fan fic
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FAN FICTION
IN OUR OWN BACK YARD The hot desert sun blasted down on his shoulders, washing the scene in endless realms of brilliant yellow light. The sands reflected it, soaked it in, turned the entire area into a living oven. The air was hot and dry, often filled with tiny grains of sand picked up by the slightest of breezes. There were no breezes this day. Yet, Piers Robinson, archaeologist, was a happy man. It had taken nearly two years to put this dig project together and begin to make progress in unearthing what he knew was here. They were close now, coming closer every day, to finding the ancient temple devoted to the God Horus. Already, they had drawn the sand back from walls and a courtyard, locating several significant artifacts, including a magnificent bird statuette. Soon, he would again be at the top of his profession. The three-year-old embarrassment would be finally, fully forgotten. Even now, it stung at the back of his throat like a bitter pill. He'd trusted the boy, the son of an old friend. Young Danny Jackson had inherited his parent's passion for ancient cultures and a multiple of their intelligence. A gift for languages that still astonished the older man. He'd so hoped the boy would prove that promise true, and he'd supported him behind the scenes, making sure the boy got his grants, quietly making sure that others in the field knew who's protégé Jackson was. That had turned into the biggest mistake he'd ever made in his life. But who would have thought that such a brilliant intellect would hide such insanity. The boy had veered off, on his own, delving into theories that belonged to a crazed UFO cultist not to a trained archaeologist. 'Cross-pollination of ancient cultures' - it was beyond belief. Beyond humiliation. And that embarrassment had struck him too. He'd supported the boy to his colleagues and that had led them to laugh at him. At *him* who had been - still was - the best and most successful of all. He'd made sure that Jackson's grants died up, especially after that last disaster of a seminar in Cairo. He'd made sure the young man couldn't find a job as an archaeologist if his life depended on it - not that it had been difficult. Jackson's own ideas did most of the work for him. But Piers wanted to be sure the boy learned his lesson. In time, he had figured, Jackson would come crawling back to his father's oldest friend asking for help. Piers would be ready to give it, then, once Jackson had publicly retracted his theories and apologized for humiliating them all. Then, under close supervision, the Jackson's talents could be put to proper use. But Jackson had never come to him. As far as Piers could discover, the boy had disappeared off the face of the earth. He was probably drunk in some alley somewhere. Another homeless failure. A waste of a mind, yes, but perhaps for the best. It had taken these full three years for Piers' reputation to recover from the damage Jackson had caused. This new discovery would finally complete the process. At last. Piers smiled into the bright Egyptian sun and gestured for the workers to hurry. ----- "Hey, Daniel, wanna go shoot some hoops?" Colonel Jack O'Neill's voice preceded him through the door to Daniel Jackson's laboratory, buried deep within the Cheyenne Mountain Base that housed Stargate Command. Jack had discovered that basketball was the one sport he could, occasionally, talk the scholarly-minded archaeologist into participating in so he tended to propose the activity whenever they got a quiet moment between missions. Daniel, on the other hand, preferred to spend that time catching up on his reading, translating things located by the various SG teams, or surfing the internet. Nice, quiet, non-physical activities. However, Jack rarely let him get away with that for long. The Colonel was a physically-minded man who loved to 'get the juices flowing' as he put it. And in the end, the Colonel usually got his way. If the truth was told, Daniel didn't mind. Jack was his best friend, the first true friend Daniel had ever had. No one else had ever taken the time to drag him out of his studies, to push him to do things like play basketball or watch football or even stare at the stars through a telescope. Jack did, and Daniel was deeply grateful, more than he could ever say. All of the SGC had followed Jack's lead, accepting him as one of their own. They'd refrained from laughing too hard at him as he stumbled after the rest of his agile team during missions and on the training grounds. No one had made fun of his early attempts at learning how to handle weapons. For the first time in his 34 years of life, he belonged. So his sigh of annoyance was only half real in response to Jack's question and he deftly caught the ball that was tossed at his head. "Jack! I'm in the middle of..." "Ahh come on, Daniel. 'All work and no play makes Danny a very dull boy.'" Jack quipped. "It'll be fun!" Daniel shook his head, looked back at the computer screen to hide his smile, then his eyes widened. "Wait...Jack..." he muttered, his eyes skimming rapidly through the text displayed on the monitor. "So that sonuvabitch finally found it!" "Wha...who found what?" Jack was nothing if not quick on the uptake. He peered over Daniel's head, dropping one hand on his shoulder. "Dr. Piers Robinson. He was an old friend of my father's. Put me through school after my parents died. He's spent years trying to find the original temple of Horus. I helped him with it during the summers. Looks like he might finally have succeeded." Daniel couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. His stomach sank, his hands threatened to clench into fists. Jack gazed down at him, concern and confusion filling his eyes and voice. "Ahh OK, I sense something you're not telling me here. If the guy put you through school, then..." Daniel laughed caustically. "He never let me forget it. He liked to say I was his protégé, but the word 'pet' comes to mind. I think he expected me to spend the rest of my life working under his direction, with most of the credit going to him. So when I broke away and did my own thing, he was furious. Especially since he thought my work was insane." Daniel was not easily angered, but this opened up painful old wounds, and the rage swelled within him, hard and bitter. "Ahhh..." was all Jack said, though his fingers squeezed Daniel's shoulder. Daniel shook his head, trying to clear it, trying to focus on the moment. "Anyway, when he realized that I wasn't going to apologize for my theories or come running back to him, he made sure that all of my funding disappeared. I can't 'prove' he was responsible, but I know he was. He also made sure no one would give me a job. If Catherine hadn't found me when she did, I...I don't know what I would have done. I know my ideas were unusual, but damn it, I had evidence. And I was right!" "Yes, you were right," Jack replied quietly. He shifted around, perching himself on the desk beside the computer, pulling Daniel's eyes away from the screen and towards him instead. "Look, I realize that it's tough on you, not being able to tell anyone about the Stargate and everything we've discovered. But there are good reasons for that..." "I know," Daniel interrupted. He leaned back in his chair, pulling off his glasses and rubbing at his nose. "I understand and it's OK. Well, mostly it is. I've got opportunities here that I couldn't have even dreamed of. I get to do things most people would consider science-fiction. Hell, I get to explore an entire galaxy. It's just that sometimes I wish..." "That you tell the bastards who laughed at your theories that you were right after all and they've completely missed the boat," Jack said for him. His voice was serious, but his brown eyes twinkled. Daniel couldn't help laughing, far less bitterly this time. He tucked his glasses up on the top of his head. "Yeah. I'd love to see what Piers' face would look like if he knew about all this." He sighed softly, then started as his eyes fell on the screen again. There was a picture of a wall painting revealed by the dig, and it sent Daniel's mind flying. "OH..." he whispered. "What?" Jack questioned again, twisting his body around to try to look at the screen. Daniel muttered a few words in a language Jack faintly recognized as Ancient Egyption, then lifted his eyes, wide and startled, to meet Jack's own. "We may have a problem here..." -- "You're certain about this, Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked. Daniel nodded, meeting the General's eyes first, then scanning the room. SG-1 was arrayed around the briefing room table, assembled at Daniel's call. Jack hadn't questioned Daniel's concern, he'd taken it seriously and responded rapidly. So here they were and now it was time for more detailed explanations. "Yes, General. We already know that Horus, also known as Heru'Ur, is a powerful Goa'uld system lord. While he was Apophis' enemy, he was Ra's son, and Ra was the Goa'uld in charge here on earth until our Stargate was buried by the Ancient Egyptians. Heru'Ur has a significant place in Egyptian mythology as a result, and traces of his presence have shown up throughout Ancient cultures. A friend of my father's, Dr. Piers Robinson, has been searching for the mythical first temple of Horus since I was a kid. If the reports coming in now are true, then he's found it. And if this *is* Heru'Ur's dwelling place while he was on earth, which the wall carving I saw on the net says, then there's likely to be a significant amount of Goa'uld stuff down there. Don't forget that when Hathor was found in South America, she was in a sarcophagus. If there's one of those in Heru'Ur's temple..." He let his voice trail off, letting one of the others state the obvious. Jack was willing to do so. "Then we may have a big problem." The General gave him a commanding officer's 'look', caught the agreement in Samantha Carter's and Teal'c's faces, and nodded grimly. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Doctor. As it happens, I have already had a call from the White House this morning, asking me if we should be concerned about some of the digging going on in Egypt. Seems they came to the same conclusion and are worried about some civilian archaeologist stumbling on some Goa'uld technology, or worse yet, weapons or a booby trap of some kind." "That is, indeed, a concern, General Hammond," Teal'c said. "If the Goa'uld were aware that they were in danger of being expelled from this planet, it is quite likely that they would have left behind traps for the unwary. Even if they did not know that they were in trouble here, it is common practice to surround one's stronghold with such traps." "Teal'c's right," Sam added. "This archaeologist doesn't know what he's dealing with, and since we can't tell him, well, is there anyway we can stop the dig? Or better yet, take it over ourselves? If there is Goa'uld technology still on earth, then we need to find it. I'd love a chance to take a sarcophagus apart and see if we can figure out how it works. If there's a way of adapting the healing to our use without the resulting addiction problem, it would be invaluable." "Yeah, though personally, I'm more worried about those traps. Not to mention any weapons that might be still hanging around. If those fell into the wrong hands, it could be a disaster," Jack responded. "I agree," the General pronounced, "and so does the President. Or he will as soon as I confirm his concerns. I will contact him immediately, but while I do that, I'd like both SG-1 and SG-3 to prepare for a mission - this time in our own backyard." "Egypt," Daniel breathed. Egypt, where it had all begun. -- The briefing room was crowded with both SG teams, Doctor Fraser, and a couple of additional personnel. The General paused in the doorway, then cleared his throat loudly. "Gentlemen, Ladies..." They all came to attention, even Dr. Jackson, who had begun to imitate his military teammates more and more in the past year. The General smiled at them, waving a hand at them to relax, and approached the end of the long table. The others settled around it, waiting for him to begin the meeting. "I spoke with the President and he agrees with our concerns. He's been in discussion with the Egyptian President recently about other issues, and believes that he can convince the Egyptians to give us their full cooperation in return for other considerations. We maintain a significant military presence in the region and I've already notified those forces. All I told the commander was that the Horus dig was to be closed down and the area held under national security classification until your arrival at which command is to be put in your hands. He's assured me of his full cooperation and hasn't asked a lot of questions, though he's patently curious about what's going on." Jack snorted. "Too bad." The General glared at him, though it was, as always, hard to stay annoyed at the irrepressible Colonel for long. "Exactly. The area is to be secured by our personnel, with only minimal support from the Egyptian command. Under no circumstances is the nature of our mission to be shared with anyone, regardless of rank. Refer anyone who gives you trouble to me and I'll take care of it." There was a round of nods throughout the room and the General was satisfied. He knew he could count on his people. They were an odd bunch, often difficult, always self-opinionated, but they were the best. And they were completely devoted to the cause they were fighting for. Even the civilian, Jackson, was someone he'd trust without question or doubt. And that led him to the next issue at hand. "Colonel Makepiece, you'll be in charge of security arrangements. You'll have your team plus the two non-wounded members of SG-6. Pull personnel from the Egyptian base as you must, but make sure they don't have access to anything important." "Yes, sir," Makepiece confirmed. "Colonel O'Neill, you, Major Carter and Teal'c will provide Dr. Jackson with all the assistance he requires. Doctor, since this is your area of expertise, I'm putting you in command of the mission. I'd recommend taking Colonel Makepiece's advise on security matters, and using the strengths of your teammates as needed, but the final say is yours." Before anyone could argue, he added firmly. "The President agrees with me on this. No one will know better than Dr. Jackson how to safely dig up whatever is down there. So he's in charge. Understood?" Jackson simply looked stunned. Carter and O'Neill were barely holding back smiles. Teal'c was as impassive as ever. The rest of the men simply nodded and erupted in a chorus of 'yes sirs.' "Sir, I...uh...are you sure? I mean, I can handle the dig, but surely Colonel O'Neill should be in command?" Jackson finally found his voice. The General smiled gently at him and shook his head. "Not on this one, son. He doesn't have the knowledge base you do. However, I expect you to use his skills and experience to its fullest, which I'm sure you will. You'll be operating much as you usually do on a mission, the only difference is that the final decision is yours and not his." Hammond turned to O'Neill, "Do you understand that, Colonel?" O'Neill gave full reign to that grin, reaching out to nudge Jackson's arm. "Oh yeah. We'll make a military commander out of Daniel here, no problem." Jackson gave him a dirty look which only amused O'Neill more. He chuckled, then slid into seriousness. "We'll be fine, General, and I think you're right. Daniel knows more about digging up rocks than anyone on this planet. Or on any other planet for that matter." Jackson opened his mouth to retort but the General quickly interrupted. They could tease each other in private, later. "Fine. That's settled. I've put a transport plane on standby. Be ready to leave by 18 hundred hours tomorrow." He paused and swept the room with his eyes. "Good luck people, and be careful. We can't afford a security leak on this thing and it could be messy." A round of 'yes sirs' and they filed out, O'Neill's arm draped over Jackson's shoulder as Jackson spoke urgently into his friend's ear. General Hammond smiled after them, then sighed. May God protect them all. -- Daniel wasn't in the least bit certain about this being in charge business. Jack seemed to be amused by it, but Daniel took the responsibility very seriously. He didn't like the idea of having other people's lives dependent on his decisions, although, to be honest, that had already happened many times during their Stargate missions. Still, he had always had Jack there to lean on, Jack who never shied away from making the tough choices. Could Daniel make them now? He wasn't really sure. At least he was on sure ground in preparing for the mission. He knew how to organize a dig, what equipment would be needed and what supplies to order. They'd been promised full access to the facilities already put in place by Piers' group, so this part wasn't really difficult. By noon, he had everything ready to go and there was only one last thing to be taken care of. Vaccinations. As much as Daniel hated needles, he hated being sick even more. And many of the diseases rampant in Egypt were killers. He'd seen people die of cholera and malaria, typhoid fever and dysentery. There was no way he was taking any risks with his friends and comrades, not to mention himself. Unlike the missions off planet where they had no idea of what diseases they might come in contact with, here they knew what they would be facing. This was home ground. So he herded everyone into the infirmary where Dr. Fraser and her team were ready and waiting with rows of disposable needles and piles of pills. Mefloquinone for malaria. Vaccines for half a dozen common viral diseases, up to and including influenza and measles, not to mention yellow fever. No use taking chances. Dr. Fraser had also put together medical supply kits that contained just about every antibiotic known to man, ribavarin, the only generalized antiviral drug in existence, amantadine (for flu), codeine, insect repellant, anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea drugs, and a few things Daniel hadn't heard of. He accepted his kit with gratitude then grit his teeth and prepared for the shots. Jack was a lot less accepting of the procedure. He complained volubly after each shot, demanding to know what was in it and why he had to have it. He grumbled about the mefloquinone, accepted the long series of shots for diseases he'd heard of before with a squinched expression and muttered curses, but exploded when it came, finally to the vaccine for Rift Valley fever. He yanked his arm away from the nurse, exclaiming about not having any unstabbed spots left and not needing a shot for some rare disease he'd never heard of before. "Would you rather have it on your ass, colonel?" Janet asked pointedly, coming over to see what the problem was. "No, I'd rather not have it at all," Jack replied. "I thought we were going to be out in the desert. How can there be this many diseases there?" "Jack," Daniel answered, "We're going to be within a hundred miles of the Aswan dam which is the epicentre for Rift Valley Fever. Believe me, it is not something you want to catch." Janet tossed him a surprised look and he shrugged. "I was there in '77," he explained. Her eyes widened and she nodded understanding. "He's right, Colonel. While Rift Valley Fever causes a flu-like illness in most cases, about 10% develop hemorrhages in the eyes, and about 2% develop a severe and deadly hemorrhagic fever. It's nasty, so hold still. This is the last shot." "Hemorrhagic fever?" Jack echoed, finally unfurling his arm. "Sounds awful. Where've I heard of it before?" "Ever heard of Ebola," Daniel responded, unable to resist the semi-serious tease. You'd think that after all his experiences in special ops, Jack would know some of this stuff. Actually he probably did, and just didn't want to admit it. He hated medical procedures even more than Daniel did. The needle missed Jack's arm as he jumped. "Ebola? Holy shit! You mean this Valley thing is like Ebola? Hell, could we catch that too?" Janet sighed and dismissed the nurse while Daniel chuckled at Jack's expense. She took hold of Jack's arm. "Hold still!" she ordered. Once the shot had, finally, been administered, she explained. "Yes, Rift Valley Fever has some similarities to Ebola, in that all hemorrhagic fevers express some of the same symptoms. But it is an unrelated virus. As for Ebola, there shouldn't be a significant risk. So far, it hasn't been reported that far north and there's no reason for you to heading into Zaire or the Sudan. Relax, Colonel. These are just precautions." "Yeah right," Jack grumbled, rubbing at his sore arm. He glared at Daniel who was still grinning at him. "If I get it, I'm blaming you!" he accused. "Relax, Jack. Just don't drink the local water or eat the local food and you'll be fine," Daniel told him, suddenly feeling a lot more relaxed about the entire situation. Nothing had changed all that much, this was still a mission. He'd still have Jack and the others to rely upon and he did have the most experience. He'd spent years of his life in Egypt. He knew the language, the culture, the people, the geography. He knew archaeology and he knew enough about Goa'uld technology to have some idea of what might be waiting for them below the sand. Maybe his first 'command' would turn out OK after all. -- Damn, stupid, ignorant, bureaucratic, military fools! Piers Robinson barely restrained himself from punching the Air Force officer. The man was insufferable, they all were. He detested the military, particularly the US military. They were always getting in the way, eating up funds that ought to go to better uses, like funding archaeological research, specifically *his* archaeological research, and making dumb rules that made traveling and getting work permits overseas three times as difficult as it ought to be. This, however, was far, far worse. What the hell did they mean by moving in and shutting down his dig. Now? Just when he was so close to breaking into the temple itself. Just when he'd found... They weren't going to get away with this. He told the officer that, but the man simply stared back at him like the mindless automaton he was. Soldiers - there wasn't a brain among them. They were robots, primed to follow orders, however ridiculous those orders were. So he'd get to whoever was giving those order if it was the last thing he did. He was not giving up the dig of a lifetime just because the US military decided it needed to do some top secret maneuvers in the same spot. He turned on his heels and stalked out of the consulate, heading for the hotel. He had some calls to make. -- Nothing helped. Everyone he'd called had either tried to avoid speaking to him or had refused to come to his aid. He went as far as a couple of Senators who owed him a favor. They had declined to help as well. Someone very powerful was behind this, and for the first time in his life, Piers Robinson felt the stirrings of true paranoia. Yet that fear also stirred his massive ego, resulting in a desperate rage. He was not going to kept from making his discovery, the US military notwithstanding. He knew the area better than anyone now, and he knew exactly which spot was likely to hold the breakthrough. Dropping the telephone, he moves swiftly around the room, his body still in remarkable shape for a man his age, his mind working furiously. He still had funds and he knew some workers who were hungry and needy enough to take his pay despite any risks. They'd just have to move fast and under the cover of darkness. Tonight. -- Egypt was a kaleidoscope of familiar sights and smells for Daniel. Cairo was always overcrowded, filthy, and yet somehow majestic. You couldn't miss the sense of history here. The past lived with the present, filling the air with whisps of ancient times and cultures. It was nectar to him and he loved it. They'd been flown into a military airstrip, then been driven into the city in an old, rusty military truck. Another truck followed, loaded up with their supplies and equipment. They were going to be staying at a small hostel run by the US consulate for the night, then would proceed by truck the rest of the way. It was going to be a long, jerky, uncomfortable journey. Daniel couldn't wait. However, there were formalities to be seen to first: paperwork and endless details. They had dinner with the local General, a pair of consulate staffers, and an Egyptian military liaison. The General subtly questioned them as to their mission, but showed only minimal disappointment as he was fielded without any provision of information. He was American military and he understood and respected their need for security. The same could not be said for the consulate diplomats or the Egyptian officer, all of whom were openly curious. Daniel let Jack and Makepiece handle them, spending his time in conversation with Sam and Teal'c, both of whom were interested in Egypt and his previous experiences here. Jack dipped into the conversation now and then, when he could escape from slamming down one of the diplomats with characteristic lack of diplomacy. He seemed amused by Daniel's tales, but listened just as eagerly as the others. Finally, they made their escape to their rooms, Makepiece following Jack and Daniel in order to report in private on the security status of the site. "Everything is clear at the moment. Air Force men are stationed on guard around the perimeter and all of the workers and personnel have already been moved out. The head archaeologist, Robinson, has been screaming, but no one's paying him any attention. We have been guaranteed full cooperation from the local authorities; they will meet us when we get to the nearest village. The site itself is rather isolated, but there's apparently a road in." Daniel chuckled. Makepiece looked affronted, so Daniel quickly explained. "By a 'road', they probably mean a thin, camel-worn dirt track. If we're really lucky, a four wheel drive truck *might* make it through. Maybe. We might have to go in via camel, though." "Sweet," Jack muttered. Daniel shrugged. "This is the third world, remember." "I'll warn the men what to expect," Makepiece responded, nodding at Daniel with a touch of respect. That warmed Daniel all the way through. He nodded back. "Thank you, Colonel. It's likely that many of the villagers worked at the dig, so we may want to stop and question them. Have we gotten hold of Robinson's maps and dig plans?" "I think so. It was all supposed to have been left on site when the Air Force moved the people out. We'll find out for sure when we get there," Makepiece replied, doubtfully. Daniel ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "Well, we can make our own survey and I know how Robinson designs a dig. With even some of his notes, I should be able to get us moving in the right direction." "Based on the stink he's been making, Robinson must have been close to breaking into the temple," Makepiece responded, obviously amused at the senior archaeologist's distress. That, if nothing else, endeared him to Daniel. "Oh, I'm sure he's screaming to the heavens. Just as long he is kept away from the site. The last thing we need is him getting an eyeful of Goa'uld technology," Jack broke in. Daniel agreed wholeheartedly. "Yeah. Anyway, we'll find out about the dig site tomorrow. We should get a good night's sleep. It's going to be rough conditions from here on out." Makepiece saluted him, then paused, his face screwing up, not quite sure if he'd done the right thing. Daniel grinned at him while Jack chuckled. "Good night, Colonel," Daniel responded warmly. Makepiece nodded, waved at Jack, then turned and left. Daniel flopped back on his bed and sighed aloud. "Hey, you're doing fine," Jack told him. "I hope so," Daniel replied. "It just feels strange to have him reporting to me like that. I mean, I kinda like it, but...oh, I don't know. It feels like a lot of responsibility." "It is a lot of responsibility," Jack said calmly. "Being in command takes some getting used to - everyone looking to you for answers. But you'll be fine. You spend most of your life giving people answers anyway." "Not these kinds of answers," Daniel refuted. "What do I do if I don't have one to give?" "Make one up!" Jack chuckled. He got and came over to ruffle Daniel's hair lightly. "The first rule of being a good commander. Pretend you know exactly what you're doing. It doesn't matter if you haven't the faintest idea what the hell is going on as long as you can pretend that you do." Daniel opened his eyes and stared up at Jack. "That what you do?" he questioned. Jack grinned down at him. "All the time, space monkey. All the time." -- Piers managed to locate and bribe a pair of brothers from the village of Anakina near the dig site. They proceeded from there on camels until he knew they were close to the perimeter set up by the military. From there, they went on foot, sliding carefully over the sand until they reached the dig site, avoiding the patrols. He knew exactly where he wanted to work, and found it easily despite the darkness. They couldn't afford much in the way of light, at least not until they were further underground. His guesses proved accurate, and they quickly broke through to a lower level. Once down below the surface, they could use light, and he absorbed himself in examining the revealed walls with their aged but visible paintings and hieroglyphics. He photographed them then made sketches, writing for hours while his workers slowly worked at the most likely doorway to the inner rooms. He never even noticed when dawn came and went, the small opening over their heads leaking only a tiny portion of light to add to the lamps they'd brought with them. He was reluctant to stop even for food and water, but the men insisted and he had to admit they were right. They downed the supplies then he shooed them back to work, cautioning them to work slowly. He didn't want to wreck anything that could be of primary importance. So the day went by, hours slipping away, as he tried to make sense of the long lines of ancient script. -- The early hours of the morning were spent adding in food and other basic supplies that were easier to obtain locally. Daniel had some skill in bargaining, but the rest of the SG soldiers did not. More than once, he had to poke his nose into a discussion with a vendor in order to keep them from being charged outrageous amounts of money. In a weird sort of way, it was fun. Frustrating, but fun. Getting everything loaded and secured was just a headache, especially since things showed up at random times. Trying to get an Egyptian vendor to deliver at an exact time was nearly impossible. They simply didn't have the same respect for working by the clock as did the Americans. Still, they made progress. With luck, they might yet get on the road by mid-day. "How's it going?" Sam asked. Daniel looked up from the latest delivery to find her grinning at him. He sighed, grimacing at her, then scrawling his signature on the bottom of the form and sending the vendor away. That particular Egyptian ran off quickly, happily beaming at his good fortune. This was one of the few orders that had gone through without Daniel intervening on the price. Some accountant somewhere was going to have a fit. Daniel turned back to Sam, rolling his eyes. "Well, it could be going worse. I think I've managed to convince SG-3 that the Egyptians *expect* to negotiate a price. Damn good thing the US government's paying for this, though." He paused, then shook his head. "I can't believe I just said that!" Sam laughed. "I'm afraid that's a common disease among people who spend too much time working for the government in any capacity, even with the sporadic budget cuts. Don't worry about it too much. You're doing great. Connors and Harris are busily telling everyone within earshot about how you managed to cut the cost of the flour in half." "I still can't believe they were willing to pay that much!" Daniel exclaimed. "How were they supposed to know the difference?" Sam reminded him. "Yeah," Daniel admitted. "At least they're beginning to get the hang of it." "Looks like you're doing the same," she said, patting his arm. He smiled wryly at her, then hopped up to sit on the back edge of the truck bed, motioning for her to join him. She got up beside him, their legs dangling beneath them. "I suppose, though I'm not convinced of it yet. Sometimes I get the feeling that they're all humoring me, especially Makepiece and his people." "Don't underestimate yourself, Daniel. They respect you because you've earned it." He blinked at her, owlishly behind his glasses. "You really mean that?" "Yes!" she replied firmly. A loud crash sounded nearby and both head jerked upward. "Ah hell!" Daniel swore. Sam laughed. Reaching out to her friend, she gave him a quick hug. "You're doing fine, Daniel." "Thanks!" he replied, hugging her back before hopping down and going in search of the latest minor disaster. -- Finally, they were ready to go. Daniel breathed a long sigh of relief as he clambered up into the truck and took a seat between Jack and Sam. Jack draped a long arm over his shoulder and Daniel settled against it, already weary. "Well done, Danny," Jack whispered in his ear. That simple compliment washed away his exhaustion, leaving a simple peace behind. He smiled at Jack, silently communicating his thanks. The engine roared into life and the journey out of the city and into the nearby desert began. -- The village of Anakina was a small grouping of buildings perched on the edge of the irrigated lands overlooking the broad expanse of sand that made up so much of Egypt. The village policeman and 'mayor' met them in the center, such as it was. The two men waved at them in enthusiastic welcome, talking a rapid patois of English, French and the local language. Daniel hopped down and approached them, responding specifically in that local language. Piers had never bothered to learn the modern Egyptian dialects, leaving that to Daniel who had become quite proficient during the long summers spent among the local workers drafted for the digs. When the village leaders realized that he spoke their language, their weather-creased faces broke out into huge, genuine smiles. It was extremely rare for a foreigner, especially an American, to be able to be fluent in the local dialect. It immediately endeared him to them. And, of course, guaranteed their full cooperation, far more so than any orders from the city could have done. Daniel continued to talk with them in the fluid Egyptian dialect, politely asking after their families, their village, the weather and local conditions. Once those formalities had been met, he questioned them about Piers and the dig, and how many men had gone to work on it. They were delighted to introduce him to some of those villagers, and Daniel waved for Jack to accompany him. He told the others to hang tight, still slightly amazed when they accepted his instructions without question. Most of the interviews went as expected, Jack frowning at the conversations he couldn't understand, whispering in Daniel's ear in English. Daniel interpreted the important parts, but there didn't seem to be anything unusual to report. So far, the dig hadn't uncovered anything that appeared out of the ordinary, i.e. of Goa'uld origin. Daniel was about ready to give up when they approached yet one more small dwelling. But things were different here. The wife and mother insisted that the husband and his brother had gone back to work on the dig with the American scientist just that very evening. They had the money to prove it. Daniel felt his stomach churn as he realized that Piers must have returned to the dig that night. If he discovered the wrong thing... He translated for Jack and saw his own worry reflected in the Colonel's dark eyes. Daniel rapidly thanked the villagers even as Jack tugged on his arm, urging him to get going. Together, they raced back to the trucks and informed Makepiece and the others. Makepiece got on the radio to warn the guards on site, swearing to himself that he was going to crack heads when they got there. Daniel ordered the drivers to get going, and the trucks veered back out onto the thin path that served as a road. -- The site consisted of a few sand-blasted tents, a couple of metallic pre-fab sheds, and the partially excavated surfaces of crumbling walls and ancient ruins. It looked empty, desolate, unpleasant. But Daniel knew how to read below those surfaces and he recognized the few structures already revealed as signs of a massive buried structure. Just a glimpse was enough to make him excited. An old, familiar tension flared up in him, an aching need, a fiery burst of curiosity. He wanted nothing more than to grab a couple of tools and attack the dig site, losing himself in the slow process of peeling away the gathered earth of the centuries to reveal what was hidden. There were other concerns, however, and people waiting for his instructions. When everyone had jumped down out of the trucks, he began assigning tasks. "Connor, Harris, Pocelli - check out the tents and sheds and then start unloading supplies. The two drivers can help. Brown and Harper - start setting up our tents. Colonel Makepiece, find out if the guards here have found Robinson and his two workers, if not, take over the search. Jack and Sam can help with that also. Keep an eye out of openings in the ground, particularly within the dig site. Chances are that Robinson has found an entrance into a lower chamber. If he has, we need to get him out of there, fast! Teal'c, you're with me. OK?" He received a round of mixed responses, ranging from a sharp 'Yes, Sir' through various versions of "sure" and "OK" to a wink and grin from Jack. Regardless, they all moved swiftly in response. Daniel found himself left standing by the back of the truck, Teal'c silent by his side, almost gaping at the soldiers as they hurried to obey his orders. The archaeologist shook himself mentally, rubbing a hand through his close-cropped hair. He still did that often, a left-over from years of long hair. In a way, though, the shortness of it was a relief here in the desert heat. That thought made his mind wander back to Hathor, the Goa'uld Queen who had, as far as he could tell, had his hair shorn in order to help convince him that he had been frozen in cryogenic suspension for nearly 80 years. Those memories were painful, making him shiver even in the sun-blasted heat. "Are you all right, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, his deep voice breaking Daniel out of his memories. "Oh, yeah, Teal'c, I'm OK. Just some not-so pleasant memories," he explained. Teal'c nodded. "I understand. Those we all have." "Yes," Daniel agreed, still distracted. He pushed himself to focus, turning to walk closer to the excavation site. "Have you ever been inside of one of Heru'Ur's temples?" he asked. "Twice," Teal'c responded, "Both were during attacks. Apophis and Heru'Ur were often at war, and we managed to break into Heru'Ur's strongholds on two different worlds." "How similar were the structures to other Goa'uld bases you've seen?" Daniel inquired. Teal'c thought for a moment, even as he matched his steps to those of the smaller man. "Quite similar. The Goa'ulds tend to act in the same way. They have very set patterns of behavior and that includes the way they design their temples." "Good!" Daniel replied. "I thought so. All of the ones we've seen so far have been nearly identical in lay-out, given a few individual idiosyncrasies." "Yes, that is correct..." Teal'c started to reply when he was suddenly, violently interrupted. A loud explosion ripped through the air, sending a cloud of dust rising high above a far corner of the excavation site. Voices shouted, echoing the thunder of the explosion, tumbling over each other as everyone responded to the sudden surprise. Daniel and Teal'c shared a quick glance of alarm and then took off running, joining Jack, Sam and Makepiece, converging from another direction. They slid to a halt at the center of the blast, meeting up with several other soldiers. Everyone was speaking at once, covering eyes and mouths with sleeves and handkerchiefs, coughing through the settling sand. Jack shouted for everyone to shut up, followed by Makepiece. That caught everyone's attention, and then their eyes focused on Daniel. He blinked through watery eyes, trying to figure out what to do next. Jack had said to pretend he knew what he was doing when he wasn't sure, so he stiffened his spine, stood up straight and took a shot in the dark. "Jack, Teal'c, Makepiece, come with me. Everyone else, please stand back. Sam responded first, herding the others away. That left the four men to move in closer. The dustcloud was clearing, and Daniel was able to examine the area disrupted by the explosion. It didn't take him long to recognize that it had come from under the ground. He nearly put his foot into the gaping hole, and only Teal'c quick grasp on his arm, drawing him back, stopped him from tumbling through it. "Ahhh," he gasped, trying to regain his balance both physically and intellectually. "It came from down there." "Ya think?" Jack muttered. Daniel threw him an annoyed glance, but only got a wide shrug for his effort. Oh well...Jack was Jack. Daniel didn't really mind his sarcasm. It was Jack's way of coping. Daniel dug for the flashlight he'd tucked into a pocket of his desert camoflauge outfit that morning. As usual when in public on earth, all of the SGC insignia had been removed, leaving them with plain air-force issue clothing with nothing to distinguish them from thousands of other soldiers. The positive side of this type of clothing was lots of pockets. Pointing the thin beam of light into the darkness below, he called out. "Anyone down there?" He ignored Jack and Makepiece's light chuckles at his expense, shouting once more before moving to drop himself into the hole. "Daniel!" Jack yelled, but he was too late to stop the archaeologist from dropping out of sight. The two soldiers and the Jaffa followed quickly, none willing to risk anything happening to Daniel without trying to intervene. They found themselves in a large underground chamber that had once been part of a massive structure. There was severe destruction on one side, the wall and ceiling having caved in, sending large piles of stone cascading across the tiled floor. The rest of the room was dusty, but surprisingly well preserved. Daniel's flashlight beam swept across long, cracked and creased, but still complete paintings and rows of hieroglyphics. His heartbeat increased, a natural excitement fueling his curiosity. "Amazing..." he whispered just before his flashlight fell across the bodies of two men. -- Nasuf awoke to a blinding headache. He gasped for air, coughing roughly when he took a deep breath. The air was thick and full of dust, smelling of age and decay. He was wedged into a pile of rubble, his body protected by a large slab of stone that had fallen across him, held from crushing him by barely a few inches of loose rock. He slid sideways, scrambling out from underneath, amazed to be alive. When he could stand, he got up and looked around. His black eyes widened in shock. The arrogant American had been so sure that there were treasures down here, but Nasuf and his brother Fasad had only been interested in the American's money. While many still believed that more treasures might be fund buried under the sands, he had been skeptical. And certainly such luck would never be theirs. He had been wrong. Crying out his brother's name, he turned to try to share his excitement at the sight before him. But his brother was nowhere to be seen. But Fasad had been close by when the world had suddenly exploded, hadn't he? All that remained was a huge pile of fallen rock and stone and sand, blocking the doorway they had worked so hard to open. Nasuf was trapped and he didn't know if his brother had survived. He could be outside, though, already planning to dig Nasuf out. Of course he was. And in the meantime, there were such wonders to explore. The entire room shimmered with gold highlights. He had no idea where the light was coming from, but he didn't stop to question it. Instead, he ran from corner to corner, cautiously reaching out to touch the shiny statues and goblets, gleaming gold and ebony dark. There were other objects he couldn't identify, but those couldn't draw his attention from the one thing that dominated the room. Set up on a small altar at the far end of the room was a huge gold sarcophagus. Nasuf had never seen so much of that precious metal in one place before in his life. He touched it gently, reverently, running his finger tips along the side, up over the lid and onto a large design centered on the top. Suddenly it moved. He jumped back a step as it slid open. When nothing happened to harm him, he moved forward again, going up on his toes in order to view inside. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. The most beautiful woman he'd ever set eyes upon, her skin like carved ivory. She was in perfect condition; she appeared almost alive. A hand shot up and grabbed him by the throat. She lifted him up off his feet, even as she rose to a sitting position. As he struggled limply from her grasp, her eyes glowed. -- Daniel called out and the others were instantly at his side. Teal'c and Jack knelt down to feel for pulses and reported in tandem. "This one is dead," Teal'c said without expression. "Got a pulse here. He's still alive. Give me a hand!" Jack shouted. Makepiece, Daniel and Teal'c all came in closer, bumping into each other. Daniel pulled back, eyed the hole over their heads, and ran over to yell up at the distant sky. "SAM! We need help down here! We've got an injured man!" He prayed she'd stayed close enough to hear him. "Hold on Daniel. We're getting a ladder!" her voice sounded from above. He yelled agreement, then turned back to find that Teal'c had picked up the living body. Daniel's flashlight flickered over the features of the man so held, identifying him. "Looks like we found Robinson," Daniel said. "The other man must be one of the brothers he hired." "I wonder where the other one is?" Jack questioned. "Probably buried under all that rubble," Makepiece replied. Jack grimaced. "Nasty way to go." A chill ran down Daniel's spine, an old memory hitting home. Watching his parents fall under a pile of heavy stone while all he could do is stand there and scream. "Yeah," he echoed softly. "Very nasty." -- While the SG-3 team medic, Connors, gave Robinson an examination, Daniel had waited outside, a small distance from the tent, trying to prepare himself for the upcoming conversation. It had been a long three years and their last 'contact' had been a raging fight. Daniel held bitter memories and he wasn't sure he could keep his temper under control. "Are you feeling unwell, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked. The big Jaffa could move extremely quietly, and his sudden appearance startled Daniel. He jerked around, startled, then forced a smile. "I've been better, but I'll be all right. I...let's just say I have some history with Piers Robinson and it's not the good kind." "There is bad blood between you?" Teal'c questioned. Daniel shrugged, then looked up into his friend's eyes. "Yes, in a way. When I was a kid, I really admired him. He made sure that I had access to the best education after my parents died and he let me spend the summers with him on digs. I loved that. I loved him for that. I didn't discover until I was much older that he'd only done it to make use of me. Everything with Piers is about Piers. All that matters to him is his own success. I was a potentially useful tool, and when I wanted to go my own way, he was furious." Teal'c tilted his head to the side, considering, one eyebrow arching upwards. "He does not sound like a good man." Daniel laughed, bitterly. "No, he isn't." "Then he is of no importance," Teal'c responded with quiet certainty. Daniel's eyes widened, his mouth opening. Teal'c sometimes had the strangest way of reacting to things. Yet, the very oddness of his views often forced his companions to refocus their own reactions. To see things in a very different light. Daniel would never once have considered Piers unimportant, however much he had come to detest the man. He'd spent too much of his having it drilled into his just how important Piers was. So Teal'c simple statement was an intense surprise. But a very good one. Something clicked into place and Daniel found himself smiling at his teammate. "You know, Teal'c, when you're right, you're right," he said, slapping a hand against Teal'c massive biceps. Teal'c took the affectionate gesture with stoic calmness, only the twitch of his eyebrow expressing an element of confusion over Daniel's sudden change in mood and his odd statement. Daniel touched him a bit more gently, then went over to join Jack and Sam at the entrance to the tent where Robinson was being treated. Just as he joined them, Connors popped his head out and reported on the archaeologist's condition. "He's got a hell of a bump on his head, but he's conscious and aware. He's also got a bunch of abrasions and lacerations on the skin of his hands and face, but nothing too serious. I put some antibiotic cream on them, and gave him some aspirin. He's unhappy, but he'll live." "Tough luck," Jack muttered under his breath. Sam rolled her eyes at him, while Connor and Daniel exchanged wry grins. "Anyway, he's all yours, Doc," Connor said, stepping fully out of the tent. "You need me to stick around?" "No," Daniel replied. "Check with Makepiece and see what he needs you to do. I think we've found all of our trespassers, but..." "Will do," Connors agreed, nodding at Jack and Sam before wandering back out into the blazing sun. Still in the shadow of the tent, Daniel took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. "Better get this over with," he decided. "We're right behind ya," Jack promised, reaching out to squeeze Daniel's shoulder. Daniel smiled gratefully at him, then turned and ducked under the tent flap. Jack, Sam and Teal'c all followed. -- Piers was seated in a small metal chair, Pocelli standing guard beside him. When Daniel entered, followed by the rest of SG-1, Pocelli saluted then moved back out of the way to stand by the door flap. Daniel took up the position directly in front of the other archaeologist, with Jack and Sam framing him. Teal'c moved to stand behind the chair. When Piers looked up at him, Daniel was surprised to find that the man had aged. Some of that, though, was probably due to the coating layer of dust and the abrasions left behind by the explosion. Nothing, not age or the blast, however, could disguise the imperious glare in his hazel eyes. He squinted at Daniel, his mouth twisted in frustration and anger, obviously not recognizing him. "Hello Piers," Daniel said calmly, though he wondered if anyone else could hear the blood pounding in his temples. It sounded like the roar of a sandstorm to Daniel. Recognition flared. Piers' eyes narrowed. "Danny Jackson?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" Jack choked off a sharp laugh. Daniel glanced quickly at him before answering. "That's the question I have to ask you. What on earth were you doing, breaking into a secured military facility?" "Military facility my ass," Piers retorted fiercely. "This is *my* dig. They have no right..." "We have every right," Daniel replied firmly. "There are damn good reasons why this area is off limits. Two men are dead now because you ignored them. Doesn't that matter to you?" "I told them to be careful digging out that doorway," Piers said dismissively, not in the least bit concerned. Other things were on his mind, his chin jerked up sharply as he absorbed all that Daniel had just said. "What do you mean by 'we'?" For the first time he focused in fully on Daniel's appearance, the shorn hair, the camouflage outfit, the gun strapped to his right thigh, the dog tags poking out through the edge of his shirt collar. Illumination struck and his eyes widened, even as his mouth tightened. "So that's where you disappeared to. You ran off and joined the army." Piers' voice dripped with pointed disgust. Teal'c and Jack both responded instinctively, moving closer, protectively. Daniel held them off with a raised hand. "Not exactly. Let's just say I was recruited by a special branch of the air force." "Typical. Only the military would bother hiring a lunatic. You probably fit right in," Piers sneered. Then his eyes widened. "So you're the one behind this. This isn't about any military operation, this is about you trying to steal my dig. If you think I'm going to let you rob me of my discovery, you've got another thing coming, boy. I'll make sure everyone knows what you've done. Everyone knows you're crazy anyway, this won't change that. You'll never get a job in academia again by the time I'm through with you." "You already made sure of that three years ago, but it doesn't matter in the least. I wouldn't trade my present job for anything. I get to do more now than I would ever have dreamed of." Daniel managed to chuckle despite the rage that stirred dark and hot in his gut. "I guess those old ads for the army got it right. You certainly do get to go interesting new places." He glanced over at Jack who grinned widely back at him, his brown eyes twinkling. That had been a major understatement, though Piers would never, ever know how much so. Piers didn't understand and didn't care. He was focused on only one thing. Regaining control of his dig. "You're not going to get away with this, Danny. The press is going to hear about this. I've got friends..." "Oh shut up," Daniel told him roughly. "Maybe you don't realize it yet, but you're in deep shit. I could have you brought up on charges of treason, violating national security directives, trespassing on government land, and two counts of manslaughter." He was making most of that up, but it felt pretty good. Jack's advice, as usual, had turned out to be extremely reliable. In fact, Jack came right in to support him, leaning forward to stage-whisper at Piers. "Ever heard of Leavenworth?" "You can't!" Piers exploded. Daniel shook his head. It was Sam who responded, cool and calm. "Oh yes he can. Da...Dr. Jackson's in command here. Our orders are to follow his orders. Period." "Yeah, so if he asks me to shoot you,"Jack broke in, "I will do it first and questions later, though to be honest the only question I can think of is what's taking him so long to give the order." Jack gave Piers his best sharky grin, the one that looked even more dangerous than his words sounded. Then he looked over at Daniel, his hand fingering the butt of his holstered gun. "Stand down, Colonel," Daniel barked, instinctively imitating General Hammond. Jack reacted immediately, stepping back before he realized that he, in turn, was doing. Then he turned and met Daniel's eyes, both men gazing at each other in surprise. Daniel shrugged at Jack who winked back, his eyes twinkling. Shifting closer to Daniel, he whispered in his ear. "Not bad, Daniel. Keep it up." A warm flush washed over Daniel. Jack's approval meant more to him than anyone else's and that, more than anything else, finally cured the remnants of his old wounds. He basked in that glow for a moment, feeling safe and secure in his friend's support, then looked back down, disparagingly at Piers. The elder archaeologist was obviously a bit uncertain of this situation, but as usual, his approach was to bluster his way through. "However you've managed to convince these military fools to support you, it won't last long. Just wait until I reach my friends back in the States. This kind of military brutality won't be tolerated..." "You're not going to be communicating with anyone," Daniel interrupted coldly. "You're under arrest until I decide what to do with you or until the Egyptian authorities determine whether to charge you in the deaths of those two men. We haven't even found one of the bodies yet. And speaking of which - what the hell were you looking for on that part of the site? It's not connected to the main excavation points." Piers opened his mouth to reply, then dramatically shut it. He shook his head and leaned as far back as the unsteady chair would allow, folding his arms over his chest. Daniel sighed and exchanged glances with Sam. "Well, we'll find out soon enough when we dig out the mess you made. In the meantime..." he turned to find Pocelli who was still standing by the door. "I'm afraid you're stuck on guard duty, Sergeant. Keep a close eye on him. If he tries to leave, restrain him however you have to." "Yes, Sir," came the reply. Pocelli stalked over to stand over Robinson. He glared down at the unlikeable prisoner. "Don't worry Doc, he's not going anywhere." -- "Whew, what a miserable sonuvabitch!" Jack exploded as soon as they got a reasonable distance from the tent. Daniel chuckled wryly. "You can say that again." "What a miserable..." Jack started to repeat, stopped only when Daniel lightly punched him in the arm. "You handled him well," Sam said. "Too bad we can't just boot him out of here." "I do not think that would be a wise option since he has already broken in here once. He might well do so again," Teal'c responded. "Maybe we can dump him off on the local authorities for a while," Jack mused. "Sitting in an Egyptian prison might do him some good." "I doubt that anything will do him any good," Daniel responded. "Still, at least that would get him out of our hair. We can ship him back with the bodies once we're dug out the second one. That may take a while, though. I don't want to take a chance on another explosion. Or on the roof caving in. We'll need to shore things up as we go." "Sweet," Jack moaned. "Rocks, dust, more rocks and an uninvited guest. All my favorite things at once." "Well, it could have been worse," Sam reminded him. "Piers could have broken all the way in and discovered someone like Hathor..." Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement as she watched the effect that name had on her male companions. Admittedly, she had hated the late Goa'uld Queen as much as they did, but it was still amusing to see how horrified they became even at the mention of her name, dead or not. "That's not funny, Major!" Jack exclaimed. "Shit! The last thing we need is another Goa'uld Queen wandering around." A sharp shiver raced down Daniel's spine, chilling him to the bone despite the intense heat of the desert. For a moment, he was icy cold, even as sweat trickled across his forehead. His eyes turned to focus on the excavation site, the concerns which had brought them here suddenly coming sharply to life. Though Sam had not been truly serious, her words evoked an all-too terrifyingly real possibility. Daniel's somber response communicated itself to the rest of his teammates, and as one, they stood, silent and still, staring at the revealed edges of the buried temple, wondering what waited for them within. -- Night fell rapidly, blanketing the desert in cool darkness, broken only by the brilliant twinkling diamonds of the sky. A kaleidoscope of stars shone overhead and Daniel was caught between a familiar sense of awe and an awestruck sense of familiarity. How many of those distant stars had he seen close up, blazing down their heat on his shoulders as he walked upon the planets that circled them? A hundred, at least, by now. He called a stop to their work soon after nightfall, preferring not to risk any further accidents due to exhaustion or lack of proper lighting. They could sleep early and wake early. Dinner was a quick stew with fresh bread, enlivened by a bottle of scotch someone from SG-3 had sneaked into the truck. Daniel didn't fuss about it. He understood the need to release some of the strain and he and Jack had occasionally done the same on other missions. Makepiece bundled up the one corpse and placed it in the tent with Piers, setting up four shifts of guards to cover the night. Piers' angry voice rose up into the night protesting his surroundings, the presence of the dead body, the fact that he was being held at all, the very existence of the US Air Force. No one could hear Makepiece's soft-voiced reply, but it shut Piers off in midstream, leading to widely shared chuckles of amusement among the SGC personnel. Brown and Teal'c took the first watch over their prisoner and Daniel didn't envy Piers trying to sleep with the Jaffa staring down at him. Teal'c rarely showed emotion, but even he had been angered enough by Piers' treatment of Daniel to be obviously upset. Daniel deeply appreciated the support that each of his friends had shown him throughout this day, and he made certain to take a moment to thank each one separately. Sam had smiled and squeezed his arm. Teal'c had calmly told him that he was very welcome. Jack had been a bit embarrassed, a bit sarcastic, but silently affectionate. It was Jack's way to act rather than talk, especially when it came to his emotions and Daniel had learned to read those signs. He was just as touched by Jack's gruff humor as he was by Sam's open warmth, if not more so. Of them all, it was Jack's opinion that meant the most to Daniel and always had been. They'd led the first mission through the Gate and had defeated Ra together. The SGC had been built around them, their differing worldviews and priorities reflected and balanced among the teams, missions and goals of the entire command. They'd moved from distrust to trust, uncertainty to respect, strangers to the closest of friends. Daniel knew he wouldn't have survived the past three years without Jack and he hoped he had been able to return that support successfully. At the core of himself, he knew that he had, though it was difficult to get past years of self-doubt. Many of those doubts were due to Piers and somehow, in confronting him now, Daniel had discovered how unfounded they were. He had known that he'd changed some during his time with the SGC, how could he not have? But now he was realizing that those changes were more powerful than he'd realized. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear Jack's footsteps behind him until a warm hand settled onto his shoulder. "Wha? Oh, Hi Jack," Daniel said, startled out of his reverie. "Anything I should know about?" Jack asked. "What?" Daniel questioned, feeling lost almost before this conversation had begun. "You looked like you were thinking about something very serious," Jack replied. "I was just curious if it was something I should be aware of." Daniel shook his head. "Not really. I was just thinking..." he paused trying to find the right words. "About my life, I guess. How much it has changed. How much I've changed." "Life'll do that to you," Jack agreed softly. He squeezed Daniel's shoulder, then let his hand fall to his side. Daniel immediately missed the contact. "Yes, I guess so," Daniel said. They both fell silent for a moment, then Jack stirred. "So what was all that about the Rift Valley thing and '77?" Again, Daniel was startled by the question. Jack explained. "You know, back on base when we were getting all those damned shots." "Oh yeah." Daniel closed his eyes, letting the memories flow back over him, hot and bitter. "Piers had let me come to Egypt on my fall break between semesters, so it was winter of '77. December. He was running a dig not too far from the brand new Aswan Dam project, and at first I was in heaven. I was 13 and he let me run free. I already spoke the local language fluently so I ended up spending a lot of time with the kids in the nearest village. Some of them worked on the dig too and I made some good friends." Those were happy memories, all the poignant for the horrors that were to follow so closely after. Daniel shivered and Jack shifted closer, reaching up again to hold Daniel's shoulder as he continued to remember. "Then people started getting sick. It looked like the flu at first, and for many people that was all. They were sick for a while and then got better. But for others...Jack, it was the most horrible thing I've ever seen. They would start bleeding in their eyes, then they'd get a rash. They'd be so weak and burning up with fever, and nothing - absolutely nothing - helped. The bleeding would get worse and they'd start coughing up blood. Blood came out everywhere, from their mouths, noses, in their urine and feces, they'd simply strange on it." "Oh..." Jack's gasp was barely audible, but nonetheless heartfelt. "I lost one of my best friends that way. It took half of his family. I tried to help, but Piers refused to let me near him, or any of the local people. I begged him to let me help, to call for a better doctor to come, to do something, but he refused. If anyone got sick, with anything, he fired them. He refused to let anything get in the way of the dig and when I protested, he told me that I was being a stupid fool and that these people had brought it on themselves by living in filth. Then he sent me away and I didn't find out for nearly ten years what had happened to those people." "Sonuvabitch. I knew I shoulda shot him!" Jack muttered, swearing roughly and throughly. Then he slid his hand over to Daniel's far shoulder and sideways hugged him. "Sorry you had to go through that." "Me too, but I was lucky. I didn't get sick and that was pure luck of the draw. Over 600 people died, just in that one outbreak" Jack whistled. "Damn glad you made me take that shot!" Daniel sighed. "Yeah, though the vaccine's still experimental." "Oh, you just had to tell me that, didn't you?" Jack responded, his grievance only partly real. Daniel knew Jack was trying to help him out of his down mood, and knowing that was all that he really needed. "Sorry, Jack. Just make sure you use the insect repellant and..." "Don't drink the local water," Jack completed for him. "It'll still be your fault if I catch this Rift whatsis." Daniel argued back lightly, demanding to know exactly how it was his fault if Jack got bit by a mosquito, and they settled into a comfortable, teasing banter. Caught up in the challenge of the exchange, Daniel hardly noticed when Jack guided him towards camp and into a tent. Laughter trickled out through the fluttering doorflap as both men settled down for the night, barely inches apart on their thin air-force issue cots. -- She had wrung every bit of information she could out of the miserable human slave who had awoken her. Frustrated, she tossed his lifeless body into the far corner. If he had been telling the truth then thousands of this planet's years had passed since the human uprising had imprisoned her here. So long...too long. Had the others escaped before the Chappa'ai had been destroyed...NO! It had not been destroyed. She could still feel its presence, though it was much, much farther away than it should have been. So it had been moved elsewhere on this planet. That she could deal with, in time. First, she needed more information. She also needed slaves, men who could be made into Jaffa to hold the Goa'uld children she would bring into this world. These humans would pay for what they had done before. She would see to that. The slave had spoken of a powerful man who had brought him here to dig up the temple. These fools had forgotten their Gods. She would remind them. This leader would be a good place to start. She would use him and then his people would fall as well. Now it was time to free herself from this prison. Using a Zatnik'utel weapon, she cleared a hole in the debris blocking the doorway. Climbing through, she quickly found her way out. The humans had left a primitive wooden climbing device which made it easier. Moments later, she was standing below the stars gazing imperiously out over the desert landscape. Moving swiftly and fluidly, she silently searched for the native dwellings nearby. She found them easily, tiny, frail structures. There were only two guards, standing in front of one small cloth hut. A foolish lack of defense; they would be easily overcome. Then the leader, inside, would be at her mercy. She had none. She put the two guards to sleep with quick shots of the Zatnik'utel. They crumbled to the sand without a sound. Stepping delicately over them, she entered the hut. There, sleeping on a pitiful bed was the man who matched the first slave's description. These humans had not come far in all those years if this was the way their leaders lived. It took only a moment to apply the chemical which would ensure his obedience and then to wake him. He gazed up at her, confused, and she smiled. For his age, he was in remarkable condition. Perhaps they had made some advances after all. He sat up at her orders, responding well to her commands. Even better. He would make a good source of genetic material for her children, ensuring that they would be able to use this species as hosts. He followed her as she led the way back into the ruined temple. The transport rings were still functional and it was time she left this place. She chose the closest location to the Stargate, far, far to its south, but much nearer than she was now. Her new slave gathered up the items she needed and joined her in the circle. The rings rose, enveloping them in a golden light, and transported them across a world. -- A hand roughly shaking his shoulder broke Daniel up out of his slumber. It was Sam, her face grim and upset. That was all he needed to see, he bolted out of bed, Jack already doing the same. Sam waited anxiously by the door was both men hurriedly donned their clothes then followed her out of the tent. Men were running in several directions at once, Makepiece yelling vehement orders. The moment the SG-3 Colonel saw Daniel and Jack, he ran in their direction. "What's going on?" Daniel demanded wearily. Makepiece grimaced as he began to report. "Harper and Harris were knocked out while on guard duty. Both men swear they were hit with a Zat gun." "What?" Jack exclaimed. "That's not all," Makepiece replied roughly. "Robinson is gone. I've got men out searching the area now, but so far nothing." "How could Robinson have shot them with a Zat gun?" Jack protested. "He didn't have one, we searched him!" "And he wasn't a Goa'uld. I've have felt it," Sam added. "No, it wasn't Robinson, at least not alone," Makepiece agreed. "Both men are certain they were shot by someone else. They'd just checked on Robinson and he was sleeping soundly when they went back outside and got nailed." "Then who?" Daniel asked, even as he was interrupted by a distant shout. "O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, please come quickly!" Teal'c was waving at them, an unusual level of excitement in his voice. "What now?" Daniel muttered, even as he ran towards his teammate. Jack, Sam and Makepiece followed, their feet sliding over shifting, hot sand. Finally, Teal'c came to a stop and waited for them to catch up. He pointed to the small hole in which they had found Robinson the previous day and motioned for them to follow him down "What've you got?" Jack asked as they joined him in the underground room. "There!" Teal'c pointed at the glaringly empty space where a huge pile of rubble had once been. Soft yellow light filtered though, illuminating the room beyond. Gasping, Daniel rushed forward to duck through the cleared doorway. "Daniel!" Jack yelled after him, hopelessly. Swearing under his breath, Jack hurried after Daniel. Makepiece, Sam and Teal'c all followed more slowly, drawing out their weapons as they moved. The room they entered was a sharp contrast to the dirty, cracked and empty space they had just left behind. Inside, lamp light reflected off of gold-coated walls. There was a faint smell of age and disuse, and a small film of dust that had been obviously and recently disturbed. "Over here!" Daniel and Teal'c yelled nearly simultaneously. Both men paused, spinning around to stare across at each other. Jack turned on his heels between them, noting first the large golden sarcophagus that Daniel had found, sitting on a small altar, and then the dead, broken body of a man in the far corner. Jack moved instinctively towards the body, knowing even as he did so that Daniel would be following him. As important as it was, the sarcophagus could wait. But Teal'c was already checking for a pulse, and the big man shook his head at the approach of the others. "He is dead," he stated softly. "Looks like he's been worked over good," Makepiece commented. "Ya think?" Jack replied rawly. There was little doubt that the poor man had suffered horribly before his death. His body was twisted into an unnatural shape, his face contorted into a mask of agony, his skin red and raw, almost as though he'd been severely burned. The sharp end of a broken bone protruded from his right arm while his left leg was nearly severed at the knee. Daniel couldn't bring himself to speak. He made a horrified sound, nearly stumbling backwards. "Oh God, who would do such a thing?" "A Goa'uld maybe?" Sam replied, unable to keep her own horror from coloring her voice. She nearly whispered that answer, somehow feeling as though to speak more loudly would profane this man's suffering. Daniel turned and raced back to the sarcophagus. He pressed on the bright red jewel in the center and it creaked open. There was nothing inside, no-one. "He's gone," Jack said, coming up beside Daniel. "We're too late." "Where could he have gone?" Daniel asked desperately. "And why take Piers?" "I haven't the faintest idea," Jack replied. "But we'd better find out fast!" "My men are making a search of the entire area. Neither of our trucks are missing, and we've still got Robinson's camels, so they're either hiding out here or they're on foot. We should be able to catch up with them, though I can call in backup from the air force base near Cairo..." Makepiece offered. "No...no...that doesn't make any sense!" Sam exclaimed. "Why would they go out into the desert on foot? We're miles from the nearest town or water source." "Yeah, and the Goa'uld aren't exactly known for putting themselves into uncomfortable situations. I can't see one walking when he could ride," Jack reminded them, sarcastically. "So they've got to be hiding here in the ruins somewhere. We'll concentrate the search in here," Makepiece responded. "Unless..." Daniel mused, his mind racing. The idea hit him hard, and he looked up to meet Jack's dark eyes, seeing the same conclusion strike home there as well. "...they used transport rings!" both men yelled simultaneously. -- That possibility became more and more likely as the morning wore on. The search of the grounds turned up no sign of Robinson or a Goa'uld, so Daniel had Makepiece's men begin looking for the transport rings. Unfortunately, they could be buried anywhere which made finding them difficult. Sam thought she could rig up a metal detector of sorts that would respond to the alien Naquada metal and Teal'c offered to help her. Meanwhile, Daniel left both the mechanics and the search to the soldiers and turned his attention to an area in which his own skills might be of some use. Daniel's examination of the inner chamber revealed that some items were missing, marked by clear spots on the film of dust that covered everything else. Close study revealed three sets of footprints, one obviously belonging to the dead Egyptian, one belonging to Piers and a third that was small, especially for a booted foot. The hieroglyphics, particularly those on and surrounding the sarcophagus were helpful and Daniel managed to make some progress deciphering the meanings. Jack joined him at mid-day, offering his worried friend a canteen of clean, if warm water. Daniel drank gratefully, then handing it back, wiping at his lips. "I think that our Goa'uld is female," he said. "Sweet! Any idea who she is?" Jack asked, not at all pleased with the idea of another Goa'uld Queen running around. "Ishtar, as far as I can tell." Daniel replied. He pointed at a series of hieroglyphs carved into the side of the altar supporting the sarcophagus. "From what I've been able to translate, it appears that she's Heru'Ur's sister. That doesn't quite fit with standard Earth mythology, but then the Goa'ulds seem to grab the role of any available local God or Goddess at whim. So..." he shrugged. "If she's a female snake, do ya think she could do like Hathor and make more of them?" Jack questioned, his brown eyes narrow with disgust and concern. "I'm afraid so," Daniel answered. "Maybe that's why she took Piers." "Yeah, but why him? Why not one of us? Not that I'm complaining, mind." "I don't know. Maybe because there were guards outside his tent, she assumed that he was our leader. She'd want to take control of the leader first," Daniel guessed. He wandered across the room to stare up at a huge bird-like figurine, giving vent to a bitter laugh. "Hey - at least you didn't get picked on this time," Jack pointed out, walking over to stand beside Daniel. "And it serves Piers right. I'll bet that it was his worker, the dead one we found in here, who woke her up. She must have been sleeping in the sarcophagus like Hathor was." "I suppose..." Daniel whispered. "I just...Damn it, Jack! I screwed up! I should never have called a halt to our digging last night. We might have gotten through in time to stop her." "Hey - there was no way you could've known that!" Jack responded, automatically shifting closer and reaching out to touch Daniel's arm. "You're not psychic. You made the best call you could on available information. Now we know more." He wrapped his arm around Daniel's shoulders, urging him towards the door. "We'll find her. Hell, she'll probably find us, given our ability to walk into trouble." As though fate itself had heard Jack's words, there was a sudden loud noise, an electronic whooshing that filled their ears. Both men reacted, coming alert, reaching for their guns, but they were too late. A triple set of large, spinning gold rings rose up out of the floor to surround them. Daniel grabbed hold of Jack as their surroundings faded out... -- "Daniel! Colonel O'Neill!"Sam burst into the inner chamber just in time to see her two friends disappear in the rings. "Wait!" she yelled, hopelessly, as they disappeared. "What is wrong Major Carter?" Teal'c asked as he followed her into the room. "We found the rings, but it looks like they found the Colonel and Daniel first. Go get Makepiece!" Teal'c look of alarm mirrored her own, then he hurried back out to find the other Colonel. -- The rings deposited Jack and Daniel into a small, dusty, cramped room. Both men blinked, rubbing at their eyes, then Daniel sneezed hard. Twice. "Ah shit Daniel! Watch where you aim those!" Jack yelled, rubbing at his cheek. "Sorry Jack," Daniel replied, turning away as the third sneeze rocked his body. "There's a lot of dust in here," he said as soon as he recovered. "Ya think?" Jack retorted. "So where the hell are we?" "How'm I supposed to know?" Daniel responded, peeved. "You're the archaeologist and this looks like old shit to me," Jack pointed out, gesturing widely. Daniel frowned, but was forced to agree. Actually, once his eyes adjusted to the gloom, his pulse sped up with a delayed burst of excitement. He was across the room in an instant, peering at the walls, gazing wide-eyed at the half-broken vases and statues littering the floor. "Hey, wait up there!" Jack called out, hurrying over to grab at Daniel's arm. "Stay close." "What? Why?" Daniel protested. "Because those rings things might grab us again and I don't want to get separated. Who knows where we might end up!" Jack explained, tightening his grip on Daniel's arm. "The rings are over there, Jack," Daniel replied. "As long as we stay out of the circle, we ought to be fine." "Yeah, right, maybe," Jack said doubtfully. "But just in case..." Daniel shrugged. Actually, he didn't mind in the least having Jack close by, as long as the he didn't get in Daniel's way. There was something about those markings that was familiar. "My God, Jack, I think we're in Greece!" he exclaimed. "Look at this!" he picked up a broken statue off the floor and turned it to look at the inscription on the base. "That's Greek!" Jack stared over Daniel's shoulder at the symbols. "If you say so. But what is a set of Goa'uld transport rings doing moving us from Egypt to Greece? And where's that Ishie snake person?" "Ishtar, Jack. Her name is Ishtar." Daniel automatically corrected, even as he reached out for a pile of porcelein chips that must have been a ceremonial goblet of some kind based on their curved shape. "Yeah, so..." Jack prodded. Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose then barely stifled another sneeze. He sniffed, rubbing at the offending orifice, then shrugged. "Well, we know that the Goa'uld stole people from most of Earth's old cultures and transported them around the galaxy. They must have thought they were in heaven, finding such a rich source of hosts and slaves. They probably first landed in Egypt, then spread out from there, each Goa'uld stealing the identity of a local God or Goddess. It's quite possible that there's a network of rings all over the world..." Next to the shattered goblet was a small metal plate that was similar to one Daniel had seen back in Egypt. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the top. There was a now-familiar electronic whoosh. Jack grabbed hold of Daniel again, swearing roughly as they were picked up by a new set of rings and transported in a sea of golden light. -- "What happened Major?" Makepiece demanded as he ducked through the opening into the small chamber. Teal'c, Harper and Connor followed him. "Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson apparently set off the Goa'uld transport rings in here. Sam gestured to a faint circular marking on the floor. "Shit!" Makepiece swore. "Any idea where they might have ended up?" She shook her head. "Anywhere that there's another set of rings. My guess is that they didn't go off planet. The rings are used for shorter distance transport and they don't function like the Stargates, so they have to be within planetary distances. Also, as far as we know, there has to be a functioning set of rings on the other side, which means that there must be another set of them on earth somewhere." She waved her hands widely. "For all we know there could be dozens of them around the planet. The Goa'uld seem to have borrowed from multiple earth cultures." "Perhaps they were transported to the location of the second Gate we located," Teal'c suggested. "The Antarctic?" Sam questioned, her eyes widening with remembered fear and intense worry. "Neither of them is prepared for that! They're both dressed for the desert heat!" "Harper, call SGC and inform General Hammond about what has happened. Tell him we need to get a team up to the Antarctic Gate site ASAP." Makepiece ordered. "Yes Sir!" Harper replied, turning and running back out of the chamber. Sam was walking around the edge of the ring circle, studying it. "We could try to activate the rings and see if they take us to the same place. Maybe we could find them and bring them back," she suggested, though her voice was thick with uncertainty. "There should be a control device here," Teal'c suggested. Sam's head snapped up, her blue eyes sparkling with renewed hope and curiosity. "What would it look like?" she asked. "Normally, it is worn as a long metallic sheath over the arm, but it can also be a handheld device, rather like a small triangular plate," he explained. The four of them spread out across the room, scanning for anything that met Teal'c description. It was Connor who got lucky. "Hey, what about this?" he yelled out from beside the wall closest to the ring circle. He ran his hand over the metal plate embedded in the wall. A metallic whooshing sound began, even as Sam and Makepiece rushed over to join him. They were caught in the middle as the rings rose upward from the floor. "Carter!" Teal'c called out, running across the room, but he was too late. The rings glowed brightly, then collapsed into the floor. Sam and Makepiece were gone. -- "I hate these things," Jack muttered as they were, *again*, deposited in a circle of bright light. The rings sank down into the floor leaving the two men standing in a large, open room with torches flickering on the walls. It was empty, but obviously had seen recent occupancy. The walls were red with gold and ivory ornamentation, bright murals in rich colors. The floor was polished wood, smooth and untouched, except for the two marked black circles, one of which they were standing in. Jack jumped aside, dragging Daniel with him. Daniel pulled himself free and went running up to the nearest wall, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He touched the edge of one of the murals which depicted a fiery dragon etched against a background of white-capped mountains. "We're in China!" he exclaimed. "We must be in an ancient temple that is still used today. Can you imagine the history in this place? I wonder if they still have legends of the Goa'uld." His voice rose, rising with excitement and wonder as he wandered along the edge of the room. "Daniel!" Jack called out. "Oh, come look at this!" was the only reply he got. Daniel was staring reverently at a small statuette of a very fat man wearing only a loin cloth. Jack's personal opinion was that it needed more clothes desperately, but he had other concerns. "Daniel!" he said again, grabbing at Daniel's arm. "Look, I know this stuff seems really cool to you, but we've got problems here. If we're really in China..." "Oh, there's no question about that," Daniel replied, still bubbling with scholarly joy. "Look at the writing there - and there - that's an old dialect of Cantonese. I think I might be able to translate..." "Can it get us out of here and back to Egypt?" Jack demanded. "I...uh...no, it looks like a standard prayer," Daniel replied abstractedly. "Then it can wait. Daniel, focus, now!" "Oh..." Finally the irritation in Jack's voice broke through and Daniel turned to look at him. "What did you do to get us here and how do we get back?" Jack asked meticulously, trying to get that intense intellect pointed in a useful direction. Daniel paused, thinking, then he lifted the small, triangular metal plate he was still holding. "This must be the control device. I picked it up and ran my fingers over the top like..." "Don't do that!" Jack yelled, seizing Daniel's hand just in time to stop him from gliding his fingertips over the surface of the device. He yanked the device away. "Hey!" Daniel protested. "You're dangerous with that thing!" Jack replied. "I am not!" Daniel argued. "Are too," Jack retorted. "I don't want this thing activated again until we can figure out how to reverse it and get us back where we came from." Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose and stared angrily at Jack. "It's not that difficult to figure out. We just go back through the same set of rings that brought us here." "How do you know they won't send us off to... to... the damned moon or someplace." Jack responded. "Because every time we've used the rings, here and elsewhere, they've only gone to one place and back again. Besides, why have two sets of rings in one place, like back in Greece, if you could go multiple places with them. No, I think they're like - uhh - well, one direction only. Each set of rings can only send you back and forth between two places. Therefore, to get around to many places, you need more than one set of rings." "So these places are like Goa'uld metro stops?" Jack asked, riveted by Daniel's theorizing despite himself. "Yeah!" Daniel agreed. "So if we activate the same ring that dumped us here, it should yo-yo us back to Greece?" Jack said, working it through. "Exactly!" Daniel said, then he grimaced. "Well, I *think* so..." "Sweet," Jack moaned. "Well, it's worth a shot." He motioned for Daniel to join him as he moved into the center of the ring. Once they were standing within the floor markings, shoulder-to-shoulder, he ran his fingers over the top of the metal plate. The rings whooshed up around them and... -- Sam and Makepiece found themselves in a small dusty room. "Major, you all right?" The Colonel asked, turning around to take his bearings. "Yes, I'm fine," Sam replied, gingerly stepping out of the circle. "Oh, look at this!" she hurried across the room, examining the shards and broken statuettes. "We've got to be in Greece or Italy or...well, Daniel's the expert on this stuff. But this looks sorta Grecian, I think." "It looks like someone's been here very recently," Makepiece responded, pointing out the second dust-free circle on the floor and the fingerprints in the dust along the wall. "Daniel and Colonel O'Neill! They must have been brought here like we were." Sam said, turning to look around them. "I wonder where they went. Maybe they used the rings..." she paused at the edge of the second circle, her mind racing. "Maybe they used this second set of rings to go somewhere else." "Why would the Goa'uld put more than one set of rings in one place?" Makepiece asked, moving over to stand beside her. "I don't...maybe the rings only go one place. So to be able to go to more than one destination, they need multiple sets of rings! There could be a whole system of them!" Sam theorized, her excitement growing. "Does that mean that this second set of rings will take us back to Egypt or send us off somewhere else?" Makepiece questioned, doubtfully. "From what we've seen of the rings in use on other planets, they're a two-way street. So the same rings that brought us here, should send us back. The problem is that we don't have a control device." "There must be one somewhere," Makepiece insisted. "Jackson and O'Neill must have used it or they'd still be here. It looks like that door hasn't been opened in centuries." He gestured over his shoulder at the iron door barring the far end of the room. Sam nodded and began to search the room. Makepiece joined her, sorting through piles of shattered pottery, shifting statues, examining the walls. In the far corner, Sam reached down behind a statue and jerked her hand back, swearing softly. Makepiece was across the room and at her side in an instant, his gun in his hand. "What happened?" he asked. "It's OK, I was just surprised," she said, her pulse beginning to slow down as she took a couple of deep breaths. Reaching back behind the statue, she pulled out a long piece of human bone which they both quickly recognized as an arm, from shoulder joint to skeletal hand. Makepiece grimaced. "Nice...I wonder how long that's been here?" "Probably a few hundred years," she replied, turning it over in her hands. Loosely circling the bone covering the wrist joint and forearm was a long, dull-gold metal sheath. "I wonder," she whispered, sliding it free of the bones and gently returning them to their resting place. "This might be an activation device. Maybe whoever this was didn't have time to go somewhere before they died..." "Or they came here to die," Makepiece added. He poked at the metal object with one forefinger, carefully. "Well, it's worth a shot." They exchanged wary glances, then turned to face the room. Sam slid the metal sheath over her arm and then ran the fingers of her other hand over it, seeking some activation point. A loud, now-familiar whooshing sound filled the air and rings started popping up into the air. One set, two sets...three! The rings gleamed then disappeared back down into the floor. "It works!" she exclaimed happily. "Great, now which ones do we use to get back to Egypt?" Makepiece replied dourly. "Umm...I think it's those, over there," she said, pointing to the ones furthest away. He grimaced, but nodded. "All right, let's give it a shot." They walked over, carefully avoiding the circle to their left. Once they were positioned in the middle of the ring space, Sam ran her fingers over the sheath on her arm, the rings flew up and the room faded out around them. -- Jack and Daniel found themselves deposited them right back into the dusty Greecian chamber. Daniel sneezed. Jack laughed and pulled Daniel into a massive bearhug. "All right! It worked! Good thinking, Danny!" he crowed. Daniel sneezed again, against Jack's shoulder, but he accepted the hug. He slipped his arms around Jack's back and squeezed him back. Jack ruffled his hair, lightly, then stepped back, leaving a hand on Daniel's shoulders. "OK, so now if we use the other ring here, it should pop us back to Egypt," he said, grinning. Daniel nodded. "That should work." They stepped across the room, located a circle of disturbed dust, stepped inside, and activated the control. The rings whooshed up around them and the room disappeared in a shimmer of golden light. Jack squeezed his eyes shut, sent up a wayward prayer, then opened his eyes. Standing right in front of him were the dark, granite features of Teal'c. Whooping, he ran forward and seized the massive Jaffa warrior by both shoulders. "We're back!" "It is good to see you well, O'Neill," Teal'c said, managing to retain his calm dignity even as Jack shook him enthusiastically. "And you, Daniel Jackson." "It's good to see you too, Teal'c," Daniel replied, smiling. "We took a bit of a trip. It seems there's a large system of rings covering this planet." "Yeah," Jack agreed, releasing Teal'c and looking around. "Which is going to make it difficult to track the Goa'uld bitch. We're going to have to find a way to track her. Where's Carter?" Teal'c face settled into an even grimmer look than usual. "I had hoped that you would have seen Major Carter and Colonel Makepiece. They went through the rings after you did." "What?" Jack and Daniel exclaimed simultaneously. "But we didn't see them," Daniel added. He frowned. "That doesn't make any sense, since they'd have had to go through to Greece and we picked up the activation device there, so where could they have gone?" "Perhaps there was another control device there," Teal'c suggested. Jack groaned. "Damn. They could be anywhere." -- "Damn, where the hell are we?" Makepiece exploded the moment the rings had fallen away. They definitely weren't in Egypt, that much was obvious. Sam shook her head, carefully stepping back out of the ring. This room was, if such was possible, even dingier than the previous one. The walls were streaked with grime and green growth, the floor cracked. There was no door, only an opening through which faint rays of light filtered inward. "We're in the tropics," she offered, rubbing at her forehead as sweat began to pool and drip. Egypt had been painfully hot, but it had been dry. This was damp, humid heat, as heavy as a thermal blanket. "Yeah," Makepiece muttered unhappily. She turned to face him just in time to see his eyes widen in alarm. She spun back around, drawing her gun. Standing in the doorway, Piers Robinson stared at her, yet didn't seem to be seeing her. His gaze was befuddled, his face frozen in shock. She'd seen that look before. Piers moved sideways, revealing a small, slender woman with a waterfall of midnight black hair, ebony eyes, bronzed skin, and carved Semitic features. She was dressed in a white gown that crossed her breasts, leaving one shoulder bare, and an elaborate jewel-encrusted headdress. She lifted her hand and Sam's gut tightened as she recognized a Goa'uld hand weapon. Sam shouted. The woman fired. The glow from her weapon picked Makepiece up and sending him crashing into the back wall, his gun firing once, uselessly, even as it clattered from his fingers. Sam fired rapidly, squeezing off as many rounds as she could before that glowing blast hit her. As she collided with the wall and collapsed, her last sight was of Piers Robinson's body slumping to the floor in a mockery of her own collapse. -- Worried, Daniel and Jack wasted no time in gathering their troops and preparing a plan of action. This was more Jack's area of expertise than Daniel's, but neither man cared about who was in charge. They cared about finding their missing teammates and stopping the Goa'uld Queen before she had a chance to make more larvae. So they worked in tandem, in an easy synchronicity. There really wasn't much to argue about anyway. They had to track the ring patters, find Sam and Makepiece and Ishtar and Robinson. The two drivers and the other air force guards were left outside, under orders to let no one in or out without proper authority. That left the two of them, Teal'c, three members of SG-3 and two members of SG-6. Given that they had only two available control devices, the numbers worked out, in familiar terms, to two four-man teams. The device in the wall had been carefully removed earlier. Daniel handed it to Teal'c. "Take the rest of SG-3 and start following the rings. Mark the ones you've chosen so we won't duplicate each other. Pocelli and Harris, you come with Jack and me. We'll do the same." "Don't hesitate to use your radios," Jack added. "We're set up via satellite, so contact should work no matter where you end up." Teal'c nodded. "I understand. If I locate Major Carter or any of the others, I will notify you immediately of our location." "It's the series of rings you took to get there that is important, so keep track carefully," Daniel warned. "We will be certain to do so," Teal'c agreed. He motioned to the three SG-3 men and they joined him in the center of the circle. Teal'c activated the device and they disappeared. Jack moved to follow them, but Daniel stopped him. "In most of the other rooms we've found more than one set of rings, so we ought to check here as well." He waved for Pocelli and Harris to move back against the wall, drawing Jack with him as he did the same. He ran his fingers over the device, slowly scanning the room away from the known set of rings. It was only as he swept his arm towards the corner closest to the door that there was a response. There was a rough grinding noise, followed by the standard whoosh, and up rose a second set of rings. Daniel turned to Jack who smiled grimly. "After you," Jack said. Daniel returned the tight, non-humorous smile, then stepped forward. When the other three men joined him, he activated the device again and the room faded out around them. -- Teal'c carefully marked the ring circle they had come through with the Tau'ri word "Egypt" then moved his team into the second set of rings. He activated the rings, expecting to end up in the place Daniel had described as "China." But when the rings left them standing in a tight grouping on a cracked, uneven floor, he quickly realized that they were, in fact, somewhere else. "Spread out," he ordered and SG-3 responded immediately. They were good men, not quite as excellent as his own teammates, but then he knew well how special O'Neill, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were. He missed having them at his side, even the wayward Daniel Jackson who tended to run headfirst into danger. But O'Neill was with Daniel Jackson now and O'Neill would give his own life to protect his friend. Even as he scanned the dank, damaged room surrounding him, his senses alert for danger, Teal'c couldn't help wondering when his two teammates would realize how deep and true the bond between them was. The Jaffa of Chulak recognized and valued such relationships between men who had suffered together in battle; men who had offered their lives for one another. The Tau'ri didn't quite seem to see it the same way, but Teal'c was sure they'd get there sooner or later. But for the sake of the two men he cared deeply about, he couldn't help hoping it was sooner. A shout from one of the SG-3 men brought him and the others running. There was blood, fresh and barely congealing, on the back wall. Teal'c sniffed the air unhappily, his eyes never quite leaving the open doorway. It was obvious that someone had been here recently and had been in battle. He could smell the distinctive smoke caused by the Tau'ri firearms. While there was no one still here in this room, he felt certain that more investigation of the surroundings was required. Lifting his radio, he tried to contact O'Neill and Daniel Jackson. -- "I'm here, Teal'c," O'Neill's characteristic rumble sounded from the device in his hand. "What've you got?" Teal'c pressed the lever that would allow him to respond. "There has been a battle in this location, very recently. Within the past hour. There is blood and the smell of your firearms. I believe we should investigate beyond this chamber in this location." He released the lever in order to let O'Neill reply. A moment later, O'Neill's voice filtered through. "Where are you?" There was silence for a moment, then "how did you get there?" "We are in a very hot and wet place. We took the first set of rings to the place Daniel Jackson called 'Greece' then we took a new set of rings from there. Instead of going to the place called 'China' we were brought here. Therefore, there must be three ring choices in 'Greece.'" "Gotcha!" O'Neill responded. "We'll be there ASAP. Go ahead and start looking around, jut be careful!" "We will," Teal'c affirmed. Putting the device back in his pocket, he motioned to his team to approach the doorway. They moved swiftly and surely, pairing up on opposite sides of the opening. Teal'c peered outward, cautiously, but saw nothing more than thick vegetation. Edging outward, he gestured for the men to follow him. Cautiously, weapons extended, they stalked out into the waiting jungle. -- Once they knew where they were going and how, using the rings was not difficult. Jack was perfectly happy to leave the icy spot they had landed in and return to Egypt. From there, they popped over the Greece and located the one set of rings they had not yet used. While Daniel manipulated the control device, Jack and the other two soldiers drew their weapons, preparing to find almost anything on the other end. What they found was a deserted ruin, the humid heat in sharp contrast to the chill of their previous location. Jack rubbed at the sweat which instantly pooled on his neck. "Talk about instant travel!" "Actually, once we map out the system, the rings may well prove to be very useful," Daniel responded, already beginning to explore their surroundings. "It looks like we've jumped continents again." "To where?" Jack demanded, motioning to Pocelli and Harris to check out the open doorway. They moved swiftly in response, each backing up against the wall framing the opening. "South America." Daniel wandered over to examine the walls. "Peru, most likely." Jack stayed close to Daniel, keeping a close eye on him. If anyone was going to find something useful or something dangerous, it would be the wide-eyed archaeologist. "Why would an Egyptian Goddess - well, someone who *thinks* she's an Egyptian Goddess travel to South America?" Jack asked. Daniel shrugged, wincing as he located the smears of blood on the wall. He pointed them out to Jack, even as he responded. "Well, she's actually not Egyptian, she's...well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, maybe there's something here she wants." Daniel paused, thinking rapidly, watching as Jack dabbed at the rusty streaks with a forefinger. A thought struck and he grabbed Jack's arm, pulling him around. "It's much closer to the Stargate! Hathor was drawn to it also, remember! And...Jack, this could, in fact, BE the place where Hathor was found. Maybe Ishtar was looking for Hathor or..." "Colonel! Doctor!" Harris's shout interrupted Daniel's theorizing. The two men ran for the doorway, following the Lieutenant's anxious signaling. Just beyond the doorway, Pocelli was crouching over the dead body of a man in uniform. An SG uniform. Jack knelt down, feeling for a pulse, a fierce sense of sorrow mixing with a faint touch of relief. It wasn't Teal'c or Carter. It was Brown. And there was no pulse. "Damn!" Jack hissed, anger rising over his other emotions. "Hit with a Zat gun, twice. Looks like we're in the right place." Even Daniel had his gun out now, all four men frantically scanning the rocky ruins which mixed into the thick jungle. There was no one else in sight; no sounds except for the cries of birds overhead. "Where'd they go?" Daniel whispered. Jack merely shook his head, then signaled for the men to spread out. They couldn't have gone far. Brown's body was still warm. Jack moved sideways around the corner of the half-collapsed structure, Daniel edging along behind him. Jack's instincts were screaming at him now. They were close - very, very close. -- Sam moaned and tried to move, coming fully awake with a gasp when she realized that she was trapped. Her hands were tied behind her back, her ankles bound together. She struggled lightly. "Major Carter, are you unharmed?" That was Teal'c. Sam tilted her head to find him bound as she was, as was Sergeant Connor. There was a large bruise on Teal'c forehead, though it was already beginning to heal due to the Goa'uld larvae he carried. Connor, on the other hand, was out cold. "Teal'c! What happened?" she asked. "Did you find Colonel O'Neill and Daniel?" "They found their own way back not long after you and Colonel Makepiece disappeared. We were able to follow you to this location, however, this Goa'uld was waiting in ambush for us. I am afraid that Major Brown is dead." "Where's Harper?" "I think he managed to escape. I contacted O'Neill before we left the ring chamber to look for you, so he should be on his way here. Hopefully, he will succeed where I failed." Though his voice never altered expression, Sam could tell that Teal'c was deeply upset. "It's not your fault, Teal'c. You had no way of knowing she was here. She took us by surprise also." Footsteps sounded nearby and they both lifted their heads in response. "You are awake now. Good," said an unfamiliar, strangely accented female voice. Sam looked up to find the fancily-dressed woman who had attacked them earlier standing over her. The women dropped to one knee and reached out to caress Sam's cheek. Sam jerked her head away, but was unable to move far. The woman chuckled. "Spirited and beautiful. I am pleased to see that your people have women warriors of such quality. It is a shame that you have been forced to be in service to such as he." The woman pointed to the slumped, bleeding body of Piers Robinson. "I am not in service to him!" Sam responded. "I am a Major in the United States Air Force." She met the woman's eyes, trying hard not to show fear when those ebony eyes lit up with the Goa'uld glow. "So he is not your leader," the Goa'uld Queen replied softly, her mouth curling in amusement. "Then who is?" Those ebony eyes settled and narrowed as she leaned in closer to Sam. "You have been blended! I can feel it! Who was it? Why are you now unblended? Which Goa'uld does this Jaffa serve? He has the symbol of Apophis but Ra never allowed Apophis here." Sam forced herself to smile and speak calmly, glancing at Teal'c to still his response. He nodded slightly, letting her take the lead. "He does not serve any Goa'uld anymore. He left Apophis to work with us. We have been free of Goa'uld tyranny for thousands of year and now we use the Stargate for our own purposes. The Tok'Ra are our allies and it was one of them who shared my body, briefly. The System Lords have no power here. *You* have no power here." Anger flashed, tightening the lovely features of the host body while the Goa'uld eyes flared. "But I will. This planet will be mine and then I will rejoin Father Ra and take my rightful place by his side yet again." Sam laughed at her, bravely trying to throw her captor off guard and keep her talking. She needed to give O'Neill and Jackson as much time as possible. "Ra is dead. We killed him," she said bluntly. "No!" the Goa'uld shouted. "You are lying!" Sam shook her head, letting the honest truth of her words shine through her expression, cold and calm. "Then you, all of you, will pay for your transgressions!" The Goa'uld promised harshly. "Fools such as this one will die," she stood up and kicked Piers' unconscious body. "Men such as this one will be useful slaves." She pointed at a blank-eyed Makepiece who stood off to one side, unmoving. "As will be this Jaffa. Now he will serve me as he once served Apophis." "Never!" Teal'c shouted, while Sam swore under her breath. Now, she belatedly remembered that Makepiece had been offworld during the Hathor disaster and had not been involved with the Seth incident. He had never had a chance to be exposed to, and thus become immune to, the mind-controlling substances used by the Goa'uld System Lords. Even as she struggled to think of a way to free him, the Goa'uld Queen reminded her of her own situation. The woman reached out again to hold Sam's face in her hand. "You, however, I have other plans for. I need a host for my new consort once she is born. I have already taken the code of life and soon my children will be born. Your strength and beauty will well suit my needs." Sam twisted her face away, silently fighting her fear. 'Not if I can help it' she promised herself. But the Goa'uld was finished with her for the moment. The woman turned to Connor who was barely returning to consciousness. Both Teal'c and Sam strained at their bonds, but there was nothing they could do. All it took was a breath in his face and the young Captain was under her control. -- There were marks along the ground that looked to be the result of bodies being dragged. That made for an easy trail to follow, but both Jack and Daniel were nervous. It seemed too easy. One man was dead and six were missing, seven if you included Piers, but none of the SGC men particularly cared about him. They were more concerned with their teammates and friends. They proceeded slowly and cautiously, Jack taking point, Daniel covering the rear as he was accustomed to doing. The two SG-6 men settled in-between their SG-1 colleagues, the rhythm less sure than it would be for each full team, but still confident. Even Daniel, though technically remaining a civilian, had become instinctually comfortable with the flow of movement of a combat team in hostile territory. A flash of motion caught the corner of Daniel's eyes and he shifted sideways, bringing his gun to bear, calling out a sharp, short warning. Pocelli was at his side in an instant, his dark eyes following Daniel's pointing arm. The soldier nodded briskly at the scientist, letting Daniel lead, carefully covering him. Daniel darted forward, his pulse pounding, his fingers squeezing on the gun, twitching tighter on the trigger, ready to fire at the slightest threat. The figure that jumped up out of the jungle at Daniel called out in English, "Don't shoot!" the words marked by the drawl of the American south. Daniel stopped short, still aiming, his fingers relaxing only slightly until his eyes could focus on the man in front of him. "Harper," he sighed with recognition. Lowering the gun, he waved at the others in relief. They clustered close, leaving Harris to watch their backs. "What happened?" Jack demanded. "Where's Teal'c and the rest of the team?" "Captured," Harper replied succinctly. "They took us by surprise. Jumped out of the jungle at us with those Zat guns. Brown went down, then Connor and Teal'c. I managed to duck out of sight." He focused on Jack, his voice dropping low. "Sir, Colonel Makepiece was one of the attackers. It was him and this woman in a white dress. I think she's the Goa'uld. Her voice sounded like one of 'em. Makepiece seemed, well, almost drunk. I think he's under her control." Jack swore softly. "I should have expected that. Damn Goa'uld mind control. Makes it harder, though. I don't want to shoot our own people." "If we shoot them with a Zat gun that should free them like Seth's people," Daniel suggested. "Yeah, if we *had* a Zat gun," Jack retorted darkly. Daniel reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small metal item in the shape of a coiled serpent. "You mean one of these?" He held it out towards the Colonel. Jack's eyes widened and he grinned. "Danny boy, you get an A+ for this one! I thought we weren't going to bring anything that might break security." Daniel shrugged. "I figured that as long as I kept it hidden...well, I thought it might come in handy." Jack laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good thinking. You brought it, you use it." He turned back to Harper. "Did you see where they went?" Harper nodded. "Yes sir. There's a regular maze of half-buried rooms around here. Most of it is pretty broken down, but there's a fully standing section around the other side. That's where they took Teal'c and Connor." "Good, show us." Jack paused, then asked the question burning at him and Daniel as well. "Any sign of Major Carter?" Harper shook his head. "Sorry, sir, no. But I haven't had a chance to get inside." "OK. Thanks, Harper. You and Harris take point. Pocelli, hang back. Daniel, with me." Receiving a round of short nods and sharp glances, Jack gestured for them to move out. Adjusting positions as required, the five men flowed into action. -- Harper located the small covered enclosure quickly. There was no sign of anyone nearby, but none of the men were willing to take any chances. Jack put Pocelli and Harper on guard, then gathered Harris and Daniel into a huddle. Daniel let Jack take the lead on this; it was Jack's area of expertise. Jack whispered rapidly, his hands echoing his words. Harris nodded agreement, but Daniel had concerns. "Jack, what if they're waiting for us? They could kill you!" It was hard for Daniel to keep his voice steady. He pleaded with Jack with his eyes, hoping against hope for a change in plans. Surely, there was another way. Jack shook his head, adamant. "This'll work. Even if she is expecting us, she'll prefer to take us alive if she can. She needs slaves. Alone, the only chance she's got is to control as many of us as possible." Daniel was forced to agree, though he felt sick with fear. Jack gave him a twisted smile, squeezing his arm. "I'm counting on you to do some fast shooting, space monkey. So stay alert, OK?" Daniel nodded grimly. "I'll do my best," he promised. His blue eyes met Jack's brown ones, melded and held. A wealth of emotion, of words that couldn't be said, even those that should've been said, passed between them in that instant of connection. In the end, the words didn't matter. They were together on this, sharing the risks and the consequences, as they always had been from the very first trip through the Stargate. Both would do what was needed. Daniel knew that, and he knew Jack did as well. Jack tapped his arm one more time, then withdrew to inform Harper and Pocelli of the plan. The two SG-6 men were to provide back-up, watching the jungle, while Harper covered the door. That would leave Daniel and Jack to take the offensive. When everyone was in position, Jack signaled Daniel. The archaeologist hefted the alien weapon, activating it, then silently signed his readiness. Jack stood up, brushed some of the dirt off his clothes, adopted a bright smile and sauntered inside. He took a moment in the doorway to let his eyes adjust to the gloom, then he called out cheerily. "Pizza delivery!" "Colonel!" Sam shouted from across the room. Jack waved at her walking forward, hands loose at his side. "Hiya Major, how's it going?" he called out. "Be careful! The Goa'uld is here! She's got Makepiece and Connor under her control!" Sam yelled, desperately trying to warn him. "Oh, I know that. No prob. So where is the bitch?" He replied with apparent amusement. "Hey, pizza-pizza! Delivery! Come and get it while its hot!" he yelled again. "Hold it right there!" a voice shouted from a side door. Makepiece entered, a Zat gun in his hand, followed by Connor and a beautiful woman who had to be the Goa'uld. Jack smiled and waved at them. "Hi Makepiece! How ya doin' pal?" "Take him," commanded the gravelly voice of the Goa'uld woman. Makepiece and Connor advanced silently, their eyes blank yet focused in a strange travesty of their usual sharpness. Jack backed away slowly, raising his arms, waiting... Waiting... "Now!" he shouted, twisting sideways and diving for the floor. Daniel darted through the doorway, firing his Zat gun as he moved. He caught Makepiece first, sending the Colonel down in a rush of blue sparks. Connor spun, shifting his aim from Jack to Daniel, but he was too late. Daniel already knew he had two targets to hit, so he was prepared to swing and shoot. He got Connor even before the other man had a chance to fully turn. Ishtar screamed in rage, lifting her hand and blasting at Daniel. Jack was ready for this. He'd pulled his gun even as he tumbled to the floor. He fired at Ishtar at the same moment she fired at Daniel. Both hit simultaneously, tossing Daniel and the Goa'uld Queen backwards. She hit the floor hard, screaming, blood pouring from her chest. Daniel fell silently, gasping for breath as the blast instantly faded out. He pushed himself back onto his feet even before Harper and Jack reached him. Brushing them aside, he advanced on Ishtar. His face settled into an uncharacteristically cold expression, his eyes darkening from their native blue to midnight black. He lifted the Zat gun and fired it once. She twitched, then lay still. He fired again. Jack called out his name, but Daniel ignored him. He fired a third time and her body disintegrated leaving no sign it had ever been there. Only then did Daniel waver. His hand dropped, the Zat gun tumbling out of his fingers to clatter against the floor at his feet. Jack reached him instantly, wrapping a supporting arm around Daniel's shoulders as Daniel slumped. "I hate them," Daniel whispered. "I hate them so much." "I know," Jack replied, drawing Daniel into a fierce embrace. "I hate them too." -- Epilogue: Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, three days later "Well done, people," General Hammond congratulated warmly. "The system of transport rings you discovered should prove extremely useful. We'll continue to map then out, then set a group of engineers to work figuring out how they work and if we can move them. Is there anything else at the Egypt dig site that we need to be concerned about?" "No General," Daniel replied. "We brought the Sarcophagus and the Zat guns back with us. The rest of the site seems clear, though we should probably keep an eye on it just in case Piers Robinson pulls up any more surprises. I think we've got it all, though." "Good," the General pronounced. "How is Dr. Robinson, by the way?" Daniel grimaced. "Recovering and back to his usual obnoxious self." "He's driving the Cairo hospital staff crazy. Wants to get back to his dig. Guess we know where Daniel learned his bad habits," Jack commented dryly. Daniel tossed his pencil at Jack who swiped it up out of the air with casual ease, grinning all the while. "He has agreed to cooperate?" the General asked, pointedly ignoring his subordinates' attempts at humor. Daniel nodded, still glaring at Jack. "Oh yeah. He doesn't remember anything that happened. He thinks he suffered a consequence of the explosion. Anyway, as long as he gets credit for the dig, he doesn't care." "Fine. Then we can consider this one wrapped up. Again, Dr. Jackson, let me congratulate you on a job well done. I know this was a lot of pressure to put you under, but you - and all members of SG-1, 3, and 6 performed admirably. Let's hope we continue to see such success in the future." "Thanks General," Daniel replied somberly, focusing on Hammond. "But I'd feel a lot better if we hadn't lost Sergeant Brown." "I would too, Doctor," the General replied gently. "It's always tough to lose a man under your command. The responsibility cuts deeply and it never goes away. However, you did well in saving the lives of the rest of your team and I hope you will take pride in that." "I do," Daniel replied. "Thank you, General." He looked back at Jack to find his friend gazing sympathetically at him. Their eyes met and Jack, slowly, nodded. The warmth in Jack's brown eyes swept through Daniel, washing away the aching remnants of the past week, leaving him with a bittersweet, but nonetheless powerful sense of accomplishment. Daniel smiled. End
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