aurora_novarum | Fic: The Archway (Reply)

Title: The Archway
Rating/Warning: PG (for action scenes)
Spoilers: Season 8 (anytime after "Zero Hour")
Written for:

nandamai in the

sg1teamficathon. Nanda wanted: "The original team stranded offworld. Could be in S8 or later (i.e., General Jack with D, S, and T), or in an earlier season. An unusual setting and an action-adventure plot are optional but would make me squee. And lots of teamy goodness, of course!" And didn't want: "Cam or Vala. Apocafic. First-person narration."

Summary: When SG-1 goes missing on an Ancient planet, General O'Neill may be the only one who can get them out. But more danger awaits than Jack knows.

Author's Notes: I read the prompt as Season Eight team being first choice, so hope nanda approves. Thanks to

abyssinia4077 for her translation advice, to

redbyrd_sgfic who read it as a wip, and to final beta(s)

fabrisse and

beanpot.

Sam blinked as she exited the wormhole. Her two teammates followed, stopping short at the sight before them. "I don't remember the MALP footage showing this world to be so..." Daniel's voice trailed off, his mouth agape.

"...Purple." Teal'c supplied.

"Yeah. Yeah, that would be the word," Daniel agreed. "It's like a huge crayon box." They stared at their surroundings. A slight breeze drifted across the grasslands around the Stargate. Sam remembered the grasses looking near white in the unmanned survey footage, but the knee-high groundcover now appeared a strange blueish-lilac color. The trees in the forest nearby also had that same hue. The sky above was a deep violet. All the colors were extremely vivid.

"Something in the atmosphere could shift the light spectrum closer to the ultraviolet." Sam unpacked some of her equipment from the FRED and started taking readings. She noted the second sun rising to their right. "It also could be related to the time of day. It would explain why it didn't show on our initial survey."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noted Daniel doing his usual check of the DHD. He then pulled out his binoculars to check some tall stones in the distance. "At least the ruins are right where the MALP indicated they would be." He picked up the FRED's remote, directed the machine towards the plinths in the distance, then started to head in that direction himself.

She was about to follow when a spike on the scanner caught her attention. She tried to track the source. "Hold up, Daniel," she ordered.

Daniel started to protest. "Sam, you know Jack only okayed a four hour recon, and the initial survey indicated Ancient writing on the outside of those ruins. A lot of writing. I'm going to need..."

Daniel's objections faded to background noise as Sam's focus was caught by these high readings. She continued to wave her scanner to the left of the Stargate, catching another strong but brief ripple. It seemed localized near an old archway twenty yards away from the Stargate and in the opposite direction of the ruins. Whatever building it may have once led to had long since crumbled to dust. Only the doorway to nowhere remained. It reminded her of a section of Stonehenge, but there were no other rocks nearby. Just the three stones making the arch. The scanner didn't lie; something was giving off readings. She moved forward, intrigued, just as the device dropped to baseline readings.

Absently she was aware of Teal'c nearby, already alert for danger, Daniel was double-timing to close the distance to them, now aware of Sam's interest.

Teal'c asked, "What is it, Colonel Carter?"

"I'm not sure," she murmured, finally looking up from her scanner to study the archway before her. I got a spike from an energy source coming from this, but now, it's gone." She shook her head. "This can't be right." She stopped short of banging her handheld scanner and instead waved it around in a systematic pattern.

Daniel had caught up to the group and looked at the archway with interest, circling around it and studying the base. "Strange."

Sam scowled at her scanner. "It doesn't make any sense. The readings have disappeared. Do you have any idea where this doorway led to?"

Daniel said, "I don't think a building was ever attached." He pointed out the smooth, even angles of the outer edges. "It appears to be a freestanding structure. Perhaps it had a cultural significance leading to the Stargate."

"But the ruins are only over there." She pointed to the elevated area now at her five o'clock. "The people wouldn't walk around the Stargate to enter through this arch unless there was something else here." She looked around, but had to agree with Daniel's assessment. The only stones of any size were this archway and the platform and stairs on which the Stargate and DHD rested.

Daniel frowned, looking at her from the other side of the archway. "That's why it's strange."

"Should the stone not be more weathered, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c looked at the archway like it was an enemy, not quite touching the smooth edges of the rock. Sam glanced back and realized it was a very familiar rock. She recalibrated her scanner to be sure.

Daniel said, "We're in a valley, and the tree line over there may have protected it. Also, I can't be sure but I think..."

Sam's readings confirmed her suspicion. "It's naquadah." Belatedly from her teammates' expressions, she realized she'd finished Daniel's thought. After so many years, they really should be used to it. She waited a half-second for the colonel's expected teasing remark, then with a start realized she was "the colonel" now, or at least lieutenant colonel. She suppressed a smile and continued. "We've already seen that naquadah is resilient to all sorts of traumatic events. The question is, why would they use it to make this device?"

Daniel frowned and circled back to where Sam and Teal'c stood, backing away to get a better perspective. "It is a bit cruder than the Ancients' usual style."

"But we've been fooled by deceptively primitive looking objects before." Sam started to study the base of the archway in earnest.

"Should we not proceed to the ruins? Perhaps there will be something there to explain this anomaly," Teal'c said. Sam detected an unusual note of wariness in his tone. Teal'c's atypical reaction was enough to give her pause.

Daniel too seemed to pick up on their friend's caution. "Teal'c's right. I may find something there to provide a context." Daniel shielded his eyes from the direction of the rising sun, then exclaimed, "Wait! I can make out writing on the top. It reads...'entrance'?"

"Really?" Sam started to stand to see where he was pointing; Daniel was moving closer, squinting at the top. She automatically leaned on the base to help straighten herself, and her hand holding the scanner brushed the inside of the arch. Its readings spiked, and she felt a tremor of shock travel up her arm. "What the...?"

She looked at the scanner again; it seemed magnetized to the entranceway, the readings holding on a steady high. In fact, it seemed to be pulling her. She tried to move the hand that was resting on the archway itself and...

"Sam, no!" She heard Daniel's cry an instant before everything went white.

Daniel Jackson couldn't believe his eyes. One second Sam was standing in front of him, looking at her scanner; the next, she was enveloped by a strange white energy. He had cried out without thinking, and his actions were instinctive. Only a few feet separated him from Sam. He moved forward, hoping to drag her away. As he reached out, she seemed to disappear before his eyes. His fingertips were so close, could he just pluck her back? Maybe if he didn't touch the sides of the archway...

"Daniel Jackson!"

Teal'c's warning came at the same time he tackled Daniel from the side. But even this action failed to stop Daniel's forward momentum. He found himself engulfed in the strange white light, blinding him.

Then he was hitting a solid surface, immediately followed by Teal'c's heavy weight falling across his back, winding him. He tried to call out to Teal'c, but could not yet gather breath to speak. To Daniel's relief, Teal'c rose an instant later with athletic grace. As Daniel coughed and tried to get the air back into his lungs, he looked around, but spots danced before his eyes from the blinding light of a few moments ago. He squinted. Was it his imagination, or was everything appearing less purple than a few minutes ago?

Of course, the odd color of the sky was the least of his worries at the moment. Teal'c was already sweeping the area, his staff weapon at ready for any other danger. Next to him, Sam was on her knees, shaking her head and blinking, but thankfully looking no worse for wear. Aside from a few scrapes, now that he could breathe normally, Daniel felt fine as well. The strange energy field that had surrounded them had disappeared.

He crawled over to Sam. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she responded. "What was that?"

"I have no idea. I'm assuming you don't either?"

Sam shook her head as she got to her feet, blinking rapidly. "I saw this..."

Daniel stood next to her, finishing her statement. "Light. I saw it too. You disappeared within it, and then..." He gestured around them. "Teal'c and I followed."

"Well, at least we seem okay." She approached the archway cautiously.

It looked benign to Daniel's eye. He could still see the DHD and Stargate on the other side. But the foliage's change in color still concerned him. He hesitated to bring it up, but anything could be important. "I don't know if it's how the flash affected my eyes or what, but does anyone else notice the ground..."

"It is no longer purple," Teal'c answered, circling back to his teammates. "The trees have also lightened their hue, and the sky is overcast."

Daniel exchanged a concerned glance with Sam. Over her shoulder, he spotted something else that worried him even more. "The ruins...the FRED, they're gone!"

Sam spun around to look where he pointed. "Not so benign after all." She started sprinting to the DHD. "The archway may have been a transporter of some sort, redirecting us to..." her voice trailed off.

Daniel kept to her heels, shaking off some last vestiges of dizziness. His mind was already spinning its own scenario. This archway wasn't like the mirror on 233, but the tingling sensation he just experienced was a bit of a deja vu. If Sam had a logical explanation that did not involve alternate realities, he was more than ready to hear it. He was unable to completely keep the nervousness out of his voice as he prompted her. "To...?"

"It could be anywhere. Another spot on the planet...another planet..."

"An alternate reality?" Daniel finally voiced his fear.

Apparently Sam hadn't considered that possibility. She blanched, and then squared her shoulders. "Well, we shouldn't jump to any conclusions, right?" She looked around the area. Daniel noted the familiar, secure presence of Teal'c standing between them and the Stargate. Sam ordered, "What we do know is that something happened, and most of our equipment to figure out what it was has disappeared. Our best alternative is to dial what will hopefully be home."

Teal'c questioned, "If it is not our reality, are we not at risk by alerting them to our presence?"

"Like I said, it's a remote possibility, and if it is true, we need to know of potential entropic issues." Sam's voice held a note of command. "Right now, I'm more worried that..." Her confident tone lapsed, and she bit her lip. Her voice softer, she turned to Daniel, her expressive eyes unable to hide her fear. "Dial it up, please, Daniel."

Daniel grimaced, suppressing the memories he had of living through two alternate Earth armageddons. Steeling himself to dial, he paused in confusion. The symbols appeared different from what he remembered from before. Getting his bearings, he found the first symbol that would dial home.

His hand passed right through the device as if it wasn't even there.

"Uh...S-Sam?" He glanced over to her. She had been staring off to where the ruins used to be, a worried frown on her face. Realizing he was watching her, she turned, glancing down at the DHD.

"What is it?"

"I-I can't dial." He moved his hand across the width of the DHD; it passed through the device. "I swear, Sam, I checked the DHD when we first arrived. It operated normally."

"Yeah, I saw you do it." She waved her P-90 through the device. "It appears to be a hologram. I wonder if the base is also..." She followed her words with action, getting to her knees and trying to open the crystal area. Her hand passed through it. Undeterred, she reached for her scanner and started moving it around the stone base near the DHD.

"Hologram, not...um," Daniel struggled for the right expression, "not out of phase?" He had to admit the disappearance of everything else made this unlikely, but he couldn't forget how decades ago, Nick had been shifted out-of-phase and transported to another planet at the same time. Daniel wasn't anxious to relive that experience either.

"From these readings, I'm pretty sure it's the DHD that's the problem, not us." She plucked at the grass, which easily broke off in her very solid hands.

Daniel wasn't sure whether to be relieved or more worried. "And...not an alternate reality?"

"I'm thinking no." Sam made a frustrated noise at whatever she was seeing on her scanner. "It's more likely we went through some kind of transporter to another location. Something similar happened to Colonel O'Neill a couple years ago."

Sam looked around again and Daniel followed her gaze. He thought he remembered there being two suns, but it was hard to gauge with the thick cloud cover. Several yards away, there were more trees in a full circle of the clearing where this false Stargate and arch sat. Teal'c was walking along the perimeter of the woods.

Daniel looked back to Sam, who grimaced. "It would explain why everything looks different. We could be miles away from the real Stargate, or even on a neighboring moon."

Daniel tried to follow her logic. "So, the good news is, we're probably still in the planetary vicinity of where we started in this reality. The bad news is we're trapped."

Sam got up and dusted off her knees. "That sums it up."

"Oh, Jack is not going to be happy." Daniel looked over at the archway. "Should we try door number one again?"

Sam looked leery but followed him back. "Don't get too close," she ordered unnecessarily. Daniel planned to stay far back. He could translate the archway just fine from here.

Sam ran her scanner while standing next to Daniel. "It's not reading anything." She started circling the archway, careful to maintain a safe distance. "Nothing at all."

Daniel renewed his translations of the faded writings. The same note stating "entrance," but a few more words were listed here--some reference to the passage of days, a few words he couldn't make out and something...storage? Part of this reminded him of an old poem, but he couldn't place it. He tried to continue reading, but the words were too faded.

His thoughts were interrupted by Sam's calling to him. She had moved from the archway over to the Stargate. He joined her. Daniel wondered if it was his imagination that the circle appeared smaller than the traditional ring. Sam was tentatively touching the device.

She said, "It's solid: not a hologram, but it's not a Stargate. At least not one that we're familiar with. There's only five chevrons visible."

Daniel blinked. Now that he looked again, the differences were obvious. "The symbols are the same as that holographic DHD. They're not traditional chevrons. Some are recognizable, but others...." He shook his head and pinched his nose, trying to clear his mind to consider possibilities. "It doesn't make sense to have a dialing device with no way to use it." He paused, remembering something Sam said earlier. "You mentioned this happened before? To Jack?"

"Well, not the DHD thing, but yeah. To him and Colonel Maybourne. It was during that year you were..." Sam broke off and looked uncomfortable.

"Glowy?" Daniel grimaced while using the euphemism, but he thought Sam needed the humor at the moment. He wasn't quite able to pin down her mood, but she seemed unusually upset, even given their current circumstance.

The lighter tone worked. She chuckled faintly and sighed. "Yeah. Maybourne initialized a doorway that led to a moon orbiting the planet. We searched the whole planet–the Tok'ra even sent a ship. We had no hope before we figured out the device sent them to a moon."

He vaguely remembered reading about that mission report in his "catching up" days, but he was going through information overload at the time. And none of his teammates seemed willing to discuss it in any further detail, so Daniel hadn't pressed. He wondered now if he should have. Teal'c was at the far side of the clearing, so he had no other sounding board but Sam, and her expression was very closed. "Well, with that experience under his belt, maybe he'll start searching the moons first," Daniel joked, trying to gauge Sam's melancholy mood.

Sam gave a wan smile. "Maybe." She was staring again at the atmosphere. "I'm almost wondering if we are on the same world, just a different region. The foliage is so similar." She pulled out another device from her pocket, one Daniel recognized as the Stargate locator beacon. Ever since the Nox planet, teams never left the indicator on the FRED. She shook her head. "Wherever we are, the Stargate is out of range."

"What is the range on those things?"

"One hundred kilometers."

Daniel winced at the distance that indicated. "Well, at least the present company is much better than Harry Maybourne."

She gave a genuine smile at that; then frowned in puzzlement. "But on that mission, the technology was Furling. All indications from the initial UAV are that this place was Ancient. You didn't see Furling writings at all, did you?"

"No," Daniel replied. "But we know the Furlings and Ancients were part of an alliance. It's conceivable they would've shared information and technology, including some kind of transporter." The possibilities struck him like sledgehammer. The archway had mentioned "storage". Would this be a different variation for what they called their repository of knowledge? Perhaps if Furlings were involved, it could be something even different. Alight with excitement, he turned to Sam. "What if this is the location of another Heliopolis!"

Sam's expression was skeptical. "I don't know, Daniel. The Ancients already had rings as a transporter. Why would they create something like this?"

Daniel was surprised she didn't appear as excited as he, but his excitement was undampened. "But if they were working with the Furlings on some experiments or discovery, it would make sense the technology could be a hybrid."

Sam furrowed her eyebrows in thought and looked again at the sky. "You may be right. The Furling device Maybourne used coordinated with the moon cycle of the planet. Perhaps it's timed. Dawn was breaking when we came through the doorway." She sighed. "But it looks like full daylight here, which means we're a long way from where we started. It's P2X-887 all over again. Get the team stuck searching for advanced tech. No way out."

"It's not the same as 887. We're not in a musty, empty cave this time, for one thing." He smiled at Sam's suppressed snort of laughter. " And no saying 'no way out' when we've just scratched the surface. We've had years of experience getting out of messes. We'll figure it out this time...eventually." Daniel hoped she wasn't running a tally on how often each of them had gotten into these messes. Come to think of it, Teal'c probably was. He kept the oddest statistics.

Daniel derailed that rather disturbing train of thought to focus on the issue at hand. He looked at the mysterious devices around him and shrugged. "The Ancients had this archway lead us to somewhere. We should find out why. Whether it's another Heliopolis, or another dead end, it's worth exploring. And maybe it'll give us a clue on how to leave. In the meantime, we're together and uninjured. It could be worse."

As if in response to this comment, the darkening skies let fall a torrent of rain. Daniel blinked at the drops speckling his glasses and put on his most contrite expression. He saw Sam already opening her mouth, so he lifted his finger. "Don't. Don't even say it. I know. I'm sorry."

She chuckled while grabbing her boonie hat from a pocket. Daniel did the same while wondering if he should just pull off his pack to find his poncho. Wiping his glasses on his dampening sleeve, he saw Teal'c running up to them.

"Colonel Carter, we must leave this area immediately." He looked very serious.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Daniel and I were discussing doing some recon before the rain started."

Teal'c shook his head. "The precipitation is not my concern. I have spotted Jaffa tracks."

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill tried not to worry. He really did. SG-1 was only an hour overdue. It had happened to other teams before, it would happen again. SG-6 had been three hours late just last week because protocol didn't allow dialouts during electrical storms. And then there was that native festival on P9C-403 that had gone on longer than anticipated for SG-3. The team was fine, even if that one lieutenant had looked a bit tipsy. But it didn't stop Jack from worrying all the same. And no matter what way he'd try to spin it to himself, the fact that it was SG-1 was an added worry. He trusted his old team; that didn't stop his concern. Maybe Hammond was right, it should be a four person team, but Jack just couldn't handle adding "his" replacement. Well, technically, Carter was his replacement, but that was a question of semantics. Times like now, he questioned his selfishness of not adding a fourth. Then again, maybe he'd just be worried about four people now instead of three.

Finally, the sixty minute mark had come and gone. And Jack couldn't shake that niggling feeling of deja vu from the last time SG-1 had not checked in on schedule. They'd been trapped for days, and big, bad Ba'al had bluffed he'd kidnapped the team. Jack really didn't need to see the rerun. He headed down the stairwell to the control room.

Walter Harriman had anticipated him once again. Jack could tell from the computer monitor the coordinates to P7X-485 were already called up, and Walter had his finger poised over the send button, awaiting Jack's order. Grimacing, he nodded his head and Harriman started the dialing sequence.

Jack fidgeted while Walter called out the familiar announcements, ending with "Chevron Seven locked," and the Stargate burst to life. Harriman pressed some switches and turned to Jack. "MALP is active, sir."

Jack leaned forward and keyed the microphone. Trying to sound casual, he transmitted, "SG-1, you know how I worry when you don't make curfew."

They waited. Interminable moments seemed like hours. His second transmission was curt and formal. "SG-1, respond." After another few seconds passed without answer, he turned to Walter. "Can you call up the MALP camera?"

"Yes, sir." Walter punched some buttons on his keyboard and a video image showed on the screen. There was no sign of anyone or anything except the DHD and some trees in the distance. Panning the area brought no further signs of anyone, but Jack's heart plummeted to his stomach at what he spotted in the distance. The FRED was tilted halfway in a ditch, with all of SG-1's gear still on it, seemingly abandoned.

"SG-1, this is Stargate Command. Please respond." Jack had given up hope of an answer at this point and was already mentally running down the list of teams on base. SG-5 was experienced in Ancient technology, and SG-12 was gearing up for their own mission. Jack ordered Harriman to call the two team leaders to the briefing room immediately and shut down the Stargate.

He'd brief the teams, ignore the worrying about SG-1, and wonder again why promotions were seen as a good thing.

Teal'c had been leading his teammates through the forest for hours now. The downpour swiftly washed away the Jaffa tracks, but from what Teal'c had seen before, the freshest tracks could not be any more that two days old. Apparently this was the first rainfall since they had arrived because the tracks had been crossed over many times. The advantage of the storm was that the heavy downpour disguised their own movements. They watched for potential enemies as they explored.

Teal'c felt unsettled, but without any real focus to his unease. Perhaps if he still had his symbiote, he could localize the feeling better. He had often cursed his dependence on the foul creature, but after living with one for ninety years, existing without one was adjusting to a whole new body. The familiar twists and turns of a symbiote in his pouch were concrete feelings to analyze and understand. This amorphous sense Colonel Carter called intuition was too inexact for Teal'c's taste.

But intuition was all Teal'c could rely on: intuition, experience, and his teammates. He trusted in them to watch for dangers behind while he focused on the danger ahead. Their main advantage was surprise. Since the Jaffa had not hidden their movements, they had not expected company. Otherwise, they would have set traps, or an ambush for other unwary travelers trapped by the Ancient device.

"Do you have any idea how many?" Colonel Carter eventually whispered.

"The tracks indicate a scouting party. Four...no more than six. It is difficult to determine their exact number. They retraced this path too often over the last few days to be more exact."

"Returning to the archway?" Daniel spoke softly as well.

Teal'c nodded. "That would be my conclusion. They have been here for sometime."

"Why? If it's a scouting party, shouldn't they have returned?" Daniel Jackson asked.

"Of that, I am unsure." Teal'c did not state the obvious--that the Jaffa may be trapped in this place as well. Scouting parties would be more circumspect in their trails. The fact that they had become so lax indicated they were here long enough to dismiss any threats.

He stopped, holding up his hand for silence. This area was not the virgin forest he had been directing his team through. Someone else had been here before. There was a movement separate than the rain coming down, a strange gust of air. He felt Colonel Carter shove him forward, calling out his name. He did not resist her push but shifted quickly, spinning in a circle to determine what threat she had perceived.

A Jaffa had dropped from one of the overhanging branches, hoping to catch the team by surprise. Instead of Teal'c cushioning his fall, he landed awkwardly on the muddy ground by Colonel Carter. He knocked her weapon away and tried to grab her, presumably as a hostage. He had not counted on Colonel Carter's fighting prowess. Before Teal'c could bring his weapon to bear, she had flipped the enemy in a classic move he had watched her perform many times before on the sparring mat.

Teal'c primed his staff and held it the Jaffa's face. "Where are the others?" he hissed.

The Jaffa appeared young, barely more than Rya'c's age. The symbol of Anubis was on his forehead. He pressed his lips together, but his eyes darted to the left. Teal'c spared barely a glance at his teammates. They had both caught the unconscious movement. Colonel Carter had already retrieved her P-90 and was now pointing it in that direction. Daniel Jackson followed her movement with his own pistol. No further attack came.

Teal'c pushed with his boot upon the Jaffa's tender abdominal region. It was not the most noble tactic, but stealth and speed was of the essence here. His team was at risk.

"How many others? Three? Five?" A widening of the Jaffa's eyes indicated Teal'c's surmise was correct. "Six total then. A scouting party. What Goa'uld do you serve?"

The Jaffa finally spoke, his expression puzzled. "The true god Anubis."

"The dead false god Anubis."

"Undead false god," Daniel Jackson's murmur was too low for the prisoner to hear, but Teal'c had caught it. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow, countering Daniel Jackson's skeptical expression. He remembered all too well the sickly shadow that transferred from one person to another. Anubis may be powerful, but he did not deserve worship.

Their prisoner continued his bravado. "Anubis is the one true god. Not even the system lords can defeat him."

Colonel Carter called back from her guard position. "Exactly how long have you been here?"

"Time matters not. Our lord Anubis charged us with this mission, and we will achieve it to be rewarded above all others." Teal'c did not bother responding to his bluster.

"Must've been several months ago." Daniel Jackson picked up on Colonel Carter's line of questioning. "Hate to break it to you, but Anubis has been defeated...by us, the Tau'ri." Teal'c noted Daniel Jackson was able to keep the venom in his voice to a minimum. At times Teal'c wondered if Apophis or Anubis was most hated amongst Daniel Jackson's enemies. Perhaps it would be like him trying to distinguish his own hate for Cronus or his former master.

His attention was brought back to the Jaffa at his feet, who was staring at them in disbelief. Teal'c did not believe the prisoner could look younger, but somehow he did. He again stated the mantra he'd been taught since birth, but it was tinged with a lack of conviction this time. "This cannot be. Gods cannot die."

"The Goa'uld are not gods. They are parasites who enslave us to do their bidding. He speaks the truth, cha'tii." Teal'c explained. "We killed several of his kull warriors in a ground battle before the Tau'ri's weapon destroyed your master's ship. The system lords now fight with each other and with Ba'al over the former territory of Anubis."

He watched the flood of emotions over the young Jaffa's face. He could not read the truth in one's eyes as well as Master Bra'tac, but this boy was not schooled to be evasive. He was moved by their words; he wanted to believe them. Teal'c's expression softened. "What is your name?"

The youth looked wary, but replied. "Ack'to."

"Ack'to. The Goa'ulds have Jaffa to fight and die in their name, but they merely use us when we should join together. I no longer serve any false god, and I am not alone. Many Jaffa, no matter what rank or former pledged Goa'uld have banded together to cast off this mantle of slavery. Your master has no army now. Do you wish to be subservient to yet another false god, or will you join your brothers to search for freedom for all Jaffa?"

Teal'c lowered his face and could see Ack'to watching him, desperately. He was searching for direction, insight. Ack'to said, "I-I don't know what to do."

"You have no master now, Ack'to. To shakka mel."

He could see the new determination on Ack'to's face. Ack'to bowed, unwittingly vowing the pledge of all free Jaffa with his response. "Shel kek nem ron." Ack'to raised up his hand. Teal'c grasped his forearm and helped him rise.

"Uh...Teal'c?" Colonel Carter swung her rifle over to point it at Ack'to.

"He has joined us." Teal'c smiled at the young Jaffa.

"That's all well and good, but..." Colonel Carter's face was full of mistrust.

"He will prove his worth." Teal'c knew this as a fact and ignored the doubtful expressions his teammates were exchanging. Another Jaffa joining the cause of freedom was already a victory. He looked at Ack'to and grasped his shoulder. "You were on watch."

"We-we've been alone for so long, I was already beginning to...to doubt." He cringed in fear. It would take time to get used to the idea that his god was not all powerful. "I climbed the tree to stay out of the mud. It's been so monotonous. We've been here for three seasons."

Colonel Carter asked, "Why were you here?"

"Anubis sent us on this mission. After defeating Kali, we discovered this world had writings of the Ancients. We were hand chosen by Pal'kor, the first prime to join him on this mission and bring glory to our god."

"I thought Herak was Anubis's First Prime." Colonel Carter questioned, her expression still suspicious.

"Herak is a go'tach who killed his former master for power. Pal'kor was First Prime from Anubis's first resurrection." Ack'to appeared nervous about speaking so freely. Getting used to his freedom would take time.

His team leader appeared to accept this answer. Her weapon pointed back outward, but she continued to watch Ack'to's face. "Where is their camp?"

"Two mech forward. There are some caves where we take shelter."

Daniel Jackson asked, "More importantly, did you find what the Ancients left here?"

"No." Ack'to shook his head. "The Ancients have hid their secrets well. Pal'kor suspects that the truth is in the ruins we never reached. The archway that pulled us on that first dawn was merely left as a trap for the unwary. And now you are as trapped as we."

"You can lead us away from the Jaffa?" Colonel Carter asked.

"Or perhaps reach the others." Teal'c added, ignoring his teammates' raised eyebrows. More followers to the rebel Jaffa cause would benefit the Tau'ri as well.

Ack'to nodded, willing to prove his worth to his new allies. "Of course."

Ack'to pointed up the trail, then a bright flash and thunderous sound echoed, and the youth fell flat. Teal'c's teammates were already diving for cover while Teal'c stood there in shock. Framed amongst the rain was a Jaffa with a staff weapon. Teal'c could barely make out the glint of gold on his forehead--Pal'kor.

Teal'c reached down to pull their Ack'to out of the line of fire while Daniel Jackson and Colonel Carter started shooting. As he turned the youth over, he knew at a glance the wound was a mortal one. "Tal shekka mel?" Ack'to asked.

"Indeed, my brother," Teal'c responded, squeezing his shoulder. Ack'to smiled, then expired.

In a rage, Teal'c started shooting his staff weapon blindly, but Pal'kor had taken cover from the gunfire.

Frustrated at a lack of target, Teal'c roared out, "It does not have to be this way, Pal'kor!"

Pal'kor's voice came out of the wilderness. "You have swayed the weak minded with your lies, shol'va, but you will not do the same with us. We are loyal to our god."

Teal'c persisted. "No lies. Just the truth. Your god is defeated. Your mission has no purpose now. Do you wish to spend your life serving false masters? Join with me. We are brothers. All Jaffa can be free!"

The response was merely more staff weapons' blasts, coming from a variety of angles. SG-1 returned fire.

"They're surrounding us!" Daniel Jackson shouted.

Teal'c was only distantly aware of Colonel Carter's subsequent order to fall back. His focus was on the enemy. He heard Daniel Jackson call his name and the hail of gunfire.

There was a pull on his arm. "Teal'c, we've got to go. They're closing in, and we're too vulnerable here." Colonel Carter shook his arm. He glanced back to see her fierce gaze upon him. "We need you."

He looked from her to Daniel Jackson, still firing at the Jaffa. Grimly, he nodded. He would do his teammates no good fighting an unwinnable battle. They must regroup and gain the advantage. They fled into the forest.

The rain provided cover for them. Their sudden flight through the brush gave them enough advantage to put distance between the team and the Jaffa. Teal'c led them through the woods, trying to find areas where the groundcover would be less likely to show their prints. They ran for so long, even Teal'c began to feel slightly winded.

The rain finally relented, and without the storm to mask their movements, they slowed. Teal'c double backed while his team moved on, ensuring no pursuit. He returned to the others. "I believe they have lost our trail."

He lowered his head and sighed, thinking back to his failure with the Jaffa, the waste of a young life.

His teammates seemed to have read his thoughts. "There wasn't anything you could do," said Colonel Carter.

Daniel Jackson nodded, adding his own comfort. "He died free, knowing the truth, Teal'c."

"I..." Teal'c was uncertain what words would express how he felt at that moment. He felt the need to cry out, explain, apologize. The cha'tii's death was his fault. He had become focused on the youth. He had known the others may not be far, but had lost track in his zeal of conversion. Pal'kor naturally retaliated at Ack'to's betrayal. It was what he would have done when under Apophis's orders–what he had done in the past.

"It wasn't your fault, Teal'c," Colonel Carter reassured him, as if reading his thoughts. "If anything, it was mine. I wasn't paying attention."

"We weren't paying attention." Daniel Jackson hastened to add, not willing to let Colonel Carter take the blame. But Teal'c knew the fault was his.

"You were distracted and right to mistrust. He was our enemy." He started leading them through the forest again, more watchful of his surroundings.

Daniel Jackson immediately followed, still speaking, "But you knew he believed you."

"I..." Teal'c bowed his head. "I saw the truth." He knew not how else to explain it, and he did not blame his teammates for not blindly leaping to the same conclusion.

There was a pregnant pause, and Teal'c could sense his friends exchanging a silent conversation of looks behind him. Finally Colonel Carter spoke, "You didn't fire the weapon to kill him, Teal'c. Anubis's First Prime did."

"Pal'kor did his duty." Teal'c was not ready to accept such solace.

"Serving Anubis, who sent them to rot here in the first place. It's his zeal for finding Ancient weapons, no matter what the cost, is what has led to Ack'to's death." Daniel Jackson's tone was bitter. "He abandoned them here months ago, before the battle of Antarctica."

Teal'c could not dispute the truth of that statement. He remained silent.

They moved on. Although the rain had stopped, the darkness had become more oppressive. This was more than cloud cover. Night had fallen. Continuing to move in this unfamiliar territory with no specific direction would be dangerous.

Colonel Carter appeared to realize the same. She spoke. "We need to find a place to rest, somewhere defensible."

"Agreed."

"I'm sure Jack's noticed we're missing by now."

"He's going to be so worried." Colonel Carter sighed.

"It could be worse. He could be trapped with us. Can't you just hear the complaints he would make?" Daniel Jackson's teasing words had no real humor behind them.

Teal'c answered the sentiment behind the question. "I too miss O'Neill's presence."

They found good shelter twenty minutes later. It was a tiny area, devoid of trees because of the arrangement of rocks sheltering at three sides, making a small, but defensible area. Colonel Carter nodded her approval, and they settled at the makeshift shelter. Daniel Jackson ran his hand across one of the mossy stones, squinting in the dark. "There's something about these stones that's...I wish it wasn't so dark."

Teal'c refrained from thinking of the inevitable comment O'Neill would make at his friend's fascination with the stones. Instead he dropped his pack and loaded his pockets with sensor alarms. "I will set a perimeter."

"Just don't go too far," Colonel Carter warned and touched his arm. "It's enough we're trapped and lost together."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. It was as if she suspected his half-considered idea of retribution. Instead of answering her unspoken warning, he countered with the obvious. "We are not lost. We are five klicks away from the archway in a heading approximately of what we would label east of here."

"Really?" Daniel Jackson murmured, still half-lost in his study of the stones. "That-that's significant."

Teal'c waited, but his friend made no further comment. Teal'c knew from experience Daniel Jackson could sit like that for moments or hours before inspiration hit like a bolt of lightning.

He turned to Colonel Carter. "I will return soon." He bowed and left his friends in the makeshift shelter.

Bill Lee knelt under the console and studied the crystal inner workings with a sense of awe. He connected the last lead from the naquadah generator to the most likely candidate, smiling when his voltmeter detected power. He couldn't believe the similarities to other technology he'd seen. "This is very likely the origin of a lot of the Goa'uld technology." He looked up at Major Altman. "They must've stolen the power crystals and mechanics and adapted it to their own use."

SG-5's archeologist, Captain Brannon spoke. "Or scavenged it. All the evidence found seems to indicate the Ancient civilization predated the Goa'uld with no overlap."

SG-5 was one of the more experienced teams in Ancient and/or alien technology. Bill was happy to have the team as backup in these offworld ruins. This was one of the largest finds of Ancient technology they'd found outside of Antarctica. He'd probably be more excited at what he was discovering here if the stakes weren't so high.

Bill replaced the cover and stood brushing some residual dust from his hands. "Well, I'm reading power in all the crystals, but I still can't see any way to initialize the controls. Have they contacted the SGC yet?"

Altman nodded. "Major Hadden called in about ten minutes ago. I still don't understand why you requested General O'Neill to come out here."

Bill chuckled. Major Altman was pretty new to the SGC: he had a doctorate in engineering from Stanford and was scheduled to teach at the Air Force Academy before Stargate Command plucked him as one of the best and brightest. This was one of his first assignments as the team's commander. He looked very concerned at calling the base commander offworld. Bill had to admit it was not standard operating procedure, but he figured the general wouldn't mind. Besides, Bill didn't see any other choice.

He explained to the major, "It's because of the gene."

"What?" Altman blinked at him.

"The Ancient gene. At first we thought General O'Neill was able to power the chair in Antarctica because he had downloaded the knowledge of the Ancients, but later research showed O'Neill has a rare genetic anomaly." A sudden thought struck him. "...which may be why the Asgard were so intrigued with O'Neill they protected him from being cloned." Seeing Altman's blank expression, he realized now was not the time to go off on tangents. "Anyway, a lot of international personnel were tested for the Ancient gene. One of the physicians, a Doctor Becker? Beckett? was doing some research to artificially recreate it. There were concerns that only people with this genetic disposition could work some of the more advanced Ancient equipment--not only the chair, but other technology. We weren't certain, of course, and since we haven't heard back from the Atlantis expedition, it's still conjecture, but the fact that we can't get anything up and running here would lend credence to the theory."

"But...he's a general."

"Yeah, and he's also our best shot at getting this stuff to run. Everyone else who naturally had the gene went to Atlantis," answered Bill.

Altman straightened, looking over Bill's shoulder. Bill spun around. General Jack O'Neill was silhouetted in doorway to the ruins, fully kitted out in field gear, baseball cap covering his head. Bill felt equal parts of relief and nervousness. With the general here, perhaps they would be able to accomplish something. But working with Jack O'Neill hovering over his shoulder while Bill tried to find out what happened to SG-1 would not be the easiest work environment. He had firsthand experience more than once of how one acted when the others were in danger, both to his benefit and to his detriment. Still, Jack O'Neill's presence curiously gave Bill comfort. If anyone could help get the rest of the team back, Bill had confidence it would be the general. The man had already saved Bill's life more than once.

Bill watched as O'Neill scanned the whole room; Bill knew what he would see. He and Altman had gone through every piece of equipment. This room was the only building standing amongst the ruins–a solid stone structure about the size of Bill's lab back home. In fact, it kind of reminded him of the bunker environment of Stargate Command. Against every wall except the one that had the door was a console the size of a large table. Large toggle switches and a few buttons were encased in the surface. Bill related the switches to piano keys. If the Ancients used chairs at these consoles, they were long since disintegrated. The only light in the room came from SG-5's lights and the faint glow of the naquadah generator.

General O'Neill asked, "Any progress?"

"Some." Major Altman spoke first; apparently military training trumped his nervousness. "We know the FRED was directed to come here, but something happened to the team before they could direct the machine around that ditch. We haven't found any evidence of anyone in the area or of any hidden technology between here and the Stargate, at least so far. The devices here all appear to be in working order, and Dr. Lee has been able to power all three of the devices with our generator. However, we still can't get the panels to operate."

"That's why we need you." Bill broke in.

"Me?" The general raised his eyebrows. "I'm not an electrician."

Bill smiled. "No, of-of course not. But we think the gene you have could be the key to getting this place to operate."

"You don't need one of those...?" He waved his hand to approximate a description.

"A ZPM?" Bill shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. We've hooked up the generators to give some added juice. Power readings seem more than enough, and the connections are all solid. It just needs something...or someone to turn it on."

General O'Neill looked from Altman to Bill, his expression somewhat disappointed. "So you've called me across the galaxy just to flick the switch."

"With your Ancient gene." Bill nodded. "With that, we can hopefully get this place up and running. It seems a control room of sorts."

O'Neill sounded suspicious. "And how will this bring SG-1 back? As I recall, none of them tested positive for it. So they wouldn't have gotten this stuff working either."

"No, you're right, th-they didn't. But..." Bill lifted his index finger and walked over to the center console. "If I'm right, these consoles still have enough power to give some indication of what this place is used for, and where SG-1 might be."

"Or this stuff may have nothing to do with the disappearance." O'Neill followed him over to the panel. "Major Altman just explained they never even made it to these ruins."

"True, but if they got caught in something, this structure could be the key to getting them out of it. It's our only clue." Bill looked at him sadly. He was nowhere near as close to SG-1 as the general was, but he considered them friends. Finding the team was his first priority. "Sir, it's the best chance we have right now."

O'Neill frowned at the device in front of him, then sighed. "All right, so what do I have..." He leaned his hand on the edge of the table, and it immediately sprang to life. "...to do."

Bill stared at the console for several seconds in surprise. This worked out better than he had conjectured. "It initialized just by your touch!" Glancing over, he could see Major Altman looked just as excited.

O'Neill was frozen. "So, now what?"

"Um..." Bill wasn't sure. "Let go?"

The general turned to Bill, his expression thunderous. "That does not sound like a confident answer, Doctor."

"Well, it-it's unknown technology. There's going to be some trial and error here, General."

Rolling his eyes, General O'Neill raised his hands off the console and stepped back. To Bill's delight the console stayed lit. The two members of SG-5 joined Bill hurriedly and began to translate and touch the controls. With Captain Brannon's assistance, they were able to find some master screens.

Dimly, Bill was aware of Captain Brannon walking with O'Neill to the other consoles. The general initialized all of them. After a few minutes, Brannon spoke. "I've found something that looks to be a checklist, sir, perhaps an inventory."

Bill soon had his own discovery-–he had found a schematic. If only he knew what it meant. "Huh." He blinked at the display in surprise.

"What?" O'Neill asked from right behind Bill. The scientist jumped, startled. When had the general moved over here?

Major Altman came to his rescue. "Doctor Lee's pulled up what seems to be a master control, sir. It's a map of...somewhere. It looks similar to the area by the Stargate, but..."

"But?"

The major punched a few keys. How had Altman figured out these keyboards faster than Bill? The screen imaging changed to some kind of wider perspective. "The topography is different, sir. And not in ways that would correspond to just the passage of time since these were last turned on."

Captain Brannon joined them and squinted at the screen. "No...and if I'm translating this correctly it's a real time image." He pointed. "Look, it's just updated again."

Bill nodded in agreement. There were symbols there that seemed to correspond to weather forecasts. He was looking at an Ancient version of barometric readings for someplace that was...not here. "Maybe this is where SG-1 is." He hadn't realized he'd spoken out loud until he realized everyone was staring at him. "Well, I-I mean--It would make sense. They went somewhere from here, and there certainly seems to be a link to this place and another. Look, they even have that same archway."

They were interrupted from further conjecture when SG-12's commander called in from the radio. "We've discovered some kind of modification to the Stargate."

"What kind of modification?" Major Altman asked, then looked apologetically at the general for usurping his position. O'Neill merely waved him on.

The tinny radio response came back, this time one of Altman's teammates responded. "It's an addition at the base. We thought it was decoration at first, but it definitely seems linked to the rings. It's not active, but there are definite power readings."

Major Altman turned to General O'Neill. "We've been dialing out with no problems."

The general didn't look happy. "Does this give a clue to what happened to SG-1?"

"Anything's a clue at this point, sir." Bill shook his head. "We need to find out more."

The radio receiver keyed again. "And...we're starting to get some readings from this old archway."

General O'Neill raised his eyebrows at that. "I thought you said I was the only one who could turn things on around here?"

Bill shrugged. "Well, you are. And maybe you did. It may be related to the schematic. Or it could be externally powered." He looked again at the map. "The two archways could be linked–like a transporter from one spot to another. We may have found our answer to where SG-1 went."

A purple light was starting to drift into the room. Had Bill been working all through this planet's night? Was that the dawn?

O'Neill keyed his radio. "Stay away from that archway. I'm headed to you."

"Wha-wait a minute, where are you going?" Bill blinked at General O'Neill in surprise.

"You said the archway's a transporter." He pointed to the screen. "Ergo...it's the best clue we've got to find SG-1."

"But that was just theoretical!" Bill hadn't meant to call the general out here to put him in danger like that. Former field commander or not, Bill didn't want to think about what it would mean to lose the base commander offworld in some alien tech. He waved his arms frantically at the console and the door. "We don't know what these things do, or even where this place is."

Major Altman stepped forward, strapping on his gear. "Sir, I can go. It's too big a risk for you. If you're trapped in there as well..."

"Then I'll know where SG-1 is." O'Neill countered. "Everything's running in here now whether I'm touching it or not. And you and your team know what you're doing with these devices. I don't have a clue. You try and figure out how to get them back from this end. But if things work on that side the same as over here, then it looks like I'm the only one that can bring SG-1 home."

Major Altman swallowed, but Bill was impressed he stood his ground. "Sir, you don't need to go alone. I understand about me staying, but SG-12 could..."

O'Neill shook his head, and Bill quailed under the glare he gave them all. "No one else in or out of that archway. No matter what. I will not have other personnel endangered, understood? See if you can get us back using this stuff, but I want no one else risking themselves. If you don't hear from me in twelve hours, get your butts home to advise Colonel Rudnell. He'll have to make a call to Hammond at Homeworld Security."

"Yes, sir." The military team members looked mutinous, but they followed the order. Bill didn't like the idea of losing Jack O'Neill to where ever SG-1 was either, but he didn't have any better ideas to offer. O'Neill gave a sardonic smile, adjusted his cap, and left.

With no other options, Bill continued to press buttons on Ancient device. After a few minutes of playing with the keyboard, a new display overlayed the map in front of Bill. "Oh no."

"'Oh no', what?" Altman's eyes flashed with worry.

"Has General O'Neill stepped through the portal yet?" As he glanced at the monitor, he caught a new dot appearing by where they conjectured the archway sat. "Never mind."

Altman radioed anyway, confirming what Bill thought. "What is it?" the major asked.

Bill pointed to the console. "Well, if I'm right, this is some sort of life signs monitor." He pointed to the newest dot. "That's General O'Neill." He pointed to the eight other dots. "And those are other people."

"But SG-1 is a three person team." Altman studied the screen.

Bill gulped, trying unsuccessfully to hide his concern as two of the dots moved near O'Neill's position. "I know."

Teal'c moved silently through the nighttime forest, scanning the shadows as Master Bra'tac taught him. He was aware of the distance to the stones that sheltered his teammates, of the wind, of the subtle slope of the forest. Even strange territory could reveal anomalies in its sounds, sights, and smells. The rain had cleared away anything that could lead to distractions.

The clouds had moved, but the thickness of the trees blocked the moonlight. It was too dark to make out fresh tracks, but other senses served him. It was scent that directed him now--that led him to scout further than his planned perimeter of their makeshift camp. A familiar scent in unfamiliar surroundings–the strange mixture of metal, oil, sweat, and burnt ozone that Teal'c had lived with for years as warrior under Apophis. One Jaffa was to his left.

Teal'c moved as swiftly as he dared while still not making sound. Surprise was his greatest weapon. Now that he had a sense of the warrior's location, the small bit of moonlight was enough to detect movement. A brief flash revealed silvery armor. This warrior was good, but Teal'c was better.

The Jaffa was larger than Teal'c in both height and build. Teal'c moved fast from behind, swinging his staff weapon down in a sharp blow to knock him out. The Jaffa was quite skilled; he somehow knew of Teal'c's approach and dodged at the last moment, swinging his own weapon round to flip Teal'c off balance. Teal'c anticipated the movement and countered it, knocking the Jaffa onto his back, winding him. Before Teal'c could press his advantage, the Jaffa pushed with his staff weapon, and tried to fire it as warning to his companions. Teal'c grabbed it as well, rolling with the warrior through the woods before the shot was fired. They tumbled together, trading blows. The ground here was softer, muddy from the rain. A flaky moss carpeted the forest floor. The Jaffa tried to strike Teal'c in the lower belly, but with no symbiote, that area was not as vulnerable for him. Teal'c's own blow rang true, and the Jaffa released his hold on the staff weapon, wincing in pain.

Teal'c rose, swirling the staff between his hands in a graceful dance. Firing would bring too much attention. He arced the blunted edge down, but the other Jaffa rolled away from the strike, trying to kick Teal'c's feet out from under him. Teal'c stayed upright, but his balance was unsteady on this insecure ground. He used the staff as a crutch to keep him upright. His enemy pressed his advantage, his next kick spinning Teal'c to fall to his knees. Another blow caught Teal'c across the temple, and his eyes teared as he tried to suppress the ringing in his head. Teal'c swung the staff weapon in a wide arc, catching the Jaffa in the elbow as he tried to hit again. Teal'c let his body move with the swing, using its momentum to roll further away from the attack and regain his own footing. His enemy gave no quarter, again attacking. Again, Teal'c knocked him away with a well placed kick.

"I spoke the truth before. I speak it now. We need not fight, brother."

The Jaffa's only response was a snarl of rage and renewed attack. To Teal'c's right, the trees cleared away in an abrupt fashion. The rosy moonlight was more prominent, and the steeper slope gave Teal'c clues as to what this change in topography meant. They were on the edge of the precipice. Was his enemy also paying attention? Evidently not, considering the raging attack the Jaffa launched at Teal'c at that moment. Teal'c crouched, letting the Jaffa's tackle sail over him. The Jaffa grabbed onto his tac vest and tried to pull Teal'c down with him. Teal'c rolled, swinging the staff weapon to break the other's hold. It worked; the arm broke. The Jaffa released him and tumbled into the void of rosy moonlight. Teal'c dug the staff into the ground as much as he could to anchor himself and not echo his enemy's fate.

Teal'c lay on the edge of the precipice, blearily watching the silhouette tumble until landing on the rocks below. Teal'c stared down at the Jaffa with a twinge of regret that once again the false gods had made this one his enemy rather than his brother. At least he had died in battle, and he would no longer pose a threat to Teal'c's friends.

Teal'c could not rest. Perhaps his battle did not go undetected after all. On the ridge above, he heard more movement. Scrambling to his feet, he evened his breathing and moved towards the new threat.

This shadow was quieter, moving with much more stealth. Still readjusting to the darkness after his exposure to the moonlight, Teal'c could barely track the motion through the trees, but he got enough hints of activity to predict the course of this new Jaffa. He moved through the trees, hoping to cut the threat off. Even so, he barely reached the intersection point before the other. His only hope for surprise was to push straight forward, grabbing the throat of the other and propelling them both against another tree.

A shaft of moonlight bathed his opponent in red. Teal'c could not believe his eyes. He released his captive in shock. "O'Neill," he whispered, wondering if this strange place now created flesh and blood illusions besides ghostly DHDs. But the man certainly felt solid enough.

O'Neill coughed, shakily regaining his balance as he massaged his neck. "Nice to see you too, Teal'c," he choked out. "What's with the welcome?" Teal'c noted that while O'Neill maintained an offhand manner, his hand strayed to his P-90. Teal'c's behavior would need to be explained.

"A group of Anubis's Jaffa are here." Teal'c explained. "I had thought you were one of the remainder."

"Daniel? Carter?"

"When I left them, they both were fine."

"And you don't use your radios? I've tried calling you."

"We have not needed to communicate in that manner." He considered this and checked the feedback on his receiver. "They do not appear to work in this place."

O'Neill rolled his eyes as if this was expected. "You said Anubis's Jaffa?"

Teal'c could not completely prevent his aggravation from showing. "They have been trapped here for some time. They are unconvinced Anubis has been defeated."

Apparently his frustration was more visible than he had meant to express. O'Neill's eyes narrowed as he looked Teal'c up and down. "So why are you wandering off on your own at night?"

"The cover of darkness is best for scouting the enemy. Colonel Carter and Daniel Jackson are protected in an area of Ancient ruins." He paused. "I was establishing a wide perimeter."

O'Neill took in his disheveled appearance. He reached forward and wiped something from Teal'c's face. "Yeah, I can see." Teal'c copied the movement, noting a bit of blood from where the Jaffa had struck him down. He had not realized the blow had broken skin. It was no matter. What concerned him was his friend's presence.

"And you, O'Neill?" Teal'c frowned. Despite the team's earlier conversation missing him, O'Neill's presence here was not proper. Tau'ri tradition placed O'Neill in the position of General Hammond--headquarters strategist, not field commander. As much as O'Neill chafed at his new role in the bunker, he would not blithely enter the field, even for SG-1. His new responsibilities weighed too heavily on him.

"The geeks called me in. Said you were trapped in an Ancient doohickey. Figured that I was the only one to get you out."

Teal'c paused and looked back, raising one eyebrow in question.

"SGs-5 and 12 are waiting on the other side of..." O'Neill waved his arm towards the direction of the false DHD and archway. "Lee and Altman think stuff here's only keyed into an Ancient's genes. And well, I'm the closest we've got to that at the moment." He grimaced, but Teal'c detected a brightness in his eyes that showed his pleasure at being in the field belying his words. O'Neill must've detected some amusement on Teal'c's part because he raised his eyebrows. "What, you missed check-in just because you've been playing with Jaffa?"

Teal'c turned and continued to move forward, leading O'Neill through the woods towards the rest of SG-1. "We have not yet found a way to return. The DHD here is a hologram. We encountered Jaffa. There were six. Now there are four."

O'Neill raised his eyebrows, but when Teal'c offered nothing further, he spoke. "Well, there's a bunch of gadgets over in those ruins you guys never got to that the other teams are still trying to figure out. Lee was figuring that arch was some sort of transporter. I went from daylight to nightfall as soon as I came through, so maybe he's right. I swear if we end up stuck on a moon again...It'll take Prometheus weeks to get here." Despite O'Neill's mutterings, Teal'c could tell how pleased the man was to be not only on a mission, but with a safe and healthy SG-1.

Unfortunately, that contentment was short-lived. The telltale sound of a firefight was coming from nearby, echoed by the shrill alarm Teal'c had set up on the other side of the clearing. Teal'c broke into a run, O'Neill right behind him. Teal'c cursed his foolishness. The single Jaffa was chosen as a ruse–a skilled warrior leading Teal'c away from the others and meant to defeat him while the others would attack the supposedly weaker Tau'ri. It was an elementary tactic, and Teal'c was angered by his blindness. Staff weapon blasts harmonized with the sharp staccato of Beretta fire. The pair approached careful to take a position not immediately in the crossfire. It would do their friends no good to be inadvertently shot.

The gunfire was coming from the sheltered area, but to Teal'c's surprise it was only Daniel Jackson firing. Colonel Carter was not visible. Daniel was crouched by the moss-covered stones, shooting determinedly towards a wider tree trunk from which Teal'c could see the flash of staff weapon's fire. Teal'c and O'Neill were able to take position fifty yards from their friend.

From this angle it was difficult to get a clear shot at the enemy. Teal'c gestured to O'Neill that he would move closer, but before he could cross half the distance, he saw Daniel Jackson's aim strike true. The Jaffa fell back, his last staff blast going wild and knocking down a branch in the distance behind the ruins. It was when he noted the branch that Teal'c finally noticed other movement. He cursed his folly. Behind Daniel Jackson, as if rising from the earth itself, was a Jaffa. He had lost his staff weapon at some point, because he was only armed with the standard issue knife, but he was close enough to be a deadly threat to his friend. From where Teal'c stood now, he could not fire without striking Daniel. He could only cry out a warning.

"Daniel Jackson!"

Jack did not let Teal'c's cry distract him. As soon as Teal'c had moved closer to the Jaffa exchanging fire with Daniel, Jack noticed a movement amongst the darkness. He shifted his weapon, not certain whether or not the shadow was friend or foe. Carter's absence by Daniel's side concerned him. Jack tamped down on any worries at her whereabouts. Carter was a competent commander; SG-1 was an experienced unit. He needed to concentrate on the here and now, and the here and now was revealed to be a Jaffa moving to within a few feet of Daniel.

O'Neill cursed not bringing infrared goggles with him, or even having a scope on his weapon. Still, he'd kept up his marksmanship rating. Just as Teal'c cried out his warning, before Daniel could finish reloading his pistol, Jack made his move.

The shot struck home. The knife fell from the Jaffa's listless hands, never reaching its target. The Jaffa's momentum still carried him forward, and the body collapsed into Daniel's arms, dragging him down to the ground.

Teal'c had already crossed the distance and shoved the dead Jaffa off his teammate. Jack noticed Teal'c ensured the immature symbiote did not try and find a host. "Are you harmed, Daniel Jackson?"

"Um...no. I'm fine. What–how? That was gunfire."

Jack hadn't moved yet, stil searching for other threats from his position, trusting Teal'c to cover Daniel. He saw Teal'c reach into his pocket for a remote and the shrill perimeter alarm ceased. Once satisfied there was no further danger, Jack got up and headed towards his friends. He smiled at the bemused squint Daniel was tossing at him.

"Wha–Jack?"

Jack tipped his hat and smiled. "Gotta tell ya, Daniel, you and Teal'c sure know how to make a guy feel welcome."

Daniel ignored the joke. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Jack thought to himself that Daniel really needed a new line when faced with Jack's unexpected appearances. He shrugged. "Well, you know, sitting in the office is all paperwork all day. I figured a nice little stroll offworld."

"Jack," Daniel's voice held a scolding tone. And with one member of the SG-1 trio still missing, Jack admitted he wasn't too interested in continuing the banter himself.

"Where's Carter?"

"She's-she's fine. She's...oh, that's right. You wouldn't know." Daniel looked from Jack to Teal'c with a level of enthusiasm that had always made Jack wary. "After Teal'c left to patrol, I figured out what was so odd about this outcropping. The depressions and setting were unnatural. I would've realized it sooner in daylight. Teal'c mentioned we were due east and I realized some of the faded writings on the archway related to an archaic riddle that described--"

"Daniel!"

"My point is, some of the stones here aren't really stones, they're a holographically disguised entrance." Daniel walked over a few feet and waved his arm at the stone; it passed through the rock-face as if it were air.

"It leads to a tunnel, and at the end...well, you have to see!" Daniel started towards this not-a-rock-wall.

"Whoa!" Jack instinctively grabbed Daniel's arm before he went tearing off.

Daniel seemed to be making an effort not to roll his eyes. "It's perfectly safe. Sam and I each explored it all the way to the end. This is the only way in or out. Sam wanted the entrance guarded."

"And she sent you?"

Daniel looked insulted. "I know how to shoot, Jack. I've been on this team for how long?"

"I'm not saying that." Daniel had always had good aim, even if his hand-to-hand skills still left a lot to be desired. Since he seemed so insulted, Jack refrained from pointing out he was about to be Jaffa fillet. "If there's Ancient stuff there, shouldn't you have to...you know...translate it?"

"Oh." Daniel looked more mollified. "Yes, that's true. We were only able to get one console working, and there is a lot of writing. A lot of it was very technical terms I couldn't really translate anyway. Sam's better at figuring out alien gadgets. Some displays were diagrams she thought she could interpret."

"You left her alone? What if something else went wacky?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows, but calmly replied. "It was a risk. But we knew Teal'c would be back soon, and our priority was to figure out a way out of here. Sam thought it was worth it, so..." He shrugged. "She ordered me out here. By the way, Teal'c, you've been gone a lot longer than we expected..."

Jack was about to retort about Daniel's unique ways of following orders when he was in charge, but Daniel's sudden exclamation stopped him. "Teal'c, you're bleeding!"

"It is of nothing, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c's thunderous expression abruptly stopped Daniel from moving forward. Even Jack blanched at his vehemence. "I should not have left you to defend this spot alone for so long. They employed a cunning and basic tactic, drawing me away like the most foolish hassack."

"Stop beating yourself up about it, T. It didn't succeed." Jack pointed out the dead Jaffa. "Now it's four of us versus two Jaffa. I'm liking those odds."

Daniel blinked. "Two?"

"Teal'c gave me the lowdown. Six minus two minus one." He directed his flashlight between the Jaffa Daniel had shot and then pointed it at the body by their feet. "And now one more down. Two left."

"Oh. Well, that-that's good." Daniel seemed a bit surprised at the numbers, but he didn't question further.

"You're sure there's six, right Teal'c?"

Teal'c exchanged an enigmatic look with his teammate before Daniel answered. "We're sure."

Jack had been scanning the area even while they spoke, hyperalert at more enemy out there and that the current absence of SG-1's leader. "Why didn't Carter come out when she heard the gunfire?" Jack was careful not to sound too worried.

To his surprise, Daniel remained unconcerned. "She probably couldn't hear it. Things are pretty sheltered in there. Oh, and the radios don't seem to work. Sam said..." Daniel's eyebrows scrunched together, then seemed to give up on trying to translate Carter's techno-speak. "...something to do with interference and a field?"

"Well, then I guess we'd better go to her." Jack hesitated. "You said it's our best chance for getting out of here?"

"I think so. At least it's the best clue we've had as to what was being protected, and what Anubis sent those Jaffa here for in the first place."

"I will stand watch," Teal'c said. Jack didn't like how he swayed slightly on his feet. He was looking a bit rough for wear. But, there wasn't anyone else to do it. Carter was the gadget guru, Daniel needed to read the stuff, and the whole reason Jack was even here was to get these Ancient doodads to work. As much as he hated it, Teal'c would have to stand watch alone.

Teal'c stared at Jack for a moment, as if he was reading his thoughts. Teal'c bowed his head; Jack nodded back. He scanned the area. This area was still well protected, and Teal'c should have the advantage if anyone tried to approach. He turned to Daniel, who was standing by the fake wall. "Lead on."

Jack took a deep breath and followed Daniel into the apparent solid rock wall, unconsciously closing his eyes as he passed through. When he opened them, he found himself in a musty, narrow cavern. Daniel had already turned on his flashlight, and Jack soon did the same. The stone was a solid grey, and to Jack's unpracticed eye, too smooth to be completely natural. The width wasn't quite enough for he and Daniel to both walk abreast, and both men had to stoop to pass through sections of the twisted passageway.

Daniel was moving swiftly ahead and Jack had to pay attention to keep up. He noticed a slight decline. "Is it my imagination, or are we doubling back towards that fake Stargate?" Jack asked.

"Based on what I translated at the archway, that's a good guess. Wherever it is, it's definitely underground."

Jack ducked to avoid hitting his head on a stalactite. "Seems a lot of trouble for just one room."

Daniel turned around to look at Jack. To Jack's surprise, Daniel was beaming. "It's not just any room. Wait till you see it."

Remembering some of Daniel's earlier enthusiasms, Jack was a bit worried at his friend's excitement. They turned the last corner with Jack praying this would not lead to "meaning of life" stuff or, God forbid, another Ancient head sucker. Jack followed Daniel into a wide well lit area. His jaw dropped in shock. The room was the size of a large warehouse. Captain Brannon's inventory screen made so much more sense now. Much of the area was empty, but several items remained. Large items on the floor, some small ones stacked on shelves. Some were covered with dust, but others were dust free. White cloths were scattered on the floor that Jack assumed were dust covers before Daniel and Carter started exploring. He let out a low whistle as he leaned against one of the devices.

"Lights are on."

"That happened as soon as we first arrived." Daniel explained.

"Sir." Carter popped into sight from behind a console similar to what he'd seen in the other planet ruins. Jack was relieved to see she looked perfectly all right.

"Good to see you, Carter."

"You too, sir." She smiled back at him, looking surprised. "Rescue party?"

"You're looking at it." Jack shrugged. "And I don't have the magic key to get out yet either. The geeks are trying to figure out how to get you...us...back from their end, and I came to see if I can help out here."

To his chagrin, Carter looked more concerned. "But that means you're stranded with us. How..?"

"Long story. What've you got?" Jack didn't need Carter's lecture on how it might have been rash to join the team here. He was certain he'd be getting an earful from Hammond when he got back. Plus, he wanted intel on this place fast; it looked different than the devices on...wherever it was he came from.

Carter swept her bangs out of her eyes. "Well, I've gone through as much as I could figure out on the one console we could operate. They appeared to be mainly chemical experiments from the molecular constructs. I've downloaded what I could. As for the other machines, I think I can figure out some basic controls, but I can't get any of it to..." Her voice trailed off, and she stared at the table Jack was leaning on. "How did you do that?"

Jack hadn't even realized the table had powered up. He jumped off it in surprise, and it still hummed. God, was even his ass superpowered?

"This is amazing!" Carter and Daniel stared at the lighted console like kids at their presents Christmas morning. It was the same look Lee and SG-5 had playing with their Ancient toys. Carter pulled off her pack and opened Daniel's from where it was sitting on the floor nearby. Before Jack knew what was happening, she had hooked up both their laptops to the devices in some sort of jigsaw puzzle of wires and crystals. Now with their heads together, they were discussing scientific techno-talk at warp speed-–Daniel translating the words, and Carter working the controls.

"Hey!" He called. They both looked at him, blinking. "Do you think there's something there that can help us get back to the real Stargate?"

"It's hard to say, sir. There's a lot of material here. We don't have an answer yet."

Daniel spoke up, his voice filled with awe. "I've found a main directory. This place was a laboratory. Most of the log entries are gone, but from what I can read, we were right. It was a joint effort of the Furlings and Ancients."

"Furlings? No one mentioned the Furlings before." Jack looked at the area more warily. He'd never much cared for that alien species, even if they were buddies with Thor. After being stuck on that moon with Harry, he thought less of them. His last encounter with Furling technology had even made him happy to see the Tok'ra, for cryin' out loud.

Daniel didn't seem to notice Jack's concern. "Yeah. They were working on some experimental joint technology here. Some devices they were sharing, some others they just brought for testing and integration. I've got mainly a general log here. But there's a few items. The scope of the research is hard to pin down. So much of the files are either degraded or erased. Still, there's a lot here, even mentions of defensive technology. If Anubis had ever found this information..."

Jack let out a low whistle. "We'll have to make sure we keep it that way too. Anubis may or may not be out of the picture, but these Jaffa don't seem to friendly."

"No." Carter spoke up. "We'll try and pack up what we can. We don't know what will be useful."

Daniel nodded, his concerns obvious. "Right. And those Jaffa know we're here. Teal'c's out there alone."

Jack took off his cap and scrubbed his head. "I know."

"What about Teal'c?" Carter picked up on the unsaid emotion behind Jack and Daniel's exchange.

Daniel looked uncomfortable. "He's...relatively fine. You know Teal'c. And we're three more Jaffa down."

Carter grimaced. "I should--"

Jack knew what she was feeling; hell, he still felt what she was feeling, worry and responsibility for a people under their command. He hastened to reassure her. "He's okay for now. I was just mentioning you two shouldn't play too much with the toys here. I left a timeline for the teams waiting for us on the other side."

Carter nodded. "The laptops are already downloading as fast as possible."

Jack wandered over to the shelves of dust-covered items to start packing some of the devices. One item was a green oval disk approximately the size of the palm of his hand. He accidentally brushed it against his sleeve; his arm tingled, and a strange glow encompassed him. "What the...?"

"Jack?" Daniel was coming close to him now. Jack had let go of the device in surprise, but it remained on his sleeve.

"What is that?"

"I don't know." Jack was not sure whether or not to move his arm. Nothing hurt, in fact he felt fine.

Daniel reached out to grab the device and jumped back with a yelp, shocked. A small energy field became visible and then disappeared. A few seconds later, the stone stopped glowing and fell off his sleeve.

Daniel cautiously picked it up, examining its markings. "It's not doing anything now."

Carter ran her scanner over it and frowned. "I think it's out of power." She turned to Jack. "Perhaps, sir, you should monitor the download of the computers. Who knows what else your Ancient gene might activate."

"Um. Right. Good idea." Jack moved away from the doohickeys and back to the relative safety of the Earth based laptops. "I still don't get why the Ancients can't just put signs on these things. 'Dangerous item. Do not touch.' 'Broken Time Loop Machine,' 'This way out'."

He looked up to see Daniel staring off into space with that expression that meant he was a thousand miles away and on the verge of some kind of discovery. "That's it," he murmured.

"What's it?"

Daniel looked at them, beaming. "I've figured out how to get back."

Daniel tried to curb his excitement. It was so obvious now, he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. But then again, they may not have found this storage place with the information on the Furlings and Ancients. He explained his theory to the others as he and Sam packed all they could into their packs.

Grabbing the last dust laden device from the shelves, he turned to his friends. "...using the Ancient language is the key. So you see where I'm going with this?"

He glanced up to see Jack looking at him blankly. Over his shoulder, Daniel spotted Sam trying to puzzle it out, but not making much headway. He sighed and started again.

"The Ancients created the transporter to protect this place. Just like we have palm scanners and keypads to protect our technology, it stands to reason the Ancients would too."

Jack said, "I thought you said the Furlings made the transporter."

"The technology is similar, but the language on that archway was Ancient. And so was the false DHD." Daniel explained. "Maybe it's a collaboration with the Furlings. Maybe they developed it on their own from things they learned from the Furlings. All I know is those symbols are the key."

"Okay?" Jack looked completely lost.

"It's like Praclarush Taonas!" Sam's eyes danced in excitement, finally jumping onto his train of thought.

Daniel grinned. "Yes!"

Jack looked from one to the other of them blankly. "What?!"

"Jack, you were the one who explained it to begin with."

Jack's eyebrows rose. "I did?"

"Yes! Well, you had downloaded all the knowledge of the Ancients, so you weren't talking in English at the time, but yes. The Stargate glyphs aren't just symbols, they are also syllables in the Ancient language. That's why that ring out there isn't a full sized Stargate. It's the way out."

Sam said, "You're saying that if you punch in the right word, we'll get the exit."

"Exactly!"

Jack frowned. "I thought Teal'c said you couldn't use that DHD. It was just a hologram."

Daniel nodded, trying not to show his own doubts at this logic. He knew this had to be the answer. "That's true. But it's obvious a lot of the devices around here can only be activated by someone with the Ancient gene."

"That wouldn't be very neighborly of them for their Furling buddies."

Daniel strove to contain his irritation. "Jack, would you please get off the Furling obsession."

"I can't help it. I don't trust them. And if you'd been stuck for weeks with Furling utopia skeletons and a paranoid ex-colonel strung out on space arugula, you'd be wary about all this too!"

Daniel made a note to himself to definitely find out what happened on this old mission when this was all over, but there was no time for that now. "Okay, well even given that, this might've been an added piece of security the Ancients created. The Russians are monitored back at the SGC. Maybe the Ancients were taking similar precautions with the Furlings. Or maybe this was the only way their technology could work together. I don't know. But the point is, I know this is the way out."

Daniel watched Jack earnestly, trying to will him to agree by this point. When Jack took off his cap and ruffled his hair, Daniel knew he had won, but resisted the temptation to exchange a triumphant look with Sam. Jack huffed out a sigh. "Okay. So do you know what word I need to spell on this alphabet song DHD?"

Daniel deflated slightly. "Th-that I'm not sure about, but I'll figure it out. The syllables are already a big clue of combinations."

"That's assuming the Ancients didn't use a code." Sam pointed out.

Daniel had been so consumed with trying to convince the others and trying to remember the symbols on the device, he actually hadn't considered the puzzle could be even more difficult. Knowing his voice wasn't sounding as confident as he liked, he answered. "Well, it would seem to be a bit of overkill for them to only let an Ancient use the device and make it a codeword."

Jack was staring at him again, and Daniel was aware his doubts hadn't gone unnoticed. Gamely, he pressed while he still had a semblance of an advantage. "Look, do you have any better ideas? I know this is the key."

Jack turned around to face Carter, looking to her to answer Daniel's rhetorical question. Daniel watched from behind Jack, half-pleading for her to back him and half-curious if she knew another answer.

She only shrugged. "I don't know enough about the equipment here to know what they can do or can't do. But that device out there is definitely used for something, and its proximity to the entranceway would lend support to Daniel's theory. I say we try it."

"Okay then."

"But Jack, I...Oh-okay?" Daniel's argument stalled as he realized Jack's response.

"Sir?" Sam looked equally surprised at Jack's sudden quiescence.

Jack shrugged. "Okay. Hey, you're in charge of this mission, Carter. I'm just here to turn the lights on."

Sam and Daniel exchanged looks before grinning at each other. She unplugged the laptops and fit them into the bulging packs. She looked at the consoles. "What about this equipment? We can't let this technology fall into the Jaffa's hands."

Daniel nodded. "Can you take out the power crystals?" Skill and a fair bit of luck had kept the Jaffa from finding the ruins and this chamber. There was no telling what Ba'al or another Goa'uld would make of these remnants around him. As much as he hated the idea of destroying this font of knowledge, experience taught him the risks of leaving it. Daniel tried not to think about the possibility Anubis may have escaped Sam's frozen planet by now.

"I can with a few of them. But these two have inaccessible panels. I don't have the time or the know-how of what to pull out or where."

Jack was already reaching into his pocket and pulling out some C-4. Daniel winced at the immediate response and spoke up. "Not that I'm not all for keeping this technology out of the Jaffa's hands, but isn't there any other way?"

Jack sighed. "Like what?"

Carter blinked. "Sir, you initialized the equipment. Maybe you can be the one to turn it off too."

"But...I didn't even do anything. I just sat on the console!"

"Sir." Carter gave him the look–the one that meant she was on the edge of her patience.

Daniel joined in. "Just try, Jack. Concentrate."

"On a big off switch?"

"It's worth a try."

Jack sighed and touched the console. "Off." At his thought, the console powered down to nothing. Jack chuckled. "I could start doing the party circuit. Still..." He waved the C-4. "I think plan B is good insurance."

"Jack..."

"I agree." Carter nodded. "We can set it for a remote detonation."

Daniel wasn't happy with the idea, but he knew he'd lose this argument. There was too much at stake. Jack powered down the rest of the consoles, and they placed the explosives before heading quickly back up the tunnel. Daniel was relieved to see Teal'c looking relatively well and still standing where they had left him. They quickly filled Teal'c in on the plan as he led them back to the small ring and archway. The forest was clearer now, but the dew on the leaves were taking on a more opaque quality, glistening violet in the sun.

"Dawn." Sam whispered. "It was dawn when we first arrived on the planet."

Jack looked around. "Yeah, come to think of it, everything was pretty purple when I left the teams."

Sam was walking beside Daniel, her mouth pursed in thought. "We thought the activation of the archway may be related to the time of day."

"Which means?" Jack kept his voice low, but Daniel was curious about the answer as well.

"Which means there's another reason we should test Daniel's theory now, sir." Sam's eyes gleamed in anticipation as she cut a swath of foliage Teal'c had missed in his trail blazing.

Teal'c's path led them directly to the archway clearing, this time approaching from behind the false Stargate. They only took a few steps before it was obvious their arrival was anticipated. Jack knocked Daniel to the ground, stealing his breath. This time Daniel tried to check his coughs, but he thought to himself how being tackled was getting pretty old.

Energy bolts criss-crossed mere inches over their heads. Up ahead, Sam shouted something to Teal'c that Daniel couldn't hear over the blasts.

Teal'c's response was, "...taclu...tag...tor...."

Daniel translated the garbled word in his head. Tacluchnatagamuntorons. Those were the devices the Tok'ra had used on that planet they'd run into the bounty hunter. He remembered how sensitive to heat and movement they had been too. Probably the only reason the team hadn't been mowed down the instant they had stepped out of the woods was because Teal'c had taken them an unexpected route. Pal'kor must've suspected that the key to their escape was this area by the Stargate, and prepared accordingly. As it was, the tac blasts were mere inches above them. Even crawling forward would be dangerous.

"Daniel." Jack yelled at Daniel. He was right next to Daniel, but his voice still sounded faint from the percussions of the weapons. "Do not move!"

"Not a problem," Daniel groaned, and nodded to Jack that he understood. He continued thinking to himself. "Breathing, that's the problem."

The sharp familiar crack of the P-90 sounded just as Jack's elbow nudged him from the recoil. Another shot, this one sounding close to Daniel's ear; he tried not to flinch from the noise. Nearby, Teal'c's staff weapon was firing in rapid succession. The tac blasts were no longer so close; Daniel could lift his head slightly to take in the surroundings. The high grass still semi-blocked his view. He didn't know how Jack was able to find the devices to shoot them. But Daniel was able to make out some movement in the trees beyond.

One of the two remaining Jaffa was taking advantage of the team being pinned down to get into position and fire. Daniel glanced back at Jack, but he was facing the other direction, aiming at yet another device. At least now Daniel's movement shouldn't jostle Jack's aim or get into his line of fire. He reached down for his own sidearm, unholstering it just as he saw the tell-tale spark of a staff weapon being primed. He was out of time.

"Jack, look out!" Daniel rolled, purposefully shoving Jack's body to the side. His right arm extended, he fired half-blindly towards the Jaffa. An explosion of soil three feet to his left told him the Jaffa had shot wide. Daniel doubted he had hit the guy, but at least his firing had provided cover for them. He looked up, seeing the bushes move from time to time. The Jaffa was repositioning, and Daniel couldn't get a clear shot.

Jack had ended up almost to a right angle from Daniel now and was following the movement with his rifle. Daniel was relieved to see he still appeared fine. Enough of the tacs had been destroyed that Jack's voice was clearer this time. "What have I told you about getting in the way of staff weapon blasts?"

"I try not to make a habit of it," Daniel quipped.

"That's...debatable," Jack gritted out while shooting towards the treeline.

Further to their right, Teal'c and Sam had moved forward several feet. Daniel wondered when that had happened–probably when he was still catching his breath. Teal'c appeared to be taking out the last of the devices with his staff weapon while Sam was scanning the trees with her rifle, occasionally firing a few shots. Sam yelled to them. "Teal'c and I will provide cover fire, sir. Two by two! Move on my signal."

Jack called back. "Carter, I..."

Sam interrupted. "Move...now!"

There was no mistaking the order in Sam's voice. Daniel scrabbled forward, half-crouched to make a smaller target. Belatedly, Daniel remembered Jack's knee trouble, but O'Neill was beside him before he could even turn around. Eventually staff blasts pinned them down once again.

Daniel returned fire, pausing only to reload. He caught a glimpse of a staff weapon and turned before recognizing Teal'c coming up on his left. Jack was still firing, providing cover to the rest of the team. Sam had stayed on the right hand side, able to move up even further, knowing where they could no longer cover her advance. Their years working together made the movements instinctual, and moving forward by pairs while the others provided cover fire, they made their way to the DHD.

Daniel and Jack reached the device, while Sam and Teal'c stayed back, taking cover from the non-Stargate. Daniel wasn't sure what protection, if any, the holographic device would provide. Would the staff blasts pass right through? No matter, Daniel had to kneel upright to see the symbols. Jack copied his move, and to Daniel's shock, he noticed his friend leaning on the device.

"Jack?"

"What?" Jack was still firing his weapon at their currently unseen adversaries, only half paying attention to Daniel.

"The DHD feels solid to you?"

Jack looked down and blinked. "Yeah. I–-hey can you start dialing it?"

Daniel tried to touch the glyphs, but his hand still passed through. He sighed. "Sorry. It's got to be you."

"Of course it does." Jack sounded resigned. "So, tell me how to play that tune, Daniel."

"Okay...um..." Daniel stared at the glyphs. It was like some alien game of Scrabble. Make up words amongst the phonetic symbols. "Let's try something simple. Exitus..."

Jack stared at him. "Did you just tell me to dial 'exit'?"

"Well, its Ancient equivalent, yeah."

"I know exit."

Daniel knew it was just the stress that was raising Jack's snark level to high, but he couldn't help rising to the bait. "And you know how to spell it in Ancient phonetics?"

They were distracted from their arguing by a burst of heavy fire at Sam and Teal'c, causing the pair to cringe in their small sheltered areas on either side of the 'gate. Daniel and Jack returned fire. Their guns gave enough breathing room for Sam to duck away from her shelter and lob a grenade at one of their opponents. There was a cry of pain amongst the foliage that exploded outward.

Daniel turned his attention back to the device. "Here...here." He muttered the syllables to himself, while Jack pressed the symbols he indicated.

"Ummm..." Jack pressed the center, but nothing happened outside the glyphs staying lit. More needed to be typed. Another word? Daniel racked his brains. Five syllables to match the chevrons? Exitus forus? Exit out seemed a bit repetitive, but Daniel was willing to try anything. The glyphs darkened. Wrong combination. The reversal was no good either.

Maybe return? Reditus? Revertis? combined with...no the word for home can't be spelled from these symbols. Daniel rubbed at his forehead in frustration, willing the sounds of the firefight and his worries for his friends to fade so he could concentrate.

Jack was not helping when he prompted, "We don't have time to screw around here, Daniel."

"I know!" Daniel pointed to a few glyphs for another combination. "This isn't an exact science, Jack. I'm doing the best that I can!"

A few more attempts were made. The DHD was the "key" to getting out of here. Maybe clavia combined with another word. Absently, he was aware of Sam and Teal'c concentrating their fire on one area alone. Maybe only one Jaffa was left, but if it was that first prime, Daniel still wasn't sure if four on one were enough odds. This guy was wily and...well, Daniel compared it to going up against Teal'c, and those weren't great odds either.

He snapped out of his reverie. They needed a way out, and they were depending on him to get them there. God, he hoped Sam wasn't right and this was actually a code word. It could take weeks, if not longer. And that was if he was coming up with the right words. What could be obvious to an Ancient could mean nothing to him. But it wouldn't correspond to past Ancient writings. The answer was here, in front of him.

"Daniel..." Patience was never Jack's strong suit. "How many times do you want me to dial this damn 'gate?"

"That's it." Daniel stared at Jack in sudden inspiration.

"What's it?"

"The gate...it's not a Stargate, but it's still..." He stared at the DHD, the two symbols for porta were obvious to him now. Why didn't he see it before? But what would be the other half of the answer? A modifier would make sense. He started to think through various combinations they'd tried, dismissing those that would repeat the same symbols. Maybe not a modifier...

"Daniel?" Jack prompted again. "Just give me the right 'open sesame' combination here."

"Open." Daniel looked again at the symbols. Could it really be that simple? patefacere ...no, there was no symbol for "pah" here. If they used aperire with porta--would that be grammatically correct?

He pointed out the symbols and Jack started to dial. Sam yelped in surprise, and she crossed to the other side, joining a distracted Teal'c and pushing him out of range of the device and some distance again from any backflow like the ordinary kawhoosh of the 'gate. Daniel realized with a start that there were no staff blasts anymore. Had Teal'c and Sam taken care of both Jaffa?

"Carter?" Jack had stopped dialing and was watching them as well.

"We're fine. Keep dialing, sir!"

Daniel pointed out the last two glyphs to Jack again. This time when Jack slammed the center control, a rumble and sparks shot out. The gate came to life with a glowing white shimmer.

Sam couldn't resist smiling as the 'gate activated. They were right. Daniel figured out the translation, and the general's gene activated it. It worried her that one Jaffa was still out there. She wondered where he had gone. It was strange that the blasts had suddenly stopped. She knew she had only hit one Jaffa with her grenade. And an exchange of looks with Teal'c revealed he did not believe he had killed the last one. She toyed with whether or not she should detonate the C-4.

The general and Daniel started heading towards the device. She and Teal'c remained crouched off to the right, halfway between it and the DHD and watching for any renewed attack.

That was when Pal'kor struck. She heard the yell of "Incoming" and instinctively dove. Beside her, Teal'c rose. She glanced up to see him firing at a round device falling from the sky. She recognized it as a goa'uld shock grenade just before ducking her head again. It exploded an instant later, sending shrapnel everywhere.

Sam realized why most shock grenades were rolled to the enemy. Teal'c's blast caused a premature detonation, spreading its full impact in the air above rather than knocking them all out. As it was, the concussive force of the explosion rattled her teeth. Her eyes flared with a kaleidoscope of colors, and there was a ringing in her ears.

She blinked rapidly, trying to determine her friends' conditions. General O'Neill had been closest to the explosion. He was loudly cursing, which both troubled and relieved her. He was hurting, hence the cursing, but he was feeling well enough to curse. They needed to move to the 'gate. She shouted over his expletives, "Sir, can you move? You need to head this way!" She struggled to try to get to her feet, but she was slightly wobbly from the blast. If she was feeling this bad, how were the others?

Teal'c had knelt near her, but now stood. He apparently had no doubt of the identity of the survivor because he called out "Pal'kor! You need not stay stranded here. This battle is pointless. Come with us! You fight for a lost god. You can be free!"

"Teal'c, we have to get out of here! The general, Daniel...I don't know how long this exit is going to stay open," Sam chided.

She was surprised he was still offering freedom to Pal'kor. He had looked ready to tear the Jaffa apart limb from limb after Ack'to's death, and it took all her efforts then to get him to retreat. She fully expected him to go on his 'Jaffa revenge kick' as General O'Neill referred to it, and she wouldn't have half blamed him. But she was the first to admit there was a lot she didn't understand about Jaffa politics. Now was not the time to ask Teal'c's motives.

She soon discovered at least part of his reasoning; he was stalling for time. "Colonel Carter," Teal'c's voice was low in her ear. "You must get the others through the device."

"I'm not leaving you either, Teal'c." She tried to focus on him enough to glare.

Pal'kor's voice echoed through the clearing; Sam couldn't pinpoint from what direction. "Shol'va. I would not follow you if you claimed to know the way to Kheb. Anubis is a true god. I have seen his power."

General O'Neill interrupted. "Your master is a slimy oil slick who can't do a damn thing without using somebody else. We've kicked his ass four times across the galaxy. I wouldn't be singing his praises. And by the way, we have been to Kheb. Nice gardens."

Sam hissed a remonstrative "sir" towards him while she followed his voice to reach him. She also heard Daniel saying. "You're not helping, Jack."

Teal'c was still speaking to Pal'kor. "Your master has no army, no ships, no body. He is noone to worship. You killed Ack'to for nothing."

Pal'kor's voice had emotion now. "You led Ack'to astray. My master trusted me to find this place of power. You will not steal its riches like thieves in the night."

"It's dawn, actually." Apparently General O'Neill couldn't resist despite his hiss of pain.

By this time, she had reached them. Daniel was already bandaging the general's leg. O'Neill's sunglasses had protected his vision, because when she pulled them off his face he was looking at her with clear eyes. As for Sam, she was still seeing spots and tearing up. "Sir, can you move? That 'gate won't stay open forever."

"He got hit by some shrapnel." Daniel also looked a bit dazed from the explosion. Both had minor scratches covering them, and she didn't want to guess at her condition.

The general shook his head, waving her away. "I'll be fine. You and Daniel get moving before the 'gate shuts down. I can redial."

Daniel retorted, "You remember the right combo?"

He hissed in pain. "Not the point. Carter..."

"No, sir."

O'Neill blinked at her. "No, sir?"

Carter gave him a stern smile. "You informed me I'm still team leader of this mission, sir. And my c.o. taught me no one gets left behind." This place had brought back too many memories of the time they thought they had lost O'Neill on that Furling world. She wasn't losing the general this time; she wasn't losing any of her team. She turned to Daniel who had already put a pressure bandage on the general's leg wound.

"Done with the bandage. We're ready to roll." Daniel nodded to her, and he looked a bit sharper now. Sam wasn't sure if his condition had improved, or hers, but she liked what she saw.

Their patient was still weakly protesting. "I am a general, now, right? I have a star on my uniform and everything now."

"Of course, sir." She and Daniel lifted O'Neill to his feet, his knees buckling and almost sending all of them back to the ground.

She had tuned out most of the conversation between Teal'c and Pal'kor, now interspersed with occasional blasts. For some reason, the most recent words of Anubis's First Prime resonated now. "I have sent the signal already. My master will find me and reward me."

"Oh, crap." Carter fumbled in her tac-vest pocket for the detonation device. Anubis was trapped on that frozen world with no DHD, but they underestimated that bastardized ascended at their peril. Even if Anubis never learned of the planet, who knows who could intercept Pal'kor's signal.

It was hard to juggle reaching for the device and keep General O'Neill upright. Daniel shifted to take on more of the weight, even as he watched what she was doing with regret. "No choice, Daniel," she murmured.

"I know." He couldn't resist adding, "You downloaded everything you could though, right?"

She flashed him a brief smile and nodded.

He nodded back. She called over to Teal'c, "We have to go."

Teal'c looked torn. "Teal'c," Daniel echoed. "Jack needs help."

Sam fumbled, losing her balance slightly, but was able to reach the detonation mechanism, flipping the toggle switch. As she pressed the button, she felt Teal'c reach around and take the general's weight off her shoulder.

She hadn't really focused on the distance they had traveled in the cave until the ground shook directly beneath them. She finally spotted Pal'kor. He had taken cover by the archway. Now, the explosions of the caves had made the ground unstable. The earth beneath the archway cracked, and the stones collapsed. He fell back with a painful cry as the large rocks buried him underneath the rubble. He could not have survived. She stared in shock at the abrupt end. More cracks appeared under her feet. Half stumbling, half running, she pushed her team forward, and the four of them jumped through the 'gate.

It was only as she shook off the effects of the remnants of the explosions that she thought to doubt this device would lead them back to safety. She opened her eyes and rolled over on the soft grass to see the dual suns of P7X-485 shining down on her, and the relieved face of Major Hadden, SG-8 commander, hovering over her anxiously. She leaned up on her elbows. The Stargate had a strange shimmer in front of it, which winked out before her eyes.

A few feet past her, she could hear General O'Neill grouching. "I've told you, anything to deal with the furry things is bad news."

Twisting her head she spotted him and the rest of her team. From her radio, she could hear a frantic voice. Was that Doctor Lee?

"...overloaded and lost the signals, and..." The radio broadcast shut off as she heard Bill's voice nearby. "Oh. You're here." He and Major Altman came running towards them as Major Hadden helped her to her feet. Lee's presence among the teams trying to rescue her, and his obvious relief at their safe return oddly wiped away the last vestiges of nightmarish memories she'd been squelching ever since being stranded. She smiled back at Lee.

Altman broke out in a grin. "We've been worried. We were monitoring you, but the device was on for some time before anyone came through. And then when the archway appeared to be gone..."

Sam interrupted, "Monitoring us? How?"

"Oh, there's some type of control station set up in the ruins. Life signs, meteorology, some kind of log..." Bill pointed back to the location Daniel had wanted to visit yesterday. It seemed a lifetime ago now.

"Really?" Daniel stood and looked over to the ruins.

Sam thought aloud. "It would make sense. If this was some sort of proving ground, they would have a monitoring locale separate. Perhaps that's part of the reason they had the testing labs in another location." Sam looked at the ruins with excitement. There may still some technology to be salvaged after the explosion.

General O'Neill said, "No more toys for any of you. You should have enough in your backpacks to keep you occupied for the next decade or so." He beckoned for a hand up, and Teal'c and Daniel lifted him to his feet. When he got upright, his eyes met Sam's. "Right now, the mission is just to get back to base."

"Yes, sir." She smiled at him. "Couldn't have done it without you."

He smiled back in a wistful manner. "Maybe, but SG-1 seemed to be handling things just fine without me."

She blinked, not quite sure how to respond to that comment.

"You are welcome to join us anytime, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

"So long as we don't have to carry you back home. I think that should be a condition," Daniel shifted his balance and glanced down worriedly at the general's injured leg.

One of the marines of SG-12 started over to take Daniel's place supporting the general. Sam could've sworn she heard Teal'c growl at the sergeant. Daniel waved him away a bit more politely, but just as firmly. SG-1 would be the ones to get the general home; he'd done the same for them.

Fin.