. And Jake," he added, "if the Tok'ra ever have suspicions of a Goa'uld living on Earth again, we expect to know about it."

Jacob shrugged. "Sure thing. As long as you don't keep shelving your records of cults revolving around god-like figures from Egyptian mythology."

"Fair enough," Hammond said. "Hold it--everyone except Jacob stay for a minute. Jake, thanks for your help." Jacob looked around, shrugged, then left good-naturedly to hang out in the control room. "Mr. Jackson, can you tell me which are the SG teams that still need cultural specialists?"

Jack raised his eyebrows. He saw Daniel do the same. "What?" Daniel said.

"You heard me, son."

Daniel tilted his head in thought and said, "Well, it's...it depends. We usually split people into two groups: those who specialize in certain cultures or languages, for specific second-line work, and those good at making initial assessments for a broad range of cultures and languages."

"The latter, then. Just give me a list," the general ordered.

"Then...SG-2...7, 10...and 13 and 15 once they get some experience. And maybe SG-1. Not that your record isn't good already," he added quickly to Jack, "and obviously you have Teal'c. I just think it might help for the flagship team to have a wider range of knowledge about human cultures, but... Is that...General, I'm not sure exactly what you're asking for."

"That's all right," Hammond told him. "You named quite a few teams there."

"Not as many as I would have even a few months ago, sir, since we've been emphasizing that aspect more, but I think it would be a good idea for each team to--"

"I understand. Are there people in the social science department willing and qualified to act as attachés?"

Adjusting his glasses, Daniel said, "Well, of the civilians, Robert Rothman, Jim Frakes, and I have all had physical training and experience, to different degrees. A few others would like to get training. There are...um...three military members in the department not attached to teams who are qualified and could probably be cleared to join one, at least temporarily." He scratched his head. "Sir, is that what you were asking, or...?"

General Hammond nodded. "That's fine. I appreciate your input, and I'll take those into consideration. Now, we didn't get a chance to discuss the latest recruits. We have the video of the testing, but if you have anything specific to add about the two lieutenants' performance...?"

"Nothing you didn't see, probably," Daniel said, relaxing a little. This was a routine they were familiar with from previous rounds of testing--although they all discussed the applicants during the test, a view from the inside never hurt. "Astor's quick. Not afraid to take the lead when needed, studies beyond what she's asked to know. Curious, friendly. A little blunt for someone on a diplomatic team, if you don't mind my saying, sir, but SG-14 will help her make that an asset instead of a problem. Barber...is very focused. Great when he's given a task. I wouldn't give him a command yet--he's a little indecisive--but he could grow out of that with time. Even now, I'd follow him in a pinch."

He could grow out of that. Jack exchanged an amused look with Carter but refrained from making a crack about other personnel who hadn't even grown into their own teenaged limbs yet, mostly because the assessment wasn't wrong.

"Good," Hammond said, and he looked like he agreed. "Now, Dr. Rothman has returned for a few days and would like to go over more specific observations on Lieutenant Astor's linguistic proficiency, Mr. Jackson. Go on up."

"Um...yes, sir," Daniel said, glancing at the rest of them with a confused look on his face before he walked out of the briefing room, leaving Jack and his team with General Hammond.

"What was that all about, sir?" Jack said once he was gone.

"I'll explain," General Hammond said. "In the past, civilians have been restricted mainly to second-line work, as well as a few exploration missions that were expected to be relatively safe. But there are a few who would like positions on first-contact teams, too."

"Right," Jack said, thinking he knew who one of those civilians was.

"In other words, Colonel, they'd like to extend their participation from research and diplomacy to include standard reconnaissance missions as well. As Mr. Jackson alluded to, a few of the civilian scientists have been doing some physical training on base. I'm considering assigning those people to experienced exploration teams in order to receive more practical training."

"And you want SG-1 to take one of them, sir?" Jack said, already cringing internally. It wasn't that he had anything against scientists--well, okay, yes, he kind of did. But mostly it was that he, Carter, and Teal'c knew each other so well by now. He hated having that interrupted by another person.

General Hammond nodded. "In fact, SG-1 was originally assigned a fourth member--a translator. The three of you are resourceful, and I haven't found it necessary to push you to find a permanent fourth member. But it would be appropriate on our flagship team--I'd even say that it's high time you found a cultural specialist or a translator to join you."

Jack caught Carter's neutral expression and Teal'c's blank one. "We really like that extra space in our locker room, sir," he hedged.

"What if I said that you'll find one or I'll find one for you?"

"General, we don't always get along with science attachés."

"So I've heard," the general said with a hint of rebuke. "What if I suggested someone I think you already do get along with--someone with whom you work well, despite all expectation?"

Jack mulled that over, then said--"Are you asking if I'd take Daniel on as part of SG-1?"

"You've already done so in the past," Hammond said.

"I mean on purpose, sir. Regularly."

Hammond folded his hands on the table. "He knows this Mountain and our operations inside and out. Some people here think he's being groomed for the position, what with his record and his relationship with your team. Considering his past performance--including his role in assassinating Seth the day before yesterday, Colonel--and considering we declared him an adult over a year ago...would you do it?"

Jack looked at his team, who were being unusually unhelpful. He knew on some level that this meant they weren't totally opposed, but it also meant they weren't ecstatically in favor. "About Seth," he started as he tried to think it through, "Daniel was the backup plan, sir--as in the last chance, or I would never have put him in that position."

"But it suggests that you, as one of the people training Mr. Jackson, think he's ready for more than second-line research--as a matter of fact, he is, as strange as it seems, the most experienced of our civilians in the field. The biggest difference between what I'm suggesting and what he's been doing in past months is that he'll be with you most of the time and not some other team."

Teal'c spoke up abruptly, "Daniel Jackson has much to learn about being a warrior; however, I believe he is prepared to join warriors without hindering them."

"He did impress Jacob and Selmak," Jack conceded, reflecting that there was a good reason Daniel knew most of the teams' situations well--aside from acting as Rothman's de facto deputy, he'd joined a lot of teams in the field before. Jack wasn't sure he was more comfortable with that than with the idea of having Daniel under his own team's eye, if this idea of civilian training was really going to go through.

"He's as qualified as Dr. Rothman," Carter offered. "Not in archaeology, I'm sure, but he speaks as many or more relevant languages, and he's quicker to improvise when plans get derailed. His training keeps him in good enough shape. Physically, intellectually, he won't hold us back."

"And emotionally?" Hammond asked. "I don't just mean maturity in his decisions; I'm also talking about psychological repercussions from difficult missions."

Wasn't that the rub. "If we keep him around at all," Jack said, "he won't avoid repercussions."

"You're saying he should be kept out of SGC business completely now?" Hammond asked.

"I believe O'Neill means that we can either keep Daniel Jackson away entirely, or allow him to help and arm him," Teal'c said.

"That's not...exactly what I said," Jack said. "But you have to admit, sir, a lot of his more traumatic experiences have happened right here on Earth. If he doesn't get an assignment soon, he'll just go on shipping out with whichever team has an opening."

"For research missions, mostly," Carter pointed out.

"The first two teams who were killed in their entirety were the research teams of SG-7 and SG-11, Captain Carter," Teal'c pointed out. "And yet we have not stopped Daniel Jackson and civilians with far less training from joining research missions."

"Do you think he can do it, Colonel?" Hammond said.

For perhaps the first time, Jack swallowed the reflexive 'No' and considered it.

Daniel might not know as many facts as people like Rothman, but if they found a world where they needed someone with lots of spare information stuffed in his head, they called the research teams in for follow-up. Daniel's spotty but eclectic education and his intuition were, frankly, something an exploration team could use.

For a moment, Jack considered pointing out that the fraternization regs would have something to say about sharing living quarters with someone in the same chain of command, as Daniel still lived with Jack about as often as he stayed on base, but if he said that, it would only invite questions about how objective the rest of them were about each other, too. Jack knew that Daniel used to go to Teal'c's room in the middle of the night to calm himself down when he had a nightmare, and, more than once, Jack and Carter had babysat Cassandra Frasier together.

Then again, it wasn't as if Jack had anything against knowing Carter and Teal'c better than the back of his own hand, and the point was, Daniel knew them just as well. He trained and studied with Teal'c, he lived with Jack, he poked at Goa'uld artifacts with Carter, and he'd risked his life together with the entire team more than once. If they were going to have a social scientist forced on them, it might as well be someone they knew and liked, and they'd be able to protect him at the same time. SG-1 could protect Daniel better than almost anyone else.

"I'd be willing to try it," Jack finally said. "With certain conditions."

"I am in agreement," Teal'c said.

Carter hesitated but said, "I think he can do it, sir."

The general nodded. "SG-1 has been participating in a mixture of exploration and combat-support missions, and I want to keep Mr. Jackson away from the latter for obvious reasons. I'm willing to assign him to your team for most missions except those known beforehand to be out of his skill range. That will leave him time during which he would be free to help with Dr. Rothman's other duties, since Dr. Rothman is also more frequently off-world these days with SG-11."

"Ye-es, sir," Jack said slowly. "Okay."

"I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea myself, Colonel," the general said, as if sensing his hesitation, "so tell me now if you think it's the wrong decision."

Jack shook his head, reminding himself that SG-1 had more experience than any other team. "No. We'll take him, sir. At least for a period of time--"

"Like a training run, sir," Carter suggested. "He can pick up more experience in first-contact with us without facing the full range of dangers, and we'll reevaluate after a few missions to see if it's a bad idea. Or if it seems like it would work better, he can always transfer to a research or diplomatic team."

They used Daniel in training scenarios on base because his age made him look almost harmless, and they'd used him--more than once, now--to infiltrate an enemy Goa'uld in practice, too, for the same reason. Daniel's nature might be best suited for being a researcher, but his training and field experience was geared toward covert operations and combat as much as anything, inadvertently or not. An uncomfortable voice in Jack's head pointed out that children had been used that way in war all throughout history and that US and international law on Earth looked down on such practices, to say the least.

Still. That didn't change anything. If Daniel was being called an adult now, nothing would stop him from worming his way onto a team. If he ended up going down a path with as many guns as books, well, then Jack would make sure he had the training for it.

Finally, General Hammond said, "Remember--if he's on SG-1, he will be there as your teammate, not just your student or your little brother. I expect you to defend him out there, but if he proves a danger to you or himself or an impediment to your missions, he's off the roster."

"Yes, sir," Jack said.

"He'll have probationary status for four weeks," Hammond said. "After that, he will be held to the same standards as any SG team member. This includes the psychiatric and psychological evaluations that we all seem to have forgotten about, since he wasn't hired by the normal route."

"Oy," Jack said. "Are we gonna start worrying about his psychological fitness now?"

"Yes," Hammond said bluntly. "We should be more worried than ever about it starting now. He's seen a few battles, Colonel; he hasn't seen it all. Until he's of age by our laws to be deployed in combat, if I'm concerned about his mental state at any time, I will ground him--for his own wellbeing--and he will speak with a counselor if I believe he needs it."

Jack grimaced--he hated psych evaluations in general--but it was probably wise. "Yes, sir."

"I understand Jacob will be staying for a few days with Captain Carter on family business," said the general, "and SG-1 could use a little downtime. If you'd like to train on Earth with Mr. Jackson, I'd suggest you take this time to do that. Dismissed."

...x...

29 August 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1300 hrs

"Let me get this straight," Rothman said. "Daniel's getting first-line exploration approval?"

"Unless he screws up sometime soon," Jack said. Daniel raised his eyebrows indignantly.

"So that means," Rothman said, "that I ship out with SG-11 and Daniel ships out with SG-1, and when we're free and some other team needs a translator, I get to stay on base and make Daniel join them and do the grunt work. Which is nice, but..."

"Grunt work?" Daniel repeated. "What's wrong with going into the field once in a while?"

"I don't often get shot at when I go into the field," Rothman said. "I bring back video footage and...and pottery shards."

"I've done that, too," Daniel said defensively. "And it's not like I don't shoot back if I need to."

Rothman turned a look onto Jack. "Seriously, Colonel?"

"Robert..." Daniel started.

"You think I don't take the safety of my men seriously, Doctor?" Jack retorted. "Daniel's been trained, he's gonna get more training, and you can't name three people on this base more willing to die to keep him safe."

"Jack!" Daniel said.

"Not now, Daniel," Jack said.

"I beg your pardon?" he said. "This is about me! I've been doing fieldwork for over a year. In fact, Robert, so have you."

"You know the difference between exploration and first-line research?" Rothman said to Daniel.

"It's a...it's just a formal, categorical... It's a fine line, and people cross it all the time--I've crossed it, and so have you," Daniel said, both of them ignoring Jack now.

"Research teams pick their planets first during the planning meeting," Rothman said. "Exploration teams get the weird ones that someone needs to check out but the research teams don't want to touch. And when there's danger, on my team, the people come first. On their team"--he waved vaguely in Jack's direction--"the mission comes first."

Daniel went still. "Earth still exists because SG-1 knows to put the mission first," he said. "I'm here on this planet for the purpose of the mission, Robert. I joined the SGC to find my family, and I can't do that by only taking assignments that look less dangerous. Do you honestly think I don't know by now what the risks are?"

Rothman looked up at where Jack was standing, and Jack said, "We have Captain Carter, too, which means we do take research missions, and with Daniel, we might be taking more of those. But you're right, Doctor--for us, sometimes the mission has to come first. If it makes you feel better, Daniel's life comes before ours--"

Daniel whipped around to face him. "Jack--"

"Don't argue," Jack said. "Remember that if you ever feel the urge to run into danger. You're a translator first, not a soldier. Anyway," he added to Rothman, "SG-1 has a former First Prime and two highly-trained military officers--we get called in for combat support a lot. Daniel will stay on base for those. It's not that much different from what he's done in the past."

"Think of it this way," Daniel said to Rothman. "Before, I could only take missions that looked safe. And now, I can take missions that are uncertain, but I still can't take on that look unsafe. Right?" He waited for Jack to nod. "And, honestly, the uncertain missions are the ones where I'd be most useful."

Rothman looked at Daniel but spoke to Jack. "If I want him doing something for my department, I have a say."

"Joint custody it is," Jack said.

"What about...I haven't been able to go to the range with you for weeks," Daniel said. "Since all the sarcophagus business started. You haven't told me the marksmanship requirements."

"SG-1 has the next four weeks to work with you," Jack told him. "You'll take your quals after that. If you pass, you'll be approved for general exploration with SG-1, and you can still be assigned to other teams that are missing a translator if you don't have a mission with us. Also, you're restricted to a maximum number of missions in any given month." Daniel frowned, but Jack said firmly, "It's within a reasonable schedule; it just means you can't get overloaded with work and we can make you stop and take a break if we want. You can complain when you're eighteen."

"So...the two of us do the same things, basically," Rothman said, "but I take more of the in-depth research, and Daniel takes more of the initial contact and assessment."

"Okay, great," Daniel said quickly, as if someone might change his mind if he waited too long.

"Good," Jack said briskly. "Then, starting tomorrow, you're under my command. We've got some work to do."

XXXXX

30 August 1999; Indoor Shooting Range, SGC; 0730 hrs

At this hour, no one else was at the range, except the range safety officer, which was just fine. Jack had brought Daniel here before to practice until he knew the commands and the rules of safety inside out and backwards and could hold and stand and shoot with some reasonable degree of accuracy, but having time to themselves for practice was good.

"You're gonna have to qualify on both of these," Jack told Daniel, pointing first at the electric zat target Carter had rigged as they passed the range designed for energy weapons, and then at the lane with standard paper targets. "Practice with the zat sometime later. For pistol, you need to get forty-two out of forty-five shots on the target from twenty-five yards."

"Anywhere on the target?" Daniel asked, fastening the holster on his leg.

"Anywhere inside the silhouette. You can only miss three in forty-five, your score will be on record, and you'll have to re-qualify in a year. If you stick with a team long enough, I will bump up the accuracy and time requirements." If Jack was going to take him out into the field regularly, he'd damn well better not be completely helpless.

Daniel nodded, assessing the silhouette at the end of the range. "What about zat'nik'tel?"

"Twenty shots on the target. No more than one miss."

"This isn't very realistic," Daniel commented, still looking at the paper target. "I've almost never had to shoot at someone who wasn't moving, especially without being under any pressure."

Which reminded Jack that Daniel had, in fact, shot and been shot at before. "That's why you can't miss more than a few times. You have twenty seconds for each string of five rounds. If you ask me, that's too generous. If you can't hit a stationary target when you've got time to aim, you don't have much of a chance at a moving one when it's shooting back," he said.

"How many rounds this time?" Daniel asked. "This is just practice, right?"

"Go for fifteen. Finish one magazine and we'll go from there. Don't worry about timing for now. Sight's adjusted? Ears on. Load--ready."

Daniel slipped on the ear protectors and adjusted his glasses. He picked up the M9 Jack had left on the counter, checked the chamber automatically even though it was already cleared, slid in a full magazine, and racked the slide as he took aim.

Jack slipped on his own protectors and ordered loudly, "Commence fire." The first shot rang out.

Too high. It took another two shots to land one into the silhouette, though the rest made it in. Jack counted fifteen shots and watched to make sure the gun was still raised and in position, waiting for the command, before ordering, "Holster." Once the safety was on and the pistol in its place on Daniel's leg, Jack brought the target back.

Thirteen holes somewhere in the target's body and two outside.

"Not good enough," Daniel admitted, poking a finger at the hole farthest off before he pulled off his ear protectors.

"It's not terrible," Jack said, looking at a small cluster of five holes very near the center. "It only took you, what, five, six shots to remember how the trigger works? You're still pulling it at an angle the first few times before you adjust properly and aim."

"Jack--" Daniel started.

"Don't start, Daniel," Jack snapped, surprising him into silence. "You don't always get a second chance. If a Jaffa in armor walks toward you, even if you hit him on the first try, your bullet might not penetrate. Even if it does, he might still be strong enough to shoot back if you didn't hit something important. Every shot has to count, understood?"

Daniel's eyebrows were drawn low and his expression wary. "Yes, sir," he said stiffly.

"This isn't good enough," Jack said, waggling the paper at him in challenge.

"I know that," Daniel said. "Can I practice on my own, too?"

"Only if Teal'c or an officer's with you, for now. All right, this time, don't be in such a hurry to get your next shot off. Make sure you've recovered from the recoil first and then line up the next one. Pay attention to your trigger finger and your balance. Reload and fire when ready."

Halfway through peppering the second target with holes, Jack called, "Cease fire. Tactical reload. Ready." Daniel's left hand hovered near his pocket where he held ammunition. "Go."

They went on practicing reloads interspersed with malfunction clearances and plain shooting holes in the targets until SG-5, the new research team, walked in together. Jack checked his watch, decided it was enough for the moment, and ordered, "Cease fire."

"Cease fire," Daniel repeated, clearing the gun and showing it to Jack for approval.

Once Jack was convinced nothing was about to go off or fall out, he said, "I want you here with me first thing in the morning to practice every day unless we're not on base, until you pass your quals. If you want more time outside of that, I won't complain. Let's go get that cleaned out."

As soon as they were in the cleaning area, Daniel visibly relaxed. Jack did, too--he was still more comfortable watching Daniel field strip a gun than watching him shoot it. By now, Daniel's fingers were thorough and steady as he cleaned and inspected each part before putting it back together. It helped that these weapons were well-maintained anyway, and an hour or two of shooting didn't gum things up much.

"Teal'c says I should learn to use a knife," Daniel said when they walked out together, as both a statement and a question, "because of things like the Goa'uld personal shield."

Jack grimaced. "I'd rather you didn't get close enough to a Goa'uld to stab him with a knife. But it's useful otherwise, too, especially if you've lost your gun and your zat for some reason--humans are as vulnerable to knives as Goa'uld and Jaffa are."

"But if we're facing humans, it's better to try to convince them to stop attacking us before we start stabbing at them, right?"

Jack returned the Beretta to the armory and turned back toward the elevator. "If you're in a situation where you've lost your other weapons, they're probably not very open to discussion."

"Well, I'm sure sometimes you're attacked before you have time to figure out enough of the local dialect to say, 'Please don't shoot us,'" Daniel said, "so they might be open to discussion if we figure it out afterward and tell them we're not enemies."

"If they're shooting at you, I'd rather you focused on not getting shot. And if you don't know the language, chances are, no one on the team will."

When there was no answer, he looked over just in time to see Daniel close his mouth and frown.

"What?" Jack asked. "If you're on my team, you don't hide anything from me."

"I'm not hiding anything," Daniel protested, turning to face him.

"Then spit it out."

"It's just...it takes a while to learn a new language, Jack."

"We don't have time to learn a new language every time we go through the 'gate," Jack reminded him, "especially if people start shooting at us."

"Well...okay," he said, "but...you have those sheets, right?"

"You mean the booklets you and Rothman make everyone carry?" Jack said. "Yeah. Carter's got the respectful greetings in most major languages memorized, but if it's not Goa'uld, Egyptian, English, or someone who speaks a combination of the above, 'hello, we're peaceful travelers' only gets you so far in a conversation."

Daniel had his arms folded, but he looked curious rather than annoyed. "SG-1's handled more negotiations without second-line diplomatic teams than any other frontline team. And I know not all of those planets speak Egyptian, Goa'uld, or English."

"That's why we're SG-1," Jack said. "We're resourceful. Maybe we don't do it your way, but..." He paused. "What do you do when you go off-world, learn new languages from scratch?"

"Not...from scratch, exactly," Daniel said, which Jack took as a 'yes, pretty much.' "But in the past, if I went off-world and there were people there, it was usually for some sort of follow-up diplomatic trip, so the whole point was to be able to speak with the local people."

"I know you haven't been only to planets where people speak languages you know," Jack said, leading the way off the elevator on Level 25.

"I'm familiar with a lot of languages that are the ancestors or...or sister languages of what people speak off-world, which means I can often work it out. It's like...a dialect you can't understand, but if you work at it enough, you start to piece it together. But it takes time to learn enough of the nuances of the local dialect to be able to communicate to any meaningful degree. So--"

"Wait," Jack said, opening the door to the locker room. "Get in here."

Daniel scrunched his eyebrows together. "Why?"

"Because we're arguing about translation in the middle of the hallway," Jack said in exasperation, gesturing inside again and wondering if he'd have to explain every order from now on. "Let's go."

"So I was wondering," Daniel said as he walked in, found a relatively clear area, and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, "if we could spend a little time at the beginning of each mission to make things more efficient."

"More efficient except for that extra time in the beginning. We can't take a few extra days to pick up a new language every time. That's what second-line teams are for."

"I'm not asking for days," Daniel scoffed. "A few hours, maybe."

Jack scoffed back at him, "You're telling me it takes you a few hours to learn alien dialects."

Defensively, Daniel said, "A year and a half ago, I went to P3C-117 with SG-7--ask them how long it took me there."

As it happened, Captain Lithell--SG-5 now but formerly a member of SG-7--walked past them on the way to the showers and said, "I still say that one was lucky, Daniel."

"Wait, how long?" Jack asked him, because now he was curious.

"He was having a conversation within an hour, sir," Lithell said. Jack's eyebrows flew up. "Like I said, lucky--apparently, it was really close to Latin, closer than we usually see. On the other hand, it took Rothman a lot longer to get that far, and I wouldn't've had a chance. Even if I'd figured out it was Latin, I would've needed time and a notebook to get to anything usable."

Daniel raised a hand as if to say 'see?' "I've never gotten another unfamiliar language that fast," he admitted, "so it was lucky, but Jack, new language decipherment is my specialty. I'm not saying I'd be anywhere near fluent with just a few hours, but I'd be able to say things like 'please don't kill us.'"

Jack gave him a suspicious look, nodding to Lithell as he left. "Really?"

"Yes," he said, deadpan. "'Don't' and 'kill' are usually among the first words I try to learn, followed by 'please.'"

Smartass. "I mean, do you really think it would make a difference. You can really pick out a new language each time we go through the 'gate?"

"Not each time," Daniel admitted. "I don't speak every language that used to be spoken on Earth, and sometimes things have just changed too much. But!" he added, raising a finger when Jack began to speak. "But. I can do it, sometimes, at least well enough for minimal basic communication, which, I think, is worth some extra hours, if it can reduce misunderstandings. Jack, someone could offer you a ton of naquadah and you'd never know if you can't talk to them."

Not likely to happen, but Jack got the point. It might be worth a shot. "When we go through, if we meet peaceful people speaking an unfamiliar language, I'll give you two hours while Carter checks out the soil and whatnot," Jack allowed. Daniel gave him an incredulous look. "If you're making progress by then, I'll give you more time. If you're stuck, we move on, and if I say to move, you move and don't complain. Got it?"

Daniel's eyes narrowed, but he said, "Got it. Sir."

Jack wondered exactly how much more difficult this was going to be than he'd thought and said, "We're going for a run. Wash the lead off your hands and get changed."

...x...

30 August 1999; Cheyenne Mountain; 1030 hrs

"You know what just occurred to me?" Daniel asked as they jogged up the public paths.

"I should've made you run carrying rocks like Teal'c does?" Jack said, noting that Daniel was starting to breathe harder but didn't look particularly tired yet, not if he was still chatting.

"No, thank you very much," Daniel said fervently.

Jack smirked. "Okay. So what just occurred to you?"

"It takes almost an hour to get into the mountain."

"It doesn't take an hour. You're just impatient," Jack countered. "Watch your step here."

Daniel's foot fell into the shallow ditch despite the warning, but he caught his balance and his breath and continued speaking with the air of someone who hadn't noticed anything at all. "What I mean is that we live underground."

"We don't live underground. You live underground. I live in a house. Occasionally, you do, too."

He stopped and raised a fist. Daniel froze, crouching slightly and turning. "What?" he whispered.

"Nothing," Jack said, straightening and starting again. "Just wanted to see if you'd stop. And if I call for a halt, you wait for instruction before opening your mouth."

Daniel huffed but caught up easily after a brief pause. "Fine," he said, swiveling back to their previous conversation. "We work underground."

"You know, I did notice that," Jack said. "What's your point?"

"That doesn't seem strange to you?"

"Not really." Strange was relative. Being underground didn't even make the list anymore.

"Oh." They snaked around three people jogging in the opposite direction. Jack thought the conversation was over until Daniel went on, "It's just that I used to think the...Jacob's people must be extraordinarily paranoid, since they live in--"

"Daniel," Jack warned.

"Considering where and how they live," Daniel amended. "But we work in underground tunnels. Some of us even live in them."

"They're not tunnels."

"Yes they are."

"Daniel, those are called hallways. Corridors."

"Underground corridors," Daniel pointed out, "which makes them big tunnels in the ground that just happen to be lined with concrete."

"Tunnels...with elevators?" Jack said.

"I like to think of them as vertical escape shafts," Daniel said.

Jack rolled his eyes. "What's your point?"

Daniel shrugged as well as he could while running. "I didn't have one. It just occurred to me as strange, that's all. And I was thinking."

Restraining the impulse either to laugh or to yell shut up and run, Jack said, "What else is new."

This time, there was a longer pause, and he wondered if his exasperation might have leaked out too much in his tone. Instead, however, Daniel turned to look at him, "You know what people say about your team. You're a...an unconventional group of people already."

Automatically--because he had heard that much too often from too many people--Jack said sharply, "We're the flagship team. That means we're the representatives to everyone else, and we're damn good at our job. I don't need to justify--"

"Jack!" Daniel sped up enough to overtake him, turn, and glare full-on, running backwards. "Come on! You really think I'm going to say a word against you or Sam or Teal'c? I understand perfectly well why diversity of...of everything is important for your team. I'm just saying that everyone wants to be on Unit 1, and if you take me, of all people, even if it is just for a training period...they're going to talk louder."

Jack caught his arm and pulled him back before he stepped on a branch. "You keep tripping over stuff, you bet they're gonna talk."

"I'm serious."

"Listen to me, Daniel," Jack said. "You're two years from our age of majority. Sending you into combat is a couple years short of a war crime, by our standards."

"A couple years short, which means it's not," Daniel pointed out. "Besides, I have my elder's approval, and I'm not going into combat."

"But you're not expecting to avoid it completely. You join us, even just for standard rec--"

"I know that," Daniel said testily. "I'm the one who waits outside the infirmary for Janet to come out and say that my friends are going to be okay. I understand the risk you all take. I wish you'd trust that I understand the risk I'm asking to take, too."

Jack shook his head. "Lots of us trust you. I'm one of 'em, so are Carter, Teal'c, and the general. Not everyone's like that. Some people are only going to notice every time you screw up."

"I've proven myself," Daniel said stiffly.

"And you'll have to do it again and again, until people think you're the real deal or stop giving you crap. Stay with the program for another five or ten years, and you'll still be one of the youngest people around. That's the way it is." Jack tagged a post and turned around to start jogging back down.

Daniel ran silently beside him for a while. "Like women," he said after a minute.

Jack turned to stare at him. "What?"

"Sam says that, as a woman, it doesn't matter how many times she published important research, or how many times she proves that she can fight as well as anyone. To some people, she still has to prove herself each time. And Teal'c is...different from other people, too. Someone will always be suspicious of him, even if they don't say it. If they can take it, so can I."

Don't forget the formerly-retired colonel, Jack thought, but only said, "I'm never going to let you forget that you just compared yourself to a woman and a ninety-year-old man." He cuffed Daniel lightly on the back of the head and took off back down the Mountain.

"Ow," Daniel complained pointedly, bumping him on the arm as they raced down.

Daniel won by a little--he was sixteen, a product of Teal'c's training, and not bothered by age or injury--but both of them were well out of breath by the time they finished their sprint and walked toward the entrance. "Okay," Jack panted, "so you can run, at least." Daniel held up his finger and gulped for oxygen, leaning on his knees. Jack stopped to wait for him. "You should work on the breathing thing, though. It's kind of necessary for talking, linguist."

"Nice," Daniel finally gasped back. "When Sam gets back, can I train with her instead?"

"Oh, you think I'm harsh? You haven't seen Carter's idea of a workout."

"No, it's not that," Daniel told him, still panting. "But with her, I won't have to worry about making an old man tired."

Jack gaped at him. Daniel grinned back cheekily and made his way toward the first checkpoint. "You want to spar with this old man?" Jack called at him as he followed.

XXXXX

2 September 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1600 hrs

"He was banished by the System Lords," Teal'c's voice said.

"Like Sokar was?" Daniel's voice answered.

Jack frowned and peeked inside. When he'd told Teal'c to take the next few days for training with Daniel, sitting together on the floor of the archaeology office Saturday afternoon was not what he'd expected. Daniel looked like he was even taking notes, the geek.

"No," Teal'c said. "Sokar was defeated because the other System Lords desired his power. Anubis, however, was exiled for unspeakable crimes."

"What crimes are unspeakable even for the Goa'uld?" Daniel asked.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him. "I do not know. They were unspoken."

"Oh," Daniel said.

Jack escaped as quickly as he could.

XXXXX

9 September 1999; Level 21 Corridor, SGC; 0900 hrs

"I still don't understand," Daniel said.

"What, you didn't have shrinks on Abydos?" Jack joked.

Daniel gave him a look.

"Daniel..."

"Jack, I don't understand! What's the point of all this? Do you know what they made me do on the test yesterday?"

"I've taken all their tests, too, a lot more times than you, so--"

"It was stupid!" Daniel said, gesturing sharply in the air, taking on an affronted tone. "About...how I'd respond to certain situations, which is ridiculous, since an entire situation cannot be encapsulated in the two sentences of each question, and if I ask for clarification, it's being argumentative? It's ridiculous! This is the highest level of Tau'ri psychology?"

"Psychiatry," Jack said, because the psychiatrists gave that test.

"I know," Daniel said, "but it's all about psychology, isn't it?"

"S...sorta," Jack said, not completely sure if Daniel was being philosophical about the two fields or making a point or actually didn't know the difference. He was fairly certain Abydos didn't have a science that really corresponded to psychiatry. Having been forced to talk to more psychiatrists and psychologists than he liked to count, Jack was pretty clear on the differences himself.

"I'm just saying," Daniel said, "is this really necessary?"

Jack forced himself not to make psychiatry look worse than he privately thought of it. "Look. Some of those were personality tests. They want to make sure you're not insane or...likely to go insane or endanger--yeah," he added when Daniel rolled his eyes, "a little late, but you slipped through the cracks at first. If you want to be serious about this, then we have to do it right."

"But you can't tell a person's personality from a test, and the interpretation will naturally be influenced by the scorer's cultural biases, and, and, which--the...come on, Jack! How is--"

"Which is why," Jack said patiently, "you get several more sessions with several more tests looked at in several different ways."

"That's still a poor way to determine anything about--"

"And," Jack added, "you get to talk to someone one-on-one in a few days, so he can get a better picture. For your first evaluation, Dr. Mackenzie will talk to you himself, and he'll probably ask you...just about everything about everything, but by now, it's practically just a formality. They'll give me and General Hammond reports and recommendations and all that stuff, but the general gets final say, and he knows you. As long as you don't do something crazy, you'll be fine."

But now Daniel was looking very creeped out and moving toward nervous. "So someone is going to try to make me talk about...everything, and then tell you and General Hammond all about it? Even though there's no way he could possibly interpret my thoughts exactly? Jack, this is ridiculous."

"Medical privacy rules apply, which you know perfectly well. They can't just tell your CO what you say unless you say you're going to compromise our safety or security."

"Well, my CO is also my legal next of kin, which makes it a bit of a blurry boundary!"

And Carter and Teal'c, along with Rothman, were also listed as family members the doctors could talk to about Daniel's health, Jack knew. They were getting away with it because he was an alien who needed someone's name on his forms, legally--and because Hammond had a good eye for which teams worked best with professional distance and which ran more smoothly with close friendships--but it was a good point. Jack wouldn't bare his soul to a shrink if he was worried about what might get back to his boss, medical discretion or no.

"Yeah, keep reminding them of that and they'll slap us both with fraternization regs," Jack said, not answering the question because he knew this was all an overreaction to a simple, harmless trip to the doctor. He wondered if it would damage one of their psychological profiles if he picked Daniel up and threw him bodily in the direction of the nearest psychiatrist. Probably. It might damage Jack's back, too, so he nixed the idea. "It's not gonna hurt."

"It's like a Goa'uld!" Daniel insisted. "Trying to get into a person's mind. I've been reading about psychiatrists. They're authorized to use chemical substances to influence behavior, and how is that any different from a symbiote, except less efficient?"

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding...me..." Jack paused as a realization struck him. "Are you scared of the shrinks?"

"No," Daniel snapped, reddening a little. "I'm...insulted. I think this is stupid. I'm...Jack."

"No, you're Daniel."

"Jack!"

"Daniel," Jack said. "It'll be fine. How bad could it be? You've faced down Goa'uld--"

"No, I haven't," Daniel said stubbornly, folding his arms. "I've met several Goa'uld. I'm not sure it would be accurate to say I've faced any of them down."

"For cryin' out loud, just take the damn tests! No one's going to drug you into submission. It's a few hours out of your life, spread over a few days, and it's not like you have anything to hide--"

"Oh, of course not," Daniel said, "except my brain. Who says I should make my thoughts available for people to discuss and...and decide if they're right or wrong?"

"The US government," Jack said, then gripped him around the shoulders and pushed him toward the area of the infirmary where mental health reigned. "Just shut up and go."

Daniel did his best impression of annoyed teenager with a stick up his butt as he walked in.

XXXXX

13 September 1999; SG-1 Locker Room, SGC; 0815 hrs

"We have a planning briefing this afternoon," Daniel said, poking his head into the locker room.

Jack looked up from adjusting his sleeve. "After your appointment with Mackenzie."

Daniel wrinkled his nose but nodded. "And we're leaving tomorrow morning for PY3-948."

"Yes, Daniel."

"So starting tomorrow, I'm officially on SG-1?"

Jack held up a hand. "Only if it's not explicitly a military thing. And you have marksmanship scores to put up in a week. You're still on probation."

He looked surprised. "Really? Probation? For what? How come I didn't know that?"

"Not punishment probation. Just...think of this as your first trial run. Sort of," Jack amended, since it really wasn't the first anything, except the first one when Daniel would go with them and be expected to go with them again the next time.

"Oh. Okay. Um, actually, I...had a question."

"What?"

"I heard about Sam's promotion," Daniel said, "and that the Secretary of Defense was coming this morning during the ceremony. Something about, uh, Seth and Hathor and the other Goa'uld who have been either killed or kind-of defeated."

"That's not a question," Jack told him.

"It's just..." Daniel shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. "You're wearing your dress blues."

"That's still not a--"

"I know all SGC personnel are allowed to be there. Most of the officers get promoted somewhere off-base, and I've never tried to go to the promotions that were on base, but since it's Sam, I...wanted to be there to see her."

"If you're asking if you can go, you can," Jack said, and reminded him, "You've managed to be involved somehow in every major snaky butt we've kicked so far, anyway."

"That's not what I'm asking, exactly," Daniel said, fidgeting in the doorway. "I don't know what formal clothing is for civilians, or if I have formal clothing. I was going to ask Robert, because he's a civilian, too, but SG-11 went back off-world on Friday, and I didn't hear about this until yesterday, and you weren't here yesterday, and it felt strange asking Sam, and Teal'c might not have known, either, so..." He stuck his hands into his pockets. "So. Um."

Huh. They'd never had an occasion before when Daniel needed formal clothes, but this didn't require a fancy suit and tie, and Jack was pretty sure he and Teal'c both had at least something among their civvies that were decent enough for this. He looked at his watch. "Sure. We've got some time--I'll help you."

Daniel nodded, looking relieved, and led the way to his quarters. "Thank you."

Jack rummaged through Daniel's small stack of rarely-worn clothes that weren't navy or olive drab and tossed something appropriate onto the bed. "Here. I should go see how Teal'c's doing," he said, heading out of the room. "Just go to the 'gate room when you're done."

...x...

The problem with being the flagship team was that SG-1 was supposed to be polite to people, even people on Earth.

Jack had no problem with this on principle, but it included dull duties like standing two feet away on the ramp while General Hammond introduced Arthur Simms, the Secretary of Defense, and looking alert while Simms talked at length about how cool they all were.

Simms was very...well, optimistic, but this was a congratulatory occasion, after all, and there was nothing wrong with a little morale-rallying once in a while. Most importantly, Simms was a supporter of the SGC, so Jack stood still and tuned out the parts that were uninteresting until General Hammond took his place at the podium again.

"Before we finish today," Hammond said, "I have one other small bit of business. Please come to attention." He paused until the crisp, synchronized rustling through the rest of the 'gate room stopped. "From the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, in recognition of Captain Samantha Carter's outstanding work, I hereby authorize her promotion to the rank of Major. Captain, step forward."

Carter walked up, glancing once at Jack before turning to the general. Hammond smiled warmly at her as he removed the bars on her uniform. "The United States Air Force recognizes that you have fulfilled tasks and duties well beyond the responsibility of Captain."

Oak leaf in hand, Jack stepped forward as well to pin it in place on her shoulder straps.

"It is with great pleasure," Hammond went on, "that I bestow upon you the responsibilities, the respect, and the rank of Major."

"Thank you, sir," Carter answered, saluting smartly.

She turned to Jack for a handshake. "Well done, Major," he told her, saluting as well and letting real pride seep into his words. Her smile brightened a little as he acknowledged her new rank.

"In closing, Major Carter's supervisor, Colonel Jack O'Neill, would like to say a few words," General Hammond finished, then stepped back to give Jack the podium.

Jack snuck a look at his team--all three of them now, his major and his favorite Jaffa standing together while his linguist grinned proudly at them from the floor--before turning to the rest of the embarkation room. "Normally, I am a man of very few words," he said. "And--"

Light surrounded him, and Earth disappeared.

Chapter Text

13 September 1999; Embarkation Room, SGC; 0930 hrs

"Code Nine!" General Hammond shouted, already on the floor and sounding the alarms.

Daniel tore his eyes from where Jack had disappeared and shouldered his way past the crowd of people who'd sprung immediately into action. "Sam!" he called, ducking as someone nearly ran over him. Teal'c guided Secretary Simms away from the Stargate for a few SFs to usher him down the ramp. "Sam!"

Sam ran a quick eye over the podium, then turned at Daniel's voice. "Thor?" he asked, pointing upward.

The general heard and turned to him. "What?"

"Or something similar, if it wasn't Thor himself," Sam agreed, starting down the ramp to where Daniel and the general were standing. "Sir, that looked a lot like the Asgard transportation technology."

"You're certain of that?" the general asked.

"As certain as I can be, sir," she answered as Teal'c joined them. "We saw it in action several times on Cimmeria."

"Major Carter is correct, General Hammond," Teal'c confirmed as Daniel nodded fervently.

"And it can't be an accident that they took the commander of the team that was on Cimmeria twice," Sam added, "especially since the colonel's the only one they've met in person before today, when he 'gated out to the Othalla galaxy."

Pursing his lips, the general said, "So anyone can just be snatched out of here by the Asgard with no warning."

"So far, the Asgard have been only helpful," Daniel offered, unable to help another anxious glance at the podium anyway. "Maybe their etiquette isn't the same as ours, and they don't know that just taking people is considered rude here." Three incredulous sets of eyes fixed on him. "Or something," he added.

"Then where is Colonel O'Neill?"

"He has most likely been transported to a ship," Teal'c said.

Sam nodded. "I agree--there must be some distance limitation for the transportation technology. I can check if satellites around Earth detected anything in our orbit, sir, but to be honest, I doubt it. If anyone had noticed, we would've heard by now. It's more likely that the Asgard have a way to hide their ships from detection."

General Hammond narrowed his eyes. "Then we're just supposed to trust that they're not doing anything to him?"

"--ank you!" Jack's voice yelled.

Daniel whirled around in time to see Jack finish reappearing at the top of the ramp, staring at his hands as if to make sure everything had materialized in its proper place. Friendly as the Asgard had been so far, a relieved sigh found its way out of Daniel's lungs, anyway.

"Colonel O'Neill?" the general said. "What happened?"

Jack patted himself a few more times, and then, apparently satisfied that he was in one piece, made his way down the ramp to where they were standing. "General," he said, "the Goa'uld are scared of us."

Daniel blinked.

"I'm going to need more than that," General Hammond said impatiently. "Where were you?"

"Oh, with Thor," Jack said, pointing upward. "He beamed me onto his ship, Blin...ker." He gave Daniel a sideways look.

"Biliskner," Daniel provided.

"That's the one," Jack said. "Apparently, the President wasn't the only one who's heard about all the snaky butts we've kicked, so the System Lords want to kill us before we kill any more of them."

Apparently realizing this was going to be a long explanation, the general ordered, "Briefing room," and led the way out of the 'gate room.

"When you think about it," Sam said as they walked, "the only Goa'uld we've actually killed are ones the System Lords probably would have wanted to kill themselves. We know Ra most likely banished Hathor at some point before leaving Earth, and Seth was hiding here from them. In fact, it looked almost like Seth might have been preparing to try to regain his position."

"It does not matter," Teal'c told him. "The System Lords would destroy any they perceive to be a threat to their power."

"Cheerful assessment," Jack commented.

They settled into seats in the briefing room, where the general said, "Colonel O'Neill, how this is connected to your disappearing off my base a few minutes ago?"

"Well, sir," Jack said, "the Asgard have become fond of our little planet. They'd prefer not to see us destroyed, so they want to try to stop the attack by negotiating with the System Lords. Something called the Protected Planets Treaty. Thor didn't go into the details."

Daniel leaned forward in his seat in interest as General Hammond asked, "Why would the Goa'uld agree to this negotiation?"

"The Goa'uld fear the Asgard," Teal'c said, which, considering what they'd seen on Cimmeria--where one Asgard ship had trounced Heru-ur and a lot of his Jaffa--seemed a well-founded fear.

"Did Thor say what the System Lords would ask for in return?" Sam asked.

Jack shook his head. "No. But it's all they can offer."

The general glanced at the rest of them again. "You said you thought we could trust the Asgard. How sure are we?"

"The Tok'ra trust them," Sam said.

"And they took the Ancient database's knowledge out of Jack's brain," Daniel said.

There was a pause as they turned to him, as if only then realizing he was there, and it was only then that he realized he'd simply tagged along with the group rather than being explicitly invited. Was he part of the team yet? Should he have waited outside?

It didn't last long, though, before Jack agreed, "Gotta love 'em for that," which seemed to decide the matter, and the general nodded.

White light flashed in front of them, and then Thor was standing in the briefing room. Daniel sat a little straighter and couldn't help staring at the Asgard.

The general's eyes were glued on Thor, but his voice was quiet as he leaned toward Jack.

"I'll vouch for him, sir," Jack said, rising from his seat and bending his knees slightly before standing straight, as if he were actively resisting the urge to crouch condescendingly closer to Thor's eye-level. "Cap--ah, Major Samantha Carter, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson, you all remember Thor? Thor, this is Major General George Hammond. He's the leader of our facility here."

Thor's gaze swept briefly over them all--not quite dismissive, but close to it--then refocused on Jack. "The System Lords have agreed to negotiate," he said. "They will arrive here in four days."

All of them froze in their seats. "Here?" Jack asked.

"It is customary for such negotiations to take place on the planet in question," Thor answered. "Three representatives from the System Lords will arrive by Stargate. You must be prepared to speak on behalf of all the inhabitants of Earth."

Jack looked startled and a little alarmed at that. "Uh, well, not me, personally..."

Thor stared unblinkingly at him. "We have chosen you, O'Neill, to represent your planet at the proceedings."

The little alarm turned into larger alarm, and Daniel would have been lying if he pretended he didn't feel some of it, too. "Now, see," Jack said, "that could be a mistake. You see, we have very skilled negotiators. And"--his gaze landed on Daniel for a brief second before turning back to Thor--"there are people here well-versed in all languages--"

"You have led your people into the galaxy through the Stargate," Thor interrupted calmly. "You are our choice, O'Neill. Further instructions to aid you in your preparation will follow."

Thor beamed back out.

Jack stared at the back wall for a few moments, then turned to face them all and gave a falsely bright smile. "Well. There you go."

General Hammond folded his hands on the table. "We know very little about politics in the galaxy. How do we know that the Asgard have our best interests at heart?"

"I guess we don't, sir," Jack conceded. "But the fact is, if a fleet of Goa'uld motherships wants to attack us, the Asgard are probably our only hope. If the negotiations fail...total annihilation."

Sam leaned forward. "I don't understand why they don't just destroy the attacking vessels. Or, for that matter, why they don't simply destroy all of the Goa'uld right here and now."

"Apparently," Jack said, "most of the Asgard ships are busy with something else at the moment. Thor's the only one available. If they attack the Goa'uld, it could spark a war between the Goa'uld and Asgard, which they can't really afford to fight at the moment."

Daniel thought that over for a minute, then said, "Wait, then why are the Goa'uld scared of them, if the Asgard can't fight back?"

"Perhaps the Goa'uld are unaware of this weakness," Teal'c suggested.

"Wh--hold on a minute," Sam said, eyes wide with alarm. "You mean that...they're bluffing?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, Carter. I didn't get a chance to get a clear picture. As you may have noticed, Thor has a habit of popping people in and out without much warning. But even if it's a bluff, it'll stop the Goa'uld from attacking us as long as they believe the bluff."

"What about our other allies, sir?" Sam said. "One of them might be able to help. The Tok'ra...?"

"...weren't willing to take on Sokar when he tried to break our iris," Jack pointed out. "They're not gonna risk their skins in an attack of this scale."

"The Nox have been friendly," she suggested.

"The Nox haven't been unfriendly," the general corrected. "The reports from the original mission to the Nox homeworld stated that they refused to involve themselves in hostilities."

"Didn't the reports say they were able to hide a city?" Daniel asked, wondering if it was possible to hide an entire planet from the Goa'uld.

"The Goa'uld are already aware of this planet and its location," Teal'c said, knowing what he was thinking. "Moreover, once begun, an attack could be stopped only by killing the Goa'uld and their armies. I do not believe the Nox would allow such action to be taken."

"Or that they'd protect us, knowing we'd just go back to fighting the Goa'uld," Jack added. "Not to mention that we have no idea whether or not their 'gate's still unburied. So it looks like we're gonna have to trust the Asgard."

Secretary Simms walked into the room, escorted by an SF. "General Ha--Colonel O'Neill! You're back. I've been trying to find out what's going on."

"Mr. Secretary, ah, that's...a bit complicated," Jack started.

A technician hurried in behind him. "Sir," she said, holding sheets of paper in her hand. "Excuse me, General, Mr. Secretary. We just received an urgent transmission, but it's not in any language we recognize. We've printed the first few pages of it--there's a lot more."

"Those could be Thor's instructions," Sam said. "Is it in the Asgard language?"

"Oh, no," Daniel said as Secretary Simms moved aside for Jack to accept the sheets. "Are they Old Futhark runes?" He hoped he was wrong, because they hadn't yet gotten very far with the Asgard language at all beyond the writing system. In answer, Jack handed the sheets to him, revealing lines upon lines of runes. "Great."

"Thank you, Sergeant," General Hammond dismissed the technician. "Secretary Simms, have a seat, and we'll explain. In the meantime, Mr. Jackson, can you or anyone else read that?"

"Thor probably remembered that you solved the rune puzzle on Cimmeria," Sam said.

"You solved the puzzle on Cimmeria, because they were numbers," Daniel said, pulling the sheet closer to look at more carefully. "And if this is a bunch of numbers, I'm not going to be much...help..." He paused, frowning at the third word, which looked oddly familiar, then pulled out a pen. "Huh."

"They speak English," Jack said irritably as he and the Secretary of Defense both sat down. "They've been studying humans and they're way smarter than we are, for cryin' out loud. Why couldn't they have just given us instructions in our language?"

"Wait, this is English," Daniel said, relieved, as he worked out the first few words. "He's just using the Asgard phonetic script. They've never had to communicate with us in writing before; he had no reason to know that we use the Roman alphabet, which branched off separately on Earth. He must have assumed, since we speak a Germanic language and were familiar with..." He broke off when he caught their impatient looks. "General, it might take a little longer, but I can read this."

"Start skimming," the general said. Daniel bent over the sheets and listened with half an ear as SG-1 explained the situation to Simms while General Hammond went to his office to explain it to the President.

The technician came back with another pile of papers. Daniel accepted them, eyes wide, and asked quietly, "How much...is that almost the end?"

"Don't hold your breath; there's more coming," she told him, then turned back to the control room computers.

Daniel wished their North Germanic expert hadn't left the SGC to go back to academia two months ago and returned with a sigh to the transliteration. At least it looked like he would be spared his psych evaluation for another few days. If the world exploded, he might be able to avoid it altogether.

...x...

13 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1100 hrs

It was nearly an hour before General Hammond returned to inform them all that he'd convinced the President, the Joint Chiefs, and everyone else to agree to a summit at the SGC. By then, a dozen ideas had been suggested for what the System Lords might want from Earth in return, few of them plausible and none of them pleasant. By then, Daniel had also finished the beginning of Thor's long--very long--message.

"The three System Lords coming here are Yu, Nirrti"--Daniel glanced at Teal'c, then back at his notes--"and Cronus."

"Not ones we've met, then," General Hammond said.

"No, sir. As I understand it, Cronus was among the three who led the defeat of Sokar thousands of years ago." He looked to Teal'c again, partially for confirmation and partially to gauge Teal'c's reaction. None of them was happy with the idea of Goa'uld in their territory, but Teal'c had a more colorful history with Cronus that involved the words 'murder,' 'exile,' and 'revenge.'

"That is correct," Teal'c said. "He is the most influential of the System Lords and is also the mortal enemy of Apophis. It is largely because of Cronus that Apophis did not have the support of all the System Lords when he attempted to destroy Earth--the System Lords band together only reluctantly, and they battle often amongst themselves."

"Cronus was an important figure in Tau'ri Greek mythology, too," Daniel added. "He was the leader of the Titans and the father of many of the Olympian gods, including Zeus, who became the king of the heavens."

"In other words," Jack summed up, "we should really watch our step with him."

"What about the other two?" the general asked.

"As for Yu..." he started, and made the mistake of accidentally glancing at Jack while he said it.

"Me what?" Jack interrupted, looking genuinely confused.

Daniel grimaced, anticipating the endless jokes that would spring from that. "The Goa'uld's name is...uh, it says 'Lord Yu the Great.' I...don't know much about him, sir, but Thor says that Yu is most likely to support us, since this part of the galaxy isn't among his interests."

"Consult with others in the department and see what we can learn about him," the general said. "The third?"

"The third is Nirrti," Daniel said.

"She's the one who killed everyone on P8X-987 except Cassandra," Sam filled, her jaw set angrily. "You were reading up on Nirrti after that incident."

"Yes. Nirrti is a Vedic goddess of destruction and a bringer of disease and other evils. She's said to be deceitful, although I don't know how much that helps us, since all Goa'uld seem to be."

"Well, she brought disease to a whole planet," Sam said. "And don't forget that device she implanted in Cassandra's chest--she's not a stranger to destructive, experimental technology. She tricked us into almost destroying our Stargate using Cassandra without even showing her face, much less attacking us directly."

General Hammond nodded grimly. "We'll keep a close eye on all of them. Is that everything?"

Daniel shook his head. "The rest is about preparations, as well as the treaty itself, but I'll need more time to finish it. However...I got to the start of the rules--most of them seem reasonably intuitive, but one of them says we're not allowed to have weapons anywhere in this facility during negotiations."

"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed. "That doesn't sound wise. Daniel, are you sure that's what it says?"

"It's not ambiguous, Jack--no weapons."

"General?"

The general sighed. "If those are the Asgard's rules, we'll have to follow them. We're trusting them on your word, Colonel, and it looks like we don't have much of a choice. Mr. Jackson, I want copies of those instructions, along with any information we have on the Goa'uld--bring in everyone in the department to help. We'll hold a briefing for all relevant personnel tomorrow morning at 0800. Teal'c, I would like you to act as liaison to the Goa'uld. Major Carter--"

"General Hammond," Teal'c interrupted.

"Is there a problem?"

"I mean no disrespect--I have given my allegiance to you, to the SGC, and to the people of this world freely. I will not, however, see to the petty needs of these Goa'uld."

Daniel thought that that might be a good idea, if only to avoid any more bad blood.

Sam looked around the room and said reluctantly. "I can handle liaising with them, sir."

The general looked between the two of them. "Okay, Major. Teal'c, you will assist Major Castleman with base security. As soon as I have a copy of Thor's instructions, I will give out more detailed individual assignments."

...x...

13 September 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1300 hrs

"This is so bizarre," Sam said, knocking on the door perfunctorily before stepping in.

Daniel looked away from the screen, grimacing when his neck protested the change in position. "Isn't it?"

"Need help?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Uh, well, I'm getting faster at just transliterating it directly without intermediate notes, and other people are helping, too."

"So...no?"

"Some others are looking into mythology, if you're not busy," he suggested.

"Might as well pitch in," she said, sounding resigned. "Did Thor include anything interesting that we need to know about?"

"I've only just finished the part with instructions and advice; the treaty itself is another matter. So unless you consider the preferred living accommodations of System Lords 'interesting,' it's pretty straight-forward." He noticed for the first time that she'd changed back into her BDUs. "Oh, Sam, I forgot--congratulations, Major-Doctor Carter."

Sam let out a short laugh. "Thanks. What a day for it, huh?"

Scrolling to the top of the instructions document to check it over, he said, "Well, you deserved it sooner."

"It doesn't work like that."

"You don't even get an early promotion for saving the world?"

"I got a medal for that," she pointed out. "Even if it did work like that, I spent a few years getting my doctorate instead of getting leadership experience."

Daniel shook his head as he flipped past a page and hunted through his pile for the next one. He thought, personally, that she had regularly performed duties above the rank of Captain for the last two years, but he supposed there was more involved in the promotions process than heroic deeds. "If you say so," he said.

"Hey, uh," Sam said, still standing near his desk. "So apparently, I'm supposed to be the liaison to the System Lords."

"The petty needs of the Goa'uld," Daniel said, nodding. "I remember."

"I don't suppose those instructions say anything about what language this summit--"

"English," he assured her.

"Oh, good," she said in relief. "Not Goa'uld?"

"Uh...well, no. At least...not officially," Daniel said. She placed a hand over the text he was reading to make him stop and look up at her. "Really, Sam, it says all official communications and negotiations and...and all of that will be conducted in English."

She nodded slowly. "But unofficial communications?"

"Well, there can't really be official rules about things that aren't official."

"So they can talk amongst themselves without our knowing what they're saying," she said.

"I can follow you around and translate," Daniel offered.

With a short laugh, she said, "Seriously--"

"I'm serious," Daniel said, pushing his chair away from the desk to look at her. "Jack's going to be in the negotiations, Teal'c's going to be...hopefully in his quarters and not stirring up trouble, and Robert's off-world. I can be your personal assistant for the day and follow you around. Or if you want, I can give you a list of other people who speak Goa'uld, but I'm the most fluent on base aside from Teal'c, and, uh...you don't want--"

"I probably don't want Teal'c around if the Goa'uld insult us behind our backs," Sam said.

"No," Daniel agreed.

She raked a hand through her hair. "You sure?"

"Sure," he said, turning back to his work with an odd sense of relief that he wouldn't be ordered to stay in his quarters or away from it all. "At least now I have an excuse to know what's going on during the summit."

"All right. Thanks." She picked up some of the books on his desk. "Creation Stories of the World...Myths and Legends of China..."

"Yeah, I remember seeing something about Yu in some creation story from that book, so I went digging for references. Lieutenant Hagman marked some of the relevant chapters in there. He says that--if it's the same person--Yu was actually credited for several positive influences, and Thor says we should look to him for more support, so..."

"We'll take what we can get," she said. "Oh, by the way, you were told that the mission we had scheduled for tomorrow got scrubbed, right?"

Daniel gave her a wry smile. "Right. Something about impending global destruction." A sick feeling tried to lodge itself in his stomach even as he tried to make light, but he pushed it aside. There was no point in dwelling now on things that wouldn't help them finish the mission.

Sam nodded absently, her eyes skimming over one of the chapters Hagman had marked about Yu. A minute later, she put the book back down on the desk with a thump. "Can you believe we're actually catering to the whims of the Goa'uld?"

Daniel pressed his lips together and determinedly fixed a typo.

She sighed, sitting down in Robert's chair. "I know, no one likes them any more than I do."

"But it might be preferable to...what did Jack say? 'Total annihilation,'" he said.

"Might?" she repeated with a sickly half-smile, like she wasn't sure whether to find it funny or horrifying. Daniel wasn't sure, either, so he finished what he was doing and printed the document for Sam to read before sending a copy to Jack and the general.

"Um, how do I send this to everyone, again?" he asked. "Or do I just put it on the server?"

In answer, she leaned over him and typed the address that would send Thor's message to a list of all pertinent SGC personnel. "You've gotta remember these things, Daniel. If you can memorize Stargate coordinates, you can remember a few simple e-mail addresses."

"I do remember," he protested; "I'm just never sure what security level everything is. Security clearance is kind of an odd concept to someone whose existence is classified."

"I guess that's fair," she said, then held up the printed first part of the instructions. "All right, you keep working on that treaty; I'll go see if others have found anything useful about Yu."

XXXXX

14 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 0900 hrs

By the time the briefing was held the next morning, they were ready with complete information for all personnel to know what was going on. Daniel and Sam had spent the rest of the day and half the night gathering together relevant information and putting it together between them, so he was more than happy to sit back with a cup of coffee and let Sam do the work of presenting it. Besides, people were by now used to his adding comments from his seat; fewer would be comfortable with his leading a presentation on something that would decide the fate of Earth.

"Did you read the treaty?" Daniel asked Jack when they were done. Sam was seeing that the Goa'uld's temporary living arrangements matched their requested specifications as advised by Thor, Teal'c was helping to remove weapons and check base security, and everyone else was off completing their own duties. No one seemed happy about it.

Now Jack looked at him and held up the bound stack of papers in front of him. "Since I got it a half hour ago? Have you seen this thing?"

"I typed most of it," Daniel said. "Four hundred and three sections, ten thousand, eight hundred and fifteen addenda..."

"Oh, god."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Daniel promised. "A lot of it seems to be about things we can't influence. And some of the sections are long-winded but actually only say something like..." He flipped it open and read, "...'Neutrality...will be maintained in the Secoriat sectors.'"

"What the hell is that?"

"Uh...I don't know. I think they're...parts of the galaxy?"

Jack dropped his head onto the briefing room table, then jerked up again. "Hey, wait--you must've read it. Why don't you just give me key points?"

Daniel took a seat by him. "I only did part of it. It's a modified version of the agreement the Asgard have had with the Goa'uld for years concerning...uh, twenty-seven planets, including this one. I think most of it has to do with what each of them can or can't do, and only some parts have to do with humans at all. Earth itself is mentioned by name only at the very end."

"But see, you do know what it says, then," Jack said, looking a little desperate.

"Jack, it's just...there's a lot. And the wording in some parts is strange, and I'm not confident I understand...actually, maybe we could ask other people with more experience to read it, too. Um, like Major Kovachek, maybe, and...and, uh, Dr. Frakes, Captain Blasdale..."

"That sounds like a good idea," General Hammond said from behind them. "I'll round up people experienced with law and negotiations and have them read the treaty. In the meantime, Colonel, your one job is to familiarize yourself with that before the Goa'uld arrive. Spend today going over it, and you'll meet with the others tomorrow to go over anything they think important."

"Yes, sir," Jack said. As soon as the general was out of earshot, he turned back to Daniel and hissed, "Help me out here, Daniel. The diplomats are in the same department as you."

"Jack, that's a formality, you know that," Daniel said. All consultants who weren't physical or biological scientists were grouped under the heading of 'Social Sciences,' which all but the newest personnel still inaccurately called 'Archaeo-Linguistics.' It didn't mean their specialties were the same. "Look, Jack, the Asgard trust you."

Jack raised both of his hands, and for a moment, Daniel thought he was in danger of having his head grabbed and shaken. In the end, Jack let his hands drop back to the table and said, "The only thing the Asgard know about me is that I was stupid though to look into that head-sucker. If they knew anything about Earth--"

"Well, they don't, and it's not like there's anything we can do about it," Daniel said reasonably. "Let's just go over the treaty, yeah? I want to read it through, too. I'll take notes, so if we have a question, we can ask someone else."

Jack looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "You're a bossy kid, you know that?"

"If you say so, Colonel," he answered without a pause. "Did you want me to read aloud to you, too, or...?"

Jack snatched the packet out of his hands. "Careful, Jackson. Be careful." Daniel contented himself with pulling his chair closer to be able to read, too.

"Oh, come on," Jack exclaimed almost immediately. "What is the Neskiv...ali--what the hell!"

"The Neskevaliam Arm," Daniel said, quickly rereading the gist of that section.

"How would you know how you even pronounce that?"

"I know approximately how it's pronounced, according to the runes; that's just the best I could do with the spelling. Sam doesn't recognize names like that either, so Tau'ri scientists must map the galaxy differently from the Goa'uld and the Asgard."

"So when it says there's no restriction to mining or...or other practices there..."

"That's what that says? I wasn't sure. The wording..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Jack glared at the paper. "For all we know, Earth is in that section of the galaxy, and this means they can plow through Earth."

Daniel shook his head helplessly. "I doubt it, since it would be kind of counterproductive. But I guess we don't know."

"Nothing we can do about it, then," Jack said, skimming decisively past the first section. He stopped short at the next part and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Daniel said, wincing. "I don't know what that word is, either."

"Are you sure you--"

"Yes, Jack."

"You can't..." Jack looked back at the treaty. "You can't have eight consonants in a row."

"Yes, you can," Daniel insisted stubbornly. "Not all languages use exclusively vowels as syllable nuclei. Or maybe the Asgard language allows for...uh...very complex clusters as syllable onsets. This might be nomenclature even older than the Goa'uld and the Asgard, which would mean it doesn't correspond even to the--"

"Okay!" Jack held his hands up. "Let's just..." He let out a breath. "Stop talking about syllables."

Daniel rubbed his forehead. "All I meant is that it looks like Section Two has to do with something for which we don't have a word in English."

This seemed to encourage rather than dishearten Jack, who said, "Well, good. Guess there's nothing we can do about that, then. All right?"

"Sure, I guess," he said, no longer certain who was reassuring whom of what.

"Well, we're just flying through. Section Three..."

...x...

14 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1500 hrs

"Colonel O'Neill to Level 23, Corridor C," a voice said through the PA.

Jack stood. "Gotta go," he said, not bothering to hide the relief in his words. "I'll be back."

Daniel took the break to drop his glasses onto the table. They'd made it through the main portion by skimming gratefully over parts that didn't seem to involve Earth directly, and over which they were likely to have little comprehension and less control, but some of it was disturbing.

As far as he could tell, the Protected Planets Treaty kept planets safe from the Goa'uld, but it came at the price of being kept handicapped to such an extent that they were ripe pickings for Goa'uld conquest if the Asgard protection ever failed. In theory, it was, if not completely pleasant, then at least palatable as a defensive strategy. The problem was that no one really wanted to be placed under the control of anyone else, even someone as (apparently) benevolent as the Asgard.

And if the Asgard were as limited in strength as Thor seemed to be implying, then all the treaty would do was provide temporary protection that was doomed to fail sooner or later, and then the Tau'ri would be easily conquered and forced to be slaves or hosts or worse, just the way the Abydons had been.

"You're thinking again, aren't you?" Jack said as he came back.

"Have you tried it lately?" Daniel said without raising his head, earning a snort in return.

"We've obviously been too lenient with you," Jack declared, falling into his seat. "You're getting cheeky."

"Alien treaties are annoying," Daniel announced, squinting at his glasses for a moment before reluctantly putting them back on. "What was happening on Level 23?"

Jack bent a corner of the page they'd been staring at, then unbent it and bent it the other way. "Ah, you know. Teal'c."

Daniel tucked his hands under his armpits to restrain them from reaching out to stop Jack from playing with the treaty until it ripped. Teal'c was dealing with base security, including the weapons ban, so... "He didn't want to give up his staff weapon?" Daniel guessed.

"You know it. He's handed it over now, but he's not happy. Hell, I'm not happy about it."

Giving up on restraint, he pulled the bundle of papers out of Jack's reach. "You should probably try to make sure Teal'c doesn't have to deal directly with Cronus," Daniel said carefully.

Not carefully enough, apparently, because Jack's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"

Because they might kill each other, he thought, but the day he'd learned that had been a day of confessions and confidences. He wouldn't want Teal'c to tell anyone about the things he'd babbled about guilt and mercy and death rituals that day, either.

"He's shol'va," Daniel said finally. "I doubt the System Lords will welcome his presence, considering what he represents to their power structure. And, uh, even if he hadn't betrayed Apophis, you heard what he said earlier--the Goa'uld fight all the time among themselves. Teal'c's probably waged war on their Jaffa before."

"Something about Cronus being the mortal enemy of Apophis," Jack said, grabbing the treaty again and accepting the explanation. Daniel relaxed. "I remember. Yeah, we'll try to keep them apart. All right, Addendum three hundred and eighty-four..."

...x...

"Have we heard back from all the off-world teams yet?" Daniel asked when they'd finished mindlessly reading over the entire thing and were taking a break before trying to think about it.

"Two of them came back yesterday," Jack said, stretching his legs. "SG-4 is caught in some kind of killer ice storm that they can't travel through safely--they're hoping to ride it out in some shelter they found and come back by tomorrow. The people manning the Alpha site are staying there, and...SG-11's out of radio range."

Daniel scowled but nodded. "Robert said something about radio interference. And that their dig site was really far from the Stargate." Knowing Robert--who grumbled when they had to march but was actually quite capable of maintaining a hard pace for hours when he had to--that could have meant anything from a walk of five miles to a walk of five days. Since they were out of reach, the latter might actually be closer. "Who did we send to bring them back?"

"5," Jack said, "but we may have to recall them early."

For a moment, Daniel couldn't figure out why, if there were people who might be caught unawares on an alien world while Earth was attacked or stripped of its defenses, but then he realized, "SG-5's probably circling around the 'gate on the other side. If SG-11 is days away on foot or we don't even know which direction they went in, we'd risk having two teams off-world during the summit."

"Trapped off-world forever," Jack pointed out, "if the summit goes badly."

Daniel blinked.

There was a long pause, and then Jack asked, "You thinking about it?"

"Getting trapped on Earth?" he said, because he hadn't been thinking about it before, but he certainly was now.

Jack tapped a pen against the arm of his chair, as if trying to act unconcerned. "Were you planning to leave beforehand, in case they shut down the program or something?"

Daniel grimaced. "You think that's really a possibility?" Jack only raised his eyebrows, and he sighed. "Yeah. The Goa'uld have no reason to let the SGC continue running and every reason to want it shut down. It's the only reason Earth is a threat to them."

"Well, we don't know if that's what they'll ask for," Jack pointed out.

"What else? Hosts?" Daniel said. "Oh--you don't think..."

Jack shook his head. "They don't seem to have a shortage of hosts, not like the Tok'ra. But 'gate travel? Who knows. You thought about going back to Abydos first so you don't get stuck?"

Daniel hesitated, then shook his head. "The Tau'ri and the SGC are still humans' best chance of defeating the Goa'uld, as far as we know. If that's lost, the war as we know it is over. So the best thing to do would be to stay and try to help make sure Earth stays in one piece, right?"

Jack reclaimed his seat. "That's what Teal'c said. I thought you should have the choice, since you have a homeworld where people aren't out to kill you. You have until the summit to decide, you know."

"Let's just concentrate on this," Daniel said, then turned back to the treaty before he was forced to reevaluate the choice. "We need to talk about some of these. Addendum 5197 says that humans from this planet who are captured by Goa'uld on another planet will be granted amnesty-"

"Yeah, right. Like the Goa'uld are going to follow that."

"--but 5268 that says that those humans will subsequently be in the service of the Goa'uld who captured them for the remainder of their...Jack, give me that--"

Jack grabbed Daniel's pen, and Daniel wrestled it back before violent acts were carried out against the treaty. "This is ridiculous," Jack said.

As a distinctly pessimistic feeling began to settle into him, Daniel said, "Hopefully, the Asgard really did mean it when they said 'negotiations.'"

"Yeah, renegotiation--that'll be successful," Jack scoffed. "Ask the Goa'uld pretty-please not to kill us, but make sure we're still allowed to try to kill them at some point later."

Ignoring the sarcasm that was dishearteningly valid, Daniel said, "Then there's Section 326, about technology, and making sure Earth never reaches the point at which we could be a threat to the Goa'uld. It's extremely vague, but maybe that's a good thing--it doesn't say what constitutes 'threat to the Goa'uld,'"

"Earth's already at Goa'uld-threat level," Jack said. Daniel tilted his head and hummed noncommittally. "What? We are. If we weren't a threat, they wouldn't be trying to kill us in the first place."

"But Tau'ri technology is still inferior to Goa'uld," Daniel argued. "The ground we've gained in the last few years was made possible by human ingenuity. They can't claim our technology's a threat to them, because it's not our technology but our ability to adapt that's defeated them in the past."

Jack was giving him a look. "Daniel, somehow I don't think we're gonna be able to tell them that and hope they agree."

"Yes, I know. That's why you have to..." He waved a vague hand. "Negotiate." He imagined Jack negotiating with three System Lords and was unable to suppress a wince.

"I saw that," Jack snapped. "I can do this."

"Yeah," Daniel sighed unhappily and flipped idly through the treaty, resting his head on a palm. "I know."

"That's right."

The flippancy in the answer was nothing unusual, but it felt wrong here and now. Daniel glared at the treaty. "You have to, Jack."

The silence stretched a little too long, and he looked up to see Jack frowning at him. "Something wrong? Aside from the hundred motherships ready to attack us, obviously."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "No, just that." When Jack stared some more, he shut the treaty and said, "It's just...it's Earth. You know?"

Jack nodded slowly. "Ye-eah, I noticed that."

"No, I mean...it's Earth," Daniel explained inarticulately, but, of course, Jack was Tau'ri born and raised; he wouldn't understand. He sighed again. "Never mind. I'm being foolish. Should I go to the meeting tomorrow with the lawyers and everyone?"

"You might as well," Jack said, "unless Carter needs a hand with something. Or unless you're sick of this stuff." He poked halfheartedly at the treaty as if afraid to be tainted by it.

"I'm sick of it already," Daniel admitted.

"Tell me about it."

Chapter Text

17 September 1999; Level 25 VIP Corridor, SGC; 1030 hrs

"What's going on?" Sam called, hurrying to the VIP rooms only minutes after leaving the three Goa'uld there in the first place.

Daniel arrived a second after she did. "Oh," he said with a sinking feeling.

Sam attempted to insert herself physically between Teal'c and Cronus. "Stop this!" she said, only to be pushed back by Cronus, and she stumbled back into one of the SFs.

"Onak holka shaka!" Teal'c growled, looking like he was about to attempt some dismemberment in response to a team member's being shoved.

"Treena arik crunaka shol'va!" Cronus retorted. He didn't take his gaze from Teal'c, who waited for Sam to find her footing again before backing off an entire half inch.

"What's going on?" she asked, angry now and pointedly directing her question to Teal'c rather than to the three Goa'uld who had all gathered there.

"Your crude surveillance devices were poorly hidden in our quarters," Nirrti sneered.

"They weren't hidden," Sam said, glaring at the Goa'uld who had orphaned and nearly murdered Cassandra. "They're for security purpos--"

Yu handed her a surveillance camera, crushed on one end.

"Look," she said with barely concealed impatience, "they're here for your own safety. They're in all of the rooms and in the halls, as I'm sure you can see."

Teal'c drew himself up to his full height. "As I was trying to explain."

Nirrti crossed her arms. "I will not be spied upon."

"Nor will I," Yu proclaimed.

"Their removal is against the regulations of this facility," Sam repeated.

"Tana a'kal mal tar," Cronus proclaimed

Yu nodded and added, "Jaya nok shol."

"They said they will not tolerate this disrespect," Daniel translated, knowing that the switch in language was a bad sign--it meant they no longer wanted to deal with the Tau'ri, but preferred instead to trade insults amongst themselves. When Sam's chin came up, her eyes ready to burn through something--possibly someone's skull--he prompted, trying to sound deferential while still conveying urgency, "Major Carter?"

Sam barely glanced away toward him, then nodded. "We have to leave the cameras in the hallways, but I can have the ones in your rooms removed."

Judging by the way Sam was glaring at Cronus from one side while Teal'c did it from the other, it was clear that Cronus had gained another enemy who, for some reason, seemed to hate him almost as fiercely as Teal'c did. Normally, Daniel would have no problem with this, but then, this could hardly be called a normal day.

"Kree ria nok, shol'va," Cronus snarled.

Teal'c began to turn and spat over his shoulder, "Kelmar tokeem."

Daniel suppressed a wince as Cronus's nostrils flared and his face darkened in rage, but each of the System Lords grudgingly returned to their rooms. He'd take that as an optimistic sign that disaster was a tiny bit less imminent.

...x...

"I wonder if Cronus actually ate his children," Daniel said as they finally left the wing with the VIP suites and caught up to Teal'c, who seemed to have been waiting to see if any bloodshed had occurred in his absence.

"You wonder what?" Sam said, looking at him strangely.

"I mean," Daniel clarified, "what exactly counts as children for Goa'uld? Do you think he'd eat his own symbiote offspring or the entire Goa'ulded host? Or maybe there was a...Harsesis"--he barely paused at the word and didn't think of Shifu--"and he took an extreme route to getting rid of a potential threat?"

"I don't want to know where that came from," she said, and went on before he could explain the mythology, "But I swear, I was a second from attacking Cronus with my bare hands."

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

It never ceased to amaze Daniel how Teal'c could have been so good at hiding his intentions while under Apophis and yet was so appallingly open with his hatred when faced with other things. No one held grudges like a Jaffa, and spending two years with someone as open with his opinions as Jack O'Neill--or even the Tau'ri in general--probably didn't help.

Sam turned to Teal'c as they headed to the briefing room. "What did you say to him at the end?"

When Teal'c didn't answer immediately, Daniel supplied, "Kelmar tokeem." It was a reference to cuckoldry and revenge, although Daniel was fairly certain it was just revenge in this case. If there were matters of cuckoldry between Teal'c and Cronus, he really didn't want to know.

"Meaning...?" Sam pressed.

"It's not important," Daniel said, because then she'd ask why Teal'c wanted revenge.

"Aren't you supposed to be my interpreter?" she said.

With a glance at Teal'c, Daniel said pointedly, "It is inappropriate."

Sam seemed to assume a different meaning, though, and said, "What, because I'm a woman? You know you can swear in front of women around here, right?" Daniel made a face--he'd figured that out a long time ago after watching how Tau'ri behaved--but only shrugged, letting her assume it was discomfort retained from an upbringing in a society where gender roles were more clearly split. "Fine, don't tell me, then. I get the idea. How about this: Teal'c stays away from the System Lords until we finish this thing and kick them all out of here."

"Gladly," Teal'c said darkly.

She looked once over her shoulder, saw the area was clear, and said, "I'm pretty sure Cronus was the one who sent the ashrak after Jolinar. I hate just seeing them."

Daniel wrinkled his nose. "Great. Don't get too close to them. Physically."

"You think it'll matter if they know I was a Tok'ra host?"

"You think we should take the chance?"

"Good point," Sam said.

"Are you, uh..." Daniel said. "Are you both going to be okay with them here?"

"I will be fine," Teal'c said.

"As long as they don't stay here," Sam added.

...x...

17 September 1999; Level 17, SGC; 1200 hrs

Daniel looked over Sam's head and caught sight of Jack's frozen expression beyond the System Lords and Thor before backing out of the room. Sam closed the doors behind them.

"Guess we wait now," Sam said.

He nodded, walking with her down the hall. "What do you think will happen?" he asked.

"We just need to have faith in the colonel," she said. Daniel tried to wipe the expression off his face. "Come on, you don't trust him by now?"

"I trust Jack," he said honestly. "It doesn't mean... I'm not sure it's possible to come out of this anything but severely crippled, no matter how good the negotiator is. That's all I'm saying."

"There's optimism for you," she said wryly, but Daniel was pretty sure that in this case, optimism and realism had little or no relation. Everyone was more powerful than they, and they were relying on someone who had only some vague interest in Earth's continued survival.

"Honestly," he confided, "I think the only thing Jack can do at this point is make sure he doesn't accidentally--"

"Gonach!" Cronus's voice came from the meeting room as he threw the doors open and stormed out. Yu and Nirrti were on his heels, each spitting something along the lines of, "Hasshak!" as they stalked past.

"--insult someone," Daniel finished, exchanging a nervous glance with Sam before hurrying back to the meeting room. "That was fast."

Jack looked completely bewildered when they arrived. "Sir, what--" Sam started, and then she noticed Thor still there. "Sorry for interrupting, but what happened?"

"Apparently," Jack said dejectedly, "we said hello, insulted each other, and broke for recess."

...x...

17 September 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1225 hrs

"Dear Goa'uld," Jack said, leaning against Robert's desk. "I'm sorry I didn't play by the rules that no one explained to me. Please tell your friends not to destroy Earth so that we can continue trying to destroy you. Thank you for the consideration. Yours truly, Colonel Jonathan O'Neill."

Daniel gritted his teeth. "Jack."

"Seriously, I will sign that," Jack insisted.

"Jack! This isn't--"

"I know, I know." He stood up straight, sighing. "Just read out the real thing."

"I've never done this before," Daniel warned, because he'd translated enough of other teams' treaties and formal documents before to know the basic idea, but never had to write one from scratch himself, even with Jack looking over his shoulder. "Why, exactly, were diplomats considered nonessential personnel during a negotiation, while security teams weren't?"

"It's not safe here today, and security teams are never nonessential personnel."

"What about when the security team aren't allowed to have weapons and we need to write an apology and all the diplomats are at home?"

Truthfully, they'd known none of the diplomats would have been allowed to take Jack's place or even to help in the negotiations, so it had seemed that they would only be in danger and yet unable to contribute. No one had expected having to do extra bowing and scraping.

"Daniel," Jack said, "just read it to--you know what..." Jack grabbed the back of Daniel's chair and wheeled him out of the way to see the pad of paper he'd been scribbling on. Daniel sighed and waited for his chair to bump into Robert's desk and stop moving. "Eminence?" Jack asked as he started to skim it.

"There's an appropriate, respectful word in Goa'uld. That's just a placeholder in the English."

"So... profound apologies ... no offense was intended in our misinterpretation of the conventions of the summit ... assure you that I will make every effort ... blah blah blah ... blah ... wow, you went all out, didn't you?"

Daniel made a face.

"Blah blah ... again, please accept the sincerest apologies of myself and ... This treaty thing sucks," Jack said succinctly, then pointed at the letter scribbled on the notepad. "And this...makes my skin want to crawl, but it's not bad. Can you Goa'uld-ify it? Wait, one thing--" He crossed out one of the lines, and Daniel dragged his chair back in front of the computer to see Jack making an actual, useful change this time. "That should be fine."

"Okay," Daniel agreed. He switched to the Goa'uld font on the computer, then hesitated. "Do you want to check with someone else, too, to make sure it's...?"

"It's a good piece of groveling," Jack assured him. "Maybe you absorbed some diplomaticky skills from the people in this department. And we need this thing ten minutes ago, so..."

"All right," Daniel said as he began to type a version for Jack to sign.

"I screwed up," Jack said, more seriously. "Fate of the world in my hands, and I screw it up."

Daniel shrugged half-heartedly. "No one could reasonably blame you. Speaking in a way that deliberately excludes one party would be impolite in any society, especially during an event like this. English was the agreed-upon language."

"And was that in the instructions, about speaking out of turn?"

"Well..." Daniel sighed. "As far as I can tell, all parties can participate equally in the negotiations, but since Thor is representing our interests, there's a clause, uh... Earth isn't completely autonomous or even a neutral party but rather an extension of the Asgard, which means you need his permission to speak. We didn't realize before that it wasn't a truly three-way negotiation, but we should have--it was our job to make sure the instructions were clear."

"Bastards," Jack said feelingly.

"Sorry."

"Not you," he said quickly. "If it was too much alien legalese for the best lawyers the Air Force has to offer, I'm not blaming anyone but the aliens."

Daniel felt his lips twitch into a smile despite the situation and glanced up. "Sorry."

"The other aliens," Jack said, rolling his eyes this time.

"Either way, it wasn't fair for them to start off in the wrong language and expect you still to adhere to the rules while they didn't."

Jack kicked a chair, then caught it hastily before it knocked over a pile of papers. "See? They started it. Why the hell didn't Thor yell at them?"

"Maybe they did it on purpose," Daniel suggested. "It's probably a show of power, to demonstrate that we and Thor have very little power over this, not even enough to take them to task for breaking a rule." He skimmed over the document and clicked 'PRINT.' "You know how to spell your name in Goa'uld, right?"

There was a pause in the rustling in the room. "I hate the Goa'uld," Jack announced.

"I'm joking, joking," Daniel said before anyone reached for a dictionary and tried to spell 'Jonathan' phonetically when the Goa'uld language didn't have interdental fricatives.

Jack slumped down into an extra chair with a sigh as the printer choked out the apology letter. "They'd better come up with some really nice proposals. That's all I'm saying."

...x...

17 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1400 hrs

The new proposal was...well. Daniel saw a number of problems with it, really. Most obviously, though, it was that they had to shut down the SGC and give up the Stargates.

"You're not going to agree, sir, are you?" Sam said.

General Hammond folded his hands on the table with a sigh. "Considering the alternative..."

"I believe that ring out there is the single most important thing on this planet," Secretary Simms said, "and I understand what losing the 'gate would mean. But it is on your word that we trust these Asgard, and peaceful solutions to this crisis must be considered."

Peaceful solution. Giving up their Stargate--both of them, and how had the Goa'uld even found out about the Beta 'gate?--was not a peaceful solution. Signing a treaty that said humans existed for the sole purpose of serving the Goa'uld or being protected by the Asgard, who might not be able to protect them if it came to that, was not a peaceful solution. It was surrender.

Daniel looked across the briefing room table at Teal'c and saw the same conclusion in his friend's face.

"With all due respect, sir, it's not nearly as simple as that," Sam said.

"There are other threats to this world this treaty will not protect you from," Teal'c said.

"From what my buddy Thor tells me, an enemy far worse than the Goa'uld," Jack added.

Simms shook his head, looking regretful but firm. "If any of you can tell me absolutely why we should not accept this proposal, I will forward your opinion to the President, and I assure you it will be given serious weight," which Daniel knew to mean, the decision has been made.

"It's not just about 'gate travel," Sam said. "That treaty says humans exist for the express purpose of being slaves and hosts to the Goa'uld."

"Mr. Secretary," Jack said, pointing at Daniel, "we've seen planets like that, where the Goa'uld decide what technology to allow. No offense, Daniel, but Abydos..."

"Yes, exactly," Daniel spoke up. "People were taken from one of the most advanced civilizations of the time, and now, they're technologically thousands of years behind Earth because of the Goa'uld."

"The point we're trying to make," Sam said, "is that this treaty is, at best, a temporary solution. The concessions that the Goa'uld want would make it easy for them to conquer this planet."

"But we'd be under Asgard protection from the Goa'uld," Simms pointed out.

"Asgard protection can be relatively neglectful," Daniel said, thinking of Cimmeria.

Jack stabbed a finger toward the briefing room table. "At some point, some of the Goa'uld are gonna stop bickering long enough to realize that the Asgard are busy with their own problems. And when they figure that out, our little planet will be fair game, not just for destruction, but for total domination--and that's if someone else doesn't attack us first. General!"

"I see what you're saying, Colonel," the general said, "and I agree with you all completely. However, Secretary Simms is right about one thing: it doesn't look like we have another choice."

Sam dropped a pen onto the table in a small but rare show of annoyance in the presence of the general. "What about off-world personnel? There are five people on SG-11 who still don't even know what's going on, and we have seven currently maintaining the Alpha Site."

"We can request some time," General Hammond said, clearly as unhappy as anyone. "Enough time to bring our people back home before we shut down our operations."

An unbearable thought struck Daniel at the words 'shut down our operations,' and he raised his eyes slowly to meet Teal'c's. The Jaffa was already looking at him and now lifted one eyebrow in question. Daniel hesitated for a second, looking to Jack and Sam, who weren't paying attention to their exchange, then nodded very slightly in return.

"General Hammond," Teal'c said for both of them, "Daniel Jackson and I are on this planet for the sole purpose of serving the SGC. We will do all we can to secure the safety of this planet until the System Lords have left. But if the Tau'ri are to lose the Stargates, we request that we be allowed to return to our families and to continue the battle against the Goa'uld."

The general's lips tightened, and he turned to Daniel. "You're with Teal'c on this, Mr. Jackson?"

"Okay, whoa, hold it," Jack said before they could answer, standing and glaring at Teal'c and Daniel. "No one has to leave anywhere yet. General, let me talk to Thor and see if he's got any ideas."

"Do it," the general said immediately.

"I'll speak with the President," Simms said. "He'll need some time to consult with his advisors. I will make sure he is aware of your concerns, but it does appear we have no choice."

"You're all dismissed for now," the general said. "Be here as soon as we have word. And," he added with a note of reluctance, looking from Teal'c to Daniel, "they might not let anyone leave, but if they do...prepare whatever you feel necessary. We don't know what kind of timeline we'll be working with."

Jack glared at the two of them a minute longer, pointing at one and then the other. "Wait," he ordered, and had barely finished saying, "Beam me up, Thor!" into his Asgard communications device before he disappeared from the briefing room. Daniel snuck a glance at the others and retreated to the office to leave a note for Robert, just in case.

...x...

17 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1500 hrs

Sam was swiveling slightly in her chair when Daniel returned, which told him how anxious she was. Jack was at least as unhappy as she, so he was aggressively folding a page of a spare copy of the treaty. Secretary Simms looked like he was trying to ignore the fact that a key, leading member of the SGC was turning an important treaty into paper airplanes. "Hi," Daniel said as he took his seat, feeling awkward.

"What," Jack said tensely, then looked up from folding and saw him. "Oh. It's you."

Annoyed, Daniel returned, "I'm fine, Jack. How are you?"

"We're just all on edge, Daniel," Sam said, shooting a look at both of them.

Daniel felt like he'd been living on some edge or other for the last few years, and it was getting tiring trying to balance there without falling off, so he sighed and dropped the argument he almost wanted to take up just for the sake of argument. "Did Thor...?"

"Nope," Jack said, then held his airplane up to examine it. "Damn," he muttered, and tried to straighten one of the wings. "Teal'c?"

"He went to his quarters. General Hammond went to talk to him," Daniel said. "I assume he's..." Actually, he had no idea what Teal'c might be doing now while waiting to hear the fate of the world. He shrugged. "I don't know. I thought he would be here--I'm sure he'll come soon."

The phone rang, and Secretary Simms excused himself to answer it.

"That'll be the President," Jack said morosely. "Decision time."

Sam looked at Daniel. "Were you just...packing or something? To leave?"

Daniel shook his head. "No one's really expecting the Goa'uld to let us leave, and if they do, we'll have higher priorities than dictionaries." Most of what he really needed could be carried on his person. There were a few things he would want to take, tucked into his backpack in his room, but he didn't want to think about that while sitting in a room with these people.

Not looking up, Jack asked, "Would it be so bad? For you, anyway."

"You mean, if we can't leave?" Daniel stared at him. "I was practically born and raised for this, for the Stargate. I don't know what else there is, at least not on Earth."

Jack looked directly back at him. "You could be getting away from the front lines instead of running toward them all the time. Brain like yours, you've never thought of doing something else? Getting out of the war?"

"No, I haven't...really... What would I do?" Daniel said. "Go to a Tau'ri school and take classes on reconstructing historical languages as if I haven't been doing that in practice for years? You think I can just walk away from this--"

"You think we can?" Jack retorted.

"Look..." Daniel started.

Abruptly, Jack leaned forward, intent. "You're going to get yourself killed if you leave and go...exploring or looking for Goa'uld or whatever."

"I didn't join a military organization because I was afraid of being hurt," Daniel returned.

"No, you joined a military organization because it rescued you from the psychopaths you want to keep fighting."

"But I stayed, after everything! If Thor had waited another few hours to talk to you, I would have been off-world at the time with you and your team--"

"With me and my team!" Jack snapped. "Us, watching your back!"

Daniel pulled back, surprised at the vehemence and unsure how to answer it. Sam had fallen silent, too. "That's not a sentence," he said lamely.

Jack crumpled the paper airplane in his hands and flicked it to the other end of the table.

"Jack, the Goa'uld aren't likely to let us activate the Stargate again just to let me and Teal'c leave on...on compassionate grounds. I know that, okay? I mean--they're unlikely to do any favors for Teal'c, of all people, when they know he'd just go and keep recruiting rebel Jaffa, and if any of them somehow recognizes me, they'd probably execute me or something just for who my family is. There's no point in thinking about leaving until we know for sure."

"Yeah," Jack said. Daniel wasn't sure which part was causing his unhappy expression, so he tried not to think too hard about it.

General Hammond walked into the briefing room. "Colonel, have you seen Teal'c?"

"I...thought you were talking to him, sir," Jack said, shooting a questioning glance toward Daniel.

"I wanted to," the general said, "but I haven't been able to find him."

"Security to Level 25," a voice called over the PA. "Medical team to Level 25. Emergency!"

"That's where the VIP rooms are," the general said.

"And Teal'c's quarters," Sam added, and then they were all running to the elevator.

XXXXX

17 September 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 1600 hrs

"The SFs assigned the guard the hallway sounded the alarm," Sam said, pushing in the security videotape as Jack, Daniel, the general, and Janet gathered around her at the hospital bed where Teal'c lay. "They say Teal'c passed through and told them he was going to see Cronus. Nirrti and Yu are demanding an explanation for the sudden commotion, and based on the videotape evidence, it looks like Teal'c is involved. Not," she added, "that I'd believe he's responsible for this."

Daniel shook his head adamantly from his seat at Teal'c's bedside. "Teal'c would never do anything to put Earth in more danger than it's already in, not even for personal revenge."

Four pairs of eyes locked on him from above. "Personal revenge?" Jack said dangerously.

"Uh," Daniel said, shrinking as they stared down at him. "You, uh...didn't know?"

"Know what?" the general demanded.

Glancing at Sam, and then at Jack, he said, "Cronus...may have...killed Teal'c's father."

"May have killed," Jack repeated.

"Definitely killed," Daniel amended, wincing when Jack threw his hands up.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, why doesn't he tell us these things? Why didn't you say something earlier?" he added, scowling at Daniel.

"It was a...private...thing...Jack, Teal'c's not at fault for this."

Sam nodded. "I don't think he would be, either, sir."

"Well, neither do I," Jack snapped, "but the case against him just got a lot more interesting, don't you think?"

"I can't do anything for Cronus, and he will die without medical intervention," Janet said, a contemplative look on her face. "But we do have a sarcophagus."

"Bring him to the sarcophagus room, then," the general ordered her. "What about Teal'c?"

"Our policy is not to use it unless it's absolutely necessary," Sam said. "Besides, we've never seen the sarcophagus used on a Jaffa."

"Except Colonel Maybourne after Hathor's attack," Daniel said. "And it took a few tries, but it made him not a Jaffa."

"He didn't have a symbiote," Jack said, which, admittedly, could have been the difference.

"Just Cronus, then," Janet decided for them. "Teal'c will heal on his own." She called a few of her nurses to start preparing the Goa'uld for transport.

"I'll stay with Teal'c," Daniel said, pulling his chair a little closer to the bed.

The general nodded. "Major Carter, stall the other System Lords. Tell them as little as you can--if one of them is at fault, he or she may let something slip. Mr. Jackson, find out what you can from Teal'c when he wakes. Colonel O'Neill, let Thor know what's going on. I'll tell Secretary Simms and the President. Airmen," he added to the SFs outside, pointing to Janet, "keep an eye on Cronus when he wakes up. And someone on this base already has a weapon--you have my permission to arm yourselves appropriately."

Jack sighed, reaching into his pocket to pull out Thor's device again. "Boy, did this get out of hand," he said, and disappeared.

Sam rubbed a hand over Teal'c's arm, either to comfort him or to reassure herself he was still there, then turned and left to find the System Lords.

"He'll wake up?" Daniel said to make sure when Janet lingered an extra moment, checking the bandage that covered part of Teal'c's scalp and wiping away a stray streak of blood on his cheek.

"Anytime, now," Janet confirmed, then hurried away to heal Cronus. Daniel sat back to watch the slow rise and fall of Teal'c's chest.

...x...

Teal'c only woke long enough to give an outline of his story. As he fell back into a healing kelno'reem, Daniel rose from his seat to wait for Cronus and the others to return. Jack and the general came in first, followed closely by Sam. "Cronus isn't back yet?" the general said.

"No, sir," Daniel answered, "but Teal'c was awake for a few minutes. He said Cronus asked to see him but denied sending for him once he'd arrived. They were then attacked by something invisible, but he didn't sense a Reetou. We don't have any technology that can do that, so one of the other Goa'uld must have something that does it."

"Neither one is admitting to anything," Sam said. "And if it was invisible, I doubt Cronus would have seen who did it any more than Teal'c did."

"Bluff," Jack suggested. "Pick one, accuse him or her, and see if it'll surprise something out."

"Uh," Daniel said dubiously. "That's a joke, right?"

Jack shrugged. "You have a better idea? Anyone?" Daniel glanced at the general, who didn't seem to have any other suggestions, and had to shake his head.

"Thor said Yu is more likely to be in favor of the treaty," Sam said. "He doesn't care about what happens in this part of the galaxy. But Nirrti has destroyed a whole planet in the past to get to Earth."

"Goddess of deception," Daniel offered. "We've seen her use experimental technology. Maybe she's experimented with...uh..."

"Reetou-mimicking devices," Sam suggested. "The Goa'uld have clashed with Reetou before."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, a calculating look in his eyes. "We tell her flat out that we know she's hidden her technology from the other System Lords. See how they both react."

"We can say the Tok'ra corroborate our sources, too," Sam added. "It's not like they can check."

"Nice touch, Major. General?" Jack said.

General Hammond looked like this might possibly be the most foolish plan anyone had ever presented to him. Considering the kinds of things that happened around here, that was a little frightening.

Before he could answer, though, Janet led Cronus--fully healed and very angry--back into the infirmary with the armed security forces all aiming their usual weapons at him. The general quickly caught Jack's eye and nodded in agreement.

Cronus passed an eye over the weapons. "You have broken the conditions of the summit."

"Hey, we saved your snaky little butt because we want this treaty to happen," Jack said, stepping forward. "Now, it's obvious to everybody that one of your friends did this to you, so your party broke the conditions first. What if we can prove which one did it? What's that worth to you?"

"What do you ask in return?" Cronus asked.

Jack nodded once. "We'll let you know. Carter, get the TERs. Daniel, whatever happens, stay in here with Dr. Fraiser. Keep Cronus company." Cronus scowled at the thought that he was being ordered around, but he was relatively helpless now, so he subsided.

"Jack?" Daniel said warily, because the words 'whatever happens' rarely preceded anything healthy.

"Just stay here," he repeated. "We have a plan. Cronus, why don't you talk over the treaty in here. We'll be back when we've caught your attacker." Jack looked to the general, who nodded his approval, then raised his eyebrows at Daniel and nodded toward Cronus.

As Jack and Sam left to apprehend the criminal, the general told Cronus, "We want your word that the System Lords will uphold their end of the Protected Planets Treaty and withdraw their forces from around Earth. And we will keep the Stargates."

Cronus laughed. "If we give that to you, then we have no reason to sign the treaty."

"Yes, you do," Daniel spoke up. "Addenda 9792 through 10815 are all new concessions from the Asgard. For one thing, you'll gain safe passage through several parts of Asgard territory."

Turning to him now, Cronus said, "If you continue to use your Stargate, then we strike Addendum 5197 from the treaty."

"We don't expect amnesty from the System Lords on other planets," Daniel agreed, looking to the general and receiving a nod. It wasn't as if they'd ever expected that, anyway. With a sudden burst of daring, he added, "And we strike Section 326. The System Lords will not interfere with this planet's development." Hah, so typing the thing and reading over it with Jack and then with the lawyers had proven useful after all.

The general was giving him a warning look, but Daniel knew infighting in front of the enemy was never encouraged, unless a subordinate messed up enough to be publicly chastised for the purposes of appearances, so the general stayed silent as Cronus lifted his chin, emphasizing his height. "Unacceptable. Section 326 Subsection 42 is a key component of the treaty."

Backtracking a little, Daniel said, "All right, then...then we will uphold the prohibition against artificial Asgard advancement that could pose a threat to the Goa'uld."

"But restriction of any other advancement of our own will not be tolerated," the general said, picking up his thought.

With a sneer, Cronus said, "Your own advancement--such as it is."

"Then you have nothing to fear," the general argued. "We saved your life, Cronus. We're bringing your attacker to justice."

"Someone who has been keeping secrets and who tried to kill the most powerful of the System Lords," Daniel added, glad there was a hospital bed behind him so he couldn't take a step back even though his feet wanted to. "We may even have prevented an attempted coup in your ranks."

"Which of them would you claim to be doing such a thing?" Cronus said dangerously.

General Hammond shook his head. "Not until you agree to our terms."

Cronus scowled. "We accept the addition of Earth as an Asgard Protected Planet. We remove 5197 and the proposed 10816 and withdraw our forces from Earth's orbit."

"Remove Section 326 as well, with the exception of the terms in Subsection 42," Daniel added, "and we'll expose the traitor."

"Are we agreed?" the general said.

Finally, Cronus inclined his head. "We are agreed."

They nodded solemnly in return. Daniel waited for Cronus to turn his back in contempt to try to stare down the SFs before letting himself sag against the nearest bed in relief. The general turned to him with an approving smile, and he found himself standing straighter again by the time Cronus turned back.

XXXXX

17 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 2000 hrs

When it was over and Nirrti had been dragged through the Stargate by Yu and Cronus, Daniel sat at the briefing room table again and waited for Secretary Simms to finish telling the President that the world was not, in fact, about to be obliterated.

"I'm still trying to figure this out," Sam said. "So the Asgard will protect us in the future?"

"Theoretically," Jack said.

"And the System Lords spend so much time at war with each other that they rarely coordinate a large-scale attack like this, much less decide to test the Asgard's protection."

"So," Daniel said, still a little confused, "nothing really changes for us? How did that happen?"

"I don't know, but I'll take it," Jack said.

"However," the general said, "it means we need to step more carefully. The threat of the Asgard might hold the System Lords back for now, but that could end at any time. Moreover, if we continue to fight them, they'll start to look to us as a threat that has to be stopped again."

"We're not going to just stop fighting them, sir," Jack said, half question and half statement.

"I don't see that we can," the general confirmed. "But we have to be more careful."

Jack leaned back in his chair, looking satisfied. "So, business as usual, then?"

"Wait, the Beta Stargate," Daniel said, because he couldn't quite believe this was happening without complications. "How did they even know we had two Stargates?"

With a sigh, Jack said, "It's always something with you, isn't it?" Daniel bristled, but the words held no heat, and Jack seemed to be considering it seriously. "There's no reason anyone would have mentioned it where a Goa'uld could overhear?"

"I've been thinking about that, too, sir," Sam said, "and I haven't been able to come up with any reason they should have known. On the other hand...maybe this is unrelated, but Seth did find out somehow about the sarcophagus at Area 51."

Daniel grimaced. Jack groaned aloud. "You think there's a spy there, Carter?"

General Hammond had laced his fingers together on the table and was watching them. "No, sir," Sam said, "I'm not saying that...exactly. But there have been security breaches in the past originating from that facility, and we have to put a stop to it."

"But this is much, much bigger," Daniel pointed out. "Unauthorized explorations and experiments or...or scavenging for technology, that's a question of methodology and moral thresholds. Spying for the Goa'uld is switching allegiance."

"Maybe they weren't spying," she said, "or not intentionally. General, I'd like to file a request for all research they've done on the damaged Goa'uld long-range communications device we found on Abydos last year, as well as any other communications technology. If something there was active without their knowing, Teal'c says they're not good for discretion. It's possible some intelligence got leaked out that way."

"Go ahead, Major," the general said. "I'm not going to accuse their personnel of such high treason without evidence, but if there's an accidental source of intelligence that's getting to the Goa'uld, I want it shut down. In the meantime, I need to contact SG-11 and the Alpha Site to let them know what happened."

"So," Jack said again, hopefully, "business as usual?"

"For now, we will resume normal operations, with some added caution both in choosing missions and in taking action. I want an assessment from each of you of the implications of this summit." The general paused, looking around at all three of them, then said, "Good work. All of you."

Daniel was still mulling over the day when Jack hooked a foot around the leg of his chair and pulled it out, suddenly enough to make Daniel yelp and catch at the table for balance.

"You gonna sit there and stare all night?" Jack said.

Daniel shrugged. "Just...relieved. I mean, it's Earth. You know?"

Jack quirked an eyebrow. "I know. Why do you keep saying that?"

"Never mind. It's...nothing." Standing, Daniel said, "I'll go check on Teal'c."

"Yeah. I'll change out of this"--Jack plucked at the sleeve of his uniform--"and meet you there."

"Same here," Sam said.

Teal'c was still in kelno'reem when Daniel arrived and Janet waved him toward the bed. It used to scare him when that happened--kelno'reem on a hospital bed looked a lot like unconsciousness or coma--but he'd learned later that a Jaffa and his symbiote both had to be in some safe minimum of health in order to reach kelno'reem to begin with.

Now, Daniel simply propped his feet on the lower metallic rungs of the bed, his elbows on his legs and his chin in his hands, and sat guard. There was little to fear on base with the Goa'uld gone, and nothing from which Daniel could protect him, but he'd learned over the past two years that holding vigil with an injured friend was as much for the watcher as it was for the watched.

Jack walked in, dressed now in khakis and a leather jacket that meant he was done with work for the day. "He gonna live, Doc?" Jack said, but easily, casually, knowing the answer was 'yes.'

"Oh, he'll be walking out of here long before I'd like, Colonel," Janet assured him, then glanced down once more at Teal'c and backed away. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

Sam entered then in BDUs and boots, walking again with the grace and ease of movement Daniel associated with her in daily life, rather than the rigid composure she donned with her dress blues and heels.

"How long's he been kelno'reem-ing?" Jack asked more quietly, nodding toward Teal'c as he opened a drawer in the bedside nightstand, as if looking for something to do.

"About three hours," Daniel answered. "Since he woke up the first time, anyway."

Sam leaned over Teal'c and tested his temperature, touched fingers to his carotid artery, counted his breaths, inspected his bandage, checked the chart by his bed. This routine of hers was familiar, too--they all liked to have their hands busy. "He'll probably be awake in a couple hours, then," she said, "judging by the severity of his wounds."

Daniel wasn't sure whether to be proud that he could have guessed that, too--so could Jack, the way he was nodding--or disturbed that even Teal'c, the most sturdy person on this base, had been injured enough times that they all knew the basics of Jaffa healing.

"Anyway, I need to look into something," Sam said, pointing out the door with a thumb. "The NID research. Would you mind...?"

"I'll find you when Teal'c wakes up," Daniel told her.

She smiled at him, looked over Teal'c one more time, then left.

Daniel took in Jack's civilian clothes and asked quietly, "Are you going home?"

"Yeah, I should make sure the house is okay after the last few days, but I'll be back early," Jack said. "The general needs to make sure everything's really back to normal, but we should be on schedule for our mission in a few days."

"I'm still on your team, then?" he asked, because he wasn't sure if it had ever been finalized.

"You still haven't done your psych evaluation," Jack said.

"Do I have to? I already took all those tests."

"Look, no one likes it, but you've got to do it," Jack said. "You have an appointment with Mackenzie on Monday. Pass that, survive the mission, and then finish marksmanship the week after that...and I'll give you your patch."

Daniel grimaced, more worried about the psychiatrist than the range master. "How am I supposed to prove to Dr. Mackenzie that I'm not crazy?"

"Well...you're not crazy, so as long as you don't do anything stupid, you should be okay."

"Huh. I don't think you've ever called me 'not crazy' before," Daniel said thoughtfully.

Jack snorted. "I won't let it happen again. Are you staying here tonight?"

"I told Sam I'd tell her when Teal'c woke up," Daniel reminded him. "And SG-11's next scheduled report was for early tomorrow morning. I know there's no reason to think anything happened to Robert or any of them, but..."

"No, I get it," Jack said. "That's fine. But it's been a hell of a day--hell of a few days--so I'm ordering you to go get some rest as soon as Teal'c wakes up. He'll just tell you to go to sleep, anyway." He smirked. "I could get used to being allowed to give you orders."

Daniel rolled his eyes, relaxing at the sight of the tiny smile curving Jack's lips. "Good night."

...x...

In the end, he must have fallen asleep, because he woke with his head pillowed on the mattress and Teal'c's eyes on his face.

"Teal'c!" he said, sitting up quickly and shaking sleep from his brain. "How do you feel?"

"I am well, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, and as if to prove it, he pushed himself up and swung his legs off the side of the bed to sit sideways.

Then Daniel realized Teal'c probably didn't even know about the System Lords. "Oh, uh, the treaty, you must be wondering--"

"Major Carter informed me of what occurred. Dr. Fraiser has already cleared me for light duty."

Daniel blinked at him, then looked down at his watch to find that over five hours had passed since he'd first sat down here. "You were waiting for me to get up and let you leave, weren't you," he said, embarrassed and standing quickly. "Why didn't you just wake me?"

"It was no trouble," Teal'c assured him. "However, your own bed may be more comfortable."

He rubbed his eyes and agreed. He didn't move to leave, though, and Teal'c tilted his head, watching him fidget until he boosted himself up to sit on the next bed. "If the Tau'ri had been forced to surrender the Stargates," Daniel said, "and we--the two of us--had had a chance to leave, where would you have gone?"

"Where would you have gone?" Teal'c returned.

"The Alpha Site first, I suppose, just to gather supplies and assess our situation. And then to Abydos."

"Then I would have done the same."

"Really?"

Teal'c nodded once.

"The cartouches are there," Daniel said, heartened by the support. "Between the two of us, we know a lot of the addresses that have been visited, and we could have continued searching the unexplored planets. Seek out some of our allies, even one of the Jaffa rebel outposts..."

"You could remain safely on Abydos," Teal'c pointed out.

"Could I?" Daniel asked. It wasn't rhetorical.

"Do you doubt that it is safe, or that you could remain there?"

Daniel shrugged, trying to look nonchalant even though it wasn't really possible to hide anything with Teal'c. "I know it's not safe anywhere, exactly. Somehow, it's hard to imagine being there and not doing anything. And it's hard to imagine Earth being cut off. I mean, it's Earth."

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"Exactly!" Daniel said, gesturing with a hand. "See? You understand. The first planet. The..." He waved a hand. "The planet that saved us. Saved me, anyway, and then you saved them, but--"

"I understand your meaning," Teal'c told him.

"If Earth can't do it, when it's the only planet we know of that's successfully started to stand up to the Goa'uld, then who else has a chance?" Daniel dropped his hands into his lap. "Maybe we simply hold an Earth-centric viewpoint, since we're stationed here."

"It is not only our opinion," Teal'c corrected. "When Apophis attempted to destroy this planet, Master Bra'tac was willing to give his life, and the lives of his men, to save Earth. We are not the only ones who believe the Tau'ri to be the best hope against the Goa'uld."

Daniel nodded but didn't answer.

"It was difficult," Teal'c added carefully, "to see this planet's weakness, was it not?"

"It's not that," Daniel said, but it was. To be poised on the brink of destruction and to be shown more starkly than ever before that this world wasn't invulnerable... He snorted, suddenly aware of--and disgusted by--the fate they had just barely escaped. "They were discussing our lives the way people discuss the price of equipment at department meetings. They were haggling for us, Teal'c."

"And yet," Teal'c said, "the Tau'ri triumphed again."

"By a stroke of dumb luck," Daniel said.

"By the ability to use that luck," Teal'c countered sternly. "Think, Daniel Jackson. Many things were required to achieve victory. The System Lords believed humans to be weak; that, as always, is their failing. It is rare for the Tau'ri to begin with the advantage against the Goa'uld, and yet, they have succeeded many times. Is that not why we believe they can win?"

"I guess so," Daniel conceded. "Teal'c...do you ever doubt that we'll win? Eventually?"

Teal'c blinked. "I do not," he said, but although he didn't turn his gaze away, he had other ways of trying to hide a lie. Daniel wasn't sure the words were completely false, but he wasn't sure they were completely true, either. 'Eventually,' he suspected, was the key, which was...realistic, but also rather demoralizing.

Sometimes Daniel wondered if he really was as naïve as some Tau'ri believed. Was it foolish to believe the SGC could successfully wage a war against an enemy that they couldn't dream of defeating face-to-face on even footing? The Abydons had survived--thrived--despite having their entire belief system shaken by the Goa'uld, but was that good enough as proof?

The SGC will win, Daniel reminded himself, and if this summit had allowed doubts to whisper in, he could overcome those, too. He hopped off the bed. "We were lucky," he repeated.

"Extremely," Teal'c agreed.

"That's it. That's all. We were extremely lucky. And, when you think about, that happens a lot. We came this close"--he held up two fingers half an inch apart--

"The Stargates are still ours," Teal'c interrupted. "Earth is under the protection of the Asgard. The System Lords will suspect one another even more following Nirrti's betrayal. The war against the Goa'uld will continue, and the search for your family will continue."

Daniel leaned back, considering, then said, "Okay. But--"

"It is late, and we have won the day," Teal'c said, sliding carefully from his perch on the bed. "I will resume kelno'reem in my quarters. You also should sleep."

"Jack said you'd say that," Daniel said, starting out of the infirmary but walking just close enough to make sure Teal'c really was okay and not just pretending to have permission to leave the infirmary. It had happened before. "I'm not really sleepy, anymore, though."

"Then perhaps you would like to join me."

It wouldn't be the first time he'd curled up in Teal'c's bed while Teal'c meditated nearby in a circle of candles. After a lifetime of sleeping in the same room as his family, it was nice not to be alone in his room once in a while. "Okay," he agreed. "I'd like that."

Chapter Text

20 September 1999; Psychiatry Clinic, SGC; 1400 hrs

"Daniel? Are you listening?"

"Yes," Daniel said politely. "I'm trying to decide how to answer your question."

Dr. Mackenzie folded his hands on the desk he was using in the psych clinic adjoined to the main infirmary. "And the difficulty is...?"

"Just that I realize you've been doing your job longer than I've been alive," Daniel said, "and I'd rather not offend you, Doctor."

"Well, I'm the one who asked the question in the first place," Mackenzie said calmly. "Don't worry; I have a thick skin. You don't get points off for your opinions, even your opinions about members of my staff."

"But I can get points off for how you interpret my opinions to reflect my state of mind," Daniel pointed out. "I don't want to sound...well, that chart already says I'm uncooperative."

Mackenzie raised an eyebrow.

Daniel made sure not to roll his eyes. "I spend all day trying to read alien text from crumbling rock and shaky camera footage. Reading upside down isn't difficult."

"You're right about what it says," Mackenzie said, "but you wouldn't want to come off as evasive, either."

They'd been here for hours already, covering everything from past missions to hypothetical future missions to feelings to personal things that he really thought they had no business talking about, and he still wasn't sure how to win each verbal skirmish. He was happy to have debates with people; he was less happy about the idea that thinking things wrong might keep him off a team.

"Psychology...is important to the researchers in my department," Daniel finally said. "The study of behavior and...and motivations and the relationship between people and their environment is something we try to be very aware of."

"And the reason for the less than stellar comments about attitude...?" Mackenzie lifted Daniel's chart a few inches, which looked full already with comments from the various previous tests he'd had to complete.

"With respect, while I admit that I have no...context for understanding psychology in a clinical or medical setting," Daniel said, "I think you're doing it wrong."

He couldn't read Mackenzie's expressions, either. It was unnerving. "In what sense?"

"Well," Daniel said, "I don't think it's paranoid to say you have a lot of doubts about my joining a first-line exploration team, largely because of my age."

"As a student of culture," Mackenzie countered, "I think you understand our doubts very well."

"I do, and that's my point, really--that you're doing this without the proper context. You're observing me, and recording my answers, and...and formulating an idea of what that says about me, based on your own cultural norms."

"Our own cultural norms?"

"How old are you, Doctor?" Daniel said. For perhaps the first time, Dr. Mackenzie seemed mildly surprised. "Oh, as an example, your first reflex was probably to hear that question as impolite and perhaps indicative of...further difficult behavior, yes? Even if you overrode that reflex a moment later, it still influences your opinion. It wouldn't occur to me to see the question that way. I was just saying that I'd met very few people as old as you before leaving my village."

"And therefore," Mackenzie said, unperturbed, "someone your age is reasonably declared an adult, because you grew up not thinking you'd ever reach my age."

"That's...probably not the only reason for the difference in our societies' ages of majority," Daniel said, "but yes, I'm saying that even something like age can be seen as both objective and subjective because of the social connotations that it carries. Holding me to the standards of one society while accepting me as a representative of another is rather bizarre."

Mackenzie paused, then raised his eyebrows. "You're an intelligent young man, Daniel."

Daniel nodded, shrugging once. "I'd hope so--the assumption is that my intellectual contributions would compensate for the combative and tactical skills I lack."

"The environment helps in that regard, I suppose?"

"Of course," Daniel said. "Learning from people who are more expert than I am, surrounded by texts and relics of ancient cultures... It's an excellent learning environment."

"What about before, when you were on Abydos?"

"I was talking about when I was on Abydos," he said, even though he hadn't been, just to be difficult.

This seemed to give Mackenzie pause again. It was only a minor victory, though, because he nodded only a second later. "That's right--you studied under your parents before you started working here." He hesitated, and Daniel started preparing a good answer to a question about their death when the doctor said, "What about the environment of the SGC?"

Predicting Dr. Mackenzie and keeping up with him wasn't easy. If Daniel hadn't been worried about passing this evaluation and proving that nothing was amiss in his brain or whatever they were looking for, he might have respected that about the man.

"Similar things," Daniel settled on saying. "Teachers, resources, challenges. New experiences."

"But there's additional urgency here, isn't there?" Mackenzie said. "You chose to stay at the SGC to accomplish specific goals beyond gathering knowledge."

"That's true," Daniel said. "I'd like to help in the fight against the Goa'uld and, of course, to find my family."

"How close would you say we've come in accomplishing those goals?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Uh...well...we've made...progress. If, uh...if you want me to list the ways that the SGC has advanced since the program started..."

"No, that won't be necessary," Mackenzie said. "But, whether or not we're better armed--with weapons or knowledge--would you say we're any closer to defeating the Goa'uld or finding your family than we were two years ago?"

Not exactly, Daniel thought immediately, thinking of what Teal'c had implied, about how the war would be won but perhaps not for a long time. He wondered if the psychiatrist could hear the lie when he cleared his throat and said, "Yes. I--I think every...additional ally and scrap of information opens our eyes to...to new avenues that will eventually lead us closer to our goal--and allies, information, and technology are all things we've gained in the last few years."

He'd said almost the exact same thing a few weeks ago to a new recruit in the linguistics office. It was true, he thought, but it was also propaganda, and if someone made him say it much more before they made any tangible progress in accomplishing those goals, it was going to start to lose its meaning. None of them knew much of anything beyond what they were doing at any given moment, and they believed they would eventually succeed because they had to.

"All right, then. Have you given any thought to what you'll do if you succeed in those goals?" Mackenzie said, as if reading his mind and picking the question he least wanted to hear.

"Well..." Daniel said, scrambling for an answer and sensing that whatever control he'd ever had over the conversation was quickly being lost. "I...think...it's better to concentrate on reaching them first. The SGC has made great strides, but we're still only two years into a war that no one has waged successfully for millennia, not on this scale."

"So what does the SGC mean to you, Daniel?"

"It means Stargate Command," he said, then berated himself for such a stupidly facetious answer. He could see, too, from Mackenzie's face, that it had been the wrong thing to say, so he amended, "It's, uh...the seat of organized human efforts against enemies throughout the galaxy. It's the front line of...knowledge and exploration and technology."

Mackenzie nodded. "And what is your goal? A personal goal this time--I think you've recited enough from the SGC recruitment literature for one session, don't you?"

Yi shay. "As I said, I want to find my family and--"

"But what do you look forward to? What are your plans for the future?"

Daniel frowned. "The future...covers a lot of time..."

"Say...in ten years," said Mackenzie. "What do you expect to be doing as a twenty-six-year-old man?"

"Well, that...depends on what happens before then," Daniel said, wary. Who would ask someone his age a question like that? "Circumstances are always changing. I don't know what the state of the war will be in ten years or ten weeks, or how I'll...have to adjust as a result."

"You're avoiding the question."

"No," Daniel countered, "I just don't like making decisions without all the facts, which is what you're asking me to do."

Mackenzie pursed his lips but then conceded, "Let me rephrase, then. I'm asking for a best-case scenario--your personal ideal of a future, if you will. Have you given any thought to what you want to do when your role in this war is over, whenever that might be?"

"You're making the assumption that it will ever be 'over.'"

Mackenzie leaned back in his seat. "So you don't believe the war will ever end."

"That's not...what I said," Daniel said, trying to sound like he wasn't backtracking. Because he wasn't. "Either way, we know already that the Goa'uld aren't our only enemies, nor are they the only reason our program of exploration exists."

"Assume your family is safe and the Goa'uld are defeated. You'll remain here on Earth, at Stargate Command, because your role here will never be finished?"

"Well...I don't...know right now. I'm leaving all possibilities open."

"I see," Mackenzie said noncommittally, giving no clues about whether or not that had been the right answer. "Now, you brought up something else earlier--that you grew up not believing you'd reach an age as advanced as even the older personnel here."

"Yes...I suppose," Daniel said. "I didn't think of it in those terms as a child, obviously--"

"No, children often don't think too hard about their own mortality," Mackenzie agreed. "Why should they? They have their lives ahead of them."

"Right," Daniel said, unsure where this was leading but suspecting strongly that he was walking into some sort of ambush.

"You, on the other hand," Mackenzie said, "are trying to enter into an occupation that could well be one of the most dangerous on this planet."

"R...right," Daniel repeated. "Well. I'm sure you're also aware of the many restrictions on me."

"I'm aware," Mackenzie said, and then, abruptly, "Tell me, Daniel: do you expect to reach my age? Not even that--would you say you are likely to reach, say, Colonel O'Neill's age, or even Major Carter's?"

"Uh," Daniel said. 'Yes' would sound overconfident and feel a little false even to himself; 'no' wasn't true either, and would sound pessimistic. Floundering for an answer to a question he'd never considered directly before, he countered, "Do you ask all the personnel here what their life expectancy is, Doctor?"

"Most people here are at the height of their careers already or are well into their chosen lifestyle. Most are not sixteen years old."

"General Hammond's orders were not for me to speak with a child psychologist," Daniel said stiffly. "If he believes I'm qualified to act as an adult, I would appreciate being treated as such."

"I'm trying to treat you as a unique individual," Mackenzie said. "Perception of age can be subjective, but it's an objective measure, too. You are different from others on this base--you are younger, and--being healthy and having access to the best medical care in the world--you have more years to live ahead of you. That's a fact, not a condescension."

"Well, technically," Daniel said, "since I've died by your clinical definition more than almost anyone here, even before I tried to join a frontline team, I wouldn't call it a certainty or a fact."

If he had been less uncomfortable, he might have remembered not to be flippant. He might also have realized before opening his mouth that statements like that tended not to improve his chances of being approved for frontline teams. Jack was a bad influence on him, he decided.

"That's not what I'd call an optimistic outlook on your future," Mackenzie said blandly.

"I'm just stating a fact, Doctor, not a...a wish or a prediction for the future. With the SGC's protective measures, I'll be safer than I could be in any other capacity that a person in my position could reasonably choose." Daniel heard himself becoming defensive and said more calmly, "Is this really relevant to the SGC, or to how I'll perform in the field?"

Pulling off his glasses, Mackenzie said, "Whatever you feel or think at your desk can influence what you do in the field. More importantly, I'm a doctor, and I'm not just here to sign a form saying that you're approved for SG-1."

"With all due respect," Daniel said, throwing caution away and giving in to impatience, "I'm required to speak to you as one of the active field personnel, not as a patient in therapy. If you feel I'm not competent to act as a member of SG-1 again, then I should go and find someone to fill my spot on short notice for tomorrow morning's mission."

That earned him a wry smile. "Was that a reminder of how well you've established yourself here? How many times you've already joined SG teams, despite your unusual circumstances?"

Daniel tilted his head. "Not very subtle, huh."

"All right," Mackenzie said, and seemed to acquiesce, or at least try a different line of questioning. "What do you know about the planet where SG-1 is going tomorrow?"

Was this a test of how well he knew his job? It would have been much more reasonable for Robert or Jack or the general to judge that, but Daniel decided that an objective assessment of a planet couldn't be used against him. "The planet is designated PY3-948. The MALP showed samples of text that seems to be a mixture of Latin and Goa'uld."

"And is that significant?"

"The System Lords' major language has remained remarkably well-conserved over thousands of years--and light-years--so it's unlikely that the System Lords spoke a dialect as different as the one we see on PY3-948. We've seen human languages influenced by Goa'uld, which usually suggests the people had contact with the Goa'uld but are no longer under their rule, since it's often forbidden to speak the 'language of the gods' while the 'gods' are still there."

"But what makes this planet particularly interesting?" Dr. Mackenzie asked.

"It seems that Goa'uld is the language base," Daniel explained. "In other words, it looks more like a human-influenced Goa'uld dialect. While the direction of linguistic influence doesn't necessarily correlate with political dominance, this is still something we rarely see. It could be that there's a minor Goa'uld there who's had very little contact with the System Lords."

"That's quite a claim, based on a few words of evidence."

Daniel shrugged. "It's a suggestion, not a claim. It could also be that there's a human civilization that's adopted a mix of Goa'uld and Proto-Italic as their own language. We won't know what's actually there until we go and see--that is," he added, "unless you keep me from going."

"I'll be speaking with General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill in about an hour. Frankly, given your history, I don't think they'll stop you from going through the Stargate tomorrow," Mackenzie said--Daniel barely stopped himself from sighing aloud in relief--"but don't forget that I'm on base a few days each week. You know where to find me if you ever need to, for any reason at all."

"Yes, Doctor. Thank you," Daniel said, knowing he wouldn't be back until the next time someone forced him to--hopefully, not until the next annual evaluation.

"Good luck on your mission, then," Dr. Mackenzie said.

XXXXX

21 September 1999; SG-1 Locker Room, SGC; 1000 hrs

"Daniel," Sam's voice said from the shower behind him.

"Yeah, hold on a minute," Daniel said, still bent over his boot to tie the laces before reaching for his jacket. "Do you need something?"

"You'll never figure it out," Sam whispered.

Surprised, Daniel straightened and started to turn around, only to find no one there.

"Daniel?" Sam said. "You dressed?"

He whipped around again to see her in the doorway to the locker room, her back to him and the door pushed open a crack to let her voice through. "Wh-what? Yeah. Uh...Sam?"

She turned to face him then. "Hey. Ready? The general wants us in the briefing room." Daniel stared at her, then turned around one more time. Still no one there. When he'd untwisted himself again, Sam was giving him an odd look. "What are you doing?"

"Um," Daniel said, unsettled. "Were you just in here?"

"About ten minutes ago, yeah," she pointed out, her brow wrinkling. "I grabbed my stuff and went to the women's showers so you guys could stay in here, remember?"

"I thought I heard someone say..." he started, then stopped, realizing that of course she was unlikely to have been in the showers while he was sitting in here changing. "Uh...never mind. I must be hearing... I don't know what I'm thinking."

She smiled and gestured him out the door. "I'm still kind of rattled by those dead Goa'uld we found on the planet. You too, huh? You're probably just thinking too hard about it--"

"I'll figure it out," he snapped defensively, pulling his jacket on.

Sam frowned at him. "Uh. O...kay. I'm sure that's what we'll be talking about at the briefing--how they died and all. What did Teal'c say they were called again?"

A rush of air slipped past him. Daniel shivered, but, when nothing was there, relaxed again. "The Linvris," he said.

XXXXX

24 September 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 1500 hrs

"Daniel? Are you listening?"

"Uh, yes," Daniel said, even though he hadn't been, exactly. "Sorry, what was the question?"

Instead of asking it again, Mackenzie said, "You look tired."

"I didn't sleep well." He was on the defensive already, but that was his own fault for not paying attention, so he tried to look as confident as he could while sitting sideways on a hospital bed in bare feet. "I can never get used to overnight stays in the infirmary--"

A Stargate began to spin.

Not really, though, because it was coming from the direction of Janet's office. It was fine. He could ignore it.

"How are you feeling?" Mackenzie said.

"Fine," he said. "Dr. Fraiser did a lot of tests yesterday and today, and--and she said I'm fine."

Mackenzie nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. However...Dr. Rothman found you unconscious yesterday morning in the office that you share with him, correct? I just need to make sure that wasn't caused by anything we should be worried about."

("Jack, listen, I think they're trying to enter by infiltration."

"Through...the archaeology supply closet?")

"Like I said," Daniel repeated, "I was tired. I didn't sleep well."

"Before or after you were brought to the infirmary yesterday? You implied it was the latter, but if you've had anything on your mind you'd like to discuss..."

"Um...both, maybe, but that's not...Doctor, I just want to go back to work."

"Well, as I'm sure you know, you're not going back to work just yet," Mackenzie reminded him. "Dr. Fraiser's orders were that you could leave, but only with Colonel O'Neill, and for the purpose of rest only."

"Right," he said. "Yes. I know that. Is there something else?"

"I did have a few questions, actually," Mackenzie said. "I understand that on your mission three days ago, you found a room with several deceased Goa'uld."

"Yes. Nine," Daniel confirmed, his skin prickling at the reminder. There was something they were all missing--something he knew he could figure out if only he could finish translating that tablet with the Latin/Goa'uld writing. There was an attack plan on it, after all, and if nothing else, they needed to know what was written on it to be ready, and that wasn't even counting the other odd things since then.

What if it wasn't an attack against the System Lords? What if it was against them?

No, he was being foolish. The Linvris were dead. Jack was already halfway to thinking he was cracking apart, even if no one voiced the thought, and Sam was looking worried and Teal'c looking lost the way Teal'c was never supposed to look. And Daniel knew he must have been imagining (hallucinating) the event horizon in the closet, because it sounded ridiculous once it stopped making his heart try to leap from his chest.

Perhaps he did need some rest. He wasn't crazy. Jack said so, too. As long as he remembered that, he would stay not crazy.

"Daniel?"

"What?" Yi shay, he'd missed the question again. "I'm...I'm sorry, I--"

"That's all right," Mackenzie said. "Are you--"

"I'm fine," he said again, forcing himself to smile in a way that probably failed to be reassuring at all. "Could you, uh, repeat the question, please?"

"What you saw in that chamber...did it bother you, seeing those Goa'uld there?"

Daniel tilted his head. "They were dead. We didn't even have to kill them. Why would I...?"

"I realize that," Mackenzie said, his brow furrowed. "But it's been a stressful time recently, hasn't it? And encountering corpses can be unsettling."

He almost laughed before he could help himself, and it took some effort to bring it under control. He was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to laugh about dead people. "The smell was startling," he allowed. "I'm not used to that, seeing bodies that have been dead for so long without any sort of preservation. But the bodies didn't bother me. Well, a little, at first, because I was surprised, but I've seen others that were worse."

There were those Jaffa who had been lightning-burned by Oma Desala, for one, and various people who'd been staff-blast-burned. It was odd how so many dead bodies he'd seen had been burned. Sometimes they'd just been shot, though. And Seth hadn't been burned either--he'd just been smashed until he broke.

"Not Seth; his host. Every Goa'uld needs a host."

Daniel turned around, looking for the source of the voice. There was no one behind him (just cameras and speakers everywhere), so he took a deep breath and turned back.

He froze. The Goa'uld was back.

Dr. Mackenzie had paused in writing something and was watching him. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Daniel denied, pretending he didn't see the corpse of the Linvris that hovered even now behind the doctor like a blurry spirit (spirit, maybe they're just invisible so no one else can see them). They wouldn't believe him, anyway. Because it wasn't real. Not real. "It's...nothing."

"All right," Mackenzie said calmly. "Did something happen yesterday in your office? Something you saw or heard that could have caused your collapse?"

A wormhole was activating somewhere. Not really, of course, but it took all of his control to stay where he was seated without reacting. "No," he lied. "Nothing happened. Can I go?"

There was a hesitation, and then, "Colonel O'Neill's wearing a hole in the floor outside," Mackenzie finally said. "If you're sure nothing's bothering you--"

"I'm sure," Daniel lied again. "I'm just tired. Dr. Fraiser said it's okay, as long as you say so."

"Then I'll let you stay at home with the colonel and rest for a few days. But I need to speak with you before you come back to work--you don't have a mission for a while, correct?"

He had no idea when SG-1 was next up on the exploration rotation, but he nodded anyway and said, "Yes. I mean, no, I don't think we have a mission."

"Talk to the colonel or your friends if you feel uneasy about anything at all, and, of course, you can always call me or Dr. Fraiser, or have Colonel O'Neill call us."

"Daniel," the Goa'uld said.

Daniel took another look at Mackenzie to make sure he really didn't hear, then forced himself to ignore it, as well. He slid off the bed and nodded. "Yes, Doctor. Thank you."

Jack came in while he was in the middle of tying his shoes. Sam and Teal'c were at the doorway, too, and Robert behind them, but no one else entered.

"Ready to go?" Jack asked him, ignoring Mackenzie so completely that, for a brief, heart-stopping moment, Daniel wondered if he'd imagined the psychiatrist's presence in the chair, if his mind really was coming apart. Then Dr. Mackenzie stood, Jack gave him a curt, "Doc," and Daniel breathed again. He forgot to answer the question, though, so Jack said, more uncertainly, "Daniel?"

"Uh," he said, straightening and looking directly at Jack's face. He wasn't sure if the Goa'uld was still there, somewhere, but if he didn't look at it, he wasn't acknowledging it was real, because it wasn't. Usually, he could tell. "Yes," he said, and it must have sounded the way he felt, because Jack suddenly looked like he might change his mind. "Yes," he tried again.

"Okay," Jack said, and Daniel didn't even try to hide his sigh of relief. "Go and wait for me by the door, kid. I'm just going to talk to Fraiser and let her know we're checking out."

Daniel nodded and made his way to the exit.

"How're you feeling?" Sam asked immediately, reaching up as if to rub his arm. Daniel stepped away before he could think about it. She might have noticed or thought it was by accident; he wasn't sure. Teal'c watched him and noticed, so he shied an extra step away from both of them.

"I'm okay," he said. "Sorry I scared you, Robert," he added, because no one was acknowledging Robert standing in the background, apart from SG-1.

"No, no, it's...uh, just, you know," Robert stammered. "Get...better. Or whatever."

Sam exchanged a glance with Teal'c, and for the first time, Daniel wondered if he was imagining that, too, because it wasn't unusual for Robert to keep his distance a little from a team where he didn't belong, but now Daniel wasn't sure. The thing was, he wasn't sure if he was imagining Robert or imagining Sam and Teal'c, or all of them. Jack was focusing on Daniel alone, which wasn't odd under the circumstances, but if he didn't talk to one of the hallucinations (not hallucinations, you don't know that), then how was Daniel supposed to tell?

Jack came out. Daniel walked away with him, not looking at the others, in case they weren't real after all. He didn't listen to the Linvris corpses, either, but he also didn't try to stop them from following the whole way, because Jack didn't notice them as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Daniel," the Goa'uld said.

Daniel shook his head. Jack glanced at him, and he stopped, because he was in control. He clamped his lips shut and promised not to answer when the Goa'uld spoke. If Jack spoke, it was okay. Jack was real, so if he spoke--

"You're all alone, Daniel."

"Wh-what?" Daniel said, frozen in place.

"I said we're almost home," Jack said.

The voice from Jack's seat was distorted--voice, words, sound, meaning, everything distorted. By the time he gathered enough courage to turn and look, Jack's mouth wasn't moving anymore and he was watching the road, and Daniel didn't know if Jack had really spoken, or which one he'd said, if any, or none, or all, or maybe they were all the same at the same time and he was too far gone (tired just tired) to realize it. Maybe he should answer, but what if Jack hadn't said anything, but what if he was supposed to answer and didn't and made Jack think he was crazy?

Jack stopped the car at a light and looked at him again. Immediately, his expression became worried, and he said, "Hey, it's okay. Why don't you take a nap on the way home?"

"Sleep, Daniel," the Goa'uld agreed from somewhere--hiding from sight, maybe. "You will not see us when we come."

Jack's eyes glowed. Daniel flinched and reached for the door handle before Jack lunged to the side and grabbed him and said, "No, n--what the hell...Daniel?"

His voice was back to normal now, and his eyes, too. Daniel swallowed and breathed a "sorry" and let Jack peel his fingers away from the door handle, then folded his hands under his arms. He turned toward the window and leaned against the door, and if he could ignore Jack's looks, he could ignore the Goa'uld whispering to him, too.

XXXXX

26 September 1999; Psychiatry Clinic, SGC; 0900 hrs

"Daniel? Are you listening?"

"Daniel, we are listening."

Daniel wrenched his attention back to Dr. Mackenzie. Janet was watching. He thought she was, anyway, but when he turned to ask her something, sometimes she'd left. Maybe. Or not. Janet had a daughter, but Cassie wasn't--Nirrti had been here, but they'd gotten her--

He shook his head. He was fine. He was talking to the doctor.

Mackenzie seemed about to say something, then stopped and put his chart down on the desk behind him. It was face-down, Daniel noticed, and he had to force himself not to stare at it as he wondered what the man had been writing about him there. "Did you hear what I asked?"

"Um," Daniel said, but had to admit, "No, I... Wh-what was the...?"

"We were talking about how your mission went last week," Mackenzie said patiently. "We never got to finish that conversation before. Where did you go again?"

For a moment, his mind blanked completely. "It..." he started. "PY...uh. It was..."

"PY3..." Mackenzie prompted.

"948," he finished quickly, unhappy with the implication that he didn't know the designation of a planet to which he'd gone himself, less a week ago, when they went there on the planet, and if he'd forgotten at first, he'd have remembered in a second. He was tired, and he couldn't be blamed for that. It was hard to sleep with Goa'uld watching him.

"No wonder," the Goa'uld taunted him. "No wonder they all think you--"

"What happened on that mission?" Mackenzie said, recalling his attention.

"What did you do, Daniel, what did you--"

"Nothing happened," Daniel said quickly.

"I don't necessarily mean what went wrong--"

"Nothing went wrong!" he insisted.

Mackenzie paused, then said, "I'm sorry. I may have phrased that poorly. I was wondering about the mission in general--anything good, bad, or neutral."

"Right. Okay," Daniel said, taking a deep breath and looking at his knees. "We found a meeting place for the Linvris, a group of Goa'uld."

"Why did you tell them?"

"What else happened then?"

Confused, Daniel swallowed and said, "Why did...what?"

"You see, Daniel, what he is doing to you?"

A sound behind him caught his attention, and he almost started to turn, but then he recognized it as the sound of locking chevrons, as on an active Stargate. Clenching his hands on the seat of the chair, he looked at the carpet instead, forced down a sudden surge of fear (irrational fear, that's all, nothing to be afraid of), and refused the urge to turn around, because there was no Stargate in the infirmary where there wasn't a Stargate. He was tired. That was all. He wasn't on a bed now, but there was one to the right or left but the 'gate was opening.

"Daniel."

Not real. Don't answer. Not real not real not

Mackenzie's face moved into his line of sight. "Daniel? Did you hear what I said?"

"Um," Daniel said, letting his eyes slide away. "I...I don't..."

"Can you tell me what else happened?" He gripped the seat tighter, trying to remember what they'd just been talking about, but he kept losing the thought partway through and couldn't catch it before it got pulled away again and he lost it. The computers stopped the noise, so he stopped listening to the chevrons. When the pause stretched out, Mackenzie repeated, "What else happened on the mission to PY3-948?"

"Yes," he said. "Right. Um, it...we were in a building. It was a meeting place for the Linvris. They're a group of Goa'uld--the SGC is going to kill the Goa'uld. So that's why we should participate, because it's going to be war." See? Fine. Fine.

The doctor nodded slowly. "That's right. Let's go back to the Goa'uld you saw on PY3-948. What else did you find there?"

"On the--I found a tablet," Daniel said. "The hosts were dead, and the stone didn't work. It said they were going to attack by infiltration, so...so, uh. Then we left."

"--found a tablet," the Goa'uld was mocking as he explained, "and the hosts were dead, and--"

"I'm sorry, the stone?"

An unstable vortex whooshed out from behind him. Daniel flinched but didn't turn.

"Daniel?"

"Stop that," he said without thinking, then cleared his throat. "S-sorry. Sorry. What did you...?"

Mackenzie continued to stare at him (don't let him see careful careful), then said, "That's all right. You found a page-turning device, correct? SG-1 says you tried to read more of the tablet, but the device didn't seem to work."

Daniel frowned. "Why are they talking to you about me? What are they saying?"

"I read it from their report after the mission, that's all. Do you remember what happened after you came back last week?"

"Of--of course," he said. He wasn't an idiot. Jack said he was a little off, that was all--he was just off a little off. "Robert...found me in the office, and they made me stay in the...Janet made me stay in the infirmary for a couple of days, because I...I was... Because."

"Sleeping dead sleeping, because you were scared, and now they're talking about you--"

"That's right. And then you went home with Colonel O'Neill, the day before yesterday."

"I...went home," Daniel said. "Yes." There had been another Goa'uld, right there, in Jack's house. He'd told them what the Linvris were after, and no one had believed him, and now look now there had been a Goa'uld inside Jack's house. He wasn't sure how it had escaped, but he couldn't say it, or they would think he was insane, and he wasn't (was).

"Can you tell me what happened yesterday, at home?"

"We were playing chess," he said, forcibly bringing his focus back. "I kept losing. I don't know. Jack was letting me, I think, but I was tired. We had--Shifu was crying once when we were playing, but--he's on the...there's a planet with a temple, so--"

Chevron engaged.

Was this the third? Fourth? Was it an outgoing wormhole? Was it more than one incoming?

"Was Shifu there yesterday?"

"Of course not," Daniel said. The doctor was trying to trick him. "The Mother took him. Oma Desala, he's not with me anymore, and Kheb was burned."

"So you were alone with the colonel this time," the doctor asked. "While you were playing chess. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Nothing," Daniel lied.

"Are you sure?" Mackenzie asked. "Colonel O'Neill was very worried when he called."

"I'm not crazy," he lied. Said. Not lied.

"No," Mackenzie agreed (lied). "I didn't say you were. I just want to know what happened."

"I...I thought I heard--" Another chevron locked, close enough to his head to make him jump and turn before he could stop himself. A wormhole event horizon rippled on the wall, and he could feel his heart start to race as another one of the Linvris walked out.

"Daniel. We are inside."

"Daniel? Are you all right?"

He jerked his eyes back to Dr. Mackenzie but couldn't figure out what the expression on his face meant. "Wh-what? Yes. I'm. Yes. I'm fine." Mackenzie didn't notice the event horizon at all, which meant it couldn't be real, it wasn't real, so he ignored the blue swirling at the edge of his vision and pretended the dead Goa'uld wasn't inching toward him every second, reaching for him and trying to implant him, ay naturu...

"You're seeing something now, aren't you?" Mackenzie asked (digging digging digging he knows don't let him). "Is someone else talking to you now?"

It wasn't real not real not real--

Daniel shook his head, wanting to say 'no' out loud, but he glanced to the side and the dead Goa'uld was only a foot away and towering over him, and he knew he was shivering, knowing any second he would feel the Goa'uld's hand on his shoulder, even though it wasn't there. He gulped for air, starting to feel dizzy--

"Take a breath and hold it," Mackenzie was saying, and now he was only a foot away, too, crouched in front of his chair. "Daniel, you're fine. Just take one breath--" Daniel sucked in a shallow breath, feeling it shudder into his lungs. "Count to ten--one...two...three..."

The breath whooshed out too soon, but he couldn't help it, and he gasped in again.

"That's all right, Daniel."

"We are coming for you, Daniel."

"One more time...four...five...six..."

By the time he managed to slow his breaths, the event horizon had disappeared--the Goa'uld, too, so maybe it had gone through the wormhole and would wait until Mackenzie wasn't around to come back. Daniel was boneless, lightheaded and shaking so hard he needed both hands to hold onto the cup of water Mackenzie offered him.

He finally managed to take a sip but then felt too sick to drink the rest. Mackenzie took it and replaced it on the table. "Is that what happened before?" the doctor asked.

"Before?" Daniel repeated weakly (weak weak weak), wiping moisture from his cheek but unsure how it got there. "What?"

"Last week, in your office, and then at home while you were playing chess. You heard something, or maybe saw something that--"

"I was tired," he pleaded. "I just...I was tired."

Mackenzie took his glasses off, laying them carefully on the table. "I don't doubt that, Daniel. Colonel O'Neill mentioned you haven't been sleeping well."

"Why has Jack been telling you all that? Are you talking about me?" he said, wanting to be angry but mostly just worried about what the Linvris were planning to do when they finally managed to infiltrate. He had to warn them.

"Your friends are all worried about you, that's all," Mackenzie said. "Daniel, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Again?" Daniel said.

"A different one. Are you familiar at all with the term 'schizophrenia?'"

Something brushed past him, and he swallowed hard. "Um...no. Schiz...schizein...phren..." Daniel gasped, realizing. "They're splitting my mind. That's what I'm trying to tell you. The Goa'uld, that's what they do, you see? It's two minds, so it's like a...a schism of the...brains--"

"No," Dr. Mackenzie said. "That's not what I mean. That's not what the term means in English. I'd like you to listen carefully, all right, Daniel? You--"

"They're trying to get in," Daniel blurted, leaning forward.

Dr. Mackenzie sat back carefully in his own chair.

"He knows."

"Who's trying to get in?"

"Already here."

"They're already here," he whispered urgently. "The Goa'uld of the Linvris. They were trying to...trying to, to enter by infiltration. They got in, and they must be able to...it's their kalach, maybe, not their bodies, their kalach, I don't know how, but that's why you can't see them. They keep coming to use me as a host. Every Goa'uld needs a host. That's why I'm here, because the Goa'uld wanted hosts, and I came here."

Mackenzie picked his chart back up but didn't write anything else. "Did someone tell you that the Linvris want to use you as a host?"

"Daniel," the Goa'uld said into his ear.

"Stop it," Daniel hissed, not turning around but leaning forward away from it.

"Daniel?" Mackenzie said.

"Stop!" he begged, squeezing his eyes shut and hugging his knees to his chest.

"Daniel," the Goa'uld said again, whispering. "You have to stop him."

"No, go away!" Daniel yelled into his knees, then stood up. His vision abruptly went dark, and he only realized he was on the ground when he had to squint upward to see the Goa'uld's empty eye sockets beyond the spots dancing in his eyes.

"Sir, he's going to hurt himself."

"Daniel, don't listen to him."

Thinking frantically, he looked for the something he could use to protect himself. He pushed himself to his knees, shrugged someone off, and grabbed the legs of the nearest chair even as the Goa'uld advanced toward him.

"Daniel, please put that down--"

"Daniel, he's trying to hurt you--"

"Which one," he said breathlessly, lifting the chair a few inches. "Which...which one are you--" A pair of hands pulled his from the chair, and his trembling limbs surged back into action as he struggled against his attacker, but only managed to pull away for a second before someone grabbed him again. "Ay, na nay. No!"

"Daniel, you're safe, but I need you to--"

"Daniel, he's lying, so I need you to--"

"Rhe'u, senamiu--na nay, please!"

"Sir, should we--"

"Go ahead, two milligrams."

"No. No," Daniel moaned, his muscles loosening against his will and his tongue growing thick and awkward in his mouth as something burned through his veins. "No, please, please, don't...don' let him--"

"Daniel," the Goa'uld told him as his already dizzy mind slowed to a stop. "We are coming, Daniel. Sleep."

Chapter Text

26 September 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1000 hrs

The team thought something on the planet with the dead Goa'uld had messed with Daniel--some technology or disease or something--and they just needed to figure out what it was. Rothman only knew he'd tripped over Daniel's unconscious body in the office one morning. The general wanted to know what was making one of his translators crazy. And now the doctors were saying--

"He's schizophrenic?" Jack said.

"While it's far too early to make a definitive diagnosis," Dr. Mackenzie said, "you've seen yourself that his condition has been worsening rapidly. Given the severity of his symptoms, I recommend we begin treatment now."

"Whoa--wait one damn minute," Jack snapped. "Schizophrenia? Daniel? Our Daniel?"

"He's described delusions, as well as vivid visual and auditory hallucinations," Mackenzie said. "They sparked at least one anxiety attack earlier today, and I suspect that might have been what caused him to pass out last week in his office," he added, nodding to a miserable-looking Rothman.

"Daniel doesn't get anxiety attacks," Jack said...except he had, once, or nearly had. There had been a Goa'uld in Charlie Kawalsky and a newly orphaned Daniel cowering in the control room, sleep-deprived and in the grips of a flashback real enough that he couldn't tell memory from reality...

"He's having trouble distinguishing reality from something only he can see," Mackenzie said, "and apparently having trouble focusing at all. For someone who's normally as confident in his mental faculties as Daniel--in fact, for anyone at all--those are frightening things to go through."

"He's tired and stressed," Jack said, clenching his fists under the table. And okay, he'd been worried enough that he'd broken down after only a day and brought Daniel back here to see a shrink, for god's sake, but still... "He hasn't slept through the night since we came back from that Linvris planet."

"Sleep disturbances can be a sign of--"

"He literally tripped over rotting Goa'uld corpses! He probably had nightmares."

"That's what I assumed at first," said the doctor, "given the sharp change from my first meeting with him. That's why I allowed him to go home with you to rest. I'm no longer convinced that's the case."

General Hammond spoke up. "He is a teenager who's often under a lot of pressure, Doctor. Is it possible he's simply..."

"Acting out?" Dr. Mackenzie filled in.

"Stressed," Jack snapped back.

"I don't think it's either," Mackenzie said. "His reactions are too sudden and extreme."

"But," Carter said, looking at Fraiser as if hoping for a better explanation, "he knows something's wrong--that's a good sign, right? Colonel, he's been reasonable?"

And Jack almost agreed--Carter and Teal'c were both looking at him, willing him to agree--but no one else had seen Daniel almost throw himself out of a car, and no one else had been at home yesterday to see Daniel jump on him out of the blue, babbling about Goa'ulds and scrabbling at the back of Jack's neck before snapping back and curling up in a ball on the floor. Jack had tried everything he could think of and had finally been forced to call the doctors for help.

"He did seem aware there was a problem," Mackenzie said. "He was clearly trying to ignore his hallucinations at first, but I think whatever lucid periods he has are slipping, and he's having more difficulty now. He talked about something of the Linvris--their kah-lah?"

"Kalach," Teal'c said quietly. "Soul."

Mackenzie nodded. "He claimed their souls had come to take him as a host."

"What, all of them?" Jack scoffed before he could think.

"That's what he says, Colonel," Mackenzie said, and Jack thought, 'That's crazy. Right.'

"But," Carter said again, "there could be some other explanation. I mean, look at what we deal with around here--who's to say it's not something he picked up off-world?"

"The medical containment team didn't find anything," Fraiser spoke up, "and they were thorough enough even to get samples of the corpses' tissue. Moreover, if this had been caused by something off-world, we'd have to ask why Daniel was affected and the rest of you weren't."

Stubbornly, Carter tried again. "It could be a...a delayed reaction to some traumatic event. God knows he's seen enough over the last couple of years to warrant a few issues."

Jack thought there was probably something very wrong with hoping their sixteen-year-old had PTSD. Then, at least, they'd have an idea of how to deal with it. But this?

"There are factors in Daniel's background that could predispose him to schizophrenia," Fraiser said. "Extended hypoxia in the womb is linked to certain abnormalities in brain structure, not to mention we don't know what a sarcophagus might have done to an unborn child. Arguably, even some of his cognitive traits could point in that direction, though I'm reluctant to say that definitively. I haven't yet dug up his parents' records to look for a genetic predisposition, but--"

Rothman made a sound like he was being strangled and sank lower into his chair.

"Dr. Rothman?" the general said.

"Daniel...has a grandfather on Earth," Rothman said, sounding reluctant. "Nicholas Ballard--we've known about him for a while. He made a big scene in the archaeology field about thirty years ago--claimed to see giant beings of mist who spoke to him in Mayan and were trying to teleport him away using a...a skull. He's rumored to be schizophrenic," he added, looking at the table.

"How do you know that?" Jack asked, annoyed that Rothman had details like that about Daniel's grandfather when he himself didn't. "Wouldn't that have been before your time?"

"His work is famous. Daniel asked, so I helped look him up."

"But," Carter tried again, more desperate and a little angry now, "we would have noticed something before. Come on, this was too fast."

"Dr. Mackenzie has been analyzing psychological data from SG units," General Hammond said in answer. "He's been looking specifically for side effects of 'gate travel."

It took a second for the meaning to sink in, and then Jack burst out, "Now you're telling me the Stargate made Daniel schizophrenic?"

"The Stargate does brutal things to the body," Fraiser said, "even if you don't notice it. Having your body taken apart, thrown through subspace, and put back together... I've observed transient chemical fluctuations afterward, and we've been almost expecting psychological side effects. We can't discount the possibility that 'gate travel contributed to Daniel's unusually rapid deterioration."

"Transient chemical fluctuations," Carter repeated. "Like a short endorphin rush--but that fades."

"The fact that there's an endorphin response at all suggests that the traveler experiences some trauma in the wormhole," Fraiser said. "Even if it's just from the molecular reconstruction...well, I'm not sure we're in a position to say that's 'just' anything."

"It is, of course, possible that Daniel's condition is also only temporary," Mackenzie said. "However, without being sure, we can't just ignore it and hope it will resolve itself or ignore the possible risk factor."

"I've used the Stargate a lot more than Daniel has," Jack pointed out. "Plenty of people have."

"Like I said," Fraiser repeated, "there are often many factors that come into play. It may be that he's more strongly affected because he's younger and because he's been using the Stargate while his brain hasn't quite finished its development--schizophrenia is often diagnosed around his age. He may also have had a predisposition to the disorder already. But if we're right, then 'gate travel may be a factor that increases risks for anyone who uses it, not just for Daniel."

"What about other humans?" Jack demanded. "Earth just started using Stargates, but you don't think other planets might've noticed that the Stargate made people insane?"

"Do we know any society of human aliens who travel through the Stargate regularly, as much as several times a month?" the general said. "Not Goa'uld or Jaffa, but humans. I've been trying to think of any and haven't been able to."

"Well...there's..." Jack started, then stopped. He looked at Carter and Teal'c and saw the same negative answer. God, maybe there was a reason. "Maybe we just haven't met them yet."

"The Air Force can't take that chance. As we speak, all outstanding SG teams are being recalled for evaluations," the general said.

Carter's jaw dropped. "You're shutting down the whole program," she said in disbelief.

Hammond met her eyes without wavering. "Only until Dr. Mackenzie and his team submit their report. If his theory is proven correct, limits will be placed on the number of missions for each person. Until then, the Stargate is closed."

"What of Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c said, returning to the immediate problem on their hands.

"There are medications that could help him," Mackenzie said. "For now, he can stay in the medical facilities on base to see if his symptoms improve with some rest and treatment."

XXXXX

26 September 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 1030 hrs

There weren't enough chairs in Daniel's isolation room. Normally, this wasn't a problem. Normally, an archaeologist, a colonel, a major, and a Jaffa wouldn't all have been standing awkwardly around the bed, watching Daniel sleep off some sedative. There might have been a general, too, but he was busy shutting down the program they'd all fought so hard to keep only a week ago.

In any case, the chair issue turned out not to be a problem, since Teal'c was comfortable standing, Carter perched herself on the edge of the mattress, Rothman grabbed the single chair in the corner, and Mackenzie and Fraiser dragged Jack out of the room to talk.

"Colonel," Fraiser said quietly, "given the current state of the program, you and your team will be effectively off-duty. You're listed as Daniel's next of kin--would you be comfortable taking charge of decisions relating to his treatment? If not, rest assured that we'll--"

"Listen, Doc--he was fine two weeks ago," Jack said. "What's to say he didn't...inhale some funky alien, I dunno, spores--"

"We ran a lot of tests, Colonel," Fraiser reminded him. "MRI, ultrasounds, CT scan, every possible blood screen... We can't find any foreign substances or other anomalies."

"A diagnosis of schizophrenia requires months," Mackenzie said. "I'm guessing something triggered his first episode, perhaps something from your recent mission or even a delayed reaction to something else he's experienced. From here, it might get better or it might get worse, but the fact is, something needs to be done about his condition now."

"Because he might betray government secrets in his crazy, deluded state, is that it?" Jack said.

"Because he came inches from giving himself a concussion on my desk earlier today when he collapsed," Mackenzie corrected.

"Dammit," Jack spat, kicking the wall next to the door.

"Colonel," Fraiser said. "if medication can bring him a little more clarity of mind, it might go a long way in making him feel better. He may yet make a recovery with medical intervention."

"Clarity of mind--Doc, Daniel's mind can run circles around..." Jack stopped and couldn't make himself finish.

Fraiser wasn't looking at him now, and she stared at her medical chart a little longer than he thought strictly necessary. "There are things you'll want to know," she said finally. "I don't know how the people of Abydos treated mental illnesses, if at all, but Dr. Mackenzie says Daniel doesn't seem to understand what schizophrenia is. Even if he did, that wouldn't...Colonel, just keep in mind that he's very confused at the moment."

Something was wrong. Something could have happened, and maybe it wasn't Goa'uld ghosts like Daniel was saying, but any number of things could have happened. This had only started recently, and what good would it do to pump Daniel full of drugs now? He'd wake up soon and prove that they were all a bunch of paranoid alarmists.

Still...maybe the doctors were right, and something had to be done now, just to make sure he didn't get hurt. They could work on figuring it out in the meantime, but for now...

"What do we need to know?" Jack asked.

They said something about resting and support and cognitive tests, and Jack tried--honestly tried--to pay attention. In the end, Fraiser relented and said, "Why don't you go in, Colonel. We can talk more later."

Rothman walked out just as he walked in, head down and muttering something. Jack had no idea what he was saying, but he didn't care, because then it was just the four of them inside, his team and their little brother, and they all settled in to wait.

...x...

Carter and Teal'c were both looking on from the wrong angle, so Jack was the only one to notice when Daniel's eyes finally opened. "Hey," he said quietly, and there was a sudden shift as Carter stood and hurried around to the other side of the bed. Teal'c approached more cautiously.

There was no answer. Jack shifted a little. Daniel didn't seem to notice. Carter tried petting his hair, and he curled up a little more but didn't say anything or try to bat her away. She withdrew. Teal'c was smarter--or more uncertain--than the rest of them and kept his distance instead of crowding.

Jack tried lowering his head enough to catch Daniel's eyes. "How're you feeling? A little woozy?"

Daniel glanced sluggishly at him, then away. He swallowed, then whispered, "Jack?"

"Yeah, it's me," Jack said, relieved.

He bit his lip. "Are you...are you real?"

"I'm...yeah, of course I'm real," Jack said. Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and turned miserably into the mattress. "Calm down, all right? It's okay. The doctors are going to explain some things to you so you understand what's going on."

It took a few more moments before Daniel peeked at him again. "I kept hearing," he said. "And...seeing things that... I don't think they were real. I'm not thinking right. I'm s-sorry; I can't tell--"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Daniel," Carter said.

Daniel unburied himself a little bit more, tentatively, looking from Teal'c to Sam to Jack, until Jack realized what the problem was. "Them, too. Me and Carter and Teal'c, we're all here."

A slow breath, and then Daniel nodded. "Okay. Okay."

See, he's lucid, Jack wanted to crow. There was nothing wrong with him except whatever drug that was swimming around in his head and a few...a few nightmares, maybe. That might have been all it was. Wasn't confused at all.

But Daniel sat up slightly and cocked his head. "What?" he said, frowning.

"What, what?" Jack said, proud of how calm it sounded when it came out.

"It's too loud," Daniel said, shaking his head dazedly. "I can't hear them."

Jack licked his lips, exchanging a glance with Carter and Teal'c. "Hear...whom?"

Daniel looked at him, dismissed him, and looked away, his head tilted in the way that usually meant he was listening and trying to figure out a new language, but it wasn't that this time, not even close. "I think they're coming. Naturu, they're--"

"It's just us, Daniel," Jack said, a little louder, as if he was actually competing with some other sound. He lowered his voice again. "Me, Carter, Teal'c."

"What about the Goa'uld?" Daniel flinched and inched away from the blank space behind him. "They're not...they're really not...?"

"It's...just us," Jack repeated, because what was he supposed to say to that?

In answer, Daniel burrowed under his blanket, curled into a ball.

"Colonel?" Fraiser hurried into the room, followed closely by Mackenzie. "He's awake?"

"Yeah," Jack said. He reached over to pull the blanket off Daniel's head, not sure if someone could suffocate by trying to stuff himself into the mattress. "Daniel? You with us, kid?"

For the rest of the day, Daniel's only response was to stare at his knees and ignore everyone, so they were eventually kicked out as the first dose of medicine was prepared (an antipsychotic--who the hell came up with these names?), and that was how it started.

XXXXX

27 September – 6 October 1999; SGC

The Stargate program was shut down. Therefore, for the next several days, SG-1 had nothing else to do but finish the last of their paperwork, loiter around base, or watch Daniel.

The next day, after Mackenzie started medicating him, the hallucinations didn't seem to go away, and Daniel did nothing but curl up in a corner and try, occasionally, to run away.

"So basically," Jack said when he cornered Fraiser later that day, "he's going nuts and being sedated and no one's told him why."

He almost felt bad when she looked away for a second but found he couldn't really make himself care. "We are doing our best to talk to him, Colonel," she said. "It takes some time for the medication to kick in and start working. Hopefully, he'll be in a more coherent state when it does."

"What if it's not schiz--"

"This is the only logical course of action, sir," she said bluntly. "It's alarming to see this happen so fast, and it's still early and may still change. But...this might not be something that will go away."

Jack went to the archaeology department to ransack Daniel's desk and the adjoining lab, only to find that Teal'c and Carter had had the same idea. They walked in together and found out Rothman had beaten them all to the punch and had already combed through everything and found nothing suspicious. They looked again anyway.

"What about this?" Carter suggested, pointing cautiously to the tablet from the Linvris chamber. Rothman picked it up himself. "Dr. Rothman, don't; what if it's--"

Rothman put it back down in disgust. "I don't feel any different. But if I go insane, you'll know where to start."

On the second day, Teal'c went to talk to Dr. Fraiser and didn't come out until half an hour later, and then he went without a word to visit Daniel. Then Daniel became convinced that Teal'c was a Goa'uld, so Teal'c left the room, looking like someone had kicked his dog--or his chal'ti--while Carter gave him a sympathetic look and settled next to Daniel. Jack watched from the observation deck.

The next day, Daniel managed to knock Carter off a chair in his attempts to...something. Get away from the Goa'uld by the bed, maybe; Jack couldn't tell. Carter insisted she was okay, but the livid bruise on her elbow made it possible for Jack to accept what Fraiser said next:

"I'd like to move him to Mental Health," Fraiser said. "This facility isn't properly equipped--frankly, it's much too dangerous. He could make a recovery with time, but he needs to be where he can be treated. This isn't permanent, Colonel--just until we can find some treatment that works."

"Can we still visit him, at least?" Jack asked.

"Not right away," she warned. "But yes. Dr. Mackenzie will let you know."

...x...

Visiting hours were very limited, especially at first. The doctors had kept Daniel in a rubber room for most of two days, because apparently, they'd had a hard time finding a drug that worked, but they finally trusted him enough to move into a room that didn't look quite as much like a prison of some sort. The team tried to visit him together, Rothman trailing awkwardly after, but they were told that Daniel's mood was erratic and even violent when he was at his most paranoid.

"In fact," Mackenzie said, "I suggest you visit him one at a time until he starts to show improvement, just so you're not all crowding him at once. Which of you...?"

Jack almost wanted to make someone else go first, to stall, but Teal'c said quietly, "Daniel Jackson is most familiar with you, O'Neill."

"Yeah," Jack said. "Me first."

Daniel's fingers were twisting and untwisting the hem of his white scrubs, and he was sitting on the corner of his mattress. He was...calmer, certainly. It looked like they'd finally found the right drug and dosage to make him stop thinking, which was nice in a horrifying sort of way.

The first thing he said was, "Where's Robert?"

Jack clamped down on the surge of indignation and said, "Outside. How are you feeling?"

But Daniel only shook his head and repeated, "I need to..." He stopped, rubbing his eyes and making a visible effort to focus. "I have to talk to Robert."

So Jack sighed and returned to the waiting area. "Rothman," he said, knowing his tone was a little sharper than necessary but not caring, "he wants to talk to you."

Rothman looked just as surprised as the rest of them but switched places with Jack.

"Sir?" Carter said, standing in confusion along with Teal'c.

Jack shrugged. "Daniel only wanted to see him."

She looked down and nodded. Teal'c scowled but didn't say anything.

Rothman returned just a minute later looking bewildered and shaken. "Uh," he said, looking around at them all, "Daniel wants me to finish that translation you guys brought back. With the, uh...the attack plan from the Linvris. And then...he got a little agitated, so they...well, he's sleeping now. They said we could maybe come back."

"Right," Jack said, feeling cheated and then feeling guilty about that.

...x...

For the rest of that day, Jack had people sweep the entire base for anything that might be an alien hallucinogen or that emitted odd energy readings--the usual stuff. General Hammond turned a blind eye at first but eventually stopped them and looked at Jack like he might be going crazy. He was pretty sure, though, that Teal'c managed to scare a few technicians into scouring the last few rooms of moldy artifacts, and he thought he caught Carter asking a biologist about the mold.

"Sir," Carter said tentatively, "maybe..."

"What?" he said, ready for any theory at all.

She looked away. "I've looked at everything, including what we brought back from PY3-948. I can't find anything. Maybe we should...consider that this is really..."

Jack was sure that dent had been there in the desk before he'd kicked it. "Maybe," he admitted once his foot stopped throbbing. "Okay."

...x...

The next day, Mackenzie's team worked its way up to SG-12 in his line of psych evaluations and tests and brain scans, and he was being tightlipped out the results. Eventually, Jack actually couldn't find any more paperwork to do, so the three of them converged at Daniel's desk and watched while Rothman tried to translate something.

"Is that...?" Carter asked, pointing at the tablet they'd brought back from PY3-948. "With the, uh... 'attack plan?'"

"Yeah," Rothman grunted, then slammed the page-turning device onto the lab bench. "Stupid thing. It's broken. I've got half a mind to call and have another PTD shipped over from Area 51 to see if that'll work. Stupid, stupid..."

Carter bit her lip. "Dr. Rothman, you don't really have to..."

"I don't care," Rothman said petulantly, slamming the device down a few more times before picking up the tablet again. "Go away."

So the three of them shut up until they were allowed to visit at Mental Health, where Daniel had since been moved back to his padded room, where it was safer. Jack didn't know what had been so unsafe about a regular room and wasn't sure he wanted to know. But at least all three of them were allowed to visit together now, for all the good it did.

"Hello," Jack said as they walked in.

Daniel was sitting against one of the walls. "I'm not talking to you."

"Ah..." Jack said, trying not to react too strongly. "Really? Why?"

"You're not really here," Daniel informed him.

Carter winced. "We are, actually," Jack said.

For such a weak argument--if Jack had been a hallucination, he so would claim to be real--Daniel accepted it surprisingly easily, but in response, he pulled his knees toward himself and plunged his face into the white scrub bottoms. "I'm sorry. My head...doesn't...it's not right."

"No, Daniel--don't say that," Carter said. "It's okay. It'll get better."

"I keep sleeping," Daniel said. "I can't think."

"That's the medicine," she explained. "It'll get better, and then you won't be sleepy all the time."

He shook his head. "I can't think, Sam. It's getting worse. I can't think anymore. I don't even...maybe you're not...here. Did Teal'c leave?"

"I am here, chal'ti," Teal'c said, stepping into his line of sight and waiting until Daniel's eyes fixed on him and decided he was actually probably maybe there. "I did not wish to startle you again. We have been attempting to determine the cause of your illness."

"Oh," Daniel sighed after a minute, not sounding convinced. Jack didn't have the heart to tell him they hadn't found anything and, honestly, weren't expecting to anymore. "I'm sorry," he whispered, covering his face.

"Don't say that," Carter repeated, looking on the verge of losing it. "It'll get better."

"Can I go home?" Daniel said, muffled. "Please?"

Jack couldn't quite bring himself to ask which home Daniel meant. "Not...just yet," he said. "But as soon as we can, all right? The doctors can help you here--are they treating you okay?"

Daniel nodded once without looking up. "Yes," he said quietly, and then he started to cry.

Jack found himself frozen, even though he was closest and part of him said he should be doing something. He'd seen Daniel upset before--even seen him cry--but always in quiet moments, faces averted so they could both pretend afterward that everything was okay. No teenage boy, much less one being raised and trained on a military base, liked being seen with tears on his face, and Jack found himself lost at the sight of Daniel now sobbing so miserably before them.

Then Carter moved past him, but Daniel jerked away from her, scampering into the corner. A few moments later, Jack shook himself from his paralysis just in time to catch Daniel as he lunged toward her. He couldn't tell anymore whether Daniel was laughing or crying or both, but it was frighteningly easy to hold onto him until the aides arrived.

...x...

Finally, Dr. Mackenzie told General Hammond that the other personnel were unusually stressed--surprise--but didn't seem any more schizophrenic than they'd been at the start of the Stargate program. That meant the Stargate was going to open again. It also meant that whatever was going on in Daniel's head wasn't because of the Stargate, so it was just plain old psychosis.

Carter was told to stop investigating the theoretical effects of molecular deconstruction and reintegration on the volume of gray matter in the hippocampus, at which point she began yelling at the researchers at Area 51 instead, turning her attention aggressively to the Goa'uld communication balls she'd been asking about before PY3-948.

Teal'c marched into General Hammond's office and said he would return to PY3-948 to find the cause for Daniel Jackson's illness. "My symbiote protects me from harm," Teal'c said.

"Dr. Mackenzie seems to think this is simply schizophrenia, son," Hammond said gently.

"We haven't ruled out alien influence," Jack insisted. "We still don't know how those Goa'uld died, which is a hell of a big missing piece of the puzzle, sir. If it's really schizophrenia, nothing will happen to us if we take another look around."

General Hammond finally nodded. "All right. Teal'c, I'll let you go to see if there's anything the medical team missed. You are not to go further than that building where the Linvris were found."

Jack frowned. "Just Teal'c? What about me?"

"Teal'c, you're dismissed," the general said. "Get ready to ship out. Colonel, I need to talk to you."

So then Jack was told that it was understandable if SG-1 needed some extra time, but everyone was looking to them, the first team; they had to get back in the game. Also, about Daniel...

"I hope to God that Teal'c finds something on that planet," Hammond said, "but I'm starting to doubt that he will. In that case, even if Mr. Jackson's condition improves, you know there's little chance we'll be able to allow him to keep working here like this. I could arrange for him to receive medical care here...but is it time to contact Abydos?"

"What?" Jack said, as if he hadn't been thinking about that already.

"Jack," the general said.

So Jack gritted his teeth and said, "At least wait until Teal'c gets back." The general folded his hands on his desk and looked down at them. "And," he conceded, before Hammond could put together a response that Jack didn't want to hear, "if there's nothing, then I'll go talk to the doctors about...what we should tell the Abydons. How they should...take care of him."

General Hammond nodded. "Okay. I think Daniel would want to be at home, Jack."

"I know," Jack admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

The next day, Teal'c reported that he had found nothing interesting on the planet, which meant it was time for SG-1 to start getting it together and taking missions again.

...x...

Fraiser met them that night when they went together to Mental Health to speak to Mackenzie, and she told them that Dr. Rothman had caught acute schizophrenia.

"You can't catch schizophrenia," Jack told her, and then he caught on. "Wait--are you saying..."

"Wait," Carter said, "but we looked at everything. I--I don't even know what could possibly--"

"We'll just have to look harder," Fraiser said. "One of the anthropologists found Dr. Rothman collapsed in his office this morning; right now, they're isolating everything he and Daniel might have both worked with in the past few weeks. I've also asked them to bring Daniel immediately back to base--we'll keep both of them in the medical isolation rooms for now."

"Ah," Jack said. Something like excitement buzzed in his brain. "Sweet."

He'd always thought the archaeology office was a dangerous place.

XXXXX

7 October 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 0700 hrs

Actually, most people seemed to think the archaeology office was a dangerous place and didn't know the specifics of what went on in there, so quarantining everything Rothman and Daniel might have touched in the past few weeks meant, basically, sealing off the entire office and lab.

"Maybe it's an infectious agent," Carter suggested, but she looked doubtful.

"You've been around Daniel at least as much as Dr. Rothman, if not more," Dr. Fraiser pointed out. "Do we know what projects they were both working on?"

"Dr. Rothman has been working on a backlog of unfinished Goa'uld and Ancient translations," Carter offered. "Those tend to be Daniel's languages, so it's possible they both handled those...artifacts or scripts at some point."

"I think you're all leaving something out," Jack said. "This all started after the mission in the Linvris chamber where there are dead bodies with no explanation."

"Dr. Rothman has never been to PY3-948," General Hammond reminded them, "and, again, you three have all been there, and none of you is showing any symptoms."

"Teal'c has a symbiote and Carter has..." Jack waved at her and stopped himself from saying 'bits of a symbiote.' "The protein thing."

"And you, Colonel?"

"I was...pretty much standing guard," Jack said. "Whereas Daniel walked in and fell face-first onto a corpse. And then he..." He trailed off, frowning.

"He picked up that tablet," Carter finished. "He was trying to read it."

"Dr. Rothman has also been attempting to read that tablet in recent days," Teal'c said. "If that device is causing this illness, neither I nor a medical team would not have found anything when we returned to the planet."

"So you think he read something that made him nuts?" Jack said.

"In any case," Carter said, "I think that tablet's broken somehow; the display doesn't change. I thought that might be a hint that something was off about it, so I ran every test I could on it and the PTD found with it, and...nothing."

"I approved a request that Dr. Rothman made for a new PTD to be shipped from Area 51," the general said suddenly. "He said that one of the ones he'd been using was malfunctioning. I didn't realize at the time that that was what he was working on, but it's a connection."

"So it's not the Stargate making people schizophrenic; it's a tablet and a thing that looks like a rock?" Jack said. He was going to take this as proof, from now on, that too much reading was bad for one's health. "How many of those devices do they have at Area 51, anyway?"

"Apparently," General Hammond said, "one of our shipments to them contained nearly twenty PTDs that all seemed to be associated with only one or two tablets. That's why they were so willing to ship a spare one over."

Carter nodded thoughtfully. "Then why were there so many? When was this, sir, and which shipment of items was it in?"

"We received it yesterday morning, Major, and it was among the items found on P3C-599," General Hammond said. Jack turned to Carter and Teal'c, who both shook their heads that they didn't know it, either. "That's where the human alien Machello was found. No one suspected that even a simple page-turning device might have been one of his inventions."

"Machello," Jack repeated. "The guy who switched bodies with Dr. Rothman and then made Daniel play musical bodies with SG-2?"

"That is correct, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "He was an inventor who created devices to kill the Goa'uld."

"Well," Jack said, relieved that they had a hint, even if they didn't know where it lead, "that puts a new spin on things."

"Treat that tablet and the PTDs with extreme caution," Hammond ordered. "Go to their office, find those devices, and bring them to the biohazard laboratories until we've figured this out."

Carter stopped in her tracks before they could leave the briefing room. "Hold on," she said. "Machello was a Goa'uld killer, right?"

"I think we established that as a 'yes,'" Jack said impatiently.

"Sir, whatever this is, it answers the question of what killed those Goa'uld in the Linvris chamber," she said, glancing at Teal'c. "And there had been no damage to the hosts, so whatever killed them must have attacked their symbiotes directly."

So Jack turned to Teal'c, as well. "Maybe you and Junior should sit this one out," he said. "You could talk to Rothman and help them try to figure out what he was doing."

"I could not. Dr. Rothman and Daniel Jackson are both in isolation from all but essential medical personnel," Teal'c pointed out. Rothman was in somewhat better shape than Daniel at the moment, since he'd apparently only been nuts for less than a day and was, on top of that, not being drugged, but questioning him was still proving fruitless. At this point, it was a toss-up whether that was because he was in the process of losing his mind or just because he simply had no clue how to help.

"Look," Jack said as Carter and Fraiser started to list out containers and equipment they'd need, "we're not going to be much help to them. Let's get out of their way, and we'll meet up at Lab 3."

...x...

"So the nine Goa'uld on PY3-948," Jack said from the observation deck, watching Carter and Fraiser poke at two PTDs and the tablet in a glove box. "That stuff there, that's how they died?"

"It would appear to be so," Teal'c said.

"Page-turning devices killed the Goa'uld."

"These might be more than they appear, sir," Carter called toward the observation window. "They could contain some kind of chemical or biological agent. In fact, that might explain why we couldn't find anything in the first one, while a fresh one affected Dr. Rothman--maybe the first had already been depleted of the agent."

"The agent...which kills Goa'ulds and makes anthropologists nuts," Jack clarified.

"Schizophrenic," Fraiser corrected absently, then tapped the items in the box. "Now, both of these PTDs were found on Dr. Rothman's desk with the tablet. They're probably activated by attempting to use them on the tablet, as Daniel and Dr. Rothman presumably did in their attempts to read it."

Jack leaned forward, squinting through the observation window. Carter lifted one of the rock-like devices and passed it a few times over the tablet.

"Nothing," she told them, then picked up the other and repeated. This time, something started moving, though it was too far from Jack to see anything but a squirming pile of what looked like big maggots. "Wow," Carter said, waving the PTD around a few more times. "And...I think that's all of them. Sir, there were organisms inside the device!"

"I am counting four...eight in total," Fraiser said. "Assuming Dr. Rothman only tried this device a couple times and was infected, we're looking at about nine or ten per device."

Thinking back to the Linvris chamber, Jack nodded. "Well, that would make sense. Nine to kill the Linvris Goa'ulds, and one more when Daniel activated the device. Ten--nice round number."

"Then Dr. Rothman used the one from Area 51," Carter added, "and was infected by...two of the organisms. That might be why his symptoms progressed faster than Daniel's."

Fraiser rummaged around in the glove box, saying, "Let's try to immobilize one and--"

"Whoa!" Carter yelled, yanking her hands out of the gloves and slamming the box shut.

"Gloves are breached!" Fraiser called, immediately pulling out as well.

Jack shot to his feet. He hit the alarm and leaned into the PA, saying, "General Hammond to B-Hazmat 3 Obser--sir," he amended when the general rushed in. "We have a breach."

"Oh, God," Carter was saying, and Jack saw a few of the maggots crawling up her skin.

Fraiser had grabbed a hose, but she let go with a cry, then stared at her hand. She met Carter's eyes and sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Well."

"Dr. Warner to B-Hazmat 3 Observation. Containment team to B-Hazmat 3," the general ordered over the PA, then asked the two scientists, "Is there any risk of further contamination to the base?"

"Judging by our experience with Daniel," Fraiser said, looking up calmly at the window, though one hand was rubbing the other arm like she could scrub the bugs out, "as long as we stay in here, the base is probably secure."

"Are they all accounted for?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir," Carter said. "Three"--she pointed at Fraiser, then to herself--"and five."

Hammond asked, frustrated, "Is there anything you can do to get them out?"

"I don't think so," Fraiser said, then staggered back into a lab bench and slid to the floor. "Oh. Is it hot in here? Ah...oh, no..."

"Janet?" Carter said uncertainly, then looked up toward them. "The symptoms could work pretty fast, with so many organisms in each of us--"

"It's too hot!" Fraiser whimpered, starting to tear at her clothes. "It's...hot! They're trying to suffocate us!"

As Jack watched helplessly, Carter ran to Dr. Fraiser and bent over her, pulling off her lab coat but trying to get her to keep the rest of her uniform firmly on. "Janet!"

"Carter!" Jack called into the microphone, flicking away a hundred worries that wouldn't help now and focusing on the fact that two of the SGC's head scientists and their chief medical officer had both just become compromised. "Talk to us, Major."

She spread her arms, shaking her head. "I feel fine, sir. I've got more of them in me than she does, and I feel completely normal. Somehow I must be immune."

Or, Jack thought, the symptoms were different in her, but if that was the case, they were basically screwed, so he was assuming 'immune.' Dr. Warner arrived and took in the scene.

"No, get away, you're a Goa'uld!" Fraiser gasped.

Carter straightened sharply, wearing her I-have-an-idea face, and Jack's hopes leapt. "Not anymore, I'm not," she said. "Sir, what if I'm not being affected because of my experience with Jolinar? It...whoa." She winced and caught herself on the edge of a bench, and Jack's hopes plummeted. "Maybe I spoke too soon...ah, God, something's happening..."

And to Jack's utter disgust, five slimy bugs dripped out of her ear.

"Ew," he said before he could help himself.

"I think they're dead," Carter said, apparently less disgusted than he was, because she crouched to poke at them with her finger and picked one of them up.

Jack grimaced as it slimed its way back to the floor. "So what makes you special?"

"I could have sworn I heard... Maybe it is because of Jolinar--she left a protein marker in my blood. These devices were made by Machello, a Goa'uld killer, right? And they killed the Linvris without killing the host."

"Then perhaps they sensed the protein that marks the death of a Goa'uld within you, Major Carter," Teal'c said.

"Exactly," Carter agreed, bending to cushion Dr. Fraiser's head with her lab coat. "Dr. Warner, can we just extract my blood and inject it into everyone who's infected?"

"Not if the blood types don't match," Warner said, finding a computer where he could access files quickly.

"I'm A-positive," Carter told him hopefully, and a look at Fraiser's dog tags told her--"But Janet's O-Neg."

"We could try it with Dr. Rothman," Warner offered, and Carter immediately dug through a drawer for empty syringes and needles. "There's still some risk, but he's A-positive as well. For Dr. Fraiser and Mr. Jackson, we need to separate out the relevant protein factor from the rest of the blood, or their bodies will reject it."

"Uh huh," she said, steadying one arm against a table as she began to draw her own blood hastily. "And how do I isolate the protein?"

"You don't have the necessary equipment in there," Warner said. "And even if you did, without Dr. Fraiser's knowledge about the protein...she might have a protocol for the Goa'uld protein purification, but I don't know it. It would take weeks."

"Well, give this to Dr. Rothman," she said, exasperated, holding up a syringe full of blood. "At least we'll have an extra person to help think and we'll see if this really is the cure. Or maybe there's a clue in that tablet after all. General, please!"

They turned to the general. "All the bugs are dead or accounted for, sir," Jack pointed out.

"All right," Hammond conceded, "but I'll have you ask you to remain in that room, Major Carter. Containment team, stand by."

Teal'c shifted restlessly. "General Hammond, should we assist?"

"No!" Carter called. "Teal'c, you're the last person who should risk exposure to this stuff. You, too, Colonel--I may be the only person immune to this."

There was some quick, nifty sleight-of-hand at the door that resulted in the passing of Carter's blood to a nurse outside, before the door was sealed again, with people scanning and searching and disinfecting anew.

"You're sure his body won't reject it, Doctor?" Carter asked, grabbing another syringe and needle to draw some more. She paused, bent over where Fraiser was hidden from their view, then straightened and said, "She said 'red blood cells.'"

"Red blood cells," Warner said absently. "Which carry oxygen and other...Oh, I see," he said. "Major, those are the cells with the proteins that make up ABO and Rh blood types. Everything else in the blood is more or less the same, except any antibodies in the serum. The soluble proteins we care about will remain in the plasma fraction."

"So can I just separate out red blood cells?" Carter asked, her attention torn between Dr. Fraiser, who was now lying flat on the ground, and the syringe in her arm.

Warner looked back at what Jack could see was Daniel's electronic medical file, and said, "Yes, Jackson's A-negative and Dr. Fraiser's O-negative. There shouldn't be a clotting reaction with your antibodies. Major, get a clean centrifuge tube and find the anticoagulant--it's labeled 'citr--"

"This?" she said, holding up a vial in one hand and ripping off the tourniquet with her other.

"Yes. Now mix it with your blood in the tube at this ratio..."

Jack sat back and watched, no longer surprised but still always impressed by Carter's efficiency and competence as she mixed her blood in the tube and dropped it into the centrifuge.

Rothman staggered into the observation deck as she started the rotor, a nurse hovering behind him as if to make sure he wasn't about to fall over. "Holy crap," the archaeologist said. "...sir," he added when he saw General Hammond.

"Dr. Rothman," the general said. "So the blood transfusion worked?"

"These...things came out of my ear," Rothman said, sounding indignant even as he blinked hard and swayed a little. "What's going on?"

XXXXX

7 October 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 2100 hrs

By the time Carter finished playing with her blood and used part of the liquid to cure Fraiser, Jack was on his feet and more than ready to go see Daniel. He waited just long enough for Dr. Fraiser to recover before leading the way to the medical isolation room.

They filed in to find Daniel still sedated and secured to his bed by one arm, though he woke up, at least a little, when they approached.

"All right, Daniel," Carter said, bending to be able to reach him and uncapping the syringe.

"No," Daniel said halfheartedly, but he only watched dully as she found a vein on his arm.

There was a brief scare when he jerked away and Carter almost dropped the syringe, but she managed to keep her grip on it, and, especially in Daniel's current condition, Teal'c easily held him still while she began to depress the plunger.

Suddenly, Daniel surged up, frenzied again, straining against them and the restraint on his wrist and managing to rip the syringe away from his arm before being held down again. "No, no, wait!" he cried as Carter cursed and chased after her protein and Fraiser grabbed a pad of gauze to press against the blood seeping from Daniel's arm. "Teal'c--something just...went into Teal'c, it went into him, Jack, look, it just went into--"

"Daniel Jackson, calm yourself," Teal'c said, still holding his struggling body. "Htapi, chal'ti!"

"Hold him still," Carter ordered as she twisted off the dirtied needle and reached for a clean one.

"No, you don't understand!" Daniel said, panting, tiring but becoming more frantic for all that. "Jack, it's in him! You have to help him, let me go, get it out, get it out--"

"Sam, just do it," Fraiser said, "don't even worry about a vein, just--"

Daniel gasped. "Machello?" he breathed, then slumped back onto the bed.

Carter stopped with the syringe poised to plunge into his arm.

"What?" Jack said.

"I think you're supposed to hear Machello's voice when the thing dies," Rothman said nervously. "I heard him when the thing came out of my ear."

"So did I," Fraiser confirmed, bending to verify that Daniel was only unconscious or asleep.

"I heard something, too," Carter said, holding the syringe like she wasn't sure anymore whether to use it. "But I didn't think I'd actually injected anything yet."

"Then what happened?" Jack demanded as everyone stood around uncertainly. "You're not telling me he's hallucinating Machello by coincidence?"

"Maybe I did inject a little, sir," Carter said doubtfully. "It might have been enough."

"Then where's the organism?" Fraiser said, checking Daniel's ears and every other orifice she could reach without starting to pull off clothes.

Teal'c grunted and started to sag to the ground.

"Teal'c?" Jack said, moving to catch him.

"Oh, god," Carter said, her eyes wide. "Daniel said something went into Teal'c--"

"Not in his right mind!" Jack pointed out, easing Teal'c down as Fraiser called for orderlies.

"We know those organisms can pass through skin while alive, and they seem to seek out a viable host. What if one of them jumped from Daniel to Teal'c? It won't just make him schizophrenic, sir; it'll kill him."

"Teal'c?" Jack said again, bending over his friend.

"My..." Teal'c said, then grimaced, closing his eyes. "My symbiote...is distressed."

"She's right, sir," Fraiser said, holding out her hand. "Major!" Carter pressed the syringe into her hand, and she quickly slid the needle into Teal'c's arm.

Teal'c raised a shaking hand to close over the doctor's before she could administer the protein. "It may still...be within him."

"I have to assume it's in you, now, Teal'c," she said, pulling his hand away easily and pushing the liquid through. "Daniel will be all right."

Jack looked back over his shoulder, where Daniel was still dead to the world. They might not be sure the bug had gone into Teal'c, but while Daniel was going nuts, Teal'c could be dying--one could afford to wait for another dose to be prepared, and the other might not have that time.

They needn't have worried, though. Teal'c shuddered once, then turned his head to one side as the bug dribbled out of his ear.

"Teal'c? Did you hear the voice?" Carter asked, touching him gently on the arm.

"Indeed." Teal'c opened his eyes again, took a deep breath, and said, "Thank you." He pushed himself to a sitting position, scowling at the first orderly who dared to try to help him up and standing carefully by himself.

"So...is that it?" Jack said, looking between his linguist and his Jaffa and noting the exhaustion on the others' faces. "Everyone's cured, all the bugs are dead, we're all good? That's it?"

Dr. Fraiser nodded tiredly. "Everyone should be cured. Teal'c?"

When there was no answer, Jack turned to see Teal'c staring at Daniel, wearing an expression that Jack could only call stricken. "Teal'c?" he prompted.

"I am well," Teal'c said, though Jack thought he looked like he could do with more than a little kelno'reem. "Daniel Jackson?"

"Yeah, is there any...permanent...anything?" Jack asked, not sure if or how you could possibly have your brain scrambled for a couple of weeks and come out with it unscrambled.

Their attention was drawn to the still-sleeping figure on the bed. "From our experiences, I'd think not," Fraiser said, unfastening Daniel's restraint. "At least...not physically. But I can't say for certain yet--let him sleep it off, and we can worry about long-term side effects later."

Chapter Text

8 October 1999; Medical Isolation Room, SGC; 0100 hrs

It was dark when Daniel woke up. He sat up and the room tilted precariously, so he gripped the edge of the mattress to keep from toppling off. His hand brushed against something that felt like a restraint. He was familiar enough with them by now, although this one, oddly, wasn't fastened to his arm anymore.

"Daniel?" a voice said. "Are you...what are you...?"

He spun around in surprise. He found himself oddly uncoordinated, though, and lost his balance instead and fell off to the floor.

"Ow," he said, lying back flat. The ceiling was spinning. At least, he thought it was, but it was dark, and he'd need his glasses to be sure.

"Aw, for cryin' out loud..." There was a scraping sound, and then Jack's tousled head was hovering over his own. "Daniel?"

This wasn't his room. Nor was it his room at Jack's house, or his room in the wherever they'd taken him with the soft, white walls, or even the other room, also white but with a bed and a window and harder walls and floor that hurt more when the medicine made him dizzy.

"Jack?" he said, tentatively.

"Daniel! You're awake," Jack told him.

He had half a mind to tell Jack how utterly useless that statement was, but the other half was too confused to be interested. He stopped thinking that very fast, though, because even if it was just an expression, it wasn't funny anymore, the idea that his mind wasn't all his all at once--

His mind was relatively clear, which was...odd. He could think, and if he felt a little shakier than usual, a little woozier, and unfathomably drained of energy, he could think. Was there a way to test? A verb conjugation--he could try Latin, maybe a verb that was less common but still relatively simple. He'd kept losing track before, but now...

Loquor, loqueris, loquitur...

"Daniel?" Jack said, his face coming closer.

"Shh, hold on," Daniel told him, holding up a finger, and he finished the present tense with loquimur, loquimini, loquuntur. "Huh. Well, that's just one verb, but it's deponent, too, so at least it's not just... What?" he said when Jack recoiled.

"Ah, Daniel," Jack said, sounding frighteningly close to panic. "Just...it's okay. I'll be right back. The doctor'll be here in...just wait there." He stood quickly and darted toward the other side of the room. Daniel heard the sound of the phone as it was picked up.

Bemused, since he was the one who was supposed to babble while Jack was supposed to laugh at him for babbling, Daniel called, "Wait here? On the floor?"

"That's right, Daniel," Jack said distractedly, not looking away from whatever he was dialing.

"Oh," he said, confused, but he stayed where he was. He wasn't too sure of his ability to stand up on his own, anyway, the way his head felt stuffed and muffled. It was apparently fit for conjugating verbs, though, so he'd take a stuffed and muffled head until someone deigned to tell him why it felt that way.

Another shadow fell over his face. He couldn't quite bring it into focus, but he was fairly certain it was--"Teal'c. Tek'ma'tae. What's going on?"

"Tek'ma'tek, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered, bending over him. "For what reason are you on the floor?"

Daniel shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Jack said to stay here." Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know. Except..." Daniel let his eyes fall shut. "Actually, I'm a little dizzy, too. And, uh, I think I feel...kind of sick. Maybe it's because I was rolling around just now, but I don't want to move and find out, so I'm...you know...staying here."

"I see," Teal'c said in a tone that was almost as confused as Daniel felt.

"Where am I?"

"You are at Stargate Command."

Daniel opened one eye. "Yes, I noticed. But where..." He trailed off, opening his other eye to help the first one squint. He didn't need his glasses to see that that was definitely an observation window. "Is this where I think it is? Why am I in an isolation room?"

"You do not remember?" Teal'c asked.

Voices whispered in the back of Daniel's mind, and he stopped himself from flinching by telling himself that it was just the memory of voices. No one was trying to talk to him except Teal'c. "I'm, uh...trying not to," he said. "What happened?"

"Colonel?" Janet said, running in the door.

"Doc," Jack said, running toward her.

"Would someone stop running around and tell me what's going on!" Daniel snapped, sitting up fast. Then he found out for certain that the ceiling was spinning quite fast--and the rest of the room, too--and his stomach informed him that he was, in fact, rather nauseous. He leaned forward and took a steadying breath.

Suddenly, there were heads bending over him from every direction: there were Teal'c and Janet and Sam, and at least two more shadows hovering at the door.

"Daniel?" Sam said tentatively.

"Stop--I know my name!" he cried, swallowing hard. "I just want to...know--ngh...yi shay--"

"Leave us," Teal'c said, then hauled him to his feet. He closed his eyes and stumbled along on Teal'c's arm, but by the time he was lowered onto something that his knees thought was tile, the nausea had ebbed. He leaned his head on an arm and concentrated on not emptying his stomach.

By the time the urge to turn his stomach inside out passed, he was shivering for no reason he could think of. Teal'c silently bundled him in a blanket and pulled Daniel back to sit against the wall, then sat in front of him, still not speaking. Everyone else was nowhere to be seen, and the door was closed. "Teal'c," he started.

"Our friends are waiting outside," Teal'c said, and started to help him up.

"No, wait," Daniel said, partly because he was still a little lightheaded and mostly because he didn't want to have everyone stare at him and say Daniel. Daniel? Daniel, Daniel! and not tell him anything. Teal'c stopped. "I just woke up in medical isolation," he said slowly. "Is something still wrong with me?"

Teal'c's expression was blank as he said, "We do not believe so."

"Am I, uh..." He steeled himself. "I don't feel crazy." Unless Teal'c and everyone else was imaginary, too, which was possible, but he really, really hoped that wasn't the case. "But I remember...being crazy, and the way everyone's acting... Am I?"

"It would be best for Dr. Fraiser to explain," Teal'c said.

"Or maybe," Daniel said tensely, "it would be best to tell me if I'm still losing my mind, Teal'c!"

Someone knocked on the door. Daniel stiffened. Teal'c pulled the blanket higher around him and called, "We require more time, O'Neill."

There was an exchange of quick whispers, and then Janet's voice said from the other side, "Take all the time you need, gentlemen." Daniel relaxed a little, then had to stifle a snicker at the thought of several officers eavesdropping at a bathroom door.

"You were not losing your mind, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

A laugh did bubble out this time, sounding almost hysterical enough for Daniel to think maybe he still was insane, after all. "They made me take...tests, and I couldn't...I couldn't think--it was pathetic. I heard...things. I don't remember coming here, and the last thing I remember was seeing something crawl into your skin. And you're telling me I wasn't losing my mind?"

"I believe you were asleep when you were transported to the SGC," Teal'c said. "You were nearly asleep when you were cured."

"Cured of what?"

"Do you remember Machello?"

Daniel frowned. "Yes, of course, I...I just had a dream about him. Or was it? It wasn't? I mean, he said my Goa'uld captor was dead, which makes no sense--"

"You were infected by one of his inventions that was intended to kill a Goa'uld within a host. Because you do not possess a Goa'uld, you suffered unexpected effects to your mind."

"Oh," Daniel said, considering. "That sounds like a stupid side effect. How do I know I didn't just make up that explanation, and now I'm imagining you telling me this?"

Teal'c tilted his head. "Did you imagine my presence before when I was not truly there?"

("Teal'c--something just...went into Teal'c...")

Daniel shuddered and admitted, "I don't know. It was hard to tell the difference. Not at first, but later, it all seemed real, and now it doesn't, so... Are you okay? Were you really there before?"

"I am well," Teal'c said gently. "We were there when we were permitted to be."

He leaned forward, tentatively poked Teal'c's knee, and decided that no one could be fake and still be that solid. "That's what I thought," he said as Teal'c sat very still and watched him very carefully. "But I feel...kind of...off. If I'm cured, why...?"

"I am uncertain. Therefore," Teal'c said firmly, "it would be best to speak with Dr. Fraiser."

"Okay," Daniel agreed. He kept a grip on Teal'c's arm when he rose, however, because the room was still tilting and his limbs not quite steady while his stomach warned that it was plotting a real rebellion this time. "How, uh...how long has it been? Since I was...infected."

Teal'c kept a hand on Daniel's back to guide him toward the door. "You were admitted to the doctors' care over a week ago," Teal'c said. "You were infected a week before that."

Daniel stopped as the door swung open. "Two weeks?" he said.

"And a half," Sam said as all of them--Jack, Sam, Janet, Dr. Mackenzie--came into view. He took a step back before he realized what he was doing, which made them all take a step back when they realized they were crowding. He stared at them, and they stared back.

"You don't remember?" Jack asked, almost quivering with tension. "You should."

"It's a little blurry," Daniel said, "and I'm trying not to think too hard about it." He was suddenly very aware of his current state, in white scrubs and bare feet with a blanket wrapped around himself, while the others wore boots and wrinkled BDUs or lab coats. He tried self-consciously to shrug the blanket off, even though he was still shaking a little, but Sam reached and pulled it back over his shoulder. He wasn't sure whether that made him feel touched or crowded.

"I have explained Machello's device," Teal'c said to fill in the awkward silence. "We wish to know why Daniel Jackson continues to feel poorly, despite being cured of his illness."

"Why don't you lie down," Janet suggested.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong with me," Daniel returned. He took a few steps away from the bathroom door but swayed once he left Teal'c's support. "Dizzy," he muttered in embarrassment when Jack steadied him.

"Just sit down," Jack said, guiding him toward a chair. Not the bed, which was fine with him, and he sank gratefully into the seat.

"You may be feeling some lingering effects from the medications," Dr. Mackenzie said. "That will be cleared completely over the next couple of days, but you should be careful until then."

"You should feel better with rest and a gradual return to your normal activities," Janet added.

A sinking feeling lodged itself around the vicinity of Daniel's stomach, and the only thing he could think of to say was, "I missed my marksmanship test. I was so close."

"Ah..." Jack said, sucking in a breath and stealing a sideways look at him.

"Don't look at me like that," Daniel snapped. "Like I'm insane."

The silence that followed was worse than he could have imagined. Jack rocked back on his heels once, twice, then said, a little feebly, "I always look at you like you're insane."

And then there was another sudden stillness, as if everyone were holding his or her breath. Daniel couldn't think of a response, because they'd joked about just that a few days before his first evaluation, but this time it rang true in a way he didn't want to think too hard about. He rubbed his eyes, wondering where his glasses were. "What time is it."

"Not yet one-thirty," Sam said. "In the morning," she added, because one couldn't tell from here.

He was so tired he could slither off the chair and onto the floor without a second thought, but he was strangely, intensely awake, too. It was like when he drank a lot of coffee while already exhausted. "I don't really feel like sleeping."

"Still," Janet said, "you should try. The medicines you were given had sedative effects, but they tend to reduce REM sleep, as well. If you'd prefer, you can go back to your own room--"

"Or come home," Jack offered.

"--but if you're still not feeling well, I'd be more comfortable with you in the infirmar--"

"I'll go to my quarters," Daniel interrupted, disturbed by the idea of voluntarily spending any more time in an infirmary. And at least the base was big enough that he could find places to hide if he really wanted. Not that he wanted to hide. He looked away until he couldn't see anyone. "What now? Can I go back to work?"

"I'd rather you took at least a few days to recover," she started, "and--"

"I'm cured," he said stiffly.

"You're queasy," she pointed out. "Dizzy. And it's been...a difficult couple of weeks."

And that was fair, but he said, "I promise I won't throw up on a translation." He turned his head a fraction and pinned his glare on Dr. Mackenzie, mostly because he was standing closest. "Or has my clearance been lowered because you decided I was insane when I wasn't?"

A flinch rippled through the room, and it didn't stop at the doctors.

"Naturu," Daniel breathed, dropping his head into his hands.

Janet found her footing first, her voice steady but reserved. "Your body needs to recover. Medications and everything else aside, you're exhausted, you haven't eaten or slept well in weeks... I want you to take time off for reasons of physical health for the time being."

He nodded, not raising his head and feeling abruptly like he was about to cry, which was the very last thing he wanted right now in front of his team (not his team anymore, surely) and two doctors when he'd already spent the last few days--weeks--stripped of his mind and his pride and everything that was himself. "Right," Daniel said. "Just. What day is it?"

No one answered. He stifled a surge of resentment but raised his eyes to see Jack fumbling with his watch. "Friday, the...eighth," Jack finally said. "Sorry. Kinda lost track. It's been cr-- Lots of stuff's been going on."

The squeezing sensation in his throat was returning.

He stood and let SG-1 steady him as he made his way to his room. There were limits to how much privacy he wanted to give up, though, so only Jack--who had no concept of privacy with them--came in as the others bid them goodnight at the door. Daniel walked carefully to his bed and climbed in. "D'you want someone to stay with you?" Jack asked.

Daniel almost said 'no' automatically, because he wasn't an invalid or a baby, but he found himself admitting, "I don't know." Jack didn't seem to know what to do with that any more than he did, so he added, "You need to sleep, too."

Jack stuck his hands into his pockets and looked at the bedpost as he said, "Mind if I stay in here? I'll take the floor. Won't make a peep."

"You can have the bed," Daniel offered, starting to sit back up before he'd even realized he'd agreed. "I'm more used to floors than you--"

"Ah, aht!" Jack said, looking relieved as he pulled out extra blankets from the closet. "I'm not that old yet."

...x...

He fell asleep but woke up soon after with a hand on his shoulder and his blankets twisted around him.

"--wake up, Daniel, come on, it's just a--"

"J-jack," he choked out. His hand found an arm and grabbed it. "Jack?"

Silence met his words. His fingers tightened and he wondered if he was imagining that, too.

"Naturu," he managed past the dark pressing on him. "Not again, Jack, please, say someth--"

"Right here! Open your eyes, I'm right here. Actually, let go of me a sec, I'll turn on a light--"

"No. No, it's okay," Daniel said, digging his other hand out of his blankets and touching the form in front of him, opening his eyes to the near-pitch blackness of underground rooms, only a blur telling him that Jack might be in front of him, or that it might be one of the hallucinations he'd sometimes caught out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't remember being able to touch the hallucinations before. Not that he'd tried before, or even wondered about it, but he supposed that wondering at all meant he was at least thinking straight. Then again, if he were insane, he'd think he was thinking straight, wouldn't he?

Another pause, but he could feel Jack's chest moving under his hand, fluttering slowly with each breath and faster--the fast of sudden wakefulness--with each heartbeat. "You sure?"

"Where... Am I in my quarters?" Not there, not again, not there...

"Yeah. At the SGC. Want some light?"

Reluctantly, Daniel released Jack's arm. "O-okay. Please."

Jack rustled his way to his feet and flicked on a lamp, which meant he was actually there and not just a figment of Daniel's mind, but it also meant he was looking at Daniel worriedly. "Is that better? Was that... Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just...don't want to wake up and be there again."

"You won't," Jack said, his face blanked again quickly.

"It's easier if I can see where I am," Daniel mumbled, embarrassed. "What's the time?"

"You've been asleep less than an hour."

"Oh," Daniel said, wondering where his watch had been taken and how it was possible to be so tired but not sleepy at all. "Maybe you should sleep somewhere else," he told Jack as the older man returned to his makeshift bedroll. "I might wake up again, and--"

"Wake me whenever," Jack said.

"Did Janet tell you to stay?"

Jack didn't deny it, but what he said was, "I'm not gonna get any sleep anywhere else."

So they both pretended they weren't lying awake. Daniel thought he dozed off again at some point, but when he woke, judging by Jack's open eyes, it hadn't been very long.

"You need something to help you sleep?" Jack asked. "Dr. Fraiser--"

"No," he said quickly, emphatically, unable to imagine anything more horrifying at the moment.

Jack was quiet for a long time, then said, "You...wanna talk?"

"No," Daniel said, but he didn't want to lie there in the silent, dim room and do nothing, either, so he said, "What, uh...what happened? Teal'c said something about Machello."

After another few moments, Jack turned his head to look at him. "Okay. Once upon a time, there lived a Goa'uld-slayer named Machello."

A half-hearted laugh struggled its way out of Daniel's lungs but gave up before it reached his lips. "Jack. Be serious."

For once, Jack obliged and was serious--mostly--as he explained The Stargate Theory of Schizophrenia, then moved on to Robert, and Janet and Sam, and Jolinar's proteins and something to do with bloody centrifuges that Daniel didn't quite understand and suspected Jack was deliberately mangling, although with Jack, it was hard to tell. Then there was a bit about something crawling into Teal'c, which, as it turned out, hadn't been a hallucination after all.

"And then his ear vomited a maggot," Jack finished.

Daniel wrinkled his nose at the image. "Ugh."

"That's what I said," Jack said, then turned back over and closed his eyes. Daniel watched Jack pretend not to be watching Daniel out of a slightly open eye, then followed suit.

He slept lightly, though, waking at the smallest sound and looking around frantically to make sure there was a reason he was hearing it. Once, he couldn't figure out what the sound was, but it turned out that the footsteps were real, after all, coming from outside, where some SFs must be moving around. Another time, it was coming from just behind him, gods, behind him--

"Hiccup in the air. The vent. Thing," Jack said without moving. Daniel slowed his breathing and waited for his limbs to steady before he peeled himself off the floor and crawled back into bed.

After Jack thought he was asleep and rose to go to work--the paperwork for this was going to be a nightmare--Daniel alternated sleeping and not sleeping until he was tired of being tired and got up to sneak into work, too.

XXXXX

8 October 1999; Commissary, SGC; 1300 hrs

The next time he fell asleep, it was with his head buried in his arms at a table, and a tentative hand on his back woke him up. He groaned and squinted blearily at the face hovering over him, and then looked around. He jerked upright when he realized he was in the commissary. "Sam!"

Sam dropped into the chair. "Hi," she said with obvious relief. "I've been looking all over for you--you weren't in your room or the infirmary, so I checked the archaeology office, but I only found the colonel asleep in there."

"I just wanted some quiet," he muttered. The commissary was less quiet than the office, but here, the noise was nonspecific. Some people were talking about him, perhaps, but that was the way here--those who wanted to gossip had little glances and tilts of the head that meant something to their teammates but not to Daniel, and in his semi-sleeping state, he was pretty sure he wouldn't really notice even if they stood two paces away him and said 'hey, look, he was crazy yesterday.'

Even wandering around the social science offices had felt odd--Robert was banned from work until Monday, and Daniel suspected the same hadn't happened to him only because he mostly lived at work. Jack had been very unsubtle in following him around, and Daniel had left him asleep at Robert's desk while Teal'c finished recovering from Machello's bug through kelno'reem. Of course Sam would find him, though.

She noticed the papers in front of him--printouts of text from some planet or other--and said quietly, "You're supposed to rest. At least until your system's clear of the medications--"

"Ancient is my language, Sam," Daniel said defensively. He just would have been assigned this stack of images to translate, anyway, if Robert had been in the office; he refused to feel guilty for needing to do something to preserve his sanity. "And...I can't sleep."

"Well, you should lie down. Even if you can't sleep, at least you'll be resting, and you'll catch a few hours here and there," Sam said, which he knew was meant in the best way, but it made him so inexplicably furious that he had to squeeze his pen until the urge to scream went away.

"I remember," he said evenly, "that I spent a lot of time recently lying around somewhere without being able to do anything except sleep and...and act crazy."

He could feel Sam's stare on his head now as he turned back to his translation. He wished he'd kept his mouth shut.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Sam said tentatively. "I know you were...pretty depressed and--"

The sound of his pen slamming to the table made her flinch, and Daniel tried to rein in his temper. "I know. I was there."

He picked his pen back up and finished an entire four words of his translation before he glanced up and saw Sam looking at her hands in her lap. He stopped writing when she pinched the bridge of her nose and suddenly looked even more tired than he was. "Sam, I didn't..."

"I'm sorry," she said. "We're sorry, Daniel. We didn't know. We're so...sorry."

A guilty sensation was niggling insistently at his brain, and, in the face of Sam's miserable expression, he couldn't even quash it with anger.

"We thought it was our fault," she said, "and we assumed we'd thought of everything, but I never figured out the page-turning device. We should have figured it out; we shouldn't have needed someone else to get sick before we got it. And it was...convincing. All the evidence--"

"I know," Daniel said quickly, because he'd been convinced, too, when he'd occasionally pulled himself together enough, and he didn't need to be reminded. Whatever else Machello's bugs had been, they'd been convincing. "What's going to happen to them?" When she tilted her head in question, he realized there was no antecedent to that pronoun and clarified, "Machello's pronoun. I mean, device, yi shay... What's going to happen to Machello's device?"

"Right now, they're being locked away," she said, not commenting on his foggy-headedness.

"What--we're not going to use them?"

"They're too dangerous for use," she said, like it was somehow obvious. "They'll be kept in storage; I'm not sure yet how safe it is to try to destroy them."

Disbelieving, Daniel rubbed his eyes and wondered if his brain was working even more slowly than he'd thought. "But Sam, they're a sure way to kill Goa'uld while leaving a host intact."

"No, Daniel!" she snapped, then gathered his papers unceremoniously into a pile, put them aside, and stood. "I'm getting something to eat. For both of us. Stay there."

Daniel leaned back in his chair, confused and more than a little annoyed. Sam was the last person who should want to lock away something that could be so useful in this war. The next time they found a Goa'uld, they might not have to kill the host. When was the last time they'd found something as foolproof as Machello's device? When was the last time anyone had come back from a mission with something useful, and not just someone dead or hurt or going insane?

"Okay," Daniel said when Sam came back into view with a tray, "I know it might be hard, because we'd need the Goa'uld to use the right PTD, but if we knew how they worked..."

"They got through everything, Daniel," she said more calmly, setting a bowl of instant soup in front of him and holding out a spoon until he took it. "Glass, skin, nondegradable plastics, metal. The only thing that successfully contained them were the PTDs, but we can't find anything special about the material. I'm not surprised--Machello worked with science far beyond me."

"But--"

"What if we figured it out?" she said. "Release them into a room full of people and hope only the Goa'uld get infected, kill the Jaffa while we're at it, and let the humans be...collateral damage?"

Daniel felt himself shudder involuntarily and tried to put down the spoon before she saw it shake. "But...uh, what about the Goa'uld protein?" he said. "With more time, maybe we could isolate enough of it to keep as an antidote to--"

"You really don't remember what it was like?" Sam interrupted, looking at him intently.

("Daniel, we're already inside--")

"It's a little blurry," Daniel repeated, not meeting her eyes. More importantly, it was over, and if they weren't going to learn from it or gain anything from it, what was the point?

"Well, there are some risks none of us is willing to take," Sam said. "Even if we were, we don't have a safe way to study them or use them as a weapon. The investigation might be reopened at a later time, but for now, we have no choice but to lock them away."

He opened his mouth to argue.

"Daniel," she said, then pushed the spoon back into his hand. "Have some lunch. Please."

XXXXX

10 October 1999; O'Neill/Jackson Residence, Earth; 1400 hrs

("Well, it's just that--"

"Please, you have to finish the--it's an attack plan, Robert--"

"I don't think...what are you--Daniel! Uh, s-security--"

"--you hear them...no, please, no, I don't need that no don't go away please listen listen they're coming stop don't--")

The others all noticed he was awake before he knew it himself. Sam had stopped typing in her chair, looking to Jack for direction. Jack and Teal'c were poised in the middle of a card game at the coffee table, on top of the chess board. "You okay?" Jack said casually.

Daniel swallowed hard and managed a "yes." He calmed himself and forced his fingers to release the edge of a blanket someone must have draped over him when he'd drifted off while reading on the couch. He remembered that conversation with Robert--he just hadn't been sure it had been real. He wondered if he'd ever be sure again.

Gods. He had really and truly lost his mind.

Someone had set his book aside with a bookmark carefully in place--Teal'c, probably, because Jack would have closed it or left it open and facedown, while Sam tended to fold in the corners. "Don't you have anything better to do than watch me sleep?" he asked.

"Nope," Jack said immediately. "Last day off. We get to do whatever we want. Good nap?"

SG-1 was being deployed. Without him, of course, because slowly amassing a few hours of sleep didn't mean he was ready for intense days in unexplored territory. Daniel wasn't going to be a liability to this team, and the SGC couldn't have their best team waste time coddling him, especially when they'd already lost almost three weeks to Machello's invention. All teams were on extra duty now as a result, and he couldn't--wouldn't--stop SG-1 from doing their job.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," Daniel said, pushing off the blanket. He couldn't decide if he was embarrassed and irritated about sleeping while they were here watching over him or grateful they were there, pretending to be having just a casual team day. All of the above, he thought.

"It happens. I have a very calming effect on people," Jack said, shuffling his deck of cards and dealing them between himself and Teal'c.

Daniel watched them for a while, then said, "Would you have sent me to Abydos eventually?"

They all looked up. "We were...thinking about it," Jack said.

"I'm glad you didn't," Daniel said.

Their expressions were too full of too many things for him to read, but Jack had frozen with half of the card deck in each hand. "What?" Sam said. "Really?"

"I'm glad that the other Abydons didn't see me...like that." Sam and Jack exchanged a look, reminding him that the ones on Earth who mattered had seen him like that, humiliated and stripped naked more thoroughly than if he'd been unclothed. "Just...uh...that's all."

Jack cleared his throat. "Well. We'll work on getting you back on track with everything when we get back from our mission, all right?"

What if you don't come back? he thought.

It was a useless thought, but it was one that crept in every time SG-1 shipped out. He'd thought that, if he could work his way onto the team without handicapping them, he'd never have to think that again, but with that chance now delayed at best, just when he'd almost made it, the fear that they'd never return was back, stronger than ever before.

"What now?" Daniel asked for the second time, but he couldn't summon up a belligerent tone this time. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You check in with the doctor every day, when you wake up and before you go to bed," Jack said. "You don't work too hard until you're better--"

"I'm better," he said, but it came out sounding like a plea. "I'm not going to get any better sitting around and reading... you won't even let me read anything important or from work."

"Have you ever been hurt before?" Jack asked, putting down his cards. "I mean, really sick or injured, out of commission for a few weeks. I know you have; I've seen the scar on your leg."

Daniel broken his leg once, tumbling into a buried pile of rocks outside the village walls, and between the pain and the fever, he had been bedridden for a long time. There was the time that he'd had the coughing sickness as a child, with what felt like sand--and which might have been sand--scraping in his lungs for days and days, so he knew what Jack was about to say about recovery. "I'm tired of being told to rest," Daniel said. "And Machello's bugs are dead, so there's nothing wrong with me anymore, not like there would be if I'd actually been injured."

"We'd stay with you until you're cleared for duty again," Sam said, not appearing to notice that her monitor had gone to screensaver. "But--"

"You have jobs," Daniel said. "I understand. You've taken enough time for me already. I just wish I could...you know. Also. Go back to work."

"You cannot complete your own obligations before you are ready," Teal'c said.

"And before a doctor pronounces me sound of mind again," Daniel added bitterly.

Jack clenched his jaw and reshuffled the deck of cards a little harder than necessary, but he didn't try to disagree. "They'll probably let you start doing deskwork again tomorrow if you want, but it's not going to help your case if you work until you collapse in the office."

Daniel snorted and slid off the sofa to sit on the floor. "It wouldn't be the first time I collapsed in there, right?" Jack's hand slipped and several cards fluttered away. Daniel sighed, partly in remorse and mostly because he was tired of this already, remembering what to say and what not to say, what he would have said normally and what he was only saying now because he was frustrated. "Never mind. Um...where are you going tomorrow? What kind of planet?"

"We don't know," Sam said. "Their society looks advanced. Human, but advanced."

"Yeah, maybe they've got some Goa'uld ass-kicking machine," Jack said with another dose of too-bright optimism.

"We've got Machello's Goa'uld-killing devices locked away at Area 51," he pointed out, already anticipating an argument, so he was surprised when no one said anything at all, Sam staring at her screensaver, Jack at his cards, and Teal'c at Daniel.

Finally, Jack said, "Maybe no one's willing to see anyone else go through what you did."

"Maybe I'd rather not be the reason we're ignoring a potential weapon," he retorted. "If people are unhappy with what happened, that's all the more reason to turn it into something good, for once, and we can finally start to get somewhere in this stupid war!"

He regretted the words once they were out and hanging loudly in the sudden silence.

"I don't...I didn't mean that," he said feebly.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "We have spoken of this before. This planet is not without weakness, but it is also not without great strength. We have achieved many things in this war--"

"I know," he said quickly, but he couldn't stop thinking privately that they hadn't achieved much of anything at all. They hadn't moved forward; they'd just barely been keeping the Goa'uld from pushing them back, as the summit with the Asgard proved. They'd barely stopped Hathor, and Heru-ur still had Sha'uri, and Apophis seemed to be about to be replaced by Sokar, and no one had any idea where Skaara was... "Sometimes, it just seems like...we're not getting anywhere."

Sam shut her laptop and put it aside. "You know there's more to this than just the fighting. And you know it'll take time to gain what we need to make real headway in the war on the Goa'uld. Technology, allies, knowledge--"

"But what if the war's never over?" Daniel heard himself say.

"You don't believe that," Jack said. "Listen to me. You need to get some perspective back--"

Gritting his teeth, Daniel said, "So now you think I've lost perspective."

"I think you're having trouble with it," Jack replied.

"Because you still think I'm insane."

Jack stood, dropped the deck of cards onto the table, and crouched in front of Daniel so they were face-to-face, like he was talking to a little kid, but his words were serious, and Daniel didn't try to move or push him away. "No, Daniel--because you've been hurt. The doctors, us, this planet...everyone you trusted failed, and you got hurt. I know what that's like."

"You didn't..." he started. "I know it's not--"

"But it feels that way, doesn't it? You trusted us. We failed. You can be mad at us--yell at us if you want. I'm mad, too, and I've been yelling at a lot of people lately."

Daniel stared at the floor and felt Teal'c's eyes on his head, could almost hear Sam's sorry, we're so sorry again. "I don't want to yell at anyone," he mumbled.

He'd read through every detail he could find and couldn't decide who was at fault. Mackenzie, for believing him crazy, but Daniel had started to believe it, too. Even Machello could only be blamed for planting one organism too many, overkill for the nine Linvris, but he'd locked the room; SG-1 had been the ones who'd broken in, not knowing what they would release. They hadn't done anything wrong, with the information available at the time, but one person had been infected with an alien organism and almost caused the entire program to be shut down, not to mention the people who had been infected trying to cure him. So what did that say about them?

"Things happen that you don't expect when you're out there doing what we do," Jack persisted, not making him lift his gaze but not going away, either. "No matter how much you've seen, it doesn't mean you can't get thrown off by something. And, Daniel, this was a doozy."

"I wasn't injured in battle," Daniel reminded him, trying not to think of how many people had been injured or killed for the cause, while he'd managed to delay the entire program with a tablet. "I was infected with a bug while trying to conduct research." He laughed, a little hysterically. "I went mad reading."

Jack didn't laugh. "It doesn't matter if you were holding a weapon--you were hurt in the line of duty, doing your job. If you need time away from that to get your head together, that's okay."

"I haven't had my head together for weeks," Daniel mumbled. "I just want it back."

Because that was the worst part--he'd been kidnapped before, hunted, shot at, killed with a Goa'uld device on his brother's hand, and he'd never really lost hope or been so out of his mind (out of his mind) with fear until he'd realized he was losing control of his own thoughts. What was he without his mind?

"Start by taking medical leave seriously," Jack said. Daniel dropped his head and dug his fingers into his temple. "Daniel. We screwed up, okay? But you have to get better before you think about anything else. SG-1 will still be here when you're ready...but only when you're ready."

"We asked General Hammond for more time," Sam spoke up, nervous and earnest and apologetic all at once, the way only she could sound. "Since you are our teammate, at least a probationary one, and it was our mission that caused all of this. It's just..."

"He told me," Daniel said, finally looking up. "The general said you wanted to keep me company. I told him not to delay any more for me, and I understand things shouldn't stop because I'm on...medical leave." Well. Psychiatric leave. Or did they simply call that 'insane?'

Jack grimaced. "This is just a meet-and-greet. We'll be back before you know it."

XXXXX

11 October 1999; General Hammond's Office, SGC; 1700 hrs

"General Hammond?" Daniel said, knocking on the open door. "Do you have a minute, sir?"

The general looked up and shut his laptop. "Of course. Come in."

Daniel took a few steps in, uncomfortable and unused to standing in here on his own, rather than next to someone else, nodding and interjecting occasionally as Jack or Robert or a temporary CO explained something. "I suppose...I have a few questions."

"Go ahead," the general said, opening his hands in welcome.

"I need to know where I stand now, sir," he said without prelude, before he started to dance around the point and never got the answer. "Do I assist SG-1 from base--am I still attached to them at all? Am I allowed to continue other work, and if not, how long until I'm proven to be...sane?"

General Hammond looked at his hands where they were folded on his desk, then said, "I apologize--"

"I'm not looking for more apologies," Daniel snapped, then clamped his mouth shut, his eyes widening. "S-sorry, sir." One didn't snap at generals.

The general gave him a look. "I apologize," he began again, more firmly, "for not making this clear. You're not at fault for this last incident, nor do we still believe you're schizophrenic."

"That's...good. Um, thank you, sir," Daniel said, "but I still don't know what that means."

"It means," the general said, "that if the doctors have cleared you, I won't stop you from doing what you were doing before."

Daniel redirected his scowl to the carpet before it had a chance to land on the general. "Then with all due respect, sir, why am I required to be evaluated again by mental health?"

"Because," the general said, "you've gone through something very traumatic that could affect not only your work but also your general wellbeing. This is just to determine whether you're ready to resume rigorous duties."

"I've been in difficult situations before. I don't think I've failed you yet because of them."

General Hammond nodded, then said, "Close the door, Mr. Jackson." Daniel looked nervously between the general and the door, then to the corridor outside. The general sighed. "I just want to talk without worrying about others' overhearing."

"Overhearing what?" Daniel asked suspiciously, not moving toward the door.

"Mr. Jackson, have I ever given you reason not to trust me in any way?"

The 'no, sir, never' didn't come. He didn't blame the general for letting him be sent to Mental Health. He didn't. He hesitated too long, though, and the general said, "And that's my point. Close the door, son."

Ashamed, but confused as well by his own thoughts, Daniel closed the door.

"SG-1 has benefited from an unconventional makeup," the general started, "and I wouldn't have suggested that you join them if I didn't think you could be an advantage, maybe even for that very reason. But I need all members to be ready around each other."

Confused, he protested, "I've carried my weight, sir--"

"Listen carefully," the general said, not harshly but with a definite note of command this time. "The first time you went into the field, not as a captive or hostage or even as a temporary consultant, but as a member of SG-1, you were infected by an alien organism. For all we know, it might have driven you truly mad or even killed you, given enough time."

"Sir, that could have happened to any--"

"Moreover, no one knew what was wrong or how to help you. It's SG-1's job to protect you."

"I'm trained to protect myself."

"And that makes their job easier. It doesn't change the fact that it's their responsibility."

"Sir!" Daniel repeated, clenching his fists. "This was not their fault. I've gone over everything, and I don't disagree with the decisions they made."

"And yet," the general said, "Teal'c says he should have approached you sooner, so the organism would have transferred to him. Major Carter thinks she should have figured out that page-turning device from the start. Colonel O'Neill blames himself for putting you in danger at all, and he's not the only one who feels that way."

Daniel looked at the edge of the desk. "They...they said that?"

"Teal'c did," the general said. "Major Carter implied it." He didn't mention Jack, but even Daniel could tell Jack felt that way just by looking at him. "Mr. Jackson, until I know that there are no unresolved consequences from this incident, I'm not sending you to an unknown planet with them where one of you might hesitate a split second too long and end up in some condition that we can't cure."

"We won't," Daniel said.

"What if you were translating something off-world and started hearing voices?"

("You're seeing something now, aren't you? Is someone else talking to you now?")

Daniel didn't quite squash a flinch. "What? Why would... I am not insane, you said you don't think--"

"Your first response to that should be to alert your team that something might be affecting everyone, possibly a hallucinogenic substance," the general said. "Now. Would you hesitate to tell Colonel O'Neill this time if you were hearing voices that weren't there? Or if...let's say you had a bad feeling about something off-world, for any reason. Would you hesitate to mention it and push forward to prove that you could?"

No. Illogical. Don't hesitate. Say 'no.'

But he'd already hesitated too long again. "I can't have that," General Hammond said more gently. "You need to be confident of yourself, your abilities, and your team's view of you, no matter what the situation. And SG-1 can't be constantly second-guessing the wisdom of endangering you."

"SG-1 is your best team. They're better than that. They wouldn't jeopardize a mission."

"Normally, you're all better than that. We owe a lot to what SG-1 and you have accomplished together, and I want you to know I have no doubts about your abilities. But the fact is that, while your unique relationship with them can make you an incredible asset, it can also be a debilitating handicap."

"That's not fair, General," Daniel said stiffly.

"No, it's not," the general said steadily. "I don't expect emotionless relationships in a team, but I do need to know objectivity can come first. At this moment, I'm not sure I can expect that. It's not your fault or theirs, but there's a reason I sent them this morning to a planet that didn't look like a war zone where they'd need to be at their best."

"So what do I need to do to prove myself this time?" Daniel asked.

"It's only been three days," General Hammond said. "Dr. Fraiser would like to wait a little while longer before lifting all restrictions. Have you scheduled an evaluation with one of the mental health professionals?" Daniel shook his head. "You'll need to do that and then take your marksmanship qualifications if you still want to join SG-1 permanently."

"If?" Daniel repeated. "That's still a question?"

"You can put off joining a team until later if you'd like," the general explained. "And you're welcome to take time off if you need it, too."

He squashed a jolt of annoyance. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

The general smiled. "You're my only civilian employee who ever says things like that to me." Daniel wasn't sure what that meant, so he waited until the general's smile faded. "Go ahead."

"What if it had been Major Carter who picked up the device? Or Colonel O'Neill? Would you have thought they were insane, or would you have assumed it must be some alien influence?"

The pause went on for several seconds this time, and while a part of Daniel was glad not to receive an empty reassurance, another part couldn't help being bitter about the fact that any easy reassurance would be empty. Finally, the general said, "I think we would have done the same, if presented with the same evidence. A sudden diagnosis of schizophrenia in someone who has already been under as much scrutiny over the years as Colonel O'Neill or Major Carter might have been more suspect, it's true--"

"But I was an unknown variable," Daniel said, looking at the desk in front of him, "because I'm a young, alien civilian, and it was more likely that I simply couldn't handle the pressure and broke. And that's why you think I might be breaking now, still."

"I won't try to make excuses for what we did wrong," the general said quietly. "But I promise that same mistake will not be made again. I'm sure you've heard this already from others, but I am deeply sorry for having made it the first time."

Daniel took a deep breath. "And I understand there were...other factors, and the security of--"

"Mr. Jackson," General Hammond interrupted, pulling Daniel's gaze back to his tired face. "I won't make excuses; don't make them for me. It doesn't mean this incident didn't have very real consequences, especially for you. And I won't ignore that and put you at greater risk than necessary just because we feel bad for making a mistake the first time."

"Yes, sir, but General, there are always risks. I knew that, and I accept them--"

"I understand that," the general said. "I need to think again about whether or not I accept them."

"Sir--just...just please consider that the outcome wouldn't have been any different no matter how old I was or if I'd been an airman or if I hadn't been there at all," Daniel said. "Except that it might have worse--it would probably have been Teal'c who'd tried to read it, and he'd have been infected with something that could kill him, and we would never have saved him in time."

"That's true," the general said noncommittally. "And I'm not trying to punish you, but I'm going to insist that, since it did happen to you, you will pull back from frontline work until you have a chance to process everything that happened. Until then, continue your normal work if you'd like, but give yourself time to relax, too."

Chapter Text

14 October 1999; SGC; 1500 hrs

Merrin was eleven years old by her planet's calendar, which meant, according to Sam, not quite twelve Earth years. Daniel was frankly in awe of how quickly Merrin had picked up their language, which he'd found out when SG-1 returned from Orban with the girl and the Orbanian leader, Kalan, in tow. It wasn't the same as when Daniel tried fumblingly to communicate in new languages--this was full, native-like fluency with gaps only for concepts or lexical items that had no Orbanian counterpart. It was impossible. No--it was incredible. Amazing.

Also, this eleven-year-old was going to teach Sam how to build a naquadah reactor. Daniel wasn't entirely sure what that was, but it sounded impressive.

"All Urrone gain knowledge quickly," Merrin had explained to him when she'd initially met him waiting for SG-1's return. "Please explain your other forms of oral communication."

"Actually," Sam had cut in, eying the reactor in the girl's hands, "maybe Merrin can come with me to explain, and Daniel can work with another...uh, what was the word?"

"Urrone," Merrin had said patiently. So Kalan had invited him to visit their homeworld of Orban at a later time to exchange information. Sam had given Daniel a look that said 'get your own Urrone' and shown Merrin eagerly to her lab.

"How was your trip?" Daniel asked once he'd found Jack free to talk afterward.

"Good," Jack said. "The kids are Orbanian students. Smart as anything. They're way ahead of us in technology--not Goa'uld level, but stuff like naquadah reactors is small fries to them. Energy source that runs on naquadah," he added before Daniel had to ask. "Like a giant battery."

"Urrone," Daniel said again to himself, wondering if the word was similar to any language or simply something for which they had no cognate word.

"Apparently the adults learn even faster. We spent most of the first day looking around and teaching the kids English, and then one of them went to teach the adults, and when Kalan came back, he was totally fluent. Even you couldn't've done it."

Daniel shook his head in admiration. Now, that just wasn't fair. "And Teal'c's still there?"

"He's working with Tomin--another one of the Urrone kids on Orban," Jack said. "Teaching him about Goa'uld tactics."

"Huh. Even war tactics are taught first to the children?"

"Apparently. But they're way ahead of us, so they must be doing something right." Daniel supposed that was true. "How about you? Been keeping busy while we were gone?"

"Robert only lets me in the office when he's in there, too," Daniel said, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to destroy something if I'm not supervised."

"You realize," Jack said slowly while giving him a 'you're an idiot' look, "Rothman's just making sure you don't spend twenty-four hours a day in the office? He's glad for help. You should've seen him going nuts trying to get himself more fluent in Goa'uld while you were--" He stopped.

"Going nuts?" Daniel suggested. Another sideways look. "If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to go nuts again."

"You weren't nuts the first time," Jack said a little too emphatically.

Daniel suppressed a sigh. "I just meant that, with all of you gone and the office off limits after hours, there's not much to do. I ended up reading through the few available issues of Diachronica in the library and the last seven years of the American Journal of Philology."

"We've got to teach you to drive," Jack said. "You have even less of a life than I do."

"So I'm not allowed to step through a wormhole without a psych evaluation and Dr. Fraiser's approval, but I'm allowed to drive a car?"

Jack made a face and started, "It's not like that--"

"I'm...I'm joking, Jack," Daniel sighed, a little apologetic and more frustrated. "Never mind."

He could almost hear Jack scrambling for something to say into the following pause. "How about otherwise? Have you been sleeping better?"

There was a knee-jerk impulse to point out that his sleeping habits were his own business, but he successfully swallowed that and said, "Yes."

Jack's face made the very slight contortion that meant he was cringing internally and forcing himself not to react too much as he said things like--"So...the nightmares...?"

"Jack."

"Yeah, no," Jack said, backing off that topic immediately.

Daniel looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then admitted, "No one seems to know exactly what to do with me right now. And...I don't know what to do with myself."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, looking torn, then suddenly brightened. "You wanna get out of here?"

"No," Daniel scoffed. Jack's artificially enthusiastic expression wilted a little. "Jack, you're in the middle of a mission, and SG-1 has two more right after this before you're done with this rotation. I'll catch up with you after that. You've had enough delays already because of me and PY3-948."

"Carter's going to be building that reactor for a while," Jack pointed out. "I'm basically useless right now."

Then Daniel thought of General Hammond's words about whether they were clouding each other's judgment and said, "Thank you, but no. If Orban is what you think it is, this is a...an incredible opportunity. I'm okay, all right?" Jack still looked a little worried, so he added, "Actually, I was going to ask if I can assist Teal'c on Orban until SG-1 is done there."

"You're not really supposed to yet," Jack pointed out carefully. "Has Dr. Fraiser cleared you?"

Daniel hadn't seen Dr. Fraiser since the end of the Linvris debacle, though not for trying on her part. "Well, Dr. Warner said this morning that there was nothing physically wrong with me anymore. General Hammond says I need the psych evaluation for first contact, but I can continue the normal work I did before, which includes second-line work."

"Somehow I don't think Hammond was thinking of fieldwork when he said that."

"You've already established friendly relations, and we have one of their Urrone here. Please, Jack--I'll go mad again if I have to stay here doing nothing for much longer. It's an exchange of knowledge. I just want to do something useful and not have someone get hurt for once."

As Daniel had known he would, Jack gave in, looking guilty. "All right. We'll tell the general, and then you report to Teal'c on Orban."

XXXXX

14 October 1999; Stargate Room, Orban; 1630 hrs

Teal'c was waiting when Daniel stepped out of the wormhole. "Hi," he said, looking around the empty room. "Um, where is everyone?"

"Kalan will bring an Urrone to work with you," Teal'c told him. "They and the Urrone Tomin will return shortly."

"Urrone," Daniel said again, rolling the sound over his tongue. "I still can't figure out what language th--oh, wow, what is that?" He walked toward the DHD and lowered himself to his knees to examine a partially-visible mosaic on the floor. "Teal'c, have you looked at this?"

The sound of Teal'c's boots thumped softly toward him. "I have not examined it in detail. Do you believe it to be significant?"

He ran his fingers over the dusty mosaic and the slab that extended over the artwork. "Not to the Orbanians, clearly," he said, "or they wouldn't have built the DHD's platform over it. Well, I guess we don't know whether the DHD was placed over it by them, and, if so, accidentally or on purpose."

Teal'c dropped to a crouch as well. "What meaning do you find here?"

"I think it tells a story," Daniel said after a minute of study, crawling on hands and knees around to the other side, where it looked like the narrative began. "See the serpent?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said, following him. "Do you believe that to be a Goa'uld?"

It was only when his smile faltered that Daniel realized he'd been smiling at all, that he'd been so excited to see this, a piece of a story puzzle, without being chased by a Goa'uld army or picking up dangerous Goa'uld technology. He should have known better. This was an Abydos cartouche planet, after all.

"I guess that could be it," Daniel said, more subdued. "The feathered serpent was a central figure in Mesoamerican mythologies. Why wouldn't that be a Goa'uld." He looked down at the mosaic surrounding him, then grabbed the side of the DHD to pull himself up, brushing off his hands and the knees of his trousers. "Well."

Daniel stood looking down at Teal'c for a disorienting moment before the Jaffa rose smoothly. "Are you well, Daniel Jackson?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, looking around the walls of the 'gate room. "Look at those murals. They're incredible, aren't they? Are all the buildings around here like this?"

Teal'c lifted an eyebrow, but before he could answer, the Orbanian leader, Kalan, strode back in, two young children following. "Daniel Jackson," the man greeted him.

"Kalan," Daniel said, nodding politely. "May I ask about the history of Orban?" He gestured toward the partially-hidden mosaic on the floor. "I assume the Tau'ri told you that many peoples have ancestors from the planet Earth."

"Yes, they told us this," Kalan said.

"Daniel Jackson believes your people are from Earth's Mesoamerica," Teal'c said.

When Kalan turned to Daniel, he explained, "This"--he tapped a toe at the edge of the mosaic--"is reminiscent of...Aztec culture, I think, or something related. If there is more time, perhaps I, or someone with more knowledge in this part of Tau'ri history, can learn more about your past."

"It is possible that the Goa'uld caused the collapse of that civilization," Teal'c added. Daniel tried not to resent that, because he knew it was true and, indeed, very possible. Not everything had to do with the Goa'uld. Sometimes it was just knowledge--just not often enough.

Kalan bent a little to grip one of the Urrone around the shoulders and nudge her gently toward them. "Please explain this," the man said, then bowed to them before he left.

Daniel looked down awkwardly at the girl while Teal'c nodded to the young boy--Tomin, presumably--and led him to sit on the steps. "Hello. I'm Daniel."

"I am Zaren," the Urrone answered.

"Zaren, let's go to the other end of this room so we don't disturb them." As they settled near part of the mural near the back of the 'gate room, he pulled out a tape recorder. "Will it bother you if I use this?" he asked.

Zaren leaned forward. "What is this?"

"It's a...a recording device," he explained, pulling it open for her to see the tape inside. "It records sounds so they can be played back later."

"Recording," she repeated. "What is 'recording?'"

"It's from Latin," he told her, warming to the subject. "Recordari, to remember, or to call back to mind. In this language, it's taken on the meaning of creating a sort of...artificial memory." Then he frowned. "You don't have recording devices? Or written records? Your devices may be much more advanced than this, but..."

"Why do you need such a device?" she asked, peering into the open tape deck.

"I, uh," Daniel said. "I use it...so that I don't forget something if I want to review it later. Then again," he joked, "from what I've heard about your people, maybe you just don't ever forget things, huh?"

"That is correct," Zaren said, nodding.

"Oh," Daniel said.

"But you may use this memory aid if you wish," she said, poking at the front until it closed.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Right. Thanks." He pushed the 'REC' button and set it aside. "Could you teach me your language?"

"Why?" Zaren asked. "I speak yours. The passage of knowledge is more efficient in this way."

"W...yes, well, maybe that's true," Daniel conceded. "But afterward, maybe you could let me record some of your language so I can try to learn about it on my own time?"

She looked at him dubiously. "But you will have no need of it if we have already given our knowledge to each other."

"Actually, I think language is important as more than just a means of communication," he sighed, "but a lot of my, uh, my people would probably agree with you."

"I can speak into your artificial memory device later," she offered.

Daniel allowed a small smile. "Thank you. Actually, speaking of records, I would call this mural here is a kind of record." There were designs and symbols covering almost all of the walls, interspersed with occasional painted figures. "That's what we call this type of art, by the way--a mural."

"It is without purpose," Zaren said. Before he could protest, she said, "What is 'art?'"

"What is...?" How did one define that properly? "The word 'art' can cover a wide range of meanings. It comes from Latin, too, 'ars, artis,' which refers to technical skill. It still has that meaning today in English, but its primary meaning is for something that's created in...um, in a creative way." He could tell how helpful that wasn't. "Um...something you make up that appeals to the senses or the emotions."

"What purpose does it serve?"

"Well...it serves...it's...appealing. Creativity can be an end in and of itself, and it can also be used to give other people enjoyment." Zaren frowned at him. "It's fun and enjoyable," Daniel tried. "Subjectively, of course, but that's part of the fun, too."

"Fun?" she repeated.

Daniel bit his lip. "You didn't learn that word from SG-1? No? Well...'fun' is something you enjoy doing." She still looked confused, so he said, "Something that gives you pleasure."

"Gaining knowledge to help my people gives me great pleasure," Zaren said.

"Me, too," he said, a grin taking him by surprise. "Well, art can also be fun."

"But it does not further one's knowledge."

"But it does. Here, step back," he said. He searched the mural for a figure he recognized and pointed up. "There. What does that look like?"

Zaren looked up at his face, then at his finger, and stepped closer so she could follow the line of his arm. "It is a woman, depicted with poor accuracy. A branch protrudes strangely from her hand, and fluids leak from beneath her robe in an unrealistic manner."

Daniel blinked and looked down at her earnest expression. "O--okay. I guess that's...a valid way of looking at it. Or you could see a representation of Chalchiuitlicue, a goddess of water. The, uh...fluid is a river that flows from her skirt, see? The shape of that branch is what we call a cross in our language, and it represents the four winds that bring rain."

"There are not four winds," Zaren informed him.

"Well, maybe not literally," he admitted. "That just helps to map out our geography--one for each of four directions, see?"

"Linear directions are an inaccurate depiction of a spheroid planet."

With a sigh, Daniel said, "It's an approximation. My point is... What I was saying is that this can tell you about your past. And understanding where you come from helps you learn about...about yourself in the present, and about what makes you who you are."

Zaren pondered this. "Then the purpose of art truly is to further knowledge."

"That's not...well, yes, it can be," he said, not completely satisfied with that definition but unsure how to explain it better.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing into another corner with one hand and tugging his arm along with the other.

He scooped up his tape recorder and followed her. "I'm not totally sure. What do you think?"

Zaren tilted her head and thought for a moment as they stopped in front of an admittedly abstract figure. "It is a man," she said. "His face is oddly proportioned, but given that he holds a representation of electricity and water in his hands, perhaps he is a deity as well."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Daniel agreed. "That could well be Tlaloc, the lord of water."

She touched part of the painting with the other. "What is the word for this color?"

"Red. Or maybe orange."

"I like this one better," she said, moving her finger.

"Blue," Daniel filled in. "Why?"

"I do not know. It is illogical. The difference between the light from either one of them that reaches our eyes is a quantitative distinction--"

"I like blue," he told her. "It doesn't have to be logical. That's why my culture enjoys art--you can like it or not, and someone else can disagree, and you can both be right."

Zaren considered. "Then I like blue because it is appealing to me."

"All right," he said, unaccountably warmed as he gestured her onward.

...x...

Daniel waved good-bye to Zaren for the night as Teal'c reported to base through the MALP.

"They're still working on the reactor," Jack's voice was telling Teal'c. "How's...how are you guys doing over there?"

"We are making rapid progress, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "Daniel Jackson believes that further study on Orban by an archaeological team may reveal much. The Urrone learn quickly."

"Yeah, apparently. You sure there aren't child labor laws or something? Because I think Merrin's been up for about twenty-four hours straight, and she's still going."

"That's just how their society works, Jack," Daniel said, walking toward Teal'c to join in. "But being Urrone is a great honor to them. They're very eager to contribute their skills."

"Well, of course you'd say that, Daniel," Jack muttered, sounding suddenly irritated, and then, "Check in tomorrow, kids. Have a good night. SGC out."

Daniel stared at the wormhole, frowning, as it shimmered out of existence.

"O'Neill is not angry," Teal'c told him, shutting off the MALP and straightening. "No doubt he grows restless watching the child work."

"I don't care," Daniel sighed. "I'm tired of trying to guess what people mean all the time these days." Teal'c looked at him. "What?"

"You have said in the past that communication relies on more than the words that are spoken."

"Well, sometimes it would help if people would just let the words get spoken."

"Then I will speak my mind," Teal'c said.

"Oops," Daniel muttered, sitting down on the steps to the Stargate and bracing himself.

"I am not convinced that you are well, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel took a deep breath and blew it out. "No long-term effects from Machello's device or the Tau'ri medicines so far. The doctors can't find anything wrong with me." Not that Janet had found anything wrong before when he was going mad. Not that he was really worried about that, most of the time.

"That is good," Teal'c said. Daniel couldn't tell whether he was convinced yet.

"Jaffa never have to worry about the mind becoming sick, do they?"

"They do not," Teal'c said, which was, somehow, rather disheartening. Then he clarified, "It is seen as a weakness in the armies of the Goa'uld. Those Jaffa do not live long enough to worry."

Daniel shivered. "That...that's nice."

"It is not," Teal'c said seriously. "Jaffa warriors spend their lives fighting. I have seen my strongest brothers trapped in their own minds after battle. I have abandoned others because it was not permitted to help them."

"Jaffa survival of the fittest?"

"Jaffa ignorance of this matter, enforced by Goa'uld oppression," Teal'c corrected. "Do the people of Abydos believe the same?"

He leaned his elbows onto his knees. "On Abydos, when people's minds become weak and are taken by disease, a physician can read their dreams. There are medicines to direct them toward healing." He shrugged. "Well, I don't know if it works. They're never the same, after."

Teal'c stared at him for a long time. "Your mind was not weak, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Well, I know that. It was Machello's bugs, so it only seemed like my mind was--"

"I requested information about schizophrenia from Dr. Fraiser," Teal'c interrupted, frowning deeply. "She spoke with me on that subject at great length. It is an illness like any other and is not caused by a weakness of the mind."

"Oh." He squinted down at his boots, not sure if he believed that, because if his mind really had been as strong as he had always thought, he wouldn't have thought dead Goa'uld might try to take him as a host. The one thing he had always been proud of was his brain, and everything about the last few weeks felt so stupid now. "Well, I didn't know that," he said.

Not that he was thinking about that, anyway; it hadn't been real schizophrenia or anything.

"Perhaps you should ask Dr. Fraiser if you wish to know more," Teal'c said.

Daniel wasn't sure how much he did want to know at the moment about how and why the mind fell apart under any circumstance, and even if he'd been curious, there were levels to Janet's involvement in all of this that he wasn't willing to explore just yet. "Maybe. Later," he said, then stood and made his way toward the mosaic on the floor to examine it again. "I wonder why Zaren and Tomin decided to take a break now. From what Zaren told me, Urrone need even less sleep than you."

"They have been working continuously for the last two days," Teal'c pointed out. "However, you are not Urrone. We should rest until they return."

"It's not that late," Daniel said, returning to his pack to pull out a brush. "They said they'd be back in the morning, so we have time. Hey, what are you--!" The brush was lifted from his hand.

"You are here," Teal'c said, carefully laying the brush back down in the pack, "despite the fact that you have not been declared ready for fieldwork. You will obey my word, or you will return to base."

Daniel scowled at the floor, wondering if he could reach his pack and pull out paper to sketch the mosaic before Teal'c stole that, too. It was a stupid thought, of course. He'd thought a lot of stupid thoughts lately. Who said his mind wasn't weak? "You told the general you should have tried sooner to make Machello's device transfer from me into you," Daniel said.

"It would have spared you much suffering," Teal'c said, which meant yes.

Daniel turned his scowl onto his friend. "How can you say that?" he spat. "You think that would have spared me anything? What would I do if you died, too?"

Teal'c didn't look away, but his eyes flickered downward for a brief moment. "You are tired."

"It's not that late," Daniel said, brushing some loose dirt from the mosaic with his fingers.

"That was not my meaning."

He pulled his hand inside the sleeve of his jacket and used the cloth to sweep clean a corner of the mosaic that had been hidden under the dirt before. "I've read about artwork like this, but I've never actually seen it before, not so well preserved," he said, hoping the subject would be dropped. "I wonder if this is Quetzalcoatl, or the feathered serpent under another name?"

Teal'c hovered nearby but was slow in answering. When he finally did, he said, "Who was Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Jackson?"

"A creator deity. He... Let me think... I think he brought craft and farming to the people, something like that. Sometimes, he's also associated with sacrifice and resurr..." He stopped.

"Resurrection," Teal'c filled in.

They saw that attribute a lot, too. It wasn't as if the Goa'uld didn't have access to devices capable of bringing people and themselves back to life. It was always a Goa'uld.

Daniel touched the concrete slab that covered the mosaic, then drew away, suddenly uninterested in seeing what might be hiding under it. "I'm going to sleep, okay?" Teal'c's eyes remained on him as he lay his bedroll against the platform leading to the Stargate. "I'm tired," he said, and Teal'c let it be.

...x...

15 October 1999; Stargate Room, Orban; 0700 hrs

He'd been right to wonder about the two Urrone's sudden disappearance the night before.

"It is impossible for Tomin and Zaren to be here," Kalan said, bringing an unfamiliar boy named Solen to Teal'c for tutelage. "They have gone through Averium."

A thrill of fear slithered through Daniel's bones. What passage of knowledge took a ceremony that left the student unavailable afterward? "Exactly what is Averium?" he asked cautiously.

"Solen can explain," Kalan offered, gesturing toward the Urrone.

"I would like to see Tomin immediately," Teal'c countered.

Kalan looked bewildered but agreed to lead Teal'c to his son Tomin while Solen prepared to explain to Daniel.

"I require another word to explain," Solen said as Teal'c left the 'gate room with Kalan. "What is your word for the very small processors that can be inserted into a human?"

That sounded like something Sam would know, but Daniel tried, "Processor, like...a device to--"

"To store and process information," Solen said.

"A computer?"

"They can be used to compute," Solen agreed. "They are too small for the eye to see without aid and can be inserted through a needle into the blood or the brain."

Injectable computers....Oh. Oh no. "Nanites," Daniel realized. "You mean...small machines that can be programmed--set to do different tasks?"

Solen nodded. "That is correct. I will use the word 'nanite' in the future."

"They were infected with nanites?" he said, his mind zipping through emergency protocols. They had to warn the SGC immediately and recommend a lockdown until they could verify that anyone who had stepped foot on Orban--and anyone they had been in contact with--was clean.

But...

"These nanites are the way we acquire knowledge," Solen said. "Every Orbanian receives one nanite each Averium. Urrone children are given many more nanites at birth, because we are required to learn vast amounts of information very quickly. If this is done at infancy, the nanites can serve as additional connections in the brain before the usual connections are established."

"So they help you learn," Daniel said, "but what happens at Averium?"

"The nanites are removed from the Urrone's brain," Solen said. "Each adult and non-Urrone child receives an injection containing one nanite, which becomes part of his or her brain, adding to those nanites received from previous ceremonies. It is the most efficient way of passing knowledge from Urrone to others."

"And the Urrone? What happens to you, after your Averium?"

"We remain together with other past Urrone," Solen told him. "We are not damaged."

This couldn't be fight. Surely he was misunderstanding? "But all the knowledge you've spent your entire life learning--you lose all of that?" Daniel asked.

"After Averium, a Urrone's brain rejects new nanites, so no further learning can take place. The knowledge will no longer be in me, but it can make a great contribution to Orbanian society."

Daniel stared at him, feeling sick. "You said your nanites were implanted before your brain's normal connections formed. So when they're removed...does that mean...?"

"That is correct. My knowledge will reside in the other Orbanians instead. The procedure will not damage me, and I will be well cared for in exchange for the knowledge I provide them."

"But--"

"I do not understand your concern," Solen said.

Footsteps announced Teal'c's arrival. Daniel tore his eyes away from Solen. "Teal'c, did you...?"

"Indeed," Teal'c growled, his expression thunderous. "All of Tomin's knowledge has been removed. There is nothing left of the boy I knew."

Daniel swallowed. "It's nanites," he said in a low voice. Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "They give nanites to Urrone at birth. We taught only the Urrone because that's the only way they gain knowledge--the knowledge is stored in the nanites and physically passed to other Orbanians."

Teal'c looked between him and Solen, who seemed curious but uncomprehending of their concern. "Kalan says that the Urrone are well cared for after Averium."

"So are beasts of burden on Abydos!" Daniel hissed.

"Merrin," Teal'c said suddenly, looking toward the Stargate. "She appeared to be approximately the same age as Tomin and Zaren. The SGC must have discovered her nanites already--I must warn them of this Averium."

"Why are you displeased?" Kalan said, hurrying in. "I assure you, Tomin will not be mistreated."

Daniel turned to Kalan, somehow even more horrified than before. "He's your son!"

The man's confusion was turning into annoyance now as he said, "And I was never more proud than I was the day I learned that my son would be Urrone."

Daniel exchanged a glance with Teal'c. "I'll wait here and try to...learn something," he offered. "Anything."

Teal'c nodded. "I will return soon."

Once Teal'c had disappeared through the wormhole, Daniel picked up his pack, met Kalan's frown, and said, "May I see Zaren?"

XXXXX

15 October 1999; Children's Home, Orban; 0800 hrs

Daniel knelt in front of the bed. "Zaren? Do you remember me? It's Daniel."

Zaren frowned at him and bounced once on her bed.

"Knowledge of you and of your language was in her nanites," Kalan said from behind him.

"And you took that from her," Daniel said. They'd taken her mind away, and what was left?

"Yes. She gave it to the other Orbanians."

Ignoring Kalan, Daniel turned on his camera and flipped it around so she could see the display. "Remember this?" he asked. Zaren leaned closer, raising a finger to touch the screen where it showed blue tile of the mosaic. "You do?" he said, but she only grinned happily and dragged the finger down the screen, giggling and pulling her hand back when it swung shut.

Daniel clenched his teeth but forced himself to smile at Zaren when her laughs died down, then pushed the camera back into his pack. He carefully kept his face clear until they were out of the building, out of sight of Zaren and the other children. "Everything that is done to these children--it is acceptable to you?" he asked stiffly.

"They have a duty of their people," Kalan said impatiently.

"Is that what you tell them? That it's their duty to be sacrificed for Orbanian progress?"

"It is their honor, and ours, for them to contribute to our society!" Kalan snapped, starting back toward the Stargate. "They are happy, and you saw for yourself that Zaren is well now. You dishonor them by dismissing their part in what Orban has achieved."

"I'm not dismissing it," Daniel argued, trotting to catch up. "But--"

Kalan stopped and turned to him. "You are proud of who you are?"

Surprised, Daniel said, "What?"

"I govern in Orban--I have pride in my place. You study and gain knowledge for Earth--are there not things you give up for that end, and are you not proud of what you do nonetheless?"

"But I had a choice," Daniel said. "Well...not at first. But...Kalan, I can hardly compare anything I have given up to what you ask of your Urrone."

"It is their choice and their honor," Kalan said. "See what we have accomplished--if you could help to bring your world to progress as fast as we have, would you not do everything in your power? I do not force Urrone to do anything they do not wish for themselves, and they will be honored as...'heroes,' as you would say, for all time."

Perhaps it was good that Teal'c had returned by then and was waiting by the Stargate, because Daniel didn't know how to answer that.

"Kalan," Teal'c said, "we do not believe the Averium would be in Merrin's best interest."

Kalan's eyes widened in surprise, then darkened. "It is most certainly in her best interest, for her and her people!"

"You don't force them to undergo Averium, you said," Daniel said. "What if she chooses otherwise? Surely we could discuss other solutions?"

"There are no other solutions," Kalan said, angry, spinning on his heel to leave after giving Daniel a final glare, as if realizing he had mostly been stalling to give time for Teal'c speak to the SGC and report. "You will return Merrin to us immediately for the Averium!"

Teal'c met Daniel's gaze once they were alone in the room. "O'Neill and Major Carter are attempting to convince Merrin to choose not to return to Orban."

"Will she?" Daniel asked. "Refuse Averium, I mean."

"I do not believe she will," Teal'c said. "I must inform the SGC of Kalan's response."

"I'll stay," Daniel offered. "I'll keep trying to convince them there's another way. They might be unhappy with us, but they won't hurt me. It's not their way."

Teal'c paused in dialing the DHD. "They cannot reach Earth without a remote code."

"Then I can hold Kalan here," Daniel said. "It'll at least give you more time to talk to Merrin."

XXXXX

15 October 1999; Stargate Room, Orban; 1100 hrs

It was hours before Kalan returned to the 'gate room. Daniel stood when Kalan stormed back in. "I gave you time to let your people see reason," the Orbanian leader said, "but I see they still refuse to let Merrin return."

Daniel took a deep breath. "We only want the best for her. Kalan, the Orbanians are an incredibly advanced people. Won't you even consider the idea of better ways of learning?"

Kalan huffed. "There is no better way. You are taking away Merrin's chance at Averium."

"There are ways of learning without using and discarding children!"

Furious, Kalan said, "You told Zaren that you loved knowledge of different peoples, and yet you demand that we change when you dislike our ways!" He moved toward the DHD, reaching as if to dial.

Daniel rushed to stand in front of it as a physical barrier. "You can't do that. There's a shield in front our Stargate, and you'll be killed if you go through without me."

"If your people do not allow Merrin to return to us, the knowledge she has spent years learning will be lost," Kalan said, scowling. "She is the only Urrone who has studied naquadah technology her whole life. We must be prepared for an attack if the Goa'uld come here."

"There's no reason to think that'll happen," Daniel said. "We don't know if the Goa'uld will--"

"From what I have learned of the Goa'uld from my son, I know technology will increase their interest here," Kalan said. "If you claim otherwise, you are trying to deceive either us or yourself."

Daniel gripped the DHD behind him. "I'm not... Okay. Maybe you're right. But Merrin--you'll take away everything that makes her who she is. She'll be dead in all the ways that matter."

Kalan looked surprised again and tapped his temple. "She will be here. She will be with all the Orbanians. But if you hold Merrin against her will, her work will be lost, and we will have to wait twelve years for another Urrone to learn in order for naquadah research to continue."

It would just be repeated, then. Holding Merrin would only keep her from what she saw as her duty; as shocking as the Averium process was to Daniel, he had no doubt that she would be unhappy if she were denied what she saw as her place. Progress would be hindered and society disrupted while the Goa'uld might come any time, and the cycle would just be repeated with another. Unless they were willing to declare war on this world to force their own views...but that would make them no better than the Goa'uld, and, quite honestly, Orban could probably win.

"If you were in Merrin's place..." Daniel said, trying one last time.

"I would be appalled to be refused a chance to undergo Averium," Kalan said sincerely. "But I was not chosen to be Urrone. I would have been honored." When Daniel still hesitated, he said, "Do not fear for her. She will not suffer, as you have seen of the other past Urrone."

What was more important than the freedom to choose one's own path?

Sam would understand, maybe, if not agree. Teal'c knew it was the only way. Jack would never forgive him.

Daniel swallowed, then turned around to dial Earth himself. He waited for the wormhole to be established and sent his IDC.

XXXXX

15 October 1999; SGC, Earth; 1130 hrs

"Mr. Jackson," General Hammond said when he stepped out. "You know the rules about bringing anyone into this facility."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said, not quite meeting his eyes. "But the Orbanians have requested that Merrin return to her home. We can't continue to refuse. Sir."

He could feel the general's eyes on him despite his averted gaze. "Merrin is still in Major Carter's lab, finishing work on the naquadah reactor."

Kalan stepped forward. "You will not allow her to return as she would wish, but you are willing to hold her prisoner here and use her knowledge to further your own technology?"

The general looked surprised--clearly, he hadn't thought of it that way--but sighed. "I understand. I've been expecting this. Let's wait in my office. I'll have someone call Colonel O'Neill to meet us there. Merrin will return with you, Kalan."

...x...

Daniel couldn't help looking up when the door swung open, and he could tell by the expression that Jack knew, and that there was no placating him this time. "Jack," he started.

"No," Jack said flatly.

"Merrin will return to Orban with Kalan," the general said. "I've already granted the request."

"Your Daniel Jackson has come to realize Merrin's importance to her people," Kalan said.

"Her importance as a vegetable?" Jack said.

Daniel flinched as the general snapped, "Colonel!"

Kalan stood to face Jack. "If you would try to understand--"

Jack ignored the general and retorted, "No, I won't! The way you treat your children is absurd! You don't deserve them."

"Colonel O'Neill!" the general barked, leaping to his feet.

"Jack," Daniel started again.

Jack's eyes said traitor, and Daniel stopped and looked away. "Request permission to be excused, sir," Jack growled. He turned and walked away without waiting for an answer.

Daniel sank lower into his chair as the other two men remained standing, Kalan staring after Jack in astonishment while General Hammond massaged his temple. "I apologize," the general told Kalan. "I'll have Merrin sent down now."

An alarm blared. Kalan jumped. The general reached for his phone. Daniel sighed and watched the light flash red.

The alarms stopped. "In the future, Major," the general was saying, "before you activate any device that includes the word 'reactor,' I would appreciate it if you would notify me."

Ah. The naquadah reactor had worked. So they'd harvested all they could of Merrin, too, before sending her back to have the rest of her brain harvested. Daniel thought he said, "Excuse me, sir," but he might have simply walked out the door. Either way, no one stopped him.

...x...

Some time later, the general found him in the library and said that Colonel O'Neill had taken Merrin and gone AWOL, and did Daniel have any idea where he might have taken her?

"I don't know," Daniel said, though, in truth, he wasn't surprised.

A sigh. "Would it do any good to look for him at his house?" the general said.

Jack was smarter than that. "No, sir. But if she wants to go home, he'll bring her back eventually, I'm sure of it."

"I'm not sure Kalan will be comforted by that."

Daniel nodded at his hands. "Do you, um. Do you need me for anything?" he asked.

"No; we just need Colonel O'Neill here." The general shook his head. "You did the right thing, son, with Kalan."

"How can that possibly be the right--" Daniel stopped. The general had an angry Orbanian to deal with now, and a missing colonel and Urrone. The last thing he needed was to give more platitudes. "Yes, sir," he said. He pushed away from the table and fled to his room.

XXXXX

16 October 1999; Daniel Jackson's Quarters, SGC; 1700 hrs

Jack stepped into his room the next day without knocking. "We're back."

Daniel didn't look up. "From where?"

Jack pushed the door quietly shut behind him. "Orban. You didn't hear us leave?" Daniel shook his head. "We went to visit the kids." Jack sat stiffly on his bed and twisted to look down at him on the floor. "They're playing. Drawing pictures, having fun."

"No, they're not. I visited Zaren, and she was just...sitting there."

Jack shifted. "Well, not anymore. Merrin got an eyeful of playground equipment and whatnot, and they're teaching all the kids to play catch and...hopscotch and things like that now. We gave them more crayons and stuff."

Daniel almost asked what equipment was on a playground, or what hopscotch was, but he found he didn't really care. "Oh," he said bitterly. "It's all okay, then."

"I know it's not, goddammit!" He glanced up to see Jack visibly restraining himself from snapping something more, and he remembered which one of them had been so furious at the idea of Averium that he'd risked court-martial to show her another life for a few hours--which of them had tried to give another choice.

"Are you in trouble?" Daniel asked.

"Ask if I care."

Daniel fixed his gaze on the floor again and couldn't muster the effort.

"This Zaren you mentioned," Jack said eventually. He held out a sheet of paper with something scribbled over the surface. "She drew this. Kalan thought you should have it--"

Daniel ripped the paper violently away, crumpled it into a ball, and whipped it across the room.

"Okay," Jack said shortly, standing up.

"They killed her," he said, pulling his knees toward his chest. "And I helped them kill Merrin."

"She's not dead."

Daniel laughed humorlessly with his face buried in his knees. "Do you know what it's like to lose your mind? Does it even matter now?" Was he even making sense? Maybe he was losing his mind again, too. He'd been half-expecting it, anyway.

"It's not the same thing, Daniel," Jack said tightly.

Maybe it wasn't the same, but he'd spent two weeks feeling like everything that made him who he was had been taken away, and he hadn't even lost anything, not really; it would be over if he could just stop thinking about it. It wasn't the same at all--wasn't it even worse for the Urrone, who really had lost everything they'd packed into their minds? Except that they'd had a choice, and whether or not he approved, how could he claim to be able to decide for them?

"I had to bring Kalan to the SGC," he said, looking up. Jack was at the door, a hand on the doorknob and his eyes fixed on the frame, so he said quickly, "I had to, Jack. It was her choice, and we didn't have the right to--"

"I thought you'd get it--we let you down before we ever got to Merrin," Jack said. Daniel shook his head, but Jack wasn't looking, so Daniel couldn't tell if he'd seen. His voice was controlled, the way it was when he wanted to yell and was trying hard not to. "How long have you been sitting there? You're still in gear from yesterday."

Daniel didn't know, so he didn't answer. A muscle twitched in Jack's jaw, and then he left.

...x...

Daniel started when a knock came on his door. A few moments later, Teal'c's voice said from outside, "Daniel Jackson?"

Two knocks later, Teal'c entered and shut the door behind himself. He studied Daniel silently for a moment, and his eyes found the crumpled ball of paper on the floor. He bent to pick it up, then carefully opened and smoothed it before holding it out.

"I don't want it," Daniel said.

"Perhaps," Teal'c said, but he didn't move, and Daniel finally took the sheet and looked at it.

It was a stick figure, like the ones Sam always made when she tried to draw humans. Sam must have taught Merrin at some point, and Merrin had given that to Kalan, and Kalan had taught Zaren, and now the stick figure had mud-colored hair and wore a lopsided, blue dress. He guessed it was supposed to be meaningful, but he hadn't known the person who had drawn that picture. The person he'd thought was Zaren--and Tomin and Merrin--had been the compiled contents of nanites, and once the nanites were gone, what was left?

He didn't realize he was wound so tight until Teal'c settled next to him and he jumped again. Teal'c paused, then gently put the drawing aside.

"I thought this time was different, Teal'c," Daniel said. "It was supposed to be a research trip. I kept thinking that Zaren and Tomin were so smart, and loved learning things, and then it was...gone. And Merrin, too. She was just a child."

"That is a grief we understand well," Teal'c said quietly.

Daniel slid his hands inside his sleeves, only then noticing they were still dusty with Orbanian dirt. "I don't know what to do," he admitted. "I've never been so..."

Teal'c didn't answer for a long time. Finally, he said again, "You are tired." He reached around Daniel and tugged on his sleeve until his arm slid out of the jacket. Daniel sat and let him do the same to the other arm, then watched him hang the jacket neatly on the back of a chair. "We forget that you have lived only a fraction of our lives. Every battle is longer to you."

Sure that there was a lesson there, Daniel tried to unravel it, but he really was tired, so he gave up. "Is Sam still in her lab? With the reactor?"

"Major Carter went home immediately upon our return from Orban."

So she didn't want to look at it, either, their reward for Merrin's brain. "Jack?"

"General Hammond is displeased with his actions," Teal'c answered, though both of them knew that was an enormous understatement.

"He's angry. He doesn't even want to look at me, Teal'c," Daniel mumbled.

"O'Neill requires time to grieve without adding to your troubles," Teal'c said after a moment. "He would not have asked me to come here if he did not also worry for you. But--"

"But he wants to yell at me at the same time," Daniel guessed unhappily.

"I believe O'Neill is uncertain of how he should behave toward you at the moment."

"Yeah." Everyone kept saying he was between child and adult, or that he was both, but to Jack, he could be one or the other but not both at the same time. It was part of what made working with him so easy at times and utterly impossible at others. Daniel started to get up, then froze, staring at his wrist. "Teal'c...where--" Frantically, he checked his other wrist, then rose to search the bare top of the nightstand. "Skaara's...his band, the one he gave me. Gods, they took it, didn't they?"

"I found it when we retrieved your belongings from Mental Health," Teal'c said quietly.

He was ashamed at the strength of the relief that nearly knocked him over, and he carefully sat back down on the bed. "It's just...a string of leather. I didn't even notice it was gone. It doesn't mean...I just never take it off."

"Perhaps," Teal'c said again. "Come with me."

"Teal'c--"

"Do not fight me. Stand up." Daniel shut up and stood. Teal'c steered him out of his room.

Once they reached Teal'c's quarters, Teal'c returned to him the ro'ri leather cord Skaara had given him years ago, untied now and fraying at one end but still whole. "And...and yours?" Daniel asked, not meeting Teal'c's eyes. "Did you find the other one, too?"

"Indeed." Teal'c handed the other strip to him as well but didn't let go. "Are you ready?" Daniel started to nod, but Teal'c said, "Stop. We will trust your word, but you will not lie to me, chal'ti, or to yourself. Are you prepared to join us and fight again?"

Daniel looked away and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe not."

Teal'c knotted one band, and then the other, around his wrist. "Good. When you say you are ready, we will believe you, but not until then."

"I'm tired of people being hurt," Daniel said. "Sometimes, it's like there's nothing else."

"There is much more than that. You have forgotten, but you will remember again," Teal'c said. "There is no shame in rest. You help no one if you lose yourself first."

XXXXX

18 October 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 0900 hrs

"So, you know that symposium in Chicago?" Robert said.

Daniel hovered at the door to their office. "When is it?"

"This weekend."

"Oh. I forgot about it."

"Yeah," Robert said. "Are you still coming?"

Daniel sat down slowly at his desk, comforted by the solidity of the desk before him and the chair behind but not particularly interested, for once, in what was on the desk. "Why wouldn't I go?"

"W--well, I mean, no reason. Just. Are you?" Robert fidgeted with his pen, looking uncomfortable. "It's up to you, obviously. You want to?"

...x...

18 October 1999; General Hammond's Office, SGC; 1000 hrs

"General," Daniel said when he was gestured inside the office.

"What can I do for you?" General Hammond said.

"You said I could have time off," Daniel said. "There's an Egyptology conference, and I know Robert and I would both be gone at the same time, but--"

"It's fine," the general said. "Dr. Rothman told me already. And I do want you to take time off, not just a weekend--take the rest of this week. And really, this time."

"I think I'd like to take a few days, as well, sir," he said, the admission leaving him simultaneously uncomfortable and relieved.

General Hammond sighed. "Are you all right, son?" Daniel nodded, because there wasn't really another answer he could give to the general. "I...will admit that your situation is not what we're used to dealing with if you need help. Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't--I just need some time to think, that's all," he promised. "Permission to speak--?"

"Of course."

"Don't court-martial Jack," he said.

"Daniel..." the general said.

"He was trying to do the right thing. And maybe it was the right thing. And he told me... I think maybe you were right, I'm a liability to their team and their...their judgment. And I wasn't acting the way a member of SG-1 should have when Kalan was here, and I was even denying the--I didn't want to acknowledge the ramifications of what we were seeing there and--it doesn't matter. The point is, my judgment was wrong--"

"Yes, it was," the general said. Daniel stopped and found himself looking at his feet. "Since I was the one who authorized you to go, thinking it would be safe, I won't pretend I wasn't at fault, too, but Mr. Jackson, you understand now how important it is to recognize your limits. It's not something to be embarrassed about; it's being responsible."

"Yes, sir," Daniel told the floor.

"In the end, you did the right thing with the Orbanians," the general said. "This time, Colonel O'Neill made the wrong call. It's that simple. We both know Jack--he might have done the same no matter what your involvement was."

"But I make it worse."

"Colonel O'Neill disobeyed direct orders, kidnapped a little girl, and could have sparked an interplanetary disaster with a highly advanced planet. He is responsible for his actions. I need him to act as a leader of the team that represents Earth, not as a worried...parent. To anyone. There is no room for that kind of misjudgment."

"Sir--"

"He won't be brought up on charges," the general said, "but I have responsibilities, too. This was a major misstep, and his record will reflect that. That's the best I can do."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said. "And something else: I think we should send someone back to Orban to learn more."

General Hammond gave him a long look. Daniel felt his fingers started to fidget with the seam of his jacket, so he folded his hands under his arms instead. "Maybe the Urrone have a choice to go through Averium," the general said, "but since they had no say in becoming Urrone, I'm not sure they do have a real choice. Colonel O'Neill thinks they're all brainwashed, in a way, and I can't say I disagree--"

"I think so, too," Daniel started, "them and the adults and everyone else, and in fact--"

"I'm not going to interfere with their way of life, Mr. Jackson. That doesn't mean I condone it. I cannot support relations with a people that treats its citizens in that way."

"Yes, sir," Daniel agreed, "I know, but please, hear me out. The Orbanians started using nanites less than fifty years ago, and I could be completely wrong, but...well, Zaren said they don't keep records because they don't need it, with the nanites. Now, I don't know what happened fifty years ago, if there was a Goa'uld or...an accident or anything, but something happened to erase their old way of life so completely that they don't remember any other choice, and they don't even have records to remind them."

"I understand that's changed since we went there."

"But not enough. Someone could go and teach the Urrone to...to teach, and eventually, it'll show them another option. And we could restore relations with them and gain their help in developing technology, and we'd be influencing a change in them without forcing it."

General Hammond looked thoughtful. "Not SG-1, I think..."

"No, sir, that would be...bad, probably. But there are other teams."

"I'll consider it. It's a good point, Mr. Jackson."

Daniel swallowed. "And about SG-1...nothing will happen to the team?"

"Before you're cleared for full duty, you mean?" the general said. Daniel flushed little in embarrassment, but the general seemed to understand. "SG-1 will act as a three-man team, as before, unless they need someone to assist them. But I need them to find a fourth member--if only because they'd be safer with another person to help--and I can't hold that open forever."

"No, sir. I know you can't wait for me to..." To what? Pull himself together? Stop acting crazy?

General Hammond sighed again. "Others who have assisted them in the past tell me they're difficult to work with."

Daniel nodded, gratified to be included in that confidence. "I've heard some people say the same, but that's just because their...methods and interaction with each other are unconventional, but they're also important to the way the team operates." He worked well with them because he understood that and respected it, as they understood that his own unusual methods could be a contribution and not an obstacle.

"The four of you are...the most eclectic and most unpredictable team I've ever considered putting together," the general said, rubbing his forehead. "That's paid off in the past--like what you just recommended about Orban might pay off again--but I can't afford that all the time. And I don't know if it would be best for each of you, either. I need to think about this."

"I understand, sir."

The general shook his head. "I can't hold the position indefinitely--and I do want you to take as much time as you need to be ready--but SG-1 will still want to know where you are, part of their team or not. Tell them before you leave for the conference. For now, you'll just report to Dr. Rothman, like before. We'll sort out everything else when you get back."

XXXXX

18 October 1999; Colonel O'Neill's Office, SGC; 1200 hrs

"Jack?" Daniel said tentatively at the door to the office.

A rubber ball bounced off a wall. "We're going off-world again tomorrow morning," Jack said.

"I know," Daniel answered, with an odd mixture of panic and dejection. "I'm leaving, too." Jack caught the ball, stopped, and looked at him. He looked away. "Not until Friday. It's the conference, with Robert. I wanted to...I don't know. You're--you're leaving tomorrow?"

Jack set the ball down on his desk. "Yeah."

Daniel took a breath. "Where? Is it..."

"Just a regular exploration. No more dangerous than usual," Jack said.

Considering the last few missions they'd had, that wasn't really comforting, but Daniel nodded mutely anyway.

He wasn't sure what his face looked like, but Jack sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Daniel. You'll be okay?"

Daniel nodded. "I need to get my head together," he said, repeating Jack's own words. "It's not a big deal. Only a few days, and I'll be with Robert. Be careful, okay?"

"'Course. I'll call you as soon as we get back from our mission. That phone I gave you, keep it on, all right? It'll be fine."

"Yeah?" Daniel said.

Teal'c would have said something like 'I cannot say for certain,' but Jack said, "Yeah, promise." Daniel thought maybe he needed both answers, which made no sense at all, so he nodded uncertainly and left.

Chapter Text

22 October 1999; Chicago, Illinois; 6:00 PM (CST)

Robert Rothman hadn't had time off--other than weekends and medical leave--since he'd started working for the SGC. This time, he'd made it off the base without alarms going off to quarantine him back in the Mountain. He decided to take that as a sign that it would work out this time, even if it did also technically count as work.

Of course, Colonel O'Neill hadn't been so confident. Robert was pretty sure--okay, very sure--that O'Neill wasn't overly fond of him, and he'd gotten a warning not to lose Daniel while he was in Chicago. Robert thought that was pretty rich coming from SG-1, especially since he'd gone home last weekend and found out that Daniel had joined them again on some follow-up thing and come back even more withdrawn than he'd been right after the going-crazy stint. Rumor said something about lobotomized kids. Robert really hoped that was an exaggeration.

What he hadn't considered was the danger of losing an underage alien in a crowded civilian airport, which was beginning to look like a real possibility.

"I didn't realize there were so many people," Daniel said, wide-eyed. "I mean, I did, but not...all in one place."

"Just don't get lost," Robert advised, keeping a close eye on his position.

"Right," Daniel said, looking like that was the last thing he wanted to do. "No. Sure."

Then again, Daniel had a perfectly exciting yet safe job deciphering alien languages at the SGC and still launched himself at every off-world opportunity he could, like he actually enjoyed coming back traumatized and/or splattered with blood. Robert had given up trying to understand what Daniel wanted when it came to adventure and life-threatening danger.

They made their way out and caught a bus without losing any bags or aliens, and when they were on their way, Robert said, "We're staying a few blocks from the Institute, so we'll just walk over tomorrow morning." There was no answer, however; Daniel was asleep against the bus window. "Yeah. I thought it was a good idea, too," Robert said to the seat back in front of them.

Whatever. This had been a crappy month. A sleeping Daniel wasn't a cranky, post-schizophrenia somewhat-off Daniel, which Robert was always happy to leave to Colonel O'Neill and SG-1 to handle. Which was bizarre, when you thought about it, because who left depressed teenagers to the mercy of a combat team?

His assistant (student? co-worker? whatever Daniel was) was weird.

His job was weird.

It paid well, though, and the world got saved every so often, which was nice.

It did not, however, pay well enough to drag a sleeping Daniel off a bus, so Robert hesitated, then poked him a few times on the arm. To his relief, Daniel tried neither to continue sleeping nor to hit him--he'd always imagined people with combat training being twitchy like that, and Daniel had Teal'c-training--but only yawned and dragged his things out of the bus.

They made it up to their room without any cultural blunders, by virtue of Daniel keeping his mouth shut and following obediently, apparently too busy staring at collegiate America to argue.

Within a few minutes, Robert had his laptop plugged in and open. Daniel was sitting on the floor against the wall with a blank legal pad and looking at some translation he'd brought while Robert checked through whatever e-mail had been sent in the last few hours. He almost told Daniel to put the work away and relax, but then Daniel would tell him the same, so he held his tongue.

"You could sit on the bed," Robert pointed out. "Or, you know, share the desk or something." Their room was technically intended for one person, but they'd both stayed in much less comfortable places, and it made things easier this way. Robert wasn't particularly interested in losing track of Daniel, anyway; someone would literally kill him.

But Daniel shrugged, lounging against the wall on the floor. "I'm fine here."

The next time Robert looked up, Daniel was chewing on his lip and staring at the carpet, and his notepad was still blank. "Need help with something?" he asked.

"Did you have hallucinations?" Daniel asked out of the blue. "With the Machello thing, I mean."

And okay. See, here was the thing.

Robert hadn't hated being an assistant researcher, per se, even if he'd gotten ordered around a lot. Still, he'd always thought it would be nice to be the guy in charge someday, except now he was thinking that it would've been nice to have someone tell him what to do sometimes. "Yeah," he finally said. "But everyone thought I was having a regular nervous breakdown, and by the time they decided I wasn't, we were all pretty sure something, you know, weird was going on. So I never got called schizophrenic."

"Is it common to have a nervous breakdown like that?"

"Not...really," Robert said, shuddering at the thought of having several episodes like that one. "I don't think so."

"Oh," Daniel said. He opened his mouth but, uncharacteristically, hesitated. He sighed instead and turned back to his notepad.

Robert really hoped there wasn't going to be a follow-up, and, happily, a buzzing sound made them both pause. "I think that's your phone," Robert said helpfully when Daniel looked confused. Reception was iffy under a mountain, and he was probably never alone on Earth's surface enough to have used a cell phone before.

"Right." Daniel dug it out and peered at the screen, then said, "It's Jack. SG-1 must be home."

"You should probably answer that," Robert advised, then left the room to hunt for coffee.

...x...

When Robert returned to their room, Daniel had wheedled quite a story out of SG-1 about their last mission, and this one...

Well. Doozy was an understatement.

"Whoa, whoa, okay," Robert said, holding up a hand as Daniel finished relaying what his friends had told him. "Apophis was training an SG-X to act like an actual SG unit?"

"Yes," Daniel said again, still turning his phone over in his fingers and frowning at it. "And to kill us, presumably, and possibly themselves in the process. They were his pawns." His lips quirked, as if at an inside joke that Robert was missing, and he added, "Cannon fodder."

Which was pretty much the worst joke ever.

"And they were your age?" Robert repeated. "Really?"

"Well, no--Sam said the youngest of them might have been, but the commanders, certainly, would've been older. Although...maybe they weren't pawns so much as knights. It depends on how you decide to define the hierarchy, because they obeyed Teal'c, too. So if the Jaffa are the lords and commanders, does that make them the kings or the knights or what?"

Robert stared at him. "Wha... Are we talking about chess here?" Sometimes he wondered if Daniel was trying purposely to freak him out or if his brain just went into overdrive when it got bored and spilled nonsensical thoughts all over the place.

Daniel blinked. "Sorry, I'm...rambling. Something Jack and I were talking about once." So it was the latter, apparently. "Anyway, they almost killed SG-1. And each other."

"Man," Robert said, wondering how SG-1 always managed to pull missions like that. First the Linvris place, then the place with kids getting their brains sucked out, then this. And that was just in the last month.

"And that's why your team is archaeology now," Daniel said.

And...what? "What?" Robert said.

"Apophis captured SG-11 last year and tortured information out of them," Daniel said in a tone so level Robert gaped a little. "It happened around the time when we were pushing for a team to specialize in archaeology, so that's what the new SG-11 became."

"Holy crap," Robert said, not sure which part horrified him more. "And...are they...did they..."

"They were killed, after," Daniel said quietly. "Almost a year ago."

"God," he said, because what else did one say to that? "And Colonel O'Neill told you that over the phone?"

Daniel stuffed his phone away and shook his head. "No. I talked to Sam afterward, who gave me the approximate dates. It's not hard to put together, given that they were the only team we lost around the right time. Then I asked Teal'c, who confirmed a few details."

"Holy crap," Robert repeated. His team never got caught up in stuff like that. And, great, now that just made him think about the fact that that was because the previous SG-11 had been captured and tortured for information and then executed.

"Isn't it strange?"

Like he needed something else strange in one of the strangest conversations he'd ever had with Daniel. Be the adult, Rothman. You can do it. "What?"

"It just happens really fast, doesn't it?"

"I need an antecedent, Daniel."

"They went to the planet with Apophis's training camp less than three days ago," Daniel explained. "Then a war started, a bunch of soldiers died, and it all stopped within a few hours. And now they're back home, writing reports. I don't know. I always imagine it should take more time for things like that to happen."

"Yeah," Robert managed, a little disturbed by the paths Daniel's brain took. "Uh, I guess. Geez. So Apophis was starting to recruit kids."

"They weren't kids," Daniel said. "It sounds like most of them were older than I am."

And that was a problem, Robert thought, but there was no good way to say that. He had never been one to rock the boat too much--even on base, where he was nominally in charge of quite a lot, he stayed pretty low-key. One of the advantages of having Daniel Jackson as his assistant was that Daniel's entire existence seemed to revolve around rocking as many boats as he could, and he had no problem being annoying to Colonel O'Neill's or General Hammond's face, letting Robert keep his head down.

Robert could put his own foot down once in a while, but he had no illusions about who would win if he went up against both Daniel and SG-1, especially when he'd been one of the ones most firmly in favor of letting Daniel work before. It didn't seem to matter how much he pointed out that Daniel just didn't seem to get the difference between being allowed to do nice, safe translations at the age of fourteen and being sent to shoot enemies at the age of sixteen, and that someone had to be the adult and tell him so (preferably without debate, because Daniel would debate the socks off anyone who tried it).

But there were valid excuses either way, and, in the end, who was Robert to judge if it was Daniel's choice by a different set of cultural mores? A little guiltily, he pushed the matter to the back of his mind, reasoning that SG-1 would (usually) protect Daniel (if they could).

"So..." Robert said, coughing awkwardly. "Have you looked at the schedule for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Oh," Daniel said, snapping back on track. "There's a speaker on 'Egyptian magic,' did you see? Do you think that means...you know, something we're interested in? Goa'uld?"

"It's more likely ordinary mysticism or beliefs, actually, but it could be. We'll pay attention, see if anything seems suspicious," Robert said, relieved to find himself back on safe, familiar ground. "Oh, hey, the Jordan group will be at the symposium, too. We'll meet up with them tomorrow in their lab, and then head down to the talks together."

Daniel perked up a little. "I remember. Dr. Jordan, Dr. Rayner, and Dr. Gardner, you said."

"Yeah. Treat this as a test of how well you know your cover story. Seriously, be careful with them," he said. He looked more closely and added, "And keep your dog tags out of sight."

"It's not a secret that we work for the Air Force, is it?" Daniel said, frowning even as he pulled the chain off his neck, secured it around a belt-loop, and slipped it into his back pocket, the way many of the SGC civilians kept their tags to avoid attracting attention. As with many things, Daniel hovered between civilian and military customs with his attire and ID and wasn't always able to tell which was the appropriate option.

"Well, no, but it might draw more questions," Robert said. "Trust me." Sarah had this knack for noticing things she had no business noticing, and Steven could pull scarily accurate guesses out of two scraps of circumstantial evidence. Dr. Jordan would probably keep his nose out of it if asked, but still--no reason to make people more curious than necessary. "Does your cover story include anything that puts you in bodily harm?"

"Uh...no," Daniel said. "My cover story puts me behind a desk all day, translating and probably fetching coffee for you."

"For which the Air Force doesn't issue dog tags," Robert pointed out. Nothing in their cover stories suggested that they might be killed and need slivers of metal to identify their bodies. Most days, Robert tried really hard not to think about that part of his job. "That's one of the reasons why civilians on base aren't in the habit of wearing them in sight."

"Huh. I'd wondered about that; I forgot to consider that it might be because their work is classified."

"If you have any doubts about what's classified and what seems normal to most people while we're here, you look at me for cues," he warned. "Okay?"

Daniel shrugged and returned to what he clearly saw as a more interesting topic. "Okay. Are the labs here...they're really different from SGC labs?"

"Oh, yeah," Robert said, reaching into his bag for a book. "They're more meticulous about details, too--we don't usually get to spend as much time on each artifact we find. If it's not something that explodes or a fancy new gun, people don't care that much." Daniel grimaced. "Yeah, I know, but we have our orders."

"I wish everything didn't have to be about fighting all the time. Do you ever think that?"

Robert looked up. Daniel was frowning at the closed flap of his backpack. "Well, sure," he said, thinking that he was absolutely the wrong person to be having this conversation. "But--"

"But we have to, I know," Daniel sighed, picking up his laptop again. "I'm not really trying to complain. Just saying."

"Uh, actually, I was going to say 'but that's what you'll see this weekend,'" Robert corrected. "A bunch of archaeologists who care about, you know, graffiti on pyramids more than guns."

"Oh. Right."

"Take notes," he advised.

...x...

23 October 1999; Jordan Lab, Chicago, Illinois; 8:00 AM (CST)

"Robert!" Sarah said, pushing back from the computer. Steven's head popped up, too.

"Um, hi," Robert said from the doorway, aware that this was no longer his territory but also knowing that he could probably still find his way around here with his eyes closed.

"It's so good to see you," Sarah said, smiling brightly. "Well, don't just stand there; come in! Wait--Dr. Jordan just got in; I should go tell him that you're here."

"Hey," Steven said as Sarah disappeared into the back. "How's it going? Long time, no see."

"Good, it's good," Robert said, stepping in and then turning to make sure Daniel hadn't gotten lost somewhere. Except no one was behind him, so he inched toward the corridor again and said, "Uh, hold on, Steven. I think I lost my--Daniel, what are you doing?"

"Oh," Daniel said, turning away from one of the instrumentation centers down the hall. "Sorry."

"Who's this?" Steven asked, just as Dr. Jordan followed Sarah back into the lab.

"You made it!" Dr. Jordan exclaimed, giving one of his rare grins. "We haven't heard anything about you aside from occasional e-mails for...what has it been, two years?"

"Yeah, just about, Dr. Jordan," Robert said, reaching out to shake his professor's hand, only to be pulled into a quick hug instead. "I hope you don't mind that we dropped in to say 'hi.'"

"Of course not," Sarah said cheerfully. "Why don't you introduce your friend?"

"Right--this is Daniel Jackson, my assistant in one of the...civilian whats-it-called..."

"Student internship program," Daniel filled in, which was a kind of ridiculous lie for someone who reigned over the department in all but name when Robert was off-world, but it was what his papers said. In a few years, they might be able to pass him off as some young research prodigy, but for now, this story was easier to believe. "Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Dr. Jordan said. "Why don't we pull up a few chairs and catch up? The first talk isn't for another couple of hours."

The five of them settled around the end of a relatively clear lab bench. Not clear enough, apparently, because Daniel was too busy looking at the stuff lying on top to remember to sit down. "What are these?" he asked, bending closer to something. "Is this from Abydos, this funeral stele?"

Robert stopped himself from kicking Daniel as hard as he could--which would be unsubtle and might result in being kicked back--and settled for taking a look himself. As it turned out, Daniel meant Abydos, Egypt, Earth, so that was okay.

Dr. Jordan glanced at Robert, then told Daniel, "They'll be joining the collections in the museum. We're helping with analysis and cataloguing, and yes, that was found at Abydos."

Daniel nodded absently, frowning. "I've read about artifacts found in excavations there. But the offering is...odd, isn't it?"

"That's one of the things that gave us pause," Jordan said with a speculative look in his eye. "We want to make sure we aren't missing something."

"Are you sure this says 'voice'?"

"Daniel," Robert said, and Daniel looked up, then sat down apologetically. "This is how we met," he added to the others. "Arguing over a translation."

"I was right," Daniel said immediately.

"Well, I was missing half the context," Robert retorted. Sarah laughed, and they stopped.

"It's not a problem," Jordan assured him. "We had an argument about that word the other day, in fact. But speaking of analysis and research...what have you been working on lately, Robert?"

"Yeah, I've been looking for your name in the journals," Steven added, still looking curiously between the two of them. "You haven't published in a while."

"Not much that we do is publishable," Robert said. "A lot of it's translation work."

Leaning forward, Sarah asked, "What exactly is it that an archaeologist does for the military?"

Hoo boy. Here I go, Robert thought, and lied, "Like I said, uh...mostly translation, communications with foreign collaborators, you know..."

Dr. Jordan smiled at him. "That's right, your masters was in linguistics, wasn't it? You were always good at the modern languages while the rest of us were stuck among extinct ones."

Wasn't it just ironic, then, that he'd quit modern linguistic theory for archaeology and philology because he'd enjoyed the ancient languages more, and that he barely touched the modern ones anymore and was better at languages extinct on Earth than anything else?

"Oh, Robert," Sarah said, "did you hear about Steven's book deal?"

Robert felt something within him--conditioning, maybe--protest at that. Not that he considered himself an academic purist who thought earning decent money was evil--he had a secure, well-paying job working for the government, after all--but it was odd to imagine a publication that actually brought in money in and of itself.

"Uh, congratulations," he said, turning to Steven, who shrugged tightly. "So, what's it on?"

Steven eventually cracked a real smile and was happy to go on at length about his book, which seemed to be nothing particularly groundbreaking, but Robert knew if anyone could write well enough to turn a ten page review into a bestseller...well, Steven Rayner could do it.

"Are you close to tenure these days?" Robert said, noticing that the other three were standing, though Dr. Jordan waved him back to his conversation with Steven.

"Still working on it," Steven said with the tone of lamenting academics everywhere and a little bit of needle-sharp envy. "You don't have to worry about that, huh?"

"Huh--well," Robert said, feeling oddly left out, which he knew was pretty ridiculous. "Have you guys gone anywhere interesting lately?"

"No, but we're applying for a grant, and--" Steven grinned suddenly. "Oh, do you remember that time--you were a fourth-year or something, and we went to the conference in Egypt?"

"Oh man," Robert said. He relaxed and laughed at the memory. "I remember the airport. I can't believe you're still bringing that up..."

By the time they'd petered out of reminiscences, Dr. Jordan, Sarah, and Daniel had migrated over to something on a lab bench, where Robert recognized Daniel's thinking face, Dr. Jordan's professorial stance, and Sarah's aw-that's-so-cute smile.

Following his gaze, Steven said quietly, "So where d'you find a kid like him in the military?"

"Uh, I found him at work, actually," Robert said, not mentioning that he'd first met Daniel in a physics lab, and then only because he'd dropped a few papers near his foot. "We were both working on the same thing and ended up comparing notes. He's an aspiring linguist." Or diplomat. Or anthropologist. Or Jaffa warrior. Something like that or all of the above.

"Is he any good?"

"Are you kidding? He's genius," Robert said. It felt kind of like boasting, but he found he didn't really mind the feeling. Steven still looked a little too speculative, so he added quietly, "I'm trying to get him to start looking at higher education." He meant college, but Steven would think 'grad school,' and he'd let the assumption stand. "He's gotten interested in archaeology but isn't decided on the idea of more school, so, you know..."

"Didn't you always hate being forced to TA?" Steven said, almost teasing. "Don't tell me you've become an inspiring teacher on us."

Thinking it wouldn't be wise to try to explain that Robert wasn't always the teacher between him and Daniel, he said honestly, "If students here had been like him, I wouldn't have minded."

...x...

24 October 1999; Chicago, Illinois; 7:00 PM (CST)

After the last speaker on Sunday, the Jordan lab clustered in a knot with a few other people, so Robert left Daniel listening spellbound to Sarah and Steven argue about something or other and went to speak to some of his former colleagues and ask about their research, making mental notes about a few people the SGC might be interested in. He drifted toward the principal investigators but soon found that the graduate students and post-docs were also a good talent pool--like Robert himself had been, some of them were frustrated, open-minded enough to consider that some pyramids might have been built by aliens, and eager for stable employment in a field that simply didn't have enough job openings in the traditional places.

Eventually, Dr. Jordan stepped up beside him, making Robert feel oddly like a first-year student all over again. "How have you been, Robert?" Dr. Jordan asked amiably.

Except, back in grad school, Robert hadn't had secrets he'd had to hide from his friends.

"Good," Robert said, not sure if it was a lie or not, because however cool alien planets were, there was always going to be something he'd miss about exploring his own planet with other archaeologists. The Stargate was incredible, but it wasn't the same when there was a time limit of a few days or--if they were really lucky--a couple of few weeks, with men carrying guns standing around him.

"Glad to hear that," Jordan said. "Your Daniel over there mentioned you weren't working on those theories you had anymore, about the construction of the pyramids."

"Did he?" Robert snuck a glance over and hoped they weren't interrogating Daniel at the moment. "Well, there aren't a lot of Egyptian pyramids in Colorado Springs."

Jordan nodded. "That's true. Well, you put a lot of work into that, and you know what I've always said about data..."

"They don't exist without a logical explanation," Robert filled in with an odd pang of wistfulness for the years when he'd been an underling. Okay, so it was a little pathetic, but Dr. Jordan had that effect on people. It would be nice, too, to have someone else take charge when their translators were going insane so that Robert wouldn't have to be the one to deal with it. Not that he was thinking of any particular incident, mind. "I remember."

"You really never wonder what might have come of it, if you'd pursued it to the conclusion?"

"No, not really," he denied dutifully. "My priorities have shifted a little since I got the new job."

He cringed a little as he said it. It sounded like he was denying that he cared about archaeological study at all these days. Now, that hurt.

He looked toward the others while trying to sort his thoughts and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Sarah sitting at one side of a table, Daniel to her left and Steven to her right. She'd scooted back a little to allow the two to talk across her. "What's going on over there?" he asked, wondering nervously how well Daniel knew his cover story.

"Well," Dr. Jordan said in a tone that made Robert think of a researcher studying animals in the wild, "I believe Daniel and Steven are engaging in some sort of one-upmanship ritual involving proficiency in Afro-Asiatic languages. Sarah seems to find them amusing, but any minute now, I predict she'll tell Steven to stop being so immature; Daniel has immunity as a guest and a student."

Just then, he saw Sarah shake her head and slap Steven lightly on the shoulder. Robert laughed. "That sounds about right."

"Well." Dr. Jordan gave him a last smile--a part of Robert thought it was wistfulness and another thought it was disappointment in him for having left the field--then looked up at the clock on the wall. "You're leaving tonight?"

"Yeah, we're taking the red-eye back. Actually, we should probably leave soon if we don't want to get stuck at the airport," he admitted reluctantly. If he didn't get Daniel back to base by Monday, someone would be out for his blood. O'Neill, probably, though he really didn't want to be on Teal'c or Major Carter's bad side, either.

"Well, visit more often, won't you?" Dr. Jordan said, patting him on the shoulder and leading him back to the group. "Sometimes I'm afraid you'll just disappear into Colorado and never come back."

Sometimes Robert was afraid of that, too, so he promised, "I'll be back, I'm sure. It was good to see you again, Professor."

XXXXX

25 October 1999; Daniel Jackson's Quarters, SGC; 0830 hrs

Jack found Daniel sitting on his bed, scribbling idly in a notebook, when he walked in. "Jack," he said, standing. "How is everything?"

"Good," Jack assured him, closing the door behind him. "How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was really interesting," Daniel said with surprising enthusiasm. "Some of the talks were really...uh, well..."

"...interesting?" Jack guessed.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Robert's archaeology professor was very nice, too--he showed me around the museum archive Saturday evening while Robert went to visit his sister."

"Well, good. I just wanted to tell you the three of us are going off-world in about half an hour--"

"What? You are?" Daniel scratched his head, blushing slightly. "Uh, right. Of course you are."

"It's just a routine exploration," Jack said, though they both knew there really was no such thing as 'routine.' When Daniel's enthusiasm visibly started to fade back into something like apprehension, he added, "You don't have to worry."

"Right, yeah. I know," Daniel said, looking uncertain about whether he should stay standing or sit or do something else, so he slouched and shuffled his foot in place instead. "Do you know anything about the place?"

"Not much," Jack admitted. "Their 'gate is in a storage room below ground, it looks like, but the MALP couldn't get up the stairs to look around."

"Well, if it's just in a storage room, it can't be a Goa'uld planet."

"Yeah, we think that, too." Orban, of course, hadn't been Goa'uld-infested, but... "One more thing," he added a little reluctantly. "The general thought I should tell you for some reason. SG-9 is going back to Orban."

Jack waited for an exclamation of surprise and hoped, just a little, for one of outrage. Instead, he received a tentative, "Oh?"

"You knew," Jack realized.

"Well. Yes," Daniel answered, raising his chin, though his tone was nervous. "I knew, but don't be mad. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think--"

"It was your idea?" Jack said in surprise. Daniel stopped. "I'm not mad," Jack said quickly, holding out a hand. "Hammond explained." Daniel nodded, folding his arms and still looking wary. "Daniel, I'm not mad at you."

"Yes, you are," he countered stubbornly. "I brought Kalan to take Merrin away."

"I'm...mad that it had to happen that way. But not at you."

Daniel tilted his head to consider that, then said, "But I did it, so it's the same thing."

Jack could feel this turning into one of those arguments he hated having with Daniel, so he insisted, "No, it's not," then followed quickly with, "Look...I just wanted to tell you we're going to be away, probably for a few days. If you need anything..."

"Right," Daniel said. "You should...you need to go. You said half an hour."

"SG-1 just needs to get this last one over with, and then we're off the rotation for a while--we'll be gone a couple of days, maybe, that's it," Jack said. "You gonna be okay?"

"It's okay; I'm not your responsibility," Daniel said in a tone clearly meant to reassure.

"You're on my team."

"I never actually finished getting onto the team," Daniel said. "So, not yet. Look, you have a mission--you need to go. Tell everyone 'good luck' from me."

That was part of the problem, Jack thought; no one was responsible for Daniel the way someone should be most of the time. He had a momentary thought that being part of SG-1 would solve that problem, because everyone on the team was responsible for everyone else and Daniel wouldn't be left here while everyone else moved on around him, until he remembered that putting Daniel on the team was what had hurt him in the first place. "We'll be back soon," Jack finally said. "All right?"

"Yeah, all right," Daniel said, nodding and not quite managing casual.

"Take care of yourself," Jack said, then closed the door behind him.

XXXXX

27 October 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 0800

Janet looked up at a knock on her open office door, surprised to see Daniel, since he seemed to have been avoiding her as much as it was possible for two people who spent most of their lives in the same building. "Are you busy, Dr. Fraiser?" he said stiffly.

Knowing how important names were to him, being called 'Doctor' instead of 'Janet' stung. She cleared her throat and said, "No, not at the moment. Would you like to come in?"

He took a step in, started to close the door, then stopped and left it open before taking a seat between her and the door. He took a breath, started to say something, and stopped.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" Janet prompted.

"Yes," he said. She waited for him to continue, watching as he unclenched his hands and sat on them, presumably to keep from fidgeting more than he already was. "Actually, I'm not sure," he finally confessed. "I'm sorry; I'll--"

"Wait," she said, holding up a hand, afraid he'd walk out and avoid her for a few more weeks. He stopped halfway to his feet and sank back into his chair. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"Fine," he said, not quite bravado, but clearly an answer meant to fill space, to tell a truth. He rocked forward once, very slightly, and then back, then stood and closed the door.

He still didn't seem to know what to say, so she tried, "You might be unhappy with me and decisions I made recently concerning you. If you're not comfortable talking to me--"

"It's not that," he said.

He didn't go on, though, or say what it was if it wasn't that. Janet had known Daniel could be stubborn about things he didn't want to share, things he expected people to figure out because he'd figured them out, but she'd rarely been the one who'd had to blunder her way through and figure out what was going on in his head. "All...all right," she said. "Then--"

"You were acting as my doctor, not my friend," Daniel said in a rush. "I understand."

Janet couldn't decide whether that was meant to absolve or blame. With Daniel, who picked words and meaning with laser precision, it could so easily be both. "Yes, I was," she said, choosing her words carefully, because he'd interpret them carefully. "A lot of the time, I'm going to have to be your doctor first. But right now, as your friend who just happens to have a medical degree, I'm sorry, and I want to know: how are you?"

She had no idea, really, what she'd said right in there, but it must have been something, because he seemed to relax a little bit. "I'm okay, Janet," he said, sounding more honest this time. "Better now that I can go back to doing some work, at least. How's Cassandra?"

For a moment, she was sure that was a change in topic, though one much less subtle than Daniel was capable of. Then she realized it wasn't that, so much as it was an offer to restart the entire conversation. "She's started taking Spanish at school," Janet said casually. "Having some trouble with it, actually--foreign language doesn't seem to be her forte."

"Well...I know Sam sometimes helps her with math homework. If...maybe the next chess weekend, if she needs help with language and Jack and I are there..."

"I think she'd love to have you help her out," Janet said with a genuine smile.

"Okay," Daniel said, looking relieved at something or other. "Okay. Thanks."

"Daniel..." she said seriously, "listen. It's easy to get...stuck, if you will, after something happens to you. I want to make sure you understand you won't move past it if you avoid thinking about it."

In the same tone, he said, "I know. Actually, can I ask you a few things, Janet? As a doctor, I mean. Teal'c said you explained some...aspects of psychiatry to him. Apparently, both of us grew up with a different view from the Tau'ri practices, and it turns out I don't know much at all about it..."

"Of course," she said, gesturing. "Have a seat--what do you want to know?"

XXXXX

29 October 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 0730

Sam paused with her hand poised to knock on the doorframe. "No, it's not!" Dr. Rothman was insisting as Daniel sighed in exasperation and said something she didn't understand, so she assumed they were arguing about a translation again.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked when they both stopped and frowned for a moment.

Daniel's head jerked up. "Sam, you're back already? Is everyone okay?"

She smiled. "We're fine, Daniel. It went great, actually. The colonel's briefing SG-5, and we have to go back to the planet with them in about an hour."

"Yeah?"

"Yup. The planet's called Vyus, and they've been really friendly. They've got this enormous library. There's an old man there who's been the librarian for years, and he's offered to help look through it for records of Goa'uld or anything else. We're bringing a research team back with us. I just wanted to check in on you before we go."

"That sounds really interesting," he said, and if she didn't know better, she'd think he was envious. On the other hand, it was an alien library--actually a library, rather than forgotten text on a stele--so he probably was envious, at least a little. "I hope you learn a lot from them."

"Me, too." She looked between him and Rothman. "I don't want to bother you guys, so I'll--"

"Take him," Rothman said with a yawn. "He's too awake for me at this hour."

So Daniel walked her toward the elevator. "I never realized how much I like being active until I wasn't allowed to do fieldwork," he confided. "Not that there's anything wrong with deskwork, but I'd gotten used to the idea of almost being on a team, and, well...I'm bored, Sam."

He was looking at her now, practically begging even though she wasn't the one who needed to be convinced. Sam had the fleeting thought that, if they'd been better at resisting his pleas for work from the start, he might not have gone through everything that he had. She stopped him before they reached the elevator and said, "Work's been hard on you lately."

Daniel grimaced but said, "It's been hard on everyone. But--but that's the way it is, right? I've had all the mandatory time off I can take, and...I really want to get back to work all the way. So now, it's just that I can't join a team again until I finish my psych evaluation, and..."

"Have you scheduled it?"

"I will," he said determinedly, then backed away. "You'll see--he'll say I'm fine, too. Tell everyone good luck from me, yeah?"

"All right," she said, heartened. "See you in a few days."

XXXXX

3 November 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 2300 hrs

Teal'c approached the archaeology office and was not surprised to find lights still illuminating the interior. "Tek'ma'tek, Daniel Jackson," he said from the doorway.

Daniel Jackson looked up briefly from his work. "Tek'ma'tae. Back from Vyus?"

"Indeed. It was a most successful exchange of knowledge. I was not expecting to find you still awake at this hour."

"I'll leave soon," he said. "Actually, do you have a minute?" Teal'c stepped in with his hands clasped behind his back, which Daniel Jackson took as an invitation. "Uh...which of these people has SG-1 worked with before?"

Accepting the sheet, Teal'c read through the list and said, "We have not worked in the field with Captain Young, Lieutenant Astor, or Dr. Balinsky."

"Huh...you've worked with Captain Lithell before? I don't remember that," he said, taking the paper back and scribbling indecipherable words next to one of the names.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied. "He is a member of SG-5 and has accompanied us once in the past."

"Oh, right," Daniel Jackson said, shaking his head. "I'll assume he doesn't have anything against you guys. Do you know how hard it is to convince some of the people in this department to join SG-1 off-world without an order from the general? Well, all the teams are pretty insular, but I swear you guys are the worst. I think Jack scares scientists off on purpose."

Teal'c thought that this could be true--he had observed the same, not only from O'Neill, but also from Major Carter, who was simply more discrete. Teal'c also did not hide his thoughts when temporary consultants made inexcusable errors. "Many of them are unaccustomed to the way in which we work. However, I do not believe it would be wise to alter our tactics."

"I know," Daniel Jackson said with a smile. "I like you all the way you are, too. Just makes our job more interesting. Anyway... I have a question." He paused, and Teal'c nodded to indicate he could continue. "When you went to Vyus, did SG-1 have a fourth person?"

"We did not," Teal'c replied.

Daniel Jackson appeared to be waiting for further explanation, but when none came, he said, "You should have picked someone. I don't mean just for culture and things like that; you might need more than three people to...to watch each other's backs."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"You're not going to disagree?" he asked in a suspicious tone of voice.

Teal'c took a moment to decide on the best tactic to approach this. "I am not. However, there is some difficulty in that matter. There is no additional space in the SG-1 locker room."

"You... Was that a joke?" he asked uncertainly. "I can clear out my gear. It was never quite mine to begin with."

"Daniel Jackson, we have not been seeking a replacement for you."

Relief passed over Daniel Jackson's features, but it disappeared quickly. "Like I said, it's not...a replacement, exactly."

"You have been a part of SG-1 for years," Teal'c reminded him, certain he was not the only one who believed so. "Only recently have we begun to arm you appropriately."

"Look, don't tell Jack this, okay? I don't know if he'd be very objective around me. And I guess I'm not very objective around all of you, either. I don't want to be the reason someone gets hurt."

Teal'c found this to be a very obvious remark and unworthy of one from whom he had come to expect insights that he would not otherwise have considered on his own. "I have heard Tau'ri warriors use the words 'brothers in arms,'" Teal'c said.

"Yes," Daniel Jackson answered, frowning. "That's a...well, yeah. What?"

"I consider O'Neill and Major Carter my brothers in battle."

"Sam's a girl," Daniel Jackson answered, and Teal'c reminded himself that the word in this tongue was not used for a group of more than one gender.

"She is a warrior and a sister. I would die for them, and they would die for me."

"Well, that's the point, Teal'c. What if one of you has to protect me and...Teal'c, you know what I'm saying."

This was the most difficult part in attempting to teach Daniel Jackson. If he had been a Jaffa warrior, he would never have seen battle at his level of skill. But he was not a Jaffa warrior, and there was nothing in Teal'c's experience that told him when a scholar was prepared for battle. He had believed the time had come, with SG-1 to protect him, but Daniel Jackson often seemed to understand war both too well and not at all. However, Teal'c no longer wished to teach young Jaffa to die fighting. He had but one chal'ti now, and he would see this one live.

"Would you lay down your life for us?" Teal'c asked.

"That's not the point," Daniel Jackson insisted.

"Indeed it is. SG-1 would die for you. You would die for us. Because I wish for you to live, I will fight harder to prevent you from dying for me. Do you understand?"

"Well, I just don't want to be the one who makes you all die."

"You are being stubborn," Teal'c said sharply. "You said that you tire of seeing people hurt. I tire of sending men to their deaths. When you fight against an enemy, you seek only death; when you fight for your brothers, you seek life. Is this not why we follow the Tau'ri way?"

Daniel Jackson pushed his glasses higher with a finger but did not answer.

"For what do you fight, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

There was no response at first. Daniel Jackson chewed on his lip, his brow furrowed, but it was in thought and not in anger or confusion. And then, "This"--he made a vague gesture around the room--"and everyone, but free from the Goa'uld. That's not a sentence. Does it make sense?"

"I too wish to see that life," Teal'c said. "You must understand, Daniel Jackson, that we may succeed, but neither of us will ever be untouched by the war against the Goa'uld. We fight for a chance to see that future and to share a small part in it."

Daniel Jackson nodded, finally understanding. "And for our families. Brothers in arms and...and everyone else."

"Think on it," Teal'c said.

"Brothers in books?" Daniel Jackson suggested.

"Perhaps you should not think so hard," Teal'c amended.

XXXXX

5 November 1999; Commissary, SGC; 1300 hrs

Jack stepped into the elevator with Daniel, who turned to him and said, "I went to the mental health people yesterday. I asked them to redo some of the cognitive tests, and I have an appointment with Dr. Mackenzie in a few days."

Surprised, Jack said, "Why?" before he could think twice.

Daniel frowned at him as the elevator door opened. "Uh...because the last tests I have on record are from when I was...well, either insane or sane but very annoyed at the whole process, and I don't think Mackenzie would find anything to make him think I'm not sane this time."

There were too many parts of that to address all at once, so he started with, "You don't ever have to talk to Mackenzie again if you don't want to. No one's told you that?"

"Does it matter?" Daniel crossed his arms and led the way out. "I don't want to do this with any of the other psychiatrists, either. Dr. Mackenzie knows better than most of the other psychiatrists what would help or hurt an SG team, so...what does it matter, Jack?"

Jack watched him more closely as he pushed open the doors to the commissary. "If you're talking about competence, his name was on the forms that had you committed."

"So was Janet's," Daniel said, grabbing a plate. "And so was the general's. And you thought I was crazy, too...yes, you did," he added when Jack started to protest.

"Daniel..." Jack said. When no answer came, he said uncomfortably, "We kept looking."

"It's just a fact, okay?" Daniel said, frowning. "I've been thinking--I looked insane. I thought I was insane. It was Mackenzie's job to say that. So that's what he did, and I'll just...clear up any lingering questions with him. Unless you have a problem with my meeting with him?"

Jack found Carter and Teal'c at a table talking about Goa'uld tech and sat down to one side of them. "I...don't have any problems if you don't," he told Daniel. "I guess."

"Well, I don't. Leave it alone." So Jack backed off that point, but then Daniel repeated, "No, really, Jack, leave it alone," and Jack realized he'd taken Daniel's orange.

"Sorry," he said, handing the fruit back.

"Anyway," Daniel said, encompassing Jack, Carter, and Teal'c all in his gaze, "SG-12 was doing some drills while you were on Vyus, and Major Ferretti let me join them. Is that all right?"

"What kind of drills?"

"You said I could go to the range as long as someone was there. Ferretti counts, right?"

"Yeah," Jack conceded. "It's fine. As long as he didn't mind."

"He offered. SG-12's newer members were being trained in energy weapons. I'm better now--fifteen out of fifteen on the target in each round, mostly, with a time limit. I could pass it right now. Well, not right now," he amended, because he was holding an orange and not a gun. "You know what I mean."

"You really want to get back on the ball, huh," Carter said.

"I really do," he said. "I know everyone's wary about putting me on SG-1, but I've spent two years training to be able to help explore so I can carry out my duty to my planet as well as to this one, so...uh. Yes. My answer was yes. If you still want me."

Jack exchanged a look with his teammates. "Daniel," he started carefully, "if people are wary about you on our team, it's not because of your failings...but you do end up hurt from being with us more than you do in any other way."

"You end up hurt from being on SG-1 more than in any other way, too," Daniel pointed out. "It's my age, right? Because I looked that up. I'm legally employed in this country, I'm even being paid now, I'm not being forced into anything, and you have agreement from my village elder."

"True," Jack conceded. "But--"

"We've been unlucky a few times, I know, but we've been lucky, too. And if I didn't understand before what might happen, you can't say I don't understand now." Daniel paused and glanced at Teal'c before focusing on all of them again. "Is the spot still open on your team?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said. Jack gave him a sharp look, but it wasn't like he'd ever been fazed by Jack's sharp looks.

"I know you don't want a fourth," Daniel said, "but...we've done okay together before, right? The general seems to think I'm the only one who can stand all of you at once."

The last was said with a hopeful, teasing smile, although the general had implied that, too, to their faces. It might even be true. "Yeah," Jack said. "But--"

"You agreed before the mission to the Linvris chamber," Daniel said. "That was just an accident, and it's over. I promise, it's over now. Give me a chance, Colonel. Same as before--no military operations, but I can be a good translator, a...a good soldier if need be, and I won't be the weak link on your team, and--"

"Aht!" Jack said, holding up his hand. "Okay. I get it. Look, our next mission isn't for another week and a half. After your appointment with Mackenzie, I'll hear his report, and I'll go with you to get your marksmanship scores on paper. If everything goes through, I'll request your addition to SG-1. Again."

"Really?" Daniel eyed them all suspiciously.

"You think you're ready?" Jack asked.

Daniel nodded firmly. "Yes, sir. I'm ready."

"Then, yeah, really," Jack said, then reached out with a fork to take a bite of Daniel's pie.

XXXXX

10 November 1999; Embarkation Room, SGC; 1000 hrs

It didn't happen that way, though. That would have been too easy.

Daniel passed all tests and put up some decent scores with his sidearm, and Hammond seemed like he could be convinced to put him back on SG-1. Then he had his psych reevaluation, and just before Jack and Hammond had a chance to sit down with Mackenzie, the Tok'ra came calling and things quite literally went to Hell.

"Maybe it's Dad," Jack suggested to Carter when they received the Tok'ra IDC.

"Maybe," she agreed hopefully.

The two of them went together to wait at the bottom of the ramp, but it wasn't Jacob who walked out; it was Martouf, followed by two Tok'ra Jack didn't recognize. "Martouf," Carter greeted, smiling. "How are you?"

"Samantha," Martouf answered, but without an answering smile. "Colonel O'Neill. I am well enough, under the circumstances."

Jack felt his expression start to stiffen as he ran through the list of possible reasons the Tok'ra might be here that would warrant the phrase 'under the circumstances.' If they had just come to ask for help with something simple, Jacob would have been there, right?

"It's my father," Carter guessed, echoing Jack's thoughts.

Martouf nodded once, solemnly. "I'm afraid he's been captured by Sokar."

Chapter Text

10 November 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1030 hrs

By the time everyone was assembled and Jack walked into the briefing room, Daniel was skimming through a copy of some book called The Egyptian Heaven and Hell. Jack felt that this did not bode well for what he'd say about where Jacob Carter was.

"Kingdom of Sokar," Daniel muttered as he flipped through. "Netu is mentioned as a part of one of the regions of the Egyptian underworld, with Sokar the ruler of some of those regions. Netu...there are references to various monsters, fire feeding into a lake..."

Jack connected death with underworld and fire and suggested, "Hell?"

"Uh...sure. I mean, it does sound rather...hellish." Daniel grimaced. "The point is that it's probably fiery, with 'creatures' that might or might not refer to Jaffa or other soldiers, and..." He hesitated and glanced at Carter. "It's probably not a good place to be."

Carter was shaking her head. "And no one but Jolinar has ever escaped from there? I only carried her for a couple of days. I've never had enough of her memories to see anything like this place you're describing. I'd do anything to help you, believe me, but I'm not sure I can."

"The Tok'ra have memory-enhancing devices," Martouf assured her. Jack saw her expression at the idea of having memory devices used on her and didn't envy her a bit. He hoped Martouf liked her enough that he wouldn't try something harmful on her.

"If we're doing this, we'll need a couple more units, sir," Jack told Hammond.

Martouf shook his head. "A full military incursion will be impossible, Colonel O'Neill."

A little impatient--and by the looks of it, Carter was becoming so, too, with good reason--Jack said, "We do covert. We get in, grab Jacob, and get out."

"Selmak's recovery is obviously a high priority," Martouf hedged. "However, and forgive me, Samantha, but there is more at stake here. The Tok'ra believe that Sokar is about to launch a massive attack against the System Lords. First and foremost, we need to determine what information Selmak has gathered about Sokar's planned attack."

Jack thought that over: Goa'uld killing Goa'uld, Goa'uld dying... "Isn't it a good thing if Sokar kills our enemies for us?"

Teal'c reminded him, "The disorganization of the System Lords' fragmented rule is a far more vulnerable target than that of one powerful Goa'uld, particularly if the Goa'uld is Sokar."

"It took three of the most powerful System Lords together to defeat him last time," Daniel reminded them. "And they didn't even succeed, obviously."

"The fate of the galaxy may be at stake," Martouf added, because he hadn't been overdramatic enough yet today.

"It sounds like we can't refuse," Hammond said grimly. "Colonel, you have a go."

"When do we leave?" Carter asked.

"As soon as you are ready," Martouf said, looking as impatient to start as anyone, "if you are all sure you understand what you are volunteering for."

"Um, General," Daniel said, raising a finger and leaning forward. "I--I know what you're going to say, sir...but it's Jacob."

"Not this time, son," Hammond told him. "This is exactly the kind of thing you're not trained for. SG-1 will go with the Tok'ra to Netu without you."

Daniel swallowed. "The three of you, will that be enough?"

"There are only four descent pods," Martouf told him. "I will accompany SG-1, but only four will be able to disembark from the teltak and enter Netu's atmosphere."

"Teltak?" Jack asked.

"A Goa'uld transport vessel," Teal's provided. "A cargo ship."

Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Whoa...we're going to Hell in a ship?"

"Do not worry," Martouf assured him. "Much of the damage to the ship was repaired."

XXXXX

11 November 1999; Tok'ra Teltak; 0900 hrs

"We still do not know how Jolinar escaped from Netu," Martouf said as the four of them gathered around the teltak to work out their plan. "I cannot allow any of you to descend to the surface without a route of escape, and if Samantha has not been able to remember...the risk to you all is too great."

Jack looked out the window at the surface of Hell. "We're not leaving without Carter's dad."

"It may prove necessary," Martouf said.

"You know what?" Jack started, annoyed. "Maybe that's how the Tok'ra do things, but--"

"There are bigger things at stake, more important than any one of us," Martouf said again. He glanced out as well, then turned back. "I will descend alone to Netu and attempt to find Selmak. When I do, I will relay his intelligence to you through this communicator"--he held up his com device--"and you must return to Vorash to inform the Tok'ra of what Selmak learned."

Carter shook her head. "You're not going without us, Martouf." Teal'c was still in the pilot's seat but listening closely as well.

"Samantha, with no means of escape..."

"We're not leaving without you, either," Jack told Martouf. When the Tok'ra began to argue, he insisted, "No one's being left. Look, it's been done. Jolinar escaped from there once. We can do it again--we'll improvise. Come on, this is practically our specialty."

Martouf stared at Carter, then looked away. "Perhaps Teal'c should remain on the teltak. If we are unable to escape, he will still be able to return to the Tok'ra with our information."

This time Teal'c spoke up to say, "General Carter may be injured, and we will move more quickly if there are enough people to aid him and to do battle should it prove necessary."

"You're pretty recognizable, Teal'c," Jack felt obligated to point out, even though Teal'c would be a really nice advantage to have with them.

In response, Teal'c looked pointedly at the uniforms they wore, complete with SGC markings and zippers and all the things that made them look like they were from Earth. "As are you, O'Neill. I believe we will all be equally despised by the people on Netu."

"Cheery thought," Jack said. "But fair. So, everyone, what do you say?"

Carter fingered the memory device still stuck behind her ear. "I'm game, sir, and I might have an idea to improve odds of success for the greater picture concerning Sokar, too. Is there a...an automatic navigation system on this ship? And can the ship record transmissions?"

"Yes--ah. I see what you mean," Martouf said, moving toward the controls.

"I don't," Jack said.

"We bring the communicator and relay intelligence to the teltak while it remains near Netu, preferably on the far side of the moon, out of sight of Delmak and the ships in orbit there," she explained, looking over Martouf's shoulder. "The transmission will be recorded on this ship."

"I will set the teltak to return to the coordinates of Earth in ten hours' time," Martouf finished. "Whether or not we escape, the Tau'ri can still give the information about Sokar to the Tok'ra."

"Could we not send the teltak to Vorash directly?" Teal'c asked.

"A vessel cannot land there without acknowledgement by the Tok'ra," Martouf explained. "If it did so, the Tok'ra would likely target it, assuming that we had been compromised."

Paranoid much? "Well, you can't land it on Earth," Jack pointed out. "Aside from the fact that this is top secret, there's nowhere for it to land unless we warn them first. And it might take too long for the SGC to get word of it, especially if someone besides the US picks it up first."

"Maybe another friendly planet," Carter said, "one that would be sure to contact the SGC without any probability that the ship could be attacked instead of investigated..."

"Abydos," Jack suggested. "Their only contact is Earth, and they're our only friendly planet that doesn't have the weaponry to destroy the ship and does have a way to open the iris or at least communicate with Hammond by radio. They'll call the SGC." Carter and Teal'c looked at each other, and then Carter shrugged and pointed out the Stargate address for Abydos. "Martouf, can you control where on a planet this ship will land? We have to be sure someone'll see it."

Martouf was already inputting the coordinates. "The ship can detect a Stargate or a set of transportation rings and can be given a command to land a certain distance away. Beyond that, I have no control without greater knowledge of the planet."

"That's good enough," Jack assured him. "It's open desert all around the 'gate and the rings. The 'gate guards should get word to the SGC pretty fast."

Carter opened her supply pack. "I'll leave a message for an SG team to find, so they'll know what to do when they get to the ship."

That done, there was nothing left but to lock themselves in the descent pods and get ready to go to Hell.

XXXXX

11 November 1999; Netu; 1700 hrs

Fire, toxic atmosphere, evil creatures come to insult them and throw them in prison... Jack looked out past the bars of their prison and had to admit that it fit his image of Hell pretty well.

"Are they just gonna leave us here to stew?" Jack said, glancing back once at Jacob where he half-lay and half-sat against the bars of the door. Another look out of their prison cell showed Carter still not back from whatever Bynarr, Sokar's lackey Goa'uld, was doing with her. No use imagining what Bynarr was doing to her just yet. He wiped a sleeve over his brow. "Is it getting hotter, or is it just me?" he asked irritably.

When his three fellow prisoners' eyes tracked momentarily to him, he remembered that he was the only one currently here without a symbiote to take the edge off everything.

"Fine," Jack sighed. "It's just me." He supposed he should be grateful--they'd only been here a few hours, and it was already getting hard to keep breathing without choking on the dryness and the borderline-poisonous air around them. If Jacob hadn't had Selmak to take care of him over the last four days...

Jack wondered how long he and Major Carter would last in this place, even if they never got to the torture part, which was undoubtedly in the cards somewhere. So far, it felt like his lungs were trying to burn their way out of his chest, but he supposed that could have just been the heat. Not, of course, that that would make things any better in the long run.

A clanking sound made Jack stand, but it was only the First Prime, who'd come to gawk at them.

Jack looked over his shoulder--Teal'c was on his feet as well while Martouf crouched protectively over Selmak, but the First Prime did nothing but look at them all. Not that Jack would know, he supposed, if the guy was glaring at them from behind that hooded mask that made him look a lot like an executioner.

Well, hell. They'd converted another high-ranking Jaffa to their cause before, and honestly, who in his right mind would want to stay here to serve a minor Goa'uld if given another choice? "Hey, you," Jack said. "What's your name?"

There was a shifting motion that made Jack think the guy was surprised to be talked to. Well, that, or his uniform was itchy. Jaffa uniforms were like that, and that was without taking the heat into account. "I am Na'onak," the First Prime said, and somehow, Jack could almost swear the guy was amused by something. There was something funny about his voice--maybe that was the point of the mask, after all, some sort of Darth Vader thing that made him sound creepy and Goa'uld-like.

Teal'c stiffened, but Jack threw out an arm and said, "Na'onak, you do know the Goa'uld aren't gods, right? You've gotta know that by now. And I mean, you've got ambitions besides rotting in a dump like this, right, guy like you? You see Teal'c, here--we got him out--"

This time, there was no mistaking Na'onak's laughter. He leaned his helmeted face in close and hissed, "The Goa'uld are gods, O'Neill. You and the shol'va will pay."

Jack was too surprised at being addressed by name to react. Teal'c was not, and he launched himself toward the bars, snarling. Jolted into action, Jack pulled him away, Martouf rising to help restrain him as Na'onak laughed harder and turned to walk away.

"What was that?" Jack demanded once they'd wrestled Teal'c away from the bars and Na'onak was out of sight.

"Na'onak," Teal'c growled.

"Yeah," Jack said, "that was his name--"

"It was not!" Teal'c said. "Na'onak means 'not a god.' He is not a Jaffa--he is a disgraced Goa'uld, forced to serve Sokar's forces."

"I noticed the name," Jacob said, "but he could just be someone like you, Teal'c--a Jaffa they wanted to put in his place. Voice modulators can--"

Teal'c growled and glared at them. "He is a Goa'uld. I know the voice of my former master."

"Your former--oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jack stared at Teal'c. "You're telling me that's Apophis?" Well, it explained how the guy knew them, anyway, and why he'd come to gloat at them. "So my little recruitment spiel wasn't ever gonna work, huh."

"Sokar's sarcophagus," Martouf spoke up. "Perhaps Sokar decided that a lifetime of servitude, stripped of his power and rank, was worse punishment than even death."

Jack sighed, leaning back against the bars. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

Finally, Carter was brought back and stumbled into the cell. Jack took a quick look to make sure she was unhurt--they had no time right now for more than a glance--then checked his watch. They had less than an hour left before Jolinar's teltak was set to take off again for Abydos--hopefully, Jacob's information was enough for the Tok'ra to do something about the threat of Sokar.

Carter glowered darkly until the guards returned to their post, then turned to Jack and said quietly, "Sir, I know how Jolinar escaped."

"Well, we really need a way to escape now, so let's have it," Jack urged.

And so it came out: Bynarr hadn't helped Jolinar escape, or not exactly. She'd seduced him and used him to escape, which Jack was pretty sure wouldn't be an option this time around.

Jack let Carter and Martouf exchange earnest, confused looks of meaningful love-but-not-really for a full six seconds before saying, "But how exactly did Jolinar get out, Major?"

Snapped back to the situation at hand, Carter straightened and said, "There are transportation rings in Bynarr's quarters, and he carries the key to them on his person. Jolinar...managed to get it away from him, used the rings to get up to Sokar's palace, stole a cargo ship, and escaped."

Now, if that wasn't an insane plan, Jack didn't know what was. Luckily, they had experience with pulling off insane. They had two Tok'ra--one of them healthy--a Jaffa, and two humans trained in combat; maybe it wouldn't be a terrible idea to try what a lone Tok'ra had managed before.

In the distance, someone called, "The Lord of Netu is dead!"

"What's going on out there?" Jack asked, moving closer to the bars and standing on his toes as if it would help him see.

Carter bent down to check over her father. "That First Prime--Na'onak--just killed Bynarr. I thought Bynarr was going to kill me up until then."

"Apophis seeks vengeance against us," Teal'c said. "It was undoubtedly for that reason that he stopped Bynarr from killing Major Carter. He wishes to torture and execute us by his own hand."

Well, that's great, Jack thought.

"Wh--Apophis?" Carter echoed, lost.

"You're a little behind, Sam," Jacob put in. "Na'onak is Apophis. And it's possible he wants his power back, not just vengeance, and your presence is handing him the bargaining chip he needs. Either way, if he's attacked Bynarr, the denizens will riot."

Already, Jack saw a few of their guards disappearing from sight to investigate the commotion and said, "Then this could be our last chance." Quickly, he relayed the information from the com device to the cargo ship, checking his watch again. In less than half an hour, the ship would be off and headed toward, hopefully, the SGC and the Tok'ra.

"Sir," Carter said dubiously, "the rings go to Sokar's palace. Jolinar escaped, but she was one person, and she had a hand device."

"We've got able-bodied people, too," Jack said. "Does anyone have a better idea? We got the intel up to the ship, and it's on its way to Abydos--we've done our duty to the galaxy. We just need a way out of here, and we'd better act now while people are confused."

Jacob nodded, and Martouf said, "Let us lure the guards toward us. When the doors open, we should be able to overtake them, and then we can proceed to Bynarr's quarters."

Good. Everyone was on board. Now, time for a plan.

"Teal'c, you take Jacob," Jack said quietly. "Carter, when we get there, you and Martouf get that ring platform working. Everyone clear? Good. Jacob, act like you're trying to contact someone." He handed the com device over. "Everyone else, get ready."

Jack gave thanks for the first time for the shadows all over this place and shrank back into one of them with Martouf as Carter and Teal'c took up position on the other side.

"Tal'mak Selmak," Jacob said as loudly as he could, holding the com device. One of the guards outside turned at the sound of his voice, and he and his companion quickly began to walk toward them. "Kel shek? Tal'mak--"

"Kel nok? Kal shak!" one of the guards shouted, opening the door.

Just as one of them reached for Jacob, Martouf flung himself at the man. Carter burst out at the second one with a swift kick to the gut as Jack finished off Martouf's guard from behind. By the time his man was down, Carter's was, too, and they'd gained a couple of sturdy wooden clubs for their trouble. Teal'c had already slung Selmak unceremoniously over his shoulders.

"This way!" Carter said, and they took off after her.

In front of an open chamber, Teal'c hissed, "Halt! Someone approaches!"

They crouched low into a corner, watching as another guard--one of the ones who'd captured them, Apophis's underling--walked past, peered suspiciously around the room, and left.

"Let's go," Jack whispered.

Carter led them into another room where Bynarr's dead form still lay and crouched over him. Jack turned and pushed the doors shut as she said, "The key that activates the rings is gone."

"Where was the key to be inserted?" Martouf asked.

"Here," she said, showing him to a piece on the wall.

Jack barricaded the door and leaned his weight against it as well, hoping no one had seen them and that the doors would be able to hold if someone realized their cell was empty. "Can you make it work?" he asked as Martouf smashed the control interface and examined the mechanism inside.

Martouf reached in to start fiddling. "It will take time."

Teal'c looked up, saw the rings over his head, and set Jacob down in the center before helping Jack at the door. Carter moved to the rings as well.

"The Jaffa will attack as soon as we get up there," Jacob said.

"As will Sokar," Teal'c said. "Energy weapons will be of no use against him if he possesses a hand device."

"I'll try to hold off Sokar," Jack said, knowing there was no time for anyone to argue with him. "Try to take the Jaffa by surprise and pick up a few weapons on the way."

"Almost done," Martouf said.

Someone pounded against the door as the shouting became louder. The door shuddered once, and again. Jack gritted his teeth.

"Get ready," Martouf finally said. Jack checked that the bar holding the door shut was still in place and moved toward the rings, Teal'c following a second later. "It is done!"

Just as Martouf reached the platform, the door creaked. "Marty..." Jack said.

"Two seconds--"

Carter hefted the club in her hand, standing over her father.

Rings fell over them just as the door splintered. Jack had just enough time to see Apophis's scarred face before white light shot through the ceiling and Netu faded away--

--to a hooded figure on a throne. Jack saw an activated hand device, decided that this was probably Sokar, and launched himself bodily at the Goa'uld.

There were scuffling sounds behind him, and he flinched reflexively but couldn't turn around to see when the first staff blast sounded. Sokar's hood fell back, revealing a whitened face roaring in surprise and fury. Jack slammed his elbow into the Goa'uld's face, the force of the impact toppling both of them together off the throne and to the floor. He landed on top and drew his hand back for another blow, but Sokar, aided by his symbiote, was much faster and stronger, and he caught Jack's fist in the hard, metallic grip of a hand device.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted.

Ignoring the crushing pain in his hand, Jack turned and rolled away as much as he could while still held in the Goa'uld's grip. The crystal of the ribbon device heated against his knuckles--

A staff blast burned across Jack's leg, and he hissed as brief shock gave way to a line of fire blazing through his limb. His hand was released, and, off balance, he tumbled the rest of the way off Sokar and to the floor.

An arm gripped him around his chest. Squinting against the pain, Jack tried to twist around enough to free his good leg to kick, until Teal'c called again, "O'Neill, it is I! Martouf, the hand device!"

Jack stopped fighting and let Teal'c drag him away, waiting for his leg to stop burning enough to scramble away on his own. "I'm fine," he choked out.

Staff blasts were sounding with increasing frequency now. He dragged open watering eyes to see Carter and Teal'c had both wrested staff weapons away from someone. As he watched, Carter tossed hers toward her dad where he was propped against a wall and ducked under one blast coming from outside to grab another weapon from the hands of an injured Jaffa, kicking viciously to loosen his grip and turning the staff weapon to keep him down for good. To the other side, a thin line of smoke was rising from Sokar's still form, and Martouf was bent over it.

Teal'c's shot had grazed Jack, but it had taken Sokar full in the chest. This was their chance.

"Sam," Jacob yelled, "the entrance! Hold 'em back!"

The sound of a priming staff weapon jerked Jack's attention away from them. Jack threw himself to the side and landed on his wounded leg with a groan, just in time for Teal'c to blast a hole in one of the last few Jaffa still left in the room.

"Colonel O'Neill!" Martouf called.

Jack forced himself to turn again. There was a staff weapon aimed at him, but it was too late to do move out of the way--

Martouf stepped in front of him, his hand extended. A Goa'uld personal shield shimmered into place around him.

A staff blast was turned by the shield, and Jack took the delay to grab a crude club they'd picked up in Hell and smash it hard into the attacker's gut. As the Jaffa doubled over, Jack ripped the staff weapon away and ducked long enough for Martouf to reactivate the stolen hand device, his eyes flashing as the Jaffa dropped to his knees, and then crumpled to the ground.

A surprised shout from Jacob made Jack whirl around again. "Dad," Carter said, turning away from the doorway to aim at the Jaffa attacking her father.

The sound of something scraping along the ground made Jack turn again to see Sokar disappearing through the room, his limp body dragged away by one of the Jaffa. "Don't let him get away!" Jack called, but by the time they rallied themselves, there were six Jaffa shielding Sokar with their own bodies.

Martouf took an extra second to get his bearings with his stolen hand device and blast them all back, but by then, Sokar had gone.

"We can't let him get away," Jack said, starting to push himself back up to his feet before more of Sokar's Jaffa realized what was going on and came to find them.

"Colonel," Carter said, still crouched warily by the door, "Sokar has a sarcophagus and probably dozens of Jaffa in this palace, a lot of whom are going to be guarding him until he's healed. This is our chance to get out while they're disorganized--the hangar where Jolinar found and stole the teltak is in the other direction from their forces, not far from here."

"The Tok'ra will get our information," Jacob said, Teal'c already helping him up with one arm while still gripping a staff weapon in the other. "We can't do anything now except escape. Hurry, before more guards come back."

Carter stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Jack's waist to steady him, and it was only then that Jack noticed she wasn't using her left hand at all. "I think your wound's mostly cauterized," she said tightly. "Can you walk, sir?"

Jack took a look at his leg for himself, but between the blood and burned and shredded cloth, he couldn't see much. "Grazed," Jack decided, giving his leg an experimental shake. That was a mistake; Carter winced as he squeezed her shoulder in pain. Oh, yeah, this was going to suck. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Did something to my wrist, sir," she said. "I'll live."

"Help me walk--I'll take the staff weapon." One of them half-lame and the other's arm disabled...this wasn't going to be fun.

"I will lead," Lantash growled. With Martouf's personality taking a backseat for the moment, the fervent passion of battle on Lantash's face was lit eerily by the red glow of the crystal in the center of the weapon on his hand. "I can keep them at bay and block their attack. Remain behind me."

"Fine," Jack said. He'd only spoken to the Tok'ra symbiote directly once or twice, but anyone okay with Martouf couldn't be so bad, he thought. Besides, they could use a little less calm composure for a few minutes. "Mar--Lantash, clear our way as much as you can. Everyone with a weapon, guard his back. He goes down, we're all screwed."

"This way," Carter said as they hurried out together. "To your right, Lantash."

It was, Jack found, very useful to have someone with the full, Goa'uld-level control over a hand device. Even ducking into side passageways whenever they could, and even with the distraction of guarding Sokar during his healing process, they still ran into four groups of patrols on their way. Jack picked off a few that Martouf's hand device missed, while Teal'c took care of a few more trickling in from behind them before they managed to reach what Carter thought might possibly be related to her memory of the hangar.

They checked to make sure the place was clear, then sealed themselves in, destroying the control panel by the door as a precaution.

It was only after they'd sealed the door that Jack thought to wonder if that had been the smartest thing to do, after all.

"Carter," Jack said, staring around the mostly-empty bay as Teal'c found his way into a cargo ship and examined the controls. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Not...sure, sir," she said, "but if Sokar's planning an attack, maybe most of the ships are somewhere else. There are a few cargo ships left here--"

"This one has improved capabilities from the teltak Jolinar stole years go," Teal'c said, emerging again. "However, its flight capabilities are damaged."

"It is possible that the only ships that remain here are those that have been damaged," Martouf said, resurfacing as he lowered the hand device. "Or incomplete ones still in development."

A rumbling sound came from outside, and then banging on the door.

"Great," Jack muttered. He squinted upward at the panels that would retract to let a ship lift out and said, "We just need anything that can move itself off this planet. There are four ships here--none of them can even get into the sky?"

"This one cannot," Martouf said, quickly dismissing the first one he found.

"Here!" Teal'c called as he checked a third ship. Martouf helped Jacob over as Jack and Carter limped to him as well. "This one also possesses functioning cloaking abilities..."

"...and main engines," Martouf added, "but there is damage to the navigation systems. The monitors appear to be working, but I cannot say if the controls are."

"If we can get out of here and above the atmosphere, even just on the engines alone," Carter said, "maybe we can enter hyperspace and work on patching up the controls when we're somewhere safer than here."

"Risky," Jack said, because no amount of courage could dispel the instinctive terror of being adrift in space with no idea where to go.

A resounding boom came from behind them, as if the Jaffa had found a battering ram for the door.

Then again, other terrors were closer at hand.

"Okay, let's try that," Jack decided, pulling himself onboard and moving with a wince toward the cargo area to stay out of the way.

Teal'c pulled the door closed as Martouf sat in one of the chairs and Carter helped her father to the cargo area as well, holding her left hand close to her body. Teal'c took the other pilot's chair and warned, "They will be prepared for us to attempt an escape by ship. They may attack as soon as the ceiling retracts. We must remain cloaked as long as possible and escape the atmosphere immediately."

"Prepare for ascent," Martouf called, acknowledging Teal'c's words with a nod. Jack gripped the nearest protruding part of the wall he could find. Carter, he saw, was sitting with her back to the wall, her father held tight against herself.

Light began to trickle through the false window by the bridge, and sure enough, they lifted shakily into the air.

"You're, uh...sure this thing can fly, right?" Carter said, grimacing as the ship shuddered ominously again.

Martouf glanced back at her but didn't answer. "Engage cloaking," he said instead to Teal'c. "Prepare to enter hyperspace as soon as possible."

With another groan, the teltak shook again, and then shot directly upward into the sky, rocketing upward so fast that Jack thought they'd surely make it--

Something smashed into the side of the ship. Jack lost his grip and barely managed to avoid kicking Jacob in the head as the Carters slid out of their spot. "What the hell was that?" Jack demanded.

"Sokar's fleet is attacking," Teal'c called back. "Our sensors are failing--I do not know what damage we have sustained."

The teltak swooped again, still chugging upward, as far as Jack could tell. "I thought we were cloaked!"

"We are," Martouf said. "They must have seen the hangar opening. It was only by luck that they hit us, so if we can escape fast enough, before they can hit us again--"

Too late. There was another crash, and then they were all tumbling across the cargo area. Jack curled himself with his arms over his head until his back slammed into a wall and he came to a stop. "Carter, Jacob?"

"F-fine, sir," Carter coughed, squirming around the narrowest space as if trying to find a way to wedge herself and her father in place more tightly.

"The hyperdrive has sustained damage!" Teal'c called.

Crap, Jack thought.

"We will break atmosphere in four seconds," Martouf said.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, the ship began to swerve drunkenly. "Marty?" Jack said.

His voice strained, Martouf said, "The main engine has been damaged. I believe we have enough power, and enough momentum, but I have lost all real control."

"We have exited atmosphere," Teal'c announced. "I will attempt the hyperdrive--"

To Jack's relief, a subspace window opened before them. The ship crept toward it with an agonizing slowness that reminded Jack of a hockey puck sliding across the ice with no one to give it another good whack, but they were almost there. They were going to make it--

--and the window faded away.

The ship sailed past the spot where the window once had been and kept going. Jack gaped in disbelief.

"There was too much damage to the hyperdrive," Martouf said, sounding dejected. He rose and hurried to look through the back of the cargo area, where another hyperspace window opened and three of Sokar's ships zipped in. "They must have seen the window and assumed that we had successfully entered hyperspace. They will not find us here, at least."

Jack looked out the window: Sokar's planet of Delmak on one side, Netu on another, and nothing--nothing--on all others. Well, lots of ships, but they were ships floating in nothing.

"So," Jack said, looking around at the tired, resigned expressions of his team, "no hyperdrive, no engines...anything else?"

"I believe we are hovering in orbit around Delmak," Teal'c offered. "We still remain cloaked. However, beyond that..."

"Life support can last several more days," Martouf said. "But there is nowhere to go."

"The cloak is failing!" Teal'c announced suddenly.

"Carter?" Jack asked reflexively.

She pushed herself to her feet with a wince. Martouf stood, and the two of them dashed into the engine room, Martouf ripping the ribbon device from his hand as he went. "On it, sir!" she called back before they disappeared.

Jack slumped back numbly, trying to figure out how long they'd last out here, invisible and floating near Sokar's planet forever or until they died on their own. He met Jacob's eyes and saw the same conclusion reflected there. "We're trapped," he said.

Chapter Text

12 November 1999; SGC; 0500 hrs

Daniel felt like he'd only just gone to bed when he woke to the sound of alarms. He checked the time, groaned, and had almost decided to go back to sleep when he heard Sergeant Harriman's voice echo through the corridor outside: "Unscheduled off-world activation! Security team to embarkation room!"

No one is even off-world now, his mind insisted on informing him, despite his bleary attempts to try to ignore it and fall asleep again. No one except--

He snapped awake and launched himself out of bed, barely taking the time to scramble into work clothes and grab his glasses and ID tags. He was out the door before he remembered he should put on shoes, too, so he doubled back and then ran toward the nearest elevator. Was it possible that SG-1 had finished already?

When he stumbled into the periphery of control room, still knotting his shoelaces as he nodded politely to a frowning Colonel Makepeace, the iris was already opening, and his heart leapt. The general had a phone in his hand and was dialing a number, but he looked up as Daniel arrived and put it back down, which had to be a good sign, surely.

"It's them, sir?" he asked eagerly. "They're back?"

"Not SG-1," the general said. Daniel felt his whole bearing deflate a little, adrenaline from the sudden awakening still running through his limbs. "We've received the Abydos special code."

Daniel's eyebrows rose--Abydos had never initiated contact with them before, not unless one of their teams was there. Still, they had their code for a reason, and the iris was open, so Daniel gave a quick "yes, sir" and ran down the steps to the embarkation room.

"Security teams stand by," General Hammond said as he followed. "Be careful, Mr. Jackson."

They needn't have worried, though. Tobay appeared out of the wormhole, stepping tentatively and still looking at his GDO as if he hadn't been sure until then that it would really work.

"It's okay--he's a friend," Daniel said, perhaps unnecessarily, even as he started up the ramp.

"Stand down," the general ordered.

"Tobay," Daniel said, clasping arms with his brother as weapons lowered around them. Tobay's expression was serious, though, and more than a little anxious--he hadn't even taken enough time to throw formal robes on over his shendyt--so Daniel put aside any normal courtesies and gestured him down toward the floor. "What happened?"

Stopping in front of the general, Tobay glanced once at Daniel and said in urgent Abydonian, "A ship flew to Abydos. It is like the small ships that Ra used before the Rebellion."

Surprised, Daniel asked, "A ship? Where is it? Was anyone hurt?"

"It touched ground outside the chaapa'ai room. It has done nothing yet--it is not an attacking ship like an udajeet. We can see no one within through the window. The Guards are watching it now. We thought that perhaps Earth had sent it."

"Mr. Jackson?" the general asked.

"Some kind of small Goa'uld ship landed on Abydos, near the Stargate," Daniel said, frowning in confusion. "It's not a death glider. Apparently, it hasn't tried to do anything at all, and they don't know who flew it. General, I'd like to see what it is and why it landed there."

General Hammond nodded. "I'll have SG-3 go to assess the threat level and, if possible, recover technologies that could be useful to us. SG-5 will be standing by. You--" He paused suddenly, eyeing Daniel, who had still been delayed being reapproved for fieldwork a few days ago.

"Abydos is a special case, General," Daniel pointed out. He straightened, not wanting an argument but ready for one if it came to it. "I don't need a psych eval to explain the situation to my people."

To his relief, the general nodded. "Get ready. Colonel Makepeace--"

From the control room, Makepeace answered, "On it, sir. Jackson, be ready in ten minutes."

Daniel looked uncertainly at Tobay, then said, "The ship is not ours, brother; we do not know whose it is. Wait here--we will make preparations, then return with you to Abydos."

He took off at a run toward the elevator and rushed through preparations, alone in the SG-1 ready room for the first time. He stopped by the closest armory long enough to sign out what weaponry he was allowed, and he was still adjusting a leg holster as he half-ran, half-hopped into the embarkation room.

Makepeace was already there with one of the three others on his team, with Tobay standing anxiously beside them. "You know how to use that?" Makepeace asked gruffly, nodding toward the zat'nik'tel in Daniel's hand.

"Yes," Daniel said defensively, because he'd just put up what he felt were respectable scores on his test for both handgun and zat'nik'tel. "Where are the others?"

The last two members of SG-3 walked in then. Major Warren, formerly of SG-2, spotted him and gave him a quick nod in greeting. Makepeace turned to the control room to say, "We're ready, sir!"

The general nodded to Sergeant Harriman, and the Stargate began to turn.

"Heads up," Makepeace said to all of them. "Jackson, have the locals stay back, in case something goes wrong. We don't know who's in that ship."

The vortex whooshed outward and settled into a stable wormhole. Daniel dialed his IDC, waiting for the automatic acknowledgement from Abydos. "Iris open," he called. Makepeace nodded and waved them all toward the portal. Daniel waited for Tobay to enter first, then ran through.

...x...

13 November 1999; Nagada, Abydos; 0515 hrs

A small crowd had gathered near the Stargate on Abydos--or, rather, the crowd was outside, in the desert that surrounded the Stargate chamber. Daniel picked out Kasuf first. "Elder, please stay back," he called as loudly as he could, listening with half an ear as Makepeace snapped orders to his men."Everyone, stay away from the ship until we know what it is!"

"Return to your homes," Tobay was shouting. Kasuf heard and was starting to do the same as well, so Daniel left them to it, following behind SG-3 instead as the Abydons began to disperse.

Makepeace glanced back when he approached, scowled, but didn't make him leave. "Let's take a look," he said, pointing at a small ship perhaps thirty meters away.

"That looks like a Goa'uld cargo ship, sir," Warren said as they reached the ship and spread out to examine it.

Daniel frowned, squinting against the sun at the dull, metallic shape. "Cargo ship--Major, that's the same thing as a teltak, right?"

The only one of SG-3 who'd worked with Daniel in the field more than once or twice, Warren nodded easily, not deterred when Makepeace made a face at the interruption. "Yeah, why?"

"Martouf said he and SG-1 were going to take a teltak to Netu," Daniel remembered, peering more closely at the ship and inching around to join Captain Johnson in looking carefully through the windows. The bridge looked empty, from what they could see, but without lights inside, the glare of the sun was drowning out any sight. "Do you think...?"

"There are probably thousands of cargo ships in the galaxy," Makepeace said, examining the panel by the hatch. "What are the chances this one has anything to do with SG-1?"

"What are the chances that one would land on Abydos?" Daniel countered, itching to run forward now and open the door and run in. "Who else would fly a cargo ship here?"

"Then why hasn't one of them come out, if it's them?" Major Castleman asked.

Which, Daniel had to admit, was a good point.

Makepeace, though, was the one who answered, as if in concession, "Could be injured. Or it could just as well be a trap. Warren, open the door. You and I'll check it out. Everyone else, watch your backs out here."

SG-3 spread out before the door, guns pointed in that direction. Daniel primed his zat but held it low. Makepeace nodded at Warren, who pressed a standard entrance sequence into the teltak controls. The door slid up, and Makepeace shifted to check the interior, his light mounted on his gun. Warren did the same in the other direction. Daniel watched until they were out of sight, readjusting his grip.

Sand crunched from behind. Daniel whirled around, zat raised, as the two other members of SG-3 did the same.

"Na nay!" Tobay said, hands raised in alarm.

Daniel blew out a nervous breath and lowered his weapon. The rest of the guns dropped to point at the ground again as well, as Tobay gave them an odd look but moved to stand warily beside them. Daniel squinted inside the ship and wished the lights would turn on--

"All clear," Makepeace's voice called. "No one's in here."

Daniel holstered his weapon, pulling a small flashlight from his vest instead. The rest of SG-3 entered first. "Tobay," Daniel said, "you said it flew here, but there is no one inside. Did it fall, out of control?" It didn't look as if it had crashed, although Daniel didn't know very much about Goa'uld ships and what kinds of protections they might have from crash-landings.

But Tobay shook his head. "It flew as if someone were guiding it. The Guards have seen no one leave the ship since it first touched ground."

Stepping inside the teltak, Daniel said, "Colonel Makepeace, Tobay says the ship flew and landed as if someone were at the controls, and no one has left. Could it have been...programmed to fly here on its own?"

"Autopilot," Warren filled in for him.

"Then someone meant for it to come here," said Johnson.

"SG-1," Daniel said again. "It must be. Martouf said they were going to use the four descent pods to get to the surface of Netu--"

This time, Makepeace said, "You might actually right." He pointed to the wall where four empty spaces were visible, just big enough to fit a person inside. "That's where escape pods would go; someone used these. So what's it doing here? If SG-1 sent it, they must've been trying to get our attention."

"Sir," Castleman called, looking at something on the floor. "You should see this."

Sam must have been carrying duct tape with her, because the word 'BRIDGE'was taped to the floor of the ship in messy block letters.

Daniel was already back at the bridge before he remembered he had no idea how the controls worked. "Warren," Makepeace said, "do you know how to use this?"

Warren grimaced but stepped up to the bridge. "Where's a Jaffa when you need one," he muttered under his breath, but Sam had taken care of that, too--there was another duct tape arrow pointing to one of the buttons, and he pressed it as the rest of them leaned in closer.

"November twelfth, 1836 Zulu," Jack's voice said in a harsh whisper. "This is O'Neill. We need you to relay this to the Tok'ra. Sokar's fleet is ten times bigger than they thought, and he's in position to defeat six major System Lords. The attack is scheduled for less than a week and a half from now." There was a break in the transmission, and then, even quieter, "Also, Apophis is here, acting as First Prime to the Goa'uld in charge of Netu, but Apophis just killed him, so there's a revolt, and... Ah, hell. It's gonna get messy. We're...ah...working on the whole getting out...thing. Tell everyone...well, good luck. SG-1 out."

"Shit," Makepeace swore.

"November twelfth, 1836 Zulu," the recording started again. "This is O'Neill. We..."

"They don't have a way out," Daniel said hollowly, replaying the last part in his mind again and unable to find any other way to interpret it. "Naturu, he was about to say good-bye."

Makepeace's finger tapped the bridge controls. "Someone got a recorder on him?"

Daniel opened the pocket of his vest and fumbled with the buttons of his tape recorder. "Colonel, we need to get this to the High Council on Vorash now," he said, quietly, so it wouldn't interfere with the recording.

"Yeah, and do you know those coordinates offhand?" Makepeace said.

"Of course I know them," Daniel said. "SG-1 went there." And they're still my team, even if I didn't go to Netu, he added mentally. He waited impatiently for the loop to finish before shutting off the recorder and rewinding.

"All right, dial us in and stay here," Makepeace told him. "Tell the Abydons what's going on."

"We haven't updated the Abydos iris codes in too long," Daniel pointed out, "and I don't think SG-3's new code is in there, so you'll need my IDC if you need to get back here."

"Then just give us your code for now." When Castleman frowned at that--IDCs were never to be shared amongst SGC personnel, unless the code was meant to be assigned to an entire team--Makepeace added, "We can change all our codes afterward. Jackson, we're on the clock."

For someone normally as unyielding about rules as Makepeace was, the order came as a surprise. Then again, Makepeace had spent years running frontline combat and support, and he'd led enough search and rescue missions--some of them inevitably failures, through no fault of SG-3's--that he perhaps he simply knew when the time came to bend a rule to save a life. Surely that was what he meant.

But this was Abydos. Daniel knew how to bend, too, sometimes, but there were some things on which he never would.

"Um," Daniel said. He glanced at Warren, but no one seemed about to point out that the suggestion itself had been a security violation. No one spoke up to reinforce the order, either, so he continued, "I can't. Sir. It's, uh...against protocol. I--I know we're in a hurry. The fastest way is to take me with you so I can let you back through to here."

Clearly unhappy, Makepeace said, "Fine. We'll go to Vorash and get this to the Tok'ra. Johnson, go back to the SGC as soon as we're gone and report to the general."

"Dan'yel," Tobay said, exasperated, having understood perhaps half of what was going on as they all took off back toward the Stargate. "There was a message from O'Neill, yes? What is happening?"

"This ship is no danger to our people," Daniel said, "but tell the others to leave it alone. It belongs to...a powerful ally who will likely return soon to retrieve it. O'Neill sent very urgent information that we must take immediately to our allies." He hesitated, looking at Tobay. "Can you tell Kasuf for me? I will return and explain when this is over."

Tobay still looked confused, but he nodded agreement and broke away from the group and started toward the village as they dialed Vorash.

XXXXX

13 November 1999; Vorash; 0600 hrs

"...so there's a revolt, and... Ah, hell. It's gonna get messy. We're...ah...working on the whole getting out...thing--"

Daniel stopped the tape. "That information's almost a day old by now," Makepeace said to Aldwin, the Tok'ra who had been sent up from the tunnels to meet with them.

"This information concerning Sokar's attack against the System Lords may prove invaluable," Aldwin said. "I will consult the High Council and return shortly with a plan of action."

Aldwin ringed down to where the Tok'ra were living underground, leaving Daniel and SG-3 still standing in the open next to the transport rings.

"He's not even thinking about the team; he only cares about Sokar," Daniel said bitterly, noticing he was pacing when he looked up to see a large boulder several feet closer than it had been before. "They could all still be alive there."

"We'll see," Makepeace said.

"We'll see? Aren't you Tau'ri the ones who always say you never leave anyone behind?"

"Yes, Jackson, we'll see!" Makepeace repeated, folding his arms over the top of his weapon as the two majors shifted, uncomfortable or impatient. "Did you hear the part about Sokar? We don't know what they're gonna decide, and we need them, so shut up or I'll send you right back home. Is that clear?"

Gritting his teeth, Daniel exhaled and tried to calm himself enough to think rationally.

The rings activated, and he turned as Aldwin reappeared. "The uprising of Apophis presents a key opportunity," Aldwin said. "Sokar will take his mothership into orbit around Netu to restore order. I am to return to Netu and launch a weapon into one of the holes on the moon's surface and into the core. The moon will explode, taking Sokar's ship with it."

"And anything else on the moon," Makepeace pointed out.

"Yes. However, we require the teltak that Lantash and SG-1 used."

"That's not a problem," Makepeace said. "It's still on Abydos, but look, we've still got people on Netu, and so do you."

"The Tok'ra would not do this unless there was no alternative," Aldwin said firmly. "I am not unconcerned for our friends' lives, but Sokar cannot be permitted to rise to a dominant power; it would end our chances of ever overthrowing the Goa'uld."

"But SG-1 must have a communications device, since they left the transmission," Major Warren spoke up. "We understand about Sokar, but you'll at least try to contact them, right?"

"I will try if I can," Aldwin said, "but timing will be critical, and Sokar cannot be given any advance warning. I am charged with my mission first. The weapon is being prepared even now--I will retrieve it and return. Your team may remain with the Tok'ra until we know the results of the operation, Colonel Makepeace." He ringed down again.

Daniel looked at Makepeace, and an idea sparked.

Jack was going to be so mad.

Then again, if it worked, Jack and everyone else would be alive, so maybe he wouldn't be. Either way, Daniel didn't care.

"Colonel," he said as soon as the Tok'ra was gone, "I can escort Aldwin through to Abydos if SG-3 is staying here to wait for word, or if you need to report to the SGC."

Makepeace glared suspiciously at him, making him remember that his past actions with the SGC weren't secret and that there were definitely people who disagreed with his general presence in the Mountain, not to mention his level of involvement. "I swear to God," he warned, "if you screw up his mission or put one toe out of line, Jackson..."

Daniel frowned in feigned confusion, glad that Makepeace didn't know him as well as another commander like Jack or Ferretti might have. "He needs my IDC, sir. It's not like I know anything about Goa'uld ships; what exactly do you think I'm going to do? I need to let my people know what's happening, anyway, which might take a little time to explain."

Apparently, this seemed reasonable, because Makepeace said, "All right. You report back here as soon as you're done."

"Yes, sir, as soon as I'm done," Daniel promised.

He wasn't even lying; he'd definitely try to return to Vorash once they were done and had SG-1, Jacob, and Martouf with them. He had no illusions about this--willful misunderstanding was still disobedience, and lies of omission and implication were still lies, but he was pretty sure Makepeace wouldn't get in too much trouble if he'd been unaware of what Daniel was going to do. There was nothing irregular about letting him report back to Abydos, and SG-3 would be blocked by the Abydos iris anyway, at least until it was too late to stop him.

Aldwin reappeared, a box in his hands. "We must return to the teltak immediately. We do not have much time. Colonel Makepeace, your team will be transported to our tunnels below."

"You need my code or you'll be killed on the Abydonian iris," Daniel told Aldwin before the rings could send him down. "I'll go with you."

Makepeace confirmed, "Major Castleman and I will stay here to wait for word; Major Warren will go with you to the Stargate"--Daniel's stomach dropped--"and return to Earth while Jackson escorts you to Abydos." Daniel breathed again.

As they walked toward the DHD, Daniel took extra care not to meet Warren's sympathetic glance. He'd never done anything wrong, exactly, while the two of them had been on Ferretti's team, but he couldn't take the risk that the major was familiar enough with his mannerisms to notice anything. There was no room for error. He sighed in relief when Warren and Castleman both stepped aside at the Stargate to let him and Aldwin go through first.

Daniel adjusted the zat'nik'tel at his side before leading the Tok'ra to Abydos.

XXXXX

13 November 1999; Sokar's Teltak; 1700 hrs

Jack leaned back against the wall. "So," he said, dredging up his last reserves to inject some cheer into his voice. Well, maybe 'last' was relative, because he'd dredged up his last reserves just a few hours ago, and apparently he still had some life left. "Anyone up for Scrabble?"

"We do not possess the necessary playing board," Teal'c said practically.

"Make it up," Jack said. "Just...say words out loud. Or something--anything."

Ironically, it was Jacob who seemed most amused by his attempts at levity. Then again, maybe that was because Jacob was in worse shape than any of them, even after getting off Netu, and the way things were going, they were going to starve, freeze, or suffocate in a stolen teltak, depending on whether their life support outlasted the supplies they'd found onboard--there were containers of something that might be water, although Jack hoped they didn't need to test those supplies before they died of thirst. Jacob was perhaps the only one who wouldn't die of boredom.

"Only," Jacob rasped, "if we get to use Goa'uld words."

"Funny," Jack said. "Teal'c and Daniel tried to do that the first time we taught them the game."

Without the hyperdrive, the only two places they could reach were Delmak and Netu, so their only other choice besides waiting for rescue was reentering atmosphere, attempting to land without dying ("With the ship in this condition and everyone gunning for us? Impossible," Jacob had said, and then, "No, seriously--impossible.") and then get out, break back into Sokar's palace, and steal another ship that probably wouldn't work any better, anyway. Jacob had laughed at that. ("Fine," Jack had conceded. "We'll make that plan B.")

But there was still a chance it wasn't all over, which meant they had to be alive, awake, and ready to take action if the chance came.  He leaned his head back against the wall.

"O'Neill," Teal'c said suddenly. Jack turned to see his friend's concerned stare on him.

"I'm fine," Jack said, waving a dismissive hand.

"You are fevered," Martouf said, his attention drawn as well.

With a smirk, Jack pointed out, "You don't know fever until you've been in a stinking prison in a desert for a couple of months." If no one came for them by the time his leg got infected badly enough to actually matter, they'd probably all be dead, anyway. "It's not that bad," he said honestly. "Dehydration's not helping. Worry about Jacob."

Carter's voice shouted from the direction of the engine room, followed by a soft thump. "Damn," she added.

"Carter," Jack called tiredly. "You've been at that for hours. Stop and...and sit down."

A moment later, she appeared in the cargo area, one arm wrapped for some minimal support for whatever she'd wrenched in her wrist. "Sir, I've just started," she lied in the tone of someone so exhausted she didn't even realize she was lying. "I've been looking at the hyperdrive. It's based on a design similar to the naquadah reactor--kind of--I-I think--and I really think that, if I can just find something to repair the most crucial of the damaged circuits by finding some way to physically reroute the power from shields, which aren't functional anyway, to the--"

This time, Martouf shook his head and cut her off with a gentle, "Samantha, I have tried as well. Even if you were able to reach the hyperdrive and repair it without injuring yourself, there is simply not enough power remaining. There is nothing we can do. Please believe me."

"Sam, it's okay," Jacob said, reaching out a hand. "You did good, kid. Come here." Carter's face disappeared into the shadow of the engine room again, and then she came back to sit back down at her father's side with a sigh. "You fixed that cloaking mechanism, right?"

"Mostly," she said. "It's a little...flickery."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Is that the technical term, Major?"

"It should hold, sir--unless someone's looking hard for it, we should stay unseen. It's just that we're not completely blocked from other signals, but that shouldn't be much of an issue."

"If the SGC received our message," Teal'c said, "they will know that we are still here, and it is possible that they will search for us."

"Yeah, you're right. Hey," she said, perking up and pointing out the window. "Look at that!"

Something a little too much like hope propelled Jack to his feet despite the ache in his leg in time to see a bright beam of light shoot from Delmak toward Netu, then stop partway across.

"The matter stream was intercepted," Martouf explained, making Jack jump as he realized that both Teal'c and Martouf had rushed to see, as well. He wasn't the only one hoping for a rescue. "That is Sokar's mothership--no doubt he has recovered by now and has long since discovered Apophis's betrayal. Apophis will be punished severely and the denizens of Netu quelled."

"Good," Teal'c said in a low voice.

"What, you think Sokar's going to go to Netu himself?" Jack said. Even as he spoke, another beam of white shot from Netu to the mothership. "Wait, who was that?"

"Sokar cannot but know of Apophis's betrayal, particularly when it clearly allowed our escape," Teal'c said, sounding grimly satisfied. "There is nowhere for Apophis to run on Netu. With such widespread unrest, many Jaffa will undoubtedly obey Sokar and bring Apophis to him."

"So," Jack said, staring at the mothership, "we're watching Apophis being punished right now."

"Well, I wouldn't say 'watching,' unless you've got really good eyes," Jacob said from the cargo hold, "but it's probably happening now, yes."

"Wait, the matter stream was intercepted?" Carter said. "I didn't realize the technology worked like that. So the matter on both ends is transported through conventional space in a visible stream from one set of rings to another?"

"Yes," Martouf confirmed. "The light that you saw reaching to the mothership was such a matter stream. The transportation rings normally operate by proximity--the rings closest to each other and within range will exchange the matter to be transported."

"The rings between Netu and Delmak are most likely configured to be directly linked to one another to prevent the stream from being redirected to nearby ships," Teal'c added.

"I've been thinking of it like Asgard transportation technology, but I guess it's not," Carter said. She pointed again toward Sokar's mother ship. "So you have to be physically, directly in the path of the stream like that to intercept it."

"That is correct," Teal'c said.

"You mean," she said, "that if we'd thought of it, we could have just made sure Jolinar's teltak was in the path of the matter stream, and we could've transported directly onto it from Netu?"

"The teltak would have been seen and destroyed almost immediately if it had been left in clear view," Martouf reminded her. "Unless Teal'c or I had remained on the ship to maneuver it into position, at exactly the correct time, without being seen by an enemy vessel, and everyone else had been able to subdue the guards and reach the ring platform before being noticed and still be able to help Selmak and avoid the uprising, with fewer people to help..."

"In other words," Jacob summarized tiredly, "even less likely than what we ended up doing." He chuckled. "Which, by the way, was not a bad job."

"We aim to please," Jack said. Forcing as much cheer into his voice as he could, he added, "Well, we warned the SGC and the Tok'ra about Sokar. At least they know."

"Your actions against Sokar in his palace may also have provided the Tok'ra with the delay they require to take action, O'Neill," Teal'c added.

Jack turned deliberately away from the view of space and returned to the cargo area. "So we'll have saved the world again," he said, settling back down on the floor. "The whole galaxy, even. Never gets old, does it?"

"Just you wait," Jacob said. "If you make a habit of it, one day...you'll save the world, and they'll ask what took you so long."

"One day," Jack repeated, pasting on a smirk when the others shifted uncomfortably and averted their gazes. "For cryin' out loud, people, we're not dead yet, and it's getting boring in here waiting for the cavalry. Who's got a good game?"

"Twenty Questions," Teal'c said promptly. Jacob gave him a startled look, but Carter only smiled and ducked her head to hide it.

"Ah, come on," Jack said dismissively, leaning back against an empty crate and stretching his still-throbbing leg before himself. God, he was tired. And thirsty. Mostly tired. "You always cheat at that game."

Teal'c frowned at him, looking highly offended. "I have never cheated at Twenty Questions."

"He hasn't, sir," Carter agreed with a mostly-straight face, mustering up a bit of energy as well. "Nowhere in the rules does it say that the subject has to be something on Earth."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about last time, when he said my coffee table was a vegetable," Jack said. Jacob snorted.

"It's certainly not a mineral or an animal," she said, "so I think we ended up deciding it was the best option, sir."

"You people play Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?" Jacob joined in.

"Infrequently," Teal'c said. "We find that version to be far too confining."

"Twenty...questions?" Martouf said blankly.

"Think about it in terms of information theory," Carter told him. "You pick a subject and everyone else asks yes-or-no questions and tries to guess the subject within twenty questions. If every question is well-framed, with a binary system of answering, assuming an exactly 50-50 chance of getting either answer, you can use twenty questions to distinguish between...um..." She paused, thinking. "Between 1,048,576 different subjects."

"I have selected a subject," Teal'c said, sitting tall and looking almost imperious as he waited for them to start guessing.

By then, Martouf looked like he'd decided to give up pretending he was more sane than the rest of them and joined in once he'd figured out the rules. Still, even with two Tok'ra and the rest of SG-1 trying to guess, Teal'c won again, the cheater, since he'd picked--

"Setesh's animal," Teal'c said.

"I thought that didn't exist," Jack said, disbelieving.

"On the contrary, it does," Teal'c reminded him. "Daniel Jackson claimed that there was such an animal on Abydos called ron n'sutekh."

"That's not fair; I can't even pronounce that," Carter said.

"That is why I chose that answer to be 'Setesh's animal,' Major Carter," Teal'c said.

"Fine," she said. "My turn--I've got one."

They made it through another game and a half before no one had the energy to keep going. Jack swallowed a yawn and prepared to muster up another useless suggestion for another useless way to pass useless time when Teal'c's pants started chirping insistently them.

"... one ..." Teal'c's pants said in an oddly familiar voice, "... Daniel ... respond."

Jack stared at Teal'c, who looked just as surprised as the rest of them to have his clothing speak and, momentarily, just as frozen. "Why is Daniel in your pocket, Teal'c?" Jack said, wondering if this was what it had felt like when Daniel had started hallucinating voices.

"Wait, hold ... they ... Jack? Sa..."

"The communicator. I left it there while Teal'c was helping me run," Jacob said suddenly.

"Stop!" Daniel's voice yelled, and, despite themselves, all of them stopped what they were doing, even Teal'c, who was halfway to his feet. He wasn't talking to them, though, and continued, "... Yi shay ..."

" ... no choice," another, unfamiliar voice said. "...what are you ...?"

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said into the device.

"The cloak must be interfering with the transmission," Martouf said, moving again to the pilot's seat. "We have to take the risk and lower the cloak, or we won't be able to communicate--"

"Oh God," Carter said, horror and hope lacing her words. "Is he here? What is he doing here?"

"... I'll shoot," Daniel was saying rather than answering their hail. Jack exchanged a wide-eyed look with his team. " ... away from ... give me th..."

"Listen ..." the other voice said.

"... try to reach .... Get up ... go ..."

"... no way to ... without me ... both die, you ..."

"Who the hell is that with him?" Jack said.

"Cloak is down," Martouf called.

"--shot won't kill you; I'm willing to risk it," Daniel retorted, the signal clearer now, and Jack could finally recognize the strain of tightly clamped fear in his voice overshadowing the bravado. "SG-1, Jacob, Martouf, this is Daniel, please--"

"--only have eleven more minutes," the other said, sounding desperate, both of them shouting now, fighting for dominance over the speaker. "We have to leave before Sokar's ships see us in orbit and have time to move out of range. I am sorry, but this is the only way. Be reasonable!"

"--should've waited! SG-1, please respond! Jack! Teal'c, Sam, anyone, are you there?"

"Daniel Jackson!" Teal'c said again.

The ensuing silence was almost suffocating. Jack scrambled back to his feet and toward the bridge.

Then, finally..."Teal'c?"

"It is I," Teal'c said, and then he was interrupted by a stream of words in either Goa'uld or Abydonian or both that sounded so desperate he had to shout, "Daniel Jackson, kree!"

"Sorry," Daniel said, his words still fast and frantic but, at least, in English for the rest of them to understand. "There, uh, there's not a lot of time--Aldwin launched a...a bomb, and Netu is going to explode in..."

"Ten minutes," the other, unfamiliar voice said, more businesslike now.

"...ten minutes, Teal'c, you have to get off the moon, can you get out, where's everyone else--"

"We are no longer on Netu," Teal'c said as Jack peered out the window by the controls. "We are on board a teltak in orbit around Delmak, but we have lost all main systems and are unable to travel. Daniel Jackson, Sokar is in orbit around Netu in his hatak vessel--"

"We know," the other person said. "The explosion will destroy the hatak, as well. We are in a teltak above the atmosphere of Netu."

"The rings," Martouf said. "If the two ships are close enough, they should be able to detect our ring platform and lock them together. We should be able to ring from this ship to theirs."

"I don't know if we have enough power to use ours," Carter said. "They'll have to activate the rings from their end, but it's a two-way street, so long as we're on our platform..."

"Martouf says that you should be able to lock onto our ring platform," Teal'c relayed.

"But where are you?" Daniel said. "We don't see another teltak."

"I see 'em," Jack said, pointing. Teal'c reached his side first, followed closely by Martouf. In the distance, the distinctive shape of the Tok'ra's stolen and half-repaired teltak was visible as just barely more than a speck, near where they'd left the ship themselves while on Netu.

"We launched from Sokar's palace but have drifted some distance from it," Teal'c was telling them as Carter eased away from her father to join them at the bridge. "We see your ship. Move directly toward Delmak from the direction of Netu. We should come into your view quickly."

"Okay," Daniel said, and then, "Oh, uh, y-you can come back to the bridge now."

"Put your zat'nik'tel away," the other voice snapped. Jack raised his eyebrows, imagining what that scene must look like.

"If you reach for hyperdrive again, I swear I'll shoot you and the controls..."

"If you shoot the controls, the ship could be damaged beyond--"

"Do you think I care? I'm not joking!"

There was a brief silence, and then--

"They are moving," Teal'c said.

"Turn a little more po--uh, toward your left," Carter ordered, leaning over to talk into the device. "Not that much!" she added when it swung too far to one side. "There we go, hold that course. You're headed straight for us."

"Give that here," Jack said, holding his hand out for the com. Teal'c handed it over. "Teal'c, get Jacob to the ring platform. Carter, go make sure everything's ready." Jack turned long enough to see that everyone had obeyed, then returned to watching the other teltak's approach.

"Only a minute and a half left, Teal'c," Daniel said anxiously. "We see you. Aldwin, are...?"

"Three udajeet approaching," the other said suddenly. "We have been seen and are being hailed--we are almost within range. Prepare for immediate transport."

"Daniel, it's me," Jack said, moving toward the ring platform with the others now that the other ship had a visual on them. "Go to the cargo hold. While he's flying, you need to activate the rings. You know how? It's the same as the controls to the rings by the 'gate on Abydos."

"Now?" Daniel said anxiously.

"Wait 'til you guys are locked on us. Hit the command as soon as your friend gives the all-clear." Taking his thumb from the button on the communicator, Jack checked that no limbs were sticking out past the limits of the rings and said, "All aboard."

"I have locked onto a signal. It must be theirs," Aldwin said suddenly. "Go! Hurry, they are closing for attack!"

Rings shot up around them, and when the light disappeared, Daniel was standing before them, calling, "They're here, they're--"

"The udajeet are firing!" Aldwin replied.

"--here, go!"

A burst of light caught Jack's attention, and he looked out the window in time to see Netu and the surrounding ships go up in flames as their teltak swerved violently away to avoid both the explosion and enemy fire.

"Entering hyperspace," Aldwin called.

There was a final jolt that tossed all six of them along the cargo area. Jack caught the door and Daniel stumbled over him. Carter shielded her father as they slid into the corner, while Martouf staggered and knocked Teal'c off-balance, throwing them both into the wall.

When everything finally stopped, Jack caught his breath and called, "Anyone hurt?"

"No, sir," Carter called, sitting back up.

"We are fine, O'Neill," Teal'c added.

Jack turned to see Daniel's wide eyes before a weight disappeared off him and Daniel backed away to stare at them all. "Dewa'naturu," he breathed with a short, almost giddy laugh.

"Agreed," Jack said, peeling himself away from the wall to sit more comfortably. "So what--"

But Daniel had already disappeared on them again. "Aldwin, are there medical supplies?" his voice was saying. "Oh...here's your zat'nik'tel. Sorry." Jack heard a short, uncomfortable pause. "Well, no, I'm not, but...I would have been, if I'd shot you, so."

"I apologize as well," Aldwin finally said.

Jack had this vague idea that he should be getting up and doing something, but as it turned out, the floor of the cargo ship was much more comfortable than he'd realized. There must be something different about this ship. Possibly it was the presence of people who were flying him and his team to safety. Actually, it was probably more about the presence of a functioning hyperdrive and engines, although the other thing, with the people and the flying home--that was nice, too.

He gathered enough presence of mind to ask, "Jacob? How're you doing over there?"

"Ready for a vacation," Jacob said. "Somewhere cool. I hear Alaska's cold this time of year. What do you say, Sam?"

Carter gave Jack a nod first to say they'd last the trip home, then laid a soft kiss on her dad's temple. "Yeah, Dad. That sounds good."

"Here," Daniel said, running back in with a box in one hand, a skin of water in the other, and his tac vest draped over an arm. He walked right past Jack and gave the box to Martouf and the water to Carter.

"Thanks, Danny," Jacob mumbled. Daniel paused at that, but he seemed to be riding pretty high on the adrenaline still and only rolled his eyes. He opened a few pockets in his vest before he found whatever he was looking for, then handed a bandage of some sort to Teal'c, who peeled Carter away from her father to examine her considerably swollen wrist.

Jack looked longingly at the skin of water now in Martouf's hands, but then Daniel reached behind himself and pulled out his own canteen from his belt for Jack. "What's wrong with your leg?" he asked as Jack resisted the urge to guzzle down the water as fast as he could.

"It's not bad," Jack finally said, screwing the top back onto the canteen and sliding it toward the others. "Grazed by a staff blast--ah, geez, could you--"

"Sorry, sorry," Daniel said with a sympathetic wince, and he was gentler as he examined the makeshift bandage that Teal'c had made from cloth off the bottom half of a trouser leg. "I'm trying to remember what I'm supposed to do with burns," he admitted, even as his fingers moved to gauge Jack's temperature and check vitals. "No one at least cleaned it earlier?"

"Didn't really have clean water," Jack said, a little bemused at the ministrations, then tried to bat the hands away. "I'll live. Check on Jacob first, kid."

Daniel glanced up once and looked past him, then went back to what he was doing. "Martouf is doing it. There's some Tok'ra medicine...stuff; I don't know what it is or how it works, but I can at least do something here. You have a fever," he said suddenly.

"I'll live," Jack repeated.

"It's not high," Daniel agreed, glancing back at the others. "I'll just watch it. I guess? Right. You should drink some more water."

As Daniel pulled a field dressing from his vest, Jack looked over him more closely for the first time. "What are you doing here?" Jack finally asked, wincing as a careful trickle of saline washed most of the grime away from his leg. The burn really didn't look that bad, as staff wounds went, though the surrounding nerves were very unhappy at the moment.

"Couldn't let you go to Hell without me, could I?" Daniel said absently, but he had to pause in the act of wrapping the leg and wait until his hand stopped shaking. Jack waited until he was done, then gave him a meaningful look when he glanced up. "You sent this ship to Abydos, Jack. Did you forget who the Abydos liaison is?"

"We weren't expecting you to come after us."

"Well, you've learned your lesson, then," Daniel said, propping the leg on a backpack.

"I can't believe the general...let you," Jack said, and then a thought struck him. "Uh...Daniel?"

Daniel gave him a nervous glance. "Jack?"

"Normally, I wouldn't ask," Jack said mildly, "because that would just be stupid, and I know you're not stupid."

"Mm," Daniel said, not meeting his eyes. "That's debatable."

"Uh-oh," Carter said, hearing their conversation. "Oh, Daniel..."

"Does the general know you're here?" Jack said.

"We-ell," Daniel hedged, and Jack let his head fall back against the wall, suppressing the urge to laugh, of all things. This, right here--this was his team. "I'm sure he...knows by now. Colonel Makepeace probably isn't very happy with me for stowing away with Aldwin. I didn't have permission, per se--I mean, at all--but it's not as if Makepeace liked me much before, anyway..."

"You people are all insane," Jacob said with a tired grin of approval.

"Not anymore," Daniel said, standing and literally trembling with the need to do something. Maybe a little relief. Okay, probably a lot of relief. "Can I do anything? Does anyone need..."

"Sit," Teal'c ordered. Daniel exhaled sharply and dropped to the floor next to Jack, looking like he was trying to keep all of them in his sight at the same time.

"You're never doing something like this again," Daniel informed them sternly.

Jack snorted, his eyes drooping shut.

"Yeah, okay," Daniel sighed as Jack drifted off. "But I'm coming with you next time."

XXXXX

14 November 1999; Tok'ra Teltak, Vorash; 1200 hrs

They made it back to Vorash with no further complications. Jack wasn't sure about the others, but he knew for certain that he himself didn't manage to stay awake past the first minute or so.

Jack woke to the sight of legs walking past his face. "Jacob?" he said.

It came out more as a whisper, but Daniel's voice was somewhere next to him and answered quietly, "Teal'c has him. Can you get up?"

"Sure," he lied lethargically. There was the sensation of someone tugging on his arm and something wrapping around his waist. It didn't feel like he was really moving anywhere, though, and eventually the person stopped and a cool hand touched his forehead. "Wha...Daniel...?"

"I'll be right back," Daniel said. A warmth he hadn't noticed before disappeared from his side.

The next time footsteps came around, Makepeace's familiar voice said dryly, "You have...no idea how good it is to see you guys, Jack."

Jack couldn't figure out why the hell Robert Makepeace was on Netu, and then an arm considerably stronger than Daniel's was pulling him upward. "Carter," Jack protested.

"I got her, Colonel," someone else answered. Jack forced himself to look up long enough to see Carter half asleep as she leaned on Major Castleman, while Daniel helped a more alert Martouf to his feet.

"Daniel?" Jack said as he was lifted to aching feet and black spots appeared before his eyes.

Daniel paused on his way past. "Yeah?"

The black spots began to dance and merge as the teltak swam in his vision. "'M gonna pass out now," Jack mumbled. Makepeace's arms tightened around him, and he fell into darkness.

XXXXX

14 November 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 2000 hrs

The next time he woke up, it was to the sound of quiet footsteps sneaking past him. "I'm back," Daniel's voice whispered.

Jack wondered whether he was expected to answer that, but Teal'c's low rumble replied, "There were no misunderstandings among your people?"

"They were confused in all the rush, but it's fine. And Colonel Makepeace is pretty angry, but the general hasn't yelled at me yet, so... How're you feeling?"

"I have been well for some time." One of them yawned. "You should sleep."

"I will."

Jack turned his head very carefully to the side and opened his eyes to see an IV line going into his arm. Teal'c was sitting on the bed next to him and Carter sleeping on the next one over. Daniel sat slumped in a chair with his back to Jack's bed and facing Teal'c, still dressed in full gear after however many hours had passed. If Teal'c noticed Jack was awake, he didn't say it.

"You need a fourth," Daniel said abruptly. Jack blinked and listened in more closely. "This is what I was saying. If you'd just had one more person..."

"Even if you had been there from the start," Teal'c said, "you do not know how to fly a teltak. It may not have made a difference."

"If it's not me, then...then it's not me, okay? But you need somebody--all of you almost died this time, Teal'c. Everyone who wants exploration and first contact would be honored to be on SG-1--just pick someone and deal with him, yeah?"

Teal'c's eyes fixed on Jack for a moment, showing that he was very much aware of who was eavesdropping on whom, then turned back to Daniel. "We have survived thus far."

"Well, maybe next time you won't," Daniel whispered fiercely. "I know Jack annoys people--"

Excuse me? Jack thought indignantly.

"--but I annoy him, too. Just give someone a chance."

"O'Neill can indeed be tiresome to work with," Teal'c said with a completely straight face, looking directly at Jack. There was a long pause, and then Daniel finally cottoned on and turned around, jumping in surprise when he found Jack staring at him.

"Yi shay," Daniel sighed, yawning again and rubbing his eyes.

"I annoy people, huh?" Jack said, grimacing at the roughness in his throat.

Daniel made a face but said, "I'm pretty sure you've been doing it on purpose. Captain Hagman is still scared of you, and we're running out of civilians in the department who would join SG-1 even with an order from the general."

Jack didn't comment on Hagman, who was, in any case, little more than a vague but unpleasant memory from those early days of the program, or on the other people they'd had to stumble around with in the past for short temporary assignments. A lot of them turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, really. "What's going on?"

"Everyone will be fine," Teal'c assured him immediately. Jack relaxed something he hadn't realized he'd been holding tense until then. "Jacob Carter is on Vorash--with help from the Tok'ra, he will make a full recovery within days. Martouf has already recovered and is there as well. You and Major Carter have been sleeping since we arrived on Vorash several hours ago."

"You okay, too?"

"I am." Teal'c looked at Daniel and added, "Daniel Jackson has just returned from reporting to the Abydons. All is well, O'Neill. We were extremely successful."

"Okay," Jack said, running through that list again just to make sure no one had been left out. "Sweet. And about that fourth member you two were talking about behind my back...we've already got a fourth lined up, kid."

"Uh...yeah. Um. About that," Daniel said, looking at his hands. Jack raised his eyebrows, wondering how a burning desire to get on SG-1 could get erased by an adrenaline-filled rescue trip to Hell, but it turned out that wasn't it at all. "I don't know if...well, he didn't say anything to me, but I don't think Dr. Mackenzie was very happy at my evaluation. Either one of them, I mean, but especially the last one. I know he hasn't gotten a chance to speak with you yet, but...well. I'm not sure I made it past him. And I'll bet yesterday and today didn't help."

"You'll make the cut," Jack promised, deciding right then that he'd make sure of it. "Mackenzie's not the one who gets final say. If I want you on my team, are you still in?"

Daniel smiled briefly and straightened out of his tired slump. "Yes, sir. I'm in."

Then he yawned widely, just to make sure there was no danger of looking dignified.

"Colonel O'Neill," General Hammond's voice said, and Jack turned to see the general and Janet Fraiser both converging on his bed. Hammond was smiling down at him, which was always a good sign. "Dr. Fraiser tells us there's no permanent damage to your lungs from the toxins you inhaled on Netu, but you'll want to take it easy for a few days. One of the Tok'ra came by to fix a few minor injuries with our healing device. I trust it worked?"

Surprised, Jack wiggled his previously-injured leg and said, "Yes, sir, apparently."

"Good. I want a full account later, after you've rested, but I'm told that Sokar was destroyed, along with Netu and at least some of his fleet. You said Apophis was with Sokar at the time?"

"Yes, sir," Jack said, and then, "Well. We...think. We were kind of floating somewhere in space by the time any of this happened. I did see an explosion, though, so I'm guessing it worked."

Unless one of the Goa'uld had escaped and ringed to Delmak, out of range of the explosion, which, granted, was possible, but Jack was going to say it was unlikely. Probably.

"All right, then," the general said, still smiling. "Good work, everyone. Now, Mr. Jackson..."

"Daniel was just doing what I would have ordered him to do, sir," Jack said, because he knew Hammond had a tendency to be more lenient when someone's insubordination ended in someone else's being alive.

The general hesitated, looking torn, then said, "I'd stay out of Colonel Makepeace's way for a while if I were you, son."

Daniel flushed but looked relieved that that was it. "Yes, sir. Thank you. Sir."

XXXXX

19 November 1999; Briefing Room, SGC; 1700 hrs

"The tone of our entire conversation was very defensive," Dr. Mackenzie said to both Jack and General Hammond. "Even confrontational, I would say, even when it was clear he was trying to remain poised."

"What, to you?" Jack said, not caring that he probably sounded rude. Hell, if Mackenzie thought Daniel was confrontational, that was only because he hadn't had a meeting with Jack since he'd committed a certain Abydon to Mental Health. "Because, I gotta tell you, Doc--"

"Colonel," Hammond said. "Dr. Mackenzie's doubts are not new, as a matter of fact; you--and I--simply chose to dismiss them the first time."

"I'm speaking in general terms," Mackenzie said. "It's not unexpected, considering his situation, but in Mr. Jackson's case, the constant need to prove himself here often seems to express itself by engaging in dangerous activities in order to achieve a goal or to prove a point."

"Dangerous activities?" Jack repeated, wondering what the man thought this program was about.

"I'm talking about the things that pose an unnecessary threat to himself or others," Mackenzie said, as if reading Jack's thoughts. "His file contains several incidents, just in the last year, ranging from borderline insubordination to outright refusal to obey a direct order."

"I think I've got more of those incidents in my file than Daniel has in his," Jack said.

"Now," Hammond warned him, "is not the best time to point that out, Colonel. On the other hand, Doctor, those incidents were, in some cases, crucial to the success of the mission."

"It's also evidence of a pattern of making reckless decisions, sir, not all of which are guaranteed to turn out well," Mackenzie said. "Mr. Jackson fits almost perfectly a common profile of children vulnerable to recruitment into military service: separation from his family, alienation from his society, a lack of any semblance of stability, all against the backdrop of a war effort. It's not surprising to me that he's shown himself to be willing to take desperate action, and courageous or not, I cannot call it healthy. Given Mr. Jackson's history, I'd rather see him as a patient than see him in the field."

"Does your common profile include people who volunteer for service?" Jack asked.

"In some cases, yes," Mackenzie said. "I would ask if it can truly be called 'volunteering' in the case of a young person under undue stress who is placed in a situation where he honestly sees no other viable option."

Jack looked to the general, who seemed content to sit back and listen to the two of them make their cases. "We've given him other options," he said. "He won't take them. The only other options he would take are...worse."

"Yes," Mackenzie said. "I understand that, Colonel. I'm only asking that you consider the question. His profile--"

"How is that profile--or even his record at the SGC--any different from other person here?" Jack said. "You could say the same about me, or Major Carter or Teal'c."

Mackenzie paused, then said, "I was told to treat him as an adult, but there are objective differences for someone his age--physical, psychological, emotional--that cannot be ignored. Sixteen-year-olds are as mortal as any of us, and they can be as fragile as they are resilient. I don't think it would be wise to test how much more he can cope with before he snaps."

"That's the problem!" Jack said. "You're waiting for him to snap. Maybe if everyone hadn't been so quick to think that, we wouldn't've thrown him in the nuthouse so fast the last time!"

"I'm not talking about full-blown psychosis," Mackenzie replied, "or even just his own wellbeing. Stress and response to stress can do a lot to a person. Mr. Jackson has shown a tendency to leap to poorly-supported conclusions--"

"And how many times has he been right about it? Doc," Jack said, "that's an asset. Daniel is literally a genius, you've gotta know that. His ideas tend to be good, and it's not like the three of us won't step in if they're not."

"But with a history of rash actions and strong, often unsupported conviction, it's only a matter of time before he makes the wrong choice with serious consequences. I understand he thought it was acceptable to threaten the Tok'ra flying a ship--one of our allies--in the middle of enemy space while the enemy's fleet was being scrambled. That's the kind of desperation--"

"That's the kind of person I want on my team!" Jack said, slapping a hand on the table for emphasis. "We'll watch his back, and he'll watch ours. You think he needs therapy now? What do you think he'd've been like if he found out his team got blown up by the Tok'ra?"

The general's expression didn't reveal anything, but he said again, "Colonel O'Neill, your point?"

"Sir, if Teal'c or Major Carter had done that, it would've been called brave--above and beyond the call of duty," Jack said. "Daniel does it, and he's a liability or...mentally unstable. It's what any member of SG-1 would've done, and he managed it without compromising the mission."

"He was not a member of SG-1 at the time," Mackenzie pointed out.

"Then it's time to fix that," Jack said. "There's no line that decides a person's old enough to make his own choices."

"Our law says there is."

"Our law also prohibits someone like Teal'c from military deployment. I mean, you want to talk about a soldier with immune problems? He's got a flap of skin between him and agonizing death."

"Colonel," Hammond said, not quite rolling his eyes.

"I'm just saying," Jack said, holding up his hands. "Our laws don't cover everything. We put Teal'c out there because we'd be stupid not to. We put civilians out there because they can do good work and we need them sometimes, even though none of them has half the training Daniel's had."

"That doesn't make it right," Mackenzie said. "A couple of years ago--maybe less than that--you would have said the same, Colonel O'Neill."

And that was true, but it didn't change the facts. "I didn't know him then, not like I do now," Jack said. "If we lock him out, he'll leave. He'll get himself killed trying to do good somewhere else, and then he'll be dead and we'll have lost everything he brings to the table. He wants to be out there, and he's going to find a way to be out there, with or without us--with or without our protection. Daniel thinks of us as his team, whether or not he's on the SG-1 roster, and maybe that's my fault, or ours, but it's how it is. I defy anyone to say he'd be better off acting illegally as part of my team without the protection we can give him if he's actually on it."

Jack turned to Hammond, knowing this was the general's decision and not particularly caring what Mackenzie thought he knew. "Dr. Mackenzie, do you feel Mr. Jackson is any less fit for active duty than it was before the incident with the Linvris chamber on PY3-948?" the general finally said. "Not you, Colonel O'Neill." Jack shut his mouth.

Mackenzie looked back at his notes and appeared to give the question real consideration. Finally, he said, "No, sir, but I had very strong reservations at the time and still do now."

"They're noted, Doctor," Hammond said. "And, Colonel O'Neill, you will keep that in mind. Mr. Jackson is very young and inexperienced compared with the rest of you. I expect you to know the limits of everyone on your team and to know when lines need to be drawn, for the sake of the individual, the team, and the mission. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Jack said.

"Remember," Hammond added, "this means you have not one but two members on your team with loyalties elsewhere. Their allegiance to this command is not in doubt," he continued, holding up a hand when Jack opened his mouth to argue, "but it does add additional burdens to your team. Occasional business on Abydos--other than medical and engineering--and dealings with rebel Jaffa are your team's duty, now."

"General, we're the flagship team," Jack said. "Between us four, SG-1 now has close, personal connections to our most consistent long-term allies--the Abydons, the rebel Jaffa, the Tok'ra, even the Asgard, kind of. I think that's a good thing, sir."

"And when Mr. Jackson's brother and sister are rescued or, God forbid, killed?"

"Well...we'll take him until then," Jack said, not sure any of them knew what would happen when the missing Abydons were found, "just like we know Teal'c might leave the SGC if the Jaffa are freed." When no further argument came, he said, "Can I go tell Daniel, sir?"

Hammond sighed, then nodded. "Go ahead, Colonel. Mr. Jackson will rejoin SG-1 as a fulltime member, though under the same restrictions as before. Your next mission will take place next week as soon as Major Carter returns from leave with her father."

Chapter Text

28 November 1999; P2C-836; 1000 hrs

Daniel tripped on a branch and fell into a puddle of mud on SG-1's next mission.

It wasn't really his fault--it wasn't as if anyone could see much more than a few feet in front of them, and that was without glasses dripping with rain. The branch had been hidden in yet more mud, anyway, and he was mostly just grateful that he'd landed in the puddle, not on the branch. His one consolation was that the rain was washing everything off pretty quickly.

Well, the consolation wasn't that consoling, actually; it was raining very, very hard.

"Let's assume this isn't the place!" Jack yelled over the rain.

"Yeah, okay," Daniel mumbled irritably, wiping his face and deciding that, despite all claims to the contrary, the ponchos were really rather useless. Maybe it had to do with falling into puddles, but even after spending his whole childhood in a desert, the novelty of seeing water pour from the sky several times in a month had worn off at least a year ago, and it was starting to get very cold.

"What?" Jack shouted.

"I said 'okay!'" Daniel yelled back.

"Well, hurry it up! We're late, and I'm getting tired of this rain!"

Daniel wasn't particularly happy about it, either, so he hurried along behind Jack and the others. At this rate, he was starting to wonder if he'd have to test his meager swimming abilities before the day was out.

They had found the ruins of a temple with text that was nearly an exact match for the writing found on the Temple of Kheb--not quite exact, but it seemed similar enough. He was fairly certain he'd been able to interpret something from the surrounding buildings, even if he couldn't read the text.

Unfortunately, what he'd seen suggested that this was not, in fact, the planet where Oma Desala had taken his baby brother, which had been his first thought upon seeing the script.

"Ugh," Daniel muttered as he dialed the DHD. Why was the DHD able to withstand weather like this while his tape recorder had shorted immediately? He shook a glob of mud from his foot. It landed on Teal'c's leg, and the Jaffa turned to him with a scowl. "Sorry," Daniel said, grimacing apologetically as he escaped the Jaffa's wrath by running through the 'gate.

...x...

28 November 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 1030 hrs

"Loosen your belt, please," the nurse said.

Daniel wrinkled his nose but obeyed, though he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to twitch the curtains a little more closed around him. For all that the Tau'ri refused to walk around at work without covering all skin besides their face and arms, they were remarkably immodest in other situations. Daniel was fairly used to the infirmary routines now, but that didn't mean he liked dropping his pants for a nurse to inject him with...something. Whatever was in that syringe.

"What is this, again?" he asked, looking at the approaching needle with some trepidation.

"Listen," Jack's voice was saying from the other side of the curtain, "really jam it in this time, okay?" Daniel made a face at the needle in his nurse's hand.

"Booster shot," the nurse told him. "Turn around." Daniel sighed and braced himself on the bed, deciding not to ask. He could never remember what everything was, anyway.

"Oh, Daniel," Jack called around the curtain.

"What, Jack?"

"Exactly what did that temple thing say? Not like Kheb after all?"

"I don't know," Daniel said, wincing when he felt the needle pinch. "The writings seemed earlier than the writings we found on Kheb, judging by the similarity to early Tau'ri Asian pictographic writing."

"So you don't think that's where Oma Desala took Shifu?" Sam called from even farther down.

"No," Daniel said. "The rain made it hard, but from what I could see, I think that temple was actually...a lot ol-older than..." His vision blurred, and he gripped the gurney in front of him as his legs tried to buckle. "Wh-what...Jack..."

 His eyes slipped closed, and he felt himself land in an iron-hard grip before he felt nothing else.

XXXXX

29 November 1999; Infirmary, SGC; 1700 hrs

Ironically, as soon as Daniel joined SG-1 after passing all physical, psychological, and artillery assessments, he spent the first major incident asleep and, apparently, hanging from the ceiling while aliens tried to take over the planet. There was something terribly unjust about that.

By the time he woke up and heard the story about the foothold situation, Sam was guzzling coffee like she was afraid it might disappear if she was too slow about it, Teal'c's abused symbiote was being examined in the infirmary, and Jack was insisting that the aliens who'd caused the foothold situation were--

"They looked like fish?" Daniel echoed. "The foothold aliens?"

"No, they really didn't," Sam said. "Is that what we're calling them now, foothold aliens?"

"They kind of did look like fish," Jack insisted, gesturing at his head. "With helmets and purple blood, and funny sort of screaming, bubbly voices, but, you know."

Daniel met Sam's gaze and saw her shrug behind Jack's back. "They had helmets and purple blood and strange voices...so they seemed like fish to you," he said.

"Kind of," Jack repeated. "I wonder how long it'll take to clean off all the goop they left in the corridor. Ah, see! The goop. Fish."

"Fish don't leave goop hanging from the ceiling," Daniel said.

"That's what you think," Jack said. "You've just never seen fish big enough to leave goop."

"The ceiling, Jack."

"Hey, you don't know what you're talking about," Jack protested, stretching his arms wide. "There's a lake in Minnesota where the bass grow this big--"

"That's..." Daniel started, then frowned. He knew that water animals could be pretty big, and it wasn't like he was an expert on Tau'ri bass fish... "He's joking, right?" he asked Sam.

"Would I joke about fishing?" Jack said. "Don't look at her; she's never been out to the lake with me either. You're just jealous you missed out on the action."

"No, I'm not," Daniel lied. Not that he really wished he'd seen what it looked like when fishy aliens were taking over the base... "Oh, wait," he suddenly realized. "When you said they were 'fishy aliens'...oh. You didn't actually mean they looked like fish, did you."

Sam cracked a smile first. Jack's smirk followed a second later. Daniel felt like an idiot.

"I'm just glad it's over," Sam said.

"I wonder what they wanted," Daniel said.

"To take over the world," Jack replied.

"There was no way to...you know...ask one of them?" he asked, though, of course, it was a useless objection now that they had all died or fled to another planet.

"Um..." Sam said. "I figured being drugged and shot at was good enough excuse not to try proposing a peaceful negotiation."

"That's fair," Daniel conceded.

"This is why we should never invite fishy aliens over for dinner again," Jack said sagely.

The door swung open to reveal Teal'c. "Teal'c," Daniel said, standing. "How's your prim'ta?"

"My symbiote is nearly recovered," Teal'c assured them. Daniel decided that maybe he was lucky to have missed the action after all. At least he hadn't had a symbiote yanked out of his stomach for experimentation. "We should proceed to the debriefing."

Dr. Fraiser was already there when they sat down at the briefing room table, and it only took a few minutes for Major Davis, from the Pentagon, and General Hammond to join them. Having been essentially absent for most of the last day and a half, Daniel remained quiet and let the others fill in the missing pieces.

"Those who escaped still possess the knowledge they obtained from being linked to your minds," Teal'c said, his tone warning.

"That's creepy," Jack said. Daniel agreed strongly, especially since the device the aliens and Sam had used to look exactly like him was still active and sitting in her lab.

"We changed all our codes," General Hammond said. "That's all we can do."

"Sir," Daniel spoke up, "in that case, I'd like to go to Abydos to have the iris codes updated, not to mention locking out our old codes."

"And what about other special codes, sir?" Jack added.

"Master Bra'tac cannot be contacted safely," Teal'c said. "However, we should inform the Tok'ra of their new code."

The general nodded. "Give us some time to get the 'gate room cleaned up and make sure all our systems are operable after that explosion. You can go after that to Abydos and head to Vorash from there. We'll keep Bra'tac's IDC the same but take extra security precautions the next time it's received."

Footsteps from the other entrance made them look up to see Colonel Maybourne enter.

Personally, Daniel thought going to Maybourne for anything that required someone trustworthy seemed...well, foolish. After his recovery from the sarcophagus addiction, the man had gotten his position back at the Pentagon, but the NID had barred him from direct contact with SGC or Area 51 technology and research. On the other hand, the point seemed to be that everyone trustworthy enough might have been compromised, so maybe it had simply been smart thinking to go to the one person with high enough clearance but without the complications of being actually involved.

At the moment, even if he'd come out of this looking like a hero, Maybourne was clearly very aware of general SGC opinion of him and seemed even more discomfited than the rest of them. Jack broke the silence by saying, "Colonel Maybourne. Good save."

Very stiffly, Maybourne said, "I thought you'd like to know that the alien posing as Daniel Jackson expired, as well as all the other aliens, even those not caught in the 'gate room explosion. We're guessing that they were linked to their leader in some form or another when he self-destructed."

"We appreciate your help on this matter, Colonel Maybourne," the general said.

Maybourne straightened and said, almost reluctantly, "Credit Major Carter. I do." Daniel's eyebrows rose, while Sam and Jack exchanged surprised looks. "Well. I'm returning to liaising with Area 51 and the SGC, so I'm sure we'll see each other again before long."

"That'd be nice, Harry," Jack said sincerely.

Daniel ducked his head until he felt like his expression was less utterly astonished. This was what happened when he slept through the important things.

XXXXX

1 December 1999; Nagada, Abydos; 1100 hrs

"We were attacked," Daniel explained to Kasuf in the 'gate room as Sam uploaded the new iris codes into the Abydos automatic verification system. "The invaders were defeated, but we had to change our codes so that they cannot use the information they gained while on Earth. The new code for Abydos is..." He held out a small slip with the new Abydos IDC.

"I will have several people remember it," Kasuf said, reading it over and nodding to Tobay, Seinah, and perhaps five other Abydons who stood by as well. Then, he switched abruptly to English, and his gaze moved to include the rest of SG-1. "The people of Abydos tell me to ask this. There are some who wish to help the fighting with the Goa'uld."

Daniel frowned, unsure how to respond. He turned his head to see Jack exchange glances with Teal'c, and Sam had paused while examining the device attached to the DHD.

"Well," Jack started, Seinah listening carefully and translating for those less fluent in English, "most of us never thanked you in person, but you helped wipe out Sokar--a very powerful Goa'uld--by relaying the message to us. And the naquadah we've mined from here has been very important. Essential to our research operations."

"I understand this," Kasuf said, and he truly did seem to have quite a few reservations about asking at all. "However, there are some who wish to do more."

"No," Daniel said before he could think about it. "Elder..."

"Our people were taken from here by Goa'uld," Tobay said, and Daniel stopped to translate for his team as duty dictated. "We will not be safe until the Goa'uld are dead."

"The people of Earth might have remained safe," Teal'c spoke up, "until they began to oppose the Goa'uld. The System Lords may not yet be aware that Abydos is so closely allied with Earth. If your people begin to travel through the Stargate to wage war on the Goa'uld, the System Lords will know that you are providing warriors and resources to our cause, and they will not hesitate to destroy every person on this planet."

Kasuf seemed to be more or less convinced--his concern, after all, was the safety of his village and the whole planet--but some of the younger men seemed restless; Daniel knew it wouldn't be as easy to keep their arguments at bay. He knew, after all, how it felt to need to do something.

"If it is so dangerous, why does Earth continue to fight?" one person said.

"It's too late for Earth to stop," Sam said, straightening from the iris mechanism to stand with the rest of the team. "The Goa'uld are already watching us. We've narrowly survived several attempts to destroy Earth in the past two and a half years, and that was with a lot of luck and more technology than is available here. We can help you increase your technological and defensive capabilities, but--"

"Dan'yel left Abydos to join you," Tobay said. "Other Abydons can do the same. We would fight under the name of Earth."

Daniel looked helplessly to Jack, who said, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why?" another spoke up. "Why Dan'yel, if not us?"

"My face is already known to Klorel and Amaunet and to at least three other System Lords," Daniel said.

"And I'll tell you right now, the Tau'ri think that letting Daniel join up was a mistake, too," Jack said. "It's just too late to fix it."

As the other Abydons considered that, Daniel reflected that he'd have been hurt by that statement just months ago. Now, though, he knew it was simply true, and he'd learned to accept that sense of protection over him from the others as a necessity and a comfort more than an annoyance. But this was Daniel's home, he would see to it that Abydos didn't become the next Goa'uld wasteland. If there was one thing he wished to preserve in this war, it was Abydos.

Daniel turned around again and said, directly to Kasuf, "If more of you join, the Goa'uld will find out about our planet. You have no way to protect yourselves from an attack from the skies, and the Tau'ri have no way to protect you."

Sam continued, "Maybe you don't realize how much you've helped us already--you've given us countless Stargate addresses, mineral resources, medical knowledge, friendship... For your own sake, we ask that you not take the war directly to the Goa'uld. It's very likely that they'd destroy you. They've done it to other planets before for much less."

"Perhaps," Tobay persisted. "But--"

The Stargate activated.

Reflex took over, and SG-1 whirled to face the Stargate, weapons at the ready as they found cover. "From the foothold?" Daniel said.

"I already deleted the old IDCs," Sam said. The iris was indeed holding.

"Well, there's no reason the SGC might be dialing us," Jack said.

"No, sir," Sam agreed.

"Hide!" Daniel called as the wormhole was established, urging Kasuf back along with the others. "Everyone, hide!" Tobay and two others picked up automatic weapons hidden around the 'gate room. Daniel turned back around and ducked behind a pillar himself, pistol aimed at the iris.

Sam was crouched by the DHD. She checked the iris code verification device and said, "No incoming signal."

"What is that?" Daniel said, leaning out from behind his cover for a closer look. The iris was...rippling. Stretching, maybe, or something that he didn't think the metal usually did. Some of the Abydons began to murmur. "Uh, Sam, is the iris supposed to do that?"

Sam sucked in a sharp breath. "It's losing integrity."

Suddenly, it looked as if something were pushing its way through, until...

A man stepped out.

Daniel raised his weapon as the Abydons around him did the same, a few gasps interspersed among the shifting of metal and cloth, but Sam stood quickly and said, "Hold! Hold your fire!"

"Cha'hari! Cha'hari," Daniel called automatically, lowering his gun. "Sam?"

But the rest of SG-1 was on their feet, too. Jack took his hands from his weapon and said, "Ah. I remember now. The Tollan have that fancy...walking through walls technology."

The Tollan. Daniel stood and replaced the safety on his weapon, looking on with interest.

"Narim, it's good to see you," Sam greeted the man. "It's okay--he's one of the Tollan."

"He is a friend," Daniel called back, trying to think of what he remembered of the reports from SG-1's first meeting with the Tollan refugees. The Abydons emerged from the various corners of the room, weapons returning to the floor and people crowding closer to see what was happening.

"Samantha?" the man named Narim said, sounding surprised, then looked around at the rest of them. "I apologize for causing alarm. If I had known you would be here, I would have sent Schrödinger ahead to let you know that a friend was coming."

Sam smiled in acknowledgement, more a reminder of their friendship than an offer of reassurance. Daniel wondered what he would have thought if he'd seen a cat walk through an iris and decided that it wouldn't have made much less of a fuss, after all.

"So," Jack said, "if you weren't looking for us...mind telling us why you're here?"

"I am looking for someone," Narim said formally. "I was told I might find someone here called Dan'yel, son of Melburn of Earth, who may be using the name Jackson. If he was not found here, I was to go to Earth to find him or, failing that, to seek out your team, Colonel O'Neill."

At the sound of his name, Daniel started and suddenly felt the weight of several sets of eyes on his head. "I am Dan'yel. Daniel Jackson, son of Melburn," he said, stepping away from the other Abydons and holstering his gun. He glanced at Jack, who looked as lost as he was. "What is this about?"

Narim turned to him and handed him something that looked like a triangle, with a blue crystal screen in the center. "I am here to deliver a message from our highest governing body. Dan'yel, the Tollan Curia requests your presence for Triad."

Daniel looked at the object in his hands. He wondered whether he should know what that meant--'Curia' seemed clear enough, as the Tollan used some terms related to Latin, and must be a authoritative body of some sort, but what was 'Triad?'--but when he snuck a surreptitious glance at the rest of the team, they seemed just as much in the dark as he was.

"Sorry," he said; "what's Triad?"

Narim took his confusion in stride and explained, "It is an ancient ceremony of justice."

"Like a trial in a court of justice on Earth," Sam said. "A...a gathering to determine someone's guilt or innocence."

"Or to make other decisions to determine the justice of an action, yes," Narim said.

Daniel frowned. "Uh...am I being judged for something? I've never even met your people before."

"Oh, no," Narim said. "The person who sits in judgment has requested your presence specifically to help him sway the outcome in his favor. He is an Abydon by the name of Skaara."

Whispers broke out behind him as SG-1 straightened in interest. "What?" Daniel said faintly. "Wh--Skaara? He's...he's alive--he's all right?"

Narim nodded. "He is well. But he does need your help for Triad."

"But...I mean, of course I'll help," Daniel said, shaking his head and pushing away the fog of shock that tried to descend over him. "Of course, but...but how..."

"Where's this taking place?" Jack said, taking over while Daniel collected himself.

"Our destination is the new homeworld, Tollana," Narim answered. "The Nox and the Tollan devised a way to transport us to the planet and built a Stargate there."

Sam's eyebrows rose, and distantly, Daniel figured that building a Stargate was probably a lot more advanced than even technology that let a person walk through an iris, but no one commented on it. "All right," Jack said, his tone even and measured. "Daniel, why don't you go let everyone know we're done updating their iris and tell Kasuf where you're going. We'll dial the SGC and let the general know that we're going to be on Tollana."

"You're going, too?" Daniel said, looking around at SG-1 surrounding him.

"Well, yeah," Jack said, as if it should be obvious, then nodded toward the back of the room. "Go on."

Daniel hesitated for a minute, not sure if he was supposed to do something with the oddly shaped object in his hands or if it was simply a sort of summons to the Tollan Triad. Teal'c reached around him and plucked it out of his hands, nudging him back to attention, and he turned around and walked toward where the Abydons waited at the back.

Before he could speak, however, Kasuf stepped forward. "I heard. These people have your trust?"

"They do, Elder," Daniel said. "The Tollan are a people advanced far beyond the Tau'ri, but they are peaceful. They are our friends."

"They can help Skaara?" Kasuf pressed.

Daniel nodded. "Yes. Narim says he needs us. Skaara must still carry a Goa'uld within him. We have allies who can cure him, but we need the Tollan to help us so we may take him somewhere to remove the demon." He hoped that was what it was about, anyway.

"Then I will go with you and the Tollan," Kasuf said simply. "He is my son--your brother. We will speak for Abydos."

XXXXX

1 December 1999; Courtroom, Tollana; 1300 hrs

There was a very distinguished-looking woman sitting on a high podium. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c looked perfectly poised and professional as usual. Kasuf seemed, by all outward appearances, utterly unruffled by the impressive architecture or the atmosphere of grandeur that permeated the courthouse or by the woman who must be in charge here. For his own part, Daniel hoped he looked a lot less anxious than he felt.

"These must be our visitors," the woman said with a cool smile. "Welcome."

"High Chancellor Travell," Narim said, "this is Colonel Jack O'Neill--"

"Hi," Jack said.

"--Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c, the team SG-1 from Earth. And these are Dan'yel and Kasuf of Abydos."

"Hello," Sam said politely as Teal'c inclined his head. Identified as an Abydon despite his clearly Tau'ri clothing and SG-1 insignia, Daniel crossed his arms over his heart and bowed to Travell as Kasuf did the same beside him.

"We are honored that you have agreed to participate in Triad," the High Chancellor told them. "Your Seeker will decide which of you will be Archon."

"Seeker?" Jack repeated. "Archon?"

"With all due respect, ma'am," Sam said, "Narim didn't have the chance to explain Triad to us. We don't know what those terms mean."

Neither annoyed nor offended, Travell only nodded gracefully and explained, "There are two arguing parties called Seekers. Triad requires one Archon who is sympathetic to each side and one neutral Archon. The Archons argue the dispute until a decision is reached."

Daniel puzzled that out and then summarized, "So the Seeker is the one being judged, and the Archon is his advocate." A glance at SG-1 showed no disagreement, so he continued, "Skaara is our Seeker?" Kasuf tensed very slightly at his side. Daniel had to force himself to hold steady.

Just another mission. Achieve the objective and--

No, that was wrong. If they were to speak for Skaara, they had to remember who he was and why they were doing this, not just that he was an objective to be achieved.

"That is correct," Travell said. "Narim will take you to him now."

Daniel's heart began to race as Narim nodded to the High Chancellor and gestured them out of the courtroom. He barely even noticed Jack giving the device on the wall--the one that had somehow disabled their weapons--a thoroughly disgusted look as they followed Narim toward another part of the courthouse.

"In here," Narim said, sliding a door open.

Jack and Sam both stepped in first, but even after nearly two years, even with his back turned to them, Daniel immediately recognized the person standing inside. SG-1 was waiting for them to make the first move, but Kasuf seemed transfixed by the sight, so Daniel cleared his throat, tried not to hope for anything, and said, "Skaara?"

Skaara turned. His eyes glowed. Daniel's stomach dropped.

"You," Klorel growled. "You will pay for what you did to my father."

At those words, Kasuf flinched, then stood tall, his expression firm.

"Good to see you, too," Jack spoke up, breaking the tension.

Suddenly, Klorel stiffened. A red crystal on his chest, which Daniel had taken to be merely ornamental before, changed suddenly and began to glow blue. "Father," he gasped, speaking in Skaara' voice.

Sensing the change, Kasuf began to step forward toward his son. Reflexively, Daniel moved to stand in front of him, physically blocking his path. "It is Skaara," Kasuf said angrily. "Can you not see the difference?"

"The demon Klorel is still within me, father," Skaara said, looking dejected but not making a move toward them--he knew the dangers, too, and knew that the greatest danger here was within his own body. "Dan'yel, I cannot believe you are here. Sha'uri told me you lived, that I should go to you, but I remember..." He pressed his lips together and lowered his face.

"Skaara is not to blame for what Klorel has done," Daniel said carefully, quivering with the warring impulses to run forward and to hold his position. Was this a trick? Then the rest of the words registered. "You spoke to Sha'uri? When? Where?"

"Ah, look, sorry to jump in," Jack said, taking two apologetic steps in and standing so he faced all the Abydons at once, "but we've got this thing to do. And, no offense, but we'd like to know what's going on, so..." He turned to Narim. "What's going on?"

"The Tollan designed the device worn about his chest," Narim explained, pointing to the blue crystal. "It suppresses the Goa'uld's ability to silence its host. The Goa'uld and host are free to speak at will. Red indicates it is Klorel who speaks; blue, Skaara."

"It is I," Skaara said, straightening so that his stance matched his father's proud bearing. "With your help, I will soon be free of this demon. Every day I fight, I listen. I learn."

Daniel could see his friends' expressions stir with interest--intelligence on the status of any of the Goa'uld would always be welcome. Daniel thought he'd gladly discard all of that in exchange for having his brother back.

"It is time for Skaara to choose his Archon," Narim said.

Skaara's gaze swept over all of them, and suddenly, Daniel couldn't decide whether it would be a good or bad thing to be named Archon. He understood the situation with Goa'uld and their hosts better than Kasuf and knew Skaara better than SG-1, but he couldn't deny the hours he often had to spend asking Air Force lawyers for help when they were working on some treaty whose wording he wasn't sure he was interpreting correctly. Like many others who specialized in communication, he had experience working with and learning from the diplomats and the attorneys on base, but it didn't mean he was suited for this. This was too important.

Indeed, Skaara's eyes lingered on Jack--the legend, his childhood hero, and a face probably known by the System Lords to be a dangerous adversary--and finally, he said, "I must choose only one person as my Archon?"

"You may choose no more than three to argue for you," Narim told him, "but they will have only one vote together."

"Kasuf is the leader of the Abydonian people. But Dan'yel can speak for the Earth people as well," Skaara said. "Therefore, I choose my father and my brother."

Daniel looked instinctively toward SG-1. Sam smiled encouragingly. Jack looked apprehensive but tilted his head slightly, as if to say, 'why not.' Teal'c gave him a solemn nod. Kasuf nodded as well, so Daniel turned to Narim to ask, "What is being decided at this Triad?"

"Two days ago," Narim explained, "a small Goa'uld vessel crashed in a remote area. Skaara was the occupant."

"The demon Heru-ur has been attempting to regain strength," Skaara said. "He wished to combine his power with what Apophis left behind and asked Klorel to meet him on his ship. Heru-ur then turned against Klorel when we arrived."

"You escaped from Heru-ur himself," Daniel clarified, finding the story suspicious despite the part of him that didn't really care, as long as Skaara was standing here before him, "even after being taken directly onto his ship?"

Now Skaara looked around himself at the others, then focused intently on Daniel, as if to convey another message. "Heru-ur had another prisoner, brother. Her escape gave me the distraction I needed to run." Daniel's eyes widened, and he started to turn to see if the rest of his team had heard the message, too, but Skaara was already continuing, "My demon knew the Tollan could stop Heru-ur."

"Which we did," Narim said, reminding Daniel that, whether or not Sha'uri and Amaunet had truly escaped from Heru-ur, they could do nothing about it now; first, they had to deal with Klorel and Triad before they could learn anything more. "We warned them, but our defense grid was forced to destroy them."

"So Heru-ur is dead," Sam said.

"No," Skaara told her. "But two of his motherships are destroyed."

Daniel opened his mouth to ask again what this Triad was about, because he was pretty sure no one had actually explained it yet, but before he could, Jack said, "Wait a minute. You blew away two Goa'uld motherships? Just like that?"

"We are not a warring people," Narim said, looking unperturbed by the incredulity, "but our defensive technology is far more advanced than the Goa'uld's."

"What about the Triad?" Daniel interrupted impatiently, not particularly interested at the moment in the weapons. "I still don't understand what the issue is."

Narim nodded. "When he first arrived, Skaara asked us to free him of his Goa'uld. But the Goa'uld refuses." Daniel frowned. Of course the Goa'uld had refused--what had they expected? "Therefore, under Tollan law, we have no choice but to hear both arguments before acting. Klorel is the other Seeker."

Surprised into silence, Daniel looked back to Skaara, who seemed to be resigned to this fact. Kasuf moved out from behind him and said, "Klorel also has his Archon?"

"If you will return with us to the courtroom, you can meet him," Narim said, gesturing them out the door.

XXXXX

1 December 1999; Waiting Room, Tollana; 1400 hrs

"So it's Daniel and Kasuf versus a Goa'uld," Jack summarized as they walked into the waiting room, "with a Nox called Lya as the jurywoman."

"No, she's the neutral Archon," Daniel said, because he had a general idea of Tau'ri court proceedings and thought the Archons corresponded to attorneys, not jury people.

"Realistically," Sam pointed out, "hers is the only vote that counts, so she really is, essentially, the jury that you have to convince. You'll vote for Skaara, and the Goa'uld Zipacna will vote for Klorel; whoever sways Lya's opinion will win."

"We must fight to show my son should have life?" Kasuf said, his tone disbelieving.

"Yes," Daniel said unhappily, but added, "They are only trying to be fair. But Skaara has justice on his side, and the Nox are known to be a fair and...and very intelligent people, so we do have a good chance."

Jack waved a hand. "It'll be a piece of cake. A walk in the park, a day at the beach--"

"But if we lose?" Kasuf asked.

"We won't," Jack insisted.

"We'll be back to where we were last week," Daniel corrected, dropping his hands into his pockets and unable to accept Jack's optimism even though he appreciated the support. "It'll be no better but no worse than before. Skaara and Klorel will be out there somewhere...and we'll keep looking."

And Sha'uri...

But if Kasuf wasn't asking, Daniel wasn't going to mention anything that could turn out to be false hope, not until Skaara was free and they could talk and find out exactly what had happened. Time enough for that later, after they won the Triad. If they won the Triad. When they won.

"My son," Kasuf said carefully to Daniel, "I understand enough, but I do not speak as well as you. You will be my voice. You speak for us both." Daniel nodded. It wasn't as if he hadn't had enough practice in simultaneous interpretation over the last few years.

Tollan historians had known of a dialect similar to Tau'ri Middle English for years, and the Tollans who had been stranded on Earth a few years ago had learned more of the modern language. Daniel supposed they tended not to use own language because it was more efficient to use English--the Tollan interpreters were apparently better than Tau'ri ones.

If it weren't for the fact that Skaara's fate was at stake now, Daniel thought he might be very interested in the fact that the so-called human slave language, based on Ancient Egyptian, was only vaguely known to the Tollan. Perhaps that was why they were willing to see the Goa'uld as simply another race, not as treacherous tyrants.

And, with treachery in mind... "I don't believe for a second that Zipacna's come to talk Klorel out of here," Jack warned.

"Wouldn't Skaara know if Klorel were plotting something, sir?" Sam said.

"Perhaps Zipacna is acting alone," Teal'c said. "He brought several Jaffa with him."

Kasuf looked alarmed--they were talking about a conspiracy before the proceedings had even begun--but Daniel nodded again. He trusted the Goa'uld no more than his team did. "You two watch out for yourselves," Jack said, nodding at him and Kasuf. "We'll keep an eye on Zippy's kids out there, see what they're up to."

"You're staying?" Daniel blurted. "For the Triad?"

Jack turned to him. "Obviously," he said, but his hand rose and patted the shoulder of Daniel's jacket, needlessly straightening the collar and smoothing down the zipper, the kind of thing he always did when he was very nervous or relieved for someone. "I'd go in with you, but like Narim said, it's a closed session. We'd be more useful making sure Zipacna's not up to something."

Daniel nodded, feeling like that was all he'd been doing so far, agreeing and agreeing.

"Don't give me that!" Jack said, sharp enough to make him jump. "No nodding and smiling today. You argued with Cronus to his face, for cryin' out loud. Fate of the world and all that. In fact, I'll bet you know more about this Zipacna guy than I do."

"Minor Goa'uld," Daniel recited, relieved. "A demon from Mayan mythology--feared but not particularly powerful. He's been known to form alliances with--"

"Aht!" Jack said, wrinkling his nose and raising a hand. "I don't need to know that. You know what to do. Just...be better at the etiquette thing than I am, huh? It'll be fine."

A chime sounded through the room. The door slid open to reveal Narim. "They are ready for you."

Chapter Text

1 December 1999; Courtroom, Tollana; 1500 hrs

"Your Eminence," Zipacna said, "Until a few years ago, the humans on Abydos lived under Goa'uld law, administered by Ra. By that law, they were Goa'uld property. Lord Klorel merely took what was already his."

The red crystal on Skaara's chest turned blue as he answered tightly, "I was born to this body, free of the demon Klorel. He stole my body--he stole the life I would have had on my homeworld, Abydos."

"Human Archons?" Travell said, turning to acknowledge the Abydos side.

Daniel stood. Kasuf was standing, too, so he remained silent until Kasuf began to speak, translating the man's words so they spoke with one voice. "Lord Zipacna is attempting to distort the truth. Skaara, when you were taken from Abydos by the forces of Apophis, was Ra the ruler of Abydos?"

"No," Skaara said. "The false god Ra was defeated when I was a small child."

"Who was the highest authority to whom you answered?"

Skaara's eyes remained fixed on Kasuf. "My father is the head of the Council of Elders. Abydos was governed by the Council, not any of the Goa'uld."

Kasuf fell silent then, so Daniel finished, "Your Eminence, by the time Klorel took Skaara's body, there had been no Goa'uld on Abydos in nearly twenty Abydonian years. Skaara was taken forcibly from his home and enslaved unlawfully, by any law imaginable."

Travell nodded to them. "Goa'uld Archon, do you wish to respond?"

Zipacna, still wearing his apparently constant smirk, stood. "I do." He walked slowly toward the center where Skaara stood, with the air of a predator circling his prey. Skaara's eyes followed him warily, his entire bearing tense and not quite leaning away, and Daniel had to clench his hands into fists under the table to restrain himself from rising to pull his brother away from the Goa'uld. "Do the people of Abydos hunt?" Zipacna said. "Do they use animals as beasts of burden, or for food and clothing?"

Still wary, Skaara answered, "Yes."

"Do you also eat the flesh of humans?"

Repulsion rolled over Skaara's face. "No, never!"

"Then," Zipacna said, "you make the judgment that animals are of lesser value than humans. This is the law, Your Eminence, that the human Archons have neglected--the law of nature."

Ah, Daniel thought. So it was like what they'd faced during the summit with the Asgard and the System Lords for the Protected Planets Treaty--the idea that humans were inherently inferior to the Goa'uld and, therefore, fair game for enslavement or death. It was a good thing, then, that he'd had a lot of time to think about the flaws of that argument since then, both on his own and in joint speculation with other researchers at the SGC.

"If a human has the right to take an animal's body and do with it as he pleases because he is a superior being," Zipacna concluded, his tone smug, "then so does a Goa'uld have the right to do as he pleases with a human's body. By that argument alone, the Goa'uld has priority--and the host belongs to Klorel."

"Do the human Archons wish to respond?" Travell said neutrally.

"We do, Your Eminence," Daniel said immediately, surging to his feet, but Kasuf was standing as well, so he ceded to his elder's argument first. "Skaara, you have hunted, killed, and cared for many animals in your life, have you not?"

Skaara looked more frightened now that it was clear this would actually be a fight, and not just a perfunctory ceremony to satisfy the details of the law. He looked at his father, as if trying to ask why they were still using this argument, but said, "Yes."

"Has any of them ever called you to a gathering of justice?"

"No. Of course not."

Kasuf gave him an encouraging smile. "If you learned that one of your beasts of burden felt itself to be wrongfully enslaved and could argue with you for its freedom, what would you do?"

"I would say that the animal is more intelligent than I knew before," Skaara said. "Perhaps it should not be enslaved."

Zipacna stood up quickly. "Your Eminence, I must insist that that the human Archons stop avoiding the topic."

Moving away from the table, Daniel stepped forward and said, "Your Eminence, we are only demonstrating the flaw in Lord Zipacna's argument. The fact that humans are standing here arguing for the rights of a human clearly shows that humans are self-aware, intelligent beings."

Travell answered neither of them but turned instead to Zipacna, as if to ask whether he had further response.

"By saying this," Zipacna said, "the human Archons demonstrate their lack of comprehension of my words. It is a matter of degree and perspective. Your ability to stand and speak does not make you an equal to my species, in intelligence or otherwise."

"And yet--" Daniel pressed. He paused, glancing back once, but Kasuf nodded to him to go on, "...you stand in a room where a human presides, on a world built by a society of humans more advanced than the Goa'uld. Would you still argue that humans, including the High Chancellor Travell and all the humans of Tollana, are not only inferior to you but also worthy of being nothing more than slaves and property to the Goa'uld?"

At this, Lya spoke up to say, "Your point about the Goa'uld Archon's remarks is well made, and it is well taken, Dan'yel. However, I remind you that the fate of Skaara and Klorel, not of the Tollan people, is at stake today."

Chastised, Daniel retreated to their side, but Kasuf stopped him before he could sit down and picked up the argument. "Skaara, if you had the choice, would you choose to leave this planet with the demon Klorel still within you, or would you choose to--" As Daniel heard the last part, he faltered before he could finish translating. Kasuf gave him a stern look, and he finished, "...or would you choose to die?"

Lya's head tilted thoughtfully, but she remained silent. Skaara visibly steeled himself, then said, "I would rather die."

"Why?"

"What I suffer each day," Skaara said slowly, "is worse than death."

Kasuf looked like he had been expecting this, given what he knew of the Goa'uld, but his expression grew pained nonetheless.

Skaara turned suddenly to Daniel, and for the first time Daniel could remember in his life, his brother seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I remember the demon stretching out my hand to kill Dan'yel," he said. "My brother, whom I swore to protect when he was only a baby--the demon tortured him to the brink of death with my hand." Daniel had to stop himself from shivering at the memory as Kasuf gave him a sharp look--no one on Abydos had ever heard that story before. "There was nothing I could do to stop it," Skaara finished, finally tearing his gaze from Daniel and turning to Travell. "And I have seen many more, far worse atrocities than this."

Angry now, Zipacna rose to say, "I demand that the humans stop straying from the topic!"

"We are not straying!" Daniel said, just as angry and trying not to let it show. "This is exactly what this Triad is about. Klorel has stolen body, life, and choice from the host, Skaara, and they should be returned to their original owner. Their rightful owner: the host."

Zipacna turned to him with a sneer. "Nothing of the host survives."

Now Skaara lowered his gaze, squeezing his eyes shut as his hands convulsed on the railings that surrounded him.

This seemed such a ridiculous statement that Daniel almost let himself say something rash about how they knew a Tok'ra symbiote who'd died and left the host intact--and, in fact, that former host was on Tollana right now--but there was duty to his family and duty to the SGC and its allies, and he could not betray one for the other.

"When a Goa'uld takes a host, the symbiote also gains access to the host's mind, isn't that true?" Daniel said. "In fact, you benefit from human intelligence."

"Why would a Goa'uld need that?" Zipacna said, still smiling disdainfully. "We have no need of what the human mind can provide us."

But the SGC had been studying the Goa'uld for two years, and the people who weren't off exploring all the time had had time to formulate more than their share of theories of the Goa'uld-host relationship based on historical data collected. So...

"If that were true, then why would the Goa'uld have stopped using the Unas?" When Zipacna frowned, Daniel continued quickly, "That the Goa'uld used Unas as hosts before beginning to prefer humans is a well-established historical fact. Do you deny it?"

"No," Zipacna said.

"Because by using humans," Daniel said, trying to sound confident about what was admittedly only a theory, "you could gain understanding of...of human religion and their legends in order to better control slaves. If the host's mind did not remain, and the host was only a physical...vessel for the Goa'uld, what advantage would there be in using a physically inferior host?"

Zipacna scowled at them. "The memories of the host can be absorbed by the Goa'uld's mind, this is true," he finally conceded. "That does not mean that the host himself survives the process beyond the implantation."

"Then how does Skaara speak today?" Kasuf added.

"What you call Skaara is nothing but a remnant," Zipacna said immediately. "He can speak now only because the Tollan use their technology to silence Klorel."

"For the technology to work," Daniel pressed, "Skaara must still be alive, or there would be nothing left to speak when Klorel was silenced."

Suddenly, Lya said, "And he spoke well. His words were not those of a remnant personality."

"Lord Zipacna has now told two falsehoods that he himself does not or cannot deny," Kasuf said through Daniel, "about the Goa'uld relationship with Abydos and the nature of the host. The human Archons demand that the Goa'uld Archon refrain from further lies to win this Triad."

Glowering, Zipacna turned to give a reply, but Travell interrupted him with, "A valid request. You will hold to it, Lord Zipacna."

Zipacna looked thrown by the support from not only the High Chancellor but also the third Archon. Daniel suspected he himself looked more relieved than he should.

"Human Archons," Travell added, "please endeavor to remain more closely on topic."

And then Zipacna regained his smirk, and Daniel steeled himself for another round.

XXXXX

1 December 1999; Waiting Room, Tollana; 1700 hrs

Jack paced in the waiting room. The door slid open as Carter came back. "I talked to Narim, sir," she said as soon as the door closed behind her. "He says that it's impossible for the Jaffa to have tampered with the ion cannons--"

"Well, they were doing something to those cannons!" Jack hissed.

"Yes, sir, I saw it, too," she agreed. "Narim did say he'd tell the High Chancellor when they're done with today's session, after they break for recess until morning." She looked around the room. "No word yet about the Triad?"

"None," Teal'c answered.

Carter nodded. "Daniel doesn't have experience with things like this," she said.

"There was Cronus," Jack said again, mostly because it was the only experience that could be counted as anything close to this.

Knowing that as well, Carter looked doubtful. "That was once, sir--spur-of-the-moment, with Cronus in our debt, and it lasted about two minutes."

"I know that, Major," Jack said. "Daniel will do all right, and Kasuf will keep him in line. They'll be okay. Come on, Lya's there--how can they lose?"

"The Nox will not unjustly favor humans over the Goa'uld, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

"We don't need extra favor," Jack said. "If she makes a fair choice, it'll be in favor of Skaara."

"About that, sir..." Carter said. "Narim thought at first that I was trying to influence the outcome of the Triad by discrediting Zipacna and his Jaffa."

"And having Zipacna mess with the Tollan defensive technology isn't influencing anything?" Jack said sarcastically.

"I know, sir. I just wanted to warn you of what to expect when he tells Travell about it."

The door slid open again, and this time, it was Kasuf and Daniel, both looking furious as they entered. Jack took this as a bad sign but tried to be casual as he said, "How'd it go?"

"Do you remember trying to negotiate with the System Lords, Jack?" Daniel snapped.

Jack grimaced. "That well, huh."

"It's the same thing again. 'Humans are inferior.' 'Humans exist to be Goa'uld hosts and slaves.' I can't believe there's even a question of whether Klorel should be removed. I mean, two brains in one body--one of the brains is detachable and the other is not! What does that tell you? It's ridiculous that a society as advanced as--"

"Dan'yel," Kasuf interrupted sternly. Daniel exhaled angrily but stopped ranting. "We gain favor with the Nox Archon, Colonel O'Neill."

"See?" Jack said encouragingly. "I told you she'd be reasonable. So it's going well."

"Yeah, maybe," Daniel said, somewhat calmer. "It's just that something feels...I don't know. Zipacna just seems so confident." Jack glanced surreptitiously at Teal'c and Carter, who returned the wary look. Still caught up in his indignation, Daniel didn't seem to notice and only batted halfheartedly at the flag hanging on their wall with the Abydos point of origin. "Maybe it's just the way he is--Goa'uld arrogance or bluffing or something--but I don't know."

"Well, maybe it's something else, because here's the thing," Jack said. "We saw his Jaffa messing around with the Tollan ion cannons."

"The Tollan...ion-what?" Daniel said blankly.

Clearly, someone hadn't been paying attention to the big, honking guns that made Goa'uld motherships explode.

"The ion cannons are the defensive weapons that were used to destroy Heru-ur's motherships," Teal'c explained. "We have informed Narim. He is most likely speaking with High Chancellor Travell even now."

Daniel and Kasuf exchanged alarmed looks. "Do you think he's trying to sabotage the Triad?"

"Well, no offense to any of you," Carter said, "but we suspect he's got bigger things on his mind than just Skaara or Klorel. If he can tamper with the ion cannons, there's only so much influence that could possibly have on the Triad, but it could have a huge impact on the Tollan defenses."

With a sigh, Daniel walked past all of them to drop slowly to a seat on one of the chairs around the room. "Why can't they just give him back and let us leave?"

"Because," Jack started without thinking, still watching the door and waiting for someone to tell them that the ion cannons were being screwed with, "they're a bunch of cocky, overconfident, ungrateful, self-righteous--"

"Sir," Carter said, and Jack turned to see Daniel sitting with his chin on his knees. Kasuf was still standing in silence, clearly uncomfortable with every possible aspect of the situation, but Jack decided right then that whatever backbone Daniel had developed might have been learned from this man as much as from anywhere else.

"What, you're not worried, are you?" Jack said, lightening his tone.

In answer, Daniel raised his head enough to scowl at him. "Don't patronize us, Jack."

Crossing his arms casually, Jack said, "I just think you're getting a little too wound up. Kasuf, you said Lya might be sympathetic to you. You just need her vote, and that's it. It'll be fine."

"What if she doesn't vote our way?" Daniel demanded. "Zipacna's doing something, and this is a formal...tribunal...thing. What do I know about this kind of thing? I'm not... My specialty is translating, Jack. My job is to be a...a mouthpiece for the team, not the brain behind it!"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jack said, too exasperated with something that ridiculous to play cheerleader with it. "Things would be a lot simpler if you'd manage to shut up and stop thinking aloud more often. Are you even listening to yourself?"

To his surprise, Daniel actually considered that for a minute before admitting, "Not really."

"My point exactly. We'll make sure Zipacna doesn't screw things up," Jack assured him. "All you've got to do is keep doing whatever you're doing."

"I just don't want to lose him again," Daniel said more quietly, "not this time."

At that, Kasuf turned to him and said something in Abydonian. Jack knew enough to pick out the word 'kill' and 'Klorel' from Kasuf and a stiff 'no' from Daniel, though the rest was too fast to follow. Not sure if he should simply bow out of this, Jack looked to Teal'c, who was standing very still but shook his head slightly.

Finally, Daniel stood up and made what had to be a deliberate switch back to English as he said, "That is between Skaara and myself, Kasuf."

Kasuf looked like he wanted to insist, but whatever the relationship between Elder and citizen on Abydos, clearly it wasn't the same as the commander-subordinate relationship in the US. Whatever this was about, it didn't seem to be something either of them wanted to discuss publically. Eventually, both of them stopped trying to stare each other down and sat again. Jack wondered idly just how high the tension in the room would have mounted by the time morning, and the last part of the Triad, rolled around.

Footsteps at the door made them turn to see High Chancellor Travell standing in the entrance, somehow managing to look Very Displeased despite the frosty smile she still wore. "I hear that you have leveled accusations against the opposing party in Triad," she said.

"Believe me," Jack said, suppressing a surge of irritation at the implication, "this has nothing to do with Triad for us."

"We have only the welfare of the Tollan people in mind," Teal'c added.

"Lord Zipacna was very offended by your accusations," Travell went on. "He denied that he had ordered any tampering of our defense systems."

"Well, that's a shocker," Jack drawled. "You're not just taking his word for it, are you?"

"Our experts," she added sternly, "have been unable to find any form of tampering on any of the cannons." As Carter opened her mouth to argue, Travell held up a hand and said, "The defense systems are comprehensive. If any of the components were damaged, the others would immediately eliminate the threat. There was no sign of tampering found, because it is impossible. Our technology is superior in every way to theirs...and to yours."

"Haven't lost that arrogance bug, huh?" Jack said.

"Colonel," Travell said, "if this is an attempt to influence the outcome of Triad, it is a feeble attempt indeed."

At those words, Daniel hurried forward to say, "Your Eminence, I'm sure that was not their intention at all. They're only worried for the safety of this planet and its people."

"I hope so," she said. "But if you pursue this matter in any way, I will disqualify you from Triad and replace you. Skaara will be represented by someone else. Is that understood?"

"With protest," Jack said.

Kasuf shot him an angry glare and said, "Colonel O'Neill is not the Archon. We did not know of this, Your Eminence."

"Then," Travell told him, "I suggest that you make it clear to your friends from Earth that their actions affect the fate of your son, Seshmit Kasuf, or banish them from this Triad. Now, you will return to Triad in the morning and you will not mention this further. Any of you."

The door slid shut behind her when she left, closing with a gentle whisper.

And, perhaps worse, she'd drawn a line between the Abydons and the Tau'ri, and now SG-1 looked like the bad guys for messing with the Triad. Daniel was standing with his elder, facing his team, and he said, "You can't meddle in this."

It was Teal'c who answered. "I know the Goa'uld, Daniel Jackson. They will attack."

"Then let them attack!" Daniel said, gesturing sharply with one hand. "Didn't they say one of their cannons destroyed two hatak vessels?"

Reluctantly, Jack said, "The Tollan have made it pretty clear they can take care of themselves."

"The Tollan have not been at war in many generations," Teal'c countered. "They do not think strategically. I believe that to be a fatal flaw."

"Their naiveté could be their downfall," Carter agreed.

"Allow Major Carter and myself to continue monitoring the Goa'uld contingent," Teal'c said to Jack, "in case of--"

"You'll be risking Skaara's chance at life," Daniel gritted out, standing stiff and tall. "You promised, Teal'c!"

"I regret that I must say this," Teal'c said, staring hard at Daniel. "But we should consider the possibility that this is greater than the survival of one person. The lives of many people here, and perhaps our own lives, may be in danger."

"You sound like the Tok'ra," Daniel retorted. "The greater cause. The lives of SG-1 for the fate of the galaxy, but I still came after you, because we don't sacrifice the individual. You owe me that much. You asked me what I'm fighting for, Teal'c?"

"I understand your meaning, chal'ti--"

"Then don't take that from me!"

Undeterred, Teal'c leaned closer and said in a low voice, "I have also given you my word to do as your brother would have wished, should it become necessary. Your life and his father's may be in danger. Ask yourself whether he would want you dead."

Daniel's mouth opened soundlessly, then closed as he swallowed. "Well, it hasn't come to that. We're not killing him yet, Teal'c."

"Enough," Jack ordered, suddenly very aware that this could be the culmination of Daniel's time at the SGC--that this was, quite possibly, the end of one of the events that had initiated the Stargate program, unless they screwed it up. "We offered our information to the Tollan; the Tollan don't want our help. Leave it there and don't try to interfere. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, sir," Carter said, her eyes averted just slightly to show she wasn't pleased.

When no other response came, Jack said, "Teal'c?"

"I understand, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

Daniel scrubbed a hand through his hair and dropped back into a chair. Kasuf stared at him for a few long moments like he'd never seen him before, then sighed and took a seat as well. SG-1 remained at the door until Carter signaled that she'd take first watch, and Jack and Teal'c found their places to wait for Triad to restart in the morning.

This was going to be a very long night.

Except, as it turned out, it wasn't.

Only an hour later, the door slid open again, and Narim said, "I apologize, but Triad will be reconvening earlier than expected. Kasuf, Dan'yel, your presence is required in the courtroom in five minutes' time."

XXXXX

1 December 1999; Tollana; 2000 hrs

Jack shifted where he sat outside the courthouse, watching Carter chat with Narim while Teal'c finished...whatever he'd been doing in the courthouse--meditating, maybe--and walked out to join Jack.

The Triad wouldn't go on for much longer, they'd been assured. The Archons for both sides were down to their final objections and arguments, although, having been engaged in many arguments with one of those Archons, Jack was aware that 'not much longer' could be quite a bit longer than anyone really wanted. Kasuf would rein Daniel in if he got too involved with a rant, Jack thought, but then again, from what he'd heard, they were talking meaning of life and philosophy in there. That was never going to be a quick thing.

"Colonel!" Carter called, running toward him. Narim was following close behind. "Narim says a Goa'uld mothership has been spotted in Tollan territory. We need to warn the High Chancellor."

This was what happened when no one listened to them.

"Narim," Jack said, glaring at the man, "I don't give a damn about your protocols right now. We warned you once already. Now let us in there before the rest of our warning comes true."

"Of course," Narim said, still looking far too gobsmacked for someone who should've known this was coming, dammit. "I will take you to the High Chancellor."

Hurrying through the halls, Jack heard the click again as the weapon-jamming device activated, and he had to resist the urge to rip it right out of the wall. 'May I ask what you intend to defend yourself against?' they'd said. 'No harm will come to you--the Tollan will guarantee it.'

He wouldn't say 'no' to getting his money back on that guarantee right about now.

As they approached the main courtroom, Jack could hear Lya's voice inside saying, "Who? Perhaps one of you would volunteer?"

Daniel's voice answered, "The Tau'ri have provided two human hosts for the Tok'ra in the past, both of whom chose that fate. The symbiote lives in either case, but if the host is unwilling, as with Skaara, then he is condemned to a life with no choice and no freedom. That is no life at all."

In front of the door, Jack could now hear Kasuf's voice as well, speaking quietly in Abydonian as Daniel interpreted--a mouthpiece, like he'd said, but that part about the Tok'ra couldn't have come from Kasuf. Jack wasn't surprised; he wasn't sure it was even possible for Daniel to enter into a debate with someone and not add in his own thoughts.

As if to prove it, Kasuf stopped and Daniel kept going: "If you allow the Tok'ra to remove Klorel, they can find a willing host, rather than taking Skaara by force."

Narim yanked the door open, and they all walked in together.

Travell's gaze traveled over each of them but settled on Narim. "Narim, what is the meaning of this?" she said. "You know Triad is held as a closed session."

Undeterred, Narim said, "Your Eminence, please adjust your viewer to the orbital observatory."

Jack tapped his fingers impatiently on his disabled gun.

Narrowing her eyes, Travell nonetheless adjusted something on the panel before her, and then said, sounding surprised, "A Goa'uld mothership."

"Yes," Narim said. "It approaches Tollana."

Travell's cold glare transferred itself to Zipacna as all the Archons gravitated toward her, as if looking for an opening to justify or accuse. "Explain," she said to the Goa'uld.

"My vessel comes in anticipation of our victory in Triad," Zipacna said. "It is merely coming to take us aboard. Your Eminence, if our intentions were hostile, we would have attacked already."

Jack glanced at Teal'c, who had donned his most stoic expression, and at Carter, who looked just as skeptical as he felt.

Unappeased, Travell said, "Even so, your ship's arrival is premature and in violation of Tollan space. I must warn you that if your ship moves any closer before the conclusion of Triad, our automated defense system will destroy it."

"The Goa'uld rest our case, and we are prepared to vote," Zipacna said. "Therefore, Triad is over."

With more than a hint of censure in her tone, Travell said, "Triad is over when all parties agree, Lord Zipacna. Do the human Archons have any further arguments?"

"We do not," Kasuf said.

"We're ready to vote," Daniel said.

"Nox Archon?" Travell asked.

Lya inclined her head. "Yes."

"Then bring in the Seekers," she ordered.

At a stern look from her, Narim ushered the rest of them out of the room to wait. "Something is wrong," Narim said once the door had closed and someone had gone to fetch Skaara and Klorel.

"Y'think?" Jack said, still eyeing that stupid disabling device on the wall. Being unarmed off-world was one thing; being unarmed off-world with a Goa'uld whose goddamned mothership was floating over their heads, who was messing with the world's defense systems... "Do you get it now?" he asked Narim. "The--"

A Tollan man walked past, escorting Skaara along with him. Skaara's eyes were wide with fear, and Jack had no choice but to shut up for the moment and give him a reassuring smile. A second later, he remembered something Daniel had said about hero-worship, but either way, Skaara took a deep breath and looked slightly calmer as he was led into the courtroom.

Once the doors were closed again, Narim said, "I am beginning to think you may have been correct about Lord Zipacna's intentions. However, the fact remains that our defensive capabilities will engage immediately if there is an attack."

"And if all of the ion cannons are destroyed at once?" Teal'c said.

Narim seemed to consider, then shook his head. "The timing would need to be too exact. Without precise targeting of each of the cannons--"

"They were painting them," Carter interrupted, turning to Jack. "Sir, when we saw the Jaffa near the ion cannons yesterday, the Tollan couldn't find any signs of tampering, because there had been no tampering. They were just marking them as targets. I'm sure they've got ways."

"Samantha..." Narim said, sounding like he was caught between distress and denial.

But before he could go on, the doors opened, and Travell walked out, her usual, cool smile still on her face. "You may enter. I must summon the Tok'ra to remove Klorel from Skaara's body."

Skaara had won.

Jack stared for a moment, torn between the sense of alarm that refused to leave and the--relief? elation? uncertainty?--whatever it was they should be feeling on their friend's behalf. And then they all made various noises and gestures of 'okay, thanks,' and walked in past her.

Daniel's head turned when they entered, then swiveled in a rather goggle-eyed way between SG-1, Skaara, and Kasuf. Jack raised his eyebrows and gave him a thumbs-up.

Which was why Jack wasn't watching Zipacna, until he said, "Hatak--re nok, hatak!"

"Hey!" Jack turned in time to see Teal'c bowl into Zipacna, knocking a metallic communication device from his hand.

"He's ordered his ship to come!" Daniel called in warning.

Zipacna pulled away from Teal'c, but now Jack was waiting--it had never felt quite so good before to punch a Goa'uld in the face. Zipacna reeled back into Teal'c, who crushed an arm around Zipacna's windpipe until he collapsed.

"Nice," Jack said, making sure the Goa'uld wasn't getting up again any time soon. "Let's go. Everyone," he added to the Abydonian contingent. "Daniel, take them back to the room and stay inside until we or Travell come back. Everyone else, outside, now!" Jack waited long enough to see Daniel herd Skaara toward the waiting room, Kasuf behind them, as the rest of SG-1 and Narim headed outside, dodging the Tollans running about them in panicked chaos.

Bolts of energy were striking the planet. Jack waited for the superior defense technology to kick in, then realized the bolts were targeting the ion cannons, all at once. Jack turned to Narim and had to say, "You know, I hate when people waste my time like this. How're those security systems looking now?" Then he noticed--"Where's Teal'c?"

"Colonel!" Carter said, pointing upward.

Death gliders were beginning to swoop over the planet, firing on buildings. "Crap," Jack muttered as one came their way. "Take cover!"

"I must inform Travell," Narim said, ducking away with them before peeling off and heading in another direction.

"Sir, I don't see Teal'c anywhere," Carter said worriedly, "and it looks like all the ion cannons are disabled by now."

"O'Neill!"

Jack veered away from an explosion and headed in the direction of Teal'c's voice until the Jaffa came into view, Lya running up behind him. "I must inform you," Teal'c said, "that I have disregarded your orders concerning the Goa'uld."

"Please explain," Jack said, one eye still fixed on the gliders.

Teal'c nodded once to Lya, who passed her hand once in their direction... The world seemed to shimmer, and then blurred around them.

"We must go," Lya's voice said. Jack looked around himself and didn't see anyone else around, but something invisible jostled him from behind and an invisible hand closed gently around his wrist, and he realized that they were all invisible. "This way."

Jack let himself be pulled along, only aware of the others' presences by the feel of Lya's fingers guiding him by the arm while Carter's even breathing sounded from beside him and Teal'c's boots crunched the grass and twigs in front of her. It was a good thing that Lya seemed to know where they were going, because Jack found that being invisible apparently messed with their eyes. Carter would probably know why. Being invisible and not being able to focus properly on everything around them was a little disappointing and, really, not even the most surreal feeling he'd ever had in his life. It was still pretty cool, though.

By the time he was used to the somewhat vague quality of the world around him, it sharpened again, revealing that all four of them had found their way into a clearing in the woods, out of the way of the main city area. "Teal'c, what's going on here?"

"I have requested Lya's assistance," Teal'c told him.

Without looking at them, Lya extended her hand, and an ion cannon shimmered into view before them.

"You hid one," Carter said, looking at Lya with more interest. Stories of the Nox had garnered curiosity on base, which had, over time, faded to something of an impressive-but-useless reputation among some of the personnel. It seemed the Nox were perfectly capable of doing things that were not only impressive but also very useful.

"Travell explained that it would take but one to destroy a Goa'uld mothership," Teal'c said.

Two death gliders zoomed close overhead. Jack watched the cannon, waiting for it to do its magic...

"It should already have fired," Teal'c said.

"Well, it hasn't," Jack said, thinking that it was just typical that even when they managed to get their hands on a bit of fancy, perfect Tollan tech, it didn't even work. "Let's go."

They ran for cover, but by the time they reached the trees, Jack turned to see Teal'c still at the cannon, glancing up occasionally at the approaching ships as he readjusted the controls.

The cannon rose, took aim, and fired.

They flinched reflexively as first one death glider, and then another burst into flames, the heat reaching them even from where they were.

"Nice," Jack said, but the cannon hadn't finished yet--as they watched, it swiveled around again. Scrambling out from their cover for a better view, they looked upward just in time to see a fireball in the sky where the mothership had been.

Teal'c turned to them, his expression almost smug, as the cannon turned again and again, firing on the remaining death gliders. "Very nice," Jack amended.

"We should return to the city," Lya reminded them. "High Chancellor Travell must be told about what happened." Her words made them all hesitate, not sure exactly what she meant by that--Jack couldn't be sure if even saving their planet was a good enough excuse to disobey an order with these people--but she smiled very slightly and said, "I am certain the Tollan will be grateful for your help. Come."

Carter caught up to Lya and said, "Lya, can I ask you something? The way you make things disappear--is that a technological innovation, or a genetic ability in..."

Jack clapped Teal'c on the shoulder and pulled him along, following a safe distance behind that discussion. "You disobeyed my orders," he said. "Well done."

When they reached the main part of the city, it became clear how much damage had been done. There seemed to be few or no people hurt, however, at least that they could see, but a lot of buildings had been destroyed. "They built all of this from scratch in less than two years," Carter pointed out. "I'm sure they'll be able to rebuild."

Narim met them as they reached the courthouse and escorted them inside. "The Goa'uld Zipacna seems to have left through the Stargate during the confusion," Narim told them. "However, very few Tollan lives were lost."

"Well, maybe next time you people will remember that having the best toys doesn't mean you can always win," Jack grumbled.

"We will certainly remember, Colonel O'Neill," Travell said, stepping out of the courtroom to meet them with her unflappable smile.

Jack grimaced. "Right," he said lamely, before looking over the top of her head to see the three Abydons in the room beyond her. "Ah…anything else wrong?"

"I have contacted the Tok'ra," she said. "A representative will arrive soon to take Skaara and Klorel to their homeworld, where the extraction will be performed."

"They can't just take the Goa'uld out of him here somewhere?" Jack asked.

"Colonel," Travell said, "I assume you have never seen the Tok'ra symbiote extraction device."

Well, wonderful. Now that she'd mentioned it in that tone, Jack was going to spend the next few hours imagining a high-tech, maybe naquadah-based torture device with straps and who-knew-what hanging off everywhere. How the hell did one extract a snake curled around someone's brainstem, anyway? "Too big?" he guessed.

"Among other things," she said in her usual, oh-so-helpful tone of voice.

Jack glanced past her at Skaara, who stood in front of Kasuf with Daniel standing off to the side with his arms folded like some sort of teenaged bouncer in glasses. All of them still looked like they weren't sure it was all over quite yet. "Skaara's not going alone, is he?" Jack asked. Hearing that, Skaara's eyes widened very slightly, but he didn't move or protest.

"As I am sure you are aware, the Tok'ra place high value on their secrecy, particularly concerning their homeworld. I am certain no harm will come to Skaara." Jack started to point out that SG-1 knew everything, including the name, coordinates, layout, and position in space of the current Tok'ra homeworld, but Travell added, "I have a few things I need to say to your team, Colonel O'Neill."

"I've been to their homeworld," Daniel spoke up. "And some of the Tok'ra know me. I'll go with Skaara. Shemasiu, Seshmit?" he added to Kasuf, who placed a hand on his son's shoulder briefly and then nodded.

The doors opened again, and a Tok'ra whom Jack vaguely remembered as they guy who'd ferried them from Netu to Vorash. "Your Eminence," the Tok'ra said with a short bow. "Is this the prisoner?"

"This is Skaara," Daniel said when his brother twitched slightly at the description. "Thank you for coming, Aldwin."

If Aldwin held any grudges about having a zat gun held on him on their last visit, he didn't show it and only said, "Come. We will return as soon as the procedure is complete."

Chapter Text

1 December 1999; Vorash; 2300 hrs

Skaara did not remember his brother being so tall. They had not stood together through the entire Triad. Skaara was not certain if this was because of the demon still within him, or because of the formality of the occasion, or simply because they were both so different now from who they had been, but it was only when they followed the Tok'ra through the chaapa'ai that Skaara realized he was the smaller one now.

And his brother called himself Daniel Jackson now, no longer Dan'yel. Or perhaps he had used Daniel as a mask for years, waiting to be able to become Dan'yel of Abydos again. Skaara did not like that thought; it was too much like being Klorel for those years and waiting to be able to become Skaara of Abydos again, and yet it was somehow very different, too.

"Do you know of the Tok'ra?" Daniel asked him as they followed the Tok'ra messenger through the sand.

It was good to hear their own tongue again and not to cover it with the Tau'ri speech that the Tollan had learned. Skaara listened to Abydos flow through his ears and had to force himself to stop and think hard for the demon's memories to rise. "Klorel thought them cowards," Skaara answered, searching through his mind for the answers. He gestured toward the Tok'ra who walked in front of them. "I feel the demon inside him."

Daniel nodded. "They carry Goa'uld as well, but they are different from the System Lords. We count them among our friends."

"I thought you were dead," Skaara blurted, then bit his tongue in embarrassment.

Daniel turned to him and blinked. "I am alive and well," he said, too gently for a person who should be dead. "I thought...that I had had a hand in your death also, until..." He stopped.

"Until what?"

Tilting his head at Skaara curiously, Daniel said, "Until Sha'uri told me she had seen you alive and spoken to you."

Skaara stopped where he was and spun around to grab Daniel's arm. "That is what I must tell you--" he started, but then he saw Daniel's other hand resting on his Tau'ri gun, his eyes startled at the sudden movement. Skaara swallowed and released his grip. "I am not going to hurt you."

Only then did Daniel see his hand on his weapon as well, and he snatched his hand away as if the metal burned him. "I know. I did not think that... I did not think."

"We must hurry," Aldwin said impatiently, so Skaara released Daniel and they both turned hurriedly away from each other to continue on their journey.

Clearing his throat, Daniel said, "You wanted to tell me something?"

"Stop," Aldwin commanded. "Do not move."

Skaara looked around himself nervously. The land was too open here. Why were they stopping?

"Do not worry," Daniel assured him. "You will see."

Goa'uld transport rings rose from the ground. "Ah," Skaara said in understanding, and then they disappeared.

...x...

When they reappeared, Skaara flinched instinctively. It felt as though there were worms crawling through his skin, and he knew without question that he was surrounded by Goa'uld, as he had not been for days after living with unblended humans on Tollana. Without thinking, he took two steps back and turned to flee.

Immediately, several zat'nik'tel sprang open around him, while a voice--a blended, Goa'uld voice--called, "Ar'ee!"

"Tal bet! Do not shoot!" A firm hand pressed him against the hard, rocky surface of the chamber they were in. Still confused, Skaara stood where he was, staring at Daniel's back. "He is not trying to escape," Daniel said. "He was only taken by surprise."

Too late, Skaara reminded himself that he was surrounded by blended Tok'ra and that the sensation of naquadah was nothing to fear. Then he saw Daniel standing between himself and four zat'nik'tel, and something like fury or humiliation filled him as he realized that his little brother was trying to shield him from harm.

"Is this the Goa'uld Klorel?" one of the female Tok'ra said.

"Yes," Aldwin said.

Skaara ground his teeth together but did not speak. Daniel stiffened, and it seemed that he had not learned to hold his tongue any better than he had as a child, so he said, "This is Skaara, Garshaw. Klorel sleeps. The Tollan sent us here for the removal of Klorel from Skaara's body."

"I am Garshaw of Belote," the woman said to Skaara, "of the Tok'ra High Council. Come, and we will perform the extraction immediately."

That name was familiar in that confused part of his mind that was Klorel, but Skaara did not have time to dwell on it before Daniel turned back around and said, "Are you all right?"

Skaara stared at him for a moment--stared up at him, yi shay--and nodded. He had to force down the urge to snap that he was not a child to be protected. Klorel was sleeping now, and Skaara could feel something like exhaustion and yet like restlessness trying to sneak through his bones, without even a symbiote to heal it away.

"The Tollan ask that Klorel be kept alive," Aldwin was saying to the Tok'ra in the lead.

Garshaw turned to face Skaara and asked, "Is this true?"

It took a moment to remember to speak--it had been so long since Skaara had spoken when someone addressed his face. "They said you would take Klorel away," he said between teeth clenched with fear or anger.

"The extraction is the priority," Daniel said firmly from behind him. "If Klorel survives the process, they ask that you either give him a willing host if you can find one, knowing the parasite that he is, or leave him on a Goa'uld planet of his choice."

Skaara scowled at those words, and he could not help feeling a little betrayed. Klorel had taken his mind, his body, his life--yet they wanted the Tok'ra to let it live, perhaps to take over another human. But when he turned, he saw the way Daniel walked, fists clenched and arms crossed with eyes staring hard at the wall, and he knew it was not Daniel's choice, either.

"Perhaps you can leave him on a planet to find a host on his own," Daniel added.

Garshaw nodded seriously. "Unfortunate though it may be," she said, though her tone did not sound like it was unfortunate, "a symbiote alone on a planet has only minutes to survive without a host. We cannot promise that a host will find Klorel where we leave him."

When Skaara realized that they were talking about a way to kill Klorel without disobeying the Nox woman, he relaxed. Then he saw Daniel's satisfied expression, and he did not know how he should feel that his brother was suggesting ways to kill Goa'uld while walking among the Tok'ra. These were truly rebels, then, who fought for a different life.

"It is true, what they say about the shol'va, Teal'c?" Skaara said to Daniel as they continued on.

("This is the face of the traitor, Teal'c," Apophis said. "I will reward the Goa'uld or Jaffa who brings him to me. If he lives, your reward will be greater still.")

"Teal'c...is one of the best men I know," Daniel said.

"I remember his face."

"Yes, I have heard that all the Goa'uld and their Jaffa have seen images of him--"

"No," Skaara interrupted. "I remember he took us from Abydos."

Daniel's back stiffened. "He was a different man then," he started, then quickly shook his head. "No, he was not. He was the same man, looking for a chance to leave that life. They are also slaves to the Goa'uld, but now, the Tau'ri have no warrior more true than Teal'c."

"I know they have little choice." Perhaps Jaffa could be good men, but Daniel was quick to trust--or he had been that way before, at least, and it was Skaara's responsibility to ensure that he was not fooled by a false intention. "Do you remember very much of that night, brother?"

"I remember it," Daniel said, and now his voice held warning, but Skaara continued.

"I only wish to know that you understand. Teal'c was there. Claire and Mel--"

Suddenly, Daniel whipped around to face him, his expression hard like Skaara could not remember seeing ever before. "Do not speak of them to me or to Teal'c. That is a matter between us. He is as a brother to me now. You do not have to forgive him for what he did to you, but I have done so for what he did to me." Skaara stared at him and Daniel finally cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing. "Come. The Tok'ra are waiting."

Skaara followed, so lost that he could no longer even feel surprise. "Then it is also true, that there are other Jaffa who oppose the Goa'uld?"

"Yes. The rebellion is growing in numbers even now, and they are our allies. You know that Bra'tac has been named shol'va as well?"

It took a moment to call up Klorel's memories, but Skaara nodded. "I know. It was Klorel who named him so. But Dan'yel, how do you know so much of these happenings? Why were you on my--his--Apophis's hatak two years ago?"

As if he had not been angry a moment ago, Daniel gave him a small smile and twisted slightly so that Skaara could see the symbol of Tau'ri on his arm, SG-1 stitched into the cloth. "I joined the Tau'ri and the SGC to find you, brother. And now I have." The smile stretched wider, but only for a second before disappearing. "Bra'tac taught Teal'c to oppose the Goa'uld; Teal'c has taught me the same. They have both saved my life and many others."

"Then that is enough for me," Skaara said, and the smile returned, just as brief as before but so bright, the smile that meant Daniel was pleased to have his approval. Skaara forced his lips to remember how to smile back without Klorel making him.

They reached another chamber, this one larger and more open, but with an odd device at one end.

"Danny?" someone said.

Skaara's breath caught. He spun around, almost expecting to see Mel standing there, because only Daniel's parents had called him by that particular ren nafi, but the speaker was a man whom Skaara did not recognize. His brother's expression became exasperated, but to Skaara's surprise, he turned to the man with a more reserved but sincere smile. "Jacob. It's good to see you well," he added in English.

"Thought we'd be getting SG-1 here," Jacob answered."How've you been, kid?"

"Fine," Daniel said, his stance shifting so that he seemed at once to be standing straighter and also somehow more relaxed--more confident, perhaps. Skaara could not decide if this was another mask, too, or if perhaps this collection of masks was not a collection of falsehoods but rather who Daniel truly was now, beyond the boy who had melted away while Skaara had been gone. "And Sam's fine, and so is everyone else. They're busy getting scolded for saving Tollana, or they'd be here, too."

Jacob chuckled. "I'm not even gonna ask."

"Are you going to be here for the...uh, the..."

"The Extraction ceremony, that's what we call it. Yeah, the High Council will be here--we're just waiting on a couple of people and we'll get started. It'll be short, don't worry--you won't feel a thing," Jacob added to Skaara. Then his eyes narrowed. "Klorel! This is the brother you were telling me about, Daniel?"

Skaara frowned, not sure what to make of this man. Daniel gave him an anxious look but said, formally, "Jacob, this is my brother, Skaara, son of Kasuf of Nagada, on Abydos. Skaara, this is Major General Jacob Carter of Earth's United States Air Force, host to Selmak of the Tok'ra High Council. He's also, uh, Major Samantha Carter's father."

The man called Jacob and Selmak gave Skaara a curious look. "Bit of a mouthful," he said. He dipped his head, then raised it, eyes glowing with Goa'uld light as Selmak said in a Goa'uld voice, "We are very happy for you, Skaara of Abydos. Within the hour, your ordeal will be over. You can return home."

To his shame, Skaara felt heat gather behind his eyes. He swallowed and nodded wordlessly.

"Selmak," Daniel said as they waited, "the SGC has had to change its codes. We were going to come here immediately with the new information, but the Tollan contacted us and we were sidetracked. Can I tell you now? It will save us a trip." Selmak nodded, and Daniel handed him a slip of paper from his vest.

"Thank you," Selmak said, reading the paper carefully before destroying it in a nearby torch. "I will make the necessary changes in our systems."

"What is this code?" Skaara asked, confused.

"It is..." Daniel started, then made a face. "It will be easier to explain when we return to Abydos. You can see our iris for yourself."

One more person walked into the chamber. All of a sudden, the Tok'ra slid into position around the edge of the chamber. For once, Daniel seemed to be as confused as Skaara was as the two of them were left standing alone in the center.

"The Extraction ceremony will now begin," Garshaw announced.

Jacob and Selmak gestured for Daniel to step back. Simultaneously, another unfamiliar Tok'ra came and stopped before Skaara. "Please proceed to the Extraction device."

"Extraction device?" Skaara repeated. Then his eyes widened as he realized what the big device with all the straps was.

Garshaw held up something that looked like a small pebble, round like a wheel. "Because this is not an execution, you do not need to be awake to give Klorel an opportunity for final words. We will place you into a sleep-like state. When you awaken, you will be free of your Goa'uld."

Daniel gave him an encouraging nod, saying, "They said it will not hurt you. Trust me?"

"I trust you," Skaara said, bolstered by the confidence his brother had in these people, then steeled himself and walked to the device against the wall. "I am ready."

The restraints on the device were quickly fastened around him--one on each arm and another on each leg. Garshaw stepped forward and something cold touched his temple. He gasped as a short, sharp pain pricked him, and then he felt no more.

...x...

The same brief pain woke him. Skaara opened his eyes, and this time the chamber was much more empty than before. Daniel stood before him, holding the small, circular pebble in his hand. A movement at his hands made him turn to see Aldwin unfastening the restraints.

"Skaara?" Daniel said.

Skaara looked down at his chest and, for a moment, panic overtook him when he saw the Tollan device gone, the only thing that had ever held Klorel at bay without pain.

"Klorel has been removed," Aldwin said, holding up a container. Skaara backed away in horror, not wanting to see his demon curled within. In doing so, he stepped off the device and fell into Daniel, who made a soft oof sound and barely managed to cushion them both awkwardly as they landed on the ground.

"He is gone," Skaara said in wonder, searching for the other presence in his mind and body, but he was truly gone. He laughed. "The demon is gone!"

A sharp inhalation made him turn to see Daniel kneeling before him, staring. "You--" Daniel started, then stopped, blinking very fast.

"I am here," Skaara said quickly, pulling his brother into his arms. It was strange, now that Skaara was the smaller between them, but a desperately strong grip returned the embrace nonetheless. Dan'yel buried his face in Skaara's shoulder, and somehow, it became right again, that his little brother had become a man but was still the child he remembered, and that Skaara could still be the protector, at least sometimes. "I am here, Dan'yel. Hush, or I will tell everyone at home I can still make you cry." At home, home, home!

Immediately, he was pushed away. Dan'yel's face was pink, but his cheeks were dry when he scowled back. "What would Seinah say to see you mocking your brother?" Skaara's smile faltered. Dan'yel saw this and rushed to say, "She misses you. Every time I go to Abydos, she visits from Kalima and comes to ask if we have found you yet."

"Then we should return to Tollana," Skaara said. "Perhaps High Chancellor Travell has finished scolding your friends now."

Daniel rose to his feet and said, "Yes! Jack wants to meet you. I mean Jack O'Neill. He remembers you from the Rebellion. Teal'c, Sam, all my friends--I have told them about you. They all wish to meet you. Kasuf is waiting for you, too." Now Daniel moved to a corner of the room to reach for something.

Skaara raised his eyebrows and felt a flush of surprise that Jack O'Neill remembered him, who had been no more than a child during the Great Rebellion.

A pile of cloth was thrust at him as he rose. "If you want to change your clothing before we return," Daniel said, looking uncertain again. "It does not matter, but perhaps--"

"I will change," Skaara said, suddenly wishing nothing more than to strip himself of his Goa'uld trappings.

XXXXX

2 December 1999; Courtroom, Tollana; 0200 hrs

"Father!" Skaara said when the door slid open. Kasuf raised his head. He spread his arms to show he was completely himself again. "It is finished. I am myself again, only myself!"

Kasuf met him partway and crushed him into an embrace. "My son," he whispered, his voice choked and muffled in the top of Skaara's head. "My son."

When Skaara finally pulled away, Travell was gone and only SG-1 remained in the room. To his astonishment, Daniel was before Teal'c, head lowered as if in shame and speaking quietly. Skaara saw that the others also did not seem to know why--it was in the Goa'uld tongue--but O'Neill seemed unconcerned and approached Skaara with Major Carter at his side.

"Hey, Skaara," O'Neill said, in English. "Don't mind them. It's better to let them get whatever it is out of their systems."

"Dan'yel is asking for forgiveness," Skaara said, puzzled. "It is in the way of the Jaffa."

"Of course it is," O'Neill said. "He kind of blew up at Teal'c when he thought we were gonna do something... Don't you worry about it--it all worked out. Hey, congratulations! I've been waiting to meet you properly. Daniel's told me all about you."

Then it was true--the hero of the Great Rebellion knew of him, Skaara, and not only as Klorel or the host of Klorel. Remembering what he had seen of Tau'ri soldiers, Skaara stood tall and raised a hand to his brow.

O'Neill stared at him for a moment, then raised his own hand in return of the salute before dropping it with a sharp motion. Skaara lowered his hand as well. "Colonel O'Neill." O'Neill smiled at him, so he turned to the woman and said, "And Major Carter. Thank you."

"We weren't the ones arguing for you," O'Neill said. "Thank your dad and Daniel."

"No," Skaara said, shaking his head. "Your people stopped Zipacna. If not for you--and Teal'c--they would have taken me away without removing Klorel. And...you have kept my brother safe. Thank you."

At this, O'Neill and Carter exchanged odd looks. "Well, we...try," O'Neill said.

"It is difficult, with Dan'yel," Skaara agreed.

Carter ducked her head and pretended she was not smiling. O'Neill let out a short laugh, and turned to say, "You hear that, Daniel? Respect your elders more!"

Daniel was standing straight now, both he and Teal'c looking happier as O'Neill had predicted, and he replied, "Teal'c's your elder, too, Jack. That means we should all just obey him--I mean, that's fair, right? I'll do that if you will."

O'Neill turned back to Skaara and raised his eyebrows. "You see what I have to deal with? How'd you put up for him for so many years, huh?"

"I was bigger," Skaara told him. "It will not be so easy now."

O'Neill grinned again and reached out to put a hand on Skaara's shoulder. "I knew I'd like you."

By then, Daniel and Teal'c had joined them--the rest of SG-1 from the Tau'ri SGC, Skaara thought, realizing with a jolt that his little brother and a First Prime Jaffa were among the threat that was so feared by the Goa'uld. Skaara suppressed the apprehension he could not help feeling at the sight of Teal'c and solemnly clasped the Jaffa's arm the same way that he had often seen his--Klorel's--Jaffa greet one another. He received a solemn bow in return.

"We should go back to..." Daniel started, then stopped. "Um. Where...I mean, what now?"

There was hesitation hanging heavy around SG-1, and even his father. Skaara wondered for a moment why there was a question--the Abydons would return to Abydos and the Tau'ri to Tau'ri...and then he remembered Daniel saying 'Every time I go to Abydos' and 'I have joined the Tau'ri...'

"The three of us should report back to base," O'Neill finally said. "Gotta send a team to take the death glider apart and bring it back, too--"

"Death glider?" Daniel interrupted. "What death glider?"

Carter smiled widely. "The one Klorel and Skaara flew here--it's damaged, but worth salvaging. The Tollan don't need it, and it's Goa'uld technology, so they don't mind letting us have it."

"Anyway," O'Neill said, "Daniel, why don't you escort Kasuf and Skaara back to Abydos. We'll go to Earth first and then meet you guys there, in the SGC house. Skaara...if you don't mind, we have a few questions for you."

"Jack," Daniel said, "don't you think the interrogation could wait--"

"No, it should not wait," Skaara interrupted. "I will tell you all I know, and I have things I must tell you without delay."

Kasuf seemed surprised by his answer but said, "We will meet with you on Abydos, Colonel O'Neill."

"Will you return to Earth first?" Skaara asked Daniel.

Daniel glanced at O'Neill, then shook his head, reaching into a pocket to pull out a device with rows of numbered buttons and a screen. "I will go with you. You need my code to return."

XXXXX

2 December 1999; Nagada, Abydos; 0300 hrs

Skaara turned, startled, when he heard the sound of scraping metal behind him as the wormhole closed. What...?

"We call it iris," Daniel explained. "The Tau'ri built it last year. It will stop enemies from attacking again through the chaapa'ai, but friends also need a code to be able to open it."

"Skaara!"

There were voices coming from behind him, some wary but most excited. He turned again, and this time, he saw four people rising to their feet, Tau'ri guns falling to their side. "My son has returned," Kasuf said, and before Skaara could move, there were bodies surrounding him, people emerging from outside the chaapa'ai room and others leaving the shadows, everyone crowding together to speak and touch, and he did not understand why it terrified him so--

"Enough!" Daniel called sternly, and, surprisingly, most of them stopped. "Skaara is tired. You can talk to him if you can do it without crushing him, too."

Bemused, Skaara watched the crowd thin away--they listened, Skaara realized with a touch of surprise, the way they might have listened to something Mel or Claire said, although they were not afraid to tease Daniel or give him friendly slaps to the back of the head or elbows in the ribs as they did. Skaara was tired, in truth--his skin felt tight and uncomfortable, as if it were not truly his own. He had almost forgotten what it felt like for his limbs to be his own.

"SG-1 will return soon to meet us," Kasuf told the others. "Should we remain here to wait?"

"There is still time," Daniel assured him. "General Hammond will want to know what happened to Skaara, to Heru-ur, to Tollana. I think they will also take time to bring recording devices if they are to ask questions. We can wait for them at the SGC house."

Tobay clapped Skaara on the back as they passed. Skaara responded automatically, wondering what the SGC house was and feeling strangely disconnected from his body. He stopped at the entrance, realizing that he had stood passive and not opened his mouth once since returning to Abydos.

Turning around, Skaara spread his arms wide and said, "Hello!"

Hearty cheers and a few laughs answered him, and then they turned back and set off into the desert.

...x...

The SGC house was what they called the house under Melburn and Claire Jackson's, the one that had been empty for years until now. There were a few boxes scattered around that he did not recognize, but if this was being used as a base for SGC soldiers when they visited Abydos, Skaara supposed they most likely contained supplies.

Now, Kasuf took a seat. Skaara followed his lead as Daniel stripped off his thick Tau'ri jacket. Skaara noticed his arm, bared of the jacket now, and caught the wrist in his hand. "You still wear this," he said, astonished that the band he had given his brother years ago was still there, if somewhat battered. There was another loop, too. "What is this?"

"From Teal'c--leather from his homeworld." Daniel gently took his arm back. "I keep them to remember why we fight the Goa'uld."

"I must learn more of your friends. The last I saw of them--"

(Klorel spun the Tau'ri boy around, slamming his hand against the transport crates until he screamed and the zat'nik'tel fell from his grasp. "Skaara," the boy begged.

Skaara's mouth opened for Klorel's laugh to spill forth. "A child? This is what the Tau'ri have sent to oppose a god?")

"Skaara?"

He met Daniel's worried eyes and shook his head. "I have...I remember things sometimes." Frustrated because he could not decide how to explain this, he sighed and shook his head again. "I do not know how to say it."

But Daniel looked thoughtful. "Major Carter says the same. She was host to a Goa'uld once--a Tok'ra, but it was also not by choice. She would understand some of what you feel."

"Sha'uri said the same," Kasuf said. "She saw things from the mind of her demon."

("Heru-ur comes," Sha'uri whispered. "I will give you your time. Go to Dan'yel--go to the Tau'ri.")

Skaara's eyes widened. "I spoke to Sha'uri! Only days ago."

Kasuf straightened in his seat. Daniel leaned forward, not looking surprised, but his expression was intent. "You said that before. It was when you went to meet Heru-ur?"

"Yes," he said, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to remember everything. What had she told him? "She said--"

"Wait," Daniel interrupted. "Sha'uri or Amaunet?"

"Sha'uri," Skaara said, then wrinkled his nose. "I think. I do not know. I think it was Sha'uri--she was...weak. When the body is weak, it is harder for the demon to take control. She said he had not allowed her a sarcophagus in many, many days--perhaps this makes the body weaker."

A strange look was on Daniel's face. "Mm," he said. "That may be true. Then you spoke to her. She was on the hatak with you?"

"Heru-ur wishes to form an alliance with Apophis. He believed that if he had Amaunet and Klorel as prisoners, Apophis would help him, in trade. Amaunet had not tried to escape in more than a year, so he did not expect that she would try so suddenly. She fled while he was speaking to me, then when they tried to stop her, I escaped also. I used the rings to return to my--Klorel's hatak. They pursued us to Tollana, then I escaped in an udajeet."

"How did Sha'uri escape?" Daniel said. "To where?"

"She went toward the peltak," Skaara remembered, "but I did not see her leave. Only udajeet were on the hatak; she could not have gone far in that, but there was a planet within reach."

Daniel nodded, thinking fast. "There were transport rings in the peltak, yes? Could she have reached an udajeet from there and flown to that planet before the hatak flew out of distance toward Tollana? Then she would have used the chaapa'ai from there."

Skaara nodded. "Perhaps--some udajeet can use rings as well. Or if she used the rings to reach Klorel's ship, she may have taken one of those udajeet before I arrived. I do not know for certain where she went. She said she was going to where you found her."

"But Sha'uri is not here," Kasuf said. "This is where Dan'yel met her last time."

"I thought she might be here," Skaara admitted, the too-familiar feeling of defeat beginning to creep in past the joy of returning home. "She would not say the name of the place--"

"Why?" Daniel said sharply. "You are sure she said nothing else? Why would she--"

"I do not know! Perhaps...there were Jaffa who might be listening. I do not know, Dan'yel."

Daniel subsided, but Skaara knew he was not finished; he was only thinking.

Kasuf looked between the two of them, his expression as disturbed as it was confused. "Perhaps she did not know of the iris--" Kasuf started. Daniel's eyes widened in horror, but then Kasuf said, "No. The Guards would have told me if someone had tried to use the chaapa'ai. Does this mean that she was unable to escape the warriors of Heru-ur, if she is not here on Abydos?"

"There are other possibilities," Daniel said, blinking at the floor as he thought. "But...I may need to ask people at the SGC. You also said that Heru-ur wishes an alliance with Apophis, even now? But Apophis is dead, is he not?"

"No," Skaara said with certainty. "He lives. He spoke to Klorel recently."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "How recently? He was prisoner to Sokar--we destroyed Sokar's moon only weeks ago--"

With a dejected feeling in his gut, Skaara said, "Dan'yel, the message Apophis sent to his son said that Sokar had been killed. He said that he was the only Goa'uld left on Delmak."

"Gods," Daniel breathed, his eyes widening. "Then that means..."

Skaara nodded grimly. "Yes."

Looking frustrated, Kasuf said, "What is it? What does that mean?"

"It means that Apophis has taken control of the greatest army of any Goa'uld we know," Daniel said. He stared at Skaara for a long moment, and then looked away. "I apologize. I should wait before asking these questions. The others will know better what we need to ask."

As if he had been waiting for that signal, O'Neill's voice called, "Hello?" Daniel rose and walked outside. Skaara joined him, where he saw SG-1. "Hah! Told you I wouldn't get lost this time," he added to Teal'c.

"I did not say otherwise, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

"Jack, can I talk to you guys for a minute?" Daniel said.

"Well, yeah, that's why we came--"

"No, Jack," Daniel said impatiently, making room for them as they strode along the ramp and taking a bag away from Major Carter as she reached them first. He put it down carefully inside the house, then moved into SG-1's path to stop them when they tried to follow. "Sam, someone checked P3X-974 a few months ago, right? The Hammer's been rebuilt?" SG-1 stared at him, then at Skaara and Kasuf. Daniel added, "Can I talk to you outside? I have a question I really, really need to ask."

"Ah...okay," O'Neill said, frowning.

Daniel turned back to him and smiled tensely. "I apologize. I will be only a minute."

XXXXX

"Spill, Daniel," Jack said shortly when Daniel only looked anxiously back toward the SGC dwelling long enough to see both Skaara and Kasuf settle on the floor. "What's this about Cimmeria and Thor's Hammer?"

"Is there question about the completeness of Klorel's extraction?" Teal'c asked quietly.

Surprised, Daniel quickly shook his head. "No, no. Nothing like that. I don't know if you heard, when we first met Skaara on Tollana, but he said then that Sha'uri had told him I was alive."

There was a pause. Then Teal'c filled in, "And yet, when we found Sha'uri on this planet last year, she still believed that you were dead, because Klorel had told her so."

Sam and Jack exchanged glances. "They had contact between then and now," Jack summarized. "Are you sure?"

Daniel nodded vigorously. "Skaara says Heru-ur wanted Amaunet and Klorel as bargaining chips to...well, the point is, she was still prisoner there, on Heru-ur's ship. She was physically weak, which made it easier for Sha'uri's mind to fight for control over Amaunet as they escaped--"

"She was the other prisoner Skaara mentioned on Tollana," Sam said. "The one who gave him the distraction to escape himself."

"Exactly. She told him to look for us, but also that she was going to the place where I found her last time. She either took a death glider or--or ringed to another ship, but either way, she would've wanted to get off at the closest planet possible. And then she would've used a Stargate, and there have been no activations here on Abydos, so she must have gone to--"

"Cimmeria," Jack filled in. "You think Amaunet would go to Cimmeria?"

"No, Jack," Daniel said; "I think Sha'uri would go to Cimmeria. Teal'c and I told her there was a Hammer there, while Amaunet was sleeping, so she knows about it and Amaunet doesn't know she knows, and the last time she was there, the Hammer was broken. So maybe she's just hoping we'll find her before Amaunet takes control back and leaves, or she's hoping the Hammer was rebuilt... The point is, she has every reason to go there."

"If," Jack pointed out, "she had a say in where she was going and found a way to trick Amaunet into it."

"She might have. I mean, there must be some separation between the minds for that Tollan device to have worked, right?"

Everyone turned to Sam, who looked startled and unsure in what capacity she was being consulted. "W-well, I couldn't seem to hide my thoughts from Jolinar, but I didn't have two and a half years, most of them in a jail cell, to figure things out. But it's true--I felt like I was closer to having control once I got tranqed or...was otherwise weaker than usual. I'd guess that the symbiote's energy gets diverted to healing the host as a survival mechanism."

"There would be no harm in going to Cimmeria to determine whether she did in fact go there," Teal'c said.

"No, I guess there wouldn't," Jack conceded, but he was still watching Daniel carefully. "I just want to make sure you're not getting your hopes up too high."

"There's nowhere else she could have meant," Daniel said, eager to leave.

"That's not what I'm saying. The best case scenario is that she took off from Heru-ur's mothership in a death glider with a couple more motherships in the area. Klorel tried that and got shot down."

A cold feeling washed over Daniel. Somehow, the thought that the escape attempt might not have been successful hadn't occurred to him. "But Klorel had to lure them into Tollan space," Daniel said. "Sha'uri went first, so she had surprise on her side, and she just had to get to any planet that had a Stargate. And then they were preoccupied chasing Klorel."

"True," Jack said, letting his tone say that he still held some reservations. "All right, go back and grab your stuff, and we'll go take a look around Cimmeria. But Daniel, don't get their hopes up."

"I know," Daniel said quietly. Apparently, some part of him must have realized it might not be that simple and had been unwilling to say it outright in front of her father and brother.

He ran back into the SGC house. "Forgive me," he said, bending to pick up the jacket he'd taken off. "My team needs to see to something, but we will return very soon--within hours."

He ducked back out before he had to screw up the courage either to answer any questions or lie to Skaara and Kasuf, and then nodded to SG-1 when he returned. "Okay. Let's go."

XXXXX

2 December 1999; Cimmeria; 0530 hrs

He wasn't sure if it was by instinct or by design, but both Sam and Jack had moved to surround Teal'c by the time they stepped out onto Cimmeria, where it was currently nighttime. When Daniel realized why, he looked up at the obelisk he remembered seeing before, the one that was supposed to beam any Goa'uld into Thor's Hammer. Last time, Heru-ur had already damaged it, but now...

The bright beam of light he associated with Asgard technology shot forth and scanned over all of them, and, despite Thor's promise that Teal'c would be welcome, Daniel inched a little closer, too. If one of them got transported into the Hammer, he'd rather they all be sent together. Besides, it would get them closer to Sha'uri if she really had come here.

But they didn't need to worry, because all of them passed the scan without incident. "Oh no," Daniel said as another thought struck him, and he turned urgently to Jack and Teal'c. "There was an Unas in the Hammer when you were there, right? You needed firearms to defeat it?"

"I doubt the Asgard put an Unas in there on purpose," Jack pointed out.

"It is more likely that the Unas came to this world and was transported inside," Teal'c added. "Although it could not escape, it survived by using the healing abilities of its symbiote and utilizing long periods of sleep."

"Oh," Daniel said, relieved that, if Sha'uri was here, she hadn't been left to her own devices to face a monster like that. "That makes sense. So...uh, where do we start looking?"

Hooves sounded near them. The other three raised their flashlights--Daniel searched an extra minute before deciding he didn't have his--and they saw a familiar figure appearing from the main road on horseback, lighting her way with a torch.

"Gairwyn," Jack greeted. "Hi. Sorry to bug you in the middle of the night..."

In reply, Gairwyn gave them all a bright smile and dismounted smoothly, keeping a hand on her horse. "I see our friends from Midgard have returned. You are always welcome here."

"Well, that's good to know," Jack said. "Gairwyn, we're actually looking for someone--a woman, a little younger than Major Carter"--he pointed to Sam--"who might've come through here a couple of days ago...uh, dark hair..."

"Ah, yes!" Gairwyn said, with such exuberance that Daniel started forward immediately, stopping when Jack's hand grabbed the back of his jacket. "The Ettin. We saw such a woman taken into Thor's Hammer two days ago."

"Where is she now?" Daniel said urgently.

"She has not yet emerged," Gairwyn said. "I am afraid only one person here would have known where Thor took her, but she died last year resisting the Ettin whom you came here to fight."

Daniel looked back up at the obelisk. There was another stone near the top, like the one they'd touched before to enter the Hall of Thor's Might, but it was far too high to reach from where they were and might just be the source of the beam, not a transportation trigger. "There must be another way into the Hall of Mjolnir," he said.

"We know where it is," Jack said. "The two of us were there. You remember the way, Teal'c?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"Gairwyn, thanks for your help," Sam said politely. "It's all right if we look for the entrance?"

Gairwyn nodded slowly, then said, "Perhaps I should join you--when Kendra went through Thor's Hammer many seasons ago, it took days for hunters to stumble upon her when she left. Now I will know where we should meet the hostages of the Ettins so that we can care for them."

"All right," Jack agreed. "Let's go. Daniel, where's your flashlight?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Daniel said, starting off after Teal'c. When Jack turned to him with a look that he might have recognized as exasperated if he'd had a flashlight to see, he said defensively, "This is the fourth planet I've been on in as many hours. I think I forgot it on Abydos." Or Vorash or Tollana. Probably Abydos, during the rush to get to Cimmeria.

Jack shook his head and said, "Teal'c and I need to take the lead. Carter, keep an eye on our six."

The rest of the journey was a blur, as much from the dark as from the mixture of fatigue and adrenaline and shock that had shaded the last couple of days. Even so, Daniel could see that, while trees and brush that had been razed to the ground were still growing, the Goa'uld encampment they'd found a year ago was gone, replaced by houses and other structures that were being slowly erected.

Even knowing exactly where to go and hurrying as much as the rocky mountain paths would allow, it took them nearly an hour before Teal'c stopped at a rock face.

"We have arrived," Teal'c said, shining his light into a cave entrance. "This is where we were transported by Thor's Hammer. A symbiote is severely weakened by the Asgard beam, but I cannot say whether it is Amaunet or Sha'uri that you will find inside."

"Teal'c, maybe you should stay outside," Jack said. "If there's anything wrong with the Asgard recognition thing, you'd be trapped." Teal'c gave him a dark look but didn't protest the logic. The Asgard might be less happy with the Tau'ri if they destroyed Thor's Hammer every time they came here.

"Don't worry," Sam said to Teal'c, reaching the entrance as well and patting her gun. "It should be more or less safe this time around, and we know what we're dealing with."

"Why don't you and Gairwyn meet us back here outside the cave," Jack said.

"Go with Thor," Gairwyn added as Teal'c nodded to them and the two of them held their ground just outside the entrance.

"Daniel," Jack said as he led the way in, "your zat won't work in there--don't waste time trying. Anything comes at us, you find cover and go for your Beretta."

"This..." Sam said, looking up and at the walls. "This is the actual Thor's Hammer?"

"Yeah," Jack answered, gesturing around them. "Just beyond this chamber here. Red beam comes down and everything."

Daniel followed the beams of their flashlights, looking around doubtfully. "Um, Jack...this is a chamber. And, uh...that's the only door." He pointing back the way they'd come. "Isn't there supposed to be something that leads from the hall of Mjolnir to...well, here?"

Jack pursed his lips, twisting around to look at the walls. "It's right there," he said, pointing at a wall.

"That's a wall, Jack," Daniel said tensely.

"It was open before!" Jack insisted, looking at the wall in consternation. "That's the passageway from the Hammer to here--it's how we got out last time."

Sam moved forward to examine the stone. "It could easily be some kind of door. We just have to find the trigger."

Deciding that they were wasting time if Sha'uri wasn't even nearby, Daniel stepped up next to Sam at the wall and shouted, "Sha'uri!"

Sam jumped as Jack said, "Geez, Daniel..."

Daniel took another deep breath and yelled, "Sha'uri, tano'ta? Sha'uri!"

And on the other side, someone screamed, "Senamiu!"

"She's there, gods, she's calling for help," Daniel said, looking frantically at the wall for any clue. "Sha'uri!"

"Dammit," Jack said. He stepped up to the other side of Daniel. "Look at this, here, this indentation," he said, fitting his hand into a handprint carved into the wall. Daniel watched anxiously, hoping the trigger was as simple as that, but nothing happened.

"What if there's another riddle?" Sam said, still looking around for other possibilities. "Or some other stimulus as a trigger besides touch--in the Hall of Thor's Might, we touched a stone to activate the transportation technology, but the program responded to audio input, too."

"What, a password?" Jack said, his hand still pressed into the wall. "Daniel, anything?"

"There," Sam said suddenly, swinging her flashlight up higher, over Jack's head. "Look--what's that say? Read it!"

Daniel squinted up at where she was pointing to see four runes. Judging by the meanings, it spoke of something to do with the Ettin, and the Asgard, and a gift, and men, but, hoping the easiest way was the right one, he simply read them aloud: "Thurisaz! Ansuz! Gebo! Mannaz!"

The stone shifted. Jack reeled back, snatching his hand away, and they watched a slab of stone rotate on its axis. Daniel could feel himself literally hopping with impatience and didn't care--as soon as the doorway opened enough for him to fit, he slipped past Jack and squeezed through--

And in the next chamber was Sha'uri.

Daniel's feet ground to a halt as he stared at the woman lying on the ground, breathing hard and disheveled, her face worn and too thin and covered in sweat and dirt. He looked around, but there was nothing that looked like a threat--and he was standing only a few paces from her, inside Thor's Hammer itself.

It was so close--they had to make her pass through there, and it would all be over...

Just as Jack and Sam both reached him, Sha'uri looked up, and her eyes glowed.

"No," Amaunet rasped. "Stay back!"

"You make the wrong move, you die," Jack said as Daniel took a step forward, not sure if Amaunet would release the Goa'uld toxin to kill Sha'uri if they tried to force her. Did that happen only if the Goa'uld died? Could they do that at will? "Come with us and we'll tell you where your son is."

Suddenly, she was on her feet. "You lie," she breathed. "You still have my son?"

Daniel glanced back up at the symbol of Thor's Hammer over the doorway. He turned around to give Jack and Sam a look he really hoped they understood, then rushed toward his sister.

"Sha'uri, I know you can hear me," he said, pulling her into a tight grip but not dragging her toward the Hammer. Amaunet shrieked and started pushing him away. He tightened his arms in surprise, digging his feet into the ground and discovering just how strong a Goa'uld could be, even when weak and stripped of power and all weapons.

"Get away from her, Daniel!" Sam said. Jack's hands grabbed him by the arms, starting to pull him away, even as Sam appeared next to Sha'uri, a gun aimed in her direction. She took her attention off Sha'uri, meeting Daniel's eyes for a split second before finding her target again.

"Daniel," Jack growled next to his ear, hands clamping on his.

"Don't," Daniel said, struggling to maintain his grip and suddenly unsure all three of them were thinking the same thing. "Jack--"

"Release me now!" Amaunet growled. Daniel squeezed her tighter, and then he felt Jack brace his feet behind him and knew they were on the same page. "I can kill your sister if you--"

Sam abruptly swung her gun to the ground and opened fire. Amaunet flinched--

Both of them threw themselves to the side at once, Daniel's grip pulling Sha'uri and Jack's pulling him until all three of them were flung into the Hammer.

Jack and Daniel tumbled to the ground on the other side. A red beam shot down from the ceiling, trapping Sha'uri in the light. She froze, kneeling, stiff, as if held in place. Daniel watched warily, wondering if they'd been fast enough, if it would work, if, if--

Then Amaunet screamed, her back arching. Her eyes flashed bright and opened wide, cords standing out on her neck, and she inched away, out of the beam--

Sam grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her back in, and Daniel lunged and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest and holding her in place. "Hear me," he said frantically into the top of her head. "It will be over soon, Sha'uri..."

Her hands convulsed on Daniel's arms as another choked cry was ripped from her throat. "Release...me," Amaunet hissed, still struggling to move away. "Hasshak! You...cannot--"

"You have to fight, Sha'uri," Daniel said over her screamed curses, holding on with all his might and pulling her further into the Hammer's beam. "Your son--his name is Sharemes, known as Shifu. I will tell you about him, Sha'uri, everyone is waiting for you--"

And then, Daniel felt Sha'uri's head pressing into his shoulder, not pulling away, and she was holding to him as much as he was holding to her. The Goa'uld yelling faded to human moans, until, without warning, she collapsed, and Daniel had to scramble to cushion her head before it hit the ground.

"No. No, no," he said, still wrapped around Sha'uri and trying to untangle himself without hurting her and find a pulse and... "Jack--Sam!"

"All right, we got her," Jack said, pulling him back as Sam eased Sha'uri the rest of the way to the ground.

"I think she's just passed out," Sam said. "Her breathing's strong--" Sha'uri stirred. "Easy," Sam said soothingly. "Are you okay?"

Daniel held his breath, and even Jack stilled behind him. Slowly, Sha'uri blinked her eyes open. "Tano'ai?" she said.

"You did it," Daniel said, crawling the few feet that separated them until he was kneeling over her. "It is done--the demon is gone, Sha'uri."

"Dan'yel," she said, sitting up weakly with Sam's help. One hand trembled as it braced her against the ground, and the other reached for him. He was peripherally aware of Sam moving discreetly away as he pulled her toward him, more gently this time. "I knew you would come," she said, her voice whispering across his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder, and he pressed his face against her hair. "Shh, do not cry, my little Dan'yel," she added. Only then did Daniel realized he'd been crying at all, and that there was something wet leaking onto his shoulder as well.

"You are safe," he said, both to reassure her and to hear the words for himself. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Not badly," Sha'uri said, pulling back enough to smile and wipe a palm across her face. He studied her more carefully now--he could feel her ribs too clearly under his fingers, and there were shadows under her eyes, but there was no injury he could see that rest would not cure. "Gods, I am tired. What of Skaara?"

"He is safe, waiting for you with Kasuf," Daniel promised. He wiped his own face and said to the others, "She's okay. We should get her home to rest."

He'd expected Jack to answer, but it was Sam who dropped to a crouch next to them. "Hello. I'm Sam," she said. "We met very briefly on Cimmeria before; I've heard a lot about you."

Sha'uri studied Sam's face, then touched a tentative hand to her shoulder. "You were a Goa'uld once," she said curiously. "But no more?"

Instead of the uncomfortable shrugs and stiffened shoulders Daniel had come to expect from Sam upon mention of Jolinar, she nodded, so readily that he realized this was exactly why Sam had come forward. "Yup, I was," Sam said, smiling. "Like you. Which is why I know you're gonna be fine. Can you make it back, do you think, if we help you?"

Daniel couldn't quite stop himself from fidgeting restlessly as he stood by and watched Sam help his sister to wobbly feet. "This way," Jack said, gesturing them toward the path outside. "I see Teal'c and Gairwyn waiting for us."

As they stepped out, Gairwyn's face lit up in warm welcome. "You are freed!" she said. "Thanks be to Thor." Teal'c stood his ground at her side, watching them approach.

"You want to get back home on your own feet, I'll bet," Sam said calmly, ducking a little for Sha'uri's arm to loop more comfortably around her shoulders as she steadied herself. "But it's a kind of long way to the Stargate here, and then from there to your village on Abydos. How about letting Teal'c help you, and then you can walk through to Abydos on your own?"

Teal'c came forward now, arms spread slightly and bowing his head. "It would be no trouble."

Sha'uri lifted one hand toward Teal'c's lowered forehead, but she had already trusted him once before, despite--or perhaps because of--his past allegiance. She let her hand rest on his cheek and said, "I thank you, Teal'c." The Jaffa glanced up sharply, looking surprised, then bowed once more.

As Teal'c lifted her carefully into his arms, Jack quietly thanked Gairwyn for her help, then said, "Everyone ready?" Daniel tucked a stray strand of black hair behind Sha'uri's ear and nodded.

"You will come home, too, Dan'yel?" Sha'uri asked, her head resting against Teal'c's shoulder.

Daniel hesitated. He looked up hopefully at Jack, who was watching the two of them. Jack gave him a half-smile and said too lightly, "Yeah. He's going home."

XXXXX

4 December 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 0900 hrs

"But you're coming back," Robert said when the news had been broken, everyone was settling in back on Abydos, and Daniel was finishing his final preparations to leave. "Right?"

Daniel looked up from his bag where he'd been packing away his belongings. "It's not...I mean, the Stargate's open, so I'm not stuck there or anything. But I joined the SGC to find my brother and sister, and now I have. It's been...a long time."

"But that's not the only reason you joined us," Robert said, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

Daniel paused, feeling like he was being ungrateful, betraying one family for another. Robert was right, of course--exploration and knowledge aside, he'd joined for his family and to help fight the Goa'uld, but somehow, even the larger war couldn't seem quite as important with Skaara and Sha'uri both at home. No one would speak against him if he chose to stay there, and it would be so much easier...

"I should be there," Daniel said finally, focusing intently on the surprisingly few belongings that actually belonged to him among the mess on his desk. "I need to be there. For them. And for me. At least right now... I don't know what'll happen afterward."

"Well...do me a favor," Robert said.

"Anything," he said immediately.

"You're specifically trained for initial assessment of a planet, and you know Abydos better than anyone. Look around, okay? If there's anything the SGC might be interested in, or if you can find an excuse for a research mission on Abydos..."

"Yeah, of course; I'll report back and let you know," Daniel promised. He looked around. "I don't know what I'm expected to take. I have my notebooks, but it's not like my laptop would work for long on Abydos. And the reference books are the department's..."

"You can leave stuff here if you want," Robert said.

Daniel tapped his desk wryly. "Maybe, but whoever gets this desk isn't going to be happy with all the clutter."

"Well, it's not like anyone needs that desk now. I could just use it for extra bench space for myself--this was originally my office, remember?"

Nodding, he hefted the pack experimentally and said, "I feel bad. Not that I'm saying you'll be drowning in work just because I'm not here, but..." Robert didn't answer, so he scratched his head and said, "Thank you, Robert."

"Yeah," Robert said. "Come visit a lot. Or something."

Daniel had dreamed of this moment for years, and he'd expected it to be an easy choice--he would miss everyone at the SGC, of course, and he'd known that he would, but there shouldn't have been any question about which path he would take. This should have felt like a conclusion to a part of his life--a horrifying, wondrous, and amazing part of his life, but an end of one thing and the beginning of another. Instead... "I feel like...like it's not done. Does that make sense?"

"You're sixteen," Jack's voice said from the doorway as he walked in. "Of course you're not done. That makes more sense than most of the stuff you say."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "That's not what I mean, Jack."

"Come on, you're going home," Jack said, animated and cheerful in a way that Daniel was, too, somewhere under the oddness that he couldn't seem to shake. "Where's the excitement?"

"You're excited enough for us both," Daniel observed, amused. Jack faltered slightly, but he returned soon enough to his previous, not-quite-smirking expression. Daniel appreciated the effort. "Did I leave anything in your house?"

"Probably," Jack said, shrugging. "You leave your pens lying around everywhere. Nothing big, though. You need help with anything in your room on base?"

Daniel heard Robert going deliberately back to work behind him and told Jack, "Actually, yeah, could you, uh, come with me and see what I need to clear out?"

"Sure," Jack said. Daniel grabbed his pack and followed Jack to his quarters.

Once they were inside with the door closed behind them, Jack let him put the pack down and said, "What's wrong?"

"Why would something be--"

"Daniel," Jack said again, "what's wrong?"

He plucked halfheartedly at one of his books. "Nothing," he insisted. "I just...can't believe it. I keep thinking I'll wake up and..." He thought of the way Sha'uri had fallen asleep in Teal'c's arms but had insisted on walking through to Abydos on her own, the expression on Skaara and Kasuf's faces when they'd brought her back to the SGC house...

Jack was staring at him.

"What?" he said, self-conscious.

"Goofy little smile on your face," Jack said.

Daniel shrugged again and grinned wider, not caring if he looked silly, because otherwise he was going to start crying again. "Can you believe it?"

"Believe it," Jack said. "So, do you have idea what you're doing after this 'indefinite leave of absence' business? I mean, sure, get everyone settled back in at home, but afterward?"

"What, are you Dr. Mackenzie, now?"

"What, did he ask you that?"

Daniel's grin faded a little as he realized that Mackenzie had, in fact, asked him that very question, and that he didn't know the answer now any more than he'd known it two months ago. What now? The war hadn't ended just because two minor Goa'uld had been defeated. There were still goals to be met and places to explore. Where was his role, and when was it done?

"Hey, look," Jack said quickly, noticing the change in mood, "not like there's any rush. You take all the time you want. Besides, unless you really want to be done with everything, you've still got a check-in in a week. Abydos-Earth relations and all."

"Right," Daniel said. "Of course. I won't forget."

There was a pause, just too long to be anything but awkward, and then Jack said, "I'm going to assume you got the 'call if you need anything' talk from Hammond already. Check in every two weeks for an update if there aren't any teams actively there, until you make a decision about what you're gonna do--"

"Yes. I know." Daniel plucked at his jacket sleeve that proclaimed who his team was. "It's, uh...it's funny. I just got this patch. Finally. It certainly took enough trouble, and now I'm leaving." He gave a half-smile. "Somehow, it never seems to work. Maybe it's a sign."

"Stop picking at it," Jack said, slapping his hand away. "When you come back, the place is still yours."

"When I come back?" Daniel repeated. "What happened to 'when you make a decision about what you're going to do'?"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Ah, you and I both know you can't stay away from all this. A month, a year, two years...you'd miss me." Daniel huffed. "And Sam and Teal'c," Jack amended. "You'd get bored."

"Maybe I'll make a place for myself there," Daniel said defensively, despite the part of him that thought Jack was right. "Jack, no, about SG-1, I appreciate it, but find a fourth man. Or woman. Don't go off-world shorthanded because you're waiting for me."

"Yeah, and who made you SG-1 leader?"

"Jack--"

"That's General Hammond's place to say, Daniel," Jack reminded him. "Not yours."

"Then do it for me," he said, not afraid to guilt Jack into this. "I'll feel better knowing you have more people watching your back."

Jack looked like he was going to argue for a moment, then said, "We'll see. Now. You don't have all that much stuff around here. Anything you're not bringing with you to Abydos I can throw into a couple of boxes and keep at my place."

Daniel bit his lip. "You really...you don't have to--"

"Who else do you think is going to be using that room in my house while you're gone?" Jack asked rhetorically. "It'll be waiting for you when you get back. I mean, you'll visit. Right?"

"Yeah." Impulsively, Daniel took a breath, straightened, and raised his hand in Tau'ri salute, the way Skaara had earlier. "Colonel O'Neill."

Jack gave him an odd smile, then saluted back and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Mr. Jackson. Don't be a stranger, all right?" He was released, then nudged toward the dresser. "Get what you want, and then go say your goodbyes to people."

"Thank you, Jack," Daniel said helplessly. He dragged his feet and turned back. "I don't even know how to tell you--"

"I know," Jack interrupted. "Ah, come on, it's not like this is the last time we're gonna see each other. There's that new naquadah deposit outside Nagada that everyone got so excited about a couple of weeks back, if nothing else."

Daniel returned the wry smile. "If nothing else. Jack, be careful, all of you."

"I'm always careful," Jack replied.

"I'm serious."

"You're always serious. For cryin' out loud, Daniel, I've been doing this longer than you've been alive. Teal'c's been doing this longer than I've been alive. And Carter's smarter than half the people here combined. We'll be fine."

"Good. Okay, then." Daniel turned back to the bag he'd put down and began to pack.

Chapter Text

4 December 1999; Nagada, Abydos; 1800 hrs

Neither Skaara nor Sha'uri was in sight when Daniel arrived back in Nagada.

Seinah was, however. "Sha'uri is resting in Kasuf's house," she told him when he walked up to his parents' old house--the schoolhouse now--and found her there.

"And Skaara? I thought I would find him with you," Daniel said curiously. If the two had not been betrothed before, he had thought that would be taken care of soon after Skaara's return--the two had grown up together and grown fond of each other, and it would strengthen trade relations between Nagada and the Kalima settlements, where Seinah was from.

To his surprise, Seinah looked uncertain and bit her lip. "You must have passed him on your way here. He went just minutes ago to Ra's Pyramid, to the chaapa'ai chamber with the Guards," she said, but then added carefully, "I think he has been...tired these past days. I worry. Please, will you speak to him, Dan'yel?"

Daniel frowned but assured her that he would and hurried down the ramp and back into the open desert.

He had been given him clothes that fit him, and he was even now becoming reacquainted with the feel of wood against his bare feet and sand in his toes. Not having to cover himself in layers and layers of Tau'ri clothing was much more comfortable in the heat, but he was constantly having to remind himself that his skin would burn in the sun if he stood too long.

Skaara did not seem to have this problem at all, and he seemed just as much at ease in his usual shendyt and robe as Tobay and the other two men on shift with them. Still, Daniel watched him tap the DHD and stalk around the room--there was a wariness to the way he moved, every gesture just a little smaller and tighter, and there was a sharper edge in his voice when he spoke. The others were giving him a wide berth, too, looking confused.

Now, as Daniel approached, Skaara was scowling at the ground. "What is wrong?" Daniel asked when he was in hearing distance.

Skaara started in surprise. "Nothing," he said quickly. "Nothing is wrong." All three of the others moved down toward another part of the room, perhaps to give them space to talk.

"You seem anxious," Daniel pressed. "Are you all right?"

But this was the wrong thing to say, because he was suddenly stumbling backward as Skaara whirled and stalked toward him, his gestures losing all of the unnatural control and becoming wide and violent. "Anxious!" Skaara snapped. "Do I not have reason to be?"

Daniel found himself backed against one pillar and stopped, though Skaara did not. "Yes, of course," he said, confused, holding up a placating hand. "I only wished to help--"

Skaara's hand closed around his arm, not hard enough to be truly painful, but alarming because it was Skaara, not an enemy or even a coworker training with him. "To help? What do you know about any of this?" Skaara spat, his fingers tightening.

"Let me go," Daniel said, forcing his tone to remain calm as his heart raced.

"Skaara?" one of the men said, the others turning at the commotion. Daniel couldn't be scared for himself yet, not with a hand still free and unthreatened, so he raised it and hoped the others would stay away until whatever this was (what was this?) had passed.

"I am not your child to protect, Dan'yel!" Skaara said angrily. "You speak to me like a wild animal to be gentled."

Unable to hold his own temper, he said tightly, "Perhaps if you were not acting like one--" He winced when his fingers tingled as Skaara maintained his grip. It was not a restraining hold, so it had to be a show of force or threat. Skaara could be fierce but not violent, and he never did this, not to anyone and certainly not to him. "What is this, Skaara? Gods--"

"Gods," Skaara repeated, then laughed, sharply, loudly, in the humorless way that reminded Daniel of laughing at hallucinatory Goa'uld while trapped in Mental Health.

Daniel grabbed the side of Skaara's wrist with his free hand and sharply twisted the grip off his arm before shoving roughly away, trying to make sure he wasn't about to get trapped between his brother and a solid object again.

"What are you doing?" he repeated shakily, rubbing his wrist and backing out of distance. "The brother I know would never act this way."

But then he remembered where he'd heard something like that before, the kinds of things that could make people act differently from how they usually were, and he noticed the restless way Skaara held himself, with half steps forward and then back, the way his hand had trembled on Daniel's arm and convulsed with uneven strength, the sweat on his face that was from more than just heat or anger...

Daniel swallowed and told himself he would not back away, unless he was threatened. "Did Klorel find another sarcophagus when his was destroyed?" he asked, mentally counting the number of days between now and the last time Skaara could possibly have used it.

Abruptly, the desperate fury on Skaara's face melted into wide-eyed pleading, and he sagged to his knees. "He did something to me. The sarcophagus...I have to find it. Help me, Dan'yel, this is killing me!"

Horrified, Daniel lowered himself to his knees, too, carefully grasping Skaara by shoulders that shivered under his hands. "It only feels that way, brother," he said, crushing a mental stream of oh no oh no oh no.... "I need to know when was the last time you were in a sarcophagus."

"Too long!"

"When, Skaara?"

Skaara shook his head, looking around nervously, then said, "Just before we went to Heru-ur's hatak."

Three or four days since Triad, two days on Tollana before that...gods, how long were days on Tollana? What was a day to someone living mostly on a ship? "How long were you on Heru-ur's hatak?"

"I do not know. Two, three days. I do not know. Please, Dan'yel, I need it. Help me--"

Daniel counted, trying to account for longer days and shorter days and time that was distorted when one was a prisoner and in space, trying to account for his own scant knowledge of medicine, but still...it was longer than he'd expected, considering what they'd seen of Colonel Maybourne who had only lasted a couple of days without a sarcophagus, and oh gods, Colonel Maybourne had almost died, but he'd gotten better, too...

"Listen to me, Skaara," Daniel said. "A sarcophagus will only make it worse. It will become better with time--"

Suddenly, Daniel found himself sprawled on his back, stunned, his cheek throbbing from a blow made sharper for its unexpectedness, and his only dazed thought was that it was a good thing he wasn't wearing his glasses.

"You lie!" Skaara yelled, bending over him. Daniel blinked, realizing only then that his brother had hit him and looked like he might do it again.

The others ran toward them. "Skaara, what is the matter with you?" Tobay said sounding shocked, two men wrestling him away as one went to Daniel. Daniel batted the hands away as Skaara stilled but held so tense in the restraining grip of his brothers that he was trembling.

"It is not his fault," Daniel said, wincing when he touched his own face experimentally. Louder, he repeated, "It is not his fault! The sarcophagus..." But of course, the others would have no reason to know about the Goa'uld sarcophagus. "It is like...like the se'upu leaf--it takes the pain, but with too much, it...changes the mind. Skaara had no choice, but it will--"

Skaara lunged for him again and was pulled back again. "How could you know what this is?"

"I have seen it," Daniel said. "I have seen what it can do to a man...I have felt what it is like to want to use a sarcophagus again--"

"You?" he scoffed, but hysteria made his voice higher than normal. "When have you ever had to use a--"

"I died on Klorel's hatak!" he said, desperately, hoping only for something to catch Skaara's attention. It did, at that, made him freeze along with the men still lingering near them. "Bra'tac healed me in the sarcophagus, only once, and already I hated how it felt afterward. It is nothing compared to what was done to you, but I know a little of what you are feeling."

Skaara sat down hard. "I hurt you, on the hatak," he said, his voice thick now, latching onto the one thing Daniel should never, ever have mentioned in his presence, no matter how careless and frantic. "You begged me to stop, but I could not--"

"No, no," Daniel said, scrambling forward on hands and knees and grabbing Skaara's head by both hands to make him to meet Daniel's eyes. "That was Klorel. Klorel hurt me, but you stopped him, brother, long enough for Bra'tac to heal me and help the Tau'ri. You saved us, Skaara, do you see? You can win again. Only trust me."

"I hear you screaming in my dreams," Skaara said dully. "And there are so many others... Yi shay, I have to go--"

Daniel had no idea whether he meant that he needed to get away from them or that he needed to go find a working sarcophagus, but when he started to move away this time, Daniel decided it wouldn't be wise to let him go off somewhere on his own, not in a room with a Stargate and a stash of guns.

As soon as he took a step forward, Skaara surged to his feet, and the others moved as if to close off his path. Daniel grabbed Skaara's arms and hooked his own through them, pinning him in place, and if Skaara tried to push him away, Daniel now had the advantage of size and training while Klorel had had technology to do all his work for him.

"Leave us alone," Daniel said to the others, holding on determinedly until Skaara tired of struggling and sagged. These were all grown men, however, and not under his command, and none of them moved; they looked like none of them knew which person they should be protecting. "Skaara is ill. Sha'uri may be suffering something like this. Please, someone must go to Kasuf and see if she is well. Tell me immediately if she is not."

"Dan'yel," Tobay said warningly, "is it safe--?"

"I will keep us both safe," Daniel snapped back, doing his best and perhaps not succeeding in turning so it wasn't obvious that Skaara had stopped fighting him and was fighting tears instead.

"You cannot stay here," the man pointed out.

And that was true. People came occasionally to the Stargate room, and certainly their brothers did often. Daniel hoped this would pass in time, perhaps with some care, as it had with Colonel Maybourne, but there was no reason to let people gawk or to let a desperate man near lethal weapons and a means of interstellar transportation.

"We will go to the catacombs beyond this room where Skaara and I used to play," Daniel decided. "I can care for him." It was close enough to the 'gate that he could run to find Janet for help if needed, but far enough that the weapons and the 'gate would not be immediate threats. "See to Sha'uri, Tobay, please."

With a worried glance at Skaara, Tobay said, "Should I bring anything to you?"

Grateful, Daniel looped a supporting arm around Skaara's waist as his brother began to sway. "My pack is in the SGC house, and there is a bag bearing the Earth symbol with other supplies for an emergency. We may need some time."

Tobay nodded. "I will tell Kasuf where you are and bring them to you."

XXXXX

4 December 1999; Pyramid Catacombs, Abydos; 2200 hrs

It was only when the two of them had settled in the chamber at the end of the catacombs that Daniel felt himself starting to panic. He almost wanted to bring Skaara back to the SGC so that doctors could make sure he was all right but was at the same time reluctant to tear his brother away from their home so soon after they had all found it again.

Besides, at the SGC, there was a chance that Skaara would hear about Hathor's sarcophagus in the subbasement. Even Daniel didn't like to go in there alone; he was pretty sure he didn't feel any temptation to use it, but the fear of feeling that temptation--even after having used a sarcophagus only once in his memory--was enough. He shouldn't expose Skaara to that danger.

The Stargate was close, he reminded himself. The SGC's doctors were only half a minute away.

He took a quick moment to light two of the lamps, but when he crouched to set one down on the ground, closer at hand, Skaara crouched as well and touched Daniel's face. "I hurt you," he said again, snatching his hand away with a jerk as if afraid he might do something more.

Daniel pasted on a smirk, not flinching when it pulled on the forming bruise under his eye and made his jaw ache. "Brother, I have studied and fought with a Jaffa First Prime. Do not flatter yourself."

There was no answering smile or jibe. Instead, Skaara said, "This was not Klorel or any Goa'uld; I did this. Gods, Dan'yel..."

"It was not you who used the sarcophagus," Daniel reminded him. "You are not yourself." He paused and said worriedly, "You are shivering. Are you cold?"

Skaara shook his head but wrapped his arms tightly around himself. "I am ashamed," he said quietly, pulling his legs toward his chest and closing his hands in a tight grip around his ankles, an uncharacteristic pose for someone as open and boisterous as Skaara.

"You should not be," Daniel said firmly. "What you survived would have destroyed many men."

If anything, the shivering only worsened. Daniel bit his lip and wondered how long it would take for Tobay to find the spare pack that the SGC kept stocked and ready. Inside would be basic supplies, including first aid supplies. If the withdrawal got as bad with Skaara as it had with Maybourne, then that and his own lack of skills wouldn't be anywhere near enough, but it was at least something to keep the worst at bay.

Gods, he was out of his depth. He should have gone to a physician immediately, or gone to Sha'uri and Kasuf, or asked the SGC for help...

"I could not defeat Klorel," Skaara said dully.

Daniel swallowed nervously and replied, "But Klorel made a mistake. The Goa'uld always forget how strong men can be. He should not have tried to take an Abydon as his host. You beat him in the end."

Skaara stood without warning to pace restlessly. Daniel glanced up warily and shifted his seat so he remained between his brother and the stairs leading out. Finally, Skaara snorted. "Klorel made many mistakes. He was young, arrogant, foolish. He would have had nothing at all if the Jaffa had not been so afraid of Apophis. Even with the power his father handed to him, he did not dare retake Chulak, the most loyal of his father's planets."

"Really," Daniel said, surprised at the unexpected outburst of information. Part of him itched to write it down, to get everything on record before he forgot, but he stopped himself. There would be time for that later.

"There was a village," Skaara said abruptly. "Klorel destroyed it. Do you know why?"

It took a moment to realize the question wasn't rhetorical. "Because Klorel was evil?" he tried.

"Because there was a sarcophagus there. The people did not even remember Setesh--who ruled that planet thousands of years ago--but his sarcophagus was still there, and Klorel wanted it. It was harder for me to fight him each time after he used the sarcophagus."

Ah, Daniel thought. So that was why Setesh had wished to steal Hathor's sarcophagus; he must have left his sarcophagus on some other planet and, on Earth, had to change hosts regularly before finding a new one. "That was not your fault," he said again.

"Thousands dead," Skaara spat, pausing to grind the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I remember--I watched--"

Daniel stood and dragged Skaara's hands from his eyes. "Stop," he ordered, sharpening his voice into Jack's command tone. "There is no need for that. Skaara, you are free of Klorel now!"

"But not of what he left in me," Skaara said. He looked like he was shaking now from exhaustion as much as from anything else.

Imagining how Sam and Janet had explained this to him, Daniel said, "The sarcophagus makes you think as you normally would not. Now is the hardest time for the body. When you have passed the worst, it will only become better each day until it is completely gone. In a few...days"--or weeks? how long had it taken Maybourne to recover?--"you will have won."

"Sha'uri," Skaara murmured. "She was weak already--Dan'yel, you must--"

"Our brothers have gone to ask after her," Daniel reminded him.

"What should I do now, then?" Skaara snapped, making a sharp motion with his hand before he pulled back again and wrapped his arms around himself.

For a moment, Daniel's mind blanked, and he blurted the first thing he could think of to say. "We used to play here all the time," he said, looking around by the light of the two lamps he'd taken the time to light when they'd first come in. He walked toward the far end, watching to make sure Skaara wouldn't run. "Do you remember that wall?"

Skaara's eyes followed him. After a moment, he stood and joined Daniel. "Claire thought there was a room behind here. We tried everything to open it."

Daniel found himself smiling despite everything. "You tried to smash it. Stupid."

"I was stupid?" Skaara retorted. "You read the entire wall aloud, three times, because you thought it would open if you spoke the right word."

"Two times," Daniel defended, then admitted, "Perhaps two and a half." Skaara stared at him a moment too long, but then he let out a weak laugh, so Daniel claimed it hurriedly as a minor victory and blustered on, "Papa came here often. Remember, you used to follow him everywhere, when I was little, and we--"

"He let you sit on his shoulders so you could see," Skaara said thickly, raising a shaking fist to his mouth. "Ay. I cannot believe they are...gone."

Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it. Somehow, selfishly, he had not truly considered that he was not the only one who would mourn his parents; Skaara had loved them, too, perhaps as much as he had, and it must seem fresher to him, confronted with their absence for the first time.

"The grief becomes easier to bear with time," Daniel said quietly. "This, I can tell you for certain."

Skaara touched the wall beside him, tracing the ancient, carved words that had so fascinated the Jacksons. "I should not..." Skaara started, his breath hitching. "You, of all people--"

"I was not the only one who lost them," Daniel said. Skaara's expression crumpled again. Daniel caught him as his knees gave way and lowered them both to the floor. He felt Skaara's returned embrace as the older man released a sudden, desperate wave of grief in tears.

By the time Skaara tapered off into shivers, he seemed too exhausted to do much of anything but sit, shaking, against the wall. "Go away," Skaara said, but when he lifted his face, it was pleading and not angry. "Please, brother. I do not want to be seen this way."

"No," Daniel said, then bent to pick up one of the lamps to light the others that dotted Ra's Pyramid. This time, when Skaara darted past him, he wasted no time in dropping the lamp and pulling his brother forcefully to a halt, blocking the path out of the catacombs with his body. "I am sorry, but I will not let you be hurt. I will stay here with you until you are well again."

Skaara lowered his gaze and slid down to sit against the wall, rubbing his reddened eyes. "You cannot know what this is like."

"No, but I told you that I have seen a man on Earth suffer this illness, too," Daniel insisted. "I have also seen him well again. Only weeks ago, he helped to save all of Earth from an attack, and he is not such a strong man as you, Skaara. You will heal. Rest, now."

"I cannot sleep."

"Lie down and close your eyes before you tell me that," Daniel countered.

Exhausted already, it took some coaxing to convince Skaara to lie down, but once he did, he dropped into a fitful sleep.

With a sigh, Daniel placed a finger lightly against Skaara's wrist so he'd be able to feel the beating against his own skin--even in restless sleep, the pulse was too fast.

It was suddenly silent in the catacombs, and with the silence came the quiet panic again.

Daniel's own brief brush with Klorel's sarcophagus had been enough to scare him. The worst he had felt was a night of restlessness shut in Teal'c's room, trying and failing to meditate, and a few days at home with Jack, unable to think of anything but the fact that SG-1 might have just killed his brother and that the sarcophagus had felt frighteningly good. Janet had told him his previous exposure to it might have made his body or his brain more responsive to the sarcophagus than most people, but what he had felt must have been nothing next to what Skaara was feeling now.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before footsteps sounded. Carefully putting down Skaara's wrist, Daniel padded toward the pathway that led toward the exit from the pyramid.

Tobay was carrying the supplies, and as he handed them over, he said, "Sha'uri does not have this illness, but she has explained it to me."

Another robed figure appeared behind him, and Daniel's jaw dropped. "Sha'uri, what are you doing here? You were to be resting! Tobay, what were you thinking?"

"I am not Tobay's to command," Sha'uri pointed out, and, to her credit, she did appear to be stronger than she'd been right after Thor's Hammer, if still too thin and too tired-looking.

"Yes, but..." Daniel glanced back at Skaara's unsettled form. "Sha'uri, he is not himself. I do not want you to be hurt."

Sha'uri stared back at him calmly. "You do not have to tell me this, Dan'yel. Amaunet used a sarcophagus also."

"But then, how are you not..." He trailed off, remembering what Skaara had told him. "Heru-ur stopped allowing you use of a sarcophagus. Skaara says it helped you to fight Amaunet."

"Perhaps I was fortunate," she commented philosophically. "It helped me to fight Amaunet, then Amaunet helped me to fight this illness."

"Sha'uri--"

"I understand this," Sha'uri said, her tone sharpening, "the way no one else could. Stay if you wish, but you will not make me leave." Tobay still stood to one side; he looked embarrassed and shrugged slightly. "My father knows where we are. I have told him what is happening."

"Fine," Daniel conceded. "But you will not be alone with him until he is better."

"You are neither my father nor my husband, Dan'yel," Sha'uri said.

"But I have a right to want my family safe," Daniel countered quietly, idly wondering what Sam would have said if she'd heard that sentence. "You and Skaara both--you know it would also hurt him if he managed to hurt you. If he tried to fight, could you stop him?"

Sha'uri stared at him, then dipped her head once in concession.

"Tobay," Daniel said, "can you stay here with them for a short while? I want to go to the chaapa'ai to ask something, but I will return soon."

If Sha'uri was still bothered by having a guard set on her and Skaara, she did not show it. "We can care for him here, at home," she told him before he could leave. "He would not wish to be locked in a room on Earth until he recovers."

Daniel plucked his GDO out of his pack and hesitated. "I know of a man on Earth who nearly died from this," he said, glancing again at Skaara. "He needed Tau'ri medicine to save him."

"He must have used the sarcophagus too much, then," she replied. "Skaara is young, younger than the Goa'uld prefer. Until Skaara grew to his full age, Klorel would not have used the sarcophagus unless he was injured or he needed to quiet Skaara's mind. We can care for our brother here."

Daniel frowned, but he supposed older Goa'uld must use the sarcophagus very frequently to slow aging so completely. Skaara might be an adult on Abydos, but few System Lords were known to appear so young--Ra seemed to have been an exception--for age commanded respect in many societies. "You are certain?" he asked. She nodded once. "The Tau'ri may know of ways to ease his healing, even if he remains here. I can ask someone to come to help him. Let me ask them?"

"Yes," Sha'uri allowed. "Go. Ask them."

Once Daniel was in the Stargate room, he dialed Earth's familiar address without having to think about it and only remembered to switch on the long-term Abydos MALP once the wormhole had already been established and his IDC sent. Kneeling again, he called, "Stargate Command, this is Daniel Jackson, requesting assistance."

There was a pause in which he could imagine Sergeant Harriman palming open the iris and saying that they were receiving an audio transmission, and then General Hammond's voice responded, "This is General Hammond. We weren't expecting to hear from you for days, Mr. Jackson."

"Yes, sir," Daniel answered, realizing he'd left Earth only hours ago. "I'm...sorry, but...I need some advice from Dr. Fraiser--or Major Carter, if either of them is there?"

"Get Dr. Fraiser on the line, Sergeant," the general told someone, and then, "Come on through. The iris is open."

A few, more subdued men were standing guard around the chamber, so Daniel said, "I will be back soon," then turned the MALP off and walked through.

...x...

Cold air hit him, and he remembered he was in casual Abydonian garb now, with only light cloth covering some of his skin. Swallowing the Tau'ri modesty he'd absorbed while on Earth, he looked up and couldn't deny some disappointment that it wasn't Jack and SG-1 in the control room. It was late, he supposed, and they weren't on shift tonight. They'd probably all left for a team night.

"Mr. Jackson," General Hammond said, walking into the 'gate room. "Is som--what happened to you? Are you all right?"

"What?" Daniel said. He realized he was mussed with dirt from struggling with Skaara and his cheek still throbbed. "Oh. No--it's not me, sir; it's my brother. The sarcophagus withdrawal. I think we can...can take care of him, but I know it can get pretty serious, and Sam and Janet know more about the sarcophagus than anyone, and...and you said to call if I needed help--"

"Of course," the general said gently, dropping a hand on Daniel's shoulder and drawing him down the ramp. "That sounds like something we can deal with. Why don't I go with you to the infirmary and we'll talk to Dr. Fraiser."

"I'm sorry; I'm a mess," Daniel mumbled as he walked out of the embarkation room with the general, rubbing a patch of raw knuckles that he hadn't even noticed before--he must have scraped his hand against the stones at some point.

"I'm more concerned about whether you're hurt," the general said, looking over him again. Daniel shook his head and pulled his robes tighter around himself in the cool air. "Where is Skaara now?"

"I brought him to an abandoned room where there won't be so many people and weapons around, but his sister is with him, and...I have to go back, sir, I just need to ask a couple of questions, if that's okay."

"We take care of our own, son," the general said. "Whatever you need. We should have thought of this, anyway, before sending everyone home so quickly."

When he stepped into the infirmary, he found Janet waiting. Daniel ducked his head to avoid her gaze, more clinical and openly assessing than the general's, then sidestepped her attempts to check him over, straightening his robes.

"Skaara is going through the sarcophagus withdrawal," Daniel said quickly. "Sha'uri says he's not in danger--that it's different from when someone uses it as much as Colonel Maybourne did in such a short time. But he's not...comfortable, I guess, and I don't know if there's something I can do for him."

There was a pause. "Well," Janet said. "Let's see...how long ago was his last dose?"

"As far as I can tell, it's been something like, uh...seven Earth days since he was in a sarcophagus, maybe a day or two more than that, but I don't know how accurate that is."

"One option is to sedate him," she said, "which seemed to help in Colonel Maybourne's case, and your sister may be right--withdrawal symptoms appeared much earlier in the one case we've seen." She grasped his chin and turned his face to the side. "He's been violent, I presume?"

"It's not his fault," Daniel said quickly, shaking her hand off and folding his arms self-consciously. "It was just--we were both taken by surprise. He'll get better."

"Yes, he will," she agreed calmly. "But we can make it a little easier in the meantime, for him and for people around him. I'm not saying to keep him comatose, Daniel, but we can help him stay a little calmer until his hormone levels are back to normal. And there are other mild drugs that can help with physical discomfort."

Daniel swept his hand through his hair. "Okay. So what should I do?"

Janet raised an eyebrow. "You're not bringing him here?"

"He'd rather stay on Abydos," Daniel said. "Sha'uri knows what it's like, and she says we can deal with him. He'll want to be home, not surrounded by strangers."

"Are you sure?" she said, looking doubtful.

"Well...not really," he admitted, "but that's what his sister said, and their father, and they're next of kin, right? And Sha'uri would know better than anyone."

Janet sighed. "If you're sure...I'll put together some supplies and instructions for you," she said. "Remember, anything you give Skaara is only for his comfort, so if in doubt, err on the side of caution. I can't give you anything too strong without someone around to supervise, but still, keep a close eye on the medication at all times and keep careful track of dosages. If anything seems off, you need to get him here for medical attention immediately, do you understand?"

"Yes. I'll report back as scheduled in a week, and we're staying very close to the Stargate. If he gets worse, I'll come back."

"A mining survey team is going to Abydos in two days for some measurements," General Hammond said. "I can ask them to check on you while they're there--more than one of them is a certified medic."

Daniel nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'd appreciate that." To Janet, he asked, "How long do you think it'll take? And, uh...and how do we know when it's over?"

"You have to realize, Daniel," she said, even as she began moving around the infirmary, "it's not something that'll just stop one day. I'd guess that within a week or two, you won't need to watch him so closely, but you'd be wise to keep an eye out after that. You understand, I'm sure, that there are repercussions to something like this that go beyond the physical or biochemical."

"Yes," he said. "I understand. We'll...we'll stay close by."

...x...

Skaara was awake when he returned, crunched into himself on the floor and wrapped in a blanket. Sha'uri sat next to him and was acting as if she were not bothered by his discomfort, talking casually about the grain surplus she'd just learned about, and how Bekaa had given birth to a healthy little baby girl two months ago, and how the weather was so mild these days...

Tobay was in the catacombs just outside the main chamber. "I brought some medicines that may help," Daniel said as he approached, setting down the bag he'd newly brought from the SGC.

"He became ill outside, just before you returned," Tobay said, too softly for Skaara and Sha'uri to hear at the far end of the chamber. "He will heal?"

"Yes," Daniel said. "The medicines are only to ease the healing."

"It is like se'upu leaf, you said," Tobay said. "Then should he not stop a little at a time?"

"Se'upu was the closest I could think of, but Goa'uld technology is different from normal things--it would only make him worse. Trust me, brother, he will be well in time."

"Kasuf worries."

Daniel hesitated, glancing toward where Sha'uri was wiping sweat from Skaara's face. "Give us a few days. Kasuf can come to see him, but not too many others for now."

"Skaara asked even me not to look at him," Tobay said uncertainly, looking unnerved. As long as Daniel could remember, Skaara had been like the leader among the boys of his age set, even to people like Tobay who were a year or two older. Tobay was Skaara's closest friend.

"He does not want you to think badly of him, that is all," Daniel insisted. "Do not worry. Tell the Guards--do not let him go anywhere on his own right now, but let Sha'uri and me care for him. If he gets past us..."

Tobay stood, preparing to leave. "I understand."

"Tobay...listen to me," Daniel said, catching his arm before he could leave. "You must think of something else. If more of our people begin to take this battle to the Goa'uld, what happened to Skaara and to Sha'uri will happen to others."

"And what happened to you, yes?" Tobay said sharply. Daniel held still as Tobay studied him. "If the Goa'uld come to Abydos again, we will fight. We will not let them take our home again."

Daniel raised his chin. "If they come, I will fight beside you, and I am certain Earth will, also. Only do not lead our people to battle before you have to. Please."

When Tobay finally nodded and exited into the Stargate room, Daniel took a moment to gather what he needed and returned to Skaara and Sha'uri.

"I spoke with the physician on Earth," Daniel said, settling down on the ground with them. "She says that this will make sleep come more easily, Skaara. I can also give you something to ease your discomfort. It will not harm you."

Skaara hunched forward, winced, then nodded.

"Should we eat, as well?" Sha'uri suggested as Daniel found the right doses and handed them to Skaara with some water.

"No," Skaara said.

"You will not feel better if you starve," she pointed out.

Daniel put aside the pack he'd brought from Earth hours ago, which he hadn't even had a chance to open yet since arriving on Abydos, and reached for the emergency pack normally stored in the SGC house. "There is simple food I can prepare for us," he said, digging out an MRE and trying to decide what would be easier on someone who wasn't feeling well. All three of them had traveled much farther than the outskirts of Nagada in the past years; military rations were no hardship for a night.

"You, Dan'yel, who can burn a clay pot attempting to boil water?" Sha'uri said. "You know how to prepare food?"

Surprised, Daniel looked up and then recognized it as a prompt to carry on as normal. He rolled his eyes. "I was seven years old that time. Anyone can prepare this," he promised, "even I."

"Sha'uri has a son," Skaara said suddenly. Daniel stopped while opening one of the rations, glancing up to see Sha'uri frozen with her mouth partway open, as if she'd been about to say something. "The Goa'uld said the Tau'ri stole him."

"I gave him to Dan'yel," Sha'uri said in a very controlled tone.

"Harsesis," Skaara pressed. "The Goa'uld child."

"Skaara, stop," Daniel said sharply.

This time, it was Sha'uri who was avoiding his eyes as she said, "No, do not stop. Dan'yel, you said he was safe. I have not had time to ask more, but..." She trailed off.

"He is safe, I promise," Daniel said. "I watched over him while we searched for Kheb, and we brought him there, as you told us." Suddenly apprehensive, he said, "I gave him into the care of Oma Desala, whom they call the Mother."

Her brow wrinkled. "Who is Oma Desala?" Daniel's stomach dropped, but then she said, "My demon knew that there was a powerful being on Kheb. That is Oma Desala?"

"Yes. She protected us from Heru-ur's forces, and she has taken Shifu now to where he can be protected from all those who are looking for him."

"Shifu," Skaara spoke up. They both turned to him to see if he would say anything else, but he only curled himself tighter. "Ay, Sha'uri, I am sorry..."

Sha'uri sighed and pulled him toward her. Daniel swallowed hard, trying not to imagine her holding Shifu instead, and moved a short distance away to prop the bag against a wall and wait for it to heat.

In the end, Skaara ate very little, but, ill or no, Daniel found that he needed to make sure that Sha'uri took her share. A year of captivity under Heru-ur and the following escape and flight to Thor's Hammer had not done her any favors, though he wasn't sure whether Heru-ur had truly mistreated her or if the struggle against Amaunet was at fault for the tired look about her.

Reluctantly, she accepted the bread he pushed at her, though she nibbled at it only slowly and half-heartedly. "Ah," she said after a minute. "If you are serving me food, then surely you have not found yourself a wife yet."

Daniel spluttered on a mouthful of water. "No! Of course not!" His face heated, and he scowled at her. "Sha'uri," he complained.

"No woman awaits you on Earth?" she teased.

Skaara leaned back against the stone wall, watching them quietly, looking too worn for anything else, so Daniel retorted, "No. There is no one near my age at the SGC--"

"Ah," she said, her lips twitching, "so it is only because you seek someone younger. You are old enough to begin thinking of marriage--I know how men are at your age. There are girls here who would gladly become a woman with you, Dan'yel."

"No, there are not," he said indignantly, and then paused, unable to deny a little curiosity--sometimes it was hard to tell when she was joking. "Are there? No, wait--do not tell me."

Sha'uri laughed delightedly. "Shall I name some girls for you?"

Trying to hide the flush that was creeping over every inch of his skin, Daniel reached for his personal pack. "I am going to read," he announced, suspecting that he sounded less dignified than he'd have liked, since his voice came out considerably higher than expected. "If you have nothing to do but mock me...oh," he said as he pulled out a sealed plastic bag and a small can.

"What?" Sha'uri said curiously.

He felt a silly smile spread over his lips as he showed them both the bag of homemade cookies. "Sam must have put these in my bag while I was not looking," he explained, then pointed to the jar. "This one...could have been any of my friends, I think."

She picked up the latter. "Instant Coffee," she read from the label; between her and Skaara, Sha'uri had always been the more studious about reading and writing in any language.

But coffee had caffeine, which Daniel didn't think Skaara should have, so he said, "Take these if you want"--he slid the cookies toward her and Skaara--"but I am saving the coffee." He checked to see if there was coffee in the MRE pack he'd opened and put that away, too.

Sha'uri quirked an eyebrow at him, then pushed the cookies toward Skaara. "Ih," she said, slapping her brother gently on the shoulder. "Dan'yel's friend makes food for him. Perhaps we have lost his heart to a foreign woman."

"Ay," Daniel sighed. "If you tell her that, she might kill me," he warned. Skaara offered a tired smirk.

...x...

The first time Daniel woke that night, it was to Skaara's footsteps as he paced restlessly, his arms wrapped around his torso.

"I am not running away," Skaara whispered when he caught Daniel watching. "I just need to move. Sleep, Dan'yel."

Daniel squinted around until he could see Sha'uri still asleep in a corner, wrapped in a spare SGC jacket and a blanket. With a yawn, he forced himself to his feet to join Skaara in his circuit of the chamber, following behind him the way he'd often done as a child, fitting his feet into the tracks left by his brother's footsteps.

"How do you feel?" he whispered, seeing the tremors that coursed unevenly through Skaara's muscles, the tightness of each step, as if it were taking all of his control.

Skaara turned. "Strange," he replied after a moment. "Tired."

"Oh," Daniel said.

They stopped together near their wall, the one that might conceal a secret room, in their childhood imaginations if not in reality. As if thinking the same thing, Skaara touched the stone and said, "This used to be exciting, believing there might be something beyond these walls."

Daniel stepped in closer, admiring the words that his parents had pored over years ago as children gathered eagerly behind them to offer help. "We explored everywhere when we were children, even farther than our parents allows us. Why should it be less exciting now?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

Sure enough, Skaara tapped his finger on the wall, then slapped an angry hand against the words. "I have had enough of exploring," he said bitterly.

"Hush," Daniel warned when Sha'uri stirred. Skaara clamped his lips together and rubbed his eyes. When Sha'uri had settled again, he said quietly, "Not all exploring is about the Goa'uld. Is it not better to know there is something else just as wonderful without hurting anyone?"

Skaara stared up at him, his jaw clenched tight in the dark. "It is not your place to be wise, brother," he whispered finally.

That would have been a joke, normally, but Skaara's tone said it was only partly so this time. No one liked platitudes at times like this, but Daniel took a breath and said, "It is what others have told me. I believe it now. When you are well again, there is no reason we cannot return to the things we loved before."

"You were always skilled at turning things to sound good," Skaara accused, one fist clenching and unclenching agitatedly.

Daniel forced himself to shrug casually. "Why can they not be good?"

"We are not living the stories told to a child!" Skaara hissed.

Daniel held out a warning finger and said, "I know this is not a childhood story, Skaara! Do you think I have not seen horror, too?"

"Yi shay, Dan'yel--!"

Frustrated with his brother as well as with himself, Daniel took a step forward and pressed a palm against Skaara's mouth, using his other hand to hold the older man in place. He took a slow, steadying breath, looked away from Skaara's furious eyes, and repeated, "Hush. You will wake your sister." He removed his grip and raked a hand through his hair, checking the watch he still wore to see how much time had passed.

"What was the medicine you gave me?" Skaara asked a moment later.

"It was to take some of the pain and make you feel calmer," Daniel said, noting the tight lines around his brother's eyes. "Did it help?"

Skaara shuffled a foot against a loose rock, then nodded. "Some."

"I can give you a small amount again, just enough to help you sleep." Skaara wasn't meeting his eyes and didn't answer, so he added, "It is not a weakness to be unwell--I will tell you before you take too much."

Finally, reluctantly, Skaara agreed. Daniel waited until he was asleep again, fetched his notebook to make another note of the time and dose. He made sure his bag with all possible medications were within his reach and his reach only as he lay down again, too, fitting his body into the opening of the doorway.

...x...

The second time he woke, it was to Sha'uri.

Daniel blinked himself out of sleep when he heard the first rustling sounds, but Skaara was lying still on the floor. He watched in confusion for another moment, until he heard a moan from the other side, where Sha'uri was sleeping fitfully. "Kheb..." she murmured, and Daniel snapped himself up and hurried to her side.

"Sha'uri?" he whispered, hesitating with a hand poised over her shoulder.

"Stop--do not touch me--"

"Wake up!" he said, more urgently, not wanting to imagine what she was dreaming. He caught her arm and shook her gently. "Wake up, sister!" All of a sudden, Sha'uri's eyes sprang open. "Sha'uri," Daniel said helplessly when she flinched from his shadow, breathing hard. "No, it is Dan'yel, Sha'uri, you were dreaming--"

"My baby," she said, one hand catching his and squeezing tight as she sat up. "Where is he?"

"Ay," Daniel breathed, looking away from her wide eyes and shuffling closer to fold his arms around her shaking form. "He is safe. I took him to Kheb, remember? He is with Oma Desala."

Her face pressed into his chest. "My baby," she said, muffled in the front of his robes. "Gods, my son..."

"I am sorry," he murmured, smoothing her sleep-mussed hair out of habit, because it was what she always did to him when he was upset. "Hush, Sha'uri. We may yet find Shifu again."

She shuddered. "Shifu," she echoed shakily. "What does it mean?"

"It means 'light,'" Daniel said softly, settling on the ground, where he could hold her more comfortably as they both sat against the wall. "I named him Sharemes in your place, and Kasuf called him Shifu, to bring light into our lives." Her hand clenched on his robe. "The Tau'ri showed me how to take care of him. Even O'Neill helped me--"

"He was happy?" Sha'uri said, shifting to look at him, a tear escaping to run down her face. "He was healthy?"

"Yes," Daniel said, mustering a smile as he wiped the tear away with a thumb. "Very much."

Sha'uri dropped her gaze. "Thank you, Dan'yel." He looked away, not knowing how to answer that--he, who had stolen her baby from her arms--and she reached up to smooth a few strands of his hair, resting her hand on his cheek. "My blood and your care. He is our child." He nodded vigorously, as if that would negate the need to speak. "You seek him, still?"

Daniel cycled through they, I, and we before settling on, "We do. Sha'uri, we do not know where he might be, but if anyone finds something that could be the place, we will search for him there."

"Oma Desala," she repeated, swallowing hard. "Then I suppose I must trust in another Mother."

It was strange to feel her smaller body beside his when he could still remember the days when she could pick him up and carry him in her arms. "You are his mother, Sha'uri," he told her. "He bears your name. You are in his kalach for eternity."

She nodded against his shoulder. "I did not dream when the demon was awake within me," she said abruptly. Daniel twisted a little to look at her in surprise. "When the demon slept, while I carried...Shifu, then I dreamed. But after that...it was not until Amaunet was dead."

Daniel grimaced. "Dreams can be good," he offered. "The Tau'ri say we must dream to live."

"Ah," she said, pulling gently away, "because when the demon rules, it is not life. Now I dream, and I know I live."

...x...

The third time Daniel woke, it was to Sha'uri's voice in his ear and Skaara's hands on his shoulders.

"Dan'yel, wake up," Sha'uri urged as Skaara shook him the rest of the way from his dreams.

Gasping, Daniel scuttled back, images of Klorel and Amaunet still swimming behind his eyes with the memory of Apophis's host. Arms closed around him from behind, and he struggled against the hold, only to hear Skaara snap, "It is I! Stop, Dan'yel!"

"You were crying out in your sleep," Sha'uri said worriedly. "Are you awake now?"

Daniel stopped. Skaara did not let go, but now he could feel the unnatural heat and shivers that wracked his brother's body. Not quite able to speak yet, he leaned forward toward his knees, bringing his hands to his eyes as he tried to push away the lingering ghosts of his dreams.

"I am sorry," he mumbled when he trusted his voice again. "I should not have woken you."

"I woke you first," Sha'uri said gently.

"I woke you first," Skaara corrected, pulling away to sit next to him, mirroring his pose.

Daniel unfurled himself enough to look at his brother and caught a pained grimace. "I am not the one who is ill," he said, embarrassed. He raised the back of a hand to Skaara's face, where the skin felt too warm. "You have a fever. Are you in pain?"

Skaara pulled away from his hand. "Everything aches," he admitted, still trembling slightly. "It is not so bad. What were you dreaming?"

"It was not so bad," Daniel parroted, sitting on his hands so they wouldn't shake.

"What have we three come to?" Sha'uri said, sounding fond and sad and amused all at once. She laughed suddenly and wriggled into place between them, an arm around Skaara and her head couched on Daniel's shoulder. "Ay, my babies," she sighed.

Daniel choked. "Babies?" he echoed. "We have not been babies for years, Sha'uri!"

Skaara grumbled, "Dan'yel is a baby."

"Now you sound like one, too," Sha'uri told him tartly. Daniel watched Skaara make a face at her and couldn't stop a surprised grin of his own. He leaned past her to stick his tongue out at his brother. Sha'uri only laughed again. "My brothers," she said softly. She pressed a kiss to Skaara's temple, then turned and did the same to Daniel before settling back as before, all three of them wrapped in one another as they floated together toward peace.

Chapter Text

26 December 1999; SGC; 1200 hrs

"Merry Christmas, sir," Daniel said when he stopped through, much happier than the last time. "Well, belated, I mean."

General Hammond chuckled. "Happy holidays to you, too, son. I trust your brother's doing better since the last time you called?"

"Yes, sir, Skaara's much better. He's back home and back to...normal. More or less."

"I'm glad to hear that--I understand how these things go. Let's step into my office."

SG-1 wasn't in the briefing room--he supposed they must be on a mission at the moment--so it was just him and the general in the office. "I've written down more things that Sha'uri and Skaara have remembered," Daniel started. "There's a bit about Heru-ur's army and other things that might be useful, but they're not sure about the details." Daniel handed his notebook to the general. "I have a summary in here. If it's too messy, I can type it up before I go back."

The general opened it and flipped through. "That's all right; we'll have someone transcribe this. Anything urgent that we need to act on immediately?"

"Uh, no, sir. As we suspected, Heru-ur was weakened by war with Sokar several months ago, but Sha'uri says he went into hiding, trying to rebuild his strength, and only surfaced once word of Sokar's death reached him. Other than that, I think it's mostly Skaara's news about Apophis's survival and a possible alliance with Heru-ur that we should worry about."

Shaking his head, General Hammond said, "At least now we won't be surprised next time he shows up. And without Apophis's son and queen, I don't see what other bargaining chip Heru-ur could use if he's still looking for that alliance."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said. "Oh! Another thing...in the last page of that book"--the general flipped to the end--"those coordinates lead to the abandoned planet where Sha'uri and Amaunet piloted an udajeet in escaping Heru-ur. She says she ringed from Heru-ur's hatak to Klorel's, which was relatively empty since Klorel was meeting with Heru-ur, and then took a death glider from there, landed on the closest planet with a Stargate, and 'gated to Cimmeria."

The general looked up at him. "Are you... You're saying there's an empty death glider just lying on an abandoned planet?"

Daniel grinned. "Yes, sir. She only remembered the last glyph yesterday, or I'd have brought it to you sooner. It's probably a lot less damaged than the one that landed on Tollana, and it's one of Apophis's two-man gliders. It doesn't fit through the Stargate, but..." He shrugged. "I'm sure someone could find a way without damaging it too much."

Smiling, the general set the notebook down. "Well. I don't need to tell you how much we value this information, son. I'll send an engineering team there as soon as possible. Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Not...for now," he hedged. "There's something I've been looking at in Ra's Pyramid. It might be nothing the SGC is interested in, but considering its location next to the Stargate... I'd like to try a few more things, but if I find anything, can I ask for help?"

"You do that. But if you suspect it's Goa'uld, Mr. Jackson, I'll remind you to be very cautious about what it might do if disturbed. If you remember, opening the tomb where Hathor was in stasis resulted in the deaths of the archaeologists who opened it."

"Yes, sir, we'll be careful," Daniel said. "That's all I have, really. But, uh...is SG-1 off-world? Can I leave something for them?"

The general sighed. "They've been in quarantine for almost a week." Daniel's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "They're all right. They've had a program implanted in their brains, which is using them to experience the world through a shared hallucination that calls itself Urgo. It doesn't seem to be harming them, but until this is resolved, I need to keep them here."

Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking that over. "Uh...wha... Oh."

"We think we're close to a solution," the general assured him. "They're in Level 22 Isolation."

That room wasn't a medical facility or even a holding cell so much as a room where they put people when they needed to keep track of them, so Daniel relaxed a little. "Yes, sir," he said. "Uh...can I visit them? Or I can leave a note for them in Teal'c's quarters, for when they're back to normal."

"I think they'll be glad for some company," the general said. "Go ahead."

Scooping up his backpack and thanking the general, he made his way to Level 22. In the isolation room, Sam was typing at the desk, Teal'c was reading in a chair, and Jack's back was turned to him as he worked on something that had a screen like a small computer and made occasional beeping noises. Or maybe he was playing. It was hard to tell.

"Hi," Daniel said. "Did you miss me?"

Without turning around, Jack snapped, "No, we did not miss you."

Sam looked up, saw him, and coughed sheepishly. Teal'c saw him as well and even went so far as to give him a smile that wasn't warm so much as relieved, which was...odd, but then, they had apparently had an odd few days. Daniel cleared his throat and said, "Okay, Jack. Should I just go, then?"

Jack finally turned around and brightened considerably to see him standing there. "Daniel! I thought you were Urgo."

"Well, I'm not," he said. "General Hammond told me about this whole...Urgo thing. Sorry."

"You're not sorry until you've had Urgo in your head," Jack said darkly.

Daniel slipped his bag off his shoulder. "I brought a present, but if it's okay, I'll just leave it in your quarters, Teal'c. I don't think you all should be drinking alcohol while in quarantine."

"What's this?" Jack said, sounding interested. "You brought us alien booze?"

Daniel debated whether to warn further, then decided against it. "It's Skaara's, from before...you know, before everything happened. He's very good at it. It's famous in the village, in fact."

"I guess we can assume everything's fine at home, then?" Sam asked. "You're looking well."

"Yeah," Daniel said grinning broadly. "It's great. Skaara's better, and...it's relaxing."

Jack's face became serious. "I'm glad he's okay. Must've been rough."

"We managed," Daniel told him. "Sha'uri had been through it before--with Amaunet, of course, but she knew a little of what to expect. Honestly, just having them there..." He couldn't seem to make himself stop smiling these days. "All of us are...really grateful. Anyone who had doubts about the Tau'ri before basically worship you these days."

"Are you returning immediately?" Teal'c said.

"I've got an hour or so. General Hammond said I could visit you."

"Oh, not again," Jack said.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Uh...?" he said.

"Why won't you just go away," Jack snapped, then told Daniel, "Not you. You stay."

Daniel looked at Sam and Teal'c. "Him," Sam said ruefully, pointing at an empty chair.

"Oh," Daniel said, turning to the chair and waving. "Hi, Urgo."

"Do not encourage him," Teal'c growled.

"No, Urgo, we don't," Jack snapped. Daniel scratched his head and wondered what would happen if he tried to sit where Urgo was appearing, then decided against it, since that would put him in the way of Jack's glare. "No smidgen," Jack added after a pause.

Sam hooked a foot around a chair and pulled it out for him. "Here. We'll explain some other time," she said. Daniel wished he could stay and figure it out with them, and then remembered he had brothers and sisters waiting for him a Stargate away and settled for just visiting for a short while.

Later, he borrowed Teal'c's ID and stopped at Level 25. Inside Teal'c's room, he pulled out a small jug from his pack and another smaller one, checked to make sure they were both tightly closed, and scrawled a quick note to leave with them that read,

'To SG-1: Happy Solstice. Partake in moderation. Smaller container non-alcoholic for Teal'c. From Daniel and Skaara.' 

XXXXX

27 December 1999; Pyramid Catacombs, Abydos; 1800 hrs

"...power...from the sun," Daniel read aloud. "Ra...rays of the sun will reveal..." Finally, he kicked the wall in frustration. "Open, yi shay!"

"Now who is trying to smash the wall?" Skaara said from behind. "So this is how the SGC defeats its enemies: they kick stone with their toes."

"There has to be something here more than this wall," he said for the umpteenth time, turning and pulling Skaara by the arm. "Look, come with me--I will show you."

"Gods," Skaara sighed, trotting along with him. "Seventeen years running through this place was not enough for you?"

Daniel felt his lips twitch into a smile. "Unless I was born able to run, I did not spend seventeen years running anywhere on Abydos."

"No? I was the one who chased you when you slipped away; I would know. I think you were running before you ever left the womb."

"Fine, stay there, but listen," Daniel insisted. "I have measured this place many times, the inside and out. There is more space outside than there is inside." It had taken some work, but he was certain his crude methods--involving his notebook for a straight-edge and right angle, some chalk, a lot of running, and odd stares from the 'gate guards upstairs--were good enough to show there was a lot of missing volume that was not accounted for by the width of the bricks. "There must be something behind that wall. You can see it from outside, but not from here."

Skaara frowned, looked around the chamber, then ran back out of the catacombs.

It was a while before he came back in. "You see?" Daniel said.

"I see," Skaara said. He looked curious now, and he led the way back to the wall. "Fine. There may be something there, but we still do not know that we can reach it from here. It may be sealed without an entrance. Mel and Claire searched this pyramid for years, Dan'yel."

"But," Daniel said, "they knew very little about Goa'uld technology and tactics."

"That is true." They stared at the wall together for several moments before Skaara said, "So?"

"Let me think."

"Perhaps your mind will open the wall for us."

"Be quiet, Skaara."

Skaara snickered but quieted and returned to examining the wall. "What do you think is behind here? The wedjat, the eye of Ra, as it says everywhere?" He gestured around them--the walls of the catacombs leading down here made several mentions of the wedjat.

"I have no idea," Daniel admitted. Speaking of eyes of Ra, however...he pointed to the center of the wedjat painted onto the wall in front of them. "Does this look like a delmak crystal to you? The text says that the rays of the sun will reveal all--in the painting, the rays are pointing toward the eye. That has to mean something."

"There is no sun in here," Skaara pointed out.

"I think it simply needs some signal," Daniel mused. "Everything is a signal that something else receives, yes? The sun shines and we see, or I talk and you hear, or--"

"You talk," Skaara countered, "and everyone hears."

Daniel rolled his eyes and pressed on, "Goa'uld technology is always this way--there is a device that must be caused to work by a trigger. If it makes so much mention of the sun..."

"Must it be the sun?" Skaara said. "Perhaps another light." He picked up one of the lamps around the room and brought it close to the wall.

"Yes, yes, you're right, it could be," Daniel said, hovering anxiously, watching and berating himself for not having tried it sooner.

Nothing happened.

"Perhaps not," Skaara amended, lowering the lamp.

Unfazed, Daniel found his flashlight where he'd left it in the corner and shone it at the bright red center of the eye of Ra depicted in the stone--if it wanted rays of light from the sun, perhaps rays of another light might do it. When that didn't work, he pulled off his glasses and tried to focus the light, but in vain--maybe his lenses were shaped wrong--so he slapped his glasses back on and tried holding the flashlight at different distances instead...

Skaara gasped excitedly and sprang forward, leaning his hands against the stone and pressing his ear to it. "What?" Daniel said eagerly, lowering the light and pressing his own ear to the wall as well, inches from where Skaara stood. "What did you hear?"

"Hush!" Skaara commanded, squeezing his eyes shut in concentration. Daniel strained to hear, holding his breath and watching his brother--

Skaara snapped his eyes open and screamed into Daniel's face.

"Ahh!" Daniel yelled, reeling back in surprise and stumbling to the floor on his rear. Skaara let out a shout of triumphant laughter. Daniel stared at him with wide eyes.

"Your...face..." Skaara managed as he struggled not to choke on his laughter.

Daniel looked at the wall, which stood unchanged and utterly unmoved by their antics. "I cannot believe you!" he said.

"Ay, your face!" Skaara crowed. "You are too easy to...ih!" he said, hopping away as Daniel lunged toward him. He laughed harder as he turned and fled the catacombs. Daniel grinned, then pushed himself to his feet and ran after him, catching sight of the Guards' startled expressions as he rushed past them and tackled his brother to the sand.

XXXXX

1 January 2000; Nagada Proper, Abydos; 1300 hrs

"That is impossible," Sha'uri was scoffing as Daniel carried a load of the day's grain from the silo for the women to grind. Someone needed to travel soon, to trade for food from one of the villages built on more fertile ground.

"But Dan'yel told me," someone else said, working next to her.

"Uh-oh," Daniel said, setting the container down as he tried to decide mentally how much grain they would need and how much they could buy. "What have I done now?"

"Merii says that your mind changed places with the mind of another man and resided in his body instead," Sha'uri said, clearly disbelieving.

Daniel shrugged. "Well, we changed back afterward. It was not so bad for me; the mind of my teacher, Dr. Rothman, was trapped in the body of a dying man. It was almost too late for him."

This time, Sha'uri wasn't the only one who snorted. Daniel smiled and returned to the threshing floor, where one man was sweeping the loose straw from the floor.

Skaara was trying to convince one of the mastadges there that it had trampled the ground quite enough and should stop crushing things. Daniel joined his brother in coaxing the animal back to its pen. "This one is strong--we can trade him," Skaara said, patting the animal on its flank. "Perhaps those two as well. A party will be sent to Badari tomorrow."

"Do you want me to go with them?" Daniel offered. "I have negotiated for the SGC before, and there may be something among my personal Tau'ri gear that can be of value in trade."

But Skaara shook his head. "Kasuf and Sha'uri will do that, as they have always done before. Tobay says there have been thieves hiding along that road lately, but I will send some of the men to guard them."

"Well, I could also help with that," Daniel said, thinking that an Abydonian highwayman would think twice before attacking people armed with SGC-level weapons. He hadn't lost the habit of carrying his zat'nik'tel and pistol with him in his pack whenever he left Nagada proper these days, especially when he took his turn on watch at the Stargate.

"It is not necessary," Skaara repeated. He finished latching the animal pens and gestured for Daniel to rejoin the men finishing their work on the threshing floor.

As a breeze blew through, Daniel tried to shake a few strands of hair from his eyes and instead found something dropped onto his head to a round of laughter from a few boys around him. Blinking at the sudden darkness over his eyes, Daniel reached up and pulled off a square of cloth, then turned to see Skaara smirking at him.

"Have you finished?" Skaara said, dusting off his hands. "Come with me."

"Why?" Daniel said suspiciously.

Skaara widened his eyes comically. "Would I do anything bad to you?" he said to renewed laughs around them. "Come, Dan'yel. I want to show you something."

Raising his eyebrows, Daniel brushed his hands off and followed, ducking out of the house. "If this is a trick..." Daniel warned.

They ducked alone into Skaara's home, a small room in one of the larger, shared buildings in the village. Skaara grabbed the cloth out of Daniel's hands and tied it roughly over his head, knotting it in the back. "You have forgotten these things already. Cut your hair short or tie it out of your eyes when you are working," Skaara ordered, oddly serious for having been joking minutes ago.

Bemused, Daniel touched the top of his head, where his hair was now tucked tightly under the cloth, and readjusted the simple, makeshift headwear that he usually didn't need on base, where he'd fallen into the habit of keeping his hair short.

"Someone must teach you these things," Skaara said.

Uncomfortable, Daniel said, "Teach me what?" In answer, Skaara turned, picked up a knife, and handed it to him. "What?" Daniel said, confused, taking it and turning it in his hands.

"Are you in mourning?"

"What?" Then he recognized the shaving blade he was holding and said, "Oh. But..." He raised a hand to his face self-consciously.

"You are not in mourning and you are not an elder. Unless you wish to look like a wild man with hair on his face," Skaara said, poking Daniel's upper lip with a finger, "you must learn to do this. I see that no one on Earth has taught you."

Daniel batted Skaara's hand away, flushing in embarrassment as he imagined Jack or Teal'c's expression if he'd asked one of them how the Tau'ri or the Jaffa shave. They probably would have taught him if he'd asked, but it would have been...very strange. Too awkward.

"Your father is not here," Skaara said matter-of-factly, setting a shallow bowl of water before him, "so I will show you." When Daniel didn't move, Skaara pushed him to his knees before moving to kneel next to him and guide his hand on the razor.

There was a rather pathetic amount of any hair at all to shave off his face, in truth, but Skaara simply slapped him on the arm when he protested and said he had better learn now, because he'd need to eventually, anyway.

"Women will not like you with pieces of fur on your face," Skaara teased afterward, as if to diffuse the awkwardness. Daniel felt his cheeks redden again. Skaara snorted. "You cannot tell me you have...never..." He trailed off, head tilting to one side. "Perhaps not. But you are almost twenty years old, Dan'yel. You do not have to blush at the mention of a woman."

"I mention women all the time," Daniel said defensively, then blushed even darker at the inanity of his words. "Stop laughing at me."

"I am not laughing."

"I was still a boy when I went to Earth, and I live at the SGC there, and sometimes with Jack, but there is no chance to see anyone outside of work, almost, which means--"

"I am not laughing at you, brother; I understand," Skaara repeated in exasperation. Then he blinked. "You live with Jack? O'Neill?"

"Yes. I stay at his house sometimes when we are both not busy."

Leaning forward a little, Skaara said eagerly, "What is he like?"

"He is a good man, like the stories say. Well, no," Daniel amended, "not like the stories at all--it is difficult to describe him. But..." he shrugged. "He was very good to me after...in the beginning."

Skaara dropped the smirk and said, "After your parents died, when you could not come home and we were not there."

"I missed you, Skaara," Daniel blurted. "When I was on Earth, the whole time, I missed you. Have I said that since Tollana? I might have forgotten to say it."

"I know," Skaara said, sitting back on his heels to study him.

"How are you? Do you still have nightmares?" Daniel said.

Skaara fixed him with a hard stare. "Do you?"

"No," Daniel lied.

"You are lying," Skaara said.

"Perhaps," Daniel admitted, but they were the normal ones he'd gotten used to over the last couple of years, the ones that came with growing older and knowing there were things to fear. "Are you certain you--"

"I am fine, brother. You know that."

And it was true that Skaara had bounced back from Klorel and the sarcophagus addiction with admirable alacrity. If he sometimes thought a little harder about things than he would have before, or if he'd frozen once at the sight of a snake, he shook his head and managed to laugh afterward. There was a darkness in some of his words and thoughts that had never been there before, but all the light that had been there existed still. Daniel supposed nightmares were unavoidable, and perhaps Sha'uri was right--if he was free to dream, it meant he was free.

"Do I know that?" Daniel countered with a smile, waggling his eyebrows. "I have not seen you so often recently; Seinah has been taking much of your time, yes?"

Utterly unimpressed, Skaara said, "Ah, now you wish to talk about women?"

"No," Daniel said quickly.

Skaara laughed and flopped backward onto the floor with his eyes closed. Daniel watched him lie there happily for a moment, then flopped onto his back as well. "I would not ask to take Seinah as a wife before I am more certain of...things," Skaara confided. "It is too soon--it would reflect badly on Nagada to her father in Kalima if I could not provide a good life for her. But there is no need to hurry now."

Daniel nodded in understanding and said, "You should stay here."

"It will be time for the meal soon."

"I mean, stay on Abydos." He held his breath and waited to see what would happen.

It was another long, agonizing minute before Skaara opened his eyes and sat up again to look down at him, puzzled and a little alarmed. "What?"

Daniel picked at the band on his wrist and said, "Some of our people have asked to join the Tau'ri to fight the Goa'uld. I think you have done your part already and should stay on Abydos."

"Oh," Skaara said, looking utterly terrified for a brief moment before settling on disturbed and serious. "I hope you told them that they should not go. We are fortunate that most of the System Lords have forgotten Abydos, but if many of us go to Tau'ri--"

"Of course I told them. I do not know if they will listen to me; they would listen to you, though. Tobay knows it isn't safe, and that will be enough for now, I think, but not forever." He fiddled with the fraying fridge of Skaara's blanket, trapped partly under his back. "I understand why--I felt the same way, but perhaps that desire will not be so strong now that you and Sha'uri have returned. I thought you should know, in case someone speaks of it."

"You should also be careful of the stories you tell. If they hear too much of our Dan'yel the Traveler and his adventures to exciting places, they may wish even more to join the Tau'ri."

"Oh," Daniel said. "I had not considered that." He had been ambushed by crowds of small children already, asking for new stories about Earth and the Stargate, but he was fairly certain he hadn't told the most exciting ones at all. Still, curiosity was a powerful motivator. "I will be careful."

"You felt that way?" Skaara said. "You do not now?"

"What?" Daniel said.

Skaara chewed his lip. "Do you still wish to join the Tau'ri again?"

"I have not been home for an entire cycle of the moons, Skaara," Daniel said, stretching his arms over his head. "I am happy to lie here and be lazy."

"No, you would not be happy. Your parents were not. They unburied the chaapa'ai."

Daniel breathed very slowly for a minute. Skaara wasn't looking at him anymore and was staring at something near his foot. Daniel sat up and said, "If they had not, Apophis would have been crushed on the rocks when he came here."

"No, no--" Skaara started quickly.

"Yes," Daniel said.

It was a breathtaking thought, really, the way things would have been if they hadn't been so curious about the Stargate. Earth would have been left knowing nothing about the dangers of the galaxy around them, but if Abydos had buried the Stargate after the Rebellion and then simply left it alone, Apophis might have died that night. Even Earth would have assumed the Stargate only went to Abydos and might have destroyed their own, leaving them defenseless, but the Goa'uld wouldn't be trying so hard to kill them now. If they'd just left it alone...

"Gods," Daniel breathed.

"That was not why I said that," Skaara said, looking apologetic.

"But is still true."

"Teal'c would also be dead. The rocks would have killed Apophis and Teal'c also."

Skaara was still not looking at him. Daniel had the sudden thought that Shifu wouldn't have been born, either, and then he plunged his head into his hands, because how could he make a choice like that--two years of Skaara's life against the life of his captor, a friend? How could he think it was good to have had that time with Shifu when his sister had been raped to make him?

"Gods," he repeated. Part of him remembered there was more than that--there was the death of Hathor, and the survival of some of the Nasyans and Jacob Carter...but there was also Major Charlie Kawalsky's loss, and the first team of SG-7 who'd died on Hanka with Cassandra's family and her world, and his parents...

"It is not a choice," Skaara said. Daniel didn't move. Skaara sighed in exasperation, grabbed him by a handful of hair, and dragged his head up. "It is not for us to choose between what is real and what could have been."

Daniel thought of the mirror on P3R-233 and wondered if there were worlds, somewhere, where none of this had ever happened. He shook Skaara's hand off his head. "Do you blame them for opening the chaapa'ai?"

"No. But...sometimes I do," Skaara admitted. "Then I remember how much they did for us, that they died trying to do more. I loved them, Dan'yel."

"But..."

"Do you blame them?"

Daniel tilted his head to think. "I think I would have done the same," he allowed.

Skaara nodded. "I think so as well." He stood. "Hungry?"

With a smile, Daniel accepted Skaara's hand to pull himself to his feet and followed him back to the public areas for the evening meal.

XXXXX

7 January 2000; Nagada Proper, Abydos; 1100 hrs

Eventually, Skaara stopped spending every minute of the day with Daniel or watching over Sha'uri, occasionally seeking Seinah or other friends' company instead, as was usual. Sha'uri seemed happy enough and increasingly healthy each time he saw her--she was staying with Kasuf and spending days with the other women who'd been her friends before--so Daniel stopped spending every minute of the day wondering and worrying, too.

At a loss for what to do--there wasn't even anything new to report to the SGC--he returned to the schoolhouse, sifting through the books still kept there. So when a group of young children found him and swarmed on him to demand stories, he settled on the Asgard. Those stories tended to end happier than anything he knew of the Goa'uld--without ending in an assassination or a massacre--and he could keep it vague enough to seem like histories rather than memories.

"No, Thor is not a giant," Daniel said in answer to a question, schooling his expression into an imitation of Teal'c at his most serious. "He is a great warrior who slays evil Goa'uld giants. Thor himself is of the Æsir, the great beings of Asgard. He rides across the sky in his chariot--"

"Like the chariot driven here over a moon cycle ago," a boy said. "I saw it myself."

Reminded of the teltak, Daniel said, "No, the chariot of Thor is much, much greater than the one you saw--even bigger than the pyramids--"

"No!" two of them said at once, one amazed and the other skeptical. They, of course, had been born and raised in a time when even Ra's pyramid-sized hatak vessels were only memory.

"Yes," Daniel said solemnly. "Even vessels as big as the pyramids can be defeated by only one of Thor's great chariots."

The slithering of cloth on cloth made him look up to see Seinah push the curtain aside, then pause when she saw the impromptu gathering.

"But...now I should leave you to your reading lessons," Daniel said quickly. He stood to the sound of protests. "Listen to Seinah," he admonished.

"You do not have to leave," Seinah said, hovering a bit like a mother over her brood.

Daniel almost stayed, but the children were looking at him a little too hopefully; he suspected that they were more likely to ask him about Norse mythology than to read their lessons. He supposed he wasn't helping by feeding them legends.

"No, no," he said, backing out of the doorway. "I can go. Study hard," he added to the children.

He found Skaara playing ball with some of his friends. Daniel hesitated; he'd never liked this game very much and wasn't very good at it anyway. "Dan'yel!" one of the boys called, waving him over. "Skaara needs help--his side is losing!"

"We are not," Skaara protested breathlessly from the bottom of a pile of bodies.

"No, thank you," Daniel called back, watching them tussle. "Have fun."

"Wait!" Skaara said, emerging with some difficulty. "You can stay. You do not want to play?"

"Uh...I was going to...uh...read," Daniel said, waving at them.

Eventually, they turned back to the game as Daniel wandered off in search of something to do.

He found himself at the burial ground, but, at his parents' graves, he couldn't think of anything meaningful to say or do or think. He tried, "Hello," and then "um," and then gave up on saying anything useful and stared.

Some time later, he wandered into the Stargate cartouche room. He considered the wall of addresses, mentally striking off the ones he recognized and wondering what was at the others.

XXXXX

13 January 2000; Stargate Room, Abydos; 1300 hrs

"What did you mean?" Daniel asked Skaara when they were alone on Stargate watch together. "You said that my parents opened the chaapa'ai, but that you did not say it to cast blame."

"When?" Skaara asked.

"Several days ago."

"Have you been thinking of that all this time?" Daniel shrugged. "Only that they would not have been truly happy here knowing there was something more, and I wonder if you would be."

"I could be," Daniel said defensively.

"But you are not."

"I am."

"You have not been lately."

"I have!"

With a shrug, Skaara bent into the corners of the room to check the weaponry. Daniel put down his notebook and went to help, picking up one of the submachine guns to start checking that it was loaded and stored to be both accessible and as safe as possible.

"Dan'yel!" Skaara pulled it away. "That is dangerous."

Daniel looked at him in surprise. Defiantly, he took the gun back. Check safety; remove magazine; pull back cocking handle; check chamber--empty; slide back.

He held up the mostly empty magazine. "I can ask for supplies from Tau'ri. We should clean these, as well--there should be a bullet in the..." He didn't know an Abydonian word for the 'chamber,' so he pointed instead. "That it is empty may mean that something is caught inside."

Skaara watched him as he reattached the magazine with a sharp tap, racked it carefully (it clunked sluggishly as a round was chambered; he really needed to clean these), and replaced it on the ground, safety back on. "Ah," Skaara said. "So they taught you that."

Daniel wasn't sure if he'd been looking for approval or showing that he could be independent, but suddenly neither was particularly appealing. They stared at the guns on the ground for a minute, the automatic guns lying together and Daniel's usual sidearms off to one side.

"Jack taught me," Daniel said.

"Ah."

"So I would not hurt myself," he clarified.

"Good," Skaara said, still sounding unsure of himself. Then he dropped decisively into a crouch. "Fine. Then I can ask you something I have been wondering--what is this?"

Daniel crouched next to him, where he was pointing at something next to the barrel of one of the guns. This weapon was newer, brought to Abydos around the time of the iris installation, not during the 1982 mission. It might have been left by accident, even, perhaps the one dropped by Major Ferretti when he'd been hurt here, since it was the only one with a laser on it.

"They call it laser sight," Daniel said. "It shines a light to make it easier to shoot accurately." He fiddled with the mount until he found how it slid out, less familiar with the non-essential functions of automatics. He freed the sight and found it wasn't exactly like the kind of lasers people sometimes used around base while giving presentations; it was connected by a short cord to something else. He followed the cord to another piece that was attached near the trigger guard and pressed on it. A red point of light appeared on the floor, so apparently the batteries were still working. He released the switch, and the laser turned off.

"A red beam of light," Skaara said, turning the sight around to see where the light came from.

Daniel frowned. "Yes," he said absently, thinking of lights and beams and rays and red red red... "Do not shine it into your eyes. Sam says that--oh!" he exclaimed, grasping the thought at last. "Our wall! The eye, with the wall, the rays of the sun--the painting--the sun--"

"What?" Skaara said, and then, "Ih! The sun was red in the painting."

"Mm-hm," Daniel said, fumbling with the mechanism holding it onto the gun. He pulled the whole thing off, squeezing the switch a few times to make sure the laser light still worked. "Yes! Come, we have to see--"

"We have not yet finished our shift here," Skaara said.

"What do you think will happen?" Daniel said impatiently. "There is an iris, and the only people who are likely to come through--"

"Dan'yel, this is what I was saying!" Skaara interrupted. "Wait for an hour until someone takes our place. If your curiosity cannot wait, go without me. I will not leave this room unguarded!"

With the red light beam in one hand and their secret wall just down a winding passageway, Daniel had an urge to do just that--to let Skaara stay here and take off on his own toward the pyramid. Then he remembered the last time the Jacksons had let curiosity defeat caution here.

"Sorry," Daniel muttered. He sat down and picked up his notebook, deciding he could compromise and wait while writing about their idea about the light and the secret wall and the words that lined the catacombs. "I can wait."

It was another long time before Skaara said, "You are bored here."

"Yes, because I am waiting to try this in the catacombs," Daniel pointed out, waggling the laser sight in his hand.

"On Abydos," Skaara clarified. "Are you bored on Abydos?"

"We may be about to open a secret chamber, Skaara. Boredom is not in my mind."

"What if we do open it?" Skaara said. Daniel groaned aloud. "I am being serious, Dan'yel! I have not seen you so excited in days, and it is because we may open a chamber and you think the Goa'uld did something to it. It is what you were doing on Earth. Do you wish you were there?"

"We have been trying to open that chamber as long as I can remember--of course I am excited!"

"I know that, but your parents left Earth for Abydos and stayed here. Sometimes, I wonder if you will leave us for Earth and stay there. You told me that I should stay here on Abydos. Does that mean...were you saying that you will not stay?"

Daniel put his pen aside, annoyed. "What do you want me to say?"

Skaara grimaced and said, "I am not trying to accuse, brother. I only want to know." Daniel moodily turned the laser in his hands. "Your parents had a child to raise. Perhaps, if they had not had you, they would have left sooner."

Daniel wasn't sure which part of that bothered him more--the idea that his parents would have left Abydos, the idea that he had been holding them back, or the guilty, apologetic way Skaara said it, even though they both knew it was true. And then there was that idea that he might be in the same position now, but in reverse, which he really wished he didn't have to consider.

Finally, Skaara sighed. "I understand, Dan'yel."

"Really?" Daniel said hesitantly. "You would understand?"

"I do not wish to see you hurt," Skaara said. "But I understand. You are thinking about it?"

He swallowed. "Yes," he admitted. "But I have not yet found the will to leave. It is...good, being at home."

But I don't belong here anymore, he thought, and he looked away before Skaara could see his expression. He didn't belong on Earth, either, not the way that the six billion Tau'ri on the surface did--how could he, knowing what he knew? He had had a place on Abydos as his parents' son, but what was he now that he had become a man light years away? He could become a teacher, as he had always assumed he would, but Seinah competently held his parents' old post now, and his presence was only ever a distraction to excitable children. He had hoped to accompany Sha'uri and Kasuf on a routine trading run as a guard because it would have let him see something other than the walls of the village. Was that what he would become in a year? Had his parents always felt this restless?

He wondered what they would have said to him now and found that he honestly didn't know.

"You will always have a home here," Skaara told him quietly. His tone was sincere but sad, as if he could hear each of Daniel's thoughts. "With me, if nowhere else."

Nabeh arrived in the doorway with three other Guards--the next shift. Daniel leapt to his feet, eager to head to the catacombs and to give himself more time to think about Skaara's question without having to look at Skaara's uncertain expression.

"Come, hurry," Daniel said, pulling Skaara toward the catacombs, laser firmly in one hand with his personal weapons and pack juggled in the other. To his relief, Skaara only made something between a laugh and a scoff and followed him, not pursuing his question.

It was only once they'd left the 'gate room that Daniel realized a two-man 'gate shift was unusual; Skaara set the shifts, and he was warmed to think his brother might have wanted to spend time with him. Or perhaps he thought Daniel would leave for good soon and wanted as much time as possible before that. He wasn't sure what to think of that, so he put the thought aside.

Their wall still stood silent in the empty chamber. Daniel touched a fingertip to the little spot in the middle of the painted eye of Ra that looked like a Goa'uld crystal, the red rays of the sun in the illustration reaching down to touch it. "The rays of the sun will reveal all," he read aloud for the hundredth time.

Skaara grabbed the sight from his hands, aimed it at the crystal, and squeezed the switch to shoot a line of red into the wedjat.

"I would have done that," Daniel grumbled.

"Be quiet," Skaara said, concentrating on holding the laser steady.

The stone creaked.

They froze, staring at each other.

The stone creaked again, groaning as it began to move, to swing open like a door on hinges...

The wall opened completely, revealing musty air and another dark chamber beyond it. "Chel nak," Daniel said, laughing aloud and rushing ahead. "Skaara, come, we have to see it!"

"Wait," Skaara said.

"What? No," Daniel protested, not caring that it sounded like he was whining.

Skaara thumped him on the head, picked up a lamp and Daniel's zat'nik'tel, and said, "Have you learned to see in the dark as well? Bring your Tau'ri gun."

"Oh. Right," Daniel said, remembering with chagrin General Hammond's warning to be cautious and running back to pick up his pistol.

...x...

"Ay," Daniel said, looking around the room. "Look! Look at all of this!"

The chamber was empty of people or Goa'uld but full of artifacts. Some of them were similar to the tools and art created today on Abydos, while some were very different--some seemed even to be of cultures distant from Egypt, from other parts of Earth--but all of them were ancient.

When he said as much, Skaara laughed at him. "That is obvious, since this door has not been opened in many years."

Daniel made a face at him. "Look at this writing--the way words are used," he said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose and bending as close as he could to a tiny but elaborate stone sculpture without touching it. "It looks older than anything I have seen on Abydos--as old as the oldest texts I have seen from Egypt on Earth." He moved to another. "What is this--"

He stopped.

"What?" Skaara said, looking around the room as well. Daniel didn't answer. "What?" Skaara repeated, this time coming toward him.

"This is Ancient," Daniel breathed, still staring at a tablet.

Skaara threw his free hand in the air. "You just said that."

"No, no; Anquietas. It means 'Ancient,' but it was a race of people who...well, we do not know who or what they were, exactly. But they fought the Goa'uld--we have been searching for traces of them. Do you know what this means?"

"No," Skaara said. "Do you?"

Daniel paused. "Well. No. But something. It has to mean something."

Footsteps sounded behind him, and Teal'c said, "Daniel Jackson."

"Teal'c, you have to see this!" Daniel said, turning around with a grin. "This is in Ancient--Anquietas! I mean, why would it be here? I have to tell Robert. Can you imagine what he will say when I tell him about this place? Ancient Egypt and SGC research all at once!"

Teal'c didn't answer. He didn't smile, either.

Then Daniel frowned. "Teal'c? What...what are you doing on Abydos?" He chanced a glance at Skaara, who seemed just as surprised as he was. Teal'c wasn't frowning, though--he was...emotionless. Stoic. "Oh--oh no. What happened? Jack? Sam?"

"I came alone," Teal'c said in his accented Abydonian. "I have news that you must hear. The Guards told me I could find you down here."

"Something happened to them," Daniel said, panic rising. "What happened?"

"Major Carter is at Stargate Command. She is unharmed," Teal'c said. "We are uncertain of the fate of Colonel O'Neill."

"What does that mean?" he demanded. "Where is he?"

Teal'c looked around the dim chamber, stale with ancient, musty air and almost too dim to see. "Come outside," he said, then stepped quickly into the main chamber.

Daniel and Skaara both followed, Daniel barely stopping to scoop up his pack first. Teal'c began to explain as they made their way out of the catacombs.

"For over a week, SG-1, accompanied by Dr. Balinsky, was on a planet known by its inhabitants as Edora," Teal'c said, striding up the stairs that would lead them out. "Although they were initially reluctant to trade with us, they seemed amenable after we communicated that we wanted only their unused naquadah. We were finalizing an agreement with them when Major Carter discovered that their planet would undergo a rain of fire. That was four days ago."

"Was she right? Did it happen?" Daniel asked, hoping for once in his life that Sam was wrong. Rain of fire...he had no idea what that was, but there was no way it could be anything good.

"Indeed," Teal'c said grimly. "The rain struck yesterday. Many Edorans chose to evacuate to Earth until it was safe to return. However, O'Neill was delayed during the evacuation. Major Carter and I sent Dr. Balinsky ahead of us and waited until the last possible moment, but we were forced to leave without O'Neill. The Edoran chaapa'ai has been buried."

They emerged into the Stargate room to curious and worried faces, the moons of night just beginning to show themselves in the sky outside. Daniel leaned against the rim of the Stargate, feeling half-numb. "So Jack is still there. But he lives?"

"We cannot know," Teal'c said. "However, I believe he does."

"But the Edoran chaapa'ai is buried. He cannot return."

"The chaapa'ai is buried."

Daniel swallowed, wrapping his arms around himself. "Then...there is no way for us to reach him from our side..." He stopped, staring off into the distance, at the spot where a Tok'ra teltak had landed months ago. "Wait. The Tok'ra have ships."

"Precisely," Teal'c agreed, his voice intent.

"Tok'ra. Tollan. Nox? Do the Nox or...or the Orbanians have ships?"

"We will ask them. The Asgard, as well," Teal'c reminded him. "Major Carter is attempting to devise a method to penetrate the barrier blocking the Stargate. I came to inform you and to ask you to come with me to seek help from our advanced allies in retrieving O'Neill by ship."

"Of course I will help," Daniel said without thinking. It was only when Skaara twitched that he realized it was different now that he wasn't at the SGC, now that he was with his family here--

But was it? Was it any different, really?

Decision time, Jack would have said, but Jack wasn't there, and so there was no choice at all.

He turned to Skaara, took a breath, and said, "A brother of mine is missing. I have to help."

Something flickered in Skaara's expression, and then he nodded solemnly in understanding, with no trace of jokes or smirks. "We will tell Kasuf," he said. "What should we do with the chamber we have just opened?"

Daniel tried to think, but Jack's face kept floating across his mind. It was another moment before he could straighten his thoughts enough to say, "Guard it." Loud enough for the rest of the Guards to hear, he said, "Be careful with what is inside. Do not enter the chamber alone. I will ask my teacher to come. Remind the Tau'ri that this is Abydonian ground, but some things may be very important or dangerous. Perhaps Kasuf, you, or Sha'uri can decide what happens to the artifacts."

Skaara nodded. "We will help them. Will you be coming with...your teacher?"

"Perhaps," Daniel said. "If I can. That is all I can tell you now." He opened his pack and pulled out the notebook he'd been writing in while on Stargate duty. "Give this to the SGC personnel--my notes on the writings in the catacombs are all in this book."

Without warning, Skaara reached up to pull him into a tight embrace. "Be safe, brother," he whispered fiercely. Before Daniel could respond, he turned to Teal'c. "You will protect Dan'yel," he said, part-order and part-question.

Teal'c inclined his head. "I will."

"I will return," Daniel said to Skaara. "But for now...I need to--"

In response, Skaara said firmly, "Come back when you can. Defend us from Tau'ri. I will meet you when you return home."

Daniel decided to take that as his brother's blessing. He straightened his robes, shouldered his pack, and said, in English, "Let's go. I'm ready."

Chapter Text

13 January 2000; Cimmeria; 1820 hrs

The Asgard were the most powerful of all their allies. Perhaps more importantly, Thor liked Jack. Daniel and Teal'c had decided these were good reasons to try Thor first, after a quick trip to base to pick up uniforms and get final instructions. In the rush, Daniel just barely remembered to tell General Hammond about the Abydos secret chamber and to ask for SG-11 to take a look before he left for Cimmeria with Teal'c.

"This way," Teal'c said. when they stepped out of the Stargate, ignoring the scanning beam of Thor's Hammer and heading directly through the surrounding woods.

As they made their way toward the pillar that would take them to the Hall of Thor's Might, Teal'c told him more about what had happened: about the naquadah that had hardened over the Edoran 'gate like an iris, about the particle accelerator Sam was building based on Sokar's past tactics, and about the only way to get to Edora through the Stargate, which seemed to be...

"You're going to dig through rock and...and solid naquadah by yourself?" Daniel said. "On a limited oxygen supply?"

"Indeed," Teal'c said, not looking concerned. Daniel decided he'd just be concerned enough for the both of them put together. If they got a ship to use, they wouldn't have to resort to that.

When they reached the monument that would transport them inside the Hall, Teal'c palmed the stone, and the transportation beam engulfed them.

They were both ready with their flashlights this time, and their eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. Teal'c's light found the stone at the other end first. Daniel watched it, beginning to feel frustrated with the wait, until finally, the hologram of the Viking warrior appeared.

"I am Thor," the hologram said. "You are brave to come before me."

Daniel waited for Jack to roll his eyes and tell the hologram to move it along, please, we're on a schedule here. Teal'c breathed quietly beside him. No one moved or spoke. Daniel sighed.

Once the floor fell away from in front of them, Daniel tried to break the silence by saying, "This was the test of...what was it...true selflessness and bravery, wasn't it? Will it count as being selfless if we know it's not real? I mean, it's just an illusion, right, or does it actually somehow sense intention, as well? I mean, it's not just going to let us walk across, is it?"

Teal'c paused, then stepped onto the narrow ledge. "It is unimportant. Follow me."

When they were near the middle, Teal'c bent down, picked up a pebble, and threw it over the edge. It clattered and fell...and fell...and fell...

"Okay," Daniel said nervously "Maybe it's not just an illusion and it only reverts to being solid ground if we pass the test, and we only pass the test if we show true selflessness, and if we already expect it to--"

Teal'c jumped off the edge.

"Teal'c!" Reacting on instinct bolstered by a jolt of terror, Daniel dove toward him and grabbed frantically at Teal'c as he began to fall over the edge, both of them already being pulled over...

He landed on solid ground, trembling with adrenaline and holding Teal'c's ankle in a death grip. The illusion-but-not-illusion-but-actually-illusion disappeared.

Teal'c pried his fingers away from his ankle, sat up, and regarded him calmly. "Your intentions are honorable, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "However, I would advise against such a maneuver in the future; my weight would undoubtedly have killed us both."

Daniel gaped at him, furious.

Thor's avatar reappeared. "You have shown true selflessness and bravery..." the Viking started.

"I thought you were going to die," Daniel said, ignoring the hologram. "On purpose. I can't believe you did that on purpose. We could've just walked across!"

"We accomplished our task," Teal'c pointed out. Daniel glared at him, then glared at Thor's hologram, which was still talking. "I apologize," Teal'c added, sounding only a little remorseful. "I did not wish to take the risk of simply walking across if intention is indeed judged, and I trusted you to act as you did."

Daniel thought he might have thought of something else with time, but time wasn't something he wanted to waste at the moment, so he conceded, "Fine." He marched to the stone at the other end and touched it to cut the hologram off mid-sentence. The room dissolved around them.

Once they rematerialized, Teal'c said, "Are those the same runes we encountered last time?"

Daniel ran a cursory eye the runes on the wall. Thurisaz, pertho, algiz, hagalaz. "Yeah, same thing," he confirmed. "Three, fourteen, fifteen, nine--the circle."

Teal'c found the wall with geometric shapes and drew a line through the circle. Daniel watched impatiently as the circle faded away to reveal a red stone, and Teal'c reached in to grab it. Movement caught their eye, and they looked back toward the platform to see...

...the hologram of the Viking warrior.

Looks like you got the answering machine, Jack quipped in Daniel's head.

"You have become a great people indeed," Thor's hologram said as Daniel fumed silently next to Teal'c, whose face was frozen in a frown. "I know now of your wisdom and will--"

"Thor, are you there?" Daniel tried yelling. Thor's hologram ignored him, finished talking, and raised an imperious hand. "Oh, no..."

He landed back outside in the Cimmerian forest, watching Teal'c glower. They'd forgotten to take into account the fact that the Asgard lived in another galaxy in the middle of another war. However powerful, they were the least likely to be available; Thor, in fact, had used the only ship available to bring them a warning during the Protected Planets summit last year, and he, the commander of the Asgard fleet, must be even busier than most in wartime.

"We will ask the Tok'ra next," Teal'c said, turning away and already moving off toward the Stargate. "You have interacted with them before, Daniel Jackson. Perhaps you should speak with them; the Tok'ra still appear to be uncertain of Jaffa."

"Is this why you came to Abydos to get me?" Daniel asked, following. "To talk to the Tok'ra."

Teal'c glanced at him. "No."

"Oh," Daniel said. "Thank you."

...x...

13 January 2000; Vorash; 2000 hrs

"Unfortunately," Garshaw said once she'd taken the Edora 'gate address and figured out where it was in relation to Vorash, "the Tok'ra do not have the resources to spare for such efforts."

Lantash was there, too. Martouf most often took control, as the calmer of the two--unusual but not unheard of among the Tok'ra--but Daniel supposed the fact that Lantash wasn't yelling at them already was a sign of good will. "Consider," Lantash said. "Even when we believed Sokar was close to victory, the best ship we had was a damaged teltak. Colonel O'Neill's situation is regrettable but not a high enough priority for us to abandon our current missions."

"Since it was the actions of Colonel O'Neill and his team that saved your own life and killed Sokar, Lantash," Daniel said stiffly, "we hoped you would find his continued survival a priority."

Jacob had taken control from Selmak--usual for them while dealing with the SGC--and said, "Daniel, if there were anything we could do right now, we would. Selmak and I would, ourselves. The fact is, we have very few functioning vessels, all of which are away, and some of which are deep undercover. There is literally nothing we can do."

"Nothing?" Daniel asked.

Apologetically, Jacob said, "Eventually we might, but I don't think you realize how big the galaxy is, Daniel, or how far away Edora is."

"But...hyperdrives--"

"Hyperdrives still aren't instantaneous. Even if we had the resources, which we don't, it would take over a year to get there. It's just not feasible right now. You understand?"

Daniel swallowed. "Yes, sir."

"The Tok'ra appreciate the efforts of the Tau'ri," Garshaw added, "but there are some things that are simply not in our power. We will, of course, inform you immediately if a solution becomes available to us."

"We understand, Garshaw," Teal'c said.

"I am sorry about Colonel O'Neill," Selmak said sincerely. "We hope you find him."

...x...

13 January 2000; Orban; 2100 hrs

"No, we do not have interplanetary travelling capabilities without the Stargate," Kalan said. A boy they didn't recognize stepped forward. "But we gain knowledge and progress quickly. Please explain these 'ships' to Loman."

"Maybe...some other time," Daniel said, uncomfortable in their presence.

"Do you want to see the playground?" Kalan asked enthusiastically.

Teal'c looked just as discomfited. "We cannot. Our time is short."

...x...

13 January 2000; Tollana; 2230 hrs

Daniel wanted to try the Nox homeworld--their Stargate had to have been unburied for Lya to attend Skaara's Triad. On the other hand, it was also possible that the Tollan simply had very long-range communications devices, and the Nox had unburied the 'gate for that short time only. Teal'c suggested that they not try it and risk being smashed to death.

So by the time they arrived on Tollana and Narim escorted them to stand before High Chancellor Travell, Daniel was ready to scream. "It will take a year?" he said. "But...Your Eminence--"

"We have been experiencing difficulties of our own," Travell said, looking down from her seat above him. "We cannot spare all of our resources at the moment."

Daniel was aware of Teal'c's subtle shift, a brush against his arm telling him to stay calm, and Teal'c took a step forward to say, "Colonel O'Neill and his team saved your homeworld. You said that you owed the SGC a debt; we are asking that you help him now."

For some reason Daniel didn't really understand and didn't really care about at all, Travell's usual unfeeling smile had been replaced by a thoughtful expression. "You are saying that Colonel O'Neill has been cut off from your Stargate," she repeated.

"From our Stargate and from all other interplanetary travel or communication," Daniel clarified. "The last time we were here, Colonel O'Neill acted for the wellbeing of the Tollan people, Your Eminence, despite many accusations. Now his life may be in danger, and we need your help."

"Please wait here," Travell said, standing. "I will consult with the rest of the Curia."

When the door slid shut behind her, Daniel crossed his arms and watched the door, wondering how long they'd have to wait for it to open again. Behind him, Teal'c was asking Narim, "What are the difficulties of which High Chancellor Travell spoke?"

"Are they more difficult than having your ion cannons explode while you watch a Goa'uld try to kill all of you?" Daniel said snidely. Teal'c frowned at him. He looked at his feet but didn't feel like apologizing.

"Your question is understandable," Narim said. "However, they are affairs of the Tollan."

"I just don't understand why it would affect your ability to help Jack," Daniel said as politely as he could manage. A guilt trip or verbal sniping were the wrong tactics for dealing with the Tollan. "Surely your ships have hyperdrives that could reach Edora in less time?"

"A number of our ships have...sustained damage, you might say," Narim said. "That is all that I can say for the moment."

"Major Carter is attempting to build a particle beam generator to free the Stargate enough to reach Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c said. "Can the Tollan help us in that matter?"

"We do not possess such a device," Narim hedged.

"But it would go faster if you helped her build one, yes?" Daniel said.

"We cannot help to develop technology," Narim reminded. "It is against our policy."

Daniel bit his tongue when he heard Jack's voice in his head ranting about stubborn, pig-headed, cocky, arrogant, ungrateful...

The door slid open. Travell entered again, this time holding something in her hands that reminded Daniel of the device that had served as his summons to Triad. "The Tollan cannot immediately provide the aid you need to retrieve Colonel O'Neill," Travell said. "In a few weeks, we should have a vessel repaired that can be sent to search for him, which would reach Edora less than a year after that."

The Tollan were the last people they could ask. "Please," Daniel begged. "If your ships aren't ready, please at least help us to build the technology needed to free Edora's Stargate."

"The particle beam generator will be built, with or without you," Teal'c added. "Your help would only change how long Colonel O'Neill must be stranded."

Daniel wanted to drop to his knees, clasp his hands, offer something to show that he was willing to do anything if they would do this one thing for him. For Jack.

But the Tollan respected propriety and dignity and composure more than emotional appeals. Daniel knew that--knowing that was his job when they were in the field--so he straightened his spine, looked Travell in the eye, and said, "Please, your Eminence."

Still, his voice must have betrayed something, and, for once, her expression softened. "The Tollan have reached our current level of society by being uncompromising of our principles," she said gently. "We cannot change that now, regardless of the situation, but we will send a ship to Edora as soon as we are able to do so. Your personnel are, of course, welcome here at any time."

XXXXX

14 January 2000; Briefing Room, SGC; 0000 hrs

"The Tollan can have a ship in that part of the galaxy in just under a year," Daniel told the general. "The Tok'ra don't have the manpower or the ships to make the journey right now, and if or when they do, it will take at least that long, as well."

"The Asgard could not be reached," Teal'c added, "but Major Carter has said that their hyperdrives appear to be superior to Goa'uld technology. We have seen the Asgard cross the galaxy in a short time. Perhaps we can return to Cimmeria and attempt to reach them again."

General Hammond folded his hands on the table. "There's no point in going now, unless you're going to camp out there and try every few minutes. Give it some time before you try again."

"Do we know how long it will take for the particle beam generator to be done?" Daniel asked.

"Major Carter estimates three to four months. It depends on how fast they can work and how well their testing goes," the general said. "She doesn't want to rush and make a mistake--once we use it, whoever tries to dig through the rest of the rock will only get one chance." Daniel chanced a look at Teal'c, whose expression was unreadable. "All right. Teal'c, Major Carter is in her lab--could you let her know what happened?"

Daniel checked his watch. "She is, still? It's...late."

"I will also remind her of that," Teal'c said, standing with a small bow and leaving the room.

Then the general turned to Daniel. "Dr. Rothman was enthusiastic about the Abydos research prospects--SG-11 is already there. Do you know anything about this place you found?"

The only thing Daniel's frozen brain could think of to say was, "Jack's missing."

With a sigh, the general said, "And anyone who can possibly help in bringing him back will be doing so, but this doesn't look like something that will be resolved in a day, or a week. Our operations have to go on in the meantime, Mr. Jackson."

Daniel looked down. "Yes, sir. And...no, sir, I can't tell you very much about the chamber. We took the laser sight from one of the guns and, uh...basically, there's a crystal of some sort on the wall in question, triggered to open by a focused, red light. There are a lot of artifacts inside, some of which look Abydonian, but, as I mentioned earlier--"

"There's something in Ancient there, too," the general finished.

"Yes. We'd opened it literally less than a minute before Teal'c came, or I might be able to tell you more. I did leave my notes with Skaara to give to Robert."

"Any guesses?"

Daniel hesitated, then admitted, "Not really, yet. The text on the walls suggests that Ra put them in there, not a being of some other race. Without translating that tablet or knowing more about the place, I don't know what a Goa'uld was doing with an Ancient tablet or why he wanted to hide it...and there's a lot more I wasn't able to see."

"All right," the general said. "So. What will you do now?"

He bit his lips. "There's nothing I can do for Jack, is there?"

General Hammond shook his head. "I think we just need to wait for Major Carter now."

"Do you need me here, sir?" Daniel asked.

"We certainly have a place for you," the general said. "You could resume your previous duties--you don't need me to tell you how much of an asset you are to us. But if you choose to stay on Abydos with your family instead, the SGC won't collapse, either, and we'll stay in contact."

This was it, then. As it turned out, the choice was obvious--not easy, perhaps, but simple. For all he had tried to deny it to himself--and to Skaara--he had made the choice already.

"I'd like to stay," Daniel said. "I think it was only a matter of time before I came back, anyway."

"Is this just until Colonel O'Neill's return?"

Daniel shook his head. "My brother and sister are safe. If you can use me, I think I can do more good here, at least until the Goa'uld are defeated."

"That might be a while," the general said. "Years, possibly not even in my lifetime. You'll have opportunities to go to Abydos, of course, but I need to make sure you know what you're committing to, so I'll ask again: are you sure?"

"Yes, sir," Daniel said firmly. "This is my choice." In a way, it was liberating to choose this as a job or a way of life instead of something he'd been thrown into. "I would just ask permission to check on Abydos first to collaborate with SG-11 and ask if they need my help there."

The general raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't mind being here on Earth while a mission is ongoing on Abydos?"

"Robert's the expert and the one best suited for that type of mission," Daniel said. "If I'm working here, he's my only direct supervisor until Jack...well. If Robert needs help on Abydos, I can stay there, or if he or you want me here, I can do that, too. Since he's going to be away and SG-1 is on stand-down...if you need an extra person, I'll do whatever I can. Whatever you need."

Moreover, Sam was going to be working without pause for the next three months, and he wanted to keep up to date with her progress and make sure she didn't forget to sleep, too. Abydos was safe, and if staying at the SGC would let him do some good and keep an eye on Teal'c and Sam to make sure no one else went missing, he'd take that. He wanted to be here when Jack returned, and lingering on Abydos was just going to make it harder to come back.

General Hammond raised a fist to cover a yawn, and Daniel realized the hour was late for everyone, and that they'd probably been agonizing over Edora for much longer than he. "Your belongings would be at Colonel O'Neill's house, is that correct? I'll have someone drive you there to pick them up."

"Actually, sir, maybe I could check on his house? At least...mail and things like that. If I can get a ride back to base in the morning--well, later this morning--could I spend the night there?"

The general looked indecisive for a moment, and then said, "I don't see why not. Gather what you need and get some rest while you're there. Make sure the doors and windows are locked. I'll send you to Abydos in the morning to tie up any loose ends, and you can report back when you're done."

XXXXX

14 January 2000; O'Neill/Jackson Residence, Earth; 0100 hrs

"You'll be picked up at 0800, Mr. Jackson," the man in the car told him when they pulled up outside Jack's house.

"Thank you, Airman," Daniel replied automatically. He braced himself for the cold and dashed out of the car and to the front door, still in his BDUs--his coat would be inside the house. Even going as fast as he could, the bottoms of his trousers were damp from snow and his fingers trembling when he reached the door and tried to fit the key in, although he couldn't have said whether that was from the cold or from reaction to...well, everything.

By the time he wrestled his way in and slammed the door shut behind him to trap the cold out, he decided he could use a bit of time to deal with the shivers and slid down to sit with his back to the door. The house was dark, and Daniel took a moment to panic when he couldn't remember where the light switch was. Then he noticed the snow melting off his boots and onto the floor and shook himself. He stood, locked the door, and flipped on the switch next to his head.

There, he thought, methodically taking off his boots and snow-wet socks and searching for a towel to wipe up the water. Easy.

Jack had left a mug and the coffeepot in the sink and some rancid takeout on the table. Daniel wandered through the kitchen and the rest of the house, looking for things to clean up and put away. If SG-1 had been on Edora for over a week, Jack probably hadn't come home in quite a while, and the contents of his kitchen showed it.

Daniel hesitated with the refrigerator open. Things would start to go bad in the next three months. And then, there might be other things that usually had to be taken care of over time that he knew nothing about. What did Tau'ri usually do in situations like this?

"I'll ask Sam," he said aloud to a mostly-empty and very sour carton of milk as he poured it down the drain. "No, Sam's busy. Maybe Robert." Who was off-world. "Or Ferretti. Someone will know what to do." The milk glugged at him in response. Daniel sighed and threw the carton away. The house was too quiet.

As Jack had promised, everything Daniel owned on Earth was still packed neatly in three boxes that sat in the middle of his bedroom. He'd be getting out of the Mountain even less than before with Jack gone (just temporarily), so he emptied one of the boxes and repacked it with a few sets of civilian clothes, books, and essentials.

See? Jack's voice teased in his mind. Told you. You couldn't stay away.

"But now you might be dead," Daniel retorted.

Then he had to stop and sit down on the bed for a minute to catch his breath before continuing to flip through his belongings. It was unnerving to have the house so quiet, but it still felt stupid and a little crazy to talk aloud to no one, so he stopped. He'd never been alone, and out of radio range, in a building off-world before--

He shook his head. He needed to reorient himself once again. Tau'ri wasn't off-world. Tau'ri--Earth--was a home now. This was his home, and there were things he needed to take care of.

It was almost three o'clock when Daniel decided he'd finished what he could and should try to sleep before returning to work tomorrow. A quarter-hour after that, he remembered that there was a mailbox outside the house and climbed back out of bed, digging his coat out of the box. He gathered together the envelopes Jack had received and slipped them into his bag so he could ask someone on base what he should do with them, then crawled back into bed.

Then he remembered the answering machine and crawled back out.

And then he thought of the trash, by which point the bed had lost its appeal. The trash bin was partially buried in a few inches of snow, so after he got his pants wet again by treading through the snow in the driveway, he gave up completely on sleep. He set coffee to brew, because Jack wasn't there to tell him not to, and pulled his laptop out.

There was a lot of e-mail--everything circulating through Archaeo-Linguistics and messages sent to all personnel on base, to all field, research, or diplomatic personnel, or to all personnel with clearance above a certain level...everything had piled up in his account.

He settled at the kitchen table to begin skimming through a month of memos, reminders, and general comments about projects. At least, he decided ruefully as he poured himself real, brewed coffee for the first time in weeks, he'd have an idea of what was happening on base these days.

At five in the morning, Captain Hagman sent a department-wide message to ask for a second opinion on some Ancient translation he'd been working on, so Daniel responded and occupied himself in a long e-mail conversation, which turned out to be one of the more entertaining conversations he'd had with the man, mostly because they were both sleep-deprived.

'Wait are you still on Abydos?' Hagman typed in his seventh e-mail back to him after they'd settled on an answer to that particular Ancient question. 'how did you pulg in your laptop?'

'Yes, I'm still lightyrs away,' Daniel typed back. 'Didn't you hear about the internet connection Maj. Carter set up across wormholes?'

The response said, 'but theres no wormhole open'

Daniel felt puerile and snickered at his laptop as he drained his coffee cup.

'never mind, I get it,' Hagman wrote back a minute later. 'welcome back, BTW I'm putting all Ancient stuff they stuck me with on your desk. Hope you can find your desk under all the paper.'

'Thanks and you're welcome,' Daniel answered.

When a car pulled up at eight, Daniel sighed in relief, put away his laptop, and grabbed his pack and box, remembering to lock the door behind him.

XXXXX

14 January 2000; Pyramid Catacombs, Abydos; 0930 hrs

From the main chamber, Daniel could hear Robert's voice inside the secret room, but it was Skaara who noticed him first. "You look like a mastadge tried to eat you, then dragged you all the way from here to the village," Skaara informed him.

Daniel managed a laugh at the image. "What has been happening?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Skaara continued studying him solemnly and asked, "O'Neill?"

"There is nothing I can do for him now," Daniel said as steadily as he could. "Major Carter is building a machine that will help us to reach him, but it will take a lot of time."

Skaara nodded, then gestured toward SG-11, switching to English in deference to Lieutenant Sanchez and Sergeant Loder, who were both listening. "They arrived at nightfall. Dr. Rothman used the night to read your notes and talk to me. They began to work just now. And you?"

"If Dr. Rothman can use my help here, I'll stay," Daniel said hesitantly, "and...if he needs me to go back to the SGC, I'll go back."

"Ah," Skaara said, understanding his meaning. He sighed but didn't argue, only turning to lead Daniel toward Ra's chamber. "I thought you would say that. Come--he is in here."

As expected, Robert was more excited than Daniel could ever remember seeing him, although, to be fair, they rarely took in-depth research missions together, so maybe he was always like this. "Oh, man," he said once Daniel stepped in, "this is like...it's..." He waved his arms, grinning.

"Yeah, I know," Daniel said. "Just, uh, remember this is Nagadan territory. If we want to take anything, we need permission from Kasuf, or Sha'uri or Skaara if he's not around."

"I'm an archaeologist, not a thief," Robert said indignantly, but he was still looking around the room happily. "Most of the time, anyway. We'll get permission. No idea what this place is?"

"A hidden cache of...things," Daniel said.

"Oh, well, that's helpful."

"Then no, I don't really know. Listen, I need to do a few things around here--I never finished weapons maintenance upstairs, for one--but after that...do you want me here on Abydos or on base?"

That caught Robert's attention. "You're staying on Earth?"

"I'm staying with the SGC," Daniel said, and as soon as he did, he knew that was right. The SGC was based on Tau'ri but was so estranged from most of the planet that it was a unique society in and of itself, not fully entrenched in any planet's culture. It wasn't so different from Daniel himself. "As the Abydos liaison, of course, but..." He glanced at Skaara, hovering nearby. "I can be useful there."

"Yeah," Robert said. "So--" He stopped, then went on, "Okay. It'll take a while to catalogue all this. We're gonna go through every item here and make sure nothing's dangerous, and then let the Abydons in to see what they say about the rest. Finish your other business on Abydos, stick around and help us for a couple of days, and then head back to the SGC and pick up other projects. God knows we're falling behind again."

...x...

So after Daniel and Skaara finished cleaning twenty years of dirt out of the guns, he settled back down on the floor against a wall of the secret chamber with the Ancient tablet and a flashlight, a few Ancient and Latin references and a notebook spread in front of him.

Robert seemed to enjoy ordering SG-11 around. Major Hawkins rolled his eyes but took it in stride, and for his part, Robert didn't seem to notice when someone ignored him and listened to Hawkins instead in non-archaeological matters. It was a different dynamic from SG-1's, but it worked. Skaara walked through the room, peering curiously at the artifacts. Daniel focused on his task and relaxed into the white noise of people walking and talking quietly and occasional beeping sounds from a camera.

When Robert checked on him a few minutes later, he commented, "This is really ancient."

Robert raised his eyebrows. "You mean ancient, ancient, or ancient ancient?"

Daniel almost pointed out irritably that he couldn't hear capitalized letters but instead clarified, "It looks like a really old dialect of Anquietas. Take a look?" He handed over his notebook, containing the copied Ancient script and first-glance suggestions for the translation.

After a minute, Robert said, "Well...huh. 'Anqeetta.' Same as Anquietas, you think, just an older dialect?"

"I've been assuming that for now, but gaining a final 's' over time, and a long vowel only going through half a change...I don't know," Daniel said. "Seems unnatural."

"Maybe it's not a long vowel; it could be two individual ones. Or it's just written differently."

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe there were changes in sound, morphology, and orthography. Or..." Daniel sighed. "Or it's a different word entirely."

"We've never been able to determine whether Ancient is as homogeneous as the Goa'uld language across planets," Robert said. "It could be another dialect synchronic with other Ancient samples we've found, but from another part of the galaxy. Or another galaxy, who knows."

"I think there's actually a date here, which would be helpful, but I'm having trouble figuring out what it's relative to," Daniel said. "This is...probably going to take a while."

"That's okay," Robert said, handing the notes back. "Do what you can here; there are more references on Earth to check it against. If it's too busy back on base, put that on the backburner for now. Hey, can you go check in with the SGC--just let them know what's going on."

Daniel carefully set the tablet down and left to report their progress to the general.

...x...

16 January 2000; Pyramid Catacombs, Abydos; 1800 hrs

"I'm due back on base in three hours," Daniel said two days later. Several artifacts that were clearly not of Abydonian origin were being packed onto a FRED for him to take back while the rest of SG-11 stayed to continue examining the chamber. "Can I stop by Cimmeria first?"

Robert raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"To try to contact the Asgard again," Daniel said, turning to Hawkins. "Major?"

Hawkins pursed his lips. "Yeah, okay. Leave the FRED in the 'gate room. Loder, go with him, then bring him back here before his time's up." When Daniel opened his mouth to protest, Hawkins said, "You've got a reputation, Jackson. Stay within sight of Sergeant Loder."

With a sigh, Daniel thought that Jack would've trusted him not to run away--Daniel had only ever done that when he wasn't trusted to do the logical thing in the first place--but agreed.

...x...

Even expecting it, this time, when Thor failed to appear and his Viking hologram started to say, "You have become a great people indeed..." Daniel stuck his hand directly through the hologram's eye as he reached for the stone to beam them out.

XXXXX

17 January 2000; Major Ferretti's Office, SGC; 1100 hrs

"Do you have a minute, Major?" Daniel asked as he knocked on Ferretti's open door.

"Yeah, sure," Ferretti said, standing and waving him in. "What do you need?"

"Well," he said, "this is...kind of...it's not to do with work. I just...have a question, and I'd ask Robert or Sam, but he's away and she's a little, uh..."

"Overworked?" Ferretti suggested. "Yeah, so I hear. Go ahead, ask away."

Daniel pushed up his glasses and said quickly, "I went to Jack's house, and there were bills in the mail, and I don't know how people usually pay for them, so...I mean, I'll take care of them, but I was wondering if you could just help me...learn how it works. Sorry to bother you, but I don't know...uh."

Ferretti's eyebrows had shot up. "You sure you can cover it? If he misses a few payments while he's on duty, I'm sure it can be reimbursed later."

"It'll be less for him to deal with if--when he gets back, so there'll be power in the house and everything," Daniel said. "Besides, I'm living there, too, and it's not like I actually use money for much of anything most of the time--I should be able to cover a few months." And if this went on for more than a few months...well, that probably wouldn't happen. A lot of things would have to change if it did.

"Do you have an account somewhere?" Ferretti said.

"Yes, Jack set it up months ago--it's like Teal'c's, and everything goes in automatically, so I've never actually dealt with it before..." He dug out the papers he'd gone to Accounting to request that morning. "You don't mind?"

"He's my friend, too," Ferretti pointed out. "You know, anytime you need a ride to his house or anything else, just ask me, all right? C'mere, sit--it's not that complicated. Mostly, you just need to sort out the papers and find which numbers are the important ones."

...x...

Later, Ferretti said, "SG-12's translator has a bad case of pneumonia."

"Yeah, I heard," Daniel said, putting all the papers away. Captain Dertram was one of the Egyptian specialists, and Daniel had spent the last night finishing one of his more time-sensitive projects.

"Well, we were gonna sit out until he was better, but all the first-contact teams are stretched a little thin without SG-1," Ferretti said. "We can go it without him, but are there any other translators free who are approved for general exploration? There's a planet we were supposed to check out the day after tomorrow..."

Daniel grimaced. "None available at the moment, aside from me. Like you said, everyone's busy. Um...I can ask some of the civilians if they're willing. Or SG-14 is due back in a few days, I think. If you can wait, Lieutenant Astor's area of specialty is close to Captain Dertram's, and they're a second-line team, so their schedule might still be fairly light."

"Well, that just means someone else'll want Astor when she gets back," Ferretti said, narrowing his eyes. "You're approved? What am I saying--you were with SG-1. Of course you are."

"You want me to go with you?" Daniel said, surprised, but eager, too--if he'd been restless on Abydos, it was worse to sit on base and be useless, knowing Jack wouldn't be there for months, at least, if he was alive at all.

Not that Jack was dead.

Besides, he knew Ferretti and had served as many or more missions under the major's command, back in the early days, as he had under Jack. Teal'c was still taking missions with other teams if they requested extra manpower; maybe Daniel could do the same until his team was back together.

"If you're allowed, sure," Ferretti was saying. "MALP showed Egyptian hieroglyphs, which I know you know."

Daniel nodded. "I'd love to. But, uh...will the others on your team mind?"

Ferretti shrugged. "Nah. I'll vouch for you."

XXXXX

19 January 2000; P3T-314; 0900 hrs

Daniel started the trip with SG-12 already grumpy from a headache that he hadn't had enough time to drown with caffeine, but he made an effort to be particularly polite. He hadn't worked with Ferretti since the man had commanded SG-2, and by the time SG-12 had formed, Daniel had already started gravitating toward SG-1--these men didn't know him personally at all.

The first thing he learned with SG-12 was that the last time many people had heard from him, there had been rumors that he'd read something until he went insane, stolen a Tok'ra cargo ship to blow up Hell, and gotten deported to Abydos after being convicted at a Tollan trial. Everyone knew that was twisted somewhere, of course, but not everyone knew where, and even the truth wasn't exactly simple.

The second thing he learned was that Ferretti had very sharp ears for people whispering about rumors. The rest of SG-12 learned this at the same time that Daniel did.

"Sorry about them," Ferretti told Daniel, scowling at Lieutenant Whalley and Captain Haller once the other two stopped talking quietly among themselves.

Where were all the people on this planet? They'd been finding tracks that Haller said were fairly recent, as well as a couple of artifacts that were clearly manmade, but they'd passed the first set of footprints nearly three hours ago and hadn't found anyone yet.

"They're not completely wrong," Daniel allowed, looking around. "Besides, Jack says I need to grow another several years before people stop looking at me sideways just on principle."

Ferretti laughed. "I think they'll still be looking at you sideways when you're forty. You take some getting used to, Jackson." He slowed and dropped his smile. "Hey, what's that thing mean? That's gotta be a sign of life around here."

Daniel looked to where Ferretti was pointing, then sucked in an alarmed breath when he saw the symbol. "Korosh-ni. The Mask of Korosh-ni. We have to get out of here--we have to go back!"

"What?" Whalley said. "Why?"

"The...the...the atmosphere," Daniel said. "Radiation, and...uh...something. I don't know the details, but Major, we really have to leave. That symbol means they poisoned the atmosphere."

"Shit," said Haller, who had taken out a meter and was staring at its readout. "He's right, sir, the radiation levels are--"

"Let's go," Ferretti ordered, not waiting to hear the rest. "Back to the 'gate!"

...x...

"That was anticlimactic," Daniel said as he and SG-12 sat around the infirmary.

"That was lucky that you didn't stay any longer," Janet admonished. "All of your blood counts are lower than I'd like, but you should be fine in a few days--you probably won't even feel anything. Just in case, check in here every day until your counts are back to normal."

"But we have another mission in four days," Haller said.

"And if your blood counts are up by then," Janet said, "you can go. I'd like you all to rest as much as possible for the rest of the day, at least."

The general was standing by, too, and asked Ferretti, "Any idea exactly what happened?"

"Not really, sir," Ferretti said. "The people must've lived some distance from the 'gate; they might've died of radiation poisoning or whatever else in their homes without knowing what was happening. What was the symbol...the mask of...?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "The Mask of Korosh-ni. It's the same one that Teal'c identified on P3R-233," he added to General Hammond. "Apparently, it's a common code among the Serpent Guards--"

"Apophis," the general said grimly. "He's starting his attacks again."

"But other Goa'uld and Jaffa know the symbol, too, so we can't be sure which one was there."

The general nodded. "We'll lock that address out of the system, then."

"Doc, what about him?" Ferretti said, looking worriedly at Daniel. "He's had a headache--"

"I'm still getting used to the twenty-four-hour days again," Daniel interrupted. "That's all."

Later, when everyone had left, Janet caught Daniel's arm and said, "Are these stress headaches?" Daniel shrugged uncomfortably. "I know you might be having a hard time with Colonel O'Neill away," she said, "but don't overwork, get enough sleep... You know the drill. He'd tell you the same."

"I'm okay," he insisted.

Firmly, Janet said, "I can't have you and Sam competing to see who'll collapse first. If nothing else, then for my sake, just be responsible. All right?" Hearing it in that light, Daniel nodded and made himself lie down in his quarters to try to sleep.

XXXXX

10 February 2000; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1400 hrs

Daniel looked up when someone walked into the office. "Hi," Cameron Balinsky said, moving to scan the shelves.

"H'lo," Daniel mumbled back, but every time he tried to focus on Ra's Ancient tablet--on which he was still making only small and intermittent progress--he found himself glancing up at the back of the archaeologist's head.

Finally, Cameron turned self-consciously and said, "What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Well, no, actually...you were there during the Edora fire rain, yeah?"

"Yeah," Cameron said, paling. He looked a little sick at the reminder, and Daniel remembered that the man was still in his trial period for fieldwork. "I--there was nothing we could do--"

"No, right, I know, but...I'm not blaming you or anything. I just. Cameron, can I ask you something?"

His expression serious, the archaeologist nodded. "'Course."

"Do you think it's possible?" Daniel asked. Sam and Teal'c...he trusted them, of course, but they were less than objective in this case. He wanted--needed--to hear it from someone else. "I mean, do you think Colonel O'Neill's alive?"

"It...it's definitely possible," Cameron said, and Daniel made sure he didn't allow his relief to show. "Teal'c and I found some caves--there were layers that showed a cyclic pattern of meteor strikes and evidence that people have survived it in the past."

"Okay." He took a deep breath and let it release slowly. This had happened before, and people had survived. Jack was good at surviving. "Good. Uh, was their language similar to anything?"

"Try Proto-Celtic," Cameron said, relaxing into the discussion. "Some Italic influence. You want to learn it?" Daniel nodded. "I'll send you a copy of my cultural and linguistic report and point you to some references. Our refugees were sent to the Land of Light until Edora's dug out, too--if you want, you can come with me next time I go to check on them."

"Thank you," Daniel said gratefully.

"Actually, did you want to take over that duty, since you're back? It's just checking in with them every so often to make sure they don't need anything. I'm working more closely with Colonel Dixon for permanent assignment these days, and we're getting busier than usual. I mean, just if you want,"  he added. "I can do it."

"No, I can do that," Daniel assured him. "Thanks, Cameron."

When Cameron returned the book to the shelf an hour later, Daniel said, "Can I ask your opinion on something? Does 'city of the lost' hold any particular meaning to you?"

"Not...really. Like a city of lost people?" Cameron said. "Dead, or directionally challenged?"

Daniel made a face at the tablet. "There's something about a 'contagio,' which I'm thinking..."

"Sickness, plague," Cameron filled in. "Yeah, I'm gonna say that's not a good city."

"Right," Daniel said, but he wasn't completely convinced of that. Certainly, the tablet implied it was something significant--well, if he was reading it right, anyway, which was a big assumption. But there had to be a reason Ra had been interested in it. "And then it says the people...they..."

"They what?"

"They...something," he sighed. "Akieetenti. Even that might not be right--the tablet's worn, and I'm not even sure of which letters are on it."

"I have no idea what that is, sorry," Cameron said. "Maybe it's accendere. They...went up. Maybe they took up rock climbing."

Daniel snorted. "Right. Well, thanks anyway."

"Sure," Cameron said. "Next Monday, Edoran refugees, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you," Daniel said again, then went back to work.

XXXXX

4 March 2000; PK4-297; 1700 hrs

"I don't get it," Captain Freeman said as Daniel and SG-2 trudged back after three days of looking for anything and finding nothing. The Stargate was just coming into view.

"Maybe everyone abandoned the planet," Captain Griff suggested halfheartedly, then raised an eyebrow in Daniel's direction. "So much for needing a translator, huh."

"Yeah," Daniel said. He'd been glad to be asked to fill the injured Captain Pierce's spot but was now disappointed at having found no one. "I don't get it, either. Didn't it look like--"

"Get down!" Major Coburn yelled. They dropped immediately to the ground. A staff blast sizzled on a rock behind Captain Griff, and Daniel looked around hurriedly to see whether to rise to his feet or crawl. "Ambush! Back to the 'gate!"

Staff weapons were priming around them, and Jaffa were appearing out of nowhere, closing in as if to stop them from reaching the Stargate.

Not enough, though, to have them totally surrounded. The Jaffa's numbers were too sparse not to take the chance and sprint.

Daniel reached down to his thigh and pulled his weapon as he ran, turning to the closest target. He only realized what he was doing when one of his bullets struck an unprotected face, and then it was red and splatters and an agonized scream, and a man was dead on the ground.

He froze in shock for an instant, and then a hand pulled him behind a large rock.

"Nice shot, kid," Captain Freeman said. Before he could answer, Freeman rose a few inches, shooting over the top of their cover before ducking back behind it. "Stay down, watch our backs," Freeman said, then rose and fired again.

Daniel glanced out from around Freeman to see Coburn and Griff spread out as well, not quite as close to the Stargate as he and Freeman were...and then rustling sounds made him turn, raising his gun before he could think, and--one, two, three shots--another Jaffa down. Not dead, but shot in the hip where Teal'c had shown him a weak spot between the armored plates, and Daniel stared at the man writhing only meters from him and thought he should end it, because a lamed Jaffa would be left for dead by his comrades anyway but could still pick up a staff weapon and fight. He didn't know when he'd pulled the trigger, but suddenly there was a spray of blood patterning the Jaffa's face and Daniel was staring at a dead man instead of a wounded one.

"Sir," Freeman yelled into his radio, "we can't hold them!"

Griff's voice crackled back, "I don't have a clear path to the DHD, but I can make a run for it!"

Another Jaffa to the side made Daniel turn--Cronus, he noticed, distracted by the tattoo and striking only unyielding armor once, twice, until Freeman's bullets joined his and the black Cronus tattoo was ground into the dirt. Someone was dead behind that one, and Daniel didn't even know if he'd shot him by accident or if Freeman had done it.

"Major, give me the word!" Griff again, sounding almost irritated now, which meant he was seconds away from taking the initiative, orders or no. He'd take the chance--of course he would; he was Griff--but it was the wrong choice, tactically. Coburn was hesitating, because he had to know it, too.

"Sir, I'll go," Daniel heard himself volunteer, not sure when he'd reached up to his radio. "I can get to the DHD!"

"I'm ready to go, sir!" Griff added. His head appeared from behind his cover long enough to meet Daniel's eyes.

The choice was made now, and Daniel threw back, "Sir, I'm a worse shot and a better sprinter!"

"Jackson, get ready to move," Coburn ordered, no time to argue or squabble when the Jaffa were moving closer, spreading out, snaking behind their meager cover... "On my mark, stay low and run--everyone cover him. I repeat, cover fire! Mark!"

Daniel dashed out from behind his rock, hearing the others begin to fire all at once as he sprinted.

"Jackson!" Griff bellowed just as he'd almost reached the device.

Daniel dropped to the side without a second thought, then threw an arm over his eyes to protect them as the staff blast exploded against the base of the DHD just in front of his face.

Someone was yelling as he grabbed the DHD rim, pulling himself just high enough to reach and dial Earth's familiar address as much by touch as by sight and slap a palm on the crystal. The vortex whooshed outward, and Daniel scrambled behind the DHD, knowing it was a little safer there--any trained Jaffa would hesitate in shooting rather than risk damaging the DHD.

"Go!" Freeman's voice said through the radio. "Iris is op--agh!" Daniel peeked out in time to see Freeman's form tumble backward.

"Fire in the hole!" Coburn's voice said. Not having seen where or what or when, Daniel nonetheless ducked back down, covering his head with his arms. A grenade exploded in the distance, and when Daniel looked back up, there was a brief silence and smoke and some fire and many more Jaffa lying still on the ground than before--

A sound made him twist around in the other direction to see a staff weapon aimed no more than a foot from his chest with more Jaffa emerging from farther back. Unthinkingly, he flung himself to the side and raised his pistol at the same time, pulling the trigger even as he saw the Jaffa fire his staff weapon.

From so close, the energy blast left him dazzled and half-blinded. Something slammed fire hot into his leg, and then something heavy crushed the right side of his body into the ground--gods, it was wet and hot, a Jaffa was bleeding to death on his arm, and he still couldn't really see, but unless he'd wounded the symbiote, he had to get out before the symbiote got him, get out get out get out--

Daniel blinked watering eyes and tugged hard on his pinned arm, pushing away with his free hand and trying to shove the armored man off himself. Before he could see what was happening, the weight disappeared. Someone grabbed him roughly under the arm, and Daniel yelled, twisting away from the blurry form--

"It's me, it's me!" Griff yelled, still firing with one hand. Daniel stopped fighting and pushed himself up, except his left leg was trembling and refused to obey him, so he held on as tight as he could as Griff dragged him through the wormhole--

...x...

"Comin' in hot!" Griff called, still pulling Daniel along and finally lowering his gun. "We need medics!"

"Let go," Daniel said through gritted teeth, trying to take more of his own weight. The lights were even brighter in here, but the spots were slowly clearing from Daniel's eyes as the SGC 'gate room came into focus. "I can--"

"Shut up," Griff growled, then, "Down!"

Breath whooshed out of him as he was pushed forcibly to the ramp, Griff's body over his, but he didn't complain when he saw the staff blast fly over their heads to crash on the concrete behind them. No longer in the thick of the battle, he closed his eyes and felt pain in his left leg build until he had to clench his fists to keep from gasping aloud.

"Close the iris!" Major Coburn yelled as he came through, a limp form slung over his shoulders.

The iris closed. The wormhole disengaged.

"Get off," Daniel said, trying to squirm out from under Griff. "C-captain..."

"What've we got?" Janet said as her team rushed in, followed by the general. She ran an eye over all of them as Coburn began a quick report, then crouched at Freeman's side, leaving two medics to look after Daniel.

"This your blood, Mr. Jackson?" one of the medics said.

He had to look to see what she was pointing at. Then he remembered his right arm was sticky and red and wet, but while it ached, it didn't seem to be seriously hurt. "Not mine," he said, but by then, she'd already figured that out and moved on.

"I think it's his leg--I saw a staff blast," Griff said. "You get hit, Jackson?"

"Guess so," Daniel said. "But it doesn't feel that bad--" He broke off with a pained grimace as he shifted wrong against the metal. "Ow," he breathed, his leg burning and his head spinning. The medic carefully pulled away the charred cloth near Daniel's knee, and he bit his lip against the jolt of pain, turning away to ask, "What h-happened to Captain Freeman?"

"Staff blast to the chest--he's going to the sarcophagus," Coburn said, standing over him, and, sure enough, a still form was being wheeled away. "I need to--Jackson, you gonna be--?"

"I'm okay!" Daniel snapped. He sucked in a sharp breath, trying to ignore the pain that was starting to demand his attention. "Sir. Is Freeman dead? Go with--"

"Yeah," Coburn said, moving away toward his fallen teammate. "Be back to check on you."

"Get him up--on three," the medic said, and then people were bullying Daniel onto a gurney.

"Debrief?" he asked, trying to see the general and figure out what was going on. He winced as someone lifted his legs onto the gurney and told him to stop fighting them.

"Get to the infirmary," General Hammond said, sounding a little stunned.

...x...

It didn't take too long for Daniel to be patched and bandaged up. He'd had been given something to swallow that he realized a few minutes later was for pain, and Janet had injected something and taped a dressing over his leg, declaring it a much milder wound than it could have been before letting him clean up and change out of his dirty gear. Bruises were showing up over his arm where it had been pressed between Jaffa armor and the ground, but he still had full range of movement and Janet hadn't insisted on treating it.

By the time Freeman was healed and returned with Coburn, Griff and Daniel had gone over the mission with the general in the infirmary, which consisted essentially of three days of fruitless search and a few minutes of more excitement than they'd expected.

"Mr. Jackson?" the general said, in a tone that said he was repeating himself.

"What?" Daniel shook himself mentally. Coming on the heels of the mild fatigue of even simple missions, the fog that crept in after an adrenaline rush was creeping toward exhaustion that made him feel empty. "Uh, yes, sir, that's all."

"Then I think we're done here," he said. To SG-2, he said, "You're dismissed."

"Me too?" Daniel said, looking to Janet as the three men of SG-2 lingered. There was a muted throbbing above his knee, but he was getting annoyed by the guilty looks on all the officers' faces, although he suspected he'd feel something other than annoyance when the anesthetic wore off.

"Actually, I'd like to talk to you," the general said. Daniel leaned back carefully against the pillows on the bed behind him and tried not to feel apprehensive as SG-2 finally took their leave.

"Sir?" he said. When he glanced to one side, he saw Teal'c walk into the infirmary. All thoughts that Teal'c might be there for some reason other than Daniel disappeared when the Jaffa moved to stand next to the general at his bed. Janet moved discretely away.

"Are you all right, son?" the general said.

"Yes, sir," Daniel said as he touched his bandaged leg self-consciously. "Dr. Fraiser says I was lucky--I'll be fine within a couple of weeks. I can still walk, even." Not that he felt like doing that at the moment, judging by how fiercely even the smallest movements seemed to stretch the burned skin.

The general nodded. "Good to hear that. How about otherwise?"

Daniel looked between General Hammond and Teal'c, thinking that he wasn't the one who'd needed a sarcophagus and that this was the second time he'd seen Freeman's corpse being carried through the 'gate. There were quiet concerns whispering through the base that the sarcophagus's presence was making people more reckless, but even after witnessing Skaara's withdrawal, Daniel thought privately that people with those concerns should get dragged into a fight with several Jaffa and see if they were more excited about being shot just because they'd been shot once before. Besides, Freeman and everyone else knew that people killed off-world rarely made it to the sarcophagus. Daniel had seen corpses that couldn't be recovered from the field, too.

"This wasn't the first time I've been in a combat situation, if that's what you mean," Daniel said.

"Unfortunately, that's true," the general said with a sigh. "Mr. Jackson, have you had to kill a man before today?"

"Oh. That. I...don't know, sir," Daniel admitted.

The general seemed surprised by the answer, but Teal'c said quietly, "This was the first time you fired a weapon other than a zat'nik'tel in battle." Daniel nodded, plucking unhappily at the dressing until Teal'c firmly pushed his hand away.

"I shot a few Horus Guards on Kheb," Daniel said, shrinking into the bed, "but it was dark, and there were so many--I don't know if I zatted any of them twice. And on the mothership, there were a few, but I didn't check them, and I wasn't in the best frame of mind at the time; I'd just come out of the sarcophagus." General Hammond seemed to be looking for the right way to answer, so Daniel offered, "I don't consider this the first time I've taken a life, sir, if that helps."

The general exchanged a glance with Teal'c, then said, "How do you mean?"

With a jolt, Daniel realized that he'd known he shared responsibility for the loss of countless lives but that he'd rarely thought of it so explicitly. "I don't know that it matters whether I directly killed people, or tried and failed to kill, or helped other people to kill."

"Sometimes," the general said, "that does matter. I don't mean just the outcome or even the morality of the action; I mean how you think and feel about what happened."

"Yes, sir, I suppose so," Daniel admitted. He rubbed his arm where he'd washed off caked blood less than an hour ago, then stopped when he realized what he was doing. It felt different to pull the trigger himself and see a person fall, and while he could tell himself that there was no difference, from a moral standpoint, it still felt somehow worse.

"Obviously, with that leg, you'll be out of the field until Dr. Fraiser clears you. Given what you've faced before, and your past experiences with our psychiatrists," the general said carefully, "I'm not going to force you to speak with someone. I do strongly recommend it, however."

Daniel's first reflex was to deny he might need it or that there would be any consequences, but he couldn't afford to do that anymore. He'd never truly been on his own here, and while he still wasn't now, he couldn't just say something and know someone would be there to fix it, not with Jack gone and SG-1 barely existing and everyone else so busy. He had to be responsible now.

"I don't think I need to, sir," Daniel said honestly after careful consideration. "Can I just talk to Teal'c, instead, if I...you know, if I want to talk?"

"At any time, my friend," Teal'c told him, which made him feel a little better.

"And he can always ban me from the mission roster if he thinks I'm handling things badly, sir," Daniel said. "No one has more experience with things like this than Teal'c, and he knows me."

The general seemed reluctant to leave it there, but he nodded. "All right. And if you do want to talk, you can come to me, too--and you have a lot of other friends on this base."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel said. A thought struck him, and he added, "Sir? Are you going to--could you...not tell Major Carter? It's just...she has a lot to worry about already."

"Not much stays secret here for long," the general reminded him, but Daniel didn't mind that; Sam was so buried in work these days that if she hadn't been alerted by the alarms an hour ago, she probably wouldn't hear anything about Daniel's getting shot off-world for a while. "All right. Take care, son."

Daniel waited for the general to leave, then closed his eyes and slumped a little where he sat. The infirmary suddenly seemed strangely noisy, full of mechanical buzzing and the faint scrape of shoes. Even Teal'c's quiet breathing seemed loud. It was hard to think straight, and it was hard to stop thinking.

Oddly, Daniel's mind kept returning to one of the Jaffa--one in particular out of many--who had been killed just an hour ago. Had Daniel shot him? He hadn't meant to, though he could have done it accidentally by aiming for and missing that other Jaffa who had been in front (whom he had tried and failed to kill). Had it been Freeman's bullet? How could it matter when he would have tried to shoot the man anyway if he'd had the chance? Besides, he knew it had been too chaotic to remember the scene clearly; anything he thought he remembered now was just as likely to be something his mind had created to fill in the blanks.

If only he could stop thinking about it.

Teal'c took a step toward the bed. "Of what are you thinking, Daniel Jackson?"

"That...it doesn't matter if I've killed before or not; I've participated in killing," Daniel mused. He opened his eyes to see his friend watching him closely. "I've never really thought about that too hard before." He remembered, then, the time he'd told Teal'c it didn't matter whether Teal'c had killed his parents; leading the attack and being part of it made him just as culpable either way. Still, there was a reason he'd never wanted to think too hard about that specific memory of that specific action--one way felt worse than the other. "But that shouldn't make me feel better. Why does it make me feel better?"

"It means that you have not suddenly changed from the person you were hours ago," Teal'c said.

He thought about that. "I suppose," he said, disturbed and disturbingly comforted all at once. Without warning, Daniel wished Jack were there with a breathtaking intensity that ached far more than his leg. There would be a joke, and maybe an attempt to evade the topic, but Jack would understand, and it would be all right.

"You should rest for a while before you leave," Teal'c said.

Daniel leaned back and started to pull the sheets into place around himself. "I miss Jack," he said, blinking as Teal'c helped him slide back down on the bed.

Teal'c paused, then said, "As do I."

Later, he saw Robert walk in and quickly closed his eyes as the archaeologist went to speak with Janet. Robert would be worried and possibly horrified, depending on how busy he'd been lately and how much of the story he'd heard from rumors, and Daniel didn't really have the energy to reassure him. He pretended to stir just enough for Robert to say, "No, sorry, go back to sleep."

But then he felt bad for pretending, so he said, "I'm okay," then closed his eyes before he had to say anything else.

...x...

5 March 2000; Major Carter's Lab, SGC; 0200 hrs

Sam didn't look up when Daniel entered. "Hi," he said, walking carefully so that it didn't look like he was favoring a leg. "How's everything going?"

"Too slowly," she said.

"Can I help with anything?" She shook her head. Daniel slipped his hands into his pockets. "Are...are you going home tonight? Or, uh, anytime today?"

"Tell Janet I'll go home when I finish this next part," Sam said distractedly.

Tamping down a surge of anger and guilt that he hadn't spent much time with her lately, he said, "Janet didn't send me, Sam; I'm your friend, too. It's just...it's late. You have to rest sometime."

Sam finally looked at him, her expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, Daniel. She was here earlier... Why aren't you in bed?"

"Well, I've been off-world for a few days. 'Gate lag. Feels like noon to me."

"You...you have?" she said, sounding guilty and frustrated even though she'd been far too busy to notice everything, while he felt guilty and frustrated because he couldn't be busy enough alongside her, doing something useful for Jack. "I can't believe I didn't realize you were away."

"It's not your job to keep track of me, and it wasn't a long trip," he said. "It's not a big deal."

"It is when I stop noticing," she snapped, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "God."

"Sam..." he started, then sighed. "I wish I could help you somehow. You're working too much, Sam, you know that, and...I just wish I could help. That's all."

She swallowed a yawn. "All right. You're right. Let me finish this section, and I'll stop and go to sleep. Wanna come in and...and..." She gestured at a relatively empty area.

He sank into the chair, more relieved than he wanted to admit to take weight off his leg, and quietly read something on the bench about naquadah decay that he didn't fully understand.

Eventually, she reached a point at which she could only wait for her computer to finish processing some simulation or other and sat back, rubbing her forehead. "I feel like I've barely talked to you at all recently," she said. "Or anyone else, really, but..."

"You've been busy," he said. "And I was away before Edora, so..."

"We should have a big 'welcome home' party once the colonel's back," she said with an attempted smile. "Are you doing okay with all this?"

"Are you?" Daniel answered.

"I miss him," she said frankly.

"Me, too," he said. They watched a bar on her computer screen inch forward past 43% and 44% and 45%... "I talked to the Edoran refugees a week ago. They're doing okay. And I checked Cimmeria and Tollana again on the way back. The Tollan ships are about six and a half months away from Edora. The High Chancellor actually came back to Earth to meet General Hammond, though, so that seems good from a diplomatic standpoint. And Thor's still not there...but he--"

"It's okay, Daniel," she said. "I know how hard you've been trying. It's okay."

"Narim says 'hello,'" he said. He raised an eyebrow at her. "He really misses you. I mean, he really misses you. It's pretty awkward." She laughed.

"Yeah, well. Don't worry; we'll get the colonel back," she said, then laughed again and gestured to her computer screen. "Yes! Here, look at this. This is the part I've been working on for the last couple of days--there was an error that kept showing up, and I've finally eliminated it."

"103% is good, right?" he said.

"Yeah, it's good," she said. "All right, now, next... I need to start optimizing the--"

"Sam," Daniel said desperately. She stopped. "If you don't want to go home, at least take one of the bunks. Or one of the guest quarters. How about, I promise I'll wake you up in the morning. Please?"

She bit her lip, looking between him and her computer, then said, "Okay. Yeah, I'll do that."

XXXXX

26 March 2000; Subbasement Room 2, SGC; 1000 hrs

"Kek!" Teal'c ordered.

Daniel squeezed and tried not to flinch from the bright flash as the staff weapon shuddered in his arms. The blast scorched the edge of a block of cement.

"Better," Teal'c said, but not in a particularly approving tone of voice. Then again, Daniel had let go of the weapon in surprise the first time he'd fired it, so 'better' really wasn't saying much.

"At least I hit it," Daniel said.

"If that had been a Serpent Guard," Teal'c growled, "you might have brushed the very top of his helmet--do not lower your weapon!"

Daniel jerked the wavering staff back up, gritting his teeth against the strain. It wasn't actually as heavy as it looked, but holding a long rod steady wasn't as easy as holding the shorter projectile firearms, and his muscles were starting to protest. Bashaak staffs were easier--at least those were meant for movement, not maintaining the same position for long periods of time.

"Loosen your shoulders," Teal'c added. Daniel complied. "Without dropping your aim!"

"For crying out--!"

Daniel stopped and exhaled sharply. Neither of them spoke. Daniel cleared his throat, rolled his aching shoulders, and readjusted.

"Kree ka," Teal'c said steadily. Daniel primed the weapon. "Kek."

After the next shot, Teal'c's hand pushed him in the chest, and Daniel staggered backward, nearly falling off his feet. "What was that!"

"As I suspected, you are leaning back," Teal'c said. "It compromises your balance."

"It's heavy."

"Then you must become stronger to use it. Ar'ee kree." Daniel planted the staff on the floor gratefully, butt down, but before he could relax, Teal'c snapped, "Yahs, kree lo'sek!" Daniel dropped to one knee and forced himself to raise the weapon again, looking for the angle to aim it upward and not have it slip and wobble away from him.

...x...

After lunch, they moved on to automatic Tau'ri weapons. "I don't think Jack will want me to carry one of these," Daniel said, feeling awkward with an MP5 in his arms. Most of his experience with these weapons was field stripping and loading them, not shooting them. "Am I even allowed to, according to the SGC's rules?"

"He would not object to your knowing how," Teal'c pointed out. "And should it become truly necessary, I do not believe that the SGC would object, either."

They covered the cement block with bullet scars and scorch marks for the rest of the day. The walls of the room got a little abused, too, but this room had already been relegated to practice for staff weapons--one of the early naquadah experiments years ago had been conducted in this room and damaged the lead shielding, so the room was mostly used as a restricted practice area now, separate from the regular ranges.

Eventually, even the sharpest of commands couldn't make Daniel hold a weapon steady, and he felt like he was still rattling from recoil and the shock of rapid, automatic fire alternating with measured, single rounds that, in truth, tended to hit wide of their mark. "Good," Teal'c finally said.

"Mmph," Daniel said, fighting the urge to drop everything--including himself--to the ground immediately. Taking no pity on him, Teal'c watched as Daniel carefully cleared the gun and only then took both weapons himself, freeing Daniel to stretch his arms as they left the room.

"I examined the artifacts from Ra's chamber on Abydos as Dr. Rothman requested," Teal'c told him.

"Yeah? What did you think?"

"Many seemed to be human artifacts, as Dr. Rothman believed. However, some of them appeared to be ancient Goa'uld weapons."

Daniel raised his eyebrows, turning. "Weapons? I wouldn't have guessed from looking at them."

"They are very old and inefficient weapons," Teal'c said, "less useful than Tau'ri weaponry or modern Goa'uld devices."

"But the fact that Ra was hiding some weapons in there at all..."

"Precisely," Teal'c said. "It does not surprise me that a hidden chamber in the central part of a System Lord's kingdom would be filled with items for a war."

"You'd think he'd have left something more useful than outdated devices, though," Daniel said. "That's really odd. SG-11 didn't find anything more powerful than a lamp, but I was so sure there would be some...some huge purpose to that room."

"It is possible that Ra used that chamber many years ago, when the weapons would not have been considered ancient. Did you not find a tablet to explain the chamber's purpose?"

"Actually, I don't think the tablet has to do with Abydos or Ra at all," Daniel said. "Oh, but it's really interesting--I think it talks about the last of the Ancients. Either they were killed by a plague, or they were around a race of humans that were killed by a plague...something like that. Either way, I'm going to have to put that aside for now, until we find more reference material to help with that dialect."

"I see," Teal'c said.

When they finished returning everything to the armory, Daniel said, "Sam says they're making good progress with the particle beam."

"That does not surprise me," Teal'c said. "Major Carter will succeed."

"I helped her tighten some screws yesterday," he mumbled. He felt a little pathetic just saying it aloud, but Teal'c understood.

"Continue training and studying," Teal'c advised him. "That is how you can be most helpful. When O'Neill returns, you will be even more prepared than before."

XXXXX

19 April 2000; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1000 hrs

The two of them, with Robert, were gathered one day to compile and update their current knowledge of the System Lords' statuses when Sam ran into the room, making them all look up. "Teal'c, Daniel," she said. "It's done! We're gonna try getting through the Edoran Stargate tomorrow."

Daniel stood. "I'll go tell the Edoran refugees," he volunteered. "And tell the Tollan we might not need their ship."

"I will prepare the necessary equipment," Teal'c said. "Major Carter, I will require your aid."

"Yeah," she said, nodding and gesturing impatiently for them to follow her. "I need to run a few tests, but I'll go over everything with you while that's running."

"I'll, uh...sit here," Robert said as they rushed out of the room, then called, "Good luck!"

Chapter Text

20 April 2000; Edora; 0600 hrs

Jack decided he was never again going to drink the piss-water Paynan called alcohol--not until their next feast, of course, at which point in time he was going to get good and drunk again. Then again, the night hadn't exactly ended badly. As Paynan had said, Laira was a fine woman, and after they'd danced around each other for months, maybe...well, she wanted a child. Maybe Jack wouldn't mind a second chance, either. There were worse ways to have to start over.

Still, the axe was really starting to get on his nerves. Something about the way it sounded as he sharpened it, which made it hard to ignore the hangover that was still pounding away in his head.

He looked up as the door opened and smiled involuntarily to see Laira walk out, until he saw the basket in her arms. An SGC symbol was visible among the olive drab.

"Going somewhere with that stuff?" Jack asked her, putting the axe down casually.

Laira hesitated, then said, "I just thought you might not need these things anymore."

With a sudden jolt of alarm, Jack protested, "Oh, hang on, some of that's pretty good. The jacket...it's..."

"Does it remind you of home?" she said bluntly.

Jack stopped with a hand out to touch his SG clothes and equipment, catching Laira's eyes. There were some things that couldn't be recovered. Sometimes, it was best just to forget--he'd learned that a long time ago. He was going to go ask Paynan for some more of the alcohol later. "Toss it," he agreed.

...x...

20 April 2000; Laira's Residence, Edora; 0730 hrs

"Hockey's a good one," Jack said, trying to make Laira stop frowning at the table. "There are two goals--one net at either end of the ice, and you use sticks to hit a disc across and try to get it into the net."

She gave him a half-smile, humming, "Mm," as she sat down at the table. "That...sounds like..." She looked down and laughed uncomfortably. "Interesting. What other things are there?"

Jack searched his brain for something he hadn't mentioned before--he'd explained baseball, basketball, football, soccer... "Curling," he blurted. "Big where my grandfather's from in Northern Minnesota. You throw a big, round kinda slab of rock down this slab of ice and...sweep..." Laira wasn't meeting his eyes anymore. "What?"

With a sigh, she said, "When I was taking your things away today, I thought I heard a sound come from this. Perhaps a voice." She held out his radio.

He looked at the thing in his hand. Voices from a radio. There was no way, not with everyone gone and the Stargate gone and no way for people to mount a rescue...but then again, there was no other explanation.

And if anyone could do it, his team could. Teal'c would dig through on his own; Carter would build something to dig through for her; Daniel would wheedle or bully some ally to help...well, he was on Abydos. Still, SGC resources weren't nothing, and Hammond would probably let them try.

Jack stood and left the house, hope rising in his chest, and called, "Garan! Get a shovel!"

Garan, looking confused but not complaining, caught up with him as he keyed the radio and dared to remember how it felt to be Colonel Jack O'Neill of the United States Air Force. "This is Colonel O'Neill, come in," he said.

And then a familiar voice answered, "O'Neill."

Jack gaped at the radio for an entire two seconds before calling back, "Teal'c!"

"I am attempting to reach the surface."

...x...

23 April 2000; Edora; 2000 hrs

With the help of both Teal'c and the Edorans, they had the Stargate up by nightfall, but it was another three days before they dug their way to the DHD. By then, Jack was starting to lose the euphoric feeling that came from hearing a familiar voice talking to him in English.

"We should inform the SGC that we were successful," Teal'c reminded him.

"Ah...right," Jack said, wondering why he hadn't thought sooner of how worried people might be. He waved Teal'c toward the DHD and listened with half an ear as the Jaffa reported to General Hammond and said O'Neill was fine and the Stargate was freed.

He was aware of muffled cheering noises coming from their radios. It reminded him oddly of the time they'd blown up two Goa'uld motherships and were stuck on the Land of Light without GDOs. It sounded like quite a celebration was going on, even though it wasn't like Jack's life was the same as all of Earth's.

He almost flinched when the wormhole opened again, from the SGC, this time. He wasn't sure how the kawoosh had become such an alien sight, either.

Major Carter stepped through immediately, and his first thought was that she looked like she hadn't slept in days. "Colonel!" she called, looking so ecstatically relieved that he decided she might not have slept in days. "God--we're so glad to see you, sir."

The wormhole deactivated immediately, but a minute later, it began dialing again, which was pretty weird, but he wasn't in the mood for asking questions at the moment. "Carter," Jack said, loping toward her.

She rocked forward a little, a hand out like she was going to reach for him, then stopped, remembering her position and saluting instead. "Sir," she said smartly, noticing his glance, "Daniel's been planet-hopping, coordinating with all involved parties. He must be bringing the Edoran refugees now--they'll be arriving any second."

Even as she spoke, Daniel came through, looking almost as tired and disheveled as Carter, a bandana tied over his head to keep hair out of his eyes. He was speaking Edoran--of course he was; he was Daniel--to the man walking through at his side as a stream of more and more refugees came out. "What's he doing here?" Jack said. "I thought he was on Abydos."

By then, Daniel had spotted him and broke off in mid-sentence to run toward them and yell, "Jack! Jack!"

"Huh," Jack said, wishing he was as excited as they were. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn't like he didn't want to go home.

Then he turned and saw Laira and remembered exactly what was wrong.

XXXXX

25 April 2000; O'Neill/Jackson Residence, Earth; 1100 hrs

Someone had said, "We should have a party!"

Jack didn't think he'd made a face, but maybe he had, because Daniel had said, "Actually, maybe we should just go home. The four of us--we can get the house cleaned up and everything?" He'd calmed down, too. Jack decided it was disorienting when Daniel was calm instead of nervous about something and couldn't tell whether it was an act or something that had happened over the last...wow. It had been four months since they'd last seen each other.

"Yeah, let's do that," Carter had agreed. Jack had decided to agree, too, since it was his house they were planning to clean up.

First, however, they'd had to examine him for every possible disease and made him fill out far too much paperwork. Daniel and Teal'c had zipped through the 'gate a few times by the time he was done, though their only response to his questions was to say that they were telling people he was back. Jack decided he could get the details on that later.

And then he'd been called into the general's office. Even the Tollan had been there to welcome him home, which had felt kind of flattering, until he'd realized that wasn't why they were there.

So then came talk about official business with the Tollan and the Asgard and the stolen technology scams, which actually sounded kind of exciting until he found out what the plan was. The plan sucked, especially at a time when he was still trying to remember how it felt to wear pants that hadn't been made by Laira for her late husband.

Quiet time at home with a few friends was looking a lot better than a party of any kind.

So now Carter was fussing over his kitchen, because, according to her, "It was good of Major Ferretti to help, but the refrigerator really needs to be cleaned out, sir."

"Ferretti?" Jack said.

"He offered to drive me here a couple of times," Daniel said, wearing the same not-quite-frown that he'd had since shortly after everyone had burst out of the ground--more or less--on Edora. "He helped me clear the refrigerator and said to turn it off, since things would just go bad anyway, and he came back with me twice after that."

"Why?" Jack said, watching Teal'c help Carter as Daniel sat on the edge of a chair.

Daniel's not-quite-frown became a confused, real frown. "He was worried about you."

"But why'd he drive you here?"

And then the confusion became uncertainty. It was a few, very long seconds before Daniel said, "I...had a key?"

So then Jack said, "I didn't mean it like that. 'Course you can come here anytime. I just meant you didn't have to." Daniel nodded, looking nervously toward where Carter and Teal'c were pretending not to listen as they looked for sponges and towels and soap. "I'm surprised my electricity wasn't cut off. I think I was behind to begin with, what with the original mission taking longer than it was supposed to."

"You were," Daniel said, which...okay. That explained that.

Jack looked around his surprisingly clean house, looked back at his unusually quiet Abydon and his kitchen-cleaning Jaffa and his second-in-command who had decided to put his whole house in order, and shut up. He wondered if this was what Daniel had meant when he'd said that it felt different that first time he'd gone back to Abydos. He'd missed something--or several somethings--and couldn't quite figure out where to jump back in.

"You don't have any food," Daniel said into the silence. "I mean, just cereal, a couple of cans of something, but that's about it. Oh, and your beer--we left that." He gestured toward Jack, who was currently holding one of those beers. "Which...you already know."

"Why don't I go shopping for a few things?" Carter said, sounding relieved.

"Carter--" Jack started.

"No, it's fine, sir," she said.

"Yeah, good idea," Daniel put in, starting to stand up. "Should I--"

"I will accompany you, Major Carter," Teal'c said.

So then, all of a sudden, the door had closed, Jack was wondering how they'd managed to fly outside so fast, and Daniel was looking like he wasn't sure whether or not he wished they'd taken him with them.

"So you checked on the house while I was gone," Jack said, not sure what else to say.

"Only a few times," Daniel said. "I can't drive, of course, and I couldn't ask people to keep ferrying me back and forth all the time. Major Ferretti helped me figure out how to get back and forth by bus--"

"Are you serious?" Jack said, trying to think of what route went from base to his house.

"It's a longer trip, but I can get past the college and almost to Fort Carson without even getting out of my seat, and then it's just--"

"Did you walk to the Mountain from Fort Carson?"

"The bus stop is close to Norad Road," Daniel said, starting to look defensive, "and then only a couple of miles to the security checkpoint. Sometimes Ferretti or someone else dropped me off at the stop on his way home or picked me up on his way in, and he said only to go in the daytime otherwise, so it's not...I mean, that's why I didn't come here very often. Every couple of weeks, maybe."

Jack imagined Daniel--perhaps the second most classified person on the planet, after Teal'c--walking down streets in the open from one military installation to the other. "Oy," he said.

"I was careful," Daniel said, because, despite his training, he didn't know the outside world well enough to be able to truly understand secrets and leaks and conspiracy theorists. "It's really not bad, and I don't carry classified materials with me. And at least now I know how to come home whether or not our schedules match."

With a sigh, Jack decided to worry about that later and said, "Yeah, guess that's true. So, when d'you get back from Abydos?"

Daniel blinked at him. "Um...well, Teal'c came to tell me about the Edora fire rain," he said, as if that explained it all, and then, "You don't have to look so surprised."

"But you left your home," Jack said, suppressing the irrational pang that said he'd just done the same. It was a stupid thing to think while sitting in his home.

"I left my home before when a brother was missing," Daniel said in a patient tone.

"So why aren't you there now, since I'm all good and rescued?" Jack asked.

Part of him really did want the best for Daniel, wherever that was; part of him just wanted to know if there was a good reason, because he could really use one right now.

A hurt expression flitted over Daniel's face before disappearing. "I think I could have found a place for myself on Abydos, if I really wanted," he said calmly, "but when I think about it, I can't imagine giving this up. I did try." He dropped his eyes and gave a shrug with one shoulder. "And I have a home here, too."

"What about people on Abydos?" Jack said.

"Skaara understands. He'll watch over Nagada, Kasuf will govern, Sha'uri will govern when he cannot...they don't really need me there. Even Skaara could tell I didn't...fit...anymore. And Jack, the Stargate's not buried anymore--you can still visit Edora."

For a second, Jack thought he'd heard wrong. And then he remembered that Daniel just did that sometimes, started talking or thinking about something else that seemed like a non sequitur but really wasn't because it was linked in his own head. Daniel watched Jack. Jack took a sip of beer. "Just like that?" he said.

"Not just like anything. I think," Daniel said carefully, "it's very hard to think of it in terms of choosing the life you like more, especially so soon. It's more about choosing the one you can't bear to give up."

"That's semantics," Jack said.

"Semantics is meaning," his miniature linguist countered.

"It's also about where your duties are," Jack said, trying not to sound bitter about the fact that he'd just gotten back after three goddamned months, and they were already giving him orders like this. Which meant they knew he could do it, that they had confidence in his skills and trusted that he wasn't a traitor, but he couldn't manage to find it flattering just now. "So much for choice, huh?"

Daniel didn't try to deny it, but he tilted his head thoughtfully and stared long enough for Jack to be tempted to look away. "True. But I've decided that duty is a personal, psychological issue as much as it is...you know, actual orders from your boss."

"You've decided this, have you?" Jack repeated, amused despite everything.

"I've decided," Daniel said with a quick smile. "I've had a lot of time to think about it."

"Okay," Jack said, setting his bottle down with a soft clunk. "So explain it to me."

"All right," Daniel said, folding his legs on his chair seat and leaning forward. "In my case, the idea of duty has always been murky, because no one could figure out whether I'm old enough to be given duties. Therefore, I was told that I could go to Abydos and stay and...and do nothing for the rest of my life, but I came back, even though I wasn't bound to do so by any authority."

"Ri-ight," Jack said, still a little unclear on that part and the whens and whys and exactly whats that came with it. "You're really here to stay?"

"Yes," Daniel said seriously. "I've always felt a little like I was forced into this. Not by the SGC or Teal'c or Kasuf or anyone, you understand, but I just...felt like I had to. But now Skaara and Sha'uri are safe, it's a chosen duty, see, which is better. By the way, if you still want me on your team..."

"Well, I told you you'd be back," Jack said, pulling out a smirk.

Daniel smiled again, the familiar lightning-quick grin. "Anyway, in your case...well, I know being a military officer is different, but after all you've done, if you...really wanted...you could probably retire, free yourself from official duty, and live your life on Edora. Not that...I-I mean, you could."

"Why do you say I want to stay on Edora?" Jack said.

"Because," Daniel said, unperturbed, "I'm uniquely qualified to know what it's like to get stranded on a planet and be unsatisfied about leaving it behind. Well, actually, Teal'c is another example of that, but with him, there really is a lot less choice, what with the price on his head on his home planet, although I think by now he'd agree he's chosen this life as much as he's been forced into it."

The thought of retiring on Edora struck something in Jack, although whether it was a wish of his own or a part of the grand scheme Hammond had been cooking up with the Tollan and the Asgard, he couldn't really say yet. Both, maybe. "Retire and live on Edora," he echoed.

That wasn't a bad idea. He could work with that.

Daniel leaned back, slumping a little and dropping the philosophical air. Jack thought that he looked a lot more normal that way but wished he didn't look so uncertain, too. "W-well. I'm just saying that it's not as though you're stuck. There is a choice--and you can make that choice, and I, uh...I don't think people would stop you if...if it's what would really make you...happy."

Footsteps sounded outside his door. A perfunctory knock came.

"But I really wish you'd stay," Daniel blurted in a rush, and then the door opened to reveal Carter and Teal'c, laden with grocery bags.

XXXXX

"Carter," Jack said. She turned hastily away from a picture of Sara and Charlie on his mantle.

"Sir," she said nervously.

"So," Jack said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I hear you built me a particle beam thingy."

She gave him one of her almost-sheepish smiles, the one she always wore when she invented things with inhuman speed or, on occasion, shattered known laws of physics to write new ones that were better. "Yes, sir, you could say that."

"Which means I'm responsible for one of our most advanced pieces of technology," Jack said, letting his words become a little smug, because dammit, they knew each other well enough by now that she shouldn't be looking undertain around him. "On Earth," he added.

Her smile grew into a genuine amusement. That was better. "Yes, sir," she said in the way that meant she was trying not to laugh. "That's exactly it."

"Um," he said, looking around himself. Daniel and Teal'c were washing dishes from lunch in the kitchen, and barely audible conversation floated to him. "So...what's been going on lately? I know what you were doing, obviously, so I assume SG-1 was standing down."

"Both Teal'c and Daniel joined teams that needed an extra pair of arms and eyes, sir; Teal'c went mostly to the combat teams and Daniel to exploration teams needing a translator. And they went around to Cimmeria every once in a while to see if the Asgard had a ship ready that could reach you faster than I could build."

Jack felt something like betrayal drop into his stomach. Hammond said the Asgard had contacted the SGC a few weeks before Carter's particle thing was finished, complaining about things getting stolen by people who looked like SG personnel. It was only a week, true, but who had delayed--the SGC or the Asgard?

"Cimmeria, you say," Jack managed in a casual tone of voice.

Carter grimaced. "Granted, that only went to Thor, not all of the Asgard. I wasn't too surprised that Thor himself wasn't reachable, as the supreme commander of their fleet, especially if they're caught in a war of their own, but it was the best we could do."

"Ah." Well, at least it might not have really been a personal betrayal, then, per se. The Asgard who'd contacted Hammond had said some of their work was severely impaired; maybe the plea for help had gotten lost somewhere. Jack liked to think Thor would've come if he'd known.

"I tried to rebuild that power source you built with the Ancient knowledge, sir," she said apologetically, "but it's a little complicated to try to figure out on my own. Dr. Lee adapted a...a version of it, and Daniel and Teal'c both volunteered to make the trip to Othalla, but Bill's prototype bypassed so many safety protocols just to establish a wormhole that seemed to lose stability by the second...it was too big a risk. I'm the one who nixed it. We decided I'd be better off spending my time on the particle accelerator, not knowing if the Asgard could help us even if we reached them."

"And I'm very glad you built it, Major, believe me," Jack assured her, wanting to take the guilt out of her face. "It's not like I know how to build that power thing, and I'm the one who...built it."

She gave him a half-smile. "Good news, though, sir--I don't know if you heard, but just yesterday, the Pentagon authorized SG-1 to try opening negotiations with the Tollan."

Jack could feel his face taking on his blankest expression and braced himself: if he was going to do this, he might as well start the act now.

"It's about time," he said, injecting a dose of exasperation, which was pretty easy, considering what he thought of the Tollan's smug smiles. "Think they'll let go of any of their precious technology now that we've saved their asses?"

"Well, that's what we're hoping for, sir," Carter said earnestly. "In fact, the general's allowed Daniel and me to work with the diplomats on the appeal, since we've had so much direct contact with the Tollan lately--Daniel won't say it, but he's really happy about being given a responsibility like this, instead of just taking something over as the last choice."

Great. Maybe Daniel really was getting better at the fancy side of diplomacy, but he still shouldn't be the one handling it. In fact, Carter shouldn't be either, except as a technical advisor--this was the kind of thing they usually handed over to SG-9 or SG-14. But SG-1 had to be part of it if the plan was going to work, and that meant putting both Carter and Daniel in that position instead. For a moment, Jack hoped viciously that Hammond was losing sleep over this.

"Well, good," Jack lied, smiling.

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking..." she said. He raised his eyebrows at her. She still hesitated before saying, "Did, uh...I mean, you must have talked a lot to Laira."

"Yeah," Jack said, not wanting to talk about exactly what they'd talked about.

"I was...just wondering if she's still open to that treaty," Carter said, with her usual inability to tell a convincing lie, but she followed up with usual quick thinking. "I'm sure the Edorans will need to finish rebuilding, but I was thinking we might be able to offer help. At the same time, the meteor strikes would've deposited a new layer of naquadah."

This was so not what he wanted to be thinking about right now. Forgetting things that went wrong was a good plan--it had worked for him before; he could make it work again, but only if people would stop bringing it up. "Yeah," Jack said again.

But then he remembered Daniel's words about choice and retiring on Edora. He might need to play that card when the time came, and he might as well plant the suspicion in their heads now. Daniel wasn't the only one he'd have to alienate in a few days' time.

"Laira and I got to be..." Jack paused, deliberately looking away from Carter. "...ah...really close...friends. I promised her I'd be back someday."

"Uh...wh..." Carter said, her eyes wide. Her expression shifted several times, cycling through being confused about whether she should interpret that the way any normal person might, and then confused about whether she was allowed to interpret her CO's words that way, and something that Jack might think was hurt if he'd been allowed to interpret his subordinate's expressions that way. "Oh. Right. Sir."

"So, yeah," Jack said, as if he'd missed all of that. "I'm all for that plan. We should get this Tollan business over with first, but I'll request a return trip to Edora afterward."

"Yes, sir," she said uncertainly.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to build a house by hand?" he said, continuing in the same tone. "Well, let me tell you--it's harder when you have to make the hammer and the nails first."

Carter nodded, back in her element. "Well, I can't say I've done that, sir, but it sounds like there's a lot we can offer them. Do you mind going over their construction techniques with me? It'll help me devise a coherent plan we can present to them."

XXXXX

"Nice digging back there," Jack said to Teal'c that evening as Carter and Daniel huddled together over two laptops inside the house.

"I am grateful to you as well, O'Neill," Teal'c answered, sitting with Jack on the roof and watching the sunset. "If you had not helped me, I would undoubtedly have suffocated."

Jack had to suppress a shudder at the idea of Teal'c's dead body buried forever under a pile of molten naquadah until someone eventually got a sturdy enough plow and tried to start replanting their crops. "You took a big risk trying it in the first place."

Teal'c gave him a look, then returned to examining the sky. "You would have done the same if I had been in your place."

"You sure about that?" Jack quipped.

"I am," Teal'c said in complete seriousness.

Jack felt a twinge of pride at the thought that they, the SGC--and Jack himself--had had a hand in changing Teal'c from the man who'd saved them and then bowed to their superiors' wishes to experiment on him. Jack, Carter, Daniel, and others would die for Teal'c, and there was no question about it anymore.

"However, there is a matter I do not understand," Teal'c said.

"Yeah?"

"Daniel Jackson believes that you had resigned yourself to never seeing Earth again."

Jack frowned. So that was what they'd been talking over dirty dishes at the sink. "Well, for all I knew, the Stargate might've been destroyed, and it's not like I found it when I tried digging. We had more urgent issues--like rebuilding houses and finding food from one day to the next."

"A Tollan ship would have reached you in no more than five months," Teal'c said. "Only when I reported success did Daniel Jackson tell them to call the ship back."

"Five months is a long time," Jack pointed out, not sure he wanted to think any deeper than that.

"It is possible to survive for longer than that on strange planets."

"I know, Teal'c," Jack said, standing up. "You've been here for years, Daniel was trapped here for almost a year, okay, I get it. But he knew the Abydos 'gate was going to be unburied."

"What I do not understand," Teal'c said in a low voice, "is why you did not know we would undoubtedly find you, as well, O'Neill."

Jack watched the sun sink under the horizon, remembering the night on Edora when he'd tried to figure out which direction Earth was in. Now that he was back, he wished he knew where Edora was. Carter could find out, he thought, and he turned to see her and Daniel through the nearest window, although they looked like they were arguing about something now. It took Daniel's sullenly kicking a sofa cushion and then sheepishly straightening it to make Carter laugh, pulling them out of their argument. Jack wondered how many times something like that had happened when he wasn't there to make his kids behave.

"You didn't know I was alive," Jack said.

"I was certain that you were," Teal'c said.

"Well, that was dumb."

"It was immaterial to our efforts. We would have tried nonetheless. If I had failed after a maximum of ten days, and even if the Tollan had continued their journey, another man would have gone through the wormhole and attempted to finish what I had begun."

And that left him with the rather creepy image of Daniel's body joining Teal'c's under a pile a naquadah, only to be joined by Carter's after she taught someone how to use the particle beam...

"Nice thought," Jack said. Teal'c inclined his head. After a minute, Jack decided that maybe it was a nice thought, in a really twisted sort of way that probably would not have been considered nice anywhere outside of the SGC. Definitely still creepy, but nice.

XXXXX

Once Carter left with Teal'c for the night, Jack wandered through his house until he found himself at the door to Daniel's room. Daniel popped his head through the top of a shirt he'd just pulled on and joked, "What, are you going to tuck me in?"

"Just wanted to say good-night," Jack said. He hesitated, then said, "You're...different."

Looking surprised, Daniel said, "Am I?"

But there was no good way to say that Jack had been expecting someone more wound up or more awkward or more freaked out about something or other, so he said, "Uh...taller." Not really--half an inch, maybe, but...there was something.

Daniel looked down and then back up, as if he could measure himself that way. "Four months."

"Yeah," Jack said. "How've you been, really?"

His smile slipped a little. "We've managed." He hesitated, then said, "You know, I've, uh, never been at the SGC without you. Not for that long at a time, anyway. I kept checking your office for the first few weeks, certain you were hiding in there or something."

And then Jack had the disorienting image of going back to base and finding that everyone had managed just fine while he was gone--that people might go to Makepeace as the most senior field commander because he had been without Jack, that Carter and Teal'c might be more used to dealing with each other alone instead of deferring to Jack, that Daniel had enough brothers by now and didn't need a father any more than he ever had...

"I killed someone," Daniel said all of a sudden, folding his arms. "With a, um...a gun, I mean."

Alarms in Jack's head cut off his morose train of thought as he tried to keep his expression neutral. "When?" he asked.

"A couple of months ago. It was, uh...a few someones, actually. Well, two for sure. For one, I don't know who shot him--I keep reviewing it, but I can't see the...I still don't know whose bullet it was. And there was another I shot but I couldn't see what happened. I'm pretty sure he died, though--he fell hard and there was a...a lot of blood."

Jack watched him rub his arm--not one of his usual nervous habits--then stop deliberately. Jack nodded and stepped fully into the room. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

Daniel glanced at him, then looked down. "Um...Cronus's Jaffa. We were ambushed at the 'gate. We escaped without any...well. Everyone's okay, but..." His right hand reached down to his thigh, where his holster would have been, then twitched away. "I just...pulled it out and fired. Didn't even think about what I was doing until he was already dead."

"Well," Jack said carefully, sitting down on the bed, "there's this funny thing about Jaffa who ambush you. They're not there for tea parties. You shoot first or you get shot."

Daniel's eyes followed him to his seat and stared for a long time. "I know," he said finally. "I don't actually feel guilty. Or regretful. I think. It just...I froze. Just for a second--from surprise more than anything, I think. It was...really..."

"A shock?" Jack said.

"Maybe," Daniel said. "I hadn't realized that I'd...that that reflex had become so..." He trailed off, then plunked himself down on the bed, too. "But I think I'm being very rational about it," he added.

"Okay," Jack said cautiously.

"I mean," Daniel said, "I know I've done stupid things before, more than once, pushing too hard or being too rash instead of...thinking things through, but I know better now. I don't think this will impair me or my work in any way, and I'd stop myself if I thought otherwise. I just...wanted to tell you. So, you know, next time it happens when it's SG-1 in the field, you'll know I'm not going to panic."

Jack tried to remember what he told airmen whose eyes went wide when they first figured out that the guns they carried weren't for decoration, but Daniel had already seen more than truly green soldiers; he'd just never felt it with the gun in his own hands. Zats could be just as deadly as normal guns, but they looked cleaner. It was easy to tell yourself that you were only stunning with zats, which was a danger on its own, but bullets were bloody and messy and not so easy on the eyes and the psyche.

And Daniel might not be fourteen and naïve, but almost-seventeen was still young. He'd brought the issue to Jack, and Jack was his commanding officer some of the time and his friend the rest. That meant something. That meant a lot.

"Have you talked to anyone?" Jack said calmly, because sometimes 'rational' didn't have anything to do with it.

"The general, briefly," Daniel said, "but he didn't want to force me to talk to a counselor."

"Yeah, I can see that," Jack agreed.

"I don't think I need to, either. I talked to Teal'c."

"Well, good," Jack said, relieved, because he trusted Teal'c's judgment more than someone like Mackenzie's when it came to Daniel. "What'd he say?"

Daniel hesitated, looking down at his hands and chewing his lip, then quirked a half-smile. "He convinced General Hammond that I wasn't going to need therapy and then taught me to use staff weapons and submachine guns."

Jack inhaled wrong and tried not to choke. "Ah..." he said. Daniel snickered.

"I'm joking. Well, no, I mean, he did, but...we've talked, too. But also, for future reference, I know how to use staff weapons and submachine guns now."

"Ah," Jack repeated. Private conversations on alien philosophy, then, against a backdrop of automatic weapons. Good enough for him.

"Wish I could've talked to you, though," Daniel muttered, still staring hard at his hands. "Just...just like this. You know?"

Jack couldn't decide whether to feel guilty or flattered or both. "I wish I'd been there. And I wish I could be more helpful."

Daniel shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you and have you say it's okay."

"It's okay," Jack said. Daniel laughed a little.

"I really missed you, Jack. I'm really, really...glad you're back."

"Hey, you rhymed," Jack said. Daniel laughed again, a little watery this time, so Jack looped an arm over his shoulders and wished he had more than a week with these people before he'd have to betray them all. "I missed you, too, kid."

Jack didn't tuck Daniel in for the night, but he waited until Daniel was about to climb into bed to say, "So you joined a team that got you into a firefight with Cronus's Jaffa."

"You make it sound so nefarious," Daniel said, though he looked amused.

"Just wondering which team it was," Jack said innocently.

"Why? What are you going to do to them?"

"Me? Would I do anything?"

Daniel laughed delightedly. "Gods, you sounded exactly like Skaara then!" Jack raised his eyebrows. "Like Skaara right before he plays a prank," Daniel added. "You're a lot like him, sometimes."

"I'm your commanding officer now, not just your friend," Jack pointed out, ignoring the crack about Skaara, because he'd tasted the kid's moonshine and he was pretty sure that had been meant at least partially as a prank. Carter had actually measured and found some criminally high alcohol content in the stuff. "I need to know these things, so 'fess up."

"Are you going to make that a direct order?" Daniel said, still looking far too amused, because everyone knew he didn't follow direct orders that didn't make sense to him. If Daniel was the only one who could deal with SG-1, SG-1 was probably the only team that could deal with Daniel for long periods of time, too. He was very useful; predictable and easy to handle, he was not. "Teal'c didn't think they did anything wrong," Daniel said. "Is that good enough?"

"No," Jack said, though it did help to know no one had endangered his linguist out of neglect.

"Hm. Well, Captain Freeman was injured, too--he even needed the sarcophagus and had to stay under observation for almost three weeks," Daniel finally said, lying down with a smirk as if to show Jack how much he didn't care about standing at attention when his CO asked him a question. "And Captain Griff hustled me through the 'gate right away, so they did protect me as much as possible. Don't yell at them."

"Ah. SG-2," Jack said.

"Yeah. Captain Pierce had a broken arm, so I was filling in."

"Okay," Jack said.

On his way back to his own room he remembered Daniel's wording--Freeman had been injured, too--so he turned around. "What did you mean, 'too?'"

"Hm?" Daniel said sleepily. "Who's mean, too?"

"What?"

"What?"

Jack frowned suspiciously. Daniel blinked at him.

"Good night," he said after a minute. Daniel mumbled something and went to sleep.

XXXXX

2 May 2000; Courthouse, Tollana; 1000 hrs

Jack was the only completely fair choice. He understood this.

The theft from the Tollan and the Asgard had started while SG-1 had been on Edora and continued while Jack had been stuck there. Theft from the Tok'ra and the Nox, on the other hand, had started shortly after that, when the Edora Stargate had already been buried. Besides the fact that the Asgard and the Tollan tended to like him--and he didn't think he'd pissed off the Nox--there was really no way he could be implicated in those.

His team, though, he'd argued...how could his team be under suspicion?

Well. Funny he should ask.

Apparently, Daniel had been pretty desperate looking for ways to reach Edora via their allies, and they couldn't say with certainty what he'd been doing on Abydos. Hadn't he reported once, years ago, that members of the NID had seemed to be trying to recruit him through less-than-official channels?

Teal'c had been marginally calmer about the Edora situation, but then, the Tok'ra and the Asgard still had their doubts about Jaffa in general. The Tollan and the Nox didn't, as a whole, but he was still a traitor who hated the Goa'uld. Who could say when he'd turn on another master if he thought it would win the war?

Major Carter was the only one who had a nearly pristine record by any stretch of the imagination, but there were those who were suspicious about what soldiers, Tau'ri or not, would do when given an order, so no one was above suspicion, just in case the higher-ups were the ones ordering that alien tech be stolen.

Jack had yelled at them that they were idiots if they thought Daniel or Teal'c would steal technology, or if they thought Carter had managed to mastermind an operation while building a particle accelerator from scratch. Still, what it boiled down to was that it didn't matter. The Asgard had once picked Jack as a negotiator for the fate of Earth out of blind favoritism. He had to admit that being picked for an operation like this made a hell of a lot more sense.

Anyway, they couldn't bring all of SG-1 in even if they'd wanted to. Teal'c might be able to pull off an undercover scheme, but his removal from the SGC and recruitment by whoever the mole was might cause a few logistical problems, especially since Earth as a whole didn't trust Teal'c any more than the SGC's allies did. Even Jack would admit Carter didn't have the training for this kind of thing, and there was no way they were trusting the acting skills of a sixteen-year-old who had no formal training at all.

Jack would never be able to fool his team, he'd insisted. They knew him too well. He was good, sure, but one of them lived with him, for crying out loud. He'd never be able to--

Ah-ha, he'd been told. Three months on an alien planet could change a person. Yes, his team would be suspicious, but they'd wonder, too, if maybe they were wrong about him after all. Besides, if Daniel or Teal'c had to believe that either Jack O'Neill or Samantha Carter had been stealing alien tech for misguided personal reasons...well, which would they suspect first?

Neither, Jack had said. They wouldn't suspect either of us.

You, they'd corrected. They would find it easier to believe of you than of Major Carter. And who would Major Carter suspect first, Colonel? Teal'c, who prefers open intimidation to stealth and is notoriously hostile to dirty NID agents? Or Daniel Jackson, who has literally written the handbook here on respecting alien cultures? Or you? Do they know the kinds of missions you ran before you retired?

No, they didn't. That had all been secret, and they knew that, too. Jack was well aware which of them looked more suspect, and that was the worst part.

"Sir, isn't this against regulations?" Carter said nervously as Jack studied the Tollan weapon disarming device on the wall. Teal'c's silence was becoming an almost physical force of disappointment.

"I suppose it is, Carter," Jack said, looking over his shoulder as if checking to make sure the hallway was clear before he grasped the device with both hands.

"Jack, what...?" Daniel hissed, sounding shocked. "Are you--Jack, you can't do this!"

"Shut up, Daniel," Jack said, then yanked it out of the wall. "Watch me."

He walked away before he had to see their expressions.

Chapter Text

2 May 2000; Briefing Room, SGC; 1100 hrs

"Don't look so shell-shocked," Jack told Daniel as they waited for the general to join them.

Daniel didn't answer. He didn't try to look less shocked, either, because he'd only end up looking very angry, instead. Sam was busy staring at the table. Teal'c's expression only made Daniel feel worse, because he couldn't read it at all, which he knew meant Teal'c was feeling either very hurt or very homicidal or, quite likely, some combination of the two.

Sam stood up next to him, and he looked up to see that the general had walked in. Then, still watching Jack, he listened with growing fury as Jack explained calmly that he'd procured a device that could disable any weapons they'd seen so far.

"It should come in handy," General Hammond said, examining the device Jack had handed him. "Good work."

"Thank you, sir," Jack said. He sounded pleased. Daniel clenched his fists under the table.

"Major Carter, I'm impressed," the general added. "I understand you and Mr. Jackson took point in these negotiations. How did you convince them to share technology with us?"

Sam looked completely stymied. "Um," she said, looking up at Jack as if for instruction. "We, uh...we didn't, sir. The Tollan refused to give us any technology."

"Offered us a nice fruit basket, though," Jack quipped. Quipped.

"I'm confused. How did you get the device?" the general asked. When no one answered, he prompted, "Mr. Jackson?"

"Uh," Daniel said, too furious and lost to find the words to explain. "The--we--"

"I took it, sir," Jack interrupted.

Daniel had to look away as Jack explained what had happened. He used to think Jack was good at finding the line between taking his orders and trusting his own instincts, because Daniel, of all people, understood that sometimes disobeying an order was worth it. He wished Jack's instincts had followed regulation more closely this time.

"Colonel," the general said once he'd heard the full story, "you don't seem to understand how serious this matter is. You and your team have committed a court-martialable offence."

"To be fair, General," Jack said as Sam stiffened and visibly made an effort not to react further, "I did it. Carter and Daniel protested. And Teal'c...well, he really didn't say anything but I could tell he was opposed to my actions by the way he cocked his head and sort of raised his eyebrow..."

Daniel managed to remain in his seat without screaming. That was the best he could do.

And then the Tollan came for their technology.

...x...

"Your Eminence," Daniel said to High Chancellor Travell as she took the device back and prepared to leave, "you said during the negotiations that Colonel O'Neill could not speak for all people of this nation or this planet. We assure you that...that the theft of your property was neither condoned nor expected by this command or its leaders."

"Nonetheless," Travell said, watching Sam set the dialing protocol to return to Tollana, "the fact remains that this is a prime example of the necessity of the Tollan law you yourself appealed to the Curia to overturn. Given that Colonel O'Neill and his team are the leaders in this planet's relations, we feel it would be in our best interest to sever all ties now to defend our society."

"As you know, Colonel O'Neill has only recently returned from a...a long ordeal," Daniel tried, wondering where the general was--wait, but he was in his office; why didn't he come out to argue while Daniel floundered? "Under normal circumstances, this would never have--"

"Do you consider that an acceptable defense, Mr. Jackson?" she asked coolly. "That an officer of high rank allowed his judgment to be clouded long enough to commit a high crime even once? Or that your organization allowed such an officer to return to duty if this was to be the result?"

And Daniel had to admit, "No, Your Eminence, of course not. However--"

"The Tollan demand that the perpetrator of this crime be dealt with," Travell interrupted him. "We will allow Colonel O'Neill to be punished by Tau'ri law. We could have demanded the same of yourself, Teal'c, and Major Carter for standing by and allowing this to occur."

She was right, of course--if they hadn't stepped in to stop it when they'd known it was wrong, they were just as culpable, and she had every right to demand punishment. Daniel shut up, bowed slightly in acknowledgement, and gestured toward the control room. "For what it's worth, Your Eminence," he added dejectedly, "I'm very sorry this happened. Should the Tollan be willing to reopen relations with Earth, we and our leaders would be grateful."

As they made their way toward the control room stairs, Jack strode in, Teal'c following closely behind. "Well, look who's here," Jack said sarcastically. "Come to retrieve your vastly superior stuff? You know, it would be a lot more superior if it wasn't so easy to steal."

Finally (finally), General Hammond's voice came from his office to bark, "Colonel O'Neill! Get in here and take a seat!"

Daniel avoided Jack's eyes as the man loped past him and Travell. He needn't have made the effort, though, because Jack didn't try to look at him, either.

"I...I apologize again," Daniel managed to Travell, leading her the rest of the way down the stairs. Her usual smile didn't waver as she nodded regally and stepped through the wormhole.

XXXXX

2 May 2000; O'Neill Residence, Earth; 1400 hrs

"You sure you didn't have some translation to finish on base?" Jack said as Daniel followed him into the house.

"Why, do you want me to leave?" Daniel said.

He hadn't been serious, but Jack didn't answer.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel said, "Uh, do--are you--do you need me to do anything? You never got a chance to--"

"Will you give it a rest?" Jack snapped, and this time, Daniel didn't even know what he was supposed to have been doing wrong.

"You're angry at me?" Daniel retorted, deciding he wasn't going to pretend not to be furious anymore. "What happened today, Jack?"

"I got the lecture from Hammond," Jack said, calmer. "It's not your place to give me one, too."

Daniel lowered his pack to the floor by the table with more care than was absolutely necessary. It felt somehow like making a noise might break something--he wasn't sure what, exactly, but whatever it was, he didn't want it to break. "I thought my place was looking at things the way that a person trained for combat might miss"--Daniel ignored Jack's rolling his eyes--"but since my view today agreed with Teal'c's, Sam's, and the US Air Force's, I don't--"

"Give me a break," Jack scoffed. "If the US were serious about what's important, they'd've done something sooner."

He was missing something, that must be it. Daniel took a seat in the living room in front of Jack, only to have Jack stand immediately and walk away toward the kitchen. Daniel wondered if taking that personally would be reading too much into a simple action.

Still, Daniel followed him back into the kitchen and sat at the table instead as Jack opened a bottle of beer. "What's important?" Daniel repeated, as confused as he was mad. "I thought our ideals were important. Our laws, our principles--"

"Oh yeah?" Jack said, giving him an indifferent look that was worse than a glare. "Well, next time a Goa'uld tries to blow our planet up, you go ahead and beat them with your ideals."

"They're your ideals, too, Jack," Daniel said. "Our ideals are what separate us from the enemy."

"You know what else separates us from the enemy?" Jack said. "Big, honking guns that they have and we don't, technology to defend ourselves, ships that could've--" He stopped and took a drink. "But we've got none of that. If we get ourselves blown to hell, what good are those nice, shiny ideals of yours gonna be?"

"What." Daniel frowned at him, wondering if that was a reference to their inability to get a ship to Edora or find a way to get Jack out faster. Three months was a long time. "Jack, I know... Whatever this is, I--we all want to help. You don't have to...to retire and give everything up. This, today--that wasn't you. I know you must be angry about something--"

Jack snorted in disgust and walked away. Daniel took a minute before getting up to follow again. "Oh, I must?" Jack said, plunking down on the sofa again and looking at his chess set as if it were much more exciting than anything Daniel could say.

"Yes," Daniel said, wishing Jack would just look at him and acknowledge that something was wrong, "because the man I know would never have done that without a reason."

Setting his bottle down on the table, Jack said, "You know, you've got a lot of nerve."

Blinking, Daniel said, "What?"

"What is it, exactly, that you think you know about me?" Jack said.

At a loss for what to say, Daniel blurted, "You're the hero of Abydos."

It was the wrong thing to say. He'd known that before saying it, and Jack wouldn't appreciate hearing it, but that wasn't what Daniel had meant. There was still a part of him that would never forget the stories from his childhood, true, but more importantly, he'd had so much faith in Jack O'Neill--as friend and commander, not just legend--that he'd joined a military organization on another world to serve with Jack. They all believed in a cause, but Jack was, in many ways, the face of that cause and of what the SGC represented.

Jack's lips pressed together for a second. "You know, I'm getting sick of that--"

"Not because I grew up hearing about O'Neill," he interrupted hurriedly. "Because...because of who you actually are, Jack! I told my brother you were nothing like the, the...the caricature of a hero in our stories, okay, I know that, but that doesn't change what you've done, and what you believe, and...and..."

Jack leaned back in that casual pose that Daniel had learned to interpret as dangerous. "You wanna know about the things I've done? You really want me to tell you?"

The warning was so strong there that Daniel didn't dare to say 'yes.' "If you hadn't cared about doing the right thing, you wouldn't have helped with all that the SGC's given to Abydos," he said. "You could've taken our naquadah and left us to--"

"I've got nothing against playing nice with the natives when they play nice with us," Jack said, "but sometimes it's not worth it. If it comes down to them or us, then I swore to defend six billion lives here. I'm sorry--I know how that sounds, especially to someone like you--"

"Someone...like me?" Daniel echoed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means my priority will always be this planet, Daniel! What do you think I mean?"

"And you'd leave another planet to be collateral damage, that's what you're saying?" Daniel shot back. And then, "Is that what you're saying? Jack?"

Jack took a slow sip of his beer. "I'm not saying I'd like it. But sometimes things have to be done that rub your ideals the wrong way, and someone has to do them."

Daniel tried to convince himself he was hearing this wrong, or that Jack was lying, because it seemed ludicrous, impossible, but why would he lie? There was no reason...except...wasn't it true? If it was six billion Tau'ri lives against a few thousand Abydonian lives, or a thousand Tollan lives, wouldn't Jack choose Earth? Wouldn't all of the SGC do the same? They did that all the time, after all, when they said a Goa'uld host could be sacrificed to save the lives that would be lost to the Goa'uld.

But if they went through this war thinking like that first and foremost, then what would make the Tau'ri any different from the Goa'uld when they won? One of SG-1's strengths was their ability to see another way--a better way--when the only obvious choices were the wrong ones. If this wasn't about their ideals and right and wrong, then it was only about power and who had more of it.

"I know you, Jack," Daniel started again, because he was running out of things to say. "I don't know what you're doing now, but it's not...you don't really believe--"

"I believe we're losing a war," Jack said sharply, "and I believe in doing what's necessary to win!"

"That's not true," Daniel said, but wasn't it? They weren't losing yet, but they were reaching a point at which Tau'ri tactics and technology were no longer a surprise; without better technology or a lot of help from their allies, they were going to start losing soon. But there, that was something... "We're can't win this war by alienating our allies. They can offer us--"

"What?" Jack said, deceptively mild, the kind that meant he was annoyed. "Friendship?"

"Yes!" Daniel said. "That's part of what this program is about--exploration, finding new knowledge, gaining the friendship of--"

Jack scoffed. "This isn't about making friends; it's about making allies, and if an ally isn't useful, then there's no point in having them around. We can't waste our time making friends with aliens."

Daniel looked up sharply, but Jack was rearranging the chessboard, and he couldn't see the man's expression to decide whether that was a deliberate strike or an unconscious thought that had slipped out. It would be self-centered and paranoid to think this was about him, surely, or people like him--

But if Daniel had been wrong about what Jack thought about this program, then he could have been wrong about anything else. Jack had initially taken him in out of pity or obligation, he knew that, but he'd thought--assumed--that had changed. Their relationship had never been one of equals; Jack was the one in power--his house, his planet, his team--and if he thought this program was about who had the most power, then where did that leave Daniel?

For years, Daniel had been taking this friendship almost for granted; perhaps he shouldn't have. After all, what did a multilingual alien boy have in common with a military officer more than twice his age who rolled his eyes at deskwork?

Daniel looked at the house key he was still holding in his hand. "Well. I don't, uh...I don't really know what I'm doing here, then."

"Ah, come on," Jack said. "You're a bright kid. You must've sensed some of this before."

Daniel sat very still, because he hadn't sensed anything like that--except once in a while when Jack was annoyed with the Tollan for hoarding technology, or with the Tok'ra for not helping when they could have, or...

Gods. What if he'd known all along and had been making excuses and refusing to see it?

"No?" Jack said. "Well, it's understandable. We don't exactly have much in common."

And there it was. We have ideals, Daniel thought. A cause, a duty, morals, right and wrong, and this, this, O'Neill and the kid who follows him around and argues with him in the halls...

"We do," Daniel heard himself say, but then stopped, because what if he was wrong?

"Can't think of anything?" Jack said after a moment. Daniel wished he'd sound mocking. Jack mocked him a lot. That would be normal. "Look. Don't get me wrong. You're not a bad kid--"

"No, stop," Daniel managed. He stood and picked up his pack, moving toward the door. He turned around, some part of him hoping to catch Jack looking guilty or insincere, only to see Jack looking between him and the door.

"What are you... I'm not kicking you out," Jack said, looking exasperated but nothing else.

"I need to finish a translation," Daniel lied, dropping the key on the table and heading to the front door. He stopped with a hand on the doorknob, remembering the night he'd sat here on the floor in freezing, sopping socks and had tried not to fall apart without Jack, because they'd all managed to hold together, true, but only because they'd had to to get him back.

When he turned back, Jack looked like he was trying not to yell at him. Daniel hated that look. When Jack yelled, Daniel could yell back--they worked that way. Otherwise, they were just a retired colonel and some kid he'd rescued and given charity who'd never taken the hint to go away. Daniel pulled open the door.

"I can drive you to base if you need to go back," Jack offered.

"No, thank you," Daniel said stiffly without turning around.

Jack sighed, sounding frustrated this time. "Don't be stupid--"

"I don't need it," he snapped, then stepped out before he said anything else.

The nearest bus stop was only a few minutes' walk from here. Before setting off, Daniel looked through the window and saw Jack standing there, but before he could think or hope that Jack had been watching out for him, he realized Jack had been in the middle of closing the blinds.

XXXXX

2 May 2000; Major Carter's Lab, SGC; 1800 hrs

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Sam said once he'd made it back to base and taken shelter in her lab. Daniel shrugged. "Did you have a fight?"

"That's one way to put it." Daniel leaned back in his chair and wished Sam would start working on something. Even if he didn't understand it, she had a sort of rhythm while working that was soothing. She was still waiting, though, so he said, "I just don't understand what happened!"

"Me neither," she said. "I tried to talk to Teal'c, but he won't even..." She shrugged.

"He didn't want to talk to me, either," Daniel said. "Did Jack say anything to you?"

"Yeah." She opened a drawer, closed it, then looked at the next one down. Daniel waited for her to stop opening and closing drawers until she straightened again decisively and said, "What do you know about the stuff Colonel O'Neill did before he joined the SGC?"

"The first time?" Daniel said.

"Between the Abydos '82 mission and the reopening," she clarified.

"Not...a lot," Daniel said, thinking that, for all he'd thought himself a good friend, he actually knew a rather pathetic amount about what Jack's life had been like. Rumor linked Jack's name with things like black ops, which Daniel had learned over the years was not exactly the same as special ops, which was also not exactly the same as white special ops. He'd thought that a lot of that was about connotations, though. "It's classified?" he offered.

"Hm," she said. "Yeah, I don't know much, either."

Jack's life was a blank in the years between Daniel's birth and the time they'd met fifteen years later on Abydos, but then, half the people here had stretches of their lives that they weren't allowed to talk about. Now, though...

("You wanna know about the things I've done?" Jack said.)

"Sam, what does 'black ops' mean?" he asked. "It's just something very classified, isn't it? It's not a... I mean, if Jack--"

"Well," Sam said, "put it this way--we have close to the highest clearance possible, and it's not high enough to know about some of the operations the colonel was involved in. They use the term to mean the operation was...extremely sensitive. So much that no one is allowed to know about it."

Uneasy about what that sounded like, Daniel said, "Well, I've gotten used to not knowing about things above my clearance." Except, when it was their friend and commander... "But you don't think he might have done things that were illegal, like this...stealing thing?"

"No. Well," Sam said carefully, "it's...a matter of how you look at things, right? If you're waging a war on another...say, another country, then obviously what our soldiers do on their soil is probably illegal in that territory."

Daniel frowned. "But...then...that's allowed by the military, even if it's..." He stopped. "That's not the same thing."

She gave him a look. "Think about the kinds of things you've done in the name of the SGC. A lot of the people on SG teams are special operators. Most of the exceptions are people like you and me: technical specialists who get a lot of special operations training within the program."

"You'd seen combat before."

"It's not the same thing. What we do here is...well, it's more specialized. A different skillset. A different mindset."

"So...the bombing of Sokar, on Netu, for example," Daniel said. "That would have been...?"

"If there were an equivalent situation that applied to Earth-bound warfare," Sam said, "yeah, I guess that might be the kind of op Colonel O'Neill ran before. Just think about the times we've infiltrated an enemy camp or...or blown up a mothership."

"Right," he said. "But those were good things--I mean, to our point of view, yeah? They had to be secret at the time in order to...to complete the mission without alerting that enemy, but afterward, everyone with even the lowest clearance at the SGC knew about it. How can something Jack did for the Air Force on Earth be so secret even you can't know?"

She winced. "Well. It's...policy not to keep spreading it around. And...and, well, sometimes he's probably had to...get things done in a way that might seem unsavory to most people."

"We kill people," Daniel pointed out, "but we say it's for a good cause. We killed...thousands on those hatak, that first year, in order to stop their invasion, and then thousands more on Netu to assassinate Sokar... War is morally ambiguous by definition."

"Some things are more morally ambiguous than others," Sam said. "The Tok'ra were willing to sacrifice my father on Netu. They would have let us all die there if you hadn't forced their hand. We caused the deaths of Tok'ra operatives on Cimmeria when we rescued Shifu from there--"

"By accident!" Daniel protested, though he felt uncomfortable with that argument. "We'd barely heard of the Tok'ra by then, and only because Jolinar...you know."

"I know. But..." She took a breath and stared at the bench. "What if there were a situation in which we wanted to take an action that would anger the Tok'ra and felt that there was no other choice? What if they had a spy working for a System Lord, and...I dunno, and we had a team stranded there, and the only way for us to rescue them was to expose their spy, and the only way for their spy to keep his or her position was to let our team die? What would any of us do?"

"I--" Daniel blinked. "Are you--Sam, we'd...we'd find a way. That's what happened on Netu, basically, and we found a way!"

"Yeah, you held one of their operatives at gunpoint," Sam said wryly, though she didn't sound like she disapproved. "If that distraction had caught Sokar's attention, we might all be dead now, or, at best, we'd have lost the Tok'ra as an ally. I'm not saying that was wrong, Daniel, or that any of us would have chosen differently. But sometimes it's not obvious what's right, and results can be so important that the methods--" She made a face. "Hold on--I'm explaining this really badly. I don't want you to get the wrong idea..."

"Well, Jack wouldn't do something...wrong," Daniel said. But...

But he could. Jack had the skills for it, and he hated red tape, and sometimes he thought negotiating with people was nothing more than red tape, and he'd just told Daniel what his priorities were and Daniel hadn't even been able to argue with it...

Sam bit her lip. "I didn't think he would have, either."

"And you do now?" Daniel said warily.

"It's possible he's been ordered in the past to do things that some people would find...unethical," she allowed. "Think about it: in the beginning of that part of his career, in '82, he was sent to Abydos, and their orders were to destroy a planet full of people."

"He wasn't aware of those orders when he went. Only Colonel John Michaels had those orders. I mean, only the higher ranked officers knew about it, and." Daniel paused, not sure whether that made it better. For Jack, maybe. Right?

"Sure," she said. "But, see, SGC teams are...unusual in composition. A special ops team like ours is rarely commanded on the ground by a colonel. A captain would be more likely. That's the rank Colonel O'Neill held in '82, when he started being sent on special operations."

"Jack wouldn't have led people into something like...that," Daniel said, because the thought was unbearable. "Just because he could have doesn't mean he did. Or would."

Sam glanced at him. "Maybe not on that scale. But." She rubbed her forehead, wearing the familiar expression that said she wasn't sure whether she should be saying this about a superior officer. "Daniel, there are ten years blacked out on his record after that."

"But...but he's not doing things like that now," Daniel said. "Sam, if he was ordered to do something... But General Hammond wouldn't order him to... I mean, that doesn't mean he'd do unethical things on his own, against orders!"

Well, his brain insisted on reminding him, Jack does things against orders sometimes, when he thinks it's right. But still, disobeying the Tollan to save their lives from a Goa'uld attack was a far cry from stealing their technology for Tau'ri benefit. He supposed it all depended on what Jack's moral code was. Daniel had been so sure of what that meant before.

"Yeah," she said, picking up a pencil. "I didn't think he would."

"Sam," Daniel tried again. "You don't really think--"

"Honestly," she said, "I don't know what to think now. The things he said to me..."

Daniel sighed again and picked up one of the books on her table. Sam moved from one computer to another. He recognized a diagnostic running on not one but all of them, and he knew she was looking for something to fill her time.

For most of his life, the mythical US Air Force had been the heroic savior of the Abydonian people. Maybe his parents would have had a similar opinion as some other civilian researchers, but they'd allowed the stories flourish. Children--people--needed heroes. "So, these unethical missions," Daniel said. "They're sanctioned by your military? The...the government?"

Sam grimaced. "I really should have explained it better."

"No, actually, I think you made it pretty clear--"

"Is it wrong to kill a lot of people to win a war? How about assassinating an enemy? Is a preemptive strike wrong, or is it more wrong to do nothing and let them kill our people first?"

"And destroying Abydos back then would have been a preemptive strike against an enemy?" Daniel said, because he'd known about the nuke--of course he had; it was a central part of the story--but he'd never truly considered what it said about what the men had been willing to do.

"They didn't know there were people there at first," she reminded him. "Abydos is a bad example, given we went in without full knowledge of what we'd find."

"But the bomb was armed after they found Nagada and met the people," Daniel countered. "I know the story. Would you have done it, Sam?"

"Daniel, don't ask me that."

Caught unawares, Daniel blinked at her. "You...you would have?"

"I wasn't there," she said. "I'm looking at it in retrospect, from an outside perspective, and...and biased by friendships, with much more information than they had while in the field and under fire on that mission. The Abydos '82 team had orders..."

"So what was that you told me before about the military chain of command? That--that it wasn't just...mindless obedience? Is that what you would've said if-if you'd done it, that you had orders?"

"There are laws," Sam said. "There are... We're allowed--we're obligated to refuse orders that are illegal."

Daniel tried to decide how destroying a planet full of people wasn't an order that should be refused on moral or legal grounds. He'd always assumed Colonel John Michaels had been ordered to do it, but that Jack O'Neill never would have obeyed that order. Not Jack--Jack had fixed it with his parents.

So what had Jack done in those fifteen years that the government didn't want people to know? Stealing a small device off a Tollan wall seemed tiny compared to what he might have done. "Do you get court-martialed for disobeying an immoral order?" Daniel asked.

Sam clenched her jaw as she finished typing. "Not...if...you did the right thing. Daniel, c'mon, just let it go."

"Let it go?" he repeated incredulously. "I work for your military! Or should I ask the civilian researchers here about why they're so cynical about military command structure?"

"Ask them, then!" Sam exclaimed. "They're not the ones walking that fine line between doing the right thing and being dismissed for taking a half-step off, or...or getting killed out there because they hesitated a split second too long to think about it! We have our orders, Daniel, and we try our best, but it's not easy, all right?"

Daniel sat back and watched her work, her movements more agitated now.

After a minute, she said, "I would've thought you'd know by now that we're not like that."

"We were, though," Daniel said.

"What?"

"The--with the Tollan. Jack took their technology, and it was illegal, and no one stopped him. Teal'c could've, physically, especially if we'd backed him. None of us reported it at the debrief, even when we were asked directly, until Jack said it himself."

Sam swallowed. "I...I know," she said. "We could've been brought up on charges for that alone. But this is kind of a different scale of crime; it's not like he opened fire on them and we covered it up. I'm not saying it's all right," she added quickly when he opened his mouth. "We...we should've, okay? We would've, eventually--I'm sure--once we realized what was going on."

But it was complicated. That was what she was trying to say. It shouldn't be complicated to know what the right thing was, but it was, and the injustice of that was infuriating. The fine line Sam said they walked wasn't a clear one, and what if some people drew a different line to follow instead? "Jack said sometimes you have to do things that rub my ideals the wrong way," Daniel said, not meeting her eyes now. "And other things--other planets, even--are collateral damage."

She blinked. "You're interpreting his words too strongly."

Daniel threw up his hands. "It's almost an exact quote--I spent over an hour on the way here trying to think of another way to interpret it, Sam! Is that what black special operations means?"

"No, it's...not," she said uncertainly.

"And don't try to tell me there aren't people in high positions in your government who wouldn't agree with that sentiment. People in this mountain, even."

Sam stared at him but didn't deny it. "Well, that's...sure, there are people with that opinion. It doesn't mean they would pull the trigger when push came to shove, or that it's condoned by our President or the officers who give the orders. Daniel, you know I wouldn't...or Teal'c...and General Hammond would never agree to--"

"Yeah," Daniel said, remembering the disapproval in the general's expression when Jack had explained about the Tollan device at the briefing. Thinking of how the general hadn't said a word to any of them since then, wondering if he was mad at them but also wishing he would step in do something to just fix this. "Yeah, I know. It's just...yesterday, you would've put Jack on that list, too."

She sighed as she dropped into a chair on the other side of the bench. "Do you believe this? I'm expecting to wake up and find out it was a bad dream, because... God. You know the colonel at least as well as I do--"

"It doesn't make any sense, Sam," he said. "There has to be..." He stopped.

"...something else," she filled in. "Except I can't think of any other possible..." She stopped, an odd expression on her face.

"What?" Daniel said.

Sam glanced at him, then shook her head. "Nothing. It's, uh...just hard to believe."

"Yeah." And there was that doubt, because years ago, when Daniel had first returned to Abydos after months on Earth, hadn't Kasuf said he'd changed? And there was the guilty-sounding voice that said maybe Jack was still angry about Edora, that he saw their hold slipping in this war and had lost hope over the last months, gods, those months when he'd thought he was alone and no one was coming for him...

Daniel folded his arms on the table and dropped his chin on them, watching her stand and bustle around the lab until she said briskly, "Hey, sit up, will you? You're on top of my book."

XXXXX

3 May 2000; Briefing Room, SGC; 1000 hrs

"For what purpose were we summoned?" Teal'c asked as he entered.

"Filling in the team, I guess," Daniel said. SG-1 had worked without a fourth before, but no one was going to allow only three members if Daniel was the third. He wondered if he'd even be allowed to stay as the fourth.

"Who do you think it'll be?" Sam said.

"Ferretti, maybe?" Daniel suggested hopefully, because Major Ferretti was one of the people outside of SG-1 who accepted him easily as a qualified field operator. "Or maybe one of the junior officers, and you'll get command, Sam. You said most teams this size would be commanded by someone lower ranked than a colonel."

"I also said the SGC worked differently," she reminded him. "SG teams are designed to be able to maintain fairly extensive operations on different planets, on their own, if the situation calls for it. Most units need enough personnel who could take command of various aspects in such cases."

"Meaning that you need a high-ranking officer who can have command over any company-grade officers who might be there."

"Right. And in particular, SG leaders hold a wide range of responsibilities--combat, recon, assessment of and response to a hostile situation, materiel and personnel deployment and organization, diplomatic relations... For SG-1, especially--we don't know what we're going to have to end up doing most of the time, so they want as much experience as possible in direct command. And for diplomatic missions, it looks more respectful if we send someone high-ranked to liaise with a foreign government. They'll want someone higher than Major."

She was right, as it happened. Daniel should have guessed, too--with Jack gone, Ferretti was the second in seniority as an SG team leader if one counted by experience; he was lower than that by rank. Colonel Makepeace was first in both experience and rank.

Daniel understood the SGC and the military hierarchy, having spent two years trying to squeeze himself into it. Besides, the only time he'd served under Makepeace, he'd deliberately masked his intentions and left SG-3 looking foolish to the general, as they'd had to report that they'd let the civilian hitch a ride on an unplanned rescue mission. His position here was tenuous at best, if Makepeace's expression was anything to judge by, so he kept his objections quiet.

"I'm proud to join SG-1," Makepeace said to Sam. He didn't look at Teal'c or Daniel. "I hope you can learn to trust my command as much as you did Colonel O'Neill's."

"I'm sure we will, sir," Sam said for all of them, because she was second-in-command without Jack. Daniel decided that, if he didn't want to be kicked off the team immediately, now would be an unwise time to point out that he had a less than perfect record of following Jack's orders, much less Makepeace's.

"And Major Wade will be joining us, too," Makepeace said, "as our fifth member." Daniel narrowed his eyes--Wade, one of the newer personnel, had been about to join SG-3, and he spoke a few foreign languages and was learning Goa'uld. SG-1 had never needed a fifth before, and with Daniel on the team, they certainly didn't need a language specialist.

Wade nodded politely to them but didn't speak. It wasn't hard to guess why the marine was joining them now. "I'll see you all at our first briefing," Makepeace added.

Teal'c turned and walked away without a word.

XXXXX

7 May 2000; SG-1 Locker Room, SGC; 1000 hrs

"You stay on base," Makepeace told Daniel before the first mission. "Nice work on the pre-mission data analysis."

"What? Why? It's a standard recon," Daniel said, pausing in the middle of strapping on his holster. "Colonel--"

"It's a possible Goa'uld world," Makepeace said.

"So is every world from the Abydos cartouche!" Granted, this one was more likely than most--he'd said so himself in the pre-mission report--but that was always a risk.

"Well, it's too dangerous to send you out with just a zat gun."

Sam was keeping her head studiously down as she slipped into her vest; Wade was quiet, too, but his expression said he disapproved. Not caring what the other Marine thought of him, and unhappy enough to be reckless and argumentative, even to a commanding officer, Daniel pointed out, "I was going to take a nine millimeter, too. There's no reason for me to stay on base."

"Your assignment says that your CO can decide not to include you in the field if it seems too dangerous," Makepeace said impatiently. "I'm making that call."

"Then what's the point of having me on this team at all?" Daniel retorted.

"I don't really know," Makepeace snapped. "I'm telling you to stay here, unless you want me to make the J--Teal'c stand guard over you while we're there."

Daniel's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Sam, who'd stopped in the middle of zipping her tac vest, and Teal'c, who seemed ready to show someone exactly what he was capable of ripping apart without even needing a weapon. Wade suddenly looked uncomfortable, like he wasn't sure what to do with himself. "The Jaffa?" Daniel repeated, indignation piling furiously onto frustration. "Is that what you were about to say? What do you call us in your head--the geek and the girl?"

"Daniel," Sam admonished, her face pink.

"Jackson," Makepeace said, his tone allowing no room for argument, "I gave you an order. SG-1, let's go."

Wade walked out first, looking eager to get out of the tension. It took a nod from Sam for Teal'c to obey, and even then, he pushed the door open, intoning, "As you command, human." Sam closed her eyes briefly, then followed Makepeace out without another word. Daniel would have felt sorry for making it worse for her, except he'd decided that it was easier to be angry at her for not speaking up, if not for him, then at least for Teal'c, who had been her teammate for over two years.

He changed back out of his gear, then blew past Robert's startled face in the archaeology office, reached his desk, and found the appropriate forms.

"What's going on?" Robert said.

Instead of answering, Daniel finished and made his way to General Hammond's office. "Mr. Jackson?" the general said once he'd been waved inside.

"I'd like to withdraw from SG-1, sir," Daniel said.

The general looked over the transfer request papers carefully and said, "After everything you've been through, I didn't think you'd just quit, Mr. Jackson. I realize Colonel O'Neill gave you a lot of latitude; you have to know not every commander will do the same right away."

"My function is interpretation and translation," Daniel said stiffly, "and Colonel Makepeace has already found a replacement. Is he just not allowed to kick me off right away, sir?"

"I told him I didn't think it would be fair without at least a trial period," the general admitted, "but it is the right of the commanding officer to have a say in the composition of his own team."

"Well," Daniel said, "then with your permission, I'd rather not wait out several missions before he's allowed to tell me to get off his team when I could be useful somewhere else."

General Hammond pursed his lips, then placed the papers flat on his desk. "That might be best for now. Consider yourself off the team. You can be assigned to other teams until a more permanent position comes back up."

Daniel found himself in the control room when SG-1 returned hours later, just to make sure they were at least in one piece, and then left.

Sam met him on the way to the elevator. "Daniel," she said, catching his arm, "you--" She stopped and stared at the sleeve she was holding. "Why aren't you wearing our patch?"

"Why aren't you standing up to him?" he hissed. "Not even for Teal'c?"

"I can't; he's not doing anything wrong," she said quietly. "Just give him some time. Colonel Makepeace is a good officer with an impeccable record. He's just used to teams that are specialized for combat. You can't blame him for being uncomfortable with you at first."

"I've worked too hard to be told I'm not good enough to be in the field with my team, except to...what, stand at the 'gate while the Jaffa stands guard over me?" Daniel said.

Sam winced. "I know, but don't just resign yet."

"I'm not waiting for him to force me off," he threw back. "Sam, c'mon. You know Makepeace. How long do you think it'll take for him to replace Teal'c, too? How long before he decides you don't look like the typical man under his command?"

"Jesus, Daniel," she breathed, glancing over her shoulder, as if to make sure no one had caught that. "There's no reason to think--"

"Really?"

"Really! What if there's more to--what if there's something else going on?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "What something else?"

"I don't..." She bit her lip and dropped her gaze for a moment. "I don't know. Nothing. I just mean...what if we end up needing you for something? It's happened before."

"What good am I going to do you from my office that I couldn't do on another team? You've got Major Wade now, and he's...actually quite good at Goa'uld and some of Earth's languages. You were the best team without me before; you'll still be the best team without me."

"But that was when we had..." She stopped again. She looked around them, then whispered forcefully, "This isn't you, Daniel; you're being rash, and...and impulsive. If Colonel O'Neill were here, you'd never--you'd have fought for--"

"Well, he's not here, is he?" Daniel snapped angrily. "I would fight for you and Teal'c and...but not just for a patch with a number." Makepeace's face appeared around the far end of the hall, so Daniel stopped by the elevator, searching his pockets. "Dammit, I left my card on my desk--"

"Here," Sam said softly, swiping her ID for him. "Daniel, give it some thought. Some time. Okay?" He escaped into the elevator before he had to face her wounded expression, too.

XXXXX

11 May 2000; Control Room, SGC; 0900 hrs

"P5C-768," Sergeant Harriman announced. "Edora. Chevron one--engaged."

Daniel folded his arms. Sam and Teal'c were in the 'gate room, as were the general and even Janet. Daniel almost wanted to walk away, the way Jack was walking up the ramp without turning around to see them, but part of him was still certain that it was a misunderstanding--Jack was going to turn around at the top of the ramp and say he was just kidding.

Jack walked through the event horizon. The wormhole closed. Daniel walked away and wished he'd never mentioned retiring on Edora after all.

"Mr. Jackson," Major Pendleton said, passing him in the halls, "SG-5 leaves in an hour."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said. "I'll be ready."

XXXXX

13 May 2000; PK5-207; 0900 hrs

SG-5 was a first-line research team. They were, therefore, experienced at exploring new planets, but they specialized in ones that looked from telemetry like they could be good research sites, or places that the engineers wanted to examine. They ran into hostiles sometimes, but they weren't one of the teams that usually walked deliberately into combat. They were, however, very used to accepting temporary researchers, and Daniel had an advantage of experience over other civilians if they ran into combat, too. They were generally easy-going and straight-forward, and Daniel fit in with them well enough to pass.

"So, Daniel," Lieutenant Dean Barber said as they made their way back to the Stargate after an easy, two-day reconnaissance and salvage mission, "what do you make of this?" As Captain Lithell reached the DHD and started dialing, Barber reached down to the FRED to pull out one of the stone carvings they'd found as they walked together toward the open wormhole. "I mean, look at how it was carved. Have you ever tried stonework before?"

Daniel looked more closely. "Not really..."

"Look how it's cut against the grain. If the structure is as crystalline as it looks, that should cause some flaws, and considering how smooth it is..."

"There are tests we can run to make better guesses about the carving techniques used," Captain Lithell put in. "Jackson, have you ever used the SEM?"

"The S...what?" Daniel said.

"Scanning electron microscope. We can use it as a way of looking at surface features on stone."

"Oh, I've read about that," Daniel said, recognizing the term now. "There was an article earlier this year--well, it was about crystal skulls, but they were using the same technique. You mean the...making a mold of the surface and--"

"Yeah, that's what I mean," Lithell said, looking amused as they walked into the wormhole.

"Crystal skulls?" Barber added. "You reading up on pseudoarchae--?"

...x...

13 May 2000; Embarkation Room, SGC; 0910 hrs

"--ology these days?" he finished as he stepped out.

Daniel shrugged. "I was reading some works by a certain researcher and kept stumbling across it, so I looked it up. Besides, Dean, this program was founded on so-called pseudoarchaeology."

"Point. Lab 4 on Level 20," Barber added to an airman, carefully handing over their find to go through the standard decontamination protocols. Daniel handed his sidearm over absently and stood for the radiation checks. "I can show you how the 'scope works, Daniel, and a few things about the material structure. It's really pretty interes--"

Someone cleared his throat loudly. Daniel looked up, noticing that Major Pendleton had finished reporting to General Hammond.

And Jack was standing at the bottom of the ramp.

"Dismissed, SG-5," the general said. "Mr. Jackson, we'd like a word, please."

Daniel waited for SG-5 to walk past him and looked from Jack to the general, lost. "Why?" he said.

The general looked surprised. "You've been requested to return to SG-1, under Colonel O'Neill's command."

"D'you miss me?" Jack said.

Did you miss me. That was it?

"The Tollan won't be happy that we failed to punish the perpetrator of high crimes against them, General," Daniel said, because what else was there to say?

"C'mon," Jack said, gesturing him down the ramp.

Daniel eyed him and didn't move.

"There was no crime on the part of Colonel O'Neill," General Hammond said when they were still there several seconds later. Jack's expression turned more uncertain as the general explained, "This was an operation planned out with my knowledge and with the knowledge of the Tollan, the Asgard, the Tok'ra, and the Nox."

"Uh-huh," Daniel said. Planned. It had been planned. Jack was innocent.

"Technology has been stolen from all of those peoples over the past few months. It wasn't until the last few weeks that the Tollan and the Asgard have both procured evidence that we, the SGC, have been stealing technology from them."

Daniel couldn't help glancing at Jack, remembering how betrayed they'd all felt watching Jack take the Tollan disarming device.

"We convinced them that it must be the work of a group from outside the SGC," the general continued, "so they agreed to hold off action against us, provided that we apprehended the criminals ourselves."

"Then...on Tollana..." Daniel said, turning to Jack, "that was planned."

"Yeah," Jack said. "And then the rogue group--they were an NID offshoot--decided I had the right sort of moral code and recruited me."

"Because you thought Sam or Teal'c or I might have been the real criminal," Daniel said flatly.

"Because your reactions had to be genuine," General Hammond said. Daniel couldn't tell if he felt apologetic or satisfied or if this was just something the military did. Maybe this was one of those black operations Sam had talked to him about, he decided--one of the ones the military could deny telling Jack to do if it didn't work--and it hadn't involved nuking innocent civilians, but it still hurt because Daniel had been able to believe it could have been so much worse--he'd begun to believe it of Jack. He wondered what Sam and Teal'c thought and whether he was the only one who felt like he'd been gutted a few times over the last several days. "The Asgard insisted that Colonel O'Neill be the only one involved."

"They like me," Jack reminded him with a sheepish half-smile and a shrug.

Daniel nodded, shifting uncomfortably. "So the appeal Sam and I drafted for the Tollan...we only did that so Jack could..." He gestured toward the Stargate. "That was all to trick us."

"There was no choice," the general said. "But I wasn't lying when I said your recent work on diplomatic matters has impressed me."

Daniel had nothing to say in answer to that.

They'd been doing good, he told himself. There had been criminals to catch, and Jack and Hammond had caught them. Jack was the face of the SGC to the galaxy, but Hammond was its head, and they'd done what their jobs had demanded of them. There was no reason for Daniel to feel like the ground had become suddenly tenuous under his feet.

"It's good to be back, I'll say that," Jack said, trying to inject energy into the conversation. "Just got back last night, you know."

"Who was it?" Daniel said, not answering either of them. "Who was heading the rogue NID operation?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this one," Jack said.

And since it was something to do with the NID and Jack sounded so very smug about it, Daniel guessed, "Colonel Maybourne?"

"Maybourne," Jack said at the same time, then blinked. The general exchanged a look with him, smiled at both of them, and left, gesturing for them to leave the embarkation room, as well. Daniel finally stepped down the ramp to follow them. "Anyway, I guess it was a mistake to put Maybourne back into the thick of things after the foothold incident. He had one of the Goa'uld communication balls--"

"The ones they told Sam they never managed to reverse-engineer?" Daniel clarified.

"Yeah. Either someone was lying to Carter, or the researchers didn't know everything. Maybourne had a couple of his own engineers, you know. We didn't get him--"

"You didn't get him?" After all that.

"He must've been tipped off," Jack said, "but at least he'll never be put into a position of power again. And his contact here at the SGC was Robert Makepeace."

Daniel stopped in the doorway. "What?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Never thought it'd be him."

Even that hurt, Daniel found. He hadn't liked Makepeace at all, but the man had been a colonel in the US Marine Corps, a senior officer in the SGC, and a commander who had fought and won many battles against Goa'uld forces with his own team. And he was a traitor. "Well. I suppose you didn't know him as well as you thought," Daniel said, continuing on.

"Ah...yeah," Jack said, loping forward to catch up. "Listen, that stuff I was talking about in my house--our house," he corrected himself, looking nervous, even though it was Jack's house and both of them always called it that. "Um...the place was bugged. They were listening, maybe watching us. I had to keep up the act."

Logical. Reasonable. Consistent with the data. Daniel nodded, biting his tongue hard.

"I had to get you to leave," Jack went on. "Maybourne knows a lot about you, you know that. He wouldn't've tried to approach me if you'd still been there, or if he thought I was sympathetic to your ideals--"

"My ideals," Daniel said.

"Our ideals," Jack said quickly. "Definitely...our. Why do you think I tried so hard to get you to stay on base that day instead of coming home? I argued to keep you out of this whole mess somehow, but there was no way...we knew you wouldn't leave it alone. So I had to keep up the act and convince you to leave, which..."

"No, it's..." Okay? Not really. "I understand," Daniel said. "Orders. I had a talk with Sam about this."

"Wait, you two knew it was an act?"

"No," he said, and immediately, he wondered if she'd known. Had Sam played the dutiful airman because it was her job, or had she realized, too, that Jack had been following orders and decided not to tell Daniel? "We were, uh, talking about...morality. What it's acceptable to do."

Jack winced almost imperceptibly, as if he knew exactly where that conversation had gone. And then Daniel wondered if there had been another reason for using Jack other than the Asgard's wishes--if the house had already been bugged by then, it must have been bugged before. What if Maybourne had known more about Jack's moral code and previous actions and had been watching and hoping for a chance to recruit anyway? What if the Tollan debacle hadn't been what caught the NID's attention--what if it had been just the push over the edge after fifteen years of redacted missions Daniel wasn't allowed to know about?

"And obviously, what I said about us having nothing in common..." Jack started, then looked frustrated. "I had to get you to leave. That's it."

No, Daniel thought. That wasn't 'it.' There had been truth in there, and they both knew it. "Right," he said, stumbling for words. "Yeah, obviously, it's...you don't have to...yeah, I, uh, I know."

"Yeah?" Jack said. "Because I feel kinda... I appreciate your sitting through so much of that crap before you walked out. And then I kept imagining you getting mugged on the street on the way to...w-wait--where are you going?"

Jack had stopped at the SG-1 locker room. "I'm in SG-5's room," Daniel said, pointing. "I have to return equipment and go through some analysis with Captain Lithell and Lieutenant Barber, anyway."

"Bu--the--ah...right," Jack said, somehow looking like he'd slumped without actually moving at all. Something in his expression, perhaps. "I'll...catch up with you later."

XXXXX

13 May 2000; Archaeology Office, SGC; 1300 hrs

It felt almost like an ambush, except that Daniel had known Jack would be waiting for him as long as the archaeology office was empty. "Hi," he said.

"Hello," Jack said. Daniel folded his arms and leaned back against his desk. "Do we need to...?"

"I get it," Daniel said.

"O-kay," Jack said, "because..." He stopped. "Okay. Is there something...?"

Daniel rubbed his eyes, not wanting to ask but needing to know--"You've done things like this before."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "I told you once, didn't I? You go undercover, you end up having to do some distasteful things."

"I'm not...I get it, Jack," Daniel repeated stiffly. "No one died, the criminals were caught, the Tollan and the Asgard won't sever ties with us. Success. Fine."

"Clearly, not fine," Jack said slowly.

"Well, I'm just wondering how distasteful your orders have to get before you decide they're too distasteful to follow."

"It doesn't work like that," he answered, impatient and offended. "Nothing I've done over the last couple of weeks was illegal; whatever it looked like, I had direct orders to steal things with the knowledge of the people from whom I was stealing."

"Not this time, then. What if you'd been asked to do something worse?"

"For--what do you want from me, Daniel?" Jack exploded, pushing the door shut.

"An answer!" Daniel nearly yelled back, then lowered his voice. "I want to know whether this can happen again"--Jack opened his mouth and Daniel raised his voice again over it--"because this is my job now, not just a temporary, personal mission, and I want to know if I picked a life where any of us can be ordered to--"

"No!" Jack interrupted, just as angry now. "But there are missions that need to get done. You can refuse if it's too damned distasteful for you; some of us don't have that luxury!"

Daniel clamped his jaw together, tapping a finger against the top of his desk.

Jack let out a quick breath of air, pacing. "And sometimes, maybe that's a good thing," he said, slightly more calmly. "That's your job. It doesn't mean you get to judge me for doing my job so you don't have to."

"Oh, please," Daniel said, pushing himself away from the desk. "You think it's easier for civilians? You have your orders. If we do something wrong, then we should have known better, except you people think we're such...such soft-handed innocents that we can't be trusted to do our job because we're not military, even though we've been out there risking our lives and making those decisions with you, and we're not trusted to have a valid opinion outside of following your orders in the first place!"

"'You people?'" Jack repeated, his face darkening. "Now I'm one of--"

"Aren't you?"

"When did you stop being one of us?"

"I never have been," Daniel said, and while he'd always known there was a separation between him and everyone else for several reasons, part of him hurt to understand it fully. "I've tried for years to be one of you people, and then I found out what that means!"

"It means I did what I had to do to get you out of my house," Jack said angrily. "Do you know what covert means, Daniel? It means no one is allowed to know--for my safety, for your safety, for the SGC's protection, and for the sake of the mission. I was protecting you, Daniel!"

"What if you'd been with Colonel Maybourne's team and he gave you an order?" Daniel said. "You can steal technology for the cause, yeah? Can you fight an innocent person guarding it? What if you had to kill him, or what if it was five people?"

"That didn't happen," Jack said. It wasn't a yes. More importantly, it wasn't a no.

"What if you could kill Apophis and his armies, but you had to destroy a planet to do it?"

"What the hell? That's not even relevant to--"

"It is!" Daniel snapped. "It almost happened with Ra, didn't it? My people! My family! That's how all of this started, and it could happen again--what if someone gave you that order? Someone could give you that order. I have to know where you draw the line, Jack!"

"There is no line, Daniel!" Jack exclaimed, leaning forward until Daniel barely stopped himself from flinching. "It's never as simple as drawing a line that'll fit everything, so it's up to us to figure out where it goes every damn time. You wanna know what happens when someone gives me that order? I take Merrin to the playground."

Daniel almost took a physical step back. They'd never spoken of Orban in the months since the Averium SG-1 had witnessed. Daniel had followed orders to help a man take away the mind of a child, and they would never agree about who had been right. But hadn't Daniel told Sam less than two weeks ago that SG-1's answer to an order with no right choice was to find another way? Both of them had disobeyed orders in the past to do what they'd thought was right, and they'd both also followed orders that had felt wrong.