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TITLE: Mirror Mirror
Mirror MirrorPart OneThe young man pressed himself deeper into the alcove as the guards stomped by. In his chest, his heart beat in time with their marching footsteps, each step one closer to his re-capture. He always knew his escape would be noticed sooner or later, but he’d hoped he would have time to get to the Chappa’ai. His mouth twisted as he waited for the squad to pass.. All this effort for a single slave? But then, it wasn’t what they sought, but who they sought. Once the Jaffa were gone down the corridor, he followed behind them on bare feet. The halls of the palace were frenetic with activity. It would be better to find somewhere to ‘lay low’ as O’Neill would say. As O’Neill would have said. Slipping into a doorway, he activated the door panel and the panels opened with a soft hiss. In the room, odd shapes loomed in the semi-darkness, but nothing moved. His ears told him that another brace of guards were on their way down the hall and he stepped inside the room and pressed the controls to shut the door. A glance around showed no sign of life and as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he saw that the looming shapes were strange objects and clumps of metal and wire. Artifacts. The sound of a voice giving orders close by the door prompted him to find some place to hide. Somewhere that he could hide away until they gave up pursuit. Then, maybe he could make his way to the Chappa’ai and go home – if there was still a home to go to. The air was stale; this room had not been used in many seasons and he placed his feet with care, trying to avoid stirring up the dust. Around him, the artifacts sat squat on their benches and as he looked around, the young man’s heart ached. His brother would have loved this room, filled with such treasures of the mind. His brother was dead. He turned down an aisle and glimpsed a tall dark object, large enough to provide him with a hiding place in its shadow. It was larger than a standing man and made of a blue-grey stone or metal. What it was, he had no idea, for the recessed centre appeared to be made of the same material as the raised frame. He stepped into a coil of wire lying nearby to look behind it. Yes. He could hide here. It was dusty, but he had lived on a planet of sand all his life and dust was no stranger to him. “Right,” drawled a voice from just outside the door. “The slave was last seen in these corridors. We’re to bring him back to Lord Klor’el unharmed.” Terror gripped his heart. If the First Prime had been sent after him, then his chances of reaching the Chappa’ai became even more unlikely. Turning back to the object, his ankle caught in the loops of wire and he stumbled, losing his balance. Grabbing for any purchase, his fingers latched onto something and he grasped it desperately, only to have it come loose in his hands. Behind him something crackled and he stumbled back, extracting his foot from the wire and falling against the artifact. Strangely, the artifact wasn’t there. He was aware of a buzzing noise in his ears as he landed on the cold stone of a floor. Breath whooshed out of his lungs and the thing he grabbed tumbled out of his hands and clattered off to one side. He groped after it, aware he must not make any more noise than necessary…and a pair of booted feet stepped into his vision. It was then he realised that the lights were brighter and the room around him was empty of objects, but filled with people. Dizzy with the change, he blinked up at the person who stood beside him and was vaguely aware of the click-clicking sounds of guns being primed. The Goa’uld do not have guns… That thought was lost as the man beside him spoke, disbelief in his voice, “Ska’ara?” He scrambled back, looking up at the face of the First Prime of Apophis. Caught. They would take him back to Klor’el, who would extract punishment on his personal slave for daring to attempt escape from his god again. “Dha vahitha me Klor’el shak tol nar kas, Jack!” he pleaded in the Goa’uld tongue, begging for leniency in punishment. Klor’el would be ruthless, but from the man who had once been his friend there might be a little mercy. Enough remained of O’Neill to grant that much. “Dha me shak!” “Ska’ara, what the hell are you…” “Careful, sir,” a woman spoke from one side, “He came through the mirror and may still be carrying Klor’el…” Ska’ara turned to look at the speaker. There was no mistaking the blue eyes and blonde hair of the woman who came through the Chappa’ai with O’Neill so long ago. Yet her clothing was not the rich silks and linens Ska’ara was accustomed to seeing her in, but the plain material she wore when she first arrived on Abydos; and the voice she used was human. A man stepped out from behind her and Ska’ara caught his breath. How long had it been since he saw his brother like this? Too long. What has happened to me? “Jack…I think you’d better step back.” “He knows me, Daniel. He spoke my name.” Dan’yel? O’Neill? “Yes, but he just begged you not to punish him for escaping.” His head spun from trying to sort it out. Then another man entered the conversation. “O’Neill,” The deep voice shuddered through him. “I believe this young man is a slave in the palace of Apophis.” It made no sense. The man who spoke was dead. Tired, bewildered and unnerved, Ska’ara of Abydos gave in to unconsciousness. * Daniel scribbled aimlessly on the pad before him, his mind ticking over the issue of his brother-in-law…the man whose counterpart was his brother-in-law in this reality. The unkempt state of Ska’ara, his reaction to Jack and his panicked arrival through the mirror all pointed to a much darker universe than the one Daniel inhabited. The archaeologist wondered if there were any universes where they had actually managed to beat back the Goa’uld in some way or another or if Dr. Samantha Carter had been right when she said only a handful of alternate realities hadn’t been taken over by the Goa’uld. And that had been over two years ago – in two years, how many more realities had succumbed in the fight against the Goa’uld? It was terrifying to think they walked such a fine line between success and failure and that the road only grew thinner as time went on. He dragged his attention back to the woman speaking on the other side of the table. “…don’t have any medical data on the system about Ska’ara of Abydos, but the young man who came through the mirror is not a Goa’uld, nor has ever been possessed by one.” Dr. Janet Fraiser spoke with her customary assurance about medical matters. “His MRI came up clean and his blood lacks the protein marker and naquadah of a past host. During our examination, he woke and seemed terrified of what we were doing to him.” She folded her hands on the table, lips pressed thinly together in anger as she told them of the young man’s injuries. “He’s got healed scars up and down his back from whippings and beatings and he’s severely malnourished. He’d probably be in severe trauma if SG-2 hadn’t turned up in the infirmary for their post-gate. Major Ferretti recognised him and came over and chatted with him. Once Ska’ara understood he was in the SGC, it was much easier to work with him.” “So Teal’c is right,” Sam said, looking from Teal’c to the Doctor, “He’s probably a slave to the Goa’uld of his reality.” “He knew me, though!” Jack declared, hands folded over his chest. “Well, yes, he did. But I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing, Jack.” Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose and regarded his satisfied friend. “He was pleading for you not to punish him for running away. For all we know you might be a Goa’uld in his reality. He mentioned Klor’el – it’s possible that Klor’el chose you for his host instead of Ska’ara.” That took the complacent look from Jack’s face. “Rather than speculate, I have asked Major Ferretti to accompany Ska’ara up here. They should be arriving fairly soon. In the meantime, the question of what to do with the young man arises.” General Hammond looked to Sam. “Major Carter, am I to understand that since our Ska’ara is alive and well with his father on Abydos, this Ska’ara will soon be experiencing the same phenomenon as Dr. Carter did when she and Major Kawalsky came through the mirror?” “Yes, sir. Entropic cascade failure.” She was willing to leave the explanation there. Jack was not. “Remind me how that goes again, Carter?” Sam was evidently in a mood to tug her CO’s intellectual leash a little. “Sir, an individual’s biogenetic signature has a certain rate of decay – or entropy – to keep it in synchronisation with the resonance of their universe. When a second, identical biogenetic signature appears in the same universe, it increases the entropy, throwing the resonance off. Temporal physics dictates that the entropy must be brought back in synchronisation or else the universe itself will be torn apart. The way the universe compensates is to phase or cascade the newer signature on a cellular level until the decay rate is once again in resonant balance. This results in the gradual cellular destruction of the second individual.” Okay, so maybe she was tugging everyone’s intellectual leash. Daniel had to think that one through a second time and wasn’t entirely sure he understood it. Teal’c’s expression was distinctly amused as he looked at Jack, eyebrow raised. Jack’s expression showed he hadn’t understood a word Sam had said. But, being Jack, he had a reply: “That makes sense.” “Ska’ara’s enslaved to the Goa’uld in his world. We can’t send him back.” Daniel pointed out. Footsteps sounded on the stairs leading up from the control room to the briefing room and Ska’ara reached the top of the stairs with Ferretti one step behind him. The young man looked tense, swallowing once as he looked from Jack to Sam to Daniel and then to Teal’c. “Hey, Ska’ara,” Jack drawled with his lazy smile. “Good to see you.” “O…O’Neill,” the young man’s back noticeably straightened and his chin lifted. “It has been a long time since…” He hesitated, unsure of how to end his sentence. “…since Klor’el took him?” Daniel offered and earned a glare from Jack. The young man looked at him with sad eyes, “No, Dan’yel,” he said quietly. “Since Klor’el took you.” Daniel blinked. Now that he had not expected at all. From the stunned expressions around the table – and the amused one on Jack’s face – they had not expected that either. “Ska’ara,” the General took the initiative. “I am Major General Hammond, commander of the SGC. I understand that you know Colonel O’Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson, already.” “Yes.” The dark eyes rested on each face briefly before returning to the General. “These are Doctor Janet Fraiser, Major Samantha Carter and the Jaffa Teal’c. Teal’c is a friend in this place. He once served Apophis, but has since changed allegiances.” Another nod from the Abydonian. “And you’ve met Major Ferretti. Ska’ara, Major, have a seat.” The general indicated the empty chairs down the briefing room table and the two sat. Daniel noted that Ferretti took the seat closer to the General, subtly placing himself between the young man and the rest of the people. Once they were seated, Sam turned to look at Ska’ara. “Ska’ara, did Major Ferretti explain to you about parallel realities?” “Yes.” “Do you understand how we are not the people that you know in your world? How Daniel is not Klor’el here?” “I do not understand it,” Ska’ara replied. “But I see how things are different here.” “Ska’ara,” Daniel began, “in this reality, Klor’el took your counterpart – the Ska’ara of our reality, as his host. What other things are different here? You recognised Jack to the point of saying his name – but you asked him not to punish you.” “O’Neill…” Ska’ara looked at Jack, “O’Neill is the First Prime of Apophis. He was sent to re-capture me after I escaped from Klor’el’s service.” “I’m the First Prime to the snake-head? Aw, jeeze…” “What happened to Teal’c?” Sam asked. “Isn’t Teal’c the First Prime of Apophis anymore?” “The previous First Prime of Apophis died a year ago in an assault against the armies of Hathor. O’Neill was raised to the position of First Prime in his place.” “Peachy. Hey, how’d I end up as a Jaffa anyway? Don’t you have to be loyal to the Goa’uld or something?” “Teal’c was made to believe he was still in the service of Apophis after the evacuation from Vorash, sir. It’s possible that Apophis used the same technology or drugs on you.” “But First Prime?” It took two attempts before Daniel managed to get out the question he wanted to ask: “What about Sha’re? Did Ammonet take her as her host?” He saw his team-mates’ expressions of concern and steadfastly ignored them. He’d had one year with his wife on Abydos before she was taken from him. He spent two more years searching the galaxy to find her, only to see her die. In both the other realities they’d seen, he’d never even met Sha’re – never known her, never loved her. That Ska’ara recognised him boded well for his alternative self. He’d been to Abydos and at least met his wife. Now he wanted to know if she’d been taken by the Goa’uld in this alternate universe as well. “Ammonet? No. Sha’re serves Ammonet as I serve Klor’el.” The young man glanced nervously at Sam. “Where I come from, you are Apophis’ queen.” Oh boy. Daniel watched his team-mate go white, then red, but even as he reached out to touch her arm, she’d moved her mind past her alternate self’s fate. “Apophis must have come through the Abydos gate earlier than he did in our reality!” It looked like she’d already worked through the ramifications of Ska’ara’s statement. “He must have caught us at dinner with the Abydonians and taken me instead of Sha’re.” “No. Apophis took my sister also, but Ammonet chose you as host.” Ska’ara corrected her. “They took Dan’yel, my brother, for Klor’el and we could do nothing. Then, before the Jaffa began killing the people in the cells, we were taken away at the order of Ammonet – my sister, myself and O’Neill. They made Sha’re and I slaves, but O’Neill was taken from us.” He stared down at the table, “That was many seasons ago. I was made a slave in the service of Klor’el and Sha’re serves Ammonet as lotar.” “A trusted slave?” Ska’ara looked up at Daniel, “She will not rebel while Klor’el possesses her husband. Ammonet knows this and uses it against her, for Klor’el is the heir of her mate.” “Yeah, we kinda know that already,” Jack remarked. “Look, I hate to be the one to break up the ‘let’s catch up on our alternate selves’ session, but Ska’ara’s a bit limited on time here.” Sam turned to the young Abydonian, “Ska’ara, your counterpart in this reality is still alive. We’ve had experience with alternate universes before and when two versions of the same person are present in a reality, one of them will develop a condition known as ‘entropic cascade failure’…” “He doesn’t need to know the condition, Carter.” Jack interrupted, leaning forward, “Look, Ska’ara, because of some weird quantum physics thingummy you can’t stay here because you’ll eventually…tear apart. Something to do with the laws of physics…or metaphysics. You don’t need to know the details. I don’t need to know the details.” He shot Sam a reproving glance and she returned the stare, more amused than annoyed. “Basically, we can’t keep you here much as we’d love to – it’d kill you. But we’re not gonna just send you back to slavery. We’ll work something out.” He turned to his CO, “Right, General?” “As far as it is within our power to do so, Ska’ara, you have our help.” “Thank-you, O’Neill, General Hammond.” Daniel watched the almost gracious inclination of the head and thought wistfully of the rapscallion boy who had been his brother-in-law on Abydos: laughing and cheerful, undeterred by anything the desert world could throw at him. Then Apophis came and Ska’ara’s life had changed – in more than one reality. “So, people, what are our options – Ska’ara’s options?” Jack corrected himself, leaning back in his chair. “Where were you trying to get to when you came through the mirror?” “I thought I could reach the Chappa’ai and go home,” the young man told them, huskily. “It has been many years since I have seen my father.” Ferretti spoke up: “Could we take him back through the mirror and get him to Abydos?” “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We might get him back to Abydos, but he wouldn’t be there long,” Daniel pointed out grimly. “Klor’el would expect him to make a run for Abydos and that would be the first place they’d go looking for him.” “Earth?” Jack said. “We’ve got the GDO codes and even if we’re not there; General Hammond should still be operating the SGC.” “Wait a minute, sir,” Sam looked at Ska’ara. “Ska’ara, didn’t you say that Teal’c was killed in a battle against Hathor’s armies?” “Yes. She attempted to take one of Apophis’ worlds and defeated his armies in battle.” Sam looked from Ska’ara to the General, after another glance at her CO: “Sir, if Hathor is a player in the Goa’uld hierarchy, then she must have managed to take over Earth after she was discovered in the Mayan temple. Got control of the Stargate, found someone to…breed with and…” “Okay, Carter, we get the picture.” Jack looked sick and Daniel understood the feeling his friend was going through precisely. The incident with Hathor still had the ability to turn his stomach. It had been a close situation and only the actions of Sam and the other women at the SGC had stopped Earth from becoming Hathor’s breeding ground. “I guess Earth’s out, then.” “The Tok’ra took Ska’ara in among them after Klor’el was extracted from him.” Teal’c’s statement was a suggestion in and of itself. “They’d be pretty hard to find in that other reality, Teal’c. And even if we could find them, they’d probably be suspicious of us. We’d be known to them as Goa’uld – or Goa’uld sympathisers.” “Our little grey buddies the Asgard?” “Well, we still have the co-ordinates for the Asgard home world, but we don’t have the booster device anymore,” Daniel reminded his friend, “We used it to help Dr. Carter and Major Kawalsky when they came through the mirror.” “And both device and co-ordinates are useless if we don’t have the Earth Stargate and it’s computers,” Sam pointed out. “Colonel O’Neill.” The stern tone of General Hammond’s voice drew all eyes to him as he looked at his 2IC. “Ska’ara has a limited amount of time and much as I would like to help, I will not authorise any mission back through the mirror that does not stand a reasonable chance of succeeding. The last mission through the mirror was prompted by Dr. Jackson’s comment that we owed another reality this help. I consider that debt to be paid and if we are unable to formulate a plan that is not a suicide mission, then I will have no choice but to send young Ska’ara back through the mirror to his own reality without help.” Suddenly, Jack snapped his fingers, pointing his index finger at Daniel. “Cimmeria!” Understanding dawned in Daniel and with it came hope. “Of course!” “Thor’s Hammer would indeed provide Ska’ara with protection from the Goa’uld,” Teal’c stated. “Both Goa’uld and Jaffa would end up in the labyrinth below the Stargate plateau.” Daniel caught Ska’ara’s expression of blank incomprehension and tried to explain. “Ska’ara, in this reality, we have allies from other races who occasionally help us out. We’re trying to work out somewhere for you to go.” He saw the dawning understanding in the dark eyes and smiled. As friend and brother-in-law, Ska’ara had been energetic, mischievous and occasionally a source of annoyance to Daniel and Sha’re; but he had never been slow or stupid. Daniel made a mental note to use his next downtime to visit Kasuf and Ska’ara on Abydos – it had been a long time – nearly a year – since he saw them last. Seeing them brought up old, painful memories of Sha’re, but they were still family. “See, there are these little grey guys called the Asgard and they have this planet called Cimmeria which has protection against the Goa’uld arriving. You could go there and be safe.” “Little grey guys?” Ska’ara’s expression was a study of uncertainty. “The people of Cimmeria are human – but they worship the Asgard as gods…” Daniel trailed off at the prospect of explaining to Ska’ara how the Asgard impersonated gods in much the same way that Ra and the Goa’uld did. Maybe leave that for later. “Umm…at any rate, that’s somewhere that you could go to escape the Goa’uld.” “Right, we have a destination,” Jack declared. “Cimmeria, here we come.” “What about Sha’re?” Sam glanced at General Hammond’s face which had darkened at the increased complexity of the situation. “Sir, Ska’ara’s right. Sha’re is also a slave in the service of the Goa’uld – if we can free her…” The General looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Major, this is enough of a risk as it is! I’m allowing you to accompany this young man back through the mirror and into the heart of a stronghold of Apophis to get him to a Stargate that will take him to a protected planet.” “Sir, it is a reasonable addition to the plan. A servant as trusted as a lotar would be allowed to walk freely through the corridors of the palace. It would be little extra trouble to get her through the gate to Cimmeria.” “Assuming she’ll leave…ah…her husband,” Daniel reminded them. It was a strange idea to talk about Sha’re and ‘her husband’ as if Sha’re’s husband was someone else. Truthfully, in this Ska’ara’s world, another man was Sha’re’s husband – Daniel’s own counterpart. “Look, why don’t we put that in the mission as an optional extra, huh? If we can get a hold of Sha’re on the way to the gate then we’ll take her with us – otherwise she’ll have to be left to her own devices.” Jack held up a hand, “Daniel, don’t argue with me.” “I didn’t say a word, Jack.” “You were about to.” Jack glared at him. “Right. So we take Ska’ara back through the mirror, get him to the ‘gateroom’ in the snake-head’s house and send him through to Cimmeria. If we can somehow pick Sha’re up along the way, then that’s a bonus.” He tilted his head as he looked to his CO. “Do we have a go on this mission, sir?” “You have a go, Colonel.” * part two“I can’t believe I have to wear this getup,” Jack grumbled in the artifacts room. He saw Ferretti turn to exchange a smile with Carter and scowled at them both. “I saw that!” He was wearing a skirt. An honest-to-God skirt. Okay, so it was an extra-long chain mail tunic over a padded vest and leggings – but to Jack’s mind, it was still skirt-length. Peachy. “Sir, at least you have a weapon,” Carter pointed out. She lifted her left arm and the gold spiral of the ribbon device shone in the overhead lighting. “I only have this and Daniel’s completely unarmed.” There was some consolation in the fact that the rest of his team was also ridiculously dressed-up to look like Goa’uld or Jaffa. Daniel even had makeup on – much to the archaeologist’s dismay. He was wearing an outfit which had been cobbled together based on the clothing Ska’ara had worn on Tollana and looked…impressive. To say the least. Jack nearly had a heart-attack when the younger man first stalked into the room and ordered: “Kneel before your god!” The effect of Goa’uld harmonics produced by the voice-distortion unit combined with the outfit had been dramatic. Daniel found himself held at gunpoint by some shaken SF’s until he turned the VDU off and got Teal’c to vouch for him. Carter had made just as dramatic an entrance – although for an entirely different reason. Clad in a dress that clung to her like no man’s business, throat and arms bare but for some intricate enamelled jewellery and with a shadowy hint of long, slim legs under the layers of translucent material, Carter left no doubt in any man’s mind that she was an attractive woman under her customary BDUs. Daniel had taken one incredulous glance at her and grinned broadly. Teal’c’s eyebrow had jumped high enough to dislodge his brand and the twitch of his mouth indicated that he found the change of style amusing. Jack’s first thought had been that she looked delicious in the outfit. The second had been a blunt mental thwap to remind him that this woman was his 2IC and they’d made an agreement to keep anything unprofessional ‘in the room’ after that incident with the za’tarc testing two years ago. Fortunately, Carter had been juggling her headdress as she fitted her ribbon device and didn’t notice the appreciative glances sent her way. Jack relieved her of the headdress, earning him a brief smile and a chance to admire the way the material whispered over her skin, while she got the ribbon device onto her hand, wriggling her fingers to get it comfortable. The device on her hand served to remind the men in the room that she was fully capable of using the Goa’uld weapon and had killed a one-time System Lord in such a manner. By the time she looked up, they had their shock – and appreciation – under control and were all business once again. He answered her question indicating the ribbon device. “That is a weapon, Carter.” “Not my weapon of choice, sir.” “Well, Carter, I think that the sight of Ammonet wielding a P-90 down the corridors of Apophis’ palace might be a bit of a giveaway that you’re not the snake-head they’re meant to think you are.” She smiled, “I guess the staff weapon isn’t your weapon of choice, either.” “Definitely not.” He turned to Ferretti, “Are we ready to go?” Ferretti, his team and a squad of SFs would come through the mirror with them to hold the artifacts room in Apophis’ ship. If SG-1 needed backup, they’d have it. Hopefully they wouldn’t, but there were days when it seemed like nothing went right for them. “Ready, sir,” Ferretti winked at Carter, then went to join his team, waiting behind Daniel. Daniel was next to the mirror with the ‘dialling device’, trying to find the reality Ska’ara had left behind. He got it fairly swiftly after some muttered consultation with the young man and made a ‘you first’ sweep of his arm to the SFs. The SF team went through the mirror, spreading out through the room to ensure that no nasty surprises lurked in the darker shadows before signalling the ‘ok’ to SG-1 and SG-2. SG-2 went through next, fatigued and weaponed. Then it was SG-1 and Ska’ara’s turn. They made the transition without trouble and Jack checked out each of his team. Daniel was already entranced with the bits and pieces in the room, blowing dust off weird-looking things and making soft exclamations at the things he found. Jack caught the eye of Lieutenant Klavins and the young man gently turned the fascinated archaeologist towards his CO so Daniel caught Jack’s expression. The younger man rolled his eyes in exasperation, but refrained from further touching anything. Teal’c was putting the helmet of the serpent armour on so his face would be covered. He would play the part of the anonymous soldier – a dead man walking through the halls of Apophis’ palace would definitely alert someone that all was not as it seemed. It was hard to tell how Teal’c felt about this second foray into an alternative reality. At least this time Jack didn’t have to worry about his friend going around killing his counterpart. Someone else had already done it for him. Carter was talking to Ferretti and the Captain of the SF squad. “You have at least forty-eight hours before entropic cascade failure will set in. If we’re not back in forty hours, you’re to return through the mirror to the SGC.” “Or come after you.” “Negative, Major,” Jack interrupted Ferretti. “If it takes us forty hours to get Ska’ara through to the Stargate in this place, then either we’re crawling there without our legs, or we’re dead. You go back through the mirror as ordered. Keep your team’s radios tuned to channel five, we’ll be on channel three. If we need your help, we’ll switch channels and let you know.” Carter continued, “Captain Selleck has the controller and has been fully briefed by Daniel on how to operate it. Don’t lose it or break it – if something happens to it, then we won’t be able to find our reality again. And from the sound of it, this is not somewhere we want to be staying.” “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you, Major?” She grinned up at him, “Yes, sir.” Jack exchanged exasperated glances with Ferretti. Carter had that happy-excited look she got when she was on the verge of a technological breakthrough. Or when she blew something up. She’d probably been waiting for the chance to experience an alternative reality for years – since her alternate self and Kawalsky came through the mirror. Scientists! “Good luck,” Ferretti told them both and Jack grimaced and took his place at the entrance to the room along with Teal’c and Ska’ara. Nearby, Daniel was tugging at his outfit. “Would you stop that?” He demanded. “It’s too tight,” the archaeologist grumbled. “I can’t take a deep breath in this thing.” “Too much high-fat commissary food, Daniel and not enough time in the gym. Do a few rounds against Teal’c the next time the urge comes upon you to study one of your thingummies.” Reminding Daniel of the bits and pieces in the room was a mistake. “Jack, we have to take some of these things back through the mirror.” “Daniel…” “It could provide some very valuable insights into Goa’uld development and history – the kinds of races they’ve stolen from, what those races were capable of, what they tried against the Goa’uld and what failed…” “Daniel, if what they tried failed, then it’s not going to be much use to us.” “It’ll show us what not to try against the Goa’uld, Jack. Success is just continuing to try something until you don’t fail at it! And since we’ve probably developed in a different branch of technological evolution to the races that made this stuff, we might be able to make it work for us!” Jack groaned. At this rate Daniel would keep this up all the way down the corridor – completely ignoring the fact that Klor’el didn’t give a damn about stupid dusty things sitting away in a back room somewhere. “All right, all right! We’re taking the stuff!” He would concede the point about different branches of technological evolution and Carter was certainly smart enough to make something work after it had been broken for a thousand years. That was even without the attraction of developing something tough enough to really deal the Goa’uld a strong punch in the belly. “Ferretti, talk with Hammond about bringing some of this stuff through while we’re gone – send someone decent, not one of the egg-heads from the labs. Carter?” “Sir?” “Got any recommendations for someone to give this junk a once-over and work out what to take through and what to leave behind?” She glanced around, the headdress she wore jingling a little. “Lieutenant Vaillant will look at it with a combined military and scientific view, sir. She also knows when not to touch something questionable.” “You heard the Major, Major; Vaillant it is. Try not to touch anything that will set off the sirens, okay? That always gives away the fact there’s intruders on the base…in the palace…wherever…” “Yes, sir.” “Right. Let’s move out, folks.” The doors hissed open with SFs clearing the corridor before the party of five stepped out. Teal’c and Ska’ara headed up the procession, Ska’ara artfully restrained. The restraints were a sham – the young man would be able to break them instantly and the zat gun tucked in a fold of his slave clothing would provide him with his own defence if it came down to it. Hopefully it wouldn’t, of course. Sam and Daniel followed behind, strolled behind the Jaffa and his Abydonian captive as if they owned the place. Technically, the people they were imitating did own the place. Daniel was taking this opportunity to extend Sam’s knowledge of the Goa’uld language, quietly explaining words and phrases that might be useful to them here. Jack was last in the procession. If it made Jack’s skin crawl to listen to his friends talking in the eerie harmonics of the Goa’uld voice – enabled by the voice distortion units carefully attached inside their clothing and at the base of their throats – it made his neck itch to know that there was nobody watching his back this time. They were all facing forward. On the other hand, nobody would be stupid enough to fight ‘Ammonet’, ‘Klor’el’, the ‘First Prime of Apophis’ and a Jaffa on account of a slave. Jack hoped. This whole First Prime thing was freaky enough. Ska’ara had informed them that the best place to look for Sha’re would be Ammonet’s chambers. Since Sha’re was Ammonet’s lotar, she was frequently sent on errands back to her mistress’ rooms to fetch and carry things. So they were on their way to the chambers of the wife of the leader of this set of snake-heads. Who was herself a snake-head inhabiting Carter’s body – the Carter of this universe. To pick up Daniel’s wife – who wasn’t their Daniel’s wife but the other Daniel’s wife – the other Daniel who had a snake in his head too. I am so gonna demand that the General do something about that mirror. Carter may love it to death, but it gives me a headache. They passed a set of cringing slaves. At least the disguises are working. Of course, if I have to talk to anyone, we’re all going to be in big trouble… They walked coolly into Ammonet’s chambers and promptly fanned out, looking for places to hide and wait. In the middle of the floor, Ska’ara stopped and turned. “O’Neill!” “Ska’ara, this is not the time to have second thoughts…” “O’Neill, I have just realised that Sha’re will not be here for several hours.” Jack came to stand in the middle of the room and regarded the young man with exasperation at this piece of late-breaking news. “Why not?” “She is…called to Klor’el’s quarters at this hour of the day.” Jack scowled. “Wouldn’t Klor’el have his own servants?” The rest of his team, realising a conversation was taking place, moved in around them. “Klor’el would have his own lotar, certainly,” Daniel commented. His ‘Goa’uld voice’ startled Ska’ara, who jumped back from him. Daniel held up his hands. “Hey, Ska’ara…it’s okay. It’s me.” “Might be an idea to turn that off, Daniel. You, too, Carter.” Both members of his team turned to adjust their VDUs. “So what does Klor’el need with Sha’re?” Daniel asked in his usual voice. Teal’c answered, having opened the helmet of his armour the better to join in the conversation. “Perhaps there are certain…services Sha’re renders Klor’el that cannot be substituted by someone else.” “But what kind of services…” The archaeologist’s voice trailed off as the understanding came to him. He went white. “Oh.” Carter grimaced, “It makes sense. In a Tok’ra blending, what one feels the other feels. While the Goa’uld aren’t symbiotic in the way the Tok’ra are, they would have free access to the mind and memories and emotions of the host – in Klor’el’s case, the Daniel of this reality.” “Have I ever mentioned how much I hate these reality mirror things?” Jack commented to no-one in particular. “Ska’ara, where are Klor’el’s quarters?” “Very close, O’Neill. Down two corridors.” “Are they heavily guarded?” “No. There will be one guard at the entrance to his quarters, but none inside. Klor’el is a powerful and ruthless Goa’uld – he is Apophis’ son. Within Apophis’ stronghold there would be little need for many guards.” “That’s why there’s four of us – five,” Jack hastily amended, looking at Ska’ara, “And only one of him.” He glanced from Ska’ara to Teal’c. “The Stargate’s not too far from here – right?” “That is so, O’Neill. It will not take us long to get there.” Ska’ara turned to Teal’c. “You know where Klor’el’s rooms are?” While the young man had taken some time to accustom himself to the presence of a man he had only ever known as an enemy, once the adjustments were made, his acceptance had been complete. “I believe so, Ska’ara. They are beside the perfumed gardens, are they not?” Ska’ara nodded, then held out his hands for the restraints to be fastened again. They lined up at the door and proceeded out, Carter and Daniel switching the VDUs back on as they left the chamber. On their way to Klor’el’s quarters, there was one tense moment when a squad of Jaffa came around the corner. Daniel’s sharply-rapped out orders made them turn about and go back the way they had come, their shod feet echoing down the passageway. “Close call,” Jack muttered. “They wanted to know how we caught the missing slave,” Daniel indicated Ska’ara. “I told them it would be duly revealed in time.” “Good diversion, Daniel.” “O’Neill,” rumbled a voice inside the serpent armour, “We are about to arrive at Klor’el’s rooms.” “Okay. Daniel, you’re going for Klor’el – use the element of surprise in your favour. Carter, you’re taking out the Jaffa and any miscellaneous servants. Ska’ara, you’d better take care of Sha’re – she won’t trust the rest of us. Teal’c, you’re with me on guard and backup” The instructions were issued in a low voice that carried far enough to reach the ears of all five rescuers, but not much farther. “Everybody clear on that?” Jack saw their heads nod, even if he couldn’t see their faces. “Then let’s go.” * Teal’c felt O’Neill’s plan worked very well. The Jaffa on duty at Klor’el’s quarters was dealt with in one blast from the ribbon device MajorCarter wore. They burst in on a surprised and infuriated Klor’el and a tearful Sha’re. The Goa’uld was zatted once by Daniel Jackson; and Sha’re, dressed in the scanty clothing of a body servant, clung to her brother and stared at the four others. A rapid exchange of Abydonian followed as Major Carter stepped forward and stripped the ribbon device from Klor’el’s hand before the Goa’uld regained consciousness. She handed the device to Daniel Jackson who grimaced, but put the weapon on. During that time Sha’re was made to understand that the four strangers with her brother were friends – no matter who or what they might look like. Strangely enough, it was Teal’c’s own presence which caused her to accept the others, although her eyes kept glancing fearfully from Daniel Jackson to the prostrate Klor’el. As O’Neill and Daniel Jackson discussed the next set of moves, Teal’c saw Sha’re’s eyes remaining on the body of her husband and after following her gaze, he moved: “O’Neill.” The Goa’uld was waking up. Two zats, two staff weapons and a ribbon device were promptly focused on him, but the man who held a hand out to his wife was in control of his body again – at least for a while. “Sha’re…” The voice was rusty and strained, but it possessed no Goa’uld overtones. “Dan’yel?” She took one step closer to her husband, but was stopped by Daniel Jackson’s restraining hand on her shoulder. “The Goa’uld could regain strength at any moment.” “Sha’re…” She winced at the plea and only said his name again. Klor’el-Daniel Jackson’s eyes travelled over his wife lovingly, then widened as he took in the sight of his counterpart standing at Sha’re’s shoulder, finally coming to rest on Ska’ara. “Ska’ara…who…how?” “They are from another world. Like ours, but not like.” “We’re from an alternate reality.” Daniel Jackson told his ‘other’. “Ska’ara appealed to us for help, so we came.” “Get her…away…from here,” rasped the host, looking directly at O’Neill. “Please, Jack.” O’Neill’s voice was more gentle than usual. “We will, Daniel.” “Sir, we should tie him up before the Goa’uld regains control…” “Do it.” He grimaced, “Sorry, Dr. Jackson.” “I…understand…” The man winced and transferred his gaze to Major Carter. “You’d better…hurry, Captain-Doctor…” Major Carter tied him up, gently but firmly. “Sir, what are we going to do with Klor’el-Daniel?” “Leave…me…behind…” “No can do, Dr. Jackson,” O’Neill stated. “You’re a security risk to us. You’ve seen us, you know we came from somewhere, you’re smart enough to figure it out. And we don’t leave our people behind.” A determined expression crossed his face as he glanced from Daniel Jackson to Daniel Jackson. “We’re taking him with us.” Teal’c saw the glance Major Carter gave Colonel O’Neill and knew she was thinking how much more difficult the objective would be with an unwilling prisoner. She said nothing, though, aware that her CO knew such things and also aware that he would not leave anyone behind if there was the most remote possibility of successfully getting them to safety. Prostrate on the floor, the alternate Daniel Jackson asked: “Sha’re…?” She moved to his side and knelt, “Dan’yel?” They spoke in Abydonian, a brief, private exchange. Breathless on his part as he gasped the words out, struggling against the Goa’uld who held him imprisoned in his own body. Sha’re reached out one hand and traced her fingers down his cheek and Daniel Jackson – the one Teal’c knew – turned away, his expression agonised. Difficult enough to lose a wife, but how much harder to see another version of her and be reminded of what he had lost? Teal’c grieved anew for his friend’s loss and felt the guilt of his own part in Sha’re’s abduction. Major Carter touched Daniel Jackson’s shoulder as he turned away and he gave her a brief, grim smile. Down on the floor, Sha’re gasped and jumped back, her brother placing himself between her and the returned Goa’uld. “You attempt to escape your god, Sha’re? You will be punished indeed! Ska’ara, you shame your family who served the gods for many years.” Ska’ara spat on the floor, indicating his disdain of the Goa’uld. “My family was enslaved by the Goa’uld parasite Ra – who was your master’s enemy! We served him before my people knew better.” “Your souls shall be damned for all…” “Oh, spare us the ‘god’ routine,” O’Neill snorted. “It’s getting way old. Right, Carter, let’s pick him up and move!” She hauled Klor’el up and the Goa’uld turned to look into her face and smiled. Daniel Jackson’s grin – and yet with a malice that Teal’c had never seen on his friend’s face. “You were once a host.” “Yes,” she stated coolly and held up the ribbon device. “So you know I can use this against you.” “You will not. Not against this host who is your friend.” In the face of the Goa’uld’s mockery, she remained calm and unruffled. “Not my friend.” “He wears the face of your friend. As you wear the face of my master’s wife in whom he takes much pleasure.” The harmonics of the voice leered at Major Carter and her lips thinned, but she didn’t respond to the taunt. “Ah, shut up and get moving,” O’Neill prodded the Goa’uld with his staff weapon. “Teal’c, bind Ska’ara and Sha’re, Klor’el behind Teal’c and Daniel and Carter behind him. I’m on your sixes.” “And if we run into any Jaffa, sir?” “We’ll tell them we found this impostor wandering around the halls or something.” He intercepted the look she gave him, “I don’t know, make something up! Improvise?” “Shoot everything in sight?” Daniel Jackson offered with a half smile. “As long as we zat Klor’el first,” O’Neill said. “Daniel-the-other will understand. Right, let’s get this circus on the road!” Teal’c shook his head. Although he understood the meaning of the phrase O’Neill used, he had still not seen a circus. When they returned through the mirror, he must remind O’Neill to take him to see one. One corridor out from Klor’el’s chambers, they ran into a squad of Jaffa. They took one look at the party and promptly began firing on them. “O’Neill!” Ska’ara yelped as he dived for the safety of the walls, pulling out his zat with one hand and dragging his sister along with the other. Teal’c moved for the other wall, firing a shot at the leader of the Jaffa. A familiar face and voice shouted orders in commanding Goa’uld: the leader of the Jaffa was none other than the First Prime of Apophis – the Jack O’Neill of this universe. From behind him, Teal’c heard the discharge of a second staff weapon as Colonel O’Neill fired upon the approaching Jaffa, steadfastly ignoring the slightly eerie sight of his counterpart in opposition to them. Daniel Jackson pushed his counterpart down to the floor, zatting him once in the process and Major Carter lifted the hand with the ribbon device. A burst of power slammed into the Jaffa, making them stumble back and the Jaffa O’Neill barked an order in Goa’uld for his men to scatter behind him as he aimed his staff weapon at the Major. Before he could fire it, Major Carter had again ‘slammed’ back the Jaffa and the electric whine of Ska’ara and Daniel Jackson’s zat-fire began to fill the corridor. “Carter, Daniel, get undercover now!” O’Neill yelled and the two leapt for the walls, narrowly missing a pair of staff weapon blasts. The fire fight was swift and deadly for the Jaffa. SG-1 was accustomed to such fighting and covering for each other against Goa’uld minions. These Jaffa had encountered Tau’ri before – but evidently not the kind of warfare SG-1 practised. The last Jaffa went down to a well-placed staff-blast by O’Neill and they gingerly emerged from their positions either side of the corridor. Of their own numbers Ska’ara nursed a shoulder singed by staff-weapon fire and Daniel Jackson was in gasping pain on the floor after being zatted by one of the Jaffa. O’Neill’s concerned voice came behind him, “Daniel?” “I really…really…really…hate getting hit by those things…” Daniel Jackson gasped, his muscles twitching as the last tendrils of electrical energy pulsed through him. A little further away, his counterpart was similarly twitching in pain while Sha’re knelt close by, watching him. Major Carter’s skirt swished gently as she stepped among the Jaffa, inspecting them for dead. With Daniel Jackson’s zat in her hands, she coolly disintegrated body after body until she came to the last man: the leader. A trickle of blood ran out from behind his head and she bit her lip and stiffened her shoulders before handing the zat to Teal’c and kneeling down beside him to take his pulse. “Is he alive?” She glanced up and nodded. “Yes.” As she spoke, the dark eyes opened and his hand grabbed at her shoulder. “Yatak roskek! Shol’va!” Teal’c guessed Major Carter didn’t understand the words, but the meaning was clear enough and in response, she slammed her fisted hand – the hand with the ribbon device – into the side of his head, knocking him out. The hand on her arm dropped limply to the floor. “Good work, Carter,” O’Neill stated as he crouched down beside her. He glanced over his counterpart, gaze lingering on the gold serpent brand at his forehead. “This is me?” “Looks like it, sir.” “Peachy. Jaffa O’Neill, my evil twin.” The man grimaced. “Another problem to deal with… Teal’c, pick him up, we’ll take him with us…” “Uh, sir…” “We don’t have time for an argument here, Carter. In a little while we’ll have every Jaffa in this palace on our tail.” “That’s exactly it, sir. We don’t have time. Your counterpart is a Jaffa.” “Yeah and the First Prime, too. If I’m gonna be evil, I’m gonna be damned good at being evil!” As his friends argued, Teal’c fastened the hands of the First Prime together with some plastic restraints, then tied the ankles together similarly. O’Neill was a resourceful man, whatever Apophis had done to him. While he restrained the man, he listened to Major Carter’s words. “Sir, you’d never willingly serve the Goa’uld. At some stage your counterpart must have been brainwashed or drugged. We don’t have the time to deprogram him right now and as long as he’s faithful to Apophis, he’s a danger to us. Remember Teal’c on the mothership after Vorash?” Teal’c remembered. The memory gave him no pleasure. “We’re taking Daniel’s evil twin.” “Colonel, we can send Klor’el through the gate to Cimmeria where his symbiote will be destroyed like Kendra’s. We can’t send him – the First Prime – through, because even if he makes it through the maze below the Hammer, without his symbiote he’ll die. Remember why we destroyed the Hammer – our Hammer in our reality – in the first place?” Kneeling beside O’Neill’s counterpart, Teal’c suddenly turned to look back along the corridor. He could feel the vibrations in the floor which indicated the approach of another squad of Jaffa. “Others are coming, O’Neill.” “From which way?” Teal’c indicated the direction and O’Neill grimaced. “Daniel, Ska’ara, Sha’re – fall back and take the first room we can open and hold. Carter, help me take Evil-Daniel. Teal’c, you get to bring Evil-me. We’ll work out what to do with him when we’ve found some cover. I hate to say it, Major, but keep that zat handy.” In two steps, he returned to Klor’el-Daniel’s side, taking the bound arm and, with the help of Major Carter, hauled the enraged Goa’uld to his feet. “Move it, snake.” Hauling O’Neill’s ‘evil twin’ over his shoulder, Teal’c followed his friends to locate the nearest sanctuary for their small group. * part threeThe room they hid in possessed an unexpected find: a sarcophagus. “This brings back old memories,” observed Jack dryly. “Anyone home?” He and Teal’c aimed their staff-weapons at the entrance as Daniel flipped the opening mechanism and Sam covered the two prisoners. It was empty. Jack put his staff-weapon down, “Right. Ska’ara, get in.” Daniel didn’t properly hear what his friend had said until a few seconds later. “Now wait a moment, Jack…” “They’re only dangerous when the person’s healthy, Daniel,” Jack pointed out in the voice Daniel had privately nicknamed ‘commanding officer’. “We need everyone around here in top working condition. Ska’ara, get in. A few minutes in there should fix that right up.” The young man looked doubtfully at Jack, who asked, more gently: “Look, Ska’ara, do you trust me?” “Of course, O’Neill.” Daniel wondered if the prompt response was to the Jack O’Neill Ska’ara remembered from five years ago – the friend who had come after Ska’ara on Chulak only to be duped into believing himself faithful to Apophis – or the Colonel Daniel knew. Probably a mix of both. Certainly during the year on Abydos, Ska’ara had wanted to know everything about Jack O’Neill that Daniel could tell him – which was, unfortunately, not much at all. “Then get in.” Daniel felt like protesting, but caught Sam’s glance and shut up. He’d protested Jack’s command decisions before – but those other times they’d been in situations where Daniel could object vocally without too much danger to the rest of his team. Jack certainly didn’t know best all the time, but there were points at which Daniel had learned it was wiser – for the sake of his team – to keep quiet. Ska’ara climbed in and the gold panels slid slowly over him. Sha’re made a sharp sound of distress and instinctively, Daniel took a step towards her. He intended nothing more than comfort. She was his wife – had been his wife in another world – but at that moment, Sam chose to interrupt: “Sha’re, do you know how to use one of these?” She indicated the zat’nik’atel Ska’ara had handed his sister before he climbed into the sarcophagus. “No, mistress.” Sam grimaced as she pulled the headdress off, the gold ornaments on it jingling faintly. “I’m not your mistress, Sha’re. My name is Sam.” Bitter disappointment filled Daniel as Sha’re turned to Sam with an immediacy that made plain her discomfort with him. She’d said very little to him, hardly met his gaze at all. But then, he reminded himself, he wasn’t the Daniel Jackson she knew. He glanced at his counterpart, the Goa’uld glaring at him with open hatred in his eyes. Daniel regarded him back, openly curious. He’d never met himself in either previous reality – in both previous encounters with an alternate reality, he’d probably been dead. He’d met one Jack, two Sams and two Teal’c’s in those ‘otherworlds’ – but he’d never come face-to-face with an alternate version of himself. He tried to think of himself without the five years of experience travelling through the Stargate. Without the people he’d met, the places he’d seen, the things he’d learned. With a snake in his head, controlling his thoughts, raping his mind… His breath sucked out of him at the thought, leaving him reeling. “Daniel?” Jack came alongside him, one hand gripping Daniel’s shoulder in hard reassurance. “You okay?” Dragging himself from his stupor, Daniel smiled grimly at his friend. There were things he had nightmares about in the quiet of his nights. One was Sha’re crying inside her mind as Ammonet used her body. Another was being deserted by these people who began as strangers, became his friends and were now his family. The third was to be possessed by a Goa’uld. He’d been lucky so far. Sam had endured Jolinar’s ungentle touch and Jack had come so close to being possessed by Hathor’s little friend, but Daniel had never yet been implanted with a Goa’uld. Intimate, yes – and that memory still had the power to arouse and revolt him; implanted, no. It was still one of his worse nightmares. In this place, one of his worse realities. “I’m okay, Jack,” he lied and knew that the older man didn’t believe a word of it and he’d be facing a concerned Jack later on when they got back home. “Just trying to come to terms with…” He paused, searching for the best way to put it. “…having a snake in the head?” Jack supplied with his customary directness. “Been there, done that, don’t recommend it.” With the latitude of three years the military man could joke about it, but it had been no joking matter after the return from Hathor’s planet. Daniel still remembered Jack’s nightmares and the infirmary and house camp-outs that SG-1 had undergone to help him deal with his near-possession. He glanced over at Teal’c, standing with his weapon trained on the two prisoners. Jack followed his gaze. “Although I personally think being a Jaffa’s only marginally better. At least nobody else gets a say in your brain.” “Do we have a decision on what to do with Jaffa-Jack?” “We put him in the sarcophagus,” Sam stated, joining the conversation. Daniel glanced over at Sha’re who was holding the zat gun steady on Jack’s still-unconscious counterpart. He ached at the ruthlessness in her eyes - the kind of life Sha’re lived in slavery to these Goa’uld had given her a toughness which Daniel’s wife had never possessed. Not around Daniel at any rate. “Explain, Carter!” Instead of answering him directly, Sam turned to their team-mate. “Teal’c, are Jaffa usually put inside the sarcophagus?” Teal’c’s eyes didn’t stray from the prone form of Klor’el. “They are not, Major Carter.” “It’s usually just the Goa’uld, right?” “That is correct.” “Sir, I think the combination of a Jaffa body chemistry in the sarcophagus produces some kind of reaction in the brain which removes the Jaffa’s attachment to memory. The restored Jaffa becomes susceptible to implanted suggestions at this point – like Teal’c did on Apophis’ ship. All memories are then filtered through the implanted suggestion and the reasoning behind them changes accordingly.” “And you have proof of this?” She held Jack’s gaze steadily. “No, sir. But Janet and I did some talking with Teal’c after the Rite of Mal Sharim and we think it’s to do with the effect of the sarcophagus on a Jaffa physiology.” “You think?” Jack was unimpressed and Daniel had to admit it was a thin connection between the theory and reality. “Sir, it’s try it or kill him. Trying it give him a chance at least.” “Oh.” “So we put Jack… Jack-the-Jaffa,” Daniel amended hastily when he caught Jack’s glare, “into the sarcophagus to heal, bring him out and remind him that he’s not a loyal servant of Apophis? What then?” “Yeah, Carter, what then? He might no longer be loyal to Apophis, but he’ll still have a snake in his belly! No offence, Teal’c.” “None taken, O’Neill.” Sam blinked and gave her next answer. “Then, instead, we remove the symbiote and put him in. The sarcophagus also heals a Jaffa’s immune system – it worked with you when you were turned into a Jaffa by Hathor…” Jack looked sour. Daniel snickered, amused by Jack’s expression, “System Lords seem to have this fixation on you as their loyal Jaffa, Jack. Any idea why that would be?” “Shut up, Daniel.” “Sir, a Jaffa intent on bringing down Apophis would be a valuable ally. Especially one with your kind of knowledge – both Jaffa and human and your military skill.” “And who would he be allied to? There’s nobody to ally with in this place.” “Well, it’s either turn him to our side, de-Jaffa him, or kill him,” Daniel observed, more serious now. The third option was not a pleasant one, but it had to be said and faced. The grinding noise of the sarcophagus opening made them turn. “I guess Ska’ara’s finished.” He looked back at Jack questioningly, “So what do you want, Jack? Subverted operative or human?” “Personally, I prefer human,” grumbled the older man. “All right. Leave him as a Jaffa – he has more options that way. We’ll try to convert him – but we don’t have the time to stick around here and wait for him to sort out his allegiances. Daniel and I will take Ska’ara, Sha’re and Daniel-snake to the gate, then head back here. Carter, Teal’c, you guys keep an eye on Jaffa-me and see if you can convince him to switch sides. If he won’t, disable him by any means necessary.” The tone of his voice made it clear that if ‘disabling’ meant ‘killing’, he expected his 2IC to do it. “Uh…Sam, are you sure you’d want to…” Daniel tried to think of tactful way to ask her if she was okay with shooting a man who was, in another world, her commanding officer – and in yet other worlds, had been fiancé and husband. “No, Daniel,” she said, grimly, “I’m sure I won’t.” “She’ll do what she has to, Daniel,” Jack interrupted Daniel’s concern, gesturing at Daniel’s counterpart. “All right, keep an eye on Klor’el, Carter. Teal’c, gimme a hand with the First Prime.” Daniel quietly fumed over the blatant disregard for Sam’s state of mind as the First Prime was hauled into the sarcophagus. He’d never fully understood the military mindset and he doubted he ever would: ‘Do what you have to do to get the job done.’ Such a mindset had prompted Jack to kill a young woman – whatever her origins, Reece had been a real person, not just an android or a robot – with no recourse to other solutions. It had been a long, hard road back to friendship and trust from that event. The journey had been difficult, not only for him and Jack, but also for Teal’c and Sam who were forced to witness their friends’ conflict – internal and external and refusing to be drawn to one side or the other. In the end, it had been that which brought them through the bitter patch more than anything else: the realisation that their continued need to be ‘right’ was not only destroying their friendship, but their friends. “Daniel.” Sam’s voice broke into his thoughts and he turned to look at her. “It’s okay.” It might be ‘okay’ for her, but it wasn’t ‘okay’ for him and he wanted to explain that to her – only to meet her steady gaze and realise that she knew and understood his anger – even if she didn’t share it. It’s not a nice job, but someone’s gotta do it. Jack turned to the six people watching him and clapped his hands together. “Right, we’re off to see the wizard who’ll get these guys back to…well…somewhere safe, even if it isn’t Kansas. Carter, Teal’c, we’ll contact you once they’re through the gate.” Jack indicated the golden sarcophagus, “Once he gets out of there, get his affiliations sorted out and relocate somewhere else.” “We shall, O’Neill.” “Stay on channel three and if you get into real trouble, Ferretti and the guys are on channel five.” “Yes, sir.” They refastened the restraints on the Abydonians and hauled Klor’el up off the floor. Jack muttered something to Klor’el who looked venomously back at the Colonel. Daniel shot Teal’c and Sam a brief grin before he turned his VDU back on, lifted his chin and followed Sha’re and Ska’ara out the door into the corridors again. * Sam stared at the sarcophagus and wondered. She wondered what it would be like to wake up one day and realise that you’d been living a lie for the last five years of your life. She wondered what it would be like to discover you’d been serving your worst enemy as his best soldier for those years. She wondered if this Jack O’Neill could take it – or if they’d be forced to kill him. She wondered if Dr. Carter had been right. It had been a brief, offhand comment while they were in the lab working on the Asgard power booster. “Seems like Jack’s a bit of a handful.” “He keeps General Hammond on his toes,” Sam replied lightly. She was still uncomfortable about the discovery that the other woman – the other her had been married to the Jack O’Neill of the other reality. Sure, Daniel had mentioned the reality he found himself in where General O’Neill and Dr. Carter were engaged, but that had been…distant. Abstract. Someone else. Someplace else. “I imagine he keeps you and your friends on your toes as well.” Fortunately, the other woman had the intuition to know that Sam was distinctly uncomfortable with anything that even hinted of the personal between her and the Colonel and the grace to lead the topic into other areas where her counterpart wasn’t quite so edgy. “Definitely.” That was certainly easy enough to say. “So…a handful whatever universe you turn up in.” Sam grinned in spite of herself and glanced up at Dr. Samantha Carter. “I think that’s a fairly safe bet.” Returning to the present, Sam shook herself. “Teal’c, what was it like waking up from the sarcophagus that time on Apophis’ mothership?” Her companion considered the question. “It was bewildering. I awoke and the sarcophagus opened. Apophis greeted me as his First Prime and congratulated me on my successful infiltration among the Tau’ri.” The dark face contorted in sudden anger. “He told me I had served him well in those years, but that it was time for me to openly bring my allegiance back to him.” She felt his eyes thoughtfully upon her as she considered the sarcophagus again. “You are considering what must be said to the Jaffa O’Neill when he emerges?” “Yes.” In some ways, Sam was surprised that the Colonel had agreed to her suggestion – it was only a theory after all. Based on some tests she and Janet had run a few days after the Rite of Mal Shariim while the guys were off doing some ‘male bonding’. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised. He trusted her on missions – sometimes more than she thought was healthy. Attempting to hotwire the doors on Apophis’ ship was just one example when he’d put his faith in her ability to get them out of a situation involving technology and she’d been unable to keep that faith. “Major Carter, O’Neill’s other will possess the memory of these five years serving Apophis. While he may be easily ‘turned’ when he emerges, it is also possible that he will not be able to cope with the knowledge that he has served Apophis faithfully all this time.” Both Teal’c and Sam knew how exacting their friend and CO could be on them and he was doubly harsh on himself. Sam took a deep breath, “In which case we’ll have to shoot him.” Except this time it wouldn’t be an alien masquerading as her commanding officer, but the man himself. “We’ll have to take that chance, Teal’c.” A little voice reminded her that this man was not and never had been her commanding officer. Even if his life had followed the same path as the Colonel up until the mission to Chulak, he was a different man to the Colonel she knew. Still, she wasn’t sure she could look into such a familiar face and pull the trigger of the zat gun twice. God only knew how the Colonel had managed it that time she was possessed by the electrical entity and started running amok on the base. It had taken nearly a month before he’d look her in the eye again without flinching. “I will undertake that responsibility, Major Carter,” Teal’c stated calmly from the other side of the sarcophagus. “You need not take it upon yourself.” She grimaced, understanding his reason for offering, but knowing that if they had to kill this alternate reality O’Neill, it should be her. Teal’c had enough on his soul already. “It’s okay, Teal’c. If it comes down to it, I’ll do it.” And it would come down to it very soon, she realised as the sarcophagus’ covers began moving back. With the zat in one hand and a ribbon device over the other, she was hardly helpless – but the sheer weight of the choice she would shortly have to make rested heavily on her. The doors were fully open and after a minute the man inside the sarcophagus sat up, the heels of his hands rubbing at his eyes. “Now there’s a feeling unlike any other,” the familiar voice drawled. “Waking up in…” He paused and his hands dropped from his face as he looked up, his gaze falling unerringly on Sam. She saw the twitch of his brow as he attempted to determine what had happened to him and stepped to attention and saluted, incongruously military in her outlandish garb. “Major Sam Carter reporting for duty, sir.” He stared at her a moment and she suspected that behind the dark opacity of his gaze a million thoughts and memories were swirling about in a frenetic dance of mayhem. “I…” He frowned, put one hand to his forehead and screwed up his face in an expression so familiar it was eerie. “O’Neill.” First Prime O’Neill turned, jaw dropping. “Teal’c!” With a graceful fluidity that stunned Sam, he leapt out of the sarcophagus. Evidently a larval symbiote in the belly did wonders for bad knees. “Teal’c, buddy…I…I saw you die…” He turned back to look at Sam, “Captain Carter?” She decided that correcting the rank wasn’t a priority at present. “What do you remember, sir?” “I remember…you became one of them – you…” His hands rubbed his eyes. “I became…” Abruptly, the hands dropped from his face and scrabbled at his tunic and he pulled it aside to stare at the cross-shaped incision in his abdomen. “Shit!” He fell to his knees, still staring at his pouch. Exchanging a look with Teal’c, Sam went to him, kneeling down beside him. “Sir…” “I…I’m a Jaffa…” Dark eyes looked up at Sam, suddenly lost, “I…I’ve served the snake-heads for…five years…” He blinked again. “My God… Earth…the SGC…” “It’s gone, sir. Hathor took it over without us there to fight her.” Although technically it was Sam and Janet and the other women who did the fighting rather than the Colonel. The guys were too busy being led by their libidos. “Us?” “SG-1.” “SG…” He shook his head. “You’re not Ammonet?” One hand gripped her shoulder in automatic familiarity. Sam forced herself not to jerk back, although she couldn’t help tensing. “You’ve been blended?” To take her mind off his proximity, she answered the question. “With a Tok’ra…” “A Tok…” He frowned as something else registered. “You said you were Major Carter. When did you…” They didn’t have time for the history lesson – and given that this was Jack O’Neill, he’d probably act confused as all hell if she ‘technobabbled’ him. To say nothing of the fact that while her commanding officer had learned to cope with her technical gymnastics, this man had not. “We’re from another reality, sir. A reality where Sha’re was taken as Ammonet’s host. We - you, me and Daniel, were unable to save her or stop Ska’ara from being taken as host to Klor’el.” “Another reality.” “You persuaded Teal’c to betray Apophis and help save the people in the prison on Chulak and he joined us on SG-1.” “SG-1. Five years. Cap…Major, I’m getting a headache. Another reality?” She didn’t have time to explain the ‘divergent choices’ concept to him right now. They had to relocate before someone came to check out the sarcophagus. “Teal’c – his allegiances?” “He is no longer loyal to Apophis, Major Carter. We should find another room in which to take cover as O’Neill suggested.” “I didn’t…” “Your counterpart, sir,” Sam interrupted, ignoring the scowl that crossed his features at the way she cut him off. “Teal’c, do you remember anywhere nearby where we could hide out until the Colonel contacts us?” “There is a weapons storeroom down the next corridor. It should not be difficult to reach.” “Who died and put you in charge of this mission?” “Your counterpart put me in charge, sir, under whose command I work. With all due respect, you may outrank me as a Colonel, but you’ve also spent the last five years as a soldier for Apophis and you don’t know what our objectives are.” “And what are our objectives, then, Major?” Oh, she remembered this Jack O’Neill. The slightly belligerent, ‘I like women, but have a problem with scientists’ attitude that she hadn’t missed one bit as time, familiarity and friendship eroded it away. Sam took a deep breath, “To get out of this room before someone else comes in and realises you’re no longer Apophis’ loyal minion, sir.” “That assumes that I’m gonna trust you,” the man drawled. “You’ve given me a very nice cover story, but nothing that would prove to me that you are who you say you are.” “You have a cabin in Minnesota beside a lake in which there are no fish and many small insects of your world.” He glared at Teal’c. “I told you that…” Sam cast her mind back through the bits and pieces she had learned about her CO over the years. “You served in Black Ops for over fifteen years…” “You could have learned that from reading my file.” She grimaced, not wanting to do what she was about to do – lay his private life – the fragments of his soul that she’d collected up over five years of constant daily working – open before him. But their time was running out, her team-mates might need her at any moment and Sam didn’t have time to baby him. She took a deep breath and began her litany. “Your code of ethics requires that you don’t leave anyone on your team behind because you were once left behind on a mission to Iraq. You were a prisoner of war for four months and the name of the commander who left you behind was Colonel Frank Cromwell – and you never forgave him for it. “You like dogs, play chess and listen to opera – Verdi, I believe. You’re smarter than you pretend. You have a distinct fondness for the Wizard of Oz and have never seen Star Wars. At the time of the Abydos mission, you were mourning the death of your son, Charlie. He shot himself with your sidearm – and that was why you were willing to take the commission by General West to go through the Stargate the first time. Upon returning from the mission to Abydos you found your wife Sara had left you and moved back in with her father.” She stared back at him, “Enough proof, sir?” He’d turned pale as a sheet. “Okay, okay, you’ve convinced me that you know me better than you’re supposed to… Now, how do you know I’m not still Apophis’ loyal minion?” “Teal’c knows,” she said, jerking her head at the door to indicate that her team-mate should get to the door and check for anyone coming. She just hoped she could answer the First Prime’s questions before they got out into the corridor. “And you trust him?” “The coast is clear, Major Carter.” “The…” First Prime O’Neill spluttered. “Teal’c, where did you learn…?” “I have lived among the Tau’ri for five years in my reality, O’Neill. It would be strange had I not learned your expressions.” A corner of the wide mouth tipped upwards, “It has been your instruction which has extended my understanding of Tau’ri terminology.” Sam watched his amazement and saw the realisation which crossed his face. More than anything else she and Teal’c had said or done, that momentary glimpse of Tau’ri humour convinced the First Prime. She chose to follow up that moment with: “You’re in front, sir. I’ll follow and Teal’c will bring up the rear.” “And I can trust you to be watching my six?” The distrust in his question was obvious. “If you keep asking questions, sir, you may leave me no choice but to zat you. Our original mission parameters were only to get away Ska’ara and Sha’re.” Not you, her tone of voice implied. She wasn’t entirely joking. If it came down to a choice between him and her team, she’d pick her team in a moment. If that meant having to kill him…she’d live with the scars and whatever nightmares might come. “Away to where?” “Classified, sir. Move out, Colonel.” “I have clearance higher than you, Capt…Major.” “O’Neill, we do not have time to waste here. Lead the way.” He sighed and grumbled, “You owe me an explanation later.” Sam handed him the zat. She trusted Teal’c’s judgement. “You’ll only get a headache, sir. Now, if you please…” With a sweep of one arm she indicated the door. He glared at her and went and she gave Teal’c a wry grimace and saw the answering amusement in her team-mate’s eyes as she followed First Prime O’Neill out of the room. Behind her, she heard the snap of Teal’c’s helmet as it closed over him and they walked out into the corridor. They passed one or two house servants who prostrated themselves promptly before ‘Ammonet’. One of them gave her a strange look, half-rising from his obeisance. Sam fixed the man with her coldest, most intense expression and the man fell back down again. Close call… Then their luck ran out. They turned the corner and ran into a serpent guard who promptly aimed and activated his staff weapon at them. He didn’t fire. Sam lifted her hand with the ribbon device and snapped at him, “You dare to challenge your god?” The serpent guard didn’t change his stance one iota. Damn. From within the depths of the armour comes a distortedly echoing voice. “Maktal kal ser rokash vir, O’Neill.” “Kal ser vi kek tal, yataki kree.” “Kol shak.” The helmet of the armour snapped back revealing a familiar face. Sam stared incredulously at him. “Master Bra’tac?” He looked from First Prime O’Neill to her and back. “O’Neill?” “Uh, Master Bra’tac meet…Major Samantha Carter.” Behind her, Sam heard the metallic clink of Teal’c’s armour folding down. “And I believe you already know Teal’c.” Jaffa or not, Jack O’Neill retained his slightly twisted sense of humour. Regarding Sam and Teal’c, the old Jaffa warrior narrowed his eyes. “O’Neill. You are not aware that two of the human slaves were caught with two men – the first was of identical appearance to Klor’el’s host. The second was of identical appearance to you. They had taken Klor’el prisoner along with two slaves.” Damn. Evidently the other party had been caught on the way to the Stargate room. “Where were they taken?” For a moment she thought the Jaffa would ignore her and felt brief resentment at the male chauvinism of the Jaffa society, before Teal’c spoke up. “Master Bra’tac, Major Carter is vitek ma tay. I trust her with my life. She is a warrior in body and spirit. The other two who have been captured are our friends. Where have they been taken?” O’Neill turned and arched his brows at her in surprise at Teal’c’s wholehearted recommendation and the very direct nature of his enquiry. If the elderly Jaffa was similarly surprised he gave no sign of it. “They have been taken to Ammonet. She was curious regarding the nature of these strangers. A search is presently underway for any other intruders. We must take cover. Follow me.” And without a further word, the Jaffa snapped his helmet shut and turned on his heel. Sam blinked as First Prime O’Neill grinned. “Coming, Major?” She glanced at Teal’c in question. Another unexpected ally in the palace was no bad thing. As long as he was an ally and not merely masquerading as one. “Master Bra’tac has been aware of the nature of the Goa’uld as long as I have known him, Major Carter. He will not openly rebel without good cause to believe he could win, but he will help us. Of that I am certain.” She nodded once and followed Bra’tac and O’Neill down the corridor. First Prime O’Neill kept giving her measuring glances over his shoulder. “You really do trust him, don’t ya?” “O’Neill, do not linger,” Bra’tac informed him. “Time is limited.” He rolled his eyes at her and she almost smiled before she caught herself. Dr. Samantha Carter was right. Whatever reality you were in, Jack O’Neill was a handful and a half. * part fourThis was not good. This was so not good. The hall was large and reminiscent of various halls into which SG-1 had been dragged to face Goa’uld System Lords. The décor certainly never changed. Why gold anyway? It was so…so eighties. Tacky and overdone. Passe. Carter-Ammonet paced up and down the dais, wide blue eyes concentrating on a point several feet before her. “It is most intriguing,” the snake-head declared, gripping Daniel’s chin between her thumb and forefinger and yanking his head around – the better to study his face. “You say there was a woman who resembled this host and a man who looked like the former First Prime?” “Yes. They seized the First Prime,” Daniel-Klor’el told her. “They hope to have turned him to their cause and to use him to leave this place.” The pale eyes narrowed as he regarded Jack. “They are human?” “It would appear so,” Ammonet mused. “The resemblance is remarkable…” “Perhaps they are from…somewhere else…” Jack had to admit it was freaky, watching and listening to not-Daniel and not-Carter have a conversation. Watching the way Klor’el moved his arms and the stillness of Ammonet as she considered the situation, Jack could definitely say that something of the host survived. He’d seen those mannerisms in his team-mates more times than he could clearly remember. Of course, the outfit was not Carter and the robes and jewellery were most definitely not Daniel. The ribbon device was a bit of a giveaway and as for the voices… He hoped Carter and Teal’c were somewhere safe. He hoped they’d managed to convince his double to play nice and get over five years of rooting for the Goa’uld. He hoped they wouldn’t come in on some cockamamie rescue mission – and he hoped they would. Heck, he knew they would – it was the SG-1 motto: No-one gets left behind. Damn. Taught them a little too well… “Where do you come from?” Ammonet demanded of Daniel, blue eyes flaring gold. Daniel had a horrified expression in his eyes as he looked up at the Goa’uld, betraying his discomfort at being confronted this way by a familiar face. Actually, the whole thing was giving Jack a bad case of the creeps. All his team-mates’ brilliance of mind in the hands of the Goa’uld… He restrained a shudder. Daniel’s mouth twisted, but he kept quiet, much to Jack’s relief. At least Daniel wasn’t trying his: ‘we’re peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth’ stuff in this place. “What are you? Who are you?” At the continued silence, Ammonet turned furiously to Sha’re. “Sha’re! Takat le!” “Takat ne honida!” Sha’re replied, not a little stubbornly. From the sound of it, the snake-head wouldn’t be getting much information from her. Klor’el swiftly crossed to her side and brutally dug his fingers into her hair, yanking her head back hard enough to overbalance her. Automatically, Daniel turned to help the young woman up, only to be struck by Ammonet’s fist. Jack winced at the solidity of the sound of metal hitting bone. “That was unwise,” the Goa’uld told him coldly. One slim hand lifted, pointing the palm of the ribbon device directly at Daniel’s head. Daniel had a grimace on his face, evidently waiting for the oh-so-familiar beam of light to start emitting from the ribbon device, frying his brains to pulp. His eyes sought Jack’s and in his friend’s eyes there were a lot of memories. Bad memories. Memories of having his brains fried by anyone from Apophis to the Ammonet who had possessed Daniel’s own wife. That had to be hell, Jack decided, to look up into the eyes of someone you loved and watch them – or at least something which looked like them – slowly kill you. And now another version of Ammonet was going to fry Daniel’s brains – but the face they would watch contort with vicious amusement at his death would be Carter’s. Jack really hoped Carter and Teal’c weren’t coming back for them. The place was crawling with the snakes and their lackeys and one shol’va Jaffa and a Tok’ra ex-host weren’t going to make a lot of difference – even with SG-1 odds. At least the end would be relatively fast for the archaeologist. Death by ribbon device would probably be a pleasant alternative to death by entropic cascade failure. Dr. Carter’s ‘cascade tremors’ hadn’t been fun to watch. They’d probably been hell to experience – and this was Carter they were talking about: Little Miss Stiff-upper-lip-I-can-take-it-like-a-man. Caught up in fear and concern for his team, Jack didn’t see Ammonet turn towards him until he felt the burning agony of the ribbon device in his brain. Heat. Aches. Tension. Pain. In all of six years, he’d managed to avoid actually having his brain fried by a ribbon device, although he’d observed the process more than once – usually on Daniel. He’d never thought it looked like something he’d want to do in his spare time and this merely confirmed it. Carter-but-not-Carter’s expression was of malevolent glee as the device continued boring its way into Jack’s head. It was like someone was pushing red-hot needles into his brain. Slowly. Then pulling them out again. He was certain his brains were dribbling out his ears. It sure felt like it… He rather thought someone had disconnected his brain from his body…and now it was wandering off… Certainly it was getting harder…to think – not that he’d…been all that good at it…anyway… His thoughts bled slowly into the woodwork of his mind, fading into the background as the…woman who looked like…someone he used to know…but somehow wasn’t…focused that thingy…on his… “Mistress!” A voice cried out from the back of the room and the gold glowy thing shining in his eyes turned off. Relief. He hated having flashlights shone straight into his eyes – it was almost as bad as going through post-gate inspections with all the poking, prodding, questions and… Someone spoke in Goa’uld behind him and he tried to think of what the new voice could mean. Or what the clank of armoured feet getting fainter portended. But right now, thinking was only like wading through sticky stuff. Thick sticky stuff…sweet sticky…molasses. Yes. Molasses. Or Jell-O. Strawberry Jell-O… A little part of him was yelling at him to get his act together. Another little part of him was trying to put a nice thick black blanket over the yelling part of him. He ignored them both, opting to sway gently as the world erupted into action around him. There was the hiss-whine of an electrical discharge close by him. Someone bellowed something and he saw the hand with the ribbon device raise until it was nearly level with his head. Then Daniel lunged in from the right, tackling her about the waist before she could send the energy pulse through the ribbon device. Good thing you remembered the shield’s deflection capability is directly proportional to the amount of kinetic energy directed at it… The memory popped randomly into his head as he watched Daniel take out the surprised snake-head with a very neat right hook to the jaw. He almost cheered. Go, Daniel! Jack tried to get to his feet and help his friend. The younger man shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of thing, that was Jack’s job. Protect the people like Daniel and Carter and leave the brilliant minds to do their stuff… However his body was only just reconnecting to his brain and still wasn’t fully obeying his commands. He tripped and sprawled in an ungainly manner on the stairs. Oh yeah, this old Bird Colonel still had it in him to make an idiot of himself. No problem. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Frustration ignited within him as he began to move – slower than he wanted, but it was better than doing nothing and standing still. A hand grasped his shoulder and he was about to turn and throw it off, when the deep voice of his team-mate stopped him. “O’Neill?” Time returned to normal at that instant. There was the sound of zat fire in the background, but Jack once again had control of his body – although he had a headache fit to split his skull. He blinked as he rocked back on his heels. “Teal’c?” Putting one hand to his forehead, he groaned. “Ow! Those things really hurt…” “Jack? Are you okay?” Daniel appeared at his shoulder. “Fine, Daniel.” He grimaced, “Apart from feeling like I’ve got a mothership in my skull…yeah…” Pressing the heel of his hand on his forehead wasn’t helping, but he retained enough wit to add: “Good hook.” A wry smile tugged at the corner of the other man’s mouth as he patted Jack’s shoulder. “I had a good teacher, Jack.” Then he went off to help Ska’ara and Sha’re restrain Daniel-the-other. Jack felt the warmth of the compliment. He’d spent hours in the gym teaching Daniel to duck, dodge and weave. And while the archaeologist would never be Rocky – or even Jack O’Neill – now he knew enough about fist-fighting to at least keep himself upright and only moderately bruised until the cavalry arrived. And speaking of arriving cavalry… Jack glanced up at Teal’c and tried to peer around the big man, “Is Carter there?” “Here, sir.” She stepped out from behind Teal’c and her eyes flashed to the centre of his forehead, “Headache?” “Oh, yeah.” He dragged himself to his feet, more by force of will than anything else. “Do they issue one-pound tablets of Tylenol?” Her mouth twitched and her eyes twinkled. “I’ll suggest it to the quartermaster as an addition to the standard SG-packs, sir.” “You do that, Major.” He grimaced as he turned and his knee let him know – quite charmingly – how much it hurt. “So who’ve we got on our side then?” “Master Bra’tac and yourself have agreed to help us get through the gate,” Teal’c told him with stately cadence. “Roll out the barrel, ‘cause the gang’s all here, huh?” Jack straightened himself up with some effort and met the very direct gaze of Jack O’Neill. Whoa, freaky. His – what was the word Daniel had used earlier? – his counterpart looked much the way Jack had six years ago – except younger. About ten years younger than Jack looked right now. Certainly at least twenty years younger than Jack felt right now. “You look like crap,” the other man said. Yeah, he looked like crap: like he really needed to be told that! Jack looked over at the Jaffa O’Neill with a twist to his mouth. “Thanks. Good to see that some things don’t change.” Master Bra’tac’s voice cut into O’Neill’s reply as the two men stared off: “Teal’c, your intentions are to get these people to the Chappa’ai?” That got Jack’s attention. “We’re gonna take ‘em through somewhere to where the Goa’uld can’t follow. A protected planet.” The old Jaffa warrior’s eyebrows rose, “By the Asgard? You realise that the Asgard do not suffer the Goa’uld. They will never accept Klor’el and Ammonet.” “Yeah, that’s kinda the point.” Jack glanced over to where Daniel was helping tie up Klor’el again. Behind him, Carter and Teal’c were restraining Ammonet. “The place they’ll be taken to will de-Goa’uld them and they’ll just have that protein thingy remaining.” He rolled his shoulders, stretching aching muscles. Sometimes he kinda envied Teal’c that snake in the belly thing. Must be nice to wake up and feel fine – no old bones and creaks and aches… …like the Jack O’Neill who eyed him off from a few feet away with an expression that had some serious lemon in it. Huh, I guess waking up to discover you’re your own worst enemy isn’t the best way to start your day. “So,” the other-him said, conversationally. “SG-1, huh?” “Yup.” He cautiously bent his knees and heard the familiar crack. They were gonna ache like all hell tonight when they got home, but they were still in working order. “Best damn team in the SGC.” “I’m sure.” Did he look like that when he was being sceptical? Surely not. “Jack?” Daniel’s call took his attention. “What are we going to do with Sam…I mean – Ammonet-Sam?” Command. It was a helluva job. Especially when you were trying to think through brains cooked to scrambled-egg texture. “Take her through the gate, I guess. Get rid of her snake.” “I guess that I’m a no-go through the gate with them.” “Not with Junior in there.” Jack indicated the other man’s pouch and the other-him grimaced. “‘Junior’, huh?” O’Neill glanced around the room and Jack followed his gaze. Daniel was crouched beside Ska’ara, Carter had gotten to her feet beside the prostrate Carter-Ammonet and was looking over at him with her brows arched: Are we getting a move on, sir? Then his counterpart drawled: “So are we gonna stand here admiring the view all day?” Jack pulled his eyes away from the sight of his 2IC with the lingering sense that he’d been caught doing something wrong. He hadn’t been meaning to stare at Carter – the way O’Neill hadn’t been meaning anything more than ‘what happens next?’ – it was unfortunate that the statement could be taken both ways given the subject. Resettling his armour on his shoulders, Jack considered the situation for a moment. Deception was kinda out the window – two of everyone walking down the hall was sure to clue someone in to the fact that not all was as it seemed. “How far is it to the gateroom?” He asked O’Neill. “Gateroom?” The scepticism was definitely becoming annoying. He would really have to change that when they went back home. “It is not far from here, O’Neill,” Bra’tac told him. “But it will be heavily guarded.” He’d hadn’t expected differently. Really. It just would have been nice to have an easy time of getting out of one of these situations for once. “Look, you and…” he glanced at the other version of him, “…O’Neill are big around here – can’t you just order these guys somewhere else?” “Looks suspicious,” O’Neill offered. “Can you create some kind of a diversion?” Jack returned a sour expression, “We left the C4 at home. But if you have any of those Jaffa grenade thingies they’d come in handy.” They’d have to split the team. Daniel to go with Ska’ara and Sha’re and the snakes to the gate, maybe send Teal’c along to accompany him. Jack would have preferred to keep an eye on Daniel himself, trusting Carter and Teal’c’s combat competence to draw fire. But he and Carter had been trained in the same methods of drawing fire, making them a natural team for this kind of work and Teal’c and Daniel worked well together. Bra’tac and O’Neill exchanged glances, “There will be some in the storeroom.” “Great, is it far from here?” “Jack?” “Daniel, you and Teal’c are taking our friends to the gate. Get them through to Cimmeria, then make for home. If you get into trouble then radio us. Carter and I will be playing tag with the Jaffa.” “Jack…” Peachy. Daniel was going to protest. “Daniel. We came here to get them to safety – that’s what we’re doing.” Okay, so the plan didn’t count on having a palace full of Jaffa on their tails, but…these things happened. “Carter and I are the diversion, Bra’tac and O’Neill order the Jaffa to follow us, leaving the gateroom free. We get them though, we regroup, we get the hell outta dodge.” He looked at O’Neill. “So where’s this storeroom?” “Sir, I think it’s better if Bra’tac shows us the storeroom. The First Prime can arrange for the corridors to be cleared by sending the men…” “I know how to clear the corridors, thank-you, Capt…Major.” The tone of voice was brusque and dismissive and Carter arched a brow at the abruptness of O’Neill’s words. Jack was now amazed that the only thing Carter had done upon their first meeting was to offer to arm-wrestle him. With a commanding officer who had this kind of attitude towards her, he was surprised she hadn’t asked for a reassignment within the SGC in the first month. Mind you, Carter could be as stubborn as…well, as himself and her determination to ‘prove’ herself to her new CO had probably gotten her through the initial rough patch. “Right. Bra’tac, Carter, let’s go… Teal’c and Daniel, get them through the gate and buzz us when you’re done. Meet you at the mirror.” “The mirror?” “Daniel can explain.” Jack didn’t want to waste the time explaining to his counterpart as he went to the door. If the man was anything like him…and the man was exactly like him…then it would take hours to explain – and he probably still wouldn’t fully understand at the end of it. Not that he needed to understand, of course. As long as someone he trusted – in this case, Carter and Daniel – understood it all, then Jack was okay with that. However, O’Neill didn’t know Carter at all and hardly knew Daniel. A week spent fighting for your life on another planet might make for some good bonding exercises, but wasn’t really much good for getting to know someone. Five years ago, he’d had respect for the bespectacled Dr. Jackson, but not really any affection. Affection came later – along with exasperation, irritation and amusement. “Take care, guys,” Daniel added. Jack gave his team-mate his best cocky grin, “Hey,” he said, mock offended, “It’s me!” As he turned back to Master Bra’tac and Carter, waiting for him at the entrance to the room, he caught her end of the ‘look’ she’d exchanged with Daniel at his levity and indicated the door. “After you, Bra’tac.” He observed the second look passing between his team-mates and growled, “Are we staying or going, Major?” “We’re moving, sir.” She indicated him first, “I’ve got body-shield capability on this thing. I’ll take rearguard.” Body-shield capability? Now where did she get…? Then Jack realised that she must have stripped Ammonet’s ribbon device from the snake’s hand. Good move, Major. He moved out, circumspectly, aware of the churning in his stomach and the considerable odds against them. They were in another reality, on another world, in an enemy stronghold filled with foot soldiers. They were trying to get to a high-security room with two slaves and the second and third most important Goa’uld in this place. He and his 2IC were in the company of a Jaffa warrior and trying to make enough of a distraction that the Jaffa would chase them instead of their team-mates. Then they had to get back to the room with all the junk in it, find their own reality through the mirror and get back home, all in one piece and leaving no-one behind. Piece of cake. * The Jaffa guarding the gate had been taken by surprise with two well-thrown grenades and a couple of zat blasts. Teal’c stood guard with O’Neill as Daniel Jackson dialled the gate. First Prime O’Neill that was. It was not difficult for Teal’c to believe his friend had climbed rapidly through the Jaffa ranks. Once indoctrinated into the mindset of a loyal Jaffa, O’Neill’s qualities as a commander would have ensured his rapid rise through the ranks of Apophis’ soldiers. “So am I anything like him?” The question was frank and direct. Curious, as O’Neill had always been – even if his curiosity did not always take the same route as Daniel Jackson’s. “There are many similarities, O’Neill.” “But a lotta differences, too, right?” “Of course.” Their attention was briefly distracted by the flare of the gate and Daniel Jackson glanced from the gate to the two Goa’uld’s glaring at them. “You can go through the gate of your own free will, or we can shoot you and toss you through.” “Apophis will come after us,” Ammonet snarled, twisting Major Carter’s face into a haughty fury. “Do not doubt that!” Without being told, Teal’c knew that neither Klor’el, nor Ammonet would walk through the Stargate of their own accord. Ska’ara seemed to sense this also, for he shot first Klorel/Daniel Jackson, then Ammonet/Major Carter with his zat gun. “Dan’yel,” he said in Abydonian, “You have explained to me this Hammer of Thor. I would go through the maze with them, but Sha’re…” “I go where Dan’yel goes,” Sha’re declared stubbornly. “You go where you will be killed!” Ska’ara snapped. “And if I shall be killed then why will you not also be killed?” “Uhh…guys, I think the important thing is to get them through the Stargate – before they wake up and the wormhole closes down.” They paused in their argument and Ska’ara shot a brief glare at his sister before he nodded. “Will you help me carry him through, Dan’yel?” Daniel Jackson nodded. “Just a moment…” He went to stand before Sha’re and spoke gently to her, “I know it is forward of me to ask, but…may I hold you once?” A tense moment passed and then Sha’re stepped close into Daniel’s arms. He enfolded his arms around her with great tenderness and kissed her gently on the top of her hair. There was a poignant sadness to the moment that Teal’c felt strongly. His own actions had denied Daniel Jackson any form of farewell to Sha’re in their own universe. “So…what happened to his wife?” O’Neill’s inquiry was very soft. Teal’c looked back out the door. The memory was unpleasant at best – another of many memories he carried as his burden. “Ammonet took her as her host at the time when you, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were caught on Chulak. Several years later, the Goa’uld within her was trying to kill Daniel Jackson when I killed her.” “Oh.” O’Neill considered this. “I guess he wasn’t real happy with you.” “I was not expecting him to forgive me.” “But he did?” The comment was most unlike O’Neill who was well aware that Daniel Jackson had forgiven Teal’c. Then Teal’c turned his head to look at the man and remembered who – and what – this O’Neill was. Without the five years of knowing Teal’c and Daniel Jackson and Major Carter, without the memories and experiences which had made Teal’c’s friend the man he was. “He did.” “O’Neill.” “Ska’ara.” There was a pause as the young man looked at the old soldier, “I’m sorry about…everything.” “You were not yourself.” “For five years?” “The demons twist the souls of those with whom they come into contact. That is their nature.” Ska’ara pointed at the pouch hidden beneath O’Neill’s mail. “I do not blame you, O’Neill, nor should you blame yourself.” O’Neill looked both relieved and pained, “Thanks, Ska’ara.” He held out one hand. “Take care of yourself and the others.” “I will. Take care of yourself, O’Neill.” The young man took the hand offered him and shook it in the way of the Tau’ri. Then he made O’Neill a salute. It was very different from the fluid and precise motions Teal’c had seen his O’Neill and Major Carter perform to General Hammond, but the spirit of it was there. And O’Neill responded in kind. Ska’ara went to Daniel Jackson and together they hauled the limp form of Daniel Jackson-Klor’el of this reality through the wormhole to Cimmeria, with Ska’ara vanishing into the Stargate and Klor’el’s legs following after. Daniel Jackson stood at the top of the steps, his face illuminated by the glowing blue surface of the event horizon. “Good luck, guys,” O’Neill murmured softly as the wormhole vanished from the Stargate, the last shreds of energy dissipating into the air, leaving faint traces of ozone behind. Daniel descended the stairs and regarded the two men. “Primary objective achieved. Let’s head back to the artifacts room. Have we heard anything from Jack and Sam?” “We have not.” Inside his helmet, Teal’c clicked his radio once. “O’Neill?” “They might have gotten caught, you know.” First Prime O’Neill got a very direct and questioning look from Daniel Jackson for that statement. “Whatever happened to Mr. Glass-is-half-full?” “He spent five years with a snake in his belly.” “Better that than five years with a snake in his head.” There were some things, Teal’c reflected, which did not change whatever reality you were in. He pressed the button on his radio again, “O’Neill?” After a few seconds there was a return click, “Teal’c? Are they through?” “They are. Your diversion has been successful.” “Well, Carter’s coming up with a pretty big finale…we should be able to meet you…” There was a brief silence, then: “…in the sunwards ring-room – wherever that is.” “I am aware of its location. We shall see you there and proceed to the artifacts room.” “Good. O’Neill, out.” “Teal’c, out.” The two men were staring at him and Teal’c took a moment of satisfaction in their surprise. “Daniel Jackson, in your persona as Klor’el, you shall follow me. O’Neill, as First Prime of Apophis, you should walk behind Daniel Jackson. We have some way to travel from here.” “And what about your friends?” “Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter are resourceful and inventive. They will elude capture and create diversions to draw attention away from our goal,” Teal’c stated. “They will be meeting us in the sunwards ring-room.” “Is he usually like this?” O’Neill asked Daniel Jackson, curiously. “Not always.” From the tone of Daniel Jackson’s voice, he was a little surprised at Teal’c’s initiative. From O’Neill’s question, it appeared that he, too, was surprised. Smiling as the helmet enclosed him and the armour’s sightings started up, Teal’c reflected that he usually allowed O’Neill to lead during SG-1 missions. It was O’Neill’s prerogative as the commander of the team and, if anything, Teal’c understood the concept of a chain of command. But it had been some time since he had commanded men, leading them into battle; and while Teal’c was glad he no longer had to lead the armies of a false god into a war where countless lives would be lost – and worse, wasted – there was a part of him which missed the comradeship and companionship of others of like minds. These feelings had been brought home to him during his brief time among the Jaffa warriors K’tano-Imhotep had gathered together. He respected his friends among the Tau’ri, had shared much with them and found in O’Neill a brother of like experience and like mind. Yet he still occasionally yearned for the companionship of his own kind – for people whose culture was his own and whose ways were not foreign – and to whom his ways were not foreign. It did not matter. Teal’c had long ago chosen his path in the knowledge that it would be difficult and solitary. He would walk it to the end. His friends would be there with him and for him and perhaps they could comprehend a little of how much he had lost in being declared shol’va, but he would never expect them to fully understand. He glanced back at his companions to see if they were ready to leave. Daniel Jackson was about to switch on his voice-distortion unit and the First Prime O’Neill gave him the thumbs-up. They moved out. * part fiveShe tossed the C4 to the Colonel along with the detonator and moved to the middle of the corridor. “Carter, get back here!” He almost leapt out to grab her, but she glared at the explosives in his hands. “Sir, I’m protected, you’re not.” There was a brief expression of discomfort on his face as the overtones of her Goa’uld voice echoed eerily in the corridor. Truthfully, it freaked her out, hearing herself talk like that. “You’d better be right about that shield, Carter!” His voice was grim – he hated seeing anyone else on his team take risks, although he had no problems with taking them himself. “I am.” And if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t last long enough for him to chew her out. And as the Jaffa came running around the corner, she turned to face them and raised one hand: “Has’hak! Kree!” Instinct kicked in and they skidded to a halt. Behind her, she heard the sound of staff weapon fire and one collapsed, his belly a smoking ruin. The others took one look at their downed comrade and levelled their weapons at her. She saw the first one fire, the bolt of energy flaring towards her and held her ground. Hoping. Praying. The field shimmered around her as the bolt contacted the shield and the shield sucked the energy into itself, humming with latent power. Sam grinned. She could really get used to this kind of invincibility. As long as they didn’t start throwing knives of course… Two more bolts of staff-weapons fire earthed themselves in the shield and the shield crackled around her, then, two return volleys simultaneously took out a couple more Jaffa. Which meant the Colonel had set the detonator and was returning fire. A moment later she heard his yell, “All set, Carter. We have three minutes!” The metal of the ribbon device was warm around her fingers, clinging lovingly to her arm. It was an extension of her being, an extension of her will. Her desire was to repel these men and as she lifted her arm, her will was made force, transmitted to the ribbon device through the naquadah in her blood. The ripple of energy burst from the device and hit her adversaries squarely in the chest, knocking them back like Jaffa tenpins before the invisible bowling ball of her resolve Adrenaline soared through her, speeding up her heart-rate, narrowing her vision down to the ones who struggled to get back up. Raw emotion seethed in her as she flung them down a second time. No wonder the Goa’uld had taken on the persona of gods. With this kind of power literally at their fingertips, they were gods! The feeling of invincibility was a heady brew: like the breaching of another barrier in her studies of wormhole physics, like the giddy feeling of a margarita on an empty stomach, like the intoxication of falling in love. Dangerous as the power of god in the hands of a Goa’uld host – or ex-host. Someone stop me! And another voice rose up within her, gloating, Someone try and stop me! A hand touched her shoulder and she turned, breathing heavily, meeting the Colonel’s wary gaze. “You okay?” he asked tensely, eyes scanning her face and then briefly running down her body, checking her for injuries. “We have about two and a half minutes to find the ring room Bra’tac said could be changed to send us to the other ring room near where we came in. You good to go?” She took a deep breath of cool air. Once again, his intervention had brought her down to reality – just as his comment of ‘Hail Dorothy!’ had done after the fight against Seth three years ago. “Yes, sir.” The grip on her shoulder squeezed in brief approval, “That was some stunt you pulled, Carter.” He smiled, shook his head, then swept the hand holding the staff weapon in the direction of the corridor and said, “Right, let’s head for the rings.” They started off, Bra’tac in the lead, the Colonel behind him, Sam following them. He glanced over his shoulder at her as they turned a corner, “Do you have anything else hidden under that outfit that I should know about, Carter?” Sam flushed a little, but retained enough self-possession to smile and reply, “No, sir. Just me.” His over-the-shoulder grin was slightly wicked and she could only surmise that the lack of military apparel was making him a little more free with the personal quips and jibes than usual. It gave her the boldness to respond, “Actually, I couldn’t find my Swiss Army knife, otherwise I’d have brought it along.” He snorted, but there was a smile on his lips as he turned away. “All right, Carter, you win; we won’t go there.” They passed assorted slaves and servants – none of them Goa’uld or Jaffa, thank God – most of whom either prostrated themselves or stood against the wall with their heads bowed until they’d gone by. Sam assumed what she hoped was a suitably haughty expression and quietly switched her VDU on. If they encountered a Goa’uld or a Jaffa, they were in big trouble, but at least she could use the ribbon device and the voice to cow the human slaves. Part of Sam felt for these people, imprisoned in a universe where the Goa’uld ruled. Another part of her wondered what had happened to these people when Apophis was destroyed in her own reality. Had they become free, like Teal’c? Had they banded together and found hope in their future? Or, knowing no other way but slavery and enslavement, had they perpetrated the power-structure like the people who’d used the Unas as slaves when they’d cast the Goa’uld out from their world? Briefly, Sam wondered if Daniel had thought about this and if he had, how he felt about it. Daniel was the one who tended to look longer term instead of short-term – that was his training and there were times when it had been invaluable and times when it had been a ‘pain in the mikta’ as the Colonel would say. “Can we hurry it up in front? We’re running a little short on time.” “We are nearly there, O’Neill. You are as impatient as ever.” “I’m still me with or without a snake in my belly.” “That is evident.” Bra’tac stopped in front of a door and activated a sequence of buttons. The door opened with a hydraulic hiss and they ducked inside. “Okay we have…less than a minute before that baby blows…Carter?” Sam took up her position at the inner panel and began changing the programming of the ring-room. While it wasn’t a complex set-up, she had to think about the order in which the buttons were to be pressed – she’d never actually done this herself, only watched her father do it. There was one hairy moment when her hand hovered over the buttons and the Colonel shifted uncomfortably behind her. “Carter?” “I’m thinking, sir.” “Think fast, we’ve got fifteen seconds…” Running through the options, she pressed the last sequence of buttons and the lights under the symbols glowed green. “Ready to go…” “…dial up home and evac now!” The Colonel was still speaking to Ferretti as they took their places in the circle marked on the floor and the rings sprang up around them. As the transporter glow faded and the rings vanished back into the floor, they felt the explosion shake the building with its tremors. “What the hell did you just do?” Jack O’Neill the First Prime exclaimed as he and Teal’c dropped the weapons they’d had trained on the incoming transport. “Carter had a block of C4 and a detonator stashed away. We came, we saw, we blew the palace up, we went home. It’s all good. They’re through?” “Through.” “Right, Teal’c, how far from here to the artifacts room?” “We are very close.” “Right, we’ll just do a straight-line run for the artifacts room – anyone have a problem with that?” “Yeah,” First Prime O’Neill interrupted. “I got a problem with that!” Time slowed. Stopped. Daniel glanced from the Colonel to Sam and his expression matched her thoughts. Uh-oh. “And exactly what might that problem be?” “What the hell happens to me now? Your smart little scientist here…” Sam saw the Colonel raise his eyebrows at his counterpart’s description of her, “…worked out how to fix whatever brainwashing they did to me, but I can’t go back to Earth or to Cimmeria and I’m dependant on…this…” his face creased into distaste as his indicated his stomach, “…for the rest of my extended life.” There was a hint of bitterness in his eyes as he looked at his un-Jaffa’d counterpart. “Where does your ‘grand plan’ leave me, Colonel?” And it didn’t look like the Colonel had an answer for him. * The question hung in the air for a long tense moment, before Daniel answered. “It leaves you in a position to start a Jaffa rebellion.” “A Jaffa rebellion?” Daniel had decided on the journey over here that it was really weird to have a conversation of sorts with someone whom he thought he knew, but really didn’t and who knew nothing about Daniel even when Daniel expected him to. “Your Teal’c never spoke to you about freedom for the Jaffa?” “Yeah. But there weren’t too many opportunities to get out of here – and even if we had, where would we go? Shol’va aren’t exactly welcome on your average Jaffa planet.” “There are others who have hope in the freedom of the Jaffa from the Goa’uld, O’Neill.” Teal’c stated. “Where we come from, many have rebelled against their former gods and seek to sabotage the System Lords however they can.” “They use Teal’c here as a figurehead,” Jack said from behind Daniel. “He had the whole nine yards as a Jaffa, but he thought freedom was better. That says a lot to other Jaffa.” “You’re a resourceful man,” Daniel said, hearing Jack snort behind him. “You’ll think of something.” “Thinking isn’t my strong suit.” “Not intellectualism, no. But strategic thinking – the command of men and women – or Jaffa… You became First Prime in five years – that says a lot about your abilities as a soldier – think of it as a tactical assault against the Goa’uld. The Jaffa are the power-base of the Goa’uld structure. Train Jaffa who can see that the Goa’uld aren’t the gods they make themselves out to be. Show them how to train other Jaffa…” The slightly sceptical expression on First Prime O’Neill’s face was classic Jack – except that Jack’s scepticism usually resolved into ‘okay, it’s just one of those things Daniel knows’. This man might know Daniel, but he sure didn’t trust him. “Bra’tac showed Teal’c how to doubt – and that doubt turned Teal’c to our aid when Jack made an appeal to him for help in our reality.” “Right, lead a Jaffa rebellion on a wing and a prayer. Piece of cake.” It was unmistakably Jack at his sarcastic best. “Sir, with Ammonet and Klor’el gone, Apophis is going to need someone he can rely on. Why not his loyal First Prime? You’ve operated undercover before – think of this as the ultimate undercover assignment.” “And what do I have to look forward to at the end of it?” O’Neill demanded. “A lifetime with a snake in my belly? No offence, Teal’c.” “None taken, O’Neill.” Bra’tac spoke for the first time since he, Jack and Sam had arrived in the transporter rings. “O’Neill, being a Jaffa has many advantages as you have experienced over the last five years. These advantages can be used to your benefit – and Apophis’ downfall.” “Speaking of which,” Jack interposed, “Where is Pops? Haven’t seen him around today.” “Apophis is visiting his harem.” “The perks of command.” His team turned to look at him in slow disbelief and Jack’s expression said he’d just realised what he’d said and how it could be taken. “I didn’t mean it like that, guys… Yeesh, can we go home now?” “Does he do the foot-in-mouth thing often?” O’Neill asked Sam dryly. “Not often. But he’s had his starring moments,” Sam responded, a smile stirring her expression. “Okay, Carter, enough fun at the expense of the man who has to do your next personnel review, I want out of this skirt.” Daniel couldn’t help the snort which escaped as Jack realised his second mistake. “I mean…” Once again, O’Neill directed his comment to Sam. “Your commander must have a lot of patience, Major.” Sam glanced over at Daniel and exchanged a broad grin with him. “General Hammond swears he had hair before he had to deal with Colonel O’Neill.” “Okay,” Jack announced pre-emptively, “We’re going.” He shot a glare at Sam, “I’m not gonna forget this, Major.” “I don’t expect you to, sir.” Sam responded serenely. “I’ll take rearguard.” “Shield capabilities, again?” “Yes, sir.” “It’s not far,” O’Neill commented as Bra’tac punched in the controls for the door and the panels slid back. “Teal’c, you know the way, you and Bra’tac are leading. I’ll keep an eye on Dr. Jackson here and the Colonel and Major can follow us up. Are we ready to go?” Jack gave Daniel a sour look at having the lead taken out of his hands. “Yeah, we’re ready to go.” The corridor was empty and they jogged along it, abandoning all pretence of their faked identities in their haste to get to the artifacts room. Bra’tac punched in the commands to open the door and a moment later they were in the cool dusty dark of the room. Even as Daniel walked in, he could feel the tickle in his sinuses and sneezed loudly. A moment later, at least four guns primed as a voice ordered, “Don’t move!” The door slid shut behind Jack and Sam. “Ferretti,” growled Jack, ignoring the junior officer’s order, “I thought I told you to get your sorry ass back through the mirror!” “Sir, the SF’s went back through, my team was about to follow them when the doors opened.” The Major glanced over the party of six, “It’s good to see you alive and well, sir.” His eyes flickered over First Prime O’Neill, “You |
